For This Child I Have Prayed!

MOTHER'S DAY

2010-05-16T13:14:00.001-07:00

I wanted a cute pic of Maegan in this way cute outfit I got her at Crudefest,but she only had silly faces for me.

Joel's family.

The way cute pot Makayla and Mrs. Becky made for me for Mother's Day. The caterpillar is made with her thumb prints!

Joel always manages to cute my head off in pics. hmmmm....makes ya wonder huh?!

!st dance recital!!

2010-05-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Maegan and her "monkey smile"

Makayla wasn't in the mood for pictures. She only had a 30 min nap all day and fell asleep during the recital.

Wayland and "cousin" as she calls him

Maegan and good 'ole Poppy

The Tredaway's and Maegan

Maegan dancing to R-E-S-P-E-C-T

BIG GREEN TRACTOR BIRTHDAY!!

2010-03-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Joel and Freda arranged with a friend's dad for Maegan to go for a ride on a John Deere GREEN tractor. When we drove up both her and Makayla were so excited with all of the tractors. He had a lot of them.

Maegan doesn't know a stranger! She asked Andy if she could touch one of the tractors and he said How bout I take you for a ride and off she was!

Makayla likes ALL the same things Maegan does. She was equally excited.

Off they went.

The smile on her face was priceless and I will never forget it!

Today was the first nice day in a LONG time!

Here they come back.

Future farmer I think!

She loves taking pictures. All decked out for her John Deere party with her t-shirt, boots, socks and bow!

I had no idea the wheels were so big!

Checking out the cotton stripper.

Some of the cotton that fell off the stripper. Maegan was picking it up feeling it. She picked up something and says," oh, wow look at this!! What is this?" "That's rabbit poop Maegan drop it!!" Love GERM X!!

Posing again.

Maegan wanted to see the horse and steer, but the steer wasn't very friendly so we kept our distance.

I LOVE THIS SMILE Makayla does! Cracks me up!

She's coming out of her shell a little at a time.

My fav of all of the pics!

She has to climb on everything! She's a little monkey.

Makayla did not want to share the driver's seat.

Makayla has to keep her eye on Wayland. He likes to aggravate her.

Poppy and Nanny

Onto the Jumping Party!

She used to be so scared of the slide. Not anymore.

Blowing out her 4 candles! Can't believe it!

Whew! Time to go home!

You know she had a GREAT day when she passes cold out at 7:00pm.

Birthday Time!

2010-03-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

Mid Feb-Mar is a BUSY time in our family with birthdays! We went out to eat for Joel and his sister's birthday. There b-days fall on feb.25 and feb.26. two years difference.We give his parents are hard time about that! Freda is doing well in the sense that her scans from early December show no new areas and her blood levels are not dropping so the oncologist believe this is a sign that the chemo has "washed" the cancer out of her bone marrow. She is still on intensive oral chemo that makes her feel crummy. Then there is the pain of the bone cancer itself. She pretty much stays in pain, but NEVER complains about it. She has even started going back to work on the days she feels well enough to do some light duty things. Her oncologist is confident that with time and treatment, she will be able to return to patrol eventually.

A very rare moment caught on camera!! Makayla socializing with others! Makayla has her very few select people she likes and that's it. She has gotten better lately.

Makayla finally wants to play in the snow now that all has almost melted! Her silly smile! Love her!

Averi helping Maegan make a snow angel.

Daddy trying to get Makayla to get down into the snow. She wasn't having it!

Averi and Maegan building a snowman. This winter has brought us more snow than I've ever remember seeing! It was a nice change!

Maegan and her cousin Mallory before going to the Cinderella ballet! They were too cute in their tu-tus!

DISNEY LIVE!!

2010-03-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

MAKAYLA COULDN'T HOLD OUT ANY LONGER!

BABY BRYCEN WAS SNEAKING THE CONFETTI INTO HIS MOUTH! HE'S SUCH A CUTIE!

MAEGAN & JORDAN

MAEGAN DANCING ALONG

MAEGAN'S FAVORITE!!!!!!! THE FAIRY GODMOTHER AND CINDERELLA! THEY SANG BIBBITY BOBBITY BOO AND SHE LOVED IT!

MAEGAN THOUGHT COWBOY WOODY WAS PRETTY COOL TOO

TIGGER DID A CUTE DANCE

MINNIE MOUSE AND CINDERELLA'S EVIL STEP SISTERS

MAKAYLA SNACKING BEFORE THE SHOW STARTED

WE TOOK THE GIRLS TO LUBBOCK TO SEE DISNEY'S LIVE ROADSHOW. IT WAS REALLY NEAT. THE GIRLS LOVED IT.

UNICEF**Call to Action!!

2010-02-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

MAKAYLA TASTING DADDY'S ICE CREAM TO MAKE SURE IT'S SAFE TO EAT.

ANOTHER SILLY SMILE WHILE EATING CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM.

MAKAYLA COULD WIN 1ST PLACE IN A STARE DOWN CONTEST!

MAKAYLA'S SERIOUS FACE SHE WEARS 20/7!!

MAEGAN'S CHEESEY SMILE!
CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S TIME TO START PLANNING MAEGAN'S 4TH BIRTHDAY!

THE GIRLS RIDING THE ICE CREAM TRUCK AT THE MALL

WAYLAND IS 17!!! (my handsome nephew!)

Follow this link to see what you can do to help!!!
http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/02/02/unicef-a-call-to-action/

This site also has a cool blog about the daily happenings in their orphanage in Haiti if you are interested!! You can sign up for email updates and ways to help.

2009 is coming to an end...

2009-12-30T16:51:00.000-08:00

but, 2010 is going to be THE year for these two cancer WARRIORS!! In the picture below is Trevor Tredaway & Freda (my sister-in-law)

Trevor was 2 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He is now 4! He's been battling this beast for half his life! Today the doctors at St Jude's told his mom what we've all been waiting and praying for!!!!!!! The beast has some battle scars!! The tumor that has been growing on every MRI he's had since the beginning has NOT GROWN since the last MRI. It took up less intravenous contrast which the doctors believe to mean that the beast is severly injured from the chemo and all of the prayers going out to this little man from all over the states! To meet Trevor, you would NEVER know he has cancer. He is a ball of fire and energy! Please remember him in your prayers and that the chemo continues to conquer the beast!
Freda was 31 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the beginning the cancer was only in her breast. They treated her with intravenous chemo and surgery. She did well and was cancer free. Then 4 yrs ago, it returned in her bones. She began oral chemo and injections to put her into menopause because her hormones were feeding the cancer. For awhile the chemo kept the cancer under control. This Spring her routine lab work showed an increase in her cancer markers and her Oncologist informed her she needed to start aggressive treatment NOW!! She is now being treated at MD Anderson for metastatic breast cancer that is in the base of her skull, her ribs, spine, pelvis and femurs. She is tolerating the oral chemo well. The Oncologist says they have had a lot of positive outcomes with this chemo. Freda is staying positive and knows the ultimate person in control is God. Joel and I alternate going to Houston with her to her appointments. We have a great time and cherish every minute of it! Please keep her in your prayers also!

In this picture are two cancer warriors, Freda & Trevor, and a cancer ass kicker, that's me! I know the other two will be cancer ass kickers too!! I was very fortunate to have found my cancer early, it had not spread, I had a wonderful team of doctors and a guardian angel and God watching over me. So instead of cancer being a number or statistic, this is what cancer looks like.

Here is Calen & Maegan playing their Nintendo DS

Makayla snagged Trevor's Cars Computer and has the s!#* eating grin!

My cake from my surprise birthday party Joel had for me! How thoughtful is he??

I just noticed Maegan is standing directly in front of the reindeer so his horns looks like hers! Which is not far from the truth!

My whole family!

**If you would like to follow Trevor's blog, the link is on my sidebar. **

It's been awhile...

2009-12-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Eve/morning snow. It came as a surprise to wake up to this. We don't see snow in West TX often.

Makayla's new fake smile. She does this when you tell her to say cheese.

Maegan at her Christmas party at school, praying before they eat.

Maegan and Averi before Maegan's Christmas program.

Maegan and Santa. No pictures with Makayla. She wasn't fond of the big guy.

Check out her perly whites!

Our 1st snow. The girls loved it for the 5 min they were out there.

The girls decorating the tree.

Maegan on her 1st night of dance. She loves going to dance and is catching on very quickly.

1st day at her big girl school!

PINK for Freda!

2009-11-28T20:54:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Joel's parent's house. I ordered us all breast cancer t-shirts to wear to show our support for Freda. (Joel's sister) She was 1st diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 31!! Several years after she entered remission, the breast cancer returned in her bones. She went on hormone therapy at that time. Now her cancer markers are up again and the only option is chemo.

She goes to MD Anderson in Houston on Tuesday for scans and and appointment with an Oncologist to determine the best protocol that will kick this cancer's *ss!! She is in good spirits and has so many people that love her and are praying for her!

A family picture is soo hard to get these days!

These pictures are backwards but this rollercoaster is gonna be the girls' "big" gift. Their faces are hilarious when they are coming down! It goes pretty fast. Once in the privacy of our backyard, I wanna try it!!

photo catch-up

2009-11-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

Makayla eating ice cream after getting her ears pierced.

Man, I'm glad I didn't go! How sad is that face??!!

Saturday was date night for Joel and I so Nanny my girls and Averi had a slumber party!

Maegan with her trophy at the closing ceremony.

The kiddos that were at closing ceremony with the coaches.

Daddy and his shadow.

Makayla's 1st B-day pics (a bit belated!)

2009-10-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

She had a good time climbing in the jumper and having the other kids bounce her.

clapping for herself, she does this a lot.

Sweet baby cheeks!

Lovin her Tinkerbell chair from Nan & PaPa

Opening gifts with the help of Averi

Maegan feeding Makayla some cake before she digs in on her own.

Maegan being silly

I told y'all she smiles! She loves this car from Nanny,Poppy and Wayland! She is VERY territorial with it!

Her yummy Little Petshop cake. She loves the animals with the big eyes, so that is why we chose Little Petshop. She had a blast at her party and being the center of the attention. I still cannot believe it's been a year! Last year today, Makayla and I were hanging out at the hotel in CA waiting for ICPC clearance to bring her home. Since it was just the two of us, we only got out a couple of times to go to the grocery store and to travel to Orange County, CA to meet the awesome staff at Adoption Network Law Center.

