Well, we made it! We ended up staying in Oregon until Wednesday of last week...as it turned out, Nolan did have roseola. Once the fever was gone (after 3 and a half days of it), the rash came and he started to feel better. So we booked our flight and headed home. I have to say, it was the easiest travel day we have ever had. The kids did great, there were no delays and the Lord was clearly "going before us" each step of the way. We got home late Wednesday night, so I let Lauren skip the school day Thursday to get adjusted to the time change and get caught up on her sleep. We did lots of grocery shopping and laundry that day and the kids had a great time re-discovering all their old toys.
Lauren returned to school on Friday after missing almost the whole week - her teacher and friends were very happy to have her back and I think she was glad to get back into her schedule too. (Although we are having to do lots of make-up homework this weekend, which she isn't so fond of.) As much as we already miss our families, it is good to be home and to get back to our normal routine. We will have the house ready for showings again on Monday and with two large companies moving their headquarters to Charlotte (Husqvarna and Electrolux), we are hopeful that our house will sell by or before the spring.
The last update I have is that my hernia, we believe, has healed itself. I have no pain there anymore and can't feel the protrusion that I used to. I am still taking precautions and easing back into my workouts, but I did cancel my surgery and we are praying it won't be needed. God is good!!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
More Pictures
Playing with Papa
The Smith Family clan
Goofing around with Papa
Playing Monopoly with Papa
The cousins playing "Rock Band"
Dishes & girl talk with Grandma
Lauren's snowman
Nolan & his cars (yes, he's in my mom's bathtub...he rolled all his cars in there and then climbed in)
Playing with the amazing nativity scene puzzle my dad made for the kids
Showing off the cheerleading outfit she got for "Emily"
Reading books with Uncle Robbie
A Christmas morning hug for Grandma
Nolan & Brennan - best buds
Our Little Lady
Inside the fort with Lauren
Going out to feed the cows with Papa
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Slight Change of Plans
Well, we were supposed to have left this morning to fly back to North Carolina...but the Lord intervened on our behalf. Yesterday, I was shopping with my sister-in-law when I got an automated phone call from our airline saying that our flight was canceled "due to lack of flight crew available". I thought it was just a fluke and it would get rescheduled for later in the day...but when Ryan called them to get details, they said we wouldn't be leaving until Sunday at 11:30am (which would put us home LATE at night and Lauren had school the next day). So, when Ryan called me back on my cell phone and told me this, I thought to myself, "the Lord must have a good reason." Little did I know...
Ryan had put Nolan down for his nap that day at 1:00 and by 5:30, he was still sleeping. Now, you must understand that is SO not my son. He has never been my good napper, so I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, when Ryan went to wake him up a little before 6:00, he was burning up with a 102 fever. I immediately thought it was an ear infection because he'd been diagnosed with one right before Christmas and was on antibiotics for 5 days. I assumed that it didn't completely clear up or possibly had gone to the other ear. So, this was why the Lord orchestrated the cancellation of our flight!
Long story short, the fever has continued for Nolan - it comes and goes throughout the day and he has no other symptoms. We took him in to see our old Pediatrician here in town and his ears were fine. They tested him for strep throat and that was negative too. So, the consensus is that it's some sort of virus (possibly roseola or maybe even H1N1) and it just has to run its course. But, we were left having to make the decision whether or not to fly home tomorrow with a feverish and sick baby.
Here is where the Lord stepped in again for us - Ryan called the airline and they said that if we didn't want to take the rescheduled flight on Sunday, they wouldn't charge us the $150 change fee, because it was their fault that the original flight was canceled. So we have 7 days before we have to rebook, which was such an answer to prayer (because the virus hopefully will have run its course by then). Then, when Ryan went online to email Lauren's teacher to say she would be missing at least a day of school, there was a notice saying that this Monday was a teacher workday and there was no school. So, that is one less day of school she will have to miss!
Even in the midst of terrible circumstances, it is so awesome to know that the Lord is taking care of us each step of the way and to see the way He has stepped in and is providing everything we need. We are incredibly grateful to my parents, who I'm sure are anxious to get their house back to themselves, but are so willing to host us and help us through this ordeal regardless of how long it drags out. We are also thankful for Ryan's boss who has been so understanding and is allowing him to work from Oregon this week without using his vacation days.
If you think of it, please say a prayer for Nolan...that this virus will only get better, not worse, and that he will be healthy enough to fly by the end of the week.
Ryan had put Nolan down for his nap that day at 1:00 and by 5:30, he was still sleeping. Now, you must understand that is SO not my son. He has never been my good napper, so I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, when Ryan went to wake him up a little before 6:00, he was burning up with a 102 fever. I immediately thought it was an ear infection because he'd been diagnosed with one right before Christmas and was on antibiotics for 5 days. I assumed that it didn't completely clear up or possibly had gone to the other ear. So, this was why the Lord orchestrated the cancellation of our flight!
