The Ewing Corner

Current Family picture

2009-11-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

Names have been changed to protect the guilty...

2009-10-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

Recently I was reminiscing with a very loved friend about a dear one that is no longer living on the earth. In life, this dear one, whom we shall call, Alice was kind but stoic. She seemed unable to always openly give the love she wanted. She could be cold and hard, exacting and she could hold a grudge. But she was also very giving and would put her needs after others. Perhaps that was the avenue she felt the most at ease at loving. The safest place to be open.

Her story was not unusual or grandly different from yours or mine. We all have struggles, joys, pains, achievements, moments of sheer genius, and utterances that could be attributed only to fools alone. She was a part of a typical family, with typical family stuff. She had her needs met and some leftover, maybe not some leftover all the time but never want.

The part of her story that I want to share is her deep love, and the measure of which is greater than I have known from many. In her life was an individual that was even more exacting than Alice. There was nothing Alice could do to meet the mark on that ruler. The trying cracked her and wore at her. After awhile it was too much, and she ended up spending some time at a mental hospital. She went through treatment there and came out again to resume life.

Now fast forward around twenty years. Alice's life has continued with both ebbs and flows. The individual that has caused her angst is now in poor health and confined to a bed in a nursing facility. They have very few visitors save Alice, who comes daily. Not just for a few weeks, but for five years. She did not stop until after the individual had passed on.

It did not hit me the magnitude of Alice's love until the other day. She visited the very person that drove her into a mental hospital. If that is not a picture of love, I do not know what is. I am proud to have been loved by Alice. And I hope that I may too give this love...

Confessions of a Glad Soul

2009-10-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been way too long since I have last written....I should catch you all up on my life, but instead I feel the need to get something out in the open...Not for you, for me. And those of you who know me best, know this about me....I AM MESSY. And not just messy but like in the league of Hoarders and Clean Sweep messy.

But and a big big BUT

I have been working for days, weeks, months to remedy this malady. And I am proud to say I have done this without a huge team of support or a tv camera. I have had some great help along the way, namely Niki Richard (a dear childhood friend who has such a sweet spirit and undying love for ME), my husband (who is on this journey with me) and my mom (who is my constant cheerleader and often helps to find time for me to work without kids).

I have spent the last several years trying to figure out why I am messy....truly there are a multitude of answers. 1) I am ultimately lazy and would prefer to gratify myself with momentary pleasures. 2) I am a packrat and keep things instead of keeping them memories. And of course, there is always something I could use that for. 3) I have had such a big mess for so long that often I cannot find something, so I must purchase a new one. Then I have two somethings and only space for one something. 4) I never trained myself how to actually be neat, so now with being a wife and mother, I am severely behind. 5) I self medicated by buying things.

Okay, that being said, I have found a cure....and the explanation is a long one but I will be brief. You can ask me for the long version if you would like...

Last year, Mom was introduced to Aruthur Burke's ministry. Basically, in a very very small nutshell, I have learned the power of blessings! For so many years, I would quote Scripture over this area in my life, pray, ask God for His help, etc...but with only minimal results. But we are made of three parts: Body, Soul and Spirit. It is our Spirit that is eternal. Yet unfortunately, we do not nurture this part of our being. So I began to ask God to bless my spirit with the ability to be orderly, to glorify Him with my things and space, and to be a blessing to others and my family. As I blessed my spirit, my soul (specifically my will's wanting to get my butt up and clean and my emotions- the overwhelmed scared, not sure where to start part) came in line. As I continued, I had this overwhelming energy to start accomplishing things I have never done before.

I still have a LONG LONG way to go. But as God's word is building my spirit man, the rest of me is being built too. I have every confidence that I am a neat, orderly person. And as I tell my spirit to stand up and my soul to sit down, that I, too, will do this through Christ who strengthens me.

Sorry, if that way too much information. Or if you did not really want to know that about me! But I needed to get it out on paper.

Now, I will update....

Big Daddy

2009-05-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

So much happened from when Big Daddy went into the hospital and the time he died, I know I have forgotten so much that I learned during that time. But I want to capture some of it.

It was the day after Bubby's adventure to the hospital that we started realizing that we needed to take Big Daddy to the hospital. He did not get out of bed that Saturday. By the middle of the afternoon, we made the decision to take him thinking he probably had pneumonia. Sure enough, he did. We were up at the hospital until around 1am. It was a very long night. Miriam, his aid, graciously agreed to stay with him for us. I came back the next day early to relieve her. He had been sleeping more and more and was having a lot of trouble breathing.

Long story short they discovered that he had been aspirating his food and aspirated almost everything straight into his lungs. Then came the hard decision of whether or not to put in a feeding tube or not. It was either feeding tube or constant pneumonia. After much confering, it ws decided to put in the feeding tube. He also came home with a catheter.

When Big Daddy did come home, it was different than the previous year. He was very weak and require total care for any of his needs. It was so hard seeing him like this. I remember him carrying me around, tossing the ball, working on the farm. Now he his body was reduced to a lump in the bed, unable to do much anything, even swallow his own secretions.

Those six weeks he was back home were some of the longest and hardest of my entire life. I was literally responsible for his care around the clock even when others were here. I had tube feedings, catheter care, suctioning, exercising, positioning and countless other chores. Just a few short days at home, it became evident that someone would also need to be with him all night in case he choked. So I was also staying up all night as well as taking care of the kids during the day.

There were days I did not know how in the world I would make it. In the middle, we did get a repreive and got to go to Florida for a few days rest. Right prior to leaving, we made the decision to put him in hospice because it was obvious he wasn't getting any better. He was sleeping 23+ hours a day.

I have been around death quite often as a nurse. It does not intimidate me at all. But I began to get nervous as the signs became more frequent that his life was drawing to a close. I wanted to be able to keep him comfortable and for him not to suffer. He was at times drowning in his secretions and struggling to breath. Medications helped some but not a lot.

My Aunt Fran and Uncle Philip came to stay with us and ended up staying almost two weeks. It was such a relief having a little help now and then. And I know Big Daddy was glad to have all of his kids together. He got to see his dear childhood friends, and brother and sister in law also.

It was the end of October and he was getting worse and worse. His blood pressure was steadily dropping. It was Halloween and he was seemingly slipping. Mom had mentioned she just prayed he did not pass on Halloween. Mark was able to come home from Crossville. He and I spent Halloween night sitting by my grandfather's bedside just visiting and reminiscing. Mark mentioned how thankful he was to make it back to say good bye.

Big Daddy was slipping even more. We decided that it would be best if Aunt Fran and Mom took turns sitting up with me that night since things were looking worse. Aunt Fran's shift ended right before midnight and Mom had come in.

It was 12:04am on November 1st, 2008, when Big Daddy had his first seizure. I helped him and then called hospice to find out what meds to give him. I have him a few medications. He did have one more seizure. By that time we had gotten, Uncle Philip, Aunt Fran, Mark, and my dad up as well. Big Daddy slowly quit breathing and at 12:34 I listened for a heartbeat but none was to be heard.

Gathered around his bed were Mom, Aunt Fran, Uncle Philip, Mark, Dad, myself and sleeping on the floor, Emma Grace, Big Daddy saw Jesus face to face. All of his kids were there, his two oldest grandchildren and his oldest great grandchild. I then called all the hospice people and we spent the next few hours getting arrangements made before crashing to sleep.

The funeral was beautiful. Such a perfect fall day. Emma stood in the cemetery, dancing around during the graveside saying, "Big Daddy is in heaven". That summed up my feelings.

The last few years Parkinsons had taken my grandfather, so that day I did not mourn but rjoiced that he was restored! I do miss him, but I had said goodbye so many many months before and over and over through the time he lived with us. It is just angering to see how disease so ravages a body. And so reassuring tht we have a Redeemer!

I am still processing, and probably still will be for awhile. I am glad for that experience. It taught me much. Until we meet again...

Time to update

2009-05-22T18:27:00.001-07:00

I have so much I want to record from the past year and I just haven't done it. So many memories to share, record, save. I have made a mental list of all the things I have wanted to share. I think I will start with all the fleeting memories of last fall.

It was in August when one of one of the most awful flus hit our house. We were so very sick, EVERYONE. Miraclously, Big Daddy, my grandfather, whom I cared for and was living with us, did not get sick. It knocked us all out of comission. Just as we were all recovering from that, Bubby took a plunge down the stairs. It was a day I won't soon forget. We had not been anywhere in over a week because of being so sick. I had finally and just declared us all well enough to venture to Wal-Mart for much needed rice milk and diapers. I decided James Elliot needed a diaper change before leaving. I then decided my shoes were not sufficiently comfortable enough. As I round the corner to go back to the stairs, I realized I had not put up the baby gate and James Elliot was at the top of them. Just then, he teeter, tottered and literally, as his overall strap slipped out of my fingertips, he fell head over heels down the stairs bouncing and hitting along the way.

He, obviously, was not happy with the outcome of his plunge. He screamed for quite awhile and then finally calmed down and I kept a close eye on him. It wasn't until the next day that he was in the car and started throwing up. After conferring with the Pediatrician, we decided to bring him over to see her. She took one look at him and sent us to Lebonheur. JOY JOY.....we spent the next eight hours in the Lebonheur ER. He was fine for the first two or three hours as we waited there. They checked us in immediately and then promptly forgot about us! Poor baby, they would not let him eat anything or drink anything until seen by a doctor. So he had thrown up several hours before but now was hungry and thirsty 1 1/2 year old. Nuther Momma joined us and eventually Daddy when school was out. Uncle Matt had Emma and hung out with her!

After an IV, catheter, CT scan, X-ray and a C collar, he was declared healthy enough to go home. He had a concussion and a neck sprain but other than that was okay. We got him a good, healthy meal at McDonalds! He then came home and played like a wild man. Enjoyed Grammy, who came to visit, and the rest of his peeps!

The next week I got a call regarding his CT scan. The lady was uber dramatic and said, "Mrs. Ewing, they found something on his CT scan." She then paused for a way longer time than needed, plenty of time for me to thumb through my index cards in my brain of all the things that could be found on a CT scan, before saying, "A sinus infection, and we will be calling in antibiotics for him."

So he survived!

I think the most heart breaking part of the entire fall was during the CT scan, I began to cry. I was pregnant with Maggie Jeanne and therefore could not go in with him. I sat in the wheelchair that they were using to cart him around and just bawled. How could I be such a bad mommy. He had been pretty uncontrollable and crying a ton until they finally put the c-collar on his about four hours after being there. It had just really gotten to me. When he got out of the CT scan, he was laying in my lap and reach up and said, "It okay, I okay" My baby boy had not really talked much until that moment. His first real words and actualy sentence type words were to reassure me when I should have been reassuring him. He is so precious! (except when he pulls Emma's hair, bites her, punches her, etc!)

So Bubby has logged his first trip to the ER and hopefully his last!

Longest without a post...

2009-04-01T14:34:00.001-07:00

I think I set a record! Almost two straight momnths without a post!

I am hoping to get a good post but for now a few pics!

My two girls, four years apart...

2009-01-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

My little bitty Emma Grace weighing in at 6 lbs 6 ounces and leaving the hospital at only 5 lbs 8 ounces Maggie Jeanne a slightly chubby version of Emma Grace at 9 lbs, today she weighed in at 8lb and 12 ounces!