Heavy heart this morning..

2009-10-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

Vincent & Sofi Villacci

After Sammie Hartsfield's passing yesterday(12yro girl that had bone cancer) I read a Jennifer Villacci's post on her son Vincent who was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. Here it is...

This week has not been very good. As you know from earlier posts, Vincent had been throwing up and had been in a lot of pain. The throwing up stopped but the pain continued and when we came to the hospital on wednesday to get ready to start chemo, they decided they wanted to do scans to rule out things that could be causing the pain and nausea. In a million years, we were not prepared for what they told us. The cancer has spread to Vincent's brain. It is coating the meninges on his brain and he has all the symptoms of a person with meningitis. (meningitis would be a much better diagnosis). The pain in his legs is caused by the pressure on his brain (same with the nausea).This is extremely rare and very few Doctors have dealt with this type of progression of rhabdo to the brain when everything else is looking good. They admitted Vincent to ICU on wednesday because of the pressure on the brain. The pressure is like a time bomb that can cause major problems if not relieved. They began steroids wednesday to relieve the pressure. They began a new protocol of chemo last night that has shown promise in reaching brain tumors. He will take that for 5 days and then will begin radiation on his brain and spinal cord. The hope is that he can make it to the radiation to give him a fighting chance at getting the tumor. We are still in shock. At some level, we knew that this was something that could happen but we just felt like he was responding so well that we felt like he would ultimately be a survivor. The Doctors had previously said he had a 10-15% chance at survival. Now, they are saying he has a 0% chance but I found one patient who survived this type of mestasis and that is all I need to not give up hope. The Doctors told us that Vincent needs a miracle and a miracle doesn't come in the form of a drug. Only God can truly heal Vincent and we are praying with all of our might that he will be the miracle and will be feeling better soon and will ultimately be a survivor. Vincent is resting comfortably and the steroids that they gave him to relieve the pressure seem to be working because he is not having the pain he was having. We have not given up hope, our faith is strong and we are looking to God to carry Vincent and us through this journey. Please pray for a miracle, Sofi needs her big brother and we need our little boy.

Please pray for Vincent and his family. He needs a miracle from Heaven now.

Happy 1st Birthday Makayla!

2009-10-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

10-01-08....I received an email from our social worker that our homestudy was completed and he sent us and the law center a copy. Just a couple of hours later we got the CALL that a lady was in labor and asked if our homestudy was done. I said yes and they said they were going to show her our profile. They called back and said she picked us! She was in labor and wanted us to try to be there for the delivery. Since she was on the west coast, there was no way. My parents, Joel's parents, Wayland, my cousins Brandon,Kasey and Kaden were here for it all. We were told to get on the first flight out. Since it was late,it would have to be the next morning. DARN IT! So my mom and I made a mad dash to Wal-Mart to get baby stuff. I just knew we would have a LONG wait, thankfully I was wrong. Kasey and Joel booked our flight out. We got to meet Makayla and her beautiful birthmom at 11:30am on 10-02-08. Here are some pics of tonight.

Enjoying her 1st birthday cake.

Maegan and Makayla this morning at daycare. We brought donut holes for the kids since Joel and I had to work and couldn't take off to do the whole cake and ice cream thing with them at daycare.

Python mouth! She was super excited!

Rhonda (sitter) loving on Makayla.

Before leaving for school.

Santa brought this car for Maegan last Christmas. She was scared of the noise it made up until this last weekend! The girls rode around the front yard forever!

Since it was drizzling for Maegans 1st soccer game, Makayla stayed in the truck.

Maegan going to her 1st soccer game.

too much excitement!

Maegan acting silly.

more pics....

2009-09-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

She was getting so mad! Her headband was sliding off she was sleepy so I bent down to give her a kiss and talk to her and Chanda snapped the picture.

One of the first ones we took, before she ditched the bow!

Maegan always has this smile when her daddy is carrying her! She's such a daddy's girl!

One more...

2009-09-14T16:06:00.001-07:00

I'm really surprised this looks so good! Makayla was so not in the mood. I really don't think she smiled in any of them. Just her serious face is all we got. We should've given her the donut holes before the photo shoot!

A Belated Then and Now...

2009-09-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm soooo excited to share this picture of the girls we took this morning! We took pictures for Makayla's 1st birthday which is Oct. 1st. Makayla didn't smile much, but the pics are awesome! I am VERY proud of my beautiful girls! The photographer is awesome!

Now, then and now....Maegan, 3yrs and a few days ago with our angel,Maureen.

This is 1year ago today!

Maegan on our pick up trip. Maegan and Makayla do resemble eachother a bit!

Another pic of Maegan on our pick up trip.

Update on Trevor's benefit & new pics of the girls

2009-08-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

First off & most important!! I spoke with Michael Manning Saturday regarding the benefit concert for Trevor. Basically, he is just waiting to hear from the business that offered their place to have the concert at. After that he will start to book the bands with an expectant date of 4-6weeks out. He has also sent Dr. Sanjay Gupta all the information about Trevor's cancer in hopes of him doing a segment on it to raise awareness on Astrocytoma. For those of you who don't know Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he is the chief medical correspondent for the health and medical unit at CNN. Dr. Gupta is also a practicing neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery. He has confirmed with his CNN broadcasting asst. that she does have all of Trevor's information and he will follow-up with CNN on Wednesday of this week.
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/gupta.sanjay.html
Mr. Manning is also waiting to hear back from the producers of the Kidd Kraddick morning show that airs out of Dallas. Kidd Kraddick founded Kidd's Kids that helps terminally or chronically ill children. He hopes to do a telephone interview with Trevor's beautiful and strong mom, Melinda, to raise awareness and of Trevor's medical fund. http://www.kiddskids.com/
***so I ask that y'all pray that all of this will come together for Trevor! Mr. Manning is working so hard on this all the way over in Scottsdale,AZ!!***
**If you want to drop a message to Trevor or Melinda or for updates on his status go to
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/trevortredaway or his name on my sidebar!! Here is a turtle we rescued from the road. It was huge!

Maegan wanted her picture with it, but was kinda scared.

Makayla so tickled with herself walking.

Already chasing Maegan

Maegan ready for her 1st soccer practice.

Makayla demolished her breakfast burrito!

New post by Michael Manning!

2009-08-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here is today's blog on Michael Manning's blog about Trevor!
http://www.michaelmanning.tv/blog/blog.htm
I have contacted him to see what he needs me to do and he is going to call me tomorrow! If anyone would like to participate, email me!

Benefit Concert

2009-08-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Michael Manning who is a Public Relations Consultant with a strong background as a Broadcast News Journalist, Reporter & Anchor with PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Cable Television affiliates; Commercial Actor/Voiceover Artist, Author, Magazine Journalist and a Musician, is trying to put a benefit concert on for our little friend Trevor who is still battling cancer. He is continuing to do well with his treatments and routine check-ups at St. Jude in Memphis. If you or anyone you know would be interested in helping, please contact me or you can contact Michael directly through his blog link I attached. You can also follow Trevor's story on his Caring Bridge website on my sidebar.
Thanks!
http://michaelmanning.tv/blog/2009/08/late-august-update-on-trevor-tredaway.html

Last vacation for the summer...

2009-08-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

We love going to the coast for our summer vacations. We didn't make it last summer due to Makayla's adoption. Maegan loved the ocean her first year, but was scared of the waves and would rather stay in the pool. Makayla loved it all. She ate the sand so we couldn't stay at the beach long.

Getting an up close look at the dolphins

Makayla watching the stingrays swim by.

Maegan holding the flounder that was on the boat. She gave it a kiss before she put it back in the water. I totally grossed out! Joel said she did that earlier too. I freaked out he let her do it again! I told him she was gonna catch salmonella (not sure if that's possible) Everyone else on the boat thought it was funny.

Joel & I with my red shoulders! Ouch!

The lighthouse at sunset

We decided to go on a boat ride to see the dolphins. It was H-O-T and we only saw dolphin fins in the far distance. The girls were very bored with it.

Makayla & Daddy waiting for the dolphin boat.

Maegan posing in the swimsuit Heather gave her. Too cute!!

Wayland feeding the seagulls. All I could think of was Finding Nemo and them saying," mine, mine, mine!"

Had to get a picture of them being loving to eachother.

Makayla crawls like this on cold floor and outside. The princess's knees cannot touch!

Makayla learned to stick her tongue out. When you call her name she does this.

I love this picture because you can see her reflection in the sand.

Wayland & Maegan looking at the sea life.

Enjoying her first feel of the sand and ocean

A man at the restaurant made Maegan a mermaid balloon

She ate two slices of watermelon

Summer is almost over....

2009-08-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

We signed Maegan up for soccer today, so we started practicing some with her. She was laughing so hard at herself!

Kelli helping Maegan in the tube. She doesn't care for the lake or ocean anymore. She loves pools though.

Makayla chomping on some ice. She turned 10months old on Aug. 1st! I can't believe she will soon be 1. This bikini is the same one Maegan wore when she was 17months old! Must've shrunk in the washer!

Makayla enjoying the cool water at Jackson's birthday party.

Makayla would stick her hands in the water and suck the water off of them. She had a blast splashing.

Makayla plays so contently alone in the toyroom. She climbs up on all the toys and whatever else is in her way. We had to put up all the paper books because she thought they were really tasty. She is starting to stand up on her own and take a few steps. She started saying ba-ba and sticks her tongue out at you!

2009-07-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Makayla & Daddy walking . Now that she has started crawling, she does not want to be held! She wants to walk. Miss Independent!

Daddy playing with Makayla making her laugh.

Maegan eating some yummy chocolate covered strawberries.

The lion Maegan drew. I was impressed!

Sunday was Joel & my anniversary. He bought Maegan and I earrings. Her mouth in this picture cracked me up! The back already fell off one of them! Thankfully, we didn't lose the bling! The last backs she had were awesome and kept her earrings in, but were literally digging into her earlobes. Makayla hasn't gotten her ears pierced just yet. It's on the to-do list!

Makayla in one her favorite spot in the toy room...the books. She loves pulling all of them out. Her second favorite place is the toy kitches set. She defitinetly plays better by herself! This girl needs the shirt that says" does not play well with others!" Her top two teeth have broken through! She is done with baby food pretty much! She wants big girl food! If you don't give it to her, she won't eat!

