OH NO CARTER........... NOT AGAIN!!

Yesterday evening was pretty scary.  When we got home from daycare and were getting out of the van, Jeremiah noticed Carter's finger looked like this............................................................

The night before, saw a tiny little cut that was barely noticeable.  I can't believe it got that bad so fast and that nobody at daycare noticed it. 
I took him to the after hours clinic.  They said it was staph/cellulitis.  They prescribed medicine and said to go see his doctor the next day.  He said hopefully he wouldn't end up in the hospital.  They punctured the abscess to remove some of the infection.  Carter did not like that!! Hear he is at that office...............

When I left there, the doctor said he had called in the prescription to Target.  When we got to Target, they said nothing had been called in.  We called the doctor back and there was a recording saying they were closed.  What kind of after hours clinic isn't open when it's not even 7pm yet?!!!  The pharmacy tried paging the doctor and still...... no response.  I was starting to get really upset.  I was thinking...... this infection is spreading through his body and he's going to end up in the hospital like last year.  (Here is that story/recap........... STORY HERE. CLICK!!!!  Wow.  I just saw the date on the old post.  The two incidents were exactly a year apart!!!!
Jeremiah tried calling Carter's doctor's after hours numbers to get us a prescription.  Meanwhile, Carter and I are waiting around Target getting something to eat.  Then all of a sudden he went from feverish to very cold (his hands, feet, and face.)  I panicked and decided not to wait around and to get him to the ER.  I got there, then Jeremiah met me.  (After he got a ride there from Landon because I took off so quick that he didn't get his keys out of the van)  We waited for close to 3 hours before we got to see the doctor.  Meanwhile, Carter told everyone in the lobby hi, had 2 pooping accidents, and fell asleep.

Waiting...................

 When we got in, the doctor drained it more.  Poor Carter.  That must have hurt so bad.  He gave Carter a dose of Clindamycin and bandaged him up.  He was a wonderful doctor!!!  Such a great bedside manner. 
He said he thought we got him in there soon enough to get it under control.

 We got home around 1am. Carter slept with us.  Thankfully, our wonderful friends Landon and Sheree kept Caroline overnight for us.  I'm sure Caroline loved it!!!

Ready for bed.  What a rough evening!!

 Today, Jeremiah went to work and I stayed home with Carter.  Melanie (Moo Moo)  came by for a visit and brought Carter a happy meal.  Papa was nice enough to pick up Caroline from school for me and bring me a coffee.
Carter and I had a nice day together.  He was quite hyper and didn't even take a nap.  The Manleys came over this evening with Teddy Grahams and a stuffed animal.  How sweet!!  Bonnie, Mimsy, Nannie, and Kaci also called to check on him. 
We are so blessed to have so many that care for us.  We had so many sweet prayers and concerns on facebook as well.  I'm so thankful for them all and that Carter's hand didn't get any worse today and even looked better!!  It's nice to relax tonight.  I was probably quite a sight in Target last night.  I was a nervous wreck I felt.  I just couldn't deal with something bad happening to this sweet boy!!!

GETTING EXCITED FOR.............

The Daddy Daughter Dance is coming up.  Caroline was so excited to see the tickets!!!

Looks like they have their date for February set!!

THE VACUUM AND THE UNICORN........

Caroline has always had a fear of the vacuum cleaner.  She goes crazy crying and sometimes shaking when it comes out of the closet.  It was starting to get a little on the ridiculous side.  (Especially since we got the Shark, which is the quietest vacuum I've ever heard.)  One day, Jeremiah started saying if she was scared of vacuums, then he was scared of unicorns.  (she has had a love for unicorns lately).  She thought he was crazy.  When Mimsy was here in early November, Caroline showed her a very large pink and purple stuffed unicorn at Target.  Mimsy heard the story between Caroline and Jeremiah and made a very smart deal.  She said she would buy Caroline the unicorn if she made a deal with her Daddy.  She had to promise to not be scared of the vacuum if he would allow a giant unicorn in the house.  Caroline jumped on that and even asked to go see the vacuums on the vacuum isle.  (We used to not be able to go near them in the store.)  She got the unicorn and is much better with the vacuum.  (most of the time.)  Jeremiah is getting better everyday with his fear of unicorns.  Haha!! 

What a good girl!!!

Wow............ Great job Daddy!!!!  That must have been scary for you!!!

BARNES AND NOBLE

Any chance I get, I go to Barnes and Noble.  Now that they have this fun train set, I can take Carter too!!  A couple of Sundays ago, we went after church while Jeremiah golfed.  We were there a good 3 hours.  I love sitting back and watching them play and read books while I get to look at magazines and books.  I love that they love books.  I could really go crazy buying books if I let myself!! At church, we are in a series about thankfulness.  Bob mentioned Pollyanna in his sermon, referring to her Glad Game that she played.  I loved this movie when I was younger. I found it and bought it for Caroline.  I can't wait to watch it with her. 

I love how she makes sure the animals get to read too!!

After thinking about Pollyanna more, I decided that I wanted to read the book to her first.  I have never read it and would love to share that with her and discuss it and the lessons along the way.  So, I HAD to go back and find the book.  Right??  Jeremiah and I are also working with a new group of kids called WOW (Women of Worth) for me and MOD (Men of Distinction) Squad for him.  I picked up some thank you cards for them.  We are having them work on the thankfulness project that we are doing at church.  I'm also thinking about inviting some of Caroline's friends to read Pollyanna, in a month or two, have a Pollyanna viewing party. They had the abridged version so it's easier for children to understand.  It was written in 1913, so the wording of the original is quite advanced.  Here is our latest trip..................

