Merry Christmas to All!

Although we were so busy during Christmas and I didn't have time to post anything I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with lots of days full of great times with family and friends! 

It's always fun with my grandkids and they had a great day seeing what Santa brought and also spending the day playing with all their things. 

Luke will now be skateboarding in the house with his Tony Hawk Ride Wii game and skateboard... 

Rylee will be coloring and cutting hair in the future..

Parker will be doing all of the gardening this summer...

And Grant will be begging for wagon rides...

However, he wasn't too crazy about Santa this year!

So many memories to enjoy!!!!!!

WHAT IS UP WITH US AND THANKSGIVING????

Backup to last year when Erin was in the hospital Thanksgiving night due to blood pressure problems and facing a way too early delivery of Grant.  We had many reasons to be thankful since she did not have to deliver and Grant was born right on time in February.

And then there was the year before at Thanksgiving time when Parker made his entrance in a way too dramatic fashion.  Once again we were thankful that all was well with him too!  More on him later...

Fast forward to this year (in fact, just yesterday).  Grant was not feeling well and as the day wore on and our Thanksgiving celebration continued he started looking worse and worse.  Erin and I decided about 8:00 p.m. that he needed to go to the emergency room and get checked.   We were off to Memphis and after chest xrays, blood work, flu swab, RSV swab, oxygen and an IV they got a positive result for RSV.  So he was admitted to receive oxygen and IV fluids.  Today he is feeling a tiny bit better and we are hopeful he will get to come home this evening.   We are once again so thankful that he is better and very very thankful for Jill Davis (his ER nurse and Erin's friend for 20 years).   We were so happy to see her in the ER when we got there. 

On a lighter note - yesterday was Parker's 2nd BIRTHDAY!!!!  He had a great time and slowly opened all of his presents (Rylee thought he couldn't get them open fast enough for her to start playing with them).  We had a Mickey Mouse cake Ashley made AFTER we ate our Thanksgiving meal.  He is getting so big so fast and is as cute as a bug!  I love you so so much Parker.  Happy Birthday!

And in the middle of all of this Rylee and I worked to put up one of their Christmas trees!

Next year we are all going on a cruise to try to avoid our annual Thanksgiving trip to the hospital!!!!!

Happy 8 Month Birthday Grant!!!

Grant somehow got to 8 months old very fast and Erin still wants time to slow down!  He is about 20 pounds, has two teeth with two more starting to come in, and is such a sweetheart.  His smiles just melt my heart.  Pretty soon he will be crawling and getting into trouble with the rest of the kids!  For now he enjoys watching them play and he can't wait for Halloween (one of his Mom's favorite holidays).  

Grant, I Love You more than you will ever know!!!!!

#1 Stinger Fan and #1 Stinger

Grant was way too cute all decked out (he got to wear his new big boy tennis shoes) for the football game on Saturday.  He is Luke's #1 fan. 

Luke made two touchdowns and the final score was 12-0!! He's the one below with the blue socks and the only one on the team with blue socks but we told him he has to wear them now because it's easier to find him on the field. I'm so proud of him...

It started raining early and rained throughout the whole game but we stuck it out with our umbrellas and only our bottoms were soaking wet.  Russ and Grant retreated to the truck but had a great place to watch the game anyway (and they stayed dry.) 

Next week we play in Earle and, hopefully, the Stingers will be 3-0!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....

Seriously, this girl can sleep ANYWHERE!

Remember - Rylee loved her nap on the granite countertop...

When she finally gives up it doesn't matter where she is!

Bears, Bandits, and Stingers

The first of the year Luke was busy with Upward Basketball.  His team, the Bears, did very well and Luke could really fly up and down the court. 

Then in the Spring he started baseball.  This was the first year for kid-pitched ball and he loves it.  He is the catcher and his enthusiasm shows in every play he makes.  He is on a traveling team (the Bandits) and this Fall is playing in tournaments (mostly out-of-town). 