Our week in pictures!

2009-07-12T17:54:00.001-07:00

Miss Maegan poses herself! I'm soo jealous of her tan!

Wayland finally got his hair cut! He looks soo different. Of course we couldn't get a normal picture. He was playing with the boys and acting silly by having his shorts pulled up really high.

We are almost out of pink sand! I have no idea where it went?? Maegan & cousin Mallory

Makayla trying watermelon for the 1st time at Ian's birthday party. She loved it!

Trevor & Makayla. He loves babies! He told us to bring her to his house and he'd play cars with her. Trevor has a caringpage blog on my sidebar. He was diagnosed in 2007 with Astrocytoma in his brain with some leptomeningeal spread in his brain and spinal cord. He is fighting this just like a true warrior. He recently traveled back to St. Jude in Memphis for and MRI. They are still awaiting results. His fight is not yet over, so please keep this sweet boy in your prayers! He touches the hearts of all those that meet him.

Of course Grant had to come love on Makayla too. He greets her every morning at daycare.

Maegan and cousin Leah picked some tomatoes. Maegan had most of hers eaten before they made it back to the house.

Our Guatemalan fish!

Kaden, about a 1/2 second before he did a nose dive into the pool.

3 little monkies sitting in a bed watching The Aristocats.

Busy body

Her favorite place to sleep. She lasts about 10min in the swing then she's out.

My mom's family came down for a week. This was the first time they have seen Makayla. She didn't wonderful around people she didn't know and adjusted well. We had a great time!

Makayla's 1st word.....

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

DADA!! Same as Maegan's. When she cries she says it also. When I try to get her to say mama, she just makes a kiss smacking noise.

Makayla is 9 months today!

2009-07-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

A few quick pics of the girls before work and daycare this morning. I can't believe in 3 months Makayla will be 1 yr old! Time is flying faster than ever! She has been refusing baby food for a couple of weeks now. There are only a few things she'll eat. It stresses me out, cause I know she is hungry. She is soooo stubborn. If she doesn't want something you will know it. She makes Maegan cry on a daily basis. Little sister is going to be the bully! They play well most of the time. I love it when they are being silly and laughing so hard at eachother. Makayla has started making the kiss smacking sound. That's how she call the dog or gives kisses. The sitter swares she said "duck" today. Maegan is excited to watch the fireworks. We bought her the Shamu Believe DVD and she has to watch it every night before bed and every morning when she wakes up. We are constantly shocked at what comes out of her mouth! Having 2 girls is wonderful, crazy and dramatic!!

Sea World,Father's Day & Makayla's Court Date

2009-06-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here are the girls before we left. A friend of mine made the dresses, too cute!

Makayla loved holding the cold water bottles

At our hotel. We had a wonderful view of the riverwalk

Didn't take her long to pass out

At the Shamu show. It was Maegan's favorite, so we had to see it 3 times

The end of our first day at Sea World. We were pretty stinky by this point.

We had to wait for the Cinderella carriage, Maegan insisted. After about 5 min. she passed out

She woke up in the room, crying to go find the Cinderella carriage.

Maegan was scared to death of Dolly and Shamu and wouldn't get her pic made.

Makayla would look at this horse and get so excited. She loved it for some reason.

This stuffed toy is the only thing Makayla wanted. It has big weird eyes but she liked it.

She wasn't in the mood for pictures

Maegan dancing

Outside the Bexar Co. Courthouse. We were surprised at how quick it went.

Everytime our lawyer would start talking to the judge, Makayla would lean back and smile at him and he'd crack up laughing and would forget what he was saying. She made everyone laugh. Notice Daddy had to bring snacks to keep her occupied.

Us with the judge and our lawyer. Our TX agency was Adoption Alliance out of San Antonio. They were great! Our lawyer and his son run the agency. They are the friendliest people. The judge was so sweet too.

Outside the court house.

Daddy and Makayla looking at the fountain

Makayla checking out the bright flowers

This is Maegan on the morning of our embassy appointment in Guatemala in Sept. 2006. She was about 6 months old. I wanted them to wear the same outfit. Makayla fille it out a bit more! She got a lot of compliments on her bow. Joel hates it though.

After court we ate at the Rainforest Cafe to celebrate.

Makayla waving to the elephant

Our yummy volcano made out of brownies and ice cream. Makayla was already checking it out.

So we are completely done. I have to get online and find the CA form to submit to get Makayla's birth certificate with our last name. It is so great not having to worry about getting our updates out on time to the agency or scheduling a home study!

June already??

2009-06-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

She didn't cooperate for long!

Posing in Poppy's car. He used to cringe when kids would get near his car! He's more relaxed these days.

Helping Daddy and Poppy put her crib together.

Maegan & her Shih Tzu puppy Bella. I think we had to have said be easy at least 4,478,777 times just last night!

Just a little over a week until we leave to finialize Makayla's adoption! We're gonna take the girls to Sea World while we are there. Makayla pulls herself up constantly and loves to walk around the furniture. When she falls she gets right back up and never sheds a tear. She is such a happy baby. She wakes up smiling every single morning.

Prayers for Vincent

2009-05-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

I met Jennifer in 2005 when we signed with our Guatemalan agency. She was waiting to bring her daughter,Sofia, home and I was waiting for Maegan to be born!!

She has beautiful son,Vincent. He started having leg pains in April while on vacation. When they returned home, they made an appointment and heard the words no parents want to hear. Your son has cancer.

Click on the carepages link below. It's easy to become a member and you can read Vincent's story and follow his progress. You can also leave words of encouragement for him or his parents. Thanks for your prayers for this little cancer warrior!

http://www.carepages.com/login?client_code=uchicagokids

Day at the Zoo

2009-05-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

We had to take a break and eat slushees to cool off!

Last time we went, she wouldn't go near the caterpillar?

Laughing at the spider monkies

Maegan loves to feed the giraffes. She gets a kick out of their long tongues wrapping around the cracker when they take it from your hand. I had no clue their tongues are up to 20 in long!

Maegan announcing to everyone at the flamingo pond that it smelt like poop!

Makayla enjoyed it too!

Maegan still has her heart necklace and bracelt her Guatemalan boy friend Matthew sent her for her 1st Valentines Day! When we were getting ready, she said she HAD to wear it!

Maegan loves going to the zoo to look at the animals and reptiles. It wasn't too hot so they were pretty active and that was awesome!

I'm behind on posts again!

2009-05-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

Maegan playing with her water table

All better now! When we were discharged from the hospital, she came home and took a nap. When she woke up she wanted to play on the floor. So daddy put her down and off she went! Crawling like she's been doing it for weeks! I couldn't believe it. Crawling is getting old, so she is pulling up on stuff and trying to take steps.

Pretty smile even when she doesn't feel good.

Dr. M.Garza

Wayland loves to mess her hair up. You can see her 2 bottom teeth in this one.

Nanny makes it all better

Daddy and his girls. He's such a sucker when it comes to them!

My poor baby!! She was so pale and icky feeling!

Maegan brought me and the camera and said take a picture of us.

Makayla's cute little baby toes!

2009-05-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

Friday was Rhonda's birthday so some of the kiddos wore black to celebrate!

Weekend Fun

2009-04-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

Kaden sharing his walker with Makayla

Makayla showing off her onesie and bow Brandie made her. The onesies are soo adorable.

Inside the crown says DIVA!!

Maegan all partied out!

Maegan & Steph swinging. Steph is so good with Maegan, she swung her until she was done. Her legs were definitely feeling the burn!

Birthday Princess Reese & Maegan playing on the jumper

Ready to party!

Sister bonding

Maegan is addicting to planting flowers. She always wants to go back to the store to buy more. Makayla doesn't care for being outside more than a little while.

It's been awhile!!

2009-04-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

Maegan actually took this picture of Makayla! A girl at work thinks Makayla looks like a baby Dora!

One of the many self portraits of Maegan took of herself!

The girls with their Easter baskets.

Nanny, Maegan and Averi decorating eggs.

Makayla laughing at her silly big sister. Maegan is the only one that can make Makayla laugh so hard.

M'Kenna & Makayla at the Easter party Mindy had for the kids. They had a great time! It was comforting to be with good friends during sad times! Friends are the family members God forgot to give you~

Maegan & Makayla watching the baby channel before going to bed. They really love eachother!

Maegan says Makayla looks like the Lollipop kids from the Wizard of Oz in this pajama outfit.

I started a new job 2 weeks ago and I really like it. Makayla has gotten her 2 bottom teeth. She sits up for a good while before she loses her balance. She loves to lay on her belly and she scoots around kinda like Army crawling to get where she needs to be.

Sweet girls!

2009-03-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Maegan giving Makayla a good-bye hug before leaving for Rhonda's. Makayla has the longest, fullest eyelashes I've ever seen.

All the jumping tired her out!

Healthy thighs!

Maegan reading her Nursery Rhyme book. Sorry it's blurry, I didn't realize it when I was adding it.

The girls last Sunday waiting for our social worker to arrive to do Makayla's post placement visit. We have one more, then we can schedule our court date to finialize her adoption! Yea!

I wish I knew how to upload videos because she cracks us up when she gets going!

Belated Birthday Pics!

2009-03-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Family picture

Maegan telling her daddy that she is scared of Chuck E Cheese

Maegan's birthday cake. It was delicious!

Makayla checking out baby Kaden. He is holding onto his mama for dear life!

This is the only Chuck E Cheese Maegan would get close to!

Playing a game with daddy

Riding the bicycle that goes up in the air

Makayla and Nan

Wayland playing with some random kids at Chuck E Cheese. He gets his driver's license in a week! I can't believe it!

Mason and Jackson on the rollercoaster ride

Maegan and Mallory

Maegan and Averi. Can you believe just 3 weeks ago, Averi suffered a skull fracture and was air lifted to the children's hospital in Lubbock??!! God answered our prayers and she is doing great! She is as sassy as ever! Gotta love her though! Joel and I never planned on having kids until Averi came along! Her parent are very good friends of ours. I was in the room when she was born! She is like our first daughter! We shared custody with her parents. haha!

