Little Miss Evelyn

So it seems we're going to be welcoming a baby girl in January! To be completely honest, I have always been terrified of having a daughter. I'm not a touchy feely, emotional type person. Of course I can be emotional, but I'm not one to really journal or express my feelings. I can actually be quite girly too! I guess I'm not into the whole drama thing. Of course, I understand that not all girls can be this way, but it terrifies me to think that I won't be able to relate to my daughter the way I would like to. What if she is an emotional person? Or what if she is a bit of a dramatic? Eek! This scares me! I have been praying more than ever that the Lord would help me be a good mommy to this little girl.
As scared as I've always been to have a daughter (I've always pictured myself being a 'boy' mom), I was actually everything short of giddy the day we went to our ultrasound. All of that fear flew out the window, and I've been wearing a smile ever since! :) I am ecstatic to have this baby girl growing in my womb! I can't wait to put bows in her hair and have tea parties with her! FUN!!! Praise God for this baby girl!

Here is Miss Evelyn Blayne....

Our summer in a nutshell!

Ok..so umm...I've been really BAD at blogging this summer! We have been super busy, super hot, and super pregnant. Well, at least I have been anyway! I'll just make a couple of posts about our summer, then maybe we can move right along....

1. My sweet Caedmon had a 2 1/2 birthday party!

2. Nana came to visit!

3. We found out we're having a baby girl, Evelyn Blayne!!! :)

4. We went to our annual family reunion!

Here are a few pics of our trip to the aquarium while C's Nana was here visiting:

Small Town Patriotism

Moving to a metroplex was pretty overwhelming almost two years ago. I'm a country girl who grew up in small towns, and I love running into people I know everywhere I go. It's comforting. It's welcoming. It's home to me. I'm so glad the Lord knows my heart so well, because he moved us into this little county right outside of Dallas. You know, the small town kind. This past weekend, we had the joy of experiencing a small town patriotic parade in this quaint, little place. The kind of parade where families were encouraged to join in. Next year, I think we just might.

Families waiting for the parade to start. I just loved the Uncle Sam costume! :)

My favorite snapshot of the day!

Families joining in

Loved the rides!

The 'old man' band playing on the courthouse steps. They reminded me so much of home, I had to choke back tears!

The fiddle player was such a sweetheart!

My baby boy :)

We enjoyed another 'small town' delight that I'll post about another day this week! I hope you all had a great July 4th, and I pray we never take our freedom forgranted!

New News!

Well..not really 'new' news, but I haven't posted on here yet that we are expecting another precious baby in January! After losing a baby in April, I was wanting to wait a few more months to try again. I was still so emotional and would break down into tears at nearly everything. I wasn't pregnant that long with our sweet baby, but it still hurt deeply. That was incredibly surprising to me, and I wasn't prepared to be so emotional. After talking to my husband, we decided to trust God with getting pregnant again like we had done before. However, it took me 4 months to get pregnant with our angel baby. So we weren't expecting to get pregnant again so soon. Seriously....I didn't even have a cycle between losing our baby and finding out I was pregnant again!!!
This was another range of emotions I did not expect! I was happy to be pregnant, but it was just hard to imagine having another baby in there. I almost felt like I should still be pregnant with the first baby. I felt guilty for having a completely different baby in there and not being able to carry the one we lost. I know that sounds crazy, but all moms know how the feeling of guilt will come over you for some of the silliest reasons!
We waited to tell family and close friends until we had our 6 week appointment and got to see the precious baby's heart flickering on the screen. That was a precious sight! The un-telling of our previous pregnancy was so hard, and I never wish to repeat that! We had our 9 week ultrasound a couple of weeks ago, and we got to see our sweet baby again and its little arm and leg buds. :) It had a good, strong heartbeat of 181 bpm! My husband has the ultrasound pics and has yet to scan and send them to me, so I will post pics of our precious baby soon! I will be 12 weeks this Wednesday, and things are going along smoothly. I am nauseated and completely exhausted! It takes all the energy I have just to wash dishes or do a load of laundry. I don't remember this with Caedmon, but I know every pregnancy is different. Please forgive my lack of posts! I get on here. Look at my blog and realize I am way behind. Maybe my energy and creativity will return soon. :)

Why I Love Mondays

There are so many reasons to dread Mondays. The weekend is OVER...You didn't finish your weekend projects...You were too busy to really enjoy your weekend...Work..

