Pumpkin Patch 2011

YAY!!! You all my remember from last year, but I'm a sucker for pumpkin patch pictures. So there are many and I love them. I love this tradition and this time of year. Hope you're enjoying it too!

As usual the wheelbarrow is Porter's favorite part. You can push it, ride in it, it's so much fun!

He found his pumpkin!

Best picture of me with the kids. We try, but it's just so hard to get a decent picture with both of them in it.

Best picture with Daddy.

I love her! I love her! I love HER!!!

How can you not adore that cheeser!

You can't see it, but he's got his other hand on the shifter. Imagine "Vroom, Vroom" and that completes the moment.

No we didn't take 15 pictures to get this semi-decent one of the two of them... that's a lie.

I adore the 2 teeth smile and how her eyes light up when she's happy.

HAPPY OCTOBER!

now to get working on costumes

Note to Self

We just got back from a half week in New York City.  I hope to post about it, but I'm seriously struggling to do longer posts these days just not easy for me with the kiddos.  I just need to remember a few things. 

This trip was just what we needed.  Something different, a break from house chores, I got some one on one with Priya Lynn, and Porter got to be spoiled by his Aunt Kal, Uncle Coup & his grandparents... It was a win win for every one.  I got some feedback as the plane started it's final decent and I felt so grateful for our life.  Manhattan was fun but not exactly a family place.  Being a Mom is the hardest job EVER, best job also.  I joked with my grandma a while back when she asked me why I couldn't keep up with the blog that it was because, "All my dreams came true".  Well, there is a lot of truth to that.  We have 2 beautiful, busy, brilliant children.  We own our own home that needs taking care of.  Aaron works at a job he loves.  We give regular time and effort into a Church we know to be true.  As we turned down our road last night Aaron said, "you know we really are living the American dream."  There we're so many women I bumped into in the city that didn't seem to understand why I'd want a baby at my age.  It was all about them at this point in their lives, bet they would have really flipped if I had told them I also have a 2 yearold.  All of this just helped me remember my passion for my family and life.  All my dreams have come true and yeah it's hard sometimes but that doesn't mean I need not be grateful for it.  I can think of nothing else I'd prefer to be investing myself in. 

Now, just remember that Meg when it gets tough!

A Nice Way To Start The Morning

We did a pulse oximeter study on Porter last night. After lots of screaming and being on the phone with Home Health Care for an hour we finally got him set up to go. Sidebar: Why are the Home Health employees at the office so hard to work with? The guy on the phone saved my opinion of them completely. All I'm going to say is- What a pain in my bum! Porter kept pulling at his sensor and the alarm was going off every few minutes so we were positive we'd be in for a long night. To our delight it never went off during the night and both kids slept 10 hours last night, a rarity in our house. We'll send the study off for results and add it to the information we're using to help us decide about this surgery.

We got both kids up and good rest suits them so well. Both were all smiles and loves. We pulled them into bed with us for morning cuddles. Priya was smothering me in baby kisses and sharing the love with the boys when they'd ask for some. She gave me a big old kiss then said, "I Love" my jaw dropped and I looked at Aaron. He looked to Priya to verify, "Do you love your Mommy?" her reply, "Yeah." As her parents we couldn't help but laugh. Did we really just have a mini conversation with our 6 month old?! We have no idea if Priya talks with purpose, but she does talk. We really resisted this at first because Porter has struggled with talking so much. In fact Priya's second word, "okay" Aaron and I both heard as clear as day and we just ignored it. We just looked at each other in silence. It's hard to explain the dynamics of our emotions with special needs verses typical. I think part of us was scared of her passing him up. We're starting to see the blessing in this though. Porter is extremely competitive with his sister. He takes his big brother role very seriously and he's very motivated to do things before her so he sees this and works harder. SWEET!!! It makes complete sense when we remember that the Lord gives us exactly what we need. It makes sense that the Lord would bless Priya with a propensity for language. It's become very clear that while Priya has been a tough baby it's because her personality is exactly what this family needs. Including me; her demanding babyhood has been good for me, although a trial also a blessing. It's been so exciting to see how the Lord has blessed our lives with our Priya Lynn. I'm so excited to watch as we all grown in love for each other even more!

This is a long post when all I really wanted to share was: I got the first "I LOVE YOU!" from Priya. :) Here's a little video of her sweetness herself for your enjoyment.

Thinking About You My Boy

It's not the kind of hour I want to be awake. No, I'd really prefer to be sleeping but I've got much on my mind concerning you Porter Ray.

Porter, I love you and your sister Priya fiercely. I'm very selfish where you two are concerned. I want both of you to be with me for as long as possible and I'm willing to fight for that privilege. I don't want to miss anything. I don't want to be left out. I certainly don't want to regret my motherhood. So I try really hard to make sure I wont. But, I think it's inevitable. I love you so much that I will regret how quickly it will pass. Tonight I'm thinking about how I sometime fool myself into believe I can have control over how long I have my sweet children here in this life. It's such a lie. Heavenly Father has given you two precious gifts to us on loan. He is/was your Father first and He knows what's best for you, me, and our family. To think otherwise is just foolish. These are deep thoughts that are being stirred up by something of only a moderate magnitude.

We met with a doctor this week to get a second opinion about your adenoids and tonsils. This doctor thinks that we should have them removed as soon as possible; while your previous doctor was refusing to do this surgery. You're Dad and I disagree a little about what's best. Lucky for you we've both got your best interest at heart and are willing to fight over it until we discover the optimal decision. It's a tough call to make, not doubt. You're doing really well with the oxygen. You're so young and small a surgery like that is hard on anyone but could be really no fun for you. As you're dad put it, "I know I wouldn't want to go through something that painful. It hard for me to think about doing that to him so young." The doctor kind of rubbed your Dad the wrong way because he talked about how the surgery would, "Buy your son time." Implying that inevitable the sleep apnea would take it toll on your heart, a little harsh, but the truth. From that point on your Dad wasn't exactly nice to this man which bugged me, but then I realized it's just another sign of how much Daddy loves you. Tonight you're struggling to breath and have woken up coughing and gasping to clear your airway. I can't imagine how terrifying that must feel. We know that this surgery needs to be done, but we're trying to figure out when the time is best and right. We'll be turning to the Lord for an answer. It's such a complex decision in our minds and now with 4 doctors (2 ENTs and your 2 pediatricians) all telling us different things it's a little hard to sift through.

*I just want to add a note: I know many of the people who follow our blog have to make much harder decisions for their children then this one and I don't mean any disrespect to you or your situation. This is the first time we've really had different opinions.*

I know one thing for sure, Porter. You are good for people who are willing to open their hearts to you. I should be used to it after 2 years but I'm always in awe of how you touch people. My Grandma Thompson being filled with joy to play a game of tickle with you on her birthday. Great Grand-dad hugging you every single time you put your arms up to him. The little French man we bumped into who didn't speak any English but snapped your picture, walked with you, talked with you, and absolutely would have put you in his suitcase to take home as a souvenir. All of them were glad to be with you. I worry about the people that are closed off, scared, or ignorant and there have been a few. Thankfully, those that welcome love are abundant in our lives. I'm so grateful for them. I'm grateful for the way they calm my momma heart and bless your life.

Loving you more and more each day, my not so little baby boy!
Mommy