Christmas 2007

Whew....Christmas was great this year, but I must say i'm glad it's over!!! It all started the week before Christmas at my granpa's with a fun family gathering. We played games, had some good food and exchanged gifts. We always spend Christmas Eve at Clint's parents house....I call his mom "Betty Crocker" because her cooking is wonderful! We enjoyed the famiy time and of course Emma had a blast opening presents! When we got home, we put cookies and milk out for Santa and it was time for bed!....I had the priviledge of staying up until 2 a.m. getting things ready for Christmas day!!! Emma is usually a late sleeper (8 or 9) , but I guess she was to excited and woke us up at 7 ready to go! The first thing she did was gasp and say "Mommy, Daddy, Santa ate it all!!" We had so much fun watching her face light up with every gift....everytime she opened one she said "This is great or I love it, Thank you!" She even helped baby brother open his presents! We went to my Aunts house with the rest of the family for lunch and then we went back to my moms for our family gift exchange and dinner. Emma had a great time playing with her new toys and "Hunka Brian"....that's really what she calls my brother!! So cute! Of course the kids got way to many presents and i'm still trying to find somewhere to fit everything!!!! It was a wonderful Christmas for our family and I look forward to making lots of memories in the years to come!

Best Buddies forever......

The Eisele crew came over to visit a couple of weeks ago and for the most part it was a nice visit for the kids and mommies. Graham and Emma COULDN'T WAIT to see eachother since it had been a while.....of course they were fighting within 5 minutes of being together!! LOL Kids will be kids I guess! For the first time EVER we had all 4 kids asleep at the same time, so Mere and I were able to catch up....for a whole 15 minutes! LOL It's so neat that we grew up together (since 6th grade anyway) and now both sets of children are close in age and will grow up as great friends too!!! Of course I had to take a few pictures....Enjoy!

He's FREE!!!!

I got a wonderful early Christmas present today.......a call from Grant's pediatrician letting me know that he doesn't have to wear that apnea monitor anymore!!!!!!!! That's right.....no more "wires attatched", or as I call it "his tail!" I can't tell you happy this makes me!!! Of course i'm glad that everything looked great from the download on the monitor, but equally glad to not have to lug that thing EVERYWHERE I GO!!! Just had to share the excitement!

A little update on my lil' man.....

We took Grant to the ENT doctor today for another checkup on his ears and he STILL has some fluid on them, which is causing him not to pass his hearing tests. The Dr. said this is VERY common among preemies not to be alarmed. Sooooo.....he is sched. to have tubes put in his ears on Jan. 8th. They said it was a very minor 10 minute procedure and he will go home the same day. I know it's for his own good, but he's already been through so much already that it breaks my heart for him! Please keep my lil' guy in your prayers!!

Breakfast with SANTA!

Last Saturday, Emma met one of her best friends Ana at a local church to have breakfast with Santa. The girls had a great time visiting with Santa and twirling around like ballerina's. Ana put in her request for a puppy so of course Emma thought she would ask for one too....we told Santa she already has 2 BIG puppies at home so she settled for a baby doll! LOL Santa was very patient through the MANY pictures being taken!

Christmas Parade

Emma had a blast riding in the X-mas parade last Thurs. My cousin works for a local investment company and they did a "Winter Wonderland" themed float complete with freezing kids! I think that was the coldest night yet! Emma and her favorite cousin Hayley snuggled up and tried to keep eachother warm!

Picture with SANTA!!!!

As you read in the previous post, Emma was very excited to meet Santa! I was so happy that he actually looked like the real Santa and not just some man with a fake beard and mustache! She hasn't stopped talking about him since the day we got pictures done. I am planning to take her to a "breakfast with Santa" Saturday morning......I think she will love it! Enjoy!

"Mommy look.....it's SANTA"

We went to USA Drug yesterday and got the kids picture made with Santa. The actual picture won't be ready for me to pick up until Monday, but I thought I would go ahead and post a few pictures of them in their cute outfits. Emma was SOOOOO excited to finally meet Santa and yelled out "Mommy look, it's SAAAANTA!!!" It was so cute and I know Christmas is going to be so much fun at our house this year. Grant is quite the happy little guy these days too......just look at that cute smile!! He is even starting to make cooing sounds when he gets excited.

