Happy Belated Birthday to my Wonderful Daughter!

Ok so I have had this post started for quite sometime now and was waiting on my sis-in-law to upload the pics from the party, but she's been busy and so have I so I'm just gonna go ahead and post this without the pics and maybe we can get them up soon.


Well over a month later I finally have time to post about Kensley's birthday. Last year she didn't even know that she had had a birthday. Once she was alert and able to start remembering things, it took a lot of work to get her to remember that she was six now. I had decided a a few years ago that I was only going to give my kids the big birthday parties until they were five and then after that they could just have a couple of friends over to stay the night, but since Kensley didn't get to have a party at all last year I decided we would just go all out this year. She loves cheerleading so what's better than having an Alabama cheerleading party. Dustin has a cousin that was a cheerleader for Wallace State so we invited her to come and teach the girls some cheers and the boys played football. Kylee made her an awesome cake. She got many gifts and had a great time.

Kensley has always been a loving kid. She is smart and loves to learn and is very inqusitive. She likes Justin Bieber, coloring and drawing, playing her DS and playing text twist on the computer. She loves to being with her friends. Her greatest desire is to ride a bike and I believe the Lord will grant her with that.

She can brighten my day. And just the other day I came home from work and it hadn't been such a good day and she came up to love on me and I told her just that. That she always made my day better. She still runs to the door to meet me when I get home. Always loves to see any of us when we have been gone any period of time. She loves going to spend the night with friends, but loves just as much coming home. I can't imagine life without her, she is our sunshine! I love you Kensley and hope you have many more birthdays!

Thanksgiving....

hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did. First of all I will say I'm thankful for the Lord and all he has done for us and I'm thankful for my family, they mean so much to mean and I don't know what I would do without them. Thankful that we have a place to lay our heads at night, a roof above our head and food on the table and good place to work. What more could we ask for. He is so gracious to us and to Him I am thankful.

We started out the morning with my mom and dad coming down early and helped me put up my village. We then cooked and went to Suzie's house for dinner. And as a tradition after we eat, we drag out all the sales papers and begin to plan out our shopping. This year was a little different though, we decided to shop all night. Dustin loves to go just as much as I do, but he wasn't to keen on going all night so he opted to stay home. Me, Marty and Kylee braved the rain and the crowds and headed to Wal-Mart around 10. People already had buggy fulls, so we grabbed a buggy and started shopping. People were going crazy over stuff. Marty even witnessed a fight over DS games, nothing is that important to me. I ended up going to check out and got checked out somewhere around 1 I guess. Loaded my car up and headed back inside to sit with Marty as she waited in line for one of the hot items going on sale at 5. We sat and talked and talked and made new friends and even played a game while waiting. We got what they waited for and stood in line again to check out and then headed off to Huntsville. We stopped by Shoe Carnival and then headed to Madison Square Mall. Got a few good deals and then went to Catos for our last stop. I got my kids a few items but not a lot. I still have lots of shopping to do. We got home a little before noon, so we shopped almost 14 hours. I think that is the first time I have ever stayed up that long without sleep. Came back to Suzie's and watched the game, I might have dozed off for about 30-40 min. Dustin's grandmother got sick so we went up there for awhile and came home and fed the kids and then I went to bed around 8. Finished up some decorating this weekend and did some much needed cleaning to the house. Will post pics of all my trees a little later.

Part 3 of reflecting back.....

Progress was being made in therapy at the hospital and when it was time for us to be discharged they were having her put pressure on her legs and trying to walk with lots of assistance. We were so ready to come home, but on the other hand hated to leave because she was getting so much help everyday. We were being discharged on Nov. 18th. Kensley had to do a half a day of therapy, so it ended up being over in the afternoon before we got to leave. Justin, Joe David and Scott came to help up pack all of our stuff and drive us home. The family had planned a Welcome Home party for us and when we pulled in the driveway we were greeted by a multitude of friends and family holding signs to welcome us home. As I sit here typing this I just get so overwhelmed at the love that was shown to us. Channel 19 was also there to capture it all for us. Everyone came inside to see Kensley and at that time she still could not even hold herself up, so it took some trial and error to figure out how to adjust to things at home, but we managed.

We began to take her to therapy at Huntsville Hospital and the group of therapist that we received were great. I was able to take a leave of absence from work and stay with her for the next 3 months. I remember going to Christmas program practice and us standing her up to walk with our assistance, but others there were just amazed at the progress. We went home that night and she started kicking her left leg, we were beside ourselves and started calling whoever would listen to tell them. Time rocked on and she begin using a walker, it was hard to keep her left hand on it correctly, but didn't seem to bother her she would just keep trying. Throughout this whole process she has been anointed several times and with each time has made some great improvements. It wasn't long after Christmas that she started taking her first steps for the second time in her life. I was work and Dustin sent me some pictures of her walking down the hall. And here she is doing just that.


We've had some obstacles to overcome, but the Lord has always been there to see us through. Which brings us to where we are today. Kensley is back in school full time and making all A's, she does pretty much anything she wants to do with some limitations. I think I'm probably some of her hold back, but the momma in me starts coming out and I get a little over protective sometimes. I'm always so afraid of her falling and hurting herself that a lot of times I won't let her do certain things, but I'm trying to work on that. :)

A couple of weeks ago we went to therapy and they were trying to work with her left hand and it was so tight that they couldn't even keep it open, they were having to force it open. We went to church on Sunday night and her Uncle Paul anointed her hand. We went back to therapy the next week and she was just so much better. The therapist was just amazed, so I told her what had happened over the weekend. Kensley was able to put her weight on her left hand and prop herself up and then she was able to crawl with both hands. And also a couple of months ago they put her on a bike, that is her greatest desire right now is to be able to ride a bike. Well they had to tie her left hand and foot to the bike for them to stay on, well this past week they put her back on it and didn't have to use anything to help her keep her hand and foot on there, I was amazed myself and trying to text Dustin while all of this was going on. We are so thankful that the Lord has brought her this far and look for Him to bring her the rest of the way.

In my first post I mentioned that I had thought about asking Dustin to pull over in the rain, but didn't realize that the Lord had a plan. I have since thought if I would have asked him to pull over until it cleared up some, we could've no doubt still had the wreck and all the people that stopped and helped us would've already passed. My point is there was a nurse driving behind us that stopped to help and had we stopped and let her go by us, who would've been there to help Kensley? I know the Lord put her there and I wish I knew who she was so that I could thank her personally, but we haven't been able to find out. There was this one guy that helped in the accident and he came to visit us in B'ham. We can never repay all those who stopped to help us that day, who sacrificed what they were doing to help us. I felt so helpless that day, and we had no one there with us, but God sent us some angels to help my family that day and I'm forever indebted to Him. Thanks to everyone that said a prayer for us and helped us in our time of need, I just hope that I can give back when it's my time to help someone else. We love each and everyone of you!

Part 2 of reflecting back.....

Ok one correction I need to make from the prev. post is that we called from Okaloosa Hospital and not Pensacola, which is where we ended up. And I did start part two over the weekend but just didn't get it finished, so here goes.

It had been arranged for us to stay at the Ronald McDonald House while we were in Florida. I think it is a great place set up for families, but it just wasn't working for us. Some of the rules were that you had certain chores that you had to do everyday within the household and at that point in time it was all we could do to even walk and all we wanted to do was get up in the mornings and go to the hospital and stay til time to go to bed that night, we didn't want to have to worry about was our chores done or not. We did stay there the first night, and I remember that the three of us just sat and cried together. A few of the sisters from our church had went and gotten us some clothes and toiletries to get us by a couple of days. We didn't have anything with us, it was all still in the car. My mom and Sis. Karen Willmon went with me the next day to help me get the room cleaned and the chores done so that we could check out. We were then set up at a hotel nearby and the staff there was great to us. They even kept so many rooms set aside just for visitors to stay in when they came to visit.

