In Loving Memory

My mom called me here in Kentucky yesterday to say that my Grandpa Allen (my dad's dad) had passed away. It was very hard to accept. I knew he had been in failing health (bad knees, taking oxygen for the last several months, walking slow, etc.), but then on Christmas day, we found out he had had a heart attack the day before. My grandparents live in Florida and I had not seen them since they had driven up to see Philip when he was 7 months old. We were hoping Grandpa's stay in the hospital after the heart attack would make him stronger, but Mom said that on Tuesday, he was walking to the bathroom with a nurse and just collapsed on the floor. Probably another heart attack. I loved my grandfather as he was a wonderful, loving, playful man. The hardest part of losing him is that I do not believe that he knew Jesus as Savior and Lord. I pray and am trying to give it to God that possibly in his last hours, he may have spoken with a hospital chaplain and received salvation. It would be the biggest of blessings to find out that to be true.

However, as that might not be the case, I can only tell myself that we tried sharing Jesus with him and know that each person is responsible for his own decision to accept Christ or not. This will make me more bold in explaining the wonderful and almost too-good-to-be-true plan of forgiveness and eternal life. God knew we would all perish and deserve hell on our own and so He sent His Son, Jesus, as a babe to earth to live, die and live again. We must only say, "Yes, Lord, I believe" and we are eternally set free to one day live with Him in Heaven after we leave earth. It's better than any fairy tale and yet absolutely true.

Please, don't let your days on earth run out before believing in Christ as your PERSONAL Lord and Savior. If it just doesn't make sense to you, visit this website: www.needhim.org.

One last thing. Please pray for my Grandma Allen and our family (especially my dad, his sisters Gail, Maureen, Mary Ann and Margaret and brother George). My Grandpa's memorial service will be on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 11:00am in Florida.

Updates... where are we?

No, I haven't stopped blogging, but I have been sick! Yuck, to be sick on Christmas. I suppose the weeks prior I let myself get too busy and went to bed too late. On Dec. 23rd, my throat started hurting and was very scratchy. Over the next three days, it began a full head cold with a fever. Being 5 months pregnant, I was scared when my fever hit 102.6 so I called the doctor... at 2:30am the morning of Christmas. Luckily, he said to take Tylenol, try to stay cool (unwrap in bed and wear loose clothing) and take care of myself. Good, I really wasn't wanting to take a middle of the night bath.

Christmas morning was sweet (photos to come) as my parents and Matthew's mom came over at 8:00am to exchange presents and watch Philip open his. We enjoyed a sausage casserole, cinnamon rolls and strawberries. Later that morning, Matthew fried a turkey which we then took to my parents' house for lunch. We were joined by Matthew's mom Ruth Ann, Grandma Brooks, aunt Elise, uncle Arden, and cousins Mollie, Michael, Paul and Kellie. It was a nice day together celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus.

As one of Philip's presents (which he actually opened on Christmas Eve), we gave him the Little People nativity set. He enjoyed playing with it and I believe it helped him understand the true meaning of Christmas. He also received toy animals (giraffe, elephant, tiger and zebra) which he stood around the stable in a way that looked like those animals had come to worship the Christ Child too. So profound.

Anyway, Tuesday was spent trying to rest, care for Philip and pack. When Matthew got home from work at 4:00pm, we got everything in the car and drove to Ruth Ann's house. The four of us are now visiting her family in Kentucky. They are wonderful people and so much fun to spend time with. Each visit, we meet new family members as Matthew's cousins here are having babies just as fast as we are. Lots of pictures to come once I get home.

I wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Big Boy Bed

I mentioned in an earlier post that Philip has now moved into a twin bed with a side rail. He's doing great at night. We never hear a peep from him between the time we put him to bed until 7:00am. However naptime has been another story. The first week, he did fine. I'd say it's naptime, give him a few books and close the door only to hear him talking to his animals a few hours later. This week, he's taken on some kind of new level of independence. I'll say it's naptime, put him in bed with some books and close the door. Fifteen minutes later I'll hear him playing the electronic keyboard that was in his room (it's no longer in there during naptime!). I go in and say, "Get back in bed. If I see you out of bed again, you get a pop." What do you know, fifteen minutes later he's dancing around on the floor and singing. It makes me so mad that when I come in, he just keeps on going. Matthew enters and the boy makes a mad dash to get back in bed. I've got to get more militant with my discipling! I know this is a learning process on both our parts (Philip's on minding us and mine on being more consistent).

On the lighter side, it has made for some cute photos. He even has new "big boy" bedding (yes, he picked out the pattern himself; we held up the balls and another with trucks and Philip wanted the sports balls).



This is a photo I took right before I went to bed. Doesn't he look comfortable?



This is how we found him last Sunday during his afternoon nap!

Philip getting ready to nap on his new bedset. We're planning on moving his bed to the other side of the room so the baby's crib can go below my Mom's paintings.

Christmas, Christmas Time is Here!

Like many, I'm caught in those busy last days before Christmas -- still needing to send out cards and wrap all the presents -- but I'm making myself sit down and post some photos of how we've been spending the month. I love Christmas time and this year Philip can really be involved so it's that much more fun.



Philip and Matthew secure the tree.


Philip puts on the first ornament.



Philip decorates the storm door with stick-on snowflakes.



It looks beautiful!




Aside from decorating the house, we've been on the go a good bit too. Last year being Philip's first Christmas, I had to get his photo with Santa made. They turned out cute but not something we'll do every year -- especially at $25! However, I did ask him if he'd like to talk to Santa this year. (If he's going to receive a present from Santa on Christmas morning, he should know who he is, right?) Well, we've now talked to Santa twice in the last two weeks. Each time I've gone, I thought we'd just walk beside where Santa was sitting and wave. Low and behold, there's been no line for Santa and there's no need for him just to sit there looking lonely. Philip happily sat on his knee both times but didn't really say much. Santa asked if he wanted cars and trains and Philip said yes. Santa could have asked anything and Philip would probably have said yes!

Anyway, Philip is also learning that Santa is not the most important part of Christmas. We are telling him the Bible story every few days and looking at the pictures in his story Bible. He also sat with us for our adult choir and children's choir musicals the last two Sunday nights. He enjoyed both: watching baby Jesus welcome the Wise Men during the adult cantata and trying to mimic the hand motions of the children's program. We also visited a local church's drive-thru nativity scene (complete Bible story re-enactment with goats, sheep, and even a camel!) for the second year. I hope to make it a yearly family tradition.

Here is a photo of the completed tree and other livingroom decorations.

Prayers for Grandma Brooks

I ask for your prayers for our Grandma Brooks. She is Matthew's dad's mom. Tomorrow she will be having a partial mastectomy. She is in such great spirits and says, "Let's just get this done." I admire her strength. A lump was found which was found to be questionably malignant. Instead of a lumpectomy and radiation treatments, she felt at her age just to have the whole breast taken off to ensure better success. Please pray for the surgery to go well and her recovery to be comfortable. Grandma Brooks lives 40 minutes away but will be staying with her daughter Elise here in town for two weeks. Pray for that situation also as it's never the same as being in your own home.

As her doctor's appointments are usually in Spartanburg, Grandma stops by afterwards to have some quality time with Philip. They enjoy watching tv and reading books together.

Baby Update

Just a quick post (I do have lots of photos and stories of Philip to post but no time now) as I was reminded by Lori's blog that I should give an update on our second child also. Yesterday, Matthew, Philip and I went for my monthly check-up. Unfortunately I was looking at the nurse, but Matthew said when she ran the instrument on my stomach and the baby's heartbeat sounded over the speaker, Philip beamed a huge smile. I pray his excitement level will be just the same when the baby is actually born and they get to meet each other.

