The wait is over

Jayden Ryan was born at 11:12 am to Mark and Angela (Mike's sister).

He was 6 pounds and measured 18 1/2 inches long.

Here are some pictures of their precious little boy.

Angela with her first son.
The proud papa.

Tom & Norma (Mark's parents) holding Jayden
Grammy & Jayden
WOW! I think Barrett grew overnight! He looks huge next to Jayden!
He doesn't have as much hair as Alyiah did...but he still has plenty!
Mark & Uncle Mike with their chocolate cigars
We got to witness Mark change his very first diaper! It was a messy one! He did great. I think he only used 6 wipes! lol

What a day full of blessings!
Thank you Lord for the miracle of life!!

If you want to...leave a comment here for Mark & Angela

and I'll get it to them at the hopsital!

Three Months Old

"What? I'm already 3 months old?!? How's that possible?" At least that's what it looks like Barrett's thinking in the picture below. It is hard to believe that our baby is already 1/4 of a year old! He is such a fun baby. He wakes up smiling at us in the mornings and the only time he's fussy is when he's tired! Brody loves holding him and talking to him. Every morning he rubs Barrett's head and says, "Good morning Bear-bear! Good morning!!" in a sweet little voice. Barrett watches every move Brody makes. He's laughing so much more now and it's so much fun to listen to. He's still sleeping 10-11 hours at night and many mornings I end up waking him up so that we can get everything done that we need to do that day! He's been sucking his thumb lately (much to my dismay...I've tried and tried to get him to be a paci baby...but it doesn't look like it's gonna work). The good thing about the thumb sucking is that he sleeps better. Brody used to lose his paci during the night and wake up crying. Barrett has yet to wake up crying because he lost his thumb!!

Here's Barrett's 3 month picture with the football.

After lunch, Mike and Brody went outside to wash the car. I decided it would be a good time to take some up close pictures of Barrett. Here are two of my favorite. Don't you just want to hold him and kiss him?! He's so precious!

Six Flags Pictures

Here are some pictures from our trip to Six Flags last Saturday. When we first got to the park we headed straight to the kiddy area. Brody loved this ride. It was a train made out of trucks! Staci, Ginger, & Jesse getting ready to go ride the big rides!
I had to show Brody how to hold on to the carousel. His horse was a little bit faster than Daddy Steve's...but a little slower than mine ;)
Mommy and Brody on top of the tower at Six Flags.

We had so much fun! Thanks again, Jesse & Ginger, for taking us with y'all!

Thru the Window

This morning I was doing the dishes after breakfast and looked out the window to see this: Mike hurried to get the camera to capture Brody "fixing" his golf cart. He took the camp stool over to the golf cart, climbed on (notice how far his feet are from the ground!), and proceeded to use his screwdriver to tighten one of the screws. After he fixed it, he climbed down, jumped into the golf cart, and drove off into the yard!

Training in Truth

"Old Testament and New Testament. Two parts of the Bible!"
That's what Brody randomly spouted out about 30 minutes after we got home from church tonight. He told us that Miss Amy taught him that. He kept telling it to us over and over while he formed his hands like a book. It was so cute!

Brody and I are working on a few memory verses. I decided to start with the verses we taught the Cubbies at AWANA. He can say the first verse: "All have sinned." however "Romans 3:23" seems to be a mouthful for him! lol We're also starting to work on 1 John 4:10 which says, "God loved us and sent his son." He says this one along with me but not by himself yet.

Monday night Brody and I ate our dinner (pizza) outside. It felt great outside (until the mosquitoes came out). Brody took his first bite of pizza and said, "Yummmm! Thank you God for good food!"

It makes my heart soar when I hear our son talk about God with so much love and enthusiasm! I can't wait to see what great things he'll do for the kingdom!

Fun Weekend

We had a weekend that was packed full of fun events! Friday night Mike and I went out to dinner (by ourselves!) and then met Angela at Daddy Steve & Namaw's house (with the boys) for ice cream birthday cake (from Marble Slab). It was YUMMY!!! We stayed there until way past our bedtime just talking. A week from today is eviction day for baby Jayden! We can't wait to meet him!!!

