Cousin Carl has a lot of "toys" in his garage and Abby was dying to go four wheeling! I'm not sure how she even held this helmet up on her little head but she was lovin it! As Daddy went over his "checklist" to make sure they were safe, Abby was all ready to go.

Am I really going to do this?

Once they got started, she did not want to get off. She was smiling from ear to ear and loved it!

I think we need a motorcycle!

Spring babies...

What a precious surprise we found coming home from the store on the golf cart! This sweet mommy and her SEVEN babies were enjoying some sunshine by the lake. Abby was thrilled and of course wanted to bring them home. They were chirping and stayed so close to their mommy. When they went down into the water, they huddled by her side and when she turned, you could not even see them... very cool. Daddy Duck stayed a few feet away to keep everyone safe.

Nature and instinct are two very

beautiful things!

SPRING FEST!

Abby's school had spring fest this past Friday night and Abby was quickly a fan. There were about five or six inflatable adventures and Abby was hooked. Who needed the duck pond, treasure chest or water gun games when you could climb, slide and bounce! I love her "tom boy" ways!

Abby soon bumped into (literally) her buddy Andrew and they played together the rest of the time. He is so sweet and they are so cute together. After tears were shed for bumping ears and heads... much more fun was had... including Abby's first cotton candy!

Climbing a sturdy rock wall is hard enough, but climbing one that is full of air and bounces is even trickier!

Our adventure girl tried this a couple weeks ago at Stone Mountain on a much larger and sturdier one. Half way up, she looked left and right and then decided she wanted down! This one was much more to her liking and she was up and over in no time!

My two precious little ones. I love this picture!

Happy Easter...

After hiding easter eggs in the igloos... it was time to venture into some sunshine. One second after snapping this photo Abby said, "I want my sweater back!" What a cold Easter it was this year.

Grammy sent this beautiful dress to Abby and when she saw herself in the mirror for the first time, she swished back and forth to watch the bottom sway... very precious moment!

Sweater back on for this one... Daddy and Abby.

Go, Go... Gadget arms

While waiting for Daddy, Abby I took a self-portrait, Dusty just couldn't balance on two legs and hold the camera at the same time.

Much warmer inside by the fireplace... on Easter!

"I'm not wanting to strangle Dusty... really... we're best friends!", says Abby. "Maybe if I don't look at her, mommy won't see I have six foiled chocolate easter eggs in my mouth!", Dusty thinks.....

Riding In Style...

Who needs a car seat (or bicycle basket) when you have bungee cords!? Abby has to take baby Allison and baby Beatrice everywhere with her, including her bike ride. And so... daddy to the rescue... baby's get front view! We went shopping for a bicycle basket on this day and so I had to snap a pic of the "girls" riding in style for the last time. Now, Abby is thrilled with her basket. She can now take their bottles, some spare change, her quacker, and her juice along with the girls on her ride!

Abby Update:

We got the results of Abby's MRI today and everything came back normal. We are so very thankful there were no signs of her lining continuing to thin... great, great, great news. So we continue to daily battle against seizures. She has been having one about every other night for a while now. We have just increased her night dosage of Topamax and continue to be on our face before the Lord for her protection and safety and healing. She is doing great. She is not showing side effects from the seizures (aside from very high and delicate emotions) and we don't see any negative effects from the medication. So PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE... and thanks. We are so thankful for your faithfulness in praying for her. It amazes me how faithful and concerned and loving you all continue to be after so long... God has been so kind in the friends He's blessed us with! Thank you.

Her "new" thing...

Walking into school has become the new highlight of Abby's mornings. It was getting too hard for her to be ready on time for the bus. Sometimes her sleep schedule is later, depending on what kind of night she's had, and so we started taking her to school. One morning as we sat in the car line, I asked her if she wanted to walk into school and to her class by herself. Crazy question. She immediately beamed from ear to ear and shook her head yes! So off she went! These little steps of independence are so precious and we do not take a single one for granted. So here she is, beaming, and walking herself into school and to class! Her smile alone is worth all the wealth in the world!

A new look!

My jewels are off to St. Simons, they are tagged with new colorful tags, and on new colorful jewelry cards! I am hoping the tags will help convey the energy and passion behind each piece and make them display ready. I already feel they represent my personality better than just plain cream. After a personal lull and hiatus from GJ, I am more excited than ever about where this road may lead.

Anyway, here's a glimpse at the new look. Hopefully, I'll be able to update my business cards soon and get my silver jewelry tags to go on each piece! I also just finished my Spring mailer today. After a trip to the printers today, they'll be in the mail!

