Happy Birthday Son

Today, Philip would be 25 years old.  I miss him so very much.  The pain has gotten easier to bear, but still not without tears.   The date brought many wonderful memories flooding back and an ache for the Son I am no longer able to call and sing happy birthday in the goofy way I used to.  The day  was   filled with longing for the days of messed up birthday cakes, funny cards, and lots of laughter.  If you knew Philip, you knew laughter.  

Don't ever take for granted the birthday dinners, that sometimes just seem to be too much work with little appreciation.  You do all the work and are usually stuck with all the clean up too.  There may come a day when all you have are the memories of those birthday dinners and you would give anything just to prepare one more.  Just one more dinner...if only you  knew when the last one was going to be.  You would prepare it with no complaining and you would spare no expense.  You would fix all his favorite things and you would cherish every second.  

So take it from me.  Go all out, prepare every special dinner like it might be the last one you have, because you never know when it will be.  You never know when you may get a phone call that changes your life forever.  So, to all you parents out there who get so busy and so overwhelmed with life that you hurry pass the little things. Slow down, remember nothing is more important than loving your family, letting them know it every chance you get and...ALWAYS, ALWAYS,  keep Jesus in front of them in everything you do.  When it is all said and done all that matters is did you lead them to Jesus.  

I will see my son again one day, because I was able to lead him to Jesus on Mother's Day 1996.  What a blessing for God to allow a mother to be able to lead her child to Jesus!  It does not get any better than that.  

Guess how we ended the day?  We got to watch Malachi in his first Christmas Play and on his Daddy's birthday!  Madison bailed out at the end...she said she was sick, I think it was more stage fright.  I could get many good shots, there is something about tears that really get in the way of focusing. 

 

Operation Restoration 2009!

Four years ago today my beloved son, Philip went home to be with Jesus.  Words will never, ever be able to express the grief, that we still feel and the huge void in my heart that will always belong to Philip.  

However, last year I wrote a blog called Restoration Day.  I want to copy it over so you can recall it; then I will give the update.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

RESTORATION DAY

Some of you that read this blog know that today is the day my son, Philip passed away. November 19th of course will forever be a date that stops my heart for a moment, floods my eyes with tears, and fills my soul with much pain. First the day was referred to as "the anniversary of my son's death", then it was "the anniversary of Philip's home going". Neither of these titles fit any longer. For this week God has done something miraculous in my heart and my soul. November will and forever more be referred to as "Restoration Day". 

satan (and yes I most certainly meant to put a little s) has stolen from me ENOUGH! I am no longer going to sit on the sidelines and watch as one after one of the people I love are destroyed by the enemy. It is time for Christians to wake up to the death and destruction that surround each of us, that has affected each of us in one way or another. It is no longer enough to: put them on the prayer chain, pray for them when they cross our mind, begin earnestly praying for them after they have gone so far that their life is utterly destroyed. No, I am not waiting, I am fighting. There is time for praying (which is always) and there is a time for Fighting and Praying!
My friend that time has come in my life.

Every November 19th from here on I will Celebrate! I will celebrate that Philip is with Jesus, and I will celebrate the souls that I have seen restored over the year! I will see Philip again soon, and I am taking with me his Dad, his sister Kacey, Matt and John-Philip, his Wife Rhonda and his Children Madison and Malachi. YES I AM!!! But that is not enough. I am taking his grandparents, his cousins, his friends, his aunts and his uncles. YES I AM!!!

I am not sitting back any longer. I am running out of time. My alarm has gone off, the wake-up call has been received. I have answered and I am on my way to work.

This is where you come in...PRAY FOR ME! I am not naive enough to think that it will be smooth sailing, but I know who my Captain is. I am working for One who speaks and the winds and waves obey his voice. As a matter of fact He made them.

This simple and heavily quoted verses says it all. This is what God is doing in my life. 
"He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." Psalms 23:3
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I want to tell as many as I can about the love of Jesus. I want to tell them about the great "Restorer", He can restore and He wants to restore lives. I am living proof. 

