Christmas 08

Christmas is always a big deal with my family. We love it. Paul and I always spend time with my family, his family, my mamaw, and his grandparents, and this year we got to celebrate all of these special times with our little man Landon.

He didn't know that anything special was going on, but we were all so happy to have him be apart of this Joyous Season. Steven and Kennedy loved spending Christmas with their new cousin.

Nana also enjoyed spending time with Landon on his first Christmas. Aunt Geri got Landon his Tadpole doll, and he loved it. He would just laugh and cuddle him. It was so cute!

However, after all of the visiting and the traveling, the little guy did get tired, but he did okay considering all the moving about from place to place. He will have such a good time next year. I know he will love all the lights, presents, Santa, and all the family time.

First Hair Cut

Landon was born with a head full of beautiful dark hair. I thought it would probably fall out, but boy was I wrong. It just kept growing longer and thicker. Oh and did I mention that it was wild and curly.

Well anyways, I was really wanting to let his hair grow until his first birthday, but when he began looking like a combination of Kramer, Lyle Lovett, and the Grinch, I knew it was time for a hair cut. His hair was so wild looking that whenever we would go out complete strangers would come over just to touch it or make some kind of comment like "Whoa, look at that kid's hair". My mamaw, mom, and I liked to call all of his wild curls "roosters", but then I was afraid if we continued that then the name might stick, and who wants their kid to be called "Rooster". So, we decided to take Landon for his first hair cut, and he was not even 5 months old yet. We took Landon to Kid Snips as a walk-in. Since we didn't have an appointment, we had to wait for about 20 minutes before they could get to us. By this time, Landon was not in the best of moods to say the least, but it had to be done.

Paul got to do the honor of holding him for his first cut, while I took the pictures.

Although Landon did not enjoy his first hair cut, it did not take him long to move past it. After his hair cut, we took him to the mall to see Santa, and he did great. He smiled and was not scared at all.

Thanksgiving 08

This year for Thanksgiving we decided to take a break from the "big" family dinners, and had a nice small dinner with my family. Paul, Mom, Dad, Geri, Dustin, Landon, and I all had a good time enjoying each others company and Mom's good cookin'. It was so nice to just sit comfortably and eat, and the spend the rest of the day being lazy.

We just sat around, watched some football, and took naps, and of course we all took our turn playing with Landon. He loves to be around his family, and they love to be around him.

Election Day

I have been so into this election because one way or another History was going to be made. I could not wait for Election night. Paul, Landon, and I all cozied up in our p.j.'s and settled into the basement with the fire place going with our snacks ready to watch the election. We had watched about an hour of the election when Paul got a call from some of his co-workers inviting us to a local restaurant for an election party. We figured why not? So we got ready and went to the party. Everyone there was so excited to see that Obama was winning. Since I was an Obama supporter from the beginning I was excited too.

I will have to be sure to let Landon know that he took part in celebrating the Election that made history. My, how far we have come!!!

Happy Halloween

Even though Landon had no idea what he was doing, Paul and I had a great time taking Landon out for a little Trick or Treating.

We went downtown Greenville and made our rounds there, and then we went to see our families. Landon behaved so well the whole time. He never fussed, and he went right to everyone. I can't wait to take him Trick or Treating again next year. Maybe he will be a little more into then.

3 Month Pics

Today was Landon's 3 month pictures with Brandy. She did an awesome job working with him, but it wasn't easy. Since he is not sitting up yet, but he is not laying perfectly still in a sweet little bundle like his newborn pics, we had to get creative. We wanted to capture his pretty blue eyes and his sweet wild hair. I think we accomplished that.

It's Fall Yall

Fall is my favorite time of year, and I could not wait to get some pictures of Landon in all the awesome fall colors.

Everything looked so pretty I decided to make it a family affair. Kim and Kennedy came over to take pictures of Landon, Aiden, and Jase.

Nan and Nana were there to help supervise.

We had a great time. The boys did great through all of the different scenery changes and outfit changes, but towards the end, Landon and Aiden let us know that they were done with the pictures for the day.

First Pictures

Brandy came over to do some newborn pictures of Landon. They were soooo good. I just love knowing that I will have these pictures to help me remember just how sweet and little my little man is. I know it won't be long before he will be up and running around, and I won't get the privilege of getting to cuddle and snuggle him like I do now. What a sweet little bundle of joy.