Spring Is Here!

The trees are in full bloom and the pollen has arisen! Spring is here! She is so anticipated and then she performs such a dance of color and texture... I just love it. From the delicate dogwood blooms to the cherry blossoms... love it!

Abby did great during her MRI. I was so proud of her. She tried to do the test without sedation. She was SO brave as the head basket went over her head and then they taped her forehead down. She went into the tunnel fine and even made it through about 15 minutes of very loud and scarey noises. Then, of course, the machine malfunctioned and they came in to move us to another room and another machine and her little heart just didn't want to do it again. We ended up having to sedate her but the nurse got her iv on the first attempt and Abby did wonderfully. Then I pampered her the rest of the day with some shopping, dinner out and a manicure and pedicure. We should get the results any day.

I've been working hard on inventory and taxes and have just finished my Spring collection for Georgia Jewels. I photographed everything today and so hopefully tomorrow, after mailing my shipment to St. Simons Island, I'll get everything up on the blog and will be open for orders!

Check it out at georgiajewels.blogspot.com. Love to you all. Have a blooming wonderful day!

Run for the Gold...

This past Saturday, St. Patrick's Day, Abby and I ran in the "Run for the Gold" race at her school. We ran the one mile. Abby was so very excited. She talked about it for days. We decided since we were camper girls last Fall, we were now "Racer Girls". Every time she'd talk about it she'd remind me that we were "Racer Girls". She thought it was great we had matching shirts.

Ribbon Winner!

Here is my precious, audacious, fighting, and full of life angel with her ribbon. We finished in 14 minutes. She practically ran the entire time, minus two stops for just seconds. I kept asking her if she was ok... she'd say, "Yes mommy, I'm ok." So we kept running. My prayer is that this precious angel will always be able to run. She's ran in two mile runs... she rocks!

Precious Lodie and other things...
We had to say goodbye to our precious and most beloved Lodie in the earliest of hours of Sunday, March 4th. After putting Abby to bed Saturday night, I came downstairs to find her in some distress. After two calls to our vet, whom was having a dinner party with out of town guests, we had to take her to the emergency vet. At 12:05 a.m., we let her go.
For anyone who knows me, Lodie was my first baby. She was 14 and had just celebrated her birthday the week before. In her younger days, Don and I carried her everywhere in a doggie back pack. We took her roller blading, biking, camping, to outdoor restaurants and on our many, many, many visits to the Home Depot.
Her absence is so big right now. I miss so many things about her BUT, I am SURE she is one of God's favorites and she wouldn't come back to this dump for the world! I imagine her sitting right at the bottom of his throne, rolling around on her back and shaking all over... and Him smiling at her!
In other news... oh so much glee... contain yourselves... Abby starting having seizures again last week. She has been seizure free now for a few nights and she is on her medication during the day now too. It will be about another week before we get her to the dosage she needs. In the meantime, she has her MRI scheduled this Friday. My prayer request is that you pray for her to have courage and peace, that they are able to get a vein for the iv quickly and on ONE attempt, and that the procedure goes well.
She is such a trooper. Thank you for your love and your comments and your prayers AND friendships. Love to you all and hope your week is "blooming" with the amazing and fresh colors of Spring.

A Day in the Park!

Saturday, we spent the day at Stone Mountain. Abby was enthralled from the moment we arrived. She couldn't believe how big the rock was and we couldn't believe she cared that much! Then she saw the relief carving and she was a Stone Mountain fan! She just kept giggling and was so happy to be there. We had a picnic lunch here and then headed to the top.

Quack Quack Quack...

One of the highlights of our day was riding the "duck". It's actually a vehicle used in World War II and they have turned them into "sight seeing" tools called "Ducks". Upon arriving, you get your own personal quacker and it took Abby about 2 seconds to get hooked on quacking! This

picture cracks me up with the guys in the background... the one with his mouth open is screaming for his quacker!

Driving the DUCK!

After we plunged into the lake and Abby got her breath back (wish we had that moment caught on camera!), Captain Tom invited Abby to come up and drive the DUCK. She thought she was the bomb and forgave him for getting her wet!

Captain Tom

Captain Tom was so sweet to Abby. She took to him too. We were surprised she just jumped up there to drive. I was so glad I got to snap this picture of him talking to her. It was precious to see them interact. He let her drive and honk the horn. He was a hoot! After she was done driving, he gave her a little license card. She held onto that card for the rest of the night.

Chillin with Daddy...

