MckGiveaways.....

Click on the link to see what MckMama is giving away now!!!

http://mckgiveaways.blogspot.com/2009/12/hp-touchsmart-giveaway.html

PRAYING

I find myself today praying for so many things and for so many people that I thought that I would share them with you and you could pray too if you like!

1. Nick- He goes Thursday for another MRI of his brain. It feels like it has been an eternity waiting for this appointment. I know that the Lord will be there with us as we journey to Birmingham and when Nick undergoes the MRI. We are just so thankful for the blessings that we have received since his healing in August. That's all there is to it....it was a MIRACLE!

2. Deedra- This is one precious lady to me. She had to have an emergency c-section last night because her blood pressure was too high. Mr. Walker James is his name. I know that Deedra is doing well. Walker, I believe, is in ICU for oxygen but is ok. (info from facebook)

3. Randall- His story touches my family so much. He got sick about the same time Nick did and even had some of the same symptoms. Go here to read more.

4. Stellan- He has been a very huge part of my prayer life since I found his Mommy's blog. (My Charming Kids) I wear an orange bracelet to remember him in prayer. Stellan was not supposed to make it through delivery but with many prayers and a miracle making Lord he has seen fit for Stellan to make it to his first birthday plus a few days. He has SVT just like Nick did and has had an ablation just like Nick but it did not work the first time. He recently, as of last week, went back into SVT. His doctors wanted him back in Boston for another ablation on Tuesday but he got worse yesterday. They wanted to do the ablation ASAP but Stellan got much worse this morning. His heart even stopped. They were able to get him back and are hoping to get him stable enough to do the ablation as soon as possible. Please pray on his behalf that God will work another Miracle and show the world his glory.

Howdy Partner

The cutest cowboy on earth!!!

Stellan

Stellan is sick again and bless his heart today is his 1st Birthday! Please pray for this precious baby boy!!! Go HERE to read more!!!

I Don't Want This....................

We have been studying in Sunday School about where our priorities lay. This was a big slap in the face. I don't want this to be me!!!

LORD HELP ME TO GET MY PRIORITIES STRAIGHT AND TO BE CONSUMED WITH YOU! I WANT MY LIFE TO REFLECT YOU. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO SHARE YOUR WORD WITH OTHERS SO THAT THEY MAY KNOW YOUR POWER TO DO GREAT BIG THINGS! I NEVER WANT TO BE TO BUSY FOR YOU!!!

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......................................Don't tell Daddy..........................

I'm gonna borrow his truck for a little while!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My New Nephew....Cooper Ray Edgeworth

This is Mr. Cooper Ray Edgeworth................(this is one of my favorite pics!!)He weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces......... He was 21 and 1/2 inches long..........

He looks so much like my Andrew! He is sooooo precious!!!!!!!

Mommy and Baby are doing wonderful and it looks like they will be coming home on Sunday!!!!

Thank you Lacey for letting me be a small part of your BIG day!!!

Happy Birthday Cooper!!!!!

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!

My sister Nancy is having a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YIPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I get to buy something pink and girlie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hiccups............

I absolutely hate the hiccups. I hate them even more when my son has them and there's nothing I can do but offer him something to drink and pray that he drinks it.

You know the old wives tale that says when you get the hiccups that means that you are growing? Well if that is the case then my son should be about 12 feet tall by the time he is 5 because he has had the hiccups 3 times today already!!

Just thought you should know! :-)

20 Months.......................

Today my sweet baby turns 20 months old. Holy stinkin' cow!!!!!! Where does the time go????
We spent this morning at the local "Mule Day" watchin' the horses and mules in the parade.

I love this baby more than life itself!!

Psalm 116:1-2.............

So this verse pretty much smacked me in the face today.............

"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice, he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live."

...........Nick and I are forever grateful for a loving and healing Savior!!

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!!!!!!

