FOUL BALL!

Last night, JonJon and CUTIE took Kemp to the Barons Baseball game. Believe it or not, a foul ball came heading right towards Katie and Kemp. Jon, the hero, grabbed the GAME BALL as a souvenir for Kemp (and saved his little head! HAHA). It scared Kemp to death but he has yet to put that ball down! He is obsessed with JON and kept saying, "PLAY WITH ME, JON JON!" He couldn't wait to call his mommy and daddy and tell them about "catching" that ball! They had a wonderful time, but b/c of a thunderstorm that came through they had to leave early. Today they plan on taking the little man swimming..........

here's Brad's pix

Brad's update!

 

BRAD with Catherine, his  favorite OT (Occupational Therapist)! Doesn't he look GREAT???????

WOW,  see what a difference one day (and some good red blood!) can make?????!!!!!!!! AND what a HUGE difference after 2 units of BLOOD makes! Brad certainly looked like a different person today!!! I am putting the only picture of Brad I made yesterday b/c he was so sick I didn't want to bother him! You can see him lying in bed aftter his fall yesterday (and Michael playing around on his crutches, YES, his FALL. More on that below).

Also there are some pix of Kemp that we took of yesterday! KATIE has been a life saver, too! She's been with Kemp almost the entire time. This is so funny, he told her today, "Cutie, I sure have enjoyed spending this time with you!!!!" Isn't he precious?! Of course, Aunt CUTIE bought him a new Thomas the Train addition (Diesel 10!) yesterday because he has been "a perfect little angel" , Aunt Cutie says!

O.k.< back to Brad!!! And his" horrible, terrible no good , very bad day" yesterday!!!

As I SAID, Yesterday was NOT a good day at all, he actually fell during his rehab yesterday b/c he blacked out! He was walking for the first time and suddenly got dizzy. He started to sway and they grabbed him but he hit the chair. Hard. He had to have an X-RAY to make sure he didn't mess up his hip when he hit the chair! (Yes, there was a tech behind him and she grabbed him but he still hit the chair and blacked out!). It scared us all half to death and he looked worse yesterday than the day of surgery! We were all so worried. After "the episode" , and looking over his blood work, they decided his blood was so low that he needed some blood.

 FAST FORWARD TO THURSDAY MORNING!!!!!!Overnight he got it and by the time we got there today, his cheeks were blushing with color and he was grinning!!!!!! BRAD WAS BACK!!!!!!!!!!! not only that, but around 10, he sat in a chair! He sat there for several hours until the PT (Physical Therapist) got there to help him walk a little! She made Nat follow behind him with a chair (JUST IN CASE!!!). He did great. Then, back to bed to do leg lifts, etc. There are so many "do's and don't's". GOOD GRIEF!!! OF COURSE, Brad knows ALL his nurses/nurses aids/ Therapists/Housekeeping people BY NAME!!!!! OF COURSE they all love him and love his accent, too! They said "he's our favorite patient". Of course he would be!! We had a few visitors today as well as 2 ministers to pray with him. All those prayers are certainly being answered as he is just doing incredibly!!!!!!!!!We are so thrilled and happy that our AUSSIE is doing so well!!!!!! MORE TOMORROW!

P.S. Be sure and check out the pix NATALIE "washing" Brad's hair! That was the FUNNIEST thing ever!!!!!!!!!!!

Brad's SURGERY!

Brad has his surgery yesterday morning. We were prepared for about a 2-3 hour surgery that was finished in an hour and a half!!!!! WHOOPEE! OF course, that is in part b/c Brad is so fit and trim!!!!!!!!!!! They gave us one of those PAGERS like they have in resturants and it was so funny when it went off---we would have to go to the desk for updates!  Anyway, the doctor (Matt Davis who is sooooo sweet BTW) told us that Brad's hip was "just gone". He said he couldn't believe it and was so glad Brad went ahead when he did to get it replaced. When Brad was in the recovery room he opened his eyes and looked at Nat. She said, "What can I get you???" and he said, "a kiss". That's just Brad! SO SO SO precious. Never thinking of himself.......He did great, had a little too much pain medicine and was zonked and they had to reverse that but he's doing fine now. Once, when he opened his eyes, he started to cry. He said, "I can't believe my hip isn't hurting!" God love him. He has been dealing with that constant pain so long and now the hip wasn't hurting!! Now, the INCISION is a different story! It HURTS! (He said he knows how MIMI felt now!) but he is a trooper! ........Here's a few shots from yesterday! BTW, he is poking Natalie's belly button in recovery, we were trying to get him awake! HAHAHA THe first pix are on the way to the hospital and the rest are "in order" of the day's events! (that is Jack Hinnen, our minister from RIVERCHASE CONTEMP. Service: (SonDay Live): goofing off with Natalie in the waiting room and then, today, Katie taking HER BOY to school. We are fixing to go see Brad! Gotta Roll! THANKS SO MUCH for EVERYTHING! For the calls/cards/food! We love you all! By the way, Katie saie he was a PERFECT ANGEL yesterday!

