Christmas Come And Gone

Another Christmas has come and gone. It's hard to believe how much we anticipate the wonderful Christmas season and how quickly it passes by us. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I love the music of the season, all of the holiday movies that come on TV, the special church services and especially the Christmas foods! I especially love the fact that families make such an effort to be together during the holidays. It is truly a wonderful time of the year and when this season comes around it makes me sad that we cannot have such a holiday more than once a year.

I took a few photos during the holidays that I wanted to share with each of you. I can honestly say that I felt very blessed this year. To know that Victoria could not been with us, had God not intervened ... well, that made "God With Us" have a little deeper meaning for me. God was truly with the Messick family this year and I cannot be more thankful!

Enjoy the photos and Merry Christmas to all!

This is a photo of our Christmas tree right after "Santa" dropped off all of the presents!

Here are Elyssa and Natalie helping Victoria open one of her gifts.

Elyssa and Natalie really enjoy their Dora chairs!

Here is Victoria with her Grand Daddy!

Opening gifts at Mee Maw and Paw Paw's.

This is a great photo of me, my sister, my sister-in-law and Victoria while at my parent's for Christmas.

Reflecting On The Year

Tonight as I sat at the computer I came across something I meant to share with you a little while back.

On the computer desk sat the 2008 Rileigh & Raylee Angel Ride Foundation program book from their Angel Ride & Concert event that took place on November 7th of this year. We were invited to be special guests at this event, but were not able to go because of previous commitments. The Angel Ride Foundation is very special to us because when Victoria had to be flown via jet to UAB because of her need for immediate heart surgery back in May, they gave us money to help offset our expenses while staying in Birmingham. They were a huge blessing to us.

To our surprise, in their event program, they displayed the letter of thanks that we sent them after Victoria's surgery. I attempted to scan two pages from the program so you could get more of an idea of what the Angel Ride Foundation does and also, so you could see the letter from us that they printed in their program. Just reading over our letter to them again brought tears to my eyes. God has been so faithful this year and I cannot begin to express my thankfulness for His continued grace.

PS - If you click on each image in this particular blog entry, the image will be enlarged so you can read the scanned material.

In The Palm Of My Hand

I've already begun to see in Victoria such a sweet spirit. She is very loving and always seems to have a smile on her face. She is very tactile (loves to touch things with her hands) and is always reaching for my face or touching my clothing and hands. One of my most favorite things that Victoria does is wrap her hands around my hand when I reach and touch her face. I wanted to take a video of this so you could see how sweet she is. I just love that little girl so much! Even though she has been on the brink of pneumonia the past few weeks, she still has a smile on her face and wants to show affection to me!

Breakfast With Santa

A few days ago we had the opportunity to participate in an even called Breakfast With Santa. It was held at Bel Air Mall by JC Penny and was sponsored by AIDB (Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind). Breakfast was provided by Chick-fil-a.



There was face painting, goodie bags for all of the kids and a free ride on the train and carousel. All of the moms were also given a $20 gift card redeemable at any store in the mall! Yee Haw! I really enjoyed that!

The kids were able to have their photo made with a Santa that does sign language. Here is a photo of Victoria with Santa. It was neat to see the kids communicate with him. There were all sorts of kids there. Some had Downs, physical deformities, and most seemed to have sight or hearing issues. There were parents, grandparents, friends and siblings there of all of the special-needs children. It was a really heart-warming experience for me.

On the way to the mall, I told Mark that I was feeling emotional. I had never been to an event for special-needs children before and I was feeling myself want to cry. Never in my life had I pictured myself being a part of such a community and going through all that we have the past year or so. Don't get me wrong, looking back I see how much of a blessing Victoria has been to my life, it's just that her coming to us in the way she did definitely has been life-changing. There have been many challenges and many emotions felt in the process. Anyway, the trip to the mall was a nervous one for me. However, after we arrived and I had a chance to settle into the situation, I started enjoying myself.

