Thoughts on new beginnings.....

According to the clock on the computer in my grandparents' house, it is 11:29 pm. Central Standard Time, December 31, 2008. We have about a half an hour until the new year begins. Let's see....2009....one big thing coming up this year for me is a biggie birthday....40! Laura will turn 5 and start kindergarten and Kevin and I will celebrate seven years of marriage.

I love to look ahead but know that there are no guarantees to any of those things. If the Lord wills and we live we will be blessed to share those joys and their excitement. I've heard a lot of talk on the news today especially about "new beginnings" and how the beginning of a new year wipes the slate clean and we get to start over. What I love about living in faith is that each day brings the new mercies of our Lord and Father. We get to wipe the slate clean, one day at a time with His mercy and grace, each day. He puts our sins and shortcomings behind Him and remembers them no more. Every day. As far as the east is from the west. Wow. I am reminded that we only have today, and that tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. I am humbled to think that God loves me enough to take care of each need and concern each day.....all I have to do is ask! So, as I begin this new year, I will say that my "resolution" will be to live each day, one day at a time, in the care and love of my God. And trust Him with all my tomorrows. I pray you will see His love and mercy with each new day this year.

New Pictures!

Why is it that when I finally post pictures they come out in reverse order? Anyway, I thought I'd update the blog with some pictures of the season with family members and friends. Here is the empty tree at Kevin's mom and dad's place after the presents were all opened. It was supposed to be the last one for some dramatic visual effect, but anyway.....

Okay, now here is the fully loaded tree before Laura got her hands on the presents.

It may be hard to see this one, but she was still long enough to capture it. This is her first bat, ball, and glove set. Princesses and all.

Here is Lindy Grace with her "big" present of the night, but she was far and away more interested in the wrapping paper. She sampled each type of paper before the night was through. I never could guess which was her favorite. This is the "blue snowman" variety of paper...



Here is the "red Santa" type.

Lindy is trying to open her first gift after she had already chewed on it, of course.

Getting ready to open.....

This was a shot of the girls in one set of their matching pjs. I found some really cute sets on sale and grabbed them up!

Lindy and her prunes......

Einstein hair after a bath. This is the only age where a bad hair day is cute!
Lord willing we leave on the morning of Christmas Eve to spend some time in Houston. To say the least we are looking forward to time with family there. I'll post more pictures there. It is good to be in touch again! :)

Wouldn't you know....

Just when we were getting into a good routine and looking forward to traveling to see friends and family in Knoxville.......we all got SICK! It started with Kevin's dad, who passed his cold on to Laura, so we were in the doctor's office twice with her last week.....then Lindy started with a fever of 102 last Sunday morning, more doctor visits and medicine for her.....and then finally, the typical "another one bites the dust" I managed to get it, too. My doctor listened to me Monday and told me my lungs sounded crusty. Not sure how that sounds, but not so good. I think of Jack Nicholson as crusty, you know? Anyway, here we are a week later and we are starting to feel better. The girls are almost completely well now. I'm not quite there but definitely on the mend. We spent most of all last week with Kevin's parents because he was out of town and then I was so sick I just couldn't have taken care of the girls properly without help. I've got some new-ish pictures to post but just don't feel like doing it right now. Kevin has the girls at church and I'm supposed to be asleep. If everyone is well, Lord willing, we'll travel to Knoxville this Thursday to do Lindy's six month pictures. How can she be six months old already???? I'll have to get a video of her new skill: rolling. She rolls everywhere! Our lives have officially changed forever now. The baby is mobile! I write this hoping that you are all keeping well and are not sick like we have been lately.....Happy Sunday!

A Rich Heritage

We traveled this past weekend to Harding University in Searcy, AR, for the annual homecoming celebration. It was wonderful to be there with family we only see once a year. Both sets of my grandparents graduated and married out of Harding, so you could say that our family started there. I loved getting to see my grandparents visit with dear ones they've known for more than 60 years, and couldn't help reflect on the wonderful heritage I have. When I went to Harding to do my Master's work in 1997 I became the third generation Harding student for both sides of my family. I would love it if our girls chose to study there, too. We went to the Homecoming football game and I got to see people I have known since I started teaching in Austin in 1991! I am grateful for the friendship and family ties, and for the role Harding has played in them.

Here we are as a family of four on a Harding swing. Not Christmas card worthy, but the best we could get with two tired children!

Here are four generations sitting on a swing like the one where my grandparents courted 67 years ago!

The weather couldn't have been more beautiful. It was a perfect fall day to get a sweet picture of Laura and Lindy.

Mamama and Lindy after chapel Friday morning.

This is the archway into the campus that has stood in place for many decades.

Ten Promises

Ten Promises No Matter Who Wins The Election:

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings on His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost.

ISN'T IT GOOD TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?

I'm not sure who wrote that but I received it as an email last week, and as the election draws closer and closer I just felt the need to be reminded that Jesus, by His mercy and grace, still has the world in His precious blood-stained hands.

Seven Years Ago Today.....

I went to church with my friends in Knoxville and met the most wonderful man in the world, my sweet husband, Kevin. It was a movie moment, really, for me....I looked across the crowded Bible class and saw him sitting there and thought he was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. When I went upstairs after class and saw him talking to my friends I just knew he was the one for me. By the way, I still think he's the cutest thing I've ever seen. And there is so much more to him. He loves God, he loves his family, he takes care of his mom and dad, he is a fabulous amazing friend, he is so very good at what he does in his career. I couldn't have more gratitude for the blessing of sharing my life with him than I do every October. In a way I remember this day better than our anniversary.....because this was the day everything changed in my life!

So, sweet husband and friend, after seven years, five houses, three cities, and two children, I'm so grateful to share it all with you. God truly blessed the broken road that led me straight to you. I love you so dearly! Thank you for sharing your life with me!

Lindy Eating Cereal

Here is the video I wanted to post last night. Hope you enjoy watching our little doll baby eating her first meal!

Lindy at five months

Here is our big girl on her five month "birthday". She has grown so much! I think she weighs about 13 pounds now. She loves to smile and laugh and is happy almost all the time. Her favorite things right now are Mommy, Daddy, and Laura and any thing she can put in her mouth. She is a drooler so we have her in bibs constantly! As she grows I think she is looking more and more like me, which is really fun.
We tried her on some rice cereal the other night. She actually really enjoyed it and wanted me to put the spoon in her mouth as fast as I could get it to her. I think she actually swallowed some cereal. Most of it dripped on the tray and on her bib.
I tried to upload the video we took of this but it didn't work. It was much cuter than these pictures. Laura was at Grandma's house when we tried this cereal adventure. I haven't done it again yet. Maybe we'll do it today.

Confessions of a Dietitian's Wife and other bits of Randomness

Okay, here goes, I have to admit it. I love white pasta. A lot. And as I dug it out of the back of the pasta section (yes it has a section) of my pantry I realized that I'm a closet white pasta eater. The first step is admitting it, right? So I took a picture of the box after I started cooking the portion I am now eating. When my family is eating pasta I serve I get the healthy stuff. You know, either whole wheat or Barilla brand that is better for you than the "Enriched Spaghetti Product". I don't eat "Pastuerized Processed Cheese Food" but I love white pasta. I suppose this probably wouldn't be really good material for the writers of Desperate Housewives, but in our family this could be considered scandalous! Maybe I should tell Kevin before he reads this post......

Other bits of randomness: Conversations with a Four Year Old

Conversation #1

The other day Laura was disgruntled because I had either given her something she didn't want in the food department or I didn't give her what she wanted. Both happen so often I don't know which it was. Anyway, here is the dialogue to follow:

Kara: "I'm sorry this isn't your favorite, but it is what is good for you and you need/don't need to eat it." (depending on situation listed above)

Laura (now laying in the floor in the living room very dissatisfied with her lot in life): "I don't want to be in my world anymore."

