I'm back...

...Well, maybe.  I knew it had been a while since I last blogged but I had no idea it had been 3 months.  I sort of felt like there really wasn't much to write about.  We have been trudging along through everyday life.  Nothing new or excited has really happened.  But, if I take some of the smaller things and put them together, then maybe I would have at least one good post in me.  So here is what's been going on.

The holidays went by in a rather blur.  Tommy and I hosted both Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house.  While it's nice to not have to travel, there is a different difficulty in having everyone at your house.  But we had a great time.  Thanksgiving seemed to go by pretty easy.  We had dinner instead of lunch and since we did a lot of preparations the night before, we didn't really spend our entire day cooking on Thanksgiving day.  Christmas, however, was a different story.  We had basically the same menu, with a few exceptions, but I spent the entire day in the kitchen, rushing to get it all together to eat at 5:00.  I don't know what happened.  And, if it wouldn't have been for our neighbors letting us use their oven and their refrigerator and a few of their dining room chairs, I don't know if we would have made it.  It's great to have neighbors like that.  Have I mentioned before how much we love them?  I'm pretty sure I have.  The best part of the holidays is we all managed to stay healthy.  No illnesses through the whole month of December may be a record for us.

New Year's Eve was rather uneventful.  We did get to spend some time with several of our good friends.  Each year, one family hosts a New Year's Eve party at their house.  Since it includes kids, we start at 5:00.  We left around 8:00 to get home before John's nurse gets here and we were all in bed asleep well before midnight.  We are some real party animals at our house.

Since the start of the year, John has had several doctors appointments.  They normally are more spread out, but somehow we managed to schedule 3 appointments in January and he has already had one in February with another coming up.

The first appointment was with the ENT.  I mentioned to her that he seems to have this constant nasal congestion and every now and then it flares up to an infection.  She put him on Singulair allergy medicine every day, along with a nasal spray.  We have been hoping this would keep the congestion under control and keep him from getting any kind of sinus infections.  However, he spent two days home this week with congestion.  He got an antibiotic from the doctor on Monday and was finally able to go back to school on Wednesday.  Poor little guy was just wiped out from not feeling well and has slept so much since Sunday.

The next appointment was with Pulmonology and there was nothing new to add.  We did schedule another sleep study for this summer.  Then we saw our Neurologist/sleep doctor.  She decided that since John's sleep seems to be under control, she doesn't need to see him any more, unless he starts having problems with either sleep or seizures.  So we can now cross one specialist off of our list that we see regularly.

Yesterday was a rather exciting appointment, well maybe it depends on your definition of exciting.  We saw our PM&R (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) doctor.  She basically follows all of his development progress.  She recommends therapies for John as well as writes prescriptions for any equipment he might need.  She was very pleased with his progress.  She thought that we should get a different kind of brace for his feet.  Instead of the tall kind of brace that goes most of the way up his lower leg, she thinks that short braces that just go up to his ankle would be sufficient.  We are hoping that this will make it easier for him to pick up his feet when he walks.  The other braces are so heavy and bulky, that he seems to have a little more difficult time picking his feet up off the floor when he is wearing them.  But the exciting part of this appointment was that she suggested we start trying to potty train John.  This thought has crossed my mind, but I just never have been convinced that he could handle it.  Her suggestion was that we take him to sit on the potty every two hours and that we should start changing his diaper only in the bathroom so he can correlate that is what he is supposed to do in that room.

