Wee haw

Some of Evie's words:

In place of "yee haw" she says, "wee haw"

Instead of "yogurt" she says, "yo-yo"

She says, "nilk" for "milk"

Evie loves band-aids. She calls them, "man-ays"

She loves "steekers" and begs for a pack of them each time we make a Target run. She puts her stickers on everything and we call it sticker art.

After a messy pizza lunch, Evie says, "was a han" for "wash your hands". I love that one!

"Yesh" is yes in Evie's world.

"Mine" is perfectly clear and sad to say that she says it more than "share". Hopefully, that will change soon... maybe!

I do not want to correct her words until she starts kindergarten. They are just so cute! Grady corrected Gavie Ann's "Fursday" to "Th-ursday" on Christmas Day. Courtney was upset when he taught her the correct way to say it! She was trying to get Gavs to say "fursday" and she wouldn't!

I think I will feel the same if anyone, but me, tries to teach Evie the correct way to enunciate her words!

Artichokes, where are you?

This afternoon I took Evie to run errands with me and left Eden home with Ms. Brittany. Evie and stopped by the grocery to pick up a few items for tomorrows Christmas party at Court's. It's rare to have just Evie with me on errands. I usually am alone or if I'm brave enough, I take them both.
We made a stop at a store I do not often frequent, so I was out of sorts as to which aisles contained what. I said to myself, "I wonder where the artichokes are?" and then Evie shouted as loud as she could, "artichokes, where are you?" It was so cute and made me laugh our entire grocery run!
We got home and were putting Eden in the bath. I asked Evie to try and potty because lately she's been tinting the bath water with her pee pee. She didn't go the first time she sat on the potty. I asked her to sit again and bribed with an M&M. she did it! She emptied a very full bladder right into her froggy potty! Brittany ran downstairs and got the bag of M&MS and we fed the girls while in the tub! It was one small pee for Evie, but one giant sense of accomplishment for me!

Caring for Eden

Evie is beginning to look out for Eden. After the girls ate their lunch meat and cheddar bunnies, I offered Evie homemade banana bread and she said, "Wow! Eden nana bread, Mama." She wanted to make sure Eden partook in the goods. After I had served her the last of the banana bread, she walked over to me and told me, "More nana bread store, mama!"

Evie makes sure that Eden drinks her bottle. If Eden drops it, Evie picks it up and chases Eden down, sticking it back into her mouth. It's so funny to watch. Eden stops what she is doing and lets Evie feed her.


We have one more hour at the house before we go to Courtney's house to play and hang out with a good friend. Courtney and I began sewing her playroom draperies last night. We got all four panels cut, prepped and ready for the big sew. That is what we plan to do this afternoon while hanging with our college friend and refereeing all 6 kiddos. Should be fun!

Court is trying to get her new house decorated before Wednesday. After celebrating Christmas at my grandparent's house for 32 Christmas', we have now decided to move it to Courtney's house. Courtney's home is large and has the largest toy collection. It will keep all 9 children under 6 years of age occupied for the longest amount of time while us adults work puzzles, play games, and catch up on long overdue family time. I'm going to miss my grandparent's home where many memories were made at Christmas. From Christmas plays put together by the cousins, to broken bones, and the laundry room being where all the goodies are kept for after lunch, Spring Valley Road, you will be missed!

Baby steps and conversations

Evie is engaging in conversations. At night, she recalls each part of her day. Last night she told me about the day. First she said, "Ride bus, church mama!" I said, "Yes, Evs. We rode the bus to church. She said, "Mama, music!" I proceeded, "Yes, Evie. You sat with Mommy and Daddy in the Christmas program and listened to 'Happy Birthday Jesus'!" Evie then said, "Fun. Bebe, Poppy's, fun!" I said, "Yes, fun at Bebe and Poppy's and a good nap there too!" She follows with, "More snow, Mama!" And I finished it with, "Yes, little Evie! There was lots of snow today!" Lastly she says, "Jesus Loves Me Dis I Know, Twinkle Twinkle, ABCDEFG.... sing Mama, sing!"

Baby steps are Eden's sole focus! She is determined. She now takes her baby steps running. She isn't playing anymore, she is ready to go! She also tries pulling up onto the couch or ottoman with me and Evie. I place her on one of them with us and then she immediately kicks her little legs around and practices getting down by herself. As soon as she successfully reaches the floor with her toes, she gives me the biggest grin! Love!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVELYN ASHLEY

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVELYN ASHLEY

Friday and Saturday we celebrated Evie's 2nd birthday. She was 2 on December 10th. It felt like my birthday waking up to see her excited about her birthday. And I guess in a way it is my birth-day. I did give birth on that day!

