Thanksgiving and Ruby's Surgery

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm a little behind (surprised?) in posting pics from our trip to Texas. Ruby had surgery on her foot the day after we returned. I will share a little bit about that experience below. We took a road trip to Tenaha, Texas where my Dad's parents live, my Bobo and Pop, and the girls great-grandparents. We had a wonderful time!

This is a picture of "The Farm". That is what the grand-kids have called it since my Bobo and Pop moved there. This house has many additions that were added over the years. All of the work was done by my grandfather, dad, uncle, cousins, and brothers.

This is my Bobo and Ella playing with Ella's house. This time, Ella took right to her Bobo and Pop. On our last visit, she was a little bashful.

This is Lisa, my brother's fiance (7 months to go). She is kind of learning her way around the kitchen. She made the pecan pies and they were SOOO good! I am so glad my brother is marrying Lisa. She is so much fun and so down-to-earth...she really fits perfectly in the mix.

Soooo, my project was the turkey for Thanksgiving, 2 of them. I've never prepared a raw turkey. I've always ordered one from Honey Baked Ham or last year I ordered a fried turkey from a local Cajun restaurant. I'd just watched a Barefoot Contessa episode a few days before, and modified her technique (if I had used truffle butter like hers I might have had an uprising). Anyway, I rubbed TONS of butter under the skin and on the outside and salted and peppered liberally, cooked at 325 for 2 1/2 hours. It was SOOOO good! No bragging, just really proud it didn't turn out like Christmas Vacation...you know the scene..."If this tastes as good as it looks, we're in for a REAL treat!!" and then the turkey burst open dry to the bone.

Ella all ready for some outside time. If she could stay outside ALL day, she would be a happy girl!

Just a swing-in'

4-wheel-in it

Uncle Jim and Ella at the pond

Uncle Jim and Ella on the tractor

Papa and Ella sitting by the fire, looking at the stars

Ever tried to transport 3 babies?? Well, it's not easy. We encountered a dilemma as the twins are getting too heavy in their carseats to lift them in and out of the car. However, I have Schwarzenegger shoulder muscles, now. So, I did some searching on Craigslist and found this triple jogger and another front-to-back 3 seater and I think we might be set for a while. They are used, but I don't care!! In fact, I don't think I will EVER buy brand new baby gear EVER again! My parents ended up springing for this stroller and my in-laws gifted the other...what a BLESSING!

Molly and Ruby sitting up like big girls. They are doing pretty good sitting up, but still fall over from time to time. The Boppy pillows seem to give them the support they need.

Nana and Aunt Susan feeding Molly and Ruby

Where you find Papa, you also find Ella...all-the-time!

Papa and Ruby

Uncle Jim and Molly

Uncle Grant and Molly

Our Thanksgiving past-time, puzzles!!

more puzzles...

So, clearly we had a good time and I got a little bit of hands free time...which was much needed and appreciated!!! I also got to take a 3 HOUR NAP one day. Holy Cow was that amazing!! I NEVER get to take a nap. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

RUBY'S SURGERY

When we returned, Ruby had surgery at 6:30 the next morning. She was born with an extra digit (toe) on her left foot (bone and all). So, to ensure she would be able to wear cute flip-flops and sandals one day and prevent trouble walking we had the extra toe removed. She has the CUTEST itty-bitty cast on her foot right now. You can see the before picture. I had to take one so that we could show her someday. I will show you the after picture once it heals. She did really well. I could tell she was in pain the first few days, but she seems to be doing just fine now.

Quick story about that day. I was a little nervous about the surgery to say the least. They had to put her under and the procedure was quite invasive because they had to remove bone. I was praying on the way to the hospital that God would surround her with protection. When we checked in, we were shown to our waiting area within 5 minutes and a Chaplain was waiting for us with a teddy bear. He asked if he could have a word of prayer with me. My eyes welled up with tears. He covered her with prayer. We waited about an hour and then they took us to pre-op where we met with the Doctor. After we finished meeting, he asked if he could pray with me before they took Ruby back for the surgery. Ok, can you say answered prayer!! It was like God was standing next to me. Why do I EVER doubt if hears me?? Anyway, what I thought would be a nerve racking few hours, turned out to be yet another moment where God clearly revealed His love to me. God is good ALL the time!!

Happy Friday, Ya'll!!

Keep the Faith,