The World According to Grace...Chapter 5...

On Grace's 4th birthday she ran into our bathroom & looked in our full length mirror. Next thing I know I hear her exclaim, "Yessss, I AM older!"

-4 years old

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Grace won a goldfish at the Parrish Fair (local fair at the Catholic school). She named him/her Tahya...which was her word for "Holla"! She LOVED that fish! She told me one day that Tahya talks to her. He/She says, "Blub, blub, hi Grace. That's a pretty dress, blub, blub!"

-4 years old

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Here is another one of my all time favorite Grace stories...

Grace: "Mom, I've got good news, Luke sucks" *pause*

"he doesn't bite it!"

She was talking about a cherry Push Pop sucker that she was sharing with him.

-4 years old

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Grace told Darren, "Daddy, sometimes I have nightmares and sometimes I have morningmares."

-4 1/2 years old

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Out of the blue one day Grace declared this... "Hey Mom, I know where Clara Belle (our cat) was made...Mexico!"

~4 1/2 years old

Spring Break!

We spent our Spring Break in Texas this year. We did many different things & were able to visit all of our family throughout the week! Overall we had a great time!! Here are few pics from the fun things we did...

We had a picnic in the park...

We ate Popsicles at night in the backyard...

We visited the Texas Zoo & the duck pond...

We went out to Lake Texana to roast hot dogs & make s'mores...

The World According to Grace...Chapter 4 (a few days late!)

We were visiting Darren's family in Richmond, TX. Darren's sister, Teresa, (a.k.a. Tia or Aunt Tia) told Grace that her eyebrow was all messed up. She asked Grace to come here so she could fix it & Grace looked at her & said, "That's rude to say to the person that owns the eyebrow!".

-5 1/2 years old

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I had goosebumps on my legs one day & Grace was climbing up on my lap. She touched my knee & said, "Ooh, Mommy, you have skin!".

-3 years old

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Grace's "lovey" is a little bear in a rabbit outfit...so he is appropriately named, Bear Rabbit. She told me one day, "Mom, I am gonna take Bear Rabbit with me to college, but I am gonna keep him in my backpack."

-4 years old

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One day I was doing laundry while Grace was at school. I had just put her sheets in to wash before I picked her up. Once she got home she went in her bedroom & discovered her bed without sheets. She yelled out at me, "Mom, who made my bed naked?!"

-4 years old

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One morning Grace so kindly told me that my breath stunk. So, I kindly let her know that hers stunk, too! She asked me what hers smelled like & I jokingly said dead animals. She then said, "Oh, it's because I had Danimals yogurt last night."

-3 months shy of turning 5

The World According to Grace...Chapter 3...

I had a stuffy nose one day, but Grace wanted me to smell her feet. I told her my nose wasn't working & she said, "oh no, do we need to get more batteries?".

-4 1/2 years old

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This was Grace's prayer one night after our Bible study...

"Dear Jesus, thank you for healing that man & heal me, too. *cough, cough*

Do you hear that God?"

-2 months shy of her 5th birthday

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This is probably one of my favorite Grace stories: One day Grace yells from the living room, "Mom, he (Luke) did it again!" (Luke loved to turn off the tv while she was watching it.) I said, "Okay, I'll come spank him." Grace began chanting, "Lori, Lori, Lori!"

-3 months shy of her 5th birthday

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Grace told Darren she was going to sit by him at dinner (we were going to her fav Mexican food place). When we got in the restaurant she changed her mind & sat by me. She looked at Darren & said, "I'll sit by you tomorrow at breakfast. It'll give you something to look forward to!"

-5 years old

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We were visiting Nana & Papa (my parents) & Grace was studying the water/ice dispenser on the front of their new refrigerator. The ice dispenser had a picture of an ice cube, only to her it looked like an orange slice. She asked me, "Mom, if I push this button do oranges come out?".

-1 month shy of her 5th birthday

The World According to Grace...Chapter 2...

Cousin Lauren & Aunt Kem came to visit us after Luke was born. Grace loves her Cousin Lauren!! She was reading to Grace before nap time one day & then said prayers with Grace. She did the typical "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer & when she got to the "...if I should die before I wake..." part she was nervous to say it & was hoping Grace wouldn't say anything about dying. Grace looked up at her & said, "yea, I've died in my sleep before!".

