Merry Christmas

I am not sure if I will write again until after Christmas so I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. For those that are travelling, I wish you safe travels. I pray the holiday will be fun and realxing for all and I pray that we all take a moment to remember why we celebrate Christmas. The gifts are fun and the food is great and spending time with family is wonderful...but we all need to remember Jesus and everything he did for us!!

Merry Christmas!!
Melissa

3 more sleeps

I am such a kid!! I pretend that I am counting the sleeps "with" my kids but really I am doing it for myself. I love Christmas. It used to be for the presents when I was younger. Now I get just as excited to see my kids open thier stuff. They get spoiled every year as they will again this year. But we have taught our kids the true meaning of Christmas and they really do get it. (I am not just saying that because I am their mom!)
I will tell you all about their cool stuff after Christmas...just in case they read this!!

On another note, my daughter proved her impulsiveness again last night. We went to First Choice last night to get Noah a hair cut and she asked for a trim. I said sure...a nice trim before Christmas...very nice. Now I should tell you that her hair grows very slowly...VERY SLOWLY! We have been growing her bangs out for 3 YEARS. Her hair is all one length and down just a little past her shoulders. She was looking through one of the hair salon books and finds a picture she likes. "Can I get my hair cut like this?" she says. I look...it has bangs and cut to the chin!!. I decided long ago that I would not fight battles that are not worth fighting...and this is one of those battles. So I said sure but only if she really wants to. Well she went right up to the girl and said "like this please"...sits down and off comes the hair. She looks great...I love it...she loves it...Rob, not so much, He is a long hair guy and loves her with long hair. I told him to get used to the fact that she will do the exact opposite of what we want her to do and be thankful it is not purple and in a mohawk!!

Have a great day
Melissa

We Won!!

Our Senators party was a success. There was tons of good food, lots of good friends and we beat the Leafs 8-2!!!!. NICE!

Yesturday was the children's play at the church. Both of our kids were in it. Emily was an angel with a few lines. She did great!! Noah was a shepherd and chose not to have a speaking part. He claims he is to shy...but there is nothing shy about this kid anymore. He used to be...he didn't speak to anyone (not even Rob and I) until he was 3. Well he is making up for it now...he is never quiet!!
Anyway...the play was a success and all the kids did a great job!!
We went to Lone Star after...which is my favorite restaurant. So it was a great day all around!

Oh yeah and Rob played a flugel horn solo at church in the morning...he did amazing!!


I love great weekends...but I am very exhausted today...going to bed early tonight!!
Melissa

Snow Day!!

Buses were cancelled this morning and even though my kids are walkers I decided that they should get a snow day too!! We had a lot of fun. They played in the snow for almost 2 hours this morning. They came in covered in snow!! But they had loads of fun. We did Christmas crafts after that...Christmas trees and ornaments covered in stickers, markers and other fun things.

Now I am cleaning my house for my "Senators will beat the Leafs potluck party" tomorrow night. There are about 25 people coming. The Sens better beat the Leafs!!!! There are a couple Leaf fans coming and I don't want them to gloat!!

Have a great weekend!

Melissa

Amazing Race

I am so glad that the Linz family won!! They were my favorite team! They played the game well and I was always impressed with how the brothers treated thier sister. She may have been slower then them and not as strong but they always waited for her and carried her bag when they needed to help her. Nice!!
The Weavers on the other hand I didn't like so much. I am glad that they are Christians and I feel bad for them that they lost thier Dad BUT that does not make them better then everyone else!! They always complained they were not being treated well and would then turn around and talk down about others...not cool!
I am glad in February that it will be back to teams of 2 and that they willb e travelling farther again. The Amazign Race is a great show!!
What is your favorite show right now? Mine is LOST!!
Melissa

Survivor

My favorite survivor made it to the final 2 but did not won. I really liked Stephanie...I liked her last year too. Danni played well and deserved to win but I was still disappointed. This was a really good season ...well casted. The previews for next season look good too. Some new twists. I cannot help but still be a fan of the show. I will continue to watch!!
I was really annoyed that it started 22 min late!! I was really tired but could not make myself go to bed...oh well. As long as I don't fall asleep with the kids here.
Hope you all have a good day
Melissa

Survivor

My favorite survivor made it to the final 2 but did not won. I really liked Stephanie...I liked her last year too. Danni played well and deserved to win but I was still disappointed. This was a really good season ...well casted. The previews for next season look good too. Some new twists. I cannot help but still be a fan of the show. I will continue to watch!!
I was really annoyed that it started 22 min late!! I was really tired but could not make myself go to bed...oh well. As long as I don't fall asleep with the kids here.
Hope you all have a good day
Melissa

