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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Catching Moments: {16/52}:

*My Own Tom Sawyer..
"And then I realized, Adventures are the best way to learn"
I love everything about this detailed shot. It wraps up our boy all in one square... He loves wearing hats, always has dirty hands, loves sticks, and is always on some sort of adventure! I hope he always finds joy in the little things life offers! 

*My Little Picasso...
Last week while Crew was napping, Charli and I went outside and she got to paint one of her stepping stones for her butterfly garden that the Easter Bunny brought her. Charli has always loved painting, drawing, coloring, and being creative. I could sit and watch her "work" all day... 

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Easter 2017:

Another holiday has come and gone and time doesn't seem to be slowing down. As I sit here scrolling through these pictures, looking at every detail of our children and seeing how much older they look from last year, how much bigger they have gotten, and how much different this year was from last. It makes me want to soak in every bit of their childhood even more. These are the days I want to remember, these are the moments I hope they do, and I hope they know & remember how much effort mommy put into every single holiday for them. Because I want everything to be special, even the little things, I want everything to be magical, and I truly love watching it all through their eyes! 
"The days are long, but the years are short"

Though I am limited right now with what I can do, we still focused on making every moment count and soaked in every bit of family time and festiveness that we could {as usual}. The kids have really been such troopers with my current situation and they know I can't do everything I used to right now, but it didn't stop us from having the best time!

Every Easter Eve we die all the Easter Eggs. I love keeping this until the day before Easter as it is so fun gearing up for the next day! The kids did a wonderful job and stayed so clean, win! I have to say this is one of my favorite things to watch, I love how amazed they are as they gaze into the cups and watch their eggs transform! 





Easter Sunday we woke up bright and early and headed out to the beach for Sunrise Service. I have been going to this same Sunrise Service for so long and it is the same Service that Steven and I have gone to since we got married {and lived here or were back visiting}. It truly is the most amazing, peaceful, serene way to start Easter, and to remember what Easter is all about!



{on a random side note: My mother & husband have been saying to me I walk and stand with a hunch right now because it truly hurts to stand up straight. I hated seeing this in pictures so I am working on standing straighter}

 Easter morning continued when we arrived back home and the Bunny had arrived {not before the babes had to get back in their jammies first!! haha}. 




They spent the morning hunting all the eggs, eating ALL the candy, and playing with ALL the things! It truly was a magical morning! 

Our family then arrived in the afternoon for the perfect Easter Lunch and another Egg Hunt. It was the perfect day surrounded by so many that we love, just being together, letting all the kids play, and enjoying the beautiful weather! 








Wishing you all a wonderful week! xo

Monday, April 17, 2017

Catching Moments: {15/52}:

*Post Easter Sprinkler Fun...
I'd say the Bunny did good, bringing the kids their own umbrellas for Easter! They are obsessed with them! I also love that Charli asked if they could play with their umbrellas when they were running through the sprinkler {thanks for the photo op girlfriend!}. She grabbed their rain boots and all! What a perfect way to end our day! 

And because sometimes one is not enough!! 











Thursday, April 13, 2017

Catching Moments: {14/52}:

*Crew loves riding on his skateboard and has gotten really good at balancing on it on his feet. But come on, who doesn't enjoy riding a skateboard down the driveway or sidewalk on your toosh or tummy! 

*Just a couple girls enjoying some Spring time weather... Charli loves laying in the grass with Bailey looking up at the clouds! 

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Coping with Crohn's: An Internal Infection:

I don't like the focus to be directed towards my health because there is so much more to me than that, but it seems I have hit a rough patch recently and a lot of things are going on. I am thankful I am able to come to this space of mine and write down everything that is going on, my feelings, all while keeping people informed at the same time. This is a coping mechanism for me, to finally be able to talk openly about my Disease and what is going on. I feel if my story can help someone else out there reading it than I have done something right. This disease is truly awful, and at times I sit and pray "why me", nobody understands exactly what I am going through, how I feel, the toll it takes on me mentally & physically. But then I remember how strong I am, everything I have already been through at the age of 31, and then I understand "why me"... So here goes... 

As most know I was admitted to the hospital last week. We all know I suffer with immense stomach pain, but I knew something was different... My sweet two year old found me lying on the bathroom floor curled up in a ball, crying... I asked him to go find mommy's phone...
{with everything I go through, there are times I feel so awful that our children have to see me like this ALL the time}...
I was rushed to the Emergency Room very early in the morning, and the tests began... blood work, CT Scans, Ultrasounds, etc. I know my body and daily pain very well and I knew something was not right. Sure enough the Doctors found that my Gallbladder was distended {completely enlarged} and severely infected. 

We knew I was already starting to develop Gallbladder Disease, as people with Crohn's Disease are often diagnosed with Gallbladder Disease at some point. I had met with a couple of different surgeons last year, who said they would not operate on me due to how high risk I am and complications that could happen with me. I feel a lot of this led me to this past weekend. 

Due to the infection that was found, they can not operate until my Gallbladder is at a "normal state". With that being said, they performed a mini surgery at Mayo Clinic where they did a Cholecystostomy {inserted a drain tube inside to drain the infection out}. I will have this for 5 weeks until surgery time. 

It has been a rough 6 days as I am now dealing with the pain from the tube. It hurts to breathe, walk, sit, lay down, sleep, you name it. I am managing through the pain as I do not want this to define who I am these next 5 weeks. I still want to live my life {obviously taking it very careful and being cautious} but I don't want this ruining other things we have had planned. The only way I can describe it as is "it just plain sucks"... All of my clothes fit weird, I can't wear certain things, my entire stomach has developed some sort of weird rash, I can't lift anything, I can't do normal daily activities, I can't stand for too long as gravity pulls at the tube and it just hurts, plain & simple. 

I have had a lot of people calling and texting checking in on me and I hope this answers so many questions. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, this is just another hurdle we have to get through.





Saturday, April 8, 2017

Catching Moments: {13/52}:

*The face you get when he has done something that he isn't supposed to... How in the heck are you supposed to get mad at that... Oh I want to keep him little! 

*We went to the Fair last weekend with some friends and had such a fun time! There were so many highlights for Charli, but I think winning the water gun game and getting to pick out the largest stuffed animal she could topped the list! We may or may not have swayed her decision on which stuffed puppy... {not the pink one hahahaha}. 

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Catching Moments: {12/52}:

*Charli & Crew stopped bathing together maybe close to a year ago now and usually while Crew is in the bath, Charli takes a shower in the guest bathroom. But every so often she will ask if she can "just soak in the tub mommy", so I will let her take a bath in our bathroom while I tend to Crew. I walked in to check on her/get her out and she was just looking around so peacefully and I asked what she was doing and she said "just relaxing".

*When little boys garden...
Crew wanted to get in on watering the plants the other day... I'm pretty sure he got much more water in his tummy than the plants got on their roots... But he had the best time, and that is all that matters!