We are back

We are back and I am very tired. I have so much to do and I don't know where to start. We loved our camper. I think we will really enjoy going camping. I doubt we will use it for campmeeting. My reason is with so many people being there and everybody having to use the same showers I think it would be really hard with the children. It could be done, but it is not for me. For those of you who don't know what campmeeting is, it is where many congregations, from all over the world come and have fellowship and church. With camping you don't care to be hot, and sweaty and have your clothes wrinkled. With campmeeting you want dress clothes and you don't want to be hot and sweaty. So for those reason I think we will stick to the motel as far as campmeeting.
As far as the camper I loved it.
I am glad we took the camper, because we learned many things. I know of some things I have to purchase for our next camping trip. We enjoyed being in the revival and being with the saints at Knoxville. I got much encouragement from being there.
God was very good to us on this trip. God answered so many prayers that I don't know where to start. I guess I will start from the beginning. Once we got to Knoxville it was coming a down pour. I mean it was raining so hard that you could not see the road. We started praying that God would move on the rain so we could at least set the camper up. The rain kept coming, and we kept praying. Once we reached the church, God allowed the rain to slow some. If God had not moved on the weather I don't know how we would have been able to set the camper up.
We had planned on going to the zoo on Saturday. It was suppose to rain. The saints at Knoxville was praying for rain because it had been so dry. We was praying for the rain to stop so we could enjoy the zoo. Well God answered prayer for all of us. We woke up Saturday morning to the beautiful sound of rain hitting the camper. It rained most of the morning. It stoped about 11:00 so we was able to go to the zoo. The rain cooled things down so the temperature was not bad. Brooke did not really like the animals. Everyone we looked at Brooke would say "MEAN" We tried to tell her all animals was not mean. The animals was also very lazy. They was not active at all so we really did not enjoy the zoo. The girls loved Kids Cove. Kids cove was added to the zoo and it was great for children. I will post Zoo pictures later.
Kevin started getting a headache Saturday evening. he felt really bad. He finally took some medicine, but it did nothing for him. Saturday night I went on to church, but Kevin was really suffering with a migraine. The service was great. I was enjoying hearing testimonies of God's healing to people. Kevin called during the service and said I needed to come that he was very sick. Kevin is not like some men who can not take pain and they want to you to baby them. He normally just deals with his sickness and don't complain. When I got to the camper Kevin was very sick. His eyes was glossed over and he was very pale. I thought he was going to pass out on me. He was laying there and could not get up. The whole camper felt like it was spinning to him.
I ran back to the church and got our pastor to come pray for him. Bro. Cornwell came and prayed and gave us encouragement. I stayed with Kevin and watch him suffer for about 30 minutes. I prayed for him a couple more times. God came to his rescue about 45 minutes after our pastor prayed. Kevin was able to get relieve and felt normal by the end of service. Kevin gets migraine about once a year. This was the worst He has ever had.He ended up throwing up 4 times. He has never did that before.
God was very good to us the past three days. I can't thank God enough for the many prayers He answered for us. I don't see how people make it without God. It is so good to be able to pray and know that God hears you. It is also good to be on praying ground when situations come up. Many people only pray when problems come up. Prayer is our life and we pray everyday.
Over all we had a nice trip. I am very tired and have tons of clothes to put up and stuff to unpack. I also have a very busy week so I am not for sure about blogging this week. I will post some Zoo pictures later if I have time.

Big Girl

I don't have time to post much because we are fixing to leave to go to Knoxville for a couple of days. I had to share something that happened this morning. The past few mornings when Brooke wakes up I sit her on the potty. She normally just laughs and don't really act like she knows what to do. This morning she used the potty for the first time. I was so excited. Brooke was more excited to flush the toilet. I am not for sure if she is really ready to be trained or not. I just thought I would start this way and see what happens. I will catch up with everybody when we get back. We are taking the girls to the zoo Sat.

Fun with Friends

Katie Lin and Brooke

Just thinking

Courtney and Brooke

"Who is this talking"

"hi Katie Lin"

Yesterday we spent lunch with some friends we met at the Chinese New Year Dinner.

