Summer Vacation

We went on a family vacation with my parents back in August. My dad had some training in Ohio, so it was a perfect excuse for the kiddos and I to tag along. On the way there we stopped in Tennessee to see my grandma and aunt who live in Kingsport. It was so great to see my grandma, but also kind of sad to see how much of a toll age has taken on her. We really enjoyed the wonderful weather and being in the mountains. After Tennessee, we went to Ohio. My mom, the kiddos, and I just hung around the hotel most of the time and went to the zoo one day which was so much fun. Of course, like any good mom on their children's first trip to the zoo I did NOT bring my camera (don't know what I was thinking). Madison and Eli both enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool. On the last day we were there we went to the Air force Museum which was an unforgetable experience. We were abe to walk inside a B29 which was so neat. This is the same type of plane my grandfather flew in WWII. We got to get a close up look at where he sat as the navigator, and where the rest of the crew were situated during flight.

Here is a picture of half of the B29, they are so BIG, so we couldn't get a full picture...

On the way home, we went through Memphis and did a lot of different things in the span of three hours. We went to the Peabody Hotel and watched the ducks march to their pond. We got to sit on the red carpet since we had the kiddos with us. Madison loved being that close to the ducks.

Ducks at the Peabody Hotel...

In their pond...

 

After we watched the ducks march we went and ate at Rendezvous which has the best ribs in the world. It is kind of hard to find because it is down in an alley, but man they were hopping...



After we ate we went on a carriage ride around Downtown Memphis in a Cinderella carriage.Unfortunately when we told Madison we were going on the carriage, she thought that meant she could ride the horse. We all had a good time, despite some whining about not getting to ride on the horse.


Our attempt at a family picture on the carriage ride...


My little boy...


Madison loved to be able to watch the other horses around us...


We went to Sun Studios where both Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash recorded albums early in their careers...



We went by Graceland and saw Elvis Presley's planes on one side and Graceland on the other (we couldn't get a picture of Graceland because of the huge wall surrounded it)...


On our way out of Memphis, another stop that we had to make was at the Lorriane Motel were MLK was shot. The motel was still in the same location and nothing had changed since that day. They have now made the hotel into a civil rights muesum. We weren't able to go into the Muesuem, but got some wonderful pictures.

 

 

On our way back in Texas we went to a road side park, so that Madison could run around and get some of her energy out. Brad and Madison played kickball which was so fun to watch. She has really turned into a daddy's girl lately...

We ended the trip with another stay in a hotel and I got this wonderful picture of the three most important people in my life (brother's look is priceless)...



We are so thankful for the time that we got to spend with family during our trip. It was an awesome time together. We got to be a family in the middle of our roller coaster of a life.

Thank you God for giving us these wonderful memories that we will caress forever!

A whole new blog...

I entered a contest to get a blog makeover and WON!! If you are looking for anyone to do a blog makeover for you, Beth is your girl. She does an amazing job as you can tell by my makeover.

A Night under the Stars...

We went to the Bob Bullock Museum this weekend for a Night Under the Stars event. They had free admission into the museum as well as free food. It was a lot of fun to go down there and let Madison see part of our Texas History. She of course just liked the music and food. She decided to put my glasses on and we played a little game with it.

Where is Madison...

Is she in there?...

There she is...

Brother even got in on the action...


Such a handsome boy...


My little angel...

We have had a very fun and relaxing weekend and I am such a happy momma of two beautiful children (well I am a little bias).

Weekend of Firsts...

We had a weekend of firsts. Madison and Eli both got their first haircuts. Brother slept in his crib for the first time and Madison went potty in the big girl potty after asking me to go. It is a start, but we still aren't there yet. Brad decided to give Eli a haircut which was pretty easy. He just sat in his bumbo chair and Brad cut his hair. We took Madison to Cool Cuts 4 kids. It was a lot of fun to just enjoy the kiddos getting older. They are both at very fun agings. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Eli with his new big boy haircut...


Madison playing before she gets her haircut...


Ready to get her haircut in her car...

A little movie to keep her entertained for a little while...

My little girl getting her haircut for the first time...

Such a big girl...

We both got our toes done too...

Momma with her kiddos, what a wonderful feeling. Brother has to show us his foot too...

Scottish Rite Appointment

Today we went to Scottish Rite for Eli's 2nd appointment for his hands. We got to meet with the hand team and met some of the other doctors that we didn't get to meet last time. He was very happy the entire day which made the visit so much better than last time. If you remember last time, we had just gotten his 1st set of casts on his feet. Sister (Madison) went with us this time and she loved it. We met with Dr. Ezaki who is the head of the hand team and some of the other residents that were there. She did an evaluation on Eli again and reaffirmed the he has arthygoposis. She did say that they are a lot of other syndromes or conditions that are underneath the arthygoposis umbrella. She was impressed with the range-of-motion he has developed and was very positive about his prognosis. She told us to continue to do stretching at home, but also put us in contact with an occupational therapist in Austin that actually used to work at Scottish Rite. We will set up appointments with her to begin therapy in Austin.
We again met with Amy, the therapist at Scottish Rite, who initially evaluated Eli at his five-week appointment. She gave us hand splints to put on while he is sleeping and just having some down time. He doesn't mind them at all which is so nice. We will go back to Scottish Rite in 4-6 months for a follow-up and to discuss what to do from there. Amy took more measurements of his range of motion like she did last time we were there. Everything had improved which was awesome. We left the appointment very encouraged and ready to tackle this new step in Eli's adventure.

Here are some pictures that I took during our visit....

Madison enjoying all of the toys in the waiting room...

This is very cool. It's a projector that puts images on the wall that interacts with the kids' shadows. Madison enjoyed her shadow, but didn't really get what was going on...

Brother waiting for the doctors in his daddy's lap...

The inside of the exam room...


A little down time in between seeing the doctors and going to see the Occupational Therapist...


Watching sister try to sleep...

Playing with all of the toys in Coach's Corner (it is where the Occupational Therapist is)...

Amy, the Occupational Therapist at Scottish Rite teaching me how to do the stretches with his braces on...

Sporting his new splints...

We are so blessed by Scottish Rite, the doctors, and OT there. I don't know what we would do without them. Thank you all so much for your prayers as we go through this adventure in our lives.

Eli, we are so proud of you! You are such a calm and happy baby! God knew what He was doing when He created you especially for your daddy and me. We love you more than you will ever know!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband! Our kiddos are so lucky to have you as their daddy! We love you!!

Brad and Madison at 6 months...

Brad with both of the kiddos (April 2009)...

And a priceless picture of Brad sleeping with his twin, Eli Bradley...

We love you! Thank you for taking the role of being the kiddos daddy to a new level! You are amazing!!

On to the next adventure...

Well we are on to the next adventure with "mister". He had his casts taken off today and got his bar and shoes put on. He did good today or as well as can be expected for someone messing with you. He had his last set of casts taken off which was so nice. Today has been a rough day for little "mister" though. He keeps trying to kick his legs, but can't because of the bar and shoes.

Here are some pictures from the morning.

Getting his casts off for the last time. He was not very happy...


I was consoling him after it was all over...

"Ok, guys I am ready to go home, now..."

Here is his left foot after all of the castings. They look so much better...


I fed him a bottle to calm him down after getting his casts off...

Our little "mister" in his new bar and shoes. He looks so cute!

Here is a side by side of when we first started until today...

We are so thankful for the wonderful doctors who have helped Eli along the way. Man, what a trooper! Thank you all for your prayers during this adventure in our lives.