Checking out!

I cannot believe it's been an entire month since I blogged! Well, actually I can because I'm so friggin' busy. Let's get the basics out of the way first: yes, David is still on nights, yes I'm increasingly busy at work, yes my kids are still crazy! Cody is walking and I am in denial that I am planning his FIRST BIRTHDAY! But that is the next blog entry :)

We're moving!!!

You've heard the saying, "When one door closes, another opens." Lori was referred to us by some of our friends at Redeemer to keep Cody. She had been keeping children for over 25 years and we fell in love with her right away. However, she started having some health problems in November and notified us that she'd be moving to Ohio to live with her daughter and be closer to other family. Luckily we were able to find another daycare for Cody that is working out really well.

One day when David was picking up Cody from Lori's (Nah-Nah's) house he asked her what she and her daughter thought about letting us rent the house instead of trying to sell it. They loved the idea and quickly agreed on an amount. Lori's daughter Vickie has a home in Ohio that she rents so I like the fact that she knows what she is doing. We met again the next evening, went over a contract and we're very excited; we love NahNah's house.

It's 3 bedrooms, two full baths with a very large living room, two eating areas, a very nice garage, new stainless appliances and a wonderful backyard with covered patio and outdoor stereo system. David and I are also excited about our closets- yes, David is excited too. We each have our own walk in closets and Lori had custom organizers built in, shoe racks, a dresser unit in each, shelving, etc. Each closet is bigger than the one we've been sharing for three years.

Lori's husband passed away about four years ago and she has taken excellent care of the house. It was always spotless and she had ABC taking care of her lawn, etc. We're very excited to be moving out of our duplex. We've been very confused about where to look. We've mainly looked in the Round Rock, Cedar Park/Leander area because generally you can get more house for the money and those are school districts we'd consider. Lori and Vickie would love nothing more than to sell us the house but David and I want to spend some time there before we make that decision. The house is currently in Austin ISD and I am NOT ok with Emma and Cody going to school there one day. We have been extremely happy with RLS and plan to keep Emma there as long as we can but it's a reality that at some point our children will be in public schools so we have to be conscious of that when buying a home. But for now, I am thrilled to cut my commute in half. The house is much closer to work, my parents, and our church/Emma's school and is almost exactly the same distance for David.

We're very excited to have a place where we feel like we can have our friends and family over! We were hoping that our current landlord would consider letting us out of our lease early since he's been so happy with us as tenants. The property management company got in touch with him (he lives overseas) and he is refinancing the duplex and cannot have a vacancy during that process. Our lease is up March 14 but Lori and Vickie are allowing us to begin moving in February. We already know our future neighbors as they came over often to be with Lori and hang out w/the kids she kept- they are great as well!

The house is mostly laminate flooring (which will be a breeze to keep clean), tile in the kitchen and baths. The only carpet is in the living room and Vickie offered to replace it (it was blue) so we'll be selecting carpet and having it installed before we move in as well as painting. We've been having fun looking at paint, furniture and fixtures. We're going to be very busy the next few months getting packed, having both of the kid's birthdays, hopefully having a garage sale (or two), working on the house and moving. But we can't wait to be settled and have everyone over!

**UPDATE**I found out by talking to our future neighbor that our street is in PISD and goes to Connally HS. I'm MUCH happier about this prospect even though we'd probably want to move before Emma goes to HS in 10years, but we'll see. Wahoo!

Snip Toes and Pearls

Yesterday was a full day of Battle4ACure. Emma's Nana and Graddad picked her up for their weekly Saturday morning breakfast date and took her to choir rehearsal for the Redeemer Children's Christmas program. Shortly after 8AM Daddy, Cody and I were in the car headed to Leander for our Christmas Hope Box Wrapping party.

The Battle4ACure crew along with volunteers gathered at the Leander VFW. Amanda made a few announcements and we prayed over the toys. A lot of love went into those boxes! Everyone chose a paper with the name and information of the child/children they would be choosing gifts for. Amanda had the toys/gifts organized into piles according to age, gender etc. It was challenging at first trying to juggle keeping up with Cody, but he was well behaved and it was smooth sailing once he fell asleep in his stroller. There's no telling how many presents we wrapped. David and I shared a table and mainly chose families with multiple siblings. I follow most of these "fighters" on their caringbridge websites so it was very special to be able to choose toys to send to them and their siblings. It was a very long day, but worth every minute. In the end, all the toys were wrapped and are in boxes ready to ship. Thankfully, Amanda's Mom is giving them all a "once over" checking addresses, etc. for us and taking them to the post office on Monday! We can't wait to see pictures of the children receiving their gifts.

