Update

I thought I'd post a quick message for those of you who keep in touch by checking this blog.

About a month ago, things at our house changed dramatically.  Our oldest daughter, Lily, was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy called Doose Syndrome.  The good news is that she will grow out of it; the bad news is that it may take time to find a way to control it.  That is what we are in the middle of now.  It's the most difficult stage of epilepsy which is trying to find the right medication/diet all while she continues to have multiple seizures a day.  We anticipate it taking anywhere from 2-6 months for that to happen.  In the meantime, we are very focused on making sure she gets the right care, medication, diet, sleep and of course, prayer.

So this blog is going on hold for awhile.  But when I get back, I'll have all kinds of updates.  I fully expect to have an amazing story to tell you about miracles!

Please, please keep us in your prayers.  Prayer is what's working.  It keeps Jason and I strong and keeps Lily heading in the right direction to being healed.  God is taking care of us and working little miracles on a daily basis to accommodate our lives to Lily's needs.

Much love,
Lisa

585 Pictures & 124 Videos Later...

I sat down at the computer to download my pictures and came up with 585 pictures and 124 videos (mostly shots of Lily's fingers taken by Lily) to sort through since my last download.   Don't worry, I didn't include all of them in this post!

Since my last post in February, we've taken a couple trips to the mountains including our annual trip to Steamboat with all the other cul-de-sac families.  Ten adults and twelve kiddos stayed at a neighbor's brother's mountain mansion.  It was a lot of fun!  It was crazy warm.  We didn't need coats in Steamboat in March.  Crazy!

We also packed up and made a trip to Omaha for the first time in over a year and a half!  It was a SO MUCH FUN!  Lily is finally able to interact with and understand the meaning of family which just is a joy to watch!  She had so much fun with cousins!  I was dreading the drive, but the girls did so well!  Annie slept... easy, of course.  Lily was a little more work, but she managed to keep entertained.  We were a little worried when an hour into the drive we had already stopped 4 times, but once they were asleep, we made good time!

While in Omaha, I got to see my dear old friend, Renae and her family and my aunt Sally.  Look me up on Facebook for a couple pictures from that.

So...

For pics of life at home CLICK HERE, including:

• Big hair (you'll see what I mean)
• "Marmie's" which is what Lily calls her Barbie's
• Vampire baby
• Lily before her very first dance class (Mommy's proud moment)

For pics our trip to Omaha CLICK HERE, including:

• My niece, Maddie's, birthday party where Annie provided a fly over after we sang happy birthday
• Pics of Easter and a lot of pics of Lily's first softball game with the t-ball set and glove she got from the Easter bunny (and camera practice for me)
• Pics from Lily and Annie's first trip to the Omaha Zoo

For pics of my brother's family - his fiancé, Elizabeth, Jaeli, Maddie and Eva - CLICK HERE

And now for videos...


Sorry for the side-angle, but Lily loves to sing... and talk... the girl has become quite a chatterbox!  Especially during a 10-hour car ride!



This was the wobbly beginning of crawling just a few weeks ago!  Now she's a pro... won't stop moving!


Lily hilarious joke... guess what... chicken butt!  Love it!

More Updates Coming Soon!

I can't believe I've gone over a month without a post! But there's a reason for that...

When I was in college, I thought I was busy. Then I got a real job. Then when Jason and I bought a house, I thought I was busy. Then I had a baby. Then when I had a second baby I thought I was busy, then I took more responsibility at work and started a side business with my husband. Now, I'm busy! But I'm sure it's all in perspective and something else will come up and make me realize that a home, two kids, two jobs is nothing!

But I'm also happy to say that an end is in sight! Within the next month I plan to cut back my hours at work. This is something I've been working toward for awhile. All the extra work, extra hours, extra responsibility over the past six months was to prove my worth so that my management would approve my part time status. It's not something all that common at my company, so I wasn't sure it was going to be a possibility. Well, it's been approved! Now I'm just waiting for a new person to be hired before I can cut back.