Kara: "Oh really?"

Laura: "No, I want to be in Susan's world. I like it better there."

Kara: No response but laughing out loud. A lot.

Conversation #2

Laura: "When God was a little boy where did he poop?" (excuse the graphic nature of the questions but it is life with a four year old.)

Kara: "Um, well, when Jesus was a little boy I'm sure they had places for pooping.

Laura: "No, not Jesus, I mean God. Where did he poop?"

Kara: "I don't know if God really needs to poop. I'm not sure if He eats or not."

Laura: "If he doesn't eat, how can he live?" "Do you think He likes cheese toast?"

Kara (deciding not to get into theology way over both our heads): "I'll bet that if He eats, I'm sure He'd like cheese toast."

Laura: "Where are the bathrooms in heaven?"

Kara: "I don't think we'll need bathrooms in heaven."

Laura (alarmed): "If there are no bathrooms there where will I go potty?"

Kara (again deciding to take the easy, sensible route): "I'm sure that God will be able to tell you where you can go potty."

Laura: "Okay, what's for lunch?"

What a sweet life we live. So blessed we are to share it with you......

Fall, Already.....

As summer has blended into fall, I thought I'd put up some of the photos from our trips to Texas and New Jersey. I can't believe it is already autumn. It really crept up on me this year!

Here is Laura playing on the beach in Ocean City, NJ, where I played when I was her age.











On the boardwalk with Daddy.
I rode the same rides on the boardwalk when I was little!

Lindy took a good nap under the umbrella. That's a good life!






Dabby is giving some history on our Liberty Bell. Laura was very impressed to see it!

Shopping for Dummies

Well, I tried a not so fun game today I'd like to call, "Shopping for Dummies", in which I am the dummy! I decided that today would be a GREAT day to go to Sears and Target to try on shoes and look at fall dresses and clothes for Laura. Sears went pretty well, actually, except when Laura ran away from me in the Misses' section and decided she wasn't going to leave when it was time to leave. Thankfully there were only like five people in Sears at the time, so we didn't disturb anyone. When we left Sears, which happens to be right across from our house, I thought we might as well go to Target since we are already out and everyone is relatively happy. WRONG! Bad plan, Kara. The first thing Laura wanted to do was carry her favorite stuffed animal, Biscuit, into the store. Dummy Tip #1: NEVER allow a four year old to carry her favorite toy in the store and expect her to keep up with it! I decided to put Lindy in the stroller rather than using a shopping cart because she tends to do better that way. And normally Laura asks to walk rather than being put in the shopping cart. Well, the second we walked in the store Laura announced to me that she was sooooo tired and needed to get in a cart and lie down. Dummy Tip #2: When told this by the four year old, turn around a leave because your Target shopping experience is going to be less than happy. I told her simply that we were going to get the things on the list and that she would be just fine and could sleep in the car on the way home. So she moaned and groaned and tried to climb in the stroller with Lindy as we walked in. I had promised her Sonic as a treat for lunch, so I threatened to take that away if she didn't act like a big girl. Dummy Tip #3: When taking away a treat or privilege, don't threaten to take away something that will be a treat for you, too. The first bit of shopping, other than the moaning from Laura, wasn't actually all that bad. We looked at shoes and found a few of the things I needed to get. It was when we got to the grocery aisle things turned south. I needed some Instant Breakfast and as I reached for it I heard a crash, and this from Laura: "Wow! It's like dominoes!" Dummy Tip #4: Leave. Leave now! Don't get the rest of the stuff on your list. Leave. I turned around and saw about six cereal boxes on the floor that we set up again without too much trouble. But I was determined to get the stuff on my list and it was now a battle between the smart Kara and the Dummy. The Dummy won. And all I could think about was rewarding myself with Sonic once all this was over. By this time, which was only about 25 minutes from entering the store, Lindy was screaming. So I picked her up and Laura climbed in the stroller straightaway. Okay, at least they are both contained. But Laura has quite a range of reaching from a moving stroller. Hadn't thought about that. After knocking over several cheese graters and a salt shaker, I decided it was prudent to go ahead and go. But I'd forgotten the milk. We went back to get that and got to the car successfully. I got Lindy in the car seat and buckled and Laura says, "Where's Biscuit?" You remember Biscuit, right? The stuffed cat from Dummy Tip #1? Yeah. She's missing in action. So we all get back out of the car, Lindy screaming in the car seat, and go back in Target. We walked all over the store to the places we'd visited. No Biscuit. Lindy was asleep, though, nice timing huh? In the end we couldn't find Biscuit, but I did leave my information with the girl at the customer service desk, who was very friendly and sympathetic, and if Biscuit is found, she'll call me. This is going to be a good life lesson for Laura, I think. As much as I hate for her to have lost Biscuit, I think this will help emphasize my point when I don't give in and let her take things inside stores that are a bazillion square feet and have at least that many items to choose from. Places little stuffed kitties can get lost and overlooked so easily. Anyway, she fell asleep in the car on the way to Sonic and the milk was still good by the time we got back to the car. And all is well. I must say that was the best Sonic hamburger I think I've ever had! :) I should have gotten myself an ice cream. Oh well. Tomorrow starts a huge consignment sale at a school near our church down the street from my house. I have a different plan for shopping there: Call Grandma! Happy Thursday!

