Cami
So I just read the previous blogs and it sounds like Satan is doing everything he can to keep the members and family members of EA down. But, our God is greater and will overcome this all. Today, Josh and I had to make an unexpected visit to the hospital. This morning I woke up and was leaking fluids. And being 35 weeks pregnant and having had 2 miscarriages in the last year and a half I was definitely concerned. I left a message for my doctor and when they called back they said that I needed to go to the hospital to the maternity triage to get checked out. Apparently, the doctor on call was at the hospital so that's where they sent me. So, I left work and picked up Josh and off to Kennestone we went. Once we got there, they put a fetal monitor on me and we were able to hear Lacey's heartbeat and it was perfect. It was such an amazing and precious sound! Then they ran a couple of tests to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid or not. Thankfully, that all came back negative. We were so grateful that the Lord protected our little one and that everything was fine. Such a huge blessing. The funny thing is the lady that was processing our admission papers and stuff was saying congratulations and good luck to us and saying things about our baby coming today. I kept telling her that as much as I can't wait to see my little girl that hopefully we would not be meeting her today! But, I can't wait until we actually get to go to the hospital to meet this little miracle in a few weeks!

We ended up being at the hospital for about 3 hours. And by the time we left, Josh and I were both famished!!! Neither of us had eaten lunch. Josh wanted Los Reyes for lunch so off to the mexican restraunt we went...it was the most yummiest food ever! I'm sure being famished made it even better. LOL. Anyway, I took him back to work and came home. Today, was definitely not spent how I thought it would be. But, I am most thankful that everything turned out okay!
Emily
Well, it appears that multiple members of the band are having a rough time right now. Nikki and JP have the stomach bug. I have pneumonia! Yep, walking pneumonia. No wonder I have felt like crap! I have called out of work these past 2 days, after being off since last wednesday. I am on round two of antibiotics, something stronger this time. Fortunately, I shouldn't have been contagious around all my family because I was already on a weeks worth of medicine and a steroid! I plan to go to work tomorrow. I have run out of PTO, time off. I am to have the week off of New Years so that we can go back up to Virginia along with the band. I am either going to have to make up this time or borrow it from next years sick bank. Yikes. But I have to do what I have to do. I am finally sleeping at night without drowning in my own fluid, so I feel better just because I am getting rest. I am not sure how I will feel tomorrow after a 10 hour day, but I'm going to try and make it the whole day. The worst part of this whole sickness is that I have not been able to taste anything for a week! I have no idea how wonderful thanksgiving dinner was! It is getting really old. I don't even want to eat because it is so unsatisfying. I hope it will return when the snot is gone and I am through with the antibiotics. All I know is I am SOOO very tired of coughing. My abs hurt, wish it was giving me a six pack and then I wouldn't mind. Ha! What luck that would be. And the weather.....ug the weather, it is not helping me get better. Cold, dreary and rainy! Well, I have rambled enough.
Nikki
Our family sickness began last Wednesday when I was going with Jon to play at a church in Dawsonville- about 4o minutes from where we live. Jayce came to me and said, "Mommy, my belly hurt". He laid around for a little bit, but then acted fine, so I thought he would be o.k. to go. Jon wasn't feeling well either, but felt obligated to go and play. We arrived at the church and within 5 minutes of being there, Jayce had thrown up all over me and him. Wow! As a mom, I have learned to tolerate a lot of bodily functions, but I just can't handle throw up. I had nothing for us to change into so I cleaned us up as much as I could and then drove 40 minutes back home with the throw up smell still lingering all the while..... Poor Jon had to stay and felt awful so as soon as it was over, my dear friend drove him home. He was running a fever and body aches and chills and got in the bed as soon as he got home. Jayce came in and acted fine again for a while. He wanted something to eat, so I gave it to him. I should have known this would not be a good idea because within minutes he threw up on me and him again!! Thankfully, Journey didn't get sick and was so good while I was taking care of his daddy and brother.

