Super Pooper

Ok, I know this is not the best topic to talk about.....but Emma pooped on the potty for the first time today!!!! Yeeeehhhhhaaaaaaa! Emma, mommy is sooo proud of you. I guess this is the only time in your life you will rejoice about this topic! Way to go, keep up the good work.

Madeline, you are sooo close to sitting up from being on your back. I know it won't be long keep trying you are doing so well, mommy is proud of you too!

You two amaze me everyday.

We love you Maw Maw

You are so special to us! You always put others before yourself, and you are always there for us. You are so much fun, and you help to provide wonderful, lasting memories for us and the girls. I hope today brought you many, many blessings. Thank you for being an awesome mother-in-law to me too. Today is a special day so have fun, enjoy, and drink a Corona for me!!!

Ordinary day

Today was just an ordinary day. Don't get me wrong we still had fun. We were supposed to spend the day with Didi, but I was afraid to do so with us having been sick. I didn't want mom to have this visitor! I think we already got MawMaw sick, I'm really sorry, and hope you feel better for your birthday tomorrow!

Today we laughed & played, and snuggled real close during the bad weather. I just thought I would share one highlight of the day. I went to peek in on Emma during her nap time. I don't think she was ready to go to sleep because I could hear the pitter-patter of her feet. After a while I heard a period of silence, and went to check on her. I peeked in, and could not find her. I started to get a little worried because there really was no where else she could go. I checked in her little tent(for all who know what I am talking about), under the crib, but still no Emma. I was wondering where could she be and this is what I found............

funny hunh???

Madeline is growing too. She rolls all OVER THE PLACE. It won't be too long before she starts crawling. Eric is great too! I truly feel the best part of our day is when he comes home. We are truly so BLESSED!!!

Beauty in Simplicity

In the midst of dancing with this stomach virus we were able to have a beautiful weekend. Saturday was our big day. We started the day looking for a swing for Madeline, and ended up with so much more. We started looking at our Walmart and went on an adventure. They didn't have any so we took our search to Lafayette. Mom had suggested
earlier in the week that we go to Parc San Souci and play in the water fountain. For all who haven't been there...It's a beautiful little area that includes a gazebo, park benches, and a largewater fountain/spout in which you can play. It's perfect for festivals and community gatherings. Well we went and the fountain was on, YAY! We all had a blast. We then went to visit Poppie's grave. We watered his flowers, and went on with our adventure. We went to three other stores before finding Madeline's swing. We hurried home to put up her swing, but before we left Lafayette we had to do a Didi driveby. We just peeked in to say 'hello'. Once home, we set up the swing (which Madeline loves), and let Emma swim in her pool. We truly enjoyed our simple blessed day.

It's amazing how we live in a world that wants us to believe the more we have, the more we get, and having the best of everything defines who we are. Having the newest, most expensive toys does not guarantee happiness, it's the simple things that mean the most.

Happy Birthday Hunter!!!!

Today is a special day because it is Hunter's birthday! Hunter is Emma and Madeline's cousin and our nephew. Emma and Daddy were lucky to help celebrate at his party. He has been very busy this summer with baseball. Their team went all the way to Regionals in Arkansas. We are so proud of you and hope your birthday was filled with fun!

Visitor in town

Sorry we have not blogged lately...we have a visitor in town ......a stomach virus, yummy. Eric had it yesterday and I today. We have great blogs to come. Please be patient with us because we are under construction. Please pray the girls don't get it too!!

Cake-making, Gashes, & Dermabond Oh My!!!!!!

Yesterday we started the day off quite sluggish. We had family night at DiDi's on Monday night, and after our busy weekend we decided to just take it easy. After nap time we decided it would be fun to bake Daddy a cake for working so hard during the day. We had fun mixing the cake, some in Emma's mouth, some on the counter, some on the floor, and the majority in the bowl. Madeline, all the while, was supervising to make sure we did it correctly.(F.Y.I. if you are missing 1/4 a stick of butter the cake still tastes great and Emma poking/digging into the cake actually provided decoration.) Once we put the cake in the pan, I continued one of our traditions with Emma......licking the spoons. Yumm Yumm!!!! We put the cakes in the oven for baking. After baking and cooling, we iced the cake with chocolate icing ummmm!


