Returning the favor

Nathan and I feel so incredibly blessed to have so many people praying for our boy. It really means the world to us. Please do not stop...we are so desperate for the Lord to do a work in Price. Most days I am full of hope but then I have days like today where I don't want to hope too much as to be disappointed. Does that make sense? As I was rocking Street today, I was praying for Price and for renewed hope. I felt the Lord reminding me that my hope is in Him alone.

But back to the point of this post...we are wondering how can we pray for YOU? Yes, I want to return the prayers. We can never thank y'all enough for interceding for OUR family, and want to so to speak "return the favor".

We are SO blessed with family and friends and people we have not ever met that tell us they are praying for Price and our family...THANK YOU!!

I shared this with my FB friends but here is Price figuring out how to get himself down off the couch. He still can't stand up straight due to his tone, but we will take it! He is so funny...he slides himself down so cautiously until he feels the floor. It is so wonderful to see him upright....my heart just bursts.

Christmas in pictures

Sometime not long after Price was born, we stopped taking pictures. Seriously, this is all I have from Christmas. Not even a shot of our family together or the kids together. I realized this after watching my sister and her husband and their new little girl take a gazillion pictures and analyze each one.

So here it is our Christmas in pics.

Ellery woke up at 5:30am on Christmas morning...and so it begins!

Price enjoyed opening a few presents but then he was ready to move on. We call this his center- fold pose.

Brrrr..it was actually cold here on Christmas morning after being in shorts and flip flops on Christmas Eve.

lulu and poppy with the kiddos

Rager boy with his stocking

And his sweet, innocent smile that for a few seconds makes you forget about the raging.

We made a trip to Dallas to visit Bebe and Pops and they treated us to Six Flags Holiday in the Park.

Back tracking here...Price enjoying his new train track.

And look at this side-sitting transition...it's a big deal in case you weren't aware.

Back to Six Flags..the cold, dry air did a number on Price's skin.

Ellery rode every ride she was tall enough for...

and Price did lots of patient waiting in his stroller, making silly faces for the camera.

Snow sledding in Texas.

That's it. Pathetic, I know. I am going to try and do better. Street deserves more than a handful of pictures from his first year of life.

Mary and Merry Christmas

Ellery was Mary in her preschool's Christmas program...a role she had wanted since she was in the toddler class. They drew names for the parts and I was just so thankful to the Lord for giving her the desire of her heart.

Ellery has been participating in this program for 4 years now and it doesn't change so she has got it down. It has been neat to see her understand and learn more about the Christmas story each year.

Christmas 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our family!

Santa

2 out of 3...not that bad!

PEACE

Today Price fell down the entire flight of front stairs. I can't believe it. I turned my head for a second to put Street down for his nap and then I hear the thuds. I really think it scared him more than anything. He cried for about 3 minutes and then was ready to get back on the floor and play. He had a little blood on his lip and a few bumps on his head but nothing else. Surprisingly, I was not panicked. Sure, my heart beat a little faster as I heard it happen and I ran right to get him, but I did not panic.

Panic is in my nature. I am the most fearful, anxious person I know. Seriously. It's hard to admit, but I had a couple of panic attacks right after Nathan and I got married that landed me in the minor ER. I thought I was dying.

Slowly but surely the Lord has done a work in me. I wasn't sure I was going to share this as we haven't told many people or even family, but Price's MRI last week did not result in the news we had hoped for. In fact, it was not at all what we expected. The neurologist and radiologist had a consult about it, that's how not typical the results were. We were back at Texas Children's the following day subjecting Price to more testing because they now think what he has could be degenerative. Like I said, not at all what we expected. Not at all what we have been praying for. Degenerative? That's like the worst word I have ever heard. Especially when it applies to something my baby could have.