The Hodges from Decatur are really sweet people. Sonya and Jeff have two boys and one girl. Katie Lin is also from China. She is a cutie. If you look at the pictures Katie Lin is much darker than Brooke. The reason is she stays outside a good bit. Brooke is hardly ever outside when it is really hot. We had a great time eating lunch with them and letting the kids play. I also met Sonya's dad who was super nice. He reminds me of my dad. Katie Lin has him wrapped around her finger and Brooke has my dad wrapped around hers.

Do I really want a Boy???

I think I would die if my son picked this up!!

Alligator

snakes

frog

mischievous

I guess boys will be boys. I am sure there are some little girls that would do these things to. I thought they was some cute pictures.

Frog

I was told a story about a lady in the hospital who was near death when an area Chaplain came to visit her. This Chaplain was a very young female with long blond hair. She listened to the lady who was ill and left her a small gift for comfort. It was a tiny ceramic frog. The next day one of the people from the lady's church came to visit. The lady told her friend about the beautiful young Chaplain who had come to visit her. The friend was so impressed with the way the lady had improved and felt the need to talk to the young Chaplain. In her search to find the young gal, she was repeatedly reassured that the chaplains are never very young and that there was never a gal that fit the description given. Upon returning to the lady in the hospital, a visiting nurse entered the room and noticed the ceramic frog. The nurse made the comment "I see you have a guardian angel with you." As she held the little frog. We asked why she made the comment and we were informed that the FROG stood for: (F) Fully (R) Rely (O) On (G) God

I had a friend send me this, and I thought it was pretty neat. I don't like frogs at all. I guess I need to look at them a little different now.

The jokes on Kelly.

Kelly did not realize that when she started hanging out with me and my family, that we was big pranksters. We are not as bad as we used to be, but we still like to play jokes from time to time. Tonight was one of those nights. It was one of those nights when you just had to be there. I can tell what happened, but it is not near as funny as being there and seeing it.
Kelly came over to my parents to play some games with us. One thing I have always wanted people to do at my house or my parents is to make their selves at home. Tonight Kelly wanted something to drink. I was very willing to fix her something. I fixed her a ice cold Mt. Dew. I also added tons of salt to it. I bring Kelly her glass and try really hard not to laugh. She turns the drink up and makes this terrible face and spits her drink in the floor. Of course we are all laughing really hard at her. I then fixed her a good drink. Kelly still had salt on her glass so she wants a new one. Well she goes to get another glass and my wonderful husband gets a glass of water and pours it in Kelly's chair. I did not want her to see the water so I am trying to distract her by getting Brooke to talk to her. Kelly sits down in this puddle of water and shrieks. Kelly thought her water had broke. LOL teasing she knew she had been had when she felt the water. Poor thing her skirt stayed wet for a long time. It was just getting dry when we got her again. I think she will have her guard up the next time. We had a great time even if all the jokes was on Kelly.
I am so glad Kelly and her family moved to Alabama. God has blessed them in many ways. I am also glad I have got to be friends with Kelly and her family. Ever since I have known Kelly, I have liked her. I have always admired her for being a great and patient mom. I know Kelly has went through a lot with her daughter, Michaela. Many times Kelly did not know what the next day would hold for her and her family with Michaela. (She still faces that) I admire Kelly for how strong of a person she is. I can see so much grace on her. It is God's grace. God has gave Kelly strength and grace.
The past few months I have really enjoyed the times I have been with Kelly and her family.
Kelly, if you are reading this I just want you to know I love and appreciate you. We do have a
wonderful life. Not only is it great to have a wonderful life, but to have wonderful friends.

Thinker

HAPPY GIRL

"Sometimes I like to sit"

"Sometimes I like to think"

"Sometimes I like to sit and think"

Sisters

Holding sissy's hand.

Peek A Boo!!!