People don't just wake up one day and say "you know, I think I am going to quit on God today, I don't want to serve Him, I don't trust Him, I am going to get as far into sin as I can and leave God and destroy my family. No it happens over time. It happens after a few hurts, some anger, some disappointment. But it happens...every day, it happens. I want to tell them and make them believe that they can be restored through the Great Restorer my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. These things could just as easily happen to me or to you. We make decisions everyday to serve God, to do right. I don't have to tell you how fast it can happen. If you have been around any length of time, you know it. Don't let it take death and destruction in your own family to realize the pain of those around you. I don't have the time to preach an entire sermon but you get the jist of it!

I have been earnestly praying for God's divine, perfect will for my life and this is where He has lead me. I don't know yet what all it entails. I am just taking one step at a time. I know I have a work to do. Call it a Ministry, a Work, whatever you want, I call it God's will for my life. 
My dear friend Nina named the "Ministry". I told her the new name for November 19th, then I shared with her my heart, my burden, and my excitement to go after my family, friends, fellow Christians, and strangers. She said with a big smile Operation Restoration. So there it is my friends please pray for "Operation Restoration"!

Well, let me begin by telling you what has happened in the last 12 months.  Last year at this same time we were facing some heartache with a very close member of our family.  She was beginning a relationship with someone that was not hers to begin a relationship with.  This hurt not only us but many people.  We struggled and struggled with it, we hurt so deeply for all involved, and....we PRAYED, and WE PRAYED, and WE PRAYED.  About one month ago, I was having my morning devotion and I truly gave that burden to God.  I totally surrendered, I told Him I could not carry it any longer, and that I totally trusted that He would take care of it.  Two weeks ago He fixed it.  The man went back to RESTORE his marriage and family.  The second half is going to be when (She), the member of our family realizes the truth of the situation and allows God to take control of her life and put the man there that He has for her.  It is going to happen and I expect nothing less than God's perfect plan to be completed.....soon.  

In March we got to see our grandsons that we had not seen in four years.  In April, the oldest one was beaten by his mother's boyfriend, and was in the hospital for over 5 1/2 months.  He died three times.  He is alive and recovering at home with his dad!  What a miracle!  You can read all about these miracles in the blogs about R.J.

My daughter, Kacey and her husband Matt have been really struggling with their marriage.  Many times it looked as if there were no way it would survive.  Again, through prayer and complete surrender to God...another miracle.  Matt got saved about a month ago... (the same time as the first miracle)  We were afraid to go to sleep one night because we were afraid we would miss something, for God was doing so much.  So, Matt got saved and he and Kacey look like newlyweds, and now he believes that God has called him to preach!  

I have a niece named Ima Joy who was doing drugs and living a wasted life.  When finally reaching bottom she called for help.  My dear friend Cathy, took her to UAB hospital and then set up a way for her to get to Teen Challenge.  Ima Joy had  several days to back out, because of the delays in getting everything set up.  She didn't back out and has made 60 days now and we are going for our second visit to her on Saturday.  RESTORATION!  To see this beautiful girl whose life was all but over, transformed into a beautiful, peaceful, young woman loving and living for Jesus....WOW!

You know I really should write these things as I go because I know I have forgotten some, I will try to do better next time.  It is hard to try and keep up with God, because He is so good, there is not enough time in the day to record all He does for us.  

I LOVE HIM, I THANK HIM, AND I PRAISE HIM FOR HE IS TRULY SO VERY FAITHFUL.  I really think I have come to the place in my life where I truly trust my father. If asked I would always say, "of course I trust Him", but did I really?

I believe that total surrender and true faith in my Father has allowed me to be front and center to His miraculous power.  It is so exciting.  The down side is how long it took me to get here.  

Don't think for a second I think that "I have arrived", because I know that won't happen until I see Him face to face.  However, I do know I am closer than I have ever been.  I still respond to things the wrong way and handle things the wrong way, and I kick myself, because I realize I cheat myself out of blessings and out of being affective for Christ's sake.  I just want to be a good soldier in the Army of God.

