Cadence's First Birthday Party and Katie's Visit

Friday, October 23, 2009 was a SPECIAL day! My mom picked Cadence and I up for a lunch at Anita's-to meet Matt and Daddy. We hadn't eaten there in awhile so I was pretty pumped. So we get there and Matt was a little late. I called him to make sure he didnt forget about it. He told me he was running late from work. When he walked into the restaurant I saw him, told Cadence to say "hey daddy" and then I realized a pretty girl was behind him. I kept looking and turned out to be my bestest buddy, Katie from Minnesota. WHAT?! I was in complete shock and didn't even know what to say. I jumped up and hugged her until she couldn't breathe. It turns out she had been scheming for over two months with momma and Matt to come surprise me and come to Cadence's 1st Birthday party. What a friend!!! I haven't seen Katie since her wedding (17 months ago) and obviously she had never met Cadence before. Wow-how amazing!!!

Katie and I have such an unusual and special friendship. We met in college through a guy friend of mine. They met one summer on a Campus Crusade for Christ summer project. Katie-from Minnesota, and my guy friend-from SC. Long story short, they broke up but since I had met Katie through him we instantly had a connection. We remained buddies and built a relationship over the phone, email and letters. We have never lived within 16 hours of driving with one another. We have taken turns flying out to see each other. We can count on two hands the number of times we've been in each other's air space. And despite our distance and few times of being around each other, we have formed this incredible friendship. She is someone I can laugh with, cry with, be ridiculously silly with, pig out with-EVERYTHING!! She is not just my bestest buddy, she is my soulmate. I can't talk enough about our friendship and how it truly is a God thing. She is a blessing I am so thankful for. We have been in each other's weddings, fallen in love with each other's families and just really become the best of friends. Since she had never met Cadence she thought her 1st Birthday would be the perfect time to come out. She couldn't have planned any better. It was THE PERFECT trip and Cadence completely fell in love with her. Matt even let us sleep in the master bedroom together (because our nighttime cuddle time is defintely our favorite time together). Matty, I love you and you are the most understanding, sweetest husband ever. You don't know how much I appreciate you and how you are just so....amazing. :)

So Katie's visit was amazing and Cady's first birthday party was wonderful. I admit I did stress a bit. I am not the best host and I just worry about everyone-wanting everyone to have fun, etc. But thanks to Matt, my parents, Matt's mom and Katie, the party was so perfect. We had the greatest turn out. I am so thankful for such an amazing family and great, close friends who come out to celebrate our little girl turning one. I still can't believe that she is one already (well, she turns one tomorrow). She is such a blessing and I had so much fun celebrating her. Here are a few pics from the party and weekend.

Me and Sweet, Katie

Right after she surprised me at Anita's.

Wow I love her!

Happy Birthday at Anita's, Cadence!

Mmmm birthday dessert!

Still Crutchin' Around, A Sick Little Girl, and Apple Pickin'

It has been over a month since I had my surgery. I went Friday to get my cast off and to get my aircast (walking boot). The doc said I can walk crutch-free as soon as I can tolerate the pain. I will be in the aircast for atleast 3 weeks (I go back to the doc in 3 weeks). He will then check things out and I will possibly do some physical therapy. I was discouraged when I went because I didn't realize this would be such an ordeal. I believe I had unrealistic expectations. I have been in a lot of pain since my appointment (I am trying to walk a lot without my crutches because I am so ready for some freedom). Today has been better and I have been able to take care of my Cadence all by myself. I LOVE IT! I have missed my one on one time with her!

My sweet CadyBug has been sick with a double ear infection since Wed. We took her back to the doc on Saturday because she was still running a fever. He checked her ears and they are looking good, but she has Coxsackie Virus. It is extremely common (and contagious). She has a red ulcer in the back of her throat and she just feels pooey. Last night she slept with me (Matt slept in the guest bed so he could be rested for work today). She was up about 2AM and had a fever over 104. Gosh it scared me. Today she is acting like she feels okay, but she still has a fever. Thankfully it has gone down. Please say a prayer for her and that she heals quickly. Despite her fever and illness, she is still her sweet, silly self. I am so blessed to have such an amazing daughter!

We went apple picking yesterday with Matt's fam and had a blast. Cady was feeling better and wasn't running a fever at the time so we went for some family fun. There weren't that many apples to pick, and goodness knows I couldn't walk far to search for some, but I was able to get a lot of good pictures of Cadence. Here are a few of our pics from our trip to Sky Top.

