The Bug & Moose Show

late night rambling :)

2011-04-17T21:18:00.002-05:00

Very rarely is there quiet time around here. Today, however, my wonderful husband helped me clean our bathroom so I could take advantage of a little nap (because 2 hours is considered a little nap to me.) That man knows my heart well! He crawled into bed at 8:30 with the other small occupant and crashed!

So here I find myself with all three boys of the house asleep, wondering what it will be like to have a girl. As I sit here in what will be her room I stare at the sand colored walls and wonder if she'll want to paint them pink. Will she like a flowery bedspread or one with butterflies? Will her closet be stuffed with clothes and shoes or dolls and craft supplies? Will she love me or will she even like me? What kind of suffering has she already endured and will we be able to gracefully walk through that with her as we show her who Christ is?

May is a little over a week away. April will wrap up our fingerprinting, TB skin testing, medication class and background checks. All that will be left for May is about 7 classes that will most likely be grouped together on a couple of Saturdays. Next will be the home study and then we'll be ready. Well, ready in terms of boxes checked off for a foster care license. This is drawing near very closely and it makes me feel a little unprepared. So many details left undone and unknown. Yet there is a peace that flows over me knowing that God has the most infinite details in his hands. I don't need to worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its self. We are surrounded with people who love us and care for us and we are loved by a God who does and creates all things for his glory. So there is no need to worry about the details. Surely just as I have inteded so it has happened and just as I have planned so it will stand - Isaiah 14:24

I want to buy her things. I want to decorate her room and just shop for her. Not just to shop, but to lavish her with love. Not to say that "things" will show her love either. But to create for her a sense of belonging and a sense of something that is hers alone so that she knows we love her even though we've yet to meet her. She has a family. A daddy whom she will undoubtedly wrap around her finger, a mom who will be her role model and confidant. Two very rowdy and precious brothers who are excited yet don't fully understand what's going down soon. Landon may have a big sister or a little sister, either way he knows she's coming :) What will she look like... her smile, her skin, her heart? Again.. the details.

I look at adoption much differently now and she's not even here yet. Until I truly looked at the way God has adopted us as sons and daughters, I had no way of fathoming the unconditional love it takes. How thankful yet undeserving am I for this gift of adoption into his kingdom! My prayer is that my heart will be so overflowing with love for her that she will be able to catch a tiny minute glimpse of who He is. And she will feel known... loved.

NO big red!

2011-03-25T17:47:00.001-05:00

For those of you who thought my vanity about my new minivan was amusing, check out the post from this adoption mommy.

Big Red

No, there will not be not be a big red in our future :) (Just in case you were wondering.)

First expenses...

2011-03-18T13:04:00.000-05:00

I know what you're thinking! If you know me well, you know this may very well be a healthy decoration in our kitchen... especially with MY cooking skills :) Actually it was our very first adoption expense. In order to get your foster care license there are many hoops you must jump through. (FYI: you have to have your foster care license to adopt out of the foster care system, because when a child is placed in your home they don't become your forever child until 6 months later when the adoption is finalized.) One of these hoops was a fire safety inspection of our home, which requires the fire extinguisher. Thus, I wrote my first "adoption expense" check for $54.70!

The fire marshal inspector brought the boys some little reminders about fire safety. They both kind of followed him around in awe at having a real fireman in our home. Daddy on the other hand was a little nervous that the fireman might try to take off his shirt :) While very kind and informative, this fireman was NOT a candidate for the fireman calendar (unfortunately :)

Landon went right to town coloring in his fire safety book.

To hear him say "Look Mom, this is me and this is my sister!" not only stopped me in my tracks, but it nearly made me sob. I am blown away by the way God continually prepares his heart for a new sister as well as ours. Now if we can only work on Keaton!

I could have made this particular picture an entire post of it's own. It was actually our first expense but we can't totally write it off as an "adoption" expense. I've been driving around with Keaton's feet in my back for the last couple of months. We grow em' big in this family and he ran out of leg room a while back. I'll admit I had a love for my Nissan Murano that I really shouldn't have had. We knew when we started thinking about adoption that we would need a bigger family vehicle. I vehemently refused "A minivan.. I am not even 30 yet! How many 20 something women do you know that drive a minivan? That is just crazy! I am NOT doing it!! NO WAY!!"

One of my BFFs Nicci has a minivan. I always comment on how much room it has, how practical it is, and how smoothly it drives. I loved that she can load up her twins and all of their beach gear and head down to Galveston without trying to "cram" stuff in the van to fit.

So... last week at church our pastor talked about living simply, for God, not ourselves and not storing up treasures on earth. It went right in step with our family financial goal of living debt free (except for our home, which will be the next big goal) this year. God really spoke through that sermon. We paid off my Murano at the beginning of the month, then last week we went and****GASP*** bought a minivan. (Actually we made an even trade so we did NOT incur a new vehicle note!)

I love it! It has so much room, it's so practical, and the drive is so smooth. I love how I can load up the kids, and a couple of extras, and head wherever we're going without trying to "cram" stuff in. I'll be honest and transparent. The first few days, I kind of rode ducked down in the seat so no one would see me. I know it's pathetic. God had to work hard :)

Landon, who loves the van, proudly proclaimed one day after school, "Mom, this is just like the Joker Van!!" Thank you son. Thank you!

"Children Of God"

2011-03-15T15:27:00.002-05:00

I know I've neglected the blog. For those of you who used to follow it to keep up with our wild boys, you've probably stopped reading. Sorry! It seems other than a brief set back with Landon's eye, we haven't had much to report. But there's big news brewing in our neck of the woods.

Jeremy and I have been talking for a while about adoption. We've been feeling that heart tug that only comes from God. The one that makes you stop and say "did He really just say that?" Yea, that kind of a tug. Our hearts have been tugged by God to add to our already wild household. We're adopting a daughter! We are beyond excited, beyond scared, beyond completely understanding any of the terms, processes or requirements, but we're marching full steam ahead out of obedience. Our prayer is that by this summer we will have a sweet girl running around with our wild boys. I could go on and on about the need for adoption and about the Biblical call of adoption for Christians. There are far too many children and not anywhere near enough parents.

We've chosen to adopt out of the foster care system. There are plenty of jumbled up thoughts and emotions that I'll soon be spilling on here so that I have somewhere to lay them, other than my already full brain!

Listen to the words of this video. It gives me goosebumps and makes my heart beat fast. It truly says it all! More details to come soon :)

Santa or no??

2010-11-30T14:18:00.000-06:00

I know the whole Santa thing is controversial in the Christian thought process. Some go with it and others don't. While we don't harp on Santa, we do go with it after much harping on Jesus. We teach Landon first and foremost what Christmas is all about, why we celebrate it, and how it has nothing to do with presents but everything to do with Jesus. That being said, it's a pretty difficult lesson for an almost four-year-old in this very commercialized country we live in. So we give into Santa just a little... and here's how cute it is.

Writing his letter to Santa

We only let him choose three things. He's working on his letters, he just needed a "wittle bit" of help :)

Off it goes to the North Pole!

We don't think Santa is a big evil joke for our kids to discover later and then hate us for lying to them. We indulge in the jolly old man a little for the adorableness it brings out in our little guy. It makes Christmas morning a little cuter. And for goodness sake... what parent doesn't enjoy a HUGE plate of cookies and milk to celebrate the exhaustion of the season? We've told Landon that chocolate chip are Santa's favorite (mommy's too!)

So far behind!

2010-11-20T23:49:00.000-06:00

I love to sit and read my friends' blogs about all of the adorable things their precious kids are doing. Alas, I find little time to update about my own precious kids. Most of the time I feel like we're just running around and trying to keep our heads above water. Let me update you on what's been going on around here.
We'll start with Halloween...

Landon is still obsessed with ALL things superhero! And Moose made a very appropriate boxer!

I should clarify that Moose made a very (unfortunately) appropriate boxer. He now walks up to any and everyone with a closed fist and a resounding "Boom!" as he punches whatever body part he can reach.

THE cutest little elephant on Noah's Ark!

I was so glad I wasn't the only dorky mom there trying to inconspicuously hide the wetness in my eyes while he sang his super adorable "hip-hip-hip-hippopotamus" song. It was so sweet to watch him sing songs about Jesus' love for us!

An adorable pre-school program complete with precious hand motions!

My sweet baby boys

We spent a much needed family evening at Kemah a while back. Moose took his first train ride and Landon did a great job of watching him on the boardwalk :) Such a good big bubba!

Moose has found a fondness of pb&j. I'm having flashbacks of his brother at this age!

He is very much starting to "communicate" with us. He goes to the cabinet where his sippy cups are when he's thirsty. He also says "bebe" for binky and gets out "mi"for milk. The one phrase he very clearly states "UH-OH!" His new nick name is Linus. He seems to have a fondness for his blanket as he feels the need to tug it out of his bed every morning and insists on lugging it everywhere he goes around the house. Pics of that will be here soon :)

Keaton seems to think he's the most adorable figurine ever, therefore he must adorn every table he sees!

I forgot how much I HATE the climbing phase of toddlerhood. Everything is a jungle gym to Moose. The worst part is that he has no fear of anything he climbs on, no matter the height! FABULOUS!

So that's what's been going on around here. I promise to try to be more punctual :)

Purse Party Success!

2010-10-15T11:20:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night I had a girls' night out at my place. It was a blast and it served a purpose. We gave money to Heartline Ministries and walked away with some really cute purses, diaper bags, work bags and beach duffels. It was so much fun to have my friends over here and to be able to support Heartline together. Desserts, purses and women. What else could be that much fun?

The box-o-purses.

Awaiting their new owners!

Rebekah doing some shopping :)

Sara sizing up her bag

Wouldn't the Haitian women have their hands full if this popped out of the return box!

Purse Party!!

2010-09-30T21:09:00.002-05:00

I'm having a purse party. Not your ordinary purse party. Don't think Luis Vitton, Coach or Fendi. Think.... Haiti! Think Heartline and Haitian Creations. Check out these websites. Dig into theses ministries and see what they are all about. Well, I'll just tell you what they're all about. It's Jesus. He's the man and He's working B*I*G in and through Haitian women. Come to my purse party. You won't be disappointed!

In other news: The boys are growing like weeds. And I may be a bit biased, but I think they get cuter every day. Just a mom's opinion though. :) Check out the updates.

He doesn't know I'm about to walk out and leave him in that pack-n-play :)

Love my Bug.

He shoved a very large marshmallow in his mouth... very quickly :)

If you have boys... this needs NO explanation!

He sometimes walks with quite an heir of authority :)

I do love these boys!

Bringing up boys

2010-09-09T10:25:00.001-05:00

Summer has drawn to an end and Landon started pre-K yesterday. He was pretty excited about it since Trixie (the main character from one of his favorite books) got to go to pre-k, too. He walked right in yesterday after dropping his back pack in my hands at the door and never looked back. I put his bag up in his cubby and had to call his name to get him to look at me so I could tell him bye and I loved him. He just waved a small wave bye and went right back to coloring. I'm fairly certain he was ready to be rid of me :) I, on the other hand, was not happy about this extreme independence. And when I looked at these pictures... I nearly lost it all over!

His first year of Mother's Day Out. 18 months old

Such a big boy!

He's growing so fast! Oh how we love him!!

My big boy on his first day of pre-k. 3 1/2 years old

These make me cry. They also make me want to place a large concrete cinder block on Keaton's thick head so he'll stay little for a much longer time than his brother did. We love these precious boys more than they'll ever know! If someone can loan me some Xanax when Landon starts kindergarden that would be great :)

Christmas giving

2010-08-07T06:43:00.001-05:00

I know it's only August but here is a really cool way to give without breaking your budget. This awesomeness just screams "Target dollar bins!" Keaton also got two really cute Bible story board books from Dollar General from MiMi. I expect we will hit those up as well. Christmas is going to look a little different in the Hall house this year... and I'm excited.

We're going to do a box for each member of our family. Way cool :)

Happy Birthday Keaton!

2010-08-04T15:14:00.001-05:00

Being one year older is a big deal. It means that God allowed you to make it through 365 more days in hopes that you would live for Him. Along the way He gives you these incredible moments and memories to remember and share.

365 days ago Keaton Blayne joined our family. He was BIG and healthy and still is. Each day he brings me immeasurable joy and love. I cannot imagine our family or my life without him. How precious is he to us! Happy birthday big boy. We love you more than you'll ever know.

Moose eating as only Moose knows how :)

Project Wean the TV!

2010-08-03T15:29:00.000-05:00

During early weeks of my pregnancy with Keaton I was so incredibly tired, as most women are. So I parked Landon in front of the TV so I could doze. The last 2 months of my pregnancy with Keaton were MISERABLE. The heat and the sciatic nerve back pain were intense and proved destructive to my leaving the house, much less moving. So I parked him in front of the TV so I wouldn't have to. Then when Keaton got here and Jeremy went back to work I needed a distraction to keep Landon entertained while I took care of Keaton... I think you know where this is going... So I parked him in front of the TV. I continued this destructible behavior to get things done. Dishes, laundry, email, dinner, facebook, etc.

I tell you all of this to confess.... my precious son has a serious addiction to the TV. With pre-school starting in a few weeks we have begun "Project wean the TV" aka: TV boot camp!

I bought a three dollar timer.

He thought this timer was sooooo cool!

Then the timer went off.

The timer is now his arch enemy :(

I am convinced that TV is an evil weapon from the devil. The last two days of TV boot camp have been miserable. He has completely forgotten how to entertain himself and things I used to do to entertain him don't any more. He doesn't want to practice writing his letters, his attention span for books is short lived, it's too hot to play outside. We are only allowing two hours a day since that is the most that the AAP thinks is acceptable. It is a work in progress. Bless you Nicci!! I don't know how you do it :)

Almost there

2010-07-27T11:05:00.001-05:00

My how time flies! My sweet baby Moose is almost one. We are celebrating with the people we love most this coming weekend. Next Wednesday our littlest (or youngest :) baby will be one year older. I have NOT forgotten the miserable last two months being pregnant with him and I think that might make me appreciate him even more. God has blessed the last 12 months of our lives tremendously! There have been way more ups than downs thanks to our sweet baby boys. Landon has become the greatest big brother we could ever ask for and I pray nightly that God will give him the skills to lead his baby brother in a Christ like manner. Much like I ask God to help Jeremy lead both of them. Party pictures will appear after this party intense weekend. What one-year-old do you know that has TWO birthday parties? Sheesh!

(A one-year-old that has a BIG family, lots of people that love him, and parents who's house cannot hold them all at once!)

"Every good and perfect gift is from above."
~James 1:17

Fun in the sun!

2010-06-08T21:06:00.007-05:00

I know. I haven't updated in a very long time. Let's just say it's been a tad bit crazy around this place lately. Here's a quick update.

Camping Memorial Day weekend. Round 2!

Watermelon is a big hit amongst the boys. Not so much for mom.

Silly boy.

Moose loves to swim as well. He must be the greatest splasher I've ever seen.

The boys now play "wrestle mania".. a lot! But it's pretty cute for now. Not so much when they're seventeen though.

Did I mention the boys like to wrestle? This is Moose saying "I'm gonna getcha!"

Moose decides he likes this trip a little more than the first one. We're making progress people.

Mimi bought Landon a slip-n-slide. I loved these things when I was younger. My body isn't quite as young as my mind so trying to explain to Landon how to properly slip-n-slide without showing him was a little confusing I think. But he got the hang of it.

No need for a swimsuit in the back yard! Thomas undies will do the trick.

Moose was mostly a spectator.

But soon decided he needed to try this slip-n-slide thing too!

I think they had fun!

There have been many more fun adventures over the last month, but I just don't have the time or energy to post them all at once. Soon... another update :)

growing up.. and all that jazz!

2010-04-30T09:33:00.003-05:00

There are so many milestones that kids hit that point to growing up. Scooting turns into walking, babbling turns into conversation, prosthetic eye appointments turn into miraculous in-and-out-of-the-office-in-under-30-minute adventures. So maybe not everyone has that little milestone but yesterday.... we did! We headed to see Robin (the greatest occularist in the world) yesterday afternoon for his annual 6 month check up. This is a post from July 2008 about our first appointment with Robin.

