Sugar, Spice and Incense

Since I haven't updated the world in about 3 1/2 months, I thought now would be a good time to let everyone know what has been going on in the Bradley world. Be prepared, our camera is not working well, so there will be no adorable pictures in this post, but you will be well up-to-date once you've endured all the reading :)

December
We had a wonderful Christmas holiday with family. We had a simple gathering at my folks house before we left for Minnnesota. I love our traditional Lasagna dish for Christmas dinner, even though it's not the conventional one, it sure makes this preggo happy! Sydney got her new stocking this year at my mom's house. She hand makes everyone's stockings. The mantle is getting pretty full let me tell ya! Next year there will be two more, one for my new niece, Anna, and one for baby Julianna (did I tell you we decided on a name?)
Josh was able to get a full week off around Christmas, so we packed everyone, even the dog, and started the trek to MN. We stopped first in Ohio. It was a loooooong day of traveling. It was snowy on the roads starting in Virginia, so at every stop everyone got all dirty from the snow and salt on the roads. West Virginia was the worst! It was like they used coal to melt the ice on the roads. And try getting a dog to pee on the snow! What should have been at max a 10 hour trip ended up taking 13 hours. We opened presents with Josh's folks and then had a family meeting. Tomorrow's trek to MN would be a minimum of 10 (but more than likely 12, but at our rate at least 14). My head was starting to spin. I really wanted to see Josh's family. They are a fun bunch to be around, especially at Christmas, there are many traditions that I enjoy. But the thought of being on the road another full day, and then two more full days on the way back was stressful. After some prayer and discussion Josh decided it would be best to stay in Ohio for our Christmas. It was a tough decision, but I think the best one for our family right now.
We ended up with a new family member by the end of the trip. Josh took me to the mall to look around and lo and behold they have pet stores right in the mall that actually sell puppies! My heart was stolen the first time I saw him, the most adorable little Cockapoo you have ever since, just this tiny little ball of fluff. We made a wonderful compulsive decision to add him to our family. So Sammy joined us for the ride home as well.

January
Life was pretty busy with two dogs, two preschoolers and a six months old. We begrudgingly said "goodbye" to vacation life and "hello" to the real world. I started helping with a new ministry at church, I had ended my career as a Children's Minister at the end of the year. Now I am helping with a group called "Appleseeds" for 8th grade girls. I am really enjoying the change of pace and not actually being the person in charge. It's nice to do ministry and not be stressed about it! One of the meetings towards the end of the month I was not feeling so well. I had called Josh on the way to ask for prayer because I was in some pain. It hadn't been unusual for me this pregnancy and I was trying to ignore it, but it was not going away. I had all three girls with me this night as well. I was looking forward to getting there because I knew that one of the ladies is a physical therapist and I thought she might have some recommendations for me to ease the pain. By the time I got to the church things were starting to take a turn for the worse. It was becoming very hard for me to hide the fact that I wasn't feeling good. The physical therapist wasn't able to help with the pain that I was having, especially since I am pregnant, but both her and another women made the suggestion to call the Dr., so that's what I did. Through tears, at this point, I called an OB and described my symptoms. The only things she could do was tell me to go to the ER. I called Josh, made arrangements for the girls and my parents picked me up to go to the hospital. The ER was PACKED!! I signed in and was seen by triage. I gave a urine sample which I embarassingly had to carry through the crowded ER waiting room. Josh left work and met me. I was relieved once he arrived, he was wearing scrubs, so I thought maybe he would have some leverage. I had overheard one man telling me his wife had to wait 4 hours to been since. I moaned at the thought of having to wait that long. I tried to remain decent, but the pain was getting too severe. I did the only thing I could think of, assume birthing positions. That's all I could think of to ease the pain. After 3 hours of waiting I was really starting to loose it. Josh took be back to triage in a wheel chair, at this point I couldn't even walk. I threw up all over the floor and started moaning, I just couldn't keep control of myself anymore. After 4 long hours I was finally given a room, and some pain meds. Life was good, for a little while. They did an ultrasound, gave me more meds and sent me home with an uncertain diagnosis. I suffered all weekend long! The pain meds had to be increased and I couldn't keep any food down. Monday I went in to see the OB. She admitted me to the hospital. Apparently I was dehydrated and in pain. I got more meds, oh the bliss! And they hooked me up to tons of fluid. I used the bathroom and passed something. I was starting to feel better. After three bags of fluid and constant urination life was good. I stayed over night and we concluded/assumed that I had actually had a kidney stone and passes it once I was admitted. Soda can be a contributing factor to kidney stones, and I drink A LOT of soda. Since I didn't want to be in that kind of pain again, I have not drank any soda since then.

