Granddude and Grannie LaFollette

What's In Your Spiritual Beach Bag?

2011-06-27T15:01:00.001-04:00

I enjoyed this devotional today. Especially with the Beach/summer season upon us. Just a great reminder to take Jesus along with you.

What's In Your Spiritual Beach Bag?

Gardening

2011-06-14T19:59:00.004-04:00

I know, you're asking yourself why is she showing me these seatless chairs? Well, the answer is because I happened to watch an episode of DIY gardening and saw that they went to an old flea market to make a planter out of old chairs. So I wrote all the directions down and hid the paper in my filing drawer. Well, one day last summer fall, the house on the corner finally sold and out in the front yard next to the mailbox were these two old rusty chairs. I can't tell you how excited I was. I went home and sent Dean down to ask if they were tossing them. She said "yeah, they were in their pool when they bought the house." So Dean brought them home and they've been sitting on the patio ever since. They were really rusty and in need of some help. So we sanded off the rust and then Dean painted them black with some rustolium.

Next, we got some chicken wire and made a basket and tied it down with some zip ties.

Then we got some tin snips and cut the chicken wire.

We then put in the coco liner.

Added some potting soil.

Put in some plants

And stuck them out in the flower garden for now. I'll keep you posted as to how they're doing. But for now they look pretty darn good. You could use some old wooden chairs too. I just thought it was a cool idea.

Happy 2nd Birthday Covie!!

2011-05-10T10:17:00.004-04:00

Ashley has a friend from work that makes cakes as a side business. Every birthday I can't wait to see what she's done. Not only do they look good, but they taste amazing!!

Covie blowing out his #2 candle. He actually didn't blow it out because he was so gentle with his blows, but Ashley helped after the 4th time. LOL Such a big boy! He said "Yay Covie!!" after they went out.

Cheese Gram!!! Our big 2 year old. Such a sweet, kind, loving little boy.

Cousin Riley made an appearance at the party. This is what he thought of the ordeal. LOL He was only a week old, so we'll give him a break for sleeping.

Aunt Sammi and Eden Rae. Eden loves her Sammi. This is one of Ashley's best friends and Eden can't get enough Sammi time.

Travis and Uncle Klint were there too. They were watching the birthday boy open presents.

Cousin Evan, Grandpa and Uncle Aaron were there too. Evan had a lot of fun with the bubble machine. He liked trying to pop the bubbles. He had another party to attend after Covie's. What a busy boy.

Crazy Aunt Kelly out and about after having her C-section was there. She was in a lot of pain the next day. So she got to spend Mother's Day in bed. LOL Maybe that was the plan? hmmmmmm....

Ashley and her baby boy.

Covie wanted to swing lots and lots after opening the presents. He loves to swing with his Papa.

Mother's Day pic of Covie playing with all of his presents in his room. What a lucky little boy to have such good friends and family. We are blessed to have another year with this beautiful little man. So sweet is he. We thank God everyday for you Covie!!

One Week Old, Riley's doing GREAT!!

2011-05-07T08:29:00.006-04:00

Mr. Riley Matthew LaFollette, 1 week old. I finally got a great picture with his eyes open. What a cutie pie. Were all the other kids really that small? And I know he's not that small, but for us he's tiny. LOL

The proud Grannie and Papa with the newest LaFollette. I just have to say it doesn't get any better than this.

Truly a gift from God. We're excited to say that Riley will be dedicated to the Lord on Mother's Day. I can't wait.

Aaron, Oma, and her new Great Grandson. She was excited to get to see and hold him. We were all celebrating her 69th birthday since she was in the hospital on her special day. So I told her this is a pretty great birthday gift.

Riley Matthew getting ready to go to his very first doctors appointment. Such a sweet boy.

Cousin Eden was so excited to get to meet Riley. She's been waiting for him.

BIG Brother Evan loves his little brother Riley. He's very gentle with him.

Aaron, Evan and Riley together. Kelly's 3 boys.

Here's the family. Kelly, Riley, Evan and Aaron. What a beautiful family.

Uncle Travis and Eden meeting Riley.

Uncle Adam getting to hold Riley in the NICU once he finally got off all the tubes. That's one proud uncle. He didn't get to do this with the rest of the kids because he was always away at college.

Papa holding Evan Joseph. He even changed a diaper and he's proud of it. I think I'll mark this day down in a book. : )

Auntie Ashley holding her new nephew. She bought him the monkey outfit. How sweet.

Kelly finally getting to hold Riley. He was 2 days old before she could hold him. Praising God for taking such good care of our little man. He took the fluid out of his lungs and helped him to be able to breath on his own. Our God is an AWESOME GOD!! We praise you because Riley is fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, we know that full well. All the days ordained for him were written in your book before any of them came to be. How precious are Your thoughts O' God.

Aaron and his baby boy. He's not proud. And he looks just like his Grannie, daddy and brother Evan. : ) Sorry Kel, the LaFollette's have STRONG Genes.

Mr. Riley Matthew LaFollette. Precious little boy. Long fingers, long skinny feet.

Introducing Riley Matthew LaFollette

2011-04-28T08:27:00.003-04:00

Well, Riley Matthew LaFollette was born on April 27, 2011. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 oz, and s 20 1/2 " long. Mother and Father are doing well. Little Riley came 3 weeks early and is having a little trouble breathing on his own. He has some fluid on his lungs, so he's in the NICU for a couple of days. But he is a healthy baby boy. I can't even imagine poor Kelly going another 3 weeks when he was so big. Poor girl.

I had to wash up, and robe up to be able to go in and see Riley. They had him on 100% oxygen when he first went in, but when Dean went in he was on 55% and when I went in around 9:30 pm he was at 38% oxygen. So he is improving. They hope to have him out of th tent by today 4/28 and hopefully will start him on breast milk soon. They said once they get him out of the tent he'll be able to have his first bath.

What a sweet little man. I have to say he's pretty perfect.

Poor Riley in his little incubator/oxygen tent. Father God, watch over this sweet little man child. Lord, help him to breath on his own and not to have any difficulties growing up with his lungs. Father we thank you for this wonderful blessing.

His little feet on his live birth certificate.

So cute!!! I counted 10 total!

He grabbed Aaron's finger with such a strong grip. What a sweet baby boy. Thank you God!!!

Evan's last day as an Only Child

2011-04-28T08:19:00.004-04:00

Evan's been hanging out with Papa and Grannie while his mommy is in the hospital. This is his last picture taken before he was officially a BIG BROTHER. The cousins are showing their love. Eden, Jullian, Evan and Covie.

Breakfast time with Grandma. All our beautiful blessings in one spot, at one table. Cove was too busy eating to look at the camera.

Evan loves to go driving around the backyard with Eden. She's a good cousin. So loving and patient.

This would be an official car hi-jacking. Cove got in the car, put his foot on the gas and took off. The only problem, he doesn't steer. LOL Poor Dean was chasing him all around the yard.

That's our precious Evan waiting for the news that he has a baby brother.

We tuckered the poor little guy out. Sleeping on Grams floor after a hard day of play with the cousins.

WE'RE ON RILEY WATCH!!

2011-04-25T11:28:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday, April 20th, Kelly went to her pre-natal check up and they sent her to the hospital immediately because her blood pressure was way too high and she was too swollen. Well, they said she had to do the 24 hr. urine/protein test to check for pre-eclampsia. Well, at 2:00 on Thursday, Kelly was preparing her bag to go home when the nurse came in and told her she would be spending the week with them because her protein levels were out the roof and she definitely had preeclampsia. She is currently 36 weeks, so they will be waiting until Wednesday, April 27th to do a c-section and bring Riley Matthew into the world at 1:00 pm. So please pray for Kelly and Riley and the doctors as they continue to monitor both of them.
We can't wait to be the grandparents to our 5th Grandchild!!!

Time sure does fly by

2011-04-14T09:29:00.006-04:00

This is a picture of all the bottles of medicine my mom takes on a daily basis. Some of these pills she will take two or three of them. Sometimes I wonder if by taking all of these drugs we're keeping her sick. I often wonder about all the interactions etc... Heart meds, lung meds, cancer meds, blood pressure meds, anti-depressants etc... AMAZING.

I just thought I'd post a pic of my mom and the kids. Poor mom, this is how Eden plays with her. She has to sit there and just hold all of the stuffed animals as Eden plays. Mom sure does look thrilled don't you think? LOL What a good sport.

Covie saw Dean's Oregon Duck hat and had to try it on. Travis said he had a rash from wearing some Yucky Hat on his head. LOL Travis's family are USF BULLS. So the thought that we'd be warping his son is just repulsive. : )

Speaking of Travis he turned 28 last week and we celebrated at our house with some Chili Verde, and birthday cake. Eden picked out the decorations. We did some Scooby Doo. And of course she had to have her own birthday cake too.

Aaron, Kelly and Evan took some time out to go to Epcot for the day to see the flower and garden show. They had a great time seeing all the topiaries. And of course Evan LOVED the cars topiary. And Riley Matthew will be here very soon. He's dropped and is ready to make his grand appearance. His due date is May 11, unless he decides to come a little sooner.

This is Evan watching a Disney movie. He was all laid back in the kid's recliner. What a hoot.

Dean celebrated his 48th birthday in March and Ashley made his cake since I had surgery the day before. She was so upset because the cake fell apart on the ride over. It was a really yummy cake.

I cleaned out my fridge and I turned around to find Covie sitting inside. What a riot. He thought this was a grand adventure. I was having a heart attack.

Covie riding his little motor cycle. He loves to be outside.

Ashley and Eden doing girl things. Rolling hair to make curls, and painting finger nails and toes.

And now I have my own "Goldie Locks". I love this picture.

North Carolina Friends!!

2011-02-26T08:11:00.003-05:00

These are a little backwards, but it's ok. Laci Strickland came down from North Carolina to visit family and friends. And she had a little time and brought the kids over to spend the morning with us. It was raining, so we played on the back patio and inside. It was so nice for the kids to have someone else to play with. Eden even remembered that it was her friend Ella. Thanks Laci for the fun morning!! We love you guys! After everyone was done playing, we came in and had a some cake and juice. I had Eden help me make a valentine cake. But I didn't tell her why. I had Ella and Eden frost the cake and then everybody got to have a piece. The boys loved it and wanted more, but they hadn't had lunch yet. So when we told them all done, they both whined a little.

Eden and Ella eating their cake.

Ella and Eden playing together in the playhouse.

Eden and Ella on the teeter totter. At one point we had all four kids on it. They loved it.

Noah James throwing the soccer ball at me. What a cutie pie. A little shy though. : )

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!! This is Eden and Ella sitting for a picture. They know each other from reading the blogs. Eden will always ask who's that. They are only 3 weeks apart on age and so is Covie and Noah.

Covie playing on the slide.

We had a hard time getting these rambuctious one year olds to sit for a quick picture. I wasn't sure it was going to happen. LOL

Covie and Noah. Finally got them looking straight at me.

Randomness

2011-02-26T07:48:00.005-05:00

We decided since it was raining we'd get out the good ol' playdough and have some fun.

Covie loves to play with playdough, but it's always a chore when you have to keep him from eating it. YUCKY!

Eden and I made flowers for her mommy.

That's the green frog I made for cove. He loves to play and then he smashes them to bits. He's definitely ALL BOY!

Aunt Kelly brought Evan over for a play date. We have a lot of fun. We ate pizza and we colored together. Eden loves to have her cousing Evan come to play.

Say "Cheese".

Eden laid down to take her nap and I just kept her doll house out for her to play with when she woke up. Well, Cove woke up and he got his alligator and decided to play Florida doll house. He had the gator knocking on the front door and then he went around and had the gator playing in the house. I had to grab the camera fast because the next thing I knew the gator was eating the baby and Cove was growling. LOL

Cove playing Doll House his way.

Ashley's best friend Megan came for a visit and they went to a concert in Orlando. So I got to watch the kids for the night and Megan had brough her son Ryder with her. So I got to have a sleep over with Eden, Covie and Ryder. This a picture after I finally got them to go to sleep around 10:30 pm.

Adam got a chance to go try out for an indoor Football league team in Oklahoma City, OK. So he had to quit his job at Abercrombie to be able to leave. So his last night at work this is what he came out to find. His employees left him their goodbye messages. LOL Too fun. He went to OK tried out, he was the smallest one there, but he did get a position, but he injured his shoulder and decided he wanted to come home rather than do permanant damage. So he's home and currently looking for a new job.

In January, Dean had a managers meeting in Denver and so he took a few extra days and flew up to Oregon to see his mama and Daddy. And his sister Donna came down to buy daddy's truck for our niece Shannon. So I told Dean to get a family picture of all of them. Daddy's health is getting a little more frail each year so Dean needed to go out to see them and I wanted to have a picture of them all now. Every day is a gift from God that He is still here with us. I married into such a wonderful, God loving family and I am blessed to be a part of them.

Dean's daddy. Richard Frank LaFollette. He's 83 years old. What a wonderful man he is. He took a fall last fall and is in a lot of pain in his back. He doesn't do much these days except sit in his chair. I love that man.

Busy-ness

2011-01-31T10:42:00.003-05:00

They put a permanant port in her chest to be able to do blood draws and IV's for her. But when we left the hospital they forgot to pull everything out of her. They left in all the IV access tubing. Not a good thing. But I'm glad we have in-home nursing to be able to care for it.

