Who needs sleep?

This week has flown by in a whirlwind of school meetings, work commitments, and personal chores, yet it has crawled by at the same time.  Lack of sleep, new routines, and the "second week of school" slump are to blame.  This week, I had a to-do list a mile long for myself and Dream Weaver Prints, as well as projects at work, and errands that never seemed to end!  It's finally Friday, but I still feel like I need 2 more days of "work week" to get it all done!  And it doesn't stop!  New after school activities start the next couple of weeks for everyone...

This week, we've had something ALMOST every night.  Lots of late night dinners, baths, and bedtimes.  Sure messes us up after JUST getting back on track.  I'm not sure when Jake had a shower last...

Tuesday night was Open House for the 6th grade families at the middle school.  We got to meet their elective class teachers, get a presentation from the administration, and then meet with their team teachers.  It was all very educational to me as a first time middle school parent, but it was also a bit overwhelming!  I learned that I have to sign stuff.  A lot.  I'm bad about --  in the hustle and bustle --  I kinda sign things by rote - not really knowing what I am signing.  I think my middle school lesson is to try harder at paying attention to paperwork.  Other than that, the girls are still liking it (even though a schedule change for Emma threw a small wrench in her week), and I think they are going to do very well there!

Wednesday night, activities started back up at our church.  We have SO missed our LifeGroup over the summer!  THRILLED to be back in the fold.  So, that means it was Emma and Lara's first night in Switch - the Youth ministry program.  I didn't have to check them in.  They didn't need name tags.  They just walked into the lobby, all made-up and perfumed again, and starting hanging out with the "big" kids.  So Weird.  And Jake is in Konnect+.  Again, while I did have to get him a name tag, he just took off for class.  No need for mom.  So glad I still had Finn to check into a room!  But, shockingly, he didn't even cry when I handed him off to one of our AWESOME Little LifeKids volunteers.  They are GROWING UP TO FAST!  All of them!  So thankful for LifeChurch and all they do to minister to and grow my kids in Christ!  And, thankful the kids get that, while I get fellowship with my AWESOME LifeGroup!

Thursday, not wanting to feel left out, had to have something, too.  Curriculum night in Jake's first grade class at the elementary school.  I think I may bee too old (or too cynical?) for these.  I was one of the "older" parents in the room, and I felt a lot of deja vu while there.  Haven't I done first grade before?  Like, 5 years ago?  And, some of the "young" parents questions and comments... Well, annoyed me a bit. LOL!  But, I really REALLY like is teacher and I am glad I went to represent our family.  Jake is going to have a great first grade year!

Have I mentioned Finn doesn't get enough to eat on pre-school days?  Yeah, he doesn't.  That makes for kinda cranky evenings.  And 3am HUNGRY wake-up calls.  I have tried to explain that he needs his milk and he NEEDS to eat (all 20 pounds of him!), but I know they are on a schedule and such.  So, Britt, my AMAZING husband, gets up with him at 3am and feeds him.  While watching Daniel Boone on ME TV.  Thankful he lets me try to sleep.  We will get through this, right?

So, the adjustment period is still in full swing.  Next week, dance for Lara and fall volleyball for Emma start.  Closely followed by Flag Football for Jake.  I had the others in gymnastics at this age, so I am contemplating that for Finn as well.  We'll see...

In the meantime, we are 29 days from Stillwater March for Babies.   I am happy to announcer that Team Finn's Fans is a little over 1/2 way to their goal!  T-shirt sales CLOSE NEXT FRIDAY! If you want to order a T-shirt or need more info, be sure and check out THIS POST for all the details.  Also, be watching next week as I start "26 Days for March of Dimes" here on the blog.  In honor of Finn's arrival at 26 weeks gestation, I will be posting each day with facts, stories, and other fun things about or from the March of Dimes for the last 26 days leading up to the March!  Hope you tune in!

Finn Firsts: Haircut (and STEPS!)