So we met the ocularist on Monday afternoon. She's really great. The process of fitting Landon with this scleral shield has been a bit traumatic for us both. Robin, the ocularist, informed me that my son is "abnormally strong." Yea, tell me something I don't know. When she went to fit him for the shield, he squeezed his eyes shut so tightly she had to pry them open with her hands to get it in. This was a three person job! And we had to do it 8 times; 4 times to put it in, 4 times to take it out! By the end of the 3 hour appointment we had had it. We had all hit our limit (my mom included) and were ready to get out of there. Robin was very patient and did a lot of work in one day.

This is how every appointment has been.... every six months.... until yesterday. Yesterday my baby climbed up in the chair all by himself and sat quietly while Robin took his eye out, polished and cleaned it, and put it back in. Then he picked out his sucker, we paid and left. Seriously! In and out in under 30 minutes. I think I was more upset at the fact he acted like a big boy than I was when he kicked and screamed. Robin said to me "remember when I told you he would do this one day? That he would climb up here with no fighting and let me do what I had to do?" I just smiled and shook my head. That seemed like eons away from where we used to be. Holding him down was THE worst part. He almost always fell asleep on the way home from sheer exhaustion from fighting us so hard. He didn't even sit in my lap this time!! (I'll admit I was slightly offended at this :)

So this is a very cool milestone for him and for us. He truly is becoming a little boy and not a baby. Unfortunately, I think his brother is reaping the repercussions for this. He may be a baby a little longer than Landon out of sheer force from his mom! Yesterday was awesome!

Obeying!

2010-04-22T13:19:00.003-05:00

Landon got a very detailed biblical lesson in obeying yesterday. For some reason he woke up in a foul mood and it carried over into the afternoon. Our discussion went something like this:

Mom: "Landon you HAVE to obey me and daddy. Jesus tells us in the Bible that we have to obey Him and our parents.

Landon: "And you have to obey MiMi and Poppy."

Mom: "Yes, because Mimi and Poppy are my PARENTS so I have to obey them and listen and do what they say because that's what Jesus tells us to do."

Landon: "And Keaton has to obey me."

Mom: "No Keaton has to obey mommy and daddy just like you do."

Landon: "And you have to obey Mimi and Poppy."

Mom: (rubbing her hands down her face quite aggressively) Landon lets worry about you obeying instead of everyone else okay? I need you to start doing things the first time I tell you because I'm not going to tell you to do something 5 times anymore. You HAVE to do it the first time!"

Landon: "No you don't say it 5 times. Say it this many times! (holding up 5 fingers!!)"

Mom: "NO ONE TIME! and if you don't do it after the first time, you're going to time out."

Landon: ......

Mom: "Do you hear me??"

Landon: ...... now playing with his Spiderman puzzle, he no longer realizes I am in the room.

So we'll keep working on it..... :)

10 minute strawberry pie!

2010-04-14T10:28:00.005-05:00

I took the boys to pick strawberries last week at the farmer's market in Manvel. It was awesome and we came home with tons of berries! Jeremy and I ate our fill through the weekend and I still had an entire gallon size bag of strawberries left. What's a girl to do? Bake of course!

I found this strawberry pie recipe in my cancer kids cookbook (you must check out this website. Brooke is a little girl I used to take care of when I worked pedi oncology. Her story and her family are amazing! As is the cookbook, in which all funds go to the organization her parents have set up in her honor.) I haven't actually tried it yet, but my lifegroup will be my guinea pigs tonight :)

10 minute Strawberry Pie:

8 oz. cream cheese 1 grahm cracker crust

3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pint strawberries quartered

8 oz cool whip

Cream together softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Pour into pie crust. Leave 2 tbsp. in bowl. Toss strawberries with remaining cream cheese mixture and pour into pie crust. Top with cool whip and enjoy!

Just needs the cool whip!

And what day full of baking is complete without a fabulous sioux chef?

Our crazy life!

2010-04-13T09:16:00.008-05:00

If cloning was Biblical I'd be all over it! But since it's not... I need a maid, a nanny, and a taxi cab service so that maybe I can have ten whole minutes to myself! Since that isn't going to happen, I'll just keep trucking along in this blessed little world we live in and enjoy the life of a semi-stay at home mommy. My babies were road warriors yesterday. We went to Little Gym, grocery store, home for lunch and a quick nap for Keaton, to get Buggy a haircut, Sam's for diapers and such and then home for dinner, bath, and bedtime! WHew! That wore me out just thinking about it all over again. I am very grateful that God has given me well behaved and somewhat patient children as they were drug all over town yesterday, in and out of shopping carts and car seats. Thank God for mild mannered kiddos!

So if that isn't enough of an update of what's going on around the Hall house, here's some more!

What is it with boys and trees ?

We took the boys on their first camping trip where, as you can see from the pic above, they had a blast! Keaton will take a little more adjusting but soon we'll be on the road all the time!

Moose celebrated his first Easter and we all celebrated Jesus' Resurrection! Love these boys.

Mommy and her Moose! (Landon was quite the uncooperative one at this moment!)

Buggy has started swimming lessons and true to typical Bug, he plowed into the water off of the steps on the first day! Thankfully there was an instructor near by that grabbed him up and sat his bottom back down. You can't swim just yet Bug!

I took the boys to pick strawberries last week and we made a haul! 2 strawberry pies coming up this week. They loved it!

Blogging is a hobby of mine. Finding time to blog is quite difficult. I promise to do better :)

catch up!

2010-03-22T10:39:00.004-05:00

Hello Blog world. Things around the Hall house have been great. We are loving the beautiful weather, just wishing Mother Nature would make up her mind! I went to bed Saturday morning and it was 64 degrees. I woke up Saturday afternoon and it was 44! H-E-L-L-O?? It is almost April right??

We are taking the boys on our very first camping excursion this weekend and we are psyched!! We leave Friday morning for Jellystone Park. We are praying that the sleeping arrangements in the RV will sort of work themselves out, but all in all I think we'll be okay. I can't wait to post tons of pictures.

We are thrilled that spring break is over. So many unnecessary crowded places and kids EVERYWHERE! I really wanted to take the boys to multiple places, but soon realized so did every other mom. We attempted the beach last Sunday and soon realized that was a huge mistake. As I sat and watched all of the teenagers with their coolers of beer, dangerous driving, and ridiculously horrible language, I realized quite simply that I am OLD! It was only 10 years ago that I was one of those teenagers. Thank God for grace and wisdom :)

So Bug is back in MDO and Moose is almost officially on the loose! He is just minutes away from crawling and I am soooo sad. I really want him to be a baby (an imobile baby at that) just a little bit longer. He and Landon play together so much and it is hilarious to watch! They truly do LOVE each other and it makes Jeremy and I so happy. We will enjoy these moments before world war three begins in a few years. Keaton's favorite place to go in his walker is Landon's room. If ever I don't hear him or can't find him I know exactly where he is. He just goes in there and sits. I think he's contemplating about what he's going to steal, destroy, or break first :) Why else would it be his favorite room in the house?

Starting to wonder

2010-03-08T06:49:00.005-06:00

"All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness!"

~ 2 Timothy 3:16

My Bible in 90 Days challenge is uuhm.... CHALLENGING! I am about 8 days behind at this point. It hasn't been exactly as I've wanted it to be. Constantly trying to stay caught up has led me to read it more like a book and not like the Bible if that makes sense. I haven't been dwelling on God's word because I've just been ... reading. I knew sleep would be the one thing I would have to give up if I wanted to get this challenge done. Well, the boys have decided that it's nice to wake up at 6 am now. Couple that with the fact that I am the least eager morning person you will ever meet and there you have it.... 8 days behind!

On a positive note, I have learned so much about the characters in the Bible that I never knew. I knew much less about the old testament than I was willing to acknowledge, but like they say "knowledge is power" so I trudged on through the not so "interesting" parts and have made my way through Jeremiah. Our pastor @ BACC started a series last week about the Exodus and it's cool to be able to sit there and know exactly the scripture he's referencing.

As challenging as this is, I think I'll do it again. I don't think I'll be able to finish it in 90 days this go round' but I'm trying. I'd love to be able to complete the readings day by day instead of 3 days in one and so on. I want to know God's word and be able to relay that to my boys. So I'll keep trudging on. Any encouragement you have would be great!

And since most of you just check this blog to see the boys... Here are a couple of cute new pics :)

Spiderman's fate!

2010-02-20T13:17:00.006-06:00

Landon, as many of you know, has a Spiderman obsession! He also has a new bad habit. Quite a while back he smacked the baseball over the fence in our back yard. Ever since then that's pretty much what he aims to do every time he plays baseball. He's actually gotten very good and he's successful at this goal more times than not. His very fit and agile father simply jumps the fence throws the ball back over and hops back over into our yard. His very unfit mother with the very bad knees is not quite able to do this so easily. Point to remember: our back yard backs up to the main road in our subdivision... the very BUSY on a Saturday main road.

This morning Landon was playing outside and came in to announce that he had thrown several things over the fence. When I climbed up on the chair to see what it was, several turned in to 8 things! 3 balls, 2 bats, a Spiderman maraca, a football, and a piece to his mechanical t-ball set. We have had this discussion before. "Landon, we DO NOT throw things over the fence!" Later, we went to return some library books and I stopped my car and picked them all back up and threw them into our yard. Then there was a 10 minute lecture on NOT throwing things over the fence. Do you see where this story is going?

We weren't home 10 minutes and he came in and announced that he had proudly thrown Spiderman over the fence. "How many Spidermans?" "Uhmmm... 3 Spidermans!!" He wasn't lying. There were all three of them laying lonely in the grass. Guess what? That's where they're staying too! When I came back in to get onto him he had already put himself in time out. Which was no fun for me :) But it was funny and I had to abruptly turn around so I wouldn't laugh.

His punishment is that all 3 Spidermans are staying where they are and I believe that only leaves him with one to play with. So if you bought him a Spiderman for his birthday, my apologies to you! He asked me if another little boy was going to get his Spidermans and I told him yes! He wasn't really happy about that so maybe he's learned his lesson.

Poor lonely Spidey!

The other part of his punishment....

This is the only Spiderman he gets to play with for now :)

Birthday Boys and belly aches

2010-02-08T21:42:00.008-06:00

It's official.. I have a three-year-old! It makes me a bit sad but with those three years comes amazing memories along with hilarious stories and adorable photos. I also have a six month old. And that just makes me downright upset! There are so many contrasting differences to Landon and Keaton and I just don't have enough hours in the day to log them all. With your first child, I think you spend countless hours just staring at them... while they sleep, eat, play and poop. With the second, I feel like I'm lucky to catch a glimpse of him every now and then and when I finally do... he's six months away from being one! Oh my... (TeArS!!) Change of subject!!

I had three goals for Landon by the time he turned three and they are as follows:

1- Sleep in big boy undies.

2- Sleep in his own bed all night.

3- (I did not imagine this would be the hardest one) POOP IN THE POTTY!!

I have always thought Landon was a little more mature for his age (this could most certainly be my imagination.) But this attachment to his pull ups is making me nuts!! After 4 1/2 hours last Friday of running to the potty every 10 minutes, a washing machine full of yucky undies, and a suppository (yes that officially makes me the worst mom in history!) we gave up and gave in. He's back in pull-ups for poop :( Not really sure how to tackle this problem so I'm gonna check into it and get back to you. We have officially succeeded with numbers 1 and 2 so we're on a good streak :)

Like I was saying... hilarious stories and adorable photos. I love my babies more than I can say and I am totally smitten with being their mom!

Some Bug and Moose photos for your enjoyment :)

@ Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday celebration with Mommy and Daddy.

MMMM... ice cream!

Moose with a little incriminating cake evidence :)

Love this baby!!

Mommy's big boy!

updates

2010-02-01T13:13:00.008-06:00

Things have been busy. Lots to update you on!

Bug has started little gym and loves it. After the first day he settled right into it and I think the bear crawls on the bar is his favorite activity. He now asks every week to go play at "yittle gym."

His front rolls are quite impressive!

Moose has started solids! His independence is growing and he looks like a little baby bird when he eats with his mouth ALWAYS open and waiting!

He also LOVES peas!

Someone grew two new teeth and has become a man eating monster! Any and everything goes into his mouth. Heaven help you if it happens to be your finger :)

His toes appear to be his favorite snack... After I remove the sock fuzz of course

My baby bug turns 3 tomorrow. I cannot believe how time flies. Moose will be 6 months three days later. I can't handle all of these growing milestones in one week! We are very much looking forward to Landon's jumpin jungle party on Saturday. We will be enjoying an evening out with him tomorrow night for a surprise birthday treat to Chuck E. Cheese while Mimi keeps Moose. We can't forget the surprise Spider Man cupcakes on the way to his school tomorrow morning, along with his new big boy bike on Saturday morning. Maybe a bit much for a 3 year old, but it only happens once right? :)

What a week!

2010-01-11T11:32:00.004-06:00

It has been a very busy several days around the Hall house. With both boys falling victim to RSV and ear infections, sleep has been missing around here. Might I had that I NEED some sleep! Not exactly how I wanted to start off the year, but thankfully they are now much better. Just an occasional wheeze and cough. Nothing a little Xopenex won't fix :)

We attempted to enjoy the BCS National title game with the Longhorns, but game time fell smack in the middle of bath and bedtime. Thank goodness for DVR's and the pause button! Although the boys were very geared up and put their best Horns forward, UT got beat by Alabama. Poor Daddy!

In other news, Keaton got his first tooth in!! And the second should be right behind it in the next couple of days. The teething didn't make him feel much better while he was sick but I suppose it was good that we got it all over with in one shot. I'll try to get a picture of it on here soon. We are getting ready to start solids next month. We'll see how that goes...

Landon's 3rd birthday is creeping up in the next few weeks. He's already picked out his Spiderman plates and napkins and is ready for Jumpin Jungle! Feb. 2nd is the real date. I think I'm going to surprise him and take some cupcakes to school for him. Maybe Spiderman cupcakes. He's been walking around today singing happy birthday to himself! Once he turns 3 we can start swimming lessons at the YMCA!

My Bible in 90 Days challenge is moving ahead. I always seem to fall a day behind but I'm caught up now. It has been very hard to find reading time with two needy kids this past week, but I'm thinking the enemy knows that and he's trying to use it to his advantage. Not happening! I'm also back on track with my healthy eating. I took a major hiatus during the holidays but now I'm back on track and getting ready for Mexico!!

We are also very ready for it to warm up so we can get out of the house! I would like to go to the zoo or somewhere for some fresh air. Some warmer fresh air. I don't really dig 32 degrees!

So that's the Halls weekly update! Stay tuned for more!

2010 Challenge

2009-12-30T16:04:00.002-06:00

Me and a few other girls from our lifegroup have decided to get together and read the Bible in 90 days! It is, among other wishes for 2010, my biggest desire. I don't do resolutions any more because I never stick to them. I have always wanted to read the bible all the way through. I just never knew how to tackle it. So I am super excited about this challenge and I am WAY happy that I have friends to spur me on. Iron sharpens iron right? :)

Other goals for this year would be becoming healthier (which is always a goal) and spending more time with all three of my boys. I want to be a better mom this year. Not that I'm a bad mom now. I just want to do a better job of motivating myself to get out of the house during the week. There is so much to do in this area. I want to go to Moody Gardens, Children's Museum, the zoo, and the beach. Landon really enjoyed that last year before I got too big and it got too hot. I am ready for spring to get here so we can go to the park and have picnics. I suppose I will have two little road warriors this year.

2010 is going to be the year of the FAMILY! Jeremy and I will also get to celebrate the marriage of my cousin and his new wife in May... did I mention this celebration takes place in Mazatlan, Mexico? AND the whole FAMILY is going. I can't wait!! It will be a great little vacation for us as well minus our beautiful babies. Thankfully we have FAMILY to watch them for us. See, I told you it was the year of the FAMILY :) I am so thankful for ours!

What's your challenge for 2010? I would love to encourage anyone who reads this blog to jump on the Bible bandwagon. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a life changing experience.

Almost New Years

2009-12-28T08:48:00.005-06:00

Christmas has come and gone and so the hustle and bustle as well. Thank goodness. I do not enjoy trying to pick out the perfect gift, long lines, returning things, or picking up the mountain of new toys at the end of the day. But we did have a ton of fun and the boys made a haul as usual. We are looking forward to a very good 2010. 2009 did not disappoint! With the addition of a new baby moose to the family, it couldn't have gotten much better. Here are some Christmas pics. Enjoy!

