The Colley's

a horrible mom

2009-12-17T11:51:00.004-06:00

okay so I feel like I have let Crew down bc I have not blogged about him in forever, if at all since he has been born!! Does that make me a bad mom?
I hope that when he gets older he will forgive me. Maybe if I explain to him that I have been running around crazy changing tons of diapers, feeding him bottles every 3 hours, pumping, trying to get Christmas presents bought and wrapped, attempting to keep the house clean (or at least picked up), devoting hours to playing with him and his brother, wanting to spend quality time with his daddy, doing loads and loads of laundry and trying to keep myself sane, HE WILL UNDERSTAND right? I sure hope so.
And even though I cant make up for lost blogs, I am devoting this entire blog post to him!!

ALL ABOUT ME ( Crew ):
I LOVE MY SWING! (in fact I sleep in it every night and sometimes during nap times)

I LOVE falling asleep to my Praise Baby CD's.

I LOVE my Woombie. It makes me feel like I am still safe and secure in my mommy's tummy!

I have the prettiest blue eyes just like my brother!

I am A LOT skinner that my Big Bro Camren was!

I don't cry near as much as I used to! (My mommy and daddy are happy about that)

Tummy time is so much FUN that it puts me to sleep!

I love to be held!

I have already rolled over from my stomach to my back! (I know I know, you dont have to tell me I am developmentally ahead of most other babies my age) =)

I DO NOT like it when my big bro takes my paci out of my mouth! (he better watch out bc in a few months I will be able to get him back) =)

I can smile!!

I am sleeping 5- 6 hours at night!

I am SUPER SWEET and CUDDLY!!!

I Love getting my picture taken:

Introducing...

2009-12-01T22:33:00.002-06:00

How can you resist?

2009-11-04T23:23:00.008-06:00

Well, I am halfway through my first week without mom here to help me! So far so good! Camren has been going to school everyday until 2:45 and I thought that I might get bored around the house without him here to entertain me, but I was so wrong! The day goes by so fast and by the time I feed Crew every 3 hours, attempt to get ready for the day, pick up the millions of toys around the house, try to sleep some, and do other household chores, the day is already gone! I do LOVE it when Camren gets home though bc he is always so excited to see us and then we have the rest of the night to play! He doesnt have school on Fridays so I am excited about spending the whole day with both boys!!

Coby has been a huge help this week too and hasnt had to work near as much as last week, so that has been a HUGE blessing! He is a great Daddy and has been a huge help with Camren! I could watch them play together all day long!

Camren is adjusting great! He loves his little brother and is starting to acknowledge him a lot more than he used to. However at night time, if Camren is already asleep in his crib and he hears Crew start to cry, he starts to cry! Not sure why? He always goes right back to sleep, but it never fails that if baby brother cries, he cries, but only at night ( thank goodness )! Camren is now officially WALKING! His teachers at school says he has the Frankenstein walk bc he hasnt mastered being a graceful walker, but it is the cutest sight to see! We are so proud of him. We just love watching him walk all over the house! He has been so sweet lately and has been melting mine and especially Daddy's little heart! We feel so incredibly blessed to have such a sweet boy!

Crew is doing great as well! He is eating good, sleeping good, and overall a perfect little baby! He is a BIG cuddler, which Coby and I both love! He makes the sweetest little faces at us! We had his 2 week doctors appointment on Tuesday and even though he is eating good, and peeing and pooping like he is supposed to, he hasnt gained enough weight! I have to take him back next week for a weight check to make sure he is gaining enough. So this little Mommy is on a mission to fatten Crew up! This is something I never had to worry about with Camren. Crew is also a big swaddle baby! He LOVES it! My friend Darby told me about this blanket called the "Woombie", which is a zip up swaddle blanket that forms to the babies body! I just ordered it last night, so I will post pics and let you know if it works when I get it in!

I am doing good too! I am pretty exhausted, but its all worth it! I feel so blessed to be a Mommy to 2 precious little boys! All the fears that I had before Crew got here are gone and I am reminded that the Lord doesnt give you more than you can handle. I was worried that I wouldnt be able to spend as much time with Cam as I used to, but I have actually got to spend more time with him and enjoyed him more than ever! Coby keeps saying that he needs to hurry up and get me pregnant again bc its already been 2 weeks since I havent been pregnant! =) He says that he was really getting used to my big belly, and was starting to think that it was sexy! ( yah right )
Crew has seemed to be very easy, but I am not sure if its bc I just did this a year ago so its all fresh on my mind! One main thing I am thankful for is that Crew is a great nurser unlike Camren! My goal is to nurse at least until I go back to work in January and then see how I am feeling after that.