Huge thanks to everyone who helped make this possible. Especially one of my girlfriends from High School, Lindsey Redden Cram who not only donated two huge bags full of gifts, but also brought her family to help us wrap yesterday! It means a lot to have support of my friends.

We scheduled the wrapping party from 10AM-Noon, but we didn't leave until 2:30PM. After a quick bite to eat, diaper bag re-stock, we picked Emma up and took the children to my parents house. David and I headed to Abiding Love Lutheran Church in S. Austin. Amanda, her Mom, David and I volunteered at a parent's night out hosted by another local pediatric cancer non-profit, Garrett'sKidStrong. I believe this was their 5th annual party where children w/cancer, and those who have kicked cancer's butt and their siblings come to play, eat pizza, make crafts, and receive gifts from Santa while their parents enjoy a date night, get Christmas shopping done etc.

A few weeks ago David and I were in the car and he mentioned dressing up like Santa to deliver gifts to kids w/cancer. I thought that was incredibly sweet of him and mentioned it to Amanda. As it turns out she had just been in touch w/Colleen the founder of Garrett'sKidStrong and their Santa from previous years had just retired. :) It was a wonderful evening and it was so inspiring to meet so many children who fought cancer and won! As you can imagine, we came home and crashed (after picking up our own children.)

This morning during Sunday School Emma had rehearsal again for the Christmas program. We enjoyed a particularly wonderful worship service at Redeemer. The Kylan Kaye band led the service along with our HS youth director Matt. The band was amazing and it was so much fun to experience some of that ENERGY I remember from HS Youth. During the service, those who wanted to went forward and wrote on posters covering the altar w/prayers. I prayed for all those enduring cancer, guidance for Battle4ACure and the amazing teachers and ministry team at Redeemer.

This afternoon we're relaxing at home. After church and lunch we watched a "Flintstone Christmas" while I folded laundry and Cody napped in David's arms. Tonight we're going to Bee Cave to deliver a huge box of gifts to one of David's co-worker's whose son was recently diagnosed w/Leukemia. Then we're going to look at Christmas lights on the drive home.

PS- I wore snip toe boots and pearls to church today, hence the blog title.

Cody: 9-10months

"What's he doing?" Most common phrase in our household. If it's quiet, he's "into" something. If he's squealing w/glee, he's into something. Cody is the fastest crawler we've ever seen! Before he does something he knows he's not supposed to, he looks around to see if anyone is watching. Cody is strong, smart and stubborn; a dangerous combination. But nothing David and I can't handle...right?

Cody is now up to taking 5 steps at a time. If he's headed on a mission though, he crawls to get there faster. He loves to play w/his Sissy. He reaches for her, walks to her and laughs hysterically just by looking at her. They are wonderful playmates and I'm so thankful for this. The only positive that comes from Daddy being away at work is the precious time the children and I have together.

We've been desperately trying to use up the baby food in the pantry and we have just about achieved this. Cody has 8 teeth, four on top and four on the bottom and he wants to eat what we are eating. At Thanksgiving Cody ate sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, broccoli rice casserole, fruit salad and rolls. At home he has had a tiny piece of hamburger meat and Sissy shared a piece of pizza crust. Cody loves macaroni and cheese, pancakes, eggs, any and all fruit and his favorite veggie is peas. But he will eat anything!

Cody has energy like none-other, I've just never experienced this level of go-go-go before. It's a blast but very tiring. Cody was sick for 4-5 days around Thanksgiving with a no-fun virus. Fevers, rash and little to no sleep was a rough combination for Mom with Dad working a lot. But we made it through and now have our happy little firecracker back. This week Cody started a new daycare. Deb's Daycare was in business for 21 years and recently closed their doors to the economy and skyrocketing overhead costs. So Deb is keeping 4 children out of her home and has retained the help of one of her employees. The set up in her home is excellent and we can tell Cody is having a great time and being well-cared for. We are so thankful we found Deb and truly feel like Cody is safe and happy. I knew it would all work out but needless to say two weeks notice to find new childcare at the holidays was more stress than we could deal with!

