Truly Blessed

We just want to send a big "THANK YOU" to all our family(and friends) who we got to spend our brief, but beautiful Christmas with!! This year was truly special, and Greg and I talked all the way back to Pittsburgh about what a wonderful year it has been for us.
I know that times are hard, on everyone, right now, and that there have been some major hiccups and snags for us over the last year, we're still right in the middle of our newest hiccup, but thanks to all of you, we've never felt more loved. We tried to do Christmas a little bit smaller this year, as I'm sure most of you did, but made sure that that Maggie understood the real reason of the season.
She knows about Jesus birth, and that THAT is the real reason for Christmas, but this year we wanted her to understand that GIVING is more important that getting. I know for a 5 year old that can be a little difficult, with so many people "giving" you presents, but we really pushed to her that what we receive is not nearly as important as what we give.
As brief as our stay was, we just want all of you to know, that we have received the best Christmas gift ever, just by being loved by all of you. I hope we have also returned that love so you all know how important you are to us!! I feel a little cheesy writing all that, but knowing you're out there, reading, following our lives, taking a part in it, and loving us, makes us happier than you know!! We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!
Here are a couple funny pictures of the kids from our quick trip home!!Maggie "defending" the milk and cookies...that boy was bound and determined they were for him...Oh, and pop-pop, Santa called...he was NOT a fan of the flax-seed cookies after all!!

Fionn and daddy before bed Christmas eve...

Christmas morning...real smiles from both of them as Maggie shows Fionn how to play in the wrapping paper!

Fionn not too sure about being buried in the wrapping paper!!

Hip-hop Princess

So after our whirl-wind trip home this weekend for some QT with the family we INSISTED Maggie come home last night, because she HAD to go to school today and half a day tomorrow. There were tears, fits, guilt trips, and that was all just from the grandparents(JUST KIDDING) Maggie is getting very good at pushing just the right buttons to make you feel like poo to get her way, but we stood her ground and made her come home...
So we wake up today, two hour delay, okay not a big deal...within the hour school was canceled...that did NOT fit into my "wrapping" plans for today...so now I have to wait until tonight to wrap all her presents. Greg woke me up as he left just to tell me that the upstairs bathroom pipes were frozen. He tried for a few minutes this morning to thaw them, but no luck. I kept at it all day(in all my spare time) and they finally broke free around 2pm.
Maggie and Fionn have been grumpy and miserable all day. I don't know what the deal is, but Maggie was only cheerful today while in her "hip-hop" outfit...no idea where it has come from, but suddenly everything is hip-hop. She told Greg the other day that he looked "hip-hop" in his new hat, lol, and he just looked at her and grinned...well today she dressed herself, and added to her wardrobe as the day went on....this is where we were at around noon today. I HAD to grab the camera for this one...this is me sneaking up on her as she looks out the side window, and then her posing once she sees the camera...Even on the coldest of days she warms my heart!!
Enjoy!

Ultrasound Update

Unfortunately, the offical results came back but nothing that I didn't already know has developed, but the preliminary tests have been confirmed. I am sorry from no knowing how to post this because I, myself am still numb and stunned, however, the ultrasound has shown that there are two masses on my testicle and that my primary care physician has placed a referral for me to follow up with urology to further define an official diagnosis. Currently I am awaiting to hear from someone but more than likely that will have to wait until after the first of the year. I am trying not totally lose it, and I give all of my current sanity and to much thanks to my amazing and beautiful wife and awesome kids. I am currently with the mindset of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. According to my primary care physician I will more than likely need surgery to remove or correct the situation, either of which do not excite me; but if that is what needs to be done so be it. Thanks to everyone who reads this, I know there are many family members and friends that have been waiting to know. Well, I better get back to work. Thanks again, and a special thanks to my wife, I love you.