Saturday was part 2 of my birthday present to Mike. Thanks to Matt (my cousin Julie's husband) I was able to give Mike a golfing extravaganza birthday. A few weeks ago I sent him to do part 1. He went to Matt's golf store and had his clubs fit to him (like the pros do). Saturday was part 2. He got to play golf on a really nice golf course with Matt, Tyler, and Gary (Matt's partner in the golf store). It sounds like they had a lot of fun together.

While Mike was golfing, Ginger called and told me that she had 2 extra tickets to Six Flags. Since 2 and under get in free, Dad and I used the extra tickets and took Brody with us! So it was Ginger, Jesse, Dad, me, and Brody. I rode some of the big rides with Ginger and Jesse and then spent the afternoon with Dad and Brody. I think everyone was exhausted when we left the park...but we were all still smiling! I'll get the pictures from Dad later and post some pics of Brody's first Six Flags trip.

Sunday we went to church and then had a birthday lunch at Dad & Mom's with Caleb, Audria, and Ann (Tyler was studying at home). Then Caleb & Mike went with Wade & Travis (from church) to a Texas Rangers game. Brody & Barrett napped. I did some speed cleaning at our house. Sunday night we met 4 other couples from church at Taco Bueno and then went to Alley Cats for a few games of laser tag. We had so much fun hanging out with all of them! I know there are many more get togethers in our future with these couples.

Today I went to step class at 9:00 (I just love that class. The teacher makes up lots of fun choreography!) Mike gave Brody a much needed hair cut while I was gone. Now Mike has gone to play in a golf tournament (with Matt & Gary) and I'm getting ready to make lunch and then go to work! Aren't you glad you now know all the details of our weekend?! lol

The Big 3-0

Today Mike turns 30 years old! I am so thankful that he was born 30 years ago. I'm also thankful that he's spent the last 1/3 of his life with me! Here are 30 things that I love about my husband (in no particular order):

1) He's a good listener
2) He loves playing with our boys
3) He's not afraid to show affection in public
4) His dimples
5) His love for family
6) How he leads our family spiritually
7) The way he sacrifices his own wants and desires to make others dreams come true
8) His ability to work every power tool known to man
9) The way he can connect with teens and be a mentor to them
10) He takes care of me when I'm sick
11) Sometimes I feel like he can read my mind. Many times I don't even have to tell him what is bothering me...he just knows
12) He is a servant
13) He loves Christ with all his heart and amazes me with his knowledge of the Bible
14) He is an amazing athlete and lots of fun to watch play sports
15) He trusts me with his deepest secrets
16) He teaches our children (and me) where true peace comes from. One night when Brody was crying out because of a bad dream, I heard Mike tell Brody that he didn't need to fear. God is always there with him and he can talk to God all night long if he wants to! It was such a sweet conversation to overhear.
17) He's a hottie (especially in his jeans with a sexy tear in the knee)
18) His patience in teaching Brody new skills
19) The look of love in his eyes when I walk into the room. It makes me feel so special!
20) He's the world's best cook
21) He is diligent about his quiet times in the morning which inspires me to do the same.
22) His night time routine with Brody is super sweet (prayer, sing 3 Bible songs, then tell him a story about golf)
23) He helps me around the house
24) His ability to trust in God during the hardest trials
25) Listening to him pray
26) He purposefully makes a point to spend one on one time with Brody
27) His sense of direction (we'd still be wandering around the mountains of Colorado if he wasn't such a good navigator)
28) How his touch can still give me butterflies in my tummy
29) He teaches me to look on the positive side of every situation
30) There's no better feeling in this world than when he wraps his arms around me. I just love his hugs!!!

I could go on and on...but I'll stop for now and just say

Happy Birthday Mike!

I love you with all my heart!

Evacuees

Yesterday I helped some of the Hurricane Ike evacuees by taking them to the park for lunch. Ok...so maybe I was just meeting my friend, Megan, there with her 3 kids...but they are Houstonians that evacuated due to Ike. Brody was a little shy at the park with Logan & Connor, but he had lots of fun. One time Megan and I looked over to see Logan grab Brody by the hand and lead him away from the playground to where he and Connor were playing.
Derek (Meg's husband) took the boys on a trek thru the woods. The playground at the park wasn't that great, so they created their own adventures. Derek said that one time he reached out to hold Brody's hand to help him over a log and from that point on Brody wanted to hold Derek's hand.
I got a picture of all 5 kids...but I didn't get one where they were all looking at the camera smiling. Oh well. Here's Brody, Barrett, Cameron (just a few weeks younger than Barrett), Logan, and Connor (behind Cameron).

