Halloween 2012

 Halloween was really fun this year! I am loving the age of 3! Macy Brooks gets so excited about every activity we do. She was pumped for trick or treat! I was hoping Kate would be walking by trick or treat time, but we didn't make it. She was stuck in the stroller all night, but she was happy. Macy Brooks told me she wanted to be a princess. I was out getting a birthday present one day and happened to see this Cinderella dress marked way down. It is a size 7/8, but apparently runs small and our super tall 3 year old rocked it!

I had 2 costumes for Kate so I snapped her picture in both. She's too cute in this Winnie the Pooh, but I ended up putting her in the spider to trick or treat. I love seeing Kate wear the same things MB did at the same times of year.

Our great neighbors hold a little pre-party each year so we went there to eat and play before it got dark. It's always a great time.

Then it's time for Daddy to arrive home and we usually come back to freshen up and leave again! Here's are sweet 15 month old spider on the front porch:)

 

And just for fun, here's MB as a spider in 2010! Do they look alike??

Cinderella giving that sweet sweet smile of hers!

A little sister love:)

Princess hug before we get going!

Cinderella and the hulk. These two are great friends!

Macy Brooks told me she was going to wear her princess shoes, or "dancing shoes" as she calls them, but I knew better and stuck her crocs in the bottom of the stroller. When she couldn't keep up with the others in her heels, she quickly asked to change. Then she was off and running!

Some neighborhood friends. We truly love where we live!

Kate is trying to stay awake and warm. Once the sun went down, it got chilly quickly!

Cinderella and her cowboy! Aidan lives behind us and they are awesome friends. Most summer nights, these 2 meet up in the backyard and play until bath time. We love him and his parents!

Cuddling to stay warm:)

What a fun year! Next year will be really exciting with 2 little girls running up and down the street:)

Fall trip to NC

In early October my grandpa(mom’s dad) had a mild heart attack. But then his kidneys failed.  Praise God for dialysis, that he can hopefully be with us a long while longer. After a 2 week hospital stay, he went home. I wanted to lay my eyes on him and visit, so Denny took Friday off work and we headed up.  Thursday night we went to my parents and spent the night and left for NC Friday morning. We had driven an hour when we found out he’d been re-admitted due to a fever. We briefly discussed going back home, but quickly decided to continue on and only Denny and I would be able to visit him in the hospital. Our visit there was 2 weeks ago, since then Grandpa was about to be discharged when he coded. They were able to get him back with the paddles and he's now stable in ICU. Please be in prayer for him that he can get well and be with us for a lot longer!

A lot of our extended family still lives in NC, but this one weekend EVERYONE was away. We had lunch on Friday with my cousin, her baby, my uncle and my dad’s mom and then they all left for VA. My grandpa was in the hospital which meant my grandma(mom’s step-mom) was too.  All the houses we were used to visiting on our trips were empty.

My aunt and uncle asked us to keep their dog since we were staying at their house while they were in VA. Of course we said yes. However, on Saturday morning, Denny’s pill case popped open and Lily ate one of his heart pills. We spent the next 3 hours making sure she was ok. We had to call pet poison control for $35 just to tell them what she ate and for them to look it up. They said she did need to be monitored and to take her to the pet emergency hospital 35 minutes away. Ugh! Denny took Lily and the girls and I went to the farmer’s market and Kohls. What a weird weekend! We are up in NC  where we are usually surrounded by family and time is spent visiting, but yet we are running errands alone like it’s a regular ole’ Saturday.

I was able to visit Grandpa on Friday night and Saturday afternoon and give Grandma a break. He’s doing better since his fever broke and they think he can go home Monday. I was hoping the girls could see him and cheer him up, but I wasn’t willing to take them to a hospital.

Saturday evening, I met Denny and the girls back at Grandpa’s house to check out their latest contraption. Grandpa built a zip line this summer and it rocks! The girls and I both rode and it’s fast! While Kate was riding it, I kept saying, “My baby is on a zip line!”   I couldn’t believe we put her on, but she giggled the whole time! We then raided their fridge for leftovers and headed back to check on Lily and go to bed.

It was too strange being there and hanging out with just our family.

Here are the videos from our zip line adventures:

Macy Brooks does the zip line first! It's sideways and I'm annoying:)

Then Kate did it, I kept saying "my baby's on a zip line!" 

Then I did it, it was scarier than it looked! I was afraid it wouldn't hold me!

Providential Relationships-one of Brooks' purposes

God is amazing. He sets up these relationships to help us along the way. He knows who we need when we need them.

Providential Relationships- people who play a significant role along life's journey. 

It's one of the 5 things God uses to grow your faith. This was the sermon series going on at our church when Brooks passed away. Andy ended up speaking about us the day after the funeral in part 5, Pivotal Circumstances. 

Back in January we joined a new small group. We got off to a rough start. Just a couples weeks into the group, one of the husbands committed suicide. It was so terrible, unfathomable. But we were able to walk through(and continue) that with the wife. The group continued for a little while and the group leaders found out they were moving. The group dis-banded after only a few months when they usually last 2 years. Shortly before the group ended, one of the couples found out they were having their first baby. We were able to rejoice with them! 

A couple weeks ago that baby girl was born too early, at 27 weeks. Today she passed away and joined Brooks in Heaven. 

The mom texted last week saying I saved her life and helped her baby get here alive. By sharing our pivotal circumstance and pushing moms to call their doctors and make them get to the bottom of things  kept her going back to the dr 4 times in 3 days insisting something wasn't right. And it wasn't. She was starting to die. Her liver was leaking bile into the rest of her body and poisoning her. They had no choice but to deliver.

I'm truly not trying to brag, I just find it crazy that we were put in a small group for just a few months and now that we both have babies in Heaven, I'm able to be there for her like few others can. God knew the group wouldn't last, but that we would need each other.

Another friend asked me tonight if I get tired or weary when others call me to be there for others in situations like these. In all honesty, it can be tiring. But, like I told her, if Brooks can be used for good and be given a purpose, I'm all for it. I know how others were there for me and if I can be that person for someone else, that is great. I like knowing God carried us to this point and gave us a son with a purpose. A big purpose.

Thank you God for Brooks, for your mercy, for this small group, for providential relationships, pivotal circumstances and for this baby girl you called home all too soon.

If you read this, please pray for this grieving family. 

Pumpkin Patch, Dairy Farm, Fair & Fieldtrip

Whew! October was busy. We had so many fun activities and made lots of fun memories:) First up...we went to the pumpkin patch. Our family goes to the same one every year. They have tons of pumpkins, desserts, long hayride and plenty of room to run around. Amicolola State park is just down the road so we like to picnic and play after we gather our pumpkins. 

Playing on the playground

Sliding with Daddy is always fun!

The falls

Daddy has his arms full

Denny's brother, his girlfriend, his 2 kids and Denny's  parents all came for a long weekend in October to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary! We had fun cooking, eating out, shopping and visiting a dairy farm!

Momma and Kate jumping on an air trampoline

MB loves feeding animals

The whole crew!

Playing in corn kernerls

Macy Brooks' 1st pony ride! Loved every minute:)

The fair comes to our town every fall. This year was tons of fun! MB was obsessed with all the rides.

And last, but not least, Macy Brooks had her first field trip with school! I had a sitter for Kate and had a great time focusing on this girl. We went to a family farm where we got to feed fish, ride on a hayride, plant a tree, hear a story and feed some animals. After, we went to lunch and enjoyed hanging out together.

feeding fish

Her friend Caroline

listening to the story

yum

helping dig a hold for their tree

posing for Momma!

I'm so thankful we get to make these fun, family memories. We are blessed:)