AL Part 1

I know you all really want to see pictures so here are the first few from our trip.

Elleigh got an Ipod touch and as you can see she was VERY surprised. We gave it to her on our way home to AL so she would have it for the trip. I love her reaction!The first night we were there we celebrated A's birthday.

Our hairstylist from AL, Mrs. Melissa gave Millie her 1st haircut. Sallie is assisting!

Aunt Rhonda holding Millie for her haircut
Tired babies!
We got together on Christmas Eve day with some of our old youth. It was great to see them! We have seen some of them at different times but we have not been together since our going away party. Our old pastor, Bro. Ken was also there and Mrs. Linda who was a huge help to us with the youth.

THE END

THE END of all the excitement that leads up to Christmas.

THE END of driving hours to spend Christmas with friends and family.

THE END of being spoiled like crazy by all those people!

THE END of the great joy we receive from being with our family and watching the joy our girls bring to them!

THE END of homecooked meals which we don't have to cook and eating at our favorite "back home" restaurants and eating and eating and eating!

THE END of very relaxed schedules.

THE END of our break from school.

THE END of having help with the girls.

THE END of spending every day as a family and getting to see A a lot more than we normally do!

Wow, it could be depressing to think about that too long so I will choose to think of this time as the beginning of our wait for our next time with our family and friends in Alabama! We had a wonderful time and are very thankful for the time we got to spend in Alabama. It may be next Christmas before I get all the stuff we brought home sorted and put away! Everyone was so generous to us as always! No matter how long we stay we never feel like there is enough time. We always need just one more day! There are always those who we want to see and time runs out. We love you all! Leaving is never easy. As we got on 20W yesterday and the tears began to flow as they always do when I see 20W I thought why is this always so hard. After 4 years, shouldn't I be a pro at this by now but there is just something about getting on that long stretch that separates us that gets me every time. As I've said a million times, I really like it here and there is peace in knowing that God has us here at least for now but we do miss our family. I am so thankful for the wonderful memories and now back to normalcy!

Of course I have pictures and of course I have A LOT of them so I will post them probably in parts or in a slideshow as soon as I get them all sorted.

Hope you all have a wonderful first full week of the New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name JESUS, for HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS." Matthew 1:21

Wishing you a CHRISTmas filled with CHRIST!

From our house...To yours!

Fun in the Texas Country

This past weekend a couple in the church where Aaron is interim hosted a Christmas party and hayride. They live out on a farm and Larry farms with horses. He grows all sorts of fruits and vegetables with the assistance of his horses. Millie and I were home with Sallie so we missed it but A and Elleigh did a great job of taking pictures for us.

I love this picture. Lizzie is obviously not interested but I still love it!

Lizzie with Mrs. Denise. Lizzie likes lots of attention and they all like giving it to her!

Mr. Larry with the horses

This is a cool picture that just says Texas! Cowboy hat, mesquite trees in the background, Mr. Jeff who is a cowboy, and one of our 2 little Texans!

