February

Cubscouts is much more of a family affair now that Dad is Cubmaster. We had a fun Blue & Gold banquet combined with another pack, where the boys got to make PVC bows and arrows.  It was a big hit!

My little lefty looking handsome and practicing his letters:

I started a project in January where we take a family picture and post it with an inspirational quote on my social media accounts every Sunday. I thought it would be fun to have a series of family photos spanning a whole year, and also it's my way of spreading a little light in a world where there is a lot of darkness online. These are a few from February:

Not sure why I have so many pictures of sleeping babes from February, but I do! There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping child, especially after a long tiring day!

On Valentine's Day, Jamie gave me the greatest surprise.  He has always been a better gift-giver than me, but this one really proved that.  I love stringed instruments, particularly the cello.  I have said I wish I had learned to play the cello when I was younger. Jamie has encouraged me to take lessons if I want to learn, but I'm not big on trying new things ;) For Valentine's Day he surprised me with a cello and a music book. He long-term-borrowed if from a friend who's kids are all grown and don't play it anymore. I started watching YouTube videos and hopefully will be playing like Yo-Yo Ma soon! It just meant so much to me that he paid attention and put so much thought into a gift that I never would have bought for myself, but that I love.

I am feeling the clock ticking on spending my days with these two.  Soon it will be summer, and then next year Hudson will be in Kindergarten. Hudson and Avery are normally great buddies, except when they're not…and then they fight like cats and dogs.  And 99% of the time, it's her pushing his buttons or hurting his feelings by saying she doesn't want to play with him or he's not her favorite brother anymore=)

I found this check-list while cleaning Boston's room one day.  The apple did not fall far…I love a good list.  Jamie thought it was funny he included "wake up" but I totally write down things I've already done, or automatically do, just so I can check them off!

A little work selfie. (I think I was taking a picture to show Erin how I had styled my hair that day.) That hair has since been all chopped off!

Avery and I went to a baby shower for Melinda and Crosby, and Avery thoroughly enjoyed getting her baby-fix.  She loves baby cousin, Halee.

January

The big story of January was Jamie's back.  He started having pain in his left hip last fall that progressed to shooting pain down his leg.  He started seeing a chiropractor, which helped initially.  But over time it was clearly getting worse.  When the pain got so bad he had to stop working out and could barely move without a lot of pain, we knew he needed more than chiropractic treatment.  He got an MRI of his lower back, and it didn't take a specialist to tell us he had a large ruptured disc. 

The (black) disc is bulging into the (white) spinal cord, pressing on the nerve

We went to see a surgeon, who gave us a few options. Because the nerve impingement was so severe it was causing pain and weakness all the way down his leg, we decided to go ahead with the lumbar microdiscectomy.  He was in surgery three days later!

After surgery the surgeon told us what looked like a 7mm bulge on the MRI was actually much larger. Everything went well, and we came home the same night.  He did have some inflammation of the nerve root about a week later that caused him a lot of nerve pain, but with steroids and several weeks of no bending/twisting/lifting, he is now (6 weeks post-op) feeling much better.



Since much of January was spent with Jamie sidelined, I spent a lot of time around the house or doing the usual things with the kids.  Just the way I like it!

We headed to the school for lunch with the big brothers a few times.

Hudson napping…a rare treat!

We got to visit the newest Walker cousin, Crosby James, born on New Years Eve! Avery is OBSESSED with babies.  She has to be wherever Crosby is when we visit. She will be a good little mama!

Actually the same day Jamie went in for surgery, we had already scheduled to have 2 new trees delivered (our Christmas present from Dad…thanks Dad!) We couldn't really post-pone, so we hired our brother-in-law to dig the holes.  Jamie's whole family stepped in and helped with the trees and taking care of the kids that weekend, and we were so grateful!

It nearly killed Jamie not to be able to do the work himself, so he did a lot of overseeing before we left for the hospital! 

Unlike her brothers, Avery loves vegetables! Edamame beans are one of her favorites--she calls them "mommy beans." She will eat piles and piles of them, and I'm not complaining!

Avery loves to play with my hair...

but she needs to take it easy on the tangles!

Since we live an hour away from my parents now, we try to get together for Sunday dinners as often as we can.  The kids loving going to the lake house the best, because Papa is always up for playing Legos!

I had a real treat at the end of January… Jeff sent Erin and I away on a quick girls weekend.  We met at the Marriot San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa for some much needed relaxation and sister-time.  We shopped till we dropped, ate out, and went to bed early…my ideal weekend! 

November + Two Thanksgivings

November was full of family activities! We hosted Thanksgiving with the Walker family a few weeks early when Corey and Amber were in town from Idaho.  While they were here we took a family outing to the Children's Aquarium at Fair Park.  It is the perfect aquarium for a large group of small children--not very big and lots of hands-on exhibits! 

We got to pet and feed sting rays at Sting Ray Bay outside. Poor Dax leaned in for a touch and got completely soaked! They splashed a lot on the surface.

Dax loves his Boston! He always asks for Boston and loves spending time with him.  Bossy is a good big cousin.

The Nydeggers came for a quick overnight visit, and Erin helped me with meal prep for the Walker Thanksgiving the next day (which I didn't get any pictures of, sadly!)

Not Thanksgiving-related, but just a classic example of what happens when I try to be domestic:

Jamie is the Cubmaster in our ward, so he got to present Boston with a belt loop at the last pack meeting. 

Thanksgiving week was spent mostly at my parents' house with  my whole family plus Mimi and Papa from Mississippi.  First things first: Auntie gave Avery a haircut! I have trimmed the back of her hair several times to keep the mullet under control, but Erin gave her a proper bob with layers and I couldn't love it any more!

Before:

During:

After:

More scenes from Thanksgiving:

Mimi and Papa were our honored guests! It is not easy for them to make the trip to Texas, but they keep making it work to spend time with us.  I am so glad my kids will have memories of spending time with their great-grandparents.

Mimi was so sweet and brought gifts for everyone.  The boys got bedtime story books and the little girls got dolls from her doll collection.  I have so many memories of being a little girl, playing with Mimi's dolls.  She was so thoughtful to pass some of them on to the great-granddaughters.  She gave Erin her thimble collection, and I received a ceramic tea pot that belonged to her mother, my great-grandmother Brannon.  Priceless treasures!