In Indiana....prayers needed!

Well, here we are....back again at the Heart Hospital. This time with John's dad. He has undergone two surgeries in the past week and his heart is finally looking better. Lots of prayers needed as he is on the road to recovery.

We arrived on Sunday evening and will be here for about two weeks. We will be taking care of both of his parents as they recover at home. John's mom is having a mastectomy next week. Hopefully this gets rid of all the cancer in her body and she won't have to undergo chemo. Radiation is still a strong possibility, but right now things are still unknown. Please keep her in your prayers as well.

Also, continue to pray for Ryan and Missy. They are both fighting so hard and hurting more than any one person should. This is definitely a lot for any person to endure, let alone a mommy and a sweet little boy. Please take a minute to let them know that you are praying for them: Superryan.blogspot.com and his mom's site is caringbridge.org/visit/missymorgan

On a more positive note, my dad is doing great!!!! He is still not drinking or smoking. It was awesome to spend most of the day with him a few days ago and to witness this! The kids loved his pool and I hope to get some pictures of them swimming on here in a few days....so be sure to check back.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers. They are definitely needed!!!

I won.....(and Herpangina)

No, I didn't win Herpangina.
Yes, this is what Adalynn was diagnosed with- on her birthday of all days!
FYI-Herpangina is just a fancy doctor word for blisters in her mouth. A real definition can be found here. But just know it is "super owie" and she is just now eating better 4 days later.

But, I really did win!!! I did! I did!!!!!
What, you ask?
I won a whole loot of stuff (a Pediped gift certificate, gardening gloves, Crystal Light, the coveted dental floss Aidan's mom raves about, and much, much more).
Who's Aidan?
Well, he is an adorable little man, born with a cleft lip, whose mommy also blogs (and is a teacher like I was in my past life). She found us shortly after he was born (he just turned one a few months ago).
And how did I win?
She did a blog contest/raffle/random generator thing....I left her comments on her blog and a program randomly chose me to win. Click HERE to read all about it.
Yes, we bloggers LOVE comments and will even give stuff away to get them. I may do it myself....

What do you think?
What do you want?
I am getting ready to have a garage sale....I am sure I can find something that I know you can't live without! :)

No, seriously. I KNOW that I have 'lurkers'.
I KNOW that there are people that read about Adalynn, her journey, and our family that I don't know.
Yes, it is a bit weird.
Yes, I wonder about weirdos!
But in all reality, I do know that I found several blogs before she was born that gave me peace and assurance that everything was going to be okay.
Thank you Rachel and Abby and Emily and Jaron and Zoe and.... well, I think that is it, but I am probably forgetting someone (leave me a comment ;0 and let me know if I forgot you).

So blog, I do. Mostly because I am forever grateful that the Lord led me to the above people,then led so many others to Adalynn, and most of all because our little "cleft-blogging club" was formed (with way too many people to list, but Aidan's mommy, Heather fits in there).

And by that, I won....in more ways than one!
One of these days I will meet you all and thank you for real.

.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.

and because no post is complete with out a picture-what better picture than one of Adalynn two years ago....on her birth-day meeting her brothers for the first time!



oh, and don't forget to comment and let me know you were here! :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Big Girl

Adalynn's birthday invitation (edited for the blog)

beautiful baby big girl!!!

Happy Birthday Adalynn!!!!!

Hard to believe that two years has gone by so quickly.
Hard to believe that it was only 2 years ago that we were blessed with the birth of our sweet baby girl.
Hard to believe that she has touched so many lives already through her story and this blog.
Hard to believe that she has had more surgeries than John and I combined.
Hard to believe that there are many more still left to go.
Hard to believe that she is not a baby anymore.
And is it hardest to believe that two years ago, I was worrying about what this face would look like.
This beautiful, perfect face.
Touched by God.
Given to us to teach us so much!
So, so, so hard to believe!

As I write this, she is laying in my arms. Most of the time she is way too busy and doesn't like being held like this unless she is sleepy or sick. Right now, she is definitely sick. Pretty crappy way to spend your birthday. She just isn't feeling good and we will probably be off to the doctor sometime this morning....gotta hate sore throats! Not eating/drinking makes for a very worried mommy and a very miserable little girl.

She did feel fantastic last week when Heather and Jesse visited. We had so much fun with them. We didn't really do anything special, just relaxed and enjoyed each others company. We were sad to see them go on Saturday evening and the visit went way to quick. It made us realize how much we miss both of them and can't wait to see them again!

me and Heather-who knew my afternoon classroom assistant would become my best friend

The whole gang

Jesse helped put Adalynn's big girl bed together...a great find off of Craigslist!

Adalynn yelling at (and kicking) Camden to get off of her new bed! And yes, she does have one shoe (boot) off and one boot on! Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling, my son John daughter Adalynn!

We were able to celebrate Adalynn's birthday this past weekend before Heather and Jesse left for Georgia. Jesse missed her first birthday while he was in Iraq, so we were very excited that he was able to spend this one with her.

Adalynn loves Elmo, so an Elmo party it was! She had so much fun and was super cute in her party dress. We had tons of fun making pizzas and eating Elmo cupcakes. We were also able to enjoy the sunshine and spend some time outside playing with new gifts--she LOVES sidewalk chalk and Camden picked out some for them to "share for her birthday".



And the best part.....we took lots of photos!!! Lots and lots of photos. It was hard to narrow it down, so I apologize for having so many-but I couldn't pick




the Elmo cupcakes!



all the kids making their own pizzas---Elmo's favorite food is pizza, ya know?

looking so sweet with her brothers!

love, love LOVE this photo I took of her walking in our back yard! Such a beautiful little lady!!!








Oh yeah, Broderick FINALLY learned how to ride his bike. We were so excited for him. He is still working on the braking part, though!

Adalynn enjoying the sidewalk chalk Camden picked out for her "so they could share"! He was just too busy riding bikes with his big brother to slow down and draw with Adalynn.

It was also a great weekend to be at the soccer fields....

Check out the girly dress and sunglasses with the skinned up knees!!!

looking so sweet at the soccer field!

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and the best one......

her movie star pose! Happy Birthday to our precious blessing!