ChuckECheeses!

Mom and I were trying to come up with afternoon activities we could do with Ayda but also avoid the heat. We decided to head to Chuck E Cheese's and let her play. I thought for sure she would LOVE it there. Games, rides, slides! Well...

This is pretty much her face in every picture I took. She was not too sure about any of the rides. She did finally seem to enjoy a couple of them after riding them about a dozen times.

She was really not impressed with this thing. It was my FAVORITE as a kid. My childhood best friend, Rachel, would hang on the seat and we would go around and around till we got in trouble! Ayda just kept saying "All done".

This was definitely her favorite. She and mom didn't wrack up many points but they had fun throwing balls everywhere...literally! It's good there were not kids on either side of them...they might have gotten taken out!

Again...not too impressed!

Oh well, we'll try again in a couple years!!!

Playdate with Peyton!

I'm not really sure why, but I have been on sort of an anti blogging kick the past couple weeks. But I am going to try to get caught up and then get back to blogging regularly! We'll see!

Ayda and I spent a week in ATL a few weeks back. We had fun spending time with friends, my mom, and just relaxing. My best friend, Lauren, brought her precious niece over for an afternoon playdate one day. Ayda loved having a "baby" to play with. And Peyton tried to keep up with Ayda as best as she could. It was cute to watch them.

Ayda checking out Peyton's toy.

Peyton was so excited to get a turn on the BMW riding toy! Eventually Ayda hopped on there with her. A little crowded but they made it work!

My cool girl! She loves sunglasses and was very proud of herself for getting a hold of Lauren's Oakleys! I was a bit nervous they were going to get destroyed!

Peyton: "Ooo what you have there?"

Ayda: "Just some watered down lemonade from CFA!"

Peyton: "Can I try some?"

Ayda: "Nah...just keep chewing that magnet thing."

Ayda tickling Peyton's toes!

Great things are happening!

My SIL published this post on Monday night about Judah. Since then God has been doing amazing things in the hearts of so many! Check it out! The sting of poverty hit our family in the face Friday but God is still being praised through Judah's life. Judah means "to praise" and that is what is happening!!

Judah Alexander

I am still trying to process everything that has happened in the past week or so. My brother and SIL have been on a long journey to adopt a baby from Africa. After a long 9 months of them being told they would get their referral any day, they received news of their sweet son two weeks ago. Judah Alexander. They called with such excitement and sent a couple pictures for me to see his cute face. I fell in love. His big brown eyes, his tiny little body. I immediately could not wait for December when he would come home to live his life with them. My newest nephew joined the family that day.

We found out about a week later he had been hospitalized briefly. The nurse in me started running through different reasons why he was hospitalized. But he was back at his orphanage...good news. Then we found out last week he was back in the hospital receiving IV antibiotics. The next day my SIL spoke with the adoption agency and found out he was very sick with pneumonia. On Thursday, he was moved to the ICU at a different hospital. We were all praying. Praying for his little lungs (he only weighed a little over 5 lbs). Prayed for the doctors and nurses. Prayed he would pull through. I went to bed Thursday, hopeful.

Friday morning I woke up. It was my birthday but it just didn't feel like it. Something was not right. Then the phone rang. I missed my brother's call and called right back. Sitting in the floor of my room at my mom's house I heard my brother's voice more broken than I have ever heard it. Before the words even came out I knew what was coming. Judah didn't make it. He had died earlier that morning. My heart broke. Broken for my nephew who died. Broken for my Brother and SIL who were now facing a very unique situation where grieving was very real. Their son was gone. The one they waited on for a year and a half. Tears started flowing, words could not come out. I took the phone to my mom so he could tell her as well. The rest of the morning is a complete blur. My mom and I ran a couple errands but said maybe a few words. Tears started flowing from either of us without warning. We were scheduled to have facials done at a local spa for my birthday. We were late arriving but they certainly didn't care when the two of us came walking in, red eyes, my mom crying, me stone faced. They were so sweet to pamper us and try to cheer us up. We spent a couple hours at the spa, I think just to avoid the reality that awaited us when we walked outside. As I put it, I was hiding behind my eyelids during the facial. Judah never left my mind but I was able to keep my composure.

