Hello bloggy world, and Happy New Year!

It’s been awhile since we’ve chatted.  A lot has happened since then! We moved to a new apartment, Michael’s sister Michelle got married, and we made it through the holiday season in one piece. Phew!

The dust has been settling slowly but surely, and these are the things on my horizon:

Resolutions – I’ve refrained from making an actual list this year, but my tradition of keeping a theme for the year has not changed.  After hearing the same phrase pop up a few times on different occasions at church, I’ve decided the phrase “be faithful in the little things” is my theme for this year.  It comes from Matthew 23:25 and Luke 16:10 and I think it’s a really powerful phrase to hold close to my heart.  I think it’s God’s way of telling me that I need to slow down and pay attention to everything around me.  I have a tendency to rush things to get to the end result faster, sometimes cutting corners or people, and while I might get what I was looking for, I find myself dissatisfied because I didn't truly enjoy the journey and the experience.  I know this isn’t necessarily the original intent of that scripture passage, but God speaks to each of us in His own way.  And for me, I feel that I need to slow down and be faithful in the little things this year.

Esme Barrera & Ben Breedlove – if you’re not from Austin, you may not know who either of these people are, but they are extraordinary nonetheless.  Ben passed away from a chronic heart ailment at the age of 18 on Christmas Day.  He left behind an incredible YouTube video about his near death experiences that inspired a lot of people and touched a lot of hearts (the link above takes you to Part 1 of his video, which will then direct you to Part 2 when you're ready).  Esme Barrera was brutally murdered in her home on NYE and her death has rocked the live music and arts communities here in Austin.  She was virtually unknown to the rest of the world, but her kindness, generosity, passion for music and helping others (particularly kids), along with her cheerfulness are all anyone can talk about.  An article in the local paper moved me so much, I pasted it on my wall in my cubicle as a reminder of the kind of person I want to be like.  Hearing the stories of these two remarkable young people has left me humbled and inspired.

Forks Over Knives – Michael and I watched this documentary the other night.  We’ve been meaning to eat healthier for a long time, but after seeing the documentary and doing some subsequent research, changing our eating habits is long overdue.  My biggest challenges will be ditching the bacon, cheese, and sugary treats, but the possible benefits of a whole foods plant based diet are really motivating.  If it can reverse diabetes and heart disease, why not asthma, allergies, and chronic anxiety (my triple A’s!)?

Babies – after seeing so many babies over the holiday season, both Michael and I were hit by baby fever HARD.  We’ve decided that we’re going to go ahead and start trying for baby #2 this year.  This time though, we’re not going to stress about it like we did with Sybilla. If the Big Man Upstairs decides to grant us another child in our life, we will accept that blessing according to His schedule.  If it’s meant to be, it will be. And if it's not, we're ok with that too.

Financial Peace University – our church is starting off the year with a great series about finances, and they’re starting FPU classes. Michael and I have waffled on it before, but this time, we are
absolutely certain we want to do it.  We’re tired of feeling like we can’t really live our lives because of our finances.  It makes me cringe when I think about how we've treated our money in the past.  It makes my brain hurt to even think about changing the way I view money (much less actually change that viewpoint), but when I think about continuing to live my life the way we have, it makes me sad and miserable.  I’d rather buckle down for one year of my life and enjoy the years after that than live all of my life in misery.

Writing – I’ve been putting off a lot of my writing the last few months because of work, moving, the wedding, etc, etc, etc.  I threw myself a huge pity party and woke up the next morning with a mental hangover.  As I sat there kicking around the imaginary beer bottles, I decided enough was enough and vowed that 2012 is the year that I’m dumping my inner critic and telling her to piss off.  I’m going to get published, y’all.  I don’t know when, I don’t know how. But it’s gonna happen.  I guarantee it.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Happy (belated) New Year,
Kelly