Daddy and I tag-teamed supper. The deer sausage was wonderful. We each had a piece of cake, except Madeline, it wasn't on her menu. At this time we started winding down for bedtime. I gave Emma her bath, got both the girls in their pjs, gave them their vities(vitamins), and went to brush their teeth. This is where all the drama began last night. I was nursing Madeline and asked Eric if he could brush Emma's teeth. It takes an act of congress to check Emma's teef and brush the spots she has missed. Eric had her sitting on his lap on the couch. Our couch is beautiful, but it is older and the corners have beautiful wood details. Well Eric was checking her teef and she went into her normal "convulsions"(ie kicking, screaming, head bunting, flailing arms etc.). She threw her head forward and it made contact with the wood details on our couch. She was okay, I think we were the ones who were falling apart. We went to Maw-maw's to see if it warranted stitches. We took her to Medexcel, an after-hours clinic. We got there minutes before closing, but they chose to see her anyway. We were so thankful to see Dr. Hindelang, and he put Dermabond (ie medical superglue) and quickly sutured her up. She cried a little, but was a real champ! Or maybe it was the trip to Sonic for ice cream that made it all better. We went home, held her for a little while, and off to bed she went. She slept fine and everything has been fine since.

Prayer Request

I am asking for those who read this blog to keep in prayer all in the path of Tropical Storm Dolly. I pray for the safety of all in these areas & for minimal damage. Living in a coastal region, I know all too well the devastation hurricanes can cause. Even weak storms can cause major inconveniences. I also pray all residents and visitors heed warnings and use wise judgement. Most of all I pray the Lord stretches out His Loving Arms to provide protection and safety among His people.

Come to Me and I will give you rest

This weekend the Lord gave each of us a chance to rest in our own way. We each came needing to be recharged from our daily life. Some of us needed sleep, some joy, laughter, togetherness, renewal, nostalgia, peace, and yet we received so much more.

Our family arrived late Friday afternoon, and started to get everything setup and ready for the weekend. We had supper ready for when Didi and Nanny Wanda (Who Emma affectionately calls Wanda) got there. Supper was great. We cleaned and everyone got ready for bed.

We woke up fairly early, and were on a hunt for a good crabbing spot. Most spots get taken before the sun even comes up in the morning. The sun had been up a little while, making spot searching a little harder. We finally found a spot near the Mermentau River as well as another group AND an alligator. After staying a while we only caught a whopping 1 crab. We decided to "cut our loses" and move on to a new location. We made our way to Joseph's Harbor praying all the while that we would have enough for supper. I guess the Lord was giving us a message...what did we have? 2 crabs and now 2 new alligators. With little success Eric took us to the other side of the landing which turned out to be more successful. At this new location we caught 11, totalling a baker's dozen. We decided we would head back to the camp.

There is a ferry to take you across from Cameron to Holly Beach. It is always so much fun and excitement. Emma was just so excited to see and be on a boat. We were excited because the Lord blessed us with the opportunity of catching a glimpse of a school of dolphins. The water was absolutely beautiful, I guess they couldn't resist. Once over the river we drove a little down the road to Holly Beach. We decided to make a stop to Meaux's Seafood, at which point the Lord multiplied our catch from one dozen to four dozen and some LARGE shrimp. We finally gathered up a pot, boiler, utensils, and some very hungry stomachs. Eric started the boil, and we were able to just spend some good quality time together laughing at the girls, remembering the past, and just enjoying each other's company. We all agreed the crabs and shrimp were an awesome treat. After supper, we started cleaning, some inside some outside. After cleaning, we all got ready for bed.

We all woke up refreshed, and full(thanks to DiDi's delicious breakfast). We went to Mass, an awesome way to start the day!! We then headed over to the Hackberry Rec Center and had a yummy lunch. Once back at the camper, we started picking everything up, cleaning, and packing our vehicles to head home.

We didn't want to go home empty-handed so we decided we would try and crab at our favorite spot. At first when we drove up there was a couple crabbing. We were bummed but did not give up. We went to fill our cars with gas, and went back on the hunt for a spot. I loved our little spot, and asked Eric to go back to see if the couple had left. We drove up, and they were leaving. The couple was so friendly, and they even left us their bait and string. We were very eager to get started. It wasn't long before we had another visitor....you guessed it.....Mr. Alligator decided to visit us once again(how thoughtful). He did not damper our fun though. We all switched turns...crabbing, netting, Emmaing, and Madelineing. We spent a good time crabbing over there, and were very successful!