We had a great Halloween too! Camren was a monkey and Crew was a giraffe! We had fun taking Camren trick or treating to our friends houses while Mimi and G-dad babysat Crew. Next year, they will both be able to trick or treat with us! I cannot wait for them to be able to run around and play together! I am starting to pray now that they love each other so much and are the best of friends!

My boys are irresistible! Enjoy the pics of our sweet little babes over the past 2 weeks! We are having soo much fun with them!

Crew Braden Colley

2009-10-26T13:26:00.004-05:00

Crew Braden Colley
October 19, 2009
7lbs. 7oz.
20 inches

Crew is just perfect! Delivery was great! We are all doing wonderful! Big Brother Camren doesnt even acknowlege that Crew exists, but he will in time! I cannot wait for them to be able to play together! Being a mom of two is so much fun! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Crew and our new family of 4!

I only thought I was having a baby...

2009-10-14T19:21:00.002-05:00

Well its Wednesday night at 7:21 pm. It was just yesterday morning that I was looking into the future of what would have been me holding a sweet newborn baby boy in my arms tonight! Instead I have been holding a sweet 1 year old boy in my arms, playing with all his toys and having the time of my life! I can look past the disappointment of waiting a few more days to meet Baby Crew bc I am so blessed to have a little more time with sweet Camren! God knows what is best and his timing is always perfect!

In case some dont know, I had an amnio yesterday morning and it showed that Crew's lungs werent developed fully! He is scheduled to be here on Monday at 5 pm.

I have decided that instead of being disaappointed, I am going to treasure every last moment I have with Camren and Coby as a family of 3.

This will have to do...

2009-10-11T23:02:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick update for you...
Cam turned one one on september 23! I took off work to hang out with h and it was well worth it! He had his first bday party and we had an absolute blast! He loved his cake and dug right in!
Crew will be here on Wednesday! I'm scheduled for a c section at 1 ! Nursery is complete, bassinet ready, bags packed , sub plans done, house getting organized, and I wish I could say meals were made and frozen but unfortunately I am NOT a suzie homemaker! :)
I will keep you updated on his arrival! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us!
Now all we need to do is pick a middle name! Ha!

what we've been up to...

2009-09-20T20:42:00.005-05:00

TAKING PICTURES! =) Not really, we have been up to much more than taking pictures of my growing belly and our growing baby boy, but for now all I have time to post are these pictures! I promise I will update you later on our life! Its been crazy around here. We are staying real busy, having fun, and getting ready for Baby Crew to be here!!! By the way, Camren turns one on Wednesday!!! My little baby is growing up so fast!!!!

Will I be this lucky?

2009-08-22T15:11:00.004-05:00

Camren loving on sweet Sarah Ruth Spencer!! I am praying that he will be this sweet with Baby Crew!

October 20, 2009

2009-08-17T22:51:00.002-05:00

We will be welcoming our second son into the world on Tuesday October 20th, 2009! I will be having a scheduled C section (in case you are wondering how I already know)! We cannot wait to meet our sweet boy Crew! Only 2 more months, If everything goes as planned! Sorry I havent updated you more on this pregnancy I have been so busy with Cam that it has been hard to keep up with the blog and keep you updated on Baby #2
We still have not decided on a middle name but are up for suggestions! We need a name that goes with Crew and starts with a B!

Just a glimpse into my heart...