Added Thursday night: We got the call from Target. Biscuit was indeed found and will be waiting my arrival at Target in the morning. Yay!

Ike update

Update posted Monday night at 10:00 central....my mother emailed to say that they were back online and have power after only 70 hours without it. Really that is pretty good! All are well and only my uncle's home sustained minor damage in the form of a broken storm window. What a blessing it is to know they are safe. Thanks to all who checked in about them!

I just wanted to take a minute to give an update on my family and friends in Texas. As you can see from this image, Hurricane Ike was as big as the state of Texas. Thankfully it wasn't as devastating as they thought it might be, but it still created quite a mess in my home town of Houston. My family lives in the northern suburb of Houston, about 75 miles inland, so they had mostly high winds and lots and lots of rain. They lost their power at around 10 Friday night, and as of Sunday night are still without it. We are grateful that all is okay as far as our family is concerned. We are praying for those who are still in harm's way.

My friend Cindy asked on her blog recently what our pet peeves are and I'll tell you one of mine. People who stubbornly refuse to follow warnings and mandatory evacuation orders when staring a storm the size of Texas in the face. They are not only really, really stupid for doing that to themselves, but for putting others in harm's way.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! We're just grateful the storm is gone now.

Best Friends!

I have lots of pictures from our recent travels to post but I just had to share this one first. This is Laura and her Grandpa, Kevin's dad. They are the best playmates ever! You see the doll who looks like a princess? That is Blondie. Yes, Blondie. I think Grandpa gave her that name. Blondie is very much a part of our family. When they play, Laura is Blondie's mom and Grandpa is Blondie's dad. So that makes me her grandmother and her sister-in-law? A bit too much like "Deliverance" for me. Anyway, there is someone else missing from the picture....Laura's imaginary friend, Aaron. He was at his Grandma's house. His Grandma is our Aunt Betty. When Laura and Grandpa play, they do whatever her imagination says to do, and she has a vivid imagination. They play outside and inside and can go all day long. Grandpa said to me once that he hoped Laura was having as much fun as he was. I'd say she is.

What a tremendous blessing it is to live close to Grandma and Grandpa. I am so grateful that our children will have the benefit of growing up with their grandparents. They help us out with childcare and they feed us regularly, and in general are just wonderful. We love them dearly and thank them for all they do for us.

Happy Friday! I'll put up some of our vacation pictures in the next post.

Tea Time with Dadada

I wanted to post this video, which happens to be my favorite part of our trip to Houston. We were there for a week and dodged the bullet of Gustav. Yesterday we got some cloud cover, an occasional gust of wind, and a little bit of rain. That's my kind of hurricane. :) This video is of Laura and my grandfather, who I call Dadada (His name is Wayne Hemingway, but I named him Dadada when I was a year old) having a cup of tea. Pardon Laura's lack of clothes, but those who know her well will know that her favorite way to be is in her skivvies (sp?). My grandmother, aka Mamama, is seen in the background working on her checkbook.

For those who don't know, my grandparents are 87 & 89 and have been married 66 years. They are two of the most precious and important people in my life, and words can't say how thankful I am to still have them. He still teaches school two days a week. What a treasure this video clip is to me!

We had a wonderful visit with family and friends while we were in Houston. I am so grateful we got to go down. Lord willing, we'll go down as an entire family at Christmas time.

We are excited to be planning to go to New Jersey to see my dad and stepmom on Friday. Speaking of hurricanes, Hanna is supposed to be visiting the eastern seaboard and to New Jersey by Saturday. And we flew to Houston as Faye was visiting Middle Tennessee last week. It is certainly a busy year for storms!

Happy Tuesday from rain-free Middle Tennessee!

Melinda Grace at three months

It is nearly impossible for me to believe that my baby girl is already three months old! Here are the proofs from her portrait session this week. We made a VERY quick trip up to Knoxville just to do the portraits. Laura had her first year done by this studio and we love them. The dress and bonnet Lindy is in were hand made by a lifetime friend and neighbor of Kevin's parents, and Laura wore them, too. In fact, we did her 18 month portraits in the same dress. Anyway, looking at these beautiful pictures reminds me of just how precious life is, and how very quickly time flies.

On another note, we are so blessed in our recent move. We've already found a wonderful church home, the Western Hills Church of Christ. It is so fun to be getting to know new people there, and to feel so welcome and positive. Laura already loves her class and looks forward to Sundays. She has such a pure heart, though, that she has always looked forward to church and Bible class. Lord willing, the girls and I will be traveling to Houston next Tuesday for a visit with my family there. I'll post pictures of Lindy's meeting my precious grandparents for the first time. We are all really looking forward to that trip. Okay, well, Lindy doesn't really know to look forward to things yet, but Laura and I are excited enough for all of us! :) Happy Friday!

Our Lives by the Numbers

Since our last post:

1: Time we've moved
30: Miles from our old house to the new one
48: Hours' notice we had to pack and move
6: Rooms we had in the old house
12: Rooms we have in this one
10: People it took to get us packed and moved
4: Exceptionally grateful people in our family for our new home and the help we had to get here!
1: Kara, who couldn't help with the move at all because.....
2: Number of surgeries I had in the 10 days prior to the move
3: Days I got to spend in the hospital (Spa Baptist I like to call it)
1000: % Better I am now that all that chaos is over!
Infinite: Ways God shows His great provision, love and faithfulness in our lives

Here is the front of the new house, where Lord willing we'll be for the next 18 months

Lindy's first smiles

I love my girls so very much! To me there isn't anything like those first baby smiles and toothless grins. I was so grateful to get these on film before we went to church yesterday morning. Lindy wakes up every morning grinning and happy and smiling. She's starting to coo a bit, too. I just know her first words are going to be "Mommy I love you!" Actually to me there isn't much that is more precious in the world than hearing Laura say that to me each day. Each day I pray for the grace to remember that the challenging moments are just moments, and to enjoy them because I will miss them some day. What a blessing it is to be allowed to have this family....a husband I cherish and adore, and two children to nurture in the love of Jesus. Happy Monday!

About Freedom......