The only way that we could stay with Kensley at night was if we didn't go to sleep. There is some sort of rule that if the patient is on a ventilator that the person staying can't go to sleep in case something went wrong they didn't need to be trying to work around you. So because Dustin needed my help getting ready in the mornings we would just go to the hotel each night and go back early in the mornings and stay til visiting time was up that night. But once Kensley was off the ventilator she got moved to a new room and I was able to stay at night. Me and my mom took turns staying the nights. We were told that when patients with brain injuries starting yawning that it meant the swelling was going down. We were watching for that every minute of the day. It was now time to be moved to Birmingham where she would go through rehab. There were two ladies that transported us. And on the ride up there the lady in the back with Kensley told me that she had been yawning. I knew then that things were looking up. When we arrived at B'ham, we were once again joined by family and friends. We were greeted by Dr. Law and the news that we had gotten from him wasn't what we wanted to hear, but his training is to let us know what the future might hold for us and not to get our hopes up for something that might not happen because it is a waiting game with brain injury pts. Not even doctors know what the outcome is going to be because all pts are different. But at that point in time the news was just gut wrenching, but now I look back and see where he was coming from. From that day forward she began to improve, it was hard to go to therapy with her, they would push her to her limits and it was just hard seeing her in pain, but we knew that was what was going to get her to where she is today. The therapist were great, everytime we have an appt back in B'ham we go and visit them. They were such a big part in her recovery and we want them to see how far she has come.

We were in B'ham a couple of days and Kensley's 6th b-day was here, but she was still unconscious and never even knew that she had a b-day. Gifts and cards began to pour in and it was just one of the highlights or our days to open up the cards and read the encouragement that everyone was sending us. As she was winged off of her medicine she began to wake up, she still couldn't talk, but she had full use of the right side and would give us hugs. On October 30th of last year, several had came to visit including Joe David, Drea and Kaylee. They had stayed for awhile and then left because the weather was about to get bad. Konnor was there and he began to try and play with Kensley and she started smiling. It was so amazing, we called and gave Drea 'em the news and if the weather hadn't been bad I believe they would have turned around and came back. But here is a pic of her first smile in the hospital.



Progress was being made each day, there was a patient being discharged and we were offered their room because it was a little bigger and they knew we always had a lot of visitors and could use it. The staff at the hospital was so good to us and never complained with how many visitors that we had. I think they liked it too because we kept them fed quite often. :) Kensley kept pulling out her feeding tube and you can't really blame her for it, who wants a tube stuck up their nose? We were finally able to convince them that we thought we could get enough food down her to where she didn't need and they give us that chance. Once the feeding tube was out she began to talk. I remember staying the night and I was getting ready to go to the hotel and shower and get Dustin and she told me bye. I got to the hotel and told Dustin and he didn't believe me. Before we could get back she had started talking more and more and they called and told us to hurry and get there. We were amazed, she was saying all kinds of stuff, her poor little voice was just very faint, you had to listen real close to hear what she was saying, but it didn't matter, she was talking. Her short term memory still wasn't there, but believe me when I say that isn't the issue now. She can just about tell you anything you want to know and if you are around her any length of time she will ask you when you b-day is and how old you are and she will be able to tell you the next time she sees you, just amazing. She didn't know why she was in the hospital and she couldn't even remember our Disney trip. She was so funny, she would flirt with any boy that walked in the room and loved playing with all the kids that came in.

Kensley's left eye would stay shut all the time, but we were told that over time that should heal and it has, her pupil is still dialated, but she can see fine out of it. You can tell when she gets tired that the left eye gets a little droopy. She had to go to the eye doctor in Birminham a couple of weeks ago and he said that at this point they would consider putting a patch over her good eye so that she could strengthen the bad one, but she was doing so well that he didn't think anything needed to be done. PTL!

I hate to make this a novel, but I won't to write as much as I can remember down so that I have it to look back at when my memory starts to fail me. :) I guess I'm going to have to make a part 3 cause I'm not finished and don't want to put so much in one post that no one wants to read it, so I will finish up with the next post soon.

Reflecting back part 1......

On October 7, 2009 our lives changed. I still remember the day so clearly. We were driving down the road in pouring down rain and I had considered telling Dustin to pull over, but little did I know that wasn't meant and you'll see why a little later in the post. Next thing I knew we were laying upside down in the car and I couldn't find my kids, I hope no one ever has to experience that, and I couldn't keep my husband conscience. I didn't care who was around me or who heard me, I was calling out to the Lord to please spare my husband because he was lost and to please help my kids. I remember looking up at one point and seeing Dustin's phone laying there and I grabbed it and was gonna call someone but just hesitated because I didn't want them to panic on the phone with me cause I myself was already in a panic. They wouldn't tell me anything about the kids other than Konnor was ok and they were working on Kensley, but I had no idea of the extent of it. Apparently I was up against the culvert so no one could get over to that side of the car and at first they didn't even know I was in there and I was trying to scream and tell them, but it was hard to holler, I just didn't have the breath, but thank the Lord someone heard me. I helped them unbuckle Dustin so they could pull him out. Then they were able to get me out. The pain was so unbearable, it hurt to breathe or move.

I was asking for my kids, but they kept telling me that I had to go to the hospital and that they were being taken care of. They put me and Dustin in the same ambulance together and about the only thing I remember of the ride was thinking if I can just go off to sleep cause it hurt so bad to breathe. I remember holding Dustin's hand on the way and telling him I love you. We had no concept of the time frame that all of this was going on. They took Dustin to the same hospital that the kids were at and I was left by myself. The weather had gotten bad so they just decided that they would just transport me by ambulance, which was at least an hour away. I was still on the back board and still had a neck brace around me and it was all so uncomfortable.

We went through numerous x-rays and scans, but all came back good. Thank you Lord! Once we arrived at the ER at the same hospital as the kids Dustin was given a phone to call someone. He got a hold of his mom and dad, but they were so upset that she passed the phone over to Bro. Steve Mahathey, I remember talking to him briefly. At that point me and Dustin were in separate rooms but we could see each other through the window. Sis. Mindy Holman and Sis. Heather Riggins came to stay with me in the ER and the Lord came by and I'm so thankful for that. Holly and Heather were also vacationing at the beach and were able to get to my kids and stay with them. Uncle Leonard was with Dustin. They moved us to rooms and I was able to get me a shower with some help from Sis. Jenny Harkins, bless her heart, but at that point I didn't care. I had mud madded all up in my hair and all over me. They didn't allow me to go see Dustin, it was over in the morning by this time and I just had to go to my room cause both of us were sharing with other pts. Friends and family started pouring in, the support was so overwhelming. I never would have dreamed all of those people would come to see us, but they did and I don't know what we would have done without them there.

We rested for a couple of hours and the next morning they wheeled Konnor up to see us. It was such a great feeling to see him there and doing well, just a little sore. I remember just hugging him and crying. They came in and discharged me so I went over to sit with Dustin until they discharged him. I didn't want to go alone to see Kensley, we really had no idea how bad she was, most of it had been kept from us. Once Dustin was discharged we immediately went to see Kens. I can still remember the first time we saw her, it was just heartbreaking seeing her lay there with all of her hair cut off and tubes running everywhere. She was just lifeless and I was just helpless. All we could do was wait. We then headed to Konnor's room to visit and soon after he was discharged. There are so many details that I feel sometimes I could write a book. To go back a little, Konnor had some cuts that were pretty bad and they thought he might have to get some stitches, and he heard them talking about it and began to pray that he wouldn't have to and the nurse came back and said he didn't. The Lord hears their prayers and I'm so thankful he knew to pray about it. I want my kids to know that the Lord can give them whatever they need.