Kevin's New Toy

This is Kevin's new toy. Actually I guess it is both of ours. (Courtney claims it to) We have talked about getting a camper for awhile, but never did it. We started thinking about how much fun we had when we went camping, and decided it would be nice to have one. (Much better than a tent) We also thought it would be nice for campmeeting. We had a hard time finding one at first. I really wanted one with a shower because I just don't like public baths. We knew that we probably would not get that because they are more expensive. Everytime we would find a camper in the paper it would be sold when we called. We went to look at new ones, but they was to expensive. The salesman at the RV place told us that they get used ones, but they are gone as soon as they get them. He put us on his waiting list. We was still like 6 or 7 down the list. A friend of Kevin's called us and told us about one. We started looking in this local paper and found this camper. The only problem was the man had not been home and he had several calls for the camper. He was suppose to be home on Saturday, but he had several people coming to look at it. Well my dear husband knew by the sound of the camper and the features it had, that it would be gone if it was nice at all. Kevin asked the man what time he got up on Saturdays. The man said 5:30. Kevin told him we would be there at 5:30. So we woke early and went to look at the camper. We loved it. The camper also has air which was just put in last year. It has a King size bed on one side and a queen on the other. It was exactly what we wanted. So now we are waiting on it to cool down so we can go camping. We would love to go now, but in the day time I think we would be miserable. So if any of you campers get in the mood to go this Fall let us know. (REBA, KELLY?)
I guess sometimes we never out grow toys. LOL

Big Girl Potty

My potty chair.

Brooke is not ready to be potty trained yet. I had got a potty chair for a babyshower gift, so I thought I would go ahead and put it in the bathroom. Brooke loved it. She did not want to get off of the seat. That is funny to me because she is scared to death to sit on the big potty. Brooke really likes the little potty. In fact she likes it to much. She wants to carry it everywhere in the house. I am in the living room when I hear Kevin laughing. I look up to see Brooke bringing her potty chair into the living room. Of course she just smiled and sit on her potty.

Update on sick girls

We took Courtney to the Dr. to see what was going on with her. Courtney has lost 5 pounds in two weeks and just has no energy. She had huge knots in her neck. Her Doctor thought that she might have Mono. He tested her for that and it was fine. I have to tell a little story about that. As I told you before Courtney is a prayer warrior . Well Courtney did not want to be stuck with a needle. She was crying and very upset. The nurse was going to prick her finger and Courtney was like "Wait. Please wait" The nurse was like "We can't wait. Lets go ahead." Courtney is crying and pulling her hand away and she says " Wait I want them to pray first" She did not only say it, she screamed it. I was holding her and telling her it was O.K. She was wanting us to pray that it would not hurt. I don't know what the nurse thought. Of course the nurse did not give us time to pray. He stuck Courtney before she could blink. Then Courtney started to laugh and said" It was not that bad"
I guess the nurse has had children say some not so nice things before and kick and hit. I don't know if he has heard one say "I want them to pray" I thought it was sweet. Courtney believes in prayer and knows God can make it not hurt so bad. Courtney is on some antibiotics for 2 weeks, so maybe she will be feeling better soon.
Brooke got some spark back in her eyes this afternoon and has felt better. (Thanks to God)
She seems really ill right now and has felt hot. I don't know what it is about night time, but fever seems to come up then. Hopefully tomorrow will be good for us all. Thanks for your prayers.
Love you all.

