Answered prayer?

Ever since our children were born, I have tried to convince Brother that a christian education would be extremely beneficial to them. He saw nothing wrong with public schools and I will agree that we are very fortunate to have an excellent public school system here in Guntersville. He and I both attended Guntersville from kindergarten til graduation and had wonderful experiences. He went on to Auburn and I to Lipscomb. There was such a huge difference in public and private educations. I am so thankful for having the opportunity to be surrounded by people who believed in the same God and had the same values as me. God was a part of every class you attended and we had uplifting chapel everyday. I just really wanted Rollins and Grady to share some of those same experiences. Well, the school I want to send them to is in Huntsville, and Brother said it makes no sense to drive there everyday when there is a wonderful school here in Guntersville.
I had pretty much given up my argument, when Brother got a call one day from his boss. They were wanting him to relocate to Huntsville. I didn't think much of it because I know how he said he would never leave Guntersville. We talked about it and weighed in on the pros and cons. The pros were endless. What better way to grow a business than to move to a much much larger city? However, the cons were leaving our families, all of which are here in Guntersville. Also, Rollins has already formed some wonderful friendships and I would hate to take her away from that. So, we really didn't talk much about it through the holidays, then the call came this morning. They had to know today if he was going to relocate. I didn't try to persuade him one way or the other because I wanted him to make this decision--I honestly just put it in God's hands because I had no idea myself what to do.
Well, he took the relocation. I have to be honest, I almost cried when he first told me but I have to be supportive and trust that God is working through this with us. Since our house in on the north side of Guntersville, we are going to stay here for a little bit to see how everything goes. If we see that this is where God wants us, we will then move. We have already started looking at real estate there, but have no idea which part of town we would even want to live in. We have decided to keep the lake lot and probably build a cabin so we would have some place to stay when we come visit.
This is exciting but very scary. We don't know that many people in Huntsville, so Brother is going to have to do a good job of networking. Please keep our family in your prayers as we face many important life decisions in the next several months.

The scare of my life

Today was suppost to be a restful day at home. After a very busy and eventful Christmas Holidays, I was looking forward to just spending time with Brother, Rollins and Grady. We had some friends come over to bring their daughter, Ella, to play with the kids and jump on the trampoline Santa brought us. My neice and her friend also stopped by. We were all standing around the trampoline talking, while the kids were jumping. All of a sudden, Rollins starts screaming. Brother said she landed on her back and he was in a panic because he thought she was really hurt. I got her off the trampoline, and I was holding her like you would hold a baby, trying to decide what to do. All of a sudden, she immediately stopped screaming, her body went limp and her eyes rolled back in her head. Brother was standing right there with me when it happened, and I screamed, "oh my God!" and started running to the house. I have seen someone have a seizure, and that was exactly what happened before they started convulsing. However, this only lasted for a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity, and by the time I was almost in the house, she was back crying. We laid her on her bed and after we determined she hadn't hurt her back, Brother said he was going to take the trampoline down, which Rollins, who was still crying said, "no, I want to jump!" I can't tell you how bad this scared me today. I have never really thought about how to handle a situation like this when it involved my own child. I took all the first aid and cpr courses as a part of my health class in college, but I don't think I could have recalled any of it, if I were to have needed it today. I still don't know what happened to Rollins, but trust me, Dr. Boggess will definitely be getting a call this week. Words will never be able to describe the feeling that overcomes you when your child goes limp in your arms. It's by far the scariest thing I have ever experienced.

This is a picture of Rollins jumping on the trampoline. Brother has now decided not to take the trampoline down, because Rollins loves it so much. Accidents are going to happen and you can't go through your life avoiding everything. I just trust that God is in charge and he will take care of me and my family. Brother and I have both been very upset all day about it. Neither of us could get enough of her hugs and kisses tonight. Thank you so much God for taking care of my baby today!

Rollin's Dance Show

Rollins's dance class allowed the parents to come in and watch this past Monday and I wanted to post a few pictures. For those of you that know Rollins, she is a very energetic and outgoing child. Once she gets warmed up, she will talk, dance and sing and never get tired. Her attention span is not the best in the world, so dance has been quite a challenge. Gymnastics, on the other hand, has been wonderful for her because you are constantly changing what you do and it's more of an individual sport. However, Rollins absolutely loves dance, so I continue to let her go, even though she disrupts class with her quirky ways. As soon as we walked in the room, she said hey ___ to everyone she knew. When she called out to Grady, she said, "hey grady grobes!" She even said, "hey julie ann" to ann daniel's mother. She was so excited to see everyone, so she got up and started dancing around the room. They hadn't even started, yet she was already getting told to sit down. I couldn't hide my face, because everyone knew who she belonged to--you can't miss her red hair and bubbly personality from the time she walks in the door. Anyway, this is probably the only picture I have of her doing what she is suppose to.

I did manage to get a couple shots of her participating, but notice the child next to her on the left is standing--I guess Rollins was doing her own dance.

I love this picture because you can tell she is really trying.

