Susie's Halloween Costume

Well, in doing some research online, I was able to find Susie a better Halloween costume than her "Satellite Dish"! She likes it SO much better, and so do we! Susie's so much happier now that we got her a new costume. She's got a pep in her step!!!

Susie will now be going as a "Life Saver Dog"

Pumpkin Head for Halloween

Joey's company has a pumpkin carving contest every year. This year, Joey carved two pumpkins. One was meant to replicate the character, Pinhead, from the movie,"HellRaiser" The other has exposed brains and whatnot (yuk) that you can eat, if you so desired.

I sometimes wonder about my most wonderful nephew!

Campaigning' By Rena

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Oh My Goodness!!

Just a quick update.

I started my weekly Doctor Appointments this week, so let the excitement begin!

I am officially 1.5 cm dilated!

Time passes by so fast and so slow!

Hopefully, this time around, time passes by like there were no tomorrow, and Emmy's here with us before any of us can believe it!

Sarah? Is that you?

This is a friend of mine, Angelyn. She's going as Sarah Palin for Halloween this year.

This is absoultely histerical!!

Sarah

Angelyn"You Bet-cha"

Emily's Shower

So, my lifelong friend, Heather, threw me a baby shower this past weekend. I can't believe how much fun it was. I hadn't been to her Mom's house since High School, and going back there sure did bring back some interesting memories! It didn't help that they broke out all of the old family photo albums. I got a good picture of Me, Heather, Janna, and my Dad from 1983 or so! I had my tongue sticking out, but I'll never admit it once this is posted!

Here are some of the pictures that I, once again, stole from Beth! Thanks, Boppy!!

Me & Heather

Nothing beats a Publix butter cream cake!! NOTHING!!

Heather got a frame for everyone to leave a message for Emily.

Janie, Janna, Ginger, Aunt Brenda, & Lulu Gail : The "Family" from San Mateo

Sam, Beth, & Sherry

Karen & Phyllis - So wonderful to see you both!!!

Gail - Giving Beth a "Look"

Rena & Heather

Joyce & Gail - Tappin' that Publix Butter Cream! - Yummmmm

Somehow, Sam ended up with 6 bottles of jelly beans. Hmmm....I guess I can't say much, I let him have cake, and then Jeni gave him apple juice! Whew! The kid RAN like you wouldn't believe when we went to Angel's.

Sherry & I go for the baby bump again..this time, we didn't hurt each other!

Heather & Sam - He wanted to go swimming SO BAD!!!

The "Loot"

Grammy was SO excited about this outfit! "Go Noles"!!!

It's fitting that Emmy's due date is Thanksgiving. As we were loading up the mini, 7 turkeys ran through Heather's yard! Heather chickened out when I dared her to chase them while gobbling at them!

Week 35

Rebekah's Update for Week 35:

So, the countdown has now made it under to 30 days. For those of you that may have had any doubts, I DID win the $1.00 bet with Rusty. For the record, he has yet to pay up!

I've noticed a trend with all of my weekly updates. I tend to complain quite a bit. I'm SUPER sorry. I've committed that this week's update will be positive in nature, so here we go!

Positive # 1 -
Pregnant boobs are AMAZING! I could go on one of those shows like Jerry or Maury, and I'd be the most popular girl there!! I think that they each may weigh 600 pounds. And no, my bras do not fit me anymore. But who cares. I can enjoy my pregnant boobs for the next few months, and then when I start losing weight again, we'll say good-bye! : )

Positive # 2 -
Somehow, I've only had to get up to use the bathroom 4 times each of the last 5 nights instead of my usual 6-7 times per night.

Positive # 3 -
I found out that a friend of mine from Elementary School is pregnant. She was 16 weeks pregnant yesterday! I started blogging about this pregnancy when I was 16 weeks along, so now she has something to compare her pregnancy to.

Positive # 4 -
There are only 28 days left in this pregnancy. We are really praying for an early delivery. We hope to have Emily delivered and both of us home from the hospital before Thanksgiving. There will be a ton of Corleys coming to Tally for Thanksgiving, and it would kill me to be stuck in the hospital.

Positive # 5 -
Baby showers are tons of fun! My friend Heather threw me a shower this past weekend, and I got to see some friendly faces that I'd not seen in quite some time. Not to mention, there were some wonderful gifts given to Emily as well. We had NOTHING, and now we are pretty much set for her arrival!

