National Infertility Week

I saw this posted on another blog and had to post. This is something that is near and dear to my heart. As most of you know it took Dustin and I 5 years of trying before we were blessed with our beautiful daughter, Samara. I know first hand the pain of longing for a child and the roller coaster ride it can be. I remember so vividly the hurt and emptiness that came. Dreams that felt destroyed and a love that had no where to be poured out. It was a very trying time in our marriage but I look back now and know that it only strengthened us and made us better.

Infertility affects more people than most realize and it can be a very difficult thing to talk about. So this week I hope everyone will remember those that are dealing with infertility in prayer. Whether by adoption, foster care, or pregnancy I pray they are each blessed with the most precious gift of all...a child.

Samara Update

I mentioned in my previous post that Samara had another episode on Saturday. This was very disappointing especially after the dr had increased her medication earlier in the week. Everything has seemed to get worse. She is spitting up more/throwing up at times. She is very fussy and cranky and has not slept well for several nights. I called the GI dr back but she wants me to take Samara off of the medication to see what happens and I am just not ready for that. I'm going to giver her 2 more days and if she is not better by this weekend I will quit giving her the medicine to see what happens. At least I will be home with her this weekend. So please keep her in your prayers. It hurts me to see her in pain and I am so confused as to why she has gotten worse all of a sudden. Although she has not been very happy here lately, we did have some fun last night while getting ready for bed! The first pic is the best I have gotten of the two teeth that are coming in on the bottom. She loved playing Peek-a-boo with her washcloth. She is my sweetheart and I love her so much!

Fun at Mimi's

We took the kids to see Mimi and Papa Tad this weekend. They had so much fun...I wish I could say the same. Unfortunately Samara had another episode and the transmission on the Beast went out. So we spent an extra night and made it home on Sunday thanks to Mimi and Papa Tad letting us borrow their Tahoe. The Beast had to stay in MacAlester and will hopefully be fixed soon. Dalton and Lyric didn't let anything slow them down. They made the most of their visit and had so much fun. The kids and Dustin on the Chuckwagon. They rode this thing all over. Even Dalton and Lyric drove it but that was ...well, a little dangerous. Mimi and Papa Tad bought them each fishing poles and we went to the pond and had a picnic. They cooked hotdogs and fished. They waited ever so patiently for that fish to bite!

I had to go back to the house and take care of Samara and when I got back this is what I found.....Dalton and Lyric in the pond! Yuck!!! I'm a city girl even though I was raised on a farm and swimming in a pond is a little much for me. They sure had fun though. I got one picture of Samara with Mimi Sunday morning before we left. She was feeling better and loves to stick her fingers in everyones mouth right now.

So even though things didn't go as planned I am thankful for the following: 1) The beast broke down while we were in MacAlester and not while traveling on the way there or on the way home 2) The Beast is still under warranty by 4,000 miles!!! 3)Dalton and Lyric had so much fun 4)We had a vehicle to get back home and the kids all slept because they were so tired!

Baby Boo's Blues

Okay, so I am posting a ton of pics of Samara tonight. Sorry!, but this past week has been so much fun and so much change in her life. Crawling really changes things. Here is a pic of one of the first times she started crawling. We went to the GI dr today. We got good news! Samara has grown so much that she has actually outgrown the medication she was on. She weighs 18.5 lbs!! The dr. has now increased her meds and stated this may have been why she had an episode a couple of weeks ago. We are hoping that was what caused it. The dr. also stated that some babies' acid reflux does not get better until they are 2. So we will be praying for no more episodes and that she will grow out of it quickly.


Don't you just love those baby blues! I think they are beautiful! They seem to get brighter every day...especially when she smiles.















Samara is all dressed up to go to Ava's birthday party! Ava turned 1!!! It was so much fun! Shoes are so much better in the mouth than on feet.



Now that Samara can get around, she loves to look out the back door and watch Dalton and Lyric play outside.
















This is Samara's new favorite toy. It is one of Lyric's baby dolls. She hugs it, kisses it, plays with its eyes, sucks on its feet, and beats it with other toys (I call it love pats!). She absolutely loves this baby doll. The baby can suck its thumb, but Samara will have none of that! Everytime we put the baby's thumb in its mouth she gets mad and immediately yanks it out.



I couldn't resist this one. Now that Samara has started crawling she has been putting toys in her mouth and crawling with them that way she can take them with her!

Good Morning Shoe Shine!

Here are some great things Lyric has said lately. She keeps us laughing!

Last week we were driving by the State Capitol and I pointed it out to the kids. Lyric got excited and said, "Look Dalton, it's the State Cafeterial!"

A couple of mornings ago, I was getting Samara out of her crib and Lyric came in and said, "Good Morning, Shoe Shine!" I couldn't help but laugh. I can't believe that all this time she thought I was saying shoe shine instead of sunshine when she would wake up in the morning!

Yesterday afternoon Dalton and Lyric were in the car and Lyric wanted me to roll down the window. She started yelling out the window and I asked her why she was yelling. She told me she was trying to talk to the men across the street that were building a new house. I told her they probably didn't have time to talk since they were working. She said, "No, it's because they talk Spanglish." I said what did you just say? She replied, "You know, Spanglish, Uno, Dos, Tres." Once again I could not keep the laughter inside. She is too much sometimes!

Here are some new pics of the kids! Hope everyone is enjoying this warm weather!

We Are On the Move!!!