February
I was discharged on Feb. 1st. Things were going well until that Sunday. Makayla fell asleep during church, which is very unusual for her and which we normally don't allow. We were meeting with my folks and grandma for lunch. We got to lunch and she was BURNING! By the end of the week Caroline and myself had the same symptoms. Caroline got tested and was positive for flu. Great. Not only did we have the flu, but over the next weekend I got a respiratory infection on top of it. With lots of meds and help from Josh and my mom we all revived in time for some company. My good friend Jenn flew in from California to visit for a week. We had a great time and I really enjoyed some girl time and extra help around the house. Josh took me on an awesome date night, probably the most thought out in our history of being together. I loved it!
Once we saw Jenn off Josh's mom came in for a quick weekend visit. Although it was fast, the girls had a great time! They each got to make their own Build-A-Bear (I think it took Makayla an hour just to pick out a bear!) and on Saturday Meemaw and Josh took them to Marbles, one of our favorite kids museums. I enjoyed some one-on-one time with Sydney and some much needed rest. I was still recovering from all the illness. We are all looking forward to Meemaw's next visit once Julianna gets here.

March
Josh and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this month. In order to do something a little different I researched the traditional wedding gifts and gave him a gift everyday for a week up until our anniversary. Although the gifts weren't much, it was nice having a special time each night to celebrate together. Josh made arrangements for some friends from church to watch the girls and he took me away for an evening. We stayed in a hotel. We had a great time having some fun together and enjoying a nice dinner at Outback without kids. It was a wonderful time and I couldn't be more thankful to be married to Josh.
Now Josh has been having some medical issues that we both felt was necessary to get checked out. So in a whirlwind of three days and lots of Dr.'s visits we found out that he has Ulceritive Colitis. Luckily his isn't the serious kind, but can pose many different issues, even getting worse. So we are now beginning to work on his medicines to see what is going to help reprieve his symptoms. He has a great attitude, but is still in shock by the diagnosis.
While all of this is going on, the weather has decided to change, which means the changing of the seasons in our house. With three little girls, this is not an easy task. Our bedroom has been full of buckets of clothes. We have been sorting and switching and sorting again for what seems like forever. I never thought I would see my bedroom floor again. But finally, last night, we finished the task. 7 rubbermaid containers! Our house has been such a mess and life has been so chaotic I have been pretty stressed lately. So after two full days of cleaning and organizing things are finally back in place.
Peace.
It's so nice.
Things have been crazy the past three months, but that's our life. I am thankful for this moment of peace I have been blessed with and use it to recharge for the next season of stress!

Our Lovely Home

I have been lying on the couch all evening iceing my bum. What does this have to do with the First Snow? Let me tell you. Today, December 4th it snowed in North Carolina. The girls and I enjoyed a nice girls day out. We went to a craft fair and had lunch with my mother. On our way home snow flurries began to fall. By the time I had the girls settled in to their nap (aka: playtime in the bedroom while I have time to myself minus the fifty times I am called to help kiss boo-boos, break up fights and potty breaks) the snow was picking up. After a while I went in to the girls room and opened their blinds so that they could see outside and watch the snow. Once the anticipation built, we all got on layers of clothes to go outside. That's when it happened! I was innocently bending over to tie Caroline's shoes when BAM! I squatted down right on to the corner of the coffee table. I think it took two whole minutes for me to catch my breath and stop what surely would have been a flood of tears. I push past it and we go play outside. 20 minutes of trying to get dressed, 5 minutes of playtime. My fault, I couldn't find their gloves. Oh well! Good reason to have some nice hot chocolate. Once I was back in the house and not so distracted by the fun of the snow I realized how much my bum was hurting. I got some ice and sat on the couch and shed a few tears. Luckily my husband is a nurse and I was able to text him to get some helpful healing tips until he got home. I hobbled through the rest of the evening and Josh surprised me with a Dr. Pepper and a movie. What a great Nurse!

Here are some pictures of our first snow this season: