Prayers Please.

Where do I begin?

Grandpa hasn't been feeling well for a long time, but Friday he started getting worse. He has been short of breath because of fluid on his lungs. He has been to the doctor many times. They have tried medications and inhalers, but nothing helped. The last resort was to put him in the hospital to see if they could change any medications. He had a terrible weekend, so he went to the hospital on Monday morning. Once they started testing him they figured out that he had a low heart rate, low hemoglobin level, internal bleeding, and many other things wrong with him. Lastnight his heart rate dropped way too low. They did two blood transfusions last night and gave him some medicine to help with the fluid. Today they gave him an iron transfusion. His breathing and color were much better today! Once they get his blood where it needs to be they are going to start working on the heart. He is going to need to go through some tests and will probably get a pacemaker at the end of this week. After his heart rate stabilizes they are talking about doing another test to find out where the internal bleeding is. He will be 84 in April. I know that IT is going to happen, but I am not ready. Not now. He has a bad heart, bad lungs, prostate cancer, skin cancers....the list goes on, but he is one of the strongest people I know! He is the heart and soul of our family! Please remember him (and us) in your prayers.

Luke's Uncle Rod passed away tonight. He was at Washington Regional in the CCU. He was on a ventilator and they took him off of it tonight. He was diagnosed with liver failure a few months ago. Everyone knew it was coming, but it has been really hard on them all. Please remember them in your prayers as well.

Finally, I found out today that I have another ovarian cyst. It is small and should resolve on its own. Pray that it does because I need to focus on my family.

Thank you!

Love,

Proud.

I am so proud of Kimber. I talked her into donating her hair, but she would never commit to making an appointment. Yesterday she told me she wanted to do it and kept asking me when she was going to get her hair cut. She talked to her daddy on the phone about it and she said, "Mom, ask daddy I am getting a shortcut." It was cute. That translates into "tell daddy am getting my hair cut short." Anyway, she did great and she looks adorable! I am so proud of her!

7 Months?

Kanyon is 7 months old today. Is that even possible? He got three more teeth this week. Tuesday night he was extremely fussy. I knew something was going on because he is always happy. We got about 3 hours of sleep. The next morning I thought he felt warm. I took his temp and it was 101. I made him a doctor appointment for 2:00. By the time we got to the doctor his temp was 103. He was very lethargic. He just felt awful. His left ear has a bad infection. This is the same ear that was infected last time. I hope it doesn't keep giving us trouble! He felt much better today. Hopefully he will continue to improve. There are so many scary viruses going around.

Kinnison lost her fourth tooth this week. That doesn't seem possible either. She and her sister were goofing off and someone how Kinnison head butted Kimber. The tooth was really loose before, but it started bleeding after the collision. It made her sick to her stomach. She didn't want to pull it though. Later that day we went to Wal Mart. Kimber gave Kinnison a piece of gum and the first chew pulled it right out! She has two more loose already! She is still doing well in school. I read a new book to her lastnight and she read it back to me and only missed a couple words. She is such a smart girl.

Kimber is advancing also. She can write all the letters in her name without help, but sometimes forgets what letter comes next. She is counting to 10 without missing any numbers now. She knows all of her shapes and colors. She has come such a long way this year. She is a very smart girl. She is a very ornery girl. She thinks it is fun to run around naked and talk dirty. (poo poo head) She is still the comedian in the family.

I read a really good article this week. I could totally relate to it. I really appreciated the honesty!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html

"There was a famous writer who, when asked if he loved writing, replied, "No. but I love having written." What I wanted to say to this sweet woman was, "Are you sure? Are you sure you don't mean you love having parented?"

I love having written. And I love having parented. My favorite part of each day is when the kids are put to sleep (to bed) and Craig and I sink into the couch to watch some quality TV, like Celebrity Wife Swap, and congratulate each other on a job well done. Or a job done, at least."

Isn't that the truth!? Some days I count down the minutes until bed time! (and naptime) At the end of the day I think, "I survived another day!" Then I dig deep for motivation to prepare for one more day. Do I enjoy everything that staying at home entails? Nope. Will I miss it one day? Yup. Parenting is hard. The stress, worry, guilt, and tough decisions never end, but it is totally worth it.

I am so incredibly blessed!

DIY Kitchen

Ever since I became addicted to Pinterest I have wanted to build a kitchen for the kids out of some old piece of furniture. A few months ago I went to an auction with my Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Donna and Uncle Jim. I wasn't paying attention and realized they were auctioning off an entertainment center. I threw my hand up, no else bid and I had no idea what I paid. I thought it was a couple dollars. I was wrong. It was ONE dollar.

This is what we started with:

This is the finished product:

The picture in the window was taken in the top field at the farm where Luke and I got married!

Luke and I had a lot of fun building this for the kids. We tried to use neutral colors so Kanyon could play with it also. Luke's Grandpa got the girls new play food and some pots and pans. Luke and I bought them some kitchen utensils. Meme and I made them aprons. They even got matching aprons for their dolls. We worked on it when they were in bed or at school. We hid it in the garage. On Christmas Eve we moved it into the living room. They didn't even notice it on Christmas morning! They have already enjoyed making us meals.

Here is a breakdown of the costs:

Entertainment Center	$ 1.00
Backing	$15.00
Paint	$12.00
Dog Dish	$ 4.00
Handles	$ 4.57
Hinges	$ 5.14
Hooks	$ 2.57
Burners/Knobs	$ 2.00
Dowel Rod	$ 0.40
Trim For Window	$ 3.12
Curtains	$ 2.44
Faucet	$ 3.00
Plexiglass	$ 3.00
TOTAL	$58.24

We already had scrap wood for the back, so we spent around $40 for the entire project!

Happy New Year!

Looking Back at 2011

January

We found out our sweet baby was a BOY!

February

Kimber turned 3!

March

Both girls had pneumonia and were very sick.

April

Meme was hospitalized and had surgery. She also moved back in with Mom and Dad. We are so thankful she is doing better and living with them again. The kids love seeing her more often!

Kinnison lost her first tooth!

May

Kinnison played her first T-Ball Game.

Luke's brother Kyle was in a bad car accident.

Luke's family survived the terrible tornado in Joplin.

June

Kanyon James joined our family!

July

We celebrated Grandma and Grandpa's 60th Wedding Anniversary!

Gammy and Pappy took us to Oklahoma.

Luke turned 30!

August

We went to Gulf Shores.

We said goodbye to Lolly. We were heartbroken. Still are.

Kinnison started Kindergarten!

September

October

Kanyon got his first two teeth!

November

Kinnison turned 6!

December

Luke and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary.

He surprised me with this!

I really hope that today is not an indication of how 2012 is going to be. It was bad.

My big diet starts tomorrow. Must. Lose. Weight. I was doing really good with diet and exercise up until two weeks ago. I fell off the wagon. Bad. I think I gained about 2.5 lbs back. My goal is 15 lbs, but I would be ecstatic if I lost 10lbs before our vacation in July. Wish me luck!

We are wishing you and your family a Blessed and Happy New Year!