The Thorson Family Happenings

God IS Faithful!

2011-06-24T07:49:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I introduced you to a family that has become very special to us, the Housers. They had just found out they were going to the Ukraine to adopt! Well Kim posted this morning that IT IS OFFICIAL! Sveta Josie Houser will hopefully be home by July 12!! Go back and read Kim's story from the beginning - it will touch you. Look at this sweet girl who finally has a forever family :)

Family Ties

2011-06-05T15:19:00.004-05:00

We also had a family reunion yesterday! (Busy day :)) We have the Warren reunion every year, and it's a great chance to see cousins we usually only see once a year. Some were missing this year, but it was great to catch up with those that were there.

Here are a few shots from the day. Notice the theme of cupcakes and hotness!!

Ready to go again!

Travis & Brittney and their crew :)

Candi and her girls (If anyone wonders where Abby gets her looks - here it is!!)

Cooper and his new shirt that he LOVES.

Brock's first cupcake!

Lillee :)

I kind of like these guys :)

Cousins :)

Piano Recital

2011-06-05T15:02:00.007-05:00

Abby had her first piano recital yesterday. She did such a GREAT job and we are SO proud that she loves it! She has an awesome teaching team. If you need a recommendation, let me know. They are the BEST!

Here are a few pictures and even a short video shot by her teacher. Way to go Abby!

Practicing at home before we left

The BEST piano teaching team :)

Daddy & EK

So proud of her :)

Flowers after the performance.

And a trophy for her hard work!

Love Takes You In

2011-06-04T09:08:00.002-05:00

Once again, I have much to catch up on, but first I had to share something WAAAY more important!

This past school year, I learned that one of Abby's classmates had a very special "something" in common with her. Somehow in an innocent 1st grade lunch conversation, Abby and Paige both realized that they had sisters in Heaven! I can't describe to you the look of wonder in Abby's eyes as she told me that night how excited she was that Paige had a sister in Heaven too! It was hard not to sob that my baby needed that kinship with another sweet soul, but precious still that God allowed them to share that little tidbit among lunchables and grapes that day.

Now Paige's family needs our help!!! They have answered the call to adopt!! I am blown away by those around me who have sacrificed everything to follow God's call to his children to take care of HIS special babies. The sacrifice and faith by these families puts me in awe!!

PLEASE visit the Houser's blog. They leave in 1 week and are in financial need and most of all in need of all of our prayers for them, the kids as they stay here, and sweet Sveta.

God is good and the love of His children is absolutely humbling and amazing!!

Happy Mother's Day in Perspective

2011-05-08T22:41:00.002-05:00

Wow - so much has happened all around us since my last post. Unless you've been under a rock somewhere, you know that North Alabama has been declared a national disaster from the tornadoes that ripped through miles and miles of land last Wednesday. Towns and neighborhoods that once were, are now gone. Property was destroyed - lives were lost. In a word devastation.

Thankfully, we are all ok and our area suffered little to no damage. The past 10 days, I have been helping in other areas that did receive damage. Let's just say that you don't know busy in an insurance office until you have a national disaster in your area! I feel bad even saying that because that's what we do, and frankly that's exactly why you have insurance, but none the less - busy is an understatement! Because I didn't have a large number of clients directly hit, I have been helping out in areas that did. I've been in the field in Arab and all over the Harvest and Monrovia areas. I'm sure all of you have seen the pictures, and many have been and volunteered yourself, but seeing it in person is life changing. I hope I never forget what I saw and what I felt that first day I walked through the neighborhoods and saw what God can do. I also never want to forget what I felt when those people looked to us for help, and certainly never forget what I felt when we gave them a little of what they needed.

Here's a story from yesterday from Christy Jordan of Southern Plate. She was also volunteering at the Monrovia Community Center yesterday while some of the Madison County ALFA team were there as well:

This is from Amy Harbour: "Spent the afternoon helping children that were victim’s of the tornado make mother’s day gifts for their mom’s for tomorrow. After losing everything we helped them have a little bit of normal back. One little girl worked with me for the longest time on hers. As I was packing it up to go her aunt came over and whispered to me that the little girl’s mom died in the tornado."

Perspective - this baby girl was doing everything she knew to show her Mommy her love. How she was going to get it to her, I don't know, but she obviously had a plan. Mom wrote this yesterday:

At first I sobbed and couldn't help it. I still well up with tears when I think of it. But this morning, God sent some peace to me reminding me that HE allowed that little girl to have hope of presenting a gift to her mom - that's why it was so important that it be packed so well and so carefully. It had a ways to go. I don't know how she meant to get it to her, but she had hope. Hope. I remember after Stephanie's little Olivia was stillborn and we were devastated and even speaking of it was almost more than we could bear. And little Abby, who was only 3 at the time, spoke up about the "four" people in her family now. And as Stephanie bravely reminded Abby that little Olivia was now in Heaven, Abby reminded us with such conviction "But she's still a special part of our family!!!" And everything changed. The grief wasn't gone - but acknowledgement and love of that sweet life, instead of just hurt and devastation from the loss - even though she was now away from us and in Heaven - what a gift from God. I believe this little girl's effort to honor mommy on Mother's Day was another one of those gifts from God. How precious are His promises. Please, sweet Jesus, don't let us take our blessings for granted, and please wrap your arms around all those that are hurting as ONLY you can do.

Mother's Day has always been bittersweet since we lost Olivia. Every holiday is. There's always a sense of something missing. But oh how sweet is the innocence of a child. I will always believe God has spoken through children at times when we were too busy or had too much knowledge to listen for what HE was trying to tell us. His peace is all encompassing when we let it. The past two weeks has re-focused my mind on what is important. When you see people who have lost it all, literally, and they come up to you to tell you they are blessed, it really makes you humble down and say, "Lord. please forgive me for the tizzy I was in a few days ago about whatever minor detail of my day that didn't go as I planned!"

Life is fragile. I know this firsthand, but sometimes we need to be reminded. I am blessed today to be the mother of 2 precious girls that are with me, and 1 angel dancing (or singing :)) in Heaven today. His promise is that I can go to meet her soon - and oh what a Mother's Day that will be.

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T23:09:00.001-05:00

We had a great Easter! It started with the annual challenge of trying to get a decent picture with everyone looking the same way - HA! We had church, dinner at Grammy's, dessert at Sandra's and a couple of egg hunts thrown in too!! And of course a visit from the Easter Bunny!

One funny - Stewart and Abby were talking about the real meaning of Easter over breakfast and he read the story of the resurrection from Luke. Abby got so into it that she wanted to read it herself and take notes - that kid :) Later in the morning, she told me, "You know, Daddy could make a really great preacher!" OH NO SISTER!!!!!

Here are some pictures :)

EK's BFF - Griffin

Mimi and Papaw - They won't admit it, but they're still recovering from last week!!

Abby & Dacy

Cousins :)

God Bless You and God Save the Queen!

2011-04-21T16:05:00.002-05:00

On our last day, we took a day trip over to London! We rode a super speed train that went under the English Channel, and then spent the day on an open-top, double-decker bus taking in the sites. It was fun! London and Paris couldn't be more different! It's amazing to think they're probably only as far apart as Huntsville and Atlanta, but their cultures are worlds apart!! I loved the accent, and it just cracked me up that every departing greeting was "God bless you and God save the Queen!" It was even cooler since the whole city is super involved with getting ready for the BIG Royal Wedding next week. There were stands being built all along the route from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace for spectators. It was also the Queen's birthday. There was a running of the royal guard which included hundreds of horses running through Hyde Park and a 41 gun salute with cannons!

Here are a few pictures :)

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

Some of the viewing stands being built

The front of Westminster Abbey

Where's Waldo?? Oh, wait - that's my boss, Charles :)

Th Royal Wedding China

Tower Bridge

Springtime In Paris

2011-04-19T15:46:00.001-05:00

So here are the few pictures I do have from our last few days. I just happened to take a small extra camera, so I did get a few shots. Several of the others that were with us are going to share their shots with me, so hopefully I'll have more to upload soon :)

Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame Cathedral

The rest of these photos are from our day trip over to Normandy. We visited the US Memorial to those killed in the Battle of Normandy and also visited the beaches and cliffs where the attack took place. This was an amazing site!! To think that all those thousands of men gave their lives on that spot against an enemy that seemed insurmountable! This was a turning point in World War II. Without these brave souls, we may very well not have the freedoms we enjoy today!

One Crazy Night in Paris....Just like that!

2011-04-19T11:42:00.002-05:00

One crazy night in Paris..........Stewart and I have a history of crazy vacation experiences. We laugh, but really you just have to laugh to NOT cry! Why did we think Paris could be any different??

The last time I updated, we had just arrived in Paris. We enjoyed a company dinner that night with the other agents and their guests and afterward decided we couldn't waste any time.....we HAD to get to the Eiffel Tower. So here we went. We would be true Parisians and walk. I mean you could see it in the distance, it couldn't be THAT far, right?? We finally got there just as they were finishing the last trips to the top. No worries - we sat in a beautiful park under the full moon and the lights of this world famous romantic landmark. I even had the most yummy crepe to snack on (you know there's always a food element in any story!) So, it was late - we needed to get back. No big deal EXCEPT sometime while we sat in that lovely park the fact that we'd been awake for 36 hours and on a plane for 12 of that kicked in. It also became evident that the lovely pedicure I had gotten earlier in the week maybe, just maybe, was too aggressive since my heels had now split open in EXTREMEly ugly sores. There were cabs, but we thought we'd save those Euros and take the metro (subway). HAHA - we walked 6 blocks to the very scary metro station only to see that the ticket machine wouldn't take our credit card and we hadn't had a chance to get and Euros yet. By this time, we are stranded on the streets of Paris at 1:00 AM, I'm hobbling like a 90 year old with NO transportation options. Through much grumbling, we made it back to the hotel on foot - VERY sore feet!!!

We learned our lesson - oui? HAHA - non!!! Monday was filled with a city tour of all the famous landmarks, lots of walking (still with insanely sore feet and evidently the wrong shoes!!) but still all good! We decided we would go to a real French bistro and sit out on the street and have dinner like a real Parisian would do. Here we go on the next vacation saga.......we scored a prime outside table only to be told that they stop serving out there at 5:00 - it was 4:58. We were welcome to go inside and eat. Alrighty then........it seemed a little fancy, but we've done fancy before. The menu was ALL in French, but we managed to figure out it was 6 courses with choice of rabbit, duck, goose liver pate, and many other "delicacies". In classic, "I'm from Alabama" fashion, we found a side door and snuck out before the waiter even took our drink orders!!!!

Still, this was NOT going to ruin the night. We decided to head back to the Eiffel Tower because it was early enough for us to go to the top, make some awesome pictures and truly experience this once in a lifetime event!We took the metro (we thought we knew what we were doing by now), got there, stood in line for a total of 2 hours, but finally got to the top!!! It was awesome, manufique, etc. So, here we were AGAIN needing to get home. Walking was NOT an option, I was virtually crawling and I would have thought nothing of lowering my pride at that point for a wheel chair!! No big deal, we were metro experts now, right?? We had tickets, figured out which line, got on, whew......EXCEPT when it came time to switch lines, they closed our connecting line right in front of us!! WHAT?!? We were no where near the hotel! Then all French speaking workers discussed this heatedly among themselves while we stood and stared and told us we could catch a bus at the top of the metro stop and take it to another stop fairly close to our hotel.

OK - we can handle that. (BTW - it's now midnight again, and I am constantly looking at my feet to make sure they are still there because they are now hurting so bad they were virtually numb) The bus pulls up on the OTHER side of the very busy Champs-Elysees (just at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe - the crazy traffic roundabout with no lanes, and about 100 cars in it at once. If you've seen National Lampoon's European vacation, you know what I speak of. Let's just say Stewart and I are changing our last name to Griswald!)

So now, we're on a very crowded, somewhat scary public bus in Paris at 1:00 AM. It goes no where near our hotel, but we just kept riding thinking surely it would loop around at some point. Meanwhile, very strange and smelly Europeans got on and off while we tried to hold on for our lives and hold on to our stuff because BTW Paris is also world famous for its pickpockets!! Our company president had his wallet stolen just that day!!! Our very smelly companions stood too close, and several actually broke out in a fight on the back of the bus! If you had wanted to learn curse words in any language, this was the place!! And then the bus stopped, and EVERYONE got off, and it was evident that this was the last stop. We had NO idea where we were!! Stewart tried to explain to the driver but he just foamed at the mouth in French as he waved us off the bus.

OK - cute story over. Here we were at 1:45 AM, in a very dark, shady part of town with no traffic in sight, no way to communicate - STRANDED. And then I noticed that while all the other bus passengers had went on their way, there was one gentleman lurking about 15 feet behind us. I tried to not panic, until we crossed the street and he followed getting closer to us all the time. My mind was spinning, Stewart just kept telling me to shut up and keep walking. I was trying to decide if I should run (IF my feet would let me) or just start screaming hoping the crazy lady act would scare him off. And then, he was gone. Just like that......and then, just like that, one solitary car came down the road, and it was a taxi!!!!! He laughed at the "silly Americans" and got us back to the hotel.

When we got to the hotel, we started digesting what had happened. First off, where we ended up was so far out of town, it was not even on the city map they had given us. Secondly, that cab ride from all the way out there was only 17 Euros.....it would have been worth WAY more than that to have taken that cab 2.5 hours earlier from the base of the tower! But, I found out why that strange man disappeared and the taxi appeared "just like that". Stewart prayed :) While I was contemplating running or turning into a mad woman, he turned around and asked the Lord to let that man walk away. And he did - just like that! And then he asked for the Lord to protect us and get us home, and HE did - just like that!!

What a mighty God we serve! Even across the globe, in a strange place HE is there.

Last chapter to this night - In my panic and excitement in the taxi, I left my camera in the backseat with all those lovely pictures of that day and night. I hoped the taxi driver would find it and bring it back to the hotel, but no such luck! Even still, a camera is nothing when you measure it with what could have been!!!

Paris - Here We Come!

2011-04-17T11:07:00.001-05:00

My updates this week are coming from Paris!!!!!!! Stewart and I are here for 6 days ALONE! Alone except for lots of Alfa friends that is ;) One thing I love about my career switch to Alfa is the opportunity to earn unbelievable trips. The "big" one each year is the Super Star, and this year the Lord blessed me enough to win this once in a lifetime trip to Paris.

We're catching up with the 6 hours time change now, but I thought I'd post a few pictures of the trip so far!

Friday night we started in Huntsville at the Gaither concert. It was great as always, but we left at intermission to head out to Nashville. Mom and Dad were there and took the girls with them. As we left and walked different directions, I caught Abby turning around to wave with a tear in her eye......OH Break Mommy's Heart!!! Mom assured me later that one quick new video at the Gaither table ended any thought of tears - HA!