**Warning** this next paragraph talks about using the potty so if you don't want to read about it, you can stop now.

When he came home from school yesterday, I decided to try putting him on the potty.  Sitting him on the potty is not an easy thing to do.  First of all, he thinks it's HILARIOUS.  Once I get him on it, he starts trying to grab the shower curtain and anything else he can get his hands on.  Then when he realizes that I'm not going to let him, he puts his hands on the side of the seat and pushes his bottom up off the seat.  Then sometimes he leans his head over and lays it against me.  But the whole time he is laughing.  The funny thing is, the very first time I sat him on it, he actually went.  It was just a little bit, but he did go.  When he was finished, I put a diaper back on him and then he promptly wet it.  Of course he is not going to make it easy.  I tried one more time last night and again this morning, and he didn't go either time.  But we'll keep at it.  His teachers are also going to work on it at school.  We've decided that it will be easier if he is wearing pull ups, so we are going to start using those during the day.  Today I went to Target and bought him a smaller seat to put on the potty and a couple packs of pull ups.  The problem with pull ups is that they aren't generally designed for kids John's size.  So the regular ones are too small.  But they have some called Good Nites that are designed for older kids who have trouble wetting the bed.  So we will just have to use those.  This is going to be an interesting adventure.  I don't know if he'll ever learn to go to the bathroom when he needs to.  It might just be that we train him to go at certain times of the day.  But either way, I'll take it.  I'm glad to have a friend that is going through the same thing, that I can talk to and get advice about it.  It sure makes this journey easier when you have someone going through it along side of you that understands how difficult it can be and can speak the same language.

I'll end this post with a few pictures to show you what we've been up to lately.

Look how tall I've gotten

My new trick

Me and Ms. Caitlin

Two peas in a pod

Mommy's two handsome dinner dates

Have you Heard the Good News?

Have you heard the good news?  Have you heard the good news?  Jesus has risen, he is alive.  Have you heard the good news?  Have you heard the good news?  Jesus has come back to life again.  Every time I think about Easter, this song comes to mind.  It is a song I learned many years ago in children's choir at church, and I still remember most of it.  I remember a lot of those songs that I learned all those years ago.  I sing them all of the time.  Before we were married, Tommy was always amazed that I could remember them and he didn't mind me singing.  Now, I think he just gets annoyed by it.  But I still sing them, especially to John.  He loves them.  I don't have the best singing voice, but he doesn't care.  He still smiles and giggles when I sing.  I'm not sure that is a good thing though.

For the past several years (I can't remember how many exactly) we have made it an annual tradition to spend Easter weekend at my parent's house.  For those who observe lent each year (not us), you are not supposed to eat red meat on Friday, especially Good Friday.  So many people in Louisiana choose Good Friday to have a crawfish boil.  Because there is such a high demand for crawfish on that day, we choose to do our crawfish boil on Saturday.  We also boil shrimp just for a little diversity.  We spend most of the day outside.  Mom and Dad have a really nice patio area between the side of their house and the outdoor kitchen.  So we sit outside and visit, while the boys, usually my dad, Tommy and my brother Jimmie, get the crawfish and shrimp ready and begin to boil.  All of my family is there.  It's one of the few times each year that my mom has all of her chicks in the nest at the same time.  And with the addition of spouses and grandkids, it makes for a hectic but exciting weekend.

In the past, we have chosen to get up early on Saturday morning and drive over to Kinder, instead of going on Friday.  Mainly it's because that means we only have one night without a nurse for John.  I end up sleeping with him, and let's face it, who really sleeps well when they have their kid in the bed with them?  Add to the fact that he has a monitor that alarms everytime his oxygen drops below a certain level, and you get a night of very restless sleep.  This year, we decided to bring our nanny, Kirstin, with us.  She had never been to Louisiana and so we were excited to show her some of our crazy traditions.  Also, it was helpful to have an extra set of hands for John during the day.  So because of the extra help, we decided to go over on Friday afternoon.

We got there in time to start grilling streaks for dinner.  Jimmie and his crew didn't come over until Saturday, so it was just us, mom and dad, Carrie and Jennifer, and Jason for dinner.  We sat outside and enjoyed the nice weather, along with the mosquitoes.  Okay, so maybe it wasn't such a good idea to sit outside, but I still enjoyed it.  When we have steak and potato for dinner, John gets to have a baked sweet potato.  Add a little butter and cinnamon to it, and you have one of his all time favorite foods.  That boy ate every bite, and let me tell you, it was not a small potato.