Maggie Jeanne

2009-01-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

Could not get this to upload yesterday. But here is Mary-Margaret Jeanne Ewing. Born 1/7/2009 at 1:25pm. She was 9 pounds even and 21 inches long. We are all doing great!

The Time has Come

2009-01-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

My water broke at 6:45am this morning! And things have been progressing since then I am in a fair bit of discomfort at this point. My midwife has arrived and things have set up and prepared. So now we just ride the contraction waves and wait for the next thing to happen!

Thanks for all your prayers.

Mry

Up late again with the Bubster

2008-12-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

Well, apparently there is not adjusting Bubby's sleep schedule to get it straight. If he takes a nap during the day, he cannot get to sleep at a decent hour at night. And if we make him skip his nap, by five pm he is begging to go to sleep only to be up in an hour or two and really not going back to bed. So this is really not fun because Tal has to go to bed early because he gets up at four am everyday. Therefore I am getting the joy of staying up late everynight with my blessing of a son. He is so good, just not sleepy.

So we are now officially full term, which means we are okay to have the baby. I still have a little more than two weeks until my due date. But everything is a go. And boy it won't be a moment too soon. I have had quite a few contractions, but nothing in the way of actual labor yet. Everything seems to be going great. I go back to the midwife on Wednesday to get checked out. But so far so good!

Emma is doing great. I cannot believe that she is going to be four years old this Wednesday. I remember the days leading up to her arrival and thinking it would never get here. And now I have this big girl. We had her little birthday party tonight with her brother and Uncle Mike. It was so much fun. She had been asking for a snow globe. I got her a Hello Kitty one, and was thinking she would not really like it as much as she thought. But boy, that girl is attached already. She had a great time. She just adores being around her relatives....as she calls family. She helped make her cake today. She is a great little helper. She is getting more and more excited about the baby. I hope she is not too disappointed when the baby actually gets here. She is also excited that Tal's break is soon and we will actually get to see him a few days. She helped me make Christmas cards the other day. She is quite adept at putting on stamps and licking envelopes. She has been cracking us up with Knock Knock jokes lately. They don't makes sense really but she loves telling them to us. I wish I could think of all the funnies she has said recently, but they are escaping me at the moment. Tuesday is her last ballet for this year and it will resume again in January. She is doing fabulous. I cannot wait for her recital and just hope I will be able to make it on Jan 13th to see her dance and do her gymnastics.

Bubby, wow! that kid is hillarious. He cracks us all up, including himself. He was playing with his train tracks, as usual, last night and was holding a part of it higher than the rest so that he could have a bridge he said. We taped CARS the movie the other day and I think we have seen it 21 times in the last seven days. He talks up a storm and loves to do anything his Sissy is doing. He follows her non stop. He is excited about the holidays and is eating it all up even though he really doesn't know what to expect. Tonight when opening presents you would have thought he was given the moon. He was just so excited at everything. So so cute. He is a delightful little boy.

Tal is closing out his first semester. And still really enjoying his job. It is definitely challenging to say the least. But he feel really good about where he is and being a teacher. He starts his masters in education in January, so we are sure to be extremely busy. But we have handled it this far. The Millington girls are doing well in the basketball department. We have two more games that Tal has to attend before Christmas and then a long tournamnet after Christmas. So it is going to be a busy Christmas break for Tal. No rest for the weary!

Well, we will keep you up to date about the progress of the baby. Pray he/she comes soon!

Mary

Surprise Surprise,,,,two posts in a week!

2008-12-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

This has been a great week getting lots done and working on more stuff to do. It is already such a busy time of year for most people but compounded for us with basketball with Tal and the new baby with me!

We have now reached the safe to have the baby stage! Hip Hip horrah! Of course, every day is another day of growth, so we are fine to keep waiting. Although we are all getting anxious to meet either Pete or Maggie Jeanne. The kids especially are getting really excited. I have a lot more to get done. But feel that it would be okay if he or she shows up soon. It will get done eventually!

I am still feeling pretty good. Just really tired and worn out most of the time. Have had a lot of practice contractions. Just have to get a lot of rest in between activities. It is such a blessing living with my mom right now because we can team up on a lot of stuff and that is really nice when I am worn out.

Emma Grace is steadily practicing for her upcoming recital in ballet and gymnastics. I sure hope I get to go see it. It is in January so hopefully so! Her favorite things these days are counting backwards from ten, counting to 100, and writing letters. She also has been reveling in the season with the lights and decorations. She is convinced we are getting her a bike for Christmas....so we shall see!

Bubby, well, Bubby is my sweet heart. He is such a momma's little boy lately. Such a joy. Loves to grab my face and say, "Love Momma!" And what a joy that is! He is so into trains and cars. He watches Thomas and the movies Cars almost nonstop. Unless of course we are asking for Dora! He loves to play with his big sister. He is excited about meeting his new baby. He told me they are going to watch football when it comes out! He is all boy, carrying around a ball most of the time. He has gotten really picky about what he eats. But I figure that is the whole two year old, too busy to eat most of the time anyway. He will eat when he is hungry!

Tal is doing good. Only ten more days of teaching until the semester is finished. He is soooooo busy with basketball... you can keep up with the girls at www.maxpreps.com and type in Millington Central
He is starting his masters in education in January....so he won't be busy, huh? We are so proud of him though. Just wish we saw him more.

To close out here are two pictures of my two cuties! I am going to try to get posts done for each of them with pictures over the last year. Before it becomes the three of them!

Baby doing grea!

2008-12-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

We met with the midwives today at our home. It was great to have them here and get to kind of map out how everything will work. Baby #3 is doing great. Heartbeat was perfect and squirming up a storm...So we have everything here and ready. Now just is the waiting game. We have anywhere from two to six or so weeks. YAY!! I am so ready for this adventure to have come and gone. But patience, patience!!! I am right at between 35 and 36 weeks. So keep your fingers crossed! And we will keep you updated!

So much to do, so little time to do it in...

2008-11-20T05:57:00.000-08:00

Well tomorrow marks 34 weeks and counting. We had a great visit with the midwife yesterday. She feels everything is going remarkedly well. I have gained right at 18 pounds, but that is from my start weight, I also lost ten pounds, so I think I have actually gained 28 pounds all together, but she doesn't count the ten I lost down to. Which is a good thing! The baby is in a good position, needs to rotate a little but okay for now. My hemoglobin is back up again, it was 9.3 and is now 12.3 YAY!!! So no wonder I have had more energy!! So everything else is a go. We have a home visit in two weeks. And from then we are just on wait mode. It could be anywhere from three to sixish weeks!!! maybe even more if we are late.

The kids helped me bake pies yesterday. We made an apple, pecan, and German Chocolate pecan pies all from scratch, including the crust. Remind me never to be so ambitious with that many little hands around. With mom's help washing dishes, it only took a little over two hours, but boy~ I was tired when it was done. The kids had a great time though. Bubby loves to help as much as Emma does, no matter if it is cooking, cleaning, or building things.

Today we are set to go through all the kids clothes that have been outgrown and we haven't gotten put up in the attic yet. Fun times, huh? Hopefully the kids will cooperate. Bubby got up way early this morning, so he may actually take a nap. It is such a toss up for me because most times it is a lot easier to let him stay up all day and go to bed earlier. But sometimes I just cannot make it, especially because Tal doesn't get home until late at night. Tonight he is supposed to have a community pep rally, not sure if he will go or not. And tomorrow night, the game doesn't even start until 8pm. (which is the kids bedtime). So we won't see him pretty much until Saturday morning, at which time he again has to leave and go coach two basketball games. So we will for sure see him on Sunday~ life with a high school basketball coach! But be on the lookout for Millington Central High School! They are good!!!

Well, time to go chase two little ones and sort clothes at the same time!

Mary

Finally an update....

2008-11-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been forever since I really wrote an update. I have found that I get stuck just using Facebook and should be busy doing other things even then. But I thought I would give a little update on our very crazy busy life!

Tal is doing great in school. He had his first observation about a month ago and passed with flying colors. His main struggle has been classroom management, and he has picked up some great pointers and is doing much better. He starts his masters in teaching in January. Praise the Lord, we found a program that is entirely online. With three small children, teaching, and coaching basketball, we weren't exactly sure when he would fit in actually going to class. This has been one of the greatest finds of the fall!!! Basketball starts in full force next week. He has been having practices for the last two months, but nothing like the extra games here and there on top of the practices. For now, practices have been every other week he is there until 4:30, which means almost six when he gets home. And the other weeks he practices until 6:30, which means more like 8 when he gets home. So very long days when he leave our house by 5am every day. But we are so thankful for his job. And coaching is just part of it. He is officially the JV coach and the assistant coach to the varsity. Millington Central High School is 29th in the country, 6th in the region, and I found them ranked first in the state!!!! So it looks like our season will more than likely be extended by an extra four weeks to include local/regional/state tournaments! But how much fun is going to state if you are having to coach!!! Tal's dad used to say he would have all girls and have his own girl's basketball team. Well, I don't think he meant it this way, but Tal is coaching girls!!!!

Emma Grace is getting so excited about turning four! Well, she has been excited about turning four since she turned three! and is already talking about turning five. hehe She is very into "school" right now. and loves to write letters and numbers. We have started basic french. I am learning right along side her. We are having fun together. She is LOVING ballet/gymnastics. She goes every Tuesday and practices while we are at home. She has her first recital in January! I am hoping to make it. She is a big helper around the house. Loves to cook and clean. She has grown in leaps and bounds with her tendency to whine, she is really trying to learn not to whine to get her way. She really wants to be a boss (what first born girl doesn't) She asked me the other day when could she be a real boss (we have told her she is a boss, but the boss of herself and all she can boss herself is to tell herself to obey her mom and dad). So she was wanting to know if she had gotten big enough to boss her brother yet. She was very disappointed when the answer was no. She seems to have adjusted well to my grandfather's death. I wasn't sure how she would react since almost half of her life, he has lived with her. But she assures us all that he is in heaven. At the funeral, she insisted on viewing his body, which was a half opened casket. Later that day she was very puzzled and asked, Mom, we saw his head and arms, but what did they do with his legs and feet??? Try explaining that one even though they were in the box, she just did not understand. But she tells everyone that he is in heaven and we will see him one day.

James Elliot is getting soooo big. Not necessarily in stature, but definitely in overall maturity. He is talking up a storm and will try to say just about anything. Last night after sneezing, instead of saying, "my nose" or something like that he said, "Mom, kleenex". He is really into cars, trains, and blocks. He has gotten to be hard to get him to eat because he is so busy. But it doesn't seem to bother him so far. I have started a new tradition or rule I guess, I fix us all the same lunch and have it at the table ready to eat before I call them in. I make them sit and watch one Blue's Clues while I get it ready. Bubby my picky eater, has actually eaten veggies two days in a row with lunch! And I am not constantly up and down during lunch. It has worked out great! Why did I not do this before. He is talking a lot about the baby lately. So I think he is starting to sort of figure it out. But of course it is going to rock his world!!!! I cannot believe he is about to be two. He is such my sweet heart. Loves to make people smile and laugh.

