Happy Easter!

We took a picture of the girls today in their matching Easter dresses and wanted to share it with you! Hope you enjoy!

Deep Questions From Elyssa

Yesterday after I finished singing in our family worship service (KidGrid), I went downstairs to get Elyssa. She was in her 3-year-old Sunday School Class. Once she realized I was at the door, she quickly ran toward me and we headed down the hallway to get Natalie from her 2-year-old class.

On the way to get Natalie, from out of nowhere Elyssa asked me, "Mamma, are you going to die?" I was blown away to get such a deep question thrown my way without any warning! There were people around listening as we passed by them in the hallway. They all looked at me with huge smiles on their faces and made comments like, "Good luck answering that!" and "Whoah, what a deep question!" It took me a minute to answer her. I said, "Well, Elyssa, I guess I will one day." To that she answered, "I don't want you to die Mamma!" By that time in the conversation we had neared Natalie's room and the subject changed. I almost felt myself sweating at how to try to explain such a thing to a young child. I couldn't wait to tell Mark what Elyssa and I had talked about. I thought he'd probably be as surprised as I was by her question.

When we finally met up with Mark and Victoria to head to the car, I began explaining to Mark what Elyssa and I had been talking about. He was, in fact, as surprised as I was. We have always thought Elyssa acted much older than her age and this was just another instance that proved our feelings about her maturity. We all walked together to the van and herded the kids in so we could go get something for lunch.

On our way to pick up some grub, Mark asked Elyssa what she learned about in Sunday School. This began the discussion of death all over again. Mark tried to explain to Elyssa that one day everyone would die. Like a good pastor, he started to quote Hebrews 9:27. It says, "And as it is appointed unto all men once to die, but after this the judgement,...." I quickly told him that she would not understand that wording. So, in my south Alabama dialect I told her that everyone would die at one point or another in their lives. Mark went on to tell her that those of us that have asked Jesus to forgive us of our sins (mistakes and disobedience) and come into our lives would be able to go live with Him in Heaven. Elyssa said, "I don't want to go to Heaven to live with Jesus! I want to stay with Mamma!"

That was the funniest thing to hear Elyssa say. I even smiled when I heard her say she wanted to stay with me. But, I must admit that somewhere in my heart, I long to hear her eventually say that she does want to live with Jesus in Heaven. I pray that one day little Elyssa will give her heart and life to the Lord to follow Him all her days. What a wonderful thing to know that even a 3-year-old has these built-in questions about eternity and what comes after life. We will all face death one day and I'd rather know in advance that I will be meeting my Savior in Heaven than hoping it will all turn out okay in the end.

Thank You, Lord, that You made a way for all of us to live with You one day in Heaven and that You can give peace for our deepest of questions!

Checkups Galore

Today I took Victoria and Natalie for their yearly checkups with their pediatrician. Here are the results!

Victoria now weighs 15 lbs 2 oz, which is a milestone for her! I was so excited to see that she had gained more weight! She continues to gain, although it is slowly. But, I'll take it any day! She has definitely gotten longer in size and while we were in the doctor's office, she actually held her bottle for the first time! It was the cutest thing! I took a photo of it when we got home so you could see her doing it!

Dr. Faye was very pleased with all the progress Victoria has been making with Early Intervention. Victoria is now sitting up on her own! She is still wobbly, but she is beginning to catch herself when she starts to fall. We are excited to see her gaining strength and doing more and more. What a blessing!

Natalie totally acted like a big girl today at her doctor visit! She is usually my screamer and rebels against doing anything closely resembling a doctor visit. However, today on the way to Dr. Faye's I talked to her about all that Dr. Faye would be doing. I tried to prepare her and I also bribed her with gummies if she acted like a big girl! And, apparently ... it worked! She did so well! She didn't scream the first time (well, not until she got a few shots!!)!! I was so proud of her! She is really growing up! And, the girl weighs close to 31 lbs! She almost weighs as much as Elyssa! Yikes! But, Dr. Faye said proportionally ... she is right on track!

So, all went well at the doctor's and we couldn't feel more blessed!

PS - Since I don't have a good recent photo of Natalie, I've uploaded a video so you can see all three girls playing together!

Happy Birthday, Victoria!!

Are you in as much disbelief as we are that a year has actually passed by already and Victoria is turning a year old today?? So much has happened this year that I'm surprised we don't feel like she is turning two instead of one! However, it has been such a blessing to go through everything we have been through with her. She is such a joy and we feel so very blessed to have her in our lives.

