Been a while

That's an understatement.  It's been a little more than 2 years since I last posted.  I'm not even going to try to completely recap the last 2 years, but I'll hit the highlights.
Not much happened between April 2010 and January 2011 (at least not anything noteworthy).  Beginning in January 2011 life got amazing!

1. My daddy got the amazing gift of life.  Someone donated his kidney for my daddy.  It is a bitter-sweet gift. I try to remember to pray for the family of the man who died that night, but I am very grateful that his family decided to be a blessing to others by donating his organs.  It was a perfect match for my daddy and his recovery has gone so well that if we didn't continue to talk about the transplant, and he didn't have to take meds 3 times a day, it'd be easy to forget that he even had a transplant.

2. Right after the transplant I started feeling icky.  Wasn't really sure what was going on, but soon found out that we were going to be expanding our family. We found out in February 2011 that I was going to have another baby in October. My sweet baby boy was born on October 4, 2011. We had some issues with his weight at the beginning.  He lost about a pound and it took us almost 2 months to get him back up to birth weight.  Once he started gaining though, he hasn't slowed down yet.  :)

3. In November we moved to a new apartment right across the parking lot from our old apartment.  We now have a 3 bedroom apartment so that the kids don't have to share a room.  My princess is such a light sleeper that there was no way we could have them both in the same room and until we moved into a place for my Peanut to have his own room, he and I neither one slept.  So, we're all sleeping now and life is good.

4. I'm enjoying staying home with my babies still.  I also have a Mary Kay business that I'm working to help support my family.  I took most of last year off and now I'm back with a vengeance!

5. Kevin's about to finish his next to last semester as a seminary student!!!!!!!  We have 1 more semester left!  I'm so incredibly proud of him and have (most of the time) enjoyed our time at SEBTS.  We still have a lot of unanswered questions about our future and will welcome all prayers we can get.  :)  Pray for peace in the midst of uncertainty. Pray for clear direction for us as we leave this place.  This is an exciting and scary time.

As you can see, we've been super busy over the past 2 years.  One day I'm going to regret not keeping up the blog in the midst of all the chances (and mundane too).  I do already regret not keeping up with the blog over the past 7 months as my peanut has grown up before my eyes.  But I think I will be forgiven.  I do have lots of pictures of him and of my little princess. One of these days I'll upload some for your viewing enjoyment.  :)

Surgery

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

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

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

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

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

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.