Life...Christmas & beyond...

Okay so its been ages since my last post...Life has been a little more chaotic than usual. I can't believe this time last year I was in the ICU recouperating from my thyroid surgery...A million different memories flood my mind, but I won't bore you with them. It is just so good to be able to spend Christmas together with our entire family!

Last week I spent 5 days in the Loma Linda ICU with Grady, as he was having trouble breathing & was diagnosed with RSV again! At least we are home. Grady has to wear a mask for 2 weeks to protect him from all the germs floating around. He actually does pretty good with it. When we first came home, Grady acted like a completely different kid, smiled little, cried much and nothing could make him happy. Finally, Saturday night our Grady returned with smiles and shreeks of joy! :) Thank goodness, I thought I'd shoot myself if he cried any more.

It was a long week, but we made it through. Both Grace and Hope had Christmas performances last week and all 3 had class parties. Grady was discharged late Thursday, so Friday we tried to return to life as normal, but...James kept Grady, Hope was at our brother-in-laws and I helped with Gracie's Christmas party. It was fun to see all the excitment in their eyes and to be able to be there with Gracie.
Saturday I was able to get a break from all the chaos & get a massage (I had a muscle spasm during the night & a migrane- so it was out of necessity rather than pure pleasure)& then got to get a pedicure. It was nice to get some time to myself, after a long week.

We were able to go to church yesterday, Grady just had to wear a mask. He did so good! I carried him in the sling and he fell asleep with his mask on and slept the entire service. We made some last minute runs to the store and finished up getting everything for the next few days. I wrapped some little things, just in the nick of time:)

We woke up today and did some baking. The kids decorated sugar cookies, I baked bread and James & I made my Mauma's recipe for peanut butter balls, Mmmm! As I'm typing there is sheer chaos surrounding me...Grady is screaming, the kids are trying to hold in their excitement, as we will be leaving for James folks shortly.
We will be staying the night in a hotel close to his folks, so the festivities in the morning can take place without a hitch. We're checking in early, so we can do our annual Christmas Eve swim in the freezing cold pool! Brrr!
Much Love to all! And Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Program

Every year we look forward to the kids participating in our church's Christmas Program. It's so fun to see them all singing and doing the motions.

Hoper and her class (4-5yr olds) went first. They sang a few songs and Hope was the ham she always is. During the middle of one of the songs, she asked why we were all looking at her :) Then once she realized that James was standing in the back with the camera she did her crazy face for everyone to see. It was too funny.

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Then out came Zach and Gracie, both as shepherds. Neither of them got too into the singing this year and paid more attention to what everyone else was doing, but it was still fun to watch. The program was short and sweet. Neecee and Fredy drove out to see the kids, but ended up missing the whole thing. But they came back to the house for dessert and to hang out a bit which was nice-we rarely see them other than the once a month Sunday dinners.

Sleep!

I need sleep! For months after my surgery I struggled with insomina, but after Grady was born it seemed to ease up quite a bit. The strange thing was that I could still function, I was a little sleepy, but I didn't feel like a zombie. However, once I could sleep again I have been suffering from sever fatigue :( It is as if I can not ever get enough sleep; I can sleep 10-12 hrs at night & take a 2 hour nap & still not be able to function. I feel run down and can hardly function, let alone be a good wife and mom. It's not just that I'm tired, my body is weak, my mind is frazzled and I have no motivation to do normal things. I've tried exercising, it does wonders for my mind and really gives me a better outlook on things, but once I get home from the gym or walking etc... I can hardle manage to stay awake to fix lunch- I feel like I just ran a marathon.
I've talked to the Dr. about it and he contributes it to my body trying to readjust and my cancer levels/blood work being all out of wack! This is the 3rd night where I haven't been able to sleep. I have gotten quite a few things done during these night hours, like painting, laundry, worked on some pictures, etc...But come morning I can hardly get out of the bed & crawl back in the 1st chance I get.
AGHHH! I just want to be able to lay down and fall asleep, to stay asleep and to wake feeling rested. I know I am a busy woman, I have 4 kids, but...I just want to feel normal again!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Let me preface this by saying, "I know we need the rain."
I got up this morning on the wrong side of the bed :( I heard the rain, it was still dark & gloomy out and the kids somehow knew it! Ever have those mornings when your kids just seem to excelerate your mood? It never seems to be the days when I'm in a good mood either...haha! Anyway, I have T-Moms every other Friday morning & honestly I wanted to take the kids to school and come crawl back into bed, but I knew that I should go b/c it was the last one before the new year. So, I got the kids up and ready and realized as I was heading out into the pouring rain that the only umbrella I had was out in the mud in the backyard. AGHHH!! Why me?
So, I ran out into the muddy back yard to grab the umbrella and nearly ate it, as my foot slipped. After grabbing it and covering my hand in mud I decided to open it and leave it on the trampoline to let the rain wash it off. I put everyone in the car (we all got soaking wet), ran back inside grabbed Gracie's rain coat and got the umbrella from the back yard. The rain helped a little, but it was still pretty muddy. Once I got in the car I had to use 2 or 3 wipes to wipe both my hand and the umbrella handle off.

