When life gives you lemons...

You know the rest :)  This post is a hodgepodge of our lemonade.

Brandon is doing well, considering the circumstances.  He has a wonderful attitude and is feeling much better today.  Tuesday was pretty rough for him - he was in a great deal of pain and the pain medicine prescribed to him makes him itch.  He chose the itching over the pain yesterday, but today he has managed the pain with less meds.  To get his walking exercises in, he has been helping me with laundry by walking one or two pieces of clothes at a time to the closet to hang up and this -

His favorite pastime - xbox 360 (standing of course)

The boys have been staying with their grandparents the past few nights.  To be honest, I'm a little scared to have them around Brandon for too long right now.  It took all of about 10 minutes for Will to run into his dad's lower stomach last night.  That was pretty painful for Brandon, so for now they come over in the evenings and eat dinner with us, play and hang out, and then they are going back to their grandparent's to spend the night.  I keep saying "one more day...."  But I do have a few cute pics of them playing outside recently.

 So what have I been up to?  Well today was my first day back at the office.  But other than that, just call me "Nurse Jessica".  

A funny - this morning, I made sure to get Brandon all set up before I left for work.  I made his breakfast and put it beside the bed, I got his meds ready with a fresh drink, gave him the remote and a new ice pack.  I kissed him on the noggin and told him I would be calling him soon.   His parents came to check on him a few hours later, and he hobbled to the door with one sock on and one in his hand.  He can barely lift his right leg (the side of his operation), so he couldn't manage to get his sock on and had spent the better part of the day with only one sock!  I made myself a mental note to get his socks on in the morning before I leave :)

Also, I confess my habitual online shopping habits.  Only, it's not as bad as one might think - I don't actually buy the items, I just fill the "cart" with all of my wish list items, then close the website.  I just can't do it.  I hate hate hate spending money!  BUT - I came upon a great coupon via Piperlime for the kids' shoes.  I love this store and have had wonderful experiences with them in the past.  The coupon is for 20% off 2 pairs, 25% off 3 pairs, or 30% off 4 pairs of kid's shoes.  The coupon is only good through 3/31 - but enter "SAVINGS" to get the deal.  Well, you do the math - 2 kiddos = lots of tiny shoes in our house.

They both scored a pair of these super cute rain boots.  Western Chief makes great boots - we also own a pair of the Thomas the Train boots that Will has outgrown, but Brooks hasn't grown into yet.

And I ordered both boys this super fun pair of bright summer sneakers!

I'm also brainstorming ideas for our 5th wedding anniversary coming up in May :)  We were already planning to do something really special for this milestone, but given all that we've been through recently, I've decided that we're going somewhere AWESOME this year!  

I really want to visit Charleston, SC.  Neither of us have ever been before, so that would be fun and exciting.  Plus, I think Charleston would be really romantic.  BUT, I want to consider Brandon's thoughts too.  Charleston seems a little frilly for a guy and if anyone deserves an awesome trip, its Brandon!  So now I'm kind of at a loss.  Any suggestions from you guys are welcome - either in Charleston or elsewhere :)

And again - thank so much to our friends and family who have been so kind this week.  We have both gained at least 5 pounds from all the goodies and suppers we have been given :)

Brandon's Surgery

The first step toward Brandon's full recovery happened today.  I say full recovery because we truly believe that.

We arrived at the hospital at 8:00 this morning, after dropping our boys off at my mom's.  After signing in and making a visit to the insurance lady (why don't they just call it like it is - the payment center), we took our seats in surgery waiting.  It wasn't too long before they called Brandon's name.  They let me go back with him while they started his IV and other pre-op duties.  Brandon was pretty calm, although he will admit to being nervous about the IV :)  I put on my best this-is-going-to-be-fine face and tried to distract him.  I did manage to take this photo -

Doesn't he look good in purple??

A few people came in and out - Brandon's parents and sister, our Pastor Dewayne, nurses and finally the anesthesiologist.  The doctor came in and talked to us.  He explained what I should expect and told me he would see me after the surgery.  The anesthesiologist then told me to give my kisses and leave.  As I was leaving the room, the nurse was pulling up the bed rails and moving Brandon out of the room.  My heart officially went into slow motion at that moment and I somehow navigated my way back to the waiting room.

The waiting room was more than half-filled with our friends and family.  People who love us and have been praying for Brandon throughout this whole ordeal.  That was so reassuring and comforting to me, and I'm sure to his parents.  

I do kind of want to apologize to the people who came to the surgery - I was so distracted that I'm sure I was not good company.  A few people were kind enough to make a biscuit run, but I couldn't eat.  My heart was in surgery with Brandon.  It's a strange feeling when your sweetheart is wheeled away from you to be operated on.  Throughout this whole process, I have felt so helpless.  I wanted to be with him, even though he was unconscious and I hate blood and guts.  I can't even watch Grey's Anatomy without turning my head at the gross parts.  So when I say that I wanted to be with him, that's huge - that's true love folks!

