SNOW DAY!

Claire and I went out during Cohen's nap and built a snowman!! I can't tell you when I last built a snowman. And honestly I have never built one where you actually make a ball and roll it until it gets bigger. The snow was perfect and packed really well. So here is a tribute to Daddy! He is sporting an SMS jersey. Not because we are fans anymore but because he played there once upon a time! He's wearing an Ozark News hat (Thanks Papa!), his eyes are the caps to the milk bottles, carrot nose, mouth of conversation hearts, spatula arms and Cohen's mittens!



Cohen loved the snow! When it first started coming down we were on our way to take Claire to school. When we got out he was reaching for it and trying to catch it in is mouth! He played a little outside but he wouldn't keep mittens on and his little hands were FREEZING!

Look what I got!

Today my good friend Jo came by to deliver these! It's called Pattycakes and it is so cool! She just came to our house and the kids put their prints into clay. We gave her pictures and a month later....VOILA! We love them, now I just have to find the perfect place for them! Check out the website and if you need her info let me know. This picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice but you get the point. It cracks me up that Claire's foot barely fits on the circle. www.patty-cakes.com

Big Fish!

Here's my dad! He went wild hog hunting in Oklahoma and then went down to the Texas/Mexico border to fish. Here he is with the fruit of his labor! I only wish I would have had a camera tonight when he was playing the Wii. It was great! And now, guess who is getting a Wii!

Splish Splash!

How does this momma get dinner started when her sweet little boy is being....well.....not so sweet?

He sat and played in the sink for 30 minutes! And if I do say so myself, looked pretty cute while doing it! I love this kid!

News...already?!

**DISCLAIMER** If you have a weak stomach or are eating, I would hold off on reading the first part of this blog. Don't say I didn't warn you.

This morning I hit the ground running......for the bathroom! I'm not sure if I have a bug or if it's just a combo of the REALLY BAD food I ate all day yesterday and the stress, but I'm not feeling so great. I was sad because I am supposed to be going to Arkansas with Claire and Brian for a fun visit with my best friend (Auntie Monica) and her husband (Jungle Ben). Jungle Ben is a nickname that Claire is responsible for...we love it! However, I'm thinking we may have to wait until next week. Maybe we can stay a little longer that way and hopefully meet up with Tiffany and Kennedy too!! Anyway, of course only on the mornings when I am feeling yucky do things like this happen. Cohen's diaper broke in the middle of the night.....yeah. Luckily, Brian put him in his "spacesuit" (another nickname by Claire for "footie" jammies) so it was contained.....but seriously. Thank goodness Brian was still home because he took care of it! I still haven't dealt with the "spacesuit" but I will probably just put it in with the vomit clothes from yesterday!

With that out of the way, breakfast on the table, pot of coffee made and e-mail checked the phone starts ringing. First my pediatrician's office to see how our appointment went (WOW!) and to schedule and ultrasound for Monday Feb. 4th. Wow! I just realized that was the day, 12 years ago, that Brian and I went on our first date!!! (Kim and Andy, thanks for waiting on us while we smooched on Brian's front porch!) Anyway, the nurse was worried about Claire being able to drink 32 oz. of fluid in an hour and hold it. I assured her that it wouldn't be a problem! The kid can put down milk like no other! So we will go on Monday and do that. It's easy and non-invasive so no biggie!

