Things we love (and a very late cruise update)

After a very busy October, life unexpectedly stayed very busy in November. So, here are a few picture updates from October and November. 

We had a great time on our cruise to the Bahamas, just the two of us. The weather was not as bad as predicted, so we enjoyed some lounging, reading, pina coladas at a local rum distillery and lots of quiet time. It was good conversation, good company and a very restful week together!

We started our cruise week with Wine Fest at Town Point Park on Saturday morning. Then, we grabbed our bags from the car and boarded the cruise. not bad.

Honeymoon Cruise 2006 (Left); Bahamas Cruise 2015 (Right)

>17mph winds in Nassau

Here are some things we love:

We celebrated a neighbor's 3yo birthday party at their house one evening. The night ended with me on the couch reading to them about Hungry Sharks. It made my heart full. 

 J got a razor scooter from us for his birthday. He loved getting it and hasn't ridden it at all. He loves to be incredibly fast on his current scooter and doesn't want the learning curve of a new one.

 Afternoons at the park. Siblings. Hugging. Dirty hands and feet. 

 cute baby in baby-ators. 

 pretty blondie at the beach. 

 Trinity Presbyterian Women's Retreat at Sandbridge. Amazing talks by Leigh Ellen Rodriguez, a peaceful run on the beach, good conversations with good friends, yummy food, worship time. 

 Snuggling with my baby. 

 Watching the kids have a blast with their grandparents. This is a rainy day in Williamsburg and coordinating rain coats! 

 They are related but not looking so much alike. 

 A toddler UVA Cheerleading outfit can make anyone's heart melt. 

Finally. I got a chance to ride the rhino at the zoo ;) Outrageous tights brought to you by LulaRoe (I was a hater but now I'm a fan). 

Lastly, something with a happy outcome but a scary day for all of us. Rachel woke up on Tuesday and was not herself. She lay on my chest all day and wouldn't move willingly. Whenever I shifted her position she was uncomfortable. She didn't eat, talk or drink water. She didn't want to be let down. I walked J to school with her in the ergo and then we cat napped on her couch together. When JB woke up, he assessed her symptoms, took her temp (none), looked in her ears (clear) and determined based on her symptoms we should have her checked out. I grabbed stuff and headed to a walk-in sick visit at the Pediatrician's office. However, those don't exist and thankfully instead of waiting to see them at 2pm they sent us right to the CHKD ER where we were able to see a doctor who used to work for Jonathan's practice. It was a long morning for both of us: I had to hold her down during an x-ray, hold her writing head and shoulders while she screamed as they attempted to draw blood and place an IV for a CT scan. 

The x-ray showed some possible swelling behind her throat (where we were expecting to see signs of an abscess) hence the need for the CT to further explain what was going on. However, since 3 practitioners were unable to place an IV, they gave her a mild sedative to assist with that process. That drug started to relax her and she began to move normally again. When the current (leaving at 3pm) and relieving doctors came into the room, they both agreed that she was looking like herself again and we could cancel the CT. So, the plan was to dose her with motrin and monitor her symptoms for any signs of infection, trouble swallowing, etc and if none of those reared their ugly heads, we were in the clear. 

At this point, the working diagnosis, torticollis, doesn't fit for a child of her age so we are really attributing this day as an answer to prayer. We had a bunch of friends praying for us when we were in the ER and are so thankful that Rachel made a complete recovery without any invasive interventions. We've been holding our children a little tighter this week and are grateful for how incredibly healthy they have been until this point. It's easy to take things like good health for granted and forget to be grateful for that each day.