Greg

Few and Far between

This week I took the memory card out of my little Kodak Point and shoot and got all kinds of surprises. We don't use it very often, but it's the one we take to Steelers games and such since I don't dare take "my baby" The weather forcast always seems to be questionable for every game we go to, so we just grab this little thing and go. Maggie and Aunt Sharon also took it to her very first Steeler game earlier this year as well, so I found a couple of those pictures on it as well.
I can tell you they had much better seats than Greg and I usually have, but it's an "experience" hiking all the way to the top we tell ourselves. So here are a couple "jems" to share. It seems that pictures of just Greg and I are just that, rare jems for me to treasure. It's not very often that I'm in front of the camera as it is, but to get both of us, is a rare thing indeed.

after the game, getting ready to head back down all the steps...

Along the rail, with the city behind us

Long Day

I thought I would post a quick update on Greg's tests today. We know nothing. Great update, I know...
Since we did not know how long he would be gone, I stayed home to get Maggie off the bus. He called me upset after the sonogram, just to tell me the lady would not tell him anything and turned the screen away while doing the Sonogram. Just from this, and her not saying at the end "okay everything looks good, we'll be in touch" set him into a panic...So what the lady DID say to him was "There isn't a Dr. here to read this today, you will hear back from us in 2-3 days."
So that's where we stand, we will update you when we finally hear back from them.
-Ginger

Prayers Needed once again...

Hello all our dear friends and family. Tonight is a hard post for me to write, but we need your prayers. Yesterday Greg went to the Dr. and came back and dropped a bomb on me...
They found a lump, and he needs further testing.
He's not a big fan of talking about the details of this situation, so all I can tell you all is that yes, it very well can be cancerous. He broke down and told me he's known it was there for a while now, and finally went to see someone about it. He also left all the paperwork in the car, so I went and got it and scheduled his test for tomorrow. We will not know anything definitive(i don't believe) tomorrow, but this is really eating away at him.
As of yesterday we were not going to say anything until we got test results back, but I don't think this is something that we can even perceive thinking about alone. Today we told close family, and Greg is not doing very well.
So my dear friends, I ask you to keep him in your prayers. His test is tomorrow at 1pm and I would appreciate any good thoughts you could send our way at that time. I'm trying not to think about what could happen, and just living in the now. If I even begin to think about the possibilities then I start to crumble, and I need to be strong for him and the kids right now.
I don't have much more to write tonight, my mind is completely pre-occupied with tomorrow already. All i can tell you is that I've never been loved so completely and so honestly by another human being until I met Greg. He is my rock, and to see him afraid breaks my heart.
So please Pray that all goes well tomorrow, and that there is nothing for us to worry about!!
-Ginger

No Smiles for Mommy...

After hounding my family since the day after Thanksgiving to do pictures for our Christmas card, I finally gave in and decided just to shoot the kids this year...Since Greg had to work tonight, I decided to get them ready and just take a couple in front of the tree...
I'm only adding ONE picture, and it sums up the WHOLE shoot...I got NOTHING...so I guess everyone gets regular cards this year!
ps...it's okay to laugh, i did, after they went to bed anyway...
Notice the tear coming out of the corner of his eye...and yes his face gets that red instantly when he's mad...gotta love it!

There was lots more that happened over the weekend, so I'll catch everyone up then. It was a very emotional weekend for me personally, and I'm trying to find a way to work through everything. If you get a moment, go check out Lindsey's blog. She could use all your prayers and words of encouragement right now.
More soon I promise...Maggie had a very cool day Friday. It was a day of very cool highs for us family wise, and a day of very low lows at the same time for me.
I know that everything happens for a reason, and I accept that some babies are not going to stay here with us for long, but for me to know that all a new mother wants is to meet their child, to look into their eyes, and to have that taken away at the last second...it breaks my heart.

Watchin the game

On Sunday Greg went to the Steeler game, and the kids and I happily stayed nice and warm watching it from home! Fionn LOVES football(and hockey) and thinks our tv is a drive-in sometimes...Here are a couple pictures of the kids watching the game!

getting a little too close...now you understand why it's a "drive-in"

showing some support of great "D", gotta love that he knows how to wave his towel already!

taking a break to smile at mom...

lol, he loves his towel!

out of all the "portraits" that I take of him, this might be my favorite of all...
THAT'S my SON!

Santa!!

