Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend was packed with all kinds of fun for all of us. We left as soon as I got out of school Friday and headed to the lake. We went out on the pontoon Friday evening for a short ride. We did the same Saturday and all came home sun burnt, except Zeke, thank goodness. Saturday evening we cooked on the grill and played in the yard (and then on the porch once it started raining). Sunday we came home and napped around and listened to the rain (which was great, but glad it was only one day of rain don't know if we could have handled that much rain for very many days). Monday, we got up went to eat lunch and get groceries in Jonesboro and then headed to the pool. Zeke went for his first "swim". He really liked the water even though it was freezing! Robby's birthday was today, so we stayed and had supper from the grill and as always it was yummy! Thanks for letting us play and feeding us!

9 month pic...finally

Back Outdoors.......finally

Zeke adores to be outside and lately the weather has not been cooperative. On Wednesday afternoon, the skies and the temperature were a perfect recipe for outdoor fun. Zeke and I played in the backyard while Dustin mowed the front yard. He really had a great time, as always! After the yard was mowed, Kaegan stopped by for a visit and then we made a quick ride on the ranger down to see the animals at Elmo's. He really loved watching the turkey (and so did Papaw).

Hot Springs

Last week, I had to go to a workshop in Hot Springs. I kidded (or not) that I would quit my job if Zeke couldn't tag along, so he did and Mom took off work to keep him. Everyone was great about him going! We left early Monday morning and returned Tuesday evening. I got lots of work done and I am really excited about the Learning Institute! We enjoyed good times with my co workers, but Zeke did not sleep well at all in the motel. We were down in the lobby "walking" at around 10:30, but he did finally go out and sleep the rest of the night. On Tuesday night, we went to the dance recital. All the girls did great, it was too cute! Zeke was impressed!

One Year Ago........

One year ago today............we almost lost Zeke! I can't convey the feelings that this time brought us. It was such a day to rejoice, overwhelming thankfulness to God, and a day when all I wanted to do was hold my boy tight! At 2 am, we were awakened at the trailer at the lake with a tornado warning. We loaded up and went to the camp grounds to get in a bathroom, better than the trailer we thought! The storm passed over and all was well, but it was not a great start to an eery feeling day. Thankfully, the rest of the day went well and no tragic events happened, praise the Lord. Today, I thought of all the circumstances that led to those first few days. I chose a new doctor (Dr. Hong) when we decided to try to have a baby, we went through Bald Knob to the lake, Dr. Hong was on call, the Searcy dr. wanted my dr's orders not his own, the dr's in Searcy didn't know my water was broken, and the list goes on. I know all of these things were not coincidences, but the hand of God. If I had had a different dr (from what I hear, most any other dr.), I would have been induced that first night, but by the hand of God, I had a dr. who believed! When Dustin and I were given a choice, we knew it was not our choice, but God's, thank God for parents who taught us well! There were just too many "coincidences" to not believe God's hand was at work from that first night! Dustin has been saved for a year now, and that has been the biggest blessing throughout all of this. When he told me that first night, I knew the purpose for all of our sufferings and I knew that whatever the outcome it would all be worth it. I told God that I trusted him and I truly meant it, but I sure am thankful that his will was for Zeke and I to live because being a mother is God's greatest gift. God well prepared me for all of this over the previous 6 years or so. He had been working on me really hard to prepare me for battle, sometimes we don't realize the lowest points in our lives can be for God's purposes, even though that may not be witnessed for several years. I am thankful for every valley we endured because it is all worth it, with so much to be thankful for here on earth, HEAVEN will be extraordinary!!!!! It is for these reasons that our son was dedicated to God on May 17, 2009!

9 Months Already????Where did the time go?

Zeke is 9 months old, time flies way too quickly. This past month has brought lots of new things. When Lauren and I were talking a couple of months ago, she told me the girls did everything when they were seven months old~crawled, pulled up, etc. That is how I feel about the time between eight and nine months. In the last month, Zeke has learned to move on his belly, crawl, sit up from crawling, go back to crawling from sitting, use his pincer grasp (a lil bit), pull up, cruise, sit down from standing, stand alone for several seconds, speak a few words, and spin on his bottom. We have all known he was strong willed from the very beginning, but this boy is stubborn to the core! Some would say well look at his parents, LOL. When he wants something you can not get him to forget it! His fav is to go after the dog bowl, once he was lapping water before I got to him (eight months ago I would have taken him to the dr for that, boy I have grown too!)LOL. He has some fav toys: his bat, snugglie, a baseball rattle, water bottles, the trim on his playmat, boxes, coolers, see a trend here......When it is time to change his diaper, you better have one of the above to keep him occupied or he will roll over sit up and stand up before you can get his diaper back on. He will stand up in his crib and cruise around it, he really loves to cruise, and I really love it in the crib where it is soft! One of his new things is to spin on his bottom or to bounce up and down while side sitting, these are both rather hilarious! We call it dancing when he is bouncing because he often does it when the music is on. Music is still his thing, it solves all sorts of problems! He would listen to music 24/7! We play it at night, sing to him when he goes to sleep and when he is awake, play it while he is getting ready, when we are in the car, and pretty much all the time! He really likes his kid CD's too! He is still not a huge fan of eating all the time. Some times he will eat 2 containers of food and other times just one, you can never tell with him. He loves sweet potatoes, banana fruits, and despises those peas! Cereal is still a fav too! He said Da Da for the first time on mother's day, but that was okay with me, I was just glad he gave me that! He is growing so fast, I can barely keep up! I am loving every minute of life!

May 12, 2009~Surgery?

Out by the pond at our hospital!

The prayer garden at Baptist is amazing! The rock says: In this place there is God!

Today was a long day. We started with a visit to the ped for a 9 month checkup, our final Hep B shot, and a check up on his ears. It was really hard for little man to be still long enought for the nurses to check the pressure on his ears, but with a remote, an extra nurse and me keeping his hand still, we got the job done, HA. When the doc came in, he told me that Zeke still had fluid in his ears, but that the infection had cleared up. He wants us to come back in a month to make sure the fluid is gone. He looked him over and played with him, once again he told us that he appreared ahead of the game as far as milestones. I fully believe he will keep impressing the docs, as he hasn't disappointed them yet! The doc told us to start some mashed foods and cereal puffs. We tried the puffs today and he loves them. He is still working on the pincer grasp, but will have that down soon! After that appointment, Zeke had lunch, we picked up Dustin, and we were off to Memphis to the orthopedic ped. On our way, we stopped by the hospital to visit with the nurses at the Antepartum unit where I was last summer. We had a great time visiting with them. Maybe eventually we will get around to seeing all of them! Next, we went on into Germantown for Zeke's appt. We had xrays first, it went better this time. We both went in with him, although Dustin was still the brave one to hold him down. I talked to him and kept him calm and he was done rather quickly this time. When Dr. Sawyer came in, he had great news! The bone he was showing us last time had begun to move more towards where it was supposed to be. He said our window for surgery is between 1 and 2 years of age. He thought last time that we would have it at 1 year and he now wants to wait and see if it continues to progress. If it continues to progress like it is now, he will probably just end up having a severe flat foot that will need to be surgically corrected in the first or second grade. Dustin and I sent up many prayers over his feet, as I know many of you did, thank you. God has blessed us so much!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is always a special day to me because my Mom and I have always been the best of friends, but this year I have a new reason to love it! Being a mom is the single greatest gift God has ever given a woman. My mom has been telling me for the biggest part of my life, "you will never understand how much I love you until you have a child of your own". To which I would reply, I love you more! She is so right though, it is such a different kind of love than you have for any other person. Looking back over the last few months, I am just so thankful for each and every day I have had with my lil man. On Mother's Day, we always gather at our house for supper (or late lunch). Dustin always cooks up some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, but this year the weather didn't allow for much outside cooking. I decided we would have Mexican, I cooked enchiladas and burritos and we had chips and salsa, it really hit the spot for everyone. Then we all watched a slide show I made for the mamas and grandmas (still have got to get one in the mail : ) .....Everyone had a great time watching Zeke do his tricks (as usual). What did we do for entertainment before Zeke, LOL?

Prom

Uncle Travis took Holley to prom, they met at our house for pics. Zeke was after Travis' rose, when he sets his mind to something it is hard to redirect him, however, we did get him to look at the camera for a few pics!

I can't do what?

March for Babies!

All I can say is don't put any limits on this boy, because he is doing it! He gets on his belly, crawls where he wants, and pretty much sits back up all on his on. He is doing something new and more on a daily basis. He is understanding what we say and has really started knowing us and what he wants more each day. Last weekend, we went to the March for Babies in Batesville and then on to the lake to take the pontoon out for a while. On Monday the 27th, I realized I had a very sick boy. It is amazing how as a mother, you just know. I took him to the doc Tuesday morning the 28th and all I could say is something is just not right with him (I kind of felt dumb because he didn't have a fever or much of a sniffle or cough). The doc proceeded to tell me from the sounds of that, he must be teething or have an ear ache. He started in his mouth and said his gums were swollen and it was probably what was wrong. Then he looked in his left ear and said all clear, and then to the right ear which he said was severely infected, poor baby. I knew something wasn't right, of course the doc reassured me it was always best to let them look at them because they can't always give you a for sure answer over the phone without looking at them. Last night, we went to Ron's to eat with Dad and Cyn and then to get groceries. Today has been spent watching him learn new things all day. He just finds ways of getting into places and things and I can't imagine how he does it. He is giving the best smooches these days, you can say give me kisses and he comes at you with his mouth wide open! So sweet. I am sad once again to go to work tomorrow, but I know my kiddos need me too so its worth it. Only 21 days left, if I have counted correctly! Just in case I don't post again before then, next Tueday the 12th is Zeke's ortho appt and nine month check up. Please be in prayer about his feet and his ear, thanks so much!