We wedged Maegan in between Ian and Averi so she couldn't escape when Chuck E Cheese came out to sing her Happy Birthday!

Couldn't go left or right so she went up! Makayla loved Chuck E Cheese! She was petting his nose. I'll post those pics later.

Maegan absolutely loved the Tredaway's gift. Her own recliner! Her 2nd favorite gift was the singing Dora birthday card!

Makayla playing with her penguin. She'll lay on the floor and knock him down so he'll make noise forever.

2 Birthday Parties today!

2009-03-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Please remember Abby Riggs & Trevor Tredaway in your prayers! Trevor's CaringBridge link is in my sidebar!

Maegan was playing dress-up last night

Pretending she is a ballerina

I brought a cake to her daycare to share with her friends. Bubba Ian beat Maegan to blowing out the candles!

Rhonda wasn't cutting the cake fast enough! Maegan had to stick her finger in it

Tonight was Maegan's cousin,Mallory's 5th birthday party.

Maegan checking out her goodie bag

Chuck E Cheese party #1

2009-03-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

My cousin had her daughter's birthday party at C.E.C last weekend and Maegan's is this weekend! That's waaayyy more than enough for me! Maegan was ok until she woke up from her nap. She started running a high fever and was lethargic. She slept through most of the party. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. She ran fever for the rest of the night and Sunday. We took her to the Dr and her ears were a little red & upper respiratory infection. She is much better today & went back to school.

Another Makayla mugshot! She loved watching C.E.C! She laughed and kicked her legs. She is talking a lot more. She screams to get your attention. She grabs at everything, especially food & drinks and tries to get them in her mouth before you get them from her. She has started to roll.

Nanny & Makayla

Prayers for Abby

2009-03-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

Click on Abby's link to follow her story! She is in the hospital again and is having a rough time and could use your prayers!

Sorry, I've been slacking again!

2009-02-28T20:29:00.000-08:00

My sleeping beauties in the car! They never fall asleep in the car, so for both to fall asleep, it was a miracle!

Friday night I gave Maegan some Benadryl because her nose was yuck. She woke this morning at 6am & was wired until 530pm when she crashed in the car! She was acting crazy and going non-stop!

Makayla & Steph at Mason's birthday party. Makayla has developed her likes and dislikes of people already! She will only let certain people hold her. If you aren't one of the few, she will glare at you then comes the big lips and tears!

Makayla rolled from her tummy to her back last night!

Tummy time! Maegan would never do this! She'd lay her head down and scream.

Baby Kaden's 1st b-day!! His first taste of the cake....

All done! He didn't like all the goop on his hands. His mommy had a heck of a time getting the blue dye out of his hair.

Makayla sporting her ears at Kaden's party.

Maegan must've had the giggles

Random pictures

2009-02-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

Maegan with the balloons her Daddy gave her for Valentine's Day.

We bribed her with a ride on the horse(or bull it looks like) if she smiled and acted nice for the pictures. The darn thing was broke though! The pictures of the girls and Wayland turned out so good!

Maegan loves to play Dora games on Noggin. She has figures out how to use the cursor and clicker!

Maegan looks really big in this picture. We went for her 4 mo shots and she weighed 14lbs! Maegan was 15lbs at 6mo!

Her confused look!

Happy cheeks!

Maegan loves Wizard of Oz! Mom found her this shirt/nightgown and she loved it! When I was showing her the tag goes in the back, I noticed it was made in Guatemala! How weird is that?

Ian, Grant, Maegan and Makayla at Maegan's Valentine's Day party at school. Maegan has gone to daycare with these two since she came home! It's cool to watch them grown up together!

Cookie decorating party!!

2009-02-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here is an update from the JCICS on what going on in Guatemala!! It is very sad & sickening!

On January 1, 2008, under significant scrutiny and amidst allegations of corruption, child trafficking and unethical practices, Guatemala implemented the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Now, 12 months since its implementation, has the Convention truly been the answer? Unfortunately the manner in which Guatemala implemented the Convention has not resulted in an ethical intercountry adoption system; it has resulted in no intercountry adoption system. The implementation of the Convention has indeed succeeded in adding protections. But it has also failed in its role to serve children. Despite an estimated 6,000 institutionalized children and few domestic adoptions, not one child has found a permanent family through the Convention. When the Convention was implemented the law stated that the estimated 3,000 adoptions that had been initiated would be completed. One year and countless investigations by the PGN, MP, CNA and Guatemalan courts later, over 1,000 children have yet to have their adoptions completed. As recently published by Nuestro Diario, a leading Guatemalan newspaper, children are being abandoned to the streets at an alarming rate. With few government institutions to provide care and the closure of many private institutions, some birthmothers are simply leaving their newly born children in trash dumps. Nuestro Diario reports that in Guatemala City alone, 91 children were found abandoned with 70 being new born infants. Twenty abandoned children in Guatemala City were found after they had already perished. (Can you imagine this has been reported to have happened in the first 12 months and only reported in Guatemala City...how many children are found in this very same condition in other cities and small villages? What will the number be next year?? It sickens me to even think about it!)What is being done to build a social service system which not only protects children from corruption but also from a tragic death? The formation of a spectrum of services including Family Preservation, Kinship Care, Domestic Adoption and Intercountry Adoption is desperately needed to ensure that children retain their right to a family and are protected from the detrimental effects of institutionalization, or even an unnecessary death.

4 months old!

2009-02-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

My sweet girls!

Makayla's serious face. She does smile I promise! As soon as the red light comes on before the picture snaps, she stops smiling and stares at the light all confused looking! I went shopping this weekend & the girls stayed with their daddy. Maegan was fine, but Makayla cried and fussed the whole time. She's used to me being with her 100% of the time! She reaches for objects and tries her hardest to hold her bottle. She changes so much everyday.

Pretty girls

2009-01-29T12:23:00.000-08:00

She loves to play with Maegan's big bunny.

The bonnet barely fit! But, she looked sooo cute!

Maegan got the camera and started taking pictures of Makayla. She didn't want her picture taken.

What a cute close-up she got of Makayla! She looks like she is in deep thought.

Maegan loves holding Makayla and tries to pick her up when she is crying. She has really surprised us with how great she is with her. I was catching up both of their baby books last night. Maegan was looking at hers and was convinced the baby was Makayla! She didn't believe it was here. We told her that was when you were in Guatemala with _______.(her fostermom) and that is when Mommy and Daddy got on the airplane to bring you home. When she sees an airplane she'll say, we rode an airplane to California to pick Makayla up! She remembers so many details of that trip! Even though she was sick and not feeling well. I'm so glad we were able to take her.

She's starting early!

2009-01-27T03:02:00.001-08:00

Here is Miss Maegan blow drying her hair after her bath. It goes more smoothly if I let her do it herself for a bit! She insists on having her fingernails and toenails painted at times! I introduced her to the little stickers you can put on your nails and she thinks that is just the best thing ever! It seems like overnight she has started talking so much more maturely! She is still an awesome big sister! She loves to hold Makayla, sing to her and squeeze her cheeks! It's so funny when she does that. She gets a big handful and pulls. We all yelled at the same time for her to let go, but Makayla busted out laughing! My favorite saying Maegan says about Makayla is,"Poor Makayla, she don't have any teeth to eat and has to drink a bottle! Bless her heart!"She says it with such a sad face and pouty lips! I never realized how much of my kiddos lives I was missing when I was working! I was only seeing Maegan an hour in the morning and about about 4 or so hours in the evening. That is craziness! I am so thankful I have been given this opportunity! I haven't yet decided when I will start to look for a job......i feel when the time is right I will know!

Sorry for being MIA!

2009-01-20T18:26:00.000-08:00

Poor Makayla!! We don't know what happened! She was laughing then started screaming! She probably was tired of Wayland's bratty attitude too!

She went from chillin in her bumbo to snoozing in her bumbo!

Makayla is gonna be our paci baby! Maegan never took one!

On one of our warm days, Maegan took her car outside for a test drive. Her legs are a bit short still.

2009

2009-01-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

Makayla & Maegan watching Dora this morning!

Makayla turned 3 months old today! Below is a picture of Maegan just a few weeks younger than Makayla on our 1st visit trip to see her in Guatemala! Makayla is more...um...healthier in the size department than Maegan was! Makayla loves her meal times that's for sure! They are both great girls! Makayla smiles and coos all the time. Maegan is into puzzles! She knows all of her colors and most of her numbers and letters. She loves to sing(especially to Makayla when she cries) and dance.

Here comes 2009!!

2008-12-30T18:38:00.000-08:00

My happy little baby! She is always smiling now & she's started cooing.

Makayla pushing Maegan out of her photo shoot!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-25T19:54:00.000-08:00

Maegan dressed herself to go outside to play! It was finally nice enough Christmas Eve for her to go play outside on the swingset.

Maegan cranky before Christmas Eve Mass. What an experience that was!! First, I apologize to all those that sat around us! We packed snacks for Maegan to keep her half way quiet for the hour service. She would not sit with us, she preferred the floor. She kept talking and singing the songs she wanted too. She was making faces at the people behind us when I was holding her. She kept telling Joel she had to go potty. He was ignoring her, then she started to pass the nastiest gas ever & she finally loudly announced she had to POOP!! He took her to the bathroom, false alarm. Then I had to run out with Makayla because she started whaling for no reason like I had just dropped her. Calmed her down & she feel asleep, so it was safe for us to go back in. Then Maegan had to potty again, so I took her, another false alarm. Came back and she dropped all of her M&Ms & had to potty again. I told Joel we'd just wait outside for them.

After Mass

Our two beauties!

Taste testing Santa's milk

Mom, I'm car sick!

Maegan doing her beauty queen wave.

Sisters cruising the house

Maegan insisted we put Makayla in her new crib. The yellow duckie is blocking her expression of joy!!

Makayla liked this for about 30 seconds, then she went..........

Maegan loves doing cheers, so she was so excited that she got a cheerleader outfit!

We are so blessed this Christmas! We would've never thought last year that we would have a beautiful baby girl this Christmas. We were still saddened with our chances of adopting from Guatemala diminishing. We are so blessed that Joel has been given a job that allows me to stay home with Makayla & Maegan when she is sick or daycare is closed. (Maegan wouldn't miss a day at Rhonda's for anything!! She loves it!) We have two beautiful baby girls, a loving family and our health! These things are better than any gift I could EVER ask for! I hope that you all had a great holiday too!

