Gatlinburg Getaway

A few weeks back I discovered that Josh and I had 4 days off in a row together, which is rare, so I planned us a little mountain getaway!  We left on Monday headed to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN.

 The drive was absolutely beautiful!  So much color...I love it!

 And this was our sweet little cabin in the woods.  It was nice, nothing fancy, but perfect for the two of us on our little retreat!  It had a little kitchen, den area and on this screened in porch was a hot tub, rockers and a swing...what more do you need?! :)

 And best of all, it was private and surrounded by woods...which meant surrounded by color.  I would have loved to have a mountain view, but this was perfect, and not too expensive either!

 The name of our little cabin cracked me up....Yee Haw!  After we were all checked in, we went and had supper at the Mellow Mushroom, followed by some frozen yogurt, YUM!

 Day 2:  We got up and headed straight here, my all time favorite restaurant in the smokies...The Apple Barn!  We were shooting for breakfast, but didn't quite make it in time.  So we had lunch!

 They have such pretty fall decorations!

 Check out this beauty...I want this...in my yard!  So pretty :)

 After lunch, we went to the new Titanic Museum.  I was really looking forward to this.  I absolutely love the movie and was interested in more of its history.

 It was a very cool experience.  We got to dip our hands in water that was the same degree as the ocean that night (23 degrees, I think).  We saw lots of artifacts and items from the ship.  We learned about lots of people that were on the Titanic that day too.  One man in particular was  a baptist pastor, and he was giving out life vests to all the unsaved people on the boat.  He even witnessed to a guy (who accepted the Lord as his personal savior right there in the water) right before he died. The man that was saved that night survived.  Wow, what a testimony.  A man dressed up like the "captain" told that story to a large group of us and I was wanting to shout Amen.  It gave me cold chills.  It truly was a neat experience.

 Before entering the museum, we received a card with the name of an actual person aboard the ship that day.  I was Pieta Ilmakangas.  A 25 year old girl from Finland, who was a 3rd class passenger.  Josh was Percy Keen.  He was a 28 year old man who was part of the crew on the ship.  At the end of the tour, we had to find our names on the large wall of passengers and find out if you lived or died.  Josh's man survived,  my girl did not :( 

 After the Titanic, we headed to the outlets to do a little shopping.  And we finished our day playing a little putt putt.  This was an appropriate course for us, considering how much we ate on this trip...haha!

 My man about to get schooled on the green!  For the record, I beat him both, (ahem) yes both times we played putt putt!  But who's counting really :)

 The putt putt champion!

 This picture cracks me up...so funny!

 We had beautiful weather the whole trip.  It stayed in the 70's most of the day.  Who would have thought that one week later, they would have 18inches of snow.  Now that would have made for an interesting trip :)

The next day we slept in and then went for a couples massage, followed by supper at...you guessed it...The Apple Barn!  And on our last day, we got all packed up, and headed to....The Apple Barn (anyone seeing a pattern here?) for breakfast, grabbed some apple pies for my folks, and then we hit the road!  We really had a great time on our much needed getaway!

~"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1~ 

Globetrotters

Look who Gracie got to meet...

The Harlem Globetrotters!  How cool is that.  Gracie had an appointment today at Shriner's.  Here is what her Mama had to say about the appt.  "Who had a stretch cast appointment, saw the Harlem Globetrotters AND had NO TEARS?? The one and only Gracie Knight!!! Praising our faithful God for a PAINFREE appointment!!" 

Way to Go Gracie girl!  Uncle Josh and Aunt Brandie are so proud of YOU!

~"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15~

Home sweet Home

Look who is home...

 This sweet girl!  And we had a slumber party to celebrate!

 And look at this cute room she got to come home to!  Jennifer, Suzanne, Wick, Patti, Missy and others have been hard at work to totally transform the downstairs living area, where they will be while Gracie recovers.  I wish I had before pics and better after pics.  This just doesn't do it justice.  It is so bright, cheerful and fit for our princess!

 Gracie and her Nana!

 And look what this little girl got tonight...Yes, that's an IPAD!  What an awesome gift she got from her Pa Knight, Ma Knight (from heaven) and family!  She absolutely LOVES mine, so she was quite excited to have her very own.  And even got a pink cover for it!  She was already telling me all the games/videos she wanted downloaded on it!  Fun gift!

Slumber party with our pearl...popcorn and all  ;)  Gracie updated my fb status and it read as follows:  "from Gracie. we arewatching a video called sleepy time stories it is fun"

We had lots of fun celebrating Gracie's first night back at home!  So glad you are home sweet girl!

~"A cheerful heart is good medicine..."  Proverbs 17:22~ 

Gracie's Surgery

 Today is the day...it is here...Tuesday Oct. 16 2012 has finally arrived!  It is the day for Kylie Grace's surgery!  She is having surgery on her hamstrings, Achilles tendons and her feet, to assist her in WALKING!!  So many prayers going up for this sweet girl.  Praising God for all that He has already done and trusting in all that He is going to do!  To God be the Glory great things He has done!!
Lots of pictures ahead...to capture her surgery day story!!