I don't even know where to begin. I have never felt the love of my Savior like I have today. Nick does not have MS for now. His symptoms seem to be an isolated incident and the doctor wants to follow up with him in three months for another MRI to make sure all is still clear.

I just have to thank all of our families, church family, friends, and people I don't even know who prayed and fasted for Nick today. We felt your prayers today and I don't even know where to begin to thank you for everything!

I had to pray Nick out of our home today! I had to pray him out of our car to get in the doctors office. He just knew that he would be devastated today. The Lord and the prayers of all of you helped him face what he would face today.

God is still in the miracle making business and I believe with all my heart that this was a miracle. I told Nick in the waiting room that I believed that my God could change the writing on his chart. He did not have a disease until he said you had a disease. In the words of my Mother-in-Law, "You claim the victory now!" I just have to say that I do claim the victory! I believe that my God chose today as Nick's healing day! My God is awesome.

When Dr. R. told us that it was not MS I could have jumped into his lap and gave him such a big hug. Don't know what he would have thought but I did keep my composure. {grin,snort,laugh!}

You may not want to know this but as soon as we started to leave the doctors office I needed to go potty. Nick went on to the car. As soon as the door closed I had my shouting fit and mass text message fit! I'm pretty sure that I have never done anything like that before. When I got to the car Nick was crying and of course I asked him what was wrong and he said I am so relieved. (BTW....it's pretty hard for me not to just sob uncontrollably when my hubby is crying} I told him, "I told you that our God would take care of you!"

"For nothing is impossible with God!" {Luke 1:37}

That's my story and I'm stickn' to it! Much love and gratitude to you all! We are truly blessed more than we deserve.!

Love,
Melissa

Words To Live By..........

God is who he says he is.....
God can do what he says he can do.....
I am who God says I am....
I can do all things through Christ....
His word is alive and active in me!!!!!!!
(Thank you Judith if I haven't thanked you for your hard work!)

This was our mission statement from our Montgomery Mission Trip this year. What wonderful words they are. These words are hopeful and true!

I ask you to please remember Nick today. His appointment is at 11 am. Please pray for the courage to face what lies in store for us. I still believe that Jesus is in the miracle business but that He may want bigger and better things from this illness.

A special thanks to those of you who are praying for my family and to those of you who are giving up something you love for the sake of my family. Much love to you all! We are honored to have such a wonderful church family! We love you all!

Love,

Nick, Melissa and Andrew

Romans 5:1-5

1. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

4. and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

5. and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

These verses mean alot to me right now. I read them everyday!!!

Major Major Andrew News...........

Andrew went pee pee in the potty!!!! Yippee!!!!!!!! After he did it he just looked up at me and grinned really big. Who knows if he really knew what he was doing!!!

Nick....Part 4.........

And now we begin the waiting game..............Nick will have 4 more rounds of steroid via I.V. the rest of this week. A home health nurse is coming to our home to give them to him. In the words of my hubby....I'm gonna have a huge gun show when I am through with these steroids! LOL! I believe that he has lost his mind! But he cracks me up!!!

Please remember him in your prayers. He has not been diagnosed with MS yet but all things are pointing there.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Nick....Part 3.......

Well I am sitting here in the doctors office again. Hoping and praying that this IS the answer that they have been looking for. I am praying that this inflammation is curable! Praying that one more MRI and a round of IV steroids is it! That this is all he will have to do to fix his eye sight. So I am believing in the statement that Bro. Luke used in his sermon yesterday........ WHATEVER JESUS TOUCHES...HE CHANGES!!" I truly believe that! Even though HIS answer may be "Not right now" I choose to believe that HE will touch Nick and change the outcome of this situation!!!

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers! They are very much appreciated!!

Nick continued......

Nick will be having another MRI done on Thursday. This time it will be of his spine. He is also going to have a spinal tap done. Please remember us as we head back to Birmingham but most of all that this gives the doctors the answers that he has been looking for. Up until now Nick has stumped them. They do not know what is causing his eye problems.

