Christmas time

Ok, ok, so I've been slacking quite a bit in the blog department but we've been pretty busy around here.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my in-laws here in Georgia, including Matt's brother, Jon and his girlfriend who were here from Memphis. We had a busy, packed weekend but it was great spending so much time with our family.

After Thanksgiving, mom and dad came back through from Florida and picked up Madelyn to take to Michigan. Matt and I went on a lte birthday trip to celebrate my 27th birthday and where did we go??? PARIS!!! We had a wonderful time. We spent 3 days and 2 nights in the city and saw so many beautiful things, including Notre Dame, The Louvre, the Arc di Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. Had a good snow shower while we were there and it was great! Came home and was able to spend a day just the two of us getting the apartment clean, grocery shopping and catching up on our sleep. We had the rest of the week to ourselves and spent time with our friends without worrying about Madelyn and making sure we brought snacks and her blanket everywhere we went. Then on Friday, Dec. 10, we were able to fly in to Michigan and stay with my parents for the weekend. We got to see our sweet little girl again and enjoy 5 Christmas parties with family in just 2 short days! We enjoyed seeing everyone and received a lot of nice presents. Thankfully, the giant snow storm that made the Metrodome roof collapse didn't come all the way to GR and we were able to make it back to Atlanta pretty easily.

I think the biggest thing is our new house. It's coming along pretty quickly and the builder said we can move up the closing date from Feb 8 to Jan. 30 if we want! I was there a couple days ago and they were almost done with the brick and siding on the outside and were doing all the insulation on the inside. Hopefully tomorrow (Monday, the 27th) they will start drywalling!!!! It's been so fun to see it all coming together and so fast! We are truly blessed.

Yesterday we spent Christmas with Matt's dad and family. It was so nice to have everyone all together again. It doesn't happen all that much so it's fun when it does. I think God knew I was missing my family this year. It's the first time I haven't been home for Christmas and I had to miss the Mouw family party. So He blessed us with a White Christmas here in Atlanta!!!! It started snowing around 1130am and it didn't stop until almost 11 pm. We were going to spend the night but decided to try out the roads and make it home before the roads all froze and would keep us there all weekend. We made it home, many presents in tow, around midnight last night. Woke up this morning to the trees and ground covered in fresh white snow and it's still coming down now!!! It's been on and off all day but maybe I can have a snow day tomorrow and have another day off to spend with my daughter and relax.

I think that's all for now. Hopefully in the new year I will be able to keep up a little better! For now, here's some pictures from the last few weeks!

The house, as of Dec. 23, 2010 - brick and siding almost done!!! The drywall starts on the 27th

Opening a present with help from Uncle Caleb, or as Mady calls him, Clubby

Sitting at Nonni and Poppi's house, ready for Christmas dinner!

At the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France!!!

craziness!

Things are crazy around here! We've been so busy lately, it's hard to update this.

Let's see.... mom came to visit for a week which was great! Madelyn was able to stay home wtih grandma instead of going to daycare, and I know my mom loved that time with her. I didn't mind either, as it meant dinner was on the table when I got home and the apartment got super cleaned! Thanks, Mom!

I was also able to go to Indianapolis and see one of the greatest people EVER (that's you, Rebekah)!!!!! I was able to take last Friday off (We also had thursday off for veterans day) and fly to Indy with Madelyn. Rebekah and her two boys were waiting for me at the airport and we enjoyed the trip home, complete with three kids in the back seat! My mom drove from Grand Rapids to Rebekah's house and picked up Mady so we could have a girls weekend and she could have more time with Madelyn. It was wonderful! We had pedicures, Panera bread and pizza.... and that was just on Thursday night! Friday we took the day and went to the outlet mall near by and had a great time shopping, without the kids! Thanks to Rebekah's mom for watching her boys so we could go! Saturday, we stayed home for a little while, then went to Circle Center Mall, which was over taken with Band Kids!!!! The BOA nationals were that weekend and of course, the kids all wanted to shop. Definitely brought back memories! Saturday night we went to Outback for dinner and relaxed at home with our lovely green face masks and a movie.