**WARNING TO THE SQUEAMISH**
-This quite possibly is too much information for you-

This is the update from the website: Week 35

Your Baby's Development
Your baby already weighs about 5 pounds, 5 ounces (2,400 grams), but this week begins your baby's most rapid period of weight gain — about 8 to 12 ounces (226 to 340 grams) each week! Fat is being deposited all over your baby's body, especially around the shoulders.
Because of this increasing size, your baby is now cramped and restricted inside the uterus — so fetal movements may decrease, but they may be stronger and more forceful. If your baby is in a headfirst position, his or her head will rest on your pubic bone in preparation for labor.


Your Body
The bond you may already feel with the baby growing inside of you will only grow stronger once your baby is born. Bonding — the intense attachment that develops between you and your baby — is not something that only occurs within minutes or days after birth. It may happen later and it may develop over time. Bonding not only makes you want to protect your baby and shower him or her with affection, but it also fosters your baby's sense of security in the world outside your womb.

Susie's Hat

I'm sure that you've seen these before...these E-Collars that dogs wear to keep them from chewing at sores or recovering surgeries? Our poor Susie has had to wear one of these for quite some time now. She has gotten stubborn in her old age. She also has a flea allergy, so any time a flea gets near her, she starts itching. She has ZERO control when it comes to chewing. I know that if allowed, Susie would chew her leg right off. Our back yard (if you could call it a backyard) is so overgrown that fleas come to our back yard on vacation. It seems to be the hot spot of Tallahassee.

Susie has been wearing her "Hat" for nearly the entire summer now. The kids have started calling it her "hat" because it's just easier to understand, I would imagine.

I mention Susie's "Hat" because it is an integral part of the Corley Clan. If you walk into the house, you are immediately greeted by Susie except that when she jumps up to greet you, she slices your shins with her "hat". Then, she bumps in to everything. She trips over it, and she licks it like she loves it. She also waddles like a duck when she walks because the thing is a little top heavy. I often think of the "Man in the Iron Mask" when it comes to Susie's 'hat". To be completely honest, as annoying as the "hat" is, we all have gotten some good laughs out of it!

With it being Halloween next week, we have officially claimed that Susie is going as a "Satellite Dish". Here she is in her costume and all of her glory!!!

~Inquisitive Susie~

~Sad Susie~

Remembering My Dad

It's been 11 years -next Thursday- since Dad died. I wrote this blog some time ago. I wanted to share it with you all because this was a very trying time in my life, and I think that it helps to explain some of the "Rebekah" that you all may not know.

Dad's death has continued to be something that hurts, as expected, but it gets easier. It's strange that every year around this time, all of the memories come back, but I feel blessed that I've had them. Dad's death has helped me to help others that are going through the death of a loved one, and I'm glad that I can be there for them.

Now that I have 4 kids come Thanksgiving, it makes me sad to think that the kids will never get to know their Grandpa, but I have to remember that it's not my place to interfere with God's plan. I have to keep his memories alive for them, so that they can experience him...through me.


____________________________________
Written on May 30, 2008

Dad died on October 30, 1997. I was with him when he took his last breath. I don't remember a lot from that day, but I remember enough.

It was Wednesday. At my high school, Wednesdays were early release days. To this day, I'm not sure why. I just figured that I wouldn't argue. It was nice to be out of school at 12:00pm.

When I left for school that morning, Dad was doing okay. He wasn't dancing around the house by any stretch, but I certainly didn't expect him to die that next morning. Sure, Hospice had been called in, but I didn't realize the severity of the situation. No one told me that I needed to prepare for my Dad to die. I was 16 for cryin' out loud. This is not something that a 16 year old should have to prepare for. I say that no one told me to prepare, but I'm sure they did. This is one of those fuzzy details of my life.

I went to a private school because of the trouble that I got into as a teenager. I so adoringly referred to high school as "skirt school" because I had to wear a uniform. I think that there may have been 60 kids in the entire school from Kindergarten through 12th grade. There were four teachers in my class. It's strange how friendships are made, but one of my best friends now was one of my high school teachers.

Melissa, my teacher/friend, came to my house the evening that Dad died. I remember her trying to be there for me, but also not knowing exactly what she could do to help me.

