Great News from Cardiologist

Well, we are just back from our Cardiology Appointment and lunch.  The appointment went well; Ian cooperated pretty good during the EKG and the Echo.  Dr. Rauniker gave us great news in that he thinks the heart function has improved since the last Echo.  The even better news is that we are do not have to see him for a whole year!  Of course, he reminded me that if I have any concerns before then to call, but it feels so good to have this kindof behind us!  Thanks for everyone's thoughts, texts, and prayers today -- we have truly been humbled by all the love shown to us over the past 18 months!

So, in the meantime between now and our Cardiology appointment next year, we'll just entertain you with our antics here on the blog!

We are off to Phoenix and to play some more golf!
Love to all,
Jennifer

Big Day of Football

Well, as you know, we are big football fans and Saturday was a day of great enjoyment!  It rained all day and we were so thankful that we didn't have to go to Athens and could just enjoy all the games on TV as a family.  As you can tell from these pictures, the kids were dressed in their Tiger orange for the first half of the day -- Clemson finally beat Boston College after 2 rain delays.

However, after nap time, a wardrobe change was required so that we could show our true colors ... RED - BLACK - RED - BLACK!!!  Go Dawgs!  The kids are so cute - you ask them what a Georgia Bulldog says and they swing their arm around as we say "Gggoooo Dawgs!  Sic 'em!  Woof!  Woof!  Woof!"  And, did I mention, that the Bulldogs won last night, too.  It was a barn-burner against Arkansas but, hey, a win is a win and we'll take it in the SEC.

We have our cardiology appointment tomorrow (Monday) at 1 p.m.  Please say a prayer for us whenever you read this; of course, we think everything is fine with Ian, but we are anxious to have that confirmed with an echo of his heart.  I'll post an update as soon as possible to let you know how he did!

We are heading to Phoenix tomorrow evening for a conference.  We'll be back late Thursday night.  The children will be staying home with Gam-Gam, Ms. Gina, and, of course, going to Kindermusik and School!

Love to everyone!  Sweet dreams!

Jennifer

Wedding was GREAT!!

First of all - for those that loved Caringbridge because of the email notifications, I have found a way to do that here, too.  Simply click on the link to the right ----> input your email address and then fill in the confirmation word provided.  You will receive an email to activate the address so make sure you do that, too!  Each night, if I have updated during the day, you will receive an email so you can check out the blog!!!  I hope it works :-)

Well, this past weekend, my little brother (a.k.a. Uncle Justin) tied the knot!  Friday night was the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner which turned into a karaoke party before too long.  The rehearsal went good; well up until my phone starting buzzing off the hook - when I was finally able to check it, it was text messages from Stewart indicating that the smoke alarm in the clubhouse where the party was going to be held was going off and no one knew how to stop it.  Finally, they just cut the power to the whole building and it was the first disaster averted.

The party theme was a pig-pickin' and there was plenty of barbecue, grilled chicken, and sliced pork for everyone's liking.  My brother is addicted to Cheerwine so my mom had him a Cheerwine cake made ... very interesting, but people said it was delicious!  I must admit that it made me nervous so I just stuck with the bite-size brownies!  However, it must have gone really good with Blue Moon beer because that was definitely the drink of choice - in fact, we had to send the DJ's assistant out on a beer run to divert the second disaster!

We stayed late singing and dancing and I think a great time was had by all!  The twins made a showing but only for a little while ... they were so sleepy after dancing for a couple of hours! Ha!

Saturday's ceremonies went off without a hitch.  The bride was beautiful; the groom was on time; the ceremony was short (really short, in fact; only 11 minutes); and the reception was great!  The wedding was in the chapel at First Baptist Church of Simpsonville; Taylor had to walk down 17 steps all by herself but she did it without even a slight stumble!  The reception followed at the Brick Street Cafe in downtown Greenville with a full sit-down meal and another delicious cake!  Of course, alot of football was going on with the rest of the world so many of those in attendance were texting to get score updates and staying in touch with their fellow fans!  GGOOOO DAWGS!!

Here's the bride!  Her dress really was beautiful and she looked stunning!

I will definitely post some more pictures from the wedding once I get a hold of them!

Sunday, we went down to the lake to see the family that had come into town for the wedding.  That was fun seeing them and catching up for a little while.

Monday it was back to the old grindstone - work and school :-) The kids continue to enjoy Mother's Morning Out - from here on, though, I will only refer to it as SCHOOL so that it makes me feel better.

Tuesday morning, we went to Kindermusik.  We tried Gymboree a while back and while Ian thoroughly enjoyed all the climbing, Bonner didn't leave my leg.  So, I thought we would try something musical which she normally enjoys so Kindermusik it was ... and while neither cried, I wouldn't say that they were exactly attentive :-)  Ian was more concerned with the blinds until they brought the drums out and Bonner was more into the cabinet until she found the cubby holes filled with everyone's shoes.  I signed us up for the semester and hope that we will get to hear some "Staying Alive" next week :-)

The children were playing this afternoon while I was doing some laundry.  When I came out of the laundry room, they were sitting in their rocking chairs with books in their hands - I guess SCHOOL really is having an impact.  It was so cute; I just had to snap this photo!  See all that drool on his shirt -- CRAZY ... you wouldn't think the child had more ounce of saliva left after all the drooling he does all day!

