An Update...

Ok, so we got to the gastro Dr and all seemed ok. They are treating Bay with meds to fight stomach spasms and a med to cleanse her system. According to the drs there should be an improvement within a week and we should start to see the weight gradually increase. The rest of the tests that need to be done will have to wait until she is stronger and has proven to keep food in her belly. The good news is that the white blood count is in normal range and that is a big answer to prayer. Who knows it could just be a severe case of a stomach bug gone wrong, but all in all we are taking the steps to get her back to her strong self. This last week has been unnerving to us all, but Bay will recover and that is all we need to know.

Thank you to all of you who have expressed concern and who have whispered a prayer in her name. We appreciate all the love and prayers that will speed this recovery along. Thanks again!!!

Prayer Request...

Hey to all my praying friends and family...I know that I havent been on here in a while and I hate to have this be my first post after such a silence; however, our family is in need of major prayer!

Our Sweet Bailey is fighting a battle that none of us understand. For 3 years it seems that Bailey's weight has been decreasing gradually and when we have reached out to doctors in the past we have been met with a diagnosis of anxiety disorder. Well, last week her weight fell 5 more lbs due to an increase in her inability to hold anything in her stomach. We have spent this weekend in emergency rooms trying to get an answer and finally found some hope at Levine Childrens ER. We have an appointment this afternoon with a Pediatric Gastroenterologist and we are praying, and would like your prayers also, to please find an answer.

Bailey is becoming very sick and needs your prayers to be lifted up on her behalf. She is a strong willed little girl who puts the doctors in their place if they try anything she doesnt like, so please also pray that she will allow them to run the tests that are needed to find an answer so we can get her back to strength. She is currently losing a pound daily and becoming dehydrated in the process, what goes in just comes right back out. She is in need of strong prayer warriors, please remember her today and tomorrow and all the days until she is out of this scary sickness.

Thank you for your love for our family and the prayers that will be lifted in Bailey's name.

Saving Grace...

Sunday while we were at our church, our pastor began his sermon and I could feel a stir in my heart as if I should be on alert for my childrens hearts. You see our pastors father passed away in his sleep two weeks prior and his sermon began "you are never promised tomorrow." Knowing the fear that this can bring forth in children I perked my sensors in case I needed to offer up peace to one or two of them. However, no such signs of fear were present in their faces. We have discussed the fact that everyone will die but only when God calls them, and I assumed this was the cause for the peace in their hearts during the sermon.

Today as the kids and I were sitting around, the discussion on the pastors sermon began...Kiely: "I was up all night thinking about dying and that scared me"
Me: "Death is nothing to fear...if you are a child of God you will live forever with Him in heaven."
Kiely: "Dont you worry about dying?"
Me: "My only worries are...have I led my children to the saving knowledge of Christ...because I dont want to spend eternity separated from you guys."
Kiely: "Thats your only fear?"
Me: "Thats my only fear..."

The conversation ended because as with most conversations in this house someone interrupted and sent our brains into a totally different direction and conversation. But then tonight after all the others had gone to bed and were asleep...Kiely came down stairs in tears...I assumed missing her daddy, but actually she said she was thinking about our conversation earlier and she wasnt sure that she had salvation...she wanted the assurance that she would be there too and that she has felt God pulling at her heart since Sunday (she must have been the one I was on alert for). She prayed and we talked for over an hour about her decision and I am proud to say that Kiely has accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior and my heart is busting at the seams with joy that I cant even put into words. Hallelujah!!! Amen!!!

Happy Veterans Day 11-11-11

"Freedom isn't free!!!"...that is the phrase we hear most often on these days of remembering our heros. And it is true! But if you were to ask a soldier, both past and present, they would tell you the sacrifice is worth it. No one wants to be separated from their families, but when a soldier is called, they feel that calling from the deepest part within. Its a calling that most of us dont experience, but there are those few who seemingly are born to answer it. My husband, Big Papa, is one of those people. I burst with pride knowing that God made him in his mothers womb to come out a fighter. Does it hurt like crazy to be separated from him while he answers his call? Like a knife stabbing me in the heart!!! But the kids and I know that being indifferent is no good. There must be someone to stand up and fight. We are proud of his God given ability to get the job done. Some of us are called to be the workers in the field, some are called to invent those machines that make the workers lives easier, some are called to give us music while we work, and some are called to document these days in writing and photos and films. Then, there are those who are called to fight to give us others the freedom to choose what we want to do with the lives we have been given. Today is the day we honor the fighters. Happy Veterans Day!!!

To all the men and women in my life that have served, are serving, or will serve...Thank You!!!

Looking For Serenity...

