The best morning of the year...

Ava's excited Christmas morning expression was successfully captured.

Grandma MaryJo hand made special blankets for the girls this year.

Olivia with her new tea set. She loves everything girly.

Below is the only present that Ava actually asked for this year, a Handy Manny tool set. She is still a tom-boy.

Olivia on her bike with her Hello Kitty helmet.

Ava got a new Princess Bike and matching helmet.

Joy

Our Christmas morning was filled with excitement, giggles, and love, just the way it ought to be. It was truly a day to remember, we had such a wonderful day.

Our First Snow!!!

It snowed the other day! It was a lot of fun, although there wasn't enough to cover the ground :(

Ava still got to eat some :)
Olivia was pretty cold, as evidenced by her cold, runny nose.

Olivia was so high, I couldn't believe Lance got her that high!

I know this is a low quality pic, but the girls are so cute in their new Tinkerbell pajamas. They loved them!

Whew, getting ready for Christmas... can't wait for all the excitement!

The Lone Star State!

Hey all,We are now Texans!We arrived in Houston safe and sound after 2 days of driving & one night at a hotel. I was concerned that the girls not being used to long car rides, but they behaved better then when they are at home! (with the help of a DVD player and lots of sweets). We had an uneventful trip (thank goodness), exept the day we left, Lance became very ill with a cough and fever, and it's made it's way slowly through the family. Olivia had it, and now Ava and I have it. I start work this Monday, so hopefully I'll kick it before then.

We've had several adventures already here in TX. Oh my goodness the traffic and highway system is crazy. It's Tampa X 10! People definitely drive like it's big city here. Lance already saw a bad car accident happen and also lady getting beat up at Best Buy for stealing a purse! Crazy stuff, and we've only been here 4 days!

We visited the VA campus, and it is AWESOME! It is on a huge, beautiful, wooded campus. It must be several acres with TONS of parking! It looks like a college campus. It's definitely not what I'm used to after working at the Tampa VA.

The house is beautiful, brand new, and we are pretty much settled in with the exception of a few boxes. We are excited to start our new life here.

Thanks again to all our friends in FL who gave us a very fond farewell!

Cheese, cowgirl boots, and the fall of Tinkerbell...

I think one of the joys of parenthood is the unpredictable life that you live. Each day is different and exciting, sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Olivia likes her "cheese" during pictures.

I brought home a fairy collection for the girls, the favorite fairy, of course, is Tinkerbell. THAT NIGHT Tinkerbell had a huge incident with the pudding. She has since been resurrected again.

I was at Target the other day and FELL IN LOVE with these pink cowgirl boots. We cannot go out of the house without recieving compliments! They are covered in heart embroidery and heart cutouts, and are as girly as it gets! The girls (especially Olivia) refuse to take them off all day!

Ava is 4!

For Ava's birthday we took the girls to MOSI. We had a blast! I made Ava a birthday crown, it was cute and she loved it!

They had an awesome giant bouncy house and obstacle course. Nobody was there so we had it all to ourselves.

Lance made a giant tower... he was so proud of it!

Ava LOVED her tinkerbell cake!

Olivia had her own strategy for opening presents, as you can see.

Ava's 4 year old hair.

Mommy joined in on the fun and went on the GIANT bouncy slide.

Finally Diagnosed...

For the longest time (over 2 years, since I got prego with Olivia), I've been having a very fast heart rate, dizzy spells, and extreme fatigue (I have to sleep a lot more then ever). I attributed my symptoms to being really busy, working full time, and being sleep deprived. Well, finally I had a diagnostic test today at UCH for my tachycardia which involved laying flat on a table and being tilted upward, and for a person with my condition, causing extreme dizziness and nausea. They left me there for 30 minutes. Luckily, since I'm in good shape and am very active, I never passed out.

I still got the diagnosis: POTS, or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Here is a detailed description of what it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postural_orthostatic_tachycardia_syndrome

I'm sooo glad to get treatment and improve my quality of life. Any prayers for my new medicine to work well would be appreciated!