2009-08-04T22:56:00.004-05:00

So I realize that it has been awhile since I actually posted something other than pics of Camren or our summertime fun, so I thought I would share my heart with you for just a few minutes!
Summer has been awesome! I have loved being at home with my sweet boy! There is nothing sweeter than getting my smiling boy out of his crib in the morning, feeding him breakfast, running errands with him, going to the pool with him, watching him play with all his toys, feeding him lunch, having play dates with good friends, laying him down for a nap, laughing at all the funny things he does, watching him learn how to do all kinds of new things, watching him explore the whole house, listening to him babble away, getting sweet open mouth kisses from him, reading books to him, giving him a bath, putting him to bed at night, and then getting to do it all over again the next day! It is GREATNESS! I have loved every moment with him and will remember this summer forever! Unfortunately these days are coming to an end! I only have a few more days to savor being at home with Cam everyday before I have to go back to work!
Next week I will begin my inservices at school! This is a very bittersweet time for me bc I love my job, I love who I teach with, I love making a difference in children's lives, but I LOVE staying at home with my baby and soon to be another sweet little one!
I have been really struggling with this in my heart, I am so sad to leave Camren with someone else while I go to work. We have bonded so much this summer and the thought of not being there when he wakes up in the morning and not interacting with him all day breaks my heart! I know that I will be so excited to come home to his smiling face and snuggly self! Time spent together will be treasured and not taken for granted!
The decision to go back to work was something that Coby and I have thought and prayed about and we know its something that I need to do right now for our family! I am jealous of those mommies that get to stay at home with their babies, but feel very blessed that I am able to have summers, weekends, and holidays off to spend with my family! I am also very blessed to be at such an amazing job with amazing people!
Cam will be going to a Parents Day Out Program 4 times a week, which is a huge change from his schedule last year. He will not be the center of attention anymore. He is going to be surrounded with 10 other babies his age, all sharing the attention of 2 teachers!
I know that he is going to have soo much fun being with other kids his age, it is just going to be a huge adjustment for him and for me!
I worry about how he will act there, will he miss me, will he think that I have abandoned him, will he remember me at the end of the day, will I have enough energy when I get off work to play with him, will I be able to be a good mom, wife and teacher, and the biggest thing I am worried about is having another baby in just a few short months!
I am soo excited to meet this sweet baby boy growing inside of me, but am beginning to feel alot of anxiety about being a mom of 2! Because the boys are going to be soo close together, I worry that I will not be able to give them both the attention that they need!
I feel so blessed and lucky to have such an amazing husband who loves Cam and his baby brother soo much! He is going to be an awesome daddy to them both and will be giving them more attention than they could ever want!!! I am not worried about loving the 2 any more or less, bc I know that the Lord gives you a special mommy love for both children that is so special, I just worry about the dynamics that are about to take place in my home! Cam is going to be a great big brother and I cannot wait for him to meet his lil bro ( even though he is going to have no clue what is going on ) Ha! Again, just an adjustment!

Please pray for me as I leave Camren and go back to work in a few short days! I know the Lord is so Soverign and is going to take care of all my worries and burdens as they are really heavy right now! I am giving it over to the Lord, trusting in him and knowing that he takes care of his children!
Thanks for allowing me to share my heart with you!

Your baby can read...????

2009-07-31T11:27:00.003-05:00

Has anyone see the infomercial for "Your Baby Can Read"? If so what are you thoughts on this program? I am a teacher so I have some thoughts and opinions, but I was curious if any mommies out there have used it? Or teachers what are your thoughts?

India and H-TOWN...

2009-07-26T15:10:00.006-05:00

About a week ago Coby got home from India after being gone for 2 weeks and I got home from Houston! Cam and I had a great time in H-Town and Coby had a wonderful trip to India! The best way for me to tell you about these trips is to show you...

India...

Houston

everyone loves a cute bib or burp cloth...

2009-07-18T22:53:00.008-05:00

If you are in need of some cute burp cloths or bibs for yourself or for a friend I have the perfect place for you! Go to www.bibshoppe.com and check out their burp cloths and baby bibs. Cam owns several of them! He has almost every color in the polka dot bibs (minus the girl colors). I love them bc they are reversible (polka dot on one side and a soft white velvet minky on the back). The monkey print bib is one of my fav bibs he owns and it even has a matching burp cloth! My personal favorite burp cloths are the ones with the minky in the middle. Very cute and soft!! You can never have enough of these!
Here are some pics of Cam sporting the bibs...

And I forgot to mention that they have burp cloths and bibs for Texas Tech, UT, and A&M available upon request! I just purchased a set for a friend and she loved it!

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, ...

2009-07-06T07:34:00.006-05:00

CRAWL!!!!
Camren is finally crawling! After about 3 weeks of scooting, being up on hands and knees rocking, army crawling, and backwards crawiling, he finally TOOK OFF! Everyone told me that one day I would look over and he would be crawling, but I wasnt sure I beiieved them! Well yesterday, my faith in them came alive! We were at Coby's Asian Partners office and he had his eye on an electrical cord. The next thing I knew he crawled all the way across the room to get it! We were soo proud! I was real excited that he started crawling before Coby leaves for India tomorrow! I was hoping that Coby wouldnt miss this big achievement!
Here is a little video of him trying to pull up on the couch (havent quite mastered that yet) and crawling to his bottle! Okay the video is not uploading! Oh well.. I will try again when I have more time! Gotta go catch my child!

And after a long day of crawling around, Camren's knees were really RED! Check out his stylish knee pads! (Thanks Dusty!)

"what in the world are these things my momma put on me?"

Everyone also told me that one day I would go in Camren's room and he would be standing up... here is what I walked into after nap time last Wednesday! Guess they were right!

And here is just a fun picture of Cam playing with his toys!

These last few weeks have definitely created many milestones and memories for us! I could go on and on about the things he has started to do, but I wont bore you with everything! I just feel so blessed to have such a sweet boy and another on the way! I cannot wait to see what the next few months bring!