Christmas Traditions

Our tree is up and the house is decorated. I LOVE this season. Everything is pretty. I really enjoy putting up decorations in the house. It always makes me think of past Christmas'. We have a few traditions that we do every year. The kids get to open one gift every Christams Eve and it is always jammies to wear to bed that night. Rob and I get new jammies too!! On Christams Day we always have birthday cake for Jesus as our dessert after turkey. Those are just a couple of ours. I was wondering what traditions you ahve woth your families? Let me know.
Melissa

Back home

Loretta is back home...without a baby. She wasn't progressing well and they decided to let her wait it out at home. They are very tired and she is still contracting so hopefully she can get some rest. Hopefully things will progress at home so she can go back and have a baby!!
Melissa

Another update on Michael

Michael is doing really well. He was even up walking yesterday...he needed alot of help but his brain knew how to move his feet...good sign!!
He is still having some memory trouble and his personality is still a little altered. He still tells jokes but now he doesn't understand why they are laughing. They are going to do another scan this week to see more of his brain and any damage that was done. He is even out of the NOAH unit not and into a regular room.
This man is amazing!!
Melissa

MIGHT be labor

For those of you that know Peter and Loretta...they are at the hospital right now in possible labor. She went in last night around midnight and is still there. Steve Noseworthy just dropped Taylor off and that is all he knew. I will keep you posted.
This is Taylor...the big sister!!

WE WON!!

The game was awesome!! The final score was 5-1...very exciting. We almost got a free slice of pizza but we could not get one more goal!!
It was a very violent game as well. 3 of our players were sent to the dressing room for fighting. One was even suspended for a game. Our coach was fined $10,000 too. But all this made for a great game to watch!! We had fun!!
Melissa

Game Night

We are going to see the Senators play tonight! I am very excitited. Hopefully they play better then they did last night!!!

LOST

ok...this has to be the best show on tv. Rob and I LOVE this show. We don't even answer the phone during 9-10 on Wednesday night!! What I like best is you never know what will happen. You think you have it figured out and then they totally go in a different direction. They leave you with your mouth hanging open every epoiside too. Like last night, making us think that Walt is talking to Michael on the ancient computer. Is is really Walt?? What do you think?
If you have never watched this show...I highly recommend it. you should watch season 1 on DVD. It was great!
Melissa

Michael: Update

Kelly was just here to get Olivia and told me that Michael is doing great. The spasms have stopped. This has left the doctors shocked. It would be very unusual if they started again they told her. He seemed more like himself after they stopped too. There is still some swelling but when that goes down they are going to scan his brain again to look for damage. At this point they are very optomistic!!
Thank you all for your prayers. God is really working here!!
Melissa

Eddie is gone!

So our beloved Beta fish, Eddie, passed away sometime through the night. We found him belly up this morning. Noah was devasted. He loved this fish very much. We had quite a few tears before school this morning. Eddie had been sick for over a week now and we were surprised that he hung on this long.
We promised him after we get the tank cleaned up we will go and get another fish. Not a beta (they are really hard to take care of and need to be by themselves...not in a tank with others like we did). We have 6 cherry barbs, 3 cory doras and 5 loaches...oh yeah and snails that keep mutliplying. We started with 2 that came in with some plants by accident and now we have 6!!!
Anyway...hopefully the other fish will survive whatever sickness is in our tank!!
Have a great day!
Melissa

This shows that we really are Senators fans. (we had to force our Florida Panther fan son to wear this jersy...he used to be a Maple Leaf fan until Gary Roberts was traded).
We are going to the game on Friday night. I am VERY excited!!
Melissa

Not so good

So Michael has had a pretty rough weekend. The spasms that they were waiting to happen, started on Saturday night. He has a fever and a really bad headache. They told Kelly that when this happens (depending on how severe...right now Michael's are mild) that there is a 33% chance of death...33% chance of brain damage and 33% chance of nothing going. So...we are praying for that 33% of nothing going wrong!!!
Kelly is taking Olivia in to see her dad tomorrow morning. Michael has been asking why he cannot see her. Kelly was worrried about Olivia but feels that if it can help Michael fight then it is worth it. Olivia will forget seeing him there and will only be scared for a little while. It will mean so much to Michael. Please pray for Olivia too...that she is ok after seeing her Dad!
I will keep you posted on his condition!
Melissa

Wow!!

So Michael is off life suuport and talking to Kelly and everyone else! He knows who she is...asks for Olivia...he even called Olivia last night and she told him she loved him on the phone!! Everyone in the room was crying!!
He is having some short term memory problems and some trouble with feeling his leg and arm on his left side. The doctors think this is becasue his brain is still swollen from surgery. They are optomistic that this too will return to normal.
They are telling her there is still a 50% chance it will happen again and to try and not get too excited. But who can blame her...her husband is alive and talking. A week ago today they told her there was no chance!!!
Miracles do happen!!
Melissa

Off Life Support

So Michael is off life support all ready. He is talking too. He is able to answer questions and knows who he is and who Kelly is. He is having trouble with his short term memory. He will go to sleep and forget what they talked about before.
The doctors are amazed with the progress that he is making. He is doing amazing.
Thank you all again for your prayers!
Melissa

Looking Good

Michael is breathing on his own!!!
Kelly asked him last night if he wanted a kiss for him to squeeze her hand...he did. She repeated the question and he did it again. They think from the cat scan that he will be the same Michael as before. They also saw on the test that they clamped the bleed and it has stopped. As long as he does not have a spasm and the bleeding starts again (which could happen in the next 12 days) then they think he will be fine!! If that does happen there is no way to repair it twice.