Thursday Jon still wasn't feeling well, but Jayce was feeling better, so for Thanksgiving we just hung out at our house. Friday my sister and I took the kids to do some stuff for Christmas and my stomach started hurting. I ended up having the worst stomach virus I have ever had in my 31 years of life!! I thought I was going to die!! Thankfully, Jon was feeling better so he helped to nurse me back to health. I finally started feeling normal again today. However, last night while we were putting the finishing touches on our Christmas tree Jon said his stomach wasn't feeling well. Really?? Are we ever going to get better?? I took the baby to the baby sitter and Jayce wanted to go to his Nana and Papa's so Jon could rest today. I just talked to my mother-in-law and she said she thought Jayce wasn't feeling good. Will this circle ever break????? So, to whoever reads our blog, please pray that my family will get better and these plagues will leave us....
Emily
We traveled back to Atlanta today. It took about 7 hours and we only stopped for 10 minutes to pee. Traffic was horrific in one spot. Other than that, we cruised. Eliza did GREAT in the car for a change! Not a single whine or cry. She did say "mommy" another 500 times though. We had a great time. I am so thankful for treys family, who are so awesome! They love having fun and always make me laugh. I am glad to be home though. I STILL feel like crap. I can't breath and am coughing my head off and have had a constant headache. I have now had this for 2 weeks. And the cough for 3. I am so over it. But I am super fortunate that nobody else has it.

Right now the kids are in the bath tub. I am big plans for them to be in bed early and I am following shortly after!
Cami
I hope that you had an amazing Thanksgiving and were able to spend it with your family and friends. Josh and I went to my parents house and his parents came over as well. We're lucky enough that our family is small enough to do that and more thankful that our parents like to spend time with each other. My mom made enough food for an army and it was yummy as usual! We had a great time eating. Then we watched the video from our ultra sound last week. What an amazing thing it was to see our little girl up on the tv screen. Just made us all more excited to meet this little miracle. Josh and I were talking about how this Thanksgiving is so much different than last year. Last year we had just gone through our first miscarriage and were so sad. And this year, we are just thrilled about our upcoming baby. I will say that I did shed some tears thinking about our angel babies. But, knowing that they are in heaven and that we will get to meet them one day is so comforting. Anyway, after the video the guys watched some football and us girls played Scrabble.

Today, my Momma and I did our usual Black Friday Shopping day. With the exception of one thing...we didn't get up at the crack of dawn. I told Josh I know I'm pregnant because that's unusual. But, it was nice to sleep in for a change. I had a goal today to try and get as much Christmas shopping and shopping for things I need for the hospital done and checked off of my list. I just wanted to make sure that we weren't scrambling around a few weeks down the road in case Lacey decided to come early. And for the most part, I did pretty well. I only have a couple of gifts left to get. But, I knocked of a HUGE part of the list so I was very pleased. It was different shopping this year though because I was in quite a bit of pain and wasn't able to move as quickly as I usually do. We had to take a couple of breaks and actually went home to eat lunch for a little bit before we headed back out. But, I was determined to get this list knocked down and I feel I've accomplished a lot. So now I am at home and relaxing. I'm about to wrap the gifts up that I bought today. That always makes me happy.

Another thing that makes me happy is decorating for Christmas. And that is what Josh and I plan on doing tomorrow. I'm soooo looking forward to that. This is just my most favorite time of the year. Josh always laughs at me because I LOVE that Hershey Kiss commercial where the chocolates are bells and they are playing the song We Wish You a Merry Christmas and at the end the last chocolate goes "whew". It just always puts a smile on my face. Anyway, I am very much looking forward to decorating tomorrow.

Sunday Josh is playing at Mount Paran Church. I used to go to this church for a long time and about 2 months ago started going back to Mount Paran. It's such an amazing church and is so awesome to see so many old friends there. It feels like home again. So, it's exciting to see Josh starting to get involved with the band. I just love it!

On the Lacey front, we went to the doctor this past week and everything is looking good. Lacey is still measuring about a week big. It's hard to believe her due date is in 5 weeks. Aghhhh....I cannot wait to meet her!!!
Emily
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I am so thankful for the many blessings in my life.

-My Saviour, who loved me so much that he died for me. That I have a better life waiting for me when I leave this earth and a purpose driven by his love for me, while I am still here

-My awesome husband. God knew exactly what I needed and I am so thankful for the love he shows me everyday

-My amazingly cute kids. Everyday when I look at them, I see God's love for me

-My wonderful selfless parents who instilled in me the love of Christ and have shown me everyday who He is. Because they loved me, I know how to love. And they are awesome grandparents who selflessly give and give.

