The Best Christmas Gift

My sister Angie gave us all a very special gift this year. It's a book titled, "Lessons Learned in the Hospital"...Angie is the author and Will is the illustrator. On the inside cover it reads, "This little book is dedicated to all children spending Christmas in the hospital." On the next page it says, "The pictures in this book were drawn and colored by 5 yr old Will 3 days after surgery to remove his lung on October 5, 2010. Some are dot-to-dots drawn by his PawPaw. Will reminds us that miracles happen!

"It's OK to want to sail away sometimes."

"If all else fails...show them your TEETH!"
"There is someone who will always answer when you call."
"We are all vulnerable without protection."
"Sometimes the simplest machines pack the most power!"
"I think I can...I think I can...I KNOW I can! You are as strong as you believe yourself to be!"
"The view is always better up HIGH!"
"Beauty can be found...Anywhere!"
Does this put things into perspective or what?! It's not about fancy gifts or the latest gadgets. This Christmas I really thought about what it all means to me...spending time with our family, creating memories with our girls, counting my blessings of which there are many, and being thankful for the miraculous birth of our savior. What a SPECIAL time of year!

Christmas with Grandma & Paw Paw (and all of the cousins!)

It's a tradition that as soon as we get into Grandma & Paw Paw's neighborhood, Georgia gets to get in the front seat with us. We started that with my nieces & nephews and the tradition continues. I LOVE THIS PICTURE of GC & Shelby...

As soon as I took it she wanted to see the picture and then said, "Momma"...she wanted to take a picture with me, too. So, here ya go...
Ivy Jane got a glo-worm and LOVES it! Georgia loves it, too! We went right home and found the one Stacy had given her last Christmas...I think she had forgotten about it! Now it's one of her babies in her bed with her each night.
Caroline decided that she could be in a "TV" in this box. This kid is HILARIOUS! She's the one when I asked her if she had eaten lunch she said, "No-just a fousand fousand cookies!" When Andy (her daddy) asked her what she ate for lunch she said, "Carrots, candy & cookies!"
Sweet William Robert & Mary Katherine making cookies together.
We celebrated with everyone on Sunday, the day after Christmas because Will had to go back to the hospital last week. Early Sunday morning his fever spiked so they went back to Houston to stay for a couple nights. The IV antibiotics will hopefully clear up any infection he has in his lung. He got to spend the night with Mary Katherine and Caroline...first time ever and he is FIVE. He was beside himself...couldn't wait to go! He's only spent the night away from his mom with his nurse Kathy. SO, spending the night with his cousins was a HUGE deal!

That night Georgia slept from 9:30 until 10:30 the next morning and still took a 3 hour nap! Christmas WORE HER OUT! I think it was a combination of things, really. She's cutting all four of her eye teeth, for one! One toy she couldn't wait to play with was her stroller & baby bottles. She loves being Momma to her babies...

Her new favorite thing to do is get in Ivy's bed with her. She walks over to Ivy's bed, hikes up her leg, looks at me and says, "Pwee?!" meaning "please?!" How can I possibly say no to that?! I can remember being a little girl and always wanting to sleep with my sisters. One of my fondest memories is every Christmas Eve sleeping together in Angie's "big" bed...a full size, and listening for Santa's reindeer! Angie & Kathy used to always make me go and ask..."Mom, Dad, can we sleep together tonight?!" It was always such a HUGE DEAL! I hope our girls are as close as Angie, Kathy & I were and still are. I can't wait to see these two asleep together! =)

Christmas Morning at Our House

We came home on Thursday and the first thing on the agenda: cleaning out and organizing toys. We brought back so many new things that we had to find a place for them! We threw out some old things and are donating some of the gently used toys that we no longer need. Christmas Eve we attended our church's annual "Candlelight & Carols" service where Ivy Jane once again played the part of Baby Jesus. She stole the show...a little angel sitting in the hay looking around wondering why people were singing to her and looking at her, I'm sure!

Christmas morning Georgia Claire slept until 8:30 (I realize our time is VERY limited on this one, folks)! I think my nephew Luke was waking Kathy & Andy up at 5:30 Christmas morning. Here is Georgia coming into the living room seeing what Santa had brought for the first time.

She went straight to the musical instruments...

And then to her table with play dishes, pots & pans & food...

She wanted to kiss every puppet, but wasn't too sure about them being able to "talk" to her...

Ivy Jane got a new exersaucer and she LOVES it! She lasts about 20-30 minutes in it now and I am THRILLED! They are big and take up a lot of space, but SO worth it in my book! Georgia likes to bring her toys to play with while she is in it. Yesterday she took her a book, some play food, and a toy car...LOVE the randomness!