The Real Christmas Story

2009-12-22T09:13:00.002-06:00

Justa Bloggin': The Christmas Story

This is a friend of ours from high school. His post says it all. This is why I love Christmas.

2009-12-11T10:08:00.010-06:00

Nothing too interesting going on around here. Just trying to ready ourselves for Christmas. We've been trying to teach Landon that Christmas is really about Jesus' birthday so we've incorporated making Him a birthday cake this year along with cookies for Santa. We are also using Santa to our advantage when bad behavior seems to rear it's ugly head. And boy has it been. We have seen Santa about 17 times in various locations out and about and Landon seems to think that Santa is his new BFF. I have threatened to call the North Pole more times than I can count! :) Enjoy some updated pics~

Note to self: Do not try to wrap presents while in the company of children. You will NOT get anything accomplished :)

But you might find a really sweet present!

This is as good as it gets for our snow pictures this year. Not much of it stuck to the ground, but Landon insisted on playing soccer in it anyway :) You can tell we don't get much cold weather by the terribly unmatched winter attire!

He loves his Bumbo.

Cheesy man decorating the tree! It looks much better than last year when only the top half got decorated. I imagine it will look like that next year too :)

Daddy helping Bug put on the ornaments!

SHHHH!

2009-11-30T15:15:00.007-06:00

Love that smile.

You talkin' to me?

Daddy told him you wear stockings on your feet. Goofball :)

Their shirt says "What Santa doesn't bring Grandma will!" Isn't that the truth.

The only way we can get him to eat well is to threaten to eat his food before he does. Hmmm.. teaching him to be greedy wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but he's eating his veggies :)

My house is quiet. VERY seldom does that happen around here any more. Very seldom does Landon nap and even more seldom than that do they both nap at the same time. There are a million things I would love to do right now, but my blog has been neglected so it takes the top prize.

Things are well in the Hall house. Thanksgiving was great. We had a delicious feast and spent time with our amazing family. We can't wait to do it again for Christmas. Landon has a very keen awareness of what Christmas is about. Mostly presents, but we keep reminding him that it is also Jesus' birthday. We took the boys to see Santa yesterday afternoon and if you have seen last year's picture of Landon with Santa you know we were hoping for a better outcome this year. He watched him very closely as we got closer to the front of the line and then made a beeline for him with open arms when it was his turn. He hopped right up in his lap and told him exactly what he wanted. " A scooter, a geetar (not sure where he got that pronunciation), and a Barney DVD!" I hope Santa reminded him to be a good boy. Christmas Eve should be lots of fun for Jeremy and I this year.

Moose continues to wear his imaginary halo each day along with his smiles and coos and little giggles and squeals. He has become slightly more fussy but I am convinced he is teething. Whether or not those teeth will actually come through any time soon is yet to be known. He is starting to see and reach for his feet, and will roll from his tummy to his side, but that's about as far as he's interested in going. He is most definitely my laid back little man. I just busted out the 12 month clothes today since those are all of Landon's winter clothes. Amazing! He just looks like he's 8-9 months to us. We love every chubby little inch of him :)

I promise to keep up with my posting a little better... as long as my children will cooperate!

Updates :)

2009-11-09T18:08:00.005-06:00

I have severely neglected the blog. So much going on, so little time to myself and my hobbies :) Halloween has come and gone and I must say...I had THE cutest superhero boys ever. Bug ran around as a super cute Spiderman and his baby brother made an adorable Superman. We had a great time with his cousins and family at my Nana's house.

We went to the zoo this past Friday with Izzy and Abby. Somehow (with Nicci's help of course), I survived my first big outing with both boys. And boy was it an adventurous one. After moving both car seats into Nicci's van and loading up strollers, diaper bags, carrier and sack lunches we headed out. Not five steps from the van and lo and behold... Keaton, resting snuggly in his Jeep carrier, puked ALL over me and him. FUN... so we headed to the zoo entrance :) As we were winding through the monkeys Landon states calmly that he has to potty. I think he had to go pretty badly but he didn't want to leave the monkeys. By the time we found the restrooms and I took him out of the stroller he was full blown bawling his eyes out! He had a death grip on his private parts and was near to crawling to the restroom. So we start to trot and notice that it's field trip Friday... aka a VERY long line of kids and strollers outside the bathroom. We made a U-turn and headed back to the table, I stripped him down and threw a pull-up on him and told him to teetee in that. He did, so forcefully that it leaked out all over his pants and down his leg into his socks! Now he's really upset!! So I stripped him down (again) and changed his clothes while the other kids stared at him and I can only imagine what their mother's were thinking of me stripping my child down in the middle of the zoo. Thank God for little boys :)

After that the rest of the trip was very uneventful and we had a blast. Great weather, great friends and big smiles!

Keaton is growing like a weed. He is also a fabulous baby. He has gifted us with 12 hour nights of solid sleep on his part. For that we are VERY thankful. He wakes every morning with a big toothless grin and I cannot get enough of it. I love being their mommy!

almost forgot!

2009-10-22T11:43:00.012-05:00

Needless to say with the addition of Keaton, things have been a little busy. We have finally settled into a routine and Landon has adjusted greatly to his new little brother. Keaton has been a huge blessing to our family.

So here's what I almost forgot about. It's been a year since Landon had his eye removed. October 16th was the big day. That whole situation is what prompted this entire blog thing. Those days haunt me sometimes. The surgeries, the holding him down, the endless doctor's visits with probing eye exams. Yea, sometimes they all come flooding back for no reason at all and I have to remind myself to breathe. Then I stop and look at where we are NOW. I am reminded that God has brought us through that storm and I have a perfect little boy. Maybe I didn't really forget about it. Maybe it was just somewhat repressed. Either way I am greatful for the lessons learned and the strength we've obtained.

After the initial injury and surgery. April 08'

Have you ever seen a cuter kid in glasses?? :)

We made endless trips to his office and most of the time he had bad news for us, but he was always honest and he loved my baby! Thank you Dr. Holz!

Immediately after surgery. Soon to follow.... the horrible post-op experience!

My one-eyed baby pirate! 2 weeks post op.

Who has a fake eye???

There is nothing my Bug can't do. That part has amazed me. Part of my saving grace has been that he was so little when this whole mess happened. He will never remember what it was like to have 2 eyes. As far as he's concerned he does :) One day I'll sit down and tell him the whole story and show him all of these pictures and more. And I'll be able to give him my testimony about the whole ordeal. Maybe one day he'll get to share his testimony to other people about the awesome things God does. Until then, I assume he'll keep trucking along as fast as his little legs will carry him.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with ALL your heart."

Jeremiah 29:11-13

100 miles an hour...

2009-10-07T13:33:00.008-05:00

That's currently the rate at which Landon travels. He is my never ending busy body child! I often forget that he's only 2 1/2. I can sit down and have a conversation with him as if he were 4. He forgets NOTHING! He can tell me where he left his last toy, where he hid his underwear, and he knows every single word to Toy Story. And thanks to Aunt KK he is working on Toy Story 2. My favorite is listening to him sing. He loves his Veggie Tales CD. His favorite songs currently are "Father Namaham (Abraham)" and "Keus" (Zacchaeus). He is also fond of "Noah built the boat." I sing these songs in my head each night and I want to pull my hair out, yet I love listening to him.

HMMM...

I wonder who this is...

Could it be...Landon's favorite person?? He climbed up onto the chair found the camera, turned it on, somehow figured out how to put it in the correct setting, and went to town shooting his favorite person! Seriously, he can work a camera??

His attempt at dressing himself. Pants, shorts, underwear in that order!

Don't even ask... I'm just glad he's practicing his safety skills, even if that is the only item he is currently wearing :)

2 months old!

2009-10-07T13:22:00.004-05:00

My baby moose is getting so big so fast, well let's be honest he's always been big. So I should say he's growing way too fast! He celebrated his 2 month birthday with our first foursome family dinner outing. He choose Saltgrass :) He was a perfectly behaved gentleman, resting snuggly in mommy's arms the entire meal!

2 month stats: 13 lbs. 3 oz. and 23 1/4 inches. I believe that puts him above the 90th percentile for both measurements. No surprise there. I don't dare say he is a "better" baby than his brother was, but he is certainly "easier!" He goes to sleep at 10 gets up at 3 and goes back to bed until around 7:30. We have hit the 2 month smiles and coos which is my VERY favorite part of infancy! And as his features continue to change, I am convinced he looks more like me than Landon "the Jeremy clone!" They are truly two completely different kids with the best of both of us in each of them. What more could a mommy and daddy ask for?

ATTENTION mommies of girls...

2009-09-25T11:35:00.002-05:00

Okay ladies with girls... My friend just started making adorable bows and flip flops for little girls. I added her blog to my blog list so check it out. She and her sister have got to be THE most creative people ever!! I want to buy them and I don't even have girls. Great prices too :)

Name Change

2009-09-10T13:51:00.002-05:00

I thought it was only fair that I change the name of the blog. Bug has had his run of it alone for the past year or so. Since he is no longer an only child, we are learning to share and that includes claim to the blog. How can you talk about Landon and all of his glory when most of it now includes Keaton as well.

So enjoy the new episodes of "The Bug & Moose Show"

They call him.. Flash and other labor day fun!

2009-09-09T15:16:00.012-05:00

We have been steady busy in the Hall house lately. These two boys are keeping us hopping. We are tired, sleep deprived and longing for some quiet time to ourselves. HA! I suppose we'll wait another 18 years for that :)

We headed to Moody Gardens with the Oberts for Labor Day. We had a great time and spent some awesome family time together. We enjoyed a hot ride on the paddle boat before calling it a day.

He usually gets yogurt or pudding for dessert if he eats a good dinner. 90% of the time he wants yogurt. As he was enjoying his dessert last night and Jeremy and I were cleaning the kitchen and talking amongst ourselves we noticed in the background that Landon kept saying something about lotion. When we finally stopped being self absorbed in our conversation we noticed what he was saying... "I got lotion on me." Smells like lotion, looks kind of like lotion, feels like lotion, must be.... Gogurt! Thank goodness he was headed to the bathtub.

My mom cut his hair yesterday and then we gave him a bath so he wouldn't itch. When we got home Jeremy grilled chicken for dinner which immediately gave Landon an excuse to hit the back yard full force. Clothes simply seem to melt off of him when he's outside. For example, when I went to pick him up from MDO yesterday his teacher says, "Guess what your son did today." That is simply something no mother ever wants to hear. "We took him to the potty before recess and he didn't have to go, but when we got outside we turned around and he had whipped his pants down and peed on the playground." God gave me boys for a reason. I now know it was no accident. Most mothers would have been mortified, I know. I simply found it hilarious, if I'm being honest. If he has to go in the car and we're out and about we pull over in an empty parking lot and pee on the tire. It's quick and easy and we don't have to worry about finding a potty. You have to make potty time fun and peeing on the tire is a great way to get him to go FAST! But I digress. As he was running around getting all sweaty yesterday, post bath, I went out to get him to come inside to eat and he took off running. It wasn't funny at first but then I noticed all he had on were his spider man socks and I started to laugh. That's all it took. He laughed and ran and ran and ran and despite how athletic I USED to be, I couldn't catch him, which made us laugh even harder. Then he took his underwear and threw them over the neighbor's fence (the neighbors we don't know.) Thankfully they got caught on the edge and I was able to rescue them. So after much running and laughing he finally came in for dinner... and another bath! His little hiney is so cute.

This is cropped for obvious reasons!

We have been working on Landon's bible verse for the week. Now that he's moved up a class at church he gets to do bible stories and pictures and an actual curriculum. He loves his veggie tales CD which has taken over the radio in my car. Something I miss dearly and will regain once I start back to work. We were talking to Landon about Jesus the other day, which we try to do frequently. We asked him where does Jesus live and he said in my tummy. We corrected him and said "no Jesus lives in your heart." "Where my heart is?" When I pointed to his heart he asked with a serious and confused look on his face... "Jesus live in my boooobs?" I DIED laughing. Before Keaton came along he had no idea what or where boooobs were. We said "Your heart is behind your boobs." Oh okay. He got that. I guess it's all about location! I love being a mom!!

4 weeks old!

2009-09-09T15:03:00.005-05:00

This post is a week over due. Forgive my tardiness. Mr. Keaton, aka "Moose," is doing well. He is nursing like a champ. A little more than I would prefer actually. I feel like a cow with a baby calf constantly attached to me. Jeremy tried to get Landon to call me Elsie a couple of weeks ago. I put an immediate stop to that :)

Keaton was 11 lbs. 6 oz. at his one month check up and he was 22 inches. Apparently he shrunk an inch at his one week check up so he has now gained that inch back. :) He is an absolute sweet baby and I could sit and snuggle with him all day. But he has an older brother so that doesn't happen!

Enjoy the cute pics!

One year later...

2009-08-31T10:01:00.013-05:00

Landon's first week of MDO went well. It was quite a fiasco to get him there on time. We definitely have to work on our time management skills around here now that Keaton has joined the family. Just as I got Landon loaded in the car and ready to go, Keaton had a huge blow out in his diaper. Not once, but twice. Both requiring outfit changes! I have to learn to leave myself some extra time for unexpected issues :). Bug walked right in like the old pro he is and sat down and started playing with toys. I felt for all of the moms who's children were screaming and clinging to their pant legs. I smiled, gave my baby a kiss and headed out the door thinking we were exactly where they are just a year ago. It was bittersweet.

Keaton had his first trip to church yesterday. I wouldn't exactly say he behaved himself. He slept through the worship and woke up to eat and listen to Pastor Steven's message :) Of course that included loud burping and 10 minutes of cute baby hiccups along with unnecessarily loud binky sucking. I sat in the back and disturbed the sound people, did some walking around when he got bored, and tried to get as much of the message as I could. A touch up on the website would not be a bad idea! We head back to our lifegroup on Wed. and we are excited to spend some time with Keaton's extended (church) family.

Adjustment period is still in full swing I would say. Landon is doing better, although his sassy mouth has been getting him into trouble lately. "You drivin' me nuts!" is what he exclaimed to me when I told him to lay down for the 50th time the other day for his nap. Now I can't possibly imagine where he picked up that phrase :) It's good for him to be back in school to be around other kids and to have some structure and a place to run off all of that energy! And it's great for me to get a nap!

What a difference a year makes! He starts pre school next year and I can hardly believe it.

One year later. He looks like an old pro! (a four year old pro)

Me... go to sleep?? Now that's funny!!

I know it's 2 am Mom, but lets talk. Tell me about your day!

We survived!

2009-08-18T19:06:00.005-05:00

So we survived the first two days of Daddy going back to work. The sleeplessness is taking it's toll but we are making it. We put the boys in the tub together for the first time tonight. Keaton enjoys his baths much more than his brother did at this age. I think it reminds him of his comfortable place from 2 weeks ago. We went in for a weight check today and he's 10 lbs. 6 oz.

Landon enjoys playing with and touching everything of Keaton's. Like the swing as you can see. He's also very sneaky about it :) His very favorite time to get into things is when I'm nursing Keaton. He's very much in tune about when I am unable to chase him and he takes full advantage of it. He also has a funny fascination with me nursing his brother. He absolutely has to be right under my feet or climbing up in the chair every time Keaton is eating. He especially likes to help me pump! Every time I drag it out he says "I want to help you with your boobs!" and he puts the pump up to me and tries to hold it there. He also wants to turn it on and I have to be careful about how far he turns the suction on!! I think "boobs" is his new favorite word.

He is a very good big brother and likes to give kisses and hugs. He starts mother's day out next week (praise Jesus!). So it will be good for him to get some time away with other kids and it will be GREAT for me to get to have a nap during the day. I wouldn't exactly call Keaton a great sleeper just yet and I haven't figured out how to coordinate their nap schedule yet either. So when one is awake the other one is asleep and vise versa. We'll work it out eventually~

Enjoy the pics!

And then there were four...