-My amazing in-laws. I am SOOO lucky to have in laws that love me as much as their son and who have accepted me into their lives like I was always there.

-A very cool sister and brother in law!

-amazing friends and family, and so much else I would miss dinner if I continue.....one thing is for sure, no matter what happens in this life I have God's love and a promise to spend eternity with him!
Emily
Today the holiday season began in our family. Up at 5 am and on the road by 6, we are headed to Virginia. It's about a 6 hour trip so getting an early start with 2 kids is critical. We were so hoping they would fall back to sleep once in the car, but no such luck. And Eliza still hates riding in the car. She hasn't cried but has whined most of the way. We stopped at waffle house for breakfast, kids still in their pjs, and met JP there. We had to sign some band paperwork that needed to be fed-exed today. JP lives an hour and a half north on our way out of town, so that was convenient. We are now about an hour away from our destination. Eliza is currently wearing out "mommy" and I would like to get out of the car. It doesn't help that I still don't feel well. I haven't slept in days due to coughing all night. Nothing seems to help. So my patience is wearing thin.

All Christmas music has started today, so all the progress with the song comes to an abrupt halt. We were getting close to making our way up the charts, just a few spins away from breaking the top 30 on one. But now we have to wait until January to see what God is going to do. There are some more stations that have committed to adding the song in January. So that is good news. Also, the Christmas song, "God Bless Us," that was brand new last year is going to be played a lot this season. It should help get EAs name out there and hopefully help the progress of "Say" in the new year. We will just have to continue to be patient.
Nikki
I have been having trouble with my thumb- of all things- since Journey was born. It is the strangest thing. I just noticed one day that I could not bend my thumb with out effort and pain. I pondered what I could have done to my thumb, but could not think of anything. This pain has been going on for several weeks, but I thought it would just get better on its own since it seemed to come completely on its own. It has become quite a nuisance. I took for granted how important it was to be able to bend your thumb. See, I am right handed, so writing is something I do now with great effort. I have to physically bend my thumb to hold a pen, pencil, marker, etc.... and then "pop" it back out when I am finished.

I have this week off, so I decided it was time to go to the doctor. I went yesterday and with one look they immediately knew what was wrong with my thumb. I have something called "trigger finger". You have tendons in your thumb that are connected at the bottom of your hand. For some reason, they say it may have been due to my recent pregnancy and gestational diabetes because they see this in a lot of women who have recently delivered and diabetics, this tendon has developed scar tissue. Because of this scar tissue, my tendon seems to get stuck. The doctor gave me two options to fix my thumb. I can do cortisone injections, but this is not permanent, or have a minor surgical procedure where they will go in and cut the scar tissue out. I opted for the latter. Having the surgical procedure will ensure that my thumb is permanently fixed. Yay!

I can not wait to have a normal thumb again!!!
Cami

It's crazy to think that we are less than 6 weeks out to meeting our little miracle Lacey Elisabeth. It's so very exciting! But, we are definitely in a rat race to the finish line. It's funny cause people think that since Josh is in a band that his life is glamorous and always a rock star life. That could not be farther from the truth. I have to say that he has been ABSOLUTELY amazing during this pregnancy. This past week we sat down and made a list of things that we feel need to get done before Lacey arrives. FOUR PAGES WORTH OF STUFF! It's crazy. I'm doing everything I can to help knock things off of this list, but, this third trimester has really kicked my butt and I am just absolutely exhausted and tend to nap a lot. But, Josh, has been a warrior! He worked for hours giving our master bath a cleaning. I've never seen it look so clean, it sparkles! Then this weekend he was in the kitchen cleaning the baseboards...with a toothbrush! Like I said, he's just been unbelieveable. Yesterday I actually had enough energy to knock quite a few things off of the list as well, so that made me feel better. Tonight my parents are coming over to help us too. Tonight my mom and I are going to conquer the kitchen in rearranging cabinets so we can make room for Lacey's items (bottles, formula, etc.). And my daddy is going to help Josh loading up the trailer and taking our old water heater and boxes from the many baby things that we have and take it to the dump. We are so thankful for our parents. We definitely could not have done all of this without them! I ordered today a few more things for Lacey's room and this almost finishes it out. We just have to go get her bedding tonight and then we are done. So exciting. Her room is so cute!


