Catch Up

I've lacked motivation in blogging lately and I'm not quite sure why because I have plenty to share.  For starters we got word last week that my dad is in REMISSION!  While Dad's form of cancer is incurable and they've prepared us that it's a guarantee that it will come back, remission is something that we've been praying for relentlessly.  With Multiple Myeloma, you are considered to be in remission if the cancer cells are less than 3%... and Dad has less than 1%, so just "residual" cancer cells left in his body!  The lower the percentage, the longer they hope he will stay in remission.  We are praying he will have a good 8 - 10 years of remission since his transplants knocked the cancer to such a low percent. He will continue every other week chemo injections for maintenance but we are so incredibly grateful that God has brought him through this and we standing on the other side of this disease.  Hallelejuah!

Collier turned 18 months old this month.  He's still such a mess and is a quite a little ham. The kid loves attention any way he can get it! He tries to repeat almost everything we say and is on the go non-stop.  He's down to one nap a day but is pretty flexible as to when he takes the nap.  He is wearing 6-12 month sized shorts, 12 month shirts and 12 or 18 months if its a one piece outfit.  He's still in size 4 diapers but they are big on him so I'm pretty sure he'll be in them for a while.  At his 18 month check up, we found out he weighs 21 lbs 14 oz (5th%) and is 33" long (75th%).  Long and very, very lean.  In fact, he's only gained 6 ounces in the past 3 months, but Dr. Crenshaw wasn't concerned because his growth chart has been consistent...and Noah is built the same way.  He has just recently become a very picky eater.  In fact, he rarely eats 3 meals a day! Most of the time, he'll eat his entire breakfast, rarely eats more than a few bites for lunch, and picks at his dinner.  He's very much into trying to feed himself and does fine with finger foods, however he isn't great at getting food ON to the spoon, yet he gets mad when I try to help him.  He's very opinionated and almost always shakes his head and tells me 'no' when I ask if he's hungry.  Thankfully he will snack on some healthy options, such as blueberries, carrots, but his favorites are the carbs... chips, vanilla wafers, ritz crackers and animal cookies.  Dr. Crenshaw assured me this was pretty typical of his age and as long as he's eating throughout the day and getting a variety of some healthy foods, then he was fine. Following his 18 month checkup, Collier fell asleep in the car without the comfort of his paci.  Since Dr. C had recommended taking the paci away at 18 months, I decided that day was the perfect time to start.  So we did just that and he went 24 hours paci-free with no problems.  Until my parents baby sat for us that next evening.  Unknowing that I had taken the paci away, my dad pulled it out of the drawer and popped it into Collier's mouth as he was putting him to bed.  Collier gave my dad the BIGGEST hug and was SO happy he had his paci back! Once we returned home, my mom told me that not only had Collier been uncharacteristically fussy that whole evening and also filled me in on what my dad done.  Since dad thwarted my efforts and Collier was battling a stuffy nose and cold, I just decided to worry about getting rid of the paci at another time!  Collier has just recently begun holding Noah's hand to help him walk... it is the absolute most precious thing I've ever seen. Makes my heart melt!  Oh how lucky these boys are to have one another... and how blessed I am to have them both!

Last weekend, Jamie had the honor of being a groomsman in one of his childhood best friends, Matt Rhodes' wedding.  Our weekend was consumed with wedding festivities and we had a great time spending it with all of his friends from high school and their wives!  And while the guys were at the rehearsal, Shana and I just had to squeeze a little shopping excursion in before we met them at the rehearsal dinner.  I introduced her to all the adorable and reasonably priced clothes that can be found at Target!

 Wes, Patrick, Matt, Kenny (in back) and Jamie

Matt, Kenny, Wes and Jamie

Our weekend was a busy one... and next up? Noah's 5th Birthday!

Oh Glorious Day!

I must admit, I don't exactly get the mommy of the year award for this Easter... I failed to take my boys to see the Easter bunny for the traditional bunny picture.  We ran into the furry guy a month ago at the mall, during a shopping excursion in a children's store and while Collier ran up and hugged him, Noah preferred to observe him from afar.  So I totally forgot to even take them to actually "see" him.  And on top of that, I didn't do Easter baskets either.   It's not that I was taking a stand on trying to focus on the real meaning of Easter vs. getting caught up in the hoopla of it.  It really just slipped my mind until the night before.  I knew my mom bought the kids plenty of candy and a few little toys and to be quite honest, neither of them even grasp the concept that the bunny is supposed to drop by the night before Easter, so I just decided to not even worry about it.  Oops.   