The doctor also said it's time for our second ultrasound. On January 8, Lord-willing we'll be finding out if Philip is having a little sister or brother. I know some people love the idea of a surprise at the birth, but I like the idea of connecting with the baby before it's born and it's easier to do when picturing either a Jane or a John. We will again keep the name a surprise until the baby is born though. May 7th still seems a long way off but actually this pregnancy is almost half over. Some days I think two children will complete our family. Other days I think about having one or two more! Whatever gender this child is I will completely love him or her. If it's a girl, I might be a little more apt to think two kids are enough. If it's a boy, I might still want a girl or I might think raising two boys would be enough! As in all other areas of life, I know God will provide a peace as to what to do. Why should I be worrying now? Having a newborn will be plenty to keep my hands full not to mention a fast-growing toddler in the house too.

Goodbye to Florida

Well, it's almost past due to publish this post, but I thought I should wrap up the story of our trip to Florida. We had a relaxing Saturday after our long day at Sea World on Friday. It was sad knowing our trip was coming to an end but we enjoyed the day as the kids played outside and the adults spend the late evening playing a board game (a tradition when we're together. Sunday was a nice yet rushed day. We all got ready for church, attended Sunday School and church (albeit leaving Philip screaming in the nursery; not unusal as he does this each week at our own home church), hurried home for a quick lunch and threw everything and everyone in the van. On to Miami!

It was hard saying goodbye in the airport as we had had such a wonderful time together. The worst part was seeing Hannah crying so hard over saying goodbye to Grandma. Philip kept wanting to hug Hannah but she wasn't much interested after the first hug. (I know now that he had an ear infection which makes him that much more clingy!) Around 4:00pm, Matthew, Philip, Ruth Ann and I set off to find our gate with plenty of time as our flight was at 6:50pm.

We enjoyed a good dinner of Quinzo's subs and headed back to the gate to await our flight. The plane arrived in good time and Philip and I watched the baggage cars driving around outside. "Look, Philip! There's your carseat!"

Well, when 6:30pm came and no mention of boarding had been mentioned, Matthew began to wonder what was up. Finally around 7:15pm, the announcer said that plane had a malfunction and they were working on it. At 8:00pm (these times are estimates for those who really care), we were told the plane would not be operational and all flights were booked until Tuesday! My thought was, "We can walk on the Miami beach tomorrow morning!" Hey, I'm a stay-at-home mom and my child was with me so what was the rush. However, Matthew and Ruth Ann both had work on Monday and didn't like the idea of using up a vacation day to be stuck in Miami.

After sitting around for another hour (walking the halls with Philip, pushing him in the stroller hoping he would sleep, watching Boz on Matthew's laptop), they announced a plane would be arriving which could fly us home leaving Miami at 10:30pm. Yeah! Luckily Charlotte was our final destination but it stunk for people catching connecting flights out of Charlotte because they would have to spend the night in a hotel there and then catch their next flight the following morning.

At 10:15pm, we FINALLY boarded our plane. Philip was very sleepy at this time and thankfully, fell asleep in my lap before we even took off. He had been running a fever earlier in the day, but I had forgotten to give him more Tylenol in the airport. During the flight, he remained asleep but I could tell his fever was rising again and he whimpered off and on throughout.

We arrived in Charlotte at 12:15am and I gave him the Tylenol. We grabbed our baggage and stepped outside into the chilly night air. Next was the wait for the shuttle back to the long term parking lot -- 30 minutes!! Philip and I sang many verses of "The Wheels on the Bus" while we waited. He was in a sweet, sleepy mood. Finally got on the shuttle, found our car, drove the hour back to Spartanburg, took Ruth Ann home and arrived at our house at 2:30am. What a night. Philip slept until 10:00am the next morning.