However, I LOVE Mondays! Monday is really the only day during the week that I have all day with my little man. I work part time the other days of the week. Even though those are only half days and Caedmon goes with me, Monday is the day we don't have to plan anything at all! Today we went to the park, Cman got a haircut, and we checked out Father's Day gifts. I loved every minute of it!

My Sweet Boy

At 2 years and 4 months...

You sleep with a slew of stuffed animals every night.

You fold your hands and bow your head while we pray (while also looking around the room when you think mommy's not watching). 

You know your colors and shapes.

You recognize 17 letters of the alphabet, and even know a few letter sounds.

You are silly and love to make mommy and daddy laugh!

You love doing flips and jumping on the bed.

You talk about your friends from 'school'.

You are tenderhearted and don't like when other people are sad or upset.

You can carry on a big boy conversation!

You repeatedly ask mommy and daddy to sing You Are My Sunshine and Jesus Loves Me when you go to bed at night.
You like to put on your shoes and climb into your car seat all by yourself. 
You love drawing and coloring...on everything!
You like to help mommy sweep and help daddy 'cut' the grass.
You pretend that the vacuum attachment is a sword and insist on carrying it to the grocery store. :)
You have named all of your stuffed puppies after your grandparents' pets, and you sleep with them every night.
You like to point out everything that is 'big tall' while we're driving.
You are expressing your own self-will...often.
You climb, jump, and explore the playground with no fear! :/
Your laughter is music to my ears.

Mommy and daddy talk about how precious you are every night before we go to sleep. We love you sweet boy!

He Gives and Takes Away

This is one post I wish I didn't have to type, but I feel that I need to just to get it out of my system. I also know that we have many people who love us and are praying for us as we're dealing with this. 
We found out on Good Friday that we were expecting again! What a great way to start such an amazing Easter weekend! I knew that my due date would fall around the beginning of December. Caedmon is also a December baby, so it was exciting to think that December was going to be such a joyous month for our family. I decided to tell Jason the good news by using Easter eggs. :) I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some large pink and blue Easter eggs. However, it took me two hours to find baby items small enough to fit! I finally found a small packet of Balmex, a pacifier, baby washcloth, and a wrist rattle. So then I had to wait for Jason to come home! After opening the second egg, I think that's when it dawned on him what I was trying to tell him! Although it didn't come as a big shock for either of us, we were still excited and nervous!
We thought we would wait to tell everyone until our first doctor visit, but on Easter Sunday our joy got the best of us. We started telling our friends and family and posted our news on facebook.
This pregnancy started out much like my first pregnancy did. Nausea, soreness, etc. I looked at my tummy in the mirror every day even though I knew it was way to early to tell a difference. :) Any 'changes' I though I noticed were really just the remnants of a relaxed tummy from my first pregnancy! Ha!
Exactly a week after we found out we were expecting, I started bleeding. Immediately I got on Google and started looking up my symptoms. It was so frustrating, because sometimes bleeding means nothing at all. But it can also be symptoms of a miscarriage. I decided to take it easy and relax on the couch all day. I called the doctor, and they acted like it wasn't a big deal and didn't seem worried. So I didn't worry. However, when Jason came home for lunch, the bleeding was much heavier and he wanted me to call the doctor again. They got me in right away.
I arrived at the doctor's office and felt like I had to wait an eternity! 
They finally called my name and got me to a room. I took a pregnancy test ( I had already taken two at home, and both were positive). The results came back, and the test said negative. That's when the bad news slowly started to sink in. The exam showed that my uterus was eight weeks, so she wanted me to have a sonogram. I was watching the screen hoping to find some sign of life. My womb was empty, and the technician whispered she was sorry as she walked out of the room. I was starting to shake a little, and I could feel my heart racing. It was one of those moments that I had to choke back tears, and I kept telling my self over and over to 'hold it together'. I walked to the car as fast as I could just to get away from that place, but even then I still couldn't really cry. Coming home to tell Jason the news was so hard, and I just melted into sobs while he held me.
We began sharing the news with our friends and family, and it was such a comfort to know that we were being covered in prayer. That Friday was incredibly difficult and very emotional. Each day since has been better, but I still have my moments of sadness. Especially since the miscarriage is still in process and is a constant reminder of the life we lost. But we serve a great God who gives us such peace during times like this. Even though it's hard, He gives us hope. I have no idea why we lost our sweet baby, but He does. I'm so thankful that our baby is with our heavenly Father and doesn't have to suffer here on this earth. We are also so thankful for our family and our friends who are there to listen and share our burdens with us. I would list names, but I know I would leave someone out. Those friends know who they are, and we want you to know that we love you and cherish your friendship. 

