12:28

At 12:28 this morning we watched as Rick's Dad took his final breath! How sweet it was, amidst all of our pain, to know that we watched him enter Heaven. Thank you for your sweet prayers and messages.

Rick's Daddy

We returned yesterday afternoon, just after 5 pm from a peaceful, relaxing, wonderful trip to Austin. We left Austin early yesterday for no other reason than that it was raining and would therefore not be fun to be on the boat anymore.

As we walked in the door with suitcases in tow, the phone began to ring. It was Rick's dad's neighbor calling to let us know that Rick's dad was being transported via ambulance to the nearby hospital, and that the situation looked bleak.

Bless my parents, they were over here in an instant and Rick and I both arrived at the hospital shortly after the ambulance. Hours and hours of tests revealed that he had suffered a pulminary aneurism (sp??) He had 2 blood clots--one on each lung--preventing blood flow from his heart...so there was no blood flow for nearly 20 minutes. He has internal bleeding from his stomach, liver, and kidneys. His acid level in the blood is high b/c of his kidneys. The 3 blood clots remain. He has extensive brain damage. Etc, etc, etc. He remains in ICU and will more than likely be removed from all machinery tomorrow. His wife was 9 hours away visiting grandchildren and had to make her way home in the middle of the night--thus the machinery to keep him alive.

I've been awake for nearly 40 hours. Rick and I made the decision to come home and spend some time with eachother and with the kids tonight. I will be glad when rest comes, but the adrenaline is still pumping.

There will be many non-believers at this funeral. Our prayer is that the Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified throughout the ceremony. We serve an amazing God and we have such a peace about the whole situation.

All of this to say, we would covet your prayers this week as we go thru such a difficult time.

Busy, busy, busy....

Football camp, baseball camp, soccer, camp, basketball, tennis, golf camp, gymnastics, swimming, horse riding lessons.....now breathe!! That's where I've been this summer. Driving back and forth, back and forth. From one camp to another. The kids' have had quite an active summer. Though we've been crazy busy, it's kept them from boredom, video games, snacking all day....

We just returned from a fun weekend trip to Tulsa to see my cousin Mallory get married. My sisters and their families spent the week in TX with us--so we've had a wonderful dose of cousins, aunts, and uncles.

School starts on the 25th and I'm left wondering where in the world the summer went--in fact, didn't I just put the Christmas tree in the attic??? We're looking forward to fall. The 100+ degree weather has been oppressive!! The kids are already starting to ask when the pumpkin patch opens, when the State Fair and football begin. All I'm wondering is when the high will be 80 degrees for a high...not for a low (as it has been.)

And my big news to report is I finally achieved at least one of my New Year's Resolutions. I've lost 21 lbs!!!!! I think I hear the angels rejoicing with me. I've had that Resolution for nearly 4 years. It's about time I resolved it, huh?

"LOCKS" AND LOTS OF LOVE

PIPER HAS THE MOST GORGEOUS, LONG, BEAUTIFUL (AT TIMES TANGLY) HAIR. LAST WEEK, SHE HEARD ME READING AN EMAIL TO RICK ABOUT "LOCKS OF LOVE" HAVING AN EVENT WHERE THE GIRLS' GET THEIR HAIR CUT. (FOR THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH LOCKS OF LOVE, THEY'RE AN ORGANIZATION THAT YOU CAN DONATE 10" OR MORE OF YOUR HAIR TO, AND THEY WILL MAKE A WIG FOR SOMEONE WITH CANCER WHO HAS NO HAIR. )

PIPER WAS SO TOUCHED THAT SHE DECIDED, ALL BY HERSELF, THAT SHE WANTED ANOTHER LITTLE GIRL TO HAVE HER HAIR.....SO, YESTERDAY WE WENT TO SWEET AND SASSY'S AND PIPER, MY SWEET LITTLE 4 YEAR OLD, GAVE AN AMAZING GIFT TO ANOTHER LITTLE GIRL IN NEED--10" OF HAIR.

I HAD TEARS IN MY EYES. PIPER WAS BEAMING THE WHOLE TIME SHE WAS IN THE CHAIR.

FABULOUS, SHORT GET AWAY

LIFE WITH 4 PRECIOUS KIDDOS GETS CRAZY SOMETIME. I HAVE NOT REALLY BEEN AWAY FROM THEM FOR MORE THAN ONE NIGHT SINCE BEFORE BAYLOR WAS BORN...OR WAS IT PIPER?? IT'S BEEN A VERY LONG TIME.

WE'RE SO THANKFUL FOR THE BEST BABYSITTERS EVER--MY MOM AND DAD. THEY KEPT OUR KIDS FOR TWO DAYS WHILE WE ENJOYED OURSELVES AT A RESORT 45 MINUTES DOWN THE ROAD. IT WAS GORGEOUS. THE POOL WENT ON FOREVER, THE VIEWS WERE GORGEOUS, THE SERVICE WAS AMAZING! WE ENJOYED THE EXECUTIVE SUITE (BECAUSE THE HOTEL MADE A MISTAKE--NOT BECAUSE WE COULD AFFORD IT). WE ENJOYED IN ROOM MASSAGES, AN AMAZING BREAKFAST BUFFET, AND RICK EVEN HAD TIME TO ENJOY A ROUND OF GOLF....I THINK I WILL HAVE TO CADDY FOR HIM FROM NOW ON--SEEING THAT HE SHOT A 79!

WE RETURNED YESTERDAY AND FEEL OH! SO RELAXED AND READY TO TACKLE PARENTHOOD HEAD-ON AGAIN.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!

I love having a 7 year old...

I was so tired this morning. I heard the kids stirring around 7:30. I'm usually up around 6-6:30...so I had already gotten an extra hour of sleep but I still wanted more. I burried my head back in my pillow and fell sound asleep--again. I woke up an hour later to complete silence. Knowing this was not the norm, I jumped out of bed to go investigate. As I rounded the corner into the kitchen, this is what I found. Four children sitting at the table, eating their cereal, pancakes, and bananas. Hudson had quieted them all so that he could read them his daily Bible reading from John. I'm not sure what I've ever done to deserve: #1 to sleep in on a Saturday a.m. and #2 to have children that realize when I need a couple extra hours of sleep and are self-sufficient.

Temples and Withdrawal...

My morning began with Piper tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Mommy, you look like you're going to have a baby!" (Note to self....re-enroll in Weight Watchers....NOW!!) She's mesmerized by all of the talk of babies lately. When I told her we're not having any more babies she just says, "Oh, mommy, you're such a kidder."
On to our next stop of the morning, I got to watch Corbin's eye doctor remove Corbin's splints from his eyes. If you've not had the pleasure of watching this procedure, trust me, you don't want to.
We went over to our neighbor's house to bid them farewell--as they're moving to NC. Our neighbor was giving us a "tour" of the house. As the lady and I chit-chatted along, I see her eyes get huge. She sternly said, "No, no that's a temple." "This is where I worship." Sweet little Piper thought this "temple" was a doll house and was swinging open the doors and windows. Truly, it did look like a doll house....an odd, black, spooky doll house. It kinda reminded me of the time when I washed out a bowl of "holy water" when I was in highschool babysitting.
And....now on to my children's behavior. What is it with summer and lousy behavior? They're not always disrespectful. They're usually the best kids ever. But because of their lack of respect, I took away their blankets. To some of you, this may not seem like such a big deal. But to my kids, this is the worst punishment....EVER!! To Corbin especially. He's in withdrawal. He's going on 3 days with no blanket. I kept finding him sobbing, in the fetal postition all day long. I think I may be paying for therapy in a few years for this.