Anyway, everyone got to school on time and I made it to T-Moms. I'm so glad I did, despite the rain. The devotion this am was about how we as moms often times feel invisble, but yet we are doing a great work behind the scenes. A lot of times the effort we put into things goes unnoticed or is overlooked (by our kids and/or husbands) and makes us feel invisible. It went on to encourage us that if we as moms are doing things right, it generally is without credit or unnoticed, although not unappreciated. I thought after she was done at how often we make our Father feel invisible by not giving Him credit for all the little things He does for us. How often do I go through my day failing to give credit to God for the beautiful weather, a sweet smelling flower, a smiling child, a conversation with a good friend? Do I make my Father feel invisble, as often I feel?

I know that my children wouldn't be who they are without my "invisble" efforts and the same goes for me. Christ has done a work in me and most of it invisible and I would not be the woman I am today without Him continuing to do the little things for me, rainy day or not. Needless to say, my morning at T-Moms changed my attitude and I was able to enjoy the rainy day.

Take a little time today to enjoy the little things (like the pitter patter of the rain) and know that although you may feel invisible at times, you are doing a great work in your little ones life and don't forget to thank Christ who is constantly doig great things for you! :)

Birthdays!

It seems like we've been celebrating birthdays eternally around here(and were not done yet), but Hope is now officially 4 years old and today I am 30!

Sunday the 25th was her official birthday, although she celebrated with her friends and our family on the 17th at the park. Today she got to celebrate with her class at her preschool, so we made cupcakes and everyone sang to her and she got a pretty crown. I ran around like crazy this am, so I dropped off the cupcakes and my camera so her teacher could take some pics for me.

My folks came to keep the kids (its Tuesday) and brought me a chocolate cake, flowers and a gift :) I love flowers, my mom knows me so well!

For our small group tonight we went to Mongolian BBQ in San Bernardino. Our dinner was sooo yummy and for dessert we went to Frugos for some frozen yogurt. I'm looking forward to the big celebration for my birthday on the 8th. Yeah!!!

More later.

Thanksgiving Weekend

As tradition would have it, Thanksgiving weekend is meant for putting up the Christmas decorations and eating leftovers. So today we put away the hay bails and pumpkins and exchanged them for poinsettias, sparkling lights, garland and the Christmas tree, as we ate some yummy leftovers. The kids were really excited about getting all the Christmas stuff out and wanted to help. We started with the wreath on the front door and then did the mantel and hung the stockings. Next came the tree and it was a long process, I'm not sure why I'm so anal about things, but it is done & looks beautiful! James worked most of the day and came in for the tale end of decorating the tree, funny how that worked..hehe! :)













Hoper wanted to show everyone this little sign (rootbeer candy in her mouth and all)...it says "Jesus is the heart of Christmas!" :)

Gracie wanted to pose putting an ornament on the tree :) I didn't think to take pictures while we were actually hanging the ornaments. I was too busy making sure the glass balls didn't get dropped on the floor, but there's always next year.

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Do you like our tree topper? Grady thought it was quite funny, but really the star is on top- Daddy did the honors and all is well with the Oates Christmas tree.

James & I were just talking about how I'm never in any of the pictures, so he offered to take one of me with the kids, even though we look like "raga-muffins." Here we are with our tree all decorated. We still have a little left to do tomorrow after church- the kids have tress for their rooms and I've got to put the garland up the stairs. I love the way it all looks, I'm glad I actually get to enjoy it this year :)

Adendum to the birthday post :)

For the record...the girls celebrated their birthdays with all grandparents present-Grandma LaLa, Papa & Nana & Grandpa & Grandpa...This post is for you Baba. :)

Thanksgiving Pics

Here's some pics to complete the prior post...
Papa brought a new lincoln log set to keep Zach busy as we waited for the turkey.
Zach and Papa relaxing watching some football.
We were trying not to laugh because Hope was taking our picture and I think this was the 10th try :)

Nana and the girls being silly.

