Some exciting things that have happened so far at Grandmama and Grandaddy's house, and it hasn't even been a week yet!

1. Baby Lucas Emerson was born in Kentucky! 6 lbs. 14 oz Congratulations Jenny and Troy! Also, Troy got a job in North Carolina the same day Lucas was born. Hopefully we will have a picture of baby real soon. ***JENNY, YOU ARE THE CUTEST LITTLE MAMA AROUND!*** 2. Mama had surgery. 3. Patrick killed a big snake in Grandmama's backyard. 4. Cole and Skyler were playing softball in Grandmama's playroom and Cole knocked a ball through the window! 5. Daddy cut his hand while helping someone move and had to go and get stitches in his finger. 6. We got to see our neighbor, Jason McLaughlin, play professional soccer on the soccer channel at the McLaughlin's house. We just love that Jason. He used to babysit Skyler and he is just the nicest guy. His brother is also a great athlete. Jared was the kicker for the BYU football team. He is incredibly tall for a kicker. I think he is about 6 foot 4 or 5. Jared is #7 for Atlanta.

Natalie, Thanks for asking about me. And thanks for your well wishes and prayers everyone. They mean so much to me. I was really sore and groggy on Friday, but yesterday I was much better.

Jessica's surgery

Jessica had surgery today in Alabama. The uroligist she went to in Alabama yesterday found that she had interstitial cystitis. She had an outpatient procedure done today and will go back to Birmingham next week for further testing. The doctor is certain that she also has another more severe problem and is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Here is some info on interstitial cystitis:
Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a condition that causes discomfort or pain in the bladder and abdomen. It is far more common in women than in men. The symptoms vary from case to case. Some people have an urgent or frequent need to urinate. Women's symptoms often get worse during their periods.

Many scientists believe IC is actually several diseases. Many use the term painful bladder syndrome (PBS) to describe urinary pain for which they cannot find a cause. There is no one test to tell if you have IC/PBS. Doctors often run tests to rule out other possible causes of symptoms. There is no cure for IC/PBS, but treatments can help most people feel better. They include distending, or inflating, the bladder; bathing the inside of the bladder with a medicine solution; oral medicines and in rare cases, surgery.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

It has been a rough week for me, fraught with soaring fevers and worsening, spreading pain. After surgery last week, the doctor asked me to stop taking almost all of my medication. He said no antibiotics and not even cranberry pills or vitamins for a week. Thankfully, he let me take painkillers. He wanted to see what happened to my kidneys and the rest of my body without antibiotics for a week. I go in tomorrow at 2 p.m. for some tests. I am really hoping he is the guy who can get things figured out for me. So far his track record is excellent. I saw him on one day and he had me come back for surgery the next. He diagnosed me with a disease that completely answered all of my questions as to why I've had blood in my urine and frequent bladder infections for the past six years. He accomplished more for me in one visit more than four other urologists combined did over a six month period. So, hopefully if he doesn't have the rest of the pieces of the puzzle for me tomorrow, then he knows another doctor like him who does. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me. I also have to start a new diet, void of any citrus, tomatoes, or sodas, as those all worsen my condition. That is a small sacrifice, though, if it makes me feel better and have less infections. My father has a client/friend who is a renowned oncologist who specializes in cancer of the female organs. That doctor is the one who recommended this urologist for me and I am so incredibly grateful. I am so glad I came to Alabama and saw him. Just in case you can't tell, this has really renewed my hope. I mean, I could kiss this man. Sorry Bryant. So thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. I am so lucky to have good friends and family like yáll who have helped me out with meals, kids, rides, etc. over the past six or seven months. I love yáll. I hope I am as good a friend to yáll as you have been to me. And Mama, thank you for carrying me back and forth to Birmingham four times now in a week with your broken foot. What can I say? My mama is the most selfless person on the planet. It is so good to have a Mama and a husband who take such good care of me, and sweet pretty kids and great friends like yáll to boot. I am a lucky girl. Update: He is putting me on 3 new medications. I get my test results on Monday or Tuesday.

My Last Day of Kindergarten - by Sibley Slade

Today we had a beach party. And Mrs. O was also retiring. It was very sad. Even though it was sad, we got new frogs. My teacher's name is Mrs. Jung.

The Worst last Day of School - by Skyler Slade

Today we had a big assembly at school. It was for Mrs. O's retirement. Each class presented her with a joke. Mrs. C's class gave her fire drill folders and we threw a bucket of confetti on her. She got some in her mouth. At the end of the assembly the teachers duct taped her to the wall. (Mrs. O) It was really funny. During the assembly there was a slide show and it had pictures of Mrs. O in junior high and high school. Me and Taylor started to cry and so did Rachel because we were sad the our principal was leaving.
Mrs. C passed out certificates. Check out the ones I received!
At the end of the school day when we were about to get out, Mrs. C wanted to talk to me. She said she wants me to come in three days early to help her set up her classroom. She also asked my friend Hattie. She signed my yearbook and she gave me her address to send her letter over the summer if we get bored.