Two of my favorite people... what a great day we had!

It was daddy's idea to go to Stone Mountain and we had such a fun time. Thank you daddy!

Atlanta Skyline

After our picnic at the bottom, we went up to the top of the mountain and it was so beautiful. Even though it was a bit overcast, the Atlanta skyline was still so amazing. We love where we live so much. Our community is so wonderful and "small town" with all the charms that go along with that... and yet we are just a stones through away from Atlanta with all the wonderful city things like Olympic Park, museums, Atlanta Braves, great restaurants, and of course... Mart!

I could have spent hours up here and Don and I are going back for a lunch date soon!

Rock climbing

Our girl was all about rock climbing and exploring on top of the mountain. After all the fun, as we were walking back to the sky lift, she said, "Whew... my legs are sore." She's our adventure girl!

Gap or Children's Place?

Abby took a break from rock climbing to pose for the camera. Daddy snapped this picture on top of Stone Mountain as Abby played "Swiss Family Robinson" amongst the trees and rocks! She would crawl down into an area and declare, "This is my room." I love it! Not too long after this, she got her pig tail stuck on a tree branch... after breaking free, her hair was in a heap and full of bark!

1 Hat... 2 Hat... green hat... fat hat!

Abby and I thought these hats would do a great job sheilding us from the wind.... not! She thought it was histerical to see such furry hats! Should we buy them... hmmmmmm?

White as Snow...

I went home to Virginia during the week of the 5th. Don had finished upgrade training and was going to have a bit of time off before flying again. He asked me if I wanted to go "home" and rest and I took him up on it. It was very hard to leave Abby but I needed the mental rest desperately.

Just a day after I arrived, God sent a little welcoming present... a gentle, beautiful snow fall. I love snow. The softness of it as it falls, the peacefulness of it as it lies there... just lies there covering everything beneath it, and the delight it quietly offers... "come play in me".

What a treat it was and I felt God was just telling me, "I am here and this is for you." I met with my spiritual mentor and had some deep and healing time in prayer with him and my parents. God came to me there. He came to me, he touched me, healed me, held me, refreshed me, and rescued me. I have never been more in love with Him as I am now. I am so thankful for His faithfulness and the audaciousness he continues to show me by being present in my life.

"My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul. (1) For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth. (4, 5) ~Psalm 108

Birthday Party!

Abby and Sydney at Sydney's 6th birthday party on my birthday, the 3rd! It was so much fun to watch her play with the other kids and have fun at a party. We knew Sydney and her parents from VA; they lived in Fredericksburg when we did. I met Sydney when she was 2! So now they are here too, like MANY of our friends and we are blessed to be with them again. Happy Birthday Sydney!

Abby Update- February 26

Psalm 107

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1)

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. (6) Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. (13, 14) Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. (19, 20) Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. (28, 29)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

We are giving thanks... the Lord God has delivered us from distress, darkenss, and our deepest gloom. We are giving thanks... the Lord God has sent forth his word and healed us and rescued us from the grave. We are giving thanks... the Lord God has stilled the storm, thank you Lord, and the rolling waves of the sea are hushed.

Abby has been seizure free again for over two weeks... about 17 days. Her clarity of mind is returning and her confidence is better. She is almost back to a full day of school and is more focused and able to participate again. When you look in her eyes... we have her back.

She is on anti-seizure medication at night but is off the valium. Her glyconutrition remains increased and we have added another anti-oxidant and other vitamins. She has a MRI scheduled for next month so we can see if there is any change to her brain. Whatever the combination... the storm is stilled and we are joyous and overflowing with thanksgiving! Let the Lord be glorified and thanked for answering and hearing our and your prayers!

Mercy

Each day takes us down a road we've been before. Abby's Topamax is increasing and she's been on two atavan a night... she is a wreck... putting it mildly. This morning she was walking into door frames and falling down. We get her from school at noon and feed her lunch at home and she is just a little wreck. The idea is to then have a nap but she refuses. Where she gets the energy from is beyond me. So after lying in bed with her and fighting with her for over an hour, I've decided to just get up. She then walks around the house from room to room just whinning and declaring what she does not like or want and just sobs. I have taken half of one of her atavan today and am hoping it will help the mommy.

My girlfriends gave me a birthday lunch today, my 33rd is tomorrow. It was nice, they are such dear gifts from God. Abby painted my nails... like them?

Even with the atavan, she's having about 10+- a night. She can't write her name anymore and is having trouble with speech. Hopefully when we get higher on the Topamax we can come off the atavan. Prayers are still desired and appreciated.