MY LITTLE COOKS

The other night while I was making dinner, Carter was being pretty clingy.  Jeremiah said why don't you let him cook with you.  It ended up being a really good idea.  He loved it!!  We made grilled cheeses in his underwear.  He may end up a cook.  He loves playing in Caroline's kitchen and getting out bowls and spoons when he's bored.  In fact, I find spoons all over the house.  Silly boy!!

As you can see, Carter likes to make himself comfortable while eating at the table!! 

The next morning, Carter was ready to go when I asked him to assist with the pancakes.  Of course Caroline jumped in to help when she heard that.  Now we can't let Carter do something she doesn't get to do!! 



Looks like Carter's eating already!!



Date with Daddy

One evening after he got home from the gym, Jeremiah said he heard a song that made him decide to take Caroline on a Daddy/Daughter date once a month.  He took her out to eat.  She chose Chili's.  He changed quickly, but Caroline was so excited she put on a dress and heels.  I just love that he wants to spend special time with her.  I know that girls growing up feeling loved and special to their Daddy will make a difference in their lives.  Thank you Jeremiah for being such a good Daddy!!

Getting all fixed up



So excited for her date!!



SNUGGLES!!!

How lucky am I that I still get to snuggle with my babies?  At 2 1/2 and 5, it doesn't happen too often, but when it does, I feel like the lukiest person alive.  On Wednesday night, Caroline woke me up because she had thrown up in her bed.  It was EVERYWHERE!!  (all over her 3 blankets and 3 stuffed animals she stashes up in that bed) It was my messiest, grossest clean-up as a mother.  But, I got to stay home the next day with her and snuggle all morning.  After noon, we went to get a movie and some gatorade.  I asked her if she wanted to watch Dolphin Tale and she said she wanted to wait and watch it with her Daddy.  Later that evening they did.  That same evening, I let Carter fall asleep on me on the couch.  I forgot how nice that was.  He still breathes like he did as a baby.  I've always loved his sleeping sounds.  I don't let him do that often (Jeremiah does and I get on to him.), but I may have to start.  Here are some recent cute pictures.................


Wearing their Daddy's clothes.



He loves to wear my shoes!!

IT'S A NEW YEAR!!!

Wow.  It's been quite a year and my lack of blogging shows it.  There have been ups and downs, but thankfully many more ups than downs.  I just know that I'm starting this new year feeling incredibly blessed.  I have the most beautiful and perfect kids, a husband that works his tail off, and the most wonderful friends and family I could ask for.  We have everything we need, but most importantly we have each other and such special people in our lives.  I promise I'm going to do better this year at keeping up.  I will also go back and post old things that I still haven't gotten around to doing.  I was looking through the blog the other night with Caroline and realized how important it is to document their childhood.  I want them to always know how special they are.
I'll start with today.  We woke up late and missed church, which I hated to do, but we'll get to see it later.  We had lots of breakfast left from our New Year's Breakfast and PJ party last night.  We enjoyed breakfast, then jumped on the trampoline, played a lot, while Jeremiah worked on his papers, and jumped some more.  Then this evening I met Susan for dinner.  When the server asked what brought us to dinner this evening, we realized that it's been 14 years since we met.  Wow.  She's had such an impact on my life these past 14 years.  What a special friend she's been to me.
Of course it wouldn't be one of my posts without pictures, so here are some from today...............

Fun on the new trampoline

Wow.  Look at the static in her hair!!

The most beautiful sunset on the way to dinner.

I love that OKC celebrates CHRISTmas and puts crosses on their downtown buildings every year!!

 QUICK RECAP OF THE YEAR BELOW..................
JANUARY- Really started National Board work, Carter got his first haircut, snow storm.
FEBRUARY- Carter got really sick and was admitted to the hospital.
MARCH- A baby elephant was born at the zoo, bad wildfires, Carter went to the ER, Rowing started, Caroline started t-ball, Nannie came for Spring Break, and my National Board portfolio got completed and sent off on March 31st.  (huge relief)
APRIL- T-ball, gymnastics, Jeremiah took out our old grass to put in new grass, Kaci and Craig came for Easter!!
MAY- Carter boy turned 2, Caroline had her M&M Olympics and dance recital, more t-ball, and the rowing meet.
 JUNE- Summer!!, National Board test, Brooks was born, bible school for Caroline, swim lessons, lots of time at the pool, T-ball season finished up.
JULY- NEW JERSEY TRIP (Lots to blog about for this trip), Carter's first plane ride, our 6th anniversary, Nannie, Andy, and Christian visited, Jeremiah got hired at my work and we started back.
AUGUST- Caroline started to Pre-K, such a hot month and summer.  Oklahoma set a record.  Found our church after searching for a while.
SEPTEMBER- Soccer started for Caroline, found out we were pregnant.
OCTOBER- Nannie visited, Halloween, soccer, TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT!
NOVEMBER- (A rough month, but ended well)  Manleys move into the neighborhood, miscarried :(, sweet Twila passed away, Mimsy came to visit, soccer ended, Caroline was Student of the Month, Jeremiah turned 35 and Caroline turned 5, and tons of birthday parties to attend.
DECEMBER- The elf, Flip joined us, decorated the house for Christmas, I did lots of volunteer work with students and JSL, Caroline and I taught the 2's Sunday school class, went Christmas caroling as a family with church, took a meal to a needy family, got to listen to Caroline sing Christmas songs and Carter get so excited about the pretty lights, got Skype, got a new van, and Carter is potty trained!!!!!!  What a great month December was.  I even cried Christmas night because I didn't want it to all end.  Silly, I know!!!
I know this is going to be a wonderful year!!!!!