December

Once we returned home from our Thanksgiving trip, we dove right into December and all its craziness. As usual, it was a packed month full of fun activities with a few unexpected events as well!

With the arrival of December also came the return of Kyndall's magic elf, Candy Cane. She showed up in Kyndall's bedroom on December 1st....

Over the next few weeks she showed up in some very interesting places. One good thing about Candy Cane's return is that Kyndall practically jumped out of bed each morning so that she could find her elf before school. Never before has she been excited to wake up early!

She brought Kyndall this Paw Patrol advent calendar as a gift

My family celebrated my birthday a little early while we were home for Thanksgiving but Matthew and Kyndall also celebrated me on the 3rd, which was my actual birthday. It was a Sunday so our friends the McDermotts invited us out to lunch after church.

This was in my fortune cookie on my birthday. I was intrigued!

That night we met up with our friends the Cobles for a joint birthday celebration for me and Ashlie, who shares my birthday. I have grown to love our new tradition of celebrating together now that we all live in the Dallas area.

Same name, same birthday, both of us had liver transplants, both of us relocated from Jackson, TN to Dallas, both of us are Moms to sweet little girls and both of us are healthy, happy and enjoying life!

Back home to open gifts 

Here's to making 35 my best year yet!

The day after my birthday I traveled down to Houston to hear my friend Joy Greene speak at a women's event at a church down there. Joy and I met when we were both living in Jackson, TN back in 2013 and we quickly became close friends. Joy is a gifted speaker who uses her gifts and talents to minister to women and I am so thankful to have been on the receiving end of her ministry many times over the past few years. She now lives in North Carolina and of course I now live in Dallas but we still keep in touch. When she told me she was coming to the Houston area I knew I would be making a road trip to see her! What's even better is that two more of my dearest friends live in Houston so I was able to invite them to come along with me to the event. Having three of my sweetest friends all in one place made for a very special evening and a wonderful belated birthday treat!

Jennifer, Joy, Dawn, Me, Glory

These two both live in Houston but despite only being a few hours away I don't see them nearly as much as I'd like to. So thankful I was able to spend time with both of them on this evening!

Joy and Dawn both live in North Carolina now but we all met at Englewood Baptist Church when we lived in Jackson, TN. Sweet memories from that season of our lives.

While I was in Houston, Daddy was on Kyndall duty. He joined our friends the McDermotts in taking the kids to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop. I hate I missed going with them but I'm glad Kyndall was able to continue this yearly tradition.

Kyndall and Bree

Where has the time gone??

This year we decided to try something new and purchased our very first REAL Christmas tree. Growing up we always had a fake tree and although it worked just fine, I thought it might be a fun tradition to start getting a live tree each year. So, off to Home Depot we went to find the perfect one.

Kyndall has her own tree that we let her decorate however she wants each year. It takes every bone in my OCD body not to "fix" it but since it makes her so happy I leave it alone.

For as long as I can remember I've always said "I will NEVER have those tacky character blow ups in my front yard at the holidays!" This just goes to show that parents do just about anything to make their kiddos happy and this definitely made Kyndall happy!

Our 2018 Christmas card

There's a house just down the street from us in our neighborhood that everyone calls "the Christmas house", and rightfully so! Every year they put up an amazing display of lights for the entire town to enjoy and they even have Santa and Mrs. Claus outside to greet the kids with free cookies and hot chocolate on certain nights. Walking down to see it has become one of our favorite Christmas traditions!

The neighborhood hosted some special visitors up at the clubhouse--Real, live reindeer!

There were several neighborhood activities that we participated in throughout December and the first was writing letters to Santa.

"I want a Paw Patrol tower and a surprise for my Mommy and Daddy. I like my elf!"

The next was a Polar Express pajama party with Santa and Mrs. Claus

Our school hosted Cookies with Claus which was a lot of fun!

All these December activities wore us out!

We had church directory photos taken this month as well

Ours actually turned out halfway decent

Play dates are always a treat for Kyndall and we hosted several of them

Kyndall helped me assemble Christmas gift bags for the ladies at Matthew's office

Matthew's sweet assistant, Mrs. Pat sent this adorable pink Christmas tree and some cookie mix home with Matthew as a treat for Kyndall

Each year at my family's big Christmas gathering we play a game of "dirty Santa". The rules are that you have to bring a gift worth $25 and the more creative it is, the better. This year my crazy husband decided to have me take this photo of him, which he then signed and put in a frame. He also attached a $25 gift card to the back of it.