Another party & my cool b-day gift!

2008-12-22T10:02:00.000-08:00

Maegan with Mallory's puppy. He is so cute & cuddly! Friday was Maegan's Christmas party at daycare. It was the first party of hers I was able to go to & I had a blast! The kids are hilarious!

Maegan & Texas Santa!

Maegan opening her gift.

Santa & Baby Kaden

West Texas sunset

My friend Mindy got me these for my birthday!! They are wall hangings & just happen to have the name of our blog on them!! They are so pretty! She is the bomb!

Christmas Parties!

2008-12-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

Averi & Maegan(with a pound of lip gloss!)

Makayla sleeps through it all!

Chow time!

The kids waiting for Santa

Santa & Makayla

Maegan fibing to Santa about how nice she has been!

Kaden army crawling to the pretty, shiny ornament

Score!

Maegan & I cooking goodies for her Christmas party at Rhonda's.

She wanted to pick the chocolate chips out

M&Ms are a must with Maegan!

Making a silly face at Wayland

Her job was to sprinkle the pretzels

Sprinkle crazy!! We laughed so hard at her concentrating on shaking the bottle. Some had more than others. (the one in the middle) They were yummy!

On our first Christmas without my sister Melinda, my friend sent me this poem.

I see the countless Christmas trees, around the world below,
With tiny lights, like heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.
This sight is so spectacular, please wipe away that tear,
For I am spending Christmas, with Jesus Christ this year.
I hear the many Christmas songs, that people hold so dear,
But the sound of music can’t compare
with the Christmas choir up here.
For I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,
For it’s beyond description to hear an angel sing.
I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart,
But I am not so far away, we are really not apart. So be happy for me, dear ones, you know I hold you dear,
And be glad I’m spending Christmas,
with Jesus Christ this year.
I send you each a special gift,
from my heavenly home above,
I send you each a memory, of my undying love.
For after all “Love” is the gift, more precious than pure gold,
It was always most important, in the stories Jesus told.
So please love and help each other, as my Father said to do,
For I cannot count the blessings, or the love He has for you.
So have a Merry Christmas, and wipe away that tear,
For I am spending Christmas, with Jesus Christ this year.
I can’t tell you of the splendor,
or the peace here in this place,
Can you imagine Christmas, with our Savior, face to face?
I’ll ask Him to lift your spirit, as I tell Him of your love,
So then pray for one another, as you lift your eyes above.
So please let your hearts be joyful, and let your spirits sing,
For I am spending Christmas in heaven,
and I’m walking with the King!

I love Christmas!

2008-12-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

Maegan loves looking at Christmas light & Christmas decorations.

And watching Christmas cartoons REALLY close to the T.V.!

She has the habit of throwing herself on the floor, kicking and screaming. She is "That kid" that people talk about in public. The ones Joel & I would whisper about at restaurants and stores. You know, our kid will never do that....Fun times!

Finally a smile! We have the domino effect going. Maegan lets out a blood curdling scream for whatever reason, then Makayla follows. Then Maegan stops and goes about her business and Makayla continues to cry for about 15 minutes.

Prayers needed

2008-12-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

In the adoption community, you come to know many wonderful families and even though you don't know them personally you have something in common, adoption. You cheer them on as they complete different steps in thier process. This morning I found out some horrible news, this wonderful family, the Azhderian's whom had just got their sweet and beautiful 5 year old daughter's birth certificate a few days ago, found out Friday night she was killed in a horrible way during a home invasion in Guatemala. Josi was visiting her foster mother's sister, brother-in-law and their children whom were murdered also. They were not notified in time of her funeral ,which was today, to participate.They were just weeks away from bringing her home, please lift the Azhderian family up to God along with Josie's birth mother and the foster family as well whom are all grieving this horrible loss and just pray He wraps His arms around them during this very difficult time......Please visit the Azhderian family's blog and let them know you are praying for them.
http://azhderianfamily.blogspot.com/

Catch-Up Post

2008-12-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

I just realized I didn't post Thanksgiving pictures! We all went to Joel's parents for lunch. Here is Nanny reading to Maegan, she loves to be read to!

Yep, turkey does make you sleepy!

In every picture I have so far of Makayla she has this serious look on her face! One day maybe she'll smile for us on camera. She smiles and coos now when you talk to her. If you say, "Oooo" she'll say it! It's so cute. Looks like her belly is full of turkey too!

She looks terrified in this one?

Maegan so proud of the smiley face she made!

Daddy & Maegan at the Christmas parade petting Denise's horse.

Helping me fix Makayla's hair after her bath.

End result...a mohawk!

We were lazy today and watched Christmas shows on the Hallmark channel. Makayla enjoyed them too!

Attempted!

2008-12-03T05:50:00.000-08:00

I attempted to take the girls pictures for Christmas cards. Maegan would not hold Makayla. She thought she should sit up on her own. So away she slides.

"Mom, she's falling" she says

Maegan totally posed herself. She wanted some serious pictures. We were laughing so hard. She would be smiling until right before I took the picture and then she'd get this look!

POOR BABY!!

My big girl! I can't believe how big she looks in this picture. She likes for me to ask her what Santa is bringing everyone in our family. She says he is bringing Wayland Reindeer poop and dies laughing!

I'm a blog slacker!

2008-11-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

Here is Makayla in her Christmas dress I bought in CA. She has such a serious look.

Her she is sleeping in her swing tonight. She is up to 10.5 lbs. I had to take her to the dr. last week and today, so she gained a pound in a week.

Here is Daddy & his princesses.

Yummy!

2008-11-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

Makayla eating cereal & loving it!

She knew exactly what to do when the spoon got to her mouth. I couldn't give it to her fast enough before she'd get mad.

Our little pumkin.(looks like she's hiding a pumkin under her shirt!)

Done with pictures!

Click on Trevor Tredaway on the leftt hand side to see how God worked through Trevor's surgeon to remove 95% of the tumor that has been growing in his brain!! The doctor's originally thought it was inoperable. After chemo and an alternative treatment, Trevor's tumor was not responding so his next option was chemo again. He is now at St. Jude's in Memphis receiving the best care and treatment imaginable! Trevor still has a long road ahead of him, but he is now off to a good start! Remember this sweet 3 year old boy in your prayers!

November is National Adoption Month!

2008-11-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

November is National Adoption Month, a month set aside to raise awareness about the adoption of children and youth.

Number of Adoptions from Guatemala:

2007: 4,728

2006: 4,135 (one of these were Maegan!!)

2005: 3,783

2004: 3,252

2003: 2,328

2002: 2,219

I am deeply saddened by these numbers because as you can tell each year the numbers grew. Now with adoptions halted in Guatemala, where are all these children and babies going? Their futures are dark.

Current estimates of the annual number of infants adopted domestically (excluding foster and relative adoption) range from 25,000 to 30,000!!

Halloween

2008-11-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Mallory came by to meet Makayla & hold her. Maegan was being a picture pooper. She didn't want her picture taken.

SUGAR CRASH!!!! from the 2 parties she had at daycare.

RECOVERED!!!! Happy Guatemalan Dorothy!

Big Dorothy & Baby Dorothy. I didn't have time to find Makayla red shoes so she is Dorothy before the Good Witch gave her the ruby slippers.

She looks so innocent, but she was really acting like Nellie Olsen!

Dorothy & Kaden the Lion

Maegan's daycare buddies Ian & Dylan.

Do I have to even label this one????

1 Month Old!!

2008-10-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff,
trust Him fully and let go, only one of two things will happen,
either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly! '
God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close.
It is so hard to believe Makayla is a month old! Having a newborn baby is a whole new ball game! Maegan was almost six months old when we brought her home and her wonderful fostermom already had her in a routine. She only woke up once during the night. Not this little piglet! She loves to eat! Her cheeks are filling out and so is her second chin! She only cries when she is hungry and you are taking too long to make her bottle, when you are changing her and bathtime. I dread bathtime because she hates it so bad. She cries so hard she sleeps for atleast four hours straight afterwards!
Today Makayla's babybook came in the mail. I found it on Amazon. It is called, my family, my journey. It is so neat. So if you are looking for an adoption baby book this one is great.
Maegan is still doing good at sharing the attention. She baby talks to her when she is crying. Sometimes they cry together-Funtimes!

PEACE......awwwesome!

2008-10-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

For the first time in several years I am at peace! I feel like a ton of weights have been lifted off my chest. I've been contemplating leaving my current job for several years, and today I finally did it! I had not and still do not have one ounce of regret. I loved my profession and working with patients, but realized I had to follow my heart and my morals. I'm looking forward to focusing every bit of attention to my two wonderful blessing God has given us. I do not want to look back and regret missing their baby years. That regret, I could not handle. Thank you all for your words of encouragement and blessings that you have called and emailed me with! It reassures me that I have done the right thing.

Now on to my two pride & joy baby girls!

Makayla sleeping peacefully......but not for long! Maegan cannot stand to see her sleep.

Makayla absolutely loathes being woken up! Maegan can't figure out why she is crying.

Trying to soothe her with her paci.

Thankfully my camera was close by to catch Maegan playing Mama to Tigger.

She loves to hold Makayla, but doesn't understand actually physcially hold her! She just wants her to chill in her lap.

PRICELESS! Looking forward to lots of memories with my girls!! and Joel.

This was Maegan on Sunday. We went to Joel's parents and she refused to take a nap. As soon as we got into the car she asked for her blanket. I looked back to check on her and this is what we saw! She was done for! It was 6pm and she was out!!! She slept through the night until 545a this morning.

With gratitude, I turn to you, God, to receive spiritual guidance, communication, and direction. In the quietness of my Right-Mind, the place within me where our minds are joined as One, I listen to your Voice of wisdom and truth and I know what to do.

3 weeks!

2008-10-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here are the bottles I got from the healthfood store. Their website is www.newbornfree.com
They also have sippy cups. Mindy, the genius on all of this said to check the bottom of our sippy cups and look for the recycle symbol. If it has the number 7 in it, throw the cups away. They are the bad ones. These bottles are Bisphenol-A free. Bisphenol-A is a chemical compound used to create polycarbonate plastic, a hard, clear plastic used widely in consumer products, including baby bottles. Recent research suggests that small amounts of BPA may leach into food or beverages stored in polycarbonate containers, especially when the contents ared heated and may act as an endocrine disruptor, mimicking natural human hormones! Call me super, psycho freak mom, but something is causing the percentage of autisim in kids to rise! Immunizations is something we are gonna have to think about...

