least fun place on earth...

Elliott is done for now with treatments,and is settled in watching Toy Story 3.Have no fear...we have already watched the first and second installment. Yep,a Toy Story Marathon. Where are we? Oh,just the least fun place on earth. Elliott was admitted into the hospital yesterday.

A friend said to me today "So,sorry,hospitals are no fun." I corrected him and said "being in a private room is waaaaaay better than spending the day in the ER"...."THAT stunk!"....he said "Um,it's "That Sucked". I replied..."Yea,that too".

I gotta say, it's a very emotional thing to see your child sick. My heart aches for him. I brought his favorite bible along with us. A dear friend is letting us borrow it. Ironically, we read the story of Abraham and Issac the night before we came to the hospital. While reading it, I was struck with Abraham's obediance...and Issac's too. He did not fight, he just laid down on the alter. At first, I thought of myself as a parent. To be that obedient to God,to lay your precious boy before God as a sacrifice. The thought leaves me gasping for air, and tears well up in my eyes. Abraham could have called out "Not MY boy!"....or a simple "NO God!". But he didn't. He obeyed. and then Issac. He climbed onto the rocks, fully trusting his fathers heart. I could hardly read the best part of the story because I was so choked up....it reads...

STOP!" God Said "Don't hurt the boy. I want him to live and not die. I know now that you love me because you would have given me your only son."...later in the story it reads..."And as they sat there on the mountain top, watching the embers of the fire die in the cool night air, the stars above them sparking in the velvet sky, God helped Abraham and Issac to understand something. God wanted His people to live, not die. God wanted to rescue His people, not punish them. But, they must trust Him"......."Many years later, another Son would climb another hill, carrying wood on his back. Like Issac, He would trust His Father, and do what His Father asked. He wouldn't struggle or run away. Who was He? God's Son, His Only Son.~The Son he loved. The Lamb of God."

I clearly remember praying later that night, confessing to God the
thought in my mind that my kids are...well. Mine.

But,they aren't. They are God's. Elliott is God's. To watch my son sick and struggle is the hardest thing I've ever had to see. But, if going through this has taught me anything...it's to praise my Heavenly Father...for giving his only perfect precious Son for me,and for my son Elliott.

Elliott's name means "The Lord is My God"....That is our main prayer request. That Everyone we know would know...The Lord as Their God.

Elliott has pneumonia in both lungs now. He is on oxygen,and a heart monitor (medications can make their heart race) and an IV with antibiotics and fluids. We do have a praise Elliott had a blood draw at 4pm and cultures...everything came back great! HUGE answer to prayer! That means we are only dealing with one thing...not multiple things! We are going every three hours for breathing treatment's overnight...going to see how he does. Just this afternoon he was getting them every hour! Tomorrow morning he has another chest x-ray. After that we will get a better idea of how things are looking.

Our little guy is not out of the woods yet. We have to make it through the night,and that seems to be the worse time for him.

*Pray he can go every 3hrs with no complications in his breathing.
*Pray his IV stays put. It's been giving us some issues.
*Pray Elliott would eat/drink(he's a very little guy,and can't afford to not eat).
*Pray Elliott would sleep.
*Pray the X-Ray comes back clear.

A HUGE thank you to our McCoy Church Family. The visits, balloons, meals, watching our other kids, and most importantly prayers mean so very much to us. We feel so loved.

Well that only took me a few hours to post...ha! We are now done with Toy Story 3. Moving on to Land Before Time Marathon...there's more of those! Hope you all have a blessed evening.

"We wait in Hope for the Lord: He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His Holy name. May Your unfailing love rest upon us O Lord, even as we put our hope in you." Psalm 33:20-22

New...

Why hello there. Yes,I know. Been a long time.First I just have to say...Don't you just LOVE the new design!?! Thank you to Melanie for putting together a great header for me! To see more of her work,just click on her button here on my blog. :)

 Thought I'd try to catch everyone up on the latest happenings around our house. Never been to our house? Well, here is our dining room. Like the new chandelier in our dining room? It's new! Well, to us. It's actually really, really old. A friend was taking it down out of her house (Hi Carolyn!), and GAVE it to me! Talk about awesome! Especially considering that our old light fixture only held one light bulb, and it was a 25watt. Yea, pathetic. I kept trying to just tell everyone it's more romantic to eat in the dark. Being that there's mostly boys in our house, that did not go over so well. I gotta say, it sure is nice to be able to see our food. Well, some nights. So, I'm not the worlds greatest cook. At least we have a pretty chandelier to eat under.



Last week was my sweetheart's birthday. He turned 28. I love him so much! We have started a 21 day cleanse. Man,it's been great. The first three days were rough. But it's been smooth sailing since. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend. He's a pretty awesome Daddy too. It's not been an easy year, but God does not promise us ease. He's been so faithful to us, and provided for every need.It sure has been a memorable year, and it's been so exciting to see God's hand in so many area's of our lives. I heard someone say today, "God did not design marriage to make us happy, but to make us Holy". I think one could say that about life in general. Happy Birthday Love...I am SO happy to be your wife!


We started school two weeks ago. It's going great! I'll post pictures soon of our school room/playroom. It's been so much fun to watch our children learn, grow and explore this summer.I am so excited to see what this fall/winter holds.

Sweet {R}

I've been taking pictures of this cutie since the day he was born. Literally. I just love to see him grow and change before my lens. He is quite the little guy, always chatting it up,and running everywhere! Thank-you to his mom,and my dear friend,for giving me the opportunity to take pictures of her precious boy. To see more,you can visit my facebook page. Bethany Hartman Photography

Still here....