Friday also began a big celebration weekend for my mom's birthday (her's is exactly one week after mine). Family was coming from 4 states to celebrate. Though mom and I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide we knew the family would be so good for all of us. My brother and SIL arrived around 9 friday night and I was so happy to see them. One look at my brother and being engulfed in his big hug and the tears started flowing again. And it got worse when I hugged my SIL. We lost a family member on Friday. One we only saw a picture of. Never was able to hold. I pray God is telling him how much we loved him here in the states. My eyes were opened once again through this. I have spent time in Africa. I have seen the hospitals there. But how quickly I can forget after working in a state of the art hospital in ATL. My eyes are open, my heart is broken. Judah is on my mind so much still. I am still processing. Questions going through my mind that will never have answers and maybe I don't want to know. I talked to my SIL on Saturday and I can't imagine the pain she is experiencing. A mother who lost her child, but in such a unique way. Some of my broken heart is for them. Seeing them hurt and grieve is hard. I want to take the pain away but I can't. I can only pray for them. And remember Judah's sweet life with them. It was a birthday I will never forget.

Such a Prissy Girl!

(Be sure to scroll down, possibly go back a page, to see all the recent posts! I just posted A LOT to get caught up!!)

Ayda LOVES shoes. It doesn't matter if it is fancy heels, tennis shoes, flip flops, or ratty sandals. She loves to try on and wear anyone's shoes she can find! Today her choice was some of Kevin's mom's fancy shoes. You could hear her anywhere in the house as she clomped around!

Posing for a picture in her very pretty shoes! Also enjoying some corn! haha!

No Snakes Allowed!

We had a little visitor here last night. Kevin walked into the kitchen and found a snake in the middle of the floor...very much alive! He called out to me to NOT come in there and definitely keep Ayda out. I was, of course, intrigued and came in. By the time I walked in the snake had gone under the refrigerator. And thus began an adventure to get him out. Ayda and I stood on kitchen chairs watching Kevin try to scare him back out. Definitely didn't work. I finally went and put Ayda to bed and also shoved a towel under her door to keep him out of her room!

When I got back in the kitchen the snake's head was peaking out from behind the fridge. But he went right back under in no time. We tried everything we could think of to get him out. We finally found a flashlight and after shining it under there several times we concluded he must have gone up in the coils of the fridge. Nice. So we decided to watch some tv and check back periodically. I pretty much went into denial that there was a snake in the kitchen!

About 30 minutes went by and we decided to check in there. As we both stood up to head to the kitchen we froze as we saw him about to go into Kevin's mom's room. Kevin grabbed a golf club, I grabbed a gold club and we slowly approached the snake. I eventually ended up with both clubs, one on each side of the snake to keep him from going anywhere. Who knew you could direct a snake where you want it to go. Kevin had run to grab the trash can to trap him (we had already decided to try to get him outside safely, without killing him). Well the clubs were working until he starting moving toward one of them and acted completely unafraid of it. And that is about when I panicked. Snake must have known and made his break for the living room. Luckily the living room is very open so we had lots of space for him to make his move but us to still capture him. Kevin grabbed the clubs from me, I jumped on the couch, Kevin yelled I had to be doing something, I grabbed the trash can and sort of aimlessly, yet luckily threw it on the snake!!!! Victory!!!!! I collapsed on the couch to catch my breath, Kevin was dying laughing at me. Somehow Ayda slept through all the screaming and laughing!

We then put something under the trash can and took the snake outside. He was quite happy as he took off for the orange groves! I HOPE he learned his lesson and will NOT come back to our house...EVER!!!

Right before the release

Still a little too scared to move!

Freedom!

Too Young for XBOX!

I found Ayda playing with Kevin's XBOX controller and headphones. I was quite impressed (and a little frightened) that she knew what to do with both! She was not actually playing a game but she was sitting there like she was.

Getting the headphones just right!

Ok, ready to play!