Miss Hailey Paige is 3!

Miss Hailey, full of spunk, has turned 3! I had so much fun taking her pictures, and can't wait to do her Christmas pictures!

Some family shots...

This just makes me laugh!

Miss Lucy!

Sooo....I attempted to take pictures of Miss Lucy, who happens to be Olivia's best buddy, but Lucy had other ideas! It was really too late in the day to get good light, and she just didn't want to sit still for a second!

Awww...loving sisters!


I think Miss Jeanna was born to be a supermodel, so I may snag her for a little photoshoot, since she LOVES to pose!


So, Debbie....I expect a 'retake' in the near future, eh? I'll come to YOUR house, so maybe we can get Lucy a bit more comfortable!

Bella is 2 months old!

Bella Grace is 2 months old today! Of course I had to mark the occasion by taking some pictures of my sweet, bald baby girl!

Poor little unsuspecting Bella, smiling away, completely unaware of the toddler fingers about to jab her face...

A couple from yesterday...

Tired yawning girl...

Miss Livs saw me taking some pictures of Bells, and had to climb on the beanbag and wear a headband like Bella...

Remembering Stacey....

My friend Stacey, an inspiration to all, lost her battle to brain cancer yesterday. She fought it with all she had, for 5 long years.....she was the mother to 5 beautiful children.

Here is something written by her years ago, when she was in remission...

My name is Stacey McDaniel, and my life was turned upside down on April 8, 2003, when I was just 28 years old. I will back up a little.
In the spring of 2002, I started having twitching in my feet, and weird pains on my right side. I went to the doctor, and he told me it was psychological, or stress related. Also, my migraine headaches, that I had ALL of my life disappeared. I had 4 kids, and had decided that we wanted a fifth. I got pregnant, and then delivered a stillborn baby boy in August of 2002. After that, I rethought my life, and decided what I really wanted was to go to school and become a doctor, so in September I started pre-med at Olivet college.
I was doing really well, even with four kids. I discovered I was pregnant again in November of 2003. I thought, no problem, I can still go to school. Then I had the ultrasound, it was twins! I was elated! Two months later, at 17 weeks pregnant, I lost one of them, but I pushed on, never missing class, and getting excellent grades. I started to feel "off" some days. On April 7, I had strange twitching in my eyebrow. I blew it off, but later learned that this was a focal seizure.
On April 8, 2003, I had my first of many grand mal seizures. I was standing in the kitchen, 27 weeks pregnant, and talking on the phone to my babysitter (it was about a half hour until I left to take final exams for the semester). My friend called an ambulance, and then came over. They thought it was eclampsia, which would only be cured by delivering the baby, and at 27 weeks, my little Saylor Caroline didn't stand much of a chance.
They decided to do an CT scan just to rule out other possibilities. That lead to an MRI, and that lead to a biopsy. On April 18, 2003 I was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme stage 4. I cried for about an hour, and then asked what my options were. I was basically told, this was it, go home and make arrangements for death. I wanted to see my baby take her first steps, and be born healthy.
I switched hospitals, and ended up going to University of Michigan. Dr. Sager, a neurosurgeon, removed an egg sized tumor in the speech area of my brain. It was a 7 hour awake craniotomy, while pregnant, on May 18. I delivered the baby on June 2, at 34 weeks. 6 weeks premature, but healthy and 5 pounds. She was in NICU for only 5 days. 2 days after delivery, I went to start radiation. I did 35 rounds of radiation, and then in August I started 12 months of Temodar. I had a set back in October, I developed an infection, but the doctors didn't know where. I had a fever of 106, and a seizure (my last one!), and went into a 3 day coma.
After I awoke, I was fine, and have been fine since. I finished off my chemo the same week that I started classes back up at Olivet! I am almost finished with my first semester back to school, finals are in December. Dr. Larry Junck is my neuro-oncologist, and I thank him, and Dr. Sager for my life.
I want to offer encouragement to anybody out there that is diagnosed with this dreadful disease

You will not be forgotten, Stacey....your love, your compassion, and your strength will never be forgotten.

Little smiles!

Bella was lying in her boppy on the kitchen table, cooing and giving smiles, so of course I grabbed my camera!

And a couple more serious shots...

Labor day at the beach!

We went to the beach yesterday, as it was a gorgeous day!! We waited until late afternoon/early evening to go, to avoid crowds and the hot sun. The girls had a blast!

Bella's first beach experience, snoozing in Momma's arms...

Olivia made friends with the seagulls, she could've played with them for hours...

Loving their reflections on the ground...