Here is a pic of how Kens started out. This picture doesn't do justice of how she really looked. I go back to those days so many times and am so thankful that he carried us. And I do mean he carried us, I look back and think we were upset and didn't know what to do, but I find myself struggling more over it now than I did then and I know it was the prayers and the prescence of the family and the Children of God that helped us through each day. We only went one day out of the whole eight weeks that we didn't have any visitors. What a blessing to know that we have such great family in the Lord.



I'm going to make this part 1 of my post and finish it up maybe tomorrow or before the week is up.

Ok so I'm a little late to getting around to this, but I have been out of blog world for the past couple of days, so here goes:


Fall Questions...

1. Do you like Starbucks? no, I just think it smells really good :)

2. How do you decorate and prepare for Fall? I normally don't do a lot of fall decorating, I love the colors, but just have never really gotten anything much to decorate with, but now Christmas is another story.

3. Will you participate in your college's homecoming activities? never went to college

4. What is your favorite Fall clothing item or accessory? Boots and sweaters

5. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid? I have absolutely no clue. I never remember what I dressed as. I know I went. I'm old people. Give me a break!

6. Do you like Halloween/Horror movies? No not really, most of them are so gorry that they don't even seem real, but on the other hand some are too real that I just can't watch them.

7. What is your favorite Fall activity? I love going to the Smokies this time of year and letting the kids carve pumpkins and the family gatherings.

8. What is your favorite Fall recipe? soups

Quick questions...

1. What movie coming out soon are you looking forward to seeing? I have no clue!
2. What will you miss most about Summer? not having to bundle everyone up before you leave to go somewhere.
3. When do you start your holiday shopping? usually not til the day after Thanksgiving, but I'm hoping maybe I can go ahead and start looking for some things now.
4. Favorite exercise/activity? Shopping....lol....I like this Marty so I think I will copy her answer!
5. Best book you've read lately? not read lately, but all time favorite book is The Notebook
6. Do you make your bed every day? Not everyday, but I have started trying to do better about it
7. If you could choose a personal chef or a personal shopper, which would you choose? definitely the chef!
8. Which TV show are you most excited for this Fall? Hmmm....let's see Greys Anatomy, Private Practice and The Good Wife are at the top of my list.

I am thankful.....

.....going right along with everyone else's post today!

I'm thankful for my husband, who is also my very best friend.

I'm thankful for my kids who always brighten my day!

I'm thankful for my job, I have great co-workers to work with and great benefits.

I'm thankful for my home and that we have cars to drive and food to eat.

I'm thankful that the Lord spared all of our lives, things could have been so different.

I'm thankful of how far the Lord has brought Kensley and for what He is going to do for her in the future.

I'm thankful for my parents, they are always there when I call them and always willing to help me.

I'm thankful for my in laws, they are such wonderful people.

I'm thankful for my brother, he can be a pest sometimes, but I love him. And I'm thankful for all of my brother and sister in laws.

I'm thankful for my friends, they are always there to help when I need them or when I need a shoulder to cry on.

I'm thankful for my church, I couldn't ask for a better place to go.

And most of all I'm thankful for my salvation, I couldn't do anything without the Lord's help. I feel so small compared to most, but I want to do my little part.

Lastly, I want to share a picture of Kensley, she lost her front tooth yesterday at school while eating lunch, she looks so different with it gone now.

Blog giveaway

....ok so I am supposed to blog about the giveaway that Shelby has on her blog for a "whimsical design" for your blog. I'm blogging about this because I have to to get qualified in the drawing. Wish me luck!

Geek Day!

Today was Geek day at school and Konnor couldn't wait to dress up for it. Went to Wal-Mart last night and got him some glasses to wear and this is the outcome. He really plays the part well. I took these with my phone so they aren't that great, but Marty has some on her camera so maybe they will be better.

....as everyone knows it has almost been a year since the accident and we are so thankful for how far the Lord has brought Kensley. We all want her to be completely well and sometimes I tend to have to recheck my patience on that, but I know it will come in His time. We are still so thankful for your continued prayers. But what I wanted to get on her and thank the Lord for is when our family went to the car to retrieve all of our belongings one of my worries was my camera and memory cards and they were found all in tact. But somehow in the mist of all the stuff going on somehow my initial memory card came up missing. I didn't do a lot of worry about it while we were in the hospital because that wasn't so important at the time, but after we got home and had time to settle in I began to look for it and couldn't find it anywhere. I was crushed, all the memories we had were what we could remember. I had one of my memory cards, but it only had I think the last day on there. The bin that had everything in it had been searched and searched so I just dismissed the fact that I was going to find it and put the bin in the attic. Well I had a yard sale today and decided I was going to go through my stuff in the attic and see what I could sell. I came back across that bin and thought well I will just look one more time. Well I didn't even have to look it was right there. I couldn't hardly believe my eyes. Over 300 pictures from Disney were found, I was estatic. It may seem small to some people but this was huge for me. I know the Lord had to have done that because I had tore that bin apart looking for that card, He is so gracious to us.

On another note, we had our yard sale today, and it was a hot one, my faces proves it. Needless to say I got me some sunshine today. We were selling away when I looked across the road and saw the rain coming. I told the others and we began to carry everything in the Jerome's shop. We got the most important stuff in just in time, but by the time we got the rest of it we were trenched from head to toe. We had a few more customers, but then decided to pack it all up. All in all we had a good turn out and made lots of $$$$.

We are now getting ready for church. It's 2nd weekend so hope everyone will come out and see us.

Couponing and Labor Day!

....well I did my first couponing this weekend. I was so overwhelmed with trying to figure out what was on sale, what I had a coupon for and where could I get a coupon. I think I was on the phone with Melia Saturday almost 30 minutes. I started trying to make a list but it just wasn't working for me. So I loaded Kensley up and we took off to Publix. Yes my first couponing experience was with a kid in tow, she actually did really good. I got lots of BOGO items and used a few coupons. So all in all for my first experience I think I did really well. I spent $106 and saved $78. Dustin thinks they just tell you that to make you feel good. He's just jealous, maybe I should let him try the grocery shopping one day.... :)

I got home Saturday from the grocery store and several were in and out of the house all day, but we don't mind, we love company. Saturday night we went to church and then had a few over afterwards to watch the Alabama game. Although it was really tough to stay awake, I'm sure I did doze a few times, but glad they won! Roll Tide! Sunday morning I was exhausted and we stayed home that morning and then church that night. After church we went to Red Lobster with Scott and Josie and altogether we had 6 kids with us to. They did good though...dinner was good, but the price wasn't so good. But what do you expect it was Red Lobster. And can someone tell Scott that the resturants don't care whether or not your party is made up of kids or adults, they are still going to charge you the gratuity. Yeah he wasn't so happy about it, but paid it anyway. Guess where we won't be going with Scott for awhile, yep you got it Red Lobster.

Monday we got up pretty early and Dustin had some things to do the new trailor that New Harmony got and then we headed up to the mountain (Gunters) to the church where they were grilling out and the kids played. We stayed for a couple of hours and then headed down to Scott and Josie's to visit for a while and then back home. Hilary and Daniel Mahan came over and Daniel and Dustin recorded a song that Daniel had written. They did a really good job. We enjoy them coming over, Hilary is a blast and Daniel coming over gives Dustin someone to enjoy playing music with.

