2010

I have decided to try and remember the moments in 2010 that defined our year and I hope to do this every year I continue to blog....so without further ado - 2010:

January-The girls turned five with a fun day with me and mammy. I was huge being 8 months pregnant with Audrey. I did go into early labor at 34 weeks and was hospitalized overnight and given drugs to stop the contractions. The doctors were on the fence about stopping everything but I was more than happy to let them since I was in no way ready for baby #4 to arrive yet. So once I got home and rested, it was a mad dash to get everything prepared just in case she came early!!

February - Cuatro got a big boy bed (the day before Audrey was born). Audrey came into this world on February 11th. With a five day stay in the NICU and me going back and forth and daddy taking care of the kids, we were happy when she came home on February 16th which happened to be the day her cousin Grayson was born.

March-we adjusted to no sleep with a newborn and taking care of three children. Cuatro did not take to being a big brother at all so there were lots of moments I wanted to pull my hair out!!

April-Audrey was baptized on April 3rd. Her godparents, the Baldwins, threw a small party beforehand. We also went to the Battle of Flowers Parade and continued to adjust.

May-This seemed to be the month of birthday parties!! I think we had at least 2 a week. The girls also graduated from preschool!!

June-The girls had their first dentist appointment where we found out that Laura had three cavities. They also attended their first cheer leading camp and loved it! VBS rounded out the month and we made many preparations for Clegg and Jenny's wedding.

July-Clegg and Jenny were married on July 10th. We threw a shower for the Boddie's who were getting two girls from Ethiopia. AND Joe got fixed after my procedure didn't happen but I got some good drugs given to me:) Michael Ann also came for a visit and Joe and I were able to go on an overnight date--what a treat.

August-I was able to go with my college sorority roommates to the coast for one night on the 3rd--it was so nice to catch up. When I came home, Joe's dad was put in the ICU at the hospital and on August 13th, he passed away. He was very sick for so long but Joe and I were not prepared for him to die when he did. He had made it through all the past obstacles before but God chose to take him home and while the kids were sad and didn't understand a whole lot, Laura and Grace pointed out that "Grandaddy isn't sick anymore and he won't fall down anymore". I love that they know that Heaven is a place of no more tears and pain. Joe and I also celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary as best we could with a dinner at the place where we went on our first date. It was a good evening but bittersweet as we were in the middle of planning his dad's funeral. On August 23rd, the girls started Kindergarten. They were excited and I held in the tears until I was driving away. AND Cuatro turned three with a birthday party at Kiddie Park with his friends. So August was a busy month with a few sprinkles of joy.

September-We adjusted to having to be somewhere everyday on time and very early. Cuatro also started playing flag football for the first time. He didn't quite get the concept but had fun. The girls also became daisies (first level of girl scouts). They love going to the meetings and seeing all the girls they love and don't get to see now that everyone is in different schools. I ended the month by co-leading the annual church garage sale. What an undertaking but it was worth it. This is also the month where we hired a sitter to come twice a week to help me out....a great blessing.

October-We had a memorial service for Uncle Bob and Joe's dad in Carrizo Springs followed by a trip with all four kids to the ranch for one night. Cuatro came home throwing up and Laura got the bug two days later for FIVE days. This was a busy month with added activities for Halloween. This year, Cuatro was the big bad wolf and the girls were the three little pigs. They were adorable!! (pictures to come soon)

November-Cuatro played his last flag football game of the season on the 13th. This month brought more sickness in the form of vomiting and a virus with high fever and congestion. Cuatro started throwing up on Novmember 16th and did not stop until he was hospitalized (that was in another post). We had a great Thanksgiving with my family with no sickness until the day after.

December-was a whirlwind month. There were many parties for the kids schools as well as church groups. The girls had two and a half weeks off of school as we prepared for Jesus' birhtday (a concept Cuatro is still getting the hang of). We had a wonderful day at my parent's and ended the year with a visit from Michael Ann and her family.





So there is 2010 in a nutshell. It was definitely a defining year for Joe and I. But as always, we serve a good God who constantly reminds us of His grace and mercy through the kindness of our family and friends.

Come on 2011 and may you be a year of rest for the Tidwell's!!!

