One Hale of a Story

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2010-11-23T04:48:00.001-08:00

Peppermint Dots Christmas Card

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Love...

2009-06-29T19:13:00.001-07:00

How is it possible that my love for this precious little boy grows this much daily? He is getting so big so fast. He can walk, talk, get into just about anything he wants to, eat real food.
I'm afraid I'm becoming a mother of a toddler... duh-duh-dun!
Any ideas for weaning the bottle? He still needs it for night-night. Suggestions appreciated!

I'm baaaack

2009-06-12T23:11:00.001-07:00

On the off chance that ANYONE still reads this, I am blogging again now. I have a lot to catch everyone up on.
Pierson is 1. Can you believe it? My baby turned one. We had a birthday luau for our little guy and fun was had by all. The weather was perfect. It was so much fun to have Pierson and his sweet precious friends God has blessed him with hang out and celebrate.

I can't believe my baby is a year old. It really does seem like yesterday they held up this tiny little human across the room and Jeff and I just looked at each other in amazement.
Happy birthday my little Pierson. I can't believe time has gone so fast. I praise God for you my baby boy. You are the love of our life and our joy!

A blog & Prayer Request

2009-04-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ok I have been way delinquent on this. I do have some sweet new pictures of our baby boy. As every Texas baby must have, I present to you, the bluebonnet pictures!

As it turns out, not a fan of prickly grass

That's my child's foot in the air
Mommy and Pierson soaking up the sun
What a joy Pierson is to us. What a taste of what God's love for us must feel like!
If you could keep our precious Pierson in your prayers, we have 2 ENT & Audiology consults lined up in the next few weeks and probably surgery. He has too much fluid in his ears and it's causing frequent antibiotic resistant ear infections. We want the best doctor to come up the best solution and pray Pierson has no permanent damage (we have no reason to believe he does, it's just a percaution!)
Well, now to catch up on you other people's blogs and lives. I really am getting back in the blog saddle... really!

His new favorite word...

2009-02-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

Pierson has a new favorite word. It's one of his only words, but he loves saying it. Enjoy the video clip!
Cute huh? Our boy has loved his vegetables. Jeff and I have had great joy in making rather than buying his baby food. We did however today find a vegetable that he does not enjoy. I don't know if it was the cauliflower itself or the fact that we mixed his antibiotic for his ear infection with it but he was not a fan. Observe:

We're here!

2009-02-10T15:39:00.001-08:00

I have pics and videos to post. We've been super busy but all is well in the house of Hale!

A New Day

2009-01-21T04:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I ate my lunch and did my paperwork a little earlier than ususal so I could catch the inauguration. Even though I didn't vote for President Obama I couldn't help but be in awe at how great our God is. Yes, that's right, others some pomp and circumstance and red,white and blue ---- I saw God's hand.
While I was preoccupied doing paperwork, I counted at least 5 times during just the part of the ceremony that I watched where God was mentioned, thanked or praised. Our God is great! Praise Him that we have the gift to live in this country.
When we put Pierson to bed on Sunday nights, in addition to thanking God for his Sunday school teachers, we thank God for the gift of going to church to worship and learn about God without facing persicution or danger.
How great is our God?
I also thought the Obama girls were super cute and would wear whatever Michelle Obama was wearing last night. Girl can dress.
In our world, Pierson has had an ear infection but rallied through it and only got a 101.5 fever instead of his traditional 103 degree fever this time. Yeah Pierson! He is now 28 1/2 inches long and 22 pounds. We are swiftly moving into twelve month size clothes. WAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!! My baby is growing. So happy.... :-( I guess all mommies know how I feel. I also suspect he'll start walking soon. He has decided he can stand up in the middle of the room all by himself. Neat, huh?
I leave you with this picture, a take off of the famous Obama campain "HOPE" poster.
Praise God!

Boys will be boys...

2009-01-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

Pierson is waaaaaaay too much fun now. He's always been a joy but now his personality is coming out. He's a climber. He climbed half way up our staircase today (don't worry I was right there with him!)
On Saturday we went over to Chrsiti and Jack's house for dinner and to do a belated Christmas. Jack and Pierson can really play together now. Jack is taking a few steps on his own and Pierson is cruising so their play time was very eventful. The funniest events of the night happened like this:
Two babies, one door to the playhouse. What will happen next?
Now one baby is slightly more mobile than the other. What could happen? Wait for it....
Tackle at the knees! Let the roughhousing and boy-playing begin!
Praise God for these two little extreme blessings! Thank God for a friendship that began while they were still being knit by our precious God in mine and Christi's wombs. Praise God for baby boys that look like their daddies! Praise God, Praise God, Praise God! God is good all the time, all the time, God is good.
Oh, and on another note: Pierson and Jack are now the same size, seperated by 2 pounds, Jack currently winning in poundage!

Ta-Ta 2008, Hola 2009

2009-01-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

2008 will not be a year I forget. I usually monitor everything pre or post 2004 because that's the year I graduated from college, got married, bought a house etc. -- so all in all, pretty eventful.
Now, I will have a new marker: Pre and Post 2008. 2008 was marked with extreme joy and and extreme pain. There was also extreme excitment! Oh what fun it was to prepare for a baby! The growing belly and kicks, the showers, the decorating... it was just wonderful. I still look at the sonogram pictures in amazment. Psalm 119 describes God's handy-work so well. I still tell Pierson that he is "Fearfully and wonderfully made". Looks are fleeting, I don't want to tell Pierson he is cute, just that God has made him fearfully and wonderfully. Wow, that was off topic. Back to our year in review.
Having Pierson was our highlight. To hold that precious baby, the love... the extreme love. What joy! I advise everyone to have a child. Don't worry about the details, focus on the love.
I became a MOM. There is a difference in having a baby and becoming a mom. You become a mom when you adore your C-Sectin scar because it reminds you of the happiest day of your life (other than our wedding day honey!). You become a mom when a poopy diaper isn't gross anymore. You become a mom when you look at your child and think "Oh yeah, I'd give my life for you in a heartbeat." When you feel the extreme panic in your soul and gut when your child has a 103 degree fever. When you know good and well you should put your sleeping baby in his crib, but want to let him sleep on you a little bit longer just so you can adore every little detail of his face, and admire his fingernails and elbow dimples and breathe in his sleeping baby noises and breathing.
Of course 2008 was scarred with extreme pain. I'll still never forget how hard seeing Jeff hurt and be hospitalised and undergo surgeries was. I'll never forget changing Pierson's diaper and emptying Jeff's urinal at 3am. That trial was almost like a warm-up for the horrible, horrible pain and sorrow that came from losing Jason in that terrible accident. It still takes my breath away from my lungs when I really think about it. Within a 4 week time span I went from holding my precious new baby boy and being filled with the most extreme joy to holding my best friend, both of us collapsed on her parents' couch as she wept for the husband who would never come home again and the amazing father that Jack would only know through stories, videos and pictures. To watch my husband weep and weep hard over his best friend's casket. I can't describe the surrealness of the entire event even still. Even though the initial shock and immeidate fall-out of that event is "over", we still live in the ripple of it. We praise God for Jason being in Heaven with him but miss Jason so much. I fully believe Jason will be one of the first friends we'll be reunited at soon after we hear "Well done my good and faithful servant."
2008 was also filled with accomplishment. I became a pro at business travel and now know how to take my entire bag for my trip, including make-up and toiletries (and even a breastpump too!) on board as a carry on without breaking any FAA regulations. In September I was named the #1 Sales Rep for our entire company. Praise God for His faithfulness and the extreme humbeling honor that came with that.
We watched Pierson grow so much in the first 6 1/2 months in his life in 2008. He learned to roll over, crawl and cruise. He got 2 teeth! He can pick up food with his hands, talks to us-even though we have no idea what those destinct coos and aaaahs mean. When we say "up" he lifts his arms. He can even sleep through the night. Oh yes, our baby is so smart.
We pray 2009 is a bit less eventful, or at least has less trials. We pray for health, happiness, growth, our needs to be provided for, peace, hope, joy and love. Our prayer for our family is that we grow closer, shine for Jesus, lead others effectivly and represent our Father. Pierson will grow a lot this year. I'm sure at this point in 2010 I'll be blogging about our walking, talking, toddler. YIKES! This time next year we'll have an 18 month old!!!
Best wishes for a 2009 filled with blessings.
One of my resolutions is to blog more.... stay tuned!
Hola 2009. Nice to meet you.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

