Super Saturday

We are still in holiday mode since my family is still here. I love having them in our home. We have laughed and played so much its really been wonderful. Today was no exception. We started out early. Mike and Billy were up early (like, 4:30am) early to go deer hunting at the camp in Clinton. The rest of us got up at a normal hour, ate breakfast and then loaded the car with some snacks and headed up to meet them for lunch. It was a blast. The girls had not been, so it was fun to show them around. It started with a ride on the 4-wheeler. The river was so inviting, I thought it would be fun to cross it with me driving and Carly, Caitlin and Grace along for the ride. Once we hit the sand....it was all over from there. It sank. Like quick sand. So funny. Carly there in her cast, trying to jump off before we went under. Caitlin trying to help her, but sinking herself and Grace.....just held on. Never said a word. That's my Grace. Here's Mike coming to our rescue with the winch to pull us out. Everyone had gotten off when the sand was covering our feet. Thanks, Mike!

After that, we decided to stay on the road. Carly rode back to the camp with Mike. Grace walked. Caitlin was looking for trouble. She jumped right back on and she and I rode through some standing water that soaked us both. Then I got Grace back on and she and I took it down the road. We rode back into the woods a little bit and had a great time just riding. When you are with Grace your time will be quiet, but amazing. On our way back to the camp, I pulled over to let her drive. She wasn't sure because she had never driven before, but with my skills, (haha) I had her driving in seconds. Here's a picture of us just as we pulled back up at camp.

Grace, Carly and Caitlin just after being rescued.....

Mom and Carly posing by the fire pit. Mom is working the camo!We got home and I had to get a shower and head to church to sing. Mom went with me. It was nice. I led worship for my kids and Mom sat in and loved every minute. Our children's church (ages 6-11yrs) is so much fun. It's high energy, high entertainment and full on church - but on their level. We sang and had a blast and then my friend, Andrew got up to get his preach on. He's an amazing volunteer at our church that told me tonight that he leaves in a few days for somewhere I've never heard of. I don't know, somewhere in the Persian Gulf, but either way he will be missed. The kids love him and so do us adults. He will be protecting our country from the outside, so say a quick prayer for him as he lives out his dream and answers his call. Here's Andrew talking with the children....Then after church, I came into the kitchen to over hear Caitlin and CJ discussing something very important, I'm sure. Not sure what the topic of conversation was, but they were definitely up to something...Our day rounded out, yet again, with the Wii. CJ challenged Billy with another round of boxing. I'm not sure what makes grown adults think they are still in high school, but even my sister and I got in on it. CJ beat Billy and then I boxed my sister and FINALLY won. She used to beat me up when we were kids and I finally was able to come back. J/k...she's awesome and I'm so glad that she was able to come out to visit. I miss her when we are not together.On a sad note....our fish died today. Or at least that's what I thought. I'll let you be the judge. I tried to prepare CJ by telling him quietly that I needed to talk to him about the fish and as I brought him to the bowl, I calmly told him that I think the fish is dead.

Cj's reply...."Nah! He's just bored."

After Thanksgiving rush

We are having a blast with my family here for the holidays. Thanksgiving day was wonderful with tons of food and fun. Besides our air conditioning going out, we've had so much fun!.

This morning, Mike and Billy got up and went shopping. Believe it or not, they headed to Cabela's at 6:30am to grab some bargains. Then we took the kids to the movies to see Bolt in 3D. Mom stayed in the theatre with the kids while I took Cathy and Billy to Hobby Lobby! That was fun. I helped a total stranger select wrapping paper and then we left. We all met back at the house and using leftovers from the previous day, I made a gumbo while Cathy and Billy made cookies and snacks for everyone. (um...still no a/c but Tony's working on it!)

Today I was able to snap a quick shot of Grace...my neice....She is so precious. Caitlin and Carly and typical teens and typically loud - they even text loud....but Grace is so quiet and her spirit is just so sweet. She's alot like me.... :) She just turned 12 the day before Thanksgiving. She is just so awesome....

They also brought their dog, who Winston hasn't figured out yet. His name is Sammy. He's really cute and sweet. He is a true lap dog, where Winston is more of a cat. Or maybe like a rabid squirrel? I'm not sure, but it works for us.