Saturday morning, we had a good breakfast.  That was good because that was going to hold us over until the crawfish and shrimp were ready mid afternoon.  Jimmie and Chrystal and the kids got there around noon on Saturday and we all had a lot of fun, visiting and playing outside.  John was in heaven getting to be outside most of the day.  I did have mom put him down for a nap because I knew he would be exhausted if he didn't have one.  Mom is the nap fairy and can get that kid asleep faster than anyone.

After a fun day on Saturday, we all went to church on Sunday morning.  We heard a great Easter message and the choir that mom directs and dad sings in, sang several songs.  What a great way to celebrate Christ's resurrection.  Easter dinner was dad's famous roast with all the trimmings.  What a fun time we had.  We left shortly after lunch for Texas.  We were all pretty tired when we got home.  John was asleep by 7:00 that night and slept for 12 hours.  Tommy and I were both in bed with the lights off by 9:30.  John came home from school on Monday and took a 2 hour nap, and still fell asleep by 7:00.  That's how much fun he had.  By Tuesday, he was caught up on his sleep and ready to go the rest of the week.

I always enjoy our Easter weekend.  It's so nice to have a nice family gathering without the stress of buying gifts for everyone.  And it's always in the same place, so there are no decisions to be made over who is going to host.

Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross and rising again so that I can be forgiven for my sins.  Thank you for making that sacrifice for me.




Friday night dinner

Giving the crawfish a bath.

William and Kash

West Texas Girl holding her first crawfish.

Ready to eat

Big Dog hard at work

Hanging out with Kirstin and Jenn.

I only have eyes for you.

Reagan sporting her new LSU outfit.

Serious conversation

Fighing over the monkey.

John and Grandaddy

Deep in thought.

Checking out William's new Spiderman toy.

William in his cool shades.

How we eat them.

Kash chowing down.

Jimmie, Chrystal, Kash, William and Reagan

Tommy, John and Joanna

Jimmie, Jason and Joanna



Catching up

So it's been quite a while since I wrote a blog post. I guess that means life has been going pretty well and there isn't a lot of change to talk about.  Mostly, I think it means I have just been lazy and haven't taken the time to write.  Today seems just as good as any to get back to it.

Mostly, things have been pretty good.  We had a great holiday season.  Everyone was healthy this year, which is a far cry from last year, so we were able to enjoy time with our family.  Santa was good to all of us.  John's favorite gift by far was his new swing.  We hung it on the swing set outside and his favorite way to pass time is in his swing.  He is so much fun to watch.  His eyes light up and he gets a huge smile. Of course he got plenty of other new toys, but while inside, he seems just as content to play with the laundry basket.  Some times he curls up in a ball and pulls it completely on top of himself.  If you walked in the room, you wouldn't know where he was.  I guess that is his version of hide and seek.

Santa brought me the new iPhone 4s.  Actually, he gave me AT&T gift cards that covered the amount of the phone and my husband went out and got the phone for me.  I've been holding onto the 3gs for nearly 3 years and it had gotten so slow that it was almost like using dial up.  So I love my new phone and all of the fun things I can do with it.

My husband was also very good to me.  He got me the leather jacket I asked him for and he also got an xbox 360 Kinnect.  He said it was for me, but I think it's really for both of us.  Playing games on it is fun, but so far I have mostly used it for watching netflix.  I have gotten hooked on a TV show, and I have been using netflix to catch up from the beginning.  So overall I'd say the holidays were a success.

During the Christmas break, our nanny went home to Midland to spend a few weeks with her family.  So we were able to utilize the services of our nanny that we had over the summer.  Caitlin worked with us for 2 weeks and John had so much fun with her.  It was great to see her and catch up with her again and John really enjoyed having his playmate back. 

