Visitors

Uncle Steve and Aunt Dannea along with their two (canine) babies made the long trek from Texas to come see us for spring break. Their upcoming visit was the most exciting thing for my kids since Santa Claus. They were counting down the days, and the excitement really amped up around here, when due to our slightly disorganized planning, I informed them that they weren't coming in 12 days, but instead they would be here in 5 days!!! Steve, "Nea", Major Winter and Oliver arrived around dinner time last Tuesday. The weather was beautiful and we had the grill heated and ready for a cook-out. We spent the next few days showing them around Mason, playing with the dogs, and taking them along to the girls activities.They had lunch at Addison's school and watched Reagan's swimming lessons. One day, we let Addison stay home from school and we spent a full day exploring the museum downtown. Friday morning, their short trip had to come to an end, so they could make the trek back. They are more adventurous than we are, and they veered off the traditional route home so they could cover more ground. I think they hit a grand total of 8 states during their whirlwind trip. We were happy to show them around Ohio and have them be a part of our lives for a few days. Our girlies sure love thier Aunt and Uncle.

We jumped on the trampoline.


There were many wrestling matches.


Poor Tommy worked while we explored the museum. Probably for the best, since we spent about 7 hours there. He would have enjoyed the first 3 and then lost his mind!


Gracie with her Uncle Steve.


The girls could have played with the museums water tables all day!


The crew in downtown Cincy.


There were Wii competitions.


There was snuggle time.


There was lovin' on the dogs.


These 2 are such sweet snuggle bugs when they are sharing one iphone. And, if you have ever been moved by a big moving company, you recognize the blue sticker on the back of that chair. Between our last 2 moves, we are still finding those stickers.

Daddy's Watch

Reluctant to give up any time in the beautiful sunshine, but knowing my crew had to eat this week, Sunday afternoon, I left Tommy and the girls playing outside and headed to the grocery store. When I got home, Gracyn had a pretty big red whelp on her forehead, but nobody seemed to know what happened. She never cried, Tommy said he didn't see her fall and the girls hadn't noticed anything happen. She must be one tough cookie, because I took these pictures on Wednesday, after several days of healing and it still looks rough. Tommy's only explanation...."It's hard to hear them over the bubble bath and wine, I'll try to watch better next time!".

Explosion

Spring literally exploded overnight here! We have been basking in the sun and soaking up the 80 degree days. It is a stark contrast to the spring we received upon moving here last spring. I believe the quote I remember from my then 5-year-old was, "This place is a rainy, mudhole!". I think we have now received the best and the worst. Sun makes me blissfully happy! I love afternoons outside and evenings stretching playtime as long as we can before throwing dirty-feet, smelly, sweaty, sticky children in the bathtub. I love afternoons at the park, pleasant walks to the bus stop in the mornings and the vibrant, new flowers blooming all around us. I feel a sense of survival, I give myself a pat on the back, as I pack away the winter garments and replace sweaters and snowboots with flip-flops and sundresses. Bring on the sunscreen, the picnics and the pool. My happy time has arrived again!

One Year

March 5th, marked the one year anniversary of our move to Cincinnati. That day last year, we had spent an emotional week orchestrating movers, packing bags, shipping cars, preparing our house for closing and squeezing in as much time with friends as we could. We spent the night before our move with dear friends and woke the next morning to attend another special friend's birthday. The plan was to leave from the party. In hindsight, it might not have been our best idea, as it was gut wrenching to hug good-bye to all our best friends at once, walk away from the life we loved, and load up for the airport. Gracyn had woken in the night with a super high fever and we later found out she had a bladder infection. We arrived at the Denver airport with a sick baby, two uncharacteristically misbehaving children (I think their sadness displayed itself in disobedience that day), 3 carseats, 3 50-pound suitcases, 3 backpacks, 1 stroller and 2 carry-on bags. All our other belongings were in route on an 18-wheeler, arriving the next week.