Saturday morning came EARLY at our house, and it arrived with a mess for mommy, all before 7am. God bless the person that came up with the baby monitor! With it's help, I heard Maggie start moaning in her bed, and then I heard her say"i'm gonna throw up" as she got up and charged into the bathroom...Listened to see if I heard wrong for a moment, and the poor thing was in there gagging away! So I went in and took care of her, and when we were all done we went back in the kids room because Fionn was awake and starting to fuss. I laid Maggie back in bed, and went to pick up Fionn. I said a small prayer when I picked him up, he was dry(we're having some issues with him peeing like a madman at night) and then turned him over and realized he was soaked up to his armpit....Grrrrr...still not 7am yet. SO, I get Fionn cleaned up, put both kids in bed with Greg and go back to clean up his crib and get things in the wash, and then bleach the bathroom to try to keep the germs at a minimum! Now it's 7am!
The morning continued on, Maggie running to the bathroom every half hour or so to be sick, each time insisted after she was done that she felt better...We were supposed to go to breakfast with Santa at Maggie's school, had already paid for it, and she was so upset that we were missing it, that she made herself more sick. The poor girl was having a meltdown over not seeing santa...
So Greg and I made the executive decision at 10:40am(it was over at 11am) that we would take them to see Santa, no food, just santa...
We had hoped that there wouldn't be a line and we headed off...There were still people everywhere when we got there, a couple kids from her class, but she was only interested in Santa(and Fionn seeing Santa) When it was finally our turn, she forgot what she wanted to tell him(it's a good thing Santa already knows!) She was white as a ghost, a little green even, but smiled from ear to ear sitting on santa's lap with Fionn. He watched her expression, and since she was smiling, he smiled too! He liked Santa's beard, and tried to see if it was real or not a few times, lol. So after we sat on santa's lap we gathered a craft to go and headed back home. Daddy tried to make her feel better with pancakes, but she graciously "projected" them back to him a bit later. By Sunday she was started to perk back up, food stayed down, and we were only dealing with gastro issues by then. But she was nice enough to share, and by Monday we were both down and out! Everyone is on the mend now, except Fionn, who is teething, so all the fun stuff that goes with that is starting up...Poor boy!!
Oh, i just have to share my favorite quote from Maggie on Saturday about being sick. This was said in the truck on the way home from seeing Santa. "Mommy, I got that shot in my arm right here(pointing to arm), it HURT, and it's not helping." I gotta say, even sick she crack's me up!
So here are a couple pics with Santa, enjoy!

Tree part two...

Here are a couple more of the tree...and one of our outside decorations. The funny part is that we have so many more decorations, but really not sure where to put what this year. The old house was easy, we knew all our decorations were safe, we were up on the hill. Now that we are at street level, well we're a little more careful with what we put out. Still looking to put up our penguins though. Sorry Brian and Lauren, there is still more to come!

hmmm...doesn't look like we're putting the star on!okay, that's better..now that we took off the bottom foot of the tree!now that it's all decorated, home made tree skirt and allthe ornament that we got for Fionn...his foot was supposed to fit on that little white sheet of paper...not so much...we went for an "artsy" approach!the preliminary outside decorations...more to come!

Oh Christmas Tree...

Wednesday we went on our annual trek to find our Christmas Tree. Since we moved to Pittsburgh, we've gone to the same place every year, and we LOVE the day. This day is "our" day as a family, to get us ready for the Holidays. Since we always come home for Christmas(which we LOVE to do as well) all our "our" little family traditions happen before hand.
It is never an easy task, for we all have different ideas on what the "perfect" tree is, and it usually takes us quite a while of stamping through the same patch of trees to find the right one. It has to be the right color, the right shape, and have a perfect top to put our star on. I have a symmetry issue, and Greg and Maggie try their best to humor me. Maggie has to look under all the trees, she has to make sure there is room for the presents...You'll hear her, she'll walk up to a tree, look under it and say "nope, not that one!" LOL, the continues for about twenty minutes usually until Greg and I insist she look again usually at the one we are favoring...If she gives it the okay, then we're in business...
It was a little more tricky this year with Fionn! HE wanted to take the pictures, and he was not entirely too sure about what we were doing roaming through the trees...He did like the tractor ride though, and didn't seem to mind all the mud(that's because he was in the wrap)
All in all we picked a perfect day to go find our tree, there was no one else there, and it wasn't super cold yet, like it is now. We were going to go originally after Breakfast with Santa in the morning, good thing we changed our mind...

