Thanksgiving Madness, our trip up north!!!

I haven't written in a while ... and my 30 days of thankfulness list had a quick death, and ended at day 16 I think. Oh well. Our vacation to Oregon took over, and I am totally fine with that ...

Though most people overlook thanksgiving and skip directly to Christmas, I am NOT one of those people. In fact, I am quite the opposite. I Love halloween and thanksgiving so much, and wish the months of October and November could circulate back and forth forever. For me thanksgiving is the holiday of all holidays, truly my favorite day of the year. So much so, that now that it is over, I have actually started to beleive that it is already spring. Am I the only person on earth who thinks this way? I guess the Christmas season doesn't affect me as much as it use to. I blame that in part to living in southern california, where it never feels like winter, therefore never forcing us into feeling the true cozy Christmas spirit. But while in Oregon for the last 10 days, I was brought back to all those childhood memories, of crisp foggy mornings, rainy afternoons, winter coats, fall leaves, endless food, college football, and extended family galore. It was a great trip. It went way to fast, but when I got home last night to California, it felt like an eternity since I had walked up our front stairs. It felt like we had grown up, like Tatum had grown up, it was surreal.

While in Oregon, we celebrated Jeremey's 27th birthday, I got to meet 2 new nephews, Tatum took 8 steps, Jeremey roped his first cow (it was made out of wood, but nonetheless) we had fantastic conversations about the Lord with extended family, we ate SO much good food, Tatum popped in her 2 front teeth, got to spend time with a dear friend of mine and her family, watched my husband acquire 9 new little best friends in all my nieces nephews and second cousins, and got to RELAX. The Lord really blessed our trip, and I am more thankful than ever that the lord has given me such a Godly extended family. On that happy note, I will send out a prayer request for my health seeing as the second flight home stirred up a pretty scary bout of vertigo. I am still spinning and not feeling too well, which doesn't make for too good of a welcome home. Besides that, thats what we've been up to. Till next time!

There are SO many pictures. Thousands actually from our camera and my moms, here are some of them (for the family members that were there, I will post more in a facebook album and tag you in them!)

Cousins, my brothers kids!

It became routine to do a music session with the kids each day

Sister in law Molly and kids.

Play time with daddy

cuties!

Tatum and Titus, almost the same height, yet Tatum is nearly 9 months younger. Crazy.

Craft time with the kids!

Fun in the wagon.

Looking at the rainy day with grandma!

Linus!

Tatum LOVED the piano!

Spending time with a great friend!

Practicing walking with her shopping cart grandma got her!

Chillin with grandpa and Clyde!

music time with momma!

Sasha! One of my flower girls in my wedding!

Playing at my aunt and uncles house, where they made their back yard into a kids dream, with a wagon and little old fashioned shops. so cute!

Feeding the Horse!

First pancake!

This bear was killed by my grandpa and is hanging on the wall in his house. I Loved this thing as a kid!

The ODELLS!

Coolest grandpa ever!

My cowgirl!

The kids Love Jeremey!

First thanksgiving dinner!

If you look closely you can see her two front teeth coming in!

Family pic!

Roping the cow!

Wilson News ... 3 things

I've been slacking on the blog lately ... my 30 days of thankfulness has completley been neglected, but nonetheless, here I am. 3 things that have been going on lately ...

1. We are leaving on vacation to Oregon in 2 days!!! It is soooooo needed, so so needed. 10 days of cold weather, countless cousins, neverending food and RELAXING. Thank you Lord.

2. Tatum has started to stand on her own ...

3. I recieved this message from Jeremeys sister Jani a couple days ago. With permission from her and from Stephanie herself, I wanted to repost it, to inform you all just a little further on Stephanies current health status in her pregnancy now at 27 weeks.

