Surgery Update

We thought you all might like an update on how John Reagan's surgery went.

First, he is doing extremely well. Since Friday we have had a hard time keeping him at bay. He was jumping and running and acting like nothing had ever happened. After a busy weekend, he did get a little sore and is "attempting" rest today.

He did absolutely wonderful! The morning of the surgery, you wouldn't have known he was having anything done. He was having a lot of fun in the hospital coloring, playing, watching everyone in Pre-Op, and visiting with the Child Life Specialist. He was about as relaxed as he could be. Of course after surgery he was in a good bit of pain, but after he slept off the anesthesia and got some food in his tummy he did very well on Thursday.

His right testicle was in his abdomen, still fully formed. The doctor said it was a little smaller than normal. The left one was in his groin and as normal as it could be. Both are in the appropriate place now. John Reagan has 4 incisions and seems to be fascinated by them. Of course being the "picker" that he is he wants to pick at them but hasn't been as bad about that as we thought he would be.

There is no reason to believe he will have any problems having children. The chance of him having problems is slightly higher than someone who didn't have this problem but not enough to worry about. We go back in 2-3 weeks for his follow-up, and we will have this behind us for good. Praise God!

Thank You for all of your prayers! We very much appreciate them. Since I didn't have any pictures for you last time, here is one each of the three.

John Reagan and Daddy were headed to the woods this day!

After church John Reagan and Evie decided they needed to make pallets on the floor and veg out!

And Little Miss Priss resting with her new hat on. Love, love this hat! Check out http://theroseyposey.blogspot.com to see some more of Mrs. Arlene's creations.

I can't believe Averi will be 3 months old in a week! I need things to slow down a bit.

Our house has been in disarray since John Reagan's surgery. EVERYONE has been exhausted and not handling anything well. So needless to say, we all need a day of rest and a break from stress. We are ready for the hustle and bustle of the holidays to be past us.

Please in be prayer for a dear family we know from here, The Wyatt's and The Henderson's. They lost their 29 year old daughter/sister/wife to cancer last night. Many of you have prayed for her in the past in small group. Her name was Autumn!

The Valley

"How long Oh Lord!"

This is what keeps going through my head. "How long Oh Lord will I continue on the same path?" Several years ago we read a letter from Creflo Dollar where he defined insanity as doing the same thing but expecting different results. This has stuck with Greg and me. Needless to say, we are at a point of dissatisfaction. God has been revealing to us how we keep going down the same path, walking the same steps everyday, all while waiting for something different to happen. We have been living in insanity and have been complacent with it. You would think after our move and the struggles we have had as a result of it that we would start doing things differently. We even talked about what we wanted to do differently before we moved (not just spiritually, but even in the daily aspects of life); yet, daily we have failed at the task. Really? How long Oh Lord will we continue on this same path?

The funny part: when I checked our blog last week to see how long it had been since I did a post, the blog started witnessing to me on this matter of "change." This blog has witnessed to me in the past. It is so funny the tools God can and does use to get our attention sometimes. Just before we moved back to Louisiana, I was getting ready to do a blog post and not feeling particularly happy about our situation. When I pulled up the blog I immediately saw the verse Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you."

http://thehasleyhousehold.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

Do you know what the verses prior to Jeremiah 29:11 say? As you have probably guessed I am about to tell you, but first I must lead you into the story. When I started our blog and put the header "The Best is Yet to Be," something about the saying didn't strike me well. It sounded too new age to me or something. So I thought, "Well I will put a verse on here to back that up spiritually." I began to pray about it, and a few weeks later I went to put on a bracelet I have. Of course the bracelet has Jeremiah 29:11 on it. I thought how befitting and couldn't believe I hadn't already thought of the verse. Thus the story of how God led me to put the verse on our blog. I didn't realize then how He would use it to work on us. The whole time we were living with my parents after the move, neither of us were hearing from God nor were we doing our part to hear. As soon as we got settled into our semi-own place we started hearing from God again. He was revealing lots of things to us...some very painful. But we were at the point we were so thankful to be hearing again that we felt we were ready to begin working on changing. One day as I sat to read my bible, God led me to Jeremiah 29. I tried to shrug it off because I knew the great, encouraging verse that was in the chapter. But let me tell you, I didn't know what was before it.

