The McClelland 5

Anxiety

2011-03-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here I am, treading through the worst anxiety I have ever had in my life. I think it all started on Wednesday, when the realization of going to Lubbock this weekend hit me. I started thinking about how much we left behind, how much we gave up and how much I miss what I had. I miss my house terribly, I miss Ms. Crystal and Ms. Kelly our babysitters, I miss Jerrid and Amy, I miss Green lawn and one of the things I miss the most is Superkids. Then it hit me that perhaps we will never find a house here. What if that never happens? I have issues with moving it appears, perhaps because between the time I was 7 and 12 we moved 6 times. My parents packed us up and left our house behind when I was 7. The economy was bad then too. It took them the better part of 5 years to get us back together- I feel like that is happening to my family, we are so displaced and it is really getting to me.
I know that Greg and I picking up our family and moving was the best thing we could do for our marriage-which was struggling, and getting out from our HUGE mortgage payment and getting better paying jobs was right for our family as well.
My parents have been a lifesaver this weekend. Yesterday I sat and talked to my mom for about 2 hours and I think it really helped me. The symptoms are still here. My skin is crawling, my heart races and my muscles are achy. I will get through it.
For the better part of 5 years, I have taken zoloft for depression. It is time for a change-hopefully tomorrow my dr. will be able to switch my medicine and give me some relief. Man, I have had alot going on in my life. New jobs, new town, new routines, new baby, new church....someday life will be normal again and I have faith that the good lord will pull me through.

thoughts

2010-09-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

I know I have a ton to catch up on, I don't know if I have even blogged about Evie's birth-or that we moved-or that Avry started pre-school.....for that matter I know I haven't blogged about Avry's 4th birthday or Coen's second birthday (which the cake is still pending). I do know that I am so richly blessed to be right here in Dumas TX.
This might turn into a vent, I am emotionally exhausted......
Alot of the reasoning to move home for us came with the fact that we needed to be closer to family, my momma especially. Yesterday, my mom turned 57. Yesterday I was so thankful that God gave me another day with her. Today, I am equally thankful. 2 weeks ago Saturday mom got very ill, she was septic, her gallbladder was "fried", her kidneys pretty much stopped working, she had a hospital born infection AND perhaps even another heart attack. We brought her home Saturday, the day before she turned 57. 42 years of my mom's 57 have been spent being diabetic. 42 years, I can't even begin to grasp how long that is....... Today, she is home, she is physically doing very well, but she isn't the same momma I had before. I know that she will regain her strenght and be back to being my momma, right?
God's timing is so perfect, today, I am sitting in my parents living room (because we are cool and live with them ;) ), I would not have been able to take myself back to Lubbock this time.....I have left before, I have gone home before......but I couldn't have done it again. Our journey here is perfect, we are blessed-in the hardest time I have ever faced, we are blessed.
I am equally blessed to have friends who are ICU nurses, a sister and brother in law who are ICU nurses....these people have answered endless questions for me. I am blessed that I have a couple of friends who have had to deal with a parents illness. I am blessed that my husband is here with me holding me tight through all of this.
Hug your parents, hug your siblings, don't go to be angry---all those things....DO THEM.....you don't know what tomorrow will bring.
Through all the rough weeks we have had......we have moved, we are settled, we still own a house in Lubbock (that needs to sell), we both love our jobs.....I am so blessed!

What's up???????

2010-07-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

I have no pictures.....does that make me a bad mom? :)

Ok, I have pictures, but we dont' have a computer......does that make me nuts? (YES!!!)

Recap of the last 12 months.......

Abbey got married
I got pregnant
Coen got really sick and had a hospital stay
Coen got tubes and his adnoids out
My papa passed away
My granny passed away
Abbey got pregnant
Coen had a couple of asthma attacks
Christmas---Hallelujah 2 weeks off!!!!
Evie graced us with her presence on March 11, 2010 after a perfect, normal, full term pregnancy

Got a teaching job in Dumas.....wait.....what was that??????

That is where we are now, I took a teaching job in Dumas 2 weeks ago, we threw our house on the market and we are moving. Life is absolutely crazy!!! We are moving, changing jobs, packing our house, driving back and forth between here and there......and waiting on our nephew Bray to be born!!!

I have always wanted to be a teacher, it is finally happening! FINALLY! Lubbock has been good to us for the past 10 years, but it is time for a change. We are going to be closer to family (to help with our 3 very small children), be making better money, having a little more time together as a husband and wife (not just mommy and daddy) and most of all--get back to a small town life and enjoy raising our kids in a small town!

Greg and I are very excited about our move, as are the kids. Who knows? Maybe with summer's off I might blog more :)

Oh the Journey!

2010-02-21T18:19:00.001-08:00

I still don't have pictures, because we still don't own a computer! :)

We are counting down the days until baby Evie arrives. 23 at most! What an eventful 9 months this has been. You know back on July 13th when this journey began, I sure wouldn't have expected this to be such a, well, journey.

When we found out we were pregnant again, while I was still adjusting to life as a working mother of 2, I was so in shock. WOW! What was happening? Was this a joke? NOPE! Here we are 9 full months later, big and pregnant with a precious baby girl, Evelyn Grace.

So, in early August, my best friend from college Margaret, let me know she was pregnant too. You see, Margaret and her husband had been trying to get pregnant since before Avry was born. What a special plan God had for us to have babies together-in his time, not ours. If all works out, we will have 2 baby girls 14 days apart. Evie and Grace.

In late August my Pa-Pa passed away, which was a huge deal. Pretty unexpected and it definitly brought back alot of memories of my Mamaw, who passed away 14 yrs previous. I am a firm believer that the Lord gives as he takes away. Here we were just finding out we were having another baby, as we had just had this horrible loss.

Around Christmas, my Granny got very ill. After a 3 week stay in Hospice (by the way, Hospice is a wonderful place), she went to be with the Lord and back with my Pa a week before Christmas. Christmas Eve, my sister, announced that she was pregnant as well. Again, the Lord gave to us as he took away another precious person from our lives.

So, here we are 23 days away from having our precious baby girl. It has been an overwhelming journey, but we are all 4 ready to jump in with both feet and welcome this baby girl into our family! We feel richly blessed to have been able to have 3 children in our short 5 year marriage.

