Trick or Treat

Smell My Feet :)We went trick or treating with my brother and two of his three kids. It was a little cold, but all in all a great time. They all had so much fun and got tons of candy. Of course, I had to go through the candy when we got home and pick out the stuff I just knew Adelae wouldn't like. Is it my fault that what she won't like is the same things that I happen to love?



Two Cinderella's, Dale Earnhardt Jr and a tiny skeleton getting ready to head out.


Who needs a royal coach when you have Daddy?!


The tiny skeleton slept through the whole thing!


Two princesses waiting for costume judging (neither of them won, but I still think they're adorable!)


Practicing her smile for the judges.


Checking out all of her loot.


All tuckered out after a very long day.

Wordless Wednesday

What are you wordless about this week? As always, don't for get to ling up at 5 Minutes for Mom. Happy Wednesday!

The Power Of Prayer

I will admit that I've never been a prayer. I mean, I pray, but I've always been a little uncomfortable with it. I guess I've always had the mindset that God is too busy to listen to me. Sure, I prayed, but without much conviction. Then something happened this year. My sister, Maria, found out that the baby she was carrying had some significant problems. Through the miracle of modern medicine, they found that Gabby was missing part of her brain. Did my sister break down? Nope! She turned to God. I decided that if she could do that, so could I. So, Ben and I started attending church. One of the very first sermons I heard was about how to pray. I can still remember Pastor Jim saying "Talk to God like he's your friend." And then he went on to tell us about all the prayers that God has answered. I kind of thought maybe there was something to this praying thing. So, that night, I prayed. I prayed for my sister and I prayed for Gabby. I prayed to God that He may give Maria and her family the strength to deal with what was coming their way. Maria never let her faith lag. She told me once that she and her husband, John, had put Gabby in God's hands. She knew, with out a doubt, that God had special plans for Gabby. On July 2 Maria gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Despite the odds, Gabby was home with her family in just a few short days.

At that point I knew with all my heart and soul that God heard our prayers. I could feel in in my very soul. It was such an amazing feeling to know that He was there and holding John, Maria, Gabby and their entire family in his hands.
Since then, there have been numerous challenges for Baby Gabby. They are still unsure what her official diagnosis should be. Her neurologist (a man truly sent by God to be the head of Gabby's medical team) believes that it's septo-optic dysplasia, but no one is 100% positive. In the four short months that Gabby has been with us, she has undergone three surgeries for severe glaucoma, and two brain surgeries. The first surgery was to open the tube that helps to drain the fluid that surrounds the brain. Unfortunately, that surgery failed in less than two weeks and Gabby had to undergo another, far more invasive surgery, to have a shunt put in. The shunt runs from her tiny brain down to her stomach. Imagine, if you can, sending your barely four month old baby in for brain surgery, not once but twice!

Whenever Gabby is sick or heading to the hospital for an appointment, surgery or more tests, Maria asks her friends and family to pray for Gabby. I in turn ask my Pastor, my church, and my friend to pray for Gabby and Maria. There have been numerous hurdles in this little baby's life. But EVERY SINGLE time, she comes out on the other side.
I also ask the Lord to give Maria strength. Strength to keep fighting for her baby. Strength to deal with each and every obstacle that comes her way. Strength to fight this battle with out the aid of her parents and siblings close by. Strength to keep her faith and strength to know in her heart of hearts that God has plans for her and for Gabby.
And I know that He hears me. I know that he listens and I know that He indeed gives Maria strength, He guides the doctors and gives them the knowledge they need to help this very special little girl and her very special Mommy. I believe in the power of prayer because I've seen it first hand.

Who did that? Not Me!

I most certainly did NOT get pulled over for speeding days after I proudly declared to my husband "I don't speed." I also did most certainly NOT have three kids in the car. I also most definitely was NOT talking on my cell phone while speeding. NOPE! Not me!

I also did not prop Brinna's stuffed bunny up against her paci to keep it in her mouth so she wouldn't wake up every two seconds. (No worries...it's away from her nose so she won't suffocate or anything.)

I most certainly did NOT let Adelae watch "The Jungle Book" twice in a row so I could get some housework done. That would be using the TV as a babysitter and that would just be awful!

I also did NOT spend the last week constantly checking my kids for fever. I am certainly NOT a little freaked out about the swine flu.

I wound NEVER think I lost the registration sticker for the car. And if I did think I lost it, I would NEVER tell my husband that we hadn't received it yet when he asked about it. Nope!

Want to join in Not Me! Monday? Head on over to My Charming Kids and link up!

My 3 Favorite People

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It's baaaaaack!

I certainly have not been saving up "Not Me's" for the last few weeks for "Not Me! Monday."

I did not sit down to play Farmville on Facebook and let my dinner boil over. Nope! I wouldn't do that! How irresponsible would that be?

And speaking of irresponsible, I most certainly did not leave the stuff that leaked out of my homemade chicken pot pie onto the bottom of the oven sit there. Then I most certainly did not try to bake something in the oven with all that gunk on the bottom. This most certainly did not result in my oven catching on fire. That absolutely could never go undetected by my husband who was sitting at the table studying for fire fighter school. And I most certainly did not shout "What do I do?" To which my firefighter-in-training-husband did not reply "I don't know! What do I look like? A firefighter?" HAHAHAHA!

I certainly did not tear up when my girls got baptized on Sunday.

I would never ever set Adelae at her little table with crayons, construction paper, safety scissors, and a glue stick in hopes that she would keep busy and quiet so I could sneak in a little nap.

Wanna join "Not Me!Monday"? Go visit MckMama and her MSC at her blog. And, as always, don't forget to link up!

I'm so relieved

When I took Brinna to our new pediatrician the first time, I thought there was no way that she was going to work out. She is part of a larger practice and the information they handed was against everything I believe in. They believe in Cry It Out, I hate it; they are anti-babywearing, I love it; Cloth diapers were not recommended, we use cloth; they are very anti-co-sleeping; I co-sleep with Brinna and sometimes Adelae. But, I had heard wonderful things about the practice in general and they have weekend hours, so I decided to stick with the practice. I'm so glad I did! When I spoke to our actual pediatrician she told me that she has to hand out the literature, but it isn't necessarily what she believes. She loves cloth diapers, babywearing, and she thinks it's ok to co-sleep, as long as it's done properly. Hooray!!! I'm so glad we didn't switch! She did such an amazing job with both girls. I think after two years and three doctors, we may have finally found a good fit!

Brinna continues to grow like a little weed, but she's still a tiny one. She only weighs 9lbs 8ozs (20%) and is 22 1/4 inches long (45%). She is happy and healthy and reaching all her milestones.