This is the bottles of medicine that she has to take everyday. Needless to say I feel like a pharmacist. Too bad I don't get paid like they do.

This has been a crazy month. We've had a lot going on.

Mom's surgery was on December 20th and all went very well. She did really great. As a matter of fact she had an easier time with the mastectomy than she did with the lumpectomy. All seemed to go really well. She was getting up and down by herself and actually had a great attitude. We found out that the cancer has envaded the nodal fluid. So for now we are treating her with some medicine that she takes in a pill form. But she is having a really hard time with this medicine. It has caused her to bloat really bad, and it's caused her arthritis to be unbearable. We had to put her in the hospital last week due to not being able to breath. And now that we have her home she is struggling with moving and getting up and down, breathing is more labored. She seriously cannot be left alone in the house because she can't get up and down by herself.

I know I struggle because she's given up on life. She doesn't care if she's sick, she does't care to socialize with anyone. She just wants to lay in bed all day and feel sorry for herself. I find myself getting angry with her because she just won't try to come out with the family, she won't walk and do the things she needs to to help me. She's given up and so it's putting a lot of stress on me. I'm havin to pull her up off the bed to get her to move to the comode next to the bed, I'm having to roll her over in bed because she won't do it. She won't even pick her own feet up to put them in the bed. I'm exhausted and I know it's the right thing to do to help her but at some point when do I say I've had enough. I feel so guilty thinking about a nursing facility, but she isn't willing to do things for herself at all and I'm afraid I'm going to get hurt tryin to lift her 400 lb body. If I get hurt than who is going to take care of her? But I also know that elderly people just give up if they're put in nursing facilities too. So what to do?

"Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne...and find grace to help in good time for every need (appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it.)." Hebrews 4:16 AMP

Dear Father, please order my steps and guide me through each day. Give me wisdom as I continue on this caregivers journey.

Surgery on Monday, December 20th

2010-12-16T22:20:00.002-05:00

We went to the surgeon yesterday to get mom's staples out and to set the date for the mastectomy. We waited forever for this doctor. He's never on time. Anywho, he finally came in and looked at the staples and said we'd do the surgery the first Monday after the New Year and he'd send in the nurse to remove the staples and put on some steri strips and he left. So we were waiting in the room not more than 3 minutes and the door popped back open and it was the surgeon again and he said that he changed his mind and he wanted to do it immediately. So he said he would do her surgery on Monday morning. "What?" Well, ok. So she is off her meds again, Dean is back giving her shots until Monday. I've had to rearrange not only my schedule but Ashley's schedule to fit in this surgery. So please keep mom in your prayers as we go back to Brandon Hospital on Monday, December 20th for more surgery. This time he's going to do the complete mastectomy. No nodes, but he will take both breasts and lets hope we're done with it. After that it will be at least 6 weeks of radiation everyday and then 5 years of tomoxifin.

Papa's babies!

2010-12-15T12:25:00.003-05:00

Playing at Grandma's house makes Eden very tired. Actually she woke up from her nap and was still tired so she climbed up onto the couch and fell back to sleep.

Eden has to be just like Papa. Dean and Eden relaxing after a long morning of playing.

Dean and his shadow. Covie loves to follow Papa whereever he goes. This time it was helping to make some breakfast.

Eden's finished Gingerbread house with Papa.

Placing a few more candies on her house

Oh, Pop it needs some more. These two are quite the team!!

Surgery Update

2010-12-12T11:38:00.002-05:00

Sorry for not posting sooner, but I've been very busy since Thanksgiving.

Mom, had to be taken off her blood thinners one week prior to her surgery. So every night we had to go in and give her an injection in her hip. Me being a little not sure of giving one shots, I delegated Dean to this duty and he gladly took it on. We had to go to the hospital 5 days prior to her surgery to get her registered for surgery and in patient care. So, we sat and got all the paperwork, bloodwork, and took x-rays to the radiology department. On Monday, November 29th we had to be at Brandon Regional Hospital @ 5:15 am. YAWN, that was a rough one. But we made it and got her in her room. The nurse had a heck of a time getting a vein for my mama. She has small, rolling veins and they always have a hard time. It took all three of us to get one going, but finally got one. They took her up to the radiology department and inserted the wires around the tumors so that the doctor would know where to go and they brought her back to her room to wait for the anesthesiologist (sp?). He came in at 8:15, talked to her about the procedure and then wheeled her back to the OR. At 11:30 we finally got the call that she was out of surgery.

They kept her in the hospital until Thursday and then sent her home. She was still extremely weak and was almost unable to walk. She has had a rough time gaining her strength back. She is finally able to get up and down out of bed by herself but is not able to walk a long distance without help.

We went back to the surgeon this week and we got the biopsy report. It looks like there is still more cancer in her right breast and they are going to have to go back and take more. The doctors recommendation is that he do a mastectomy. Right now mom is waivering back and forth about what to do. We just need prayers that she make the decision she is going to be most comfortable with. I know God has it all in his hands and I continue to pray for the strenth to get through this. I'm blessed to be able to walk beside my mother during this tough time and be her support system.

I'm scared about what's to come next. I had already moved my mind past surgery and onto radiation and now I must get back into the surgery mode. Just pray for us as we endure more tough decisions.

Surgery on Nov. 29th

2010-11-26T14:30:00.003-05:00

We went to see the oncologist and he was amazingly wonderful. He had come to the hospital to see mama the last time she was there. He says that under no circumstances will she be administered Chemo therapy by him. She just isn't a candidate due to all of her other health issues. He wanted to know what the surgeon had said about surgery. I told him we hadn't spoken to the surgeon that he wanted us to see the radiologist and the oncologist first and get all the approvals from other doctors. So he got right on the phone and asked him what he was thinking. He said his thought was that a lumpectomy would be the best route to go. So we immediately scheduled an appointment for the following day with the surgeon. He said that he believes that's also the best thing. If mama didn't have all the other health risks he'd do a complete mastectomy, but since she does, he wants to do a lumpectomy in both breasts. No big deal for the left side, but the right side is huge and will probably take more time and care because of the size of the tumor.
So, on Monday November 29th, 2010 I will be taking my mama into surgery at Brandon Hospital. We're scared and we're praying all goes well, but I have to bring her advanced directive with us and the fact that Dean and I are to make any medical decisions for her. Needless to say, the possibility that she won't make it is a Big one. It's hard to know that and it's even more scary to think of all the care that she's going to need after this is done. I'm trying to keep my eyes on God and know with all my being that He alone will see me through all of this. He's so good to us and He always gets us through the tough times. So if you think of it, pray for my mom Mary. Thanks!!

Sept. in-law visit

2010-11-12T08:18:00.003-05:00

My sweet little pookie pie having a tea party with her great Aunt Donna. She loves to wear a hat and have tea. And Aunt Donna bought a box of Teddy Grahams so Eden was thrilled.

Eden's tea party.

Dean's sister Donna and Eden Rae having a tea party. Aren't they pretty with their hats?

She's always a happy camper if she can play tea party!

Eden was shy when she got here and Aunt Donna and Uncle Jerry were here, but when Donna said she had a present..... Donna was Eden's new best friend. She got gloves and a new necklace. What a pretty girlie!

My piano never gets played unless Jerry comes for a visit. I never get tired of hearing him play. Come back soon Jerry... My piano misses you. : )

Eden wasn't pleased that someone besides her was pounding on the piano. She kept telling me to make him stop. LOL What a riot.

Oh.... did I mention this is baby LaFollette #2. Don't know yet what it is, but I can't wait to find out. Due date..... May 18th. Eden says it's going to be a girl because I need a girl to play with. So there you have it.

This is how Layto plays tea party....Dinosaur style. : ) Roar.....

Covie playing with the Dino's or should I say standing in the dino box. What a boy. He climbs on everything. This child is fearless.

Mr. Evan Joseph. I love this little man. When he comes over he runs around the house looking for a jack in the box that I got him. He loves to have Grandma crank it over and over and over. He just laughs and he has the best laugh in town. But he is definitely a mama's boy. He loves his mama and when she leaves the room he panics. He loves to play with his Toy story toys. He could watch that movie over and over and over.

Dean's big sister ( or should I say only sister?) Donna Vreeland. They came for a week and we had a great time playing Domino's with them. Hopefully they got a chance to relaxe before going home to the chaos of life again.

Jerry Vreeland my favorite brother-in-law. (He's my only bro-in-law) But he is the absolute best and I love him tons. Don't get to see enough of him or to hear his witty comments, but I love his tons. Being the add on's in a family we stick together. : )

Week of Doctors

2010-11-08T07:30:00.002-05:00

It's been a hard week. When we last left the surgeon's office, he told us we would have to see mom's cardiologist, her pulmonist, her general practioner all for surgical releases. Then she'd have to do a PET/CT scan to see if the cancer has moved to any other parts of her body. And then she'd have to see an oncologist and a radiologist. And then he'd see her back in two weeks.
That's a lot of doctors, and a lot of waiting and not knowing. Mom is already having sleepless nights and anxiety attacks. It's a lot for her to have to try and cope with.

So, I got home and started calling all the doctors to set up appointments. So, on Monday we started seeing doctors. Monday was her cardiologist. He spent a lot of time listening to her heart and checking everything. He's concerned about her breathing and her lungs. But he released her with concern. Tuesday was an extemely hard day for her. It was a 4 hour day with the PET/CT scan. She is a large lady and we didn't know if she'd fit in the tube for the test. But we got it done and hopefully they got some good pictures of her brain down to her mid thigh area. If the cancer has spread they won't do the surgery. Why put her through that when it's already there in her body. So we're worrying about that. Then Wednesday we went to the pulmonist. He listened to her lungs and gave her an ok for surgery also. Mom was happy because she got to have a break on Thursday and got to rest most of the day. Friday morning we took her first to her GP. He took one look at her and sent her immediately to the ER. We spent all day and most of the night at Brandon Hospital. Mom was admitted for heart failure. And there she stays until maybe tomorrow. I was able to have the oncolgist visit her in the hospital and her Hosp. doctor whom she loves is having a psychiatrist come see her today. He's worried about her anxiety. So that's where we are with the doctors and the cancer.

Still more waiting. We're in this about 6 weeks already. Still no answers, and a lot of worry and anxiety ahead. God is in control and I pray that He helps to relieve some of this stress we're both feeling. I know I'm more calm, but that's because I know I can't change it or make it better. But for my mom she's just not doing very well.

Halloween FUN

2010-11-04T19:05:00.002-04:00

Just a cute pic of Eden and Covie taking their evening bath with Frank the tank supervising. Just loved this pic so I wanted to post it. This is Ashley and Travis's new dog. He's an english bull dog and he loves Eden to death. He takes naps with her and follows her wherever she goes.

Aaron and Kelly as Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head. Evan Joseph was Buzz Light Year. But he really hated trick or treating. All the people at church scared him. So he had a great time sitting in Aaron and Kelly's SUV playing with all the toy story toys. Kings Avenue did a Trunk or treat this year and Aaron and Kelly's trunk one. They had it all snazzed out with cool Toy story stuff and Aaron made them guess the name of a Toy Story toy to be able to get candy. They even had a song from Toy story playing in the whole time.

Ashley and Travis host a Halloween party every year and this year they were Dougs' alter ego, Quail man and Pippie Longstocking.

My 3 children. Mr. Potato Head, Pippi Longstocking and of course Woverine.

Dean and I did the Life of Moses for our trunk or treat theme. We had the parting of the Red Sea, as you can see. We had Moses as a baby with bull rushes and I was Pharoh's daughter. On the other side of the truck was a burning bush and Dean with the ten commandments written on tomb stones. Dean had the kids say what number commandment he asked them. It was really a fun time. Fran Rice and Lisa Jarboe did a great job setting it all up. Way to go Ladies!!!

Biopsy News

2010-10-29T12:00:00.003-04:00

We got the news yesterday that mama definitely has bi-lateral ductal breast cancer. The recommendation is to do a bi-lateral masectomy. But first she has to go to see her cardiac specialist, her pulmonist, a radiation doctor, an oncologist, and she has to have a PET/CT scan from her brain to her thighs to see if it's matestisezed outside of the breast in any other organs. Once all that is done than we go back in two weeks to see the surgeon again to set up the surgery. She is petrified and having major anxiety attacks at night. She hasn't been sleeping well at all. Last night she told me she doesn't think she is going to go through with the surgery. I asked her why but she doesn't really have a reason. I told her not to decide anything until we have the final session with the doctor. She may not even be a good candidate for surgery due to all of her other health issues. So if you think of it next week pray for us. She has doctors appointments scheduled Monday-Wed. so far next week. It's very hard for her to be moved around. And say a prayer for me for patience and understanding. That I would have the right words to say and the shoulder to lean on.

Randomness

2010-10-23T17:12:00.002-04:00

Cove is going to be an Indian for Halloween. We were just checking to see if his headband would fit his head. He was very happy with the tomahawk that papa bought him.

And Eden is going to be a cowgirl in her silver cowboy boots and hat. : ) Dean says she looks like a young Dolly Parton in that outfit. LOL Let's hope she doesn't get that chest!

The boys were hanging out at Ashley's the other day. Evan of course has on his Penn State Jersey. They are growing up all too fast for my liking. I'm sure they were having a good time with Ashley's new dog "Frank the tank". They bought a English bulldog. And he's adorable.

There's Covie picking out pumpkins at the Presbyterian Church on Bloomingdale. He was having a great time.