He did seem cranky on Monday, but after that kind of night what would you expect. However, he did have a fever of 102 on Tuesday morning too so to the pediatrian's we went. Yup, an ear infection. The remainder of last week got a little better. He's on Augmentin which causes diarrhea and his skin broke out all over in a rash on Thursday (probably the virus leaving his body). Friday night we bought our Christmas tree, decorated it on Saturday, attended church Sunday morning, our adult choir's "The Christmas Celebration" that night (Philip sat through it with us and enjoyed it very much especially being able to clap after each song and watching the Wise Men walk in to worship the Baby (toddler) Jesus), and much needed house cleaning today.

There you have it. I'm now caught up. Whew!

Our Day at Sea World

When it comes to theme parks, I'm just a big kid. Getting up at 5:30am wasn't that great, but after the three hour drive from Lori and Jonathan's house, I began to get really excited when we started spotting signs for the Orlando area parks. I had vague memories of Sea World as my family spent Christmas week in Orlando in 1990, but walking through the main gate this time had a whole new feel. This time I was a mommy! Thank you Jonathan and Lori for picking Sea World as our destination because it was right up Philip's alley. He loves animals! The weather was beautiful, the kids did great for skipping nap time, and we have good memories.



Matthew holding two toddlers totally ready to take on Sea World!



Philip tries to pet a sting ray.



Philip and Hannah check out the wild life.



Philip demonstrates what an alligator looks like.



Philip and Matthew look at the penguins. I didn't know penguins are only in the South Pole!


This was so funny. When kids touched these hand shapes on the wall, a movie above would begin playing. I saw Philip touching it and thought how neat that he knew what to do. The funny part came when I noticed that he was saying, "High five" as he was slapping the wall!


The Dolphin Show was my favorite part of the day. It was the story of a girl's dreams as she had dolphins and birds flying outside her window. There were amazing performers who dove from high platforms and swang on trapeze-like swings. The music almost made me cry!


The kids' eyes were glued to the dolphin show. Well, at least for this second when I took the picture.



Yeah, lunch time! We enjoyed hotdogs and chips from the Sandbar Cafe.

After lunch, we headed to our next show: Shamu! This was pretty good. Just watching the trainers swimming with such huge animals, I wondered, "Does Shamu ever have a day when he doesn't want to perform?" Sadly enough, I guess the crowd in San Diego yesterday saw that happen when Shamu dragged his trainer underwater.



We enjoyed one ride, the Jazzy Jellies (balloon ride meets tea cups) in the kiddie area, Shamu's Happy Harbor. Hannah and Philip loved the ride, but were a little frustrated waiting our turn in line.



Next stop, the Wild Arctic! Wow, a sleeping seal!


As the day grew to a close, the park's Christmas lights provided a new atmosphere.

A Brooks' family portrait in front of the Christmas tree.



More Brooks'.



And more Brooks'!


Although it had been a beautiful, sunny, mid-70's day at Sea World, we were fortunate to be at the park for their Holiday Celebration. At 7:45pm, Jonathan found us a perfect waterfront spot to watch the show. Christmas music filled the air as colored lights lit up the fountains.


The excitement escorted us all the way out of the park as imitation snow (mini-soap bubbles) was blowing from the rooftops of the shops. It was everywhere, but this picture doesn't do it justice. Maybe we'll have a chance to see real snow before the winter's over.

Thanksgiving Day

Thursday was a great day as we continued just relaxing and enjoying being together with Lori, Jonathan and Hannah. Each morning was funny as Philip would wake up first, look for Hannah, be told she was sleeping and to be quiet, and then be greeted a little while later by a very excited Hannah who came running into the playroom looking for Philip.

Lori was a wonderful Thanksgiving hostess and began preparation for our meal at mid-morning. The rest of us watched some of the Macy's parade and football as the kids played.

We all did spend some time outside in the beautiful south Florida weather as Philip and Hannah burned even more calories (those two hardly ever slowed down!).

But I can't complain as it always brought forth good, long naps in the afternoons. This week was Philip's first experience not sleeping in a crib or Pack 'N Play. Lori had borrowed a toddler air mattress and he slept so well on it. (We're planning to move him into the twin bed in his room this weekend!)