Baby Favorites!

2009-06-29T22:29:00.011-05:00

So I thought I would take a minute to post a few of my baby favorites!

ABC Arbonne Diaper Rash Cream-Camren got the worst diaper rash while we were on vacation due to the sand! This cleared it right up!

He LOVES George! We go everywhere with him!

Barefoot Dreams Nap to go Set- This is the softest blanket and pillow you will ever find for your sweet baby! It saved us on the flight to New Orleans and is soo easy to fold up and go!

Noodle and Boo-I love this brand of Shampoo and Conditioner! I just ran out so I need to go get some more! Its great for sensitive skin and is so soft, clean, and smells great!

Gerber 4oz. juices- These are great to throw in the diaper bag when you are on the go and in a hurry! Most nipples screw right on to them!

Chicco Polly High Chair- Cam LOVES sitting in his high chair! The Polly highchair features seven height positions, three reclining positions, and folds up so easy!

North American Bear Co. Pancake Blue Bear- Cam loves his Mr.Bear. He sleeps with it under his arm everynight! My sweet friend Tracye gave it him after he was born. It was her son's favorite bear. Her son is 4 now and he still sleeps with it every night!

Lets hear from other mommas out there!
What are some of your favorites?

Carseat advice from all Mommas!!!

2009-06-27T08:51:00.004-05:00

Camren is too big for his infant carrier!!! =(
What brand/style of convertible carseat does your baby have?

update #2: It's a ....

2009-06-25T08:46:00.002-05:00

BOY! Yes we are going to be having another boy in the family! I am super excited that Camren is going to have a little brother to play with! And the best part of it all is that I have almost EVERYTHING I need!
Also, with this pregnancy I have NO complications at all! Isn't God awesome! This has been such a different pregnancy and I am so thankful to God that everything has been smooth sailing so that I can spend precious time with Camren before his little brother gets her!
We are still talking about names, have one in mind, but will share once we decide!

Update #1

2009-06-22T21:15:00.008-05:00

Okay I am finally feeling a little bit motivated to blog!!!
Last week Coby,Me,Camren and Coby's parents set out for Destin, Florida! Coby and I went to Destin last year on vacation and decided that next year we would take the whole family with us! Unfortunately we are very last minute planners and didn't give Jim, Kelli and the kids enough notice! We definitely thought about them while we were there and hope that we ALL get to go next summer!
Camren was such a trooper! On the way there we had 3 flights. I was a little worried about them bc he is into EVERYTHING now! He was a little crazy before each flight took off, trying to grab everything he could get his hands on and making lots of noise, but as soon as the flight took off he was out! It was awesome! He would sleep until the plane landed! I brought this real soft blanket and pillow that he got at one of my showers and it was a life saver!!
He did awesome the entire trip and let us drag him all around to the pool, beach, bike riding, outlet mall, dinner and so much more! It was definitely a vacation adjustment for Coby and I bc for 5 years we have gone on vacations by ourselves, but this time we had someone else to accommodate!
Someone told Coby today that you take a "trip" when you have kids and a "vacation" when you are by yourself! We had a little bit of both! It was definitely fun having Cam with us, but we did have to work around his nap schedule and couldn't just go go go whenever we wanted like we were used to! Thankfully Mimi and G Dad were there to help us out! It was very relaxing and nice to get away from the busy pace of life! Coby and his mom worked really hard the week before so they were really ready for a getaway! On the way home from Destin we stopped in New Orleans for a night, but I dont have any of those pics on my computer yet, so part 2 of the vacation/trip coming soon...

*** Oh and for those of you who wanted to see some belly pics, there is a good one in my bathing suit!!!!***

Update #2 sometime!

motivation with a capital M

2009-06-19T14:09:00.002-05:00

I am really trying to get motivated to update everyone on my pregnancy, post some preggo pics, talk about what the Lord has been doing in my life, give updates on Camren, share pics and stories from our recent vacation and get back into the blogging world, but I can not seem to get the energy to do it right now! I am not going to promise, but will TRY my best to get to them before June is over! Maybe if you left comments about how you are just 'dying' to hear about them I would be more motivated! =)

My last few weeks...

2009-05-28T22:15:00.004-05:00

Mommy I am getting really sleepy at Target...

Are we home yet?

Me and Daddy after his motorcycle race!

Family pic...

My Daddy is soo funny!

GO TECH!

WOO HOO! I can finally hold my own bottle!

Mommy what kind of face are you making?

My first time to stay in a hotel room!

I LOVE PLAYING IN THE WATER! Its soo much FUN!

Swimming away...not sure how I feel about this cold water!

Me and Mommy!

I love my Daddy and the pool!

have i mentioned lately?

