Day one in Memphis is coming to a close. Ivee is doing well, but sedation always makes her cranky. Hopefully she will sleep well tonight. I don't know if mommy will be her bed partner tonight or not. I think it is time for Brittney to have a turn.
We won't know the MRI results until Wednesday when I meet with the RO. Her eye exam was good today. No problems and the doctor is pleased with how her eye has "fixed" itself after the surgery to remove the scar tissue. More test and appointments the next three days. I'll keep posting.

My work

Here are some of the pieces I have created. The videos on this sight I created as well (from and for personal reasons). I have also created picture movies for special occasions (weddings, funerals, parties). Just a sample of some pics.

Here is a logo I created for a school.

This was the front of a Christmas Program.

This was for an armed forces holiday.

This was for a sign on the church premises.


This was for a web topper.

This was for a singles ministry shirt and more.

An Update...Finally

We are headed to St. Jude this weekend. Ivee has appointments all next week, MRI on Monday. We are once again praying for a clear scan, on this her 2nd year checkup. This time is always a little nerve racking for me and Em. You just dread the results, not knowing. BUT, God is in control. He is always working out his plan. And even though we don't know or always comprehend it we know that He works good for those who love Him and are called according to his purpose.
I am now home with the kids. Budgeting without my income is "tight" but we are doing okay. I haven't cooked this much in...well, ever! I am looking for work to do from home though. I will be posting some of my "portfolio" to get out there on my other website (the one I truly neglected). So if you know of anyone or any company that needs a design made, a PowerPoint presentation designed, movie of pictures or video made for presents, picture fixed or more, let them know that I am cheap! It would just help to have the extra work. I have years of design experience from my previous job and really enjoy working on posters, pictures, and logos. So, they can contact me anytime. Just give them this web link, and once I get some portfolio pics up, they can see some of my past work. Thanks, and keep on praying! God bless.

Time is running out....

My last Sunday at Faith Family (my church) is this Sunday. I am sad but excited! God has something in store for us, and we are stepping out in faith to see what it is. Many have asked where we are going. The answer: DON'T KNOW!! When in the last year have we had a chance to go anywhere else to visit? I've been leading worship the whole time. Em and I have prayed for a long time and this has not been a hasty decision. Much prayer has gone into this. So, we can now step out on faith knowing that God has a plan. We are not sure if he will lead us to a place where my skills can be used. I do love leading worship, but I can worship from my home or car. I don't mind taking a sabbatical for a little while though. It's been a very busy time for us these past years, and a rest would be greatly appreciated. (Not that you can really rest at home cleaning with 3 kids!)
We return to St. Jude at the end of June/First of July. Ivee is doing well. She wants to walk (of course with assistance) all the time. She ask often, and she is quite addicted to "i-cream" as she so affectionately calls it. Brittney and Ethan are finishing up school this week. They are doing well. Britt will be 13 this year. I will be the mom of a teenager...ahhhhh!
In September, Em and I will take a much needed and anticipated vacation...cruising to Mexico. (Via no hurricanes) The hard part of this will be leaving Ivee for 5 days with the grandparents. (I think Mommy will handle it fine, I'm worried about the daddy!)
My friend Deborah had her baby...finally. Congrats to her and Blayne. He is beauiful, and hopefully this one will look a little like Deb....maybe?!!!
My friend Matt and my brother-in-law Chris are still on deployment so I continue to pray for them. Say a prayer for my sis Sonia and my friend Ange and all the kids during this time when the dads are away.
Sonia had a birthday on Tuesday...we are now a year apart in age!!! She is getting old....lol!
And finally, my neice Whitney is going to stay with us for at least 1/2 of the summer. Once you have 3 kids, one more isn't so bad...unless they are bad...and she is not that bad!
Continue to remember Ivee in your prayers as we venture into the 2 1/2 year mark of this journey. I promise...once I'm not working I will update more and with Pics of the birthday party. God Bless!!!

Ivee did it...maybe not on purpose...but she did it

After Ivee woke up from her nap today, her "breaf" stank!!! So I took her to our bathroom. I just sat her on the potty and daddy gave her a toothbrush. I walked off and came back a few minutes later, and then we "smelt" it! She went poopy and tee-tee in the potty. We praised her and showed Ethan and Britt...and believe it or not..>YES< they came and looked. We all praised her, so hopefully this will be the beginning of a potty filled future!

Yes, Don't Faint!!!

