I Finally Met Jordan's Grandparents

Today, I FINALLY got to meet Jordan's maternal grandparents. They live in North Carolina, but are down visiting for a couple of days. I couldn't help but get teary-eyed when Jordan's grandfather held Rylee for the first time. It made me miss my grandpa Parker. I was his only granddaughter, so he and I had an extra-special bond. I was his "Sweetie Pie" - his "Lola" - and he always used to tell me I was his FAVORITE granddaughter (like he had anyone else to choose from). He was the BEST grandpa God could have possibly blessed me with, and I'm so thankful to have had him in my life for sixteen years. I miss him so much, and I hate that Jordan never got to meet him, and that he never got to see Rylee (although, Lord-willing, he'll get to meet them both someday in Heaven. Glory!). I just know he would "eat Rylee up" if he could see her. She's the first great-grandchild (much less first great-granddaughter) on that side of my family.
Anyway, below are a couple pictures I took today (Jordan's grandfather was asleep when I took these pictures... that's why he's not in any of them):

Jordan with his mom, grandmother, twin sister, nephews, and Rylee

4 generations

Rylee playing with her pawpaw (Jordan's dad)

Rylee playing with PawPaw's pen

Rylee with her pawpaw

Today I Took Some Pictures

The past couple of weeks, we have experienced some absolutely beautiful weather. Perfect weather, in my book. A couple of days have made exceptions (like yesterday, for example, when we had thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches), but for the most part, we have seen clear, sunny skies, and temperatures have been in the mid-to-upper 70's with a nice, light breeze. Heaven.
Today was another such day. I opened the windows in the living room, dining room, and kitchen so the breeze could flow through the house. Then I grabbed my camera and Rylee and went outside for a few minutes to take some pictures. Now that spring is beginning to show its glorious face, the trees in our yard are blooming and getting their leaves back, and they are absolutely beautiful. I also figured it was about time I took a couple pictures of our house, since we have lived here for five months as of today, and I still have yet to post any like I said I would. (Hey... at least you know I haven't forgotten. I just haven't gotten around to it until now...) Anyway, first I went out to our backyard to take a couple of pictures of our Weeping Willow tree. I absolutely LOVE Weeping Willow trees. When I was little, one of my favorite movies was Disney's Pocahontas, and I loved the "Grandmother Willow" character in it (I even used to have a "Grandmother Willow" toy that I got from a McDonalds Happy Meal). So anyway, I've always been fond of Willow trees, and the first time we came to look at this house and I saw the big Willow tree in the backyard, I knew this was going to be our home. Here we are, five months later.
After I took a couple pictures in the backyard, I headed to the front yard to take a few pictures of the front of the house, and of the big tree in front of the master bedroom side of the house. I'm not sure what kind of tree it is, but it is in full bloom with small white flowers right now, and it is SO PRETTY. The downside to this, however, is that there are big bumblebees flying all around the tree now, and the flowers on the tree STINK, which surprised me when I finally realized that they were the bad scent I was smelling. I guess I always assumed that flowers are supposed to have a pleasant aroma. Well... not these flowers. (Just now, I decided to get on Google to see if I could find out what kind of tree it is, and it turns out it's a Bradford Pear tree. Sure enough, one of the main bits of information I found was that the flowers have a terrible odor to them. Yep. This I know. I also read that these trees are notorious for having limbs which split away from the main trunk. Because of their fast growth and tight branching pattern, they split very frequently in high winds. Great. I pray that doesn't happen to the trees (we actually have two of them) in our front yard, because they are right up next to the house, and would most likely land on the house or one of our vehicles if they ever did fall.) ANYWAY, I took a few pictures of the trees and the front of our home, and then I went back inside with Rylee and sat her on the living room floor and took some pictures of her while she blew spit bubbles and "raspberries" and clapped and sucked on her fingers and played with her toes and yawned and just looked all-around cute. She's good at that.
Below are some of the pictures I took today.
P.S. I can't believe it's already March.
Another P.S. I can't believe Rylee will be nine months old in two weeks.