Fearless Cadence

Like i said in my previous post, Cadence has become quite the fearless little lady. She loves to pull up on everything, and her favorite pasttime is trying to climb up the stairs. Matt and I are in the process of looking into some extra long babygates. Here are some pics of my sweet little girl lately.

life as i now know it...atleast for the next few weeks.

on september 9 i did have my foot surgery. dr. tollison did three procedures on my right foot. he went in through my heel to reconstruct my arch, he stretched my achilles tendon, and he moved my heel over a tad and finished it up with putting two screws through my heel. sound painful? it is. :) i did well throughout the procedure and have been doing good on my meds. i am now only taking my pain meds before bed and right when i wake up. that is when my foot hurts the most. i am feeling pretty well for the most part these days. as long as i have my foot propped up, it doesn't hurt too bad. if i crutch around for too long around the house it begins to hurt pretty badly.

since surgery my life on the couch has been pretty annoying. thank the good Lord for my mom and matt's mom who have been helping out with cadence. matt does a GREAT job taking care of the both of us when he is home from work. he has had to do some meals, take complete care of cadence, help me out, just everything you could think of. for better or for worse, right matty? i love you. when he is not at home i have to have someone with me at all times. since i live in a two story house i can't carry cady up or down the stairs, so someone has to be here to get her out of her crib. i cant prepare her meals b/c i ache too bad to stand for long enough to make her meals. i cant carry her or anything else b/c i only have two hands-which are preoccupied holding onto my crutches. i cant cook. i cant clean. i cant do laundry. i cant go to the grocery store. basically all i can do is lay on the couch and assist as best i know how.

i was dealing pretty fine for the first few days, but at this point i am about to go crazy. i HATE not being able to get cadence up from her naps (thats one of my favorite things to do). i hate having to slide up and down the stairs. i hate not being able to take care of my child or take care of my family. yea, it sucks. BUT my mom is absolutely amazing. ive always known how amazing she is, but holy cow she is going above and beyond. she does my grocery shopping, does my laundry, cleans my house, takes care of me and cady during the day, takes us out on outings (wow i love to ride around in the car these days), does my dishes, picks up here and there (b/c i hate having clutter), etc. etc. i cant tell you how much she does for us. if i mentioned everything she has done for us it would take forever. i am soooooo thankful and grateful and i hope you know how much i love and appreciate you, momma!! youre my best friend and lifesaver.

i gotta tell ya, i am getting spoiled having mom here every day. she gets here at 715-right before matt leaves for work-and stays until he gets home. we watch trash tv together, giggle, talk talk talk, have fun outings in the car and have so much fun together. it's like the good ole days, right, ma? :) gosh i love you.

as for cadence, she certainly hasn't slowed down any. she is now pulling up on EVERYTHING, crawling EVERYWHERE, investigating EVERYTHING, and just plain having a good time. she has this devilish laugh she does when she is doing something she knows she isn't suppose to do. she gives herself away and it cracks me up. just this past week she has really become fearless and taken on this new role as investigator/daredevil. it's so fun to see her grow and change and really become quite the fun, sweet little girl that she is. her personality is amazing. she is extremely laid back, loves to laugh, she's a ham and really enjoys having people watch her do things. she is definitely musical. any time she hears music she dances and claps her hands. she has rhythm already at such a young age. i guess her name does fit her, huh? :) she's just wonderful. i actually had tears fill my eyes the other day when we were at momma's and she stood by herself and held onto a walking toy. i can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. she will be 11 months the 28th of this month. where has all the time gone?

alright, i guess i'll end this now. i really will try to write more often. afterall, what do i do all day now? i just hang out on the couch watching matt or mom chase cady around. :) actually, i really wish i was able to follow her around. sidenote: the other evening matt was outside and cady crawled somewhere she wasn't suppose to go. i crutched over to her and had to "shoo" her away with my crutch. it didn't really work all that well because she grabbed my crutch and started jerking it while doing her devilish laugh. i couldn't really bend over to stop her and i couldnt crutch off with her attached to it. haha. i'm counting down the days. i go to the doc on friday of next week and get a new cast. i will be in that for a couple more weeks and then i'll get a walking boot. hopefully, when i get that boot i can get around better. im praying so anyway.

Crippled In a Cast With a Baby

I have always had issues with my right foot. I was born with one flat foot (my right one) and one with a slight arch (which never gives me trouble). It has always given me trouble when I exercise, walk leisurely, anything really. I had surgery when I was in college to remove an extra bone I had that was thought to have been making me have more pain than normal. Well, my foot has just gotten worse. My tendons have stretched so much that every time I put my pressure on my foot it just aches, burns and gives me a lot of pain. So, on Wednesday, September 9 I am going to have my second foot surgery. This time the doctor will go in through my heel and reconstruct my arch. He is very encouraging and pretty positive that this will help my foot issues and allow me to walk without pain. I am extremely excited.

However, as the time approaches I am beginning to see the reality that will be my life for atleast 4 weeks. For atleast 4 weeks I will be in a cast, unable to put pressure on my foot, unable to drive, unable to carry my daughter up and down the stairs. Hmm...that may be a problem. I am so blessed to have wonderful parents, in-laws, neighbors (AND HUSBAND) who will help me out and get me through these 4 weeks. I just can't imagine not being able to do normal things. When I had surgery in college, it was annoying but I didn't have a little girl to take care of.