Recovering and Reacting

Day 2 of Sallie's recovery is over and now on to day 3 which has always been the worst day. I used to think it was an old wives tale that day 3 was the worst but it really has always been with her. She is recovering really well though. The surgery went well. It was a little longer than I had anticipated. She was in the OR for about 3 1/2 hours and the surgeon worked for about 2 hours or so. He took a fat graph (yes, he was able to find fat on Sallie!) from her lower abdomen to use on her ear. So, she has that incision to deal with as well. All of the bandaging on her ear and tummy will be on for 10 days. We go back next Friday for him to check everything. As you can see in the pics she has a cast like thing on the ear and it bothers her some but it really has kept her from bothering the ear. I have so many things to say thank you for! Thanks to Rebecca for keeping the other girls during surgery (especially so early in the morning!), thanks to all of you for your calls and e-mails, and cards you sent, and most of all for your prayers. One of the men from the church where Aaron is serving came and sat with us while she was in surgery. We had no idea he was coming and it meant so much to us. That is a long drive! We talked about church and missions and Sallie and it was great to not sit there and watch each second tick by. The hospital staff was very efficient and called us frequently during the surgery to let us know what was going on. Sallie is amazing as always. She just really is. We had quite a day yesterday! Her reaction to the pain meds we were sent home with were less than desirable! I have never seen her so hyper and aggitated at the same time. Not a good combination when her activity is supposed to be very limited. I was trying to stop her from putting a shirt over her head and she just flipped out and was fighting me. Very unlike my sweet Sallie. So, last night I made the decision to give her less of the medicine at a time and see what happened and today was much better and it seems to still be keeping the pain under control. A took Elleigh and Lizzie with him to our weekend home. They left yesterday around lunch so that Elleigh could do some baking with one of the ladies in the church. They will be back later tonight. It was really strange to only have 2 kiddos in the house! Lizzie missed her Mill Mill! That was the first time they have ever been apart for more than a few hours and never overnight. A said she has asked about Sallie and I a few times but Mill Mill a lot. So sweet!

Waiting... She was very nervous but she was such a big girlHome with her reindeer and mardi gras beads that the hospital gave her. I LOVE THAT SMILE!!! Notice the hair that can't be washed for 10 days! You all know that is killing me! Plus we have the other incision that can't get wet so sponge bath to the body only-YUCK!Still smiling after we put her arm bands back on for bed. They hold her arms straight so that she can't bend them and mess with her ear. I still have some of these from surgeries in the past but they are much smaller.

What I needed

I read this tonight on Beth Moore's blog and I REALLY needed it. I need to be reminded everyday but the timing of me reading this on her blog tonight could not have been better. I am sure that some of you could use this encouragement as well.

Decoration Disaster!

I am having a hard time getting the house decorated for Christmas this year. I had great intentions of doing it the weekend after Thanksgiving and I got a few things up (very few!) and since then I have done a few things at a time but still have not finished. This really is very unlike me because I am usually eager to get it all done. My mind is just not with it this year. Hopefully I will finish today but I think I said that same thing yesterday! I think Decoration Disaster best describes me this year and Decoration Disaster for sure describes this:

This was encased in glass with water and glitter inside until it met Millie! Not sure if you can see the glass everywhere! It was nothing expensive but it was something I bought from a fundraiser Elleigh did when she was in preschool. Now that I think about it, I guess it has lasted longer than expected at our house!Poor Joseph!

This all leads me to think that maybe I should just give up on decorating!!!

Praise and more prayers

Today was our appt to find out the results of Sallie's chromosome testing. I went while A kept the girls. I had not thought anything about going by myself until I got in the waiting room and had a minute to stop. I sat down and I was the only person in the waiting room and I began to panic. I mean really panic! I have only had 1 panic attack in my life and that was when my sister had a seizure in a store and we had 3 of our kids with us and well I panicked. So today my heart began to race and I was short of breath. It was not a major panic attack at all but I knew I had to get a grip or it was not going to be good. It was really strange. I went from fine to freaking out in a matter of minutes. All I could think was what if they tell me she has something fatal and I am here alone. At the point I realized that I was about to be sick over this I began to pray, "Lord, calm me down and whatever I find out I know you will guide me through this." I did begin to calm down and once she called me back I was good. All of her chromosomes are perfectly normal. She explained to me that when she was born the testing they did was to determine that the number of each chromosome and that there were not too many of a particular one, etc. The testing that she had them do (which was not available 7 years ago) looks at all the chromosomes and their patterns. If there is a deletion or anything abnormal about their patterns this test will indicate that which can indicate problems. The test showed that she has perfectly normal chromosomes. So, what does this mean? We still do not have a name for this and that is fine with us. We do want all the info possible so that we can do everything we can for her and so that throughout her life she knows all she can possibly know. The Dr suggested that she be seen by genetics once a year and at some point there might be additional testing that can be done. She feels that at some point in early development there was a glitch and one problem led to another. She told me that she could say with confidence that based on the chromosome testing Aaron and I or any of the other girls had no greater chance of having a child with birth defects than any other individual. She said she could not say that for Sallie because there could be some issue that would affect her offspring but that as far as chromosomes go, there are no problems that can be passed on. We do feel good about the results because even though it would be really great to know what happened or what we call this we know that things could be so much worse and we are thankful they are not. It reminds me that we do not have all the answers! She said based on her evaluation and the test results she did not see any reason that Sallie could not continue to develop and learn and thrive. I left her office and I was driving home and I was thinking back to my time of panic and the Lord said to me, "you were not alone!" I wasn't alone, I never am! God is so wonderful to place people in our lives to share the good times and the not so good but even when those people are not there, HE IS! He is calling me to lean more on Him. Then I got to thinking (you see I can think a lot when I am alone!) about how a simple blood test can show all of that information about chromosomes. How could anyone not believe in God? These things didn't just happen. Why do we doubt that He can do ANYTHING when we look at things like the details of our bodies and know that He made all that happen?