Thank You Soooooo Much!!!!!!!!!!

Nick................

Nick goes back to the doctor tomorrow. His appointment is at 9 am! Please remember him and say a prayer for the doctor that he WILL find an answer to these eye problems!

God is GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andrew, That's a NO NO...............

......you don't need ketchup on everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mission Trip Continued

Today was so awesome! Although I was on the food team this year I was still able to meet some people that live in Smiley Court. The nice lady that sliced our lunch meat lives there and the young lady that checked out our many buggies of groceries is from there.

The greeter at Wal-Mart almost knows me on a first name basis because I had to go there 3 times today. She just kept saying, "Your back again?" and I would just smile and say "Yep" and I will see you later this afternoon.

On my 3rd trip back from Wal-Mart there were several people taking up money at the intersection for a local church and of course I reached for my moms money can to empty it. He just thanked us and said the money was gonna do the Lord's work. I just told him that we were doing the Lord's work here too. He shook my hand and right there in the middle of the street prayed over us! It was great and funny too! You just don't see many people that would do that!

There are approximately 70 of us from 3 different churches. I sooooo missed being here last year.

Continue to remember us when you pray. Our kids are having a blast. I would show you the belly buster pics I took tonight but my Moms computer doesn't have a slot for my card. SNIFF.

Mission Trip.......

Today I am leaving to go on our churches annual mission trip to Smiley Court in Montgomery. Please pray for our safety on the trip down there and also while we minister to these kids. It is such a blessing to be able to do such a thing.

Luke 1:37-For with God NOTHING is impossible!!!!

I am still thinking I may pack Andrew in my suitcase. It is going to be so hard to leave him.

Greater Than 100th Percentile.......

Well............Andrew had his 18 month check-up yesterday. He got his last shots until he is 5. That is great news!!!!! The best news is, is that he did not scream bloody murder when the pediatrician walked in the door. He was actually quite calm.

He weighs 32 pounds and is 35 inches tall. That puts him over the 100th percentile in both categories for his age. Dr. D. says he is the size of a 3 year old. Hello?????? My arms already new that! :-) He is one heavy little dude! He is growing so fast. I love him so much!

Just a Few of My Favorite Pics....................

Update on Nick............

As far as the MRI goes, there was nothing there of any concern to his eye sight. However, they did find a cyst on a gland on his brain but Dr. V. spoke with a radiologist and he said there was nothing to worry about there. As far as his sight goes, he is still having the double vision and other symptoms and the doctor wants to wait on all his blood work to come back. He said that should take about a week. So that's where we are at at this time. So if you know Nick he was happy to hear that there was not tumor and we PRAISE GOD FOR THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prayer for Nick...........

Today is Nick's appointment in Birmingham. He will be meeting with this doctor at 9:15. I ask that you please remember him today when you pray! Please ask for the Lord to comfort Nick. Just know that all your prayers and thoughts are very much appreciated. Seems like I am constantly asking prayer from you guys, but that is all I know how to do. Prayer comforts me in a way I can't explain.

Thanks Again!

Kayla Rose

This is sweet precious Kayla Rose.................

Isn't she just gorgeous????????

Michelle,

Thank you so much for allowing me to take photos of your beautiful KK. She is just a doll! I am so looking forward to taking pics of Brody!!

Love,
Melissa

A Prayer Request for My Hubby.......

**Update #2** Nick's appointment was moved up to Friday at 9:15.

**Update** Nick has a cousin who is an optometrist in Birmingham and she doesn't want him to wait until the 28th for that appointment. They are trying to get him in somewhere today. Would you please pray.