The baby is officially 33 weeks today. So only about four to seven weeks left to go....YIKES!!! I am excited and nervous all that the same time. We are not nearly ready for this little one. I haven't pulled out a bit of baby stuff yet. But will probaby do that later in month or early December. This baby moves a lot lately. Hopefully that is not indicative of a very active baby because I am due a quiet baby! but if not, at least I am very used to active babies!!! Mine cannot ever be accused of lacking initiative or energy....

And me, well, I am ready to be done with this pregnancy, but thanking God that things are moving along and healthy. It has been more challenging being pregnant with a two year old boy, whose go button stays lit up. Also, with Tal's schedule being so demanding, it has been very difficult to rest any at all. Plus, I am still recooperating from taking care of my grandfather, especially that last two months. I also have been struggling with low hemoglobin levels which has made me even more tired than I should be. Hopefully when I go into the midwife next Wednesday they will find that this is correcting itself. I have been bulking up on the iron, but still am having trouble feeling up to par. don't know whether to attribute it to late in pregnancy or really not feeling well.

The holidays will prove to be even busier than we have ever been. Tal has basketball tournaments starting next weekend all the way until after new years. Almost back to back, including on Thanksgiving DAy! UGH but thankful for a job. Then we have two birthdays to celebrate, not to mention my mom's and two brothers, but the kids remind me daily we have to celebrate theirs and since we did not get it done this summer! And last but certainly not least we have the arrival of our new little bundle of joy sometime in the middle of all that! Life is great!

And he is at peace....

2008-11-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know through facebook or the arcaic phone, Big Daddy, Thomas Houser, breathed his last breaths at 12:38am this morning. God was so gracious and allowed all of his children as well as his two oldest grandchildren and oldest great granddaughter to be in the room with him as he passed from the earthly world into heaven. We are so thankful for all the love and support and prayers that we have been the great recipients of. God has been good to us to allow us to walk this road with my grandfather.

Funeral plans are tenatively set for Monday afternoon, but we will update with more specific plans. The funeral will be in Jackson, TN. His home of many years.

For those not on Facebook yet....

2008-10-26T01:55:00.000-07:00

Update on my grandfather...his health is failing rapidly and it will most likely be a matter of hours before he is dancing on the streets of Gold with His Savior. Please pray that he will go without much more suffering. He is having a very difficult time breathing. It sounds like he is drowning. Pray that he has peace.

Ten Weeks or so and counting.....

2008-10-25T14:50:00.001-07:00

I have finally reached the 30 week mark. This is a much celebrated mark in my life right now. I am so excited that I will not be pregnant in ten weeks give or take a week or two. What a relief....although, it serves as a very sobering reminder that I have a TON of work to do. We did start in ernest today switching our rooms. We are putting our bedroom next door in order to pull the toys out of the kids rooms to make room for a toddler bed in addition to the crib and Emma's big girl bed. We only made slight progress because both Tal and I are more than exhausted. I have only been getting a few hours of sleep a night because I have been sitting up with Big Daddy and he in turn has had both kids. The kids though have been troopers. I am thankful for their constant joy and enthusiasm with life. It has made this all a whole lot easier.

To end on a funny note, today Emma brought me a package of smarties. She was eating one herself. This is her new favorite candy. She finished and said, "Well, now I will be smart" then she paused and added, "and pregnant" So funny when they use words that they are not entirely sure what they mean....

Beach Pics I

2008-10-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday Sunday

2008-09-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, Big D was doing a little better today. They started giving him some water by his PEG tube today. Which is a huge improvement over the vomiting that had been occuring. Tomorrow maybe they will start the food!

Matt got engaged last night to Kristin! So they now start the adventure towards married life! Today we had a little cookout for them. It was fun meeting some of their friends and hanging out with them all. But we are all thoroughly exhausted. I just laid Bubby down and now am going back for Emma Grace!

Talk to you all Soon!

Update on Big D

2008-09-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Out of surgery and in recovery doing fine!!!! Now we just adjust to it all! He will be in the hospital at least a few more days. Thanks for your prayers!!!

Also, please keep my friend's dad in your prayers, Mr. Dagg. He helps run a great boys camp for troubled boys in FL. There has been some allegations of abuse by a counselor. It has resulted in the counselor and Mr. Dagg as director to be arrested. He is currently out on bail and his lawyer says the allegation, which are false, hopefully can be dismissed. Please pray for them

Update on Big Daddy

2008-09-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well, briefly, Big D is going to get his PEG tube right now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percutaneous_endoscopic_gastrostomy

For now this will be his primary form of sustanence. Please pray for him to adjust well to it and have limited pain as he recovers from the minor insertion surgery. Also that he will find rest and peace and not be as agitated as he has been. It is so hard to see him like this, and I am sure it is hard to be in that condition. Mom is with him today and I will probably go up later in the day to sit with him awhile after Tal gets home from work.

Also, pray for Tal. He is have his adjustment phase to school and learning how to handle unruly students. It has been a hard couple of weeks and he is seeking help from older teachers and doing really well. So just pray that God gives him wisdom as he works with these students!

Update on Bubby_ He is doing much better. Still fighting a sinus infection. He has had a difficult time on the medicine that they originally gave him. Causing severe diarrhea and stomach irratation. He has a second one to start today. I am a little nervous to try it, but will start it after lunch probably.

Mary

Much Better

2008-09-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

Bubby is much better now. The concussion's affects seem all but gone. They did find a sinus infection, so he is enduring antibiotics for that and will be all better soon! Thanks for your prayers. Now just pray he finally realizes he cannot go up and down the stairs by himself yet!

Big Daddy is still in the hospital and facing a lot of health issues at this point. Please pray for my mom, aunt and uncle as they make decisions that God will give them wisdom. Also that the right doctors and nurses will be assigned to his case. He is currently not being allowed to eat until they determine if he will ever be able to swallow again without aspirating. So pray for peace for him as well. It is hard seeming him go through this. So just pray for strength and peace for the whole situation!

Thanks for keeping up with us!
Mary

What a weekend

2008-09-06T23:19:00.001-07:00

Just a few little updates....will type more later when it is not in the middle of the night. Thursday Bubby fell down the stairs in our house. They are wooden and he did several flips and hit his head really hard. Friday he threw up so we took him to the doctor. She sent us to the ER at Lebonheur. They found he had a concussion and neck strain. It was a long long day for poor Bubby. But he seems to be recovering. He does still grab his head once and awhile.

Then today, Saturday, Big Daddy, who has had a cough all week, was much worse. So in the middle of the afternoon we decided it was time to go to the ER. And sure enough he has pneumonia. So he was admitted. We got him there about five and then mom and dad got there at 1oish. We were able to get him settled in a room at about midnight and mom and I then came home, while his aid stayed with him. So we have a long weekend ahead of us.

Please pray for recovery, health and no more people in the hospital!

Mary

Trip to the Zoo

2008-08-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

My friend, Meredith, and I took the kids to the zoo the other day in order to allow Tal time to study and prep for school! Here are a few pictures of the kids!

Girls Night

2008-08-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago, Emma and I had a girls night. We did out hair and nails! She did mine and I did hers, can you tell?

Baby #3 At Twenty Weeks

2008-08-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

So what do you think: Boy or Girl??? We will find out in December or January!

Baby Update

2008-08-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Baby #3 or affectionately called Maggie Jean or Pete by Emma Grace had his/her checkup today. Everything looked great. We are close to 21 weeks! YEAH!!!! My midwives, Amy and Andrea, said everything looked great. I am "textbook" picture perfect they said. I remarked how well this pregnancy seemed to be going....haha...how quickly pregnancy amnesia sets in, it was only days ago that I was throwing my guts up! But I am feeling much better, other than being tired, which seems that I am perpetually exhausted I am great. I will be glad when it is easier to sleep though the night without the discomfort. But I would not trade it for the world right now because in just over four months we will have another precious little one!!!

Tomorrow we are going for an ultrasound to just make sure everything looks A OK! Sorry, you won't know what the sex is tomorrow, but you might get to see a picture of our cutie pie! We are keeping the sex a secret even from ourselves. Which has been a hard thing to do and will be even harder when we are there and have the ability to see.

Heartbeat was really strong and Maggie Jean or Pete is moving around a lot. So we are just thrilled that we are moving right along! Will keep you updated!

Mary

Monday monday

2008-08-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

So another week has dawned and while the kiddos are happily playing with two buckets and about five pounds of coins, I think I will update the world...(why exactly do I buy them toys???)...

Tal survived his first week of school, only to further cement my desire never to send my kids to public schools. Teachers are special people. He is loving his new job. And as soon as he gets all the kinks ironed out of it, I think he will love it even more. He has spent most of the first two weeks or so finding everything he needs to be in his classroom, such as overhead projectors, bookshelves, etc. Of course, he has only been in his classroom for a week. But that is the joys and trials of a new teacher. Now he can concentrate more on just teaching and doing the ends and outs of administrative stuff! He has five classes, of which, only one seems to give him fits. That is a blessing. He really loves his job though and has a great system of co-workers that have provided great support for him. We are so thrilled about this job. We did get his classroom decorated and as soon as I can find our card reader that Bubby artfully has hidden, I will post more pictures.

Emma is doing great! loved her ballet class immensely. They had thirty minutes of tumbling and then thirty minutes of dancing. She was totally in her element. She did great in the tumblind part, the dance will come. She just has to figure out how to get all the step together at the same time....She has been really growing as a big sister this week as well. She has made great strides with sharing with her brother. I am so thankful for her sweet spirit. On Saturday, she got up and announced she wanted a haircut. She has not had one except for me trimming her bangs. So we took her for a trim. She was soooooo excited and showed everyone. It was a little shorter than I had thought it would be, but the lady said we had a lot of deadends. She is so cute and her hair is still quite long. So it will be fun to let it grow out again.

Bubby on the other hand, also got a hair cut! but he was not so pleasant. He has had about five from me and one from another barber. But he majorily got scared. Not sure what happened, but that kid would not sit still. Even in my lap with my legs wrapped around his, one arm around his upper body and the other holding his head still. I cannot believe he looks good. I had hair ALL over me. Emma was laying on the ground screaming, "Stop it, he doesn't like it. You are hurting him....don't do it." She is very protective of her brother. He did survive though! He is still jabbering up a storm. He is very into Thomas the Train right now. He wants to watch "train, train" all the time. So cute!

Baby #3 is doing well as far as we know. We got to the midwife tomorrow for a checkup. We are finally over the midway hump! Thank the Lord!!! So it is all down hill from here. It is so nice to think that we have a lot less in front than we do behind and more every day. I am still have good and bad days. Mostly I can attribute the bad days to not resting enough. So I am trying to be good and get my rest.

Well, the kids are no longer content to play with coins, so I am off to be a mom!
Mary

Tomorrow my Babe starts school!!!

2008-08-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well, Tal is starting his first official day as a teacher. So he is all ready with his bags packed. It should be a big adventure. We did go up on Friday to decorate his room, but once again they had changed which room would be his. So it was put off until this week, hopefully!!! But I did get to make his Rules and Procedures posters for his room today. All we need to do now is laminate them. So pray for a smooth and pleasant day as he meanders his way around this new job. He will do great!!!!!

Emma starts her new class on Tuesday. My baby has her first class ever!!! How much fun. She has been prancing around here today like the gymnast on TV. So fun.