Jeremiah 29:4-10..."The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has "exiled" (my emphasis) to Babylon from Jerusalem: 'Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them, and have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.' The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, 'Do not let the prophets and mediums who are there in Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams because they prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them,' says the Lord. 'The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again."

(New Living Translation)

I couldn't believe what I was reading because "exiled" was the perfect word to describe how Greg and I felt. We can't explain why we felt that way, but we did. I just laughed and thought, "Wow, if I would have known all that beforehand, I probably would not have put Jeremiah 29:11 on our blog." I mean really, did I speak something on us that we weren't prepared for? I have to answer no to this question because the only way God could get our attention was to take us out of our comfort zone and put us right into the very thing we had feared. What we humans do to ourselves sometimes is so unnecessary if we would just humble ourselves before the Lord. And I am preaching to myself here. A free leason for everyone comes out of this: read all the verses before you use the one.

Just a note here to let you in on what God has been dealing with us on. Sorry there are no pictures. As usual the Internet was giving me grief. The good news is we will have our very own Internet next week. We will no longer be bumming off the free wi-fi floating around here.

I did want to update on John Reagan...his surgery is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, the 15th. We have started telling him about it and preparing for it. Please be praying for him for everything to go smoothly with no complications and for Greg and me for peace.

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

What a mouthful the title of this post is!

John Reagan went on his first field trip in the middle of October. His class went to one of the many pumpkin patch's around here. Mommy didn't get to go because of little Averi, but Nana went with John Reagan. We have yet to decide who had more fun out of the two. Nana got TONS of pictures. We just haven't taken her a cd to download them on yet. Shameful I know! We also did family pictures at another Pumpkin Patch with Justin and Meredith Bufkin. Justin is Jon Bufkin's brother for those of you who don't know Justin. He and Meredith are doing a "picture campaign" (for lack of better wording that eludes me right now) as fundraising to bring home their baby girl from Ethiopia. Their campaign title is "One Smile Closer." If you would like to follow them on their journey and check out all the great pictures Justin has already taken along the way, you can find them at http://onedaycloseradoption.blogspot.com/.

Little Averi was a week old here.

We think Justin did a GREAT job. We love all the pictures! If you live around here and are thinking about family pictures in the near future, I highly recommend Justin. If you live in Tennessee and need family pictures, Jon and Kelsey are helping out by giving all their "picture proceeds" toward Justin and Meredith's adoption. What a great brother and sister (in-law)!

I have to give a shout out to Kristin too! She took our family picture and designed our Christmas card for us this year. I so desperately want to give you a sneak peek because I LOVE the work she did. But I cannot ruin the surprise. All I have to say is I highly recommend her if you want a new design for your Christmas card this year. She does a great job. You can check her work out at http://afhphotos.blogspot.com/.

I think I should have given this blog a title that has to do with sales. Do I get commission if I send someone your way? Lol! We are so thankful for friends that we can call/email for pictures and cards and whatever else we need or want. We love all of you!!

In My Absence

Dear Blog,
Please forgive me!

I am not purposely neglecting you. I think about you often. Unfortunately, fifty thousand other things come up before I get to you. Okay, maybe fifty thousand is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. I am sorry that you are the one who gets put off until everything else is caught up. I really do appreciate you even if it doesn't show.

Fortunately for you I am about as stubborn as can be. I stuck with the troublesome Internet today instead of putting you off for yet another day. The ironing will be mad at me later for it.

