November Little Things

We had an eventful November and I have to admit I'm ready to start another month.  Cory's broken ankle threw a wrench in our lives and the first week of adjusting to him not being able to drive was rough.  We did have some fun things happen this month in between the doctor's appointments. Here are a few of our November little things:

Parker is such a sweet cousin to Holland and she thinks he's pretty awesome!

Lily got some new doll clothes for her birthday and wanted me to take a picture of her doll in them.

Parker got invited to a Texas A&M football game with his friend Kaden.  They had a great time in College Station!

It's rare to find a shirt that both girls like this days.  They have such different styles. So I had to document when they wanted to wear matching shirts to school one day.  It makes me miss the days when I got to dress them alike.

Eden's morning work at school made me laugh!  Her answer sure makes since to me!  Our English language can be so confusing sometimes!

Lily's class celebrated Thanksgiving with a feast one day and a Thanksgiving play the next.  Lily and her best friend Jery were both turkeys in the play.

Lily was glad that both Granna and Grandma both got to come to see her play.  I'm sad that this is the last time I'll have a first grader to watch in Mrs. Brightwell's annual play.

Granna stayed after the play and ate with Parker at Gerard's Grandparent's Day lunch.  I'm also sad that this is Parker's last Grandparent's Day.  Next year, he will be in middle school and I'll only have the girls with me at Gerard.

Lily has been begging me to take her to get her nails painted so we went during Thanksgiving break and got it done.  She's such a girly girl!

We held Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year since it's hard to get a wheelchair around my parent's house.  Hopefully only a few more weeks and Cory will be out of his boot!

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to get the Christmas tree out and decorate it.  This is the first year that I've let the kids decorate the entire tree without any help from me and they did a great job!

We barely survived November and now I'm ready for Christmas break!  Luckily we only have a few more weeks to go!

Happy 9th Birthday Eden!

Today we celebrated our sweet Eden turning 9 years old!  I can't believe she's so close to being double digits!  Since we are out of school for Thanksgiving break this week, we were able to sleep in and have a lazy birthday morning.  We let Eden open her presents first thing and then she chose a puffy pancake for her birthday breakfast.

Tonight, we met the cousins at Peter Piper Pizza for a birthday dinner and games.

Happy Birthday, Eden!  We love you to the moon and back!

9 Years Old

My beautiful Eden,
     Today you turn 9 years old!  You are growing into a wonderful young lady and I'm so proud to be your mom! Here are a few things I want to remember about you as you celebrate another year:

- You continue to be one of the tallest in your class.  I'm anxious to see how tall you are at your well check next week.  You wear size 10/12 clothes and size 4/5 shoes.

- You are having a great 3rd grade year and love going to school! You would go to school 365 days a year if I let you! You love your teacher and friends and can't wait to see them every morning!

- You are so kind and encouraging to others and have so many friends, many who are boys,  Every day as I'm leaving school, I watch you play at recess and most days you are playing with a group of boys.  Some of your favorite friends are Laila, Lacey, Reagan, Tai, Grace, Cooper, Isahi, and Carson.

- You are still unsure of yourself in new situations but warm up quicker than you used to.  You are still not a risk taker when you are in large groups but are getting much better at trying new things.  You are one of the bravest girls I know and I'm so proud of you when you face your fears and show others your amazing ideas!

-You are still not a risk taker when it comes to food!  You love your carbs and beans but still are hesitant to try fruits and vegetables.  Thank goodness for applesauce- it's the only fruit I can get you to eat consistently.

- You are so sweet and have such a loving heart!  You love to give hugs and kisses and tell us how much you love us!  Every night at bedtime you can't go to sleep until you've told us: "I love you to the moon and back.  You're the best mom/dad I could ever had. I'm glad you're in my family. You're awesome, cool, and amazing."  Every. Single. Night.  No exceptions!

- You are doing so well at piano and I definitely think we've found your talent.  I love listening to you learn new songs every week.  I hope you will choose to stick with piano for many more years.

- You continue to be an early riser on the weekends.  You definitely don't need as much sleep as your siblings.

- You like to play with friends/cousins but you also like to be alone and play in your room by yourself.  You love to play with small toys like Shopkins and Littlest Pet Shops and you can play for hours with them.

You are such a fun girl and have an infectious laugh that brightens my day! I am so glad that God gifted me with you!  Mommy and Daddy are so proud of how courageous you are and can't wait to see how you grow and change over the next year!  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

I love you to the moon and back, Mommy

Cory's Broken Ankle

Last week, Cory fell and broke his ankle.  As his MS progresses, his balance is getting much worse and he has been falling a lot.  He has had several close calls and I had a feeling it wouldn't be long before he fell and broke something.  

During dinner last Tuesday night, Parker dropped an entire gallon of milk on the floor.  It went EVERYWHERE, including under the refrigerator.  I had to leave 15 minutes later to take the girls to basketball tryouts so I called my dad to come over and move the fridge out so I could clean up the milk when I got home.  While Cory was in the closet putting some shorts on, he lost his balance, fell, and got his leg tangled up underneath him.  When he started screaming my name, I knew something was wrong.  Usually when he falls, he just lays there for a few minutes before he gets up.  But this time was different.  I got him to the bed and left to take the girls to tryouts.  When I got back, his ankle had started swelling. 

We called our friend and doctor, Mac, to see if we could come in first thing in the morning for an x-ray and he said he was out running errands and would stop by to take a look at it.   As soon as he saw Cory's ankle, he was almost positive it was a spiral fracture of the tibia.  Sure enough, an x-ray the next morning confirmed that Cory's tibia was fractured.  Mac was pretty sure it was going to need surgery so he sent us to Dr. Beaver that afternoon.  Luckily, Dr. Beaver doesn't think that surgery was necessary at this time so Cory will just be in a boot for the next 6 weeks.  Unfortunately, he can not put any weight on it or drive for the next 6 weeks either.   I know it's never a good time to break an ankle, but with basketball season starting and needing to drive all three kids to practices and games every week, this really was bad timing!  It may be a LONG 6 weeks for both Cory and I!

Update:  We went back to the doctor today for another x-ray and Cory's ankle isn't healing was much as we had hoped.  After a phone call to Dr. Beaver, he still doesn't thing Cory needs surgery and wants to wait another week to decide.  We are praying the his ankle starts showing some signs of healing this week.  Cory is trying to avoid surgery at all costs.

Also, after trying unsuccessfully to maneuver the walker around the house, I suggested that Cory try using his wheelchair to get around.  It has made a huge difference in our daily lives.  One week down, 5 to go!

Texas A&M Football Game with Parker

A few weeks ago, my dad won 4 tickets to yesterday's Aggie game.  Emily, Jon, Cory and I were supposed to go but Cory's broken ankle put a damper on our plans.  At the last minute, we changed plans and took Addison and Parker to the game.  Parker has been to a couple of Aggie games but this was Addison's first time to go.

I had the best time spending the day with Parker!  The weather was perfect and it was fun to show him around campus and take him to the places I used to frequent when I was a student.  To top off an already great day, the game was a blowout and the Aggies won 55-14.

Parker's favorite part of the game was the Fighting Texas Aggie Band.

Emily and I went by our first dorm, Krueger Hall.  It's been completely renovated in the past few years and didn't look anything like we remembered.

Back in Cleburne, the girls and their cousins had a fun day with Granna.  They looked at old family photos, painted and hid rocks at a local park, and took bubble baths.

It was such a fun day and even though I was sad Cory couldn't come, I loved spending the day with Parker.  I can't wait to take him back again next season!