Farewell 2009, Hello 2010

Cheers - with our sparkling white grape juice - from the Jobes!
We ended up staying in and celebrating together as a family. We played a couple of games of Die Siedler Von Catan (Settlers of Catan - I saw the English version at a couple of places before Christmas, you should pick it up, great game!). We toasted and celebrated with the East Coast just in case someone falls asleep (mainly Jason or Peyton) before we hit midnight.

A few highlights - In this past decade, we added a baby (Peyton in October of 2000) and a dog (Eddie in December 2003), Mackenzie went through Elementary and Middle Schools and started Junior High. In 2009 we built and moved into our new home, Peyton made a smooth transition to a new school and Mackenzie's good health for the past couple of months of 2009 makes us very happy . Every day is a gift and we share them with so many wonderful friends. We can't wait to see what great things 2010 brings.

Happy New Year!

December 2 (+27 Days)

Jason proposed during the Lights of the Ozarks on the Fayetteville Square 13 years ago on December 2. Tradition normally finds us there every December 2 but this year, something came up and we didn't make it - namely, THE Science Fair Project. So, Jason surprised us and took us tonight...it was beautiful with a little snow still on the ground from Christmas.
First, pizza at Tiny Tim's.

Then lights and pictures.

I was going to skip the Razorback picture this year but Mackenzie pointed out that we "always" take one.

Here is an article about my friend Mitzi and her proposal on the Square.

Merry Christmas 2009

My Dream for CF

Video posted by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I have the privilege of working with Charlotte (featured on the video) to raise funds for Trey, Mackenzie and all the other patients, bravely fighting cystic fibrosis everyday.

ACH Performance

The girls and their dance teams got to perform at Arkansas Children's Hospital yesterday. Both girls were excited but Mackenzie was practically beaming all day knowing that she was going to get to perform at a place that has been so good to her.
I braved the big Dilly Dally's 50% off sale so I could get some things to take down to their toy drive (thanks Sara H. for sending toys with us too!).

You all know from this past summer how much I love these words that you walk under upon entering ACH. Normally when we have Mackenzie there we are rushing in and out and I've never snapped her picture with them.

All of the girls did a great job performing. There weren't many patients in the lobby but they were filming them dance and broadcasting it to the clinics and the patient rooms.

These were the girls I had for most of the trip down and back. They were a delight - they all have older sisters and I enjoyed the conversations I overheard ("real men don't sparkle" was one thing I overheard during a discussion about Twilight. I'm pretty certain none of these girls have seen or read it). They were troopers on the way home when what should have taken 20 minutes - to go from ACH to Conway for dinner - turned into a 2 hour and 45 minute trip. Our ETA home that should have been 10pm turned into 1am, but it was still fun!

I'm in Love...

...with these girls and these photos! The girls had a photo session with a friend of ours and I think they turned out amazing. Here are a couple and you can see more of Jenny's favorites on her blog! Seriously, I love these girls so much - babies, toddlers, tweens - I've loved every minute of being a Mommy to these two. I wish it wasn't going by so fast!

It's Beginning to Look (and Feel) a lot like Christmas...

I usually like to get the tree up the Saturday after Thanksgiving (and take it down the Saturday after New Year's Day). I did put it up that day but didn't get it decorated for a few days. I really wanted to buy a new taller, slim, pre-lit tree but decided to wait until after Christmas and try to get one on sale.

The girls and I, along with some friends, went on the Winter Dreams Tour of Homes yesterday. This always gets me in the Christmas spirit and I got a lot of inspiration...now if only I could win the lottery...

Winter Wonderland

The girls participated in Bentonville's Winter Wonderland parade with their dance team. It was a cold morning but they had a great time.
Afterwards, KDA had their Christmas Party and they got to perform. Next week we'll be traveling to Arkansas Children's Hospital to perform - Mackenzie is so excited for this, I think because that hospital is so good to her!

Thanksgiving 2009

Why did this past week go by so quickly?
I'm sad the girls are heading back to school tomorrow, I enjoyed having them home. This past week was a bit of a blur, a little family, a little decorating and a lot of science fair project. Three more weeks before they are out for Christmas vacation.

Update on M's meds - both of the new additions seem to be working! Hooray! Much less coughing and much more appetite - usually around 9pm.