This is after the program, while they are suppose to be sitting while Mrs. Jane talks. Rollins, however, is working on her facial expressions. I really shouldn't complain about her disposition because I couldn't ask for a happier and friendlier child. However, I do think she might be better in the acting and singing classes they offer. Until then, we will stick with dance so Rollins can watch herself in the big mirrors.

Amazing Faith

Amazing Faith I have to say that today, I saw God in a way that I had never seen him before. Brother's uncle Mack has been in and out of the hospital the past two weeks and within the last week, his condition began to deteriorate. He developed Pneumonia, ARDS and coded Monday morning. Not knowing if he was going to pull through, Brother, Rollins and I headed to Birmingham this morning. Once we got there, we realized how serious the situation was. His chances of surviving the ARDS was 10%. I think everyone knew the inevitable was going to happen very soon.


If you do not know this family, let me share a little bit about them with you. Mack is an elder in our church, he is on the board of directors at Lipscomb University, and he is just an amazing Christian leader, father and husband. His wife and children share in his love for God and they are all wonderful leaders in the church. I have been fortunate enough to know them my whole life. I started babysitting all his grandchildren from the time they were infants, and I had the wonderful opportunity to watch them grow into the young women and men they are today. This family is focused on God and they have a special gift of music.


While Rollins and I went to the other waiting room to get a snack, I noticed another family in there that you could tell was going through the same thing as the Whitaker family. Not too long after I got back in our waiting room, Kim, Mack's daughter-in-law, walked in with the other family and introduced them to everyone. It was at this moment that I saw God's presence in that hospital waiting room. Joe, Mack's son stood up and said, "let's sing Beulah Land". We all stood up, joined hands and began to sing--Joe is an amazing singer--he is our songleader at church and he did the music for our wedding. His voice is like an angel's. It was hard to hold back the tears, especially as I watched Diane, Mack's wife, sing her praises to God while her husband was taking some of his final breaths. Here are the lyrics to the song. They are very touching especially considering the situation.

I'm kind of homesick for a country,

To which I’ve never been before.

No sad good-byes, will there be spoken,

For time won’t matter, anymore.

Beulah Land, I’m longing for you,

And some day, on thee I’ll stand.

There my home shall be eternal,

Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land.

I’m looking now across the river

Where my faith will end in sight.

There’s just a few more days to labor,

Then I will take my heavenly flight.

Beulah Land, I’m longing for you,

And some day, on thee I’ll stand.

There my home shall be eternal,

Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land.

There my home shall be eternal,

Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land.

Beulah Land,Beulah Land,Beulah Land,

Sweet Beulah Land.

At the end of the song, our preacher, whom Brother and I both adore, Philip Bradley, led a prayer, praying for the two families. At the end of the prayer, Joe led us in one of my favorite songs, A Common Love. I realized that God brought these two families that have never met before together and to share a common love, God's love and to give eachother peace. The words of this song tells us that although we may be strangers, we have so much in common when we have God in our lives. I think Joe does such a wonderful job at picking just the right songs to sing. I wanted to share the lyrics to this song as well.

A common love for each other,

A common gift to the Savior.

A common bond holding us to the Lord.

A common strength when we're weary.

A common hope for tomorrow,

A common joy in the truth of God's Word.

Brother was right out the door and said even the nurses stopped to listen and he said a couple of them got emotional. To me, this is a testament of this families amazing faith in God. Even in the lowest moments, they are able to give praise to God and know that he is their savior. I can only hope and pray that Brother and I can raise a family like this. We had a talk on the way home about how we wanted to make changes in each of our lives to be more like Mack and Diane.


Uncle Mack lost his earthly battle a little after 5 this evening, but he has won the most important battle, and now he has eternal life with God in heaven. Even in his last moments on this earth, he was touching individuals he didn't even know. I am so proud to be a part of this family and get to have the experiences like I had today. Despite the sadness of the day, I learned so much about faith and God's love.


Uncle Mack, you will be missed by so many, but please know that your example lives on and will continue to touch so many because you left a legacy with your wife and children. I know they will continue your good works.

My clothing blog

OK, so it is in the infant stages, but I hope to grow it very very soon. I wanted to go ahead and share it with you all so you can be apart of something very special to me. I have been sewing since I was 14 and I love making clothes. With the birth of Rollins and Grady, I have really developed a deeper appreciation for handmade original clothing. I have been making things for friends for quite sometime and now I am working on a complete spring line. I am going to start by doing craft shows and offering the clothes through the blog. I love creating custom clothes too so I will continue to work with individuals on developing beautiful pieces. Please check out my blog www.kennedyjamesclothing.blogspot.com. Tell all your friends with children as well.

What a wonderful day!

