K&K Elliott

Surgery

2010-04-29T10:20:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning I woke up at 4am feeling a little weird. I was nauseated and felt as if I needed to go to the bathroom...but I couldn't go (I know...TMI). :) I slept off and on until about 7:30. We got up and I cooked breakfast, but still didn't feel great. We kinda took our time hanging out before we left to go pick strawberries. Oddly, I felt ok while I was walking around. We came home and ate lunch. I started feeling bad again. I tried to be "brave." We went to the hospital to see a friend's baby. She was so cute, by the way. Before we left, Kevin kept asking me if I really felt like going, but I really wanted to go. We got home and were getting ready for another friend to come over for dinner. I thought I had gas and needed to burp. At one point I laid down on the floor and asked Kevin to beat my back. He did, and Kayden helped. :) It was actually cute and I would've swooned over it except I felt horrible. My friend called and I told her to go ahead and come over even though I wasn't feeling great. This turned out to be a good move. I started feeling much worse (luckily I hadn't eaten dinner). I looked at Kevin and Nina and told them that I felt like I needed to go to the ER. They both agreed. Nina googled and found that all of the symptoms I was having were from either gall stones or a gallbladder attack.
We got to the ER about 7:00pm. I was in so much pain by then that I asked for a wheelchair and I was in tears. We told them that we thought I had gallbladder issues. We only really sat in the waiting room about 15 minutes before triage, but it felt like about 15 hours. WakeMed North has a wonderful ER. After triage they sent me back out to the waiting room where we sat for probably another 15 minutes before they got me to a room. Again...not bad, but I felt horrible so it felt like a lot longer. On a side note...they use the pager system like you would have at a restaurant. It's kinda cool and a good way to protect privacy.
When we finally made it back to a room we told the MD that we thought I had gallbladder issues. He asked me some questions about my pain and where it was. He told me that it sounds like gallbladder, but he will get me some pain meds and then they will do an ultrasound. I told him that I would be his best friend if he would get me some pain meds. He responded, "Now, that's an offer I can't refuse." And then he walked out. About 5 minutes later the nurse came in with some meds for my pain and my nausea. It didn't completely get rid of either one. So, later she came back with some more pain meds that had nausea meds in them. That completely got rid of my pain, but it also made me extremely anxious. I all of a sudden told Kevin that I couldn't stay there anymore. I jumped up and told him that I felt like I could run a marathon as I was jumping up and down with an IV sticking in my arm. He was freaking out and hit the nurse call button as fast as he possibly could. :)
So, she brought me some Adivan. WONDERFUL medicine. After that all I wanted to do was sleep. But no can do. The Ultrasound tech was not so gentle and kept trying to give me commands. "Kayte, take a deep breath and hold it. Now, Kayte, Breath." Over and over again. I have no idea if I was actually doing what she was asking me to do and I remember one time actually thinking that I was supposed to be holding my breath and very aware that I definately was not. :) She also kept digging into my ribs and I kept telling her it was hurting. She, however, only apologized and kept going.
Long story, coming to an end, it is gallstones. I met with a surgeon yesterday who said he could do 1 of 2 things. He can do nothing which according to him "isn't really doing anything" or he could take the gallbladder out. I voted for taking the gallbladder out. So, Dr. Roy with WakeMed Surgery will be taking my gallbladder out on Friday, May 7 at 7:30 in the morning. This is the day before my birthday, so the one thing I will be guaranteed is that I get to be lazy and pampered on my birthday and Mother's Day. :)
Please pray for me that everything will go well. Pray for my sweet husband who is worried about me. :) Pray for the surgeon that he will have steady hands, lots of rest the night before and wisdom during the surgery. This is an extremely common surgery (a lot of people I've talked to this week have had it done). I'm confident in the surgeon but most of all I'm confident in my God who will protect me and sustain me within His will. :)
Thanks for your prayers. Thanks also for reading this long post. :)
Until next time...

Back in the swing of things...maybe

2010-04-14T09:16:00.005-04:00

So, first thing's first...I hope you all enjoy my new design. A very special "Thank you" to http://blog.lproof.org/ and http://www.fabulouskcreative.com/ for the wonderful gift. I love the new look. What do you think?

OK. So, we've been home for about 4 days...and I'm just now getting settled in. We had a wonderful trip, but it is very nice to be home. What have we been up to?

Kevin finished up Chaplain School at Fort Jackson. We are especially glad because this was his 3rd trip down there to the school. Because he's in seminary they allowed him to split his time there into several different trips. We met some really amazing people and are looking forward to serving our country and our Lord alongside those amazing men and women. I have to say, I'm a bit envious of the ones who already have their permanent duty stations. You can pray for us that we will be patient and learn all we can while we're at SEBTS. Also, pray that God's will be done. We really want to go active duty when Kevin graduates. Pray that God will direct our paths without question.

While Kevin was at Chaplain School I spent time with my family. It was a fun-filled few weeks of going to the Children's Museum in Greenville, hanging out with family and friends, working my Mary Kay business and taking a few trips. I'll post some pictures as soon as I have time.

We are back in Wake Forest and it took me a few days to get my motivation up to unpack our stuff and clean the house. However, I'm finished...except laundry! I even got Kayden's room fixed where all her toys are now in her room! I'm so excited about this. Pictures will also come soon for this.

I'll post later about some of the amazing things Kayden is doing. She's becoming such a big girl.

Until then...

The Bible & a Toddler

2010-01-11T15:23:00.002-05:00

I shared with you last week about my goals for 2010. I am doing fairly well. I've gotten a little behind in my reading plan, but I will get caught back up before the weekend. I've only missed a day or maybe 2. But it's better than I've ever been before when I've resolved to read my Bible every day or read through the Bible in a year.

The one resolution that I've kept faithfully so far is reading to Kayden. We're making our way through the Veggie Tales Bible Storybook. It is a great little resource. I like it because it has a page for the "problem" then it tells the Veggie Tales story (from the movie) then the same story from the Bible (it's a little paraphrased in preschool language and leaves out some of the more mature parts--ie killing, sexual sins, etc) and it tells you where the story came from. It then sums up the problem from the beginning using the lessons learned from the Bible.

Usually when I'm reading this to her it's right before bed while she's taking her last bottle. Then Kevin comes over and prays with us. Any other book I try to read her she either snatches out of my hands or tries to close before I can get past the 2nd line. :) I usually end up reading while she's giggling and running around the room. LOL

Well, this morning, my sweet toddler did the coolest thing. We were in the living room playing with her toys. All her toys and books are in the same place (and I believe at the time they were all piled up on the floor LOL). I said, "Kayden, do you want Mommy to read you a story?" I was prepared for her to run away or shake her head "no" or something crazy. I started to take one of the books still on the shelf and just begin to read. Then, I noticed that she was going somewhere. So, I watched. She stood up, walked around me, past her toys and over to the sofa. On the sofa was her Veggie Tales Bible Story book. She looked at me again and patted the book. I said, "Do you want Mommy to read from that book?" She shook her head yes. So, for the first time...ever...she climbed up in my lap and let me read the WHOLE story. She even turned the pages (appropriately) for me as I read. It was the sweetest moment. Too bad no one was around to catch it on film. :)

Hello, New Friend, 2010

2010-01-04T11:41:00.002-05:00

The last week of 2009 and the first decade of this milinium, I spent a lot of time thinking about my "New Year's Resolutions." The very thought of this was ho-hum for me and I began to think of my resolutions for what they really are--goals. So, what did I want to see come out of 2010? This was an interesting thought for me. I didn't want to set too many so that they can't be accomplished, but I didn't want to set too few so that I had nothing to shoot for. I really want to see my life as an individual and my family be better at the end of 2010 than we have been before.

So, I decided to break down my goals for 2010 into categories--self (spiritual, mental and physical), family and business.

Here are my goals for this year:

Self
1. Read through the Bible this year. I have never done this before, so I started January 1 reading the Bible going through a reading plan. So far, it's rejuvenating and I'm so excited.

(on a side note, I had been praying that God would help me to be closer to Him this year and that He will open my eyes to the people around me and help me love people more. This was the sermon topic yesterday at church. I love it when God does that. :) )

2. Spend time reading (at least a couple of days a week).

3. Excersize 30 minutes a day at least 3 days a week.

4. Date nights at least 2X a month.

5. Read to Kayden every day.

The next few are for my business:

6. To meet 25 new people ever week.

7. 30 facials every month (all 12 of them).