And there is the lone princess of the family. I love this picture of her. What a sweetie pie. She's gotten into a shy mode. It makes me giggle because if you really knew Eden you would definitely say she's not shy.

Life with Grandchildren

2010-10-14T11:58:00.003-04:00

I had to vacuum and mop the floors so I stuck all the chairs in Dean's office and this is what I came out to find. Eden had made a train. She put a stuffed animal or doll on each chair and then she climbed up on Deans desk and got a post it note for each one and said it was their ticket. She even put on a hat so that she'd look like the engineer.

We spent a week reading stories about apples and so we decided to make some applesauce. Eden put a lot of cinnamon in her batch, and it tasted more like apple butter. Yummy.

Here's the apple tree that my princess made using an apple and some paint. She hated getting paint on her hands. She is such a girl.

This is Eden singing the "Johnny Appleseed"Song. She made a Johnny Appleseed and then she looked at me and said "But Gram, he needs some trees to walk in." So I went out to the Dinosaur bucket and grabbed some trees for Johnny.

Eden playing with Johnny Appleseed. : )

Papa came home and that means picnic outside on the patio. She brought out her tea set,and they ate peanut butter sandwiches and BBQ chips. Of course we can't go outside in Florida without our hats.

Covie is going to be an Indian for Halloween. So Papa had to go out and buy him a Tomahawk. He's not in his costume, we just wanted to see if the headband would fit him and if he'd leave it on. He did and it will. He's growing up way too fast. He talks up a storm and what a little lover he is. He loves to read a Noah's Ark book. He follows me all over the house saying "Book, book." He refuses to let any of us feed him. He goes to sleep without any problems. Just lay him down and he's out. He runs all over the house and his favorite thing to do is go out and play in the sandbox with Papa. He loves to sing and dance and he loves to watch the Mickey Mouse club house and do the Hot Dog dance. : )

Eden is going to be a Cowgirl. So yep, you got it. We're doing Cowgirls and Indians. : ) Can't get much cuter than that. And of course with her silver cowboy hat and boots that Uma got her for her birthday. She's set. She even has a horse she's going to take with her. LOL

Our Pookie Pie is just getting too big for words.

And Evan Joseph is talking, and walking, and climbing all over the place. He's such a little cutie pie. His gram loves him so stinking much. Every day I see him I can't believe how much he looks like his daddy. Up to the crooked smile. He too loves to play outside. It's where he most wants to be. And Kelly is expecting her second baby. Sonogram said only one. And our due date is May 18. Can't wait!! We're going to have 5 grandchildren. What a blessing it is.

Surgeon Visit

2010-10-07T14:45:00.002-04:00

Today we had our first visit with the breast surgeon that my mom's doctor sent her to. Our appointment was at 9:15 and we literally didn't get called into the office until 10:30 and then we waited until 11:00 to see the doctor. They had the air-conditioning on so low that mom's fingers were blue. So then they ask if she can climb up on one of those little tables with a step stool. Hello? She is a 360 lb lady that can't even walk. Are you seriously kidding me? So they took her back to another room way in the back and we waited until he came in. Dr. Hechtman came in and had a great personality. Mom liked him immediately. He joked with her, looked at the ultrasound pics and then walked out and waited for mom to undress on the top. He did the sonogram on the left breast first. He says that bi-lateral is a rare occurance, but it does happen. So he felt the limph nodes and saw the mass. He said the left side Looks suspicious of abnormality. Then he looked at her right breast. Without sonogram, he saw that there was dimpling of her skin on the underside of her breast. He said that is a definite sign of breast cancer. He did the sonogram and said yes for cancer of the right breast. The outer edges are ridged and there are definite signs there. So we are waiting for the office to call and let us know when they have her scheduled for core biopsies. They will do those at Brandon Hospital since she has so many other health issues. He doesn't want to take a chance with her. That makes her a little more at ease because her favorite Hospital Doctor will be there so she will know she's being taken care of. She's scared. I'm scared but trying to be strong for her. There's a lot of reading to do, a lot of waiting to be done and still no definite answers to be had. So hard to wait.

Lord, we believe and pray together. Hebrews 11:1-3
Help us be women of faith, trusting Your divine providence, moving foward even when we don't have all the answers, remembering that You do. Impossible on our own, but with You as our strength and guide, we will flourish. Thank you for the example of Your Son Jesus Christ, who did not ask why but only that Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. This is our plea... this is our prayer. We are trusting You more and more every day. AMEN!!

Life

2010-10-03T06:27:00.002-04:00

Well, this has been an eventful week. I feel like I've been rocked a little.
Ashley and Travis are having some issues concerning their son Jullian and we just need some prayer for God's protection and wisdom. They are seeking full custody of him and it's going to be a long hard fight. We will all need to be there for Jullian. Travis is an amazing dad. And I know his heart is just torn apart right now, praying he's doing the right thing.
And then we got the news that my mom's mamogram came back abnormal with bi-lateral masses. So we go to see the surgeon on Thursday this week. She is so afraid and has already asked me if she is going to die. I told her that we all die at some point and that it's just important to know where your relationship with God is. That we would go through this together, step by step and whatever we got we'd handle it with God's mercy and grace.

Stress, not my favorite thing to have going on in my life, but I know without a doubt that God is in control of my life and He doesn't give me more than He knows I can handle. God's word says "Have no fear of sudden disaster...For I will be at your side" Paraphrased Proverbs 3:25-26. So for now I know God is at my side and I'm not to be afraid.
Looks like I'll have a lot of blogs coming. For now, this will be the first of our long journey.

Playing with Papa

2010-08-27T16:00:00.004-04:00

Eden's first time using her slip and slide at Grandma's house. She loved it!

Dean always wears a hat when he goes outside with the babies. So we have bought a new hat at the zoo for Covie. And he loves it. He pats his head and say's "Hat". He likes to wear his hat because he knows he's going to get to go outside.

"Hat" and the sweet little man has finally gotten teeth # 3 & 4. What a cutie pie.He's such a cuddly little guy. He likes to climb up in your lap and read books. And he's always giving kisses. "Muah". And this week his favorite word is "no.....ah" Actually, it's No, but that's how he says it. Cove would you like a sandwhich..."no....ah", Cove would you like a kiss..."no...ah" I don't think he knows what it means but boy does he say it.

Yep, good ol' fashioned Lincoln Logs for the kids.

Ahhhh... playing with Papa. He's making a house for Eden.

Building is a fun thing when Papa is doing all the work. Eden had to have a river for her bridge so I found some blue construction paper and made a river for her.

They love to have their papa time.

Evan's 1st Birthday!

2010-07-26T20:57:00.003-04:00

Thanks Karey for taking such wonderful pictures for me!!

Papa throwing Eden into the pool to her daddy. I was told she had a great time and kept asking to do it again. Glad I missed it.

There's the birthday boy. Such a sweetie pie. And he loves the water, I think he's part fish.

Aaron, Evan and Dean. 3 generations of LaFollette men.

His CARS birthday cake.

Uncle Adam enjoying the festivities after a long day at work.

Aunt Ashley making faces at Evan. : )

My beautiful Daughter-in-law Kelly.

Eden loves her Eban. She is always so sweet to him. She gets excited when she gets to see him

Papa teaching Evan how to say he's 1

Aaron and his mini me Evan. Jullian is peeking in.

I love this picture

He wasn't really sure what to do with the cake.

I love the look he's giving his daddy. Just too funny.

Random Grandchildren pics

2010-07-26T12:30:00.006-04:00

Jullian wanted to have his pic taken with Uncle Adam.

Eden playing on her slipn' slide for the first time.

Eden and Layton looking at the animals at the zoo.

Jullian is a stud in Uncle Adams shades. : )

Eden and the manatees at the zoo. Doesn't it look like she's getting a kiss?

Evan Joseph having fun at the zoo. They have a childrens section where water shoots up out of the ground. He was having a blast.

"Hey kid, get off the water!" My one year old grandson shoving another kid off the water spouts. I was dying. He'll be a linebacker no problem.

Eden driving the engine of the train at the zoo.

My sweet Eden driving the train.

There's our 4 grandchildren.

Layton saying "Mi mou" Mickey Mouse. He was so excited when he saw Mickey in the parade at Animal Kingdom. He didn't care how hot he was. He was just clapping and waving. So excited.

Papa and Layton at Animal Kingdom.

Eden making faces at her grandma. I don't know where she gets it from.

We got to see Balloo and King Louie. Eden loves to watch Jungle Book.

Eden in her bug glasses. LOL She loved it until the spiders came down at her and it got pitch dark.

This was so funny. Kelly held both boys while they had their bottles. But the boys were busy foot fighting. Evan would push Laytons foot and then Layton would put his on top of Evan's. I was laughing so hard. Too sweet.

Evan opening birthday presents from Uma. He wouldn't let his daddy touch his presents. I could but if his daddy even got close to it he would get yelled at by Evan.

Uncle Adam reading "That's not my Dinosaur" to Layton. Layton likes to make Dinosaur noises. It's great.

Evan's first Shiner

2010-07-02T19:32:00.001-04:00

Yep, that's my baby boy with his first black eye. Little Evan Joseph was at the pool with his mama and slipped and hit his eye on the edge of the step in the pool. Poor baby man. He cried for 30 seconds before he wanted to get down and swim some more. Kelly on the other hand was very traumatized by the whole thing. I told her this is just the first of many owies to come. Wait until the stitches start. She didn't like that comment. LOL

Friends from Utah

2010-07-02T12:27:00.002-04:00

The Henderson Family came to Florida for a vacation and made it up to Orlando and sent me a text to see if we were able to come over and see them. So Wednesday night we drove out to see the family and do some catching up. Dean hasn't seen these guys since we left Utah 10 years ago. I used to teach Wesley and Melanie in the pre-school class years ago. What fun it was to do some catching up. They look the same!! Glad to get to see family friends. We love you guys!

Green Eggs and Ham

2010-07-02T12:22:00.003-04:00

We've been blessed with getting to have Jullian with us all summer!! I guess Ashley asked him if he wanted breakfast before coming over to our house and his reply was No way Gram makes breakfast for us! And when he gets here he asks what's on the menu. So I made Green Eggs and Ham. His fav is the Sunny D.

Covey loves to wear his food, but he does like eggs and hashbrowns.

Eden however almost refused to eat it because it was green. I had to coax her to try one bite. And then she ate a ton after that. How funny. It's the same food, but because it's green it's a little repulsive. Just goes to show you Sam I am was right.

Happy 3rd Birthday Pookie!

2010-06-22T09:50:00.004-04:00

My little princess almost didn't make it. They couldn't get her to breath and she wouldn't pink up. I called Dean who was on the road with Adam moving my mothers things here from Utah to Pray! I stood watch at the nursery window while Travis stayed with Ashley. When we didn't come back for an hour Ashley started panicking. I finally was able to get over there once they gave the thumbs up and tell my baby that her baby girl was going to be alright and that she would be in as soon as they got her wrapped up. Our little Eden Rae is truly a blessing from God.

Her first day home. What an angel. I hope I never miss a day in the life of this angel. She is my blonde haired, blue eyed sweetie pie. And she is my biggest cheerleader.

Papa and his Pookie Pie. You know...."Papa Loves Pookie Pies!" That's what he's told her since she was born and she counts on him to tell her that. They have a very special relationship that I know Dean cherishes.

Eden's 1st birthday. She had a Balloon that was bigger than her and she kept telling Dora to stay down. I think that was the highlight of the day.

I'm this many Gram!! My 2 year old princess's birthday. What a sweetie she was at 2....

And today, I'm 3 Gram. Yesterday I put her in a dress. And about 10 minutes later she came running into the kitchen to tell me " Look Gram, my dress has pockets." I told her it was because she was 3 and big girls get pockets on their dresses. So she wanted to run in and tell Oma (My Mom) , " Oma, my dress has 3 yr old pockets. Isn't it wonderful!"

Yes Eden it's wonderful and the great things that you do are wonderful too. Papa and I just laugh at some of the wonderful things that come out of your mouth. You love to have dance parties. You love to read books with us. You love to draw pictures and yesterday you used your very first pair of scissors. You love to play with Papa on the swingset. You LOVE dinosaurs. You are a very picky eater these days. And you fill your Grandma and Papa's hearts with tons of love and joy everyday. We miss you when you're gone over the weekends. Grandpa hurries home so that he can have Pookie time. You are a pure joy and we're blessed that God gave you to us. Keep growing princess, we love you.

Our Anniversary Present

2010-06-22T08:28:00.006-04:00

Layton Cove's one year pic

Evan Joseph will be one on July 8th. Such a sweetie pie

Here are the best buddies together for a one year old pic. Very hard to get them to take a picture together. But oh so much fun.

Are they not just so sweet?

The Jennings Grandchildren. Eden Rae, Layton Cove and Jullian Scott. I can't believe how big they're getting.

Ashley's beautiful family.

Aaron and his mini me. I love it. Reminds me of when Aaron was that size.

My beautiful daughter-in-law Kelly and Evan Joseph.

Aaron and his family.

Adam and his family. LOL I should post his graduation certificate for his family pic.

This is our anniversary gift. We are getting an update wall portrait for our living room with all our children and grandchildren. What a wonderful gift.

Grandma and Papa and their beautiful Grandchildren. Jullian Scott 9 yrs., Eden Rae 3 yrs., Evan Joseph almost 1, Layton cove 1 yr. Truly our pride and joy!

