Happy Thanksgiving

(Grandmommy) Mary and Jim are visiting from Jefferson City and (Uncle) Tommy is here all the way from Los Angeles. Although we miss all our other family (Mom/Dad, Molly, Missy, Kurt, Keegan, Quinn, Skylar, Ryan, Amelia, Jeremy, Great Grandmas, etc), we had a wonderful day of food, painting, drinking and relaxing.

Here are some pics from the day...

The morning started off with "building a snowman". We got a very LIGHT snow last night. When we woke up, Beck was so excited! He kept yelling, "It's snowed! Let's build a snowman!". Grandmommy did not want to disappoint so she bundled up very early this morning, went outside and scraped as much snow as she could off of the hood of the car. She put it in a bowl and went out on our back porch to build a snowman with Beck. Nellie watch from inside the nice, cozy, warm house. 

Here is Beck showing off his awesome snowman!

This damn thing is taking up space in my freezer right now.

Jeremy and Nellie relaxed a bit while mommy was cooking in the kitchen all day. I'll be happy if I don't have too cook another meal for a long time!

Tommy and Beck decided to do art projects while I was in the kitchen. Tommy is quite the artist. He made Beck a wonderful painting of an alien for him to hang up in his room. Unfortunately, Beck thinks it is too scary to hang up.

The table is set and ready to go. Too bad I forgot to take a picture with all the food and people at the table. 

Tonight begins the annual Elf on the Shelf tradition (we just started last year...but it's already a tradition). Beck named his elf "Bobby". Tonight Bobby will fly down from the North Pole and start watching over Beck until Christmas. Each morning he is in a new spot and Beck has to find him, but he is not allowed to touch Bobby. Bobby will report to Santa if Beck is being 'Naughty' or 'Nice'. I may have to periodically update you on the whereabouts of our little elf. He may get creative.

I highly recommend this book/elf. It's such a cute story and makes for a fun tradition. 

http://www.elfontheshelf.com

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and this update finds you all sitting on the couch counting your blessings with a full belly.

Give Thanks

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the holidays (food, music, decorations, parties, presents, etc.), but not really take time to think about them and give thanks for all of these wonderful things. It's time to reflect and think about what we are thankful for. Here are some things on my list. Please feel free to comment and share something you are thankful for.

1. My incredible husband. 

Jeremy is loving, supportive, funny, handsome, smart, caring, romantic...the list goes on and on. But more than anything, he loves his children's mother more than anything in the entire world, which makes him an amazing father. For that, I'm thankful.

2. My children.

Beck is this crazy little man that can't sit still for 10 minutes (unless there's a good movie on) and can talk our ears off, but he is very hilarious, smart, sweet natured and loving. He truly loves his little sister. In fact, today while he was at school, Nellie had therapy. When Beck got home from preschool he asked, "How was Nellie's therapy today? What did she do? What else did she do? Oh that  sounds great!". And although he's been known to drop the F-bomb a few times, we have to give him kudos for using it in the correct context. I'm telling you, that child will have a bar of soap in his mouth before he turns 5!!! (Perhaps mom and dad need the bar of soap since I'm certain he heard that word come out of OUR mouths!) All in all, he is an AWESOME kid! He makes us proud everyday. For that, I'm thankful.

Nellie is our (almost always) sweet little girl. She likes to laugh, hug, kiss and cuddle. She's got the most incredible smile and everyday she does something that makes me yell, "Jeremy, come quick! Look at what Nellie is doing!". She does have her moments, she wouldn't be a 19 month old if she didn't. But overall, she's got a great demeanor.  She honestly does amaze us each day and is proof that great things do come in small packages. Each member of our family is better because of her. I've learned patience from Nellie. Jeremy has learned the gentler side of love and Beck will grow up a kinder, gentler, non-judgemental man. Nellie is a hero to us all. For that, I'm thankful.

3. Our health.

Aside from Nellie's diagnosis, she IS a healthy girl. Beck is a healthy boy and Jeremy and I are healthy parents. For this, I'm very thankful.

4. Our belongings.

Let me clarify that with our house, our car, food, the clothes on our back. We work hard to earn these items that might seem insignificant, but to some people, they don't exist. For that, I'm thankful.

