Count Your Blessings.

I have a very heavy heart with all that has been going on lately. Today I was visiting my grandparents when they got the call from family that my 34 year old cousin was diagnosed with cancer. I am heart broken. When we went to Chicago last Fall we stayed with him and his wife. We were raised together in the South but he moved North for a better career opportunity and then met his wife so he stayed. We visit and keep in touch but I haven't talked to them since they found out the news. We don't know the prognosis but we do know that it is a type of leukemia. He is currently at the Chicago Cancer Center. Michael, we love you and we will be praying for you.

To make the day even more interesting... I was on my way to talk to my dad about some other things that have been going on. I got to his house (3 miles from my Grandparents), walked through the gate to the back yard and he was on the phone. My grandmother had called andGrandaddy fell and needed our help to get up. So, we loaded up again and drove back to their house to find him in the bathroom floor where it looked like something from a horror movie. There was blood all over the floor and all over the both of them. He can't remember falling so he must have blacked out. We helped him get cleaned up and then got him ready to go to the hospital. He pleaded with me to just get it to stop bleeding so he wouldn't have to get stitches. It took a while but we did finally get it to stop. However, he has a black eye and a huge gash.

It is especially during times like these that I treasure my family because I know that one day they will not be here anymore. God first, family second, and everything else last. I am too old to play silly games, as my good friend says. There have been many heartaches lately and I don't understand it. Maybe it isn't meant to be understood but I can't say that it makes it any easier. I just wish people would remember the golden rule "do unto otherrs as you would have them do unto you."So despite the heavy heart and the many tears I just continue to count my blessings and be thankful for what is good in my life. Someone once said that all the time you spend being angry or sad is another moment of happiness that you will never get back. This person also advised to seek joy in everything and never rely on others for your happiness. This is a motto that I continue to live by but need to be remined of every now and again.

Getting Ready for the Big Day!

Can you believe it. Our little girl will be one on Saturday. We are so excited for her! She has truly been a great baby. I mean we couldn't have asked for a better child. When I ask her daddy if he thinks we'll ever have anymore he simply says, "It doesn't get any better than that," and smiles at her. He has changed so much with the birth of our daughter. I have seen a sense of pride come over him since then. He is her protector and he feels an obligation to keep her safe. He has really stepped up to the role of Daddy and I think he is following a wonderful example. He has been taught well. For those of you who don't know him ..... you're really missing knowing someone special.

We have ordered Raegan's cake and have somewhat decided on the food and snacks for her party. Most of the gifts are wrapped and ready to go. We are expecting several out of town guests and many family members to be there with a multitude of cousins and friends' kids. My dad has a pool so when he offered to have her party at his house we couldn't resist! It ought to be interesting!

A special friend with a Heart of Gold.

My BFF Alie has the biggest heart of anyone I know. She and her husband have taken in his sister's 3 kids for the summer until she can get her life back together. The stay is supposed to be temporary but for now they are just taking care of them until further notice. Alie has rearranged her schedule so that she works at the hospital (as a CCU nurse) on the weekend so that she can be home through the week with the kids. He works as a pharmacy tech and as a pastor to a church that they have started in their neighborhood. They actually sold their home and moved closer so that they could minister to the mostly unchurched, hispanic population that lives in the neighborhood. They have always enjoyed the children that live there and have taken a special interest in their well-being. Both of them have traveled to Belize on mission trips and even considered adoption from there. Last fall they became pregnant but lost both babies. Yes, they were unexpectedly expecting twins. She says they still desire a family of their own but have put it on hold for now because of caring for the other kids. She said it was like going from none to 3 overnight and she just doesn't know how she could handle a fourth child right now. What a beautiful, big heart she has. She says that they will be there until God calls them elsewhere. I will continue praying for her and her family that they may continue to rejoice in the many blessings and continue to serve God in so many ways. I praise them for their humble hearts and selfless compassion for those who need them most, God's children. I love you guys, and I am so proud of you.

What a day!

As many of you know..... yesterday was my b'day and what a special day it was. It started at 12:01, just after midnight when Scott gave me my b'day gift b/c he just couldn't wait any longer. I have always loved the journey pendants and now I have one of my own. Totally Surprised!!!!! WOW! I got a really good night's sleep and even got to sleep in although my phone was blowing up in the other room with all of the texts and voicemails that I was getting. Didn't hear it at all! I was serenaded on my voicemail and my answering machine and even got calls and cards and emails from friends that I hadn't seen or heard from in so long. As my dad says... I was a PC. (privileged character) These sweet sentiments really made my day.

Mom decided that she wanted to spend some time w/ me while Scott was at work so I picked her up and we went shopping and then met him for dinner after he got off. We were shopping so he just met us at the store. When we came out we just rode in my car to the restaurant. After dinner we returned to the store to find the car had a flat. Yes a flat tire! I don't mean a little flat. It was so flat it couldn't be driven. To make a long story short......... it took a few hours to get it fixed... or so we thought. We were able to drive it and finally got home around midnight. This morning we found that our repair job did not work and we had yet another flat. This story gets better! Today Scott took the tire to be professionally repaired and it couldn't be fixed so we had to buy another tire. Easy fix, right. Wrong! We got the tire home and realized it was the wrong size. Whew! Better Luck Tomorrow, I guess.

On another note, our little princess has been without her precious paci for 2 days and no thumb sucking. What a relief. We have tried to break her from it before and she reverted to thumb sucking again. Pacifiers are so controversial! When we saw her sucking her thumb in the ultrasounds we knew we would probably have to use one. Bottle breaking was easy so we are hoping this goes likewise. Wish us luck.

