Updates...

Lots of randoms pics..get ready...I think if I cram it all in here no one will realise how long its been since I have blogged... Anyway Sweaty Pirate Luke Eye patches and pirate bandannas for party favors (they got swords on their way OUT!)

Show me your hook....

Luke usually says after her shows you his hook..."I don ike apain ook" "I peta pan"

Wonderful pirate birthday cake that my sil Heather made...isn't it precious?

There were probably 10 different jumps at this facility and 1 of them was a Pirate Ship!

Disney on Ice

Its hard to believe the hoss stayed in his crib til almost 3....or maybe just bad parenting....who cares but I had 2 weeks at the end of may b/t semesters to take away the paci (he got it ONLY AT NIGHT), new bed, begin potty training, and prepare for new daycare program. He shocked us all and did not bat an eye at any of it. So proud of him (and us:)).

Kindergarten graduation (she is the shortest one on the right)

Happy Anniversary I Love You!!! A recent pic at a wedding Pete performed at a plantation home on the Mississippi River (so beautiful)

Look at all the glitter that the durn tooth fairy brought her!!!! It came from her window seal and went all the way to her pillow!!

Madison-our eldest daughter and lifesaver of a nanny! I know, Luke looks bigger that she is! She is an education major at LSU that helps us tremendously and every time we come home she has done some ridiculous art project with them or played some board game that would drive Pete and I insane.

Where do I begin.... 1) Pete passed his practitioner's exam and certification and 1 of us is OUT OF SCHOOL!!! I don't think I can say express how good God has been to us this year but we are thankful to still be sane.

2) I am in the last leg of my Internal Medicine rotation this summer and have 4 days of clinicals left. I am loving every minute of it now and am prayerfully considering where I need to do my FINAL internship in August!!!

3) We survived kindergarten (barely) and Savannah has lost several teeth much to her delight. Savannah got her tonsils out at Easter and Luke will get his out in august.....YUCK!!!

4) Luke turned 3 on June 22nd and we had a great Peter Pan birthday party for that sweet (but oh so rough) boy. He promoted to the 3's class 3 weeks ago and we are smack dab in the middle of potty training. #1 GREAT #2 NOT so great. Luke is continuing to improve in speech and his other motor issues. He said his first clear 3 syllable word that someone else could understand on his birthday week (makes us thankful for the small things).

5) Pete and I will celebrate our 10 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY tomorrow on July 3!!!! Where did the time go?? Aren't we still 27??? Is that grey in Pete's hair and ....VERY fine lines under my eyes???? It's amazing how much we have been through in the past 10 years but I my heart still goes pidder patter when that crazy man walks in the room. I tell people that God put us together so Pete could make me laugh and I would make sure the bills are paid, but whatever the reason, I am thankful He chose Pete for me. He is such an amazing daddy, friend to everyone (you should see our texting bill), cook (not so much), husband, and encourager. Happy Anniversary Honey. I love You....G

Happy Birthday Week--Savannah

Birthday Breakfast

Pizza Party at School with her friends

Rainbow pedi's for the girls

Still lovin us some frilly dresses

Nana Montanna!!

Dancing to GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!!!

Luke was the FASHION POLICE!!

The nail parlor

Colored hair spray paint outside w/ Nana

Red Carpet Girls...

My s-i-l Heather baked this cake and decorated it in my kitchen the weekend of....we are still in awe!!!! Thank You Aunt Heather

Savannah turned 6 on Feb 4th and we had a great birthday week!!! Here are a few pics from the festivities.

