THE Christmas post

Kilpatrick Christmas 2008

The nativity set above stayed in Ellie Kate's room. As I went in to get her out of bed one morning she said, "Mama, I sleep good and so did Jesus!"



Above is Ellie Kate enjoying Christmas at home. She was content with her stocking stuffers which included play dough, fruit snacks, and hello kitty band-aids. She came to my rescue later that morning when I cut myself shaving. Of course she just had to put on her new Elmo slippers. She ended up wearing those that night when we attended a Christmas Eve service with my parents.

Emmett found Christmas to be a pretty exhausting time. He could often be found catching a nap while sporting his Auburn onesies.

Pocca Doc was content on Christmas morning holding EK who was holding Emmett. Little Man is so hot natured so we decided to cool him off by letting him lounge around in just his diaper.


This is EK after getting her Pottery Barn Kid's kitchen set. She spent the day in her pajamas with her apron and Elmo slippers on. The next day she woke up and said, "Good morning kitchen."
And in case you cannot read her shirt, it says "Little Miss Chatterbox".


EK and Emmett got to spend some time with their Meme. It's hard to tell who was more excited.

Ross and I managed to catch some snuggle time during all of the festivities.

This is my absolute favorite picture. Little Man looks enthralled with his daddy.

Pawpaw says, "Merry Christmas".


We had such a wonderful Christmas. We visited with lots of family and friends. It was an honor to celebrate the birth of our Savior among so many that we hold dear. As this season comes to a close let us be found faithful to not leave Jesus in a manger, but to carry Him with us in the coming year to reach a lost and dying world. I will close with a poem that my husband wrote:

Ye, Gathering Saints of Heaven blessed

Once filthy rags--now righteousness,

Once hardened, darkened, and in sin delight

Now brought to glory by His might,

Once wretched, dirty, wondering ones

Now redeemed and holy--heirs as sons,

Let nothing on earth prohibit thee

From worship of the Prince of Peace,

Let no angel's, no demon's, nor dark realm's plans

Keep thee from lifting holy hands,

And in worship never fail to see

Your Holy God who saveth thee.

Emmett says........

Merry Christmas!

He is growing so fast that I went ahead and got pictures of him in his Christmas outfits weeks ago while he could still wear them.

As you can see below, Emmett has found his hands and he is amazed by them.

Meanwhile, Bunny, the Christmas chihuahua is spreading Christmas cheer. (I think I hear Ross gagging in the background.)

What Priss has been up to.....

Since we live right next to the church, we basically have a playground in our backyard. On pretty days we definitely take advantage of this. EK loves both the swing and the slide. Bunny just gets added for the photos. She's thrilled.

And then in these completely unstaged pictures, I found Ellie Kate outside in a dainty slip sitting in her rocking chair having some Bible reading and prayer time. She's just at that age where kids like to be quiet and reflective. (HaHa)

At least there's basketball...

Ross and I recently took the kids to Auburn's exhibition basketball game. (This was actually before Thanksgiving, but let's just pretend for a moment that it hasn't been 3 weeks since my last post.) You may notice that there's not a picture of EK with Aubie. We talked about him all the way to the game. She was so excited to see him, but only from afar. I took her down courtside to get her picture with him. When we got face to face with Aubie, EK's eyes got really big and without looking away from him she said, "Wet's go sit down", followed by, "Wet's go see Daddy." Then all the way home she said "We go to the game. We not get a picture."

We did have a good time. It was just a little tiring with two kids in tow. As you can see, Emmett was all about the concessions.

Going to Church

I grabbed the camera to capture this picture of Ellie Kate and Ross walking over to church yesterday morning. You can see her little Bible in her hand behind her back. She loves her daddy and she loves going to church. She told me the other day that she was going to "talk to all the peoples" and I'm sure she did.

Not for the squeamish...

We recently went to visit some of our neighbors. They were very gracious to let us come over and see their horse, Chief. We also got to see their snake, Lois. Now if you know me you know that I am an animal lover. However, my love does not extend to snakes. I do not know how Ellie Kate was so fearless around Lois. She is a pet and is completely harmless or else Ellie Kate would not have been around her. EK first wanted to "walk" Lois. Then she wanted Lois around her neck. I did not post those pictures because it would absolutely give you the hibby jibbies. So on our visit we learned two things.....1) Ellie Kate is a cowgirl and 2) she is also a snake wrangler. Don't worry. We have had several discussions with EK about how Lois is the ONLY nice snake. She knows that other snakes are dangerous and as she says, "They hurt me". As you can probably guess, Emmett was content just chillin'.

