Girl's day

Awhile back, Mia and I had made a plan to grow our hair out and then in spring, chop it off and donate it to locks for love. Well, Mia couldn't wait anymore, but I could! She wanted to her haircut now and it was long enough so, we went for it. We decided to make a girls day out of it. We were going to get her hair cut, then do some lunch, then I would suprise her and take her to the movie Tangled since she's been wanting to see it for awhile now. So, it was a plan. The day came and she decided she wanted Hadley to join in the fun, so the three of us went to Cost Cutters to get their hair cuts first. Not the best experience there and I can honestly say, we wont be going back there. There unfriendly attitudes tried sucking all the fun out of our locks for love experience, but we didn't let it, we had fun anyways :) After adding a few yrs onto the girls lives ;), we picked up tacos and took them to our favorite coffee shop to get coffee(steamers) and eat. That was Mia's 1st experience at a coffee shop :) Hadley is an old pro! They thought that was very special. Then we dropped Hadley off by daddy and Grady at home and Mia and I went to the movie. She was very surprised and super excited! It was an awesome movie and we both loved it!
It was a great girls day! I enjoy spending time with my girls! :)

The before picture


Look at all that long hair. I wasn't quite ready for her to get her hair cut, but she was so excited, I couldn't deny it!


The chops; Hadley got a few inches off and a few layers. Her hair is so fine, you can't do too much with it yet.


Mia's Chop... and I mean CHOP. She went with the 'bob' look. Very cute on her!


g

Hadley new cut.


Mia's back(I had to touch it up some... not only were they unfriendly, but Mia's girl did a crummy job... though you can't tell from afar)


The new Mia. Our 6 yr old turned into a 10 yr old. She was so flattered when I told her that. Isnt that what every little girl wants to hear?



Me and my girls! :)

A little of what you missed

It's been a long while since I've blogged. I started to think nobody was looking at it and I was just doing it for myself. But Andy talked me back into doing it so whether anybody looks at it or not, I'm doing it!

Life has been busy for us like everybody. A little bit of fun, a little bit of work, a little bit of school, and a lot of sickness lately.

Here are a few things we've done lately:

-sledding- Grady loved it, however we had to convince the girls to go(not sure why bc they loved it in the past)

-Christmas- always a busy time of year. We went to different family gatherings, Christmas Eve service, and had a birthday party for Jesus on his day. Andy's family celebrated Christmas on New Yrs day, but unfortunately Andy spent his entire day sick in his parents bed with the flu.

-babysitting- I have been watching twin boys who are a couple months older than Grady 1 time a wk and starting this wk, 2 times. I also have been watching my friend's kids for them a lot lately. I enjoy it. God gave me the gift of being able to stay home with my kids and as a thank you, I want to serve him. Not only that, but the kids love the play dates.

- work - Andy is thankful to have 40+ hours a wk at his job and I work in the house... cleaning, cooking, watching the kids, etc.

- school - Mia loves Ozaukee Christian School and is already reading some. We are so proud of her. She has such a love for God and such a sensitive heart!

-Playing - the kids have been being kids.. playing, playing, and more playing.

- a few field trips - we went to Cabellas bc the kids love the aquarium, all the animals, and of course the shooting range. A few field trips to the grocery store where the kids love to push the carts now... even Grady and if you try to help, he gets so mad! haha We also took a trip out towards Plymouth to cut our own Christmas tree down. We were able to get a bigger tree this yr, not a table top! :)

- a new van - After praying and researching, Andy and I decided to down grade our van. We now have a Chevy Venture with minimal features. I'll miss our cool midnight ride that was fully loaded, but it was completely worth it. Our loan went way down, our payments went way down, and our black van was starting to have issues. We'd rather give our money to God than have to pay for expensive materials.

- sickness - It has been the worst season for us with sickness. It seems that Grady picks everything up then passes it on to us. Poor Andy's had it the worst. Can't seem to get rid of a horrible cold and has had the stomach flu twice. The kids are right behind him though. I have been fortunate enough to just have had a cold, nothing more. Praise God! Andy says, it's not good when mommy gets sick!

I suppose that sums it up. I'll try and email everybody every couple of posts that I do to tell you that I updated so if you want you can check it out. Otherwise feel free to look on your own.