Pierson's first Christmas. What joy! It gave me a whole new perspective having a baby this year. I kept thinking, I wonder what baby Jesus was like when he was 6 months old? Something to think about!
We had Jeff's family Christmas eve, our family Christmas morning, my parents Christmas early afternoon and the Garner Christmas late afternoon. Woo! We had so much fun family time. Pierson made out like a bandit with new toys!
We decided to make it a tradition for our family to read the Christmas story by the Christmas tree and thank God for His gift to us before we open presents every year.
Garner Christmas was different this year. We did low maintence. My mom is 2 weeks post knee replacment and still not 100% of course so I organized a low maintence BBQ meal for our entire family. Jeff smoked the meat and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly.
I just can't get over God's gift to us. I keep looking at Pierson and thinking how whole and amazing giving his own Son for us was. Praise God for his ultimate gift.
I have posted a slideshow of Pierson's first Christmas. We have hundreds of pics but I just chose a few or my favorites. Enjoy!

I'm here... really!

2008-12-14T05:41:00.000-08:00

Man alive! Things have been going crazy around here. I will post a real blog and some videos and pictures later (meaning probably like Thursday!) but here is a brief list of what's been going on:
1. Pierson's crawling, pulling up and starting to cruise
2. Pierson turned 6 months old!
3. Christmas 95% done
4. Pierson played baby Jesus in a video production at Church and it became more relavent to me than ever how perfect God's plan of sending His son as one of us was.
5. Finished my Bible study @ church = awesome
6. Hale family lit the advent candle @ church last week
7. Mom had her knee replaced
8. Jeff = awesome dad & hubby
10. Getting ready for Christmas
Now off to church we go!
Will post more later... it will be good.... I promise.

Snapfish:Photo: Favorites

2008-11-29T15:23:00.001-08:00

Snapfish:Photo: Favorites

2008-11-29T15:23:00.000-08:00

Snapfish:Photo: Favorites

2008-11-29T15:22:00.000-08:00

Snapfish:Photo: Favorites

Thanksgiving... Praise be the Our Father!

2008-11-26T17:45:00.001-08:00

What I'm thankful for this year: (In semi-random order)
1. Our Father's amazing love and the grace and salvation he so freely gives
2. My precious giant, quasi-bald, healthy, happy baby boy
3. My husband, healthy and whole after some very scary times
4. Everyone who has prayed for our family
5. Our house -- it's our home
6. Amazing abundance of friends
7. Southmont Baptist Adult 10
9. Bruce and Donna Troy -- our amazing new pastor and his amazing wife
10. Our parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws... ginormous family
11. Our vehicles
12. The ability to mourn with hope
13. Music
14. My amazing company that God has put me with and the ability to work and be a
mommy with them without missing a beat
15. A house covered with toys!
16. My C-Section scar because it means our baby got here safely
17. All the scars on Jeff's knee because I can look at them everyday on my husband,
who is still here with me to hold and love on and kiss every day.
18. Not having slept through the night in nearly 6 months because we have a baby!
19. Hope
20. Opportunities
21. Memories
22. Love
23. Joy
24. Pierson's smile
I could go on forever, and probably will post-blog. Right now I'm about to give thanks for a baby who is tuckered out and needs a bottle to go down. PRAISE YOU FATHER for the gifts you give us everyday, for providing for us before we even know we have need and the ultimate gift of Your precious SON!

What happened to my newborn?

2008-11-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

I love this little guy. He is amazingly precious. Amazingly precious and growing at the speed of light. What happened to my newborn? Here are a few examples:
We can eat baby food!
... and we're quite happy about it! So far we have mastered carrotts, green beans, and peas. Tomorrow we try squash... which reminds me, I need to get on the stick making that after I finish this blog. Any other mommies out there make their own baby food? If you have any good recipes or tips, please share!
We can almost completely escape our bath tub. Time for one of those tub seat thingies!
We can go find mommy when she's working in the kitchen...
We can play in forts that daddy builds for us...

And about half an hour ago, I noticed he was trying to sit up. The next thing I know I looked over and found him playing like that! Sitting up! Like a big boy!!!
As much as I miss my newborn baby, I am so proud of Pierson. It is a joy to watch this little guy grow and I thank God for every step of development that shows us a healthy thriving baby!
Thank you Heavenly Father! This child is a joy!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOWLLLLLLLLLLL!

2008-11-08T00:17:00.000-08:00

A little late, I know, but this week has flown right by. Pierson had his first Halloween/Fall Festival and it was so fun! He went as a bear. I must say, in my calm, objective opinion, he was in fact the cutest bear I've ever seen. I love this child. He was so good. He didn't fuss about his outfit, even with an ear infection.
He was a hit with the ladies...
Look at that cheek spill over!
Before Jeff's family's fall festival.
Our little bear and Christi's little lion. Truly, someone should have dressed up like a ring master.
There was also a picture of Pierson petting a goat. He's really into grabbing hair right now, so you can imagine how that went. Luckilly, the goat abliged.
In other news, we're eating baby food now. Actually, we're eating purees --- but that's for the next blog. Off to bed!

Watch Me Grow!

2008-10-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our squirmy baby boy is so big! Praise God for this little guy!

Adventures In the Pumpkin Patch!

2008-10-22T00:05:00.001-07:00

Praise God for giving the Powells Jack in His perfect timing and us Pierson in His perfect timing as well. He knew what he was doing. I love watching their little friendship grow.
Soon after Pierson was born we decided that he and Jack would go on a pumpkin patch adventure together in October. Well, October is here! Our layout for who was going to come was needless to say a little different than expected. Jason's parents, little bro and sis and Christi's mom joined us as well.
The boys had a blast if I must say so myself. They had some issues with the hay, but now they have a new experience!

In other news, Pierson had his 4 month check-up today. He is in the 90th percentile for height and weight. Way to be proportionate kiddo! He showed Dr. Adams how he can roll over... while she was examining him.
Pierson has the sweetest countenance about him. He's very laid back and will let anyone hold him. We prayed for a baby who smiled easily (check!) loved people (check!) and didn't cry alot (check!) --- of course that's just a few things from the list that we asked God for and He has fulfilled so many of our requests in this precious gift from Him!
God is good all the time....... all the time God is good.
And.... i will start blogging more!

Dear Lady at Nordstrom....

2008-10-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Lady in the Nordstrom restroom who acted like Pierson's poopy diaper was the most offensive smell in the world,
What exactly does your poop smell like?

Dear Lady in the Nordstrom restroom who made sweet faces and cooed at Pierson when he was getting fussy while I was cleaning up his poopy diaper that went from his hind-sections all the way up his back,
Thank you.