So, Grady and I woke Evie up singing "Happy Birthday". She was singing it with us. We took her downstairs to eat her birthday cake for breakfast that I made the night before in a ramekin. She blew out the candles before we could begin singing "Happy Birthday" again. I wrapped her little chair that goes with her table and she opened that. She was so excited to sit in her chair and eat her cake. It was magical.

Daddy rented Toy Story 2 for Evie to watch on her birthday morning. So, me, Eden, and Evie watched Toy Story 2 while we finished breakfast and got ready for the next birthday celebration. We met my dad, Courtney, Stockton, and Renley at Cracker Barrel for a birthday brunch. Evie had so much fun with her cousins. She loves being with them and often starts talking about them saying, "Mama, Stockton fun. Channing fun. Gavie Ann fun." She lets me know that she has "fun" with them.

Evie and Eden had "birthday naps" and then woke up to Grandma coming over to bring Evie her birthday gift. Gigi also came by to see the birthday girl. Evie was super excited about her new Elmo book that Grandma brought her. It's such a gift to be on this side of life enjoying the good gifts that I see my daughter receive. It's a small glimpse of how the Lord must feel when we receive the gifts that He gives to me.

After Daddy got home, we went to our favorite hamburger dive "Rotier's" downtown. We ate so much and Evie loved every bit of it. Finally, we ended our very fun day with a trip to the Opryland Hotel to see lights and Christmas decor. Evie and Eden enjoyed it. Evie was amazed by everything she saw. She pays attention to details and to people. I can already see a love for others and wanting to reach out to others. If we are at a restaurant or out in public places, she immediately starts waving and saying hi and telling strangers about her sister or what we are doing. My mom tells me that Evie reminds her of my sister (who never has met a stranger in her life). I love that about my sweet Evie. She is outgoing and full of life. I am so thankful for the wonderful 2 years that we have had with her. Our prayer is that the Lord would give her a heart for Himself, a long life filled with her affections being placed in Himself.

 Evie and her Cousins Stockton and Gavie Ann. Gavie Ann and Evie are identical cousins! "They laugh alike, talk alike, you would lose your mind, cause these cousins are two of a kind" Hehehe!

Below is the party I made for Evie. It did not fit very well so she only wore it for a few minutes.

Here is Evie's cake. It is a Dora the Explorer cake gone really really bad. I made a chocolate organic cake twice. The first one fell apart coming out of the mold. The second one was great, but I messed up the food color and was too stressed to get it done. So, as you can see, the Dora the Explorer cake turned out to be a really interesting pastel with the writing done with black icing. It was a sad cake day. I was disappointed with how the cake looked. It did taste delicious! 

 Three of Evie's cousins: Renley, Wade, and Wes

Three more cousins: Adelynne (whom we cannot see because she has her backed turned towards us), Aubrynne (holding onto Adelynne), and Gavie Ann (right)

Aunt Chandra holding Eden in this picture. Eden looks a lot like her auntie!

 Evie with three more of her cousins: Zoe, Jackson, and Madelyn (from L to R)

 Evie with her Poppy, Zoe, and Madelyn

 Evie opening her Dora microphone

Evie opening up her ballerina skirt

Saturday was her birthday party. We had 32 family members over for pizza, cake, and ice cream. There would have been 40 family members if a few more had been able to come to the party. It was a lot of fun! Evie ate pizza, she was able to play with her 13 cousins. She has 14. Cohen was not here to play. And she excitedly blew out her candles 3 times as we sang happy birthday again! It was a wonderful party and I felt so blessed by it. I know that Evie's cup was filled with love from her family.

Big Girl, Eden!

Eden is changing everyday! She is saying, "Nana" (banana), "Da-da", Mama, and my favorite, "Wow!". A few days ago, I put Eden on my hip, and stepped outside to light the grill. As soon as it lit up, Eden said, "Wow!". She is so loud, animated, and wriggly. Sitting still has never been a characteristic of hers. Today she is 11 months and is trying with great efforts to take more than two steps at a time!
 Evie is beginning to talk in complete sentences and sing her A,B,C's! As we do our bedtime routine, Evie asks for the following songs to be sung, "Twinkle, Twinkle", "A,B,C's", and "Jesus Wuvs Me Dis I Know (with an inflection on "dis I know") I love it when she requests the last song because of the inflection she puts on the last three words. It's like she knows that she knows that Jesus loves her!

