Post Surgery & Some Fun

The surgery went extremely well, and very fast. We were some what surprised when the hospital called us this morning at 8 to ask if we were on our way. The appointment before us had cancelled and we had been moved up. So after some paperwork, we were called back to start the process. After some repetitive questions, we were then taken back for pre op, and I was able to go back with her into the surgery room. I know it was good for her, but not so good for me. She cried pretty hard, and I cried just as hard. We were then told 20 mins top, and in 10 mins our Dr. came out and said everything went very good and we could see her shortly.... Just a little more waiting and she was back in my arms. She threw up a few times, but nothing I could handle ~ and that's saying a lot. We left the hospital at 12 and went and had a bite to eat, and Emily ate as well! She is bouncing of the walls and acting just the same. She snapped out of it very quickly.

We found a new love of Emily's ~ LEMONS

She really loves them, eating rine and all!

One finally made her pucker ~ and yet she still ate them!

Her first swimming adventure ~ with many more to come

You said pose right mom???

Outcome ~ Could not have had more fun!

Loved every minute of it :)

Surgery Time

Mommy is very quiet right now..... Lots of thoughts going through my mind. Tomorrow will be one of Emily's many surgeries. Tomorrow is a simple one ~ putting tubes in her ears. Although the surgery is simple and takes very little time, this mom is still nervous, scared, excited, and curious how it will go.

What we do know ~ we need to be at the hospital at 8:25, and the actually procedure will only take 10 minutes. As soon as the anesthesia wears off, we will be released from the hospital, and were told hat Emily would probably run out as if nothing would happen. We were also told that Emily would not hurt, and she would be mostly tired but no pain. I'm very anxious about the outcome of tomorrow, and hope and pray that all goes well. This is going to be very good for Emily for she has fluid in the middle ear, and this is affecting her hearing, as well as being prone to MANY ear infections. So we know that she will fell much better, and probably even have a better temperament, which is pretty good to begin with!!!! So please join us with prayer, and we will keep you posted on how it goes!! Thank you all, for you love and support!

I have missed you all~

The past few months have gone by so quickly…..




I can’t believe how much Emily has changed, but part of the reason I have not blogged was because of my attitude toward my situation. I was having a few attitude problems and was not sure how to share them. So my choice was to not share, although a very sweet person told me how I can give glory to the Lord if I don’t share where my heart is and how He changed it! (Thanks Erica ~ you knew exactly what to say) I was ashamed of how I acted toward my days that were, to say the least not pleasant. But my Lord never left me, I just had to open my eyes to see Him, and put my hand out for Him to lead me again! It was a difficult time, with lots of tears, struggles, moments of a break down, but milestones were meet, progress happen. I’m glad that we are currently pass that, and are having much better days!




So my apologies to all of you ~ I kept thinking of blogging but was really not ready. So please scroll down to see the past few months event by event. Hope you enjoy the pictures and my thoughts. There are quite a bit of posts (7 to be exact and you have to go to the next page) and thank you for being so patient with me!




We love you all, and thank you for checking our blog and for your prayers through this time! We would love to hear from you!

Say Cheese~

Just a few REALLY CUTE pictures of my girls!

Emily at Kaylees graduation

A Photo Session ~ Too Cute!

Ashley ~ on our girls night out!

Kaylee on our girls night out!

Kaylees picture we used to put into the paper for Salutorian

Kaylee sportin some pig tails!

Last but not least ~ Emily with her pig tails, with out rubber bands of course!

OKC Thunder!

Youth takes a trip ~

This was a very fast pass trip to see our OKC Thunder play basketball! This was Youth Night, and they had a special time before the game for all the Youth groups, and had a couple special speakers, who were currently playing basketball for the Thunders.

We raced down there (thanks Clayton for getting us there on time and keeping us safe), had a very early dinner at Braum's, went to the rally, and then headed to the game! Our seats where in the, what they called “LOUD CITY”, and yes it did hold up to its name! The youth had a great time cheering for our team, enjoying each other’s company, and bonding as a group of fellow believers. This was also Emily’s first youth event, whew ~ glad it’s behind us because that was very hard to juggle! Both she and the youth needed our attention and she seemed to win! We will definitely think about taking her again, just because I want to be with the youth when it’s their turn. (I understand completely Connie what you have been saying all these years:)

The outcome of the game was: The Thunder lost by one, but it was an exciting game to watch! So close!

Our Youth Group!

Kenzie, AB, LS and Kaylee

A couple of our rowdy boys! We still love them though

Ashley and JC

LS and Kaylee

Kaylee and Emily on her first Youth trip!

Rockin Out!

BARLOW GIRL

STELLARKART

Oh my, was this a fun evening……..

Michelle, Hunter, Meghan, Ashley, Kaylee and I went to Woodward to see all these bands! It was an awesome concert, and we rocked the house out.
My favorite was Barlow Girl, and Kaylee and Ashley’s favorite was StellarKart. Both bands did put on a great show that honored God to the fullest! Barlow Girl gave an invitation and spoke of how God had changed lives and how He is still working in their lives!
The other part of this trip was being with Michelle, Hunter and Meghan…… We had many laughs, created memories that we will never forget, and of course missed our husbands! This was also the first time since we had been home from China that I left Emily at home. She did great with her daddy; on the other hand I missed her little lots. It was a great time away, and a wonderful evening! Thanks everyone for making a day to remember!

