It's been a long week.....that means a long post!

I guess it is already another Saturday, 10 days since the last post, Luke's birthday is next week, and it's almost Halloween! I'm not gonna lie,the last two weeks were pretty long. After my appointment on the 8th, we all headed down to Nashville for the day and night to visit Luke's mom in the hospital. Luke brought the kids and me back Tuesday, and he rode back down by himself. He didn't really have a plan as to how long he would stay, it just depended on the situation as it unraveled. He ended up staying with his family until Friday or Saturday (it was a long blur of a week). He was able to go with his dad to the doctor, visit and sit with his mom, and talk with his family. His mom passed away Thursday around midnight, and the family all went back up to be together for a few hours. They had to meet at the funeral home Friday afternoon to get all the services planned out. By the time he went back to his dad's house it got too late for Luke to drive home. I guess it was Saturday when he came home, later in the afternoon. 

We knew the times and dates for the services, so Luke went into work for a few hours on Sunday. The plan was for him to go to work for a few hours Monday, and then we'd head down to Nashville Monday evening. He didn't make it into work that day, so we drove on down late in the afternoon, and tried to get ready for a long 2 days. We went to his dad's house, ate supper, hung out, and then headed over to stay with his best friend and wife. The visitation was all day Tuesday, starting at 11AM for family. We actually didn't pull out of the parking lot until after 8:40 PM.  We kept the kids with us until around 3, and I took them over to a friends' house. THANKS Ethridges!  Sorry for the mess and hassle of an exploding diaper in your child's bed. Even not being a blood relative was emotionally draining and tiring.  I can't imagine the feelings and emotions of Luke's 5 siblings and father and himself. It was good to see so many faces from Luke's childhood--church, baseball teams, high school friends-- and from college and our years in Nashville. His aunts and uncles and some cousins were in from Millington, Memphis, & Dickson, TN and California, Georgia, and Louisiana. There was a lot of support, and I am thankful Luke has had so much support from these people. There are people in your life who you KNOW would be there at a time like this, even friends' parents from when you were 11 years old, and they were all there at the visitation or funeral. Even the friends who are across the country sent emails and cards to let him know they were thinking and praying for him.  

I'm not sure if Luke slept any Tuesday night, and he was up & showered before me on Wednesday morning. The funeral was at his parents' church, and the burial was at Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery. It was a long drive going 25 MPH on back-roads  but the trees and the hills were amazing for the drive out. The service there was just a few short minutes, they then took the casket and did the burial while we got to talk for about 30 minutes, and then told us when it was completed. We were all able to then go out to the grave. We sang another song outside & gave people a chance to share anything they wanted.  We drove back to the church to eat lunch with the family, and then headed back to Louisville. 

Luke doesn't get much sleep as it is, 4-5ish hours a night maybe,but I really don't know how much sleep he has gotten in the past 2 weeks. And he came back to messes at work that he has to deal with now. We went on Landon's field trip Thursday morning, and then he went into work in the evening, Friday, and today. He'll be back at work tomorrow to finish out the work week. Hopefully next week will be better!

HOWELL, Teddie Jean "Miss Teddi"Age 67 of Nashville, TN. Passed away October 12, 2012. The daughter of the late Carl F. and Ina Brasher Douse and was born October 3, 1945 in San Diego. She lived in Nashville 42 years and was a faithful member of the Crieve Hall Church of Christ. Miss Teddi worked 21 years for the Crieve Hall Preschool. She was also a foster parent to 35 foster children for Agape for over 16 years. She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Bruce D. Howell and six children, Christy (John) Kirchner, Robert (Stacy) Howell, Mindy (Jeff) Black, Jeff (Kim) Howell, Luke (Emily) Howell and Chris Howell; she is "Goodmama" to 9 grandchildren, Carmen, Marlo & Violet Black, Jay & Mason Kirchner, Brynne & Garrett Howell, Landon & Lucy Howell; sister, Merrily Welden; brother, Richard T. (Tammy) Douse and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Visitation will be Tuesday, October 16, 2012, from 12-8 p.m. at Woodbine Funeral Home, Hickory Chapel, 5852 Nolensville Road and Wednesday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the church. Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday, October 17, 2012, at Crieve Hall Church of Christ, 4806 Trousdale Dr., at 10:30 a.m. Interment Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Crieve Hall Preschool c/o Jody Hupka or Camp Kalos c/o of Crieve Hall Church of Christ

