update - Prathers

As Sarah mentioned in the previous blog, some very good friends of ours were involved in a car accident this past Monday. The car accident killed the Prather's youngest son, Matthew (15), instantly. However, Jeanette spent the past couple of days trying to hang on. On Thursday evening Jeanette joined Matthew.

I have to say, Sarah and I are both overwhelmed with sadness. Jeanette and Sarah had a very special friendship and we will miss them very much. Stephen, Mike and Jeanette's oldest son, is staying with us and is being very strong. Please pray for this sweet sweet family. As Stephen gets ready to go to college, please pray for Mike as he begins to live in a much quieter household.

Sarah and I really loved Matthew and we really loved Jeanette. We are so thankful we had the honor of knowing two amazing people!

We love the Prather family dearly.  Most of you know that on June 22 they were involved in an accident which took Matthew's life and put Jeanette in critical condition.  Chris and I arrived at the hospital in Macon Georgia at about 4:00 on Monday.  Thankfully, the Touchton's were more than willing to drop everything and come down with us.  We stayed overnight at a hospital in Macon along with five of Stephen's friends, Don and Susan McLaughlin, John and Michelle Neiland, and John and Cindy Lawrence.  Cindy stayed the night at the hospital with Jeanette's sister, Mary Lou.  The doctors say all that can be done for Jeanette right now is wait.  They have her blood pressure and heart rate stabilized and are decreasing her oxygen support which are all good things. Everyone involved in the accident from the people who pulled over to help immediately after it happened to the cafeteria workers in the hospital have been extremely helpful and sweet.

The reason I really wanted to write this post I think is just to share what a sweet family the Prathers are.  Chris and I used to go to their house every Monday night for dinner.  Jeanette is an excellent cook... she never made us the same thing twice.  I remember countless evenings standing in the kitchen with Jeanette telling her about my confusion over my feelings for Chris.  She would listen, sometimes give advice, share a funny story from her and Michael's dating... no matter what she was always there with a listening ear.  She never made me feel like I was weird for feeling or thinking the way I did (even though I was).  I watched her serve and love her family with all the resources that God had given her.  Matthew was a genuinely sweet boy.  He loved and looked up to his brother so much.  All the girls in the youth group loved him because he was very handsome and for some reason was not at all afraid to talk to girls.  I remember talking to him about various girl woes and trying to give advice.  He was very conscious of the way his actions made other people feel... he didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.  He and the boys in his class at church were very close and it was always so fun to watch the hilarious things they did on youth trips.  One time at winterfest when it was very cold they were all huddled in a circle to keep warm... only ninth grade boys in this circle... but they did let me in for some reason... I was honored :)  He always gave me a hug and made me feel special whenever he saw me at church.  Chris and I had so much fun playing games with their family, watching 24, making fun of bad acting, and even being included in some family Bible studies before Matthew was baptized.  I cannot say enough how much we love them and are hurting with Michael and Stephen right now.  Matthew... thank you for being a part of our lives, we cannot wait to see you again  We continue to pour out prayers for Jeanette's healing.

Emory is spayed!!!

If you are tired of hearing about Emory, this post is NOT for you.  I decided we hadn't posted in a while so it was time, but all I have on my camera is pictures of Emory... what can I say, it's time for us to have a kid (just kidding all future grandparents... all in good time).  Many things have happened in the exciting life of Emory Nicholson, and since her life is currently going better than either of ours, we will focus on her.  She got shaved for the summer as you can see below.  I must admit, I liked her long shaggy hair better, but she was getting sooo hot, so we had to do it.

She is a very good helper.  She follows me everywhere I go when I am doing housework and pokes her head inside every cabinet that I open.  She also loves when I water the flowers.  She is definitely a water dog.

As you can see in the pic above, she loves to ride in the very back of our car with her face plastered to the back windshield.  I can't imagine what this looks like to the people behind us.  We got her to turn around just long enough to take the pic and she then resumed her watch.... At least we haven't had anyone ride our tail while she is in position.

These are pics from the beach. Melanie did such a good job writing about it that I will refer to her blog for full details of the trip- thelifeofadaisy.blogspot.com.  I will add a few pics of Emory.  She loved playing in the waves and would be so exhausted that she just had to curl up and go to sleep.  I love this picture because her hair looks so curly and cute.

More Emory

This is Emory cheering me up after a bad day...

Thank you so much to everyone for your concern about Emory.  She is doing MUCH better, and as you can see, her growth seems to be unimpeded by the sickness so far!  We put her on a new food which is ridiculously expensive, and that's helped a lot.  Of course, it's no fun spending twice as much on your dog's food as your own, but it sure beats scrubbing poop off the walls and carpet every week.  She is getting to be very feisty, and makes herself clearly known when she is unhappy because we aren't paying her enough attention... just what I need... a diva dog!  Oh well, I have to admit I still love her and she can brighten up a bad day any time!

Coldplay

Coldplay!!!

Pics O' Emory

These were taken from our friend's i-phone... Thanks Nikki!!

Emory is sick

So, I know we probably think way too much about our dog, and if you are not dog people, I can totally understand you thinking we are ridiculous (I would think that, too, if I were you).  But nonetheless, here it goes.  Emory is really sick.  It seems like just about ever since we've gotten her she has had diarrhea on and off.  Lately, she has been throwing up, too.  Yesterday I took her on a 1 mile walk and she was WORN out afterwards.  This just isn't normal for a 4 mo old dog.  I know it shouldn't, but it is making me so sad.  We've taken her to the vet, changed her food, made sure she doesn't eat any foreign objects (which is really hard), tried giving her pumpkin every day, several rounds of antibiotics, tested for every parasite possible, and nothing seems to be working.  I am so sad, because she's just a dog, you know, and we can't spend thousands of dollars on blood tests and surgery and crazy treatments.  Obviously, we would do all of these for one of our children... but she is just a dog.  All the same, the thought of losing her makes me extremely sad.  I start to think, how long can she last without absorbing any of the nutrients from the food she eats?  The past few days she has done nothing but lay around the house.  She is the sweetest thing, ever... she loves to cuddle and when we come home she gets so excited that her whole body is thrown back and forth by the weight of her tail wagging.  She never barks, never bites, and mostly leaves alone things that aren't hers.  I can't imagine us ever finding another dog like her!

If anyone has any suggestions, we are open to anything that doesn't cost us tons of money!

I'm at school right now and I don't have my cord to post pictures, but I will post some tonight.