Happy Halloween!

Last weekend Madalyn was 7 months old. Here is what she is up to:

-a very busy little bee. She doesn't sit still, do not expect to put her in one spot and she will stay there.

-if there is something that she wants and it doesn't matter where in the room it is, she can get to it.

-she has started pulling up; she did it 3 times last week at Mrs. Katie's but Kevin and I haven't seen it yet.

-she has become very vocal and to Kevin's delight is saying "dada" over and over.

-she is a wiggle worm when it comes to changing her now; in fact she has been moved to the floor this weekend after she almost took a nose dive off the changing table with me. Thankfully I caught her before the rest of her body went over. Scared me!

*OH, and Thursday evening I got the report back from Madalyn's allergy testing and everything she was tested for came back negative. So the doctor said that she was going back with what she thought before it was viral hives. However, Mrs. Katie gave Madalyn squash on Friday since we had gotten the ok, and it messed her little system up. She was spitting up a good bit and had an upset tummy. So, even though the test was negative I think we still stay away from squash and pears for now. But Kevin and I were so thankfully the test came back negative, but we will still be keeping a close eye on her when we start her on a new food.

Madalyn celebrated her first Halloween. She really didn't have much of a costume this year. I looked and looked for something but I never found anything that I really liked for her to wear. So she went as a "Diva Farmer". Mrs. Katie had a "Halloween/Fall" party this evening. There were lots of people there and the kids wore their costumes. We had hot dogs, chips, dessert, and the kids rode on a hay ride and got to trick or treat. It was too cold outside for Madalyn so we skipped the hay ride this year, but it was a nice time. However, when we left the bigger kids were continuing to dive into their candy and you could tell the sugar was kicking in.

My Diva Farmer with her John Deere shirt, zipper boots, pink overalls (which were mine), and her horse.

Madalyn and her pumpkin she got at Grandad's Apples last weekend.

I carved the pumpkin and I thought it turned out good. Just in case you can't tell, it's a cat.

Pop and Madalyn (Pop was a bull rider for Halloween)

The younger kids made a Halloween gingerbread house.

Spiderman (Geoffery), Red Power Ranger (Kayla), Miss America (Lily Kate)

Our finished house.

Hunter and Kevin. Isn't he the cutest little monkey! He had a booboo over his eye; so we said he was one of the monkey's that were jumping on the bed and fell off and bumped his head. (I'm not really sure how he got his booboo.)

Cow Train Ride

Madalyn and I riding on the Cow Train at Grandad's Apples.

Pumpkins, Apples, and Mountains Oh My!

Today Kevin, Madalyn, and my parents and I rode up to Hendersonville, NC to Grandad's Apples. The weather was perfect; a little breezy, but it was a nice day. We rode up after lunch so the weather would be warmer. We had a wonderful day in the mountains.



This is the biggest apple I have ever seen! It was almost as big as Madalyn's head!


They had two animals there to feed.

Our first trip to the pumpkin patch!

Madalyn got to bring home her first pumpkin!

We had to get a picture of Madalyn and her Grandad with Grandad's tractor.

Grandad, Madalyn, and Nana

Then we ate dinner with this view; over looking Lake Laure. We ate at Larkin's on the Lake. Here's the funny thing, it's owned by the same people who have Larkin's on the River, downtown Greenville; which is where we had our rehearsal dinner!

Happy Sunday!

Madalyn wore her Halloween dress to church this morning. I decided since it was getting close for her to get some use out of it she should go ahead and wear it. I found the dress at a big consignment sell in Greenville back in September or August sometime. The pumpkin in the picture was my "pumpkin man" from when I was a little girl. My mom bought it to Madalyn last weekend at the beach and she has had a great time playing with it.

I'm a Big Girl!

Madalyn sat in her highchair for the first time today to eat her lunch and then again to eat her dinner. I think she enjoyed it. She was able to look outside while she ate and was up high so she could see more in the house that was going on.

We went to the allergist on Wednesday and spent about 2 hours there. We really liked our doctor. He said that Madalyn was having food allergies and for us to test her. So Friday, she went to her regular doctor and had blood drawn. She will be tested for like 20 different foods and about 10 other indoor/outdoor allergies. She has only had a reaction so far to squash and pears by breaking out in hives. They said that even if she tests positive for some foods, that it doesn't mean she will have a reaction if she eats that food, just that she has a higher chance that she might have a reaction if she does. The allergist said that the only way to know if she will have a reaction is to give her the food and see. We now have an epipen that we carry with us everywhere (which is a scary thing). He did say that most people grow out of food allergies by the time they are around 2 or 3 years old. However, peanut and shrimp allergies they don't out grow and cause the most severe reactions. The doctor also said that if we take away a food, that at her age the right nutrition is very important and we will have to replace what is missing. He will send us to a nutritionist if needed. It will be about a week or so before we learn the results of the test. So, I'll give an update on that when we know something, but until then we are just sticking with foods that she hasn't had a reaction to yet: green beans, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, peaches, and rice cereal. We do have to avoid for now the squash and pears.