8. To earn my Mary Kay career car by March.

9. To become a director in Mary Kay by June.

10. To balance family/home life with my Mary Kay business.

I put these goals in my blog so that you know what I am planning and I will be more accountable. I would appreciate your prayers for me that I will have the discipline to do this. Also, feel free to ask me about them throughout the year.

Happy 2010 my friends! I love you all!

1 Year Old

2009-12-09T18:52:00.011-05:00

My 1 Year Old Baby Girl before church the day after her birthday.

This post is a little late, but better late than never, right?

Saturday was my little bug's First Birthday. Wow, what a year. I can't believe it's been a year already. We had her party while we were home for Thanksgiving.

Here is her picture with her cake.

Grandma (my mom) said that she is the cleanest birthday girl she'd ever seen. :) She didn't get it all over her and she didn't really eat any. Guess that's not a bad thing. :)

There were a lot of people there to celebrate her first birthday with her. We were excited to see everyone. There was one important person who was unable to celebrate with her and that was her daddy. He was upstairs sick. :( It was very sad. He hated to miss her celebration. However, we were very glad that he was upstairs not sharing his germs with everyone.

When we left for SC, Kayden was unable to walk. She was crawling all over the place, would stand unassisted for a few seconds, and then would sit down and crawl. She would walk for a little while holding our fingers. The first night we were in SC, Aunt Emily started encouraging her to walk on her own. She took a few lounging steps, but nothing more than that. However, by Sunday, she was walking way more. She still preferred to crawl, but she was starting to walk more and more. Now, she is walking all over the place. Yes, things are very different in the Elliott household.

So, what has this milestone brought to us?

Kayden is no longer drinking formula. :) She took to milk like a champ! I don't care for milk, so I was a little afraid she wasn't going to like it either, but she didn't act like she knew any different the first time she had it. So...no more cans of formula!
She loves water. She drinks at least 3 sippy cups/bottles of water every day. I'm so proud of her!
She says "Baby", "bye-bye", "Ma-ma", "Da-da", "uh-oh"
She is learning sign language. She signs "more", "eat", "milk", "bye-bye", "duck", "all done."
She sleeps through the night. She has been doing this since 6 weeks old (off and on).
She loves her friends at church. She doesn't mind one bit when I drop her off in the nursery.
She has learned to turn the TV off by pressing the button. She also loves the remote. She has turned the TV up so our down the street neighbor can hear it. She has also recorded a show and changed the channel (luckily what she recorded was cartoons and she turned the TV to the history channel).
She doesn't like shoes or socks (at least on her feet). She enjoys taking her shoes off, then her socks and chewing on her socks.
She loves giving kisses. She is now doing them on her own without being prompted. She loves to crawl up in our laps and snuggle. That's the sweetest part.
She DOES NOT like wearing hats. Every time I put a hat on her, she takes it right off. She also doesn't like for me to wear a hat. She takes it off my head too. :)
After turning 1 year old, she now gets to sit facing forward in her car seat and see where she is going. This didn't seem to effect her one way or the other...but it is a right of passage.

Now, enjoy watching our baby girl grow up over the past year.

Kayden in the hospital after being born.

1 Month Old...She loves smiling

2 Months Old--She LOVED her excersaucer

3 Months Old--Sportin' the Clemson attire

4 Months Old--1 Easter. She was excited about her Easter Basket! :)

5 Months--First Mother's Day--Parent/Child Dedication at Open Door Baptist. The dress she is wearing is from Uncle E's mom (my best friend's mother-in-law). She found the dress at an antique shop and said that it reminded her of my wedding dress. I felt this was the most special time she could wear it.

6 Months--Met Cousin AG for the first time

7 Months--Daddy was at Fort Jackson, so she was really excited about being reunited with him for the weekend.

8 Months--1st Trip to the Beach (Myrtle Beach vacation with Auntie Alli & Uncle E)

9 Months--This is the only picture I have of her with a hat. I LOVE this picture. She's my little diva. If you can't tell already, she loves the camera...and the camera loves her. :)

10 Months--1 Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

11 Months--Helped Daddy put her ornament on the tree

First Sickness

2009-11-03T15:23:00.003-05:00

Well, it was bound to happen and I guess we're blessed that we made it almost 11 months before it happened. She's had 2 ear infections since she was born, but neither of these slowed her down. Last night, our little bug started running 103.6 temperature. We got very little sleep last night and other than the fever there don't seem to be any other outward symptoms. Her fever went down last night before going to bed. When she woke up this morning her fever was 99.6. However, throughout the day it has risen to now 102.5. I called the doctor and we have an appointment at 4:10. She looks pitiful. Usually I have to listen to her cry to put her down for a nap. A few mintues ago I placed her in the pack and play and she went right to sleep. She's been whining for the past 24 hours. We're praying that it's nothing serious, but I will update after the doctor.

**Update: After swabbing for the flu test (which is HORRIBLE btw), it's been determined that she does not have the flu. The doctor pricked her finger and did a blood count check to determine if she has a bacterial infection or a viral infection...the test gave no definative answers so we are going in for a follow-up tomorrow. Hopefully we'll all get some rest tonight and she'll be back to her normal self tomorrow. Bless her heart she is just pitiful.

I double dog dare you not to smile

2009-10-29T14:42:00.003-04:00

If You're Happy & You Know It

2009-10-25T20:50:00.003-04:00

10 months

2009-10-19T09:29:00.003-04:00

Well, I realized the other day that it's been a while since I've updated our blog. Shame on me. Then, I kept putting it off again because I just felt overwhelmed with what to write. I decided that I could go back and update everything we've been doing for the past 2+ months, or I could just start with now. So...in the interest of time and space (not to mention your interest) I'll just start with now.

Kayden is now 10 months old. I cannot believe that a little more than 10 months ago she was still growing in my tummy. It's amazing to think about. In many, many ways I feel like she's always been here with us.

This is my 3rd week of staying home with Kayden. I LOVE it. I'm still trying to find a routine that fits us. Some days, we are still in our pj's at 10, but we're coming around. My neighbor and I have been walking almost every morning so that helps to motivate me out of the bed, at least. :)

Kayden is growing by leaps and bounds. She is experimenting with walking. She will walk around holding the furniture (or as the "experts" call it, "cruise.") She also loves to push her walking toy or anything else that will move when she stands and pushes it. She also enjoys holding our hands to walk. Her form is getting better every day. She is also experimenting with standing on her own. She will push up or pull up on the furniture and then let go. She will stand there for a few seconds and then sit down. I really think that she has the ability to walk on her own, she just doesn't know that she has that ability. I'm not sure that I'm quite ready for that skill yet. :)

This past weekend we took her to Vollemer Farms. This is the place where we pick strawberries in the spring. They have a pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkins. They also have a play area called "The Back Forty" where they have a pumpkin bounce, a cow train, a corn crib and other activities for kids of all ages. We had a good time. I think we wore Kayden out. But she enjoyed watching the other kids play. Here are some pictures for you:

Some of the skills Kayden now has:

1. She is standing some on her own

2. She is starting to walk while holding on to something

3. She loves "hugging" her baby

4. She likes giving kisses (sometimes :) )

5. She can say "hey"

6. She can wave hello

7. She is learning sign language and can tell you when she wants "more" of something

8. She can hold her hands up when you ask her to say "yeah!"

9. She has learned how to crawl under furniture when she wants to get out of her "cage"

10. She can turn the tv off by using the remote :)

Most importantly she has captured her mommy and daddy's hearts. We are absolutely smitten with this little girl. I love her so much and am constantly in awe that God chose me to take care of her.

