Thatcher's Story

Thatcher's Story
I didn't want this to get lost in my list of posts, so I am creating a place so that everyone can easily access this link. Please read this touching story about baby Thatcher, our friends son who was born with a rare liver disease and is in need of a liver transplant. Jessie has worked closely with Brad for over 4 years and I became friends with her while working at WSA until I left last spring. Thatcher was born a month before Braden and this story really hits home for me. When I look at Braden I think about how incredibly lucky I am. This could just as easily be our him going through this. Jessie will most likely be the living donor for Thatcher and they are in need of our prayers! I promise you will be touched by reading this story. Thanks!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Baby T #2 on the way!


We are making it official...WE ARE PREGNANT! I am currently 12 weeks along and the due date is September 5th. Since we know we will be repeating a c/s this time, it might be more like the end of August (depending on how miserable I am at the end of the summer...LOL). We are very excited, as is Connor who talks about his "baby sister" all the time. I truly hope he gets his wish, but we have been trying to prepare him that he might get a brother instead. This pregnancy has been completely different so far. Instead of morning sickness...it was night sickness. Good that I felt fine in the mornings and at work, but not good because as soon as I got home I would crash on the couch and am not such a fun Mommy! All foods are off limits at night, which has made cooking near impossible. Ask my husband how many times I have prepared a meal in the last 3 months. I have also had migraines, which has given me much sympathy to the people who deal with these often. The first time I had one, it was the worst pain I have ever had. The first trimester nausea is wearing off now...thank you Lord! However, this weekend my allergies have starting acting up so I am not looking forward to the long spring ahead. I am prone to at least 5 sinus infections a year and I hear that it is worse when you are pregnant so I am trying to prepare myself for that. I am calling the doc tomorrow to try and find some safe medications to take. The netti pot is just not going to cut it. It has helped somewhat though.

I am sure most of you know, but we had a miscarriage last year and that made this pregnancy much more stressful for me. I am so glad to be moving into my second trimester this week, however I am sure I will still worry. If you know me very well, you know I am not a worrier. This has been all new to me, but I know God is in control and as of right now everything is going great! We have already had two ultrasounds and my doctor is letting me come in every 3 weeks so that I feel better about it. I just love my doctor!

Last but not least...the other news is that I am leaving work in April to be a stay at home Mommy! I am so excited, but I know this is going to be an adjustment. I don't think Connor really understands it yet. I am so thankful and blessed to have the opportunity to do this. We will definitely have to make some changes in our lifestyle, but I know it will be worth it and I really want to spend as much time as I can with them while they are little. Connor only has two more years until he goes to school! I know Connor will miss all of his friends and Mrs. Betty, but we will just have to go and visit often! The reason I am leaving in April is because Betty is due with baby #4 on April 16th, so that just means that I get a little time with Connor before the baby comes which will be perfect! Congrats Mrs. Betty!!! We have been so blessed to have you these last three years and I definitely couldn't have gone back to work without you...we love you!

I will keep you updated now that the news is out...AND try to post more often. Now you know how I have been spending all of my time!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Superman-mechanic-farmer!

I never know what Connor might want to wear these days...on this night it was a Superman cape, his goggles, farming gloves and boots. He started by building a fire (this is the pile of toys that you see behind him in the first picture) and then we had to pick up the cow poop in the living room. He wanted me to help but I explained that he was the only one with the gloves and I don't pick up cow poop with out gloves! :) It is so funny to see what he comes up with next. The other day he got my stretchy headbands and he was "roping" all of his farm animals. We have chickens, pigs, and cows. He also tried to "rope" Cooper which didn't work so well.







Making Cookies with Nonna







Nonna came up to spend the day with us on Friday. Connor and Nonna had fun making Valentine cookies and decorating them for everyone to enjoy!



Connor's new hiding place







Monday, February 1, 2010

Our "snowed in" mini vacation

How funny that my last post was written after the last snow that we had. However, this time we actually did get a really pretty snowfall. It started snowing on Friday mid morning and started accumulating pretty fast. We went out to play and this is when all of these pictures were taken. It was still snowing pretty hard and blowing sideways, so when you were facing a certain direction you got blasted by snowflakes right in the eye. Connor did NOT like this at all. I had to shield him by walking in front of him when we went a certain direction. The snow was too powdery to make a good snowman, so we did the best we could by making some snowballs and had a few snowball fights with each other and the neighbors. Connor also rode his truck down the road to see how well it would go in the snow, however when he had to turn around to come home the snow was blowing in his face of course. Brad had to carry him and his truck all the way home. We played for about an hour, but since Connor didn't have good gloves suitable for the snow his little hands were so red so we came in. Connor went down for a nap and didn't wake up until after dark. We knew that we were supposed to get some ice that night, but we didn't know just how much! When we woke up you couldn't even break through the ice and snow. It was like a solid inch of ice on top of everything. Needless to say our plans for playing in it and building a snowman were dashed. We don't have a sled, which is a shame because it was perfect weather for sledding. We decided (well Brad decided) that we needed to venture out on the icy roads and go the grocery store. We hadn't planned on being iced in and were running low on milk. The school beside the store has a huge hill and we saw lots of people sledding so we decided to go and watch. Connor loved watching, but watching was all he was interested in doing. Some of our neighbors were there and offered to let him use their sled but he was not interested! After that we thought that since we had come that far we would venture over to a friends house and see what they were up to. We ended up staying for dinner and needless to say it was dark when we thought about leaving. They tried to talk us into to spending the night but we weren't prepared at all. So we headed home...against my better judgement. We made it just fine, but I was on pins and needles the whole time. Brad is a really good driver in the ice but it still scares me to death. On Sunday we did absolutely NOTHING. It was a wonderful weekend of being snowed in, but I would be lying if I said that I am sick of it now. I am so ready for spring/summer!!! Brad says that I am a party pooper... What can I say, I am a sundress and flip flop kind of girl!

Connor is the only car on the road...
Snowball fight!

Uh Oh..I knew this wasn't going to be good...
Just as I suspected.
Connor was very angry at his Daddy!
I talked Connor into throwing some snow in Daddy's face for payback.

Poor guy.

Cooper absolutely loves the snow. He has since he was a puppy. When we let him out the door he dives into the snow. Here is a series of pictures of him trying to eat a snowball.


Yum, yum!

The next morning.
Poor Cooper was slipping and sliding everywhere. It was like a skating rink.