Emma's Mommy

It seems like forever....

2009-09-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

I know it's blurry...but Emma's shirt has Derek's number and
it say's Derek's Girl on it!!! LOVE IT!!!

Derek and his girl Emma after his awesome game!

Our family after Brooke and David's beautiful wedding!

Emma thought she could put her own make-up on!

Emma was cheering the Tide on to their victory!!!

ROLL TIDE!

It seems like forever since I posted last, but it's been a busy few weeks! With school starting back and everyone trying to get back into our routines, plus football season starting and a trip to Nashville for a wedding thrown in....and oh did I mention I have been SICK! It's just been way to crazy to try to post! Here are a few pics to catch us up! :-)

DISNEY WORLD...AND THE MOUSE!!!!

2009-08-15T12:22:00.001-07:00

We had an amazing vacation with Nana and Papa to Disney World

this summer! We had such a great time and had a lot of help from

Chelsea and her friend Brittney who got to go with us!

I don't know what we would have done without them to entertain Emma!

We went to Disney World on Emma and Dad's birthday!

I have very fond memories of my family taking me when I was younger and

it was a dream come true to be able to visit Disney with my own child!

I hope you enjoy our pics!!

There she is....MINNIE!!!!

Hilarious faces on me and Justin, but Emma's is cute!

The Mouse and Minnie of course~

Emma and her new ears! Waiting to see Mickey and Minnie

Daddy and Emma flying with Dumbo!!

She loved it and was very upset when she had to get off!

The family in front of Cinderella's Castle!

We had breakfast with Pooh and all his friends for Emma's B'day!

The Piglet experience was well....an experience!

We did a lot of swimming too!! She loves the water!

We saw an amazing Cirque du Soleil show!! I highly recommend it!

Thanks Gwen for the suggestion!

We did a lot of shopping at Downtown Disney!!

Dressed up like princesses!

Tried on lots and lots of hats!

Even Papa got in on the hat show!

These were B'Day hats...which were very fitting since

they share the same B'Day!

More hats....

And another....

We played with the puppies made of Lego's!

This was so cool...there were also Lego people holding the leash!

Did I mention we swam....A LOT!!!

By the end of the trip we were all well....EXHAUSTED!
Her little arm is down in the box!! TOO FUNNY~

Well this picture pretty much describes my daughter to a TEE!
We had an amazing trip and can not wait to go back!

Emma got to see ALL of her favorite characters and still tells everyone

about seeing "da mouse" and all the fun she had!

That's our Disney wrap up! Hope you enjoyed it!!

Birthday Party Wrap Up!!

2009-07-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from Emma's Birthday party!!! I hope you enjoy!!!

This is Emma's cousin Carter! What a sweet boy! We wish we

could spend more time with them!
Emma was loving the gifts but only wanted to open them
while sitting on her new Dora bike from NaNa and PaPa!

Here's Carter again...going down the big slide!

Amy and Andy were able to make it for the party!

They got her the cutest Tinkerbell outfit!! Emma had

to wear it that night!

Here is the swingset that Emma got from Mommy and Daddy

for her birthday!! It just took Daddy a week to put together!! LOL

Just one of the slides at the party!! FUN FUN

Emma's birthday cake was YUMMY!! Here's Emma dismounting from one of

the slides!

We had a smaller pool for the little ones! Emma

thought it was a horse!! LOL

It has been a while since I have posted and well I have a great excuse...or excuses!!! I had to attend a training for two weeks which sucked the life right out of me, in between the two weeks, we had Emma's 2nd birthday party, then the last day of the training I came home, packed, and headed to Ider so we could leave bright and early the next morning for our Disney adventure! I believe that about covers it... i think! I wanted to do a post for Emma's birthday party and another for the Disney trip so this one will just cover the party! It was a great day with tons of friends! We had a water party and it was HOT!!! I apologize to all the poor parents that had to sit in the sun while your children were nice and cool on the water slides!!! Just know they had fun at your sacrifice!! Emma had a blast and loved every single gift she received! I will be getting the thank you cards out soon, but as you can see from the crazy list of things above...I just simply haven't had time!!!

The Summer So Far!!!

2009-07-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

So here is our summer...so far!! It has been a blessed one with fun in the sun with friends and family! The best way to re-cap our summer is through great pictures! Emma has been quite the entertainer this summer. She is growing up so fast right before our eyes. She has the greatest personality and quite the sense of humor.
Here she is "digging for gold" as her PaPa looks on with laughter and well...SHOCK!

On the fourth of July we were blessed to spend the day with my family and Emma got to Slip n' Slide for the first time! She was a little hesitant but enjoyed it after a few trips down the slide!

The Ice Cream Truck came for a visit through our neighborhood! Emma was excited, but I think her dad and I were more excited than she was! Thanks to our fabulous neighbor for being there to take a picture of all of us at the ice cream truck!

Emma has become obsessed with "pops" and there have been plenty of them this summer! Nana and Papa keep their freezer stocked for our visits!

Emma also had her first experience at a Japanese restaurant! She ate her weight in food and loved the show that the chef put on...and was quick to tell him NOT to do the big fire anymore! He was great and gave her a little bit of everyone's food. She wasn't too sure of the chef getting to close though! LOL We got to share this experience with our dearest friends, which Emma LOVES just as much as she does her own family. They ARE our family!! Candi and her kids mean the world to us! Candi is like a sister to me and I have become a stronger woman for knowing her! She is my best friend and I owe her more than she will ever know! I only hope that I can be the friend to her that she has been to me!!

We also took a trip to Alabama Adventure and LOVED it!!! Emma had a blast and I must admit...I DID TOO!!! We had a great time with our "besties" and WILL be going back for more fun in the sun!

How could I leave out all of our FUN playdates with our wonderful neighbors!! Emma and Bryce have such a sweet bond and I can't even explain what joy it brings to my heart to know that Emma has such a great "boyfriend" in Bryce! He let's her love on him and at times boss him around and it is just precious to be able to watch them play together and grow! I have also been blessed with the friendship that I have been able to develop through this little love affair!! Bryce's mommy has become one of my best friends in the world and her love and support and kind shoulder to cry on, laugh with, and fuss with means all the world to me! I don't know how I have made it without her!!

Emma has been swimming NON STOP! She has become miss independant in the pool...well everywhere really, but she loves the pool! She reminds me so much of myself sometimes and it makes me smile thinking about the fun times I shared with cousins swimming all summer long! I know she will love it just as much as her mother and father did!

We've also played with Carli at the playground this summer!! It was loads of fun and can't wait to do it again!!

We had water day too!!! It is so much fun to get play in the water when that Bama heat kicks in around here!!

Well I hope you've enjoyed the update and I have plenty more, but it wouldn't let me upload any more pics, so until next time.....We hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!!
God Bless,

Kelli and Emma

HULA GIRL!!

2009-06-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

We've had a great couple of weeks with lots of swimming and visiting the family! It has been CRAZY BUSY and I will def. post later about all of our adventures, but for now I will leave you with a couple of pictures of my HULA GIRL!!!

A whirlwind of a trip!

2009-06-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

We took a quick trip to Rhode Island to visit with Justin's family and I am still tired! Justin's father suffered a stroke a couple of years back and he isn't doing well so Justin wanted to go visit him while we could. Emma had a blast playing with ALL of her cousins and Gus! (Gus was our dog before Emma came along, and we sent him to live in Rhode Island with all the kids.) We had such a great time and I got some really good pics of Emma while we were there!

