Sights of the Season

We have enjoyed several holiday festivities this year.

To start off the season, we hosted part of the Martin Mob for Thanksgiving. Mom, Dad, Laura, Kevin, Cliff, Evie, Kirby, Jack and Tori came up for the long weekend. Matt was the chef for our turkey feast and outcooked himself!! We hung out inside most of the weekend due to frigid temps (per opinion of the Houstonians), but ventured out for Bass Pro Shop Christmas events and Snow Tubing at the Bricktown Ballpark. Of course, the big kids (Carrie included) loved the tubing, and our adventurous spirited Abigail even tubed all by herself!! George stayed in the cheering section with Matt, Kev & Laura drinking hot cocoa and eating cookies. The biggest success of the weekend was Jack (Morris' 100 lb. chocolate lab) did not eat our cats and managed to somewhat peacefully coexist indoors! We had a wonderful time with family!

bk row: Judie, Jerry, Laura, Cliff, Kevin, Matt, Carrie

frt row: Evie, Abigail, Kirby, George
Where's Boomer?
First gun shooting experience (he wants a gun sooooo bad!)
coloring with Evie
Our little drummer boy
Abs and Geo were excited about their happies from Aunt Go-Go & Uncle Kevin's trip to Hawaii...palm tree stir sticks, A's coconut bra & grass skirt, and G's hawaiian shirt & shorts!! Aloha!

Next came the McFarlin Annual Advent Festival, tons of fun. Mom & Dad were able to join us too. They had tons of crafts for kids and adults, which are hanging all over our house!! George loved the jazz band and Abigail loved decorating gingerbread cookies. We hope to support our church's tradition for many years to come.


Abigail and Ms. Fatima, one of her favorite workers at church

Becoming one with the Nativity...it's what we call "experiential learning".

Another fun tradition we have is the Holiday Happening at the Sam Noble Natural History Museum. The kiddos LOVED the huge dinosaurs and playing in the children's area. Caught a glimpse of Santa, but quickly escaped before the tears began!

The largest Pentaceratops skull in the world...even made it into Guiness Book.
Excavating in the Children's Section
A little man and his tools.

Matt's parents came up to go with us to the Christmas Train in Dry Gulch, OK (near Adair, OK--3 hours NE of Norman). We stayed the night in Tulsa in a hotel and the twins thought that was the coolest thing ever! They had a blast riding the train, eating the homemade cinnamon rolls (best I've ever had in my life), and riding the carousel and horse-drawn wagon. Late night, VERY VERY COLD (when we got out of the car @ 7pm, it was 34 degrees), but totally worth it! Hope to do it again!

Enjoying hot chocolate with the Nutcrackers at Utica Square in Tulsa
Our family Christmas Tree
Bundled up for fun at the Christmas Train
Steam Engine in the background.
Waiting to board the train after the wagon ride and lots of sugar!

Attended our favorite Norman event, the Kiwanis Annual Pancake Breakfast and Norman City Christmas Parade. George ate his weight in pancakes and Abigail put her share of bacon away!! Bundled up and walked across the lawn to watch the parade. Gotta love a parade with tractors, horses, homemade floats, animals, and lots of candy!!

Waving at Santa...that's as close as they will get this year.

Sitting on the curb waiting for more candy!

Last night George and Abigail had their Northhaven Dayschool Christmas Program and since Miss A recovered from her surgery like a rock star, she was ready to belt out her song on stage later that night! George was not a fan of being on stage and cried in Ms. Abby's arms the whole time: "I don't want to sing!!" Abigail, however, stood in between two of her favorite friends, Camden Lane and Hudson Brown, and sang "Away in a Manger". She was so adorable doing all of the hand motions with her 3 yo class!

"...asleep on the hay"....pick a good one, Hudson?
Love it!!

Another fun thing this year was putting up a small Christmas tree in G&A's room. They LOVE looking at it, redecorating it often, and reading scripture nightly to prepare for the birth of Jesus. Thank you, Ms. Amy, for the wonderful Advent Bible Verse chain that adorns their tree. They have also enjoyed reading our Christmas books given by Aunt Go-Go and other friends over the years.

