What a great week!

We have had such a good week. We're all feeling much better and we've spent some time as a family just enjoying each other's company. We went furniture shopping Monday and bought a couch, then had friends over Monday night. Ellie and I played Tuesday and went for a walk, then we had one of her favorite students come stay with her and Jeff and I went to the movies. We closed on our house yesterday and Ellie went home with my mom, so she's having a blast and I've been working on the final steps of me getting my new job. I'll be working about 10 hours a week and should start any time. These pictures are from Monday and Tuesday. Ellie wrote an E in the second one. She adds a few extra lines, but she does a great job. She liked the sparklers, but it drove her crazy that she couldn't touch them. We planted the flowers that Jaci's mom sent me when Lista died into bigger pots and Ellie loved using the watering can! It was pretty cute.

My aunt got some really good news from her doctor and her other treatments and the transplant process should start soon. I'll keep you posted on her progress.

One more thing you can pray for...my grand-daddy has to start his chemo again Tuesday. He has colon cancer, but his treatments were put on hold because he came down with pneumonia. Now that he's getting over that, they are going to try chemo again.

Thanks for being such great friends! Hope you're having a great week, too!

Catching up

Just catching up with everyone and letting you know what's been going on in our world the last two weeks. It's been a little rough, but there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. After we got home from New York, Ellie was sick for a couple of days, then I got sick...but we tried to go on and stick with our plans. Elizabeth, my 10-year-old niece, graduated from 5th grade, so Ellie and I went to celebrate with her for the day. Then, we took Ellie to Murray to stay with Jeff's parents and he surprised me and took me to a resort at Lake Barkley for the night. It was our anniversary - 7 years! It was great to get away and have no responsibilities!!! We relaxed, went for a swim, went out to eat...but I had a fever, so I also slept a lot. Jeff and Ellie played with a frog and she was finally brave enough to touch it. She's pretty timid when it comes to touching animals. We got a call telling us that Lista didn't wake up and as hard as it was to believe that she was gone, I was so glad to know that she was not suffering anymore. I hate funerals...but I've never lived through anything like her funeral. I know Cy is going to take great care of Cade and that little boy will always know how much his Mommy loved him. Cy takes him for a golf cart ride every day! I had a fever through the whole thing, which didn't help how I was feeling. I also ended up having a reaction to the medicine I was taking and was horribly sick at my stomach for days. My uncle got married last night and the wedding went well. My family was all together again and it was a little odd without Lista, but I think everyone agrees that she is much better off now - we hated to see her suffer like she did. I'm actually still running a fever and coughing like crazy, but I am feeling so much better. Ellie has not been sleeping well at night and she's been really whiny lately, but we've had quite a bit going on so maybe we can get back to some normalcy this week.

I felt like if I wrote all of this, I could vent a little and maybe get it out of my system and start to move on. Overall, I am thankful for the way things have worked out lately. I've realized several things about me lately - some good and some bad, but I'm working on the bad things and trying to take better care of myself, so that I can also take better care of Jeff, Ellie, and Ava.

NYC

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our trip to New York. They are out of order and some are not turned the right way, but you get the idea.

Lista

Lista lost her battle with cancer yesterday. She just didn't wake up. Thanks for all of your prayers - please continue to pray for her husband, her baby boy, her mom, sister, and dad, and the rest of our family.

We're back

We are back safe and sound after a week in NYC. We had such a good time! We were all tired, but Ellie was an amazing little traveler and she loved hanging out with the college students. I'll post pictures soon and I have so many cute stories to tell, so I'll post them a few at a time.

First, an update on Lista. I don't even think they are going to try the treatment now because she is sick. I'm a little numb to the situation right now and am angry to an extent. They won't even schedule her to come to the hospital because they know she won't survive the treatment since she is so sick. However, she's not just going to get better on her own, so she's not going to survive the cancer. My big question right now is, why not go on and just try the treatment...if it is too strong for her body and she doesn't survive the injection, she doesn't have to suffer any more, right? Otherwise, she is just wasting away sitting at home not able to do anything, suffering, not feeling well, not able to care for her baby, not able to talk to anyone, not even able to stand on her own. It just upsets me that with all of modern medicine, there is nothing they can do for her. We had so much hope, but from what I understand there is no hope. Thankfully, she is a Christian and she will soon be in a better place where she doesn't have to suffer any more. I don't understand why this is happening to her and I guess I never will. Please pray for her that she isn't in pain, for her baby boy that he grows up know his mommy loved him so much, for Lista's husband, sister, mom, and dad that they can all find some peace and comfort somehow, and for all of our family as we try to deal with the situation.

