Her First Word is DOG!

I think it is apparent that she is her mother's daughter!! :)

Well, it sounds more like "Da,"...dog, without the g at the end. But it is the first real word, obviously identifying something. She constantly points to dogs and exclaims "DA!" She absolutely loves these animals! She does not smile at me when I enter her room to pick her up in the mornings, but she squeals with excitement if the dogs are clicking around on the hardwood behind me! She loves to chase the dogs, hugging their necks and petting their backs...it is really precious! We have been very lucky to have great dogs that allow her to do all of this, usually licking her arm or leaning into her in response.

Here she is at only 10 months giving Bella a belly rub. [Bella now has a new family in Louisianna. :)] Lounging on Mocha, apparently aware of how cute she is!
Petting Spencer at only 6 months old:
He was very sweet when she would pet him...but didn't like being chased and hugged like the other dogs. He would just get up and walk away. :)
Giving hugs to Shiloh, my dad's dog while he was here with us. So sweet!
hhmmmm...maybe she thinks she is a dog?
Before you call CPS...let me assure you I DID NOT put her in this cage, nor would I or have I ...ever! :) :) :)

And here is a video of her giggles at Mocha:

A Natural Beach Bum

Is this not the most adorable photo?!?!

I took Emmalyn to the beach for the first time yesterday, with my friend Jessica and her two children, Luke and Raylen. We had such a great time! Jana, we missed you...you'll have to come with next time!

I didn't quite know how Baby Girl would like this. Well, from the moment I put Emmalyn on the sand in her little bare feet, she was smiling! She absolutely LOVED it! When I took her to the water, I assumed it might frighten her a little. Nope. She giggled when the waves swished across her feet. Then she sat in the water. The water came up a little high, and again, I thought she would be a little scared. Nope again. She laughed hystercially! She thought this was the best time ever! I let her play and splash for a while, but when it got a little too cold, and she was shivering a bit, I took her back to the sand to play. She was SOOO MAD at me! But, she got over it as she sat down with her bff, Raylen to play in the sand. :-)

The day was a success, and all of the kids (and mommies) had a wonderful afternoon! We stayed for about 2 hours (covered in sunscreen and a hat of course), and boy, was she tired after all that great playing. She was asleep in the car within 5 minutes!

Daddy HATES the beach, so any more beach trips for us will probably be with our beach-loving friends again! :) The sand is annoying, but oh the fun we had!

Here are a few photos of the day, but for more, go here! :-)

Ready to go, isn't the cover-up, cute?

A smile from the minute I put her down:
Aren't they adorable together?!:
Playing with the sand...

Spencer

Well, yesterday, I had to let go of Spencer.
He truly was the best dog anyone could EVER ask for! He was my cuddly, loyal, loving, sweet baby boy. I miss him terribly already. Here is a video montage I made of him. Notice lots of pictures are of him on a bed...he was spoiled rotten! He had a very good life, just way too short. Through tears, I would like to share this with you...
(You have to click on the picture to see the montage.)


Spencer

Cletus, Take the Reel

This is so funny, I nearly cried! The guy singing is Christian Comedian Tim Hawkins, and his website is here if you would like to check out some more of his stuff.

This is interesting...

This is a "Visual Profile" I took, and thought it was interesting. It got just about everything right. The link to check out my page is: http://friends.imagini.net/Heather78/profile/9 Again, I tried to post a widget the website created, but to no avail. You'll just have to click the link. :)

Pretty cool, huh? I'd love for you to do one now, and share it with me!!!

This little girl is too adorable!!!

There is a little girl on YouTube singing The Lord's Prayer, and it is just too cute!!! For some reason, I can't get the embed code to paste properly, so please just click on this link to watch her!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4PQ30VkBk

Isn't She Lovely?!

So, Kris and I are watching that silly show "Don't Forget the Lyrics" the other night, and we hear the song "Isn't She Lovely," by Stevie Wonder. OH MY! Have you ever really listened to the lyrics? Maybe Kris and I are the only ones that have never realized...it is about his daughter! It was so beautiful...I teared up pretty quick! :) So, here are the lyrics, aren't they beautiful?!