Other noteworthy Christmas season stuff: they have developed a love for hot chocolate [especially Starbucks! ;)], they love looking at Christmas decorations and lights, and listening to Christmas music in the car.

Combine all this with working, navigating Abigail's gastrointestinal issues & facial lesion, and George's minor throat infection....I'd say we've been a bit busy!!!

No more pink angel kiss

Abigail had her second and last surgery of the year today. She had her facial lesion shaved off & lasered by Dr. Glade. She was a trooper...she was more scared this time and cried saying "I don't want them to cut off my spot". Upon investigation about her sadness, she revealed that she didn't want to stop wearing her favorite accessory, the princess band-aids! She liked playing on the dry-erase board, walking the halls, and "dancing" on the rolling chair.
She was slower to come out of anesthesia this time and a bit grumpier, but rallied when she saw the purple popsicle.
As soon as we were home, she asked for her Georgie (who played at the Pollans, thank you muchos!!), nachos (her favorite meal), and she took a great nap. Now for the healing process to begin!!!

This pic was taken one week ago, Dec 8, 2010, prior to her MRI.
Chair dancing with her daddy
Lovin' on her newest lovie, "Scrubs".

Snuggles while coming back to reality...

Facebooks & random stories...

A few funny Facebook status updates to record as family memories...

Dec 8: As we are snuggling @ bedtime...G: "Mama, you so boo-ful...no, you not boo-ful cause you don't have a dress & long earrings." Little stinker.

Nov 30: The coconut bra and grass skirt have replaced the obsession with princess dresses for the moment. Thanks Go-Go!

Oct 28: In regards to the OKC Thunder Girls, George says, "they're neked, where der clothes go?" I don't know either, G. Too funny.

Oct 7: Loved "rockin' out" in the wag last night with my excited kiddos with all windows down drive-dancing-singing "Sweet Caroline, da, da, da"! Happy moments to be greatful for...

More funny stories:
~ Every time we round the corner on 36th & Tecumseh Rd, G says, "Look Mama, I see the stem!" (referring to the steeple on Northhaven Church Day School)

~When I told A&G that we were going on the Christmas Train with Grammy & Grandpa, Abigail excitedly asked, "Will Santa be dere? And unicorns?"

~One afternoon we were driving around town and Abigail randomly starts listing all the things she wants for Christmas: Baby Dora bike, Baby Dora kite, dollhouse, pink kitchen, pink scooter...I remind her that she may have to pick her one or two favorite things, that she probably won't receive all those things. She pauses, and responds emphatically, "but Mama I want it all!!!"

~G&A love to come on our bed in the morning to snuggle as we awaken for the day. They love to talk about their dreams. One morning, George said, "I dreamed about animals, but I didn't shoot them." (A favorite dream he tells about is going shooting at Grandpa's and he tells me about shooting lions, deer, foxes, etc.)

Update on Lesion.

Thx for much love for Abs. The good news is the lesion is shallow & Dr. Glade will be able to shave it off and laser to remove redness; the bad news is that's one more time under anesthesia. Three times in four months is enough!

Dr. Glade tried "strangling" it with suture string in office today but the shape of the spot did not allow a secure hold. Needless to say, Abigail was NOT a fan of the papoose board and the attempts re-ulcerated the lesion, so we had a bloody mess!! Disappointed that the least invasive option did not work, but at least we tried. So off to the surgery center we go....thank goodness for good insurance!

She is scheduled for next Wednesday morning.

"Pink Angel Kiss"...

...is what Abigail calls her spot on her face. It popped up on Sept 3, 2010, the day before her 3rd birthday and has been growing ever since. It is located on the lower left eye socket bone (not sure of technical name). First thought it was a scratch but it kept getting bigger and did not heal, then about 2 weeks later, it became 3-dimensional. While we were waiting many weeks for the dermatologist appt, she complained of it becoming itchy (thanks to Sasha and Amanda for the heads-up that it might ulcerate) and a few nights later after she was in bed, she came out of her room in tears. She was covered in blood, from her blonde hair to her toes...talk about freaky. Knew exactly what happened as the blood was pulsating out of her little spot and calmly got the bleeding stopped with compression. She must have scratched it in her sleep which opened up the lesion. She became calmer once we got her blood-soaked pjs off of her and into the bath to wash off. Yay for laundry detergent that removed all crimson remnants off her best "sleeping friends"!