I told Shelby yesterday that my life was about to get a whole lot easier...now that Georgia Claire is walking so well and Ivy Jane can sit up in her exersaucer and bumbo! What am I going to do with myself?! I have a feeling my time will be filled with...changing diapers, rocking, reading books, playing, fixing meals, swinging, etc. I am SO blessed to get to spend each and every day with our girls...THAT, in itself, is the BEST Christmas gift I could ever receive! Georgia Claire & Ivy Jane truly are our Christmas blessings. It's hard to believe that Christmas 2008 was when our adoption journey began and now we have TWO baby girls in 2010! I tear up every time I think about how GOOD God has been to us! Looking forward to lots of fun Christmas mornings at our house with many memories to be made, no matter how early they wake us!

Christmas with Mimi & Grandbarry

Shelby had the whole week of Christmas off and it was GREAT! Georgia REALLY enjoyed having Dadda home for so long. We left last Tuesday to head to Mimi & Grandbarry's home to have Christmas with them. I kept Ivy Jane awake until we were ready to go. She got so mad at me but she slept the entire 3 hours that we were on the road. As you can see, we left at nap time...

Georgia slept 2 hours, which was great. I actually got to recline my seat and read a couple of magazines while Shelby drove and the girls napped...Merry Christmas to ME! =)
On Wednesday Grandbarry had to work until noon so we all loaded up and met him for lunch. Georgia LOVES to wear anyone's and everyone's sunglasses. Here she is "too cool for school" with her Aunt Heather & boyfriend Julian. Georgia loves hanging out with these two and it makes me VERY happy to see them loving our babies the way they do! =) They are TERRIFIC babysitters!
Ivy Jane slept again on the way to the restaurant and throughout lunch and our visit with some friends. We got this picture of her sitting like a perfect little lady with her hands clasped!
We had Italian for lunch and Georgia shared spaghetti with marinara with me...you think she liked it?!
After lunch we went to the home of some longtime friends of Shelby's family. They have a snow village that is INCREDIBLE.

Just a glimpse into our future of little girls playing dress up...Princess Ivy Jane!
Wednesday night it was time to open presents...Ivy Jane enjoyed being surrounded by tissue paper for a while.
I love this picture of Georgia Claire looking in a gift bag that is almost as tall as she is...
Ivy Jane was mesmerized by her crib aquarium...

Georgia and her daddy played with her first dollhouse...LOVE THE FEET!

Before we left, Georgia helped Mimi water her plants. She is such a sweet little helper. I hope she stays that way! =)

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Mimi & Grandbarry, although it was a short visit. (I realized as I was blogging that I really didn't have any pictures of Mimi & Grandbarry! Oops!)

Merry Christmas 2010!

Lots of pictures to share later, but for now I wanted to wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS (a day late)!

Baby Jesus

Ivy Jane made her acting debut last night during our church's Christmas musical as baby Jesus! She did SO GOOD! We were just on stage during one song but she sat in the trough, in nothing but a diaper and blanket, and looked around happy and content! =)

We had to go a little early to get into costume...here are Daddy & Georgia (and her doll that Ms. Janice gave her) walking in. She LOVES being able to walk.

Georgia enjoyed playing on the steps before the performance...

Baby Jesus himself, I mean herself...
And here we are...Mary, Jesus, & Joseph!
The song we sat through was titled "The Manger Held it All" and it spoke so much to me! Ivy Jane, although no Messiah, is a miracle baby! I actually teared up and thought I was going to "lose it" at one point, but then she started trying to eat the hay and my tears changed to giggles. We have SO VERY much to be thankful for...such a blessing to have these two baby girls, both miracles to us!

While our Babies are Still Babies...

Shelby works so hard and I love him so much for it! He was gone all of last week, was home Saturday and Sunday, and then left again on Monday. He arrived home again on Thursday and was ready to get his hands on these girls. Ivy Jane doesn't look very happy, but she is actually very relaxed! She's liking Daddy more and more these days. We're all looking forward to his week of vacation next week...we started it tonight by eating breakfast for supper at Mom & Dad's. That is one of my FAVORITE things to eat on a cold winter night...homemade biscuits, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and gravy! =) You could call it a celebration of sorts...

Several weeks ago (sometime in October) Shelby was asked to apply for a job with his current company, which would be a huge promotion, in OKLAHOMA CITY. I can remember asking Shelby, "Who wants to live in OKLAHOMA? I sure don't!" In the beginning I was sad...sad to leave my parents, my sister Kathy & her sweet family, etc. Soon my sadness turned to determination to find out all that I could about the city. I've learned that about myself...my way of "coping" is to inform myself...I was online every chance I got checking out schools, churches, neighborhoods, things to do, etc. I've only been to OKC one time before...Shelby took me to a John Mayer concert for my birthday a few years ago. It was lots of fun, but I didn't really remember the city. Shelby goes a lot with work and says that it's a really nice place. Other people had told me the same thing. A friend of mine even told me that she lived there for about 10 years, said it was a great place to raise a family. Then my November subscription of my "Parents" magazine came in the mail and on the front was "10 best cities for babies". Number 9 was...you guessed it...OKC! A few weeks later we heard a lesson at church about letting God take us out of our "comfort zone". It seemed that God was leading us to make the move, and I was really OK with it. I was still sad to think about Georgia not being able to go see the cows or see her cousins at church every week or attend MDO, and I was sad to think that Ivy Jane wouldn't ever know those things, but I was willing to move, to support my husband, and his career. After all, his career is the whole reason I can stay at home with our sweet baby girls! God had changed my heart.