Yesterday was full for FIRSTS for our Finn!  The first first was his first haircut!  In the middle of the afternoon, I met Nana the Wonder Sitter at Shine Salon for my friend (and Jake’s friend and teammate’s Mom) Mika to work her magic on Finn.  I remember for Jake’s first haircut Britt insisted I take him to a barber (for men).  Somehow, I got to side step that requirement this time around.  Maybe because Finn is SO WIGGLY and we knew Mika would take good care of him no matter how crazy he got!  And don’t be mistaken - he was VERY wiggly!  But, he did a good job of trying to cooperate while sitting my lap, and Mika worked wonders snipping off the crazy parts and shaping up the unruly parts.  He looked so handsome (if not a bit concerned about the whole process) when we were finished!  So proud of him!

CLICK on picture for full size version!

 I think all the excitement wore him out, so he took a strange little after work/before dinner nap - which left us trying to decide what to do about church for the kids and LifeGroup for us.  In the end, we decided to go - and I think it was a blessing that we did!  The big kids OF COURSE had fun in their classes - Jake just started Konnect when he turned 6 a few weeks ago, and Emma & Lara always have a blast and come out of Roots all fired up with funny stories to tell!  And while Britt and I love spending time with our LTC LifeGroup, tonight we got a wonderful surprise!  Due to Finn still having lingering respiratory issues, and our church kids area being under construction with dry wall dust, paint fumes and carpet glue residue everywhere, we decided it best for him to stay with us and go to the home we meet in.  They have 2 little boys, so we knew Finn would find something to do!  We also had just a few people from our group in attendance, so it was a small audience.  I guess it was just the right size for Finn to show off for.  He has been standing unassisted for a couple of weeks, and he "tries" to take steps, but really just stumbles and falls face first.  But not at LifeGroup!  He took TWO FULL steps, stopped, then sat down!  Everyone who saw it cheered and clapped, and the look of accomplishment on Finn's face was priceless!  Later at home we were encouraging him to do more, and he took SIX steps between Dad's recliner and the couch I was sitting on!  YAY FINN!  I hope to get video of soon of some of his first few steps!

Getting Back Together

It’s halfway through November, and as I sit here listening to the 80’s Christmas Playlist on Spotify (Hall & Oats, New Kids on The Block, Air Supply, RUN DMC, etc.), memories of my first Thanksgiving dinner of the season last night with my LTC LifeGroup still fresh on my mind, I realize I have so VERY much to be thankful for, and this year is going by at WARP SPEED!  How can Jake be almost 6?  And when did Finn get to be so independent in into EVEYTHING?  My girls? Forgetaboutit!  So grown up and more beautiful every day!  WOW!  And, um, 39 days till Christmas?  WHAT????

Well, we have been a little busy at our house.  Life with 4 kids is never, EVER dull.  Like, ever.  Since October 12, we have had 1 ER visit, 5 Urgent Care visits, 4 sick (and 1 well!) visits to the pediatrician, and I have filled 9 prescriptions (not counting the daily meds Emma and I take). That's a LOT of co-pays! We're broke. And tired.  I can say I think we are on the downhill slide.  We are down to 2 still on Rx medication.  One will be done this weekend, and the other by Turkey Day.  We actually got a full nights sleep (!) last night.  Things are looking up!

Besides all that, here are some tidbits about what ELSE has kept the Six Dream Weavers hopping:

The kids’ book fair at their school as last week.  On Thursday night, they had family fun night with pizza and singing.  Each grade, plus the Rocketeers honor choir, got to perform on stage.  Here is a video of my kids and parts of their performances.  My camera ran out of memory, so the end is kind of choppy!

Britt and I chaperoned a sorority date party Friday night.  In a barn.  With a dirt floor.  And a Rubbermaid table posing as a bar.  And a DJ whose speakers blew before the party even started.  And a port-a-potty.  There was a cattle dog, horses, and a very friendly cat (yuck!) among us.  Yeah.  I’m not kidding.  Here are my tweets:

It was something I will never, ever forget.  Like, ever.  (You see what I’m doing here, Taylor Swift?) I felt so dirty when I got home…  Ahhhh, memories!

