A Very SCARY Halloween!

Tonight was FULL of fun for everyone.

And I DO mean everyone!!!

Eric was dressed as the joker, Jenna was a witch, I was a nun.... and Lexie Noelle- well she didn't want to be left out either!!!! At around 4pm - i suddenly was overwhelmed with dizzyness and blurry vision. My friend Lindsay (who was dressed as a flapper! ha ha) took me to Wal Greens after the nurse requested a blood pressure reading from the nearest clinic---- Wal Greens gave me my numbers and I called the nurse back once we were back at work.

The nurse said --- go to the hospital NOW...

My manager Liz drove me to the hospital -- THANKS Liz!!

and so, I checked into Labor & Delivery at St. Francis Hospital--- at only 32 weeks gestation (that's 8 months along).... they got me all situated and hooked up and they informed me that I was in labor and having contractions. Eric met me there and got me checked in and everything - he did all of it for me!

About an hour went by and the nurses said they were just watching my labor- they checked my cervix and it was still closed- and discussing with the doctors what to do. The discussion was if they should go ahead and take the baby--- one nurse kept saying "the baby is far enough along that she would be just fine if she was born tonight"...and the doctor said "yeah...but we'd like her to be as far along as we can get her - let's stop labor and if she comes back in, then we'll go ahead and take baby".... and so on and so on...

I was very scared/nervous/anxious/... you know... um, this is a baby due on Christmas- NOT HALLOWEEN!!!!! But Eric was right there by my side, holding my hand and telling me it would be alright. ((I love him so much- I am so lucky to have such a wonderful man as my husband... it's hard for girl's to find one like him these days :) )) I love him!

So- a different nurse came in and said they decided to stop my labor. My reaction was "YAY!!!!!!! please please please do!"

She gave me a shot- ouch. burn. .. and then i was jittery and jumpy for 2 hours (which they said was normal). My heart was racing so fast- but it worked! It didn't completely stop contractions, but it spaced them enough that the nurses agreed my labor had stopped. Eric and I were discharged and sent home.

So--- I did get a good laugh out of it, something we'll tell the baby girl (yes, Jenna Jade told Pappox so we can say it on here now lol)... we'll tell her that she sure played a funny prank on mommy & daddy on Halloween night! Here we were- a pregnant nun, The Joker from Batman- in a Catholic Hospital in premature labor.

HA! :) I'm so thankful that I can look back and laugh at this now... I'm going to get some rest now!

Here are pics from the day- Jenna Jade as a witch, ME as a nun (a pregnant one of course), Eric as The Joker, Lindsay Phillips as a Flapper, & Nancy Slice as "Brittney Spears in disguise/hiding from paparazzi" <~ HA HA~

Jenna WROTE her first word!!!!!!

Today- October 30th, 2008 - Jenna Jade Pilkenton WROTE the word Mommy on a piece of paper--- I cut it out, and put her name and a date on it and yes, I plan to keep it forever!

Here's how it happened....

For a while now, my mother and I have been writing Jenna's name on all her stuff- even when she is coloring. She would sometimes try to copy her name, and always seems to write the "J" backwards so she would get frustrated and just move on. Well today, out of the blue, she says "Mommy, I want to try a different word...can I see your name?"....so I clarified if she wanted Stephanie or Mommy- and Mommy was the verdict!

So, I wrote "Mommy" on her paper...then she tried a couple times not really doing the letters correctly without me guiding her either verbally or physically....then a few minutes later, I watched silently as Jenna Jade wrote the word "Mommy" all by herself without any help from me at all!!!!!!!! I was so very proud of her! :) I've been bubbly all day about it- she was so proud of herself too. It reminded me of the moment she took her first steps...that extreme happiness and joy as the moment was happening....and then my heart sank into a bit of sadness when the moment was over...just like that, it was over. Jenna has written a word on paper and is showing curiosity in reading and writing.... I'm TOTALLY taking advantage of this--- my baby girl is so smart!!!