Family Pics

2010-06-21T14:40:00.003-04:00

We've gotten really blessed this summer. Jullians mom is letting him spend all summer with Travis and Ashley. So I get to have my boy with me all week. He is growing up to be such a special young man. He helps with Cove and Eden, he offers to help make breakfast or lunch. This morning he even told me to sit down and he'd make Uma's breakfast. (That's my mom). He wanted a snuggle pic with Cove so I hurried and grabbed the camera.

Happy Father's day daddy!! Dean and his princess Doodle. Ashley tried to tell Eden that Dean was her daddy but Eden yelled and got defensive saying " no he's not! He's MY PAPA!"

We bought a new teeter totter for Eden's birthday. It has 3 places to sit and she and Cove loved it.

Evan however wasn't quite as sure.

Evan loves to splash and get wet. He's almost 1 .

Ahhhh... the cousins and best buds together.

Here's a new pic of Papa and his boys. Can't believe how quick they're growing!

Dean and his mini me Layton!

Brother Chuck and Adam during Grad Sunday. Adam was such a good sport with Chuck razzin' him.

Ok, seriously this was a piece of corn we husked the other day. Just added this in for the heck of it.

Here's the Graduate!

2010-05-23T13:27:00.004-04:00

Adam, John and Chris his roommates and best friends the last 4 years.

See.... I finally got a degree! Yes, college is done.

Dude, can you belive we finally graduated? This is my favorite pic because they didn't know I took it and it's just a natural pic of the boys.

Mom, Adam and dad. It was a freezing cold day and the ceremonies were held outside starting at 10:30 am. So needless to say we were all freezing, but it was well worth the cold to watch Adam cross that stage and get his degree.

Chris and Adam getting ready to put on their cap and gowns. They were just horsin' around as usual. Gonna miss those guys.

Happy Birthday Layton Cove!!

2010-05-04T08:27:00.003-04:00

On May 8th, 2009 we welcomed Layton Cove Jennings into our world. Such a precious little boy.

Grandma and mom were very proud of our new little man. He was so long and skinny. He had vertually no meat on his little bones. We looked and looked at him trying to decide who he looked like and then it dawned on us.... He looks like his Papa Dean.

This little man is full of life. He smiles at everything and is so good natured. His eyes dance with mischief. And what beautiful blue eyes he has. He has grown up so fast over this past year. He scared us in January with having to go to the hospital and stay for a week. We're so glad that God decided to spare his little life because we wouldn't know what to do without this little man. He sleeps through the night. We lay him down and he just goes to sleep by himself. When he wakes up he just lays there and plays until someone comes to get him. He loves to rock on the horse. He loves to read books. He's learning to growl like a lion. He loves to be wherever Eden is which sometimes isn't a good thing. He loves to give kisses and he loves to be hugged. I call him bub and I sing a song about " Bub a dub dub" and he sings Bub. He loves any kind of music and when he hears it he starts to bounce and dance. It's so sweet. But by far his favorite thing to do is go riding in the wagon. As soon as we open the patio he's at the wagon. If I stop to water flowers while he's in the wagon, he pushes the handle into you so that you will go. He refuses to sit down while we walk. (The little stinky man!) We thank God for our little Layton Cove or better know as Covey.

So happy first birthday Bub!! Grandma loves you!

My Baby is Graduating College

2010-05-03T11:50:00.002-04:00

Yep, that's Adam in the middle with the glasses. He was in Kindergarten. My blonde haired baby boy has gone and grown up on me. On Saturday he'll be graduating from Earlham College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business and Non-Profit administration. Don't know what he'll do after Saturday, but I know he has a heart for sharing the gospel, he has a Canadian Football League Combine in Atlanta on June 6th and he's got resumes out and he's got an appointment with a man from Campus Crusade for Christ, Atheletes In Action. I know God has big plans for him. I just can't believe it's gone by so quickly. We are very proud of you ADAM!!

Adam Jacob and his sister when he was 4 years old.

7th grade down by Alligator Alley.

His highschool Graduation from Riverview High.

Getting ready for the senior prom. What a handsome young man. I'll post Grad pics when we get home.

Ahhh... pics of grandkids

2010-04-26T09:20:00.002-04:00

What started out as a great idea for Ashley for Mother's Day turned into a strange experience from the "Twilight Zone". I got the kids ready for pictures, called Kelly to meet us there so I could get a couple shots of the boys together. Eden was excited and thrilled to take pictures with Covey Wovey. We had to wait about 20 minutes longer than our scheduled appointment but Eden was holding out fine. She was excited because cousin Evan was there. So the lady takes us into the studio and starts to pull down and arrange the back drop and all of a sudden Eden had the melt down of a lifetime. "I don't want to take pictures. I want to go home." Eden we're doing this for mama. " NO!" Big crocadile tears. "Eden let's do it as a surprise for Papa." "NO!" So we took pictures with all three of them first, then with Eden and Layton. The photographer was alone and not very good with kids and kept having to leave the room to help other people. I went over to sit with the boys to try and keep them happy since it was nap time. So I was bouncing them on my lap and Eden came running over and through her arms around my neck and the photographer came in and took 4 shots. LOL I was in my capris, no make-up, sunglasses on top of my head. LOL No intention of taking my picture. Lord have mercy. I'm seriously getting too old for this stuff.

Here are my two stinky little men. Layton 11 1/2 months and Evan 9 1/2 months. What sweet little boys. I'm a very lucky grandma.

Eden and Layton. I love this picture.

My poor princess having a bad day.

Happy 11 & 9 month Birthday

2010-04-08T11:51:00.002-04:00

Today, April 8, 2010, Layton Cove is 11 months and Evan Joseph is 9 months. Hard to believe they are approaching a year old. And Eden will be 3 at the end of June. Time sure does go by quick.

That's my niece Chloe playing with the boys. I used to watch her when she was their age. Now she is 16 and learning to drive. She's talking about colleges and her senior year next year. I feel so old.

Layton is a little shyer about standing up. He likes to stand but he is a little more timid when it comes to letting go. Evan however has no problem with standing up and letting go. He can stand for about 5 seconds at a time. It's so much fun to hear these two talk to each other. Oh if we could only understand baby talk. We were laughing so hard on Easter because both boys were playing with our play door and they both wanted to go through it at the same time to get Travis. The got stuck. We were laughing so hard. Layton has a great arm for throwing the ball. He will take a ball and throw it completely across the living room. Evan wants to know how everything works. He's very inquisitive. Layton only has his 2 bottom teeth and Evan has his two bottom teeth and his two top ones are ready to come through any minute. Layton loves music and and loves to dance. I haven't seen Evan dance but he might like to. Evan loves to play in the refrigerator. If he hears it opening he's right there to help and see what he can eat. LOL So much fun. I love being their grandma. Can't wait to see what next year brings us.

Getting Ready for Easter

2010-04-08T11:23:00.003-04:00

Jullian driving Eden's with Layton to the swingset.

Jullian being a GREAT big brother to Layton

Jullian was off of school for Easter break so he came and spent Friday with us. He was so wonderful to have. He was a big help with Eden and Cove. He played so sweetly with them both. He always asks why he can't come to Grandma's house to play. He tells his daddy that "Eden and Layton get to go everyday." LOL I love the fact he likes to come play with us.

Just thought I'd try and snap a picture of all 3 of Ashley's children together but Cove wouldn't turn his head towards the camera.

Our finished products. Of course the blue and yellow M is so unacceptable. That team logo isn't allowed in our house. I did it to get Aaron who is a die hard Penn State fan. As soon as he saw it, he threw it in the garbage. LOL

Dean of course had to have an Oregon egg. He liked it.

Jullian and Layton coloring thier eggs.

Eden's egg with her name. It had to be pink. Which made us laugh because she says her favorite color is blue.

Eden waiting patiently for her egg to dye.

We had a great time dying eggs and playing with Jullian, Eden, and Covie Wovie. We bought Apples to Apples Jr. and my niece Chloe and I played with him. He loved playing. We must have played 6-7 times. I have a magnet that I bought years ago on my refrigerator of peanut M&M's, and everytime Eden see's it she says I really like those Gram. So I bought a bag of plain M&M's and put 1/2 the bag in a bowl on the coffee table. Eden laid down for her nap and when she woke up I was fixing lunch. I looked at the table and Eden was carrying the bowl of M&M's and saying I really like these Gram. Later in the day I caught her reaching up on the counter sneaking 2 or 3 M&M's out of the bag. I guess that means she REALLY likes those. : ) What a little girl. They are just growing up way too fast.

Spring Break

2010-03-26T11:02:00.005-04:00

Uncle Adam came home with his friends for Spring Break. Layton was glad to hang out with the boys. Wherever they were, so was Layton. I thank the boys for being so sweet with him and Eden. They played with them both while they were getting ready for whatever the day held for them. Adam has the Best friends ever. I hope Chris and John both know they are always welcome at our home. And I hope that they stay friends forever. Nice boys from nice families. It's sad to see it coming to an end. But the future is bright for all of them.

The boys found the Bucky Bear costume out in our garage and decided to take a picture so they could use it as their facebook pics.

3 Men and a Baby. John Metcalf, Adam, Layton Cove, and Chris Shaw. They were getting ready to say their final goodbye's. I had to sneak one picture of all of them.

Layton saying good-bye.

Eden saying good-bye to her friend. She loves her Uncle Adam. She was so excited to be able to see him for a couple of days. See you soon Uncle Adam. I miss you!!

Adam and the boys left our house and went up to Panama City Beach. They met some other friends that had gotten a condo. They wanted to have their big Senior Hurrah up there. While there Adam got to talking with some people from Campus Crusade for Christ and he has decided that he will be going to seminary after he graduates so that he can become a Pastor. Who knew that a trip up to Panama to party would result in the Lord calling Adam into ministry. What a praise. Dean has been praying for Adam and this calling for the last 22 years. It will be awesome to watch it come into fruitation. We love Adam and we know that when you hear the Lord's calling that Satan will be there to attack your heart and your willpower. We pray that God will put a hedge of protection around Adam as he seeks God's heart.

We have 1 more month until my son is a college graduate. Thanks to everyone that has kept him in their prayers and thoughts.

Epcot

2010-03-16T16:42:00.002-04:00

Dean and mom posing for pictures. It was the annual flower and garden show at Epcot and they had topiaries of all the Disney characters. So wonderful and fun to see. It was mama's first time going. So she had a great time visiting all the lands and seeing Disney World. Next time we'll go to Animal Kingdom.

Bambi, Thumper and Flower topiaries.

Me and my mama. Pumba in the background. So pretty.

Posing in front of the Epcot ball.

Our Rock Star

2010-02-26T15:22:00.002-05:00

Here's Layton with his baby mohawk.

Layton Cove playing the drum and sportin' his new do'.

Poor kid. He's getting all four teeth at the same time, so he's droolin' all over, but I wanted to snap a pic of him and his mohawk. What a cutie pie. He say's "Hi" and he rubs his fingers together. That's his wave. I just love it. He doesn't want to eat baby food. He want's to chew on the crusts of bread or baby teething things. He blows when the spoon gets close to his mouth when he is finished eating. He growls at you too. He is just a sweet little guy.

Fun with the grandkids.

2010-02-26T15:11:00.002-05:00

That's my princess swinging with her daddy. She loves to be outside. She's just learning to swing on the big swing. She has a tough time letting Evan and Layton play in the other swing.

Evan absolutely loves to swing. He just has a ball.

Layton Cove loves to swing too. He's my smilely happy boy.

Evan Joseph with his mama Kelly. What a pair. He was leaning over to try and get his granny.

There's the boys. Riding in the wagon for the very first time. Layton was having a ball, Evan wasn't too sure he was thrilled about this new adventure. I'm so glad they are going to grow up together. They have a lot of fun trying to do what the other one is doing. I love these little guys.

Aaron's 26

2010-02-26T15:04:00.002-05:00

Aaron and his two helpers blowing out his 26 candles.

Aaron being sung to for his 26th Birthday!!

Yep, this is my oldest child when he was a year old. Aaron just celebrated his 26th birthday. We had the family over and we ate fajita's and birthday cake. I can't believe that my little boy is OLD!! Because I just stay the same. Ok maybe fatter, but I don't feel old and I sure don't act old, so.... I must not be old. Happy Birthday Aaron!! I pray God richly blesses your year!!

Life

2010-02-06T13:24:00.003-05:00

My beautiful Eden Rae. She's growing up so fast. She's jealous of Layton but other times she loves him so much. It's hard to make sure you're giving equal amounts of love to both of them. And where ever Eden is that is exactly where Layton wants to be. We're struggling with the potty training. She just isn't interested. I'm trying to remember what it is that we did with our kids, but let me tell you she doesn't want to use it unless she's already gone poopie in her big girl panties. Ugh.... I swore I'd never potty train again. Poor baby girl had pink eye this week. I felt so bad for her when her eyes looked all swollen and sore. And you'd think we were pulling out finger nails trying to get the drops in her eyes. I don't think she believed me when I told her I wasn't going to hurt her. Poor kid.