We did have some play time this weekend too. Friday night we had dinner at The Melting Pot with Trey and Emily. We had such a great time together. I don't remember the last time I laughed so much! Saturday we went and had a 4D ultra sound done. We have been dying to see what our little girl looks like. The neat thing about this is that my parents, some family members and friends were able to watch the ultrasound live on their computers. So they could see what we were seeing at the appointment. Lacey is soooo beautiful! She definitely has her daddy's full lips. We think she has my nose. She smiled a ton throughout the ultrasound which was just precious. The funniest part was she stuck her tongue out at us at one point. We all just laughed. Josh and I keep looking at the pictures that we got from our visit and are just in awe that it's our little girl. After that we went back home and I of course took a 2 hour nap. Then that night we went out with his cousin Mandy who was in town from Colorado on business. So we went down to Atlantic Station and a great dinner and were able to enjoy some Christmas festivities as it was the night of the Lighting of their big Christmas tree. We ended the weekend by going to our small group last night. We have such a great group and just love them so much.


We go back to the doctor on Wednesday. We'll see how much more Lacey has grown. AS of two weeks ago she was measuring about a week and a half big so Lord only knows how much more she's grown. But, I'd be okay with her coming a week or so early. I'm just sooo excited to meet her!
Emily
The weekend has gone by so fast, probably because I slept most of Saturday. I just felt awful. But I was paying for the fact that we went out Friday night and stayed out WAY too late. I wasn't feeling well, but we had these plans with Cami and Josh for 2 months and I was not about to break it. We went to The Melting Pot and had so much fun. It was so nice to just sit and visit. Then, Trey talked me into a late movie. He really wanted to see the new Harry Potter. He was afraid we would not get to see it because we hardly ever go out, and since we had a babysitter, why not? I agreed and the movie was really good....a cliff hanger. I wonder when the last movie will be coming out. I paid for it though, because I felt so tired and sluggish Saturday. I like my sleep when I am feeling healthy, and even more so right now. I think I went to bed at 845 two nights last week! I am trying my hardest not to call in to work. You are highly looked down on when you do that in my field, plus it is the end of the year and am running out of PTO. Before we met Cami and Josh for dinner, Trey and I went to Toys R Us. We went to get a head start on Santa. We did really well. I had some coupons and they were having a really good sale. So we bought each child their big Santa item and the rest from us will be bought after the next pay check. I really do LOVE going to the store and picking out things we think will make our kids' day. It is so much fun. However, it is much better to go now than to wait until closer to Christmas. We made that mistake a couple years ago, I think we ended up there on Christmas Eve. It was our first experience with Toys R Us. It looked like a bomb went off in there. If they still had the product you wanted, you would never be able to find it. We decided we would never do that again. We were just new parents and naive! But we can still laugh about it. I am so excited about Christmas this year. James is SO excited that it is rubbing off. We watched The Santa Clause with Tim Allen last night. James was in awe. It was fun to see. I had big plans of getting out the Christmas decorations this weekend, but I just could not get motivated. I did do 500 loads of laundry and clean out the toy box. I threw away a bag full of happy meal toys. And we don't eat there often...I think they multiple at night! I work 2 weekends in December, so I have no idea when all that is going to get done.

Oh, you wanna know something funny. We have gone out on 2 dates the last 2 Friday nights which is unheard of! Last week, I lost my keys there. After much searching and calling every place we went, the theatre had them. I had to send my mom to go get them because that was over where they live. Friday night, Trey, who never loses anything!, left his wallet there! I just thought that was really interesting and little funny, not a lot....just a little, since we did get everything back.

Today the weather was so nice and warm that we all played outside. Trey raked leaves into the biggest pile ever and we all had fun in it. Overall, it was a really nice weekend. Our leaves have been prettier this year than they have in the 7 years we have lived here. It is really beautiful. I am off to bed now. I only work 2 days this week, thank goodness. But it is bound to be busy! Everybody and their mother wants surgery on a holiday week so they can take less time off work. So I am going to need my sleep.
Emily
This has been a really long week. I have not felt well. I thought it was just allergies and maybe it was at first, but it is now a full blown chest cold. So far, no one else in the house has gotten it, but everyone is passing it around at work.

