A WHOLE HAND!

JOEY BOY,

WHERE ARE YOU?

IT'S YOUR BIG DAY!

January 4th marked the 5th birthday of a very special little boy in my life - My Joe-Joe! I had the pleasure of making his cake for his party, and I must say, it was one of the most challenging; not because it was a difficult cake, but I did not know the character all too well (insert your laugh here). But, I prevailed, and Joey got his cake!

The party was a lot of fun for Joey; but what party isn't when you have the joy of having most of your cousins to celebrate with you!? (We missed Faith, Dayton, and Paige!). Lots of cake, lots of presents, lots of smiles and fun all around.

Joey, it does not seem possible that you are a WHOLE HAND!! What happened to that little baby I held in the hospital room? You're growing up my sweet nephew, and it's such a blessing to watch you grow into the person you are becoming. I love you!

THE GIFTS AND DECORATIONS
Gift from the Cook Family!Opening gift from Uncle Larry, Aunt Anne, and AmandaGift from Uncle Larry, Aunt Anne, and Amanda (Animal Soup board game)
THE CAKE - A POKEMON CHARACTER NAMED PICACHU (sp?)




Blow the candles out sweet boy!

BUDDIES! - UNCLE LARRY (AKA SNORK) AND NEPHEW JOEY (AKA SMISH-SMISH)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOEY! HOPE YOUR DAY WAS FUN AND YOU ENJOY BEING A WHOLE HAND!

US Marine LT Matthew James Orr

I thought about you today when this song came into my inbox, and my heart skipped a beat. I can only imagine the terror you are witnessing, the lonely days and long unbearable nights. The camaraderie amongst the soldiers is high; you lean on each other for support. I think of your precious beloved anxiously awaiting for your return back into her loving arms. Even as the lonely days overwhelm her, comfort embraces her. Though you are several miles away from your bride, there is peace in knowing that God lessens that distance as He holds both of you in His arms until the two of you can embrace each other with loving arms.

US Marine Lt. Matthew James Orr - a soldier, a husband, a son, grandson, brother, nephew, and cousin. A man of dignity, a man so ready and willing to serve this Land of the Free for you and me. A man of God - crying out to his Maker during those lonely Afghanistan nights. A man with an infectious smile, a heart of gold. A man with a wife whom he promises to love, honor, and cherish. Young, yet wiser beyond his years, mature, and handling matters with such grace. A man; a Man of God.

Matthew, you are in our prayers daily. We love you so much, and know that God above loves you even more than anyone here on earth ever could. You are a Child of God. Keep leaning on those mighty powerful everlasting arms, no matter if it is during times of trouble, sadness, or joy...lean on Him with everything you have. We anxiously await your return, but until then, know we love you and the prayers for you never cease.

http://www.daylife.com/photo/0cus9c84yyeBG

Joseph, Joey, Joe ----My Nephew!

Today is a very special day. Can this much time have already passed, so quickly? I remember my sister calling me and telling me I think my water broke. You think!?! This is baby #2 shouldn't you know? Guess that goes to prove, every pregnancy is different. I was SO excited! Another little nephew to love on and give lots of hugs and kisses to. I just couldn't wait. I, unfortunately, did not get to see my sister in the hospital, so I had to wait to see this new little nephew of mine. {did I ever mention that I am not one to have good patience when something exciting, new is going on?}. The first time I got to hold this little bundle, my heart melted. God saw fit to bless me again as Aunt Anne.

Today, my Joe-Joe is 5 years old, a whole hand! and a kid full of knowledge he could blow your socks off! He absolutely loves animals; I mean ALL things animals! Geez, who the heck knows what a narwhal is? Joey does! He is very loving, and crazy goofy at the same time! He can be shy, but when you get this kid going, he is a little chatterbox! Joey is a very detail oriented type kid. He follows instructions when building things, and whoa did he ever shock us this past Dec 31 building a Lego-type thing all by himself. Did I mention he is JUST turning FIVE today??

My sweet nephew, Joey, I love you little buddy! You put a smile on my face and fill my heart with love. You are so precious to me! I thank God for you being a blessing to my life, and I thank God for blessing your mommy, my sister, with the opportunity to be your Mom! So, go ahead, blow those candles out my boy....

Happy 5th Birthday, Joey!

Happy New Year 2010

Wow! Where did 2009 go? I just noticed that I was kind of slacking in the blog realms in December. But hey, I got overwhelmed with the "to do" list in December that when I had a chance to get away from the computer, believe me, I did! Even took some much needed days off from work, despite being unpaid, the last two weeks! So, now hoping to jump back on board and update more regularly!

Here's to 2010! Happy New Year!

My Girl

I love, love pictures! Pictures of my nieces, nephews, puppy, and ones that others send me. Did I mention that I LOVE pictures? (shh..Amanda has ahem like 1000+ photos of herself from over the years). So, the tradition continues. What's a season without Christmas pictures of my little girl, who happens to be not so little anymore. I think I am one of those moms who will keep on having my daughter's picture taken until she moves out of the house (think she will go along with that?). Now, I can indeed take pictures of my own, but never claim to be a pro at it, so when it comes to needing the REALLY good shots, I call on the talents of others. We were so blessed to get on the schedule for Kristen P. to do Amanda's Christmas shots (she did her b-day pictures, too). I think she has a permanent client (can you take pet photos too? j/k). Kristen did an AWESOME job (did I mention I really,really,really,really, REALLY love pictures. So....

