Completely Puzzled

Tonight after eating out we went to "Targets" to look around. Hannah picked out this really cute 24 piece cow puzzle. I helped her put it together before she went to bed. I had to help with the edge pieces but after that she pretty much put the middle together by herself. I couldn't believe it! She turned each piece the right way and got them together with no problems. My little girl is growing up so fast!!!

Hannah was so proud of herself!!

**That box in the left corner contains a weasel ball and it rolls around everywhere. Bobby bought it for Hannah & Samuel at Cracker Barrel and Hannah thinks it's the best gift ever.**

I'm Thankful For...

My parents.
My parents can drive us crazy but for the most part they're awesome. Recently my dad bought us a load of wood for our wood stove (when my mom noticed we were running low and of course my dad didn't even give us a chance to call and order the wood ourselves!) And then my mom paid $57 for Hannah's flu medicine and wouldn't let me pay her back. So we decided to take them out to eat to show our appreciation. They really are a blessing to us and we love them very very much.

My wonderful Mom & Dad

Mama and Fancy Hannah -- don't you just love her tutu and pink galoshes?

Can you guess where we went for supper?

I think we're going to have to buy Samuel a rocking chair!!

Going to the Eye Doctor because I Have the Flu

As many of you know I recently had eye surgery and this has resulted in many many many follow-up visits to the eye doctor. Hannah & Samuel have come with me on a few of these trips. And you may also know that shortly after my eye surgery Hannah got the flu. My mom didn't realize she had it and kept the kids one evening while we were bowling. Later in the week Hannah got very very sick and I ended up taking her to the emergency room. The doctor was also worried that Hannah might have pneumonia so they did some chest x-rays.

So last night Hannah is sitting on her stool eating a yogurt and she starts telling us about having the flu.

Hannah: "Granny gave me the flu!!" (very indignant)
Heather: "Yeah she did! Did you have to go to the doctor?"
Hannah: "Yeah I had to go to the eye doctor and I didn't like it at all!!"

The Old Man

Samuel apparently thinks that the bubbles in his bathwater looks like foamy white cotton candy. Several times throughout bath time he will get a hand full and attempt to eat them. This often results in his adorable old man beard.

Hannah attempts a beard (but it looks weird...)

Family Hike - Take III

Hannah has been begging forever to go on another hike. I took her & Samuel around the lake at OSP (in the pouring rain mind you) but that just wasn't good enough.
So after Bobby got home from work today we set out for the Chauga River. It's a trail we've been on before but this time I carried Samuel in the backpack and Hannah walked. We continued on a small path to a place were Bobby eventually wants to camp. Unfortunately you have to walk across the Chauga and I wasn't up for that challenge. So Bobby carried Hannah across while Samuel and I sat down to rest. He loved just digging in the dirt and playing with the leaves. I can't imagine a better way to spend the afternoon.

PRK Eye Surgery

Well, as many of you know this past Monday I had PRK (a safer version of Lasik) surgery. Wearing contacts and occasionally glasses while trying to keep up with two kids is a bit of a hassle. Plus swimming was difficult because I didn't want to get water in my eyes but if I didn't wear my contacts I couldn't see anything. So Bobby & I decided it was time to go ahead and have the surgery done. I was so excited!!

I had to wear my glasses for two weeks before the surgery which was fine by me - even though I really really hate wearing my glasses. The day of the procedure we had to be there at 8am and they told us to plan on being there for 3 hours. I went to Dr. Woolfson in Greenville and I seriously recommend him for anyone who is thinking of Lasik. They are very thorough so I knew exactly what to expect during surgery and how to take care of my eyes afterwards. After a few more eye tests and exams I was taken into a room with several recliners. Bobby got to stay with me the whole time (including the whole eye surgery). All of the other patients were eventually brought into the room as well so that some nurse named Todd could give us our kits (complete with eye drops and eye shields for sleeping) and explain post care, etc.... It was so funny because we were all given name tags and then they put bright green dots on our foreheads so that they would know what procedure they were supposed to perform on us. So we're all sitting there with surgical caps on, surgical booties on and bright green dots on our heads. And let me just say that we got awfully tired of hearing Todd's speech each time a new patient was brought in - he was so boring and had absolutely no sense of humor!! Also, every time I turned around he was coming towards me with eye drops. He would push my recliner back with his knee and start squeezing out drops. Cruel and unusual punishment!! Finally Dr. Woolfson came in to talk to the group. We got to ask questions and he explained the whole procedure again. At least he had an accent to make things more interesting and he had a sense of humor, "You don't mess up my work or Dr. Woolfson will kick your ass."

The actual surgery only took about 5 minutes per eye. It was weird having my eye clamped open and not being able to blink even though I felt like I needed to. Dr. Woolfson would suction away any moisture. I could smell my cornea as the laser was working and I could hear the laser clicking. Other than that there was no pain or discomfort. When the nurse came to help me sit up she asked if I could read the clock on the wall and I could! I can see without glasses or contacts!! The rest of the day I was pretty miserable because my eyes were burning really badly. My eyes were constantly watering to the point that it looked like I was crying. The next day I went for my one day check-up and my doctor said that my left eye was already starting to heal but my right eye was coming along a little more slowly. I could read the whole eye chart with my left eye (the largest letters mind you) but only the top two lines with my right eye. And I was cleared to start driving again which I was totally excited about!!

Up until today my right eye was still a little blurry which made me sick to my stomach at times. My left eye is fine but the vision being off in my right eye was a little unsettling. When I went for my three day check-up today the doctor said my left eye was completely healed and my right eye will be good to go by Monday at the latest. She's going to take my bandage contacts off then. I just having to keep using my drops (three of them) four times a day and now I only have to wear the "special" sunglasses they gave me outside (Tuesday & Wednesday I had to wear them even when I was indoors). I don't have to wear my eye shields to bed anymore either. Woo-hoo!! I'm so glad that I had this done. Apparently my eyes are healing faster than normal and I'm driving a lot earlier than normally allowed. I want to thank everyone for their prayers - as you can see they've helped :-)

Here is a picture of the chart that was plastered on every wall in every room I've been in at Dr. Woolfson's office. I don't have any pictures of me after the surgery b/c I 'm normally the one who takes all the pics around here.

My Funny Valentine

I had a really good Valentine's. Bobby took Hannah to Chick-fil-A Saturday morning so they could make a special Valentine for Mommy. She made me a card and handmade flowers. It was so sweet!! And Bobby bought me a box of chocolates and later that evening we went out to eat and to the movies. I just want to give a big big thanks to my sister for watching the kids so we could spend an evening alone. I'm one lucky lady.
I've also included some pictures from my father-in-law's birthday dinner we had at our house. He wanted yellow cake with chocolate icing. Samuel had a lot of fun with his cake!!