Miss Piggy.

We have our very own little miss piggy. She must be having a growth spurt because she is eating us out of house and home. At a whopping 20.5 lbs, she is such a great eater. Can't you tell. Yes we have days where she survives on Gerber puffs and a few veggies but those days are rare. She loves oatmeal in the morning but we are doing that every other day just to change it up a little and then snacks, lunch, more snacks, and dinner. Whew! I forgot to mention lots and lots of milk, one cup of juice and lots of high quality H2O. Water is her fave. Today she has already had a multitude of puffs, fruit cup, cereal bar, toddler meal (potatoes, chicken, and carrots), milk, juice, more milk, and water and the sad thing is that is just since about 10:30. She practically slept through breakfast as neither of us rested well last night and she went down for a nap about 1:00. Doesn't seem like a lot of food unless you consider the time. Now I have to think about supper. What can she eat too?

My amazing family.

If you can't tell already..... my husband and I are flipped head over heels over our little girl but we are over each other to. It is amazing for us to think about where we are in our lives right now and where we have been. We have been together almost 8 years and married for 4 years and we now have a family of 3. We enjoy our time together so much and it is such a blessing to share this one-of-a-kind bond with the both of them. She will be one in just 2 weeks and I ask myself where in the world did the time go as do I also ask myself about my relationship with my husband. Sometimes we sit and talk about the past and reminisce about when we were first dating and our wedding and the birth of our daughter. We are at a point in our lives where we truly understand each other. After 8 years we really get it! We have always been exceptionally close but it seems as if we are even closer now. I think every parent secretly wonders "what will children bring to our marriage". We have worked hard to bring joy to our house because we've seen the effects of a house divided by children. So for right now we continue to be a happy family of 3. We are thankful to have each other and we understand that it is a wonderful feeling to be needed by each other. Scott and Raegan..... you make me the happiest woman on Earth.

Dora goes for a swim.

Raegan is beginning to satisfy her curiosity more often than not. Today it got a little too quiet if you know what I mean so I began calling Raegan's name and going from room to room looking for her. She is fascinated with the bathroom and I wasn't surprised when I found her there. Unfortunately, she had already dunked Dora. You guessed it! In the toilet. So.... we gave Dora a good bath and laid her outside to dry. The good news is that the toilet was pretty clean and Raegan was very happy in her dunking experience. Gotta remember to keep that lid down. I wish I had a picture but it all happened so quickly but it was so funny and it made my day to see her having so much fun.

Dolphin Cruise

One of my favorite pictures.

We're Back!!!!

Wow! So much has happened this last week and I don't know where to begin..... First of all we are home from our week-long vacation. We had so much fun at the beach but I have to say there's no place like home. It was a great feeling to just enjoy the simple pleasures.... the smell of home....our own sheets, beds, and pillows. Ahhhhh! And to think we pay money to get away from this atleast once a year.

We were able to enjoy a dolphin cruise, round of golf, shopping, swimming, dining out, and seashell and crab hunting. However, our little princess HATES the sand! She cried everytime we tried to get her in the sand. We got a little tricky with the pics. On another note..... we have to pack up the bottles. Raegan took her very last bottle in the car on the way. Then she discovered juice boxes and straws and the rest was history. She was weaning herself already so this did not come as a major surprise but bittersweet. She also started saying momma again which was so sweet.

Its a small world after all. We saw so many people we knew while 6 hours from home. While eating all the crab legs we could hold we ran into some of my brother-in-laws family and then into on old college friend of mine at our condo. Amazing!

Mom is doing great and in fact will go to visit so more relatives for a week in Georgia. The doc gave her a good report on Thurs. so she can travel now.

Lastly, Happy Early Father's Day to my favorite man in the whole world. I love you with all of my heart and you are the best daddy to Raegan. I am so proud of you.

Happy 11 months!

Happy 11 Months to my sweet baby girl! I love you with all of my heart. I am so proud to be your mommy.

Mom came home from the hospital.

Mom went to stay with my aunt Trisha for a few days. She is still showing side effects from the medication and will need quite a bit of help until the confusion clears up. I know it will be hard on them both and I am grateful to have Trisha's support. Mom could've stayed here but all of our extra bedrooms are upstairs and we are leaving for vacation this weekend. Others have offered to care for her while I'm gone so in a few days she may stay with another aunt. They also have bedrooms upstairs so maybe by the time she goes to stay with them she will be healed enough to get up and around like normal.

Raegan will be 11 months old tomorrow. Wow! Its hard to believe. I am so happy that she will be walking so well on her first trip to the beach. I can't begin to tell you how excited we are to be going. Vacations are definitely not something we take for granted and spending this trip with her will make it forever memorable. Before I go, I have to tell you what our little smart girl is doing. She won't talk much but she does do something extra special to show favor. At first she just held out her hand towards people to show that she liked them and expected a kiss on the hand but nothing more. Now she stretches both arms as far back behind her as she can to mean " I love you this much". For a little while I have been telling her that I love her and then saying I love you this much and stretching my arms out.......well she caught on and now sometimes you will see her do it and other times you have to tell her first and then she responds. It is the cutest thing I've ever seen and it just melts my heart.

Mom is out of ICU.

She was moved to a regular room earlier today and is doing okay. She is a little disoriented and confused still from the medication but she is walking around and has no major complaints. Tomorrow she may get real food! The last 24 hours have been strictly liquid and so far so good. Dr. Roberts talked to us tonight and said if everything continues to go well then she may go home Wednesday afternoon. Thank you to those who have called or emailed me to check on her progress. It means a lot to know that you care.