Wednesday, November 18, 2015

A Year Later

This time of year has new meaning for me since the birth of Hannah. 

You see today marks one year since Hannah was diagnosed with hearing loss. It was one year ago today that I took my 2 month old to the audiologist, prayed she wouldn't cry too much and fall asleep for the test. 

I never expected the results I got. 

After what seemed like forever and a lot of little lines on a screen, the doctor, sweet Dr. Moats, turned to me, put her hand on my knee and told me Hannah had hearing loss. She just sat there so I could take it in. 

We had started the day thinking everything was fine, no problems, just normal newborn stuff. 

We ended the day with a new reality that would define Hannah for the rest of her life.  

If we wanted Hannah to speak normally and hear she would have to wear some sort of device for the rest of her life. 

You see, since we thought there was nothing wrong with Hannah and this hearing test was just to make sure of that, Keith didn't come with us. 

I called him shortly after she was diagnosed, put him on speakerphone and he asked all the questions, thank the Lord for that, because I was speechless. 

We left that day with hearing aids ordered, a list of doctors to contact and Dr. Moats telling me of a virus, that was very rare, that started with a 'C', that she was going to call Hannah's pediatrician about. 

That was all I could remember from this day a year ago. 

As Thanksgiving approached we learned much more about that 'C' virus that she did indeed have. 

Yes, the Thanksgiving season has forever changed for me. 

It has shown me that everything in life has meaning. Not just every person but every circumstance. Hannah's hearing loss and other issues are meaningful and will be used for God's glory somewhere along the journey in this life or in the life to come. 


"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but  at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:17-18



Sunday, November 1, 2015

Happy Hallo-week!

I must say this year has been the best yet for dress-up, trick or treating and make believe. 

About a month ago Eli decided he wanted to be Po, the Kung Fu panda for Halloween. Since the movie hasn't been out in a few years there is zero out costume-wise. So, I started thinking maybe E would want to be a dragon since Po is the "dragon warrior ". Haha. 

He was an adorable dragon and even won "scariest" in the 1-3 yo category at our neighborhood's party. 


Honestly, I don't think the completion was very fierce, but we were all still excited. 

The next day we broke down and bought a panda costume and added shorts for the kung fu effect. 


Also adorable. And believe me I am packing up all these costumes. Hannah can be a panda in a couple of years too. 

Since Eli was Po he decided Hannah should be Tigris (Po's friend and tiger on the movie). Sweet, huh?


Hannah, in her go-with-the-flow manner adapted to the tiger costume with ease. 

Her costume was a lot easier to find. 


We even got our picture with Olaf at Boo at the zoo. 
Fun at the onset, very scary as we got closer and Eli said "he's big!" And stopped moving. 

Another thing that made Hallo-week fun was Mawmaw coming to town! She initially came because we had lots of appointments and Keith was going out of town but it was fun that it coincided with Halloween. 


Her visits bless me because both kids warm up to her quickly, especially Eli. He could probably play with her all day if she didn't get tired. It's fun to watch. 

Sweet skeleton Hannah. 

On Halloween night Eli decided he wanted to be Po (it is always a discussion since there are 2 to choose from) and I dressed Hannah as a giraffe (Eli's 1st Halloween costume) because it was warmer. 




Trick or treating was fun but handing out candy was a blast. Eli had so much fun seeing other kids costumes and giving them candy. He even got to stay up late. 

Having kids has its ups and downs, sometimes by the minute, but Halloween is completely an "up". I love this season and love my cute characters.