2009-05-15T19:48:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned lately that Camren is a super good baby? In fact, we have had tons of people tell us that we will NOT be this lucky on the next one! Hopefully they are wrong! Well despite the super good baby, Camren has been going through a stage I like to call "but mommy, I was playing with that....". This stage consists of throwing a huge fit when I take something away from him that he was playing with. He gets the most mad when I take away a straw! Random I know, but he LOVES playing with them! Well, one night he was playing with a Pringles can and it was time for a bath. I took the Pringles can out of his hands and this is what happened... I promise we have happier videos, but this one was just too good to not post!

family pics and updates...

2009-05-07T20:10:00.003-05:00

Well, it was about that time again...Camren's 6 month pictures were long overdue. I really wanted to take then outside bc he was sitting up and just being soo much fun! The wind in Lubbock and our busy schedules kept us from taking them at exactly 6 months! No worries though right? At least we got some done, with a few obstacles along the way. First, the day of pictures started out rainy, nasty, and cold! I was really bummed because I NEEDED to get these done! Luckily the weather warmed up and the sun came out! hooray! Then I got home from work, fed Cam, and layed him down for a quick cat nap so he wouldnt be real fussy! About 30 minutes later, I wake him up and get him all dressed up in the cutest little outfit..gray jeans ( thanks Grayson ) and a cute white striped colored shirt! As I lift him up off the changing table, spit up/throw up, whatever you want to call it EVERYWHERE!!!! All over me, all over his new shirt that I had just taken out of the fresh plastic bag it was delivered in, and all over his jeans. So... I cleaned it up and we continued to finish getting ready to go! I had his diaper bag all packed, grabbed a semi cute outfit for him ( just in case ) and walked out the door to put him in the car. THROW UP AGAIN!!!! This time even more than the last, so I clean him up once again and pray that we have no more obstacles with the precious little outfit! We are finally off, running a few minutes behind, but none the less on our way to Tech for pictures!
Cam was awesome from the beginning! He smiled so big, watched Denae and sat up like a big boy! We were soo proud, then we were off to change locations and Coby and I started to smell something real nasty! We look down and what do we have? PEE....all over his jeans! This wasnt just any PEE or any accident! For some strange reason, it stunk soo bad!!! It was all over him and all over Coby! We still wanted to take a few more pictures in the really cute outfit before having to change into the semi cute outfit that I grabbed on the way out of the door! So we braved the smell for a few more family pictures and baby pictures then changed him! Coby even had to change out of his shirt too!! Luckily Denae could not smell a thing!!!
In the end, we got some great pictures and I cannot wait to see them all! Our baby is growing up! Here is a sneak peek of some of the pictures she took...

She did AMAZING!!!!! All of my friends tell me to take advantage of him being a good picture taker bc it wont last long!!!!

On to other things...I am about 14 1/2 weeks pregnant! I am feeling pretty good! Havent been sick in awhile until last night when I got the stomach bug! I will find out if the sex hopefully in a few weeks! Still doesnt seem real that I am having another baby, but time goes by fast when you have another one to take care of! This is my first Mother's Day to have a baby in my arms, not just in my tummy! Its been such a fun journey and he brings so much joy to our lives!!! Coby went grocery shopping for possibly one of the first times all by himself with NO list!!! He was real proud of himself! And last buy not least....we only have 14 more days left of school!!!!
Alright, there is the update for all you blog readers that say I NEVER update!!! This one is for you!

Camren's first Easter

2009-04-14T18:52:00.008-05:00

It was Camren's first Easter! He had a great time hunting Easter eggs at Mimi and Papa's house. He loved putting the eggs in his mouth and playing with his Easter basket! Next year he will be walking, so Easter egg hunts will be a lot more fun for him (and for mommy). Here are a few pics of our little man on Easter and the fun we have been having with him...

13 months apart...

2009-04-02T22:40:00.004-05:00

Well as most of you guys have heard Coby and I are expecting another baby! Yes its true and I am sure that most of you are thinking one of these 3 things...
"didnt she just have a baby?" YES!!!
"she is crazy..." POSSIBLY!
"how is she going to cope with a one year old and a newborn?" NOT SURE, we will find out!! =)

It all started on Wednesday,March 4 when I was putting up my bulletin board in my classroom. I fell off the counter and hurt my foot pretty bad. I could not walk very well so I decided to go to the dr and get x rays just to make sure that nothing was broken! So as they were wheeling back to the xray room, the nurse made me fill out this form about being pregnant! I informed the nurse that there was NO WAY I was pregnant! I told the nurse that it was just not possible, but if she needed to give me a test then I was all for it. Not really nervous at all, like I said there was NO WAY! Anyways, I go in the bathroom to take a test, take the test back to the nurse and wait. Sure enough there was a PINK line! I was in complete shock! That night I immediately told Coby and we were both very shocked and excited to say the least.
It took us almost exactly a year to get pregnant with Camren so the thought of us getting pregnant really quickly did not seem possible! But,God had different plans in mind for our family! We could not be happier and we have both had time to process all this and cannot wait to have another Baby Colley in the house! Being a mommy and daddy has been one of the greatest gifts ever! We feel very blessed to have the priviledge of being parents to another sweet life!