2009-08-13T09:45:00.008-05:00

I have neglected the blog for some time now much to the understanding of moms everywhere :)

Keaton has been here for 9 days now. As we were sitting in labor and delivery watching TV to pass the time, we discovered that he shares a birthday with Barak Obama. It was enough to make me want to hold off for one more day... almost! His delivery, despite his husky frame, was much easier than Landon's. I was in labor for 8 hours and only pushed 4 times to get his big 10 pound self out. My doctor was fantastic. She ran up three flights of stairs to make it in time. I went from 6 cm dilated to 10 cm in an hour. When the nurse said "lets try a test push" it actually turned into "his head is almost out" push. Hence the need for Dr. Rivero to put some pep in her step. Recovery has been smoother, maybe because I am forced to deal with 2 kids and not one.

Landon is a great big brother. Very curious and quick to want to wake him up. But he has been a challenge as well. I had no expectations of how he was going to react to having Keaton around. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the out bursts have begun. Some times I'm not sure who he is. I know it will take time for all of us to adjust. In the mean time, we are trying to spend undivided attention with him. We went to Chuck E. Cheese yesterday while my mom kept Keaton so that we could spend some one on one time with him. He enjoyed it as much as we did.

Jeremy goes back to work on Monday and then I think my life will be hell for a little while until I figure out a more solid routine. I'm somewhat of a scheduled person and routine does me good. If I could just figure out how to teach Keaton that it is not necessary to eat for an hour and then be hungry I think we'd do okay :) I have a wonderful husband. He is so helpful and makes my life so much easier. If I could clone him I bet I'd make a fortune! He's on his way to the grocery store now to get Landon out of my hair!

It's funny how different the boys are. Keaton seems to be much more laid back than Landon was at this age. He nurses well, which Landon never did. He does like to be cuddled and snuggled with more than his brother which is great until Landon needs my attention, which is a little more often now.

All in all we are doing well. Despite the typical sleep deprivation a newborn brings we are quite functional. We are now one big happy family!!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-07-17T14:09:00.003-05:00

I love this guy!! He made me the happiest woman on the earth 5 years ago today. We always talk about how fast Landon is growing up but in a sense so are we. I don't really consider myself a grown up all the time. I kinda feel like a kid sometimes too. I'm assuming that will change when I hit 30. Which is very rapidly approaching :)

Landon is spending the night in Madisonville with his cousins and grandparents so we are going to enjoy a nice dinner out and then a quiet evening vegging in front of the TV. And then.... we actually get to sleep uninterrupted for as long as we want! YEAAA!! The plan for tomorrow is to hopefully finish up Keaton's room. It is looking fantastic!

So I'll take a few minutes to brag on my husband. He has to be the most helpful man on the planet. I'm not just talking like right now since he's pulling both of our weight around here. I mean all the time. He's the best dad I've ever seen. He jumped right in with Landon and hasn't stopped since. I've never had to worry about how well he takes care of his child when I'm not around. He just does it and sometimes does it better than I do. He has the patience of no one I've ever met! That compliments me VERY WELL! I could go on and on. But the idea is I consider myself very blessed that God has a plan for my life and Jeremy is a major character in it. My life would just simply not be as fulfilled if he weren't. So happy anniversary Babe! I love you very much.

summer days

2009-07-13T18:51:00.008-05:00

Chuck E. Cheese's. He loves it!!

Fixin' the weed eater

I caught a glimpse of my grandpa here with his hat cocked sideways :)

My little tractor man!

Landon and Daddy playing outside

Things are going well. We get a nice shade in our front yard in the evenings thanks to the 2 story house across the street from us. So we've made playing outside a new hobby in the evenings. Especially on grass watering days. Bug loves the sprinkler.

We went to the doctor today for an ultrasound and check up. Keaton already weighs 7 lbs. and 8 ounces with 4 weeks to go. Although I begged to be induced at 38 weeks she agreed to 39. Bummer. I'm dilated 1 cm and she promises that this induction won't be as bad or as long as Landon's. I'm holding her to it :) Other than the intense back pain, that I am trying to pretend doesn't exist, I am doing well. I think Landon is ready for his little brother to be here. Mostly so his mom can function with him again :)

Happy days!

Countdown

2009-07-01T11:24:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted. But I have great news... I finally bought a new digital camera! So as soon as I learn how to download pics from it, I'll be updating more frequently. We haven't been doing much. Just trying to stay inside and away from the extreme Texas heat. I'm panting just thinking about how hot it is outside. Thankfully we got about 15 minutes of good rain yesterday. Boy did we need it.

Landon has been his usual rowdy self. He's starting to understand that he has a brother coming, although he still forgets when he jumps full force into my lap. He continues to have an obsession with his nakedness that I am praying will go away soon. His favorite phrase seems to be "my hinnie itches!" Which leads to constant scratching. It is soooo gross. I feel like all I do is chase him around to wash and alcohol his hands. YUCKY little boys! At least the potty training is done. Other than him refusing to poop in the potty. But he tells us when he needs to go and he requests a diaper before hand so that is okay I suppose. One diaper a day is much better than 6 or 7 and I am great full for the warning he provides.

Not too much longer before Keaton gets here and I could not be more ready. I forgot how miserable the last month of pregnancy truly is. Especially with this intense heat.

We are looking forward to a fun Saturday with our friends. Although we may not make it over there until well after the sun goes down :) kidding! Have a safe weekend! I will actually have pictures to post after this weekend. YEAA!

Surely they won't both be bad sleepers??

2009-06-13T21:27:00.002-05:00

This is a question I have often asked myself in the recent months. I have noticed a distinct difference in the patterns of Landon and Keaton's sleep/wake cycles in utero. Landon was consistently awake between 1 and 3 am each day. I was also working full time straight night shift. He was usually only awake for small intervals. He has also ALWAYS been a terrible sleeper. I believe it is God's way of punishing me for all of those wasted lazy hours I spent sleeping through my teens and early adulthood :) "More productivity!" He yells at me.

Keaton on the other hand rarely sleeps! This is very distressing to me. As we speak, I believe he is hoola hooping with his umbilical cord! You can actually see my belly move from his disco dancing routine. This constant movement strikes fear into my heart. Lord, can I do this sleepless thing again for 2 more years?!?!?

Since we moved Landon to his big boy bed (again) we have begun the evening struggle of getting him to fall asleep on his own. We started the sleep lady shuffle again tonight. It worked very well when we moved him back into his crib last time. He was asleep at 8:30 and slept until 8 am each day. That was the most blissfull month and a half we've had since he was born! It says in the book to try to put up a gate outside his door to discourage him from climbing out of bed. So I did that tonight after he insisted, "mom go away!" The first time, he climbed over it. So I put it high enough to where he couldn't the second time but low enough to where he couldn't slide under it either. Trust me, he tried. Thank goodness he has his dad's junk in the trunk and that's what stopped him from fitting :)

At first, he fussed a little then he pulled out every book in his book bucket and began to read to his stuffed animals. We're talking 15+ books. So we figured as long as he's somewhat quiet he'll get drowsy and climb back in bed. Nope. So we wrestled him back in bed, picked up the books and told him "BED TIME!" The book reading resumed after we left. But soon it got quiet and we thought FINALLY! So we go check on him after we hear him sneeze. Not a regular sneeze. One of those "Oh gosh grab the kleenex before he wipes the snot all over everything!" sneezes. We looked in the bed and he wasn't there. We found him huddled in the corner of the room behind the chair we sit in, trying to put on his shoes. By the way did I mention he was NAKED?

"Where is your diaper Landon?"

"There under the chair."

"Why did you take it off?"

"Wet!"

Duh mom! This adventure never seems to end. One last thing.... we started this nightly ordeal tonight at 8pm. Presently, he is STILL awake!!

Summer birthdays!

2009-06-08T20:47:00.006-05:00

The birthday girl! And yes, there is fire engine RED hair under that hat :)

Her daddy and I were the same way growing up! They'll love each other one day...we hope!

Believe it or not, they're only 5 months apart.

I think he has spotted the pool!

Silly cousins!

Landon and Daddy had quite the busy social life this weekend. They had a birthday party on Saturday and Sunday. Both requiring bathing suits which is Landon's very favorite thing right now. LuLu turned 1 on Saturday and Abrie turned 2 on Sunday. Unfortunately, when you work weekends you sometimes miss the fun stuff. Thanks to Uncle David, we got some pics at Abrie's party. We still have not bought a new camera, but we only have 9 more weeks until Keaton arrives so we will have one soon :)

Fun(ny) times!

2009-05-25T19:43:00.005-05:00

Landon and Trevor at Moody Gardens. It was like pulling teeth to get them both to look at the same time!

Landon has been having such a great summer and it just started! Our evenings consist of playing in the back yard sprinkler and his plastic pool. It also usually consists of him running around naked which is okay with me because it's less laundry :) Sometimes I think he thinks he lives on a nudist colony. The neighborhood swimming pool opens this week so I'm sure we will be spending a lot of time in the water... with our swimsuit on :)

He started climbing out of his crib again this past week. I was hoping we could curb that but it did not work. He has been out of town with grandparents for the last 3 weekends in a row without a crib so he pretty much decided he'd had enough of it. We installed the side rail to his big boy bed and he napped in there for the first time today. After 2 1/2 hours Jeremy had to wake him up! So I guess he liked it. The only challenge for us is getting him to fall asleep in it without us having to stay with him. We took the "sleep lady shuffle" approach to getting him to fall asleep in his crib so we will start that back up and see if we can keep him in it.

We had a funny experience at dinner tonight. It really shouldn't be funny, but it really just is. He was coloring as we were waiting on our food and Jeremy and I were talking amongst ourselves when all of a sudden daddy said "holy crap!" Need I say more?? We don't really want our son saying "crap" but HOLY!! So needless to say he started saying (actually yelling) "Holy Crap!!" Jeremy and I busted out laughing once and that's all it took. He proudly professed holy crap for the next 10 minutes! Way to go Dad :) Once we ignored it he stopped and then we quickly changed it to "holy cow!" He picked up on that one so we seem to have bypassed the phrase.... Hopefully.

How time flies!

2009-05-18T13:09:00.008-05:00

This is Landon's last week of Mother's Day Out. I am sad for a couple of reasons. The first is the obvious reason... I loose my 11 hours of freedom each week. The second is because he was only 18 months old when he started. Now he's almost 2 1/2. Where did the time go?

Several people in the last couple of weeks have commented on how he is not looking like a baby any more but more like a little kid. Not even a toddler! It truly makes me so sad. Jeremy and I were looking at baby pictures of him last night and it hit me at how quickly he has grown up. I don't even remember him being that little. His independence shows through more and more each day and with it are the obvious challenges. But he is my little buddy and keeps me company during the day when Jeremy is at work. It is strange that I can carry on conversations with him and he completely understands. The guilt is hitting me harder each day as Keaton's arrival draws near. My only baby will be a big brother and my time with him will be split between two kids. I am excited about Keaton getting here, but I often wonder how I am going to show Landon that I love him as much as Keaton when most of my attention will be devoted to the little brother? I'm sure we will work it out like every parent with more than one child do.

The video is of him counting before he jumps to my mom in the swimming pool. He kind of tends to skip 11 -13 but you get the idea. I thought the floaties and life vest were a little over kill at first but if you saw him in the water, you'd understand. There is no fear, which makes his mother scared! Make sure you turn off the music at the bottom of the screen or you can't hear him. Enjoy the trip down memory lane!

Summer time sprinkling!

2009-05-11T16:09:00.006-05:00

I finally learned how to put short videos on here! Here's Bug with his new sprinkler from Mimi.

But he smelled sooo good!

2009-05-11T12:35:00.006-05:00

Landon has always been a kid that entertains himself pretty well. I have taken advantage of that more times than I can count. But it seems the older he gets, the more curiosity takes over. And we all remember what happens to the cat!

This past Thursday was crazy! I was trying to get ready for a children's ministry meeting, finish up dinner for Landon and Jeremy (who was running VERY late from work, but not his fault), pick up sandwiches for the meeting, and waiting for Allison to meet me at my house so we could leave. Landon had been watching Elmo in my room. I pulled the casserole out of the oven and turned around. Something smelled very good, yet it wasn't my casserole. I nearly fell out!! He was standing there covered in my Marc Jacobs Daisy perfumed lotion I got for Christmas. He was also holding his monkey (who had tried to help clean up the mess) and my decorative hand towel from the bathroom (that is used for... decoration). I wanted to BEAT him, but like the post is titled... he smelled SOOO good, and he was SOOO slippery, so even if I tried to pick him up to beat him he would have slid right through my hands! So as if I didn't have enough to do, I had to bathe him now.

When Allison walked in she mentioned how good my house smelled :) The moral of the story is when your kids get quiet, check on them!!!

I hope you all had a fantastic mother's day. Mine was great! Church, nap, and grilled chicken! Fantastic!

Oh yea, the little Bambino's name: Keaton Blayne!

Cheesy grins!

2009-05-03T21:12:00.003-05:00

Bug and his daddy!

My little monster!

a little update

2009-04-27T12:29:00.002-05:00

Things are going well. #2 is very active and moves right on schedule. Usually between 8-10 every night....HMMM I wonder if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Landon's active time was between 1-3 AM every morning so I suppose it's better than that, but I was also working full time nights then as well. He very much does not like me to lay on my right side. Apparently I squish him that way and he goes to town kicking and wiggling. I happen to be a side sleeper by the way!

Landon keeps us laughing daily. He is now counting as high as 18 and very good at pointing out letters. His favorites are "H" and "M" but he can recognize as many as 10-12 letters and does pretty good with his alphabet. He always seems to get stuck around "L" and "K" but just skips them and keeps on going. I guess all the reading has paid off! And we can't forget to thank Sesame Street :)

His teachers at school last week said he keeps talking about a baby. We have been trying to tell him about the baby on the way and that he is going to be a big brother, but I tend to think he is talking about babies because he loves Izzy & Abby. They are two sweet little one year old twins in our life group and we call them "the babies." We went to the beach with them last Wed. and then every Wed evening the kiddos in our group come over to our house with the babysitters while the adults have bible study (and one and 1/2 hours of adult time and freedom :) So he likes to say "babies come to Landon's house and play Momma!"

Other than that, things are moving along well. #2 will be here before we know it. Carter seems to be the overwhelming vote getter in the polls. I promise to stop calling him #2 soon and I will tell you all what we have decided to name him.

Have a blessed week!

Karma

2009-04-21T16:55:00.003-05:00

It's funny how some people brag on their children incessantly and some are hesitant, always wondering when the other shoe will drop. I tend to be the latter... The other shoe dropped!

I mentioned previously how wonderfully behaved Landon had been @ Seaworld and for the entire San Antonio trip. I picked him up at school today to find out he had been put in time out. The kid has one month left of mother's day out and has never been in time out before! My face must have shown all of the shock I was absorbing because his teacher said "I know...I don't know what was wrong with him today, he is so good!" Apparently he refused to take a nap today (which he never does), would not stay quietly on his nap mat, and pushed another kid. GASP!! He pushed another kid???!!! My shy, quiet, cling to his mother's leg around other children kiddo PUSHED another kid? Again from the teacher, "I know, I know, I don't know what got into him today!" He usually RUNS to me when I pick him up from school. It's one of my favorite parts of the day. Today; he would have nothing to do with me. His teacher looked at him like he was from another planet then looked at me like "who is this kid you dropped off today?" I nearly had to drag him to the car.

So we left and went and got snow cones and went to the park. I know, some disciplinarian I turned out to be. I did try to have "the talk" about not pushing other kids and listening to adults, but seriously, he's 2. That says enough. We have been stepping up the discipline lately since the independence is really starting to take effect. Everything is "Landon do it!" Lord Jesus help me! And another one on the way. By the way, did I mention he's asleep in my bed right now?

On a side note, I am looking for a new digital camera. Ours is 5 years old and slower than Christmas. When you want to take multiple pictures quickly (which you have to do with kids) it takes forever for it to reload between shots. And the viewing screen on ours is tiny. Any suggestions would be great!

We are hopefully headed to the beach tomorrow to enjoy this beautiful weather! I'd say I'll post pics but who knows?? Thanks for all of the votes on the name. We have picked one out but I'm not sharing until the polls are closed!! Be blessed :)

Seaworld weekend

2009-04-13T08:23:00.003-05:00

So we returned from San Antonio Saturday afternoon. Our plans to hit up the zoo were thwarted due to 60 degree weather and very strong wind. Thankfully Landon didn't know any better. Seaworld was a BIG success. We were a little nervous about the traveling and much more nervous about dropping big bucks to get in and then him hating it! The big bucks were dropped but he loved every minute of it.