Come on EVIE we are ready to meet you!!!!!

update on kids and life!

2009-11-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in a while, we have been so very busy!

Avry is doing ballet, school and then of course still going to Crystal's. Coen is just going to Crystal's of course. He is flourishing into such a beautiful little man. I am thankful each and everyday that God gave him to me. I am of course thankful for Avry too. They keep us very busy and we love every minute of it.

Coen's newest thing is immitating sister. He wants to be with her everywhere she goes and be copying every move she makes. He tries to copy her words now and says "belly button, ball, burp (i know gross), momma, daddy, grana, dog". He is also signing alot now-more, please, thank-you and drink are his favorites. We catch him doing other signs here and there too. As always, he has the sweetest personality and is still very attached to momma!

Avry is just really excited about the new baby sister coming. She talks to her in my belly (and can get her to move), gives her kisses and is working on figuring out where she will sleep in her room. Of course, Avry says she will share a bed with her-but since Avry doesn't even sleep in her own bed herself, poor sister will be all alone. We are also very into Ballet and Taylor Swift-thanks to Jadan! She is developing quiet a little imagination and is always coming up with new stories.

Mom and Dad are just going and going and going. I can't imagine life with 3 kids, but feel so blessed to have them. Thanksgiving and Christmas are fast approaching and we definitly have alot to be thankful for this year. Good jobs, good friends and family, health and 3 fabulous kids!

I will post more with pics later, I don't have a computer at home at the moment.

birthdays

2009-09-14T16:58:00.001-07:00

Coen turned 1!

We had a birthday party at Jump N Jungle

The kids little friends came along

We built a swingset...ok Jerrid, Dad and Greg did.

Avry got her first pedicure!

Going back a couple of months.....

When you get pregnant unexpectedly with a third baby, I guess you get really behind in blog land! We had the kid's birthday parties together in mid July this year. Money is tight and well they don't really know the difference. Jump N Jungle was the best party place ever! They did everything, even cleaned up and served cake. We got to play and enjoy the party. Then the kids got to paint their hands on the wall of hands. They thought it was pretty special.

Avry and Coen got a swingset for their birthday's from Granna and Foy-Pa. We had a little problem getting it to Lubbock, so us and the Sanders drove to Dallas on one Saturday and picked it up. My dad came down and they all put it together. That was a busy weekend, but well worth it. The kids love their swingset. Coen got a music table thing, a tractor, lots of cars and cloths. Avry got a barbie car (a real big one), cloths and stuff for baby Joy.

Our kids sure are the joy of our lives. They keep us plenty busy and provide much entertainment! We are so blessed.

God's plan

2009-08-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

As I have been pondering how God's plan messed up mine.....which is really a stupid idea, b/c my plan should always be God's plan!, I have been thinking of all the things that I am looking forward too this year. So, for the school year, here is my list of things that are coming.

1. Meeting baby Mac #3.
2. Avry's first day of Pre-school and all her preschool activities.
3. growing a huge belly and feeling baby Mac #3 move inside me
4. A new house!
5. The look in my children's eyes when they see their new brother/sister for the first time.
6. Decorating a nursery again, pulling out all the teeny tiny baby cloths we have saved.
7. Moving.....I am really excited about this
8. Christmas time, Thanksgiving, turning 28.
9. My nieces' ballet recital at the end of the year.
10. Going to my 10 yr high school reunion

And my next list, reason's why God's plan is working out alright afterall.....
1. I didn't get a teaching job for the fall
2. We will only have to pay for daycare for 3 for 1 yr.
3. Now is the perfect time to sell our house, the market is good
4. This might sound stupid, but we have 5 chairs sitting around our kitchen table....
5. My blog is called the McClelland 5....ironic????
6. I have a good job, Greg has a good job.
7. We finally found a church home, that we are super happy about.
8. Greg and I both got raises....
9. We own a mini-van....lol
10. God's plan's always work out......that is the most important!!!

Our big suprise!

2009-08-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

I have missed a few important posts, like Abbey's wedding and the kid's b-day parties, but we need to share our most important news:

Meet Baby McClelland number 3, due in March 2009. Completly a shock to us, we had not a clue that this would even be possible.
The story:
I went in for my yearly appointment with Dr. Owen on July 13th. During that appointment, she said that we needed to think about long term birth control for me since I REALLY did not want another baby. We decided very quickly that the Implanon implant in my arm was the best for me since I can't take estrogen (it makes me sick). So, she put one in. Went to Abbey's wedding, came home. Monday after I got back from the wedding, I started getting really nausious. I thought it might have been something I ate of course. Well, it kept getting worse and was not going away. By Friday, I was telling Greg that something was wrong with me and I really needed to go to the dr. So, thinking it might be a side effect of the Implanon, I started researching it on the internet. Sure enough it was. I thought it would go away with some R&R over the weekend. NOPE! Monday rolled around and I decided I better call Dr. Owen, who told me that it was a side effect and that I should take a test if I was worried about being pregnat. Well, Greg agreed that I should-b/c I was acting weird....LOL
Took a test and it was very quickly positive. I called Dr. Owen Tuesday morning and they got me in right away. Dr Owen and Rhonda had to pick themselves up off the floor. I got pregnant on birth control and while breastfeeding AND well there is another AND-but I will keep that one to myself.
Anway, I had a blood test yesterday and my HCG levels were through the roof. We also had an ultrasound yesterday morning and got to see little peanut. It has a heartbeat of 143 right now and is perfectly happy growing in its little cave in my belly!
Needless to say, we are shocked, very shocked, but extremly excited. Avry has requested a sister and Greg wants another boy. I don't think I care, but we aren't going to find out what it is until its born! I absolutely can't wait to meet my 3rd blonde haired, blue eyed beauty!

Avry turns 3!

2009-07-09T13:01:00.001-07:00

The Day we brought Avry home

5lbs 7oz of pure sweetness!

Avry's 1st Birthday!

18lbs of love!
Avry's 2nd Birthday.....
25lbs of stinker!

Tomorrow my sweet angel turns 3. How time can fly! Every year, I try to write something special in my kids baby book. Since I am blogging now, I thought I would share!

My precious Avry,

Today you are turning 3. A whole 3 years old. What a beautiful blessing you are to us. We had no idea how much you would change our lives when you came into the world. You and I had a rocky start together, but we made it through and you have become one of my best friends, along with your daddy and Coen.