Update on Baby Hayden

I spoke to Kellie late last night as she and Anthony were headed home. Baby Hayden is resting comfortably in his own room at Dell Children's and being attended to by a very wonderful staff of nurses and doctors who are determined to help him eat on his own. As his mom said, it's déjà vu but without all of the drama, which is refreshing for once! After examination, Hayden's cleft palate is mild and is only affecting the soft palate in the back, but it is causing some issues for his breathing and feeding. He also has a very small lower jaw, which could be an indicator of something else, but only time will tell. They are going to keep until he can feed on his own and will then determine a course of action at that point. An hour of Google research revealed that in cases like these, they will usually fit the child with a device to help "plug the hole" essentially until he's a bit older for surgery to repair, 6 months being the youngest and 12 to 18 months being the norm. They're going to try and take the other kids to go see their new baby brother today and hopefully learn some more. So for now, we're still praying and we're cheering Baby H on!

Baby Hayden has arrived... but with some caveats...

As we put Sybilla to bed this evening I held her a little bit tighter than normal and offered up a prayer of thanks to the Old Man Upstairs for my beautiful, perfect, healthy child. She is smart and clever and walking since nine and half months. At fifteen months old, she has at least 20 words to her vocabulary and she has gained weight well and hit all of the milestones on her chart and then some with flying colors. We are blessed. I read blogs and articles everyday about other parents who are living the stuff of nightmares and I thank God I am not one of them. But I also offered up prayers for all of them as we experience some of that so close to home.

My best friend gave birth today to her third baby at 12:59 pm, Hayden Alucard, and he has certainly shattered all of our expectations as to what to expect. His labor was longer than either of his siblings and he came much earlier than expected. We expected him to be early since his older sister and brother were too, but not three weeks earlier. And if his birth weight and development is any indicator, he is actually five weeks early; Hayden weighed in at 4.5 pounds, 17" long. And lastly, the kicker in all of this is the small horseshoe shaped hole in the roof of his mouth preventing him from being to swallow or breathe properly which appears to be a cleft palate.

While a cleft palate might not sound that serious given modern medicine, it doesn't negate the fact that we don't know when he'll come home and meet his older siblings and that his mom and dad have to endure this added stress on top of a newborn baby with two older children. My initial research is that cleft palate is treatable and if his condition is serious enough to prevent him from eating or breathing without assistance, they would most likely operate soon. There's also a lot of unknowns; how long will he remain in the hospital and what is involved in the recovery and rehabilitation process? Could his small size and early arrival signal some other developmental issue that has of yet been undiscovered?

The upside to all of this is that at least the pregnancy and the birth experience have gone well for Kellie and Anthony. They utilized the Austin Area Birthing Center, which so far has exceeded all of their expectations and so much more. When they left for Dell Children's this evening, the midwife that has been working with them accompanied them to be their advocate and to support them as needed until we know more. The pregnancy was relatively smooth with very little hiccups and morning sickness and Kellie was able to get all of the antibiotics needed during delivery (she's GBS positive) unlike the previous pregnancies.

Our prayers tonight are for our friends and their family and that the diagnosis is positive. We hope that you too will keep them in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days as we learn of what's to come and that Baby Hayden gets to come home soon. I will share some pictures as soon as we have had a chance to meet the little munchkin, but until we find out more, your imagination will have to suffice.

Thanks for listening,
Kelly & the Gang

Good Things

Martha Stewart's magazines have a feature called "Good Things" which is sort of her like her monthly favorites or easy simple ideas (as opposed to the regular feature length articles she publishes, which if any of you know of mine and Kellie's forays into Martha Stewart Craft Land, you'll know that they aren't always so easy :o) So here is our list of Good Things and a Christmas recap:Firstly, a former coworker from KW had her baby on Monday morning, a healthy baby girl. Anna and her husband Marcus have been praying for a long time for such a wonderful gift and went through IVF in order to have her. Congratulations to the Jenkins family! We are so thankful that things went well and that Abby Lu is healthy and perfect. Not to mention dang cute!