Today was a wonderful day! I woke Rollins up this morning for school, because I always let her wake up when she wants to which is usually around 10 or 10:30. She was the leader today so I wanted to make sure she got to enjoy all it has to offer:) She let me put her hair in braided pig tails and she was so proud of them. After lunch at McDonalds we came home and I made some phone calls, but when I got off the phone, I couldn't find Rollins. I looked all over the house for her, and I finally found her sound asleep in her bed. She was exhausted from having to get up early. In the mean time, I get a call from Vera Bradley (keep in mind, we sold the shop back in April). They said they needed my current address, because they had a check they needed to return to me. I asked them what they were talking about, and they said I had overpaid my account back in March and they needed to return the money to me. I thought it was probably 10 or 15 dollars, but I was shocked when she told me how much it was for--how could I have over paid that much? Anyway, I called Brother and told him, and needless to say, he was ecstatic because that just paid for our "Santa". I also got several more orders for clothes and that always makes me happy because I absolutely love getting to sew. I really miss working and being able to contribute financially so this gives me a little more purpose now.
Another highlight of my day was getting to visit with two wonderful high school friends, Kate and Tegan, and their lovely children, Langley and Tripp. We left Rollins at home because she was still asleep, and Grady and I ventured over to Mrs. Sachs. It was so nice visiting with them and the kids played wonderfully together. I wish we could all get together more often. So many of our friends have children the same age and I think it is so neat they get to grow up together, like we all did.
So, we return home and Rollins is still asleep. I told brother we had to wake her up, or she wouldn't go to sleep tonight. We took the kids to Bruce's for dinner, which Grady slept through, and when we were done eating, we drove around looking at Christmas Lights. Brother remembered seeing on the news about Arab's park, so we drove out there. It was beautiful. They have all these little scenes around the walking trail. The first picture here is from when we first got there--we didn't have coats, hats or gloves, and it was 29 degrees!

So, we decided it was just too cold, but the kids wanted to stay, so we took them to Wal Mart to get coats, hats and gloves. Rollins was so proud of her 15 dollar pink coat and Hannah Montana hat and gloves. Grady, who had never worn gloves, actually kept them on and he picked out a dinosaur hat. They were so excited to be there and were being so sweet to eachother--even holding hands! I had several more pictures of them at the park, but for some reason, it won't let me upload anymore, so you can just enjoy these two for now.

Santa Claus

I have already made several trips to the mall this year in hopes that Grady might get over his fear of Santa. Last year was Grady's 1st Christmas but he was almost a year old, so he already was aware of his surroundings and was not fond of Santa at all. Rollins, on the other hand, has always loved Santa and we always get the best pictures of her with him. So, this past Saturday my parents did their Christmas packages at Generations Footwear and I had planned on taking just Rollins. Grady has been so sick lately and he had been to the doctor Friday and had congestion in his right lung, but they didn't think it had developed into pneumonia yet, but they were treating it like it was. So he was already cranky, but Brother had a bunch of guys coming over to watch the Alabama/Florida game. I thought I would do Brother a favor and take Grady with me. For some reason, as soon as we walked in, Grady walked right up to him. I couldn't believe it. He sat in his lap and smiled for his picture--He never tried to get down, and he just kept looking at him smiling. I was so proud of him, and I just wanted to share these sweet pictures with you all.

What were they thinking?

Tonight, Brother, Grady and I went to dinner at a local eatery and I noticed a very pregnant woman come in--atleast 8 months along--she was alone and told the waitress she was meeting a friend. The waitress asked her if she could go ahead and get her something to drink. She ordered a glass or water and a corona. I thought I was going to fall out of the bench. I couldn't even get it out of my mouth to tell Brother. What in the world was this pregnant lady thinking, or even more so--what was the waitress thinking who gave her the bottled corona? Her friend later came in and also ordered a beer. When the waitress came to check on them, she asked if there was anything else they needed and the pregnant woman said, "yeah, a cigarette". I am still in total amazement as I sit here and type this. It's one thing to do this in the privacy of your home, but how in the world can it be legal for a public establishment to serve alcohol to a pregnant person? Is there not some law against this? Anyway, I couldn't help but overhear her telling her friend about her recent doctor's appointment where her doctor told her that her baby seemed to be distressed. I would be distressed to if I knew I was coming into this world to a mother like that. Does she think the corona and cigarette would take the baby's stress away? Ok sorry to go off on a rampage about drinking pregnant women. I just get so frustrated with all the careless and irresponsible people having babies when there are wonderful people out there trying so hard to conceive a child that they would love more these other people could ever imagine. It just doesn't seem fair sometimes.

What have we taught our kids?

With Rollins being three, she is really getting into Christmas and beginning to understand it rather well--atleast we thought. It seems like every commercial that comes on is for some toy, and every commercial just happens to be something else Rollins says she wants. At first, I started making a list of all these things, then Brother and I started to realize that all she knows about Christmas is that Santa brings her lots of gifts and all she has to do is ask him for them. Well, tonight, Brother and I got a little discouraged with all the "oh, I want that too". So, Brother explained to her that not all kids would get gifts like she does, and it would be really nice if one day she could go through her toys and pick out some to give them. Rollins happily said, "o.k., I will". Well a couple minutes later she walks back in the room with an arm full of her favorite toys, and said, "here some toys for the boys and girls". I did everything I could to hold back my tears. She could have picked out the toys she never played with anymore, but she wanted to give them her best toys. Tonight, I was humbled by my 3 year old. We are suppost to give our best not only to the needy, but also to God. I am probably the most guilty of putting everything in front of God. I say my prayers after everything else is done, I go to church if the kids wake up in time, I skip on Sunday school because I don't want Grady to cry, and I only read my bible if I have time. I think we get so caught up in everything going on around us in the world, that we fail to realize why we are even here. I am making a promise to myself and everyone reading this, to put God first and give him nothing but the best of me. Thank you Rollins for teaching me that. Your pureness is one of the many things I absolutely love about you!