Getting Ribbons in Her Hair!

What a brave girl we have. She not only had blood work yesterday and gave 6 viles of blood without even wincing, she sailed through the EEG with no fears... thank you Lord for giving her peace. She was gob smacked for sure and it took everything in me to keep her awake until we could get in here but she made it!

Chillin with her dvd player (what a wonderful invention!). This girl was already ready to go while watching her new favorite movie, "Air Bud". We started her on Atavan last night and it did knock her OUT! We gave her the first one at 7:45 p.m. and she went to bed thirty minutes later. She went to sleep without any seizures but was having small ones again by 2 a.m. Her body was still so knocked out that her body wasn't jerking... only her head and eyes... it was crazy. So at 3ish a.m. I needed to give her another one but I was afraid we'd knock her out too long and she was supposed to be sleep deprived for the EEG today so I gave her a half. Well, she continued to seize and so I just got her up at 5ish for the day. Well guess when she sleeps with no seizures...? Of course, during the EEG where a seizure would have been a great thing to catch. Even though she didn't have a seizure, there was a LOT of craziness going on with many spikes and several "events". So my prayer is that God allowed what the doctors needed to see to happen without her going into a full blown seizure. We'll keep you posted. She had 12 to 13 last night and of course she had one of the way home from the EEG in the car today! I think they need to make squish balls with the word "seizure" on them for moms to grip and squeeze... a punching bag would be nice too!

Love to you all, thank you for your prayers and your love. Please pray for Don. He's been in upgrade training to become Captain of the plane and his check ride is on Sunday. Pray he can remain focused and have peace that Abby and I are in the Lord's arms and just get through the next few days and nights. Love, love, love to you all!

January 30, 2007

Abby continues to get worse each day. Last Friday we went into the neurologist and started the anti-seizure medication, topamax she was on when we started glyconutritionals. Sunday night she had 16 seziures and last night she had 22. Her seizures are starting soon after she goes to sleep now and she is clustering early, last night she had a cluster of 6 by 9:00ish. We gave her the diastat and by 1 a.m. she was seizing again. By 4 a.m. she had clustered again with 6 and so I gave her diastat again and then she was seizing again by 6 a.m. Her speech is starting to slur already and she has been tripping over her right foot all day (the right side is most affected with semi-paralysis after the seizures).
We went to the neurologist again today and are going up on her medication quicker than we initially planned. We are also going to try a new kind of valium tonight that we will give her right before bedtime in hopes that it will keep her from seizing.

Your prayers are covetted. I will continue to give glory to our God and Father who has brought her back from the depths of darkness before and I call on him and beg Him to show His Almighty hand in her life again now. In Jeremiah 29, the Lord declares, " For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you." It is this scripture that I bring before Him and ask you to as well. We are coming to Him and we are praying and we are speaking His word.
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43
We are passing through the waters and the river is pulling hard. We are in the fire and the heat is almost unbearable. This is our prayer, that we are reminded daily that He is with us and that Abby is in His hands. That we will not be forsaken, that His adacious power and faithfulness will be seen in her restoration again. Nothing is impossible or too big for our God and we are crying out to see you.

Hello...

Hello Friends. Here is Ms. Abigail Grace with her Star of the Week Poster for school. She was so excited to the week's Star Student and her poster was outside her classroom in the hallway all week. She also was class leader on Tuesday, her favorite thing to do, and did a wonderful job.

After not being able to shake her head cold for a week, I took her to the doctor and she had strep throat. Our doctor was amazed Abby has not been sick since 2005. She was laughing at how short Abby's pediatrics notes are... if only she could see our section in the neurology department!

Speaking of neurology, Abby seems to be getting worse and at a quicker rate than we can really believe. Our hopes of a mid-morning a.m. snack helping have gone out the window. She pretty much is having seizures every night, two, three and last night five in number. They are not only growing in number, they are getting harder and uglier. We are calling today to try and get her on anti-seizure medication as soon as possible.

I will speak from my heart here. The meds never worked in the past. It is our plea and soul's hope that they might work now in conjunction with the glyconutrition. Why the glyconutrition all the sudden doesn't seem to work is a very sad and unanswered question we are facing.

I am struggling to a depth that is hard to put into words. Seeing Abby go through this again every night and seeing it get worse before our eyes and seeing the pain and panic in her eyes when she can't talk or move her arms right after a seizure is catipulting me back into a depression and state of spiritual warfare and anger that I prayed I would never see again. The darkest days of despair are all too familiar and I am panicing. I don't want this battle. I can't handle this battle again.