-1 month shy of turning 3 years old

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I took the kids to McDonald's one day for lunch. While we were leaving I sneezed really loud & said, "ooh, that was a loud one!". Grace immediately said, "you can say that again!"

-3 1/2 years old

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We took our first little family vacation to Chattanooga, TN. One morning Grace woke up to hear me, Darren & Luke playing & laughing quietly in the hotel bed. Grace sat up, looked at us & said, "Do I hear playing?" just like Ms. Hannigan does in the movie Annie (her fav movie at the time)!

-3 1/2 years old

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One Sunday morning a lady at church asked Grace what her name was. She looked up at her & in a very matter of fact voice said, "Helloooo, Grace Lehrmann!"

-4 years old

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Luke did something to make Grace mad one day & she said, "Ugh! I am not gonna be his sister anymore. I'm just gonna be his cousin. *pause* His MEAN cousin!"

-4 years old

Ear Tubes take two & Adenoidectomy

On Tuesday we took the Luke-meister to Greenwood, MS to have his adenoids taken out & his second set of ear tubes put in.

Back in January 2008 Luke was diagnosed with RSV (a respiratory virus) which was followed by several ear infections over the next 6 weeks. So we went to an ENT & right away he suggested we put in ear tubes. They literally rocked our world! It was amazing the difference they made in Luke! It was like we had a whole new baby!! The last tube finally fell out back in January of this year. Well, soon after he began having ear infections again. Then at the beginning of February he fell & hit his nose so we took him for a CT Scan which showed fluid in his left ear & sinus disease. After a regular checkup with our ENT he suggested getting his adenoids out. He said there was a bit of fluid in his left ear, but that they looked okay. When we went on Monday for his pre-op appointment he looked at his ears again & suggested another set of tubes because his ears were really bad.

So, Tuesday morning we all took off bright & early to get our little guy all fixed up. We had to be at the hospital (which is an hour away) at 6:00am, so we were up very early! Luke was the first patient scheduled & was due to have the surgery at 7:30. Once we got settled in they gave him a shot to dry his mouth out (they go in through the mouth to take the adenoids out). By the time 7:00 rolled around the shot had worked & he was starting to become irritated with how dry his mouth was. It was painful to watch. He also kept asking for a snack. Thankfully, he didn't lose it on us! They came & rolled his little bed to the OR room & they allowed me to walk with him. He was asking me where he was going & it made me sad! He was excited to roll down the hallway though! :) Once we got to the second floor they had me give him a hug & kiss, then they took him on in. That was hard! I didn't want to let my baby go!! I prayed all the way back to the room. The cool thing about this hospital is that they call you once the surgery is started & then as soon as they are done the doctor calls you to let you know what they found/did. Then another nurse calls & tells you he is in recovery & when they will be bringing him back to the room. So, we pretty much knew what was going on the whole time! The surgery took about 20 minutes or so & then he was back in the room by about 8:15ish.

So cute...even at 6:00am!

Luckily I picked up a little Matchbox airplane him. It was the only way we could get him to wear the hospital gown!

They wheeled him back to the room & he looked so pitiful. He was all curled up on his pillow, covered with his "bay-bay" (blanket), with his giraffe next to him & clutching his new toy plane. It broke our hearts!! As soon as he saw me he started crying & he literally cried for an hour & a half! He would settle down & then they would come in & check his vitals...typical, huh?! He was not really awake yet & just wanted to sleep. He slept on & off in our arms. We were offering him juice, a Popsicle & ice cream but he wanted nothing to do with any of it! Finally around 10:00 he wanted some orange juice, drank a mouthful & was done. The doctor came in to tell us more about the procedure & he asked "who wants to go home?". Luke raised his hand & in his little raspy voice said, "me!". It was cute!! We were released & by 11:30 we were on our way home.

The hardest part of the day! It was so painful to not be able to help him!