The one thing that continues to also be a tradition...the tree not fitting in our house, LOL...Bigger house, and we still got a tree that was WAY too big!! It didn't look that big in the middle of the field!! Here are some pictures of our adventure...On the wagon ride...it was a bit bumpy

Fionn wasn't so sure about the bumps at first...but liked the tractor

my goofballs "sneaking up" on our tree

with the kids in front of "our" tree

See! She even borrowed daddy's gloves for a thorough check!

daddy cutting down our tree, after it passed the Maggie test...

"uhhh, mom...what's daddy doing?"

dragging it out, maggie always helps as you can see...

grow trees grow...we'll be back next year to search out our next perfect tree!!

Mikey the J-man

While Shell and Bill were down for Thanksgiving, we decided to get some new pictures of Mikey! He did great, and I'm excited to share some of his new pictures with those of you who haven't seen them yet! We got the clearance from mommy to show him off, so here he is...New Mikey pictures!! Look how big he's getting...he's not far behind Fionn(who had his last round of Synagis this morning, so his legs are a little sore)

Enjoy the new pics of Mikey!

Why we are thankful!

Here are a couple pictures from Thanksgiving...It was a great day, surrounded by those we love, and I cannot put into words how thankful we are for the life we have been given. Just look at these babies, life cannot get any better!!

helping make the sweet potato casserole(in her great grandmothers apron)

Shell and Mikey waiting for dinner!

Fionn giving Mikey a ride on his jeep!

everyone getting ready to eat! Yes Bill and Fionn are there too!

Fionn's first mashed potatoes!

Mikey, checking everyone out...before they both melted down

Fionn after dinner!

Fionn's new trick!

He just started doing this tonight, by himself, without prompting...how stinkin' cute!! We play peek-a-boo with him, but we've never covered his head or anything!! He kept this up for a while with both Greg and I! He thinks he's funny, and he's right, he is!! What a great ending to the day!!

NOT a good day so far...

Hmmmm....it's been an interesting start to the day here at the Hites household....
It really started yesterday, and just carried over, but it will get better, it has to!
After my whopping two hour nap, I got Maggie up and Daddy left work a couple minutes early in order to drive her to school instead of me having to take Fionn out in the cold to the bus stop. Since I've not been feeling well off and on for the past month(I've just been exhausted) Greg called earlier this week and made me a Dr. Appt. Sooo off we went to that. I got my flu shot and the new doc decided to run some tests. I have been working hard the last few weeks to start losing this weight that I've put on, and nothing, not one pound has come off, so i've been a little exasperated about that. So the new doc and I went over available options for that as well, after all the lab work comes back.
So we came home, Fionn's had his six month visit yesterday with Rosemary(who comes from the Alliance for Children) He qualified for these checks because of his little stint in the NIC-U. So I rushed around and cleaned up. Thursday IS laundry day, so I started that. Greg and Fionn laid down. They slept until I woke up Fionn at 1PM for his visit...Greg kept sleeping. Maggie came home, Greg kept sleeping. We woke him up beacuse he had an appointment at school yesterday, and he was WHITE, i mean really WHITE...
He called on the way home from his meeting, he had to pull the truck over to get out and well....umm give back what he had eaten we'll say...
He was SUPPOSED to go to the game last night, yeah...not so much. He came home, crawled in bed, and didn't move until after 11am today, and only then because I made him.
So I got the kids ready for bed, put them in bed, and then I proceeded to pass out as well.

This morning, got up, took Maggie down to the bus. Came home, decided to check my email, and noticed my watch on the floor. Yesterday I took off my watch and rings and put them on my desk while doing the laundry. So as I picked up my watch, I noticed my engagement ring was missing...I started to panic. Ella, our little kitty, likes to take Maggie's play rings.
(I guess she missed the memo about kitty's moving out for touching my REAL rings...)
So I start moving things, then I look down...the laundry room/storage/mommy's office has wood floors...One panel of the wood floor had a knot in it, an open knot, just big enough for Mommy's ring to get through...I take a deep breath, and decide to look around before I rip up the floor. I start picking things up, looking under things, heading closer to the door...There is a heater grate by the door that goes ALL the way down to the basement into the furnace. (The cat has already taken Maggie's angel pin from school and knocked it down the one in our room!) So i look down the grate. And there on the side, what do I see...MY RING!!

