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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Glimpse of the wedding...

Here's a hint to the wedding!

By Leaps and Bounds.

Why am I choosing to write today?

While at work, of all the hectic places?

Because its Leap Day and I think that deserves a special post?

Because the toddler is asleep and the 8 year old is doing homework quietly next to me?

Because there's cookie dough in the freezer calling my name and I have a dress fitting soon so I am trying to eat healthier?

It could be one, or a combination of all of these things.

And it's been over a week since I've written anything.

Life is doing this strange thing of moving incredibly fast, but yet crawling by.

How does that work?

Maybe it has something to do with perspective.

Emmett will be 5 months old on the 10th, old enough for baby food.

That's how time is moving fast. I can't believe he's this big already!

It is STILL 73 days until the wedding!

Yes, I said still, not only.

I feel like we have been engaged and wedding planning forever.

I'm trying to not wish it away, as we are finding out a lot about ourselves and each other during this stage.

Our relationship is growing by leaps and bounds.

But in learning about myself I've come to realize something.

I am SO over wedding planning.

I'm not disliking it, and it's not terribly stressful, but I am just over it.

I think as brides to be, we run around in this dream-like state for the first few months;

We are dress shopping, making big plans for flowers and photographers, all the while receiving congratulations and well-wishes from everyone around us.

And then that gradually starts to drop off.

And then you get so planned that you have your dress, his suit, your flowers, rings, a pastor, and every other important thing planned.

And you are, like me, thinking:

"Okay, what are we waiting for? Can we just do this now?"

I came to this realization yesterday while talking with my hairdresser, Meghan.

We were talking wedding stuff, and I finally figured out that I do not LOVE wedding planning as much as I thought I would.

Yes, I loved planning our wedding.

Yes, I love looking forward to it.

But honestly, most of all I love that at the end of the day we will be husband and wifey, walking (or running, refer back to the "nephews are growing up to fast" part) through life together.

And that's why I'm over wedding planning!

What about you, past brides? Did you get to this point?

Let me know!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Winterfest

After all the shenanigans with the realty group, we left for a fun weekend at the lake!

It was the Rotary Club's 16th annual Winterfest fundraiser!

Held at the very resort that our wedding is going to be at!

The theme was movies...


And people were encouraged to come as their favorite movie stars!

For example, Chad's parents were Danny and Sandy from Grease:


And Chad and I dressed as...

...ourselves! Yay!

Haha, more like we couldn't come up with any costume ideas...

...until we got there, and then I had about 20.

Whatever. It was fun and the food was SO GOOD.

It has us looking forward to our wedding in...

83 DAYS!!!

Okay, that's all. I'm done harassing you with random news you probably didn't want to know anyways!

83 DAYS!!!

Okay. Now I'm done.

Playing Grown Up

Like I said in the previous post, we don't have time to be sick.

Because this weekend I had to take my still slightly pale and nauseous self to Rolla to go apartment hunting with Chad!

That part was exciting.

The non-exciting part was one of the first things he said to me when he saw me:

"Wow, you warned me you were gonna be pale, but I didn't expect to notice it this much!"

Well thanks, honey. Lots.

Just kidding, I know it was out of concern!

Anyways, so we went to see 2 apartments, and we liked one of them, but don't get too excited for us yet.

One realty group has the monopoly on Rolla, so they pretty much set the rules.

And they aren't hurting for business, so they were downright COLD.

Until I pointed out that we would be married by the time we moved in.

That made them soften a little. But definitely not much.

Here's the summary:
Unless we want to start renting now, which isn't even a possibility because Chad is on another lease through them, we have to wait until "March Madness".

What is March Madness?

No. It's got nothing to do with basketball.

In fact, it has everything to do with the ONE day that the college students in town have to go sign for an apartment, on a first come, first served basis.

It's so competitive to get the ideal apartment that, get this, people literally CAMP OUT ON THE STEPS OF THE REALTY COMPANY.

What a joke.

Welcome to Rolla, Amy. Ha. Or more like, welcome to grown up life.

Double Ha.

Landon Updates. And Then Some.

Landon is home! And has been since the day after "Home Sweet Hospital".

He's recovering well, and his appetite continues to grow.

The hospital did give are family a parting gift though.

Oh, yes.

It gave Mom, Lindsay, Jenna, Josh, and I...

THE STOMACH FLU.

Not just any stomach flu.

Some mutant form that made it impossible to be upright for more than 10 minutes without passing out.

Thankfully, it was only 24 hours for almost everyone (poor Lindsay and Jenna!).

The most thankful out of all of us was probably Dad.

I don't think he could've handled another day of pathetic calls and texts from us!

"Daaaaddd...can you get some more saltines on your way home?! Pleeeeease?!"

"Mark. I NEED you to go get some ginger ale."

Things like that. Ha.

We are so glad to be mostly recovered!

Because if it's one thing my family doesn't have, its time to be sick!

As covered in the next post.

