Collin's Surgery Day!

Today, on Halloween, our sweet little Collin had to have some tubes put in his ears and he also had his adenoids removed. He did great! The tubes were long overdue! Ben had them as well and I had been expecting them for a while. The ENT said that when she removed his adenoids, she found that they were enlarged...so she thinks that he will be feeling MUCH better now that they are gone. They were kind of blocking his sinus passage and making it harder to drain. SO hopefully we will be in better shape...especially for all of the cold weather!

We left the house this morning at 5:30 am. for a 6:30 am. check-in. We were home and Collin was in his own bed by 9:15ish...so not bad at all! I tried to snap a few shots.


Here is Collin oblivious to what is about to take place...just thinking he got to get up early and go somewhere special with mommy and puppy of course! We had just arrived at the surgery center.


Putting on the hospital gown threw him for a loop...he knew something was not right! Bless his little heart!

The room with toys and the big rocking chair was not too bad....he was just chilling.

About 15 minutes after his special "cocktail" syringe from the Anesthesiologist:):) Life is good...

6 Things that have impacted me this week...

1. Spending a week without Earle, realizing this is what it is probably going to be like for awhile!

2. A woman on Oprah named Jill Bolte Taylor she is an author of a book called, "My Stroke of Insight" an amazing story...click here for details

3. I read the Blog of Jordan and Kari Clark, two Christians that we are going to be attending church with when we get to Calgary. Their 14 mo. old passed away about a month a go from what appeared to be a mitochondrial disease. I sat sobbing while watching the slide show and felt so blessed and amazed at their spiritual strength and courage. Click here to read their story.

4. I realized the reason that Collin took so long to walk was most likely because of his inner ear and all of his ear infections. Our ENT told us that he was probably too dizzy to get his balance...and she feels he is still struggling with balance. He is having tubes put in and adenoids taken out next Friday. So, I just felt horrible that this went unnoticed by our pediatricians and that we have had to wait so long to have something done about it. I admire Collin's tough little happy spirit.

5. Ben is coming into his own as a little person. I loved spending time with him one on one this week. Even though he can be super hyper and exhausting, he is really a funny little boy, and so creative. I am proud of the way he is growing up...and especially how much he loves his little brother and wants to take care of him.

6. Earle sent me flowers yesterday before he got back and arranged for me to have a Manicure/Pedicure today!! It made me feel special!! Thank you and I love you Earle!

Have a great weekend!

CB

Race for The Cure

This weekend, was Earle's 35th Birthday! We had a busy but great weekend together as a family. On Saturday, we got up early and had a yard sale to prepare for our move. The weather was beautiful! We were able to get rid of quite a few things that cannot make the move with us. Then Saturday evening we went out for pizza. After that we took Ben to Wal-mart because he was sad on Saturday morning that we were selling his toys:(:( I know, it sounds horrible, but we actually let him help pick what to keep. We let him use his money from the yard sale, and he got a new bike and helmet to take with us...so all was good. Then we came home and had birthday cake and ice cream to celebrate Earle's birthday. On Sunday, we did Race For the Cure. I had done this race before (walking it of course) but this year it had deeper meaning to us. Earle and the boys wanted to come too to support, Brenda Brown (a.k.a Mops) Earle's mom who has battled breast cancer this year. Luckily, we got to race in Celebration of her. She is doing great, chemo treatments are almost over and she has been a real trooper! We admire her positive spirit through this whole ordeal! We love you MOPS!!!

In Celebration of : MY MOM...the sign says on his back:)
My friend Michelle Carlson and her kiddos that went as well!

We let Ben out of his stroller on the last mile and the Race turned into a temporary "Chase", partially because Ben thinks in a race, you run as fast as you can...and I guess you can do that! Luckily his daddy caught him!
I took this picture this afternoon..and yes, we were all this exhausted! Too cute!

I heart your blog!

Well, today was my lucky day! Two of my friends, Rachel Wells, and Amy Hadfield tag nominated my blog with the I heart your Blog award. Thank you so much! That was way sweet ladies!!

