Happy Birthday, Bailey!

On Saturday, Joey went to Athens all day with "the boys". When I say all day.... I mean ALL day! They acted like freshman in college all over again! Anyway, while he was gone, my mom was here to help me with the kids. Tripp went home with her to spend the night Saturday night and Makinley and I went to Bailey's first birthday party. It is so hard for me to believe Bailey is one because that means in just 2 weeks, Makinley will be one also! It's so cliche.....but where does the time go? Anyway, the party was at Christen's house and it was so fun to watch Bailey, Makinley, and Drew play together all night. I kept getting mental images of what the future holds with them growing up together. Christen sort of did a book "theme" for Bailey since she has so many toys already and Bailey got some great books. Karli was a great big sister and helped feed her the cake. I took over 80 pictures, but just picked 3 for your viewing pleasure! Happy Birthday, Bay-Bay!!!!!
This is the same outfit Karli wore on her first birthday!

Makinley sat and watched Bailey open her presents!

Christen and her sweet one-year old girl!

Prayers needed....

Well, sometimes, when it rains, it pours. About a month ago, my mother-in-law, Linda, began having a lot of pain in her back. She has always suffered from back pain, but it got a lot worse. She went to the Dr and they diagnosed it as degenerative disc disease. There really isn't much that can be done for that, except medicine. So, she has been taking medicine every four hours for the last week (maybe longer) just to survive the pain. She's basically been bed-ridden. Well, 3 weeks ago, she fell and fractured her heel; she's been in a boot since then. She also is having chronic bladder infections, so she will probably be on medicine for that for the rest of her life. Well, she went to the Dr this week because she has apparently been having nose bleeds a lot. They ordered blood work and when the results came back it showed that her bone and liver enzymes were elevated, so they ordered a sort of "emergency" MRI. When she got there to have the MRI, her blood pressure was so high that they had to sedate her to be able to perform the it. Anyway, she got the results of the MRI today and they saw some type of mass/tumor on her back and she has to go on Tuesday to have a biopsy. Needless to say, she needs your prayers. Obviously, she's scared (as is Joey) and we are all praying that whatever they have seen turns out to be nothing serious. If it IS serious.....well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
God is so much bigger than any of this and I know He will be faithful to see us through whatever lies ahead. I just pray that wherever the road ahead leads us....we'll praise Him. He is still all-powerful and He will sustain us.

It's Game Day, Folks!!!!

And the Lancaster kids are ready!!!!

Naked Babies

Aren't they adorable?

A little more clingy...

Makinley's nose has been running all week long and today she is finally really acting like she doesn't feel well. Her nose is running, her eyes look weak, and she has been especially clingy to me. She is also running a low grade fever. I'm not sure if she is fighting something or if all of this is stemming from the fact that she is FINALLY getting some teeth on top. I can see one and the other one is swollen and red. Whatever the reason, she is pitiful and I'll be glad when she is back to her normal, chipper self!

As promised.....

here are pictures of our new house. Get ready, I think I took one from every angle!

the front of our house (obviously)
the view from Tripp's doorway

from behind Tripp's chair
from Mak's doorway

from behind Mak's chair

looking out into the hall

another angle

don't you love this sign? (And, yes, Mak's room is much bigger than Tripp's. However, as she gets older, we know she will spend more time in her room than Tripp ever will!)

one view of the dining room

another view of the dining room

the office

one view of the living room

another view of the living room

eating area of the kitchen

the kitchen

from the doorway of our bedroom (we have to get furniture for the sitting area one day)

from the sitting area of our room

Well, there you have it, in all of it's splendor! :-) We definitely love it and we have so much space. There is also a bonus room that I didn't take a picture of because it's so boring right now. But it is my mom and dad's personal space when they come b/c there is a full bathroom and closet up there as well. I must also admit how much I love having a basement because it's such a wonderful place to hide the stuff that we don't need/use on a regular basis instead of having to junk up our garage (there were times I thought we could compete with Sanford and Son). Anyway, we look forward to many, many, MANY years here and are so grateful that God has blessed us with this beautiful place to call home.

Celebration month ahead!

September is going to be a fun-filled month for our family. There are several big events to look forward to. My brother turns 25, my husband turns 30, my daughter turns one, and my parents celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary! Whew! We will be "celebrated" out by October.....right in time to head into the holiday season!