Wednesday, May 6

What's new around here and THANK YOU!

Our 1st family picure together!
Austin even had his own shirt at the March for Babies. He said it's too hot today to walk! Brothers playing
Bradley and his friends
Maddie & Ryan Mills
Bradley & Mama at the strawberry patch
Bradley & Daddy
Look at B's face with that strawberry juice
Austin enjoyed picking strawberries ha ha :-)
Bradley & our baskets of strawberries
Let's see, we have lots going on . . . Bradley is potty trained, Austin will be baptized this Sunday, we have a new addition in the family, and as usual we are busy, busy.
Bradley potty trained in a matter of a few days. We just jumped right to big boy pants and "TA DAH" that was that. He has been asking for a pet though ever since an offer fell through on one this past winter, so we told him if he did well that we'd get him a pet. So, this past weekend we added a new family member . . . Mickey Mouse the Rabbit. Bradley asked for a cat, but I'm allergic so it would have to be an outside cat. We didn't want him to go through the heartbreak of the cat running away. Then, we've had a dog before and realized we weren't meant to be people with pets inside (with the exception of a fish and snail) besides the fact that Austin shouldn't have animals inside with his lung issues. Chris and I both had rabbits growing up and thought that Bradley would enjoy having one too, I guess it's sort of a family tradition. :-) Mickey is a lop eared, light grey rabbit who is living in the garage in a cage until Chris can build a decent pen for outside with a roof and closed in house. Bradley begs to go outside, see and hold the rabbit constantly. He is a very loving child to all creatures, big and small.
Austin is being baptized on Sunday, Mother's Day. Both sides of our family will be attending, and we're having lunch at our home afterwards. Chris, Bradley, and I were all baptized on Mother's Day. It's a very special occasion for us- the day that we're dedicating our son's life to Christ and promising to raise him to love God and put Him first. Then, it being Mother's Day means so much. We almost baptized Austin in the hospital when we had Brayden baptized, but we held out and prayed that he would be able to be baptized in our church on this special day. We're so thankful that Austin has made it this far, he is such a God given miracle. Our little miracle is smiling and cooing a lot. He is about 11.5 lbs and is holding up his head well! How amazing is that? God is so amazing!
In the last month we've gone to pick strawberries twice. Bradley thoroughly enjoyed it. He shocked us by walking up to the first plant and bending over with his little basket. He grabbed a hold of a perfectly ripe strawberry and said, "You twist and pull" and pulled it right off the vine. How did he know that? His amazes us everyday; he is so bright and inventive. For instance we went to Lowe's to buy wood for the rabbit pen. We didn't tell Bradley what we were buying the wood for, but when we got home he told Chris "Let's go build Mickey's house." Wow- how did he come up with that? We love our boys so much. Chris put Bradley to bed tonight; we've been taking turns since Austin came home. We have taught him to thank God for Daddy, Mama, and Austin and all his family and friends during his prayers. Then, please keep everyone safe and healthy, and thank God for our many blessings. Well tonight he added thank you God for soccer, because he has been asking if he can play soccer. How cute is that? I guess we must sign him up for next fall. I can't believe he is that old! Back to the strawberry patch- I've made homemade jam and a strawberry cobbler- yum, yum. We might even go back another time before the end of May, which is the end of their season. Austin seems to enjoy being outside as long as it isn't windy. He screams when it's windy, but we've pretty much gotten past the windy season here. Overall, Austin is a good baby- much more laid back than Bradley!
We did the March for Babies which was great. We had an awesome turn out- Thank you all so much for all of your support and participation!!! Thank you to all of the people who walked with us- Austin, Brayden, and Lexi's grandparents: Grandmama Broome, Gandaddy and Gandma Hawkins, and Papa and Nanny Wicker. Thank you to the babies' aunts and uncle: Aunt Beth and Uncle Michael , Aunt Jennifer . Thank you Britton and Lauren. Thank you Melanie and Danny. Thank you Courtney, Malynda (and Mills, Maddie, and Ryan), Shannon and Kelsey. Thank you to IMA and families: Greta (Taylor & Jordan), Tonya, Maria and Jenna, Elaine, Jessica, Ducky, Karen and Roger. Thank you to everyone at Advanced Fertility: Kelley, Rich, Denise(and sweet baby), Tiffany (and more sweet babies :-) ). Thank you all for being at the walk and giving your time and energy to complete it. Thank you to the following people for sponsoring us: The Criglers, The Devores, Advanced Fertility, The Fricks, The Benders, The Wickers, The Hinsons, The Hawkins', The Mohons, The Flynns, The Grimsleys, The Steinhoffs, The Goings, The Dykes, The Koons, The Williams, The Labelles, and last but not least The Pearsons! All of your donations will help save more babies' lives and that is truly awesome. Thank you to Angie for all your hardword as team captain/coordinator. You did a wonderful job! We loved the t-shirts and thanks to all those who ordered them. Thank you Jessica and Heidi for helping get Austin's handprints; he cracked us up fighting us about it. What a strong little boy! Thank you Celena for all of your help with the walk and everything else too. So many of you who walked raised money too, and we were so impressed with everyone's kindness. I'm afraid I've left people out, but please don't think you weren't appreciated. Everyone helped raise awareness for a very important cause and God definitely smiled down on our family that day. I couldn't help but wish Brayden and Lexi were crossing that finish line with us, but I know they were cheering us on from Heaven.
I also want to take the chance to thank everyone who helped us out during my pregnancy, extended hospital stay, and after the triplets were born. The meals were wonderful- so much love shown to us by providing us with an endless amount of meals. I'd love to sit down and write each person a thank you note, but I'm afraid that isn't possible. We receieved meals 4 times a week for over 3 months! It was wonderful that I could go to the hospital every afternoon to be with Austin, while Bradley was napping, and know that there would be a meal without fail that evening at home. I don't know what we would have done without y'all! Some people had only heard our store and had never met us, but felt led to help us out in some way. Thank you to my MOPS group at St. Andrews Baptist (and other church members) for bringing meals and goodies to me while I was in the hospital on bed rest. Y'all brightened my days and saved me from that awful monotony they call food! Thank you to everyone that brought Bradley and Austin special treats. A puzzle, a decorative cross for Austin's room, beautiful flowers, thoughtful baby gifts, and sweets are just some of the special treats our family received. I'll will never be able to convey in words just how much everyone's love, support, and prayers has meant to us. We are surrounded by some wonderful people; God has truly blessed us with a wonderful support system. Internal Medicine Associates, Chris' practice, was truly amazing with their willingness to do whatever it took to allow Chris 6 weeks off with us. We received numerous cards from some people that we didn't even know, but many were Chris' patients, our fellow church members at LUMC, and other acquaintances we have had the pleasure of meeting over the years. I didn't know we knew so many people! :-) I just wanted to take the time to post something to let everyone know how much you all mean to us. Please know that we will forever remember each and everyone of you and your kind gestures during the last year or so. We love you all very much!

2 comments:

  1. I love the berry picking pics. We've been twice as well. Such a great fun outdoor activity. What an awesome update. It was great to see ya the other day and the girls love their T-shirts. See ya soon. Love, Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just was browѕing wеb 2.0 site when I found уоur ѕіt, and I want to say уour blog template iѕ vеry nice.
    How long hаve уou been blogging for?

    The waу you do all of thiѕ makeѕ it look like a
    cіnch. Your page is eуe-catching, not to mention boastѕ an abundаnce
    of qualіtу matеrial.

    my blog post Sustainabilitymarket.in

    ReplyDelete