Happy 13th Birthday Kayla

It is so hard for me to believe that this beautiful young lady was placed in my arms 13 years ago this evening. I remember that day as if it were yesterday yet it seems so long ago. She was so beautiful and we were so proud to be her parents.


Here are just a few highlights of the last thirteen years:

The first family member that we told we were pregnant was his mom, dad, and sister.

Their response- "She will still be pregnant in the morning, call back then." (We called them at two in the morning) We took the test about 1 in the morning.

The first friends that we told were Shawn and April- we waited till morning to tell them and then went to Shoneys for breakfast to celebrate.

She was 2 weeks early and weighed in at 9lbs 2 & 1/2 ounces

She was the loudest baby in the hospital nursery- we could hear her crying all the way down the hall.

She was born with black hair which fell out & was replaced by curly blond hair

She was the only baby in the church nursery and people fought over who would get to stay with her.

She did not like pacifiers. She was very colicky

She loved to sleep on our water bed (yes I know very taboo) but she only napped there while I did laundry.

She preferred to sleep in her swing or her car seat

She loved music- her first movie was a sing a Disney sing a long that she would watch while kicking one leg to make her bouncy seat move

Her nursery was done in Noah's Ark - Her toddler room in Winnie the Pooh

Her first word was Pooh ( as in Winnie the Pooh) At 9 mo old she could hum the theme song to Winnie the pooh.

Her first boo-boo came from having her forehead pinched in her stroller the day before pictures

Her favorite animal was a cat

Her first Birthday theme was Winnie the Pooh

She has always loved animals, water, and coloring or drawing

When she was two she "practiced" writing her name all over her bed room wall the day after we had it painted. She said that she did it because she did not have any paper.

Her first pet- Abby the dog (has had her since she was 4) , second pet- Callie her cat (no longer with us as of a week ago today)

Favorite food then- sweet potatoes and apples and cinnamon oatmeal, Now- I would say pork chops and macaroni and cheese

She has never had stitches

She dislocated, hyper extended her thumb and broke the growth plate in her thumb when she was in 2nd grade ( sported a hot pink cast for weeks) Arrived in the ER in full Chinese Costume

She had an MRI when she was 5 because they believe that she had a tumor on her spine- we believe God healed her-very long story

Has been home schooled since third grade

Has always been drawn to Children with disabilities- would help them in her preschool class instead of doing her own work.

Is known for her tender spirit and compassion

Very trustworthy

I have so many memories and so much that I could continue to share. I might even go back and add things to this post. I have said many times that Kayla has been my biggest challenge and biggest blessing rolled up into one package. She has challenged me in ways that have stretched my abilities and her life has blessed be beyond measure. Together we have overcome so much and we have shared much laughter and tears. I know that my first role in her life is to be her mom not her friend but I can honestly say that she is the type of friend that I would cherish. I know that one day when I am past this season of parenting her that I will cherish her as my daughter and friend. She is a beautiful girl outwardly but her true beauty comes from within. Her faith is strong and her passion for Christ at such an impressionable age astounds me. She continues to make us proud and we are so blessed to call her our daughter. I feel in love with her thirteen years ago when they placed her in my arms and I continue to love her more deeply with every passing day.

Happy 13th Birthday Kayla, I love you so much!

Saying Goodbye to Callie

Tonight we took Kayla to meet her Sunday School class so that they could go caroling. While she was caroling James, Noah, & I ran errands so that we would be ready to leave for my sisters as soon as James gets off work tomorrow. After he pulled in the drive way I asked him if he would back in instead so that I could load the van tomorrow. As he was backing in we quickly became aware that we had hit something. At first James thought it was Kayla's bike and then the horror and reality hit. It was quickly confirmed that the family cat "Callie" had been hit.

It is best that I leave out details but I am sorry to say that Callie did not make it. She was laid to rest between two trees that she loved to hang out by. Most people know that James and I are not big cat lovers but God brought her to us several years ago and she was a great kid cat. She loved to hang out with the kids. They even jumped with her on the trampoline. They would hold her while they jumped. She loved it. Any thing to get attention.

Kayla took it pretty hard but is already doing better. When she is ready we will show her where she is buried. She helped make the decision but did not want to see her and it was just too cold for the kids to be outside. Plus it was really dark. Noah will not stop talking about it which is not helping sissy's grief. It is very hard to explain death to a toddler but we refuse to lie to him. Death is a part of life and we have been very open with both of our children on the issue.

Please pray that we can leave this sadness behind us for a few days and enjoy our time with family. This is Kayla's first experience with loosing a pet. It is the first pet that James and I have lost together. Well unless you count a fish or hamster. Please pray for dad as he bears the weight of being the driver. Callie was always greeting us and getting so close to the van or truck. We have worried so many times that she would get hit.