Moving Day

Yesterday we went to Flower Mound to help Tyler and Ann move into their new house. It was fun to spend the day with them (even though Hurricane Ike rained on us all day). Their new house is really cute. I can't wait to see how they decorate it!

I don't think I ever get a serious picture of all the guys. In EVERY picture Caleb & Tyler try to make themselves the tallest one in the picture. Usually it's just by standing on their tiptoes (or pushing the other guy down to make him lower). Not yesterday. They kept jumping just as I'd take the picture! I think Tyler is taller in this one. Ann, Staci, & Audria in Tyler and Ann's new front yard. Look how green the grass is!
After we (mainly the guys) unloaded the Uhaul we headed over to Matt & Julie's house for a birthday party. We celebrated Lauren, Katelyn, Cindy, and Mike's birthdays!
I really didn't get any good pictures while we were at Matt & Julie's. Sorry! We had lots of fun while we were there. Lauren & Katelyn introduced us to the Wii. Now that's a video game that I could get into.

Dad, Mom, Mike, the boys, and I went back to Tyler and Ann's after the party. We had a yummy mexican dinner and just spent some time hanging out and visiting.

New Look

I forgot to blog about the fact that I cut my hair! Lindsey cut it for me again. I think she does such a good job. It was pretty long (as in way past my bra line in the back)...and now it feels really short!

Here's a picture of me with Denise Kashorek (the missionary from NY).
It was a lot of fun getting to catch up with them at dinner. She showed me pictures of her son, Josh, who was 13 years old when we went to NY on a mission trip. He's now married and has a 1 year old little boy! She got a kick out of the fact that I'm an aerobics instructor. When we stayed at her house in NY we did an aerobics video every night that we called "Hard Rock Tommy" (Tummy sounds like Tommy in a NY accent). I think that was the first time I'd ever done aerobics! It may have been 12 years since I'd seen John & Denise, but they didn't look much different. I don't know that you can say the same about me...

It broke

Mike's fever broke on Wednesday after he went to the doctor. He's feeling much better today (especially in comparison to Wednesday when he had such a high fever)! Tonight we're gonna go over to Jan & Ron's house for dinner where we'll get to visit with some missionaries from New York. I met them when I went on a mission trip in high school and Mike met them when he was the youth intern and lead a mission trip to NY.

Tomorrow we're going over to Tyler & Ann's to help them finish moving into their new house and then we're going to Matt & Julie's house to celebrate Lauren & Katelyn's birthday! I don't even have to tell you that there will be pictures to blog about after tomorrow :)

Follow Me!!!

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Click on the link to the left that says, "Follow This Blog".

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104.4

You may remember a few weeks ago when Mike was sick with a sore throat. Well...it's back. Monday he started feeling yucky again. First it was just his throat. Yesterday he had a slight fever and was achy all over. Today he was even worse. Mike called me (yes...called me) from the other room on his cell phone around 11:30 this morning to ask if I could get him into the dr. He said he'd tried calling out to me but I must not have heard him. He had a sore throat, headache, body aches, fever, and was shaking with chills. Since my parents are out of town, I dropped the boys off with Jan & Ron and took him to see the doctor. When the nurse took his temperature we were shocked to hear it was 104.2!!!!! No wonder his head hurt and he felt so hot! They gave him more Advil, a shot of antibiotics, a shot of steroids, and then drew his blood to check his white cells. When they came back in later his temp was up to 104.4 (I don't think I've EVER had a fever that high). His white cells are elevated, but not high enough to send him straight to the ER. The dr sent us home and said that if his fever doesn't go down in the next few hours that I need to take him to the ER.

I just got all the boys down for a nap (Brody, Barrett, & Mike). When I felt of Mike's head, he felt much cooler...so hopefully we won't be making an ER visit tonight. Please pray that he starts feeling better soon (it makes me so sad to see him like this) and also pray that the rest of us stay well! I'm gonna keep him quarantined so that the boys aren't even around him.

RAIN!!!