We were really blessed to meet a couple at the breakfast who has a Downs baby named Hollis. Hollis was born on March 10th also, so he and Victoria share the exact same birthday! What a cool thing that was! Hollis is a cute little boy and he also sees the same Vision Specialist that Victoria does. Actually, the specialist, Jennifer, introduced us to this great couple. We are hoping to carve out time to spend with them. We really feel that God ordained for us to meet them. We pray that we can be a tool that the Lord uses to minister to them and vice versa! God is just like that, isn't He? He gives us exactly what we need when we need it! We had so much in common with this couple because of our situations so we look forward to seeing them at more events in the future.

We are thankful for such wonderful services that are available to Victoria such as, AIDB. They are a huge help to us and her! After finally attending my first special-needs event, I can say that whatever fears I dealt with in the past melted away when I saw how much love was shown for each child at the breakfast. God is still teaching me so much through the life of my sweet, little Victoria Jayne!

Christmas Music

My brother, Alan, and I recently recorded a song that he is going to use in his Christmas Dinner Theatre at his church. I thought you might like to hear it! I love to hear Alan sing and was privileged to sing with him for this event. The song is called "The House That Hope Built." Click on this link to hear the song: http://www.box.net/shared/ovgik3dpqi . The lyrics are included below. Hope you enjoy it!

PS - The photo above was taken when Victoria was about to be born in March 2008. Even though I look terrible, Alan and Mandy look great! They were there during such a pivotal time in my life and I'm so thankful to have them in my life!

House That Hope Built

Verse 1

There was frost out on the window and snow lay on the ground

But inside the house was darkness no comfort could be found

No laughter warmed the season for each heart was cold with grief

No one felt like gathering around the Christmas tree

Verse 2

A miracle then happened a knock heard at the door
Brought back the vague reminder of what this day is for
They had gifts of love and healing but that was just the start
They brought Christmas to our house when they brought Jesus to our hearts

Chorus

Come inside warm yourself by the fire of God's love

No matter what we have it's always more than enough
For all the empty places life has left are being filled
All because the Savior lives in a house that hope built

Verse 3

Now every Christmas season I can't help but give
The light I have to someone else wherever darkness lives
I have to keep on ringing out the news that Christ has come
‘Cause I can't help but tell you all the things He's done!

Chorus

Come inside warm yourself by the fire of God's love

No matter what we have it's always more than enough
For all the empty places life has left are being filled
All because the Savior lives

O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him

For all the empty places life has left are being filled
All because the Savior lives
In a house that hope built
In a house that hope built

Turkey Weekend

Whelp, Turkey Day has come and gone and it was definitely a different type of holiday for us at the Messick home!

The day before Thanksgiving, Elyssa had a feast in her 3K class at school. Mark stayed with the sick girls and let me escape for a little while so I could see Elyssa's little holiday program. Her class dressed up like American Indians and counted to 30, recited their phonics and sang a Thanksgiving song. It was really cute. Below you will see the video of her class counting to 30. Elyssa was very energetic in her recitation!

On Thursday, Mark and Elyssa drove to his parent's in Bay Minette and spent Thanksgiving with them. Elyssa really enjoyed her time with her cousin, Maddy. They fed chickens and had a good time outside. Mark got tickled that Elyssa called the wooded area by his parent's house the "spooky forest." They had a good time and I'm sure they enjoyed all the great food and fellowship with family.

I stayed home on Thanksgiving day with the two sick-o's, Natalie and Victoria. Natalie was still seeming to be under the weather and Victoria was still on breathing treatments. All-in-all, it was a good day and I spent the day getting things done around the house. I was able to get most of our Christmas decorations up and also get ready for another yard sale that we are having this coming weekend.

Saturday the girls seemed better and we all drove to my parent's to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. We had a great time, although, I was very guarded with the girls since they were still recovering from being so sick. But, they all seemed to have a great time playing with their cousins. I hate that we were only able to see my sister and her family for the day. We miss them, especially, since they live in Louisiana now. When you are with family that you don't get to see very often, you never feel like you have quite enough time with them on the holidays. However, we felt so thankful that we were able to see them, even if just for a day! And, it wasn't too shabby that we were all able to watch the Alabama game together! It was great to enjoy that win!

