thanksgiving week

We had our second Thanksgiving feast on Tuesday when we met Sammi at her school to have Thanksgiving lunch with her. The school prepared all of the wonderful food for any parents who wanted to join their kids and we had a ball visiting and eating! 

Sammi hadn't been eating much or feeling well though and this was the evening that the school thought she might have pink eye by the end of the day. We didn't want to wait until morning so we spent the evening at urgent care. We are so glad we did because she had it in both eyes! We spent the rest of our night disinfecting everything we own. Just three hours after her first eye drops the doc said she wouldn't be contagious anymore...how crazy. And they did really seem to work immediately. She had no signs of infection by morning. Whew! 

On Thursday we headed to the annual Brand Family Thanksgiving at Tim and Cathy's housein Fort Wayne (Dan's aunt & uncle---the ones who own DeBrand). Dan, his sister Jenny, and brother Steve, decided to be twinsies (tripletsies?) and all wear green!!!! Ha ha ha....what a coincidence!

There is ALWAYS a LOT of dessert at Brand family functions. Too many talented bakers. :)

With all of the people and commotion upstairs, you could still find Sam glued to Mickey Mouse in the basement.... sometimes I think we just need to throw all of our TVs out!!!

She was very intrigued by these singing, dancing Christmas characters.

She especially liked the rapping Santa. :)

There were a lot of kids toys around for her to play with and hide in.

It's always nice to catch up with all of the Brands. :) Thanks so much for having us over, Tim and Cathy!

And that brings us to today, which is Friday...we've had tons to do at home and haven't taken a restful day off in months so we decided to stay home all day and just be today. We started working on Sammi's new room (finally!) and got some things done around the house, including LOTS of black Friday shopping on the internet for Christmas presents! I'm sooooo glad this stuff is all starting to get done!

This was Sammi and our loft/living area/playroom after a day of being home! Toys everywhere and random clothing choices, all put on by Sam herself!

And the latest on Sam.....she has absolutely 1000% hit her terrible twos!!!! My goodness....she reaaaallly wanted the camera as I was taking these photos...

And when she didn't get her way IMMEDIATELY, she dropped to the floor and dramatically threw the biggest fit ever! And this was one of about ten fits, 3 spankings, and 4 time outs today alone!!!!! She has certainly been exerting her independence lately but today was by far the worst of it so far. What happened to my ever-so-sweet, perfectly behaved little angel!?!?!?! 

We are trying to nip this behavior in the bud right away---while still loving on her like crazy----but the instruction manual that came with her when she was born seems to be missing! :) :) :) Ha ha ha....if only there was such a thing.....but life wouldn't be nearly as interesting or rewarding if that were the case. :)

Love and hugs and happy weekend!!!! WOW---we still have a weekend ahead of us! YAHOOOOO!!!!!!

thankful

It has been a rough night (we spent our evening at urgent care because poor Sammi not only has a bad cold and ear infection but now she also has pink eye in both eyes) and I have found myself complaining and losing my temper a lot this evening..... so I thought I would change my mindset by posting something uplifting. Sometimes you have to force yourself to be positive but once you do you actually truly feel more positive. So here it goes. First, 5 things I'm thankful for (I'm doing this on the fly without much thought) because I thought it would be appropriate this Thanksgiving week:

1. My health and my family's health. Yes, we get colds and aches and pains....but we have no major health concerns, no cancer, no terminal illness, no chronic disease. We all have use of our legs, use of our arms, 10 fingers and 10 toes. We are so lucky. 

2. The upcoming arrival of my new baby girl. A new person to cuddle, love, play with, teach, learn from, grow with, and be head over heels in love with. I am so lucky I have been given the opportunity to be a parent.

3. Our new studio. How many people in this world get to do what they love, with the person they love, make their own schedules, bring their kids to work, and then be given the opportunity to grow their business by leaps and bounds over just 5 short years? Enough said.