I am also sorry for what I have neglected to write on your illuminating screen. I totally forgot to mention that Evie is potty-trained and has been for 2 months now. How could I forget something as wonderful as that, especially when it means only one set of diapers. And the angels sing, "Hallelujah!"

I forgot to write about all the fun John Reagan had when we finally did our backyard campfire for him at the first of the month. Or was it Evie who had more fun stealing the chocolate that was supposed to be for the s'mores?

With little Averi, she seems to change everyday, and everyone is enjoying every minute of her. I can't leave off how sweet it is when Evie says, "baby sister!" It never ceases to amaze me how time flies, and it is even more evident with a baby in the house. Little Averi will be a month old in 2 days. I know, oh blog, you completely understand how time flies as you sit and wait on me.



Of course Evie thinks whatever is Averi's is hers as well. Naturally that is okay. Do you remember, dear blog, how 2 years ago we were writing/publishing about John Reagan thinking everything of Evie's was his? Now he has passed the torch on to Evie. What a good big brother!

Since I have neglected you so I am inundating you with pictures, my faithful blog. On the way to Grandmother's house we go. Of course this day was to great-grandmother's house. Brother and Evie wanted to wear their hats so they could be like Daddy!

Naturally the silliness of brother and sister does not fail even when I fail to write about it. The fun they have together now is so precious. I love to hear their laughter as they play together. And when brother and sister are all smiles the house runs so much more smoothly. Thank you Lord for siblings who get along so well and who actually do appreciate one another. Evie never fails in her excitement to go pick "brudder" up at school and loves to tell him, "I missed you, Brudder." Got to love these two!

I wish, my dear blog, I could promise to be more faithful, but I cannot at this time. I do, however, already have a list of 2 blogs I need to post after this, which means as I find the time I will be here to write on your wall. Please forgive me! Please do not leave me! I will be here.

Birthday Wishes!

Happy 34th Birthday to Daddy! He got the best present he could have ever asked for.

Miss Averi Roxanne Hasley made her appearance at 1:41 p.m. September 27, 2010 on Daddy's birthday. She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and is 21 inches long. Our biggest baby yet!

Even the doctor was shocked by how big she was. Neither John Reagan nor Evie broke 7 lbs., so none of us ever expected Averi to be so big, especially since my original due date (which was Sept. 27th) was moved back a week because Miss Priss was measuring a week behind.

She is so precious! We forgot how much we love having a baby in the house, and she is such a good baby.

She really liked her bath time and must think lotion is great. She was so relaxed while I put lotion on her and was looking at me like, "Wow! What is that?"

She is definitely a snuggler! Mommy loves this even though it makes getting things done difficult sometimes (like blogging).

Averi is doing great! We all are enjoying her very much, even Evie. Evie says to her, "Hey baby sister," all the time. And yes, John Reagan is constantly in her face like he was with Evie. The adjustment process has went well so far. Evie has thrown a few fits but is taking her frustrations out on Mommy and Daddy while loving on "baby sister." Thank God she is taking it out on us and not Averi! Daddy goes back to work tomorrow, so we will see how it all goes this week. Something about the number 3 is a little overwhelming. Hopefully like with the last 2 we will fall right in line and not know any different after a week or so.

We look forward to the day we can share our newest family member in person with all of you. Hope everyone is well!

Happy Anniversary!

As has been the case around here lately, I am 4 days behind on this post. However, I still wanted to say Happy 7th Anniversary to my wonderful husband! Sorry you don't get a picture, but with all the baby preparations going on I didn't have time to break out the scanner. Since it has been 7 years, I don't have a picture handy on the computer. I promise you a picture on the 10th Anniversary...if you are still keeping up with me by then. Lol!