First Time For Everything

Well Brooke did it. She threw up last night for the first time. Yeah, I know, that's not what you really want to read about in blogging.
Brooke was not herself yesterday. She was ill and would not eat much. I met my best friend at a Chinese restaurant for lunch. Normally the Chinese people that work there are crazy over Brooke. This one guy comes and gets Brooke and kisses all over her. He takes her hand and kisses it and then he gets her and walks around with her. (Makes my mom a nervous wreck) I have got used to the attention they give Brooke so it don't worry me. I would not want them to take her outside or where I could not see her. This one Chinese man came to my van one time and got Brooke before I could even get her out. I guess he saw me pull up. Normally Brooke likes the attention. They give her treats, and they show her the fish in the fish tank. Brooke gets really spoiled when she goes to this Chinese restaurant. They even speak Chinese to Brooke and they try to get her to speak it. It really is a funny site. My mom and dad don't like it. Courtney can't stand it. She is like "Mom he did not ask, he just got her" I don't see the big deal because I am right there and I think they are really happy for Brooke. Maybe I should use more caution, but we have ate at this place for the past 2 years and I have grown to know the Chinese people and like them. Sometimes they come and go and I meet new faces.
Well Brooke would not have anything to do with this man yesterday. She did not want him to look at her, much less touch her. She is crying and reaching for me saying "mama" Well the guy goes and gets a toy to try and get Brooke to come to him. She refuses. Finally the guy comes back to the table and says" fishy, fishy" Normally Brooke loves to see the fish. Not this day. He took her anyway. She was fine, but she still wanted her mommy and so she only looked at the fish for a minute. From that point on Brooke just seemed really ill and tired. I could not get her to eat. After we got home Brooke was whining and I could not figure out what was wrong. About 8:00 Brooke was so ill that I felt ill. I could not put my finger on the problem. She felt hot so I took her temp. It was around 100. I figured it was her teeth. I got her to sleep. When she woke up at 9:00 she was so hot I could not touch her. She was burning up with fever. I gave her tylenol and just held her. She would look at me with those little almond eyes and the sparkle was out. I cuddled with her and sung to her, but she felt really bad. Brooke ended up sleeping with me. She woke up at 2:30 and she was sick. I got up and was rocking her and walking the floors with her. Brooke made this funny sound and started heaving. I knew she was going to throw up. I always have the fear when they are that young that they will aspirate it. I grabbed a towel and said " Its O.K. Spit it out" ( She would not know what throw up was) Brooke opened her mouth and out came everything she had ate, which was not much. I have to say I believe that child ate 3 french fries whole. ( I won't explain that. Use your imagination.) LOL Today she has not ate much. She still has fever and she feels yucky. I am not for sure what is going on. Courtney has been sick with something for about two weeks so Brooke might have caught it from her. Courtney has a appointment this afternoon to check for strap throat again. I don't want to go this route again. Courtney is just not getting over it. I can't decide if I need the Dr. to check Brooke out to. We have a $25.00 copay and I hate that. I guess we will play it by ear the rest of the day and see what happens. Just remember us that we can knock this stuff out and that it will not go through the whole family. I need the sparkle back in Brooke and Courtney's eyes.

Daddy's Girls

Daddy with his Toy.

Daddy and his girls.
Kevin was riding the girls on the four wheeler yesterday and I sanpped the pictures. I thought they turned out pretty good.

Why some nights, I don't sleep!!!!

Two little girls who love to sleep with mommy.

They also like to wiggle, flop, snore, kick, hit and toss all over the bed.
I will be sleeping so good and wake up with bricks falling on my head. (SO I think)
When I wake up I find it is Brooke hitting me in the face or her head on top of me.
Courtney is trying to get as close to me as she can and Brooke is in the middle so I am being rooted off the bed. I have to push Courntey over and say "STAY ON YOUR SIDE OF THE BED"
I like it much better when daddy is home. Even then if Brooke ends up in our bed I don't sleep well, because I still have bricks falling on my head and feet in my face.
I love my little ones so much.

Brooke's new word

Guess what word Brooke said tonight??Look at those dimples!!!!

Y'all

Our little Chinese American girl is going to talk Southern just like me and Courtney.

Oh and Kevin to.

Perky kisses

Give me a kiss

Perky is whispering sweet nothings to Courtney.

Uh Oh!!!! Caden is going to be jealous.

We bought Perky 3 years ago. I gave $19.00 for this beautiful bird. I would not take a thousand dollars for him now. (Kevin says he better not be around if somebody offers that) He is teasing, He loves Perky also. You might think that is crazy not to take $1000.00 for a bird, but I don't think it is crazy. Perky is not just any bird. Perky is a sweet kind bird who loves to chatter. (just like Courtney and Leah) Most parakeets don't talk, but our parakeet says everything. You can understand him very well. He says " give me sugars, what cha doing, pretty bird, tell me something, love you court, cracker, and Come here Brooke." I am sure he says more, but these are his favorite things to say. Perky loves to play ball. Before Brooke came home we would spends days playing with Perky. We would let Perky out of his cage and throw the ball in the floor and he would roll it back to us. Everyday I would talk to him and play with him. I have not done that much since we have had Brooke. Brooke loves Perky and will go up to the cage almost everyday and try to put her finger in. I have always worried that he would bite her finger, but he does good with her. He don't usually bite, but if he is not used to you then he will nip you if he thinks you are trying to take him. Yesterday I got Perky on my hand and let Brooke play with him some. She was to scared to let him on her finger, but she did let him give her sugars. Brooke thought it was so funny to see the bird give me sugars. She laughed. I told her to give the bird sugars and she puckered up and Perky kissed her right in the lips. Of course Brooke thought that was really funny. Perky is our favorite pet. The latest thing Perky says is "Come here Brooke" I guess I say that a lot.

