Stellan

Cole was up ALL night ( who knows why?) & Blayne was on call today & I just Cole back to sleep...all this to say, we did not make it to church this morning. I caught up on Bring the Rain and realized that a baby we rejoiced for not long ago...a baby we were worried that would die at birth...a baby that defeat all odds and was born HEALTHY...he's sick again. His name is Stellan. And he's precious and beautiful and he's very sick. Me & Courtney had followed this sweet baby before he was ever born & were amazed and relieved & excited when he arrived healthy & today I am so saddened that he is sick...very sick. Please spend time today praying for Stellan & his family. I can truly not imagine what they are going through but she has so much faith & its an unbelieveable kind of faith....faith that amazes me... & I know that God is with her every step of the way. Please stop & pray for God to heal Stellan...as his mom said...let's storm heaven with prayers today!

Dirty Feet

Today I saw a baby Cole's age with the dirtiest feet I have ever seen. Who the baby is or where I saw her is not important but the fact that her feet were as black as my front door is what makes me blog tonight. Not only were her feet black, but her hair was matted and her diaper was "hanging off" wet. I am sorry that I am judging this mother...but WHY? Why ? Why would you do that to your baby? How could you treat something so sweet so terribly? I would wash Cole in a 24 hour gas station bathroom before I ever let his feet get so nasty. I know that everyone is dealt different cards in life, but children are not part of those. Birth Control is free at the health department. Babies can be prevented..you have to make a choice to have them. They are not really ever a surprise. You have to do something to have a baby...therefore don't be surprised if you end up pregnant. Why would you bring a baby into this world if you do not want to feed her & clean her & diaper her...and love her. Yes...love her. Taking care of your child is part of loving your child. I know I probably sound very judgemental, and I guess I am being very judgemental right now...but it is something I do not understand and I do not feel should be tolerated in this country. That baby might as well have been born in a third world country & had her face on tv. Its the same thing! If people do not care for the physical & emotional needs of their children, they should lose their children. I cannot stop thinking about something tonight...what if I took that lil girl home with me today? What if I spent 20 minutes bathing her & letting her play with bath toys which I bet she's never seen. What if I fed her a warm meal and a nice bottle. What if I read her a book & dressed her in warm jammies....what if I rocked her to sleep and laid her down in a warm snuggly bed....what if we did it all over again the next day...and the next...how different would her life be...how different would she be in 5 years...10 years...20 years??? I hurt for her tonight. She didn't deserve the cards she's been dealt...she's so little. Why her? I am sure she will ask that question to herself oneday & I feel so bad for her. I wish I could bring her home..... I wish I had never seen those dirty little feet. Noone deserves to have feet that dirty.

On a happier note. I didn't want to end on such a sad one...We had Addy for a little while today. She & Cole are really starting to play well together. They play & then Cole usually ends up crying over something. Its too cute.

He Gives ....

Well, I have waited to blog about this for some time now, but today is the day. I guess I need to start by giving you background. My older sister has been trying to have a baby for 6 years. They have been through many fertility treatments, IUIs, IVFs, a miscarriage and finally in August the doctor told her that her eggs would never hold together for a baby.
And now for the blogging news...
Well... she is almost 9 weeks pregnant and has a living ...heartbeating....moving...healthy....baby inside of her! All....from GOD! No drugs, no doctors, no procedures. We have a true miracle heading our way in October!
You wonder why they had to go through all of that & we may never know. I truly feel that God works through the hands of fertility doctors everyday...he did as we concieved Cole...however...sometimes I guess he likes to move through his own hands too! God is amazing! I am so excited and cannot even begin to tell you how excited they are!! Brooke & Josh are going to be amazing parents! Cole is only 1 year old & they have him absolutely rotten! He pitched a fit because he couldn't go home with her today! I am just so happy & cannot wait for this little miracle to arrive.

On a sadder note...it also reminds me of Aryn. Her gravestone is up now and me & Cole went by to see it last week. I cried & cried all over again. She would be here in a few weeks & we would all be helping Em prepare for her arrival. We would have loaded our arms with matching dresses at Cotton Tails for them to wear this summer. We would be fighting over who was holding her at Easter Sunday lunch. I know this is sad and I guess I am only writing about it because I have thought of it everyday lately. I am so sad that she is not coming...that she already came...
I am so sad for Emily's feeling of permanent loss. I am sad for her and Casey & Addy....for our whole family. I am sad we were not able to get to know that sweet lil girl....but iknow we will one day.