No donkeys sleeping in your bathtub

2009-08-03T22:44:00.002-04:00

So, I was driving home from work tonight and this commercial came on. Honestly, I don't even remember what they were advertisting, but the opening tagline was "Something stupid...a random Minnesota law prohibits you to drive across state lines with a duck on your head." I don't remember what the commercial was for, because I got caught up thinking, "why in the world would you drive anywhere--must less across a state line--with a duck on your head?"
Then the next thing it said was, "Something stupid...a really dumb Arizona law prohibits you from allowing a donkey to sleep in your bathtub." Again...why would I let a donkey sleep in my bathtud? More importantly, what happened to cause them to need these laws in the first place? I'm imagining some farmer's wife getting kicked in the head because she didn't know that her husband had let their donkey sleep in the bathtub for the night and went in half asleep to take a bath. Or some poor guy with his pet duck leaving Minnesota and getting pulled over because his duck's favorite place to sit is on his head.
I decided to do a little google research and see if there were any other laws that were rediculous...here's what I found...
Thanks to http://www.idiotlaws.com/ I found a stupid law for every state...
Alabama: It is illegal to eat icecream on Sundays.
Alaska: It's illegal to view a moose from an airplane.
Arizona: It is illegal for 6 girls to live in a house.
Arkansas: It is illegal for you to beat your wife more than once a month.
California: You must obtain a permit from a sherriff to crossdress.
Colorado: It's illegal to let your neighbor borrow your vaccum.
Connecticut: It's illegal to cross the street while walking on your hands.
Delaware: It's illegal to pass out on the boardwalk.
Florida: It's illegal to be electricuted in the bathtub.
Georgia: You must own a rake or you will go to jail.
Hawaii: It's illegal to put any coins in your ears.
Idaho: It's illegal to not have a smile on your face in public.
Illinois: It's illegal to give a dog a lighted cigar.
Indiana: It's illegal for a barber to threaten to cut a kid's ear off.
Iowa: You must have written consent to throw things in the sidewalk or street.
Kansas: Damaging a vending machine that took your dollar is against the law.
Kentucky: A woman must get her husband's permission before she can buy a hat.
Louisiana: You can go to jail for up to a year if you make a promise you don't intend to keep.
Maine: You can be fined for leaving your Christmas decor up after January 14.
Maryland: It's illegal to take your camel to the movies.
Massachusetts: It's illegal to not believe in God. You can go to jail for up to a year and or be fined $300.
Michigan: It's illegal to let your pig run free without a nose ring.
Minnesota: You can go to jail for sleeping naked.
Mississippi: It's illegal to shave in the middle of main street.
Missouri: It's illegal to get an elephant drunk or high.
Montana: It's illegal to point sprinklers so they annoy passerbys.
Nebraska: Donut shops are prohibited from selling donut holes.
Nevada: (why couldn't I have lived here hee hee) It's illegal for a mother to give her daughter a perm without a permit.
New Hampshire: It's illegal to pick up trash or repair park benches in the White Mountain National Forest Park without a permit.
New Jersey: Without a note from your doctor, you won’t be able to buy an ice cream cone after 6pm. This is considered illegal and you can be fined or jailed.
New Mexico: Women are prohibited from being unshaven in public.
New York: A couple cannot get a divorce for irreconcilable differences unless they both agree.
North Carolina: Fornicators that register as a married couple to get a discount might find themselves legally married. According to state law, the couple are legally married.
Ohio: Catching a mouse in your house is illegal without a permit.
Oklahoma: It's prohibited to do your own hair without a license.
Oregon: It's against the law for a wedding to be performed at a skating rink.
Pennslyvania: It's illegal for housewives to sweet dirt under a rug.
Rhode Island: It's illegal to sell both toothbrush and toothpaste to the same person...on Sunday.
South Carolina: All males must bring their firearms to church because the indians might attack. (I have to do 2 since this is my state)...Men can beat their wives only on SUNDAY and only on the steps of the courthouse.
South Dakota: Horses are prohibited from entering the Foutain Inn unless they are wearing pants.
Tennessee: It's illegal for a woman to ask a man on a date.
Texas: You must get permission to eat your neighbor's garbage. Failure to do so will land you in jail.
Utah: It's against the law to not drink milk.
Vermont: In Barre, Vermont they made it a law that everyone should bathe on Saturday night.
Virginia: It's illegal to tickle a woman.
Washington: It is grounds for arrest if you are caught wearing a life jacket.
West Virginia: Children are not allowed to go to school with breath smelling like wild onions.
Wisconsin: You can't play checkers in public.
Wyoming: It's illegal to leave the fence open.

OK...so what are your favorite stupid state laws?

Oh the beach is calling my name!!!

2009-07-29T12:57:00.004-04:00

This has been a rather stressful summer. Kevin's been gone for 4 1/2 weeks now and I've been working and taking care of Kayden and our home all by myself. I hesitate saying that I've been taking care of our home...becuase I have literally done the bare minimum. :)

Well, this time next week we'll be on our way...as a family...to Myrtle Beach! I'm so excited. This will be Kayden's first trip to the beach. It will our first trip to the beach as a married couple. It will be our first family vacation. And it will be our first vacation with friends and not family (although our dear friends Alli and Erik are very much family to us).

I'm looking forward to the time to spend with our dear friends. I'm looking forward to reuniting our family before we have to hit the ground running back to work and school. I'm looking forward to relaxing in the lazy river and on the beach. And YES...the seafood!!!! :)

Kevin and I will also being setting some goals for our family as well as our future. I'm most looking forward to this. I am trying to set some big goals for my Mary Kay business and need to sit down with Kevin to talk about them. I'm really excited about this!!!

Oh where oh where have I been?

2009-07-15T22:47:00.002-04:00

OK, so it's been a really long time since I've last posted anything. It's been a crazy few months. I could make excuses, but I'll just say that life has been happening. :)

One of my new favorite songs is Darryl Worley's "Sounds like life to me." The first time I heard it I turned the radio down because I wasn't in the mood to hear "truth" spoken to me at the time. :) I was dealing with craziness at work, still adjusting to being a working mom (well, I'm STILL adjusting to that) and feeling generally overwhelmed. Then I heard this song where a guy is talking to his best friend who has "fallen off the wagon." He finds him in a bar and asks him what's going on. His friend starts telling all his "woes." After listening to him for a few minutes he did what any good friend should do. He said, "This isn't what you want to hear, but it's what I'm going to say...Sounds like life to me, ain't no fantasy. It's a common case of every day reality." So, that's what's been going on in my world...LIFE.

Here's what life is holding right now:

1. Kevin's in Columbia, SC in Chaplain School. He is doing well even though we miss each other terribly.

2. I am still working full time, building my Mary Kay business and taking care of little Bug and our apartment all alone. I miss Kevin terribly...did I mention that already?

3. Little Bug is growing by leaps and bounds. She is 7 months and 10 days old now. She is amazing. She gets really excited when she sees me. She's always smiled, but now, she flaps her arms and kicks her legs. It's AWESOME! She also gets excited when she hears her "da-da's" voice.

4. She LOVES to take a bath. The very mention of taking a bath she gets all excited and starts to giggle.

5. She has just recently become fascinated with her hands. Yesterday I was trying to feed her and she kept looking at her hand and would open it and close it and she studied it intensely.

6. She has learned how to use her toys the way they are supposed to. She loves buttons. Telephone buttons, remote buttons and buttons on her toys. Last night I put her in her crib and a few minutes later I heard music coming from her room. She had pressed the button on the music thing on her crib.

There are many more things that are going on here, but I think that about covers the big things. I just got a new computer today. When I get everything set up, I'll post some new pictures of Little Bug. I think I might even have a video or 2 for your viewing pleasure. I know you're sitting on pins and needles waiting for it. (Mom, you'll have to be patient and wait...sorry. :) )

Kayden plays with her toys

2009-03-29T09:04:00.002-04:00

Kayden's New Words

2009-03-14T11:37:00.002-04:00

12 Weeks

2009-02-26T11:52:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow, my little bug will be 12 weeks old. I have had a blast at home with her and am grieving the time that I will be away from her. Monday is going to be hard and I would appreciate the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Here are some of the things that I have learned over the past 12 weeks:

1. My daughter is a precious gift from the Lord.

2. I get frustrated and overwhelmed when things are out of order in my apartment.

3. I am terribly unorganized (hense the frustration and overwhelmed feelings)

4. I am not very disciplined, but I'm working on that.

5. The next 3 months are going to be hard, but well worth it.

I have a huge goal to get my Mary Kay business built up over the next 3-4 months so that I can stay at home with my little bug from now on. If you think of me over the next few months, please do 2 things: 1) Pray, Pray, Pray! Pray for my emotions and for my discipline. Pray that I will keep my stamina and my focus. 2) If you know anyone who would like to be pampered with a facial and possibly earn free products, send them my way (preferably give me their names). You can help me build my business. :)

Some of the things that Kbug is doing now are:

1) Smiling--A LOT! She loves to smile. She smiles when something funny is on TV. She smiles at her toys. My favorite smile is when I go in to get her in the morning and she realizes I'm there. She looks at me with this big toothless grin.

2) She loves to dance. She likes it when we move her to music. She also kicks and moves her arms when she hears music.

3) She is trying her best to sit up. She will pick her neck up (almost her shoulders too) and lifts her legs trying to strengthen her abs.

4) She loves to stand up on our laps. She will lock her legs so that she stands up.

