maybe

It's the most wonderful tiiiime of the year....

maybe it is.  it sure used to be.  and maybe maybe it is again.  i have some Christmas spirit this year.  last year, not to say i was in a funk necessarily...but, it was just difficult last year to have much Christmas spirit.  This year, we have put our tree up...we have put lights on the outside of the house...i have hung the stockings and bought the wrapping paper and all the gifts and have made two different batches of Christmas cookies...I have listened to Christmas music.  We have watched the Grinch...we have watched Elf...we have watched Christmas Vacation. We have the nativities out....we have our advent story board thingymabob my pal Crystal gave us all ready to go and we opened the first "box" today.  It is a fun way to count down to Christmas.

Sawyer understands about Santa this year (yes, we practice the "Santa" idea).  It is bound to be a great Christmas.  Hopefully we will be home!  The odds of that happening, I'd say, are pretty good....

I have been hesitant to say it so far, but I'm going to tonight....even though Ridge is running close to his transfusion level....he has made it 18 days so far without needing blood....and his diapers have pretty much been perfectly normal that entire time...and....he only had ONE blood transfusion the entire month of November.  And ZERO hospitalizations during November, other than the one night he had to get blood (and then he really only stayed the night bc he got blood late in the day and it is ridiculous to go home in the middle of the  night.)

Our house is FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZING.  I might not be able to finish this blog post simply bc my toes and hands are like ice and I need to go to bed and cover up with a gerjillion blankets.   BRRRRRR.

Ridge has a stuffy  nose, as do Sawyer and I.  Ridge has been coughing a bit so I am worried if he doesnt' get over this soon (he does not seem to be ill, just maybe a cold, or possibly even weather change stuff, I am really not sure), that he will begin bleeding again.  Maybe he won't, but it is a natural thing to worry about with him/his disease.

That's really all there is to report....we had Thanksgiving, the four of us, at our house.  I made a turkey, as well as many of the trimmings....and I made two pies. I'd never cooked a turkey, or pretty much any of the stuff I cooked that day.  But it was all good. And while we missed being with family- I can say two things with certainty: 1) it sure beat being in the hospital and 2) it's way less stressful to cook all that stuff than lug two children and all their belongings to the car and out of town.  I didn't imagine the 2nd thing could be true at all, but it most definitely was true.  Kids make traveling so difficult.

hmmm....I just don't know if there is a lot more to tell tonight. I'm sure that makes you happy-- because that means not a lot is going on, and that is GREAT news for us!

Ridge is walking walking walking everywhere.  He still is not really talking so I am working on some sign language with him.  He can sign "more" very well and very consistently.  He can sometimes sign "Thank You" and we are working on "eat," "drink," and "be merry" "please."  I'm sure some of you did/do sign language with your kids, but I'm gonna be honest here- I always though that was WEEEEEIRD before....but I don't anymore, bc even though it is only two words so far that Ridge can sign, it is a way for him to communicate with us, and he is at the age he HAS to be able to communicate, bc it is just too frustrating for him to not be able to tell us what he wants. So, I will apologize for thinking it weird before.  Because it most certainly is not weird.  It is wonderful being able to see him talk, even if it is only two words!

Sawyer is reading. Yep, reading. I'm bragging. I am.  But he is READING!  I could never in my whole life teach young kids. It is way too stressful, and teaching kids to read is just not something for which I want to be responsible.  However....I have loved seeing Sawyer's progress from working with him at home!  We've learned all our letters and most of their phonetic sounds, and he struggled a LONG time putting the letters together sound-wise...but he's got it now.  It's so neat!  He also knows a lot of memory verses which is way cool to hear....we are currently working on John 3:16, and while most of you know that verse, we don't always remember that it is really a pretty lengthy verse....I am impressed how quickly he retains memorization type things. 

I have  lot of little things like that to share with you but I am literally shaking like crazy here because it is so cold.  Time to turn up the heater and crawl under those covers!

Good night!