Post Christmas Gingerbread Houses and other January Randoms

January 2012

First of all, I would like to say THANK YOU to the family that donated their table and chairs to us. We've never had a new table or chairs. Our first table was given to us by a church friend and we bought some slightly mismatched and scratched chairs for it at a going out of business sale. Throughout our nearly 12 years of marriage we've had to say goodbye to several of our chairs. Many slow motion falls have happened throughout the years resulting an a pile of wooden rubble beneath our not so skinny behinds. So for a family of six, down to three chairs, we've been using upside down laundry baskets and Oliver's shower chair for our family dinners and the like. A wonderful stranger heard of our need and gladly gave us her table and six chairs. Bringing to mind a line from the movie Robots 'See a need... Fill a need'. I'm in love with the table already because it has a leaf in it and is so much bigger than our other one. We do so much at our kitchen table that I am thrilled to have gotten it. It will be in good hands... well... crafty hands. It will be well used. :O) So... here are some pictures of us actually making Gingerbread Houses... er... Graham cracker... er... candy houses! I don't have the patience or time to make my own gingerbread so graham crackers it is! ENJOY!!!

GINGERBREAD HOUSES
We invited Ed's brother, Danny and his wife, Jamie over with their little ones.

I dyed the 'glue' pink this year. Eden getting ready to add some goodies!

Oliver putting his house together with dad.

Someone sent Oliver this awesome Cubs shirt with his name on the back!

Laughing at his house. Not sure if he liked it or not. I'm sure Ed was probably making fun of his own building skills.

Daddy helping Finny with our house.

"Yes, Finn... please wipe that frosting right on your jammies... go ahead."

Mine and Finny's finished house. I think he's saying "CHEESE!"

Eden would do a nice smiling pic for me so here she is in all her geeked out glory!

Carson, age 2, Jamie, Phineas, age 2

Kaylee and Daddy's house looks like it was condemned... hence the boo hoo look on Danny's face!

Darling pic of my nephew, Carson, who is 3 months older than my Phineas.

Ed showing us all the sweet houses. And no... we do NOT eat the candy off the houses.

JANUARY RANDOMS
The boys all fell asleep together on Ollie's bed in the living room. I love how Jaren's hand is ALWAYS in his pants...

Oliver sitting at the table drawing in a Harry Potter sketchpad I got him for Christmas.

Playing with play dough. Making pizzas.

A nice balloon bouquet someone sent Oliver.

Finn trying to do some pull ups with Daddy.

"Show me your muscles, Finny!!!"

Brotherly love...

Going for a walk with the boys on a beautiful, sunny January day where there is no snow on the ground or in the skies. Craziness.

This is what a glasses thief looks like. I LOVE his face in this picture!

Thursday, January 5th

Tonight Oliver ate dinner and then complained of some stomach pain. He went to the restroom and had a bowel movement, but we didn't know if it was impacted bowels, kidney stones or his appendix or what it was. We called Hospice, but I just wanted to get him to the ER immediately because you could tell that he was experiencing a lot of pain and the children's dose of Tylenol wasn't doing much to help. So Ed and I drove him to the ER where we waited in the waiting room at least 15 to 20 minutes watching him writhe and groan in pain. We held his hands, held a wet towel on his head and sang him some songs to try and help him get through the pain until they could get him in a room and see him. We got him into a room and they did blood work and vitals and such and then he had a CT scan to check for what was possibly causing his pain. After a bit, his pain went away with no meds and the doctor came in later and said that he's full of crap. They said it was impacted bowels, gave us a laxative drink to get into him and told us to take cover because it can go through ya fast! Anyways... I'll leave the nasty stuff out... he feels much better now. I can't hardly stand watching him in pain. When I was singing to him I couldn't hardly get through some of the words without choking up. I'm going to need a lot more strength to be able to deal with all the things that are lying ahead.


PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR NO PAIN FOR OLIVER, FOR HIM TO BE AT PEACE WITH THE REALIZATION THAT HE WILL MOST LIKELY BE DYING SOON. PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR FAMILY TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE WHAT COMES, EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICALLY, FINANCIALLY. THIS HAS BEEN EXHAUSTING IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO THINK OF US ALL IN YOUR PRAYERS.

