Meet Banjo

So, I got the best surprise EVER and ya'll I hate surprises! I really, really did not think Cody could surprise me either!! He didn't give me even the slightest hint.

So can I tell you the story?

Backing up a bit, Jovie Ming cried so hard Christmas Eve and we discovered the cause of her pain was her teeth. The worst time ever to get a toothache too. She has been absolutely pitiful and with a tooth infection she has a higher risk of getting an infection on her heart. We were in the urgent care for 4 hours getting her an antibiotic. Definitely not the surprise I am talking about, and if I could take this pain from her I would. It kills me to see her like this.

 

We had to wait until the dentist office opened and saw the doctor Monday morning. They could plainly see her tooth has a giant crater of a hole and said that she has at least two others with cavities.  We've always known her teeth are in trouble... her body did not get enough oxygen and her teeth certainly suffered. 

She needs surgery under anesthetic to have the tooth extracted, and with her heart history she will have to have that done at Children's Hospital at Eggelston so a cardiologist is present. We had to make an appointment to see the CHOA oral surgeon the following day. So, now it's Tuesday, and we are at Scottish Rite talking to the oral surgeon and she tells me Jovie needs to be admitted to the hospital right now, today. My mom had Ian and Mae, (with no car seats -- I have those) and I don't have a plan, bags packed or a clue, but okay. So I call Cody and tell him, "they are about to admit us, now". And he is all cool and says okay, all along he had this big SECRET with him waiting to surprise me. 

The scheduler calls Eggelston to make a plan for us and realized that with the next day being New Year's EVE we better not go because we would be sitting in the hospital for a long time.  So we have to wait several more days still... until Monday (Jan 5) for surgery. Good news is Jovie gets to spend her birthday at home (Jan 3), but bad she is still hurting.

So, I call Cody to tell him we are leaving the hospital and he asks, "so, what are you going to do now?". "I guess I better get Jovie and me some lunch." He said, "I am out running around and have an errand in Dunwoody, so I can meet you". So we head to closest Chick-fil-A, and as we are walking in he calls and says he's hit bad traffic and to go ahead and order him something. We sit down to eat and he calls again and says he's here now but has to jump on a work call. BUMMER -- I thought we would get to be with him and now I'm just his lunch delivery girl. We finish eating and walk out to his truck and he gets off the call and meets me half way and takes our pitiful and wilted Jovie Ming from me. He said, "I'll put her in the car, and you can get your bag out of my car."

I OPENED THE DOOR TO FIND THIS LITTLE PILE OF WRINKLES IN HIS FRONT SEAT.

I have seriously been campaigning for us to get another dog... and not just any dog, I wanted a french bulldog something terrible. I stalked owners of them on instagram and every time I saw one, Cody would receive a texted picture to his phone. I thought for sure there would be a puppy under our tree this year with my name on it... or I had hoped anyway.

Well, Christmas came and went and I did get a very awesome camera bag. As much as I had hoped it would be,  I really did not see this coming.  Plus, Cody insisted I would not be getting a puppy for a very long time. And are you nuts?? Like we don't have enough going on, right?

But here is this too-good-to-be-true, soft and wrinkly little baby.

We are all totally in love with him. All my dreams of owning a french bulldog puppy have come true... and he's even better than I expected.  He is the best puppy ever so far, potty training has been going great, he is so chill and laid back and spends 90% of his time snuggling right up to me. We are calling him Banjo, all but Jovie Ming... she calls him "Dogbunny". 

He fits right into this little family.

Christmas 2014

Santa came!!!!  Santa filled their stocking and left a few other unwrapped  presents... my favorite being a puppet theater. Mae knew right away what to do and started sifting through her treasures. We had to point out the goodies in Ian and Jovie's stockings and even after that, they were just grabbing the items on the top. They finally got it and I know next year will be pros.

