Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Happy Birthday Sweet Precious Angel!

Today my sweet wonderful McHaney Margaret is two years old. These have been the best two years of my life.

Mc, I love you more than I ever thought I could. Through all the sleepless nights, tantrums, sickness, and surgeries, I've never doubted that you are the most wonderful gift God could have placed in our lives.

You brighten the room when you're in it. You have a magical aura that draws people in. Your innocence is magnetic and your laugh is addictive. You are marked by God in all you do and I know that one day you will do great things for Him.

My heart is yours and you have Deda wrapped around your finger. Happy Birthday Bees, we love you!

The Big Party

Mc's Bday party was last night. I think it went over well... except that I ran out of food. Other than that, things went great!

We had a teletubbies themed party at my parent's house. I decorated in primary colors and had a few teletubbies things as well. (It is hard to find teletubbies stuff b/c they've been around for like 10 years... leave it to my kid to be obsessed with something impossible!)

All the kids swam and we had a blow up water slide and moon bounce we borrowed from the Chances. The best thing though... Daren and Dennis dressed up like teletubbies. It was hilarious! They ran around and Mc hugged all over them. (all the other kids were scared to death!) They got on the water slide with her and played around. She was so excited!

We had dipsy dogs and tinky winky tortillas, chips and hot dips, and fruit with tubbie custard. (Yes, it was pink... thank you gimmy, it was awesome!!!) We did cake and cupcakes and opened presents.

Before I knew it the party had been going 2 and a half hours and it was time for everyone to go. They took their parting gifts which consisted of bubble wands, splash balls, curly straws, and candy.

I think Mc had a big time and I think all her little friends did too. Plus, it will be such a great memory to have of Daren and Dennis in those costumes!


PS- If you'd like to see more pics, you can click on the link on the left to see her shutterfly account. Just email me for the password!

A Great Birthday Kickoff Celebration

A few days ago, I saw on our Franklin Water bill that they would be showing the "World Premiere" of the newest Veggietales movie at Pinkerton Park.

So, last night was the big night and I thought Mc would really enjoy it. We decided to pack a picnic and head down ther around 7. (Mc's bedtime is about 8:30, but we decided since last night was a special occasion, we'd let her stay up a little late.)

Anyway, we go down there, setup our blanket and stuff and unpack our picnic. It was yummy and Mc loved eating outside.

After it was over, I decided to "guard" our stuff while they went to play on the playground. About 5 minutes later I look over and here come Bob and Larry, walking down the path for photo ops. (Just as an FYI, I tried really hard to get them to come to her Bday party, but they don't rent out their costumes... so this was perfect!) She got to hug them and have her picture taken with them. (Of course, my camera battery went dead right as I was about to snap a pic of her with them, but they had their own camera and will hopefully be emailing me the picture they took of her with them.) Her little hands and legs were going 90 miles an hour. It was precious.

Then (I had entered her name in a drawing) as she is just running in circles around Daren, b/c she was so excited about meeting Bob and Larry, they called her name and she won 2 new DVD's. And, believe it or not, she doesn't have either of them. If possible, there was even more excitement. I thought it was possible she might explode!

Once darkness started to settle in, we ate M and M's and watched the movie. (For those of you that know anything about veggietales, Mike Narwocki was there to introduce the film, which for us parent's was kindof cool.) Around 9, she decided she was tired and it was time to go. So, we loaded up a little before the movie was over and headed home.

I have to say it was one of my favorite nights ever. Just to see her excitement, made it extra special. Plus, Daren and I have this curse where we make grandios plans and then they all backfire. So, to have a night where everything turns out perfectly was more than we ever expected!!!!

Party Preparation

We've been getting ready for Mc's birthday party all week. (As you cansee from the pic, lunch at Target was a must one day.)

I can't believe that in a few days my baby girl will be 2! We're celebrating tonight with friends and family, but her actual B-day is Monday.

Anna's Shower

Last weekend several of us hosted a shower for my sister in law, Anna, and her new baby to be, Sawyer. It was a good shower and I think she got alot of great stuff! Here are a few pics:

Anna with a pic that Daren's Aunt Pam painted. Isn't it awesome?!??!?

All the hostesses with the special guest of honor... well, I guess it is actually guests of honor!!!

Go Dog Go!

I've gotten behind on my posts because I left my camera at the Chance's last week... so, please pardon me as I catch up!!!!

Last Friday night we went with the Hunter's to see Go Dog Go at the Nashville Children's Theatre. They were both extremely excited, as you can see from Ava's jumping in this first pic. I was afraid it was going to be over Mc's head, which to an extent, I think it was, but she still loved the action and she sat through the whole thing. She and Ava were both really cute to watch. They clapped along and actaully kept up with the interaction. I'd say, her first theatre experience was a success. She's been walking around all week saying, "Go Dog Go!" and "Beep, Beep. Beep, Beep." So Cute!

After the play, we went to Five Guys for cheeseburgers and hotdogs. That was also a success and the girls ruled the restaurant. They were wild! Oh, I dread the day the slumber parties start!

Praise the Lord!

Well, we got amazing news this afternoon...

Our friend Chad is on his way home from the hospital after 24 short hours and is currently not exhibiting any lasting effects from his stroke last night.  They are pretty sure he had a mini stroke, but expect a full recovery.  God is so good and he answered our prayers.  Thanks again, so much, for all of yours!

Prayer Request

Hey Everyone... I come to you on my knees tonight. Some of our good friends from our Sunday School Class have had a major trauma hit their lived tonight and we don't know when and if things will get back to normal.