Yes we are alive!!! After finals in alabama in december for a week, christmas, and a quick trip to the beach it was time to get back in to CRAZY Mode. Lots going on with us, 11 mths and counting for me. I started my OB/GYN and Peds rotation today and saw every STD you can imagine....this can't end soon enough. Luke is progressing well, does have ADHD with his other "quirks"but we knew that right???(pete jory!). Just got back from neurologist with him and he is on targt (PT/ST/OT) with follow ups every 3 months. Savannah is doing better in school now that we are actually making her do her homework. Hollywood glam bd party next month with purple and blue glitter hairspray, bodyguards, paparazzi, and a red carpet...Pete has several tests to complete over the next 3 months...he may have to get back on his meds too!! Speaking of meds my sleeping pill that I now require is making me drunk so I must depart...Hope everyone is doing well...love the jorys more coherent thoughts to follow

New Tiger Fan

The pics are in reverse order...sorry
Rare moment...Luke enjoying some cuddle time and being still!!! and yes we now have a paci, teddy, and bear that we can NOT live with out..I do have one of those kids that are WAY to big for a paci (aka POK) but there is NO WAY that thing is going anywhere soon... Mike the Tiger just made a dash for the kid and took him from his daddy,- I had to walk away with him to calm him down....but he was saying BYE BYE MIKE and waving through the tears...it was soo sweet

Look at Petes face..Mike trying to apoligize with hand motions...now look at Luke's face

Savannah and Alex(my niece)

All is good with Mike from a distance

Enjoying some stadium nachos and a Tiger dog (jealous dave)??

Givin his momma some loving...look at those teeth!!!

Luke and his first Oreo

Can I just say "I am soooo proud of my little man"??? Luke went to his first LSU football game (and actually got to stay and go in Tiger Stadium) and did so GOOD. To say I was a scant worried was an understatement and I have been having a hard time accepting all of the "quirks" that seem to keep coming up in his little life. He made me so proud that I actually cried when the band came out... HE socialized with everyone around us (even the Troy State fans YUCK scooped him up for a noogie or two and he did not even bat an eye....he did hit them a time or two but they were asking for it!!!), danced when the band played, and really watched the players when the crowd started yelling (which was very often in this game). I just wanted to brag on my little boy because I really don't do that often enough and God has been teaching me some sweet lessons with that one....

update....he can now say 18 words with pretty good clarity...2 two word sentences Daddy work, and What's that? which is huge for us, and is attempting many words...His intelligibility of the sounds when he puts more that one word together (but he is doing it often now which is great) is pretty bad but all his low tone stuff and speech problems are clashing at the moment. His tongue is very lazy so there are many sounds/ consonants that he still can't make BUT... we are making good progress. It is sad to hear his animal sounds sometimes b/c they still sound like a child who is hearing impaired but he is trying many more.

I got brave and bold and FIRED our Speech Therapist that did not mesh well with Luke. God has placed us with a WONDERFUL new Therapist and she loves him and gives him praises and encouragement every visit. Jill leaves me sweet notes and ideas weekly and I am so thankful for all the wonderful therapist that we have on our side.

We will find out more about the HOT Pants and braces for his legs the week after thanksgiving. We also go to the most WONDERFUL therapy center in addition to his school visits and I can not tell you enough how wonderful they are....Every week they have info copied for me to read and ask about our week, and when I tell them how bad Luke was at Piccadilly (?) for instance, they look at ME like I am CRAZY and say....Why would you take a 2 year old who loves food to a place like that and torment him? They help me to see so many things through his eyes and "busy bee" mind and it is making such a difference in his actions and my patience. They show us how to use play dough as therapy to strengthen his fingers ( again, another odd quirk), and to use marsh mellow cream to strengthen is tongue. They throw him in the foam pit and chase him until everyone is screaming with laughter to strengthen his hips...I sit in the chair and watch him with wonder ( and cry at least every other session) because he is so much happier and content and I am just....thankful

I know that this may seem like rambling, but I am truly indebted to all of these sweet people and wonder what other mothers do who don't have this kind of help...more great update to come....

Now... if I could just get Savannah to STOP asking me to homeschool her!!! :)

old friends

Luke and his "trial fitting" of his HOT PANTS....and Stacy his wonderful Speech Therapist!!! Same pic 3 years later, all that was missing was Stacy and MG!!!