This week has been filled with fun already. A little Bunco last night, working on my drapes for my dining room tonight (hopefully, I will be able to hang them after I finishing sewing them this evening), playdates scheduled for the week, shopping with my family on Friday night, and then Evie's second birthday party on Saturday! What a fun week planned! So thankful for all that is happening this week. 

Chocolate Cake and Walking Eden

As I write, I am baking a homemade chocolate cake. It's the 3rd one I've made in the past week and a half. One for a party, one for Grady, and this one for the both of us! It's so nice to eat without rules right now with Grady! He has gained 15 pounds in 5 weeks and he has 25 to go! Tonight we had Chicken Parmesan and green beans. Two months ago this meal would have been a no-no. It's so nice to cook whatever we like!

My gratitude for all God has done this year runs deep. There was a grandmother at the park today that told me about the tragedy her and her family have faced. It wrecked me to hear her story. I felt overwhelmed by God's grace for our family this year. I praised the Lord for protecting Courtney when she had meningitis (for this is what the grandmother's daughter had and she lost her legs and part of her right hand), for protection from the E. Coli that Courtney's family had for 2 months, and finally for Grady's recovery and current remission. The Lord is so good. I praise Him for all the miracles. He has saved us from so many things that could have happened this year!

Evie and Eden are changing a little every day. Eden is trying to take steps. She stands up, takes a step, and then crashes to the floor with a big grin on her face. She never cries, just looks up to me with great expectations for my praise. And I proudly give her lots of  cheers for her efforts. She is so aggressive and cute. There is very little finesse and grace with Eden. She cuddles with great passion, grabbing a hand full of skin or hair with her right hand and sticking her left thumb in her mouth. Her cries are deeply passionate and her laughs are contagious. She thinks Evie is hilarious. While taking a bath 2 nights ago, Evie splashed water and Eden thought it was so funny. They spent 10 minutes belly laughing at each other's splashes. It was so sweet and fun to watch.

Evie has hit the drama stage. It so fun to hear her repeat everything we say! She is beginning to talk in sentences and tell us what she really wants. She loves to swing right now and ask at least 3 times a day to go swing. On the other side of her cuteness is the meltdowns that have come along with the drama! Tonight Grady came home, we ate dinner, and then I told him I needed to put myself in time out. And I did. I went Christmas shopping. Whew, I needed some time out of the house away from the drama. Thank you to my sweet husband for putting the girls to bed by himself!

A New Season

This past month has been a whirlwind. Grady went into the Hospital on October 1st and got out on the 18th. He came home for 3 or 4 days in between, but went back in because the pain was too great. We decided to go through with the surgery while waiting in St. Thomas' ER on October 1st. He has worked with several doctors and nutritionists over the past 5 months, he has eaten like a caveman, and taken thousands of dollars worth of medicines and supplements. After all of this, we decided that we wanted our life back! Spending a portion of every week in the hospital was torturing him and me and exhausting us both!

While waiting for his CT scan results, Grady asked me to go buy as many 3 Muskateer bars for which I had change! I laughed and said "sure, whatever you want hunny!" I felt so burdened for him. As his wife, it hurts me to see him waste away and grow so thin. I laughed as I dug through my purse looking for change for his candy bars. We laughed together about him blowing his "caveman diet" that we were paying thousands of dollors to do with a nutritionist from NYC. I think our laughter was a way to supress the tears that we both wanted to let lose. The night before we had wept together for his loss of health, his loss of time spent with the girls, and for so many other things that we feel we have loss through this season.

So, after the ER physician came in and told us that his bowel looked worse than before, we looked at each and knew what the other was thinking. Surgery. This is what we had tried to avoid all year. It was our absolute last option and we had arrived to that point. It seemed like a defeat and another loss we must go through to get past this stage. We had spent months seeking the Lord and asking Him for direction and guidance. And this seemed to be the time to submit to the surgeon and let him do his thing.

Grady scheduled the surgery for October 12 at 1:30 p.m. As this day approached, our emotions and life became more intense. I've never felt so inadequate to express my emotions and feel my feelings. I have completed half of a Master's degree in counseling and this is what I "specialize" in.... loving "to dig in and explore emotions". It was like I was floating through life, going through the motions, and trying to hold it together for the girls and Grady.