Here are the pictures of the one that Jenna wrote all by herself, without my help-

I just can't believe it.... Jenna Jade - your daddy and I just couldn't stop bragging about how smart you are! We love you baby girl!!!

love ya'll!!!

Crisp air & Beautiful Scenery... MUST be Virginia!

Thursday October 23rd through Sunday October 26th - Fall Virginia Trip

We went to Virginia last weekend to visit Eric's family up there. Everyone was so happy to see Jenna Jade and the belly (in fact, my belly has gotten so big- they were SURE I was going to just have the baby in Mamaw VanHuss' living room ha ha!)

The food was sooooo good, and we had so much fun, I can't hardly type it all here, but I will definitely list a few pics and stories!

First of all- we stayed with Eric's mom's parents, Mamaw & Papaw VanHuss. Mamaw had a stroke last spring and scared all of us who love her so very much...and as a witness to what stroke can do to a person, I have to say this-- Mamaw VanHuss IS a pure and beautiful miracle! She is walking, and talking, and though things are a little different--- she is 100% getting her life back and that is remarkable considering what she has been through. We could all learn so much about strength just by sitting with her and holding her hand--- and Papaw completely is one of the reasons she is doing so well, He spends every moment just taking care of her and loving her and making sure she is alright-- its so sweet to see two people so much in love, I can just look at them and imagine Eric and I at that age- We are both surrounded by so many people on both sides of our family that love and care for each other and show us every day how much love is really worth. We love you all so very much!

Also- while staying at Mamaw's, we got to spend time with Uncle Junebug, Uncle Dougy, Uncle Billy, and many of Jenna Jade's cousins -- and even Destiny made a new friend...a HORSE of course! :) Destiny ran and played for hours... and Jenna got to pet the horse and the horse even picked my hair up in its mouth so I couldn't walk away. No, the horse didn't pull on my hair and it didn't even hurt, and he would let go if I just reached out and pet him and smiled....he just loved the attention from Jenna, myself, and most importantly- our boxer named Destiny.

Jenna Jade met one of her cousin's for the first time this trip- they are just about 1 1/2 months apart in age and she is Eric's cousin Adam's little girl, Chloe. Chloe and Jenna had so much fun together running all over the place and becoming the best of friends. They were so sad when it was time to call it a day. It was so fun to see them play too- We all talked about how much Jenna looks like Eric, and Chloe looks like Adam-- several of Eric's family members felt like they had taken a step back in time and were watching Eric & Adam playing... except this time, they are girls! ha ha -- you boys sure make pretty young ladies! :)

Also visiting us that day were Samantha & Austin - Eric's cousin Matt's kids. Samantha is my baby doll! She just loves me so much and I absolutely love her back- we did our DIVA ritual of dressing up and taking pics of silly faces and just being girls together. She's growing up so fast on me and its fun to kick back and just enjoy the ride--- I always look forward to seeing her. And Michael Austin- what can I say? That boy is just soooo much fun! He & Eric wrestled and played until they could hardly breathe and all the kids just laughed and laughed and its definately 100% true=== the best stress reliever in the world is sitting on the ground with the kids just laughing and giggling until your belly hurts and you feel like you are 5 again--- it was so great to get a chance to spend time with everyone. Eric and I wish we could see them more often! And not just Eric & I - Jenna Jade and our dog Destiny ran and played with Samantha & Austin until they were both sleeping like babies when bed time came -- which is another BIG PLUS for mom & dad! ha ha!

Thank you Cousin Margie for bringing them over to see us! It was so great to see you too!!!