I will add some  pictures from the field trip. I'll wait until later to add our family/maternity    pictures and my last 3 belly pictures.

                                         Happy Fall!

To the beach and back!

My last post was FINALLY about our last day at WDW, and now we've already been back to Orlando again. My aunt her her little baby #3 ( Stella) about 3 weeks ago, so we had to go see her. We also didn't get to spend much time with family during WDW trip, so we stayed with my grandparents & visited family.



Sweet sleepy baby



Before we went I had my 16 week Dr appointment. Blood pressure is still great--as expected. All of the blood work and ultrasounds have come back negative for Trisomy 13 & 18 , down syndrome, and Spina Bifida. So, we are set for July 27th for the full anomaly ultrasound. We're praying for a nicely progressing baby, all body parts to be developed where they should be, and a healthy strong heartbeat! I'm not quite sure if I want to know yet if baby is a boy or girl! Luke will see, but he might end up telling me later.

The belly is growing, the pelvis constantly feels out of place--until it loudly pops--, the headaches are ridiculous, and the bathroom visits are out of control. Maybe I'm drinking more this time around, because I never had to go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME with the other two like all moms talk about. I had a little dehydration day a few weeks ago and had to stay in bed all day, drink water, and sleep.

I'm trying not to think about an early delivery--early as in only 10 more weeks of pregnancy like Lucy--, but am keeping in mind that Pre-eclampsia is ugly and can strike at any time. Every day past October 1st, we will count as a blessing! We know the latest we will carry this baby will be until December 5th @ 39 weeks. Yep, 1 day after Landon's birthday :)

We do NOT have a name decided on. We did not pick 'L' names with the kids, we just liked 2 names that started with he same letter. So, this baby will most likely not have an 'L' name. I don't really like any L names right now. We have a boy named picked out, and have loved it since Landon was born too. I had a girl name I liked, but it is ALL over the place now. And I really thought I was going to be like the only one with a kid that name. We still have a while to get it figured out!

We're home!

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

--Walt Disney

We're home from vacation, and I don't even know where to start. We left early Saturday morning, June 2nd. Luke & I couldn't fall asleep until after 12:30 Friday, and had planned on pulling out of the driveway at 4:30 A.M. We ended up waking up at 4:30, and then forgot a few things we had to do. We ended up leaving closer to 5:30, I believe. We had rented a full size car, but all they had left was a premium. We rolled south in a Ford Crown Victoria! We stopped in Smyrna for breakfast at Chick-Fil-A & filled up the tank at Luke's old Home Depot. After driving all day ( and making several food stops, coffee stops, and bathroom breaks--some 20 minutes for Landon's perfect timing!), we arrived in Orlando at my grandparent's house. My Aunt and Uncle and cousins were in from Cape Coral for my Uncle's father's memorial service. We went to bed after some hanging out, dinner, and a trip down the street to Wal-Mart. We were exhausted! On Sunday morning we were awake, our kids woke us up before anyone else was up. The rest of the family and friends were sleeping in the bedrooms and living room in the main house.We got ready for church and realized we had like an hour an a half until it started at 11, so we went and filled a Panera craving before heading to church. It was my cousin's 10th birthday, so the rest of the family came over for lunch and cake.



The birthday girl with Landon and Benjamin.



After some great food and birthday cake, we headed off to Walt Disney World! After a short drive, and short naps by both kids, we arrived at All Star Movie resort!