Yes, this is Winston. He's sleeping on the couch. Sammy wears him out chasing him around the house to play.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for so much. But not just today....everyday. Thank you to all my friends and family. Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday. I love all the food and usually most of my family is together to eat it. This Thanksgiving is no different.....we had my Mom....an amazing woman whom I admire, my sister - yet another amazing woman whom I also admire, her two daughters, Caitlin and Grace, who I'm sure will be amazing when they get out of their teen years, and my sisters good friend, Billy (an amazing man for driving all those girls all the way from north GA to south LA!) They drove in late yesterday (Grace's birthday) and got here just in time to celebrate before midnight. I had her a cake all ready and as soon as they got here, we sang and ate cake. The girls always like to pile up together, so Cathy brought her air mattress and they gathered in the living room to sleep. This morning, we got up and started cooking at 6am. I got the turkey and the cornbread in the oven to cook then Cathy got up and after a quick trip to the store for pie shells (yes, I forgot pie shells), we threw together a ham, some sweet potatoes, beans, cornbread dressing, pumpkin pies, chocolate pie, some mashed potatoes and gravy. Most of which is resting somewhere between my hips and my thighs. But its worth it. Paula stopped by while out visiting her family. She is so awesome....my Mom has decided to adopt her into our family since she just fits right in with us and our dysfunctional-ness. Anyway, our day is winding down with a little Texas vs. Texas A&M on tv...... I am thankful......

Mike carves the turkey.....

CJ shows Mr. Billy how to bowl on the Wii and the reining champion of Wii bowling is defeated.... :-(

Caitlin and Carly - best friends and cousins. Caitlin is 6months older, and Carly is 2 feet taller. They are awesome!

Me time....

Hunting season is officially here in South Louisiana, so I'm a widow each weekend. Mike left last night to hunt in Clinton. Last night I took the kids to the mall knowing today was a little "me time".

This morning, I met with the roofers and then got ready for my "me time". A friend was having a jewelry party, so I propped Carly up on the couch and made sure CJ was ready to jump when she called and I headed to the party. It was fun. So much fun that I booked a party myself, so you ladies watch out! We're having a party!!!

On my way home, I called to make sure Carly had not fallen over (which she had not!) and with her blessing, I went on to Walmart for some groceries. While there, the strangest thing happened. I'm standing there, picking out bananas and the lights went out! Crazy! I've never been there when there were no lights. It gets dark in produce!Then, a few lights came back on and "the voice" came on the speaker and said, "Attention Walmart shoppers....if you would like to complete your purchase, you must go now to the nearest register and check out. There power is out and the battery backup that runs the registers only lasts 30 minutes!" So off to register #9 I go! Well, me and about 150 other Walmart shoppers. I made my purchases, and of course forgot some things, but that was my "me time". I guess I'll try again next weekend.

Carly's friends visit

Well, it's been a week and a couple of days, and we are still at home. Carly is getting around more and more each day, but its slow. She's still not in the groove with school work. Especially since once she gets started, she's worn out and falls asleep. But today, she got a special visit. Two of her best friends from school came by to see her after school. Kylie's dad dropped them off and they are getting Carly caught up on the scoop at school. You know, boys, teachers, stuff that teens talk about. They've had fun. I got a picture of them because I gotta have a picture to blog!

This is Kylie, Carly and Lily - yes, they all end in "ee". That's their bond, I guess.....

Some signatures

After getting baptized with hot chocolate shortly after worship at Highland, (thanks Jeffrey!), and a quick change of clothes because of the baptisim (thanks Jeffrey!), Carly and I headed to the Baton Rouge Dream Center where we were worshipping with the children there. What a blast. Those kids are amazing. We are getting ready for their Christmas production extravaganza and it is so exciting. Of course, Carly is wheelchair bound, but she made it through. She finished out the day collecting some signatures. Several from friends that were there at the Dream Center. One from Ms. Kathy - the best seamstress known to the great state of Louisiana, and the soon to be famous, Jarrett Hardnett. Right now, he runs sound for the kids team at the Dream Center, but soon, he'll be the most talked about football player on the planet.....just wait.....see, he's so big, if he was standing up straight, he wouldn't have fit in the picture!

A Field trip and a new best friend!

Carly gets better and better each day. She's gradually getting off her pain meds and can sit up for longer periods of time. She's sleeping in her own bed and can reposition herself which is good for me because it means I get some sleep, too! Kirsten brought her assignments from school for the week missed and we started working on them. (Thanks Kirsten!) One of them is her Science Fair project. We've got most of it completed but needed a few items from Walmart.....so FIELD TRIP! Our first outing to WalMart and it was a success. The wheelchair wasn't too bad and she was able to wheel herself around while I pushed the cart. She was tired when we were finished, but it makes her strong.

While at WalMart, we were able to pick up a fresh coconut. Not so odd, except that when we got it home, CJ just knew it was for him. Named it, "Mr. Coconut" and claimed it as his new best friend. I wonder about this child sometimes.....

Makes Christmas easy. We'll just get him a Ms. Pineapple and baby Kiwi's.

Road to Recovery....

Surgery is over and we are home and doing well. After a very long day, and an even longer night in the hospital, I brought Carly home yesterday to start her road to recovery. We appreciate everyone's prayers throughout this and she cannot wait to get back on the softball field! For those that haven't heard, once in surgery, her surgeon found just a little more than expected. Her ligaments and tendons were so stretched and misaligned, he needed to cut part of her tibia where the tendon connects and realign it, so she now has two screws holding her tendon in place; however, he promised her that she would not beep when going through security at the airport.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy - caution - one is of her knee after they sewed her back up, so its not pretty, but kinda interesting....in a sick and twisted way.

