My Three Sons

God Bless You Baby Evan!

AAAAAHHHHHHHH CHOOOOOOO!!

He's come a long way!

30 Nov 2007-Evan is 4 days old and weighs under 2 lbs. Notice he is wearing Daddy's wedding ring as a bracelet.


28 March 2008-Evan is 4 months old and about 8 lbs.

Look at this little baby face!

Brothers

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.
-- Marc Brown

We Know We're Gonna Miss This

I know you may not be a country music fan but if you listen to the words to this song....it really fits our life. You can play the song on the player at the bottom of my blog. It is Trace Adkins-YOu're Gonna Miss this. The lyrics are down below.

I find myself...(especially this week during Spring Break when I've got all three kids home)..wishing our lives to the next stages...if you know what I mean.
We've got a 4 1/2 year old, an almost 3 year old and a "2 month old" preemie. Life seems tough right now. My boys are fighting with each other like cats and dogs. Some days it seems as though I'm in the darkest part of the tunnel and not seeing the light at the end. I sometimes say, "I can't wait till they are older and we are past this stage" but then other days...I find myself wanting to hit the pause button. We are so blessed to have our 3 boys.

The last 6 months have been kinda crazy. Ryan, our oldest has really put us to the test. There are several things that we can point to as why he might be acting out...such as

-turning 4
-starting school
-Mommy in the hospital for almost 3 weeks
-having a new little brother
-having Mommy and Daddy gone alot visiting his new little brother in NICU for almost 2 months
-his Daddy having to work so much
-having the huge responsibility of being the big brother and being expected to set the example.

We have to remember that this too shall pass...but right now it seems so huge. It is huge if this attitude continues into the teenage years. We don't want that unruly teenager-nobody does. We want to nip it in the bud now.

Please pray that we don't wish this stage of our lives away. Pray that we are constantly reminded that we are truly blessed no matter how big the tantrum(s). Pray that we can find an appropritate way to deal with the issues that we face during this phase of our lives. Continue to pray for Evan's health. We don't have an official weight again yet but I think he might be 8 pounds. We go to Duke in a couple of weeks for a follow up.

YOU'RE GONNA MISS THIS (lyrics)

She was starin out the window of their SUV
Complainin sayin I can't wait to turn 18
She said I'll make my own money
And I'll make my own rules
Momma put the car in park out there in front of the school
And she kissed her head, and said
'I was just like you'

You're gonna' miss this
You're gonna' want this back
You're gonna' wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna' miss this

A few years later she's a brand new bride
In a one bedroom apartment
And her daddy stops by
He tells her it's a nice place
She says, 'It'll do for now'
Starts talkin' about babies, and buyin a house
Daddy shakes his head
And says baby just slow down

Cuz' you're gonna' miss this
You're gonna' want this back
You're gonna' wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna' miss this

Five years later there's a plumber
Workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin' one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says they don't bother me
I've got two babies of my own
One's thirty- six, one's twenty- three
Huh, it's hard to believe

But you're gonna' miss this
You're gonna' want this back
You're gonna' wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna' miss this
You're gonna' miss this
Yeaahhhh... you're gonna' miss this...

How Great Thou Art!

Happy Easter!

Not a bad picture for a let's hurry up and run to our position while the 10 second timer is counting down...fast.

The Hunt for Eggs!

The hunt for Easter eggs was on first thing this morning.


How did the Easter Bunny know that Ryan and Jack like Larry Boy?

Colored Eggs

First Day of Spring

I can't think of a better way to enjoy the first day of Spring. A day out enjoying the fresh air with friends.

GOD sent His ONLY Son to DIE for US!

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
NIV Matthew 15:37-39

Domestic Diva

I got a sewing machine a couple of years ago for Christmas from my parents. My inlaws or should I say outlaws..(just kidding-Carolyn), bought me sewing lessons for my graduation gift last May. They expire this May so I thought I better take advantage of them. It is only 4-3hour lessons-it is every Tuesday for a month. I have 1 lesson left. I'm so proud of my jammie bottoms. Yes, they have Snoopy-the Flying Ace on them. Sexy-huh? I love them-they are comfy and best of all I made them.