Now to the fun stuff. I found this cute blanket in Orange County while visiting with the totally awesome ANLC staff! They even tell ya the best shopping places! My dream job would to be to work side by side with this great group of ladies! There may be men, but I just didn't see any! If anyone is interested in ANLC, their link is on our page titled Our next journey begins here. Cary Sweet is who we've dealt with and absolutely love! We still call eachother often. She's like a friend I've had forever. She is genuinely sweet and caring. (a little loco in the cabeza!!) But we love her.

Makayla held her head up for a whole minute checking out the leopard print. Her facial expressions were priceless.

Cute little baby piggies!

Close up of our California beauty!

TX Agency meeting today

2008-10-20T20:44:00.001-07:00

Today we met with Adoption Alliance in San Antonio. We had to sign more paperwork and go over what will be going on. They will look up the last city the birthfather lived, and place an ad in the paper notifying him of the situation. If they don't hear anything in 30 days, his rights will automatically be terminated. God, you will be hearing lots of prayers from us during this time. They call the 6 months that we wait until we return to San Antonio to finalize the adoption the "supervisory period". We have to contact the agency social worker monthly for give them at least 5 photos of her, monthly medical reports, and a general report on what's been going on such as her development, behavior and any changes in our family's lifestyle.

The girls did great on the trip to San Antonio. Maegan showed the social worker her Guatemalan Diva side. I was quite embarrassed. She had to stand in time-out in the corner of his office. He was a great sport about it though.

2 weeks old today!

2008-10-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago tonight, we received THE CALL!! I'm still amazed. A lot of people didn't know we were adopting again. It's not that I left anyone out, everything happened so fast! Our social worker hadn't even mailed our homestudy off yet! Gotta love God's perfect timing! Thank you to everyone who prayed for us, called to keep me company while I was alone in LA & for being supportive! It means a lot to us. We are very fortunate to have such great friends & family.

Makayla will have her first Dr.'s visit this Friday. I'm anxious to see how much she weighs. She wants to eat every hour to hour and a half. If by some chance she sleeps for more than two hours in a row, she wakes up wanting her bottle ASAP! Maegan is being such a good big sis! She wants to hold her and feed her. After about a minute she calls it good. When she's sleeping she'll peek over at her to make sure she's ok.

We also have to go to San Antonio soon to start the finialization of the adoption. We will go back in six months to court in San Antonio to finialize. Much different than with Maegan.

God answered our prayers!

2008-10-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

Our grand entrance!

Maegan giving Makayla kisses

Just landed in Midland

Checking out of our hotel, about to head to Los Angeles airport to go home!!

Joel carrying Makayla to our waiting limo!! Raul, the driver we had for the week was the sweetest! He took us everywhere we had to go. At times it was up to six hours a day! So we became friends with him. As we walked out of the hotel Saturday morning, he said he brought the limo for Makayla!! How sweet of him!

The sign outside of Adoption Network Law Center (ANLC) congratulating us on the birth of Makayla & our speedy exit!

Maegan meeting Makayla for the first time. Maegan is so proud of her baby sister. When Makayla would cry during the night, Maegan would half asleep say,"Mom, Kayla is crying"

Making sure she is real & still smiling!

Her first bath! She hated every minute of it. This was also my first time bathing a newborn so I felt the same way!

She wants to do it all. She doesn't want any help either.

Yep, hair all the way around! Daddy is jealous!

When we were packing, we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl! So we borrowed some neutral outfits from baby Kaden.

Our very awesome team at ANLC. On the left is Cary Sweet. She is the very 1st person we spoke to when we began thinking of adopting again. She kept in touch several times a week, usually just to say hey and see how we were. She is the reason we went with ANLC. She knew her business, answered every question and worry we ever had along the way!! On the right is ANLC's attorney Kristin Yellin who acted as our attorney. I went to ANLC on Friday to meet Cary & introduce our baby girl to everyone. During our visit, employees of ANLC were coming in to see Makayla and congratulate me. It was obvious that they all loved what they do, bringing families together.

This is Mary from ANLC. She is the one who called us with the good news!

Maegan & Joel picking flowers outside the hospital while Nanny & I visited with our birthmom & Makayla.

Maegan taking after Wayland checking out a squirrel! ( he has to be the only kid in history to catch a squirrel! then it latched onto his finger!! never a dull moment with Wayland!)

Can't get enough lovins!!

I can do it myself!!! she says

Maegan got so sick on their last day with us. Nanny took her to the giftshop and bought her a turtle to make her feel better.

Saturday, all dressed to go meet with our Adoption Supervisor & birthmom for her final sign-off.

Picture Joel took on their way home last Sunday. I think it is beautiful with the sun's rays shining down!

Averi & Maegan making welcome home signs for us.

On Wedenesday evening (10-1) our phone rang. It was ANLC asking if our homestudy was done. I said yes, our social worker actually just mailed it this evening. I heard her talking to someone else and she came back on and said we have a birthmom in CA in labor. Since your homestudy is done we are going to present you to her. The birthmom wanted one of the parents to be hispanic. We hung up and waited for a call back. Our next call was from Karissa telling us that the birthmom could not decide and that her labor slowed and the baby would not be born until the next day. She said for us to go to sleep and she'd call us the next day. YEAH RIGHT!! So as were just trying to process things, she called back and said she picked us!!! She was now in heavy labor and the baby was on the way. We needed to get to CA ASAP!! She went through all the history on the birthmom. I only half listened, my mind was racing on what all I had to do. It was 9:00pm!! We booked our flights & made a mad dash to Wal-Mart for a few essentials. We flew out of Midland at 7:00 am and arrived at LAX at 11:30am. We went to the hospital only to be greeted by the worst social worker in history!! Let me point out, she worked for the hospital, not ANLC. She acted like she had no clue what was going on, when ANLC had filled her in and so did our birthmom. After almost an hour of talking to her, she said only I could go back to meet the birthmom. This is after I had already called the birthmom and told her we were in town and on our way. She was expecting all of us. I walked into our birthmother's room and I felt my heart stop and all the air leave my lungs. My legs felt like jello! For someone who had given birth only 18 hrs ago, she looked amazing! Hair & make-up done. We introduced ourselves and hugged. I automatically felt a warmth in my chest and knew everything was going to be okay. Makayla was laying in her baby bed all wrapped up. She looked so tiny. She was just perfect! We visited for awhile, getting to know eachother. It felt like I had known her? The conversation was very comfortable and not awkward at all. She asked where Joel was, and I told her about our experience with the social worker. She went onto tell me she was ugly to her too. The social worker & OB doc had been trying to convince her to keep Makayla and that she would regret her decision later. Even after she told them she was comfortable with the decision and that there was no way she could care for a baby at this time, they didn't let up!! I apologized that she had to go through that and that I wasn't there with her during that hard time. They totally made her feel horrible. Joel then came in to meet her and Makayla. Then my mom came in. That's when the tears started!! We then took mom & Maegan to the hotel and went back to the hospital. She felt good enough to be discharged so they released her and Makayla. I took out Makayla's outfit and gave it to her. She asked if I wanted to dress her and I told her to go ahead. That was a little emotional for us. She kissed her and said good-bye. Saturday, we had to meet with a Adoption Supervisor for paperwork and for the birthmom's final sign off. We met there at the same time so we just did our paperwork together. Once again she looked amazing! As we were finishing up, she handed me 2 pink envelopes. One for us and one for Makayla. We read it on the way back to the hotel. She is a writer so the letter was amazing! She told us not to think of her as a hero. We were the heros for taking her baby and giving her life. Sunday, mom, Joel and Maegan flew back home. Joel would return when we were cleared to come home. Makayla and I hung out in the hotel together. I was too chicken to venture out! Wednesday I woke up with a fever and horrible sore throat and body aches!! Thanks to Kelli, Honey & the amazing Dr. Farquhar meds were called in for me! The rest of the week was uneventful, besides the news there was like a reality show!! CRAZYINESS! Friday morning, I was in a deep sleep and barely heard my phone ring. It was the agency in CA telling us we were cleared to come home! I asked several times to make sure I didn't misunderstand her! I called Joel and he booked the first flight to CA!! We arrived home Saturday afternoon. It is actually starting to sink in that she is ours forever! We signed with ANLC in August. Our homestudy was done September 1st. I never dreamed we would have our baby and home in October! There were many times we were faced with obstacles during this time and it felt like it wasn't meant to be. I prayed every night that if this is what God wanted from us, for Him to open the doors. If not, please close them. I prayed for Him to give us the strength to make it through. I also prayed for comfort and peace for our birthmom wherever she might be. Once again He answered our prayers.

Maegan loves her swingset!

2008-09-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

We finally got Maegan's swingset up this weekend. She loves it. She can't like the slide though. It is pretty rough. The last dip sends you airborn a bit. We got a laugh out of watching everyone go down it though! My dad was probably the funniest!

Daddy's little helper

2008-09-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Maegan had a blast helping Daddy wash his truck. He was on the opposite side of the truck from Maegan. She started her dramatic,"Daddy, I hold you!!!!" When he walked to her side she doused him with the hose!! When they came in he was more wet than she was!

She'd live in a bathing suit if we let her! She took a drink from the hose & spit it right back out! Our water is the ultimate in nastiness!!

Our baby cousin Kohen, has an appointment tomorrow morning with a Pediatric Orthopedic specialist. He was born 9/2 with clubfoot. His legs are able to be moved a bit more than when he arrived home from the hospital. His mom still has to be careful when changing him, due to touching his legs causes him a great deal of pain. Please keep him in your prayers that his reconstruction prognosis is positive!

Prayers for Freda's safety!!

2008-09-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

PRAYER FOR POLICEMEN
O Almighty God, whose great power and eternal wisdom embraces the universe,
Watch over all policemen and law enforcement officers everywhere.
Protect them from harm in the performance of their duty to stop crime, robbery, riots and violence.We pray, help them keep our streets and homes safe, day and night.
We commend them to your loving care because their duty is dangerous.
Grant them strength and courage in their daily assignments.
Grant them your almighty protection,
Unite them safely with their families after duty has ended.
Please God, grant us this wish.