What are you thankful for??????

With Thanksgiving approaching quickly, I thought it would be neat to share what we are thankful for. We did this last night at bunko and all of us were in tears! Like I was telling them....It is so easy to get caught up in the "daily routine" and forget the little things in life that matter and how much we truly have to be thankful for!!!! That being said........this is what i'm thankful for.....

Having God in my life.....although he gives me "challenges" that I don't always understand, I know he is always there to guide me through them!!!

My family....I have been so blessed having Clint in my life! He is a wonderful husband, father and provider! Emma....she is my little princess who always brightens my day and makes me laugh with one of her silly sayings and can't melt my heart with the simple words "I love you mommy"!!! Grant...he hasn't been around long, but has touched my life in SO MANY ways!!! It's amazing to think that there was a time when I just watched him laying there in the hospital not sure if I would ever bring him home, and now i'm looking at a healthy little boy with a double chin who is almost 8 pounds!!!! God was definately watching over my "little miracle"!!!

My health- Although i'm still struggling with a few blood pressure issues, I am so thankful to have good health!!

I could go on and on, but these are just a few things that I am really thankful for!

Whew.....what a weekend!

Well we had our annual Fall Bash Saturday night and it was bigger than ever!!!! We had approx. 85 people at my house...WOW! I was going to skip it this year b/c of everything that has been going on, but people started asking me about it and I said "why not". Thank goodness we have acreage and a huge carport otherwise it wouldn't be possible! I really didn't get to mingle as much as usual b/c I was inside with little man, but everyone seemed to have a great time! I spent yesterday "trying" to re-cooperate (sp?), but that wasn't very successful since I had both kiddos by myself...my hubby escaped to go hunting. I'm still dragging today, but not as bad.....hopefully all will be back to normal by tomorrow. It was a great time.......just glad I have a whole year until the next one!

It's a MIRACLE!!!

I "think" Emma is finally on her way to being potty trained! We have been working on this for about 8 months now and out of the blue she decided she was ready. I was getting so stressed out about it and of course everyone kept telling me not to push, that she would do it when SHE was ready......guess that is true! We have been in BIG girl panites for 3 days (except for naptime and bedtime) and she's only had 1 accident at her Grandma's. YAY....i'm trying not to get to excited, but I think she is actually ready now. Thanks for letting me share the exciting news!!

We had a mouse in our house!

A Minnie Mouse!!! Emma had a blast TOT'ing this year!! We went downtown where all the stores on mainstreet were passing out candy....it was so cute because she went to each one and said "Trick or Treat, candy please" LOL Then we went to visit family....it was a fun time!!

A day at the Patch

Today was a fun family day (minus my poor hubby...working as usual) at the pumpkin patch. It was unlike any other I had been too.....they had a hayride, petting zoo, a puppet show and of course PUMPKINS. Emma had a blast running through the pumpkin maze and picking out her very own pumpkin to bring home. She also got to ride on the see-saw and tire swings....VERY exciting! Of course I had to take advantage of the photo opp. and shoot away....Grant got to wear his pumpkin shirt and hat with his cool pumpkin pants thanks to Aunt Mere! A few friends met us there...Jill hubby Brant and 2 daughters Halle & Kennadi, Lindsey, Ana and Becky (Ana's YaYa) and my mom. All in all it was a fun day!

Our "new" arrival

Most of you already know about the arrival of our son Grant Hudson, but I am new to this "blogging thing" and that this was a good place to start. Grant is 2 months old today, this is so wierd to think about because he wasn't actually due until this week! He is doing great and so far has proved to be a healthy little boy. At his last weight check he was 5lbs 4oz....I plan on taking him by the pediatricians office tomorrow for another weight check....I bet he's close to 6lbs! Emma has been a great BIG sister and i'm relieved to say there are no signs of jealousy so far!! She is a great helper and loves to sing to Grant and give him "sugars" as she calls it. We are so thankful that God has blessed Clint and I with 2 beautiful children....I look forward to watching them grow up together!!!