This is Carly just before surgery.....OLOL gave her a Garfield for security. Thanks Bro Wayne for the prayers and for sitting with me and her Dad in the waiting room. We talked about everything from family to politics to the LSU Tigers just to keep me from rushing into the operating room to check on her.

This is Carly just after surgery. She's all smiles, but its mostly morphine.....This is her new knee. Check out the hardware! This was fun.....Just after surgery, Carly was visited by LSU's baseball team. They were visiting children at the hospital and they stopped by her room. While there, we had them give a few autographs on the 'ol cast. Pretty cool, huh?
Today, the doc had the cast tech cut into it so he could examine the incision. All in all, it looks pretty good (if you were Frankenstein)

This is the final result of some sweet talking with the cast techs. It went something like this.....

Doc: We will need to recast it, so you need to pick a color.

Carly: I want red and black stripes.

Doc: You only get one color, so pick just one.

Carly: Ok. Red.

Cast Tech: Did you decide on a color?

Carly: Well, I wanted red and black stripes but Doc said I could only get one color, so red.

Cast Tech: Actually, because your cast is so big, it will take two, maybe three rolls, so you can pick two colors if you'd like.

Carly: Cool....then red and black.

After they finish, in comes her doc...

Doc: Do you ALWAYS get what you want?

Carly: (just smiles)

Carly is really doing well and on her road to recovery. She has 6 long weeks in the cast and wheelchair and then she gets a different cast. Then we discuss physical therapy.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and phone calls. Thank you to those that brought food and flowers. We love and appreciate you all!

Awesome Wednesday!

Yesterday was awesome....well, with a few exceptions! Started out fairly normal (which around here is anything BUT normal!). I got the kids off to school and then returned home to get some painting done. (I'm trying to get a fresh coat of paint on the baseboards....) Around 10am, Cj's school calls and he's in the office sick. So I put the paint brush down to run and get him from school. Get him home only to find out that it wasn't that he felt bad....but more that he just felt like not staying at school. Struggling not to just take him right back to school, I decided to finish out my Wednesday with church. I love Wed night services, because I have the honor of leading worship for the Kids in Action team. But last night was different. Amy Poche' was there. I have a link to her blog on my blogroll. (His Heart for Orphans) Love Amy! She is my "she-ro". She is an amazing woman in my life that along with her husband has adopted several children from several different countries and they are amazing. She spoke to the children about adoption and encouraged them to pray for each child out there that needs a forever family. It was great. It really warms my heart to know that I am a part of a church family that truly has a heart for adoption and embraces and encourages it. Amy did an outstanding job speaking to the kids.....I'm so proud of her!

Amy reading and sharing a book with the children about adoption....

Amy with three of their adopted children, Zoe, Rose and Asa.....

BRDC Family Fun Day

Today was awesome. It actually started last night at Highland. Carly and I went to the Sat night service to worship with the kids and have a blast with all the excitement. Then got up this morning to head to the inner city. We love it there! Everyone is so awesome. I have some pics but they were taken with my phone, so they are kind of dark. You get the idea though.....Volunteers on Winbourne Avenue in front of the church. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but Gustav blew down the "Winbourne Avenue Baptist Church" sign in the background. I believe it was God's way of preparing the sign to say "Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge Dream Center"!

Paula holding a precious little girl that I held all during the service. Her name is Valencia and she is the sweetest thing!

One of my favorites.....Malik. His smile will melt your heart! I love this kid!
Two of my good friends working it at the popcorn machine.....how much popcorn did we give out? 5,000 bags (is what it felt like) but it was all good......kids had a blast!
Pastor Craig Boutee - cutting hair! What an awesome pastor! He can get his preach on and he cuts hair! This guy is everything! Amazing!

It was a terrific day with (according to Carole) about 600 of our closest friends in one of the worst crime areas of Baton Rouge. But today it was just God and the people of the community coming together to have fun and leave their worries behind...and everything was free! Clothes, hotdogs, snow cones, hair cuts, manicures, face painting, popcorn and church! That's Healing Place for you....that's how we roll......

Halloween

Typically at Halloween, we let the kids trick or treat. Carly grew out of it a couple of years ago, but she would still take Cj, while Mike and I stayed home to hand out candy. This year, Mike was out of town, so it was just me, Carly and Cj. With Carly in a cast and the 4-wheeler with Mike, we decided to change it up a bit. I took the kids over to my bff Paula's to trick or treat through her neighborhood. Carly and Gab would stay and hand out candy, while me, Paula and Trent took the little ones out. She had other family over so it was a party and a great time! Some pics from the night.....

Cj IS Obi Wan Kenobi!
Princess Carly with her "Aunt" Paula
Trent - CEO of the "Eat mor chiken" campaign
and me.....wearing fuzzy purple hair.