All I want for New Year's....

...is my two front teeth!

I kept telling Carson that it was only a matter of time before his top two teeth wiggled their way out of his mouth.  We were hoping for Christmas but I guess today is close enough.  Our baby lost his third and forth teeth this afternoon about 4 hours apart and is now sporting a wide, toothless grin.  He wrote a creative note to the ToothFairy before bed and left both teeth for her on his nightstand.  The Tooth Fairy may have boosted her usual fare of $2 per tooth since Carson provided a double whammy today.  I can't wait to see his face when he discovers five $1 bills and a note in the morning.  Let's just hope he doesn't try to whistle in excitement!

The Important Things

As I sit here in bed at 11:38 on Christmas night I feel the need to write down the little things from this day that may get forgotten over time.  I want to remember the little things like:

• Eli going to bed with his snow boots on, hat in hand with his Polar Express ticket inside just in case the magical train pulled up outside our house to take him on a Christmas Eve adventure
• Carson jumping two feet in the air when he saw the LEGO city construction box
• Al's loving smile as he watched the boys share their new found toys with each other
• My little sister being taken care of by her new husband since she spent Christmas day not feeling well
• Carson opening Aunt Yaya and Uncle Keith's gift and telling them he loved it but had found it when he spent the night at their house last week and didn't want to tell him and ruin the surprise
• Eli playing for hours on end with the Steaming Thomas battery train that Santa and his elves worked so hard on to make for him
• Hearing Al's parents voices on the phone and wishing they were here to spend more time with us
• Watching all the doggies cuddle together on the couch and take turns chewing on the ham bone outside
• Having four generations together in the same room celebrating the birth of Christ
• Realizing that I am incredibly blessed to have so many friends and family surrounding me in my life and to have the opportunity spend precious time with all of them

Christmas Eve

We tracked Santa on NORAD all evening as Carson exclaimed, "Rudolph really exists!".  Carson and Elias carefully wrote their letter and laid it out amoung cookies and milk.  They plugged in the Christmas lights and rushed to get jammies on and teeth brushed.  We relaxed in my bed (since I'm not allowed up!) and read Christmas books until sleepy eyes were drooping.  After kisses and hugs and Merry Christmas wishes the boys are sleeping soundly at 8:30 Christmas Eve. 

What a magical time.  I wouldn't miss any of this for the world!

Surgery (again)

Yesterday I had surgery and am now at home recovering.  My full time nurse Al is taking excellent care of me in addition to both our boys.  I was having intense pain for the past few months in my lower left quadrant and had chopped it up to pain from my previous surgeries (hysterectomy and endometriomas in my rectus muscle).  Unfortunately it wasn't pain from previous surgeries and my ob/gyn needed to do surgery to see what was going on.  The surgery was originally more involved and complicated but my amazing surgeon worked hard to keep it through the scope (almost two hours) so I wouldn't have to recover from another open lap.  He found extensive adhesions encapulating my bladder and adhering it to my left ovary.  My sigmoid colon was also wrapped in adhesions and stuck to my posterior wall.  After preparing myself to wake up post-laparotomy with both ovaries removed, I was thrilled to not be in surgical menopause and only have three small incisions.  My doctor rocks and I can't thank him enough for working hard to keep everything as least invasive as possible so I can recover faster and be home for Christmas. 

Thanks for all of the prayers and help everyone.  We couldn't do it without you. 

Jam Session

My uncle and cousins came over on Friday night and brought a 12 string guitar and a drum.  They both are incredibly talented musicians and since Carson and Elias are becoming more and more interested in music, we thought a jam session would be perfect for Christmas.  Michael is going to start doing private guitar lessons for the boys in the spring and I can't wait.  Carson found the drums to be more to his liking and played the heck out of them.  Although the 12 string was almost as big as him, Eli was a natural.  It was a great evening with family and fun.  I can't wait to get the boys instruments of their own!

Christmas Boys

Early Presents

Granny and Papaw were able to come up for Thanksgiving and brought along with them the gifts Santa dropped off at their house.  Carson and Elias were shocked when they learned Granny and Papaw were going to let them open their Christmas gifts early.  Carson marveled at Lego City and Elias could hardly contain his excitement when he saw battery trains.  Santa made much too large of a trip to Granny/Papaw and Great Granny's house this year.  We are truly blessed.