Today was back to the grind at work and it was a rough one. We are getting new billing software, so we have started this week getting conversion ready for us to start training on it, which means my other work gets neglected. I tried working on it some later this afternoon, but didn't get near the things done that I needed to, but it will be there tomorrow, trust me no one is going to go in and do it for me. :( Well I hope everyone has a good week and we will talk to y'all soon!

Another miracle.....

.....well today another miracle happened, at least in our family's eyes. After the wreck we had to meet with the Sherriff or State Trooper's dept (I can't remember exactly which one it was) about the accident and answer a bunch of questions. They charged Dustin with driving with faulty equipment and he would have to appear in court, they said they had to charge him with something because of the TBI that Kensley sustained. Well they told us we didn't have to do it right then that we had up to a year to come back to court. He had tried to call once we got home and got settled back in, but couldn't ever get anybody, so we have just sort of dismissed it until now. It is coming up on a year real soon and we knew something had to be done about it, so he decided he would call today and he got someone on the phone, who said that the guy who had our case had dismissed it and he no longer had to appear in court. Praise the Lord for yet another miracle.

I also want to Praise the Lord for a very good day yesterday with Kensley. Most of you know that she has sudden outburst of anger, and it is very hard to control sometimes, but yesterday was so good and I was amazed within myself how good she was. Today we have had some minor spells, but not bad at all.

Tonight it is all about homework again. Monday's are always the worst. Dustin and Hayley Kelly are in there practicing for a wedding. Konnor is still working on homework and Kens is in her room playing with Grayson. And by the way thanks to everyone who sent me a comment or sent me an email about beds. Hopefully if Costco still has the one that I've been told about I will be getting it. Well hope everyone is having a good day, talk to you all soon!

Cleaning out!!!!!!!

I have gotten in the mood of cleaning out. I love it when I get in those moods cause I actually get some things accomplished. Right now it is Kensley's room. I'm on the look out for a daybed with a trundle so if anyone knows where one is at a good price please let me know. Right now I have a full size bed in there, but she just doesn't have the room to play, so that means that the kids are constantly bringing the toys out of her room in to one of the other rooms in my house and that drives me crazy. I'm also so looking for some type of desk because one of her favorite things to do is play school. I remember loving playing school when i was a kid. Oh the good ole days! She had probably 50 stuffed animals from the hospital that I had in a net, but the kids love getting them down and do you know how hard it is to keep that many animals in the net and nice and neat. So last night I went and bought a big bin to store some of them in. I hate to get rid of them because they are special. We kept a few out, but most are stored now. We cleaned out the other toys in her room and the purses. I can't believe what all was in those purses, I threw away so much garbage. Now I have to tackle the closet.

I was also able to get all of her fall clothes from last year priced and out the door. I was only able to keep one skirt from last year. She has went from wearing a six last year to a ten this year. Can you believe that? She has grown so much.

Me and the kids watched Diary of a Wimpy Kid last night and it was so funny. Dustin had went to a church in Gurley to see New Ground and The Primitive Quartet. Today me and Kens are going to finish cleaning out her room and Konnor has a b-day party to attend after while. We aren't having church until tomorrow night so hopefully I can get some things accomplished. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Back to School.....

....well it was back to school Monday for the kids. I was ready for it to start because I like the routine of things, a somewhat schedule, one of which we have not had this summer. It's been a summer filled with going here and yonder non-stop, I mean I think we finally cooked our first meal at home this week in I don't know when, we have been having to eat on the run and we are sick of it, so it was nice to have a home cooked meal. Ok so back to the school thing. Konnor wasn't so excited, but he has done really well so far. He has a very good teacher and several of his good friends from last year are in his class. Not looking foward to the homework this year, but I'm sure we can make it through it.

Kensley on the other hand was so excited about going back to school, but I on the other hand was a little nervous about it. I mean she requires so much attention and not knowing if she is getting everything she needs, well it worries me. We got to the school and she sat right down and started working on the sheet her teacher had for her. She was ready for us to leave, but of course I talked with her teacher about her needs and we headed off. I couldn't wait to talk to her when she got off the bus, oh yeah I am letting her ride the bus home and she loves it. She said she had a good day. Thursday morning we had to go get her stitches taken out from her surgery, which by the way went great, she didn't even cry. Anyway I had a chance to talk to her teacher when I got there and she said that Kensley was doing great, she is getting a little tired, but she understood with her situation. I was so excited to hear how good she was doing. We had considered asking for her an aide, but decided to wait to see what her teacher said about it after a few days of school, Mrs. Weaver thinks they are doing good enough without one right now so we are going to hold off on that for now.

The Kiddos getting ready to leave.

Showing off their backpacks.

Konnor with all his notebooksk, can't you tell he is so excited!

Kensley at her desk coloring and I might add she was so excited to have her own desk.

So we have our first full week of school down and many more to go. We had some friends over last night for some grilled chicken and steak. The guys worked on music stuff and us girls just watched kids and talked. We had a good time. Today has just been a lazy day catching up on some much needed rest. The rest of the weekend will be filled with going to church. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Successful Surgery!

Well our day started with getting up at 5 am and getting everyone ready to head to the Surgery Center. We arrived there at 6:30 am and the staff was super nice to us. Kens was such a trooper, she wasn't a bit scared. She was just being the normal Kensley, trying to make everyone laugh. They came in and prepped her leg and then talked to us about her getting anesthesia and she could have cared less about talking to them about that, she kept trying to change the subject. They came in and took her, she never even looked back, she was so brave, I had prayed that she wouldn't be scared and I'm so thankful she wasn't. We went to the waiting room and a little bit later the doctor came out to talk to us and said that she did great, that he had gotten all the glass out along with removing some scar tissue. A little more waiting and they came and got us to go back and get her. We put her in the car and headed to Chick-Fil-A since she hadn't got to eat since last night. Well on the way there she got sick a little bit from the anesthesia, but after that she was fine. We are home now and she doesn't even act like she has had anything done.

Here she is with her new teddy bear that they gave her, which she named "Little Bear".

Here she is with her gown on and ready to head to surgery.

Well as I sit here trying to finish up this post that I started earlier today, Kensley is complaining with her belly hurting and has been for a couple of hours. I go to get a garbage can just in case, and well by the time I get back she has thrown up all over the couch (which by the way is only a couple of months old). I holler for Dustin to come and help me, well what was I thinking, he walks up with some towels and has to turn around and go to the bathroom himself. He just can't handle the smell too well. I'm hoping I got it all out of the couch and I have sprayed the room with Febreeze. I think it was still just a side affect from the anesthesia, I hope so anyway.

We thank everyone for their prayers today and throughout this whole process. We couldn't have went through all of this without everyone. Hope everyone has a great weekend and stay cool!

Free Session....

......I'm so excited that I won the free session with Bryd Photography. I know my sister-in-law does pics too, but it's always nice to win something for FREE! Now just to come up with where I want to have the pics made and what to wear....send me some ideas. If anyone knows me well enough I hate making decisions, I just go with whatever everybody else wants to do. So send me some suggestions.


In case I don't get to post later tonight, please remember Kensley tomorrow. She is being put to sleep to have the glass taken out of her knee tomorrow.

Quick update.....

.....we went to the Ortho doctor last week and he just wasn't comfortable with taking the glass out in the office, so we have to go to the Surgery Center Friday and have her put to sleep so that he can take the glass out. Should be a very minor procedure and she seems ok with it. She remembers being put to sleep to have her tonsils out, so it doesn't seem like a big deal to her. She is doing great and just counting the days til school starts back. We went and bought school supplies last night and it wasn't really as bad as what I thought it would be (I mean money wise of course). Konnor told me last night that he was getting a little worried about going in to 3rd grade and that he wanted me start praying for him now. He'll do fine I'm sure. Kensley has already been practicing math and she gets on my computer all the time to play text twist, so I know that she knows how to spell.

