Our move to IL

Well, this is not the south, but it is home now. We are officially in Illinois. We are in a small town just 1 1/2 hours south of Chicago. We are renting a giant 100 year old farmhouse that is really beautiful. Stained glass windows and tons of storage. Aside from a few electrical limitations and some old, floral wallpaper, we love it. I'm so proud of my sweetheart, Mike. He did a great job picking it out. I saw the house for the first time when the trucks, yes trucks, (2 large ones) pulled up. Needless to say, my days have been super busy unpacking, taking care of my little ones, and getting ready for Caroline's 1st birthday!

The good news is that we now have super high-speed internet. We have rejoined the rest of the world. So, for everyone who says, "when are you going to update the blog!?!" I hope to update once or twice a week.

We were so lucky and blessed to have a ton of help during the move. Jim, one of Mike's dearest and oldest friends, flew into GA all the way from Colorado to help for a whole week. I don't know what we would have done without him. We will always be grateful for his time and sacrifice. A sweet angel from NC, Elizabeth, came from out of the blue, sort of, and helped me with the kids for the last 4 days so that I could finish up the final packing. She was a true Godsend. Many other folks came, Ashley, people from the church, and Mike's best man, Michael all came to help. Jim drove one truck, Mike drove the other and I drove the 2 babies in the car between them. It took us 2 days to get here. But, with God, great friends and a little luck, we made it in one (or two) pieces.

In other big news, Michelle, had her beautiful baby girl a few weeks early at end of March. Her name is Brooklyn Lee. She is gorgeous and healthy and I got to see her before we left. I was thrilled and sad about it, all at the same time because we were moving. Thank goodness for phones and email. We are also planning to be on Skype very, very soon.

Will and Caroline are adjusting to the house just fine. At first, Will loved opening the fifty or so cabinets and doors. Then, after a couple of days, he seemed ready to leave and go back "home." After a couple of cranky days, he was back to being himself. The babies have a huge playroom in the front of the house with 4 very large windows all around. They like having their own place to play and watching the cars go by. Mike and I love not tripping over toys all the time.

A quick, funny story. The first day we were here, around lunchtime, a loud siren went off in town. I panicked and ran into the living room yelling, "What's that!." I didn't know what it was, but I knew it wasn't good. I almost grabbed the kids and ran to the basement. Jim calmly looked at his watch and said, "well, it must be noon." He explained that they test the tornado siren every couple of days at noon. Being a southerner, I don't know these things. I only know hurricanes and we usually get a couple days warning for those. Now, whenever it goes off, it gets my attention, but no panicking.

Here are some pictures of Brooklyn and the last couple of weeks.

Michelle, Chris and their precious baby girl, Brooklyn.


Brooklyn, wide eyed and ready to go. Just beautiful!

Our final visit before the move.

On the road, Mike is driving the truck ahead of me, with the Mini Cooper in-tow.

A pitstop, to stretch our legs. Jim had fun walking around with Will. Will had fun testing Jim.

This is the front of the house. 100 years old, this year.

The view of the back. There is an attached garage and another extra large 2-car garage. Mike is in heaven.

If you walk 2 blocks down the street, you run straight into these corn fields. They surround this tiny town.

Our first look at the house. Jim is in part of the playroom. Will is in the living room.

Oh, how badly Will wants to help. He loved watching Daddy and Jim unload the truck.

Caroline thought the baseboard heaters were great for learning to stand.

We decided to put both babies in the same room. They love it! Naptime is interesting, though. They like throwing toys back and forth and seeing who can fall down on the mattress the fastest.

I always hear lots of giggles and chattering coming from their room.

Jim and the kids. Time to say goodbye.

Caroline and Jim. They were quite smitten with each other!

More to come, I promise!

A Time for Change All in One Day!

This past week, Tuesday was an eventful and sad day. Most of you know, our dearest Lab, Tess has been sick with renal failure since July. On the weekend, she got much sicker, quickly. On Tuesday, her breathing was labored and she was suffering, so we made the very difficult decision to let her go. She was put to sleep peacefully Tuesday night. She is being cremated and we will spread her ashes at the lake in front of our home. We had some precious time with her during her final days. She slept on the daybed overlooking the lake and gave kisses to our children.

I have had Tess since 8 wks of age. She was such a cutie!

Tess loved my mom and the feeling was mutual. Mom would feed her salad from a fork! She was spoiled rotten.

Like all Labs, she loved sticks. The bigger the better!

Even sick, she tried to comfort Will when he fell down.

The sweetest thing ever. Nose to nose with Caroline. We will forever miss her.

Also on Tuesday morning, we got the news that Mike was offered a new job. We are moving about 45 minutes south of Chicago, IL in the next few weeks. Mike has gotten a wonderful job with a college. He will be the general manager of the college's radio station. It will be a big change in many, many ways for us. I am not looking forward to the snow. Remember, I am a southern girl from New Orleans! While I am not necessarily thrilled about moving up north, we will, at least, be in a city with stores, doctors, restaurants and all of the things we need and love. No more 2 hour drives to the pediatrician. There is even a children's museum in the area, not to mention the great places just a short drive away in Chicago. Note the positive outlook...while I am sad about leaving the south, I am trying to embrace our awaiting new life. In these hard times for so many in our country, we are really blessed and fortunate to have such a great opportunity. We have prayed that God would provide for our needs and faithfully he has done so. Therefore, with a cheerful smile (most of the time) and missing our sweet Tess, we have begun the process of packing our life and moving forward.

Mike will head up to Chicago on April 1st to start work and find a home for us. The babies and I will stay behind to finish packing. We will spend some time at his parents house, say goodbye to friends and then load the truck when Mike comes back to pick us up. April 15 is our official last day here. We will keep you posted as we know more. This is a bittersweet time for our family. We love and thank you for all of the support that has been sent our way.

Our Sick Little Will

As most of you know, our oldest child, Will was very sick this past November. Several of you have asked about him, so even though it seems a long time ago, here are some pictures of those days in the hospital.

Soon after returning from our trip to VA, Will came down ill with a light rash on his tummy. Things quickly went downhill in the following days. In this post, I will try to give you a brief synopsis of the week's events. First of all, while Will was sick, we sent Caroline to daycare in an effort to keep her from getting sick.

Doesn't she look smashing! Such a cutie!

Alright, on with Will.

On day 3 of the rash, his fever spiked to 104 and his legs and arms were bright red as if he had been badly sunburned. We were advised to take him straight to the E.R. Thankfully, Mike's mom was there to help take care of Caroline. Thank goodness for Grandmas!

Will was sent from the local ER to another hospital about 1 hour away as a direct admit. His fever would spike high about every 3-4 hours. This is after medicine when he was feeling good. Notice that Teddy is never far from reach.


My little one (and Teddy) passed out. That was his 2nd IV. He was so dehydrated that it was difficult to get IV's to stay without blowing veings. He was so brave!

I slept in a bed next to him. Like most mommas, rules get lax when kids are sick. As with the cell phone, I broke down and let him press the buttons. The little stinker figured out how to unlock the keypad and called Daddy!

With just a little appetite, he enjoyed eating off of mommy's plate like a big boy.

There goes his fever again. After medicine, he always got very sleepy.

After a couple of days in that hospital, Will was transferred by ambulance to Children's Hospital in Atlanta. He was so cute sitting up high on the stretcher. Those wonderful EMT's were able to get another IV going. This time in his foot! As always, his Teddy went along for the ride too.

Will looked so tiny next to the ambulance. Of course, I rode along with him to Children's.

At Children's, there was no grown-up bed. So, at the nurse's suggestion, I hopped in his crib and slept with Will throughout his stay there.

Will loved to play with the balloon his Daddy got for him.

Finally, we were allowed to leave the room and take Will for a ride in the wagon. Faithful Teddy and that darned I.V. pole were always by our side. During his stay Will received several knew I.V's and blood draws. He started running out of veins. It was very hard to see our little man go through this. However, seeing other parents and children at the hospital that were much sicker, made us thankful for the blessings of our two beautiful and well children.

Will thought the TV by the floor was interesting.

Smiling. We are finally on the rode to recovery.

Since we were in Atlanta, several folks were able to come by for a visit. Aunt Michelle was able to come often. That day, Grandma and Grandpa brought Caroline for a visit as well. Good practice for Michelle, because she is expecting her own baby girl in April. This will be her 1st child and we are all just thrilled for her!

Will and the cell phone. What fun!

Yeah! Aunt Michelle crawled in bed too!

Often, Children's had special events for the patients. I took Will down to see some therapy dogs that were visiting that day. He was still pretty sick, but enjoyed getting out of his room.

When he saw this dog, he kept saying, "T,t,t," Because it reminded him of our big yellow Lab, Tess!

Uncle Jim, one of Mike's best friends, flew in from Colorado for a visit. Little Caroline was visiting that day as well.

Finally, home! Will was discharged after a week of being in the hospital. I never left his side, but I certainly did miss my wonderful husband and precious daughter. It was good to be home again.

The doctors determined that Will became ill with a virus called Adenovirus. During his stay, there were many nights of worry and somewhat close calls, but all in all, he came out fine. We have been told that he had an underdeveloped immune system which causes him to get sick easier and more severely than other children. He will outgrow it, but until then, he has been pulled out of daycare and must stay clear of other small children for a while.

Caroline and Will

A few days before our trip to VA, we had pictures taken of Caroline and Will. Here are just a few. Everytime I look at these precious children, I thank God for the blessing of them. I tell them all the time, that I must be the luckiest mommy in the world. Of course, I am a little biased.

All southern girls must wear a bow! At least, we think so!

She looks like a plump piece of bubblegum!

Love that tongue sticking out!

We tried to get them together for a picture. This is as good as we could do.

Now for the family picture, Will trying to squirm away and Daddy holding on tight!

Finally, take the picture quick Mr. Photographer!