"Dear friends I write you today to inform you of the seriousness of my sister stephanie Dorsey's condition. She has what you call placenta previa accreta. I don't understand all the medical lingo but the removal of the baby can be fatal to Stephanie. Many of you know that Stephanie lost her last baby Piper Dorsey, and when all this was going on the doctors were very direct and honest with her of the possibility that the baby would not make it. So at her appointments with this pregnancy she felt as though this is more serious than she once thought. Stephanie made the mistake of going online to research her odds and it does not look good. After her online search she followed up with her doctor immediately only to be met with confirmation on what she read. At about 36 weeks they will open her and remove the baby and then reopen her from the chest down and a team of 21 doctors will attempt at a life saving procedure. This is extremely scary. The thought that my sister may not live through this just seems unreal. I know that nothing is to big for God, but tell that to a woman that has lost 2 children. While you all will be doing your holiday celebration she has to think about writing goodbye letters to all her little children. We need to all be in deep prayer for this family. I know she's been extremely depressed through out this pregnancy so please please I beg you all pray for strength for her and Nick, wisdom for the doctors, safety for the baby living inside her, and the safety for Stephanie herself. At this time Stephanie doesn't need a bunch of people calling her and bombarding herwith questions but when you're in your quiet time with God don't forget the Dorsey's. Thanks so much."

Jani

I love my sisters ... I'm not really sure what else to say besides that. Jani and Stephanie you have been such wonderful additions and blessings to my life. I wasn't sure how it would be marrying into such a huge family, but you have both made it such a pleasure. We will continue to lift up Stephanie and London and the rest of the Dorseys in prayer as long as needed! (As for the last 5 days of thankfulness that I have missed, I will just do an all encompassing, I am thankful that baby London has had 5 more days of developing and growing inside the womb)

(For those that have made it this far down the blog, I thought I would throw in an extra video for your viewing pleasure of Tatum and Jeremey playing the guitar ... It was too good to pass up.

How come fall doesn't exist in California??? (Tatums fall leaves videos)

I'm not quite sure when fall ends and winter begins, especially since I live in Southern California. But I do know that there are few things that are more beautiful than the fall trees in Oregon. Because there aren't a whole lot of leaves where we live, my mom packaged some up and sent them down to us, they were huge, colorful, beautiful, and lasted a total of about 60 seconds before Tatum crumbled them to pieces. I Loved it, it was the cutest thing ever, and so fun to watch her play in the leaves in our living room. They were vacumed up shortly after ... Here are some videos and pictures.

v

Nov 10th , day of thankfulness: I am thankful that where Jeremey and my familes live give us the best of both worlds as far as weather is concerned. We can visit my family in Oregon where there are different and beautiful seasons all year round, or visit Jeremey's family in Arizona where it is always warm. Whatever our hearts desire.

Nov 11th: I am thankful for our veterans, who have served or are currently serving our country. My stepdad, and brother included.

We love music!

We are a big music family ... we just love it, listening, playing, writing, dancing, we enjoy it all. It is something that remains a constant in my life, weather I'm laid up in bed sick, or feeling great. So, since I have missed the last 3 days of the November thankfulness list, I will do it now, and we will go with a theme ...

Nov 7th: I am thankful for the little moments in life, when my husband and I get to sit down and write music together. It has been a long time since I have felt well enough, so I am very thankful! We have been working writing a fun Christmas song as of lately, kinda cheesy, but maybe I'll share it on here if we ever finish it.

Nov 8th: I am thankful for WORSHIP. The worship leaders conference is going on at the school right now, so this one is fresh on my mind. I am thankful for the leaders who allow us to enter in to worship through song by using thier gifts in which He has given them.

Nov 9th: I am thankful for the Christian music artists out there, who truly believe in what they are singing, and represent Christ in a Glorifying way.

