This Week's Hodgepodge

 Big brother loves "reading" to his little sis.

 Tummy time

 90's in September = more swim dates

 Precious girl

 Cam is really into crafts these days...here he is painting a Texas flag.

 He loves to use glue, but mostly just enjoys squeezing it out.

 Pipecleaner glasses

 Not too excited for another picture!

 Enjoying our family date night

 Camden all dressed up for Cowboy day at school!

Sweet smiles!

Life Lately

 Mama and Halle before a family dinner out

 Sweet little man patiently playing cars while Mama feeds Halle.  Sometimes he is great while I feed and other times he just wants me to play too!

 Bath time!

 Sweet little duck

 Playing with friends...there was a really exciting lawnmower on the other side of the fence!

 Lots of time doing this....

 

 Hard to catch one on camera, but here are the remains of a smile!

 Working on our letter sounds with a little chalk and a spray bottle!

 Lots of meals outside with the nicer temps!

Trying out her Husker cheerleading outfit!  GBR!

Funny Cam Videos

Here are a few funny videos of our little man...playing baseball complete with a celebration dance and riding his big wheel through the rain puddles.  Love this kid!

God is our refuge...

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." -Psalm 46:1 

 

This past year and a half has been one of ups and downs for our family.  It is our desire that through our trials and triumphs, glory is always given to God.  As I look back on losing Beckett and Halle's medical problems, it is easy to ask why us?  Each situation is totally unrelated and each extremely rare.  Our specialist told us that losing Beckett was one of those one in a million things...it just doesn't happen.  But it did.  Hydrocephalus occurs in 1 in 1500 infants; however, 99% of those are in premature babies.  Halle was not.  We will never know why these things happened and probably never understand why God chose us to have them.  What I do know is that I see God's hand providing and carrying us through the past year. 

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand."

 -Isaiah 41:10

 

God created us and our children to bring Him glory.  It is my prayer that through Beckett's little life and Halle's life, other people have been drawn to Christ.  Through their lives I have firsthand seen Christ's great love, compassion, mercy, and grace.  Our prayer is that others see this too.

 

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19

 

Here is a list of how we have been provided for through the body of Christ.

-childcare

-food

-yardwork

-groceries

-visits

-prayer

-scripture

-clothes

-hospital bills

-corporate prayer

-mementos

-house cleaning

-laundry

-and so much more

 

I see how Christ allowed Toby and I to both grow up in supportive Christian homes where we established a strong foundation.  I see how Christ grew our faith through good times and surrounded us with a supportive family and friend group.  And I see how Christ used our years of knowing Him to help us to endure the circumstances of this past year. 

 

I see Christ in the lives of our precious children and I pray that you do too.

Camden and Halle at Play!

Here is a look at Camden and Halle's past week...

Big brother is always close by during playtime

Taking Copper on a walk

This kid loves his big wheel!

I have almost the exact same picture of Cam when he was a baby.  Copper also really likes to join in on blanket time!

How cute is my little boy sleeping?!

When did he become a teenager?

We love to read books together!

Halle working hard at tummy time!

Go BIG RED!  Our household is thrilled that College Football season is here.  Our Bears and Huskers both had big wins the first week!

This is how Halle felt about waiting at the neurosurgeon for her follow up!

1st Day of MDO

Camden started Mother's Day Out on Tuesday and LOVES it!  Toby and I debated if we should send him this year, but decided that with such a small baby at home, it would be good for Cam and Mama to go.  Last year, we were able to keep a very busy social schedule and my social boy thrives in that environment.  I knew with little sister here, we would have to slow down quite a bit.

 

Cam has been asking when he gets to go to school all summer, he knows exactly where his school is, and couldn't wait to meet his friends and teachers.  Last week at Meet the Teacher he got really upset when it was time to go.  This child is not overly attached at all!  On the first day, he practically ran in, forgot to tell me bye, and immediately told me he wanted to go back to school another day when he got picked up!

 

On our way to Meet the Teacher!

 Aunt Kara and family sent a really cool card with a coloring page for his first day!

Ready to go! 

Mama was a little bit sad... 

but this boy was not!  Here he is leaving me in the dust as we walked in!

 

We're excited to see how God works in Camden's life this year through the teachers and friends at his MDO.  Sorry these pics aren't fabulous...I was just concentrating on feeding Halle and getting there on time!

Life at Home

The past 2 1/2 weeks have been marked with adjusting to what life at home looks like with a newborn and a busy toddler. Throw in the mix that school started back with Toby as a team leader at a new school and you have our crazy life!  It is really quite remarkable to see the improvement in Halle that has occurred in such a short period of time.  The hard part of it is that post surgery was like coming home with a brand new baby.  Feeding patterns and amounts, sleeping patterns, temperament, etc. all seemed completely different.  We joked that we brought home a brand new baby, but had 3 weeks with no sleep and lots of stress to start with!  However, we are SO thankful for the progress Halle is making and are so enjoying getting to know our daughter.
 

She is gaining weight well and finally surpassed her birth weight right around her 1 month check up.  The amount she demands is increasing and is now in the "normal" range.  She is active, alert, and working hard to meet normal newborn milestones.  We're working on finding our groove and what life looks like for us now.

 

Here are some pics from her first two weeks post-surgery.  I'll post some more recent ones soon!