I am counting the days until Friday when I will be officially halfway through this pregnancy!! Things are going much better. I am no longer throwing up all day long or needing medication everyday to make it through the day. I still am tired more, but that is normal. YEAH!!! half way until we see this new precious life!

Bubby has really been repeating everything we say! He is so cute. ANYTHING Emma Grace says, will come out of his mouth too.

Emma has said a few priceless things this weekend. One being tonight while she was upset about something, Tal was patting her on the back and she said, "Dad, don't pat me, I am not an animal." Cannot remember the others right now.

The cat now has a new home. Mark took him to our good friends' house today. We are so thankful that he will be loved and cared for. Here is to hoping he adjust well and keeps his fun cute personality.

Well, time to put a very awake and lively little girl into her bed! Hopefully it will work!

Mary

Our busy life!

2008-08-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

So this past week has seen a lot of activity at the Ewing household. Tal started the official part of his job, not just the orientation part. He has been in inservice all week long. Somedays have been tremendously long for him. Leaving at 6am and not returning until 8pm, like yesterday. Some days have been fun and informative while others were simply overwhelming. Fortunately he is at a great school with a tremendous administration. It has been a little crazy trying to get his books, figure out what which classroom is his. But that is normal! He did finally get his books, so tomorrow (Saturday) I have the great opportunity to figure out how to keep the kids occupied for a good chunk of the day and allow him to get a lot of his prep work done at least for this week. My plans so far are the zoo in the morning since it has been a lot cooler the last two days. Then I think after naps we will go to the park. The one by the Collierville Town Square is shaded. That way they can enjoy it more. And so can I!

We are very excited about the Olypmics starting tonight. Emma is especially excited about gymnastics and swimming. Being her very first summer Olympics, she has no clue what she is in for. But it will be fun watching with her. Remember to cheer for Gil Stovall!!! He is from Memphis and I taught him in a jr. High Sunday School class. Great kid!! He is competing in the 200M Butterfly and I am not sure what else.

Today is the last day of my first week back at my job....being a full time mom without Tal around all the time! I was a little, well a lot nervous about doing after having such a nice helper this summer. I had gotten used to sleeping in late every morning and taking naps or rests when needed. But God was so gracious. Things just fell into place. And not only have we survived, but we have thrived! I have gotten more done in the past three days than I had my entire summer. Totally God's grace! The kids fell right back into a nice schedule and routine. Emma and I have had time for her preschooling/preK every day. Nothing huge, but we are getting it done.

Tuesday morning starts a new phase for Emma Grace. She starts her dance/tumbling class. And she is terribly excited about it. She has not taken off the leotard for 60 hours (Well, she has taken if off to exchange it for a clean one, but has not been without a leotard except for bathing times.) I mandated play clothes today for our adventure with Daddy and tomorrow's zoo and park experiences. She wasn't too happy but will live. Hopefully she enjoys class as much as she anticipates it. We have her bag ready with her tap and ballet shoes all ready for her. She has worn both in sufficiently in just two days. It is so cute watching her prance around downstairs on the tile and wood floors. So adorable.

Bubby is still not sleeping well. He has gotten to bed very late several nights. We have resorted to just sticking him in his bed and letting him play himself to sleep. (those of you who know me well, I am a rocker, always have been always will be. I love rocking my babies to sleep every night. and refuse to give it up until they want to. Makes for a little more work, but we love it. Time to talk and pray over them, sing to them etc etc!!) He has also been biting more lately. Usually only me, thank the Lord, he doesn't bite Emma! He is teething but I think it is more aggression because he cannot figure out where his dad is. I did notice the other day though in a picture of Emma Grace that was taken two years ago on 8/8/06 that Elliot actually has a lot more teeth than Emma did at this time. Emma still only had two bottom teeth, where Elliot has six on bottom and top. My kids are notorious for their late teething.

Speaking of Teeth!!! we get to see MARK today. Uncle Mark is coming to town to be a part of yet another wedding. He has been in far more weddings than Ieven have friends I believe. But it is so great to get to see him when he comes for them. So we will hopefully get to hang out a little with him.

Well, that is the news so far. and for our quote of the week.....We were shopping last weekend for Tal's school clothes in Stein Mart. Emma was having a blast playing hide and seek with Elliot. All of a sudden, she yells "Mom, I have to go!" so we decided since Tal was almost finished I would take her to the car where we have a training potty waiting for such times. As we were walking out of the store, she yells across the men's section to her dad, "Dad, we will meet you at the car, I have some SERIOUS business to take care of." Hopefully no one caught what she meant, but we all laughed. Almost as loud as when early in that store shopping experience, I had been looking at shirts for Tal and did not notice Bubby sneaking up behind me. Before I knew it he had clamped down with his teeth on my behind! I screamed and everyone looked as I exclaimed, "Please don't bite me in the boody" Nice one, Mary!!!

Have a good day!

What happens when you think your daughter did not notice the face painting....

2008-08-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

So when we were at the Fourth of July celebration at Windyke Country Club, I thought I had sufficiently hidden the fact that they had face painting. It was in a building out of the way, and there were so many other fun things to do. I thought I had successfully averted her seeing the face painting. But after the fireworks were over, we were packing everything up and she begins wailing. I could not figure out what the problem was, thinking maybe it was because she was sad that we were leaving and fireworks were over for another year. But no, it was because she did not get her face painted. SOOO, the next day, Tal and I got to get our face painted thanks to Emma Grace! And I painted her! We had fun doing it! Here are the pictures to prove it.

Sorry for lack of blogging

2008-07-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

Things have been rather crazy lately around the Ewing household. I am finally going to update you all.

The mid-endish of July we were able to spend almost five days with Tal's family in Arkansas, which was lovely! We swam with Aunt Jamie, ate lunch with Grammy's friends, visited Pop Pop's grave, had breakfast with MeMe and Grandaddy and a nice afternoon of playing and eating with MawMaw and PawPaw. It was so nice! Plus, it was my first few days off from my job here at home for almost two months. Much needed break! Although my grandfather had been diagnosed with parkinsons the day we left, so I spent a lot of time on the phone with mom and his other caretakers problem solving his medications and his body's adjustment to them. But we had a grand time with Grammy and our other relatives and our looking forward to our next vacation!

Then when we got home, most of our Regenold family relatives had all left or were leaving shortly after we got there. Mike is in Texas playing golf. Matt went to Georgia with his girlfriend, Kristen. And my parents left a few days later to visit with Mark and my dad's dad and stepmom. So the kids are thoroughly confused over where all the peeps are right now and are ready for next week when everyone is where they should be for a few days!

We returned on Tuesday and went straight to a midwife appointment beforing even getting home. Everything looks great. Baby is moving a lot and growing at just the right speed. Currently we are in our 18th week. I am feeling better by the day. But that sounds a lot better than it really is. I still feel awful! or at least a lot of the time. God has been good to allow us to have a few decent days though. And provided that I rest things are good. Emma Grace thoroughly enjoyed the midwife's office. She was so interested in every procedure that was performed. It was great! She would have drawn the blood if they let her.

Now for Tal! On the Wednesday after we arrived back on the 23rd of July! He had two interviews. One was with Mass Mutual, a second interview. It went really well and they pretty much were positive he could get a job there. And that it would be a pretty decent job as well. It sounded pretty good and we should know this week sometime about that. But he also had an interview, the initial interview, with Shelby County School System. It was not nearly as positive. Upbeat, you could say, but they pretty much let him know that there were not any jobs in his field of expertise at this time (economics or history) and therefore he would have to just hope that something opened up. The interviewer said that it does happen that people retire or transfer at the last minute. So it did not sound promising seeing the new teacher orientation started in less than a week.

But then the very next morning, Tal was checking his messages and found that he had missed a call at 8am that morning. It was the very same guy he had interviewed with at Shelby County. They wanted him to interview for a job. We were so thrilled, we had no idea where or what for, but it was just so cool after we had pretty much given up hope for a teaching job at Shelby County. Yes, maybe Memphis, and actually we thought that must have been Memphis that was calling him back. But it was not. So later that day he finally got back in touch with Mr. Mayo and was able to set up an interview with Millington High School for Friday morning early!

Everything went well for the interview and they seemed to really like him. He really enjoyed meeting the assistant principal. She has a son his age that is a youth pastor. So there were major points there in common. And the principal was about his age and a very nice man. The major problem was that he was not able to teach geography and they needed econ and geography. He got a call about 2pm saying that they really wanted him for the job, but unless the Board approved him to teach geography they could not hire him. They said they were waiting to hear from the Board. Within a few minutes really, he got another call from Mr. Mayo offering him the job!!! Praise the Lord.!

Then things kicked into overdrive. He only waited to call him mom and then was out the door to get his paperwork and start the acceptance process. He needed a physical and a background check. So Friday afternoon, he got the paperwork. Then Monday he spent four hours getting his physical done and getting his finger prints. Then Wednesday, yesterday, he went to his first day of new teacher orientation!!!! The first half was about benefits and then he got to tour his school and find his classroom. He also found out in addition to economics and geography, he will be teaching World History as well, which he is excited about being his major. So he won't get his textbooks until Monday and will have one week to prepare for three entirely different subjects! But he can do my super smart husband! We are so proud of him. And in addition to this, he will also be assistant coaching one of the girl's basketball teams as well. Not sure yet which one, but they said he should know by next week!

In preparation for Tal's new schedule, we have been adjusting our children's schedule as well. We have gotten a little spoiled with our free summer. And of course, since I used to work nights, we have always had Emma Grace on a later schedule than she should be. She was used to going to bed at 11pm and sleeping until almost ten am. Bubby has been on a tighter schedule, he usually goes to bed at 8 or 8:30pm and gets up about 7am. But we are all going to bed earlier now. So far Emma has adjusted to it remarkably well. She doesn't necessarily love it. But she is starting to fall into routine. And knows that after her bedtime snack (usually fruit or cereal), then we go read one book, pray and time to lay down. She was a little resistant to it at first, but now lays right down and within a few minutes is out! Bubby on the other hand, has been totally opposite. I thought it would be easier for him. He has been fighting sleep, no matter how tired he is. So we are getting to bed earlier than usual, but still not as early as I would like. But hopefully within the week we can remedy that. Tal has to leave our house no later than 6am to get to school on time. So we really need to support him by being on a good schedule. (the only downside to our new schedule is Emma Grace used to sleep in every morning and now she gets up super early every day and Bubby sleeps in now. UGH....it used to be if I could just him to sleep a little later life would be grand, now he sleeps and she doesn't! But oh well, at least with him asleep and her awake I get a shower in peace while she watches cartoons)

Emma Grace is doing great. She is growing like a weed. And becoming such a nice young lady. She is playing better and better with Elliot. She does still occasionally want her space, but has more often than not wanted him around more. She is into tea parties, coloring, Dora (STILL), and ballet. She is taking her first ballet/tumbling class this fall. She is really excited about it. It starts in about a week. YEAH!! My favorite quote of Emma this week has been: She was leaning over my belly talking to the baby and she said, "I will be four when you come out and I will be big enough to carry you everywhere. I will always love you and take care of you."