Cody is wearing 18 months, size 3 diapers and drinks 4-5 6oz. bottles a day. He LOVES his sippy cup and drinks water, apple juice, white grape juice, pear juice etc. Daddy sneaks him some tea through a straw sometimes. Cody is CHEWING like crazy and now I understand the term "ankle biter." He is our pride and joy and I cannot believe it has already been 10 months.

random acts

This morning I sat down at my computer feeling like super-mom because I got the children where they needed to be on time with smiles on their faces and even had time to grab breakfast for myself! I opened my email to find one with "Confidential: Bahavior Notice for Emma Morrow" in the subject line from the principal at Redeemer. Honestly my reaction was "oh, s$*#". But he was writing to inform me that Emma held the door open for a class headed out to the playground without asking. He said "I gave her a high-five, make sure you give her an extra hug." Proud Mama. Emma dug through her piggy bank the other night and took out over $5 to donate to ther Kindergarten Christmas service project. The three Kinder classes are in competition with each other to raise the most money for Partnerships for Children- a local non-profit that provides critical resources to abused or neglected children in our community who are in the care of Child Protective Services. State funding does not provide a budget which includes essential items such a toiletries, clothes and school supplies, let alone toys.

I e-mailed Emma's teacher and thanked her for what they are doing. I LOVE that Emma is in an environment that is promoting GIVING, SHARING and LOVE. And I'm so proud of Emma and her sweet soul. She is always coloring pictures or picking out toys for "the cancer kids." :)

Everything else is going really well. Daddy remains on the night shift which is of course very hard on all of us but we continue to make the most of our time together. I have been busy with work and overwhelmed with ideas and planning for Battle4ACure. This Saturday is our big wrapping party and then Amanda and I will get all of the boxes shipped to our fighters so they can get on with Christmas! Lots of sad news for lots of our cancer families; it's heartbreaking and it's difficult to deal with the fact that not everyone cares about it or what we're...I'm...trying to do. Max lost his battle on Thanksgiving, Steven is terminal and Caden's parent's lost their baby. Such terrible, terrible news. We have to hand it over to God, His plan is all that matters.

I'm thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving, thankful that David was off. I went Black Friday shopping with Amanda, Mariesha and MamaDena for our cancer kids but also got a lot checked off of my shopping list. Whoo hoo for progress! I'm done with Emma but usually that doesn't stop me. The tree is up. Daddy and I put it up, Emma put on the ornaments, and I rearranged them when she went to bed :) Cody is in awe of the lights and pretty sparkly things. After Christmas last year Emma requested a larger tree and informed me that she would prefer pink, not purple. Daddy picked her up a big, pink tree this week and I bought some new ornaments for her. Pretty awesome nightlight if you ask me!

Weekend Update

Gosh it makes me sad that I don't have time to blog more often. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a LOT to say :)

The children are alright. Things are crazy, but what else is new? David is still working 6PM-6AM which means the kids go 2 days straight without seeing him. Daddy is doing his best to take Cody to daycare at least two days a week so that they have some male-bonding time. I enjoy having the kids all to myself but it is definitely tiring and I am already counting down the day that David switches back to days. But as well all know in the police-world, that can change at any moment. But this weekend, David was off so we made the best of it.

Luckily, we have an amazing support system and this weekend David and I snuck out for a movie. My parents came over after church and lunch and David and I drove to Bee Cave to see Jackass 3. We've had a gift card/concession pass for a few months now but the movies have been really lame (and still pretty much are). But we were craving some laughs...and we did. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Saturday (the day before the movie date) Emma had breakfast w/her Nana and Granddad and David and I chilled at home w/Cody. That afternoon we had a photoshoot with our friend Becky. We met Becky and her daughter Rachael in Georgetown at Blue Hole park to take some family pictures. I can't wait to see them! We originally planned to go to dinner together at Dos Salsas. I freaking love that place! David introduced me to it when he worked for WilCo and I'd go out to Georgetown to have lunch with him. But this night there was a crazy line out the door. Rachael and Becky needed to come into Austin anyway so we ended up at the cheesecake factory. Mmm. What a treat!

Memorable Monday

Too many adorable and memorable things have happened in the last 2.5 hours so it's time for a blog! On the way home from school today Emma was singing "Awesome God" with all her little heart. She gets to the grand finale..."Our God is...an...awesooooome Goddddddd!" and Cody lets out the biggest, gnarliest GFROPORBSSAAHHH!!! loud growl. I thought it was pretty hilarious but maybe you had to be there.

