We're Still Here

We're still here and we still love you guys. It has been a strange year for our whole family, very busy and life changing. I just really can't find time to blog, call, or email anyone these days. I know I have said all of this before and you could probably care less. The true fact is that I hate to write. It just never makes a lot of sense. I read everyone else's blogs and they sound so great and I wish I could come up with something like that!! I sometimes can't even think of something to reply with. So just know I am reading your blogs as often as I can and they are all wonderful and such a blessing to me.

I couldn't leave my post without telling you how proud I am of my kids. I hope you saw the paper Sunday and saw my son on the front page!! He made the play of the game (a 40 yard pass touchdown) in an Allstars Tournament this weekend. He is such an awesome athlete and we are so very proud of him. And Katie is a great athlete too or should I say the best gymnist I know. She amazes me at how fast she learns. Cheerleading is over, but she is still taking gym classes to better herself for next year's tryouts. I am so proud of her too!! And now there's Ella, the tornado, Fleming. She will surely be a great athlete or something like that one day. She is into everything. When I get one room clean, the other one is being hit by Ella. Oh, but what a joy she is and how she warms our hearts every day. I would spend my whole day cleaning up every day as long as I have that sweet precious smile to look at. Praise be to GOD that she is doing great!!!

Well, thanks for listening and I hope to hear from you guys. I havent been in church much lately because Ella or Kyle or somebody is sick or Tim has to work and it is so hard getting it together without him, but I wanted you to know how much I miss you guys and love you very much. Blessings on all of you!!!

Angela

"Life at the Flemings" Ella turns "1", Katie's 1st Comp., Kyle to the ER

What can I say, there is always excitement at the Fleming house. Let me first start with the two "good" things. We celebrated and rejoiced as Ella turned 1 year old last week. Like I said in my last post it is so hard to believe that Katie turned "12", now couple that with my other daughter turning "1". How awesome is that! I am so blessed to get to enjoy this time with Katie as she is becoming a young woman and at the same time start all over with Ella. It has been a long hard year, but worth every minute of it. We have enjoyed Ella so much and we are looking forward to many many more birthdays to come. We so much want her to be off of her medication and just be herself and not have to worry about anymore seizures. This is our prayer for the coming year, that Ella would be able to come off of the Phenobarbitol and not have another seizure "ever". Please join me in praying that for Ella.

Our other good thing is that Katie had her first competition yesterday. They did not win, but let me just say they did awesome. They had the worst practices this past week where they could not stick any of their stunts, the counting was off, and the tumbling was terrible. They got yelled at several times by the coach and the moral was just really down on Friday, but Saturday was great!!! They nailed all of it!! They did such a great job and were so proud. Katie even competed in a "jump off" doing toe touches, right hurdler, and pike and did an awesome job. We were so proud of them!! By the way, if anybody would like to see them and three other middle schools (new hope, north whitfield, valley point) perform in an exhibition, it is this coming Sunday (Sept. 28th) at Westside Middle School at 3:00, cost is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for students. It's not a competition, so no pressure for the girls!! Please come, Katie would love it!!!

Now, lastly, back to the ER we go, but this time not with Ella. While I was at Katie's competition in Rome Saturday, Kyle had a football game. Tim called as we were heading home and told me they were on their way to the Emergency Room. Kyle had hit a guy head-on and bounced back onto the ground on top of his head. For a few minutes he could not get up because he was feeling dizzy and sick to his stomach. The other coaches encouraged Tim to take him to the ER to be checked out. They told him that he probably just had a mild concussion and to just take it easy for the next couple of days. He has a huge knot on the back of his head and still feels a little weak and dizzy, but other than that he is fine. Football is such a scary sport and makes me very nervous. Kyle is a very tough and aggressive player, and I never thought he would get hurt, but who am I kiddin, they put them in gear from head to toe for a reason, and even that doesn't protect them. Anyway, I thank God he is okay and will just pray protection over him every time he hits the field.

Well, once again, I just tought I would update everyone on our exciting week. Hope you enjoyed it and will come back for the next exciting "Life at the Flemings".

