Continuing the Journey

WARNING: If You Have a Life...

...this is an extremely long post!

I have plenty of things to catch you up on, my dear loyal readers (all three or four of you). Let's start with the big announcement you are dying to hear: I am worthy...and I'm having surgery on my neck.

I met the neurosurgeon yesterday -- actually got out of a boring meeting at the College to attend the appointment -- and was SO hoping to leave his office aggravated. I wanted to walk out of there after a lengthy wait and say to myself, "Well, THAT was a total waste of time." Didn't happen. Instead, I walked out of there after a short wait and said to myself, "I can't believe I'm having surgery on my neck...in TWO WEEKS!"

I selected this particular neurosurgeon because he has a great reputation and because he is known for being conservative. Friends who know this doctor well told me to expect at least two rounds of epidural steroid injections before he would even THINK about surgery. Imagine my surprise when, after taking a thorough history of my injury and symptoms, this conservative doctor told me that I was a candidate for surgery. When I stammered and choked out that I was expecting epidural injections first, he informed me that they would not help my problem, but he would do them if I wanted. Uhhhh, no...not going through that if it won't help!

Due to the craziness of my upcoming schedule (Florida next week with Meggie and the dance team, my sister's wedding at the end of May, Gatlinburg with the dance team at the end of June, and a trip to China somewhere in there), the doctor decided that sooner was better than later. Also, he said he wouldn't let me fly to China with this herniated disc...and I need to stay in town for 4-6 weeks after the surgery. What could I say? I'm having surgery ASAP after we return from Florida on April 28th. I should know the exact date by the end of the week. Ugghhh...

Enough of that...let's move on to Easter!

Saturday evening, we had our traditional evening of coloring Easter eggs. Carson was very excited...
...while Meggie appeared to go insane with the work!
Goodness, that Little Man of ours is impatient! He got so aggravated when we made him leave the eggs IN the coloring for a minute or so.
Can you read what Meggie wrote on this egg?
"Meggie Rocks." I happen to agree with that one. How about these two eggs?
"I Love Carson" and "I Love Molly." Awwww, what a sweet big sister! Carson, Meggie wants to eat those eggs you guys are coloring.
Hmmm...guess not!
Carson, you and Meggie sure are goofy tonight!That was Carson saying, "Hey! Be nice!"
OK, folks, you decide. Aren't they goofy?!?!
OK, so they can be cute when they act like normal children. (It's just REALLY rare...)

Every color Meggie chose for her eggs suddenly became Carson's obsession...he ended up dropping every one of his eggs into every color. See if you can guess which eggs Carson colored and which eggs Meggie colored...
After the eggs were colored, the boys cleaned up the mess.
Since I'm typically taking the pictures, I decided to have one taken of me and Carson. He decided to be a goof again, sticking out his tongue!
After some "convincing"...
...we ended up getting a cute pic! (Don't mind my awful hairstyle...I'm trying something new at the insistence of my hair stylist and I'm not sure how much longer I'll stick with it.)
The loot brought by the Easter Bunny...
...and Carson's reaction to some of his stuff.
After Church, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa B's house. Here is our traditional family picture in the back yard...
...and Grandma and Grandpa with their 10 grandchildren. Next year, there will be 11!
Carson, are you ready to find those hidden eggs?
The kids all lined up, with Daddy serving as the "gatekeeper" at the door.
And they're off!
After a wonderful day visiting with family and eating way too much great food, Meggie and I headed out to her car. Since she's driving (but not ready for highways yet), we took the L-O-N-G way to Grandma and Grandpa's condo. She wanted to sneak away and hopefully get home before it got dark. Her cousins had a different plan...
...as they crowded around her car, yelling driving advice at her. She was NOT pleased. (Sorry, Megster, but you're the first grandkid...you're breaking everyone in with this driving thing!)

This summer, Meggie has offered to be our nanny. This way, she can make some money, we get a break from the cost of daycare, and Carson will get a real summer of sleeping in, going to the pool during the day, and hanging out at home. Carson, are you excited to spend so much time with your sister??
Meggie, are YOU excited??
GULP! She looks a bit scary in that one. Hey, Meggie, what will you do if Carson is driving you crazy, running all around the house?
Uhhh, I don't think SITTING on him is the answer! (Although he does seem to be enjoying it...) OK, Megster, what if he won't quit talking and it starts to get on your nerves?
Whoa, girlie! You CANNOT choke him to stop the chatter! Carson, are you sure you want Meggie to be your nanny?!
Oh, never mind, he gives as good as he gets...he'll be fine!