Our Little Fish...

Brenly spent the last four weeks in swim lessons at Coach Rob's pool school...that meets at St. George's School...it was T/Th night from 6:30 to 7:00...and she was amazing...Started out very apprehensive about the water..not liking to go under water, scared to jump in without holding some one's hand, and the back float was out of the question...IN a matter of four hours (total swim time over the past 4 weeks...she has turned into a little fish and is doing so good...In fact last night was the last night of the session and her instructor, promoted her from level 2 to level 4...she is completely skipping over level 3! I was so proud of her! Her are a few pictures and a video of her "mad skills"

Our answered prayer...

or one of the many...About a month ago, our babysitter of two years, sent us a letter in the mail to inform us that effective immediately, she no longer had a childcare business...WHAT? I had less than 24 hours to find someone to watch my precious babies...OH MY GOODNESS..what does one do on such short notice...I immediately called Stephanie (a good friend from high school, who also happens to be the director at Brenly's preschool!) to inform her that we will have to pull Brenly out because there is no way that I can get her to/from since I work full time...Stephanie was SO sweet and said that she would ask a friend of hers if she was available to help me temporarily until I found someone else...In walks Jennifer into our life...and what a blessing she is! She is the preschool director for the church where Brenly attends preschool..so she definitely knows kids...and actually has 6 of her own! We become FB friends and she offered to help me temporarily, because she plans on starting back to school in the fall! The first time she kept the girls, she took Brenly to school, which left her with just Avery...needless to say there wasn't a dull moment in her day! Well I had planned on using Jennifer at least until school was out and then beg some of my teacher friends to pick a day, any day that they would like to take care of my children...Last Tuesday, I had my EARLY priority time and in my prayer journal, I was pleading my case to God...these were my exact words,

"I have NO clue why I am so calm about this...I pray that its because I KNOW your provision is faithful and you did not give me these angels to be "left by themselves"...Please provide a wonderful Christian woman who will love them as much as I do, one that will protect them when i am unavailable."
That same day I kept trying to plead my case to Jennifer explaining that I really was going to find permanent care for them, asking for patience and understanding (which is two of her best qualities) and she kept reiterating that she had enjoyed keeping the girls and would love to help out as needed!
On friday on that same week, I get this email from her
"Hey. I want you to know that I really am serious on offering to keep them more over the summer. I know that I am probably way out of your way, but if you need me, I am here. Your girls have got to be the sweetest children I have ever babysat. You have done a fantastic job with them, and everyday that I have kept them has been a joy. At some point over the summer, I will go home to see my parents, but besides that we have ZERO plans made. We would love to include them in our planless plans!! LOL :)
Jennifer"
God is once again faithful...providing my girls with a WONDERFUL, CHRISTIAN woman who loves them and is willing to give of herself to protect my babies...She is an answer to my specific prayer on TUESDAY!


Jennifer,
I cannot thank you enough for offering to take care of my babies this summer...You have no clue how much it means to all of us...My girls LOVE you and have a blast when they are with you! Thank you for being a vessel...allowing God's servant spirit to pour through you! You are an amazing woman...and I believe it was absolutely no accident that God allowed our paths to cross! You have given us such a peace, knowing that Brenly and Avery will get the best care possible this summer! May God bless you as much as you bless others!







P.S. Thank you Stephanie pleading my case to Jennifer...If it weren't for you, we certainly would've never met her! So amazing how God allowed us to be friends many years ago...so that many years later my children would be taken care of...God's plan absolutely amazes me!

My Children of the Corn...

Last year it was soybeans...and this year we get to watch corn...Brenly refers to it as "her corn" and she constantly goes to "check" on it... Sunday, I decided to get the camera and take some pics of them in the corn...

Let's go fly a kite...

and ride in a convertible and swing/slide on our playground...Sunday was a beautiful day to do all those things! MiMi and Grandfather decided to drive down to visit with us on Sunday...Grandfather just got a new Mazda Miata convertible and it was too beautiful to stay at home...So they made their way to our house to surprise the girls and we are so glad that they did! Its always fun to be with them...makes our day even better when they are around...Here are a few pics from our fun day!





I have no clue why I didn't get a picture of MiMi...sorry about that...I'll so better this weekend! :)

My little SNEAKER...