So here's to me being crippled in a cast with a baby in a little over a week for awhile. God give me patience and my sweet husband patience (because I have a feeling he will be having to do a lot more than usual). I know this will be great in the long run and will enable me to work out even harder than normal when I exercise (which, by the way I have been on a exercise kick with my neighbors and I'm loving it). I am a little disappointed because this will hinder me from being able to walk for awhile with them, but they said they'd do Pilates with me and help me work other areas of my body while I'm crippled. HaHa. I love them! :) Maybe I'll blog more throughout those 4 weeks and give you an update on things I'm seeing from my view on the couch. :)

Cold Tangerines

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift, who will use it up and wring it out and drag it around like a favorite sweater." Shauna Niequiest (from the book Cold Tangerines)

I just finished one of the best books I've ever read, "Cold Tangerines." A friend of mine sent me this book after I had Cadence and I just finished it. I am not a fast reader and I haven't had a lot of time to read lately, but I am so thankful for my friend, Emily who thought of me when she read this book and mailed it to me. The book is about just living life to the fullest, soaking in every moment that God has given us, using our talents and making God proud. The paragraph I wrote at the beginning is exactly what I desire for my life to be. I don't want to waste a single day. I don't want to be caught up in negativity, sadness, etc. I want to see good in every situation. I want to be reminded daily that God is good and His plan for my life is perfect (even in the midst of uncertainity and the bad). I want to share Jesus and see people come to Christ.

I feel like this was my desire while I was in college. I prayed for people that I passed on the interstate. I witnessed to strangers. I saw the good in the midst of the bad. What has happened? Is it because I am no longer in college, surrounded by no responsibility and pure fun? Maybe. But, look at my life now. I am living my dream-my heart's desire that God recognized and gave me. I am a stay at home mom, raising a precious daughter. I am a wife to a fun, wise, godly man. I need to be living that paragraph more than ever. I think I struggle sometimes, because it was so easy to share my faith and "see God at work" in college. I went on numerous mission trips, surrounded myself with hundreds of believers every Thursday night at FCA. I sometimes think, "how can I make a difference now?" I've realized that is a question straight from the devil. I can make a difference anywhere. I have neighbors who aren't believers, I have people I see every week at the grocery store who are lost.

Okay, my thoughts are going crazy right now-sorry. haha. I'm just excited. This life is all about Jesus and making a difference for Jesus. One day, I will be standing infront of Him in heaven giving an account for my life. Nothing else will matter. So why do I let little things like washing the dishes, cleaning the house, etc. consume me and give me excuses for not having time to glorify God. I can glorify Him through everything I do. I need to make the time. I want my life to be consumed with love and with joy and with a broken heart for the lost.

The end of my new favorite book reads like this:
"What if, all at once, all the shabby, tired, used-up bodies and minds start to wriggle and pop, like they've been dropped into a deep-fryer, sizzling and dancing, transformed into motion? And something that has been deadened and distracted by the tension and noise of this world comes to life anew, wakes up and wiggles like a fritter in a frying pan, anointed, and taught to dance. Because we were made for motion, for arching up toward God with all the energy and passion of a thunderstorm, lightning slicing through a sleepy world to remind us that we serve a fast-dancing God, a God who set this world whirling and crashing through space so that we could live from our toes and drum out the pulse of a billion veins carrying lifeblood to a billion hearts, temples to a God that got his hands dirty making us from dust. Let's get dirty, in his name. Let's sizzle and pop in his name. Let's dance and shimmer and scrawl out our stories across the sky, like he taught us to. Let's echo his words, and let our lives speak those words: It is good."

Jesus, I want to sizzle and pop in your name. I want to dance and shimmer and scrawl out my story across the sky. I want to echo your words and let my life speak your words, "It is good." Amen.

Beach Trip to Litchfield

Us Ivester's and our close friends, The Stoddard's went to the beach at Litchfield for a week and it was so much fun! Cadence and Carlyn are exactly 6 months apart and it is fun to watch them interact. We spent our mornings and days on the beach and our evenings eating out. :) Cadence did amazing and really seemed to love the beach. Here are some pics from our vacation.

Carlyn, Lauren, Cadence and I

Sacked out on the beach

Cady in my beach chair

Ivester Family Photo

Again :)

Cady's First Trip to the Aquarium

Posing on the Beach

Sweet Girl

Waiting outside of our fav restaurant, Drunken Jacks

The Stoddards

The Ivesters

Cady's first touch of the sand

Loading Cady up for the beach

Sweet Best Friends

Playing in Carlyn's pool on the beach

I love this cheese-face!

Eating sand!

Mommy and Daughter

Playing in the pool and loving it!

Posing pretty

Love her!