The doctor came in a little while ago and said that after they cultured the tests from yesterday, Mya has a Urinary Tract Infection. The doctor agreed to discharge us this afternoon after her next round of medicine. We are so thankful that it is not anything more serious! Mya has been resting so well today and has even been laughing and playing with me today. So, unless something changes, we will still be one our way to New York tomorrow. Lots of packing tonight!

My plans for today were to finish packing for New York, clean out my car, get a free Spicy Chicken Sandwich at Chick-fil-a and spend the rest of the day with family...instead I am sitting in a Children's Hospital in Atlanta with little Mya, waiting for the doctor to do rounds. Crazy! If you know me, you know that I am not a fan of taking my kids to the doctor and I have been fortunate that they have both been very healthy! I rarely ever give my kids meds and normally try and let their bodies work to fight off any little bugs on their own. However, Mya started running a fever Friday night and by Sunday morning I knew something was up...probably an ear infection. Again, my first reaction would be to try and let her body fight it off since she didn't seem to be in any pain, since we were supposed to be leaving for New York on Tuesday, I thought I should get it checked out. So off we go to urgent care Sunday morning... After the doctor's initial exam, she said her ears, th...

When my brother and I were little, almost every time we went to visit our Grandmom, we wanted her to take us to the Yellow River Game Ranch. We LOVED it! So last week, with Chad in Colorado and Brooke in the Dominican Republic, Chris and I headed out to the Game Ranch with our little ones. Besides some areas being damaged in the floods last fall, the Game Ranch was exactly like we remembered it! Addison and Lilly were both smiling for the picture, but neither one was looking! All of the animals at the Game Ranch were rescued and wouldn't survive in the wild. This bear was obviously used to being fed - he could catch peanuts, carrots, etc... with very little effort!! Lilly and Addison kept trying to feed the animals tiny little pieces. We had to help them with bigger pieces so they didn't get bit in the process! Feeding the goats Bison The scariest animal for Addison - a cougar. I had a hard time getting my camera to focus on the animal instead of the fence. looking at one...

So here it is! A physical picture of the Lord's work in our lives! A month ago we thought we would not find a place to live in New York, and yet not only do we have a home, we have a brand new home, on post that is bigger than any house we've ever had. On that note, we are trying to remember this lesson learned as we found out this week that Chad's elbow is not fully healed. We are not sure what this will mean in the future, but we are trusting the Lord that His plans are greater than ours. While most of the houses on post are duplexes, this one happens to be a stand alone - even better!! Sod will be laid this week along with a privacy fence! The mud room, laundry room and office area. The mud room just makes me remember that its not a joke - there will be LOTS of snow! Master Bath...and Chad :) Tri-level stairs - should be interesting with kiddos! Living Room/Dining Room area Not quite sure why they changed the flooring in the middle of the room though! Kitchen on the floo...

Well, our housing situation has changed...again! Less than a month ago Chad went to the housing office and was told that it would be at least 10 months before a house was available on post. Well, in true Army fashion, Friday Chad received a call from them saying that a house should be available this week!! Crazy! Since we had already signed a lease and put a security deposit down on the other house, we decided it wouldn't hurt to talk to the owner about the situation just to see what she would say. Even though she had no reason to let us out of the lease, she said she understood and agreed to let us out of the lease and refund our money. She wanted to know immediately though so she could put it back on the market. We agreed even though we have not officially been offered a house on post. The housing office assures us that the houses will be ready in the next week and that we are sixth in line for 6 brand new houses. Here is an example of the house we should be getting, if al...

We celebrated Mother's Day with Chad's mom a day early with the whole family...minus Chad of course. Not much else in this world compares to telling Addison that she is going to get to see Malory! I attempted to get a picture of all the Monroe grandkids - Gabi, Veronica, Malory, Addison, Mya, Tayler and Reece As you can see, Reece is glad another boy cousin is on the way! (Chad's sister Beth is expecting in August.) The oldest and youngest granddaughters with Chad's dad The kids were plotting with Chad's brother Tony about who to ambush... First victim - Heidi Next - Tayler Then baby Mya!

For the past 3 years, the Army has managed to separate Chad and me for my birthday and Mother's Day. I'm pretty used to celebrating events on a different days, so this year was no different. A dozen roses from Chad My Aunt Sue gives a Mother's Day brunch each year and I was so glad I was in town to be able to go this year! My grandmother, Mom, Sister-in-law Brooke, cousins Jamie & Ashley and Aunt LaDoris Yummy Quiches! Grandmama showing off Mya Mya and Adrian had the best time just looking at each other! On Mother's Day we went to church with my Ma-maw and then back to her house for lunch. My parents, my brother's family with me and my girls. Missed you Chad! Its so crazy to me that I'm a Mom! I never dreamed of being a Mom, but now I couldn't imagine doing anything else!! My girls are so precious to me! They challenge me, make me laugh, bring joy to my heart and make me a better person everyday! I love them so much!! Ma-maw helping Lilly hold My...

While we were in Birmingham, we braved the hottest day of the year and massive amounts of field trips to take Addison on her first trip to the Zoo! My friends were surprised that I had never taken Addison to the zoo...I guess that has never been on the agenda! Addison really enjoyed the animals, but similar to the aquarium trip, after about 2 hours, she was ready to move on to something else! Taking a look at the flamingos. Krista took Addison inside the Aviary. Addison got a kick out of the birds landing on her arm. I was glad Krista went on this one...a room full of birds and little kids = not my cup of tea. :) Mya and I waiting patiently for Addison and Krista to come back from the Aviary. "mining" in Australian habitat The Zoo is a little bit like a day of "Where's Waldo?" ...so many of the animals were hard to see, not in their cage (or habitats...) and most of them were asleep. By the end of the day, Addison learned it was naptime at the zoo! Creepy ...