the Willow tree in our backyard

another angle/view of the Willow tree in our backyard

the large Bradford Pear tree in our front yard

the right half of our home

the left half of our home (part of which is hidden by the tree)

the big, beautiful (stinky) Bradford Pear tree in our front yard

side/angled view of our home and front yard

Bradford Pear tree

close-up of the large Bradford Pear tree in our front yard

yummy fingers

yawn

clapping and blowing "raspberries"

playing with those precious little feet

checking out what's going on outside

another yawn

more clapping

weird face

Am I the only one who sees the attitude in her eyes and in the way she has her lips pursed like that?

My Heart is Hurting...

As I mentioned in my last blog (and maybe in more than just the last blog... I can't remember), I feel like I'm in a a bit of a funk right now, as far as blogging goes. I have a desire to blog often, because I enjoy writing, but lately I feel like I just don't really have anything to blog about, other than my typical, every-day life (and I think that would probably get old even to me, after posting basically the same thing for a few days. Example: "This morning, I woke up and got Rylee up. I fed Rylee. I played with Rylee. I changed Rylee. I put Rylee down for a nap. I got Rylee up from a nap. I fed Rylee. I played with Rylee. I changed Rylee. I put Rylee down for another nap..." See what I mean?). The thing that frustrates me is that later on, when I look back on my day (even if it is one of my "typical, every-day life" days), I can always pick out things that I should've/could've blogged about. I have missed a lot of good blogging opportunities recently, because at the time, I just couldn't find the words I wanted to write about whatever the specific experience at hand was. (How is it that I always end up blogging about blogging?...)
ANYWAY, I originally intended to try to blog about some of the stuff I've been meaning to "catch up" on (Valentine's Day, random updated pictures of Rylee, etc.), but I feel that's almost pointless now. I've gotten so behind (in such a short amount of time) that I can't really remember what all I wanted to mention anyway. So I figure instead that I'll just write about where I'm at right now - today... what's going on in my life, and in the lives of some of the people around me. (Before I continue any further with this post, I feel I should warn you that it may turn out to be rather long (if you know me at all, this shouldn't surprise you), and it will more than likely be very sporadic, written almost in a stream of consciousness sort of way, because I've got a lot on my mind, and I'm finding it hard to keep my thoughts corralled. I'll do my best to make it flow as smoothly as possible, but bear with me. Okay... back to the post.)
The last few days (particularly since Sunday), I have been feeling rather emotional. There are many people around me who I love and care about who are going through trials right now, and I'm just hurting for them. My heart is really hurting. I won't mention everyone/everything, but I at least wanted to mention one or two families' situations so you can be praying for them.
For starters, Hollis (the precious baby boy who was born with CDH and a few heart defects who I've mentioned in a couple of my previous blogs here and here) had to go back to the hospital on Febuary 15 after being home less than a month because he was not gaining/could not gain/maintain any weight. Here's how his mom, Kelly, explained the situation on her Facebook: "here's the gist: hollis' lungs are underdeveloped and need extra o2 to work. the extra o2 makes his heart work too hard. his heart working too hard makes blood overload his lungs. the blood overloading his lungs makes them exhausted because of their size and inability to deal with so much blood. the lungs can't improve till the heart is fixed. the heart can't be fixed until he gains some weight. he can't gain any weight because his body is burning every calorie he takes in just to breathe and eat. vicious. vicious. cycle." 