My Baby Turned "12"

It is so hard to believe that my firstborn is now 12 years old. Where does the time go?? I feel like it was just yesterday that I was doing the same things for her that I am now doing for Ella. (Feeding her, bathing her, changing her diaper) Wow, just like the old saying, time flys when you're having fun!! It has been fun. Katie has been such a blessing to our whole family. She was the firstborn, so that in itself is special. We got to experience everything for the first time with her. And now at 12 years old we are still experiencing firsts. But what a great person to experience them with. She was very challenging as a young girl. She was a very strong willed child, and still is. However, she has always had a terrific attitude and a great personality. She loves Jesus and doesn't mind sharing that with other people. She is very well liked at school by her peers and by the teachers. Last year she was given the Ambassador of the Year award for the whole Westside Middle School. I know some of you are thinking, Katie Fleming, the young quiet girl that would rather just sit and listen than to talk to anyone. Well she is somewhat like that until you get to know her. She is a lot of fun and really smart. I don't know where she gets that from (probably my side). Anyway, if you don't know my beautiful 12 year old daughter, Katie, you are missing out on a blessing. Happy "12th" Birthday my sweet Katie! I love you very much and thank God for you each and every day.

I need to do more

Do you ever feel a lack of self worth? Do you ever feel that you need to be doing more? These questions have been bothering me for days now. I'm a stay at home mom as I have an 11 month old and there was never any doubt that I would always stay home with our children. I stayed home with our 12 year old and 10 year old until they started school. God blessed me with a job that I could do out of my home at that time. It was a great job and allowed me to be home with both kids until Kyle started school. After that I subbed and volunteered at their school almost every day and then became a parapro during Kyle's 3rd grade year and Katie's last year at the Elementary School. What more could any mom ask for? God knew where my heart was and knew how much I loved being with my kids. The following year God blessed us with Ella and once again I was able to stay home with her. I love being at home and having that special time with my children. I love being able to pick up Kyle from school and Katie from cheerleading. I love being able to go to school functions. I love having the house clean and supper cooked when Tim gets home from work (well not every day). All of this is so important to me. I wouldn't want it any other way, but I feel like I need to do more. I feel like I need to be bringing in an income to help with all of the expenses. I feel as if I'm not doing my part. Am I a horrible person for feeling this way as God has so blessed me with the ability to stay home. I just feel so guilty when I need to buy clothes or when I grab lunch out. Those of you who stay home do you ever feel this way? Let me just say Tim doesn't make me feel this way, he is wonderful! He encourages me to do things for myself and wants me to stay home. What a great husband God has blessed me with!!

As I was praying this morning I asked God to give me something that I could do that wouldn't take much time away from my kids, but that would give me a little extra money and help me feel like I was doing my part. Well almost immediately a friend of mine called wanting me to come to a Mary Kaye meeting to learn about selling Mary Kaye. She just started about two months ago and loves it. Well I love Mary Kaye products, but I hate parties. She said she did to and has never done one. Well that sounded great to me. If I could sell the products without doing parties, how awesome would that be.

Dont get me wrong in all of this because I know what I do is important to GOD. I know I'm doing what God wants me to do, but is it so bad to want to do more. Is it so bad to want to earn my own money and maybe get to spend time with others. I just want to please my Heavenly Father above all. I love you girls and knew that I could come to you for words of wisdom and encouragement.

To Catch You Up

Hi Friends!

I thought while Ella was taking a nap I would try to catch everyone up on what went on this summer at the Fleming household (if anyone cares). First of all, I guess everyone knows by now we moved. That is why I have not been able to blog for so long. We sold our house in the country and moved to the city. (Sounds like Green Acres, but just the opposite.) Tim was so tired of being so far out and the gas was killing us. I didn't think I would ever enjoy being back in the city especially not in a condo, but let me just say "I love it"!! I am eating my words and telling Tim how right he was every day. The kids are the happiest they have been in a long time. I really enjoy having Nancy so close and being so close to "everything" walmart, kroger, walmart, zaxby's, walmart, the mall, walmart.....I just love Walmart... I also love my condo. We bought a new one so we were able to take walls down and pick out everything. It was a lot of fun and we got it just like we want it. So I want to thank all of you for praying for me during that difficult time of having to sell my dream home. You knew that God was in control and He would not let me down. Thank you girls and thank you Lord!!