Isnt she lovely
Isnt she wonderfull
Isnt she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love wed be
Making one as lovely as she
But isnt she lovely made from love

Isnt she pretty
Truly the angels best
Boy, Im so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I cant believe what God has done
Through us hes given life to one
But isnt she lovely made from love

Isnt she lovely
Life and love are the same
Life is aisha
The meaning of her name
Londie, it could have not been done
Without you who conceived the one
Thats so very lovely made from love

This song is currently first in my playlist, and I took it off "shuffle," so you should be hearing it as you read this! :)

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

a few days late...but, Happy Easter to you! Poor Emmalyn has been really sick since last Wednesday/Thursday, so I have been unable to blog much recently. Poor thing...she has never had a cough, and this is a doozey! Her fever is finally down, but the cough in lingering. We had to do a breathing treatment this evening...Not Fun!

But, we did manage to have a little fun on Sunday! We went to church all dressed in pretty new clothes (the first time I bought myself an Easter dress in YEARS!), and heard a GREAT message by our pastor. We love our home church, it is such a wonderful Christian family. The message was about how Christ doesn't just want part of you, He wants all of you! Isn't that true?! How often do we manage to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday, talk in our Christian lingo, and pray for each other, but manage to forget to spend time with Him DAILY?! I know I do. I was convicted of my lack of daily time with the Lord, and am grateful for days like these where God gently reaches down and reminds me to come to Him! I renewed my promise to spend more of my energy and time DAILY to grow in the Lord.

We also spent time with Kris' family here in town. We went to his Grandmother and Grandfather's house, where we met up with his mom, dad, sister, aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a lot of fun, and boy, does Grandma know how to feed a crowd! The food was delicious! Emmalyn enjoyed all the attention and loving she received, but was awfully tired by the time it was all said and done! Here is the happy little family, with Emmalyn's first Easter basket. (She was only 5 weeks old last year, we didn't really put together a basket.)

She was excited about her basket of goodies! Especially the little plastic eggs! :)
The toy cell phone was a hit! (Maybe now she will leave Mommy's alone...yeah right! ) And here she is with a very proud Grandma, in her cute little bunny ears! (It's a real challenge to get this little girl to look at the camera AND smile these days!)
Her Aunt Kelli (aka, Nanny) also gave her the MOST ADORABLE tutu! But, we lost the energy to change and photograph that treat! More pictures to come soon!!!

(I know you will all be dying with anticipation, right?!)

Family Fun

Well, this weekend, we loaded up and went to Austin to see my sister and her 5 beautiful children. Kim has been redecorating the house, and we just had to see it all! She is doing a great job...it is beautiful! (If you'd like...you can check her progress at her blog.) We also got to see my Dad who came down Saturday afternoon from Temple to visit with us. We had a great time! I love spending time with my family...it refreshes me and reminds me just how awesome they all really are! We missed my brother, though. :( He is going to Croatia in a week, and had a lot to do to get ready for that! What an opportunity!

So, we had a wonderful dinner that my sister cooked Friday night of Pork Tenderloin and yummy veggies, an awesome cinnamon roll and sauasage/egg caserole breakfast, oh...and THE BEST barbeque I have EVER had, cooked by a friend of Kim's. (He owns a B-B-Q business called Eddie B's B-B-Q...you should definitely check it out! He ships FREE anywhere in Texas, but will also ship anywhere in the US!) It was so yummy, the brisket and ribs were incredible! No sauce even needed!

So, enough about the food we ate...:)...

Kris and our oldest nephew, B, went to a beautiful golf course to play 18 Saturday morning, and they had a great time. We then went to the park and hung out with Dad for the afternoon. Church came EARLY Sunday morning [we are not early risers around here...could you tell? :)], but we really enjoyed the Palm Sunday service. Then lunch at CiCi's pizza, and off we went. It was all too short...I sure wish it wasn't a 5 hour drive to see all these wonderful people!

On the way home, we got to stop by my friend Pennie's house. She is expecting her first little bundle of joy on April 12th...a girl who will be named Emma Suzanne. Her and her hubby are VERY excited, and we got to check out the adorable nursery and baby clothes. Too fun!!! It makes me want to do it all again! We had a great time visiting with them, they too are awesome people!

All in all, it was a GREAT weekend! Emmalyn did pretty good on the way home, only fussing a little in the last hour. (The trip there wasn't quite as pleasant...babies are so unpredictable!)

Here are a few pictures of the trip:

Saturday's yummy breakfast:
At the Park:

Grandaddy watching from the shade:)


She thought she was big stuff...

But gravity sure is frustrating....
but that caused her discovery of the rocks...
uh oh...she discovered the stairs
(Don't worry, that is Daddy right behind her!)
*sigh*...she is so much fun!!!

Before I was a Mom

I received this email from my husband's aunt recently, and just thought it was all too true. How special is it to be a mom?!!! What an amazing blessing!!! I just thought I would share...

Before I was a Mom -

I never thought about immunizations.

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. [See picture below. :) ]

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom (Well, this I knew...but I love it even MORE than I imagined!!)

Before I was a Mom -

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Just A Little Update

Well, Spencer started eating again on Tuesday, and he seems to be feeling better. He is back to following me around and acting pretty normal. Last night I got to play with him a little and he chose to "talk" to me a LOT! [Those of you who personally know him know the little growl/bark/talking noise I am referring to! So funny! :) ] I thought to myself one night last weekend that I would never get to hear that funny little noise again...it thrilled my soul, and I cried!
Anyways...I know I will have to let go eventually, much sooner than I would like, but for now, he seems okay. As the cancer spreads, he will get weaker and be in pain, and I will not let him suffer. I love him too much. But I cannot justify putting him down right now, when it doesn't seem like I would really be "helping" him.
So, please continue to pray for wisdom and strength, as I never know exactly how soon it will be. For now, I am enjoying every minute I have with him!!!

By the way...thank you for your encouraging comments about the life he has had. Those did make me feel a little better, I know he has been spoiled to the best of my ability! :) He has had it pretty good, huh?


ImageChef.com Photo Frames

Please pray for me this week. Most of you who know me, know that my dog, Spencer, is my baby! I have had him for 7 years(it seems so much longer), and before I was married, he was ALWAYS with me, ran errands with me, slept in my bed with me...comforted me every day! People joke that he is co-dependent, I think we both are.

Two months ago, I took him to the vet, they diagnosed him with Bacterial Hepatitis and gave him medicine. After 2 weeks, he was still not eating...I took him back. After x-rays, the vet told me that he actually has cancer in the liver. He told me (one month ago now) that I have about 6 months to a year with him. He put him on Prednisone, and he started eating and acting normally again.

Well, as of about Thursday or Friday, he no longer wants to eat, not even on the Prednisone. I talked to the vet (a friend from chruch) and he said it is probably time to let him go. I don't know if I can!

Please pray for wisdom for me...when to decide to let him go, I certainly don't want him to suffer. He doesn't seem to be in pain right now.
Please pray for strength. I can't imagine not having him around...I love this dog so much!
Isn't he just adorable?

A New Throne for the Princess

Well, Munchkin is now over 20 pounds (23 to be exact), so we needed to move on up to the next car seat! Can you believe we have come so far, since this:

So, this is how she looked at 21 pounds in an infant seat:

She was pretty big, but so cute! And here she is in her new seat...
Doesn't she look big?! [I don't know how much I like that! :)] But she sure loves it! She fusses a LOT less, now that she can see Mommy and Daddy while she is in the car! She loves to look out the window now and babble at everything she sees. This is a nice seat, it will keep a baby/child safe in a 5-point harness up to 65 pounds! Britax is supposed to be a great brand, but little pricey. Thanks, Uncle Sam, for returning the tax money you have been holding for us for the last year, at just the right time! :) :) :)

This is very important...did you know that a regular seat belt (holding a regular booster seat) can come undone in a crash?!!! I would strongly encourage all the parents reading this to learn more about the importance of a 5-Point Harness, please watch this video!!!

Have you noticed the Pink Ribbon?

Well, this is to give you an easy way to help out with the fight against breast cancer! :) This link travels at light speed through cyber space over email forwards, so I wanted to check it out on Snopes.com to make sure it was the real deal. They said: "Unlike the way things are explained in the email, one click does not magically provide a mammogram to a needy woman...it takes 45,000 clicks, not just one. Averaging 58,000 clicks a day, The Breast Cancer Site provides funding for approximately mammograms a day." The site also leads to merchandise you can buy, with the proceeds (or portions of the proceeds) going to the fight on Breast Cancer. So, click away! Click EVERY DAY! :)

Here is some info I copied and pasted from the site...
When you click, we display ads from our site sponsors. 100% of the money from these advertisers goes to our charity partners, who fund programs to provide mammograms to women in need.
Our store gives a portion of every purchase to our charity partners.

Your click on the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button helps fund free mammograms for women in need — low-income, inner-city and minority women whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited. Your click is paid for by site sponsors, and mammogram funding is provided to clinics throughout the U.S. through the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Early Detection: Do You Know The Facts?
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2007, 178,480 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,460 die. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. In addition, 2,030 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die this year.