Even though Thanksgiving was a little different this year, we enjoyed it and felt very thankful to spend time with family when we could. We serve a faithful God who continues to show us how He provides for our every need. We could not feel more blessed!

At The Hospital

Today Mark and I had to take Natalie and Victoria back to their doctor for follow-up visits. They have both been sick for several weeks and have seemed to get worse lately.

Victoria has been on breathing treatments three-times-a-day for a week now. I haven't seen a lot of improvement, but the doctor insists that she has a virus and that we need to continue her treatments for a while longer. Hopefully, in the next week she will be sounding and looking much better. Even though she is sick, she still looks as cute as ever!

Poor Natalie sounded especially terrible today. Last week we were told she had some wheezing in her chest and at that time she was put on antibiotics. The antibiotics did not seemed to help at all. In fact, her condition seemed to deteriorate over the past few days. So, today we hauled her back to the doctor to be told that it sounded like she had pneumonia. After her doctor visit, we all took a trec over to the closest hospital for Natalie to have her chest x-rayed. Sure enough, she has pneumonia! However, it is in the early stages and she will not have to be hospitalized. How thankful we felt to have caught this before it got too bad! Don't get me wrong, she sounds bad enough to me to be hospitalized. This morning, sitting still, she sounded like she had been running a marathon! She had very labored breathing, so I knew it was possible that she had pneumonia. We are so thankful for her doctor, Faye Roberts, who was so thorough in her exam. Dr. Faye is awesome! She put Natalie on much stronger antibiotics and we hope to see some huge improvements in her condition this week.

I told Mark to go ahead and take Elyssa with him to his parent's house on Thursday like we had planned. However, I'll stay home with Natalie and Victoria. I know this sounds silly, but I actually bought a "TV dinner" of turkey and dressing to eat on Thursday so I could feel like I had a little bit of a Thanksgiving meal! Mark's mom will send a plate of food home for me Thursday night so I'll get to really have a good meal on Friday for lunch. She is a great cook so I'm kinda sad that I'll miss her meal on the actual day of Thanksgiving. But, it'll taste just as great on Friday when I do get to chow down on it!

This year's Thanksgiving holiday isn't turning out how I planned, but I'm still so thankful! I look back over the year and see how God has worked miracles in the life of my family. He is a wonderful Father who truly takes care of His children!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elyssa's Singing Debut!

Tonight was a monumental night in the life of our oldest little girl, Elyssa. It was her first time to sing in "big" church. She is in the 3K choir at our church and they sang three songs to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday this week. Elyssa was asked to sing a solo at the beginning of the song "Give Thanks." We've been working on this song for several months now and I was praying she would sing as well in the performance as she has done at home. She did great!

I'll try to upload a video soon of her actual performance.

A Beautiful Nose!

Mark and I went to see Dr. Bryars, my ENT, yesterday. We all sat down and he looked over my CT scan. He explained what he saw in each layer of the scan. He said that my right frontal sinus has never fully developed. He said that, probably, since childhood my sinus has been this way. He wondered if I had a lot of sinus infections as a child. I told him no, but that I remember having a lot of sore throats. He said the sore throats could've been caused by drainage from this underdeveloped sinus cavity. He was amazed as he looked at my scan. He said that it looked like a surgeon had gone in and made the same types of repairs to my right sinus that he would've done if he had done my surgery. He said even though my sinus was not fully developed, it drains exactly as it needs to. He pointed out that my right sinus is missing a small bone that my left sinus has. Also there were several other differences. All in all, he said that he didn't feel like I needed surgery. He said it looked like God and Mother Nature had made whatever adjustments needed to be made in my right sinus to cause it to work properly. It was really neat to hear him explain all of this to us and once again, I knew I had seen God's hand in my life.

He is the Great Physician who can heal any deformity and irregularity of our corruptible bodies! Praise God for His healing hand even though when we don't always know He is working in our behalf!

PS - Dr. Bryars said I did have a small polyp, but he said it has probably been there for a long time and he didn't see any need to remove it. He said it will NEVER turn into anything cancerous.

A "What" In My Nose?