That Wednesday evening, voices were whispers. I think that I realized that his time was short because of the way everyone was acting. "We'll be lucky if he makes it through the night!" someone said.

I remember sitting in the recliner with Melissa on the couch next to me. Fran Drescher was whining on The Nanny. I typically love The Nanny, but this night, I loved nothing. I sat in the recliner in somewhat of a fog. I don't even remember when Melissa left. I don't remember much of that evening after The Nanny to be quite honest until it happened.

Mom and I climbed in to bed together in my Dad's room at around 11:00pm. Mom and I never slept in the same bed unless we were staying away from home. Dad had been put in a hospital bed because it was easier to handle him with his condition.

We could tell that Dad's breathing was slowing down. We knew that this would be his last night.

I never truly went to sleep. I can remember hearing his breathing slow by the minute. I know that what kept me awake that night was listening for him to breathe. I remember wondering over and over again, "Was that it? Was that his last breath?"

Several family members were at the house that night. My Mom, my Dad's Mom (Memaw) and my Dad's brother and sister were there. We all gathered around his hospital bed and wept. We knew that these were his last moments. We each held onto a part of him as he went. My Mom rubbed his head, my Grandmother held one hand while my Aunt held the other. My uncle held on to his leg, and I held on to his feet. I remember rubbing his feet for him as a kid, so I just did what I knew. I rubbed his feet through each emotionally agonizing breath that he took until he took his last. Dad died at 1:15am.

Dad never struggled in death that we could tell. He went peacefully. He didn't seem to be in pain anymore, and when he last spoke, he seemed to be in good spirits.

Brain cancer takes its toll on everyone involved. It's different than other cancers in that it makes the person that it takes hold of, for lack of a better word, crazy.

As soon as I knew that Dad was sick, I wanted to be able to come clean to him for all of the "things" that I had done; for all of the things that had happened to me. I wanted to apologize to him for being such a disappointment. I always thought that I'd be able to tell him. To get forgiveness. Several times, while he was sleeping, I was very close to telling him everything, but there was always the fear that he would get better, and kill me! I chuckle at the thought now for parents are forgiving, no matter what, but when I was 16, this was a risk that I just wasn't "adult" enough to take on. He had brain cancer, so there was no telling what his reaction would be.

I started smoking when I was 12 years old. This being one of the main reasons that I ended up in private school, I have always struggled with it. The family knew that I smoked, but I was a teenager. I thought that I was hiding it successfully.

The moment that Dad died, I hugged my Mom. I wanted to be held. I wanted to be assured that we would be okay. Dad was the driving force in our house, and now that he was gone, what were we going to do? After I hugged my Mom, I walked outside and I smoked a cigarette. No one dared to say anything to me.

I called Melissa to let her know that Dad had died. I don't remember the conversation, but I knew that she loved me, and was praying for me. She always has.

I called another friend of mine, Jasmine. She was such a wonderful friend for me during this time. I spent a lot of time with her during this whole process.

After I finished my cigarette, I walked back inside. The air was still. It was dark. Even though the lights were on, I can remember how dark it was inside. I don't think that it was ever the same for me.

I walked in to Dad's room where his body lay. It seemed like it took a few hours for the funeral home to get to the house to take his body. I had never seen a dead body. Granted, there have been open casket funerals, but those bodies are different. They are dressed nicely, groomed, and made up. They are made to be as presentable as possible.

I hate funerals.

I reached out to my Dad, who lay there, dead, to tell him one last goodbye before the funeral home arrived to take him. I touched his cheek very slightly with the back of my hand. It occurred to me, at that point, that he was never coming back. His skin was cold to the touch. I didn't care one bit that there was a "dead guy" in front of me. I only cared that this was my Daddy. The Daddy that was supposed to be proud of me when I made good grades, when I graduated high school, college, walk me down the aisle at my princess wedding, be there for my choices, my mistakes, enjoy his grandchildren, grow old, and teach me his wisdom.

He was gone.

I said my "good-byes" as best as a 16 year old can.

That night, I slept in the hospital bed that he died in. I didn't care that someone would think it strange. I wanted to be close to my Dad. The Dad that had been ripped from me entirely too soon.

Gone.

