Jeremy's wreck

On Monday, June 9, Jeremy was on his way home from work when I asked him to stop by Kroger to pick up a couple of things. When he attempted to cross Goodman Road to head home, he was struck by a Hummer H3. The impact was so hard that our Camry was spun around 180 degrees and it was a total loss. We thank God that Jeremy wasn't hurt. He did hit his head and he was sore for a few days following the accident, but that was it.

The Camry was a third vehicle for us. We bought it from my Mom last January. Jeremy used it for road trips for work and driving to and from work a few days each week. He also has a small truck that he drives, but only one passenger can fit in it. In addition to our Altima, we felt that we needed another vehicle that all four of us could ride in. That way when Jeremy uses the Altima for road trips, the girls and I would have another car to use.

We were able to get a great deal on a 1999 Ford Expedition. A friend's parents were selling it so we knew that it had a good history and only 86,000 miles. It doesn't get the best gas mileage, but it will be a great third vehicle. We plan to use it for road trips since it is so roomy. And, I will drive it when Jeremy has to take the Altima out of town. Rachel loves it and since it is red like her Daddy's truck, she calls it "Mommy's truck".

Rachel's Busy Week

Rachel had her first overnight visit at her Gramsy's last weekend. We met my Mom (aka Gramsy) in Brinkley, AR on Friday evening. That's just about halfway between Southaven and Pine Bluff (where my parents live). Rachel was so excited to spend the night at Gramsy's without Mommy and Daddy. She spent the night there Friday and Saturday. I met Mom in Brinkley again on Sunday afternoon to bring Rachel home in time for Team Kid at church that evening. Here are some pictures of her and Gramsy just before we headed back home.

Vacation Bible School started on Monday morning. This was Rachel's first VBS. The theme was Power Lab. She learned about the power to be thankful, the power to help others, the power to be brave, the power to live forever and the power to share God's love. She had a great time. Here are some pictures from the sing and play finale from a couple of days.

Abigail is 2 months old.

Yesterday, Abigail was 2 months old. She is such a little blessing. She is a good baby and usually only cries when she is hungry. Most nights she sleeps 5-6 hours straight. She is growing so fast. I took her for a checkup today and she weighs 12 pounds, 2 ounces and is 23 3/4 inches long. She is still having problems with her clogged tear ducts and will probably have to have a surgery to resolve them, but we will discuss it further at her next check up. She is starting to coo and smile at us. And, I must say that her little smile is adorable! It's fun to watch the new things that she does each day.

2 weeks after Jeremy's back surgery...

Jeremy had back surgery on May 8. He had a ruptured disk between L4 and L5 (in his lower back). The ruptured disk was pushing on a nerve bundle and causing severe pain in his leg. The surgeon removed about 1/3 of the disk including some fragments. The surgery was a success. As soon as Jeremy came out of the recovery area, he could already tell that his leg pain was gone.

His back has been really sore and he has been limited physically for these first two weeks. He couldn't ride in a car for the first week (after the ride home from the hospital.) He hasn't been able to drive or lift anything heavier than 5 pounds for the first two weeks. His doctor okayed him to work 1/2 days during the second week so I and some coworkers have been transporting him to/from work. He has been able to walk a little more each day and he is doing much better. It has been really hard for me to get him to adhere to his doctor's guidelines.

We are so thankful that his pain is gone and that we had so many praying for us during this time.

Our Dallas Is Gone.

Dallas, our 13 year old dog, had to be put to sleep today. It is a sad day for our family. Jeremy and I got Dallas when he was about 3 months old. A coworker of mine had found him as a stray on the side of the highway one day on her way to work. When I saw him, it was love at first sight (even though his fuzzy hair was matted and he was covered in cockleburs.) I brought him home with me that day.

Over the last year, his health has been declining. His arthritis had gotten very painful and it was getting hard for him to move around. A few months ago, he developed a cough. It turned out that the cough was a side effect of an enlarged heart that was surrounded by fluid. He was put on a heart medication and a diuretic to relieve the fluid. That seemed to help for a short time, but he started to get urinary incontinence due to the diuretic. So two weeks ago, we took him off the diuretic and added a pain pill for the arthritis. Last night, he had a very hard time breathing and was coughing a lot so we decided that it was time to say goodbye.