Layton is almost 9 months old. He is crawling all over and he wants to be standing up more that he wants to crawl. I don't think it will be long before he's walking. He wants to be just like his big sister. He loves to grab things and then throw them. And if it's something you don't want him to have... it's the first thing he'll go for. He wants to rip my glasses off my face all the time and poor grandma loses her oxygen hose as soon as he gets up to her. He's finally starting to put on some weight although he's still thin. At his last appointment he was 29" and 20 lbs. No teeth and no lumps that we can see either. But man is he drooling all over. Eden loved to be held and cuddled. Layton just wants to grab, throw, crawl. He is a ball of energy and ALL BOY.

This is a rare occasion picture of Eden loving on "Cove". I had to snap the picture quick because she wanted to go play without him.

Dean went to Denver for a company meeting. And then he was flying out to Oregon to see his parents. The kids and I dropped Dean off at the airport. As I was getting back on the freeway, Eden says " Go get Papa, I can't see him." So yesterday I gave her a bath and when I was letting the plug out, she said "Papa will be here any minute." Because Dean usually is coming home about the time I'm giving her a bath. So Friday, I made this sign and took this picture to send to Papa, she was not happy when Papa said he wouldn't see her this week. Her little lip stuck out. The Pookie Pie misses her Papa.

This is a rare pic of me with the kids. Usually I'm the one with the camera. But Dean snuck and took this one. Love my babies. Glad to have them back in my arms. Eden is asking for her bible story at breakfast and she makes me pray with her before her nap. I love the fact that she knows the routine and is happy following it.

I struggle with finding anytime for myself during the week. I get up at 6 and then I'm running non stop until 6pm when I just want to fade into nothing. My brain is fried and I just want peace and quiet. Dean had a chance to have both kids the other day for 3 hours while I took my mom to the doctor and when I got home, he was more than happy to lock himself up in the office. He said "Bless you, I don't know how you do it." I told him he only had the kids. I have to deal with my mother on top of the two kids. Life seems overwhelming at times, but I have to tell you God is certainly the one giving me the strength. Because left up to me I'd be a basket case by now.

Kyle the Turtle

2010-01-30T18:46:00.002-05:00

This is "Kyle" Eden's turtle that has made his home our backyard.

Eden checking out Kyle from a safe distance after Granpa told her that she couldn't hug him because turtles bite. So as you can see Eden is now afraid of Kyle. LOL Poor baby girl.

Eden and Papa playing in the sandbox while watching what Kyle is doing. Papa is very happy to have his playmate back. They made lots of sandcastles and had to save Sleeping Beauty.

Papa and Eden making pretty sidewalk chalk pictures on my patio. Papa was drawing a picture of Eden. She got up too quick, but I was trying to get a picture of her while she was on her tummy, chin on her hands watching papa. It was the sweetest thing ever. So happy to have her back home. : )

She likes to pose just like her mama does. She even says " Cheese Please". Too sweet.

Precious Gifts from God!

2010-01-24T17:33:00.002-05:00

Little Layton Cove two days after leaving the hospital got to come and play at Grandpa and Grams' house. We tuckered him out.

Eden Rae loving on her Uma. She loves playing with my mom.

This was the only picture I could get of the little one. She wouldn't hold still. : )

There's my happy boy. Praising God for getting to see that sweet smile. After his time in the hospital I was wondering if we'd get to see it again.

Got my baby back in my arms where he belongs and with no tubes!! So thankful for all of your thoughts and prayers. God is such a gracious Father. So thankful that Layton is feeling better and getting stronger every day.

Evan's First Swing Ride

2010-01-24T17:28:00.002-05:00

6 month old Evan Joseph having fun in the swing. He was smilin' and laughing. He loved it.

Aaron and his little man. Evan loved the swing.

He looks just like his daddy did 25 years ago.

That's our little "Booba" He is such a sweet little guy.

Right now everything is cause for putting in the mouth and drooling on. Too fun.

Update Layton

2010-01-10T14:45:00.003-05:00

Praise God our little Layton was able to go home yesterday around 12:00 pm. They figured out that he had "campylobacter". The cause is from poultry/farm animals. The only thing we can come up with is that Ashley and Travis left the kids with his parents while they had a night out and Travis's mother has chickens as pets. The most we can come up with is that someone went to feed the chickens and stepped in some chicken feces and wore those shoes in the house. Well now that Layton is crawiling all over we guess he probably contacted it there. The Health Department called and talked with Ashley to ask her about 200 questions so that they could figure out if it was from a grocery store, zoo etc... They wanted to know if they were going to have take chicken off Walmart etc... They took him off of everything for 24 hours and let me tell you that was miserable to watch. He kept going from person to person hoping that one of us would give him something to eat. But by not putting anything in the intestine it gave it time to flush it out and for him to heal. We started giving him small doses of watered down formula on Friday and he was looking at us like I want more than that. He'd cry every time the bottle got empty. He is home, happy and playing with his family. Ashley says he's waking up more than normal but that he's just powering through his bottles.
Ashley is still feeling poorly. She started getting the same symptons on Thursday afternoon. By 5:00 am on Friday I had to go get nurses from the nurses station to take her down the ER to get some help. She was there for a few hours and then was able to come back to the room and rest. They have given her perscriptions for the stomach cramps and the diarreah. I'm hoping she'll be better in a couple days.
Layton had a two blood tests come back abnormal so they are re-running the tests and will talk to Ashley at Laytons follow-up the week. Please continue to pray for our little man. We don't know what's up with these results. We're hoping the levels were high because of the viris he had, but we don't know.
Thank you all for you love and support to all of us during this terribly hard time. We are so greatful to have friends and family to pray for us and hold us up. We appreciate you being God's hands and feet.

Poor Layton!!

2010-01-06T09:13:00.002-05:00

Pray for our little Layton Cove Jennings. Ashley little boy has been sick for a while but over the last week he started bleeding in his diapers. She took him to her pediatrician 3 times and they said everything was fine that she was over-reacting. So yesterday morning she called around until she could fine a pediatric GI specialist and was able to get him in to see them at 1:00 pm. They have admitted Layton to St. Joseph's pediatric hospital and he is currently in quarantine until they can figure out what is wrong with him. This doctor is going to be calling the pediatricians office to let them know that they mishandled the case. Blood in any diaper needs to be taken very seriously. They are running tests on his stools, blood work, x-rays, ultrasounds etc... to try and figure out what is going on with him. He is in a lot of discomfort. Please lift Travis and Ashley up in prayer and of course our little Layton Cove. He's only 8 months and we don't want to lose him. We know God is the ultimate physcian and He can do all things. So join us as we ask God to take care of Layton.

Capital One Bowl

2010-01-06T08:54:00.006-05:00

Here we are at the Capital One Bowl Game. Aaron bought tickets for my Christmas present. So excited.

Aaron wearing short sleeved jersey and shorts. Uhhh... didn't he hear the weather report? Rain all day until 7:00 pm. hmmmm....

Yeah, that's the rain, coming down in buckets. And here come the teams with their police escorts.

Police escorts bringing in the teams.

The Penn State Blue band.

The helmets where the teams will come out. Great seats Aaron!!!

There's JoPa!! Leading his team out unto the soggy, muddy field.

Touch Down Penn State!!!

There's the Italian side of Joe Paterno. He was so mad about the placement of the ball. We lost 2 yards on that call. He was a yelling at that ref.

Aaron enjoying the game but freezing none the less.

Half time. The blue band playing to our side of the field while the grounds crew work behind them replacing the divots made by the cleats. Notice the guys with the big buckets. They would come and push in the sod. Too funny.

Getting ready for the team to come back out after half-time. The Penn State Cheerleaders and Nitany Lion.

Soaked to the bone and the wind was gusting. So cold. But man was it a great game. I had no voice for two days afterwards. : )

WE ARE......... PENN STATE!!!

FIELD GOAL!!! Can you find the ball going throught the goal posts?

The fans were on their feet for the last march down the field. We were cheering and screaming. Let me tell you it was a nail biter.

WE WIN!!!! Penn State Beat LSU 19-17. So happy!!!

The Penn State crew!!! We Are.... Penn State Fans!!! Thanks Aaron for a great game.

Getting the MVP trophey. So cool.

Jo Paterno's 26th bowl game win. Not bad for a guy who's been coaching for 44 years. He turned 83 a week earlier. What a legacy to have. He's a guy with a lot of class.

December Happenings

2010-01-03T19:42:00.006-05:00

Eden Rae opening her first gift. She shook it and said "There's nothing in this one."

Jullian Scott, Eden Rae and Papa getting ready to open more gifts.

Evan Joseph waiting for everyone to get to our house so that we could open gifts. He loves his Uncle Adam

Uncle Adam and Evan Joseph. What handsome boys.

Anna Council, Teresa and Paul Strickland, Sheila Cannon in the dark, Claude Cannon at the end of the table, Fred and Valerie Nassar, and of course us. Pic was taken by James Council.

There's James. Had to get a picture of James and Anna!! We were so glad we could all come and fellowship together.

Who is that pretty "Pookie Pie?" We sure do love her and miss her tons. Ash bought her these foot pajama's and she loves them. She doesn't like to take them off.

There is my happy smilin' grandson. Layton Cove 7 months old. He is such a lover.

Eden and her Ma'am. I miss her more than anyone knows. I miss our breakfast time, our reading times, our bath times etc... She was my little friend.

One last hug before she had to go. Gram loves her girlie.

Notice his orange face. He had just eaten a whole jar of sweet potatoes. He loved them.

Papa and his Pookie playing Princesses. Dean misses his afternoon playtime with his girl. This has been so painful. Hoping and praying our hearts will be mended this year.

Brother Chuck baptizing our Kelly. I cried of course. It was so meaningful to be able to see it. We all cheered and clapped and scared poor Evan, but he'll understand one day.

yes, that is me with tree limbs stuffed in my shirt. I was a Partridge in the pear tree, so I put on the tree, flapped my wings and cawed, cawed. I guess I should have cooed, but whatever. Everyone loved it.

Well, we were blessed to see our daughter in-law Kelly baptized at Kings Avenue but... out pictures really didn't turn out. Karey Erickson took a couple up in the baptismal so I'm hoping to get a copy of them from her. Kelly was supported by her family and her small group family. We were all so excited to be a part of this wonderful event in Kelly's life.

Adam was awarded MVP of his football team and he received the Captains cup. Both prestigious awards for him. He also received a letter inviting him to a football combine in June in Atalanta GA. He plans on attending and doing his best. We don't know what God has planned for Adam but this is a dream of his so we're very excited.

I went to the ladies Christmas party at Kings Avenue and they made us all play a game. We had to act out the 12 days of Christmas while singing. Everyone had to pick a sheet of paper and that would be your day to act out. Every day had two people to act out except the first day. Well, just my luck, I got the first day. So I had to act like a partridge in a pear tree 12 times. I'm glad that I've worked with Jason and Randy with the youth so I could just be crazy and have fun. Everyone was still razzing me the next morning at church. I'll probably never live it down, but I'm sure no one will be as creative as I was either.

Ashley came by on Monday, December 20th to pick up Adam. It was the first time seeing Ashley since October. Needless to say there was nervousness on my part. We both came out alive and Dean invited their family over for dinner that night. It was awkward for me and I really tried to make sure I didn't do or say anything that would be offensive. I felt like I had a bowling ball in my stomach. I think it was hard on Ashley's family as well. Dean thought everything was great. It was nice to see the kids. I've missed them so much.

Then we got to hang out with some of our good friends at Smokey Bones and just fellowship together. It's neat that some live far away and some more are leaving but to know we will always be friends no matter where we live. God has brought us together for a season and I am so greatful to be able to call these people my friends. The Cannons from North Carolina, the Councils from Knoxville ,TN, the Nassars who are moving to Texas, and the Stricklands who thank goodness are staying here for now. I have laughed, cried and fellowshipped with these folks for 9 years. Thanks guys for loving us!! We sure do love you.

And on Christmas Eve our whole family was together again to open presents. Eden was a joy to watch. She wanted to open all the presents and she couldn't wait. She went around offerring to help everyone open their gifts so that she could open more of hers. Jullian was wonderful as always. He wanted to be Santa and hand out the gifts. He did a great job and I was more than happy to let him take over the job. I think he should do it from now on. Aaron bought him a fishing pole and tackle box. I wish I could have gotten a picture of his face. He was so elated. Definitely the best present of the night. Layton Cove was very sick. He had a horrible fever and was whimpering the entire time. I felt so bad for the little guy. He's trying hard to stand up at the coffee table. He's crawling all over and boy is he fast. Evan Joseph is a sweetheart. He loved holding the wrapping paper. His mama tried to take it away from him, but he cried until we gave it back. Aunt Ashley gave him a Penn State Dinosaur that moved around and his spikes on it's backs light up. But it plays this horrible DISCO song. But Evan absolutely loved it. I made the most amazing appetizers ever. Everyone loved them. Poor Dean had the flu and so he went to be early and when that happened it kind of made everyone uncomfortable so they all left.

And on December 26th Dean was told that they had fired the other regional manager up in Jacksonville and so Dean has all of Florida again for his area. We are both happy and frustrated since this will be a lot of traveling for Dean but it makes more since than to have two regionals for 10 stores. So He'll be very busy because Jacksonville is a hard area to staff. Keep him in your prayers as he'll be going up there at least once a week for the next several months.

I hope God richly blesses your 2010 and I can't wait to be able to blog about all the blessings God provides for our family this coming year. Much love from Dean and I.

