We Have A Tooth!

Finally after 10 1/2 months we have our first tooth. As with everything about this cutie, it hasn't fazed him at all. No fuss, no muss. Now I can add foods to his food experiences.
We have also learned two new words this week. Ay-ee for Bailey and I-I for night, night. We are also walking without holding on for 4 or 5 steps then letting ourselves down gently. He actually walked around me from one side of the toy box to the other. As I've said many times we are so blessed to have this sweet baby in our lives. I thank God everyday for blessing our lives with Connor Reid! These first 10 1/2 months have flown by and we look forward to many more months to come.

Shopping, Basketball, and Sulphur Springs

Friday night Bailey went to spend the night with her Aunt Tamara. She really enjoys her time with her Aunts. So Greg and the boys and I headed to Grapevine Mills to eat some dinner and do some pre-Spring shopping. Jack got to have some ice cream for having a great week at school and mommy got some early spring shopping done for all three kids. Connor was just along for the ride. More and more we realize how lucky we truly are. Connor is such a happy, content baby. He smiles at everyone and laughs all the time. He was dog tired by the time we got home at 9:30 but still smiling until we dropped him into the bed.
Saturday morning started early. Aunt Gretchen picked Connor up at 7:30 and took him to Sulphur Springs. The rest of us were going to head up after Jack's basketball tournament. Since we only had Jack, Greg and I took him to breakfast. It was so fun to spend time with our oldest and really talk about school and friends with no interruptions. Greg and Jack then headed up to watch Garrison play basketball. Jack enjoyed cheering him on. That afternoon Jack had a game. Only 5 players showed up! Greg is his coach and we get really frustrated because no one calls when they are not going to be there. It made for a long game for those 5 tough boys. Needless to say, they lost, but the effort of those boys was amazing. Jack is so much fun to watch. He scored all the points his team made!!! He hustles and is in the other teams face the whole time. I really believe we may have found THAT SPORT. The one he is suppose to play. He loves everything he plays but is really gifted in basketball.
Mimi, Papa, Tamara, Emma, and Terry came to watch him and he was so proud!
Thanks guys for making him feel so special.
As soon as the game was over we headed out to Memaw's and G-Dads. I had missed my Connor all day and couldn't wait to see him. We had a great time as always and the kids enjoy time with Memaw so much. Greg is off Monday and he and Bailey and Connor stayed until Monday night. Jack and mommy headed back this afternoon. It was fun and strange to only have one child. One of the reasons for the trip other than playing with Memaw was for Greg and his dad to build a big media, playroom shelving unit for our playroom. I have been wanting this for a year now. Patience is not my strong suit, just ask Greg! I will post a pic when it is done. I can't wait.
Ok, back to Jack and mommy time. We had a fun ride home. Jack is usually so quiet because he can't get a word in with Bailey around. So it was fun to listen to him talk about sports, school, all the cities we passed, all the signs we passed, what he wanted to eat, friends, and many other things. I don't think we have talked that much in years. After we got home we had to watch the NBA All Star Game. He was hooting and hollering for Dirk and Josh Howard. He is already learning trash talk. He is yelling at the TV "You can't catch us now" "No one will beat the West" "Go... Dirrrrrk..." I loved our time together tonight Jack.

Sunshine School Parties

What a cute group of 5 year olds! My class has been such a source of enjoyment for me this year. They are truly bright, funny kids. They enjoy everything we learn and do. Here they are posing after the Valentine Party. These are my only two girls! It doesn't bother them a bit to be the only girls. They fit right in. I think the boys are a little protective of them.

Bailey also had her Valentine Party and really enjoyed frosting and decorating heart cookies. She loves her teacher and all her friends at Sunshine School. I can't believe I will have two kids in school next year. She is not suppose to be that big! I am so glad Jack will be at school with her to look after her. She is not as adventurous or laid back as her big brother so I worry much more about her starting Kindergarten than I did "Happy" Jack.

My Sweethearts!

We had a really great Valentines this year. First, Greg being healthier was such a blessing that it made the day even more special. Sometimes we take our health for granted, well, never again in this house!