Eliza had a difficult day yesterday. She was born without a thyroid and has to go to the pediatric endocrinologist every 2 months to have her blood levels checked. She takes a replacement thyroid hormone and the levels are critical to her well being. They usually do a great job drawing her blood and getting it over as quickly as possible. However, there was a new nurse or tech doing it, who tortured the poor baby by missing the vein multiple times and then, since she was SOOOO very mad after that, had to get a second nurse to hold her down. Trey said she was crying so hard she was blue and that it was absolute torture for him too. I felt so bad I wasn't there but I probably would have cried. One thing is for sure, if that same woman comes in the next time, we will be asking for someone else. Trey said he sat in the exam room for a good 5 minutes to try and calm both of them down before leaving. Then to top off the day o fun, Trey couldn't get out of the parking lot because he didn't have cash or a check. When he went inside to get money out of the ATM, his PIN number didn't work because it was a new check card. Bank of America wouldn't give him his PIN over the phone! Really??!!! They have your social security number AND your bank account number but they can't give you your PIN? So Trey had to go back to the parking lot teller and explain and he finally let him out of the deck. What a day!

Tomorrow is Friday finally. We are having dinner with Cami and Josh at the Melting Pot just for fun, no special occasion. We planned this months ago and have been saving up since it will cost at least a big toe. We are looking forward to a nice dinner with great company and no kids.
Emily
We are nearing Christmas and the day when all Christmas music starts. So the momentum we have going with "Say What You Believe" will probably slow down considerably until the beginning of the year. If you have not downloaded it, please do so. It is awesome. In case you didn't know, EA is judged based on numbers, i.e. total downloads, total radio plays etc. So we need you and all your friends to purchase it and to call your local station and request it. Help us spread to the world how great EA is, post it to your FaceBook wall. If you have gotten it already, thank you! And now go download "God Bless Us," their Christmas tune. Its really good too! We are getting closer to 2011 which is when the album will come out, sometime in late March I think. I can't wait until you hear it, so I am not alone in the amazement of it. Anyway, right now there is a lot going on behind the scenes. The album artwork is in progress, the "choosing" of the front cover picture, color, and font are being worked on, the guys are writing their personal thank yous that will be included in the album, and the last finishing touches to the mastered songs are being done. Now that they are home from the radio tour, they are going to start rehearsing like crazy. The songs all morphed during the recording process, so its a lot like learning all new songs. They are going to have a "boot camp" of sorts with the management in December to work on the live show, performance stuff. I am sure there is a lot more that I have not mentioned. The management team at Patton House Entertainment are doing to fantastic job keeping it all together. The guys had an i-chat meeting today with them, just business, keeping everyone on the same page. I am SO excited for the album to drop, a little nervous too. There is a lot riding on this. But I know God has a plan for us and I am watching in amazement as He unfolds it.
Emily
I just shopped for 2 hours by myself!!! Wow, that never happens. I had to work today. Just an 8 hour shift though, not a 16. I have to go back again tomorrow. I don't mind this because I actually get paid overtime for this shift not time off. We could really use the money, with Christmas coming up. Trey is out of town, somewhere in south Georgia and my mom has the kids so I could work. So I have a whole evening to myself!!! TV dinner and a movie is in my future!

Last night, Trey and I went on a date, the first in months and months. We dropped the children off at my moms yesterday afternoon and hung out at the Mall of Georgia. We went a saw a movie, Social Network, which I really liked. It was interesting to watch a documentary-ish movie about something happened before your eyes, in your adult life-time. We went to dinner at Mimi's Cafe, it was awesome. We cherish the time we get to be together. Trey always makes me laugh and I adore him. I am so happy he is mine.