I feel selfish to even talk about myself when Abby is the one whose health is back on the balance. She needs prayer... courage and peace and energy and rest... real rest. I need prayer. Prayer for strength and energy... courage, hope and faith.

Thank you. Thank you for your friendships, for your concern and for your love and prayers. Please keep our family in the Father's ear. Please plea for guidance and wisdom and for healing.

The Latest Accessory!

Abby got a very "blue" berry sucker from the bank today and was thrilled to see that her tongue now matches her shirt! She keeps sticking it out and looking in the mirror... too funny. SO of course she thought we MUST take a photo for our blog!

I got up with her at 2:45 a.m. this morning and gave her a snack of apple slices, cheese, crackers and apple juice. I also gave her one of her glyco vitamins and she got through the night without a seizure. So I am going to keep up with this for a while and see what happens. Since her disease has to do with her body and the lack of ability to properly retrieve and distribute nutrients, we are wondering if 11 hours from dinner to breakfast is just too long for her to do without food. So this is our hope. We would much rather do this than revisit anti-seizure medications. We'll keep you posted. Thank you SO much for your prayers and love.

Abby update:
Abby has had seizures the past three nights. Last nights was very ugly and hard. They are happening between 3 and 4 a.m. So tonight, I am going to try and wake her around 2:30 a.m. and give her a snack and juice. The hope is that food/nutrition in her body at that time will help her not have a seizure. So we're going to try that until we have her EEG on the 31st. We are also praying about trying an anti-seizure medication in combo with the glyconutrition. Your prayers for her are so much appreciated.
I am having two moles taken off tomorrow morning. They have scabbed several times in the past 6 months and so they will be biopsied. I'll keep you posted.

Seizure Update
I have slept with Abby the past two nights and she has not had any seizures. I slept with her from December 26th to Jan 1 and in that time, she had seizures two of the nights... one on one night and three on another. I plan to sleep with her the next three to four nights and will keep you all posted. Thank you for your continues prayers, love, and encouragement.

Celia Comes Home!

Last Wednesday night, we had the priviledge of meeting Celia Augusta Lane as she arrived home to the United States with her mom and dad, Julie and Ed. They are friends of ours from Richmond. I met Jules online on an adoption support group with our adoption agency, World Partners, as we were both waiting for referals from Kazakhstan. We went in April of 2003 to get Abby and they left just a few months later to get their son, Ethan. Now they have been blessed with precious Celia from Guatemala. They had a connecting flight in Atlanta on the way to Richmond and after much time in customs, we just got 10 minutes with them. Jules is a dear, dear friend... love you Jules and hope to see you soon!!!!

Here we are with Jules and baby Celia. What an angel she is! Abby was about to pass out from exhaustion!

Thanks G-Mom and G-Dad!

This is another thank you note for G-Mom and G-Dad Haughton! They gave us a generous gift certificate to Target for Christmas and I went shopping for Abby! Her foot has grown again and she needed new shoes... again. So she has on her new "Hello Kitty" school shoes and we got another pair of our favorite Target tennis shoes. I have bought this little shoe in four sizes now! It is the same tennis shoe she started walking in again and so maybe they are sentimental. Anyway, we also got her two pairs of pants, an adorable skirt, and a dress for Spring. And I got myself the "Keane" cd I have been wanting. GREAT CD.

I LOVE this picture. She was miffed with me about something (imagine that) and WOULD NOT SMILE. I threatened her with returning her shoes for being ungrateful and THIS is the smile I got! This is classic Abby tude! Thank you again G-Mom and G-Dad... love you guys very much!!!

Again, I realize I am publishing these backwards. Oh well , what can you do. Anyway, this is Abby's lifeskill award. Read below and you'll understand. She is doing great and is now getting another 30 minutes of resource time after lunch to work on math skills. We continue to be so blessed at the opportunities given to her and how she continues to progress. She just received her second report card and has come up in everything except self-control... she got an NI in that one.

Abby's Award

Abby started the new year off with a Lifeskills Award. Two children are picked from each class, every nine weeks, and are given awards for above and beyond achievements. Abby's award was for effort. Her precious teacher, Ms. Osborne, almost cried as she told me how moved she is by Abby's 150% effort each and every day! This picture is of her walking into the gym with her class. I was against the wall and she didn't know I was there. It's a surprise to the children when their name is called. Abby came in with her hands in her pockets, all big and grown, too cute.

