Countdown to Christmas

What a wonderful season! Jeff just smiles when I share with him our December calendar. As most people, it is the busiest month of the year. We want to make as much time to see friends and family plus do some fun holiday activities just the four of us. We had a little stomach bug for a few days over Thanksgiving, but we are over it now! Brennan and I went to our good friends the Weeks' house for a delicious meal on Thanksgiving and Jeff stayed home with Jenna. (she was the first to get sick.) It was so nice to have a family Thanksgiving meal with our friends. Then Friday, CiCi (my sis), David, Ryan, and Marissa came over and that was a great time eating and playing games. We actually put our Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving (never have done that) and also we used an artificial tree this year; but it looks great. Brennan looked forward to putting the star on top from the moment the tree came down from the attic. Brennan and Jenna frequently put on their Santa hats and march around the house! Also, Jenna can eat cheerios cereal by herself without spilling...... so different than Brennan. She may not talk like he did at that age but she has mad skills, at only 16 months old. Brennan can't wait to move the candy cane over each morning on the Advent calendar. He really thinks it is going to snow on Christmas...... I do to, just maybe not here in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. lol

Thanksgiving Request

Feeling "Thanks" is truly in the "giving". Today give time to ready Kristi's story and give time to pray for her and her family. You will truly feel "thanks" for giving your time for another. (someone most of you don't know)

I don't often share this sort of thing on my blog, as most people that check my blog are from out of town. But this needs to be shared today. Kristi Walker was a teacher at Apex Middle School before staying home with her children (like my story). She just had her third baby boy, but is now fighting for her life. Please read her story if you have time and PRAY today.

Here is a website for Kristi Walker
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/kristiwalker

You have to log in and create a password.

Time Flies

It has been a while since I have updated the blog and I really cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week. Usually when I say that, I just mean that time flies....but this year, I really cannot believe it! I thought I had one more week! AHH! We just had a wonderful trip up north and visited Brian. He is a miracle; regaining more of his memory daily as well as getting his personality traits back. He knows and adores his wife Ashley and she has seen the truth in Brian's old room number 316, the numbers of hope. Brennan was SO happy to see Uncle Brian as was Uncle Brian to see Brennan! I will share some pic's of Brian at the rehab center a few days ago. We are a bit tired from the traveling and with life's work seemingly more demanding on our family, but we are doing great......still making time for what matters most!

Bittersweet

Wow, it has been a while since I have updated the blog! We had a great second half of October. Jeff and Brennan followed the book "Pumpkin Patch Parable" and carved a pumpkin just like the farmer did! Brennan also picked a baby pumpkin for Tulie. (Jenna's nickname) We had good times going over to friends houses and watching Steelers games. We also went up to PA and Morgantown to visit Brian. He is really doing great. He is progressing quickly and we anxiously await our next visit next week. While we were up there, Brennan was able to go to the garage with Pappy one day. And Bren, Jen, Mom and I had a nice day shopping and going to lunch. Granny came to visit as well. Grandma and Pop Pop Grubbs took the kids on Friday to Chuck E Cheese, so they had a blast on the trip up north. We came back and before we knew it was Halloween and our Big Ben and Cheerleader were out collecting their candy. Our neighbor had a wagon attached to his tractor so Brennan was in his glory parading around the neighborhood on that! :) Then we finished the month with great friends and a fire pit night, with Smores for everyone! Ok, almost forgot, back to the title of the blog, today was the last day I will be providing childcare for Vanessa and Landon. It is completely bittersweet. It was a hard day, b/c they are wonderful children and we had a great time with them.......but with us making a trip up north each month-6 weeks, I knew I had to let go of some of my responsibilities. I quit my bunco group and cancelled a few trips, but something else had to go and I was afraid it was going to be my MOPS group.... but to find out, it was the kids. This does allow more flexibility in our schedule when we can make our trips, and it does take some responsiblity off my plate which is good for my family right now. Bittersweet........

Go Fish

We had a wonderful weekend! Jeff and I enjoyed driving to Charlotte on Saturday and actually having time to talk to each other! :) We went to visit a best friend from college that I have lost touch with in recent years. Jessica was the first friend I met at college. College was a very hard time of my life, even though I didn't realize that while I was going through it. It was great to see her and catch up! She has a baby son Collin (8 months) and she was so hospitable with gifts and food. Her home was very warm and inviting; we wished we could have stayed longer to visit. We had to head out to the "Go Fish" concert. Brennan could not wait to see the concert. This is one of Brennan's favorite bands. (He is really into music)

Poop

We started the day on Friday with Brennan stepping in dog poop outside of Planet Child so Sharon brought us an extra pair of shoes. Brennan had a great time playing with Davis and Grayson and Sharon and I enjoyed talking and catching up on the past few weeks. Jenna loves PC, she clapped when we got there! Then we went shopping at Kohl's in Fuquay for the first time after dinner......it was fun, BUT Jenna had pooped out the sides of her diaper. So you can see why the title is appropriate for this day; but it was still a great day! :) After all poop is normal!

