Birthdays, birthdays, and more birthdays!

This has been a busy month!

We had the best time for Maddie's 4th birthday. Mom and Dad and Uncle Ken made the trip to come visit us for this big event! We had a great weekend (although it was a rather short visit) and it was awesome to see Uncle Ken out and about. Maddie thought it was great. She's kind of used to being the center of attention (don't know WHERE she gets that, *ahem*), so a family party with purple princess decorations and a brand new Barbie Jeep were right up her alley.

She was so cute in the backyard with Brady, driving around in her little Jeep. She let Brady take the wheel, and we heard the cry, "We're gonna crash!" come out of her mouth right before Brady ran into the bushes. Great! It's a Jeep, for goodness sake, it's supposed to go off-roading, right?

I haven't taken the time to write about this month yet, but I thought I'd grab a few minutes before diving into this pile of paperwork on my desk to remember some of the great moments of September 2009.

This year, mine fell on 09-09-09, which was pretty cool. But directly on the heels of that was Dad's birthday, on 09-10-09. I've loved sharing our birthdays. I remember the year I turned 18 and Dad turned 50, I think, and we had a half-and-half birthday cake. Mine had a smiling tooth on it, and Dad's half was decorated with a motorcycle. That was the year he bought his motorcycle and had to get THAT out of his system. I remember that like it was yesterday! Wow. Years are flying by WAY too fast.

So then we got to celebrate Maddie and Uncle Ken's birthday, since hers is on the 22nd and his is on the 23rd. She'll always get to celebrate with one of her favorite people too, which is so special for her. She loves her Uncle Ken. We called him on his birthday, and all of the sudden she got really shy and didn't want to talk on the phone, but the entire week prior to that, she had been sleeping on her "Uncle Ken pillow" (one of the pillows he had used during his visit) because she missed him. How cute is that. It reminds me of the times when I was a little girl and Grandma would come visit overnight and I would sleep on her pillow after she left because I missed her so much. It's great that she has that connection too.

It's still hard to NOT say, "Grandma and Uncle Ken". It's been an automatic response since I was a little girl, and when I talk about going to visit, it's hard to say, "Uncle Ken's house" instead of "Grandma and Uncle Ken's house". I miss her so much. I keep her picture on my fridge so I can see her every day. I know she had a great long life, but I keep wishing she were here to see the babies grow up.

Okay. ENOUGH! I have to quit being so melancholy.

Hoping the increased paxil dose kicks in soon! Feeling a bit better day by day. Still working on my "homework" that Dad gave me...some good info about how to control my anxiety, but it's hard to get a moment to sit and read and really pay attention at home (got two little permanent distractions running around)! The sadness/depression/hopelessness that is subsequent to the anxiety and panic attacks is what gets me, worse than the anxiety sometimes. But I just had my medication adjusted so we'll see how that goes. I think it's helping, slowly but surely. Chronic pain will do strange things to your brain and your sense of well-being. I've dealt with anxiety and depression before, and had gotten it under control, but this pain issue really affects every aspect of my life, including my emotions (ESPECIALLY my emotions!) and it's been a difficult road to get things back under control. My poor husband. I know it's hard on him, but it's even harder on me. He has to live with the backlash, but I have to live through the experience. And neither one is a picnic, let me tell you. But I think we're on the upswing, so that's good. But a few prayers thrown our way would always be appreciated.

WHEW!

This has been a long and rambling schizo-ish post, but sometimes just need to get some stuff OUT of my head and onto a computer screen.

So, bottom line, we had a great birthday month and are looking forward to some fun fall activities soon. Next up? Pumpkin patch and trick-or-treating! I have a feeling that someone may want to be a dinosaur this year, and another someone may have to be a princess. But that's just a guess. :) God, they're cute. I thank God every day for such beautiful, healthy, amazing children. I'm so lucky. Nobody has to tell me that. Where my family is concerned, I've came in first in line for the greatest family ever. (And yes, honey, that includes you! *smack* <---blowing kisses at Glynn).

Okay, this paperwork isn't going to do itself, and I don't want to get fired. Ha! Hoping for good weather so we can get one last weekend of boating in before winter..... hope everyone has a great weekend!