He was a good dog and truely has been a best friend to Jeremy. He was always my protector. And, of course, Rachel thought he was great, too. He was an "inside dog" since we moved to the Memphis area in 1998 so he was definitely a member of the family. He had a scary bark and was very protective of me and Rachel, but he was actually very gentle and loving to those that he knew. He will certainly be missed.

Rachel's 4 Year Old Portraits

I took Rachel to get her 4 year old pictures taken today. I am a little late getting them done, but I've been a little preoccupied. I think that she did a great job. I included a few enhancements, too.

I was able to get this one picture of both our girls.

Rachel's 4th Birthday & Party

Rachel turned 4 on Sunday. We had been to Arkansas on Friday and Saturday, but returned home late Saturday evening so that we would be home for Rachel's birthday. She wanted to take cupcakes for her Sunday school class at church. We did that and took her to eat at Olive Garden (her favorite restaurant) after church. While she took a nap, Jeremy went to pick up her present from us...a Barbie jeep! She was a little frustrated with it at first, but it didn't take her long to figure out how to drive. She loves it. She has driven it every day except yesterday (only because it was raining.)

Since we were out of town the weekend before her birthday, we had her birthday party on Saturday, April 26. She had been talking about having a "farm with a barn" party since last August so we had a farm themed party at Kidz Kountry petting zoo/farm. She had a great time! We'd like to especially thank her Gramsy (my Mom) for her cute overalls and her Gi-Gi (my sister) for her cake and cupcakes.

Abigail's First Road Trip

Abigail is being held by her great-grandmother for the first time.

We went to Arkansas on April 18th and 19th to visit with family and attend my cousin's wedding. On Friday, we drove to Monticello to visit with Jeremy's grandparents and great-grandmother.

On Friday evening, we attended a ceremony in Woodlawn honoring my grandfather who was a superindendant there. He was being honored because he began the highschool's baseball program and coached the first team to win a championship. My Dad accepted the award in his honor. After that, we went to eat dinner at a new Mexican restaurant in White Hall with my sister's family.

This was taken as she slept thru our dinner at the Mexican restaurant.

We stayed at my Mom's Friday evening. To make a long story short...when we got to my Mom's, I was going to change my clothes for bed and realized that my entire bag that I had packed was left in Southaven. I had no clothes ~ no pajamas, nothing to wear the next day before the wedding and nothing to wear to the wedding. So on Saturday morning, I headed to Little Rock to do some shopping with my sister.

On Saturday afternoon, we headed to Leola to eat catfish with my Mom, Stepdad and his daughter. We went to my cousin's wedding that evening. After going to the reception for a while, we headed home so that we would be able to attend church the next morning.

Rachel with her Gramsy, Gramps and cousin, Haleigh, at the wedding.

Abigail and Daddy at the reception.

Rachel dancing with her cousins at the reception.

It's been two weeks already?

It seems like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. Well, I guess that time flies when you are having fun. It's definitely been less stressful this time around. We are much more laid back than when Rachel was a newborn.





Abigail had jaundice when we brought her home. We had to take her in for a checkup two days after we brought her home (Friday). At that time, she had lost down to 7 lbs, 13 oz. The doctor told me to supplement with formula. We did that over the weekend and returned to the doctor on Monday morning to have her weighed. She was back up to 8 lbs, 5 oz. That was great progress and her jaundice was gone.

Sleeping with Daddy...you can see how yellow she was.

Look at those chubby cheeks!

She's been eating really well and sleeping pretty good at night. Yesterday, I took her to the doctor for her two week checkup. She now weighs 8 lbs, 14 oz and measures 21.75" long.



Rachel has been really great with her. She always wants to help make Abigail happy. She also enjoys holding her (as long as she isn't crying.)

Rachel was reading a book to Abigail.

Our girls.

Getting her first bath...she didn't like it.

Bringing her home...

(Just before leaving the hospital.)

We ended up staying in the hospital two days because the pediatrician wanted to watch Abigail's breathing since she swallowed some amniotic fluid at birth. She looked good this morning so we were able to come home.

We were very happy to leave of the hospital. You just can't get any rest there...LOL.

We came home to a very excited big sister! Here she was running to the garage door when she heard us coming in.