Things no one ever tells you that you will experience as a parent.

Quick Update....

2008-10-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

I will blog and post some really cute pictures soon, but I have a cool praise.
Tonight at our sales meeting for Accolade I was awarded the Number One Sales person for all of our company. Can you believe that?
Everyday I pray that God will send me people to bless.
This is ALL HIM and NONE of me.
I am nothing.
He is everything.
He is my everything.
Praise you GOD! Praise YOU!

Such a big week

2008-09-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

This sweet baby is just moving and grooving and growing! We had quite a week.
Sunday we went to church and on our way home we got kind of hungry. We flaled our arms about in distress and ended up with our first shiner
But we cleaned it up and soon recovered, afterall, we are SUPER BABY!
I had a trip to New Braunfels for a super fun project. I told Pierson that he was going to spend the night with just daddy while I was out of town. We agreed that we would miss each other. The next thing I knew, Pierson was in my bag!
He did just fine without me. Upon my return, I decided to do some laundry. At first, Pierson was all on board to help out but then he realised laundry just wasn't his thing.
Oh yes, we did a lot of growing this week. Our biggest milestone this week: We can hold our own bottle! We put it in and out of our mouth all on our own! This is huge.
We are doing well. This has indeed been a big week. I learned I can leave my baby overnight and survive! I praise God that He has called me to a career where I can constantly minister to others and still take care of my baby and husband. This is a huge blessing, and I don't think I could do it if I worked for any other company.
I can't believe how fast this baby is growing. The way he developes and discovers things daily blows my mind. It is such a joy to watch him grow and mature. He's also at an all time cuddly phase. Words can't describe how much I love that!
We've both been thinking about Jason alot this week. I was going through my photobucket account deleting some old pictures and adding new ones, and I found this picture of Jeff and Jason. I think this was summer 2005 or 2006. We miss him.

So Sweet!

2008-09-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

Well hello! It's good to see you!
What can I do for you today?
Oh no problem! We can fix that in a jiff!
Is he not just the best? I praise God for this child! He is getting so long. Want to know how long? Drum roll please.......... 27 inches! This kiddo has grown 7 inches in 15 weeks! Unbelievable!!! He is a stud and I love him. I have also included a close up of his precious face and a picture of my little love sleeping (note the lipstick marks on his forehead via one very in-love mommy!)
I'm going out of town next week and am going to miss this little guy like crazy. I'll only be gone for one night... but still!
I wanted to share something I learned this week. I'm attending a neat Bible study at my church called "Apples of Gold" where older women teach and mentor younger women. It's a great study and the mentors/teachers/cooks are wonderful, kind, wise women. So here's something to take with you: Foregivness is an act of kindness. I know that sounds simple, but I had never wrapped my brain around it fully before. To forgive is to be kind. Wow. Take that with you.
In other news...I'm feeling a little better today. No more fever, which will make you feel about 110% better, and I ate 2 tacos and some icecream. I'm going to bed now though (at 8:36 pm). Night night!

Sick

2008-09-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

I have a raging case of bronchitus and a fever I can't break. I was going to go to work today but my boss said no. So I'm home, feeling very sorry for myself. I'm watching Pierson sleep even though I don't want to get too close to him because I don't want to get him sick. He's awful precious.
Ok that's it.

Some days are harder....

2008-09-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

We're still grieving and will be for a while. Yesterday was a hard one. I sware every cement truck in town was making a point to pass me, or drive behind, beside, or in front of me. I cringe everytime I see one.
Tomorrow is the first UNT game --- the game that Jeff and Jason bought season tickets together for, just as they do every year. Instead of Jason, it will be his dad and brother and Christi's dad. It will be weird not having him there for sure. Jason was so excited about this season. He will have the best seats in the house though!
It just blows my mind that less than 2 months ago we were talking about this day in our living room eating Mexican food and now the day is here and he's gone. It's so strange how some days are harder than others not to cry, and other days when we think of Jason we can't help but crack up laughing loving the memories and praising God for the short life he had here on earth and the eternal life he has with our Father.

In other news.... Pierson who is just so advanced can hold his head up and use his jumper now. Observe:
God, I am not skilled to understand your plan and your ways. I praise God for the time we had with Jason and the memories and amazing friendship you allowed us all to share. I praise you for the knowledge and the hope that we'll see him again someday. We praise you for our precious baby boy and how you allow yourself to be shown through this baby. You are an amazing Father and friend.

Smile!

2008-09-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

We have a lot of great pictures from our fun-filled Labor Day weekend - and will in fact make a massive posting of them later - but this is one of my favorites. Just look at this precious child!

I praise you for this child is fearfully and wonderfully made! Your works are wonderful, amazing, awesome. I know this full well, more than ever!

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho....

2008-08-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

It's back to work I go! I work for the greatest company in the entire world -- hands down. When I said 6 weeks maternity leave, they encouraged me to take 10 --- and when maternity leave was filled with the worst weeks of our life, they encouraged me to take more and come back slowly: I took them up on that offer.
Tuesday was my first day back. I've always felt that God had called me to work outside the home to minister to the sick and injured -- but I must admit, it was nice taking a 3 month baby vacation. I put on my big girl clothes, did my hair and make-up and hit the street back to work. It felt SO good! Do I miss spending every waking minute with Pierson? Yes, of course --- but I truly feel that I'm activly engagin in God's will for my life, our family, and others by going back to work. It's good to have complete peace. I think alot of this comes from working for a Christ centered WOMAN owned company that encourages family time. I can't ask for a bigger blessing. I don't think I would be able to work outside the home if it were any other way.
In other news, Pierson started leaking stomach acid out of his nose and choking on more of it on Monday so of course we took him right to the doctor. Apparently he has a pretty good case of acid reflux. He's such a good baby, he wasn't even fussing about it. Well, I say that-- when the doctor came in he put on quite a show. She gave us a prescription for some specially compounded medicine and it seems to be working. Our poor little guy. Apparently our baby has a sensitive stomach.
We're looking forward to the long weekend. Tomorrow we're having doing Mexican with baby Jack, Christi and our friends the Morgans. Yeah Mexican! This makes me happy. I also think we might put Pierson in the pool for the first time. If we do, there will be pictures.
Happy weekend!

Cousin Time

2008-08-23T06:33:00.001-07:00

We are lucky enough to have a girl cousin who is only 4 days older than us. We got to spend some time together Thursday night and a good time was had by all. We are a giant next to baby Ellie. Me thinks Pierson is going to be tall! My favorite picture of these is the last one. I like how big sister Abbie is covering her ear! Enjoy the pictures.

Our 2 Month Old Got His Shots!

2008-08-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

This was the morning all new parents dread -- the shots! Piers woke up particularly jovial this morning. Jeff and I decided to tell him where we were going, and what we'd be doing and what to expect. We know he probably can't comprehend, but thought the cheerful tones in our voice would help set the tone.
We even took a picture before leaving the house to mark the occasion.

Once we got to the doctor, we did all the weighing and measuring. Our little guy is just short of 24 inches long, 12 pounds 8 ounces (between 50-75 percentile on both) and his head is still in the 25th percentile. So he's growing like a weed! He's cooing and making meaningful communication (which is what 4 month olds are supposed to do!) and he can also push up with his arms and lift his chest and hold up his head -- also like a 4 month old. What can I say? Our baby is advanced! Chronic overachiever like his mommy? Maybe!
Here's Jeff playing with him before the shots... again, he's in a great mood!