In June, Tim and I and the kids went to Naples, Florida for a week. We had the best time. The place we stay is called the LaPlaya (look it up). It is wonderful! The rooms are great...the view is awesome...and they cater to your every need. They have four pools and a hot tub. It's a great place to take your family. The only downfall is the drive. It is about a 10 hour drive. That was pretty hard with a baby, but it is worth it!!!

Also, in July, Tim and I and Ella went to St. Simons. Our favorite place to vacation!!! Tim had a conference there so Ella and I tagged along. Katie had cheerleading camp that same week so we didn't take Kyle either to be fair. It was very relaxing for me and Ella. This place also had several pools and a kiddie pool. Ella had just learned to walk so she had so much fun in the kiddie pool. She could stand up in her float and walk around. It was the cutest thing. She loves the water, but is not really crazy about the beach. I don't think the sand tasted too good!!!!

Finally the last vacation to Pigeon Forge with the family only Katie got to go. We were all supposed to go, but Tim could not get off from work and we really didn't need to spend the money. Dewey, Jo, Lisa, and Emma decided to go on and go so we decided to let Katie go for Emma. Kyle was okay with this after a few bribes. If you just mention buying baseball cards thats all it takes. He got to go last year so he was really fine staying home with us. Tim took one day off and we spent it with Kyle doing whatever he wanted to do.

Okay, I'm gonna try to wrap this up because I know I am boring you to death. Even though we had a great summer, it was still very hard knowing that this would be the last summer Dewey would be a pastor. It's all Tim has ever known and what I have been used to for 15 years. But I believe change is good and God is with us every step of the way. I'm excited to see what is in store for Dewey in his new endeavor and just the same for our church.

Now it is back to school time and back to reality. Katie started cheerleading practice with their first game next Saturday and their first competition September 20th at Northwest High School. If anyone would like to go please let me know. Kyle starts football practice next week. Tim is so excited that he gets to be the coach again this year, just kiddin....! Ella and I are enjoying our days at home so please call, email or come by anytime. We would love the company. I love you guys and I am so excited to be blogging again.

I'M BACK!!!!! YEA!!!

Hey friends! I'm back!! I can't believe it is working again. Cyndi you are awesome!!! I love you!!! I just want to start off by saying I have missed talking with you guys so much. I love this way of communicating with all of you. Sometimes it is so much easier to sit down and type than pick up the phone, especially when you want to call everybody!!!

How are all of you?? I hope doing great. I hope to get on each of your blogs and find out what is going on tonight or tomorrow. I guess you can imagine how crazy my life is right now. I know you all feel the same way. With school starting back, cheerleading going full force, football sign-ups, and the most significant right now, Ella and everything going on with her.

Let me just say she is doing great! She is walking everywhere and into everything. I can't take my eyes off of her for one minute!! Not only am I watching to see what she is getting into next, but since Sunday's seizure I have watched her every move. And that brings me to what happened Sunday. I have beat myself up about it ever since because I really feel like it was all my fault. Tim and I had decided that it was probably okay to miss a morning dose here and there. She is so much happier when we wait and give it to her at night. But we found out the hard way that we cannot do this. She absolutely has to have her morning dose and evening dose. I feel terrible, but I have learned my lesson and thank the Lord she is okay.

We did go see the neurologist on Tuesday and he said she looked great and seemed to be progressing just like a normal one year old. He was very reassuring and gave me peace of mind, which I really needed after the Sunday episode. He does not want to raise her dosage yet, even though she is older. He just wants me to be consistent and see if we can keep her on this dose a little longer. Thank you for all of your prayers, calls, and words of encouragement. Please continue to pray that she outgrows this real soon without any complications.

Once again I am so glad I get to blog with ya'll again and I promise to update all my pictures real soon. Most of you know where I am now, so please come visit anytime. I love all of you very much.

Angela

You Bless Me!