Just a quick funny story, well 2 actually. Remember when I said I would regret saying to James if he was so lonely to sleep outside my door that he could come sleep with me? yep, I regret it! BIG time. He has been in my room 1 to 3 times a night since I said that!! It's like having an infant wake you up. I went easy on him the first 10 days because I know October messed him up, and he NEVER gives me any trouble. He is SO good. He has always been my routine child and has to be warned when change is coming to avoid melt downs. If you give him a heads up, he is totally fine. He has just gotten so insecure about who is going to be here with him. But Wednesday night, I had had enough. I chased him back to bed threatening no cartoons for a week and no playing with the neighbors! The tears immediately dried up....so, maybe he's playing my heart, huh? Well, he didn't do it Friday night so we will see when he gets back from Grandma's ("Sita" as he calls her).

Ok, funny story #2. To sit or not to sit, that is the question. Eliza, 19 months old, said to me, "pee,pee, potty" so I go and try to sit her on the potty and she shakes her head and goes stiff backed and won't sit. So I set her down in front of the toilet and she immediately pees on the stool. She totally thinks she is supposed to stand up and pee! I laughed so hard. I guess that what happens when a baby girl has her daddy and big brother home with her mostly. Guess I need to tag her along every time I go!

Dinner and a movie, calling my name!
Cami

I have to say this past weekend was an absolute blast! I can honestly say that I have some amazing friends and feel so blessed to have each one of these girls in my life. Last Thursday, my friend Jenn flew in from Michigan to come to my baby shower on Saturday. We had such a great time catching up and chilling out.

Friday night Jenn and I had a girls night dinner with some friends of mine. Most of them had met Jenn a few months ago when she came to visit. So we went to Laredos for Mexican and spent a couple of hours just laughing and enjoying the food. Although, we do have to say that we missed you Nikki M!

On Saturday, my friends Dina, Becky, Beverly, Jen, Cara, Trixie and Pam threw me a baby shower. We had so much fun. And it was just so cool to see so many different people from almost every era of my life come together. It was especially fun when I was opening gifts because Trey and Emily's little girl Eliza was there. So she would help me read the cards. But, then a few of the stuff animals we got she would hug and give a kiss too. It was so precious! I'm so glad my Real Angels wives were able to be there. The Lord has definitely blessed me with some special friendships with these girls. Every time I see them and hang out with them our friendship grows deeper and deeper. I love you girls! Anyway, the time with all of my friends was so special. It was such a special time to see them come to celebrate our little miracle who is on her way. Thank you all so much! Words cannot express how much I love each one of you!

It's crazy to think that we are now 32 1/2 weeks along. It is definitely flying by now. And we are getting more and more excited for the arrival of our Lacey Elisabeth. We actually ordered Lacey's travel system last night. I was excited because we actually got it on sale online for $20 cheaper than in the store PLUS free shipping. We also ordered the valances for her room too. That is coming together and we should have it all done and decorated by Thanksgiving. Josh and I were talking about how surreal it is that we are so close to meeting her. Every night we sit on the couch and marvel and my growing and jumping belly. It really makes you wonder how people cannot believe that God is real and that babies are living human beings. It boggles my mind. It's such a miracle!!!

