Guess what song.......

we have been singing around here?????

Regan lost her front tooth just in time to put it on her Christmas wish list!

We LOVE Santa..........

I knew when I married my sweetie that I was also getting prettty special parents....

BUT some days that pretty special Father in law of mine just melts my heart.

Pa Pa {Jason's Dad} is a very close and personal friend of Santa :)

Every year he goes and sits, takes pictures, and make our special friends SMILE!!

Every year I am brought to tears.

I have SOOO many pictures but here are a few of my favorite.....

Guess who figured out who Santa was....... 

Bubba will be moving on to middle school next year :(

This was our last year going and doing this for class.

I can't not even begin to tell you how AMAZING his teacher and aids are.

They are truly angels!!! 

Santa did not forget a special 1st Grader and her class.

{notice who got picked to sit on his lap} 

I am so grateful for Santa and his HUGE heart.

Despite the sweat and often times uncomfortable "get up"

he makes sure that every little special child is seen.

Dear Santa,

I love you tons and could not have hand picked a better Pa Pa... Father in Law.

Thank you for all that you do for us. You make my heart smile!!!!

Love,

One very lucky girl

Oh, I love Santa {and his special elf}

Christmas came a week early

So, I told you how Regan and I

got a package the other day.....

Inside we found LOTS of fun clothing from Matilda Jane.

Christmas came a week early!!!

You see, one of my new found photography friends sent me a message a little bit back.

She asked for Regan's size and told me

 that she was entering us in a contest of sorts...

They were asked to talk about people

that make you smile/ inspire you.

She picked us!!!!

Regan and I tore open the box and were so

 excited with each new thing we pulled out...

I cried .....

Then I pulled out clothing for me!!!

Regan and I both ended up with so much...

Regan recieved a skirt, 2 shirts, sweater, hoodie, pants, dress, and tights

I recieved 2 skirts, vest, 2 shirts, dress, and a hoodie

AWESOME ... I know!!!!

I couldn't stop crying.

It was just the surprise that I needed :)

Last week was so hard and this was such an AMAZING way to start this week off.

I thought I would show all of the wonderful things that we recieved.

Today I will start with.........

I am wearing this VEST and this oh so cute brown shirt.

Regan has on this oh so cute SKIRT, this SHIRT, and these TIGHTS

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this outfit on her!!!!

THANK YOU Matilda Jane!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU Sandi!!!!!!!!!

My Week could not have started any better!

Last week... What...???

It's gone and boy I could not have wished for a better start to my week.

After last week I NEEDED this.

I am in charge of the book fairs at the kid's school.

I set it up on Friday with the help of a couple of wonderful

 Mom's and today was our first offical day of our buy one get one free book fair.

{Hey, if you still need Christmas gifts stop by! wink!}

Every parent that signed up was there, the teachers were happy

 about their tour times, and no one stole or broke anything!!!!!

I mean really...... It was a wonderful start to my day!!!

Oh, I LOVE books... I love getting books in the hands of children...

That is why I do this every year. It is VERY important to me.

Since starting the program back up at the school we have been able to get

teacher's LOTS of books, weekly readers, and books for students

 who do not have them in their homes.

I know that my schedule is crazy BUT this is SOOOO worth it!!!

Then we came home to.....

This surprise in the mail deserves an entire post all of it's own.

(Sandi.... tears really.....I just can't believe it!)

But until then I will give you a sneak peak of  one of the awesome

 looks that was gifted to us from Matilda Jane. 

Then if my day could not get any better it was topped off with good friends and service.

Does it get any better than that???

Uncle Bill is still in the rehab facility and we all love and miss him at church.

So, we decided that we would pack up our little ones and go caroling.

All of the kidos that came to sing!!!

True Story: The rehab facility is across the street from "Bubba's" Hospital. We were the first ones to get there amd we waited at the corner for our friends to arrive. Bubba was so EXCITED to see "HIS" hospital. He was smilling and yelling at it the entire time we sat at the corner. Only Bubba would be this excited to see a hospital! :) 

Uncle Bill with all the girls!!!

Doesn't he look so much better than Thanksgiving??

I sure think so!!! 

Alison played the violin and we all sang..... 

and gave LOTS and LOTS..... 

of HUGS!!!!

WAHOOO for a good start to the week!!!!

Party time.....

Let the Christmas Partys begin!!

Last night was our Ward {Church} CHRISTmas party.

It was so fun and my dear sweet friend Ce Ce did

such a good job putting it all together.

Bubba was doing pretty good and it was wonderful to go as a family.

Don't even get me started on this face I am making.....

BUT oh, how I adore Bubba's sweet smile!

I had to put this picture up.

This is one of Bubba's friends.

He is around the same age.

Look at how TALL he is!!!!

I have known him since he was an itty bitty and now he is taller than me.

When I am around Bubba's BIG friends I am grateful that he is so tiny. :)

I could not imagine carry this sweet BIG boy around all of the time.... wink!

Bubba was not feeling well and the two of us went home early.

It was past his medication time.

He was starting to hurt and I didn't want to push it.

So, Bubba will see Santa on another day. :)

Regan how ever was very prepared and had her list in hand!

Oh, I love how she just lights up when he comes around!!!! :)

And life goes on.....

Despite having a hard week.... and at times it just seemed to get harder....

{our nurse just quit on us with out any notice :( }

The Christmas Spirit lives on!

We have been reading and talking a ton about Jesus and his birth.

We have been talking about all of the wonderful things he did

while he was on the earth and what we can do to be like him.

{Stay tuned for some of those fun things!}

We have been making handmade Christmas gifts.

{My personal FAVE!!}

We made our Ginger Bread house!!!!