Hi Friends! Have I told you how Wonderful you are? Have I told you how much you bless me? You are all so sweet the way you genuinly care about me and my family. Thank you for your continued prayers and friendship during these strange and trying times in the Fleming Family. I know I have told you all this before, but I really feel like it needs to be said again. Thank you for loving and supporting Dewey and Jo during these past couple of years and giving them the strength to carry on. Thank you for loving and praying for Lisa during her difficult time as well without any judgement or ridicule. And thank you for being there for us on so many occasions with your kindness and open arms as we struggled with Ella's seizures. Even though we kept our distance from you, you reached out to us as a friend and Body of Christ should do. You all have taught me so much.

I have truly felt your prayers this week as I came a little closer to being at peace about selling my house. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us. I can't wait to see His will for our life. My devotion this morning was about God's will and it said that alot of times we just ask God's will to be done in our lives, but it is not that simple! We also need to ask God for spiritual wisdom and understanding. God's wisdom and understanding gives us the ability to discern each step. So as I ask God for His will and where we are supposed to live, I pray He fills me with the spiritual wisdom and understanding that I need. Does this make any sense? Does it sound strange since we are just moving to another house? I feel God has a purpose and plan for every move we make. This move is about becoming debt free (eventually) and about Tim not having to work extra jobs to make ends meet. I feel this move will lift a heavy burden off Tim, which will relieve some stress off the rest of the family. I am so excited and anxious to see what "door" God opens for us. But wherever it is, it will be full of "His love" and forever open to each of "you".

Also, I can't close without saying how blessed I was Sunday morning! If you haven't read Tammy's email, please ask me for it because she put it beautifully!!!! What an awesome church we have!!
Love to you all,
Angela

HELP

Well girls, you are not going to believe this!! Our realtor called tonight and we have an offer on our house. It was worth Tim staying up till 12:30 a.m. Saturday night cleaning. (which, by the way, I thought was good for him anyway because it showed him a little bit of what I do every day..) I don't really know what to say or how to feel. I have such mixed emotions. I know it is the right thing for us to do right now, but it is still very hard for me. I looooove my house, my dream house! I really thought we would be here a long time. But we have always felt that the Lord wanted me to be home with our children, so therefore, I didn't go back to work this year and this has been too much of a financial burden for my husband to carry alone. I know God has a reason for everything. I am just going to trust in Him!

So girls, what I need you to pray for first and foremost is a place to live by June 9th and that everything goes smoothly with the sell of our house. Secondly, that my children will adjust to the move and will feel safe and at home wherever we go. And thirdly, for me, that I will have a peace about this and a positive attitude so that I won't put anymore stress on my husband. He is very excited and very relieved to get out from under this pressure. When I asked him how he felt about it, he said he felt like a burden was lifted off his shoulders. He can now quit his second job and spend more time with his family. Which is the most important thing to him!!!!

You girls have told me before to come to you with my burdens and you would gladly lift them up in prayer so here I am asking again for you to come to my rescue. It feels so good to know ya'll are there. I'm so lucky to have such a great bunch of friends that I can come to with my happy times, sad times and hard times. I love ya'll "hireds" (I still don't think I know what that means), but if ya'll are "hireds" then I want to be one too. I'm laughing out loud when I write this because I don't know if it makes any sense. I'm tired, nervous, anxious, happy, sad, sick to my stomach, but full of HIS Grace!!!!!!! So I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me!!!!!!
Love ya'll
Angela

An Ode to my Friends!

This weekend with my friends could not have been funner
We laughed and we cried and got to know each other.

Some of us went to Gatlinburg to take a quick look
While others stayed at the cabin to scrapbook.

Nine of us decided we wanted to get "tats"
And my husband suggested Harley Davidson hats.

As we all came together to sit down for dinner
Brandi, Mary Beth, and Tiffany cooked us a winner.

Later that night we decided to play games
We had some sore loosers, but I won't name names.

As the weekend came to a close we gathered for prayer and goodbye
Tammy prayed for our church without a dry eye.

Before we left we scrunched together for one last photo shot
All 19 of us and 3 little tots.

On the way home I thanked God for my friends
Each one unique, but what a great blend!

Now to my friends, what can I say
Just know you are in my heart each and every day.

I pray God fills your home full of His love
And keeps His hand on you from Heaven above.

As I close this poem because I'm so tired
I just want to say, I'm so glad to be a "hired".