My favorite thing about you this last year has been how much you have embraced your new brother, Coen. You love to hold him and feed him and play with him endlessly. You even let him take a bath with you. My next favorite thing is how jealous you are when I kiss YOUR daddy!! Avry, you are a precious little girl!

This year, you have learned how to potty on the big girl potty and don't even have accident's at night anymore. You can count to 10 and say your "ABCDEFG's." Your best friends are Ariah and Breanna from Ms. Crystal's house and Jadan. You love to sing songs, watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and pray. You are always praying for someone special. You take extra special care of your baby dolls and love to cook in your kitchen and ride your "motorcycle" or tricycle.

Other big events this year have included riding a "choo-choo train" to go see Santa claus, ridign on an airplane to see your cousin's in Ohio and being a flower girl in Aunt Abbey's wedding. This year, you also spent the night with Mimi and Granna for almost a week each. You love them both very much.

The next year will hold big things for you Little. You are going to start preschool at SuperKids and do swimming lessons and music class all by yourself. We are so excited to see how you grow over the next year. We love to see the light in your eyes when you have discovered something new. You truly bring joy to our lives and we love you every minute of every day!

Happy 3rd Birthday Little!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

the Love Dare

2009-07-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

hi there! I still don't think anyone reads our blog, but that's ok. Its good therapy for me!
Greg and I started the Love Dare a couple of days ago. I am so excited to do it! The first day's dare was to not say anything negative to your spouse. We passed with flying color's! I think we try to be nice to each other most days, so it all worked out!
Today's dare was to do something your spouse would not expect you to do. Greg is so wonderful. First, he got up with Coen at 2:30 to feed him, then he got the kid's cloth's ready for the day and then this afternoon he sent me a very romantic poem, he is so sweet! I took an extra long lunch today and went out to his office and took him lunch. He was pretty excited. I never go out there b/c it is a good 20 min drive from my office.
I am so excited to see what all this Love Dare has to offer. We are trying so hard to be good examples to our kids and it is definitly hard sometimes. I do hope and pray they know how much mommy and daddy love each other and love God above all else!
We have been doing VBS this week, what a blessing! Avry is going to a 3 year old class, because that is the group she will be with in school. She has done an amazing job with the group and absolutely loves it! Coen on the other hand just cries and cries and cries in class, so he is hanging out with Mom and Dad and doing puppet's.
Avry turns 3 in 10 days! I can't beleive my baby is going to be 3!
Have a blessed 4th!

Vacation part 2

2009-06-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

Avry and Alyssa
Pooped after the Zoo

My mother and father in law

Carla, Alyssa, Granna and Avry

Part 2.

Starting with the wedding. The whole reason we went to Ohio was to see Greg's youngest cousin, Angela get married. She got married on Saturday evening to her love Mike. We had a blast! They had a fancy dinner and dancing. Greg and I actually got to dance a couple of times, but mainly enjoyed dancing with Avry and Coen. Avry had a blast dancing-her favorite partner was Foy-Pa I think. Coen was a little grumpy during the wedding. Those dang teeth still haven't came through!

Sunday we visited the Akron Zoo. I was so amazed by how clean the zoo was. It was in wonderful condition, didn't smell like a zoo and had lots of educational information with each animal. My favorite was the jelly fish display. What an amazing creature!

Sunday evening was spend playing more corn-hole. Which is like bean bag toss Ohio style. Everyone enjoyed it alot! Greg and I got to sneak in a nap on Sunday-our kids wore us out!

We came home Monday evening late. Our flights were decent, I refuse to ever fly into Atlanta again. That airport was horrible, big, crowded, overbooked, unfriendly etc. We arrived home safely with everything but a car seat that got left in Houston or Atlanta (we can blame it on Atlanta).

Now, I am off to apply for jobs, work on birthday party invites, do homework, laundry, unpack, get ready for my sister's shower and Jadan's b-day. I better get busy!

Vacation part 1

2009-06-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Swinging at the Chappie's
Corn Hole-a crazy game for Ohio-an's

Proud new mommy

First Plane ride

I have had alot going on lately. I might have to blog in atleast 2 posts. First and foremost....I PASSED my teacher certification test. Now, if I can find a job, I can start teaching in the fall. Trick is finding a job. The major school districts arodund here don't hire on emergency cert.'s, so I will have to find a job outside of Lubbock. We have prayed about it and feel like it will be ok for me to drive. Next, VACATION!!!!
We left last Wednesday for our trip to Ohio. We had such a blast. The kids did marvelous on the flight there (the flight back was a little rough), and were troopers on the whole trip. No one had a good nap the entire 6 days we were gone and we all survived! The second day we were there, we took Avry to Belpre Ohio to the Lee Middleton Doll Factory so she could adopt her very own baby doll. She loved it. She picked out her own baby, got to dress it, brush its hair, name it and everything. She chose Joy, because it is close to her middle name of Joyce. What a big girl she is!

Friday we swam with the Chappie's and had the rehearsal dinner at Jeff and Carla's. Everyone played Corn-hole for hours. The weather was so beautiful. Not too hot, but not too cold. I was amazed at the tree's!

thoughts

2009-06-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

Does anyone ever read my blog? LOL I just wonder sometimes....
We are just truckin along. Coen is fully weened from nursing now. It has been a very sad process for me, a little bit depressing actually. I made it for 10 whole months though and that is a huge deal considering that I didn't even make it a month with Avry. I think that the sadness comes from knowing that unless we have an accident there won't be anymore pregnancies for us. We know that God is going to bless us with another child-down the road- and we pray often that we find that child and bring it into our home ! I am partial to adoption because if some momma hadn't of been big enought to give away her baby to a loving family, I would not have my sister and my best friend. So-enough sadness, lets talk happy thoughts!
I started school on Wednesday, it is going to be time consuming and require alot of work and dedication! This is definitly not the easy way out. I am cramming atleast 2 semesters of work into a summer. Yes, I know I am nuts. I also have to find time to do 30hrs of classroom observation (when school is out I might mention), apply for jobs and take my TeXes test-which is in less than a week now. I feel really good about the test and am very hopeful that I will pass it the first time.
Something else that I have been thinking about is my 10 yr high school reunion. See, when you are from a small town, this is a big deal! Next summer will be 10 whole years for me. I am way excited about seeing old friends and catching up with them! It will be great to see how everyone is doing and how everyone has changed.
Kids are great, Coen is having some trouble switching to formula, but we will get it straightened out. Avry is speaking in full paragraphs now. She tells great stories....mostly about Mickey mouse, Jesus and Zacheaus. She is also making up her own songs, I catch her making up her own words to tunes from songs she knows quite often. It is precious! She is a complete joy-Eventhough Greg changed her name middle name when she was born from Joy to Joyce...:)
Well, I was taking a break from studying, so I better get back to the books!
Have a great weekend!
PS..today is the day that I got put on bedrest with Coen, I can't believe it has been a full year already!

