She made it

Samantha's surgery went really well yesterday. She was extremely happy before the operation. I thought she would be so miserable because she couldn't eat. It didn't start to bother her until right before they took her into the O.R. The staff was really great at the Moran eye center. The pediatric anesthesiologt was wonderful. It was a good thing that we waited for him. He carried Sam into the operating room and it was so cute. I wish that I would have gotten a picture of it. The surgery only took a little over an hour and she did really well. She has been so good. She was a little fussy yesterday but she slept all night and has been so happy today. It only looks like she has been in a fight. I'm so happy with the surgeon and I can't believe how good she is doing. Thank goodness for modern medicine. I know that this is going to be so much better for Samantha.

Samantha right before her surgery. She was so good in the waiting room. You would never know that she hadn't eaten for 12 hours and getting her eye worked on.

Samantha in her gown. She looks pretty cute. She was finally getting a little fussy at the end of her waiting to go in.

Right after she woke up from surgery. She downed to sippy cups of juice within about 10 minutes. She was so hungry and thirsty by this time.

A close-up of her after the surgery.A picture of her the day after the surgery. She is so happy. You would never know that she had had surgery the day before except her eye looks so beat up.

Surgery Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the day. We now have confirmation that Samantha is going in for her eye surgery tomorrow. I'm so relieved that it is going to work out, but now I am extremely nervous to have it happen. It is such a scary thing to have her go in and have someone work on her when I can't have any control. I know that this is the right thing to do and that everything will work out fine. It still doesn't make it any easier to do it. I just ask that all your prayers are with us at this time. I know you all have your own lives, but I also know that every prayer helps. I'll keep everyone updated after the surgery and Samantha has gotten to a place that I can.

Frustration!!!!!!

After two months of planning and anxiety, the wait is still on. We have had Samantha's surgery for her eye scheduled for two months now and they call and tell us the night before that the surgery is off. I can't even explain how angry I am right now. We have had Nadya taken care of with family, Earl had work taken off, and just mentally ready to go. They tell us that they can't get a pediatric anesthesiologist and that we have to try again next week. It is ridiculous that they can do that. I just hope that it really happens next week and that we can get things ready for it. I hate the run around. Hopefully it will work out and I can calm down a little bit.

Happy Easter

This took me a few days to get up but I thought that I needed to get our Easter pictures up. We had a fun time with Easter. We were able to spend it with both families which was nice. I can't believe that this is our last one we get to spend with our families. With my family gathering the kids got to decorate cookies, dye eggs, and they had an Easter egg hunt. They had a lot of fun and we got some good pictures of it all. With Earl's family the girls got to look for eggs and we had a good dinner with them. These girls are so spoiled. They got lots of candy and toys. Their dresses looked really cute on them, too.

Our new home in Kirksville!

Earl and I got a chance this week to go and visit Kirksville. We did this for a few reasons. One I really needed to have a break from the girls since I worked so hard to get Samantha weaned and I haven't had a vacation with just Earl since we were first married. Second, I wanted to see where we were moving. And lastly, I wanted to help pick out our new home. It was nice to get away and see someplace else.
We flew into St. Louis airport and then we drove 3 hours to get to Kirksville. I was definitely tired of the car by the time we finished our whole trip. Once we got into Kirksville, we went to see the main duplex that we were looking into. Needless to say, we fell in love with it at the very beginning and didn't bother to look anywhere else. It has everything we want in a place to live and more. Plenty of room inside and out. It is 3 levels with 2 rooms upstairs, the living room and kitchen on the main floor, and a finished basement where we can have a toyroom for the girls. The backyard is huge and the neighborhood is great. Lots of space for the girls to run around. The pictures are of the place, minus all the furniture.
We really love our landlord and everythere is so nice. I got lots of advice and it is amazing how many programs are going on for the families of the students. I am getting pretty excited to get going. The only problem is now I really have to get going on cleaning out our apartment and start packing. Hopefully I can get it all done.
The trip was a lot of fun and thanks to my brother-in-law Fletch who gave us buddy passes to make this trip possible. It started out a little shaky with having to spend the day in the airport the first day and then not getting on a flight. But Wed. was a lot better and we didn't have any problems after that. It was nice to have some time alone with Earl
I am glad to be home and to see my sweet girls. They were so good for Earl's family and I couldn't have asked for more. I'm so grateful to all of them for allowing us to go by ourselves. It's official, the next phase of our life is soon to begin.

Bittersweet

It is official. Sam is now done breastfeeding. I had to hurry up and get her done so that Earl and I could get out to Kirksville to find a place to live. I was kind of nervous thinking that it would be impossible to get her off of 4 feedings a day in less than a month. Well, it happened. She did so good. I am so happy to not be tied to her all of the time but I really did enjoy nursing and I know that I will miss it. It was easy for me and I felt such a bond with both of my girls. I hope that it won't come back to haunt me in a few weeks when Sam has her operation.

Congratulations, Hilary!

I got a phone call from my little sister yesterday. She has been in California with Dallin and her boyfriend, Curtis. They have been playing at Disneyland and visiting Curtis' parents. Well, she is now engaged and I am so excited for her. Curtis is a great guys and treats Hilary and Dallin so well. We all like him and he even sent an email to my parents asking them for permission. Congratulations Hilary, I'm so happy for you. We love you and hope nothing but the best.

Picture time

I took the girls to get their yearly pictures. It was a lot of fun. They did such a good job and gave me a lot of good pictures to choose from. That was a problem thought. I always end up spending more than I planned on because I want them all. Sam cheesed it up and didn't cry at all. Nadya is so photogenic and I am amazed at how beautiful her pictures turned out. Heidi was a big help during this too. She came and helped with the girls especially while I was picking out the pictures. She is so great and I appreciate all she does for me. I hope everyone enjoys the pictures like I do. These are just a few that they took. I put somemore on the side.


Nadya is beautiful and it is so fun to take her picture.
One of Sam's more serious poses. She did a great job.Nadya and Sam love eachother. It was so much fun to have them pose together.