We are facing some things now that could really drag one down, but I know that God is aware of it and He will carry us through as always, I just want to keep on trusting Him. 

It has been a long, hard year.  A year filled with disappointment, pain, and lots and lots of tears, but....It has all been worth it to learn to trust God.

R.J. WENT HOME!!!

Wow! Five Months, 20 days later, R.J. is home! He has a long journey ahead of him, but he is doing well. What a miracle! Actually, it seems more like multiple miracles. He will be living with his father in Lawton, OK. He will be repeating 3rd grade but he will be back in the same school and he seems to be excited about that part.

Thank you seems so inadequate to those of you who prayed for my grandson. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I know the throne was bombarded for R.J. and God answered. He is such a miracle.

Please continue to pray for him. The trial for the man who did this is coming up next month. It is going to be a very hard time. Please pray for us all through this time ahead.

At some time I will post before and after pictures so you can actually see the miracles you were a part of.

Again, we thank you so much for your prayers.
Love,
The McGee Family

Malachi and Madison start school!

Well, that was another one of those firsts, that cause both joy and pain. Of course you all know that I sure was missing Philip. I imagined what he would be doing and saying as he took them for their first day. He would be funny and I would be taking pictures until he finally said, "enough Mom", let them go to school. After we left I would then drive him crazy with my memories of his first day, but he would listen and maybe even remember some of them and laugh with me.

I had that all in my heart as I took plenty of pictures and held them and kissed them while their Mom finished all the paper work. They cooperated with my picture taking wonderfully. Madison was sitting on my lap and she saw my eyes a "little" watery and she said, "you're gonna cry ain't you MeMe". I think I did very well.


For right now Madison likes school for the most part. Malachi says the best part of the day is the bus and the worst part is school! They are so cuuuute.

I thought I would share the pictures from the big day.

Rocky Arrested, Finally!

For all you who have been wondering....they finally arrested the guy who hurt R.J. He was arrested on the 21st of August. He was charged with "felony child abuse with injury.
He has a $75,000.00 bond so as far as we know he is still in jail. The trial is set for October.

R.J. is doing pretty well. He is at the rehab center. He still is under a lot of pain meds and he still can't have a feeding tube yet. It is 5 months today since he was admitted to the hospital.

There have been a lot of miracles in the last five months. He still has a long way to go. We have not got to see him since Father's Day week-end. We are praying that we will get to go soon.

Thank you so much for your prayers and anytime we cross your mind please pray some more.

R.J.

I am so sorry for taking so long to update. R.J. has really been at a stand still. Until......last week. R.J. got moved to the rehab facility in Bethany. He is getting physical and occupational therapy 2 hours everyday. He took 25 steps with his walker. That was a great big deal! He is a living, now walking, miracle.

Please keep praying for his physical and psychological healing. The person who did this is still not arrested yet. He also cannot have anything other than TPN right now so he is getting no nourishment to his small bowel right now. That needs to happen.

Thanks so much for all the prayers. Please for his brothers Connor and Bryson. We had the boys for a week and they shared with us "what happened". This was such a heart wrenching story I can't begin to share right now. The abuse was to all the boys, R.J. just got the worst of it.
Please pray.
Thanks,
Lora

Update on R.J.

I was in Oklahoma visiting R.J. last week-end. He is out of ICU and in "stable" condition. This is such a miracle. He is still not out of the woods he has a lot of healing to do. He is still not able to tolerate the feeding tube to his stomach. Therefore he only has the TPN. He spiked a fever on Wednesday and they found the infection was in his "central line". He was taken in to surgery and the line replaced. Please pray that is all it was and the infection will be gone.

Please pray for R.J. on the emotional side. He is dealing with a lot. He has been in the hospital for three long months. He doesn't believe me when I tell him that he is getting better and that he will heal. I told him he will run and play again, and he said "no I won't MeMe." Needless to say that broke my heart. Pray also for his brothers Connor and Bryson who are in Tennessee with the other grandparents. All three have been abused for some time now and they all have a lot of healing to do....we all have a lot of healing to do.

