Family Update

Christmas didn't really seem like Christmas this year. Maybe it was the lack of snow that fueled the lack of spirit, I don't know. The kids were still excited about it and we welcomed a special visitor for the chrisas season, our elf mistletoe. Mistletoe got himself into quite a bit of trouble but the kids were excited each morning to see what he had done. He left them with a nice gift before he left. A photo book of all the things he did throughout the season so they could remember him until he returns next Christmas.
I also turned thirty this year. When are a teenager thirty seems so old but bow that I am there it doesn't seem so old (although my kids tell me I'm old) if you asked me when I was 18 what I would be doing at 30 I would not have thought I would be a stay at home mom with 4 kids. I wouldn't change it now though. My children are my world.
Speaking of my children....Emmaleigh had all A's on her report card for the 9 weeks and semester. We are so proud of her. She likes peace signs and music (we all know when she is listening to her MP3 player) She also asked for a guitar for Christmas but we are still working on getting lessons. She also loves to write and draw but very private about what she writes.
We will hopefully be able to get some answers for Addy. The school has agreed that she needs to be reevaluated before next school year and if we don't get the answers we need from them, then we now have a couple other resources that we can go through. She is obsessed with everything lalaloopsy. She is starting to get a collection of dolls and that is the theme for her sixth birthday party.
Mr. Landyn is (and has been for a while) completely healed from his burns and is a typical three year old boy. He loves race cars and tractors. He is in nursery school this year and he seems to like it. It is good for him and mommy too.
Holden (or Hodie bug as we like to call him) is almost four months old. He is really starting to get a personality. He smiles a lot and even giggles once in a while. He is super ticklish and tries to blow raspberries with his mile long tongue (I think he is part lizard)
JR has been working a lot of overtime so we don't get to see him much. He works second shift so when he isnt at work he is sleeping. Hopefully he will be able to go to first shift soon so that we will get to be together more as a family. Won't complain too much though because the money is good.
As I am writing this we are getting our first snow storm of the season which probably means our first snow day of the year. We already have a two hour delay but looking for them to cancel by morning. Regardless I had better wrap this up because Holden has been asleep since about 6 pm and even though he has been sleeping all night he will be up and ready to go around 5 or 6 am. Good night all, it is good to be back.

Back to Writing

Since my computer officially died sometime this summer and I have yet to replace it, keeping up with the blog has been difficult then add four kids on top of it it makes it nearly impossible.
Thanks to the Blogger IPhone app I think it just got a little easier. It is driving me crazy that I haven't made the time to write (because let's face it that's the real reason I haven't posted in months) So I promise to at least make an effort to post more often.
With all that said it is getting late (or early depending on how you look at it) so I am going to start in with the real posts tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Hudson

November 14, 2010: The kids and I went to church. JR stayed home because he had worked the night before. Later that afternoon I went grocery shopping with my grandma and aunt.
November 15, 2010: Em had a dentist appointment and I took Addy to get her hair cut.
November 16, 2010: I spent the day doing laundry at my mom's because our washer was broken. Around 10 pm I began to have contractions.
November 17, 2010: 1 am: I called JR at work to let him know I was in labor. 3 am we arrived at the hospital. 3:20 am Our lives changed and our world was turned upside down when the doctor gave us the news. 5:05 am: Hudson Levi was born sleeping.
I have replayed these events over and over in my head trying to figure out if there was something I missed. Why didn't I notice something was wrong? While I remember these events so clearly the events after we got the news that he was gone are still a blur. The whole experience is still so surreal. Maybe it's better that way.
I think I allowed myself to understand the power my emotions would have over me the last few days. Part of me just wants to make the day go away but an even bigger part of me is excited to know that there will be a grand celebration in heaven.
We have made it a point to make this day special for the other kids. I think it is an important part of the healing process and they are excited about his "party" down here. Addy thinks we are having an actual party and has tried to invite everyone she knows. Emmaleigh has been writing letters and "helping" the younger kids write letters as well. I am amazed at some of the things her 7 year old mind comes up with. Here are some of the things she has written:
"happy birthday hudson. I love you Hudson. I miss you Hudson."
"God help Hudson I am good at school"
"I love you and miss you Hudson. You are a big brother. Our baby brother's name is Holden. He is cute and so are you. I will tell him about you."
(from Addy (but E wrote)) "I love you Hudson. I love God who you live with. I am your 5 year old sister Love Addy"
(from Landyn) "dear Hudson I like Munsters do you like Munsters (monsters)?"
Writing has become her outlet but I guess she gets that honestly.
Happy First Heavenly Birthday Hudson Levi!
Godspeed Little Man
Sweet Dreams Little Man
My love will fly
To You each night on angels wings
Godspeed, sweet dreams