The closest we got to Shamu was the stuffed one he brought home with him. He refuses to call him Shamu, only "big fish." He has a new bedtime companion. He liked the dolphin show a lot but his favorite seemed to be the sea otters and the walrus show. It was me and Jerm's favorite too when we went for our one year anniversary (child free at the time). And of course we saw Elmo and the gang and he was quite adorable for that. I've never seen him sit and stare so intently before.

I learned 2 things this weekend:

1-Prior to this weekend I had been pretty determined to have 3 children. After paying for Seaworld, I think I will probably stick to 2! Landon was enough to feed, change, and keep up with. I can't imagine another two! Plus it was $100 to get through the gate (hint: Landon was free!) and we had coupons for me and Jeremy to get in at a child's price. $15 to park, $12 for a locker for our camera to not get wet, $30 for lunch (hello..turkey wraps?), and $10 for a stroller. Praise God that he had a good time, so that made it all well worth it!

2- I have a very well behaved child. He was a great traveler, which he was not until he turned one. He was one of those kids who SCREAMED in the car until we were able to turn his car seat front facing. He was very well behaved in the hotel, as long as he got to push the elevator buttons, and they sent him cookies and milk the night we checked in which made him very happy. He was great at the restaurant and even better on the way home than on the way there. We were very proud of him. I think he mostly just enjoyed being with Jeremy and I together and having our sole undivided attention. That was, after all, the entire point of the trip.

On a sad note, I am so upset!! The numerous pictures we took of our "first family vacation" have been destroyed!! Not only vacation pictures but our Easter pictures as well. And they were SOOOO cute! Somehow in the process of downloading them to put them on the blog, they got all scrambled and now I can't retrieve them. I'm so bummed!! My very computer savvy hubby is going to try to save them but has already warned me not to get my hopes up. :(

I hope you all had a great Easter. It was the best Easter I've ever had. God is good. Jeremy is riding in the MS-150 this weekend so we are headed to Austin on Sat. to pick him up on Sunday afternoon. Pray the weather is nice and he stays safe!

Children's Museum

2009-04-05T20:45:00.004-05:00

The bears in the boxes.

Miller thieving his admission sticker :)

He loved the light up peg board!

WEEEE!

He and Miller on the sled. Move your belly Katie!! :)

The new water works exhibit was a huge hit.

Seaworld here we come!

2009-04-05T05:00:00.002-05:00

So we are headed to San Antonio this week for a fun filled adventure packed weekend. We leave Thursday afternoon and will head home Saturday evening in time for Easter! I love Easter. I think I officially qualify as a bad mom. I have yet to have my son's picture taken with the mall Easter bunny. This will be his third Easter!! After the fiasco we had with Santa this past Christmas, I think that may let me off the hook this year. Anyway, I digress.... back to San Antonio.

We are going to Seaworld on Friday and the zoo on Saturday. I discovered a while back that "Big Bird's Beach Party" was going to be there. Landon is very much into Big Bird and Elmo and the entire Sesame Street gang. Although it sounds more like "big bood," "melmo" and "urrrneee." He will be very excited and I can't wait to see his sweet little face light up.

The name game continues with #2. Jeremy and I can't seem to agree on anything and neither of us have a name we are totally "set" on. Although he is leaning very close to Carter. We shall see. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't pick out a name until we see him. That will officially drive my mom insane!! Hee Hee, that brings a smile to my face :)

So prayers for safe travel this week would be great. We are excited about our first "family vacation" and are hoping very much for good weather, great Mexican food, and lots of fun family time. It's Landon's big hoorah before I get huge and miserably hot, and before he becomes a great big brother. I will take LOTS of pictures and post as soon as we return!

Have a blessed week~

Baby #2

2009-04-01T06:52:00.004-05:00

Here are the ultrasound pictures of #2. (he still has no name!) His profile picture is identical to Landon's at this stage. I have a funny feeling the scenario will be the same. It goes like this.... 9 months of pregnancy, 18 hours of hard labor, and a child that has my nose and everything else of his daddy's. Another little Jeremy clone :) I suppose it's worth it! And yes, he has massive feet.

Bug has been good. It is hilarious to listen to him try to put sentences together. They run on for ever with cute little studdering as he tries to get out everything he wants to say. He is moving a little quicker as well. Or perhaps I'm just moving a little slower :) We were buying groceries at WalMart this week and I pushed him to McDonald's to get some juice to keep him occupied while we shopped. I paid for the juice, turned around and he was SUCKING down my Starbucks iced coffee. "MMMMM Momma's juice.... chocate mook!" (chocolate milk) The elderly man in line tried to warn him about stealing a woman's coffee but he didn't get it. A couple of isles later, he was holding his Thomas the train bubble bath and decided to pour half the bottle in his lap. I thought it had a seal on it. Guess not! We left a trail of fruity bubble smell down each isle. He is also becoming quite the baseball player. He and his daddy work almost every night on hitting the ball off the tee. I'm more and more convinced he might be a lefty. I know that kids usually don't decide what hand they are going to use until closer to 3, but he really favors that left hand. If he does become a lefty that will be in his favor with his batting skills and his eye. He's really cute to watch. If I can ever figure out how to put a video on here, I will.

So we are off to the children's museum this morning. I'll post pics soon.

Changes are a comin'

2009-03-26T20:40:00.004-05:00

So these pictures are a little over due! We took Bug to the rodeo last week. It was really hot and he was very grumpy. Not so much fun but at least he posed well before we left. I think next year we will NOT go during spring break. If this was any inclination of how our San Antonio Sea World trip is going to be next month, we may be in trouble :)

On another exciting note... we found out that Landon is going to be the big brother of a sweet little boy. We had our big ultrasound today and to say the least, our second child was quite hyper, uncooperative, and large. His feet and belly alone measure 2 weeks bigger than I actually am. Overall he is measuring 21 weeks and I am only 20. The doctor assured us should prepare for another big baby. DUH! have you seen me?? LOL

Tomorrow will be 365 days since my baby Bug poked his eye with the night light cover. Of course it wouldn't be for another 2 days until we put all the pieces together and went into surgery at midnight. I sit and think about it and find it hard to imagine that we've come so far, that my child has shown unimaginable strength and endurance. I cannot fathom that God loves us so much that He brought us through that terrible storm and then some. "This too shall pass" rings very loudly in my ears right now. I love my child more than I can even put into words, and to think that God loves us that much more blows my mind. I am so incredibly great full for His mercy and grace. How great is our God!

random march fun!

2009-03-19T08:19:00.001-05:00

Darn Texas Weather!

2009-03-11T15:44:00.004-05:00

The weather has been fabulous lately. Perfect zoo weather. We had planned to go today and take Landon and his mean red headed cousin Abrie. But yesterday the all-knowing weather man said it was going to be a 50% chance for rain today. I'm not particularly a big fan of driving 2 toddlers all the way to Houston just to drive them home again. So we decided maybe next week will be better. Well imagine the odds. The % went down to 30 today and up to 50% tomorrow! It has been a beautiful zoo weather day!! That's alright. We went and visited Nannie and Aunt Marma instead.

Abrie isn't really mean. She's what we like to call "aggressive." It happens to be a trait that runs in our family on my mom's side. You just don't mess with Wallace women. Poor Bug doesn't stand a chance.

Mommy's Horticulturist!

2009-03-03T16:10:00.013-06:00

Bug's Flower Planting Experience

Not exactly what Mommy had in mind.

The finished product!

I love March

2009-03-03T13:53:00.003-06:00

March is a favorite month of mine. Yes there are many birthdays to celebrate. My father-in-law, me, my Nana, my uncle, my cousin's girlfriend, and one of my oldest (not in that sense of the word Michelle!) friends. Maybe I should have used the word "dearest." I had a fabulous birthday yesterday. I did laundry and cleaned house and watched Elmo with Landon 17 times. Then our friends came over and we had hamburgers and Wal-Mart carrot cake! It truly was a great day. I have come to find out that when you have children, your birthday is just another day. But if it is a day spent with the children and people you love, then what day like that isn't great?

Today is my Nana's 78th birthday. She's one tough cookie and has as much energy as Landon any day of the week :) It is also my due date for the baby that we miscarried in August. I remember how excited we were that I was due a day after my birthday, 2 days after my father-in-law and on my Nana's birthday. Even if it had not been such a busy birthday week, I would have remembered the significance of today. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about that baby. Even though I had never met it personally or even knew if it was a boy or a girl. I still feel like I am a mother of 3! I'm glad it's my Nana's birthday because it makes me joyful to be able to celebrate another year with her. Because I have her, I have a reason to be happy today! And of course the beautiful weather helps too.

So I'm off to pick up Landon from mother's day out. We are going to come home and plant some flowers in his very own flower pot. It should be very messy and very fun! Have a beautiful March month! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!!

Ears, tummy, nose... Oh MY!

2009-02-26T10:25:00.004-06:00

He seems to have forgotten where his own bed is as he has taken up residence in ours! I believe in the next couple of days Jeremy will permanently move into the spare room.

Looks quite comfy doesn't he??

All joking aside, my Bug has had a rough week. It all started last Friday when he started with the vomiting. Over the next 3 days I would have sworn he'd lost 5 lbs. He was looking pretty puny and clung to me like a shadow! We got one good day in on Tuesday. Jeremy called in sick since Landon shared his horrible stomach bug with him. We picked him up from school and took him to the zoo. He was pulling on his left ear in the car on the way there. It should have been my first sign. We had a great day spending some much needed family time together. Then midnight rolled around and the pain and crying started. Yep, you guessed it. Double ear infection and his tubes are pretty much about to fall out. The right one is barely hanging in the ear canal and has probably already fallen out since yesterday. Praise Jesus for Tylenol with Codeine. He finally slept well last night and gave us a nice 6 hours of bed to ourselves before he and his blanket made it to our room.

Other than the day at the zoo and the trip to the pediatrician yesterday, I cannot tell you what fresh air smells like or what the weather has been like this week. I feel like a prisoner in my own home. Or maybe a mother orangutan where all her little orangutan babies hang on her neck when they want to be transferred somewhere. If I have to watch one more Thomas the Train movie, or respond to one more demand for "milk milk!" I am going to DIE! LOL! Tomorrow will be a solid week of sickness. I NEED FRESH AIR!!! :)

This too shall pass! Hope you all have a great weekend.

Way behind!

2009-02-18T15:31:00.004-06:00

I know..I have fallen behind on the blog posts. Life keeps us busy and so does Landon! So briefly let's catch up.

At 2 years old he is: 32lbs (91st%) and 37 1/2inches (94th%). He has a little of my side in him :)

Potty training is an on going pain in the rear! Everyone keeps telling us to put him in big boy undies and let him feel what it's like to be wet. Yea did that yesterday. He wet 6 pairs of undies in less than 20 minutes and pretty much could have cared less. Thank heavens for hardwood floors!
The day after he turned 2 he crawled out of his crib for the first time. I had pretty much decided I'd let him sleep in his crib until he was 12 as long as he continued to sleep through the night. He came like a ghost in the night. I put him in his crib, he cried, I went to check email and I turned around and he was there with a HUGE smile on his face. He even had the guts to SHOW us his new trick. He was quite proud of himself... Thus the toddler bed is now here to stay. And apparently so are his feet in my back.
His father has officially taught him to call me Jenn. Our nightly routine consists of dinner at the table where Landon makes a huge mess and while I clean the kitchen Jeremy jumps in the shower and lugs Bug with him. So when Jeremy is ready for me to come get Landon and dry him off so he can finish his shower he very loudly yells "JENN!!" Took less than a week for Landon to pick it up. Now every night from the shower I'm Jenn and not Momma and they both think it's hilarious!
He's speaking in 4 word sentences. He's also yelling in 4 word sentences. Not always what we want to hear and we definitely don't understand it all, but for the most part, he gets his point across. Actions speak louder than words.
If you noticed the ticker on the right, you'll know that despite all of these fabulous hurdles, we decided it would be fun to do it all over again starting in August. Yes, we are crazy. But VERY excited! He continuously makes us laugh with his silly personality and charm.

We went to see Robin today and she polished his eye and gave him a final check up. Everything looks good. We go back now every six months for a polish and to make sure it still fits correctly. Okay! I promise to be better about posting!

Eating cereal

2009-01-26T11:30:00.005-06:00

Very innocent looking. Don't ya think?

Not so innocent looking here though!

My friend Nicci has adorable twin girls. They're hitting really fun milestones like learning to walk and trying finger foods. Nicci posted a question on her blog about wanting to know when the girls would be able to eat cereal with milk? Here you go Nicci :)

Pee Pee in the Potty!!

2009-01-24T21:52:00.003-06:00

It's a G Rated picture :) AND his hands are in the appropriate place!

One of the really crummy things about not getting to stay home with your kids is that you sometimes miss the biggest events, even if they're really not that big to anyone else but you. Bug went pee pee in the potty tonight and I'm at work! I MISSED IT! He and Jeremy were sitting in the chair watching Lost (who knew my kid would watch that) and he jumped up and said "Daddy, tee tee!" and ran to his little potty. So Jeremy followed him in there and sat him on the toilet and he promptly told Jeremy to "go away!" So daddy peeked at him from around the corner and voila! Pee Pee in the potty! He stood up and clapped and said "YEAAA!" He was apparently quite proud of himself. He was rewarded with Nilla wafers, one of his favorites.

So maybe potty training will be easier than the todder bed fiasco! I thought it would be much easier to sleep in a big boy bed than to "go" on the big boy potty. Who knows? I guess this means he will be getting big boy underwear for his birthday. I'm tired of all this "big boy" talk. I wish he would stay this age forever.

I quit!

2009-01-22T12:09:00.003-06:00

Here's the adorable "booty in the air" picture, while he's asleep in his big boy bed.

I have had it with this toddler bed transition mess! After I put him back in the bed 12 times last night I told him "if you don't lay down and go to sleep, I'm going to put you in your baby bed and you won't get to sleep in the big boy bed!"

He jumped up grabbed his pillow and his frog and ran to his crib! He slept all night and I had to wake him up at 8 this morning. Guess he likes his bed as much as mommy likes hers! We'll wait and try again later.

The perils of Toddlerhood

2009-01-20T12:06:00.003-06:00

So our newest task at hand with Landon has been transferring him to a toddler bed. I have dreaded this for quite some time now. For many reasons, but the big reason is because of the horror stories I've heard of couples having their 9 year olds in the bed with them. For those of you who know me well; you know that sleep is very near and dear to my heart. So having a toddler climb out of his bed every ten minutes just to end up in the middle of MY bed in the long run is not something I have been wanting to deal with. Alas, we tried anyway!

Wow how children surprise you. Saturday night was his first day in his "big boy" bed. I laid him down and he was out in 10 minutes and didn't make a peep until around 8 that next morning. FABULOUS! I'm thinking to myself. Ever heard of beginners luck?? Sunday night we fought with him until 10pm. Sleeping in the bed is not the problem for him. When he's out, he's out. It's getting him to leave things alone in his room and fall asleep on his own that's the problem. In the crib I could just lay him down and he would cry for a few minutes and be out. NOW he has to get up and unplug the night light and unplug the monitor and tiptoe down the hall to see if we're watching him.

It is an ongoing battle at this point, but he's getting the hang of it. My ideal time to be in bed each night is by 9-9:30. (I know we're old). Landon's ideal time seems to be somewhere between 10-10:30. We're working on it!

I would include a picture of him but it seems he has lost the card reader that I download my pictures into. HMMM? Adorable bootie in the air photo to come.

Ups and Downs

2009-01-17T00:12:00.003-06:00

So I suppose I've fallen behind a bit on that promise I made to keep up with my posting. Life sometimes gets in the way. So typically no news is good news. Things are great. Bug is cruising right along. We are glad to be done with the holidays. Mr. Landon has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. He deserves to celebrate BIG considering the terrible year he had last year. So we rented a moon walk with a WEEEEE! (slide) for his birthday party. He should be super excited about that. I just wish he wasn't growing up so fast.

I used to worry when he was about 18 or so months that he wasn't talking a lot. He mostly grunted at things he wanted. Now the child talks constantly! My mom laughs and says he sounds like the Vietnamese ladies at the nail salons when he talks really fast. You can't understand a single word he says, but he's talkin' anyway. It's really joy to my ears.