If I have said it once, I have said it a million times...My children are SO different... from looks, to attitudes, to discipline..I mean complete opposites...and I love it! I would hate to have two children that were clones of one another, RIGHT?!?! Both of my girls definitely have faults of their own...Avery, however, tends to be well, a little more mischievous...SNEAKY if you will (Lord, please help me to raise this baby you have entrusted to me...without losing ALL my hair :) She really bad about doing things that she KNOWS she shouldn't be doing, trying her best NOT to be caught, although doesn't do a very good job with it (although I am sure that she will continue to improve her skills before she gets to be a teenager...Lord, Please HELP ME!) She will constantly try to sneak candy from a drawer in the kitchen (or from Brenly's bag from school!), will try to sneak Daddy's "make up" (really its just chap stick, but she is convinced that its Daddy's makeup!)For instance, yesterday she reach in Ray's drawer in the kitchen and found his chap stick...at just about that moment , I looked at her and asked her what she had...Right in front of me, she tried to hide (and hold) the chap stick under her armpit, and at the same time, backing away from me as if I wouldn't be the slightest bit curious about her odd behavior! I finally "caught" her and found the chap stick!! (Oh my goodness!) So last night...right before bed I told Avery to go the bathroom and brush her teeth...and usually she will get her toothbrush...and the toothpaste...get frustrated b/c she can't get any toothpaste out, and call for me to help...Well last night was a little different...She went to the bathroom...opened the drawer and instead of getting her toothpaste...she found some lip gloss of mine...and proceeded to try to be SNEAKY...


Needless to say...after the shock ...we cracked up and had to take a picture...wasn't as easy to be Sneaky when you look like that!!!

My Precious Angels...

...from heaven...I just love them to pieces...and me personally, I think that they are absolutely two of the cutest kids God has ever created...and I have proof...check out these pictures that I took before Brenly's swimming lessons last week (and pictures from swim lessons are coming later...)

My Preschool Graduate...

I cannot believe that she is a graduate from pre-school...I know, it's JUST pre-school...but it means that she has finished this chapter in her life! She is growing up so fast and she becoming so independent. Although I know that this is the natural progression of her life...It is still hard!
Thank you Lord for Brenly's life...for allowing her to make another milestone in her journey...Thank you for her enthusiasm to learn and her excitement over the things to come...Grant me peace as we embark on this next chapter in her life...Love her, Protect her, Guide her...Amen!

(and for those of you who are about to say ugly things about me for not inviting you to her graduation...she did NOT have one...they just sent this picture home in a book....and I accept your apology :)

Rowan's caringbridge site...

Please go visit Rowan's website and let them know that you are thinking/praying for them...
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rowancharleswinters

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family during this very trying time!

Baby Wo-Wan...

(that's baby Rowan in Avery-ese) Last Thursday we were driving (surprise) home pretty late and we were just listening to music...Avery, completely out of the blue, says, "I need baby Wo-wan" I looked back at her and explained that I was sorry that she "needed" him, but that he was sick and in the hospital...A few seconds passed and she made this face, complete with 'daddy eyes' and a side smirk and said, "Je-Jus" As if she knew that we needed to pray for him...i told her she was right, that we needed to pray for him...we said a quick prayer with her repeating every word I said...Later that night, I was putting her to bed and we were saying our typical "Now I lay me, down to sleep" prayer...We said Amen and she looked at me with her little hands folded and said..."Wo-wan" Confused as to why I had completely skipped over praying for him...We quickly said our prayers for him and his mommy and daddy...and then and only then was she ready to go to bed!
Lord, may my children always know the importance of praying for those we love...and may they remind me often...when I forget to pray!

As if my last post didnt have ENOUGH drama...

There is more drama to add to it....Please pray for my 6 day old nephew Rowan...He was due to go back to the dr. today for a weight check..and some time between noon and 2 o'clock they decided that he needed to be rushed to the hospital...He was running a fever of 101, and because he is SO new...they wanted him to be where they could observe him very closely! They have an IV in his arm and they just proceeded to do a spinal tap...We know none of those results...but what we do know is that they are waiting on a room and will there for at least 48 hours for observation...if there is infection present they will have to stay for 7-10 days...As if having a newborn isnt hard enough...now they are dealing with all this mess...Please pray for Josh, Heather and Rowan as they go such a difficult time (and for MiMi...she has been with them all week!)