Tuesday, October 12, came and the surgery went perfectly. Grady's bowels lacked the infllammation they anticipated being there. There was so much scar tissue from the previous inflammation that food could not pass through and that is what had been causing all the pain. He lost less bowel than they had originally planned to take. They also had an extra surgeon and urologist in the surgery because of the poor condition his bowels appeared to be in on the CT scan. The surgeon needed extra "eyes". He feared he might cut a valve that he did not recognize. While Grady was in the OR, I sat outside with his family, my sister, mom, dad, and a few friends. It was a sweet day fellowshipping with friends and family. It kept my mind off the fears I had and kept me focused on other things. God's grace was thick and gracious. I have not felt it so present in a long time. I think I detached myself from reality for a few weeks. Avoiding those scary emotions was an easy way to "keep it together" during those few hard weeks.

Seeing Grady in his room after recovery was more than I could handle. Again, I was so shut down emotionally, that I looked at him and left the room. Courtney brought me Moe's for dinner and we sat in the waiting room to eat. I spent the next 5 nights with Grady while our sweet family kept the girls. I came home during the days for a few hours to play with the girls and nurse Eden. And then I would go back to the hosptial to spend the night with Grady.

Each day gets easier for him. He weighs 127 pounds wet. He is eating a little more everyday, without pain I might add. I am so thankful for that. Today we all four went to church together and then ate at Panera Bread for lunch. It was so nice to be out together. I am thankful for all of this time. I hate that Grady has endured chronic pain, but our relationship and our family has grown because of this trial.

The girls have grown up so much over the past month. Evie gave up her pacifier or the "ty ty" as she would call it. She wakes up from a nap and asks for "ty ty" and I just repeat back to her "ty ty is bye bye" and she smiles and mimics me. I am so thankful that wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. She is still attached to her blankies but I'm fine with her hanging onto those as long as she wants. Evie also stopped asking for her "wa wa" and began asking for her "water". She is repeating everything we say! My favorite is when she repeats "okay baby".  Evie also got her first bike. Gramps took her to Wally World and she picked out a Schwinn trike. She got a Dora helment with bell. Every other minute she asks to go outside and ride the bike. It's her new favorite thing!


Eden has been trying to take her first steps! Yes, she is only 9 and a half months! Evie walked at 9 and a half months. I had predicted that Eden would be walking by Halloween.She's got one more week to get it! I don't think she will be doing it by then.... and I'll be just fine if she doesn't! Eden has been holding her own bottle and prefers table food over baby food. I'm kinda sad about that one. Grilled cheese and cut up grapes don't seem as healthy as "summer squash" and "raspberries, peaches, and apricots". Eden would eat all day long if we'd allow it. She loves food like her mama! Eden also loves her big sister! They are playing together so much. The other day they spent 10 minutes alone in the living room chasing each other and laughing. I was able to sit down and eat breakfast by myself. Awww.....It was lovely! I long for more of those moments.

To see Evie and Eden with their daddy is priceless. They both cheered in their own sweet ways to his homecoming. It was glorious to see. Eden did her bashful smile and squeal. Evie threw her hands up in the air and yelled "Yay! Daddy"! It was like he never left. And for that I'm grateful. It's what my mama's heart has been praying for.... that the time lost from their daddy would be redeemed.

We also sold our Volvo. I loved my car. It was an idol:-) I had wanted the XC90 for years and I finally got it 2 years ago. We drove to D.C. while living in Virginia Beach and purchased it from a BMW dealer. It was beautiful inside and out. Can you tell it was an idol?!?! With all the medical bills, doctor visits, and homeopathic routes we were taken, we needed to sell it. It was paid for, but we weren't sure how long Grady would be able to keep his job and wanted to be more secure financially. My sweet parents have a 3rd vehicle that they are graciously loaning to us while we wait on medical bills to be adjusted through the health insurance company. We will probably get us a mini-van come Christmas. I'm ready for it though. I think I'm actually going to love it.. That's what all my friends say. I am looking forward to remote control doors. I don't think I'll miss the Volvo after one use of that feature. It'll be like heaven for this mama!

Lastly, I cut all my hair off! And I'm wondering why I didn't do this before. It's one of the best decisions I have ever made! I have washed my hair more in this past week than I usually do in a month! It takes 5 minutes to do!

So, as the leaves change so do our lives. Grady has less "bowels", I have less "hair", Eden and Evie are less work! Thank God for new seasons!

And pics and videos will come soon...

