Aunt Pepper and Uncle John

We had a nice visit with our brother and sis-in-law, John and Pepper. They drove down on Friday night after a football game that John coached in, and made it to Greenville a little after midnight. Ella was certainly happy to see her favorite aunt and uncle...and I'm sure they're her favorite for other reasons besides they're her ONLY aunt and uncle! :)

John got to hang out with Brandon in Nicholtown as they did Adopt-A-Block, and Pepper and I did what we usually do when we get together...a favorite pastime, if you will...we went to Target! In fact, we actually went to Target TWICE! :)

Ah yeah...it's a good day! John and Pepper live in Boone, and while they know what it's like to live in a town with ski slopes and a better than good football team, they DON'T have the privelige of being able to hit up Target without driving AN HOUR down the road. No thanks. The closest Target to my house takes a driving time of approximately 4.5 minutes, depending on if I hit the lights just right. And, besides the unruly amount of handicapped parking spots, (I think there are something like 30 spots all at the front, which didn't make me too happy when I was 9 months pregnant trying to waddle my way up to the doors with an armload of returns from baby showers--and don't even get me started on Target's return policy and how difficult it is to exchange something without a receipt there. It's not my fault that my friends and family don't always follow gift-giving-in-the-21st-century ettiquite and enclose a gift receipt for easy returns/exchanges) I really make the most of the close proximity by frequenting it at least once, but mostly twice a week. Granted, now that I'm not 9 months pregnant and waddling anymore, I still don't like hauling an ever-increasing in size infant in her "metrolite" (aka...NOT so light) carrier past all of the empty handicapped spaces from my spot about a quarter mile away from the entrance. I practically don't need to work out on the days I go to Target for this very reason. But I digress...

So, we went to Target, twice, and I escaped with only a bag of Halloween candy (Get this...I had to hide it from MYSELF so I wouldn't eat it all before the trick-or-treaters started knocking at our door) and two crab cracker tools...all paid for by my oh-so-wonderful stash of Target gift cards. Pepper didn't come out so unscathed, but I think she had a pretty good time picking out fun things for the house, including some cool new dishes.

We also went to one of my favorite restaurants, PF Chang's, and split the Lettuce Wraps and Mongolian Beef...yeah, some of you feel the weight of that last mental pictures and your stomachs are growling as you read. Mmm, mm, mm, mmm, mmmmmm.......enough said.

As if that wasn't enough to tempt you and put extra weight on my hips, we stopped at Publix because they had KING CRAB LEGS on sale for only $7.99/lb. We brought home 5 pounds of those bad boys for our bad boys, the Berry Brothers...they made it home, threw the football in the backyard for old time's sake, and then we feasted. I'm pretty proud (and a little ashamed, too) to say that Pepper and I outate the boys on the crablegs. They wanted to fill up on the sides...corn and potatoes. No thanks, guys. Gimme the seafood.

Here's one of my favorite pics from the weekend...It's obvious that they are crazy about each other.

Our little Ghoul in her Halloween Outfits

Our friends Connie and Paul gave Ella some super fun hand-me-downs, including this adorable Halloween outfit. Check out the sweet Mary Jane Socks, given to us at a baby shower.

Her eyes match her little outfit, I think.All tuckered out, and she hasn't even gone Trick-Or-Treating yet!
Aunt Pepper gave us this cutie brown BabyGap Onesie and I found these Pumpkin Socks at Target!

I love this one...It just shows how HAPPY our little baby girl is!

Shannon and Skylar

My friend, Shannon Phelps, and I met a couple of years ago in Mt. Pleasant at a mutual friend's birthday party. We hit it off right away, and she asked me if I was into running...she wanted to try to start. So we started meeting after work for running sessions on Daniel Island, and before we knew it, we were tight friends...I guess having long periods of time when we needed to keep talking and listening to keep our minds off the heat or the pain of running paid off for us. Shannon really caught on quick and started training and participating in races, including half and full marathons!

Two years later, Shannon was a bridesmaid in my wedding. Two years after that, we both were pregnant, both expecting little girls.

Shannon's the one on the far right:

Since I've been in Charleston the last few days, I've been looking for ways to release some of the stress that comes with taking care of a sick family member...what better way to do it than to start running again! So, who did I call? You guessed it! My friend Shannon! It was her first run since having her daughter, Skylar. (Though you couldn't tell she had even had a baby...she looks great!)

This isn't the best picture of us, but here we are before our run!









And here are our precious little girls...Ella and Skylar, playing after the run. They are two and a half weeks apart. Shannon got to stay for dinner with the Northrups and we all caught up and played with the babies!

It's Been A Doozy of a Week...

Hey y'all. Thanks for all of your love, concern and prayers as we have been in Charleston at MUSC with Mom. For those who haven't yet been updated, Mom went into the ICU on Friday, September 28 for shortness of breath...she got some tests and some rest, and was getting discharged on Monday when something went wrong. An air bubble got into her system and traveled to her brain, resulting in stroke-like symptoms and major swelling. It was touch and go on monday...very scary for all of us, but she made it through. Praise God.

She was put into a drug-induced coma for a couple of days and has come out of that, and off the respirator as well. She was put into her own room on Monday night and will continue with therapy and dr. care for a while.

We have been in Charleston since Monday, October 1, staying with the Northrups here in Mt. Pleasant, which has been a blessing from God.

Please continue to pray for Mom's FULL recovery, for wisdom for the next few weeks on what to do, and for continued endurance for Dad, Brandon and I as we care for her in the hospital.

Thanks.

Here is a picture of Ella with Pappy. She has been a champ throughout this whole process...being in an unfamiliar environment and all...I really couldn't have asked for a better baby...Pappy's been a champ, too! Please continue to keep him in your prayers.