I love you girls and thank you for accepting me and making me feel a part of you.
Angela

My Best Friend

It's Thursday morning and I am leaving tomorrow for a weekend trip with 18 women from my church. I am so excited about getting away for a couple of days and spending time getting to know these wonderful ladies. God has blessed me with a group of strong christian friends who have encouraged me, inspired me, loved me, and prayed for me through some really tough times. Thank you ladies once again from the bottom to the top of my heart.

Now I say all of that to follow with this. Even though I can't wait to go and bond with my friends in Christ, I will miss my husband, my Best Friend, very much. He is the best husband and Dad anyone could ask for. He loves me unconditionally and puts up with my many imperfections. He encourages me and holds me together when I feel I am falling apart. He provides for me (working 2 jobs) just so I can stay home, but still manages to find time to be there for us, whether it be playing games, coaching ball, attending cheerleading competitions, or watching Ella at night to give me a break and much needed rest.

Wow, what an amazing man GOD has blessed me with and sometimes I feel I take that for granted. This is really the whole purpose of this message, to let my husband know how much he is loved and appreciated for all he does. I thank GOD for you every day and will miss you these next couple of days! I promise to take great care of our precious little Ella Grace.

Also, to my other two amazing children, I love you very much and am proud of both of you for what wonderful christian people you have become. I will miss you guys too and hope you have a great weekend with Dad and Nana. I know this sounds like I am going away for a long time when I am actually only going for three days, but I just wanted you guys to know how much you mean to me and how much you will be thought of while I am gone.

With All my Love,
Angela

YOU ARE AMAZING GOD!!

Just as the song says, You Are Amazing GOD!! The doctor just called and the MRI came back perfectly normal! Praise GOD! The doctor said every aspect of the MRI was completely normal. Ella is Completely Normal! I just had to say that again!! He said we would just stick to the plan and keep her on the medication for about a year and then taper her off and she should be just fine. I give all the glory to my Heavenly Father! And I thank each of you again for your love and support and prayers. You are amazing friends!!!!! I will write more later, but right now I just want to hold my baby.
I love you, Angela

Still Waiting!!

I spoke with our pediatrician's nurse today and she has made several calls to Emory and Egelston to try to find out the results of the MRI. It could be next week before we know anything. I can't believe the nurse at Egelston told us 24 to 48 hours. From what we understand now that is how long it takes for the MRI to process. Then it has to go to another department and be read and then to another to be typed and then sent to the ordering physician and then to our doctor. Also, we were not the only ones getting MRI's that day so we e to wait on others being done. Even though this is very frustrating having to wait on the doctors, God has given us an assurance that everything is fine! Ella is doing great and is progressing along wonderfully. She is on her hands and knees trying to crawl. And now can say ma ma, da da, and na na. She is so much fun and brings such joy to our lives. Katie and Kyle are wonderful with her and love her very much.

Now for the rest of the Fleming news! Katie has been having sinus problems for a long time now. She also snores pretty bad and has to breathe through her nose a lot. We went to the ENT yesterday and they want to do surgery on her May 8th. They want to take her tonsils and adenoids out so that she can get some relief and better sleep. Just one more thing for me to worry about. But I know God has his hands on her and will get us through it.

Thank you all again for the prayers and sweet messages for the Fleming family. We seem to have a lot going on in our lives right now and we are so greatful to have our friends praying for us. Please know that all of you are in our prayers as well. I read your blogs daily and receive such a blessing each time. God has given us a strong church family now and I can't tell you how much it has changed my life. I have been so afraid to talk to or open up to anyone in the past as I was afraid I would just get rejected or hurt some way. I really feel we have gotten past all that now and it feels good to be able to share my hurts and joys with my new friends in Christ! I love each one of you and pray God blesses you abundantly.

Love in Christ,
Angela

We're All Doing Great!

Hi Friends! Praise God, we are finally home and all feeling much better. We are so glad to have this behind us. Thank you so much for your prayers! We have been so blessed by all of your comments and love all of you very much. God is so faithful and once again carried us through another bump in the road. I can't believe I let fear set in again and let it make me sick. I believe that is all it was because I feel so much better now. The doctor said it would be 24 to 48 hours before the results came back so I will probably call on Thursday if I haven't heard from them. I'll let everyone know as soon as I do. Again, you all mean so much to me and my family and we thank you for your prayers and friendship.