We flew out of Nashville early Saturday morning to Minneapolis where we had a 5 hours layover. The we boarded for Paris. Imagine a plane with 2 seats-isle-3 seats-isle-2 seats. Well we ended up in the 3 seat middle and the classic Stephanie luck kicked in then. I thought a nice, well-dressed lady was sitting on the other side of me, but all of the sudden there was a seat change and a not-so-lovely gentleman with about as much hair as me, rings on every fingers, speaking French (I think) and all of his bags came piling over!! OOOOHHHH NOOOO!! 9 HOURS being sandwiched between a snoring Stewart who was falling over on me, and this VERY strange man who also kept falling my way (all while he sneezed and coughed the whole way). Let's just say NERVES SHOT by the time we finally landed. I am already praying for better seat assignments on the way back!!! Drea - I know JD is saying "I told you so" at this point!!

We are staying at The Westin which is right in the heart of Paris. We had to stay awake when we got here to try to get used to the time difference so we took a little walking tour just to get a feel of the place. Here are a few pictures of hotel and the room.

I'll admit now that my degree in History AND my 2 years of French in High School are embarrassingly rusty! I'll post these pictures with some basic info, but go Google yourself if you want full historical details :)

This is a very elite, famous square that includes shops like Chanel, Cartier, etc. The monument in the center is from the French Revolution I believe :)

Also in that square is The Ritz. This is where Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed ate just before she was killed in a nearby tunnel.

Typical Paris street. Notice the HUGE Louis Vuitton store on the left!!

Famous Paris Opera House.

A church (I'll have to look up which one :)) in the downtown area.

This is what you see across from our hotel,

Company dinner tonight and tour of the city tomorrow! I'll try to take better notes so I can label my pictures without having to Google it all the time - HA! Cell phone can only be used for emergency, no emails or FB coming in 24/7 on Blackberry..........it's taking a LOT to get used to, but I'll update at night when we get back to the laptop :)

Au revoir!

The Almost Permanent Blog-cation

2011-04-17T10:26:00.001-05:00

I'm back!!! I was just reading my last post almost 3 months ago. "My Brick" - well that it was, and I'm just now thinking I might swim out of this one and not drown. Recovery was slow, a little too slow, which led to labs, tests, ultrasounds, specialists.......thankfully it's nothing Earth-shattering and maybe we've started down the right road with some treatments that will help me feel like a busy 35 year-old instead of a half-dead, 1 foot in the ground 90 year old!!! Turns out my vitamin levels were all out of whack and I have Hashimoto's Disease which is an auto-immune disorder that attacks your thyroid. I didn't know what your thyroid did until mine stopped doing it :) Hoping for better feeling days VERY soon!!!SO - during this mode of pure survival, the blog just sat. I really was too busy, too tired, etc. But mostly I just wasn't inspired. Great stuff has happened during that time, but I just felt SO zapped, everything I could think to write came out as a whine or a rant. Now I realize that is part of life, but I didn't want to write it and I was pretty sure that meant no one else would want to read it.I thought I'd just let it go. But I realized, somehow this has become my own personal talk therapy. Somehow it's good just to get it out. Sometimes Stewart doesn't like it - he'd rather keep personal things "personal", but writing it down validates it for me - makes it real. It may not always be wrapped in a pretty package, and it may not be what I wanted it to be - but it's OUR life, and I am blessed to have it! Now why on Earth you want to read it is totally your call ;)So since I'm going to pick it back up, I feel the need to fill in some of the gaps. I'm going to try to date them back to when they should have been posted so maybe it will stay chronological. One day, my goal is to print this as my own "scrapbook", so I'd love for it to be in the correct order. If it all works correctly, hopefully this one will be the first you see :) If you want to go back and see the rest, scroll back. Lots to come.......probably more than you want to see, but maybe I can get my groove back on!!

Spring Break Fun

2011-04-15T19:03:00.002-05:00

On Thursday and Friday before we left for Paris, Stewart and I tried to fit in some Spring Break fun with the girls. We visited the Treehouses at the Botanical Gardens on Thursday and KidVenture on Friday. Both days were awesome fun!! It's so neat that we have all of this and more just at our fingertips all the time!

The Botanical Gardens was so impressive! All the tree houses were so different and so fun for the girls. They have now turned on the water element at each play station, so I can only imagine how much fun it will be now! Plan to go and make a day of it soon!!

Quick shot of Toodles and EK in the Barbie Jeep :)

Sisters :)

Abby

Ellie Kate

Oh me - she is growing up SO fast!

Anyone else have a hard time getting everyone to smile at the same time?? This is classic - EK is obsessed with her nose!!

Not sure if you were really supposed to drink the water :)

Stewart in his natural habitat - eyes on phone!

Then Friday was a stormy, nasty day. What a great day for an indoor playdate!! They even had a painting event with DoodleBugs at the same time! Fun for all!

Stewart - on phone.......again. Anyone seeing a trend here??

Fun couple of "stay"cation days :) We finished Friday night at the Gaither Concert. The camera was already packed in the car for Paris, so no pictures, but it was AWESOME!

Barney!

2011-03-30T19:50:00.001-05:00

Ellie Kate LOVES Barney!! Actually, although we'd love to say he's annoying, he really does teach really good things - be nice to others, follow the rules and love each other! I can tolerate him WAY more than Yo Gabba Gabba these days! He's been around forever, but I heard he was coming to Chattanooga so off we went dragging Mimi along with us (you know I didn't drag, she begged to go :)) Ellie Kate LOVED it, and actually Abby did too! She said she was embarrassed to go because it was "baby", but I knew she secretly still liked it. She was dancing with the rest before it was all over!! FUN!

Abby pretending to be embarrassed to be there!

OWLSome Readers

2011-03-25T19:56:00.001-05:00

Abby's school had a program recently to encourage the kids to read. It was called OWLSome readers because our mascot is an owl :) There was a performance by the first grade in which Abby had a speaking part with a big kick-off pep rally to get the kids fired up to read. They had 6 weeks to read as many books as they could. I really didn't know what to expect. When I asked Abby what her goal was, she said 500!! WHAT?!? That's at least 30 books per week!! Come to find out this was the highest incentive level, and she wanted to do the most! For each book (chapter, story, etc.) read, I had to fill out the information on a paper chain which they hung in the halls. When it was all said and done, she did it! 518 books in 6 weeks!! The first graders totaled over 18,000 books in 6 weeks!!!

Abby's BFF, Natalie

Abby was a "camp leader" in the program. Check out all the owls - one of the mom's at school made these - super cute!!

After the program, they held a pep rally to get the kids excited. The band came from HCMS along with drum line leader, Abby's idol, Courtney Terry!! Love you Court Court!!

We have been so blessed with teachers, and this year is no exception. Mrs. Kachelman is such a blessing!!

Huntsville City School Board Chairman, Topper Birney, came and read a book to the kids. This is most of Abby's class.

518 books and chains later, OWLSome readers was a HUGE success!!!!

My Brick......

2011-01-17T17:04:00.002-06:00

Go ahead, say it, "HUH?"

I've been given a brick - to the head. It's called pneumonia :( I can honestly say I've probably NEVER been this zapped in my life!

Why my "brick"?? I think sometimes the good Lord has to hit us in the head to get our attention. I guess I was so thick-headed, He needed a brick!

Bottom-line - Mommy hasn't taken care of herself and what was just an upper respiratory bug the first week of December has now led to full-out, bed-rest or else be admitted to the hospital - pneumonia. I'm STILL hard headed! I tried all weekend to convince myself and those around me that I would be FINE tomorrow! After some STRONG words from my loving husband and parents, I sadly had to admit defeat.

Why do I think that to be a good Mommy/wife/employee/Child of God I must run like a hamster ALL the time to take care of all others and ignore myself? Why do I feel eternally guilty and like I'm neglecting someone else if I give 10 minutes to myself?? This is something I NEED God's help with......it is helping NO ONE for me to be in the bed right now! I've GOT to find a balance!

I want simple. I want peaceful. I want happy smiles with no fear of what's to come. I want these things, but I think I've been working triple time to MAKE it happen instead of trusting that God can do it just fine without me! (Better - in fact!)

Lord, please help me take this brick and remember it. Help me just do what I need to do and let you do the rest. Help me realize that I can't be a good Mommy/wife/Child of God, etc, etc, by total sacrifice. Above all, please grant my heart and my family a simple peace with no fear of what's to come or what has been. That peace is what I'm running around trying to create.....help me stop and LET YOU!

Prayers appreciated :)

A New Year....

2011-01-11T11:35:00.000-06:00

I don't like New Year's Resolutions - WAY too much pressure!

For this year, I will borrow a friend's prayer - I couldn't have expressed it better myself! This is my daily desire - to live WITHOUT FEAR, and I know it is my God's great pleasure to give the desires of our heart :) Click here to read (thanks for the inspiration, Amy)........

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

SNOW DAY!!!!!

2011-01-10T22:37:00.007-06:00

Much to catch up on, but for now, it's a SNOW DAY!!! Some of us were under the weather on the magical Christmas snow and didn't get to enjoy it, but we made up for it today! EK is not supposed to be out in the cold because of her asthma, but I HAD to let her play for a little bit - she LOVED it, and did NOT like coming in early! In the afternoon, we went to some friend's house and had a redneck sledding party. Prett sure I'll be needing the Tylenol to make up for the spills from the sleds! We had a blast!!! Three out of four of us still get to stay home tomorrow - I guess I'll take the 4x4 and try to make it to Alfa.....we'll see how that goes!! Here are some pics!

The day ended with some warm PJs and snow cream.....YUM!!!! Thanks for living up to the hype Snowmaggeddon 2011!

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-25T06:00:00.001-06:00

This is IT - last post for a while........I'll catch up on family events LATER! Here are a few shots of the girls and our trees.........

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Santa's Village

2010-12-24T06:18:00.004-06:00

Monday night we went to Santa's Village with M&J and the BFF :) Fun, cold, 3 out of 4 kids came home with a little tummy bug.....but all in all a good night :)

Christmas Program

2010-12-24T02:00:00.000-06:00

Well, as if I have nothing else going on this year, Stewart and I were in charge of our Christmas Program at church this year! It was a LOT of work, but I think it turned out great. We had 3 goals - try to do it in an hour or less, every child have a part that wanted one, and be ALL ABOUT JESUS! The play was called "Through the Eyes of the Friendly Beasts" and was a sweet retelling of the traditional nativity with an animal spin on it! ALL of the kids did awesome!! Church peeps - I have TONS of great pics of your kids since I had a birds eye view - email me and I'll copy them for you!!
EK didn't get to go - this was 3 days post hospital. Too many people and germs for that! She stayed home with Mimi and Papaw and probably enjoyed it just as much!

Ready to go!
Abby and her fellow cows

"I said the cow all white and red. I gave him my manger for His bed!"

Now.....what to do for next year???

MORE EK Birthday!

2010-12-23T17:00:00.000-06:00

So I guess I feel guilty because we missed the whole party element of EK's birthday this year! I mean we sang and had cupcakes in the hospital ON her birthday, opened presents at home a few days later and then got dressed in our outfit and took pictures with the cake like a WEEK after that!! OH WELL......thankfully she just know she had cupcakes and presents :) So here's a few shots of the presents :)

She LOVES to "cwean up!!"

ELMO that blows kisses :)

Yes, we did - we bought an inflatable for INSIDE our house! I guess when they tell you that your child basically needs to live in a bubble for the next 4 months to avoid another hospital stay you go to extremes to keep her entertained!!

She also got her first American Girl "Bitty Baby" and Mimi bought us all new big-girl toddler bedding! More pics of that soon - Santa is having to create some space management planning for the upcoming onslaught of toys so everything is a little upside down right now!!

Thanksgiving Recap

2010-12-22T23:03:00.001-06:00

Catching up :) We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both sides of our family. Here are pictures from round one at Rob and Sandra's. Round two was at Pam's but we must have been too busy planning our shopping strategies for pics :)

Helping Daddy cook the dressing........not sure why the gloves and mask but you can't say we didn't use good food preparation techniques!!

Morgan and Brock

Fruit Salad.....yummy yummy!

McKenzie keeping the troops entertained!

Aunt Nana and Holden

Who knew repackaging Juicy Juice in a can would be so fun!!

Our BCF (Best Cousin Forever) - Dacy!!

Birthday Cake!

2010-12-20T06:44:00.002-06:00

So...we missed the party :( We ate the cupcakes in the hospital, but we HAD to get some cute shots with the birthday outfit and the top of the tower! Here they are (and in EK's little mind - we DID have a party!!)

Happy Birthday Ellie Kate!

2010-12-04T02:41:00.004-06:00

Oh me what a day........Miss EK's birthday is being spent as a patient at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children. She has been diagnosed with respiratory distress brought about by asthma. ASTHMA??? I have NO frame of reference on this one.......I'm sure I'll be googling my heart out very soon, but right now we've just got to get her to keep her blood oxygen level up without supplemental O2. Right now it's 2:44 AM and we're watching Elmo for the 300th time while we play with stickers and try to forget about all the yucky things that are stuck in her. Sleep does not look promising yet........cabin fever for this wild 2 year old is imminent!

Flash back........

Two years ago today was the day of the rainbow for our family! The previous year had been racked with grief, nearly uncontrollable anxiety about the unplanned pregnancy that was about to be over, the death of my precious Grandaddy, and the impending home going of Stewart's dad. Let's just say the end of 2007 and 2008 were nothing to write home about!!

We were scheduled for a csection at 38 weeks. CSection because emotionally I didn't think I could go through labor again; 38 weeks because we lost Olivia at 38 weeks and 4 days. For the previous 2 weeks, I came every other day for non-stress tests. Everything about this pregnancy looked perfect - no cause for alarm. But you have to understand, so did Olivia's right up until the delivery itself.

So here we were. Back at the hospital where we had just been. I had requested my favorite nurse Kris. She was there when Abby was born, she actually delivered Olivia and was the person to break the tragic news to me, and I wanted her with us again to hopefully come full circle. She was on top of her game this day. She had my monitor turned up loud enough to hear it in Scottsboro just to ease my jitters. She kept me informed on every step of the process, and tried her best to keep a positive vibe going all the while knowing I was just about to lose it - completely.

It was time - we had to go to the operating room which meant they had to take the monitor off. It's only like 2 minutes down the hall to the operating room, but I was convinced that this was the beginning of the end. We got to the OR, and the team was SO sweet. They all knew the situation and they didn't hide it. I got constant updates and perky, cheerleader-like encouragement while everything was being prepped. At one point, my blood pressure dropped and I started passing out. As I came back to I was just overwhelmed with anxiety. Stewart knew I was going off the deep end. He leaned his head down next to mine and started praying in my ear for the Lord to comfort me. And then I did what probably no one else did - I started singing. That's what I do - sing. There was a song that I had sung day and night to help keep me centered on the good things the Lord was doing and not on the chaos the devil was trying to create. After about 2 rounds of the song I heard it - a baby cried. She cried...........something taken for granted in every L&D department everywhere, but a sound I never thought I'd hear again. And Kris cheered :)

Fast forward 2 years.......