Abby's Cafe

Abby spent most of the day on Christmas playing "Cafe" and feeding her babies (and us) all kinds of creations. Wearing her new apron and serving her new food, on her new dishes, Abby's Cafe was in business in no time! Favorite menu items were mac-n-cheese with lettuce, cold cereal, hot dogs and of course... cookies.

Grandaddy and Abby

Grandaddy was here to share Christmas with us and it was so nice to have him here. Hopefully he's coming back in February to share his birthday with us too! Grandaddy always has cool presents for Abby and this year it was a keyboard (mommy likes playing with it too!). The best part is that it has a microphone and Abby loves to sing "Happy Birthday", "Jesus Loves Me" and "It's a Small World". We love it too! Thanks Grandaddy!

Soccer Pillow

Grammy made Abby a pillow with a beautiful needlepoint of an adorable girl with a brown bob, big brown eyes and a soccer ball. It looks just like Abby and she loved it from the moment she opened it. It was one of her favorite Christmas presents. Thank you Grammy.

Trees in Winter

I think trees are the most beautiful in Winter. Fall brings great color, Spring brings sweet blooms of promise, but Winter brings to light the tree's soul. The intricate detail in the twisting and turning of branches is truly the tree's true identity. When covered in leaves, you see the outline of a tree. When bare, you see her heart and soul and it is amazing and beautiful. This is one of my favorite trees in Winchester. It stands out in a field and is so majestic and graceful and full of years and years of history. If only she could talk. So here she is. I have another favorite tree on the way to our lake house in Alabama and I will photograph her soon. I love taking pictures of trees. They are one of God's greatest and most beautiful creations.

December in the Park

It's December, in Virginia, and we are outside at the park without coats! I do love cold days, I do love an occassional snow, but I love sunny mild days of winter the most! We went bowling for Derrick's birthday and they wouldn't let us bring a cake in for him. So we went to the park!

Brutie Love

Brutis, my parent's dog, LOVES Abby. He mopes around for days after we leave and looks out the window for her. Abby LOVES to pester Brutie. And he is very easy to pester since he is the official "freak" dog. You walk in the room with a balloon, he runs across the room, hides behind a sofa and peaks around the corner. You move a chair across the floor, he has a mini-heart attack and claws much hated gashes into the hardwood trying to get out of the room. So all Abby has to do is hold out a toy and start walking towards him and the chase begins. This was a precious captured moment of Brutie love. I think Abby had some jelly on her face from breakfast and Brutie was just trying to help her out.

A lotta love

I love having pictures of my sister and I with Abby. I am not sure why, exactly. It may be because they love each other so much, because I love them so much, because Cynthia and I are close... anyway, it's just a portrait of a lotta love and I love it... and them!

P.S. Am NOT loving the haircut! (mine)

Christian's Dedication

While we were in Winchester after Christmas, Christian, my nephew, was dedicated. He is the cutest thing in the world and I was so excited to be there. John Morrison, a very special family friend, did the dedication and that made it all

the more special. As Daniel and Rachel walked up there with him, I still just kinda was hit with awe that my little brother is a father. STILL trips me out! Christain had on overalls and a bow tie with knee socks... Cynthia and I thought he looked like a yoddler (sp?). Then we had a hard time trying to stop laughing at the thought of him yoddling... it was early.

"Oh Christmas House"

The house my parents rented before building their current house is now Winchster's Theme House. They are the ones who go ALL out at EVERY holiday. We HAVE to ride by at Christmas just to see the glow from the front of the neighborhood! They have about 100 snowmen and they are all clustered together. They have about 100 Santa's... and they are all clustered together. There are several sleighs and several nativities and "several" Season's Greetings. This is just one side of the three sides that are decorated! Mom just prays that EVERYONE knows she no longer lives there! I think it is kinda sweet they want to share so much cheer... they HAVE to own a huge storage unit. They do this same thing at Halloween with massive amounts of gravestones. Abby loved it and it is a new tradition... Kudoes to them for being FESTIVE and sucking up the massive electric bill!

"BLOG BRAIN"
I have not blogged in almost a month now and I have posted the following posts in the wrong order. Trying to remember how to post them "backwards" so they read forward is just too much for my blog brain this morning. I am just overwhelmed with how much catching up I need to do.

My precious friend, Alethea, and her children handed out presents to the men after they received their food. Hundreds of people filled shoe boxes with items and wrapped them. As I watched them walk over with their plate in one hand and take their box in the other, I was just so humbled at the knowledge that "this" was their Christmas. I pray they felt the Lord's presence and blessing for He was truly there with us.