Preggie Party

Natalie went to a baby shower in Atlanta for her friend, Chrissy and there were 5 girls pregnant there! wow, can you even imagine all the hormones  going 'round in that room?!  (I bet the bathroom was full the whole entire time!) BTW, those in the pix are not all the preggie ones (a few are, tho! Can you guess which ones?!)

Brad's Birthday Surprise!

What a wonderful SURPRISE! We were fixing to start cutting the  BIRTHDAY cake when the phone rang! It was PATRICK calling to wish Brad a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! What a surprise to hear him laughing and say, "LOOK OUTSIDE!" there he and Stefanie were, walking up the front sidewalk!!!!!!!!!!! WOW! What a GREAT BIRTHDAY PRESENT! For ALL of us! EVERYONE was there today for Brad's Birthday/Send Off  (to surgery!): Me & Terry; Charles& Rachel; Michael, Kadie, Lily; Pat & STef; Katie! Only JON was missing (He has a stomach virus and is still in Auburn---SICK, poor thing!).I went to make pictures and my camera read: NO CF CARD!!!!!!!!!! I almost croaked! SOOOOOOO, I grabbed Brad's camera and I forgot to use the flash on his so some are a little grainy (until he saw me making them without the flash up! HAHA).I brought home his little SD card and loaded up the pix! I will add some of his later. I will be BUSY for the next couple of weeks , helping Nat with Brad and Kemp so don't know when I will get back to journaling! HOPEFULLY, I will have some pix of Brad AFTER surgery doing great!!!! I will try to get them make and run home and add them at some point next week so that everyone in OZ can see that Brad is doing well (we KNOW he will do well b/c we have soooooooo many people praying for him!). I printed out the e-mails that everyone sent him and he loved each and everyone of them. He was kind  of teary eyed when I handed the stack of e-mails to him........(HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRAD! My 4th SON! I love you!!!!!!!!! MIL)

Happy Birthday BRAD!

Today is Brad's  birthday!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a recent shot of Brad and Nat while fishing in Destin.  I should say of NATALIE fishing! (Hey! She caught a fish, too! Check the pix out above!)I was far away with my zoom lens and caught him giving Nat a kiss. That's just BRAD!!! Always kissing and hugging!!!!!!!!!!.......Please be in prayer for our sweet Brad because TUESDAY morning, he will be going into the hospital for  total HIP REPLACEMENT SURGERY ! I've never seen anyone need it more. Poor Brad, he is limping more with each passing day and I can't wait to see him able to run circles around Kemp this time next year! Pray for all of us that we can help him through the first couple of (difficult!) weeks of recovery! Pray for the doctors and nurses and all who will be helping with him.... I asked for people to send him "get well wishes" and my e-mail box was flooded with them! Everyone loves Brad. that's a fact. If you've only met him once, you know what I mean! That man has NEVER, and I mean NEVER met a stranger! Everyone loves him and is praying for him!!! Especially the FRYS!

As Konie Bryant wrote:

"WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!  Thank the good Lord that it is a health issue that is fixable:):)  He'll have a lot of people praying for him so I know he is going to do just fine, and with the type person Brad is, he will be the favorite of the physical therapy team!!!  This is just a small bend in the road, and in the process Brad and Nat will probably touch someone else's life as they go through this......being a nurse, another patient, anybody!!"

Amen, Konie! And to everyone who wrote me, thank you so much! He will be touched today when I give him the e-mails (and, knowing Brad, will cry his eyeballs out!)..........!

My Scrapping Buddy!

Every other Thursday I get to do my most favorite thing in the world, (next to babysitting of course!)! SCRAPBOOK ALL DAY LONG! And, I have a buddy to do it with! Mary Margaret and I are now a SCRAPPING DUO! We have a ball together! We go to scrapbook stores and then come back and SCRAP and CROP. We even signed up for a class next month and are planning on going to the big WYNFRY scrapbooking Expo next year. We might even go on a  SCRAPPING CRUISE in the future! What fun would THAT be?! It's great having a "Partner in Crime" to help me spend all of my weekly "allowance" on scrapbook stuff. AND, She's really good. Soon she will be helping ME instead of vice versa!

I've got my eye on YOU!

Yesterday was so nice! Michael/Kadie had us over for Sunday lunch and it was delicious! I FORGOT MY CAMERA! YIKES! What came over me?! Well, I had church and my hands were full and........oh well! Maybe everyone was glad I didn't have a camera stuck in their faces!........Kemp spent the night FRYday night. He was so precious. Here's some shots I made of him while he was just doing his little Kemp thing! He's soooooooooo precious!