Things are still awkward. I'm sure it will take time. I'm trusting in God to take care of it. I'm leaving it at the foot of the cross because I've let it eat at me for far too long. I have to get back to trying to function and not cry at the drop of thinking about missing Ashley and my grandbabies. I'm praying for healing in 2010. I know God can do all things and as 1 Peter 1:6-7 says I'm being refined by the fire. So I'm keeping my eyes and my heart on God. This is a trial and it's only for a time. May God refine me so that I can be a stronger witness for Him in the end of this.

Walk Thru Bethlehem 2009

2009-12-15T07:33:00.007-05:00

My first born with his first born. It was 10:45 on Thursday night. 900 people through the city.

The LaFollette's after working in the city with Brother Chuck. Chuck made a comment about Miami and Evan turned and gave him a dirty look and made a noise at him. We all laughed. Go Penn State. He's a Penn State boy.

Evan Joseph after playing Baby Jesus. Is he making an Elvis look? Hmmmm...

Kisses for Papa.

Both boys go straight for Dean's beard. Too funny.

The 3 wise men.

Kelly, Aaron and Evan playing "Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus" during Walk thru Bethlehem 2009"

Our kids having a major role in Bethlehem.

Mike and Rita Woodard as the Inn Keepers

The Brown Family, Kelly, Austin, Conner and Emma in the Jewish Home.

Don Walker the Elder for the city.

Jenn Owens and Ashley Gallops our fruit sellers

Nathan Gallops the guard at the fruit stand.

David Ross as the fish seller. "Stinky"

Scott Whitaker as our tax collector.

Aaron, Evan, Kelly's mama Vanda Borges and Me. Vanda had just gotten home from the United Arab Imerants. She's working over there teaching English as a second language for 2 years. She was helping some of the girls put their head dresses on properly so that they would stay. She knew how they do it over seas so it was fun for her to help out.

Aaron, Kelly, Evan and Grandma Vanda. Evan had fun looking at the animals.

Kelly and her mama. Vanda surprised them at their new home. Kelly didn't know she was coming home. How fun. Aaron opened their front door and there was a lady wrapped up in a Burke and there was a squeal from the living room and BIG tears. Kelly was so happy. Vanda got to be here for her baptism last weekend too. What a joy!

Our friendly, spitting camel. : ) Evan loved him.

Evan checking out the camel.

What a beautiful baby boy. His Granny loves him so much.

We had an exhausting weekend but we couldn't be any happier. We put over 7180 people through the city in the four days. God held off the rain and we only had one night of cold weather. I can't tell you how smooth the nights went. We had to have had enough guides because there really wasn't any late nights. Dave Gallops did a great job running the city. Dean got to take Kevin Gentzler through the city with his pastor and youth pastor. They are debating on whether to do Bethlehem up where they are. Dean was thrilled to be able to guide them through the city and answer any questions they had. I was going to work all four days but I got a migraine on Sunday and it lasted the entire week. On Friday night when we got to Church I asked Dean to give me a shot. That shot just about sent me to the hospital. I got so sick I can't even begin to explain it. My whole body stiffened up. Scared me to death. Praising God for Eric Erickson. He was able to get someone to cover most of my shifts. Thanks just doesn't seem like enough. But by Sunday I was able to finally make it into the city to work and I got to do something new this year. I worked the metal booth. So I closed the city on Sunday and had a great time. God truly blessed Kings Avenue with a great group of workers. Everyone really went out of their way to make this a wonderful experience. I'm so excited we get to do this every year. What a great way to give back to the community.

I volunteered to make some soup for the workers at Bethlehem. So on Thursday I made my famous Potato, ham, corn chowder. I made 4 gallons of it. There were 5 different soups. Mine was the largest pot and the rest were in crock pots and regular soup pans. Well, at the end of the night mine was gone and literally there were two people trying to scrape out the rest of it and everyone else's crock pots were still half full. So Friday night I made another 4 gallon pan of my mushroom broccoli chowder. When I walked in with my pan people were following me saying that's the pan that had the potato soup so they know what was in there was going to be great. Jim Niblett put out all of the leftover soups and my huge pan and once again my soup was completely gone. Scraped clean. So I didn't work on Saturday due to my headache so when I came in on Sunday with a box with throw away pans people were following me wanting what I made. Well, when they found out they were desserts they were really disappointed until they tasted them and then they were asking for more of what I had brought. So I guess I'm still the reigning cook at Kings. : ) Or at least the soup queen and Scott Whitaker calls me the dessert queen. So.... I am smilin' and braggin' a little in this post.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T20:22:00.002-05:00

We all played a game of Cranium after dinner. It was the kids against Dean and I. We all had a good time. We laughed hard.

Kelly and Evan taking a nap after eating dinner. We tuckered him out. It was his first turkey and thus the nap. ha, ha.

Mr. Evan Joseph eating his first taste of turkey. His daddy blended some turkey up with some water in the food processor and let him have some. He actually liked it.

Evan was laughing so hard. He was looking at Grandpa across the table and he just kept giggling. It was so sweet to hear him laugh that hard.

He finally learned how to jump in the bouncer. He loves it.

We had a good Thanksgiving with so much to be Thankful for. We've seen the birth of two beautiful baby boys this year. Adam had an injury free football season. Dean still has a job. My mother is still with us after being in the hospital a lot this year. We have a wonderful small group family that we love to fellowship and learn more about our Lord and Savior. Dean and I have been married for 26 years. We have 3 beautiful children, a son-in-law, and a daughter-in-law and 4 beautiful grandchildren who we adore. We have a church that we love being part of and serving with. We both have fairly good health. I have my health issues. : ) We missed having Ashley and her family with us. But we know God is holding onto us and He will see us through this valley.

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

At times we will walk through difficult places that we would never have chosen for ourselves, but we will never be alone. And that is quite a promise. There will be firey places, but because of God's great love, I will not be consumed. I'm holding onto that promise that when my feet are wet and the smell of smoke is in my hair, I'm going to hold on to Christ because I know He's holding onto me.

4 weeks and still quiet

2009-11-27T11:56:00.002-05:00

As we approach the fourth week of my exile from my only daughter and grandchildren I can only say that God is my anchor. I have spent the majority of the last 4 weeks crying. I hold it together for Dean and my mom, but when I'm alone I cry, no let me clarify that, I sob. I hurt and I cry out to God to take this horrible emptiness away. I thank him for loving me like no other. I've been angry and I've been dismayed that somehow I'm to blame in this standoff. God tells us to honor our father and mother. I was trying to do just that when I came home from my vacation. I'm still dismayed that my children would leave their grandmother who has been in the hospital twice this year alone without checking on her after promising me they would. But at this point all I can say is 7 years ago we lost our son Christopher. That pain and heartache is something I can't explain. I still have Chris moments where I will break down and cry. But I knew at that time it was forever. He was gone and I would never hold him or see him again. This pain I'm experiencing is much the same. I hurt just like when you lose a loved one. The only difference is that person is still alive. It's not permanant. I'm glad she will talk to Dean and my mother. But at this point she has said things and done things that are so damaging I don't know how I'll recover. I do know I love her with all my heart and I pray for her continously. I've sent texts, I've called her, I've sent an e-mail it's all I can do. I get nothing in return. My heart is broken, it's heavy with pain. Hebrews 2:9 and 18 we learn that Jesus "suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." Jesus took my hell so that I could go to His heaven. he did this so that His death would destroy him who holds the power of death-that is the devil and free those who all their lives were held captive in slavery by their fear of death. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. I know that ultimately I will lose whatever, or whoever, I've been hanging onto except for the love of Jesus Christ, poured out on that cross. It's not just a cross. It's the only anchor that will be there for me when there's nothing left to hold onto. I think I've been putting my hope in the love of my family and putting so much time and attention on them ( as a mom we do that) and I've been neglecting putting God first. This is my time to refocus my life to Christ. To put him in charge of fulfilling who I'm supposed to be as a woman of God. My fullfillment over the last 26 years has been being the best mom and wife I could be and I don't really know if I've put the time into becoming the best Christian I could be. So now's my time of living for Christ and honoring Him for the new life He gave me. I can't change Ashley. I can't make her love me. I can't make her love God. Does it hurt yes, but is that hurt going to be my focus? NO!!! God is.

Last Football Game of his Career

2009-11-14T21:55:00.004-05:00

He's had his share of injuries over the years.

Freshman year at Earlham. Walking off the field with Chris Shaw.

Running the ball for Riverview. He's played numerous positions, but defense has his heart. As long as he can tackle the QB he's happy.

Always takes the time to talk to friends, family, faculty and staff at Earlham. They said he's always helpful, and courteous.

He's always had a 3 in any football jersey he's worn. Call us superstitious but it's his lucky number. : )

Adam making a tackle.

Senior night with his college friends. Adam, John Metcalf, Chris Shaw & Mike Liby

Adam and his dad at the Senior Day game Oct. 31, 2009

Mom and her boy/man. Senior day 2009

Wow!! That was a long time ago. We've been watching and listening to football games for the last 13 years with Adam and today was the last football game that Adam will play. He's played hard. We've had numerous injuries over the years from broken feet, broken ribs, fractured hands, surgery on fingers, injured shoulder, knee etc... but the kid loved to play and went out every week and played like his life depended on it. He's led all of his teams with his attitude and confidence. He's been a team leader for most of his football years. We've watched him get off the line to move another teammate where they needed to be because he didn't like where they were lined up. We've seen him argue with coaches and came out in the right after the coach went and looked at film. He stands on the sidelines and gets the crowd fired up, and he gets down on a knee to pray for injured players. I can't tell you what an honor it has been to watch our young son who we thought was too small to play go out and play with integrity and determination to be the best he could be. We thank all the coaches for the love and encouragement they've given Adam over these years. He's going out with over 90 tackles for the season and 10 sacks. Way to go J!!! Mom and Dad are very proud of you.

Tears

2009-11-13T10:44:00.004-05:00

I don't know how many times I've cried in the last two weeks. I keep thinking about the situation, replaying it in my head. I wake up in the night thinking about Layton or Eden. I can't sleep, and I can't function. I know I'm in this depression and I'm trying to get by. I try to be cheery for everyone because I don't want my pain to show. My heart feels so full of sorrow I can't begin to explain it. I cry out to God to take it away. I ask him to help me understand why I'm going through this. I ask him to watch over Ashley and her children to protect them.

Then I go through utter dismay at what was done or not done. I've written Ashley but I've now been told that her e-mail has been changed. So I am not her friend on facebook, and she's changed her e-mail so I can't contact her. If something were to happen to Dean or I, or her brother I couldn't let her know.

I know I have to leave it at the foot of the cross and I know I have to trust that God is in control of the situation, but I have to tell you my heart is wounded deeply. Each day is a new trial of rejection.

Please keep praying for us. We hurt.

Windy Tucker put this on Facebook today:
"therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. "
And she is so correct when she said some days it's just a lot harder to get dressed.

One Week

2009-11-09T11:50:00.003-05:00

It's been one week since my fight with Ashley. No news. Dean is sad. He's made picture postcards that he is sending to Eden. He said he's going to send her one a day so that she remembers that Papa Loves Pookie Pies. Our house is very quiet, even my mom's oxygen guy said so.

I had a rough week last week. It was tough trying to pull my emotions together. But I've been praying and reading my bible and relying on God to get me through this. We're all struggling with the quiet but know God will work it all out.

Keep praying for us. We love our Ashley and her family. We would love to have contact but we know she has to work through this in her own time and in her own heart.

We talked with Aaron on Wednesday night and things are better with him. It was nice to be able to hold Evan Joseph and see how big he's getting. What a "Sturdy" little guy. He weighs a ton. Not really, but it sure does feel like it when you hold him. He loves watching football with his daddy. But don't try to sneak Sports center in there. He only likes to watch the action.

Heart Broken

2009-11-04T11:29:00.004-05:00

Eden's hat with papa's hat. There is no "Pookie Pie" to wear it.

Eden's artwork hanging above Grandpa's desk.

There is no princess swinging on that playset.

Layton's bouncer sits empty in our living room. He loves to jump and jump and did Imention jump?

And now Eden's toys being packed away out of the living room so that we don't have to look at them. It's too hard to see all of her things and know that we are being punished by our daughter and her husband. It's so frustrating when you ask someone to do something and you count on it happening. Then when you find out it hasn't been done it's horrible. I was angry and when I talked to Ashley I let her know how angry and disappointed I was. I said things I had no business saying and so did she. Things got out of control and we have lost our grandchildren. My pain is something I'm going to have to work through. And I pray Ashley will work through hers too, but for now I've been deleted from her and Aaron's life.

I think of everything I did to make my children's life comfortable for them. I made sure that I stayed home. I tried to be a good mom and I know I've had my failures. I've certainly tried to take full responsibility for those things. I quit my job at the library to help Ashley with her precious gifts from God and I've tried my best to love them and nurture them the same way I've loved my kids. I am sorry Ashley feels that I'm a bad role model for her babies. I've tried my best to be there to support and love her throughout her life and all the tough decisions she's made. I don't know what more I could have done for her babies. I watched them, loved them, bought them diapers and formula, clothes, I fed them and gave them baths. I did everything in my power to make sure they were loved and safe.

I will continue to love Ashley, Aaron and their famlies. I will continue to pray for them and I only wish the very best for all of them. Someday I hope they will forgive me. But for now my heart is broken and all I can do is lean on God to give me the strength to get through each moment. I'm sorry that I hurt Dean and my mom in the process. They are missing the kids more than anyone can imagine. I miss my kids and I wish they could have understood my hurt. But I understand Ashley's hurt and I'm sure my words cut her deeply. I can't take back the words, all I can do is seek forgiveness.