When Victoria was first born, I questioned what God was doing and wondered why He chose us for what seemed like such a difficult task. Now, I realize that He extended His wonderful hand of grace to such an undeserving couple. We didn't deserve what He gently laid in our arms, but He decided to trust us with such a sweet angel anyway.

When Victoria first arrived into this world, I grieved over the fact that I didn't have a "normal" child. I grieved that she wouldn't do some of the same things that other children might do. I grieved that the rest of my life had suddenly changed so drastically. Now ... I would grieve over NOT having Victoria. I couldn't imagine my life without her in it! She is such a precious little girl and I love holding her and experiencing life with her. I told Mark that God has given us such a wonderful gift in Victoria. God is letting us experience a side of life that many will never know.

There are so many times that we might not understand why God does what He does. Maybe we question His actions and wonder, "Why did this happen to me?" Maybe sometimes we need to stop and think that God could actually be blessing us! What we thought to be a curse or something that would hinder our lives might actually be the best gift we could have ever been given!

I thank God that He gave grace to me during the times I questioned His hand. He was patient with me (and still is) and let me express my deepest emotions to Him when I was in such distress. He just comforted me and I believe He waited excitedly for the moment that I would realize what wonderful favor He had placed on Mark and me. He is so good and I could not be more thankful for His special gift to us!

Happy Birthday, Victoria Jayne!

Congrats From The Cardiologist!

Victoria had her 6-month checkup with Dr. Mayer today. He listened to her heart and said that he heard a slight murmur, but mentioned that was normal with the type of surgery that Victoria had. He said she sounds great!

After Dr. Mayer examined her, we were sent to the "heart echo room." The technician did a quick echo. We watched the screen during the echo and boy did we see a lot more in Victoria's heart than we had seen before! There were 4 chambers and we could see both valves moving blood through the heart. It was amazing to see all that Dr. Knott-Craig (the surgeon) had created in a heart full of fatal defects! Dr. Mayer came in to talk to us after he reviewed the echo. He said, "Remember when I told you that I'd see you a lot during Victoria's first year of life?" We said, "Yes." He said, "Well, Victoria looks so good that I don't need to see her again for a year!" Basically, from here on out, Victoria will visit him yearly for a quick check-up!

Hallelujah! What another reminder of what a miracle that God has done in Victoria's life!

We're All Ears!

Today Elyssa and Natalie had to have their adenoids removed and tubes put in their ears. Natalie had tubes put in her ears last April but they came out. Elyssa has never had tubes, but had at least 11 documented ear infections this past year.

We were told to arrive at the surgery center at 6:30am. The girls were still sleeping soundly so we grabbed them up from a dead sleep and put them into the car. They, of course, woke up but were okay with being awakened early.

We had reminded them that Dr. Bryars was going to fix their ears today. We encouraged them by letting them know that they would feel much better after Dr. Bryars put tubes in. We explained that they would get to smell funny air and it would make them feel sleepy. We wanted to prepare them as much as we could for everything.

Elyssa was so brave and volunteered to go first. Natalie was hanging onto Mark and me for dear life, so I didn't think she would want to go unless taken from our arms by force. We bragged on Elyssa and her bravery! She did wonderfully! She never cried at all! She even told us that she had been so brave after it was all over with. She reminded us that she didn't even cry. It was cute. Natalie, on the other hand, screamed bloody murder which is what we expected from her. In the end, she went to sleep just fine and that was all that was needed.

Elyssa's tubes went in just fine. Natalie's were more of a challenge. She had a LOT of puss that Dr. Bryars had to suck out. He said her ears were really bad.

They were kind enough to put Elyssa and Natalie beside each other. Elyssa rolled out in her bed and Natalie was screaming so they put her directly into her daddy's arms. She quickly calmed down once Mark was holding her. I've already told Mark that I think she is going to be a "daddy's girl." Natalie did get sick twice while Mark was holding her and they eventually gave her some medication to calm her tummy. Thank goodness, that did the trick!

We were released to go home around 12:30pm. The nurses came to take out the girl's IVs. Elyssa didn't even cry and Natalie, of course, screamed. It was over quickly, though. Both girls were still very sleepy, so they slept some of the way home. We immediately put them into the bed once we arrived at the house. They had long naps and woke up hungry! They seemed to do okay on ice cream, juices and such. Already they seem to almost be their "normal" energetic selves! I'm sure tomorrow will be an interesting day since I'll have all three girls to myself! I'm sure things will get back to full swing and that will be just fine. I might gain a few more grey hairs, but I'll just be glad to see my little girls playing again!