Samara started crawling!!! She is going everywhere! I can see our life changing right before our eyes. She decided to go wondering through the house today.... I found her in her bedroom :) There is no stopping her now.

She has also finally decided it is time for teeth. She is cutting her first tooth! Yay!!! I can feel it but it is not all the way through yet. There will be pictures coming although she really doesn't like anyone messing with her mouth right now.

Samara still has a clogged tear duct. We went to see an eye specialist last week. He said we could go ahead and do the surgery or give it another 3 months. We opted for the 3 months. So hopefully some more time and massaging will do the trick.

I can't believe how fast she is growing and changing right now. Each stage is something new and exciting. It amazes me how much she has changed since she was born. Since we have got her acid reflux under control she has really calmed down and is such an easy baby. She is definitely indepedent, but...she didn't really have a choice about that with having me for a mom. I love how she watches things and how she has big bright blue eyes. I love listening to her jabber and the way she has started making funny sounds with her tongue. Well I gotta go ....she is into something again!

Easter

I have so much to write about. The past week has been busy, fun, and exhausting. Thursday night we colored eggs. The winds here were fierce and right in the middle of us coloring our eggs we start hearing a loud noise in our backyard. We all ran to our back door and watched our swingset blow over and crumble. The kids were sad and it looks like Dustin has a new project!

Our finished product!


Friday night we had our Community Group Easter Celebration. We had a great time letting the kids hunt eggs in our front yard (due to the mess in our back yard) and playing Cranium with friends.





Liam was having fun!


Emery was finding eggs!


Saturday we headed to the mall. I had the kids Easter pictures made and they had to say hi to the Easter bunny. That afternoon we met Dustin's family at Toby Keith's restaurant. The food was great. We all went to the Bass Pro Shop. The kids looked at the fish and played. MiMi and PaPa Tad brought the kids lots of candy and Easter goodies. Then we went to the Saturday evening service at our church and served in the kids ministry. It was a long and fun day.



Sunday we got up early and headed to Elk City. We went to church with Mamaw and PeePaw. Their church had an Easter egg hunt after the services and of course we had to stay for that. Then we went to PaPa and Nana's house for dinner. More Easter goodies followed. We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying our time with family. Samara got to stay the night at PaPa's house but the rest of us had to head back to Mustang. We had work and school the next day! I'm exhausted just thinking about everything we did this past weekend. We did save the best for last though.

Mom, what did you put on me?

My little Easter bunnies!

Easter was the first holiday that we had Dalton and Lyric. This one made our fourth Easter together. The first Easter they were with us, Dustin's aunt bought the kids Ressurection Eggs. It is a plastic egg crate of different colored eggs. Each egg contains a different object that symbolizes the story of the death, burial, and ressurection of Jesus. The kids absolutely love their Ressurection Eggs and we have made it a tradition to specifically sit down as a family and talk about the story as we go through the eggs. This year was no different. Sunday night when we got home we pulled out the Ressurection eggs and started talking about Jesus. This is by far one of the most special times I enjoy with the kids but this year seemed even more special than past years. Dalton and Lyric were both able to help tell the story and they seemed to understand it better now that they are getting older. I must be truthful, I have really been struggling the past couple weeks with the fact that Dalton and Lyric will no longer be with us on a daily basis. I struggle to understand why I was allowed to care for them as my own for this long to only lose them to a situation that is far from ideal. But I must cling to the truth that I do know and that is this. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 Jesus came and died on the cross to bring reconciliation between a loving God and a world that was lost. I do not know the answers, I don't even understand the situation, but I do know that I want reconciliation in my family and I am committed to trust the one who brought reconciliation to the whole world. He did that by giving up His son. How hard that must have been. I'm so blessed that God loved me enough to let go of His own son I am blessed that He will be right by my side as I let go of Dalton and Lyric.

So tonight I will end this blog by asking you to pray. Please pray for my sister and her boyfriend. Pray that they will turn their lives over to a loving God who loves them no matter what. Pray for Dalton and Lyric. Pray for their safety. Pray that even though they do not have the power to fully understand what it going on that they will have peace and will know they are loved. Pray for me and Dustin. We are each hurting in our own way. Pray that we will learn from this and use it to grow closer to God and to each other.

Bathtime Friend!

Samara gets really excited when she sees herself in the mirror. She starts talking to herself and waves her arms and grins! It is so much fun to watch. Well tonight I was giving her a bath and she started acting all excited and talking like she does when she sees herself in the mirror. Then I realized that she could see herself in the metal plate!! It was hilarious. She tried to touch the baby, she tried to kiss the baby, she was so excited!

First Easter Celebration!

We celebrated Easter with my mom's side of the family on Saturday. It was so much fun...just too much wind. We ate and ate. Most of my cousins and their kids came. There were 14 kids at my grandmas. It was so much fun. They hunted easter eggs and played outside and

inside and had a blast. My grandma always buys them kites for easter but it was way too windy. Just getting a picture was a major task.

Here they are all lined up at a nearby park. The guys hid over 200 eggs! Kuper couldn't wait and he got a head start!

Dalton found one!

Samara chillin in the stroller. She didn't mind though, plastic eggs are so much fun to suck on!

Lyric and Kuper played in Grammy's fountain. They were soaked!

Samara had her first Peep. I didn't do it, Mamaw did! It didn't last long, Samara devoured it.

We ended the day by relaxing and playing cards. It was a great day! We are looking forward to celebrating more this week!