The day started out with Daddy going to the donut shop for heart shaped donuts! The kids loved them. Especially Connor! We also got a few for Jack's teacher, who we all love so much. She has been such a wonderful blessing in Jack's life this year. After breakfast Jack and daddy headed out to school and work. Bailey, Connor and I spent the morning playing and doing some light cleaning. After lunch my dad, PaPa, come over to keep the two kids so I could go do my room mother thing at Jack's Valentine Party. Jack's party went great. First Graders love parties and balloons!!!

After school, the kids sat at the table and made homemade Valentines for their daddy and some other special people. They had a blast and were very creative.

When Connor got up from his nap we went to Target and shopped for our special Valentines for daddy. Bailey and I decided to spruce up the table a little. We got new place mats and put flowers in the center. We got daddy a new book we thought he would enjoy. It is about the assassination of Abe Lincoln. Jack is really into Presidents right now so he picked it out. Then we headed home to cook our special red and heart meal. We had a chicken pot pie with a heart sliced on top. We had cherry jello, and yummy strawberries. That was all the red I could come up with. Daddy felt very special that night! And the kids had a blast getting it all ready for him!

The next night was Mommy's night! Greg took me to dinner Thursday night. Just us. Aunt Tamara came over to keep the kids. They love their Aunt "Hammerhead"!!!

Thanks Tamara for keeping them.

Sports and more sports!

Today was Jack's last regular season Basketball game. I made sure I went because I stayed home with Connor and Bailey last week and he had his best game ever. He called me on the way home and was so excited that I felt horrible for missing it.
Today he played great but they lost. He and his daddy have really enjoyed this time together. They have grown even closer and found more in common than they thought they had. I love to watch Greg light up when Jack pulls up and shoots a basket! He actually gushes about Jack's play. Today Jack stole a ball mid air and ran it back, pulled up at the free throw line and sunk a basket!!! It was all net, as the men said. The smile on Jack's face was priceless.
After the game we went to Mr. Gatti's for a pizza party with the team. It was fun to sit around and visit with the other mom's and dad's we don't see very often.
I know people who say you shouldn't put your kids in so many sports when they are so young and we shouldn't be so busy. My humble opinion is that my children, especially Jack loves to play sports and we do not ever force them to play. We as a family really enjoy that time together watching them play. We do stick to the one sport at a time rule and that keeps the craziness to a minimum. The only time it is tough is when soccer and t-ball overlap for one weekend. Then we have 4 games all on one Saturday. But, come on, it is one weekend a year.
Greg had also coached soccer and basketball and is considering coaching Jack in T-ball this summer. It is fun for him to spend that time with the kids. I think it is a fun thing our family can do together. Connor has been at some sort of game since he was a week old!
So, now that Basketball is ending, Soccer is beginning. Both play Soccer and Greg is Bailey's coach. She is the only girl again, we were hoping this year there would be at least one more girl.
It doesn't bother her as long as her favorite guy is out there with her. DADDY!

Sweetheart Carnival and Valentines

Friday night we (minus Baby Connor) headed up to Jack's school for the Annual Sweetheart Carnival. We ate chicken and played games, and one of us got our nails painted and jumped in bounce houses! The kids ate cotton candy, popcorn and snowcones! The kids loved it! The parents tolerated it! Then I did my short stint of work in the Crazy Hat Room. The Carnival is fun but it is so cold every year that I wish they could do it either earlier in the Fall or later in the Spring. After the Carnival we went to buy the kids Valentines. They actually both picked out the same ones this year! Saturday morning they sat at the table and filled them all out and put the tattoo in them and sealed them closed all by themselves! Self- sufficient kids are great!

On the health front,
Greg is feeling better all the time. He is trying to adjust to a new lifestyle. He is eating healthier and resting when he can. The kids are loving having daddy play so much with them again! On one of the really nice days this week he took all three out front with him and played basketball and watched them ride bikes. It made me cry because two short weeks ago he couldn't have even picked up a basketball.
Connor has his very first ear infection! He was not sleeping and leaning to one side all the time so Greg took him to the Doctor and yes we had infection! I feel very blessed that this is his first one. Bailey had so many by 10 months that she was getting her tubes in.
Bailey is healthy as a horse! She is the one person in this family that I really don't worry about.
Jack for now is fairly healthy. He continues to have drainage that I am positive is allergies.
And mommy, well I can't be sick, so I am not!