Thank you for praying for Emma today too. She was doing great this afternoon, but has to stay out of school the rest of the week. She can go back Monday, but with limited playing, so just continue to pray that she feels like going back next week without any problems.

I know we are wearing you guys out with the Fleming family, but also remember Dewey and Jo as this has been a very tiring day for them too on top of worrying about what the future has to hold for them.

On a lighter note, Kyle won his earlybird baseball tournament on Saturday. He pitched all three games (not every inning) and did an awesome job. We are so proud of him!

And let's not forget about Katie. She starts cheerleading practice next week and starting in May they will be traveling to Stingrays in Atlanta once a week to learn their routine. We had a great response on the donations, but if anyone knows of any businesses that will donate for a tax write-off please let us know. Katie is very embarrassed to ask anyone (as am I). Thanks so much to the ones who gave.

Well, I will end my saga with this! The Fleming Family loves all of you to pieces. I can't tell you enough how thankful we are to have you in our lives. Checking my blog, emails, phone messages, etc. is the highlight of my day to hear all of the sweet messages and see how blessed I am to have you guys in my life.

Love to you all, Angela

MRI Update and prayers for Mommy....

Dear Friends,

I spoke with Angela on the phone about an hour ago and they were on their way home from Atlanta. Ella did have the MRI done today. Ella woke up from the MRI just fine and is doing well. Angela was very relieved! But, they do not know the results of the MRI yet. The doctors told them to expect to hear something on the results in the next 24 to 48 hours. Please continue to pray for excellent results on the MRI.

But, could you please pray for Angela? She did not ask me to post this prayer request, but I just want us all praying for her. She woke up with a terrible headache today and was not feeling well at all. Then, once they left the hospital and were headed to get some lunch and then back home, she got very sick and was throwing up and just feeling rotten. She doesn't know if it is from the stress of it all or just a bug of some kind. But, I know it must have been hard for her to concentrate and focus when she wasn't feeling well. So, please pray for them to travel home safely and for Angela to feel better.

Also, one last thing is this. Emma had her tonsils and adenoids removed today. So, Dewey and Jo were with Lisa and Emma today while Emma had her surgery done in Calhoun. Angela said that Emma is home now and came through her surgery just fine. But, please pray for Emma too when you are lifting up Ella and Angela in your prayers!! We love this precious family and I know you all do not mind my asking for prayers on their behalf!

Praise the Lord for a smooth MRI for Ella and a successful surgery for Emma. Let's continue to lift up the Fleming family as we wait patiently for the MRI results! He is in control and we can trust His loving, strong hands!!

Thank you all for checking on them and for praying for them!!!!

Because He Lives,

Cyndi

Thank You, Lord!!

I just want to thank the Lord for all my blessings. Sometimes when I get down and think what else can go wrong, God always reminds me of my many, many, many blessings. I have a wonderful, beautiful family! I have faithful, beautiful friends! I have an awesome church and pastor! And most of all, I have the Lord!! He is always with me to hold me when I feel I can't stand any longer. Thank You, Lord!! And thanks to my dear friends for always listening and praying for our family. The latest on Ella is that she now has bronchitis and has to take breathing treatments. I hate to have to put her on more medication, but we need to do what is necessary to keep her healthy so we can possibly do the MRI in two weeks (April 15th). I believe we are going ahead with the MRI. I have asked some of you to pray that we make the right decision because we wondered if maybe God was telling us not to do this at this time. Since we already have it scheduled we will go ahead and pray that God will abort it again if that is his intention. Dr. Rafai said we would need to do it at some point anyway so we might as well go ahead. I love you guys and can't wait until I can send a message without asking you to pray. I hope I can be there for ya'll the way you have been there for me. Love ya, Angela

MRI Update... Waiting Patiently...

Dear friends,

First of all, I know that Tim and Angie want to thank you for your prayers and for the dinners and for checking on Ella at every turn! Also, thank you for your prayers for them today, MRI day, as they earlier traveled to and are now traveling back home from Atlanta.