I will update sooner next time. Sorry to take so long. Thanks so much for the prayers, that has been what has sustained him and us.

R.J. told who hurt him!

I waited a little while to post this because I wasn't sure what was being done and I didn't want to risk some freak thing of this possibly getting out before the detectives did their job. After searching my email address book I know there is no problem there and the guilty folks sure don't know about my blog.

Last Friday on May 8th, the psychologist came to talk to R.J. and get him ready to speak with detectives. At first his was a little intimidated by one of the detectives. I met him and I believe it was probably due to his size. He is a very nice man but very large, and my R.J. is very little. The psychologist picked up on this and asked if he would feel better speaking with just his dad and the other detective in the room, R.J. said "yes".
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After just a few questions and making him comfortable R.J. told them that "Rocky", his mom's boyfriend is the one who hurt him. They then ask did he hurt you with his hand and the detective held out an opened hand, R.J. shook his head no and then folded his little fist and made motions like hitting his stomach. Though we knew this was probably the case it still made us literally sick to our stomachs when we heard.

This man was supposed to be brought in the following Monday for a scheduled lie detector test and interrogation to follow. He was cooperative at the beginning of the investigation but he has since refused the test and has "lawyered up".

My husband spoke with the detectives on Friday. They say they could arrest him but they don't want to arrest him and then let him walk, they want all their ducks in a row. They are now planning to question R.J. again and have the CID video tape the interview and then turn it over to the District Attorney.

Isn't it amazing how the wheels of justice turn. Seems to me that more is done to protect the perps more than the victims.

Politicians.....the D.A. is retiring and a new one is coming in so that supposedly slowed things down. Don't you know if it was the D.A.'s grandson it wouldn't have got put on hold because the "retirement dinner is today"...direct quote from the detectives.

Yes, I am upset. But praise God, I am glad my hope for justice does not depend on the detectives and D.A., but God the supreme judge knows about this and it is in HIS hands regardless of what the authorities believe. Trust me, it is hard however to not want to help God out with some speedy revenge of my own. "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay."
At some point I know that I know to pray for this man. I will be honest as of right now I haven't done that. Oh great, there comes the conviction so guess what I am going to stop and do now.


Well, I'm back and that was hard. When I stopped writing to pray, I asked my husband had he ever prayed for Rocky. He said, "yes, a couple of times, I even witnessed to him when I was there." Well, we see who is more spiritual in this situation.

I honestly want the man to meet Jesus, (in more ways than one)....just kidding. I do pray for his soul, but I just as much want him to pay for what he did to my grandson. You know it's hard sometimes to know how to pray, but thank God for Jesus who just takes it to the Father for us.

By the way, R.J. is still in PICU at Oklahoma Universtiy Children's Hospital. He is doing well considering. He is still having "wash outs" every other day. He has 6 drains out of his abdomen. They are all doing the jobs they are supposed to. He has the colostomy in place and it will be there for a year. He is still not "out of the woods" yet, but he sure is a lot closer. We still need your prayers and thank you so much for your prayers, phone calls, and emails. They mean more than you know.

Easter Pix

Here are the pix from Easter this year. We had just gotten back from our first trip to Oklahoma. We had a nice dinner with our kids and grandkids. We had a good time even though we were distracted.

John-Philip turns One!

On the 7th my youngest grandson, John-Philip turned one year old. He is such a joy. We had his party on Saturday. We woke up to storms it stopped for the party and started again after the party.
Ain't God Good! We had a great turn-out and yes Kacey was stressed to the max to give her first birthday party. She did great!

The funniest thing however, is when she got all stressed out because some of the older kids started wanting to swap out some of the goodies from their goody bag because they didn't get a sucker. She almost panicked, I laughed and told her to chill out. The worse part was that it was like looking in a mirror. Bless her heart, she is so much like her mother. Please pray for her.......no really, because I am always going to be her mother. God bless her little ole heart!