The Illness

This is the blog that I have put off for 2 months now. It started last year in early December. Greg started saying his ankles were bugging him and swelling. We thought at first that he had sprained his ankles at Jack's basketball game. Everyday they got worse until he hurt so bad he could barely walk by the end of a day. Finally, he decided it wasn't a sprain and went to his regular Doctor. I don't think his doctor knew what to think or thought it wasn't very serious. He did some bloodwork and sent him home. Well, everyday began to get worse and the swelling and pain spread from ankles to knees and on up. He also had a red rash like place around his lower legs. My first thought was Lymes! The rash had to mean something. So, his Doctor told him to go to our Dermatologist. Dr. Ray knew immediately what the rash was. He told him it was Erethma Nodosum. He could tell him what it was but not for sure how he got it. He said possibly he had walking pneumonia and that was how it started. So, he sent him for a chest x-ray to look at his lungs. When we got the results of the chest x-ray they decided to send him for a CT Scan to look more closely at his lungs. In the mean time the Doctor had run several more test and ruled many, many things out. No Lymes, mono, lupus, ect...
He went in for the CT Scan and it seemed like it took forever for the results to come back. Greg actually called his Doctors office to see if they knew anything and the nurse told Greg he had them but was getting a second opinion before calling him. That of course made us a little nervous. In the mean time Greg has gotten really bad and is in so much pain he can't hold the kids or be on his feet for very long. Every joint on his body was now in horrible pain. He comes home from work and goes to bed almost everyday. They did try one round of a medicine, a steroid I think, and he felt better and we thought this is it! But, once the steroid is cut back to a small dose the pain comes back even worse. So, the CT Scan finally comes in and when Greg calls me to tell me what he said I could tell he didn't really want to tell me everything. First, they are pretty sure he has something called Sarcoidosis. It is blah, blah, blah... Then he says "there is also a small chance and mind you it is a small chance they are pretty sure it is the other but a small chance..." And I'm saying just tell me!! "A chance it is Lymphoma". I don't remember anything else he said that night. I shut down for a while and needed time to process what they were telling us. I cried a little and called my mommy of course. After her pep talk I was ready to face it and deal with whatever God had in store for us. You see, I don't think God expected me to be totally alright immediately or to not ask some why questions. It is all a part of our human nature that he gave to us. I decided that night that I would keep it in check for my kids! I wanted them to know that even with daddy sick, life would go on as normally as possible. So, if I was going to cry or have a why me moment it would be when I was alone! I also decided that night that I would not play the what if game, we would not look things up or listen to people with horror stories. We would face whatever it turned out to be once we knew for sure what we were really dealing with. I didn't even think about the possibility of Lymphoma because we just simply didn't know for sure anything.
So, here we have this random illness, my perfectly healthy husband, and the next step.
We needed to have a biopsy as soon as possible to find out which of the two it was.
We went in that same week on Wednesday and saw two surgeons. One was a thoracic surgeon and one a pulmonoligist. The decision was for the thoracic surgeon to do the biopsy because of where the lymph nodes were located in his lungs. The biopsy itself was a little unnerving. We scheduled it for that same Friday. I think the fact that all this happened in one weeks time was scary. The biopsy was to gather a large amount of lymph nodes from the lungs because they were what looked suspicious to the radiologist. Ok, more background, the rash on the legs could have been caused by either of these diseases also. The enlarged lymph nodes also could be caused by both. So the only way to know for sure which it was, was to do a biopsy.
Friday morning early we checked into the hospital for the surgery. They did more bloodwork and a new chest x-ray. Then we sat in pre-op for a while and the surgeon and anesthesiologist came in to talk to us. They asked a lot more questions and then left a nurse to prepare him. I leaned into the doorway to hear what they were saying and overheard them both saying they felt really sure it was the Sarcoid! I hung onto that all during the surgery. I was told it would take an hour or an hour and a half. Two and a half hours later I was getting very nervous. I think mom, Kristen and Stephanie could tell I was beginning to get really upset. Just then the surgeon came out to tell me Greg looked great and the preliminary results were Sarcoid so they had pumped him full of steroids and pain meds. He told me he could tell that Greg was in horrible pain and they really wanted to give him some relief!
What we do know about Sarcoid is that it is an auto immune disease. It can affect any and several organs. Most people don't know that they have it. It affects mostly African Americans! Greg was only actually in a 3 % chance to have this. The organs it affects the most is the lungs. We wouldn't have known he had it if we didn't do a chest x-ray. It also caused the rash thing on his ankles and that rash thing causes joint pain. The Sarcoid also can affect your joints in a small amount of people. So basically, Greg got a double whammy of joint pain by having these two diseases. He is now on a steroid and we are beginning to deal with all the affects of the steroid he is taking. That is another blog, another time!
I am so grateful to God for taking care of all of us during this ordeal. I am also grateful to many friends and family for their kindness and support.
We know that we have a long road ahead of us but are ready to face it with each other and God beside us!