This afternoon my Dad took Emma to her dentist's office after he picked her up from school. Last week we got the cutest letter in the mail from her dentist with a story about how the Tooth Fairy is always very depressed this time of year because children eat too much candy and their teeth suffer the consequences. So they came up with a win-win and invited the children to bring in all of their left over halloween candy (after they had picked out a few favorites) and trade it in. For every pound of candy the kids would receive $2 and the dentist's office would make a $5 donation to the Capital Area Food Bank. So yeah, Emma got $16 dollars!!! She treated she and pawpaw to a smoothie and had $11 left over. When we got home we picked up Daddy and headed over to Toys R Us. I've been wanting to get a specific walker for Cody and needed to look at gift ideas for the children for Christmas. Emma bought a barbie living room set with her left over $11 and we had fun trying out toys with the children. This shopping trip accomplished one other thing; we picked up the VTech Sit-t0-Stand Activity Walker that I've had my eye on.

We came home, and opened it right up hoping that it would entertain Cody while we ate our Schlotzsky's real quick. Cody immediately took three steps! It was awesome! So glad Daddy was home to see. It was a real treat for all of us. Even Sissy was stoked about it!

Just Another Day in Paradise

Do I ever start a blog w/something other than "Life has been crazy lately." That's what it feels like! Things have been so fast and we have been busy. I cannot believe in a week's time it will be November! I'm pretty frustrated w/my lack of Christmas gifts stashed away.

David switched to the night shift a couple of weeks ago. That means that instead of working 6AM-6PM, he's working 6PM-6AM. It sucks. I hate it. David hates it. The kids definitely know something is up. So far, so good though. The kids really love playing with each other and big sister Emma is a life saver! Twice now she has fed Cody his baby food. Granted, it is not a "tidy" job, but she gets him fed if I have my hands full at the stove. I usually do well for the first few weeks of David working nights. I enjoy a little down time (like right now) after the children go to sleep, and I get caught up on all my girly shows. I miss David like crazy though and will never be happy about him working retarded shifts. Speaking of which, David had an interview yesterday with the Travis Co. Constable's office for a position that would be M-F 8-5; help us pray that they offer him the position. What a blessing that would be!

Work is going really well for me. As of October I have been with RWH&A for five years. I've gone from Administrative Assistant to Office Manager. I've transitioned from answering the phones and data entry to Accounts Receivable/Accounts Payable manager, in charge of billing clients and office financials, technical report/specification creation with graphics design and mapping thrown in for fun. I feel blessed to be where I'm at, have the support of my co-workers and bosses...the sky's the limit.

Now for my other "job". I'm absolutely in love with my newfound passion for Battle4aCure. Amanda and I particpated in the recent Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Light the Night" walk. It was beautiful. It was at Mueller park and the sky was literally lit up with all of the balloons. The walk raised over $550,000 for cancer research. The walk gave Amanda and I a chance to really talk and I'm so excited to see where B4AC is going and am thrilled to watch it grow and become everything Amanda dreamed of. Following the stories of these children and their family is amazing. Humbling. Healing. On October 30th at club Prague in downtown Austin 50% of the $10 cover will be donated to Battle4aCure achieving their non-profit status! I can't wait to see all the amazing doors that will open. Come out, dress up, maybe even win the $100 costume contest! On Nov. 13th we're having a garage sale to raise funds to ship all of the Christmas Hope Boxes that B4AC will be sending out to all the little fighters we know. Got stuff? Let me know; we'd love to sell it! Also if you'd like to "adopt" a little fighter and send them a christmas gift, check out the website for more information on Kimberly's Hope.

Cody and Emma are doing great. I'm so proud of Emma. Yet it makes me sad to see how much she's grown and matured. She started daisy girl scouts. Two kindergarten mom's at RLS decided to start a troop and we're loving it so far. I have very fond memories of girl scouts and am excited for Emma to experience it as well. Last week Emma was the prayer leader in her classroom and she told me she remembered to pray for "all of the sick children". I love her! She is so wonderful with Cody. His face just lights up at the very sight of her and she finds new ways everyday to make him giggle. We were at a restaurant the other evening and she stepped under the table and came out the other side to play peek-a-boo with Cody. His laugh was amazing. He just tilted his head back and let out a LAUGH. I love these kids!

Cody will eat just about anything that gets near him. He is standing for longer and longer at a time and we have seen him take one step many times. Why can't they just stay little?