I am so thankful for my healthy little girl, my marriage (of 7 years, as of this weekend), and my new baby girl growing inside me. As for material things, I am thankful for a great car and for our new house that we'll move in to next month. I'll never understand why such good things happen to bad people and such bad things happen to good people, but I know that I am blessed and that I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

Busy

We are going to be BUSY over the next few weeks. We're leaving for New York next week with some of the college students, my niece graduates from 5th grade later the next week, our 7th anniversary is May 20, we close on our house May 31, we're taking Ellie to Disney and to visit some family in early June, and can move in June 21. I'll try to keep pictures and updates on here, but if I'm not on much, it's because we have so much going on.

Please be praying for my cousin, Lista. She's really not doing well at all, but we're still hopeful.

I'm it...

I was tagged by my friend, Miriam, for this "random meme."

Here are the rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. You need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. My dog was in our wedding.

2. I love checking other peoples' blogs.

3. I love to clog.

4. I like doing crafty things.

5. I was laughing during labor and delivery.

6. My second toe is longer than my big one (it's 2 inches long).

7. We just bought a house - our first house. We've been married 7 years this month and this will be the 6th time we've moved.

Maybe these girls will play... Sheri, Deva, Emily, and Lynsi. (I would list more people, but I don't know that many people who blog. Maybe the next person can list 7 friends.

Home Sweet Home

Finally, we have bought a house. We found it Wednesday and bought it Friday. Of course, we have lots of waiting to do until we can actually move in, but we should be in no later than July 1, if not a week or two sooner. Here are some pictures of the house, but that furniture is not ours - the people still live there. In order, they are Ellie's room, 2 outside pictures (and the toys stay), out front, living room, dining room, kitchen, and our bedroom. We don't have pictures of Ava's room, the girls' bathroom, or the office...but I'm sure we'll post more when we actually move in.

Ellie's reaction

My friend was asking about Ellie's reaction to the baby and what she thinks about the whole situation, so I thought I would post some of the cute things she has said.

~"I want Ava Claire come out right now, Mommy!"

~"It's not Elmo anymore, it's Ava Claire." (she said if it was a boy, his name was going to be Elmo)

~"I want you have baby too, Daddy!"

~We were shopping and we saw a tiny baby girl. I explained that Ava would look like that when she gets here. Ellie asked where here Mommy was and I pointed and said her Mommy was pushing the cart. She said, "No, where's Ava Claire's Mommy?" I explained that I was her Mommy and that she was going to share me with Ava. Later, she was retelling the story to some college students and she was very clear in telling them that I was Ava's Mommy, too!

~Ellie loves to hug my belly and she's starting to talk to the baby.

Needless to say, she's just about as excited as we are! I don't think she always understands things, but she's learning how to ask good questions about what she doesn't know or understand and she's figuring things out. She loves to be around other kids and is such a good helper with the little girl I babysit right now, so I think she'll be an amazing big sister!

It's a...

GIRL! Things look good and she is healthy and ACTIVE!!! I'll post more pictures soon.

Funny Phrases

Ellie is trying so hard to use complete sentences and is really doing a great job, but she comes up with some funny stuff sometimes. Here are a few of her latest phrases...

~What's that Daddy's got in his right hand?

~Are you like that? (instead of "do" you like that)

~Sometimes, I go Nonee's house.

~(When we ask if she needs to go potty...) "Well, I might pee-pee in my panties."

~When we ask what's in Mommy's belly, she says "Baby"...when we ask what's in Daddy's, she says, "FAT!" When we ask what's in her belly, she says, "Not baby, not fat."