One thing is for sure, our 7 years have not been uneventful. Just living with Greg is eventful in itself; besides that though we have:

Moved 5 times-2 of which were out of state

Buried 7 family members

Been through 4 pregnancies-one of which resulted in a miscarriage

I have had 3 surgeries (0 prior to marriage if that tells you anything)

Painted 3 houses (ceilings and all)

Bought a house and sold it

Been through the stress of open heart surgery with my dad and 2 stints with Greg's dad

Lived with my parents for 9 months

and impatiently awaiting the birth of baby girl #2 (will she ever come)

The best part about our 7 years aside from the fact that we have spent them together is all the absolutely, wonderful friends we have made along the way. We would not be who we are today without being totally blessed by all of you. We love you and miss you greatly.

We thought we might spend our 7th anniversary in the hospital, but that obviously didn't happen. Induction is still set for Monday, which is Greg's birthday. I have been hoping Averi would make her appearance early, but as it stands she seems perfectly content. We can't wait to share our newest family member with you soon.

John Reagan

It only took me a few days to sit down and get started, but here I am. Lots has been going on in the Hasley Household this past week, and most of it has centered around John Reagan.

Our little buddy started Pre-K last Tuesday. He was so excited! We didn't have any problems getting him up and going. Can you believe how big he looks? I can't!

Wasn't it just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital? Back on track...John Reagan only goes to school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It is enough for him though. By Thursday he was wanting to know how many more days before he could stay home. Here is our big boy headed out on Tuesday.

He has a friend at Pre-K from last year's Mother's Day Out, Eli. He has been so ready to go play with Eli all summer. The great thing about Eli is that I went to school with his daddy, and we know that we very much approve of Eli and know that he comes from a good Christian background.

After our first week of school, Mommy and John Reagan both had doctor's appointments on Monday. Several of you know that when John Reagan was born, his right testicle was undecended. We went to Vanderbilt for it, and they wanted to do surgery at 4 months old. Of course we were like "No Way!" Now at 4 years old we had to go to the Pediatric Urologist again because it is getting time to take care of the situation. According to the Urologist here his left testicle is also undecended, just not to the extent of the right. Surgery is scheduled for December 15th. However, we are asking you to pray that God will heal this problem and that it will be so evident that we will have to visit the doctor again before our scheduled surgery. We are also asking that you pray this will not cause any problems with infertility for John Reagan as an adult. It shouldn't because he is still young enough if we fix it now, but we don't want there to be any question of infertility ever.

On our way home from Shreveport on Monday, John Reagan was trying his hardest to stay awake,which always involves a great deal of talking. Out of the blue he said, "Momma, one time I prayed to Jesus about moving back to Tennessee and he said yes. I miss our yellow house." To which I responded, "He did!" What is there to say to that? While Daddy and I were looking at each other going "Okay?" John Reagan promptly asks, "How long does it take to get to Jesus' house?" Greg and Me: "Ummmm?" Greg said something to the extent of Jesus living in heaven but also living in our hearts. I followed up with something about having to live a lifetime before you go to Jesus' house. John Reagan got really quiet, so we thought he was asleep. I started telling Greg what we should have said. Thankfully for us little ears were listening. John Reagan piped up, "I'm not asleep!" So we talked a little more about Jesus' house and Jesus always being right beside us even when we can't see him. Hew! All I have to say is please pray for Greg and me to have God's words fill our mouths in times like these and for God to help us be quick on our toes. We are only given windows of opportunities with these questions, and we NEED to have the appropriate answer.

One last laugh from John Reagan-he informed me yesterday on the way home...
"Daddy speeds faster than a woman!"

Baby Update:
I am dilated a centimeter, and the doctor scheduled the induction for Sept. 27th, Greg's Birthday! I go back Monday, the 2oth (Our Anniversary), and he said that he hopes my cervix is favorable enough to move the induction date up to sometime next week. I would prefer to go Monday and him say let's do it today or to go ahead and go into labor before then. I am so ready to have this baby and be done with this pregnancy. Hopefully our next blog will be introducing Miss Averi!