The Lake!

2009-05-27T20:07:00.001-07:00

Avry touching a real fish! GROSS

Chillin on the beach with Uncle David and George

Riding the Jet Ski with Dad

Eatin Cheeto's and lookin cool on the boat!

Holy Cow! What have I gotten myself into? In just a few short days, I am going back to school to get my teacher certification. This summer will be a whirlwind of events from me. I have school, vacations, birthday's, TeXes exit exam, finding a job etc. I am so thankfull that I am going to be able to finally teach. This is something that I have wanted to do since I was a little girl and I am whole heartedly into it. I can not wait to get in the classroom!

On another note, we went to the lake (Lake Meredith) this weekend with my family for the long weekend. We had so much fun. Avry touched a real live fish that little David caught! Coen and Avry both are sunburned (so are we) and I feel like a horrible mother for letting them burn. I did put sunscreen on them-often-and they still burned! Those are the pics above.

We leave in just 2 weeks for Ohio to go to Greg's cousin's wedding. We will fly out of Lubbock with Greg's whole family and then into Nashville and then onto Canton. We really don't have definite plans while we are there. Wedding is on Saturday though! I really hope that we will be going to either Cleveland or Cincinnati to the Zoo! I am just excited to go on vacation-and a big plus is that I love Greg's family, so we will have a blast!

Have a good week!

My babies

2009-05-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

Just some pics, and a few thoughts.....

Coen's first taste of a chocolate spoon.
Coen just a few day's old-he is now 9months! How time flies!

Jadan, with Abbey and Cruz in the background.

Abbey and my soon to be brother in law, Cruz.

Wow! How time flies! Not too long ago I was taking my 3rd pregnancy test just 2 1/2 months after being married and it was positive...just like the first 2! Just yesterday I was sitting in Dr. Owen's office anxiously waiting to hear our new bundle of joy's heartbeat for the first time. Then, came bedrest and later a 10 day hospital stay and just a few seconds later the birth of a beautiful baby girl, who had a few complications upon her arrival but was the most precious little bundle of joy. She always was a little ball of fire-very outgoing and head strong. That little bundle is now potty trained, sleeps all night, can dress herself and can practically give herself a bath. That little bundle, my sweet Avry, my little lefty, is going to be 3 in just a few weeks! I can't beleive it!
Then there is Coen, who I am pretty sure was conceived, created wonderfully and fearfully made, and born all in a matter of moments. I think about my pregnancy, which was not fun at all, but I would do it all again-in a heartbeat! The day that we had the "big ultrasound" was a great day for us. God was blessing us with a son, one of very few in my family...ok the only one in my immediate family! We knew right away we would name him Coen James. He is my little Prince. Now, just 9 short months later, he is crawling and pulling up on everything. He eat's babyfood and some tablefood and he still wakes up to nurse during the night!! I will take it though, I might not ever have those moments with an infant again. Those sweet moments in the middle of the night when I am his world-I am all he needs! I love my babies!

The other pics are my sister's engagement pics. She is getting married at the end of July! We are thrilled for her. Can't wait for her to start her life with Cruz and Jadan!

Mayish

2009-05-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Avry playing Dress-up. Coen's new-d0!
Easter outfits

Avry loves her sandbox so much she hugs the sand!

Coen and his first chocolate spoon!

First-Holy Cow it is May! Where have the last 9 months gone? Speaking of 9 months, Coen will be 9 months old in just a few short days. He is crawling, eating 3 meals a day and still nursing like a champ! Since he got tubes 4 weeks ago, he has flourished into such a happy smart little thing! I estimate that he will walk before he turns one, he stood by himself the other day for just a few seconds. Amazing! Avry has started talking all the time, she is asking questions-and she wants real answers to those questions. Alot of her questions are about Jesus and Why? questions. She is really loving staying with Ms.Crystal-even though a kid asked her to smoke a cigarette the other day...lol We have been very blessed with a fabulous babysitter.

This summer is going to be a whirlwind of activity for us. First, I am hopefully going to start back to school on June 3rd to get my teaching certificate. If I can pass my TeXes test this summer, I can teach in the fall! We will be flying to Ohio with Greg's family in June, and then as soon as we come back I have my sister's wedding shower/jadan's 7th birthday (I know 7!!!). Then both kids have birthdays just in time for my sister to get married at the end of July. I am really excited for her wedding-It will be ton's o' fun! Then comes August, when I will hopefully begin teaching and be able to quit my current job. I like my job, but it isn't fulfilling-its just a job-I need some fullfillment in my life! Avry will start pre-k at Superkids in September. That will be a huge milestone for momma! She is going to be 3! Wasn't she born just yesterday?

I am home sick with a cold-so I should be resting. I am very much enjoying the quiet around my house. I highly doubt I can stay in bed all day-which is what Greg would like for me to do, any rest is more than I have been getting though!

Nascar

2009-04-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

NASCAR!!!! My sweet Hubby and Jerrid

Coming around the tracks!
Greg and I-with our Nascar gear!

A couple of weeks ago, Greg and I took a much needed vacation to Dallas with our besties Amy and Jerrid. We went to Nascar and then shopped til we dropped. Let me tell you friends, I am not a sport type person and would rather not even watch pro sports of any kind-but I am TOTALLY addicted to Nascar now! It was so fun! We had amazing seats and a load of fun. We got scanners and got to listen to the pit crews and drivers. We went to watchn Amy's cousin-Justin race. He races the Verizon car as a rookie. He is very good! I left my kiddo's with Greg's mom for the weekend and got 2 full nights of sleep. It was amazing!