I had to go home on Sunday, but Matt was also in Indiana at a friend's house so he was able to help with Mady in the airport. We didn't think we would get home but God definitely answers our prayers and we made it home around 6pm.

Tonight, we're having a big turkey dinner with our friends and I am so excited! I haven't seen them in awhile and it willbe good to see them all again.

Oh, and they started building our house!!!!!!

Finally an update!

I am such a slacker when it comes to updating this thing. I guess it just goes to show that we are a busy little family!

Last weekend we went to an apple orchard in Northern Georgia. We had a wonderful time! Mady liked looking at the animals and running through the apple trees. It was so funny to hear her say "apple," which comes out more like "papple." But she's learning so many new words and trying to get them right. She's pretty darn cute if I do say so my self.

Last weekend, Madelyn and I were able to fly up to Michigan for a long weekend with my parents. We flew in on Thursday and just got home this afternoon. It was nice to have a long weekend (thanks, gov't job for Colombus day off!) and see some friends and family. The purpose of the trip was to see my cousin, Melanie, before she heads off to be a missionary in Indonesia. We were able to take in Artprize in downtown Grand Rapids and even have a girls night with pizza and watched the movie "Baby Mama!" which is hilarious!

Matt's mom got married in Florida last week and had a reception at their house on Sunday. I brought Madelyn over there and she was able to run around and see a bunch of people who haven't seen her for awhile.

Today, Monday, we grabbed a direct flight and arrived in Atlanta around 2pm. Of course when Matt met us at the airport, Mady went crazy! She definitely knows when daddy isn't around (he couldn't go to Michigan this time) and loves to see him when he gets back.

I guess that's all. I'll close with some pictures, but will have more later when I get them from mom and Melanie!

Running around the apple orchard in Ellijay, Georgia - Sunday, October 3, 2010

Family photo time! Not too sure what Mady was doing but oh well! The background is beautiful!

Madelyn liked picking the apples all by her self. She kept saying, "papple!"

Right by the cow.... she wasn't too sure about this one!

updates

Wow, been almost 3 months since I updated but the truth is we've been so busy around here. Let's see what I can remember and do a quick re-cap.

July 1 - Mady celebrates her 1st birthday!!!! We had a great time celebrating with not 1, but 2 parties for her 1st birthday. We celebrated in Georgia with friends and family here and then also had a party in Michigan on the 3rd with friends and family up there. It was so cute to see her realize what cake and frosting were!

July 15 - mom had her liver transplant!!!! Successful surgery started at 4am and finished around 12noon. She was in ICU at U of M hospital for a few days, then was moved to a regular room. She's doing great!

July 21 - Matt and I "celebrated" our 3 year wedding anniversary. The reason it's in quotes is because we haven't really done anything yet. We tried to go out of town but he didn't feel well and we couldn't get on a flight!

August 14-27 - Madelyn and I spent a lot of time at Papa and Grandma's house in Michigan helping my mom recover from her surgery. Mady loves Papa and was his shadow for most of the 2 weeks we were there. She learned so many new words, including :Uh-oh, dog, papa, clock, ball, car, grandma and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. She also learned that a cow says "moo" - she even made the noise to a cow at the fair and it did it back!!! That scared her a little but she enjoyed seeing animals and watching people at the Hudsonville Fair this year. She was only 6 weeks when we went last year so this time she actually got to enjoy it and see everything.

August 28 - I completed my 1st 5k!!! Matt ran with me and so did Mady!!! (in a jogging stroller) Definitely wasn't as well as I wanted it to be but ya gotta start somewhere right?