The Hunting Trip

Greg and Jack went to the deer lease to hunt the weekend after Christmas. Everyone was there except Bailey, Connor and I who stayed home to rest. Jack had been looking forward to this trip for so long. He sat in the stand with daddy and was really good. Daddy got a doe and Papa got a buck. When it was picture time Jack wanted his picture taken with Papa's buck!
He was really proud of the hunt!

Finally...

I am finally to the last Christmas event! Christmas Day after we had our time with Santa gifts we all headed to Mimi and Papa's for the Riddle side of Christmas.
Both my granny and papa were able to be there and that doesn't happen very often now. All the Riddles were able to come except for Terry and Emma who had the stomach bug.
I got a really good picture of the three kids with granny and papa.
Christmas this year was so enjoyable watching the kids excited faces and seeing Connor experience everything for the first time. I love the holiday season and so do my kids but once it is over I am so ready to get back to "normal". Everything came down between Christmas and New Years and now we start a new year!

Did He Come?

All three kids got up at 7:15 Christmas morning. Daddy went into the playroom to see if Santa had come. I waited with the kids in the hall and they were chomping at the bit to get into the room. They were so excited to see that Santa did indeed come and left them exactly what they wanted. Connor finally got it! He really enjoyed all his gifts from Santa. He couldn't stop smiling.
Jackson got his Game Cube and hasn't stopped playing it since that day!
Bailey loves her market and her new CD The cheetah Girls to play in her new CD player her Aunt Tamara gave her.
Well, this year Santa was really good to the kids. Hopefully they will stay off the nauty list and he will come to visit us again next year.

Over The River And Through The Woods

Finally Christmas Eve we went to Mimi and Papa's for a night full of fun, food and more presents! Mimi and Papa's living room is like a disaster area after the kids are done opening all their gifts. Again this year everyone was really generous and we all loved everything we got. Here are the highlights. Jack really loved everything, but he especially liked some Safari animals that Terry, Nicole and the girls got him. He also got a game for his Game Cube that we are still at this point hoping Santa brings him!
Bailey got so excited about everything she got! She was so excited. She loved her new Princess skates and some more wooden food in a basket.
We always take pictures in front of mom and dad's tree with PJ's on .
This was a really cute one with Aunt Tamara. Jack and Bailey had on matching pajamas but I never found matching ones for Connor. Maybe next year.

Who are those cute kids? Now it was time to go home and get ready for Santa!

Later That Day...