As a recipient of this award, there are rules to follow. I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to ten others! The questions are as follows:

1. Where is your cell phone? car
2. Where is your significant other? Couch
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? Cindy Owen
5. Your father? Dan R. Owen
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? Don't remember
8. Your dream/goal? Heaven
9. The room you're in? Dining room
10. Your hobby? Music, Blogging, Socializing:)
11. Your fear? Something terrible happening to my kids.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Wherever God leads me.
13. Where were you last night? N'Tini's with Earle
14. What you're not? introverted
15. One of your wish-list items? To pay off our mortgage
16. Where you grew up? Paducah, KY
17. The last thing you did? Went for pizza with the boys
18. What are you wearing? Clothes
19. Your TV? Big
20. Your pet? 2 dogs
21. Your computer? HP
22. Your mood? Content
23. Missing someone? Sometimes
24. Your car? Toyota Sienna
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Travelling!
28. Love someone? Of Course
29. Your favorite color? Bright Blues and Greens
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Maybe last week? Not too often.


Okay, here are my 10ish nominees:

Jeni Shephard
Stephanie Schwieter
Rochelle Waddill
Janell Bunt
April Travis
April Flasschoen
Erin Lonard
Lindsay Slate
Deborah Chapman
Kathryn Hamilton
Betsy Coggin

**So I broke a couple small rules...oh well!
:) CB

Just felt like sharing a recipe!!!

Yesterday, I decided to see what ingredients I could round up to make a soup after watching a 30 minute meal on the Food Network...I soooo felt like Sandi for the day!!:) You should check out her blog, because she always has great recipes and menus on there...Anyway, it turned out great...and my boys really liked it. Even Ben was persuaded to eat some:

Pantry/Freezer Soup

2 frozen chicken breasts...boiled in about 6 cups of water or so
2 beef bouillon cubes
1lb. Smoked Andoulle Sausage
1 1/2 to 2 cups pureed carrots
1 cup of pureed butternut squash
Approx a cup of either frozen spinach or canned greens(I used the greens, I think Earle may have preferred the spinach)
1 mostly used and opened bag of frozen chopped onions.
1 can of diced potatoes
Approx 2 cups of egg noodles, or any small noodles
1 bag of Italian dressing seasonings
*Garlic Powder, Chicken seasoning to taste...I also used some Tony Sacherez, but I added it to my own for the boys sake..and cracked black peppercorns...careful on the salt until you are almost done because of the sausage:)

How to combine it:
Put your frozen chicken breasts in the 6(or so) cups of water with the 2 beef bouillon cubes.
Thaw and cut up the sausage into small bits, however small you like and brown it in a pan. You can drain it if you like..While browning the sausage, stir in onions, when it is all brown and nice, pull out your poached chicken, cut it into bitesized pieces and throw it in there with the sausage mixture..mmm..it should be smelling great by now! Mix in your pureed veggies while you use you broth from boiling your chicken to start slowly adding to make the soup.(I used this because I had no broth) Add a little more than you think necessary, because later you have to add the noodles. Stir in the potatoes and the frozen green spinach or greens and add about half of the Italian seasoning mix. Keep checking for the taste on that one. Mix in your seasonings..and I added 2 packets of Sweet-N-Low...just because I always like a little sweet to balance things out. Simmer for as long as you like, stirring occasionally...then add your noodles about 20 minutes before you are ready to eat. It seems complicated, but it was really easy!! Serve with some toasty bread..and enjoy!!
CB

What have we been up to????

Last weekend we went to Kilgore Texas to spend some time with Earle's parents and siblings.



We had a great time, and as you can see, Ben was excited to get a new costume from his Aunt Elice...just what he wanted!!
Ben got to spend the whole time playing with his step-cousins...especially Allison, who he has not stopped talking about!!

Yes, Elice, he is still wearing the costume....but this was at a costume party last weekend here at our friend's the Carlson's...Both boys had a great time. At the end of the night, Ben was running in the dark outside with the Batman mask on and busted his head on the Carlson's deck railing....he is fine, there was a little drama, it is swollen, and there was blood...but in the end, he wanted the mask right back on!

Collin, was Spider-man...I thought that the hat and eyes would come right off, but he insisted on keeping them on for most of the night. I think he wanted to be like the big boys!

