glimpse of gratitude

I don't know a thing about medicine. I get this glossed-over look in my eyes when Ry's together with medicine friends and their conversation turns toward work. I laugh out loud when Ry gets crazy annoyed at a tv show portraying doctors and he rattles off how wrong that is and how that would not be the correct treatment. He'll start telling me about a procedure he did at work the other day, and I'll interrupt him and ask, "do you really know how to do that?!" (he'll typically say something along the lines of "yeah, and it's really cool!" while I'm still reeling about how awesome he is). 

Seriously, our worlds are so different. And while he'll get an occasional view of me in my element, I rarely get to see him in his. The emergency department really isn't a child-friendly place that I would like to take my kids to if it's not completely necessary. It seems the only thing that connects us is a play-on with words: patience and patients -- we both max out daily. (haha, I'm so clever)

Back in July at Lake Powell, R was able to give stitches to his brother who sliced his finger pretty bad. I remember feeling so proud that Ry could do that (as if I had anything to do with it!). 

Well, the week of Thanksgiving I got another chance to watch R in action. Nonnie and sweet cousin S came out early for the holiday, and we had a few days of play before more family came. On Nonnie's birthday of all days, the three kids were running around having fun after dinner. In the fun of it, Lady-LE tripped and fell face-first into our brick fireplace. There was a decent sized cut across the bridge of her nose.

I don't remember the craziness of getting the blood cleaned up and her calmed down. But I do remember the three of us (R, me, and Lady-LE) sitting on the bathroom counter staring at the wound in the mirror. R was talking through his thoughts about whether it needed stitches or not. And it did. The cut was rather large in my opinion, and the skin seemed to have this elastic pull keeping it open (see - told you, I know nothing of medicine). I remember looking at my sweet little girl, and being shocked at how much I could see under the skin. I didn't like it one bit. Ry said that if we took her to the children's emergency department, they would definitely stitch it up, which would require sedating, which also meant waiting 6+ hours because we had just eaten our dinner.

Eventually we decided to glue it shut at home. I held her body and arms, Nonnie held her head with gauze covering her eyes (to keep the glue from running down into them), and Ry applied the durabond to close the cut. It took a little while, but we did it.

This was taken the next day as we were raking leaves in the backyard.

I have never been more proud and grateful for Ryan. Even in the heat of the moment, I never felt scared. I completely trusted his judgment and decision, and knew that she would be fine. I know that he does bigger and grander things in the hospital. For goodness sake, he has literally saved lives! And this was just a big little wound on a two-year-old. But this was different, because this was our little girl. This was our family. And he helped make it all better for us.

{We don't have any pictures of the cut itself, or the before/after looks. The purple color comes from the glue itself. Surprisingly she didn't get any bruising around her eyes. Within a few days the glue came off and the cut stayed closed. She still has a little line from the cut on her nose, but it is really small.}

That night after it was all over, we all snuggled on the couch for a while together. I marveled at what a beautiful feeling it is to know that we will always be cared for, provided for, and taken care of by Ryan.
Words cannot do that feeling justice. It was complete peace and gratitude for my little family, especially Ryan. One moment that I will always treasure in my heart.

I love my family.

november memories

 L-man is loving his soccer practices every week. The organization that puts it on {Soccer Shots} is phenomenal in my book. Simple, half hour lessons that focus on super basics of soccer skills and sportsmanship. The coaches are all provided and trained with fun games and strategies that work for the young age groups. No games, no keeping track of wins/losses, just plain old fun for the little ones. I am positive that we will enter the competitive world when the time is right, and I'm crazy excited for that as well. But for now? I absolutely love this program and it's purpose. 

They put on a fun fall activity for all the partipants and families at a nearby park. They had lots of stations all over set up with the coaches, bounce houses, music, giveaways, etc. We played there all morning together as a family. And L-man played in a players vs. coaches game which was hilarious to watch. 

My favorites are him calling all adults in orange shirts "other Coach J's", and him giving 'thumbs-up' and congratulatory "good job!" to Coach J after he kicked the ball. Oh he cracks me up!

Lady-LE loves soccer too, and especially loved kicking the ball back and forth with Dad. 

 It was a beautiful day!! 

And speaking of beautiful days, I LOVE the Fall here. Absolutely love it. We play outside all the time still, and get the most gorgeous colors in the setting sun. 

Not quite sure what Lady-LE's doing ... but I still love the picture. ;)

 We build lots of forts, and sometimes invite friends to join us. 

 We play in our pajamas together.

And we spend a crazy boat-load amount of time raking leaves. Holy moly it takes long. But thankfully we enjoy it!  

We started our family's Thankful Tree in the beginning of the month too. It was fun to see it slowly get covered in blessings through out the month!

November seemed to pass so quickly because we were anticipating family in town for Thanksgiving! We played, worked, and laughed with dear family for over a full week and our hearts were full of gratitude. Pictures to come soon!

halloween

 Our church put on a Trunk or Treat a few days before Halloween, and the kids loved the whole deal. 

I found both costumes at a kid's consignment shop nearby, and simply could not resist. How darling to have L-man be Lady-LE's prince?! Oh I loved the idea the moment I saw it. I'm super cheesy like that.

 L-man exact words were, "Lady-LE, I have to dance with you to show how much I love you." 

 L-man was excited to be a prince, but in all honesty I didn't talk it up much to either of them. The two of them received many, many oohs and awws from friends at the party. But it cracked me up when a friend of ours - when the party was almost done - came up and said, "Oh I love your costume Prince Charming!" L-man's response was a furrowed brow and a reply, "I'm not Prince Charming. I'm Prince L-man!"  We all laughed about that, and eventually the name caught on and by Halloween day he was referring to himself as that. I just love remembering his stubborn innocence.