All of Justin's family laughs at me because I always have bows in Emma's hair, or frilly outfits on her. They say she is def. from the South! So when I broke out the tutu, I thought they were going to fall over laughing! Please remember Justin and his family in your prayers. His father has never really had a good relationship with any of his kids, but it is still hard for them to see him like this. He did come to life when he saw Emma running around. I think I even saw a smile out of him....and Justin too!

I have plenty more to write about, but I hear a little girl calling for her Mommy in the next room!! Can't turn down that voice!! :-) Hope you are all having a blessed summer!

With Love,

Kelli

TuTu CUTE!!! HA

2009-05-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

This is another one of my tutu's! As you can tell, Emma

loves playing in them. She wore one to church last Sunday!

I am hoping to get some more pics up soon.

My computer is acting up and I am having a hard time getting the pics

uploaded! UUGGHH....Technology!!

Let me know if you would like a tutu!

I can do any colors you want and any size!

The name of the business is TUTU CUTE!

HA! You gotta love it!

A-Day Game and Quality Time

2009-05-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

So we went to the A-Day Game back in April and Emma loved it!

Emma wore her Alabama Tutu that I made her and it was a hit!

Everyone was clapping and yelling for her.

She even did a few twirls for them when they clapped!

She loved looking for Big Al and sitting in Papa's lap eating snacks!

She is definitely a Bama Fan!
Roll Tide!!!!

We also got to spend some quality time with the Grandparents!

Emma spent time at the park with Nana and Papa and I

got to spend time with my grandmother as well!

As you can tell from the pictures....

SHE LOVES THEM!!!!!

She had a blast and still talks about the slide and asks for Nana and Papa!

We had a great time and can't wait to do it again!!

What a month!

2009-05-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the month of no posts! It has been a little hectic around here and there has been plenty of things to post about, but honestly, I haven't caught my breath yet! We have had hospital stays, Mother's Day, tutu making, and end of school activities....all which are fantastic stories! Today's post will just be about the hospital stay so I can keep it short! :-)

A couple of weeks ago Emma was just not feeling well at all, and then....the fever! So I took "priss" to the Dr. and he did blood work and gave her a good once over (enter lot's of screaming) and said everything looked fine. Well that was until he got the blood results. Her blood work was a little crazy! He said she looked great but her white blood cell count was high so he wanted her to come back in the next morning and do another stick to check her blood again to see if it was any different!

We came back the next morning and it was still high. She had to get blood drawn from the lab...FUN!!! and it was STILL high! Because this was a FRIDAY he decided he wanted to keep her close and monitor her....so that meant a weekend in the hospital. WOOHOO!!!!

We started our stay with nurses sticking Emma and blowing veins because she was so dehydrated, Emma screaming and crying because she is terrified of all things medical, and VERY uncomfortable furniture to sit/sleep on! We were there from 8:30 Friday morning until 8:30 Sunday night! It was a very long weekend that ended with questions of what was wrong with her NOT being answered, and Emma literally banging on the windows screaming...."OUT....OUT!!"

When we left Sunday night her blood count was back up and she wasn't running a fever! We left with Boo Boo's in our arms and feet from tries for the IV's that we are still hearing about from Emma! But we are home and we are HAPPY to be here!!!

Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers! I will hopefully have more posts soon!

Kelli

Proof Positive!!!

2009-04-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

So I have proof that yes, I do wear something other than jeans and a t-shirt, and I have proof that my husband does exist, and I do have proof that my child, although rather bossy right now, is adorable! We had a wonderful Easter and here are a few pictures to prove my previous points! I hope you enjoy!!!

Easter Egg Hunting

2009-04-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took a trip to NaNa and PawPaw's for an Easter Egg
Hunt and awesome birthday party for cousin Carter! Emma loved every
minute of the visit. It was awesome and here are a few pictures from the
weekend! I hope you enjoy!

"Eeewww mommy...yuck....dirty!!!" But check out that basket! She found
21 eggs!!! Way to go Emma!!!

The Easter Bunny with Emma and Paw Paw! She wasn't going to sit there
by herself!!! She was terrified. It was the only good picture I got! Love it!!!

Here's cousin Carter with Emma! I wish she could play with him more often!!

My favorite picture of all! She was watching the other

kids ride the ponies. She wasn't going to get on one, but

she sure was enjoying watching everyone else!

A few pictures!

2009-03-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Look at that spaghetti face!!

I love that smile!

My sweet baby girl is growing up so fast!!! I love you Emma Kate!

Look at those hands!

Papa teaching Emma how to hit the ball off the tee!

Nana showing Emma a grasshopper!

Emma Lou Whoo hair in the bath tub!

Working hard in the yard!

I love those pig tails!!!!

I thought I would post a few of our latest pics of my sweet Emma! I finally got them loaded on my computer! A couple are from tonights supper! She loves her spaghetti!! :-) I hope you enjoy and thank you all for your prayers and encouraging comments! I can't tell you how much they mean to me and my family! We love you all!!! ENJOY!!!!

Been away but now I'm back!

2009-03-24T17:47:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted a blog in a while, but I have been reading all of yours! I love so much coming in from playing outside and relaxing on the couch with my laptop reading everyone's latest funny, heartwarming, and inspiring stories. I have needed those stories lately. I want to ask you to remember my family in your prayers. We have gone through a lot in the past couple of weeks. After the loss of my grandfather, my mother's mother fell and broke her foot. She is now living with my parents for a while until she can put some weight back on her foot and take care of herself. This has put a lot of stress on my parents although they do not choose to show it. I myself have been struggling with a few issues in my own life and I need your prayers. I haven't felt worthy to write lately because the devil is trying me with negativity in my heart. Please pray that I give it ALL to an all knowing and powerful GOD! Enough abou that....let's talk about the thing that puts a smile on my face each and every day!
Emma is doing great and is growing up so fast right in front of my eyes! She is talking like a "big girl" now and is constantly in to something! She just turned 20 months this past Monday and has quite the personality! She keeps us going ALL the time. She LOVES being outside and throws quite the fit when we come inside! By the way...she is such a girl! SHE LOVES SHOES!!!!
Justin is great! He was blessed with a job at Wal-Mart as an assistant manager! He is enjoying it and I think I have him convinced that since he works there, he has to do all the shopping while he's there! I'm still working on it!!! :-) God has blessed us time and time again and we continue to thank him every day! Please remember us in your prayers as I do for you! I hope you have a blessed week!!
Kelli

Snow Days and Sad Days!!

2009-03-01T12:29:00.001-08:00

Our poor snowman! We weren't finished with
him, but Daddy was a little impatient...and cold!

Daddy got creative with the foot
prints in the picture!! I luv it!

She was like.."What is this stuff?" HA!

Emma and Mommy saying CHEESE in the snow!

On a sad note, we lost our grandfather this past

Saturday morning. Please remember our family in

prayer as my grandmother and the rest of us try to

come to grips with not having his wonderful, deep

voice greeting us with bounds of love when we

walk through the door! He loved seeing us and

especially loved Emma and all of her tricks she would

do for him!

With love,

Kelli

My favorite girl!!!

2009-02-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

Can you tell she loves her PaPa!!! You can see the sheer joy on her face!!!

Are you sure it's not scary to go down the slide???

Her new favorite thing to say..."HUH"

We had a great day at the park with our friends and family!! We were so fortunate
to have an amazing photographer to capture the moments we spend with them!!

Pictures as promised!