Then... the shots. Our poor baby cried bloody murder and let out the biggest tears I have ever seen. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad. We gave him his puppy and bottle as soon as he was done and that seemed to calm him down. Poor little guy. I just about cried too!
We go back in 2 weeks for the rest of the shots. We broke them up in to two parts for many reasons... mainly because I'm allergic to everything and we didn't want to risk a reaction. This is our little guy sounds asleep and calm in the car after the effect
I leave you with a picture we took on Saturday before we went out to dinner. Saturday was his official 2 month birthday. So cute!!!!!!
Amazing Heavenly Father - I praise you for this amazing little man you have brought in to our life. Your works are wonderful and evident in this amazing creation. We thank you for his precious life, his joyful spirit and the love that radiates from him. You are amazing God! I thank You for giving him to us in your amazing timing. You are amazing God --- Amazing!

Best Friends, the second generation

2008-08-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

"Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.' " I Samuel 20:42

Who has the cutest baby boys in the world? We do! They're going to love this when they're 20!

Progress, Updates, and the Faith of Children

2008-07-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally getting Pierson's birth announcements out. The child is 7 weeks old and I'm just now getting them out. I feel like I should have a stamp or something the put on the outside of the envelope that says "Not a bad mom or not proud of my child --- just been a little preoccupied". I have also begun to master the art of getting out of the house with my child. I would like a gold star, please. I can't tell you how much we love this baby. He's the most amazing blessing. God sent him to us in his timing and he is wonderful. I never knew we could love a child this much. His hands, feet.... he's fearfully and wonderfully made for sure!

We're chugging right along at the Hale house. Pierson is getting just huge. We go to the doc week after next and I can't wait to see how big he is by their measures. By ours, he's 22 inches and 11.5 pounds. Jeff is still in physical therapy and we are waiting to hear back to see if a 4th surgery is necessary... we PRAY it is not.

So here's an interesting perspective: Our friends, the Morgans, are equally as close to and as loved by the Powells as we are. They have a precious 4 year old boy who loved Jason and is dealing with his death in his own way. He knows Jason is with Jesus in Heaven now which he thinks is cool, but he also really misses Jason just as we all do. In his precious, child mind he has been trying to figure out ways to get Jason back here to us away from Jesus. The other day he decided that his plan of action would be to sneak up to Heaven, and while Jesus is in the bathroom he's going to steal Jason back and give him to Christi again. Precious.
Jeff's cousin Brian and his wife Kristie came over to our home and cooked us dinner the Sunday after Jason's death. Jeff and I were still very touch and go . Kristie had told their 3 year old that they were bringing us dinner because Jeff and I were sad because.... and then she had to stop and rethink her words. If she said "because their friend went to live with Jesus" Abbie would have rejoiced and thought that was really cool and not understood why we were sad.
What precious perspectives. These children who have their child like faith think living with Jesus is awesome! As adults, we know living with Jesus is in fact awesome.... but we miss those who have beat us to Heaven. We miss those people we love.... and we're "homesick" to be with the ones we love and with our precious Heavenly Father in the place He has created for us. We miss Jason so much. Jeff has been trying desperately to figure out Jason's password for Fantasy Baseball because Jason's team is just bombing.... he wants to finish the season for his best friend.
Our hearts are healing.... we still have some moments that are very hard.
Please pray for peace, hope, and healing for Christi, Jack, and the Roche and Powell families.

New Adventures/Real Hard Truth

2008-07-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

We've had quite a weekend! My cousin Kelley got married -- in Waco -- and I was her matron of honor. Needless to say, the last week had been very hard emotionally and the last thing we really wanted to do was pile in the car and drive two hours and going to a celebration. We didn't feel much like celebrating because, we are still very sad and the idea of piling in the car and going down the highway didn't sound so fun for obvious reasons. Regardless, we packed ourselves up and Pierson (all 4 bags that went with him) and headed to Waco. Please examine hatch of our SUV for evidence of not over packing our infant. We think.

I knew that being in a wedding on what would have been Jason and Christi's wedding anniversary was going to be hard. I kept trying to prepare myself. I did pretty well with the rehearsal until at the end when the preacher was praying over Kelley and Dave and prayed for a "happy, long marriage filled with joy." It was then I just lost it. I started weeping -- like couldn't control my volume, had to get up and run out the back. Ugly crying. The next day at the wedding I cried through most of the ceremony. The other bridesmaids were crying too though -- it was a disguise. My mom took this picture of us at the reception. I think we look lovely.
I'm glad Pierson wasn't dressed in a neutral or I fear we all might have blended together!

Jason is everywhere still and sometimes we think of things we should call and tell him and then remember he's gone. When someone dies suddenly, there are still "pieces" of that person that surround you. For example, Jeff's mom had purchased a HUGE bag of Starbursts and dropped them off right before Jason and Christi had come over two Wednesdays ago. We told Jason to have at 'em. We noticed he was eating more red and pink but was still taking a few yellows and oranges to even it out. We didn't call him out on it, because, well, it's Jason. The other day we dumped the bag of Starburst out in to a bowl for easier access on our kitchen counter. There were hardly any reds or pinks. We just laughed and said "Jason."

Please keep praying for Christi and Jack and the Roche and Powell families. I think so many people think once the funeral is over that the "healing" begins. I'm sure to some level it does, but for these families there is still a huge gaping hole. My best friend is still hurting so deeply and it breaks my heart. We have had some precious conversations since Jason's death that I will never share with anyone, but will instead hide them in my heart as treasures and forever ways I can lift her up. As a best friends I wish I could "fix" her and this situation that haunts and hurts her but I can't... and that's what hurts the most. We serve an amazing, gracious God and we praise Him still.

My Best Friend

2008-07-15T16:52:00.001-07:00

This is day 4. It's been 4 full days since our best friend Jason was tragically taken from us. Imagine losing the love of your life just minutes after kissing him goodbye and sending him to work. It's hard to fathom for so many of us, but for my best friend Christi, it actually happened.
I would be a liquid heap on the floor. People would have to scrape me off the ground and roll me around. I might even literally die.
Not my best friend. Don't get me wrong, she's hurting... hurting deeper than words can describe. She and Jason are the most perfectly matched couple I have ever met. True soul mates in every since of the phrase.
My best friend has been SO brave and shown more strength than any person I have ever met in my life. How do you plan a funeral for the love of your life? How do you walk in to your husband's funeral holding your 5 month old baby. She is hurting more than anyone I've ever met in my life and will still need much love, support and prayer -- all that being said: My best friend is STRONG and I'm so proud of her. She gets her strength from God's strength.
My best friend is indescribable. Jason would have been so proud of the love of his life.
This has been a hard, hard time for us. I want to parlay all of my feelings of the past few days in this entry, but I am so tired mentally and emotionally. I will sum up a few things though:
1. Live life to the fullest
2. Always tell people you love them. Don't be afraid to hug and hug hard.
3. Make friends with everyone. There are a lot of amazing people out there.
4. Love HARD, Love FULLY!
5. Let others see Jesus in you.
6. There truly is good in the world.
7. God is GOOD all the time... ALL the time GOD is GOOD.