We got all checked in, carried the kiddos and luggage into the room, and decided to swim for a little bit before eating dinner. Since we stayed at a Disney resort, we were able to get the extended hours at the parks. We also got hopper passes, so we could go to one park in the morning and return to another after naps. Both of those options I would FOR SURE do again! The extended hours was amazing!

We ended up arriving at Magic Kingdom around 9:00 & stopped right on Main Street for the parade. I believe this is my 3rd or 4th trip, and haven't seen it before. I could do without it, but we were right there at the right time, and it gave us an excuse to sit on the sidewalk and watch the kids smile.

The extended hours on Sunday night were at Magic Kingdom from 11-2 AM. This means that only guests at the resort can ride on the rides. And yes, they ask to see your room key ( your 'key to the world', as your meal plan options are on it also as well as the option to charge anything to your room) at each ride before you walk into line. After the parade, we headed all the way up Main Street towards the castle before The Magic, Memories, and You show started at 9:45. This was AMAZING!

I don't know how they do this. Ok, I'm sure it's just projected onto the castle, but it is amazing.They also have pictures that the park has taken all day showing during the show. So, you might see yourself on the castle--amazing! Then at 10:00 were the fireworks. After the fireworks we had a

much needed diaper change and bathroom break. We had about 3.5 hours to play in the park. On Sunday night I figured we would try to ride what might be the busiest during the daytime, but I had no clue we would be able to walk right up and right EVERYTHING that was open with no wait. Once again,AMAZING! We started in Tomorrowland and finally stood Landon up to a height thingy. I was disappointed that we wasn't up to the 40" I was hoping--even with his new shoes on ;) So we rode Buzz Lightyear & then got on the last ride of the Carousel of progress ( for old time's sake) . Landon got off the Carousel and told us it wasn't fun, and he didn't like that one ;) The park wasn't closed yet, so we skipped the space orbiter because there was a small line. We figured we would just hit up Fantasyland and then catch up on Frontier & Adventure Land in the morning. Landon got to ride the teacups ( 2 times) , Dumbo, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Goofy's Barnstormer ( 3 times!), and then I think we headed back home to bed.

The new Dumbo is so pretty! I can't wait for the rest of the new rides!

When we finally got back to the hotel around 2:30, put the stroller back together after having to hold it closed on the bus, both kids were OUT!

We had nowhere to be on Monday morning. We had lunch scheduled at the Crystal Palace at 2:30, so we planned on waking up at no specific time and heading back to Magic Kingdom.

Here is a video from the week, and I'll write more about the rest of the week during the next few days.

Another Saturday Night

Saturday night = not my favorite. We miss our church family in Nashville. We really felt like we had family at TCC. We had adults, families, teens, & ' grandparent age' adults that showed love & concern towards all 4 of us. We had a Sunday School class that was always supportive in every stage we have been through and provided much prayer, food,& money throughout Lucy's NICU stay. Landon had an awesome children's ministry with a lot of friends, and a girlfriend. ;) We had a great Mom group on Wednesday nights. Luke keeps saying, "There's just not a TCC here". Nope. But we are trying ;we'll try church #6ish tomorrow. There really is a big difference in home life when you're not plugged into a church and groups. I hated that Landon wasn't in a Christmas program too :(

We will get it figured out soon! Thank you TCC Horizons class & Motherhood & Children's Ministry for being so great to us. We miss you!

If I die young....

A few weeks ago this song came on, so I decided to talk 'funerals'. I had never brought this subject up before. You always hear that story of the couple where one passes away, and they think it's so ironic that they had JUST been talking about death, family, & how they wanted their funeral. No, I don't believe in jinxing things or superstitions, but that's just not something I wanted to happen. After my parents drove as quickly as they could to Nashville anticipating their daughter being dead,  after Luke and Amanda witnessed the nurses/doctors asking each other if anyone had found a pulse on me yet, and after Luke had been pulled into the hallway by Dr. W. letting him know I'd most likely have brain damage the rest of my life, I figured maybe we should discuss funerals.

