Parent Teacher Conferences, Sports & Cold....

First of all Molly's parent teacher conferences were last night. I had mixed feeling about it because I know that her behavior at the beginning of the year was a little less than desirable (to put it nicely). But after talking to the teacher I couldn't help but feel a little proud of my scholar. I don't know how long Mrs. Beauchamp has been teaching, but she said that Molly is the most advanced reader that she has ever seen at this age. Molly just really enjoys learning and sometimes the other kids even ask her to read to them. I have to admit that was a really good 'mommy moment' for me...even though I can take zero credit for her abilities, which are all God-given. The other day she came to me and said "mom I can spell champion, C H A M P I O N". I think she had seen it on the cereal box but she definitly wasn't looking at the time. She really is amazing...and only 4!

Here are the school pictures that we got to pick up last night. The class picture is just priceless! And the one of Molly is so perfect...she couldn't leave the house for picture day with out big ribbons (which I totally don't get into) but I chose to let her pick. I can't wait until she gets to pick out more of her clothing...ha, ha!

Ryan and I were so excited for the Colts v. Titans football game last night (Ryan is a big Titan's fan and I DON'T like the Colts). We were a little torn over how to keep up with both the World Series game and the football game so we did lots of channel switching between innings and plays. We put up a good fight but decided to use the good ole DVR after about 10:30...I know we are weaklings. We were so glad to check things out early this morning and find the Titans were victorious (GO TITANS!...sorry all of you Colts fans) and that the Rays have another chance to redeem themselves. I love fall sports season!

I don't think that I mentioned that marathon training is not going real great. Last week I was battling a cold and couldn't train much so my weekend run that was supposed to be 12 miles turned into only 7 and I couldn't even run that whole distance. It was a real bummer for me so this week I have some ground to make up. This morning was my first run since feeling better and it went really well. The temp was around 50 when I left and it was quite a change compared to what I am used to...a welcome change I might add. We are supposed to have a high of 66 today but back up to 80 by the weekend.

The girls really had to bundle up this morning for their walk to school. I thought you would enjoy the picture. Ryan laughs at us but it really seems cold when you are used to 75+ everyday!

I guess that the laundry is calling. Until next time.....

Marcy Update

Marcy is home!!! I am happy to report that Marcy's last test on friday proved that she is healed and ready to enter the outside world again. She came home yesterday and although I haven't talked to her, I am sure that it is good to be back in the comfort of her own house. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she continues to recover at home.

As for us, we are on the mend as well. Molly missed school Wednesday - Friday but is showing signs of improvement today and I am sure she will be back to school on Monday. Roz is acting her normal crazy self again and everyone slept through the night last night...yeah! Hopefully next week will be a little bit more normal.

Until next time....

Abel Family Update

Well with all the chaos lately I have been wanting to post these pics and videos. Alot has happened and so I will just go through the pics.

Emma, Molly & Abby

The Otto's came over for supper last week and we all had a good time. The girls played together so well and we really enjoy hanging out with them.

Last Wednesday night was 'crazy hair' night at church. Maddi was a great sport and wanted to show off her hair. Molly decided not to participate....girls!!!
I came home from work 2 Saturdays ago to this beautiful bouquet of flowers. Molly picked them out because they were her favorite color pink but they were really from her awesome dad!

We enjoyed a picnic at the park a few Sunday's ago and the girls had a great time. The weather is really starting to cooperate with picnic season here in FL.



There is this patch of flowers (weeds) in our back yard that the girls love to play in. I just can't stand to get rid of it so I don't. They love to pick flowers for me and I have to admit that I love getting them.

Roz is definitly a show phanatic. Ryan let her take a pair to bed with her the other night and this is how I found her before I headed off to bed myself.
The ice cream truck finally made it into our neighborhood the other night. We were super excited and the girls thought it was soo cool. The ice cream was awesome and we encouraged Mr. Softee to return anytime!

Ryan was doing storytime duty tonight and I couldn't resist the photo op.

Last but not least is some footage of the girls swinging again. They just love it...thanks again to Marilyn our neighbor for the swingset...what a blessing.

Both girls are sick as of this evening...nothing major just the usual fevers, coughs and runny noses. Hopefully they will make a quick recovery and be better by the weekend.

Oh and Marcy is still doing good. She must be feeling back to herself a little because yesterday when I talked to Renita, Marcy had sent her on a candy bar run. I will let you know if anything changes. Just keep praying that we can have a fully recovered G'ma, mother and friend back as soon as God sees fit.

Until next time.....

Marcy Update 10:24 am Oct 20, 2008

Not much has changed with Marcy. She is still doing great by all post-stroke standards. Yesterday she was abel to get out of bed to go to the bathroom and today walked there on her own. She is eating a little bit but her appetite is small. They took some of her IV's out yesterday to allow her to move a little more also. We think that all of these things are great. The power of prayer is awesome! Thank you all so much for saying a prayer for her.

Ryan made it home to us yesterday around 1 pm. We were all so glad to have him back! It is amazing how much of the load that he bears around here. I appreciate him more and more every second. That is all I can say about that without embarrassing him too terribly much.

Renita is still in Nashville with Marcy and Charley returned to Montgomery this morning for a few days of work. We are kinda playing thing by ear but hopefully Marcy can come home this weekend. There will be a long road to recovery but having her closer to family and friends will be a big help.

Until I know more.....

Good News Update 3:21 pm 10/18/08

I just spoke with Ryan and the angiogram that they did this morning on Marcy came back with really good news. The doctor could not find any problems in the arteries in her brain which leads him to believe that it must have happened in a vein. The dr described that as really good news and said that a lot less damage is done when it happens in a vein and there is little concern for it happening again. He was very thorough in his examination this morning but said that they must preform the angiogram again in 7 days. If the same thing is seen at that time, she will be released.