Nancy sent an update from Angie. The MRI in Atlanta was scheduled for 9:00 AM today. Unfortunately, the doctors would not do the MRI on Ella today due to the fact that she has a nasal drip/cold. They have rescheduled the MRI for April 15th.

This was hard for Tim and Angie to hear since there were MORE THAN READY to have this done today and get some more answers. But, Angie did say that there MUST be a reason that God didn't allow it to happen today.

So, please pray that Ella begins to have some relief from her cold symptoms and pray that she continues to do well on the medication. Also pray that she does not have a cold or any symptoms on the 15th of April. Also, please pray for peace for Tim and Angie and their whole family while they wait for the rescheduled MRI on April 15th. We know that we can trust Him and that His timing is perfect! But, sometimes it is extremely difficult, with our imperfect minds, to wait patiently!

Because He Lives,

Cyndi

YEA! GO KATIE!

She did it guys! She made the team. We are so excited. Who wants to donate money??? Just kidding! However, she does have to get corporate sponsers, but I will let her take care of that. Thanks for encouraging her! Maybe some of you can bring your girls and go to a competition with us. It's really loud, but a lot of fun!!! I had to pick Kyle up from school today with a fever, but doctor said it was not strep. Whew!!! He put him on an antibiotic anyway and a cough medicine so hopefully he will feel better soon. Ella had a pretty good day today (1st day without Keppra). I'm a bundle of nerves, but whats new!! Thanks for reading my blog. You all are the greatest friends and I hope to become great bloggers like you. Love ya'll, Angela

ELLA is Doing GREAT!!

Hello Friends! I just wanted to update everyone on things around the Fleming house. Ella seems to be adjusting to her medication alot better. She is more her joyful self these days. She is sitting up without help and already talking saying, "da da" and "na na", of course. What is it with babies not saying ma ma first? Anyway, please continue to keep her in your prayers as we take her off the first medication (Keppra) tomorrow. Pray that the Phenobarbital will take care of her seizures alone. Also, remember us on April 1st (Tuesday) as we go down to Atlanta for the MRI. I will update you when we get back. I know this is Ella's blog, but I don't want to leave out the rest of my wonderful family so please remember Katie today as she tries out for cheerleading. She was a bit nervous this morning, but I know she will do great. Kyle and Tim are doing okay except for sore throats that will not go away. They don't seem to have strep, but are still feeling pretty bad. As for me, I am doing great and my nerves seem to have calm down quite a bit (until Tuesday). I still need some medical transcription to do at home if anyone knows a doctor looking. I have 10 years experience and everything I need to do the job. To all of you who have brought us dinners, I cannot thank you enough!!! It has been so wonderful to not have to worry about that right now. Besides, I don't know how I would cook and hold Ella at the same time!!! What a blessing you all have been to us with all of your sweet notes, calls, visits, and dinners. We pray God blesses each of you abundantly! I am so thankful for my friends and I can't wait to share this experience with Ella when she gets older. I love you all very much! Angela and The Fleming Five

MRI is Scheduled

Hello my dear and precious friends! Ella is doing great. We are so happy that she hasn't had anymore seizures. GOD hears our prayers!! I just wanted to let you know I got a call today and they have scheduled her MRI for Tuesday, April 1st at 9:00 a.m. I just talked with the nurse at Egleston and she said that they would put in an IV that would heavily sedate her and the test would last 30 minutes. It really scares me to sedate her, but the hardest part for me is that I can't go back with her. Please pray that God will hold Ella and comfort her during her procedure and that everything will come back normal. Also, pray that God will give Tim and me strength so that we can be strong for Ella. Thank you guys for everything. The food has been wonderful and such a blessing. I pray God blesses each of you abundantly. We love you, The Flemings

JESUS NEVER FAILS!

Hi Everyone! I can't begin to tell you how grateful we are for all of your prayers, visits, calls, meals, etc. You have been such a blessing to all of us and we can't thank you enough. This week has been the worst week of our lives, but we felt your prayers and GOD heard them. PRAISE be to GOD!!! Ella has not had a seizure since Wednesday and we pray that was the last. We are trying to get her adjusted to her medication at this point. The doctor said it may take a little while for her body to adjust so please continue to pray. Your love and support is incredible. We love you.

