UPDATE, UPDATE....read all about it!

Hello, blogger friends! I know it's been a while, and as most of you know, there has been A LOT going on at White Oak Lane that has kept me from being an ever so faithful blogger. Okay, well maybe my bloggingless (is that really a word?) started long before then, but that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. In any event, we've had some big changes and have been quite busy keeping up with our old world, and adjusting to our new one.

First and foremost, we had a major, life changing, altering experience that threw a curve ball at our peaceful world and sent us in shock, awe, dismay and havoic. I, along with everyone else, went through a whirlwind of emotions from being scared, mad, sad and finally, a little acceptance..initially. We have certainly taken that little acceptance and ran with it, so it's not so "little" anymore. As most of you know, our precious, little (to little for such a dramatic life change), amazing girl was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Here is a picture of the first glimpse of that new world and our very scary experience...

Picture 1...sitting in bed awaiting the news and our next move:

That was our first, of many, hospital beds and one scared little girl. But, boy, oh boy, did that little girl have big surprises in store for her Mommy and Daddy on what a brave...BRAVE... soul she really is.

Picture 2...one we took to show her big brother, and one big brother who isn't so "big" when it comes to sickness. Thank the guy above for not torturing me and throwing this life changing experience at Jacob as we would all probably be institutionalized by now....really! This was also one of my first signs of "wow, this is one brave little girl."

Here's another shot that brought out a little of Ellie's humor...anything to lighten the mood on that scary day.

Then we took an ambulance ride and ended up at Palms West. After a day or two when Ellie started feeling better, we made many trips to the play room to....

make sand art;



or play Guitar Hero (this was another picture just for big brother):

She got LOTS of goodies delievered to her...many new stuffed friends and flowers. Sorry, can't post them all, so here's a few:

This is a cute shot that I took of her reading her diabetes book to her new friends and teaching them all about it:

Finally, and although I've said it before, I'll say it again....I can't thank all of you enough for being so kind and opening your hearts and wallets to a cause that we recently found so near and dear to our hearts. Thanks to all of you, we alone raised close to $1,500 for our diabetes walk. THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU! I truly hope, and strongly believe, that my precious angel will see a cure in her lifetime. An extra thanks to Mom, Tonya, Bill, Jody, Jimbo, Drew, Riley and Magda for taking part and joining us in our walk. It just made it that more special to know we have your support and that you are standing right behind us in this new adventure. Here's a picture of Ellie and her best friend, Riley, at the walk.



I've been telling myself that He won't give us more then we can handle and there is some reason, although I'm still figuring that part out, on why this "curve ball" was thrown at us. However, I have to say that we've all adjusted and ran with the punches and, proudly, I think we've all handled it pretty darn well. Granted, that little girl is the one that has adjusted the best overall and has no earthly idea how much easier she has made this on her Mommy and Daddy. But one day, as she gets a little older to fully understand the meaning, I will proudly fill her in.

On a final note, Ellie had a follow-up appointment yesterday with her endocrinologist who told us that we are doing a wonderful job with our new world. She also said something that really touched my heart and made me realize that, despite this "curve ball", we are truly blessed. She told us that we "have that perfect little family".....who wouldn't be proud of that?

I have a lot more to update everyone on, but it's time to run off to a baseball game. More to follow, barring any more life changing experiences (I know, I know...still just an excuse).

XOXO

Today was....

our Citizen of the Month award ceremony at school. Ellie got the award for her class....

and Jacob got his for PE. He was EXTREMELY embarrassed that I took this picture. His poor little face got beet red. Before he went on stage to receive his award he was begging me not to get up from my seat and take a picture. My initial plan was to take one secretly from my chair, but then Ms. Scurry (the Asst Principal) saw me and made Jacob stop, so I got one anyways. You'll have to double click on the picture to zoom in and get a good look...

Just for proof, I took one of Ellie too, but I couldn't get it quick enough and it turned out blurry.

and then I took a few quick shots of the monthly bulletin board....

We were the only proud Mommy and Daddy in that cafeteria sitting next to not only one, but two Citizens of the Month. How lucky are we?

December birthdays...there are many!

We have many December birthdays in this family and, bless her heart, Jackie anxiously prepares a month ahead of time, but yet so patiently awaits her special day. Here are just a few pictures of our December birthday celebration.

Can't break the tradition, so Todd got his usual underwear and socks from his parents.



Here is our special birthday girl opening her presents:





Here are the birthday cake toppers....aren't they cute?



Cake time....



and then Ellie decorated Grandma's tree all by herself with the exception of a few ornaments that Jacob put on. I wished I got a picture of the finished product....



Oh, and Grandpa Bruce decided to shave his head...



Until next year....

"All I Want for Christmas is my...

Bottom Tooth." Okay, so it doesn't quite have the same rhythmic tune as "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth", but you get my point. Can you believe that Todd has never heard of that song, or at least he doesn't remember it. So...as I'm sure you can guess, little Miss Ellie Belly lost her first tooth last Sunday, 11/30. She was eating a Kit-Kat at Bubbe's baseball game when she felt something hard in her candybar. As she searched around, she happened to find a tooth in it. She was pretty excited and got her first visit from the generous tooth fairy. Here is a picture of our toothless little one. I'm sure there are many more teeth that will soon follow...