Fixed a problem with advice from this Pin on Pinterest.    Finn has become a woodchuck.  This shows how I repurposed his crib skirt that we are no longer using since we lowered the mattress:

Had a bad experience at the eye doctor.  Vented about it on Facebook.  Feel better, but still have no contacts…

Today, I attend my last Ambassador training class at OSU.  Thank goodness!  2 years in the making.  Ready for a break!

Saturday is World Prematurity Day.  Many people don’t realize the statistics of preterm birth: 15 million babies are born preterm around the world every year—that’s 1 in 10. More than 1 million babies die due to complications of preterm birth and many of those who survive face a lifetime of disability. Our family will be participating in this:

                        We invite you to join us! 

Monday Night Date Night

Britt and I are going through the Family ID workshop with some other couples from our LifeGroup, and part of our homework this week was to go on a date night.  And to make sure it happened for everyone, our leaders had us do a “babysitting exchange” before we left group Sunday night.  That way, everyone got a chance to go out, everyone got free babysitting, AND it was already on the calendar! NO EXCUSES!  NO BACKING OUT!  So, last night, we packed up our 4 kids and took them to another family’s home while we went out on our date for a “Private Drive In” experience.

I am pretty proud of my creative date night idea, which really turned out to be a lot of fun!  We don’t have money to spend on a date night like a dinner and a movie right now, but we also knew just going to our house to watch a rented movie would mean we would get engrossed in our phones or laptops or tablets, get up 100 times to do this or that, and generally be distracted by our surroundings.  So, I came up with a fun little (cheap) idea for a date night – a “Private Drive In.”  I rented a movie from Red Box, grabbed my laptop, told my husband to pick a to go dinner for us to eat, and we set out for our adventure. While trying to decide the perfect spot to watch our movie as it was super-hot outside (103 hot!), we decided we needed a place with some built in shade.   After a Sonic stop, we decided the best place to have our drive in move was on a middle level of a parking garage on campus.  That way it would be shaded enough to see the screen, and hopefully a little cooler!  We found a good spot where the sun wasn’t going to obstruct our view on the highest covered level of the structure, parked, put the movie in, and dove in to our food. About 1/3 of the way through our movie, the REAL entertainment for the night began…

We had finished eating, the story was well under way (we were watching Joyful Noise), and we were having a very nice time.  When, we heard some very loud rumbling from behind us.  Earlier in the evening, we had seen 2 pick-ups loaded with “stuff” in the back head up to the top level of the garage.  I had wondered what they were up to – even thought it might be a cookout.  But, we were about to find out just who and what they were doing.  As the rumbling got louder, we were both turning our heads trying to see what it was and where it was coming from.  When they came into view coming down the ramp from the top level of the garage…  6 – 8 of them…  College Students…  On various wheeled apparatuses… Dressed in full costumes from Mario Brothers!  It was truly a sight to behold!  Mario and Luigi were in rolling office chairs.  Toad riding the back of a grocery cart.  Princess Peach – in a full length pink tutu - on a small red Radio Flyer tricycle.  Donkey Kong (in a full gorilla costume with a neck tie.  In this 103 degree heat!) in a yellow garden cart with big wheels.  And Yoshi perched atop a Little Tykes Cozy Coupe car!  They even had a red box with a question mark painted on it that they were aiming for!  The first time we were simply shocked and amused.  We watched them push their carts back up the parking garage ramp, and ready themselves to do it again.  The second time, we really laughed with them – this was hilarious!  Somewhere around the 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th trip down, we got out our phones to film it and a camera to take pictures.  We were trying to remain a bit inconspicuous, although they probably didn’t care one way or the other if we documented it!  One girl’s sole job was to capture it all on film!  So, here is what we got:

We retold the story when we went back to our friends’ house to pick up our children.  The wife said, “This kind of thing would only happen to you guys!”  So true!  If you are scouring youtube and come across more footage, please be sure to share it with us.  We had a blast living vicariously through them, and it made for a date night we will never forget!  And, we will probably try the private drive in thing again.  It worked out really well – once Mario and his friends quit rumbling down the ramp! And aside from the noise pigeons who call the garage home…

Later in the week we take on all the other kids from the group in our home so the other couples can get a date night in.  We think we’ll have about 13 kids in our house.  Should be LOUD!

