Christmas Card

Hello to anyone who is visiting our blog because you just received our Christmas card! Please check back in a few days for our "Year in Review". Brian and I have been talking about all the amazing things Emma is doing now that she was not able to do a year ago. It's a very impressive list...one that has left us once again humbled and thankful. Emma is doing things that many children with RTS cannot do and we are blessed to have the front row seat as God continues to reveal His plan for Emma and for us. We know when we remember all the amazing things she CAN do, it helps us to take the focus away from the things she cannot do...yet!

Just a note on her exploits today. She took full advantage of the lovely weather and spent most of her afternoon outside! In the space of 30 minutes, she managed to flip herself down the slide - landing face in the ground at the bottom of the slide....and then flip herself out of her swing. Yesterday, she managed to flip herself upside down in one of the toddler swings. Thankfully, she was tightly strapped into it, so she just hung upside down as I ran to rescue her! None of this slowed her down at all! It does highlight just how much she keeps us on our toes!

Merry Christmas to all - check back soon!

Family Photos

Well, it has been a while, but we FINALLY had some family pictures made. I hope you enjoy them!

Fun with Friends

We had a great time on Tuesday. We went to Gaffney, and met Daniel, Cathy, Catilyn & Joshua to eat, catch up and exchange gifts.

And, let me just say....Emma is IN to opening presents now. Check out the look on her face! She is NOT playing around, thank you very much. She wants to open that package and see what is inside and no one can stop her! We laughed so much at her expressions! We really had a great time visiting with the Priddys....it is so great to have friends that you feel like you just saw them yesterday, when in fact, it has been 6 months! Catilyn is basically as tall as me now, and Josh is turning in to such a young man - no more little boy! They are so amazing with Emma and she adores them! She is trying to say their names. Josh is "osh" and Catilyn is "K-K".

In other news, we had our visit with the nutritionist yesterday. The short version is that Emma's diet will be changing DRASTICALLY next week. Feel free to pray that we don't all lose our minds!

Barring any unforseen incidents, Jennifer is taking Emma to Mom & Dad's this weekend - yeah for us! Pray for them! We hope to get our tree up while our little "helper" is out of town! After her reaction to her presents on Tuesday, I may have to keep the packages upstairs until Christmas day!

Leave us some comments and let us know how you like the blog....

Emma has a new 'do

Well, after a great deal of internal questioning, I decided to go ahead and get Emma's hair cut short again. I could not be happier. I'm not really sure why I question it each time! The cut absolutely suits her. The girl who did her hair today did the side in a little braid that is too cute - I'll have to try to figure out how to do it. I hope you can tell from the picture how it looks!

As for me, I started a new job today - I'm going to be an evening/weekend hostess at Macaroni Grill. So, I had 4 hours of orientation today and will spend a lot of time this coming week in training, and following people around. I rather expect this week to be somewhat challenging, since I'll be working more hours that I normally will and I'll be working during the day some, which I also will not normally do.

Emma is feeling much better and had a great time today....the weather was so nice that she was able to play outside for a couple of hours. She likes it best when we leave the sliding glass door open, and she can come in and out at will. She had a picnic outside, had a grand time going down the slide and kept up a steady stream of "conversation" that I can only imagine was fascinating for the angels (in my mind, I imagine the angels cracking up at all the cute things she is saying that we cannot understand!). Emma has been quite talkative the past few days and has been showing off her new skill of spelling her name.

Brian is feeling pretty bad today, in part because he is still under the weather, and in part, because Clemson lost today.

I hope each and everyone of you had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Christmas Preview

Emma has been sick since Saturday, and today, we had to get out of the house! Emma's had croup, and I believe is now working on a secondary sinus infection, but she's in pretty good spirits. We were both going stir crazy, so we went shopping. Now, it is important to remember that the only way "we" shop is if Emma has a DVD playing and is safely strapped into a stroller. This strategy is usually good for 30 - 60 minutes of shopping, after which, we simply must leave! This usually results in "me" going back at a later time to finish, which is probably what I'll do in the next few days.

So, what does this have to do with Christmas? Well, while shopping, we purchased Emma's Christmas dress at Macy's (love the sales) and we had to try it on as soon as we got home, and of course, I snapped a few pictures. You will see this dress again on Christmas cards I would imagine.

Emma's Costume

Emma was a bumble bee for Halloween. We don't really trick or treat around here, but they were dressing up for school and going around the building for non-edible treats. Isn't she adorable? She loved her costume - she kept trying to put it on before Halloween and then for several days later!

Our First Post

Brian's been wanting me to start a blog so that friends and family can keep up with the goings on of our lives....really, it's just a way to show off how cute Emma is!

You may find our blog name quite "appropriate" if you know anything about Emma. It will probably take me a few weeks to update everything and get it the way I want it, so check back again soon.