God truly gives and takes. We do not understand his reasoning & we aren't to question his plan. We have to trust that he knows what he is doing. Please thank him today for our sweet miracle due in October! Please join me in praying for my new niece or nephew!
Also, please pray for Emily & Casey. Please pray for peace and fullness during the ncxt few weeks when Aryn would have been born had she been healthy.
Thank you for reading about my family.

A great week...

Well, this week was spring break for teachers & the rest f the working world hates us, however I promise we work hard for it. I can't believe it is already Thursday! Me & Cole have had a wonderful week. Today my Grandmother & sis came to eat lunch & chat. We hada nice time.

Mostly me & Cole have played outside. He LOVES to be outside. Ashton donated a ride in car on Tuesday & he LOVES it. We walk down the road over & over again.

He's getting to be such a big boy. This summer will be so much fun with him!

When i couldn't find him the other day I heard him calling out in the laundry room. Apparently he has a new hiding place!

His very first scraped knee. I figured it was worth capturing!

Play Day

On Wednesday we had our first play day here at my house. We had Jonah , Brody, & Shelby over to play. It was beautiful outside & they jumped in the mini bouncer, rode the four wheeler & other ride on toys. We had a nice lunch and all of us teachers pretended to be stay home mommies who get to do this all the time for one day. It was a nice day. I hope we can do it more this summer! Fun times...

The Zoo

On Tuesday Me & Jessica took Braxton, Ashton, & Cole to the zoo. We had a nice day despite 1/2 price Tuesday crowd! Ashton rode a camel & Cole was much more interested in animals this time compared to last time we came. The kids enjoyed it & were ready to crash when we got into the car. So were we!!! I am so glad the weather was so pretty though!

Mr. & Mrs. Pharr

Our friend Ashley got married last night! It was beautiful & a little sad. She is sort of the baby & now she's all grown up I guess. She's the last one now...

She looked beautiful & everything went great!

I feel blessed to be part of such a great group of friends!

Butter

Few words can explain these pictures. I was making dinner & used the last of the butter. I turned around to stuff pasta shells & Cole was playing with bowls in the floor like he does every night while I cook. Well, somewhere along the way he reached up & knocked the butter bowl off the counter & had the best time! How did I not hear him or hear the bowl fall??? I just turned around to hear him laughing hysterically!

Oh little boys........

My Cotton Tail findings...

I told you I would show you what I got from Cotton Tails last weekend! Here they are....

I took the backpack to have his name on it....sadly we are almost ready to transition more toward this type bag than a baby bag. So sad huh? Also the lion is a beach towel!
These are m favorite from The Messy Monkey! I love their stuff!

These were a steal. The one on the left was $28 and the one on the right was $20!
I took the one on the left and added monograming.
He'll definitely be a doll this summer!


Oh & this was our greastest find...Cole's girlfriend Shelby!
She was too pricey for us so we let her mommy keep her!
But isn't she a doll...oh little girls....

Bowden is getting fat!

Most of you know we have a very large Bullmastiff named Bowden. Well our already very large dog has gained 10 pounds this year for a total of 126 pounds. What has changed.... well Cole joined us. Bowden is so thankful!! Cole eats a bite, then feeds Bowden a bite! Atleast he shares.

Baby Mason

Please pray for Mason Bowling. He is the son of Dalton & Rachel ( Whitt) Bowling. He was born on time but is having some troubles and is now in the NICU. For more information, please see The Whitt Family blog! Thanks for your prayers.

1 Year Pictures

Well, we were finally able to have Cole's one year pictures made yesterday! He stayed so sick tha twe kept having to put it off! They were not exactly what I loved, but they were cute! He's getting to the age where it is getting harder & harder to keep him still!

I'm glad we got them finally!

Everything has been great with all of us! The weather is WONDERFUL!

We have enjoyed time outside & at the park!

I went to cotton tails Friday night, I'll have to post a pic later of my cute findings.

Me & Cole enjoyed a day shopping yesterday.

We went to church this morning & now he is napping. When he wakes up we hope to get in his mini bouncer outside!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!