Africa

Mr. Tim (Kevin's dad) got back today from Africa about 2:00 this afternoon. We went over to see him this evening. He has experienced many things that none of us have experienced before or might never well. He's main mission was to pass out Bibles while he was there. He said that 67% of the nation of Zambia was 18 years old or under. The generation before them had died due to AIDS. He went to schools every day. The students wear uniforms and if you can't afford to buy a uniform you don't get to go to school. The school also isn't larger enough to hold all the students for an entire day. So half of the students go in the morning til lunch then another group comes in from lunch to about 4:00. The lunch that students are fed is popcorn. He said they eat a lot of popcorn, I guess because it's cheap and filling. He said that each day they went to a school twice to see the two groups of children and it would be any where from 500-800 students twice a day and each child got a Bible. He said that out of all of those children they saw only one boy refused to take a Bible. He was able to share the Gospel pretty much every where he went. He and the other Gideons have planted so many seeds of faith. He also had some opportunities to preach while there and visit with the head of the Zambia police force for the nation to pass out Bibles to his crew. He said that at one school they were mobbed twice by the students there because they wanted the Bibles so badly. A funny thing I think, he said he was the only American Gideon to have to have an interrupter because they couldn't understand him. He was also the only Gideon from the South. (doesn't say too much about us and the way we speak, but I thought that was funny). He said when he would start to talk that the children would cover their mouths to keep from laughing and held it in until he left the classroom. Then he could hear the whole room laugh out. We are thankful that Mr. Tim listened to God's call for him to go Africa and we are thankful for how God was able to use Him and we are thankful that he is back home safe. There were some threats that came up while he was there, but God protected him and the other Gideons.

This is the wooden giraffe that Mr. Tim brought back to Madalyn from Africa.

Tim & Amanda's Wedding

This weekend we headed to Beaufort,SC for my cousin Tim's wedding on Fripp Island. My parents, Papa, my uncle Keith, Felicia, and Emily,and Kevin, Madalyn and I all went to the wedding. The wedding was Saturday, Oct.8th at 5;30pm. Tim and Amanda got engaged one year ago on the beach Oct.8th. Amanda grew up going to the beach in this area all her life and wanted to marry here. The original plan was to marry on the beach at sunset but due to the weather: wind and potential rain, the ceremony was moved to the grass. Thankfully the ceremony and pictures ended just as the rain came. It was a very nice and sweet ceremony and we had a great time. We wish Tim and Amanda all the best and congratulations!

The Groom and his Groommens

The bridemaids and flower girl.

Her step brother walked her half way and her dad walked her the rest of the way down.

Mr. and Mrs. Tim Boothe

My uncle Dan, Amanda, Tim, and my aunt Susan

The lovely Bride


Going to get beach pics made before the rain. (They may not be the best quality I had to zoom in a long ways.)

Dan and Susan

The couples first dance as husband and wife.


The cake and cupcakes; they were delicious!

Tim, Amanda, Me, Madalyn, and Kevin

Me, Madalyn, and Kevin our first wedding as a family of 3. The last wedding we went to I was still pregnant with Madalyn.

Papa and Madalyn enjoying themselves.

Madalyn was such a good baby through all of this; however it wore her out. Taking a nap in Nana's arms.

Madalyn's Hives Return

When I was leaving school this afternoon, I had a message from Mrs. Katie to call her. This afternoon Madalyn broke out in hives again, but far worse than the time before. She said she was hot to touch, was running a small fever, and looked like she had been painted red. You can see little bumps all over her body and feel them too. She called the doctor and they said to give her benadryl and our doctor decided to go ahead and make a referral for an allergist. One thing that I did notice was that Madalyn started pears on Saturday and Sunday she was broken out. She had not had pears since Sunday and had them at lunch today. So I don't know if there's a connection with the pears, but no more pears for her for awhile. They also said that this wasn't a reaction to her shots she had on Monday. So hopefully, we will get some answers soon with the allergist.

LIFE

Life is....

PRecious......Short.....SWEET.....Unpredictable....WondERful......SAD......Happy.....ETC.

We are so blessed beyond our wildest dreams to have all that we have. We are blessed to have a healthy, loving, family. Every day we need to cherish our time with our loved ones, we never know when God will call us home. So much sickness and sadness around, it's very easy to get depressed with all that is going on in the world. It's harder to have faith in God and remind our self and believe that He is in control, but He is. I'm so thankful He is, what a comfort that is. Take time every day to be thankful for what you have. As the old saying goes "True Happiness is wanting what you have; not wanting what you don't have." Each sun rise is a new beginning and a chance to start over and make that day right. Each sun set is a reminder of the blessing that we had to have been alive for that day.

Current Prayer Requests:
Prayer Request: A fifth grader a my school is waiting on a heart transplant. She's been waiting for about 3 weeks now. Pray that one comes soon and her body will accept the heart.

Prayer Request: My father-in-law is in Africa for the week. He will start His journey home Saturday and will be home Sunday. He said that he wanted to see God do a miracle while He was in Africa.

Prayer Request: Some big things are happening in my school district and it's got everything in turmoil; pray for guidance, wisdom, clarity, and peace.

6 Month Check Up

Last week, Madalyn had her 6 month check up for her hips. The doctor said that everything looked good and she didn't have to come back unless we had problems. Today, she had her regular 6 month check up. Here are her results:

-27 3/4 inches long (95%)
-17.4 pounds (75%)
-15 inches head (50%)

-She got two shots and an oral vaccine today. She didn't like the first shot and really didn't like the last one. (The nurse said that the last one the medicine burned).

-We were told to get ready to baby proof our house; that she will be moving soon!

-She can up her intake of solid foods and move to stage 2. She is also to start going to a sippy cup instead of a bottle.

Yesterday at Hunter's party I noticed that she had broken out again on her back and stomach. The doctor said that this was eczema this time instead of hives. So she gave us some lotion to try and see if we can get it cleared up. If not, then she will have to see an allergist. She got a good report today and we are so thankful for a healthy and happy baby. She goes back in January for her 9 month check up. My baby girl is growing up too fast!


You can see her pink camo band aid. She has one on each leg. Poor baby!