Last week was an interesting week. I was asked to sing at our Ladies Night Out at church and was excited about doing so, however, I had gotten sick and needed to see a doctor. I decided to go to Natalie's ENT and see if I could get a shot and some antibiotics. I also wanted to get a sinus x-ray because I had been having a case of laryngitis along with my yearly sinus infection. I wanted to find out if anything had changed to cause this laryngitis to occur. As a singer, when you lose your voice there is always cause for concern. So, I just wanted to make sure things were on the up-and-up!

Dr. Bryars took some sinus x-rays and as he looked at them, I could tell by the look on his face that he was seeing something abnormal. He didn't spill the beans immediately, but said he wanted to look in my nose with his scope. Elyssa came with me to my appointment and about this time I thought, "Oh boy! She is gonna have a big time seeing her momma undergo this procedure!" Elyssa was a little angel throughout my visit with Dr. Bryars, but for the scope-part of the exam, she stood up and got awful close to Dr. Bryars to see what he was going to do. He sprayed some deadening-type spray into each nostril and then took his LONG skinny tube and put it in my nose. To begin with, he only inserted his scope at the opening of each nostril to have a look around. On a side note, I cannot imagine this being my profession after this experience. There is nothing inside me that wants to look up someone else's nose! Anyway, after his initial glance into each nostril, he decided to look further into my right nostril. He then proceeded to put his scope down my throat to glance at my vocal chords. Elyssa was looking very intently at me and wondering what my reaction would be to all of this craziness. I remained very calm, of course, and just had to deal with some watery eyes during the procedure.

After Dr. Bryars was done with his exam, he let me know that my vocal chords were perfect and that I just had some mild laryngitis, which he could treat with a steroid shot and antibiotics. This would have me up-and-running for my singing event in just a few days. I was glad to get this news. On the other hand, he did have to tell me something that he saw in my right frontal sinus cavity. He said I had a "growth" or polyp in that cavity. He showed me on my x-ray how open my left cavity is and how my right cavity is not fully open due to the growth that has been blocking things. He said it looks like this is something that has been going on for quite a while. He said that the growth was not cancerous so he didn't want me to be worried about that. He would just need to do out-patient surgery to remove the growth. He said he would need to put me to sleep (I've never been "put-under" before) and that the procedure would be fairly simple. He assured me that I would not have to worry about having black-and-blue eyes after it is all over with. I was glad to hear that! Also, my recovery time would be fairly quick from what he told me.

I will go for a CT scan on Tuesday and then go back to see Dr. Bryars on Friday to talk over the CT scan results. From there we will schedule my surgery.

As much as I'm NOT looking forward to surgery, I am ready to have some relief from the pressure I've felt in my head for quite a while. Having three kids in three years, I always associated the pressure in my head to the stuffiness that you read about being common in pregnant women. I never knew that something else was going on. As I look back over the past several years, I can see things now that should've prompted me to get a doctor's attention, but I just never did. Through this experience I have learned that I need to start "listening" to my body more. Instead of putting myself on the back-burner to take care of kids, I really need to be aware of what my body is trying to tell me.

At the end of my visit with Dr. Bryars, I was given a shot in my hip. Elyssa watched the nurse very carefully as she stuck her needle into my hip. She actually got up out of her chair and stood by the nurse. As we were leaving the doctor's office, Elyssa said to me, "Momma, I almost told that nurse, 'No ma'am on my momma!'" She was telling me that she almost told the nurse to leave me alone. It was cute that she wanted to protect me! She was a great little girl that day and it helped me to have her along as a source of comfort with such crazy news from the doctor. Praise the Lord that Elyssa could help me and at the same time, I could help her see that getting a shot isn't so awful!

It's Been Forever!

It feels like it has been forever since I've blogged! My only excuse is that it has been a little crazy in our home. Mostly though, our camera has been full and I couldn't take any new photos until we created a little space on the camera card! Tonight I took a few photos and wanted to share them with you and give a progress report on Victoria.