Even as I sit here in this same hospital today, some demons are still here. I couldn't help it today as we got her all checked in - the flashbacks began to roll. Stewart was on his way, but I had to fight this one myself. EK was not critical, but it's still SO hard to see your baby sick and all the MANY things they do to them in the name of getting better. As I tried to process everything that was going on and deal with the past demons, Stewart texted me that I needed to remember that even though this was the place of our tragedy, this was also the same place that gave us EK!

EK is our rainbow and our thunderstorm all at the same time. She's feisty, stubborn, and can throw the loudest and strongest fit of any 2 year old I know. At the same time, she can melt your heart with her little looks and can crack up every passing person with her VERY verbal account of everything that is going on and repeating everyone's name in a strange little - almost Asian lady at the Chinese buffet - accent.

So we have come full circle in two years. Are all the demons gone - no. Will they ever be - I don't know. I do know that I have more to be thankful for now than then. I would like to think I've crossed some bridges and mountains that might pave the road for someone else who will surely walk this lonely road behind me.

There was a Minnie Mouse party that was cancelled Friday night and Princess on Ice tickets today that Mimi and Abby will be enjoying alone. But here in room 461, we have a feisty little rainbow to thank the Lord for everyday, and plenty of yummy cupcakes to go around.

Happy birthday my rainbow - we'll have a real party soon - promise :)

Please Pray

2010-12-03T13:13:00.000-06:00

They are admitting EK to the hospital today for respiratory distress complicated by asthma. I know God will see us through and we'll be fine, but my nerves being in this place are trying to get the best of me.

God is good.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

THANKFUL

2010-11-25T08:00:00.005-06:00

Today I am thankful for SO much......

1. I am thankful for a loving Savior whose mercy is bigger than I can imagine. His love reaches farther and hurts deeper than we ever could - amazing.

2. I am thankful for my wonderful husband. He is maddening some days, but he's the only one who has seen me at the lowest point and chose to stick around even when I wasn't as skinny and life wasn't as simple as it was 10 years ago. If you want to test a marriage, endure a tragedy together. Check the statistics - marriages don't usually endure the hard stuff. Ours has and will continue to.

3. I am thankful for my first born little singer, Abby. Oh me what this little girl has meant to us. She was a wonderful baby - perfect in every way in our eyes. Since then, this little soul has experienced more than most her age and handles it beautifully. She has spoken words of comfort to us that I'm sure God was trying to tell us, but she was the only one listening. She is a bright light with a sweet heart. AND she FINALLY lost her first tooth - she declared she would be the last one in the first grade to lose one :)

4. I am thankful for my second born angel, Olivia. I would have never chosen to be the mommy of an angel, but I am. Her life and death have changed me like nothing else ever has. I hope I can fulfill whatever purpose He has for me in this situation.

5. I am thankful - oh so thankful - for our rainbow/thunderstorm Ellie Kate. (Those who know her understand the addition of the thunderstorm analogy - ) She wasn't planned or thought of, but certainly dreamed of. After losing Olivia, there was no way I thought I was strong enough to endure another pregnancy again. God knew better. Just when I thought I couldn't bear it, He chose to prove to me that I could. Those months being pregnant with her while still grieving shook me to the core. I had to beg God just to get me through the next day - there was NO WAY I could dream of a life with two healthy, happy girls. But, that's what He blessed me with! Every day with her is a promise - an outward sign of God's faithfulness to our family - our rainbow :) She's a mess, and on those nights when she won't sleep or those days when she spends most of it face down screaming over her latest obsession, it's hard to put it all in perspective, but oh how I'd much rather be up all night with a sassy little girl than crying over what could have been!

6. I am thankful for my family. They are my rock and foundation and the reason I am who I am. I could go on and on with this one, but without Mom and Dad I simply wouldn't be who I am, with the values I have, or with the deep trust that HE will deliver in all situations.

7. All the daily stuff - jobs, homes, friends.........so thankful for it all!

God is a masterful conductor. I am thankful to be just a little part of the band!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

Little Girls with BIG Hearts

2010-11-24T21:35:00.007-06:00

Today was a special day! Let me set the scene.......

This past September, I was having a yard sale, and Abby decided that she wanted to have a lemonade and snack stand set up too. OK - nothing major here. Then, she came and told me that she was so excited because she was going to give all the money that she raised to charity. I was blown away! I really didn't think she "got it", so I asked her which charity. She quickly said, "Oh, my favorite - the Swim for Melissa!" Well, we all know the official name is not Swim for Melissa, but in a 6 year old mind, it is!

I was touched, but honestly still didn't think she would come through. In fact, the night before the yard sale, she came running up to ask if I had baked everything for the snack sale because she had her signs ready. And she did.........I did not! She had the sweetest sign that she made all by herself. The only part I added was because she couldn't write small enough for it to fit! I quickly promised I would hold up my end of the bargain, and she was happy.

She had a soccer game that morning, but as soon as it was over, here she came - ready to sell! And she did :) She sold water, Kool Aid and Publix cookies. And that kid made $100.00 in about 45 minutes!

Today, I finally managed to get her down to the Huntsville Hospital Foundation offices to give them the money she raised. Much to our surprise, Amy George met us there with her sweet girls Ann Catherine and Lily Baker. Abby was SO excited - I was SO touched. Every person in the Foundation office treated Abby like she had raised $100,000 dollars, not just $100.00! There was an official certificate, pictures, and of course lots of hugs.

Amy and I were talking......our girls "get it". These babies have been through more than most their age, and they understand why we need to raise money for sick babies and that some babies have to leave us and go to Heaven. This used to break my heart for Abby - I wanted her to just be the innocent, naive little girl who had no reason to know such things. But you know what - she does and God has given her the wisdom to know how to deal with it in her own 6 year-old way.

God has a reason for everything. There's a reason our babies had to leave, and another reason our other babies have had to experience the grief AND the faithfulness of God. While part of me hates that she knows sorrow, another part of me rejoices in her wisdom and marvels at what God may lead her sweet heart to do next.

They may be little, but oh how sweet are these big hearts!!!

The Turkey

2010-11-22T21:38:00.003-06:00

The Turkey went to school........yes, the REAL turkey (OH - and Dad!!)

Last week Abby's class was studying turkeys as I'm sure ALL classrooms were. Mrs. K, Abby's teacher, brought in a mount of a turkey tail, beard and feet that her husband had killed. All the kids, of course, wanted to know where the rest of the body was!! This was while the girls were staying with Mom and Dad while were in Colorado. Well, Abby decides that Papaw needs to go to school and show off a REAL turkey!

Dad is a hunter! Over my lifetime it has ranged from deer, elk, duck, pheasant, and now turkey. Last year he completed the grand slam of turkey hunting which I understand is a BIG deal!!

Well, with the teacher's permission, Papaw and the turkey came to school! It was a HOOT! The kids were over the top! A couple of the boys were looking at Dad like he was the biggest rock star they'd ever seen!! Dad was the teacher for about 15 minutes, and even gave the kids homework! He did great - not surprising though. He's AWESOME in front of crowds, and kids are no exception. Abby was his little helper passing out extra feet and beards to touch and helping with the turkey call!

So is a day in the life of Abby, Papaw and the star turkey :-)

Side note - I am TERRIFIED of birds!! I remember after Dad had the first of these monstrosities mounted, I had to cover it up with a sheet because it freaked me out so bad! Needless to say, this was a feat for me to just be in the same room, much less take pictures and help carry it......ahhhh...what we do for our kiddos :-)

Sweet Friends!

2010-11-22T21:29:00.004-06:00

Friday night some friends and I hosted a Honeymoon Luau shower for a sweet couple who are getting married on New Year's Eve. We have known both of them for years, but both have endured a lot to reach this place that God has created for them! We love them both, and wish them years of happiness (and TONS of fun on their honeymoon in Hawaii!!)

Happy Birthday My Sweet Angel

2010-11-18T09:15:00.000-06:00

To my sweet Olivia,

Happy 3rd birthday sweet girl!! It’s hard to believe it’s been 3 years since you came into our family! In some ways it feels like an eternity, and in many it was only yesterday. I wonder what you look like and what kind of personality you would have. Your two sisters couldn’t be any more different, and I wonder how you would fit in the mix!

I know you are perfect in every way – happy, healthy and at peace. I have met other Mommies who have angels in Heaven. I’m sure you are all going to have a glorious party to celebrate your big day. Be sure and give Papa and Grandy big hugs from us today when they come to the party.

I wonder almost every day why God chose you to be with Him instead of letting me keep you here with me. We’ll never know that answer, but Daddy and I always want to be the parents of special angels that God wants us to be. Only a few ever get this opportunity, and we want to make sure we do everything in a way that would bring Him honor. You must be very special to be chosen by God :)

Here are some pictures of a special party we had for you here on Earth. Ellie Kate couldn’t really understand why we were letting the balloons come to you, but big sister Abby stepped in to help! Abby thinks of you often, and she goes out almost every night to find your star. I’m sure as Ellie Kate gets older, she will tell her all about you and how special you are to our family.

We love you sweet girl – have a wonderful birthday!

Mommy, Daddy, Abby and Ellie Kate

Brain Dump

2010-11-16T22:22:00.001-06:00

Sorry guys - I'm in a weird warp here......I don't blog for a couple of weeks and then I do a "brain dump" when I have time. There are 4-5 new posts following........if you're really interested, scroll down :)

Colorado Springs

2010-11-16T20:57:00.004-06:00

Stewart and I had a great opportunity to travel to Colorado Springs this weekend (in fact, I am typing from here now :)) He had a student accepted to the ultra prestigious Air Force Academy which is stationed here, and Stewart was invited to tour the campus on a recruiting event. We came up a couple of days early to do some sightseeing.

I've never been to the Rockies, so this was a whole new thing for me! It is absolutely breathtaking! Let me say that the area is not only beautiful, but the people are super nice too! Maybe because there are people from many different areas because it's a military town, but I didn't experience any of the "Southern disdain" that I've seen in other places we've visited. I even got sweet tea (at McDonald's and Chick :))

I had a little bit of altitude sickness when we first got here, but thankfully it passed quickly! We visited the Garden of the Gods, and many other historic sites. We wanted to visit Pikes Peak, but the altitude is so high, they recommend not going until you've been here a few days and are accustomed to the lack of oxygen.

Speaking of lack of oxygen - WOW! I could tell as soon as we landed in Colorado Springs. Denver is about 5200 feet about sea level and Colorado Springs is another 1200 feet up. We were actually winded just talking and walking at the same time!! Pikes Peak is more than double that altitude, so I can't even imagine what that is like!

Here are some pictures. The first ones are of the mountains. The second set is of the beautiful chapel at the Air Force Academy.

The girls have been with Mimi and Papaw all week, so I'm sure they are rotten!! It's been a great get-a-way, but I'm ready to see some babies tomorrow!

Poor Baby!

2010-11-16T19:21:00.003-06:00

Poor EK - she has been sick more days than not in her short 23 months! I declare I raise the snottiest kids ever (Dr. Laue agrees!) Abby has had 2 sets of tubes in her ears and her adenoids out. I knew as we started the cycle again this Fall, we had to get a handle on things before the winter cooties set in! What made EK's ear/snot cycle worse was that hers went straight to her breathing and led to MANY rounds of antibiotics/breathing treatments.....no one sleep for months - you get the picture!

So, she had her adenoids taken out and her tubes in her ears checked to make sure everything was working. She was SUCH a handful, poor thing! It hurt her feelings more than anything. It took almost a week for our sweet feisty girl to get back to normal. She was just in a funk - couldn't get any kind of sleeping or eating schedule back on track. There was one night that she had chosen to like Stewart and NOT me (we had the opposite most of the weekend). That night, I was trying to ask her questions and she literally would not even look at me!! Stewart would ask her the same thing and she would turn her head toward him and answer!! She even shot me a few looks like, "Yes, I hear you, but I'm choosing not to!!" One night after rocking and rocking, we finally just put her in the bed. She threw everything out of her room (there's a gate at her door) while screaming, "DADDY....MOMMY!" I promise you should have heard the tone.....it was more like a 13 year old screaming "I hate you!!" As my Dad would say......OOOOOOHHH SSAAAAAAAA (imagine some redneck yoga chant meant to relax, and that's what this is - HA!) It only lasted 10 minutes, and when we were brave enough to peek in her room, she had gotten in bed, covered herself up neatly with her favorite blanket and was sleeping like a peaceful little angel.

Oh me, what we have to look forward to :) Here's the drama queen with her new obsession, BAWOONS (Thanks Mimi!). This was just about an hour after - she looks pitiful.
She is finally getting back to normal, and we hope this helps! Fingers crossed.......

Tate Farms 2010

2010-11-16T18:51:00.005-06:00

This year, Jackie and I braved it with 4 kids by ourselves and we had a blast!! Here's the proof!

And they were........

2010-11-16T18:33:00.006-06:00

Minnie Mouse

50s Chick

Trick or Treating was a bit odd......of course we had responsibilities at church Sunday night, so we tried the Saturday trick or treating in Aunt Nana's neighborhood. There were a few participants, but mostly we just enjoyed spending time with cousins!

EK & Holden

Brock

Dacy & Cooper

Blue Skies

2010-10-24T22:05:00.007-05:00

There are blue skies coming though the skies are dark and gray
Though the thunder and the lightning say a storm is on the way.
We've been promised sweet deliverance if we trust Him and obey.
There are blue skies coming any day.

These are lyrics to a song on a new CD Stewart and I have been listening to. Abby and EK have gotten attached to it and ask to hear it ALL the time. It was just a cute thing until Friday....... I've been on a blogging break. Why? Mostly because I didn't want you to share in the funk my brain was in at the time! Life is busy - that's documented. Life is not fun sometimes - again documented. For whatever reason, my reserves were down (OK - depleted, gone, no more glass half-full, just plain out the window) - this made the normal life stuff harder to handle and the "big" stuff almost unbearable. Hence - I hated for all of you to share in it :) (You can thank me later!)

It was during this time that the girls got obsessed with this song. The first time we heard it was in the Smokies. We had left that Monday only to learn after we got up there that my sweet Daddy was back in the hospital again battling the unknown. He had been sick a couple of weeks and had been in and out having tests run, but when we left, we thought he was on the road of recovery. He wasn't - it was worse than they thought. I remember sitting there listening to that song. EK turned her head and put her hand on my face and said, "Boo skies Mommy?? Boo skies??" I just thought it was cute that she had caught on to the song.

Since then, there have been some not fun hurdles to cross, days to endure - yada, yada. Nothing major to document, but you know how things just start happening and you catch yourself saying, "What next?" We've been there over and over for the last few weeks. During that time, EK would randomly look up and say, "Boo skies, Mommy?"