Learning new things in life

Since Grady has been battling with this bout of Crohn's this summer (now into the fall), life has become quite tiresome. It seems that 2010 has been the year for family ailments.Grady has had infection since last fall, followed by trips to the hospital every 3 weeks or so in the Spring, to the summer time spending almost every week in the hospital. In June, Courtney went into the hospital for Meningitis. Grady continued to worsen until he was put on home antibiotics through a picc line. Courtney recovered, and the summer went on with concentration on me, the girls, and Grady. August came and Grady began working with Dr. Biamonte to kill the candida overgrowth in his bowels. It was a quick lesson on learning to let go of the control I try to have on my life.

In August I got the stomach virus and then it began to pass through all of my family. It has been a month and a half battle for Courtney's family. Trevis had it first, then Court. It was passed onto Stockton and then to Channing. Renley contracted the bug, while Gavie Ann suffered only 24 hours. Finally, Courtney was hit with it for the second time around. Oh, and my mom had it twice as well. Whew!

All that to say, our family has been through it this year. This weekend I had to take Eden to Vanderbilt Children's hospital because her fever spiked to 104 and she was breathing weird. It was so scary. She recovered last night and had a very mild fever today but acted completely like herself. I am thanking the Lord for her sweet recovery. I actually got out my Bible last night and read aloud James 5 while anointing her and Grady's head with olive oil. It was Extra Virgin Olive Oil, I might add, and I think it worked. I do believe it helped. Grady hasn't felt good over the past 5 days (he's battling a partial bowel obstruction from home). So, as I type, it sounds like a thunderstorm is beginning, but it's only a faint rumbling. It's coming from Grady's belly. His stomach is trying to push through the food he ate today. I'm just so thankful he was able to eat!


Speaking of food, I made my first batch of homemade mayonnaise today. It didn't quite turn out like it should, but I was happy all the same for trying something new. I mixed the mayo (picture below) into my chicken salad and it tasted wonderfully fresh. Next time I will use my hand held beater instead of my hand held mixer to emulsify the egg yolks and oils together. The picture below does not look very appealing. It tasted much better than it looks. #Learning new things in life

Finding rest.... dreaming of Wal-Mart picture frames

This morning I am longing for a Venti! Especially after I read Court's facebook post that, "It's a Venti kind of morning!" I totally second that! Eden's cutting her top two teeth so, the past few weeks she has been waking up between 12-2 a.m. Last night she didn't wake all night long, but unfortunely my body is like Pavlov's dog. The clock strikes midnight and I'm wide awake. Blahhh!!! I'm tired!!!

Good things come from not finding rest.... like decorating ideas. So, I dreamed up a Wal-Mart trip at about 1:20 a.m. while waiting for Sweet E to awaken for her night cap. I dislike going to Wally World for shopping. But, I'd like to get some really cheap frames, print off some more family pictures, and hang them around the playroom. I  want to spend less than $20 for the entire project, so why not a Wal-Mart run?! Espcially since I've tried to stay home as much as possible this week!

It's the Little Things....

Isn't it the little things that make life grand?

I love that Eden loves chewing on frozen blueberries, bananas, and cherries. It makes us all smile because she makes such a mess and it's fun watching her gnaw on these fruits like they are her last source of food:-)




I love how Eden is starting to pose when the camera comes near her sweet face. She looks so much like her aunts and her lashes are to die for! At this stage she loves sucking her thumb, feeding herself cheerios, and dancing with her momma!

And I love that Evie and Eden are beginning to play together. If I'm holding Eden, or if Eden is in the exersaucer, Evie will ask, "Eden play, momma, Eden play?". She wants me to put Eden on the ground so that she can chase Eden around. They laugh out loud at each other and it makes me smile.

Last, I love that Grady has now been home from the hospital for 2 consecutive weeks in a row! This is the longest period of time he has been out of the hosptial since May and I'm loving it. Not only is it nice to have my husband here with me at night and on the weekends, it is wonderful for the girls to have their daddy home to play with them.

Mooooo Cow

Evie calls Chic-fil-A "Moooo Cow". She loves it. So, yesterday between doctor visits, I packed up and took the girls to the "Moooo Cow". Eden slept in the stroller while Evie ate all 4 chicken nuggets! After that, it was time to pack up and go home to meet Bebe.

Usually, getting the girls buckled into their carseats is fairly easy. Yesterday, I literally spent 15 minutes trying to get both girls in their seats. First, I placed Evie in her car seat, then proceeded to put the stroller in the back while holding Eden. When I opened the door to put Eden in her carseat, I found Evie with a huge grin, sitting in Eden's carseat. I firmly told Evie to climb back into her carseat. That did not work! So, I went to the other side of the car, put Eden in the floorboard, and grabbed Evie kicking and screaming and shoved her into her carseat. Whew!