STUPID, STUPID CAT

(who is very stupidly rubbing against my legs right now)
Okay, I try to calm down, I did leave them here, and she is just a kitty who loves to play...She was smart and hid for a few hours. So then as the boys napped some more this morning, I did some cleaning out in the kids room that I had to do. I don't know how one boy can grow so fast! He had his six month check up Weds. and is up to 17 pounds 5 oz. already. And he's over 26 inches long already! His feet, ugh, just like his sister, only growing FASTER than hers did! He's already in a 3 and they are getting small! We just had to go buy him 6-12 month socks, all his baby ones are too small already!
So, as I'm cleaning and putting away laundry, the doctor calls. Mono test is negative, thyroid test is negative, all other tests are negative. EXCEPT my Sugar test, which is high. I want to curse now. I have to go back Monday and do a fasting test, and even if it's borderline I have to start treatment. She reminded me that because of my Gestational Diabetes, my chances double for having diabetes now. So now I am trying to process. I am trying to figure out where we go from here. I know something's wrong, it has been for months, I was just really hoping this wasn't the problem. Right after I had Fionn my numbers looked good. Then I just stopped checking, the doctors didn't seem concerned, so we just let it go. I guess I should have pushed. I just didn't want to.
Tonight is light up night, we've gone every year since we moved here. There is a big Santa spectacular as he goes around downtown and lights up the city. There are even TWO firework shows. The ice skating rink opens, and it's official start to the Holiday season...
BUT it's too cold to take Fionn, and Greg really does have the stomach flu. Maggie is going to be so disappointed. She just realized the other day that we missed the circus and cried. It's been a rough year for her. This is all she's talked about all week. Poor girl. So that's where we stand. What a Friday! We're praying it gets better!!

Caught Up!!

Finally, after my two hour nap this morning I will catch everyone up on life here at the Hites household!! Lots has happened in the last week, I've just not had time to even think about telling you for the last week. I had sittings to edit like you would NOT believe, it just became a time crunch and I fell behind. Three sittings in one weekend is a little too much for me to handle I guess at once! Lesson learned!! Well...at least handle in a timely fashion!
Okay going to enjoy my nap!! More soon!!!

I found this article that I wanted to share...

I found this interview today and I thought it was a very interesting read. I like the points he makes in this interview, his comparisons to train tracks instead of mountains and valleys! Just wanted to share with all of you.
*Rick Warren **(REMEMBER HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE')*
*You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now
having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales.
This is an
absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven
Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California*
*In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:*
------------------------------
**
*People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell,
life is preparation for eternity.
We were not made to last forever, and
God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
*
*One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body--
but not the end of me.
*
*I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of
years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.
God
wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
*
*We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't
going to make sense.
*
*Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just
coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
*
*The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than
your comfort.
*
*God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your
life happy.
*
*We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life.

The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
*
*This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the
toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
*

*I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark
time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth.
I don't believe that
anymore.
*
*Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like
two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good
and something bad in your life.
*
*No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad
that needs to be worked on.
*
*And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something
good you can thank God for.
*
*You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
*
*If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which
is my problem, my issues, my pain.
' But one of the easiest ways to get rid
of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
*

*We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of

thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.*

*It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her
character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a
testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
*
*You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
*
*Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder.
For
instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million
copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
*
*It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with
before.
I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or
for you to live a life of ease.
*
*So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety
and influence.
He gave me two different passages that helped me decide
what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72*
*First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our
lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
*
*Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the
church.
*
*Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan
to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and
educate the next generation.
*
*Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I
started the church, and I gave it all back.
It was liberating to be able
to serve God for free.
*
*We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?*
*Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or
am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?*
*When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if
I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You
better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list.
He's more
interested in what I am than what I do.
*
*That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
*

*Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
*
*Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
*
*Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
*
*Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
*
*Every moment, THANK GOD.
*

Sooo excited, just have to share!!

