Christmas Video

Adding a video of the Will family festivities...

Family Christmas Craziness

The past couple days we spent with my family. It started Friday night with my mom coming down to help out while we prepped the meals (an Italian fest of ravioli, spaghetti, manicotti and lasagna). Everyone was supposed to come over on Saturday at noon, but my dad had a bout with a couple of kidney stones, and mom had to go home to 'baby' him.

Everyone else arrived safely Saturday though Kelly brought way too much dessert and Kerri/Bret had to stop at a gas station on the way to clean-up Keagan's car sickness surprise. Needless to say, we didn't start out exactly as planned, but once the last car arrived... it was lots of fun.

First we chowed on David's excellent food, then we played a board game until Zach & Heather arrived. Once they arrived we started in on the presents. Jack and Ella were soooo excited. They immediately started climbing the mound as soon as they saw it. I think they were so thrilled with all the activity, they weren't sure what else to do.

Once we finished the presents, calmed all the kids down a bit, put babies to bed, and cleaned-up the kitchen, it was off to the basement for Guitar Hero. I'm not much of a singer, but I did my part to help "the band". It was a blast. We ended-up playing until about 1:30am. I was exhausted. We found beds/floors for everyone (10 adults & 7 children) and ventured off to dreamland. Well, at least until Jack and Ella woke-up at 6:45am.

David made everyone breakfast and then mom surprised us with a visit (she left dad in Grandma's capable hands). She came down so that she could give everyone their presents.

We then said goodbye to mom, Zach & Heather, and Kerri & the kids. Kelly, Jack, Ella, and I all took a nap as everyone else went to the basement to play another round of Guitar Hero. Tristan, Jessica & Aydan left around 2:30 then Joe, Kelly, Chey, and Bret left around 4pm.

David and I are exhausted, but very pleased with how everything turned out... We had a great Christmas; Jack and Ella's first. I can't wait until next year (hopefully Dad can enjoy the pictures since I know he hated missing the big event...)

Uncle Bret and Cousin Kaine signifying the first Christmas for J and E


As he noticed from Jack's outfit


The 'fam'


Jack's new favorite toy (a present from Great Grandma Joy)



Jack, Aydan and Ella playing


A rough morning for Tristan and Jessica


posted by Kristy

Christmas Fun

Christmas was a great day for us. The kids were awesome on the trip. Our bellies settled down a bit and the weather turned out great. We even got Jack and Ella home early enough to play with some toys before bed.

Thanks very much for your prayers and support this year so that we could enjoy this Christmas with Jack and Ella. We hope that yours was blessed, as well.

Christmas Break - Part 2

So I'm finally back to about 80%... I've eaten some noodle soup, a piece of toast, and 1/2 a sandwich in the last 48 hours and have keep it all down!! Jack and Ella are still battling diarrhea, but neither has thrown-up for over a day. Yeah!!

Here's the bad news... David has finally been hit. He got up this morning not feeling so well, and as the day went on, he got worse. He has probably slept 20 of the last 24 hours and has only eaten 1 piece of toast. I'm praying that he'll have a fast recovery as we are supposed to go to his mom and dad's for Christmas day festivities. My family is coming down Saturday expecting an Italian feast.

This is our first real Christmas since 2005, so I'm hoping for a little Christmas miracle so that we're all healthy and can have the very merry Christmas we've been dreaming of...

Christmas Break - Part 1 - Everyone's sick

Kristy and I were planning on enjoying a nice, peaceful break with the kids. Unfortunately, Kristy, Jack and Ella got sick yesterday. Hopefully, it's one of those 24 hour bugs...

In other news, we did pick up a nice booster/high chair (thanks to Carrie's recommendation). It works much better than feeding them on the floor.


Plus, we decided to give Ella a shot at the sippy cup. She's not quite ready yet.


We set up an open toybox on the wall. It's become the new, favorite zone in the house.


A couple of the many Ella expressions (the first one is actually a yawn).



If we don't post again before Christmas, have a great Christmas.

What a Difference a Year Makes

December 4th was the anniversary of the beginning of my lengthy hospital stay. One year ago on the 4th, David and I went to see Dr. A for a routine ultrasound and got the surprise of our lives... Jack's amniotic fluid was down to a dangerous level, and I would have to be on bedrest at the hospital until delivery.

Of course and that time, the thought was that we were going to lose both Jack and Ella. It was much too early in the pregnancy to deliver, and there was nothing they could do to add more fluid to Jack's sac. If Jack died in utero, more than likely they would have had to deliver Ella prematurely because of the risk of infection among other issues. You know it is bad when no one in the doctor's office can look you in the eyes.

The next several days were spent in a hospital gown, hooked up to numerous IVs and monitors, wearing extremely uncomfortable tights, drenched in tears, and praying that God would not do this to us again. Thankfully, David was beside me the whole time, and Debbie (our favorite nurse ever) knows exactly what to say even when you don't think there is anything that would possibly help.

As you can imagine, this Christmas has a whole new meaning for David and I. Jack and Ella have completed us in so many ways. They've renewed my faith and my outlook on life. I look forward to every smile, every cuddle, and even the late night feedings. This will be the best Christmas ever!!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this year... much better than last year's! Here are a couple of pics from the festivities:


This was taken at my mom and dad's house on Thanksgiving day. As you can tell by the picture, there is quite an age gap between the oldest grandchild to the youngest. Of course David and I "waited" a little longer than most to have kids.


This was taken at our house. We hosted David's side of the family the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The ages here are much closer!!