This is awesome news and we are so thankful for the results. None-the-less, 7 more days in the hospital is not a vacation so please keep Marcy in your prayers for that time.

I will continue to keep you posted with updates as I get them.

Until next time....

G'ma Marcy Update 9:41 pm 10/17/08

I just spoke with Ryan and not much is changed. All outside appearances are good, she is coherant and knows what day it is, and all other relavant facts; she knows exactly what has happened to her and remembers the whole thing; she can eat and move all limbs, fingers and toes; she is just really tired due to medication and a bad, bad headache. Tomorrow, hopefully in the morning, they will do the angiogram which will tell the doctors the details and a better idea of what has happened and will need to happen in the future will be established. Thank you all for your prayers and keep them coming.

The girls and I have survived a day without Ryan...although it was not fun, we did make it. I didn't realize the wonderful helper he is to me and how much the girls depend on him. I hope he knows how much we love and appreciate having him around.

Until tomorrow....

Grandma Marcy

My mother-in-law Marcy needs all of your prayers. Yesterday (thursday) she was leaving work and had some severe neck cramping so she drove herself to Dr. Omer's office for a possible adjustment. When he wasn't in she stayed in the parking lot until Charley could get there. When he arrived he found her in distress and she told him that she had already called the ambulance. She was taken to DCH where they told her she had a pulled muscle in her neck and some bleeding on her brain. She was then transported to St. Mary's in E'ville where they could give her a more thorough examination and diagnosis. Once there and stabilized, the neurosurgeon suggested that she be transfered to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, TN. This was a precautionary move due to things that 'could' happen and not because she was really critical. The drs felt that she could get the best care there. She was transported to Nashville by air some time through the night. Ryan, Renita & Charley all arrived there today around 11 and were just in time to meet the drs doing their rounds. Her diagnosis has been determined as a hemorrhagic stroke. They described it as a 2 on a scale of 1 - 4 with 4 being the worst. She is awake, responds and knows what is going on. She is really groggy from medication but is stable. They plan to do angiogram tomorrow morning in order to determine the extent of the damage. The nurses called this a fact finding mission. After that is completed they will be able to make a better decision on whether or not surgery is required/needed. The last time I talked to Ryan (around 1:30 p.m. friday) they were bringing her something to eat so hopefully that will go well.

Please keep Marcy in your prayers along with Ryan, Renita, Charley and all of her caregivers and physicians. I will try and update this site with any new information as soon as I recieve it. If you have specific questions/comments my email is a78abel@yahoo.com.

My girls and I are really sad so it might help for you to pray for us too.

10.7 and counting....

Well I had to post the fact that I completed my long training run this morning which consisted of 10.7 miles and almost 2 hours. I felt like there were bricks in my shoes when I was finished but I finished none-the-less. I was really proud of myself, especially when I put my training into the computer training log and it spit out that I had just burned 1100 calories! No wonder I am super starved all day after a long run like that.

I hope that training keeps going so well, I stay injury free (my bum leg is lots better) and the weather continues to cooperate. 26.2 here I come........

Videos and Tag

Here are just a few videos that I have taken over the last few days. Molly is sooo good at reading and Roz is up to her usual mischief. I hope you enjoy!

I also got 'tagged' by Susie G. This could be fun so here are 6 rarely known things about me.

1. I am NOT creative but would love to be...I enjoy digi scrapping but have to admit that it is a huge challenge for me.

2. I love to run...running is a bit of an addiction for me and I have to really focus on not letting it take over my life.

3. I look forward to retirement, already.

4. Having a premature baby was the hardest thing that I have had to face in my life (thus far). I can see that God has used that time to grow me but I honestly don't know if I could do that again.

5. I have a tattoo...being 18 was quite an experience for me.

6. I am highly emotional...I can cry over almost anything...good or bad.

Boy I have to admit that was tough...I just don't know many things that everyone doesn't already know about me. I hope you enjoy.

Happy Birthday Renita!

Happy Anniversary to Us...

As I mentioned before Ryan has a love/hate relationship with this blog...this is the hate part,when I talk about him. Regardless, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to talk about us and how we got to where we are. Where to start has been quite a decision, and I have thrown around many ideas over the last couple of days. I hope you enjoy what I have come up with and I ultimately hope that Ryan doesn't get too embarrassed.

It all started when my mom was pregnant with me and Ryan was a newborn. My mom attended the grand march for Prom in the spring of '78 and Marcy was there as well showing off her newborn baby boy. Since it was late in my mom's pregnancy, she was drawn to the new baby that Marcy was so proud of. She held Ryan that night and I like to tease Ryan that his fate was sealed at that point!


Although it was a magical beginning, things weren't always wonderful. We dated off and on for 9 long years. I wanted to marry Ryan early on but am so glad that he didn't decide that I was the one until the perfect time. God had a plan for us.

We got married on a beautiful day in October 2002. Our marriage isn't without trials but I love Ryan more than words can say. He is my friend, companion, cheerleader, counselor and more. I couldn't have imagined life this good with someone if you would have asked me to. He constantly amazes me with his ability to handle the kids, college, work, home & family without complaining or compromising his values or standards. He is the most respectful, courteous and kind person, and such a wonderful example for our girls. I laugh and tease him that they are going to have such high standards for boyfriends that they will never find someone to live up to the example he has set. I feel so lucky to have him as my husband!

Here's to many, many more years together.....

Happy Birthday Renita!

Today (Oct 5th) is Renita's birthday and we wanted to wish her the best birthday ever! We wish that she lived here with us in Florida instead of across the country in California. We look forward to her visits and hate it when it is time for her to leave. We always have such a great time with her. She is a wonderful aunt to my girls, sister to my husband and friend to me! Have a great day Renita...we love you!