We are local celebrities!

That’s right my friends, Hannah and I were front page on in the Big Brothers Big Sisters newsletter and that is a BIG DEAL to one special little girl. We both signed a copy (you can see her signature at the top above the yellow part but mine was cut off when I scanned it in, couldn’t crack the code on that one, sorry) of the front page and have it in a frame in the room Hannah sleeps in at our house. She has told EVERYONE that we see. I’m talking the cashier at Publix, her new teacher, everyone. Its funny because she assumes they have all read it and recognize us and thankfully every single person has been such a great sport about it and make her feel even more special. Some have even asked her for her autograph on random pieces of paper.

Hannah and I also celebrated our anniversary a few months ago, right before she left for the summer. We made it extra special since we knew we would be apart for a while and drug the celebration out all weekend. The BBBS program encourages us to make a big deal of these and so we always have a cake with candles, something super fun to do, and try to make gifts for each other. My wonderfully talented and amazing friend Annie sewed us some gorgeous matching aprons and I honestly don’t think the hearing in my right ear has fully recovered still from the squeals that filled the house when Hannah opened the gift. She says that hers is the “little sister” one and mine is the “big sister” one and boy have we have put them to good use. She LOVES to bake, I mean LOVES LOVES LOVES to bake when she is here so I couldn’t think of a more appropriate gift. The aprons are so fancy that they are double sided, we can reverse them and decide which to wear so she loves making that big choice. She has also been known to declare it is time to switch them over, right in the middle of a massive cooking endeavor which is not always convenient but I am so glad the girl loves her apron.

Annie, we can’t tell you thank you enough! They are so perfect and made Hannah feel so special. This is the first thing she has ever had with her name embroidered and it totally makes her feel like a princess, which makes me oh so happy!

 

 

Calling All Prayer Warriors!

 

Hello bloggy buddies, I am posting a major prayer request and ask you to all pray daily if you are not already for our friend Julie Locquiao (pronounced Low-key-ow) that we have been praying for. The above pic was one I took at Peirce’s bday party, she is the one in the pretty red flowered dress. Mrs. Julie is my friend Audra’s mom who has been battling lung cancer. I know most of you have already been praying but as I mentioned to many of you in an email last week she had some scans done to monitor the progress made with the new chemo treatment. The MRI results are not in yet but the CT scans were back yesterday. As much as it pains me to write this there are 14 new spots of cancer on her skull. She will need to get 15 radiation treatments starting today and will then begin the chemo again after the 15 days of radiation are done. Her labs are running low, and she needs a blood transfusion next week. This is obviously not the news everyone was hoping for.

On top of it all Audra’s dad was ill and in the hospital and thankfully is now home and doing better and her 1 year old son was also ill with a stomach bug. It is so hard to see a family we love so much go through this very difficult time. I know the best thing we can do for them is to pray so I ask you to please join us. I have copied a portion from Audra’s update to her mom’s Caring Bridge site for you. If you want to join to get email updates yourself regarding Ms. Julie’s progress you can do so here http://caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do  or go to caringbridge.org and enter julielocquiao

From Audra:

Please pray for my sweet Mom as she begins radiation on her head tomorrow. Please pray that the side effects will not be harsh on her. Please pray that the treatment will be successful and get rid of the cancer activity. Please pray that the cancer won't grow anymore while Mom is on break from chemo. Please pray that it is going away. Please pray that the MRI results will give more encouraging results. Please pray that Mom's labs will get better. Please pray for complete healing. Please pray that Mom will be blessed with many more healthy and happy years to get kisses from her Grandbabies.

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school here and we had some very excited kiddos! Our little gang of kids is back from visiting their mom for the summer so the last week was spent going to orientation/open house with them at the “big” school as Sammy calls it and also at Sammy’s preschool. Mom and Richard came to Sammy’s orientation and got to see his new big boy class and meet his teachers and Sammy was very excited to show them his “gool” (school).

This transition to his new class was totally harder on me then him.There is no trace of baby left at all and that is so hard. They don’t use sippy cups, they use the potty, have the stop light with clothes pins that move up from green to yellow then red if poor choices are made during the day, and they have a job chart. He is so excited about being a “helper” to his teachers and is hoping his little heart out to get to sweep and to push in chairs. He was also happy that his spot on the circle time rug is to sit on the red teddy bear, which he loved from the moment he spotted it. He will go to music class, library, gym, and chapel each week, which we love.

I had expected a little difficulty when I dropped him off, I doubted tears but expected at least a hesitant glance back in my direction but nope. Apparently he is all grown up and has no need for his momma anymore. Sigh. He walked right in and put his stuff in his cubby, washed his hands, then joined the class for circle time, never even looking back. I wanted to steal a hug & kiss but they had already started singing the new friend song and were on his name. As I left I heard little voices singing “Welcome to Sammy, Sammy, Sammy…..” while they clapped their hands and patted their legs to the rhythm. I took one last peek through the window in the door and saw him beaming. I walked away with tears in my throat feeling very silly. It is GOOD he adjusted so well and was so excited, drop off went better than expected so my reaction surprised me!