The Worst Day of Our Life

2008-07-12T01:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, July 11, 2008 was the worst day of mine and Jeff's lives. As we were watching TV we saw a breaking news notice across the bottom of our screen saying 820 had been shut down in Ft. Worth as a result of a fatal accident. I always feel badly when I see one of those, sometimes I pray. Never in a million years would I think that person in the car who had been killed would have been our best friend, Jason Powell.
We are simply devistated. Jason's birthday is tomorrow and he and his wife's 5th wedding anniversary is next Saturday. His little boy, Jack, is only 5 months old. They were just at our house Wednesday night. They had offered to bring us dinner since Jeff is still out of commision and I'm not 100%. They had been offering to help since Jeff's accident -- that's the kind of friends they are. I said they could bring us dinner but they had to stay and eat with us. We had a great time sitting around our living room watching our baby boys and eating our favorite, Mexican food. We talked about life, family, the babies, and future plans. Jeff and Jason were going to take the boys during mine and Christi's alumni sorority meeting in 2 weeks. They would have a great time having a man day. Here Jason and Jeff are with our boys. We were going to get some icecream, but as babies do, Jack started getting tired and they headed home. Jason said "We'll save the icecream for next time." There will never be a next time. Before they all left, we hugged, told each other we loved each other and said our goodbyes. As they were leaving, I thought to myself, that's the last time we'll ever see them then dismissed that thought because it was crazy and surely just postpartum hormones talking. Looking back I wish I had gone with that feeling, ran after them and hugged them all tighter.
We got the call yesterday early evening from Christi's little sister Amy. Jeff took the phone call. Have you ever watched someone's heart break? Have you ever watched their stomach sink into a pit? That's what I watched my husband do as he received the news that his best friend in the entire world was gone.
How do I console my best friend? No one is supposed to be a widow and a single mom at 26 -- especially not Christi --- not widowed because Jason is gone. There is nothing I can do or say that will bring back Christi's husband or Jack's daddy. Jason was the kind of guy people met, liked and remembered because he's awesome and magnetic and kind. It's simply not fair. All Jason was doing was driving to work --- that's it. How many people who are scum bags drove to work and made it today? This shouldn't have been Jason, it just shouldn't have.
Wednesday night we figured up that we had been friends for 7 years. We met in college when Christi and I dragged, or, uh, had the boys escort us to all of our Sigma events. We were in their wedding, they were in ours. We planned our boys to be close in age so we could raise them together. We had a rule about never moving more than 30 miles away from each other so we would always be close.
Pierson got fussy tonight and I took him out on a walk and cried and cried as I talked to him. I held our precious baby in my arms and told him that he would need to share his daddy now. Boys need dads, plain and simple. Jack has been robbed of his fantastic father. I know Jeff will step in whenever needed for his son's best friend ... Jason would have done if for Jeff and Pierson without hesitation.
I haven't slept much tonight. I woke up around midnight realising I had fallen asleep with Pierson in my arms. As I looked at my precious baby boy, I remembered that Jason's mother had held him the same way when he was a baby. I was so focused on Christi and Jack I had forgotten about his precious parents and siblings. I just held Pierson and cried for Anita and Randy. Jason was Christi's husband, Jack's daddy and their first born --- a son.
It's not fair. I screamed that at God earlier this evening... just so He knew. Jeff told me not to be mad at God --- he's stronger than me because I was so angry.
Please pray for the entire Powell family and the Roche family. No one is ever supposed to lose a child. No 26 year old is supposed to lose the love of their life who they woke up next to this morning and no five month old is supposed to lose his father.
Selfishly, please pray for Jeff and I as we deal with this loss as well. This is the hardest thing we've had to deal with since we've been married. I mark this up as worse than losing my brother or Jeff's Ginny. Even though we know for a FACT that Jason is with Jesus, we will still be grieving him for a long time.
Truly tragic.

Adventures of a New Mommy/ Goings on

2008-07-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Things are finally starting to settle down at the House of Hale. Jeff is home. It's kinda fun spending my maternity leave as a whole family. Never would I have wished for it to go this exact way, but the family time is fun all the same... even if most of it is spent from bed or the living room.
I almost cried when I took this picture because I know how much our family had missed being together for 9 days while Jeff was hospitalized. Pierson loves his daddy and vise versa.

I would also like to share this video I took of Pierson. We started on tummy time last week. There's this really cool toy that my cousin gave us for tummy time. The box said 0-6 months so I assumed Pierson was ready for it -- he is afterall the most advanced, cutest, smartest newborn baby in all the world. Apparently the age on the box is merely a suggestion because this is what happened.

We'll try this toy again in a month or two. Poor baby boy. I'm such a mean mommy to video this instead of taking him off of it immediately - I guess I was waiting for it to magically work! Oh well, I think parents accidentally do this sort of thing all the time. What would YouTube be without all the "oopsies" of first time mommies?
Please keep our family in your prayers still. Jeff has a long way to go still and can't walk without his walker which means he can't carry Pierson which is hard on him.
P.S. Pierson turns one month old on Wednesday! AH! It's unbelievable!!!

Happy 4th Indeed!

2008-07-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

Jeff is home!

He's still not 100% and we still have a long way to go, but, he is home. Please continue to pray for strength for Jeff --physically and emotionally -- walking is still a taxing effort. Pray for the infection to remain at bay.
I can't tell you how good it was to see Jeff give Pierson his bottle last night. I almost cried. I should have just gone ahead with it -- what are a few more tears at this point?

Boo :-(

2008-07-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

The labs were the same. We are so bummed. This means Jeff will either have 1 of 2 surgeries tonight.
The first surgery would be the same orthoscopy and clean out as the last 3 surgeries, or Dr. K will put in a drain and we will have an indefinate stay at the hospital and an open wound until the labs finally come back normal.
I'm at the point where I feel like asking God if I need to speak more loudly. I know He hears these prayers and the fact that Jeff is alive is a HUGE BLESSING. The infection not spreading beyond his knee is a miracle in itself. I'm just at the point where I wish my timing and God's timing were lining up. I know He won't give us more than we can bear. Perhaps I couldn't handle having Jeff and Pierson depending on me right now? I don't know. Please keep those prayers coming though. We need him healed and home.
I feel like I haven't been posting on here about anything other than Jeff's illness and our need for your prayers. I would like to post on here that Pierson is the most amazing blessing and gift from God ever. I love being his mommy. He's such a good baby. Praise God for giving us an easy baby, epsecially when our life has taken a drastic left turn.
Pray for complete and quick healing for Jeff and tonight as you're sitting down to dinner, please pray for Jeff's 4th surgery, whichever one it is...

PLEASE Pray!

2008-07-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Short blog:
Please pray for Jeff to have clear labs tomorrow morning so he can go home. If no clear labs then we have no definate date for discharge and a prolonged hospital stay still ahead of us.
PLEASE PRAY FOR CLEAR LABS!!!!