For all of you not following Kristy's blog, GO NOW and read!!! God is working again with the Bolte's and I am sooo excited!! This is all good, happy news and I want to tell everyone!!! So go, now, and read!!!
The Bolte Blog

Prayers Needed

Hey everyone,
I have a mom that could use your prayers, support and encouragement. She is someone who contacted me about her little boy Caleb, who is due on the 26th of the this month. She just found out last month that Caleb has Trisomy 18. I know, not the normal time frame for finding out your baby has T-18, but none the less, it's how it has happened. Lindsey is a single mom who is struggling with this diagnosis. I know you all have a wonderful web(pardon the pun)spun where you are connected here through your blogs, and she could really use the hope and encouragement through this journey. Here is a link to her blog She has just started blogging, and I'm praying that she sees that God is leading her on this journey for good, not just taking her baby away. She is hoping to become a voice for Trisomy 18 awareness, and God is already opening doors here locally for her to share Caleb's story! PLEASE keep Lindsey and her family in your prayers!
Thank you, to all of you, for the way you care for each other. It is truly something amazing to see from my perspective!
-Ginger

Big Sale, today only at FOI!

To take advantage of this sale, just go here and then click on Regular Holiday Session-first payment: $100.00. That's it. All done. Now let's come up with a date and time!!
Remember, this is for TODAY only!! And there are only a FEW at this price! If you have any questions, please call Ginger at 412-715-5294

Busy, busy week...

Forgive me everyone if I don't get to post much more than this for this week, but I am SWAMPED! I have three sessions to edit before this weekend, pictures to get in the mail, and company coming this weekend, and we've yet to unpack from this past weekend!
It was a great weekend home though, even though I was exhausted. I should have known that I was coming down with something. I guess it's just lack of sleep toppled on top of stress, but it seems like I've caught every bug all my carrier monkeys have brought through this house in the last six weeks. They never seem to last more than a few days, but that's enough to back me up with work. And right now, with Maggie home the last two days, and Fionn SCREAMING at me most of the day, that's where we are.
Maggie already has a new big girl tooth popping up through her gums, but poor Fionn, they are just sitting there under the skin. My poor baby has been miserable. It wasn't like this with Maggie, it was pretty much how it is now, just a lot of drool, and pop! a tooth...He won't let me console him, he just wants to scream it out. We're trying our best to distract him, and we succeed most of the time, but when he gets tired, well...game over!
So if you could, PLEASE keep our little guy in your prayers. We're just simply praying to ease his pain a bit, and if those teeth could hurry it up, well that would be nice too!! The screaming does NOT help anyone, and I really need a happy boy who is happy to play for a while so I can get some work done!!
I hope everyone has a great week, and sorry to hear about all the snow in Erie County, so far just a dusting here! Looks like we headed back to the burgh just in time Sunday!!

Fionn's on the web!!

when Fionn was born, I bought him this great outfit from a company called L'OVED Baby. I got him a shirt, pants and hat. They were made out of the softest cotton, and he seemed so comfy in them. It was our intention to wear that outfit home from the hospital, but while we were in the NICU he wore the shirt there instead. They were having problems getting a little t-shirt style shirt on him with all of his wiring, so I pulled mine out that was a side snap one so it easily fit over everything. This shirt and hat were the first thing Fionn wore in the hospital and the hat became a staple of the stay. He loved it. I was just online this week, looking to buy him more from this company, and remmebered that they have a photo gallery that you can send them pictures of your baby wearing their stuff. I sent a pic from the NICU of Fionn and wrote a little note with it. Well they published it! L'OVED BABY Fionn is all the way at the bottom, AND they published a bit of his story too! I do also have to tell you this is a pic from the NICU that I never posted, but it's a cute one!
Okay, time for the little man to eat breakfast. He tried his first green beans last night, and he actually ate, well...most of them! We hope everyone has a great weekend, it looks like rain, BOO!! At least we're headed home this weekend. Lots of fun things planned!

Our Big Boy!