5) She loves to be read to. I try to read her a book every day and Kevin reads a story from her Toddler Bible to her every night. We are reading through the Bible with her. It's precious.

6) She loves talking. She will sit and talk to me for hours. She has new sounds all the time, but right now she loves to squeel.

7) She loves her "binky bear." This is a Pooh Bear that's holding a small blanket. She's been snuggling with this in her car seat and sometimes her swing since she was about 3 weeks old. She sees it when we're putting her in her car seat and starts to smile and swing her arms. Then she grabs the bear and hugs it. She's so cute with it!

Sleep

2009-01-27T16:03:00.003-05:00

So, I'm realizing that I'm much different from a lot of other moms. I'm not really sleep deprived. Kbug sleeps like a champ...most of the time. She takes at least 2 long naps a day (usually from 11-2 and then again from 4ish- 6ish). Then she sleeps in 3-6 hour intravals during the night. When she wakes up at night, she usually eats and then goes right back to sleep. However, on Sunday I noticed something very important. Kbug didn't take her normal naps on Sunday because we were at church during the first nap time. She wasn't having any part of her nap during that time. You see, Kbug has just this past weekend started discovering her world and she wanted to see EVERYTHING. She wasn't content to be cuddled in my arms, she wanted to be up where she could see. So, since she didn't take a nap that morning, she was too tired and restless to take her afternoon nap. Since she didn't take a long nap in the afternoon she was too tired and restless to sleep on Sunday night. I would have personally thought that more naps would equal less sleeping at night. However, what I have found is that more naps during the day equals more sleep at night. Yesterday I tested this theory. I woke her up at 9:30 yesterday morning so that she would take her morning nap. She slept from 12:30-3:30. I woke her up and fed her. She went back to sleep at 5:30 and slept off and on until 8:30. I woke her up, fed her and bathed her and then she went back to sleep at 10:30 and slept until 5:30 this morning! When she woke up, she ate and was back asleep before 6 and slept until 7:45!!!! This is ROCKING!

For your listening pleasure

2009-01-22T19:38:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that Kayden will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. Time is flying by so fast. Today we noticed that she was making some noises that sound a lot like laughing. I decided to video that so that those of you who are out of town can hear her. Yes, a lot of the video is me trying to make her laugh. She's so sweet. We have a lot of fun together. She is also trying to "talk" to me a lot now. It's so much fun watching her learn every day. This isn't the video I had hoped to put on here, but the other one wouldn't load. I hope you enjoy this video.

Spiritual Disciplines

2009-01-17T19:01:00.002-05:00

As a general rule, I'm not very disciplined. It's not that I don't have it in me...but I'm usually just too lazy to care.
When I was in school I would wait til the last minute to work on a paper or study for a test. I did well (mostly A's & B's) but I just did what I had to do to get by.
My apartment doesn't get cleaned on a regular basis, mainly just when I'm tired of the clutter and about to go out of my mind.
Even my spiritual life has lacked discipline. I confess that I don't spend the time with the Lord that I know I need to on a daily basis. Again, it's not that I don't know I need to or understand what I'll get out of it, it's just that I let other things (mostly laziness) get in my way.
Our Care Group is doing a study on Spiritual Disciplines this semester. The guys are meeting together and then the girls are meeting together. I am learning more and more about the importance of being disciplined in my spiritual life.
This week we discussed Bible intake. Basically, reading the Bible daily and knowing what is in the Bible, as well as memorizing and meditating on particular Scripture and then applying it to our lives. This is the place where I most struggle. I have realized that when I'm not reading the Word, then I feel guilty and stop praying and then a vicious cycle begins. So, this week I have committed to reading through the Psalms (by reading 4 chapters a day). I am working on memorizing and meditating on the first 3 verses of Psalm 1.
What about you? What Spiritual disciplines do you struggle with and what are you doing about it?

Widget

2009-01-08T17:37:00.001-05:00

First Month

2009-01-08T11:06:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I've been a little busier than usual and am a few days late on writing this post. Truth is, I've sat down several times since my last post to write about various topics (Christmas, mine and Kevin's first anniversary, New Years, looking back on 2008, my goals for 2009) but every time I sat down and opened this screen, I was too tired to think of what exactly I wanted to write.

This week has been full of taking care of Kayden for essentially the first time by myself since she's been born and trying to get our apartment cleaned up. :) So, I'm just getting around to writing about her first month...

Monday was January 5th. That was Kayden's one month birthday. It came around so quickly. I wasn't sure why it came so quickly until I read my stepdad's blog yesterday. (See it here.) Anyway, I am amazed daily by Kayden and what she can do. She is already smiling at me. On Sunday Kevin and I went to the grocery store. Kayden slept through the whole trip until we got to the cashier. She woke up and was smiling at me as I talked to her. I realized that we needed a news paper and when I walked away she began to cry. As soon as I came back she started smiling again. The pediatrician said that this is a 2 month old skill. My little girl is sooo smart. Now, on the one hand I love that she's ahead of the game, but on the other hand I'm sad that she's already starting to grow up so fast. :)

Kayden is also holding her head up already. We really never had to support her head like you would with normal new borns. It's been amazing.

We have had an amazing month with her. She sleeps well and she hardly ever cries. She only really cries when she is hungry...and then you can probably hear her within a 10 mile radius. :)

I decided that I'm going to take her picture every month on her month birthday to see how she is changing. I'm posting here her first picture taken as well as the picture I took of her on Monday. It's amazing how much she has changed already. Enjoy.

30 minutes old.

1 month old

Our Best Christmas Present Ever

2008-12-14T10:21:00.007-05:00

Yes, I know that this is LONG overdue...well, at least a week anyway. I've sat down several times this week to write this post, but was always interrupted by something. So, most of you already know what our best Christmas present ever is...but for those of you who don't...last Friday night, December 5, at 8:13 Kayden Grace Elliott made her entrance into the world and deeper into the hearts of her mom, dad, grandparents and rest of her family.

It was a pretty eventful day for me. I had to be induced because I had gestational diabetes and the doctors didn't want me to go past my due date. So, we went to the hospital on Thursday night to begin my induction. Friday morning I had begun to progress a bit with labor so they started pitocin at 7:30 that morning. The contractions started coming and although they were uncomfortable, they weren't unbareable. I was able to breathe through them. They were coming about every 3-5 minutes at first. Every now and then the nurse would come in and up the dosage of pitocin and then contractions would come closer together. I was able to go through them still without the use of an epidural. That was my plan to labor without an epidural. Everyone thought I was trying to be brave or be a martyr, but it didn't have anything to do with that. I just didn't want to have to get another shot. I had also heard some horror stories about epidurals from other people I knew who now have back problems that they blame on the epidural. Not knowing how it would effect me, I was afraid of the epidural.

I was doing well until about 4:00. The contractions were getting worse. Kevin was doing well trying to help me relax, but I had gotten to the point where I couldn't relax anymore because the contractions were coming closer together and were more intense. I also didn't know how much longer I was going to have to go through all this. I finally asked for the epidural. After I got the epidural, the doctor came in and checked me and I had not progressed one bit since 7:30 that morning. I wanted to cry. I had gone through all that, and for nothing. I didn't understand what was going on. She said that she was going to let me relax under the epidural and see if relaxing my body would give my uterus the energy that it needed to do what it needed to do.

Well, no luck. An hour and a half later, I was still not progressed, so it was decided that I would have to have a c-section. So, at 6:30 we decided to do the c-section and an hour later I was in the OR. 45 minutes later, my sweet baby girl was born and I got to hear her cry for the first time. I had given birth to a 9 lb 9 oz 21 3/4" long baby girl! After the doctor finished my c-section, the doctor came around and looked at me and said, "There is no way you would have given birth to her without a c-section."

This week my mom has stayed with us. She was a big help and taught us a lot about the practical side of being parents. She has also spoiled Kayden already. AND...we have been teasing her about being Kayden's personal poparrazi. If you're on facebook, check out ALL the pictures of her. :)

Now, a week later, I am so totally in love with this little girl. Kevin and I are praying daily that the 2 of us can raise her to love and fear the Lord. We pray that the Lord will work in her heart and that she will come to know him at an early age. We pray for our family and friends who surround her and who love on her that they will be the influences on her that she will learn from them about the love of the Lord and how to treat others.

And yes, I will be one of those moms who will constantly be blogging about the cute things that she does and post all kinds of pictures. :)

Enjoy! Here are a some of pictures of her.

30 minutes after she was born, she found her fingers right away.

She loves sleeping on Daddy or Mommy's chest.

