How has it been 5 years!?!

I just seriously cannot believe our little Konnor is 5 years old already!  It really doesn't seem possible!  He's been such an adventure and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

We decided on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party.

We had pizza cake (with anchovies, of course), mutagen (green pudding and applesauce) and Mimi made his favorite chocolate covered marshmallows!

Of course there were Ninja Turtle gifts but he's really into Star Wars right now too.

On his actual birthday, he got his special dinner out with Mom and Dad at Five Guys.  They only use fresh ingredients and cook their fries in peanut oil.  No soy!   It's the only place we've found that's safe for him to eat and he loves going there!

I pray faithfully that one day he will outgrow the FPIES and going places won't be quite so scary anymore.  In the meantime, bring on the burgers and fries and don't forget the Sprite!

Kelton....appendectomy, basketball, birthday

WHEW!  He's had an exciting couple of months, huh?

The appendicitis was so out the blue and sudden (which I suppose is it's nature).  He called from school saying his tummy hurt a little but we decided he was fine to stay.  Less than an hour later, he passed out.  Then he passed out again in line at Immediate Care.  It wasn't long after that, they pin pointed the problem.  We were admitted late that evening and the naughty appendix came out early the next morning.

Kelton was super brave and so gracious and well manner with all the doctors and nurses the entire time.  They came to take him back for surgery surprisingly super early.  It caught us both a little off guard.  We were so blessed to have his favorite teacher's wife, who works at the hospital go back with him and stay with him until he was under.

His recovery went really well and the hardest part for him was having to wait for sports and activities until his check up with the surgeon.

 The school was amazingly supportive, checking on him often and sending a big gift basket to the hospital.  When we got home, he got to chat on the phone with his class and had an awesome poster welcoming him back the next week.  That poster was just what I needed to see because taking him back to school after that adventure was not easy on this momma!

I'm sure it's not surprise to all my momma friends, but I managed to get completely worn out.  I hardly slept at all in the hospital.  Every sound or movement he made, I would get up and check on him.  It was like having a newborn again.  We we finally got home from the hospital, I was too tired to even sleep.  By the time church rolled around on Sunday, I was so tired and just so grateful for God's protection over Kelton and everyone's prayers that I sat in the pew and cried through half the service.  Then I went home and took a nap!!

Basketball season went by super quickly this year, mostly because we missed so much due to Kelton's pneumonia and surgery.  As with most boys his age, he's learning that this is a team sport so it's important to know it's okay to pass instead of taking a shot you don't really have.  More than anything, he loves to play and that's what's most important.

For his birthday this year (how in the world is he 11 anyway?!), Kelton had a joint party in the gym at the school with one of his buddies who has a birthday a few days later.  We celebrated with him too, of course.  I was able to meet him at school for lunch and we always take the kids out one on one for their birthday too.  He chose Buffalo Wild Wings and had fun trying all the hottest sauces with Dad.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have this handsome guy call me Mom.

Mimi Makes Gravy AKA Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving celebration always starts out with the 2 mile Turkey Trot in Wichita the weekend before Thanksgiving.  We get a free turkey per registration so it basically pays for itself!  Kelton had just got over pnuemonia, so Konny wore his bib and our friend, Ana, ran with us while her parents did the 10 mile.

Immediately after, we headed home to shower because some of our friends from church couldn't use their WSU tickets and gave them to us!!

We donated a meal to a local family again.  I'm trying to instill into the children that giving is a way of life so that it will seem very natural to them when they're adults.  It's something I am far from perfect at myself, so it's an ongoing process and we're all growing together!

Then of course......Mimi came over and made the gravy!!  We all look foward to this and I ran many miles in preparation of eating it with reckless abandon!

Can't forget the matching jammies!

Thanks to online shopping, I didn't venture out in the middle of the night that eve and instead just rested up to ring the Salvation Army Bell the next morning.

Later that weekend, we were able to get most of our Christmas decorations up.

Things seemed to be going really smoothly!  We got our shopping done earlier than usual and I was on track with all the gifts I was making. We should have known there'd be a bump in the road!  A week later, Kelton would have his appendix out!  That's the next post!

Shutterfly for the holidays

*This post contains my experience and opinions.  See full disclosure below.*

This is my third year to order our Christmas cards from Shutterfly.  I am never disappointed with the selection or ease in designing and ordering my cards.  One of my favorite features is how you can save your favorite cards to compare together.  I had so many designs I liked this year and this feature helped me finally choose a card!  It's super convenient that Shutterfly saves all your old projects so I can just look at last year's card to make sure I'm not ordering something too similar!

I ordered a little later this year (Cyber Monday and got a fabulous deal!), so I was a little afraid of getting my cards and then getting them out on time.  However, in true Shutterfly style, my orange box was in my mail box long before the estimated arrival date.  With a little extra craziness at our house due to Kelton's appendectomy, our cards are yet to go out, so just a peek at the back of this years card is all I'm posting!

In addition to ordering cards, you can also order prints and tons of different photo gifts.  You could almost cross off you entire Christmas list just shopping at Shutterfly alone!

It's not quite too late to get orders in for delivery by Christmas Eve, but you're pushing it!  Check out their holiday shipping guidelines to see what you can still order and by when.  Or avoid the holiday stress all together and order New Years, Valentines or Easter cards.  I've always thought that would be a fun idea!

Right now save up to 50% on holiday cards, photo books and other projects.  No code needed!

Disclaimer: I purchased our Christmas cards myself.  The opinions expressed here are my own and may differ from other's experiences.

A Frozen Halloween!

I don't just say that because it happened to be the coldest day so far!  There were so many Frozen characters out trick or treating!  I think we counted at least 10 Elsas!  We happened to have a very cute Elsa and Anna of our own!

It's been kind of a tradition that the Woodles come spend Halloween with us.  We trick or treat and I make a big pot Hamburger Stew.  

So many memories seeing Leyton wear the same costume that Kelton wore for his first Halloween!

Kelton

Leyton

I wonder if there will come a year when Konnor is not a transformer and Katie is not a disney princess.  Kelton was pretty original as Michael Jackson though and Remmy made a great red crayon!

Can't forget our pumpkin carving pictures!

Of course, we visited the local nursing home to hand out muffins to the residents.  I can't believe in a few short years, we won't be wearing costumes anymore!  Got to soak up these years while I can!