2009-01-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

Atlanta Aquarium
I love Emma's face in this picture! There is a HUGE whale
shark swimming over our head!

Emma and Mommy in front of the Wall of Fish! They just
swim around and around....it's hilarious!

My sweet baby girl! Justin said..."say cheese",,,and this is
what we got!! TOO CUTE!!!

Daddy and Emma in front of the Jelly Fish
Wall. I love the bright colors !

Absolutely exhausted after the big day in Atlanta!!

I promise it's a short post~!

2009-01-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

I realized that my last couple of posts have been quite long, and I apologize for that, but some things need to be said and I am not arguing with GOD!!! :-) I just wanted to give a quick update...we went for Emma's 18 month check up....yes I can't believe she's 18 months old either...and she is absolutely perfect!! Her hemangioma (?spelling?) looks great and you can't even tell it's there any more. She def. doesn't like the visit to the doctors office, but she did great with her shots considering! I am hoping to get some new pics up soon, but I am swamped with school work, yearbook stuff, and of course my 18 month old wild child!!! I do want to recommend a REALLY GOOD READ... o.k. I am a little obsessed with it....the Twilight series is amazing!! I must admit I saw a hilarious t-shirt the other day and I must share it with you!

Yes I'm a MOM....
Yes I read Twilight....
and Yes I am In LOVE with Edward!!
(Just don't tell my husband)

HAHAHA Too funny!!!
Hope you are all doing wonderful and may God Bless you all!!
Love,
Kelli

And now....the rest of the story!!!

2009-01-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to conclude my story, but school has been insane and afternoons with Emma....well.....life happens!!! Plus I am reading an amazing series of books that I just can not seem to put down and if you know me you know I do not read so they must be good right!!! O.K. anyway, but to Emma's story. I left off with the blog telling her story and asking for prayer.

The Sunday after her surgery mom came into our room where Justin Emma and I were sleeping and said they were going to church and that they were going to have a prayer service for Emma. She asked if we wanted to go. Of course I jumped up immediately and got ready and Justin followed right behind me. We drove the hour and a half to Ider and when we walked into the church the singing had already started. All eyes immediately turned to us and you could tell most everyone had already heard the story. Bro. Luke stood in front of the church and explained to everyone what had conspired over the last few days and asked us to come to the front and pray...he then asked everyone to follow. Nearly everyone in the church got out of their seats and went to the alter. It was an outpouring of love and tears and prayers to God like I have NEVER felt before. We then went to our seats and I continued to hold my baby girl like she was the only thing in the world while Bro. Luke spoke of healing and God's love and how important prayer was. I was truly blessed throughout the entire service.

We then returned home and I started to check my e-mails. I can not tell you the number of comments and e-mails I had received. They were from all over the world. Ireland, England, California, Canada, Florida, Texas.....More and more continued to poor in. Bro. Luke's wife had posted my blog on her blog ( www.thepreachers-wife.blogspot.com ) and she had so many comments on her blog that truly touched my heart and I still don't think I thanked everyone for the sweet comments although I tried my best to do that and if I didn't thank you then, I am thanking you know!!! THANK YOU!!! Anyway...the love and prayers were not just in that country church that day, but they were posted all over the place in hundreds of different churches and Emma's story started it's journey. Emma's name was lifted in prayer morning noon and night and through that I started to feel a comfort in my chest. Like things...though they looked sad and grim, will be o.k. with God there!

I knew I had to return to work simply because I was the only one who had insurance at the time and I knew we were about to need it more than ever with treatment in our future so Monday morning, although I did not want to leave my child, I left for work and my mother stayed with Emma. That was also the first day that our amazing babysitter, Candi, started. She was gracious enough to come to our house because my mom wasn't really comfortable with Emma being to far away from her. (I couldn't blame her ) Everyone at work was wonderful and exactly what I needed....hugs when I needed, tears when I needed and laughs when I needed them too. The day was long, but it was good. I got home and loved on my baby and shed a few tears with several prayers as well.

The next day, mom went back to Ider and I took Emma to Candi's house. It was September 11th and everyone was still walking on pins and needles with me, but still very supportive. My principal was extremely kind and said he would work out what ever needed to be done in order to get Emma to her appointments and everything else and for that to not be a worry for me that I needed to be there for Emma. I had been concerned about that because I had used all of my sick and personal days while on maternity leave and I only had 1 or 2 days left...if that! Somehow Tuesday seemed to fly by and I rushed up the hill to get my baby girl and go home. I got home and I was on the couch with Emma talking on the phone to a friend that I had not told the story too when I received a "beep" which is call waiting. I looked at the number and it was a 1-800 number and I was in no mood to talk to a telemarketer. So I ignored the call and continued talking. Then my cell phone started ringing and I looked at the number...the same 1-800 number so obviously someone was trying to get in touch with me, so I told my friend to hold on just a second and I answered my cell phone....here is the conversation.....

Me: Hello

Other: Hello, is this Kelli Hayes?

Me: Yes it is.

Other: This is Dr. Saito at Children's Hospital

Me: OH HI

Dr. Saito: How are you doing?

Me: As well as can be expected....

Dr. Saito: Well your going to be doing a lot better...It's not cancer!

Me: Excuse me??? What???

Dr. Saito: It's not cancer. ( I'm screaming and crying at this point) The tests results came back and it is showing that it is a hemangioma.

Me: Thank you Jesus...Thank you Jesus.....Thank you Jesus!!!!!

Dr. Saito: Mrs. Hayes...I want to tell you that Friday when I looked at it in the operating room, it was cancer and today...well....today it's not! Someone had their hand on that baby! Mrs. Hayes... is your husband home...I would like to tell him myself if it's o.k. since I am the one who told him I thought it was cancer.

Me: No, actually he is still at work..here is his number, you can tell him.... I need to call a lot of people any way.

Dr. Saito: Yea, you call your parents and when you get through make sure you call and set up an appointment for me to look at it again. Again, I am sorry for all the worry and you take care of that sweet baby girl.

Me: Thank you so much, I will. Thank you...thank you....thank you!!!

I then called my dad with tears still streaming down my face and he didn't answer, I couldn't believe it. So I called mom...NO ANSWER...so I called dad back and he finally answered. I told him through my tears and all I heard was shouting and praising Jesus!! It was such a sweet moment and I will never forget the feeling I felt when I heard his tears of joy and his screams of praise, then I heard mom in the background doing the same. Then the chain started and it was one call after another...Justin called me and we just laughed and cried...no words....just sweet praise. It was amazing. I immediately got on the computer and started typing and thanking everyone. It was so powerful and so wonderful. The entire time I held on to Emma and kissed and loved her. I called mom and dad back and they were already heading down to Jacksonville to see the miracle baby. It was such a sweet night. You could feel God's presence. It was powerful. Just powerful. The next day was back to work, but it was a different day. I walked with smiles and tears, but happy tears. I received hugs and smiles, but they were different. They were thankful.

The next Sunday we were back in that country church in Ider and this time it was a praise service like you have never seen. We stood in front of the church and we told ALL of Emma's story. We sang, we shouted, we prayed, we praised, we cried and we smiled. It was God's amazing Grace...powerful and pure.

The days that followed were wonderful as well. I received e-mails saying that they didn't know me but Emma story had changed their life and others said that they knew us and that they were on the wrong path until Emma's story and they had turned back to God. It was amazing. Others said that they had prayer services at their church for Emma and that they had all joined together to celebrate God's miracle. It was amazing how quickly God worked in so many lives. Absolutely amazing!!!