Rowen Charles Winters...

Is here...Born April 29, 2009 at 3:08 pm weighing 7lbs. 6 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long...he's got a head full of black hair and just perfect...however getting him here wasn't as perfect...it seemed that everything that could go wrong...DID...
Let me start from the beginning to give you a full sense of what was going on...I get a call on Tuesday night saying that Heather was having some pretty intense contractions...and was told to have my phone nearby...At around 8:15, Heather called to let me know that they were heading to the hospital...I didn't get too excited and decided to hang tight until she actually got admitted...Not until 11:15 pm, did I get that call! Because we have a really old car with lots of miles on it AND because it was almost midnight I opted to stay at home...During that 11:15 phone call Heather was about to receive her epidural...I set my alarm for 3:45am so that I would arrive in Nashville just before morning rush hour...We arrive at Vanderbilt just after 7am...making it there before Rowan arrived...Praise the Lord!

We walk in only to discover that *only one side of Her epidural was really working so she was having some pain...the nurse proceeds to give her a pain pump that can only release medication every 10 minutes

...I will tell you that Heather tried with all her might to get that thing to work every 2 minutes (if not 1) After a morning of continually pushing the pain pump...it was now just a waiting game...so we wait, and we wait...and we wait...
Around mid morning Dr. S decides to break her water, only to discover that it was *filled with meconium (the baby's first poop) so there was concern about his lungs...So then we learn that *NICU will be in the room as the baby is delivered to make sure that he doesn't aspirate any of it...
Heather starts to run a *low grade fever of 99 and the Dr and nurse tell her that they will just watch to make sure that her fever doesn't spike while in labor...15 mins. later the nurse checks her temp only to realize that it has *spiked to 102.4...they immediately *deliver antibiotics and Tylenol and the dr. checks her progression...during this check he founds out that *Rowan is posterior (or sunny side up...which means he is facing up, which is totally opposite from the way he is supposed to be delivered) which means that Heather will have to push LONG and HARD to get the little guy out! And push she did...I have in my life seen somebody so determined in my life! She WAS GOING TO GET HIM HERE...REGARDLESS!! In the midst of her pushing the nurse called for a *bucket of ice water with several wash cloths so that we could douse her in cold ice water to try to break her fever!
After *2 long, grueling hours *Rowan developed Tachycardia (high heart rate about 190-200 beats per minute)So the doctor went ahead and made the decision to use *forceps to "help" him make his entrance into this crazy world...Around 3:00pm on Wednesday they were set to go...At 3:08(the clock says 3:10...not sure about that)

the doctor delivered our precious baby...but in the meantime Heather suffered from a *partial 3 tear and a *rupture (of something, never got the exact terminology but because of it she lost alot of blood...that required some *shot to help stopped the bleeding. The doctor had already explained that because of the meconium incident they weren't going to startle him, and they were going to let NICU take care of suctioning all that mess out of his lungs...so we *didn't hear his cry for an eternity for about 3 minutes and then we FINALLY heard the most beautiful sound ever...his cry! Josh was able to see him and I was able to take very few pictures


because apparently it didn't sound so beautiful to everyone else...They let Heather see him for approx. 30sec 2-3 minutes and


then they *whisked him away to the nursery...Apparently he was "grunting" or "singing" so with every breath he making some, not so good, noise! So they rush him out of the room and now the doctor is having to *take care of Heather which took forever about 30-45 minutes and she was EXHAUSTED...Bless her heart...she was such a trooper!
Everyone else got to go to the nursery to see him, from afar...and they got to see for themselves that he is absolutely precious...
At *6:00pm Heather had still not been able to see him, and she was getting nervous
They finally wheeled her down to the nursery so that she could finally lay eyes on him and know that he was okay.





They did have to *place an I.V. on his tiny little arm

so that they would be able to deliver antibiotics to him (due to poss. infection that Heather might have...high fever) and then she got to hold her baby...


PRAISE THE LORD!! What a sweet moment!
The nurse suggested that *EVERYONE else leave so that the baby wouldn't be at risk for any more infection...*so we all left saddened that we didn't get to see him, but excited for the new Winters addition and their sweet family time together!




Welcome to this world Rowan...

You have already made us so proud and we can't wait to watch you grow! We love you already more than you could ever know!