Picture Love!

Ell spent this past weekend n FW with her friend Sarah.  She has had a photography business  a couple of years now and it has really grown.  Super neat for a 16 yr old !  We are very thankful for the friendship that she and Elleigh have.  You do not find genuine friendships like they have often and especially at their age. Ell sometimes gets a photo shoot as an added bonus.  This is the link to Sarah's blog post: www.sarahdelanieblog.com/?p=1804  I am in love with these pics!  Not only because she is absolutely gorgeous but her personality shines!

The Everyday

Not just 1, or 2, or 3 BUT 4 posts in 2 days!  Make sure to check them all out!  I was determined to catch up and I did! 

These were some pics that are just from everyday life that are on our downloads.

While A was gone we got a little snow.  It was not nearly what had been forecasted.  It was freezing and wet so this was about all we could stand to get a pic!

As I was looking at the downloads I ran across this pic.  My all time favorite pic of A and I.  It is not because it is a great pic but because it reminds me of a beyond wonderful time.  It was my first Mission Trip and our first together.  We were just discussing the other day that this is by far the best time we have ever had in every way.  I have said this over and over and I will say it again, go on a mission trip with your mate! 

I feel like Ell is not on the blog as much as the other girls.  I try but I just don’t have as many pics of her.  She is busy and gone way more than I would like…  She still likes to be home with her mama and daddy too!  As this school year comes to a close quickly it is unreal to me that she is about to be a junior.  2 more years…  Enough of that topic!We for the most part are not animal lovers but Millie does love them!  There is now a horse in the pen with Maggie Moo and Millie is obsessed with the horse!A little Saturday snuggle timeChillin with the big sis!

Milkshake GirlsA loves a hole in the wall restaurant.  I have eaten in places I normally would not!  I still like to know someone I trust has said it was good but I have been known to even eat places I know nothing about.  We pass this little whole in the wall every trip to and from the Dr and have heard it was so good so we recently tried it out.  It is cheap and SO GOOD!!!  Can’t believe we have been missing out on the Dairyland all this time!When I was a little girl I HATED having my teeth pulled when they were loose.  Lizzie really is so much like me!  She HATES it too!  However, I remember it taking many to hold me down and she is not quite that bad.  Here A is convincing her it is time to come out.  Not only is she mad during the process, she is mad for quite some time after because it has been pulled.  She doesn’t like the way it looks when they are out either!  AND yes, she has on a leotard and poodle skirt!  Oh and leggings underneath! 

Camping Out Backyard Style!

Make that 3 posts in 2 days!  I am on a role!

Our Spring Break was really low key which was good.  However, the stomach bug that went through Sallie, then me, then A was NOT good!  It took us out through Wednesday. 

Friday night the girls and A camped out in the backyard.  The girls love it! They could care less that it is just in the backyard.  They think it is neat to sleep outside in a tent.  I am thankful they are SO easy to entertain!  Ell and I stayed out with them till bedtime and then we came in.  I love seeing the sunset here and the stars at night.  You can see for so far and it is just beautiful.  As much as I love AL, I do love a TX sunset and sky at night!  Which always leads me to sing, “the stars at night are big and bright, Deep in the heart of Texas!”  It’s true!

SMORE TIME!  Our favorite time!!!

They were back in bright and early Saturday morning!  Hungry and Stinky!

Kindergarten Rodeo 2013 and Workin’

2 posts in 2 days (see post before this one)!  I am determined to catch up!

The Friday before Spring Break our Elementary School had their annual Kindergarten Rodeo.  It was really cold that day so I think the events were cut a little short but here are the pics we got. 

While we were watching Mill’s Rodeo, Sallie was workin’!  She needed one more hour for homebound school so she went to physical therapy while we were at the school.  It was really neat for me to see all the therapists and teacher did with Sallie while she was homebound.  It confirmed once again how it is meant for us to be here at this time.  I could not ask for Sallie to be in better hands and they go way above what is required.  In fact, Mrs. Gale, her physical therapist drove an hour on this day just for Sallie because she did not want her to miss therapy.  She is awesome and she works Sallie like crazy!  They bring Hannah in a lot to help them out.  Hannah was hassling too!  Once again, confirmation of us being here.  I don’t think we could search the world over and find a friend for Sallie like Hannah.  I worried that over time it would change and 3 yrs later they are still tight! While swinging she has to toss little bean bags onto the big bean bag.  This helps to build upper body strength.  Mrs. Gale even has a balance beam just for Sallie that she had her husband build.  He is a PT also.

Sallie Lately

Actually some of this is not so “lately” and old news BUT I need it documented so I will catch up to this point. 