~And last but not least, this is one of my favorites... We were eating downtown with our friend Jamie and we could see people walking during their lunch breaks outside. She noticed some women walking and asked what they were doing, then someone else walked by, then a guy was running for exercise and had his sunglasses and headphones, shoes and shorts...but no shirt and Ellie yelled, "Him NAKED, Mom!"

Hugs

Ellie is going to be such a good big sister! She's always so sweet and she has been giving the baby hugs lately, along with dolls, books, and toys. Since I babysit a 7 month old, she's pretty good at knowing what babies can have and what they can't, so it's cute to see her bring my belly a baby-safe toy!

Pictures Galore

Cade with his "Gran-Gran" and "Dan-Dan" ,
















Issie, Ellie, and Dizzy,

and last but not least, Baby Cade in his Easter outfit.

Easter pictures

We spent Saturday with Jeff's family and Sunday with mine.

Easter Eggs

Ellie had a blast tonight coloring Easter eggs...but she said, "I coloring my Easter bunny stuff". After she used all of the characters, she wanted more. When we told her that was all of them, she said, "That's fine. We get more at Wal-Mart."

Good news!

From what I understand, Lista and Tishie actually both just got good news! They both still have a long road ahead of them, but it's the first time since either of them got sick that there was much hope. Tishie's counts have been either too high or too low, so she hasn't qualified for a stem cell transplant, but they started a new medicine and it is actually chemo and it's working, so we're hoping maybe she can have the transplant this summer sometime. The other medicine they started her on didn't work. Lista didn't have much hope at all because they hadn't found treatment that worked on anybody. They just found someone with another kind of sarcoma and used an experimental drug that killed all of the tumors, so they are going to try that on Lista in 3 weeks! Pretty exciting! Thanks for your prayers!!! (keep it up)

New Story

Here is what Ellie woke up telling me about this morning. I told you she was turning in to a story teller!

"Sometimes I go Nonee's house. One time, I fall in her potty. Nonee just laugh and laugh and laugh."

I called my mom and she said, "Oops! I forgot to tell you about that one!"

Paragraphs

Ellie isn't just talking in sentences any more. She is putting sentences together and is a great story teller! Today she fell and she wanted to tell Jeff about it. Here's what she said.

"I play in water. I ask my Mama and she said she not want to. I say otay. Then I fall down and Mama put band-aid on. That my story. Ha-ha."

Hooray for Spring!

We have been loving this nice weather lately! Ellie and I have been sitting outside in the mornings waiting for Jaci's mom to drop her off, then we play and eat outside during the day, and wait in our chairs again in the evenings for her mom to pick her up. This weekend, we were headed out the door to get in the car and she had her baby with her. She sat down in her chair and informed me that I needed to sit down too. She said, "We wait here for her mommy...her be here soon."

We also took her bowling - she bowled a 9 with a little help. What a blast!

Lista

My cousin, Lista, could really use some extra prayer. I know those of you who have been reading this blog have been praying and I really appreciate it. She is so sick. I feel so sorry for her and her more immediate family. My mom helps keep her baby one day a week and she said Lista has lost so much weight. For those of you who don't know Lista, she is about 5 feet tall and weighed about 95 pounds before she got pregnant. She didn't gain much in her pregnancy, so she's tiny anyway. She couldn't really afford to lose more weight. She can't eat though, because she is so sick. She hasn't had chemo in a couple of weeks, but it is still making her sick at her stomach. She can't take care of herself, much less her baby. My mom said her baby doesn't even really know who is mama is. It's just such a sad situation. My honest prayer is that if God is going to take her away from us, that he go ahead and take her instead of continually making her suffer. Not that I want to lose my cousin, just that I hate to see her suffer. However, I really like the verses in John 9 that talk about Jesus healing the man who was born blind. The disciples asked him who sinned, the man or his parents, that he was born blind. "NEITHER THIS MAN ,NOR HIS PARENTS SINNED," SAID JESUS, BUT THIS HAPPENED SO THAT THE WORK OF GOD MIGHT BE DISPLAYED IN HIS LIFE." I am trying to believe that Lista will soon be a walking miracle. Please share her story and ask for prayers from everyone you know. Thanks!