After church that morning we come home and rested because we knew it would be a long night. After pretty long afternoon naps we all gathered around our pretty Christmas tree, the kids in their Christmas PJ's. Greg and I had decided to have our family Christmas in the afternoon because we knew how late we would be home that night. The kids opened their gifts to each other and one from us. Bailey was thrilled with her big veggies and her chef's hat and apron. She is so... into cooking right now. Jack and Connor got her a cash register with a plastic credit card, she thinks she is so grown up.
Jack got a new Bible with a camo cover from Mom and Dad. He was really excited to take it to church the next week. Connor and Bailey got him a new Star Wars figure.
Sweet Connor, he was still not so sure about all this craziness! He is so layed back that he just rested on me and let us open his gifts for him. He got a puppy from Jack and Bailey and mommy and daddy got him some big soft blocks. He liked playing with both presents. More to come...

Christmas Eve

These are my three beautiful children on Christmas Eve morning. They all three were so excited and looked so cute in their Christmas clothes. Connor had on Jack's first Christmas outfit and it fit him perfectly. This was only the beginning of a very long two days...

Christmas #1

We started our Christmas celebrations with a night of fun at Uncle Sean and Aunt Stephanies. We ate wonderful Italian food and yummy desserts and opened lots of packages. Connor was more interested in climbing and playing with daddy and mommy than opening anything. He wasn't really even interested in the paper, boxes or bags this night.















Jack really enjoyed all his fun gifts and Bailey was so thrilled to get an Easy Bake Oven! She has "bugged" me ever since to open it and bake something. I know I can't hold out much longer.
It was definitely a fun way to begin our Holiday Season!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Well maybe not! The weather has been very warm and nice for riding bikes but not great for thinking about Christmas. If our street wasn't full of houses with Christmas lights you might think it was still October on Brookwood. All the kids are out every afternoon playing and riding their bikes. Bailey is right there with them. She was very upset when I sold her little bike at our last garage sale. I promised her to get her a new, bigger bike soon. I was going to go after Christmas, but my mom pointed out that there wouldn't be much left after Christmas. That's Mimi, always looking out for her grandkids. She looks so big zipping around on her new pink princess bike with streamers and a water bottle! I have so much to catch up on!
Jack is playing basketball now and loving it! He is actually really good at it. Greg is his coach and I think he is really enjoying doing this with Jack. Jack hasn't actually scored yet and his first game ended with a BIG score of 4-2! He is also thrilled to have his good friend Kyle on his team. Kyle and his family have become friends of ours through school and all the sports the boys play together. I think this is the fourth sport they have played together. GO HAWKS!!!

Last Thursday we had our parties at Sunshine School. Bailey had a great time making a Santa and eating yummy foods. She was so excited that she and Ashlyn had on the same shirt. We have been very blessed to have our kids go to Sunshine School. They have learned so much and really enjoy each day they go. Connor loved his party! They gave him this sugar cookie covered with icing. I said he would never be able to eat it. Boy, was I wrong. He chowed it down so fast and all the little girls in his class were still looking at it when he finished. After his cookie he was ready for a nap. My class had a great party. My moms are wonderful and thoughtful. They were so good to me for my birthday and Christmas. But, I was ready for a break for a while.
My favorite day so far this December, by far, was our annual trip to North Park. We always go see the Santa there. I love how jolly and friendly and realistic he is. My kids truly believe he is the real Santa and all the other malls are just his helper Santas. We went out early in the afternoon with Mimi and sat on Santa's lap. It was the best year ever. Not just because Connor was with us this year but because it went so smoothly. All three smiling and happy and looking at the camera. No stress for me. Connor loved Santa! Bailey even loved Santa this year. Jack has always loved Santa. Then we met everyone else and ate and saw Scrooge. Jack got picked on this year. He loved it. While we were there Jack saddled up to the band playing outside Dillards and sang with them for a long time. They loved him and said they made more money because of him and invited him to come to Sam's Club on Greenville the next day to sing with them again! He was so cute and he truly is comfortable around all ages. The man he sang with was elderly and Jack loved him and talked his ears off. He is such a friendly kid!
Bailey and I were invited to Kendyll's for a Cookie Exchange. Bailey was so excited. We made cookies forever on Saturday night, after we had gone to Santa's Village for a while. Bailey was such a big help making the cookies. She rolled all 4 dozen and helped me roll them in the nuts. She really looked cute in her apron. Then she went to bed...

and woke up at midnight throwing up! And she kept throwing up! All night long. Poor Bailey, no cookie party for her. She was so upset. Whatever she had worked its way through several of us before it was done. Hopefully we are over all the sick before Christmas.

