Family for Little Man

We are so happy, Little Man has a family. He is an only child and they have lots of time to concentrate on his needs. All grandparents live close and are supportive. They also have chickens which he loves.

Deciding to have him moved was the hardest decision we have ever made. In my heart he was our son. However, we really felt that a smaller, younger family would be in his best interest. We were really worried that after letting him go that he wouldn't get the right family for him. However, he has a great placement. It is the best Christmas present for him and us. We are so relieved.

I am working on getting all of his pictures around for his new family, he will have his baby pictures. This young couple who can't have children now have a young son.

Annual Ornament Party 2019

We had our annual Ornament party and had a great time making lots of creations. We are starting to run out of space on the tree. Some of our breakable ornaments stay boxed up.

I think that this ornament was the most popular. People made several of them. 

So simple to make and real pretty.

What traditions do you have at Christmas time? Share with me.

Neurologist

Larissa and I made it to Charlotte yesterday to see a new neurologist. It was a totally different atmosphere. They called us while we were driving to let us know that she was running late and asking if they could make her appointment 30 minutes later. I said yes and we stopped for breakfast.

The neurologist asked if Larissa had ever had genetic testing. She has a half sibling with similar seizures. She told me that some types of seizures were genetic. I had never been told that before.

She is concerned because Larissa has tried so many different medications without success. She thinks that the odds of controlling her seizures with medication is slim and it sending her to another neurologist who specializes in surgery. The last neurologist said that the seizures weren't bad enough to warrant surgery while throwing new meds at her. That prospect scares me. She is scheduled for a 48 hour EEG in the hospital in Charlotte in January so we will see what comes out of that. Hoping to get some answers.

On the ride home Larissa asked me if the surgery would help with her learning disability. That question broke my heart. She is aware that she struggles and knows that she isn't keeping up academically with her peers.

Now I am concerned about eating hospital food for two days and not knowing what allergies she has. I don’t want one thing to distract another. Still waiting on that.

Great Weekend

We had a very busy weekend. We were able to get most of the kids to the house for Thanksgiving and even had a few extra friends over. Joselin is mad at us so did not want to come.

We didn’t have much left overs! It is amazing how much food we go through. I cooked my green bean casserole using 16 cans of French cut green beans and a block of velveeta yet the next day they were done. Might have to bump it up to 20 cans next time. The lack of a double oven is limiting but I have found ways around it. I cook my turkey in a huge roaster and now have an extra deep electric skillet I used for my green beans. I currently don’t have a crock pot, they just don’t seem to last long for us and aren’t big enough to hold a meal anyways, they do work for sides. I have used my electric roaster like a crock pot successfully.

Thursday night we went to Target and bought some pj’s and such. I really didn’t have a strong need but enjoyed my time wit Sarah, Tasha and Kassi.

On Friday we decorated the tree and put up stockings and Sarah and I went out for a little Christmas shopping.

Saturday we went to church. We kept Owen for the weekend so Tasha could celebrate her 30th birthday. Makes me feel old! Miguel is still with us.

Sunday we took some family pictures, went to see Santa and ended the day at Kassi’s house since she prepared a nice meal for everyone.

The pictures will be out of order as my phone doesn’t like to let me move them around.

This is our 5th year visiting the same Santa. He doesn’t charge, you take your own pictures. 

We do tip him.

Busy Weekend

Tasha and Ethan took a little trip to NC to celebrate her birthday so we had the three grandbabies for the weekend. I took the opportunity to do some Pinterest art. Owen is at the age where handprints are impossible so her did some footprints and Vaida did Santa and his rain deer.

Vaida wanted to do a gingerbread house so we picked up some kits from Five and Below. The kids had fun and success in keeping them together until they demolished them to eat the candy.

Owen wasn’t feeling well so he mostly wanted a lap to sleep on. He is such a cuddle bug.

I have decided that I need a table in the house for my craft stuff. I use the dining room table. We eat dinner together every night so it does pose a problem. My table is large but so is the family. I decided that I am going to squeeze a spot in the play area. So I started to organize the space. I got an itch to organize the duplos... in the spot where I want to put my table. It won’t stay organized long. Anyone have great storage ideas for duplos/legos that actually work?

Our weekend went fast and the week will be short. I feel like Christmas will be here very soon and I am not prepared.

Paint Party

 We recently has a paint party. We had some good friends come and we all enjoyed painting and eating. The adults painted then the kids painted. We have our annual ornament party on December 8th. I am still looking for ideas for that! 

Looking at all my pictures makes me realize how I have been neglecting the blog. I just assume that people follow me on Instagram or Facebook and this is all old news or duplicated. But, I imagine that there are many that just read here so I will try to do a better job! You can’t fire me anyways.

Added the Benjamin picture because he looks so much older to me. He is growing up on me.

Costumes

I am sitting here on my phone wondering if I ever shared these here. Larissa and I worked on sewing the dragon as well as a baby dragon on purse as part of our homeschooling. Benjamin is just the cutest leprechaun although I am biased in that opinion. The dragons name is Calvin. The baby is Hobbs.