Well as far as the rest of our life goes, we have just been going to work and to church. Dustin got down in his back this weekend and we went to Rocky Branch Sunday morning, but he just wasn't able to hold out the rest of the day so we headed back home and ordered some pizza and turned in early, boy was that nice, that doesn't happen too often.

Today Kensley has to go see Dr. Thomas who is making her a new brace for her leg. She loves going to see him because his office is decorated with a mural of Thomas the train. Well that's all for now, I will let you all know how the surgery goes.

Another appt....

....well I called Dr. Laue's office this morning to make an appt to see about getting this glass out of Kensley's knee that has been there since the accident. It has started hindering her in therapy and even though we were told it would probably work it's way out eventually, we need to go ahead with other options so that she can continue to progress. So anyway, they gave me an appt for today at 4 and of course had to wait for seem like forever. He was in there maybe a total of 5 minutes when he says that he is going to refer us to a surgeon. Not the words we wanted to hear, but not bad either. We were hoping he could just cut it out in the office, but he thought it was too big I guess. He said that the surgeon would probably take and X-ray and then decide whether or not it could be done in the office or not. I'm still awaiting the call as to when her appt will be. I will keep everyone informed.

Well to recap the weekend, Friday night was spent at home catching up on some sleep. Dustin was sick and didn't feel like going anywhere so me and Kens ran to Wal-Mart and then I fell asleep on the couch not long after I got back home. Saturday me and the kids ran to town and then we were lazy the rest of the day and headed to the Cove that night for church. Service was really good and we went to Bradley and Stacey afterwards. Sunday we went to Hytop, which I was really dreading the crowd, but it wasn't that bad. Sunday night it was back to Big Cove and it was packed out. Service was really good and me, Dust and the kids went to Santa Fe afterwards which I think was the majority of the church's choice to go too. We ate by ourselves which worked out really good because we got out alot sooner than they all did.

Today is my Holy Ghost birthday. Sixteen years ago on a Tuesday night I received the good Holy Ghost. The Lord has truly blessed my life in so many ways. I have a great husband and two wonderful kids. He has blessed us with a home, cars to drive, good jobs, a wonderful church to attend and a great extended family. I don't know what I would do without Him.

Well Dustin is mowing the grass right now and there are so many things that I need to be doing, but I just can't seem to get the motivation. That's all for now folks....have a good night and sleep tight....lol!

Doctor's appt....

....this past Thursday we had a doctor's appt in B'ham for a follow up. The last time we were there the news just wasn't that good. They wanted to do a procedure on her called Botox injections, so we scheduled that for June. As time got closer to the procedure the more I didn't want her to have it cause the Lord had really been looking at her and she was progressing so well that I didn't want there to be any set backs, so me and Dustin talked about it and we cancelled the procedure. Well Thursday Kensley walked in to the doctor's office without her brace, he was so pleased with how far she had came. He told us that we had made the right decision by cancelling and that was ease to our minds. Everything was good news from then on. She can go back to school full time this year and we are starting to wing her off of her medicine. The Lord is so good to us. I know that in His time He will finish healing my baby, but for now we will praise Him for what He has already done for her.

It's been so busy around here going to revivals, working and just trying to catch as much sleep as possible that I haven't had time to blog. The kids have been staying with my parents this summer and getting to do some liitle things. I hope to be able to take them somewhere for a day before school starts back. I had thought about maybe the Aquarium in Chattanooga and then maybe head to Sticky Fingers because that is Konnor's favorite place to eat. Suzie did take the boys to the Long's deer farm a couple of weeks ago and they loved that. I have pictures, but I haven't uploaded them yet, so maybe soon.

I have also been trying to put up corn. Although my parents did most of the work (because they didn't have the patience to wait on me....lol) there is so much time that goes in to all of this. I can see why back in the day that they didn't work, they stayed home and canned. Well anyway I did get several bags of corn put up and yesterday I put up some okra. I still plan to put up some peaches like Dustin's grandmother does and I would still love to do more corn, but it is just finding the time to do it.

We went to Big Cove last night and it was really good, revival feeling was there. Today we are heading out to Hytop and then back to Big Cove tonight. Hope everyone has a good week. Til next time....tootles!

Revival....

.....our revival was great. We had 5 new souls born and many minds renewed. I wasn't able to take off all week this year but I was able to take long lunches and enjoy the services. Our day services were just as great as the night services. I did however take off Tuesday since that was my day to cook and work in the kitchen and it was also our night to cook for the preachers. I also took off half a day on Friday. It was a great revival but also very exhausting. It is always sad when it comes to an end, but we are so thankful that the Lord looked at our family.

Konnor's B-day

.....well I am really behind, so I will start out with Konnor's b-day. It was June 11th. He was born right in the middle of revival 8 years ago. I remember it so well. I went to the doctor on that Monday and I was dialated to a 3 and she said she could induce me the next day or I could wait another week. Of course this was my first child and I was too excited to wait, even though it was revival I was ready. So the next day I went in bright and early and never felt the first contraction. He was born at 11:32 am and weighed 8lbs 10oz. He was dark headed and had the fattest cheeks. I had wanted a fat baby and that is what I got. I only got to hold him for a minute and they took him away. I didn't know that was unusual, I just thought it was normal, but they didn't tell me until after the doctor got finished with me that he had quit breathing when he was first born and had turned blue, but they got him right back, but they just needed to take him to make sure everything was ok. Thank the good Lord he was fine.

He has grown to be such a wonderful kid. Although he kind of has trouble sometimes having a smart mouth on him, but other than that he is a really good kid. He is so much like his dad that it is scary. His actions are like him, he looks like him and he loves just following him and learning what ever it is that he may be doing, whether it is music, something around the house, riding four wheelers or looking on Craigslist.

I can't believe he will be going in to the 3rd grade this year. He does really well in school, we just have to push him sometimes cause he is a typical boy and doesn't want to do the homework, but all in all he does really good.

I just want to say that me and dad love you Konnor and we are so proud of you and proud to be your parents. I hope we can raise you up to be respectful and a loving person. Happy 8th Birthday Konnor! Here are some pics from his party at Roller Coasters Skating Rink. They skated and played laser tag. Some of his favorite things right now are playing music and firefighter stuff, he loves to talk to Justin and York about the fire dept which he hopes to one day work at.

It Sure Looks Like a Beautiful Day.....

....."there were troubles around me and still I can say it sure looks like a Beautiful Day." I got in my car this morning and turned my cd to this song, which some of our good friends the Wright's sing and if you don't have a cd of theirs we have some if you would like to buy one, it is well worth the money. I love this song and I just got to thinking about it this morning and I do have troubles as we all do, but no matter what it's still a beautiful day. The Lord has blessed us beyond measure and I know he will see us through.

Revival starts this weekend and I'm hoping for some miracles. For his healing power and souls to be revived. Hope everyone of you have a Beautiful Day!

Another milestone.....

....we have reached another milestone, well at least in my eyes we have. It maybe small to some people, but to me and Dustin this was huge. I called Dustin on my home yesterday and he was telling me that he had put Kensley on the trampoline while he did some yard work and one of her cousins was on there with her. He told her to stay on there until he got done. He saw Grayson going home and she said she was going home for a minute but she never came back to play with Kensley so in a few minutes he went to check on Kensley and there she was walking toward him. He asked her how in the world did she get off and she said by herself and he just couldn't hardly believe it and I think she knew that so she told him to put her back on there and she would show him. So sure enough she showed him, she got off all by herself. We were just amazed and then on top of that they had went inside and she said "Hey dad watch me open these chips" and she did with both hands. Her control of her left hand is not real good, but she can grab things and grip them. We are so proud of her and know that the Lord is going to continue to bless her. I know these things seem small but to us they are huge. It's so great to be a part of God's work and to see His healing power.