Their names are Chad and Jennifer Wasserman. They were on their way to date night tonight and his left side started to go numb. They pulled into a fire station and called an ambulance. Long story short, he had a stroke. I think it might be pretty bad. His speech is slurred, he can't see out of his left eye, he's very agitated and he's having trouble identifying and understanding things. I went down there tonight with some of the other girls from our class and it looks like they might be there a while.

Chad is only 35 and he works at HCA. Pray specifically for a few things:

1. For his health, obviously. Pray that it's God's will that he'll heal completely

2. That Jennifer will stay strong, that she can get some rest tongiht, and that she will force the drs to do what is best for Chad.

3. For the doctors. They have a resident attnding him and he isn't really doing a good job , from what I understand.

4. For their children. They have two small kids, Kate and Ethan. Pray that this will not affect them too much and that they are still to young to understand enough that they will worry, etc.

We are really worried and in deep prayer tonight. I'll keep you all posted, but please bump them to the top of all your prayer lists.

A Day at the Pool

On Wednesday, Kelly invited us over to her parent's house to go swimming.  The Watson clan was there, as well as both Austins, the McInteers, the Adcocks, & the Brandts.  

Mc had a great time & was so sweet.  I love seeing her interact with other kids.  The only time she fussed all day was when we had to leave... and she'd been swimming for 3 hours!  The child loves water.  There's no doubt about that!  

This was our first swimming playdate of the summer and we're looking forward to many more.  Thanks Austin's!  We had a GREAT time!

Playgroup Gets Big

Our playgroup met last Friday, and we just couldn't get over how big everybody looked!  It was like they had all grown up over the course of a week or two!  (check here for a picture from one of the first times we met.)

Here are some pics I was able to snap:

Holt did not want his picture taken!

So, he ran away...

And, then there were four...

And then there were only two.  :)

Best Friends say bye-bye!

Edible Arrangment

These pics are from an edible arrangement Mc received.  

She got lots of gifts throughout the week following surgery, and I hate to say it, but I think this one was by far her fave!  I don't know why, but she just lost her mind over it.  So cute!  

She loved picking out what she would get next, she loved to smell it, she just loved it!  As you can see from the pics, the chocolate covered apples were her favorite thing in the arrangement, but she ate every last drop of every piece of fruit in it!

Last Weekend

Last weekend, in an effort to slow McHaney down, we decided to take a trip to the zoo.  It was fun, but didn't slow her down much!  She was all over the place look at the "Meer-meow meows" (ie- Meercats) and the "SSSSS's" (ie- snakes) and her favorite, the "whowhowho's" (ie- Monkeys).  She loved it all, but it was hot and the trip only lasted about an hour. 

Later that night, Dennis, Anna and Sadie (or Nina, D Bebesas Mc refers to them) brought dinner.  We had Outback and it was awesome.  Sadie Jane was in rare form and in love with Utah.  She laughed all night at her.  It was so cute!  

Sunday, we didn't do much, just tried to recover from the excitment of the previous days.  Heather brought us dinner and we had several visitors though.  It is so nice to know so many people love us!  

All in all I'd say it was a great weekend

The Day After

Here are a few pics from the day after Mc's surgery.  Deb met us at the hospital and helped us get home.  (She also stayed the day so we could get some sleep, such a life saver!) 

As you can tell, when we got home from the hospital, she never stopped.  Gimmy and PawPaw had filled her room with flowers and balloons, which was REALLY cool.  Then later, Mimi, Gaga, and my Grandparents came over to visit.

Pics from the Hospital

I think most of you have heard, by now, about the hospital trip.  It was pretty good with the exception of one pretty bad scare.  

In the recovery room, Mc's leg started turning black, her veins started bulging, and her foot started swelling.  She was screaming in pain, and I heard the nurse mutter something about a blood clot.  Of course, Daren and I are both thinking blood clot to the brain and death.  I panicked.  They resedated her b/c she was hurting so bad and at that point I'm sure they were wishing they could sedate me as well.  I was bawling crying and telling the nurse to do something and do it quickly.

They paged the surgeon out of surgery to come and check on her.  Apparently, it was a blood clot, but a good one.  The one that had formed at her incision had gotten a kink in it b/c the dressing was on too tight.  Once they removed the dressing, her leg started going back to normal. Within the hour, all was well again, but it was so scary.

Other than that, and the fact that our room was between the nurses station and the helipad, our stay was pretty good.  We got no sleep, but that was to be expected.  Once we got home, as I stated in my blog that day, she was totally normal... like nothing ever happened.

We feel so blessed to have a healthy little girl at home and to know that all is in the past, I can't even tell you.  

Here are some pics from the hospital.  I know it is weird we took pictures, but I wanted to document for her.  She'll never remember and I thought this was the best way.  I want her to be able to see what she went through and how strong and brave she was!

Pre-Op with Nurse Ginger; getting our blood pressure taken.

When we got back to the recovery room... 

A Little Sleeping Angel, and also, a Sight for Sore Eyes!

After she woke up from her 3rd Sedation... Yes, they sedated her 3 times.  She couldn't be still.

  

The Morning After 

Major Bird Hair

Time to catch up!

I know it's been a long time, but we've been in "recovery" mode... and by we, I mean me.  Mc is like nothing ever happened.  The kid had heart surgery and recovers in one day.  I have kidney stones and 6 weeks later I'm still "recovering".  CRAZY!!!!  Anyway, I wanted to catch everyone up on what's been going on, so here we  go:

These pics are from the weekend before the surgery.  (Sorry, I still haven't learned all about this mac, and I can't get my pics in order.  So, please, just bear with me!)

We decided a full family weekend would be awesome!  It was gross on Saturday, so we went to the mall and then to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch.  Mc and Deda played in the rain that day too.  Later on in the week, she enjoyed a nice popsicle outside with Utah.  Mmm, sharing is lovely!