Chats with Santa 2016

We took the girls to see Santa this weekend.  They both did so well and were so excited to talk with Santa.  Both went running up to him without any fear...what a difference a year makes!!

Ella has consistently been asking for a "little Mickey Mouse, not the real one" and Ava asked Santa to a stuffed animal Peppa Pig and "a shirt with his face on it".  LOL!  I don't know where they come up with this stuff.  

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving 2016 was full of family, fun, and thankfulness...just as it should be!!  We didn't want to miss anyone so we did do a bit of driving but it was well worth it!  We started in Kansas City for the Angell Thanksgiving at my brother and sister's house.  

Game play is very serious when we all get together.

Keeping the dogs away from the food but I think I caught the other boys ;)

Lots of fun on their tree swing!!

Turkey and wine in a metal chalice of course! 

I love seeing how far this girly has come with puppies.  She was so scared initially and now we have to keep an eye on her as she'll run up to any puppy and wants to love on them.  We have some work to do on that but I'm so thankful she's overcome her fear of pups :)

Two peas in a pod...and they're matching!  LOL!!

Blessed!

Ella in Pappy's hat and Ava in Pappy's shoes

The girls won at Pitch!!  This is a big deal...as it might be the first time ever!!

Love them!!

We woke up early on Friday and headed to Fuller Thanksgiving.  We were blessed with decent weather so that we could all spend time outside on the farm.  

Dinner time!!

Ella was finally brave enough to go for a 4 wheeler ride and LOVED it!!

Kaden and Ella...Kaden's so good about watching out for her :)

4 wheeler full of kiddos and Nai Nai

Nap time

Wish Bone...I love that their eyes are closed!!

Everyone got measured this year!

3 of the 8 dogs at the farm.  They pick the best spot to take a nap...near the food :)

All the kiddos with Nai Nai and Grandpa for Isle of Lights

While us big kids went to the "Isle of Lights" as well...that's our story anyway ;)

The next day we headed to the last home KState football game of the year and then we made our way north, back home.  So thankful for good travelers!

Holt Gala Weekend 2016

We always look forward to the Holt International Benefit every year.  It's not only a great date night but even better to be serving an organization who helped bring our family and many of our friend's families together as well.  I love the friends who we have met through Holt and adoption in general.  It's amazing the quick bond that forms when you and your friends have a heart for adoption.  

This year Matt and I decided that we were going to make a weekend of the benefit.  We planned to attend the Benefit, stay the night at the hotel, and then do one of our favorite trail runs the next morning before heading home to our girls.  Everything was set and then I got sick the week before.  Luckily I was pretty much back to normal on Saturday but that's when Matt started getting sick.  Matt loves Holt though and still wanted to attend the benefit.  And honestly, a quiet night in the hotel sounded like it just might be the golden ticket.  So we proceeded as planned minus the run...we planned to sleep in the next morning instead :)

We had a blast at the Holt Gala.  

Me and my handsome date.

60 years of AWESOME LOVE

Some of the best ladies I've ever been blessed to know!!

We are thankful for a great night at the Gala and that Matt felt ok through most of it at least.  And we won a trip to Africa!!  From there things went down hill.  Matt was feeling pretty pukey by bedtime and could tell his temp was rising again.  Matt woke me up at 6:30am and told me that he needed to go the ER because he was having trouble swallowing.  Honestly, I thought he was probably over-reacting at first.  He tends to do that :)  But the more he talked the more I could tell he was having trouble getting enough breath support to talk as well.  So we packed up quick and headed to the ER.  I took him to a smaller hospital in this city where I figured we could get right in.  We did get right in and by the time we got there Matt's throat was swelling tighter.  They gave him the baseline drugs of steroids and benedryl and then we waited.  It seemed like we waited a long time; probably an hour without any improvement.  At that time they decided to start Epi.  Luckily it made some improvement within the hour but because it wasn't changing quickly they decided to send us via squad to the main hospital.  From there we spent the next 2 nights and 3 days in the hospital.  Matt had a rare infection of his epiglottis which caused swelling making it hard for him to swallow and made him have to concentrate hard on breathing.  The issues with the infection were then made worse due to an allergic reaction to medication.  We had to stay for so long because of they then needed to monitor Matt closely for rebound swelling as he came off the medications and finally so that they could start another antibiotic and ensure no allergic reaction occurred.    Can I just say "SCARY!!!"  I hated seeing him like that.  Thankfully Matt was in good hands and all has been good since we came home from the hospital.  

Again, I have to brag on my in laws!  They dropped everything on that Sunday morning to come to Omaha to see Matt and to help with the girls.  They ended up staying until Matt was discharged so that I could be with Matt and focus on him entirely.  

  

Grateful

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and holiday season.  It's always at this time of year that Jesus makes sure to point out just how blessed I am and just how far God has brought me along this crazy journey called life.  I love my family more than I can ever imagine or could ever put into words.   Sometimes I almost can't believe the dark spot that Jesus has brought me out of....when I thought my world was falling down because Matt and I couldn't give birth to our own babies and now I look to either side of me and I can't believe these 2 beautiful babies are mine.  I am blessed with a husband who loves me and his girls, always puts others first, works so hard to provide for his family, is good with money and manages all of our finances, and he still makes sure that we have lots of quality time to spend as a couple and a family.  I have in laws and brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews who I love and actually love spending time with.  Yes, I said it...I love my in laws!!  My parents celebrated 40 years of marriage this year and are still very much in love.  My parents are the people I want to call first when I am struggling and need advice and the people who I strive the hardest to make proud in this world.  They have taught me to love and trust Jesus, to work hard, to love others, and that family always comes first.

It's so important to Matt and I that our girls understand the real meaning of Thanksgiving.  I love our family tradition which encourages us to talk as a family every night; at least for the month of November, about what we are thankful for.   Our tradition is our Fuller Thankful Tree.  We start with just the trunk of the tree on November 1 and then we add leaves which we write what we are thankful for on to fill up our tree.  It's fun for all of us.  And I love listening to the girls talk about who or what they are thankful for and why.  This tradition helps all of us to set our focus for the season.  It's not all about stuff, even though we are thankful for those blessings...our tree is filled with people, health, and ways we spend time together.