A trip we will never forget...

So it's Thursday afternoon and I am sitting in a quiet condo overlooking the beautiful Atlantic ocean. The babies are sweetly napping and Shane has the three older kids out on the beach. The kids are sleeping so well here. The beach and ocean air just flat wear them OUT!!

The one word I would use to sum up our trip thus far is EVENTFUL! We've enjoyed many fun-filled days on the beach, lots of yummy food, and great times with my entire family.

What we didn't plan on is our TWO...yes TWO trips to the EMERGENCY ROOM!!!! Who goes on vacation and has to make TWO trips to the ER. Seriously, I think our family is trying to set a new record.

The first trip was for Hudson. Poor sweet baby! Hudson started running a fever the day after his surgery last week. The doctor told us to expect a low grade fever but to let him know if it lasted more than 48 hours. Well, on Thursday of last week, Hudson was still feverish. Knowing we were leaving for the beach the next day, I called the doctor and had him checked out just to make sure everything was okay. The surgeon thought his fever was caused by an infection and started him on a antibiotic. We left for the beach on Friday evening with Hudson still running a fever. The fever lasted all weekend and on Sunday evening it spiked to over 103. I called our surgeons office and talked with the doctor on call. (At this point Hud had been running a fever for a total of 6 days!) His thought was that maybe Hudson had developed a pneumonia and told me to take him to the ER right away for chest x-rays. So Sunday evening we headed to the hospital. They checked him all out, took chest x-rays, and gave us NO real answers. They concluded that the fever was just from a virus which could last up to ten days. (NOT what you want to hear when you are on vacation!!!!)

If the fever wasn't gone by Wednesday than we were to come back!

Well, PRAISE the LORD the fever finally broke on Tuesday!!!!!

Hudson is now feeling much better!!!

ER visit #2...Our next trip to the Emergency Room involved little with miss "A"! The sweet girl was dancing in the kitchen of our condo, when she tripped and bumped her lip on a booster chair. The gash was quite deep and we knew right away it needed stitches. So Wednesday evening we headed back to the ER. "A's" lip required two little stitches. She was one brave little girl---bless her heart---and is now VERY proud of her boo boo. She actually told me on the way home from the ER that she hoped the boys were still awake so she could show off her stitches to them;)

Well, with two days left on our vacation we are praying and hoping for a quiet and uneventful end to our trip!

All I know is...I don't think we will ever forget THIS beach trip!!

and we are off...

Our family is so..........excited to be heading to the beach in the morning.
That makes today--- packing day!!!!

Shane left for work this morning and gave me strict instructions to...
"Pack light!!!"



I'm trying , I REALLY am, but it's hard.
I always feel the need to pack EVERYTHING, but the kitchen sink.
I'm so afraid of forgetting something.
We don't have a lot of space in the van,
so if I'm not careful we will end up strapping kids to the roof along with the luggage--lol!!

Oh well...

I guess this is bye for now.
Laundry and empty suitcases are calling my name!

We're Home!

We're HOME from surgery and everything went well. Hudson is comfortable and resting now. Thank you so much for all your sweet comments and prayers.

I have to share with y'all just one way the Lord blessed us this morning while at the hospital. Like I said the other day, I was beyond nervous about the anesthesia.
The whole process involved in putting my little guy to sleep made me very uneasy!
Would you believe that the anesthesiologists we had this morning was a sweet man that goes to our church!!!!

I had NO idea he worked with the doctor doing Hudson's surgery.
Oh my ya'll...just knowing he was the doctor taking care of my baby filled my heart with so much peace! I KNEW my little guy was in the best of hands!

The Lord is so........good!
Again...thank you for your prayers!

"The sun will come out tomorrow..."

Well for us here in the south...the sun HAS been out, and it's HOT!
Most days just walking to mailbox will make you feel as if you are going to melt.

Because it's been so hot, there's no other place to be than at the pool.
Saturday, we spent most of our day there- just trying to stay cool.

The kids LOVE swimming and it flat wears them out!

After a day of swimming, I can always count on early bedtimes for all ;)!!!
One thing I LOVE about summer!

Sunday morning we headed to church. I had to throw in a few pictures of our family all ready to go. The girls were matching in there pillowcase dresses, and Shane and the boys decided to wear pink too. Poor Hudson and Mommy were the oddballs.
We didn't have anything pink to wear:(
Oh well.

Anyway, here's Shane and the kids all ready for church on Sunday morning.

And now it's my turn!

The highlight of our weekend came on Sunday afternoon when I took Corban, Riley, and "A" to see the musical Annie!
My sweet friend, Celia, and two of her kiddo's went too.