Also, during the holiday, John lost a tooth and I actually pulled it myself.  I was so nervous to do it because I didn't want to hurt him, but it was so loose, that it didn't take much effort to pull it.  Tommy held his head and arms and I pulled the tooth.  Of course, he didn't flinch at all so that made it easier for me.  He has the cutest snaggle tooth grin.  The dentist told me that the top teeth usually take months to come back in.  She said she thinks it's because God really likes to see those snaggle tooth smiles and I think she's right.  But I can already see the new tooth starting to surface.  The other top tooth is loose too, so pretty soon, he'll be missing both teeth.  Maybe that's what he'll ask Santa for next Christmas.  Although, I'm pretty sure they will be in by then.

Now that the holidays are over, and Tommy is no longer on vacation, we are back to the grind.  John is back in school, which he is still doing well at, and today we got back to OT and PT for the first time in a month.  It was good for both of us, since he had the day off of school. 

Tommy left Saturday for an overseas trip.  He will be gone a week and I have to say that I am already feeling slightly overwhelmed.  We didn't have a nanny at all last week, so John and I spent A LOT of quality time together.  So with Tommy being gone, and this being a 3 day weekend, we are spending even more quality time together, and I think it's wearing on me.  I love my son to pieces, but sometimes I need a break.  He really is time consuming.  Tommy's dad came Saturday and is staying until tomorrow to give me a little help while he's out of school.  While I appreciate the help he's been, I'm still the one doing all of the feeding and changing and most of the lifting, along with cooking and cleaning and laundry and everything else I do on a daily basis.  So to say that I'm tired is an understatement.  I feel my frustration level rising and I don't really know what to do to bring it back down.  I think it will be a big help when he goes back to school tomorrow.  I do treasure the time we spend together, but I need a break.

So that is about all for now.  I will try and do a better job of keeping up with the blog.  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and is having a great 2012!

Trick-Or-Treat

It's that time of year again, Halloween! It's always a lot of fun to get John dressed up and take him around the neighborhood.  He can't eat the candy, so that's not the main focus for him.  Although, mom and dad can eat the candy, so whatever he gets is just bonus.  John really just enjoys being out and about and riding around the neighborhood.  He's really a pretty good sport about dressing up too.  His first Halloween, he was only 5 months old, so we didn't even take him anywhere.  I bought a cute little pumpkin costume and put him in it long enough to take his picture.  He fell asleep sitting in his chair with the costume on.  Every other year, he has been a Disney character.  So each year, it's a lot of fun to go to the Disney website and choose which character he will be this year.  I thought it would be fun to do a blog post with pictures of him in all of his costumes over the years.  It's fun to see him grow from year to year.  I hope you enjoy it too.

My precious pumpkin, 2005



Mickey Mouse, 2006

Nemo, 2007

Jack Sparrow, 2008

Lightening McQueen Pit Crew, 2009

Peter Pan, 2010

Woody, 2011

Father's Day

There are a lot of great fathers out there, fathers with adult children, fathers with young children and fathers with grandchildren.  They all are great for many different reasons, but there are 2 fathers that will always be the greatest in my eyes.

My dad will always be the greatest father I know.  He has always been involved in the lives of his three children.  Whether we were playing baseball or football or marching in the band, he was always there to show his support.  And the thing that sticks with me most is that he never put pressure on us to be better than we were.  If we asked his opinion on how we could improve, he was happy to give advice or work with us until we were comfortable.  But never did we feel that he would be disappointed if we didn't get a hit or if we made a bad throw.  

I have been a daddy's girl my whole life.  When we would all go to the mall to do some shopping, Dad and I would sit out in the mall, eating ice cream and people watching, while mom and the boys did their shopping.  When I was a very little girl, I walked into my parents' room one night in tears because I decided that I never wanted to get married.  Dad quickly chimed in and said that I didn't have to and could live with them for as long as I wanted.  I bet he's glad I changed my mind on that one.  He never put his job or anything else before his family.  We were always the most important part of his life.  He taught us to have faith in God and led by example.  And as he gave me away on my wedding day, the tears that were in his eyes showed me just how much he loves me.  Although, I never had to wonder if he loved me because he told me and showed me every day.  No matter how old I live to be, I will always be a daddy's girl.