The prayer of a child

Courtney is my little prayer warrior. That girl can pray. She prays like a grown person would pray. She is very concerned if somebody is sick, or anybody is going through a hard time. Courtney will pray for you. I know when my travel group was waiting for our babies, Courtney was our big prayer warrior.
Tonight Courtney was praying and she shocked me so bad. As she prayed I could not help but get teary eyed. I am going to post the best I can her prayer. First she was thanking God for her mommy and daddy. She then was thanking God for her sister. Well then She starts praying like this. " God you see my mommy really wants another baby. Now God she just wants one more. Will you please give my mommy her desire. Now God, if it is not your will for us to have another baby will you please show us. But God if it is your will, then please let it be soon."
I am thinking "O.K where did this come from?" I did say if it was Gods will I would like another child, but I have it committed that whatever God wants. I am trying to concentrate on the rest of her prayer, but at the same time I am trying to figure where this came from. Maybe it is her desire more than mine and she is just using me to talk to God. I don't know.
Well then Courtney starts praying about a house. "God you see we want a bigger house. We are putting it in your hands and we want you to help us with the decision. Now God help us to get a house that we will not have a huge house payment. We just want a small payment"
I am about to die at this point. My child is praying like a grown person, not a child. Where is she coming up with these words. Kevin and I have been talking about building or buying in the near future, but this little girl must think we desire it now. I mean we pray about a house, but coming from a child I just am in shock. When Courtney was through with her prayer I told her she prayed very good. Courtney says she thinks you should pray serious and not try to be funny, like one of her friends prays. I said " Yes, you are right. You need to be very serious when you pray." I am also thinking WOW my little girl is really growing up. I love her so much. It seems like she should still be in my arms and I should be rocking her to sleep. Now I am crying. That girl has really touched my heart tonight.

One more thing I need to clear. We are NOT praying for another child. We are very satisfied with our two girls. This is all Courtney's prayer. The only thing I can think of is she heard me tell somebody that I would not mind one more, but it was up to God and in his hands.

Happy Anniversary

Happy 12th Anniversary Danny and Emily.

I hope you guys had a great day. You guys are about to catch up with me and Kevin. I need a recent picture of you guys. This was from a year ago. Bro. Danny you need to update your website. I know you stay busy with all those children. LOL

We love and appreciate you both. You both hold a special place in our hearts. We appreciate all the times you was there for us and how you prayed and carried the burden with us when we desired children. We love you guys, Denna, Kevin, Courtney, and Brooke

Future Canasta Player

Brooke got the box and dumps them. I had to grab the camera.

Let's play mommy.

Bad mistake

"We are great cooks" (so they think)

Taking turns mixing.

Icing the cake

final results

Courtney got a friend to spend the night with her tonight. The girls wanted to bake a cake. I told them I did not have any icing for a cake. Emily says "Oh I can make icing with confectioners sugar". I say "I don't have any of that" So the girls beg and plead for me to go to the store and get the stuff for them to bake a cake. I give in thinking surely it will not hurt to let them make a simple cake. We go to the store and they pick out a cake and icing. They beg for me to buy them the tubes of icing to decorate the cake with. I don't give in to that. For one thing those tubes are expensive. Second I just did not know about two girls in the kitchen. They then want sprinkles or chocolate chips. I have chocolate chips at home so I decide they can use those. I told the girls they had to clean up their mess. "We will" We get home and they want to bake right away. I remind them again that they have to clean up their mess. After a broken egg on the floor, eggs shells in the mix, oil spilled on the table, and cake mix spilled in the floor I decided that I would do the clean up. They got the egg off of the floor and most of the oil up. I did not want a bigger mess than what we had. They had not even decorated the cake yet. We ate pizza while the cake cooled. I am dreading them putting the icing on. Here it goes. They start putting the icing on and did a pretty good job. They then sprinkle chocolate chips on the cake. I took some pictures of them. My kitchen is a mess. I did not take a picture of it. I can't post much more because I have to go clean up the mess that they made. I know I should make them do it, but I am afraid what it will look like when they are done. They had fun so I guess that is what matters. I think I made a bad mistake for letting two girls loose in my kitchen. Sounds like they are monkeys don't it? Actually they have acted like monkeys all night.