Friday was the day that I guess it all caught up with me. I was ready to climb under a rock somewhere and wait for it all to pass. Sometimes when it gets like that, I think, "I have endured the loss of my own child. How can I let daily life STUFF get me wound up like this??" Human nature - Stephanie, human nature. That night around 3 AM while I was rocking EK to sleep (she's had several sick nights during all of this), I just sat and cried, mostly feeling sorry for myself. EK looked up, touched my face, and this time said, "Mommy, SING Boo Skies. SING Boo Skies Mommy." I just looked at her. She repeated it over and over, until I finally started singing just to get her to stop asking. Suddenly, as I was singing, I could see that blue skies could be coming. The clouds are still dark and gray, but blue skies are coming :)

Here's Daddy and Abby this weekend at her final soccer game. They finally figured it out, and although he still has some recovering to do, he's MUCH better! The doctor told him there was no doubt the Lord helped them find the problem as quickly and easily as they did - PTL! During all this we had to sing once without him - I've only done that ONCE in almost 20 years and I do NOT plan to make it a habit. I'm SO glad he's on the mend! You Daddy's girls know what I mean! There's NOTHING like your Daddy!! (Check out this post by Kera - you may see me steal this idea one day - SO sweet!!)

So..........I'm trying to look for my blue skies........

Looking Back

2010-10-24T21:44:00.007-05:00

So many posts about looking back - I had to chime in!

Many of you helped us pray for a sweet family and a sweet little angel named Kensley a year ago. Here are some shots from her birthday party this weekend. How great is our God? He's not finished yet, but how thankful we are that He loves us and takes care of everything we need. As we were leaving the party Saturday, Abby looked up and said, "Mom, do you remember when we had the coming home party here for Kensley? Isn't it awesome how much the Lord has helped her since then?"

This sweetie has touched SO many. I'll never forget the hundreds and thousands of strangers who would contact me looking for updates during those first tragic days and the weeks and months of recovery that would follow. I remember staring at this picture and trying to see those angels in the rays of sun that were certainly there watching over her. For those of you who don't know the Kelly's personally, I will tell you that their walk has been a hard one, but their victory is sweet today :)

Read up on Kensley's progress on Melissa and Dustin's blogs, and check out the "Praise THE Jesus" party they had to celebrate what the Lord has done over the last year!

SO thankful for all the storms, rainbows and everything in between :)

Picture Post - Without Words!!!

2010-10-24T21:19:00.012-05:00

Happy Birthday Stewart!

2010-10-24T21:19:00.006-05:00

Today, 35 years ago, the man of my dreams was born! Obviously I wasn't there (since I AM younger than him!) Looking back, it is quite amazing, yet a very simple story of how we came to be - only one that God could orchestrate!

Rewind 12 years...........I was out of college and teaching in Scottsboro, Stewart was out of college and had just come home to start teaching in Madison. We knew virtually NOTHING of each other even though we had almost the identical circle of friends! He had been away at school for 7 years, so he was out of our normal social loop. He says he had seen me sing a couple of times over the previous years, and I had heard a few things about him, but that was IT! Fate had it that some mutual friends of ours got married. He played the piano for the wedding, and other friends of ours sang. We talked at the reception, but I really thought he had his eye on my friend who sang. That weekend, he visited our church, and again I thought he was there to see someone else. We ended up talking that day about teaching, etc. and swapping emails. I honestly thought little of it.

Time rocked on - we went out - usually to singings or to eat with friends, but it really wasn't the fireworks - HE'S THE ONE - that I thought I was looking for. I remember calling a couple of girlfriends after dates with him and they would always ask, "Any butterflies yet?" I kept wanting there to be SO bad - on paper we had everything in common. We kept going out, and kept going out...............

Here's where divine intervention steps in............I needed slow, deliberate, no drama, time to just "be".........I didn't know it, but God did! I was only 23 at the time, but I had been in several intense, dramatic, fiery relationships. You remember the kind - you HAVE to see them, feel like your insides are going to just jump out of your skin, abandon all reasoning, and then watch it go up in flames just as fast as it came?? (Ahh.....youth........) Stewart had been away in Tuscaloosa for years doing the "college thing" and living life to the fullest. His desire was to come home, settle down, give his life to God and find someone to share those same priorities. I had NO idea he had these BIG ideas going on in his head. He had WAY more important things to work out than to court me - ha! Well, that summer, he did exactly what he promised himself he would - he gave his life to God and promised to live and work for Him. What an awesome thing!! After that, the butterflies started flying, and about 6 months later we were engaged and were married on June 29, 2001.

Since then, we have endured more than we ever expected. We've battled all the daily stuff like money (and the lack of it!), lost jobs, and all the tribulations that come with living in a broken world. We've also walked the roads that we never thought we'd be on - losing our daughter and losing his father within a year of each other. We've also shared more joy than we ever thought possible - the birth of our two blessings that God let us keep and so many more that I could go on and on.

We've grown together, laughed together, cried so many tears together, stayed up until all hours trying to resolve those little kinks in the road that so often come up - done all the things that married couples do. But I'll say this - there is no one else I'd rather walk this road with. He is my rock, my little girls' knight in shining armor. Yes, he drives me crazy many days, but in the end, God always knows what and who we need long before we ever know what to ask for!

We spent the day at home a little under the weather, but here are a few pictures to document the day :) Maybe one day I'll get some wedding pictures scanned in - NA - I'll be too depressed at how skinny I was :)

Happy birthday Stewart - I love you!

On a Break :)

2010-10-01T22:08:00.002-05:00

I'm still here. We're still CRAZY busy, but very thankful :)

The last few weeks have been too busy to even think about blogging plus I'm not sure any of it would have been worth reading unless you like reading waaah, waaaah, waahhhh!! Nothing majorly wrong, just totally stressed with meaningless, daily grind stuff and not enough time for the important things!

We're out the door tomorrow for the Smokies.......no plans except to eat, relax and head to Dollywood to hear some of our favorite groups and enjoy some play time.

Maybe after a few days of play I'll be in a better place to update the world on our happenings recently with LOTS of pictures.

I never wanted this to be my daily diary, but something like a journal to let out what I can't say. Somehow reading other's thoughts and feelings has always helped me, and that's my only real purpose......get it out to help me, and if it helps you in the process then Praise the Lord!

Ever heard garbage in/garbage out????? I'm taking a break to get out all the garbage so the "keepers" can find their way out! Please help me pray I can sort it all through :)

Thank GOD for the rainbows!!!

2010-09-23T21:30:00.003-05:00

So much to say....so much to catch up on.....but right now just SO thankful beyond words that the Lord has looked down and given our friends the rainbow they've been waiting for!!! The news is still developing but CRYMSON IS HOME!!!!!! (Read here if you are clueless to what this means :))

Tonight was one of those times when you KNEW God had a plan and FELT it to the core of your soul! Rejoice is all I can say!!!

Rainbows are precious. I never thought about it this way until this post from Amy. These words described everything I felt after we lost Olivia and then were surprised by Ellie Kate but couldn't put into words. This post helped me wrap my brain around all the conflicting emotions I was drowning in at the time. Ever since then, rainbows are our "thing". Storms may come, but they bring the rainbows. In just about everything in life - this holds true. I remember posting to Crystal that surely God had a rainbow for them in some way...............

Thank GOD for the rainbows!! They are even sweeter after storms.........

Labor Day Recap

2010-09-07T22:19:00.007-05:00

Labor Day Recap - we played, we ate, we enjoyed family and friends, and we're TIRED!!! :)

Awesome weekend - can we have 3 day weekends ALL the time???

Playing with friends at Monte Sano Park

Poor Grayson - not sure if he was crying before or after EK came to check on him :)

Abby and Kennedy (her Mom blogs here :))

EK's BFF - Griffin

Are you ready for some football????? Didn't break out the cute girl outfits this weekend but they're coming!!

Chilling out at Mimi and Papaw's

Getting kisses from Nana

Mimi starting piano lessons early

Another microphone hog - anyone surprised??

Monday Stewart and Abby went to see the final day of the Star Wars exhibit at the Space and Rocket center. What did me and EK do?? Why, climb on tables of course! Isn't that what everyone does??

Seriously - this kid is the light of my life one second and my worse nightmare the next!!! Terrible twos have hit with a vengeance. If it can be gotten into - it is. If it can be put in her mouth and swallowed - it is. If there is ANYTHING that she shouldn't get, she will find it instantly!! I found out today that she left some lovely teeth marks on another classmate at MDO :( :(
I'm going tomorrow to beg for forgiveness and ask them to PLEASE help me teach her human ways verses that of a chimpanzee (which she closely resembles in actions sometimes :)

Love me some EK, but whew.......don't offer to babysit this one unless you MEAN IT!!

Pink Panthers

2010-09-07T21:51:00.006-05:00

YEAH ABBY!! Tonight was the debut of the Eastern League U8 Pink Panthers!! They didn't score the most goals of the evening (insert wink), but they played hard and did an outstanding job! Abby has never played soccer before and actually scored her first goal!! (That could be up for review since there was a MOB around the ball before it rolled in, but she thinks it was her foot that placed the final kick, and I'll go along with that!!)

Check out the cutie! LOTS of pics - I got a new camera and was having TONS of fun playing around with it (sorry to rub it in Drea :( )

Abby playing defense - what do I do??

I'm pretty sure there's not supposed to be sassiness on the soccer field!

#1 Fan :)

OOhhh......dirt!! Tell me Moms - how do you get this lovely red mud out??

Please Pray

2010-08-30T20:31:00.001-05:00

Tonight I sincerely ask for your prayers for friends of our family, Michael and Crystal Clark. Many of us have followed their adoption journey that began a few months ago with the adoption of their precious little girl, Resiana. The birth-mother was pregnant at the time, and the plan was for them to adopt this baby as well. This week, the little boy was born, welcomed and named by Slick and Crystal, and plans were being made to come home. Today they learned that the birth-mother had changed her mind. They were in Hawaii for the birth and are now on their way home empty handed. Please pray for their comfort and for the safety and protection for this little boy they already loved as part of their family. However hard to understand, we must trust that God's plans are bigger than ours. Please just pray for their broken hearts and empty arms......

Our Adoption Journey

"I Pay Wit Kidz"

2010-08-24T11:19:00.005-05:00

In the words of Ellie Kate, "I pay wit kidz!" And so we started Mother's Day Out last week! I wanted her to go - Abby went at her age, but WOW, when they called and said they had an opening, it was a major shocker!! I knew she needed to, but she's the BABY!!

Well, all fear I had was laid to rest quickly by the strong willed one! That morning as we were pulling through the car line to drop Abby off, EK started trying to unbuckle saying, "Bye Mommy. I go skool wit Abby. See slide! Pay wit kids!!" Let's just say she was NOT happy when the safety patrol shut the door and Abby walked away and she was left in the car!! An hour later, she walked herself (did not want to be carried) into the church, straight to her room and started playing! It's a class of 11 BOYS and her - hehe! The teachers seemed hesitant, but I assured them she would take care of herself! She never even blinked when I bent down to kiss her bye, just said again, "Bye Mommy! I pay wit kidz!!" When I got there to pick her up, there was no running reunion. I'm not even sure she was happy to see me! She just looked up and said, "Oh- Hey Mommy!"

I'm thankful. She is her own little person who can light up your life one second and bring on the thunder the next!! I'm just waiting on the call that EK is face first in the floor pitching a fit! Maybe she only does those for Mommy :)

Here's my big girl - ready to go :)

Lots of new things happening here!!!

Swim for Melissa 2010

2010-08-14T23:10:00.005-05:00

We did it!!! Our first Swim for Melissa and we had a blast!! Abby raised $500.00!!!! This year she was an individual swimmer, but next year we want a BIG team! Come on friends and Fam - get ready!!

Here are some pictures from the morning. It was SO good to finally get to hug Amy! It seems like we've been through so much for so long, but we never actually knew each other!! She and Mom had a moment too - Mimi is a Amy fan :) Just a sweet, sweet day :) Amy even came out just to cheer on Abby - too precious! We look forward to this being an annual family tradition!

Why we do what we do.......

2010-08-13T11:58:00.005-05:00

TEAR JERKER ALERT!!!

I just watched this, and quite simply, this is why we do what we do! I've made it no secret that Amy George has "virtually" supported our family through our walk of losing Olivia like many could not - she's been there. Yes, the circumstances are different, but the hurt, the loss, and more importantly, the FAITH that God has everything in control is the same. Oddly enough, Amy and I have only met in Publix, once! Hopefully I will get a chance to hug her and thank her for what she does for millions of babies tomorrow as Abby participates in her first Swim for Melissa.

This was aired last night on Channel 19.....enjoy! And contributions are still welcome if you'd like to support Abby for tomorrow. Scroll down to the post below for the link - and thanks to those who have already contributed!!

http://www.whnt.com/videobeta/5d7c389d-94be-406e-a6f9-c85a3d3a86ba/News/Ann-Catherine-Gets-Ready-to-Swim-for-Melissa

Abby Good - Mommy NOT!

2010-08-10T20:33:00.007-05:00

WOW! What a great start to the school year for Abby and Stewart. Me - NOT SO MUCH! I have no idea where this came from, but I fell apart Monday!! This shouldn't happen to me! I am THE ONE who had the responsibility of kindly escorting crazy, crying Kindergarten mothers out of the building every year! I'm THE ONE who told mothers over and over, "They'll be just fine - it's where they need to be, etc."

Well last year was a breeze - Abby was and IS a school pro! She marches right in, hugs about 10 different adult's necks (because she seemingly knows everyone and everyone knows her!) and glides right into her new routine just barely remembering to look back and wave bye! That is SUCH a blessing! I think last year I was so overwhelmed with my own job (we started the same day Abby did), and I literally had time to just drop her off and RUN! That afternoon when the bus forgot to drop her off and she took a joy ride, I wasn't worried because I was responsible for 300 other kids getting where they needed to go and had 25 other mothers spazzing. I knew she'd get home - eventually!

Enter this year! We breezed in like normal, but somehow the further down the hall I got, the more of a panic attack I had! She marched right in, put her stuff away and sat down for morning work while I just stood speechless!! She gave me a hug, I got my pictures, and I went into the hall - but I couldn't leave!! So I went over to the K hall to check on a friend (who was having a great time - go Mason!!) and then went BACK to peek at Abby! I was so bad all morning that I cried off and on and even went back to eat lunch with her. Stewart's response, "You went back? On the first day??" Then I even left work early to meet the bus even though her grandmother AND great grandmother were there to do that! Part of it was probably a little out of pocket "I should be starting school too" syndrome. Don't get me wrong, I do not doubt the change I made, but after you've had the same schedule for 12 years change is a little strange sometimes!

Oh well - chalk it up to Mommy Syndrome! All is well if we could just get a morning routine worked out.......ahhhh...you can't have it all!

So, here are the pictures. Notice there are none of me or Stew - Stew left at 6:00 that morning, and I was too panic stricken to even think of getting any with me! Maybe we'll recreate the day later!