Nothing much else planned for the week; other than gearing up for another big football weekend!  Hopefully, we can camp out in front of the TV and enjoy a relaxing day watching Clemson and Georgia both whip up on their opponents!

Ian does have a cardiologist appointment on Monday so that will be exciting.  Please pray that his echo will be a good one!  We are leaving for Phoenix on Monday evening for a conference, but I will update about his visit ASAP!

Love to everyone and have a great weekend!
Jennifer

Pictures of the Children

Well, it's about to be Bloodworth Overload ... I have FINALLY posted pictures of the kids since the beginning of the summer - this includes their birthday party.
Here's the link to the pictures on Shutterfly - there are 4 albums so get ready :-)  Two beach trips - one from May and one from August ... man, how those babes change so quickly :-) (To open the links in another window so that you can keep this page up, just hold down the CTRL key and click on the link)!1) Beach Trip from May 2009 Pictures are atshare.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbOGjJizZtWL5Y

Here's a sneak peek!

2) Miscellaneous Pictures (including the kids devouring their first ice cream cone) are atshare.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbOGjJizZtWL9I

Sneak Peek!

 
3) Beach Trip from August 2009 are atshare.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbOGjJizZtWL_A
(If you can't click on these links, then make sure to just copy and paste them into your Internet Explorer) and, of course, ENJOY!

Last Sneak Peek!

And, lastly, while we were in Charleston, we took the money to MUSC and got this picture of Ian with his surgeon, Dr. Scott Bradley, and the doctor's nurse practioner, Cathy Rubenstein.  Such great people and it was good to see them again!

Past Week

If you notice, my first post was "Past Month" and this one is "Past Week"... maybe soon, I will be able to post "Past Day"!  Well, the past week has been one of adventure for both parents and children.  Last Tuesday night, we went to our Annual Football Kick-off Party with fellow UGA fans.  Everyone brings a dish so I maybe a Georgia cake.  Looks yummy, doesn't it?

In fact, it was pretty good.  And just a couple of small slices available for me to bring home when it was all over.  The gathering was great.  I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of the kids (even though I took my camera), but have no fear, they looked great in their red and black striped outfits!

Stewart and I left on Thursday morning for Oklahoma City.  My mom came over and kept the kids Thursday night and then Stewart's mom arrived around lunchtime on Friday.  They were very sweet to give up their free time to be with the gran-chillins'!  Our trip was GREAT!

On Thursday night, Stewart, myself, and our brother-in-law, Glenn, went to a reception hosted by UGA at the Cowboy Museum.  It was alot of fun and we met some proud Georgia fans from Oklahoma!  Friday, the 3 of us played golf and had a really good time.  The course was VERY flat -- just to my liking!  I rented some clubs at the pro shop and played the best round of my life ... still didn't break 100, but, hey, just being in the low 100s is an accomplishment for me!  Friday evening, our 2 nephews, Josh and Matthew, who are actually students at UGA flew in and we took Josh out for his "soon to be 21st birthday" dinner at Mickey Mantle's in Bricktown.  His birthday wasn't until Sunday, but we weren't going to be with him then so we wanted to give him a special treat for such a special occasion!  It was a great night out for everyone!

On Saturday, we headed north on I-35 to Stillwater.  Of course, the game didn't go as we had hoped - it went pretty much exactly how I thought it would, but maybe that is just female intuition :-)  However, let me just say that everyone in Stillwater was as nice as they could be to us, before, during, and after the game.  It was truly a wonderful atmosphere and their stadium, although it has a few high school tendencies, was beautiful (all except that awful color of orange - ha!)  We split up with Glenn and the boys after the game as they were flying out of Tulsa and we were returning to Oklahoma City.  But as I say, if you get the chance to head to OK, I would certainly recommend it!

We flew home on Sunday and just spent lots of time with the kids Monday for Labor Day.  We had a great cookout with some neighbors and just relaxed.

Today, the kids went to Mother's Morning Out for the first time.  It was fabulous for me as I had 3 hours to myself without having to go to the office or do anything in particular -- first time in a long time I've had that.  The kids did great at "school" (as I like to call it!)  The teachers said, "They are adorable and are so good; but you have to watch them because they like to climb, don't they?"  I was just thinking to myself, "You just wait until they are both steady on their feet!"

Here's pictures of them this morning on our way to school!  As you can see, Bonner has gotten pretty shy in front of the camera ... and Ian is just focused on Cheerios!

We went out to lunch because we need to get our schedule so that we are down to 1 nap.  They slept for almost 3 hours which was great; however, tonight's trip to bed has been a little rough.  It will just take a few days and nights to get adjusted, I'm sure!  As you can see, though, they looked cute in their new pajamas ... the crazy thing is that these PJs are size 2T.  Only in America are 1-year-old children indoctrinated into the world of Elmo and Minnie Mouse :-)

Well, we are getting ready for my brother's wedding this weekend.  Lots of family coming into town which will be very nice!  I am excited for Justin and for Taylor and pray that their lives together are blessed beyond belief!  Stewart is headed to Athens for the game; my children are spending the day at the neighbor's house; and I am celebrating with my baby brother and his new wife!  I'll definitely post some pictures of the event.

In the meantime, I pray for each of you - that your days will be blessed beyond measure.  Think of those things you are thankful for and remember those around you that need your prayers right now. We still follow so many children at MUSC; most are doing pretty good right now which I am happy to report!

Until the next posting,

Jennifer