Then we dove into the wrapped presents. When Mae was little she would always get overwhelmed and open a couple and be content to just play with those. I remember having several gifts we kept for her to open a month or two later. (we also bought waaaay too much her first year)-- last year I saw the gift guide, something you wear. need. want. read. We have used this as a guide for the past two years... although want and need are both really just big and small wants, a book specific to what they like right now and Christmas eve pj's. With these gifts from us, Santa gifts, and family gifts to them, it is still extravagant really. But they are so fun to buy for and are tickled pink with anything and everything. It was so great watching them tear into their presents. And let me tell you, there was no one holding back... Ian saw Mae open her first gift and bolted to the first one available and started ripping the paper... "WAIT, hold on there, we have to see who it's to."  Needless to say we had a very memorable and exciting Christmas.

 Jovie loves babies right now so she got a little baby and a doggie to care for; she is the little nurturer.

All Mae kept saying was that she wanted a real unicorn... so we went with the closest thing we could find.

Ian got a big dump truck and my favorite of all is the scooters!  We will have lots of indoor fun with them this winter.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we make cookies for Santa. This year I looked for a kid-friendly recipe and loved this one by tatortots and jello because it used the rolling pin and a hammer. You just can't find many recipes out there just this fun. It was Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bark and it was just as fun to eat as it was to make.

I thought I'd include the recipe here for you, plus I'm planning on making it again, so it will be easy for me to find again too! 

Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bark (based on Betty Crocker’s recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 pouch Betty Crocker™ sugar cookie mix
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 bag (12 oz) white vanilla baking chips (2 cups) (note these are white vanilla, not white chocolate — but we tried some with milk chocolate chips melted on top, too!)
• 1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy (the original recipe calls for crushing 14 miniature candy canes – you can use any peppermint candy, but the mini candy canes seem to have more red in them, so they’re prettier on the cookies.)

Directions

• Heat oven to 375°F. Line large cookie sheet with foil. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough into 12-inch square on cookie sheet.
• Assign kids to crush candy canes. We used a marble rolling pin, and the kids crushed way more than we needed. Keep a close watch on the crushing process; you want them to be actual chunks of peppermint candy, not peppermint candy powder. This may take a lighter touch.
• Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown; let cool.
• In microwavable bowl, microwave white vanilla baking chips uncovered on high 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until chips can be stirred smooth.
• Pour and spread over cooled cookie base.
• Immediately sprinkle with candy. (You want to move quickly so the peppermint candy embeds in the melted baking chips. We gently pressed the candy chunks into the melted baking chips to make sure they “stuck.”)
• Let stand until set, about 30 minutes.
• Gently break up cookie bark. (We used a butter knife in a few strategic places to assist our breaking up to avoid crumbling.)
• Store tightly covered.
•  Enjoy!

Read more at http://tatertotsandjello.com/2014/12/kid-friendly-recipe-peppermint-sugar-cookie-bark.html#mMEVdWgSsBb2Fdyz.99

We open one present on Christmas Eve... our "something you wear" Christmas pajamas. Then we put a special key outside for Santa, sprinkle our reindeer food, and put out our cookies and milk for the jolly man. 

Hope is Alive

Ellie Holcomb is one of my very favorites and she just wrote a new song for this season. I have listened to it countless times and I hope you enjoy it too.

Candycane legs

Our house is filled of Christmas music, giggling children full of wonder, sparkling lights, and little girls in adorable candy cane leggings.  I have gotten teary several times just knowing the hope that Jesus brings, our God with us! Oh Holy Night can almost always do that to me. Seeing my grandmother's decorations on our tree and family traditions that Ian and Jovie have yet to know. It's really amazing as I look back to last year, knowing so well what the waiting and wishing for Ian and Jovie felt like. And now just the sight of their names on their stockings can make me all misty. You all probably know I am a tad emotional, but wow, this year really is full of all things bright and wonderful. My heart is so full to be able to share all this with these precious children God has given to us. Merry Christmas friends!!