That exhausts me just reading it. And there is a three-month-old baby boy LIVING it. Why? Some days I just can't help but to ask God "Why?" Now please don't get me wrong - I fully know and believe that God has a divine plan and purpose for everything He does and allows to happen. But some days, my "human-ness" gets the best of me, and I really struggle with why He allows certain things to happen... and to certain people. Why this family, God? Why Hollis? I tell you, I have been praying a lot for this family and for this baby boy, and during some of those prayers, I have just cried and cried and just BEGGED God to give this family a miracle. And if I'm having this hard of a time with it, what does that mean for Kelly? How does a mommy watch her helpless baby go through something like this? I am blessed to have a healthy 8-month-old little girl, and I simply cannot fathom what I would've done if I'd had to go through something like this with Rylee. I've prayed for God to simply heal Hollis and make it like none of this has happened. But then I realize that if none of this happened, this family would not be who they are today. God is growing them and teaching them and loving them through this entire experience. And He is growing and teaching and loving me and everyone else on this journey with Hollis and his family as well. Has Hollis been healed like so many of us have prayed for? Well... no. But does that mean that God doesn't answer prayer and can't perform miracles? And does that mean that I'm going to quit praying for a miracle for Hollis? No. God hears our prayers, and He has already answered them in many ways. He is performing miracles all around us every day. Every single day Hollis is alive is a miracle. And he is fighting for tomorrow, for another miracle, and we are fighting with him... 
Hollis's open-heart surgery to repair his heart defects was moved up from its original date of March 24 to this Thursday, March 3. PLEASE keep him and his family in your prayers as they prepare for this next step of their journey. Kelly (and Ryan): Remember that God has promised to NEVER give us more than we can handle. And you guys are "handling" this like pros. You are strong. Because He is strong. I know you know all of this. I just know it helps sometimes to be reminded/encouraged. You are loved and being prayed for more than you will ever know.
Before I end this post (which has already run away from me... I told you it would...), I wanted to mention one other family that I learned of on Sunday - James and Kellie Staats. I don't personally know this family, but a Facebook friend of mine posted a link to Kellie's blog and asked for prayers for them. I checked out the blog, and ended up having to dig out a box of Kleenex because I was crying so hard. This poor young woman and her husband just lost their beautiful 4-month-old baby girl, Maddie, on February 17. Her death was quite unexpected, as she was seemingly perfectly healthy. It is believed that she died from SIDS (she was napping at a babysitter's, and when the sitter went in to check on her, she was blue and not breathing), but they won't be sure for possibly several more months yet. Like I said, I don't know this family, but being a mommy myself (and of a little girl, no less), my heart literally broke as I read the anguish that this family has experienced the last couple of weeks. I simply cannot imagine experiencing that. Rylee is my life, and I don't know what I would do without her now. I admire this woman's courage in blogging through this experience to share it with others. I don't know that I could do it if I was her, but by reading her posts, I can tell that it's one of her ways of coping. So please keep this family in your prayers as well. You may not know them (or the first family I mentioned), but that doesn't mean you can't pray for them. 