A Little More About Faith, Hope, and Love

As you can see from the "About Me" section in my blog, Faith, Hope, and Love have been a major part of my life. I always knew this, even as a young child, because my parents instilled these 3 truths in me. However, I later learned just how important it is to hold tight to your Faith, Hope, and Love.

On June 23, 2001, I married my college sweet heart and best friend Paul. We both grew up in Christian homes, and were very goal oriented people. We knew we wanted to get a good start in our lives and our relationship together before we started to build our family. So, we focused on our education, careers, and each other, and then after being married 5 years, we decided it was time to start our family. However, this was not in God's time, and boy were my Faith, Hope, and Love tested.

I was half way through with my Masters when we decided to try for a baby. I thought we would try and it might take a couple of months, but it wouldn't be long before we would be announcing the "big news" to all of our family and friends, but I was wrong. We desperately tried to have a baby for over a year with no luck. Then I started becoming nauseous all of the time, and could barely eat anything without feeling sick. So, I decided that it was time to see the doctor. After several tests, I found out that I had cysts on my left ovary.

I was then sent to see Dr. Smith in Owensboro, and she scheduled me for Laproscopic Surgery a week before Thanksgiving. While in surgery not only did she find and remove the cyst, but she also discovered that I was full of Stage 3 Endometriosis. So, she took care of that as well. We were all expecting me to be pregnant by January, but I wasn't. At this point we discovered that I was not ovulating, so I began taking the fertility drug Clomid in February of 2007, and in March I found out that I was pregnant. We were thrilled. After a year of trying, a surgery, and clomid, we were ready to have a baby. But it was still not in God's timing for me. In early April, I had an ultrasound and found out that my baby had not formed. We were devastated, but we kept on trying.

In August, I found out I was pregnant again. This time we were more cautious about spreading the news, and I took extra "precautions" to try to protect this little baby. Then in September, I woke up in the middle of the night and had started to miscarry. We went to the doctor first thing that morning, but by then there was nothing that could be done. I had just lost my second baby. Devastated didn't come close to describing how we felt.

My Faith, Hope, and Love were beginning to fade. I was so worried. I kept thinking what have I done to deserve this punishment? where did I go wrong? I was beginning to lose hope. I started believing that I might not ever be blessed with a baby, and worst of all my love started diminishing. I began to find myself bitter with family and friends who were being blessed. It hurt so bad to see everyone else's lives continue on in happiness, while mine felt as if I was stuck in this terrible, painful place.

However, even though MY Faith, Hope, and Love seemed to be disappearing, these 3 seemed to be growing ALL AROUND ME from my family and friends. Someone was always there to listen, give advice, or a shoulder to cry on. Paul, my mom, Geri, Brittany, Aaron, Kendra, Amy R., Brandy, and many others were always there encouraging me to keep on, reminding me that God loves me and wants to bless me.

In October, Paul and I decided we needed a break from reality, and went on a cruise with our good friends the Ragers. It was exactly what we needed. We left all of our pain and worries at home, and lived carefree for a week on the open seas. I hadn't felt that good in 2 years. I was sad to see our week end, but at the same time I was refreshed and able to see that life had so many awesome things to offer me, even if it was not the exact things that I was longing for at that time. I knew God loved me and that he would bless me, but it had to be HIS time.

Then on November 18, 2007 Paul and I found out that we were having a baby, and this time I wasn't even taking the clomid. How awesome is God!!!! On December 10, 2007 we had our first ultrasound, and we heard a heart beat. It was the most beautiful sound that I had ever heard. Although I was very nervous considering my past two pregnancies, I gave this one over to the Lord, and he blessed it. On March 3, 2008, Paul, my mom, Paul's mom,and I went for the "big" ultrasound, and everything looked wonderful and healthy. We found out that we were going to be blessed with a baby boy. I continued to have a great pregnancy, and on July 22 I gave birth to my wonderful precious baby boy, Landon.

Although those two years were the hardest time I have had to go through at this point in my life, I learned the importance of holding tight to your Faith, Hope, and Love. A good friend shared this scripture with me, and it got me through a lot of hard times: I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. John 14:18 I have also learned that God's time is the RIGHT time. I received my little blessing right when I needed him the most. So, through all this,l I have learned to never give up Faith, Hope, and Love.