HERE'S MY GIRL!

I love you my sweet Amanda Victoria. Thank you for being My Girl!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa! Missing you

December 3, not just an ordinary day in my life, but rather a special day. December 3 is the day my grandpa was born!! Grandpa was a great man! He loved his family with an unconditional love, would do anything for his family, and cherished the moments he became a grandpa and then a great-grandpa. I have such special memories tucked away in my heart of me and my grandpa.

*I can remember him sitting in his chair and my hoping up there with him and he would just "tickle" my back until I fell asleep in grandpa's arms.

*I can remember trips to Wendy's for a frosty with grandpa.

*I remember all his joking ways - funny face masks on Christmas to look like Santa, the can of ahem "peanut brittle" {looked like snakes to me}

*I remember his love of Christmas and decorating, and teaching the art of decorating to my brother (Christmas Vacation, anyone?)

*I remember his artistic talent - making costumes, helping with science projects {and eventually drawing one last picture for my daughter - a clown}

*He and I had a love of butter pecan ice cream and he made sure to always have some stocked in the freezer when I came to visit.

*Grandpa was an encourager. No matter what life threw at me, I knew I could feel safe telling grandpa and never did he say a negative word toward me.

*I can remember May 30, 1997 when my grandpa peered over the little bed in the hospital room while I looked on; he became a great-grandpa for the second time that day!

*I can remember grandpa holding my little girl and giving her her first taste of a lollipop (Grandpa always had candy stocked in the house), and she was just a little one then. I remember my little girl playing with bubbles with grandpa, running outside in the yard. I remember her face lighting up with she saw him and his doing the same when he saw her.

2001, January - I remember my daughter coming into the hospital room with a bag from Dairy Queen with ice cream for her great-grandpa. I thank God for the memory I have of my little girl sitting on her great-grandpa's lap eating ice cream, laughing, smiling ~ flashback to me sitting there on his lap. This was a Friday, two days later, my grandpa went home to be with Jesus.

I have SO many memories of my grandpa that I could just go on and on, and I am forever thankful for those memories. My grandpa was a special man, and will always hold a special place in my heart.

So, as I remember him today, I say Happy Birthday, Grandpa! you are forever in my memories

Singing Praises with a Smile in My Heart!

A long journey, one still with pages being written, but a chapter has been finally closed! and I can now sing praises for one medical hurdle cleared!

God knows what He is doing when He blesses our life with children. He knows what we can handle, and never gives us more! HE is amazing like that! 12 years ago, He blessed me with Amanda, and at that time little did I know of the journey I would be embarking on in just a few short years. Around the time this precious picture was taken on my one and only daughter, our life we preparing to take a drastic turn. Her smile infectious, her love so sweet. A medical journey began with various diagnoses such as irritable bowel syndrome, {severe} acid reflux - which led to surgery to correct this, chronic sinusitis with sinus infections nearly every month, sometimes twice, and the list {does} go on, but the one medical anomaly we faced was growth hormone deficiency. Say WHAT?? You mean to tell me that my little girl will just stop growing right now?! Truth be told, the doctor informed me that at around age 7 Amanda would grow to be perhaps only 4 feet tall. She was growth hormone deficient; two years behind in her growth. I would be wrong to say that I wasn't devastated with this news, but I too would be wrong to say I didn't tell everyone that I knew GOD was in control of this matter and we will work our way through it; and we did. Years of growth hormone injections, watching little, but steady progress, until finally she went from the picture above to this one:
She beat the 50/50 odds. When Amanda turned 12, she informed the endocrinologist that she didn't want to take the growth hormones anymore! she was finished!! (He had told her she was at an age now that she could make that decision). So, we waited two months, had blood work drawn, and waited, waited for the results. 50% chance she would still have a non-functioning pituitary gland; 50% the growth hormones would jump start the gland into working on its own.

Well, before I give the results, I need to take a sidebar and just thank ALL, ALL of Amanda's prayer warriors for loving her, caring for her, and always praying for my little girl. I truly believe in the power of prayer!

So, what are the results? Hmm, I am OVERJOYED to say GOD has cured her of the hormone deficiency! Can I get a PRAISE GOD or an AMEN on that one!?! It has been a loong journey to reach this point, and without God and Amanda's team of doctors, and her prayer warriors, the journey would have felt lonely!

This all to say, in six months the blood work will be repeated as a final "double" check of her levels, and if those show she is all good, I will finally hear the words "you are discharged from my practice" from the endocrinologist! Not that he hasn't taken excellent care of her (he has) but I am ready to be done with some of the doctor visits :)

Thank you, Dr. Holland for caring for Amanda and your continued care for her through this journey. We love you!

And to wrap it up, thanks goes out to ALL Amanda's doctors as they are plenty, but I want to say a VERY SPECIAL thank you to the doctor below. Dr. Saba! He is Amanda's best buddy, and she has goals to be a pediatrician just like him one day! He is truly an example of a great, caring doctor.

To conclude...I am singing praises. Thank you JESUS (and Amanda's might prayer warriors)