"I Love You MeMe" Sweetest words I ever heard

Well, praise God! After asking prayer Sunday at church, and sending out the emails about R.J. not speaking, I was really concerned about what was going on with him. Around 11pm Monday night we got a phone call. Rusty (R.J.'s) dad called to say that he was leaning over R.J. and said, "I know you can talk R.J. I just want to hear you say I love you, daddy." Without further hesitation R.J. said "I love you daddy"!

Praise God!

Rusty was so excited when he called and told us, we had only a moment, but he put the phone to R.J.'s mouth and I heard the most precious words....."I love you MeMe". It don't get any better than that. I didn't know if I would ever hear that or anything else from my precious grandson again. Poppa missed out on getting to talk because that was all the talking for the night. However, he has since spoken to R.J. and got to hear precious words and had a little bit of a conversation.

Look what happens when God's people pray. Jimmy and I can never thank you enough for your prayers and support.

Please don't stop praying. He is not "out of the woods", yet. After all that excitement Monday night, we got a call Tuesday morning that he was spitting up blood. He now appears to have a bleeding ulcer. They also found a pocket of fluid but can't figure out where it originated so they added another drain.

This has truly been a roller coaster experience but thrilling to watch all the miracles time and time again.

We have no clue what tomorrow holds but we do know who holds tomorrow.

Please keep praying.

Please keep praying for R.J.

There are some complications today with R.J. He has some bleeding. There is an ulcer and some other little "bleeders". The docs say it is up to R.J. and the meds at this point, however, we all know it is up to God. R.J. will not speak. The breathing tube has been out and he WON'T utter a word. The psychologist was scheduled to come in today, but with the newest complications that has had to be put off. They believe it is all psychological, which is so very heart-breaking for us. What must this baby have gone through, we don't know.

Please continue to pray for us as we battle all the emotions of this situation. I wish I could say that we were so spiritually mature that we just trust God and don't worry. We know we can trust Him, it's just the thought of our precious grandson, hurting emotionally and physically is just sometimes so overwhelming.

That is when we read Psalm 61: ...when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I...!

Good News!

Tonight before leaving for church I called to check in one more time on R.J. and...... He was doing "GOOD". They had done another "wash out" and it went well. His temperature was down for the first time since the surgery on the 20th and....the P.T. came in and did a little physical therapy on his arms and legs and was astonished at how strong they were. I talked to him on the phone and was told that he had a big smile and was nodding his head with a big "yes".

My, My, My, what miracles. Everyday he is alive is a miracle. Nothing short of a miracle. He is still critical and I catch myself trying to guard my optimism, but you know what? I am witnessing a miracle and I just need to see it for what it is!

Praise be to my Father, great things He has done!

R.J. Another Day Another Miracle!

Well, he made it through the 5 day watch period! He has kept a temp of 100 to over 101 since the major surgery on the 20th. They took the breathing tube out yesterday! He is sleeping a lot. He is still here and he is still fighting. The prognosis is still "slim chance", but we do know that God is the chief physician and it is ultimately still in his hands. Please keep the prayers coming. Thank you so much for the prayers, the emails and the phone calls. Our family really appreciates it.

R.J.

Today, Thursday April 23rd our grandson is about to undergo another surgery. On Monday the surgeons did the "big one". They did six re-connections. Connecting the small bowel, the pancreas, the gallbladder, the colon (what's left of it). They had one shot to put things back together they didn't really want to do it that way, however time was running out. He was bleeding out from the lining getting deteriorated from all the leaking fluids in his body. The prognosis on Monday, was "very slim chance of surviving the next 5 days", if he does then half of the battle will be won.
They are going in today to see how the "hook-up" is holding. They are keeping him paralyzed so that nothing comes apart. We don't get to talk to him and get a response but we still talk to him and tell him how much we love him and that we are here.


O.K. he is back from surgery. All went well! From what they could see everything is holding together. He has to make it through the next two days and if he does then they say half of the battle is won.