The other great father that I know is my husband.  Before we had John, I didn't really know what to expect from Tommy as a father.  He was great with older kids, but never interacted much with infants.  But I have to say that the moment our son was born, his daddy instincts kicked in and he has been fantastic with him.  And even when things have been the toughest with John, he faced each situation head on and never wavered.  He has been by my side every step of the way along this journey and when I sometimes felt like I couldn't go on, he took me by the hand and led the way, showing me that everything will be OK.  There is no one I would rather have parenting beside me. 

He is a very hands on dad.  He has never been afraid to change diapers (even if sometimes he has a yucky look on his face).  He gives baths, helps with trach care, sings to John, plays with John, takes him for wagon rides and many other things.  When he comes home from work each day, the first thing he does is tell our son hello and asks him how his day was.  I sometimes just sit back with a smile on my face and watch as my two boys play together and giggle together.  I love the sound of John's laugh when he's playing with his daddy.  When he hears his daddy's voice from another room, his eyes light up and he gets the biggest smile on his face.  That boys is in love with his daddy and so am I.

So today, I want to wish my two favorite men a very Happy Father's Day.  You both mean so much to me and I am a lucky girl to have you both in my life.

Happy Mother's Day!

I know I am late, but I want to wish a happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there.  It really is a special day.  We all know that mom's do so much for their children everyday, and there should be more than one day a year to recognize that.  But in true mom fashion, we settle for just the one special day.  Sometimes, it's nice to stretch into a weekend though.

The past few Mother's Days have been pretty low key in our house.  I don't usually get to go and see my mom because we go at Easter, and typically Easter falls so close to Mother's Day.  It's hard for us to make the trip twice in a short period of time.  That was the case this year, but I took a different approach.  I invited my parents to come and spend the weekend with us.

We decided to celebrate on Saturday.  I knew they would be leaving Sunday afternoon to go home.  I also know that getting into a restaurant on Mother's Day after church, would be nearly impossible, unless we wanted a two hour wait.  Saturday, I took my mom to have a mother/daughter pedicure.  The salon I go to has three different levels of pedicure.  I usually just get the cheapest one.  But I decided since it was for my mom, to get the top of the line.  It was very nice and relaxing.  Funny enough, we both liked the same color polish, so we now have matching toes, although my mom's feet are way bigger than mine. (Sorry mom)  Then we had a surprise visit from my sister-in-law and niece.  So the four of us plus John, loaded the car and drove about 15 minutes to our favorite snow cone stand.  My mother is from New Orleans and for whatever reason, New Orleans has the best snow cones.  It's nearly impossible to find a place that is as good.  They also don't call them snow cones in New Orleans.  They call them snoballs.  So when I found a place near here that sold "New Orleans style snoballs" I knew they were genuine.  So it is a treat to her to have a good old fashion snoball.  After we left the snoball stand, we went to the mall.  Mom was looking for something for her upcoming trip to the Grand Canyon.  If you know me at all, you know the mall is not my favorite place.  But I was a good daughter and took her to look for what she needed.  Unfortunately, she didn't find what she was looking for.  But it was fun to spend time together.  That night, my wonderful husband cooked us a delicious meal of steak and shrimp along with baked potatoes.  We put John to bed early and were able to enjoy a nice quiet dinner out on the patio.  It was a beautiful evening.  My husband also surprised me with a brand new coffee maker.  I'm not a huge coffee person, but I do enjoy a cup every now and then.  I told him not long ago that I wanted a new coffee maker, one that didn't have the karaft.  I was sick of cleaning that thing.  So he got me the new fancy Keurig coffee maker that brews many different kinds of coffee.  I love it. and was happy to enjoy a delicious cup this morning.

Sunday we went to church, then came home and relaxed.  I tried putting John down for our regular Sunday nap, but he was having none of that.  So he and I laid in bed and watched some cute videos on YouTube.  He loves watching videos on my iPhone.  That afternoon I took him on a wagon ride, which is one of his favorite activities.  Unfortunately, he is getting too big for his wagon.  He has already broken one of the seats and made it into more of a recliner.  So pulling him for too long makes my back hurt.  The ride was short, but the weather was nice to enjoy.