All My Praise

I will follow You through green pastures
And sing hallelujah to Your Name
I will follow You through dark disaster
And sing hallelujah through the pain

And even in the shadow of death
I will praise You
And even in the valley I will say

Holy, my God
You are worthy of all my praise
Holy, my God
You are worthy of all my praise

You are seated on Your throne in heaven
And You see all of us down here
And You have promised You will not abandon
So I shall not fear

And even in the shadow of death
I will praise You
And even in the valley I will say

Holy, my God
You are worthy of all my praise
Holy, my God
You are worthy of all my praise

You made every star
And You taught it how to shine
You knew my name before there was time
And all this was just part of Your glorious design
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
 

Easter!

Ok, so the next post I need to share is from Easter. Each class from our MDO program at church had an Easter egg hunt the week before Easter. Caedmon's class looked for eggs on the playground, and as you can see, it wasn't only the kids who had a good time!

Oh dear!

Oh my!!! I just looked at the date of my last post and realized it has been almost a month since my last post. Eek! I PROMISE I have not dropped off the face of the earth. As of right now, our Mac (along with all of my saved files, favorite sites, etc.) has crashed, so I really have not been that motivated to post as much. Shame on me! Along with all of my saved favorites, I could potentially lose hundreds of pictures of Caedmon's birth up til now. I am so sick over it and praying for a miracle!
Let's see....in the past month: 1. We've had snow! 2. I've been crocheting several baby blankets. Fun! 3. Caedmon has become more assertive in the way he talks to me. Not sure how I feel about this, and we are in the process of steering him in the right direction with his communication. 3 Preparing for an upcoming art show with our MDO program. 4. Traveled home for a few days to watch my brother graduate from the police academy. 5. My youngest sister came and spent several days with us. We had so much fun with her here! 6. Decided to start cutting back on the amount of meat we intake and eat more veggies. The money we save from cutting out some meat will help me to buy more organic foods! So excited!
Ok, I will be back soon with several pictures! God bless!

Things I Love Thursday

I love....

My Little Boy!

This sweet child of mine never ceases to amaze me. He is two years old, and every month from the moment he was born has been an adventure! You know, I always knew I would love my baby, but I never could have imagined the amount of pride I would feel. I am so proud of every little accomplishment. I love the way he explores the world and discovers new things. It never gets old! And oh, the sweet little things he says just make us laugh so hard! It's amazing to me how much he remembers, and I love watching him learn.

Just last night, I tucked Caedmon into bed. I handed him his stuffed animals and his favorite blanket. He folded his little hands together, and we prayed for our friends and family. When we were finished, I told him how much God loves him and how He made him special. He just looked up at me and smiled. :) As I was walking out of his room, I turned around to turn out his light. Out of this precious two year old's mouth, he said, "Jesus loves you, Mommy!" Oh my! What a sweet, simple truth that we all need to hear! The Lord spoke to my heart right through the mouth of my babe. I went to my room and wept as I prayed. Oh how He loves you and me!

For more Things I Love Thursday visit The Diaper Diaries! 