Now that her spot was an open wound, the derm would not touch her. We were prepared to travel to Little Rock or Dallas to see a vascular surgeon who specialized in these anomalies, but Amanda Lowry worked her magic! She located Dr. Glade who completed a fellowship at Children's in Little Rock in the vascular clinic and recently relocated to Children's Hospital in OKC. YAY!! We now have someone local!!!

Dr. Glade recommended topical treatment to hopefully reduce its size. Unfortunately, within a few days, the spot re-grew and was back to its size prior to ulceration, but closed. So here we are...

Abigail had a MRI this morning where Dr. Glade will determine exactly what type of spot it is and its depth, which will tell us if it can be treated with injectable steroids or will have to be excised...obviously, we are hoping for the former, but want the most effective treatment and least scarring.

"Nothing more sobering than holding your child as they go limp from anesthesia. Thank you, fabulous people of Children's Hospital for that grace." ( my Facebook status from today)

Little Abigail is a fantastic patient, always willing to do what med professionals need her to do. She has been really excited about having a vast array of band-aids to wear daily, from Toy Story to Dora to Shrek. Note to 3M: don't advertise Princess Fiona on the box of Band-Aids but not have any with her picture on it...very upsetting to 3 yo little girls.

Here are a few pictures of the progression (thanks Sash for this recommendation and fancy camera assistance--cool [in a weird way] to watch its growth).

September 3, 2010...can barely see it, looks like pin-prick


October 9, 2010


October 31, 2010


November 22, 2010...day after ulceration


November 24, 2010...growing again


Check back soon to hear prognosis and please keep little Miss A in your thoughts and prayers.

3rd Birthday revisited.... (only three months late!)

This is the theme of our lives with twins: Flying by the seat of our pants in the moment, going back later to pick up the pieces and fill in the gaps where possible, and letting the rest fall by the wayside.

So, appropriate now to fill in the gaps of remembering their 3rd birthday. We were blessed to have a two part celebration. The weekend before their birthday, we threw a backyard party. The weather was perfect and we were able to have a pleasant evening party with hotdogs & hamburgers on the grill, "princess" and "construction equipment" themed birthday cake (split down the middle in colors of pink and green/orange, of course!), and friends and family to help celebrate! The kids had a great time picnicking on the grass, swimming in the kiddie pool, playing on our fort, playing a few simple games, and checking out their treat bags with whistles and crazy straws.

A few pics to record memories:

G LOVES CAKE!!!

Caine in the pool and Baby Campbell in the swing
Hudson chowing down on cake with Evangeline in the background
Cache and Asher loving the sweets!
Abs and Rachel with Ms. Amy
Backyard celebration, simple style!
Neighbors Yelin and Crystal

On their actual birthday over Labor Day weekend, our best friends and George & Abigail's godparents "Don Kendal" and "GaGa Lauren" and Carlisle, Jackson Camper, and Baby Evie Claire came to visit from Arkansas. It was pure insanity with five kids 3 and under in one house, but we all had a blast spending time together & playing outside. They all got along beautifully and fell right into step as if we were together all the time. Makes us sad that they live 6 hours away :( but sooooo thankful that they made the trip. Needless to say, second round sweet treats of Dora, Diego, and Boots pink and orange birthday cupcakes...why not have a bit more sugar to ring in Year #3!!!

Okay, this was the funniest thing. The kids found an empty bucket and within mere minutes, all four twins were stripped down naked and filling the bucket to "take a bath". It was hilarious!!! Can't you here the shrills of happiness?




Nighttime rituals of story and song...


We decided to take George & Abigail on their first hike on Labor Day at the beautiful Wichita Mountain Wildlife Preserve. It was a gorgeous day and we ate our picnic lunch overlooking the lake (with their new birthday lunchboxes- thanks Morris fam!). We hiked approx 2 miles to an overlook. We looked for lizards, learned how to climb boulders and walk on "slippery pebbles", walked over a dam, and the importance of staying hydrated. G&A had a blast and did great--G made it the whole way and A was only carried the last little bit. They also loved seeing the buffalo and "fairy dogs" (prairie dogs). They have the love of outdoors in their blood!!