Coen and Avry are becoming such beautiful little kids. Coen is trying to crawl and can get up on all 4's. He can say bye-bye and da-da. We got tubes in his ears a week ago and he has been a dramatically different kid since then. He can also tell you when he wants a bottle and gives awesome kisses! Avry is soaking up everything we say. She at church Sunday morning announced rather loudly that she wanted to swim in the swimmin pool up there. In other words, she wanted to take a dip in the baptistry. So then we had a conversation about what the baptistry was for. She asked us about who Jesus' mommy and daddy were and a ton of other questions. I love the innocence of a child.

We will be traveling this weekend and then staying home for a while. I have gotten to really appreciate the time we have at home with the kids. My heart has been really heavy lately missing the time I wish I had with them. I know that God knows best and is faithful and doesn't even fail us. I just have to keep praying for peace and understanding.

Hospital Pictures

2009-04-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

Big Sister Avry keeping Bubba Coen entertained
He got way to used to having that bucket around

Baby Jail

Playing with Foy-Pa a couple of weeks ago

Just a couple of pics from our hospital stay. Coen really over all did very well in the hospital despite all the poking they did on him. I do hope we never have to do that again. It was not a fun experience. I am so thankful for Dr. Brodbeck and all the nurses that took care of us in the hospital. They were constantly checking on not only Coen, but myself and Greg when he was there. Avry loved the endless supply of chocolate milk.

We are on the road to recovery and will be seeing Dr. Feist, the Gastrointerologist next Monday. He will determine what else we need to do for Coen. Hopefully we will just need to stay on the medicine and can keep weening him back on formula. Thank you all for your prayers over the past few months. It has definitly been a trying time, but God is good-ALL THE TIME!!!

6 days of throw up and a hospital visit

2009-03-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

Coen has been really sick for 6 days now. Last Tuesday we went to the ped. for an ear check up. His ears were not infected, but had fluid behind them, which was not a good sign that things were clearing up. So, we got a referal to an ENT for today. Wednesday we got up like normal and went to work/babysitter. Around 9 my sitter called and said that Coen had thrown up 3 times. I figured that his ears had gotten worse, called the dr. and got an antibiotic to start on for the ears. Greg went and got him. He proceeded to throw up all day. Thursday, my sister came down to keep him so we could work-well that didn't go over to well. She picked me up for lunch and when I went to get him from his seat he threw up all over me, the carseat and the car. She said that was throw up number 3 for the morning. We called the dr. and he saw Coen. Ears were good, stomach bug. Friday and Saturday were about the same, lots of throw up and no sleep. Saturday we had 103 fever all day. Then came Sunday. Coen was at the point that his eyes were sunken in and he was starting to not drool-so off to the ER we went around 8 PM.
We get to Covenant Children's ER, where we have brought our kids many times before for fever, wheezing, bumps on the head etc. First they weight the little guy and he has lost almost 2lbs since the Tuesday before. So, we get in a room. The ER dr(who is a ped. in town and I will give the name if you need to know) walkes into our room giggling-not joking. First thing he said was-your child is not dehydrated, you have been into contact with your Dr. in the past few days. All I will do is give him 1 ounce of pedialyte and send him home. Mind you he is laughing at us (I am not exagerating). So, I get upset b/c my child obviously has a problem. Greg told him we were just going to leave, we didn't need his ounce of pedialyte. So, he walkes out and comes back a few minutes later. By this time Greg had taken Avry out b/c mommy was a little bit mad. The Dr. walkes in and was like well I called the Dr. on call for Dr. Brodbeck and she wants to just admit him and Dr. Brodbeck can deal with you in the morning. We again tried to leave but he pulled the whole leaving against medical advice thing-and insurance won't cover if you leave against medical advice. So he sucked us in-bud God was working. So, they admitted us, started an IV (pure torture for a baby), and did an u/s of his belly. Sent us to a room and then we found out the orders were no food at all! Seriously? no food? nothing? Last night was awfull! So, Dr. B came in this morning and said he had already heard about our experience. I have been told my a couple of people that the ER dr. has no bedside manner. I would not take my dog to this man! Dr. B did an Upper GI and some blood work. We found out that Coen does have a couple of problems. 1. he has reflux, which is a preemie thing. 2. his stomach isn't digesting as quickly as it should. So, they put us on Reglan and Zantac which he will take aggresively 2x a day until we pull out of this stuff. It is more an issue of his stomach developing all the way. I have learned with my preemies that you never know what might creep up on you-
Satan was working in me last night with my attitude, but God was working harder! I am so thankfull that we got admitted. We would have just kept dealing with this problem for a long time. Coen is sleeping peacefully in his jail bed next to me and I know that the nights to come will be much more peacefull. We should go home tomorrow if he continues to hold fluids down well.
Thank you for all your prayers and keep on praying that we get completly well. I will post pics of Coen when I get home!

Busy McClellands

2009-03-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Check out Avry's expression
Playing Grocery Store

Playing restaurant

feeding the elephant

Oh no! The shark ate Avry!

What have the McClelland's been up too? You guessed it, lots and lot's of fun. When I started thinking about going back to work, one of the things that we put in our list of pro's and con's was quality time with the kids vs quantity of time with the kids. We decided that even though I wouldn't have as much time with the kids, the time I would have with them would be time very well spent because we would have a little more financial freedom to do more fun things-and travel!

Last weekend we took Avry to the Science Spectrum for its 20th birthday party. They had a "Monster's of the Deep" exhibit (the shark pic), a petting zoo (the elephant pic) and we went to so an OmniMax movie called "Animalopolis." Avry loved all of it. The most amazing thing to me was the elephant, this huge creation could get down on it's knee's and stand right back up-I won't ever complain again!

This weekend we went to Granna's and visited the Children's Museum of Midland. They had a pretend town type set up. There was a grocery store, playhouse, restaurant, vet, bank, construction zone and a few other toys. Avry loved it!

We have been a busy family and are looking forward to some rest this week and then heading off again next weekend to visit Mimi!!

