Where did all the dust-bunnies come from?

As any repeat reader of my blog can attest, I generally blog when I can't sleep because I have too many things buzzing through my brain. Such is the case tonight, so I thought I would fight off the ginormous dust-bunnies that are trying to colonize my poor neglected blog and fill you guys in on life changes around here. (I'm also prepping for my Christmas letter, so this is sort of a first draft.)

Major update highlights for this year: I am no longer an only child! Months ago, my long lost paternal half sister and I finally found each other! She is a fabulous person and we hope to meet in person as soon as we can manage it. I am just going to call her "T" or Sis here to protect her privacy when I talk about her. T is six years older than I am and is married with two beautiful step-daughters and one handsome son. She has had a less than ideal life but was blessed with a loving adoptive Dad who still stays actively involved in her life. I'm her only sister (which is super cool from my perspective!)

Dad is still fighting the good fight and recently had another operation to remove more cancerous tissue. He is ornery and doesn't go to the doctor for half of the things he probably should but he assures me he is not going to give up any time soon. He has lost weight (much more than would be healthy) for over a month and is struggling to keep enough nourishment in his system to even stay hydrated and maintain his weight. My grandfather swears he is starting to look like a toothpick.

Dad's hospital stay after his last operation was much longer than they originally anticipated which left Samantha in the care of a family friend who didn't have the proper paperwork to seek medical treatment for her in case there were an emergency. The Army considered the situation a child care emergency and granted emergency leave to my husband so he could drive to Texas to pick up Samantha and her mass amounts of equipment and bring her back home to live with us again.

MY CHILDREN ARE ALL UNDER THE SAME ROOF FOR THE FIRST TIME - EVER!!!!

We are still working out all the details that go into meeting Sam's needs but the good news is that my body has held up surprisingly well to all the lifting and moving involved in her day to day care! Things are VERY busy around here because we don't have nursing help set up for Samantha yet and adding all of her daily requirements to the already hectic schedule of three small boys has been... interesting to say the least! We have not had the jealousy from the boys that I expected. They have all been exceptionally sweet with their sister and mostly argue over who gets to help take care of her. I have been blessed with some wonderful kiddos and I can't wait to see what wonderful and compassionate men they will grow into as a result of growing up with our beautiful girl!

Auron started school this year and is doing great! He loves his teacher and has made lots of friends. Focus is a bit of a problem for him, but he IS mine after all! He is turning into such a sweet little gentleman and I am so pleased with the tender personality that he is growing into. Xander doesn't look like a baby any more. He has grown so much this year and looks so much more like a little boy now. He is a very loving child and constantly follows me through the house kissing my hands and hugging me. He has one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen and a giggle to match! Drayden is almost a year old and just started walking. He is bursting with WAY more personality than the average twelve month old. He dances every time he hears a beat, wags his pointer finger at you when he is talking to you, giggles and smiles all the time, and ADORES Auron.

I am feeling very BLESSED and thankful for so many reasons. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers as we always need them, and special prayers for my Mom and Dad would be much appreciated!

Update and request for help...

It was recently brought to my attention that I have fallen WAY behind on my blogging since my hubby returned from Iraq. In my defense, we DID have 15 very long months to make up for. Still, I have neglected my poor blog and must fill the world in on life in general around here.

(If I remember correctly we were supposed to have a colony on the moon by now, right?)

We moved to Fort Gordon at the end of October and at the beginning of November our R&R baby Drayden Tobias was born. He weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds 11 ounces and has been a very healthy boy!

My Beautiful Daughter Samantha is still in Texas with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa is still fighting Cancer and Samantha helps him remember exactly WHY he has been fighting so hard for the past three years. They inspire each other and Samantha has been doing quite well with Grandpa to cheer her on but unfortunately, she is getting bigger every day.

Samantha is very social and loves to be around people. She loves going to church on Sundays and Wednesday nights and she loves going to the drive in movies with Grandma. When she was still small enough for me to handle on my own she loved going shopping with me. She goes to therapy once a week and makes the 20 hour round trip to see her doctors in Houston once every three to six months. It is SO hard to get her anywhere because she does not have a wheelchair accessible vehicle. Anyone who has ever researched the price of wheelchair vans will tell you that they are insanely expensive. They average between $20,000 and $60,000.

My parents were recently given the opportunity to buy a used wheelchair van for the astonishingly low price of $4,500. None of us can afford it but we also know the chances of ever running across a deal this good again are slim to none. It is an older model van but it has lower mileage than the vehicle they have now and the wheelchair lift is in perfect working order. So if anyone reading this would like to help Samantha with a BIG quality of life issue AND help her stay with her family for MUCH longer (instead of having to go into a "home" because we can't get her out of the house), please click the donate button on the sidebar to your right and give whatever you can.

I promise to keep everyone updated on our fundraising progress and (I hope) post photos of Samantha with the van once we find a way to buy it. For now I will post a video of Samantha at therapy so you can all see how big she is getting. Thank you in advance for any help you can give my beautiful girl!