I asked Luke what clothes he'd dress me in, what songs he'd have sung/played, who he would have hold the service, where the funeral would be, and where I'd be buried. He had some thoughtful answers.


Music Playlist at MixPod.com

This isn't my typical running song, but I did add this to my play list when I ran in Louisville the other week. It got me over the first big hill in the park. Running gives you  plenty of time to think and clear your mind. It also gives you time to pray. I'm so thankful, especially with everything that happened, that I am still here and am able to enjoy my sweet babies. I probably won't forget any of the Dr.'s faces that I saw that day, even though I don't remember too much. I can't imagine my kiddos having to grow up without me. I know their Daddy could take care of them & love them, but I want to be able to love on them too as much as I can! The first time we took Lucy to the pediatrician after she was released, he was speechless. He told us he had read through my Dr. report again, and was just so happy things turned out the way he did. He stammered and stuttered a bit and finally got out how bad it could have gotten & we could have even lost Lucy too. I enjoy having Christian doctors. He came back to check on Lucy for the first few days, and even came in my room to see me. He came in right after all the 'excitement'. I always try to look decent when I do to Dr. appointments now, because I feel bad at what they had to look at those few days ;)

On another note, we took a family vacation to Orlando a few weeks ago. We spent Mother's day with some of  my mom's family. Here are a few pictures:

So HAPPY to be a MOMMY to these 2!

Family beach picture! (I'm still working on getting back into shape).

The hardest part of parenting so far...

is potty training!

OK, so it wasn't/isn't that bad,but I did have a few anxiety filled days in the last week.

The first day was chaos--constantly changing Landon's wet undies, wiping up pee on the floor, and running back and forth to the bathroom.

The second day was much better--half as many accidents, and many of the accidents he stopped before they actually made a puddle on the floor.

From then on , it has just gotten better.

The hardest part was him just letting himself go. I'd never heard of a kid afraid of peeing, just normally #2. Well, he was of both really! It took about 6 days before he was just OK to sit, let it 'flow', and scream YAY!

We are now officially past a week of training. He hasn't worn diapers in a week, just his big boy undies. And he hasn't had an accident since Sunday ( when we tried to leave him in the nursery), but last Friday was the last one at home. OK, so he jumped over Luke and me on the couch and hit his forehead on the CORNER of the end table yesterday. And he peed on himself a little bit, but I won't consider that an accident. If I had the massive hemotobin, blood spot, and bruise on my head, I'm sure I'd do the same =) He held most of it in, and went straight to the potty to finish.

We've had 3 days in a row now where we have left the house to run errands, and he has stayed dry in the car, used the potty at the store, and came home dry.

We aren't doing pull -ups at nap time and he has been dry the past 2 days--even with 3+ hour naps! Let's hope this streak continues today.

At night time, we are doing pull-ups. He sleeps for 12ish hours at night, and he DOESN'T wake himself up to go. We go 2-3 times before we go to bed, and don't drink about 2+ hours before bed time.He was dry the night before last,and this morning he was just a little wet.So maybe he will have a great bladder sooner than later =) We got a package of pull-ups yesterday that had 58 in them, and with a coupon were about $16. So $8 a month is OK for now =)

All of this wouldn't have been as stressful, I'm sure, if I wasn't 5 1/2 months pregnant, trying to get the house ready for new carpet in the bedrooms, finish some big tutus, WHILE following his EVERY move for 3-4 days, asking him 1,000,000 a day " Tell Mommy and Daddy when you need to go Potty, OK?" Of course, I love to hear him say " OOOOTTTTAYYY MOMMMY".

