3 Little Blessings

I had the privilege of taking pictures of my beautiful nieces & nephew the other day. Here are a few of the pics. Enjoy!

From Date Night to Family Night

This past Christmas we received an amazing gift of dinner and an ariel flight of Dallas. We had originally planned to go for our 8 yr. Anniversary back in February but it was cancelled due to high winds. Well you know life gets busy and so do our weekends. Days became weeks and weeks became months. In April we finally planned a night to get out. It was great! Our dinner was at Delta Charlies. We enjoyed the food and atmosphere but were really looking forward to our flight.

Our pilot was great! She really made our experience memorable. The flight lasted about 30 minutes and we flew around Dallas, Fair Park and White Rock Lake. It was so fun! We had a plane fly directly over us but the best part was listening to the radio chatter.

Fair Park and Dallas

Love him!

Although we love spending time together one on one, our best moments are spent as a family! We actually had no plans this weekend, which is rare, so we decided to stay up late Saturday evening and have movie night. Skylar lasted about 45 minutes before crashing but it sure was fun!!!

Mother's Day Surprise

My husband Carl sweetly surprised me on Mother's Day this year. He knows that the most important thing to me is just spending time together and he made sure that is just what happened. Mother's Day morning I woke up to donuts from my favorite donut shop. He then asked if I could watch Skylar because he had an errand to run. 

Skylar and I sat down for some mom and me time. We colored, played baby dolls and worked on some puzzles. It was the perfect morning! Little did I know my little worker bee husband had been in and out of the back yard the entire time.

He popped his head in the door and asked me to come to the backyard. When I stepped outside I saw lots of lumber and soil. I was a little confused. He said," I know that you really like things we can do together and things that are homemade so I bought you a garden." It was so unexpected and so thoughtful. I love that he listens and knows me so well!!

Later that afternoon the work began. I must have changed my mind 5 times on where I wanted it in the yard. Once we found our location we mapped it out, dug out the grass and border for the wood frame, tilled the dirt and filled it with soil. It took about 5 hours total because it's size. Skylar really liked to help us put the dirt in the wagon but most of all she was a fantastic water girl. She carried our water bottle around all day long. It was a day full of memories that I will never forget and will get to relive every year with our new crops.

This is what grew in our garden :)

A garden and kisses. Gan't get any better than that!!

Now the fun part began......choosing what to plant. If you know us at all then you know choosing a vegetable that we actually eat would be difficult. After an hour long trip to Target we finally had our seeds. 

Skylar was SOOO over our shopping trip. This was how we entertained her.

We chose Corn, Summer Squash, Pumpkins, Cucumbers, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Carrots, Onions, Broccoli and Bell Peppers. 

Our Garden Day 4 we had about 3 or 4 sprouts

Water makes them HaPpY

It also makes Skylar HaPpY!!!

I had seen a planting how-to video and it was suggested that you soak your seeds in room temp. water over night before planting to jump start the seeds. It really worked!! Most of our seeds were not supposed to show growth for 7+days and ours sprouted in 4 days! I will try to keep updated every few days so that you can see how it's coming along.

Our Garden day 5

Thanks to my wonderful husband this Mother's Day was very special and I am forever blessed to say he's mine!!!

How Bout Them Cowboys

This past Christmas we received tickets to take a tour of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. Life finally slowed down enough that we were able to visit this last Sunday.

It was incredible! You see it on t.v. and it just doesn't do it justice. We had a wonderful time playing on the field, going to the team locker room and the cheerleader locker room. Below are some pictures we captured.

Tap tapping in the Cheerleaders locker room

Kissing the star for luck

The security guard thought she was so cute he let her sit on Tony Romo's $10k locker

Running, running & more running all over the stadium

Where Has The Time Gone?

I hadn't realized how far behind I got on posting. Oops! Here are some pictures and videos I captured in the last 3 months to try and catch you up. Enjoy!

HaPpY SpRiNg 2012!!