I guess in the GRAND scheme of things, it really doesn't matter since that's not what Easter is all about!  I'm so thankful that I was raised in a Christian home where Easter was a very special day.  It's always been one of my favorite church services and I LOVE the Easter hymns, all the traditional ones and even alot of the newer contemporary ones.  I've always understood the significance, but as a mom, I now understand it on a whole other level.  I really couldn't imagine witnessing Jesus's road to calvary, much less that being my very own baby boy enduring all of that indescribable torture.  It's painful and emotional to even think about... and to know that our Father allowed his son to go through that, and that Jesus willingly endured that for me. An unworthy sinner. 

 It's unfathomable. And humbling. And completely amazing. 

And makes me eternally, undeniably grateful.

Our Easter weekend began with lunch, yummy easter snacks, and an egg hunt at our church on Saturday morning. I was with Collier while my mom hunted with Noah.  Collier understood the concept and collected several eggs, but he had more fun just running and exploring without having to hold mommy's hand.  Noah had a lot of fun as well and enjoyed being with his sunday school classmates.

And we attempted pictures in our Easter duds on Sunday morning... however, Collier wasn't having it! He fought when we tried to hold him and he wouldn't stand still AT ALL, so we gave up.  This was the best we got.  I'm quickly reminded WHY it's so much easier to have professional pictures taken.  I did Easter pics of the boys with Captured so I'm glad I've at least got those...

Yes, Collier is holding a clothes hanger... it wasn't worth the fussing that ensued whenever I tried to take it away. Some battles just aren't even worth it.

After church on Sunday, we enjoyed a huge lunch at my grandmothers, followed by another egg hunt in the backyard for the Noah, Collier and my cousin's 2 kids, Natalie and Allison. 

Oh that sweet little face. Gets me everytime :)

The kids wore themselves out, so we went home for naps, then reconvened at the Brink's for dinner and one last egg hunt with their cousins. 

I can't believe I was able to get all 4 to sit still but we did it.  Here is Collier @ 17 months, Madelyn 3 years, Eastlon 2 1/2 years, Noah 4 years

Collier became very resourceful on this last egg hunt.  Since momma left the baskets in the car, he just carried the ones he found around in his hands, however, he decided to open them and stack eggs inside of one another so he could carry more around.  Smart kid.

Noah had a blast standing underneath a shower of bubbles, produced by the bubble-blowing toys that Nanna and Grandaddy bought the kids.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Here are the lyrics of two of my favorite Easter songs.  Sorry, a few verses are in Spanish (I translated in italics). I would give anything to hear one of my really good friends from high school sing this beautiful song.  She could blow it OUT OF THE PARK!  Literally it would give you chills and tears all at the same time.

Via Dolorosa

Down the Vía Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day

The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
The Man condemned to die on Calvary

He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back
And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head
And He bore with every step
The scorn of those who cried out for His death

Down the Vía Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King,
But He chose to walk that road out of
His love for you and me.
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

Por la Vía Dolorosa, triste día en Jerusalén (down the via Dolorosa, a sad day in Jerusaleum)
Los soldados le abrían paso a Jesús. (The soldiers made way for Jesus)
Más la gente se acercaba, (but people gathered)
Para ver al que llevaba aquella cruz. (to take a closer look at the man carrying the cross)

Por la Vía Dolorosa, que es la via del dolor (Down the via Dolorosa, which is the way of grief)
Como oveja vino Cristo, Rey y Señor, (as a lamb Christ came, King, Lord)
Y fue Él quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mí. (and it was Him who wanted to go because of His love for you and me)
Por la Vía Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir. (Down the via Dolorosa to the calvary and to die.)

The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men
Made its way through the heart of Jerusalem.

Down the Vía Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me
Down the Vía Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

And here's one of my new favorites...

Glorious Day

by Casting Crowns

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises

One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a Virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He

Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He

Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

'Cause living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He's ascended, my Lord evermore

Death could not hold Him
The grave could not keep Him from rising again

Living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day
Glorious day

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my beloved one bringing
My Savior Jesus is mine

Living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day
Glorious day, oh, glorious day

