Meet the Amish...

We went to a cosutme party Saturday night. We won Most Creative for the 2nd year in a row. Enjoy the pics!!!

This year....the Amish.

Last year's pic...Jacoby was a basketball player and I was the three point shot! Yes that is my real pregnant belly painted as a basketball!

He cares about the little things....

God, as we all know, can do BIG things. My son is proof of that...he has been healed of cancer at the hands of his Heavenly Father. But just when I start asking God for help with the BIG things, he takes care of those and reminds me he IS concerned with the little things in our lives too.
Before this trip most of you know I got a call from MD Anderson Hospital letting us know that Deacon was not allowed on the premises of the hospital due to H1N1. No children under 12 were allowed-no exceptions, not even a nursing baby who refuses a bottle. Braydon was having 5 appointments including being put to sleep for an MRI that would take place over a course of 7 hours. I obviously was concerned about how we would pull that off. Jacoby would be in the hotel with Deacon but what would we do if he just screamed and cried and refused the pumped bottle. Of course I was going to be with Braydon...he needed me more at this particular time. All the scenarios of what could/would happen were running through my mind. On top of that, the hotel we usually stay at which is connected to the hospital by a sky bridge, was booked and I was unable to get a room, even though I called two weeks before the appt. Everything was just looking stressful and like the trip was not gonna be good.

Not only did our trip go well, it went GREAT. Better than I could have ever imagined. God was in every detail. GOD IS SO GOOD. On the way there we made such good time that we decided to go down to the beach at Galveston for a couple of hours. I got some amazing pictures. We were so impressed with the hotel we unexpectedly ended up at that we plan to stay there from now on. Everything went so smoothly at the hospital with Braydon's appts that we even had an unexpected two hour break between the 3rd and 4th appointments. I got to go back to the hotel and nurse Deacon so there was never a problem with him having to take a bottle. I was able to nurse him right on schedule. GOD IS GOOD.

The MRI which was being conducted to ensure the shunt in Braydon's brain is functioning properly, not only showed the shunt to be functioning properly but that the white matter abnormalities in the brain (caused by chemo) had decreased in size. HAVE I TOLD YOU GOD IS GOOD?! And to top it all off everything went so smoothly the whole day at the hospital that we were done by 3 pm and got to head home a whole day early!

So nothing but good reports again!!! Even though I know how much he loves us I still get blown away by how much he cares about the "little things". Be Blessed friends! Enjoy these pictures from the beach!!!

These are the words I would say...

Mommy wow, I'm a big boy now!

Look what I can do.....

sit up.....and crawl!

and I have two teeth!!

A wasted trip....

We left yesterday morning to go to MD Anderson in Houston for Braydon's Nuero-Psych testing. We got all the way to the Woodland's 30 miles north of Houston and Braydon spiked a fever of 102.5. SO I called the clinic and let them know. They felt the same way I did. For one, Braydon didn't need to be up there exposing all those children on chemotherapy with weakened immune systems to whatever he has. And two, he wouldn't perform well on the testing if he wasn't feeling his best. Se we had to cancel our reservations at the Rotary House, find another hotel in the Woodlands where we had made this discovery. Then drive all the way back home this morning with nothing more accomplished than blowing money on gas, hotel and eating out! FOR NOTHING! It's all just a little frustrating. BUT God is GOOD. We made the best of it. We are back home safe and sound and we are going to visit Dr. Conner tomorrow to check Mr. Braydon out! Say a prayer against the flu, for quick recovery and that Deacon doesn't get it!

A Worthy Cause

On Saturday we went to Longview to the East Texas Angel Network Meet-n-Greet with Neal McCoy. We go every year the last weekend in September which is called the Angel Weekend. If you didn't know, Neal is an amazing philanthropist. ETAN is his charity. It provides financial support to over 200 families from Northeast Texas that have children with life-threatening, debilitating diseases. He keeps it local which I think is awesome! During Braydon's treatment, our family was a recipient of some of that help. So the last weekend of September every year he and some of his "friends" get together and meet their "angels". Past friends over the last four years have included: Charlie Pride, Jamie O'Neal, The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Kevin Sharp, Joe Nichols, Jack Hanna...the list goes on! Below are pics from this year's event...

