Whats Up With Us?

Oh my goodness!! I cannot believe it the end of summer! I cannot believe I have not blogged in so long. I have so many things to catch up on and have put everything off for so long that I just dreaded catching up. So.. Here is the low down on the best of the best things missed!

July was hot, muggy and yucky. We had a thunderstorm almost every day and I was uninspired for photos so I mostly have pics of the kids in the house relaxing.

We did manage to get out to see the Buttler County Fair this year. Hot is hot, but the weather was so hot we all ended up with head aches and headed home a little earlier than we thought we would. Jake loved it and I am willing to bet that the sheep that goosed me (yep, goosed me) was Jakies favorite part.

Here he is, that little gooser: I felt like I was back in Italy!

Rick graduated from his Fellowship program in July (first part) and was honored at a great luncheon with the other fellows of past, present & future. Rick is still the Administrator of GI at Presbyterian & Shadyside Hospitals, and has taken on Pulmonary Services as well (as an interim administrator.) He is busy, busy, busy and we are so proud of him!

(Left to Right: Physicians Services Fellows Franchesca, Laura & Gillian & Cho-coo at far right end. Administrative Fellows: Mark & Rick are next to each other)

August came in with the same furious storms and the month passed so quickly. Our time this summer was spent getting over the surgery, cleaning out the house, hitting the pool, getting Jake ready for School at a reading camp he participated in for 2 weeks in July, lounging indoors much of the time due to the previously mentioned horrible weather, etc.

The best thing to happen all summer was when Kate and Mom Shumway visited in August. They stayed from the 15-22nd and we loved it!! It was so great for the kids to see family and although we missed Cam a ton, we had fun.

We went up to Grove City for a little shopping at the Outlet mall and then up to Lake Erie to see the shore front. IT was amazing to see how large the lake is and how much it looked like an ocean! If it had a larger wave break, I would have thought it was!

We had so much fun, but it was HOT! The drive up and back were worth it though! Such fun!.

Some of our other favorite times were when we all got to go to Kirtland, OH and did our favorite church history tours at the John Johnson Farm, The Kirtland Temple, Historic Kirtland, and then a few miles out to Marie Yoders Restaurant ( An Amish favorite of ours).

There were endless activities during Mom & Katie's whole trip including Chuck-e-cheese, shopping around town, restaurants galore and just lots of talk time. We miss them tremendously now that they have headed home.

Summer may be ending, but have so many more things to do like school starting soon, leaves changing, weather getting crisp, etc. and I feel a little more inspired to get out there and capturing it all for memories. Watch for our adventures as we go!

The Big Reveal!!

Well, it is all over. I did it. I got the nose job, I can breathe, I am fully recovered so here it is:

Drum Role Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ta Da!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I looked so good they gave me an Oscar!

HA HA! Clearly I am kidding!

My Dr. kept me looking like me (just as I requested). Most people cant even really tell, but to me it is so dramatic! I think that my whole face now looks more lined up and symmetrical. He just lifted the tip of the nose and made the septum more straight and less droopy. He re-aligned my whole nostrils so that I can breathe and I am thrilled with the results.

My nose is not perfectly straight or perfect at all (just as he warned), but as I said in his office before the surgery "that is okay, nothing on me is perfect anyway". I figure good breathing and a reasonably straight nose is good enough for me. I am so glad that i did it.

Recovery sucks, but I would do it again 10x's just to breathe a full breath in through my nose! I love it. I feel less tired, less claustrophobic and I think I look less crooked.

Anyway, I am happy, happy, happy. Now I just have to get back on track with my workout! I feel much better about that prospect now that I can breathe! YAY!

Much thanks to everyone that brought over dinners, wished us well and still spoke to me in public while my nose was swollen. Seriously, it was huge! I Was all nose and 2 little eyes for the first 8-10 days after the surgery. It is still a tiny bit swollen at times, but in about 3 weeks to maybe even a year I will get the final result. I am happy now so if it gets better that would be great!