The next couple of hours slowly ticked away.  I stuck my head in a magazine and tried to ignore my aching heart.  When the nurse finally called our name, I was ushered with his parents to a consultation area.  I was happy to have his parents with me, that would have been a lonely wait had I been alone.  About 20 minutes later, the doctor made his appearance and talked to me about the surgery.  He told me that everything went well and explained that we still don't have many answers until the results of the pathology report, which will be explained to us at his one-week follow up appointment.  He told me what to expect when I saw Brandon, and how to take care of him for the next few weeks.  

I got to see Brandon about 10 minutes later while he was still in recovery. When he saw me coming, he smiled and gave me a thumbs-up.  My heart finally resumed its normal beating rhythm at that point.  He was drinking juice and joking with the nurse.  I was so glad to see him well.  After the nurse made me sign my life away to drive him home, we were loaded into the car and on our way home!

Since we've been home, Brandon has done extremely well.  He's in pain, but not a terrible amount.  He has a four-inch incision in his lower abdomen, which is extremely sore and he describes as "the worst pulled muscle ever."  He's able to walk a little, but gets lightheaded when he's been sitting up too long.  He's eating and drinking and in good spirits.  The boys came over for a little while tonight and let's just say that I was a nervous wreck the whole time!  I was constantly afraid that Will was going to be too rough and hurt Brandon.  They are spending the night with Brandon's parents tonight, so they are getting spoiled rotten :)  

We really really appreciate all of your prayers, calls, notes and messages.  I have received calls from people that I have never even met, offering encouragement and prayers.  We feel so blessed and loved.  Brandon has received several messages and calls from his buddies and guys he went to school with and that means so much to him.  Please continue to pray for him as he recovers from his surgery and as we nervously await the results of the pathology report.  His appointment is set for one week from today and at that time, we'll know more about where we go from here.  

I'm off to check on my sweetheart.....  good night!

Lately...

Well friends, we've had a LOT going on lately.  I guess that's how life happens - kind of all at once.  Let's start with the boys -

We are feeling much better this week, having gotten over that rotten stomach buggie.  This week has been beautiful and we spent much of our afternoons outside enjoying the fresh air.  With two boys, I better get use to spending a lot of time outside!  It is the first week of Spring and look -

Will has a farmer's tan!

 and Brooks loves to spend time in his swing :)

I've also been trying to work on Will's 3rd birthday party.  When I ask him what kind of party he wants, his answer varies from Thomas the Train, to Toy Story, to Bob the Builder and so on...  This makes planning his perfect party a little complicated, as I feel like he'll immediately say "but I wanted ....... " when I choose one.  BUT - I think I'm leaning toward Thomas the Train.  I have tons of ideas, but... 

I'm also still training for my first sprint triathlon in June.  Training has been tough.  Not because the exercise is hard, but because I am having a terribly difficult time dedicating time for it.  The stomach thing last week threw us off, and this week has been rough as well.  I'm determined to do it though.

And finally, the reason I'm sure most of you are reading this.  This week we received some tough news.  I won't go into many details yet.  Brandon doesn't really want me to "put it all out there" just yet and I understand that.  But it is serious and we certainly appreciate all of the prayers and support that we have received in the last few days.  Brandon will have surgery on Monday morning at 9:00.  I will definitely keep you guys posted on his surgery and recovery, and once we know more specifics, I will fill you in on those as well (with his blessing!)

I won't lie to you and say that I'm not scared to death.  I am.  Brandon is calm and collected, as usual.  We are relying on God for this, as that's all we can do.  I believe that God will keep my husband safe and healthy.  I believe this because I've seen it happen and because I have to.  This is the only thing that keeps me from losing my mind.  Keep up the prayers.  We love y'all.

sighhhhhhhhh.....

Sorry friends, that is my disposition as of late.  Nice - I know.  Our family (and even extended family) is currently fighting a stomach bug.  Brooks (the little booger) started it all last Monday night.  I won't give you the details, but it was a long night.  Two nights later, it was the hubby.  Two days later, it was my mom.  Two nights later, my father-in-law.  Will and I have washed our hands until they're chapped and sprayed so much lysol that our lungs should be permanently disinfected.  Just keep praying for us.  This momma is stressin'.  Sleeping on the couch didn't help that too much last week.

If I could just stay home with the boys and quit sending them off to spread their germs, this whole cycle might stop.  But here's the reality - it's MARCH and I have no sick days left.  I used a few days the first week of the year when the boys had strep, and I used two days last week with Brooks.  At the rate in which we accrue them, let's hope the boys can stay healthy until the fall.  Oh the joys of a working mother!

