Picture post marathon, #2

Madeline and Daniel and Brianna, my brother's little ones. Do you see Maddy and Dan'l holding hands? :) Madeline has changed so much since then. We were noticing subtle changes in her physically, and of course we noticed that she wasn't anywhere near Daniel in development (he's only 2 weeks older). Since Maddy's surgery on November 26, she has come so far...smiling and cooing all the time, and even starting to giggle a bit.

Picture post marathon, #1

I just sat down to upload a few pictures only to discover that there were over 400 on my computer. I discovered that my eldest daughter took a ton of pictures. We had pictures of all of Granny's Christmas decorations and quite a few other things. Needless to say, that took me a while to sort through! I have picture from way back in early November, so I'm going to be posting in stages. So keep coming back! :)

These two darling pictures were taken the day before and the day Daddy died. Kind of made me get a lump in my throat.

HeeHeeHee

Dear Melonie Chapman sent me a piece of flair that says: "Of all the people I know, you're one of them." Doesn't that sound just like Daddy? Or Jordan!

Well, I'm having trouble getting into gear this morning. I slept from 6 pm until 7 am after being up for 60 hours straight with only two very brief naps! Yes, that means I didn't go to bed for two nights in a row. Ok, yes I did. On Tuesday morning, I slept from about 6 to 7 (one of the brief naps)!! I'm hoping that my homework doesn't take so much time everyweek.

Off to take Maddy to pulmonologist today.....

That's better....

...Sorry about that.

WHAT IN THE WORLD???!!!

I just added a playlist to my site. Please bear with me while I figure out WHAT it's doing! It's playing a song I've never heard before, and I can't find it to unload it from the list.

For you, Mommy...

...and anyone else who wants to listen in. Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the page to pause my playlist music....

I can't wait...

Gratituesday--Christmas Blessings.

It's time for some long overdue thank-yous. I've sent some thank-yous, but these ones deserve public recognition! :)

--I am grateful for...Mommy, Esther, Grandma, and Lisa for hosting us over the Christmas holidays! We enjoyed every minute (except when we were sick after eating too many of the yummy treats!). Let's do it again!

--I am grateful for...our Sunday School class (New Directions) for the big bag of gifts. I love the picture frame and stepping stone to remind me of Daddy, and the kids have played a lot with their felt Bible story. Thank you for all of your support and love and care over this last year. Here's to a calmer 2009! :)

--I am grateful for...one of the other SS classes (I'm not sure of the name??) for the three huge boxes of groceries and the grocery and gas cards! I had fun puting it all away. You'll never know how much we appreciate it!

--I am grateful for...our anonymous Christmas angel who blessed us with $900. I can't put into words how "hugged" I felt when I opened that envelope and just counting more and more Benjamins! :)

--I am grateful for...each one of you who have been the hand of Christ to us through a very difficult year.*

To join in the Gratituesday event or just read about abundant gratitude of others, head on over to Heavenly Homemakers!

*Just to clarify, I never have felt for one moment that Madeline's birth was anything but a blessing. It may be hard for some to understand, but if I were given the choice to have Maddy whole and perfect, it wouldn't be an easy thing to accept. Obviously, I hate thinking about what she may be facing, and I would never want her to be in pain, but all of her issues--complete paralysis from belly down, head just now getting back to normal after the last episode of hydrocephalus and shunt repair, severly curved back, turned feet, neurogenic bladder, chronic lung disease and all--make her who she is, and it would almost be like being handed a different baby and someone taking mine should she suddenly not have any of those issues. Ok, that was a bit convoluted...Maybe my coping mechanism? At any rate, I feel that very deeply. I'm not so sure that I've quite gotten to that place with Daddy suddenly leaving us for Heaven.