We have had the amazing opportunity to personally thank a few of the churches that had prayers services and WOW what a blessing it brought to our lives. We have also been blessed with an amazing church that we joined and where Justin accepted the Lord and was baptized here in Jacksonville and it has been a blessing every service ever since.

I feel as though God put a lot of us through this trial, some to remind that we need to be working for him, others that we need to turn to or back to him. God said in 1 Samuel 1:27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. He also said in Psalms 71:8 My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.
I now know that I need to spread his word and I need to praise him daily.

I have a daily reminder of God's blessing and God's love. He is so great and wonderful. He has blessed me abundantly and He is worthy to be praised!!!

I hope you have received a blessing from Emma's story as much as I have. My sweet baby girl has a story to tell, but until she can tell it... I AM GOING TO!!!!!

God bless all of you!!!
With his love,
Kelli

Emma's Story Part 1

2009-01-19T15:55:00.001-08:00

As promised I am going to tell you Emma's story! I have been praying about how to present this and what words to use and it's so funny because God has kept reminding me that I don't need special or fancy words....I just need God! My words are good enough as long as God is guiding the way! He's already given me the words....he's given me her story......I just need to make sure I continue to tell it! SO HERE IT IS....... Emma's Story!

Emma was a blessing to us right from the beginning! We had to go through a lot just to get Emma here and then when she finally did arrive....she was quite a bit early! 5 weeks early to be exact, but we knew from that day that she was going to be special...she was born on her PaPa Hammonds birthday! Can anyone say SPOILED!!! Anyway...My mom stayed with me for the 6 weeks I got at home and it was scary for all of us just because of how small she was when she came home. She was 3 pounds 13 ounces when she came home from the hospital and we had to give her formula along with breast milk just because she needed more than I could give her at the time. When my 6 weeks were up, I thought my heart was going to rip out of my chest. I didn't want to leave her, but I had to go back to work. I went back to work on Sept. 6 and my mom stayed home with her and I called a few times to check on her...of course she was great. I rushed home when 3:30 rolled around and rushed in the door to hold my baby girl!

Later that night I was sitting on the couch with my laptop (surprise) checking some e-mails and playing around while holding Emma and mom said, "I will hold her while you do that." I said sure and handed her off. When mom picked her up she felt something weird. What followed was about 5 days of chaos! I will leave you with a blog that I had posted on my myspace page that explains what happened in detail....

Sept. 8, 2007

O.k. everyone, I know you have read my blogs about my precious baby Emma, well now I need your prayers for her more than ever! Many of my dear friends have already posted a bulletin asking for prayers, but there are others of you who don't know what is going on. SO HERE IT IS....Late Wednesday night we were changing Emma's diaper and felt a bump on her hip. When we looked at it, it looked as if her hip was out of place. We immediately jumped into the car and went to the emergency room. They took x-rays and ruled out that it was anything to do with her hip. They then TRIED to take a CT scan of her, but little Emma just wasn't having it and the results came back inconclusive.So the doctor thought it was just fatty tissue that may have developed because of her growing and gaining weight so fast. He told us to just follow up with our pediatrician the next day.Well many of you know Dr. Caballero in Anniston is an amazing pediatrician, and when he saw her and felt her bump he looked at us and said this was not there when we were in for our last checkup. You could see it all over his face that he was worried. He decided to make a call to Children's Hospital in B-ham and wanted to just make sure of what was going on. So we took off to B-ham from the pediatricians office. Once we got to Children's, they immediately had us in a room and the Neonatologist was in looking at her within 10 minutes. She was really concerned when she started feeling of the lump and wanted to do some more tests. The first test she wanted to run was a simple sonogram to get some pictures of it to see if it was connected to anything, and if it had any blood running through it, and just simply to get an idea of what we were looking at. After looking at the sonogram the doctor was still not sure of exactly what it was so she decided it was time for an MRI. As a mother, that had to have been the most painful thing I have ever had to witness. To sit and watch your 6 week old baby wrapped up in blankets and taped down to a machine and see her go through the tests and there is nothing you can do!!! No one should have to go through it! EVER!When the MRI came back the doctor still couldn't tell exactly what it was so the next step was a biopsy. So we set up the surgery for Friday morning at 7:15. We left our house Friday at 4 a.m. with grandparents in tow. You know they were going to be there no matter what! She went in to surgery and had to have (excuse the spelling) anesthesia so we were going to have to stay the night to keep an eye on her. When they doctor came back in and talked to us, I knew she was holding back. She was beating around the bush about something, but I didn't want to know what it was anymore than she wanted to tell us. Justin couldn't take it any more and just asked what she thought it was. She unwillingly told us she thought it was a cancerous tumor and that we may have a long road ahead of us. As I sat there in a complete state of shock, I looked around the room at all of the distraught faces of my family. My mother was a complete basket case, my dad was trying to be strong but you could see it in his eyes he was crushed, my sister sitting in the corner in disbelief with tears running down her face, and my husband...my best friend.. with a blank stare on his face and tears welling in his eyes as if his life had been completely torn apart. All I could do was sit there. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I could see people talking, and the doctor beside me holding my hand, telling me we were going to fight this and get through this, all I wanted to do was hold my baby girl, the blessing that we had to fight for in the first place, the baby who had already come through so much and fought so hard to survive 5 weeks earlier than she should have. The doctor reassured us that there was still a chance that it was benign and that she had seen it happen before. She told us that pediatric cancer was not like adult cancer and that it was very treatable. She was so wonderful and understanding of the fact that we were all completely lost and confused and mad and sad. She offered for us to speak with the oncologist there at the hospital and Justin immediately said yes. So the nurse told us we were moving to another room and that Justin and I could peek in and see Emma in recovery before we went. We got in there and all I wanted to do was pick her up and tell her everything was going to be o.k., but I couldn't touch her, not even a kiss on her little chubby cheek. It absolutely killed me! About 15 minutes after we got into the room, they brought my precious fighter in and asked who wanted her!! There was no question who was getting her, and I didn't care who wanted her! She was mine. All the wires and IV's were hooked up to her and it was heart breaking.The oncologist came in a little later and told us that they did a freeze section of the biopsy during the surgery and that it came back malignant, but that didn't mean it was. She seemed convinced and talked to us about what was next. She said they were going to put a little tube right below Emma's collar bone and from that tube they would be able to take blood and give her chemo. As you prob did just as you read this, I said WHAT???? She said this would probably need to be treated with chemo, radiation, and then they would try to take the mass out. NEVER would I have thought I would be having this conversation about my precious 6 week old baby!!! She also mentioned that we are looking at about 1 to 2 years of treatment! We are still waiting on her labs to come back and we are praying for God's hand to be in this. We want benign results!!!! We want our baby to be o.k.!! We need your help! PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR BABY EMMA!!! She has fought so hard already! We know she is strong and we know she will come through this, but with your prayers and God's hand, we can get through this stronger and better! God has a plan for my baby girl, and it may be that through this we all become closer to him, but right now we are struggling to understand it! My family has been through a complete nightmare in the past 4 days! Please keep us in your prayers, and lift our baby girl up to the Lord, for through him ALL things are possible. Thank you to all of you who came to the hospital to visit. It was so nice to see a smiling and loving face and to even laugh every once in a while!! We love each and every one of you. Please pass this along so that we can have as many prayers as possible going out for Emma! We will keep you updated and we are supposed to find out the results of the tests late next week. Whenever you have a second, please just lift up her name!!!