Way to busy

You know, it's funny. When we sold the shop back in April, I thought I was going to have all this time on my hands and have a spotless house, empty laundry baskests and endless time for what I love most--sewing. Well, was I wrong? You bet. My house is messier, the laundry piles are higher, and I am so backed up with my sewing projects. I would have never thought that my life could possible be busier without a job, but somehow it is. I can't even tell you what consumes my day, but something does.

So, seeing as how I am way behing on posting, I thought I might try to bring everyone up to date on the Whitaker household. We have abandoned the Tigers temporarily. After the Vanderbilt game, Brother went and traded our Auburn tags in for Curing Childhood Cancer for him and Breast Cancer research for me. He said he wanted his money to go for a better cause. My poor little ones just don't understand why they aren't in auburn every weekend--rollins wants to move there. Here is a picture from her last game to attend this season.

I guess the big event of October was the birth of my brother, Jon's son, Christopher Cash LeCroy. He was born October 22 at Gadsden Regional weighing 7lbs 13 oz and was 21 inches long. Rollins and Grady have fallen in love with their new cousin. Rollins wants to hold him all the time and claims that he talks to her.

Also in October, we attended Carsyn's 1st Birthday. This is the daughter of Brother's cousin, Clark and his wife Cassie. They live in Birmingham and had her party at Overton Park, which Rollins and Grady loved.
Oh how I wished we had parks like this in Guntersville that you could just walk to. I have begged Brother to move to Birmingham, Huntsville or Nashville, but he just can't leave Guntersville. I love big cities and the small communities you find within them. There is such a variety of things to do and I think it would be wonderful for the children. As for now, I guess we will just stay in Guntersville.

We also took a trip to the Pumpkin Patch with Rollins and Grady's nursery school. Rollins absolutely loved the pony ride, which she wouldn't do last year. Grady wouldn't even walk in the rink with the ponies. He has developed a lot of fears right now, and he has become very clingy. I am not really sure what has brought this on, but hopefully, he will grow out it. We can't even go to Sunday school because he won't stay in his class. He immediately starts crying and throwing up. It gets very frustrating, but his doctor said to make him as comfortable as possible in public places so we try to do that. However, Grady did love the petting zoo. He thought the animals were the coolest things at the farm. In fact, he was the last on out of there. I am so glad he enjoyed them.I absolutely love this picture. I have no idea what they were talking about, but knowing the two of them, I am sure it was some deep conversation. I love watching Rollins and Ann Daniel together. It's the sweetest relationship I have ever seen between two children. They genuinely love eachother and can't wait to see eachother even when they have only been apart for a few hours.
Here is another picture of Rollins and her favorite cousin. Everywhere we go, we have to pick up surprises for baby June Bug as rollins refers to him.

On November 12 I turned 30. I have to admit, that it was kind of depressing, because it's another decade passed. My 20's were fantastic. I graduated from college, worked in the corporate world, lived independently, got married, and had two children. I felt like I accomplished so much. Anyway, for my birthday, Brother and I had dinner with our dear friends Stewart and Kate White at my favorite restaurant, Polly's Chop House. We had a wonderful meal and even more wonderful conversation. I am so thankful to have a friend like Kate. We don't get to see eachother that much during the school year, but we make up for it in the summer on the lake.

I just thought this was a cute picture of Grady. It's finally getting cold here, so now the kids have to wear their warm clothes to go outside. They absolutely love being outside and the only thing Rollins wants for Christmas is a trampoline. For those of you who have never seen our backyard, you are not alone, because we haven't either. There is a nice slope all the way to the golf course. We have never even been back there. The kids just have to play in the front yard. So Rollins Christmas present is going to end up costing us a lot more than we bargained for seeing as how we are going to have to build a back yard now. We hope to get started this week. I am just as excited as the kids, because I like being outside as well.

When Rollins was born, my mom became like her second mom. I often wondered what would happen when we had a second child because I called Rollins my mom's child. Well, when Grady came along, my grandmother took him over. She would come to the shop everyday just to hold him all day long while I worked. She was the only one that could get him to sleep by holding him and he recognized her voice everytime she walked in the shop. I am so thankful I had her there to help me. For the 6 months I breast fed him, she would come to us, then she kept him at her house when he started taking a bottle. Since we sold the shop, he doesn't see her everyday, but he hasn't forgotten about here. This picture was taken at Soup day at nursery school. He just loves his grandma!

