Oh my gosh, my GALLY!!!

Well.... the last few days have been a whirl wind of sorts! It all began with having my gallbladder taken out on Thursday. This was not an emergency surgery, it was planned as of last Friday, ....so I was expecting this. The surgery itself was not too bad, just a lot of soreness. The hardest part is not being able to pick up Ava. I will not miss this tiny little organ one bit. It is amazing how much pain that little thing can cause.

My parents were so helpful and kept Ava last night, and brought her back this evening. ( over 24 hours without my baby!)Thanks mom and dad! I am sure Grandma and Pop's arms didn't have to be twisted to much. They never mind time with their grandkids! Needless to say Ava had a blast, and came home with lots of new goodies...some shoes, a new chair and these.................
Painted toenails! Aren't they precious? Ava keeps looking at them saying "pretty." What can I say she is a woman after her mother's own heart, she loves the look of freshly painted toes. I guess I will have a pedicure partner in a few years.

I have to say it is not easy for me to sit around and do NOTHING! David has done such a great job of taking care of me and matters of the house. Yesterday I was running a slight fever and he was very persistent about taking my temperature every, what seemed like 5 minutes. He even called the "nurse on call" for me as a concerned husband. Luckily there was nothing to worry about and a slight fever is somewhat normal. Thanks babe for taking such good care of me!

This is proof that David has been cleaning up the house ..................
I looked at the fridge this morning, and noticed that Ava's magnets were all nicely lined up and paired together! Ava is smart but not this smart, David did this! How cute!

This is what it typically looks like when I pick them up! Hey it works!

Needless to say, I am glad my surgery is done and over with, and I am praying this will take care of my symptoms!

Here are a few more pics of what Ava has been up to since the last time I posted! ( a month ago!)

....The greatest of these is LOVE......

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:11-12

My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us - perfect love!
The Message 1 John 4:11-12

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you all had a great day surrounded by those you love. We did! We spent the day in Brenham with my family, at my sister and brother-in-laws farm. It was so neat to have Valentine's Day fall on a Saturday, and be surrounded by the love of your family.

Though the weather was not all that great, rainy and gloomy, we still enjoyed being at "the farm!"

Jumping on the trampoline! Or trying to anyway, it was wet!

Pushing the puppy in shopping basket


Opening goodies!! Thanks Pops and Grandma

Riding Laney Rae's horse. She loved this thing!!!


The eggs that were collected for the night.


Me and dad washing the eggs.

Ava, Laney Rae and Grandma

This is my sister, the Farmer's wife! And let me tell you, she really has her work cut out for her. During my brother-in-law's 24 hour shift at the fire department, she mans the farm. She has two very active children she is home with and is expecting her third GIRL in May. Her days are full of moving cows, feeding animals, and putting them up for the night, collecting eggs, taking care of customers when they show up on the farm, and much much more. All while tending to a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. You go girl! It was nice to be there tonight to help a sista out!

Oh how I have missed these........

Last week a terrible, awful, horrible thing happened in our home.

We got a visit from the awful stomach bug that is apparently making it's way around Bryan/College Station.

The "bug" started it's awful vengeance on my precious Ava. We were not sure at first if this was a true stomach virus, or a side- effect from the old milk cup that Ava found that night. ( I know disgusting, from what I hear this is normal and will happen at least once to every child!)

Ava started throwing up that night, and from then on it was AWFUL!!! For those of you that have experienced a 18 month old with a stomach virus, you know what I mean. There is no warning when to expect the next " episode." I had the couches covered with towels, and had given up on changing my clothes after the four time. I really think there needs to be a 24 hour help line for mothers who are dealing with puking kids, because I was on the verge of tears. I had one, and it was my sister! Thanks Lyns!

After 24 hours we survived and Ava stopped puking, BUT now we were dealing with some pretty scary dehydration issues. Like no wet diaper for over 24 hours. Yes, this mama was freaking out, and thinking the worst ...like... oh my gosh her kidney's are shutting down.

Friday morning we got the wet diaper we were waiting for, and I am telling you the scent of a soiled diaper never smelt so good.

IT DOES NOT STOP THERE THOUGH....

After Ava was all well and good.....I ended up with the awful bug! David ended up escaping this thing.

We have now all re cooperated and are well!

I have spent the last few days wiping everything that the little "bug" could have attached itself to in my house. I forgot how addicting these wipes are.