Love,Justin, Kelli, and our sweet baby Emma!

I will stop there for this post and continue hopefully tomorrow night! Sorry for the cliffhanger suspense...haha!!! Stay tuned!!

A verse that I lifted unto the Lord daily throughout this ordeal and still today....

Jeremiah 30:17
But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds....declares the Lord.

I'm here!!

2009-01-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry I have bee away for so long, especially after my last post and telling you I was going to post Emma's story, but we have a quite the bug around here and we are still trying to recover!! I am planning on posting this afternoon! I was about to do it now and guess who I just heard crying in her crib??? You guessed it, our little "miss priss" herself. It's like she knew I was about to do something and decided I needed to spend some more time with her on my day off from school!!! I will post soon. Keep checking back!! :-)

With love,
Kelli

Back to Work!

2009-01-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

Well I had to go back to work today after being off for the Christmas Holiday's and WOW was it tough getting up this morning!! I must admit it was good getting back to the daily routine but it was really hard saying good-bye to "priss" this morning. She was so sweet this morning and she just loved and hugged on me while "we" got ready! She helped me with my make-up, helped dry my hair, and even helped pack her diaper bag. She smiled and laughed the entire time. She was precious. It was like she knew I was going to have a hard time so she was REALLY nice to me. I can not imagine my life with out that precious little girl! She amazes me every day with what she is learning. I absolutely love every thing about her!! God has blessed me with so much in my life, but I do believe that she takes the cake!! :-) I can not imagine one second with out her! I am going to post "Emma's Story" in the next few days, but I want to make sure I do it justice, so I want to dive into my bible and really search for God's words that may bless you as much as he has blessed us. I read a friends blog earlier and she has been posting some of her older blogs and one of them was about Emma and her story. I sat in tears. After reading her blog I realized I have been slacking on God! I haven't been sharing the precious story that he gave us to share. I haven't been doing MORE for him. I had fallen into my old ways! I shouldn't be sitting quietly but shouting from the mountain tops that GOD is STILL a HEALING GOD and HE LIVES IN ME!!!! I hope to become more like him daily and I hope that you see him in me and in my future posts! Yes, there will still be stories of Emma, but there will be more of GOD!!! Thank you Brooke for reminding me of God's grace and unending love! You and your family are so precious to me!

God Bless you all and I pray that when my students return on Wed. they will see more of God in me too!!!

Kelli

I've been tagged....let's play a game!!

2009-01-01T19:29:00.001-08:00

My wonderful friend Angela tagged me to play a little game!! Let's see how I do!!!

SCATTERGORIES.. it's harder than it looks! Link to this post, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag 10 people including the one that sent this to you.Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things. Nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial.. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. And you can not use the same word twice

Your name: Kelli
BOY NAME: Kevin
4 LETTER WORD: Keep
GIRL NAME: Kayla
OCCUPATION: Kitchen Manager
A COLOR: Kelley Green
SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Khaki's
BEVERAGE: Kool-aid
FOOD: Kiwi
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Knob
A PLACE : Kentucky
REASON FOR BEING LATE: Killed...I know it's awful, but I couldn't think of anything else!
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Kaboom!!!
Ok...Here are the 10 tags...

1. Brooke
2. Jenny
3. Deb
4. Holly C.
5. Holly B.
6. Hayli
7. Christina
8. Gwen
9. Shannon A.
10. Whitney

Have Fun!! Happy New Year!!

Christmas Pics!

2008-12-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

Emma's Gifts from Santa!!

All of her gifts from Nana and Papa and Everyone Else!

Playing with all of her cousins! I wish we could
see them more often!

Four Generations: My Grandmother, My Dad, Me, and Emma

Pictures and Advice

2008-12-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

How do I type in between pics??? I am so awful at this!!! HAHA

Fantabulous Christmas and amazing photographer!

2008-12-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas holiday and have a blessed New Year! My dear husband is a New Year's baby and we will be celebrating like we always do every year....in bed by 9!!! HA!!! We have had an awesome Christmas and Emma loved everything that Santa( along with a few other elves) brought her! We had Christmas with my dad's side of the family on Wednesday afternoon and then headed back to J-ville to open presents and wait for Santa to arrive. We got up early Christmas morning and Emma loved every gift she got! She played so hard with ALL of her new toys! Mom and I made a huge breakfast and we all stuffed ourselves silly. Then Justin, Mom, John, and I played Scrabble Upwards! I highly recommend it! But read the directions first....HAHAHA....That's another story! My amazing neighbor and inspiring photographer ran by here and took a few family pictures before they headed to their family gathering. I will post those as well. I can not tell you how good she is. She was here for maybe 10 minutes and the pictures she got were fantastic. Justin, Emma, and I stayed here while the rest of the family went back to the home front to get ready for the next family gathering Friday morning. We drove up early Friday and had breakfast at the house with mom's side of the family and then played the Wii!!! So fun!!! We spent the rest of the day being lazy and then went bowling that night! I must say I bowled pretty dog gone good, but I didn't win. Dad took both games....as usual! We stayed the night last night and Hayli was heading home today, so we said our sad goodbye's and we headed home. We got home and have been playing ever since. We took a quick walk with the amazing neighbor and then back here for more playing. I called mom and dad to check out how the drop off of Hayli went and they told us that her flight got cancelled due to fog and they are heading home. She will leave at the same time tomorrow. Please pray for her...she misses us when she's away!

So that was our Christmas...I hope yours was fun too!!! I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will post the amateur pics that I took of Christmas morning later!!! :-)

God Bless,

Kelli

Welcome Home Hayli!!!

2008-12-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

So my brave little sister who joined the Navy and has been in Great Lakes, Illinois since August got to come home for the holidays!! We have been so happy to have her home. There is nothing like having everyone together for Christmas. We have had the best few days just talking and telling stories and mainly playing with Emma! Emma loves her Aunt Hay Hay! This will be a short post because we have more family gatherings to attend but I wanted to let everyone know that not only is my sister an amazing lady who is in the Navy, but she has created herself a blog!! :0) Here is her link...check her out. She is a very talented and insightful writer!!! I am so proud of her!! Oh Yea... and I will have Christmas pics and stories up soon!!! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
http://sailor-hayli.blogspot.com/

Someone really reads my blogs!! HAHAHA

2008-12-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

So I was scanning through my blogs that I read EVERY day and I noticed a dear friend of mine had given me an award!! Can you believe it!! Yes 9 other people got it too, but hey, I am thrilled to be among the other 9!! The deal is, I have to now return the nominating!! I have to pick 10 of my favorite blogs and let them know they have the coolest blogs. But, they have to do the same...so don't let this go or I might get my award taken away from me!! HAHAHA

Here it goes....

1. Lisa at www.thepreachers-wife.blogspot.com is the first blog I learned about. Last year we were told our baby had cancer and we were devastated. She posted my bulletin about Emma on her blog and the outpouring of love and prayers flooded her page. We then went to church where her husband led a prayer service for Emma. Two days later we were told Emma did not have cancer!!! I have been praising the Lord and reading her blog ever since! We love you and your family so much. Thank you for being a shining light for God.

2. Deedra at www.nspiredbyfaith.blogspot.com is an amazing mother and an inspiration daily to me through her blogs! What a Godly woman and mother!! Her blogs CRACK ME UP every time I read them!! We love you and Emma is waiting on that kiss from Carter!

3. Brittany at www.crazykidteacher.blogspot.com is such an amazing example of a teacher!! She cares so much for her students and it is obvious in every post! I have known Brittany since she was a little girl. Her and her family mean so much to my family! We love you.