I thought this was a precious picture of Rollins, Ann Daniel and baby Cash. I think rollins and AD just adopt eachother's family. Rollins even calls AD's grandmother, MiMi.

Oh how they love eachother!

Finally, I will tell you about this picture. I enrolled Rollins in gymnastics with my old coach in Huntsville at Southern States Gymnastics. Brother thought she might be too young, and I didn't want her to feel pressured to do something she didn't want to do, so I told him we would just try it out to see how she likes it. As a former gymnast, I can see talent, and I knew Rollins had it, but I wanted her to find out on her own. I have been absolutely amazed at how well she has done. Her coach couldn't believe the upper body strength she had, which happened to be my weak spot. The gym she is at is extremely competitive, and I just hope she chooses to stick with it. Her coach has started making her do 2 boy style push ups if she falls off the beam, but I have noticed that no one else has to and they fall off everytime they walk the beam. Her coach talked to me after class one day and said she does that because she knows Rollins can do it without falling off instead of her just trying to go down the beam as fast as she could. When we got home, I told Rollins to tell daddy what she has to do when she falls off the beam, she held up 2 fingers and said, "i have to do 2 pushups". Then she showed him how she did them. He thought it was mean, but he just doesn't understand. Last week, she didn't have to do a single pushup, though. My brother, Jon, loves to do stunts with her because you can do anything with her, because she is so tight. You can do full extensions with her while she is doing a cheer and she never even falls. I have to admit that I am so proud of her. She has definitely impressed me and gone far beyond my expectations.

Last Weekend continued

So, I only got through Friday on my last blog, so I am going to wrap up the weekend.

Saturday, some Auburn friends of ours came over to watch football. They have a little girl in between Rollins and Grady and they love when Ella gets to come over and play. Rollins and G were getting a bath and Ella wanted to join in.

Rollins and Grady wore one of their fall outfits to church last Sunday. They looked too cute so I had to get a picture. They are getting much better about posing for pictures together.
After church, we went to Huntsville to get Wii. Here is Brother playing Wii Cheer that we got for Rollins. It was so funny to see him trying to be tight and do all the correct motions.

R

A nice weekend at home

It seems like we have been going and going all fall, but after Auburn's loss to Vanderbilt in Nashville last weekend, we decided not to go to Auburn this weekend, and after watching the game Saturday night, we were so glad we stayed here.

I posted a video last week of Rollins dancing and singing Bow Chick a Wow Wow. I just had to include a picture of her getup she put together for her performance. Her style just cracks me up.

We were finally able to wear some new fall clothes. They loved their new outfits!

Somehow the month of October snuck up on me and I had all these Halloween outfits for the kids and to make it worse, Fall Break is the month of October so they lose one week of getting to wear their halloween clothes to school, so Friday morning, I woke up and made Grady and outfit to match Rollins dress I made earlier. I thought they turned out pretty cute. It's amazing how much they love clothes I make for them. They are so proud of them and tell everyone, "my mommy made this." It makes me proud too!

We also attended the Guntersville versus North Jackson Football game Friday night. Guntersville played a great game, but ended up getting beat by one point. Tegan came to the game with Kate and it was really good getting to see her. Rollins and Grady absolutely love going to football games, so I don't know what we are going to do when football season is over.

I am going to post the pictures from Saturday and Sunday hopefully tomorrow because I need to get to bed. Have a great night!

What a wonderful day!