ENTEROBactrum Colcae

2008-06-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

This is the bug that has invaded Jeff's body via his knee. How this bacteria ended up on a nail that went into a nail gun that went into Jeff's knee is beyond me --- or the doctors. Please keep praying. We want Jeff home and we want him home soon. He may have another knee surgery tonight. We're so over these surgeries... I hate to see Jeff hurting and he hates to be hurting.
Pray he will have no fever and good lab tests and can avoid surgery and be home by Wednesday.
I realised this infection was dangerous, but I didn't know it was this dangerous. Praise God for bringing Jeff through this thus far! Read up below:
Mortality/Morbidity
The mortality and morbidity resulting from this mostly opportunistic pathogen are considerable.
These pathogens can cause disease in virtually any body compartment. They are responsible for frequent and severe nosocomial infections that require prolonged hospitalization, multiple and varied imaging studies and lab tests, a variety of different surgical and nonsurgical procedures, powerful and expensive antimicrobial agents, and, most importantly, when not directly causing death, these pathogens cause considerable suffering among numerous patients, most of whom already are afflicted with chronic diseases.
For bacteremia, the single most important factor in determining mortality appears to be the severity of the underlying disease. Higher 30-day mortality rates were noted in patients presenting with septic shock and increasing Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores. Other factors implicated, independently or by association, in the outcome of Enterobacter bacteremia include thrombocytopenia, hemorrhage, a concurrent pulmonary focus of infection, renal insufficiency, admission in an ICU, prolonged hospitalization , prior surgery, intravascular and/or urinary catheters, immunosuppressive therapy, neutropenia, antibiotic resistance, and inappropriate antimicrobial therapy.
Crude mortality rates are 15-87%, but most reported rates are from 20-46%. Attributable mortality rates are reported to vary from 6-40%.
E cloacae infection has the highest mortality rate of all Enterobacter infections.
Thirty-day mortality rates for bacteremia with cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacter species is significantly higher than infections with susceptible infections (33.7% vs 18.6%.)
Mortality rates for pneumonia resulting from Enterobacter infection are higher than those resulting from many other gram-negative bacilli. These rates are from 14-71%. As with bacteremia, the severity of the underlying disease is the major factor that predicts outcome.
Other factors that indicate an unfavorable outcome are the extent of the disease as seen on the chest radiographs, corticosteroid therapy, isolation of multiple pathogens from lower respiratory secretions, and, possibly, treatment with a single antibiotic.
A review of 17 cases of endocarditis resulting from Enterobacter infection reported an overall mortality rate of 44.4%.

Progress! Praise God!!!

2008-06-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

*Please excuse the spelling and grammar errors and general space-cadet-ness of this blog. I'm tired!
This has been a long week. Jeff has had 2 or 3 surgeries? (Sorry sleep deprivation) and will have another either tonight or tomorrow morning. One or the other. Hopefully, this will be the last. After watching Jeff struggle with pain a morphine pump couldn't even quench, a dangerously high fever, being poked and prodded and missing Pierson terribly it looks like we might have this under control. We're not out of the woods yet, but, it's looking better. Thank you Jesus!
The bug that went into Jeff's body was a big nasty one, they think they've identified it now but we're waiting on a positive culture. The surgeries have been one more painful than the next, but at the same time, they've created huge progress. The infection they've cleaned out of his knee has looked better each time.
1. We praise God for the clearing of the infection
2. We praise God for Dr. John Kristopherson for dedicating the better part of his weekend to going in and out of Jeff to clear out this infection and being so patient with our family and all of the questions we have to ask.
3. We praise God for the prayers of so many. I know they have fallen on God's ears and it is His divine mercy and healing that is clearing Jeff up and getting him on the road to recovery. We are so thankful for an amazing Father who cares for our needs and is mighty Rapha!
4. We praise God for my parents who have been rotating on 4 hours shifts with me between home and the hospital to help take care of Pierson.
5. We praise God for a good baby who rolls with the punches and loves his schedule.
6. We praise God for Jeff's worker's comp case worker, Jennifer, who really seems to know what she's doing.
We still have 6 weeks at least of recovery before things are "normal" again and then a row to hoe after that but I know God is mighty and powerful and will be taking care of Jeff and our family's every need.
Please keep those prayers coming. Man do we feel them!!!!
We're still facing home IV antibiotics and physical therapy. Luckilly, I just happen to work for a company that does that sort of thing and can do the IV at home by myself once the RN sets us up.
Well, I'm off to feed my newly umbilical cord-less baby now.
Please keep those prayers coming!!!!!

From Bad to Worse

2008-06-26T04:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so Jeff's appointment didn't go as we thought it might. As we speak, Jeff is actually in the hospital. This is not good.
So here's the deal:
The MRI showed nothing orthopedically wrong with Jeff's knee, however; when they took his vitals his heartrate was 138. He had been complaining of chest pains before his docs appt yesterday. I took his resting heart rate and it was 98. Way too high for a grown man.
Jeff's mom took him to the doctor and then I get a call that they're admitting him to the hospital. Our fears were confirmed that Jeff has some sort of bad infection in his knee. They used the word "septic".
He will go in for the first of what 2 docs have said will be many surgeries for him this evening. This is not good. He will most likely have to have a PIC line put in and come home on IV antibiotics. He's also out of work for the fore-seeable future. None of this is good.
So here's what you can pray for for us:
1. That God will perform a miracle with the drugs currently being administered to Jeff and when they go in for surgery tonite. Pray that when they go in they are shocked at the small amount if any damage the infection has done and this will be the last surgery he has to have.
2. Pray for relief from pain Jeff is in. I've never seen him this bad. This is his first time to ever have to be in the hospital. He's so healthy other than this.
3. Pray he gets to come home soon and stay home. This is killing him to be away from Pierson.
4. Pray for strength for me. Pray for strength stronger than my hormones. After listening to the gloomy scenarios from last night it was all I could do to get out of the hospital room before having a complete meltdown. I feel so selfish asking for this for me when I'm not the one hurting but I never would have guessed this is what our life would look like 2 weeks after having a baby. I'm still not 100% from my C-Section. I can't drive or carry Pierson's carrier... I just feel completely helpless.
5. Pray for the doctors treating Jeff. Pray that they would have superior and divine wisdom to do what is best to treat Jeff and make him whole again.
6. Pray for the nursing staff and techs that they would make Jeff feel comfortable and safe. Again, at 27, this is his first ever hospital stay.
Pray for Jeff and our little faimly throughout your day today. We really need it! We serve an amazing Father who answers prayers and heals the sick. Ask him for quick and thorough healing for Jeff.

We love this kid!

2008-06-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

He's growing so fast! I took this before a doctor's appointment the other day. Let me tell you, this child loves his naps. He's doing wonderfully. He regained his birth weight and is now rounding the bend to 9 pounds!

We've all adjusted well to being home. It's so neat... we left the house on June 8 as "Jeff and Jane" and now we're our own little family. Very special.
Pierson is such a blessing. Everytime we look at him we fall deeper and deeper in love with him. He is joy! We've been blessed with this amazing child and are enjoying parenthood tremendously. He's.... amazing! Thank you Jesus for this precious child!!!!!

In other news: C-Section healing well, I've learned that those restrictions you get discharged with are for your own good and am following those to a "t".

Jeff is father of the year. I'll blog more about that later, but for now, we need your prayers. Last week Jeff returned to work and at the end of the week sustained a nail gun wound to the knee cap. We thought nothing of it at the time but since then he's gone from bad to worse. There is some kind of serious infection and/or orthopedic injury. He can't even walk sans walker and is out of work for what we're guessing will be a while. In about an hour we'll find out MRI results from his knee. It's killing him that he can't be more hands on with our little guy but they still have some pretty serious playtime together and Pierson spends alot of quality time at his favorite place, daddy's chest. My mom and I gave Pierson a bath today instead of Jeff and I. Pierson could tell the difference!

He's Here!!

2008-06-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Pierson Don Hale is here, he was born on June 9th at 3:04pm. He was 8lbs 3oz and 20 in. long.

It's Almost Time!

