Praise God Jeff's surgery went well this morning!  They took him back right on time and the surgery only lasted 40 minutes!  He was coherent enough to ask the nurses if he could see his gall bladder before they sent it off to the lab.  (gross!)  They obliged, but his eyes weren't focusing well enough yet to really "see" it.  He was a bit disappointed about that.  The meds are doing a great job of keeping his pain managed.  He had severe nausea on the drive home, but after a nap and some more medicine, he is doing much better now.  If you would like any more detail than this, please feel free to give us a call and I'll fill you in!  Thank you to all who have prayed for him!

As one of his extra jobs this fall, Jeff has been serving as the Assistant Director for the all-city Honors Choir.  The choir is an auditioned group of 9-12 grade students from all of the high schools in our city.  They meet once a week for 2 hours from August til November (about 12 weeks total).  It's a big time commitment for the students and directors and I am happy to say it is finally done!  (Though the stipend added to his paycheck continues throughout the school year!)  The choir culminates each year to an end with a trip and a concert.  This year's trip was on Thursday and Friday of last week and was to Chicago!  I was lucky enough to get to go along as a chaperone...and I mean that!  It was a very fun trip and I'm so thankful I had the chance to go.   The downside of the trip - spending our time from 5:30 am - 12:15 pm on Thursday and from 3:00 - 10:00 pm on Friday on a bus.  Yuck.  But the whole time we were there was great. 

 

The group did an exchange with Main South High School in Park Ridge, IL on Thursday afternoon.  The two choirs sang for each other, ate cake and brownies, and spent a few minutes getting to know each other.  Then we checked in at our hotel, a very nice Holiday Inn Express, and ate dinner at Giordano's Pizza - a Chicago favorite.  The highlight of the trip came next when we got to see the musical "Wicked."  It was fantastic!  It's really hard to describe to someone who has never seen it, but let me just say it is now my new favorite!  The singing, the acting, the sets, the story...everything was incredible.  I would highly recommend it to anyone old enough to have seen "The Wizard of Oz" and not get scared. 

 

The next morning, the choir did a clinic with a professor at Roosevelt University on Michigan Avenue, right in the middle of all the downtown action.  Everyone was impressed with the clinician, and the kids sounded great in the recital hall where they rehearsed.  The next 3 hours were considered "free time," so Jeff and I had made plans to have lunch with our friend, Wes.  Jeff lived in the same house with Wes for 3 years in college (and I lived next door) and we were all good friends.  Wes went to law school in Chicago after graduation and we kept up with him and visited him several times until we got married in 2003 and moved to Louisville.  We hadn't seen him since, so it was a very sweet reunion to get to sit and catch up.

 

After our lunch, we walked around the downtown for a while, went in a few stores, got some Baskin Robbins ice cream, and got back on the bus to come home.  Tuesday night was the concert.  The kids did a nice job.  Jeff, as the assistant, only directed one song, but he served as the accompanist for the rest.  We were excited to look forward to next Monday without that evening choir rehearsal...until we remembered that is the day of his surgery!  Please pray for us all that day.  I'll keep you posted.

Last Saturday, we made our semi-annual trip to Portrait Innovations in Louisville to have the girls' pictures taken.  Even though we haven't lived there in a year and half, we still make the trip back for pictures because there is nothing like it anywhere around here!  I highly recommend them to anyone, and if you're interested, send me a note and I'll tell you why they're so great!

 

We were very pleased with how the pictures went, as usual.  My mom and dad were kind enough to go with me to help out with the girls since Jeff had a prior commitment.  After lunch and our picture appointment, we made a short stop to see my good friend, Heather, and her kids.  Heather's kids and mine had weekly play dates when we lived there.  It was fun to catch up with her and for Ella to play with Rachael and Aaron again.  Abby and Lucy were too young to play with each other when we lived there, but I think they would have fun if we were doing it now.

 

The rest of the day we spent shopping at the two main malls there.  We had a great (though long!) day and made it back home late Saturday night.  Enjoy the pictures!

Whew!  What a full title...for a very full week!  For Halloween, Ella chose to be a black kitty cat.  I thought she would surely want to be a princess or something girly like that, but she was determined.  Thankfully, after much searching, I was able to find a headband with ears and a tail at Target and I must say, she turned out to be a pretty cute kitty.  Lucy didn't have a choice this year.  She became the third little girl in my family to wear this sweet, little cheerleader outfit.  And no, that's not for the Louisville Cardinals, it's for my high school.  The uniform was originally made to match my high school cheerleader uniform and was worn by my niece, Brooke, when I was a senior in high school 14/15 years ago.  Ella wore it two years ago for Halloween (two days before Lucy was born), and now it was Lucy's turn. 

 

Saturday was a huge day of celebration!  All of Lucy's grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and one great-grandma came to our house for a Care Bears party.  It got off to a rough start, though.  Ella, who had a runny nose for a few days prior, wasn't feeling well that morning.  She went with my parents to pick up the birthday cake and threw up twice in their car!  I called her Dr.'s office, which was close by where they were, and they were thankfully open for "after-hours" care and were willing to see Ella without a parent present.  It turned out she had a bad ear infection in her left ear.  Mom and Dad went to the pharmacy and got her antibiotics and were still back before lunch!  We are so thankful they were able to help or we never would have had everything ready for the party!  After her first dose of medicine, she was feeling better and still had a fun afternoon.  We had lunch in the garage, followed by games, cake and ice cream, and presents.   Lucy happily obliged to blow out both candles and do her best to hold up two chubby, little fingers.  Then we spent the afternoon putting together toys and watching Ella and Lucy play with everything. 

 

For dinner, we all went to the Olive Garden for my dad's 65th birthday.  We were pleasantly surprised when the servers came to sing to him and brought a cake!  Lucy had made it really well all day without a nap, but right before the food came, she finally collapsed in my arms.  I ate my lasagna one-handed and enjoyed feeling like this big 2-year-old was still my little baby.  Lucy missed dinner, but the birthday singing woke her up, so she did get in on the cake.

 

Sunday was another exciting day as our church had a day of dedication and held its first service in our brand new worship center.  It is an all-purpose sanctuary/fellowship hall/gym.  We came back Sunday evening for our first potluck dinner.  Both events were packed and extra chairs had to be brought in!  People were already joking that we need to build again!  The pastor said as soon as this building is paid off we'll discuss it. :)

 

On Monday, we had Lucy's 2-year "well-child" appointment.  Unfortunately, our "well-child" had a double ear infection and bronchitis!  Who knew?!  (It's the most wonderful time of the year...)  We've been ear infection-free since May, but now here we go again.  I'm afraid we may be talking tubes this time.  At least for Ella, who had 5ear infections last winter alone.  Aside from that, Lucy checked out great!  She measured 33 3/4" (46%, though I measure her a bit taller) and 31.5 lbs. (92%)  That's my girl! :)

 

Update on Jeff:  After meeting with the GI surgeon on Tuesday, surgery was scheduled for Jeff to have his gall bladder removed on Monday, November 24.  We're hoping he will be able to go back to work the next week.  This is a very busy time of year for a music teacher!!  He is very nervous about the procedure and we would definitely appreciate your prayers!