Here are some photos of Victoria by herself. Isn't she as cute as a button? Victoria is doing really well. She is continuing to gain weight and still nurses great. I've started adding in some cereal to her diet and she takes it fine, however she is a little bit of a slower eater when it comes to eating via a spoon. She seems to want to feel the textures of food items in her mouth more than my other girls did. My other girls slurped down their food and Victoria seems to savor it more (or either gags on it). So, I just try to be patient and know there will be a day that she is chomping at the bit to eat "real" food.

Victoria is now 8-months-old! I can hardly believe that she will be a year old in March! I'm sure time will fly by and March will be here before I know it. It's hard for me to even picture Victoria being a year old because she is still so small for her age. She is behind physically, of course, so I even have trouble accepting that she is already 8-months-old! She is still a little baby in my eyes. However, the therapists are all SO happy with Victoria's progress. They continue to tell me what a strong little girl she is becoming. I find myself emotional at her therapist visits because she accomplishes so much. It's hard to explain why I get so emotional. I guess I see her hitting so many milestones at each visit that I'm overcome with joy and pride for my strong, little, victorious girl! I continue to be amazed at how God works in her life. She is a huge testimony of God's grace and proving that the impossible is POSSIBLE!

Here is a photo of Elyssa and Victoria. Elyssa is the little "goof" of the family! She is quite the card these days! I've really enjoyed this new stage she is entering. She is starting to grow up! 3K has been a great thing for her. My Elyssa is a smart and pretty little girl.

Natalie didn't pose for any photos, of course, but she is doing well! She will be turning two-years-old on January 10th. So, I will begin making party plans for her soon. She is developing a funny personality of her own. She, too, is a smart and pretty little girl!

I thank God for my life, my sweet husband who travels this interesting road with me, my wonderful girls whom I love with all my heart and our families who continue to be such a strong support for us. God has surrounded us with so much love and we are forever grateful!

Funnest Fall

This past week has been a busy one at the Messick home!

Elyssa went on her first ever field trip to Brantly Farm in Fairhope. We had a great time petting the animals and going on the hayride. Elyssa even surprised me and rode on a pony! I could hardly believe she did that, but after seeing all the other kids ride the pony, she decided she was brave enough to do it! Here is a video of Elyssa on her wild pony ride!

We had Fall Funtastic at our church on Wednesday, the 29th of November, and Elyssa went as Snow White. She looked so beautiful. When Mark saw us arrive at the church he said, "Is she wearing makeup??" I said, "Of course! All princesses wear a little makeup!" Mark was extra busy that day because he has to help everything set up for Fall Funtastic (he is one of the pastors at the church). I believe we had a record crowd this year. I'm expecting to hear that the crowd was in the thousands. It was a pretty huge event this year. Elyssa had a great time with me! And, you have to see the video I took of her before we left for Fall Funtastic. It's pretty funny!

Natalie was sick earlier this week with a stomach bug, so I let her stay home from Fall Funtastic. I did try, however, to get her to put on her outfit and she absolutely hated it. I had to video it because it was pretty funny. I know, I know ... I torture my kids when it comes to stuff like this, but I had to get it on video!

The funny thing is ... Natalie still wasn't happy just getting the hat off. She had to get the whole costume off before she calmed down!

I also let Victoria stay home from Fall Funtastic because it was so cold that night, but here she is in her costume. She is a giraffe! She didn't like her costume too much either!

Even though this was a super busy week, there were many moments of fun! And, I was reminded again how precious my three little angels are. I am so blessed to have each of them under my care. Each moment I have with them and Mark is a gift from God!

What Can I Say? I'm Cute!

Victoria is so photogenic! She always has a smile and that makes me want to take more and more photos of her! It's nice to be able to get a smile so easily. And, those sweet smiles usually come exactly when I need one. I think that God smiles at me through Victoria in my most stressful moments!

PS - Some good news ... Victoria's recent therapy sessions went very well. Her Occupational Therapist, Melissa, was so pleased with Victoria's progress. She told me that she could tell that I had been working with her a lot. As she filled out her progress report, she chuckled and said, "I just cannot get over how much Victoria has improved! She is only about a month or month-and-a-half behind now!" She was very excited and so was I! What a blessing that Victoria is getting stronger and stronger each day!