A few months ago, I quit using cleaners with harmful chemicals in them,and started using more natural homemade cleaners! And my house has never felt cleaner and fresher! ( see my sisters amazing recipes on her blog www.yonderwayfarm.blogspot.com )

BUT after having this terrible visitor, I needed a peace of mind that the creature was GONE! ( and these wipes kill EVERYTHING..probably including brain cells! )

To those of you who had an encounter with this visitor as well, congratulations for surviving, and to those of you who are next on the list May God Bless you.

My first "Bumpy Ponytail!"

I thought I would post some pics of Ava and her styling "bumpy ponytail." Let me explain. I was talking to my sister the other day, and she said " I just don't get it bumpy ponytails must be in." She had gone somewhere that day, and noticed that all the college girls were sporting " bumpy ponytails." Which I happen to be a big fan of! I remember the years that I kept Aqua Net in business with my big bangs and slicked back ponytail! Oh no, not anymore! So here are some pics for you Sunshine! Even 17 month-olds can do the bumpy ponytail!

Our very Merry Christmas

This year we got to enjoy the joys of Christmas with a toddler. Last year Christmas included mom and dad opening Ava's many gifts, while she sat and had no clue of what was going on. Not this year! Ava was very involved in opening her presents. And as always, she was showered with so many wonderful gifts! ( Thanks to our wonderful families! We love you!)

We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house. We enjoyed watching all the kids open their presents ( My niece Laney Rae who is 21 months old, and my other niece Kaylyn who is 4). And then we did the traditional adult gift exchange, which we do white elephant style. This is by far my FAVORITE part. My family has such good taste. There are some great gifts that are often fought over! This year David and I ended up with a fancy pants MP3 player and a fancy touch screen digital picture frame, which we then traded for a Shark steam mop! I know you are thinking a steam mop....yes a steam mop. This is not any old steam mop. It is mop that SANITIZES your floor with steam, while using no harsh chemicals. It is AWESOME!

Christmas Day was spent mostly at home, and then went to my parent's house for Christmas dinner. We woke up and exchanged gifts as a family, and had Ava's Santa gifts set out for her when she woke up. ( we are calling them Santa gifts for now, but we are still evaluating what Santa Clause is going to mean in out home! )

The day after Christmas we headed up to our home town Grand Prairie to see David's family. We enjoyed the traditional tamale dinner Friday night, which was delicious as always, and we exchanged gifts in the company of the cutest little Santa you have ever seen (our nephew Johnathan, picture to follow!). We roasted smores in the fireplace and enjoyed some good company.

Our New Years Eve consisted of going out to my sister's and brother-in-law's farm in Brenham for their traditional New Years Eve party. This is always so much fun! We stayed warm by the awesome fire while watching fireworks,and enjoying delicious apple cider.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Let it Snow!

Yesterday here in Bryan / College Station it snowed! Yes....real white beautiful flakes of snow fell here! AND, it did not melt as soon as it hit the ground. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!! There is just something about snow falling that makes a person feel all warm and cozy. I arrived home to a warm cup of hot cocca topped with marshmellows, chili cooking on the stove, and a fire going! ( Yes, I am married to superman!)

We took the moment in as a family and snapped some pictures. You know you are in Texas, when everyone is outside with their cameras when it is snowing. I am sure the people up north are laughing at us Texans. :)
It was so funny on my drive to work to see all the kids at the bus stops having snowball fights.

Ava was not sure what to think of the snow. Her new word lately has been "cold." She got to use that word a lot yesterday. Needless to say, we did not build any snowmen or have any snowball fights, but we had a great time enjoying the beautiful snow.

What we've been up to!

Sorry for the lack of updating! Life has had it's way of keeping us very busy. Ava has been so much fun the last few weeks. Her little personality is blossoming. It is so fun to watch her, because you never know what she is going to do next.
She is saying so many words now, like:
momma
daddy .... ( it is cute because sometimes she tries to call him David, because she hears me call him that!)
dog
book
bites
hi
bye
whoa!
Birdie ( our dog)
Hush ( to the dog)
No! ( this is my least favorite word)
trash ( she likes to help by throwing her trash away)
ball
bath
uh oh
And she tries to say many more!

Well this post is loaded with lots of pictures ....so I will not bore you anymore, and get to the good stuff! Enjoy!

HALLOWEEN !!!!!!

Enjoying her first sucker!
CANDY!!!!!

Momma and Ava trick or treating at Grandma and Pops house

Grandma and Ava

The cutest Little Bo Peep!

Ava and her Scarecrow overalls! These were a garage sale find.

Ava got to see her Uncle T Bob and Megan! We love you T Bob!

Ava sporting her sponge curlers

Ava is learning to color!