Yes, I am updating my blog. Don't faint or anything. Ivee's 3rd birthday was this past weekend and I will post pics and more about that when I am updating from home. At the moment I am in the office. I was listening to a pastor on TV this morning and was struck by something he said. He was speaking on our "motives" in our "desire and prayers." He brought up the story of Paul and Silas in jail (Acts chapter 16) and how they had been beaten severely for their beliefs and preaching (probably a few times over). We, having the story in front of us, already know how the story will end, but they didn't have the "manuscript" in front of them knowing that God would free them from their chains. In the midst of their circumstance, you didn't hear them whining about the bruises or cuts. Saying, "Why won't you deliver us Lord? Oh, I could use some ointment for this cut. Does it look as bad as it feels?" And the like! No!! In verse 25 of chapter 16, "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." We know that suddenly a moment later there was a great earthquake and they were freed and able to escape with their lives to preach again. NO...they did not know what was going to happen to them. For all they knew, and what we can assume, is that soon they might be meeting their Savior face to face. They counted it joy to face their trials and circumstance. They were singing and praising their God!!
So, what did this bring to my mind as I pondered it...glad you asked. With the election of a new president and the governmental decline we have seen...well all I hear is a bunch of whining! Yes, I know we are concerned, and frankly we should be. But, where is the praying for the leadership? Where is the praising God in the midst of circumstances? Who is listening to our lamenting? In the midst of our circumstances all I here is...I already pay taxes for this and that...Nobodies taking my guns and such...Who is this idiot in office now...What about this...What about that... Oh, God please deliver us...O, God this...and O, God that.
Now to the matter at hand. Why are you calling on the name of God? What is your hearts condition in your asking? Let's give example.
You want to be out of debt, so you pray, "Oh, God, help me to be debt free!" Let us look at the facts. How long did it take you to get into debt? A year? Two years? Ten years? But yet you want God to get you out of debt today! Not that he can't do it, but he knows the motives of our heart. You are the one who got yourself into debt, don't' you think that God will make you work to get out of it! Now God does love us and desires for us to be "debt" free, but if in that moment he delivered you, would you still return to him? It is a matter of the heart.
Paul and Silas were lifting praises to God at that moment because their hearts were focused on Kingdom things. And the PRISONERS around them heard. Who do you think was touched by this? What do you think ran through their minds? Why would the prison guard in verse 30 want to know how to be saved? What do those around us here? Do they hear us saying that I shall not fear, or do they hear us whining and lamenting..."Woahest Me!" I think that we forget, "If God be for us, who then can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
So, I will seek the Lord in Spirit and in truth. I will watch my tongue, for from the mouth come the matters of the heart. And as I pray, I will praise the Lord and make my petitions known, but I will pray that the matters of my heart would line up with the purpose of his will.
I hope to post Ivee's pics soon, so the next blog will be more upbeat. Thanks for letting me share my heart with you. Have a blessed week, and may we seek the Lord with a glad heart!
P.S. Yes Emmett you can proof this and let me fix what I messed up cause I don't have time to proof it myself.

Ivee Takes Her First Steps

Yes, We are So EXCITED! Ivee did take her first steps this past Saturday. She is not going to be running any marathons yet, but what a start! I have posted the video to Youtube. Take a minute if you want to see it. Keep on praying!!!
Love Hope and Emmett
Link to Youtube Click Here

I have uploaded the new video I made to help get support for St. Jude. I wanted to share it with all of you. It is located to the right in my links column. Thank you for all the support you have given over these years.

Erin's HomeGoing

Erin, whom I have spoken of before (and who's link is to the right) had her homegoing on Saturday, March 28th. Erin was 4 years old and had her 5th occurrence of Ependymoma. The doctors did all they could do to help Erin survive this nasty disease, but in the end it won. She will be missed by all. Pray for her mom (michelle), dad (jim) and brother. What a precious life!!! What a beautiful girl!

The Foley's In March

About a month ago, we got to go down to Orange Beach and let the kids swim. Ivee can't get in the water without something to cover her mikey-button, so we are limited on how often we can let her get in the tub, which she loves to do. She DID NOT want to get in the pool at first. BUT, once she was in...she didn't want to get out!

Last week, it was so nice outside, that I took our munchkin outside to sit. She is just getting so big!

This past Saturday, I took the s with me to the "Saddle up for St. Jude" fundraiser in Robertsdale. Ivee couldn't get enough of the "bunnies" in the petting zoo area. She held every one at least three times. Then she would kiss on them. Thank goodness for allergy medicine!

Brittney got to drive a mule and then she took Ivee for a ride on it. It is a good thing we skipped the Hayride. Once they came back from the trail and started laying the hay around, her eyes began to swell and started running immediately! She still had fun though.

Lastly, we waited for the riders to come back from the trail. It is a site to see 400 horses coming over the hill. What a blessing to have so many people involved in raising funds for St. Jude.
This picture I took as soon as you could see the horses/riders coming over.

Here they are really starting to come in.