Funny Pictures

When I was pregnant with each of my children, I prayed that each one of them would love the Lord more than anything AND that they would have a personality. We are working on the first request daily but the second request has been answered beyond what we ever hoped for!!

"We might die before the kids get better..."

The above quote is from my sister as we compared notes about who was sick this week at our respective homes. Since mid-October someone has been throwing up, had a fever, had a sore throat, and worse. Cuatro started throwing up again on November 16th and HAS NOT STOPPED!! After two pediatrician visits in one week with no answers it was Thanksgiving weekend and his doctor would not call us back. He woke up Saturday, the 27th, very weak and feverish. Joe tried to perk him up by taking him to his favorite restaurant for lunch but he just sat there and stared at the wall. Those who know Cuatro know that this is so out of the ordinary. So we packed all the kids up and dropped the three girls at Mammy's and went on the ER. To say that I was scared is an understatement. Joe was very calm but I was so worried about what they might find wrong with our son. All sorts of thoughts from cancer to horrible diseases were running through my mind. After having to hold him down to put an IV in and draw blood and another urine sample, Cuatro was admitted to the hospital. He was so confused and unhappy but settled down for the night around 11pm. What a long night that was. The pediatrician on call finally made her rounds at 11pm just as he was falling asleep. It didn't help that she had HORRIBLE bedside manner and kept correcting me and cutting me off mid sentence. I was truly about to say some very unkind things to her face but a friend of ours was there and I couldn't. At midnight, Cuatro finally settled down until the 4am vitals had to be done. At that point, he was up for the rest of the morning. I was so tired when Joe came back to the hospital but still anxious as we still had no answers. I went to see the girls at Mammy's and take a shower and get some things to make Cuatro more comfortable. When I returned to the hospital, they had already taken Cutro for a CT scan of his brain to check for tumors. As a mom, this is one of the last things you want to hear about your child. I think I went numb at that point. Joe stayed with Cuatro that night so that I could tend to the girls and take them home. I wish I could say that this night was calm and we had alot of sleep but it did not happen this way. Someone wet my bed while sleeping with me and Audrey hardly slept since she was getting sick as well. The next morning, I dropped Grace off at school (late) and took Laura (who was running a fever) and Audrey to the doctor (a new one since we fired the last pediatrician due to neglecting Cuatro's case) since she was in bad shape. After getting oil in my car (it had none) and picking up prescriptions and dropping the two sick girls at their Mammy's, I was back at the hospital to relieve Joe at 1pm. After many sweet visitors and more vitals, Cuatro and I were asleep by 10pm. He was sound asleep but I was wide awake due to a tween boy next door who screamed for about two hours because they were trying to take some blood. I know this is painful but if my three year old son can do it with a minimum of screaming, why can't a 12 year old boy? I don't mean to sound harsh, but I could hear the nurses get irritated since the mom was not helping the situation. Needless to say, it was a restless night for me but the nurses left Cuatro alone all night so that he could sleep...a huge blessing. The next day, Cuatro was feeling so much better and we were waiting on the doctor to make his rounds and tell us the test results of the scan and many other tests. He came and said everything was negative and that he thought this had all been a bad virus and that we could go home BUT had to come back if he started throwing up again or hit a fever above 101 again.

We were so happy to be out of the hospital and have all four children under one roof even though two were still sick (Laura and Audrey). And then...Cuatro started limping when we got home and I went way downhill with a high fever and sore throat and ear. We called our doctor and were told to watch Cuatro closely but not to take him back in. That was Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday are a blur since I was down with the virus. Joe took over and several people from church brought meals. Then on Saturday night, Cuatro started throwing up again and would not stop. So Sunday morning we were back in the ER with the mystery virus. After more blood drawn and more tests, we were sent home with no answers. As of today (December 11th) he is still throwing up at night and we are finding a pediatric GI specialist.....and Audrey is running a 103 temperature!! When will it end????

On a side note...Whitney's kids have been sick for the same amount of time as well. I think all of our kids have gone through all three of these viruses and counting....

Is there an institution for mom's who go crazy after dealing with sickness for two months or more??? I might need it come spring.