Revival starts next week and we hope you all can come and join us. I'm already exhausted just thinking about it, but can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. I'm thankful that he is blessing these other revivals and hope it continues. We went to Skyline last night and got to see Bro. Mark who received the Holy Ghost Sunday night at Skyline and he was so happy. Hope we get to see many more this summer. Well that's all for now, hope everyone has a great day!

Kensley's procedure

We were supposed to have Kensley's procedure done this Wednesday, but let me back track first. A couple of Sunday nights ago we went to church and I sat on the front which is very unusual and Kens was laying in my lap and meeting was going really good and I seen Dustin's Uncle Paul look over and I knew exactly what he was going to do. He got the oil and came over and anointed her and a few minutes later Bro. Rob anointed her. The whole service was pretty much towards her and I was so thankful. I got up to thank the Lord for looking at her and he poured me out a blessing. This was the best I had felt since we had gotten back home. I just felt like the Lord was going to take care of everything for Kensley, so the next day I talked to Dustin about it and told him that I just felt like we needed to cancel the procedure and he agreed so that I did. I was so hesitant about it from the beginning, but me and Dustin just didn't know what to do, but after that Sunday night there was no doubt in my mind anymore what needed to be done. The procedure could have possibly set her back and we might have even had to go back to the wheelchair, which I didn't want to have to do at all, she has made such tremendous progress and I didn't want to hinder what the Lord can do.

Back in March when we went to Birmingham, Kensley was walking with our help and they thought that was great, but still had concerns. Well I think if they saw her today they would see a big change since March. Then she wouldn't walk by herself, her memory was still really bad and her left foot would just turn sideways when she didn't have her brace on and that was concerning them. Well since then she is walking everywhere by herself (well that I let her, I get a little nervous when we are outside), her memory hasn't improved so much and now she is walking without her brace around the house and foot is no longer turning over to the side. She has come so far in such a short period of time and I'm so thankful. I'm not a very patient person, so I tend to want her healing to be instantly, but I know the Lord has a plan.

And while I'm on this subject I also want to thank the Lord for yesterday. It was our annual Memorial Day picnic at the park and I was just kind of wanting it to get rained out because I get so stressed when I have to take Kensley somewhere like that because she gets so frustrated that she's not able to play like the other kids. I prayed that it would be a good day and that she would have fun and she did. We had a couple of moments, but nothing like what it has been in the past. I'm so thankful the Lord blessed her with a good day. I will have more on Memorial Day later, but I just wanted to go ahead and share this little bit with you all.

Have a good Monday oh I mean Tuesday.....my week is already so messed up.....lol!

Graduation....

....I'm so far behind on posting, I'm not sure where to begin. But most importantly last Friday we got to see our miracle walk across the floor and receive her diploma for graduating Kindergarten. I went thinking I can make it through this without getting upset, boy was I ever wrong. I didn't cry when Konnor graduated, but I just guess this was different. I was just sitting there watching her wait her turn to go up and I just kept thinking about what could have been. Things could have been so different, we could have lost her, but the Lord saw fit to let us keep her and I am so indebted to Him for that. The obstacles that we face with her on a daily basis is nothing compared to loosing her completly. I know we don't say a whole lot about Konnor, but we are so thankful that the Lord spared his life too, Konnor has been our rock, he has been a tremendous help through all of this and I'm so thankful for him. I'm glad that the Lord blessed him through 2nd grade and that he is moving on to the 3rd. Here are a few pictures from our day.

Kensley with her teacher Mrs. Steele




Konnor and his teacher Mrs. Coffey



Konnor receiving his awards

Kensley receiving her diploma

Kensley posing

Kensley and Brady

Me, Kensley and Dustin

We have a singing tonight at Huntsville, come out if you can. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

New furniture....

Well we sold our van last week so I was able to talk Dustin in to letting me buy a new living room suite with the money. I can't wait to get it in. This is probably the total opposite look that I was looking for, but I fell in love with it. Here it is, let me know what you think.

The Dreaded Question.....

....I received the dreaded question the other day at Wal-Mart. I was standing at the counter getting something to eat and there was this lady(someone whom I knew) beside me and I could tell she kept looking at me, but I was talking to the person behind the counter so when I got done and turned to tell her hi and she asked the dreaded question.....Are you having another baby? I said excuse me and I could see the look on her face change, knowing that she had just stuck her foot in her mouth, so she asked it again since I didn't quite understand what she asked, I guess I just wanted to make sure I heard her correctly. I proceeded to tell her that I wasn't and she apologized. I wanted to say "No I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat thanks for reminding me how much weight I've gained lately". I know it wasn't intentionally, but I sure didn't need to be reminded of how big I have gotten. I guess I have probably gained 20-251bs since the wreck. Dustin found me an elliptical and I have to say I have not used it as much as I thought I would, but I'm trying to get started back on it because I have never been this big except for the time that I was pregnant and I'm not liking it at all. Anywho I just thought I would share this funny little story with y'all.

Catch up....

....well I have so much to catch up on, where do I begin. Well to start off with I had a great time at market, if you love to shop this is the place to be. We walked and walked and walked and walked some more. By the end of the first day I could barely move, they were making fun of the way I was walking, but at the time I didn't really care because I was in so much pain, but I got a good laugh the next day at Kara walking the same way. We got so much stuff and had some really good laughs. We saw several other people from our church there shopping too.

We didn't do much over the weekend. Sunday I got up to cook my food to take to my moms. Konnor and Kensley had both made me cards at school and they were so sweet. Dustin gave me a card along with a copy of the New Harmony cd to debut soon. How lucky am I? I did want a copy but just not as a gift for Mother's Day. Me and the kids went out to my moms for lunch and Dustin was laid up in the bed with his back, so we brought him a plate back and then we were just lazy for the rest of the day.

Monday night I had to go to town and find Konnor something to wear for pictures they were having Tuesday night for the New Harmony cd. He was insistent that he wear a suit, so I got him a black pin stripe suit with a black and blue tie, he looked really sharp. Tuesday night I went to take the kids along with Harley to get their pics made, oh and that was a sight to behold trying to get 10 kids to look and smile all at the same time. I wish I had a video of Drea trying to get Kaden to smile. You just had to be there. :) We made it home around 9 only to realize that I was locked out of the house. My mom had my garage door opener and Dustin hadn't gotten home from practice yet. So I had to go borrow a flash light from Kyle and get in the back door because we don't own a key to our front door. I mean who doesn't own a key to their own house???? Well that would be us! Anyway we went to church Wednesday night and then Thursday I was in a meeting until after 5 and got home and cooked some tacos and then we went out on the back deck and had watermelon, it was so good too! I had to call Melia and tell her that I had just eaten the heart out of the watermelon, that is her favorite part and we all fight over it when were together. Tonight we have a singing on the lake, which I'm sure I will get eaten up by bugs, they just love me, Dustin says it's because I need a bath, but I say it's because I'm so sweet....you all know I'm right. :P

And of course I don't have my camera with me to download my pics, but I will soon, hope everyone has a great weekend!

Market bound......

....I am so excited that we are getting ready to leave for market as we speak. It is me, Alyson, Josie and Kara. There are some more that are driving down in the morning and coming back tomorrow night. Me and Josie have never been so we are not real sure what we are getting in to. I have tried the past two times to go, but it hasn't worked out. Kara has already told me that I was being to bossy for a first timer, but I've been told that Kara is not a good driver, so I chose Alyson to drive my car, so therefore she thinks I'm being a little bossy(j/k)! We are going to have a great time, I will miss my kids and husband, but it's just for two days. Not sure that I will post anything while I'm gone, but I will let you know what good deals I find when I get back.