School isn't all we've done this week! We had a homecoming singing Sunday and our good friend Cassie joined us. In case you don't know - CASSIE ROCKS!!!!! Drea - make sure you tell JD that. It will make him SO nervous :)

We also had friends over Saturday night for a little Steak Out and playing Rock Band. Check out what the kids rigged up while we were waiting on the food - can we say redneck Riviera?? They LOVED it!!

So, I'm getting my Strong Mommy face back on to finish the week, but I tell you I could cry right now if I let myself!!! Babies shouldn't grow up (unless of course they are in that lovely "I will scream for 2 hours until someone comes in here with a bottle and rocks me until I am unconscious stage like EK is treating us to right this very second!) Ahhhh......love my life :)

Fabulous Flippers!!

2010-08-05T11:47:00.001-05:00

Hi friends!

We hope you are all having a wonderful summer! Our family is currently gearing up for the 5th annual Swim for Melissa. As you all know, this event benefits the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund at Huntsville Hospital Foundation, which purchases life-saving equipment for the Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. This cause was established by Amy and Chris George after the death of their daughter Melissa. Amy spends countless hours raising money to help other children and has been a tremendous source of strength for our family over the past few years. Ellie Kate spent a few days in the NICU after she was born, and we are so thankful for the care she received there! On Saturday, August 14, Abby will take part in a non-competitive swim at the Hampton Cove pool. She will try to swim as many laps as possible in a set amount of time and all of the money she raises will go towards the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment for critically ill premature babies. Some of these babies are so small, they can fit in the palm of your hand!

Would you please consider supporting Abby as she swims in this year's event? To visit her page, click on this link:
http://foundation.hhsys.org/abbythorson . You can make a donation by clicking on the "Support Me" button. You can even leave comments on her page to cheer her on! Your donation will go to help fund critically needed equipment for the NICU.

Thanks again, and if you'd like to come see her swim, come out to the even on Saturday, August 14th. Email me for specific times :)

Hamster, Hamster Where Is Your Wheel??

2010-07-27T22:46:00.012-05:00

I'll tell you where it is - I'M ON IT!!! I can't believe it's been a month since I posted!! I won't bore you with the mundane, busy busy, no time, talk. I just re-read my last couple of posts and it seems the whiny/too busies are a theme for me this summer!!!

We've had TONS going on! Nothing super exciting, but LOTS! We just got back from Destin from our first Alfa trip! It was great! I remember Alfa trips as a kid, but there was something cool about knowing we were there because I earned it :) Praise the Lord - that's all I can say! I go to work, work my tail off, come home to wild children, go crazy for a few hours trying to get things done, and then lay in the bed thinking of all I didn't do, should do, or could do! I keep telling myself that change is hard, it will get easier, etc..........it will, I know it - but WOW what a transition! All in all - LOVE IT!

Stewart is crazy busy, as ALL educators are right now. Whoever says, "Well you get off all summer" should be horse whipped!! He's been working 14 hour days, going to class in Gadsden, and other random things. Tonight Abby looked at me and said, "Where IS Daddy? I haven't seen him since I was 5!!" It's almost a true statement!

Here are tons of pictures - I wish there were more - got to do better with that! Maybe a new camera and time and talent to know how to Photo Shop :) Ahhh....add it to the list! We did enlist a professional photographer to take some pictures of the whole fam while we were there......this is while we waited on her to get there. Still waiting to see proofs......

No vacation in our family is complete without a trip to The Track!

We have this same picture with Dad and Abby over every year of her life - couldn't leave EK out :)

Another try for beach shots :) Abby took this one of me and Stew - it's basically the only picture of me.......hummm.........

EK's new favorite - "Kiss on Lips!!"
My brave Abby decided to ride a VERY tall zip line!! I thought she was too young, I thought she'd chicken out when she had to walk off the platform - NOPE! Check out Miss Thang waving from the air!!

Here's a few shots from the Alfa party Wednesday night.

Hey - there's a Cantrell on my blog :) Cuties!!
Dance, Dance girls!! Pretty sure this was to "Baby, Baby!!" Gotta love the tongue out - total concentration!

Looking for inspiration to get through this "grind" time! Seems like I usually get some spark to write, and that helps me in turn. No sparks flying now - I guess they're worn out too! I'll read all of your blogs - INSPIRE ME - PLEASE!!!

Coming up - school starts in less than 2 weeks!! Goldsmith Schiffman Elementary here we come!! SO excited for the new adventures ahead!

ALSO - Abby will be swimming in the Swim for Melissa event this year. Much more to come, but here's a link until I get the info up!

Happy Anniversary STEWART!!! 9 Years!!

2010-06-29T21:17:00.002-05:00

(I didn't want to be accused of posting about whining and Too Late for Supper, and NOT about my anniversary :)) Much to come - maybe I can even scan a picture - oh the days!!

AND - while I'm scanning, I may just have to find some of the pictures from "the good old days" just to remind some of us what we USED to look (and feel) like!!

Got to run - hubby says no posting on HIS anniversary!

Whiner!

2010-06-28T23:14:00.002-05:00

OK - so I'm copying Drea......shoot me!

I am SUCH a whiny baby tonight! I think whatever this MONO bug is caught up with me this weekend. (Either that or it's just over-worked, over-tired Mommy syndrome!!) Either way, life is an endurance right now!

We started the weekend at Mom and Dad's, spend some time Saturday for Abby to spend some birthday money (Oh LORD never give a girl money and unlimited time in Target. I LOVE me some Target, but I have never been more ready to leave!) Of course, somewhere in the middle of the trip is when I could have laid down, face-first on the nasty store floor and not cared. Seriously, if Abby could have driven home I would have let her!!

Sunday was just pure exhaustion! Stewart did blow up the pool Abby got for her birthday and the girls loved splashing around in that (there are pictures, but that would require effort to go get the memory card!)

Today was filled with work, as will tomorrow and Wednesday. I am so not used to this end of the month push!! Whew - at least Thursday and Friday are the beginning of the month, and let's just say they may just need to include some ME time which must include a NAP (any Alfa readers better not rat on me!!)

Tonight we went to Gunter's Mountain. Steadman sent out a special invite to come after church. Let's just say I must REALLY love "Steadmuffin" as Abby says to endure the torture EK put me through!!! We made it, made our appearance and left as soon as socially acceptable! (Drea - only old people and NO Late for Supper!) You know what's sad - we USED to be the ones who really only went to church to go to someone's house after and see and be seen - we are SO OLD!!!!!! I somewhat fondly remember the days of having like 75-100 teenagers bombard my house!!! (Speaking of - I have LOTS of old pictures!! I will have to post them one day just to torture a few bloggers around here!!!)

So - I'm whiny, tired, half-sick, half-mono - whatever!!! Sorry - no inspiration here - just ick!!!!!

Praying for a better - non-whiny - week!!!! Love and perky days to all!!

Thankful Recap

2010-06-22T22:26:00.001-05:00

I NEEDED to catch up! I NEEDED to remember the good things that make my heart thankful every day! It's a vicious cycle - the pointless, time consuming, mindless details of our every day grind seem to take up SO much more memory space than these wonderful, memory making events. Why can't I focus on those times, and being thankful for these times and NOT stress over whether the laundry and dishes are done, if every file on my desk is in order and taken care of, what to where when and what time we'll have to leave to maybe get there on time......that's not to mention bills and all those other lovely things to clutter your day!

I am SO thankful! Thankful for my wonderful husband who is an even more wonderful father to our two beautiful girls. Thankful for my two beautiful, healthy, full-of-themselves daughters who I would do anything for! Thankful for our precious daughter waiting on us to join her in Heaven for the ultimate family reunion. Thankful for our wonderful parents who are always there to support us (Special kudos to my wonderful, rock-solid, ever "wisdomous" Daddy - HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!) Thankful for our jobs, our home..........mostly just for our Heavenly Father for allowing me to experience this long list of "thankfuls".

The "thankfuls" go on and on......I am SO thankful that another healthy baby was born to our friends. They walked the terrible road of losing a child before us, and were there for us when we joined them on the journey. After many years of praying, worrying and wondering, they welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby girl to complete their family. Praise the Lord!

SO thankful for those close to us who have had a transformation that can only come with the saving grace of our Father. What an awesome blessing to see what HE can change in a person's life!

Just Thankful.............I needed that reminder :-)

Happy Birthday Abby! (SO many pictures!)

2010-06-22T21:46:00.008-05:00

Abby's birthday always has been, and I guess always will be, a multi-day event!! This year was NO different.

It started before school was out when we celebrated the "summer birthdays"

On her birthday, she woke up to 4 envelopes each leading her on a treasure hunt to find her birthday surprises!

Here we go - off to find the first surprise "Summer is for splishing and splashing. Go where the car lives and find something to hold the water."

We drove around awhile before she finally realized we needed to go back home and look in the garage! :)

Then Surprise #2 - "Stretchy, Sassy, Silly Shapes. Go to Bitty's and see what's great!"

So here we are at Itty Bitty's with Bitty and Brenda getting new Silly Bands!

Bitty even gave her a very special surprise just from her - A BITTY BOX! (This will come in handy for all the random "collections" we now have all over our dresser!)

I'm not sure if the next step had a clue, but who can have a birthday without Peggy Ann's??

The next clue led us straight to Mimi and Chik Fil A for lunch. Come on - chicken nuggets, lemonade AND a playground - what else could a 6 year old need??

After that Mimi and Abby took off to pick out some new things for her room. We are re-doing it to be a little more "big girl". More pictures of that to come! That evening we went to eat, and of course one more surprise, "Projects and crafts, experiments and facts. Go find Daddy and see what you have!" A science experiment - just right for Abby and Daddy!!

(Let me just say, Moms out there, this little scavenger hunt lasted all day and included some really little surprises along the way. If I had wrapped it all, it wouldn't have been very exciting, but the process and the journey were SUPER exciting! It made my little presents seem like WOW!!)

And then came the party - her FIRST slumber party! We started at Jackie's house to swim (clarify - to wear out :)), went home for cookie cake, and then ended the party the next morning at Spoiled Rockin'!

WHEW - what we do for our girls :-) I can't believe my baby is 6! I am so thankful for all the gifts the Lord has blessed Abby with. She has such a loving heart and is so sensitive when she thinks someone else is hurt or upset. (Don't get me wrong - this sensitivity can also take the form of semi-petted drama at the flip of a switch!) I LOVE that she LOVES to sing, loves to go to church, and LOVES her family and friends, especially her little sister! I don't know what we would do without her - the Lord has used her little heart to speak to us as times that no one else could. She is the main reason I kept trudging on days I would have rather pulled the covers over my head. She's still the one that will look up at me and say, "You're the BEST Mommy EVER! How lucky are you to have me, Olivia, and Ellie Kate??" Abby - there's simply no words to say just how lucky and blessed I am!

I love you my princess!!

18 Months - WHAT?!?

2010-06-22T21:01:00.004-05:00

Seriously - Ellie Kate is 18 months old?? Where has time gone? I LOVE this age :) She is changing EVERY minute! She is into everything! She does things that Abby never thought about doing! She is "sassy" and "precious" all at the same time (I've got to figure out how to get a video on here of her saying that!) She can lay the biggest kiss on you one second and throw down, face first on the floor in the most dramatic fit the next!

Here are some EK basics of life:

We MUST still have slickie, banket and boppy to go to sleep whether it's a nap or for the night. Yes, I know the bottle should already be gone, but I just can't give in yet. She only has it to go to sleep :o)
She can say pretty much anything you want her to! She loves to have "roll call" where she calls off everyone's name she can think of. It's getting pretty long now - Daddy, Mommy, Abby, Mimi, Papaw, Wowwy (Lolly), Bake (Blake), Gammy, Dude, Nana, Aunt Nana, Bit Bit, Juju, Poppy, Nina, Audie, Giffin (her BFF :)), Jak Jak, Bur.......and then there are the dogs - Mmmmmax (she LOVES some "mmmm sounds"), Taywa (Taylor), Jaks, Spenca, Bebba (Bella), Sadeeeee. I'm SURE there's more!
She'll tell you if she's sassy or precious at the moment.
She LOVES pizza, chicken, peas, strawberries, ma moes (tomatoes), watermelon (I wish I could spell it the way she says it!), and her favorite - pop a pickle (popsicles)!
If we hear "OUTSIDE" once, we hear it 50 times a day!
She'll finally watch TV! Sorry for you no TV for baby purists, but it is seriously easier to get ready to go since she will focus on Bawney (Barney) or Emo (Elmo) for a few minutes!
She now always wants to go to someone's "oowwse" As in Mimi's Ooowwse, Lolly's Oowwse, Juju's Oowwse, etc.
She's maybe a TAD better at church, but she's still anti-still, anti-hold, basically no restraints for me to be happy - oh well. This too shall pass!

Here are a few pictures as of late. EK is just NOT the poser that Abby always was - you have to chase her to get a picture!

(Anyone else noticing the WILD hair tendencies?? I knew it was bad when the girl cutting it said, "You know you really need to start training her hair if you want to get it under control." I felt like saying, "Yeah, I'm a little more worried about HER being under control. I'll get to the hair on a better day!!)

So Long Kindergarten - Hello First Grade!!

2010-06-22T20:04:00.006-05:00

Here she was in the Fall.....

Here she is now with the Most Awesome Kindergarten Teacher EVER - Ms. Speigle!

Here are some of her besties from this year - Natalie and Ellie.

Oh my goodness - what an AWESOME year!! I will be the first to say that I was SO nervous about Kindergarten. You would think after being in an elementary school for 5 years, this would be a piece of cake, but it was just SO much! You wonder if they're ready, did they learn what they needed to at preschool, are they going to make friends, are they going to follow the rules or be the one moving their bus, are they......, are they........???????

The answer is always YES! It really doesn't matter much - they are all their own sweet, precious little people who come in nervous, excited and everything in between. Some can read, some can't. Some cry, some are tough. At the end of the year, they are a cohesive, sometimes dysfunctional, family who would do anything for each other! Think about it - they spend more awake hours at school with this same group of kids all being led by one person. God bless all educators, but OMG I could NOT be a Kindergarten teacher!! We had THE BEST - bar none!

So, as Abby leaves Kindergarten at HCES, she leaves reading every book she can get her hands on, loving math and science (her Daddy loves that :)), knowing what it means to act as a class and follow a barrage of instructions and routines that mothers everywhere would love to implement in our own homes with such precision! She leaves confidant and ready for 1st grade! 1st grade and a whole new, exciting experience of being the inaugural class to open GSES! We are SUPER excited!

Remember our "We're Going to Kindergarten" Party? We had a "We Finished Kindergarten" Party!! So fun. Love us some cousins :) Check out the trophies - really moms - BIG bang for little bucks :0) My kind of treat!

Oh Me!!

2010-06-22T19:39:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty sure there's already a post with this title, but I just don't know what else to say!! Remember how I thought I would never catch up, so busy, etc........Well - let's just say NEVER SAY YOU'RE BUSY because God will show you BUSY!!!