Celebration Dance

We did a celebration dance tonight after we got word that Brian was moved out of the hospital to the rehabilitation center. This will be a much better place for him and it is time for him to start working those muscles again! We are so happy he doing as well as he is just 26 days after a near fatal fall. We had a good week last week. At my MOPS steering team meeting, Christina and I were surprised with birthday cakes :) and after that I met my friends from our church dinner club at the Cheesecake Factory, can anyone say weight watchers? But it was a wonderful night out. It is always great to talk to other mothers of young children!
Brennan had a great computer bug class again last Thursday! Then on Friday, we went to a Corn Maze. We went with our wonderful friends Stephanie and Hailey. At first, Stephanie and I thought the farm was the beginning of a scary movie but then it turned out to be a fairy tale. I mean it really couldn't have been better. We got to ride a hay ride, go on multple tractor train rides, go through a corn maze and we missed the kids from the YMCA by an hour or so......so we had the place all to ourselves! Then Saturday, we took it easy......for the most part, ran a few errands. Sunday morning was quite hectic. Jenna did not want me to put her down pretty much all morning, and it was hard to "work" in the nursery. So Ryan came over and babysat when I went back to church in the afternoon and my sister, David, and Ryan ate dinner and put the kids to bed while I was at my meeting at church......so a busy afternoon and evening, BUT so much easier than the morning. Then on Monday, Vanessa and Landon came over part of the day and we made hand bats and pumpkin faces. They came back today (Tuesday) and we made pumpkin masks and decorated a pumpkin. Brennan is already so excited about Christmas, I have to super focus on the fall and what makes this season so wonderful! :) Vanessa and Landon are coming back tomorrow, which means I am missing my piano lesson:( I am trying to practice so I can play Christmas music by Christmas!

Catch-up or Ketchup

So recently, I decided when I get ketchup packets and don't use them with fast food, keep them and use them later....... a practice that many people probably have done for a long time, but I usually just threw mine away with the fast food bag (along with any unused napkins, which I am also keeping) It makes me wonder, with everything costing more should we be getting in debt or should we be learning to live off of less. Today, Brennan told me that "he needed the candy bowl with the hand in it" at Target. I gently said, "Brennan, you want that, you don't need it" He was ok with that and when we got home, at lunch today he said "Mommy, I really want that candy bowl with the hand in it, maybe I can ask Santa" I told him to take a minute and look around at our beautiful house, food on the table, more toys that I can count in a day.....we have to always be thankful for what we have not always thinking of what we don't have. As I taught that little lesson today, I recalled a poster I had in my classroom "People learn by what you do and not what you say". So very, very true. Ok, the end of my babble and back to reality.

It has been a while since I have updated my blog, Brian still in the ICU and he has a feeding tube and traech and will hopefully come off the ventilator in a few days. It is hard to be so far away to feel the disconnect; but it is hard for those that are there. Just continue to pray, really no matter where we are that is all we can do.

For my birthday, Jeff got me the K-cup coffee maker, and we have been enjoying trying new coffee flavors and teas. We went to the Third Day concert, with good friends and Third Day was awesome as usual, but we want them to tour by themselves! :) That concert certainly did our hearts good. Jeff had a Fidelity golf outing, which he was able to escape and relax for a day. We enjoyed going to our wonderful neighbors (Kevin and Laura's) to watch the Steelers game. Brennan also was playing Rock Band with "the guys". Brennan has been wearing a Steeler jersey every single day since then. Plus his Granny B got him Steelers socks and I can't wash them fast enough. He takes them off before bed and puts them on when he wakes up. Brennan also started his Computer Class (he is a computer bug) at Planet Child; this also gives me one-on-one time with Jenna which I LOVE. Our friend's the Bruty family (Jeff, Jen, and Hannah) came to see us from Florida. We went to the NC State/FSU game on Saturday which was pretty awesome for tailgating and 20 minutes, but then it poured down rain. We had a wonderful time visiting with them and wished they lived closer. We may try to plan a trip down to see them and go to Sea World soon! Brennan starts his at home preschool tomorrow! :) and Jenna knows where her nose is!

