Catching Up

It has been so crazy around the Pendergraft house lately. So I haven't had much time to make an entry. Around the end of September, Kylie came home from school with strep throat. However, we didn't realize it at the time. She never really complained about a sore throat and I didnt notice a fever. During the next week, I developed a really painful sore throat,but seeing as I had never had strep before, I didn't realize that's what it was. The following Sunday morning, I woke up with a few spots on my neck, and Aaron woke up with a sore throat. So I decided that the next morning, first thing, we were all 3 headed to the doctor to get tested. So there we were, Monday morning, Aaron, Kylie and myself, all on a paper-covered bed, saying "ahhh" while an oversized Q-tip violated our throats! (and I must say, Aaron was the biggest baby of us all! Anyone who knows him will not find that suprising) We all tested positive for strep and were prescribed antibiotics. I was told the rash would go away in about 4 days. Little did I know that this was going to turn into an absolute nightmare. For the next 4 weeks, the rash spread over every inch of my body and tortured me relentlessly. I was in and out of doctors offices, to which noone really had any answers. I finally was sent to a dermatologist that took one look at my arm and said it was guttate psoriasis that came as a result of an allergic reaction to strep throat. However, he didn't look at the rest of my body, so he didn't know how extensive it really was. He sent me home and put me on a steroid to clear it up and if in a week it was still there, then I would start a light therapy. In short, this particular doctor was extremely negligent and should have sent me directly to a more in-depth dermatologist (whose care I am currently under). My doctor said that I am way past UVB therapy and need immunity suppressant shots. After a week and a half, of getting tested to see if i was physically capable of taking them, I finally took my first shot this past Friday. I will take them twice a week until they decide that I am fine to stop. They are still skeptical that I may have to stay medicated for the rest of my life, but I am praying that they are wrong. I have tried to continue my normal life, because I realize people live with much worse ailments everyday, so I just need to keep going.It started as a few red spots, and by the time it was all said and done, it is from my scalp to the tops of my feet. At it's worst point, I would describe it as boil-like, raised sores that just seemed to mesh together to form one giant sore. They became raised up and just disgusting to say the least. They have started to subside and smooth back into my skin, so I'm praying this does not decide to make an encore appearance. I dont know why this happened to me but I know that I have learned alot about myself and alot about my God. It has made me love myself from the inside out and realize that beauty is something that comes from inside a person, not the exterior even more. I've also learned that, God cares about His children so much more than I could have ever imagined before. It's the most surreal feeling to be at your lowest point and to really feel the Lord come down and listen to your prayers. As if He scoops you up and sets you in His lap while you talk to Him and tell Him all your worries and fears. I know that someday, God will give me a platform so that I can share this and so many other stories of my life's ups and downs, to bring glory to His name.

Happy 1st Birthday Kenzie!

It's been a year ago that Aaron, Kylie and I, welcomed a screaming little Kenzie Grace into our lives. She was quite the handful when she first arrived but has really turned into such a happy little girl (with the help of zantac)! We weren't really sure how things would play out with Kylie at first, because she was very intolerant of her new sissy. In fact, she really wanted her o leave and never come back! It was a rough first 4 months for me and her both. But now, Kylie loves her to death and we are really enjoying being a family.
So, to celebrate her 1st birthday, we invited our family and close friends to a get together at the house and did cupcakes and pool time! Kenzie is very fortunate to be loved by so many people. She had a wonderful turn out and had a great time. The cake was obviously the best part. She tore into her cake and had fun destroying it. However, she didn't like it stuck to her hands, so we had a good laugh and then immediately were urged by her screaming to get it off!
She has brought so much joy to our lives that it is not possible to put it into words. I understand now how God gives you different children for different reasons. Kylie and Kenzie are so different, but we loved their individuality. Kenzie can smile and light up a room. For the most part, she is a content kid to just sit and observe or busy herself. It is a joy to be her mother and I couldn't have handpicked her unique qualities that make her so special to me.
"Happy Birthday my sweetheart, Kenzie Grace. I love you so much and I think you are so cute and funny. I can't wait to celebrate so many more birthdays with you."
Love, Mommy

Been WAY too Long!