There is not really one particular event that made this day so wonderful, but, a culmination of things. I woke up this morning a bit tired, but excited to take Rollins to gymnastics--she loves going and I get to spend the rest of the day with her--it's just girls for a whole day. On the way to Huntsville, I got to talk to my dear friend Tegan about Organic Eating. With Rollins and Grady's disorders, I have been researching ways to help ease up some of the symptoms. I am willing to do whatever it takes, to make their life easier. She is such a blessing because she and her husband and her 1 year old all eat organic. This is such a source of information for me since I know nothing about cooking organic foods. We are hoping to sit down tomorrow so she can teach me everything she knows. At gymnastics, Rollins did so well. She is really progressing and I am so proud of her. Her feet are always together and toes pointed. Her coach said she is a natural and is amazed by her strength, especially in the arms. I was always stronger in my legs, so this is surprising to me. I guess it's because of the 7 gallons of milk we go through at our house a week:) Afterwards, Rollins and I went to Bridgestreet to do a little shopping and have lunch at Rollins's favorite restaurant, Red Robin. Rollins has become my best shopping buddy. She loves to pick out clothes and try them on in the dressing room. Today, I was trying on a dress, and she put her hand up and said, "oh mom, you have got to have that!" It makes me smile just thinking about it. We spent about 45 minutes in Limited Too so that she could pick out a couple necklaces and bracelets. She kept wanting "ear sticks" or what I call earrings. I told her she would have to ask her daddy for that one. Anytime we go to eat, she has to order by herself and today she ordered cheese pizza, prench pries and dip and sweet tea. Waitresses always get a kick out of her because she is so dramatic and acts like she is an adult. Last Friday night, the whole family went to Red Robin, and as we were walking back to the car, Rollins said, "wait, we have to go shopping!" It cracks me up how much she is just like me. Our final wonderful day happening was tonight at dinner. Grady has gone a couple days without vomitting, so he finally ate like he used too. I was so proud of him. He had maccaroni and cheese and corn, and Rollins put her fork in his meal to get a bite, and he picked up his plate and went to sit at the big table. It was fine with me that he didn't want to share because I wanted him to eat as much as little tummy wanted. Rollins has been doing great! She did however, have a few vomitting episodes two nights ago at my parents house. Her voice seems to be getting even scratchier, so I hope she doesn't have more acid damage. We go back to the doctor this month, so I am very anxious to ask him many questions. Mainly if this is genetic. I would love to have more children, but if this is genetic, which it seems to be, I just don't think I can go through this with another child. I am praying that it is just a fluke that they were both born this way. I also want to change Grady's medication since his spells are getting worse and he is having difficulty swallowing his food.
I feel so very blessed to have wonderful people in my life to help with Rollins and Grady and give them the same love I give them myself. My parents are wonderful to them. They love them more than they love their own children and I am so proud to say that. My grandparents have also become a very special part of Rollins and Grady's lives. It brightens the kids faces as soon as they walk through the door. I really didn't have great grandparents that I saw on a regular basis so I think it is so neat that they have developed such a close relationship with them. Also, my brother, Jon and his beautiful wife, Jackie--they have been so good to Rollins and Grady. They are so good to me and Brother and will always keep them if I am ever in a bind or they will even call up and ask if they can just come get them and take them somewhere. They are expecting their first child anyday now, and I know they will be wonderful parents because of the love they have shown for Rollins and Grady. And finally, I am so thankful for Foster, our precious babysitter and friend. She is the only person I trust to stay the weekend with my children and take care of them the way I would. People like her are a rare find. I truly do believe God is a good God, and I don't thank him enough for the wonderful people he has put in my and Brother's life.

War Eagle?

OK, so I grew up an Alabama fan, went to college in Nashville, and married an Auburn fan. I really never had a preference, but I will admit that I would take Brandy and Hillary's side when debating with Tegan and Ashley at lunch in junior high over whose stadium was bigger--I still don't know the answer, but I am sure Brandy does. So, when Brother and I got married, he left me no choice in who to pull for. He grew up a "dye hard" auburn fan. The year we got married, we went to most of the games and Auburn ended up undefeated. Every Auburn/Alabama game I have gone to, Auburn has won, so I will say, I felt like I have been on the winning team's side. However, this past weekend, really threw me for a loop. I was so excited to go to Nashville because so many of my college friends are still there. William went with us to the game, and we picked up my friend Caryn, who cheered with me in college as soon as we got to town. We met up with two of my pledge sisters, Melanie and Ashley at a neat little restaurant called Rotiers downtown. Everything was going wonderfully! We got to the game and it was a little hot so we didn't go to our seats til right before the game. Auburn gets off to a great start scoring 2 touchdowns in the first quarter. They miss the second extra point and Brother looks at me and says, "that will be the deciding factor in the game." I told him he was crazy. Well, he was right. It was like Auburn just left Nashville after that. Brother was so disgusted. He kept wanting to leave, but my naturally optimistic self kept telling him they would pull it off. We all know the ending to this story so I won't go there. We were suppose to spend the night in Nashville and meet up with my friends after the game, but instead we came home after cheese fries at Outback. Brother has said our days of attending Auburn games are over--atleast til Tony Franklin is gone or something miraculous happens. My poor little Rollins will be heartbroken seeing as how she is the biggest Auburn fan I know. Her best friend, Ann Daniel, who is also 3 called her last night and told her to wear her Auburn cheerleader uniform to school today, so ofcourse she did and so did Ann Daniel. They are both so proud to be for Auburn. Maybe by the time they are old enough to know what's going on, Auburn will be back on their feet.

Here is Kate, Langley, Grady and I at the Guntersville Homecoming parade. Langley and Grady are 2 weeks apart.

Here is what we've been doing since football season began--going to Auburn. The kids love it and Rollins truly believes she is an Auburn Cheerleader.

This video is too funny. It exemplifies Rollins perfectly. She is so much fun and she keeps us in stitches. I have no doubt she will one day be some kind of entertainer. Her imagination and love for attention amazes me.

Rollins is always dancing and here we are at the Auburn/Tennessee game with our friend the McCulley's. Julie Ann went to school with Brother and I, and now Ann Daniel and Rollins are the best of friends.

Here they are watching the parade.

