Struck down, but not destroyed....

Many of you know that a short time ago we announced that we were expecting our 2nd child....we had our first ultrasound on December 22 & saw the baby with its tiny heartbeat at only 6 1/2 weeks! It was amazing. A few days ago I started having some problems & we went in to the Dr. for an ultrasound where our fears were confirmed. Our little baby's heart had stopped. My Dr. was very kind & compassionate with us, as we had been trying for a while to have this baby. I had to have a procedure done & she scheduled it immediately. It is a blessing to have a Dr. that is so empathetic. She hugged me & Stewart and told us she was sorry & was very reassuring. She told us it was probably a chromosomal defect or could have been a heart defect or something else very serious. It is kind of a blur really. It seems like something you always hear about but would never really happen to you. As we Stewart & I waited for my procedure, one of the nurses & the nurse anethesist both told me they had been through miscarriages as well. They were both nice ladies, and I believe God placed them there to comfort me because they have been through it. As I woke up from surgery, the nurse taking care of me talked to me & we talked about how the Lord gets you through these times in your life. God has really spoken to me & Stewart over the past few days. Stewart reminded me of the scripture that says that God gives us the good & the hard times & we have to praise him through them all. That is so true. Rylie has a CD with bible verses that are set to music & one ran through my head yesterday..."Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not unto your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him & He shall direct your paths" how appropriate. Our ways are not His ways.....when things don't happen just as we think they should, that is just the problem....that is the way WE think they should be & not the perfect plan that God has for our lives. I would have never wanted this, but there is a reason God is taking us through this pain. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 it says"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." I read this verse the night before I had the miscarriage. I prayed so hard for God to save this baby as I began to have complications, but that wasn't his will. He has a bigger plan, but we have yet to see it. I know that he has provided us with the most gracious, caring group of friends & family that we could ask for. They have showered our family with prayers, cards, flowers, great food & more than anything compassion & love. They have cried with us & held us in our tears. I am so thankful to have a husband who is such a godly man & has been so strong through this time. I know he is hurting, too, but he puts me first. I thank God for our beautiful daughter, also. He has already blessed us so richly! So, as for me & my house...we will continue to serve the Lord & wait for whatever blessings that may be in his will for our future! Thank you all for everything you have done for us....we love you!

Merry Christmas!!

These are some pics of Rylie's recent photo shoot. She is 2 years old...I can't believe it! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! God has blessed our family so richly....I praise God for giving us such wonderful friends & family & most of all for giving us his precious son ....our Saviour! Let us not forget what we are celebrating during this wonderful season:) Have a great Christmas & God Bless!

Rylie's 2nd Birthday!!

It is so hard to believe that our baby girl is 2! Times flies....it is true, they grow up so fast! Here are some pics from her birthday party. We had a "Charlotte's Web" theme, so we staged a county fair. The only hitch was that it was FREEZING that day, so instead of the back yard, we had to use the garage. We had balloon animals, face painting, a popcorn machine, a booth to get your picture with Wilbur & friends, go fishing & the infamous CORN PIT! Yes, you heard right...a pit of dried corn for the kids to play in until their hearts content! This is Rylie in the corn pit, holding a pig (of course). I hid lots of farm animals in the corn for the kids to find. She is into baby dolls right now & holds everything like a baby, as seen here!

It was very hard to find anything resembling Charlotte's Web, so I had to make do & use some ingenuity! I managed to find this little gem at a local shop that sells all things for the would-be baker:) I was so excited! It is the only authentic Charlotte's Web thing I could find......Rylie has played with Wilbur every day since the party (he comes off the base). Today, while carrying her to the car, I heard her begin to wail....she had dropped Wilbur in the grass & leaves! The wailing did not cease until I found Wilbur (not easy)!


Some of the cookies on a stick & pig cupcakes I made for the shin-dig! I made pig & spider cupcakes & the cookies were barns, blue ribbons, and of course...pigs & spider webs!

Kaylen & Jonah were at her side to assist in the gift opening! She got so many cute gifts:)

We wove "Happy Birthday Rylie" into the web, as if Charlotte wrote it for her! Here she is posing with Templeton (the rat) & Wilbur! She loves them both & wants to take them everywhere....we get some odd looks.....

Here aer some of the kids at the fishing booth. They caught live goldfish & got to take them home! Somehow, we still have 5......goldfish anyone?

Wolfing down some pig cupcakes before heading back to the corn pit.....

And here is Rylie with some of her guests, playing in the corn. I must say, it was the hit of the party!