We had a great lifegroup discussion last Wed. night. It was all about "not being yolked with unbelievers." (II Corinthians 6:14-18). It got quite deep and in the long run I was humbly proved wrong. Sometimes I feel like we have 2 different sets of friends and it's very hard to mesh them all together and to remain the same person despite whatever group you happen to be with at the time. Trust me; we're learning!

Other than that, things are just peachy!

Welcome 2009

2009-01-02T13:15:00.003-06:00

So New Years has come and gone. Much to our delight! We went out to a nice dinner and then to a VERY ritzy country club to hear our praise team play amazing cover songs. SO MUCH FUN! We were so under dressed and out of our element with the crowd but we were there with friends who love us and celebrated with us at midnight as we said adios~ to 2008. It was great.

So I thought I'd make a list of what I was thankful for this past year despite all we went through.

My top 10...

1- I have a God that has forgiven me for the angry things I felt toward Him at the beginning of the year. Grace is truly the most amazing gift ever.

2- I have the GREATEST most supportive family ever! I know now that I can call them at 3 in the morning and not have to worry about anything. And although my husband is amazing I'm also talking about my parents, in-laws, aunts, uncles and cousins. Seriously, my family is great!!

3- I have friends that still call to check on us... even though I almost never call them back. There was a time when I didn't want to talk to any one of them about ANYTHING. I was just too self absorbed. Yet they love me anyway... go figure!

4- I have the busiest, happiest, strongest son God could have ever blessed me with. I can't believe I can keep up with him (at times I can't). I truly cannot wait to see what God has in store for my super hero in the future.

5- The economy sucks! The market is terrible! Unemployment is skyrocketing and I have a job that I don't have to ever worry about losing. And I get to do what I love every time I'm there.

6- I am incredibly glad that my stubbornness did not block what God was trying to do in our lives. My stubbornness blocks a lot of things sometimes :) But out of that we got plugged back in and found our fabulous church family again. Man we love you guys!

7- This may sound silly, but I am very thankful for Texas Children's and the fact that we live so close to one of the greatest children's hospitals in the country. We spent a lot of time there this year and they took great care of us and our baby. Even if I didn't work there, we'll know our way winding through those hallways for a long time.

8-My husband is the greatest guy in the world. He has supported me through rock bottom and has been there to help me pick up the pieces. If I didn't have anyone else in this world, I'd be okay as long as I had him. Anyone who doesn't believe in a soul mate doesn't have a spouse like Jeremy.

9- I know I already mentioned my family, but my parents are super stars. They spent countless hours with us at the hospital from the time Landon was transported by ambulance to the ER, through surgery after surgery, post-op visits, and COUNTLESS hours of babysitting so we could keep our sanity. I don't know how people make it with no family close by. We would drown! I love them more than they'll ever know.

10- I have HOPE for a better year!

"...But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strenth. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint!" Isaiah 40:31

It is our hope that your 2009 is going to be as fantastic as ours is. We love you all. Thanks for your support and love~

Christmas Pics!

2009-01-02T12:52:00.007-06:00

books-r-fun!!

He LOVES his tractor!

His stocking at MiMi and Poppy's house. A little big don't ya think??

My Nanna and her new Bling from all of us!

He's learned how to "dig in"

Christmas

2008-12-29T03:45:00.002-06:00

Christmas was fantastic! Landon was so much fun this year and very quickly got the hang of opening presents. It can be very time consuming though because he wants to play with each toy he unwrapped. His Uncle Seth got him a drum set. Uncle Seth is in trouble for a VERY long time :) Landon actually loves it and is pretty cute when he goes to town. (pictures coming soon.) The playroom where the tree is was a huge disaster area. Toys and trash everywhere! We are blessed to have had a great time with both families and many wonderful gifts. Jerm and I cooked Christmas Day for his family, and I am proud to report no one has been reported missing :)

New Years is very fast approaching. I have been saying for a while that I can't wait for New Years to be here; to celebrate the end of a horrible year and to start fresh in 09'. I start to reminisce about all that we've been through this year and I make myself turn my mind off. I just can't do it right now.

I hope you all had a very merry and blessed Christmas. I know we did. Pictures coming soon. As soon as I replace our mouse. Landon somehow managed to snap the wires right in half. I don't call him "baby moose" for nothin' :)

A Near Miss @ the Hall's

2008-12-17T16:16:00.002-06:00

If you're in the medical field... you know what a near miss is. For those of you who aren't... let me explain. It's like an almost DISASTER occuring. Something really bad that could potentially put someone's life in danger. Like overdosing them on meds, or administering the wrong type of blood. It's a big deal for it to...almost happen.

A couple of days ago, Landon's glasses went missing. We finally ordered him a new pair about 2 weeks ago. Apparently the bigger the size, the more cash you shell out for them. The first pair we got in April after he had his accident was $150. These were $200. So imagine the desperation to find them after they went missing after only 2 weeks! We looked in all of his favorite hiding places. The drawers and cabinets, toy box, behind the tree, under beds & tables. We searched in the dishwasher, in the tub, through dirty and clean unfolded laundry. Jeremy even dug through a bag of trash that was due to go out the next morning. I moved furniture in the living room around in sheer desperation. "Please Lord I cannot afford ANOTHER pair of $200 dollar safety glasses!" Just when we were going to give up Jeremy pulled out the couch one more time and found them. They were stuck between the couch and the curtains. "Praise Jesus!"

This whole time we were searching for his glasses, Landon was jumping on the couch cushions we had torn off. He thought they were his own personal mini trampoline. Every time we asked him "Landon WHERE are your glasses?" all we got was "hmmmmmmm..." Thanks for the help son!

So all in all the near miss was avoided. Gosh I would have hated to put his life in danger if he actually would have lost them :)

A tree divided

2008-12-15T20:19:00.005-06:00

Notice the "evidence" at his feet!

Does this tree look funny to you? A little uneven maybe? Before we had a toddler, our tree was always pretty and fancy. A big bow on top with pretty snowflake ornaments. Most of them glass and glittery. It's not that I'm opposed to homey trees. I can't wait for Landon to bring home adorable trash bag wreaths and clothes pin reindeers to hang on our tree. We already have a couple of memorable ornaments. But in the meantime, this is what our tree looks like. All those pretty fancy ornaments clustered at the very top. He's already broken 5 glass balls! And he's obsessed with my Starbucks ornament which happens to be one of my favorites! Yesterday I found it in the toy box with his blocks!

Our tree did not start out this way when we put it up. If you notice in the picture to the right, we did this by trial and error. After ornament #3 was demolished we started moving them up. After #5 came crashing down, I moved them ALL!

The surprising thing... he doesn't touch the presents. He doesn't even notice they're there. What's a gal to do?

Snow in the deep south!

2008-12-11T17:20:00.006-06:00

The outside of my parent's house during the "blizzard"

Our little Ham!

Bug meeting a real Frosty for the first time!

I know it has been a while since we posted. We are just enjoying the holiday season and counting our blessings. The snow this past Wed. was fantastic. We got out of our church group Wed. night and there was snow covering our cars. Our friends who moved here from Chicago to escape the snow were none too pleased! The rest of us were as goofy as our kids were. It was fantastic. Bug thoroughly enjoyed it. His daddy taught him how to throw snowballs at Mommy. Thank goodness none of them actually hit me.

His eye is fantastic. When he leaves it alone. We discovered the weekend after he got it that he was rotating it by himself. That is ultimately why it looked so thick and bulky and made his eye kind of bug out. We are in the process of teaching him to "fix your eye." Sometimes he turns it back around the right way and sometimes he just messes it up even more. We just attach the suction cup to it and rotate it around for him. He's very much into telling everyone that he's two. Even though his birthday isn't until February. Why do kids always want to be older than they are?

Things are fantastic with us. We hope they are well for you too! Promise to stay on top of the posting! Happy Holidays!

So Thankful!

2008-11-26T11:49:00.003-06:00

Check me out!

My baby with his new eye!!

We went and had pictures with Santa on Monday. While we were in line, there was a very well mannered little boy in front of us. He was probably about 8 years old. When he noticed Landon didn't have an eye, he did his very best not to stare and point. Poor thing, he did not do a very good job. He very nonchalantly nudged his mother to point Landon out. I could tell she got embarassed and whispered something in his ear. Probably something about not staring. He couldn't help it. My saving grace in all of this is that Landon never knew any different. As a mom, it's hard to have your baby not look like all the other kids. Well, now he does!

As you can see his eye looks FANTASTIC! He was such a good boy yesterday while we were at Robin's office, and it was a very long day. She matched the color perfectly. The only minor adjustment we need to make is to "slim" the eye up a little on the bottom so it doesn't push his bottom lid out. Right now his new eye makes him look a little "bug eyed" (No pun intended :) But you have to look very hard to tell.

He kept pointing to his eye yesterday and saying "eyes!" Yes baby you have 2 eyes now! So many things had to go just perfect for us to get into Robin's office yesterday and I truly believe God worked wonders for it to happen. For that I am eternally greatful to Him! I don't really get a Thanksgiving this year because I'm working tonight through Friday night. But I have so much to be thankful for. My baby was my hero yesterday. He was so brave and tough.

If any of you thought I posted a lot of pictures before, just wait. Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. !

"He will yet fill your mouths will laughter and your lips with shouts of joy!"

Job 8:21

All I want for Christmas....

2008-11-23T19:45:00.005-06:00

I know it has been a while since I've posted. We've been hopin! Landon had an eye appointment last week and Dr. Yen gave us the green light to meet with the occularist to get his eye made. The problem is "everyone wants an eye for Christmas!" That's what Robin (the occularist) told me. I replied " Yea, us too!" So we will be patiently (NOT) waiting by the phone on Tuesday to see if someone cancels. If not, we can't get an appointment until Dec. 23rd. I am diligently praying for God to fit us in on Tuesday. Not that I want someone else not to get their eye, but I really want Bug to get his. If we don't get in on Tuesday you're all getting Christmas pictures anyway! So don't worry.

On another note, if anyone has a cure for "the terrible two's" please feel free to leave a comment. We've tried spanking, time out, getting on his level, please, NO NO!, and everything else under the sun. It doesn't seem to work too well. I'm open to anything.

We hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving. Our prayers go out to you and yours. I'll be working and the boys will be traveling to Madisonville. We have so much to be thankful for this year. God is great! We love you guys!

The Pirate, the lion, and the pink monster!

2008-11-10T18:17:00.004-06:00

Better late than never right! Halloween pictures for you to enjoy. Notice the "cush" ride the kids got. I think we had to WALK if I remember correctly. Isn't he the cutest one eyed pirate you ever saw? :)

A first time for everything....almost!

2008-11-07T21:59:00.003-06:00

We got our first phone call from Landon's mother's day out program on Thursday. It went something like this....

Teacher: Mr. Hall, we have a little problem at school.

Jeremy: What happened?

Teacher: Landon took his eye out and handed it to me.

Jeremy: He did????

Teacher: Yes, what do I do with it?

Jeremy: Uhhhhh, just leave it out and we'll put it back in when he gets home.

Teacher: Leave it out?

Jeremy: Yes.

Teacher: Okay.... Can he play on the playground?

Jeremy: Yes, he can play on the playground!

I have a feeling this is one of MANY calls we will be getting throughout Landon's school years. Until he wants a girlfriend that is. So although he didn't actually take his eye out, he took out the tissue expander that is supposed to stay in there in order to "prep" the tissue for his prosthetic. We tried like heck to get it back in and we all experienced de ja vu! (think scleral shell trauma). I talked to the doctor's office today and they said just leave it out. Any time he had with it is better than no time at all and it shouldn't affect the time in which he gets his prosthetic.

I think it was bothering him anyway. He constantly had his fingers in his socket. I was constantly telling him "get your finger out of your socket!" He replied with a look of total annoyance! "duh mom, it itches!!"

Have a blessed weekend! We love yall.

"The joy of the Lord is my strength!"

~ Nehemiah 8:10

Briefly

2008-11-06T02:07:00.002-06:00

We have been very busy lately. I've been working extra and Jeremy and I never seem to be on the same schedule lately. It stinks! He leaves for Vegas tomorrow evening. I have only seen him VERY briefly the last week or so. Our house is torn apart. They are coming to lay the laminate in the morning. I HATE having my house torn apart! Other than that things are peachy. Buggy has been in such a good mood lately. Very rambunctious and entertaining. I think he wants to live at the park... on the WEEEEE (aka: slide).

Halloween was so much fun. We pushed him and Miller around the block in the wagon. They munched on cookies for entertainment. Didn't care one bit about getting the candy as long as they had oreos! So needless to say walking around in the dark, (our streets were not very well lit) when we returned to the house they were both covered in chocolate oreos. SO cute. I'll post some pics when I get them off of my dad's camera.

Other than that we are staying busy and waiting for the cool weather to come. More updates soon and pics too!

sacrifice

2008-10-26T22:57:00.009-05:00

These are the pictures of Bug in the water spouts at the zoo. He loved it and had tons of fun as you can see. He's been so super grumpy and clingy this past week. He hates it when I work extra and I have this past week and will this week also. Christmas is coming up and when he gets a little bigger and realizes this, he'll be thrilled I'm working extra :)

My cousin's reception was last night. I got all dressed up and frilly and headed that way. Five minutes into the drive there, Landon fell asleep in the car. He hadn't had a nap all day. I was at the reception for an hour! I have learned as a mother, you have to pick your battles. Fighting a grumpy, tired toddler in front of 50 people was not one I wanted to fight. We were at home and in bed by 9:30. Before I had Landon I would have been there until they kicked me out. The margaritas were fantastic and there were a lot of people there I wanted to visit with that I hadn't seen in a while. Hence the title of this post.... sacrifice. I knew my baby needed to come home and go to bed. So I said bye to everyone "it was nice seeing ya (for 5 minutes!)" I have a child that lives and dies by his schedule and Lord help us if we veer off track. I know... those of you who know me well know that I need my sleep too! I have only myself to blame :) He's worth every ounce of fight he puts up!

His stitch popped open Sat. It's a little creepy looking for those who aren't used to seeing yucky medical stuff. The conformer they attached his muscles to really fills out his socket. It doesn't look near as empty as it did before they removed his eye, which sounds really strange. I can't wait until he gets his prosthetic!

Have a great week!

All better!

2008-10-23T22:46:00.004-05:00

Bug's post op visit went well. Jeremy informed Dr. Yen of our very distressfull evening the day of surgery and he was surprised. He said he didn't expect that Landon would be in that much pain and he apologized. He understood each child is different he said, but that he shouldn't have had that much pain. Well I wish I could have had him lug my baby's 30 pound self around for 12 hours with no break while he screamed and thrashed in his arms! Actually he was very nice about it, but I still think they should admit children that can't verbalize how much pain they're in. At least for one night!

His patch didn't quite make it the full 4 days. He drenched it in the bath tub on Saturday night. Me being the germaphobic nurse/mom that I am, decided to take it off so the nasty "bug" bath water wouldn't get it infected. The swelling was pretty significant the next morning but that was to be expected. The whole idea of the patch was to decrease the swelling. Dr. Yen was fine with it and we are moving right along. We go back in 3-4 weeks to see him and he'll say whether or not we're ready to go see Robin the occularist again!

Other than that, we finally got a break from the hot weather and humdity! It feels like fall. Supposed to be in the 40's in the morning when I get off and I am super excited.

We took Bug and his cousin Hayden to the zoo on Wed. They were adorable together! They rode in the wagon we borrowed from Miller and held hands. They loved all the animals and then at the very end we discovered there was a little water park where the water squirted up from the ground at all different spots. They were DRENCHED from head to toe! Landon had more fun at that zoo trip than he's ever had before. We called it a day after that and he crashed in the car.

We are doing well. Just hanging out and spending time together. I love my family to death. There is nothing else I would rather do or anywhere else I'd rather be than with my two boys! Thanks for keeping up with us. Zoo pictures to follow!!

Rough ending!

2008-10-17T20:58:00.005-05:00

Let me preface this post by saying this surgery was waaaay worse than what we were expecting. Our baby hurt like I have never seen him hurt before. And it broke me. That being said we are so incredibly glad it is over. So let me get to the details....