I realized immediately that I should have told him all of my secrets. He would have loved me anyway because in the grand scheme of things, it's all about love.

Showers of Blessings

We went to Interlachen this past weekend. One of my nieces, Heather, had a house warming/birthday/wedding shower this weekend. We had such a good time. Their apartment reminded me of when Rusty and I first moved in together. It's clean, organized, and has all kinds of cool gadgets. I guess when kids come into the mix, all of the cute trinkets and expensive items get put away. Heather had some really good food at the party! You know, I'm ALWAYS up for some really good food. This was the beginning of a really interesting day full of sugar. You can see the cake that Heather gave Rachel! Heather's answer, you ask? "What?! She said she wanted a BIG piece!!" Don't worry, girlie!! I'll get you one day...

After everyone ate TONS of food, Heather opened her gifts. I have never understood people that open gifts ever so GINGERLY like they're going to SAVE the paper for another time. RIP INTO IT, GIRL!! It's all part of the fun! See, Sam knows how to do it! He decided to let everyone wear one of the bows on their heads!!

After STUFFING ourselves at Heather's party, we headed back to Interlachen where Sherry's baby shower was to be held. If you have ever been to Interlachen for ANY type of event, you would know that food is ALWAYS present. I know that I couldn't even stuff even the smallest piece of food into my stomach after Heather's party. The kids had already had SO much sugar they were bouncing of walls that didn't even exist!!!

___________________________________

Sherry, yet another niece in the "Corley Clan", is due to have her baby, Mitchel, towards the end of the month, but she looks like she is just about to POP!! I see her, and I realize that I can't complain. We did a "baby bump" that nearly killed both of us, but we were able to recover in time for the picture!! Whew!

Sherry got SO many baby boy clothes, it's not even funny! It reminded me of Sam's baby shower and all of the wonderfully cute outfits that we got! I can't say that this is limited to the "Corleys" because my Mom does it as well, but here's Sherry, sitting with all of the wonderful gits that are ready to be ripped in to, and she GINGERLY opens each one of them! AHHHHH!!! Will these people never understand? The whole fun in getting a gift is being able to rip it apart!!!

We decided that because of all of the sugar the kids had eaten, we would "run" them. We had to load them up in the car soon to go home (200 miles away), and there is NO way that I was going to manage to sit in the car with 2 kids on a serious sugar high! So, we ran them!

There were balloons there that the kids had a blast playing with, I mean...popping!! You can see Sam chasing this one around trying to kick it. Beth put it best...Do you see a Charlie Brown moment here, or what?!

____________________________________

The best part of the weekend would have to be getting to see Cody. We SO look forward to our visits with him! Rachel and Sam cherish him and admire him so much. It sickens me that he can't be with us all of the time, but we are so thankful for the time that we DO get. We can only pray that Cody continues to be such a good role model for his younger brother and sisters. That is a blessing all on its own.

Note - I stole all of these pictures from Beth! Thanks for being on the ball, Boppy!

Week 34

Rebekah's Update for Week 34:

It seems that I am experiencing "increased absentmindedness" and have been for quite some time. The book, 'What to Expect When You're Expecting" says that this is one of the many side effects of being pregnant. In a nutshell, I forget some of the strangest things. I will be glad that once Emily is born this will go away - hopefully. I've always lost things or forgotten things when I did not write them down, but I never, in a million years, expected for my "insanity" to be this bad.

Rusty noticed it last night, and a friend of mine noticed on Sunday that Emily has dropped. I guess that means that we're close to getting to meet her!! Woo hoo! We are down to 37 days now, and our dry erase board has been seeing a lot of action. Rusty is CONVINCED that she will be born in the next week. We have a $1.00 bet going. If Emmy is born by next Monday, I owe him $1.00. Hmm....I think the odds are with me, but who knows..

I have noticed a serious increase in pressure with Emmy. I feel like I could literally POP at any moment. I know...I know....It's very cliche', but seriously....It's killing me!

My uterus is 1,000 times its original size! Okay. Wow! Putting it into that perspective makes me a little nervous, but whatever it takes, I guess. We just pray that Emmy and I have a healthy delivery! It's SO nice to know that we are almost done with this portion of the adventure.