 (My name has changed in the last week from Momma--to Em-- to Mommy. )

Luke has been very helpful with this all. He knows when I've reached my limit mentally & emotionally, and need to leave the house. He's also been great about taking him into public restrooms for Landon to go. I also think Landon needed a break from me, and maybe a different approach a few times a day from Luke.

Landon seems to have grown up so much this past week, even with saying more words.He says "I lub you" on a regular basis now =) He can say " I did it", " big boy", "undies", "pee pee potty", and of course many other things that are non-potty related. Our whole life has revolved about the potty for a week now, and I love it. Even workers at Home Deopt were asking him today if he had on his big boy undies & going pee pee.He has also turned into a SNUGGLE BUG! With mommy and daddy's eyes on him basically 24/7, he has enjoyed more time in our laps, in our bed ( on his towel), and laying on the couch with us watching TV.

It's been so much fun looking back at all the things he has learned in the past 22 months, and we're so ready to enjoy all the  big boy things with him as he continues to grow!
 I feel like potty training is the first thing that a parent HAS to teach a child. The other milestones so far can mostly be picked up by watching and playing, but potty training is just that--training. It takes time, effort, and hard work. And mostly, it takes A LOT OF LOVE!
 Oh--and patience =)

Baby #2

Baby #2 will be arriving sometime around Feb. 22, 2011.

 

I just realized there were no posts in July......so this is from around the 3rd week in July.

Vacation

We left early Sunday morning to head to Panama City Beach. Landon and Elyssa rode with my parents, we figured they'd sleep for a few hours. But they were awake before 5 AM, and didn't fall asleep at all! Luke, Amanda, and I rode together in the Nitro. We wanted to get there in enough time to lay out and swim and enjoy the beach on Sunday, but we were all starved and went to Panera as soon as we got there. We did enjoy the pool and beach a little that day, but it was getting stormy. We stayed in a 3 bedroom 3 bath condo where we have stayed the last few times we have vacationed there. My parents had a large bedroom with a large window facing the ocean, and Luke and I had a smaller bedroom facing the street--but it had a large closet for Landon's pack n play! We ended up with a lock-out, so Amanda and Elyssa got the separate room with a balcony as well. Elyssa got her own pull out couch bed, so Amanda got her own King bed.
My favorite part of vacation has to be sleeping in a comfy, king bed. Everyone says how they can't wait to sleep in their own bed. BUT NOT ME! I never want to leave, and did shed some tears this time when pulling out.
The only negative about this trip was the june grass. It smelled like rotten corn, and was pretty gross when you got a big whiff. Evident ally it just came the few days before we got there, and as we were leaving it was getting pretty clear. It didn't stop us ( everyone but Luke) from going out and swimming in the beautiful Ocean. You only had to walk a few steps through it before it was crystal clear. I even found some spots where you could walk through none. Landon loved swimming in the ocean with his arm floaties.

This was Landon's 3rd time at this condo, and he really enjoyed the pool the most. He found a new favorite part of it: the shower!

We stayed until Friday morning, and Amanda flew out Thursday morning. We planned on checking out Friday morning, then spending a few hours at the pool. Of course, it was rainy and stormy Friday morning. About the time we needed to head out, it got sunny and beautiful.
We made one quick stop for lunch at Pineapple Willy's to enjoy the sunshine and beach for a few minutes, and get one more picture before we left.

For the past 2 weeks, I watched Marlie. Landon loved having a playmate every day. We went to the zoo with Luke one day that he was off of work. It was HOT, and there were too many field trip kids there!


This past Sunday we went to the farm to pick up Elyssa. They played in the baby pool, we grilled out supper, and sat by the fire pit, stayed the night, visited with my parents and grandpa, then headed back Monday morning after breakfast. Luke had to go to work. We're packing our week full of fun stuff. So far we have swam, gone to zumba, IHOP, the splash park, and plenty of movies. And it's only TUESDAY!

