Christmas with my mom's family

This year was extra special at Mom's because we all were able to be there together. It has been a few years since this has happened. Also, my older brother and sister's families were able to meet Autumn for the first time. It was a great day!

My sister, Tracy, her husband Brian and two sons Carl and Eric came from Pennsylvania. It was so nice to see them. Carl and Eric are such polite and kind young men.
It was nice to see my brother, Scott and his two girls, Courtney and Maddy. Jayna really enjoys these girls. They are so good to her.
Here's Mom and Roger with all their grandkids...Kahnen (with Roger), Autumn (with Mom), Courtney, Jayna, Madison, Eric and Carl
My brother and his wife Jordan with their son Kahnen.
Jayna was very pleased with her new Hello Kitty alarm clock.
Eric played with Autumn all day. He was so good with her.
Mom and Roger enjoying each other and opening their gifts. We love and appreciate them.

This cute video is of Kahnen and Autumn playing together. This is really the first time they have interacted like this. They had a ball together all day.

Happy Birthday Grandma Hess

In the beginning of December, we celebrated Grandma Hess' birthday. Here are some very fun pictures of that time. The grandkids have so much fun together.

Here is Grandma with 5 of the 7 grandkids.
As you can see, they don't hang out long.
Grandma is great for playing with the kids and making them laugh.
Jayna and Taylor can be the best of friends.
As you can see, Autumn cannot just sit with the others. She is always on the go.

Sledding Fun

Since we have had a lot of snow already this year, Jayna has gotten to do some sledding. She loves to be outside in the snow. (She's not at all like her mom when it comes to cold weather.) She began her sledding adventures at Grandpa Gene and Grandma Ellie's on Thanksgiving Day...

Down she goes!
Jayna and Grandpa Gene at the bottom of "Messer Hill."
Sledding adventure #2...Jayna and Taylor with Grandma Hess.
Jayna and Taylor give Grandma a hand at the bottom.
Jayna and Taylor pile on Uncle Justin for a ride.

We have such good sports in our family. It blesses my heart to see how willing they are to play with the girls. Fun memories with family last a lifetime.

Ann Arbor Report

Autumn had an appointment in Ann Arbor today with the Chronic Kidney Disease Clinic, as well as her yearly ultrasound. Not too much has changed in her kidney functioning. Her kidneys are still quite small, but they haven't gotten any smaller since last year. This is a blessing! Her lab work was all pretty good. This is another blessing! Her blood pressure is still quite high, which is not a good thing. They increased some of her medicine and would like us to take her blood pressure regularly at home. We should have our own blood pressure cuff soon. Finally, she isn't gaining weight like she should be. If you know her at all, she is SUPER busy and burns off every calorie she takes in and then some. Our wonderful nutritionist instructed us to put butter on her food so she has some extra fat calorie intake. Another suggestion was to mix a special concentration with her new formula, which is special for those with renal issues. Other than that, they are watching her labs a little more often and want to see us back in June.

After our appointment, we visited the NICU. We were able to see some of the wonderful people who took care of Autumn while she was there. They so enjoyed her running down the hall, talking, playing, signing, etc. They said seeing babies doing as well as her gave them encouragement that their jobs were making a difference. We thanked them for being God's instruments in Autumn's life. Also, a dad of a current NICU baby walked in while we were there and said to Aaron, "There is hope beyond here," as he saw Autumn. I am so blessed when I see God using our children to encourage others. He has a plan and a purpose for everthing. His greatest plan was played out through His son Jesus. Coming to earth as a helpless, dependent little baby; growing up into a man; living blameless in a sinful world; dying an innocent death on the cross. God's plan in all this...TO GIVE YOU AND I AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE WITH HIM. What a loving plan that one was. I pray this Christmas season fills your family with many blessings, especially the blessing of a loving Savior.

Stay tuned to the Hess blog...I am on break and have lots of fun things to share!

O Christmas Tree

Last year's Christmas tree tradition was done on a pretty warm day in between Autumn's hospital stays. We took Grandma Hess with us and had a great time. This year had a bit of a different spin on things...

It was a very cold day.

I had to cut the tree down because Aaron wasn't able to with his hurt hand.
Unlike last year, Autumn was not contained in a car seat. She managed to lose both her boot and sock in the middle of cutting down the tree. Needless to say, she had a very cold foot.
We still had a great time as a family and came home with a nice tree. (Jayna took this picture.) When we got home, Grandma Hess came over and helped get the tree in the house and standing upright. Then, Jayna and I enjoyed our time putting all the decorations on. Thank you Lord for this nice family time and tradition.