Weekend to Remember...

We were given the gift this weekend, by my mama and step dad, of spending the weekend at the Family LIfe Weekend to Remember marriage conference. It was really amazing and I would recommend it to any couple... married, engaged, or thinking of getting married! We learned so much! Too much to write all about in this short post... :) I realized a few things while we were there. 1. I am so thankful for my husband. His willingness to put our family and me before his own needs and desires is really amazing. 2. For someone who communicates for a living, I've really sucked at communicating with my best friend. I am quick to unsheathe my sword and draw blood from the belly... I really want to communicate with him in a way that he will both hear and understand me. 3. Rob really loves me. And he completely trusts me. He is my gift from God and a treasure! And my job is to respect him for the authority that God has given him. I am to be his helper... Not is mama. (wow... ok, so there's even more that I've learned, but I'm still pretty worn out from the weekend, so I'll have to save the rest for another post!)
Anyhow... we went up there with an already pretty great marriage! And even though it's not as if things have just become some fairy tale, happily ever after thing, I already can see how God is using this weekend to the benefit of our marriage, our family, and to God's glory!

Thanks, Mom and Wes. Thank you for investing in us. We love you!

And to my best friend, lover, father of my children, my partner (sometimes in crime!:) )... When I say I love you... I love you!

My Family Throws The Best Birthday Party...

I love my family so much! When I got home today they (they, meaning daddy... of course!) had made me a fantastic dinner and my sweet, creative husband had made me the cutest cake! Then the babies said that we needed to play our new family game. (See previous post. :) ) I LOVE my sweet family!
Here's a picture of my adorable cake! :)

Oh, yeah. It's On!!

So... in this time of economic hardship, my family has found a fantastic way to occupy our time and have a little cheap entertainment! N-E-R-F G-U-N-S!! We are having so much fun! We take turns hiding and then the kids and the not hidden parent go find the missing parent! The kids love it! Then... when the kids go to sleep, we turn all the lights off and... It's On!! We've even pulled my brother into the game! I'm exhausted by the time we go the sleep, but I haven't laughed this much forever!

Did you ever think you'd ask...

So, tonight, I went into our bathroom and I found the new box of tampons that I just recently purchased, and to my complete confusion, the box was empty. Hmmm? Ok, so I figured that the kids had maybe gotten into them and daddy had put them in a drawer and not in the box to keep them away from the babies. So, I looked in the drawers and under the sink. Nope. No tampons. Hmmm? That's strange. So, downstairs I go. And this is how the conversation goes. "Honey?" "Yeah, babe." "Ummm... where'd you put my tampons?" "Excuse me?" "My tampons. Their not in the box." "And you think I used them?" "Um, no. I just thought you maybe moved them." "I have not seen your tampons. You know I don't even like to think about those things. Why would I touch them." "Well, the thing is... is they're gone." "Gone? Gone where?" "Yeah... Um, I don't really know. I need you to help me find them." So, reluctantly my husband follows me upstairs to try search for my missing tampons. We searched everywhere. Finally, we find them. Stashed under the bed. Yup. Under the bed. Not really sure why. But, there they were. Under the bed. 

Daddy took the babies to the store today to try and find this special tea for my brother. While he was searching the shelf, he turns around, and this is what he finds. He said it took him forever to put them all back. 

Our weekend in the hospital.

We're home now. I'm very thankful. As I'm starting to type this, I'm realizing how tired I am, cause I'm getting really teary... which I don't really do that much. Emme got sick on Friday. She seemed to just have the crud. Congested chest cough yuckiness and a fever. At about 4am on Saturday, she woke up and her fever was high again. So, daddy and I were trying to decide whether to strip her and give her a bath or more motrin... when she started to roll all over the bed. She couldn't get comfortable and I realized that she couldn't hardly breathe. She was panicking and so was I. I scooped her up and we headed to the emergency room. They did some chest ex-rays and started giving her breathing treatments.... albuterol and then another one that I can't remember the name of. I seem to take a bit after my mom... strong until it's all over, then I cry. I didn't really cry while we were in the ER. I didn't really break down, even when they were putting the IV in her tiny hand, but now that we're home, and she's resting peacefully with her daddy, the tears just won't stop. I cannot imagine our lives before she was here. She's just so much apart of who we are now. Funny... I did not want a girl. I even had a hard time with the idea of a girl. Now, I don't just want a girl, but I can't believe that I ever thought that I wouldn't be able to relate to my daughter. She's my mini-me. I almost every way. She has my temper. My stubborn head. My eyes. My hair. I love my mini-me. Her ex-rays, in the ER, showed some stuff on the left side of her lungs. They explained to us that she had pneumonia. Pneumonia??? How can that be??? She was healthy and fine just a day and a half before that!! I was just sure that they didn't believe us and that they thought we were the worst parents ever! Thankfully... they were so reassuring and validating to us about how babies can compensate for quite awhile before they crash, so although she may have been sick, we couldn't have known. After spending several hours in the ER, they decided to admit her to the pediatric unit. It's amazing how, even when you know that people are all around you and ready and willing to help, as you look at your sick baby, you just feel so helpless. Breaks my heart. I'm so thankful for the hospital staff. They were awesome! So full of compassion and so gentle. She had to wear this nasty contraption on her arm, where they put the IV in. Kids are incredible! Even with this monster on her arm--her right arm at that!-- she managed to figure out how to eat her cereal and fruit snacks using the board and her thumb! AMAZING! She's so smart. The doctor came in today before we left. She said that she looked at the ex-rays from the first night and that they are clear. Nothing on her lungs! Ok, so she said that the ER staff probably made a mistake, but I am confident that God healed our baby and went right ahead and healed the ex-rays with it! He's so good! So, we're home now. This has seriously been the longest weekend ever! I'm so thankful for God's healing hand and His grace even in the midst of our storm! The girl's been pretty ornery (I'm not sure how to spell that...) I think that's probably the best sign that she's getting back to normal! We sure love you, baby! Feel better! 123~Mama. 

I tried to upload a picture of her in her hospital gown... she looked so sweet! 

I woke up this morning and The Caped Crusader was in my bed.

Fall 2008 Photo Shoot