I'm praising God that He loves me even though I'm stupid and rash. Praying that in time this won't hurt as bad as it does right now.

It's hard to have your children hurt you and not care. It's hard to take that hurt on the chin and try and recover. God tells us that we must forgive 7 times 70. That's a lot of forgiving and a lot of healing to do.

The babies in better times.

October 30th, 2009- Dean, Evan and Layton.

Grandma wanted to be able to take her princess to Disney. We tuckered her out.

Eden's artwork that we did last week. It's a fall tree using her forearm and hand and her fingerprints as the leaves. She hated getting paint on her. She kept telling me to wash it off.

Eden and Grandma giving Layton a bath. His face is priceless.

Eden working on her work of art. See.... only one figer got dirty in the painting of this picture.

Adam #35

2009-10-15T13:40:00.004-04:00

Defensive Captain for his team.

Adam is playing hard this season and his stats certainly show it. We're pretty proud of him.

Here he is rushing in for the tackle.

He's lead blocking.

Sitting on the sidelines with a shoulder injury after Saturdays game. It was a muddy field and a hard game against Wittenburgh. They have the #3 defense for their conference. So needless to say, our defense was on the field a lot of the game.

Adam leading his team in the school fight song after a win.

One of the coaches from another team said that they specifically set their plays around Adam because they saw his stats and heard what he had done to the other teams Quarterback. Adam is leading his team in sacks and tackles. We are very proud of his accomplishments. It will be a sad time for us when he graduates. We've been watching him play since he was 8 years old. We're definitely proud of our boy/man. He's a team captain, and he's a leader in the school where he is the head of FCA. He prays on and off of the football field and in the locker room. He's visiting friends in the hospital when they are having surgeries. He's got a ministers heart. It will be interesting to see where God leads Adam in the future.

Friends

2009-10-07T14:37:00.003-04:00

Ashley drove up to Indiana to see her brother play some football last weekend. I was glad she went since he got injured in the second half and had to go to the hospital for x-rays. Usually we have to wait a long time before we hear any news but because Ashley was there we had up to the minute updates. His knee has a deep bone bruise and he hopes to be back on the field next week. Ashley had a great time cheering the Quakers on, but they lost big time. Some of the fans said she should be there for every game and some just shook their heads. Whatever..... we are a football family and we cheer loud for our boy. We don't quit just because they're losing that's when we get louder. She got to take Adam and some of his friends out for dinner and they got to just hang out. They had fun just being themselves.

The boys are growing

2009-10-07T11:49:00.002-04:00

Layton has started eating his rice cereal, banana's, pears and this is sweet potato. He loved it. He ate the whole jar, grinning the whole time. If you notice his hand is on my helping to get the food in. He likes to be in charge. The first time I gave him the cereal it was everywhere. I've never had a kid that was that messy, but he kept grabbing the spoon. He's 5 months now and 17 lbs and 26" long. He's in the 75th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height.

Here is the 3 month old. Mr. Evan Joseph. I call him Mr. serious. He's always so thoughtful. Doesn't smile a ton for me. But he hasn't been over as much as mr. Layton so I'm sure he'll get to know me and smile eventually. I'm trying not to take it personally. He looks just like his daddy. The child "farts" all the time. I call him a dirty rotten farter. : ) And he is so stinkin' solid. Holding him is like holding a bowling ball. What a precious, precious little boy. He loves to watch football with his daddy. Kelly said Aaron tried to watch the hockey game with him the other night and he cried until Aaron changed to a football game. Smart boy. I'm sure he's missing his grandma Vanda. I know Kelly is.

Here's a picture of the two little ones together. Layton is mr. happy all the time and Evan is mr. I'm thinking if I like you or not. It's just too cute to have them together. There were together yesterday and they were talking to each other. What fun.

Evan went with his mommy to her small group gathering on Sunday. Here he is loving life in Kelly Turner's arms. I'm sure he got all the loving one little boy ever needed. The ladies just love to hold him and spoil him rotten.

OK, I'm so jealous. I never get this look from Evan. This is from Karey Erickson. I just love it. What a handsome little guy!! This is exactly how Aaron looked when he was a baby. It's like de ja vous for me.

Cousins Growing Together

2009-09-23T16:23:00.003-04:00

Evan Joseph LaFollette 2 1/2 months and Layton Cove Jennings 4 1/2 months

Layton and Evan playing on the blanket together.

Layton trying so hard to get to Evan. It was so sweet. They were talking to each other.

Layton Cove and Evan having some blanket time.

The baby boys even took a nap together. How sweet is this?

Evan's dedication

2009-09-23T16:06:00.004-04:00

We ate lunch at a restaurant after the dedication at church. They boys got tuckered out.

We must have had at least 20 people at Evan's dedication on Sept. 20, 2009. Here is everyone sitting at the table relaxing.

Aunt Kristy Young.

Cousin Jullian and Uncle Travis.

Grandma Vanda and Great Grandpa Antonio from Portugal.

Here we all are eating, watching the game on the flat screen and just enjoying family!!

Jullian, Travis, Ashley, Layton, Evan, Aaron, Kelly, Eden and Mary. Dean was taking the picture.

Pastor Charles Richard giving a prayer of dedication over Evan Joseph LaFollette with his parents Aaron and Kelly.

Brother Chuck talking about knowing Aaron and talking sports together. : )

It was a wonderful day filled with lot's of family. I had fun putting babies to sleep. I first had Evan, got him to sleep and then I passed him back to Aaron and grabbed Layton so Ashley wouldn't get stressed out. I'm sure everyone in church got a chuckle out of me and my baby boys. : ) A grandmas job is never done. : )

Wonder Girl

2009-09-23T16:01:00.002-04:00

Eden likes to play with capes. So we found a costume that had a cape. However, when it came we had most of the costume..... there was NO CAPE!!! Dean called they said sorry that costume is no longer available. He asked to speak to a supervisor who told Dean they would call the manufacturer to see if they could get another costume for Eden. So we are waiting to get another costume and then we have to send this one back. Poor Eden. But she's still my super hero.

Random pics

2009-08-30T17:10:00.003-04:00

This is our new neighbor. This gopher tortoise decided to make his home right under our back fence. We often catch him walking through the back yard, but when he hears Eden he makes a break for it.

Mr. Evan Joseph looking at his grandma.

Layton Cove loving life. He smiles all the time.

Eden Rae dancing to Laurie Berkner in her new frog boots.

Layton Cove playing with Eden's dolly.

Happy 25th birthday Kelly. Kelly and Evan Joseph at our house. We had chicken cacciatore and birthday cake. I always let each kid pick out their birthday dinner and that is what kelly asked for.

Grandma lovin' on her Jullian Scott. I love my boy!!! Even though he's growing up way too fast.

Eden Rae helping to blow out Aunt Kelly's birthday candles. We had to light the candles 4 times because every time we got them lit Eden would blow them out. I was laughing so hard. She was very excited and when we got done taking the candles out Eden stuck her hand right in the middle of the cake.

Blowing them out again.

More updates

2009-08-30T16:48:00.002-04:00

Let's see.... Layton is almost 4 months old now. He is just the sweetest little boy. He loves to kiss and talk with us. Mary sings to him and he coo's and talks along. He loves to be on the floor on his play mat. We lay him on his tummy and within seconds he's on his back. When he does stay on his back he is busy moving around in circles. He's a great sleeper and now that we have him on Soy formula he seems to be spitting up less.

Eden is growing and talking so much. She is wearing 5T's. already. She talks and talks. Mary is doing little school lessons with her now. She is busy teaching her how to write letters and to recognize them. This week she worked on teaching her Above, Below, Next to, Behind, In Front and on. Eden gets a little confused, but she is having fun with the learning process. She loves to play dress up with her princess outfits. Her favorite movie is Sleeping Beauty. She sings the song all the time while dancing with her dollies. She drives Mary nuts because she insists that Mary hold all of her toys/dolls even though she isn't playing with them and when Mary puts them down Eden gets very upset. Needless to say time outs have become an important tool around our house. I of course have to be careful not to butt in. I want to save Eden all the time. Papa and Eden time is very important. She demands it. I don't even get in the front door before she is dragging me somewhere to play.

Evan is growing so fast. We don't get to see as much of him as Kelly is on maternity leave and her mama Vanda is staying at their home. But we enjoy the times we do. We love all the little noises that he makes. He will be dedicated at church sometime this month. So all of Kelly's family will be here and we'll have a big celebration for Evan.

Jullian is growing up so fast. We love getting to see him. He's a joy. He's really getting into music. The last time he was here we spent time looking up video's on youtube to watch.

Chloe is going to be 16 this month. Where did the time go? My other little girl is now a teenager. At least she still calls me to talk to me and share what's going on in her life. She is taking college AP classes this year. Her intellegence is amazing. I know she can do anything she sets her mind to. Her Aunt Mary is so proud of her. She is busy looking for a part time job so that she can save money for a car.

Grandma has good days and bad days. Mary gets frustrated because she doesn't take some of her medications like she should and her mom thinks she nags her all the time, but Mary is trying to do what is best for her so it's this vicious cycle. She helps take care of Layton so that Mary can focus attention on Eden. So she gets very exhausted during the week and ends up sleeping the entire weekend to try and recover. But at least she's holding her own and hasn't gained any of her weight back.

Dean is busy working and being a deacon at church. He stays busy with visitation and with the upcoming changes at work. We know we are blessed to have a steady job in this economy and praise God for providing.

Adam started his senior year of college this week. His first game will be this coming Saturday and you can listen on the Earlham.edu website. Just following the links to the varsity football site and you can listen on teamline. You can always find Dean and I in front of our computer for three hours on Saturdays listening to his games. We'll be going up to see him October for senior day.

Ashley and Aaron keep busy with work and their families. We're grateful that they live close by and we get to spend time with both of them and their spouses. Actually we're glad we get to spend time with the grandkids. : )

Mary just tries to keep up with taking care of everyone. That is a full time stress induced job. She struggles with her migranes and the aches and pains that her body gives her. We're happy her heart issues weren't anything serious and the doctor will continue to check on her. She enjoys what quiet time she gets and cherishes it the most. She never thought she'd be raising kids again after ours left. But she wouldn't have it any other way. She loves her babies.

Updates

2009-08-30T16:40:00.002-04:00

We got the two boys together and decided to take some pics of them together. Here we are comparing foot sizes. Layton 3 month and Evan Joseph 1 month.

Eden taking the time to be sweet to her baby brother. Layton likes being on his tummy. He's already rolling from back to front. And he scoots around in circles on his play mat.

Evan Joseph LaFollette 1 month and his big cousin Layton Cove Jennings 3 months. What sweet little boys.

Evan and his brown eyes and Layton and his blue eyes. We were lucky to get pictures with their eyes open.

Evan Joseph LaFollette's 1 month picture.

Disneyworld 2009 with Eden

2009-08-01T10:56:00.005-04:00

Eden on the ferry ride back to the park & ride. She had on her new hat that has Eden, mama and aunt Megan on it.

Tuckered out princess. She was asleep during the Country Bear Jamboree. She had a busy day.

Ohhhhh.... the Disney princesses. Eden was soooooo happy.

On Papa's shoulders so that she could see the Disney Princesse's in the parade. Dean and Eden had been waiting in line to ride the magic carpets. Well the ride went down and so we started to walk elsewhere and came across the end of the parade and coming up next was a float with Peter Pan, Wendy, Alice in Wonderland etc... and the next float had all the Disney Princesses. God is so good how that worked out. We didn't want to stand in the 2 hour line to see the Princesses in Toon Town so God worked it out for us. YEAH GOD!!!

Eden on Papa's shoulders waving to the princesses. She was so excited. I cried just watching her happiness.

Playing in Pooh's playland. She had so much fun you wouldn't know it was raining. : )

Eden playing in Pooh's house.

Our Princess with her new Princess hat. This day was all about Eden.

Seeing Small World and loving it. Ahhhh.... the innocence of children. I love it.

Eden and papa waiting for the Small World ride. She was having a great day.

We came across the fairy Godmother from Cinderella and we were able to visit with her. The fairy Godmother asked if Eden was a "Little Cinderella" since she had blond hair and blue eyes. I told her that's what she says when she watches it.

Grandma and Eden on the Jungle Cruise.

She loved all the animals. She was so excited.

The "mean witch" Malificent appeared on stage just as we were walking down Main Street. Eden was so shocked.

This is Eden's face as she saw Malificent on stage. She loves Sleeping Beauty. We watch it everyday. So when the "mean witch" appeared she was stunned.

The beginning of a really great day with my two favorite people.

What's New?

2009-08-01T10:34:00.003-04:00

Layton Cove Jennings at 11 weeks. He sits and coo's and plays a little.

Big Sister Eden after waking up from her nap. She loves Layton.

Eden bouncing Layton in the baby bouncer and touching his hands.

He is a happy little guy when he doesn't have a tummy ache. He is still struggling with gas bubbles. But when he's not doing that, he's as happy as can be. He smiles, coo's, he's noticing his little fists now. And he rolled over from his tummy to his back yesterday. What a strong little boy.

Smilin' big for his granny. He likes to be talked to.