Whew! We just finished a whole week of Abby Birthday (see next post), went right into a busy Father's Day Weekend at Scottsboro (which consisted of LOTS of church), and then Monday was one of those days when you stand around and say, "Really, could anything else happen?" The house was chaos, work was chaos, and I was in a whirlwind trying to get loose ends tied up to come back to Montgomery for 3 days (LAST trip - WHOO HOO!)

Then I get a text...."Abby's not feeling good. She didn't want to go swimming. She just wants to lay on the couch." What?!? Is this MY child?? This has been an ongoing thing for 2 weeks. She would have a little fever one day, throat hurt one day, tummy hurt one day, and then FINE one day. Finally, I decided I would go pay my $20 copay and just let Dr. Laue tell me it was viral - she's fine. I'd feel better leaving her if I knew, right??

Diagnosis - MONO!!! Yep, you read it - mono! Let's compound it now. Ellie Kate had that same fever, throat thing (again, I thought just a virus). After some questions, Doc said he was 99% sure she had it too. Then I said, "Ummm.....Stewart went to the doc in the box this weekend with a fever and sore throat..." A few more questions later, and I was on the phone telling Stew to get back to the doctor to have the mono test.......his results aren't back yet, but probably positive! Somehow, it appears I show markers that I've already been exposed at some point in my life and shouldn't get quite the case as everyone else, but I have some mild symptoms. GOOD NEWS (especially if you are reading this thinking - great we were just around them this weekend!) - Mono doesn't seem to be the big, bad ugly it used to be. Sure, it's bad for some age groups, but luckily we don't fall into any of those. He actually said it was better for the kids to get it young so they wouldn't get it again when it could really make them sick. Basically it's just feeling bad for a few days (fever, throat, rash) and then on and off feeling generally yucky for a few weeks. He actually said we were probably already past the worst of it!

SO -here I sit in Montgomery after getting up at 3:30 this morning to drive down (since it was just TOO crazy to leave last night) while Stewart is home with the girls. From what I've heard, it must be an OK day, because his exact words were that they were WILD - Praise the Lord!!

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans :-)

Here comes LOTS of catch up posts - GET READY!

I'll NEVER Catch Up - Graduation!

2010-06-15T23:20:00.004-05:00

Oh me - I haven't posted in FOREVER!! I have SO much to catch up on, I decided the only way to tackle it was in brief spurts. So - watch out for the short, seemingly random posts!!

GRADUATION

So how weird is it that I'm married to a High School Principal??? VERY! You've seen the prom pictures, now check this out!

Straight out of the Huntsville Times -isn't he handsome?? (Ever wonder where EK gets the crooked grin?) This is a shot of Stewart handing out diplomas at his school's graduation ceremonies. Abby and I went to watch the big festivities at the VBC. Abby was super excited that her Daddy got to announce them "graduated" - almost liked announcing someone husband and wife - HA!

Anyway, it was a great day for New Century Technology High School, and a day I was very proud to say Stewart is my hubby (not that I don't feel that way every day :)) Looking at the platform with him seated with the Board, Superintendent, and other system dignitaries made me look up and thank the good Lord for working out our lives in ways we NEVER thought possible!

Believe me - coming from a high school band director to a displaced educator caught in the middle of politics and budget cuts who was forced (but thankful) to work at Staples for a year to this - all in less than 8 years. Impossible to man - POSSIBLE to God!! I promise if you had told either of us eight years ago that THIS would be the picture today, neither of us would have believed you!

I know neither of us will forget that summer that the jobs just weren't there, and it was obvious that there was another plan for us - whether we wanted it or not. We had been married one year, had a healthy mortgage payment (although I sure would like to have that small payment now :)), and NO education jobs in sight! I remember that desperate look in Stewart's eyes that first week of August when I started back to school, and we still weren't sure what was happening with his position. God stepped in - NOT in the way we thought we wanted. Stewart took a year off from education, worked retail for a year, and out of the blue came the perfect teaching position for him in another system. From there, he went straight to administration in Huntsville and the rest is history. Seriously - repeat that to anyone who knows the politics and the unpredictable job placements of school systems, and they will not believe it! God is faithful!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

I know there are many in this economy struggling with jobs and which way to go next. Stand still and know that God will provide - just maybe not the way you thought :)

For Today

2010-05-27T07:13:00.002-05:00

I have much to post about and many pictures to upload, but for today, I wanted to share this video posted by radio hosts, Rick & Bubba. Most of you know that Rick and Sherri's son died tragically in a drowning accident when he was only 2. Their faith and strength during this circumstance has been amazing.

Like Job, when tragedy strikes, our commission is to praise God anyway. Guess what - that's HARD!!! I know the song we sing at church, "The Lord Giveth He Taketh Away - Blessed be the Name of the Lord", but it was a long time before I could sing that and really mean it. In fact, the Devil just wouldn't let me sing it for a long time because I really didn't know I could say that our tragedy was a blessing. Of course I knew everything was in God's plan, but praise is usually thought of in a positive sense. I used to think that praising God was for all the wonderful, happy blessings in life. Well, guess what? There is a deeper, truer praise from the heart that can praise Him for ALL blessings - even the ones that man cannot explain or understand - even the ones that grieve our hearts every minute of every day. Praising HIM even for that, knowing it is HIS plan and for our good, is nothing short of the miracle of God.

For today, praise HIM for ALL things.......great, small, happy, sad......HE controls it all.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1495122219857&ref=mf

Abby's Violin Recital

2010-05-15T13:31:00.002-05:00

Here is Ms. Abby's violin debut. She was a pro! She had never played along with a piano which would have freaked me out, but she just jumped right in and did her best!! I think she did great since she's only been taking lessons since January!

If it CAN happen.....

2010-05-14T10:51:00.003-05:00

It WILL happen to me - medically that is! What a week! I've been having some minor discomfort from a tooth for a couple of weeks. I went to the dentist Monday only to find out that it was a tooth I had already had tons of trouble with a year ago and had already had a root canal on (read here). Infection was setting in and the "fix" options did not sound fun, but I was supposed to take my antibiotics, a little meds if necessary and see the oral surgeon next week.

Well, a couple of new pain meds and new antibiotics later, it was WAY worse! The pain was unbearable even with BIG pain pills and one side of my face and neck were so swollen it looked like I had the mumps! The dentist said head to the ER! What???? ER - for a tooth?? Yep - they said with the infection growing so fast I needed IV antibiotics and pain meds to stop the cycle.

Well 3 hours later we were back home, and I was feeling the effects of the drugs. I think I told Stewart I was on Pluto once!! HA - no seriously, Huntsville Hospital ER has done some major revamping. We were called back quickly and taken care of and out the door before we would have even been called back before!

So, I am trying to find the right combination of pain meds that keep the pain somewhat at bay but at a level that I can still be conscious and participate in life! The swelling is going down slowly, and I meet with the surgeon Monday. I have 3 words for him - "GET IT OUT!!"

We have a singing tonight and Abby's violin recital is tomorrow - crossing my fingers I can manage them all!!

FYI - need a great dentist in the Hampton Cove area?? Go see Dr. Greg Lansdell! He is so attentive and sweet and the girls in there can't be beat!!! They have taken GREAT care of me, and Jenn was even calling Stewart last night while we were in the ER to check on me. Oh, and pick on Lisa when you get there - she'll love it!! (That one's for you Lisa - you made the blog!!!) I"ll get a picture with everyone once this is all over and post all of our smiling, pain-free faces!!!

Hoping for a great weekend with mashed potatoes and pain pills!!

Mother's Day and a Whirlwind Weekend!

2010-05-10T21:32:00.004-05:00

Oh me - I'm TIRED!!! Running to get ready to be gone for a week, being gone for a week, coming home to all those lovely "mommy chores" left undone for said week, and then flying into a lovely, but packed, Spring weekend have taken a toll on my energy levels!!! No worries - the upteenth load of clothes are in the washer, I've uploaded pictures (which you'll see in a bit), and the rest will have to just wait on me to get there!!

Saturday was filled with Gymfest (a "recital" of sorts for gymnastics students), a Daisy Scout "give back" project (the girls met to pick out items to donate to the babies in the NICU - a cause close to my heart), a birthday party and PROM. Yes - you read correctly - PROM. I hadn't really thought about the fact that now that Stewart is the principal at a high school this would be a mandatory event. I am WAY too old to go to prom, but felt WAY too young to be the principal's date either - HA! I mean come on - what does a very conservative, over weight 30-something wear to the prom?? Well anyway.......we had fun! We went and ate at Ruth's Chris before (yummy!) and then "supervised" the events until well into the night/morning. At one point the choice of "music" (I put it in quotes b/c I wouldn't call it music - maybe NOISE!) made both of us feel like we might have to be admitted to the cardiac unit for heart palpitations!

Sunday was a busy day filled with family! The girls had spent the night with Mom b/c of prom, so Sunday morning was just me and Stewart. He gave me the sweetest bracelet that has all 3 girls' birthstones and an engraved toggle that says, "For this child I have prayed". This is a special verse for me - it's on the wall in EK's nursery. Sure everyone prays for their children, but there's something more fervent, perhaps even desperate about the prayers from a mother who knows the reality of loss. No longer are those prayers just lines that are spoken partly out of habit, but expressions of the desires of our heart.

We took Stewart's mom and grandmother to breakfast and then went on to Scottsboro to church with my Mom. The afternoon was filled with LOTS of extended family, playing with cousins, and "straw-be-derries" in EK language!

This year I think I was too busy to stop and think about what could have been. Ever since my little break down a few weeks ago, the Lord has provided me with a simple peace. Not ever forgetting, but content with the present and thankful for each day! Simple, patient, loving, ever present - God.

I am a mother of three beautiful little girls whom God gave me to love both here and above. I am the daughter of a strong, faithful, woman who walked roads before me that have made my journey easier. She is the mother of 3 - me and two more angels who are certainly taking care of their beautiful niece, Olivia in that Heavenly place. The line of grace continues to weave through our family, but it all points to one source. We are all mothers who have been graced with mercy and wisdom from the most high. What a blessing beyond words. May we all remember the source of our love and strength and honor these women who carry the love and grace of God to share with their children and the children of others.

FYI - Stewart says he's going to post one day and surprise me. We'll see if he keeps up his end of the deal!

:)

2010-05-03T20:20:00.002-05:00

I'm in Montgomery for the week :(, BUT this makes me :). I'm shocked I have nothing else to say, but it's kind of nice to be able to sum it up with a smiley face. :)

Fun in the Sun and Rain

2010-04-27T21:01:00.003-05:00

What a fun weekend!! We started at Panoply Friday night. We always have so much fun! Abby is a craft QUEEN, so it is right up her ally! We liked the new layout, but didn't figure out that a lot of the crafts and the always loved drum tent was on the other side until about 5 minutes before it started raining!!! Needless to say, we banged a few drums and ran out without the Dipping Dots. No worries - we found plenty of ice cream later at Dairy Queen :)

Speaking of Dairy Queen - Did you know there's only 1 left in Huntsville?? Gracious! That was a childhood staple at my house! It was such a special treat! My Granddaddy would always take me and get the "nusual". That would be the three year way of saying the "usual" which in my book was a giant peanut buster parfait!!! He never tried to talk me into getting something smaller or less expensive. The "nusual" was just fine with him. Sweet, simple memories!!! I think we (or at least I) try WAY to hard to create "scrapbook worthy" moments for the girls, I don't know who I'm kidding - I've never scrap-booked or at this point will ever have time too, so why worry?? They remember the smallest, simple trips to the park with a Happy Meal in hand much more than those crazy, high-ticket EVENTS I convince myself they just MUST go to - complete with a coordinated outfit to go with it! No wonder I'm stressed - I'm doing it to myself!

ANYWAY - back to Panoply! LOTS of fun wandering around. The weather was great (until the rain), and we ran into several friends!
Kensley & Keelie - Isn't Kensley's hair coming in just too cute!! You should see the curls in the back! I'm SO happy to be her Aunt Steph and Uncle Stewie :)
We also ran into Lillee. I think this was on the run trying to get to the drums before it started raining!

Sunday, Mom came to visit the girls (and maybe me and Stew, too). They have been gone on a trip for a week, so she was having Mimi withdrawals. We just ate KFC and played on the swingset - FUN!!!

Simple....simple.......I'm trying my best to remember! :)

Busy days ahead - lots of end of the year school events, birthday parties, Daisy Scout events, violin recitals, gymnastic showcase, AND I have to go back to Montgomery next week for more training! At least it's just ONE week this time!!! Be on the lookout for lots of pics to come!

March for Babies 2010

2010-04-17T21:55:00.007-05:00

Another March for Babies in the books! What a great day with awesome weather for many to come out to support a great cause and remember why we were walking! This event started as a way for me to remember Olivia in an outward way. What happened was a large (and ever-growing :)) group of friends, family, and colleagues gathering together, each with our own reason for walking! It means SO much to us every year. Here are a few - oops, LOTS - of pictures!

Time...

2010-04-16T12:03:00.002-05:00

Time heals all wounds, time flies, no time like the present......

We've all heard these cliches about time. For some reason, time has not been a friend to me lately. Not in the usual not enough time in the day, always running late way, but in a higher, unmeasurable way.

Olivia has been gone for 2 years and 5 months. In one way, that seems like an eternity. In others, it was only last night. Some days I'm happily caught up in our more pressing daily details, some days I can't help but dwell on what could have been. Most have moved on, many still remember, few understand the freshness of grief that is ever present in a parent's heart.

I think what brought this on was seeing a certain beautiful little girl this past Sunday at church. There is a couple who we see on occasion who had a sweet little girl born on November 20, 2007, at almost the precise time we were having Olivia's graveside service. The only reason I know is because both the mom and the baby were in great distress during delivery, and there was some discussion of it that day. They are a SWEET family, and I am SO glad the Lord graciously looked down and touched both of them that day and allowed them to be healthy. But, at the same time, that sweet little girl is the constant reminder of what could have been. We have seen them at different times over the last couple of years. The first time was only a few weeks after she was born and her sweet family tried to shield me from even seeing her, as to not upset us. (That's just HOW sweet this family is!!)

Most times when we see them, I just try not to think too much. But for some reason, this time, I couldn't help but stare. In my mind, Olivia is still a newborn. I think that's why I had such a hard time when EK was a baby. It seems like I have bonded so much more with her since she has gotten older and grown into her own precious (but feisty) self! Seeing this little girl bee-bopping around, going from person to person, snacking, playing with babies, etc. made me really stop and think about what Olivia would be like now. How would our lives be different? What would she look like? Abby and EK couldn't look any different - would she have looked like one of them? What would her personality be? Abby was always a pleaser - EK only pleases herself :)

This morning as we were leaving for school, EK was exceptionally happy and kissing all over Abby and making goofy faces. Abby looked at her and said, "EK you are the cutest little sister I ever had". She immediately looked up at me and almost apologizing said, "Well Mommy, you know I never got to see Olivia. I'm sure she's cute too. I bet she looks like that little girl that sat in front of us at church Sunday". I told her I was sure she did..........as I tried to hide the tears.