Eventful Weekend....

....well it all started off with me leaving work on Friday to go to my house and get my mom and bring her to the emergency room. She was hurting in her chest some, but it turned out to just be the flu, just glad it was nothing bad. So me, Kensley, Melia, Jeremy and Keelie spent the evening in the the ER waiting room up until around 9. Me and the kids were supposed to go to Albertville to eat supper with Dustin, but it since all that happened with mom I knew we weren't going to make and plus turned out that Dustin 'em worked til 11 that night so he couldn't have went anyways. I have gotten by without the kids sleeping with me this week since Dustin was gone, but they both begged Friday night so I give in, and boy was that a mistake, it was horrible. I kept having to get up and rearrange kids in the middle of the night just so that I wouldn't fall off the bed, but I love to snuggle with Kensley, she is a very good snuggle buddy, Konnor on the other hand is kind of a wild sleeper.

Woke up really early Saturday morning to meet Alyson and Kara at Belk for the charity sale. They asked me to meet them there at 8 well me and Kensley were there at 7:45 (I know it's just shopping but if you give me a time, I'm gonna be there on time if not early, I can't stand being late to anything), but I think the others finally made it there a little before 9. So I had done most of my shopping before they even got there. It was a mad house, but we got some good deals! We headed home cause Dustin had just gotten home and we couldn't wait to see him, when we got there he was riding the four wheeler and Kens was dying to go for a ride so we all hopped on and headed in to the mountains. Every few seconds Kens would turn around and give her daddy a kiss, she had missed him so much and plus she was super excited he was riding her too. Dustin rested the rest of the afternoon and the boys rode dirt bikes all evening and Kens had a couple of friends over to play.

Sunday we had to cook for the elderly people. We usually do this around Christmas, but the sisters voted that this time of year would be better. We had a very good church service Sunday morning with visitors from Villa Rica. Bro. Leroy anointed Kensley and I was so happy because she fell Thursday and hurt her bad leg again, it seems every time we get to where we think things are good, she gets hurt and sets herself back, but the Lord came by Sunday morning and I'm looking for her to be better this week. Sunday we were out of church before 7, WOW, that never happens. So me, Dust and the kids went and ate at Santa Fe and headed home for bed.

I have scheduled Kensley procedure for her botox on June 2nd, they told us that this could set her back a little, but we all know that the Lord can work it out just right.

That's all for now, have a good Monday!

Change of Plans.....

.....well the last post said that Dustin was not going to have to stay in Albertville and work, well things have changed and he is there until possibly Friday. I know he is exhausted already and we are missing him bunches. He did get to come home Monday night but it was late when he got home and then Konnor woke up with an ear ache, so we were up with him til around 1 trying to ease his pain and praying for him, but he is all better now and we thank the Lord for it.

Last night Jeremy and Melia stopped by and wanted to go eat, so we all loaded up and went to Logan's and met Jack and Suzie there as well. We hadn't been seated long when Uncle Donnie and Aunt Josie walked in so we made room for them too. Logan's must have been the place to come last night because we ended up seeing several more people we knew including Mark, Jackie and Griffin. Let me tell you Griffin is a character, if you have never been around him you are missing out. The kid loves playing church and loves entertaining our kids. We headed home and me and the kids finished out the night with baths, homework and some tv.

I'm getting a excited that next week I am going to market to shop in Atlanta. I have never gotten to go and I cannot wait. Well I guess that's all for now. Happy Wednesday!

What a Monday!

Wow....I can tell it is Monday, my day has been crazy already. Woke up this morning to get Dustin's clothes ironed for three days and him packed and ready to go to work. He was told that they were going to work in Albertville for the next couple of days and they would be spending the night so I did all of this for him to call me this morning and say that they had a change of plans, that they were going back today, but he would be able to come home tonight and he probably wouldn't have to go back, which is good because I hate it when he is away. Then I take four kids to McDonald's to eat breakfast before school, but I have to say they did very good. Then I start getting calls and emails before I can even get to work with problems that are going on. So needless to say I have been extremely busy this morning. I think I have just about gotten all of the problems resolved and hope to get started on my daily functions pretty soon.

We had a very restful weekend. We took the kids to Panoply Friday night, but we didn't get to do as much as we had liked because is started raining. And for those of you who read my husband's blog, it was him that wanted his faced painted not me....lol...j/k! The girls really wanted to get their face painted but we just didn't have the time since we were fixing to get wet, so we headed home and Dustin dropped me off at Jen's house (my sis-in-law) for her jewelry party and then headed to my other sis-in-law Marty's house for a few. Somehow I came home with 3 extra kids which makes 5 total.....what was I thinking. No they were good, the boys stayed upstairs and rearranged Konnor's room and the girls were really tired so it didn't take them long to pass out. Saturday was just a very lazy day, we stayed over at Suzie's most of the day and cooked and sewed (well Melia and Suzie sewed, I just watched) and cooked some more. Sunday we were headed to church when we had to turn around and go home because Dustin got called in to work. I'm so glad that the tornado's missed us (Konnor told me he prayed that they would, he has become terrified of storms, he must be related to Joe David), but I am sad for those that were in the path of the storm. So me and the kids headed on to church and we had a good service Sunday morning and Sunday night. Sunday night we were sitting beside Sis. Angie Philpott and something just didn't sit right with Kensley and she had one of her fits and I guess it just really embarrassed me that I just pretty much lost it and started crying, I'm not sure how to handle her when she does that. I know we have to teach her that she can't do those type of things and I know I use her injury as an excuse, but I just really don't think she has that full understanding of things back yet, so sometimes I just have to cry with her to let my frustrations out because I'm not sure what else to do. After church I ran the kids through the drive thru at Krystals and we headed home for the night.

Well now I have to go and try and get some work done, hope everyone has a good Monday!

Girls Night Out!

We had a girls night out last night to celebrate Kim Brewer's b-day at Rosie's. There was about 12 or 13 of us and we had a blast. There were no kids screaming or crying or needing to go the potty right when you get your food. I love my kids dearly, but a night every once in a while with just the girls is good. I forgot my camera last night or I would have some pics to put on here of our dinner, maybe next go around I will remember.

Kensley is doing good, she went to the doctor yesterday to have her wrist x-rayed again and there is still one little spot that hasn't healed up all the way but he thought it was fine. I'm trying to schedule Kensley's procedure to have her botox injections done, but can't seem to get anyone to answer my phone calls, so I'm not real sure when that is going to take place, plus I have lots of questions I need them to answer. She has been through so much that I hate for to have to go through this too, but I know the Lord can help her and help us to see her through this if it is going to benefit her.

I couldn't wait for Spring and Summer to get here, but now that it is here I struggle with it more each day. Not because it is hot, but that my baby can't do everything she wants to be doing. She sees all the other kids outside playing, jumping, riding bikes, etc. and she wants to do those things too and how do you explain that to her. Winter time was a breeze because everyone was inside and played together and now that's its warm outside all the other kids are outside playing and a lot of times Kensley can't do the things they are doing, but they don't understand and I don't expect them to or even think for one second that they have to stay in with her, but it is just so hard sometimes to keep it together when everyone else is having so much fun and you are trying to console your daughter who just don't understand everything. Maybe we can get her a swing set or something that she can play with outside and that will help things some. Seems I have been an emotional wreck lately, just reflecting on the things that have happened and what she is having to go through. Nobody wants their kid to be the one that's different and can't participate with everyone else and I never thought I would be in this position, but now that I am I have a different perspective on things. I have questioned why us, what did we do wrong, why did it have to be Kensley and not me. All these questions have ran through my mind lately, but I know that God has a plan and in His time He will make all things right. I just need to learn to have patience and wait upon Him. I long for the day when she comes running and jumping in bed in the mornings or when she gets off the bus from school that she comes bursting through the door or when she can ride a bike again. I've always seemed to take all of those things for granted but not anymore, every little achievement Kensley makes is huge to us and we have learned to appreciate them more. I'm sorry to have been whining on all of your shoulders I just needed to let a little bit of it out today. I have learned a lot through this experience and just hope that I can be a good mother to her like she needs.

