Christmas came early for Lilly this morning. Because we are headed to Salt Lake we decided to give her the kitchen early. She loves it. She also received an apron I made for her and some fruit and vegetables from Uncle Richy and Aunt Marie. We had a great morning. Well my next post will be from UT. Yay!! Merry Christmas everyone. 
Well this week has been interesting to say the least. I had already been dreading this week because Ryan was going to be so busy with finals that I knew I would be flying solo taking cake of Lilly. Well nothing could have prepared me for Monday night. Late Monday night Ryan got home from studying and was complaining that his stomach hurt. He said he was going to watch some TV and drink a soda to see if he could feel better. Well about 1 am Tuesday morning he came in and said he was in a lot of pain. Before I could even think about what to do Ryan was dressed and telling me not to worry that he was just going to drive HIMSELF to the hospital.(Maybe he does have a little Ken Burns in him) Before I could even protest he had pulled up a local hospital on navigation and was out the door. (Note: when moving to a new city locate your nearest hospital and know how to get there!) A few minutes later he came back to get his back pack in case he had free time he could study for his finals. That kid thinks of nothing but studying. It was so hard to sit there and let my husband drive himself to the hospital when I could tell he was in a lot of pain. After he made it to the hospital they quickly took him back because the pain was getting worse. A few hours later after a CT scan, a lot of poking and prodding determined that it was his appendix and that it needed to come out that day. Lilly and I joined him at the hospital in the morning. Lilly was very concerned about Ryan. She wanted him to get up and play with her. They finally got him into surgery at about 1 pm on Tuesday. I was relieved when the surgeon finally came down and told me that his appendix had not ruptured and that they were able to take it out with no complications. We feel so blessed that Ryan was prompted to go to the hospital so quickly and that he is his doing well. Ryan was released on Wednesday. As soon as he got home he began studying for his final on Thursday. He wanted to be ready to take his final with the rest of his class. Ryan is determined to catch up on all his finals by Friday. Ryan is determined. Thanks to our friends Trent and Britini I am not losing my mind. They took Lilly all day for me yesterday. Also Mitch and Mandy brought us dinner. Oh and Erica who helped me get Ryan's car home from the hospital in a snow storm. So despite it all we are still coming to Utah on Saturday! I can't believe this week. I fell so grateful for the help we have received and the love and concern that everyone has shone us. I know now more than ever that I am not alone here in Milwaukee and that our Heavenly Father is always watching over us!
We had a great Thanksgiving week. Last Tuesday we headed on a 11 hour car ride to Pittsburgh. I can't believe I did it. But the prospect of getting to spend Thanksgiving with family got me through. Ryan's brother Richy lives in Pittsburgh. It was great to see them again. We had a great week of shopping, eating and hanging out. As Ryan and I reflected on the week we didn't come up with one sour point. (Yes Richy and Marie I didn't even mind the killer bunnies.) We even got a date night. Marie's mom Joy was in town and watch both Lilly and Linus so we could go out. Ryan and I have not been without Lilly since July so it was a much needed break. Anyway thanks for the great week Richy and Marie we loved it!
Lilly in the car ready for our trip. If Ryan and I wear sun glasses then Lilly needs hers as well!
On Wed. we went to one of my favorite places ever, Rita's Italian Ice!!! It is so good. We were lucky to get some because that was the last day they were open for the winter. Man it was just as good as I remember!
Here we are on the strip. It is this cool place where you walk up and down the streets and do all kinds of shopping. There are all different kinds of street vendors and the best food ever can be found there. It is a good thing I don't live in Pittsburgh. 
Cousins are the best! Lilly and Linus seemed to have a great time together! Linus was such an awesome cousin and friend to Lilly. He even shared all his trucks with Lilly.
Well I almost left out one of the highlights. Richy smoked our turkey for Thanksgiving. (I did not take a single picture of our Thanksgiving feast. I don't know what I was thinking!!) The turkey was so moist and had great flavor. We were all worried that it would be dry. We had a great feast.
Well thanks Richy, Marie and Joy for the best week. We loved seeing you guys!