I am realizing with age that the amount of crabs you catch, though exciting, does not make the trip successful. What made the trip successful was the blessings God shined upon us, the faithfulness, the sharing, the giving, the happiness and joy, the teamwork, and most of all the love we had for each other. In that case, our trip FAR surpassed the amount of crabs we caught. I think I can speak for everyone that we had a very enjoyable, relaxing time.

I am very thankful to my in-laws for their extreme generosity. They provide us with places of retreat, something that can't be bought. I also thank Nanny Wanda and Didi for their generosity and helpfulness. They were very selfless, allowing Eric and I special time of our own as well. I thank my girls for providing us with laughter and entertainment, as well as unbelievable behavior. I also thank Eric for being amazing. He always thinks of little details to make the weekend special. He works very hard to make sure we are happy and taken care of. This weekend made us feel like we were "dating" again. It helped me realize how much I love my best friend. Most of all, I want to thank God. This weekend was AMAZING! He provided us with beautiful weather, beautiful nature, beautiful company, beautiful rest, but most of all beautiful memories! Thank You!!!

**More pics posted at the bottom of page

God's Listening!

This afternoon I had a special prayer intention on my heart. I decided I would pray a rosary and offer it up for my intention. In minutes I located my rosary in one of the pockets in my mess I created in my diaper bag. I started praying the rosary and of course Emma's curiosity brought her my way. We started going through Jeesie on the cross, Mary in the middle and the prayers we say. She pulled on it a little, and I thought maybe she should help me hold the beads, well needless to say, I started looking for my Cd.---Let me say something before I go on.... my daughters are amazing. I love them dearly. They are so much fun. Sometimes it's just hard to get the things you want done when you want them.---okay, on to what I was saying. I couldn't find it. I went on line to download an audio version from Mother Angelica. I spent 10 mins trying to download all this extra stuff for it not to work. I just kept telling God I don't want these little things to steal my joy today. It kinda became my little montra of the day. In the midst of trying to say the rosary, my other daughter could not be consoled. I just felt my blood pressure wanting to rise, but I kept repeating my "montra". I found things that would normally steal my joy were occurring left and right. I kept praying and still stood firm.

A couple of hours later my husband came home. I was so excited to see him. Once he came home we hurried up and loaded the girls into the car to go to GiGi's house for family night. I first had to stop for gas and of course it is raining horizontially!!!! Got gas and booked it to Lafayette to be with our family. I feel we could not have had a better night. We had so much fun, and were able to help celebrate my cousin Donna's birthday. The visit was just wonderful, we ended up staying till almost 10pm. After we left, we went water Poppie's flowers. When we got in the car I couldn't help but realize Jesus had answered all my prayers. Even through the interruptions and failed attempts of the day God WAS listening!

Got Greenbeans?

Now that Madeline has two new teeth, she is ready to try them out. She has already been introduced to carrots and now greenbeans. She just loves them! , or maybe it's the greenbean flavored spoon, it's hard to tell. I can't believe she is already 7mths and growing like a weed!

Emma's world also broadened with her new swingset. Her Maw-Maw, Paw-Paw, Nanny, Uncle Shannon, and cousins Andre & Hunter gave her the swingset for her birthday (yes, we FINALLY put it up!). Now she has a "mini park" in her backyard. Paw-Paw and Daddy worked hard to put it up Saturday, and we have not stopped playing on it. She LOVE LOVE LOVES it, thank you! It has a see-saw, rocking "horse", trapeeze, swings, & a slide. She is going to go crazy when I put her little pool under the slide, I can't wait.

I just love the summer. Last night we went run errands, and on the way home we saw the lights lit at the baseball park. We decided to drive-by and saw a game going on. We pulled over and watched the game. We didn't know any of the players, but it was just nice to sit and be together. It just reminds me of summers when we were kids, and didn't have a care in the world. I loved to get as much sunlight as I could, and still do.

We were looking for a song for Emma and this was the closest we got. I just love the words and wanted to share them because it is hard to understand.