4. Brooke at www.alaskalovestory.blogspot.com has quite the love story and the amazing pictures to go with it!! Again, this girl is an old family friend that I love like a sister and I am so proud of. She is an amazing person who has an amazing future ahead of her. I can't wait for the wedding pics!!

5. Amanda at www.amanda-leanne.blogspot.com is just an amazing young lady. I have been keeping up with her and her baking skills for a while on here and WOW is all I have to say. I know who I'm putting an order in with on Emma's next birthday! And what a shining example of a young Christian woman who loves the Lord.

6. Deb at www.miss-corinthians.blogspot.com has been a wonderful friend to my mother and I love to read her blogs. She is a Godly woman who loves her children and guides them through the word of God. What an example for young mother's like myself.

7. Jennifer at www.jmparris.blogspot.com has become a friend from my new church home! She has a little boy Emma's age that is adorable and her stories entertain me. They remind me a lot of my own home! She too is a shining example for young mother's who want to raise their children in the word of God. Congrats to her on her wonderful news....another baby on the way!! Pray for her and her family during the pregnancy.

8. Holly at www.hollyhchapman.blogspot.com is my dear cousin who has two beautiful girls and a silly husband and TONS of hilarious stories. Her blog keeps me rolling with every new post.

9. Gwen at www.pattonsplace.blogspot.com has become a best friend of mine. She is a neighbor, a mother, a friend in Christ, and just a wonderful woman all around. She also takes AMAZING pictures!!! The wonderful pictures that I have posted of my child have all been taken by Gwen and she is fantastic!! If you need a photographer and you are in my area, please let me know and I will get you her info. Emma and her son Bryce are the best of friends and future girlfriend/boyfriend if I have anything to say about it! HA!

10. And finally Whitney at www.littleliza-jane.blogspot.com is #4's little sister. She has just started her blog, but wow is she good. And I must say, she is a cutie pie with a great head on her shoulders. Did I mention she sings like a bird!! Amazing!!! And the best thing is that she sings for the Lord!

So there they are...my ten!!! Visit their blogs and give them some love!!! Hope you enjoy!!

Kelli

Justin....just give her the stinking lolly pop so she will be still!!!

2008-12-07T11:47:00.000-08:00

O.K. so I really do try to be patient with my husband and my child, but when it comes to trying to get pictures made, well let's just say the patience leaves the room!!! I swear Emma has known from birth what a camera is and has acted up every single time one is brought out!

My amazing neighbor who just happens to be an amazing photographer came to the house Friday night to take some pictures of Emma in her adorable Christmas outfit. So, I picked Emma up from the AMAZING babysitter after work and when I got there, they had her sitting in their sink, and they were rolling her hair with a curling iron! I can not tell you how adorable it looked, and unfortunately I can't show you either because my wild child ripped the adorable bow out of her head before we got down the driveway. The babysitter did send her curling iron with me so I could fix anything that needed fixing, but I didn't do as good as she did! I should have know Emma was going to be in rare form when I tried to get her to take a nap on the way home, thinking she would be in a better mood (wrong.) I asked her to close her eyes and take her nap and she shook her head no at me. I continued to ask her to close her eyes, and I continued to get a NO! So I just mentioned maybe getting a bottle and taking a nap, and what did I get?.?.?.?.. She turned her head, closed her eyes, and pretended to snore!!! HANDFUL is an understatement. So we did take a nap, but she was NOT in a better mood. My precious neighbor had the patience of Job and took about 150 pictures. There were about 5 or 6 that we "might" could use for a Christmas card picture. There were more than that, but she was absolutely awful!!! She screamed and ran around and at one point I just said...JUSTIN...give her the stinking lolly pop so she will be still!!! Nana and Papa came in right at the end, but it was all over by then. That's when she got in a good mood though.....OF Course!!!! Here are a couple of pics from the WILD photoshoot! I hope you enjoy them!!

With Love,

Kelli

Emma last Christmas

2008-12-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

Here is the picture from last year. She was so tiny and so cute! She looked like a little scrooge who was tired of NaNa taking her picture!!

Santa Claus is coming to town....SOON!!!

2008-12-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!! I hope you are all doing well. It has been quite the past couple of weeks around here! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and it was so nice seeing the family! We got to spend a few days with my parents and Emma loved every minute of it! SURPRISE....She is so spoiled when she is with them!! We are still on the job hunt around here. Still no luck for Justin but we are praying that the right job come along. We have all been sick. I got my wonderful dose of it last night and all day today. I am finally feeling a little better, but I am achy all over. It is so hard to stay away from Emma when I am not feeling good, but because she had RSV when she was a baby, we can't take any chances. She is more likely to get sick because of the RSV, so I have been quarantined in my bedroom while Justin kept her in the living room. It's so hard because she would come to the bedroom door and bang on it yelling "mama, mama, mama!" Wow, that will tug at your heart strings!

We have our Christmas decorations up and Emma is finally old enough to really get excited about the lights and decorations. SHE LOVES IT!!! I can't wait until Christmas morning! She is such a stinker! I will put a pic of her on here from last Christmas. It was just too cute! I am having her picture made Friday for our Christmas cards. YES, I am WAY behind. I usually have all of my shopping pretty much done and under the tree by now. I am really starting to stress about it. I do not have 1 present under the tree and the sad thing is I haven't bought anything either! It's so crazy! Can you tell it's getting to me just a little bit???? AAAHHHH!!!! We are probably not going to get to go to Rhode Island for Christmas this year. We are just not able to do it with one income right now. We are going to miss everyone so much. Emma had grown leaps and bounds since they have seen her last! She wasn't even walking yet. I hate that we are so far away from them and don't get to see them very often. Emma loves to be around kids and there are about 19 cousins in Rhode Island that she would love to play with! We are hoping to go to Rhode Island this summer for a couple of weeks.

To all of my fellow blogger's....So am I the only one out there who hasn't bought a single gift???

Hoping your having a blessed Holiday Season!

Yes I'm Still Alive!

2008-11-16T13:38:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while and I am sorry. It has been a little difficult around the house. So I am writing because our family needs your prayers. Justin was recently laid off from work due to the economy problems and he is having a hard time finding a job. He has interviewed a few places and they have all said the same thing....because of the economy we just can't hire any one right now. I am asking that you pray for guidance for him and pray for me to be the support I need to be for him....even when he is doing the laundry and then doesn't know where he put anything!!!! Please remember us when you pray! Thank you,

Kelli

Crazy Week!!

2008-11-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has had a great week! It has been crazy around here! School has been wild. The kids were in rare form and I am exhausted. Between school and the election I am drained when I get home and I have been in bed early every night!

Emma is doing great. She is talking up a storm now. She is constantly copying everything anyone says....so be careful around her please! :-) She is literally running around the house now. She thinks she is THE BOSS!!! I have learned quickly that she has MY temper.....uh oh!!! She is a blessing beyond belief and has completely changed my life. I am so happy when I am with her. I see so many things that have always been there, but through her eyes they are all new. I love the way her eyes light up when she sees a bird fly in the sky, or a leaf blow on the ground. I love her ooohhh's and aaahhh's every time she sees or hears something. My favorite sound in the world is when I hear....mama, mama, mama! It's usually to get her something...preferably food, but it's such a wonderful sound. When she wakes up in the mornings or from her nap she is always in a great mood. She has the biggest smile and she just wants to love on you and give you hugs and kisses. She is so sweet! She loves her Nana and PawPaw too. They can walk in the room and she lights up! She runs into their arms. She is a true blessing! Our miracle girl is showing me everyday how God has blessed me. How can we not praise him daily!!!