PS - No post is complete without a crazy video from my actress, Elyssa!

Grieving Again

Today was a special day. We went to the Messick's for a birthday lunch. This week Mark's dad and brother are both celebrating their birthdays.

Elyssa LOVED getting to play with her cousin Maddy. Maddy is 5-years-old and Elyssa is 3. Natalie is almost 2, and just follows them around, most of the time doing her own thing.


We were also able to spend time with Mark's brother's new baby. Her name is Mary Katherine. She is now around 3-months-old, I believe. She is a healthy and growing little girl. I was able to hold her and she is quite strong. I'm so use to holding a "floppy" baby that I was surprised at her muscle strength. She stood on my legs really well (with me holding her up) and could almost sit up on her own (and will probably be doing that soon!). I thought she was so strong for her age.

I know this probably sounds weird, but I actually felt myself grieving inside for Victoria. I felt sad that she cannot stand with as much strength as Mary Katherine. It will probably be some time before she can sit up, also. Her lower back is still somewhat weak. I know that she will eventually be able to do these things, but it is just taking longer than I thought it would.

I catch myself really being amazed at how much I took for granted with my other two girls. Every stage of their development came so naturally. They moved from one thing to the other without any help from me. Now, I have to think about everything. I have to help Victoria do sit-ups so she can strengthen her "core." I have to make sure she has enough time on her tummy so she can strengthen her arms, lower back and neck. I have to make sure she is getting enough time in her exersaucer (I have to pad the seat with towels around her hips for support) so she can learn how to steady her back, neck, and leg muscles. It's a never-ending job.

There is much stress surrounding a life that involves continuous therapy (physical, occupational and vision therapies). The person having to give the therapy feels so much pressure to put in enough time with the "patient." They know that the development of the patient depends on the time they spend with them. So, you can imagine when things are crazy around the house with the other girls, I have tremendous guilt trips about not getting in enough time with Victoria.

Unfortunately, I have moments of grieving from time-to-time when I see other babies her age or younger excelling in things that Victoria struggles with. I've heard that this is a normal process that parents of special-needs children might go through.

In saying all of this, please know that we continue to covet your prayers for her to continue to gain strength in her body. We KNOW that she is such a blessing to our lives and we only want the best for her. We want her to be healthy, strong and smart. And, we believe in a God that can bless her with all of these things. We know that God is sovereign and He placed Victoria in our lives to constantly remind us of His miracle-working power. He's already worked so many miracles in her life and we continue to pray for more miracles to take place in her muscles as we are on this adventure in "therapy-land."

Gift Certificate

I tried to have Elyssa say "Gift Certificate" yesterday and you just have to hear her version of it! I thought it was hilarious!



Here is a cute video we took of Victoria yesterday. She gave us several good smiles. By the way, she saw the thyroid doctor Wednesday (for which they took some blood to check her levels) and we are hoping today they will tell us that none of her levels have increased. I'm actually praying that they find a decrease and that eventually she can come off of her thyroid medication. That would be heavenly! No more pills! What a blessing that would be!

Lastly, here is a precious video of Victoria laying beside Elyssa the other night before she went to bed. I love how high-pitched Elyssa's voice gets when she talks to Victoria! I wonder where she gets that?? Probably from her parents!

A Few New Videos!!

Here is Victoria after a bath a few nights ago! You can see her scar from heart surgery has really healed nicely.



Natalie absolutely loathes the camera. Here she was asking me for some more ice cream. You can hear her say "want some" right when I started videoing her. She then puts her head down and starts crying. I'm such a cruel mother to think it's funny to torture her with a camera in her face, aren't I??



Mark was singing "Jesus Loves Me" with Natalie. This is a new song that she has been singing a lot lately. She didn't realize I was filming her so she did much better singing freely!



Natalie was cruising around the dining table singing, you guessed it ... "Jesus Loves Me!" She cracks me up sometimes with what a cheese ball she is!



Last but not least, Victoria is such a mover and shaker! Here is a video of her shaking her legs and enjoying her "floor time."