I'm still here. This summer has flown by! I've been soaking up the sun with my kiddos. We've been swimming nearly every day. Playing outside everyday. And just enjoying our summer together.
I just had to post a a few pictures I took today of two precious little girls. We have become good friends with this family over the summer. Ever meet people that you connect with and feel like you've known your whole life? Yea,that's what it's like with these friends. I promise I will blog more regularly now that we are getting back into the schedule of school and activities!

Blessed. And other things.

Blog makeover,Bubble baths,Banquet,Baby shower,Birthday party...OH MY!

Yep,that sums up our weekend.

Oh, and Blessed.So.Very.Blessed.

I won an awesome give away to have my blog header/button made over. I'm SO excited!So,once I get some family pictures taken (hopefully on Sunday),I will be sending them out to Melanie,and she will be designing a custom header for me. I've been SO blessed by her generosity, she does great work! It's the little things, that can offer the biggest pick me ups, and this give away was a huge highlight of my week!

This morning,while my husband mowed the lawn, I took a thirty minute bubble bath, while sipping a hot cup of cappuccino.Mind you,I've not taken a bath in ages. But decided that after many a sleepless nights, "cranky" mommy needed a break.I wanted to be refreshed,and start the day a new. Delightful? I think so. I also munched on some home made banana bread. My type A personality tried to but in to my bath time, by making lists, using tub crayons to write things on the walls. But, I looked at the "to do" list and wiped it off the walls. How freeing that was. My "to do" list is never ending, and too many times, I let it have more power over my life than the Holy Spirit. I don't want to be so caught up in my "to do's" that I miss out on what God is trying to do in my life,or those he has blessed me with. While laying in the-almost to hot-bath,I just sank into the bubbles. It's been a rough season. But the more I prayed, spoke scripture, and thought over what this last year has held. I was reminded of God's many blessings to us. His faithfulness never fails.

Clara and I went to a mother/daughter banquet tonight. I love our times together. We went to the mall together today too. My Clara girl is just so sweet, and spunky. And growing way too fast! She is constantly sounding like a little valley girl with her "likes" and "So totally's". And yet,she's still our little girl. Wanting to be snuggled at night,and read to and sung over.

Tomorrow is a baby shower for my sister in law,she is expecting a little boy,who's name will be Addison Christopher.

While driving home tonight, Clara says from the back seat "Hey,mom,you know that Uncle Adam is going to be Addison's Dad?" (I am thinking this just dawned on her.You could see the "light-bulb" moment in her big blue eyes)
I say :"Yes,sweetie,thats right."
She does the "Valley girl half eye roll,chin cocked down,serious tone of voice" and says:
"He so totally needs more practice! I mean, he's gotta learn to change a diaper!"
I could not contain my laughter. Since she had not seen Drea (my sister in law) for a while, and she is really showing now, I think Clara thought baby Addison was going to be born,tomorrow. I assured her we have some time. And that maybe she should have Uncle Adam practice changing diapers on her baby dolls. And Clara said "Yea,good idea mom,he can't hurt my baby dolls!"
Love little ones,and their child likeness. :)

This weekend is mothers day. I am so thankful for my Mom. And that seems like the biggest understatement of my life. She is my best friend,second only to my husband. I love her more than words can say. Never has she failed in love or devotion. I am so blessed that she sought to pour into my life,putting her career on hold to be my Mom. I know I am better for it. I'm thankful she sought to be my mom first,and as I grew up and matured,became my best friend. So,on Sunday I look forward to celebrating her. Thanking her for pouring her life out,serving and loving me and my brothers.

It's fun being a Mom to kiddos who understand it's Mothers Day. Elliott made me the sweetest card,Jackson potted a flower at church and gave it to me,Clara made me a beautiful card, and Riley he gives me hugs daily,and tells me he loves me hourly. I am blessed.

Park Days...

And so it begins. The wonderful days of playing at parks for hours. Calling friends and seeing if they want to meet us there.

Running,Jumping, and Climbing their little hearts out. And how they love to climb! Especially our Elliott!

Yes, those would be my children, the ones hanging from the tops of play ground equipment. Playing pioneers by using the river rocks to line a perfect "camp fire".

Playing tag, and screaming and laughing. Oh, how I've missed park days. There will be many,many more to come.

Just not this week. It's supposed to rain all week. Then again, maybe I'll load the kids up with their rain coats, boots, and umbrella's and go play in the rain. That is if it's not freezing cold.

There is hope, spring is here, as the grass is ever so green. And perhaps, just maybe, the weather man is all wrong. And Mr. Sun will come out tomorrow in all of his glory, and we will go out and frolic and play.

< Cue: Annie's theme song "The sun will come out tomorrow".

I have to admit though these rainy days, of staying inside our warm little nest, enjoying overhearing children playing they are : "Going to Kansas,because I've graduated from military school,and college,and all those other schools".. these rainy days are pretty swell too. I hope you all had a blessed Easter. We sure did. I will post more about it later...Mt.Saint Laundry is calling my name...I think I'm almost to the top peak...then begins the descent down putting it all away!

Oh, and now that I'm almost done, I see a little bit of blue skies outside, and perhaps a little sunshine! YAY!

Saturday loveliness...

This morning my husband and oldest son left for a car show at our local fair grounds. That leaves the three kiddos and mommy this morning. We have had a relaxing morning together, just enjoying each others company.


I love how they all want to be on my lap in the morning. I love their energy in the morning, always bearing smiles, and crazy bed head hair.


I love how Riley loves this song

...and how he makes the cutest little face singing "oh,oh,oh....Eveybody wants to lubv".

I love how Elliott always, goes to get some kind of dress up outfit out. He is constantly changing what he has on. It's a cloudy day here today, pretty cold and wet. But, inside,it's warm. And happy. And Bright. And rather bushy tailed. And that is what makes my Saturday. Lovely. And love filled.

Hope you all have a lovely Saturday! And know you are loved today!

^"21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:21-23