(Chelsea, myself and Tatum before she went on stage)

On that note, our friend Chelsea Moon, and a VERY talented Christian singer got the chance to play for a packed house last night here on campus. Last year she released her first album, which is AMAZING, and is gearing up for her second. Jeremey was blessed to be able to help her out by designing her first album cover and CD booklet. It was also his first time doing something of this caliber. Being a big fan of my husbands work, I thought I would share it with you bloggers. But mostly encourage you to check out her album, she is seriously so good. click on the picture below, to make it bigger, sorry its so small.(A tid bit of info you may or may not want to know. I loved the cd so much it is what I chose to listen to the whole time I was in the hospital when Tatum was born.)

Here is a link to hear some of Chelsea's music on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/chelseamoonmusic

The reason why my baby boy is so beautiful is because she's a girl!!!

The title should be self explanatory ... But yesterday while out for a stroll to our campus coffee shop, I counted 7 different people who came up and said "oh what a BEAUTIFUL little boy you have" (EYE ROLL to the max).

Let me explain this a little further, yes I know my daughter doesn't have much hair, and no she wasn't wearing any form of pink or a headband at the time (I understand where the mistake could be made at times). BUT yesterday, she WAS wearing black leggings, Ugg boots, a brown girl sweater AND, get this, she was holding a pink BABY DOLL in her arms ... How could you possibly mistake her for a boy with a pink baby doll in her arms??? My favorite is when my husband tries to cover their mistake by saying something like "yeah SHE is such a joy, or we love HER so much." And even after that they say "He's such a cute little guy." WHAT??? The other day Jeremey was at the grocery store and the cashier said this "Your little boy is so beautiful, he could almost be a girl." My husbands response "thats because she is." Come on people, not every little girl must wear pink and a bow on her head to be feminine. It really is just beyond my understanding, haha. If you aren't positive on the gender, don't say anything. Still, I refuse t0 dress my girl in pink EVERYDAY just so people don't make this mistake. I don't mind pink, but too much is too much. Her hair will eventually grow and we will be out of this awkward stage ... (I Love her her little frizzy head, just not the awkwardness of when you don't know what to say to strangers.)

Have you experienced this with your children, boys or girls???

Day 5 of thankfulness: I am thankful for the weekends where my husband is home and we can enjoy much needed family time. By the end of the week I am usually a wreck.

Day 6: I am thankful for day light savings, fall back. Though my baby didn't quite understand that we were suppose to get an extra hour of sleep.

Cabin fever ...

Day 4 of thankfulness: Though I LOVE my home state of Oregon, on days like today I am SO SO very thankful that I live in California where it is sunny almost all year round ... the rainy Cali weather today is making us a little grumpy around here ... so spoiled.

CABIN FEVER, let me out! No clue how I survived in the Northwest my whole life ...

Hoping tomorrow brings us some sunshine.

Thankfulness and Updating!

How many of you have Loved ones who are physically ill??? I'll tell you something ironic ... I have MANY. Sometimes this hits me as such a SHOCK, then at other times, it makes complete sense. Having suffered, and being in the midst of physical suffering myself, I've seen that the Lord brings people into our lifes who we can either ...

1. Minister to.

OR

2. BE ministered to by.

What a compassionate God we serve. I can count more than two hands full of young people in my life, people that are dear friends to me, that are suffering from a physical health constraint. Without mentioning thier names, I will say that these individuals are some of the brightest lights for Christ that I know. They seem to understand Him better, long for him more, and grasp his faithfullness in deeper ways than most, when in the worlds eyes, it should be just the opposite. Though some are suffering far worse than me, they give ME hope in times of physical discouragment, and I hope I can do the same for them. I know there is a reason why at age 27, I have endured over 5 years of being chronically ill, and that it isn't a coincidence that some of my very best friends are fighting the battle with me ... The Lord has a beautiful plan.

-All that to say ... on my quest of 30 days of thankfulness ...

Day 2, Nov 2nd: I am thankful for those that are BRIGHT lights for Christ in a dark world in the midst of their suffering.

Day 3, Nov 3rd: I am thankful for the people in my life who never stop praying for my healing.