I am happy to report he had a great first day, they said he was kind and made good choices. He asked if he could “go ride a big cow” as his reward. Silly boy! Although cow riding was not on the agenda we did pick up the Flores gang and headed off for our First Day of School Ice Cream celebration. This is something I started with Hannah when she started kindergarten and we have since incorporated Sammy and the whole crew into it. They look forward to it and I love hearing their stories from the first day. Krista and Samantha are both in eighth grade now and have one of my friends (Mrs. Hardy!) for a teacher. Mark and Hannah are both in third grade and their teachers seemed great as well. Mark’s teacher was pretty young and I pray that Mark doesn’t walk all over her. We suggested he sit in the front row so hopefully she will move him quickly as his seat is in the rear right now. Yikes. They all had good days and funny stories to tell and we had a fun time hanging out. Please keep them in prayer as they adjust to being home again.

My big two year old heading to his first day in the big boy class

Aww, he got a little scared walking in the door but the big gator welcoming him made it all better instantly.

Go Gators!!!

Some of his buddies in the class

Here he said “take picture show Gwammy my cubby”, so this one is for you Grammy!

In true Sammy fashion he asked for a picture with the blue police truck he has become so fond of

He found his friend Holly’s name on the door

Ice Cream Celebration!! Everyone had a great first day of school!!! This is our kick off to a GOOD school year!!!

How you can help little Isaac and his family..

As most of you reading this know, Sam and I have been asking for a lot of prayer for the Shirey family as they face their new baby boy's upcoming surgery on Oct 6th. I have posted the following from Andrea's blog below where she mentions a list of prayer requests. Will you please pray for this family we love so very much? Isaac is the sweet baby that I actually got to SEE delivered, that's right, I went down to be with Andrea during the birth and it was so amazing. You can read about his grand entrance here.

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Copied from The Shirey Family blog at : http://shirey-family.blogspot.com

Below is a list of specific prayer requests for Isaac (and us) as we make this journey through his surgery to correct his metopic craniosynostosis. We would be so grateful if you would commit to lift these before our God as often as they come to mind. I will update the list as we move forward with new requests and with answered prayers!

You can bookmark this post for future reference so you can check back to see updates and praises. Also, I've created the blog button to the right which will take you directly to this post. You can also copy and paste that button and place it on your own blog! If you need help figuring out how to do that, please let me know!

Thank you so much!

Please pray for...

• Isaac to be in good health from now up until the surgery. Pray that there would be no intracranial pressure and no developmental delays due to the craniosynostosis
• The surgeons - Dr. Ramon Ruiz and Dr. Greg Olavarria - that they would perform to their highest abilities and make the best decisions possible during the surgery
• The hospital staff and all involved in the surgery and post-op stay - for nice nurses, for sound medical decisions, for precision in medication dosing, and every part of his hospital stay
• The recovery - that it would be quick and as painless as possible. For minimal swelling and no complications with fevers, nausea, or other side effects
• Isaac to be completely healed from this one surgery and have no lasting effects of the condition and no need for any follow-up procedures
• Traveling mercies for our families and friends who will travel to be with us and Isaac during the surgery and recovery
• Financial provision as we bear the cost of the surgery, for quick payments from the insurance companies and for no problems with negotiating insurance coverages
• Andrea's work schedule to be worked out so she can have the week of surgery off (and get paid) and work from home during Isaac's recovery
• Emotional strength for Scott & I as we prepare to see Isaac through this time
• Understanding and comfort for Connor as he sees his brother in pain and as he deals in his own 4-year old way with this journey and to protect his little heart from any sadness or fear
• Faith in God that NO MATTER WHAT we trust him in ALL things regardless of the surgery outcome
• The opportunity to witness to others between now and the surgery and in the hospital. That God will place people in our path that need the hope of Christ and give us the boldness to share with them
• God to be glorified in every single step of this process

Never put a rock in your nose

This is Sammy’s best life advice he has at the moment, he seems to tell almost everyone we hang out with these days. It is like his own little public service announcement for his fellow preschoolers.

We had a scary night in the ER a couple months ago with Sammy. I’ve been so busy I hadn’t had a chance to blog about it but wanted to be sure we never forget that night and the lessons learned. Gloria was keeping him at her house while I got some work done and she called to say I should come get him. He had put a rock in his nose and she was worried. When I got there however, he was sound asleep and looked as peaceful as could be. I used a flashlight to look up his nostril while he slept and I honestly didn’t believe Gloria, I couldn’t see a rock at all. I am beyond thankful my friend Jill and her girls happened to be visiting Gloria while I was there as she played such huge role in me staying calm and not freaking out. I let him sleep for a while until Jill’s husband who is a pediatrician advised we wake him and get it out since the nostril would swell. Yikes. I tried several times to blow it out by putting my mouth over his as advised but it wouldn’t budge and I am pretty sure my child thought I was actually trying to eat him. He was terrified every time my mouth came towards him! The afterhours clinic told us to bring him in a soon as we could and that is when the roller coaster ride began.