Michelle and I at the concert!

Kaylee, Hunter, Meghan and Ashley taking time to pose for the picture, although they were wanting to dance.

StellarKart

Barlow Girl

Dr. Smith meets Emily!

Today we went to Dr. Keys Speech and Hearing Center, and Emily was examined from HEAD to TOE! She did very well, especially for not feeling well at all! We seen a Dr. Simmons ~ counselor, Dr. Deal ~ Speech, Dr. White ~ Dentistry, Dr. Dandajena ~ Orthodontist, Genetic Dr, Dr. Hudson ~Hearing Specialist, and of course Dr. Smith ~ performing surgery on lip and palate!!! We feel in love with Dr. Smith immediately, he is wonderful, great with kids, and loves his job!
Of course the Speech Dr. was not able too much but ask us questions to see how she was progressing! She seemed very happy with where she was, according to our answers. But in the future, this Dr. Deal will be wonderful to work with and very helpful throughout the process. All the Dr.’s were great, and so helpful and willing to help anytime we need it. Dr. Hudson (Hearing) did some testing and Emily was diagnosed with a minor hearing loss. I was upset but assured that this was very common in Cleft lip and palate. Minor hearing loss could be caused by fluid in the middle ear, which would be fixed by putting tubes in her ears. She recommended that we had a second look by a Dr. Glade. Dr. Smith said we would have her lip and palate fixed by Christmas, and that we would be scheduling her surgery very soon. I’m excited and scared at the same time ~ if that is even possible.
I must share that we thought about going through the Shriners to have this procedure done. We prayed about it and really looked at the big picture and what is best for Emily. When God showed us that OKC would be better than Tulsa and going through the Dr. Keys team compared to the Shriners, we were a little surprised but open to the plan. Can I just say that my God knows best, we are so glad that God took us down this path. The Dr.’s are fantastic and we are excited about the fact that these Dr’s will be the Dr.’s we will see throughout this entire journey. God knows best, and may He receive the glory for all of it!!!! Praise the Lord we have started the next step of our journey!

Emily was a trooper!

David was our walking journal! He remembers everything so well!

Erica joined us for the day, for fun and knowledge! I think she learned alot!

After the long day of Dr.'s, this is how Emily felt about all the Dr.'s ~ not great! :)

Let the Graduation begin:

It’s the big day!!!!


Kaylee graduates from 8th grade!!! Wow I can’t believe it, my sweet Kaylee graduated from Jr. High! What’s a mom to do; I know sit and reminisce about the past years, shed some tears and look to the future. I’m so proud of Kaylee and her accomplishments! Kaylee you wowed us as your graduation. Your speech was wonderful, well written, full of passion, and acknowledging the one and only Jesus Christ! You are an amazing, loving, caring, full of spunk, great sister, wonderful daughter and we love you with all our heart and are so excited about what God is going to do in your life! You have blessed us so much, and we know you will be so successful because you are so obedient to what God asks of you!

Congratulations Kaylee!

We Love You!

Kaylee giving her Salutatorian Speech ~ she did fabulous

Kaylee and Kacie ~ her BFF

Three beautiful girls ~ friends forever

The Class of 2014

I love this picture of my girls ~ they look so happy and beautiful

Finally a family picture that everybody is smiling in!

Her cake, yep it had to have green somewhere on it.

Some of her food, and her diploma and award for Salutatorian

Dance the Night Away!

On April 17th Ashley went to her Jr./Sr. Prom!!! They really worked hard at decorating and planning this beautiful event. A student’s mom catered for the dinner, and it was wonderful. The theme was “Into the Night”. David and I were chaperons, and really enjoyed being there with the students. Prom lasted until 12 am and then they went to After Prom ~ hosted by the Sr. parents! Ashley was not able to take her boyfriend, Kuyler, but she did take a great guy. Her and Josh have been friends since PreK. All in all it was a great evening, with no mishaps and lots of fun!!!

Let me share a little about Ashley’s beautiful dress. She found this dress in a Prom shop in Enid, and it was over our budget. I told her not to try it on, because it would be her favorite. Sure enough that is exactly what happen. Much to our surprise, Meghan A had the same dress at home and the Addingtons said we could borrow it. We were so excited when we tried it on and it fit perfectly!!!! Thank you Meghan and Michelle, for making the night even more special!!!

Truly Beautiful!

The dress was just as pretty from the back as well

Ashley and her date Joshua Conaway

Ashley and Josh at Enid Symphony ~ prom

Ashley and her proud parents AKA Chaperons

The table with all her friends ~ Josh, Austin, Lauren, Shelbi, Omar, Skyler and Carly

The future Sr. class of 2011

Friends Forever

Shelbi, Brooklynn, Carly and Ashley

Ashley and Courtney ~ friends since they were born!

Having fun on the dance floor!