Highlights of Chicago & MI

OK, we have been home for almost 3 weeks-and on April 21, I started drafting this blog! Here it is May 7 and Ugh! I finally have had the time to sit down, upload photos, debrief our trip and finally publish.

I love that we got to visit my family. But there are some "not so good" moments that always occur while we are away-and as my mom says, "it will make me laugh SOMEDAY" -so I better blog about them for now. 'Cause I don't laugh in most of my stressful moments when we are away OR HOME for that matter! Oh, the joys of being a parent. :)

There was so much that occurred and so much to remember. But not one part of our 10 days makes me regret going. You can not put a price on being together with family, and it is treasured much more when distance separates us. :)
 So, I collaborated all our "peak" moments and put them into a top 10 list.
10."GATE-PASS" The whole reason this trip was "somewhat" successful, is all because of the gate pass we got Mike. (Well the prayers from all of you and family was what really made it a success.) But if you have to travel alone with small children you need to call the airline and add a "Gate Pass" for your spouse or 1 family member to assist you all the way through the airport. I could  not have done this flying trip with both of the boys and no assistance from Mike or my dad. What a huge blessing it was.
I am the first to admit: 1.NO, the flight was not relaxing for me
2.No, I do not recommend flying with a 15 month old who is ACTIVE,
3.NO I do not like changing a poopy diaper on a plane in the bathroom,
4.NO, I do not like having to ask for assistance from strangers for help with the boys.
5 BUT I LOVE having that Gate Pass and we may just do it again (but hopefully not for a while!)
THANK YOU-Air Tran.
(FYI: You can not walk up the day of travel and get a gate pass, it has to be scheduled ahead of time).

9-Trip to the ER...you know when we go away that somebody always gets sick! Well,Kaden didn't sleep the whole first night....he was coming down with double ear infections. Our second day in Chicago he spiked a fever (101)and my dad and  I took him to the local ER.  By the time we arrived his fever had spiked to102.3. Dr. Diagnosis=Double Ear Infection & Upper Respiratory. Poor little guy was miserable :( I have to give a shout out to the Alexian Medical Staff from the hospital. We got in and out in 45 min!!! Unheard of for a trip to the ER?!!

We were VERY Impressed. I cringed that we had to miss a family cook-out, but I am so glad we had Kaden seen.

8-Chocolate & Chi Tea-that was my sanity for those sleepless nights. My dad and sister learned fast what to order me from Starbucks "Chi tea late with non-fat milk! Amazing how little things make the day much better when you are away :)

7.-Birthday Celebrations, My mom's official birthday fell on Easter this year. We really wanted to be in MI for the special day, but changed plans to attend my Great Uncles Service. We made sure to celebrate my mom's birthday one week early & Ordered her, her favorite cake from a local bakery! Cake was gone by the end of the night...it was GOOD! :) We made it even extra special and celebrated with our long time family friends, since our "2nd Mom" has the same birthday as our mom.

6-Friends! I had a great visit with a great friend from College, Jen and her kids. They drove an hour to come and see us and we had a blast hanging out at my sisters house. It was amazing that it had been 10 years since we had seen each other, but good ol' FB has kept us in touch. Jen's kids were adorable and the girls played great with Parker. Her youngest little boy, Maverick is just about 5 weeks older then Kaden, but go figure-he looks like he is months older in the photo. It is always a tradition when we are home to get together with Family friends..The Hutchins. And I love catching up with Becky and seeing
Mom :).

 

5. Sisters-I had a sweet time visiting in Chicago with ALL my sisters in Chicago & bonding with 2 of the three in MI. We even got lucky one night and had a Sister only dinner...and splurged with face masks and just relaxed  with some good ol'chocolate! :) I always wonder what life would be like if we all lived near each other? :)

4.Kodak Moments-we took so many photos while we were away...but these are some of my favorites. I am so thankful for Modern Technology and being able to capture these moments.