You read that right...RAIN! It finally rained here again. We've been needing the moisture for the dry ground in this area. Brody was so excited to see the rain and he asked if he could go outside and play. He had clean clothes on and I didn't want them to get wet...so I reverted back to country life. I just stripped him down and sent him outside to play. (The backyard does have a privacy fence...so it wasn't like the whole neighborhood was watching!)
He was having so much fun out there! I went to the kitchen to start cooking dinner and looked out the window one time to see this:

I was going outside to tell him that he couldn't ride his golf cart in the rain or it might get ruined and Mike hollered out, "Make sure you take a picture before you get on to him!" lol!!!

Better

I guess I should've posted this on Friday...but Brody is well and none of the rest of us got sick!! His fever was gone on Friday and he's felt great all weekend.
Barrett has been smiling tons lately and even laughing at us some. It's so precious! He smiles the most right after he's fed. It's so cute to look down at him and see those big blue eyes and a huge grin! He's also continued to sleep well for us! He's been going between 8 and 10 hours at night ever since I first posted about him sleeping thru the night! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're getting ready to go over to Caleb and Audria's to watch the Cowboy game. GO COWBOYS!!!

Feelin' Yucky

Brody didn't get to go to school today. Yesterday he had a fever and the runs and it was still hangin' around today. He's had a temp as high as 101.7. Last night you could tell he was feeling bad. He kept telling us his tummy was hurting and all he wanted to do was lay on the couch with one of us. He's not usually a cuddler...so we knew he wasn't feeling like himself. He seemed to be feeling better today, but he still had a fever. I pray that he sleeps good tonight and is well tomorrow. I also hope that none of the rest of us get the stomach bug that he has! I didn't mention school today to Brody. We'll just have to wait until next week to give it a second try.

First Day

Anyone who has been around Brody knows that he talks non-stop from sun up 'til sun down. Well..not yesterday. I was told that he said maybe 2 words the entire time he was at school! (Of course, he made up for it as soon as we walked out the door.) I'm sure he'll open up more once he gets used to the teachers and the routine.

Here are a few pictures:

"Should I be serious at school?" "or energetic and outgoing?"
This is where Brody hangs up his backpack by his classroom. He's in the Puppies class this year.
Miss Amy is his teacher (notice that he decided on the serious look when we got to school). She is so sweet with the kids and I know that he's gonna love her!
This is Barrett when we got back to the car. Can't you see the expression in his face? "What do you mean we're leaving Brody here? Who's gonna talk to me all day?"



BARRETT SLEEP UPDATE: I woke him up yesterday morning so I could feed him before taking Brody to school. He slept 9 hrs 45 min!!! Last night he slept all night again. I woke him up this morning at 8:30 am. He'd slept 9 hrs 15 min! YAY!

Wow!

Saturday night Barrett slept 7 hours and 52 minutes, Sunday night he slept 8 hours and 5 minutes and right now he's still asleep! It's been 8 hours and 50 minutes!!! "No kidding, seriously!" (That's one of Brody's favorite sayings right now.) This is AWESOME!!!

Today is Brody's first day of preschool. He gets to go Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-2:30. I plan on getting a lot of work done (for Mom) on those days so that I don't have to work as much the other days of the week! I'll post some pictures later of him going to school.

8 hours and 54 minutes....still sleepin' (and yes, I went and checked on him several times...he's still breathin' in there. lol)

David & Daina's

Yesterday David & Daina (Audria's parents) invited us over for lunch. We went to their house straight from church and found a party in their backyard! Their house sits on 2.75 acres, so it was like being back in the country! We had burgers, hot dogs, beans, potato salad, chips, watermelon, and ice cream! Brody played on the hammock while lunch was being prepared.

Barrett just slept.
After we ate, David began getting out his "toys"! First was the golf cart. Then he got out his go cart. Different people took Brody on rides before he said that HE wanted to drive. David let him drive...just not with the motor running!
Then it was time for the mower. He pulled Audria, Brody, and one of Audria's cousins around for awhile. Then he let Brody sit in his lap while he did some mowing (might as well make good use of the gas since he was driving around!)
Mike and Caleb then let Brody swing on the tire swing and jump on the trampoline.
Brody was pretty hot after playing so hard, so David hooked up the sprinkler and showed Brody how to run thru it. He was soaking wet and exhausted by the time we left, but even though it was 5:00 and he hadn't had a nap...I didn't hear one complaint or whine out of him until we announced it was time to leave! Daina told him that he had to go home with us but that he could come back some Saturday and ride on the mower with her. This made him happy and he climbed in the car. It was a fun day!