Did I cry when the neurologist called me on the phone? Of course, I have been crying all week. Does it keep me up at night wondering about the future? Sure, I think about it all day and all night. But did I panic? No. If this is how the Lord chooses to glorify Himself through us and through Price's life then I say okay. It's not without tears or sadness or us pleading to the Lord for something different, but it IS well with my soul. I am not trying to make myself sound all perfect and together because I am definitely not. Not at all. But, I am trying to make the point that the Lord has done a great work in me and in our family. Anxiety has no place in all this. Panic and worry has no place.

Our Sunday school teacher told us to focus on two things this Christmas season: His GLORY and His PEACE. Peace does not mean having all things lined up and to be without suffering. This is what it used to mean to me. It is being in the midst of pain and suffering and still experiencing the peace that only He can bring. I feel it, Nathan feels it. Peace.

Do you have it?

Three musketeers

Ellery, Ella, and Madi Kate and the moms went to see a cute little production of The Nutcracker at the ballet studio where Ellery takes ballet class once a week.

The girls had a great time watching the big girls dance, sipping "tea", and eating lunch. I think Ellery was on the fence about ballet until now...she has decided that she wants to keep dancing so she can be in The Nutcracker one day.

How do these three go from this

to this?

Meeting Street

Street meets Aunt Sherry...

and papa...
and I know my nanny would have loved to meet him. she was crazy about babies!

Street is 2 months!

At 2 months Street weighs 15 pounds. His percentile is HIGH (meaning it's not even on the charts). The doctor told me today that the average one year-old weighs 20 pounds and that we might be looking at a new carseat by 6 months. Geez.

His height is 24 inches (85th percentile) and his head of course is in the 90th percentile. He's a big boy all around.

He is starting to give us glimpses of his personality. His name really suits him. He smiles all the time and has started "talking" to us. He is so strong. He holds his head up so well for a 2 monther and the doctor today told us his tone and strength are wonderful. She said he's ready for the bumbo. As you know, this is something that we do not take for granted. The doctor did notice a small heart murmur today at his appointment but she said she is not worried about it. I am not going to worry either.

At 2 months, Street still loves to be held and to be part of the action. He also loves to have one hand in your shirt while being held. He can raise one eyebrow. Everyone comments on his reddish-blonde hair and his pretty skin. He is eating about 6 -7 times a day and has been consistently sleeping for at least a 4-5 hour stretch at night.

At 2 months of age, we can't imagine life without him. The smell of his bald little head, the grins and coos, the way he still rages when he's hungry or tired, his serious little face that looks so intently into our eyes...we love it all (well maybe not the raging, but the rest of it).

We know that you can...

We got up extra early this morning to get everyone dressed, fed, and out the door to church. Ellery had her first choir performance during both services. Ellery and her bestie, Madi Kate, were front and center singing their little hearts out!

Because of this choir performance, Nathan and I headed back from a wedding in College Station late last night. I now realize that we needed to be at our church service this Sunday. It has been really amazing to see the Lord lead us step by step on this journey with Price. People we meet, places we are led...could all be looked at as mere coincidences but we choose to believe that He is lighting the path in front of us little by little. The message at church was Jesus Heals. It was awesome. If you want to listen to it you can here (it is part of the Jesus Saves series). At the end of the service our Pastor asked for those who needed healing to stand as well as those who wanted to intercede for someone close to them. Of course, Nathan and I stood and we cried. The entire congregation prayed for everyone standing. There is nothing more desperate than a mother or father pleading to the Lord to heal their child. We are in a desperate place, my friends, as we know that He alone is the only one with answers and the healing that we so desperately seek. So to quote our pastor we will continue to pray, "Lord we know that you can heal Price, and we pray that you will heal Price."

Half-Birthday

This year, Ellery's class celebrates half-birthdays for those kids that have birthdays in the summer months. I love it and think we might keep the tradition. Ellery's will fall on December 14th, and she is loving that it will be during Christmas time (so different than the hot, muggy month of June).

She found these in a magazine and has her heart set on taking these cupcakes to her class party.

What's so special about these cupcake toppers is that not only are they the original Rebel Alliance characters, but that they include Princess Leia. Poor Leia is left out of everything. It really is a bummer for the little girl Star Wars fans.