4. My friends and family. Dan and I both have parents who would drop what they are doing at any given time to help us with anything we needed, and who live close enough that we can see them often. We have incredible neighbors that have touched our lives deeply and continue to support us. I have friends, friends who have been close to me for 5, 10, 15, and even 27 years (and I'm 30) who still are the best of friends to me and continuously love me and support me day after day. And we, of course, have our beautiful Samantha.

5. Our church. We don't go often (sometimes life gets in the way). We aren't as involved as we want to be. But we love it. And we love the pastor and his wife. And we know that even if we aren't as involved as we'd like to be, the people in this church would be there for us if we needed anything. And every time we are able to go to a service, I am touched and my life is changed, even if only a little bit. Which brings me to the story I have been meaning to tell for quite some time...

When I first found out I was pregnant I asked my doctor if she would prescribe prenatal vitamins for me (instead of the generic OTC ones I took with Sam) because Marsh and Meijer offer them for free, no insurance required. She said of course, and I started taking prescription prenatal vitamins at the very beginning of my pregnancy.

I consider myself a very spiritual person but I always hesitate to talk about religion or church in this blog  because I don't want to "turn off" my friends who don't share the same beliefs from reading it. After all, it was only meant to be a blog to update you on Sammi! Regardless...this is a cool story so I have to share it. :)

A few weeks ago we went to church and the service was about healing. (I am about to summarize a long, great sermon into a few short measly sentences so forgive me, Curt.) Basically, if you truly believe you can be healed and you ask God to heal you, you will be. You might not necessarily be physically healed but maybe will be emotionally healed or lifted. People were invited to come up front if they wanted to be prayed for. There were many tears and much emotion. Dan and I were both thinking (because we shared thoughts later)....wow. We are so lucky. We honestly couldn't think of a legitimate reason to go up there. Our lives are so blessed. 

However, I also kept thinking...I have felt awful for 6.5 months of this pregnancy.  Medically speaking I'm healthy and this baby is doing great....but man, I've just felt awful for so long. I didn't even see the complaint worthy of going up front but I did sit quietly during this time in church and just focused all my effort in having a one-on-one with God. It went something like...."God, I know that we are so lucky to be so healthy physically and mentally and I am so thankful for all that you do for me, but if it's not too much trouble, I have 10 weeks to go with this pregnancy......." and I prayed for a good last 10 weeks.       

Three days later Dan went to Meijer to refill my prenatal vitamin prescription and the pharmacist said that he was sorry but that they were out of that vitamin and it as on backorder. If I'd just have my doctor call in a different one he would fill it. We were so busy that I just didn't take a vitamin for 3 days. And for 3 days, I felt amazing. My nausea, my dizziness, my stomach aches, my general state of "just not feeling good at all" was gone. I immediately made the connection.

I've heard of many people getting sick from prenatal vitamins because they are so strong, but I guess I just figured if a vitamin made you sick you'd take it, throw up, and realize it made you sick. I didn't realize that they could actually make you feel awful 24 hours a day if your body can't handle them. A few days later I confirmed with my doctor and went back on generic vitamins. I've felt back to myself ever since. 

Now I ask you.....what are the chances that Meijer would run out of the most popular prenatal vitamin and for it to be on backorder? And what are the chances my prayers were answered? That this was no coincidence? Well....I'll let you decide what you think but I think it's pretty awesome and once more way that I feel like God is with me day after day!!! This story is a perfect example of what I mean when I say I don't really believe in coincidences. My close friends have often told me they think I carry a guardian angel with me, and I have to say that often I believe it too.