Kindred Spirits

We have all heard the saying "Like Father, Like Son." However, there is a statement that we sometimes neglect..."Like Mother, Like Daughter."

The other night I was in the living room, and I hear Greg, "Oh My God!" As I am walking toward John Reagan's room, Greg peeks his head out the door and says, "She is just like her mother." I walk in to find:

I am a very organized person. In our house, everything has its place and everything needs to be in its place. This is how I feel about things. I believe it goes without saying that Evie believes the same way. She had all of her's and John Reagan's little horses and dinosaurs and whatever else in critters and she was putting them in their place. At this particular moment the place happened to be the 18-wheeler with the dividers for all of John Reagan's cars.

This is not unusual behavior for Evie. Before she discovered the 18-wheeler, she would line the animals up on the window seal or the mini trampoline or where ever she felt the need. Since we have been in the house and she has discovered all of the stuffed animals, she likes to take her favorites and line them up on Mommy and Daddy's bed. That way we have a little extra work before bedtime...putting up the stuffed animals.

I have to say I do rather enjoy having a kindred spirit in the house. My hope is this will continue in the room cleanliness, etc., etc. I also like it because I have been living with 2 of Greg for 4 years now. I needed someone to be on my side of the fence post occasionally. This is not to say that there is not some of me in John Reagan and some of Greg in Evie. Lord knows that is not the case, and thankfully so. They need a good balance. I should say, WE need a good balance. I am just thankful I am not the only organized person in the house. Before Evie girl that was the case. Watch out men, that is no longer! Hallelujah!

Learning to Share

You know as parents we occasionally have to learn a few lessons along the way from our dear children. Isn't it wonderful? I will answer for you...not really!

Learning to share can sometimes be one of those lessons. Although I really don't think it is fair to say us mothers have to learn this lesson. We are pretty much thrown into sharing regardless of how we feel about it. I always say I don't know how I can have problems losing weight because I have to share every meal and snack and drink I have (sometimes with 3 people instead of the usual 2). Sometimes it would be nice to eat in peace, but I have to say when I get that sweet little "Tank You Mommy," or that cute little grin it is all worth it.

When Evie was a baby, John Reagan and I started getting a slice of pizza and coke when we would go to Sam's. We would sit down and have a good mother/son time. Evie was always with us, but she would be in her car seat in the cart. As she grew she joined us at the table, and we began to split our pizza 3 ways. Sometimes Daddy would join us. This habit quickly became a fun family time. This family time has not been happening much here lately. We live about 35-40 minutes from the nearest Sam's, and Mommy has been making the usual trip while out for my doctor visits. Needless to say, the kiddos have been missing out.

While we were in Tennessee, we had to go to Sam's for something, and we made a point to have our family pizza and coke time. As is typical of our trips to Sam's this is what happened to Mommy and Daddy's cokes when we got in the vehicle.

Needless to say, we were experiencing the valuable lesson of sharing. Aren't our kids the ones supposed to be learning this lesson? I guess we don't have to share, but it is so much easier when it means keeping the peace. I am sure you understand. Sharing is well worth the peace that follows.

Of course this next picture is a few days later when we were on our way home, but this is a good example of why sharing is worth it most of the time. I just love the grin on John Reagan's face. Of course Evie is thinking, "Really, do we have to have our picture taken right now."

I know that one day I will miss sharing my time and meals with my precious children, so I am thankful for the time I have with them. They grow way too fast. At least my usual sharing experiences only involve a possible tummy growl but usually not. You know how kids are: like us they only want the GOOD stuff...chocolate and coke.

Tennessee

YAY...pictures up from our trip to Tennessee. We had so much visiting everyone and catching up. As usual with our friends, it felt like we had never left. Even riding around town felt like we were home and it was a normal day. If we missed you this visit, we are so sorry. Wish we could have fit everyone in. One thing we realized after our visit is we are going to have to do it more often. We have let life get in the way this year. Of course I can go through the list of why our trip was put off so long, but those things do not matter. We definitely need to learn when to slow down and take time with our friends. We miss all of you greatly.

