7 Year Anniversary

Then:Now:
I wish I had a better now picture but this is going to have to do for now. We aren't good about getting pictures of Cory and I together, mostly just with kids - but I am sure that you all know how that goes. Anyway, just thought I would put a little blurp about celebrating 7 years. I can't believe it has been that long and I am grateful for the last seven years even with all of its ups and downs. We have been very blessed and I look forward to many more years together.

In my ploy to find a small and simple gift for Cory this year I asked the girls what they thought I should get him, here are their answers:

Hannah: A snow machine, or maybe a Wii game that he could play with us.

Addy: A shoot gun.

These are all things that Cory wants, but I am not so convinced (with the exception of the Wii game) that these are top priority items - plus I was shooting for something a bit smaller.

Addy's Surgery

On Friday, March 19 we took Addy to an ENT becuase she had had strep for so long and we just couldn't get rid of it. After talking to the doctor we decided that the best option was to do a tonsilectomy/adnoidectomy. We felt good about the decision and made our appointment before we left. Her surgery was scheduled for Mar. 23 - four days later...I had a little anxiety but felt that we were doing the right thing. We arrived at the hospital at 6 am that morning - Addy was pretty excited (she had no idea what was coming!!!) mom was really nervous. The big crocodile tears in Addy's eyes were due to the fact that she didn't want to wear the hospital gown and wanted her kitty jamies back on - and she really didn't like that socks. So we compromised and let her wear her socks but she had to keep the gown on.

I sat on the bed with her while we waited and she colored this cute little coloring book the hospital gave her, played with the bunny stuffed animal - also provided by the hospital, and played on her leapster. After about 45 min to 1 hour of waiting she decided that she was ready to go home - she was a little upset when we told her that we couldn't go home yet, that the doctore had to still fix her throat.

Then the nurse brought in the mask that they would put on her in the operating room so that she could play with it and not be scared when they took her back. She thought it was pretty fun and even gave her bunny a chance to try it out.
They had these cute little padded wagons that they use to transport some of the kids who were not too happy about being there (all of the other kids were screaming and crying, but little Addy was so brave). We let Addy play with the wagons to kill some time before it was her turn.
They came and took her and she was so good and brave she just jumped up on the bed and went the nurse with a big smile on her face (it all happened so fast that I didn't even get a picture). This was the time that I had the hardest time and started questioning my decision, but I was so glad that she didn't cry otherwise it would have made it that much harder. The surgery was on about 20-30 minutes long but it seemed like longer becuase I was so nervous (good thing for texting, my mom was able to keep me busy while we were waiting). After the surgery the doctor came and talked to us and told us that the surgery went fabulous, and that her tonsils and adnoids were super infected and that she also had a really bad sinus infection. This really calmed my fears and was a reassurance that we made the right choice (where was my faith - lost in all the nerves I am sure!?!).

About 45 minutes after they took Addy we were reunited with her and this is where my emotions got the best of me, it was really hard seeing her so out of it. She was happy to see us though and we each gave her a great big hug, it was so good to hold her again. (Man I really am a baby, such a short little routine surgery and you would think that she just had major surgery.)
After a few minutes, Addy looks up at me and says "My throat hurts. Why does it hurt?" Maybe I should have explained a little better that it would hurt at first, but I was afraid that she would be scared and I didn't want to freak her out too much before the surgery.The nurse made her a little slushy with a popsicle and some sprite and she ate most of that and then they took her IV out and her little heart monitor thing that was on her toe (this was really what she complained about hurting the most). Then they sent us on our way around 9 am, just 3 short hours after we had arrived - and we spent most of that time waiting for them to take her back. I love her attempted smile in this picture...When she got home she told Hannah all about the surgery and how she was so brave, but the main thing she said was "I didn't even get a shot." (Nope just an IV and scalpel- thank goodness she doesn't even know what really happened).

Hannah Story: The day before the surgery Hannah had a lot of anxiety about what was going to happen. She even came home from school early because her stomach hurt so bad. We talked about what was going to happen and that everything was going to be okay, and she went about the rest of her day just fine. When bedtime rolls around she is sobbing in her bed because she is afraid for Addy - "I am scared they are going to cut her open and get her tonsils out." Maybe I should have gone into a little more detail???

Addy's recovery is going awesome she has bounced back so quickly, we only had two really bad evenings where she was in a lot of pain. On the second bad evening Addy cried for about 45 min. because her throat hurt but she didn't want to take her medicine that would make it better. Cory was gone and I couldn't handle her crying and Garrett having a melt down too, so I broke down too. After calling my mom in defeat she told me to go and say a prayer, which is what I did and then I got Addy calmed down and she even took her medicine. Everyone was happy and taken care of and we were sitting on the couch watching a Barbie movie (thanks Shera) when Hannah looks at me and says "Mom, things just aren't working out so good for you tonight." I smiled and nodded my head yes, then she goes on and says "Maybe you need Super Nanny to come and help you." I couldn't help but laugh.