CHEF CHARLES fixing our dinner!

Charles came over last night and cooked our dinner (actually, it was his dad's Father's Day dinner but I got to enjoy it, too) ! Rachel couldn't come because she is in Mobile with Jamie (her aunt) who had bypass surgery on Thursday. We missed her but I know Jamie was soooooo glad she was with her (Jamie isn't married and has no children so Rachel is like her own daugher--just so glad she is doing so well)!.... It was interesting last night, however, having just our oldest son, all alone, last night!  That never happens and sometimes, when we do have just one- on- one time with each one of the kids, it's special.  I love having them by themselves sometimes--- and it's such a rarity and special to have that opportunity! (Poor Charles , he only had the first 11 months of his life to be  and "only child"! HA)! There's so many Pluses to having 5 kids but one of the Minuses is not getting to be with them by themselves as much when they are older---but when you do get that rare opportunity, it's really fun and special.......I didn't know my eldest was a gourmet cook!!!!!!! He fixed us the most delicious meal! RISOTTO and tuna steaks. I watched him make the Risotto and it was interesting b/c I only make mine PLAIN (boring!) and he added so many delicious things as you can see in the pictures! He brought 2 wines to compliment the dinner and it was just amazing, really! Like having a chef come into my kitchen and do ALL the work and on top of that be served a delicious meal! THANK YOU CHARLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VBS---"HAPPY FEET"!

I picked Kemp up from Riverchase UMC, VBS (Vacation Bible School!), and Natalie was leading Kemp's group in "HAPPY FEET". They sang some Wiggles songs and "We are the Dinosaurs" songs . They were the cutest little things! Here they are marching and singing  and laughing (and  even a few "I-want-my-mama" tears! HAHA)........

Vacuuming Princess!

Sometimes, even pampered Princesses get , well>>>>>>>BORED! So, what do Pampered BORED Princesses do when boredom strikes??? THEY CLEAN! Here's Miss Lily in different stages of boredom, finally ending up with a vacuum! hahahahaha

Jenna makes Top 10!

Well, the fun week we had is over! Jenna did great, ended up in the TOP TEN but, sadly for her fans---it ended there. The winners and runners up were awesome, too, but of course we were disappointed that Jenna didn't win the whole enchilada!! I even made a tee shirt, WITH HER PICTURE ON IT, and wore it last night!!!!!!!!! I was probably the most photographed person besides the new Miss Alabama! HAHAHAHA! We so enjoyed being with the family for the past 4 nights! What are we going to do tonight???????? ........... GO JENNA GO! You are the WINNER in our hearts!

JENNA Bryant, night # 3

Last night was night # 3 of the Miss Alabama contest. Jenna did her DANCE! It was awesome and she looked, of COURSE, gorgeous! Natalie, Katie and I cheered and screamed as loud as possible! After it was over, we got to visit with her as usual and it was fun hanging out with a CELEBRITY! I told her I would make lots of pictures of her and when she became famous, I would post them on the INTERNET and make myself lots of MONEY! hahahaha!.....I'm so NERVOUS about tonight!! I just had my devotional time and Isaiah 64:4 was the verse that "popped" out for me. I texted it to Konie to read, too...........more later Tonight will be THE Night when it all comes down! (Konie, I've been praying for yall all morning, calm and peace!). I remember how I felt last year when Katie was in Miss USA/Alabama and  when Natalie did a couple of Miss Alabama Preliminaries and how it's almost harder on the MOMS than the girls themselves. That sick feeling you get in the pit of your stomach that makes you tremble and yet the excitement , too!There's nothing like that feeling!.......The folks at AOL were so nice, helping me with my journal probs.  Guess we'll see if this one works!

Journal entry problems!

O.K., this is a bummer! My entries are messed up! Hope this one works! I've reported the problem to AOL, hopefully it will get FIXED >>>>ASAP!

Night 2 Miss Alabama!

Once again, tonight Jenna SPARKLED! She did the EVENING GOWN and on stage question of which she did GREAT, of course! Her gown was HOT PINK and was stunning!!!! We had a wonderful time tonight and of course , loved seeing Jenna after it was over upstairs! Can't wait to see her talent tomorrow night! It was also so much fun to get to visit with Whitney Marsh !She and Kataie used to be "bestest friends" when they were little girls!

JENNA WON SWIMSUIT IN MISS ALA. PRELIM!