So all in all, it was a successful and relaxing weekend.  I'm glad I got to spend the time with my mother and of course I love all the time I get to spend with my son.  He was more than thrilled to spend time with his Gram and Pop Pop.  That boy loves his Gram and I just about don't exist when she is around.  It's so fun to watch him with her.

Looking Back

After our year ended so badly with all of us being sick and missing out on a trip that we prepared months for, I wanted to look back at 2010 and remember the things that went right.  I've been wanting to write this post for several days now, but haven't found the time.  It would have been better coming before the New Year started.  So here are some of the highlights from 2010.

At the beginning of the year, we were able to hire a Nanny to help out with John.  Her name is Shannon and she is a college student.  She began working with us after the first of the year, and she proved to be so valuable to us.  She provided us free time to do things we hadn't been able to do, as well as an extra set of hands when it came to taking care of John's needs.  She was like a part of our family and we enjoyed having her around.  Unfortunately for us, her time with us ended on New Year's Eve, when she left to start a new chapter of her life in Australia.  We will miss her greatly, but we wish her all the best.

For us long time New Orleans Saints fans, the year started off incredibly.  After losing the last 3 games of the regular season, the Saints marched through the playoffs, winning their first ever Super Bowl.  After suffering through 43 miserable seasons, it was amazing to us that they actually made it to the Super Bowl, but winning it was something we never could have imagined.  It was not only a great lift to the city of New Orleans, but to the entire state of Louisiana as well. All that's left to say about it now is Who Dat!!!  This is one of my favorite pictures from the night...

In February, I turned 32 years old.  Not a big milestone, but I am very grateful for another year of health.

In April, I was very excited to spend a weekend in Galveston with a few of my favorite girls.  It was so nice to have those two days to get away from the daily grind and just spend some relaxing time talking and hanging out.  We didn't do much exciting, but we spent the entire day Saturday lounging by the pool at the beach club associated with the house we rented.  That resulted in a bad sunburn for me, but it was just nice to have some peace and quiet and fun conversation with the girls.  Here is a picture of the beach club.

May was a big month for John Thomas.  He turned 5 years old on the 24.  I cannot believe my baby is 5.  It seems like just a few days ago, we were sitting by his side in the NICU.  Now he's five and very tall.  We celebrated with a quiet party at home with just family.  But the highlight of his birthday, was being able to spend a day in San Antonio, Texas at Morgan's Wonderland.  This is an ultra accessible park that was created by the vision of a father of a girl with special needs.  We had an amazing time there and it was so nice to be able to do so many things without his wheel chair being in the way.




Me and John when we first got to the park.





He was able to play on the playground...





He was a superhero for the day...



He worked a little on his walking...













He rode on the carousel...

and he rode the train!!!

Also in May, John had to say goodbye to the teachers he spent the last two years with.  These 3 ladies made his experience in PPCD a very positive one and taught him so much.  He fell in love with all three of them, and so did I.  It was very sad to say goodbye, but I'm very happy to keep in touch so they can watch him grow.



John with his teachers at his Valentine's Day Party!

In June, I went to have a heart procedure done to try and get rid of the irregular heart rhythm that I was having trouble with.  The procedure was unsuccessful so the next action was to change my medication to control it.  In order to do so, I had to spend time in the hospital while the dose was adjusted.  I ended up spending a total of 8 days there.  It was very odd to be there and to not feel bad.  So I used the time to catch up on a lot of reading.   I didn't complain about needing more time to myself after that.

Also in June, Tommy received a promotion at work.  This wasn't something he was looking for.  He was sought out for this position.  He officially started the new position July 1, and while it has proven to be a challenge for him, he has worked very hard to be successful at it.  I am very proud of him for all he does to be a good father and to provide for our family.

In October, it was determined by my doctors that while the medication I was taking was helping control the rhythm, it was causing some other problems that they did not like.  So on October 29, I went in for surgery.  I had my existing pacemaker replaced with a pacemaker/defibrillator.  I was only in the hospital for 1 night this time, but the recovery period was 6 weeks.  6 week of not driving and not picking up John.  I am so thankful to have such supportive parents.  My mom was able to come and stay most of that time to help with John.

Another big highlight for John was starting Kindergarten.  After two years of PPCD and going to school every day for 3 hours, John started Kindergarten and now goes to school all day every day.  It took him a while to adjust to the long day, but now he is a pro.  He loves going to school and seems to be doing very well.



First day of school with his teacher.

After being in school for a month or so, we decided to let him start riding the school bus to and from school.  He absolutely loves it.  I think his favorite part is getting on and off of the bus.

All of these things were fun and exciting.  But probably the most fun and most exciting was watching John begin to walk.  No he isn't walking on his own, but he has made some huge strides and is getting better all of the time.  He is very interested in being on his feet and moving around.  It's only a matter of time before he takes off on his own.

This is when we realized he was ready to learn.



Then he progressed to a bigger cart.

Then he got busy at therapy.

So even though the year ended kind of crummy, it wasn't all bad.  We had some really good times and some wonderful milestones.  Overall, 2010 was a huge success.  We are looking forward to so many new experiences in 2011.



Turning a Corner

It finally seems that John is turning a corner.  His O2 levels are finally starting to level out at night, and he has been doing a lot more playing the last two days, although he is pretty clingy after being held for most of a week.  I even have heard him laugh a few times.  It's been a while since I have heard that sweet laugh of his.  He still has some congestion and a cough, but all of those things are manageable as long as his oxygen levels are normal.

As for me, I'm still hanging in.  I've still got a lot of congestion and am still coughing up a lung, especially at night, but I'm feeling much better.  I just hope that by the end of the week, we are all completely better.

As far as our Colorado trip that we missed out on, word from my parents and my sister-in-law is that everyone is having a good time.  They have a lot of snow and even had a snowball fight yesterday.  I wish I could be there to see the kids enjoying the snow.  I know John would be loving it.

We are thinking of planning a new trip for another time.  We are trying to decide whether to go at spring break or in the summer.  But we do want to go to the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte, Colorado.  They have amazing opportunities for John all year around, so we just have to figure out when would be the best time to go.  I still want to see him ski, but we would probably have a better chance of keeping him well in the summer.

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year.  If John is well enough on Friday, we will get to spend New Year's Eve with some friends.  Wishing you all Health and Happiness is 2011!!!

Christmas in Houston

Yesterday came and we made the decision that staying in Houston was the best choice for us.  We need to get John well, and it will be more difficult to do that if we go on our trip.  So we made the difficult choice not to go skiing. 

When I think about not having to pack and travel and all of the "not fun" part of going on a trip, I'm okay with it.  But when I think about all of the fun things we will miss out on and not being able to see my family, I get a little sad.  This will be the first Christmas I have ever spent away from my family.  I will get to see my parents tonight and tomorrow morning.  They are driving here to Houston so they can fly out tomorrow.  So we'll try to spend a nice evening with them and they can watch John open his gifts from Santa in the morning.

But the part that is the most weird is that it doesn't look like Christmas here.  We decided not to put up a tree or decorate the house since we weren't planning on being here.  So it is going to be weird tomorrow without a Christmas tree.

But we are going to try and make the most of things.  We are going to spend a nice evening with my parents tonight and then try and have a nice meal tomorrow, just the three of us.  It'll be quiet, but the most important thing is that we will be together as a family of 3.

And there is always 24 hours of "A Christmas Story" on TV starting tonight.  That is my favorite Christmas movie.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone out there who may be reading this, from the Hitt Family.  May you be richly blessed and don't forget that we would have neither Christmas nor Eternal Life if God hadn't chosen to send his only son.