I really needed to be reminded of these things today. Sallie will be having surgery next Friday (12th). They will be doing some reconstructive surgery on one ear. The recovery should be about a week. Please pray for comfort for Sallie, that the Dr is able to accomplish what he attempts to do, that she is able to tolerate the anasthesia (she has always done OK but each time they have to put her to sleep gets more risky), that she tolerates the bandaging and cast type thing thing that will be on her ear, that she recovers quickly and it does not interfere with her being able to enjoy Christmas. The timing is not great but there is a good possibility that she will have to have more surgery after the first of the year and they need to space out the anasthesia so we are going forward with this surgery so that we can move on to something else. Honestly, I am not handling this well right now. The busyness of this time of year and the stress that I always feel leading up to surgery are weighing hard on me right now. I am trying to get as much as possible done before next Friday so that I can then focus on taking care of her without anything else hanging over me. I am tired, really tired right now with no relief in site. Stress and I do not mix well. I have to remember that I am not alone! HE is with me and HE can accomplish anything! Thank you for listening and for your prayers!

It's that time!

THE END OF THE SEMESTER! A time of much stress, sleepless nights, anticipation, much stress, sleepless nights, papers due, finals to study for, did I mention stress and sleepless nights?! 6 MORE DAYS! We will survive (maybe!).

This picture is missing A but this is what our desk looks like this morning. It is actually pretty tidy for him! A stack of theology books and a Bible! Notice the Starbuck's. Elleigh was sweet to treat her hard working daddy last night. Also, notice the lamp on. This is how I sleep during this time. The computer is in our bedroom so I sleep with the light on while he types. The way I look at it, at least I can attempt to sleep unlike him.

I never met one I didn't like...

CHEESECAKE that is! A does not eat the traditional Thanksgiving desserts (pecan pie, pumpkin pie, etc.) so I always make sure to have something he will eat (yes, he is spoiled!). This year I decided to make a Mocha Cheesecake because he loves coffee and cheesecake. It was really good! Too good to not share the recipe. It did not have a strong coffee taste at all. It is rich and filling. YUMMY!

Layered Mocha Cheesecake
1-1/2 cups cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
FILLING:
2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 tablespoon boiling water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

GLAZE:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
Chocolate-covered coffee beans, optional

Directions:
Combine cookie crumbs and butter; press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. In a small bowl, combine the coffee granules, water and cinnamon; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Divide batter in half. Stir melted chocolate into one portion; pour over crust. Stir coffee mixture into the remaining batter; spoon over chocolate layer.
Place pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 16 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan. Place in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan.
Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake. Remove sides of pan. Garnish with coffee beans if desired.

Note: I have discovered that a water bath really is the key to cooking cheesecakes so don't overlook this part!