Nieces & Nephews....

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Things have been kinda crazy for the last month or so. My whole family has been in town for my little brothers graduation, and because my parents move to Israel in less than two weeks... CRAZY! Anyway, I decided this last week that nieces and nephews are the greatest thing in the whole wide world, and I have the best of the best! They say the cutest, funniest things, they're so much fun to play with, and than when they get fussy or smelly, you can pawn them off on their mom! :) So, I just want to share with all of you pictures of the cutest nieces and nephews in the world - new ones, older ones, and some that have not yet been born, so you can all be jealous that I have the greatest nieces and nephews ever! Enjoy!

These are my sister Alicia's daughters (from left to right) Aysha, Aby Jayne, and Maria. They are all dressed up as princesses, and are SO SO cute! They seriously have the funniest sense of humors ever, and I love them!

The two adorable red-heads (on the outter edges) are my brother David's boys, Tyler (on the left) and David (on the right). They are both so funny and so awesome! They are the most curious and loving little boys ever! I love them too! And, their mom (my sister-in-law Rebekah) is having another baby in October. I don't know what it is yet, but I am very excited for her! Congrats Bekah-Lou!

This handsome little guy is Calvin. He is my sister Emma's only child, and is SO much fun! My little sister, Carrie, has been in D.C. nannying him for the last four months, but I'm his favorite aunt! He is so funny, and when he gives you his big hugs and kisses (although they are super sloppy), it totally melts your heart! I love him! (By the way, I took this amazing picture...)

I don't have a picture of my oldest sister with her pregnant belly, but she is expecting her first baby in October. It's a boy! I am SO excited for her (for obvious reasons), but because this has been such a long hard process for her and her husband, and she never gave up! She deserves this more than anyone I know, and I'm so happy for her! So, as soon as her baby boy is born in October, I will post pictures!

Also expecting is my sister-in-law Jenn. She is also having a boy, and unfortunately, I do not have a picture of her big pregnant belly either. But again, I will post pictures of cute little Conner (assuming that's the name they still like by the time he is born) when he arrives in August.

And last but not least....

This is Kamryn Fenn, who is the newest addition to the list of nieces and nephews. She was born less than two weeks ago, and is the first grandbaby on the Fenn side and on her mom's (the Briggs) side. She is so cuddly and adorable, and will be spoiled rotten, I am sure. :) Welcome Kamryn! Congratulations Jared and Laura!

Caution: Not for those who get grossed out easily....

I have had a few requests recently from some friends to see my pictures taken right after my recent surgery. For those who may not know, in February, I was taken in for surgery on my eyes. Because I wear, and have worn, hard contacts for the past 11 or so years, my eye-lids began to droop quite a lot. The droopiness was a result of the way I took my contacts out (by tugging on the outter corner of my eye...the only way I was taught to) each day. The tugging then caused the tendons in my eyelids to completely detach, causing the droopiness, and a 50% loss of my peripheral vision. So, I went in for surgery. They cut my eyelids open, reattached the tendons, and sewed my eyelids higher than they had been before...but in my follow up visit, the doctor told me the first surgery was not successful. So, I was taken in a week later for a second surgery. The second surgery was a nightmare! They had me stay awake for the procedure so I could assist the doctor in where my eyelids needed to be placed (or sewn). The doctor gave me several shots in my eyelids before performing the procedure, but the shots were SO painful, and did not end up helping to numb me at all. So, I was able to feel the entire procedure. I would have told the doctor that I could feel everything, if I wasn't so afraid to get more shots...so I just toughed it out. :) Anyway, the second procedure was successful, and following are some pictures taken right after both surgeries. Enjoy! :)
P.S. Please don't dwell on how bad I look... I didn't shower for a few days. :)

















*The first picture was after my first surgery. The "D" on my forehead was the dr.'s way of knowing which eye was droopier of the two.
*The second picture I love because Curtis spent forever making me this really long straw out of several smaller straws that went from my drink on the nightstand to just over my head so I didn't ever have to sit up. :) He's so great.
*And the third picture was from the second surgery. That yellow nasty bruising was around my eyes for over eight weeks.

Defeat...

Some of our family and friends (mostly mine – I’m pretty sure Curtis’ could care less about this kind of stuff), over the last year or so have persuasively encouraged us to go with the new trends and start a “blog”. I have always been very against the idea, as most of you know, for several reasons:

1) We do not enjoy people knowing every detail of our lives, as we tend to keep to ourselves.
2) We do not have anything exciting to tell about that we couldn’t share with just a quick phone call.
3) We don’t have kids yet to show cute pictures of and brag about.
4) And we both pretty much live very mundane lives.

However, I have nothing against those who are avid bloggers – I just don’t feel like it’s for us… until now, I guess.

A friend of mine was asking me today when I was going to start “blogging”, and jokingly hinted that I was falling behind on the times. As I was thinking about what she had said, I realized it wasn’t a bad idea. I think what finally made my decision to start is that my family is getting ready to move to Israel for the second time in a couple of weeks. As most of you are already aware, they will be gone for a while. I thought it might not be a bad idea to “blog” so they can keep up on what we are doing without having to call everyday. So, to all of you maniac bloggers who have encouraged this (Kristine, Maryruth, Emma, and anyone else), I have three words for you. Thanks a lot!