Edited to add: I made a follow up post - WITH VIDEO PROOF!

Sum- Sum- Summertime!

Here we are – 2^nd week of June and summer is well under way!  And, it has been over 2 weeks since I sat down to write and update my little corner of the world.  Can you say, BUSY?  That’s what’s been going on in the World of Weavers!  Getting out of school for the summer means getting in to a new routine and for us this year, every few days that routine changes since no one is in formal day care/day camp this summer.  It has proven to be a bit overwhelming at times, and a huge logistics puzzle that requires LOTS of communication between the four adult, car owning drivers we have in our family helping out this summer.  So thankful for my Cozi calendar to help keep it all straight and to text reminders to people!  I’ve only had a couple of meltdowns trying to make sure it is all taken care of… ;)

The past couple of weeks have seen lots of excitement and new things at our house!  The weekend after Memorial Day, we had our first “event” at our new house.  We hosted our LifeGroup in our home – kids and all!  There were 4 families there, which included 10 kids ages 10 to 6 months.  It was a loud, crazy, running around the house, up and down the stairs, chaotic mess – and we loved it!  We had ice cream floats for snacks, and it was a HUGE hit!  Followed that up with 3 intense days of dance recital, and by Monday of the following week, I was WORN OUT.  Dance recital, as always, was a blast.  Lara was in 2 dances – ballet and jazz, while Emma was in one (ballet).  They both did a GREAT job, and I know they had a wonderful time.  (If you are a die-hard dance fan, you can check out the rehearsal pieces on my youtube channel!)  They both enjoy it, and I just love seeing all the costumes, the music, the production!  *sigh* Reminds me of my dancing days years ago…

Speaking of our summer schedule, it has all of the kids involved in LOTS of things to try to keep them busy, and to try to keep my mom (Nana) sane!  We are trying to break the kids up as much as possible, so she only has all four for short periods of time.  She reminds me ALL THE TIME how old she is, and how she’s not a spring chicken anymore, and how she’s already raised her kids! LOL!  Gotta love the Grandma-isms!  But, she is doing a GREAT job – the kids are having a wonderful summer.  The girls have small rolls in an Operetta that will be performed next month, and they rehearse for that formally once a week, and then work on their parts at home as well.  This week, they are also in a morning day camp through the Sierra Nature Club – they have done this for several years now and absolutely LOVE Nature Camp!  We have Jake set up one day a week to go to a friend’s house to hang out with him and his babysitter, too.  He has had fun adventures with this so far – including a trip to the StillwaterPublic Library this week to see the Mad Scientist – which he won’t stop talking about!  It’s a great change of scenery for Jake, and I know his friend is happy having a playmate once in a while, too!  Lara has also started a dance camp this week in the evenings to hone her skills over the summer, and she is LOVING it so far!  She woke up tired and sore, so I know it was good for her!  LOL!  Add to all that T-ball games (which we have several make ups this week due to rain outs), several appointments of various types for Finn and for me (my back is acting up again), a trip to Enid to celebrate a (very) belated Mother’s Day with my mother-in-law, and we are meeting ourselves coming and going!

