Hope for Hallie

I, like so many people, feel just blessed and honored to call Chris and Katie Green my friends.

At 12 weeks pregnant, they were told by their doctors that their little girl (this will make their third) has trisomy 13. You can read more about that here. Basically, they were told to be prepared for anything.

While it is devastating to hear this kind of news as a parent, they chose to press into the Lord and ask Him to give them joy in this heartache. You can read more of their story on their blog link above. It is amazing and it has been such an incredible journey to see how the Lord has worked in their hearts and lives. It has challenged me in my own faith (which I consider to be strong... easy to say when life is easy...) and this little girl has already changed so many hearts.

Hallie is scheduled to be born via induction next Monday, December 19th. The unknown is understandably unnerving, but Chris and Katie have chosen to trust the Lord. Seriously, I am in complete awe of the strength the Lord has given them!

Several people have sent cards to the Greens and I know that sooooo many people are praying for them, but if you're anything like me, you might want to do something practical as well. So, I've set up a paypal account for any donations that you may want to make for the Green Family.

The money will be going to do something in honor of Hallie. If you would like more details before deciding if you would like to give, feel free to email me at forddygirl@yahoo.com. And we (as in the people helping to coordinate this) are open to ideas.

In the season of advent (hopeful expectation), would you donate for a family who in the midst of heartache chooses to honor and glorify the Lord in all? I know that money is tight for all of us, but for anyone who knows Chris and Katie, you know that they are some of the most giving and loving people ever. They always think of others first and this is an opportunity for us to let them know how much we love them!

Feel free to use the link above and give as the Lord leads. Thank you!

Decorating for Christmas!

Last year, I let Rhyan pick out her own tree at Kohls. Even before she could say that "my favorite color is pink!", she picked a pink tree. Heck, i dont even think that at 20 months old she know her colors yet. But my little girl does love her pink :-) And she loves her tree!

We decorated her tree Thanksgiving evening. We started this last year so we've pretty much bought boxed ornaments so far, but i hope that through time we will make things together and let her tree really represent her interests. It'll take time, just as its taken years for my tree to be a very sentimental thing for me :-)

We also scored this great little people nativity set on sale and its my favorite thing for Rhyan to have! Its a great way to talk about what Christmas is all about... and it doesnt hurt that she totally has a soft spot for babies. In this pic she was cradling baby Jesus and saying (in a VERY dramatic, sympathetic voice) "Ohhhhhhh Baaaaaby!"

Poor Spud. He's just happy to be in the same room as other people!

And according to Rhyan, baby Jesus belongs on top of the manger, not the angel. Duh.
And the way she has it set up, it looks like one of the wise men and Mary might have a little somethin somethin going on! Blasphemous!

I love Rhyan's age. I love that she understands things better and that she is as excited as her Momma is about the Christmas season :-)

McKinnon Thanksgiving

Oh my goodness... i come from a long line of fabulous cooks. So sad that i'm not one of them :-)
I did, however, contribute a sweet potato casserole, green beans and green bean casserole in addition to making the dumplin's out of the turkey broth. YUM.

So, i cant really get good pics of Mommie and I together! Either i'm smiling and she's talking or something weird... hmm. OH well, its real life. And i love her :-) So i'll post it anyway.
Remember the tankersley thanksgiving post where it was all about Rhyan b/c Mack slept the whole time? Well, this post is full of pics of Mack and this is the only evidence that Rhyan was there! She woke up VERY snotty from nap mid-dinner and was a grump for a while...

My 1/2 sister, Elizabeth and her son, Trevor

Mack's turkey day dinner: DUMPLINS!

WARNING: You may laugh out loud... these pics are pretty funny. The many faces of Mack

Me and Shlainey

The boys watching football (they're trying to convert Mack so at least one ford will like it!)

Food: Yummy
Company: So sweet
Miracle: No fights

It was a successful Turkey day in my opinion! My only Regret: not breaking out my maternity pants!

Tankersley Thanksgiving 2011

Well, typical Kelly-style, I'm behind and will make an attempt this week to get caught up before Christmas. 2 Thanksgiving posts, a weekend in Pigeon Fordge, visiting Santa all to come...

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, we enjoyed some Tank Family Time at the Farm. We love it there!

We started the morning by making a couple of dishes to take along: sweet potato casserole and vanilla delight. Rhyan is quite the helper in the kitchen and decided her cooking skills were needed to ensure quality dishes.

I took my camera with plans of getting great group shots like last year, but i failed to charge my battery and so the few pics you see here are all i got. This pic of Mack and his 2nd cousin Sue Ellen is the only evidence that he existed on this day. He proceeded to nap for 2 hours after the pic was taken and thus missed out on the rest of the fun. Not, however, before he enjoyed some smashed up baby lima beans and sweet potato casserole!

The absolute BEST thing about the farm is that when the weather is nice (which, oh my! it was BEAUTIFUL on this particular day!) there is so much room to roam around and explore. Thats great fun for a toddler :-) But even active toddlers need a little Daddy lovin from time to time!
Unfortunately, there was a GA game on this day so while Jeff, Rhyan and I explored (and mack napped), everyone else in the house watched the football game. No offense to the Tank clan, but we see each other once a year, typically. I hope that next year we can do it on a day that UGA's not playing so we can actually visit more!!!! Jeff and I are not big football watchers and are certainly not UGA fans (gasp!) so we missed getting to chat with everyone. BUT, we loved getting to explore and enjoy the scenery!

Hey, Rhyan... its hard to play corn hole when your bottom is blocking the hole!

Her excitement over seeing the cows!

Very interested in the cow patties :0)

I thought it'd be cute to get a pic of her on the stump... but she wasnt having it

As always, we loved our visit. The Tank Clan will be adding a new addition in May (i think?!) with Jenny and Tripp's baby. How FUN will next Thanksgiving be?!!?!?!

... and Brittlynn is here!

Im SO thrilled! Brittlynn Avery Parker made her debut Tuesday, Dec 6 at 5:20pm. Emily was able to go all natural (again! my hero!!) and only pushed about 20 minutes. I'm so proud of her and for her and Zach and Kye... their new addition is BEAUTIFUL!

Hello little Britt! Happy Birthday, sweet girl. Welcome to the world :-)

EMILY'S HAVING A BABY!!!!!

I'm so excited, friends. Emily is in labor!!

She chooses the all natural route (ouch!) so please be praying for her strength to stay up and for the dr and nurses to honor her preferred birth plan and for a SMOOTH delivery with a healthy baby and mom!

Camera Dump