Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Our little scuba diver is ready!

He has consulted with the experts,

learned how to swim on land,

and perfected the three magic words..."Trick-or-Treat"!

Single Palm Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, we headed out to the Single Palm Pumpkin Patch with some friends.  Bubs was super excited to look for pumpkins, go on a hay ride, and run around with his buddies.    

As soon as we got to the patch, we hopped right on the tractor for Noah's first hay ride.  He was very excited, and a bit nervous, but thoroughly enjoyed the ride.  The farmer gave us quite the tour of the patch along with an explanation of how pumpkins grow.

Mr. Man had to get his sea legs back after the hay ride.

 

Now...we were off to find the perfect pumpkin!

The kiddos all had to check out the large Jack-o-Lantern in the middle of the patch.  Jonah loved to hop from hay bale to hay bale while Riley was happy to bang on the metal pumpkin.

Noah spent quite a bit of time searching for the perfect pumpkin.  

What about this one?  

Or this one?

I've found it!  The perfect pumpkin!

Bubs found the smallest, greenest pumpkin {thanks to Karen's keen eye} in the patch and instantly fell in love.

After picking out the pumpkins, we checked out the rest of the farm.  There was a pig {who was snoozing in his house}, a cute story time area, and fun places to take pictures.

Jonah was all about taking pictures.  He loved being a scarecrow.

Riley joined in the action and was a cute scarecrow.

Noah, on the other hand, was quite skeptical of sticking his face through the hole.  He kept staring at Jonah wondering what in the world he was doing.

 

I tried to show Noah that it was fun to stick your face in the hole and take a picture.

After much insisting, Bubs tried it.  He was not amused. 

On our way back to the car, Mr. Man had to check out all the scary masks.  He was so funny because he would tell us, "It's sooo scary!", but then spend quite a bit of time inspecting the mask. 

 

We had a fun time with our friends Jonah

and Riley.

What a fun way to usher in this Fall Season!

25...and counting

This past Wednesday, we headed back to the hospital to have the tube removed from Noah's tear duct.  If you remember, back in March, Noah had surgery to open up his clogged tear duct and the tube was placed so it could heal properly.  Well...Bubs has healed properly...and that tube needed to come out.

We had done quite a bit of talking about going to the hospital and the procedure that was going to take place.  Bubs was not thrilled but was quite brave and strong through out the majority of the pre-surgical process.  

Notice that the eye doctor initialed above Noah's eye...indicating the left eye was the correct one to do surgery on...as if they could have done surgery on another eye.

Thanks to some happy juice, Versed, Mr. Man was quite calm when they wheeled him into the surgery room.  About fifteen minutes later, our eye doctor came into the waiting room to tell us that he was unable to remove the tube.

What?

Unable to remove the tube?

You put it there...why can't you remember where you put it and take it out?

Seriously?

It seems that Bubs' skull is abnormally shaped {already knew that} and his sinuses are abnormally large {already knew that}.  The doctor planned on going up through Noah's nose, grabbing a hold of the tube, and pulling it out.  Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!  Well...after quite a bit of "poking and prodding" the doctor was unable to find the end of the tube in Noah's cavernous sinus. 

So...we're being referred to an ENT for a full scope and removal...and we get to do this all over again.  Fan.tas.tic!!!

Dear Ryan

Dear Ryan,

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Boy!  I cannot believe it has been five years since the day you were born.  I am amazed at how raw the pain of loosing you continues to be.  While there are some details that are beginning to be get fuzzy {the smell of the hospital room, the feeling of the contractions, the weight of you in my arms} the pain just doesn't seem to be going away.  The deep, heart wrenching pain that brings me to tears whenever I think about you is still so fresh...so profound...so real.

Perhaps, it is in part, because you represented the beginning...the beginning of the sweet, little family that your Daddy and I had planned.  We had amazing hope for us, for our future, and for our family.  God, however, had a different plan for our lives. 

The pain I am feeling today, while it surely is a longing to hold you in my arms, it is also the pain of admitting that we are probably at the end.  You see, your Daddy and I have had three miscarriages this past year.  Our attempts at growing our family and giving Noah a little brother or sister have not worked out.  I am painfully and tearfully admitting that God's plan for our family is sovereign and I am humbly submitting to Him. 

I miss you each and every day, Sweet Boy, and pray for all of our Angle Babies in Heaven.  Rest assured that my love and longing for you have not waned over these past five years.  I promise to take good care of your little brother and continue to tell him all about you.  Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mama

Mama & Noah at the Aquarium

Just because a few of you have been asking for all of these pictures...

December 2012

September 2012

 July 2012

 December 2011

 August 2011