These days of trying to kiss boo boos, dry tears of broken hearts, teach ninja moves to 3 & 4 year old boys (in order to balance the barbie play they have to endure with 6 sisters), give my best advice on lifes ups and downs, teach reading to dyslexic 7 year old, teach pre-algebra to hormonal teens, stop the cat fights that happen when you have 5 girls 7-14 yrs of age, keep the house from looking like a tornado of: shoes, baby toys, matchbox cars, pillows that never get back up onto the couch, school books, sweaters that we needed this morning but not this afternoon but they never got hung up, dvds all over the floor because the baby now knows how to open the cabinet and pull them all out...and we let her to keep her from making screaming noises while we are doing school,...not to mention a dog that apparently suffers from some disease that makes him stupid enough to eat an entire chair that was left outside yesterday to help the little ones up on the trampoline (which he ate the other chair months ago), kittens that arent even ours destroying the garage, and a momma cat that constantly scratches on the door as if we are going to let her in (whose cat is she anyways?)!!!

Anyway, all that list is just to say "Wow! I would love to be back at the beach sitting on that balcony and looking out at this view and enjoying a cup of coffee...yeh right...if you know anything about me, you know that is a lie...I drink Diet Pepsi. However, no matter what you are drinking, you cannot deny that this view is a view of peace and serenity. Not to mention the fact that we were so far out there that there was nothing to distract that sweet peace...it was just me, God, and the ocean...and the perfect chaos that comes with 8 children going on behind me inside the beach house...but when the doors are shut it only causes a faint roar in the background.

Come on summer...Momma needs another beach trip!!!

A Moment...

Sometimes on this journey of Big Papa being oceans away, there will come a night that seems more lonely than the others. For some odd reason, tonight is one of those nights. It doesnt make sense to me. I went to dinner with a friend and that was nice...however, it made me miss my man even more. I walked upstairs to put my hobo shoes on after returning home (cause my boots hurt my fat foot)...and I could have sworn that I smelled Big Papas cologne (its really body wash but it knocks my socks off...tmi). Maybe the kids found it and were playing with it, but it made my heart ache to be close to him. I miss you Scooter Boo!!! Dont worry...Im staying composed its just one of those nights...just hurry home to me and Ill be alright!

Trick or Treat...

Sweet Irelyn Jane as a pumpkin princess...considering this was her first halloween she seemed to handle all the hoopla pretty well. Luckily no really scary costumes came in our path and the biggest upset happened when our neighbors puppy "roxy" came bolting out of the house and scared the pants off all the kids. It was a little colder than we expected but all in all we had a good time.

Here's the whole crew + 2 getting ready for the big neighborhood festivities...I love living here on days like this. The whole group of families really kicks in and gives the kids a night to remember. These guys will be talking about tonight for at least a week or two depending on how long it takes that mountain of candy to disappear. Bring on the Kit Kats and dont forget momma likes 'em cold.

Welcome to the Circus...

...And He's Gone Again

It has been a wonderful 2 months of Big Papa being home...but time has flown by and now he has taken flight again.

Big Papa treated us like royalty while he was here. It all began with a night of being whisked away (just Scooter and me) to an awesome night of wining and dining at a little B&B. So Romantic We then gathered the kids and headed to the Outer Banks for some alone family time which became a vacation that will be etched in the kids hearts forever. 4 wheeling on the beach...pool and jacuzzi to ourselves...mansion of a house...horses grazing in the yard...beautiful weather...perfect vacation!!!

We then came home and celebrated 4 birthdays, two of which were spent at The Mills riding gocarts and winning jackpot on a chicken game and winning lots of prizes for everyone. Big Papa and I got another year older and threw money around like it was Monopoly money but wow was it a fun 2 months.

Now reality is here again, and life has my main squeeze in a distant land. I am missing him like crazy and counting down the days to his return. Be safe Scooter Boo...see ya soon...

Daddy's Home!!!!

After a long and turbulent deployment, Big Papa is home!!! We decided that after such a hard separation for the kids we should take this opportunity to do a surprise reunion. First I picked Scooter up from the airport and we spent a night of fine dining and rose petal sprinkled floors at a little bed and breakfast downtown. It was enchanting!!! The kids were under the impression that I was at an overnight homeschool convention and were awaiting my return. We decided to surprise them at a local park and staged a mini photo shoot to send to daddy in Afghanistan. Scooter hid in the woods and waited for me to show up with the kids...

Bailey ran in fear and Lyndie took a pretty hard fall trying to get to daddy but all in all it was great. We will have this day to talk about for the rest of our lives. We have needed this day to come...A very happy reunion!!!!

Welcome Home Big Papa...we will all rest easy tonight!!!!!