If detected early, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer exceeds 96%. Mammograms are among the best early detection methods, yet 13 million U.S. women 40 years of age or older have never had a mammogram.

The National Cancer Institute and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that women in their forties and older have mammograms every one to two years. A complete early detection plan also includes regular clinical breast examinations by a trained medical professional. Monthly breast self-exams are suggested in addition.

Click here and here for more information about breast cancer and the issues surrounding it.


How You Can Help In Mere Seconds — Every Day
The Breast Cancer Site provides a feel-good way to help promote awareness of breast cancer and provide free mammograms for women in need every day — through easy and quick online activities.

With a simple, daily click of the pink "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button at The Breast Cancer Site, visitors help to provide free mammograms for women in need. Visitors pay nothing. Mammograms are provided by our charitable partners.

Please remember to click every day to fund free mammograms and give hope to women in need. Every click counts in the battle to prevent breast cancer.

You Can Help Even More
In addition to clicking the pink "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button, visitors can help more by shopping in The Breast Cancer Site store. With each item purchased, shoppers generate funds that provide free mammograms for women in need. The store offers a wide array of items to show your support as well as fair-traded and handcrafted items from around the world that help families and communities pull themselves out of poverty.

You can also help fund breast cancer research at the Mayo Clinic through our Gifts that Give More program, where 100% of donations will be matched by the Mayo Clinic to create an endowed breast cancer research position. You can also use Pink Ribbon Search to fund mammograms with every web search you make.

A few fun tunes...

So, I was finding myself tapping my toes and bobbing my head every time I saw the new MacBook Air commercial, and just HAD to find the song. It's called "New Soul," by Yael Naim. Here it is...isn't it catchy? What a cheery tune! :)
*Don't forget...you have to pause my playlist on the right to hear the song. :)


Yael Naim - New Soul lyrics

It's similar to the last Mac tune I HAD to find, Feist's 1-2-3-4:

I Have 2 Prayer Requests

I have a dear friend, Jessica, who needs your prayers. Her husband, Josh, needs the same prayers. For we know that if we ask the Lord, he is faithful and will hear our prayer. "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."-Matthew 21:22

She is about 18 weeks pregnant, and has very bad news from the doctors. Her baby has been diagnosed with Potter's Syndrome. Potter's Syndrome means the baby has no kidneys, and therefore cannot produce the amniotic fluid that is necessary for development. When the amniotic fluid is missing the baby lives in a very tightly packed environment and therefore will demonstrate very compressed features. Normally the baby is surrounded by the fluid, which allows freedom of movement, and of growth. It helps in the development of the babies muscular and skeletal system. Inhaling the fluid is also vital to the development of the baby’s lungs. The fluid prevents fetal parts growing unevenly and being pressed against the wall of the uterus or womb. Jessica has a 50 to 60 percent chance of carrying the baby to term, but the doctors have told her that the baby will not survive outside the womb. So she is going to carry this pregnancy and have to deliver!

Jessica has a wonderful attitude about all of this, one which I do not know that I could have. She told me that if this is all the time the Lord gives her with this baby (meaning the time in the womb), then she should enjoy all that she can. The baby's heartbeat is currently very strong, and Jessica has even gotten some ultrasound pictures of the precious one's little arms and face. Jessica trusts the Lord, and knows that His plan is perfect.

My prayers recently have been that our LORD's perfect Will be done, and that the family of this precious miracle is comforted by our savior during this time. I CANNOT fathom how difficult this must be! My heart has been breaking for the last few weeks, and it is not my child. I love Jessica dearly and I hate to see her hurt. I have said that I am frustrated that I can't DO anything...but I can! I can intercede for her! Psalm 46:1 says that "God is our refuge and strength,A very present help in trouble." I am putting her and her husband at the foot of the throne, and lifting them to rest under the wings of our Lord and savior! Please pray with me! Please pray for the physicians to be knowledgeable and caring. Please pray for the hearts of all of Jessica's family. Please pray for Jessica and Josh to be able to rest in the Lord's perfect will. Please pray for them...I can only imagine how difficult the loss of a child will be on a marriage! I know there should be more, but my broken heart clouds my mind, and I know that is where you come in! Please pray for this little family!
Here is a picture of Jessica and Josh with their two beautiful children, Luke and Raylen: (Raylen is Emmalyn's best friend...they are only 10 days apart!)