March findings

2009-03-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

I guess I could blog every now and then. I have actually been waiting to post pics in my blog, but since I can't seem to get a spare minute to do that, I will just blog (sorry).
First-updates. Coen is sitting on his own now and rolling everywhere, he can scoot on his belly and get to where ever he needs to go. Which really terrify's me, he is going to crawl soon, EEEKKK!!! He had another ear infection that I don't think has cleared up yet. We go back to check them again on the 24th to see if we can finally get tubes. I am going to be praising God when that happens. Avry is well, she broke out in hives over the weekend which required and ER trip b/c they were so severe. They said it might be something viral-guess what? It was, she woke up yesterday with 102* fever! Yay for sick kids. Avry's newest thing is mimicing every thing that mommy does. Mom has a baby in a carrier-so does Avry. Mom has her pump bag, Coen, Purse, Drink, Phone-so does Avry. I love that little girl!
Today is Coen's 7 month old birthday. I never dreamed that I would be still nursing that sweet boy at 7 months. I am quite proud of myself for making it this long. My plan is to go a full year, but if I can make it to June I will be happy. I can not believe he is a whole 7 months old!
We (the family) will be traveling the next 3 weekends (maybe 4). We go to Odessa to see Granna this weekend for a long weekend, next weekend to Dumas to help move furniture so my parents can finally get carpet and finish their house!! Then, our big trip will be on the first weekend in April. Greg and I are going away all by ourselves to Dallas to see the NASCAR races. We haven't been away by ourselves since before Avry was born (3 yrs). Our marriage definitly needs some time away :)
It is spring break, I am stuck at work and there is not a sole here-so I guess I better get self motivated and go back to work now!

February!

2009-03-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Zoe and her birthday present, a Kong!

Avry, Greg and Jadan-notice Greg's hair-do!

Avry painting with real paint-not color wonder!

Coen and Greg's mom!

We have been busy busy busy! In February we started the month of by celebrating Zoe's 2nd birthday. We had a party with Rosie (Jadan's dog) and Zoe and the family. Zoe got a Kong-we put peanut butter and a treat in it-it is entertainment for hours.

We also went to Dumas one weekend in February, for Haley's baby shower. Greg got a new hair-do courtesy of Avry and Jadan.

Avry has become quite the little artist lately. She loves to paint, color, draw etc. She is left handed, which I think only makes her more special. What a little girl she is growing up to be. Coen is sitting up all by himself now. He has been quite a sick baby this month. We are praying we get tubes in his ears soon. He has had 3 sets of ear infections since Dec. 14th!

We traveled to San Angelo one last time to finish cleaning out Greg's grandmother's house. That is where the last picture was taken. Greg's mom is so adorable! We got word this morning that his grandmother's house had caught on fire. Long story-thankfully no one was injured and everything that was valuable had been cleaned out previously. I am sure that even though the valuable things had already been removed from the hosue, that it is still very hard on Greg's mom and her siblings. I can't even imagine!

God is answering prayers in our life. We went to church this morning and actually very much enjoyed it. Greg and I have been dedicating alot of time praying to find a church. I am always amazed at how God works. From a very early age, I was taught that God answer's prayers in his own time and that everything happens for a reason. Our God is amazing! Who knows what March will bring!

we're still here!!

2009-02-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

We are still alive! We have had a busy busy couple of weeks. Our kids have both been so sick, ears, throat, bronchitis, sinus-all of it. I think we are on the mend. Coen is sitting up mostly on his own now. He is doing so well considering his preemie-ness (was that a word?). Avry has found a new love for Kindermusic. We are taking her every week to a mommy and me class. Music class is a great chance for her to have some social interaction not at the sitter's house. She loves the class-she has been singing songs from class, one is called Roll Over Rover. She sings it almost perfect minus that she can't quite get out the Roll Over Rover part in one try. Greg and I are just trucking along working, chasing kids, chasing our families. We keep really busy. We still haven't found a church, we tried Sunset last week and it just seemed so huge! We know that God will see us through and eventually we will find one! Patience is the key there.
Yesterday I was thinking that this time last year, I was having my first u/s to check on Coen. It is amazing how fast this year has gone. He is a whole 6 months old already and is sitting, eating baby food, talking all the time! I am so crazy about that little guy! (and his sister too). Avry joined me at the grocery store last night where I let her push a kid sized basket around. She was hilarious-we might have raced our baskets down a couple of isles and when I got home last night, I found a few items that I didn't know she had thrown in-the best was a big bag of chocolate donuts! Sneaky little girl!
We are starting to look at houses a little bit. We still don't want to move for another year or so, but we are getting an idea of what we can afford, and exactly what we want. Hopefully we will get to build a house-unless the right one comes along. Lord knows we are running out of space-we need more space!!
I guess that is all the McClellands have for now!

Things I love

2009-01-31T20:01:00.001-08:00

The things I love about my babies!
Let's start with Avry:
I love that she is an extra sensitive, yet very strong willed little girl-she can stand on her own
I love her beautiful curls
I love that she loves to kiss her daddy and make me jealous!
I love how much she loves to immitate me-whether it is nursing or cooking or washing my face
I love her sweet sweet voice
I love that she knows who Jesus is
I love her birthmark hiny :)
I love the way she puts her hands on her hips and tilts her head to talk to Coen-like "are you listening to me"
I love that she loves her baby brother and wants him to be happy ALL the time
Coen:
I love his big blue eyes and gorgeous grin
I love that he is a mamma's boy
I love that he has found his feet and is so intrigued by him
I love that he only wants me to put him to sleep
I love that look he gives me when I get him from his crib-it is like nothing else in the world matters because mommy is there
I love that he is layed back and a very easy baby
I love his red hair and his goofy little toe
I love that he is my baby, my sweet baby boy!
Other things I love:
Greg and his way with me-he knows me-he knows my heart-
My parents, my sister, my niece
Weekend drives in the country
My in-laws
The smell of lumber
SNOW!!! I LOVE SNOW!!
I love my girls-all 3 of them!
I love that a day hasn't gone by in my life that I didn't know that Jesus loves me.
I love who I am, the life I am living and the gifts I have been given.
I love that I am fortunate enough to have a good job.
I love that Greg and I are starting to plan for the future (and our big move and big new house)
I love that someday I will retire with the love of my life.
Zoe-my faithful dog
I love that my kids have 2 great grandparents left
I love that I can drop my kids off at the sitters and know that they are well taken care of.

Sometimes, we don't stop and think about the things we love, the things that just make us giddy inside, the things that we look forward to, the things and people that are the most important to us. My friend Michelle and her 3 beatiful girls and husband had family pictures done recently,m as I was looking at them, I was thinking about how much fun and how much love they had for each other and how much love you could see in their pictures. It made me think about the things I love!
You know, I am so very blessed.....so so blessed! 2 beautiful children and a loving husband and a faithful dog(who won't leave my side b/c Greg isn't home). What more could a girl ask for?

just a blog

2009-01-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

So, what is going on with the McClellands, I know you are all dying to know! We have traveled the last 3 weekends, so we are all exhausted. Avry has been at my parents house since last Wednesday and is finally coming home today. I have missed the little stinker! Absence sure does make the heart grow fonder. This last weekend, we went to San Angelo to help clean out the rest of Greg's grandmother's house. We found some amazing treasures. Greg's mom is full blood German. Which is amazing to me. It takes alot to be full blood anything these days. Me for example is like a hodge podge of 2 kinds of indian, some irish or something and who know's what else. Anyway, Greg's great great granparents came from Germany, and his great grandmother (Gros mama) and grandmother all spoke some german. We found a bible, song book, and a children's school reader in German. Plus, boxes and boxes of letters in German. I was amazed. Greg's grandmother was an amazing woman and had a very hard childhood. She was one of 12 siblings, and grew up working in the cotton fields. She wrote letters about almost having to sell her and some of her siblings because they could not feed them. We think times are hard now, can you imagine times then? We should be greatfull! Greg's granddad was a mechanic, Greg loves all of the mechanic stuff that he has inherited. For me, I will be treasuring an antique sewing machine and a few dishes. Right now, we are treasuring a cedar hope chest that is just beautiful. It will eventually go to Greg's parents house, but for now it is at home in ours. Furniture like this chest is not made the same today.
Coen has RSV, we had been doing a shot every month to prevent this from happening. (RSV is extra scary in preemies). Evidently it didn't work because he got it. He is so sick and there is nothing we can do for him. He just sleeps and coughs! I am home with him today and tomorrow and then Greg will take a day and we haven't figured out the rest of the week yet. I am sure my mom or Katie will be able to help out. I better go do something productive. I really wonder what I did all day before I went back to work, but I sure do love being home with my babies!

2009-01-19T18:18:00.000-08:00

A beautiful sunset
Only in the panhandle!

Greggy playing Hannah Montana guitar hero with JJ

Avry and Jadan playing in Mimi's new room.

The weekend before we went to Ruidoso, we took a trip to Dumas to help my sis with wedding stuff-and well explore my parents new addition to their house. They added on around 700 sq. feet to the back of their house. My mom has her own room for her crafts now, the little girls loved the room. They ran and ran around and played babies the whole time. In case you don't know, Jadan is our precious niece-she is 6 1/2. Avry thinks she is the best thing since chocolate milk! They get along so well and Jadan is so patient with Avry. Actually, if you ask Avry who her best friend is, she will tell you J-J. The other pictures are of the sunset as we were coming home from Dumas. It was amazing!

2009-01-19T18:09:00.000-08:00

Avry with her hat and gloves
The majestical view

The kids with their lizards

Coen's first sink bath

On top of the mountain at ski apache

This is a story of a girl who needed a vacation!

This weekend, Greg, me, the kids and our buddies Jerrid and Amy loaded up the car and headed for vacation. Ruidoso! We had the best time, no worries, no internet, no cell phone service, no x-box (ha ha). Just back to the basics. We rented a cabin for the weekend way up in the mountains-we are talking like hidden and surrounded by tree's. It was so fantastic. I marvouled at God's magic the whole weekend. It was definitly good therapy for me! I have been so stressed lately with work and friend drama and everything else. Vacations like these are why I went back to work-so that we could have quality time with our kids-to show them nature and God's creations! Tomorrow it will be back to the real world, but I will go back a little less stressed and a little more patient-relaxed-and rested!

dRaMA !!!!!

2009-01-12T11:31:00.001-08:00

Oh life! Life around my house has been quite dramatic lately. We went to Dumas to do wedding stuff-which is madness I might add. I am so happy for my little sister though. She deserves the best, which is not always what has been delt to her, it is going to be so good for her to get married and start a new life-with someone she loves!
Satan seems to be working in my life more than God right now. It seems like there is a new battle in front of me every day. I have struggled as a mom, wife and overall person to fight Satan lately. I just don't see why these things keep happening to me sometimes. Let me go into detail, because I know that is what you all want to hear!
Back this summer I got very hurt by my church friends over a baby shower, which that along with a few other things has caused us to try to find a new church. Today, I got all those hurt feelings brought back to surface again-I am so hurt, and I know that it is satan. This whole thing, the whole church thing, I don't understand why I have to fight this battle. Why can't I just have a church home that I love that I can go and worship at without being hurt? Satan should not have that much control in my life. So, my goal for today is to spend time in prayer, with my husband, by myself and with my kids-I have got to get past this. It is hard to find a church once you have been burned like us. I am afraid to get back involved, afraid to make friends etc. I have to put up my armor and get through it.
I also didn't get paid on friday like I was supposed to. Tech had some flaw in the computer system and I didn't get a check. Again-why me?
Finally, Coen is sick with a stomach bug, massive diarhea. Avry fell at the sitter this monrning, and banged up her face. I am sure it will be black and blue by tomorrow! It never ends
On a better note. Avry has been asking us where Jesus lives and why she can't see him. We have had numerous conversations about how Jesus lives in heaven and how wonderful heaven is. Last night on our way home from Dumas, she started questioning again. We talked and talked and talked about it all. Greg had told her that Jesus lives in the sky-that's where heaven is. As we pulled into the garage last night. Avry says "Bye-Bye Jesus, I love you! See you tomorrow!"
The innocence of a child. I wish sometimes we all had a little less drama and soft hearts like children.

2009-01-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

Coen's first Biter biscuit-man they are messy!

Coen loves to suck his thumb!

Avry really enjoys helping mommy-this time she tried to feed Coen! (sad for her she couldn't reach over the high chair)

Her red cowboy boots

I just love this little man!

My kids sure have brought fun to our house lately! Coen is growing so much, he loves baby food- and biter biscuits. It seems like he is much more self sufficent than his sister was, maybe it was that we did everything for her! He is so good at holding the messy biter biscuit and feeding it to himself! He also likes his thumb, ALOT! He would prefer that over anything else.....I guess it is better than him screaming!