Well, I am off to bed now. It's 10:30 and way past my bedtime. Yes, I know that to some that's early, but, when you have a 4:30 am wake up call and your preggo it's not that early!
Emily
We totally just did something soooo uncharacteristic! We went to Krispy Kreme for dinner....yep, that's right. Doughnuts...the dinner of champions. What prompted this outing was a conversation at lunch we had with James. I said something about a doughnut and James said "what's a doughnut....is it round?" That baffled me that he hadn't had a doughnut in so long that his brain had no memories, let alone a Krispy Kreme, the melt in your mouth, best in the world when their hot doughnut! We just don't eat a lot of sweets. The only candy from his trick or treat bucket that he knew the name was M&Ms. That's been fun watching him discover other candy wonders. So Trey said we should all go later in the afternoon. But, of course, after house work and yard work, it ended up being at 6pm, just in time for dinner. Trey actually called before we left to make sure the "Hot Now" light was on so we could get doughnuts right off the conveyor belt! And we did. And now I feel sick. Me, being coupon obsessed, had one for 1/2 off the 2nd dozen but I knew that was too many for us so I gave it to the older gentleman behind us in line. Later, very enamored with our kids, came over and asked us to pick out some doughnuts to take home from his box. I wanted to refuse but eager James took 4 more and now we have almost a dozen we brought home! Talk about an immediate blessing and 5 extra pounds. Eliza, turned into a teenage girl, and refused to take part in the doughnut extravaganza, keeping her girlish figure. But she and James both enjoyed watching the doughnuts being made through the window. It is pretty cool. He said, "I wish I could have that job!" We laughed and told him when he was 16 he could. He said he would bring home doughnuts. Haha. Hopefully he will have more ambition at some point! But hey, it would have some perks...
This was a good weekend. Trey was home and we have enjoyed being a family. I went to Cami's baby shower yesterday. It was fun with lots of yummy food. I am blessed to have her in my life. Megan went and we got to hang out. She is the newest wife in the band and I haven't had much time to get to know her. It was really nice to have that time to talk and the learn more about her. I like her SO much. It still baffles me that God gave me such wonderful friends in the wives of this band. It could be such an awful relationship, but it's not. A totally unexpected blessing straight from the hand of God.
This morning we went back to Liberty Hill, our old church where Trey used to lead worship. At the Wednesday night EA concert, (yes, I went with kids in tow. They had a great time and Eliza did too even though she was under the weather. But I paid for it because she was up ALL night after that and I had to work the next day, poor baby) Anyway, some of our friends came, one being the sound man and another a singer in the worship band. Both convinced me to come back and sing today. I took them up on their offer. I am so glad I did. It is always a blessing to worship and to be loved on by friends. That is the greatest church. The people make it incomparable to other churches, so full of love and passion. I do hope to go back and sing again. Not being able to make it to practice during the week makes it hard and unfair to the others. So we will just have to wait and see.
I am off to finish some laundry before I am off to bed, I work tomorrow. Can I just say how much I do not like Day Light Savings....its got us all screwed up already.
Megan
So, this weekend was great! I have been sick for almost a week and a half with this awful cough, and I thought Neil and I were just going to stay in. Out of nowhere, some of Neil's friends came across some free tickets to Six Flags, and invited us to go to for the day. I had already determined that I was staying in that day to get better- but come on, free tickets to Six Flags? And during Fright Fest?? Yes, please! I didn't care if I was going to be paying for it all the next week, we were going to Six Flags for Halloween!

On Sunday I stayed in (Neil played at a local church) and watched a message on northpointeonline. They are doing an awesome series right now about God's "Gameplan" for your life. The premise is all about knowing your purpose, your gifts, and about following God's calling for your life. It is AMAZING! I took an online questionnaire provided by Northpoint Community Church and learned more about my spiritual gifts, and how to use them for God's purpose. It is so amazing to think that God formed us in a way that is unique to us as an individual- all of our talents, gifts, our physical make-up, personality, emotional make-up. It blows my mind that we are all beautifully and wonderfully made. We are all heaven-sent, and we were created glorify Him. If you get the chance, you should really watch the series of messages, they are life-changing!

This of course made me think of my role as a wife of a musician. I didn't know when I got married that Neil would join Echoing Angels a year later- it was alot to take in at first. It was hard to stay at home and work by myself while he was off traveling and doing what he loves to do. i have to admit, I was jealous, and selfish. Since I am an artist myself, it made me want to go out and follow my dreams; to establish my career as a dancer and a choreographer. It took me a while to understand and realize that he was using his God-given talents to praise Him, and to inspire others. This was his "gameplan." All of the members of the band have truly been called into this ministry. As much as they have been called to make music, we (me and the other wives) have been called to our ministry. We are their constant support system, promoters, and their biggest fans! I am so happy for everything happening for them right now, it is so exciting. One of the most exciting parts is that I have a front row seat!!
Emily
Halloween was oh so much fun. The kids looked so adorable. Eliza wasn't really interested at first. But she soon discovered that the harder she stomped her new furry boots, the louder her bells rang. (She was an elf). So she strutted her stuff! She got really good at being a ham and saying "tik teet' to everyone and "tantoo" (thank you). James was bumblebee transformer and was very offended if anyone thought he was scary. "no, i'm a good guy!" They were so cute!