**WARNING TO THE SQUEAMISH**

-This quite possibly is too much information for you-

This is the update from the website: Week 34

Your Baby's Development
Maternal calcium intake is extremely important during pregnancy because the baby will draw calcium from the mother to make and harden bone. If a pregnant woman doesn't get enough calcium during pregnancy, it can affect her own bones because the developing fetus will take minerals from the mother's skeletal structure as needed.
The vernix coating on the baby's skin is becoming thicker, whereas lanugo hair is almost completely gone.
By now most babies will be in position for delivery. Your health care provider can tell you if your baby is positioned head- or bottom-first. Babies born at 34 weeks usually have fairly well-developed lungs, and their average size of 5 pounds (2,250 grams) and 12.6 inches (32 cm) from crown to rump allows them to survive outside the womb without extensive medical intervention.

Your Body
Fatigue is a common complaint of late pregnancy. Difficulty sleeping, aches and pains, weight gain, and anxiety about labor, delivery, and taking care of a newborn may contribute to your exhaustion. Rest as much as you can and take naps if possible.

A Beef

I have many things that bug me, but my biggest beef is people. Some people just get under my skin, and it's mostly because of their choices. Sure, they may feel that they are justified in their decisions, but I beg to differ.

Some people may have decided to sit at a green light instead of going. Some people choose to yell at cashiers because they have had a bad day. Some people have decided to never forgive.

I don't have a specific "beef" today. I just wanted to complain about people in general. I'm pregnant...I'm allowed to complain!

When you wake up in the mornings, please keep in mind that there are other people in the world. They have feelings. They have emotions. Your actions toward them have influence over their lives whether you think so or not.

The person at the green light could be talking on the phone with his wife, and has just found out that he has a new niece.

The customer that yells at the cashier may not realize that the cashier has been yelled at 17 times already that day, her sister just died a week ago, and she has to work to help support her family.

The person that doesn't forgive. I have never understood how someone could go through life without forgiving. The burden that they must bear. The hatred they hold in their hearts. How unhappy they must be.

I make every attempt to not beep at the guy sitting at the green light even though I can be impatient.

I couldn't possibly bring myself to yell at the cashier because I've been a cashier that has been yelled at, and even if I didn't just lose a close family member, that is no way to treat another human being.

Where would we be if we weren't forgiven? I've been forgiven for many things that I probably don't deserve to be forgiven for. That's what God does. I am expected to forgive others for their mistakes. Even though this can be extremely difficult, I am big enough to realize that I can't truly be forgiven if I can't forgive others.

I have forgiven the people that have wronged me; the guy who yelled at me when I was a cashier, the person that impatiently beeped their horn at me, and all of the others.

Get over it, people. It's not what life it truly about, is it?

Hopefully, someone out there in "Internet Land" Googles me for whatever reason, and just happens upon this message. Hopefully, it can help someone to forgive and move on.

Gas Prices & Politics are Getting Old

Back when the world ran out of gas because of all of the idiots out there that "needed" to fill up for absolutely NO reason, I took some pictures of the chaos in Tallahassee. Thank God that this is over...for the most part. There are STILL some gas stations that are running out of certain grades, but the price has gone from $5.49 to $2.89 at a gas station near my house.

This Presidential "Race" is really getting on my nerves. I am SO sick and tired of hearing how horrible each of the candidates are. Whatever. I'm over it! I am voting for McCain because I truly believe that Obama is more of a Socialist than McCain could ever be. I am actually an informed voter this time around, and it irritates me to even talk about it anymore. I'm done. Over it. Vote for whomever you think is best for what you need out of a President.

So, with the irritating gas prices combined with the irritating Presidential Candidates and the pregnancy throughout it all, I can tell you that I am SO READY for the next 19 days to be OVER WITH!!!!!

Face Painting

We took the kids by the Halloween store to get their costumes for the Hallelujah Harvest at church. There were some artists there that were doing face painting. Rachel, of course, was thrilled to get her face painted like a tiger. Once Sam saw that it was safe, he was ready to get his painted as well. Rachel looked SO different. Grammy didn't even recognize her when we went to visit her at work. Sam was an awesome Spiderman! He walked around with a proud look in his eye (at least until his nose started running and he wiped off the makeup). Once the nose makeup was all over his hands, he started crying and that started an escapade of tears and running makeup. I can't believe how much the face painting can change their pretty little faces.

Time is Ticking Away

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