As for Canada, we have been busy applying for passports...talking with Condo owners and preschools...and waiting on the Human Resource Dept...to get things moving with all of our paperwork. We found out last week that Earle has been cleared to start working there on November 1st....which is a little earlier that what we had thought..so he will have to go and I will have to stay until we can get everything scheduled for our move. Circumstances have changed, and now we are very grateful that we all get to fly, our cars are going to be shipped and they will also ship a container for us with anything we need to bring for our house. We have most likely found a nice furnished condo to stay in. We have talked to the owner and he is happy to have us...we just have to wait on our paperwork before it is all said and done! I have met a friend, another american X-Pat, through blogs...which I am so greatful for! She has helped me and answered many questions!! Thanks Erin! And thanks Kathryn for connecting us! So it is nice to know that I will have a christian friend there in Calgary! God is good!!

Even our dogs had to have pictures sent to the Canadian condo place to make sure they were approved to live there....they were accepted!

Here are some pics of the boy's passports. I thought they were too cute...sorry for the quality, but it is hard to take a picture of a passport!

So anyway, November is truly right around the corner! We will keep you posted as we find out more!

CB

Sneaky Boy!

Mom---Thank you for the Monster Mash card that you sent to Ben! He loved it and of course did not want Collin bothering it! Ben was in the living room and I kept hearing the "Monster Mash" playing from the playroom. I looked in and caught Collin sneaking the card from his brother! He really liked playing it over and over!

Best Buds...

Watching t.v. together.... Sitting on the window sill...
Cracking up....
Ben, making Collin smile....

I have snapped a few pics of the boys lately that I think are too cute. You always wonder...will they love each other this much when they are older? Ben says that Collin is his best buddy. I am not so sure what Collin would say if he could tell us...but he really likes his brother too. They love to play together, even though they annoy each other. Every morning, Collin calls out, "Beh, Beh," so that Ben will come up and see him. As soon as Ben walks in the room, Collin squeals with glee. Collin is still a little small to be able to play quite as big boy as Ben might like, but if Collin sees Ben lying on the floor, he piles on top of him to wrestle. This makes me nervous, but Ben is really pretty gentle with him. It makes me so happy to see that they love each other! They love playing together and cracking each other up. Ben thinks that everything Collin does is hilarious. They way Collin waddle walks, when he dances, when he jibber jabbers and when he cracks up laughing, Ben thinks it is all so funny. Anyway, just thought I would share. They constantly play monkey see, monkey do...it is a good age! I hope they are always best buddies.:)

CB

A Lesson for Ben about Motorcycles!

A few months ago, Ben started asking me about motorcycles. He thought they looked awesome, every motorcycle in the parking lot that he saw caught his eye and he decided that one day he really thought he would like one for himself. You know, the total guy testosterone thing! This is how our conversations would go when he saw a motorcycle....

Ben: Mom, look at that MOTORCYCLE!

Me: Yes, Ben, cool.:(

Ben: Mom, I really want a motorcycle.

Me: No.

Ben: Why not mommy?

Me: Because they are dangerous and your not old enough to have one.

Ben: When will I be big enough?

Me: When you are older like daddy.

Ben: How will I know I am older?

Me: I am not sure, you will just know.

Ben: I think it will be when I get hair under my arms like my daddy.

Me: (Laughing) You know, that is a good sign that you will be getting closer to being big!



So anyway, this past Saturday, we were driving over to a local park to let the boys play. We drove under I-12 and we were stopping at the light. There was a motorcycle right in front of us turning onto the interstate. The motorcycle, clipped the truck in front of him, started to spin and right in front of Earle, Ben and me watching, he crashed. Literally like 10ft from our car or less. Earle and I were sort of freaking out like," Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! " He fell and the motorcycle fell on top of him and things flew off of the motorcycle. Ben saw the whole thing. Luckily, the guy seemed to be okay and was not hurt too badly. The emergency vehicles arrived and it was pretty intense.

This is how our motorcycle conversation went after that:

Me: Ben do you think you want a motorcycle when you get big?

Ben: No, mommy, I think I want a blue truck, or maybe a red one!

Me(ecstatic about this decision): Oh, that sounds great Ben!

Earle(disappointed): Really Ben, you don't want to ride motorcycles together someday?

Ben: No, daddy, because I will fall and bust my head off!


My hope...maybe this one will stick!! Have a great rest of the week!
CB