Avry's cowboy boots! Avry has a friend at the babysitter named Ariah, they are the same age and best friends. Well, Avry has been telling us she wanted boots like Ariah. So, we started trying to figure out what kind of boots Ariah had. We think she has the "new" UGG style boots, but mommy and daddy aren't going to spoil her that much. So, we started boot shopping over the holidays. We tried on rain boots, snow boots, boots, boots boots. Finally, in Odessa I found these red cowboy boots! I figured we live in Texas and every little girl needs cowboy boots! The red makes them even better. (I did buy the dress first-its so precious too!)

I am off to watch a move and enjoy my last few hours before its back to work!

Christmas!

2008-12-31T11:09:00.000-08:00

Quick version- Went to Dumas opened presents, mom got pneumonia, went to Amarillo-opened presents, came home -santa came, went to Odessa-opened more presents, sister got ENGAGED, Coen got sick. Came back to Lubbock-praise the LORD! Whew!
What a relief it is to be back home! Christmas time is crazy for our little family. We spend who like around 10 hours in the car traveling to see all our families. Dumas-home-Odessa-home...crazy!
Avry was very excited about Christmas this year. She kept asking to open more presents. She got a bean bag chair, lots of little people, a mini trampoline and an art easel, and a camera! She was a little bit freaked out by Santa leaving her toys on Christmas morning though. She couldn't figure out how they got there- I guess she is still too little for the magic part of Santa!
Coen managed to sleep through Christmas all 4 times we had it! He did roll over front to back sometime during the whole Christmas thing! He is getting so big-12lbs and almost 24in. long!
This year Greg and I have had 2 weeks off for the holidays. It has been so nice! We have slept in, laid around, ran errands and played with our kid's!
I hope everyone has been as blessed as we have this Christmas season!

Sick kid and Christmas Magic

2008-12-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

I really should learn how to put pictures up on here! Maybe after Christmas when I hopefully have a new camera I will do that! For now you will just have to use your imagination! Coen is sick with double ear infections right now. Last night was a nightmare. Avry never had ear problems, so this whole ear thing is new to us. He is running fever, cranky, can't breath, and doesn't really care to eat either. Poor baby! Dr. Brodbeck gave us some good medicine this morning so hopefully we will be better soon! Avry got to stay home with Dad and Coen today too, she lucked out! We sent her to the sitter this morning with intentions of leaving her all day, but she left her "special blanky" at home. So, lucky her Daddy went and got her. That blanky, I tell ya, it is magic. You see they are a tradition in our family, my Mamaw started the tradition. I have yet to see a child that doesn't love their checked blanky! Avry snuggles with her's every night, nubby's (yarn strings) up, so she can wrap them between her fingers as she falls asleep. The other day, I caught Coen doing the same thing. Must be soothing.
One week from today we will be celebrating Christmas with my family, then Santa will be coming! Then it will be off to Odessa for more Christmas-with the McClellands! WOW! It is coming up on us so fast. We have been singing Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus for about a week now. It is so sweet to hear Avry singing the song! She also has been playing with her Little People Nativity Scene and we have been teaching her about baby Jesus being born. I think we might have to leave the Nativity Scene down year round, she loves it! Christmas is such a magical time of year. It is like God sprinkles magic happiness dust all over the world, the bad seems to be put on the backburner and all the good stuff just gleams!

Be Blessed

2008-12-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

This blog thing is pretty fun. Its a great way to let out some thoughts and feelings and keep up with friends too! I have been thinking lately how blessed I am. I worked with a guy in my previous job, who was an associate pastor or something like that at this church. The church was called "Church of the Blessed." When you think about it, we are all so blessed, every church is a church of the blessed. He used to tell us all the time to "be blessed" God blesses us with so many miracles and daily things. So, with that being said here are the things that me (and my family) have been blessed with.
1. A strong christian man, parents and in-laws.
2. A beautiful little girl and a handsome little boy
2A....a sister, God had a plan for her to be in my life, it takes something special to find your best friend in a sister who is not even genetically related to you! Love you sis!
3. A roof over my head and a car to get me here and there
4. A job, that I love and a job that my husband loves.
5. The birth, burial and ressurection of Jesus to take all my sins away
6. Lower gas prices---ha ha
7. Friends!
so, my last thing that I am thankful I want to explain. When I started looking for a job, it was traumatizing to me to think about leaving my kids. I prayed about it alot! A whole lot!! Well finally I got in touch with a former boss of mine and found his wife was keeping kids. Let me tell you that next to the birth of Coen, our sitter has been the biggest blessing this year. She loves my kids like no one else ever could. Believe me, I know how stressfull it is to keep kids- and she does a wonderfull job of it. She is patient with them, cares about them and their needs and most of all I know that she is a christian woman!
As I go to sleep tonight, I know I have been blessed. I can only hope that I am as blessed next yr as I was this year! Nighty Night!

our first blog

2008-12-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

Well first, I have to explain the McClelland 5, no there isn't another baby on the way! I am Sarah and I have been married to my fabulous husband Greg for 3 1/2 yrs. I grew up in the small town of Dumas. Greg grew up in Odessa and graduated from Permian High School. We started a family quickly. Ok- Avry was a bit of a suprise. It was more like a 3 months after we got married shock acually! Which brings me to our kids....We have 2 beautiful children. Avry, who was born July 10, 2006 - 4 wks early and our new addition is Coen who was born Aug. 18th, 2008 - 5 wks early. and the 3rd piece of the 5 is our fabulous dog Zoe! We have been so blessed by each other and our children. Avry and Coen both were really hard pregnancies. God showe us many blessings during both of my pregnancies.

Lets see-- about me--I just went back to work after staying home for 2 yrs. I have a degree in Human Development from Texas Tech. I however, probably wont' ever use it. My boss says "sometimes a degree is just that- a degree." I am currently an administrative assistant to the Vice Provost for Financial Planning at Tech. ( sounds fancy huh!) I love my job! I also love scrapbooking, sewing and keeping up with my family

Greg is an IT dude at TIEHH, he loves his job! It is super good for him, He also is a video game player (kinda makes me crazy), and loves to play with Zoe and I would imagine he would say he likes football too!

Well, I guess that is a good basic start for a blog! More to come!