Sunday, December 21, 2008

More Pictures...













M&Ms melt in your nose, not your hand....











Yes, I do realize I said that wrong. But I also do know for a fact that M&M's can melt in your mouth as well as in your nose!! Thursday night, the day after Grandma left and the day Bobby left again....(of course I was by myself with the kiddos:) Trey decided to stick a red M&M up his nose. I was actually laughing so hard I could barely figure out what to do, but the poor guy was almost hysterical. I called my mom and she said to take him to the ER. I was like heck no, not with baby Elizabeth all sound asleep in her crib. So, eventually I got the yummy chocolate candy out and Trey promised to never stick anything up his nose again. What an eventful night!! The next day, Trey had his Christmas party at school and since I'm the room mom, Elizabeth and I got to join in on all the fun! Saturday, the whole family went to watch some of Bobby's players graduate from UNO. We are very proud of their hard work and I know it's rewarding for Bobby to get to see some of his guys finish school. Above are some pictures from the party, graduation, and just from around the house! Enjoy!

Grandma came to town!

We have been busy here in New Orleans! Grandma came to visit for a whole week and while she was here it snowed! The day before I had the AC on in the house, so it really surprised us to wake up and see the snow. Trey and Elizabeth loved having their Grandma here and I loved having the company while Bobby was away. Grandma was a big help around the house, my laundry is all caught up and my room is actually clean!!!!!:) We also managed to get in a few shopping trips, go out to eat a couple times, and Grandma got to go to Trey's school for a breakfast with Santa. Here are some pictures of her visit...we miss you Grandma!!







Tuesday, December 9, 2008

WOW

So today something happened that I thought was worthy of a post on "the blog"!!! Bobby called me from work to talk about what he's going to get me for Christmas. Let me just back up and tell you he's been going back and forth about it and been so unsure about what to get me. Well he called today and was asking me if he should get it or not. I said "how much does it cost" and he said "425 dollars"! I was like UM NO WAY. So I ended up getting him to tell me what the present would have been. He was going to pay for a maid service to come in and clean my house twice a month for six months. He told them mostly we needed help on laundry. So I guess this is my clue to get going on the laundry!:) It was a sweet idea and I love him for it, but it kinda made me feel like a lousy housekeeper, so I am vowing right now to do a better job keeping up with the laundry and having a neater house for Bobby to come home to!:)

Sunday, December 7, 2008

O Christmas Tree












The Sunday after Thanksgiving I made Bobby help me put up the tree....yes I have to MAKE him!! He does not love it like I do. We of course had to listen to Dolly Parton and Kenny Roger's Christmas CD while we reminisced about EVERY single ornament we put on the tree. I also pointed out every single Christmas decoration that Meemaw has made. (Bobby gets to hear the same stories every year...it's great). :) Trey and I had a blast. Bobby tried very hard to seem like he was having fun, and Elizabeth was content just watching us from her swing! I told my mom today, this year we are going to have a "country music video" christmas!!!! It is going to be perfect and we are going to celebrate it remembering the reason for the season. I am so excited for Elizabeth to experience her first Christmas, and Trey is always so much fun now...he's at a perfect age to just love everything about the holiday. Enjoy the pictures!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Sarah's favorite holiday

I'm almost 100% sure Sarah doesn't just love Christmas because of the gifts. (Believe me, she opens them all before Xmas anyway, so I don't know what she really likes about 25DEC anyway). She really loves Christmas because of being around her family - or family members, and being able to spend time with them. It made me start to think of several things:

1) I met a kid recently that just met his grandparents for the time, his mom died when he was a toddler and his dad was shot and killed a month ago. He actually met his grandparents at his dad's funeral - astranged family, kid hardly knew his father. This kid basically raised himself on the street, going without eating for days, stealing, etc. He's actually in college now after a rough life and is hopefully on a path for success. He just met his grandparents! (I'll come back to the point after topic #2)

2) I have always had a special place in my heart for Michael J. Musiol Jr or "Mikey" for short. He was the first grandchild of my parents and my sister's in-laws and was my oldest sister's first of 4. I remember Leigh Ann showing my parents and I the pregnancy test in Fayetteville, NC over the summer at a bar-b-que joint if I remember correctly. By Christmas, some of LA's tests had come back with abnormal results. Over the next 3 months before Mikey was full-term, LA and Mike found out that Mikey had a heart problem where his left ventricle was about 5 times the size of the other valves in his heart. Between trips to Bethesda, MD and Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, LA had a doctor that gave her the option of aborting her baby. The doctor told her there was no chance Mikey would survive. On March 13 1996, LA had a C section and they immediately took Mikey in to operate. I think it was 8-10 hours in the operating room, he survived a couple days on his own, then died 15 days later. There are a couple of images that will stick in my mind forever. A baby in a basonette covered in so many wires, tubes, and gauze that only his hands, feet and the top of his head were uncovered. Mike and LA sitting beside the basonette talking to Mikey, rubbing his hands and feet. At the funeral, a casket that was much too small to see. Mike at the funeral, broken down, beaten down, in a pool of tears.

Mikey didn't survive, just like most doctors said he wouldn't. He never had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas. He only had the opportunity to live for 15 days and impact my life (as I am sure he did many others). I cannot imagine not knowing my parents or grandparents, because how would I have celebrated Christmas then? I hope all of you realize how precious life is, how tomorrow is never guarenteed no matter how much exercise you do or vitamins you take. Time to spend with those you love is the best time in the world. Make sure you make the most of it this Holiday Season!

By Bobby

look at my tough guy!!

me and my sweet baby