2008-06-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Still pregnant. Very pregnant. 40 weeks and 2 days to be exact! I'm very excited to announce that I will not be pregnant much longer. We go in Sunday to begin the process of baby Pierson's entrance into the world. Please keep us in your prayers Sunday night and Monday.
It seems as though Pierson is loving living inside of me. Either that or he is stuck. My dialation is stalled at a pitiful measurment for 4 weeks and Pierson's head can not pass through my pelvis. Dr. Collins said we are looking at an 80% chance of a C-Section. At first, I was a little bummed, but now I'm completely at peace with this. God knows exactly how and when Piers will get here and He is in control of this entire thing. It's a good thing that there's this peace.
It blows my mind that in 3 short days we will be looking at our little guy face to face. The 3D sonogram was a great sneek preview but I want details. How big will he be? Will he have hair? Will he have my funky second and third toes? Jeff's full lips? Whose eyes will he have? I've never been so excited to meet anyone in my entire life. To be able to hold my child... it's just so surreal. So exciting!
We have so many hopes and dreams for this little guy. His name, Pierson Don, means "Strong leader of men". We pray above all else, this child has a love for the Lord that blows our minds and he carries Christ's joy with him always. We pray that the joy of the Lord will radiate through him and God will use this child to lead others in the way of the Lord from an early age. A strong leader of men, that God will use for His kingdom. Who could ask for more?
Now, finally, I have pictures of Pierson's room!
Pierson's Crib... all we need now is a baby to put in it!
No, that's not a border, Jeff hand painted all of designs on himself to match the nursery theme.
Pierson's hutch and changing station
Papparazi monkey. Really, that's our video baby monitor. Clever huh?
A few of Pierson's clothes ready to wear!
More of Pierson's clothes, toys and fun stuff!
Pierson's "going home" outfit. It's a shortall outfit. When we went looking for it Jeff and I both liked it, but then I took a closer look. The plaid used on the collar is the same plaid of the shirt Jeff wore on our first date. This makes it extra special.
Our next blog will probably be introducing our little guy to our friends and family who read the blog. Keep us in your prayers! Oh, and please leave any new mommy / new parents or baby advice if you have any!

Hale of a Story

2008-05-28T15:34:00.001-07:00

Which TV Mom Are You?

My Result: Claire Huxtable

You are Claire Huxtable from The Cosby Show. You have high expectations for your children, just like you have high expectations for yourself. You've probably got your own life and your own career, but nothing is more fun than spending time with your family. You may be a professional woman, but you enjoy getting silly with the kids sometimes.

You want good kids, but you also want them to be successful, smart individuals who can speak their minds — as long as they do so respectfully. While you enjoy being the kind of mom that your kids can come to with a problem, you are not afraid to set them straight when they're acting badly. When it comes to discipline, you try treat your kids like adults, talking calmly and coolly. And that's ultimately why they're going to grow up with such unwavering respect for you — as both a mother and a successful person.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=tvmomogt&c=50652

Update

2008-05-23T01:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here and still pregnant. I've come to accept the fact that I may actually make it to my induction date and I'm ok with that. Pierson and I are up together tonight. Me w/ heartburn, Pierson doing his cardio.
Jeff and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary yesterday. I can't believe 4 years has come and gone so quickly. We're going out for a nice dinner on Saturday but last night I decided to treat Jeff to a home cooked meal.... something I haven't had the energy to do in a long time. He was going to take us out but I cooked! He was surprised!
We don't eat much pizza, mostly because of my food restrictions. We were just talking the other day about how good pizza would be. Well, I found some dough to make crust out of and proceded to make possibly the best pizza either of us have ever made. I cut up all the veggies, cooked the sausage to perfection and voila! Pizza! It was a nice treat. I attempted to make it in to a heart... I did not succeed. Oh well, all goes down the same.
THEN to make it all come together I made chocolate souflees! Let me tell you, they were awesome.
We praise God for these last 4 years and are so excited to see His plan for the 5th year of our marriage to unfold. He has been good to us. We serve an amazing Father!

I'm SO Pregnant!

2008-05-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

I realise we've known this for a while. But I am officially at the point where I feel REALLY pregnany. Like feet in my ribs, bigger than ever and who knew it was ok to put on 4 pounds in a week and a half. He's even kicking and moving differently.
Please pray our little man turns around to the right way. If I were to deliver today he would be a face presentation... we don't want that. That would be painful for both of us.
I feel like I can't breathe and a bit like a whale.
So ready for this baby boy to be here.
We're so in love with him. It's almost ridiculous. 4 weeks 'til we hold our little man!!!! WOOHOO!
But seriously, I feel SO pregnant!

Cuddle Baby & Jesus' Grip

2008-04-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

So I had my doctor's appointment today. A little later than it was supposed to be but Dr. Collins was delivering a baby. I used the bit of downtime to catch up on emails and touch base with my friend Christi (who also used Dr. Collins with her baby Jack -aka Pierson's best friend-) As I was on the phone with her a lady down the hall came bursting out of the room and in a demanding voice said "Am I going to have to wait much longer?" Hearing this I said to Christi "Geez lady, keep your pants on." Christi and I both realised the subtle pun I had unintentionally just dealt out being that the lady was waiting on the OB/GYN. We laughed.
Also, it was decided that if for some reason I am still pregnant on June 9, I will be induced that morning. Good enough for me! So I had mentioned that I've been having rough nights lately -- I now have an explanation as to why. Pierson likes to cuddle. He has lined my spine and his spine right up against each other and decided to nestle down. Unfortunatly there's no rememdy for this other than the tylenol, a good back rub and prayer. I was glad to have an explanation for this and know that I wasn't just being a "woos". It's good to know there was a valid reason my back was/is hurting so badly. Then get home and read through my friend's blogs: http://mandynewman.blogspot.com/2008/04/pray-with-me.html
This is the blog of a precious friend of ours, Mandy. She and her husband were sweet enough to take Jeff under their wings when we were brand-newly-weds and we learned a lot from them and their experiences. God uses this couple and it's a thing of beauty. I read her blog and it brought tears to my eyes. Please pray for Ross and Mandy's friends as you go through your day. I can't imagine the hurt and heartache this couple has to endure. No one is ever ready to lose a child no matter at what age. Makes having a sweet baby boy whose cuddling is causing me physical pain not seem bad at all. If anything, it makes me value the back pain and fall deeper in love with this little boy and praise God for him even more.
In other news -- Jeff and I have to go to court this morning/afternoon. Don't worry, everything is fine with us --- no legal problems here --- but we have to be present at family court for a hearing for a sweet young family -- the husband is Jeff's first cousin. I don't believe there is any family situation that God isn't bigger than. Please pray for this young family today. God is so good and does amazing things everyday. Isn't it reassuring to know God always has us in His grasp? Praise God!
Quite possibly the longest blog ever.

Woooooah!

2008-04-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

So I'm laying here watching TV and all of a sudden I see and feel this FOOT go across the side of my belly. Then it happened again. THEN AGAIN! I tried to call Jeff down to see Pierson's new trick but he wouldn't do it for his daddy. Maybe next time.
Seriously the most crazy thing I've ever seen or experienced in my entire life. Just crazy.
We're almost in that "safe" zone now where if he decided to make an appearance that would be ok if he decided to come. I can't wait to meet him face to face.
I've been having rough nights lately. I wake up with so much back pain that I literally cry. It's pretty terrible. I take some tylenol, eat some cereal, potty and then can finally go back to sleep in about 2 hours. It makes me tired.
It's all worth it to see that little foot!
Fun!

Yes, you may!!!

2008-04-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

So I got a pretty significant "ding" on my car today. It looks to me like someone's door got blown away from them and landed on the side of my car. I was pretty bummed. Then I was driving down the road and saw this minivan. You know the type of people who have a billion bumperstickers all over the back of their car so they can express to you exactly how angry at the world they actually are? Well, that's what I was behind. They odviously were anti-Christian and anti-Bush. But God directed my eyes to one bumper sticker that said "In case of rapture, can I have your car?" I laughed outloud and said "Yes, you may!" Funny how God puts things in perspective. Why worry about an ugly ding when God's promise is so beautiful we can't even comprehend it?

