In summer of 2011, I was super excited to have a girls weekend with some special ladies. I have known these girls for years....Natalie since elementary school and Karen since middle school. We have been through everything together....school, weddings, babies, moves, spouse's deployments, you name it. Even though we live miles apart, we have stayed close. We can go months or even years without seeing each other, and then pick right up like it was yesterday we were last together. It was a great weekend filled with LOTS of laughs, a few tears, and maybe a little shopping somewhere in the mix. I LOVE these girls......and am excited to be
That same summer, the boys and I were able to make a trip home to visit family and friends, and I was able to see this awesome lady. We started as Recruiters on the very same day at the hopsital and have been pals ever since. We met at one of our most favorite lunch spots (can you say corn pudding and fried green tomatoes?) and she presented me with the most AWESOME gift....namely the Dave Brown Bobblehead. If you are not from Memphis, you will NOT understand, but if you are from Memphis, you know you are jealous!
In fall of 2011, we travelled back home to spend Thanksgiving with family and attend a family reunion with my dad's side of the family - the Italian side. It was so much fun to see everyone and catch up.
Check out this crew! (By the way, if you want to know who is married in or there with a date, just look for the blonde hair.)
My cousins and cousins' children with my Mammaw Rose.
My children showing off their dancing moves!
(What? You don't have D.J.'s at your family reunions???)
Later that winter, Andrew was the ring bearer in a wedding for a very sweet couple that was in the youth group when Phillip did youth ministry. It was such a special time to share with these sweet families, and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. And didn't my little man look SO handsome??
Along with Spring, came Andrew's Kindergarten graduation. The school year went by SO fast. And for those who are wondering, YES! the boy did learn to read!
(see earlier post about his eagerness to read on the first day of school.....read about that here
This is my favorite picture from that day...Andrew with all of his buddies. My dad has affectionately entitled it "Animal House 2024."
Last summer, we returned to one of our favorite vacation spots - Destin, FL. My family humored me by participating in beach portraits. Not their favorite activity, but hey, consider us even for my broken toe I acquired at the waterpark!
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Summer also included Aiden's first trip to the dentist.
Thankfully, he was not scared at all.
In fact, he may have been a candidate for most enthusiastic patient award.
Fall 2012 was a scary time for our family. Without going into all of the gory details, and trust me - they are gory, Aiden had a problem with his colon that resulted in a couple of trips to the hospital. On one trip we were admitted for a "cleanout" (use your imagination....and then add 10 times more YUCK than you imagined!) and then later went back for a series of tests. Throughout this journey, the Lord blessed us with a WONDERFUL pediatric gastro doctor who has been right there with us the past few months. Aiden is doing MUCH better, but we are still on this journey as we retrain his colon. His doctor tells us this is marathon and not a sprint. Aiden has been a real trooper through all of this and we are making progress.
Our sweet boy in the hospital.....
The nurses even treated his bear....
And finally, after three days of misery, a SMILE!!!
During this whole ordeal, we were so thankful for our parents and friends! Nona and Gumpa drove to our house to take care of Andrew while we were at the hospital with Aiden. Granny and Papa drove all night, after working ALL day to be with us at the hospital. And PawPaw and Grandma were sitting at home on "ready" waiting for a call to come if we needed them. We had visits and calls and texts from our friends and church family checking on us, too. We are truly blessed and LOVE YOU all!
After a very taxing fall, we decided to not travel and to stay home for Thanksgiving. We were so excited to have Granny and Papa and Nana and Annie come for a visit. We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal....complete with the fried turkey! Many of you know the story of Phillip's turkey derrick (compliments of Alton Brown) - but here is a picture for good measure. Safety first at our house!!!
As the holidays approached, we volunteered to ring the bell for the Salvation Army.
Andrew saved some of his birthday and Christmas money and bought a bike. He picked it out himself. He loves it because it is GOLD....and I mean he really thinks it is made from gold...we are talking 24 carat!
Aiden continues to be Mr. Personality. He got these glasses at Chuck E. Cheese and likes to wear them everywhere. We went out to eat one night and he insisted on wearing them. I am sure no one in the restaurant noticed.
Oh, and one more thing.......How about those Commodores????? Vanderbilt beat #1 ranked Kentucky to win the 2012 SEC Championship AND enjoyed a record-breaking winning 2012 Football season - winning the Music City Bowl. (There was also a victory over the Tennessee Volunteers - let's not forget that one!) Way to Go Vandy!!!
Thanks for hanging in there.....you are pretty much caught up with us.....so what have you been up to??
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