He did fabulous during surgery. No unexpected problems. Dr. Yen mentioned how incredibly small his eye had become already. He said that was not unusual either. We waited an incredibly long time for them to take us back to recovery to see him. It started to make me very nervous so we asked what was taking so long. When they finally took us back they asked us not to touch or stimulate him because he was still very out of it. Boy was he! So we sat with him for a while until they really woke him up. Even after that he was really good. About 30 minutes after he woke up he quickly became inconsolable. We tried everything to distract him. When none of that worked we gave him Tylenol with Codeine. When that didn't work we gave him Morphine. Finally we were able to get some milk down him and they sent us home. We were in recovery for about 3 hours. That's a long time for him. The real problems started at home...

2 hours after the Morphine he became inconsolable again. So we got his Lortab filled and gave him a dose of that. So by now he has a lot of narcotics in him; and he's still inconsolable. I could not stand to see him like that any more. He wanted me to hold him, but not touch him. Walk with him, but not sit down. He would sleep for 2 minute intervals and then cry hysterically. This made me call the physician on call and she told us to head back to the TCH Er. Thank goodness I work there. We were in a room in about 30 minutes. I was so incredibly greatful since the wait there can be up to 10 hrs at times. After forever they finally put in an IV started him on fluids and gave him IV pain medication throughout the night. It was a very unexpected stay. Not to mention uncomfortable. We were almost at 24 hours awake before we were finally able to get some rest. We were very unprepared for the pain he experienced. I know that each child is different but this was Landon's 6th time under anesthesia and they kept trying to say that that was what was causing him to act like that. Mommy knows best.

All in all it was a horrible experience. But we are so incredibly glad that it is over. They discharged us at about 10 this morning after they saw him running down the hall in a toy car. He woke up and had 2 sippy cups of milk, 1 1/2 bananas, and a whole hash brown from McDonalds for breakfast. He was starving after not eating for so long. Despite all of this he has been wonderful today. He's back to my baby Bug! I have never seen a baby struggle like he has this year and bounce back so vivaciously. His little smile just lights me up inside. He is truly my little hero.

So we head back to his doctors office on Monday. His patch is huge as you can see. He has already found a way to get his finger in there behind it. Sneaky little thing! The patch should come off on Monday as long as he doesn't get it off first. He's been really good with it so far. The stitch they put in to hold his lids together should stay until it dissolves in about a month. We will start talking to the occularist soon to set up an appointment to make the mold for his eye. I am so super excited about that. Thank you to those who have been praying with us and for us over these last several months. You'll never know the appreciation we have for you. Keep the prayers coming. We can never have enough!

less than 8 hours..

2008-10-15T22:11:00.002-05:00

So here I sit at work waiting to get off to attempt to go home and get some sleep before Bug's big day tomorrow. I agreed to work for someone for 4 hours prior to knowing his surgery date. Then I figured it wouldn't matter because I probably won't sleep anyway. Last night we met at our friend's house from church and our wonderful lifegroup prayed for us and Landon. It was awesome and whenever the little anxiety bug starts to eat at me, I think of all of the amazing prayers that went up in his name and I feel more peaceful.

I'm sitting here thinking of all of the hardships that we have gone through this year. It FINALLY seems to be coming to an end. God continues to show us new things each day about our lives. I am truly excited for where our next journey in life will take us. Now that we have learned how to rely completely on Him, i know we can get through anything.

So it should take about an hour to remove his eye. It amazes me that it only takes an hour to remove an organ, no matter how small that organ may be :) I am hoping to be home by 1 or so. I am going to take our camera so I can snap a few pics of him in his wagon ride to the throne (or the operating room). I'm not usually the cheesy camera mom with things like this but it's a big day for our Bug! I will post as soon as I get the chance. I'm sure I will try to nap at some point tomorrow. He always seems to be VERY clingy after surgery. As understandable as this is, it can be very trying after several days. Please pray for zero post-op discomfort. The surgery assistant said today that the big thing we will notice is bloody tears. That is because even though the eye is gone, the tearducts still hydrate the socket. She also said that they use some pretty strong numbing medications on the muscules that they have to manipulate so he should be okay for the first couple of days. Post-op pain is ALWAYS the worst on day 2 or 3. So please be in prayer about that.

We are so ready for this to be over. And soon, it all will be. We love you guys. Thanks for following and praying with us. If your awake at 9:30 tomorrow morning, say a little prayer for our Bug as he ascends the throne! (operating bed)

4 days and counting...

2008-10-12T00:48:00.002-05:00

So it's been a good week. Landon has played hard and enjoyed the nice weather. He has kept us very busy chasing him all around the house. He has discovered a new word he likes... "teeth." With his ultra obsessive behavior towards his toothbrush this is no big surprise! My mom also taught him a new phrase.. "I eat!" but it sounds more like "Ah eeeeeaat!" It comes out very country twang-ish. Oh yea I forgot to mention his other new word.. "Bible" aka "Biiiiiii-bul!" You gotta love the emphasis. I guess he finally picked up this word since we are constantly using it to try to exercise the demons out! HEE HEE just joking folks!

So Jeremy is super excited since the Horns spanked the Sooners! This makes me very happy as well since I don't have to watch him sulk all week long. Actually since I worked Friday night I missed the game and I was bummed. I slept right through all the hoopin and hollerin' from the living room. He and Landon had on their matching UT jerseys and they were pretty cute. When I woke up and got ready for work they decided to replay the game between the two of them in my living room. If that is any preview as to what rough housing will look like in several years... I'm building an outdoor arena in our back yard! It was adorable to watch them.

So 4 more days until D-day! We are trying to stay positive to keep the anxiety at bay. Or maybe just I am. Lots of things going through my mind. I won't bore you with them. Just remember us this week and pray for my baby! We're almost finished with this hellacious year and we are all too excited about it. We'll keep ya posted as we move forward this week. We love yall!

My desire

2008-10-02T01:25:00.005-05:00

The post below is from an interview with Rick Warren. If you have not read The Purpose Driven Life, I highly recommend it. His words and viewpoint in this interview are my heart's song. I can feel God pushing us toward this way of thinking despite all we have been through this year. Enjoy~

Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE')
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD....Every moment, THANK GOD.

We have liftoff...Almost!

2008-09-26T22:35:00.004-05:00

We finally have the day pinned down for Bug's surgery. We are scheduled at 9:30 on October 16th! We have to be there by 8 so that's not near as bad as being there by 6 as in the past. I am very excited yet there are anxious feelings too that I'm not quite sure about. Not sure where they're coming from or what they mean. As I've mentioned, I've wanted this for months but now that it is drawing closer I feel unexplainably uneasy. I'm sure it will pass.

We are hoping to have his new prosthetic in time to have Christmas pictures made. If not, then we'll have them made anyway! The plan is to sew the eye lids shut for about 6 weeks post-op and then proceed with the prosthetic. It should be a fairly easy ordeal to have the prosthetic made since the occularist knows Landon and has already worked with us before. I was looking at pictures of Bug before his accident a couple of days ago. I posted it to his site because I wasn't sure if I was the only one who forgot what he looked like before his accident. My sweet boy has suffered this year. We have as well, but God is mighty and sovereign and we are glad to be resting in His arms.

On a funny note, my mom picked up Landon's Halloween costume. He is going to be a pirate! Oh how I cannot wait to post the pictures of him in it. We tried it on this afternoon and although he fought me, he was truly adorable. I wanted to eat him up! He was not happy about wearing it until we laughed and clapped and made a big deal about him. Then he thought he was the cat's meow!

Please be in prayer every day about Landon's surgery. For him and for us. This is a big ordeal and we've pushed through a lot to get here. This worst case scenario has turned out to be something that we want and long for. Pray for it daily & for us; that every aspect of the surgery from pre-op to post-op will be perfectly placed in God's hands and we will have peace and be drawn to God through all of this. We love you all dearly. Thank you for loving our baby with us!

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy!"

Job 8:21

"For I know the plans I have for you ," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!"

Jeremiah 29:11

Ike Ike Baby!

2008-09-23T00:18:00.002-05:00

Well, we have survived. Ike blew through over a week ago and it seems like just yesterday. Our hearts go out to the people who had such horrible destruction of their homes and lives. It serves as a constant reminder of how blessed we were (are). The only damage to our home was the gait to our fence is hanging by a hinge. No roof damage, broken windows, no water. We are truly blessed. We got our power back on Sunday evening. I really feel for those who still have no power. My aunt sent out a hillarious email about the frustration of being without power for 8 long days. I will keep her profanity to myself and smile to myself at all of her humor! We are thankful that she and my uncle let us stay there for 4 days until they lost power and we jumped ship to Dallas. What traitors we are!

On a positive note, the single most important thing I was worried about (after I found out we had no serious damage to our home) was Landon's rescheduling of his adenoid removal surgery. Of course we were due to have them removed Tuesday after Ike hit, but that did not happen. We called ASAP and had him rescheduled for Thursday. That is really good work on the ENT's side of the coin. To reschedule him 2 days later was fantastic! So he had surgery this past Thursday and came through with flying colors. He had a little post-op fever on Friday that had me worried but Saturday he was a wild maniac yet again and hasn't stopped since. In order for him not to get really upset when they take him back to the OR, the nurse wheels him back in a wagon. We've done this before and he really likes it, but this time the child life specialist paraded him with an array of bubbles on his way back. He looked like a prince in his little yellow jammies and bubbles flying all around him. He never even noticed we slipped away. This is one of the many reasons I prefer to have surgery at Children's. I think he already feels better. His little personality is just picking up tempo. His new word for the week is "leash." He walks around my mother-in-law's home with the leash trying to attach it to the dog's collar. It's funny. Of all the words! His appetite is finally picking back up as well. Maybe we can try to feed him something other than PB&J!

We should have his eye removal surgery pinned down for October. I am going to call his surgeon's office this week. I have dreamed for 6 long months of finally being finished with this child's eye! And it brings my heart great joy to know we are almost there. We will keep you updated on the following plans. We love you! Please continue to pray for those devestated by Ike!

Does it ever slow down?

2008-09-08T23:07:00.003-05:00

Howdy! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I must start this post by saying I wish everyone reading this right now could have been at church with me on Sunday. We had the most fabulous worship EVER! And we didn't even have the words up on the screen like we usually do. There were some slight technical problems, but holy cow what great worship! That being said...

I called this morning and begged Landon's ENT (or her secretary actually) to squeeze him in sometime this week so that we could have his adenoids removed next week. She had nothing.. not a single open appointment for this week at either location she sees patients at. But I told her secretary the problem and she said if we will keep our appointment for Monday then she would go ahead and pencil us in for surgery on Tuesday! Now that is what I call customer service! I'm sure his ENT will be surprised when I tell her on Monday that we already have a surgery date and she doesn't even know what we're coming in for :) That's how we roll!

If anyone has any ideas how to keep my child's inner "monkey" from evolving please let me know. Everytime I turn around he is standing on top of SOMETHING! Recently this week it is the kitchen table (glass), the end table in the living room, and the toilet. Not the lid, the top of the tank. He has this obsession with his toothbrush and toothpaste. I would love to brag on myself and say that he just enjoys brushing his teeth, but really he just enjoys sucking the bubble gum toothpaste off of the toothbrush. Lord, help me!!

A couple of weeks ago I was volunteering in his class at church and my cousin brought his little girl who is 4 months younger than Landon. After that morning, I was so jealous. She just sat there and played with her blocks and ate goldfish and looked at Landon like he had horns. (sometimes I think he has horns...and a pitchfork!) Little girls are so different; so calmn, relaxed and just roll with the flow. Not me. I have a boy! And man is he a wild mess. But he's our wild mess.

I'll update again before his surgery. Please be in prayer that the 16th (next Tuesday) will be our lucky day. We need to move forward with his eye and this is one step in the right direction. We love yall!

No can do!!

2008-08-28T02:27:00.003-05:00

So, my baby had his appointment yesterday. Turns out his plastic surgeon won't touch his eye with a ten foot pole until he has his adenoids removed. His reasoning is the risk for infection is far too great. So he will have to have his adenoids removed first and then when he is healthy and off antibiotics he will remove his eye. I was not happy to hear this but can totally understand. The last thing I want is for my child to have ANOTHER overwhelming infection.

His plastic surgeon did agree to do his eye removal at TCH and that made me happy. They should know us on a first name basis by the end of the year :) All kidding aside, I will be happy when this is all over. How many times have I posted that on this blog? Surely not as many as I have thought it to myself.

I added the cute little "classic children's book" gadget to the blog because I love to read and I love classic children's books. I prayed when I was pregnant with Landon that he would love books like I do. I think he does and I am greatful until I have to read "Noah and the big boat" 117 times without a break. He really loves animal books too. Those are probably his favorite. When I asked him what he did at school on the first day of mother's day out....."boops" aka: books!

He started mother's day out this past Tuesday. Jeremy and I slept terribly the night before. It's not like we were sending him off to college here. Just mother's day out for heaven's sake! Still we slept awful and worried about him the whole time he was there. Turns out he had a fabulous time! He came home in a fantastic mood, just playing and beboppin around, talking to himself. The biggest shocker... he took a nap. For those of you who know my kid... he sleeps in a crib and only in a crib, in a semi-dark quiet room. (exactly how I sleep minus the crib). So to hear that he took a nap on a yoga mat with his little pillow and blanket blew me away. He also slept longer than any other baby in the class. He may look like his dad folks, but he is his mother's child through and through!

Job 1:21-22

2008-08-27T06:30:00.006-05:00

Landon has an eye appointment this morning with his plastic surgeon. We are going to set up the date to have his eye removed. Please pray that several thing will fall into place. We found out last week, after many weeks of constant upper respiratory infections, Landon needs his adenoids removed. These are basically useless organs in your nasal area, a lot like tonsils. Why does God give you useless organs you ask... who knows. I guess they have some function that I am not aware of. Anyway,,, we are going to beg his ENT and his plastic surgeon to share the operating room so that we can minimize the number of times he has to go under anesthesia. If they do not he will be under 7 times in 6 months! That is a lot for a little guy! Heck, that's a lot for anyone!

The second thing is that his plastic surgeon will do his eye removal at Texas Childrens Hospital. That has to be accomplished before we can even begin to coordinate the two doctor's schedules. I want it done at TCH for several reasons, but the big reason being I get a 65% discount for being an employee there. That has helped tremendously with him having had so many procedures and surgeries there already. You don't even want to know what our insurance has billed the many doctors and hospitals already. Think close to 6 digits!

The third thing is the most difficult for me. I posted on here that I was pregnant with our second child and Landon was going to be a big brother. I miscarried 2 weeks ago at 11 weeks pregnant. I was devestated and crushed. Let me re-phrase. I AM devestated and crushed. There are good days and there are bad days. The bad days come when I am alone with just my thoughts. The good days are days I get to spend with my husband and baby boy. There have been many of those good days lately. I think God knew we needed some family time together. I cannot begin to understand what God has planned for us. I just keep trying to hang on for dear life. I keep trying to stay focused on Him and not my own suffering. I read the book of Job on the internet at work tonight ( I know; I wasn't working too hard :) But it put into perspective that bad things happen to good people, and I haven't done anything wrong to bring this upon myself. It makes for interesting reading if your trying to stand tall in a hurricane strength storm. Job prevailed and we will also. With LOTS of prayer (hint, hint). We love you all and have put a lot out there for you to pray for us about. Please know that we appreciate it.

"I came naked from my mother's womb and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD!"
In all of this Job did not sin by blaming God."
Job 1:21-22

Bummed Out!

2008-08-06T06:36:00.002-05:00

Well, I was quick to post how well Bug was doing with his shield. Turns out, not as well as we needed. Friday night he slept really badly. I could tell it was bothering him because every time I picked him up he would rub it on my shoulder. I obviously couldn't get it out at 2:30 in the morning by myself since Jeremy was at work so I decided that we would take it out when he got up the next day.

When we attempted that, things went south quickly. We fought with Landon for 20 minutes trying to get that stupid thing out. Held him down, pryed his eyes open forcefully and put the suction cup on the shield numerous times with no success. It was devestating to him, and to us. Jeremy's mom was there to help us hold him and got a first hand look at how traumatic it is. So I finally decided that was enough and we called the occularist at home. Thank goodness she gave us her home number. She came over and after a little difficulty removed the shield. We discovered we had accidentally turned it in a different direction when we were trying to remove it. After all that we decided that Landon has been through enough and we should just go ahead and have his eye removed. That will be the only way for sure that we will know he is not in any discomfort. I cannot continue to put him through this trauma. To look into his little blue eyes and see the fear everytime we come at him to hold him down truly causes my heart deep pain. I cannot and will not do it anymore.