Sooooo.......you know that thing I said earlier about making yourself be more positive? Well, after a long draining evening I am feeling very blessed and very loved, just by writing this blog. And, I promise that my blogs will be back to fun-filled stories and photos of my little Sammi, my little SLS, and all of the fun things that come with our everyday lives together!!!!!! And if you've made it this far, you're either crazy or amazing and I wish you a wonderful week full of reasons to have gratitude!!!!!!! :)

Love and hugs!

happy thanksgiving week

Happy Turkey Week! (Sammi made that turkey at school as one of her many art projects!) We are so thankful for all of the friends and family we have in our life and this weekend we started our Thanksgiving week by seeing several of them! 

I was supposed to head to Dayton on Friday evening but due to Sammi's ear infection I stayed home to help with her and instead headed to Ohio on Saturday morning. My cousin, Heather, is having a baby girl due January 13 and she had a shower in Columbus on Saturday afternoon. Instead of making the entire 3.5 hour trip, I stopped at my dear friend Sarah's to stretch my legs for a couple of hours! 

Then it was on to Heather's shower! She is due 4 days before me and look how huge I am compared to her! I just get BIG BELLIES with my babies! I really don't mind though! 

After Heather's shower I went back to Dayton to hang out with Sarah and her awesome new husband, Josh all evening. Sarah and I have been the best of friends since second grade, so I always looooove getting to see her! We hope to do it often now that we are only a couple of hours apart! Sarah and Josh are both teachers....note the pile of papers to be graded! :)

Thanks for making an awesome dinner for us, Sarah! It was soooooo nice to just relax in a quiet house----eat dinner by the fireplace (the real kind with burning wood that smells awesome), watch football, and catch up with old friends. Thank you SO MUCH, Josh and Sarah, for having me as your overnight guest!

On Sunday morning my mom's entire family got together at my cousin Erika's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Would you believe that it was so busy and chaotic (not in a bad way) that I totally forgot to get out my camera until after the entire meal had been cooked and eaten! Oops! Here's a random photo of a few of the family members! 

And my sister in law (Jordie's wife) pushing the dog around in the stroller. :) How funny!

Samantha had the equivalent of a new toy store at Erika's house & she had a ball!!!!!

Before heading home we had to take advantage of IKEA being in the area and picked up just a few more pieces of furniture for the studio. (Yes, the cart in front of AND behind Dan are both ours!)

Thanks to all of our friends and family for hosting us this weekend!!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

busy being boring

We have been so, so, so busy.....yet I haven't had much to post because unpacking boxes, filling print orders, painting walls and baseboards, editing pictures, setting up baby changing stations and make-up counters, and organizing files are just boring things to write about! This is about all we've been up to...

Setting up little play stations for Sammi while we paint backdrops and organize equipment...

Building workstations to use for framing, UPS shipment prep, cutting, and packaging orders...(note the dust in all of these photos! Yikes!)

Putting together our IKEA furniture like this cool pocket table (we still have to pick up the chairs, get a rug, put the floors in, hang a TV, and hang artwork....and that's just in this tiny little room!!!)

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning....sometimes Sammi does actually do more cleaning than "damage" when she "helps"! :) :) :) :)

And.....letting our awesome neighbors Joe and Lisa allow us to do taste-testing for their trial runs of Reece's train birthday cake when we get home late from each hard day's work! :) So cute, and soooo good! Can't wait for the party!  :)

All in all we've been doing well! Tired all the time but excited and anxious to get the million more things done in the new place so it can just be done already!!! We've come a long way yet we have a long way to go. :) Sammi hasn't been feeling well the last few days (she also hasn't been to the chiropractor in about 4 weeks because we've been slackers in our personal lives lately)------so, I took her to the doctor today and sure enough, she has an ear infection (along with a cold). Ugh.....jeepers. We are going to start going back to the chiro again and we'll see if the treatments working were coincidence with the summer months or if they really work. We'll keep you updated for sure. 

