Today the boys started Vacation Bible School and they really enjoyed it! We are home now and Austin is complaining of his stomach hurting. I have wanted to take him in anyways because he always seems tired. I have an appointment this afternoon at 4:00PM. Other than that everyone is ok. I am feeling better but still had no idea what was wrong. Very strange!

We have had so much fun fishing just about every night! I am enjoying being home with the boys this summer too! Better put Hayden down for a nap before we go to the doctor.

Simple Happiness

My boys amaze me everyday! They are so sweet and caring and love me and each other to no end. They were on the floor playing together and Hayden was in his swing drinking a bottle. Austin came over to give Hayden a toy too. He wanted Hayden to be included in their play time too! They race upstairs everytime Hayden gets up from a nap or in the morning just to see his face and give him a kiss. They absolutely adore their little brother! It amazes me with the age difference and the fact that they have each other to play with. I feel so blessed to have these boys. I cannot imagine a moment without them. Hayden just thinks the world of his older brothers because they give him so much love and attention. It is amazing to watch and be apart of such a beautiful family everyday.

Hayden's One Year Pictures

Hayden, Austin and I went to Portrait Innovations to get pictures done. I am finalizing everything for Hayden's first birthday party!! I am done now except for some presents. It feels good to have everything ready to go.

I still cannot believe in one month he will be 1 years old. It feels like he was born a couple months ago. Hayden is such a "ham"! He is my happiest baby and by far the most active. He will not sit still. He crawls and pulls up on everything. He is standing by himself and trying to take steps. Pretty good for a little boy who was born 2 months early!!! He is saying "mama", "dada", "Tae" (for Trae), "bye, bye, bye", "hi" and a bunch of baby talk. He is wearing 6-9 month clothes and some 3-6 month shorts. His body is just like Trae's was at that age.

Here are some pictures from the other day!

Busy Days!

Today the boys and I cleaned up some. They cleaned their toys off the stairs and the gameroom! Austin vacuumed the stairs (fun to him) and Trae got out all the arts and crafts. Gaga came over and bought them a slip n slide and some water guns, they had fun doing that and swimming in their pool all day. Hayden wants to play with them so bad! He really wants to be wherever they are and he wants mommy to come too. I made Pot Roast and vegetables tonight and Austin and I made chocolate chip cookies too!

We hung out with Gaga and Emmi yesterday and had a good time. Emmi is so precious and so big! She is a tall little thing!! She isn't too sure about other kids yet....when Hayden would scream out of joy she would cry. Must be a little girl thing..?? She has beautiful blue eyes and her hair is really coming in!

Yesterday the boys also got a surprise from mommy. They have been so good lately and so sweet so I bought them each a baby bunny at the Pet store. Our Thumper died last Thanksgiving and we have all wanted another one since then. We still had all the stuff so all we needed was the bunnies. This time I got two so they wouldn't get lonely. They named them Brownie and Theodore. These are the 10th names for them so far...they keep changing every 10 minutes. Hopefully something will stick soon. I am so blessed to have such sweet, loving, cute boys! They are the best.

The older boys just got out of the shower and are running around here naked, I better get them some pajama's and underwear.

The boys are growing up so fast! In a couple months Austin will be starting Kindergarten, Trae will be starting 1st grade. They both will be in football, Austin-flag and Trae-tackle. Hayden is now 10 1/2 months old and will be 1 years old in a month and a half!!!! Time sure does pass quickly when you have kids. You stay so busy all the time.

Trae is finishing up school, it is almost over. Austin has been doing great and really hasn't gotten sick since he had his tonsils and adnoids removed. Trae seems immune to pretty much everything now. Hayden has been doing great too. He has been crawling for a month and a half and is pulling up on everything now. He wants to walk so bad! He also wants to feed himself and fights you for the spoon.

Hayden said "mama" for the first time on Saturday. Now he says it all the time!! Yea! Hayden is eating some table food and still loves his baby food. I would say his favorite fruit is Bananas and his favorite vegetable is carrots. He is still drinking his formula but not for much longer. He is wearing size 6-9 month clothing and size 3 shoes. His hair is coming in slowly but surely and is blonde. He still has the dark green and brown eyes but that could change....

I better go, the baby is up!

Please pray for sully!

Here is his story from his website:

Sullivan 'Sully' Farrar was born May 1, 2007. Our little man was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on July 12, 2007. Sully's journey began on July 11, 2007. It was a day like any other day. Jason got up and went to work, and Hannah, Sully, and I were on a mission to find a Scooby-Doo backpack for Hannah. Sully, Hannah, and I went to Toys 'R' Us, Target, and then met Jason for lunch. As the day went on Sully began to eat less. I noticed he just was not quite himself. That evening we went to church and this is where it all began. My friend, Christina, was holding Sully when he vomited all over her. I called Sully's pediatrician and they said to take Sully to the ER because he probably had a stomach bug. So, Christina and I left church and went to the ER. I called Jason and he was on his way to meet us. Little did we know what we were going to learn about our little man . The pediatrician on call ran all the right tests that night. She did blood work, an ultrasound, and x-rays. During the ultrasound Sully began to develop purple bumps on his head. That is when I knew something was terribly wrong. Not long after, the pediatrician came in and told Jason and I that Sully had leukemia. She said that his white blood cell count was 400,000. About an hour later we were on our way to St. Jude. The next day Sully was diagnosed with ALL. We were told Sully was born with leukemia and that he only had a 15% chance. Sully has been on this journey ever since.