Now he is playing football and has waited so long to wear that uniform!  The Stingers' first game is today and he is so excited.  His position is running back on offense and linebacker on defense.  He was timed as the fastest 4th grader.  Way to go Luke!  Can't wait to see you play....

Thank goodness he decided to give up soccer this year......

ORANGE  BEACH 2009

We had a great vacation this year and had a great condo just over the Perdido Pass Bridge in Orange Beach.  Our condo was huge with three bedrooms and three large bathrooms. 

Pete, Ashley, Luke, and Rylee went to the waterpark the first day we were there while the rest of us got settled in.  We had beautiful weather the entire week and the water was so clear.  However, there were a LOT of HUGE jellyfish hanging out at the edge of the shoreline. 

No one stopped from daylight til dark everyday swimming, eating, and playing in the sand and ocean.  Grant, Parker, and Rylee took a few naps when they couldn't possibly go anymore.  Rylee preferred the cool granite countertop for her naps! 

Grant turned 6 months old while we were there and also got his first TOOTH!!  He loved the beach and the swimming pool and also made the trip without a peep.  He said he couldn't wait until next year to go again.

We ate at some great places and Parker's favorite was Lulu's where he danced the night away.

I'll write more later - since I have a lot of catching up to do - in fact, the whole summer! 

Ashley took Luke and Rylee to watch the Blue Angels during their practice session and Luke got all of their autographs and loved talking to the pilots. 

The week, as always, went by way too fast!  We can't wait until next year either, Grant!

A Great Place to Start Again!!!

Just got back from vacation late last night! It's been a while since I posted so it is time...

More to come.....

Special Prayer Requests

My cousin, Sonny, will be traveling to the Mayo Clinic next week for treatment for metastatic melanoma. Please keep him in your prayers as the doctors try to find the source of his cancer. His family has been through so much the past couple of years. My cousin, Cinda (Sonny's sister), has breast cancer and his granddaughter, Baylee, has neuroblastoma.

Pray that Grannie and Rylee's bones heal quickly and that they have no more problems from these breaks.

Everyone in Mena (and especially my family members) need your prayers as they recover from the devastation of their little town due to a tornado a couple of weeks ago. Their recovery will be a long process.

BABIES, BUNNIES, AND BALL!!!

Grant is growing so fast we have decided to put a brick on his head to try to slow him down. His is still such a good baby only fussing when he is hungry or sleepy. At his doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago he weighed 13 lbs 1 oz. He is now two months old and had a great First Easter. He slept through church enjoying the special music and dreaming of the Easter bunny.

Erin has gone back to work and hates that she has to be away from Grant. We text a zillion times a day with updates on Grant.

Erin and Ashley's Grannie Brawner broke her hip on Friday before Easter so we cancelled our Easter dinner and egg hunt. We spent time on Saturday and Sunday at the hospital with her after her surgery. They put in three screws during surgery and she is now in rehab and doing great! She told us not to tell everyone because they would kick her out of the hospital and she wouldn't get waited on as much or get much sympathy. She has such a great attitude and we promised to keep her secret!

Luke played his first baseball tournament a couple of weeks ago and came in second. The umps called the game for time and our coach protested but they just said "too bad." He later got an apology (since he was right) because the championship game cannot be called for time. Anyway, it was great pre-season practice and we all had a great time. This is Luke's first year for kid pitched ball and since they can now steal the bases he is having a great time with that.

Rylee was all set to play Weeball this year and was loving it, however, last Tuesday she fell off the barstool at home and broke her arm. I know she is disappointed about ball but she will be ready to go next year. She broke her arm right above her wrist but is handling it all great. Her hot pink cast makes it all worth it!!!! Her coach hated to lose her - he said she was the fastest and could throw the ball better than anyone - even the boys!

We just try to keep up with Parker. He is so cute and laughs so much - he just cracks me up all the time. He loves his big brother and they spent an afternoon mowing my yard. He was so cute Easter - I told him he looked like a "Dreamsicle."

More to come......