Happy Independence Day! I won't go on and on about the Fourth of July like I would like to......Let me just say that I have had the privilege of spending two Independce Day holidays outside the United States in places that wanted freedom desperately. I always have been a proud American, but those experiences gave me tremendous gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy! I am grateful today for the fact that our freedom as Americans is protected by so many volunteers all over the world, and as I write this there are many thousands who are putting themselves in harm's way to give me the opportunity to thank them. I'll bet those rag tag rebels who gathered together to sign and send the Declaration of Independence 232 years ago had no conception of how they would affect the rest of world history.

Freedom is not free.....I am also grateful today for the Savior who gave His precious life to allow me to be free from sin and death, and free to live in His grace every moment of every day. As I am free, I am also reminded that I am bought and paid for with a price. Praise God for His tender mercies which are new every morning.

Okay, enough preaching. Our July 4th dawned with a gray sky and thunderstorms, which are very welcome here. We are having another very dry summer. We are looking forward to a fun day filled with family and food and hopefully some fireworks! Dabby and Grammy, aka Dad and Karen Stokes, will be here some time this afternoon, and Grandpa and Grandma, aka Mom and Dad Capps are coming over for the afternoon and a cookout. We're excited about having a fun day together!

Now about the photos.....last night we took the girls to the park for the community celebration in Hendersonville. We walked around lots of people and had a good time together. Laura and Mommy got to Bungy jump together. Too bad Kevin was giving the baby a bottle and couldn't document Mommy harnessed and flying through the air. :) I did that on my 31st birthday at Fisherman's Wharf in San Fransisco. My mom got it on film and I looked pretty dorky. But, nonetheless, I decided that 39 wasn't too old to Bungy jump just one more time. I can still flip both directions, although I think that will be the last time. Laura did great and had a fun time jumping. She wasn't ready to flip yet although she tried. We were not going to stay for the fireworks because Laura doesn't like the booms and we were afraid the noise would send Lindy Grace into orbit. But we wound up staying longer and caught the fireworks on the way out. I covered Lindy's ears to keep her from the full blast of the booms, and she cried anyway. So I took my hand off her ear for a moment and she quit crying and went to sleep! And as you can see, Laura thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks display. So we're going to try the fireworks in Gallatin tonight. I'll let you know how it goes! Enjoy a happy day with family and friends on this day celebrating our precious freedom!

Save the Lightning Bugs

In this photo you see some of Laura's latest "new best friends". This was actually taken in Hazel Green, AL at the home of our brother and sister-in-law, Steven and Barbara Capps. They were willing to lend us their "bug box" for Laura's evening ritual of catching the lightning bugs.

You'll notice the sand....she is sure that sand makes a REALLY nice bed for the bugs. Unfortunately for the bugs, Laura likes to shake them up a bit, and I'm sure they sustained at least minor abrasions!



I've been meaning to write this post for two weeks now, but I'm actually glad I've given Laura time to truly hone (sp?) the craft of catching lightning bugs! Here you see her actually holding the death chamber, I mean bug box in the process of providing the sand.

Laura has gotten so good at catching these things that she can get several in each fist before she puts them in captivity. I must refer you to the post about whose child this is because again, those who know me at all, and certainly know me well will know that catching bugs of any variety has never, ever been on my agenda. And certainly not something I would consider fun. But, I found out about the things a mother will do for her child during this visit to Alabama. One of the victims, I mean lightning bugs, was a little too high for Laura to catch, so she said, "You catch it for me, Mama!" Okay, what mother would refuse that request. So, ignoring every pore of my being telling me NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I reached up and very gently, with the least amount of contact possible (for the bugs, of course) caught her little friend. I even put it in the box for her. Then I shuddered for five minutes recalling the feeling of that thing in my hand. Eeewww. Yes, I'm a prissy girl. I'm really okay with me, so I'm okay with admitting it. But I'm proud of my girl who likes bugs and mud, too, because it must be good for you somehow to like those things. As I type this, there are about seven or eight lightning bugs flying hopelessly around a homemade bug box in my living room. I titled this post Save the Lightning Bugs because I think that some activist group would want me to prohibit Laura's catching of these bugs. And were it not for the fact that she would be horribly disappointed, I'd go release them into the wild to do whatever it is that they do every day. She keeps asking me what they eat, but somehow I'm not eager to find out because I don't want our house to become a sanctuary for lost and forlorn lightning bugs.