What I'm hoping that means is that I get some time during the week to fit in a workout... I miss it so much! But most importantly, it gives me Friday's with my girls! That is what I've been wanting for a long time. It's only one day, but I'll take all I can get! I really don't think God intended for mommy’s to be away from their babies in the first couple years of their lives. In some countries, this is recognized with two years of maternity leave with supplemented pay by the government. In the US, you get 12 weeks unpaid. But that's a different blog for a different time! Something I feel strongly about and if I ever get a chance to dedicate my time to this cause, you bet I will! Maybe it will be different by the time my girls have babies.

So big changes coming our way! And more time hopefully means I'll be able to dedicate a little more time to maintaining the blog! We're headed to Omaha for Easter, so I'm going to wait until after this weekend to collect all my pictures and post the latest of the girls! (Right now, I'm just dreading the drive.) Just to give you a taste of what to expect... we have a vampire crawler and a ballerina chatterbox on our hands! It’s so cute!

This is Life

This is the time of year that we typically make a few trips to the mountains and otherwise live a pretty simple life at home... indoors.  This winter has been really mild, but after the storm we had on Wednesday, we're ready for spring.  We went without power for almost 24 hours.  Which isn't that big of a deal, but we're ready to get outside.  We miss fresh air, neighbors and sunlight!

The Chamblin's visited us again this year.  We rented a condo in Winter Park.  Since I'm not pregnant and Katey is expecting their second baby, I got to ski this year.  It was fun!  Jason and I don't get to do that together very often anymore.  And probably won't until the girls are in ski school.  Which won't be long... Lily skied between Daddy's legs this year!



I have to say, over the past month, Jason has had a few of his proudest moments... "Da da" and "football".





And more pics, CLICK HERE.

LOL!

Back when I was pregnant with Annie and didn't know if I was having a boy or girl, it seemed impossible in my mind to have another girl that wouldn't be exactly like Lily.  I thought we had made a girl and the combination of our genes created Lily.  It seemed impossible for our genes to combine in any other way to make a girl.  In many ways Annie is just like Lily but in more ways, she's her own little person!

She is really independent, but loves attention if you give it to her.  She is just starting to show stranger anxiety at 7 months old (I think Lily was 3 months old for this).  Annie is really laid back and doesn't fuss about anything!  We had her eyes checked a few weeks ago.  They dilated her eyes and for babies the dilation lasts for 24 hours.  I don't know about you, but when my eyes are dilated, I'm irritable!  She didn't seem to notice.  Her pupils were the size of nickels but she didn't seem to care.

Lily makes you feel so loved.  And Annie can flirt her way into anyone's heart.  Either way, I'm in for it when they become teenagers.  God help us!

Over the past two weeks, Lily has gotten the hang of potty training and Annie is no longer nursing.  It just hit me a couple days ago that I have one that is completely out of anything resembling babyhood and one that's well on her way.  I'm not ready for that!

We have lots of videos if you have time to watch.  And for pictures CLICK HERE.

There's nothing like hearing your children laugh!






Jason's sister, Michelle, and her family came to visit last weekend.  They all got to take a trip to the Frisco tubing hill while I was at work.  It was a fun weekend... Lily LOVED having her cousins here!





I can't explain why, as parents, it so much fun to humiliate your kids, but it is!  Poor Annie!  Lily likes to sing her this song by singing, out of tune, "Annie ok?  Ok, Annie?" So funny!

Happiest 6-Month-Old!

Annie makes it so easy to take pictures.  All you have to do is smile and she smiles back.  She is just one of the sweetest babies ever... she steals your heart almost instantly.  She's the type of baby that makes you want more!  But only if they're as sweet as her!

I'm not even going to talk about how much it hurts that she's already 6 months old.  I'm pretending it's not real!

Click here for her 6-month pics!

Ohhh... To Believe!!!

Christmas was beyond words!  I have never been so excited for Santa to come! There's something about a child's ability to believe that makes it special all over again!

My Mom and Mark came to visit for the holiday.  It was a nice Christmas at home.  We had snow on the ground and warm, sunny skies.  And lots of yummy food!

Santa brought Lily and Annie a new playroom downstairs.  Including a slide which Lily asked Santa for specifically!  We've been spending a lot more time down there which is nice since it's cold and dark outside!

CLICK HERE for some more pics.  By the way... it's either Dora or football on our TV these days... ugh!