Read on, friends!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Home Sweet Hospital

Landon is on day 6 of hospital stay today.

Not surprisingly at all, he has charmed all the doctors and nurses!

The Child Life Coordinator brought a special Valentines Day craft to his room yesterday because he can't leave.

He LOVED decorating cookies!


I may be biased (Okay, I am biased) but I think he is the best cookie decorator!


He's not eating very well, but at least he's drinking!

I caught a picture of the only bite of food I saw him take in the hours I was there:


He has been watching movies to keep occupied!

The nurse brought him a popsicle and "King Landon" as we like to call him, asked me to hold it while he ate it!


Get well soon, baby boy! We can't wait to see your healthy, happy smiles again!



PS...Isn't that contraption on his arm (his IV, cover, and board) the saddest thing?

Monday, February 13, 2012

Landon Updates. Part 2.

I figured everyone would like to know what is going on with little guy...

And in the interest of not mixing up info, I'll compile a list of status updates from Lindsay's facebook here:

Starting Feb. 9th up until today:

On the way to St. John's Mercy Hospital with Landon :(


Finally got Landon settled in a room but now Emmett has a 100.9 temp. Praying it's just a reaction to his shots and that he is catching what Landon has!


Not much sleep last night due to breathing treatments, cough, IV meds and his upset stomach but my little man is such a trooper!


They're keeping Landon at least one more day because he doesn't want to eat or drink and what little he does consume he throws back up. We also found out that his doctors at Children's Hospital want to do another bronchoscopy on Landon at their facility, which is a bummer since he just had one in December. The good news is that his fever is down. Thanks for praying, friends. We appreciate the prayers so much!


Landon pretty please could you bring those oxygen levels up and keep food and drink down? Your mama is starting to worry at an unhealthy level.


Well, it's looking like we will be here another night or so. Landon still isn't eating much or keeping anything down and his cough has gotten a little worse. Poor guy is worn out from being sick, not eating, coughing, ect. My normally happy guy hasn't awarded us with very many smiles or laughs today but he's still been a trooper. I'm so proud of him for being a good boy even though he's bored and lonely. Funny moment of the day: after a particularly bad coughing spell that resulted in bringing up his lunch, Landon flopped back down of the bed and said: "Can I have a present now? I sad." Silly boy!


Well, Landon's blood-oxygen level was down tonight, even after a breathing treatment, and he wasn't able to keep down supper which is a bummer but it was so wonderful to see him happy tonight while he had visitors. He's been sad and quiet the last couple of days but when Uncle Chad and Aunt Amy and Bella, Gramps and Uncle Josh were here he perked right up, just like he did yesterday when Pop Pop and Ga'Ma were here. Poor kid has been so lonely! Thanks for visiting and cheering Landon up!


Look like we will be here for another day or so. Landon had a rough night last night and the coughing is making it hard for him to keep food and drink down. He may go back on the IV fluids this morning. The fever is still gone though, PTL!


Landon is being hooked back up to the IV for fluids since he isn't taking in enough food or drink and is still having trouble keeping it down. Poor little buddy is not going to be happy about this! Every time he sees the IV pole he says "I not like that, mommy!"


Landon is having a rough day today. He keeps having coughing fits that make him throw up and he's back to refusing to eat. He's running low on energy and just wants to stay in bed. (anyone who knows him knows that this is so not like my normally hyperactive child)
He has a bit of a wheeze again but is still moving air well. They are considering the possibility of whooping cough, although most kids don't run a high fever with it. They are switching his antibiotic too.



Please pray for Landon. He's having his worst day yet. He can't stop coughing and vomiting and is now complaining of chest and back pain. He won't get out of bed and has slept half the day. It kills me that I can't do more for him:(


Dr was just here. We are here another night (obviously) They are switching his oral Zithromax to IV, upping his fluids and doing more bloodwork, including blood cultures to check for staph.He's going to check for pancreatic and liver problems too. He's still throwing up and his cough is getting worse. He hasn't left his bed since 10:30 this morning. He still won't drink but did take one bite of chicken nugget which is awesome because it's the first food he's had in 22 hours!


 So that's the latest. Lil man is sick and sad. I think we would all do ANYTHING to make him better!

Please keep praying for strength for Landon and his parents, wisdom for the doctors, and health for the Dunham family!

Landon Updates.

If you are friends with me or any of my family members on Facebook, you know that little Landon man has been in the hospital since Thursday.

He is very sick.

What is wrong, you may ask?

Here's the kicker...NO ONE KNOWS!

Not his pediatrician, not his pulmonologist, not his immune disorder doctor, not his infectious disease doctor.

None of these awesome, intelligent medical brains can figure out what is going on with him.

How do you explain that to a 2 year old?

How do you tell them that they are stuck in the hospital until they can keep down food and liquid and aren't running a fever?

How do you keep them occupied?

How?

I'll tell you.

My big sister is super-mommy.

I don't know how on earth she does it.

I would have gone crazy by now if I was in the situation.

