A long post!

On the Saturday before Mother's Day, Brooke, Suzanna and I went home to visit. My Aunt Gay from Tennessee was there.... she thinks this little girl is about it. We are going to have to try to get down to visit her sometime this summer. This is Aunt Gay and Brooke enjoying some outdoor time We then headed on to my mom and dad's house and spent the day there with them. The girls were able to play outside most of the day and had a great time. Brooke loves playing with bubbles and she works hard at it! Here is a rare occassion where I was able to get both girls sitting and looking at the camera at the same time. Brooke reminds me of Nellie from Little House On The Prairie... actually I call her that all the time :) Here we have Suzanna with Jody. Let me just tell you this dog is a PITA! I love her but dang I don't think I have the patience for a puppy. On Mother's Day, Suzanna and Brooke and I went to church. I love this picture of them! Brooke wouldn't cooperate a whole lot on this day when it came to getting pictures. But I thought this was a cute one. Next we have Memorial Day. I am sure that it is a surprise to many people that I am constantly dressing my baby girl up in dresses. But I gotta tell you, I love it! Don't get me wrong.... she is not all girly, girl. She loves to play ball and roll around in the dirt...but I do love getting her dressed for the occassion! In this first picture, she did this little "pose" and held her little leg funny. I got to giggling and so did she...the result is picture number 2! It's rained alot over the past couple of weeks. This picture was taken last week when she and I were getting ready to go out for dinner with my friend Amy and her kids. As much as what I love to buy the silly clothes and stuff.... Brooke LOVES to wear them. She was NOT leaving the house without her rainboots and "raindress" as she calls it. And then here we are yesterday.... Brooke was all ready to go to the swimming pool. She was too anxious to wait for me and the little turkey opened the front door. Needless to say, we now have safety handles on all of the doors so she can't get out. She is a busy girl.

And last but not least, we have a picture of Jody. Jody will be 8 months old on Tuesday and I have determined that puppies start their terrible 2's at rougly 7 months. So... our house is interesting. Can't you just see the mischief in her eyes?

I've had alot of people asking me where things are at with Brooke. They are no further along than what they were before. In fact, I sort of feel like we have taken a couple of steps backwards. The thing is this.... at this point, to her I am mommy and to me she is my child. I can't control this situation as hard as what I have tried. All I can do is make sure that she is happy and healthy and provide her with the best life I am capable of providing to her. We are already enjoying the summer - we've been fishing and swimming and to a BBQ - we will continue to do all of those things and enjoy life to the fullest.

I will provide updates on this website and you can bet that when something changes....good or bad...I will let everyone know. Also, whatever you do, please do not talk about the situation in front of Brooke. I belielve that she is beginning to have some understanding or at least confusion of what is happening. I do not ever want Brooke to feel anxiety or sadness over all of this...she needs to just have fun and be two. She just needs to know that we all love her very much. The best thing you can do for us is pray - I no longer have a specific prayer. My prayer is simple - that God leads Brooke to a happy and healthy life, surrounded by people who love her and that He protects her and keeps her safe.

Stay tuned for another post real soon - Brooke was able to spend several days with my parents and I want to post some of those pictures. The girl is spoiled!