We never planned to move to Denver, in fact, I went kicking and screaming. When I arrived there in the dead of winter, you could never have told me I would grow to like it. I was literally wearing flip-flops when the movers loaded my truck in Houston and snowboots when they unloaded it in Denver. It was alot for a Texas girl to acclimate to, but I did. And, after a long and lonely first few months, Denver quickly became home. We had such a unique and wonderful neighborhood there. We have been blessed with great neighborhoods at all our houses, but nothing compares to our home in The Ranch. The people around us weren't just good neighbors, they were our best friends. My girls started as babies and became best buddies with a crew of 11 little neighborhood girls. The people around us would (and did) drop anything to help another in need. We just did life together. Add my great neighborhood to the fact that the sun shines gloriously most of the time, the mountains are beautiful and you can live outdoors in the summer and it is hard not to fall in love with the place. I never developed much appreciation for the snow, mostly because I am fearful of driving in it, but my children sure loved it and I will forever have fond memories of them on sleds, flying down the hills behind our house. God had bigger plans than I did and I am so thankful he moved this southern girl out of her comfort zone.

Now, here I am even farther from my comfort zone, smack dab in the mid-west, in yet another state we sure never planned to move to. We knew for most of our last year in Denver that our days were numbered. Coke was making major structural changes and it was unlikely Tommy would have the opportunity to grow his career in Denver. We began praying earnestly and trusting God that he would put us in the right place. Cincinnati is not the place we were expecting, and when we got the call, the initial thought was that maybe we should start making phone calls to see what we could do about getting it changed. However, after more thought and prayer, we took a deep breath and decided that we had been asking God for more than a year where we should end up, and if Coke was asking us to move to Cincinnati, that must be His will for us.

I am often asked if we like Cincinnati and that is such a hard question to answer. We are quite far from "home" in Texas and this area is incredibly different from the other places we have lived and loved. We generally seek out newer, master-planned communities and that just doesn't exist here. It has taken some time to adjust to a town that is less than 1/2 the population of our previous communities. We are learning to appreciate that there can be beauty in older buildings and areas. I am adjusting to the fact that my house is about 7 miles from the area of town where I go for my errands and daily activities. That is quite a contrast considering in Texas I could (and often did) walk to the grocery store and in Denver everything I did was in a 4 mile radius. The weather here is not exactly desirable, although after this mild winter and early spring, I may have to change my thinking on that. I try to find the good in any situation, but the rain and the gloom can really get to me. The last few months have definitely seemed better, makes me wonder if it really is improving or if I am just getting used to it. All that to say, I guess in terms of how we feel about Cincinnati, it isn't our favorite place. We don't dislike it, it just isn't our favorite.

Now for the good part. We love our life here. This is without a doubt, a great place to raise a family. Our little community became home so quickly. God was faithful in answering our prayers and he provided wonderful friendships very early in our move. We were plugged in and doing life here in a matter of weeks and our friendships have just become richer over the year. I find so much joy in afternoons outside, with a cul-de-sac full of children running and playing together.This is the kind of place where kids roam from yard to yard and where children knock on doors looking for playmates. The girls are in wonderful schools here and they are thriving. We are learning so much in our Cincinnati church home. They seek to serve the community and we are encountering great opportunities to help others. Saturdays here are about youth sports, families attend the events and then can be found at the local ice-cream shop afterwards. Loyalty for the local highschool is strong, and not a day goes by when I don't see someone with their "Mason Comet" spirit wear on. When I walk into our local library, they recognize my children and greet them by name. As we make our way around to parks, soccer games, church, school the gym and our activities we run into friends and people we know. There is a definite small town feel here. Finally, I am developing a love for seasons. I don't enjoy winter, and probably never will, but watching fall and now spring unfold each day is beautiful.

So, is the city of Cincinnati a favorite among the places we have lived, not really. But, do we like it here? You bet! Life is good. We are happy. God is teaching me and growing me, and I am sure, as in each place we have been, someday it will become clear why we are here. I can't even begin to guess if we are here for a short time or for a lifetime. For now, on this one year anniversary I am just blessed and so thankful for a wonderful life and for a great place to call home.

Sick Girl

Our sweet Reagan had a rough time the last few days. Saturday afternoon, she went from bouncing around and playing, to lying on the couch with a 103 fever, pretty much instantly. Since, strep is a frequent culprit around our house and Addison had had it a few weeks back, Tommy made a quick trip with her to urgent care for a strep test. I knew if it was strep, we could get her an antibiotic and she would be back in business 24 hours later. She also has what they still at this point call "Reactive Airways Disorder", so we always need to double check her lungs anytime she is sick. They arrived back quickly, reporting no strep, clean lungs, just a virus that has to run its course.

