Fast-forward a year.

So, apparently it has been 1 whole year since I last posted a blog. Woah. I find that crazy.

Anyhow, I guess I've decided to pick it up again. So here's my 2011 recapped:

My kids are a year older. Payton turned 8 and Tegan turned 2!

Richie and I celebrated our 11th anniversary! Yay us!

I took up photography a little more seriously. Aimee D. Photography. That's the name of the "business." I love it! But not so much that I want to try to earn a living from it.

We took our first "big time" vacation! We went to Mexico for a friend's wedding. One thing I learned from Playa del Carmen...I want to live by the ocean.

We did some camping and canoeing! We have become outdoor people!

We tentatively decided to become foster parents, though that is sort of on hold. We are taking very cautious steps toward this decision as we don't want to make any mistake about exactly what we're supposed to be doing.

I, once again, have decided to go back to school. Ugh, even saying it gives me a headache. Anyhow, I'll be doing some pre-reqs at OCCC and then applying to the RN program and with any luck, I'll get in the first time I apply.

I fell more in love with God, Richie, and my children! And this is the biggest blessing of all!

2011 was great. 2012 is going to be even better!

Past and Future

This post is a little slow on the up-take considering we're over a week into the new year, but I'm posting it anyway.

With every new year, I like to reflect on the previous year and plan for the one to come. So without further ado....

What I Learned in 2010:

-God is all-powerful and when I trust in Him, miraculous things happen. For years now, my husband's brother has been an addict. He was arrested several times this year and as we approached the year's end, things were not looking promising for him. But Richie and I continued to pray. And by the power of Christ, he is now in rehab! Which leads me to my next learned lesson...

-Don't give up on those you love. Keep loving them the way Christ loves. Continue to pray. Expect God to show up. He will. And He will not disappoint.

-God does not answer prayers the way that I expect. I prayed for a generous heart, but God did not give it. Instead, he gave me several situations in which to be generous. It was hard (very hard), but the most fulfilling thing so far I've done as a Christian.

-God will remove excess from your life in order to give you in abundance. This year was hard for me in the friendship department. But in hindsight, God was simply removing what was not necessary at the time in order to bring even more and greater friendships. (To whom it may concern in this area: I love you! I have forgiven you and would love to be friends again whenever you are ready. I am here with open arms!)

My Plans for 2011:

-Seek God first: I commit to reading my Bible and spending time with God daily. And so far so good.

-Continue to be generous.

-CONSISTENTLY workout: My body is a temple, the only one I'll get here on Earth. I want to live a long and healthy life. I want to see my grandchildren.

-Pay off my car: November of this year is the goal!

-Learn photography: I love art. We'll see if I'm any good at it.

-Take a vacation with my family: MEXICO! Can't wait to see two of my favorite people start their lives together!

-Relish everyday: My kid are growing so fast and I don't want to let a single moment slip by. Life is much too short and I refuse to chase after the wind. It's meaningless!

God is good. LIfe is good. It's going to a great 2011!

MRI

After much discussion and prayer, my son's pediatrician and I decided to move forward with Tegan's MRI.

I'm was not sure why I had such a difficult time with the idea. For a while I thought it was because it involved sedation. But he get sedated everytime he has a laser treatment, so that couldn't have been it. Then I thought that it was because the procedure was going to be done at the OU Medical Center, and our last experience there was a complete disaster. However, while the EEG was done on the adult side of OU, I knew that the MRI would take place in the Children's Center and would result in a completely different experience. Why was scheduling the MRI such a challenge for me? After much thought and evaluation, I honestly think it was because I truly didn't want to know. I didn't want him to be labeled. If there was any sign of birthmark on his brain, regardless of whether or not it affected him, he would be diagnosed with Sturge-Weber.

But we did it anyway.

The MRI was surprisingly pain-free, even for Richie and I. We arrived and were immediately taken to our pre-op room. Vitals were taken and we got the run-down of how the procedure would go. Then, when everyone was prepped and ready to go, Richie and I carried him to the MRI room and held him while they put him to sleep. :( For us, this was the hardest part of the whole procedure. We waited in the cafeteria for what seemed like forever and after about an hour and a half, we were called back to his room where he was recovering from the anesthesia. After a short amount of time, we were released to go home and we were glad to have the procedure behind us.

We haven't received the result as of today, but the results are just about the furthest thing from my mind. All I can think about is what a perfectly healthy and handsome little boy God has blessed me with.

DIY Child's Chair

Since my photographer up and moved to Missouri (kidding! Love you Melissa!!), I have been on the hunt for photo props to use with my kids. I found this little $3 treasure at Goodwill.

Obviously the seat had to go.

I bought some simple pieces of wood and used my son's tools!

My youngest helped me paint.

We painted the base an avocado green. Love it!

I applied a cracked ivory finish.

I can't wait to use this for taking some very amateur shots of my kiddos!

Pryor and Spavinaw

A few weeks ago we traveled to Pryor to visit my last remaining grandmother (Ma as she is called affectionately).




While we were there, we decided to venture up to the Spavinaw Creek, a place that my sister and I loved to swim growing up. My kids loved it just as much as we did.

We had a great time and look forward to visiting again this fall!

Pulse-dye laser treatment #2

A few weeks ago we made our trip to Little Rock for Tegan's second laser treatments. For those of you who don't know us well or are not familiar with my son's birthmark, here is a bit of background. Tegan was born with a vascular birthmark called a port-wine stain, a malformations of tiny blood vessels that connect the veins to the arteries (capillaries) located in the upper levels of the skin.

Our trip was fairly uneventful (besides getting my nails filled in a VERY scary part of Little Rock) and Tegan did great! He loved the Children's Hospital; there were so many things for him to play with. He woke up from anesthesia much better this time around and even wanted to run around and play in the recover area only minutes after waking up. His "purple dots" have healed already and Richie and I can already see a slight difference in the "before" and "after" shots. Here are some pictures:

Before: waiting to be taken into surgery

Only minutes after leaving the recovery room

Healing: one week in

Week 2: almost gone!

Week three!

With any luck, we'll be heading back for another round during fall break. We'll continue treatment indefinitely. These types of birthmarks never fully go away with laser treatment, but the goal is to fade it as much as possible.

Until next time.

Baptism

Since Payton accepted Jesus into his heart last year, he has been begging to be baptized. So when LifeChurch announced that they were having a "Baptism Bash" at Frontier City, I knew this was our opportunity. Here are some pictures of the event.

What a proud moment for a parent! God is good...all the time!