I have bragged enough about "Miss Priss" and need to feed her now, so I will go! I hope you all have a great weekend and keep your fingers crossed for Bama....it's a huge game! I'm a little nervous! :-)

Kelli

I can't believe it's November!!

2008-11-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Time flies doesn't it!!! We are all doing well here. I thought I would check in with everyone and let everyone know we aer doing great. Emma had a blast on Halloween. We made the trip to the big town of Ider and visited with Nana and PawPaw for Halloween. Our spooky little flower was a trooper. We visited MawMaw Hammonds first and of course she had to show out for a while. Then we went to Aunt Paula and Uncle J.A.'s and again we had to show out. Then we headed to Aunt Maxine's house and got TONS of candy and visited with cousin Noah! He is getting so big. Our last trick or treating stop was to MawMaw Sartin's. There were all kinds of people there. Cousins, uncles, and aunts. We finally headed off the mountain and got something to eat where we met another adorable little Emma. She was a little fairy. The two Emma's shared waves and smiles and then my Emma ate about a pound of grapes. She loves her fruit.

I would also like to ask for your prayers. We found out this morning at church that a little girl who lost her mother about a year ago of cancer and who herself was diagnosed with cancer was told they found another tumor. Our pastor asked for a prayer and fasting tomorrow. Please remember Meagan B. in your prayers tomorrow. We know God is a healing God and we know prayer produces miracles. Please lift her name up every chance you get. Thank you!

I hope to have pics from Halloween up soon.

In Him,
Kelli

I know it's a long post but it's also a prayer request!

2008-10-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

First of all....I'M BACK!!! HAHAHA I know you've missed me!! Well we had an amazing time in Chicago with many wonderful moments and many sad ones as well.
I can not explain to you how proud I am of my sister. As I sat through her graduation from the Navy I swelled with pride and tears filled my eyes. She has wanted to do this for so long and finally she did! She is such a strong woman in such a now muscular little body!! I sat in amazement of ALL of the "recruits" finally becoming SAILORS and wondered how they did it! They sang songs, threw rifles, carried flags, marched and stood for over an hour and although some of them passed out from over heating, it was such an amazing ceremony. Everyone did so well. CAN YOU TELL I'M PROUD!!! I am so proud to be a Navy sister.
After the ceremony we finally got to hug our sailor...well Hayli is actually known as an Airman because of the field she is going in. She is going into search and rescue so she will be in helicopters, which I will talk about again in a few minutes. So anyway, we finally got to hug her and see her for the first time in a couple of months and it was awesome. She was happy, we were happy, everyone was happy. We got to bring her back to the hotel with us and we spent a few hours talking and listening and laughing! Just like old times...but with HILARIOUS stories. We went to eat at a steak house..of course...that's what Hammonds do!! HA!! Then we went back to the room and listened to more crazy stories before she had to go back that night.
Day two: She was able to leave the base at 8 that morning which was great because she didn't have to be back until 8 that night! She got to the room and all she wanted to do was take a nice LONG bath and shave! HA!! The little things we take for granted right!! After she did that we went for breakfast and rode around checking out the area...trying to get to Lake Michigan (another story for another post) and just cross the Wisconsin border(literally.) We made it back to the room and Hayli wanted to put on jeans and a T-shirt and just watch t.v. so we did! A little later on we went to Chucky Cheese and had a blast! Then it was time to get back to the hotel for the BAMA game....ROLL TIDE by the way!!!! Hayli got to watch most of the first half and then it was back to the base, but this time it was for our final good bye before we had to head back to Alabama. Let me mention here that this good bye had to be the hardest one I ever had to say!! I have missed her so much but I don't think I realized how much until this weekend.
O.k. so that little something I said I would come back to. Well that's where my prayer request comes in. In her last check up Hayli was told that she was anemic. I know it's very common but it's a big no-no for people who are supposed to be in airplanes and helicopters to do their job. They have her on iron pills and all that and I'm sure the next blood test will be fine but the problem comes after that. She is stuck in Great Lakes until she isn't anemic any more and once she isn't anemic they will start the paper work to get her transferred. No big deal right....WRONG!!! She has been told the paper work could take months to process. That means she is up there for who knows how long and although she isn't still in boot camp she still has to abide by the rules. She is really down and out and needs your thoughts and prayers. Please say a prayer for her. I will try my best to get pics from the graduation up as soon as possible. Thank you again and I am so sorry for the long post!
With love,

Kelli

Quick Catch Up!!

2008-10-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

So it was BACK TO WORK yesterday after a well deserved week off...if I say so myself. The kids were wonderful and I have to admit that I missed them like crazy. The problem is that as much as I missed them, I now miss my Emma 1000 times more! I got used to seeing my priss every morning running around the house talking her sweet little language and saying "mama...mama...mama" and wanting to give me her kisses and hugs. She is such a mess!

Many kids had tons of fun stories about their Fall Break. You know the usual stories like "I lost a tooth...look", "I watched the dog movie and I laughed until I passed gas" (yes I actually had one say that!!!), and of course my favorite...."it was ssssooo boring with my parents ALL DAY LONG!" You have GOT to LOVE kids! They are so honest. You know I am still hearing stories about that dog movie! HA I could sit and listen to them forever. They are so innocent and so loving and SO HONEST!!! God has truly blessed me with an amazing and touching job. I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

So back to Priss! :-) I met my neighbor and her precious baby boy and she took some pics of our kiddo's in front of a beautiful Fall backdrop. Let's just say Priss was not in the best of moods but we got a few good pics. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!! Thanks for visiting and I will check in again soon! We leave for Chicago in a couple of days to see Hayli so it may be next week before I'm back. Keep checking though...You Never Know!!

In Him,

Kelli

Football Saturdays....You gotta love it!!!

2008-10-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

I can not tell you how much I love Football season and especially when it's ALABAMA FOOTBALL!!!! So I must say it was a little scary this week. When will our players learn to listen to Saban when he says "WE HAVE TO FINISH THE GAME!!!" We were up 24-3 at the half and what was the final score???? 24-20!!!!
On another note, I live in a college town and it is the college's homecoming was today, so that means that a lot of hubby's frat brothers are in town. A couple of them came in town last night and stayed here with us. Emma LOVES company and she has been on cloud nine all day. New people to play with and then...more people came over before they headed out to the big homecoming game! I have to admit, as much as I love football season, I have never gotten into our local colleges team. I love to see the town paint their store windows in support for the team and love the spirit but I just don't care for going. Justin thinks I am nuts because I will drop everything and go to T-Town, which is 3 hours away, but I won't go 5 minutes up the road to watch the local team. And YES I did attend the local college, which kind of makes it worse, but what can I say!! So I opted to stay home with "miss priss" and hand out with her.
Well what do you know???? She was exhausted from playing with her new friends and passed out from exhaustion. So I decided to blog!! :-)
Great news....Hayli got to call today!! She is doing great and we actually get to see her next week! YEP... She's graduating from Basic Training next Friday! We are driving up to be a part of the celebration and she is so excited about seeing all of us. She told me that she absolutely LOVED all of the letters that everyone has sent. It has been such and encouragement to her through out this tough process. Please continue to pray for her...She has a LONG way to go! It is a lot of time away from us and she misses seeing Emma so much.
I hope everyone else is having a wonderful and beautiful Saturday!! I don't know about you guys but we had an unbelievably beautiful day here in Alabama!!! Also thank you to those of you who have commented on my blogs! It's such a great feeling to sign in and see you have comments! It's like getting something in the mail when you were a kid!!HA!!!
Have a blessed Saturday night and wonderful Sunday!!
In Him,
Kelli

It's Friday Already????

