Christmas Card 2010

As many of you know, I have been pretty sick this pregnancy...I have never had any issues with any of the others, but this one has thrown me for a loop...

To make a very long story short...my thyroid is very low and not working at full capacity...many people suffer with hypothyroidism, so I know I am not alone in this...it took 20 weeks of crappy feeling to finally diagnose...then, I started the generic form of Synthroid, and after 5 days I got worse...worse as in: headaches not being touched by my prescription headache meds, fever, hot flashes, excessive sweating, insomnia, lack of appetite, and more tired than I thought I could be. So bad at times, that I felt like a hermit...never leaving the house in fear I would have these symptoms in public.

Finally on Sunday, after suffering and barely getting out of bed most days, I called my doctor. She quickly changed my prescription to the real Synthroid and gave me half the dosage- seems I was over medicated and needed less and the real meds instead. I started that today...

So, instead of being the typical "me" and being "superwoman", I have been much less...and it has taken it's toll...thankfully I have an amazing husband who has done nearly everything I can't do, and my children who are so loving and forgiving of all I can't do too. I have had a hard time dealing with not being able to take care of everything and being that it is around the holidays, has made it worse. I am very hopeful that in a few days I will be better and good for the holidays and from here on out. I will be on this medication for the rest of my life, so I will be happy to get the right dosage so I don't have this type of reaction again.

That being said...I didn't get to send out as many Christmas cards as I normally do or have hoped to do. So, I am posting it here as well. Our love goes out to you this Holiday season. I hope to do more next year and in the upcoming months as well.


By the way, we have chosen to name our new little gem Elaina Blake... at least I can cross that off my to do list!! Thanks for all the suggestions on naming her- it was such a tough decision. We are very happy with it and look forward to seeing her in April!

New and Improved...

The poor kid will actually be able to see now!! He is thrilled- and is loving them...so far! He even got a cool blue case for them- he will probably not sleep well tonight, just dying to wear them in the morning! Isn't he too cute?!
Amazing what a couple hundred dollars will do!

Light Up the Night

Over Thanksgiving break, we took the fam, along with the big fam to the zoo lights. My new camera was super fun in getting good shots- though I still need lots of help when it comes to all it's features. (On a side note, Dana ordered me a camera bag this week, so that will be much nicer than carrying it solo.) It was freezing, of course, but we had a good time, nonetheless.

I know it's hard to see how fat I am...this coat barely buttons!

We plan to go again, so we can see more lights...as you can see, we went with so many people, that it made it hard to go through fast and see it all. We loved it, though. Next time, we have to get hot chocolate...

Thanksgiving 2010

We were blessed this year to have another wonderful Thanksgiving!! Dana's mom and brother flew in from the West and were able to spend a few days with us prior to the holiday, and then, after stuffing ourselves at my parents, we got to spend the evening with all of Dana's siblings and nieces and nephews! It couldn't have been a better holiday! Here are some highlight pics:

Oh how they love their Uncle Chris!

Gee Gee and her babies all grown up!

Alex and Isaac share birthday cake!

Leah loves Evey!

Charlie's Angels...

All the crazy grandkids!!

Aunt Esther passes out stockings filled with Christmas gifts!

Family is awesome! Love that we got this time to be together with those we love.

It's Official...

Now we need to pick a name for this angel....
Any ideas?!
The winning name will get a prize- from me!!
Here's our only request for suggestions:
Either her first name or middle name has to be Blake.
We are open to any variations....HELP!!

Pic of the Week #4

Good jeans (thanks, Lisa) make life better....but bigger and bigger is what is happening- at least I got a great haircut! ha ha

Terrific Tuesday #6 (Cool Caterpillars)

It seems that everywhere we look, we see these amazing little creatures....we have found 4 caterpillars this fall! Leah had found and "rescued", later killing (on accident) 2 of them, and then when Alex and I were taking his picture, found this one. We brought him home, but instead of putting him in a jar, we put him in a small tree in our yard. But first I snapped these- and man, do I love this camera! I haven't even learned a fraction of it's features, but just being able to snap these up-close, is so nice!

Pic of the Week #3

I can't just post these without a disclaimer for my adorable 10 year old son:

Celeste LOVES footed jammies- she has one pair that are getting too small-so I asked my mom to get her a new pair for her birthday.

She calls from Target and says, "are you sure you want the 6?" I say, "Yes, she is getting too big for 4/5, so go ahead and get the next size up."

She is insistent that they will be far too big. I disagree and tell her that she will be fine if they are a little too big- buy them in the 6 and they will be great.
So, she does as I ask, and this is the size 6. When Celeste opened them and held them up- we all gasped and I felt awful that I insisted that she get the 6.

Sean quips quickly and dares Alex to put them on for a dollar-

a dollar...

my son, carefully saving his money for whatever, leaves the room with them in his hand.
He appears out of nowhere...
I snapped the top shot as fast as I could, holding back the tears of laughter.
Everyone is dying at this point, and Sean nearly wets himself.
He gladly hands him the dollar and
I exchanged the jammies for the 4/5. They are still too big....

Priceless.

And it goes on and on and on...

We finally finished celebrating Celeste's birthday! We had a bonfire cookout dinner at my parents house with Sean and Steph and their girls- it was super fun! It was kind of cool outside, so I stayed in and sipped my soup and hot chocolate, only slipping out to take a few snapshots!

Then it was time for cake and presents...again! What a lucky girl! She got everything she asked for, and MORE! She is super happy and we are glad it is all over!! ha haYesterday, everyone was out of school, so we made it a family day and went a lot of places, including taking Celeste out to lunch for her birthday- and where do you suppose she picked?! Bob Evans, of course! She ate every single bite of her french toast- and even a roll! She drank all her soda and was very happy. Today she took in treats to her class to share for her birthday too- she made a crown and got a card from her teachers- I am telling you- she is a lucky little 5 year old! She made out big time!

This is what 5 looks like:

5 years ago today, this angel joined our family, completing it, or so we thought! We could not love her more than we do- she is one special little girl and we are forever grateful she blesses us in our family each and every day.
When I put her to bed last night, I said, "goodnight 4 year old"- and she said, "mom, when I wake up, will you be here to say, Happy Birthday my 5 year old?!!" She is so fun! Our family would not be the same without her- she is just sweet, sweet, sweet.
We had a fun birthday party with her and my nephew Julian on Saturday- here are a few snapshots of that fun event:
I got her this little birthday button- she insisted on wearing it Saturday, Sunday and even today on her actual birthday! How big is 5? Well, this is my 5 year old!!

I think we'll keep her.

Happy 5th Birthday, Celeste Avery!