And finally, Saturday, Ivee waited til I wasn't watching. She saw me take my dark chocolate stash out a few days ago, and made a mental note I suppose. She snuck in and had to really work at it to reach, but managed to get to it. I only found her once I heard her ripping the paper. TOO LATE. I just let her finish her piece. She is such the chocolate lover!!! Vanilla pudding is a no-no. It must be chocolate!!!!

We have met with the school system, and are awaiting the options we have to put her in the 3 year old program to help with her therapies. Early Childhood Development only goes to 2 years of age and then the school system takes over. I don't know how I feel about putting my baby in school, but I want what is best for her development. I feel like she is SOOOO close to walking. I still have to explore the options for feeding though. They will not deal with this area.

So, all is well for now, and we won't return to Memphis until the end of June. I'll update when we do anything interesting. God bless, and keep praying!!!

So, what is Ivee doing........

Well, she takes stuff apart and decorates herself. She says, "It's pretty. It's pretty!"

She is starting to take some bites of food and drink from a straw. She is not in anyway near giving herself nutrition by mouth, but is beginning to really take interest.

She wants to sit at the table all the time and pretend to eat, or taste test, or sip from the cip cup. She is really beginning to be like a normal child. What is sad is that her being 'normal' is very weird for Emmett and I. We just don't know what to do with normalcy concerning her. I try to reflect on the other kids and what they were like at this age, and I have trouble remembering. It has just been so different.

This last pic is of Ivee's hat that she made (decorated) while being at St. Jude.

After all our meetings, let's just say that all is stable and we are just watching and are not "concerned". God is great and his name is greatly to be praised! He is Jehovah Rapha...her healer! Thank you for your prayers again and again.

Live from Memphis....

It's the gal who thinks her dad rocks!!!!

She was like a "crazy" woman yesterday. After sedation she was a mad, twisted drunk! But she did get over it. It was entertaining for a while, and then became a bit of a hassle, but she made it. We turned Barney on (but then she changed her mind) and she demanded we put Madagascar in. Then we were okay. Later last night, she was all over me. I think she was finally getting all my attention (no brother, sister, daddy or housework to interfere) and she was loving it! My abdomen is a little sore from the constant body slamming she gave me, but Cathy and I laughed at her silliness. Below is a picture to remind me of this time. Maybe it was the piggy tails!

Okay, to the reason we came to Memphis. Ivee is still cancer FREE!!! Yeah. Dr. Merchant does have a concern (this is concerning the concern that I had no info on back in December, but obviously wasn't a huge concern because we were not rushed back!) The concern is her brain stem. Dr. Sanford did show me in an MRI prior to her scar tissue removal that her brain stem was a bit thin do to pressure from scar tissue and the cyst that was on the back of her head. Dr. Merchant must have believed that the tissue removal would have fixed this. Well, it hasn't. It is still quite thin. What does this mean. Well, he doesn't know. Will it bother her? Don't know. Cause her pain? Don't know. Well, I am not concerned cause God has done so much through and for Ivee.

Dr. Merchant wants to talk to Dr. Sanford and I will meet with them tomorrow. I told him that she is doing fine, and that even though it is all a slow process, she is making progress and she is not moving backward. So, I am pleased with her, and he was pleased to see what she is doing with talking, moving and etc. He was also pleased that Ivee is going to preschool and having interaction with the kids her age. He agrees that is really good for her. So, that is it from Memphis where it is extremely windy and wet today. We have only 2 appointments today, so if the weather would so graciously permit, we will visit one of Ivee's favorite places...the zoo!

Thank you for continued support and prayers. Pray for us to safely return. Wednesdays weather will not be good, and that would have us traveling more at night, so we will probably return home on Thursday.

Sorry for the lull in updating...

I know I haven't updated in a while, but I have just been preoccupied with working and getting the kids back to school. I can catch you up though, not much is happening.

Ivee saw Dr. Martino (neurosurgeon) on Tuesday. She looks good and of course no leaking, so he just wants to get a CT scan as a reference point for her. This is so that if something happens in the future with the shunt and ventricles, we will have a scan to compare another scan too.

We go back to St. Jude on February 9th for her next MRI. We will speak with Dr. Merchant about whatever this "post Surgery" thingy was that he was concerned but not too concerned about.

On a "non medical note" Ivee is doing well. Still not eating by mouth, but is taste testing everything. She can take sips from a straw, but it is not a consistent thing. She can walk with assistance by one hand, but still can't stand on her own. She is just really scared.

Below are pics I took of her yesterday. She climbed up to the piano, opened a book I had and began to sing and play. She was so serious about about "knowing" what she was singing and playing. Guess she's been watching mommy at work. She began to sing one of her favorite songs over the last two months, "Sing Noel." She just played and sang. It was too cute.