Because of lack of time and the fact that I am SO behind on the blog, I will attachthe snapfish link for the month of September. Copy and paste this into your browser to see snapfish pictures.
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=359301222810120255/l=428373701/g=8944876/cobrandOid=1000001/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

My precious husband

I don't have much time, and thinking back to all the things we have done in the past week.....this isn't a day to record that. Today is a day where all I can think of is how much I love my husband. His brother Brian is unconscious, he took a hard fall from a roof last Wednesday. Today Brian and Ashley celebrate their first wedding anniversary; not how they would have ever imagined. We hold to the hope that Brian will wake up soon and start to recover from this trauma. But all I can focus on is how much I love my Jeff; he means so much to me and our family. He really is my dream come true.
People often say "let me know how I can help" dear Brian, so please pray for Brian to wake up, pray for God to be Ashley's strength and courage as she has none of her own right now, and pray for all of the family. But most of all what YOU can do to help, what would warm my heart is if YOU pour out LOVE on your loved ones and those you encounter this day; tomorrow is never promised to any of us.

Let's play baseball!

That has been all we are hearing at the Weller household. We went to our second Durham Bulls game this past Friday night. Brennan was over the top into the game this time. He still enjoyed the cotton candy guy, but the actual baseball made a "hit" with him. We have been out in the yard playing every day. Jeff lets me hit a good bit when we all play ....remembering the good old days....... Jenna managed to stay awake the entire game and for fireworks (didn't even cry) We had such a wonderful family night out! On Saturday, I had my MOPS retreat so Daddy had some special time with the kids. Then we went to dinner club and had a blast. Dinner club is a little group of families with young children from our church. Jeff is SO good with all the children, we are so thankful to have him! We take turns hosting and do pot lucks. This time was "comfort foods" and everything was delicious. It has been such a great way to connect and I can't wait to make some of the recipes. My good friend Amy makes the BEST apple pie, but I don't know if I have the patience to do all that work! :) So yummy! Then on Sunday we went to Matt's house for a labor day gathering.(Jeff's boss). And Monday, CiCi, Ryan, and Marissa came over and we went swimming and grilled out! and we of course are still really enjoying the wii! (I am the bowling champion!) Did I mention that the dining room to school room conversion is almost complete?

New Job

It has been an exciting week here. We enjoyed having Vanessa and Landon here on Monday and Tuesday. Then Tuesday evening, I had my interview at church. Wednesday morning, we went over Misty's and Bren/Jen had a great time playing with Chaz and baby Cullen. Misty and I were tired and so happy our kids wore each other out so they took good naps. After nap time, I met Jeff and the gym and then went over to church. I got the job; so I am now the nursery coordinator. I am really looking forward to it, it will be exciting to do something new. I start um......immediately so that should be great. Of course, I am still staying home, this is a very part time position :) Jeff is going to watch the NC State game over a friend's house tonight, so I will have some "me" time. What will I do??, well one thing I know that I am not getting on the computer, which is why I am doing this now. I get on the computer for what I think will be 5 minutes and it always turns into much longer...... Hello craiglist, I don't need anything..... Friday night, we are going to the Bulls game (Thanks to Misty for our super tickets and parking pass) and Saturday I have my MOPS mini-retreat and our dinner club at Stephanie's......then Sunday we have a gathering with some of Jeff's friends from work. So a busy weekend ahead and lots to look forward to. I especially am looking forward to Monday, Jeff is off and we have no plans as of yet...... possibly a day at home, we will have to see......My sister is on the babysitting schedule a good bit in September, lots of things coming up. Oh yeah, and dining room conversion is still making progress......

Monkey Joe's

Busy and exciting weekend! Jeff WFH on Friday so we were able to go to the gym together in the morning and enjoy some time together. Brennan, Jenna and I met Brody and his family at the gym for dinner and swimming Friday night. It was a lot of fun. Brody was Brennan's best friend from preschool last year so he was excited to see him! Saturday, Brennan, Jenna and I went to Vanessa's 4th Birthday party at Monkey Joe's. IT was a blast! They guys from work took Jeff golfing for his b-day and he shot a 77! The guys came back here after golf and Jeff grilled burgers and dogs. Then, our friends Stephanie, Si and Hailey came over for swimming and dinner. Jenna and Hailey got a bath together, that was too cute! :) Brennan loved having them over, he beat Mr. Si and Daddy at bowling on the Wii (and they didn't "let" him either) They brought Jeff an ice cream cake and we enjoyed that for dessert! :) Brennan moved up to his 3 year old Sunday School class on Sunday. There were only 2 children in his class, so I think they are combining the 3 year old rooms next week. Vanessa and Landon are with us Monday and Tuesday and we are having lots of fun!