Going home day! This is the same outfit that I wore home when I was born.

Frozen Pumpkin Pie

2008-11-27T17:14:00.002-05:00

Kevin and I invited my boss and her husband over for lunch today. She has an allergy to wheat products so I was trying to find some things she could eat. While doing some research, I found this recipe for frozen pumpkin pie. It sounded so yummy that I had to try it. After making it, I can attest to the fact that it IS yummy. I wanted to pass along the recipe to the rest of you. Hope you will make it and enjoy it too.

FROZEN PUMPKIN PIE
1 quart ice cream (good flavors to use: Praline, Butter Pecan, Cinnamon, Cheesecake, Vanilla, etc) slightly softened
1 16 oz. can cooked pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup pecan halves for garnish
DIRECTIONS:
Put an 8 inch springform pan in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Spoon the softened ice cream into the chilled pan, pressing the ice cream into the sides of a pan with a spoon or spreader. Place plastic wrap over the ice cream and press down to form 1/2 inch shell. Freeze for about 2 hours.
In med. saucepan, combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt over med. high heat. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
In a separate bowl, whip the whipping cream to soft peaks. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Remove the springform pan from the freezer and remove the plastic wrap. Spread pumpkin mixture even over the ice cream crust. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours or up to overnight.
When ready to serve, sprinkle pecans over the top.
This may be prepared up to 2 days in advance.
Serves 12

Retrived from: http://glutenfreemommy.com/frozen-pumpkin-pie/

Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-27T07:32:00.002-05:00

I was sitting here checking my email and such before getting started with my cooking for today and was thinking about the fact that today is Thanksgiving. I was thinking about how so often I get caught up in the things that I need to do that I lose sight of the reason we're doing them anyway.
This Thanksgiving Kevin and I are staying in Wake Forest because the baby is due any day now and traveling just wouldn't be a good idea. This is not the first time either of us have been away from our families at Thanksgiving, but it's still hard being way. It would also be easy to get caught up in the pity party of saddness about being away from our families on this special holiday. So, I decided to take a few minutes to think about the things that I'm thankful for before I get busy for the day. Because I have so much to be thankful for, I'm going to limit my list to 10.
In no particular order....
1. I'm thankful to live in a country where I am still free to worship God in public as well as in private without fear of being thrown in jail or killed.
2. I'm thankful that Jesus loved me enough to save me from an eternity in hell.
3. I'm thankful for the amazing gift of a husband who is loving, kind, compassionate, strong, sincere, and flexible.
4. I'm thankful for the little girl who is still growing inside of me and will come out and meet her new family really soon.
5. I'm thankful to have been born into a family who loves me unconditionally and who raised me to love the Lord.
6. I'm thankful to have married into a family who loves my husband and has embraced me with open arms as a daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, cousin...
7. I'm thankful to have a warm and dry place to live.
8. I'm thankful for all my wonderful friends who love me no matter what.
9. I'm thankful to be a member of an amazing church who loves God, loves each other, preaches the Word of God and lives it out daily.
10. I'm thankful for my job. Even though it's hard, it's rewarding.

So, have you thought about the things you're thankful for today and everyday? I'm glad we have a day that we can set aside to remind us that we have so much to be thankful for...but don't forget to be thankful everyday.

OK, I'm off to cook Thanksgiving dinner because our friends will be here in about 4 hours. :) Don't eat too much turkey today!!! :)

2 More Weeks

2008-11-22T00:30:00.002-05:00

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I only have 2 more weeks until my sweet baby girl is scheduled to arrive. But just between you and me, I'm hoping it's earlier than that. I'm starting to get that uncomfortable feeling, but no labor pains to speak of yet. I'm still just praying for a healthy baby to arrive in God's timing and without much trauma. :) Everyone keeps saying, "I can't believe it's already time. It seems like you just told us you were pregnant." Well, to that I say, "WHATEVER!" As much fun as pregnancy is, I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER! It's been neat to feel this little one that God has blessed me with moving around inside me though. I am finally ready for her to come out and greet the world and play outside now. So, please continue to pray for us as we transition from being a family of 2 to being a family of 3. Pray for a safe arrival for Kayden Grace. Pray that she will come on time and not late so they won't have to induce me and cause undue stress to either of us. Hopefully soon I will have pictures of our precious little blessing from God to share with you. Until then...

Counting the Days...

2008-11-06T13:40:00.003-05:00

Well, today it is 29 days until Kayden Grace's due date. I'm so excited and nervous and scared and happy all at the same time. I was thinking this morning wondering how it could be possible to love being pregnant and wishing she would just come out already all at the same time. I love feeling her move inside of me, but then there are times that I think "when is she going to come OUT and play instead of playing inside." I guess that these mixed feelings will never quite go away, they will just change into new mixed feelings. This morning I went to chapel at Southeastern with Kevin. Dr. Al Mohler--the president at Southern Seminary--spoke and I was excited to be able to go. He preached an important and timely message for us right now. He was preaching on raising children who are not pagans. In a world where so many young people leave home and in turn leave the church we need to be teaching our children from the beginning of their lives to have a proper fear of the Lord. We need to teach them who God is. We need to teach them more than what they are learning in Sunday School on Sunday morning and VBS the 5 days in the summer. He reminded us that even when we don't realize it that we are teaching our children. That when mom and dad are talking where their children can hear them, the children are learning about communication. When the child is standing in the kitchen watching mom cook, he/she is learning about taking care of the family. If we aren't consciously teaching our children, someone else will. So, part of my being scared is that in 29ish days I will have a little girl intrusted into my care. It will be up to Kevin and me to teach her and train her in the ways of the Lord. It will be up to us to protect her from harm and teach her how to handle crises like a believer. It will be up to us to train her in the ways of the Lord. This is an awesome responsibility and one that we cannot and will not take lightly. Please pray for us as we begin this journey.

1 Year

2008-09-23T22:55:00.003-04:00

Last Wednesday was my 1 year anniversary at work. My administrator gave me my certificate and my evaluation today. It was really neat to reflect on the last year with her. I have done a lot of stuff at work over the past year. I have worked on a few committees and I have helped to impliment a few things into the office. When I started, our office was struggling because staff longevity was an issue. However, all of our core team has been there for at least a year. It's awesome. I was talking to my mom on the way home tonight and was telling her about my evaluation (which was good, by the way). I realized that my job has been the only constant in my life over the past year. I have moved from 1 apartment to another. I have married an amazing man. My body has been invaded by another little person who will soon join our family. The only thing that has remained constant is my job. On the other hand, this is the first job that I have ever stayed at for more than a year. It is quite the accomplishment and I'm loving being there. I love my job and the staff I work with. I love my patients and the work I get to do with them. It's awesome. I just wanted to share with you guys about my 1 year anniversary. :)

Fireproof (Part 2)

2008-09-13T14:30:00.002-04:00

This morning, as mentioned in my last blog post, Kevin and I had the amazing opportunity to attend the pre-showing of the movie Fireproof. This is a movie that was made by the same people who did Facing the Giants a few years ago.

Before I give a synopsis of what the movie is about, I want to share a few things that we found out this morning that without doing some research you probably would never know.

1. Kirk Cameron really wanted to do this movie, but had to "jump through some hoops" in order to do it. He is a member of some actors' unions who did not want him to be involved in an independent film. But because he felt so strongly about the message of the movie, he went through the pains of working it out to be able to be in the movie.

2. This movie will be released on September 26th. Opening weekend is VERY important and it is important for everyone to go to this movie opening weekend. We were told this morning that several blockbuster movies will be released the following weekend and many movie theaters have said that they will not show Fireproof more than 1 week. However, if they have an awesome opening weekend, then they will probably hold it at least 2 weeks if not more. So, take everyone you know to see this movie opening weekend.

OK...here's my synopsis of the movie. First, girls...take LOTS of tissues. There are several really funny parts in the movie where the whole theater will be laughing, but I don't think there was a single woman who came out of the theater with dry eyes.

If you know nothing about this movie, it is about a Fire fighter named Caleb (played by Kirk Cameron) who is married to a woman named Katherine. Katherine works at a hospital as a Public Relations Rep and also helps to take care of her mother who had a stroke a year before. Caleb is seen as a hero to everyone except his wife. He saves lives every day, but can he save his marriage?
Katherine and Caleb have a less than desirable marriage and after a fight, Katherine announces that she wants out of the marriage.
Caleb talks to his dad and his dad challenges him to hold off on the divorce for 40 days and take a "Love Dare." He asks him to take it one day at a time but to complete the 40 days of the Love Dare and see what happens at the end.
About halfway through the "Love Dare" Caleb is about ready to give up. However, his dad shares the Gospel with him and Caleb finds love for the first time...but not from his wife.