I was laid off from TWL Knowledge Group. They were told by the investors to cut the workforce in order to keep the doors open. There aren't many left now.... I am doing ok, I truly believe everything happens for a reason and I am moving on from there. I will probably stay home with the boys for a while and do some work for a friend. I am keeping my options open and hoping the best is to come.

Hayden was put on an antibiotic about 2 weeks ago and it caused him to have horrible diarrhea. He still has it and has lost almost 3 lbs. He cannot keep anything down. I have been to 2 doctors and they say it is from the Suprax (antibiotic). He still has his ear infection too! They told me to stop the oral antibiotics and they gave him a shot yesterday afternoon. He started running a fever last night of 103 but the doctor didn't seem too concerned if it came down within 40 minutes. She said he will probably have diarrhea one more week!!! I am really shocked he isn't dehydrated because as soon as liquid comes in....it comes right out. I have to take a stool sample to the doctor today to make sure the antibiotic didn't cause an intestinal infection. I will keep you all updated! Love you.

I am so glad it is the weekend!!!! I need a little break from the stressful work week. We are all well and hopefully this will be a fun and relaxing couple of days.

I haven't been sleeping good AT ALL!! I hurt my back a couple weeks ago and have been dealing with that pain. No matter what position I get in that muscle just continuously cramps.... I went to the doctor on Thursday and they gave me a muscle relaxer. She told me to take a half of one and I only took 1/4th. I read the side effects and it said it could cause anxiety. Well, at 12:00 at night I woke up with my heart racing! Sooo, I won't be taking any of those again. I will just stick to the IB profen and heating pads.


New pictures of the boys coming soon!

Baby Ethan

This past weekend Ethan Powell passed away. I did not personally know this family but followed their story daily. This little boy was diagnosed at 2 months old with Leukemia. Since that moment he fought to live. So many others were praying all over the United States, he touched all of our lives. Ethan was here for a reason, his life had a purpose. We have to find a cause/cure to end all cancers. We have to do something to make things easier on the parents who live at the hospitals. There is so much more that can be done and hopefully will be done soon.

This Saturday, April 12th is the funeral. The family is asking everyone to wear blue that day for Ethan's "Going Home Party". The family wants to celebrate his life, celebrate his legacy. After the funeral there will be a "blue" balloon release. Wherever you are, gather a blue balloon and release it for Ethan and the other children who are battling this disease. Write a note, quote, saying, whatever you feel. The family asks that you also include: Mark 11:21-22 and "I BeLIeVe"

Hold your family close, kiss your kids everynight and cherish what time you have with them. We don't know when it will be our turn to say goodbye...or if we will get to say goodbye. We all have a purpose. Live your life to the fullest, find happiness, love, and laugh daily!

Sully is another little baby boy who is battling Leukemia. He too is at St. Jude in Memphis. He is currently in ICU and was right down the hall from Ethan. Please keep this family in your prayers and pray that Sully has the strength to continue to fight this cancer. Please pray that he gets back on the vent from the oscillator. This means he is getting better! He needs to go back on the vent before they take him off the oxygen completely. You can visit his website at http://www.sullivanfarrar.com/

TORNADO IN LITTLE ELM...can't tear us down....

This past Monday we had a big scare. Around 2:00 PM storms started popping up all over the metroplex and by 3:00 we had one tornado in Little Elm and another one in Frisco. They were trying to touch down but I guess they didn't have quite enough power. Paul was stuck on the highway, the police had it blocked and the Frisco tornado was right in front of him. He could see it trying to spiral but it would start to go down and then come back up. I have a TV in my office and I am watching all of this on the news and scared for my boys. Trae is terrified of tornadoes for some reason and I was more worried about his emotional state of being than anything. I called a friend of mine who lives about 2 streets behind me and she said the sirens were going off, they had golf ball sized hail and they were all taking cover in the closet. Trae was at his after school care and they were all taking cover in the bathrooms. Austin and Hayden were at the sitter's house and they were all taking cover in the bathroom/bathtub. I have to say that is one of the worst feelings in the world to be away from your kids and not be able to protect them. To have to solely rely on their caregivers to protect them. Paul was released from the highway and he went to get Trae at school. By this time the storms had passed and the sky was bright and beautiful...like nothing had happened. I called and Trae told me that when they were down in the tornado drill position a kid next to him said "if I die, I hope I go to heaven." Trae said he started thinking "if I die, I will never get to see my mommy again." He said that he started crying but no one could tell because all of their heads were down. Ok, after hearing that... my heart just broke.....
How am I so blessed to have 3 of the most wonderful boys in the world? How am I so lucky? If I could have one wish, it would be to grow old and watch my beautiful boys grow into respectable young men. To see all of my hard work pay off! Everyone was fine and I am glad it is over. My family, extended family and close friends mean everything to me. I have come to realize in my 29 years that without that you have nothing. When I look at my boys every morning I honestly feel like I have won the lottery! The biggest and best gift I could ever receive in life. Nothing will ever compare. I have the best family anyone could ask for. The Lord has been so good to me. I remember when I was a little girl I thought I was so special because God had put my half-brother Trae in my life. I felt like he chose him especially for us. I still feel that way. Who I am today has alot to do with my brother, he taught all of us so much while he was here. He is missed and loved everyday. Life isn't always easy and I don't think it will ever be easy. I believe everything happens for a reason...good and bad...big and small....so many lessons to be learned. I have grown so much and grown so close to the Lord. I know he has a purpose for me and I pray that I live up to that everyday for the rest of my life.
Please continue to pray for Ethan Powell, he really needs your prayers right now. Go to www.ethanpowell.com for the latest updates. God Bless!