Happy New Year from HOGWARTS!

December 31, 2011 - January 1, 2012

I wasn't sure if Ollie was going to make it to the new year, but I wanted to make it special and memorable if he did, so we went all out for a Harry Potter New Year's celebration! I only had a day and a half to plan, but was lucky enough to have many decorations because of his new Harry Potter bedroom. Two of my good friends and their families came over for the festivities and helped me out so much throughout the night.

Oliver had gotten me the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook for Christmas and I was wanting to make some things from there, but just didn't have the time. Our house has been a constant disaster because we just haven't had time to clean. Our living room is a makeshift hospital room with all of Ollie's medical needs set up. We tried the best that we could to squeeze everyone in and make it a fun night. Ollie wasn't feeling well and stayed in his bed the whole time, but helped out in potions class and told me where to hide the snitch. He also got to have some butterbeer and was placed in Gryffindor House by the sorting hat, a gift he gave to Eden this Christmas. He was in and out of sleep, but hopefully had fun when he was awake.

***THE POTTER PARTY***

THE SORTING CEREMONY

Each child would sit on a stool and we'd place the sorting hat on their head and the hat would actually tell them, in a pre-recorded voice, what house they were in. Then they would receive a matching scarf to symbolize their house and the next child would come up. Oliver was first and I placed the hat on his head while Ed helped him lean forward. Of course he was placed in Gryffindor and so I put his scarf around him and he laid back down. Everyone clapped and cheered and he had a big smile on his face. It was so fun to see the kids reactions to what house they were placed in. Too funny! The hat would say one of these three things.

"Plenty of courage I see, not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh yes, and a thirst to prove yourself, but where to put you??? Mmmmm... difficult, very difficult... GRYFFINDOR!!!"

"I know... HUFFLEPUFF!!"

"SLYTHERIN"

Gryffindor - Oliver, Meghan, Kaden, Kael
Slytherin - Jaren, Briea, Cullan
Hufflepuff - Eden (She's Cho Chang and loved being in the same house as 'Edward Cullen')
Ravenclaw - Phineas, Ayla (ages 2 & 1)

THE FEAST
After the sorting ceremony we had a buffet set up of all sorts of finger foods. Drum sticks, a relish tray, chips and dip, little smokies, cheese and crackers and of course, Butterbeer. Amy made it with cream soda, Redi-whip, and butter flavoring. It was so good! Some of the little kids couldn't even lift up the mugs because they were so big! Ginormous... as Ollie would say. I wanted to make pumpkin juice, pumpkin pasties and rock cakes, but just didn't have the time. I'm sure we'll do it this week as I have all the ingredients.


THE TRI WIZARD TOURNAMENT
After we cleared off the food, we set up the potions class on the table where Ollie could see it as well. We had lots of old glass bottles filled with some potion ingredients. For example, white vinegar and baking soda which of course had cooler names like 'goblin pee' and 'crushed dragon bones'. The kids would take turns coming up and helping us add the ingredients. Briea, who will be 3 in March, gasped in amazement when one of the potions started bubbling and foaming up. So funny! Oliver even got to make his own potion.

*The First Task - Successfully brew your own potion. The kids were having a hay day with this! They used their wands, chopsticks, to stir their concoctions together.

*The Second Task - Create and draw your own crest. I printed off a downloadable coloring page off of the internet so they could fill it in themselves. They were excited about it and Eden ended up making two of them.

*The Third Task - Find the Golden Snitch. Since I knew Ollie wouldn't be able to participate in the hunt, I asked him where I should hide it and he pointed to a wall sconce with a candle inside of it. I perched it on the glass that covered the candle. We then told the kids that someone had stolen the golden snitch and Harry needed it for his next Quidditch match so we had to find it fast! They looked around the dining room and living room until Eden finally found it! It was fun watching the kids using their wands to look for it. Meghan had hers out and was using it to peek under Oliver's blanket trying to locate it. "Accio, snitch" didn't seem to work.