I won't spoil anymore of the movie for you. However, it is important to take your friends to see this movie. Particularly friends who are not believers or those who are struggling in their own marriages. If necessary, pay for them to go see it (yes, it's that important). Also, my stepdad had a great idea of offering to baby sit for those with young children so they can go see it. (Again, it is THAT important). This is not really a movie sutible for children. There's nothing in it that is questionable, but it's about marriage and children are not going to understand it. There is also a website that offers resources for churches or for couples for study together. www.fireproofmymarriage.com. I went on that website and there is a lot of information on it.

Enjoy the movie when you go see it. I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks.

Fireproof (part 1)

2008-09-12T08:26:00.004-04:00

I love them...Weekends. However, I've noticed that the weekends are coming around faster and faster. I LOVE it. But with the weekends coming around faster that means that the weeks are going by faster. I cannot believe that Kayden is due 12 weeks from TODAY! That is crazy.

This weekend Kevin has to do some suicide prevention briefings and will not be home most of Saturday or Sunday. Before he leaves Saturday, however, we are going to go to the movies. Yes, Saturday morning at 10 am we have a movie date. We are getting to see the new movie Fireproof at a sneak preview showing. His Radio (which is a Christian radio station that broadcasts out of Greenville, SC) rented out a whole theater and gave away tickets to see this movie. 2 weeks ago I was on my way to work on Tuesday morning and they asked for caller 5. I knew there was NO WAY I was going to be caller 5, but I tried anyway. On the first try I did not hear a busy signal, but the lady on the other end (before it rang, by the way) saying "Who's this?" I was shocked and excited at the same time! If you haven't heard of the movie, go to the link and watch the trailer. It's by the same people who did the movie Facing the Giants a few years ago. Check back here on Saturday night for a movie review. I'll let you know how it is. But from everything I've heard, every couple should go and see it.

When Kevin leaves for his suicide prevention briefings, I'm going to finish cleaning Kayden's room and get ready for her arrival. We are having some showers soon and I need to get her room ready for all her loot. :) We're really blessed with people who love us and want to shower her before she even gets here.

Hope you all have a super weekend too. What are your plans?

Anti Monkey Butt Powder

2008-09-11T20:05:00.003-04:00

Yes, you read correctly. We were driving down the road over the weekend and saw our pharmacy advertising this on their marquee sign. We thought someone had hacked the system or were playing around. We thought for sure by Monday that would be gone. However, today we had to go to the pharmacy and we again saw the advertisement. Well, being the boy that he is...Kevin asked the pharmacy techs what Anti Monkey Butt Powder is. They laughed and said that people have been coming in and calling all week asking about it. They took us to the register counter and showed us this bottle of talcum powder. It is HILARIOUS and we continue to laugh about it. I had to share it with you guys. Enjoy your laugh. :)

Labor Day Weekend Fun--A Little Late I know

2008-09-06T13:23:00.005-04:00

Last weekend we went to South Carolina to visit our families for Labor Day Weekend. We had a blast...even though Clemson lost (or rather didn't show up to play). While Kevin was watching the "game" with my family, my mom and I painted letters that Kevin cut out for our little girl's room. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

The sweet hand prints in the first picture are my nephew's. He was making a picture to frame and put in Cousin Kayden's room.

On Sunday we had a lot of adventures. We went to church with my mom and step dad. That was good. 10th Avenue North was there (Kevin, aren't you proud I remembered their names without having to ask?). We had hoped to go to their free concert that night, but we ran out of time. After church we went to dinner with my brother and sister-in-law at Applebees. There are some pictures below...most of them are good, but my stepdad decided to get silly.

After Applebees, we went to my aunt's house to meet my cousin's baby. My cousin and his family live in Mississippi so we don't get to see them very often. Kiernan was born on Father's Day. He is such a good baby. He let everyone hold him and didn't cry at all. Enjoy the pictures of him.

Game of Tag

2008-08-22T23:14:00.001-04:00

Wow. I haven't played tag in a while. Thanks to my friend Merritt I am asked to play this game.

So, I have to give 6 quirky things about myself. Here goes:
1. I spent the past 3 months taping Sabrina, the Teenage Witch so that I could watch the entire series.
2. I have only watched 2 episodes of American Idol...and I don't like it.
3. I like to hit the snooze bar at least 3 times in the morning (or now get Kevin to hit it for me).
4. I drive between 300-500 miles a week.
5. I like to melt peanut butter and chocolate in a bowl and eat it with a spoon.
6. I don't like peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches.

I have tagged:
Ashley, Jenny, Katie, Nena (mama), Ronnica, & Stephanie. Enjoy!

Work Week

2008-08-22T09:29:00.002-04:00

This has been an extremely busy work week for me. I'm always ready for Friday, but this week I'm actually praising God that it's Friday!!! It's been so busy that I'm glad I keep a calender so that I can remember when I do my time sheet on Monday what I've done. I was trying to remember yesterday as I was driving home what I had done on Monday and for a few minutes couldn't remember because Monday seemed so long ago. Here's a run down of what I did this week.
Monday: Drove an hour to the office. Spent 4 hours there. Then I drove 45 minutes to meet a coworker so that we could drive an hour to a patient's house to meet the new patient. Spent an hour with the new patient, drove back an hour to get my coworker's car and drove 45 minutes home.
Tuesday: Drove an hour to work. Spent an hour and a half in the office and then drove an hour to the VA nursing home. Met with a family who decided to sign with Hospice but then found out they aren't eligible at this time. Then visited a few other patients. Drove an hour back to the office. Spent an hour there. Drove an hour home.
Wednesday: Drove an hour to work. Did some paperwork for the first 1 1/2 hours there. Then had a Performance Improvement meeting. This is where our staff gets together and looks at what's been going on with our patients and seeing if there are any trends with one patient or with several and puts together a plan on how to improve their care. Or if there is anything that's not particularly working in the office we can put together a plan on how to make our jobs run smoother. Then we met with one of our VP's at the coporate level for an hour. We then spent the rest of the day reviewing our care plans for our patients to make sure they are current and that they are working for the patient. I was at the office until 5:30. Then drove an hour home.
Thursday: Drove an hour to the office to pick up some paperwork. Drove an hour to meet with a potential new patient in his home. He signed papers for Hospice. Then drove 45 minutes to be with a patient's family because the patient is dying. Spent an hour and half with them. Drove an hour and a half to be with another patient. Spent 30 minutes with her and then drove an hour home.
Friday: Today is Friday. I'm working on trying to get in touch with 2 families to see if I can come visit them. If so, I will drive an hour to visit the one, then 10 minutes to visit the second one and then drive an hour home. If I don't go visit them, I will be staying home to work on paperwork and probably nap. :) Gotta love being on salary!!! :)

Needless to say again, I'm so glad it's Friday. I'm going to take every advantage of this weekend and soak it all up because they go by so incredibly fast. Kevin has a few projects that I've got him working on. :) I've got a baby shower to go to tomorrow and then I'm going to try to finish cleaning up Kayden Grace's room so that when we get her furniture there is room for it.
Hope everyone has a restful weekend this weekend!

Update

2008-08-14T12:35:00.002-04:00

We had our monthly appointment yesterday with the doctor. Everything seems to be still going well. My blood pressure is perfect. I am most excited about that. High blood pressure runs on both sides of my family and so I get nervous every time someone has to check my blood pressure. My sugars are still doing well. The doctor said that I am measuring right on schedule and Kayden's little heart is beating perfectly. He also commended me on my weight gain. I haven't gained much weight since getting pregnant.
The most exciting part of the doctor's appointment happened before the doctor came in the room. I was sitting on the table and Kayden was kicking around so I decided to lay back so that I could be more comfortable. Kevin was laughing at me because I was talking about her kicking. He turned around and looked at me kind of funny. I asked him what was wrong and he said that he thought he SAW her kick. He watched for another minute and she kicked me hard. I told him that he had to have seen that kick because I thought she was coming through my belly. :) It's the neatest feeling, but it sometimes gets on my nerves. However, I can't be satisfied because when I don't feel her I get nervous. Now if I could only move her off my bladder...but I guess that's just something I'm going to have to deal with. :)

Dead Sea Scrolls

2008-08-09T18:36:00.002-04:00

Kevin and I have been talking about going to the NC Museum of Natural Science to see the Dead Sea Scrolls for about a month. Thursday afternoon we decided that we were going to go this weekend. We have also been talking for a while about getting together with our friends Bob and Mary. So, Thursday evening we called them to see if they were interested in coming down here to go with us. They joyfully accepted the invitation.
So, this morning about 11 Bob and Mary arrived at our apartment. We had lunch and then left to go to the Museum. After a slight detour (Kevin put the wrong address into Mary's GPS), we arrived at the Museum.
This was such an interesting exhibit. We learned a lot about the Dead Sea Scrolls and when they were written and how they were found. The best part was that we actually got to see 6 fragments of 6 scrolls that were found. Some of them were biblical writings in our canon, some of them were apocryphil and some of them were other writings that were found.
If you live in NC, or are planning to visit this area soon, or want to see history go to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science and see the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are well worth the trip and the money it costs to see them. ENJOY!