May

Not much has happened with us in the last 2 weeks ! After the marathon, I did end up going to the Dr. about my foot, and I'm in a boot right now until I go back for X-rays again next week. I take it off when I go to the Y though and cycle. I have tried the elliptical a few times. I might lose my mind soon if I can't run!

Our house was not damaged in the flood that occured last weekend. We were able to fill our pool up with all the rain though =) You'd think with over 15" of rain, the flowers and grass seed ( what didn't wash away!) wouldn't need watering for awhile, BUT 2 days later it was almost 90 degrees. The ground was dry as a bone. We don't live in Davidson County, so we weren't on a water restriction, and I have been able to turn on the hose and sprinkler for all the flowers and grass. You can search for a ton of pictures on youtube and facebook to see all of the damage, if you haven't already.

We did go out of town on Friday for my Great Uncle's funeral in Louisville .The burial was at the church right at our farm, Cave Spring Methodist Church. All of my Great Aunt and Grandmother's family is burried there. One of the families from their home church has a house on the lake, and had the family over for lunch afterwards.We hung out at the farm for a little bit and planned on napping. Luke had been working 12+ hours all week, and knew he'd have to work a lot on Saturday--but didn't know he'd work over 14 hours. We didn't really get a good nap in=( Landon woke up from his screaming with a nasty diaper, and wouldn't go back down. So we just packed up the stuff we had, and went to eat at the River Shack. We were planning on Landon and Elyssa sharing a chicken tender meal and fries, but Landon opted for ONIONS and Amanda's cheeseburger. We stopped back at the farm to drop Amanda and Elyssa off, and then we headed back home.
It was a long weekend after that, with Luke working from like 7AM-11PM, and Mother's Day on Sunday.

Easter

We had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection on Easter. Church was amazing. The service started with the choir singing God is Here:

There is a sweet annointing inthe sactuary

There is a stillness in the atmosphere

Come and lay down

The burdens you have carried

For in this sanctuary God is here

He is here, He is here

to break the yoke and lift the heavy burdened

He is here, He is here
To heal the hopeless heart and bless the broken
Come and lay down
The burdens you have carried
For in this sanctuary God is here

And the youth did another amazing skit.

My family was in town, we got some fun Easter baskets, and we had planned an Easter lunch ! Landon's Easter basket was a basketball goal. We ended up having to take it back, and get the one we originally wanted. He LOVES it! Luke got The Blind Side book and some candy, and I got 2 vases of flowers--1 from Landon & 1 from Luke.

The lillies are all opened up now, and they are beautiful!

Landon went STRAIGHT to bed when we got home from church, and we didn't even THINK to try to take another picture of the family. The picture from before church is NOT my favorite, but as soon as we got home, his whiney butt went to bed! I feel like I'm much smaller than I look at this angle.
We didn't even think to take one of the whole family either. BUT Elyssa did manage to pose at some trees by the car after church.

And I got a cute picture of Elyssa, Landon, and Luke walking to the car after church.
And yes, Elyssa and I match. Her and Amanda got matching shirts/dress. and I just happened to buy the same print dress from Target. But if you ask Elyssa, she just matched Aunt Emma and not her mommy.

We were going to color eggs Saturday night, but it was too late when we got around to it, so we colored them Sunday afternoon while the ham was finishing. We had some regular Dudley's egg dye, and we also got a "Bright and Shiny" box. They looked like gold leafed eggs on the box--we were skeptical!
But they turned out GREAT!

We had some wonderful ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, and Hawaiin rolls.And we had some strawberry shortcake ( for Amanda's birthday--Aril 3rd). I ate MORE than on Thanksgiving I think. Totally stuffed! We didn't get a Honey Baked ham, but we got a honey glazed ham from Kroger that was FabUlOuS! We still are eating it!!!

It was a great day--my favroite of the whole year. Elyssa got to play with Landon and Poppy outside A LOT, and Landon was sad when they all left. Elyssa took all the eggs home with her to hunt all week on her Spring Break.

Luke 24:1-7
1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'