On Saturday night- we went over to Eric's Dad's house and got to see Eric's brothers Nick & Justin, and Eric's little sister Kinsley. We also got to spend time with Justin's girlfriend Kayla & Dad's girlfriend Dee! It was so great to meet Dee - she's a really great person and we think the world of her! All of us went up and enjoyed some really AWESOME food and games up on the mountain side. It was so pretty up there- and when we looked down... Eric and I saw something we never saw before....there is a pond just 10 feet away from where we park our cars at Dad's house!!!! LOL - I guess that shows how observant Eric & I are...we had never seen that pond before and we've been parking right next to it all this time... lol. But- in our defense, there is a lot of trees standing in the way so we just never noticed it until we were above it looking down. :) OH! And we also got to meet Pedro (or Idget - as Kinsley calls him)....he is a terrier mix and he's so cute and funny.... especially when a broom is in the room! ha ha! And Kayla & Justin had Jenna attached at the hip- she loved them so much and just wouldn't let go of Kayla's neck and chasing Justin around- she had an absolute blast with them. :)

One more stop along the way- Eric's Mamaw & Papaw Pilkenton. We got to see Uncle Mark & Aunt Lisa, Uncle Matt & Aunt Vonda, and Eric's cousin's on his dad's side of the family. Mamaw & Papaw were so happy to see all of us, we got tons of hugs and kisses! We love you both so much!!! They were all at the picnic up on the moutain and we went and saw Papaw down at the Pound 66 Station -- A big Thank's to Eric's dad & uncles for changing my oil and checking my engine for me!!!! :) Thank You!!!

Eric's dad made me some of Mamaw's meatloaf - and I am so very thankful it is something I had been looking forward to for a long time and I was soooooo excited to see it on the table. YUMMY! Eric's obsession is Mamaw's pumpkin pie...but I think I love just about anything she makes! lol. And Dad did an awesome job at making his mom's meatloaf recipe--it was DELICIOUS!
Papaw's heart was giving him trouble this weekend, so we didn't get to see him as much as we are used to--- but when we did we made sure he got big hugs and kisses and I hope he knows how much all of us love him so very much. We are praying for you Papaw!



It was so much fun seeing everyone- and I have DOZENS more pics at our family photo album - www.dropshots.com/pilkentonpearls <~check them out!!!!!

Love ya'll!

Surprise Party for Samantha Summer

October 17th = Samantha's Birthday!

October 18th = Sam's husband Shane threw Sam a surprise party (His idea, I just helped him put it all together!)

Happy Birthday Samantha! Hope you enjoyed your surprise! It sure was fun to see how big your smile was!!! **We love you!**

Here's a few pics- first the cake, then Shane & Samantha Summer, then Me & Samantha, and lastly Eric holding Sydney Summer - Sam & Shane's 8 month old boy.... Samantha is pregnant with a baby girl due on St. Patricks day!!!!!!! YAY!!! :)

2008 School Pics Are In!

These are Jenna's school pictures from her 3K kindergarten class. They were taken on October 15, 2008. Doesn't my baby look grown up??????? We're in trouble now!

Chicken & Pumpkins!

Yesterday we had the annual "Pig Pickin" service at our church--- except this year, instead of BBQ pork, we had BBQ chicken! so we changed the name to "Chicken Pickin" and we enjoyed a church service and meal outside. We also played games out in the field. Jenna had so much fun playing on the pink team! And one of my best friends Jody surprised me - I had no idea she was in town!!! I have missed her so much! It was so great to see her! :)

Then today, Jenna's 3K class went to Fisher Farm to see the Pumpkin Patch! We had a blast! And the pictures all turned out so great--- you can see all the pictures from the weekend at www.dropshots.com/pilkentonpearls

We saw some bunnies, goats, and turkeys! We learned all about cotton and the other things grown on Fisher Farm. The maze was ok, the hay ride was fun, but Jenna had so much fun picking her own apples and pumpkin that she didn't want to leave! What a fun field trip with Ms. Casey's 3K class!

Speaking of which--- you might notice I didn't say Ms. Street. Long story short- the principle thought Jenna was more mature and needed to be with an older class so she was moved into Ms. Casey's class a few weeks ago. She absolutely LOVES Ms. Casey and adjusted so well--- we are so very proud of her!

Love ya'll! :)