Grandmother's Home Going

My last grandparent, Grandma Vernetta Matthews, had her homegoing this morning at 1:00 a.m. Grandma was the mom of four kids: Paul Matthews, Shirley Stevens and twins Nancy Long (my mom) and Hugh Matthews. Grandma left us at the age of 93. She will be missed, but she will live on in her children (4), grandchildren (10) and great grandchildren (15+).

Update and getting rid of some stuff.

Well, I missed blogging, but as many of you may know...December 18th/21st was the Foley Family G.I.F.T day. (God is faithful and true) We celebrated Ethan's birthday on this day, but we were reminded and celebrated the life of our children, and esp. Ivee. It has been 2 years since her "fall" from the grocery cart and diagnosis. Em and I fell very blessed to have our children, and we are overwhelmed by the memories of our journey over the past two years.
May we all remember that children are a gift from God, and may we teach them to walk in truth and in the light of Christ. May we not stray from our responsibility to them, and may we be reminded daily that we are not promised tomorrow. So, live each day to the fullest, and take advantage of every chance you have to hug someone and tell then you love them!

I've got some stuff on craigslist, but I thought I would put it on here in case one of you were looking for something or if you knew someone who was looking.
We are selling our couch and loveseat, just asking $350 for both. They are in good shape.


Also, still selling a changing table and crib. Asking $150 for both. I can work with anyone on the prices if I need to. Should have a yard sale within the next month to get some stuff out of the house, so if you are interested you may need to jump on it.
Thanks and take care. God bless you!

Just a note of Thanks

To the Rodericks, McLeods and Hildreths...thank you for the boxes of clothing. I was surprised to come home and find them on the porch. I feel like I am missing someone, but I'll have to go home and see. I seem to have only a few minutes at work to post, so I am trying to remember these names from breif glances.
The play was a success. I haven't done one by myself before, but the Lord provided needs and blessed everyone involved and in the congregation. I expected to come out seeing about 250 to 300 people, but there were (including the cast/choir/band, children and workers in the nursery) about 530 people. About 475 to 500 in the audience. We didn't count, so I don't know for sure. I didn't really get to see alot of people cause my back is to the people all the time. But I was told there were alot of people who use to come here, and people who may not have been to church in a long time, and then some people who's names are big in the community here. I was just shocked! That is all I can say. God is good and faithful, and remember "Jesus is the reason for the season...but so are you!"

The Reason

I want to invite all of you to our production at the church this weekend. I am posting the info below. Also, you can take a look at the poster and get more info from our church website. That address is www.faithfamilyonline.com. I would put it all on here, but my church PC will not allow me access to post any pics or anything. If I have never meet you and you decide to come, please see me afterwards so I can meet you and introduce you to Ivee. Thanks for always lifting us up in prayer. God bless.

Faith Family Fellowship Presents...
The Reason
Written and Directed by Hope Foley
This Sunday, December 7th
6:00 p.m.
Spanish Fort, AL

Just a note of thanks

I just wanted to give a note of thanks to everyone who has given us clothes. Ivee has a good lot now. So...thank you, thank you, thank you. The clothes have come from everywhere.

No News...

I still haven't heard from Dr. Merchant because he is trying to talk to Dr. Sanford (neurosurgeon). But, according to Christi, he doesn't think we need to come back so soon for a scan. Still don't know what all this means, and not worried about it.
Please, be in prayer for the Vang family. They were one of the first families we meet at St. Jude whose daughter, Kayla, was diagnosed and fighting the same cancer Ivee has. Kayla lost her fight with ependymoma (cancer) this past weekend. She was a ray of sunshine everytime you saw her. We were privelged to be a part of her birthday while living at the Ronald McDonald house in Memphis. If I recall, Kayla just turned 10 in July. She is just another reminder of what a blessing our children should be to us everyday of our lives. So, give your babies a hug today and tell them how much you love them.

The News from St. Jude

The MRI results came back stable and clear of tumor! Thank the Lord again!
Added to that though, according to Dr. Merchant's nurse...from the doctors words though, there is post-operative changes to the brain. She didn't say if any of these are of concern. She just told me that Dr. Merchant would take Ivee's MRI to the tumor board on Wednesday and have Dr. Sanford and the other neuro's take a look at it. Then the nurse, Christy, said she would call me back about the next check up. It sort of made me feel like we would be going back up sooner than later. I'm not concerned about this news...for now...cause I don't really know what any of this means, since of course I am not a brain specialist and I don't know exactly what Dr. Merchant meant by the term changes to the brain.
I CAN tell you that Ivee is talking like "crazy" now and she repeats all kinds of things. She is even talking in two or three word sentences. Her balance may not be 100%, but there has been some kinda change (in my eyes) for the better.