Grady enjoyed his first Thanksgiving by eating some mashed potatoes, stuffing and his usual green veggies with some fruit and oatmeal mixed together. As his dessert he tried eating a little of each of the ads from the paper:)

A year of Thanksgiving

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4

Today is a day for many things-Family, friends, eating too much food, watching too much football and naps on the couch and looking through too many ads :) Our Thanksgiving this year is much different than last year, just a time to relax and enjoy it was just our family with my parents. My mom fixed the bird and I made everything else. The girls helped me set the table, Zach, Papa and Jamesy played lincoln logs as we waited. We ate later than usual, but still enjoyed some yummy food.

I have pics, but blogger won't let me load them right now. Maybe later.

As I think back on this past year I am thankful for many things, but my mind instantly goes to this same date last year, November 22. This is the day I was diagnosed. I remember it like it was yesterday... I lay across my bed and checked the voicemail. I don't remember any other messages except the ONE. Dr. Jefferies, the ENT that did the biospy surgery, left a message asking me to call her, in her voice I knew. I called her back right away, blah, blah, blah..."what we found was medulary carcinoma." Okay...so what does that mean? "It is a rare type of thyroid cancer" That is all I heard. I mean I heard everything else she said and I wrote it all down so I could research it, but I held off my tears until I hung up the phone. I was sort of numb. Then the flood gates let loose! The worst part was I was home alone with the kids. I wish James had been home more than anything and I know he wished he had been home too. I called James and my voice was shakey, I think he knew too. After talking to him I'm not sure why but, I felt compelled to call everyone I knew, so for the next couple of hours I sat on the couch retelling the news I had just heard. I didn't really call everyone I knew, but I wanted to. Just recalling all of those emotions makes me sick to my stomach and brings tears to my eyes again.

It is crazy for me to think that was only one year ago, in many ways it seems like ages ago. Life has changed in so many ways for us in this past year. We truly do have so many things to be thankful for. We serve a Gracious, Faithful and Loving God. Today as we sat to eat our Thanksgiving dinner, we went around the table and said a few things we were thankful for, here is what came from our table...
TOYS
FAMILY
FRIENDS
BROTHERS & SISTERS
HEALTH
A HOME TO LIVE IN
OUR CHURCH
ANSWERED PRAYERS

We pray that your Thanksgiving Day is spent with those you love and you are able to recall the many blessings He has given you and take a little time to truly give THANKS!!!

The party is done!

The party went off without a hitch! We had lots of friends and family to celebrate Gracie turning 6 and Hoper turning 4! Here's a picture of their princess cake, the girls loved it!


I thought it was so cute that some of the kids lined up on the wall to eat their yummy cake! :)


Here is Gracie with one of her presents, a new "i-pod", an mp3 player with pink cheeta print & rhinestones.


I love this picture of Hope's face! I think she just opened the High School musical sound track :)

Here is the candy frenzy after the pinata opened up. I didn't know there was different types of pinatas and I bought the one that you don't hit open, you pull a string and all the candy pours out. The kids didn't seem to mind that the candy came pouring out after only a few kids had guessed which string it was though!





I'm glad the party is done, but now comes the fun of finding homes for all the new toys :)We are very thankful for everyones generosity in their giving of gifts.


I cannot believe where the years have gone. My baby girl is 6 and Hoper is 4; I can't believe how fast the years have gone by. These two precious little girls have brought me to my knees more than once, but God knew I needed my kids to keep me in check. I have never smiled more when I've wanted to cry, I've never screamed more when I should have spoken softly, I've never hugged more when I was at my whits end, I've never gone to bed a night not thankful for them. Being a parent does something to your heart in ways that are simply unexplainable. As each day passes, I am beginning to see the depth at which Christ's love extends to me, He is my father, as He is my girls father too and he loves me as only a parent can! For that we are greatful! Happy Birthday girlies, Momma loves you!