This year it did NOT fall down!!!!

{I was tempted to not put this picture up.... oh, do I look tired

BUT that is how I look right now... tired! wink!!} 

What fun things are you doing in your home to bring in the CHRISTmas spirit???

Yesterday I cried.....

happy tears.

The love between these two is amazing.

I am so grateful that God blesses me with such tender moments to witness.

In case I haven't said it lately.....

I LOVE being a Mommy!! :)

PJ's

Last night was hard.

Bubba was in pain, couldn’t breath, and couldn’t sleep.

I sat there from 12 to 5 holding my baby praying, crying.

No matter how hard I prayed it did not change the night.

It was his lot to bare for the night.

It was hard for me as a mom to not be able to do anything.

This morning I took him into the doctor’s office.

I got some not so great news.

Not horrible news but it was not what I wanted to hear.

It is hard hearing words like “progression of his illness” or “deterioration”.

We walked away with his medication dosages upped and a prescription for a new machine.

He will have to go to a new doctor….. One more to add to a very long list.

I was sad and tired.

I sent Jason a message and let him know.

I called my mom and cried.

I called my sister and cried.

It was a hard day.

THEN Jason came home and said….

“I got my girls a surprise!”

 Regan opened the bag to see two new pair of PJ's…..

One for Mommy and one for Regan.

Jason knew that it had been a hard day and he wanted to put a smile on my face.

He remembered how this time last year I was VERY sick.

I had told him that I wanted some cute Mommy/ Regan matching PJ's that I had seen.

He came home with them and Regan and I were so happy!

It put a smile on my sick face.

Today he wanted to put a smile on my sad, tired face…..

And you know what…

He did!!!

Thank you Honey for always putting a smile on my face!

{Time}

I am so excited that this year we managed to get all of our Christmas gifts purchased,

house decorated, lights hung, and the Holiday spirit started all by the first week of December.

What am I doing with my time now that all of that is done you ask...

Well, since you asked......

Making hairbows ..... 

turning oh so cute {Target} placemats into pillows..... 

making a wreath for Regan's teacher.

I got this idea from over at the Ballard Bunch.

When Regan woke up and saw it she got so excited.

True story: Jason has Thursdays off from work, so he takes the kids to school in the morning on these days. 

Well, I am looking for the wreath... hmmmmm.....

Yup, Regan took it to school and gave it to her teacher when Jason took her to school :) 

{This is a picture of Bubba during his evening feed and looking at the Christmas light.}

Lastly, my time will be filled with dr. apts. for sweet Bubba.

Since Buddy button came into picture Bubba has gained almost 7 pounds!!!!

I know crazy!!

Since his first surgery in June he has gained over a pound a month!!!

His typical weight gain is one pound a year.

Yes, HUGE difference.

Over all we have been very pleased with buddy button but there have been a few set backs.

Bubba now relies completely on Buddy for his food supply.

This was one of my fears.... he will not eat anything by mouth any more.

Now that he is no longer using his mouth it is starting to get "lazy".

The muscles are not being used and getting lazy.

At night Bubba is chocking on his saliva.

He is not swallowing and then it builds up and he gags,

coughs, chokes, and often times vomits.

Yes, no fun :(

His nurse thinks that we will be adding a new machine to his bed side.

I will need to start suctioning him through out the night.

So, we have a lot of doctor apts. to go to in the next couple weeks.

With the weight gain his medications need to be changed/ increased to keep up with him.

We also have to check on his little bones.

He has been having trouble and we have to make sure that

this weight gain hasn't put to much stress on them. :(

These are all things that we knew might be a possibility when we decided to put the button in.

We don't know what the future holds - but we know Who holds the future. :)

My happy moment......

Yesterday the Hubs had the day off from work. While the children where at school we both worked, him on the outside and me on the inside. While I scrubbed the tub and toilet he was working hard on hanging our Christmas lights. We have a small cozy home. In the past we have not done much, just some simple lights. Well, this year Hubs decided that he wanted to do MORE. He got candy canes to line the walk way, more lights and two yes two blow up lawn things. After discussing it with his rational wife he decide that maybe two lawn blow up things were to much. :) I heard him talking to Regan before school “Mom says that we have to take one back…. Which one should we keep?” Ok, so I had to be the bad guy. wink! They decided on the Snoopy one.

After I picked the kids up from school Bubba noticed right away that there was something different with the house. When we got inside he took me over to a corner and was smiling and yelling at me. I thought he was wanting me to turn on the carousel that was there, so I did. He watched it and smiled for a bit. Then he came back and pulled me over to the Christmas tree and smiled and yelled at me. So, I turned the lights on. He then got VERY excited and took me back to that corner. Then it HIT me! He is wanting me to turn the light on outside!!! Last year the switch to the lights was in THAT corner. I was so impressed with how he got me to turn the lights on the tree and then pulled me over to the corner and stood at the window waiting. I got so excited!!!!!! What an amazing way for him to problem solve to get me to understand his wanted. He is so smart!! I wish so badly that I could get into that little head of his and understand what he is thinking all of the time.

When it started to get dark and Daddy had finished putting all of the finishing touches on the front we turned on the lights. To say that he was excited would be a huge understatement. Every year he LOVES the lights. Every year he stands there at the window staring out at them, smiling. Every year he screams and laughs with excitement EVERY time we turn them on. I LOVE IT!!!! :)

Yesterday my happy moment was something simple…. My non verbal child VERY clearly telling me what he wanted!!!.....AND  how excited both the kids got with the lights!!! Wink!!!

I had to capture Bubba's reaction to share with you all.... you can see for yourself.

He was Happy!