Palate Surgery #3

Here we are again at Children’s hospital, only this time it is at 11:30 a.m. For the first time, Hope is not the first child on the surgery schedule. We were told that she would have a 12:45 p.m. surgery time so we could wait and come in at 11:30 a.m. How nice. This is great, except for the fact that the child would not have eaten since the night before. Luckily her cut off for food was 4 a.m. Wait, what? Well, this Mama woke up at 3:20 a.m. to feed sweet Hope a bowl of oatmeal. By 3:37 a.m. we were both back in bed. It’s a good thing we fed her in the middle of the night as her surgery time moved from 12:45 to 2:10 p.m! When they came to get her she said, “Let’s go get it done! I’m hungry!” Down the hall way, to the famed bubble walls she giggled in her Daddy’s arms. Plopping her down on the bed, her Dad and I feared she would be upset. However, she just chatted with the man who began rolling her away to surgery. Whew. This part at least was the easiest so far. We will see how she fares out of surgery. Here are some pictures of this morning.

Oak Mountain Archery Range

To sum up, it’s awesome. We are super excited about this new range so close to home! Plus, it’s free!!! On Thursday mornings this school year we are hoping to meet the Patrick family (Kimberly, McKaime, Allie, Campbell) to shoot for about an hour. Can you imagine a weekly archery date? I’m so jazzed! Check out what Noah did on opening day of the range. He can’t wait to start to show Grandpa his new range! It even has a two story tower to shoot from! Awesomeness!

Eden & Mama Beach Trip 2015-16

On the morning of our trip poor Eden woke up and got sick. My heart sank. However, she is like her Mama and can get sick in the morning for no good reason. Praise the Lord, such was the case. Rolling out of the driveway at 11:40 a.m, we were pumped. An uneventful 4.5 hours later and we picked up our new passengers! Off to the beach! But first some food. IHOP was our dining option that evening and while the food was tasty the service was lacking. Next up, the newly built Ron Jon Surf Shop. Apparently, the Dahlgren family is a surfing family. Although they did not bring their boards they were super excited to tour the surf shop. Eden selected a lovely pink and white shark tooth necklace while Mama got a new purse. Cha-ching! Our final destination was the condo. Whew. Glad we made it. The sunset was beautiful and we all talked way into the night. Finally Eden made her little nest and this sweet bird fell asleep sometime after 10 p.m. Day one, done.

While we didn’t get to be in the ocean that day, there was much fun in the sand. Even the Little Mermaid made a guest appearance.

Day 2: The Beach. After a yummy breakfast of chocolate donuts, cereal, and english muffins, we hit the beach. The breeze was blowing, the sun was shining, and the jelly fish were everywhere! But we didn’t let that stop the fun. In fact, saving beached jelly fish became the fun! Sand castles were built and sea shells were found, much fun was had by all.

On Day 3, Pensacola, Florida was our destination. It took us a little while to find it. After a quick tour of the naval base entrance, that included grabbing a pic of a Blue Angel plane, we finally found our way to the beach.To say it was gorgeous day at the beach would be an understatement! Glorious! Luckily, we found a great spot under the pier to hang out. Still there were jelly fish. However, not as many as in Orange Beach. The waves and riptide were strong enough to merit lifeguards warning people to stay out of the water in certain spots. Chasing waves, Eden and Mama had a good time. Later, Tori and Eden built more sand castles and found even more shells. Sand was the theme of the day.

The Night Swim

This was one of Eden’s favorite activities of the entire trip. I promised her that I’d let her stay up late so that she could swim in the pool with the light. To say that she enjoyed it would be an understatement. It was like watching a little mermaid dart around the pool.

This is how I found sweet Eden this morning. All cuddled up on Angel’s couch dreaming away, she looked so peaceful. It has been a great trip and now it has come to a close. We drove home to Angel’s house the night before in order to make the drive back to Birmingham easier. Eden fit perfectly on their little couch. I slept next to her on the bigger couch. My favorite moment of the trip was last night when she came over to my couch and curled up next to me and fell asleep. Normally she will cuddle awhile and then inform me she was going back to her bed to sleep. So, this was quite a blessing for this Mama. I cherished ever second. This entire trip was a blessing that I will not forget. Mama and Eden time at the beach was a wonderful success!

1st Day of School 2015-16 : Success!

This morning was glorious! It is our official start to our 2015-16 school year. Easing back into things, we took it slow. We opened with prayer, devotional, and bible study. Then we discussed a little about our schedule and did only a half day. “Soft start,” is what I call it. Math and memory work happened so it was a win. Later we celebrated at the pool. All in all, it was a super day. We are looking forward to a stupendous year!