I started searching out new houses and new cars. If I was going to live 5 hours away from my family, I would need a bigger, more comfortable car to make all of those trips back to East Texas!

Fast forward to yesterday, (skipping LOTS of negotiations, phone calls, a very successful interview, meetings, etc.), and Shelby called me to say that the "big bosses" were working on another offer...it looked like we were going to OKC on Monday to see the city. When he finally got home, we talked and I told him it was ultimately his decision because it was his career. He knew I would support him in whatever decision he made. After our discussion, he officially declined the position. The negatives outweighed the positives. For the first time in SEVERAL weeks he seemed relieved and comfortable with making a final decision. He found out that the first couple of years would be A LOT of traveling and time away from us & that I would essentially be a "single mom". These next two years are so very important in the life of our girls. He doesn't want to miss out more than he already is. He also told me that he hadn't felt good about the job all along...he knew it would be a high stress position, making it even harder on all of us. SO, while our babies are still babies, we're staying put! (I'm still working on getting that bigger car, though!) =)

18 months old...could it be?!

Georgia Claire is 18 months old today...hard to believe! It was even weirder at the doctor's office scheduling her next appointment-her 2 year check-up! YIKES! Our baby is not going to be a baby for long! She is still about 25 lbs...thinning up the more active she becomes. AND, she is TALL...33 1/2 inches (93%)!

She's changing more and more every day. I officially threw away all of her bottles as of today. She has FINALLY mastered a sippy cup! She's been taking juice from a cup but wanted her last milk of the day from a bottle. Tonight, she took her milk out of a sippy cup...YAY! It really is almost ridiculous how good she is about things that she shouldn't like...the other night she took medicine, used her inhaler, and brushed her teeth with a huge smile on her face! She's still not eating as great as I would like, but lately she's eating most fruits, and she LOVES corn on the cob. Shelby was out of town again last week so we ate with Mom & Dad one night. They also had my nephew & nieces, Luke, Mary Katherine & Caroline while Andy & Kathy were at a Christmas party. We had ham, fresh sweet potatoes, corn bread, purple hull peas, and corn. After Luke ate two ears, Caroline was asking for another ear, and Georgia Claire was sucking every last kernel off her ear, Dad looked at Mom and said, "looks like we're going to have to plant more corn next year!" =)

Some of her favorites...

She loves to read. We hear the words "Buh" (book) and "peas" (please) at least 10 times a day!

She also loves to play with the nativity. I put it down low for her to be able to play with it. We usually find Mary, Joseph, and the wisemen laying on the floor. She looks sad in this picture but she is actually telling me "shhh" as she holds Baby Jesus. She knows he's sleeping.

Caught her about to get in Daddy's nightstand...another one of her favorite things to do!
She is almost running, still wobbly at times and falls a lot, but she is doing SO well!
Have I mentioned that she likes to read? You can usually find Georgia by the trail of books (and sometimes bread crumbs) she leaves behind.
Being silly...
Precious baby!

Dadda is Home!

Shelby finally came home after being gone for 5 nights on a work-related trip. We all MISSED HIM! BUT, Georgia Claire wins the prize for missing him the most! He came home on Friday for lunch before having to head to the office for the afternoon. Before we could sit down to eat lunch, she had to read a book with Dadda. We really love what a fun, happy, smart, silly little girl Georgia Claire has become. Don't get me wrong...she has her moments (had one tonight on the way home from church, in fact) but she is a GREAT baby girl! Meal time and car time are not always the most fun right now, but we're working on our manners! =) She is walking (almost running) around the house now. Shelby couldn't believe how much she had progressed in the week he was gone. Her favorite thing to do right now is read books. She will lie down on the floor and "read" or she goes to her room and pulls out all of her books out of her basket or she climbs up in our laps with a book...LOVE IT!

Here she is with Dadda as soon as he walked through the door on Friday...I love this picture, especially her little feet...

Here she's saying, "Shhh" as Shelby reads a page with a baby sleeping. She ALWAYS does that on that page...so cute!
Does she love this man or what?!
Long evening of playing with Dadda wore her out. I found her asleep like this...
And one with Momma...after church this morning. I love the smiles.
Everyone always wants to know how Georgia Claire does with Ivy Jane. She is SO SWEET to her! This morning we were getting ready for church and Ivy was getting sleepy and started crying in her bouncy seat. Before I could get to her Georgia had gone over and was bouncing her and saying "bebe"...precious times with precious baby girls!