simply grateful

Took this video today of the kids trying to get Karissa to laugh.

Here's a pic from our night out for our 5 year anniversary. 3 kids in 5 years... makes you wonder what the next five years will hold.

First, thanks to all those who were lifting my precious daughter Karissa up in prayer the last few days. I have never felt the power of prayer as I have in the last 36 hours. We were purposefully vague with all but a few friends as to exactly what was happening, knowing the Father would hear your prayers and intercede in his Divine wisdom and will. She was running in excess of 104 fever for 5 days. We were treating it with tylenol and motrin, but only able to get it down to around 101. We took her to the Dr. on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They did blood work on Tuesday and Wednesday. The results were so concerning on Wednesday they decided to send her to Charlotte for evaluation. Her white blood count was dropping and her platelets were very low. When Heather asked the Dr. if he was thinking viral infection or cancer he responded, "those are all options that are on the table". Many of you know that I lost a brother to Leukemia. While not a "blood" brother, my min...

Ok, so though I am waaayyyyy behind again, I have learned a new trick. (I think). I have two fun little videos that I am going to attempt to post. Poor Makayla missed the boat, but don't worry, she managed to get into many still photos that I was trying to take of a solo Karissa. Let's just say Karissa doesn't have much of a chance of being solo...like...ever. Let's just hope she is an extrovert. On a side note, David and the youth group are in Virginia on a mission trip. The week just started, but they already had 12 kids at one of their backyard bible clubs! Please be praying that peoples' lives would be radically transformed with an encounter with Christ this week...that many would come to know and worship God more and more...thank you So, here it goes. I will post more photos soon...that Makayla is most definitely in!

Our little guy turned 2 this month and I am sooooo behind doing anything about it here. There are no excuses...but I couldn't let another day pass! Elijah is such a cool little guy. He has this warm, laid back personality. He is learning new words like crazy. He loves his sisters and beams when they are around...especially if he gets to do something to help them. He loves his family. He loves Elmo and Thomas. He loves to sing and prefers to sing alone. He will tell you so! He also loves to read books, dance, and run to chase Makayla. We praise God for this little joy! We had so much fun going to camp to see Daddy for a few hours! The kids loved it and we hope to join him next year. I just love this photo that Stevie took of us! On another note, our little Karissa is now 6 months old! Can you believe it? Thank you so much for checking in! I will try to do a better job updating! We are going to the beach for July 4th, so I'm sure we will have some fun photos next wee...

Our family was so excited to get free tickets to Carowinds, the local amusement park! We couldn't wait to go. Makayla is all about adventure and squealed with delight throughout the day. Elijah was a little more reserved, but seemed to have fun too. Actually, after a very "spinny" ride, he was not interested in going on any more rides. Makayla couldn't get enough! (Notice the background on this one.) Poor Elijah...later we found out he had an ear infection. But here he is, looking oh-too-sweet with his daddy. Is he David's "mini-me" or what? I love my guys!! And here is sweet little Karissa. She is so good to just go along with the flow of things...most of the time. She mainly hung out...no rides for her yet...other than the stroller. We had such a fun time! We just love our time together as a family. I am sooo blessed beyond measure!