Hope these videos made you laugh today! They sure made me! And, who doesn't need to laugh a little each day?? I'm glad that God created laughter! It keeps us all from going crazy!

The Pumpkin Patch

This past week Elyssa was supposed to go to the Pumpkin Patch with her 3K class. Unfortunately, it was rained out. We decided to go as a family and really enjoyed ourselves! Here are a few pictures from our outing.

Oh how I wish Natalie would take a good picture for me!

I finally got her to sit down for a moment and took a quick shot!

Elyssa loves taking pictures and she always looks so cute!

This pumpkin had lots of warts on it. The sun was really bright ... can you tell??

Another warty pumpkin!

Elyssa with Paw Paw on the hayride!

Here is a new, cute photo of Victoria at our house before we left for the Pumpkin Patch.

My Three Angels

Victoria Jayne
What a sweet little one
You are such a joy

A bright ray from the Son

You show me so much

How to love and to trust

The great One above

By Whom I've been blessed

My blue-eyed, Nat Nat

What a beauty so rare

You grow and explore

Live your life with no cares

You love on your sisters

Give sweet kisses and hugs

You're always the one

To pick up Love Bugs (and try to eat them!!)

My eldest, Elyssa

You've grown up so fast

You're now a school girl

And you love your new class

You are such a helper

Your teacher says so

You are very loved

We always want you to know

My three little angels

Sent from heaven above

I could not imagine life

Without your love

So while I have time

And breath in my lungs
I'll kiss you a lot
And give you my love

*** I want my girls to know, especially today, how special they are to me and how much I love them! I count it a priviledge and honor to be their mother.

PS - Mark's dad, O'Neal, came over last week. He and Mark worked on the backyard fence. I got a great picture of him with his granddaughters sitting on our swing after he had worked "hard in the yard!"

Here is a photo of the fence! It looks GREAT!

Life With The Messicks

God has truly been blessing us with some wonderful days here at the Messick home. Let me give you some examples!

Mark and his dad are building a fence in the back of our yard and we are so excited about it. I'll be so glad to know the girls can play in the backyard without being able to wander into the street at the front of the house or the creek at the back of the yard. I love already how it dresses up our yard and it's not even complete yet! Mark and his dad are doing a wonderful job and I'm so impressed with how great the fence is turning out since they have never built a fence like this before.

Victoria continues to do well. She will have her next round of therapists come in the next few weeks. I am hoping they will have good things to say about the progress she has made. She still cannot sit up on her own and is still very small, but she is gaining strength and weight progressively. She is a strong little girl and is very active. I believe she will continue to amaze us all as she grows and develops!

This past weekend Mark and I were able to spend a FREE night at the Battlehouse Hotel in downtown Mobile.

The Battlehouse Hotel is a newly restored old hotel and it is absolutely beautiful! Before we checked into our hotel room, we went to see a new movie called Fireproof. It was such an inspiring movie and I found myself weeping during several moving scenes. You have gotta check it out! After checking into our hotel room, we used a gift card to eat at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and certainly enjoyed our dinner there! To top off the whole weekend, Mark arranged for me to have a massage at the new spa that the Battlehouse opened up about 3 weeks ago. Talk about being pampered! It was awesome! I love massages and haven't had one in a very long time, so this was very much appreciated! We had a great, much needed break from the rat-race of life and were able to recharge and reconnect. I'm so thankful for a husband that recognizes a need to get away with his wife every-once-in-a-while! He is a gift!

We are so thankful for how God continues to walk with us on our journey of life. No matter if the times are wonderful or terribly difficult, we still find Him by our sides. He never leaves us and at just the right moments, we feel special reminders that He loves us so much. I think sometimes ... I don't know how people live this life without Him!

PS - My heart goes out to a lifelong friend, Allison Woodruff Rich. She lost her mother, Shirley, to cancer this past Saturday night. Mrs. Shirley was always a special friend of my parents and she will be missed. However, we are comforted by the fact that she knew the Lord and is finally free of the bonds of her aching, earthly body. She is finally at peace with the Savior that redeemed her and we know we will see her again one day!