On that note ... here is a

***STEPHANIE and LONDON UPDATE***

(I have had people asking me for an update on how my sister in law Stephanies pregnancy is going, so I thought I would just periodically do an update on the blog.)

To piggyback my thoughts above (not that Stephanie is chronically ill, but her health situation for the time being is VERY serious and needs as much prayer as possible) ... I wanted to give you an update on my sister in law Stephanie who is now 24 weeks pregnant with her 8th kid. In an earlier post I wrote about the high risk pregnancy she is experiencing. She has recently found out that she has what is called Placenta Previa ...

(Placenta previa is a complication of pregnancy in which the placenta grows in the lowest part of the womb (uterus) and covers all or part of the opening to the cervix.The placenta is the organ that nourishes the developing baby in the womb.The biggest risk is that severe bleeding will require your baby to be delivered early, before major organs, such as the lungs, have developed.)

Stephanie has a difficult road ahead of her, as she has already had pain and bleeding during this pregnancy, and previously lost her last baby at 25 weeks because of similiar symptoms. At the time of her C-section she will also have her uterus completly removed, which is very high risk, due to not being able to stop blood flow. We ask for many prayers on Stephanie's behalf, and for our sweet baby girl (London Dorsey) to fight hard to grow and stay nestled up inside the womb as LONG as possible.

Jeremey and Stephanie when they were little.

The moment you realized you weren't a kid anymore - First Halloween!

When was the moment you realized that you weren't a kid anymore???

In the past several years I have had a few "OH MY" instances, where this sheer fact has hit me straight in the face. The first time I looked in the mirror, and thought I looked old. The day we bought a bookshelf for our living room and it was a BIG deal. Having my parents visit MY HOME for Christmas. Getting the flu for the first time as a MOM, and LAST night, on halloween, as my husband and I dressed up our little cub, and took her trick or treating. The whole ordeal wasn't how I use to remember it. Granted, my baby is only 10 months, and had no idea what was going on, but it seemed as though halloween had lost its ... flare? Have things changed since I last dressed up, and rang doorbells? Is it different in California than in Oregon? Or am I just older with a different perspective? Whatever it is I just remember Halloween being the beginning of a 3 month all out sugar fest, and spending hours on end running my heart out around the neighborhood streets with my friends ... Last night was a different type of fun, a more grown up type I guess, haha. And as Jeremey and I visited a few houses, and slowly watched Tatum fall asleep in our arms, we realized how quickly times have changed, that we aren't "kids" anymore, and that these traditions we grew up with will never be the same. It's time to start making some new traditions for our kids!!! So we did ...

Tatum spent her first halloween with a few good friends of our and hers. The Anchetas and the Celeyas. Both from here at the bible college. The Anchetas blessed us with a delicious meal, and then we attempted to get all the kiddos in their costumes. Tatum was a Lion, Josiah was a giraffe, and Chloe was Eyore, our own little zoo of animals. We attempted to take pictures, but if you have kids, you know that its nearly impossible to get them all to smile at the same time, or to smile at all, especially when they all have headpieces, that they want OFF. Here is what the camera captured ... I Love these girls, and these kids!

Here are a few more disfunctional pictures of just the kiddos. The imperfectness of them, makes them perfect. So funny and so sweet to share these memories.

Chloe giving her buddy Tatum some sweet hugs, or maybe its a chokehold ... whatever it is, I Love these little cuties together!

Chloe the non grumpy Eyore

Tatum the lion queen

Josiah the cutest giraffe around

Daddy and his cub

Fast asleep after only a few houses of trick or treating.

Home at last and digging into her candy stash. (That only mom and dad get to eat, thanks Tatum!)

(PS: I'm going to attempt to do the 30 days of Thankfullness, November challenge. I'm not an EVERYDAY blogger, so I will try to post every 3 or so days, with 3 or so days worth of things I'm thankful for!

Day 1 - I am thankful for all the "Firsts" we get to have with our first born children. Like halloween and other holidays. Being able to watch them experience the great and fun things in life for the first time!