James Elliot's tongue has been loosed! Hehe....my little jabber box! He talks all the time. He doesn't shut up anymore. But we love it. His favorite questions is "What's that?" He asked it all day long. Which is great because it is how he learns new words. It is especially cute when he asks "what's that" and then answers it before we can. He still adores Emma Grace. He has continued to develop his sweet, tender spirit. He can still be pretty wild, but has also got a sensitive side as well. When Emma gets hurt, even when he had no involvement, he quickly says he is very sorry. OR if she gets in trouble, he runs in the room and says, sorry. Not sure if he is proactively avoiding a spanking or if he really just takes care of her. Could be the first one! He is so excited about the baby or at least he thinks he is. When he sees a baby on tv, he immediately comes and hugs his baby! So much fun. He is into balls these days like no one's business. And his favorite thing of all time is the Hillshire farm commerical where the men are grilling the brawtworsts. and doing the cheer/chant. He loves it and will dance/chant with them! so funny. He wants you to rewind over and over again. My bad for every rewinding it!

So that is our recap so far. I wish I could capture every cute moment and record them all. I do have a ton of pictures to upload, but my cord has been misplaced. So until I either find my cord or a card reader, you will have to wait!

Mary

Fourth Fancies!

2008-07-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went to Wyndyke Country Club as guests of my parents. Also, Deryl and Tracy Williams and their three boys joined us. The kids were able to play in the inflatables and then watch the fireworks. It was a blast! It rained literally until we got out of the car, but we so enjoyable the rest of the night.
Emma and Reece enjoying the fireworks
Bubby and I enjoying the fireworks

Uncle Matt

Bubby enjoying his glow stick. He loved waving it and seeing the light float around. Emma enthralled with the fireworks
Bubby getting his first real glimpse of fireworks. He slept through last year.
Enjoying the show

Emma and Reece bouncing

Bubby wishing he could bounce! NEXT YEAR!

It was fun! Wish you were there!

Go Gil!!!

2008-07-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

Last night a friend of ours made it to the Olympics in the Men's 200M Butterfly!!! Go Gil Stovall!!!! He is awesome and you sould keep your eyes open for him in the Olympics.

Here is a link to an interview with him back in may
http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20080516/gil_stovall_is_awesome___athens_bulldogs-11899.html;jsessionid=E8B8486251C5B4BE0C18BFC5C3C5FD09

Go Gil!!!

Update

2008-06-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much desire to sit at the computer and type, because I haven't felt well. But for now both kids are asleep and it is almost nine am in the morning, so I thought I would take advantage of this wonderful quiet time.

As many of you know, Tal has been looking to switch jobs. Actually, he is hoping to get a job teaching history or economics in the city or county schools. He went last week for his initial interview with the city schools, but the county's initial interview isn't for another 3 or so weeks. It looks really promising for him to get a job with the city. I was a little apprehensive at first but he is so excited about teaching again. Although he has never officially taught school, he loved teaching the youth group, Sunday school, subsituting etc. So I think he will be good at it. Now we are just waiting for a specific job offer. So pray that he gets one with a good school and not too far away from us. He has another interview today with Mass Mutual a company not unlike what he was previously with at Shoemaker, but they have a job that is not commission based. So his salary is garunteed. He just called and told me that the initial interview went well and if he gets selected for a second interview he will know in a few weeks. So hopefully we will know by the end of July what he will be doing!!

The kids are growing up so fast. Emma Grace is excited about learning her letters and numbers lately. She has learned how to count to twenty by listening to others. It is so cute. She has kinda of gotten how to count to forty, but after that sometimes it goes off into number never never land! She has also grown to really love her brother. It is neat to see her share and love on him. She never lets him take a nap or go to sleep without a kiss first. He is equally enamored with her, and always has been so he is so excited that she is recipicating his affection now. They frequently hug. And they also share their fair share of hits, pinches, pushes, screams, etc!!! Brother sister love at its best. Emma has also gotten to be an even bigger help in the kitchen. She washes the veggies before dinner. She is great at potatoes. She can help shape hamburgers, mix cake batters (her favorite because of the reward of the bowl. She was not happy when James Elliot decided the other night that after we poured the brownie batter in the pan that he would pour kosher salt in the bowl and ruined all the yummy batter.), and her newest accomplishment is learning to cut squash for squash and onions. She has been fascinated with chopping veggies, but there are not many that are soft enough for her to cut. She is OF COURSE diligently supervised through the whole thing. But she thinks she has done it all herself. So cute. She has graduated from kiddie plates as she calls them and is using the wide big plates that mom uses for summer time. She is so excited about that. And she is still eating like a champ. Not always a lot, but loves variety. Her favorite foods are still mushrooms, red bell peppers, strawberries, meatloaf, bread, jelly, butter, spinach, and corn. She is still as tiny as ever, but I swear she has gained weight and the scale is just lying. She loves painting her nails, doing hair, helping Nuther Momma, swimming, riding her tricycle, coloring and reading books. And the other night my little cute toddler became a big girl when she threatened to run away after I told her she could not climb up on the tottering stool to grab something. I actually literally bit my tongue so as not to laugh. That must be how God feels when I threaten Him in my childish anger. He must look at me with the same amusement and love as I did her in her three year old glory telling me she was out of here! She made a quick recovery and within a few minutes was cuddled up with me reading her nighttime story! So our family is intact!! This weekend she discovered the joys of a moon bounce! I am sick that we did not take pictures. She was a little wild woman. We have tried to get her to jump on one before, but always she said she was scared. She saw it this time and ran, err, leaped down the sidewalk to the entrance and was in it before I could get there. She was by far the smallest child in it. But she held her own. She would jump and then leap up and catch the netting about two feet above her and hold on like spider man. It was so incredible. I think there is a moonbounce at the fourth of july celebration at the golf course where my parents are members. We will have to see if she goes in it again!

James Elliot, WOW, he is growing up so fast. I cannot believe this time last year he could barely sit up on his own and now he is running, jumping, climbing, talking, getting his own water out of the frig dispenser, being defiant, loving life!!! He tries to do everything that Emma does. Usually he is successful, but when he is not he is just mad that he cannot. He is now drinking out of a regular cup most of the time. We still do sippy cups when he is walking around, but at the table it is a big boy cup. Emma did not even get the concept til she was much older. Crazy! He loves the cat that Mike has in the garage here. He loves to eat hot dogs, any kind of fruit, and his newest loves is sauteed onions. He will eat almost the entire onion in one sitting. He is sleeping much better. He does really well in his crib at night. He will get up and call out for daddy. Tal tells him it is still night time and to go back to sleep. He complains and then goes back to sleep. Emma is proud that he is sleeping in his big boy bed, but refuses to sleep in her bed. They both are into Dora right now. He is soooooo cute saying "doe RAH" He loves it. I never thought he would enjoy TV at all because his personality is so busy. But he has really started liking Dora for some reason. He loves his new tricyle that we can push him along on. And mom got him a bike helment like Emma's since he was always trying to steal hers. He is so proud of his "hat". His favorite past time of all though is looking at pictures of PawPaw on the computer. He adores PawPaw. Which thrills my hearts since our visits are so short and far apart. I was hoping he would get to know them. Tal's family is the best. I could not have asked for a better more loving family to marry into and am thrilled that my kids have this heritage. So Bubby is looking forward to an extended visit in July to see his PawPaw....

So that is the news for the most part....I am in my second trimester FINALLY!!! I am still not feeling well, but I am making it. It has been a blessing to have Tal around lately. I don't know what I would have done. Many days I throw up all day long. But God has been so good to me. Even when I am weak, I feel His strength many times through the kindness you my friends, or the tender words that you have spoken. It has meant so much!

Well, the kids are awake now and I should go feed them! Until next time!

James Elliot's first "REAL" Haircut

2008-06-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

We took Bubby to a barber shop today to get his first "REAL" haircut. I have given him several cuts myself, but he got his first real one today. So much fun. It was a blast having the real experience!

And he is soooooo proud. He walks around saying..."Hair cut" and pulling on his hair. We will have to do this more often!

Fun with MeMe and Grandaddy

2008-06-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Playing with Maw and Paw

2008-06-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

Making cake!

2008-06-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

Random cute pictures

2008-06-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't added anything in a while, so I thought I would catch up a little bit. I will go back and add captions soon.

A day at the sprinkler park

2008-06-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

Baby #3

2008-06-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

We had our first check up today! YEAH!!! Baby #3 is healthy and everything looks good. It was fun to see the little babe even though it just looked like a big head a small body and two feet and two hands. The cutie was waving and kicking. Very active! Heart rate was 153. So everything is a go! (like it wasn't before!) and I am starting to feel a little better! PRAISE THE LORD

A few pictures and a quick update....

2008-06-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Okay so since I last wrote, literally almost the entire month that has past, I have spent on the couch or in bed, sick to my stomach. I lost over eight pounds this month and have felt HORRIBLE. Even if I wasn't throwing up, I felt so out of it I haven't done much of anything. But things are getting better. And I do seem to have a little more energy and Zofran has helped with the vomting. YEAH!!!!

We were able to go camping over Memorial Day weekend. I am thankful for fifth wheels and AC. Definitely a blessing when you feel as bad as I did. Life was actually tolerable. I have included a few pictures. More to come. The kids absolutely ADORED it. As you can see from the pictures. Bubby thought he was in heaven rolling out of bed and going immediately outside and staying there all day. He had so much fun. And Emma had equal fun, except for the bugs and shower house. Definitely brought out her prissy side. But overall a great experience and we are looking forward to the next trip.

Since we have been back, I was pretty sick until this weekend. But after being outside almost all day on Saturday, I realized the sunshine actually made me feel a little better. (Yes, I was drinking lots of fluids and staying wet) So I am determined to be outside a little everyday. Tomorrow we are going to walk down an old wagon trail, that has been paved, from a park in Collierville to the Wolf River. That should be fun. Then we will hit the sprinkler park for some fun in the water and sun!

Bubby and I enjoying the weather
Bubby and Aunt Jamie playing on a horse post Bubby Emma and Aunt Jamie
The first night we were getting dinner ready. We lost Bubby and then we realized he had taken it upon himself to sit at the table. He wasn't wasting any time at all. So cute! He does not play around with food!
Brother and Sister eating oreos together

Week Five

2008-05-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

Because I am aware at how slow, (Yet looking back from this point of few with two kids, it really does move painfully fast.) my pregnancy will go, I have decided to enlist several websites to help with weekly readings too look forward to. I have found the most hillarious site. and on the site, is the sarcastic pregnant blogger. I am going to try to include some of her satire as she looks at pregnancy with a little gleem in her eye!

A oui (wee) bit nervous
After getting over the initial “I’m having a baby!” shock, we began to spread the news. Of course, people asked how I was feeling.“Nervous,” I’d tell them. “Freaked.”
“If you are freaked then why are you having another baby? Why try if you’re going to be scared by the results?”
Might I add, at this point, that everyone who said that to me didn’t have kids.
The decision to have a baby is a lot like the decision to move to France. France sounds cool, other people like France. It would be fun to move to France!
Then you buy the plane ticket and France starts to seem a little scary.
You’ll have to learn a new language! They eat snails! Didn’t someone once tell you that people in France don’t shower that often?
Come to think of it, moving to France and having a baby have a lot in common

Bubby will be a big brother

2008-04-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD.......

The Ewing Household will be welcoming another baby on or around January 10th!!!!!!

Emma says it is a girl!

