Happy Holidays! FAMILY UPDATE

Well, here is a quick update and we'll go on from there!

MOM: No Chemo, No radiation! Praise the Lord! She's doing great and looking great! She was also able to take a test to see if she carried a mutated cancer gene that could be passed down to daughters/grandaughters (and there are many!) AND... she does not have it! All great news!

DUSTY: He is busy with his commercial painting business. He was building houses but with the housing crash (or whatever it is!) he branched out and is running painting crews. They work all over the southeast and have recently painted a Pottery Barn, Chic-Fil-A, Ann Taylor, Office Depot, Men's Wearhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse... the list goes on. The great thing is that he does NOT always have to travel with them so he is still home a lot! He's really enjoying running the business. He's still an avid reader, a fisherman, and an all around great guy! :o) He's the best Dad and loves playing with the kids, too!

ARIN: (Me) I LOVE being a stay at home Mom and I'm very thankful I get to stay home! Anson and Ella keep me busy! I enjoy going to the park, shopping, taking a class at church once a week, and doing Dusty's bookkeeping. Just before Ella was born I pulled out the old sewing machine and started making handbags! I really enjoy sewing and making customized bags, mostly for gifts. So that is what I do during the sacred "naptime" at the Rollins Home!

ANSON: He loves being alive! He has so much energy and is always on the go. He is 2 1/2 now. He enjoys building with blocks, lining up his toy cars, watching videos (we still don't have a TV!!),playing with anything that resembles a bat and ball, and tormenting our Chihuahua, Bella I have to keep them separated most of the time for my sanity! He also likes to help and has a very sweet heart. His imagination is starting to kick in too... the other day he went into great detail about how his elephant threw his lollipop on the ground so Anson had to punish him. After he did, he hugged him and told him he loved him! Wonder where he got that idea?? Dusty has taken him a couple times to the Atlanta airport to see the jets take-off and land. And this fall we've been having fires in the backyard which he loves! He is adjusting very well to being a brother. He hugs and kisses Ella everyday without my prompting and is very helpful getting things for me. On to Ella...

ELLA: She is now 3 months old and is such a sweetie! She's already sleeping through the night from 7:30 to 7:00! And when I go in to get her in the mornings or after naptime, almost always she's just laying there sucking her thumb, smiling! What a blessing! At her 2 month chek-up, our pediatrician found a click in her hip. He referred us to an orthopaedist. We were pretty "freaked out", but the orthopaedist, after taking x-rays, said it is a very mild case of DDH (Developmental Displaysia of the Hip) very common in girls (1 in 3000). She goes Friday for a more detailed ultrasound and then back to the Orthopaedist to get a hip sling that she will have to wear from 8 to 12 weeks. It is a contraption that keeps her hips flexed outward until they fully develop. BUT, the good news is that it is not serious since they caught it so early. Cases that they don't catch end up with a limp (one leg shorter) or more serious hip problems. Next week some time we'll have all the results and treatment info. It does not hurt her at all, and other than that, she is fine!!

Update on Mom

Thank you so much for all of the prayers for my Mom (Gail Camp)! As most of you know, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in July and had a mastectomy on September 6th. She is recovering very well from the surgery which went perfectly. They also removed many lymph nodes which were suspect. As it turns out, only one lymph node was affected! That was great news! She is consulting with a cancer specialist in Gainesville, FL who has decided that she does not need to have chemotherapy! Another answer to prayer! Chemo is so hard on your body and no one wanted to see her have to go through those treatments. So at this point it looks like she will start taking a hormone pill everyday for the next 5 years as her treatment. This is very costly, though, and insurance does not cover it, so please pray for God's continued provision for them. She still has a consultation with a radiologist to see if he thinks she needs radiation... so we will see. But to sum things up, her prognosis is great and she is on the mend! Another survivor! Please continue to keep her in your prayers and I will keep you posted on her progress.

1 month old!

Well, Ella is now 1 month old and she is doing really well! She continues to eat and sleep well and usually only wakes up once in the night to eat. Yesterday she broke a record and was awake for 3 solid hours! She fell asleep just as we got to the park so she missed the whole thing again! Oh well... the life of a baby!

Anson is doing great also and getting used to being a big brother. He is really sweet to Ella and still loves to "see" her and kiss and hug her. We are enjoying the cooler fall weather by taking outings to the parks and playgrounds and going on daily walks. (This job of being a Mom has the be the best!) Anson goes to a neighborhood playgroup on Thursday afternoons and loves it! We also go to a Bible Study on Tuesday mornings at our church where he goes to his own class. He always has such a great time. He is really learning how to communicate. Last week he counted to 10! And now we are working on the days of the week. He seems to learn things on his own. I hope he keeps it up when he starts school!

Dusty is keeping very busy with the commercial painting business. He has 3 crews of painters working all over the South on places like Pottery Barn, Ann Taylor, Chic-Fil-A, Men's Wearhouse, etc. Most of these are new construction. They start a big Office Depot next week. He doesn't have to travel too much which is nice. He is such a great help with the kids. Anson loves to ride in Daddy's truck and go on special errands with him. Most of the time they behave themselves!

Well, we're looking forward to our first trip to Florida with Ella! We are going next weekend for Auntie Brittany's baby shower and Gramma's birthday! Gramma and Papa Camp will get to meet Ella for the first time on Gramma's birthday! Stay tuned for pictures of our trip!

3 Weeks today!

Well, Ella is already 3 weeks old! She is such a sweet addition to the family and we are enjoying every minute with her! She is just now starting to wake up more and having more alert times during the day. Anson likes to "see Ella baby" and wants to lay by her all the time. When we ask him what Ella says he replies, "maaaaaa" (like a cry) even though she doesn't cry very often!

On Sunday we were coming home from Church and we overheard Anson say "1,2,3,4,5, 6!" He counted to six all on his own! Today he added 7 and 8! I guess all the books we read sink in after all! What a kid!

Not much else new but I will add another recent pic...

Welcome Baby Ella!

Hi All!

We are new to this "blogging" thing... but here we go!

We welcomed Ella Kathleen into the world on September 12, 2007! She is so sweet and doing really well. She still sleeps a lot and eats well. She was 9 pounds 8 ounces so she likes her meals! I love having large babies! Big brother Anson just loves his little sis and likes to hold her and kiss her. Very Sweet! He is also craving attention right now and finding new ways to get it! (i.e. driving Mommy crazy with nonsense talk and saying "Mommy" repeatedly for 5 minutes even when I say "Yes, Anson" What do you want? ") But I'm sure it's just a phase he's going through!

I'm going to put some pictures up and try to keep this current.. we'll see how that goes!

See you soon...