I want to eat him up

I love how he "fixes" his glasses

Storyteller, Part 3

I knew that I wanted to share our story on our blog because although a lot of you know us personally, a lot of you don't. And even those who know us may not really know the details of what God has done in our lives. So I'm starting at the beginning. Our story is real, raw, and unrehearsed. I hope you read with an open heart.

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In September of 2007, we found out we were pregnant with our third child. We were so excited!  Instead of just calling and telling our parents outright, we sent them a bouquet of yellow flowers with a note that said "Congrats on Baby #3!" Our family's were surprised and so happy for us. We went to the doctor for our first ultrasound on a Friday in October.  We went into the ultrasound room and within minutes the technician told us she couldn’t find a heartbeat, and said she was sorry. She walked out to go get my doctor.  I had to go to the bathroom to get dressed after that, and I just broke down in Jeffry’s arms. My heart was broken again. I can't tell you how thankful I was that Jeffry was there with me and that I wasn't alone. I had to have a D&C that Monday so right after we left my doctor we went to the hospital to get my pre-admission forms done. It was one of the longest days of my life. The poor little man who was filling out my forms was making me so irate. He was trying to crack jokes and make light of things when I had just lost my baby. All I wanted to do was crawl in a hole and die. That night was a bad time for me. I wrestled with sleep; all through the night the Holy Spirit was singing in me that “Jesus’ Blood never fails me”. That Sunday, we went to church and I stood in the audience with my husband and my mom. It was so hard but I didn’t know anything to do besides praise my Jesus for whom He is and cling to Him. I’m not going to lie; I struggled with depression over the next month. I tried explaining it to my mom like this, "I felt like I had something on my back, pushing me down, but I never fell completely to my knees. I never fully gave in to it." I really think my battle with depression was a spiritual one. But I had a Savior who said He’d never leave me nor forsake me. He followed through. He carried me again.

It was hard for me to hear that other people got pregnant or had a baby after that. I was so sad about the baby we had lost that we never had the chance to meet. I think was such a shock because I'd had two perfectly normal pregancies with no complications at all. I cried out to God for another baby, and He answered our prayers in February of 2008. Trace was born in November 2008, and as most of you know, he is truly a gift from the Lord.

If it weren’t for Jesus, I wouldn’t be who I am today. If it weren’t for an intimate relationship with Him, I would probably be in a totally different place in my life. But because He has healed and restored my family, I can be real. I can show people who I really am because He has changed me from the inside out. If you don't know Jesus or if you're still unsure if He even exists, please feel free to contact me. I've shared how He has changed my life in the hopes that He will use my story to affect someone else. 

It's Here!

Just received a package from Prissy Peacock Designs! While browsing online, I fell in love with the Black and White Houndstooth Longall from Prissy Peacock's Etsy shop. I was thinking it would be the cutest outfit for Trace to wear to USM football games once the weather got a little cooler. I messaged Laura to see if she could applique a gold "T" on the front to bring in the black and gold like Southern's team colors. This is the end result!  

I am beyond happy! I can't wait for it to cool down a little so Trace can go to the games styling his new look. He will definitely be wearing Prissy Peacock Designs for the Homecoming game on October 9th! 

Go shop Laura's Etsy store. You won't be sorry! 

Tailgate Time!

Another home game weekend! We spent Friday night at The Rock cheering on our Eagles. They were facing Kansas and the game was being broadcast on ESPN. I knew it was going to be a long night for the boys because the game didn't start until 7 and with it being a televised game, there'd be a lot more timeouts than usual. However, that is the beauty of tailgating with our camper! My mom actually stayed behind at the camper to begin with, so at the end of the 3rd quarter when Caleb and Trace had had enough, I just took them back to her.  They fell asleep so fast! 

Here's a little view of our tailgating setup.  

Jeffry's mom and brother with Caleb. 

Some of the crew. We didn't even set up our tent this week. 

The newlyweds! Jeffry's brother, Johnny and his wife, Danielle got to come to the game. 

Trace, again, enjoying his food. Remember last week?

We brought the big boys' scooters, which was a great idea! They got to ride around on the sidewalks and in the parking lot near us. They burned lots of energy and had a blast doing it!

Danielle and me

The Pride on the field getting us ready to start the game!

My hubby is so crazy! 

Sweet Caleb

Bray with the scoreboard in the background. We beat Kansas 31-16! Woop woop!

Caleb and me. I never get this many pics taken of me in one day.

My hubs and me so excited about beating those Jayhawks! SMTTT!

Fireworks after the game. Great way to spend a Friday night with the fam!