"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 1:2-4

Happy Birthday to Me!

Dear Blog,
I'm so sorry I haven't been very consistent in my writing lately. I promise I haven't forgotten about you, but I seem to be going through a phase where I feel like I just don't have much of anything to blog about. And the few times recently that I have wanted to write about something, I haven't been able to get the words out they way I wanted, so I just haven't worried about it. It's been rather frustrating, but nevertheless, I just haven't had much motivation to blog lately. Hopefully I'll get over it soon. In the meantime, I at least wanted to take a minute to blog about yesterday/today.
Today is my 21st birthday. (I'll give you a minute to sing "Happy Birthday" to me before I continue... Done? Aww, thanks! Okay, back to the blog.) The "celebration" actually started back on Friday night when two of my best friends, April and KD, showed up at my house unannounced to visit for a little while. We ended up just sitting around talking until about 11:30 that night. I don't get to see either one of them much at all anymore, so it felt so good to just hang out with them until late at night like the "old days" back when we were the "Three Musketeers" in high school. Anyway, while they were here, they presented me with my birthday present from them: a $30 Publix gift card. They know me so well. April told me I should look at it as a $30-off COUPON - even better. I love my coupons. Needless to say, I can't wait until Wednesday to do my grocery shopping with my birthday gift card.
Saturday was/is a major blur to me now, so if we did anything birthday-related, I honestly can't remember it at all now. I think it was a pretty laid-back day, so I'll just leave it at that. On Sunday, Jordan, Rylee, and I went to church as usual, and afterward, we went to the Dollar Tree to buy a newspaper and then to the Food Outlet to buy some hamburger meat. I had been bugging Jordan all morning about our plans for lunch. I had asked him a few days ago if he had gotten with my mom to make any plans for us to spend some time  together with my family for my birthday. I didn't care if we did anything major or not - I just wanted to see my family on my "special" day. He told me that he had talked to my mom, and that we would go over to my parents' house to visit after church. I asked him if we were eating lunch with them; his response: "I don't know. I don't remember. We talked about it like... two days ago. I can't remember. I think we are." Yeah. Was he serious?! To be honest, it was really starting to upset me, because every time I asked him about it, it seemed as if he almost didn't care that he hadn't made the effort to at least put together some semi-solid plans for my birthday. Again, I wasn't expecting anything major. I just at least would've liked to have known if I needed to eat some lunch at home before we went to my parents' house, or if we were supposed to be eating with them. Anyway, after we had grabbed a few things from the Food Outlet, we headed home. When we were about a minute away from home, Jordan randomly asked me if I wanted to go look at a house that was for sale down a nearby road. Considering the fact that we just moved into our current home four months ago, and we are in no need to buy a new house, I told him that I really just wanted to get home so I could grab a bite to eat if need-be before we went to my parents' house. I thought it was really weird that he asked me that question, but I still didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. As he pulled into our driveway, I realized that someone else was pulling in right in front of us - my brother's girlfriend, Brittany. Someone was also pulling in right behind us - my friend, April. Then I looked at our front porch and realized that it was full of some of my family and friends waiting on us. (They had all parked their vehicles in our fenced-in backyard so I couldn't see them.) Among them was my daddy, who traveled about eight and a half hours all the way from central Florida. Needless to say, I cried. I was definitely surprised, and Jordan couldn't help but laugh. He was rather proud of himself that he'd been able to pull it off. Shortly after we got home, my parents and brother and sister showed up with a big, beautiful chocolate cake. We ate pizza and cake and ice cream, and I felt very loved (not that I ever don't feel loved, but you know what I mean). It was a good day.
Today, I took the day off work (I usually work 6-12 every Monday and 8-12 every Saturday now at Coffee & Co. in Millbrook) so I could relax and spend time with my family. Jordan and I had plans to go to lunch at Red Lobster while my mom watched Rylee for us, but late in the morning, I got a bit of a headache, and my stomach started feeling yucky. Unfortunately we had to postpone our lunch plans and stay home since I wasn't feeling well, but it was still nice to spend time with my family. I'm so thankful for the twenty-one years that God has blessed me with so far, and I pray He allows me many more with the wonderful people He has placed in my life here on earth.
Below are a few pictures I wanted to share from yesterday and today. I hope to blog again in the next day or two to update on Rylee, Valentine's Day, and anything else I can think of that's been going on lately, and to share some pictures of those things as well.

my beautiful birthday cake

my sweet girl and me on my birthday

Rylee getting kisses from the birthday Mommy

our little family (sweet Rylee is giving me a kiss)

I Love My Little Sister

Today when I checked the mail, there was an envelope addressed to Jordan and me from my nine-year-old little sister Amanda. (She only lives five minutes away from us, but every now and then, she likes to send us mail.) When I opened the envelope, there were two sheets of notebook paper inside. The first sheet read as follows:

READ FIRST

In school we wrote about someone we admire or look up to. Well, I wrote sort of about a family, and guess what family I picked. It was...

