Blessings

The Lord continues to bless our lives in so many ways.

We are so thankful for this precious blessing we received this year!

God is so good!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Baby Dedication

On Sunday, we had Hayden's baby dedication at our church. It was a sweet ceremony that introduced the 4 new babies, we as parents committed to raise our child in a Christian home, and the church family committed to model Christian beliefs as well. Each baby was given a New Testament Bible with their name on it, a certificate, and a Bible verse. Hayden's special Bible verse was "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord...for ye serve the Lord." Colassians 3:23-24

Hayden decided to be a little talkative during the ceremony. He "talked out" when the preacher was speaking, when we were praying, and when it was time to say Amen. It was priceless! After the ceremony, the children's choir sang a sweet song.

Hayden had many special people there that day that we are so thankful for! Special thanks to our friends Jeff, Jennifer, Landree, Hudson, and Cindy for coming and sharing this time with us! It was a special day for our family.

A few pictures from our day...

Hayden and his Daddy all dressed up ready to go to church.


The Ceremony...






After church, we went to Hayden's Nana and Papa's for lunch.

Hayden and his Papa...
I just love this picture! They love each other so much!


And what's a special day without a photo shoot?






Just plain tickled...(His daddy was making funny noises and jumping up and down for him.) You gotta love that toothless grin!

Too cool...

Hayden is too cool in his shades (Thanks cousin Pam)! We are loving having a place to enjoy the weather and go strolling!

We are a hunting family!

It's official! We are a hunting family! Hayden included!



A couple of weekends ago, we went back to the deer lease for opening weekend. The three of us went and my Dad was able to come down Friday evening as well. We had a great time!

Here are a few pictures of our weekend...

The travel trailer set up with all Hayden's gear!

The jumperoo, the pack-n-play, the bumbo, the boppy, and Hayden's bags.

Jeff and I took turns going hunting. I hunted opening morning and Sunday morning by myself. I saw several deer opening morning, but nothing worthy (yet!).
A picture from the stand...



Then, Dad, Hayden, and I hunted together on Saturday afternoon. We just brought Hayden's toys, his snacks (puffs and water), and a blanket for him to play on. He would play for a while, talk for a while, sit in my lap then Dad's lap for while, eat puffs, and he finally took a nap for the last 45 minutes or so. We thought we might actually see something after he fell asleep, but no such luck! Oh well, we had fun together anyway!




We had two night events that weekend. One on Friday night and one on Saturday night. Both had BBQ dinners, live bands, and chances to win prizes. Too bad we didn't win anything!

Jeff and his "Mini-Me" ready to go out...


People watchin! This place was packed! I think we are all exhausted by this point after a long drive in that day!


This is the second late night in a row for him! Bless his heart, he was so good! He slept through the loud band playing and this obnoxious announcer guy talking! But hey, he is still looking precious in all his camo!



All in all, it was a good weekend!

Jeff went back to the lease with my Dad and one of my twin nephews this past weekend. We thought it would be a little much for Hayden to make the trip again so soon. We plan to head back as a family in a couple of weeks!

Mom Update 11-17-09

Just thought I would update you on Mom. She did get to come home two Friday's ago. Thank the Lord for that! She is continuing to take dialysis treatments three days a week. This is really wearing her out! She hasn't really felt great this past weekend, even running a temperature on Saturday. We thought that she might be coming down with a virus or something, but she hasn't had a fever since. So hopefully it was just a fluke! Her immune system does not need one more thing to fight!

A lot of her swelling has come down off her legs and feet. But, her face seems to be more swollen. We aren't real sure why.

She has had a little trouble breathing this weekend too. Again, not sure what the cause is.

I took her on Friday to get a CAT scan of her heart. This is an issue I failed to mention on my initial post about Mom. There is a valve that isn't working properly. But, they weren't able to do it due to to her creatinine levels being above one. Remember, when she went into the hospital it was an 11? On Friday, it was between a 2 and 3. Still not where it needs to be, but sooo much better than it was! They also said that the drink she would need to take beforehand would just put more toxins in her body for her kidneys to have to work to get rid of. So...after almost two hours, no CAT scan!

She sees her oncologist on Wednesday.

Please continue to pray for her!

7 months

Yesterday, our little man turned 7 months old. How does it seem so far away when they are first born yet it comes sooooo fast?



What is Hayden up to?

Starting to scoot in a circle on his tummy.

Beginning stages of “rocking” on his hands and knees.

Still hasn't turned over back to front. Doesn't seem real interested in it. Ha!

Reaching for us with arms out in front of him instead of to the side.

Much more interested in his food and ours. When we are eating, he wants to be eating too!

Pretty much likes any baby food we give him. I did try avocado again tonight and he gagged and spit it out. He absolutely hated it. I haven’t tried carrots again though. We tried “Yo Baby” yogurt last night and finished it off today and he seemed to really like it.

Typically eats two meals a day other than nursing every 3 hours.

Drinks water from sippy cup after meals.

Loves his “jumperoo” (Thanks Eamon and Kelli)! He goes CRAZY in that thing!


Grabs anything and everything in sight! Especially hair!

Continues to put everything in his mouth! He especially wants to put every ones' hands in his mouth. YUCK!

Smiles and laughs all the time! He is so much fun!

Becoming quite a “Momma’s Boy”! Loves his Daddy lovin’ too!

Getting harder to rock to sleep. He is really strong and likes to turn circles in your lap. But, isn’t a big fan of just being put in his bed to try to go sleep either! Good times! (Although, he did it tonight!)

Usually takes at least one good nap a day (1-2 ½ hours). If he takes a longer nap in the morning, he usually takes a short nap in the afternoon.

Loves riding/sitting in the Baby Bjorn! This thing is a lifesaver! This is the only time he has ever fallen asleep in it. Doesn't look real comfy huh? He is so observant and just smiles at everyone walking by. Of course he always gets all kinds of attention. He just eats it up!


And...is officially a deer hunter! More on that to come!


I am thinking this sweet little innocent smile you see might look a little different next month. I am always hesitant to say he is teething if people ask, but I really think it is about to happen!


We love you Hayden Luke! You bring so much joy to our lives!

Hayden's Spare Time

What has Hayden been up to in his spare time?

Sitting up like a big boy all the time now! He will just sit for a long time and play with toys or even his toes or watch the dogs.



Hanging out with his Daddy! Hayden loves his daddy so much! His face just lights up when he sees him!



Hanging out with his Momma! (Wonder why he looks so much happier with his Daddy?) I am so lucky to spend every day with him. We have so much hanging out playing, reading, singing, dancing, etc.


Hanging out on Mommy and Daddy's bed while Mommy does "Mommy" stuff like put away laundry and clean out the closet.



Ok, so forgive me for the random picture post. Just wanted to post some recent pics I had taken!

Boys and their overalls!

Every boy has to have their first pair of overalls. Jeff picked this outfit out for Hayden. These super cute shoes were given to us by my friend Karen before Hayden was born. Hayden modeled his new outfit at church on Sunday. He usually just wears super comfy one piece outfits so he was quite fascinated the all the snaps, buckles, and zippers.

Church Nursery

Well, it was something we had dreaded. We were encouraged numerous times and asked when we would take Hayden to the church nursery. Frankly, we just weren't ready. We liked having him with us during church. He truly did pretty good most days. Yes, we have had to get up and walk into the hallway a couple of times. For some reason this was hard for us. We knew there were precious ladies in the nursery that would take great care of him. But, Hayden has not stayed with anyone other than my mom a few times and Jeff's mom a couple of times for short periods of time. So, we talked about it Saturday night. We again, talked about Sunday morning. Jeff really wasn't ready to let him go. Sweet Daddy! Anyway, we took Hayden into church with us on Sunday. Jeff was holding Hayden during announcements and the two of them started reading Jeff's bible during this time like he always does. Jeff is not a singer, so he typically reads the passage for the sermon during singing. Seriously, Hayden looked like he was reading the bible too. After a couple of songs, Hayden started getting antsy. So, Jeff took him into the hallway and I joined him shortly thereafter and we just decided to go for it. We took him to the nursery.

Well, we handed him over and he started crying. He cried and cried and cried. They had their hands full at the time. There were three other babies in there that all needed bottles at the same time. Hayden did not, but was in need of a nap. Jeff was sweating and we were both pacing the in the tiny corner trying to not let him see us. Well, we gave it about 5 or 10 minutes (seems like a lifetime when your baby is crying) and I went in to get him. If I didn't, Jeff was going to. Bless his heart, he is such a protective Daddy and can't stand to listen to his baby doll cry. So, I ended up staying in there with him for the remainder of the time. He wasn't real happy, but wasn't crying either.

So, the point of the story...we tried. The ladies were so sweet in the nursery, but Hayden just wasn't having it. Maybe we will try again soon. We know it would be good for him to have exposure to other people keeping him and to be around other babies his age. But...it's hard for Mommy's and Daddy's!

Did anyone else struggle like we are?

Going through the change!

It was something we heard about. Going through the change from being only breastfed to beginning to eat solid foods. This is the reality of a daddy changing his first "solid food" diaper. I warned him and couldn't wait for him to get his turn. I walked in and he had his nose covered up waving the air in front of his face and had used about 10 wipes. Ohhh....all I could do was laugh!

Mom Update 11-3-09

Good news to report!

It looks like that Mom should be coming home the end of the week. She will have another dialysis treatment on Thursday and should come home on Friday. She continue her dialysis treatments closer to home 3 times a week. Her kidneys seem to be working again somewhat. Not as they should by any means. But, we are optimistic! Her creatintine level when she got the hospital was an 11. Normal is around 1. It is a 5 right now. So we are moving in the right direction!

Happy 1st Halloween Hayden!

What was Hayden for Halloween? Well, he dressed up in his Halloween Pajamas and pretended to be a little boy who slept through the night! Ha!

Mom Update 11-2-09

I can't thank you enough for your kind and compassionate words and most of all, your prayers, after my last post about Mom. I thought I would give you an update.

The good news...Since Saturday, it seems as though Mom has felt better. I haven't seen her since Friday, but I noticed that there was a huge difference in her ability to communicate with me on Saturday. She actually talked to me for quite a while without falling asleep or saying crazy things that didn't make sense. Her "jerking" mannerism has subsided as well. Since then, she has had 3 pretty good days. She went for a walk last night, has been sitting up in the chair, was able to take a real shower yesterday and got her catheter out today. That has to make anyone feel better!

The not so good news...The doctor told her that she may be feeling better on the outside, but her kidneys are not much better on the inside. Basically they have an infection and he said that it would be a long road ahead either getting the kidneys to function again if they even would. He doesn't know when she might be able to come home. They are looking at a possible rehab facility where she could continue to get the dialysis treatments for now. They are also monitoring the fluid build up on her lungs. They did an x-ray today to look at the fluid. I am not sure what the outlook on that is right now.

So, I ask you to continue to pray! I will keep you updated...

Deer Lease Adventure #1

A couple of weekends ago, we decided to take Mr. Hayden on his first trip to the deer lease. For a 6 month old driving 5 hours in the car, he did pretty well! We only really had to stop once each way to feed him.

Once we got to the lease, Jeff got our camp site set up and Hayden and I relaxed with Nanny and the dogs!



Friday evening after we got settled, went to town to eat at our local favorite restaurant "The Beefmaster". It is truly a hole in the wall place that the boys always want to go to. Nothing like going to the "beef" master to eat the fish buffet. They had things like gizzards, livers, and frog legs...YUCK-O! I stuck to the fried fish, hushpuppies, and potatoes!

Hayden and I pretty much hung out in our camper or my parent's camper the entire weekend. Not a real exciting weekend for Hayden and I, but the boys had fun hog hunting every night. Jeff bow hunted a couple of times, but didn't get anything.

We are excited to head back for opening of the regular season this weekend. It will be the first time I have been able to attend to the two local night events they have. They give away tons of great prizes (four wheelers, gift cards, rifles, etc.). It's always fun to get a good free meal and have a chance at winning some prizes!

An exciting day at the mailbox!

Thursday was an exciting day at the mailbox. Hayden got his first piece of mail. Two pieces actually! He was so excited (so excited he decided to eat it) to open up his first Halloween card from his Nana and Papa (Jeff's parents) and he also got a sweet "First Thanksgiving" bib from his friend Barrett. Barrett's mom, Amy, said all the Halloween bibs looked "sissy" so we got a Thanksgiving one instead. We love it! Thank you!!