Well, well, well! I'm sure all of the blogging world has just assumed that I have fallen off the face of the earth! So much has been going on this summer! We went to the beach with Austin, Sarelle and Reagan at the beginning of the summer and that was alot of fun. Kylie and Rae Rae had alot of fun together. Then in July, Aaron took me on a cruise for our 5 year anniversary. Needless to say it was a BLAST! We really enjoyed our time together minus 2 little girls! lol! So, in short, the summer was great! We made alot of lasting memories.
Let's see here, I guess I will start with Kylie. Let's just say she is 3 going on 13! She is just so sassy! Aside from turning almost dark enough to trade races, she LOVED our inground pool this summer. She is actually starting to swim without her floaties and going all the way under the water! She still has occasional bouts with her ears hurting, but overall she is doing well. She is so smart too. She picks up on things that I had no idea she was even paying attention too. And her little facial expressions are just so growny. I hear her on her little play cell phone and she is hilarious. Sometimes I sneak up on her to listen to her play. She is also so very much in love with her sissy. I was unsure at the beginning how things were going to work out with them two, but with alot of prayers, she is coming around. I think she is starting to realize how much fun she can have being the big sissy. She wakes her up every morning of the summer by opening the door and crawling in her crib with her and playing for about 25 min! It is the sweetest sound in the world to hear the 2 of them laughing together. I don't think their is a much stronger bond in the world than that of sisters. There's just something special about it. She has become my biggest helper. She is such a special girl.
Now to talk about my little Kenzie! Well, let's just say that she is definitely full of personality. She has such a temper. If she doesn't want the food you put in front of her or drink, with one swipe, its all on the floor, and followed with the "well, you shouldn't put it there momma" face! oh my, I am in for a long, but quite humorous 18 years I have a feeling. She is also such a sweetheart! She can make us all smile without even doing anything. She is a little ball of sunshine, with occasional lightening bolts of attitude! I know I blogged a while back about her feet, and so far it was just stride rite shoes and wait, and I would love to say I have a brand new update. But as far as her feet are concerned, she turned a year old on the 21st of August and this weekend was the first time she has made an effort to pull herself up on her own feet and try to step to the side while holding on to something else. I am so thrilled that she is doing this! However, I also know that she is still really behind and that her little feet still look awkward and unstable. She really wants to stand and walk, but it's like something is keeping her from being able to completely let go. I've been praying for this situation for a long time now. And since I'm with her 24/7, it plays on my mind alot because it's constantly in front of me. No mother ever wants to think there is something wrong with their baby, but I knew very early that I needed to admit there was the possibility for an issue, and go ahead and make plans to get this checked out and do whatever I needed to, to start the process of fixing it if necessary. But lately, it had just become very overwhelming and the Lord knew I just couldn't take it much longer. I believe with all my heart that He reached down, picked her up and whispered in her ear "go ahead and take a few step for your mommy. she needs to know that you'll be alright". And if that wasn't enough, the Lord also had me have my video camera in my hand the exact moment she did it so I could capture it on camera! That's when I knew that God was listening to all my spoken and unspoken prayers for my little girl. Not only did He ease my fears by allowing her to take a few steps, but He went above and beyond and did something for me, just because He loves me and He wants to do the little things that He knows are special to me. The Lord knows how important it is to me that I get pictures and video's of special moments in my girl's lives, so He made it happen that day. Our God is so good. So, with all that said, she goes back to the doctor in a week for her 1 yr checkup and he will do a re-evaluation of her feet and legs and we will go from there. But I know that no matter what the doctor says, or what happens in the next year with this situation, God is watching me and my girls and is listening to my prayers. He is going to do what is best no matter what and I will trust Him all the way.
So, needless to say, the Pendergraft family couldn't be better. Aaron and I are doing great and enjoying our life with our two BEAUTIFULLY, PERFECT little girls and enjoying every day that the Lord allows us to be together.

Kenzie Grace

Well, it is finally here! She has started crawling all over the house. It is good and bad. Good, because it was way past time for her to start moving on her own, but bad because now I have to chase her all over the house! lol! But I am so thankful she is moving around on her own. We take her to see the orthopedic specialist this Wednesday to have her feet and legs checked out. As her mom, I just don't think that something is 100% right with her motor skills. Now, it would be music to my ears to go to the doctor and for him to say that she is perfectly fine and just needs a little motivation, but deep down in my heart I honestly don't think that is the case. So off to the doctor we go in a few days. I had an appointment about a month ago and cancelled it because I was just not ready to go yet and hear what they had to say. I think I am still afraid of what they will tell me. I live by the policy, "what you don't know can't hurt you". But I realize that is not true in this case and it's my responsibility to find out if there is anything going on.
But besides all of that, she is just growing and learning more and more by they day! She can wave bye and say "bye bye", she can say "bah bah" for bottle, and "da da" for aaron. She has said "ma ma" a few times, but I think she likes to see me look and act like an idiot trying to get her to say it, so she just makes it few and far between to tease me! lol! I just love her to pieces. She is such a happy baby! I know every time I go into her room to get her she is going to be sitting there with a scraggly-tooth smile, bouncing up and down for me to pick her up. She is my go with the flow baby. Now Kylie on the other hand, is my demanding child! lol! I have loved her from the second I laid eyes on her and she knows it! She is my dress up, princess, 3 going on 33 little doll! Now, when I go to get her up in the morning, I'm not sure what I'm going to be met by! She can either be so sweet, or it could be a monster trapped in her little, princess gowned body! lol! But it's so neat to see how unique the Lord designs them, even as early as birth! They have their own personalities and I enjoy them both. I know that we are going to have alot of good times together as they grow up and I want to be apart of their lives. I also am not ignorant enough to ignore the fact that there are going to be some tough times as well. But I want to make sure they know that Aaron and I love them very much and that we will ALWAYS do what is best for them but it was not always be popular. And if we do our job right, one day they will thank us for the hard decisions we make.

SUMMER TIME!