The second sheet read (with a few grammatical/punctuation/spelling adjustments made by me):

My sister is a person I really look up to. I want to be like her when I'm older because she is so lucky to have a husband which is my brother-in-law that does so much for them. He works for UPS and Home Depot. He only gets so much sleep in a day. I know some day I will grow up and be like my sister, and have a good husband. My sister also has a daughter which is my niece that brings so much joy to me! Not only do I make her laugh, but she makes me laugh. My sister teaches me some things too. Some of them my mom has already taught me, and some day when I grow up I will be like my sister and look up to her till the end.

I love my little sister.

I've Arrived in the World!

I love the blogging world. There are a few blogs I follow on a daily basis (and by "daily basis", I mean I check them SEVERAL times a day), and it literally brightens my day when I see a new post to read on one of these blogs. These blogs hold the thoughts and daily experiences of some incredible, Godly women who I am blessed to know. Reading their blogs always encourages and uplifts my spirit, usually giving me some good laughs, and always leaving a smile on my face.
One of these blogs (my FAVORITE of all the blogs I follow) is called "Whimsy and Wonder". This blog belongs to a sweet, compassionate, silly, full of life girl named Katrina. Katrina is a friend of my husband Jordan's (they graduated high school together), and therefore, I have had the privilege of getting to know her over the past almost-three years. Because I'm so awesome (just kidding... but really, I am at least a LITTLE bit awesome, right?...), Katrina fell in love with me right away and claimed me as her new best friend (a true honor for me... I'm telling you, you've got to get to know this girl if you don't already). Anyway, we FINALLY had our first real hang-out together at my house on Thursday - a hang-out that was WAY overdue (like I said, we've known each other for almost three years now).
Katrina came over for a few hours on Thursday afternoon to have lunch with us and visit and play with Rylee (which I'm sure was her favorite part of the visit. Can't blame her, though. I mean, Rylee is one cute kid. She must get it from her mother...). We had a nice visit, and the whole time, in the back of my mind, I was wondering if she might blog about it when she got home. Would she? Could she? Was her visit with little ol' me even blog-worthy? As I have told her before, she could blog about watching paint dry, and it would still be one of the best things I've ever read. Seriously.
Anyway, later that evening after she had been gone for a few hours, I checked my Facebook, and there was a comment from Katrina that read as follows: "You've arrived in the world... check the blog. Oooooh yeah, baby!" Could it be?! Did I really make an appearance in THE blog?! I typed in the URL to her blog as quickly as my fingers could fly across the keyboard, and sure enough, when the page loaded, there it was in all its glory: "And the award for big debut in a blog goes to...Rylee!" Oh yes. It was beautiful. Katrina had written a WHOLE blog post all about me (okay, so the title has Rylee's name... but she does write about me in it too)! I attempted to read the post out loud to Jordan, but failed rather miserably as I was laughing too hard (the "p.s." part pretty much had me rolling on the floor). It definitely made my night. Thank you, Katrina! I am honored!
(Yes, I did just blog about being blogged about.)

Captain Awesomepants

Well, it's been a few days since my last post, which kinda bums me out in a silly way. I know there's no rule that says I have to blog every day, but I enjoy it, so I've almost felt frustrated that I haven't really had much to write about the past week or so. I guess you could say I've had "blogger's block".
I still don't have any major updates from my everyday life, but I do have some exciting news that I wanted to share real quick, as it is an answer to one of the prayer requests I mentioned in one of my earlier posts. This past Thursday (January 27), Hollis FINALLY got to come home from the hospital, just one day shy of his two-month birthday. Last night, I made dinner for his family and got to meet him for the first time. I cannot adequately express in words how excited I was to finally meet him and, even better, hold him in my arms. I have been praying for him since before he was born, and although he still has a long road ahead of him (including open-heart surgery sometime before the end of May), he has been such a fighter and has come such a long way! I am so thankful to see how God has answered prayers for Hollis and his family.

Below are a few pictures of me with Hollis, aka: Captain Awesomepants (I look rough, but hopefully you won't notice since you'll be so distracted by his adorableness).