Our Budding Flautist

Skyler has decided to play the flute in Orchestra next year. We are all very excited and know she will do well with her new endeavor.

Scentsy Update

I got my first paycheck yesterday from Scentsy! It was for $36.80. I now have 3 consultants signed up with me, and I never even asked any of them to. (Of course, I am ecstatic that they did!) They all just called and told me they wanted to do it. I have two parties booked for June and I am almost at my raise from 20% commission of my sales to 25% commission of my sales. Things are going great! I can't wait until I feel better, and then I will really be cooking. The funny thing is that I am a terrible salesperson. I hate to feel like I am intruding or to pressure anyone. I guess that tells you what a great product Scentsy is. It truly sales itself. I think it is appealing because it is much safer than a candle and it works so well. Thanks for listening to/reading my rants and ravings. It's like I told my Arizona friends in an e-mail the other day - I know y'all are tired of hearing about Scentsy, but I am having so much fun with it. It is great for me to actually have something to look forward to right now besides my next doctor's appointment and a new antibiotic prescription! And my whole family is having fun with it. The girls really enjoy sniffing the scents and picking burners out. And, while Bryant doesn't enjoy sniffing the samples so much, he has been incredibly supportive.

I needed a lift.

I am at home waiting to go to the doctor today for a 2:30 appointment. Usually when I need a little lift, I sniff my Scentsy samples. But today my Scentsy samples are at an elementary school, so I did the next best thing and downloaded some happy music for my playlist. I thought y'all might be getting tired of Cuppy Cake. I know I was.

A few more pictures from Sibley's birthday

Skyler made Sibley breakfast in bed that morning. What can I say? I have sweet girls. Then we had a little shindig at Build-a-Bear, went out to dinner, and went and watched Skyler play softball.

At our house, we say "yes" to animal cosmetic testing.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We love you Gwen. You are a special lady, and we are lucky to have you in our lives.

Amanda, it was so fun to see you and Elizabeth.

Bryant, I love to see you hold a baby. You are such a sweet man and I love you. And I love it when you wear your sunglasses on your head. You're hot.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope y'all are having a great Mother's Day. I hope the weather wherever you are is as wonderful as it is here. I just wanted to share with y'all some precious gifts that my girls made for me. Sibley filled out a special questionnaire and drew a picture of me, and Skyler made for me the most beautiful scrapbook I have ever seen. I wanted to show y'all some of my favorite pages. Please click on the pictures so that you can read what they wrote.

I wish the 90 lbs. part of Sibley's gift were true. Okay, maybe 100. One of these days I won't be sick anymore and I will get to exercise! And I am so impressed by the wisdom and talent of my 9 year old. She really captured my essence in the scrapbook. I love how she said I would like to see Alabama, Papa, and my siblings.

We were supposed to go up to Eagar for the weekend for a wedding reception, but my infection was really acting up yesterday, so we didn't get to go. Bryant was afraid for me to be that far away from a hospital. I'm sorry we couldn't make it.

The cutest thing ever...

Bryant went into Sibley's room tonight to check on her and she had fallen asleep. He found this sitting by the bed.

Sibley the Big Girl Bikerider

Sibley learned how to ride a bike today, and she's not even six yet. We are proud of our big girl. It has been a big weekend for her.
P.S. She picks out her own clothes now too. Update: Now she is starting and stopping all by herself.

Double the Birthday Boys = Double the Fun!

Bryant has a good friend, Jared, whose birthday is one day after his. (Yes, Bryant has a good friend. In fact, he has several.) Anyway, so we had their family over to have a little joint birthday party. We swam, cooked out, and had a great time.

Sibley's 6th Birthday Party

On Saturday we had a - what else? What else but a swimming party, of course, for Sibley. I was wondering what I will do for birthday parties if my next baby is born in the wintertime. We have really enjoyed having birthday parties in our pool and under the shelter of our nice patio shade (that Bryant and Keith built). The theme for this party was Butterflies/flowers. As always, we had a pinata and played stick the tail on the donkey. Sibley had lots of fun with her friends and has lots of birthday loot to enjoy. Thanks to those of you who came, and for those of you who couldn't make it, we missed you.

(Sibley really likes pistachios, so we got her some clothes and threw a bag of pistachios in too. As you can see from the picture, she was much more excited about the pistachios.)

In the second video, you can see how Bryant likes to tease each of the partygoers as they take swings at the pinata.