 Got to spend some time with this sweet girl the night before her surgery.  She is bathed, new pjs on and ready for her big day tomorrow!

 Love her!

 Here she is, bright and early, bow and all, at Shriner's Hospital for her surgery day!

 Striking a pose beside the turtle with her Nanny Tuck, Uncle Josh and Nana, on the way up to her room.

 Gracie and turtle

Hugs for Poppa 

 And smiles for all!  Gracie with her Momma and Poppa

 Me and my sweet girl!

 Silly girl

"I'm ready....Lets do this!"

Posted by Gracie's Mom:

"This morning as I was getting ready for work, I reached for my earrings and saw my pearls in my armoire drawer. The Lord put in my spirit a desire to learn about the pearl today. It is formed in a hard oyster shell in the gritty sand on the bottom of the ocean floor. An invader or parasite enters in and the oyster begins to release nacar that encases the parasite. Layer after layer, it hardens until the invader is completely buried and encased, with each layer being made of shiny iridescent crystals until it is made whole & complete......the invader is Cerebral Palsy....the pearl is my Gracie. In support of Gracie tomorrow, lets wear our pearls

 

All the ladies waiting while Gracie's in surgery, sporting our Pearls!  "Surgery Update by Gracie's Mom: Gracie did GREAT before surgery with anesthesia!! She fell asleep well and they started around 9:20. Should be able to update again in a couple of hours. OVERWHELMED by all the texts, calls, emails & PEARLS! :) Love you all!!" 

Pearls for our Pearl!

Gracie right out of surgery, in and out of sleep, with the Ipad, blanket and buddies by her side. (the ipad worked well for post surgery calming, yay :) "Surgery Update by Gracie's Mom: Gracie is out of surgery and sleeping in her room. She had some heel pain and cried a good bit right after but has settled down. Prayer warriors, please pray specifically for supernatural pain management. Love you all"

"I think I'll try a few of those crackers" says Gracie!  Yay for feeling a little better!

Such a trooper!

Gracie with her Mom, Jennifer and (the other) Brandy, who was so awesome and got KG her special request for her first meal post op:  a cheeseburger kids meal-pickles and ketchup only :)

Funny Faces!

Me with my sleepy girl!

Gracie's buds!

Gracie and Nanny Tuck

Gracie with her uncle Josh and aunt Brandie

Gracie using the "blow machine" with her nurse.

Gracie with her Dad and Christy

I stayed with Missy and Gracie the first night in the hospital.  We had a fun and somewhat restful night.  We were all praying for "sweet dreams!"  "Surgery Update from Gracie's Mom: Gracie is doing 10x better tonight than she was this afternoon. THANK YOU PRAYER WARRIORS!!! Epidural is working beautifully. Tomorrow we will talk to the doctor around 7am and then they are going to try and get her out of bed into her wheelchair. Be pressing in for her that her pain will be minimal. Goodnight all!"

"Surgery Update from Gracie's Mom:  Praising Him who was able to get my baby from the bed to the wheelchair with NO TEARS!! HALLELUJAH!!!"  Gracie relaxing in the sitting/play area of Shriner's talking on the phone!!  :)

Mommy and daughter

Up and at em' playing the Wii in the playroom with Nana and Poppa! 

"Gracie Update (by her Mom): First of all, I am a very blessed lady to have been given the opportunity by the Lord to be called "Mom" by Gracie Knight. And to be surrounded by all of the wonderful people that we call family & friends is off the chart!! Today was a good day. Tomorrow will have new challenges. At 7:30, the epidural comes out and oral pain meds begin. At 1pm, the catheter comes out. Late afternoon, her casts will be trimmed down some for comfort. Please be covering these things. God is FAITHFUL to His word.....love you all!!"

Gracie taking a stroll with Nana to go see the fish.  She also got to go to build-a-bear, inside the hospital, and make her a very special friend who came along for the stroll!

Dog Therapy time!  Gracie loves all animals...but especially dogs!!

"Gracie Update (by her Mom): She did it!! And with only a few tears! The epidural and catheter came out today and she was a CHAMP! She got her casts wrapped.....and you guessed that she gets her color-love from me....one leg is neon orange & the other is... glow in the dark! :) We are going home tomorrow...God has been more than faithful this week. And the colored casts are just an extra perk! ;)  "Your body will glow with health & your bones will vibrate with life!" ~Prov. 3:7-8~"

Sweet girl is all packed up and heading HOME!!!  Shriner's Hospital is A-MA-Zing!  So impressed with their staff, their facility and all of their programs to help speed up the recovery of their precious patients!  Thank you Shriner's Hospital!

What an amazing little girl Gracie is.  I admire her strength, perseverance and resilience!  God has big things in store for this precious child!  Join us as we continue to pray for Gracie as she continues to heal!  Believing and praying for God's perfect will! Knowing that God will continue to be glorified through His precious child!  Claiming this for our sweet pearl, Gracie! "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Eph 3:20