Collier at 17 months

Oh how this child keeps us on our toes.  He's mischievious to say the least!  Some things he is doing is pointing to and recognizing his hair, eyes, nose, mouth, belly, toes and tongue.  He's a dancing machine and spins 'round and 'round until he collaspes from dizziness.  It's hilarious!  He's been saying "dat-doe" repeatedly for awhile and we had NO CLUE what he was trying to say... I finally figured out he's saying "hotdog, hotdog" as in the hotdog song on Mickey Mouse.  He doesn't say a ton of words but he talks his jabber non-stop and he understands majority of what we say.  He was sitting on the arm of our couch and I told him to get down.  He didn't so I asked if he wanted a spanking and he shook his head no and sat down like I asked.  He follows alot of commands and understands what we are telling/asking him to do. His 'no' used to sound more like "nah" but it has just recently evolved to a firm, "NOOO."  He and my dad were playing peek-a-boo, and dad said, "Pee Pie!" and Collier repeated, "Pee Pee!!!"  He loves hiding, jumping out and yelling when we say, "where's Collier?" He has just started saying "Papa" and has called my mom "Na-na" (even though we've always called her Mimi.)  Collier now RUNS full speed pretty much where ever he goes, climbs on furniture and kitchen chairs (ours are the tall barstool kind!) and mimics anything we do.  One day I was having a sneezing fit and was sneezing into my shirt and next thing I know, Collier is pulling his shirt up to his mouth and fake coughing into it.  He has just started acting somewhat bashful in front of people he doesn't know.  It's so cute to watch him hide behind whatever's around and smile bashfully.  He's really into grouping things and will get several different toys or objects and line them up or put them one by one into a bucket, then empty them all out one by one. 

He had Hand, Foot, Mouth during Noah's Spring Break so we spent ALOT of time indoors and at home.  I had an interesting day last week after Collier had been playing with the phone.  I noticed he had pressed the talk button, so I hung it up, not realizing he had actually dialed a number.  Shortly after, I received a call back from the police department.  Yep, Collier had dialed 911! I assured them everything was fine and we figured out what had happened but it's their standard procedure to send a policman to check things out and make sure all is well. So yes, we had the FPD at the house already and he's not even 2 yet!

And my last funny story... one afternoon, I laid Collier down for his nap in just a diaper.  He slept for awhile then woke and and was playing quietly in his crib.  After awhile, I went in there to get him... he had pulled his "boy parts" OUT of his diaper, peed all in the bed AND had a blow out in his diaper that had gotten everywhere.  After I quit laughing hysterically, I had a big, nasty mess to clean up!  Oh this child....

Let's Get Physical

Every year, we set Noah up to do an intensive Physical Therapy program at Children's Hopsital, called their Spider Suit therapy.  It's VERY hard work, 3 hour sessions, 3 times each week for 3 weeks.  I mean really, how many of us can say that we could go to the gym and work out for 3 hours solid and do it for 3 days a week?!  It's a pretty big wake up call to me that if I'm putting my child through that, then I definitely need to workout regularly too!  Noah just completed the program and did such a great job and his therapists were so impressed with his progress! He is now walking more on his own and mastering steps much better, still with some assistance, but he has climbed an entire set of stairs on his own.  His walking pace has picked up some and his steps are just more natural and not so deliberate and slow like they were 3 weeks ago.  I'm so glad we are able to put him in this program because the benefits were HUGE.  It's obvious that his own confidence in his walking abilities has improved and he feels much more capable to try and doing it on his own more now. He's a CHAMP and I couldn't be prouder of him! 

I'm not really one to brag on my husband but really, he's been GREAT through all of this. Seriously, I really am lucky to have such a giving, selfless hubby. We are blessed to be in a situation where Jamie works for his family and is able to take off work and do this kind of thing. I'm so grateful that he's so WILLING to take time off from work for Noah because alot of dad's wouldn't. He knew how hard it would be for me to try and drive back and forth with Noah and Collier so he volunteered to take Noah to Birmingham for the entire 3 weeks.  He would leave Sunday evening, spend the night with my aunt Sunday and Monday night, take Noah to each session on Monday and Tuesday mornings, then drive home Tuesday, and go into work for a few hours once they got home.  Work Wednesday and half of Thursday, take off after lunch and drive back to B'ham, spend Thursday night with my aunt.  Take Noah to Friday's session then drive home and go back in to work for a few hours.  See what I mean?! He's pretty awesome.  However, he was exhausted from it all.  I am forever grateful that he would do that for Noah and for me.  He's a good daddy... and husband.  And now he gets to treat himself with a few trips coming up over the next few weeks... a golf tournament, going to the Masters the first of April and a bachelor party for one of his buddies.  He deserves a little time to himself.  I'm so thankful we were able to get Noah in the program but I'm glad to have both of my boys home now... Collier and I missed them so much!