The Proof:

just a reminder of what it was:

Surgery For Sarah

This is a total breach of HIPPA but since it is my own I will not worry. I go into surgery tomorrow for Rhynoplasty (a nose job). Specifically to fix my funky nose that slants to the right inside and a little on the outside. I have a deviated septum that has over the years gotten out of control. Most people cant tell, but my pics don't lie! This darn thing is so crooked inside and from underneath and it has become more and more of a nuisance. Seriously, it has become noticeably more difficult to breath. It has affected me in so many ways like sleep quality being poor, hard to breath during exercise, I am tired all of the time, exacerbated allergies, sinus infections, etc. I am ready to fix the problem and if I look cuter in the process....well, why not? I cant wait to post this one with the after photo, but I must say, looking at the before, i am ready for tomorrow and the quality breathing that will follow! I would not do it just to look better, but the Dr. said that over time I would have less and less airflow and that it would continue to effect me. See... Here are a few before. Just casual shots I took out and about, but I took them myself so they are angled slightly up. In exhibit one, you can see that my nose clearly goes to my right. That is because my nose is jacked and goes to the right...Just kidding. Hopefully, that will be corrected.

This one shows the bottom septum of the nose and how it goes down. That will be the biggest part of the change that will be done. That and the nostrils.

Well, I am nothing if not honest. So what right? We are all flawed in some way. but luckily insurance covers this fix for my flaw. For that reason, I say Just Do It!

Cant wait to post the afters. I will update in about 6-8 days after my nose heals and I can do my make up. Love Ya All! Thanks to everyone helping me with the kids, meals, etc. We sure love you and plan to return the favor any time you need it!

Message In A.....Balloon.

Jacob spend much of last week talking about Grandpa Shumway and how he wished he could talk to hm. We told him that he could just talk to him, but he was confused about talking to him vs praying to him. So, we followed some great advice from Grandma Shumway and we attached our messages to Grandpa to a helium filled balloon and sent it straight up! It was sweet to see Jacob so excited as he told me the very things he wanted me to write to grandpa. He expressed all that was in his heart in many little messages and we set it off at dawn a few weeks ago. I think it should be something we do as often as possible, but always on the 24th of July (the anniversary of Dad's passing) so that we can keep him in our fore thoughts. We miss you Dad! Hope you liked the balloon.

Ricky Turned 1 (June 7, 2010)

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! I CANT believe that he has turned one! I swear that I still see him as that huge baby they handed me after 9 months of misery! We planned our trip to California back in March and I did not even realize that it was over his birthday until April when I started thinking about him turning one. So, we were away for the celebration (well, how much can you really celebrate for a one year old???) but made the best of it. We spend the 7th in the Disney Land Park for the whole day. We got him a Mickey Mouse Ears hat that Jacob and Ricky shared (Ricky would not wear it the whole day) and went out to eat to celebrate that night. The tradition of smashing the first birthday cake was done with our interpretation if a cupcake, a hotel room, lots of towels and a baby that ended up with that cupcake in every nook and cranny on his body. It was messy and the lighting was horrible, so the pics are poor quality, but fun to remember none the less! I added a few at the bottom that are from the month following his birthday just to show his little fun personality & sweet hair cut!

See for your self:

There are so many things that I love about this little guy so I figured that I would list my top 10.

1. Ricky is like a little bull. He is rough & tough but loves to be soft when he sees that momma is near. Kinda reminds me of Ferdinand the Bull. Everything a little boy should be!

2. He is a mommas boy. He loves his daddy & is always happy with him but when momma is near, he wants to be held and kissed by mom.

3. He loves to laugh. Ricky has a wonderful belly laugh just like big brother Jake. He loves it when we tickle his thighs, belly and neck. He laughs so hard, people stop and watch.

4. Ricky eats like a man! He really does. He eats more than his big brother. He always wants food in both hands as he eats and smiles and growls when we give him food.

5. He wont say words yet, but he uses his body language to tell us what he wants. He has various sounds indicating what he wants and he is actually quite clear!

6. Ricky likes to do things Ricky's way! If I can direct him right, his determined nature will be a true asset. So far so good.

7. Ricky is funny! He loves to run and waddle around. He loves it when he is being watched and we laugh. He will pretend to fall just to get a rise. Such a clown.

8. Ricky loves his big brother Jake. He watches every move that Jake makes and wants to be a part of it all! 4 years age difference disappears when Jake is making him laugh. They are truly kindred little spirits. So much in common!

9. Ricky is easy to pack around anywhere. We have our melt downs on occasion, but for the most part he is flexible in his sleeping patterns, eating patterns, play times, etc. Pretty much, we can just do our thing and he adjusts with no real consequences! LOVE IT!

10. Ricky is loving. He loves to be held, stroked, kissed, adored or just part of things. He is always happier with us than without us, just like we feel about him.

LOVE YOU BABY! HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY (JUNE 7, 1010) !

More Fun Disney Land Pictures Collage

Click to get a better view. 2x's for close ups.