Earth Day

2008-04-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

I have decided to celebrate Earth day...not to worship the earth, but to remind myself of the Biblical mandate to take care of the earth. God has given us this wonderful place to live and dwell. It is our responsiblity to take care. Genesis 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

So in honor of my task....I have switched to Bum Genuis Diapers. Cloth diapers. (The savings in just the first two months alone will make it worth it!). I also made cloth wipes. Which will also be a great savings! A little more work, but less chemicals and landfill stuff!

Also, we have switched out all the kids sippy cups for natural and safe stainless steel! The added benefit, it is made by Thermos and therefore keeps liquids cold for six hours!

The cousins

2008-04-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

Emma and Elliot got to meet Annabelle, my cousin Philip's little girl. They really enjoyed getting to see her for the first time. Isn't she so cute?

Bubby Singing

2008-04-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

The first song is "Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot diggety Dog" off of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and then he sings the ABC song.

Bubby Decides to cook

2008-04-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

Bubby woke up from his nap and saw I was finishing up rolls. He asked to get up there and he started doing it himself. I cannot figure out where he figured out how to do it though.

Mud mud mud

2008-04-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

And Even more mud

2008-04-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

More mud puddles

2008-04-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

2008-04-18T02:28:00.000-07:00

Quick update...

2008-04-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

The kids are both resting, so I am going to give a quick update. I need to upload pictures because we have some darling ones on the camera. Maybe I will get to it tonight!

Things have been so busy. We had to run to Benton this weekend unexpectedly to show the house! Unfortunately it was not THE buyer. So we are still in need of your prayers for that. We are going to be doing open houses not this weekend, but the next two weekends. If you know of anyone wanting a house in Benton, AR, let us know!

I have two hillarious (well funny to me) stories that Emma has come up with lately. 1) the other day we were sitting in Grammy's living room and Emma said, "Oh no, my boody just burped." So, Lindsey, you have company with your gas stories..... 2) Last night we were in need of the spanking rod for Bubby and could not find it anywhere. Mariam (Big Daddy's aid) said she has seen Emma with it earlier and thinks she was hiding it. Apparently, Emma decided we did not need it anymore. I searched for it and was unable to locate it. I asked her and she said, "You don't need that, I put it away for you." and "You don't need that ANYMORE" I did eventually find it hidden in a drawer in the bathroom. But it was so funny. Such a smart little girl.

Bubby has started singing a lot. He loves the alphabet song. It isn't quite right but you can tell what he is trying to sing. He has gotten BIG too. Well big for my babies. He is bigger now than Emma was at two. It is so cute watching him toddle after Emma and try everything she is doing. She brought me a flower and he had to bring me one too. He "shushes" people all the time these days. He dances to all kinds of music. He is ADORABLE!

I am recovering from a cold and hoping that it goes away soon. We have been so busy taking Big Daddy back and forth to the doctor that last two days that I haven't gotten much rest. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. He got some sad news today that he has prostate cancer, but it is very slow growing and he will not need treatment. Thankfully. But I think after watching my grandmother go through cancer twice, he is very nervous about it. Pray for peace for him.

Well, hopefully I will get those pictures up. We have some great ones of the kids playing in their first mud puddle. They had mud from the top of their heads to inside of their shoes. SOOOOO much fun. I love watching them explore life. Incredible.

Hope your day finds you marvelous and life is joyous.

Thirty is pretty good....

2008-03-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

So today was my thirtheth (Mary) birthday, for everyone who did not already know. And it was a good day. I have actually looked forward to this day for the past few years. I am just crazy like that. For some reason, I really did not enjoy the twenties like I thought I would. Maybe the stigma that goes with it. As well as all the lessons that seem to inherently be attached to the age bracket. But now that I am hoping that this new decade will bring great lessons, greater strides and greater relationship with my Savior. So I am excited about being thirty.

Today was kind of an ordinary type day. We celebrated last night because that is when most of the family and girlfriends of brothers were available. It was fun. Tonight was low key. But we had one of my favorite meals: Reubens.....it doesn't matter if they were part of a left over meal...mom was worried. They were delicious.

I have kept up with Amber's challenge, even though she did not really challenge me. I have one Power 90 three days straight now. Tomorrow, I hope to continue to work through the incredible soreness I have accumulated. And Amber, thanks, I needed a little kick in the behind. (Also, thanks for the flowers, you never forget! BFF (we have been doing that before it was anything! I remember doing that twenty years ago, now everyone does it. I cannot believe that we have stayed friends this long separated by this distance. Our God is good.)

To recap for those who missed my party.... I got a t-shirt that has one of my favorite sayings "Not all who wander are lost" by Tolkien from my wonderful mother in law. I have it on now and it fits perfectly and I love how soft it is. Definintely exactly what I wanted. Thanks so much! Jamie, my dear sister in law who has become more sister than law, gave me some very whimiscal Jane Austen notecards. I will adore writing notes on them. Hopefully, I won't go off into some English prose when I am writing, but nonetheless I am sure I will find the very handy as well as beautiful. Great find, perfect for me and definitely will be chereished. I am thinking o framing one of each scence and putting them up by my bedside table..... From Mark, I got the first season of Lost in its entirety. I began watching Lost this season and am....well.....lost. So he is helping me out. I have watched the first disc and I am definitely moving it to my all time favorite column of tv shows! Cannot wait to discuss all the intrigues with you. Matt gave me subscriptions to two of my favorite magazines (of choice) So I picked Cooking Light and Knitting. So much fun, great idea!!!! Mike, knowing how much I love taking pictures, got me the coolest pictures frame. I was just surprised that it did not have one of him in it already. I think I am going to get some of our wedding printed black and white and put them in it. Catherine the every fun loving gal that she is, gave me my favorite, PEEPS!!! I had told her the story of Tal and I 's first birthday together as a married couple. We were sooooo short on cash, so I told him I would just love it if he got me peeps for my birthday. He did, a ton of them, and I enjoyed every last bite! Thanks Catherine, you add a lot to my world. Tal was a super duper shopper and picked out two fabulous pairs of shorts, Columbia, my favorite, very durable with two kiddos. I am very impressed with his color and style selection. Great Job! Grandma Nicky gave me a dear dear present of a bracelet that was given to her many years ago. I have always wanted emeralds and am glad they came from her. I will wear it with much joy. My parents thrilled me to pieces when I received a diamond ring that was my mother's father's mother's ring. I asked my great grandmother twenty years ago for the ring and never expected to receive it. Mom did not even know where it was. She happened upon the setting and she and my dear dad got a new diamond for it and that was my thirtieth birthay present. How special is that? I am so excited to have it sized....my great grandmother was a very slight woman, and I am not so slight as I used to be. So it is a tiny bit snug! And then of course, last but not least the wonderful family and friends that gave the wonderful green gift certificate that is exchangeable everywhere. I will enjoy finding things to do with them! Thanks a bunch for making this a truly wonderful birthday.

So on to what you probably really wanted to know about....Emma Grace and James Elliot. They are doing great. Bubby got his first official skinned knee today....sad, but he was not crying, he did not even point it out to anyone. He let me wash it and put neosporin and a bandaid on it and was off playing again as soon as I put him down. He is tough when it comes to getting to play outside. Emma has made it through five days without pullups on. She has only had four accidents in those days! Today was totally accident free! She has made several hillarious comments about the process though, which was entered in with her full disapproval. WE had run out of pullups and I told her we did not have any more money for pullups right now, so she would have to use the potty. not long after that, she comes running up with a dollar and says, "See mommy, I found you a dollar, we can go get pullups now." Then later that day, she runs up and says, "Mommy, quick, I need you to get me a pullup so I can go pee pee." When asked if she needs to go to the potty she says, "No I can go in a pullup". Then lastly, today, as we were running errands, and we had to get diapers for James Elliot, she said, ' Oh mom, we can get some pullups, so I don't have to use the potty anymore." flashing all her teeth at me......

Prayer requests: we have had three inquiries with two actual showings of the house. Please pray one or a new one wants to buy soon. And that Tal's job continues to pick up soon.

Welllllll,,,,,,I am off to sleep. tomorrow is 30 years and day 2

Monday, Monday

2008-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

And we start another week! I did not get much done last week, but I am at it again today. (And thanks to Amber and Pete. I restarted my Power 90 videos. I had started them for about two weeks in January and just got out of doing it.) So today I got up and did the first set of it. OUCH! I am so out of shape. But I am in a twelve week weight loss challenge and I really, really need to do it. Basically I need to get in shape, not necessarily lose weight. This is just my motivation!

You should see Elliot, he is laying on his back on my bed, reading a book upside down and he is really reading out loud! So cute.

Today is going to be a quiet day of cleaning and playing with the kids. Mom and I have brined corn beef briskets since last week, so we are looking forward to cooking them today! Yummy.

Tomorrow night we are celebrating my 30th birthday! It isn't until Wednesday, but that was the best day for everyone included (specifically, my brothers and their girlfriends) So I am excited about that!

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

******PRAY REQUEST!!! We put our house for sale by owner and yesterday we had our first showing (THANK YOU JAMIE AND GRAMMY) and we are waiting to hear back maybe from the lady. Please pray that we hear back or find a buyer/renter soon!!

Family Pictures!

2008-03-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

Zoo pictures

2008-03-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Hunting!

2008-03-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

What a fun Weekend

2008-03-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

We have had tooo much fun this weekend.

Starting with Tal was off for Good Friday, well, he was off for half the day at least! So we packed up and went to the zoo. It was fun. The kids had a blast. I will upload pictures in the next post.

Then we had Matt's birthday dinner, since Mark was coming home for the weekend and Mike would not be home Saturday and Sunday because of work. It was delicious! Then we switched to my birthday, because mainly what I wanted was to play games with my brothers and parents and my wonderful husband. It is tricky at our house to do that because at least Bubby has to be asleep and Big Daddy doesn't really appreciate games, so we usually try to do it after he goes to sleep as well. I had Big Daddy that night, so after Tal got Bubby to sleep, Matt took care of Kristen's dog and I got Big Daddy in bed, we played Apples to Apples (THANK YOU so much Carol Beth. That game is AWESOME!) We played way toooooo long though and at 12:30 we finally got into bed, and boy, I was TIRED. But we had so much fun.

Saturday was a full day. I got up and ran to Wal-Mart and then got the rest of the ingredients for Lasagna. I made that for dinner, then we dyed a few eggs with Tal, since he did not remember ever doing that before. Then it was time to pack up and head to Grandma Nicky's for Easter egg hunting. We did that and then visited with her. Finally we came back home for some yummy lasagna and basketball. It was a fun day.

Then EASTER SUNDAY!!!! We decided to spend it here with Big Daddy. I think God will understand. We did not want to leave him alone. I got up and made some bread. Then we got the kids pretty. Then we had lunch! Mom made lamb stew that was to die for. Then we hunted Easter eggs. The kids went crazy! I have tons of pictures. The basketball games are on right now and we are sighing a sigh of relief that TN pulled it out. Emma fell asleep on the couch and Elliot just went down. I am sitting by the phone waiting for a call from Jamie about the lady that is looking at our house right now. YEAH!!!!! So that is our day..

AND A VERY HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY To Uncle MATT! We love you and are so glad you are around.

