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.