Second Request:
Jessica's sister, Hannah, is also pregnant (only 8 or 9 weeks), and is very sick. She has ulcerative colitis, and cannot take her medication while pregnant. She is already very ill. Please pray God heals her and provides a healthy, enjoyable pregnancy for her and her little miracle. Here is Jessica with Raylen and Hannah(they are 3 B-E-A-utiful women!):

James 1:2-6- Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

I am so grateful for the prayer warriors in my life!!!

Show And Tell

I would just like to brag for a moment, on my niece. We'll call her Beautiful Sunshine b/c my sister doesn't use her kiddos' names on the world wide web. Well, Beautiful Sunshine is 16 years old, and MADE(knitted) a sweater for Emmalyn for her birthday that I would honestly expect to buy at Baby Gap! It is complete with collar, buttons, and a cute little pocket(which she said was the most challenging part). It is awesome! And lest you think I am just biased, everyone at Emmalyn's party "oohed and ahed" over it too! It fits the baby just perfectly, and I would like to share it's beauty with the world! I would SERIOUSLY have bought this at Baby Gap had I seen it there! :) So, without further ado...here it is.

Isn't it adorable?! (FYI...you can look closer by clicking on the picture.)

And doesn't Emmalyn look like a big girl in this picture...WALKING, in her BLUE JEANS?!

My Little Houdini

When I put Little Bit down for her nap the other morning, she was still wearing these pajama bottoms! I guess she decided she was too warm, and took them off. She was so cute, proudly holding them up to me when I went in to her room to get her!

And I do not understand why her nose looks orange in EVERY picture I take of her! I am careful not to give her the orange fruits and veggies very often, and it doesn't look that way in real life, but yet...in every picture...look at her nose! ARGH!!!!!!

Aren't they purty?!

So, the irises weren't quite open yet on Valentine's Day, so I chose to wait until all was blooming to photograph and post the pictures. So, here are the beautiful sunflowers and irises my wonderful hubby brought me. Aren't the gorgeous? :)

Valentine's Day, Continued

Well, I thought I should add how much I LOVE MY HUSBAND to this tribute to Valentine's Day! :) For our Valentine's this year, we simply went to dinner at a great sushi restaurant and to a local VERY YUMMY bakery. But, the magic was spending time with my hubby! I am so in love with him! He brought me beautiful flowers...sunflowers and irises, some of my favorites!...and a very sweet card!
We made cherry pies in MOPS on Wednesday, so I cut a heart out of it and baked it for him.

I made him a love letter, using those funny little conversation hearts they sell this time of year. He loved it! :) I also wrote him a list of 57 things I love and respect about him. It included how he loves my sacrificially, how great a daddy he is, how much he loves the Lord, his heart for the lost, his intelligence, his sense of humor, his generosity, his strong character and integrity, ability to live by his convictions, his love and devotion to family, how he takes such good care of me when I am sick, and his faith...among many other things! I am so in love! :)
Here is a picture of the letter. I think you can read most of it if you click on it and make it larger.

And HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY (a day late:( ) to all of my friends and family! I hope you all had a great day! I love you very much and thank the LORD for bringing each and every one of you into my life! What a LOVING GOD we serve!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love this time of year! The time when you get to tell those you love just how much you love them! But yes, you should be doing that all year....but I digress...
I feel so blessed these days! I have a wonderful daughter, who at only 1 year old, is my best friend! Here are some of the things I love about Emmalyn:

• She keeps me laughing all day
• She teaches me patience, abounding love, and how to get my priorities straight
• She gives the BEST hugs!
• Her smile melts my heart every time I see it
• Watching her dance (by bouncing up and down, sticking her little bootie out) makes me laugh hysterically!
• She understands a LOT more than we give her credit for!
• She likes to grab the brush and hold it to her head and "brush" her own hair...so cute!
• It's funny how she grabs anything, especially the tv remote, and holds it to her ear like a telephone
• Watching her eat is even cute...she is so deliberate with "chewing," even though she only has 2 teeth
• I love to see her watch for Kris to come around the kitchen corner when he comes home from work, and the subsequent huge smile and squeal to see him!
• She waves bye-bye by holding her hand palm-up, squeezing her fingers in and out. She even waves when she hears the word bye, like when I was saying we should "buy" a certain item! Too funny!
• She doesn't "say" anything, but the oohs, aahs, whoas, and other cute sounds make her communication pretty clear!
• I never tire of watching her sleep...is there a sweeter vision?
• I never tire of watching her walk...she is so proud, and it makes her look like such a big girl! *sigh*
• Her smile when I go in her room to pick her up every morning is the best way to start the day!