Well, I'm off to bed! I'm too tired to stay up until 1, 2, 3:00am like Dan does every night to get work done (and yes, then back up again at 6:30)......he is getting a little run down (not feeling great---tired---& a cold coming on) and I do worry about him! I keep having this feeling this baby will come early but I actually hope not. As much as I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore, we have a LOT to do before SLS greets us!!! We haven't even started our Christmas shopping yet......we haven't even thought about Sammi's new room & we're RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!!! Somebody please make the clocks slow down!!!! :) :) :) 

Love & hugs!!!!!

a very long couple of weeks

We'll start with the election! The clock above is 5:44 AM.....yes, the time we left the house in the morning to go wait in a 2 hour line on election day!!!

We have been so busy getting into the new studio that time slipped away and we never made it to vote prior to election day, so we were faced with guessing the best time to go. And we had Sammi with us all day. Hmmm....we opted for first thing in the morning and I'm not sure it was the best time, but it didn't matter....there was something really fun and exciting about being a part of something so big and special in our nation. Being there so early only made it seem that much more special. :)

We kept Sammi busy with breakfast and games on our iPhones! One more reason to love the iPhone!!! :) Considering that we woke her up and waited in a freezing cold line (why did I think we'd be waiting inside???), she was an angel!!!!! 
Next I will mention the studio. It's just a funny thing how things work out. I really don't believe in coincidences...I do believe that everything happens for a reason and that even when things seem so frustrating....there is a bigger more important picture happening. 

Our studio was on track to be done in time all the way up to our inspection. For 6 months our construction people worked their tails off to get us in on time and then.......NOPE. One thing after the next after the next......For example: When the fire marshall did his inspection he noticed we had a security/fire monitoring system wired in our building for future installation. He told us that we are not required to have the system, but if it is wired, it has to be installed and actively working before we are allowed a permit. Huh? So, again, we were rushing around trying to find the security company that could get out the fastest and begging our electric technician (who is awesome, by the way) to work all weekend to install all of the necessary parts to make the system work. This was just one hiccup. We went through 3 inspections before actually receiving our  permit to move in which put us in 2 weeks late. 

I HAVE TO mention that in the meantime, Dan's dad and uncle came into town and with my dad, dan's brother Steve and wife Krystal, we got everything moved out of the old place! Our dads and uncle worked SO HARD sanding, painting, and installing baseboards and working on our place. My mom helped out watching Sammi a TON and we are finally moved in officially this week! We are still living out of boxes, still have no TV or internet, no kitchen, can't put the hardwood floors in until January because the moisture tests came back so wet, and barely have enough furniture, but we are there and WE LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! My dad has been painting a couple hours everyday for us and Dan's parents are both coming down all weekend to help us continue to get settled. We are so lucky we have such amazing families.

We had 5 PHOTO SESSIONS scheduled that we had to change or move because of the last minute frustrations with the inspection!!! However, going back to the everything happens for a reason thing....those shoots that we rescheduled were scheduled for this week and I ended up in the hospital...
On Monday morning I woke up having some bladder infection symptoms and by about 9am I was sure I was having another kidney infection. The pain in my back was becoming increasingly unbearable. I called my doctor and she got me right in. What I thought would be a quick trip in to confirm with her my kidney infection and get a prescription written (followed by lots and lots of rest and fluids at home) turned out to be much more of an ordeal. 

My tests were showing no signs of infection but there was blood in my urine so Dr. Pease wanted me to go upstairs to the hospital so that we could check on the baby and make sure things were okay. 

The monitor was showing that I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart and didn't even know it. It took three tries and some bruising to get the IV in that would give me 4 liters of IV fluids because my body was so dehydrated (not sure how that happened) over the next 13 hours or so. It took hydration plus two rounds of medicine to stop the contractions, but the pain was still a mystery. An ultrasound on my kidneys showed no stones, although they said that wasn't the best way to check for stones, only the safest for pregnancy.