Me and Braydon with Neal McCoy

Me and Braydon with Kevin Sharp. Kevin Is married to Neal's wife's sister. They are brothers-in-law. Yes that is Jack Hanna behind me-he is signing Braydon's book.

To donate to this worthwhile charity to change to lives of sick kids in the North East Texas area go to http://www.easttexasangelnetwork.com/

Ready Set Crawl!

Sometime back in the first part of the summer, I received a call from Ina Gore, the Hopkins County Fall Festival Board President. She asked me if I would be interested in hosting the 1st Annual Baby Crawling Contest during the Fall Fesival which is always held the third week of September. I gladly accepted and MOPS sponsored the event. The event was a big success and exceded my expectations. It was so much fun to be a part of. Winners below are left to right: Jacie Boles 2nd place ($25 gift card to VF Outlet), Kylee Fatland 1st Place ($100 Gift basket from Paris Baby), Mazie Ferrell 3rd Place ($50 gift certificate to Sellebrate Kids!). Enjoy the pics!

I am looking forward to hosting the event next year.

A day of firsts...

Today Deacon had a lot of firsts...
his first tooth broke through the gumline. I couldn't get a picture of it because when I tried to open his mouth with my finger to take a pic he would just lick all over my finger and his tongue was in the way.
He took a sippy cup for the first time. 1 part juice, two parts water, HE LOvED IT!!! And cried real tears when it was gone!

He also went to his first Fall Festival/Stew Contest. He has NO IDEA how many of those are in his future. I have lived here for 22 years and still look forward to it every year! Daddy and Deacon at the Fall Festival below.

And he also did his first set of push-ups today. I am just so glad the camera was close by. This is a million-dollar shot!
So glad you are all here with us for our firsts!!!!

Brothers

I am so thankful for two little boys who adore each other so much. I am delighted that they are each other's favorite person. First thing when Braydon wakes up he asks where Deacon is. When Deacon wakes up he starts looking around the room and smiles with pure joy as Braydon dances into his sight. When they play in the floor squeals of delight are music to my ears. Deacon loves to grab Braydon by the shirt or hair and hold on tight to his best friend. And though Braydon complains he always goes back for more kisses even though they are always open-mouthed and involve lots of slobber. And though Deacon fusses when Braydon spends too much time too close to his face, I see a look of gloom take over when Braydon bounces off down the hall to go to his room. Braydon asks every night and can't wait for the day when Deacon can sleep in his bed with him. I know Deacon feels the same way and he just can't say it yet. They are so different yet so much alike. I can't hold one without feeling like I am holding the other.
My prayer is that they are always so involved in each other's lives. That there is never a day they don't talk. That they are never too big to hug each other. May they never let any one come between them and are always each others encouragers, cheerleaders, and accountability partners. May the Lord bless them with too many memories to count and may they be told over and over to their children and grandchildren. Memories that make them laugh, memories that make them cry. I hope they never compare themselves to each other or anyone else. Let them be there own person, yet always have common interest. May they desire live close to each other and have their families together regularly. I pray holidays are always spent together and a big time but not a big production. I hope if things aren't right in their lives, that they go to the Lord first and to each other next. And most importantly I pray that they always know how much they are loved. by God, by their parents, and by each other.

Football and Homeschool

We love us some Wildcat football. We all went to the first two games and Jacoby went to last night's game in Wichita Falls. Here are two of the cutest Wildcat fans ever. Braydon favorite part of the whole game is when they run out of the tunnel....not exactly football action but fun for him!

Jacoby made an amazing catch to get this ball for Braydon. He had Deacon in one arm and jumped up and caught the football with the other arm! We may have to put him on the team! Braydon was VERY proud of his Daddy! Homeschool is going well and Braydon is making some great improvements. This year we are focusing on handwriting, phonics and math. Gotta get those basics down before we can move in to 1st grade! Here are some math worksheets. We are using Math-U-See for our math curriculum and he is doing great at it!

Reading is a little harder for him so be praying for that!