PS - Keep Victoria in your prayers! Dr. Bryars, the ENT, says that her ear canals are the size of a pencil lead. He is dumbfounded each time he tries to look in her ears. He has to try to look with his microscope and can only see a small part of her eardrum. He told me that he has never had a child with such small ear canals. Victoria still has an ear infection, but her ear canal is not big enough for an ear tube to fit into it. At this point, she will be treated with more antibiotics. This may be a regular thing for her until her ears grow enough for a tube to be inserted into it.

PSS - Here is a video of Elyssa after her surgery. She said she "didn't even cry."

The Candy Crisis

Today started out like any other Sunday. I was busy getting the girls dressed for church and making sure that we all arrived on time. We had a great day and after the service was over, Mark had to be in a meeting for about 20-30 minutes right after church. I rounded up all three girls and Natalie and Elyssa made their usual run to Mark's office to get their favorite thing in the whole world ... a pack of Smarties candy.

Someone helped me put them all of the girls in the van so we could go grab something quick for lunch while we waited on Mark to finish his meeting. Elyssa and Natalie always like to eat their Smarties right when they get into the van, which doesn't seem to affect their appetite for lunch, thank goodness! They both did their usual unrolling of their little round candies and began to eat them. I had started pulling the van out of the church parking lot and was in the exit lane at this point. I could see Natalie sitting in the back seat of the van through my rear-view-mirror. I was talking to both girls when I noticed, all of the sudden, that Natalie was not eating a piece of her candy. No! She was stuffing it into the opening of her nose! It all seemed to happen in slow motion. If you can imagine me screaming louder and louder ... "No, no, no, no, no ...!" I felt like I said "no" a million times, but to no avail. She proceeded to take her pointing finger on her right hand and continue to stuff the Smartie the rest of the way up her right nostril. I was horrified! I couldn't believe what I had just seen. I thought to myself, "What child in their right mind would stuff something up their nose???" Then, of course, I remembered that kids do this kind of thing all the time. I have no idea why, but they do.

My traffic light had turned green at this point, and I had to go since there were cars behind me. I pulled right into the Shell station that was next to the church exit. I quickly unbuckled my seat belt and made my way to the back of the van. Natalie's right eye had begun to water profusely and she was sneezing over and over again now. I finally reached her and looked up her right nostril. I could see the Smartie sitting vertically at the back of her nose, but there was no way I could reach it. I wasn't even sure that I could reach it if I had tweezers. I called Mark in a panic and thankfully, his meeting had not started yet. He couldn't believe what I was telling him, but had to keep his calm for the next 20 minutes to get through his presentation. He did ask me if Natalie could breathe and if she was acting okay. I told him that she was. He told me to go ahead and get the girls something to eat and then he would be done with his meeting quickly to help.

We rode to McDonald's to get hamburgers through the drive-through and then headed back to the church. I was still in a panic and couldn't stand the thought of Natalie having candy stuck in her nose!! I kept telling her to not touch her nose anymore. I didn't want her to shove it up her nose any further.

When we arrived back at the church, I tried to have her blow her nose. She did blow her nose and some orange mucus came out, but no candy. It had already begun dissolving. I could still see the candy when she began blowing, but then after she blew her nose, she took a deep breath in and sucked the candy on up into her sinus cavity. It was no longer visible and I was really grossed out then! Now, she had the crazy candy stuck IN HER FACE!!! How horrible was that??

Mark finally came out of his meeting and I told him everything that had happened. He, of course, couldn't see the candy either. He sat in the back of the van by Natalie on the way home to try to comfort her in this terribly weird situation. I had put a call into the pediatrician's office and they let me know to put saline drops into her nose. They said the candy would eventually dissolve and she should be okay. They told me to look out for her running a fever or anything unusual in her behavior.

We assume at this point that the candy has dissolved. Natalie never developed a fever and she has acted fine. I told Mark that at least while the candy was stuck in her face that she probably had a nice orange flavor constantly dripping into her throat. I guess you have to find the positives in situations like this, huh?

Here is a funny video that I took of Natalie the day she shoved the Smartie in her nose.

Does It Ever Get Any Easier?