Coasters I made my Mother and Mother-In-Law for Mother's day.  Instructions: http://leelala.net/2011/02/diy-tile-coasters/

Did I mention I am back in the A Dee Pi saddle again, too?  Yeah, I can’t stay away too long!  Shout out to my AMAZING husband and the best Daddy in the land as he was single daddy of 4 for almost 24 hours straight as I attended back to back to back summer meetings for my position last Friday evening and almost all day Saturday!  I got the call and accepted a new position within our structure a few weeks ago, so I have a lot to learn again.  Feels good to be back on the board (well, 2 board this time, but I digress…), and back to interacting with our collegiate members.  They keep me young.  And active.  The last event I was involved with last year was Bid Day in mid-August before I was put on strict bed rest – almost a year ago now.  And our meetings this past weekend were all about finalizing plans for Spirit Week, Formal Recruitment and Bid Day.  WHEW!  I can’t wait to see how it all turns out in just a few short weeks!

And for all you Finn Fans out there, here is an update on him as well!  He is by far my smiliest baby – and it shows in all the pictures we take of him!  But, we have not gotten any real belly laughs out of him, yet.  I can’t wait to hear that sound!

But, he has allergies.  Welcome to living in Oklahoma, little buddy!  We took him to the doctor to rule out a cold or any respiratory issues, and allergies are probably what are causing his congestion.  We have added a Vicks steamer to his room (Jake’s too – he’s breathing GREAT!) at night to help with the congestion, and it seems to be working well.  The nights we (OK, *I*) forget to turn in on you can really tell it the next morning.  Despite not being able to breathe, Finn has grown like a WEED lately.  He is still in size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothing, but he suddenly looks so BIG.  His head has gotten bigger for sure – there are a couple of T-shirts that don’t have the envelope sleeves or snaps on the shoulders that are HARD to get over his noggin!  And his feet are finally growing!!!  His cute little newborn crocheted slippers he got right before Easter were big then, and they are just now getting too small.  But, the size “0” baby shoes at Target and Wal-Mart are still just huge…  I figure another 2 weeks and we’ll have to break out the 6-9 month clothing…  Along with all this growing, he is getting better at sitting unassisted (still in a “tri-pod” pose), and we know he can roll from tummy to back (although we rarely see it), so we offered him some cereal for the first time last week!  Here are some pictures/video of how that went down:

 

 

Not bad for a first try!  He’s still not an expert, and it may be a little early yet.  Our pediatrician recommended he be 6 months adjusted age (which would be July 5), but he has been very interested in watching us eat, reached for our food, and got a hold of some applesauce from Jake a few days back and was able to get that in his mouth without thrusting it out with his tongue, so we decided to try.  I also just read that the “old” school of thought was to offer rice cereal first and let them get good with that before moving on to vegetables, THEN fruit – saving meat for later - has been replaced with a more “feed them whatever, whenever” school of thought.  I’m not too sure how I feel about that! I’ve been feeding babies that way for over 10 years!  LOL!  Plus, we have this whole box of rice cereal to get through…  Anyway – we’ll stick with rice cereal once a day for now, then maybe I’ll get adventurous with some fruits and veggies (not sure in what order, though…)

Father’s day is this weekend, and I am looking forward to honoring my amazing husband and my hardworking dad.  I don’t have any cute Pinterest projects to produce for them.  My dad is next to impossible to buy for, so he will probably get cards from the kids and I.  But my husband, I have the perfect (in my mind – this has turned disastrous for me in the past.  Apparently, I am not a great gift giver when it comes to my husband) idea in mind for Britt.  I can’t wait to take the kids shopping Saturday morning (nothing like the last minute!  It’s hard for a working mom to get things done…)!  I hope he likes it!  And Honey, if you’re reading this, just fake it if not, OK?  ;)

Half a Year

Dear Finn,

In the hustle and bustle of a family of six, you turned six months old a few days ago.  Last Thursday, to be exact!  Your Daddy was home that day with you, and we were still trying to get your child care situation worked out since I went back to work.  (Not really BACK to work so much as I got a new job, but I am not home with you all the time now – I sure miss it!)  I have a silly tradition of taking my kid’s pictures on the monthly recurrence of the date they were born.  I did it with your older twin sisters, with Jake, and with you.  Those first few pictures are some of the most precious pictures I have ever taken, and I hope as a family we always remember that time and how far we have come as a family.