Freda has left for Presidio to help law enforcement officials evacuate & secure the town in anticipation of the levees breaking from flood waters caused by hurricane Ike. Many of her co-workers have already left for Houston & Galveston. Below is a link about the situation in Presidio.

http://www.oaoa.com/news/presidio_20966___article.html/evacuated_.html

Homecoming

2008-09-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

Here is Maegan's newest pose for ALL pictures thanks to Miss Mallory!! The peace sign with puckered lips! I couldn't resist these UT scrubs for Maegan. She was so excited to wear them today.

Maegan & my long time friend Mindy at the Homecoming Parade. My mom bought Maegan her very first mum! She called it her flowery jingle bell.

Showing off her mum again.

Home for 2 years today!

2008-09-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Where have the two years gone? They went so fast, yet feel like she's been with us forever!! Here are pictures from her Homecoming, 1 year anniv., & today.

Maegan loves taking pictures with my camera and is pretty good at it. That's why they look fuzzy. She must've changed the settings. She loves to sing and knows so many songs. She can count to ten in English and Spanish and say her ABCs. She loves playing outside. She has a wonderful and happy personality, but also knows how to throw fits. Her favorite movie is Wizard of Oz and still loves Dora. At her daycare, they have started doing crafts daily and they are so cute. Every morning she tells me she is going to make me a surprise. She has brought so much happiness to our family. Thank you FTC!!

Where has the time gone?

2008-08-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've updated once again. We took Maegan to the park to feed the ducks, again. Not too much for kids to here, but she really loves going to feed them.

She was racing Wayland to the swings. She was running so fast she was losing her pants!

Daddy swinging Maegan. She sings non-stop. The other night she sang for 30 straight minutes until she put herself to sleep. Her sitter says she does that everyday at naptime.

Daddy's Princess

Playing dress up in a Cinderella dress

Her favorite food is pizza with Ranch dressing. She can put the pizza away.

We went to a birthday party and there was a clown there doing facepaintings for the kids. She kept saying that the clown was scary. She wanted her face painted though, so she made Daddy go with her. She picked the butterfly.

Maegan's Halloween costume in it's beginning stages. Nanny made her a Dorothy dress. It is so cute on her. I can't wait to post pics of the Guatemalan Dorothy. (or Dortie as she says) We have to watch the Wizard of Oz every single night.

Maegan & Baby Kaeden taking a bath in the sink. She loves helping with him. She has pretty much gotten over the jealousy of us holding him. She was brushing his hair last night so gently. She sings to him & he just watches and listens with the biggest smile. She is going to make a great big sister. We're still working on the be easy part.

August 18th was the 2yr anniversary of Maegan getting out of PGN!! Her 2yr anniversary of being home is right around the corner! Kaeden is the same age Maegan was when she came home. I can hardly remember her that small! (actually she was a wee bit smaller! he's a healthy boy!)

The 3 Musketeers!!!

2008-08-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

Grant, Maegan & Ian!! They had a blast playing together again.

Daddy helping Maegan onto the slide. She is such a Daddy's girl. I love to watch them together. He is so gentle with her and jumps up everytime she falls like she is a fragile doll.

She was confused. She thought it was a baseball & bat.

Daddy to the rescue! He showed her the "proper" way to hold a club. He is preparing for the upcoming golf tournment for Triumph for Trevor!

Hugs! These 3 couldn't get enough of eachother.

I have no idea what Grant is telling Maegan, but he isn't joking!!

Maegan watching the Jr. UFC fight. Don't let Grant's little fisique fool ya!

Break time.

Grant showing his Power Ranger kick.

OOPPSS! Cracked the egg!

Frustrations of this Adoptive Mama!!

2008-08-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Let me break it down for you what us Adoptive Parents have to do to be "ready" for a baby or child.

1) Questionnaires out the wazoo, consisting of everything you have been doing for up to the last 10 yrs, criminal history, employment,where you've lived,where your parents live,hobbies,lifestyle,hair,eyes & skin color,where & when were you married, if you are not married why, financial status broken down to monthly expenses of rent/mortgage,food,clothing,medical dental,transportation,recreation,child care expenses,utilities,car payments,car insurance payments,credit cards and loans,monthly income,assests,life insurance,medical history,psychological testing,counseling,martial history.

You still with me?

2)copy of marriage licenses and birth certificates, 3 letters of references from family or friends(but not all 3 can be from family members, so you have to go find at least 1 friend)

3)Statewide criminal history check on each adult in the home. Yeah, they don't go on your word. You have to be fingerprinted and have the fingerprints sent to the State in which you reside.

4)Statewide child abuse and neglect check on each adult in the home.

5)Verification of income. (recent pay check stubs and/or most recent 1040 tax returns)

Still not takin your word!

6)Verification of medical insurance.(Statement of summary of benefits)

7)Proof of life insurance

8)Statement for health on all members of the household. This one is so fun to do! You get to go to your doctor and have him sign the letter you've so graciously typed for him and make sure he signs his name pretty and you can interpret every single letter.

If anyone reading this knows who my doctor is, you are laughing as you imagine me explaining the rules to him on the correct way to signing his name and can actually hear him cussing a blue streak!! Gotta love him though!

9)Safety/fire/health inspection of your home.(to be completed by Social Worker)

10)RECENT PET VACCINATIONS!!!!

11)copy of both of your driver's licenses

12)over 100 pictures of you and your spouse, and 6-7 with your child. Yes, there are rules on the pics too!

p.s. there is a time limit in which all of this has to be completed.

And can you believe people actually make the comment,"you took the easy way out by adopting"

Really? Are you kidding me? Mamas who are adopting DO GET HORMONAL PEOPLE!

When your heart aches for a child, all of this is a breeze to complete! I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, because I am not one bit. This is how we brought our beautiful princess home. If we had the financial means we would keep adopting! That is our dream!

My argument is what do parents do to become "ready" for a child? There is no age limit.(as there now is in China) No background check on child abuse or neglect,proof of finiancial stability or mental stability, home studies to make sure your home meets the standards of brining a child into your home. Yes, America is the land of the free and home of the brave, but IN MY OPINION, if there were some regulations implemented horror stories such as: children being left at home alone for days without food, babies left in the car outside of nightclubs while parents are partying it up, or the most recent bizarre, mind boggling story of Caylee Anthony would decrease. I would no longer have to take skeletal survey x-rays of children that are suspected of abuse. In a perfect world....

Sunday Sun

2008-08-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

The picture on the box was really cool. Actually, this pool was a pain. The water didn't sprinkle down, instead it collapsedthe top of the palm tree onto us. So we disconnected the water, then the wind kept blowing the top and side "trees" into the pool. So we ditched the top of the palm tree.

Maegan is really into playing pretend. She is under the BarBQ pit asking all of us what flavor we want. I think we were getting ice cream?

Sun bathing.

She said she was taking a nap.

Maegan found a new game. Mom fills the bucket with the plastic balls and she throws them at us as hard as possible. Toddler dodgeball? She had a blast in the pool. She is back at Rhonda's house and boy can you tell a difference. She is so excited to go and cries in the afternoon when we come to pick her up. No more accidents or moodiness. (well the moodiness has gotten better)Just all around a happier girl.

I keep getting behind!

2008-07-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

Maegan & Nanny sitting on the front porch. Maegan has always loved being outside.

The pictures were taken several weekends ago at a friend's birthday party. Maegan didn't care for playing on the slide. If there weren't so many people there, I would've loved to play on it!

Prayers needed!

2008-07-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

My friend Shelli was recently diagnosed with mouth cancer. It was amazing that she found it before it spread. She noticed a sensitive swollen area behind her ear that was irritated by her earring. She watched it and noticed it was getting larger and went to the doctor. The doctors planned to remove the tumor and treat her with chemo and radiation. That all changed when they opened her and found the facial nerve was involved in the tumor. They closed her up after taking a biopsy, leaving her with a drain tube. Soon after the decision was made to immediately remove the tumor and not waste anytime shrinking it. I spoke with her today and she was on her way to Dallas for surgery tomorrow the 23rd at 11:00am. She told me she has paralysis already on the left side of her face. She has to manually open and close her eye and the left side of her mouth doesn't move. The doctors will take a nerve from either her arm or leg and graft it to what used to be her facial nerve in hope that it will heal and restore some movement. There is a chance they may have to remove her eardrum and part of her mandible. They won't know until they begin the surgery. If you could please send some prayers up for my sweet friend we would really appreciate it. Shelli is 34 and has two beautiful young boys who are being so brave for their mommy.

Family Week

2008-07-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

Last week my mom's sisters came down for the week. This was the first time one of my aunts and 3 cousins met Maegan. Here is Maegan with 3D glasses watching the fireworks.

Daddy and Maegan with a sparkler.

Swimming with her cousins

Maegan & Grant at the lake for the benefit for Trevor Tredaway. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/trevortredaway

Daddy after numerous attempts at surfing. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him wipe out!

Crazy face!

The ice cream man made out well at our house this weekend. We laid sod down in the yard and it turned out to be a 2 day 8 man job! Looks good though.

Taking Dom back to the airport.

Zoo

2008-06-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

We took Maegan to the zoo Saturday and she loved it. Her favorite was the giraffes because they came right up to you and you could give them crackers.

Maegan always has "zoned out" moment when we are outside. She gets into deep thought.

Then we went to Chuck E. Cheese. She freaks out when the commercials come on. She's addicted to the mouse.

The end of a long day.

Hard to keep up

2008-06-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

It's so hard to keep up with Maegan's blog! Here are a few pics from last week when we went to the rodeo. She has been doing a great job potty training. She hasn't had any accidents in several weeks. Her diapers stay dry through the night and as soon as she wakes up she asks to go potty. She's too easy, so that means our next one will be our difficult one!

Maegan and Daddy watching the barrel racing. She liked the rodeo as long as she had popcorn or cotton candy. Tonight we were eating McDonald's. Yep, I cooked!! Maegan has turned into a bad eater. She likes to snack. She was playing with her food and talking. The next thing I know, she has the top part of her bun wrapped in her napkin and is rocking it like a baby and singing hush little baby! We cracked up. She looked at us like we were crazy.

