Celebrating 11 years of parenthood

Today, our first born, Elizabeth Anne, turned 11 years old. She is such a sweet girl, and is becoming quite a young lady. She made us parents; we are so blessed. 

 

Elizabeth's top requests for her birthday were ribs for dinner and a guitar. Well, thanks to a very generous gift from her Godfather and Autie Shelley, we were able to make the request for the guitar a reality. I think it was his, and then my nephew Grant learned to play on it but then switched to an electric guitar, so this one has been in storage waiting for someone to play it. I took it in to the guitar shop and got it all cleaned up, restrung, and fixed a few broken pieces; bought her a strap and some pretty pink picks and a "how to" teach yourself book. I think she's digg'n it.

Elizabeth's friend Analise came over to help celebrate and was giving her a few pointer on a chord. Elizabeth hit a pretty wonky note, and they both giggled up a storm.

So I got a little inspired...  Before she had opened her presents, I tried to tell Elizabeth that the cake was her "guitar." She ended up confiding in me with tears in her eyes that she had stumbled upon the real guitar hiding in my closet earlier today. Poor thing was trying so hard not to tell me and ruin my surprise, but she couldn't take it anymore. Who could be made with such remorse? I must find a better hiding spot.

Happy birthday sweet girl. We love you.

 

Baby Collin update

Baby Collin and mommy are doing very well. He was able to be taken off the ventilator and now just has a little oxygen to  help him remember to breath. Megan got to hold him for the first time. It was such an honor and privelege to be there to witness. Collin was very awake while in Megan's arms and responded to Jesse's voice turning toward him as he talked. Being around all these tiny babies fighting for their lives is heartbreaking and humbling; I tried to fight back the tears, but it was no use. The nurses are taking wonderful care of these precious babies; they are truly the tender hands of Christ.

God Bless you Jesse, Megan, and Collin. We love you. Jesus, we trust in You.

Please pray for Baby Collin

My dear, dear friend Laura's daughter Megan delivered her baby Collin at just 33 weeks old. The doctors have been watching him very closely because of how small he was and found that the placenta was compromised and not providing him with enough of what he needed to thrive. Today they decided that he was doing so poorly that he needed to be born by cesarean. He was born about 5:45 this evening and weighs about 3 pounds. Megan made it through surgery fine and is recovering. Baby Collin is in the NICU and seems to be doing very well considering. He is not out of the woods yet, and this is going to be a difficult road for this young couple. Please join me in praying.

Jesus, we thank you for Baby Collin. Please bless him with good health and an abundant life. Blessed Mother, we entrust Baby Collin to your loving care. Bless Megan, Jesse and Baby Collin.

Pauly had a birthday

Actually, Monday was his  birthday, and he turned 8. He had a very busy and fun filled day. He opened presents in the morning with me and the kids. As you can see, he got a huge quirt gun. There's also a smaller one that he gave to Geoge, so they could tag team against the girls. Super cute!

Pauly has a little buddy Thomas. His birthday is the day after Pauly, so they usually have a litle celebration together. They both go to the same occupational therapist and are right after each other, so I made cupcakes for them to celebrate. Pauly was thrilled that they looked like baseballs. He is WAY into baseball, watching and playing.After O.T. Paul and Pauly headed downtown to pick up Pauly's Grandpa P.J. and his godfather Uncle Mark. From there they headed to the new Twins stadium. I think they were all equally excited; I wish I could have been a fly in the stands to see them and to hear the chatter and laughter.

Happy Birthday Pauly. We love you and are so proud of all your hard work and all your accomplishments over the last year. May God continue to bless you and you grow and learn more about Him and yourself. You're a great kid.

Summertime Fun

We went to my parents the other night, and my mom pulled out "the pool" for the kids. It's an old stock tank that they bought who knows when, nut they were tired of the plastic pools breaking and bought this one. Oddly enough, the kids have a ton of fun in it.

This past weekend, we headed up to my sister Mel's and her husband Tom's cabin. We brought a friend, "Bocker," so Pauly would have his own buddy to play with. It was Pauly's first time having a friend of his own sleep over and hang out with us for an extended period of time. They did awesome. Bocker is a very gentle, fun, patient and loving boy, and he did amazing with Pauly as did Pauly with him. So, yes six kids wasn't enough, I wanted to try my hand at taking seven kids on an overnight outing to the lake. It went fantastic, and we had a lot of fun. There was....

trampoline fun

boat fun

hay wagon fun ( 4 out of the 7 kids fell asleep)

fishing fun ( this was Bocker"s  favorite part, and Pauly really took to it; they even hugged- twice)

tractor fun (George is obsessed with keys and driving, so he loved helping Uncle Tom mow)

what kid can resist the tire swing- fun

Thanks for sharing your cabin with us Auntie Mel and Uncle Tom