Sorry there are no cute pics this time - to be honest, we haven't been that cute lately.  In other news, we will hopefully have our session with Karen Baker this weekend.  It was supposed to happen this past Sunday, but Karen was extremely gracious in letting us reschedule.  I can't wait, as Karen always does a knock-out job!

Whew - What A Week!

This has been a crazy week, so this post will probably be a whole lot of randomness crammed into a few paragraphs.  Bare with me!  OK, here we go -

Last weekend we went furniture shopping and finally decided on our new dining room table. It was delivered on Friday and we love it!  We now have enough space and chairs to seat six people at the table! (This is one of those moments in life when you realize you're actually an adult - when you're excited about tables and chairs.)

We've also spent time at the doctor's office this week, but just for healthy check ups.  I took Brooks to his pediatrician on Tuesday for his one-year well baby visit.  The whopper weighs 24.8 lbs and is 33 inches long!!  (As a comparison - Will weighed 21.5 lbs and was 31.5 inches long at one year.)  Based on his measurements, Brooks weighs more than 75% of children his age, and is longer than 99%.  Hmmm, I wonder if he will catch big brother Will this summer...

I spent the last half of the week working out of town.  Not much excitement there, it just added to the craziness of the week.

This wonderful and beautiful (70 degrees and sunny!) weekend included a birthday party for one of Brooks' little buddies and plenty of time spent outside with our friends.  Saturday evening we had a few friends over to enjoy the hubby's awesome hamburgers on the Big Green Egg and even though we lost an hour of sleep, I was up early Sunday morning for a little cardio training.  I've officially registered for my first sprint triathlon in June, so I've got to step up my game a little  a lot.  This morning's workout routine included 5 trips up the stairs at the local middle school's football stadium and 2 miles around the track.  And yes, I'm already sore :/

A Very Hungry Birthday Party

Last Saturday we celebrated Brooks' first birthday with A Very Hungry Caterpillar party, based off the popular children's book by Eric Carle.  It was a dreary day.  The weather didn't cooperate very well - mid 50s and rainy :(  BUT we had an awesome turnout.  We are so very blessed to have a wonderful group of family and close friends to celebrate these important life events with.  So without further delay.... here are the pics of the main event -

I made this birthday banner myself.  Similar (probably cuter) designs can be purchased on Etsy for ~$45.

Closeup of the banner

I wanted to serve each of the foods that the little caterpillar eats throughout the story.  Fruits, mini sandwiches (for the salami and cheese in the story) and even pigs in a blanket (for the sausage).

I bought the artificial turf at Home Depot to use as a table cloth.  PLUS - the boys will really get a kick out of using it to play with their tractors and farm animals later on.

I marked each of the foods with passages from the story...

Ceramic pots with floral styrofoam and lollipops.  I will be using these pots on my porch this Spring/Summer :)

These fruit kabob caterpillars were a HUGE hit with the kiddos.

Goody buckets included lots of goodies for our "Hungry Caterpillars" - fruit snacks, chocolate dipped pretzels, lollipops and gummy worms  caterpillars.

Cake by Heaven Scents Cakes 

YUUMMMMMY

What a great day!  Special thanks to my mom, who let us barge in (and invite 40 friends over) to her home.  Also - props to Connie, who helped my mom so much last week.  This party was a ton of work, but it was totally worth it for my little booger.  Now on to the next party - Will turns 3 in two months :)

Fishing Fun

This weekend my three men and I went fishing.  This was Will's first time.  Of course, by default it was Brooks' first time too, but since he did no fishing we'll wait a little while for his "first fishing trip".  It was incredibly beautiful here in North Georgia and the perfect day to drop a line as they say :)  I am proud to say that it was a successful trip - Will made the only catch of the day - a small bass.  

*** Just a minute to brag on myself before the pictures of our trip - Will was kind of interested/uninterested in fishing.  He would hold the rod for a few seconds minutes and then lay it down to go running off into the woods.  At the time of his catch, he had just laid his rod down when I saw the bobber go under.  I was holding Brooks (taking a 12 month-old fishing is not for sissies) so I bent down and picked up the rod. I gave it a tug and sure enough - I felt resistance.  I started reeling the fish in, all the while holding my squirming 24 pound toddler.  And I'm happy to say, I reeled it in like a pro.  Let's see those men on ESPN do that! HA!

 I loooove this picture.  Will and his dad :)

 The big catch!  Yay Will!! 

(Look at that face!)

I probably won't be able to post again until Sunday or Monday.  A very special little boy has a 1st birthday party this weekend, and I am swamped with prep work for that.  I will be sure to post all about it afterwards.  Have a great weekend!