Tagged

http://teammichaelbryant.blogspot.com/ , has tagged me to share ten things with all of you that I'm not afraid to admit. The rules are:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.

2) Post the rules on your blog

3) Write 10 random things about yourself (see below).

4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.

5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6) Let the tagger know when your entry has been posted.

Here goes.........

1. My husband and I only dated two months before he proposed. I obviously said yes and we married five months later.

2. Ross and I met in a piano bar called Stray Cats. Since my dad is a veterinarian, I told him that it was a humane society:)

3. As a little girl I had a very heightened fear of Jaws. (That's right, dunna....dunna....dunna..dunna..dunna..dunna..) I was so scared that I would not get into the bathtub unless my mom came into the bathroom with me. As Ellie Kate would say, "He scare me."

4. I grew up as an Alabama fan, but converted to Auburn when Ellie Kate was born in 2006. My baptism followed shortly after when we moved to Opelika.

5. I can sleep. Not just normal amounts of time, but for hours on end. Ross calls them miniature comas. Of course, since having children I don't get to do that very often anymore. Naps...one of my favorite passtimes.

6. I use to have a BIG crush on Conan O'Brien. I thought he was hilarious and completely silly. Then Ross entered my life. (Ross just said in the background,"Be careful little fingers what you post.")

7. I have never been able to tolerate someone touching my pinkie toe. I grin and bear it for pedicures, but other than that my pinkie toes are off limits. My guess is that when I was little my parents got carried away with the "wee, wee, wee, all the way home" when they played "this little piggy went to market."

8. I love true crime shows. Usually the ones on Investigation Discovery and A&E are my favorites. This worries my husband since most of these shows have some forensic angle to them. I think it makes him nervous to think that if I ever did anything to him I could probably get away with it. Yeah, he sleeps with one eye open.

9. I found a letter that I had written to santa when I was a little girl. It was addressed to the South Pole. I also thought when I was little that all dogs were boys and all cats were girls. So where are all of the cogs and dats?

10. It is physically impossible for me to run above snail pace. Although I swing my arms with extreme velocity, it does not help me run any faster. In high school, on my softball team, my nickname was molasses.

Now I am going to break the rules. I won't tag anyone specifically. I'll just ask any other bloggers who read this to consider themselves tagged.

Ellie Kate and Butler

"This is a flower."

"Let's shake on it."
Silliness.
"Buttchler!"
Sweet Little Man

We have really enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. Thankfully we have plenty of room to play outside. Ellie Kate loves Butler and he seems to feel the same way about her. Of course, we do have to be careful since he is such a big puppy. She calls him "wild man". Meanwhile, Emmett is just chillin'.

It's a bird. It's a plane........

No, this isn't Ellie Kate's response to election day. This is Ellie Kate playing outside last week and looking up in the sky to see a "wocket ship", as she says.

Today

Do you ever reflect? I'm not just referring to the good memories that are easy to revisit. I'm talking about the ones that pop up unexpectedly and you quickly make an attempt to occupy your mind in order to forget. Yesterday could have been that way for me. Today could be much the same. Okay here it goes. Today is an eight year anniversay for me. It is definitely not one that most would dare to write about. I think blogs can be deceptive that way. Sure I will post the pictures of my precious children. I will share all of the bright spots. You will be able to read about every wedding anniversary, every birthday, each family gathering. But this anniversary is different. This memory is not perfect. This post will not contain any snapshots.

Eight years ago today, I told my mother goodbye. She hugged me. She told me she loved me. I prayed with her, but I felt no emotion. My eyes did not well up with tears. I simply watched her go. That night I sat in a strange bed with my knees pulled up to my chest, my arms wrapped around them as if I were hugging myself. I saw no familiar faces. I did, however, read a familiar verse on the bulletin board above my bed. Matthew 11:28, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I let that verse sink in as much as it could. Like I said, I was completely emotionally numb. It had taken years for me to arrive at this place. That verse in Matthew would prove to be a lifeline for me. You see that place where I sat without anyone or anything familiar to me was in Arizona. It was my first night in a treatment facility for an eating disorder.

I have not revisited those memories in a longtime. There's just something about an anniversary, any anniversary, that can bring reflection. So here is what has occurred to me now. I live a blessed life. From having an amazing husband and two beautiful children, the details are endless when I count my blessings. Make no mistake, the situation in which I now find myself was also not reached by chance. I have also not been accompanied by luck or wishful thinking. The difference in today and eight years ago is simply the affect of the Lord's healing power in my life. I knew Him then and I know Him even better now. He has taken my very worst, most undesirable weaknesses and used them for His glory and my betterment. I brought Him bitterness and despair. He has given me joy and triumph. He did not see my pitiful state and cast me aside. Instead He walked with me thru some of the most difficult days and moments of my life and held me close during the process.