February Happenings

Jamie and I have had an excited week.  It began on Sunday when we decided to drive around looking at lots and houses for sale.  We've been talking for awhile (almost a year) about putting our house up for sale and either building or buying.  We have a great house, but it's 1 story (with main living area upstairs) and has a full basement with what we always intended to be our playroom downstairs, as well as an extra bedroom/bath, another, smaller den, a storage room, the garage and laundry room.  With Noah's disabilities, its not practical to have a two story and we don't utilize the downstairs AT ALL (other than for doing laundry and storage).  I can't park in the garage because it's hard to get both kids up and down the stairs (and if I were to leave one and load them up one at a time, Noah gets upset and cries thinking he's been left).  We have a huge backyard but to get there, you have to go off the deck down a flight of stairs.  So again, it's hard to get both kids down the stairs by myself to play outside.  Anyways, after driving around looking at what real estate was available, Jamie expressed that he would really rather build, especially since his dad is a builder and we could do it for just a little over cost.  We actually found a lot that we both LOVE and bought it 3 days later.  Excited is an understatement!  The lot is close to an acre in a neighborhood right on Cypress Creek.  We've bought right across the street from Jamie's parent's lot so it'll be alot of fun when they build their house in a few years because they are RIGHT on the creek and plan to have a pool as well.  At first, I thought, there is no way living on a creek is for me.  I think snakes and overgrown trees but I was surprised at how beautiful it is out there.  The creek is clean and so serene looking.  The boys will love it!  It's like being in the country but just being a couple of minutes from downtown Florence.  We've wasted no time, spending the last few days going through house plans and have picked one that we both love.  However, we won't begin building until we sell our house and who knows how long that will take.  I'm really praying that it will sell pretty quickly because currently, one of our rental homes is vacant and my in-law's old house is vacant so we'd have a couple of options for where we could live while we are building.  So now here's my plug, if you know anyone interested in a 3600 sq foot 4bdrm/3bath house (with extra large bedrooms) located on 3 lots in Edgemont Subd. and centrally located in Florence, then send them our way!  Great price and completely renovated just 3 years ago (new roof, a/c, appliances, carpet, ceramic tile, hardwood, etc).

We've also had a celebrity spotting right here in our own hometown! Earlier in the week, I was driving to Jamie's office and passed a house in downtown that was being renovated and THOUGHT I saw John Paul White, one half of the country/folk music duo The Civil Wars, standing in the front yard.  A few days later, I was at the office again when he drove past me and Jamie.  It was definitely him!  We now know that he owns a house right across the street and few down from Jamie's office.  Pretty cool!  I couldn't help but think how just a few days prior he was rubbing elbows with some of the greatest musicians and now I'm passing him as he's driving through downtown Florence.   

On Wednesday, Collier turned 16 months old.  Some things he is doing now is pointing to certain body parts on command, such as belly, belly button and nose.  We are working on others but those of the ones he gets consistently. He loves to raise our shirts up to find our belly buttons!  He also recognizes and points to objects when we ask him where certain things are, such as puppy dog, ball, lights, diaper.  For some crazy reason, he began doing this little move where he arches his back and sticks his belly out and pats it... it's so funny! One new phrase he's picked up is "top it" (stop it). He mainly uses it when he's repeating me, but he will tell Noah to "top it."  When I tell him its time for a diaper change, he'll come get in front of me and lay down on the floor so I can change him.  He can now run and that's the pace he uses whenever he's going anywhere.  He dances by doing the 'flashdance' dance (kind of like stomping in place really quickly.) He does this whenever he gets excited or is listening to music.  He is technologically-saavy! He loves iPads, iPhones (and knows how to use them), phones, remote controls, laptops, etc. We are dealing with a quick temper these days and he gets MAD when he's told no or we take something away from him. He cries when someone leaves (especially when daddy leaves for work) and he says "hi" or "hey" no less than 30 times a day.  When he walks with me into school to pick up Noah, he says "hey" to every single person we pass in the halls.  He is currently cutting THREE teeth. One bottom molar and 2 lateral incisors (one on top, one on bottom).  Poor thing has been in some pain this week and fussy at times.  This will make a grand total of 8 teeth.  He is beginning to feed himself using a spoon but has some trouble getting the food ON the spoon, however he gets mad when I try to help.  Makes for interesting meal times! I've found that it works to give him a spoon to use/play with and I have a spoon that I feed him with at the same time.  I trimmed his hair for the 2nd time (the first time being in December). The back grows so quickly and curls (which I think is cute) however, his hair is still short on top so it looks rather mullet-y.  Jamie had been begging me to cut it and I finally complied.  I must admit, it looks MUCH better but those sweet little curls are gone.  He's gotten much more loving and will open his arms WIDE and come running towards me.  It melts my heart.  He loves giving hugs and kisses and he likes to bring me "presents." While playing outside yesterday, he brought me quite the leaf collection.  He still a sweet little doll and we love him dearly!

 House For Sale!

Great deck overlooking the backyard, as well as the 1/2 basketball court

Very large backyard and situated on 3 lots 

My little mullet man pre-hair trim 

Had to document those curls! And I don't have an after photo because he wouldn't sit still

Our new lot on Creekside Drive