Easter Pictures

Easter

She was so anxious to get to those eggs

Skylar LOVES to tap, tap, TAP

Family time flying kites.

Playtime

To finish this post I leave you with a video of what happens when mommy is taking a nap.

In God's Hands

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.8 Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones.

Last Wednesday I noticed around lunch time that Skylar wasn't quit herself. She was extremely clingy and wanted to sit in my lap all day. I took her temperature and it was 101. We chalked it up to her possibly getting her 2yr. molars. I gave her some tylenol and laid her down for nap. When she awoke she was running 103. By 5 that night it had hit 103.8. My sweet sister came over to bring me some extra medicine so that I wouldn't have to get out with a sick kiddo. I was doing my best to give it the pediatricians "Give it 24 hours alternating tylenol and ib prophen before becoming a paranoid parent." Although every ounce of me knew something was up.

By Thursday morning she was still running 103+ fevers all day. When she woke up from her nap it was clearly obvious it wasn't coming down. By 3p.m. it hit 105. I immediately rushed her to the Urgent Care just up the street. They rushed me back and said it looks like a UTI that has gotten into her kidneys and they wanted to start IV's. Using cold compresses we were able to get her temp back down to 103. At this point I didn't feel comfortable doing that at their facility and we headed straight to Children's @ Medical City.

Once we reached Children's her temp was back up to 104.1. They did a catheter culture to get more specifics on whether it truly was a UTI or something else. The procedure was awful. We both cried. There is nothing worse than having to pin your child to a table knowing that what they are about to experience is not going to be pleasant. Results came back slightly positive but not enough to call it the true source. They started an IV to get further blood work and to begin fluids to get body temp down. Her temp slowly came back down and the blood work came back stating that she had leukocytosis which is an elevated white blood cell count (caused by the high body temperatures) and indication of an infection of some sort. Because the only "Positive" test was the UTI they chalked it up to that and sent us home with some antibiotics. At this point it was 11p.m. and all pharmacies were closed so they told us to go home, keep up with tylenol and ib prophen and begin antibiotics in the morning.

Our sweet lil' baby with her 1st IV. Worn out and  trying to kick her fever. 

She immediately fell asleep when we got home. She awoke around 1:30 a.m. screaming. I ran into her room only to find no fever, she just wanted up for bit and was hungry. I was relieved. We filled her tummy, let her play for a bit, gave her more tylenol as a precaution and put her back down for bed about 2:45. I was up all night checking in on her every hour or so. At some point around 4:30 I dozed off and awoke to her crying at 6a.m. We figured she was just ready to get up for the day because her schedule was off. When I walked over to pick her up her body was trembling. I could feel the heat coming off her body when I reached down to pick her up. I yelled for Carl and he brought the thermometer. It read 106! I began to cry. He quickly got changed so we could go to the hospital. He came back and we checked it again and all it said was HIGH!!! My heart dropped. We grabbed what we needed and ran out the door. 

This was the scariest car ride of our lives. We kept checking on her the whole way because such high fevers can cause seizures and fainting and we live 40 mins. from the closest children's hospital. About 5 min. from the hospital she began throwing up, shaking and chocking. Carl dropped us at the ER doors and I rushed in with her. **WARNING** This is when my mamma bear instincts came out and I was not so kind.....I get to the front desk and Skylar is still vomiting in my arms. I get to admitting and tell her my child is running 106+ fever and just started shaking and throwing up. The woman looks at me, grabs her clip board and says I need you to fill out these two sections of this form and sign the other. I looked at her said,"REALLY!?!?! She is throwing up on me as we are speaking. We were just here 7 hours ago, they have our information! She pushed the clipboard at me and said,"Fill it out."It took every thing in me not to reach through the glass and shake some since into her.  I am crying, Skylar is crying and her eyes are glossed over. Carl arrived at this point and gives her the paperwork. I was so livid, worried and sick to my stomach all at the same time. All I could do was cry and pray. She then holds onto the paperwork and begins flirting with a male nurse for the next 10 min. She finally sets our forms on the counter and immediately an RN picks it up and calles us back. Which means she was holding on to them just to be a jerk the whole time. I was soooooo mad.