August 30 - we found mold!!!! Our kitchen cabinets had mold in them and we were forced out of the apartment and into a hotel for a few days

Sept. 2 - Matt took the day off and "supervised" the moving. Due to the circumstances, our old apartment complex hired movers to come in and pack up everything, move to the new place (half a mile down the road) and unload it all into our new apartment. It's a little smaller but it will work until we can find a house. The best part is the new place is more rent each month but because of what happened, we get a nicer, new place for our same lower rent! Woohoo! I guess if I have to move, I'll take that!

I guess that's all now! We are planning on going to Michigan tonight and then to Ann Arbor tomorrow for the opening of Michigan Football!!!! GO BLUE!!!!!!!!

June

Wow, I can't belive it's been this long since I posted! So much has happened since March that I'm not too sure where to begin.....

Mid-March Madelyn and I flew home to visit for a long weekend and we really enjoyed it! I went to a banquet with my dad that we've gone to for 20 years. My mom and dad liked playing with Mady and seeing how big she has gotten. She was a little nervous around them at first since she hadn't seen them since Christmas but did fine once they played with her and gave her some Cheerios!

While I was gone, Matt moved us into a new apartment! We are so excited to have a place of our own. While we are truly grateful to my in-laws for letting us stay there, it's nice to come home and have a place to ourselves.

April was somewhat uneventful but it marked the time where my mom is no longer able to come visit us. She was officially put on the liver transplant list on Easter weekend, which means she can't be more than 6 hours from the University of Michigan. They were going to come forEaster but since she was placed on the list, it didn't happen.

May was pretty busy. Friday before Mother's Day, I received the call that Mom was going to the hospital to have her surgery!!!!! Well, once I got to the airport (I wanted to fly up and be with dad), I received the next call that stated the surgery was cancelled since the donor liver wasn't as healthy as they thought. Matt and Madelyn and I ended up celebrating my first mother's day with my in-laws. Everyone except Sharleen and I, made a fabulous dinner and we just enjoyed the time together. A week later my cousin Melanie came to visit!!!! We were able to go shopping, take Mady to the aquariium and lay by the pool! She's going to Indonesia as a missionary in November so I'm glad we got that time together.

May also brought a new job for Matt. He's been working as a staff accountant for a company about an hour from here. A few of our friends work for Delta and all talk about how much they love their jobs and how good the benefits are (flying for free, hello???) He decided to submit a resume and he was offered a position just a few hours after he interviewed! He starts June 9th!

June has only been here for a couple days but it's been busy already. Wednesday night my mom got another call to go get a liver andonce again it was cancelled. Everything looked good until an hour or so before the scheduled surgery so she was sent home again. Matt starts his new job on Wednesday and then Sunday is Father's day!!!

We are excited to celebrate Madelyn's 1st birthday coming up July 1st but makes me a little sad to realize my baby is getting so big. She'll be walking anyday now as she does laps holding on to the coffee table. She's eating all solid foods now and refuses her baby food! She doesn't like to take naps at daycare but that means early bedtime when she gets home and sleeping in on the weekends! This weekend she had her 1st fever! I know, she's over 11 months and it was her 1st one but it lasted for 2 days.... which isn't that bad. I think she was just teething as she now has two more that have poked through. Grand total of teeth is 11!!!

I guess that's all! Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks/months

Playing on the slide at the park in the apartment - she loved it!!!

A picture of Mommy and Mady on Easter Sunday just before going to church.

We took Madelyn to the Zoo Atlanta for the day. She LOVED the petting zoo, where she was able to touch goats, sheep and even a pig! She also liked watching the babyy gorillas play in the grass.



Miss Madelyn at the pool - she didn't know what to do at first but once she realized she could splash like in the bathtub, then she had a blast. She has a floating toy that she sits in and she thinks she's so cool - which is true!

new things

I have been terrible at updating this lately, seeing as there hasn't been an update since March 5th and it's now the 27th. Anyway, we are officially all moved in to our new apartment! All boxes have been unpacked and put away and pictures are making their way on the walls. We're having a house warming party tonight and we're pretty excited. It helps that it will be in the high 60's today too.

