Brain Matter

Hello all. Just wanted to send out an update to let you all know that on Friday I had my 6 month follow up for my aneurysm. It was an outpatient procedure and the preliminary results are that everything looks just as it did after my surgery in August-which is exactly what we were hoping for!!!! I have to tell you; going in for the follow up was so much more relaxing than going in for the diagnosis and surgeries, obviously. I was able to actually marvel at the science of it all and since I was consciously sedated I could watch the huge monitors next to my head as they threaded the camera up through my body into my brain. I could see EVERYTHING and it was really cool. And best of all, all is normal.....no comments from the peanut gallery. One more follow up in a year and then that's it.....~Deb

Last group of Florida pics

More Florida pictures

Our Week In Paradise, AKA: Spring Break :)

We spent Craig's Spring Break visiting Patrick and Carla's beach house in Port St. Joe, Florida. We packed up our van within minutes of Craig's last day on Friday and headed out towards Florida. Along the way we picked up Grandma Judy who had flown into Pensacola from Illinois. The kids did really great for such a long ride, it helped that the girls had DVD's to watch. Finn was fantastic, he loved watching all the cars and especially trucks go by. We arrived late Saturday and introduced little Finn and Ainslie to their Aunt Carla. We slept great that night and woke up to a most beautiful view of the ocean-right out our bedroom door. The kids were VERY excited about the sand and water and they played in both; once and sometimes twice a day for hours. Maisie could NOT get enough of the ocean, she swam and swam. Ainslie loved the water also, but her preference was building sand castles. Finn loved both. Our visit with Patrick and Carla went by too fast, but after they left we still had 3 days at their beautiful house. Oh, forgot to mention that before P&C left, they cooked out on their outdoor kitchen area. Patrick grilled up the most amazing oysters. We were all a bit nervous to try them, but they were gourmet and delicious!

There were lots of walks on the beach, fun outdoor showers for the kids, riding their scooters in the driveway, building (Maisie/Ainslie) and destroying (Finn) sandcastles, fun Grandma time, cooking out, lounging and chasing kids. Did I mention chasing kids?? Their favorite pastime the whole week was definitely collecting seashells!!!! We left Florida loaded down and were on the look out for a green group who might chastise us for collecting so many!! One of the sweet things that we discovered is that our Ainslie is a little conservationalist. As much as she liked collecting seashells, she threw tons and tons of them back in the ocean. She was 'saving' them we guess!! Anyway, it was really cute.

We had a really wonderful, relaxing time. We have some really great shots of the week, but they really don't do it justice to how beautiful the home and beach are. Anyway, we arrived home refreshed and rejuvenated, a wonderful result of a great vacation!!

Love and thanks to P&C (and their kitties)
~Us

Daddy/Daughter Dance-Valentines 2009

Tonight is the annual Daddy/Daughter Dance at our church. It's a chance for all the daddies and their princesses to spend some one on one time together, and of course, it's a chance for the princesses to get dressed up. Our girls have been looking forward to their date night with Daddy and they began the night by picking out their dresses, shoes, tights, hair bows and accessories (princess wands, necklaces, rings, etc). And don't forget the sparkles, there are sparkles all over their faces and necks. Daddy got all decked out in a shirt and tie and he looked dashing! He transformed himself into the royal carriage's coachman and our van into the royal carriage. He whisked the princesses away to the ball and they should be dancing as I type. Finn and I had some mother/son bonding and he is now drifting away to sleep, so I get a few precious moments alone to write you all!! Happy Valentines Day!!

Happy New Year 2009

Never a dull moment at our house :)

Ainslie's 3rd Birthday!

Ainslie turned three years old yesterday, January 13th, and she is so excited because she now thinks she is old enough to ride roller coasters. Each visit to Sea World has brought the question, "Can I ride the roller coaster?" We answered, "When you're older." Our mistake! She knows she's older now and so she must be able to ride the coasters. Ahhh, toddlers!! Always keeping us on our toes.

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday at Incredible Pizza where we ate pizza, cake and played lots and lots of games. Uncle Gary and Aunt Elizabeth as well as David, Michelle, Bailey and Brandee joined us for a fun day. We stayed about 5 hours and when we finally emerged we half expected it to be night time...apparently we tuckered out the kiddos as you'll see in the last pic.

The night before her actual birthday we tucked the kids in bed and waited awhile until we thought they were asleep. I started decorating the house with streamers and balloons and out pokes Maisie, wide awake and asking to help. We hung a happy birthday banner and decorated Ainslie's door. Finally, off to bed. I woke that night with Ainslie crying, asking for Daddy. Daddy went in and brought her into bed with us (3:30am) along with two toys and a book that she had in her hand. She couldn't sleep and was still awake a 4am when I caught her trying to sneak out of our bed. You see, she had seen the decorations and wanted to check them out. I corralled her and settled back down. At 4:30 I was awakened to a strange sound. I went out in the hallway and found Ainslie playing on her new push-scooter which we had left outside her door for her to find in the MORNING when she woke up. She had also discovered the bag attached to the front of the scooter where Craig had hidden some candy. She was eating candy and riding her scooter at 4:30am! Anyway, back to bed again and she finally fell asleep close to 5am. Back up at 6am for a school day!!! We were off to school, where I pinned a ribbon on her that said, "Kiss Me It's My Birthday!" She delivered the cookie pops that we had baked to her classmates and they sang her Happy Birthday. The day ended with all of the family together celebrating our sweet little Ainslie!