(holding the newest addition to the Clark family, Graham :)

3, Uncle Richard-My heart sank, when I heard that Great Uncle Richard was not going to make it around the end of March. He was SO precious to the Wilson family and he was the glue that kept us all connected. Even though distance kept us apart, it was still so fun to get duplicate Christmas Cards from him, have calls from him once in a while and have that "grandfatherly" care from him. My grandpa and Great Uncle Richard had a rough upbringing and I am amazed that  they did not let history repeat it self. They left us so many stories for us to cherish forever. It was an honor to be at his memorial service and then able to attend his Internment service. He served in World War II and I was speechless and in awe of the tribute that was given to him that day. I always get chills when I see military men and women folding the precious red/white/blue and then presenting it to the family. My Aunt Mary was given the flag and I know she will cherish it forever. All of us Wilson girls got bracelets to wear (from my mom and Aunt) as a sweet memory of Uncle Richard's love to us (and they have a little heart on them).  You are deeply missed Uncle Richard-Thank You for the beautiful legacy,financial example,godly wisdom,advice, and most of all your love and care to our family. :)

2. Sleep (on vacation)-Kaden was cutting 4 teeth while we were away (on top of getting over his infection) so he did not sleep the greatest :( Unfortunately, most of the family was affected by a screaming 1 year old when the Motrin wore off nightly (eek) but thankfully, near the end of the week-we all started getting some sleep...and the Hallway closet that we had Kaden sleep in was perfect :) He needed a private room to be in and get accustomed too LOL (It was not working sleeping in the same room as mama :)

1. My Family, THANK YOU for all the love and hospitality while we were away!

 A shout out to my awesome Brother-in-law,Eric for getting us rooms (suites) at the hotel. It was so much more "homey" for the long weekend. My parents aged a bit more with the activeness in Kaden (but it was a blast to be with them for 10 days). And the week in MI could not have been more fun for Parker and Kaden, with a special shout out to my Sister, Jodi, brother-in-law John and Grace and Josh for putting up with us for the week and allowing us a blast on the family "farm!"

Ok, I have finally debriefed and now I can't believe it...my mother-in-law is begging me to get on a plane and fly up with the boys the end of June for a family baby shower!!!
Hmmm?? I wonder if Mike is going to go for this trip.
FYI- that sleepless night in the hotel, Mike's cell phone was flooded with me venting via-text message. Again, I can't say it enough-if you have to fly alone with small kids, get a gate pass for a member in your family to help you~Thanks again to Mike and my Dad for making the trip much, much easier. We will keep you posted on the next trip :)

(I must say that part of my delay has been issues with blogger photo upload.) Anyone else struggling with this??! So annoyed :(

finally home in daddys arms

Easter Photos 2011

The Photos are in and we are thrilled!

 THANK YOU JasonPendley for an awesome photo shoot :)

I stated in my last post-but I will be state it again-look which one is all into touching the bunnies!
LOL
Happy Easter :)

Spring has sprung...

and it is officially time for our annual Easter photos!
 I have made it a tradition (that I must keep up with) to take the boys for Easter photos (And we get a pose with an Easter animal).
I love the spring and I love the Easter Holiday.
It means NEW Beginnings and of course the New Life in Christ :)
Parker's first Easter he posed with a grey bunny. His second Easter he got to meet a baby lamb named Liam.
Last year it was Kaden's first Easter, and let's just say there were not just tears but lots of them. Parker was paranoid of the rabbits and Kaden wanted a nap :( but they posed with two bunnies).
This year we had our good friend and photographer Jason Pendley, take the photos of the boys with once again two furry, cute little bunnies!
We are happy to report  that there were NO tears and he got some great shots~"Yippee!"
Parker was hesitant and kept afar distance from the bunnies. However,Kaden, could not get enough of those little bunnies. (ie; attacking them, pulling them up by their ear, picking their fur....poor baby bunnies :(
 These two boys are like night and day and keep me laughing :)
I am looking forward to the photos and can't wait to post them.
Here are some fun snapshots I got after (as we were watching some other friends get their photos done).

                                        The boy has no fear and was in LOVE with these bunnies :)

(Escaping from the attacks of Kaden :)

As Easter means new life and beginnings we are excited to share that we have some "new beginnings" officially in our house....Kaden is walking! He has taken a few steps the last couple of weeks, but the confidence has arrived and he took off tonight.He took over a dozen steps tonight. He is like a little robot with his hands out in front of him and walking so proudly:)
The neat thing is that Joy& David came over to visit since her parents were in town.We all witnessed before our very eyes Kaden in action! We just watched and cheered :) It was so sweet! He may be our second born, but the excitement and overwhelming joy all surfaced again for Mike and me, like it did the day Parker took his first steps:)
We are SO proud and excited for this "OH NO"-new chapter of his life.
EEEK..watch out Kaden is walking!
Happy Early Easter to all :)

THANK YOU,Jason Pendley for a fun and memorable day of Easter photos with the boys!