After 1 week of inpatient antibiotic infusions and 4 weeks of in home infusions Sallie was able to stop her infusions.  Several days later her picc line was removed.  She was very afraid but she did well.  She is getting SO much better at handling these things.  It was a feeling I really can’t describe for me.  That time since her implantation and then the infection was a whirlwind and full of SO much emotion.  So, to be to that point was a wonderful feeling and emotional as well.March 4th was the day she had her line removed.  That morning we had it removed and that afternoon we headed to audiologist to have 2nd device activated.  This was her initial response when it was activated!  She and her audiologist work so well together now.  Sallie plays while she does her stuff and when Sallie is comfortable with what she is doing she looks up, smiles, and gives her a thumbs up, then goes back to playing.  Obviously her reaction was not like when she was activated on the right ear.  Her brain has now learned to hear and it was not nearly as drastic.  However, there was noise in the hallway and she immediately whipped her head around to that side!  She was able to set it at a much higher level than she did initially on the first side.  These are her briefcases which hold all the components to the external device.  I wanted to have a picture like the one when she got her first device but with 2!  She was quite proud of 2!!!  Yes, here it is stuck in her ponytail.  We now pin it to her clothes.  She has a place behind that ear that still needs to heal so her ENT does not want the processor behind the ear until that is healed.  On Monday of this week we headed to the hospital bright and early for Dr. Bauer to do some clean up in both ears.  Everything went well.  The place behind her ear actually popped when he was cleaning so we just have to keep that cleaned and hopefully when we see him week after next that will be good to go.  Wednesday was a big day!  Since before Christmas break she had only been to school 2 full days and 2 half days.  So on Wednesday she headed back to school.  It was bittersweet for me.  Very thankful for her to be well enough to go back yet once again emotional.  We have had LOTS of bonding time in the last few months and it seems with every thing she goes through I hold on a little tighter.  It was made much easier by the fact that she did great!  She cried a little bit on Tues nt and then she got over it and was excited!  Thank GOD!Thursday she went back to audiologist.  She was able to do some testing and re-program 2nd device to a level comparable with 1st device.  That happened really quickly!  We NEVER thought we would see the words below written on a hearing eval for Sall!  I find myself just staring at the paper!  I have cried over MANY hearing eval sheets just like this one but this time they are happy tears.  I don’t even know how to express how thankful we are to our Lord for this!  It blows me away!  HE blows me away! 

What now?  Hopefully things are settling down some (at least with these issues).  Notice I say hopefully!  I guess we are just cautiously optimistic.  We see Dr. Bauer week after next.  He has indicated he will need to see her every 2 weeks for a while just to stay on top of it and make sure the MRSA is not rearing its ugly head again.  We have to move on to dealing with some other issues (cleft and orthodontics) pretty soon but we have put all that on hold to get these issues under control.  Thank you, Thank you for all your prayers and please continue!

Tsumeb

In February A went for 2 weeks to Africa.  Namibia is the country he went to which is the country he always goes to and where the church has been planted.  However, that is in Outapi, Namibia.  This trip was to Tsumeb, Namibia.  Last February when he went to Outapi he visited Tsumeb and the missionaries there with By Provision.  They are originally from AL (we did not know them) and now live most of the year in Tsumeb drilling water wells and they house young girls who come in from the Bush to go to school in the city.  He knew he wanted to go back this year and work with them.  His brother, Adam went also which made it even more special.  Melbie also went and is still there!  She is spending a total of 6 weeks there, so 2 more weeks to go! 

His trip started off VERY rocky and we weren’t even sure there was going to be a trip.  On Saturday evening before he was to leave on Monday morning he realized his passport was missing.  We searched everywhere all night Sat nt and Sun when we were not at church.  It was no where to be found and we were both sick!  He knew there was a possibility of getting it same day in Dallas on Monday.  However, Monday was a federal holiday so that was out.  We decided there was no way he could go.  It was very disheartening.  On Monday morning with about 30 min to spare at most before leaving his wonderful travel agent called and said she had gotten Delta to waive the fees to change his flights to the next day.  He would have to fly to ATL and stay overnight and take a chance of getting a new passport the next day in time to fly out.  There were many different issues that day including computers going down at the passport agency.  It looked as if he would not be getting his passport in time.  He got it with a little over an hour to get back to airport, turn in rental car, get boarded etc.  He made it on the last call for his flight!  God showed Himself to us over and over and over and reminded us as He has to so many times that HE IS IN CONTROL!  He ended up 2 days behind Melbie and Adam but he finally made it!  VERY THANKFUL! 

Melbie is there to work with the teenage girls.  Aaron and Adam dug 2 water wells while there, repaired 3 water wells, and did some construction on a house.  Adam also was able to go hunting which thrilled him I am sure!  A was able to preach which I know thrilled him!  Looks like they even got to play a little!

LOTS of pics!  We always have so many from mission trips and it is hard to choose.

I wanted to end with this picture.  As I was looking through the pics I asked A what this was and he said the dump.  I replied, “and people live there?”  His answer, “yep…”  From things like the thrilled faces of kids who now have access to safe running water to pics like this one my heart breaks.  We as Americans are ridiculous!  I think we have foolishly made ourselves believe we DESERVE all we have.  We deserve no more than anyone else anywhere in the world.  What do we do with the fact that we have such an abundance and are beyond spoiled and selfish people when others are living like this all over the world.  Worst of all we know the only hope any of us have and we often don’t even share that…