They let him wake up, they took away the paralytic meds so now he is looking at us and responding very well. If all goes well they may take him off the ventilator tomorrow.
Please pray for us tomorrow. If he is off the ventilator and can talk and we may find out what happened to him. This will prove to be difficult and we are sure heart breaking.

It is hard to concentrate right now but I hope this gets you pretty much updated. Please keep the prayers coming.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying.

Update on R.J.

Since the previous blog R.J. has had 5 more surgeries. He is holding on to the good small bowel that is left. He is awake for the most part. The ventilator is turned off but still in. There is still swelling of the other organs and they cannot do reconstructive surgery in his abdomen until it is all gone. He has been open since the first surgery on April 1st. They are really needing to be able to reconstruct and close him up.

We really need your prayers. As soon as they take the tube out of his throat the detectives will question him. Please pray that we can be there. He is very safe and secure with us there. I am afraid he will be too afraid to tell the truth if we are not there to reassure him that he can come home with us when this is all over.

The surgeons are going (in) everyday and looking and as soon as the swelling is down enough they will start reconstruction. Therefore we will really have no warning it could be any time. The surgery will be 6-8 hours.

Our life as you can imagine is up in the air. We need to work, but our heart is to be with our grandson to help him recover and mostly to protect him. We don't know what happened, who hurt him and it is so very difficult to be 800 miles away. We are self-employed so we can get up and go without a boss to answer to. However, work has been basically non-existent since the first of the year. My husband is trying to do some small jobs enough to finance our trip back and stay there. Hotels and traveling is very expensive. Please pray for provisions so that we can be where we need to be.

I will update as soon as possible.

Thank you so much for your prayers. It is a miracle that our grandson is still with us. He is not "out of the woods" by any means, so we continue to need your prayers for R.J. We would love to be celebrating his 9th birthday with him here safe and sound.

Critically ill grandson...R.J.

R.J. is the red head! Connor-left, Malachi-front
Bryson-right

R.J., Malachi, and Austin - Spring Break 09

We have three grandsons who live in Lawton, Oklahoma. Until the middle of March we have not been able to see them for four years. My step-daughter left with them and wouldn't have any contact with us. I know you're wondering why, well if we knew I would tell you. The father has called us throughout this time period keeping us informed about their welfare and such. It is a tough situation. Misty, my step-daughter did not come in to our lives until 1999. We got to know her and love her and she made us grandparents. We absolutely loved and adored our grandchildren. She got mad one day and up and left and until March we had not spoken with her.

However, we have prayed continually for our grandsons, their well-being and most importantly their salvation. Just days after my husband felt like he really petitioned God more earnest than ever before; we received a phone call from Misty. She said she was having problems with the oldest boy R.J. (he is 8) and would we consider taking him for his spring break. Well, we couldn't wait. We drove and met them in Arkansas and picked up R.J.

We had a great week. This boy had no behavioral problems at all. We had a house full of kids that week and there were no problems whatsoever. The week ended too soon and his mother came to get him on Friday, March 20th, (my birthday, no less) It took 2 hours for us to calm him from his sobbing and begging not to leave. It tore our hearts out. Later that night we talked to him and he said he was okay, and he promised to be good so that he could come stay all summer with MeMe and Poppa.

God answered our prayers in March. Little did we know that there was tragedy to follow. Nevertheless, we know God is in control, he knows are hearts desires for these boys and we are praying for His will to be done. God is working on our behalf for us to be able to be in their lives.
Sometimes answered prayers are not simple and sweet sometimes it is very painful. "God, we believe, help thou our unbelief"

We were on our way to the airport Wednesday, to pick up my mother-in-law when we got a call that R.J. was being air-lifted from Lawton, OK to Oklahoma Universty. We got Jimmy's mom went to the house threw very few things in to a bag and left. We got here at 9:00 am on Thursday morning to find that he was here not because he was sick and his stomach had been perforated "as we were told", but instead it was a blunt force trauma, still under investigation. The other two boys Connor and Bryson are in protective custody. My husband along with the parents are in Lawton, OK now trying to see the boys and see if they can be released to our care. Rusty was in Iraq and got here Friday night, therefore, we are hoping they will release them to his custody.

