Be careful what you say........or type.

EDIT..............................Apparently, some people that read my post were upset by it. So I have removed it. It was never my intention of hurting anyone, and to anyone I have hurt by it, I am sincerly sorry.

Here are Emma's pictures that we had done last month. They are professional though so don't tell anyone :-)

Grandma!

First, let me say thank you to everyone that has been praying for my grandmother. She has already gone to the rehab hospital and is in fairly good spirits. She doesn't yet realize that she may never get to go home. My mother was finally well enough to travel to Tulsa today to spend a little time with her and give my aunt a break. My dad was able to reschedule the rest of his business trip and met her there. Since I have been thinking of Grandma so much this week, I went through the photo albums and pulled some pictures of her with Emma. She just loves Emma and Emma loves her Great Granny

Emma at 6 months with Great Granny

Emma at 18 months with Great Granny. It didn't take Emma long to figure out that Great Granny would take her anywhere she wanted to go. We had to keep an eye on both of them!

Prayers Needed for Grandma

Hey everyone! Over the week-end my almost 92 year old grandmother fell. She was outside of her house and took a tumble. The neighbors were not home so she dragged herself around the house to the back door - got inside and over to the phone and called my aunt to come and help her up. Needless to say, once my aunt got there, she called 911. Grandma broke her hip and had surgery yesterday. She now has 4 pins holding her hip together. They tell us to expect her to be in the hospital for at least a month (maybe longer) and then she will have to go to a rehab facility. There is a good chance she will not ever get to go home. She has lived by herself since my grandfather went into the nursing home a few months before he passed away . She has always refused to go into a nursing home or a retirement home that has assisted living. She likes being independent. I am afraid that once she realizes there is a good chance she will end up in a nursing home she will just give up. Please pray for her to heal quickly and give her the peace to accept whatever comes her way. Also, pray for my aunt as she is taking care of her. My mother would have flown out there this week-end, but she is sick and can't fly at the moment.
I have been very blessed in my life to have had grandparents for so long. Until October 2004 I had all 4 of them. Since then, both of my grandfathers have passed away. I know Grandma won't be around forever, but she is a very special lady. They just don't make 'em like her anymore!

Sunday in the Park

After attending Greenwood Park with my parents (by the way - it was so good to see everybody!), we went to eat lunch downtown at The Cellar (very good!). After lunch we walked over to Fountain Square Park. It was an absolutly beautiful day.

Emma taking a stroll with her Mimi and Papa
Three Generations
My wonderful parents.

By the way - don't they look great!!!

I got the best Mother's Day present. My little girl looked up at me as we were walking and said "Love Mommy". It made my day!
Taking it easy and enjoying the time together.

I was very blessed this year to be able to have my parents here. It had been 12 years since I was able to see my mother on this special day. I have learned so much from my mother - I only hope I am able to do half as good with my daughter as she did with me. I love you Mom!!!

Need a hand?

Emma and I drove to Berea on Thursday to meet my parents for dinner and to spend the day Friday with my Mom. Unfortunately, my parents got stuck in Chicago and did not arrive at the hotel until almost 11:00 at night. I left BG at 2:00 so we ended up on our own for the evening. We were supposed to have eaten at Boone Tavern and I had been looking forward to it all day, so I decided to go ahead and do it. I have to say - the food was incredible, but eating by yourself with a two year old in a nice restaurant is kind of depressing. Not to mention the wait staff treated me like a second class citizen since I was there with a child. (Needless to say - he did not receive a large tip!)

After dinner we (meaning me) decided to go for a walk around the campus. It was really hot and humid so we didn't stay out very long but Emma discovered these really big hand statues that were each painted differently - she LOVED them! We found some more the next day so we had to "visit" them too!

The wait staff in the restaurant wasn't the best but our room was perfect for the two of us. It was fairly small, but had two twin beds. Emma got to sleep in a 'Big Girl Bed' for the first time. She loved it! Unfortuately for me - it took her over an hour to go to sleep. She is one wiggly little chick!

We drove home Friday evening and ended up driving in those horrible storms. Just to let you know - Steven's vehicle hydroplanes very well - this is not a good thing!!!! Anyway we made it back safely. Thank you Lord!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day a little early. Emma and I will will be leaving this afternoon to drive to Berea. My Dad has some business in Mount Vernon so Emma and I are going to spend the day tomorrow bumming around town with my Mom. I haven't been to Berea in years so I am looking forward to it. Mom and Dad are coming back to BG with me and will spend the weekend. It has been years since I was able to spend Mother's Day with my mom, so I am really looking forward to it. They left for the airport just a few moments ago, so please pray for their safe travel.

And to all you new mommies - enjoy your first with your precious new bundles! Make sure that Daddy pampers you! You deserve it!

Friends make the world a better place

I had such high hopes for this week, but it is starting out kinda rough! I ended up with a first class, shooting stars migrain last night. I had started to get a headache and I had to go to an auction for work. I ended up getting a little overheated and my headache got a little worse - okay a lot worse. They usually slowly work their way into a migrain - not this one - BOOM!!! I could hardly move. And as luck would have it, Steven called to say he was not going to be home till late. Great!!!!! But Barry and Jill came to the rescue. Jill offered to come and get Emma and I turned her down (I didn't want her to have to come all the way out to my house to get her and have to take care of an extra child since I knew she was trying to get Natalie's invitations done). About 10 minutes later, I could have kicked myself. I went to get up off the couch and thought my head was going to explode. Emma was being fairly good, but she is only two. Then my phone rang...........it was Jill! She in no uncertain terms told me that they were going to come and get Emma and give her dinner and get her bathed for me. I really cannot thank her enough. Once Emma was gone I just curled up in the dark and went to sleep. I didn't even move when Steven came home with Emma. Luckily, I feel much better this morning - still a little fogheaded (is that even really a word?).
We are all fortunate to have such good friends that are not only friends but our brothers and sisters in Christ. I thank the Lord everyday for my friends and that Emma is going to grow up surrounded by people that love her. THANK YOU BARRY & JILL!!!!! You all are awesome!

