Praise God for Answered Prayer

For this child, we prayed. This is "That Little Guy" that many of you have heard me speak of. Due to privacy for the family, I have not been able to share many details. I could only ask many of you for recommendations and prayer. If you want to finally have the details, his mother is writing a blog about our experience in hopes of helping other families. Rob is considering writing software with me that will help speed diagnosis and treatment from a professional prospective. Things are happening. Prayers are being answered. Please continue to pray for our families as we continue to heal Teagan and hopefully countless others as well.

Visit his parents new blog and their story Here. Click the title page at the top to read all the entries and put them in your reader if you want to continue to learn more. I have high hopes that this blog will be as good as Mom's photo blog. It's how I found them to begin with.

Monday night, Lyndsay's good friend, Michelle from Pinkletoes , came out to take celebratory recovery photos of Teagan. Lyndsay asked if I would join them. It was a highlight of my week. I'm so proud of this little guy and how far he and his family have come.

I mean, seriously, how could I not pour my heart into this little guy for three months? He is as sweet and spunky as he looks.
This photo was taken just as I arrived to the photo shoot. I love his smile. The squeeze. The knowledge that I am looking at Mom with a "Well Done! Look how far we have come.... let's celebrate! I love your little duder, too. " :)
Michele captured some amazing light here. When I see this photo, I am awestruck at God's grace and provision for us. His light shone through so many of the things we tried and people we encountered. I didn't realize I was going to be in the photo. I was just trying to get a good smile from him and he loved this in my little sessions with him. Michele caught it.
The light behind Lyndsay and Teagan just glows here. His little hand in hers is so precious. She cared enough to put so many things aside for him. She listened to her gut, and she worked hard for the outcome.
Erin, Michelle P., Laura, Brian, Jana, Dad, Dr. Treybig, Pastor Mike, Katie, Carolyn, Ashley, Diana, Rosemary, and so many others: Thank you so much for your advice and insight as I sought answers. To my sweet kids, thank you for sharing your mommy and toys with this family. To my sweet, adoring husband, thank you for supporting me. In so many ways. We joked that it became a loose tooth and I was obsessive. But you were selfless enough to sacrifice your time to give me time to help them. You even researched along side me. You found your own passion through this as well. May we find balance as we move forward and always be reminded of God's great power and glory.

The Weight Loss Progress

So, I get my cruise at 135, right? Well, here's my friend, Michelle's scale. I weighed in at the YMCA today at 136. I had a witness. But, Rob says it doesn't count unless it happens on our scale here at home.
I have proof that this is not fair.

Rob won't budge. :P Oh well, I'll get there soon enough. Until then, I have a big decision to make. Michelle also has one of these.
So now, I have to decide between this, the cruise, and money for new camera equipment.... Oh, the choices.... At least I have a little extra time to think about it. With that evil scale and all... harumpf.

On a note... I don't want to forget this, so I will blog it. I love my sweet Rob. That's pretty obvious. Here is a little more glimpse as to why. When we were discussing the weight loss and such, I got to MY goal of 142 and asked, "What do you think?" He was honest with me. He said I could still lose a few more pounds. He encouraged me to not let good enough be my standard. And he is right. I didn't want to hear that, but I needed to. I may even lose more than the 135. I want to be healthy and fit. I love that we are secure enough that we can be completely honest and open. I know most women would not be able to hear that. But I can. I can because I know he is truthful. So when he added that he thinks I'm beautiful and he loves me at any weight, I can trust that as well.

Tonight, as we watch football like an old married couple on the couch and meal plan for next week, I told him how much I appreciate his honesty. I told him he was a big part of my motivation. More than any prize I will get. He then shared this with me. His motivation stems from a conversation we had a while back. I love how Rob "gets" me. Like the example above, he knows me. He loves me and he knows what to say and do to help me become my best. I feel so blessed to have that. I once told him that I was so glad he knows me so well because Suzy is just like me. I find great comfort in the fact that she will have an earthly father who knows her. Who loves her and who "gets" her. Even when I will not. He told me tonight that this conversations is one of his biggest motivators to get healthy. He wants to be here for our daughter. To understand her. To hold her hand through life when she needs someone to understand. That means more than my words could say. Granted, most women would like to hear that their husband will want to stay around for them.... but, I know he feels that way and it means more to me to hear it about my sweet Suzy. The spicy little girl that I don't always understand, because she's just too like me. :) Thank you, sweet Rob, for being the best friend, husband, daddy, etc.

rainy day fun

I got this great idea from Jodified last week. I adapted it a little by adding some dominoes and a marble run.

The kids all really enjoyed it, especially Andy.

While I was out of town this weekend, Rob sent me this photo of Suzy. She was so happy that she found some "mischief". She is wearing my lipstick. It was a fun surprise during a long course. I really do love my iPhone. :)

My Brother....

"G" and "C", you aren't the only one now with cool family connections. Ha!

My way cooler than me brother (ahem... and sister-in-law) just got a seat at the uber coveted Jose Villa workshop.

http://josevillaworkshops.com/

Way to go Vickie and Jeremy! I will soooooo be picking your brain when I come home in Feb....

Love you and I'm so proud of you! Woohoo!

Sunday Brunch

We are very blessed to have Rob's parents living near by. We are also very blessed that Pawpop loves to golf so much and his "office" has a great meal plan. ;) A favorite activity is lunch at the club after church.