Evan's head ultrasound

Evan had another ultrasound today to see if there has been any change in the size of his ventricles. They said it didn't look very much different from the last one. The last one showed enlarged ventricles and we ended up at Duke to get a CT scan to look for hydrocephalus. They said he has mild ventriculomegaly(sp?). Which very well could turn inbto hydrocephalus due to family history. We will wait to see if the pediatrician calls us about any changes. We have a follow-up at Duke in a couple of weeks anyway. I look forward to another weight check. I'm thinkin' he is about 7 1/2 lbs right now.

Soccer anyone?

Ryan had his evaluations last night for Upward soccer. He played 1 season of soccer for the YMCA a year and a half ago. I'm not sure he is going to be our jock. I'm thinking Ryan is our sensitive bookworm and Jack is our rough and tumble jock. Jack wants to play soccer so bad. He wants to do everything Ryan does. He certainly looks up to his BIG brother. Ryan might surprise us though....he could be the next Pele or Beckham. You just never know what God has planned for us.

My Workout Partners

Two of my partners fell asleep...only 1 kept up....notice his exercise mat(s). He brought placemats over and he said, "I'm getting my exercise mats."

FINALLY!!

We contacted many roofers all week long and one finally came out and fixed our roof! Praise God. He fixed it before the rain on Friday night.

Wild Weekend

We had a very fun weekend. You can just imagine what our Saturday was like with a day full of activities...and no naps...for anyone. We made sure naps were included Sunday.

Saturday-we ate pancakes with the Easter Bunny..Ryan says "I think that was a costume...I saw the zipper on his back." We hunted Easter eggs. We witnessed the Revolutionary War re-enactment..Ryan and Jack kept saying "they are going to get us!"
We went to see Horton Hears a Who...yes all 5 of us went to the movies. Can you even believe it?

Sunday-we had yet another egg hunt.

I look forward to the days when all 3 boys are involved in the activities.

Time certainly does fly

This is Ryan and Jack just 2 years ago. I can't even believe it. Ryan is 2 1/2 and Jack is 10 months old. Whew. I got up around 2 am to feed Evan and I started thinking about how fast they are growing. I started to reminisce and look at old pictures. We certainly didn't know that we were going to be a family of 5, 2 years ago.

I am very tired these days from having to get up several times to feed Evan. Why am I up at 330AM when I've put Evan back down an hour ago....hmmmm. I am wide awake feeling very thankful for my husband and children. I am so very blessed. All of our children have had health issues but are fine. God is awesome.

I'm going to bed now. Evan will probably be up again in a 1 1/2 hours.

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

Evan has a cold

Can you even believe it? RSV season is officially over on 15 March and on 11 March, Evan gets a cold. He is coughing alot. Hopefully he won't have it for long. I'm tired of the sickness going around.

When it rains it pours

We are trying to get through flu/cold season without having to deal with it especially with a preemie in the house. Jack seems to always have a cold though. Now Ryan has a cold and I don't feel so hot.

We had alot of high wind and rain yesterday and it tore alot of shingles off of our roof. We can't seem to get ahead. The transmission in our van seems to be going out too. UGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

We were stuck in the house all day Friday because of rain. If everyone is sick we will be stuck here again tomorrow.

My Sunshine Cowboys

This is our boys Halloween 2007. I love this video. I cry at the thought of them growing up. Ryan is 4 and Jack is 28 months in this video.

Jack can count to 11

This was actually taken in January but I couldn't figure out how to post a video. He is 2 1/2 in this video.

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Teresa Village/Bob Hope Village

I've been thinking alot about my grandmother and great grandmother. This video was made at the place they live. I love to watch it. It is one of the few videos I have of them. Justine Mikkelsen is my grandmother and my great grandmother whom I called Mam Mam is Donna Yakey.

Let me tell you a funny story about them. They lived together and my grandmother went for a walk and ended up falling down. Other residents called for an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital. She told the people at the hospital to call her Mom to tell her where she was so she wouldn't worry. They thought my grandmother was coo-coo for cocoa puffs. Her being in her 80's...they laughed at the idea of her Mom still being alive. They thought she was crazy. Her mother was alive. She lived to be 104. She played scrabble, bridge, danced, went out to dinner with friends and wore the latest fashions up to a few months before she passsed away.