I have to share with you a blog that was linked to my very good friend's blog whose family we met on our first trip to Guatemala.

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

A woman shares how she and her family dealt with a very tragic event in their lives. She's such a strong woman, whose faith in God shines bright! It will truly touch your heart.

God is so GOOD!

2008-06-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

Please take the time to read Trevor's latest blog! This is an example of how God works and when you let go and give Him your problems and worries, that he will take care of them. Good Luck Trevor, Melinda, Morgan, and Melinda's mom as you leave to continue your journey to AZ that God as set before you.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/trevortredaway

Heavenly Father, watch with us over your child Trevor, and grant that he may be restored to that perfect health which it is yours alone to give; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Leah's B-day party

2008-06-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

My pretty girl

Leah's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese

Notice how Chuck's head is almost popping off. It's so embarrassing to take the boy in public.

Maegan liked the jet ski because it moved a lot.

Fake smile

Nanny had just as much fun as Maegan.

Both were mad cause the bike wasn't working.

Baby Kaden at Uncle Ervin & Aunt Bev's

Doesn't he have the prettiest eyes? He loved the water.

Maegan was not scared of the water at all. She'd be walking along the edge of the pool and just walk into the pool. I was a nervous wreck since watching the segment on dry drowning.

Trevor

2008-06-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

Trevor has an appt. in AZ on June 21st!! Please continue to keep him and his awesome family in your prayers. As a parent, I don't know how Todd & Melinda are keeping it together, but they are a true example for us all! Never take life for granted and live every day to the fullest.

Garage Sale was a SUCCESS!

2008-06-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Maegan & Averi painting pretty pictures.

We now have a nice glittery kitchen floor!

Maegan & Grant got into the garage sale price stickers.

Since we had to get up REALLY early(uck) we just had a slumber party and everyone stayed at our house. Maegan enjoyed her first slumber party. It was a Dora marathon on t.v., we especially loved that.

Trevor update: As soon as Cook's Childrens Medical Center mails Melinda all of his medical records they can make their appointment in Scottsdale,AZ. Legally they have 30 to do this, but we're praying some gracious person gets it done sooner. They've already been waiting 1 week.

Dry Drowning

2008-06-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Brace yourselves, parents. We in the media have found another hazard to keep you up at night worrying about your kids. The phenomenon of “dry drowning” was highlighted on yesterday’s TODAY show; the episode featured the story of a 10-year-old boy named Johnny Jackson who died over an hour after he had been frolicking in a swimming pool. (“Dry drowning” can happen up to a full day after the person has aspirated a small amount of water.)

The child had walked home, spoken with his mother and taken a bath before complaining of sleepiness and going to bed. When his mother checked in on him later, she found him unresponsive, his face covered with a white spongy material.Like conventional “wet” drowning, “dry drowning” is a form of asphyxiation. It happens when a small amount of water gets in to the lungs and damages the tissue, causing the lungs to fill with water. As a result, the lungs are unable to deliver oxygen to the blood and, ultimately, the brain.

The warning signs of an impending “dry drowning” are extreme drowsiness, breathing problems and dramatic behaviour changes. Though “dry drowning” incidents are very rare, parents should keep the symptoms in the back of their minds and watch for them after a child has had near-drowning incident in a bath or pool or shown any other signs of having aspirated (rather than just swallowed) water.

Here is the link from the show that gives the symptoms & treatment:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24982210/

Triumph for Trevor!!

2008-06-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

Maegan showing off her Triumph for Trevor support bracelet.

This is 3 year old Trevor Tredaway. In January of 2008, Trevor was diagnosed with Hypothalamic Glioma & it is inoperable. The tumor is in his nasal cavity, behind his right eye and around the hypothalamus.

The chemotherapy they had been giving Trevor has not affected the tumor. They have also found that the brain tumor has metastasized to a few spots in his spinal cord. Here is some info from his mom, Melinda:

the doctors want to start Trevor on a 3rd chemo drug with no known benefits in children. It is used to prolong life in adults with very aggressive brain tumors. The data on its effectiveness in children will not be available for 1-2 more years. Trevor is very sensitive to medications: i.e: after his first chemo treatment, his jaw pain was so severe that he couldn't swallow; he hallucinated after taking ativan; all of the nausea and vomiting. Frankly, chemo just scares me.

Melinda & Todd, Trevor's dad, have decided to try an alternative treatment:

We were given the name of another alternative treatment center in Scottsdale, Arizona that also sounds promising. Their type of treatment is given through IV for 3-4 hours per day for 8-10 weeks. The treatment center is called Envita. They said they normally don't treat someone as young as Trevor, but they seemed to think that he would benefit from the treatment. The fact that he already has a port is a plus because that is where they would administer the medicine. This clinic treats the whole body, not just the disease. They told me that detoxifying Trevor's body is of utmost importance. There is a nutritional approach to the treatment. The treatment is designed to break apart the tumor while restoring and improving the immune system. This prevents the tumor from metastasizing. One of the medications used is polymva, and another is 4nkt. The latter is 60 days away from FDA clinical trials. I'm not sure which on Trevor would be on. I heard about the clinic last night and called them today. The treatment time is shorter, and the cost is about $25,000 cheaper than at Burzynski. We are struggling with which clinic to go to. We have basically figured that we get one shot at an alternative treatment, financially speaking.

A fund has been set up for him:

Trevor Tredaway Fund

Citizens Federal Credit Union

P.O.Box 51070 Midland , TX 79710

We are also having a 4 family garage sale this weekend with all proceeds going to Trevor. If you are able to make a donation, the family will be forever grateful. Prayers are always welcomed and needed. You can keep up with Trevor's progress at:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/trevortredaway

Bathing Beauty!!

2008-05-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

Maegan & Baby Kaden. He isn't too happy here. She was shushing him and trying to rock him. As soon as Kaden comes over Maegan starts saying that she wants to hold him. She is following in Wayland's footsteps of giving nicknames. She calls Kaden "head""it""baby Kaden" and the other day she came up with the funniest "K-Bob"

Today we finally were able to use one of Maegan's birthday gifts. She had to stand and watch it for a minute before she went in. Once she was in though, she loved it.

She'd count 1-2-3 and run through it.

Trying to high step over the water.

It's been awhile...

2008-05-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

since my last post. With the move and my surgery, we've been busy. Here are a couple of pics from last night.

Maegan was trying to find Dora on T.V.

No pictures please!!

Our happy baby. Maegan has finally adjusted to her new sitter. Since my surgery, my mom has been taking her to daycare and she doesn't cry anymore. So that is my mom's new job! She pushes her babydoll around the house and tells us she'll be back she is going to go see Ms. Sheila.

Sorry for lack of posting

2008-05-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

Here is Maegan right before going to meet her new sitter. Hopefully she won't freak out when I leave. She seemed really nice, but when we walked in, my hiney puckered a bit. She has antiques from ceiling to floor. Expensive looking ones. I hope Maegan leaves them alone!!! She said none of the kids ever mess with them??? Has she ever had a GuatemalanI'mthebossIdowhatIwant littlegirl before? This is a total different species from the American Girl I've come to find out.

We tried to do the potty training thing again and she's still not a fan of sitting on either of the pottys we have. She peed 3 times and both were after sitting for awhile screaming the entire time.

This pic was from a couple of weeks ago when we took Maegan to see Nemo on Ice. She loved it . I've never seen her sit so still.

Heaven gained an Angel today

2008-05-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Maureen went home this afternoon after fighting a long, hard battle with lung cancer. What better day than on National Prayer Day!!! She was the strongest woman I have ever met. She never let the cancer bring her down. She never admitted she was terminal until the very end. She has been surrounded by her friends throughout her entire battle. We all loved her and thought of her as a member of our family. We will miss Maureen and look forward to the day that we will see her again.......

When you feel Lonely

When a person you love passes away

Look to the night sky on a clear day

The star that to you, appears to be bright,

Will be your loved one,Looking upon you during the night.

The lights of heaven are what shows through

As your loved one watches all that you do.

When you feel lonely for the one that you love,

Look to the Heavens in the night sky above.

The Rose

2008-04-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

When my mom found out that we were adopting a baby girl she planted this pink rose bush for her. We've lived here since December and I'm just now finding out about this. Never noticed it. So here it is in full bloom.

Mom was holding Maegan so she could smell it. She loves to smell flowers. It's actually pretty tall. Mom was standing up next to it.

Pink Sand??

2008-04-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Nanny brought Maegan home a sandbox with Pink sand!!
She loves it.

She played in it until it got dark.
And doing what she loves best holding baby Kaeden! She calls him "it" or "head"? I hold it, I hold it, or gimme the head. Since she is refusing to do the potty training, we stopped the bottles cold turkey last night. I'm sure I should've done it a long time ago, but she's my little baby!! I got a tip from Kate last night on John & Kate plus 8 to just sit your kid on the potty and eventually they will go. Their son was on the potty for 35MIN.!!!! Maegan won't sit more than 1min. Crazy!

Blog relationships

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

If you've never had one you wouldn't understand. I am in Yahoo Group consisting of mothers who have all adopted from Guatemala, domestically and currently in process of adopting from Ethopia. Some of us have met on visit trips to Guatemala, others we only know from chatting. These are some of my closest friends. They are always there for me as I am for them. We've been through a lot together in the short time we've known eachother. I wanted to share what one of them sent me. Angie Hill you are the greatest!!

Heavenly Father,
We know that you see what is going on down here and we know that you WILL work all for the good of Your glory. Lord, we cry out to you to be with the people of Big Spring, TX, especially Joel & Lisa as they are going through so much not only with the stress of the gang-related issues, but also in their deep concern for their beloved sister/SIL – concern that she is not receiving the best medical care possible. While we know that every day here is a gift from you and that one day we will all pass, Father God, we just ask that you be with us during these oh so trying times that we do face here on Earth. Having loved ones is such a blessing gift from you, and with that gift of deep love for one another that you give us, also, at times, comes deep fears & sorrows. Be with us as we all try to be there for each other during these times – to keep each other lifted up in our faith in your eternal promise.
Thank you Lord for hearing me. AMEN.

In Him,

Sweetness!!

2008-04-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

They were laughing so hard!! I'm not even sure what they were laughing at, but they were wound up!