I was able to go on a short trip with EA, monday and Tuesday, to Kentucky. I wanted to go because the promoters putting on the show were very dear old friends and we haven't seen them in about 5 years. We planted a church with them about 8 years ago in Atlanta and when you do something like that together, you are connected forever. It was great to see them. Its was actually my first trip in the EA van....and it didn't smell as bad as I thought it would. Tiffany, their manager, had frebreezed the van when she went to the midwest with them, so Thank YOU TIFFANY!. But I had a blast. The guys were so welcoming to me and I appreciated it. But I do think we went to the first place ever where we weren't considered red-necks.....hahaha.

I was supposed to work today and Trey was going to take the kids to my cousins to play when he had to go. He has a show tonight in town. But Eliza has been running a fever of 103 for 2 days, so I had to call in to work today. She is feeling much better today but I am not sure I can take her to the show or not. I really wanted to, the kids don't get to see their daddy play much and an in town show only 20 minutes away is SOOOO rare. We shall see how the day goes.

My sister in law is in labor!!! She was due on the 31st with her 4th baby girl! The baby is turned face down so that is why labor had not progressed. They induced her last night and she had a very long tough night but has progressed and hopefully that baby has turned face up by now. We are so thrilled for the arrival of Estelle. We will be able to meet her at Thanksgiving. Please pray for her and the baby.

I'm off to take advantage of this day off and do some laundry!
Nikki
I had today off because of Election Day and I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my boys. We actually slept in this morning until about 9 o'clock! I can't remember the last time I got to "sleep in" . We would have slept longer, but I had to take Journey to the doctor to get his 2 month old shots. I can't believe how time flies!! I felt so sorry for him because he had no idea what he was in for. He had to get three shots, but thankfully the pain only lasted for seconds.
He has gained four pounds and grown 4 inches in just 9 weeks. He is such a sweet little boy! I am so blessed to have him and Jayce as my sons. We left the doctor and went and got some lunch then came home for some much needed sleep. All three of us took a long nap.

I have to go back to work tomorrow, but only for a short time. I get the week off at Thanksgiving so in about two weeks I will get to spend some more time with them. Well, I am off to sleep now. Six o'clock is going to come real soon.


Cami

Happy November 1st! It's so hard to believe that we are already into November! This year is flying by quickly! I hope that you had a great Halloween weekend. Josh and I did! On Saturday Josh and I went up to visit his MeMaw and Uncle David. It had been several months since we had been there, so it was nice to go and spend some time with them. After that we left and drove to Shannon's house. Something you may not know about our very own Shannon Cochran is that his favorite holiday is Halloween. And every year he has a big Halloween party at his house with a haunted trail, hayride, bonfire and all. He does a GREAT job putting this on. The haunted trail is all about a character called "Smokey Bones". You go out on a tour of the trail in hopes of finding Smokey Bones. It really is fun. But, this year for me was a little tougher because of being almost 8 months pregnant. At the end all the scary characters from the whole trail started running after everyone. Yeah...I couldn't run. LOL...but my faithful husband stayed with me and never let go of my hand. Anyway, we had a great time there at his party. Good job Shanno!!! After that, we left and drove 2 hours to my friend Heidi Rew's house for her Halloween party. Yes, Shannon lives way out there! LOL! Anyway, Heidi and I work together at The Fish here in Atlanta. The picture above is of current and former Salem Communication employees. As you can see Josh and I dressed up as Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers. We usually try to be more creative with our costumes, however, being preggo it was a bit more difficult. And plus, we didn't want to have a big expense in costumes with a baby on the way. So, this is what we came up with. I have to say though, I was EXHAUSTED after such a long day. But, we had such a great time that I wouldn't have changed it. Josh and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends. So any time that we get to spend with them is just awesome.

Today Echoing Angels is doing a show in Kentucky. Thankfully it's only a day trip and they will be home tomorrow. Then they have a concert here in Atlanta on Wednesday night. So that will be a lot of fun to go to. Anyway, while Josh is away today, my daddy came over to help finish up our Lacey's room. He put up the chair rail and is now caulking in the places that need it. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful daddy who is willing to give up his day to come help me. Thanks daddy! I love you! Once he's done with that we're going to steam clean her carpet. THEN we can put in the crib and all of Lacey's things! I'm sooo excited! It's crazy that Lacey will be here in less than 9 weeks. Cannot wait!