Finally, on the 6th day of Christmas my true love (Jack) gave to me a fun Christmas party at his school! I am Jack's room mom and we had a great time making an ornament (that Jack broke) and eating decorated cookies, and playing games. It was fun to be in a room with that much excitement. I am really enjoying helping Jack's sweet teacher so much this year. So far December has been one crazy month! We are enjoying it so much and can't wait for the rest of the 12 Days of Christmas!

My Hunting Boys

I grew up in a family that hunted. So, it isn't hard for me to understand my husband who likes to hunt. But now, I am raising hunting children too. Jack always wants to shoot his G-dads pellet gun and talks all the time about going hunting with daddy. Bailey, who refused to put her camo on for this picture, always asks her daddy if she can go hunting with him too. She likes the idea of going anywhere with her daddy, but she is not so crazy about the clothes! That's my girl.
I am pretty sure Connor will follow his big brother and want to go hunting also. They do make a handsome picture!

Trimming The Tree

We spent Saturday night after Jack and Bailey returned from Memaw's and G-Dad's trimming the tree. This was the best year ever! We finally have our complete family all sitting around looking at the lights and putting ornaments on. The older two love to put on the ornaments and Connor just sat and watched everything we did. Greg put on Christmas music and Jack and Bailey really planned out where to put all the ornaments. I only had to move a few around this year! Of course, we didn't put anything on the bottom layer so Connor won't be tempted. So far he hasn't tried to pull up on the tree. I give him a week and then he will realize how fun it would be to pull down the tree! Greg doesn't "get into" all this Christmas stuff like I do. I have always loved to decorate and celebrate the holidays. Greg puts up with it for me and now for the kids. Bailey is going to be just like her mommy. She gets so excited over everything Christmas and has been bugging her daddy to put up the lights on the house. Which he did just for her (and me)this Sunday. We are ready for the fun to begin!!! Christmas is really special to me this year, it is the first year for our completed family to celebrate. With Connor added this year everything will be new and the other two can't wait to show him everything. I want this to be the best Christmas ever.

Blessings!

This time of year is spent on remembering the things we should be thankful for. I hope to instill in my three children that we should always be thankful not just at this time. I love all holidays but especially the one where we "Count our Blessings".
Here are a few of mine-
My loving, patient husband, who keeps me grounded.
My three adorable, wonderful children.
My family, who loves unconditionally.
My close friends, who keep me in line and support me no matter what.
My home, clothes, and food that God provides us.
My grandparents, who I have such treasured memories from my childhood.
All our sweet family members who have gone on to be with God. It is comforting to know that they are watching over us.
My children's teachers who help guide their little minds.
Our health, that we tend to take for granted. So many people are dealing with serious health issues.
I guess I could go on forever...
One of my pet peeves is not having a Thanksgiving. Every year now it seems like we jump from Halloween to Christmas without more than a quick stop to be thankful. The meaning behind this holiday is so special and we should never forget to celebrate it!

My Favorite Season

We spent a great afternoon this last Sunday playing in our backyard. The older two kids love to play out back and will stay out all day if I let them. Jack was out back with a short sleeve shirt and Bailey had no shoes on. You wouldn't know it was cool if you looked at my older two. Take a look at Connor and how bundled he was and you can tell it was cooler.
Greg put back up our baby swing and we bundled Connor up tight and let him swing. He loved it and watched all of us, laughing everytime Lulu ran past him.
Jack and Bailey piled leaves up and jumped into them for a long time. We have a GIANT tree out back and the amount of leaves that fall off of it in the Fall is enormous!
Daddy and Jack played football and Bailey jumped on the trampoline while I pushed Connor in the swing.
I love everything about Autumn. The colors, the smells, the crisp cool air, football, jumping in the leaves, the long sleeve clothes, Bailey in tights and long dresses, flannel pajama pants, socks all day long, all the new shows on TV.