Seeing in Black and Gold

Saturday was so tiring, but so much fun! We got up early, rushed to get some breakfast and left the house at 7:30 for Brayden's first football game. He plays for the Dixie Yellow Jackets. I took a million pics at the game. I was so happy about his very first football game and his first-ever jersey with his name on it. Oh, AND he has the same number that my brother always had! #33...we didn't even choose it. So cool how God throws us little happys like that. Here are some of my fave pics:

Warming up before the game

That's Bray with his arms crossed and back to you. #33

Bray drinking water in front of the coach

He's right in the middle with his knees bent

On the sideline in his "PETERS" jersey! I love it.

He's kinda in the middle if you can see his number.

On the sidelines cheering for a touchdown!

By his coach listening to instructions

One proud Mama with her first football player!

My three boys! So blessed.

Daddy with his football star.

Brotherly love!

Where I've Been- Part 2

Oops! I didn't exactly show up the next day as promised did I? SO sorry. I've got to get back in a posting routine! On with June and July...

We hosted The Current at our house for an event called "Back in the Saddle". The Current is our young adult ministry for ages 18 to thirty somethings at Northwood. We had a blast! The day started out with a huge thunderstorm which dumped a ton of rain, but we still had over 20 people show up. Jeffry had penned up a calf and greased a pig...I can't even begin to tell you how hilarious it was to watch everyone!

A pic of some of The Current group

Jeffry and Micah, our youth pastor, playing on the trampoline

On June 9th, Trace had his 2nd eye surgery to correct the strabismus in his eyes. I wasn't nearly as nervous this time, having gone through it once before, but I was still anxious. Jeffry and I prayed over him before he went in, and the surgery went really well. He has healed up even better than expected. We actually go back to the eye doctor tomorrow for another checkup.

On his surgery bed, waiting to go back!

Sleeping off the drugs after surgery

Hooked up to his IV. His poor little face got super red from a reaction to the anesthesia.

A couple days after surgery. You can see how red the outer corners of his eyes were. But SO straight!

The boys spent a week at Vacation Bible School at FBC Wiggins. They had a great time, and I got to see their "performance" that Friday at noon. That's actually where the above picture of Trace was taken. I also got to celebrate one of my besties bdays a little early! We met in Picayune, got pedicures and had lunch with her family. It was a great day!

Me, Kisha, Cydnee

Jeffry and I celebrated our 8th anniversary in Jamaica again! SO relaxing. We left early on a Monday morning and came back on Saturday around noon. People keep asking us what we did, and we say NOTHING! Haha. We really love Sandals resorts because you can stay completely on the property, have great food and entertainment, and just relax and enjoy each others company. Can't wait til next year!

We came home from Jamaica on Saturday, stayed the night at home, and then loaded up our camper to take the boys to Flint Creek Waterpark on Sunday the 4th. Flint Creek is not too far from our house, so it's like a vacation, but we can still go to work during the day. Several of our friends were out their with their children, and the kids would play for hours. We actually stayed for just over 2 weeks! I was so ready to be home by then, but the boys had a blast. It was our "family vacation" since we skipped the beach this year. 

Bray, Trace, and Caleb in the camper getting ready for bed

Caleb chomping down on a Smore!

Bray with his Smore

Trace playing in the camper

I think that brings us through the end of July! I will post the boys pics of the first day of school next! 

Where I've Been- Part 1

A few of you have asked me what happened, where did I go? I took a little break from blogging because honestly it just felt like one more thing I had to do. I didn't really feel like anyone was reading anyway, so I just quit for a while. I have finally felt like posting again because I missed it and things in my daily life have slowed down some.

So let's get to it. Where have I been?

We spent many hours at the baseball field. Brayden and Caleb often had games at the same time or game times that overlapped. Since Jeffry helped in the dugout for Brayden's team, that left Trace and me running back and forth in between fields! I would carry my camera in one hand and Trace in the other and we'd try to see each boy bat and at least see a little of their time in the field.

Caleb in the dugout

Bray playing catcher!

Trace was such a good fan.

Caleb graduated K-4 at First Baptist in Wiggins. We were blessed to have both sets of grandparents attend! It was a special day for him.

Caleb and Madisyn (I'm trying to arrange their marriage...her mom is my bestie, Cydnee!)

Caleb turned five and we celebrated his birthday 5 times! Yes, he had 5 different parties. Not because I was trying to be Mom of the Year but because Jeffry and I were going to be out of town on his actual birthday. And I felt bad. So we celebrated at Gatti Town, at home with our family, at home with his friends, at my grandparents, and then again with our church family.

Memorial Day weekend, my cousins and aunt came to visit from New Jersey. It was so great to see them! We had everyone at my house for the holiday and had so much fun just spending time together. Jeffry took my brother, cousins, Brayden, and Caleb to float the creek. They all came back a little burnt and exhausted from a great day.

Here is most of the crew at breakfast one morning. I need a bigger table!

This brings us to the end of May! Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow!