The Whole Weekend Was A Blur

Last weekend was pretty special. We celebrated Matt's birthday and the Kirksey's came to Tyler too. So here are a few highlights.

Emery is turning into a wiggly little girl - here she is trying to sit up. She either wants to sit up, stand up, roll over or grab something. It's pretty cute.

Speaking of blurs - here's Camryn doing her thing - being very busy.

Still - for a few seconds (and flash adjusted).

Two sweet girls, ready for church.

Oh - little girls in cute pink dresses, aah.

Speaking of cute dresses - here's another one. What's a little drool between friends?
"Ah Grasshopper - listen to your wise OK".

After church on Sunday, we celebrated Matt's birthday. Let's just say it starts with a 3 and ends with an 0. Anyway Beth created a fiesta brunch! Right there in Flint. We had Mexican Breakfast Casserole, fruit salad, guacamole (so delicious), black refried beans, and...

.......cake balls. Very delicious.

Beth collected pictures from Matt's mom, Martha and displayed them (fiesta style) on her dining room wall. I especially like the one of him with a paper bag on his head. But they were all cute.

And yes, it was SNOWING outside. In fact it snowed all day. It wasn't very "fiestaish".

It takes a village to get a baby in a highchair and adjust the straps.

Happy Birthday Matt!!

Someone extra special was here to celebrate with him this year.

On Monday morning Beth came over to say goodbye. Here are Emery and Camryn giving goodbye hugs and kisses. I'll post a video of this soon. They are so cute.

Smile girls! And yes I cut Greg's head off, but he was smiling too.

Emery thinks Uncle Tyson is pretty special.

Giddyup

Here's a video from Camryn's birthday with the big pony, Greg(OK) and Tim (Grandad).

Our Little Flint Farmer

Emery visited last week. She loves her farm exersaucer.

Isn't That A Coincidence?

These are some thank you cards that I got from my my daughters. The top one is from Sarah, thanking us for Camryn's birthday gifts. The bottom one is from Beth thanking us for Emery's bedding, etc. ANYWAY, notice any similarities? I think my girls sometimes think alike!!!

I appreciate any thank you. Facebook is okay. E-mail is okay. A phone call - fine. You don't even have to say thank you!! I'm pretty sure any gift is appreciated. But a hand-written thank you from your precious daughter, baby girl , loved one is priceless.

The Last Few Days

Last Friday I watched Emery eat green beans for the first time. She always makes this funny little face when Beth gives her something new and then she proceeds to eat the whole bowl of WHATEVER. It was a beautiful sunny day so we went for a little walk around Beth's neighborhood.
Then I tried to get a picture of Emery with Gigi. I think Beth was doing laundry or something. Smile Emery!


Emery look at the camera!


Emery? Oh well I give up.

On the following Tuesday morning, I picked Camryn up from the Kirksey's. Sarah and Tyson went on a much deserved cruise and the grandparents got to keep Little C. The only problem was that she had started running a little temp. Probably just a little cold.

But it didn't seem too bad. I called her doctor in Carrollton (Dr. Grubb!) and his nurse said to watch it, and bring her in if it wasn't gone in 3 days. Tylenol seemed to help, so we weren't too worried. She LOVES watching herself in the digital picture frame, by the way. She says "gi", or "ga" or something like that everytime. So cute.

Still watching......

She loves OK.

But late that night things didn't go so well. She woke from fitful sleep around 3:30 and was very hot! I got 103.7, and at that point we decided it was time to take her to the urgent care place around the corner that is open 24/7. Only problem was that it wasn't open, so we drove to the ER (I ran red lights). When they took her temp there it was 104.5. They tested her for RSV (which was what I was afraid she had) and H1N1. Thankfully it was neither and turned out to be an ear infection!

So... amoxycillin and more tylenol. And things got a little better. Here she is playing the next morning.

She has such a sweet little spirit.

And for some reason she loves to play with the remote, even though Sarah and Tyson don't let her watch TV!