She was tired of being sick and tired!!

They rechecked the culture they took the night before and saw that it was growing bacteria and admitted her to be more closely watched until they could get her temp under control and more antibiotics in her system. The nurses, doctors and staff were amazing! It makes a difference when they talked sweet to Skylar as they do their job. She becomes less frightened which makes it better on us. Her fever continuously went up and down averaging a huge spike every 4 hours. They did an ultrasound of her kidneys to check for swelling and fluid. The results from that test confirmed that her right kidney was infected and it has now become a kidney infection. We were scared and anxious for what this meant. Now that it reached her kidneys the doctor said it needed to be treated more aggressively and we would need to stay for 72 hours of IV antibiotics. The bacteria that was growing was Ecoli and fortunately was reacting well to amoxicillin.

On our last night at the hospital she got a spurt of energy and tried out her new high heels from her cousin Madyson.
Making the best of this crummy situation!

The medically correct term for this is... 

PYELONEPHRITIS -  It is an ascending urinary tract infection that has reached the pyelum or pelvis of the kidney. It is a form of nephritis that is also referred to as pyelitis. Severe cases of pyelonephritis can lead to pyonephrosis (pus accumulation around the kidney), urosepsis (asystemic inflammatory response of the body to infection), kidney failure and even death.

We are back home today trying to catch up on rest. According to her doctor this is something that will be in her system forever and can occur again at any time. If she were to run fever over 101 again we are supposed to rush her back to the ER. This concerns me because kids get fever for many things. How do we know what requires the ER and what doesn't? All we can do is leave it in God's hands and know that he is our protector and healer and keep faith that this will not happen again.   

Sliding into 2012

New Years day we put together the playhouse that Skylar received for Christmas. Who knew by day 2 she would be able do it all by her self. (with mommy at a safe distance of course) 

Skylar 18mo sliding all by herself.

Texas Tornado kind of Christmas

It has been a crazy two weeks to say the least! I'll recap everything that happened as best I can but it all happened so quickly I hope I don't forget anything important. 

Dec. 16th - We had our 1st Christmas gathering with my dad's side of the family at my Grandparent's house. Always great to catch up with those we don't get to see very often. Skylar entertained everyone with her dancing skills when she discovered the singing snowman my Grandmother had on the coffee table and talked on her new toy phone. She enjoyed playing with all of her cousins too. Granddad read the true Christmas story and sang Christmas Carols. We even had a visit from Santa! Skylar was not too thrilled that he came but was very happy with the babydoll he brought her.

Skylar knows how to work her phone better than mommy does hers.

Santa giving Skylar her babydoll.
(Skylar is not pictured because she was clinging on to me for dear life)

Dec. 17th - We had Christmas lunch with my mom's side of the family. Again it was great to see all of my extended family. Skylar was a little bashful at first but towards the end she warmed up to several of my great aunts & uncles and let them hold her. We are so blessed with all of our family!

Dec. 20th - I received a phone call from my sister. "Mom went with me and the boys to the Gaylord Ice exhibit and was going down the ice slide and fell and broke her ankle pretty bad. She will most likely need surgery. We are on the way to the hospital" It took a minute to sink in. She said when the EMS came they wanted to take her to Baylor Grapevine. My mom asked them to take her to Dallas because it is much closer to home. They were just plain rude! One even shoved my sister in the face with his arm as she was trying to talk to my mom. Eventually they shut the doors in my sisters face and left WITHOUT telling her exactly where they were taking her. At this point she was headed to Baylor Grapevine and my step-dad Ray was headed to Baylor Dallas because no one knew where mom was being taken. Disaster! Come to find out they did bring her to Dallas but not to Baylor...to PARKLAND. Enough said. 