 

 

 

Can you tell ? We're sooooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jenna Bryant won the swimsuit competition tonight!!!!!! HURRAH ! Tonight was the first night of 4 competition nights for MISS ALABAMA! Natalie, Katie and I got seats next to Beth and Whitney Marsh! (Whitney wasn't tonight but will be the rest of the time).It was so much fun watching all the talent and swimsuits and evening dresses. Tonight Jenna's group did swimsuit and I knew when she walked out there she had won for her group! She was AWESOME! She has the longest , prettiest legs I've ever seen!!!! The whole night was such fun, the best part watching Jenna get chosen for BEST SWIMSUIT!! We have wonderful tickets_--(thanks to KONIE!)........! Katie made the cute "JENNA" crown signs spelling out Jenna's name! Too bad the glitter got all over everyone! HA!

Here's some pix from tonight! Like I said, WE  ALL HAD SO MUCH FUN!THen, After it was over, we got to go upstairs and see Jenna! She was so excited! I  ALSO loved seeing Jess , Konie, Jarod and Konie's parents who are the most fun people in the world! We have so much fun when they are around! Mary and Stanley!!!  (I know I'm their favorite, too! HAHAHA!)

 Can't wait till NIGHT # 2~~! GO JENNA GO!

Pretty Preggie

Isn't this a hoot? Natalie has a whole new wardrobe of adorable Pregnant shirts!  This one Katie bought her! I  love walking around with her when she wears it b/c people just giggle and laugh! Besides, she's a PRETTY PREGO  as well!........ FUNNY STORY :I kept Kemp Monday while Nat went to the doctor. I looked outside and there lay a dead (HUGE!) squirrel. I  freaked out! I hate those "rats", too! HAHA! ANyway, I told Natalie when she got home. SHE , of all people, who once locked herself in her room in Riverchase when one got in the house? Well, this is someone who FREAKS over them! After I left to go meet some friends for lunch I got an SOS call! It was Natalie! Once again, LOCKED IN HER BEDROOM WITH KEMP! Dasher, apparently, dragged the squirrel thro the DOGGIE DOOR into her dining room of all things! She kept smelling something and finally found it! Talk about FREAKING?! She called me and told me she had called Brad at work to come home and "GET IT OUT OF HERE!" After about 30 minutes, I called her back and Brad answered saying, "HORNE PEST CONTROL. MAY I HELP YOU?!" Yes, he got the CRITTER out! hahahahaha..........also, the beautiful KUKABURRA print is from Ashley and David and Nat had just picked it up at Hobby Lobby. I LOVE the wood frame. Perfect for that beautiful print!

My Beautiful Beach Babe!

I always enjoy taking Katie's pix on the beach right before sunset! (no, her hair isn't RED, but the blonde highlights at sunset make it look that way)-- I've been making pictures of her on the beach since she was a baby and even then, she was a doll, now she's  just a Bigger Doll! I love the way my camera caught the details of the water/foam. Just awesome!

hard to believe, but yes! more Destin pix!

 

DESTIN COMMONS!

Here we are in DESTIN COMMONS! This is right behind where Pat works (at the huge Bass Pro Shop). This awesome shopping area is kind of a secret place---as many times as we've been to Destin, we didn't even know this place existed till Pat started working there!  We went several times, actually! The first time Katie and I went with Stef and Pat  when he had his day off (before the others arrived!). Then, later on in the week, we took the little ones , bathing suits in tow, for them to play on the mini playground, complete with train!!! (yes, Brad/Michael took them on the train ride while the girls ran into the shops!).The kids went BONKERS over the small kid playground/park---just the right size for little ones like Kemp/Lily! At first, they were afraid of the sidewalk water fountain, but it didn't take long for Kemp to want to get in it (Lily liked looking at the water spray from afar!! )It was soooooooo much fun and, like the whole entire week----PERFECT WEATHER!

Sunday visit with MIMI

Today I skipped church! The altar was taken care of today and so I decided that I would drive over and see Mimi .(Terry had to "count the money" so he went to church!). I usually don't skip too much on Sundays, but I just had that "mommy fever" where I wanted to see my mommy today!  Also,  I know Sundays are kind of boring for her and everyone else is in church, so it was so nice to have a long visit, all  alone , quiet time with my mama!  JUST ME! She soooooo enjoyed seeing all the pictures from the beach, I blew lots of them up to 8 x 10 size so that she could see them good as well as the regular sizes. (She STOLE some pix from me as well! HAHA! )....I got to see Mrs. Bryant and Mrs. Bradley, too when I walked her to lunch! It was a wonderful Sunday morning and I know God was glad that I spent it with my mom (and I did talk to Him on the way there, tho!)

 

P.S. I still have beach photos to add! YES< there are MORE of them! YIKES. More later on in the week!

SUDS!

Man, the tide was rough! Check out the TOO COOL pix of the surf! LOVE these shots! My camera is AWESOME!