We have an appointment with his plastic surgeon on the 27th of this month. I am going to call back and see if we can get an earlier date. I have a lot of emotions going on. I am dissapointed that the shield didn't work. It looked so good on him. I am frustrated that we are still dealing with this disaster 5 months later. And I am sad that I have put him through so much trauma over the last 2 weeks when we probably should have just had his eye removed when it was first presented as an option. But then I would have wondered if the shield would have worked. WHATEVER!! We'll have it removed and then FINALLY we will be done.

Your prayers are begged and appreciated. For Landon, for me, for Jeremy. We do sincerely appreciate them. I'm too tired to look for a scripture right now, but know that we have not lost our faith. God will take care of our baby and us. Thanks for following. We love yall.

Crossing our fingers...

2008-07-30T03:42:00.002-05:00

So we were pretty busy this last week with Landon. We made several trips to the ocularist for fittings and trials with his shield. We have been working really closely with Robin (the ocularist) to fit him just right so that we don't add any uneccessary irritation to his eye. She has been wonderfully patient and even gave us her home number incase we had an emergency once we got home.

So Monday we had to practice taking the shield in and out. I cannot tell you how much I was DREADING this. And I'm a nurse for heaven's sake! It is SOOOO different when it's your own baby. Now remember this takes three people to hold him down and take the shield out and put it back in. Well for the first time ever, I wasn't able to do something medical and my husband was. I COULD NOT get that stupid shield out and the more I tried the more frustrated I became. So Robin ended up taking it out for me and then it was Jeremy's turn to put it back in and take it out. He did great. I was much better at holding Landon. I like the comforting part. So, I have decided that it will be Jeremy's primary job to take the shield in and out when we need to. I just flat out refuse to do it! My nursing friends would be appalled!

So cosmetically Robin has done an amazing job. The colored part of the eye just needs to be turned in a hair and it is done. He looks GREAT! It has only been 5 months that his eye has begun to shrink so drastically. I can't tell you how different he looks with both of his eyes open and bright. It does my heart good. I just sit and stare at him. Now it doesn't move with his other eye but that's okay. Just to have his lids open is great. I will post pictures of him as soon as we get the final product. The color is dead on!

We are so proud of Landon. He has been throug the ringer. We are hoping the shield only has to come out once a week to be cleaned. We go to see Dr. Holz on the 22nd of August. I am anxious to see what he will think of Bug's new eye. God is good and we are standing in faith that this will work for Landon permanently!! Your continued prayers for him are appreciated. Thanks for checking on him.

The ocularist

2008-07-24T10:50:00.003-05:00

So we went back this morning and put it back in. In the meantime she had painted it to match his good eye. The color match she did was amazing! She put just a tiny hint of too much green in it but other than that it was a total match. She had to take it out and will have to move the iris over some because its too far in so he looked a little cross eyed with it. But we go back Monday to make the final fit and hopefully finish the process. Our main concern is that his eye will be too sensitive. We will have to just watch him for this since he can't tell us if it hurts. He did a little better today but still a 3 person job to get it in and out. Poor Bug!

On another note, I went to my first OB appointment yesterday and the baby is measuring 2 weeks smaller than my dates are calculating. Also, I have a subchorionic hematoma (google please). So we will go back in 2 weeks and check things out by ultrasound. Please keep Landon and his new sibling in your prayers. Have a blessed weekend. I will let you know how his eye turns out on Monday and hopefully post new pictures of our little man with his new prosthetic!

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

Romans 10:17

Update

2008-07-13T23:58:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I've posted an update. It has been a wonderful couple of months. Landon has been strolling around and cruising like the wild man that he is! We have been enjoying his energy, although at times he wears us out! His favorite thing to do is push his little car and his wagon around the cul-da-sac every evening when we water the grass. He also likes the ice cream truck :)

We do have an update on his eye. Dr. Holz sent us to an ocular plastic surgeon this past Friday. (he does plastic surgery just on the eyes). His name is Dr. Yen and he is WONDERFUL! He was great with Landon and got down on the floor and gave him a high five. I really appreciated this since Landon is now so scared of medical people. We call it the "white coat syndrome." Anyway, he was pretty confident that we should not wait until pre-K to fit Landon for a scleral shield ( the hard plastic contact like device that fits over his eye to give him more volume). He was also fairly surprised that Dr. Holz had recommended waiting. My personal opinion is that Dr. Holz has taken a liking to my little boy and is holding out all hope for a future "cure" for Landon's lack of vision. We on the other hand are more worried about our son's face being symmetrical and are ready to do something about it. His face is fine now! But as the eye continues to shrink his bones around his eye may not grow properly. So Dr. Yen is sending us to an ocularist to try Landon with the shield.

The not so great news is that although he is willing to try the shield, he is not confident that Landon's eye will tolerate it. Some days he has good days with his eye and other days you can tell it is irritated and driving him crazy. So he thinks in the long run we will probably have to surgically remove the eye and get him a prosthetic eye. This is okay except for that one little word....Surgically! We absolutely HATE putting him through surgery. It pains us more than him I'm sure but it still stinks! It is just outpatient surgery, but his lids will be stitched together for 6 weeks afterwards. I really just want to get all of this done before he goes to kindergarten. I don't want other kids to make fun of him or stare. I'm sure they will already do that when he starts mother's day out next month. Especially if his lids are stitched shut!

So that is where we stand. Just when we thought we were all finished torturing my baby! Another surgery is hanging over our heads. But all will be fine. He is truly the strongest little man I know.

One more thing, for those of you who don't know already, he's going to be a big brother in March!
We are super excited. He is going to be a great big bubba! Thanks for following our journey. We love you all.

Follow-up

2008-05-17T12:47:00.002-05:00

So we went to see Dr. Holz last week and yesterday for follow up appointments. Everything looks good. He gave us more steroid drops that he will probably be on for a long time just to decrease the swelling and inflammation. He says to treat Landon like a little boy and let him do everything he wants. As long as he has his glasses on!! We go back to see him in 3 weeks. Dr. Holz has really taken a liking to our little man. He was a very no nonsense guy when we first met him and he has had to give us nothing but bad news since the beginning, but when he sees Landon now, he waves at him and plays with him (when Landon will let him get close, which is not often :) We sent him and his assistant a cookie bouquet last week for being so good to us and Landon. Do you know that man did not share a single cookie with his staff?? He took it home and shared it with his wife and little boy! I can't help but think he was probably glad to go home to a son with two good eyes. And that's good. I'm glad Landon makes people love eachother more!!

On that note, we cannot slow this child down!! He is into everything, and stops for nothing (but an occassional cookie!) Everyone told me he would adapt and boy has he. Since he has no peripheral vision in that right eye, he is learning to feel with his body when things are close to the right side. He almost bumped into the car yesterday but brushed it just enough with his shoulder to let him know it was there. It's pretty impressive.

We went to the zoo yesterday and he loved it! My mom was carrying him around the reptile cages and he looked at the huge python and said "Ewwwww, Yuck, Yuck!! My sentiments exactly! Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

We're done

2008-05-08T17:56:00.002-05:00

What a day! Sorry it has taken me a while to get to the computer. We are more than exhausted; mentally and physically. Landon was such a trooper today. We are so very proud of him. On that note, our greatest fears were confirmed. His eye is beyond repair. Dr. Holz said that the retina was not only completely detached but it was also folded up and pushed to the front of the eye. He said he didn't want to go into all of the "gory details." It was really no surprise to either of us. I told Dr. Holz that I did not regret going into surgery; we had to know; and he agreed. He said he had to know, too.

On a good note, they did not move forward with the corneal transplant. Apparently Dr. Omalley was right about that. His cornea was clear so they removed the cataract and closed his eye up. I am incredibly greatful that we did not have to do the transplant and that Landon will keep his eye. We will treat him for comfort; meaning we will make sure there is NO pain! And then we will talk about the hard contact like shield for cosmetics probably prior to pre-K or kindergarten. Before he hits his big socialization period :)

We cannot tell you how glad we are to be finished with this. There will be no more operating room, and only a few weeks worth of post op visits. He will go on wearing his little safety glasses and he'll be just fine. We were very disappointed, but that is overshadowed by the great feeling of completion. We have put our baby through more than enough, and we are glad to be done.

I think that Landon will have a great testimony one day. I don't ask "why" this happened because no one knows but God and I can ask him one day when I get to heaven. We have learned more about faith than I can tell you and we have been stretched. But I am at a better place now than where I was when we started this ordeal and I feel good about that. Do I wish that God would have stretched me by using my own body and not my baby's? SURE DO! But it is all in his hands and we are moving on. Thank goodness!

We want to thank you for following this journey with us through this blog. It has been a great way to touch base with everyone and more importantly as I've said from the get go, it has been a great venting mechanism. I know my best friend has gotten tired of listening to me rant and rave about this, but she's never said so; and I love her for that. Thank you for praying and believing with us, even though the outcome has not been what we wanted. We have a baby who's blind in one eye and he is going to do amazing things all in Jesus' name. Thank you, we love you all. We'll let you know what happens at the post op visit tomorrow.

Change of plans

2008-05-07T12:58:00.003-05:00

So we talked to Dr. Holz's assistant today and they are moving the surgery from Texas Childrens to Methodist hospital. Apparently since corneal transplants are uncommon in kids, Children's doesn't have the transplant equipment that they need, and Methodist does but is not willing to lend it to Children's. That really bums me out because we really wanted it done at Children's. It is such a kid friendly atmosphere and of course I work there so I am familiar with it. The other thing that bums me out is that at Children's I get a 60% discount for being an employee... that certainly would have helped with the insurance bills. That's okay though. As long as we have the two best doctors we'll be fine wherever we do it.

So we have to meet at our doc's office in the morning at 8 to sign consent forms. Then we will head to Methodist and surgery will be at 11 instead of 10:30. So although the time and location have changed, we are still asking for everyone to be in prayer at 11. The most wonderful mother's day gift would be for them to fix Landon's eye. We are praying for that, but if it doesn't happen at least I will get to spend Mother's Day with my baby. We love you all and thank you for your support. We'll let you all know how everything goes tomorrow afternoon. DON'T FORGET TO PRAY AT 11!!!

"Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

~Luke 18:42-43

Confirmation

2008-05-06T21:30:00.003-05:00

So our doctor's office called today and we are set for surgery on Thursday at 10:30. We are anxious and nervous but ready to have it done and over with. They were able to work out the schedule with their first choice Corneal specialist, so that makes me feel good. Dr. Holz will work on the retina and Dr. Pflugfelder will do the corneal transplant. It will be about a 2-3 hour surgery. That is going to be difficult for us. All of the previous surgeries have been about 45 minutes to an hour. We will discuss details prior to taking him back. I am hoping they have the wagon again. Last time they got ready to take him back the anesthesiologist pulled him into the room in a wagon. He was pretty excited about that and it certainly calmed our nerves.

So please be in prayer at 10:30 on Thursday. Pray for these doctors to work a miracle through God for my son. He will be fine. We know that. On another note, I had predicted that I would probably have to reschedule my Lasix procedure because they would probably want to do surgery for Landon on my surgery date. Well guess what... I was right. I had to move my Lasix procedure back 2 weeks. I've been dreaming of this for weeks now! But that's okay. My baby is worth it.

Thank you for checking on us, and continue to pray. Pray specifically that his doctor can completely reattach his retina and that Landon's body does not reject the transplant.

We will update as soon as we can.

2008-04-30T13:37:00.004-05:00

Forgive me for the delay in posting. We've done lots of praying and debating over the last 24 hours. After our visit with Dr. Holz yesterday, we had to make a decision about our next step. Dr. O'Malley told Dr. Holz what he thought about the retina not being completely detached and he thought we should move forward with the surgery to repair the small tear. That also means a corneal transplant. We had decided already not to do the transplant because of the 95% rejection rate in children. But when we got the second opinion from Dr. O'Malley, that threw a kink in our decision. One doctor thinks the retina is irrepairable, the other thinks it isn't that bad. One of them is right, and one of them is wrong. The only way to find out is to go in and do the surgery. That means they remove his cornea, remove the cataract that has developed, and dive into the retina and see what it looks like. Once that is done we have to go through with the corneal transplant. Landon's cornea is too bad to put back into his eye and a clear donor one has to be used. I asked what if he rejects the cornea as children tend to do... then we do another transplant, and another, and another IF his retina can be reattached! If not, then we just do the one transplant, pray that it holds and if it doesn't we just leave it and the eye will go cloudy. Then we will talk about cosmetics later down the road.

My initial response was an immediate NO. But as my very dear friend Michelle brought up, if we choose not to do it, when Landon comes to us in 20 years and asks if we did all we could to save his vision, will we be able to tell him yes? And if we don't do this surgery I don't think we could be honest with him. 5% is a very weak percentage. And everything continues to hang on the possible repair of the retina. So we've informed Dr. Holz that we are moving forward and we'll wait and see. I'm going to take a leave of absence from work so that I can be there for everything; office visits, pre-op, post-op.

Please continue to pray for us. This is really scary for us and I don't want to be putting Landon through this for nothing.

2nd opinion

2008-04-28T12:07:00.002-05:00

So we met with the second retinal specialist this morning (Dr. O'Malley). He gave us another perspective on our situation...kind of :) He also does not think Landon will regain vision in his eye. He put Landon in a straight jacket, strapped him down, and did another ultrasound and a thorough exam. That was fun! He showed me on the ultrasound where he thought what our first surgeon (Dr. Holz) thought was a significant retinal detachment, was actually what he thought to be a trajectory of the depth of Landon's wound. He believes when Landon poked himself he actually poked his eye ALL THE WAY TO THE BACK!! Ouch. My baby is so tough. He says that the pupil is pretty much non reactive, and the eye is beginning to get soft and the pressures are starting to decrease. Our Dr. Holz told us that his eye would continue to shrink as time went on and Dr. O'Malley agrees with that. But he doesn't see a significant detachment. He sees a small area where the retina is just beginning to detach from the back of the eye and he sees some scar tissue. He also thinks the cornea is clear.

So, his recommendations are this: go back to the operating room and remove the scar tissue and clean up some of the eye and inject silicone oil into the eye to help it maintain it's shape and hopefully to prevent the eye from shrinking. There is nothing right now that they can do about him developing a lazy eye, which has already started. I assumed from a cosmetic perspective that we could just let the eye continue to shrink and then replace it with a prosthesis. Dr. O'Malley said that removing a child's eye is an absolute last resort because if you do that Landon's facial bones will not grow around that eye as they should. So this surgery would be mostly to allow him to keep his eye for as long as possible, not to restore his vision. He thinks there is a slim chance if we do this he MAY have very minimal peripheral vision, but no functional vision. So he called Dr. Holz and gave him his recommendations and we go see Dr. Holz tomorrow afternoon.

I think Jeremy and I have decided not to pursue the NY trip. Apparently, there is a corneal specialist here in Dr. Holz's office that does the Keratoprosthesis and if that is a route that works for Landon than we can do the whole surgery at one time. So that is where we sit.

This may sound crazy but I left that office with a smile on my face. I have a peace now that I have not had since this whole ordeal started. PRAISE GOD! I hate the fact that we will probably put our Bug through another surgery, but I believe in the long run it will be better for him.

Yesterday afternoon, our family was blessed by some truly Godly and amazing people. Cynthia, Sandra, Jeanine, Barry, Stephanie, Natalie, Jenn, Allison, Misty and my family gathered at our house and prayed over Landon, Jeremy and I and over my mother-in-law. We heard testimonies of healing & hope and we were reminded of scriptures that tell us how much God loves us and is walking through this storm with us. It was the most spiritual moment of my life that I can remember other than being saved. My faith was restored and my eyes were lifted to God. So thank you to those who were here with us, and thank you to those who pray for us daily. We will never be able to thank you enough. And thanks Aunt Martha for the yummy dinner!!

I will update tomorrow afternoon after we see Dr. Holz. Continue to pray that we will make the right decisions concerning our Bug!

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."

Romans 8:28