Prayer Request

We decided, tonight at 5:00pm, that I would take the boys and drive to Ohio tomorrow. So, anyone who is reading this on December 31 please pray for traveling mercies and that we beat the bad weather in. :) I have been wanting to take the kids to play in the snow at my parents' house but was going to wait till closer to Superbowl time. :) However, today was the 5th anniversary of my brother's death. :( I miss him more this year than I have before. Anyway, that was making me want to be near my family. So, the boys and I are going on a spur of the moment road trip tomorrow. Michael is totally fine with it. He told me that right now we have the money and that he's going to be very busy this week anyway and was feeling bad about not being able to spend much time with us this week. So, it works out well. Just pray for safety, traveling mercies, and lots of snow to play in while we are there. Thank-you!! Blessings!- Angela :)

Short Version

OK, so here's how our trip went for me. Remember, I got sick a few days before the trip. Thursday the 20th I lost my voice (which is VERY hard on a mom with 3 young boys). Friday the 21st we were supposed to leave around 3:00pm which (counting all bathroom stops and stopping for dinner) would have put us at our hotel somewhere around 7:00ish. We didn't leave our driveway till 4:15ish pm, sigh. Then, I had to stop at Walmart for a few things. I FORGOT that it was Friday night and the Friday before Christmas. double sigh. I got out of there at 5:15pm. We grabbed food at Sonic and ate on the road. We had to go slowly through parts of the national forest because of ice. We finally got there sometime around 8:45pm. We finally got the boys into bed around 11:00pm. I "slept" (and I use that term loosely) on the couch in the living room part of the suite. I am SO thankful that I was in a different room from everyone. That way, every time I woke up to blow my nose or cough (and it was quite frequently) at least I didn't have to worry about bothering anyone. :) The next morning we were going to go to the indoor pool directly after breakfast. The kids were SO excited. As we were getting ready Michael realized that he had forgotten his swimsuit. Oops. Also, he didn't have any shorts with him since it's winter. He and the boys went to breakfast at the hotel while I ate soup and crackers in the room. (I felt very yucky) He brought them back and left with Gideon to go shopping for shorts. The other 2 boys and I went to the pool. I got out after a few minutes because I was shaking. The boys were just a tad chilly but it was really affecting me because #1- I'm a WIMP when it comes to cold. I can go through a 24+ hour labor totally unmedicated (proven 3xs) but DON'T make me go into cold water. I can't stand it. LOL #2- I was sick. Thankfully they had a small 1 ft baby pool and the kids just played in there while I miserably tried to dry off and cover myself with towels till I got warm. I didn't have to worry about them drowning but I was getting frustrated because every time I had to say something I had to clap to get their attention. They had to come to me and put their ears right next to my mouth and I had to "shout" (I really couldn't talk) to be heard over the waterfall in the pool. It was exhausting. Michael found some shorts but before he could get back Thomas had stopped listening to me and when I asked him to sit out he refused so we left the pool and went back to the room. Michael took them all back over (after he corrected Thomas) while I rested for about 1/2 hour (I was exhausted) and then I went back over for a little bit with them.

We got ready to go to lunch but when we arrived at our choice of a restaurant we found it closed. :( It took awhile to find our second choice. By the time we got done eating we decided we didn't want to walk through the exhibit we had planned so that's when the guys played go-carts. After the cars they let me go into a bookstore by myself. I was in HEAVEN until Michael called my cell and told me that Thomas had to use the bathroom. I couldn't talk enough to be heard by the sales associate. (I wanted to leave the books I had picked out at the front while I was in the bathroom with Thomas.) Anyway, I shoved the books behind another one on a shelf and we went into the tiny, disgusting, bathroom. I was short on patience and Thomas was whiny. Not a good combo. I won't go into the whole thing but Thomas is very particular about bathroom things. I wanted things done differently than he did. At one point I was "Yelling" (LOL- not that you could hear me), Thomas was crying and when he finally did poop the smell gagged me so much I wretched and vomited in the sink. (this was of course due to being ill. I don't remember, other than pregnancy a time where that has happened to me.) There were 2 little girls waiting to use the bathroom so I couldn't go out for air. I fumbled for my cell phone and called Michael for help. He came. I was really weak and leaned on him after we paid for the stuff. We went back to our hotel and had a snack. After the snack we walked 4 blocks to the Christmas trolley ticket place to be told they were sold out till the next
Wed. :( :( We walked back to the hotel and the boys watched one of the dvds we had brought with us. Michael made a fire which was nice. I went around the corner to a restaurant to order some soup for me. Michael and I tried to watch a video but we both fell asleep. If it's possible I had a worse night the second night. I was so congested and coughing up so much stuff and I was up so many times. We left early that morning to take me to the walk-in clinic here. The ride through the mountains was torture. I made Michael pull the car over once to throw up. It wasn't even a stomach virus. I think it was just so much pain and pressure from the congestion coupled with nights of little sleep. We got to the clinic here (after a few frustrating stops) to be told that it was at least an hour wait. Fine. No prob. He took the boys home. I finally got seen, got samples and Michael came and picked me up. That's where it should have ended. haha. I researched the side effects of the meds online. (I ALWAYS want to know side effects for 2 reasons. #1- I want to know if the possible side effects are worth taking the meds and #2- I want to know what to watch for. What I found out was that this med was NOT recommended for use during breastfeeding. Sigh. I called the pharmacist to confirm and she confirmed that. So I had to call the dr and try to explain in my mostly non-existent voice that I needed something else. The nurse called back to get my birthday saying they couldn't find my chart (meanwhile my pharmacy closes in 10 minutes and there's NO WAY that we will be there by then). She called me back a few minutes later to tell me the dr said it was fine to take while nursing. I told here that, no, it wasn't fine with me. The DR finally called back a short time later to ask me what was wrong. I explained the whole thing, again, and she waved my concerns away. I finally had to say something like, "no, I REFUSE to take this medicine. I WILL NOT chance it. Please get me another one." She didn't want to change it to the pharmacist's recommendation-RME (rolling my eyes). Finally she called another one into CVS and we went over there. I was exhausted, very sick and ready to be DONE with the day. Everyone else was hungry so we went out to eat. That was OK but I didn't eat much. I started on the antibiotic that night. The next day I still felt pretty bad but I did notice a slight difference. That night however I started side affect #1- nausea and vomiting. heehee. Christmas morning I was nauseated during the opening of gifts and then was in bed later that day. Michael found me some Sprite and that helped.