She's becoming such a big girl....sigh!

"We are the Champions...We are the Champions!"

Go ahead and sing the tune above....anyone wish to serenade the rest of it for Todd and I? That's right, people, Todd and Julie are the new UNDEFEATED badmitton champions.

Sorry, I didn't get a picture of us actually playing the game, so the above picture is all I have.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day spent with all of our loved ones creating many more lasting memories....here are just a few pictures to share from our day.

First, here are the name plates Ellie and I made for everyone:



Unfortunately, Ellie's got a little to close to her candle....



Here's a nice picture of our "Jack":



A cute picture of Ellie:



and her Aunt's trying to be like her:





There is just something about this house that tends to make people very sleepy...I can't figure it out. Surprisingly, it's not my Dad this time....don't kill me Uncle Mike and Aunt Irma:

To give them credit, though, they were snoozing for maybe 5-10 minutes. Here....are these pictures better?

Just a few nice shots....











And we always have to end with a picture of the entire gang:

This picture is blurry, but too funny not to share. Everyone was suppose to be making a funny face, although not everyone participated....

Ellie and I were just laughing at Daddy's long tongue above, and what's with the redneck barefeet....hehehe.

Oh wait, I lied....just found the proof I needed:



Shall I say it again...."the UNDEFEATED badmitton champs." Anyone ready for another challenge?

Seriously, it wouldn't of been the same without everyone here....it was a fun day!

XOXO,

J

This is simply a random post...

about anything and everything that has been going on at "White Oak Lane" this last week or two.

First, another Citizen of the Month for....

I didn't think it was possible to receive any more Citizen of the Month awards, but Jacob surprised us yet again. Now I get to attend an award's ceremony where they both will be receiving an award at the same time...YAY! Jacob's still trying to find out if he ran the mile the fastest in his school. His teacher doesn't think anyone is going to beat him, but he's anxiously awaiting the results.

Then, we got report cards. First, to Jake-Man's....



And then Ellie-Belly's:

I know it's a little hard to read, but that would be straight "A's" for the Jake and all "S's" for E. As I've said before, a Mommy couldn't be more proud or ask for anything better -- VERY PROUD!

Football is officially over. I'll miss it, as I'm sure Todd and Jacob will, but it will be nice to have a little extra time during the week. Here's just another picture of Jacob and his friend, "G", who also played for the Eagles this year.

Despite the numerous injuries that the Eagles suffered this year, many people still wonder how Jacob remained injury-free this season playing against boys this size, but he held his own. Next year he'll be even a little tougher, and a little tougher the year after that. The Eagles wrapped up their season with a 2-8 record, which isn't great, but it's a vast improvement from the last 2 years. They won more games this year then the last 2 seasons combined, so they're getting better. Hopefully next year they'll be even better and it will be their year to shine.

Now that football has ended, I thought we would have a LITTLE break, but not so....we are already back to this:

Jacob's last football game was on Sat. and he was back to baseball on Sun....no time wasted (and that was Jacob's choice). You would be proud though -- for not picking up a baseball for a few months, he played awesome.

Now to Ellie.... The plan is to sign her up for gymnastics in the next few weeks. We may wait until after the holiday's, but we'll see. In the meantime, she went to a friend's birthday party at Build-A-Bear, so here are a few shots from that event:

This is Ellie with the birthday girl, who was also her very best-friend at Sunflower:



Then, on our way out of the mall, to my surprise, she asked to do this:



For those who don't know, I could never convince my kids to sit on Santa's lap, so this is quite a leap.

I guess that's it for now.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I'm looking forward to a day full of great times and memories, filling our tummy's with lots of yummy food, kicking everyone's butt in a game of badmitton, volleyball, kickball, or whatever we decided to do, and spending the day with the ones I love. For those that can't be with us, we will be thinking about all of you, wishing we were together and raising a glass of "cheers" to all of you.

Happy Thanksgiving to All~

XOXO

We have another guessing game for ya.

Last week the lucky number was "6"....this week the lucky number is "2" -- can you guess why?


2.....


Is it because I have 2 lovely children?


Or is it because I have 2 eyes "to see you with my dear"?


Perhaps it's because Jacob has won 2 football games this year?


Or is it because we are in the 2nd week of November?



Hmmmm...keep thinking.....



Anymore guesses?



Let me give you a hint.....



We've already had one of these....



Now we have 2....



Now do you know?



Does this picture give you any hints?



That's right....we have our "2nd" CITIZEN OF THE MONTH!!!!! How about that Aunt Angie and Uncle Mike? I was at work today and got a pix text of this....





and about fell out of my chair from excitement. How could a Mommy be so lucky? I must of done something right. As soon as I post this, we are on our way to Target for a little surprise.

However, this is part of a conversation I had with Ellie:


Mommy: "I'm just so proud of you, Ellie. That is something to be very proud of."


Ellie: "Mommy, I've learned a lot from Bubbe."


Good job, Ellie -- just keep on that same path and continue to learn and grow from your brother. I'm so very proud of you!

XOXO,
Mommy