He even won an award! Most Noble. L-man kept that apple for days until it simply got too gross for me to look at and I tossed it without him knowing. 

One other memory though from this night makes my heart so happy. During the actual trunk-or-treat portion Logan was the biggest protector and helper to his sister. Lady-LE's voice is still soft, and she talks so quietly that in the hustle of a group of kids all asking for candy (what's wrong with this tradition anyway?!) she was always never heard. L-man would fight his way to the front and say, in a very good voice, "My princess sister would like some candy too please!" And he would be sure to always take care of her. What a sweet boy! 

Oh, and he said "Trick or trunk!" all night long. I love his little {big} voice. 

 The actual Halloween the kids were ready to go! We met up with a few neighbors and walked the streets with them. Wonderful, wonderful friends! 

 And we even got double blessed to have Ry join us! These kind of things are so much more fun with Dad around! 

Oh man these two are cute.

A three-month late posts-script: we've been listening to Disney music a lot lately. I have a fondness in my heart for Beauty and the Beast, and I have passed that onto Lady-LE. We listen to the Belle song, which is the one she sings while walking through the village and bookshop. When she sits down and sings about the book she's reading, "Here's where she meets Prince Charming, but she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three!" Lady-LE always, without fail, will yell, "Prince Charming! That's L-man!" It makes me smile, and glad that she's counting on him to be her prince. 

october snapshots

Random, happy memories caught on camera from October. 

 Park outing at dusk. 

 R's aunt, uncle, and cousin were in town for business and squeezed in a visit with us into their busy schedules. L-man loved the attention C gave him with passing the soccer ball back and forth. And Lady-LE (always the cautious one with a helmet indoors?) loved some substitute nonnie attention. :)

It was so fun to connect and catch up! So grateful for family!

 First introduction to costume dress-up, and both kids absolutely loved the surprise package from Nonnie and PopPop. Love!! 

 We love it when Daddy gets to come to soccer practice! At least Lady-LE does.

 Goal!

 Such a happy boy, which always equals a happy mamma. 

 Found this Buzz costume at a kids consignment shop. Safe to say it will be well loved. 

 Monster Line-up I had fun creating.

 Watching L-man hop around in this play tunnel brought back memories of my siblings and I hopping around in our mummy sleeping bags on our trampoline growing up. Fun memories!

Lady-LE is a huge fan of convincing anyone to read books to her. Thankfully that's a low-energy play that Dad's up for after a long day at work.

 We learned about the letter 'M' in preschool - and of course had to eat m&m's to our hearts content. 

 Playing outside in short sleeves still and loving it. 

 We come up with lots of fun ways to play hopscotch. 

Lady-LE's preschool friends playing outside together. It was a great month!

preschool fun

L-man goes to a preschool at a nearby church and I cannot say enough good things about this place. Oh my word it is perfect for us. Teachers, staff, program, extra outside-of-school activities, parent involvement, etc. All of it I love and it has been a major blessing in our lives since he started this past January. Since this is our first Fall experience in school we have had tons of fun with activities offered through the school. 

 First up was a Fall Festival put on by the actual church the school is run through. Completely free, with a fun animal petting zoo area, hayride, balloons, bounce houses, and lots of fun carnival games for kiddos to play in. Lady-LE doesn't smile for pictures on demand very well still, but she really was enjoying herself.

 That is until her balloon flew away into the sky. It was after L-man had already lost his because of his refusal to tie the ribbon onto his wrist, and I was warning Lady-LE about the very same thing as she's pulling her string off. I didn't offer much sympathy for her, and instead took pictures of her sadness. I guess I'm not very sensitive!

 After a while she was alright. We played their cake-walk game for probably 20 minutes. Dancing to all sorts of songs along the path. They had enough spaces for 90 people to play the game at the same time. This thing was huge!

A bat ring was a perfect game prize for this little guy. 

 And the Titanic bounce house slide was a huge hit as well. 

 We ended the outing with delicious samples of dessert crepes and snowcones while we listened to a really cute brass band played by the senior members of their church. Oh my heart melted and the kids loved clapping after every song. 

 The next family event the preschool did was their annual Fall Fiesta fundraiser, and Ry guy was able to come with! What a treat! We took advantage of the gorgeous trees on the church's campus and played in the leaves for a little while before going inside for the activity. 

 Love it when her genuine smile is caught on camera!

 These leaves! And these babies! Oh my word I'm a lucky mamma. 

 Inside the fun did not stop. There was this 'Bubble Man" who the kids adored. The goal was to try and blow the bubble around the room without popping it. That goal always lasted maybe 20 seconds before the kids couldn't stand it any longer and had to pop it!  

 L-man was completely entranced by it all. 

 I didn't time the picture right for Lady-LE, nor did she really even like it that much. But she still likes to do whatever L-man is doing, so it was worth it. :) The night included a yummy dinner and some auctions that I helped out with trying to raise money for scholarships. Cute! I just love family activities where our entire family can actually be together! :)

 The month of October was definitely busy for preschool fun! They did a really cute Halloween activity where all the kids did a costume parade. 

 They announced each child's name as they walked around this little circle patch. It's so funny for me to people-watch the mom's of the kids. But of course I'm right there in the middle of it all with my own camera thinking that my child is the best in the world. I love this stage of life!

 Not a bad spot stuck in between all these princesses, eh L-man?

They had three four-year old classes, and here's L-man. After pictures they did a trunk or treat, and some of those trunks were decorated so perfectly! It was a perfect start to our Halloween weekend! 

I love this preschool. Have I already said that?