Hopper's House

Yesterday, Aunt CiCi played with the kids at Hoppers House (a bounce house geared mostly for pre-k) while I went to get my hair cut. It was long overdue, I think I was scaring people with my mad layers. I like it now though. The kids loved Hopper's House, Brennan actually made a basketball shot in the hoop they have there. He was super excited and had to tell everyone we saw. (really) The kids took great naps and we met Daddy for dinner, they sang Happy Birthday and he shared his ice cream with the kids. (Because he is the best daddy and husband!) Plus, we are making progress on our dining room/play room transformation which is taking some time. We (ok Jeff) took down the chandelier and put in a ceiling fan and he picked up a table I found on craigslist. I love my husband! :)

pictures from weekend

Wii

We had a wonderful weekend. Granny Bee, Pappy, and Great Granny came for a visit from PA. They also brought home Ryan, which we are happy to have him back in NC. I can't believe he starts his sophomore year in HS next week! We went to the Cultural Arts Festival on Saturday where Brennan was excited to see several of the acts. We all had a fun time. Then we went to Chilis for lunch and Jeff opened his birthday gifts. And the big surprise this year, I got him the Nintendo Wii. It was especially surprisinging for him because I don't like video games and am not a big fan of the tv in general.....SO I was so excited for him to open it! I am happy I was able to get him something HE really wanted in spite of myself. Ironically, I love it! My family loves bowling, so we played Wii bowling all weekend. Brennan rolled a 100 today, it is so much fun for the whole family. SO EXCITED! We went to Davis' birthday party on Sunday after church. They have an awesome neighborhool pool and Brennan was loving the diving board and slide. He loves his friends (more like his cousins) Grayson and Davis. Kind of funny, Sharon's Grandma and my Granny play cards together back in our hometown area in PA. Sharon and I have been friends since I can ever remember. Our families vacationed together to the "Field of Dreams" and Wrigley Field when we were just young teenagers. It is so awesome that we can still be in each other's lives so many miles away and so many years later.
We ended the weekend with a nice dinner at Daniel's in Fuquay. :) Today we rested, cleaned and did some shopping. My next project is converting our formal dining room into a downstairs playroom, that will be keeping me busy the next few weeks. I plan to do "preschool" with Brennan and Vanessa in the new room; I give myself until October 1st to be fully operational. (lol!)
Also, it is OFFICIAL Jenna Grace is walking like a pro!

Littleland Band

Brennan has so enjoyed going to see the Littleland band for the last year or so. He loves music! We took Vanessa and Landon with us on Thursday. Vanessa sang in the microphone during the show. We met our friends Stephanie and Hailey there and we all had a great time. We came back to play at our house and all the children enjoyed singing some more. They even made their own "stages" as they listened to the "Go Fish Guys". Speaking of the Go Fish Guys we are going to see them in Charlotte on October 11th and we will also get to see my friend Jessica from college, so looking forward to that! On Friday, we went to play over Misty's house with Chaz and Cullen. They are such wonderful friends and neighbors. I was able to see Misty's wedding album and I felt like I was there; it was beautiful!

Date night

Catching up a few days here....We had a great Friday, a little swimming, some grilling and we rented the movie Definitely, maybe and I loved it. It was the best "rental" I have seen in quite some time. Plus, I made Brennan a chef's hat so he could play "Japanese Steakhouse Chef". Brennan had the time of his life running through an obstacle course to become a superhero at his friend Colby's party on Saturday afternoon. He is still running around in his cape 3 days later. Our new babysitter Kayleigh came over Saturday night so Jeff and I went out to dinner and had a wonderul date. I love date nights, whether we go out to dinner or stay at home. We try to have them as often as possible, but it has been a long 2 weeks! Now onto Sunday, I am going to be one of the 2-year old Sunday School teachers starting in a few weeks. Vanessa and Landon came over Monday and today this week for the first time. ( I will be their childcare every other Monday/Tuesday) Vanessa is Brennan's age and Landon is a few months younger than Jenna. They are wonderful children and we had a great two days with them. I pulled Brennan out of preschool this year so I LOVE the fact that he has Vanessa to help with socialization. (and to help him realize that the planets do not revolve around him) It really turns out to be such a blessing in so many ways.

Relaxation

A word we can't often experience in our house.........but this week it has been our goal. We have been trying to take it easy, get caught up on laundry and clean to recover from last week. But, we of course still managed to fit in loads of fun! We went to see a puppet show in Holly Springs (Bartlet) with Aunt CiCi and got some new books at the library. Brennan saw a friend from preschool (Brody) at the gym and Jenna went to the gym's childcare center without crying at all! Daddy and Brennan did some weed wacking and made our yard beautiful! We went to the park today with our friends Misty, Chaz, and Cullen. It has been a great week. Brennan and Jenna have been playing a new game where they chase each other around the living room. ( I am putting the picture on here, even though it isn't the best) We are looking forward to some family time this weekend!