Grammy Update

She's a tough one! Surgery went well - instead of 3 hrs, it turned out to be 6, as the surgeons found more damage than they had expected- but she came through fine. This morning she had her ventilator removed (early, they were very impressed) and today was moved to the "Presidential Suite" as she called it. She was sitting up in bed and was even able to eat a whole meal. Physical Therapy will start tomorrow and I know she'll do great!
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers :)

Missy - that's a funny memory - I don't doubt it at all!

Please pray for my Grammy

My wonderful, 86 year old Grammy has been having terrible back pain for the last 12 weeks - as I understand it, she (at some point, not sure when) fractured her back. The drs have been trying to deal with it through medication, which has only been making her sick. Grammy has always been active, and up until 12 weeks ago, went to Jazzercise 3 times a week! This injury has really been hard on her. She now can't stand, let alone walk, and is in just terrible pain. About a week ago, her dr (with my dad's prodding!) finally admitted her to the hospital, and to make a long story short, she will be having a Lumbar Lamenectomy tomorrow morning. This surgery is to remove bone fragments that are lodged in her spinal chord, causing all of this havoc. The surgery should last 3 hrs, and will be performed by two surgeons. Please pray for all to go smoothly, and for peace for my Grammy. I know that she's nervous, knows thatGod is watching over her. It's hard to be so far away, so this is what I can do. I'll update tomorrow with news! (The surgery will be at 10am North Carolina time, so 7am our time)
Clarification from mom : "she will have a thoracic laminectomy (probably between waist and bra strap generally speaking) where they will remove the bone fragments and she will also have lumbar surgery apparently to repair or remove the bad disks...at any rate to stabilize the lower spine so she has the stability and the strength to be able to walk. Apparently, they are going to try to "wire" her spine together in some fashion. One dr is a neurosurgeon who will focus on preventing damage to the spinal cord...the other is an orthopedic surgeon."
Here she is in April on her first cruise to Mexico with my mom :

Lots of Pictures this week!

I caught up on my "pro" picture taking this week - and got lots of pics of the girls - Just wanted to share a few!

Trying to be patient..

:) I took the girls for pictures this week - I was being optomistic, because since about 18 mths old, Lily FREAKS if anyone (other than family) try to take a picture of her. We once drove about an hour and a half to meet Jodie to get pics of the grandkids.. and we didn't get one - she SCREAMED and cried the whole time. I was so mad! Bella used to be shy about it, but now she acts like a little model.
Anyway, my Picture People membership was about to expire with way to many benefits left on it, and I figured I'd just suck it up. Soooo, we went.. and the girls did GREAT! I got some awesome pictures and I'm just so excited. I'm just waiting for the email to let me have access to the digital prints to share with everyone!!
I must be crazy, but I'm taking them back tomorrow for Pajama Day. Isabella and Mr Cow - Lily and BLankie - it's a must for our family! Great way to use up my last free sheet and $10 off.
Yeah!

So proud of my girls!!

I am always proud of my girls, but this week they both did things that I'd love to share, as a proud Mama :)

On the fourth of July, Lily realized she was ok without her inner tube, and once she realized she could move around with only her floaties, she was hooked! She's still perfectly content to leave her face dry, and we're working on that one!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Today at the zoo, my shy (just like her mama) Isabella volunteered for the Animal Theater! Once she got up on stage she was a bit timid, and didn't want to dance when it was time, but she still got up there, and was the cutest elephant ever!




Funny, when I asked her what her favorite part of the zoo was, she said being the Elephant and asked when she could do it again !:) She said she'd dance if Papi was there next time :)

Lazy Days

I feel like we've had a few lazy days lately - few errands, swimming, relaxing - gotta love those days!
I finally put a few things up on ebay today - I have a drawer that just waits for me to get to it - It's not hard, I just put if off for some reason! When Lily grows out of her stuff, and it's still stainfree and nice (that is when and IF) I try to put it on ebay. Mostly Gymboree - other brands don't seem to be worth the hassle or selling fees, lol. I also put up my old phone- last time (yes, I break phones quite often, lol) I got about $25 for my broken phone! This time it looks like they are only going for about $5.. but why not? It's better than sitting in my drawer, and will help fund any other ebay purchases.
TIme to get ready to pick up Isabella!

Happy Fourth of July!

We are looking forward to a day of pool, food, fun and relaxation - and probably more pool and food :) Jodie, Hylke and baby Noah are in town - so we'll all be at Mom and Dad's. Alex has to work, but I'm excited that he can at least join us for lunch! The girls don't really care for fireworks, so I think we'll skip those this year.
Hope everyone has a great day!