The crazy thing is that March 4, 2008, exactly one year before, was the first day we saw and heard Camren's heartbeat. He was only 6 weeks old. So March 4th holds a very special place in my heart. I love watching how God works and knows me so well. I am such a date person and its cool how the Lord knows me so intimately and planned this perfect day for me to find out about another great gift! I truly believe that the Lord had me fall off my counter for a reason so that I would go to the dr and find out that I was pregnant! Otherwise I would not have taken a test.

I have been really sick and it has been a bit of a struggle having a 6 month old to tend to. Coby has been a wonderful husband and father during the last couple of weeks while I have been out of commission! Please pray that the Lord will give me strength and keep me refreshed as I work all day and then come home to my sweet boyand my husband!
My due date is November 2nd, but the Doctor told me that it would prb be more like middle of October. so my sweet babies will be 13 months apart.... =)

Camren's girly scream!

2009-03-25T20:59:00.002-05:00

we have teeth!!!

2009-03-22T19:28:00.004-05:00

I cannot believe that it has been so long since I blogged! One month exactly! Time flies when you have a baby, a job, a husband, a house to keep clean, friends to keep up with, families to visit, etc. We have had an amazing month though. Camren has been such a joy! He turns 6 months old tomorrow! Half a year old! =) Here is a brief update of the last month around the Colley house:

1. Camren has started eating baby food. He has tried peas, green beans, bananas, apples and prunes. He loves ALL of them! I found these great recipes on wholesomebabyfoods.com and I am attempting to make my own baby food for him. So far so good!!! The next foods I am going to make are sweet potatoes, carrots, and pears.

2. Camren just this past week while staying at my parents house has learned how to scream like a girl. It is the cutest thing. He wont do it if you are paying attention to him, but when he is off playing by himself, he does this real cute high pitched screeching sound!

3. Cam has found his toes. Hasnt tried to put them in his mouth yet, but definitely LOVES to play with them!

4. Camren has NOT rolled over yet. He gets soo close but just cant seem to understand how to get that other arm over. He is really trying so we arent too worried yet! =)

5. Me and Camren went to Houston for Spring Break to see my parents and grandparents. He stayed with my mom and dad for a few days while I flew to South Padre to meet Coby for Beach Reach ( a mission trip with our college students ). My mom had an absolute blast hanging out with Cam. She would get all his toys and books out on the floor and play with him, and read to him. He was DEFINITELY spoiled down there! They had some serious bonding time together.

6. Coby started a new job with Asian Partners International. He is going to be the executive director of the Lubbock Office. Asian Partners is a non profit orgnaization that Coby and I have both gone to India with. We feel very blessed to have the opportunity for Coby to work for them! He will continue to work with the college students at South Plains until the end of the semester!

7. My class is doing great! I love this time of year when I get to see them really blossom! What a rewarding thing for me as a teacher!

8. I finally finished a book that I started like over a month ago " Heavenly Man". Its a book about a Chinese man and his love for Christ. He is in and out of prison bc of his love for the Lord. The book made me wonder " do I really suffer for the sake of Christ?" If you are looking for a book to read I highly recommend this one!

9. I am now reading a book now called " crazy love ". I am already over halfway through in 2 days. Its that good! I will write a post about it once I finish it!

10. WE HAVE TEETH! Camren's two bottom teeth are finally breaking through after all this drooling! ha! I will try to take some pics of him soon so you can see them!
Here are a few pics of Camren!

Playing in my fun exersaucer that MiMi gave me!

Lounging around!

in the crib at Grammi's house trying to see Momma!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week. Go read 1 Corinthians 13:1. It will change your life!

Happy 5 Months!

2009-02-22T21:02:00.008-06:00

I cannot believe that tomorrow Camren will be 5 months old! He is such a big boy now! He is talking to us all the time, smiling, laughing, grabbing for his toys, trying to hold his bottle and spoon and NOT rolling over yet! He brings soo much joy to our lives and we will feel so blessed to be his parents!
This time last year, I had just learned that I was expecting a baby and then the February before that I had lost my sweet baby! Its so neat to see the faithfulness of God over the span of a few years! February truly is a special and emotional month for me and Coby! I feel so blessed that this February I am able to rejoice in being a mom to the best baby in the whole wide world. I love you Cam!