Prayer Request

June of 07 I had my 3rd knee surgery to replace the metal in my right knee with Kevlar, which I already had in my left knee. The physical therapist tore the kevlar apart a week after the surgery by stretching it too far, but we didn't know it at the time. I never recovered from the surgery and I started training with a trainer in February because I just thought I was really out of shape and that was why my knee was still hurting. I was running 30 minutes at a time and my knee never did get any stronger. I could leg press over 100 pounds with my left leg, and couldn't even do 5 pounds with my right, so I eventually went back to my surgeon for his opinion . He said there was a new procedure where they could put an anchor in my bone and it was virtually indestructable. I agreed to give it a shot. So, last Thursday, Brother and I ventured back to St. Vincents for my 4th and hopefully final surgery. Dr. Adkison gave Brother the pictures from my knee, and sure enough the last surgery he had done, had been totally ripped apart and here I was doing all this running on it. It's a wonder, I didn't damage it any worse than I did. He has now assured me that I will be able to run as much as I want when I recover. I won't know what to do when I can run without pain. I had gotten so used to the pain that it was normal to me. So, as I sit here with my leg properly elevated, watching Alvin and the Chipmunks with Rollins and Grady, I ask for your prayers--not for me, but for Rollins and Grady. For those of you that are close to us, you know about their vomitting problems. For Rollins, this has been going on since she was 9 months old. In the past 2 1/2 years she has gained 7 pounds--that's it. She looks great and normal, but she can still wear a size 12-18 months in pants. When Rollins was born, she stayed in the 100th percentile until she got sick. Now she is in about the 10th. Grady's vomitting started in June. It's only been two months and he already has an umbilical hernia from the strain. It breaks my heart to see them have to go through this. Neither one of them want to eat because they know what will happen. Together they go through an average of 9 gallons of milk a week. This is where they get the bulk of their nutrition. They also enjoy eating popsicles. Grady's rib's have already started poking out and he has gone from the 50th percentile to the 10th as well. They are both being scoped Wednesday morning at Huntsville's Womens and Childrens hospital. This is also Brother's birthday. Neither one of us want them to be scoped, but we know that it's the only way we can help them. Rollins voice has changed and become scratchy, so they are checking for damage to her esophogus as well. Hopefully, it's something they can grow out of and we can all rest at night knowing they are ok. In the meantime, please keep them in your prayers. I will keep everyone updated on the results.

Fertility

So, I know that I have been really bad about posting this summer. We have been so busy and have hardly even been home, but I just really felt compelled to post tonight. I have a couple of friends who are going through fertility treatments right now and I just wanted to share my story so that they might can find hope in conceiving a child. For those of you who don't know, in July 2002, I went to the doctor because of unbearable headaches--I am not talking migrains or headaches that can be taken care of with tylenol. I am talking about head aches that would leave me unable to function. The MRI found an arachnoid cyst on my left temporal lobe resting against my pituitary gland. The only hope I had in making the pain go away was to have a craniotomy to remove the cyst. By leaving the cyst in my brain, I could suffer an anurism(sp.?) at any moment and not to mention all the complications that arise from the pituitary gland. I didn't produce hormones because the pituitary gland controls the thryoid gland. The doctors told me it would be pretty much impossible to conceive without hormones. Everything pointed to surgery. Here I was, 23 years old, totally supporting myself with a great job in Birmingham. My life was just starting. This would change everything. I would have to quit my job and move in with my parents so they could take care of me. Then, not even two weeks after my diagnosis, Brother proposed. All I could think about was how I wanted my hair, not a wig, when I got married. I asked if I could postpone any thoughts of having surgery, and I found a doctor at the Kirklin Clinic who thought he could control the pain. I had two nerve blocks (Brother said an epidural is nothing compared to the needle that would wrap around my skull) which never worked. I was taking 7 medications a day, one of which I had to take through my nose and ended up eating up the inside of my nose. Nothing seemed to work. Not to mention, I was taking more hormones than my post menoposal grandmother. Brother and I had already decided that we would either adopt or have the surgery after we got married so that we could have a chance at having a biological child. Four months after we got married, I ended up pregnant. I had monthly blood work for the past 2 years and my hormones never even registered. The doctors office called right after I took the test to let me know that they needed to increase my hormones again and they thought I was crazy when I told them I was pregnant. They said there was no way. I went out and got a few more test--all different brands and they all said the same thing--the impossible had happened. I had heard wonderful things about Clinic for Women and Dr. McMichens so I decided to give them a shot since all my doctors were in Birmingham and I wanted to have the baby in Huntsville. I was so thankful for that decision. I honestly believe there is not a better clinic in the world. They were so receptive to my concerns about the cyst since most of them rupture during child birth. The day I was induced, they gave me nubane before they ever started the pitocin and then they gave me the epidural as soon as they started the pitocin. I wasn't even dilated when I went in, but because I was at such ease, I dilated to 10 in 3 hours and had a baby after 3 pushes. Because of the low stress and comfortable environment, my cyst held through just fine. Amazingly, even through the pregnancy and after, I never could produce any hormones and nine months later we got surprise number 2--I was pregnant yet again. I have never taken any type of birth control to this day. Grady is 18 months now and I really felt like God knew we needed these children. There is not a doctor anywhere that can explain how I got pregnant--I just tell them it was because God sent these children to us as a blessing. They have taught us more than anyone else. They have shown us what Unconditional love means and how to find happiness in the simplest things. Brother and I both needed that. He had been through so much with the loss of his parents in 2001 and I really believe Rollins and Grady are angels he sent to us to help ease Brother's pain and restore his faith. God knows us better than we know ourselves and he knows what we need. We just have to give our life and faith to him and he will provide us with everything we need. For those that God chooses to be adoptive parents, it's because there is a child out there that really needs them and their love. Sometimes, it might just be that his time is not our time, and as hard as it is to understand why, we just have to trust him.
It is so frustrating to see unwed young girls having children they don't want when there are wonderful Godly couples exhausting all efforts to conceive a child. There is no other explanation except for it all being part of God's plan. If I can give any advice to anyone trying to conceive--Trust in God. He is such a good God and he will bless you in ways you would never expect. Just look at us!