She deserves a medal. Or a long, relaxing vacation. Something.

I am so proud of you, Lindsay!

Why I Love Working With Kids...

A little hard to read, but I got it from here:
http://pinterest.com/pin/283797213988392522/

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Surprises!

As previously mentioned, Landon-man is stuck in the hospital for high fever and some GI issues.

Little man has been very sick.




















And very sad.





















Little man hasn't been wanting to eat or drink, and it has been killing everyone to see our normally happy little guy like this.

 Mom used the term "heartwrenching". And she was completely right.

So, as we were cooking dinner, the wheels in me and "Unca Cad's" minds were turning.

Lindsay had texted me earlier in the day, saying little man was asking for "Cad".

So after calling Mom, we decided to make a little trip up to Mercy hospital...

...Secretly of course.

So we headed up after dinner to the hospital, by way of "A-Donalds" to get Landon a happy meal.

As we headed into the hospital, and up to his room, I was getting more and more excited to see how Landon would react.

As we came into the room, Little Man's eyes lit up and he smiled.

That look was worth the whole trip.

And then Lindsay came over and hugged me and thanked us for coming.

Probably my favorite part of the visit, was the first few words out of Landon's mouth...

He was looking at Unca Cad adoringly, and he told us all, "I like him! I like Cad!"

Then Landon set out to eat his happy meal! We were thrilled we were eating.




















Landon LOVED playing with him and going on wagon rides.




















He also stayed more calm when hospital people came in for his breathing treatments and medicines.

After the grandparents and Uncle Gosh left, we stayed around a little longer,

And Landon said, "Unca Cad come lay by me!" so they could watch a movie!




















It was so fun to see them together, and totally worth the drive!

We'd do it over again in a heartbeat if we could!

Growing Up...


Wow, Emmett is 4 months old already!!

Which means it was time to try rice cereal!

And since Emmett's big brother is stuck in Mercy hospital, 

That is where he got to try it out, under the watchful eye of 
Bella, Gramps, Landon, Mommy, Daddy, Unca Gah, Unca Gad, and Aunt Amy!


He liked it a LOT!


He was loving it so much that the was kicking away in the bouncy seat, and most of the pictures were blurry!


Emmett may not look like it in this picture, but he's loving (semi) solid food!


Love is Sweet :)


Valentine's Day is great, when you have a valentine as sweet as mine!


He's really great :)


Monday, February 6, 2012

Today's Crafty-ness


So, today I should have been doing laundry and studying for either one of two tests I have this week.

But of course, the DIY bug bit again, thanks to a package arriving at my house this afternoon.

The package contained about 150 wine corks, which I used to make this:


Its a trivet for pots and pans, and it was SO easy that I made two of them (this one turned out better) in about 20 minutes!

Here's how:

Get out all your non-synthetic wine corks. 


Heat up your hot glue gun.

Grab that $1 wooden frame that has been collecting dust in your craft supplies pile and go to work!
I laid out the corks to make sure I could get the right pattern/fit because corks slightly vary in size.

And then I glued them down.

 The End!


Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Newest News

Chad asked me to update the blog tonight, and I decided that was a good idea!

So, what have we been up to?

This past weekend we celebrated Chad's birthday at his parents' house with them and his brother.

He got some gifts and we played Monopoly Deal and Settlers of Catan.

We are getting quite a collection of board games for our future house! And that is exciting.

All the guys' suits for the wedding are shipped to their respective stores, and most are being altered right now!

This past week, we celebrated a (minor-ish) milestone...We're in the double digits of days until the wedding!

And since I'm sure you were wondering, wedding planning is going great!

This past week has also been a celebration of the Chinese New Year, so I have been craving steamed bread and missing my babies like NONE OTHER this week!

On the plus side of that though, a good friend, and fellow Team Chenzhou 2011 team member announced their upcoming addition to their family! I am SO excited for them!

It seems to be raining good news around here, and we're loving it! God is SO good!

PS: Yes, the Superbowl is today. And no, we aren't caring too much, because MIZZOU beat Kansas (eww) last night, so that's really all that matters!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Happy February!

Well, It's February, which means...

Time for a new wreath!!

Okay, so this is it:


And this is how I got there:

I took a length of plumbers' pipe insulation that I got at Home Depot for 97 cents and cut it in half.

(It will be saved for the next wreath)

I then took out all my pink and red and white fabric scraps and cut them with pinking shears into 1x9or10 inch strips.

I then took them and started wrapping the wreath using small straight pins to secure them.

(The benefit of using this pipe insulation besides being cheap is that you can pin into it without it poking through and it holds better than any glue!)

In the interest of using less pins, I used the same one that ended the previous strip to start the new one.

I then picked the side that had the least pins sticking out of it and attached the big bow.

For this I used a dot of E600 glue (That's miracle stuff!) and then pinned it in place using 2 more straight pins.

It looks good now, but it will look better when it's hanging on the door of my own house!