Secondly, we visited with the hand surgeon today and the good news is that there won't be a need for surgery to regraft the skin or to repair the tendon. Michael still doesn't have proper sensation in the tip of his finger, but his finger is still a bit swollen, so it may be a little bit before he does regain feeling in the tip of the thumb. He goes back to see Dr. Sharma in one more week to determine whether or not they'll need to go in and check it out, but he hopes to not have to and is very impressed with how things have progressed.

Thirdly, we had a wonderful Christmas. We had hoped to avoid having to do extensive traveling and multiple Christmases, but it didn't go quite as planned. We spent Christmas Eve with Michael's mom as we have in the past and we had a great time. Judy gave Sybilla the cutest little wicker rocking chair EVER, which Billa loves to push around since it slides so well on the carpet. She gave us gift cards to be used towards a much needed date night, which we are planning on using very soon. Michael received the traditional cologne and toy, which happened to be a remote control helicopter. She also gave them to her SO Carl and his brother in law Gary. Of course, the three boys HAD to open them and wanted to have helicopter fights, but we found out that two of the three were set for the same channel, so they could only go one on one sadly. Hilarity and hijinks ensue. Of course I was not able to capture it all on film since we had yet to get our camera that evening.

Christmas day went well, with us getting up and having a low-key Christmas morning. I've attached pictures for your perusal! Later on we had Michael's dad, step mom to be, and his sister come over and we unwrapped presents. I now have a mighty collection of FIVE rolling pins, thanks to having received three of them as gifts. I have no idea on how to display them, but I will figure it out. My parents came not too long after (my brother David was sick back at the ranch with a sinus infection and Philip stayed up way too late with his friends. Whatever. They missed out on all my enchilada goodness. Hosers.) and we all enjoyed a massively good meal of enchiladas, tamales, rice and beans. I had several platters of random homemade cookies, candies, and goodies for dessert, along with chips, homemade salsa, guacamole, and queso. Ah, Mexican Christmas! Sanchez Claus was good to us all.

Why are we up so early?

It's Christmas!? Yes!

Sybilla opening her presents

I love my new bathtoy!

Daddy got some initialed hankies... thanks Mommy, er, Santa!

After everybody left, Michael and I just lazed about and then headed down the street to the Marino's house to deliver their presents. I still have yet to get Anthony to install my keyless entry on the car (yay!) and they also gave us a new receiver, since they inadvertently blew ours up by overheating it. We gave the kids goodie bags which they LOVED; apparently Madeleine is still carrying hers around a week later. That was one of my favorite memories as a kid; a former work associate of my dad's would send me and my brothers coffee cans wrapped in fun paper that contained a caboodle of fun toys, candies, and dime store games. I miss those immensely, which is why I go crazy with the stocking stuffers every year!

A couple of nights later Uncle Zander and Aunt Sarah came and bestowed new bath toys and a fisher price baby doll stroller upon Sybilla. She had a blast running back and forth in the living room with the stroller and she keeps going into the bathroom several times a day to look longingly at her toys, waiting anxiously for bathtime. Now I just start the water and she comes running in!

Over our many Christmases, we have received many unexpected wonderful gifts, but the best one of all is spending time with all of our friends and family! We hope you all did too and as we get ready to enter the New Year, we look forward to creating many new memories and sharing time and great meals with you all!

Happy New Year,
Kelly, Michael, Sybilla & Gumerry the Gray Destroyer of all Things Paper, Q-Tip, Hairtie & the Occasional Piece of Tissue Wrapping!

Welcome Wyatt and Garrett!

Congratulations to my cousin Jeff and his wife Abby, they just had their first babies on Wednesday. They were born Dec. 10th at 3:50 and 3:51PM (not sure which one was at which time). Garrett weighs 4.8 lbs. and Wyatt weighs 5.5 lbs. They look just like their daddy, which makes me a little jealous since Sybilla didn't really look like anyone when she was first born. (Now she looks a lot like her daddy!) Most twins these days are a result of fertility procedures, but these boys are gen-u-wine anomalies of nature.

Hats off to the proud parents and Merry Christmas to my Aunt Becky and Uncle Ky, who could ask for better Christmas presents?

Love,
K & Co.