Konnor is doing well also, he spent the weekend in Tennessee with his cousin Jackson. Tomorrow he is going to work with my mom since it is take your kid to work day, but me or Dustin neither one could take him with us so my mom offered to let him go with her.

Well that's all for now, hope everyone has a good rest of the week.

Doctor's Appt....

Well we went to the eye doctor yesterday.....and I will just start by saying that the eye drops they gave Kensley must have had something in them because she was just acting crazy. I was laughing so hard at her that I thought I was going to have to get up and leave the room. She would make faces at the doctors and do stuff when they turned their backs. Anyway back to the real reason I'm posting, the doctors were really impressed with how far she had come, the only thing that they are kind of concerned with is that her left peripheral vision is not fully back, but they said that she was still improving and that they would just see her in another 6 months. Wonderful news, which I didn't expect any less, I knew that the Lord had sent her help Sunday night and that everything was going to be ok. Here is a picture of her sitting there waiting on the doctor.




Today was back to the grind at work and you wouldn't think that being off for one day would make that big of a deal, but it does where I work. I have gotten a lot accomplished today so I'm feeling pretty good about things. Well gotta go for now, just wanted to update everyone on how the appt went. Have a great rest of the day!

Pictures Gallore!

Well I thought I would just do a post of pictures I haven't had a chance to upload yet, so here goes.....

Here is Mr. Coolcat!

Kensley and Landon
Dustin and his besties!

Little New Harmony

Konnor and Peyton

Kensley and Kaylee, BFF's

Here are some from Sydnee's b-day party at Spoiled Rockin Kids, they had a blast!

Here is the final outcome.....

Here is one someone took from our yardsale on Saturday, we had an awesome turn out, it was non-stop for hours, you would have thought it was Wal-Mart....but all made lots of money and had a good time. I had packed all my stuff up and was leaving when I saw some Mexicans pull up so I stopped and asked them if they wanted some free stuff and I unloaded the car for them and gave them what I had left....the guy wanted to pay me something so I told him if he really wanted to he could just give me $20, I just wanted to get rid of it and not bring it back home. We even had some people coming back for the 2nd time, they said it was the best yardsale that they had been to. Got lots of sun and I'm still paying for it today, it really hurts, but oh well I needed some sun.



Now I have to wrap it up, gotta go iron Dustin's clothes. Going to B'ham, will give an update later. Hope everyone has a good Monday!

What a Great Night with the Girls!

Wow....we had such fun tonight. A few family members and friends got together at Carraba's tonight to celebrate the up coming marriage of my sister-in-law. We had such a blast with each other, telling stories on one another and watching Marty opening all her gifts and the waiter peaking through the door to make sure it was ok for him to come back in. I'm glad they put up outside on the patio cause we were extremely loud, people walking by outside prolly really thought we were in there drinking as loud as we were. Marty did not want any kind of shower, but I think she really enjoyed herself.

Well I have managed to talk Dustin in to helping me load the car up for the yard sale since I won't have time to do it tomorrow night since we have a singing in Winchester. Everything is pretty much loaded and ready to go. Tomorrow I have a busy day ahead of me, I have a meeting at the school first thing in the morning, then I have interviews from 9:30-2:30 tomorrow afternoon, then I have got to run by Mullins and pick up the racks I rented for the yard sale and be home and ready to go by 4. I don't know how it is all going to happen, but somehow it will all get done. I'll prolly be a zombie at church Saturday night since I prolly won't get home from the singing until over in the morning and then back up at 5 or so to head to set up the yard sale and who knows what time I will be home from that cause then I will have to take the racks back to Mullins. It's also 2nd weekend which means we have to cook for church and it is my time to pick up the chicken. Well we have a busy weekend ahead of us and we will be heading to Birmingham to eye doctor Monday, I'm looking for him to say everything is good with her left eye. I will keep y'all updated. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Happy Easter!

I know I'm behind, but I just haven't had the time to post yet. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. Started out Friday night going to Higdon's singing to see our friends from the north who were singing and man are they good! Kensley also got requested to sing, and she sang Beautiful Day all by herself and did so good! Saturday was our egg hunt with all the kids from church, but we got rained out, I know it was pretty later that day, but it was still kind of muddy and some weren't gonna get to come if we moved it later in the day. So instead me and the fam went to the mall to do some shopping. Usually Dustin is rushing me, but he did really good and let me take my time. They were sitting in front of Belk waiting on me and I had been in there quite a while and the lines were really long to, but when I walked out Kensley told she had just prayed that I would hurry and come out.....I thought that was really cute! Got up Easter morning and cooked breakfast and then fixed my stuff for dinner that day and got us all ready and was ready by 9, I was really impressed, I can't seemed to do that any other Sunday. :) We went up to Goody's (Dustin's grandmother for those of you who don't know her) and made some pics before church, this used to be a tradition of ours that we did every year and somehow has just gotten away from us. We had a wonderful service that morning and had a great dinner with the family. Here is one of the pictures of all of us, I will try to upload more a little later.


It was back to the grind Monday morning. I have been super busy at work this week and at home. I'm trying to get ready for a yard sale we are having Saturday. Who knew that one family could accumulate so many clothes.....I feel like I'm drowning in them. If you would like to come it will be down at Coleman Machine shop on Hwy 431, it is a multi family yard sale. This morning about 3:45 Kensley was needing to go to the bathroom so I got up and took her and then of course since I was already up I had to go, don't you just hate it when you have to get up in the middle of the night to go, it nearly just makes me mad, I laid there and tossed and turned and my mind was going 90 to nothing of things that I needed to get done and I couldn't go back to sleep for the life of me.....so a little before 5 I just decided to go ahead and get up. I got up and took my shower and then started working on my yard sale stuff again and got pretty much everything priced.

Kensley is doing good, she had her splint off her left hand the other night and she was grabbing Dustin's nose and honking it, and last night she was waving really good with it. I was really worried about the short term memory loss, it just didn't seem to be getting any better, but I have noticed over the past week at how much better it has gotten, she is remembering a lot. She still gets confused with what day it is, but remembering stuff that has happened throughout the day has really improved and all the thanks goes out to all the prayers that you all have been praying for her and to God for answering those prayers!

Konnor is also doing very well. He is doing great in school and last week we had to do a dinosaur project which he got an A+ on. I had gotten him a new suit for Easter as you can see in the above picture and he loved it, he loves wearing them. He told us that he was with "Legacy Five", which is a gospel group he likes to listen to. He is wanting us to get his room moved around so he can set up a studio, he is his daddy's child. All the kid studies is music and fire dept.....and speaking of fire dept, we drove by Big Cove's last night and Mitch was there so Konnor wanted to go by and we dropped him off and Mitch brought him home later, you would of thought you had just given the kid $1000, he loved being with those boys down there. And as far as the music, I hope he takes after his dad on that, he is already doing really good on the drums.


Well I have talked about how Dustin has been writing novels lately on his blog and now I have written one myself. Oh well, I hope everyone has a great rest of the week.