After experiencing the freedom of walking with the Lord, my everyday ordinary life doesn't seem quite so mundane anymore. Am I perfect? No. Do I live on a constant mountaintop? Absolutely not. I, however, have seen the goodness of the Lord and it only makes me want to seek after Him more. So today when I'm changing a diaper or washing a dish and I have one of those moments of reflection, I will be reminded of the Lord's faithfulness to me and count it a blessing to continue seeking after my gracious Savior.

Awww Weeee

Aunt Jennifer got Emmett this little outfit. It says, "Mommy's little pumpkin". As you can see he was not a happy little pumpkin. He was a hungry little pumpkin.

Vacation

Ross and I got to spend a full week in Panama City Beach. We were able to catch up on some sleep. We even got to visit with Brother Randy Kuhn and his family. He ordained Ross back in 2006. He pastors a church in PC so we were able to attend two services. It was humbling to hear the sweet people there lift us up in their prayers. We were both encouraged. I don't think I've ever gone to the beach during this time of year, but it was very enjoyable. Thanks to Nana, Pocca Doc, Meme, and Poppa for taking care of the kids. We had to convince ourselves to stay for the full week. We were missing our little ones badly.

My new favorite bumper sticker...

"As a former fetus, I oppose abortion."

Priss said

As Ellie Kate hugged Ross last night when he got home she said, "I'm gwad you're home, honey." Apparently she has been listening to her Mommy.

How quickly they change...

Emmett is now six weeks old. He weighs 10lbs 8ozs (50%) and is 21 1/2in long (50%). This picture was taken after his bath. I decided to give him his own little mohawk:)

Name

When we found out that we were having a boy, we quickly decided on the name Emmett Wilson Kilpatrick. Emmett is Ross's Grandfather's name and it means 'One of Truth'. Wilson is my Mother's maiden name and it means 'Son of William' which works out perfectly since Ross's first name is actually William.
This picture shows Emmett meeting his Pawpaw (also Emmett) for the first time.

Ellie Kate on Emmett:

"I wike (like) him."

"Emmett cute."

"Emmett can't talk."

"Emmett a cowboy."

"Hush dat cwyin' (crying)."

Are you kidding me??

So for our anniversary I got Ross a nice shirt and tie. He got me (us) a trip to the Royal Bahamian Sandals Resort in the Bahamas. We are booked to go in February. I am pumped!

Oh how I love this man!!!!!!

Oh Happy Day....

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Ross. Happy Birthday to you.

I Love You!

Baby Girl Knows..

Me: "Ellie Kate what is Daddy going to do at church?"

EK: "Pweach."

Me: "What is he going to preach?"

EK: "Da Word."

Anniversary

A look back from our first anniversary. (See my halo glowing:))Ross and I recited vows to one another on our wedding day that we had written ourselves. Mine spoke about how God had used Ross to restore my faith and that he had become part of a healing process in my life. When I met my husband I was emerging from a very trying time, to say the least. I had struggled terribly. I had doubted nearly everything. Never in a million years did I plan on Ross. He caught me completely off guard and I could not be more thankful.


On that day I told Ross that as we stepped into our future he could do so knowing that he had my deepest love and highest respect. Five years and two kids later, I can say that my love for him has only deepened and my respect for him has only heightened. I am so honored to be his wife. God has blessed me and I am so very grateful.

Links

Just wanted to draw attention to the links that I have added. "The Still" is my husband's blog that he recently started. In my personal (unbiased) opinion he is a gifted writer. When you read his posts I think you will clearly see why he continuously captures my heart. There's just something about having his babies that makes me fall in love with him all over again.

Officially Two

It's hard to believe, but Ellie Kate's actual birthday is today. Where does the time go? I am so relieved that we had her party early. Otherwise I would be drowning in mommy guilt.

This little Priss (as I call her) is one of the greatest blessings Ross and I have ever been given. She is truly a precious little girl. She is so sweet and extremely vocal. We never get tired of hearing her "I wuve you"s. At present her favorite song is 'Jesus Loves Me' which absolutely makes us melt. My prayer is that she would know the truth of what she sings. Not just that she would know it, but that she would believe it. Childlike faith is a precious thing especially when it's your child and you have the responsibility and privilege to encourage and guide them in their faith.

Having Ellie Kate enter our lives was such a shake up of my world and I could not be more grateful. Now I cannot imagine our lives without her nor do I want to.