ACH Appointment

This week (and every week) I am thankful for knowledgeable doctors, helpful medications, CF medical advancements, fellow CFers and CF families that provide information and set wonderful examples, and supportive friends and family!

Mackenzie had a FANTASTIC visit with Dr. Warren and the ENT, Dr. Richter, yesterday. We were nervous going down because there was the possibility of an admission with her recent weight loss. We scheduled this appointment last week because Mackenzie had lost about 5-7 pounds and she had been coughing all through the night (but seemed to feel great during the day). They put her on an antibiotic and inhaled Fortaz and scheduled us to come in yesterday. We were also able to get an appointment with the ENT for help figuring out these sinus issues Mackenzie's been having (we thought they were allergy related but her recent allergy skin test showed that she wasn't allergic to anything).

First off, Mackenzie got finally got her flu shots!Her Pulmonary Function Test showed numbers closer to what we were seeing when we left the hospital in July (and those were better than they'd been in a very long time). Lungs sounded very clear and we'll get the results from the culture soon. They put her on an appetite stimulator to keep her hungry more frequently and hopefully she'll be putting her weight plus some back on soon.

On to the ENT. Her sinuses LOOKED good but we still have all the symptoms we deal with at home...we went over what our concerns and what her symptoms are and Dr. Richter asked a few questions then said we were going to think he was crazy but that her sinus issues were being caused by reflux! Including the coughing through the night and in the morning. She's already on reflux type meds to help her enzymes work better but now we'll add another at night to help and I can't wait to see if it helps.

Girls On The Run

Saturday morning started off early with Peyton's first 5k. She finished in 31:35 and we are so proud of her and glad she was able to participate in such a wonderful program.

With her running buddy (and Daddy) Jason:
Allison, Peyton & Ashley:

A little face painting:

And what run look is complete without a little extra color in your hair and a fun hair accessory?

Peyton with Ashley:

Taking off...can you find Jason and Peyton?

The run went around the square:

After the run:

Anna & Peyton:

Birthday girl Avery & Peyton:

Central Park girls:

Jada, Sydney, Peyton, Molly & Avery:

Peyton & Molly:

Sydney & Peyton:Mackenzie missed out on the run but she was at a sleepover. I helped take the girls to the movie and we all went to see New Moon.

Mackenzie decorated this cake during the party:

It was a busy fun day and last night Jason and had a date...dinner and a movie - The Blind Side, great movie!

This morning catching up on facebook I saw the wonderful news that Natalia got her lungs yesterday...I missed the original post which has since been taken down so if anyone has more information, please let me know.

Today we are resting up so tomorrow we can get up at 4am to take Mackenzie to ACH. I called last week hoping to see Dr. Warren - Mackenzie's been coughing more at night and has lost some weight (they'll consider an admission with the weight loss but I am hoping that won't be the case, she seems to be feeling great otherwise and we can work on getting the weight up at home). We'll also be seeing an ENT since her allergy skin test showed she is allergic to NOTHING, yet there definitely seems to be something going on with her sinuses. They put her on inhaled Fortaz since she grew psuedomonas again in September and it was resistant to TOBI. I think I've finally gotten the hang of mixing it.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Halloween 2009

7 weeks of being sick + 3 weeks of playing catch up + 1+ month of no posting = 5 posts in one day + a million pictures + zero (or very little) words. I think this will be my last one for the day and I'm going to try to keep up for the next little bit.

After we got home from the trails (previous post) the girls got ready for a fun Halloween night. Here they are with Tinkerbell Bella:
With Yoda Logan and Tinkerbell Lexa:

With K-State football player and cheerleaders Andrew and Kendall:

Morgan and Mackenzie:

Cowgers, Freehlings, Ashton and Jobes:

On to the party at Maddie's:

Peyton and Mary Grace:

Group Shot:

On the trailer to go trick or treating:

Rocktoberfest

Every year, Jason takes his Jeep and goes to Rocktoberfest for a few days. This year he wanted us to join him on the trails for a day - I don't even like going over the curb so you can imagine my feelings toward joining him. Then it rained and the campsite he stays at flooded so he came home early (thankfully he did come home, some people stayed and had to be rescued). I thought that would mean I would get out of the trail ride. No such luck. He wanted to go back and we went with him. Remember what I said about the curbs - I took these pictures while we were parked in the middle of this creek:

There were a few times that I wanted to get out of the Jeep but I kept a smile on my face and we had a great day together.