More Apple Pie, different bakers :)

This time around Gracie and Zach wanted in on the fun. Gracie was in charge of making the crust. It was a little hard without a rolling pin , though-I'm not sure where ours disappeared to, but a plastic cupo worked just fine :) Zach took the job of "shaving" the apples. He became very creative after a few apples and started making faces on the apples with the peeler...hehe!























Here the 2 proud bakes show off their masterpiece of an apple pie. Zach peeled about 10 apples, so it was filled to the brim ,so much so that our crust cracked, but it sure tasted yummy. We topped it off by making homemade vanilla/cinnamon whipped cream and covered our tastey pie in the "frosting", as Hope called it :)

We've enjoyed baking so much I think I'll have to buy apples to bake more often and get out the cookbook for some other yummy treats. I think we'll be baking pumpin pies next, Mmmm!

The tongue says it all!

Grady has become fasinated with his tongue and all he do with it:) Lately he's been blowing raspberries and sqeeling with his tongue kind of curld up. I though these pics were too funny!

Hoper's Thanksgiving Feast

After taking cupcakes to Gracie's school I got to go to Hope's school and share in the Thanksgiving festivities! :)

They had all made necklaces and indian hats with feathers. Her class sang some fun pilgrim and indian songs and Pastor Dan joined them, dressed as the indian, haha! Grady chowed down on some spice bread, while sitting in the stroller and Hoper and her class mates enjoyed some of the first foods the indians enjoyed, like jello, turkey rolls, cheese, crackers, pop corn, fruit and potato bread, topped off by big harvest cupcakes! :)

Let the festivities begin. Happy Thanksgiving a week early :)

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Gracie turned 6 today! My baby girl is 6, I can not believe it! She got to wake up this am to the rest of us singing to her at the top of our lungs "Happy Birthday!" I took cupcakes to her class for recess and Gracie was so excited because they were High School Musical cupcakes, her favorite :) She got to pass them out to all the kids in her class and they snag ot her also.

Gracie's with her teacher, Mrs. Beall and then with her3 best friends, (left to right) Eden, Aiden, Gracie & Sarah!

Apples Anyone?

So every year this time Snowline gets rid of all their excess apples to close for the season and gives them to the camp (Oak Glen Christian Conference Center). I think this year they donated 10 cases in all! So, all these apples are thanks to Snow-Line :)

We love fall and apples make it really feel like fall! We missed actually picking apples this year, but now we have plenty! :) My parents brought us 2 cases filled to the brim with apples. There is no way we can possibly eat, bake or share all of the apples, so tomorrow James will take a case to Joseph's store house and I'm sure they'll enjoy them. But, today we decided we should bake! :)

Hoper was my helper and started by picking out the "pretty" apples to peal and core and cover in cinnamon and sugar! :) I think she ended up eating about 2 whole apples that were pealed and cored and covered in sugar. I sure hope she doesn't get a tummy ache!

We went a little crazy with the baking. We started as soon as we got home from church at 10 am and finished up about 1 or 1:30. We baked apple-cream cheese cresents, mini-apple pies, apple dumplings, apple-cream cheese crumb cake and apple pie. Here is Hope holding her dumplings ready to go in the oven.

Hope was waiting to lick the apple bowl that was covered in cinnamon and sugar and once everything was in the oven, I let her have at it. Mmmm!

I am in hopes that everything will taste as good as it smells baking in the oven. We have enough to share, so feel free to stop in for a baked apple treat!

Cadet Camp-out

Zach and James went on their first cadet campout this weekend! Zach was very excited and James a little nervous I think :) I put James in charge of taking pictures, but I now know we take pictures of different things. Me, I would have taken pictures James & Zach, pictures of the boys with their dad's/g-pa's/counselors, pictures of the boys holding their own rocket, etc... Not James though, he took action pictures. I think there are a few pictures of Zach, but not one up close or one with James and none of just Zach & his rocket before the launch. I had to laugh though, they both thought the pictures of the lauches were sooo cool and talked about how much fun they had! I'm gald they had fun! Here's a few pics of the weekend!










This is the sky line as they got in to the lake basin to set up camp.









Zach is the one in the orange hat & black sweatshirt on the far right and then he is the little black spot in the bigger picture, where he is retrieving his rocket :)




This one, you can hardly tell, but Zach's is rocket number 3. The last pic is of their campsite :)

I'll have to remind James next time to take some good pics :) hehe!