 

End of an Era

 

 I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Jason and I made a big decision for our family recently. I can now post that the decision was made for Jason to leave the military. Jason leaving the Army in no way means that we don't have a huge support and tremendous gratitude for the armed forces. We are forever indebted to the brave men and women who fight for us and the families who stand behind them on the home front.

I wanted to write a post for my precious husband. :) This was not an easy decision, and it's one we've been discussing for the past year. Jason has made wonderful friends and has experienced great things with the Army.

Jason and I met the week he got back from basic training and AIT. I had just started my sophomore year at UNA when I met him. My roommates introduced us, and I knew from our first conversation that I wanted to get to know this guy better. Ok, ok...the dog tags got my attention too! Not only was this guy an amazing Christian who loved the Lord, but...he looked dang good in those BDUs!  

Just a few short months after we began dating, Jason was deployed at the start of the war in 2003. We both knew that we were going to be together, and his deployment was one of God's ways of helping us to grow stronger from a distance. For a year, we both poured our hearts out to each other through letters. In fact, we still have the box full of all of the letters we wrote to each other! I can't wait to share those with our children one day!

Jason ended up serving in Kuwait for the duration of his deployment. He and the troops he was with set up a base camp for incoming soldiers. From what I hear, that camp is still there today although it has been given a different name. During the summer that Jason was gone, he began writing letters to me from Proverbs 31 (the wife of noble character). He would send each letter one verse at a time. He would talk about that verse and how it reminded him of me (aww!). This went on through the summer and fall of that year. Finally, he came home for a two week leave in December. We were taking pictures one day by the lake, and he got down on his knee to propose. It was then that he gave me the last Proverbs 31 letter! How precious! 

 

 

Jason came back home the following April, and we were married in June. The Army has been a big part of our lives for the last few years, and we are so thankful for the opportunities it provided for Jason and our family. Those many weeks without a husband were not easy! But we are so proud of of the men and women who are gone for months on end, and who have gone through multiple deployments.

 

 So I know I used this post as a tribute to my husband and our love story. I guess when I was thinking back on the Army and how it has been a huge part of our lives, I realized that it has been a part of our lives from the very beginning of our relationship. Up to this point, we have never made a decision without taking into account what kind of effect the military might have on that decision. So here's to the end of one era and the beginning of a new one! An era that will no longer involve something that has been such a huge part of our lives for the past 8 years. May God always bless and protect our armed forces! We are so proud of you!

Wordless Wednesday

Not sure what my little man was thinking, but I love this pic!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

What a Journey!

Wow! It's 2010 already! It seems just like yesterday we were all worried about Y2K! Ha!
Man, have a lot of things happened in the last 10 years...but I'll just blog about the last year. :)
My sweet friend, Myra, included something similar on her page, so I thought I'd copy it!

2009 Highlights

• I went from staying home full time to working two part time jobs. One allows me to work from home most of the time, and the other one is teaching a PreK class at our church with our MDO program.
• Caedmon is also attending a class two days a week and is making new friends!
• Caedmon broke his arm when he ran down the hall with a book and fell on his wrist at 18 months old.
• We've made some new friends!
• October marked one year since we've moved to Texas from Alabama.
• My crocheting side 'business' has really picked up, and I've been able to make a little additional income.

2010 Goals

Personal

• Getting a regular cleaning routine!
• Try to tone up my 'mommy tummy' for myself and my husband. :)
• Staying more organized in our humble rental.
• Keeping my eyes fixed on the Lord and growing in my walk with Him.
• Continue striving to be a lady of grace and character.

Financial

• Continue reducing our debt one small chunk at a time!
• Developing a tighter budget to help us do this.
• Continue on my road to saving money through sales and coupons.
• Save more and spend less!

Spiritual

• Daily devotions as a family.
• Doing a memory scripture with our family every week.
• Praying over our home and family more.
• Being more mindful of what we allow into our home by what we watch, listen, and speak.
• Having a more Christ-like attitude.
• Continue daily Bible readings with Caedmon.

Christmas 2009!