Nick has been having some issues with his eyes. Double vision, dizziness, one eye not moving to one side.......and I have been leary of saying anything about what is wrong with him because I just thought that maybe it had to do with his glasses or contacts. I have been trying to doctor his symptom of dizziness and he has also been going to the chiropractor. Turns out he has a condition called Sixth Nerve Palsy. Click here to read more. It has him so worried and I don't know how to comfort him. But I know a God who can comfort him and I just ask that you lift Nick up in your prayers. He has an appointment with an optic neurologist on July 28th in Birmingham. Waiting 20 days is going to drive him nuts plus it doesn't help that he already thinks it's something bad. So I just ask that you remember him in the coming days!

18 months and counting................

Boy. Where does the time go? My precious son is 18 months old today. Can you believe it? This boy right here............

I have no idea where it goes but it needs to stop! He is getting so big.

Dear Andrew,

Mommy and Daddy love you so much! What did we do without you? At this age you can do just about everything but talk. That's okay though because I am sure when you do decide to do that you won't quit.

You have two cousins on the way. Cooper will be here in September and Baby Graham will be here in February. You are gonna have alot of playing to do when they get here.

Your favorite toys are Mr. Ducky of course and your knew Mater truck. You like big trucks alot. Every time we see one you just have to point and grunt.

You like to dance ALOT and I mean ALOT. Dancing is your thang! You like it when Mommy turns the IPOD on so we can dance to Glory by Casting Crowns. You rock out alot!!! But you are so funny! We think you are the funniest person we know!

God has truly blessed us by letting us be your parents and we continue to thank Him everyday for that blessing!

We Love You!!
Mommy and Daddy

Austin & Kendra

I was so honored to take the photos for Austin and Kendra's wedding. What a lovely couple they make! Don't you think? I took like 1200 photos and only chose just a few to share!

Austin & Kendra,
Thank you guys so much for this wonderful opportunity! You guys will never know how much it means to me!!!

Love and Best Wishes!!!
Melissa

Where Have I Been????????????

Well I don't have much time to post but I have been so busy lately with life and it's little extras that it throws at you! I have been editing photos..........lotssssssssss of photos..........that I was honored to shoot at a co-workers wedding and also have been working on several other picture projects. Please bare with me! I will post about them all soon and show off the beautiful bride and groom, plus my other projects too!!! This is one of my lastest favorites!!

Hello?????????????? Can anybody hear me???????????????????????

Niece or Nephew???????

IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD BY NOW..............MY SISTER NANCY (A.K.A NOO NOO) IS GONNA BE A MOMMY!!!!

You can go back to what you were doing now!!!!!

I LOVE YOU NOO NOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YUMMY!!!!

You Are a Cherry Flavored Popsicle

You are sweet and friendly. For you, summer is all about doing your favorite things. You are a nostalgic person. You love old fashioned things like ice cream trucks. You savor everything. Every taste of summer, the feeling of the sun, the smell of the beach... Of all the types, you love summer the most.

What Flavor Popsicle Are You?

I Hate Wet Steps.............

Today was my first day back to work this week and boy did it start with a bang! If you read this post then you know that I am one clumsy person!

This morning as I was getting all of Andrew's things in the car I was going down those stupid wet steps on my back porch again and I'll be danged if I didn't get to the last step and there my feet went again! The last stinkin' step. It never fails.

Luckily, I am not as injured as the last time. Thank the good Lord! Although I am sorry to say that my "NEW" cell phone suffered some major damage in the fall. I put it in my back pocket, which I never do. Now the LCD screen looks like it was hit by a bullet instead of my tushy! It still works but it's a touch screen and it is hard to read it now. Oh well....that's just "MY" luck!!

Hope you all have a wonderful "free from falling" day!!!!

Memorial Day 2009

On this day we honor and celebrate those who fight, fought and died for our freedom. I want to share with you some pictures of close family members who served and who still serve in our military.

This is my Granddaddy, Roland Gann. He served in the US Army and was in WW II. I just love this photo! Black and White are my favorite. It is a side of him that I never saw!! I wished I would have listened more to his stories before he passed away!

