luke's 2nd snow

luke and sydney's snow angel!

the kids had a ball playing in the snow thursday....we only wish it would have snowed at least a foot or two!  but we are thankful we got some snow!!

naptime...upside down

this is the way i found luke yesterday.....

head at the bottom of the bed!  sleeping so sound....

a look back on 2009

2009 has been filled with tons of emotions for me and my family.  i was looking at my planner and just couldn't believe all the events that happened last year.  just a few....
jan 12th-  brittany (my oldest neice)  turned 16
feb 1st-  lindsey zirbel's baby shower
feb 25th-  i turned 30......UGH!
feb 28th-  circus at the VBC
mar 27th-  move into our new APDA office
mar 10th-  1st + pregnancey test
mar 11th-  2nd + pregnancy test
april 2nd-  first ultrasound
april 10th-  2nd ultrasound (was 8 wk 3 days pregnant!)
may.....wow, the month of may....where to even begin with what emotions went on in may.  this is when sydney was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma.  what an event.  i have may 22nd as her first chemo.  not real sure about that.  i'm not sure if that was chemo or her surgeries for her port/tubes in ears, etc.  but, i do know may is when sydney's journey started.
may 30th-  thomas the train in birmingham 
june 5th-  prayer meeting at rhett and heather daniel's house for sydney.  what an emotional night!
july 30th-  dr. callison for glucose test......that i FAILED!
july 31st-  4 hr. glucose test....that i PASSED!
sept. 10th-  luke's 3 year old pictures
sept. 11th-  luke's 3 year party
sept 23rd-26th-  vacation at hilton head
oct. 24th-  our precious baby girl, allison ruth mcelyea, arrived at 10:24 am
nov and dec were months that syd went back and forth to UAB children's what seemed like tons of times.  thought she had pneumonia one time, lots of blood transfustions/platelets. 

i feel like my pregnancy with allie helped keep down some of the stress with sydney's sickness.  when we would talk about her new baby girl cousin arriving, syd's face would light up!   i hope and pray that 2010 is a little bit more uneventful for my family.  God will help sydney get better, we believe that with all of our hearts.  only He is in control.  so, happy new year!  may God bless you as much as He has blessed our family.

Christmas part 2

we always look forward to Chrismas at our parents' house!  Christmas morning after santa, we headed to mom and dad's for a HUGE breakfast then gifts.  luke was about to pop with excitment when he noticed a superman movie/action figure in his stocking!!  he also got his batman 3 wheeler "that he wanted"!

grammy and papaw got a platter with all the grandkids handprints.....of corse, it made mother cry!

.

we also had our traditional mexican dinner at grammy and poppy's.  luke also racked up over there with lots of gifts, especially a camera that he had asked for!

Christmas part 1

Christmas at the McElyea's 2009

here are just a few pictures from Christmas morning.  Luke got Superman OVERLOAD!!!  he was so excited to see what santa brought him.  it was so much fun this year!  (having issues with blogging....it's not letting me put my pictures in correct order......)

Christmas eve

it's been our Christmas tradition to open one gift on Christmas eve.....it was a tradition ever since i was a little girl. the gift was ALWAYS new pj's. well, not only did luke get pj's, but teddy did, too. he got SUPERMAN pj's to match luke!

great grandma mcelyea

Allison Ruth, meet Ella Ruth.....

cookies for santa

luke and i baked HOMEMADE sugar cookies for santa this year. luke had a ball! they tasted pretty good, too!

first time in her crib.....

allie is still in our room in her pack 'n play. so, yesterday, we tried out the crib.....she did great with her first nap in her crib.......

yes, she's on her belly......

allie's first jacket

grammy and papaw bought allie her first jacket.....