Gulf Shores Part 2

Sorry it has taken so long to get part 2 updated. We came back from Gulf Shores last Thursday, but only stayed in Knoxville Thursday night. We got up Friday morning and headed to Louisville, KY so Joe could run in the Derby Half Marathon. I will update from the race soon. Anna and I have stayed with my parents since Saturday because Joe has started a new job with TVA and had to be away from home until tomorrow. We are heading back to Knoxville today so I can be back for church tonight. WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT BEING BACK IN KNOXVILLE! Here are more pics from our vacation.

Anna loved covering her legs with sand!

Anna loves her Papa.

After dinner at LuLu's.

Anna and Nana at the beach. Nana said this was the first time she has liked the beach! I wonder why?

We are standing in front of Phil's boat. Anna loved looking at the boats from our patio.

Sliding with Papa. Fran and Kylie, do you recognize the dress? It fits her so well now!

Anna and Daddy swinging.

Rhonda, we needed you for our family photo shoot.





At the beach.

Lovin the beach! Do you see the chocolate on her mouth?

Anna found a friend on the beach.

Anna loved playing with her float outside of the pool, not in the pool.

We were sad we had to leave Gulf Shores.

Gulf Shores Part 1

Joe is starting a new job at TVA on April 27th. We decided that we should go on a family vacation before he starts, so he can save all his vacation days for when the new baby arrives. We headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama Thursday afternoon with my parents. Anna did great in the car. She loves to watch Veggie Tales, so that was a huge help for the long drive.

Thanks to Phil and Robin for letting us stay in their AMAZING condo. We are all being spoiled by this great place. The weather has been OK so far, but looks good for the rest of the week. Here are pics from our trip so far. Blogger is messing up, so here this is all I could do tonight. More to come.

Anna loved playing on this train.


Waiting to eat at Lamberts.

Walking on the beach. Can you tell how windy it is?

Ma is feeling much better now...so she has started sewing for Anna. Isn't this outfit cute?

Anna loves to look at the boats. She now says "boat" all the time.

Anna and Nana

We are thankful for the indoor pool since it is too cold for the pool outside or the ocean.

Swimming with Mommy.

Anna really likes to walk now. Hopefully it won't be too much longer.

Anna and Papa ready for the pool.

Trying to get to Papa.

Happy Easter!

Wow, what an amazing day to celebrate our resurrected Savior! We stayed in Knoxville this year for Easter instead of going to Kentucky. I was sad at first at the thought of not being with our families, but God has blessed us with such an amazing church and friends, that we were glad we stayed. CHBC is in my opinion the best church in Knoxville and I am go grateful to be apart of such a dynamic, Christ centered church. We experienced our resurrected Savior today and witnessed tear-jecting testimonies from so many people in our church. I was just in awe as we left church this morning and so thankful that Jesus arose after dying on the cross for my sins!

We left church and headed to our dear friends, Randy and Rhonda's for an amazing Easter lunch. We are so blessed to have such gracious friends in Knoxville. Thanks so much for having us over today! Anna and Faith had an egg hunt after lunch. We came home and Anna took a 3 hour nap while Joe and I washed our cars. Then it was naptime for Mommy!

Anna and Daddy before church.

Family Easter pic taken at church.

Looking at the tulips.

Mommy and Anna

Laying their cardboard testimonies at the cross. This was so powerful!

We visited Jack and Jake in their class after church.

Anna took a cat-nap on the way to the Thompsons. This helped hold her over until we got home at 3:00 for her long nap.


Hunting eggs with Daddy.


So happy after her long nap!

What a Day...

I think yesterday might have been the worst day for our family ever. Sunday night, Anna had a fever of 104.5. I called the docter yesterday morning because her fever was still high. We made an appointment for 1:30, which I thought was perfect timing because of her morning nap. However, it turned out to be a terrible time because of what else that happened yesterday morning. Joe called me about 9:30 and asked me what my symptoms were with my kidney stone. I could tell from his voice that he was really hurting. He called the doctor and made an appointment for 10:45. Since Anna had to take a nap and was probably sick, I stayed home with her instead of taking her to a friend's house. I really wanted to be with Joe because I knew he was hurting so much. Things got worse for Joe when he arrived at the doctor because the pain was so strong at that point. They saw how much he was hurting, so gave him a shot with pain medicine. I think this relieved the pain some. Mark thankfully was able to pick Joe up and take him to the hospital for a CT scan.

Time finally arrived for me to take Anna to the doctor. My friend Brittany met me there so I could leave immediately after her appointment to be with Joe. We found out at the doctor that Anna has an ear infection and strep throat. While we were still at the doctor, Joe called and needed to be picked up at the hospital. Brittany thankfully went to get Joe so I could stay with Anna.

Everyone made it home safely. I got Joe and Anna in bed and I left to get the prescriptions filled. By the time I made it home, I was exhausted.

I think God knew that I had to feel good all day because I could not have made it yesterday without God's grace. I tried to take a nap, but my mind could not rest. I got up about 5:00 and called Fran. She offered to bring suppper! (This was more of a blessing later than I thought it would be.)

Joe came downstairs a little before 6:00 and got really sick. He said he needed to go to the hospital right then. Anna was still taking a nap and I started calling people to help out with Anna. At that moment, Fran showed up at my house. She told us to leave and she would take care of Anna.

Fran ended up taking Anna to Brittany's house so Jack and Jake would not catch Anna's germs.

We made it to the hospital and they gave Joe some great pain medicine. The doctor looked at the results of his scan and said that the stone had moved 7/8 of the way and thought he would pass it last night. He sent us home about 8:30.

Thankfully the pain really eased up for Joe and he was able to sleep last night and he passed the stone about 5:00 am this morning!

Nana and Poppy came back to help last night. Anna is not feeling great today, but I think is on the road to recovery. I am just really tired and thankful for Nana and Poppy's help today.

Thanks to all our friends and family for your help, calls, and prayers yesterday! We are so blessed to have such great friends and family! We love you all!

Here are pics from the weekend.

Anna and Nana

Anna and Jaxson at the Easter egg hunt Saturday.

She loves to slide!

Anna knew where the eggs went.

Anna wasn't a big fan of the grass.

Hunting eggs is fun!

Anna and Anna. I tell LeAnna that I wanted Anna's hair to look like Anna's.

Anna plays with her Easter basket all the time now. Thanks Aunt Laura and Uncle Cory!

Anna loves her Nana and Poppy!

Ready for church Sunday.