I just love this group picture. It is the epitome of how things are when we are able to spend time with everyone. Kelsey and Kristin, I don't know what happened to you two swapping during pictures so we could get both of you in. At least I did get some separate ones of you Kelsey.

When it came to the kid's pictures, there were so many with the kids spread out everywhere till I decided to spare you.

I had to put this one in because John Reagan had so much fun. When we got in the car to leave, Greg asked him if he had fun with all his old friends. He said, "Their not old friends Daddy, their new (whatever that means)." All I know is we have heard non-stop about how he remembers doing this or that in Tennessee. While we were there he wanted to know why we were going to "our" Sam's and "our" grocery store. He started in about remembering something last night. I said, "Buddy, you miss Tennessee, don't you?" His response: "Yea I do, I'm ready to move back there." Of course he thinks we will go back to the same house and everything. Sometimes I wish there was a video reel of what goes on in his mind. It would be interesting.

We also got individual pictures of everyone, but I just have to pick on 2 of them. These 2 pictures are like the group picture...Kristin and John to a tee. Love them! And love you 2 too!

Thanks to the Koffman's for putting up with us for 4 days and nights, and thanks everyone for coming out to see us. Again, if we missed you, we will definitely catch up with you next time. And if we saw you but didn't get to visit much, we will make up for that too. We love all of you and consider ourselves greatly blessed to call you friends.

An Unexpected Visitor

John Reagan was outside the other day supposedly picking up his toys when he started hollering at me that there was a bird by his golf club. Me being used to the hollering scenario responds with something like, "That's good," while I go about my business. I know all of you moms have been there before. John Reagan being the way he is kept on and kept on until I decided to go check it out. Sure enough he was right, and this is what I found.

A baby hummingbird.

At least I think he/she is a baby. I have seen a hummingbird nest before, and I am pretty sure the little guy here wouldn't fit in it anymore. But he still didn't have a lot of color to him besides a line of green down his back. So the assumption remains...a baby. I left him alone for a little while until I got to thinking about the cats around the neighborhood, including our own. I decided to take him to the hummingbird feeder in the backyard hoping his mommy would find him there.

We do have a frequent visitor to the feeder, but he is a male. The male did show up later in the afternoon, and the two had some type of discussion no doubt about baby invading his space. We don't know what became of baby, but he was gone by the next morning. After reading a little about hummingbirds, we are hopeful mommy reunited with baby. He was nowhere to be found.

John Reagan really enjoyed him while he was around. As a matter of fact, it brought his nurturing side out even more. The next day he found a cricket in the house. We had to make cricket a nest to sleep in, and cricket slept on Daddy's nightstand. Thankfully for Daddy John Reagan had already played with cricket enough till his legs no longer worked. I am sure you get my drift. We put cricket in the backyard the next morning.

Evie pays a little bit of attention to all this nurturing going on, but she would just as soon go about her own business. We bought John Reagan (ahem...Daddy) a Wii not too long ago since we still haven't gotten the television hooked up. Daddy and Brother have been busy bees playing around. Evie as usual could care less about all the excitement going on. As a matter of fact, the same night we found birdie, she said she had had enough of all the excitement. She got Daddy's pillow, laid it smack dab in the middle of Daddy and Brother and proceeded to pass out. Daddy looked down to find this.

Unfortunately for us she took it as only cat nap time. Fun times!

If you are a Tennessean, the next time you will be hearing from us will hopefully be face to face. Yay! We leave tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing all of you. The excitement runneth over in the Hasley House. See you soon!

Daily Happenings

I figured I better get in another post before the end of July since I left you hanging for so long the last time. I can't believe we are already headed into August. How crazy?