Sarah made this cute little ruffly shirt for her!

She got lots of hugs. And then on Thursday we drove her back to Carrollton. To her own bed and her mommy and daddy.

When Sarah walked in she knew immediately that Camryn wasn't well. "Uh oh, a runny nose - has she been sick?" So we stood there and told them the whole story. But they took it well, and gave Camryn lots of HUGS. No, things didn't turn out as planned, but she's ok and I can't wait till she comes back to see us. Next time no runny nose!

Emery - GooBoo

There are some things we need to get clear about Emery. First of all, she was SIX months old on Wednesday. And obviously - she's lots of fun. Here she is helping Beth and I scrapbook. She's in such a good mood, and was so helpful. Well, she WAS in a good mood and then Gigi tried to get in the picture. Really she loves me. Really.

Again - the hair. It's soft, it's blonde, it's flully. I love it.

She finds her feet when her socks are off. It's been so cold that hasn't happened all that much, but it's so cute when she makes a grab at them.

An no, she's not all that happy about tummy time. But it's getting better, and we get such cute pictures when she's on her tummy.

Emery Elizabeth - you're adorable. Oh I almost forgot - yes, Beth and Matt call her GooBoo.

I Had A Little Bit Of A Bad Day Yesterday

I had a little bit of a bad day yesterday - and not really BAD, just questioning, wondering, asking why kind of day.

Really there were some fun moments - I met Beth and Emery at Babies R Us and I held Emery while Beth bought diapers. I worked on a sewing project, planned out my lesson for Wednesday night (16 little whippersnappers - it's a big class). I cooked pizza and made a big salad. We watched Lost and I still feel a little lost about it all. I stayed up and finished Anne of Green Gables. So you see I actually had a pretty nice kind of day.

But my mind would not leave me alone with peaceful thoughts about babies, Bible class, pizza and TV shows. I kept thinking about the people of The Gathering/Karing Kitchen. What am I doing down there? Am I helping? Are we doing any good at all? Are people loving Jesus because of it all? Why do so many who come choose the same destructive behavior over and over? How do they live with all the sadness and struggle in their lives?

Pam - a single mom who has been in an abusive relationship for the last 3 years. Her boyfriend is in jail because he beat her, but she's saying things like, "He's really not so bad." And "I miss him." And "I wonder how he's doing?"

Sheila - got married a couple of weeks ago to a man she'd known for about 5 minutes. It's not her first marriage. Sigh. Why?

Regina - a crack addict who on Monday night said, "Miss Dana, you know I take drugs and I can't stop - don't you?" Yes I knew. She's got kids.

Mary Jane and Robert - a couple who have had their little daughter taken from them, and probably with good reason. But they miss her, mourn for her, and they don't get to see her. Their electricty is about to be cut off. Do I give them the $50 to keep the lights on?

Darryl - seemed really down Monday night. I know he struggles with depression.

Joy - a beautiful schizophrenic whose Honduran boyfriend was deported last week. He'd lived in the US for 14 years and was rounded up at work. She said to me, "He kept me sane! What am I going to do!!" I went to check on her Monday evening and she was watching movies with a "friend". How do I even begin to make a difference in her life?

The two tables of Hispanic men who come every Monday night. I really can't communicate with them, but they always smile and try to tell me thank you for the food. I know they're separated from their families and probably stand out on the corner at El Michoacan every day to get work.

These are just a few of the people that were on my mind yesterday. Don't get me wrong - there are many stories of faith and absolute victory that come out of The Gathering. But yesterday they would not leave me alone with all of their suffering, bad choices and neediness.

I let Greg have it at supper last night. What! Why! How! He listened patiently and said, "We're making a difference. It may not be obvious right now. But we have to love these people. We have to keep trying. We have to pray." I love him so much. I love the words that come out of his mouth. I love his positive attitude and reliance on the Holy Spirit.

So I guess I'll work on my attitude today.