Dwelling In His Richness: October 2017

Halloween Flashbacks

31 October

🎃Happy Halloween!🎃

I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and look at all of our past Halloween costumes. This little holiday is such a fun time, and these years are just going by too fast- but we definitely enjoy ourselves every year!

I hope everyone has a fun, candy-filled day!

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

Friday Favorites

27 October

Favorite Picture:

Grace loves going to the "big building" doctor with Tessa (aka Mayo). She loves being up on the 16th floor and she loves that she can help herself to stickers in the exam room (notice her shirt)

Favorite kid quote:

Grace, after eating some of the icing off of her cookie, "Mom! My cookie looks like a TIE fighter!" #theforceisstrongwiththisone

(For all you non-Star Wars nerds, a TIE fighter is an aircraft in the Star Wars movies)

Favorite Outfit:

These jeans. With everything. All the time. They are seriously the most comfortable jeans ever.

Favorite verse:

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

1 Timothy 1:15

Favorite food:

Chicken tortilla soup. Another good thing about chilly weather.

Favorite Moment:

Looking over and seeing these two playing with Tessa while I was cleaning up from dinner. She was loving it.

It's going to be COLD this weekend, so we're all set with firewood, soup, and indoor activities. Hope you have a good weekend!

What's Up Wednesdays

What's Up Wednesday

25 October

What we're eating this week:

M- Pumpkin waffles

T- Sausage & veggie sheet pan

W- Pork tenderloin

Th- Lasagna

F- Baked chicken

S-Pizza

What I'm reminiscing about:

We had family pictures done with my favorite photographer, Jenny, this past weekend. The last time we had them done Tessa hadn't joined our family yet, so we were due for an update.

What I'm Loving:

A fire in the fireplace. Fall weather arrived this week, and there is just nothing better than a cozy fire when it's cold and windy outside.

What we've been up to:

Well, technically this is what Ben's been up to...

What I'm dreading:

Cleaning up these bugs as they slowly take over my house.

What I'm working on:

Putting up Christmas lights. I don't turn them on until November, but I like to get it done before it's 30 degrees outside.

What I'm excited about:

Halloween is almost here! Our costumes this year are my favorite to date. Everyone picked their own (except Tessa😉), and they are PERFECT.

What I'm watching/reading:

I'm studying the book of James, and I love it. It's so convicting.

And along with This is Us and Designated Survivor, I love these two shows...

What I'm listening to:

Two months is not long enough to listen to Christmas music. So I start now.

What I'm wearing:

All the vests! I don't like wearing a coat, so if I can get by with wearing a vest and staying (somewhat) warm, I'll do it. These two are my favorites:

Also, these scarves are my ABSOLUTE favorite. Perfect weight, perfect warmth, perfect colors.

What I'm doing this weekend:

Sledding perhaps?! I mean, I do love a good snowfall in December...but October is pushing it.

What I'm looking forward to next month:

Thanksgiving in NJ!

Bonus question: What's your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?

Our thanksgiving meal, cooked by my very talented sister-in-law and mom, is amazing. My favorite side dish is probably her stuffing and the sweet potato casserole. And the corn bread. And now I'm salivating.

Tessa

Tough Like Tessa

24 October

Yesterday we met with Tessa's dermatologist and pediatric surgeon. They were really pleased with how Tessa is doing overall, but she does have a few pressing issues that need to be resolved and so a tentative plan was made.

Issue #1: Anemia. Everything hinges on this. So far her hemoglobin has remained stable, but we're far from being out of the woods. Her next blood draw is Nov. 3.

Issue #2: Ascites. She has had fluid in her abdomen since birth (it was even monitored during my pregnancy), but it has been slowly increasing and has reached the point where some of it needs to be drained. Her doctors aren't sure yet whether the fluid is lymphatic fluid or just ascitic fluid, so she is scheduled for an ultrasound on Nov. 8 to look at her liver. She is set to receive more aggressive sclerotherapy in January (with the catheter and 3 day hospital stay), so they hope to drain some of the ascites at that time as well.

We're so thankful that she remains happy, has no pain, eats like a champ, and tolerates all of her medicine. She even allowed the doctors to examine her without complaint yesterday. God is teaching our family amazing things through this little girl!

Everyday Life

Life Lately

23 October

A few things that we've been up to lately...

Tessa loves playing in this "mini ball pit".

There has been lots of swinging going on while the weather's still warm!

Having a ~~noisy~~ fun lunch at school. 😉

And of course, running dinners to the field and participating in combine rides.

Shopping with a goofy princess and a happy baby

Creating indoor slides

Enjoying a sunset while coloring with sidewalk chalk

And endless playtime with Patches and Sunshine

Friday Favorites

20 October

I seriously can't believe it's Friday already- that week flew by! We had great weather, no doctors visits, and no crazy schedules- it was a really nice, peaceful week. Here's hoping that carries into the weekend as well!

Favorite picture:

These three having a great time in the sandbox together. Sun shining, no bickering, imaginations galore...I love it.

Favorite kid quote:

Grace, coming out of her room when she was supposed to be napping: "Mommy, my eyes are not sleepy and my feet want to play."

Favorite outfit:

This top from a local store. It's the perfect weight for the temps right now, and looks great with leggings or skinny jeans. And it's so dang comfortable.

Favorite verse:

"And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Colossians 3:17

Favorite food:

This salad dressing on spinach, apples, toasted pecans, and freshly grated parmesan. My lunch every day this week.

Favorite moment:

This was from last Friday. We were watching How to Train Your Dragon, and this little man asked if he could sit with me, and offered to share his blanket. He's definitely not going to want to do this forever, so I made sure to enjoy it.

Tessa

Tough Like Tessa

17 October

Tessa continues to baffle the doctors with her anemia. Last week she had an MRI, endoscopy, and colonoscopy...all looking for potential reasons why she is losing her hemoglobin. Nothing was found. No bleeding, no pooling of blood, no malformations in her GI tract. Which are all good things, but also leave the anemia problem unsolved.

They drew her blood during the MRI, which showed her hemoglobin to be down again at 5.5. Her doctors agreed that another blood transfusion was necessary, so we stayed overnight. The transfusion went fine, and brought her hemoglobin up to 9.2. She will have weekly blood draws to monitor her levels. Our next visit to Mayo is on the 23rd to meet with the Vascular Malformation Clinic.

Other than that, Tessa has been so happy and content. She's saying new words and sounds every day, making us laugh with silly faces, and still attempting to move around on her own.

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