This is my Cousin David Blaylock. He currently serves in in US Air Force. He has been stationed in so many places that I can't keep up! (This pic is of him in a Mig Grave Yard)This is my Great Uncle Coolidge Downer. He will be 85 in November. He served in the US Army and served in WW II.

I want to share with you a detailed history of his account that was in a book published earlier this year with all of our county in Alabama WW II veterans in it.

"I was 19 years old on D-Day, June 6, 1944 on Omaha Beach, France, a member of the 29th Infantry in a front line combat division. Mine was one of the first landing craft that went in that morning about 6:30 a.m. The sun was just coming up and the waves if water were so large we went off into it shoulder deep, our life jackets on. We were receiving a lot of small arms, artillery and mortar fire. I saw about the entire first wave of men killed. Hundreds were wounded, drowning in the water. Most of our equipment was destroyed and truckloads of ammunition and gas were exploding on the beach and in the water. I could have walked around on the water's edge and not stepped on the ground for dead and wounded bodies. Many of them were killed right beside me."

"If the 35 men who were on the landing craft with me, five of us got out of the water and three of us got across the beach to the ridge. We lay there and watched the other landing craft come in and all of the destruction that went on that day. Very few got off Omaha Beach. We got replacements in and chased the Germans all over the hedgerow country in France, and the Germans were always waiting on the other side of the hedgerows. We fought day and night with very little rest or sleep. Many of the replacements were killed the first day."

"I was wounded at St. Lo, France on July 15, 1944 about 3:00 a.m. They took me back to the field hospital about a mile behind the front lines. A nurse in army clothes said: 'We are giving you a pill to put you to sleep and tomorrow morning you will be on a plane to England.' When I awoke the next morning there was a guy on the army cot next to me--a wounded German soldier who had been brought back to our field hospital. When we invaded Normandy I weighed 189 pounds. Thirty-nine days later I weighed 136 pounds. After five weeks in England I was back with my outfit on the front lines of battle again."

"I fought across the Netherlands, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Near the Elbe River I witnessed two American tanks exploding after hitting a road mine. All of those inside were killed. In Germany the civilians were leaving the area to get away from the Russians. A large horse-drawn wagon came down the road filled with people and their belongings. It hit a road mine that blew up the wagon, the people inside, and the horses. It is reported that the 29th Infantry Division had more casualties than any other division in Europe. A book that i have states that the division received 19,815 replacements. The division was 15,500 strong when we made the invasion in France. Seventeen men of a group of 150 from this area in Alabama came back with me. When asked hoe I survived, I have one reply: 'My Mother's prayers.'

"The prison camps and gas chambers in Germany are almost more than I can talk about now--even after all of these years. I still see those scenes in my sleep some nights. As I get older I think about it more, and as I fight the battles at night it is as clear in my mind as if it had happened a month ago. I never saw German prisoners of war mistreated. We were American soldiers. We only killed people when it was "kill or be killed.' That is what we were trained to do, and we did our job."

After the war ended, He served in the Army of Occupation for about four months before returning to the US October 10,1945.

I can not even begin to imagine what all he went through but what I DO know is that he did it for his country and for our freedom!!!

Excerpt from : Hornoring Them: A History of World War II Veterans from Dekalb County, Alabama.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE WORLD'S GREATEST DADDY!!!!

Daddy,

I am so proud to call you my Dad! God couldn't have hand picked a better one for me! Thank you for all the things you have ever done for me and will do for me in the future! Oh Yeah........Have I mentioned the fact that I love that you are retired? I love knowing that I can see you any time I want to now???? Thank you for being a wonderful Granddaddy to Andrew too! I know he loves spending lots of time with you!!! We are truly blessed to have you in ours lives!! Nick thinks so too!!! HEHEHEHE!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!!

Love Your Favorite Baby Girl!!!! (wink wink)

Melissa

Pray for Stellan!!!!!!!!!