But while I buckled Evie into her carseat, Eden jumped out of her carseat onto the backseat! I was out of breath by the time I got them buckled in. I had scrapes and bruises from wrestling the both of them and I was between laughing out loud and crying out loud when all was done at the "Moooo Cow". Sometimes, it's just not worth getting out of the house when the ratio is 2 to 1.

Desserts, Diapers, and Dr.Kevin Leman

It's only Wednesday and this week has been so much FUN! Besides the hiccup on Sunday with Grady having a small bowel obstruction. He was able to stay home, endure some heavy pain, and not go into the hospital. Yay for that! And so thankful for some strong pain medication!

Saturday I spent the day with my childhood besties!!! Me, Kristi,  and Courtney took a trip down to Hotlanta to see our other bestie, Amanda who is 9 months prego with sweet baby Jude Anders! We spent the day talking, shopping, and eating! The best day ever in a girl's world. We shopped at Pottery Barn Outlet, IKEA, and then stopped to eat Mexican food at Holy Taco. Afterwards, we drove over to an incredible dessert place called Chocolate Pink Pastery Cafe. It was delish!

It was a piece of heaven for a mama who has been dying to get out of town for just a few hours! I heart roadtrips and this one was spent laughing so hard that my cheeks hurt because my friends are so funny, and getting to see, taste, and smell downtown East Atlanta where Amanda and her sweet family live and do ministry!

Monday came and it was back to reality. I was able to go to Mufreesboro with a few friends to hear Dr. Kevin Leman speak on improving your marriage. He is great! Funny and an adorable man! I loved listening to his wise words and jotting them down so that I might apply some of those truths to my own marriage:)! My in-laws had Evie  all weekend long so, Monday afternoon was a sweet reunion with her.

Laboring through the days

This season has been a most difficult one. Evie and Eden are 13 months apart and oh, so full of energy! Grady, is fighting Crohn's disease with everything he's got right now while being 30 lbs under weight. So, needless to say, these daysgo down in the books with a stamp on it that reads, "REFINED WITH MUCH LOVE AND GRACE"!

I love the sweet hugs and kisses I get from my oldest, Evelyn. And I absolutely adore sweet baby Eden and her precious left thumb acting as the perfect paci at any given time of the day. As they both sleep soundly this evening, I am full of gratitude for God's provisions.

It has been a full day with anticipation and fun. Me and the girls picked Grady up from the hospital like one would pick up a loved one after a long trip from the airport. Sadly, it's been a "normal" activity in our home this year. After leaving St. Thomas, we made it to our 11 o'clock service and were able to spend time worshipping our precious Savior. He has done so much for us this summer. As Grady has battled inflammation, infection, malnutrition, and whole host of other issues, God has been so faithful. Now we watch and pray for his complete healing to come soon!

I am reminded to be so grateful to God for His faithfulness during this season. God has miraculously helped us battle this disease. He has given us Divine help and aid throughout the summer and continues to do so! Here's my Ebenezer for what He has done:

• He has allowed Grady to keep his job and given him the strength to work which has also provided him a distraction from the chronic pain he lives with 
• Grady has been able to work from home which was against company policy until he got sick
• The small bowel that is diseased has not been cut out (up til now) and we praise God that he is preserving this part of Grady's body.

First time around...

This is my first official, unoffical blog. As I sit here attempting to create this page, I juggle a myriad of tasks. The girls are between naps and feedings. I'm doing laundry, dinner preparation, spending time with Eden, and many other things. They all vie for my time and its seems that I only accomplish half of the things I would like to do. I thought about naming this blog "Fifty-fifty" because it seems like I live with 50% of things checked off my "to do" list and 50% of those things "undone". But after pondering what this stage of life is all about the phrase "Love Cup" came to mind. I desire to be the woman God has created and want to receive His love like never before. My desire is to pour into Grady, Evie, and Eden as much as I can. And in order to that, I must receive it like never before, because it is being demanded from me like I've never had to give! So, the title of this blog reflects my desire to learn more and more how to receive God's love so that I might pour it into the little love cups that my precious husbands and daughters so faithfully hold out for me to fill each day.

My goal is to keep pictures and memories journaled in cyber space, a place where no moth or rust could destroy, or thieves break in and steal my most beloved journals! Right?! So here it goes. My first unofficial blog entry happens as Baby Eden screams her head off, Evie sleeps soundly upstairs, and the dishes call out to "wash me, wash me!"