THEN...the bomb. Dr. Spade from Children's Mercy called to schedule the MRI and discuss the results of the bone age. We will go on March 17th for the MRI. We are planning to spend the weekend up there and make a vacation out of it with Grandma Connie, Nanny and Papa!! Then she said they have the results from yesterday. Claire is 3 years 6 months old. Her bone age is 5 years 9 months. I'm stunned. In less than a year she went from a 10 month difference to a difference of 2 years 3 months. I am still stunned. Dr. Spade said that it is a definite cause for concern and that I was right to push to get her into Children's Mercy. She assured me that we are doing the right thing and we will get to the bottom of this. I would have thought that my first instinct would have been to be so angry with the docs in St. Louis and with my old pediatrician for blowing me off, but it wasn't. I feel such a sense of peace because I know it's God's plan. He is so present in my life right now. I think that I am so overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion that I feel from Dr. Turpin and Dr. Spade that I am at peace and I know I'm in the right place. I'm not sure I would appreciate that had I not been treated the way I was treated in St. Louis. I feel like last summer was a summer of my life where God was preparing me for so many things. Here is just another example of how he was equipping me with the strength and wisdom I need to get through this. Connie and I talked this morning about how it may be a blessing and a curse that we know what Brian went through. It's a blessing because we can prepare and have a little more info to offer. It's a curse because we don't want Claire to have to endure the pain that Brian did! He started getting HORRIBLE migraine headaches when he was 6. He doesn't get them anymore because he doesn't have the pituitary issues anymore. So it's scary. But truly, I am at peace.

LONG DAY!

Here's a little run down of our day.

9:00 am--Leave Nanny and Papa's house. DVD player and Shrek going strong.
9:15 am--Get gas and go through Sonic. (Mommy and Nanny need fuel too!)
9:30am--Check temp outside.....65 DEGREES!!!! Head out of town.
10:30am--Notice it's getting a little weird looking to the north, check temp.....52 degrees
10:40am--Crank up heat, check temp again....42.
10:45am--Get advice from Papa, find out Papa is in West Plains where it is currently 75 and they are calling for tornadoes and hail!
11am--Check temp....32.
12 noon--We have snow! Papa calls....get more advice (poor Papa was worried sick!) Get on 71 North and pray for the best!
12:10pm--Claire gets carsick and throws up all over herself, Froggy, Woody and the car. Claire then tells Nanny, "Nanny, I was just gettin' ready to tell ya to pull over so I could throw up."
12:15pm--Watch crazy drivers slide all over, visibility reduced to about 15 feet, wind blowing like crazy and we really don't know EXACTLY where we are going.
12:30pm--Pull into Children's Mercy (2 hours early) and thank God that we got there safely. Check temp--19 degrees, Change Claire's clothes (thankfully I took an extra set of clothes....minus underwear!), find a bathroom, go, bathe Froggy and Woody in the sink, find the office, get checked in and plop down in a chair...(BIG SIGH!!!)

The appointment went great. I was VERY pleased with our doctors. They were wonderful and sweet and listened to everything I had to say. They assured me that I was completely right to be concerned and that there were in fact issues that needed to be addressed. So here is the deal. They sent us over to get another "bone age study" which is just an X-Ray of her hand and we will get those results back soon. We are then going to schedule an ultrasound that can be done in Springfield. They will check her ovaries and uterus and will be able to tell if anything is maturing that shouldn't be. The last thing they want to do is an MRI to rule out any tumors or growths on or near her pituitary gland. She said that this should be done because of Brian's history. We will then follow up with her every 6 months. The best part is that they come to Springfield one day each month so we will be able to see them here rather than make the trip to KC. We do have to go up for the MRI which I'm okay with because it is a great hospital with the kids best interest in mind. They didn't seem to think there is anything to be concerned about right at this moment but they do feel it's necessary to move forward and start ruling things out.

Claire was such a big girl and I couldn't be more proud of how brave she was!!!!! So there is the medical stuff. I will post more fun stuff later, but for now.....I'm pooped!

Beauty Tips

Here is the best list of beauty tips I've seen in a while.

-For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
-For Lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
-For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
-For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
-For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.
-written by Audrey Hepburn

Answered Prayer

We have an appointment with an endocrinologist tomorrow at 2:30 in Kansas City. To those who have never tried to get into a pediatric endocrinologist, this is nothing short of a miracle. Please pray that we get some answers and that the weather holds out so we can actually get there! I am just sitting here in awe of the fact that God is so present in my life. "Thank you Jesus for the blessings in my life." (this is the way we end every prayer in our house. It might be the most precious thing to hear come from a 3 year old.)