Miss Trellie

We know a sweet older lady whose name is Miss Trellie. We've known her for about 7 years. She was an integral part of our church in its early years, but has not been able to attend for the past few years due to health issues. We've made it a point to get over and visit Miss Trellie on a regular basis. Probably not as regular as we should have, but enough that 3 year old Sam called her "Granny Fudge" and was very pleased whenever he was told we were going to visit her.

Miss Trellie loved babies. She loved Sam when he was a baby and insisted on holding him whenever she could. She was so excited about Benjamin coming. In fact, she called Paul on his cell phone while we were still in the recovery room after he was born, thrilled that he was here. She told Paul to be sure and bring that baby over to see her.

We took Benjamin to see her when he was about 3 weeks old. She met us at the door and wouldn't let us in. She had been fighting a virus for a few days and was afraid of giving it to the baby. She did get a good look at the baby, and you could see how much she enjoyed just looking at a new baby. We told her we would be back so she could hold him.

Paul got the sad call a few days ago. Miss Trellie was in the hospital, eaten up with cancer. She was coming home with hospice, to die. Paul went to see her in the hospital, and when they told her he was there, her statement was, "I want to see that baby". He told her we'd bring the baby over when she got home.

Benjamin went to Miss Trellie's house tonight. Unfortunately, she did not realize he was there. She is dying, and was unable to (as far as we can tell) tell that he was there. It was so sad- I was fighting back tears the whole time, see her like this and realizing that she will never be able to hold him.

She was so excited about his birth that she persuaded one of her daughters to take her to the mall to buy him a gift. It is a silver train, a bank, that she was going to give him when she saw him. Her daughters gave it to Paul the other night and it will sit in a prominent place in his room. When he gets older, we will tell him the story of Miss Trellie and how she loved him.

Samuel

Samuel got a haircut- Daddy cut all his hair off. Sam could not wait to get his hair buzzed!

Don't you love little boys and their dirty faces??

Benjamin at 5 weeks

Benjamin will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. As you can tell by his full cheeks, he is gaining weight by leaps and bounds now. He is a great baby; my only complaint is that he doesn't sleep long enough at night. We are all enjoying him!

Cherry Blossom Time

It's that time of year again here in the Southeast. Our town is known for the abundance of cherry blossoms, and they are really a sight to see when they are all in bloom. They've bloomed this week, and today the kids and I went driving around to see them and to snap some pictures. It was a stunning day, which made for perfect picture taking conditions.

It was so nice that after we were done, we grabbed some lunch and headed to the park for a picnic. It was a nice afternoon. Now we are home and the two little boys are napping, the two big boys are working in the basement and the two girls are playing outside. I'm headed for a nap myself. Benjamin is not wanting to sleep longer than 2 1/2 - 3 hours at night and it is catching up with me. By this time of day, I can hardly keep my eyes open!

My Six Children

This is the first picture of all my six children together. I think my heart might burst!

Easter, 2008

Easter Sunday dawned bright and beautiful this morning. It was a bit cold, but warmed up throughout the day. Everyone looked so nice this morning for church. We had a wonderful church service celebrating the Resurrection. Paul brought a powerful message on the people for whom Easter is for. There was a sweet spirit this morning as well as a full house. After church, we went to Paul's parents house for a delicous Easter meal, after which Ellie celebrated her birthday with Nana and Poppy and Aunt Sherry and Uncle Phil. Then the adults went outside to hide the Easter eggs for the egg hunt. My mom started having egg hunts for us when we were little, and continues to this day. I remember hunting Easter eggs when I was in college! The reason we loved to hunt eggs was because there was money in them. My kids are the same way and every one loves the Easter egg hunt. Samuel had a fun time this year finding the eggs. We came home and all crashed. We were up late last night and up early this morning so every one of us were tired. Even Baby Ben took a nap so I could sleep. We got up later and hid the Easter baskets and the kids found them and had fun playing outside with the bubbles, frisbees, boomerangs and jump ropes.

It was a nice day, and we are so blessed. Blessed to be able to celebrate the Resurrection with family and friends.

Ellie's Birth Story

I was due with Ellie on March 22nd. It was a relatively easy pregnancy, and there were no complications until the last 1-2 weeks when I was put on bedrest due to my blood pressure. Even though she was my fourth child, she was the first one I went into labor on my own with, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

About 5 days before her due date, I began to have contractions. They varied in intensity and in duration, so I wasn't sure what was happening. 2 days before she was due, the contractions became more intense and more in frequency. Since this was my first "real" labor, we called the doctor and he said we need to wait until they contractions were closer together. So we waited.

She was due on Monday. Sunday afternoon and evening the contractions picked up alot and other things happened that let me know labor was imminent. Early in the morning, Paul and I went to the hospital, sure that this was it. We checked in and they checked me and I was barely dilated. So they told me to walk for an hour and they check again. I did. I did not progress any, so they sent me home.

I was frustrated at this point. These contractions were so painful and because they weren't doing anything, it made me mad. We got home to discover my mom (who had been staying with us) had been sick with food poisoning. We tried to get some sleep, but between the painful contractions and everything else, it was next to impossible.

I had a doctor's appointment the next day, my due date. We got up and Paul drove me there. The doctor was surprised I was having contractions and checked me- I was at a 5 and maybe more. She ordered me to go right to the hospital. I told here we couldn't- I didn't have the camera with me. She said forget the camera! But I knew how I am in labor (slow), so we went home and got the camera (it was only around the corner) and then we even went and paid the electric bill!

I got to the hospital around noon, they broke my water, started pitocin and an epidural and I labored in comfort right until the end when the epidural wore off. She was born at 8:16pm, weighing 9lbs., 3 oz.

Ellie was a great baby- I don't recall any problems or issues with her. She did have her days and nights mixed up at first, but we straightened that out and by 6 weeks she was sleeping through the night. She has always been unique and has brought great joy to our house. I can't believe she is 9 already. She is a great help with Sam and Ben and will one day be a great mother.

Happy 9th birthday Ellie- I love you!

Pictures of Ellie-5

Pictures of Ellie-IIII

Pictures of Ellie-III

Pictures of Ellie-II

Pictures of Ellie- I

Doctor's Appointment

Benjamin went back to the doctor today for another weight check. I was sure he had gained- I told the girls I thought he'd be up to 8 pounds today. We got there, undressed him and put him on the scale- he weighed a whopping 8 pounds 6 ounces! He gained 1 pound, 2 ounces this week alone! Woo-Hoo!

We had our Good Friday service tonight. It was a special time of remembrance and Communion, as we remembered Christ's death. Samuel is fascinated by Jesus death and how he "died for our sins" and how "He is now alive". It is a privilege to see the Gospel through the eyes of a child.

Tomorrow we celebrate Ellie's 9th birthday. How did she get to be 9 years old already??

Samuel's Big Day

Sam is showing you that he has the same clothes on tonight that he put on this morning, including his big boy pants! Which means that he had NO ACCIDENTS TODAY! He took himself to the bathroom several times (we won't mention that many times it was outside), and even used the potty when we went out of the house tonight. He even got up after he had been put to bed to tell us he had to use the potty!

Woo-Hoo Sam! Way to go!

(This picture really has nothing to do with his great potty day, but it was so cute I couldn't resist it. And besides, Sam has been being neglected here on my blog, so I am trying to make up for it.)