Easter pics

Here are Easter pics from 2009.
It was colder today, but the day was beautiful. I have been dying to get some new pictures of the kids.
This is the best family pic of us out of 27. I had to sharpen it some, but it is pretty good.

Get ready. The theme of these pics are eating candy.

Easter pics

Easter pics

What a week it has been

Well, for the few of you that still care about my blog... :)

The kids went to Mobile to see Scott's parents for the week. I had to work every day last week. It was a great time at work, and I got most of everything figured out... thankfully! The kids had such a great time, and Gran Gran and Paw Paw said they enjoyed them more this time than any other.

Of course, we are all exhausted. And, I mean all of us.

Today is our church Easter egg hunt. Brooks complained about his outfit being too small, to the point that I am glad I had a backup. Kate was great as usual - she loves her dress. I hope to take TONS of pictures today!!! I have been looking forward to a photo session for a while now!

I have had a wicked muscle cramp in my left shoulder since Sunday night. It has really been horrible. Just when that muscle started feeling better, another muscle started hurting. I have thought so many times over the last week how difficult it must be for people dealing with chronic pain. I hope it is something that I never have to deal with.

Our roof leaked again - in another place. We got torrential rains over the last few days. Our "creek" out back turned into a small river - literally. So, we will be caulking next week on our roof, I'm sure.

One more week and Scott's first vacation of the year will be here! We are ALL ready for that! :)

Great news!

Emma had a successful surgery yesterday! Angie said the surgery took about 2 hours, and they were really glad it was over! Thanks for the prayers.

She will be having her 2nd (and hopefully last) surgery in 6-9 months. That surgery will repair the holes in her heart.

OK - I got 2 funny stories from the clinic yesterday. Get prepared to laugh.

1. I was talking to a client with an overweight Yorkie. She insisted that this dog wouldn't eat without her encouraging him. In fact, the first years of his life, she fed him by hand FROM A TOOTHPICK.
2. Dr. B was telling me of a client that brought in a DEAD STIFF cat, but she wanted to make sure it was dead before she buried it.

Who out there feeds their dog from a toothpick?

Emma's surgery has been moved up

You can catch the details on Angie's blog, but Emma's surgery has been moved up to this week - Thursday to be exact. They got a call from Children's Hospital this morning, so they are headed there tonight. Please keep her and her parents in your prayers!!!!

Please, spread the word, so that they will be covered in prayer. And, let them know you are praying for them here.

Singing cards

Last week, Kate and Brooks got some singing cards from GranGran and PawPaw. They got a kick out of them, as you can see. At first, neither knew what do with them. But, it didn't take long. I think the batteries will get used up on these.

Kate "reading" her card to Mouse

Here is a very typical expression of Brooks!!

This weekend was a blur, as always. It started with me getting a headache on Friday night. No big deal, just another headache. I had sure wanted to go to Lowes and do some flower shopping, but the forecast was calling for rain anyway, so gardening wasn't going to happen this weekend. Saturday, in the midst of the rain, we attended a wedding in Montgomery. It was beautiful and the bride and groom were so happy. So reminiscent of us... almost 12 years ago... seems like yesterday... I digress.

Afterwards, Scott planned a pizza party for the Bible Bowl participants at the church bldg. The kids had fun, and Scott was pleased. He really has worked hard this year getting the kids prepared. Hopefully that will pay off at Convention in April.

Last night I woke up with a killer headache. Then Scott woke up with congestion in his head and chest. We were pitiful in the middle of the night. After taking Lortab (that's all I had in powerful medicine), I slept some - but my headache really didn't improve much. After getting up, it was clear that it was no better, so off to Pri-med I went. After being there over 2 hours, they gave me a pain shot that had my head feeling better in 15 minutes. Plus a prescription to take if it comes back. It is bothering me some right now, but I think I will take some Tylenol and see what happens.