Sticking my tongue out at momma!

Having a blast in my high chair!

Happy Boy!

I am sooo big!

I mean really...how many pictures are you going to take of me mom?

Milk...it does a body good!
Just trying to drink my milk!

About to eat!

Playing in my clean clothes.. so fresh and so clean!

Its gonna be a good day!

Getting ready to go to church!

Daddy's Little Princess!!!!

2009-02-17T11:49:00.003-06:00

Daddy's Little Princess...words I am going to absolutely love to see when I have a daughter. In the mean time, I am sick of seeing "girl" stuff everywhere! I went to Target this weekend to spend some gift cards that I got for Christmas and was planning on buying clothes for me. However I did not find anything worth buying so I decided to go to the baby section to buy some clothes for Camren. It took me a few minutes to find the boy rack in the midst of the millions of girl racks. As I looked around, all i could find were 2 racks of 0-12 month boy clothes. I mangaged to find 'a' pair real cute plaid pants and cute little onesie. That was ALL! Then I proceed to go to the 30% off clearance rack in hopes of finding some great deals on clothes for Camren and what do I find??? ONLY GIRL CLOTHES ARE ON SALE!! I searched all 3 clearnace racks and all I found was pink! Now I am not oppossed to Camren wearing pink, but not if it is a dress with butterflies on it! I thought to myself okay, maybe its just Target, NOPE, I WAS WRONG!! Then my mom and I went to a cute little baby boutique to look for a diaper bag and some clothes for Camren. What did I find there? PINK, PINK and more PINK! The entire store was full of girl clothes with a little bitty section for boys. Most of the boy stuff was Texas Tech stuff
( which I love ) but I was looking for something different! We headed over to the diaper bag rack and all I saw was polka dots and paisley ( which I love too ), but not for Camren's diaper bag! I had this feeling my mom was going to buy me one so I was really hoping that I would find a cute one! Needless to say, I left that store totally empty handed and bummed!!!
Oh, I forgot to mention to, that most of the boy clothes have random stuff on them like turtles, ducks, alligators and winnie the pooh. None of which I am oppossed to, but it would be nice to have a better variety.
I have found that it is universal in stores, girl stuff is waaaaay cuter than boy stuff. I have accepted the fact that my son will not be as stylish as my little girl will be someday! =)
In the stores defense, Baby Gap and Walmart usually have pretty cute onesies and clothes. I guess I could venture out to Children's Place or Gymboree to find more boy stuff, but that would require me to spend alot more money and it would mean a trip to the mall!

5 minute challenge!

2009-02-08T21:03:00.007-06:00

"Today starts the 5 minute challenge! What is the 5 minute challenge you ask? Well the 5 minute challenge is: If you can do it in 5 minutes or less, DO IT! BY doing these things, I believe I will be more relaxed and my life will be a little more stress free. I dont know about you guys, but when things in my life are not in order, I do not function well at all. So I am going to attempt this challenge...

Let me give you some examples of things around my house that I could do in 5 minutes or less, but don't always do:
-Empty the dishwasher
-Load dishes in the dishwasher
-Hang clothes up after wearing them
-Switch clothes/towels from washer to dryer
-Make my lunch for the next day
-Iron the pants/outfit I will wear to work
-Fold laundry
-Put Laundry away
-Put clothes that dont fit Camren anymore in a tub
-Make my bed
-Clean up kitchen after dinner
-Wash bottles
-Pack diaper bag for the next day
-Fold and put up blankets from the couch after using them
In my mind, I guess I think that eventually it will go away if I ignore it! Unfortunately that is soo not true and if I would just take the time to do them right away, I could save myself from stress and mess!
When I decide not to do things, I end up rushing around or stressing out bc I have soo much to do! Anyone ever feel this way?
If you do, my challenge to myself and to you is each time you decide not to do something right away, ask yourself "Will this take me 5 minutes or less to do?" If it will, DO IT THEN!
Just think you could get 12 things done in one hour if you just took the time to do it right away!
The challenge starts NOW! I will let you know in a few days how I am doing and if it has helped keep me more relaxed and orderly!
I would love to hear some things that you put off...

so much to do so little time...