A mommy's frustration!

It is FRIDAY!!!!

I don't know about anyone else, but this has been a VERY long week. Sunday is always busy with church and lunch and trying to finish whatever household chores did not get finished on Saturday. And then comes Monday! Monday in and of itself is bad enough, but add to it a job that can be stressful and then you have to go to Lowe's with your husband to finally pick out a ceiling fan. (Who knew that a ceiling fan would take multiple trips and LOTS of discussion?) On top of that your child (who you previously thought of as beautiful) has now been possessed by demons and is letting not only you know it but everybody in Lowe's know it. This demon induced fit lasted until she went to bed!!! By the time we got her and ourselves fed and home and her in bed I was exhausted. Tuesday was somewhat better - at least Emma was once again my beautiful little girl. She enjoyed her little 'date' with Mack when we got home and once we went inside she ate and played. And then there was Wednesday.......Steven had to leave at the crack of dawn and wasn't going to be home until late. Emma's good mood from the night before did not make it through the night. She woke up cranky, she threw a fit when I dropped her off at the sitters and picked it up again once I went to get her after work. Nothing I did made her happy, not even if I did exactly what she asked for. Apparently, the demons had returned! Once again, it continued for hours. She finally stopped when she literally fell over asleep in my lap. Steven came home to find me still sitting there holding her. He thought it was sweet! HA!!!! Now Thursday I must admit was pretty good. I still had to go to work, but Emma was in a good mood when I picked her up and once I told her she was going to get to play with Natalie Kate she was really happy! She played good and didn't throw any fits (thank you Lord!), even when Steven came and it was time for her to go home. She fell asleep on the way and Steven was able to get her changed and into bed with no complaints. (Some people have all the luck!) Then we come to Friday. She woke up crying, but was content when I went and got her. She stayed pretty happy all morning while we were getting ready, until I asked her if she was ready to go to Grandma's house. She immediately hugs my neck and tells me "NO. Stay home" , at which point I feel like a real loser! I didn't want to go to work anyway, and now my daughter is actually telling me that she wants to stay home. Luckily, Steven was dropping her off today because I don't think I could have done it.

I only get a few hours with her each day as it is, and a lot of that time she is tired, fussy, cranky, and sometimes like Monday even demon possessed. Not to mention that there is dinner to fix and laundry to still do and dishes to wash. Yesterday when I dropped her off, I was actually jealous of my mother-in-law for getting to spend the entire day with my daughter. It was horrible and I hate feeling that way. I am SO lucky that Emma has a Grandma that wants to and is able to take care of her during the day.

Tonight Steven and I are going out on a date (we are going to see 'You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown' at the Capital Arts) and Emma is going to see her Uncle Scooter and Aunt Nee and play with Ethan. That will make her very happy. But since I will have worked all day and we are going out, I won't get to spend much time with her. I know that we need time for us, away from our child, to be adults and to be a couple. But it is so hard sometimes.

I pray next week will go better. I am taking a little time off of work the end of the week. I am taking Emma to Berea to spend a little quality time with her Mimi while Papa is working. Then Friday night they are going to come here for the week-end. It will be hectic, but it will be worth it! And it will be a great Mother's Day gift for me to be able to spend it with my Mom!

You know.................. I feel better now! I just had to get it all out! I know that it will continue to be frustrating at times, but mixed in with all of that are some really good times and opportunities to make some great memories! I know that God will never give me more than I can handle. I just have to remind myself of that sometimes!

"Emma go work"

Emma came and found me this morning while I was getting ready for work. I looked down at her in surprise and she says "Emma go work". Of course I had to go get my camera! She had put on my shoes (this is not unusual), but she had even managed to get one of my tops on. Of course on her it is a little to low cut. Her Daddy was just rolling. It really was too funny.

All ready to go!

Oh My Goodness!

Can you believe that Emma had a date last night? We got home and Mack, the boy next door was outside and waiting for her. He has been completely smitten with her since the day she was born. It is really kinda cute. Except that he is 8 years older than her. I'm afraid he is going to break her heart one day :-( I have known Mack since he was 5 or 6 years old. I scrapbooked with his Mom long before we became neighbors.

Mack carefully puts Emma in the "vehicle" and makes sure that she is all buckled in.

Emma admires the flower that Mack gave her....."Pretty"...."Smells good"

Holding hands (don't let Daddy see!)

Time for hugs (PLEASE don't let Daddy see!)

Mack takes Emma out for a little walk to see the flowers.

Mack took her around and showed her all the flowers.

Mack taking Emma out for a little spin on her "motorcycle"

(she calls any type of "cycle" a motorcycle - I wonder if that means she is going to want the real thing when she gets older? - Oh my goodness, I hope not!)

Daddy finally caught the two of them together and jumped on Mack's bike and took off after them!

Sadly, after this, Mack had to leave to go to Boy Scouts. Emma was crushed. She was having way to much fun. After she gave him some more hugs and kisses, he got in his Dad's truck and they left. She just stood there saying "Bye Bye Mack - Bye Bye Truck - Bye Bye Mack's Daddy" But then she got over it and decided to help Daddy with some yard work.

Emma "mowed" the grass (and even part of the driveway) for Daddy. She is SO helpful :-)

After all of that work, Emma seemed to have a problem with her britches falling down! Oops!

All better now!!!

Of course now she resembles Steve Erkel's long lost cousin!