I've cried tears today that I didn't know I needed to cry, but all the same our life is as the Father intended it. In that I will place my trust.

Guess what - time doesn't heal all wounds, but thankfully we have a gracious savior who is there to cushion us from the fall and hold us until it doesn't hurt as bad. Time does fly, but the BIG moments in your life will always seem like they were yesterday. There's no time like the present - now more than ever I want to cherish and remember every day, moment and time with my girls. The Lord has given us these blessings to cherish (even on the days where they scream and cry in the car seat for 2 hours)!

SASSY

2010-04-13T22:29:00.004-05:00

Life with girls - it's ALWAYS sassy! At least it is at my house!! That was what Abby called this outfit - "sassy" - OH ME!

Here's EK - She was born sassy! Notice the headband - it only lasted 5 seconds thank goodness!
Here's Abby with her new idol - Karen Peck. Only my child would go up to a professional artist and sing to her - HA!

Last but certainly not least - here she is shaking her GROOVE THANG! Tonight was the Kindergarten PTA program. I have many more cute pictures, but they have LOTS of other kids in them. I won't invade their privacy! The theme was Love Our Earth and it was TOO CUTE! You can't see them in the picture, but she has on bell-bottoms that Mimi just whipped up yesterday before leaving for work! What would we do without Mimi??

A Night With the GIRLS!

2010-04-08T22:16:00.008-05:00

BAHAHAHAHA!!! That's all I can say about tonight! A few friends got together to celebrate the "re-marriage" of our besty, Marty. What happened next, only us and the poor waiter will ever know! The stories that were told are still making me chuckle (although chuckle is NOT the word for SOME of those stories - HAHAHA!!) Everyone needs to laugh, and laugh we did!!! Let's do it more often GFs!!

The guest of honor - it's just TOO hard to explain!

Me and Marty :)

Drea & Holly being - well - Drea and Holly!

A few of the MANY Kelly girls!!

MORE Kelly's (and a should be Kelly :)

Ann Marie, Jackie and Me

Alicia and Dana

Momma Suzie was there to "chaperone" - whatever!!!

POOR KYLIE - That's all I can say! Coming to a "my momma's getting married to my daddy, again :)" shower and hearing some of her own grandmother's comments may have very well sent her into YEARS of very pricey therapy.

New Car!!

2010-04-06T22:01:00.004-05:00

We have a new car!!!!

Since I'm not at school, I thought I'd drive a mini-bus!!!! Sorry - Stew says a land yacht! Seriously - I LOVE it - room for everyone!! (It's so big the back end isn't even in this picture!) And of course notice the color - Stewart made sure it perfectly matched the crimson red on the Alabama tag. I'm calling it the Saban-mobile!
Did we really MEAN to get a car now - NO!!!! We had a perfectly good Volvo SUV - or so we thought!! That was before we discovered that our cute little white, European, supposed to last forever vehicle was infested with MICE!!!! Yes - go ahead - scream!!

Now imagine driving over the mountain and hearing it, but not seeing it! Imagine driving all the way to the Smokies only for your husband to tell you AFTER you get there that he found evidence that they were so bad they had eaten a hole in the car seats!! Imagine still, a grown man, a service manager at a local car lot screaming like a little girl as he jerked a trap with a RAT still alive out of your vehicle that you had just sat through the car line with your five year old! Now imagine all the technicians at the before mentioned car lot coming out to laugh as the rat drug the trap across the parking lot!!!!!

Alfa to the rescue! Filed a claim, got it fixed and TRADED IT IN!!!! I don't want to turn this into a car bashing session, but if you think you own the same type of vehicle, I'll be glad to pass more details along in a private email.

YIKES!

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-06T21:47:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures from our Easter weekend. Right now I'm trying not to hurt Blogger, so they are in no particular order!! We had a great weekend full of class parties, church activities and egg hunts (complete with a bloody knee mishap for Miss Abby during the mad egg dash!) and Easter Sunday with family. I NEVER seem to get a good family shot on Easter, but I promise - we were all there and with coordinating outfits, thank you very much!!

Easter is everything to a Christian - it defines what we believe, and why we continue to believe in the darkest of hours. A dear friend of ours, Alvie McKenzie, penned a song many years ago that says it all - it's worth 30 seconds for you to read. No one could say it better :)

I wasn't there on that morning when my Lord was crucified.
I wasn't there in the evening when He bowed His head and died.
And though I haven't seen the tomb where they laid Him long ago.
I believe that He arose again and He's living in my soul.

I can feel that holy power. The same that rolled the stone away.
I can feel that precious spirit that gently woke him on that day.
Though the world may not believe it, I know He's still alive today.
For I can feel that holy power, the same that rolled the stone away.

Sometimes Satan comes against me and tries to make me doubt.
Saying this will be the trial, oh you'll never make it out.
But if the spirit that raised Jesus in my heart, it still abides.
There's not a mountain I can't get over for I've got Jesus on my side.

Support TEAM FAITH

2010-03-31T22:12:00.002-05:00

OK followers - help me out here!!! The March for Babies is coming up SOON! Check out my badge on the side - see how far behind I am on my donations??? Help me out! $1.00 is appreciated! So many of us have a personal connection to situations that the March of Dimes supports.

Don't let me down!! If you'd still like to join the team, click on the badge on the side. We'd LOVE to have you!!

MORE SOON!

Just When You Think You Know.....

2010-03-31T22:04:00.002-05:00

How blessed are you?? I'm sure we would all quickly say VERY BLESSED!!! Read this blog from the beginning and you will have a new, deeper appreciation for blessings!! These are friends of ours and their posts about their adoption journey.

Thank you Lord for your blessings on me!!

We're BAAAACCKKKK........

2010-03-31T20:36:00.007-05:00

WHEW! We're back! I mean this on several fronts. Let me explain.

A couple of posts ago, I lamented that our hard drive had crashed. Well, turns out it was the entire motherboard (sounds like a Star Trek reference!). When they tried to replace it, the new one fried too. Thank goodness for tax refund money! Every year we have such plans to pay off things, save, invest in college funds, etc. Every year unexpected expenses pop up right around the time we get our refund. Thank you Lord that you provide it when we need it!! I am now typing on my new MAC that came today!! We made the switch - we are all MAC at our house now! A little scary, I know! For the last month, I've had to share computers with Stewart. Sounds a little spoiled, but he has CONSTANT work to do with his Ed.S. degree he is working on, so my requests to check blogs, read emails, pay bills, etc. seemed trivial in his busy world. I did sneak on some, but not nearly enough!! So, here I sit in front of a GIANT, TV like screen with the tiniest keyboard and "smart" mouse. It's definitely smarter than me!!

We're also back from a Spring Break get-a-way! We ventured out to the new water park resort in Sevierville. If you haven't been and you have kids, you should plan a trip soon! It's a little pricey, but considering it has restaurants, arcades, and more water activities than you can name, you could go and never leave! Taking into consideration all the places you could go and tickets you would buy makes the room price not bad! Check out their website!

I also feel like saying "I'm BACK" in the everyday, I think I can do it, I know what my name is, we all have a supply of clean clothes and underwear waiting, I'm pretty sure we'll make it another day - sense of things!! I've been in a FUNK the last few months! I'm blaming it on transitions (I don't do well with changes in routines!!), too many sick days, and not enough sunshine!! Just the past few days have felt so much more like ME! With Mom's help, I reorganized and repurposed a few areas in the house this weekend. All of you with growing babies know about constantly re-thinking where to play, how to store toys, etc as they grow, develop, and learn to get into new things. We were long overdue making our playroom safe for EK to play in! It had been Abby's palace full of tiny toys easily swallowed for TOO long! We spent too much time running after EK making sure she didn't have anything in her mouth! No more! Abby has a play area in her bedroom now with her "big girl" things, and the playroom is safely shared by both girls! I'm still about 5 loads shy of getting all the laundry caught up, and now I need to switch the closets to spring clothes, but hey, at least I'm moving in the right direction!!

I have MUCH more to say.......but I'm trying not to have a forever long post here! Stay tuned for more ramblings........

Opposite of ARRRGGGGGhh.....

2010-03-14T23:09:00.001-05:00

Today has been a GREAT day!! Totally opposite of the "ARRGGGHHHH....." day earlier this week!! Nothing major - Stewart was caught up on his never ending homework associated with his Ed.S. degree he's working on, EK was in a super great mood, Abby is SO excited for it to be spring break, and we went out to eat with friends after church with no fit or eyebrow raising looks from surrounding tables! I'm still trying to work on those moments that the fear of "what's going to happen next?" starts to creep up. Tonight as I rocked EK and snuggled with Abby, I tried my best to be only in THIS moment and not worry about another. I pray the Lord will help me continue to do that!!

Here are a few pictures......EK before church and Abby after :) We're all so excited to be going out of town later this week. We ALL need a get-a-way!
I haven't solved the hard drive issue, but I have found that almost all if not all of the "lost" pictures are spread out among Stewart's, my Mom's and my computer at work. I had also uploaded a lot already to Shutterfly and just hadn't done anything with them yet. I WILL be researching and subscribing to one of those automatic back up programs after this. I think I felt more physically sick over this than any stomach virus!!

Happy Spring Break Week!!

Just one of those days.....

2010-03-10T21:05:00.005-06:00

AAArrrgggg........... that's what I'm feeling......just aarrrrggggg.....

Forgive the rambling - maybe if I get it out it will help. Somehow writing is therapeutic. May as well try. This is your warning - probably nothing inspiring here!

1. My hard drive crashed!!!!! I've NEVER had this happen! I've taught tech classes for years, and never have I ever had anything like this happen! One day it was fine, the next gone!!! I can reload emails and contacts, I'm not as worried about the files, but MY PICTURES!!! I'm backed up from Abby's birth until her 4th birthday! Hello - that eliminates a year and a half of her life and ALL of EK's life!!!!! EVERYTHING!!! I'm digging for memory cards, checking work computers, Shutterfly albums, etc. I'm sure I'll find a way, but the thought is making me want to alternately throw up and squall!!

2. My "rookie" status at work is starting to wear on me. I LOVE, LOVE my new job and the opportunities it offers! I am SO thankful that the Lord has provided it, but the learning curve is STEEP! Everyone says, "Don't worry, it will come. You will never know it all, etc." But I'm exhausted from turning in circles trying to do the right thing and then hoping and praying I did! This will sound really exalted, but going from KNOWING what I was doing and doing it well, to not having a CLUE is wearing on my nerves!

3. Layla Grace - most of you know about her. If you don't, here is her site. The death of a child brings it ALL back. Completely different circumstances, but the death of a child just hits TOO close to home. As much as I've tried to pray for the family, but not get pulled into the details, it's like a haunting in the back of my spirit that I can't escape from.

Just one of those days - all the tiny details fell apart in my lap. Were any of them life shattering - absolutely not! Meanwhile, they've put my grandmother in the hospital. Thankfully, it is a condition that she has battled for several years, and this episode doesn't seem to be a super serious one.

Just one of those days where you want to go back to bed and start over to see if the details fall in place this time!!

Good notes - had a GREAT Girl's Night Out with some GF's from church! Great times!! Tomorrow is another day - I WILL roll out of bed on the other side and keep rolling. Just one of those aaaarrrgggg..... kind of days!

Directions

2010-03-04T15:04:00.002-06:00

Several have asked for directions to tomorrow night's Praying for Kensley Celebration Concert. It will be held in the auditorium at the Columbia High/New Century Technology High School campus. The school address is 300 Explorer Blvd. Here are some basic directions:
1. From 565, exit onto Research Park Blvd
2. Immediately exit onto Old Madison Pike.
3. Turn right onto Old Madison Pike.
4. Pass Bridge Street Town Center.
5. Go about 1 mile to the red light at Jan Davis Road.
6. Turn right on Jan Davis.
7. When Jan Davis dead ends, turn left on Explorer Blvd. The school is on the left.

Hope to see you there!!

Praying for Kensley Celebration Concert

2010-03-02T21:57:00.004-06:00

Please join us this Friday night for the Praying for Kensley Celebration Concert! It will be held at New Century Technology High School/Columbia High School Auditorium. It will feature many southern gospel groups who have all been affiliated with Dustin and Melissa and their families. This is a benefit for the family, but more than that, it is a celebration of where God has brought Kensley since that fateful day in October (read here). Word is Miss Kensley herself is going to sing!!

We would love to see you there!

MY plans - NOT

2010-02-28T15:59:00.002-06:00

Well.....so much for holding out the fort here!! The bug slowly made its way through all of us in cruel fashion this week! Poor Abby definitely had it the worst, though! Tuesday night, a full three days since she got sick (you know - just long enough to worry yourself sick and then convince yourself that it has been long enough and you have all escaped) I came down with it! Mine came with fever and the works which put me in the bed Wednesday and part of Thursday. I made it up Thursday to go to work a while, only to get a call from Stewart that he was going home early - he didn't feel right ~yikes~. So I get home to find him in the bed. He was a big boy about it and said go on with our normal Thursday gymnastics, etc. So I took off with both girls (still feeling completely weak kneed and nauseous, but determined to get on with something called "normal") We got back home, I gave the girls a bath and boom - here went Ellie Kate!! Poor Abby, she just cried convinced that she had "given" her germs to poor EK!! I got Abby in the bed and spent the next few hours dealing with one strong 15 month old! She was determined to play her way through it :) Poor baby, it finally got the best of her, and it hurt her feelings SO bad!

It was a long night, but Friday awoke to Abby skipping off to school, Stew feeling better, and EK making a fairly quick and strong recovery considering. It's now a beautiful Sunday, and as I sit looking back, it kind of feels like I am looking over the remnants of a battlefield. We won, we're still alive, but WHEW the aftermath!!! Gotta love contagious bugs!!! I've always laughed that when I get to Heaven (hoping of course that I DO!), I wanted to ask God a few (trivial)questions - #1 - Why can't everyone just be a healthy size 8 and call it a day? #2 - Why in the WORLD did you allow things like stomach viruses to exist!!! YUKKO!!

One note of spiritual interest - of course I've admitted before that I have some strange panic when it comes to stomach viruses and their spread through the family. We've survived another. Hopefully I can put this in my arsenal of tools to stand on. Sounds simplistic, but I guess the Devil will get you on any side He can. Poor Abby - Friday morning, when I woke her up for school, she asked me if EK was ok and had she thrown up anymore after she went to bed. I told her she was better, but yes she had been sick in the night. She just started squalling! When I got her to stop and tell me, she said she had prayed and begged God not to let her sissy be sick anymore and was SO sorry for giving it to her. :( :( I didn't know what to tell her! I just hugged on her, told her I was so proud of her for praying, EK was so much better, etc. and started getting her ready for school. What do you say when God doesn't answer prayers like you prayed? I don't know what to really tell myself, much less a 5 year old! Our ways our not His just don't add up in their little minds! What is even harder is knowing that this won't be her only battle with this question. I know I still have to actively control my thoughts and meditations to not wonder about unanswered prayers. "Farther along we'll know all about it........"