Hancock

2008-08-02T21:13:00.003-04:00

Tonight Kevin and I went to the movies. We were going to see The Dark Knight--the new Batman movie. When we got to the theater I would have sworn that everyone in Raleigh decided to go to the movie at the exact same time. We had 10 minutes to buy tickets and get into the movie. Well, after standing in line for more than 10 minutes, we found out that they were not able to accept plastic tonight because their system was down. So, we had to go to the bank to get money out. Obviously by the time we got back it would have been too late to get into The Dark Knight so we decided to see Hancock instead.

The movie was really good. It is about a man who is a super hero, but is also a real jerk. Will Smith does an excellent job--as usual. Jason Bateman plays a guy (Ray) who is a Public Relations guy and wants to help Hancock improve his image. Ray's wife (Mary) looks at Hancock like she doesn't like him from the beginning. I was extremely confused as to what was going on with her, but as with most good movies, it was explained about mid-way through.

My only problem with the movie was that there is a little too much bad language and there is one scene that was hard to watch because of the gun shots and blood. However, most of the movie was rather tame. I laughed through the movie and even almost cried. I would recommend this to audiences over the age of 13.

Let me know if you watch(ed) it and what you think about it.

What do you do?

2008-08-01T07:25:00.004-04:00

This seems to be a common question when getting to know someone. There seem to be standard questions that we ask when meeting someone new.
1. Where are you from?
2. Who is your family?
3. Where do you go to church/school?
4. What do you do?

My answer to the last question always gets several different responses.
1. Oh, so you're like a priest or something?
2. Oh, that must be hard working around death all the time.
3. I could never do your job.

No, I am not a priest or a preacher. I have never felt called to preach, and maybe one day I'll blog about my reasons for that. But for now, know that that is not my calling. That is my husband's calling. :) However, I do feel like my ministry calling is to sit with patients and families as they ponder what it means to move from this life to the afterlife. This is a sacred journey--one that I do not take lightly.

Which leads me to the second statement. Yes, my job is hard...but if you can show me an absolutely easy job, then let me know. I love what I do. Yes, I do work with people who are dying, but not everyday. In fact, it's been a while since someone has died on my patient list. However, I have come to realize that death is as much a part of life as birth is. The Bible even tells us that "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" Hebrews 9:27. Now, the hard part of what I do does come in that last part of this verse. I do meet people who when I hear their story (either through them or their family) and hear that they "were a good person" or they "grew up in church but haven't been in many many years" and I know that they are not going to be going to heaven, but unless they ask me I cannot say that to them. But for the most part, I get to have amazing conversations with people.

The last statement is my absolutely favorite response. I love it when people tell me that they could never do my job. The RN's at the hospital used to tell me that when I was doing my residency. My response was always, "well, I can't do your job either." Isn't it great that we don't all have the same gifts, talents and callings? If everyone could do my job then why would I be needed? I'm glad that I am called to do what I do for this season in life. I say that because I hope that once Kevin graduates and gets into active duty that I can then do my ultimate calling and raise my children at home. :)

So, what do you do?

Weekend

2008-07-27T21:47:00.002-04:00

Kevin and I just got home from our weekend in South Carolina. These whirlwind trips are starting to wear on me, but still had a great time. I had intended to take our camera home with me and take pictures of the weekend to post here, but I forgot the camera, so you're just going to have to read. Enjoy.

Friday, we both got off work early and left about 4 to go to SC. We arrived at my parents house (almost exhausted) at 8:30. My mom had cooked Sloppy Joes for dinner and so we ate some when we arrived. We watched some television and talked to my mom and stepdad for a while before going to bed.

Saturday: We woke up early and ate breakfast with my mom and stepdad and then got ready and left for a lot of driving! We went to Anderson to see my grandmother. It had been a few trips since we'd seen her. We spent a couple of hours with her just talking and laughing. Kayden kicked me a couple of times and my grandmother laughed at me because I kept jumping. It was fun.
After we left my grandmother's we met my daddy for lunch. That was good too. It was nice to see him and have a great lunch too. It was also nice to have free lunch, right?
After lunch we drove 2 hours to Union to see Kevin's family and some friends. On the way to Union we stopped at Starbucks. I was so excited. My sugar was good and I was going to be able to get my favorite drink. Well, we found out when we got there that they no longer make frappaccinos in decaf because "it's not popular." Well, I had my first breakdown in almost a month. I had to leave the store and go to the car before I made a complete idiot out of myself. Well, my sweet husband told them that I am pregnant and so they made it for me special and didn't charge him. It was a good thing they didn't charge him because in making it, they forgot the sugar and the mocha. It tasted like cold coffee with milk in it. I had to put some of Kevin's drink in mine and stir it up to make it bareable. But it was still sweet that he did that for me. So, after that, we went on to Union and met his mom at a pool party. It was funny because we were around all these crazy couples who were our parents age. :) It was nice to be in the pool and just chilling for a while.
After a couple of hours at the pool party we went to a church in Union to be with some of Kevin's friends. We had dinner with them. We laughed at some stories that they told about their days in college together and told some stories about how we got together. It was fun to meet some of Kevin's friends and see him interact with them.
After we left there, we went to see Kevin's daddy and stepmom. It was nice to sit and talk with them, but it made for a really long night. We got back to my mom's at 11 and we were both exhausted. We went to bed right after we got there.

Sunday: We went to church with my parents at the church I was a member of when I lived in SC. It was nice to be there and see some familiar faces and get some hugs from some people. They are also in their new sanctuary. It was huge and beautiful. It was nice to see it.
Kevin and I didn't stay for Sunday School so we picked my nephew up from the nursery right after service so we could spend some time with him before we had to come back. He has soooo much energy and he's so incredibly funny to be 2 1/2 years old. When we got back to "G'ama Nena's" I asked him what he wanted to play and he said "I wanna play...um...doggy." This meant that he would get on the floor and crawl around and pant like a dog. He chased my mom's dog around and when she started growling at him he got mad. Then he started eating. That boy ate so much. It didn't hurt that he didn't eat breakfast before church, but I couldn't believe how much he ate. He played hard. We watched a couple of his favorite cartoons and tried to get him to lay down (to no avail). But it was fun to be around him. He is so loving and sweet.
At 1:30 we went to City Range with my college roommate (Erica) and her husband and daughter and also her mama and daddy. My mom and stepdad and my stepsister and nephew went with us as well. It was so good to see Erica and catch up with her. She lives in Texas and since college I haven't gotten to see her that often. She is awesome and I wish I could see her more.
After lunch, Kevin and I left to come back to Wake Forest. So, now we're back home and I'm exhausted (and even more after having typed all of that). :) We're now watching Army Wives which is my favorite show. And pretty soon going to bed to start the work week.

Have a great week everyone!

Children's Church

2008-07-20T18:06:00.005-04:00

This morning Kevin and I were approached by our Children's Minister's wife to see if we would sub for her in Children's Church. Her little guy was sick and she needed to take him home (I hope he feels better soon). So, Kevin and I agreed to go down for her. It's sweet to see Kevin work with children and it was neat to see what Jordan goes through every Sunday.

So, we walked in and there were about 15-20 kids in there. They were ages from about 4-7. And let me tell you...VERY rambunctious. The boys outnumbered the girls, about 2-1. Jordan started by talking to them about the "5 Do's of Children's Church." He drew a hand on the board (this is so that later he can hold his hand up to remind them) and talked about the 5 "rules" or "Do's."
1. Look at Mr. Jordan
2. Be Quiet
3. Be Still
4. Keep Your Hands and Feet to Yourself
5. Listen

Now, let me ask you. How many of these things do you think any of the children did? The first thing I did, was walked in and sat behind one of the children who was touching another one of the boys. Kevin went in and sat with another child. I then pulled another little boy from across the room to sit beside me. His friend started yelling for him to come back over with him. They seemed to be out of control. Not bad, but not being familiar with the ways of these kids, that's what it appeared.