In other news, Pierson's feet have found my lungs and ribs. Makes it a bit hard to breathe but that's ok. I love and treasure each kick and know my days of getting kicked in the ribs are coming to a close soon. A little less than 7 weeks 'til we hold our precious blessing in our arms. Can you believe it?

Pierson's room is almost completely finished and it looks great. Pictures will be posted soon. It really looks like something out of a catalog. Pierson is so lucky to have an amazing daddy who has worked so hard on his room. A mere external show of his amazing love for his son.

Blessed!

2008-04-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

We had our first baby shower on Sunday. Man oh man, are we so blessed! Baby Pierson isn't even here yet and he's so loved! We had so many amazing family and friends, some of which we haven't seen in years come and help give Pierson all the material things he will need to get his life started. We had so many sweet notes, words of advice, congratulations. We are so, so, so, blessed. Praise Jesus for precious family and friends to welcome this little man into the world.

The pictures are of Jeff's truck and Soon-to-be Aunt Kati's car all loaded up with goodies for Pierson. The shots at home are Pierson's goodies in our empty formal living room. Pierson's furniture won't be here until Tuesday so we had to put all the goodies in there until we have furniture to organize everything into.

Who would have thought that one tiny little person could need so much stuff! We are so thankful!

Now comes the putting up of all of the goodies. I've become very possesive over the stash, the hormones and nesting instinct I'm sure. My mother-in-law, who I love, began to look through the stash looking for a particular gift and I just about became unglued. It was worse than if someone was going through my unmentionables. Jeff can touch the stash, I can touch the stash but no one else. Very protective over my nest.

Such a busy week, such blessings.

Lord I praise you for this season in our life. I praise you for surrounding us with people who we can love and who love on us. Your kindness, love and compassion is amazing. Thank you for your blessings!

Telling on Myself..

2008-03-23T02:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it's 4 a.m. and I'm up with pregnancy heartburn. It really sucks but it could be worse.

Funny story time!

Last night our friend Drew purposed to his girlfriend Sarah. He did it up right and had a few of us there for the special event. After the proposal, we went to The Greenhouse Restaurant to celebrate. Pierson has a special way of finding my bladder and he had really found it so I went straight to the bathroom after we got there. I was familiar with this bathroom because I puked in it twice 4 months earlier at Jeff's brother's rehearsal dinner when I was in the thick of "It's morning somewhere" sickness.

So I get to the bathroom area and start to hang a right and notice the sign says "gentlemen". I thought to myself "Huh. That's weird. I could have sworn the bathroom was on the right!" So I go inside the bahtroom marked "Ladies". Once inside I took stock on this bathroom. The sinks were different, the stalls were located in different places and they had COMPLETELY redecorated this bathroom. So I went about my business and as I was washing my hands the reality sank in that I had in fact puked twice in the MEN'S BATHROOM 4 months prior.

Niiiiiiiiiice.
Anyone who has ever been sick enough to puke through Zofran would understand.

Running on E

2008-03-19T18:49:00.001-07:00

I had the privelege to travel on business this week. I love doing this. It's always an honor and a fun time.

The weather was not cooperative. My 6:45 flight from San Antonio ended up leaving around 8:50. My plane was also filled with people who left California at 10am though and had to be re-routed through SanAntonio to get to Dallas. While I wasn't thrilled about my delay, I felt a million times worse for these people. The reason for the delay on our leg of the trip was that our plane was there, but we had no pilot. A small technicality I suppose...

Jeff was a trooper picking me up. Baggage claim and passenger pick-up was a mess. Our routine is he waits curbside right beside the baggage claim put my bag in the car and we leave! Jeff got the perfect curbside spot and then a "cop" on a seguay insisted he move. I told him he should have pulled the, "My wife is standing RIGHT THERE ---- yes, the one who is 7 months pregnant." "Cop" didn't seem to care... screw him!

Ended up getting home about 10:30. My blackberry battery was on empty, my IPOD was on empty and I was too.

I have rested now, and I feel refreshed. My blackberry is powered back up.... my IPOD is not.

In other news, Pierson is starting to collect things... I will post pictures tomorrow. We're getting closer!

Adventures

2008-03-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

Well this has been a heck of a week! Not in a bad way, but in a way that makes you want to sit back and take a deep breath and truly enjoy the exhale.

I got the flu this past week. 27 weeks pregnant and the flu was not a desirable combination. Just so you know, you can't take Tamiflu, the good stuff, while you're pregnant. Luckilly my doctor felt sorry for me and for a stroke of prevention gave me an antibiotic so I wouldn't come down with something else. Such a great doc. Saturday, felt better, went to work for a few hours (health fair season is upon us!).

Then, we went for our 3D/4D sonogram. WOW! We got to see our litlte guy first hand in all his glory. It was amazing! For 20 minutes we got to stare at our little boy. Ooooh and Aaahh at him. Watch him try desperatly to suck on his arm. He was sound asleep the whole time. Baby Pierson is so cute! He has Jeff's nose and my chin --- he has a little cleft in his chin too. He has big eyes, not that he could or would open them for us, and is just the sweetest little baby boy I have ever layed eyes on. I'm sure it's a phenominon that all parents go through, and I know it will be even more mighty when we get to see him outside of my tummy for the first time, but when we looked at him we just kept thinking.... this little baby is half of you and half of me. We made this man! PRAISE GOD for this child.

What's more is that God has known this baby, his soul, the hairs on his head since before time began. How great is our God?!?! I think sometimes it's easy to overlook how amazingly and perfectly God has planned everything for us. His ways are amazing! His works are wonderful! The creation of a human being is so precise, so exact. I don't know how anyone could look at a sonogram, or a baby and question if God actually exists. He is so real.

All this to say, Jeff and I are more in love than ever with this baby. Here are a few of Pierson's pictures. Here's what to look for, this is a profile shot of him, face pointing towards the right hand side.

Thank you God for this child. Thank you for planning him for our family. Thank you for making us all a part of your family. Please continue to protect him and keep him safe. We can't wait to hold him in our arms. We praise you for your works dear Father! We love you for your faithfulness.

6 months!

2008-02-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

I will be 6 months pregnant on Sunday. 6 months! This means I have been pregnant for half a year! This also means we have approximatly 114 days until this precious little boy enters the world.

I'm freaking out.

Not like, bad freaking out.... not fearful of becoming parents, not worried about what to do when Piers gets here but freaking out because I have nothing for his room. I had this same kind of panic a few weeks ago went to Target and bought some newborn diapers and that helped. But this time I'm setting deadlines because I want things to get done. NOW!

We've been looking at crib and baby room sets and frankly, I'm just not satisfied. I can't find anything good enough for this little boy. Everytime we think we've found something we want for him we find something wrong with it. Is this normal? Will anything ever be good enough for Piers?

Jeff has been precious finding nursery ideas and I can't wait to see the final result of the room he puts together for his SON! He's an amazing father already!!! This little guy isn't even born yet and already we fret over making sure everything is perfect for him. We spend so much time making sure his entry and first days in this world are flawless (FYI he's kicking up a storm as I write this) we just want the best for this little guy.

Piers room will get done, we will find furniture that we love, we will have a place to put this little man when he gets home. I just need to breathe... relax.... this, like everything else, is in His hands.

I'm not nuerotic... it's the hormones... this is my matra.

Now on to more pressing issues: Piers wants me to eat some gluten free pancakes.

More blogs to follow....