Corban's beloved Sunday School/AWANA teacher, Mr. Hal, was starring in the play as the villain "Rooster"!

You might remember that last month Corban and I saw Mr. Hal in the musical South Pacific.

The kids LOVED Annie and were totally mesmerized by all the wonderful singing and dancing. Riley and "A" had NEVER been to anything like this before and they sat really well. Of course, having a package of skittles to munch on during the performance helped a little;)!

After the play was over, the kids had a chance to meet some of the actors. They were so excited to see Mr. Hal and to give him a great BIG hug.

They also got to meet the star of the show...Annie!
"A" thought it was so...cool to be that close to the star herself!!

Hope you all had a GREAT weekend!

( I'll post an update on Hudson's surgery just as soon as we get home! Thanks so much for your prayers. They mean so much!!!)

Would you please pray...

After six double ear infections since December, three ruptured ear drums, and multiple antibiotics,

my little guy Hudson will be getting tubes in the morning!
We've been down this road before with Riley, so I am confident in our doctor and that we are doing the right thing. However, the whole anesthesia thing makes this mama so............nervous!

Please pray that everything goes well and for a quick and speedy recovery!

The surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Pillowcase dress making 101

Y'all know how much I LOVE making pillowcase dresses!!!

They are very forgiving and there is a lot of room for error.
They are very versatile and can be worn for years.

People have been making dresses like this FOREVER, and I am sure if you googled it you would find lots of wonderful directions on how to make them.
I've tried several different ways and found what works best for me.

So with out further ado...
I give you pillowcase dress making 101
(These directions are for making a toddler dress for Sophie (2t),
but are easily adjusted for whatever size you need.)

What you need:
Fabric, or pillowcase
Thread
Ribbon

For this dress I used pink seersucker fabric.
I am totally a sucker for anything seersucker! LOL

~ Start with two pieces of fabric cut 2-3 inches wider than a standard pillowcase.
For the length: measure from the chest to knee or mid calf and add about 3 inches.
{For a larger dress (sz 4/5 for "A"-- the fabric should be about 28inches wide and 30 inches long.}

With right sides together, stitch along selvage edge to create side seams.

Your fabric should now look like a pillowcase with an opening at the top and bottom.

~Now fold fabric in half and cut "J"shaped cutouts for armholes at one corner.

For a small child, it should be about 3″ deep, for a larger child make it 4″ deep.

Open back up the dress.

The most important part...

IRON/PRESS!!!!

~Iron each arm hole by folding it down 1/4 of and inch (press) and then 1/4 of an inch again (press).

Now stitch along each arm hole.

~ To make your casing...Press front and back top edges down toward the inside of the dress 1/4 inch, then press again at 1" (or wider, depending on your ribbon width).

Now stitch along bottom of casing.

~Hem the dress in the same fashion. Fold over 1/4 inch (press) and then 1/2 inch (press)

Now stitch along edge of hem

~Lastly, add your ribbon in the casing on the front and back of the dress!.

Use a safety pin to help guide the ribbon through the casing.

And there you have it...
PLEASE let me know if you have any questions!

Also, if you make a dress using these directions, let me know!
I'd love to see how it turns out!
Happy Sewing!

Two peas in a pod...

Riley and little Miss A are quite inseparable these days. They have quickly become best friends and sweet playmates.

Now, don't get me wrong...we definitely have our fair share of "sibling" bickering going on too, but I guess that just goes without saying- right!

While we were waiting for our first foster placement, I would pray and ask the Lord to watch over and protect that child--whomever he or she may be. I also asked the Lord if He would bring a child into our home that would be a special friend for my Riley.

You see, Corban is off doing his own thing so much of the time, and the babies require a lot of my time and attention, that sometimes I feel like Riley is the one left out. Riley has never, ever verbalized this, but as a mom, I can feel it for him some days.

I must say, the Lord more than honored that prayer when he brought sweet A into our lives.
Oh He is so good isn't He!!!!!!

Riley now has a built in best friend--someone to play with ALL the time!
Each day brings new discoveries for these two.

Whether they are catching bugs, playing in the sandbox, or having picnics---
these two are together.

Oh and yesterday, I walked upstairs and found this...

Riley and A playing "church" together!
Riley was telling A all about the story of Noah.
Now, I am not sure how much of the story he got right,
but y'all---tears just started to flow down my cheeks.
Seeing these two "reading" the bible and talking about the Word of God just made my
heart feel as if it would burst!

I am so grateful to the Lord for answering my prayers
and allowing sweet A to be a part of our lives!