I Guess It's That Time Again...

I hate fall asthma and allergy season. Paige has had a funny cough all week long that we were hoping would just stay a cough. But tonight... she's on the couch sleeping off a 101.2 fever. Can't we just fast-forward to spring?

Look at this Sweet Face!!!

Chloe Elizabeth
September 17, 2009
7 pounds 14.8 ounces 20 inches long

I'm soooooooooo excited for our friends Rick and Marli!! After 8 years of trials, heartache, pain, hope, and lots of faith... Chloe Elizabeth is HERE!

She sure made a grand entrance and was even more of a miracle than any of us can ever understand! She had something called Velementous Cord Insertion with a near Vasa Previa. Typically, these babies are stillborn, or death occurs during delivery. Very scary stuff!

Chloe is here though... she is a true gift from God to a dear sweet Mom and Dad who have had faith that they would be parents. Little does she know yet, how much she is loved by so many!!

This Bites!

Well... something bites anyhow!

Chase came downstairs last night saying he was itchy on his back and felt a bug bite. We looked, and it looked sort of like a swollen mosquito bite so we put some anti-itch cream on it and off to bed he went.

Tonight, I got home and Mike left for work. Mike wasn't gone 5 minutes and Chase asked me for more cream because his back was itchy and it burned. I looked and FREAKED out! I called a friend whose husband (a pharmacist) was closeby. He stopped and suggested we head to urgent care to get it checked out tonight. So, we did.

After an hour in the waiting room, then a half hour in the exam room, they finally came in and took a look. After taking a culture of it and examining it more than once he finally determined it is a spider bite, but he was unable to identify what KIND of spider. Gave us a script for a topical steroid cream and said to watch it closely, then sent us on our merry way.

I've been searching the internet all night looking for something similar. The closest is the brown recluse but I'm not convinced of it. Devin had a brown recluse bite a few years back and it was the most NASTY thing I have EVER seen or dealt with. Looked horrible within 8 hours and took months to heal. This doesn't seem to be that rampant.

I guess we just wait and see... he's lathered in cream and covered with a light bandage for bed. Hoping in the morning it at least looks a bit better!

Never a dull moment around here...

Circle of Life...

My very dear friend, Marli, is in the hospital tonight. She's having her labor induced and hopefully, we'll be welcoming baby Chloe Elizabeth into the world sometime tomorrow. This is a joyous ending after 8 years of heartache and infertility. We're so very excited for her and Rick!

At the very same time, a blogger friend is slowly saying goodbye to her little girl, Annette. Annette was diagnosed with a brain tumor back in December of last year. After months of surgeries, treatments, and hospitalizations, she's now 11 months old and going Home to be with Jesus soon.

Please, shower both of these families with love and prayers during what I can only imagine to be very emotional times.

Happy Birthday Marli!

Today is my good friend Marli's birthday. Her doctor gave her her present this year... news that she will be induced to have baby Chloe TOMORROW NIGHT! I'm so excited, yet so nervous for her! Can't wait to meet sweet Chloe in a few days!!

If you have a moment, shower her with prayers for a safe delivery and healthy baby!

Love Our Backyard Bonfires!

We love backyard bonfires... especially with great friends! Sunday evening we enjoyed the fire, food, and friendship with the Hobecks!

Mike attempted to get the fire started on his own with some sticks, but it didn't get going so well...

Before too long we had both Jim and Mike working on the fire while Jen and I just watched... and laughed!

While we were waiting we decided to have some fun with self snapshots!! This was Kayleigh and I's...

Finally... a fire!!!

Jake and Chase both helped keep it going... or so they think anyhow!

It wasn't too long before we finally were able to eat!

For a little kid... Jake can sure devour a hotdog in no time!

The girls had a great time too!

In the end it was a fabulous evening! I even learned a new s'more trick... use a Reece Cup instead of Hershey chocolate! Yummy!

Stone Mountain Day Trip

We took a family day trip to Stone Mountain State Park in Northwest North Carolina Sunday after church for a picnic and hike. It was a gorgeous day with perfect 80 degree weather!

Along the trail we saw a big sign that said "Fatalities Have Occurred Here" so we knew we were in for a strenuous workout ahead. After finally reaching the bottom of the Stone Mountain Falls the kids played on the boulders for quite sometime. Mike and Devin disappeared up into the trees. I THOUGHT they were just looking out over the hillside.... NOPE! Seems my brilliant husband and daring son decided they were going to climb to the top of the waterfall!!! Mike admits now that it probably wasn't the smartest thing he's ever done!

Once they recovered from their journey we headed back up the mountain... 392 steps UP the mountain! I thought I was going to die!!! Thank the Lord a bench was placed after every 40-50 steps to sit and rest... because that we did!! Devin beat us to the van and had it nice and cool for us!! Such a good kid!

It was a great day, a great hike, we had great laughs, and just had a great time!

Slideshows From Youth Sunday

These are the 2 slideshows they showed at Youth Sunday.

The first one is Wade Center. This is the mission trip that Devin went on in an underprivileged area of West Virginia. Devin helpd with a soccer camp for kids, as well as went out on worksites to clean and build.

The second is Kayleigh's mission trip, Jerusalem Project. This one was local... they went to homes in need, the food kitchen, and ended with an outreach that was a huge success! Kayleigh and a friend are pictured in the slideshow praying with a boy who devoted his life to Jesus that day.

We're sure you'll spot the pictures of Devin and Kayleigh in the slideshows! The two that bring tears are the one of Devin in the first video at 4 minutes 52 seconds in and the one of Kayleigh in the second video at 4 minutes 36 seconds in. So very proud of both our teenagers!!