Today

2008-03-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I thought today was going to be a little more relaxed. We were going out to eat with a dear friend of mine, Lisa. But other than that low key.

The meal was a disaster, I don't know why I think I can take them out to eat period. It is just too chaotic. After eating we were outside letting the kids walk around....(side note, Emma is watching basketball right now. They were showing a scene inside George Mason's locker room and the coach says, "Okay, team let's do it." and Emma jumps up and yells at the TV and says, "Okay, Let's do it.") soooo, the kids were running around and Emma is in a cute smocked dress playing. These three black boys come up to her, they were walking in with their mom, and they were probably about eight. one of them looked at her and said, "She's cute for a white girl." Emma was like, "Okay???" It was too cute.

So Bubby was so tired when we got home but would not take a nap. He screamed, I cried. Finally I gave up and let them both go outside and play. Which they absolutely adored. Then they got to have pizza for dinner, yummy. We had stuffed crust and double pepperoni. YUMMY. Then we braved a slightly chilly evening (we wrapped the kiddos in blankets) and went for a walk. I sure missed those from last summer. Bubby was absolutely falling over himself by the time we got home. He scarved down a banana and then went straight to sleep.

Emma, in the meantime, was playing playdough. She has a habit of making things and passing them out to people as food or candy. Usually, the people playing along realize it is not chocolate (being that it is often bright purple or yellow.) BUT today it was brown and she happened to include Big Daddy. Let's just say after he was finished with his piece of playdough, he quickly had mom come over and help him figure out what he had just eaten. Needless to say, I had to explain to Emma that when she gave Big Daddy playdough, she could NOT tell him it was candy or chocolate. I felt so bad for him. My kids are just so full of energy it is hard to know what they are going to do next.

So that is today. Tomorrow Tal is going to go to the Zoo with us!!! And Niki is taking pictures of the kids. So we will have a great day!

Finishing off the day....

2008-03-19T20:28:00.001-07:00

Okay.....so I should have waited to tell you about the day, because it only got better. Bubby has taken a liking to messing up anything that I have set aright. His speciality is pulling books off bookshelves, but he is quite fond of emptying trash cans and drawers as well. He is very stubborn too, he can get a spanking and go right back at it without phasing him in the least. It can be a tad frustrating at times. He is sooooo headstrong.

So today, I had him playing in our room while Emma was watching the Artistocrats in the upstairs bonus room, which is directly outside our doorway. Because Bubby is so adventurous, it has been necessary to create multiple gates and blockages to keep him from going down the two sets of stairways. A large babygate cover one, but the other one is too wide for a baby gate, so we use a TV and a series of boxes. As well as a gate on our door, which he can open after a short time of playing with it. He also has managed to figure out how to move the boxes of books or the TV a few times too many. But these obstacles help me have time to catch him at least.

So today.....I was sorting laundry and Bubby was pulling books off his shelf (Don't know why I ever try to organize them, since he trashes it.) Sometime during my sorting, he disappeared. Right as I was done, I heard Emma telling him no. Which is not unusual for her to be doing, he could look at her and she tell him no. So I got the baskets together and was taking them downstairs when I decided to find him first. And there he sat cute and smug as could be with RED permanent marker all over him, Emma, the couch and the WALL. I wanted to just sit and cry. But I did not, I just grabbed the carpet and furniture cleaner and went to work. I am happy to report that it does come out of some things. The walls are a tad bit red still, but you can barely notice it on the couch and that was because I knew to look for it. And I only thought I had gotten every marker, crayon, pencil out of his reach. He is like a dog searching for crumbs....trust me, if it is there HE WILL FIND IT.

But when he looked at me with those big brown eyes, how could I stay mad for long. I am quite sure that he realized he had made a mistake and you don't mark on furniture, well, he did for that moment. I was fairly convincing and he shed a few tears, but hopefully it will be longer lasting than tomorrow.

So I no longer wonder why it takes me so long to do my work everyday, it is because Bubby is constantly creating more.

Emma has been a doll all day. She is so much fun. At the dinner table, Uncles Matt and Mike were playing throw the napkin after dinner with her. She would throw it at Uncle Matt and then he would slip it to Uncle Mike who would make it appear in weird spots. Of course, she thought Uncle Matt was throwing it to her, but that she just could not see it being thrown. It was funny hearing her.

Then this afternoon Matt went to get the mail. When she heard where he was going, she ran to get her shoes. I warned Matt to hold up. So she was putting on her shoes and Matt pointed out they were on the wrong feet. (A common occurence) and she said, "Oh, silly Emma, get it right" She talks about herself in third person all the time. Too cute!

We all enjoyed our orange juice pops today. They were delicious and such a great no added sugar treat! Even Bubby was thrilled.

So now I am really tired, not only did I have the kids, but I also had Big Daddy today. (Who for some reason always wants to do things that he doesn't do with his other help, like take walks every hour, etc....). I really want a late snack, which I have gotten in the habit of eating with two kids that are late nighters. But I am seriously trying to lose weight and have already lost over five pounds in the last three weeks. So since late night snack stick around longer than morning ones, I guess I will say adios and just get to sleep. That way I can get up and have breakfast in awhile!

Mary

Making Easter Eggs

2008-03-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Catherine came over and we dyed Easter eggs. It was so much fun. Emma really got into it. The finished products
Elliot sampling the wares
Emma Grace tasting her first egg
Catherine and Emma dyeing an egg together
The supplies

Emma cheezing it upCan we say "CHEEZ"
Before we started....

That was yesterday.....today, it is only 11am and ALREADY....As I was washing my hair this morning I noticed a quickly melting chocolate bunny in the bathtub. Fortunately, I was only washing my hair over the side of the tub. or I would have had Hair a la chocolate. Bubby had seized the opportunity to find the chocolate bunnies, open the box that was wrapped in plastic, then the cardboard box, then the plastic tray and the foil wrapper and throw it in the tub...... BUBBY!!!!

Then Emma when she got up immediately began asking if we could make orange juice popsicles. Okay, so #1 we have never made them before, so I am not sure where she got the idea. And #2, I had bought some popsicle makers, LAST APRIL. And we have not used them. So I barely remembered even buying them, and had NO IDEA where they were. But that girl, went right to the cabinet and got them out. She was like, "Duh, mom how could you be so dense." Where did this girl come from??? I used to think I was smart.

So that is my morning so far! Time for something quiet....like laundry.

This weekend!

2008-03-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, after readying Reece and Lindsey (Tal's cousin and her husband)'s blog, I have realized I have been amiss in actually updating. Mostly, I just give you pictures. But I don't think you mind the pictures....just you probably would love to hear our news too!!!

We are doing great. Tal is working hard at Shoemaker Financial. He is doing a great job. I am still taking care of my grandfather here at home. We have been visiting a lot of doctor recently dealing with his health issues. It has become a weekly occurence or him, unfortunately. He is having a hard time with his memory and it wears on him I think. Emma Grace is a cute three year old. She is so precocious. She loves to quote movies already. And is doing everything I do....cooking, cleaning, knitting, everything! She has gotten quite a bit more tolerant of Elliot, thank goodness. James Elliot is a total imp, into everything. He has a bit of a mean streak, he likes to hit a little too much. But he is total boy, I guess. He is busy, busy! He is walking, running, climbing, eating from dawn until dusk. I am always so thankful for his naps, I need a break from the constant chasing. He is so much fun though! Actually both of them are. I am just loving being their mom!

Here is a picture, actually from Christmas. But it was so good, and we had not shared it yet! Mom and daughter
Meme and Emma

Bubby saying cheez
Granddaddy with his greats

Jamie and I (Jamie, it was taken far enough away that I thought we could include it, no one knows how ill we really felt!)

Aren't they cute?

She may look like me, but you cannot deny they are related.

His second easter egg hunt, but the first he kind of knew what was happening.....I will have to get the good pictures from Aunt Carol. He was running everywhere.
Bubby with his Unc riding Paw's go-buggie

Emma getting a ride.
James Elliot and Aunt Vickie. My kids adore Unc and Aunt Sis!

This weekend was fabulous in Arkansas. We had a great time with everyone. This week we are going to get ready for Easter egg hunts over here in TN. And Uncle Matt's birthday. Hope to talk to you soon!

Building a snowman....

2008-03-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

It is sidewards....ugh. But here it is...

Bubby

2008-03-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

Playing in the snow

2008-03-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

Let it snow, let it snow!!!!!

2008-03-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few of the pictures from this afternoon! We had so much fun playing in the snow. Bubby did not want to stop. His cheeks were soooooo red, but he wanted to play with the cold sand forever. And Emma was screaming bloody murder when we came back inside. It was only when we showed her how wet her outfit was and that it needed to be dried so she could go back outside that she finally calmed down. Snow angels with Daddy (Emma has been dying to make snow angels for months now. She finally got to make her very first official big girl snow angel!)

"Sledding" the snow is a little too wet to actually sled, but it is fun to pertend. Bubby did not want to stop. Look at that face. Can you tell he was having fun. And he wanted to be out there so bad he did not complain about the hat or gloves. (I cannot believe we were in short sleeves just last saturday)
This was Emma about a half hour after playing. She was pooped!

I will try to get some video up too!

Emma enjoying the springlike weather

2008-02-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

Praise to the Lord!

2008-01-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

Emma is feeling much better now. The doctor said on Friday that it was the flu and we should be prepared for another week or so of ickiness....but by that night, she had greatly improved and over the weekend except for a raw bare end, we were great! She has had to be careful about what she eats to keep her bare end from getting worse, but other than that she is great!

I have to tell you what she said though, I was changing her diaper and she was so nervous that it was going to hurt. And sure enough it was very painful. I was praying for a miracle. I guess I asked God one too many times for a miracle and she looked at me and said, "Mom, stop asking God for a miracle, you should only ask God once because it hurts His heart if we keep asking. He will think we are not patient." Where does she get this???? She is the first one to ask me to pray if she hears someone is sick, and she always remembers to pray for everyone she has heard is sick or hurt during the day. It is so true that we must all be like the little child to enter into the kingdom of heaven. She just trusts her Lord will take care of everything.

Today we went and did a few errands since it was soooooo nice. Now we are doing crafts and crossing our fingers hoping Bubby takes a nice long nap!

Have a good one.

Update on Emma

2008-01-25T09:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Emma had a perk up period last night and was playing. Then when Tal got home from his banquet, she promptly threw up all over him: suit, overcoat, tie and all....She then spiked a very high temperature all night but at least no more vomiting. She laid on the couch without moving hardly at all until just about ten minutes ago and now she is starting to get up and move around. We are going to the doctor today to get checked out. She is so not wanting to go, but at this point, she has not choice. We just need to make sure....I will update later.

Update and praises!

2008-01-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

MawMaw has no heart trouble per the doctor and the test. YEAH! Now they are turning to the GI doc to see if they can find the cause of the pain. So at least we have praise that it isn't her heart. But please, please still keep her in your prayers because she is still in a lot of pain and possibly faces at the very least a minor procedure to relieve the pain.

Emma: has slept on and off all morning. She is holding down clear liquids, which is great! Since she was up so long last night, she is trying to catch up on sleep. Her fever has finally come down. It was up and down all morning. And she was a little more talkative. It is so sad to see her laying there lethargic. She has never done that no matter how sick she is. But she said she feels really bad. She asked if everyone would pray that she does not throw up anymore....

