Still I Rise

I wanted to share this poem with you today from one of my favorite poets. I'm sure some of you have heard it before, and for those of you who have not, enjoy! This poem means a lot to me right now.

Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou


You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Happy Monday!

Hello all! Well, the grandmothers have had a tough go at life here lately. As you all know, Phyllis has been very ill lately, but we think is slowly improving. She had an appointment with the Cardiologist this morning at 10 so we will know more once we hear from her about that. We went up to Arkansas this weekend and we were really relieved just to go and see her and see that she seems to be doing a little better. She gets tired very easily and winded pretty quickly, but I suppose that is all to be expected when you are dealing with heart problems. In the meantime, we continue to pray for her recovery and we continue to be so grateful that this problem was caught when it was. My Mom was diagnosed with Osteoporosis recently and goes to see a specialist about that next week and she also developed another bladder infection over the weekend. She seems to get 2 or 3 a year now for the past couple of years for some reason. Hopefully that will get better and not into her kidneys, so we pray for her recovery as well.

Maybe it's my hormones talking, but when things like this happen to your family, it really gives you a reality check and you realize that family is the most precious gift we all have in life and I am certainly thankful for mine. I've lost a lot of my family in the past few years, so I am very thankful for those who are still here and very thankful for Davin's family, as they are my family too. I think we should all give thanks for our family, friends and loved ones not just at Thanksgiving in a few eeks, but everyday and cherish the time we have together and take advantage of all the opportunities we have to make memories together. In addition to my family, I am VERY grateful for our AWESOME surrogate family of friends we have: Denisha and her family, Mike, John and Ashley, Erica and Casey, Pat and Angel, Taryn, Jason, and so many others who really do mean the world to us! You guys are WONDERFUL and we love you all very much!

Okay, I'll stop being mushy now....I have some really cute pictures from our visit to Arkansas that I will post either tonight or tomorrow because I don't have to work tomorrow due to the Veteran's Day Holiday! And on that note, let us all give thanks for all the brave men and women who have served and who are currently serving our country! God bless them all!

Love,
Spencer

Some Good News!

Mimi got to go home last night! Yay! She's not out of the woods yet, but we are so thankful that she is at home resting instead of in the hospital! Davin, Hayden, and I are going up to Arkansas tomorrow afternoon and we can't wait to see her. I know we will all feel better once we are there with her. You always feel so helpless in these situations when you aren't able to be there. Please keep our family in your prayers as we may have a long road ahead of us. Thanks you so much for all the prayers and well wished we received from you all! I will keep you all posted.
Love,
Spencer

Mimi Update and Halloween Pics

Update on Mimi:

She does not have pneumonia, but rather is very sick and having some heart problems. She is still in the hospital and will undergo some more tests next week. Please continue to keep her and all of her (and our) family in your prayers. We love you very much Mimi!

Halloween Photos:

We had a few friends over and cooked out for Halloween. It was nice and everyone looked great! Here are a few pictures of our little bumble bee and Mommy and Daddy!

Our little bee with Brody


Halloween Family


Bumble Bee and Daddy


Mischievous Bee


In his super cute Halloween shirt from Mimi!

Prayers for Mimi please!

Hi everyone. Phyllis (Mimi/Davin's mom) called us last night to tell us that she had been admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. She has been sick the past couple of weeks not being able to breathe, and having some pain in her chest so she went to the doctor recently and he/she told her that she must have developed asthma. That seemed very strange and when I talked to her this Monday or Tuesday she sounded terrible and I asked if she was feeling any better and she really wasn't. Well, she went back tot he doctor yesterday and they did an x-ray which showed lots of fluid in her lungs (one especially), so they admitted her immediately for pneumonia. She will have her lung drained is also going to have an EKG done this morning, so hopefully we will get some good news then. In the meantime, please pray for Mimi as we are and hope that she feels better very soon!
Love,
Spencer

Peyton Update

I went to the doctor this morning for my monthly check-up and she says that everything is going very well with the baby! The sonogram looked great and she has a very strong heartbeat! I heard it again today and it is so fast! She moves around constantly and I can feel her move more and more each day! I go back to the doctor on Nov. 25th right before Thanksgiving, so I will let you know how that goes too! My scar has been holding up very well too for those of you who have been asking me about my scar stretching. So far, no stretching and no tissue dying anywhere so hopefully I will make it through this pregnancy unscathed and not have to have another surgery like I did last year! As long as Peyton gets here safely and is born healthy, I can handle whatever problems I might face along the way. I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Spencer

Missing Daddy!!!!

Hi everyone! This has been a weird few days here! Davin has been gone a lot lately working, but I think this is the longest consecutive amount of time he has been gone. Hayden and I basically haven't seen Davin since Monday and he won't be home until late tomorrow night or Tuesday! We miss him bunches!!! Every time Hayden sees a white truck he screams, "DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He is such a Daddy's boy! Ashley, Hayden and I went to look for fabric for Peyton's room this weekend and we had no luck! I just haven't found anything I really like yet. I absolutely HATE pink (those of you who really know me already know that)and of course Davin isn't a fan so we are really trying to find a pretty pale yellow and pale pink (just a few accents, not too much pink and not that Pepto Bismol or Fuchsia color!) pattern of some kind and it's very hard because everything is either PINK AND GREEN or PINK AND BROWN!!!! Jeez!!!! Hopefully Davin will be able to go with us next weekend to look and we'll have better luck! I am going to my doctor tomorrow for my monthly check-up and to go over last week's big sonogram so I'll let you know how all that goes. Hayden is just a handful and let me tell you, when you are five months pregnant, stressed from work and school, and just plain tired...he is very hard to keep up with by myself! He is just the sweetest thing though so it's hard to stay irritated with him for very long! Well, speaking of the little monkey, he is getting restless and wants to go finish Mary Poppins so I guess that's what I'm going to go do now! Ha!
Love to you all!
-S

Here's a few pics from our weekend...Hayden got to see where Uncle John works this weekend when he and Ashley and I took dinner out to the firefighters! He was amazed by the big trucks!


Swinging with Mommy!


Swinging at the park!


He's not too sure about this big truck....


Hayden with Uncle John at the firehouse!


His cute shirt from Mimi...he was not in a good mood yet; he just woke up from his nap!