Long story short, the fever has continued for Nolan - it comes and goes throughout the day and he has no other symptoms. We took him in to see our old Pediatrician here in town and his ears were fine. They tested him for strep throat and that was negative too. So, the consensus is that it's some sort of virus (possibly roseola or maybe even H1N1) and it just has to run its course. But, we were left having to make the decision whether or not to fly home tomorrow with a feverish and sick baby.
Here is where the Lord stepped in again for us - Ryan called the airline and they said that if we didn't want to take the rescheduled flight on Sunday, they wouldn't charge us the $150 change fee, because it was their fault that the original flight was canceled. So we have 7 days before we have to rebook, which was such an answer to prayer (because the virus hopefully will have run its course by then). Then, when Ryan went online to email Lauren's teacher to say she would be missing at least a day of school, there was a notice saying that this Monday was a teacher workday and there was no school. So, that is one less day of school she will have to miss!
Even in the midst of terrible circumstances, it is so awesome to know that the Lord is taking care of us each step of the way and to see the way He has stepped in and is providing everything we need. We are incredibly grateful to my parents, who I'm sure are anxious to get their house back to themselves, but are so willing to host us and help us through this ordeal regardless of how long it drags out. We are also thankful for Ryan's boss who has been so understanding and is allowing him to work from Oregon this week without using his vacation days.
If you think of it, please say a prayer for Nolan...that this virus will only get better, not worse, and that he will be healthy enough to fly by the end of the week.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Christmas Vacation
We have been having the best time with our families in Oregon! We got about 3 inches of snow yesterday and they are forecasting more for today and tomorrow. We have been taking a TON of pictures, but here are just a few of my side of the family from our get-together before Christmas...
The whole clan
My sister's family
My brother's family
Don't ask me why I'm making a weird face
Nolan and Zachary (my sister's youngest)
Lauren & Nolan on my dad's bear footstool
The whole clan
My sister's family
My brother's family
Don't ask me why I'm making a weird face
Nolan and Zachary (my sister's youngest)
Lauren & Nolan on my dad's bear footstool
Saturday, December 12, 2009
December Festivities
Well, this is probably going to be my last post for a while because we leave in less than a week to go to Oregon for our Christmas vacation! We are all so excited and can't wait to see our families! It has been a busy couple of weeks since we got back from St. Louis...Last weekend, we took the kids to a town called McAdenville (about a 35 minute drive from here), which is also called "Christmastown". It is the cutest little town and they light everything up for Christmas. It was so fun to drive through and look at all the lights - they had signs that said "Happy Birthday Jesus" and the Baptist church in the middle of town had their church bells ringing to "O Come All Ye Faithful". It's moments like that where we just appreciate living in the South...you would never see any of that in liberal Oregon!! :) The kids loved it, especially Nolan who said "cool" for the first time.
Also last Wednesday, Nolan and I went to Lauren's chapel at school because she had her first speaking part! Her kindergarten class was reenacting the story from Luke about Jesus and the 10 lepers. Lauren was cast as Jesus, so it was a big deal. I asked her if she wanted to rehearse her lines and she said "Mommy, I already know my lines." And she proceeded to rattle them off to me in perfect form. She has obviously inherited my photographic memory! She did a great job and we got the whole thing on video...it was really cute because she tried to make her voice sound deep, like a man's!
This weekend, we celebrated Ryan's and Lauren's birthdays! We started off the fun yesterday by making homemade waffles (Ryan's favorite), bacon and orange juice for breakfast. Then, we had him open all his presents. I spent the rest of the morning baking the Cherry Chip cake that he and Lauren requested. And we had lots of great family time.
Lauren was surprised on her birthday (Sunday) with a breakfast in bed of cinnamon rolls, fruit and orange juice and we let her open her "big" present before church - my sister got her an American Girl doll. She was beyond thrilled...our eardrums are still recovering from the scream that she let out when she unwrapped it and caught sight of her doll. :) She was able to open the rest of her presents when we got home from church, but the doll (now named Emily) is still her favorite!
Also last Wednesday, Nolan and I went to Lauren's chapel at school because she had her first speaking part! Her kindergarten class was reenacting the story from Luke about Jesus and the 10 lepers. Lauren was cast as Jesus, so it was a big deal. I asked her if she wanted to rehearse her lines and she said "Mommy, I already know my lines." And she proceeded to rattle them off to me in perfect form. She has obviously inherited my photographic memory! She did a great job and we got the whole thing on video...it was really cute because she tried to make her voice sound deep, like a man's!
This weekend, we celebrated Ryan's and Lauren's birthdays! We started off the fun yesterday by making homemade waffles (Ryan's favorite), bacon and orange juice for breakfast. Then, we had him open all his presents. I spent the rest of the morning baking the Cherry Chip cake that he and Lauren requested. And we had lots of great family time.
Lauren was surprised on her birthday (Sunday) with a breakfast in bed of cinnamon rolls, fruit and orange juice and we let her open her "big" present before church - my sister got her an American Girl doll. She was beyond thrilled...our eardrums are still recovering from the scream that she let out when she unwrapped it and caught sight of her doll. :) She was able to open the rest of her presents when we got home from church, but the doll (now named Emily) is still her favorite!
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