A quick update on my mom - yesterday she got the approval from her insurance company so she's officially on the list!!!! And, she's in the top 5!!!! Now we just wait for a liver to come. It's hard to think about her actually having the surgery because I know someone else has to die and my prayers are with that family too since I know how it feels to lose a loved one.....

Alright, gotta get moving to make this dessert for tonight!!!! Will post pics of the new place later tonight or tomorrow

updates!

I can't belive that I have been so terrible at updating lately. Well, lots has happened so here goes!

My mom has been back and forth to U of M for tests and what not and Tuesday, a Tumor Board will meet to decide what her "number" is (the higher it is, the worse it is) and where she falls on the transplant waiting list. When she went to the dr a few weeks ago, they told her she was a 22 so who knows if it's gone up. Now we just wait and pray that one comes soon so she can be healthy again.

In more news, Madelyn is CRAWLING!!!! She is so mobile now! She hasn't quite mastered it but she is defintely able to get around. I can't leave her in the room alone without her going some place else by the time I get back. I better make sure all the outlets are covered and cords are out of reach!

The biggest thing, I think, is that our house sold on Thursday! We were able to negotiate a deal and will hopefully close by the end of the month! We are so excited, but sad at the same time. It's very bittersweet to us. We're excited to be able to get our own place here and start a new chapter, but very sad because it was our first house, we built it, and it's where we brought Madelyn home to. Plus our neighbors rocked! I hope they have new ones that are nice and fun to be around. Now since we sold the house, we also have picked out a new apartment! We've been looking for a couple weeks and finally found the perfect place today! We absolutely love it (it doesn't hurt that we got a GREAT deal)! Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, near the clubhouse/pool and in a great private location. We will be in by the end of the month so I have some packing to do!
I'll sign off with some pictures of Madelyn and the link to check out our new place.





Here's my little peanut learning to crawl! She's getting so big! As of 8 months of age, she weighs 17 lbs and is 26 inches long!


We had a snow storm a couple weeks ago and we got about 4 inches of snow. There were so many snowmen in the neighborhood (the neighborhood is full of kids) and we even managed a snowball fight against Caleb!

Fun time with my sweet girl. I love this picture!

another update

Here's the latest in news about mom. Today she met with a surgical oncologist and he suggested she goes on the liver transplant list. They didn't do the biopsy so we still don't know if the mark on her liver is cancerous but at this stage, the dr. is going to push her through to have a consultation with either a transplant team from Wayne State University or through University of Michigan transplant team (Go Blue!) If she does this, she will be a high priority for the transplant and go from there. They still may do the biopsy at U of M or Wayne state but it would be in a more controlled environment and a more comfortable situation, where the team in Grand Rapids wasn't comfortable doing that. We're hoping the biopsy will be done soon (whether that means before or after a transplant) so we can know if it was cancerous and if anything has spread. Mom made a good point today when we talked on the phone. If they can do a partial/sectional (whatever they call it when they put half of a liver in from a live donor) then I would get tested to see if I am a match. Since the liver can regenerate, I would be willing to donate part of mine (if I'm a match) so she could get it sooner! It all depends on if the transplant team would be okay with that - her hep. c could ruin a partial liver faster which wouldn't be good either. So we'll just have to wait and see what will happen and where we go from here.

update on mom

Time to share the latest on my mom from her biopsy today. She was scheduled to go in for the biopsy at 8am but her platelets were too low so they did a platelet transfusion with the intent to do the biopsy after that, around noon today. When they brought her down for the procedure, they drew labs again and her platelets were still too low (hers were 34,000 and normal is above 140,000) and they said it was far too dangerous to do the procedure - too high of a risk to bleed out if they hit the liver wrong. So she didn't have the biospy today. A team of doctors are meeting soon, if they haven't already, to determine a plan of action. Hopefully they will figure out a way to bring the platelets up so she can have this soon to determine what it is. Dad said if it turns out to be cancer, then she will be going on the liver transplant list. Whether she has chemo or not also has not been determined, but dad thought they might to contain it, agian IF it's cancer, which we are praying it's not!