Probably the last time they may be able to play with BOTH of their shirts off!!!

How sweet are they???

This is about all the cooperation you are going to get with this kid...We did give him a big boy haircut yesterday...

These two are definitely GUILTY of something???


Stacy shared her men with us last weekend and we all went to the LSU/STATE football game. We had a great time...especially when we sent the kiddos home with the babysitter.....THANK YOU Lauren!!!

Here are a few pics that my sister in law attempted to take of the kids several weekends ago....she was sweating buck shots after chasing Luke around....that child will not look at a camera. Maybe I should disguise it as a chicken nugget hmmmm!!

Well, we are getting back to normal YEAH!! My family lives in Cameron parish and thankfully, had no damage. Unfortunately, many of my friends and neighbors had tremendous flooding. My best friends parents who helped us so much in Gustav, had over 4 feet in their home. Carrie has called me several times a day just so she could vent about all the snakes and "creatures" she has to encounter as she is taking a boat to her home. Puts it all into perspective doesn't it???

On a somewhat funny note, the Physical Therapists want to put Luke in a spandex bodysuit contraption that will strengthen his hips and abdomen b/f he "progresses" to braces. I started to crack up when they told me this and then quickly asked WHO was going to ATTEMPT to put this on him.....I keep visualizing a shiny blue boys leotard and my 2 ton son in it...not cute...anyway they will put it on him at first and then we will see how it goes. We wrapped his entire torso last week in a huge ace bandage and he actually did great and did not hit a soul....sweet angel.

It was great to enjoy a typical nail biting LSU game last night..Savannah and I decorated for fall and she told me we were not nearly spooky enough...Pete has her brainwashed and the child "thinks" she loves scary stuff...Pete is doing great and I have another test tomorrow, so it's studying as usual...15mths to go and counting every minute....

Galveston friends, please know that we are praying for you and your families.

Hurricane Update

In case anyone was wondering.......WE FINALLY HAVE ELECTRICITY!!!!! After over a week, actually 9 days, without power, the natives were about to beat their kids....No seriously, our neighborhood was one of the few in Baton Rouge that was not beat down because we do not have a single tree in it. Regardless though, we have been in meltdown mode(literally and physically). We stayed and braved the storm and after 3 days w/o power my sweet best friends family sent us a generator and I stood in a very long line in the rain to buy a window unit (major run on sentence, I know). We went from a 2600 square foot house to less than 500 feet living space with tarps in our kitchen keeping area to keep the air in. SavannaH and Pete loved every minute of this...they were in "camping mode". Luke got in trouble every minute and experimented with every electrical cord from the generator he could find. I think eventually just tuned us out NO LUKE NO did not seem to work by day 4...

How did I do it you ask??? NOT very graciously...I have been studying by a camping light in the non air conditioned parts of the house(so the kids could sleep in the air) because I had my first test last night...I have been very snippy, breaking down at random moments, and have had several bad bad close calls with road rage....you can not possibly begin to imagine the traffic in Baton Rouge without redlights...I actually followed someone yesterday who almost hit us to give him a lesson in 4 way stops, but remembered that my kiddos were with me so I had to turn around....Oh Well...... Anyway, more importantly, my kids started back in school today although the public schools have not yet..Pete starts back tomorrow...His school was reported to have extensive damage, we will see.

I have had a hard time working because I can't get to my patients homes for many reasons(trees, power lines, debris) or the patients simply have not returned home because their homes are destroyed...And then when I do it is very scary because we have had a hard time getting gas. It is all very sad and really puts many things in perepective. It is getting better and my company was called today to get us free gas in the morning if you are a healthcare worker...Thanks to everyone for your prayers and texts.....thanks to my fam who loaded us up with supplies and various other things, The Pool's and CARRIE AND REG...there are no words....I love you GG