Hadley's snugging with Mia while she has the stomach flu


Place we cut our tree down


Picture full of personality


such a happy boy


Cheese


Grady pushing his own cart


Sledding






Christmas pic


Grady thought he'd help himself to some more breakfast


A little bit of fun



Play, play, play

Hadley's recent trip to Shriners

Hadley had an apt at Shriners this past Wed(Jan. 5th). Our hopes and thoughts were we would leave never having to put her brace on ever again. But unfortunately, it didn't go like that....

The apt went a little something like this:

-Got there, and got an xray.
-Got into our room and got a visit from the dr's aide; we were told that her back was about the same as it was when we went in July
-The new Dr came in and we met him for the first time. He was ok. Andy didn't like him, but I think that is because he did not like his response. I thought he was nice, maybe a bit more uptight than our last dr and not as warm and comforting. But very knowledgable! This dr said the same, her curve maybe went up only 1 degree since July, which was great. He took a look at her back and studied her quietly while we sat there in suspense ready to hear the words, Were Done. But instead he says, I don't like the way her back looks. There is still a bulge here and a kink in the spine. It's good, pretty straight, but not straight. So, he recommended that she wears the brace every night 12 hours for another 4 months, then we'll come in and get her spine checked out again. I asked him(though now I regret it) if once the spine is this straight if it tends to stay here and his response was, he's seen it go both ways. Not quite as optimistic as our last dr.
-Our nurse who knew Hadley very well came in, made sure everything was ok, and chatted with us for a bit.

Things there were definitely not the same without our last dr, but I can't complain. Hadley has freedom from her brace all day and just has to wear it at night. That's not too bad. Baby steps, I guess. We just have to praise God for how far he's brought her and the miracle she is. For holding her back in place and not allowing it to progress any more! Thanks God!

So, that's we are at in our journey with Hadley's infantile scoliosis.

Here are a few pictures of her back currently:

The Dr. didn't like the fact that her back was not symmetric, but chances are it will never be. She could have a 16 degree curve her whole life and that would be fine. (This dr could be a perfectionist)



xray:16 degrees...There are two curves(like and S), but the only one that is really a concern is the highest one.

Fall 2010

This free scrapbooking design customized with Smilebox

Quick update on Hadley

It's been awhile since I've put an update on Hadley on here.

She is doing very good! We had an xray done in July and her curve was 15 degrees. It only went up a couple degrees, which is very normal and very good! The plan is to go back in January with the brace off for a wk prior to her xray and if her curve continues to be under 20 degrees, we will be leaving that hospital with NO brace! We will then have frequent visits and first to make sure she is not progressing!

We are sad to announce that her Dr left Shriners to go to Cincinnati, OH children's hospital. He has been an amazing Dr. But we are also happy that we are at the end of our journey(hopefully) and he got us through all her casting(hopefully). We will see how we like the new Dr in Chicago and if we absolutely do not like him, then we'll be making the trip to OH to continue with her Dr. I'm sure he will be good though!

In the past month, Hadley has been complaining that her brace is too tight... and it sure seems tight, but after a trip to Chicago to check it, they refused to do anything about it. Very frustrating, but were dealing with it. After all, we just have a few months to go!!! :)

Thanks again for all the prayers! God is amazing!

Mia's first day of school

Mia had her first day of school last Thursday. She was very excited this year to go to her new school. I think she is going to enjoy it! The first thing she told us when we picked her up on Thursday is that she had gym! It was definitely the highlight of her day! We are thrilled that Mia is able to attend Ozaukee Christian School this year with God's guidance and providing! Not only will she learn, but she will have Jesus a part of her daily life! It doesnt get any better than that :)

Summer 2010

Here is a glimpse of our summer 2010:

Lots of trips to the park


Lambs family farm on the way home from Chicago


Washing the van on hot summer days


Feeding the ducks


Lots of biking


Painting


Many trips to the beach


Camping for daddy's birthday


Jackson splash pad


More biking


Fish day; Mia and her cousin doing water soccer


Family reunion at Menocqua; playing in the sand


Menocqua


Picking up sticks on a regular basis from our birch tree


and some baking

Grady is crawling!

Grady has started to crawl and is into everything! He has been very close to crawling for awhile now rocking back and forth on his knees and even moving a little bit, but he has finally figured it out and is unstoppable! It's a whole new world for him now that he can get to any toy he wants to! He's loving it!

Check it out for yourself: