It's a BOY!

Yes for those who don't already know...we are having another baby boy. We are very excited! We did think we were having a girl since everything in this pregnancy has been completely different. We were a bit surprised when they said it was a boy but we are very pleased. I have a awesome little niece that I can spoil so we are ok with not having any girls. Plus when she is about 13 I can love her and send her home!


Things have been a little rocky this time around but it starting to look like everything is going to be just fine. They found some cists on the baby's brain that concerned them in my first sonogram so I have been seeing a specialist and had some blood work done and go back for another level 2 sonogram next Thursday to check the baby out again. Prayers have already been answered so we are just continuing to trust the Lord and his plan for our family.


Here are a few pictures of me at 20 weeks...These are for you Brooke! She has been asking for pics for the past 10 weeks. I love you Brooke :)

The best week!

I have had the best week ever! Starting out with the New Kids on the Block concert with my sister! Oh yes...you got it! The new kids baby!!! Aww it was the best. Go ahead and laugh but you know that deep down you are so truly jealous! Especially if you are in your mid-late 20's to early 30's! I never imagined it would have been that much fun. I was pumped about going but once I was there I was over the top! I still Love Donnie! ha! He is so hot! hahahaha...it definitely took you back to the good ol days! With hangin tough and Step by step...it couldn't get any better than this. The place was so packed with nothing but a bunch of screaming girls with their New Kid gear on that they pulled out from the 80's...remember the big 6 inch buttons?!?! You know you had one and you wore it on your stone washed jean jacket!!! There were even side pony tails and tight rolled jeans walking around that place!!! If that does not take you back! Ok so I really could go on and on about this b/c it was one of the best times I have had. Now did I ever think that the first New Kids concert I would go to would be in my late 20's and pregnant? No Never! But I was certainly not the only one!!! I couldn't keep track of all the pregnant women... there were so many. Ok so this is highly recommended if you can get to one of their concerts! Totally worth it... we got free tickets b/c unfortunately when we first look at the tickets they were $80 and decided not to go b/c I couldn't afford it at the time and then a friend of mine from work called me on Thursday and get ready b/c we are going to see The New Kids...I screamed like I was 10 years old again. Kendra and I had so much fun. It would have been worth spending the $80.

Congratulations Ry-Ry and Dindsey

We are proud to announce that Ryan and Lindsay are officially engaged. I can not believe that my baby brother is going to be getting married!! We are super excited and can not wait for the wedding in May. They are a very special couple and Lindsay is going to complete our family. We love you both-Congratulations!!!

Nothing much...

I don't really have to much to post about but I am tired of seeing my last title so I figured I would give a quick update. We went to the Dr today for my check up and to hear the heartbeat. Everything looks great and right on track. Breckin went with me for the first time to the Dr. because Dane had to work today. He did really good in the lobby while we were waiting b/c I bribed him with new colors and a Thomas the train coloring book!!!
However when we got to the back to see the Dr he decided that it was his turn to talk. I guess since he had pretty much sat in silence for 40 minutes he was tired of that and wanted to chat. But can you blame him? I mean I am 28 years old and it's almost impossible for me to sit that long without talking! So I guess overall you could say it was not too bad but I think next time he will probably go stay with Kiki! Which he would rather do anyways b/c that kid loves to go no where else more than to Kiki's house! He asks almost every single day to go over there. It was so cute the night before last when we were praying after I was done he said Brecky wants to pray. So of coarse I led him like always but then he wanted to do it all by himself so I sat quietly while I could see his little wheels turning trying to figure out what he was going to say. He remembers right away to pray for Mimi and Papa and Papa J and June. He then proceeded to pray for Kiki and Elya (ella) Bren Bren and then he started praying for Kiki's house. It was the cutest thing I think I have ever heard. Only b/c I know how passionate that little guy is about going to Kiki's house. Wait...before anyone feels left out he continued after that to pray for Maddi and Ryry and the rest of the family! I just love my little guys heart... You just wish and pray that it could stay that pure forever!

Elmo is not the only one that can use the potty!!!!

I never thought that something like this could be this exciting! Dane and I have been contemplating for a few months now on getting Breckin potty trained, especially after we found out we were pregnant. I will have to say for the past six months we have introduced Breckin to the potty but have NEVER been consistent...we sat him on it occasionally as if a 2 year old was just going to figure it out. I then realized that not only does the child have to be ready but so do the parents. My mindset had to completely change in order for this process to even begin correctly. After some great motivation from a good friend of mine whose child is in daycare we decided to take this head on. She had some great advice that was given to her from the daycare. We have just taken and followed the same schedule that she was given. So it came to this, now my mindset has changed and I am ready but what day do we start??? We had a very busy weekend ahead and yet I wanted to get started before I lost motivation. So Friday morning came and I had to make the decision...start today or wait until Sunday. The reason my decision was so hard was because we had the Women of Faith Conference this weekend that was Friday evening and all day Saturday. (I will post about the conference..b/c it was amazing)
So back to my decision... if I was not going to be here Friday night or Saturday that would leave my wonderful husband to be stuck with the hardest part of potty training...the beginning! Let me just say, if it was not for him I don't know how successful we would have been! He did such an awesome job and I am so proud of him for stepping up and taking on this not so fun and dreadful task! So onto more bragging.... we are now on day 5 and Breckin is successfully going to the potty...we have had one accident in 5 days. He is so smart he tells me every time he has to go!! I don't even have to watch the clock b/c he just tells me. This morning he even took it upon himself to run to the potty and sit on it all by himself and potty without even telling me that is what he was doing. I am so proud of my little buddy and the progress he has made in 5 short days. Now before you get completely jealous... we do have one problem. We can't seem to use #2 in the potty yet. No no...he does not use it in his underwear either. He just holds it. This poses one small problem b/c I don't want him to get sick. So we are working on this and just being patient that he will just eventually get it like everything else. If anyone has any advice on that issue I would love to hear.
I have been dreading this whole process for some time now b/c of all the negative things you hear and to be honest I was so scared b/c I am not the most patient person on this earth. However I truly believe that it has alot to do with staying calm, being patient and being consistent. I have also prayed about this alot because Breckin was very timid about the process at first and a little scared. I felt a little silly at first praying for something like this but God truly cares even about the small things b/c he has answered every single one of my prayers about this.
So congratulations Breckin you are such a big boy and I must say you are so darn cute running around in your little BIG BOY underwear!!! You are the most precious person I have ever met. With your sweet spirit and biggest smile you are truly the light of my life!

For those who don't already know.....

We are very excited! We have been to the doctor and everything looks great. We are due in March. Things have been very crazy around here between my very harsh case of morning sickness that has been going on for almost 4 weeks now to the lovely stomach bug that Breckin got last Friday that he then passed on to me, Dane, his 2 aunts and my mom. Anyone who has experienced a bad case of morning sickness knows how miserable you already are then to put a nasty virus on top of that...not the greatest combination. We are just now getting over the virus...I wouldn't wish it on anyone! We are so grateful that my mom was here...although she got a touch of the virus she was at least able to keep food down and move around enough to take care of Breckin. Unfortunately this all started the weekend of my birthday. We did get to enjoy a night out at the circus before we all got blasted with this illness. Breckin was the first to get sick so he was still not feeling well at the circus but he still loved it! Thanks mom and dad for taking us all to the circus for my birthday...it was a blast! I will try and get a few pictures of the circus up.. I forgot my camera but Breckin's aunt took some pics.
Well gotta run Breck's waking up from his nap!

Quick update

Ok I know I have been so bad at blogging lately I promise to get better... I am in a blogging rut. When I think about getting on to update my mind kind of goes blank so I move onto something else then I forget to come back and update. So with that said...

First and foremost...Baby Avery is out of the hospital and doing wonderfully. She is absolutely precious. Thanks for all the prayers...I know the family is very grateful.

Ok so now onto some very important questions... As most of you know Breckin is on his way to being 2 1/2... we finally moved to a big boy bed about a month ago or so... Breckin loved his crib so much we just kept him in there until we felt like it was time to move him on out. We got him new furniture and bedding to get him excited for his new move. Things have actually gone pretty good...that is except nap times. He does not ever refuse to go to his room to take a nap he just refuses to lay down and actually fall asleep. While we think he is in his room sleeping away, we walk in his room to find that he has decided to get out his clothes, shoes, every book he owns off the shelf and anything else he can get his little 2 year old hands on. This has been an on going battle for about 2 weeks now. So does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get this child to take a nap? Or do they grow out of naps? Gosh I hope not... my little buddy has always been the best nap taker until he got in his new bed. He is a 3 and 4 hour napper so I sure hate to see those go bye bye... let me know if you have any suggestions... any input would be great!

All I have to say is no one ever tells you this kind of stuff...new beds, potty training, tantrums... whoa... a little overwhelming at times I must say...but totally worth it.
I just can not believe that my precious, innocent sweet baby boy is showing me such attitude these days...What happened?!?! We were feeling like such successful parents, all proud of the parenting we had done so far and then boom...one day it was like what!?! Where did my angel go that was sweet and submissive to our authority... So I guess it's true what they say... 2 is not necessarily terrible but sure is trying! So I guess if you have any suggestions on parenting books that would be great too!

Please pray for baby Avery

Some of our dear friends, Kevin and Brandi had their sweet baby girl on Friday morning and she has been diagnosed with Group B strep. I just ask that everyone lift them up in your prayers for complete healing over this precious little angel. She will have to stay in the NICU until they get a negative read for the Group B culture and then will be released 10 days after that. She is at high risk for meningitis and phenomena so please pray against this. I will keep you posted as I receive information. Please keep this family in your prayers!

We miss you!

This is a special post for us today as we remember this very special woman! Today is Ann's birthday and even though she is not here with us to celebrate, we celebrate it in remembrance of her. She was such a loving mother, wife and friend. We all miss her dearly... Although Breckin never got to meet his grandma she left behind a legacy so huge that he will not only know who she was, but he will know everything she did for the Lord while she was on earth. When Breckin was born we shed many of tears wishing she was there to meet him, then it hit us...She did! She meet him before any of us. Then I kind of started worrying because it was always a joke that she would say she had prayed for Dane to have twin boys just like him...well not only did she pray that but now she is standing next to the Lord himself on the throne and anyone that knows Ann, you know she was putting her word in! However, although my husband was a little toot while growing up, she raised him to be a very godly, respectful, strong man of character. That is exactly what he turned out to be. She did such a great job and I can only pray that Breckin turns out to be that kind of man as well...he has the best role model!

We miss her a lot but she is exactly where she wanted to be! We know she probably has many jobs in heaven but we like to think one of them is being our guardian angel. It makes me smile to think of her sitting in the passenger seat of Dane's patrol car every night that he is at work and watching over my precious child as he sleeps at night.

So this is to Ann... Happy Birthday and we miss you so much!

Congratulations Uncle Ry-Ry!

Just wanted to leave a quick note to congratulate Ryan for his graduation from Texas Tech this weekend. He has completed his bachelors degree and has been excepted to Physical Therapy school! We are so excited for him and proud of him for pursing his dreams! He will do great in whatever he does because he has the heart of a servant.

We had a great weekend in Amarillo but a very busy one between the graduation and Mother's day but they were both great! We spent alot of time as a family and got to see some that we have not seen in awhile. It was definitely good times... We missed Dane though! He didn't get to come so that was the only crumby part of the weekend. So with that being said we were sad our weekend went so fast but happy to be back home with daddy!

Sorry it's been awhile since a post but now things are settling for a bit so back to blogging... I should have some new pics up soon.

Good times!

We had a great weekend despite the fact that Dane had to work this weekend. It was so nice to not have anything that we had to do. Breckin and I pretty much just hung out and got some great mommy/son time. He is finally at the age where I feel like I am actually hanging out with some one and not just talking to myself all the time. Although his answers usually only consist of 3 sometimes 4 words, it's still nice to get a response other than baa dada mama dog cat.... It's nice he can actually tell me what he wants with the simple response of yes and no, and you know for SURE if that is what he wants or not. He will quickly tell you no mama no! Kind of like when I do try and sit down to watch something on TV, he is very quick to say No mama NO TB....
Of coarse how could you continue to watch when you have your 2 yr old begging you not to. I must admit I have continued to watch a time or two but felt completely guilty the entire time so I didn't even enjoy it. I am sure it was trash too b/c really what is on TV these days that is not? (except Lost!) But Dane and I wait until he is bed before we watch that b/c we need complete silence! I will have to say though it's been really good for me b/c I used to watch entirely too much TV anyways. It's just sad that it would take your 2 year old to change that. But he has awaken me to so many things... that is what makes him so great! One night as I was rushing him off to bed b/c I had my mind full of things that I just "thought" must be done before I go to bed. So I get him ready for bed as usual, turned on this music and his stars, laid him down and went to rush out the door when I heard this little voice say " Mama" as I turned around he was standing in his bed with his arms out... I said "Yes baby" and he simply replied "Pray!" Immediately my heart sank! How in the world could I have gotten so wrapped up in these very In-important things that I didn't even pray for my baby like I do every night. Tears started to stream down my face as I prayed for this precious angel. What a blessing he is... It's amazing how we can get so caught up with all the "little" things and how quickly God can reveal it to us...and that he used my two year old to do that! It was very humbling and definitely made me think about my priorities a little more. Thank you Jesus for this wonderful little boy you created for us, and thank you for using him to teach Dane and I so much about life. He has taught me more about being filled with joy that any book I have ever read. We love you Breck!
Ok well better go, but I have attached some pictures of our great weekend... we baked a cake and played most of the time. Oh and yes that is his climber in the middle of my living room! I know most of you who know me are shocked that I would allow this to even be in the house since it was made for outside..however I am working on so much right now...that is another post in itself but just fyi for those who may not know, I am a little OCD about my house...however the Lord and I have been working together and he is actually healing me of this as it has at times taken over my life. But like I said that is a post in itself so I share more about that next time. I do want explain the table pic...Breck and I were watching Toy Story when all the sudden he slowly walked off but I didnt think anything about it b/c we had the gate up. When I turend around a few minutes later to check on him he was up on the table laying on his turtle watching the movie! It was too cute!

Pictures!

Ok so we recently just go our pictures back that our friend Heather took of the kids at Easter. She was also so kind to come out and take pictures of Dane's 30th birthday...yes that's right I said 30TH!!!! It's crazy that we are getting so old... the good thing is I will ALWAYS be younger than him and I use that to my advantage all the time! I think he is finally coming around to the fact that he is out of his 20's...it was a little struggle for him but he has now finally excepted it and can move forward. I will have to say I am so proud of him...He has been addicted to nicotine for several years(as long as I have known him). He successfully quiet dipping 4 days before Christmas and has NEVER touched it again. This was a HUGE step for him because he never thought he would be able to kick that nasty habit. So Congratulations baby...I am SO proud of you. However if you ask him, he will tell you it has not been easy but with lots of prayer and the fact that once he sets his mind to something he does not back down, he has been able to get through it. Thanks to everyone who prayed for this! Especially his wonderful sister who NEVER gave up on him quiting and made it her prayer focus even when his own wife started to doubt. Thanks Wendi!
Ok so enough of that...enjoy the new pictures...I will try not to over load you with them!

Rainy days!

Well our morning has been very unproductive. It's raining which I love however we just pray it stops before nap times and bed times! Our nights have always been great and we have gotten to sleep through the night since Breckin was 10 weeks old...that was until his latest awareness to thunderstorms. They have never scared him before so we are not quite sure what happened to cause such a huge transition for him to not even be able to stay in his room. This is very difficult for us because since the day Breckin came home from the hospital he has slept in his own room. However it seems the only way he can fall asleep when it's raining is if he is in our room. This is a problem for us because we worked so hard to keep him in his room for 2 years. So we constantly ask ourselves where is the line, because it seems that he is now finding any reason to be scared so that he can come in our room. As a mother it's pretty much impossible to not go get your child when they are crying this horrible scared cry, while calling your name. However Dane is a little more stern when it comes to stuff like this. When it's raining he understands but any other circumstances he is very set on letting him cry it out. As all mothers know...that is a joke. However I did finally try that method last night because there was nothing he should have been scared of and it worked. He cried for about 5 minutes and then went right to sleep. We think it might have a little something to do with us finally taking away his paci too! About 2 1/2 weeks ago we "lost" the paci and can not find it. Well unfortunately that is when we got those horrific storms and even I as a 27 year old was scared of. So we think just taking his security away probably didnt help matters too much. We are happy to say we are paci free though! He asked for it for a few days but we told him it went bye bye so now he says on occasion "bye bye baby paci" Now onto potty training! Yipee! Not really...we have already tried this once and it was miserable for both mom and Breckin. But he was only about 20 months when I tried so here we go with round two!

Let's get this thing started!

Ok so now that I think I have somewhat got a hang of this I will get started! Thanks to Jennifer Payne I have it figured out... Don't let me mislead you to think I figured it out on my own!
We are looking forward to the weekend. Dane is off so we have a weekend full of plans like usual. With him having to work every other weekend we have to cram everything into the weekends he is off. We are starting off with a little yard work. We have been working pretty hard at trying to get our yard under control and looking good. A few weekends ago my precious husband decided he was going to 'trim' the bushes... in his defense we had previously discussed getting rid of a few in our flower beds b/c we thought a few need to go... so he goes outside working so hard to impress me with his landscaping abilities, works ALL day on it and comes back to get me with excitement on his face of the huge undertaking he had just accomplished. As I go out to look my mouth drops open as I see my poor little bushes cut clear to the nub! What could have happened?? How did we have such a huge misunderstanding? He said that this is what he thought that I wanted... ??? Why? Why would I want this? We were trying to make our yard look good! He still didn't think they looked too bad (I don't know how he thought that??) so I just let it go... He was so proud of himself for tackling these huge bushes with his power tools so I didn't want to hurt his feelings. But THANKFULLY we went on a walk after dinner last night and were looking at every one's yards and then we finally crossed our house he said " I think I need to just go ahead and pull those bushes completely out"... In my head I was saying "Thank you Lord" but to him I just nodded and said...yes that would look nice. So we will hopefully get that done this weekend before he changes his mind!!! Stay tuned for pictures...I will definitely get some pics of these sadly, leafless bushes up so you can see!

Does this thing work?

Ok I think I am completly out of tune with this blogging stuff... I have no clue what I am doing. It looked easy but I am not thinking that it is. So really I just want to see if this is working now. I will be back later to really start blogging as soon as I can get this working!