It's Dec. 21st by this time - Turns out she broke it in the front and back and it was going to need surgery. However upon releasing her to go home to wait for swelling to go down before surgery they discovered that the meds they gave her to set her leg were still had her pretty groggy so they admitted her for the night. My sister and I stayed all night with her to let Ray go home and get rest so that he could return in the morning. Because mom was being monitored so closely her bed was right across from the nurses station. It was an interesting night to say the least. I was filled with mixed emotions for the people that came through during the night. My heart ached for those who were most likely there because they had no insurance and were treated as such. People lined the halls and were forgotten about for hours. I think all to often the medical field can become a little too numb to the human side of things. Then again we had a guy beside moms cube that was yelling obscenities at anyone who was trying to help him and was threatening to throw things at the nurses station to get their attention. It was madness. Mom was released that afternoon to wait for surgery.

Dec. 22 - I slept. A lot.

Dec. 23rd - We finished our last minute Christmas shopping and baking. Santa didn't have time to put together Skylar's gifts so we were up until 4 a.m. working like little elves because Carl didn't realize that her kitchen had over 300 pieces. 

Dec. 24th - Due to scheduling this year we ended up having Christmas on the Eve so that we were not spread to thin on the actual day. 

Skylar's 2nd Christmas

Carl's parents came over to enjoy watching Skylar open her gifts. She woke up a little cranky and it took her a minute to see all of her toys. I tried uploading her video reaction but it is having issues at the moment. Here are a few pics from the day.

Princess Skylar discovers her castle

She is so animated when opening gifts

It was a wonderful morning! My heart overflowed with the joys of every emotion I thought I would experience seeing my own children on Christmas. God truly knows the desires of our hearts and I am forever thankful for every moment I have with her.

Later that day we went to Carl's parent's house for Christmas lunch. That evening we visited Carl's Gandparent's then went Christmas light looking. Once home we put on our matching pajamas and made cookies to leave out for Santa. The girls exchanged an early Christmas gift and all headed to bed in anticipation of Christmas morning. 

Madyson, Skylar and Me making cookies for Santa.

The girls on Christmas Eve

Girls will be girls.

Carl and Me

Our lil' family

Dec. 25th - It's CHRISTMAS!! The girls got up and ran into Grandma & Grandpa's room to tell them that Santa just left. And the fun began! Paper flew from one side of the room to the other. 

One happy girl!

She LOVED her purple sparkle boots so much she wanted them on right away. She kept them on most of the day.

Later that evening we headed to my mom's for Christmas. It was great that my mom was able to be home with us. Originally there was talk of doing her surgery on Christmas Eve but fortunately it was changed. We had a wonderful dinner and lots of laughs opening gifts.

Showing daddy a tool box. Trying to keep up with all of her boy cousins.

Dec. 26th - Our last and final event was Christmas at my dad's house. Sadly I don't have any pics but we had a great time. My dad is a phenomenal cook and made tons of BBQ. We visited, opened gifts and played some games. All the guys got helicopters and that was a huge hit. The girls on the other hand got a Coach clutch. I have never owned a name brand anything so I must say I was really excited and I love it!! It is the perfect size since I am still in the diaper bag stage with Skylar. Thanks Lisa :)

Dec. 27th - I was so honored that my sis-in-law Neely allowed me to tag along at her sonogram appointment to see the triplets. Our family is abundantly blessed! Have I mentioned how amazing our God is?? Well, he is! Afterwards we met up with the rest of the family at mom's surgery. After a 7 hr. wait they finally took her back and got her all fixed up.

Dec. 28th - I caught a little cold at some point so I slept a lot. Well, as much as you can with at toddler under toe.

Dec. 29th - More sleeping but felt a ton better. Visited my mom. She is a trooper!!

Dec. 30th - We had pajama day at home. 

Spending New Years Eve with my mom & Ray. Looking forward to playing games and tons of laughter as we ring in the New year. Hoping it will be nice and quiet 2012. Well, at least until my 3 nieces or nephews arrive :) can't wait!!