2008-10-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Where has this week gone. I have loved every minute of my time with my sweet Emma!! It has truly been a blessing. I was talking to my dad last night telling him about ALL of the crazy, funny, sweet things his silly grand daughter did yesterday and he said, "She sure is going to miss you when you go back to work!" That it home so hard! After I got off the phone with him I started crying. I would give anything to be able to stay at home with her but it is impossible for us to do that. I miss her so much during the day that every time I get a chance, I call the amazing baby sitter and check on her. I'm sure she gets tired of seeing my phone number on caller ID!
So my question to all of you bloggers out there is....If you are a working mom....Do you regret working instead of staying at home with your child or children?? If your a stay at home mom...Do you wish you worked? It has been such a struggle for me. I guess it has a lot to do with all that we have been through with Emma and that I feel like I am missing so much with her. Often I feel like I am letting her down as a mother by not being there to teach her new things! Will she be upset next week when I drop her off and leave??? I guess I am starting to ramble, so that's usually my cue to sign off!!! I hope you have had a blessed week and I also hope I can find time to blog!! HA! I know it won't be everyday!
Remember me in your prayers that I can be the mom, wife, and teacher that God wants me to be!
With love,
Kelli

Thursday....I'm pooped!!!

2008-10-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well it's 10:30 and Emma is already down for her nap so that means one thing....We were up EARLY this morning and playing hard! She is such a stinker. I could hear her in her room, but she wasn't crying so I gave her a little time to play (I really just didn't want to get out of bed yet). She played for about 15 minutes with her toys in her crib. It was so sweet to listen to her talking and squealing and playing. I finally couldn't take it any more and went in there to get her. When I opened her door she had both legs through the rails of her bed and was looking through the bars like she was in jail, but she was laughing and playing. I wish I had my camera because it was so cute.

We played in the living room with the abundance of toys and ran around and around the living room and kitchen and then we started winding down. She was exhausted and couldn't go any more. Let me just say...WE PLAYED HARD and I am thinking I may need a nap myself!!

On top of it all...WE HAVE ANTS!!! They have found their way back into the house and are everywhere. That's bad, but the worse part of it is that I am allergic to ants, so I tend to freak out when I see an ant! I just pray that Emma doesn't get that allergy from me! It makes it hard to spend time outside in the yard, but we do it anyway! So if anyone has any suggestions on getting rid of these things, please let me know!!! My hubby thinks he is the exterminator...Hello....we still have ants!!!!!

So yesterday we went shopping after Emma woke up we went shopping. I am so proud of myself. Not only did I not by one thing for myself, but I hit 3 shops in an hour!!! Pretty good huh!!! Isn't it amazing what moms are capable of doing. I swear we should get to wear super hero capes all the time!! HA!!! I love my husband to death, but I would like to be a fly on the wall and see him one WHOLE day with Emma, and have to take her somewhere!!! I have a whole new respect for my mother!!!

Before I go I wanted to share a picture that was made at the pumpkin patch last weekend. It was my favorite!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!! She LOVES her Paw Paw!!!

Wednesday...Hump Day...So Sad!

2008-10-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

Well it's Wednesday and I am exhausted. You know how excited I was about Emma sleeping in yesterday...Well "Miss Priss" decided to take another late nap and was up until 11:30 last night. HELLO.....I am SO Old. I can not stay up past 10 any more. WOW I can't believe I have admitted it...I am OLD! So Emma and I have played with baby dolls and purses and Elmo all morning long and then we get a phone call from very busy husband asking what we would like for lunch. TOO SWEET! I miss getting to see him during the day. When he gets home in the afternoon we are so rushed to get supper done, spend time with Emma (outside if possible), and bath time, that we don't have time with each other. Any way...back to my day with my girl! So while Justin was here she started rubbing her eyes and whining a little bit which is BIG CODE for nap time. She crawled up into Justin's lap and started waving at us. She was telling us night night. She is such a smart little mess isn't she!!! He walked her to her crib and she rolled over and has been asleep since. Can you believe her???
I can't believe the week is half way over. I have loved every second with her. She gets jealous of me holding her baby dolls...PRECIOUS!!! She climbs up in my lap and gives me great big hugs and kisses. She stuns me every day with new things she has learned. I miss her when she is napping, and I can't get enough of her when she is awake. I love being Emma Kate's mommy! I hope you are having a blessed day!

Kelli

Tuesday with Emma!!!

2008-10-14T11:33:00.001-07:00

So today started out with a blessing....we slept in!! WOO HOO!!! She didn't wake up til about 10 minutes before 10 a.m. Yes you heard me...the child who is like clock work at 6:15 every morning finally slept in for mommy!!! Once she was awake she wouldn't let me out of her sight. She was SO clingy, but I must say, I loved it. She didn't want uncle John, JUST MOMMY!! Then I realized, hey I need to get some things done in this house, but she didn't care. She just wanted me to hold her. So we played for a while and the amazing baby sitter and her crew came by (Congrats to Derek for passing his permit test) and entertained her for a while. After they left she was acting tired and rubbing her eyes. I thought there was NO WAY she was sleepy already. WRONG!! She has been asleep for about an hour and a half and is still snoozing. So I was able to get the kitchen and living room clean and I thought I would take a break to let you know the latest with "Priss." Things are going well and we are still having a blast. I better go while I still have a chance to get some things done. Updates later!!!With Love,Kelli

Fall Break...Mommy and Emma Time!

2008-10-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

So this week is our Fall Break and boy did I need it. I think I just missed spending time with Emma. It seems like every time I pick her up from our amazing baby sitter ( more on that later) she has learned something new or she has grown up a little bit more. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I feel like I am so blessed to have the job that I do, but I miss watching my baby grow up. As I am typing right now, she is sitting on her toy car and is yelling at me..."Hi mama...Hi mama...Hi mama!!" and she is waving her little hand in her little pageant wave. TOO CUTE!!! I could just kiss her to death right now.
We went through so much trying to get pregnant, and I always knew that it would be on God's time, but I wanted a baby so bad!! Well he blessed me with not only a MIRACLE from GOD, but a child that reminds me how amazing HE is every day!! She has such a great personality and is so funny.
We had the priveledge of spending the weekend with my parents and she had us laughing so hard all weekend at her. From sitting like pawpaw to walking around in her prissy little way, and even telling us ?something? with those little hands just a waving, she lights up my life. We are truly blessed and I am so fortunate to get to spend the entire week PLAYING with my baby girl!!! I'm sure there will be plenty of stories, and hopefully I will learn how to put pics on here! Have a blessed day!

Hello Blogging Friends!!!

2008-10-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! I finally did it!! I have finally joined the world of blogging!! I am an avid reader of blogs, but I never felt like I was worthy of blogging!! HA! Just kidding...I felt like I wouldn't have time, but I'm gonna give it a try!! I know I will have plenty to blog about with my almost 15 month old running around the house and teaching a classromm of 2nd graders...not to mention a husband that gives me plenty of stories all by himself. Well I hope you enjoy the blog, and I hope I figure all of this out! If you have any tips for me....PLEASE send them my way!!!