Summer 2008

This summer has been pretty low key so far, but we are enjoying it much more this year now that Rollins and Grady are getting more independant. We have spent most of our free time at the lake with our family and friends.

Here is Rollins and Ann Daniel on the barbie jeep at the McCulley's. Rollins loves Ann Daniel to death and they play so well together. I am so glad she has atleast one girl her age that she really likes. It just seems that everyone else her age is a boy. There were only 4 girls in her nursery school class this past year. I don't know what was in the water when we had her but she is definitely in the minority.

Brother got us a 2 person kayak for the lake so we can take the kids for rides. I thought he was crazy, but we have really enjoyed it. Not to mention, it's pretty good exercise for both of us. Several of our friends got one too so maybe we can all go on rides together. We are also planning on taking it to the beach with us. I don't know how confident I am of my paddling skills in the ocean but it should be very interesting.

This picture is so pitiful. Last year we had a pool at the boathouse, but it somehow flew into the lake over the winter, and we had not gotten a new one yet. It was really hot, so Rollins wanted to go swimming. Brother got the bright idea of filling the cooler with lake water (our water line had also busted over the winter, so we didn't have fresh water) and let that be Rollins swimming pool. She didn't mind at all. I will say that she is usually good at making the most of every situation. She stayed in the cooler all day.

Grady is still not too fond of the lake. We are trying to get him used to the water. He loves the swimming pool but I think he feels the same way about the water as I do. I have never been a big fan of lake water. Hopefully by the end of the summer, he will be swimming all over the place like his big sister.

End of school for Rollins

Rollins had her nursery school program and it was quite funny. She hadn't had a nap that day and I was real interested in how she would do. She came out, sat in her seat, of course beside Ann Daniel, and sang her songs. I was so proud of her!

Then, they began to sing, "Oh be careful little hands what you do" and Miss Rollins decides she has a booger that she needs to get right in front of everyone. Everyone was laughing so I joined in.

Then, Rollins just gets bored and decides to lay in the floor. Why is it the teacher's grandaughter has to be the worst behaved when all the parents are watching?

Here she is being "Day One" on the days of creation. She did this beautifully, so she was beginning to renew my faith in her.

And finally, here she is getting her diploma. Notice how we started the program with a bow and ended it, without one. I do not know what her deal is, but it drives me crazy because she would rather her hair hang in her face.

This is a great shot of her and Ann Daniel from the last day of school. They have become such good friends and I love to watch them play together. They are so sweet and sincere with eachother and they get so excited to see eachother. I am sure this is just the beginning of a very long friendship. What is so neat about this is that Brother is the one that introduced her parents back in college. Ann Daniel's mother, Julie Ann, was from Guntersville. Brother had a friend, Chris, at college who graduated with Clark, Brother's cousin in Birmingham. Brother brought Chris home with him spring break and that is how he and Julie Ann met. Now they live here.

Rollins had a wonderful school year and I can't wait for Grady to go next year. She is such a social butterfly and has developed so much as a result of her schooling. She has made some precious friends and I am looking forward to next year when they all come back.

May Update

I am going to try to update you on May in several post. Jim and Whit threw a birthday party for on of Auburn's quarterbacks, Neil Caudle. They rented out the cabins at Gunters Landing and invited a lot of Auburn people. This is a picture of Brother and Tommy Trott who also plays for Auburn. For those of you that know Brother, he loves his Auburn tigers so he really enjoyed the party. Bishop Black out of Decatur played and Crawmama's catered. I will have to give it to Jim and Whit, they really know how to throw a party.



I will have to admit that I felt a bit strange at the party. There were all these people that I grew up babysitting. I was definitely the oldest and the only one who had had a child, but I guess I can still hang with the young ones.


Also in May, was GHS graduation. Here Rollins and I are with my niece Whitney. We love our Whitney, and I am glad she is staying here for atleast another year to go to Snead. There were four of the cousins that graduated--Whitney, Joseph, Raechel and Lindsay. Even though it's Brother's family, I grew up babysitting Joseph, Raechel and Lindsay. I will have to scan some old pictures and put them on here. Rollins and Grady did so well. They both sat through the ceremony and clapped for every graduate.
We went to Mack and Diane's afterwards for a graduation party. Brother is really lucky to have such a wonderful close family and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.