8 months

Time is flying and I want it to just slow down! I'm amazed at how much and how fast Cody is growing! It must be all this food he is eating! I can't wait to get him to his 9-month well check and see how much he weighs. He is such a chunk that I don't carry him in his carseat anymore. Since it has drastically cooled down, it's safe to leave his carseat in the car and just carry him into daycare. Or if Daddy is going to pick him up, I carry the carseat in separately.

Cody has had table food on more than one occasion. He has had macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, soft bread and of course fruit. He loves veggie puffs and is still doing well w/baby food- mostly stage 3 and we've found some meat ones that are tolerable for us all. He has about four bottles a day that are 6.5 oz. His reflux is much better, but he still spits up from time to time.

Drool...lots of drool! Cody still has 7 teeth, four on top and three on the bottom. He chews on everything so we're just waiting to see which tooth pops up next.

Cody is pulling up and has begun standing. His "nah-nah" at daycare has seen him take a step twice now. It is so bizarre to see such a short baby standing up. Stinker!

Cody is such a happy baby- I love it! He giggles, laughs out loud, hollers, makes sweet, soft noises. My favorite are his interactions w/his Sissy; I love that she initiates it. She still goes into his room if she hears him waking. She plays w/him in the backseat while we're in the car, she brings him toys, she's even fed him his baby food twice now. How much better can it get?

Faith, Hope and Love

I'm so happy I could just cry. One of the kiddo's who's battle w/cancer I've been following just got great news. He was accepted into a program at a hospital in Washington that will give him his treatments for FREE (and pay for travel, etc. for he and his mom.) Joshua is 7 years old and lives just down the road from us in Cedar Park. Joshua has a VERY rare bone marrow disease and because it is so rare there are no FDA-approved drugs to ease his pain. Therefore, the insurance company will not pay for the medicine he needs. Can you imagine trying to find $4,000 to keep your child from being in pain? Poor baby is always in pain and his Mommy and Daddy have their hands full with his three brothers!
Handsome Joshua!

Joshua's Caringbridge page: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joshuakyleedmondson/mystory

Follow his story on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Support-Joshua/152737624750411

I've also been closely following baby Holden. Holden was born exactly one week before Cody and was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was 6 months old.
Tell me this baby isn't a doll! He reminds me so much of Cody and I hate that this sweet little fellow has to spend so much of his time in a hospital. BUT, I am thankful for his insightful pediatrician because thanks to him, Holden is alive today! And thankful to the wonderful staff who bring joy and comfort to he and his family.

Even though I have never met them, these children mean so much to me. I love them already. Maybe it's because I am a mother. I don't know but I pray for them throughout the day. I pray that God's plan for them is a healing plan. I thank Him for introducing me to some amazing people and putting them in my path so that I can pray.

There are many things in my life I wish I could change or things I wish I had. But especially the last few months, I worry A LOT LESS because I've realized, I HAVE IT ALL! But these beautiful children and their families who struggle on a daily basis deserve our help. If you want to follow their stories on Facebook, or learn more, or want to get involved in any form or fashion, please request to be friends with Battle4acure on Facebook or visit: www.battle4acure.com

A Good Day

Since I took last Friday off for my birthday, we celebrated in the office today. One of my sweet co-worker's, Dennis brought me the most beautiful bouquet of stargazer lilies in a fantastic vase! Everyone was excited because they know every year I have cheesecake for my birthday. This year was no different. Classic cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory with cherries. Mmmm! The guys enjoyed their beer and cheesecake before it was time for Quake. I love Fridays :)

School is going well for Emma. My Dad is picking her up from school everyday and I scoop her up on our way to pick up little brother. Cody is doing amazing (I'll do another entry for his 8mos update.)

David is working his tail off. What is new about that though?! For the last month he has averaged one day off per week and works about 55hrs a week. I am so thankful for these last couple of months that he has been on "days". Having him home at night is such a blessing. Cody is all about Daddy. He lights up when he walks in the door. Then the wrestling commences. Unless Cody is already sleepy, then they just snuggle. Emma and I use this time to get her bath done and usually homework as well. We read every night. She has sight word flashcards as well as a sight word book and regular reading materials. Whew- Kindergarten is go-go-go! We're gearing up for Harvest Festival, Marathon Kids, her first Girl Scout 'Fall Sale' etc etc etc.

I'm feeling pretty accomplished because we have already booked Emma's birthday party! The venue was her idea and was completely out of the box. I'm thrilled. The theme is set and that's one less thing for me to worry about! I have a theme for Cody's but no venue yet. I wish we had more room. Oh well, we may just have to cram in!