Tommy put Reagan to bed and we continued on with our night. That evening, I checked her before we went to bed and she was really hot! Tommy packed up his pillows and moved to the guest room and Reagan came to bed with me. We were up all night, while she fought fever, as high as 105.5. Despite Motrin and Tylenol, I could never get it below about 101. I slept with one eye open, while she thrashed and moaned all night long. She was miserable and neither one of us got any good sleep. I left to serve at church Sunday morning and was surprised to come home and find her still in bed. The poor girl didn't move a muscle all day. She slept the entire day, fighting high fever, coughing and moaning. She slept with me again Sunday night and it was another rough night.

Monday morning, Tommy stayed home to help me get her to the doctor. Poor girl moaned and cried as we carried her there. I held her while the doctor checked her over. I have never seen one of my children so miserable or lethargic. The doctor suspected pneumonia, so we gave her a breathing treatment in the office, and we were sent for chest x-rays. Poor girl really just wanted to be home and back in bed. Tommy and I took turns carrying her and she would cry every time we moved her. The x-ray confirmed pneumonia, and the radiologist took one look at her and told us not to leave. He wanted to send the x-rays to the doctor right away and he wanted us to wait there to speak to her. He brought the phone to me 30ish minutes later. The doctor gave me prescriptions to pick up and told me to head home, keep up the breathing treatments and that she would call in a few hours.

I brought her home, gave her all the meds, and tucked her in. When the doc called a few hours later, I took her temperature and found that she was right back up to 104. Her heart was racing, her breathing was erratic and I just couldn't stand to see her look so bad anymore. My sweet neighbor took Addison and Gracyn, I called Tommy to meet me at the children's ER and off we went.

We spent about 4 hours in the ER, determining that after 2 1/2 days without a bite of food and very little water, on top of the pneumonia, she was dehydrated. The ER doc felt like if we got some fluids in her, it would help get her temperature under control and then her respiration rate and O2 stats would improve. She was right! About mid-way through her IV bag, my little one came back to life. In fact, after not speaking more than a few words in the last several days, she looked right at me and asked for chili from McAllisters. She also informed me that I hadn't fed her dinner. I had to laugh, I don't think she even realized that she had been asleep for days. By the time we left, she had much more normal breathing patterns, a near normal temperature and she walked out herself....the first time her feet had touched the ground since Saturday. She has been on the mend since! I actually had a hard time keeping her still on Tuesday (which is usually the case when my kids are sick) and today she was back in business. She went to school and even swim lessons. We have many days of breathing treatments and antibiotics still awful my girl is better! It is no fun watching them feel so bad!!! Also, score one for Cincinnati. We have a branch of Cincinnati Chilren's less than 10 minutes from our house. If you have to be at a hospital or ER with your kids, they are amazing!

Poor miserable Reagan when we first arrived. She did take a bit of interest in the fact that her bed had a remote for the TV. That was the first thing I had seen her show any interest in for days.


This was late in the ER stay, Tommy had gotten the girls from our neighbors. He brought me something to eat and brought the girls to give Reagan some moral support. My girl is a rockstar!!! She didn't shed a tear when they put that IV in.

First Grade Musical

Thursday night, the family headed to Addison's school for an exciting show about space and planets performed by the 1st grade. They did an amazing job. Each year, as I attend the spring show, I am impressed at how dedicated the specials' teachers are at her school. The team collaborates to choreograph the show, design the sets and direct the students. They incorporate skills from each area. They kids worked with their PE coach on hula-hooping, basketball dribbling and a few other phys ed skills. They sang about space and gravity, which they learned from their science teacher. The art teacher helps the kids design the set, and paint and frame art throughout the building and their music teacher incorporates it all into one big production.

This year's theme was Space. The kids made "Spaceworm" puppets to perform with. I actually volunteer in Addison's art class, so Gracyn and I had helped make the Spaceworms. Addison had a special spot at the start of the show demonstrating some basketball skills and the biggest moment of the night, was her singing duet with her little bestie, Chloe! They had practiced and auditioned for the part together and we were so proud of them. It was adorable!

We had a great evening seeing the artwork in the hall, reading books she had written in class and then watching the performance. We finished the night, meeting up with Chloe's family at our favorite pizza place to have a very late dinner and celebrate the girls. We had a tired crew. Reagan was asleep in the car on the way home, but it was a great night!!