With our hectic December schedules, time simply did not allow for our annual Christmas cookie baking day so instead we tried something new by making chocolate dipped pretzel rods and decorating them. 

Our Sunday School class hosted an ugly sweater Christmas party. I didn't have an ugly sweater but I did find this shirt that I'm convinced was made for me!

We love our small group at First Baptist Forney!

About a week and a half before Christmas, I got a call from the school saying Kyndall was sick and that I needed to come pick her up. I brought her home and nursed her back to health and she was pretty much back to normal by the end of the day.

I, however, did not end up so well. It seems that due to my immunosuppressed state, the stomach virus that swept through her within 12 hours had taken up a permanent residence in me. By the next evening I found myself in the back of an ambulance, headed for the transplant unit at Baylor in Dallas.

It wasn't my first ride in one of these, but I hope it's my last

My paramedics made me pose for a picture by the Christmas tree as we entered the transplant unit

I got settled in but it felt strange not being at Vanderbilt

It was a school night and once Matthew got me settled in, he and Kyndall headed back home. Apparently as they were leaving Kyndall asked my medics if she could see the inside of the ambulance. Not only did they let her see it, but Matthew told me they let her sit in the driver's seat and turn on the lights. 

This was my view for the next four days

I had a special visitor come by and see me--A sweet therapy dog named Tara. Of all my hospital stays I have never had the pleasure of having a service dog visit me. I've had chaplains and even musicians visit my room but never any animals. It was definitely the highlight of my stay.

The view from the transplant floor at Baylor

She tells us she will never be a nurse or doctor or anything even remotely related to the medical field, but on this particular day she enjoyed pretending to be "nurse Kyndall".

She was real worried about Mommy....until she saw the chocolate cake

Our small group from church sent me sweet cards that they had signed with encouraging notes and scripture passages. 

And of course my sweet girl made me a get well soon card

While I was stuck in the hospital, Matthew was on Mommy duty, making sure all the bases were covered when it came to Kyndall. He did a great job in my absence, even sending me daily pictures of how well he did her hair and snapshots of her outfits to make sure I approved. One day when I was particularly missing her the school guidance counselor sent me this picture of her during lunchtime. I could tell she was happy and doing just fine without me, so that put my mind at ease.

After 4 days I was released with strict orders to stay away from ALL sick people from now on, including those in my own household. Although this virus made me feel like I was dying (literally), I'm thankful that it did not affect my liver at all and no extreme measures needed to be taken to get me back to feeling good. Baylor was wonderful and everyone who took care of me did an excellent job.

Ironically, while I was in the hospital at Baylor, Vanderbilt published an article about me which I was interviewed for back in the fall. I was very honored to have my story shared and thankful for the opportunity to raise awareness about organ donation.

I wasn't exactly feeling the Christmas spirit after spending several days in the hospital, despite it being less than a week until Christmas. So, on our way home from Baylor Matthew took us to see some pretty Christmas lights.

That same week we squeezed in a few more fun activities before heading home for Christmas. One of them was Painting With a Twist--Our favorite Mommy/Daughter activity.

On December 22nd we packed up the truck and headed east for the 15 hour ride home to Georgia/Florida!

I didn't waste any time getting started with the festivities. The very next morning I gathered with my lifelong friends for our annual Christmas party and gift exchange. I've been friends with these girls since middle school, and some even since elementary school. I don't get to see them very often but I always look forward to this yearly gathering where we can catch up and I can see how much all the kiddos have grown.

The kiddos now far outnumber the adults and there are still more on the way!

Christmas Eve

Our tradition on Christmas Eve has always been to attend the candlelight service with my parents at the church where I grew up in Tallahassee.

Easton's first Christmas!

Sweet cousins

After church it's back to my parents house where we exchange gifts and have a traditional Christmas Eve dinner, prepared by my Mom.

Each year my parents give all of us an ornament (or a few) that are significant to something that happened that year. I love this tradition so much, especially when I pull out the ornaments every year to decorate the tree and reflect back on the memories of why we have the ones we do.