It turns out Luke's adenoids were very large. His left eardrum had blisters forming on it from all the infection & his right eardrum was also very infected. He has been in some pain on & off since Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing some improvement in his little health & in his sleeping habits. They say the adenoids affect sleeping, causing snoring & sleep apnea. So far he has slept more soundly only waking up because of pain...which they said was to be expected. I am glad it is all behind us now & look forward to what lies ahead!! The pics below are from Tuesday afternoon. He was a happy camper by this time. We gave him the "Bucket o' Soldiers" from Toy Story & the hospital gave him the game "Don't Break the Ice". We had fun with both!

It's not easy bein' green...

A few Saturdays ago we took the kids (our real kids & our adoptive daughters) to the Kermit the Frog museum in Leland, MS. Grace has been several times before, but this was Luke's first time. Jim Henson spent part of his early childhood in Leland, MS & so they have a little museum set up to honor him & his work. There are some really neat "old school" Muppet toys & they also have a Muppet display & a display of Kermit with his banjo sitting on a log. There is a larger than life Kermit that we took a picture with. Luke was a huge fan!! After looking around we let the kids pick out a souvenir from the gift shop. Grace chose a Kermit the Frog bag & Luke fell in love with a Cookie Monster hand puppet. We then walked along the little bridge that extends over Deer Creek which is the birthplace of ol' Kermit! All in all it was a fun afternoon!

The whole gang

Smelbs, Luke, Lala & Grace
The kiddos

I think Luke was telling Kermit off!

Walking on the Deer Creek bridge...

Luke was looking for Kermit!

And the award goes to ...

... Lori Lehrmann for her blog Mississippi Lehrmann's!

Oh wow! Gosh! I wasn't expecting this at all. Geez, I am so unprepared...I didn't even write a thank you speech. Okay, I've gotta pull myself together and thank the people who have helped me to achieve this success! Let's see... First off I would like to thank God for allowing me these experiences in life...without them I would have no reason to blog! I would like to thank my family for their love, support & funny stories to share. I would like to thank Kelly for thinking my blog was award worthy!

Okay, so I might be living in a little fantasy world, but a girl can dream can't she?! You are probably wondering exactly what award I received. My friend Kelly gave my blog the Lemonade Stand Award! She received one on her blog & she passed it along to five blogs that she reads. Pretty cool, huh?! I thought so, too!! So, now it is my turn to answer a list of questions and then pass the award along to five bloggers whose turn it is to pass the award along to five more bloggers...and so on and so on! So here we go...

1. Your cell phone? iPhone...need I say more?!

2. Your hair? in need of a cut & color

3. Your Mother? loyal

4. Your Father? blessed with 2

5. Your favorite food? Tex-Mex

6. Your dream last night? forgettable

7. Your favorite drink? Vanilla Diet Coke from Sonic

8. Your dream/goal? being a photographer

9. What room are you in? living room

10. Your hobby? tennis

11. Your fear? something happening to my husband or kids

12. Where do you wanna be in 6 years? back in Texas!!

13. Where were you last night? home with the family

14. Something that you aren't? confrontational

15. Muffins? blueberry crumble

16. Wish List item? going to England

17. Where did you grow up? Victoria, TX

18. Last thing you did? rocked Luke

19. What are you wearing? wind pants & a t-shirt

20. Your TV? new HD TV!

21. Your pets? Clara Belle the cat

22. Friends? Make life fun!

23. Your life? crazy, but definitely blessed!!

24. Your mood? relaxed

25. Missing someone? most definitely!!

26. Vehicle? Dodge Journey

27. Something you aren't wearing? jewelry

28. Your favorite store? Target

29. Your favorite color? Yellow

30. When was the last time you laughed? this morning

31. Last time you cried? yesterday

32. Your best friend? Darren Ray Lehrmann

33. One place you go to over and over again? Walmart

34. Facebook? addictive!

35. Favorite place to eat? Chuy's

Now that I've completed that part of the award I've decided to pass the award along to the five blogs I enjoy reading. Here they are in no particular order...

1. A Little "Happy"

2. The Family Bond

3. The Fab Five

4. Three Men & a Lady

5. The Mears

Hope you are able to pass along the happiness & fun-ness (I know, that's not a word!) of the award!! Happy Award Winning Blogging!!