Saturday, September 14, 2013

Trip to Baton Rouge

The boys and I went to Baton Rouge/St. Francisville in July to visit some of my best friends while we were all in one state. It was such a great trip! We stayed in St. Francisville with Katharine at her mom's house for the first three nights. I've always loved their historic home, but coming back a little older, I appreciated it's beauty and charm even more. Perry made himself right at home on the front porch immediately upon arrival.
Perry relaxing right after we arrived on Thursday
On Friday we packed up and went into BR to meet up with the others for the day. A play date/lunch at Mauree's in the morning, naps at Lee's, and dinner at Zippy's. It was super fun and the kids did great! We had to laugh at how much had changed since our college days at Zippy's.
Phelps, Mills and Anna Caroline hanging out at Zippy's
Saturday was a lazy morning with nothing planned, so Katharine and I just entertained the kids around the house. That afternoon, the other girls drove up to hang out (more like--help us bathe, prepare food, and feed our kids!) at the house before we went out for our Mommy's dinner.
Phelps and Ella Anderson bathing with Burke boys
 We ate at the delicious "Ma Mamas Kitchen" in New Roads. It was such a sweet time together!
On Sunday, my kids and I went into BR for church at South Baton Rouge Pres. I always love returning and visiting with several special families. Thanks to sweet DeeDee Donald, we did lunch and naps at their house with Ashley and her kids. That evening, the boys and I slept at Alex's cousin's (Amy and Trae) house while they were out of town. I was exhausted from packing everything up that morning, having a full day, then unpacking at a new location. Lee came out and visited with me for a while, which was the perfect ending to our day.

Monday morning, I packed up once again, but this time for good. We all met at Chick fil a for a morning play time and then said our goodbyes!
Attempt at getting a pic of all nine kids...with three more babies due to arrive this year, I doubt this will get any easier.
I couldn't have asked for Perry and Mills to be any more cooperative those 5 days. They traveled well, slept well, and played well. We can't wait to do it again!
Love these girls!!! Me, Virginia (Lee), Ashley, Katharine, Mauree

 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Tonsils and Adenoids

After about a year and a half of repetitive tonsil infections that were getting more and more frequent (like every 3 weeks), we decided it would be best to have Perry's tonsils removed. Even though adenoids have never been a problem, Dr. Beal recommended removing them at the same time. The surgery was on July 9th at an outpatient center. I'm so glad I didn't know how hard the whole thing was going to be because I likely wouldn't have gone through with it. Perry was perfectly happy and content that morning, but when he came out of surgery, he was UPSET...and the next 7 days were no better. He was clearly in a lot of pain (only able to take tylenol and motrin for pain relief) and night time was by far the worst. He would wake up screaming and we were seriously unable to calm him down or get him to take his medicine. It was terrible. We are now 2 months post surgery, have all recovered physically and emotionally, and are thrilled that he hasn't been sick since surgery (except getting Hand/Foot/Mouth disease from Mills). I guess it was worth it!
Before surgery
A special get-well present from Mommy and Daddy
Sweet picture from Aubrey. He got several other special gifts from friends and family. 
Eating some of Mae Mae's custard. He lived off of ice cream, popsicles and custard for the week.

I'll always remember how hard those days were on us, but on the flip side, I'll also remember all the encouraging support and prayers from others.