On another note, everyone at our house is well now. Lindy was MUCH better by Sunday morning, which was quite a relief. She goes for her two month visit and shots in the morning. Poor little thing. She's an angel. I look at her and I still wonder if she's real. Then she spits up all the milk she just drank all over my clothes. Yep. She's real. :) Have a happy, blessed day!

What a week!

So much for the frequent updates on my blog! I had big plans for a new post about Laura's new favorite thing to do: catch fireflies. I'll probably do that soon, but I thought I'd put an update on how our little ones are doing. You probably can tell that the photo is a hospital bracelet for Lindy Grace. It has been a busy week taking care of sick children in our family life. We were so blessed to get to go to Knoxville just for the night Sunday night to be part of an anniversary celebration for our dear friends, Rosemary and Bill Pryor. They have been married 45 years, and their children had a surprise party for them with people from our Laurel church family. It was so wonderful to get to be with the precious people whom we love so much! Anyway, we woke up Monday morning to go and play with Will and Sam Taylor and I could tell that Laura was a little "off" and not quite herself. She felt a little warm to me, but I wasn't too worried about her. By the time we got over to the Taylors' house, she was very clingy and acting tired and complaining of a tummy ache. So we didn't stay too long (I'm sure Cindy is grateful!) and Cindy sent us home with an old towel in case Laura threw up in the car on the long ride home. Bless her heart, I could really tell she didn't feel at all well because she cried a lot of the way and kept complaining of a tummy ache. We even stopped once to let her throw up, but she didn't. She told me she wanted to wait until she got to Grandma's house. I have to say that was the LONGEST ride from Knoxville to Nashville I think I've ever driven. I had visions of a full blown stomach virus overtaking Laura, and you can imagine what a mess I really didn't want to deal with. Let alone a very sick little girl who I couldn't help since I was driving. Thankfully we got home safely and soundly, and she was running a temp. of 101. Tuesday I called the pediatrician to see if she should be seen and they told me yes since we have a newborn in the house so they could treat whatever Laura had. By the time we got to the doctor, her temp. was 102.5! The doctor said she just had a childhood virus and really there wasn't anything to do for it but help her be comfortable with Tylenol and ibuprofen. Meanwhile, Tuesday night I noticed that Lindy Grace was becoming more fussy and harder to settle. Oh, and all this time Kevin was traveling through Mississippi (that is really fun to type) and Illinois. We were staying with his parents, which was a marvelous help. Wednesday the girls and I came up to our house to play and to get some things done. Unfortunately Lindy was VERY fussy and I couldn't put her down, so we really didn't clean much, but at least Laura got to play. Kevin's mom noticed that she was having a hard time consoling her when she was upset. By Thursday morning, after a long night Wednesday, Lindy was still acting very fussy and I was really concerned. I brought her in to the doctor, who said to watch her and that we might have to go to Vanderbilt Children's if she didn't calm down. When we got home from the doctor Lindy started throwing up and having diarrhea (sp?), and was still very unsettled. Poor little thing, she couldn't even move without wimpering because she felt so bad. By 9:00 last night the doctor called my cell phone to check on her and told us to go ahead and bring her in so that they could just make sure it wasn't anything more than a stomach virus that was making her feel bad and fussy. Kevin came in from his travels at 7:30 last night completely exhausted, only to make a trip to the ER at 9:30. They were fabulous at the ER. They took blood and urine to run tests on, and they even checked her eyes for corneal abrasions, which apparently babies can get from their own tiny fingernails. Sure enough, Lindy has a scratch on her left cornea. Thankfully all her labs came back normal and she wasn't running a fever (very alarming in a baby that small) and she was able to keep down a little Pedialyte. She was a little dehydrated, but we didn't have to do IV fluids since she was able to drink the Pedialyte. We were dismissed with some ointment for her little eye at 3:00 am. Kevin was so tired that I sent him to the van to sleep a bit while we waited for the ER people to do their thing. So he got a little sleep anyway. We got back to his parents' house at about 3:30 am, exhausted but grateful that they didn't have to keep Lindy. She is MUCH better today, and able to keep more down, and she is more quiet and not so fussy. We went in for a follow up with the pediatrician this morning and he said that she should be a lot better by the end of the weekend. I asked them if they have a frequent flyer program there. You know, after two visits the third one is free? Or if they have stock options since we seem to be there so often.