All the kids posed for their picture...here is Rylie:) I painted this with the help of Dawn's projector!! Thanks, Dawn:)

Rylie posing in her "I'm 2" t-shirt"....I made this one like the owl shirt. This is so easy & fun...you should try it!


" Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done."

-Chronicles 16:8

**Thank you God, for our baby girl!!!

Halloween pics....now that it is almost Thanksgiving!!

While surfing eBay, I came across this little cowgirl outfit up for bid & decided to make it myself. It took some coercing, but we got the majority of the costume on our little cowgirl! At first, she wouldn't wear the hat or boots or the bandanna on her neck....2 out of 3 ain't bad! (We ended up putting the bandanna on her horse, who we dubbed "Butterscotch"!

After about an HOUR, our little Annie Oakley decided she would in fact participate in the games at the fall festival. (Finicky, those 2 year olds!) When she got to this booth, we had to make her leave so other kids could have a turn. Then she forgot to get her "prize"...a.k.a. CANDY! She went back in the booth with her loot bag & practically threw it at the man & looked up at him expectantly, without a word! She got her candy:)

Here she is modeling her ensemble....riding off into the sunset!

Giddy up, Butterscotch!

Rylie at the petting zoo...she liked this big fat bunny!

Some Randoms....

This was taken at Hayden's 4th birthday party at the children's museum in Gadsden. That place is awesome! This is just one of the stations set up for kids to pretend....a vet's office, complete with kennels of puppies & kittens that the kids can "treat". Here, Haleigh & Rylie are giving shots to this poor unsuspecting bulldog, over & over!

Yes, that is indeed my child eating the cake with her face! She wastes no time with petty utensils or even her hands....this girl knows how to party!

This is Rylie at Carter's 2nd birthday party...note the look on her face! She kept watching him eat...it was cute! (Also, check out her shirt...I made it! I have been into projects lately & this one was fun & easy:)

I was not even kidding when I said she has a mild obsession with Charlotte's Web right now! Here, she is watching the cartoon while sitting with "Wilbur" & "Templeton". We bought these for her birthday party, which will be themed...you guessed it....Charlotte's Web! She got so excited when she saw these & people thought I was a wierdo for buying her a stuffed rat I am sure!

Family Pumpkin Carve!

We had a family pumpkin carve night...1st Annual! First, we chose a design for our pumpkin & carved it, while eating chili & watching "The Great Pumpkin". (Stewart made fun of me for checking this out at the library, since it comes on TV every year! But what would a family pumpkin carving night be without watching The Great Pumpkin?) Then, Rylie & I made some decorations for the front door & we finished off the evening with a batch of orange sugar cookies that looked like jack-o-lanterns with all different facial expressions! Rylie loved the finished product so much, she kissed it! (See above picture:)

Of course we chose the spider web, since Rylie is into all things "Charlotte's Web" these days!

Here are the cut-outs we made for the front door.....Rylie kept ripping the eyes off the pumpkin for some reason....

Rylie, posing by the jack-o-lantern!

Enjoying a pumpkin cookie!

Showing Daddy how it's done!

Trying on her pig mask that she got at Hayden's birthday party! (Once again, a throw back to "Wilbur" from Charlotte's Web"....I am telling you she loves it!

Cleaning out the slimy pumpkin guts!!

Pumpkin Patch 2008

This is our 2nd Annual trip to Tate Farms.....we had so much fun! This year we went with the Wilsons, and Kaylen & Rylie had a blast!

Our little sunflower:)

Rylie and Kaylen, oh-so-carefully picking only the best pumpkins. Rylie's litmus test....to sit on the pumpkin & make sure it was the right one! She actually sat on one that was rotten & fell right through! She said "that one is broken".

This little guy was a favorite to both girls!

How about this one?

Yep....seems just right!

Carefully inspecting.....

The hayride to the pumpkin patch was lots of fun!

Dawn & I decided to get in the corn pit with the kids! I can see why they love it so much....it was the highlight of their trip!

They could have stayed here all day! Let me just say.....corn pit + overalls.....needless to say, we brought home quite a bit of corn as an unexpected souvenir! Even after I thought most of it fell out, I still had it in the washing machine & the lint filter of the dryer! It was soooo worth it, though! Too cute! (Thanks, BB for the CUTE overalls!)

Little farmer!

"I picked you a flow-der! Wanna hold it?" ( She loves to ask you if you want to hold something these days, from a baby doll to a flower, whatever it may be! Always say yes....I think she considers it impolite to turn this request down!You just hold it for a minute & then give it right back...pretty funny.)

Getting so big!

Pumpkins for days!!