two weeks prior to surgery

it's been almost 8 weeks since we went into hiding, preparing for isaac's surgery.  the nurses suggested we keep isaac and brothers away from germs in order to keep them well(clearly a small miracle).  if isaac had even a sniffle they would'nt have let him keep his cleft revision surgery.  knowing that we would have to wait until the middle of next year if he missed this surgery, we decided to stay home and make the best of it.  turns out it was good and bad for all of us.  asher made a habit of taking his diaper off and playing with his poop(please see picture above).  that was definitely not my favorite part!  we now put his pajamas on backwards to avoid issues like this. 

we also found ourselves surrounded with support and encouragement.  family and friends spoiled us with fun treats, books, toys and games to help the time fly.  THANK YOU!!  a few times isaac said, "i don't have friends because i have to have surgery."  each time we laughed and reminded him that he did have friends and they were the ones that had thought to give him all these fun new things to use while he couldn't play.  he soon was talking about how excited he was for surgery so that he could play with his friends.  we didn't have the heart to tell him he would have to spend several weeks recovering before spending too much time with his friends.  stew also reminded me that we might want to let him in on the fact that he would probably be in some pain after the surgery.  isaac seemed unphased, true to his typical self.  clearly he had no idea the pain that we were talking of.   

thank goodness for brothers!  these two surprised me with how well they can get along.  much to my surprise at the end of the two weeks they seemed closer than i've ever seen them.  i guess there really are glimpses of grace in all situations.  

my birthday fell into this pocket of time.  to be honest, all i could think about was making it through surgery and staying well.  stew still took the time to help the boys spoil me with a sweet art project.  and as much as i tried to see the day come and go, our friends and families were so thoughtful.  i truly felt celebrated.    

  it's not a birthday without cupcakes in this family!

as tough as those couple of weeks prior to operation were for us, they were also filled with sweet moments. 

we also found that coloring is a true favorite!  let's hear it for markers:)

thanksgiving

we started our thanksgiving off at the o'side turkey trot.  it's become a bit of a tradition and our boys love the craziness of it. 

my mom and dad hosted a wonderful meal and we ate PLENTY of good food and sat without the kids(my mom and aunt watched all the children so the adults could relax).  thank you!!

asher to the ER

 one november night we spent several hours in the ER getting breathing treatments for asher. we're pretty sure the boys take turns deciding which one of them is going to add a few more grey hairs to our heads... this time it was asher. poor guy was struggling to breath and we all knew it. after that fun night and a follow up appointment, we were given our own nebulizer in hopes of avoiding the hospital. we're hoping he eventually grows out of it, but we're not holding our breath.

stew's birthday

stew is hands down the favorite of ALL in this family and for good reason.  happy birthday to an amazing dad and husband!  this poor guy has suffered through 4 pregnancies with me... if you know what i am like when i am pregnant, you know how amazing that is. 

halloween(flashback)

isaac had his first post op appointment on halloween at 2pm.  things were running behind schedule and we ended up not getting home until 5pm.  i should probably mention that i might have been a bit crazy at isaac's appointment(stew confirmed it). as the nurse was cutting the stitches out of his lip, i repeatedly screamed STOP!  she was cutting his skin as she was attempting to remove the stitches. i was starting to think they sent the rookie nurse in to deal with my precious child.  that will be the last post op i attend for some time.  clearly the mama bear in me might need to hang back and let stew handle those things.   

our friends that we used to call neighbors, were sweet enough to meet over at our place to do a quick run through our new neighborhood. the boys hit up a few houses for candy and life seemed almost "normal".  i had missed normal.

asher RAN from house to house, keeping up with the big boys, collecting candy!  he's a rookie with the candy wrapper so he just chewed right through that thing.

ryder and gaga made this pumpkin that sat on our front step with pride.