Written by Jason Upton
Friday, 04 March 2005

Emma (Not Alone)

Don’t be afraid baby don’t you cry Daddy’s here it will be all right You’re not alone you’re not alone Don’t be afraid when you’re cold at night I will keep you warm I will hold you tight You’re not alone you’re not alone Look beyond the window there To the sky above to the open air Look beyond what you can see Close your eyes and just believe The lion roars and the lamb lay down They live together in a whole new town They’re calling me and they’re calling you From the cold hard facts that we’re on our own To the age old truth that we’re not alone Don’t be afraid when you scrape your knee I’ve got a band aide waiting and a kiss for free You’re not alone you’re not alone Don’t be afraid of your blind belief Because the more you fly the more you’ll see You’re not alone you’re not alone Look beyond the window there To the sky above to the open air Look beyond what you can see Close your eyes and just believe The lion roars and the lamb lay down They live together in a whole new town They’re calling me and they’re calling you From the cold hard facts that we’re on our own To the age old truth that we’re not aloneDon’t be afraid little warrior bride Your victory’s on the other side You’re not alone you’re not alone.

© 2004 Jason Upton & Key of David Ministries. All rights reserved

Mass Chaos :Through the Eyes of a Child

I don't know if any of you have children, but getting them to stay still for long periods of time can be challenging at times. Today we decided to go to 11am Mass (sometimes switching with 9:30am Mass), but Emma slept till 9 and it gave us a little more time to get ready. Even with the extra time we still got to Mass minutes before it started. We normally "flock" to the cryroom, but last week we went to a church out of town and were very successful. This morning we were trying to repeat, but were not as successful.

Emma, our two year old, is very much an extrovert. Actually she is more like a "ham" as they call it. Once we sat in the pews and Mass began she started pointing out to everyone where "Jeesie" was, which normally is cute but not during the opening prayer or even through to the Gospel:). She was pitching a fit because the girl behind us had a book and she wanted it. At this point people are turning around to look at us. Did I forget to mention she is welcoming all the people who came in late. Yes, she was doing "What Jesus Would Do", but I guess my pride got the best of me and I did not want her to disturb others. She started pitching another fit so we decided to go into the cryroom. The cryroom which can be a great tool, but tends to be more of a distraction to me now. Our church is so beautiful, but there are no windows in the cryroom. I feel so separated from Jesus. I feel like I'm in a room listening to a "play by play" of Mass. Not to mention for some it has become a "social". I often try to stand in the window of the doors so I can actually feel a part of the Miracle inside. It often brings me back to the days when I could fully participate in Mass, and actually remember the readings. At this time the devil works on me and says, "why do you come when you don't even get to participate"? Thank God, the Holy Spirit quickly kicks me in the behind and reminds me there is nowhere else in the world I would want to be...thank you Holy Spirit! As not only parents, but catholic parents it is our duty and responsibility to bring our children to church each Sunday, and we do. God will provide the grace to get through it. Even though I got frustrated thinking she was being bad, she was actually doing what Jesus calls us to do: Be like children, welcome and love others, but most of all bring others closer to Jeesie....Isn't that what it's all about. Maybe I was the one who was not doing what I was supposed to. I'm so lucky to have the children I do, and when I feel like I can't "see Jesus" I can look at them and He is there!

*Flowers for Poppie*

Today was yet another adventure. We had a late start, but it didn't slow down our day. Maw-Maw stopped by, and dropped off our lunches we bought to help support our nephew Hunter's allstar baseball team. Hunter is a player on the Abbeville 8's Allstar team, along with Shannon, our brother-in-law, who is one of the coaches. They have just won State, and are trying to raise money to go to Regionals in Little Rock, Arkansas. Needless to say, the sausage poboys were great, and we decided to bring one to Didi too.

We had a wonderful visit with Didi, but didn't want to stay too long so she get some rest. After leaving Didi's we decided to go to the University Art Museum, and had a fun time. Next on our list were refreshments. With this summer weather nothing quenches my thirst better than a Rt 44 apple juice slush from Sonic. Once quenched, we decided to go visit Poppie's grave. Eric thought it would be nice to find some plants and plant them for Poppie. We found two beautiful Hibiscuses for our two beautiful girls. Emma had a lot of fun helping mom and dad get the plants ready for Poppie. Madeline, on the other hand, decided she had already had a busy day and chose to have a siesta instead. We miss you Dad.

A Good Day

Today was such a great day. Didi is home and seems to be doing a little better. Today, we had so much fun playing. We played outside, and even were grass princesses ( though Emma felt her picture was not necessary.) We then went to have supper at Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's house. Emma had so much fun playing with her cousin Andre. Once we left, we went to Sonic and had "hice ceam"!