After the presents were opened we headed back to Georgia to Nonie and Poppie's house where we prepared for Santa's arrival...

Sprinkling reindeer food in the driveway

We caught Santa on the Santa cam!

Christmas morning excitement....

The fist thing we always do before a single gift is opened is to read the Christmas story. This sets the tone for the rest of the day and reminds us what it's truly all about.

Her big gift from Nonie and Poppie....

Every year Kyndall looks forward to shopping at the school's holiday store and every year I hold my breath wondering what she's going to pick out for us! Ha! But, it makes her feel so grown up to be able to buy Christmas gifts for us that she doesn't need any help with and that neither of us know about. Plus, it helps fund the school's PTO and since I'm on the PTO board it's a win-win!

I was pleasantly surprised this year!

Daddy's turn....

Christmas morning shenanigans with some of her new stocking gifts

Christmas morning breakfast

Nonie is very brave and let Kyndall try out her new crazy cart IN THE HOUSE!

It took some getting used to but soon she had it figured out

Her Daddy and I gave her a gymnastics mat and balance beam

She didn't have long to play with her new gifts because soon it was time to begin our Christmas day shuffle two hours west to my Grandma's house in Two Egg, FL.

Sweet, sleeping babies on their first Christmas--Easton and Bowen

It's not a Basford family gathering until Uncle Scott does something crazy. This year, it was a headstand in the middle of the living room floor....

After Christmas lunch it was gift exchange time for the kiddos

Grandma and the Great-Grandsons

Grandma and all of her Great Grands. Kyndall was having a "moment" right in the middle of the photo op.....Ugh!

Finally it was time for the long awaited game of dirty Santa for the adults

Of all people, guess who ended up with Matthew's portrait?! My DAD! Clearly he is shocked (and probably a little grossed out) by what he is seeing!

Just the photo he always wanted of his son-in-law...

Each year the Grandchildren try to come up with something creative and thoughtful as a gift for Grandma. This year we decided to put up a flag pole in her front yard, which took some serious sneakiness. My cousin poured the concrete a few days prior to Christmas and then on Christmas day they added the flags.

Going to see her Christmas surprise....

She cried when she saw it!

Grandma loved her gift and I think everyone was very touched by her reaction to it so I'd call that a success!

Wyatt loved his new Paw Patrol jacket that Kyndall gave him

Sweet cousins, Garrison and Kyndall

We wrapped up our Christmas day by leaving Two Egg around 9:00 pm and Kyndall fell asleep on her way back to Nonie and Poppie's house. Once she woke up she was eager to play with some of her new Christmas gifts....even if it was almost midnight!

The  day after Christmas Matthew's aunt, uncle and cousins came over for a belated Christmas celebration. I was SO happy to finally get to see Matthew's sweet Aunt Libby who had received the gift of a new heart just four months prior! I never imagined that two people in my family would need life-saving organ transplants, but I am so thankful that we each received exactly what we needed and even more thankful that we were both alive and well enough to spend another Christmas together!

The next day we shuffled some more, this time to Tallahassee where we would spend the remainder of our Christmas break at my parents' house. Matthew spent all of his time hunting with my Dad, while Kyndall and I hung out with my Mom and my nephews. She was excited to finally have some downtime to enjoy her new Christmas toys.

Snapchat, baby edition!

Of course we had to squeeze in some of our favorite local restaurants while we were in Tallahassee. Barnaby's pizza is always at the top of our priority list!

We were able to attend church with my family which is always nice

Kyndall and Payton--Payton's mom Lindsey has been my friend for the past 15 years and I just wish we were all able to see each other more often because they get along so well.

We also celebrated my sister's birthday a little early while we were still in town

Happy birthday, Aunt Kelly! 

In the blink of an eye our 2017 Christmas vacation was over and we were headed back to Texas to start the new year.

Back at home she was eager to try out her new gifts, including this trampoline that Grammy and G-Daddy gave her....

And of course the tumbling mat that we gave her

The Christmas season is always my favorite, but it just goes by too quickly. Ours went by extra quick this year with all of the fun activities that we crammed into the month of December. We are so thankful that despite living so far away, we are still able to spend the most wonderful time of year with our families back home. I hope that never changes!