As for you, you are a fighter!  And still completely unpredictable!  You eat when you want to, sleep when you want to, and never do the same thing twice!  We have a better pattern going than we did for a while, and you only wake up once in the night, eat, and go right back to sleep, but the days are hit or miss!  You have good, fun, smiley days, and long, hard, crying days.  Still have colic most evenings, and still break my heart when I can’t make you feel better.  In the past few days, you have mastered grabbing at things, and my long hair seems to be the number one target.  We have gotten a few toys in your hands as well, but your muscle control isn’t the best yet, and you often end up banging yourself in the head with things!  ;)  Your doctors, SoonerStart child development specialist, and all the books say you need to do tummy time as often as possible.  That’s all fine and dandy, but you are not so much of a fan!  You still don’t lift your head up off the floor, and you don’t use your arms to help hold yourself up.  You do, however, plant your forehead firmly on the floor, and scoot (right, left, right) with your legs to move yourself forward.  While this is good, we really need you to hold your head up, buddy!  You are getting there, though.  When I hold you up over my head looking down at me, you support your head then, so we know it’s coming.  You also like to sit looking forward some.  Your head still wobbles and bobbles, but you can catch it and correct it yourself!  SUCH a strong boy!

This past weekend was Easter weekend.  You made your big public debut all over the place!  Saturday morning we took family pictures on the OSU campus, then Saturday night we went to Enid to Grandpa Jake and Grandma Mary’s church to see Grandpa sing in the Easter pageant.  You were a bit fussy, so you and I spent the first part outside, but we got to see the 2^nd half of it!  Then on Sunday you went to LifeChurch for the very first time!  You made some people cry, and our campus pastor said seeing you made his whole weekend!  LOTS of people were excited and thrilled to see you and to finally get to meet you!  Seems like we have come full circle since this was also the anniversary of Uncle Brian’s death.  That’s the event that started this whole roller coaster ride.  Seems fitting somehow…

On Monday, our SoonerStart worker came and played with you, you helped me take Stella to the vet, then we had another GREAT appointment with your pediatrician!  You weighed in at 12 pounds 4 ounces and were 24 inches long.  Good Growing, Little Man!  She also released you from all your tethers!  No more monitor – even at night!  That was the last thing we were waiting on.  Now, I am sad to tell you we still have a surgery coming up to take care of your hernia, but we’ll worry about that when the time comes.  For now, just rejoice with us that you are a FREE BABY!  I love being able to pick you up in the morning and snuggle you and catch your first smiles of the day without tripping over wires or accidentally setting off the alarms!  Such a great way to start the day!  You got 2 shots and one oral vaccine, and you woke up Tuesday morning with a bit of a fever, but one dose of fever reducer and you were good for the rest of the day - even made it to pick up Lara from dance to go to Emma's volleyball practice where we ended up talking March of Dimes with 3 other preemie parents.  Such a trooper!

Tuesday was a day of resting, because on Wednesday, you had ANOTHER big adventure!  Daddy and I both had half a day off work to take you back down to see our friends at Mercy.   

But this time, there was a camera crew there to see you, too!  We had been asked by the Oklahoma Blood Institute people to tell your story on camera to help promote the Mathis Brothers Furniture / KOCO Channel 5 blood drive that is happening this coming weekend.  You did SO GOOD!  You fell asleep while Daddy and I were talking to the camera, but you sure are sweet when you are sleeping, so the camera loved you like that!  We got to visit with a few of our favorite Mercy staff members as well, so it was a GREAT trip!  We got the word later that afternoon that the piece would air on television THAT NIGHT!  It was fun calling, texting and posting to facebook for everyone to tune in or set their DVR’s!  Unfortunately, the DVR at our house didn’t record for some reason!  We got home from t-ball practice for Jake and church/LifeGroup for the rest of us, and it wasn’t there.  We got to see it at Nana's house on Thursday, but it wasn't QUITE the same!

