Thanksgving at the Ranch

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving in East Texas this year!  The weather was perfect and Camden had a blast exploring Nana and Papa's land.  He always wanted to go for a ride and didn't care what it was on!  Halle did great on the trip and her grandparents were thrilled to have her at their place for the first time.  As always, we loved spending time with our family and remembering all the ways the Lord has blessed our family.

Isn't she adorable?!?!

We had plenty of hands to hold Halle...Garrett loves his little cousin.

The trees were BEAUTIFUL!

This kid is still talking about riding the tractor with Papa.

Sisters and their daughters:)

There were too many Mule and 4 wheeler rides to count!

Halle loves Aunt Kara!

I think Camden tried out all of Papa's deer stands.

The girl cousins:)

Bedtime stories with Papa

Cooking with Nana

Feeding the fish with Daddy

Cam had fun making a craft with Nana!

Trying out yet another deer stand!

Girls Weekend 2012

Girlfriends are good for the soul. Every year I count down to our annual Baylor girls weekend.  Without a doubt this weekend did not disappoint; with all the stress of Halle, it was nice to have some time for me.  A HUGE thanks to my amazing hubby and awesome in-laws for holding down the fort while I was gone.  Already looking forward to next year!  Here are a few pics highlighting our time together.  

Thursday night we all just met up and hung out, so Friday morning was our first official outing.  We went hiking at Lake Grapevine.  It was really pretty!

Next we headed to downtown Grapevine for lunch and shopping.  It was perfect weather! 

Laur~love how we can not see each other for months and nothing has ever changed. 

That night we went to a murder mystery dinner theater...it was a little lame, but still fun to do with my girls!

The next morning was spa day. Yes, we are all in matching uniforms in a disco like room.  The spa was very interesting to say the least~lots of stories to tell from it!

Alison~one of my first Baylor friends and she introduced me and Toby!

Mexican food for dinner in Ft Worth

Sarah~Never short on laughs when she's around.

Besties~Love these girls!!!

Then we headed over to the Ft. Worth rodeo!

Thanks to Ashlee we had a great seats!  It was very entertaining and certainly out of our norm!

 

 

We ended the night at Billy Bob's.

Our traditional crazy pic in our matching shirts!

Like Father, Like Son

Love these silly boys!

Another Hospital Stay

Halle's eating has always been a challenge.  Early on she was so sleepy from jaundice and hydrocephalus that we battled her falling asleep.  Then we moved into reflux and lack of hunger.  Pair this with the fact that she did not gain weight her first month and the fact that she above the ninety-ninth percentile for height and we have a problem.  She is currently in the fiftieth percentile for weight for her age, but only second percentile for weight to height.  Since she was a week old, we have been adding formula to breastmilk to up her calories.  We have seen multiple pediatricians, GI doctors, dietitians, chiropractors; we have tried many medicines, dairy and no dairy, inclined sleeping, and many other things; we've had an upper GI, ultrasounds, and other tests.  I am thankful that we have had some good stretches of pain free eating, but feeding Halle always takes at least forty-five minutes and usually more like an hour.

 

Two Mondays ago started our latest downward spiral.  She kept eating less and the pain kept increasing.  It is so tough to force feed a screaming baby for an hour and to not be able to stop because of weight concerns.  To say we have been stressed would be a vast understatement.  We can handle feedings lasting an hour, but not screaming for an hour. 

 

Last Tuesday we went to Childrens to seek help.  We spent two nights there working with their staff to make a plan for Halle girl.  She was quite the trooper through many pokes, tests, and new things!  We have a new GI doctor who developed a plan for Halle that has eliminated the pain.  The total bottle time has not improved, but the pain is gone. Please pray that this period will pass quickly and for comfort for Halle.  We'd also love prayers for us as we feed her.

 

We are thankful that most babies typically outgrow reflux and that this is not a life long problem, but we cannot wait until we can all enjoy feeding.  So hard to see your baby in pain!  We'd also appreciate your prayers for weight gain.

 

We pray this is our last hospital stay for many, many years!  It was a little weird to have the same room, nurse, and doctor as one of our previous stays.  Stirs up some not so good feelings.  

Thankfulness from a 2 Year Old

Camden and I made a Thanksgiving turkey today complete with feathers where he got to share people he was thankful for.  In true Sunday school fashion, his first two were God and Jesus. 

Go Big Red!

Halle Girl

Love seeing this girl's personality come out and her discovering new tricks!