The kids are doing fine. Every day, it seems that they are playing better together. Little victories, right? We are near being playmates, with glimpses of cooperation. And, I think that the spankings are finally starting to pay off. They are beginning to put it together... "if I don't do what Mama says, I will get a spanking..." Granted, these breakthroughs are sporadic, but I feel like I am getting somewhere! Finally getting somewhere.

And, Kate has had dry pullups in the morning for 2 days in a row!!!

Hold your cows...

Me: "Brooks, would you like... (insert anything here)"

Brooks: "Mama, I can't want it."



Me: "Kate, I am getting you a piece of cheese. Just hold your horses."

Kate: "And, Mama, you hold your cows {smiling}"

Thank you Ms. Donna!

A longtime friend of my Mom's, Ms. Donna, made me and Kate these adorable hat/scarve combos! She has one of her own and thought it would be nice for us to wear to the barn when the weather is cold. As you can see, we love them, and though we may not get to use them this year, we'll have them ready for next year. Ms. Donna is so talented - she just looked at a smaller one and made one for me a larger size. Isn't the knitting beautiful?



When this cute bow came in the mail, I had no idea where it came from! She had it sent to us for Kate. Isn't it adorable with the horse on the inside? There are so many colors in it - it matches many different outfits. We have been wearing it with her hair in a ponytail.

Thank you, Ms. Donna, for being so thoughtful of us!

Kid funnies

I know, I know... 3 posts in one day! If you haven't seen, there are recent pictures below...

For those interested, Mike's sister Kim wrote beautiful sentiments on her blog about him. Click here.

On the way to church tonight, Kate was talking on her "phone" to Scott, Mom and Dad, Cody and Alyssa. She would start the conversation with: "Hello? Can you hear me?" The cell phone generation...

- "Hi Daddy. I love you more than you'll ever know"
- "Hi Mimi. Can you send us more letters? And send some stickers, too"
- "Hi Pa. Are you working on your clocks? Good."
- "Hi Cody and Alyssa. We are going to church to see Daddy and Rudy (the truck)"
- "Hi Gran Gran and Paw Paw. We are going to church to see Daddy and Rudy"
- "Hi Sophia. No, I can't come to your house today. I'm sorry. Can I speak to your Mommy?Hi Aunt Casey. We are going to church to see Daddy and Rudy"
- "Hi Trees. I was just calling to check on you"

After running all around tonight, Scott asked her where she gets her energy from. Her reply? "Gran Gran and PawPaw"

Sunday pictures...

I took pictures of the kids after lunch today. I'm surprised how cooperative they were, considering how busy we have been the last few days! The day was just beautiful and we are looking forward to the longer afternoons.

Spring pictures

The weather was beautiful today! Was it really snowing here last Sunday?

Keep reading

After the service (you will see below), I took pictures of the kids. Brooks was a ham as usual.

Where would we be without Chickalay?

Love this one. I asked Kate to hug Brooks. This is the picture I got.

Mike's memorial and Southside homecoming

Yesterday we traveled back to my home congregation for Mike's memorial. It was a sad and happy time. The best thing was knowing that Mike was in the right place with God, and we have no doubt that he is in heaven right now.

The homecoming of people there was incredible. There were so many people that I hadn't seen in years! The Bedwells, the Brewers, the Gardners, Greg Winters, Anne Menninger, Amanda Guyton... and especially the McNew family. This family was close friends to us - mostly due to Nathan and Rick being best buddies. Well, when I saw Nathan yesterday - well, I didn't even know who he was.

I am so thankful that we got to go. Dave and Beverly seem to be doing OK, but how do you truly know? We will be praying for this family for a while to come.

Ashley, Nathan and me

Christy Gardner and Mom

Nathan and Rick - "HOT CASH!"

The finality of suicide

After getting home from work today I learned of a childhood friend that committed suicide this morning.

My heart aches for his parents and his sister. Having children of my own, I can only imagine how terrible it must be to endure this. I look at my sweet little boy, smiling and watching TV, and it hurts to think of him growing older - where I can't protect him. I can't make his decisions. I can only love him.

Please pray for this family. The weeks and months ahead are going to be so hard.