We have gotten settled into the house for the most part. The carport still looks like a mess, but we are working on that. Daddy has needed some playtime with the kiddos, so we have slacked off the work a tad. We had to strip all the paint in the front bathroom. We did that I think 2 weekends ago, and it still looks the same. Lol! We are at a point of being overwhelmed and don't know where to go next, so we have stopped. Not good with a baby 9 weeks away. Oh well!

We've just been keeping up with the daily routines of life lately, trying to enjoy it. Nothing much going on. We did head over to Jackson this past Saturday to spend the day with the Rutledge's. We had lots of fun and were so glad to get to visit for a while. I of course left the camera behind...shame, shame! I told myself the night before to put it in the bag and somewhere along the lines actually thought I got it in the bag. Lordy, Lordy, bring back the sanity. Thanks Rusty and Elizabeth for inviting us over. We really had a great time and can't wait to catch up again.

As for John Reagan and Evie, they have been up to their usual. John Reagan is ready to start back to "school." He's been talking about it a great deal lately. Evie girl just likes to do her own thing. They had been spending their time fighting over a fold out chair John Reagan has, so I broke out the Lightning McQueen chair to ease the frustration. Instead of getting their own chairs, this is how I found them.

This is where I say, "Oh well, at least they aren't screaming at each other." John Reagan likes to get in Evie's face and get onto her. Being someone who likes my space, it frustrates me to no end, especially when screaming ensues from Evie. Needless to say, sister likes her space too and when brother doesn't back off the arms start flailing. Not good, not good! The joy of parenthood.

Thankfully bedtime brings out the sweetness in them. I am pretty sure they know their time of just 2 is short because they both have been wanting snuggle time with Mommy. We have had to work out the every other night routine and learn to share Mommy. I do get occasional freedom like this night.

They do love on each other at least as much as they fight if not more. Makes it all worth while when they are being sweet to each other. It looks like the sweet times are the only ones I capture on camera. I guess that is because all other times I am too busy playing referee...lol.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have been the favored lunch item lately. That can be good and bad. It was bad for Daddy this day because the peanut butter ended up on his pillow. We haven't figured it out yet, but Evie loves to drag Daddy's pillow around. It apparently works as a good lunch stop.

And for John Reagan's inventiveness...the speaker for the surround sound makes a good drink stop.

I tell you the things I find sometimes.
The grand news is we have settled on dates for a visit to Tennessee. Yay, can't tell you how excited I am. We will be in the weekend of August 14th-15th. Yes we will be there more than these 2 days. We just haven't said exactly what day we are headed up there and what day to head back. We will probably come in that Thursday and head out Tuesday or Wednesday...not 100 percent sure. So I can end with, we will see you soon! Yay!

I'M BAAACK!

I am finally back to blogging. Did you think I was never going to return? I can't believe it has been 2 months since I sat down to update the blog. My how time flies!

We have been super busy, mostly celebrating birthdays. Since the last post, John Reagan turned 4, I turned 30, and Evie girl turned 2. We like to pile them all on at once. Not only that, but as most of you know we have moved.

The house situation is only temporary, but what a relief to be settled somewhere and give my parents space. Of course the past 3 years have been temporary for us. Our rent house in TN was 2 years temporary and living with my parents was 9 months temporary. I think we probably need to redefine the word "temporary" in this household. Now that we all have a little bit of our own space, Mommy and Daddy really need to spend some extra time in our prayer closets. We have no clue what God wants from us past the point of baby #3 arriving. And the word we keep hearing is, "Wait patiently on the Lord!" Is that scary or what? I can give a million reasons why God needs to be on our time table, but I am pretty sure He will ignore me on those matters. So I guess you will find me here attempting to "wait patiently" to the best of my ability along with a little help from the Lord. I might should say "a LOT of help."