Welcome to the Holiday Season

With Thanksgiving less than a month away and Christmas less than two months away all I can say is Welcome to the Holiday season. All the stores have their Christmas displays out and have launched their Holiday ad campaigns. The last year has been one long roller coaster ride for us but I am excited about this Holiday season. For obvious reasons I was quite the bah humbug last year and couldn't seem to get into the Holiday spirit. While I tried to make the best of it for my children's sake it just wasn't the same. This year with my renewed sense of the Christmas spirit I am ready to take on the challenge of decorating the house, baking goodies for friends, family, and neighbors, traipsing through stores (most likely at the last minute) trying to find the perfect gift, and most importantly sharing the true meaning of the holiday with the ones I love.
To me the best part about the Holidays is passing on old traditions while establishing new traditions with my children. Some traditions we have established with our children is picking out and cutting down our own tree and making goodies with my sisters. Some of our old traditions include black Friday shopping early early early in the morning, and new pajamas on Christmas Eve. What are some of your favorite Holiday traditions?

Time Flies

I can't believe how quickly time goes by. Holden is already a month old, yet it seems like we were just getting released from the hospital. In less than a month it will be Hudson's first heavenly birthday. We were talking about birthdays the other day and Emmaleigh asked me when Hudson's bitrthday was. When I told he it was November 17th she proceeded to ask if we were going to have a birthday party for him. While I myself had toyed with the idea of doing something I had not made mention of it to anyone else. In any case while we have not decided what we are going to do we are going to do something.
Emmaleigh is starting to take after her mom in that she uses writing as an outlet for her feelings. She has been writing letters to Hudson. In her latest letter to him she told him about his baby brother and how cute he was. She also told him she missed him and wished he could see Holden for himself. She is becoming quite the young lady and I am so proud of her. She got all A's on her report card and while we give her a hard time for being a suck up, it really makes a momma proud when the teacher tells you that your child is an encouragement to them. Every morning before class Emmaleigh writes her teacher a little note saying "I like school" or "you are nice".
I do not have as much time to write as I would like which drives my mind crazy sometimes. I have all these thoughts and feelings that I don't know what to do with so when I finally get a chance to write it seems like a bunch of rambling nonsense which I am sure is what is happenin now.

Welcome Baby Holden!

I haven't been able to post anything for quite sometime now because my computer crashed, but I have figured out how to post from my phone now. The last few months have been quite exciting. We had a great fun filled summer. Emmaleigh learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, Addy made progress in learning her numbers and letters, and Landyn is now completely potty trained. Everyone is enjoying school and doing well. At the end of August Landyn fell into a campfire and was flown by helicopter to Indianapolis, where he spent five days on Riley's burn unit. Fortunately his burns were not too severe and he did not have to have any skin grafts and is completely healed. Emmaleigh celebrated her seventh birthday and Landyn his third. My pregnancy went well for the most part but my doctor decided to do an amniocentesis at 37 weeks to check to see if baby Holden's lungs were mature. He did not look so good on he monitor after the teat so as soon as the results came back good two hours later my doctor sent me straight to the hospital so that he could induce me first thing the next morning.
At 1:02 p.m. on September 22, we welcomed Holden Thomas Snell into the world. He was what the doctor called a "moose" weighing in at 8 lbs 14 oz. Just a half hour he was born he was taken to the NICU where he would spend the next week. It took most of that time to get his blood sugars to stabilize and he had to spend a few days on oxygen and of course he became jaundiced and had to spend a couple days in the "tanning bed" as we explained it to the kids. There were a few days where it was frustrating and exhausting, but only because we were ready for him to be home so we could settle into our new routine, but we are so happy that he is here now and he is healthy.
He doesn't really look like the other kids. He has a full head of blonde hair (all the others had darker hair). Sometimes I wonder if that's a God thing because he shows no resemblance to Hudson.