We saw 4 doctors, all of who laughed with us about it and found the humor in the situation. As each one held my scared little boy down (with the help of several nurses) and tried repeatedly to get the rock out we all realized it was not going to budge and was not quite the humorous situation we all thought it was. They decided to call a pediatric ear nose and throat specialist to meet us at the ER and if he couldn’t get it out they would surgically remove it at 8 am the next morning. WOW. I could not believe how serious things had gotten so quickly!

The ER doctors were so wonderful with Sammy. They found out he is a huge Lightening McQueen fan and put him in the room with all of his favorite cars on the wall. There was also a little girl a few months older than Sammy who had stuck 2 beads in her ear, so she was called “Bead in Ear” and Sammy was labeled “Rock in Nose”, which I found hillarious. I will spare the gory details but we basically had one of the worst nights of our lives. In hindsight we would have been much better off with the surgery. At least then he would have not felt the pain and fear. They were able to remove the rock but it took a nurse holding Sammy’s head, one to hold his arms, one his legs, and one that held him on her lap in a bear hug type position.  The ENT and an ER pediatrician worked for a good 25 min on the rock. There are no words to describe how horrible it was to see my baby screaming like I have never heard before with so much blood. He had past the crying point and was screaming and shaking, it was so bad I had to leave for a few min since it made me sick. I felt so helpless. Gloria and I prayed the whole time, while Sam stood next to our baby and tried his best to comfort and encourage Sammy. It was so scary but thankfully the rock came out and the entire kid area of the ER cheered and were giving high fives.

I don’t know if I was more happy the day he was born or the moment that ginormous rock came out, it was such a feeling of relief. He had a pretty bloody nose for a few days after and he had nightmares for a solid two weeks after, poor baby. In fact, the incident still works its way into his play times, he reenacts it when he is pretending with his cars which is a normal way of processing it all in his little mind. It was quite the ordeal but it made me so thankful that we were only there for a rock and nothing more serious. I am so thankful that I have a healthy child and we do not have to frequent hospitals. This experience has made me thankful on a daily basis that he has no serious health conditions.

Thank you to all of you who prayed us through that awful night and for all of the encouraging text messages while we were there!

Here is a picture with him, his rock, and his stickers. It was taken the next morning so hopefully the bloody nose is not too yucky for you. He was so proud and I wanted to capture the moment.

The rock is in the container, I was hoping to show how big it was but it didn’t come out.

He got two cool stickers about being a tough guy and a brave boy!That he was!

Uncles times Two!

Sammy was in uncle heaven when Caleb came into Jax for the weekend and we all headed over to his parents house to visit him. He go to hang out with both his Uncle Brennan AND his Uncle Crumb (what he calls Caleb) at the same time. Caleb was Sam’s best man in our wedding, they have been best buddies since they were boys and have gone through so much together. Caleb moved to Japan about 7 years ago to teach English and while there he fell madly in love with his now wife, Sayuri. We have loved getting to know her and are thrilled that the two of them found each other. I love watching them interact as they speak a mix of Japanese and English with each other. Caleb has told us many of Sayuri’s “firsts” in America which always make us smile, like the first time she ate corn pops for breakfast. They moved last year to Hawaii where Caleb is now working. Although they were legally married in Japan before moving here they never had their wedding ceremony so it will be this coming March, in HAWAII!!! YEA! We are so excited for them. 

Sayuri was visiting her family in Japan so we didn’t get to see her this time but we were still excited to catch up with Caleb and his parents. Caleb’s dad, Robert, was actually one of our groomsmen when we were married and Sammy adores him. He loves to show off for Mr. Robert in a big way. Sammy and I let Sam have some alone time with Caleb during the day so they could catch up without us around. They went up flying in Robert’s plane and I did my best not to focus on them being up in the sky. All in all it was a super fun night and made us wish even more that we could live closer to Caleb & Sayuri.

 

Look what I made......

an ABC book to help Sammy recognize his letters!! I am just a teensy bit proud of myself if you can't tell. I never get to do this kind of thing, I had a blast making it. I wanted to share it on here to brag on just how EASY and FAST it was to create. I don't really have much free time to do this kind of thing so I was blown away at how quick it went. The part that took the longest was deciding what picture to use for each letter! Once I did that I just dragged and dropped the pics right into place and literally made it while I watched a tv show, something else I rarely get to do. All in all it was a super fun night and I can't wait for this to arrive in the mail. If you are interested in making one for your little one, Shutterfly is having a special on photo books/ digital scrap books right now that includes free shipping. I originally started it thinking it would be $19.99 but then I got carried away and added some extra pages, of course!

Check it out if you have a moment:

Click here to view this photo book larger