Before naptime, Lori brought out the supplies for Hannah and Philip to make their first Thanksgiving craft - a Native American headdress! It was fun, but unfortunately neither was too excited about wearing the "hats".

As the ever-proud mom, the headdress was packed in the suitcase and Philip decided he would like to wear it once we were home.




The adults played a few games of darts while the kids slept before heading back inside to finish the Thanksgiving dinner preparations. After much hardwork, we sat down to a fabulous meal. Our menu included turkey, corn casserole, green beans, mashed potatoes, orange cranberry relish, sweet potato souffle, pear and spinach salad, and crescent rolls.


Matthew, Philip and me



Jonathan, Lori, and Hannah

One very proud Grandma! A grandmother's love is something you definitely have to experience to understand. How great to watch the children you raised raise children of their own, and to have those grandchildren be as sweet as these two!

Dinner was great, but as always at Thanksgiving, we all got up from the table a little uncomfortable. A walk through the neighborhood and quaint-small-town park was in order. It sounds like a simple day, but God's blessings were abundant! To have a loving, Christian family, plenty to eat, and a personal relationship with the Maker of the Universe to whom I give all thanks is more than one person can ask for!

The day ended with Uncle Jonathan showing Hannah and Philip a website which previewed what we would be seeing the next day... Sea World!!

More from Florida

When Wednesday morning came, Hannah and Philip were well rested and ready to play. It was a low-key day as we watched them play around the house, went to a near-by park, and just enjoyed the time being together.


Riding a dinosaur together.



Goodbye, park! We had a great time.

After dinner, the kids had fun with Uncle Jonathan, wrestling and dancing as he played his guitar. Philip wanted to play along so he found a toy guitar.

Heading to Sunny Florida!

Thanksgiving weekend finally arrived and we headed down to Florida to spend the week with Matthew's brother, Jonathan, our sister-in-law Lori and Philip's cousin Hannah. We were really excited as it had been since last Christmas when we saw them last.

Matthew, Ruth Ann, Philip and I flew from Charlotte, NC to Miami, FL. Philip had flown when he was four months but this was our first real test. Luckily we got a lot of his energy out in the airport between watching the planes take off and dancing with some new friends he made.





Philip was really excited once it was finally our turn to get on the plane. However, it was a small plane (two seats, aisle, one seat) and we were in the very back. The flight was great and taking off at 5:45pm allowed us to see the city lights of Charlotte upon departure and Miami upon arrival. Philip was a wonderful passenger but got scared at a few moments (the air pressure probably confused him when his ears popped). We made it through by scribbling, putting stickers in a book, watching a few minutes of a Boz DVD on Matthew's laptop, and passing him back and forth between the three of us. About 20 minutes before landing, Philip began saying, "All done." He had had enough of the small plane.

To wrap up our first day, we landed, found Jonathan, Lori and Hannah at baggage claim, headed out of the Miami airport area, ate a yummy, late dinner at McDonald's, and drove the hour back to their house. Hannah and Philip still had some energy left to play for a little while before we all went to bed. Yeah, we're on vacation!


Philip and Hannah hug when seeing each other in the airport.


Hannah shows Philip her toy room. Wow, we're going to have fun playing here!

Our sweet, silly Philip

Philip does silly things almost everyday day. I'm trying to capture as many on camera as I can but miss more than I catch. Friends whose children are older are telling me to write down what he says and does as to not forget. One such thing is that we've taken him to my last two baby check-ups. At each appointment, we've asked him if he's heard the baby's heartbeat. Now whenever we're out running errands and pass the doctor's office building, he points and says, "Heart! Heart!" So cute. I also don't want to forget his little voice and the way he says things. "Shim" everytime he sees water anywhere meaning he wants to swim in it. "I wanna shee him" when Matthew leaves for work and we run to the front door to watch the Trailblazer drive down the road.

Here are some of the funny pictures.