On a side note, Mariam, one of Big Daddy's aids and now a dear friend, was telling me yesterday that she had had a bad day. Emma sat and listened to everything. When Mariam was done Emma said, "You need a spiritual holiday." Where in the world does she come up with these things???

Need prayer

2008-01-24T06:13:00.001-08:00

Please keep praying for MawMaw she is having an arteriogram today to try and determine her where her chest pains are coming from.

Also, Emma woke up at 2 am this morning burning up with fever. She then threw up a few times and did not get back to sleep until 7am. It is 8 now and she is up again not feeling well. Please pray that she feel better quickly and that Elliot stays well.....Tal and I too for that matter. And for my strength. I got a little over four hours of sleep last night and have an active one year old running around. And Tal's awards banquet at work is tonight, so it will be a long day for me without him.

Thanks!

Please pray for MawMaw

2008-01-22T18:25:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to enlist all of your prayers for our dear MawMaw, Tal's grandmother on his dad's side. She has pneumonia and has been hospitalized. She was moved tonight out of precaution to the heart hospital, in order to check out some unknown heart pains. Please pray for quick and easy recovery without much pain.

We love you dear Maw!
Tal, Mary, Emma Grace and James Elliot

Checkups!

2008-01-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

Last week we went for checkups! The kids are doing great. Emma's hernia, that she was born with, are healing nicely still and it appears that she will avoid surgery! Praise the Lord. She is still petite, but surprise surprise. She is 29 and a half pounds and 36.5 inches. That puts her in the 25% of both. She really did not want a "splinterbox" as she calls finger sticks, but we prayed and asked Jesus if we had to have one that it would not hurt. He answered our prayers! She did have one, but she did not even flinch and declared it to be totally pain free. Thank you LORD! Bubby is also doing great! We had noticed a malformation in his ribs, on the left side. Normal rib cages are convex and his left side is concave. His sternum is also out of line. But the doctor said it was just something to watch and as long as we did not notice anything stopping or slowing him down he was fine. It is called pectus imperfecta or something like that. No problems noted right now. He is getting big himself. 21 lbs and 31.5 inches long. It puts him in the 15% weight and 50% height. He is just as cute as he can be! He did not have to have a finger stick, but was oblvious to the fact that doctor may mean potential hurt. So life was good for him, and he was excited because turning one meant that he now gets a lollipop when he leaves the doctors! Fun times....especially since we opted to not vaccinate so no shots!

So we are terribly thankful for our little ones' health. God is so good!

Finally unpacked

2008-01-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

We finally finished the kids room. YEAH!!!! I even got pictures on the walls and the drawers organized and toys done. We are so excited. They have the cutest little cozy room with a great window. Just perfect for the two of them!

This is the top of Bubby's dresser The end of Emma's bed. They do not have a closet, so we hung wooden pegs for their clothes. And then she has her jewelery boxes on her bookshelf at the end of her bed.
A picture of them on their dresser
The wall of toys and Bubby's crib

The dresser area Emma's bed. And you can see her favorite place to play, because Bubby cannot get her
Bubby enjoying his new clean space
Bubby's hooks

That is all....come join us and play!

Second haircut

2008-01-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

After seeing me comb Bub's hair the other day after his bath and it was coming down to his shoulders, Tal put his foot down and said no more! So I gave him his second hair cut, but the first real big one. Tal might have cried when his little girl got her first bang cut, but I really cried with my boy's first all over hair cut....

We did not get one after he got his hair cut. So here is the best one I found. Sorry I am in it! But doesn't he look grown up??

Christmas in Memphis....and the last one.

2008-01-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

Emma gets Piglet! Oh, I love him!
Bubby unwrapping his present
Thanking Uncle Mark!
Unwrapping more presents

Showing off my concrete truck

Big Tree little boy
Looking at toys, a baby MP3 player! Bubby thinks he is cool
Trying out my Disney sprayer from Uncle Mark

I love my uncles!

all of them, where is Mike?? Me and My grandmother, Grandma Nicky

Dancing in her MawMaw Nightgown
That is all folks! The fun is over, I am out of Christmas pictures.

Christmas at MawMaw and PawPaw's house

2008-01-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

MawMaw sporting her new do
Getting her new do
Getting ready to EAT
Drinking some tea

Gotta get some good running around in my diaper time before company comes
Fairy princess
Catching a snooze
Waiting for presents

Checking out the walker
Boy, I wish I was big enough to play with them
Can I open them now???

Boy, I wish these teeth would come in

Taking pictures

Emma dancing in her nightgown

Bubby changing the channels
Emma doing Carol Beth's hair

Elliot stealing a drink from Emma's cup

"Uncle" Reece putting Elliot to the top

Looking at the "spooky doll" (I actually think it is cute!)

Bubby and the chicken

That is all folks!

Fun at MeMe and Grandaddy's

2008-01-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

MeMe trying out her Christmas present Grandaddy trying on his Christmas jacket
Tal playing with the camera
Jamie playing with her camera
A candid

Bubby running around
Me
Grammy
Jamie

Bubby and Emmy looking out the window

Breakfast
Daddy trying on Bubby's towel
Bubby playing with Sadie
Emma trying out her play banana

Emma and Grammy opening presents

MeMe, Grandaddy and Bubby opening presents
Jamie and Me

Grammy MeMe's cool shoes

Bubby running again

Bubby saying, "what?" When we gonna open these presents?
Sissy looking through her first kaliedascope (sp????)
Bubby fascinated with her car animals
He learned fast

We had a great morning opening gifts and then having breakfast with MeMe and Grandaddy. I think they got the best end of it, a nap after we left!!! We left there to go to MawMaw and PawPaw's for lunch and the afternoon waiting for everyone to arrive for present opening there. The pictures will be next...

Christmas at Grammy's house

2008-01-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

Emmy and Daddy, Emmy was barely awake, but oh so excited about presents.
Bubby did not really know what was going one. He is here in front of the fire. (Yes, it is on the TV.)
Emma posing in her princess dress. Grammy got her a whole box of princess dresses and shoes.

Christmas Before and After Pictures

2008-01-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

Stockings! Look at all those presents...
They made quick work of them too....
Look at the piles of toys.....after we removed the wrapping paper.

Yea! for Spaghetti

2008-01-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

Aunt Jamie made us all the greatest spaghetti on Christmas Eve! And boy did we like it! Can you tell he liked it??
MMMMM.....it is even better when your face is messy

Look worms Silly spaghetti

Have some!!!

Getting ready for Church

2008-01-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

Emma decided to get pretty on Sunday by herself. And yes, she is standing on the counter in the bathroom! She had to be beautiful. Oh, she knows too much too fast!

Banana Pops!!!!

2008-01-03T14:04:00.000-08:00

Bubby got his first taste of a banana pop. And he quickly got the hang of it!

Of course, Emma did not miss out on the action.

Birthday in Sheridan

2008-01-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

Lindsay and Emma being Princesses that they are Bubby being busy

Getting a bottle after opening presents

The Princess courtesy of Reece and Lindsay (Y'all really need kids!)

Grammy and Bubby Salley
Another picture of Salley, and I cannot get it out, so you get double Salley.

Birthday Princess (I wish you could really see her hair. It was the only way I could figure out how to get the crown to stay! Catherine, I need lessons!)

Emma and I dancing

James Elliot and MawMaw
Aunt Sis
Thank you to all our Sheridan family! We are so glad we got to celebrate with you. We appreciate you and all you do for us. It is always great to get together with you!

Emma

2008-01-03T10:56:00.001-08:00

Emma sitting in a bucket

A pretty good picture

2008-01-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

I found this picture of Emma and her apron. It is a little cockeyed, but you get a good idea of how cute she is in her apron.

Emma and Elliot being silly

2008-01-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

Elliot likes to run around with socks in his mouth. Here is Emma acting like Elliot.

Copy Cat

2008-01-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

The other day Emma brought a pillow in and started playing the drums on it. Elliot followed suit! Always got to be doing what Big Sis is doing! How adorable!!

Aunt Fran's package arrives!!!

2008-01-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

On the 18th of December, Emma and Elliot received their package for their birthday from Aunt Fran! Here is Emma so excited to get it. She could barely wait for Nuther Mother to get home to open it. Opening the card and showing off her Princess wrapping paper.
Look an apron!!!! She loves aprons and she had just outgrown her last one. Thank you Aunt Fran! Her apron says, "I Help"---->Emma's favorite thing to say and it has her name on it. So cute! I will try to get a better picture when they get up from naps today.
She is wearing her apron and helping Bubby open his gift.
Bubby got a fire truck! and boy do they love it. His facial expression says it all!

Thank you for all your presents Aunt Fran!!!

Finally pictures...

2008-01-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Uncle Matt, we have pictures!!! Thank you for letting me use your card reader!!!
Here is Emma cleaning and baking... She has on her nurse's apron while cooking...

Bubby and Emma cleaning

Emma cleaning...she loves to clean..she will use us out of house and home by using all the diaper wipes to clean with. We are training her to use a rag instead.
Bubby likes to help too
It's Bob the Builder

Yes, Yes....

2008-01-01T17:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know I have been severely deliquent in my picture and blog posting. I am very sorry. I have misplaced the cord that connects my camera to my computer. (Grammy if you find a USB cord that you don't know what it belongs too....save it for me on Sunday.) Hopefully, I will find it soon and get the pictures posted for all to see. Because we have some good ones!

I have Bubby's birthday pictures from 12/20/07 and Christmas pictures from Arkansas and here. So we have loads of good ones.

Aunts and Uncles!!

2007-12-17T10:42:00.000-08:00

Just thought the Aunt and Uncles needed a shout out! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Aunt Jamie Uncle Mark Uncle Mike

Uncle Matt
Working on the Great Aunts and Uncles, but did not have everyone's pictures and did not want to leave anyone out!

Our little helper

2007-12-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

Elliot has turned into quite the helper. He loves to assist with whatever we are doing..

Here he is washing potatoes
Filling the glasses with ice!

Christmas Babies!!!

2007-12-17T10:11:00.000-08:00

Aren't they cute???

Bubby enjoys his cake

2007-12-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

In order to have everyone there, we decided to have Elliot's first birthday a little early!!! So here he is enjoying his cake! He had it all over him!!!! More please!

Belated Birthday for Mike!

2007-12-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

Enjoying Uncle Mike's party Uncle Mike and Catherine (Isn't she pretty?)

Mike's bounty

Happy Birthday Emma Grace!!!!

2007-12-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

Emma and her Christmas outfit...

Emma is three today!!!! (This is a horrible picture!, but it was what she looked like this morning when she got up! She was wearing her Sleeping Beauty nightgown, Uncle Matt got her. Now she is playing with the playdough and colors her other uncles got her.....so much fun) I cannot believe it has only been three years and that it has already been three years. Here is a picture of our little angel that day she was born. Tal and I both agree it just keeps getting better! Every day with our kids is sweeter than the day before!

Thank you Lord for sending this sweet baby girl to be our daughter! Happy Birthday Emma Grace!!!

Guess Whose almost ONE???

2007-12-13T14:29:00.000-08:00

Cannot believe my little boy is almost one! Here is a few pictures of our little man! He has grown into such a sweet, dear boy. It will be neat seeing him grow another year older!