Tim, Angela, Katie, Kyle, and Ella G.

Our God is SO GOOD!!

Dear Friends,

Angie just called me and gave me a report from the doctor's visit. The Neurologist, Dr. Olsen said that Ella is doing WONDERFUL!! He said that she will be fine!! Did you read that last sentence? She is going to be OK! He said that she is having focal seizures. There are 2 types of seizures, one type is where they know exactly what causes them and the other type, they have no idea what causes them. Ella is having the type of seizures that they have no idea what is causing them.

Dr. Olsen said that these seizures are nothing to be alarmed about, which I must say is easy for him to say. :) He also said that Ella is on the wrong medication for a baby. He said that "Keppra" goes right through a baby and doesn't help the seizures. He changed her medication from "Keppra" to "Phenobarbital". He said that this medication should help control the seizures and he doesn't feel she will have another seizure after being on this medication. She will start that medication today when they get home.

He did state that the EEG looks OK to him. He does not rely on EEG results to determine what is going on. So, he wasn't alarmed by the EEG results. He relies on an MRI. He has ordered one to be done on Ella and that should take place within the next 2 weeks. They will have to take Ella back to Atlanta for the MRI. One huge prayer request from Angie is that they WILL have to put Ella to sleep when she undergoes the MRI. That is an area of concern for her, so if you could please be praying that the MRI is scheduled quickly and that it goes smoothly! They will of course, know more, once those results are back. So, Tim and Angie will be relieved to clear that next hurdle.

Dr. Olsen did advise them not to go back to the ER anymore when Ella has a seizure. He said that they don't know how to take care of them or treat them. The only reason they should have to go to the ER is if the seizure lasts 30 minutes or longer. If a seizure lasts more than 4 or 5 minutes, they are to give her some medication right then and call the doctor, but otherwise, he advised them not to be alarmed.

Dr. Olsen DID say that developmentally, Ella is doing GREAT and there should be no long term effects of the seizures she has had thus far this week!!! Praise the Lord for His goodness!! He seems to be of the opinion that she will be fine and that she will outgrow these seizures. They were on the way home when Angie called me, so please pray for them to travel home safely! They were stopping to get something to eat and then finishing the trip. I will say that Angie sounded very good. There was a calm and a peace in her voice. You could tell she was relieved to have this visit out of the way and to have such a good report!!! She also asked me to tell everyone how grateful they are for the support, the prayers, the phone calls, the meals that we have sent and will be sending! She wanted to make sure you all know how much they love you!

(Jeremiah 29:11 - 'For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord- Plans to give you a hope and a future...') Our God is SO GOOD!!! He hears our prayers! Angie said that herself, that she feels God truly heard our prayers for Ella this week!! How AWESOME He is!!!

Praise The Lord for a Quiet Morning!!

Nancy was with Angie and Ella Grace this morning and she called to let us know that Ella Grace did NOT have a seizure this morning. PRAISE THE LORD for a quiet, uneventful morning for her!! Also, Nancy told us that the medicine that Ella Grace is on is named 'Keppra'. She takes it twice a day to control the seizures.

Dewey, Tim, and Angie left around Noon today to take Ella Grace to Emory to see the Pediatric Neurologist. We can be praying for their safe travel there and back home later today. We will let you know when we hear from them on how the visit with the neurologist went today. Continue to pray for them and all the steps they are taking right now. Pray for the doctor visit to be a positive one and for them to have a peace about all that is said and done at Emory today.

Prayers for Ella Grace

Hello everyone! We have created a family blog to continue to post updates on Ella Grace, and to provide a place for friends and family to easily leave messages, prayers and comments (and hopefully we can help to save some room in your Inboxes as well). As you all know, we will be traveling to Atlanta tomorrow (Thursday, 3/13) to see a Pediatric Neurologist and very much appreciate your continued prayers and support! This picture is from our first day in the hospital while Ella Grace was getting her EEG done. She had a fabulous hair-do for a while, don't you think? I wonder what the stylists from hair night think of this new hair 'trend'.