After I got 2 rounds of nubane for pain, then 2 vicadins for pain, then 2 rounds of morphine, lots of throwing up, a final “cocktail” went into my IV to knock me out so that I could go home and try to sleep a little. My doctor respected the fact that we are "self-pay" and every minute there was costing us $$$$. There was not much else they could do once they got the contractions to stop. It was either a muscle issue in my back or a kidney stone. I slept okay on the drugs, then started having major "attacks" of pain on Tuesday afternoon. Around 9pm I passed a kidney stone. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. However, once it was gone, the pain went away completely!!!! I've been a little sore and very tired all week, but so thankful the baby is doing well and that (at least for now----cross your fingers and say a little prayer for me please) that I am feeling back to myself! I have an appointment with Dr. Pease tomorrow morning so I can make sure everything is back to normal.

A special thanks to mom and dad for picking up Sammi from school Monday, keeping her all night and all day Tuesday for me. We appreciate it so much and are so glad you're here! 

The nurses and my doctor(s) and the hospital (where I just was and where Sammi and SLS was/will be born) are just amazing. They made me feel so comfortable and are sooo nurturing and just absolutely awesome. I'm not glad I was there of course...but in a weird way it made me super excited to be back in January to have the baby. (A positive visit!) I would recommend Clarian North to anyone.

Our last event of this super long blog post is Sammi's latest haircut! We took her to see Amy today with a huge mop of hair and Amy trimmed off all of those ratty baby hairs so that her hair will keep growing in stronger and longer! 

Sammi and daddy with her mop...

Getting started...(she wasn't too thrilled).

...Until we gave her a huge sucker to keep her busy! Then she was happy!

Maybe now we can finally schedule a family session/maternity session for ourselves. :) Somehow I have a feeling this baby might come before we have a chance to do those photos...hopefully not. :) I'm off to bed before a busy day tomorrow......thank you so much to everyone in our life who helps us, thinks of us, and are there for us through all of the ups and downs....we love you so much!!!!!!!!

our little geisha girl

When Dan's parents went to Japan this summer they brought back this beautiful kimono for Sammi. After weeks and weeks of debate on whether or not 1. it was politically correct to dress her up as a little Japanese girl for Halloween and 2. if a geisha girl had anything to do with prostitution.....we did some research and found out that geisha girls are entertainers but not prostitutes at all! SO WE WENT FOR IT! :) 

First we did the face makeup...

It was kind of itchy at first. :)

We LOVED putting on the lipstick!

And on went the kimono...

And the finishing touch...the wig!!!!

SO CUTE!!!!!!!!! This wig was actually meant for a 5+ year old, so it was huge, but made it that much cuter on such a tiny little girl!!! She looked so cute that photos can't even begin to show it (which is probably why I took a million, trying to capture it!!!)

Daddy and Sammi being silly on a "twix high"...yes, even before we left the house!

So, daddy had to fix the wig before heading to our friends' house across the street. 

It was so good to spend the evening with Joe, Lisa, and Bears player Reece! We haven't seen them much because we've all been so busy and we looked forward to this night!!!

Reece and Sam loved giving candy, getting candy, and definitely eating candy!!!

This was Sam's FIRST house EVER where she went trick or treating!!! She was not nearly as shy as I thought she'd be!

Her costume was definitely a hit in our packed neighborhood! We got more "oohs and ahhhs" than I could count! Reece was very eager to get to the each house, so he liked taking Sam's hand to walk her up. It was so cute!

Some of the costumes made them a little nervous...

We met this BIG dog and LITTLE dog on our way! Sam walked right up to the big dog and gave him a kiss on the nose! She cried when the doggies had to go in a different direction than us.

The dads stayed back to hand out candy while Lisa and I walked the kids around. Seriously, you cannot have enough candy in our neighborhood. It is SO BUSY.

A cookie treat from a neighbor...

And our last stop was a surprise visit to see grandma and grandpa, who were just thrilled to see this little geisha girl on their front porch saying her somewhat slurred version of "TRICK OR TREAT!"

We had so much fun on Halloween this year and hope all of you had a very safe and happy Halloween too!!! 

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