5 My family and friends.

Last, but not least, everyone who has loved and supported us. Life can throw you a curve ball and you can sit around and sulk, or you can get up and play the game with a smile on your face. The game is much easier to play though if the stands are full off your best fans. (Cheesy analogy, but so true.) Everyone of you has enriched our lives and made this journey enjoyable. For that, I'm thankful.

So what are you thankful for?
Do tell.

Visit with Aunt Molly

Jeremy's cousin, Molly, came to visit us this weekend from Kansas City. We had a terrific time! We simply hung out, ate, drank and were very merry. The kiddos already miss her.

As much as Molly adores the children, I think this trip was an excellent form of birth control. Ha, ha!

Here are a few moments from the weekend caught on 'film'.

Here is a picture after we sat in the cul-de-sac all day drinking margaritas. Don't mind all the dirt on my children's faces. 

Beck was so exhausted after a great weekend, he literally fell asleep during dinner. 

We, of course, had to take advantage of this photo opportunity.

Hope this update finds everyone relaxing before the calm of the holiday storm.

One more thing...

I forgot to post this video on my last entry. This is all of us in the playroom having a good time. It's pretty funny...

A Haunted Good Time...

Another fun filled holiday weekend at the Meinhardts. Nana & Grandad came to visit and partake in all the Halloween fun. We went trick or treating for almost 2 hours and finished the evening with a nice dinner in the 'haunted dining room'. Here are some fun pictures to share...

Here are the boys all dressed up ready to go. Not sure what Keegan is doing behind his shield. :)

Nana and I found this mask for Grandad last minute so we grabbed it.

The boys were definitely keeping their distance.

I'm such an awful mom. This is the only picture I have of my beautiful Snow White...and she's not very happy here. I'll have to dress her up and again and take a better picture.

Here we are enjoying a nice dinner at the end of the night. It was actually quite loud and smokey due to the fog machine...but very fun to say the least.

Here are a few candid shots of the kiddos. Nellie is pretending to be asleep.

Here she is being quite the lady.

Sweet little Beck.

Well, since I rarely have any news about me, I like to 'brag' about my dining room. Real exciting, huh. I posted pictures a few weeks ago of the haunted dining room. We have now moved into the Thanksgiving dining room. I'm sure I'll  have pictures to post in a month of the Christmas dining room. Enjoy my 'work'...

Hope this update finds everyone recovering from their much deserved sugar comas.

Bad Days

Everyone has bad days, right? I look back at my "bad days" when it was just me, or me and Jeremy, or me, Jeremy & Beck. Those all seem like "good days" now. They were good days because I had the power to change what was bad. For instance, I might have been having a bad day because I was extremely stressed out at work or Beck was extremely irritable. Those things are in my control. I can leave work and tomorrow will be a new day. I can hold Beck and rock him until he calms down. Now when I have a bad day, it's usually over my pain of Nellie's diagnosis. This is something I can't change. I have to take my bad days and tuck them away knowing that tomorrow is a new day, but those feelings will return again in the future...they always do. And when they do, I'll cry all day and tuck them away again at the end of the night and pray that I wake up in better spirits.

Yesterday was a bad day. It's weird how my bad days can be triggered, but it can be the smallest thing, like seeing a cute pair of shoes in a store that I know Nellie won't be able to wear because they won't fit over her AFO's. It's silly, I  know. But, it's those little things that can send me into a crying spiral. The light at the end of this tunnel is that this morning I woke up to Nellie's sweet little voice, "Mamma, Maaaama!". When I walked into her room, she just smiled and put her arms up for me. That makes all those bad days worth it.

I may not have an 18 month old getting into everything, but I still have my baby. I've been able to enjoy this baby much longer than most moms. At this age a child doesn't want to cuddle or be held, they want to RUN! Nellie is different, she loves being held. She will cling on to me and nuzzle right into my neck. Oh, what an amazing feeling.

Well, I just wanted to share my feelings with my close friends and family. I want you to know that it's not all cute pictures and medical news in the Meinhardt household. We have our ups and downs, but it's our family and friends that help us get through.

Hope this entry finds everyone appreciating their good days.

Speaking of Fall....

Check out the view from my bedroom window. Breathtaking, isn't it!