We sang, we took the kids to the restroom, Kevin got to play "guess what's in my head" with the kids to see which group went back to the room first. It was funny to hear the questions they would come up with and then the fact that they weren't listening to each other (or even their own questions).
child:"Does it have fur?"
Kevin: "Yes"
child: Is it a lizard?

child: Does it have stripes?
Kevin: No
child: Is it a zebra?

Even telling them that it was close to a sheep and that it has to do with Jesus got the response of "Is it John?" Needless to say, the answer was a lamb. This had to do with their lesson. Jordan talked to them about sacrifices.

Going home Kevin and I talked about this experience. It was interesting. My first response was that I don't envy Jordan doing this every week. And then we talked about how the lesson seemed to be a little mature for these little ones, but that Jordan did a good job bringing it to their level (and also taking it back to their parents). He said, "If you have questions about this subject, ask your parents. It'll be a good conversation to have with them."

All in all, it was a great time with these kids. I only wish I had pictures to share. :)

Dinner tonight

2008-07-19T20:19:00.007-04:00

Kevin and I cooked dinner together tonight. He grilled the chicken and corn and I made the potatoes, veggies and fried green tomatoes.

This was my first attempt at making fried green tomatoes. I found out today at the veggie stand that Kevin loves fried green tomatoes. When I mentioned (half joking) that I could make some he got really excited. So, I bought some, called my mama to find out how to make them, and started at it. Here is a picture of the tomatoes for your viewing pleasure.

Don't they look yummy?

I also took a picture of my hubby finishing the grilling. Here it is also for your viewing pleasure.

I enjoy cooking for Kevin, but I also enjoy it when we cook together. :)

Moving Baby

2008-07-18T09:03:00.004-04:00

Wednesday evening I had choir practice for a little while. I got home fairly early and brought Subway home. While we were eating we decided to watch the new movie we got from Netflix. The Pursuit of Happyness had just come in the mail that day.
After we ate we decided to lay on the couch and cuddle. I had my hand on my belly and thought I felt something moving. I had Kevin put his hand there and asked if he felt anything. He said, "what am I feeling? It feels like your stomach." Typical man response, right? When I clarified that I meant movement he sat there for a minute feeling. He then got really excited and said that he could feel her move. It was such a sweet moment. It was awesome. We've seen her on the screen several times, but the first time we felt her move was the most amazing feeling.

Registering

2008-07-16T08:15:00.002-04:00

Yesterday afternoon we went to our monthly doctor's appointment to check on the progress of our little girl. She still has a very strong heartbeat. Yes, I'm still experiencing some nausea and the doctor says that's fine. Yea, easy for him to say, right? Everyone keeps saying, "Good, that means your baby is healthy." Again, good? Easy for them to say.

While we were waiting to go back and see the doctor, Kevin found a brochure for Babies R Us and decided that we were going to go register. We left the doctor, grab dinner at Chick-Fil-A and then went to Babies R Us.

After the brief orientation by the lady at Babies R Us, we got started. Kevin took the gun and I picked things out. Yes, I did give him choices too. The one thing that I kept saying was, "There's so much to choose from." There were so many different types of bottles, a ton of passifiers, and oh goodness the toys. We chose a car seat, a swing, bedding, a hamper for her clothes, teething rings, toys, passies, bottles, thermometers. Oh so many things. And we never got to the clothes. I will probably go back this weekend and pick out clothes and maybe some books.

We did buy our little girl her first stuffed animal. There was this beautiful and soft pink bunny that prays the "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" prayer. Kevin started to register for it. I told him that this was not the type of thing you register for. That this is the type of gift mommy and daddy buy for her ourselves. So, he let me go ahead and buy it for her now.

Our Church

2008-07-13T21:15:00.003-04:00

Kevin and I have a wonderful church. I brag about our church all the time. So, I thought I'd blog about it for a minute.

Kevin had already been going to Open Door before I moved up here. When I would come up and visit the people I met were wonderful and always made me feel that I was welcome and even an "honorary" part of the church the weekends I would visit. There are people who I know from my college days who are members of our church. However, when I moved up here I was prepared to talk with Kevin about the need for us to find a church together and not me just go to the church because he was already there.

The thing was, the more I went to the church and heard Pastor Dwayne preaching I liked the church more and more. I got involved in the church and grew to love it more and more.

Now, Kevin and I work in the nursery some. I coordinate nursery one Sunday/Wednesday every other month. We are in an amazing care group that loves hanging out with each other and prays for each other and with each other often.

The pastor isn't afraid to teach the Word of God no matter how offensive it might be.

However, the most amazing thing about our church is this: it is the closest thing to the New Testament church I have ever seen. Since I've been at our church, we experienced a tragedy. The way our church responded was amazing. One of the couples moved out of their home to give the family a place to go. People brought food. Others sat and listened and cried and prayed with the family. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. No one stood around and said, "What can I do?" or "Let me know if you need anything." Everyone just did. Half the time I felt like I was sitting around with my mouth open in awe of what was going on. It was absolutely amazing. I'm still in awe of the church we are privileged to be a part of.

I just wanted to share with you guys the awesome place that we call "home." If you're in the area, we'd love for you to join us. If you're not, come visit. You'll be glad you did. :)

Journey to the Center of the Earth

2008-07-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

So, last night Kevin decided that we were going to have date night and go see a movie. He cooked dinner for us and then we left for the movies.
He left the choice of movie completely up to me. So, I started looking at what was playing. There were NO chick flicks playing. So, I decided to start looking at everything that is playing. There are 4 movies that Kevin and I have both said we want to see: Kung Fu Panda, Wall*E, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, and Hancock.
Then after looking at all the movies I started thinking about which ones would be just as fun to rent and see on television. That eliminated Kung Fu Panda and Wall*E from our choices last night.
Hancock has gotten wonderful reviews, but it could be fun to see a 3D movie. You can't really watch a 3D movie at home and get the full effect. So, even though I thought it would be silly, I chose to see Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D.
To my surprise, it wasn't as silly as I thought it was going to be. It is based on the idea that the sci-fi book by Jules Verne is real. There were parts of it that were obviously fake. However, there were lots of parts that kept you on the edge of your seat. Just when you forget it's a 3D movie....BANG something would pop out at you. It was definately neat to see a 3D movie and it was a fun date night.
The only part that I could've done without was the commentary by the 4 year old behind us who talked the ENTIRE movie about how "That scared me" or "Hee hee, he just said..." I kept expecting his parents to tell him to be quiet, but they just kept laughing at him. The only thing that kept me from turning around and looking at them is that I know in 4 years Kayden will probably be doing the same thing. :)
I would definately recommend this movie.

Kayden Grace Elliott

2008-07-09T22:07:00.000-04:00

I'm sure over the next 100 years I'll be talking a lot about this little girl who is growing in my belly. However, she is especially on my heart today.
Yesterday Kevin and I along with both of our moms went into the doctor's office to hopefully catch a glimpse of who this baby we will meet in a few months is. Everyone has laughed at me along the way, but I have known in my heart that it was my little girl. We picked out 2 names (one for a boy and one for a girl) several months ago. It was the same name regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, but the spelling was different and the middle names were different. Kevin was excited because either way his child will share his initials. :)
When we were at the doctor's office yesterday I was nervous that our baby was going to be shy and we weren't going to know. However, Kayden Grace showed herself. She looked like she was sleeping for a few minutes and then all of a sudden she waved at us. Then she started dancing. I think she knew her daddy was watching and she's practicing for all the dancing they will do together. I think about Kevin and his little girl dancing around every time I hear Steven Curtis Chapman's "Cinderella." It brings tears to my eyes everytime.
All that to say, I'm really excited about Kayden Grace coming into our lives. Continue to pray that she grows well and continues to be a healthy baby.

First Blog

2008-07-09T09:35:00.001-04:00

OK, so I've succumbed to the peer pressure. I've created a blog on blogspot. Part of the reason I've been dragging my feet on this is because I have been thinking about what I wanted this blog to be. I have decided to blog about goings on in the Elliott household as well the updates on baby Elliott...who we now know is a baby girl named Kayden Grace. Hope you enjoy my rantings about things that I don't understand or make me mad and also my babbling about everyday life. Thanks for reading my thoughts. :)