I will leave the waiting at that and move on to the celebrating. John Reagan got a bicycle for his birthday. My parents driveway is a slight hill, and Daddy must have not been thinking about buddy only having his bicycle for a day. Greg sent John Reagan down the hill while walking behind him. The problem...the bicycle picked up way more speed than Greg, and John Reagan FROZE! He wouldn't put on the brakes. Needless to say, John Reagan and the bicycle jumped the road at the end of the driveway and jumped the ditch then landed in the barbed wire fence across the road. A side note, it is a small country road...no cars around. Thankfully John Reagan missed the barbed wire, but he nailed the center of the fence post. This was the result...

The fence is there for the neighbor's horse. She heard John Reagan screaming and came running to check on him. She was a lot further away than Daddy, but she beat Daddy to John Reagan. Another blessing because John Reagan loved the idea of that and she helped calm him down. He did get on his bicycle and ride back to the house. It was a very traumatic experience for Daddy. He was freaked out and stressed out way more than John Reagan just from watching it. Of course I can get a laugh out of it because I didn't have to see it. I was tucked away inside the house. John Reagan recouped quickly though.

Memorial Day fell on John Reagan's birthday this year, so we were able to party on the exact day. We have very few pictures of the actual day because our camera battery went dead on us. I got fussed at about it of course, but the grand part about it was I was not the last one to use the camera, which means I got to turn the tables. Don't you just love when it works out that way?

We broke out the slip-n-slide and water balloons and let the kiddos go to town. These pictures were from the day before the party when the battery was being run down...lol!

I was smart enough to get a picture of the cake as soon as it was finished because by party time the next day, it had MANY fingerprints in it from John Reagan and Evie digging in the icing.

Jumping ahead 2 weeks, everyone in the family had lots of fun giving me a hard time about turning 30, as you can see by the cake. Sorry for you but no direct pictures of the pregnant lady. Greg was sure to have the battery fully charged at this point and was nice enough to get mostly side shots.

Evie had lots of fun at Mommy's birthday party. She loves to get her toenails and fingernails painted and the painting process is her and MaeMae's (Auntie Marla) bonding activity. It is Fifi and Evie's bonding activity too. Evie walked up to MaeMae and said "Paint." She even knows where the polish is at MaeMae's house. She went and got it and brought it to MaeMae.

A few weeks after this picture, MaeMae and I went to get a pedicure. We took Evie with us, and she was absolutely fascinated by the whole process. She sat perfectly still and watched every move the workers made. It was so cute! She might be quoting Abby in a few years, Kristin...not able to wear open toe sandals without her toenails being painted.

Our final birthday celebration was Sunday. Evie girl was not the least bit concerned with the activity in the house preparing for her party. We figured she would care less by the time the party arrived. She surprised us though. Sunday morning she said "Party!" Her excitement grew as everyone arrived, but when the cake got here, she was ready!

This is her while we were singing "Happy Birthday." She was cutting up big time. She has been watching and mocking brother way too much here lately.

We didn't think she would blow the candle out by herself or that she even knew how, but she didn't have a problem taking care of business.

Sporting her birthday hat and pajamas. So funny! A shout out to brother who took this picture of sister.

We do have a break from the festivities until Daddy's birthday in September. Of course sister girl #2 is due a week later, so Daddy might be celebrating in the hospital. Daddy has good birthdays. He spent his 27th birthday in Tahiti on his honeymoon. Now he might get to spend his 34th with a new baby girl.

At this point we are all anticipating little Averi Roxanne's arrival. Every time I go to the doctor, John Reagan asks, "Did sister come out?" How hilarious! He just doesn't understand the time frame of "around Daddy's birthday." I officially begin 2 week visits on July 26th, so the countdown has started now. The plan is to make a visit to TN before Labor Day, and hopefully we will be able to follow thru with this plan. Please be in prayer for our sakes that we do make it up for a visit before Averi decides to make her appearance. All 4 of us are in great need of some visiting time with all of you. We miss you bunches! I promise to do better with the blogging now that we are settled. Hallelujah!