Well it's been quite a 24 hours, big things happened. I already posted how I feel about what happened nationally, so I'll catch you all up on what happened here.
We had family pictures last night, well tried to anyway...I had it set up with another local photographer that I know that she would come take ours, and then I would go and take their family shots. Which I thought would be great. I'm never in front of the camera, never. I was soooo excited to finally have a family picture with all four of us in it, I can't even put it in words. We only have a few snapshots of all four of us together. Well we could not start shooting until 4, as that's when the other photog could get there. We were a few minutes late getting started as there was traffic EVERYWHERE headed down to South Park. The sun was already starting to set and we were losing light so we had to move fast. Fionn did great, cooperated for most of the shots, smiled, had a great time. MAGGIE, on the other hand decided that she would face the camera, smile(sometimes) but look somewhere else in almost EVERY picture...I'm not kidding, there are FIFTEEN shots of the same pose, and I love the pose, and in not ONE picture did that child look at the stinkin camera.
I was so disappointed when I came home and saw the pictures. I'm going to try to salvage a few, and I was so happy the other photog could come, but it just didn't turn out. I was seriously bummed today and havn't even gone back to look at them again. I haven't even showed Greg yet.
This morning after we took Maggie to school, we took Fionn out to the Doctors. He's up to a whopping 17 pounds now! He had to go today for the first of many shots this winter. Since Fionn was intubated while in the NICU and since his lungs were immature, he qualified for Synagis, which is a monthly dose to protect him from RSV. He has to have this shot every month for the entire flu season, and still has to have a flu shot on top of this. It's a big IM shot(in both legs) as well, and they said it burns, so please keep our little guy in your prayers. In the next month alone he has to have his 6 month shots, a flu shot, and then another dose of Synagis. Something tells me he's going to be more than a little grumpy. I felt so bad this morning because he was so happy and laughing at the dr.'s office before the shots. Afterwards he just screamed and screamed!! My poor baby!
Maggie wanted to share with you a couple pictures that Mommy took of her and Fionn last night after the other photographer left. So here's what I got, too bad the light was fading fast!!

our babies, in the leaves

The boys, don't they look thrilled

Daddy helping Fionn walk across the bridge

A NEW PRESIDENT

I have been hesitant on writing anything political on our blog, and I can tell you three months ago we were NOT so sure who we would be voting for today, it all seemed like BS, but I can tell you that once we made the effort to sit down and look at all the facts we did, indeed decide to back Obama. Today we went, as a family, and cast our votes. Maggie went with both of us and helped us push the buttons. She had no doubt in her mind who would win. The reason though she did not like John McCain(kids say the darnedest things) was that she didn't like his smile! It was that easy for her. Not so much for Greg and I. I like John McCain, I stand for some of the same things he stands for. His Pro-life campaign was something that I admired, but at this time, he wasn't the right choice for us. I have to hope that as a nation we can now make our voices heard that we want change. I believe we are on the right path. Who among us tonight, who listened to his speech from Grant Park, isn't moved? I had tears in my eyes tonight as I listened, and hope in my heart. For the first time, I feel like I was a part of History. What an amazing night for our country! Even if you didn't vote for Obama today, let's all help make our voices heard again in our capitol. Let's take back the government this IS of the people, BY the people!
I just went in and woke up Maggie to tell her the results, and do you know my five year old daughter(half asleep) sat up in bed and gave me the biggest smile and biggest hug. She doesn't understand the importance of the day, but at FIVE she knows more about the world than I did at that age. She amazes me, and I hope that our next President amazes all of us...
God Bless America!

First teeth lost...OH MY

Maggie's bottom two teeth have been loose for a while now and tonight she decided to do something about it. With Halloween coming, we were afraid of them getting swallowed, and she really wanted to pull the one, so we humored her. When the first one popped right out, accidentally(as Greg was tying on the string) she decided that it did not hurt and he should pull the second one. My stomach rolled as he pulled it, but she never cried!! She now just has two cavernous holes in the front of her mouth!! She's really excited about the tooth fairy, and she gets a double shot to start!!
Here's video of the aftermath!! What a big girl I have now!

This video is HILARIOUS!!

Okay everyone, so I found this video today and I laughed so hard I cried...

girl on bike!!