After each task I would give them Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts from Gringott's bank (chocolate gold coins) to spend later on. They were each awarded with their very own Tri Wizard Cup, a tiny gold trophy I got from the party favor section of the Dollar Tree. I wrote each name on the front along with the year. They loved it! I heard "I'm a REAL wizard now!" from the kids when they received them!


HONEYDUKES Candy Shop & ZONKOS Joke Shop

We set up a small area in the kitchen for the kids to go shopping and spend their wizards money. Dollar Tree had tons of candy and fun jokes and gag gifts to make it fun for the kids. We got large glasses, magic tricks, fake spilled ketchup and nail polish bottles, fake snakes and cockroaches and all sorts of fun tricks and gags. They could each pick out one thing they wanted from Zonkos and then off to Honeydukes where we had Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (Jelly Belly jelly beans), chocolate frogs and broomsticks, Licorice Wands, Cockroach Clusters (Hersey's crunch bar clusters), lemon drops, pop rocks and all sorts of other goodies to choose from. They filled their bags and their tummies!

Since Ollie couldn't make it out to the kitchen, I grabbed his bedside table and filled it up with all sorts of goodies, like the candy cart on the train that Harry Potter loves so much. I wheeled it over to him, but he still wasn't feeling well, so I just put some things in a baggy for him if he felt up to something sweet.

It was a memorable New Year's Eve for many reasons. We had fun with some good friends although it was a bittersweet night. Some of my friends where only visiting here from out of state and I knew when they said goodbye it would probably be the last time they saw Oliver. Difficult to watch and take in. It will be a fun memory of a Harry Potter New Year, but also the start of a year which will most likely bring lots of sadness and grief. So many different emotions.

After our company left, around 10 o'clock or so, I got in Ollie's bed with him and had some snuggle time. After a while he started gagging in his bed and so Ed ran and got a garbage can and I leaned him forward on the bed and he threw up. Poor kiddo. I don't know if he got the flu or if it is a symptom of the brain tumor. He said he had a headache the day before. I just don't know what to expect on any given day. He felt a little better after that and sucked on a candy cane to help settle his stomach and get the nasty taste out of his mouth. I laid there and ran my fingers through his hair for a bit while we talked. It's getting so hard to understand him now. He used a white board to write on for the first time today so it's definitely getting worse. I layed in bed and read a chapter in the fourth book, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. We are nearly done with that book. I've been reading a chapter every night to the kids for the last several months. It's nice to have some relaxing time at the end of the day to unwind and have our minds wander to someplace magical. We also iChatted with Ed's brother, Jared and his family who live in California. They called us when the ball was about to drop, in our neck of the woods, and wished Oliver a Happy New Year. So... the night was filled with mixed emotions, but overall I think everyone had fun. I pray that Oliver will feel better and continue to have his sense of humor and handsome smile. We wish you all had a Happy New Year!

***for some reason blogger won't let me post pictures right now. I'll have to try again later!

Day 6 Florida - ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE

Saturday, September 10 , 2011

Islands of Adventure is by far my favorite place to visit down in Florida. The people that work there are always so wonderful and caring. I love all of the colors and artwork that goes into the decor of each 'Island'. The artist in me was in awe all day long! The 'Islands' are 'Seuss Landing', 'Jurassic Park', 'The Lost Continent', 'Toon Lagoon', 'Superhero Island' and 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter' (we didn't get to see that last year because it wasn't open yet).

Ollie lookin' cool this morning...

View of Superhero Island

Our first view of Hogwarts!

*THE LOST CONTINENT*

**WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER**

Jaren, Eden and Ollie in front of Hogwarts

*Welcome to Hogsmeade*

The ride inside Hogwarts 'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' was my favorite ride of the day. I think I'll copy this picture for the kids' bedroom.

Eden in front of the Gryffindor banner.

Loved all of the snow on the crooked housetops of the village!

Quidditch gear

Dogweed & Deathcap

I wished we could have eaten here at the Three Broomsticks, but the food was all seafood. BLAH... and I think reservations were required.

Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe
Earthworm, ear wax, sausage, vomit, soap, and rotten egg flavored jelly beans = not happiness.

Of course we had to get Ollie a chocolate frog!

ZONKO'S Tricks & Jokes

Puking Pastilles

Wizard's Chess, Ollie wants to get a mini version of this for Christmas.