I think a big draw is the chocolate chip waffles.
I bring plenty of activities to keep Andy busy for a pleasant meal.
The light was so great on Sunday. I took the kids out to have some fun. I didn't get any golf cart photos, but that was a big hit as well.
She dances to her own drum....

I pray that my kids will be good friends. I feel so blessed that those prayers are being answered.


I may be biased, but I think Rob is a fantastic Daddy.
Suzy and Andy seem to agree with me.

Rob has a good role model.
Thank you, Grammy and Pawpop!

The apple and the tree

It's garage sale season in Austin! Woohoo! I am really trying to be better about buying so much stuff. I'd like to keep my house purged as much as possible. But, I still can't resist the pull. Tara called me last week for some last minute searching for baby items. Suzy wanted to go. I love the outfit she wore. And the purse.... full.of.change. It was so fun to watch her pick out her own little bargains. Here, she got an old style light bright for $1. Tara is helping her count out her money while I wait in the van with Andy. We are hard core... ;) Get out, scope, get back in, go on!
I believe it was $1 very well spent....

My view of the Boy and his Balloons

Erin and I went to the Y on Saturday morning and got some fun photos of Andy. I had so much fun! I've had lots of comments about the blue background from Erin's post. I agree, it was fantastic! Here is a taste of my view. I didn't get nearly the amount of shots Erin did. But, I will give myself a little grace since I was wrangling Suzy and Andy for much of the time. ;)

Thanks again, Erin, for the great memories!

This is what I saw the majority of the time. ;)

Such a boy.... taking apart the bubble blower.
He is looking at Erin. I'm excited to see her version of this shot. I love it. Blankies and Peanut. A few of his favorite things.
Playing around with some depths of field. Not sure which one I like better. What do you think? Andy more in focus? Or less? I also darkened the colors a bit in the first one.

He was so cute with his little tub of balloons.

My Balloon Buddy

If you want to see some A.M.A.Z.I.N.G photos of a very adorable litle Andy, head on over to PureWonder Photography. Erin did a great job capturing my sweet little Two Year Old. Rob and I have been laughing tonight. It was the same light, and our views were similar. Yet, the photos are so different......

I love how she captured his sweet and versatile personality. Erin, thank you so much for taking these! It was so fun to hang out with you and I will cherish them!

My Very Own Sneak Peak

My sweet friend, Erin, and I went to the Y this morning to get some Two Year Old photos of my sweet Andy. I got several good shots and I simply can't wait to see what Erin got! After church, we went out to lunch with Grammy and Pawpop and I pulled out the camera again. The light today was amazing and I had so much fun playing with my camera again! Here are just two of my favorites from today. I five starred 45 of them, so I'm sure there will be another long post soon. ;)


What a joyous Sunday, Indeed!

Say Hello

To my new little friend.

My laptop was just fine by my standards. Ancient by my husbands. ;) Rob has been looking at these for a while but I just really didn't see the need. Until yesterday. I took a shower with only one little buddy. Most times I am accompanied by two buddies, bath toys, paint, and help washing my legs. I took a chance yesterday and left a buddy out. It cost me. Andy turned on the sprayer in the kitchen and flooded my roll top desk. Laptop included. I was a little afraid to tell Rob what had happened. He IMed me that he was "not happy". Then, surprised me with this little treat when he got home. I know I am very blessed, indeed. Thank you, sweet Rob. I love it!

Anyone have any ideas how to disengage the sprayer from the sink?

A big ol' catch up post

Between the P90X, working a little on the side, cleaning / purging around the house, Andy dropping my iPhone 2X and needed to replace it both times, and just daily life with two little ones, I have a few photos I've been wanting to post. So, I'll just lump them all together.

So, I'm finally down to my wedding weight. Woohoo! I put my dress on for fun and Rob took a few "Jasmine *" photos. Ha!
Sadly, the hips are a little tighter and the bust is well.... sigh... But it's still fun to play dress up!
We went to a RR express game. It was hot and Andy wasn't thrilled.
Until he found some mischief.
Suzy, like me, only cares about the funnel cake.
She even snuck a little cotton candy from some friends.
Why do my children like to stuff things into little spaces? And WHY do they like to put dolls in ovens and microwaves? Should this concern me? ;)
I copied some octopus hot dogs from a lunch blog. Andy didn't touch them. He loves hot dogs. Miss!
Yes, I feed Andy hot dogs. And donuts. In the cart. On Saturday morning early at the grocery store so Daddy could sleep in.
And I give them Whoppers. Andy has started to tinkle in the potty and he gets a "ball" when he is successful. It will be a long road, but a fun one.
We played an iphone scavenger hunt game. I took photos around the house and they had to find the objects with the binoculars that they made. It was super fun.

Andy's two favorite current quotes.... "I did it!" and "I sorry."
After a tinkle success, he likes to be ummm... "free". I just can't resist a baby butt crack.
A cute treat idea from Suzy's preschool teacher.
We finally found a bubble machine that we like and it actually works!
Still doing lots of painting in the tub. I bought lots of water colors while they were on special for back to school. I figure each bath costs me roughly $1 and I get an hour of free time. A good deal.
Andy is learning to ride a bike. I find it's easier to steer and pull him if I use ropes. Suzy wanted in on the help.
Trying to figure it out on his own. His little legs don't reach the petels yet. Such cute little boy undies.
Nala was playing therapy dog and a little girl gave her a hair cut. Such a good sport.
Rob was glad I cleaned it up the next day. ;)
That's about it! We are busy. But we are enjoying life! Lots to be thankful for....