So, this past 6 months has definitely been the most eventful 6 months of MY life, and probably yours, too!  I have learned so much, leaned on others so much, and listened to God so much.  Thank you, Finn Ricker Weaver, for being the instrument to teach me those lessons.  I am so lucky to be your Mommy.  Here are the pictures of you on the 5^th of the last 6 months.  You have come so far!  I think we all have.  And we have you to thank for it.  We all love you so much!  Keep getting stronger and stronger and stronger! Love, Mom

Birth - October 5, 2011 - 1 lb 14 oz

1 month - November 5, 2011 - 2 lbs 2 oz

2 months - December 5, 2011 - 4 lbs 6 oz

3 months - January 5, 2012 - 7 lbs

4 months - February 5, 2012 - 9 lbs 6 oz

5 months - March 5, 2012 - 10 lbs 10 oz

6 months - April 5, 2012 - 12 lbs 4 oz

Home... For now

Finn is now 3 weeks old.  He weighs 2 pounds 6 ounces.  He is still under the photo therapy lights, is lightly sedated, and is in the middle of his course of steroids to help his lungs.  The settings on the oscillator go down (or get better) every day, and it sounds like once he is off the steroids and remains stable, they will move him back to the traditional ventilator.  Hopefully early next week, but we have no way of knowing for sure at this point.  He is still on 2 kinds of IV fluid for preemies, lipids for extra fat to help him grow, as well as the steroids, and the pain killer/opiate for sedation.  He is doing really well, we just have to keep the progress going!  He is working hard, and it is showing!

I am actually home for a couple of days.  In my house.  With my husband and the Little Dream Weavers. I will sleep in my own bed for several nights.  What a concept!  Tonight we are attending parent/teacher conferences for the girls, and then tomorrow night is Walkaround for OSU Homecoming.  I am very excited to be able to participate in this tradition.  Then Saturday is the parade, and the football game.  It sounds like right now we will forgo the game so we can go back to the hospital to see Finn, as I am sure my withdrawal with be at an epic proportion at that point.  This is the most time I have been away from him.  I know he is in EXCELLENT hands and won’t even miss me, but it’s sad to think I can’t be there for him.  The flip side is I am HOME with my other babies, and they need me too.

Last weekend was SO MUCH FUN!  I want to thank my LTC LifeGroup and my family for helping to make that happen!  We had such a good time just hanging out with each other, staying in a hotel, going to the hospital whenever we felt like it, eating good food, and even seeing the movie “Courageous.”  We were blessed by the gift of getting all dressed up and going to a fancy restaurant one night, too.  What a treat!  We also watched OSU Cowboy football with great friends, and went to church at LifeChurch Edmond with friends on Sunday morning.  We were both a little sad come Sunday morning when we realized that our little fantasy weekend was coming to an end.

But, it was so worth it to get all of the five dream Weavers under one roof again!  PLUS – there was a little “While You Were Out” makeover that happened for Finn while we were on our “vacation.”  Our dear LifeGroup decorated Finn’s nursery for his homecoming!  He doesn’t get his own room, just the whole north wall of our bedroom with a changing table (that was Emma and Lara’s, then Jake’s), a crib (Jake’s), and a wicker étagère with glass shelves that used to house my television.  They decked it all out with baskets for storage, bedding, a rug, and TONS of supplies – all with a precious owl theme!  It even spilled over to our bed a little bit, too!  Here are some pictures:

Also over the weekend, Britt took two adorable video clips of our littlest Dream Weaver.  I spliced them together and put them on YouTube.  I just called to check on Finn this morning, and his nurse (who has never cared for him before today) just went on and ON about how cute he is!  I know I am a bit partial, but I think he is SUPER cute as well!

I am looking forward to this weekend at home, but I already miss my sweet, finicky boy.  Send up extra prayers for him in my absence!