Ollivander's Wand Shoppe
If you look closely you can see all of the wand boxes piled high in the windows!

The golden snitch

There are about 30 people let into this room, Ollivander's wand shop, and one person is 'chosen' from the crowd to have the show based around. Mr. Ollivander came up to Oliver before it started and said to stay afterward and he'd have something for him. After everyone left it was just us in there and he had the wand choose Oliver, with the spotlight shining on Oliver as the music rushed in. Oliver was ALL SMILES and of course I was ALL TEARS when he said that Oliver would make his mark on the world. How fitting for Oliver at this time in his life.

Mr. Ollivander -- This guy was great!
"The wand chooses the wizard..."

Jaren, Eden, Oliver

A worker there at the wand shop saw me being teary eyed and I told her about Oliver's condition and about how it touched me to hear that 'he would make his mark on the world'. I think it was something that I truly needed to hear. She was so sweet and surprised us a few moments later with some butter beer so we didn't have to wait in line outside!! Seriously... the people that work here are the best I've ever seen. They just go above and beyond for the families. Amazing.

Butter Beer = Frothy Goodness

Cute snowman at Hogwarts

**JURASSIC PARK**

Ed and Ollie waiting in line for some rides.

The Jurassic Park River Adventure was like Splash Mountain on some serious steroids!! We were SOAKED after we got off of that one, however I have to say that Ripsaw Falls was the wettest ride I've ever been on in my life. I felt like I was drowning from being doused so much! The kids did NOT like this ride because grandma said that they went on it and only got a few sprinkles on them. The kids were not happy afterwards.

Grandma (Where's Waldo) and Ollie

Bear being weird as usual. Gee... I wonder where he gets it...

Oliver making a wish to have a good day with the family.

**Toon Lagoon**

Knowing Ollie, he's probably letting off his own little Hush-A-Bomb in his pants!!

Playing the water gun racing game

**SUPERHERO ISLAND**

We are usually here for the longest time. I grew up with two older brothers and know all about comic book characters and whatnot, so this was a pretty cool place to see.
Oliver grimacing like the Incredible Hulk while cradling Homer like a baby in his arms! HA!

Behold the awesome art in the restaurant we ate at.........

Oliver -- It looks like the wasp is landing on his head! (His t-shirt is very fitting for the day.)

Jaren and Uncle Bryan

The Green Goblin lurking next to a woman that didn't realize he was there!!!

Spectacular Spider-man

Dr. Doom and Jaren

Cyclops

Wolverine

Captain America (Check out Jaren's t-shirt)

Eden and Storm, who Jaren refers to as "Thunder Storm"

Eden and Rogue

Grandma and Eden

Ollie enjoying some Dippin' Dots and mom FINALLY getting him to smile a REAL Oliver smile!

Awesome Hulk car. LOVE the eyebrows on the windshield!!

*SEUSS LANDING*

Had to get a pic of Eden and the Truffula trees from Dr. Seuss' 'The Lorax' for Grandma Palmer as she always reads it to the kids!

Love all the candies!

Yummy gummies!

Caramel apple time!

Me and Eden

Hogwarts at sunset.

Oliver and the 'firebolt', Harry's sweet ride.

Eden getting ready to head to Hogwarts!

Oliver, my Triwizard Champion!

Harry Potter or... Simon from Alvin and the Chipmonks?

Eden and the award she presented me with!

Eden and Ollie

Quidditch gear

Everyone was laughing when they saw Jaren conked out in the stroller after a long day!

Eating a late dinner at NBA City at Universal's City Walk because I knew that Ed LOVED basketball when he was a kid. He still likes basketball so I thought I'd let him pick the restaurant for the night.

Dennis Rodman -- Ed says he remembers watching this game happen on T.V.

Oliver's jersey design with a bird on the front.

Goofy kids!

Bear and Papa

The menus felt like basketballs!

The floors looked like a court and evidently Jaren thought it looked like a dancefloor!

Must have eaten something that he was allergic to. Redness around his eye and cheek with blotches around his mouth. Still the cutest kid ever.

City Walk is amazing at night all lit up with music playing. Jaren couldn't contain himself!