I better go it has been a long day and it promises to be very busy tomorrow.

Merry Christmas.

Visiting Mr. Clause

A few weeks ago we received a flier in the mail from Silver Dollar City. On the back there was a picture of Santa Clause. Noah brought me the flier and said "mommy mommy I need to go here today. I need to see Mr. Clause and tell him that I need a Bat House"! I told him that we could not go today to which he replied "okay then we need to go tomorrow". We had already been planning a trip to SDC but not that week. We really have not talked to him about Santa. He has seen him on TV but we have never taken him to see Santa. We have also never called him MR. Clause but that is what he calls him. Since that day that is all we have heard him call him.

When it was Noah turn to see "Mr. Clause" he had so much to tell him. They had a hard time getting a picture where he was looking at the camera because he was deep in conversation and would not pose for a photo opp. I finally got him to look at the camera. The woman taking the picture asked if Noah was telling Santa a story and Santa asked me how old he was. When I told him he just turned three he was kind of surprised. Noah was able to relay his desire for a bat house and we were able to get a few cute pictures of his first trip to see Santa. Or should I call him "Mr. Clause"?

There are many Branson stories to share but I will probably do so in a different post.

WARNING! This post may not be for the faint of heart!

So... it is possible to cause bodily damage with a cookie sheet. The purple is from all the bruising. The cut is at the joint even though the toe nail looks so bad.

I really thought that this was the week that I would get caught up on school and chores. I'm not sure it is a good idea to enter a Monday with such high expectations. I should have had a clue Sunday when Kayla was complaining of a sore throat and had the chills. I also should not have dismissed the sores on Noah's face as mere dry skin.

We began our week with a doctor visit for both kids. It turned out that Kayla did indeed have strep and Noah had Infintigo (which is a form of step that is contained to the skin instead of the throat). Both are on antibiotics and doing much better. Noah's birthday party is Saturday and it looks as though he will be through with the nasty sores by then. He is not contagious anymore but looked pretty rough for a few days.

Monday and Tuesday I took care of sick kids and by Wednesday it looked as though I might be able to get a few more things done. My plans were to spend Thursday getting things ready for Noah's party. We have a very ful day Friday (which is Noah's actual birthday) and I wanted to spend some quality time with him instead of going crazy with party prep.

As of Wednesday night those plans were shot. I returned home from picking Kayla up from church and from getting Philip. Philip was spending the night since his mom had clinical very early the next morning. We had the boys in bed about 9:45 and I was in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner. I grabbed the cookie sheet off the stove that I had baked the garlic bread on and went to put it in the sink. The pan never made it to the sink. Instead it took a hard dive toward my right big tow and hit it square on. One might think that this would hurt (kinda of like a stubbed toe) but that the sting would go away rather quickly. That is exactly what I thought. The problem is the pain did not subside but became very intense to the point that I thought that I was going to be sick. I still had my head leaned over the counter and had not opened my eyes when James realized that the groans coming from the kitchen were not ceasing. He has heard the crash and the load grunt/moan and decided he better check things out. (Okay if you are squeamish you should probably stop reading now). Remember I have not surveyed the situation because I am in too much pain to do anything but try and shake it off. When he came in the kitchen he said " Angie your bleeding"! I said I know-which I didn't and then it hit me that he was serious. I looked down to see my white sock soaked in blood and thought oh no this is not good. Then I looked around as he said "you are bleeding really bad"! That is when I saw that puddles of blood in a circle around me. At this point I am not sure if I am going to freak out or pass out. I did have enough common sense to ask for a chair so that I could get my foot above my heart. The next half hour was spent trying to stop the bleed and figure out if an emergency room visit was in our agenda for the evening. We were able to stop the bleeding but now we are convinced by hte size and color that the big toe is broke. The pan hit the joint so James was worried that the joint might be smashed pretty bad. We made the decision to stay at home and see my doctor the nest morning. (We do not like emergency rooms). It did continue to bleed some but and soaked through a couple of bandages but I am glad that we waited. The morning brought less pain and bleeding but more bruising. We saw the doctor this morning and I am happy to report that the joint is fine and there are no broken bones. I also did not need stitches so it was okay that we did not go to the ER. I bruised the soft tissue really bad and they said that the cut would seal up by the end of the day and stop seeping if I stayed off of it. I am supposed to keep it wrapped and take it easy for a few days. I can still drive but I can not wear a closed shoe. The birthday party is still on but it may be a little more difficult to get all my errands accomplished.