Well it is officially summer here in Florence, SC and ridiculously HOT! But the good news is that we are so fortunate to have a pool in our backyard! :) We are enjoying it tremendously. Kylie is so brown that it is ridiculous. I can coat her with 85 sunblock and she gets more sun than I do, laying out in straight tanning oil! Anyway, I am so enjoying my girls this summer! Kenzie has such a wonderful personality. She makes me smile evertyime i look at her. I love playing with her and watching her laugh! She has started to crawl, well actually, scoot around the floor, so we are thankful for that. She has an appointment with the orthopedic doctor on the 30th of this month, but I'm going to see what her doctor says now that she's crawling a little. Kylie is growing by leaps and bounds. It seems like every day she learns about 50 new words! It's amazing how fast they learn. We went on vacation a couple of weeks ago to the beach and had a blast with Kylie. I opted out of taking Kenzie because she would be miserable and just try to eat sand! lol! Plus, Kylie wouldnt get to enjoy it as much because we would have to cater to Kenzie. So we decided to enjoy the time with Kylie. Glad we did, because she really enjoyed the one on one time with mommy and daddy. On a different note, me and Aaron celebrated our 5 year anniversary this past June 10th! Yay for us! We decided to just do cards and not do anything major, when low and behold, if he didnt surprise me with a cruise to the Bahamas (where we went on our honeymoon)! Just call him Mr. Romantic huh? I'm not complaining! I am so excited to get to spend some time with just him and no kids! lol! anyway, i think thats about it for now. too much sometimes to write it all. I will put pictures up of some recent things we've done.
Ps. Kylie is really starting to warm up to her sissy! I think she might actually LIKE her these days! lol!

Lessons from my Baby

Well, we are now creeping up on the 9 month milestone of my little Kenzie's life. She has been such a totally different child than Kylie. Kylie moved so fast through her milestones of life that I naturally assumed that my second child would follow the same pattern. Kenzie was born 2 1/2 weeks earlier so I figured that she might be behind when it came to some developmental skills. However, I never thought in a million years that, in my view, she would be so far behind other babies that I had seen; or even her own sister. My concerns grew with every milestone time frame that she came to and passed over without achieving the goal. She didn't roll over or sit up until about 6-7 months and still will not pull up or support her weight on her legs. She has however, just in the last 2 weeks, began to get up on all fours and rock back and forth like she is trying to figure out crawling. The doctor recommended she see a pediatric orthopedic, but I decided that in light of her new attempt at crawling, I would give it another month. With all this being said, I truly believe with all my heart that this was meant to happen specifically for me. I am such an impatient person and want things done on a schedule that the Lord wanted me to slow down and enjoy these moments with my children. If I'm not careful, I can easily rush through the day and get accomplished what I need to without stopping to notice what my girls are learning along the way. But with Kenzie being so dependant on me, and realizing that she is behind, I pay special notice to her so I won't miss it when she does decide to crawl or pull up...ect. She has forced me to stop and take things as they come and know that I cannot control everything. It has also helped me to be more patient with Kylie. She is so smart and ahead of her age, I take that for granted and think she is capable of more than she really is. I find myself expecting too much from her sometimes. The Lord has blessed me with two very beautiful
and very different little girls. I pray every morning that I will be a good example to them and if they ever were to say they wanted to grow up to be just like me, I would be reassured that what they saw in me would be enough to get them through. One day, they are going to read this and think about me, and I just want to say "Kylie and Kenzie, I love you very much and I have counted it an honor to be your mother so far. I hope we will share so many fun memories together and always be close"

It's Finished!!!

YAY!!! The home project is done! I am so excited! We have been wanting to do this for a long time! I was told that it would be really messy but it really wasn't bad at all! They cleaned up after themselves very nicely! Well, here are the pictures from start to finish.

Oh my Word!!!!!!!

Well, I know it seems like I have fallen off the face of the earth because it has been sooooo long since I have posted an entry! Things have been amazingly busy at my house! We have been home maybe a grand total of 6 days the entire past few weeks! Either taking school trips, or retreats, or just visiting grandparents, which translates into very little time to blog! We also started a house project that has completely rearranged our life! lol! We have, what they call, a georgian style house. That means that the downstairs is split up into 4 compartments, one being a formal living room. We obvously have no need for that, so we knocked out the wall between them and made it one big great room. We are one week into the project and the sheet rock men are coming tomorrow. Needless to say, our house is mess. The good news is that we are getting a new pool liner put in tomorrow, so maybe we can just stay outside at the pool all day! The pictures I attatched are just a few I had on my phone. I will add some more to it tomorrow. My camera cord is taped up in a room with all my furniture, so i will have to wait until next week to post those.
However, in all the chaos, the girls are doing wonderful! Kylie's vocabulary and reasoning skills are growing by leaps and bounds! She shocks me with the sentences she can put together! Kenzie is a dollbaby and learning new things, literally, every day! She shakes her had no when she don't want something, or just being silly. Anyway, it's been a long day and I'm exhausted,with a long week to go. So bye for now. Hopefully I will have time to update later.