Thank you all for the prayers for my mom and dad, and me too. I know God moved us here for a reason but right now I can't see why. I'm missing home so bad right now and wishing I could be there for her but I just have to be here and have peace that God has a plan, even if I don't know what that is. Ok, gotta quit now or the tears are gonna keep on comin'

prayer requests

This has been an eventful week, to say the least. Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. day so I didn't have to work. It was nice being able to spend the day with Madelyn and relax for a bit. Tuesday I had to get to work early but it meant I got out early too. I'm really enjoying my job and after this week, I'm off orientation and on my own! Eeek!!! I have a few clients to see tomorrow with another nurse, but I will be doing everything and the other nurse will just be watching to make sure I cover everything.

Now the reason for the post...... Please, please, please pray for my mom this week. She had some tests done and an ultrasound on her liver showed a lesion/mark. She alreadyas a crappy liver and this mark doesn't make it any better. The doctor scheduled a MRI for tomorrow to determine if it is cancerous. If so, she would need to start treatment right away. Hopefully the results will be read quickly so we can find out where to go from here. Please pray for peace as we all wait for the results and for the doctors to know what to do from here. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, just a result of her Hep. C but it's in God's hands and that's all we can do.

Which kind of brings me to another point. I'm so home sick and wanting to jump on a plane to Michigan right now. I hate being this far away from my family, especially when they are going through things like this. I could also use prayers for this since it's all I'm thinking about right now and my heart is there, not here but I still have to be mom and wife and do my job at the health department. I wish I could reach out and give them a hug but the computer screen doesn't allow that technology so I guess I just have to settle for Skype and countdown the days until I am home again (in March!) I can't wait to get there but there's about 2 months until that happens so I'll just have to be patient.

I guess that's all.... Thanks in advance for the prayers! I know mom and dad appreciate them and I do to!

resolutions

I know it's not right after New Years but it's time for my resolutions to be real and to actually stick to them. This year, my goal is to get healthy and exercise more. Our family watches the Biggest Loser every week and I usually just sit there and do nothing. Not any more. Last week, I went to the store and got a couple of DVD's to work out with. We have a gym membership but with so many things going on and needing to get home after work, I think a DVD will be easier. I got the Biggest Loser Last Chance workout DVD (featuring people from season 8, the first season I watched all the way through) and the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred DVD. I've heard a lot of good things about the 30 Day Shred and so far, I've done 2 days of work outs. I've already noticed it has gotten a little easier from day 1 to day 2 but I am by no means done. I want to look great the next time I go home (which is not too far off!) and I want to look good! So far, so good!

Well, little miss Madelyn is waking up so it's time for lunch (I'm off work today due to MLK day)

New year, new goals

I can't believe it's January 13th already!!!! Madelyn is 6 1/2 months old now and doing great! She went to her 6 month check up on Monday and weighed in at 15 lbs and 10 oz, being 25 1/2 inches long. That puts her at the 50th percentile for both height and weight and she is a healthy little peanut! We are so blessed by her!

I've started my new job and so far so good. I've only been in the office a few days but I feel like I am learning quickly and it seems like I will be able to do the job well. I've done a couple of assessments for the kids with my supervisor and then next week I will be doing more with my supervisor, but then it will be mostly her watching as I do it all. Eeek!!!

Matt's been busy at work, trying to wrap up year end stuff and dealing with issues in the office. He gets frustrated when things don't go right but that's just the perfectionist in him and him trying to get everything done right the first time and on time.

I suppose that's all for now. I will post pictures later (kinda tired and going to spend time with Madelyn before she goes to bed!)