2013

Another year is over.  How do you slow down time?  We were thrown some curve balls this year.  We got hit, fell down, slowly got up and thrown down again.  We yelled some, and cried.  We smiled and we laughed.  We supported each other with kisses and hugs, by holding hands and twirling hair.  2013 had its twists and turns, but in the end, we always had each other.  I am so thankful for my family.     

Christmas

We had a fun Christmas.

Happy Birthday Jesus

The kids made birthday cards for Jesus.

One Brave Four Year Old

Jordan was so calm before her last surgery.

This was at our hotel.

Resting in Weimar after surgery.

The laser popped the blood vessels underneath her skin.

I didn't realize how many blood vessels from the hemangioma she had in her left cheek.  

Jordan missed two weeks of school.  Her class had an elf named Sparkle.  Her friends wrote to Santa and ask if Sparkle could come and visit Jordan while she healed.  Sparkle came to our house on a Sunday morning.  Jordan and Winston were so excited.  

Shannon's Project

Shannon has wanted to put in a fire ring in our backyard for several years.  Here it is!!!  We have been enjoying the peace of country life.  We have roasted hot dogs and made s'mores twice, and the kids love it.  We are also trying to teach the kids about the quietness of the night.  They seem to think we can't hear them, so they scream a lot.  

My Ballerina

Jordan has been taken ballet.  The Monday before her surgery, the class had a demonstration for the parents.  She was extremely shy, and I didn't think she would preform at all.  She finally got out there and showed us a little bit of what she learned. I can't imagine where she gets her shyness from.

My Little Country Boy

My brother, Wesley, let Winston come help him clean a deer.  Winston was so excited.

God's Peace

For several months now, I have had so much anxiety about Jordan's surgery.  I was so weak that I didn't think I was going to make it through some days.  Starting a new job and having my kids at work has also been very trying.  But underneath all of that, I was scared inside for my baby girl.  It was not until Sunday that I felt God's peace again.  We are blessed to have so many family and friends praying for us, because we were lifted up in prayer.  I was reading my bible Sunday night when this popped out and it continues to replay in my head all day long.  You will have to forgive me, because I am not good with the books, chapters and verses of the bible, but  I heard this loud and clear, "When I am weak, He makes me strong."

He made all of us strong!  Especially Jordan.

She did a great job and never cried.  I am the one that cried when they took her back, but I still had peace.  Jordan's face is really bruised and swollen from the laser treatment.  The laser makes the blood vessels pop underneath her skin.  We didn't realize how many vessels she had in her left cheek.  She will have to have more laser treatments to get rid of it all.  Her lip is also very swollen.  I am not sure what that will look like yet because of the bandages.  They said that the laser treatment feels like a burn and to keep ointment on it at all times for several days.  She is finally doing a little better with the pain, but it must have hurt.  We knew when she needed more medication.  She is talking more today and is the most lovable child.  She is so brave.

Winston doesn't know what to think about all of this.  I know that he is scared for her and acts out because he doesn't know what else to do.  We are all on the road to recovery and hopefully will be back to normal when Santa comes.  

Lip Surgery Again

We are a week away from another surgery.  I have spoken to Jordan about this, and she says she is okay with lip surgery.  I keep telling her that she must be extra special, because she gets some more new smoochers.  That seems to help and lighten our spirits.  The only thing that she said she didn't want was an IV.

As if this wasn't enough for me to handle, she developed a new problem.  I guess it is not really a "new" problem but one that is getting worse.  Jordan was born with labial adhesion.  She has skin that fuses together were she pees.  At first this wasn't an issue.  Last year she started having trouble going to the bathroom.  She kept telling me it wouldn't come out.  I thought she was being stubborn.  We finally took her to the doctor for this, and she prescribed a hormone ointment.  The ointment helped a lot.  We had to stop using the ointment though, because too much can cause her to have puberty "things" start to happen.  So, once everything was open, we stopped.  She has been on the ointment off and on up until her nose surgery.  I guess I was so occupied with that failure that I didn't realize how bad things were getting down below.   When school started, she was having trouble going to the bathroom again, wetting the bed at night, and having accidents in the day.  We have taken her to the doctor almost every month since school started to try and get this fixed. We put her back on the hormone ointment and that seemed to help.  We ended up going to a urologist, and she took her off the hormone and told us to use Aquaphor instead.  I think that switch cause things to close back up.

This week, a week before surgery, she started telling me that it hurt when she went.  Well, she now has an infection.  The labial adhesion can cause that.  She started an antibiotic today and will hopefully feel better soon.  The pediatrician does not think this will interfere with surgery.  I will call the plastic surgeon tomorrow to make sure.

I get so frustrated with doctors.  We have so many that we deal with, and they all having something different to say.  Hopefully things will run smoothly the rest of this week, and she will do fantastic on her second lip repair.

Country Kids

Shannon has been redoing our sidewalk in front of the house.  We needed a pile of dirt for this project.  Yesterday the kids had so much fun rolling down the pile of dirt.  I thought we would never get them clean.  Sometimes, I would like to be a kid again.  They had so much fun.  The water hose does a lot for dirt.

 

Santa Comes to School

Jordan and Winston got to see Santa at school earlier this month.

They took pictures on Santa's lap.  I was with my class,

so I didn't get to see them do this.  They 

were very excited though.

  

Trick-or-Treat

The kids had a fun time on Halloween.  

Harvest Carnival

I was part of the "Spice Girls" group.

We Finally Got Rain

We finally got rain and got to splish splash.  

Look What We Bought!

The kids have been saving their own money.  They worked really hard on being good in church and at school.  They also did a lot of chores around the house.  This is what they bought.

PreK Pictures at School

Cowboy Fans

Texas Drought

The drought has taken two of our big Pin Oaks in the front yard.  We had them cut down this week, and Shannon is going to cut them up and haul them off.   It is a sad seen.  I love trees.  We are trying to save the big one right in front of our house.