Layton went to the doctor this week. He was 24 1/2" long and weighed 12 lbs. Doctor says he's in the 90% for his height and 50% for his weight. He's a little bit whiney, but I think it's due to his unhappy tummy problems. Otherwise he's a doll. Plus I get a kick knowing he looks just like Dean.

Eden is a huge helper. She will help get diapers, his binky and she will watch him while I make a bottle. On the other hand, she doesn't have a quiet voice. She wants to look in the crib when he's sleeping thus waking him up. She gets a little jealous when we have him on his play mat and are spending time with Layton. I have found that if I include her on most things she does better but I have to figure out what to do with her noise level. Her mama says that she is doing better with the terrible two's now that she is back on her schedule of being with grandma and grandpa during the week. She's being nicer and not throwing as many tantrums. Still not interested in the potty. I guess we'll wait a bit more. Although with her growing she is almost out of the largest diapers they make. So she better hurry and get interested. LOL She learned how to spell Eden and is running around the house telling us E D E N. Now I'm going to start teaching her to recognize the letters. Ahhhh... she is such a smarty. : )

Evan is growing fast. He gets cuter every time we see him. His Grandma Vanda will be home from Korea this week and will get to see him in person for the first time. I can't wait. She has gotten to see pics on facebook and she's seen him on Skype but I know she will be so excited to get her hands on him. Kelly's brother Dan and her cousin Spazz will come down on Thursday too so Aaron and kelly will have a full house. Buddy (Dan) can't wait to see his new nephew. I'm excited for all of them to meet this cutie pie. He came to church last week and was very good and slept through the whole service. What a good boy. He looks just like Aaron. Kelly is healing nicely from her c-section but has to be reminded to take it easy and not to overdo.

Travis and Ashley got to see Megan last week. The American Idol tour was in town and so Ashley picked Megan up from her hotel and brought her to the house so she could spend time with Eden. Eden loves her aunt Megan. She calls her Sleeping Beauty. Ashley is inundated with tons of work from being off for maternity leave. She is working long hours to try and get caught up. Travis has been very ill for the last week with the flu and then on top of that he got snipped on Monday. No more Jennings babies for him.

I have been having some chest pains and palpatations so I went to my doctor and he decided to send me to a cardiologist. I had my initial meeting and told him my symptoms. I thought when I left we'd just do the intial battery of tests and then I'd be done. Well, I guess my stress test showed something irregular and so I've been scheduled for a nuclear stress test for Monday. I guess the pump dye through your veins and then they can see if there is narrowing of the arteries or some kind of blockage. Sounds fun doesn't it? I'll keep ya' all posted.

Well, I guess that's enough news for now.

My Girlie

2009-07-22T13:28:00.004-04:00

Eden and her monkies on her piggies.

I was folding laundry when my mom said to turn around and LOOK. I turned and saw Eden playing with her 5 little monkies. She was putting the velcro hands together and then putting them on her toes and playing with them by wiggling her feet. I thought it was so cute I had to run to find the camera. I can't believe how big she is getting. She runs around the house singing " I know you I danced with you once upon a Dream". I love it. She is so into Sleeping Beauty. She calls sleeping beauty Megan, She call's Belle from Beauty and the beast Mama, She is Cinderella, Ashley's friend Bridget has red hair and so she is The little Mermaid, and I get to be Snow White. I just love her imagination. What a joy it is to be a part of her life. Still no sign of being ready to potty train. I'm hoping she'll be ready soon, but I don't want to push her. Dean and I are going to take her to Disneyworld next Monday and play in the little kids area all day. I think we'll have a great time. I can't wait. I'm sure we'll be posting some fun pictures of our Princess. : )

The Boys Meet

2009-07-12T17:39:00.002-04:00

Layton Cove Jennings (2 months) meets his new cousing Evan Joseph LaFollette (2 Days)

Kelly couldn't wait to get the two boys together to see the size difference. We all thought Layton was so tiny and then came along Evan. Layton looked like a gentle giant at 10 lbs compared to Evan's 8 lbs. And Layton is so LONG compared to Evan. It will be so much fun watching these two little boys grow up together. I know they will be the best of friends.

Evan Joseph pics

2009-07-08T19:54:00.005-04:00

Evan Joseph being held by his grandpa.

3 generations of LaFollette men. first son, with his first son, with his first son. Pretty cool.

The proud papa and his new best friend.

Kelly's sister Kristy Young, Kelly, Evan and Aaron.

Dr. Jones and Mr. Evan LaFollette

Oh bother. I'm tired of all of you.

What a cute little foot.

Our pastor Brother Chuck Richard came as soon as he heard Kelly was going for an emergency c-section. He left his meeting and came and prayed in the lobby with Dean and James Council. And after Evan was born he came up and prayed a blessing over Evan and thanked God for everyone involved in the delivery. He prayed that Aaron and Kelly would be good stewards of Gods precious child. The nurse stopped moniotoring Kelly and prayed with us. So awesome. Thank you Jesus for this precious gift you have bestowed upon us. May we all raise him to know and serve you.

Aaron was very emotional. When his daddy got to the room and gave him a hug Aaron broke down and cried. He was so happy and so exhausted and just so thrilled that he is now a daddy. He wanted this so badly.

Mr. Evan's first footprint.

I'm HUNGRY!!!!!

The proud parents. What an awesome family.

Our little blessing. Evan Joseph LaFollette (Joey) as Chloe calls him. : )

Mama and her boy.

2009-07-08T19:47:00.002-04:00

Evan Joseph LaFollette

This boy has a set of pipes. He was really screamin' when we got to see him in the nursery window.

8 lbs. 19 1/2 " long. Grandma (me) won the height and weight. And yes someone else checked the list. : )

Yep, He's a boy.

What a handsome little guy.

Aaron cutting the umbilical cord

Cutting the umbilical cord.

Ahh... what a sweetie.

Kelly prepped for her c-section.

C-section news

2009-07-08T19:29:00.004-04:00

Aunt Ashley watching the cell phones while Kelly went in for the c-section. She was busy keeping everyone update on all three phones. We thought it looked like she was birthing phones. lol

Aaron was having trouble getting his suit zipped up.

This paper suit is ridiculous, but it was totally funny watching Aaron struggle to get into it.

What happened to giving out scrubs for the Fathers?

Wheeling Kelly out of her Labor and Delivery Room and off to the Trauma Delivery section.

Just Got the news that we're having an emergency C-section

This is what the monitor looked like when everyone came rushing into the room.

Kelly very scared and not knowing what was going on.

That's the anestisologist prepping Kelly for her C-section.

I called Dean immediately and told him to come back to the hospital. He called the church and Brother Chuck left his meeting and came immediately to the hospital. Our good friend James Council was in town and so he came and sat at the hospital all day and so we had the guys praying downstairs for Kelly and the baby. I prayed with Aaron and Ashley before Aaron went to be with Kelly. I'm so glad that God is faithful and hears our cries for mercy and grace. We have a beautiful grandson.

Kelly is anxious

2009-07-08T18:48:00.004-04:00

Aunt Ashley is excited and ready to go. She was here to help coach Kelly.

Heart monitor at 8:00 am. Everything looking great.

Top is monotoring heart rate and the bottom is the contractions. Just starting everything looks good.

Kelly trying to get a little rest before the fun begins. Everything was great at this point.

Got to the hospital at 7:30 am. Kelly was getting all hooked up on the IV and the pitosin. Monitors in place and she was in a great mood except for not getting any sleep all night. She said it was very noisy and they kept coming in to check on her every hour. LOL Aaron left to go home and shower. Kelly and I chatted a bunch and then Ashley showed up. We did great. Aaron got back about 9:30 and we sat and chatted and waited for everything to get into full motion. : )

They came in at 10:00 and checked her and said she was only at 3 centimeters. At 12:35 they came in an gave her an epidural. She was able to rest for an hour before the nurses came rushing in because the heart monitors were going crazy. We rolled Kelly to her right side and Evans heart rate dropped drastically, so we had to roll her to her left side but his heart rate was still eratic. They called the doctor who was at his office down the street. He got there in 5 minutes and came in saying " Your baby is being a brat". He checked her and she was still only 5 centimeters. He looked at the paper of the babies heart rate and decided that they would take him C-section. at 2:10pm they prepped Kelly. They got Aaron his funky paper suit and wheeled Kelly out of the room. We waited with Aaron for 15 minutes until they came and got him. He walked into the delivery room and within 3 minutes his son was out and in Kelly's arms.

Evan Joseph was born at 2:34 pm on 7/8/09 weighing in at 8lbs and 19 1/2".

Evan Joseph the Night before.

2009-07-07T21:45:00.004-04:00

Kelly after hearing Adam's prediction of the weight of Evan. LOL And then her brother Buddy came in with another high one. Too funny.

Here is the mama to be waiting the birth of her first born. Yummy, they called and asked us to bring Village Inn for her last meal before the real fun starts.

Just starting this out right by wearing our Penn State wear. Needless to say you can guess why Evan's middle name is Joseph. LOL He's named after JoPa ( Joe Paterno the Penn State Coach) Kelly put her foot down and said we couldn't name him Joseph Patrick and call him JoPa. So we had to settle for Evan Jospeh. LOL Whatever, he'll be a true Nitany Lion fan. : )

We brought the cards so that we could play some hearts while waiting for the real fun to start. Dean ready to catch just in case he needed to. : )

Brother Chuck our pastor stopped by to pray with the kids for a safe delivery. And because he came tonight before Evan is born, he decided to use Aaron in his Heisman pose. He does this pose while holding every newborn baby he visits. : ) Thanks bro. chuck for the prayer. We appreciated it.

Another LaFollette is Coming

2009-07-07T16:57:00.002-04:00

Well, we just got a call and they are admitting Kelly to Brandon Hospital tonight. She is showing signs of pre-eclampsia so they will enduce her tomorrow. How cool that we might have Evan on 7-8-09. What a cool birthday. Anyways, Ashley and I will go to the hospital to be her coaches. We'll take lots of pictures. And we'll update this blog as much as we can. If you'd like to guess the weight and length we'd love to be able to share that with Aaron and Kelly. : ) Keep leaving messages for them. We'll let them know what you have to say. Pray for us. Looks like we have a long night ahead of us. And we're all excited. Especially Aaron and Kelly. Aaron even said yesterday that he was going to squeeze Kelly like a tube of toothpaste to get Evan to come out.
Praying for a safe and easy delivery. Pray for all the grandparents and siblings that can't be here to see first hand. We love you guys. : )

Still Waiting

2009-06-26T09:40:00.002-04:00

Poor Kelly, she is miserable in the heat and just plain exhausted from having all the extra weight. Her and Aaron are so excited to meet Evan Joseph. Kelly's mom doesn't get back into the states until July 15th so maybe he is waiting for Grandma. : ) Seriously her due date isn't until July 15th. So we'll see. I bet she waits that long. Last doctor appointment she was only 1 centimeter. Everything is the same as last appointment. She didn't like hearing that and oh do I remember those dreaded words. LOL Hang tough Kelly. Evan will be here soon and after 3 weeks of no sleep you'll wish he was back in there. LOL

Dr.'s appointment

2009-06-26T09:28:00.004-04:00

Jullian is the best big brother. He loves to hold Layton. He gets things for Ashley and he plays with Eden. We often find him reading stories to her in her room. They have finally gotten him on his meds and he is doing so much better. What a joy to be around. He was a big help yesterday at the doctors office. Hard to believe he's 8 years old. I remember holding him on my lap when he was 3. What a big boy. I love this young man. I'm sure glad God brought him to our family. : )

Little Layton Cove cold and not enjoying the doctors visit. Where's my blanket? Where's my sockies? And why do I have to have a shot? He's done well. He's now 6 weeks old and is 10lbs 6oz and 21 1/2 " long. He's struggling with the spitting up. The doctor has told us to keep his head elivated after he eats for 1/2 an hour and not to change his diapers right after eating. She said boys are more likely to do the spitting up. We need to burp him after every ounce of formula. She was impressed with how strong he is and how well he holds up his head.

Our little 2 year old had to go for her 2 year old check up. Can you tell she was not pleased with the prospect. She wanted out of there. No shots for her. She is 38 1/4" and 36lbs. She is way off the charts for height and weight. LOL She counts to 20, sings her ABC's, know most of her colors, can tell you what animal is what and is a mischief. She is getting into the terrible two's right now. So we're trying to be patient, but some days are easier than others. I love my pookie pie. God let this phase go by quick. : )

Princess Party for Eden's 2nd Birthday

2009-06-25T08:20:00.004-04:00

Eden's princess Cake. Aaron went to lick the frosting off the bottom of Cinderella and Eden cried " NO!!! Don't eat Eden!!"

She loved her cake. She immediately stuck her finger in the pumpkins and licked them. : )

Her new Snow White princess Costume.

Uncle Klint and her new toy microphone to sing into. She ran around the house singing her "ABC song"

Listening to her music card from Oma. She kept opening and shutting it so she could hear the Cinderella music.

Our own little Cinderella.

We got her golf clubs so she could go play outside with Grandpa. It was baseball until we showed her she had to hit the ball on the floor. Now she shoves the ball around the room. lol

"Papa, I'm this many"

Eden thinks she is Cinderella and that her mommy is Belle. Ashley has a friend Bridget that has red hair and she is Ariel. LOL

Eden's new bike. It came with a handle so we can push her while she's learning to ride. : ) Love it.

My happy little girlie loves her new bike.

She walks in and asks I having a princess party?