Devastating News...

My dad took my mom to the emergency room on New Year's Eve. She had been sick for several weeks, coughing and sneezing for weeks. She had terrible pain in her back and ribs and just could not take it anymore. The initial diagnosis was bronchitis, but she was so dehydrated and her minerals were so low that her organs were on the verge of shutting down. I knew she felt lousy on Christmas Day, but she got worse instead of better. On the third day she was at the hospital, the doctor came in with heartbreaking news--she has Leukemia. Talking about having the wind knocked out of us, we are shocked. It has been the worst week of my life. She has declined chemo, the kind of cancer she had does not respond well and there is only a small chance that it would put the Leukemia in remission. She is going to come home in a few days and be happy at home. How long she has, only God knows. We will keep her comfortable and happy, and enjoy every day we are allowed to keep her with us. She has peace and contentment in her decision and all four of us kids, as well as my dad, are in full support of her decision. Our friends and family have rallied around us during this time, and for that we are most grateful. Please continue to keep my mom Mary and my dad Sonny in your daily prayers!

Christmas Part....5???

This was our final Christmas get-together of the season. Nikole and Barbara came over on Saturday Jan 1st for lunch and presents. I have never cooked a traditional New Year's Day meal (southern style, I guess) of collard greens and peas, so I just made spaghetti and garlic bread. My mom had been admitted to the hospital the night before (more on that later) so I was in such a hurry when I got back from seeing her I forgot to fix the salad. We had cheesecake for dessert, which is Nikole's favorite. We had a great time, and they managed to find a toy that the boys had been wanting--"Bakugan Dragonoid Colossus" (don't ask!). Nikole is off to college, so we have a plan to visit the NC coast sometime in April...

What Our Open Adoption looks like this Christmas...

Silas, T & Stephen
Silas with Bekah & T

T, Silas & S

The whole gang at Silas' great-grandparents house

Stephen and his awesome new music maker

We adopted Silas and they adopted us!!

School Christmas Fun!!

Silas gave me a lot of flack for buying them matching shirts, his exact quote was

"IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY??!!"
But, as you can see, I am NOT the only mom who does these things :o)

Silas and his teacher, Miss Daniels!

Silas was the ONLY one wearing green, you could say he was easy to spot!!

His part was to tell how Christmas is celebrated in Italy

How sweet is this, holding his brother's hand in the hallway!

McAdenville-Christmas Town USA

Silas meets Mr. Snowman

It was super cold that night!

Most lights on any house in the neighborhood

What Christmas really means!

We would LOVE to have one of these!!

We made our annual trek to see the lights at McAdenville. We have figured out the formula- get there at 5:45 on Friday night before the crowd gets there! We were once again able to park by the lake and walk around. Most people just drive through, but we like the up close and personal tour. We had to walk behind Stephen and hold a blanket around him, he was shaking he was so cold.

Dressed up and ready to PARTY!!

Our niece Kristen got married on November 20th, the day after

Stephen's birthday!

Aren't they great looking together??!!

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Trey Winslett!

Look at that handsome 8 year old...

and his sweet little brother who will not stand still for a pose....

...unless he is forced to by his big brother!!
It was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time at the reception. The boys both did very well during the ceremony (which we were super excited about) and got to let loose a little at the reception. They clean up pretty good, don't they???

Stephen's party at Chuck E Cheese!!

This is the second cake, the first one was dropped on the way to the car by our oldest child...
Nikole and her dad, Grandpa Steve, with his little namesake!!

Stephen with Grandma Barbara

Silas helping his brother with his presents whether he wants the help or not!!

A good time was had by all!!!