I often ask for prayer for Stellan and I am asking for you to say a little prayer for him tomorrow at 8:30 Boston time. He is going in for ablation surgery. As many of you know that is what Nick had done and he has had no problems since but in small babies there is such a high risk for them. So I ask you to call his name out in your prayers that all will go well and this solves this poor little guys heart problems!!!!

For more information please go to MckMamas blog!!!

"We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust His holy name.May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You."

Psalms 33: 20-22

My Baby is 15 Months Old Today...........

This baby has got some moves and they did not come from his Mommy or Daddy!!!

I can't begin to tell you how much I am in love with this baby....well toddler! It hurts my heart to even type that word! He is the funniest person that I know! He can make me laugh, especially when he should be getting in trouble, all the time these days! There seems to be nothing that he can't do....at least that's what he thinks!

I don't remember life without him! I often wonder what I did before he came along! The Lord has blessed our family in so many ways and I can't begin to thank Him enough!! I thank him every day for letting Nick and I be his parents.

Where does the time go?

**Please continue to remember Sweet Stellan when you pray!

Have a blessed day!

Spring......Please come and stay !!!!

These beautiful tulips are brought to you by Mr. Green Thumb Tom.......A.K.A. my father-in-law. Are they not gorgeous? I just had to take a photo. I hope they didn't get frost bitten yesterday! Maybe just maybe Spring is really here to stay........well at least for now!

Stellan................

Please remember Stellan when you pray today! He is not doing so well. MckMama is twittering and this is her last one.....

"I slept last night, but am not rested. Stellan has been in and out of SVT. I will post more later about his heart and treatment as I am able. For now, though, just wanted to share that he's been vomiting since 6 pm yesterday. We're not sure what that is about. He's NPO now."

fPhoto Friday

See what happens when I let my child loose! Beautiful things disappear!!!!

Thanks Natalie at Married to the Preacher for hosting! Happy Friday!

Keep praying for Stellan!!!!

Driving at 14 months...............

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......................

..............not sure this is such a good idea! You can see my nephew Dakota in the background. I hope he is wearing his seat belt! This is what happens when I am not around! I really wish he would have waited to learn how to drive till he was 18. But then again I have decided my son is not going to grow anymore! He is big enough! **SNIFF SNIFF**

Hope you all are having a wonderful day! Please continue to remember Baby Stellan in your prayers! He is still a fighter!!!!!!

Stellan................

All I can say is PRAY.....PRAY.....PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Click on the picture to catch up on this sweet baby! He is not doing well at all! In MckMama's words...."Sweet Jesus, be near!"

Urgent Prayer Request

This sweet precious baby is sick again! I have written about him before. He now has SVT, which is what Nick had before he had a procedure to fix it, but it is worse in infants! Please go visit MckMamas blog and pray for this precious one!!

fPhoto Friday

Andrew and PawPaw blowing the horn on the dozer.

Lovin' My Dogs..........................

In Loving Memory.................

This is my most favorite picture of my Aunt Patsy just because it is showing her in her element.....being the wonderful mother that she was! Plus, it's a great picture of her daughter Katy too!!!

Hissy Fits................

Could somebody please tell me who taught my child how to throw a hissy fit??? I mean look at this face.....................

Does this look like the face of a child that pitches hissy fits? I think not!!! Yet this child, when he doesn't get his way, puts all fours on the floor and pitches a big fit! I am not kidding!

I want to know WHO taught him this! Explain yourself!

fPhoto Friday

Playin' like my Daddy

Please Daddy.......Let me play!

Camera: Nikon D 90

Setting: Auto I'm sure because Andrew doesn't sit still long enough to get a picture without it blurring.

Location: Living room

Thanks Natalie for hosting! For more fPhoto Friday pictures head on over to Married to the Preacher!

Yummmmmmmmmm.......

Yummy yummy to my to my tummy..........................

Don't you just love to shop at Sam's??????????? And "no" we don't normally let him wear his cheese balls like this! Apparently he thinks he owns them!