This little girl has given me and Kris more joy than we ever could have imagined! What an amazing God we serve that would allow us the blessing of taking care of His precious child! Happy Valentine's Day, my sweet angel!

New stuff!

Hey everybody! I'm finally having fun with this here bloggin'! :) Notice my cool new playlist! Now you can enjoy some of my favorite music while you read my musings! Oh, and it's not my fault that Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" is spelled wrong...that's how they have it listed in Playlist.com, and I can't change it! ARG! Do you know how aggravating that is to a teacher?!
Anyways...I found a cool new website called imagechef.com too, and had fun creating the photos on the right! You should check it out!

And for the sake of the blog, would some of you start leaving comments? Please? Pretty please? How else am I supposed to know anyone reads this little online journal? :) [Other than Jana and Kristy, of course!..thanks ladies! :) ]

Okay...off to play some more!

btw, does anyone know how I can get smilies?

A Three Level Lumbar Fusion

So, this is an MRI image of what my spine looked like BEFORE my surgery. Notice the three lowest disc spaces do NOT look like the 5 healthy ones above them. Especially the middle one of the three. That is where I had a disc removed in 2003, and handy dandy little bone spurs had developed. Very painful! I apparently inherited my mother's degenerative disc disease (lucky me!), and have already had LOTS of excruciating back pain for my age. So, all three of the these spaces needed to be repaired.

I tried desperately to show you the AFTER image, but the surgeon gave me a disc with my x-rays on it, and he must not want you to use the images for ANYTHING other than your own personal use. I could not get them off that disc! (ARGH!!!)
But...picture 8 screws and 2 very long rods in my spine, connecting all the vertebrae surrounding the unhealthy discs. Kris just calls me RoboWife now! Here is an image I found on Google Images that looks much like mine, but I have 2 more screws, and the rods are a bit longer.

We are desperately praying that this solves my back pain problems, for the most part. Would you pray with us, please? The surgeon told me that I will probably always have slight pain and have to repeat the surgery in 5 to 10 years, as other discs will eventually disintegrate as well. He actually used the phrase "This is your cross to bear." Scary, but apparently true. And before you ask, I did ask...nothing I can do will slow down this process. No weight loss, no diet change, no supplements or vitamins will help. This is genetic and irreversible. But if I can avoid the horrible flare-ups that prevent me from being able to take care of Emmalyn, I will be happy. I am still in pain today, but am REALLY hoping it is just surgery recovery, and I will be pain free any day now. Besides, we want more kiddos, right? I have to get this back healthy to have more babies! :)

The surgery was 6 weeks ago today, so I am cleared to pick up Emmalyn now. This has been a rough 6 weeks! But God has, as always, provided! Kris's mom has been here almost every day, and his Grandma has helped out too. I was extremely blessed to have my sister come stay with us for 4 days at the beginning, too! This help has made this experience less daunting...and man! is my house CLEAN right now!!! :)

She's on the move now!!!

Can you believe it?! She has the confidence to finally let go...and she is all over the place!!! Notice the baracade we have set up to the right. This is to keep her from the kitchen, especially away from the dog food! :) Kris and I cannot BELIEVE our little baby can walk!!!

I guess I am just not a blogger...

Thank you to those who read my blog, and I aplogize for being so inconsistent. I just don't find that I am a very good writer, so I don't feel I have much to offer. I also feel that I simply don't have the time, or the desire to sit at the computer for very long at a time. So, I think I will keep the blog, but quit promising to update very often. (Where is the "embarassed" smilie icon to insert here?:) )I will probably get into moods every now and then, and post every couple of days, I may very well then leave and not come back for a month. :) Please forgive me. So, with that said...here is what has been going on for the last 6 to 8 weeks:

• I had back surgery. A three-level fusion in my lower back has kept me SERIOUSLY out of commission since Dec. 28th.
• Kris celebrated his 33rd birthday, with me in the doctor's office for a surgery follow-up apt.
• Kris and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. (Have I mentioned I have the most awesome husband in the world?!?!!!)
• Emmalyn celebrated her FIRST birthday!
• Other stuff going on in my life...I am currently battling a cold, my dog is sick (I will tell more about that later), Emmalyn is starting to walk!, etc......

I will try to elaborate on these things over the next few days... but in the meantime, please enjoy these photos!

and PLEASE go see more adorable photos at my online photo gallery!