There is so much so I will try only to cover the medical issues and you can just use your imagination at how we are dealing with the questions of who did this to our grandson.

The injury was so severe that his small intestine was totally ripped apart from his stomach. It had been in this state for 24-30 hours before receiving medical attention. He died once on the flight and was revived. He then was not able to make it to the children's unit of the university so the pediatric surgeons literally ran to the other side and had to open him up right there in E.R. to save his life and stop the bleeding. We have done through 2 more surgeries since then. They actually do the surgeries in his hospital room in PICU because it is too dangerous for him to be moved. The surgeries are explatory/cleaning surgeries. His stomach is still open with a wound vac inside. Friday they found more dead bile and had to remove it, the surgeon said no more can die or we will have to let him go. The chaplain came in during the middle of the surgery to prepare us that he was probably not going to make it.

He made it!

He had surgery again Sunday morning, they removed part of his colon that had died. He did well through that surgery.

He is on dialysis, ventilator and chest tubes, and multiple drains and tubes all in him. His liver is in bad shape but has improved in the last 24 hours.

They are keeping him paralyzed because it is too dangerous for him to be awake. However, for them to get a feel for his awareness underneath the drugs, they backed it off for a few minutes and he looked at us and got too excited his blood pressure went way too high. They had to quickly put him back under. But for a brief moment he looked straight into Poppa's eyes and he squeezed and held on to his MeMe's hand.

This is all I can handle right now. We sure do covet your prayers. We don't know who hurt this baby and the detectives have not gotten anywhere .

Please pray that the truth is revealed and that we can give these boys a home of love and protection.

Love you

Lora

Sweetest Baby Boy

John-Philip has to be the sweetest baby boy I have ever known. The kid is always smiling, which is a constant reminder of how good God is to me. I mean part of that in a funny way because my son-in-law is not a "smiler", and I was afraid John-Philip wouldn't smile. However, seriously I did pray God please let that baby be happy and smile. He smiles ALL THE TIME, unless he is just horribly sick, which he has been a couple of times. You never have to coax him. The other day Kacey, John-Philip and I were about to get out of the car and we were talking about his smiling. We decided to experiment, we turned around and just looked at him. He immediately began smiling, that big beautiful smile. We just stared at him. After a couple seconds he just stared at us with his smile slowly fading. He would start to smile again but just look back and forth at us wondering what was going on. I felt terrible I couldn't continue so I smiled and he got his big smile back looking rather relieved.

You know it was funny then but as I am writing this now, it makes me realize how important your expressions are to the little ones. So keep on smiling everybody.

Maddie, it will be alright!

Tuesday, Malachi and Madison had to go to the doctor for a check-up and shots. Madison went first as Malachi set on the examining table at the top by Madison's head. Madison made it through the first two shots but on the third one she let out a squeal and began to cry. Malachi being the loving brother that he is gently put his hands on both sides of Madison's face and said, "Maddie, it's gonna be ALRIGHT!" Then, he promptly looked at his mom and said, "I ain't doing that", and jumped from the table and headed for the door. Rhonda and the nurse captured him and he took he shots against his will but as bravely as possible. He tried so hard not to cry. With tears in his eyes he kept making funny little laughing noises to keep from crying.

The sweetest part was after they headed home. Here is what Malachi told Madison. Maddie, whatever you want to do I will do it with you. We are going to MeMe's tonight and whatever you want to take I will help you get it and I will carry it for you.

How precious is that? I tell you the things children say are so precious. We have never had twins in our family and watching them has been so fun. They are so close.

BUBBLE BATH?