Anyway, I sit in a mountain of mail, bills to be paid, outgrown clothes that need to be stored, odds and ends of this coming season's clothes that need matches, accessories, etc. At least the laundry is done!!

No pictures - trust me - none needed or wanted this week!

We've got SUNshine - we're about to get out in it!!! The SONshine is there too.........trying to cultivate it and get it to wash it all away :)

Hoping for a great week for all!!

Two More Things...

2010-02-22T22:21:00.003-06:00

We did have some version of a Valentine's Day - everyone got presents, some not on the 14th. Stewart and I hope to make up for it soon, maybe :) Look for random pictures soon!

Also, I couldn't let the last post go without this......sometime over the last 48 hours of no sleep and LOTS of "cleanup", ABby sweetly looked up and said, "You're the best mommy ever!"

What else do we need???

Living to Press Fast-Forward

2010-02-22T20:23:00.003-06:00

Seriously - what next?? I just read my last post about catching up. That has SO not happened!! Since then, I was sick and in THE BED for four days! That just isn't normal for me! It started as a monster kidney/UT infection complicated by a terrible reaction to antibiotics and ending with a trip to the ER with unexplained, extreme pain. That diagnosis is still up in the air. Lordy, you know when you have to ship the kids off to Mimi's just to survive, it's NOT a good weekend!!

Friday night we went to a singing to see New Harmony. It was nice to go to a singing and not sing (although we did end up singing - I guess that will always happen!) We got to see Kensley - Abby was SO excited to sit and talk with her. A slumber party is planned for VERY soon! Ellie Kate was also surprisingly good. She is typically a MONSTER at church - seriously, no exaggeration! With our singing schedule spinning back up again I was more than a little apprehensive of what she would be like. Well, evidently there is much more to keep her attention at a singing than at church because she was VERY good!

Saturday started out beautiful! The weather was perfect, it was just me and the girls, we were enjoying some "normal". We even went to Gigi's cupcakes together - just me and the girls! (I would have pictures, but 2 girls, 1 Mom and 4 cupcakes did not leave time or hands for a camera!!) Then came that night. We went out to eat with some friends, and Abby just wasn't right. Then I saw THE look - I jumped, grabbed her, ran for the bathroom, but TOO LATE! Here comes a stomach bug - eeeewwwww. That poor baby was SO sick that night. I ended up just laying in her bedroom floor because it was wearing me out jumping and running every 45 minutes. Sunday wasn't much better. At one point, the on-call weekend nurse even suggested we take her to the ER. We were able to safely wait it out. She is better tonight and might go back to school tomorrow. So far, none of the rest of us have caught it. I'm still hoping and praying on that one.

Living to fast-forward - that's what I've felt like for the last few weeks. Wanting to fast forward through a busy work week to a restful weekend. Wanting to fast forward through a sick weekend to get back to a "normal" week. Wanting to fast forward to skip the waiting and hoping that no one else will catch the "cooties". I feel like I've been living behind the "8" ball waiting to see what will strike next. Mommy Panic isn't fun. I know this, but yet I've allowed myself to sink back into it, again. When will I learn?? God has EVERYTHING under control!! From all the big stuff to the tiny stuff. When I was fighting the storm of our life, the tiny battle of fighting off a stomach bug seemed trivial. At least in that battle you knew the enemy and ultimately knew there was an end.

Why then, have I let the last few weeks send me into a whirlwind?? I know, I know - we've had a TERRIBLE winter health-wise. In my pediatrician's words, "It's a really high viral load this winter and you seem to be in the center of it!" It's only natural to not enjoy sick times, times when every schedule falls by the wayside, laundry piles to the sky, Girl Scout cookies go undelivered, and holding back the onset of chaos is about all you can manage in a week. It has been rough! But it is during these rough times that I wish I could rest and rely on what I know to be true - God is faithful. I say this, I reference this to others, but my actions aren't proving me out these days. Panic is confusion - the Lord is not the author of confusion (Please excuse me if I'm preaching to only myself right now!)

What's even more eye opening is that my confusion isn't just sickness related. Again, maybe this post is just for my own benefit, but I find myself in the middle of a whirlwind of confusion in my mind right now. It seems I can't find that "sweet spot" in my spirit - that place where you are confident in your relationship with God, your armory of Devil fighting weapons is full and you are ready to shine your light in a dark world. I love God more than ever - He has provided everything I've ever needed and even a few things I've wanted over the years. It just seems like lately, there have been many detractors to this love. Man can clarify or cloud this love - seems like I've been in the middle of some clouds lately. It's easy to stand back and place blame, but ultimately my relationship and my love of MY God is in MY control. The surrounding circumstances are just that - circumstances. They do not and can not define my relationship with God and the benefits of love, joy and peace that come with it!

Oh Lord I pray for you to help me search through the clouds for your love and focus only on that. All of the other stuff is just that - stuff. You will take care of it all in your time!

In the meantime, I am trying to refocus through the clouds and praying for spring!! I need some natural sun to clean out the cooties, and spiritual SON to clean out everything else!!!

I Will Catch Up, I Will Catch Up!!

2010-02-10T21:35:00.006-06:00

This phrase can be applied to every facet of life right now. As we speak, the unfolded laundry demon is lurking and about to swallow me whole! In an effort at procrastination (at which I am a PRO), I am avoiding it!!!

Seriously, work is good, life is good, but I feel like every day is a marathon!!! The girls are alternately taking turns being sick which doesn't help the chaotic pace!!! PLEASE hurry Spring!!! I NEED the winter cooties to disappear!!!

Here's some new stuff going on that I actually had time to snap a picture of :)

EK :) - this is BEFORE we contracted an RSV like virus that has turned into an infection that has her sounding like a descendant of Darth Vader with an accompanying diaper BURN (rash is too mild of a description!)

Abby started violin lessons!

CIRCUS!

BIRTHDAY PARTIES!

Concert Postponed & Additional Prayers Needed

2010-01-27T11:15:00.001-06:00

TO ALL - The Caring for Kensley Concert scheduled for this Friday night has been postponed. The threat of wintery precipitation is just to great to risk the safety of those who would be travelling to attend.

The organizers also wanted to give consideration to Br. Darrin Isbell, his family, and those who have been helping in that situation this week after his terrible accident.

A rescheduled date will be announced as soon as possible. Please continue to pray for Kensley, and also join in praying for our dear friend Darrin - plese visit his FB page for details.
http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=303712295725&ref=nf

March for Babies 2010

2010-01-24T15:39:00.003-06:00

It's that time again!!!! March for Babies 2010 will take place at Bridge Street on Saturday, April 17th. We formed Team FAITH 2 years ago and this cause has meant so much to us!! (Read here :)) Last year, we were the NUMBER 1 Family team in online fundraising and total fundraising!!

Please visit our team page! We'd love to have you join us as a walker! We will be ordering new shirts this year, and invite everyone to join us for a celebration of life and help raise money for a very worthy cause!

I Wuv OOUUUU

2010-01-24T15:02:00.002-06:00

As I sit here typing, the girls are playing. Don't you just LOVE to hear that??? Abby just looked at EK and said, "Ellie Kate, I LOVE YOU!". EK looked right back at her, grabbed her creeks and said, "I wuv OOOOOUUUU AB-BY!!"

Deep breath in ~sigh~ Thank you Lord!!

Deliverance

2010-01-24T14:38:00.002-06:00

Deliverance was the topic of a sermon I had the pleasure of hearing just the other night. As I have thought about it over the last few days, I have come to more and more understanding about what I thought I knew about deliverance.

Our family has been delivered - delivered from a cruel world of sin, full of evil people, by claiming Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That is the most crucial deliverance.

The next deliverance was God's mercy and compassion as He brought us through the death of our sweet Olivia and blessed us with our rainbow - Ellie Kate.

To me, that was deliverance. You struggle with a trial and the Lord graciously brings deliverance to you when He sees the time is right for His purpose. I'm coming to realize that deliverance is not a once and for all event. Just because he delivered us from a world of sin doesn't mean we don't still have to resist against those things daily. Just because he delivered us from the sorrow surrounding Olivia's death and blessed us with another healthy child doesn't mean we won't always have to depend on His comfort to shelter us when the fears start sneaking in again.

Over the last month both of the girls have struggled with sickness. It's been one after the other. Ellie Kate had tubes put in her ears after Christmas. All went well, but she still struggles with a constant congestion and lovely "Darth Vador" sounding chugginess. Abby had surgery for her second set of tubes and adenoids out in October. We hoped that was the end of her semi-sick - super snotty days. Not so fast - we've had a two week pattern of spiking super high fevers, sore throats, constant congestion, etc. since Christmas. They've both been on multiple rounds of antibiotics, been to all of their specialists, etc. All the doctors say, "Mom - it's to be expected. It's a BAD winter!" None of it has been major - just enough to make everyone not feel well and be extremely ill!!

Most Mom's would just continue to Lysol and hope for Spring. I wish I were that simple! I guess my fears of further loss are just lurking, waiting on any opportunity to overwhelm me again. I couldn't help it - this week when Abby woke up AGAIN with fever and other issues, I ran straight to the doctor and all but demanded a full body scan, blood screen whatever it would take to find what was really wrong. You moms know where I was going - surely there was something terrible lurking in her beautiful little body that was causing her to not be able to fight these germs off. Poor Dr. Laue - I know he's used to crazy moms, but he really had his hands full. He pulled up every scan, blood result, anything he could find and examined her two or three different times just to make me feel better, I think! We even made an extra trip to the ENT to make sure. (I'm pretty sure Dr. Laue called ahead and gave Dr. Castillo the heads up :)) Bottom line - she does have a long history of sinus issues, but all seems fine, and it really does seem to be just a "high viral load" in our surroundings right now.

Yesterday I was quickly browsing the blogs I keep up with and clicked on this family's blog. The Macs are a sweet little family who lost their 11 month old last year to a highly aggressive cancer they had know idea she was carrying until tests after she couldn't get over a recurrent ear infection. It was a year ago this month. Since then, the Lord has blessed them with a healthy baby boy, but they are obviously struggling with the memories of last year. I couldn't help but hurt for them. I also couldn't help but question things I cannot control nor predict.

Deliverance - I'm so glad it's not a once and for all event. I'm so glad it is always there to drag us back out, dust us off, and kick us back into action again. Please pray for the Macs - for comfort, peace and deliverance that they may honor their little girl's memory but also enjoy their new baby boy.

Boys will be Boys!

2010-01-24T14:31:00.003-06:00

And when you have no little boys, the girls have to step in!! It's an every year tradition around our house to have a "hunting" picture. This year, we did it in my Dad's garage which he has spent lots of hours making a rustic retreat. (I have a secret suspicion it's really his glorified doghouse :))

Holiday Re-Cap (TOO Many pictures :))

2010-01-24T13:52:00.009-06:00

Here are some pictures of various holiday events. There are pictures from the party at Abby's school, the Daisy scouts carolling at a local retirement home, and of course LOTS of family shots!! Since I'm SO behind, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves! TOO MANY PICTURE WARNING!!!! This post is for the grandmothers :)

Playing Catch Up!

2010-01-24T12:53:00.004-06:00

OK - I'm embarrassed!! Someone stopped me in Wal-Mart to tell me it wasn't Christmas any more. When I looked confused, they "gently" reminded me that my blog still thought it was!! The last 6 weeks have been a BLUR! Between the new job (which is GREAT :)), all the holiday festivities and SEVERAL trips to various doctors around town for various wintertime cooties that have invaded, the blog has been neglected! I am hoping to play catch up today, if a certain wild 13 month old will allow. Stay tuned - lots of pictures to come!!

Caring for Kensley Concert

2010-01-14T21:06:00.004-06:00

On October 7th, 2009, Dustin and Melissa Kelly and their family were in a terrible accident. Through God’s mercy Dustin, Melissa and Konnor made it through the accident with minor injuries. However, as many of you are aware Kensley received severe head injuries and was in the trauma center for quite some time. With a lot of support and through many prayers, Kensley has made tremendous improvements. Nonetheless, this has brought change to their lives in many ways. Kensley is having to receive therapy several times a week, and no one really knows how long this could go on. We all know that with God, all things are possible and that is what we are leaning on.

Through the Praying for Kensley blog and FB page literally THOUSANDS have prayed for this sweet family. So many have sent messages that, even though they do not know this family personally, they have taken time to pray and send encouraging words to help lift the family's spirits.

Dustin and Melissa have always been so generous and traveled many miles to sing at funerals, weddings, and countless singings. In return, we would like to have a benefit singing for the family on January 29th, 2009. We realize many have already made contributions, which have been very much appreciated. We also realize that many of you would just like to meet Dustin, Melissa, Konnor and Kensley and see what God has done. They too would love to meet you and thank you for your prayers over the last few months. This singing will be a perfect venue to celebrate God's mercies and undeniable miracles in Kensley's life.

The singing will be Friday, January 29th from 7:00 - 10:00 PM. It will be held at New Century Technology High School. (Click here for directions.)

We look forward to seeing all of the Praying for Kensley army to thank each of you for your prayers and support. Most of all we ask that you continue to remember the Kelly family, and keep Kensley in your prayers.

Love always,

Friends and Family of Kensley Kelly

Pray for Noah

2009-12-09T15:19:00.002-06:00

I saw a tidbit on the local news about this local family and their little boy Noah. As I read their blog, I was touched and have thought about them all day. Please visit their blog and pray for this young family. One can only imagine facing this kind of diagnosis with your child this suddenly.

www.prayfornoah.com

Happy Birthday Ellie Kate!! (Warning - LOTS of pics!!)

2009-12-08T21:53:00.011-06:00

What a weekend!!! Friday started with me in Montgomery. Stewart made sure to sing "Happy Birthday" when he woke EK up that morning :) She spent the day with Juju (a sister from church who keeps her 2 days a week). Juju planned a sweet little party with EK and her "boyfriend" Griffin :)

I made it home that afternoon by 4:00, and was so excited to see my girls!! I had a Gigi cupcake in hand for that night's celebration!

Saturday brought snow and a Roll Tide victory!!!

Sunday was the birthday bash! Thanks to Mimi for hosting and taking care of all the food!! I don't think I could have pulled it off without her!! You're the best Mimi ever!! Friends and family gathered to watch the diva prance around in her tutu telling everyone that she was "tooo" years old (not sure why she skipped one) and "appy day" (her version of Happy Birthday!) Watching her play in the cake was a riot! BTW - Aunt Nana made the cake - AWESOME isn't it??? She liked it on her toes better than anything! She crashed and slept for hours before she could even open the presents, but what a great party she had!!!

WHEW - don't ever say I didn't post pictures :)