Rhea Isis Adkins

Rhea Isis Adkins is here!  My precious niece was born on Thursday, May 9th at 3:15! She weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20.5 inches long.  I haven't been able to get my hands on her yet, but her Aunt Stephie can't wait!!!

Mommy and Rhea shortly after she was born!

 

Rhea when she was being weighed and measured!

First family photo!  Mommy, Daddy and Rhea (taken at the hospital)

Rhea in her Mommy and Daddy's arms (these two were taken when the hospital photographer came in by Grandma)

Rhea in her first outfit!

Another one in her first outfit!

In her hospital bassinet!  Love the foot propped up!!!

Rhea and Daddy soon after she was born!!!

Rhea and Mommy when they got home from the hospital!!

 Rhea had her first doctor's appointment today and she is doing well!!  Lisa enjoyed her first Mother's Day.  Roy (my brother-in-law) said that Rhea gave her Mommy the best gift, a 3 hour nap!  I can't believe that Rhea will already be a week old tomorrow!!

Showering Rhea

I spent last weekend in Tampa, FL with my Mom to surprise my sister with a baby shower for her baby girl.  Rhea Isis Adkins is suppose to be around May 9th and this past weekend was all about getting ready for her arrival.

Presents for Rhea

Cake made by Mom, along with the chocolate butterflies

Food Table

Hand dipped chocolate strawberries, chocolate covered cookies with home molded chocolate baby booties and butterflies.

 Emergency chocolate (if you are noticing a chocolate theme you would be correct, chocolate and melted cheese (like grilled cheese, cheese dip, macaroni and cheese, ect) are the two things she craves.)

 

Decorations!

The one shower game that Lisa kind of liked, we all wrote late night diapers for her.

Lisa and Roy opening gifts.  Lisa is putting the "octopus" bow on top of her husband's head!

 Rhea's room

It was a great weekend!  After our surprise shower on Saturday we were able to go to their work (they work at the same place) shower on Sunday.   Rhea now has her crib, which was her Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa and will turn into her big girl bed when she is ready, her pack and play with her bassinet, her high chair which will do everything but feed her, her swing and baby bag all from family.  Lisa also got a video baby monitor with night vision from her team at work.  Not to mention that Rhea now has the majority of her wardrobe for the first 9 months of her life.  My aunts also sent her all of her bedding (butterflies) and she also got her hamper and lamp to match her the bedding.  Now all we need is for Rhea to make her arrival, but not to soon!!!

Merry Christmas

This year has been crazy!  I'm so ready for a new start in 2013!!!  Not that flipping the page on a calendar automatically changes things, but there is something about a new start after a rough year that just is nice.  One of my New Year's Resolutions, even though usually I don't believe in making them, is doing a better job in updating my blog.

A year in recap:

• School is going well.  About one more year and I will be finished
• This year we had major health issues in the family.   I got to the point that I was looking forward to one month where we didn't have a major health issue in the family.
• Now that she posted it on Facebook, I can post it here.  My sister is expecting a little girl in May!! :)  So excited to be Aunt Stephie.  They have already chosen her name, Rhea Isis Adkins.

Wishing you and your family and Very Merry Christmas and God's Blessing in the New Year!!!

Steph

30 Days of Thankfulness

Well I'm a little behind, but decided to do the 30 days of Thankfulness.  However most people I know do it on Facebook, but for me that might cause some issues so I'm doing it on my blog instead.

Day 1:  I'm grateful for friends who reach out when life seems overwhelming with love and support.

Day 2:  I'm grateful for a job that I enjoy.  Being a sub is sometimes crazy, but I love working with kids and being able to invest in their lives.

Day 3:  I'm grateful for parents who support my dreams and are willing to help me finish school so that I can do what I love.

One Year

It was one year ago yesterday that Grandma passed away.  I remember it though like it was just yesterday.  I came home from subbing before I had class at KSU.  Mom was expecting me home since I had a mid-term and she didn't want to mess up my test by telling before my exam.  I just had this had this feeling that I needed to come home first, of course I knew for certain when I came home why I felt what I did.

Grandma

My sister Lisa, Maw-Maw, Paw-Paw and I

One year later, and this week was once again marked mid-terms and remembering how much life has changed this past year.  It was also once again marked with medical issues, we can't seem to get away from them.  My grandparents in New Orleans (my Father's parents) were in a car accident about 3 months ago.  My grandmother broke 5 ribs and her right wrist and was in the hospital and then rehab and finally came home the first part of September and has had home rehab and was just discharged from her doctor from all of that.  My grandfather, it appeared at the time, to have no major injuries.  However a couple of weeks ago he had to have a hernia operation, they think as a complication from the accident that just took awhile to show up.  Then this past week he had to have his prostate removed due to bleeding issues, which could have also been caused by the accident but took awhile to get bad enough for them to do surgery (they are both in their mid-80s so they don't like to do surgery if they don't have to), and then it was emergency surgery because it got bad fast.. 

I'm out of here...

...just for the week!  I'm getting ready to head to New Orleans until Thursday to visit my grandparents.  Mom is coming with me, she didn't want me to make the trip by myself!  I would have been fine, I'm an adult, but I guess it is a Mom's right to always worry about their kids no matter how old they may be.  I just really feel that now is the time to visit my grandparents, I don't really know why but I have learned not to ignore those feelings.  So before life gets too busy with school (classes) and school (work) and church and everything that happens once the school year starts, I'm going to spend some quality family time in the Big Easy!!

Looking for a hole

I'm looking for a hole big enough that I can crawl into and take a break from the world for a little while. My Dad is in the hospital with heart issues. We don't know exactly what is going on, we do know that his ejection factor is 40 and that normal is 55-70 and that heart failure is at 35. They are doing a stress test tomorrow, and then probably transfer him from the local hospital to Emory because our little hospital isn't equipped to handle high risk procedures and with all of his medical issues he is definitely considered high risk. This as all happened since Friday and just two weeks ago he had shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff. Then just today I get a text from my father (biological) to tell me that my grandparents were in a car accident and my grandmother is in the hospital with fractured ribs and a broken wrist. They need to do surgery on her wrist but her vitals aren't stable enough for them to do surgery right now. Along with the family issues, I have my craziest week with school this week.