As I sat there last night, all I could do was thank God for His care for us. I am so grateful that we have such magnificent medical care available to us, and that we are able to afford it, and that we have such good insurance. I was also grateful that, although both children had been very ill, they had illnesses that will get better. I am sure that in that same hospital there are children who are dying of cancer and other serious health conditions. I am thankful that at this point in our lives we are not facing anything like that, and that we have two basically healthy, beautiful children. I am praying now, though, that Laura will not pick up the stomach virus that Lindy has so that we don't have her sick again. She really just got better yesterday, even though she had been free of fever for a day and a half.

We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home since Kevin has been out of town so much lately. We're also looking forward to July 4th when my dad and stepmother will be here to share the holiday with us. We have some serious clutter control to do before they come! I've heard it said that cleaning house while children are growing is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing. And with that thought I will start my cleaning, counting our many, many blessings. And I'd also like to congratulate my grandparents, Wayne and Annile Hemingway, on their 66th wedding anniversary, which was yesterday, June 26. They are about my favorite people on the planet, save Kevin and our girls, and I am unspeakably thankful for the many ways they have influenced our lives. Happy anniversary, Mamama and Dadada. Thank you for all you do, and for the love you share with our family!

Making "Pupcakes" with Laura

Laura has been asking to make "pup"cakes for the longest time, so finally I gave in and we had a mother/daughter cooking time making pupcakes. I had intended to put these pictures up in chronological order, but it didn't work. Anyway, I let Laura basically be in charge of the whole operation as it was her idea. We had a ball. She chose white cake and pink frosting with sprinkles. I had to keep myself in check because I was wanting to tell her exactly how to do it, or to do things for her. But the only way for her to learn is to do things by herself. She and I were both very proud of the pupcakes, and they were delicious. We shared them with our next door neighbors and Grandma and Grandpa. The ironic thing is that Laura doesn't like the cake part of the pupcakes, she only likes the icing! This was a loud process because I had to let Lindy Grace sit in her papasan chair while Laura and I worked on the pupcakes. Lindy Grace didn't appreciate that at all and she let us know it. I picked her up when I was doing something I could do with one hand, but I really wanted to do this with just Laura. I am learning to treasure moments like this because the day is coming when she won't want to do things with me, and her sweet hugs and kisses will be few and far between. I wish I could put the smell of these pupcakes baking on this blog because they smelled WONDERFUL and really tasted good, too. Laura made sure to sample what we were making all along the way and she was pretty impressed with herself. So without saying much more, I'll let you look at the pictures. We love the sprinkles!
The fun part was licking the sprinkles off the plate.


Sprinkles anyone?
Here she is with her finished pupcakes.

This is actually the first picture as we got started.
Who doesn't like licking the beaters? Raw eggs? Oh well!
Laura filled these up all by herself

and I finished them when she was done.

Getting the pupcakes ready to bake.....
We mixed red food coloring with white icing to make pink.

It was really fun for me to watch her enjoy

making a different color.



Stay tuned for the next post......Laura and the lightning bugs!