Labels

Generally, I am not a fan of  "labels."  In our lives we are labeled as a mom, parent, teacher, sister, daughter, wife, cousin, aunt etc.

Greg and I had this whole big thing about not wanting Evie to be labeled with special needs so young, now we know we were a bit crazy. It was aparent pretty early on that we were going to have to put some "labels" on our baby in order to get her the help she needs. So, I began to be OK with labels. THEN........

I was at a therapy session last week and someone introduced me as a "mom of a special needs child" WOW! I had a really hard time with that one. I am good with alot of other labels, but this one hit home. It is who I am and will be forever now, but I guess I wasn't quite ready to hear it.

I can't say it enough- we are blessed by Evie and our lives will never be the same, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Diagnosis

Blogger is different? weird?

So here it is......
Evie was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, Hypotonia (low muscle tone), and Speech Disorder (not specified- read below)

Sensory Processing Disorder (soon to be changed to Dysfunction so that it falls into the DSM-4), is what causes her little body to go into overdrive in social situations, causes her to not like to touch things with odd textures, and causes her to rock! We will continue with our OT from ECI for this disorder.

Hypotonia or low muscle tone, is what is causing her to not be able to support herself sitting upright in the correct position. It is also what is creating her problem with walking. She walks with her knees together and feet inward. The doctor thinks that the muscle tone might also be playing a part in her speech. A few months ago Evie fell at the babysitters and her front teeth went through her gums. This is partly because her mouth isn't as strong as most kids. We are going to be starting Physical therapy for this as soon as we get the papers done.

Speech Disorder, this was our origional concern. From what I learned today, Evie has an expressive and receptive speech delay. She doesn't put words out and has a small problem taking them in. She qualified origionally as a 3-6 month old on speech and we might* be at the point of a 12 month old now speech wise. So, we will continue seeing our rocking cool speech therapist at Pro Steps for speech and letting them help us grow.

What does this mean for Evie?
She is special, she has special needs and she will always have special needs. The doctor today made it very clear that she was cognitevly very on target. She is a smart girl, but will always need some help. We will hopefully do 1/2 PPCD and 1/2 private pre-school when she turns 3.

I feel like I am completly blessed to be have been chosen as her mommy. She wasn't supposed to be here- she is our magic suprise in life- and boy did God give us a suprise with her! He knew what he was doing when he brought us to Dumas, he knew that we were going to need a small town and a wonderful close knit school district to raise her in. God knew that we needed lots of hands to help get to and from therapist and school and doctors. AND he knew that she belonged in our family. I am always amazed by how HIS plans work out in the most mysterious of ways.

Right now, our greatest prayer is that we get some help financially through either medicaid or our insurance to help with therapy costs. Then, we need prayers that our other 2 kids understand what is going on with Evie. Avry asked me today if we figured out why Evie was "special" yet!

Thank you for all caring and understanding and listening and being there for Greg and I. We are truly blessed by the amount of love we have seen in our marriage (and lifetimes). Without our friends and family we would not be who we are!

Sarah

Evelyn Grace McClelland

Meet Evelyn Grace McClelland. I have to blog about Evie, because I haven't blogged about her birth yet. Isn't she absolutely GORGEOUS?????

A year ago right now, I was scared out of my mind that I was pregnant again......again.....EEK. 6 1/2 months ago, this perfect angel came into our lives. On the Sunday before Evie was born, I started having contractions.....real ones....and they hurt. I hadn't ever had contractions before, and I honestly don't care to have them again. Monday my mom came down, Tuesday she got sick and ended up in the hospital. (still having contractions by the way) Thursday....oh yes Thursday March 11, 2010. I woke up and had an appointment with Dr. Owen, I decided I wasn't going to eat breakfast just in case she decided I needed to be delivered. Afterall, I was STILL having contractions!!! So, I visited Dr. Owen, and yes, I was going into labor.....and quickly...so here came Evie.

Evie graced us with her presence at 2:11 PM weighing 7. 11 oz, she had a full head of hair and beautiful features. SHE WAS HEALTHY!!! I got a healthy baby!!! Dr. Owen again had made a good call on delivery. Evie was breech, big and my uterus was stretched to its max. If I had of gone farther into labor, it could have been a very scary situation. God always has a plan

Evie has been the most wonderful addition to our family. I am so glad that God chose us to be her parents (and siblings).

Having 3 kids under the age of 4 has been nothing short of interesting, but I wouldn't change it for the world!

Blessings

A couple of weeks ago, Abbey and I went to see Mandisa and Laura Story. Let me say- Mandisa can rock it! I love Laura Story!!! She sings a song called "Blessings," and it totally makes me think of those days when our struggles are so much.
My favorite words are : "cause what if our blessings come through raindrops, what if our healing comes through tears, what if a 1000 sleepless nights are what it takes to knows your near."
This song just speaks to me lately, I love it!

Kids:
Avry got glasses last week, she looks so cute! The eye dr. told us that her eyes looked very evident of her prematurity at birth. She has some issues that have risen over the past few months that we will be working on. He feels like the glasses will help strengthen her eyes! Blessing!

Coen is just going right along with life. He is a very smart 3 year old and has been calling me his "princess" That makes momma's heart so happy!

Evie is just Evie. We are trucking right along with all her therapist and her ECI provider. We see a Developmental Pediatrician on Thursday morning to hopefully get some sort of diagnosis- which will help us proceed in proper placement when she turns 3. She continues to amaze me every single day. She loves her babies and LOVES books! I am so sure she is going to be a great reader someday. She again is a fabulous blessing to us.

Then there is this amazing man that I call my husband. He is the greatest thing ever! He takes on so much responsibility with the kids and especially our therapists. I love him sooo much!

Evie

I don't really know where to start, but I need to probably let some feelings out and alot of people are asking about Evie.

When our sweet baby was about 9 months old we started noticing she wasn't doing things a normal 9 month old would do developmentally. We pushed it off thinking she was a 3rd baby and we had spoiled her. By about 14 months, she wasn't walking and flags started raising. When she was 16 months, she walked-but her gait was very odd. At about 17 months, I took her in for a well child check up and our sweet Doctor was talking to me about her development. I opened up for the first time and expressed some concerns about her development. My biggest concern being that she said nothing....not even ma-ma or da-da. After talking to Dr. Carter and our speech therapist at school, Greg and I decided to go to a private therapy center and get her checked out.

Intitial speech testing showed Evie had the speech of a 3- 6 month old. I thought that was heart breaking. Little did we know the next few months would only bring more emotion. Around Christmas (18-19 months old) we expressed concerns that Evie had some sensory issues. She rocks, hates her hands being touched, hates shoes and had begun to develop a huge fear of public places. Very quickly she qualified for Occupational therapy at the same center.

Our finances have not been able to support the very large bill that private therapy was creating, so after much prayer we headed for ECI. Greg and I have been nothing but blessed with amazing therapists, and again God put his hand on us with ECI.

Tuesday of last week, Evie had a few more tests done. Greg and I had decided that we wanted to continue private speech therapy but have ECI do occupational therapy and watch her overall development. They will also help us transition into programs when she turns 3.

Evie qualified for the ECI program being between 50-60% disabled in various areas. She will be actually recieving more therapy through them- and they are going to oversee her care. The initial suggestion for transition into the public school program will be for Evie to go into a Special needs classroom when she turns 3.....if we ever get a diagnosis from a doctor (another huge battle)!!!

We do not have any idea what Evie's diagnosis will be. Some suggest some sort of Autism spectrum disorder, some a sensory processing disorder along with a speech problem. Only God knows.

So, here we are. Never in my life would I have dreamed that this baby, that I was not supposed to get pregnant with- would be such an enormous blessing. We have a child with special needs. God chose us to be her parents. He has faith that we will be the best thing for her. We are honored, scared, blessed and a whole host of other emotions.

Greg and I need prayers for understanding and wisdom. Evie's grandparents, aunts and brother and sister need prayers for understanding as well. We have to learn how to parent a child with very random needs in an unfriendly world.

Tonight, we are grateful that Evie signed "cry" while her brother threw a fit- she is a beautiful blessing and she overflows our hearts with love!!!!

Anxiety

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

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???????

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!