So, that was our vacation. It's been 8 days since my voice left and it's almost all the way back. I am glad that we got to go because I still would have been sick here and wouldn't have gotten much more rest. At least we had some fun together. I did enjoy most of the time. It was just very difficult. :)



So, that's she wrote. G'day!- Angela :)

Christmas Pictures

Thomas decorating Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve.
Cute little hands.
This is what Gideon did while Thomas and I decorated.
Well they aren't exactly hung but I cannot bring myself to make nail holes in our beautiful mantle. The stocking hangers were WAY too expensive. Even at 7.00 a piece at Walmart it would have cost a little over 35.00 just for those. No thanks!! We had no decorating budget this year. Our tree was free from our woods and the ornaments were made by me and the boys for less that 10.00.
It's Christmas Eve! YYYEEAAHHH!!! We get to open one present.

Hanging out with Daddy on Christmas Eve.
Look at all the presents. Mine weren't under yet because Michael had to wrap them. :)
Wow!
Thanks Thomas!!!!

Gideon with the ball Thomas bought for him.

Thomas loved the present Judah got him.
Thank-you so much brother.
Gid always looks so frustrated when he's opening presents but he's having a good time.
Michael is NOT having a good time taking all the toys out of the "protective" things they wrap them in nowdays. The environmentalists are wasting their time on other things...what they SHOULD be doing is going after all the toy companies and their endless waste of plastics, screws, wires, and paper that they place the toys in, all so they don't loose money to the shoplifters. Maybe if the toy was 50.00 I could understand, but we had to remove screws from a THREE DOLLAR trucks. (3 times over) AAUUGGHHH!!!
Awwww. What a cute picture!

Here Daddy. I bought this for you.
Thanks Judah!!
Thomas showing off his new dinosaur shirt. Thanks Nana and Papa! They all got identical ones.
More Christmas hugs.
Judah's present to me. Are these things not FREAKY?! You have to stick your foot in their mouths to wear them. I don't know about you but it really was weird the first few times. I was taught NOT to place parts of my body in dog's mouths.

Christmas kisses. I could CHOKE my husband. He said that I looked good. AAUUGGHH
More packaging....
Thanks babe!!
WE GOT CHARLOTTE'S WEB!!! THANK-YOU THANK-YOU THANK-YOU!!!!!!!
Michael and his loot.

Judah "using" his saw Thomas bought him.
Gid playing with a toy Judah bought him.
Judah's reaction when I told him that he and Thomas had to go on a Treasure/Scavenger hunt for another present.
Looking for the next clue.

Let's go upstairs!! Hurry!

The final clue told them to stand still.
Anxiously awaiting the reveal.
Pure contentment.
Getting ready to ride.
SO Excited! I they were so surprised they couldn't even speak. They have been saving their money for them but by the time they would have saved enough they would have been too big for them. So we did a group gift this year.

THANKS to Card Grandma, Nana and Papa, Great Gram, Great Aunt Nita, Uncle Ted and Aunt Cindy, and Mommy and Daddy. Little got a special car just for him but he has to use his feet. :)
Daddy is explaining the rules.
Such a CUTE little guy!!!
Carefully learning to drive.
This is great.

Oops. Near collision.
Riding with brother.
He got stuck but he got himself out like a champ.
Just look at that happy face!!!!
and that happy face!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Vacation Pictures

Not a vacation pic but I wanted to show my mom how much Gideon loved his birthday Polar bear they got him.
Naptime!
WHY are you taking a pic of me?
Vacation fun. This was the living room in our suite. The suite had a separate bedroom with a little hall to the bathroom. Very nice. We enjoyed it very much. Plus, since I was really sick, it was good that I could "sleep" separate from everyone else.

Go cart racing! Michael took each boy once. They LOVED IT!!

The big hill.
I chased Gideon around the viewing area while they rode.
Thomas rode with Daddy first.
Judah rode next.

Around the curves.

Gideon wasn't scared at all. Michael said he had a great time.

Judah enjoying a little snack in the hotel room.

Michael has never wanted to fight with our children not to play with the hotel phone. So, he always unplugs them and let's them play with them. Here's Thomas "using" the phone.

All tuckered out.

He gave Gideon a sip of his Perrier. Isn't Gid's face comical?


Picture in front of the tree that was in front of the Aquarium. No, we didn't visit the aquarium. We stopped there to buy tickets for the trolley but they were sold out for 4 days.
My BOYS!

So Sleepy!

It was a busy weekend.

Judah kept asking me to take pics of the waterfalls on the side of the road. Here's a pretty one.

I will "talk" about the vacation later. I was very sick and we left a few hours early to take me to the walk in clinic here in Georgia. More about that later. :):)