Thank you all for your prayers!!
Melissa

Michael

Kelly called us last night to say that things were going well. When she went to leave (to have dinner with olivia) she told Michael she was leaving and he turned to look at her. He still has the tube down his throat so he can't talk...but it was something!!
The doctors told her that the next 48 hours to 10 days are important. They don't want it to happen again...which is always a risk. They even told her that he could be in the hospital for a year! WOW...that is a long time. But they still don't know the extent of the damage and what kind of therapy he will need. The main thing right now is he is alive and we have to be thankful for that. Kelly seemed really positive last night.
Anyway...thank you all for you prayers and please keep praying for this family and all they may have to endure over the next few months.
Thanks
Melissa

surgery went well

So he made it through surgery...thank you for your prayers!! The next 7-12 hours are crucial. If he makes it through the next 12 hours they think he has a fighting chance. They should know as early as 8:00 pm if there is any brain damage.
He obviously wants to live!! Keep praying!!
Melissa

Surgery

Michael's surgery is at 8:00 this morning. They think it should be done by 1:00 pm. I will let you know what happens.
Melissa

Olivia

This is Olivia from a couple of months ago. She was eating a chocolate chip muffin and as you can tell she loved it!!
Melissa

Another Update

Michael opened his eyes today and squeezed the nurses hand when she asked him too. This might mean he can understand!!! His brain is sending messages.
She found out yesturday that they rank anurisms on a scale form 1-4...4 meaning fatal. Michaels was 3.8. He never should have lived...but he did and seems to be making progress!!
Keep praying.
Tomorrow is the surgery. He needs to make it through that.
Thanks for your support.
Melissa

Update

Michael is still hanging on. The last I heard from Kelly was this morning and she seemed more hopeful. He responded to her when she talked to him this morning which the doctors are taking as a really good sign. He will be having very envasive surgery on Tuesday here in Ottawa and they gave him a 50% chance of surviving the surgery. They will be opening his head and clamping the spot that was bleeding.
Kelly told me today that she knows he will come home with her and she will not settle for anything else!!
Please keep praying. The doctor told her that in hie experience, patients with praying family and friends have a faster recovery then those that don't!! Smart doctor!!
Thanks again for your prayers!
Melissa

Please Pray!

I am asking for all of you to please pray for someone who really reaaly needs prayer right now. I babysit for a little girl Olivia...and her Dad suffered a brain anurism (sp?) yesturday and is in very critical condition. His name is Michael and he is only in his late 30...38 I think. He has only been married to Kelly for about 2 years. Olivia is 17 months and thier only child. Olivia has become very special to our family. She spends everyday through the week here. The kids become like my own. She is a bigtime Daddy's girl and is far too young to lose her dad. He made it through the night last night but is still in a lot of danger. If he makes until Monday he will be sent to Toronto or Montreal for surgery. (the machine they need for the surgery is broken in Ottawa!!)
I am asking for prayers for this family. They are not chrisitians and Kelly is a total wreck. We kept Olivia over night last night so she wouldn't have to worry about her.
Please pray for a miracle!!
Thanks
Melissa

How Cute!!

Emily and Noah were in my brothers wedding on August 13. They both got sick but they hung in there and did a great job!! 

Family Vacation 2005

 

First Time Blogger

So I have decided to blog...everyone is doing it!!

It seems like a really great way to keep people up to date on our lives.

For those that don't know me...my name is Melissa and I am happily married to Rob. He is a web devloper for an advertising agency. He dreams of being a police officer and we are still in the process of trying to fulfill that dream. We have 2 children...Emily will be 10 on Saturday, and Noah is 7. They are the joy of my life. I have been a stay at home mom with them for the past 6 years. I have been running my own home based daycare for 5 of those years. I love that I have been able to be home with them for so long. I do however have the desire to get back into the work force soon...I just haven't decided what I want to do. That is the question of the year!!
We attend the Salvation Army here in Ottawa and are pretty involved. Rob and I teach beginners band, the kids are in choir and Rob is in the senior band. Keeps us pretty busy!!
We are also HUGE SENATORS FANS!!! ( well 3 of us are...my son unfortunatly cheers for the Leafs!!)

Well That is my life in a nut shell...I look forward to posting more and to reading your comments!!