I asked myself and the Lord this question today as I sobbed while taking a shower at 1:30pm. That was the earliest I could get myself cleaned up since Mark was at Upward Basketball all day (he is in charge of it at our church) and all three girls were at home with me today. By 1:30pm today, I was emotionally worn out from trying to keep my kids from tearing the house apart. Times can be so challenging with three small girls, although I'm very thankful for my family.

Victoria is the least of my worries these days. She is coming out in her personality and is so pleasant to be around. The only thing she does that stresses me out is that she spits at me when I try to feed her spoonfuls of food. That gets quite aggravating. I just do the best I can and pray that she gets what she needs from nursing and her juices. Other than that, she is a joy!

Oh, Elyssa and Natalie! They are a challenge at every turn it seems. They play really well together at times, but then they fight quite a bit other times. That grates on my nerves, as you can imagine. There are a few too many hormones in our house and I'm starting to really tell it now! They both have very different personalities but when they behave, it's fun to see what cute little girls they are becoming.

Elyssa is really starting to become more emotional and sensitive. I've tried not to laugh when she gets so upset about the silliest things. I guess I was that way once before (I probably still am!). There is quite the dramatic flare to this little girl. I believe she could be a good actress one day!

Natalie has such a funny personality. However, she is now in her "terrible 2's" and she has begun to rebel against authority some. I've had to be more assertive with her when she disobeys or starts to throw a tantrum. She is a little quicker to straighten up than Elyssa, so I'm thankful for that. I think Natalie will be the "ham" of the family. She is a jokester, for sure. She is always singing and acting funny. I think her middle name will really describe her as she grows! Her middle name is "Joy."

After reviewing how thankful I am, I'm left with a string of questions. Do you ever feel tired of disciplining? Tired of being stern all day long so your kids behave in your home? I feel so many times that I never get to just be "me." I can't just let my guard down and enjoy my surroundings. If I do let my guard down, my surroundings get pounced upon by my two oldest kids!

I find myself yearning for a few years down the road when my kids are older. I'm praying by that point, they will have calmed down and started behaving better. I would love to have a much less dramatic home and just enjoy being around each other instead of my constantly having to yell, "No ma'am!" or "Stop it!" or "Put that down!" or "Get off of that couch arm!" ... and the list goes on!

I guess that is my life right now. Drama and more drama. Sickness and more sickness. Laughs and more laughs. I do love my life and my family. Sometimes, I just need to take a LONG bubble bath and say, "Calgon, take me away!"

Potty Day!

All day today Natalie kept asking to go to the potty. She didn't want to sit on the training potty. No! She wanted to sit on the BIG potty! For those of you who don't know her, she has only gone "potty" on the training potty a few times. So, she is still in diapers and I have been hoping that she would be ready to be out of them soon. Today when she kept asking to go potty, I thought ... "This could be it! Maybe we are close to having her out of diapers!" Well, I kinda think she was playing more than anything else, unfortunately. I never saw her "do" anything in the potty. She would sit on it for a minute, get up, close the lid, then open the lid and sit back down. However, I think for her to want to be on it is good. Maybe soon we will be able to have another child out of diapers! Wouldn't that be bliss!!

Here is a funny video from our bathroom time today! Natalie is quite the character, so I laughed at her more than once while I was in there with her waiting on a "job" that never came!

Recording Fun

In the midst of having a kidney stone to deal with last week, there was some sunshine in my week. Our church started recording its second CD with Integrity Music and I was blessed to be able to sing on it. After my kidney stone attack on Wednesday morning, I recuperated enough to attend the recording session held at our church that night from 6-10pm. We had a huge mass choir that night and the recording went very well.

I prayed that the rest of the week I would be able to attend the ensemble recording sessions that I had been asked to be a part of. Thankfully, my body cooperated! So, I was busy recording Thursday night, Friday night and some of Saturday. While I was at Integrity on Saturday, we decided to also record my solo on a song called "We Cry Out." That went very well and I'm excited to hear the final product.

Make sure that you go to your stores in May and buy a copy of the CD!!! It will be titled God Hears. I think it will be an awesome album and you'll be glad you invested in it. There will also be companion products available for churches that wish to purchase them. We are praying that many will be brought into God's presence through this special recording!

Here is a funny video that I took while we were in the studio. I thought you might get a laugh from it as I did!



PS - If you would like to purchase a copy of our church's first CD with Integrity Music, contact our church directly at http://www.northmobile.org/. The name of the CD is called Believe. I sing a solo on the title cut and was also blessed to sing background vocals on that CD, as well.