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Memorable March Moments

March is coming to an end and we have done ALOT this past month!
Here are some of our highlights:
Parker had 3 birthday parties this month.
Parker was invited by three friends this month to help celebrate their 3rd birthdays.  They ALL had their parties at the local Gymnastics Academy. We surely had no problem looking for entertainment on the weekends.

Happy Birthday to Charlotte, Emily and Sailer! Parker had a blast at all 3 of your parties :)

Mike just turned 31 and we had a simple celebration and good' ol Chocolate Mint Cupcakes from our sweet friend, Cynthia! (Mike and I just went out this past weekend with our good friends, Rick and Lorelei for a long awaited date and we celebrated his birthday).

The middle of the month I had a date with Parker and took him to NCCS (where I used to teach) to see their Spring Musical-Beauty & The Beast! He LOVED it and so did all of our sweet friends that joined us.

Kayleigh and her friend, Reese (dancing in the aisles as Belle sings)

(Parker, Kayleigh and Reese-we also had Reese Allen and Marlee with us too:)

(Me and "Sweet Caroline")

Most days he wakes up and "ROARS" at me and says "I am the beast,I am going to get you!" And I say-"No! Where did the sweet beast go?" I constantly remind him of the nice, sweet, beast at the end of the show! He is all boy but deep down he is so sweet and very lovable all around (even the stubborness:)
We LOVED having Kayleigh Bugg join us (her dad and Caroline too).Liz got sick the night before and was unable to attend. So, Daddy stepped right up and made a night of memories for Kayleigh :) I know she LOVED it and Parker LOVED having her there!
Kaden has taken a few steps this month and we are working daily to make it more then 2 or 3. It looks like he is completely following in Parker's footsteps...Parker was 15 months when he officially walked. Today, Kaden is officially 15months! I am blown away...where did our little baby boy go? I feel like a broken record most days...."Kaden, NO-NO!" Kaden,No-NO!" that is because I am constantly chasing him away from the toilets, we tend to forgot to shut the door, or get him out of the cupboards! Never dull around here.
I took him this AM for his check up and he has slowed down for sure. He is 27.1lbs and 30&3/4 inches. 50% in each category!

                                   He is quite a charmer and loved by all-especially at Birthday parties :)

Please keep my family in your prayers. My Great Uncle Richard passed away last week. He has been precious to our family, and most of all he filled the gap as "Grandpa" the last 25 years since my grandpa (his one and only sibling) passed away. So, we will miss Great Uncle Richard and are forever grateful for all his love and care to our family. He always made us laugh at Christmas time- the past 3 years we have gotten two cards from him, one was always signed "Love, Uncle Richard" and the other was always signed, "Merry Christmas-Dick Wilson!" We got double the Christmas Blessings :) We will miss those cards. He made a special effort to make it to all of our weddings and was a trooper for our wedding since it was in June and was well over 90degrees that weekend. Uncle Richard would have turned 89 this July. He loved the Lord and certainly is no longer suffering. He had congestive heart failure and also came down with pneumonia the last couple of weeks. So, we are rejoicing that he is with the Lord and comfortable.  Therefore, the boys and I will be flying into Chicago the 2nd weekend in April for his memorial service. We will be spending the weekend with my mom's side of the family and staying in a hotel.  Once the weekend events are over we will be driving to MI, and staying with my family for a full week. It's been 1 year since I have been home and 2 years since Parker has been in MI. I am really praying for a sweet visit with my mom's family and really looking forward to the "break" from normal life and just getting away to see the family. We had originally planned to go up to MI the last weekend in the month for Easter, and would miss seeing my sister, Jolyn and her family (who just moved to Nova Scotia). But now I will get to see ALL of my sisters. God always has better plans and I am happy that he worked it all out for me and the boys to be home for a good stay.
 I covet your prayers for the boys to adjust and adapt to our weekend schedule and the 10 days away. They are both great sleepers once they get settled. I really need prayers for my 2 hour direct flight. (First flight going there is into Chicago then coming home we will be flying out of Flint,MI) It will be Kaden's first time flying and of course ...2 hours straight on my lap! EEEEK!! I think Parker will be fine since he loves playing the IPAD and is easily entertained by technical devices.
Looking forward to April's Adventures :)