Who would have dreamed you could really get that much out of an ENTIRE bottle of liquid soap?
I have had the extreme pleasure of having my "Bookers" (grandbabies) 4 days a week for the last couple of weeks. Well, when you can't get outside and you have done everything else...a bubble bath is a good idea. (or is it) Madison and Malachi love taking baths. They don't take baths together anymore, but...at MeMe's house with the jacuzzi tub and all the bubbles we make an exception from time to time. After all they can't see each other for all the suds. With the toys in place and the jets going and the bubbles forming I left for a couple minutes to ask Poppa about his meeting he just got back from. Before leaving the bathroom, I said, "no more bubbles and no more water". Well I think my couple of minutes went a little longer. As Poppa and I sit in the other room just enjoying listening to the laughter of our precious, obedient, beautiful grandbabies; we noticed the giggling was really intense. Then we hear..."MeMe you need to come here." A quick glance at Poppa and then off to the bathroom. I just stand there for a second. They are looking at me not sure whether they were in trouble. They only called me in there because they could no longer find the button to turn off the jets. I roll up my pant leg and got in to get the jets turned off. I turned to look at them the anticipation still on their little faces. I laughed and then of course I went for the camera.

Now you can tell by the pictures that they were really repentant over using the rest of the liquid soap and adding more water after being told not to.

I couldn't even rinse them I just had to dry off all the bubbles. They were very sticky. Here is the worst part of all. I am dealing with bronchitis right now, so I didn't really feel like cleaning the tub right then. The next morning I tumble out of bed, truly desiring a nice hot bath only to be rudely awakened by a tub of toys and soap scum like you have never seen. After writing this I realize that is what I should have snapped a picture of as to warn other brave grandparents of the after effects of the "cute little bubble bath".

So after clearing out the toys, I took a wash cloth thinking I would simply clean the tub now. That didn't happen. I realize the scum is on every surface, including candles. It can't be just wiped you had to actually scrub the thick scum. So I climb into the tub and one 45 year old leg went one way and one went the other and my arm tried to break the fall. It was an ugly sight. I can only imagine how my husband heard it. A large thud, a laugh, and then a moan.

I hear in voice that sounds like I am really afraid to ask this question. "Honey, are you okay?" Yeah, I replied. "Are you sure?" Yeah, I'm just cleaning the tub.

Christmas Eve

We have started a tradition at the McGee house. Now that we have built the two-story "Booker's Fort" we go up on Christmas Eve and read the Christmas Story. This year was quite different than last year. Last year it was cold and Christmasy! This year it was hot and stormy.

Kacey, Matt, and John-Philip were the first to arrive. It was storming, the rain was horrendous and the winds were literally tornado strength winds. I ran outside with a huge umbrella to help them in. The umbrella did the inside out thing a couple of times, but we made it. I had to change clothes my skirt was soaking wet.

We had a spread of each one's favorite request. Kacey- hot wings, Rhonda - asparagus wrapped in ham, Malachi-stuffed eggs, Matt-red velvet cake, and we all had to have "Jimmy's famous Potato Salad". This year I told Rhonda and Kacey they had to make something special. Kacey and Matt made homemade bread stuffed with chicken, cheese and peppers which was surprising wonderful. Rhonda made a lemon icebox pie which was also very good and I think they were very proud of their selves .

When the meal was over we opened gifts. This is normally saved til last but with it being a church night things got switched around. By the time it was finished it was time to leave for church. Poppa, Malachi, Madison and I went to church. My backslid daughters (literally) stayed home so they had to clean up which was really cool. However, I would have cleaned it all by myself for the next week in exchange for them attending the service with me.

We never cancel services at our church. I really love that and appreciate that about our Pastor.
It was a nice time. The "faithful" were there for a sweet time of scripture reading, singing around the piano and a special time of sharing our hearts with one another.

When we got back we went up to the fort. Poppa had decked it out with the garland and lights. It was around 60 degrees so I didn't think about the "hot cocoa". However, as soon as we were all seated Malachi asked for it. He was appalled that I hadn't made it. Poppa climbed back down and got he and Madison a soda, after being informed that we couldn't possibly proceed without drinks.

Poppa read the Christmas Story as I looked around at my family. Appreciating another year of having them to love, another year of watching their beautiful faces snuggled altogether listening to the "Christmas Story".

I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas and just remember cherish every gathering of your family together because you never know when one will be missing from your circle.
Lots of love,
Lora