2009-02-03T18:29:00.002-06:00

Right now I am sitting in my house looking around at all the things I need to do and just cannot get motivated to. You would think that since Camren was asleep I would use all the energy I have left after teaching 22 crazy 5 year olds to pick up the living room, put away the laundry, clean our bathroom and make my bed, but NO! What am I doing instead... I am on the stinking computer. Besides laying on the floor with Camren when I get off work, being on the computer is my down
time when I get home... but I am really going to have to learn some time management!! For my birthday I got a membership to a gym and I am wondering when in the world am I going to have time for this.
I am wondering if there are any working mommies out there who have mastered going to work out after a long day at work away from their babies?? If so, please share what the trick is. I desperately want to workout and get in better shape for the summer, but it is so hard to justify leaving Camren again after I have been gone all day and want to be home! What is the best plan?
I am going to try and get much better about time management. It starts now.... I am off the computer and going to get some cleaning in while Cam is still sleeping soundly!

playing catch up...

2009-01-28T22:23:00.008-06:00

Well, its been awhile since I actually posted about things going on in our lives, so here we go...
Camren turned 4 months on January 23rd. He went to the doctor for his 4 month shots and he weighted 15 lbs. and was 27.5 inches long. He is in the 50th percentile for weight and off the charts for height. He is now eating rice cereal at night time and sleeping for 10-12 hours a night. We feel so blessed to have such a good, happy baby! He makes us smile everyday! I just love being a mommy! He is also sleeping in his own crib, in his own room, all by himself!!!! He is such a big boy and mommy and daddy are actually doing okay and are not experiencing any separation anxiety! =)

Coby and I also ventured out on our first 'vacation' since Camren has been born. We went to Las Vegas last weekend to celebrate my birthday! It was our first time to be away from Camren! As the days led up to us leaving, I was beginning to have my doubts, but once we were there, we had a great time!!! We just enjoyed a romantic, relaxing weekend together. It was so nice to spend time with my sweet husband! It was a much needed trip for the both of us! We definitely thought about Cam and missed him a ton,but we knew he was in good hands! I would show you some pictures of us vacationing in Vegas,but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!!! (the truth is that we did NOT take any pictures of us there).

Moving on, our week nights pretty much consist of laying on the floor playing with Camren and watching him splash around in the bath tub! He is developing such a fun personality and we LOVE every moment of parenthood! I will admit my house has definitely become messier than it has ever been! When I get home from work, all I want to do is play with Camren and spend time with Coby. I cannot make myself waste precious 'family' time cleaning the house and putting up laundry! I have learned that time with your family is so important and even though it has been a really hard lesson, I am slowly but surely letting go of the analness I have about my house being picked up and clean ALL the time! Spending time with my babies is way more important!

For my birthday Coby got me a Snuggie blanket ( yes the blanket that has arm holes and comes with a free book light)! I know I know...everyone has seen those infomercials about them and probably thought to themselves those are stupid, but they are NOT! They are AWESOME!!! Every night since I got it, I have fallen asleep on the couch with it on! Coby has actually been sleeping in it! It is probably one of the best inventions of all time! If you dont have one, you should definitely think about ordering one the next time you are awake at 2 am watching infomercials!

God has also answered a big prayer in our lives! I will be sharing this with you pretty soon! I feel so blessed to serve an awesome God who is constantly looking out for his children! I am truly amazed at his perfectness all the time!

Alright, I am done! I know that this is such a random post, but that is our life in a nutshell... I will leave you with some pictures of our sweet baby! (15 pictures actually)
I know that is alot, but its been awhile since I posted any! I hope you enjoy!

Not Me Mondays

2009-01-13T18:46:00.002-06:00

1 I did not cook dinner 3 times this week! OH NO I love cooking!
2. I did NOT cook dinner only to find out my hubby wasnt going to be home for 45 more minutes so dinner was not fresh!
3. I did NOT have to use self control so that I wouldn't eat dinner before Coby came home. It smelled soo good!
4. I DID NOT think that the American Idol rejects were hilarious! I WOULD NEVER laugh at people who cant sing!
5.Camren most DEFINITELY DID NOT sleep 11 hours one night this week! NO BABY WOULD EVER DO THAT!!
6. We most definitely DID NOT sleep in our own room last night and let Camren sleep in his crib/room all by himself for the first time since he has been born!
7. Camren DID NOT have rice cereal for the first time ever and scarf it down. He is definitely NOT a chunky monkey!
8. Last but not least, I DID NOT start this Not me Monday last Tuesday so that I wouldn't have such a hard time remembering things!

Why I hate Walgreens!!!

2009-01-09T23:22:00.005-06:00

Tonight Coby and I went to Walgreens so I could pick up some formula for Camren. Coby just dropped me off at the door so we wouldnt have to get Camren out in the cold and wind. I walked back to the formula section, grabbed 2 cans of formula then proceeded to the candy aisle. I remembered that Walgreens always has the movie candy on sale 3 for $3.oo so I could not resist the hot tamales, gobstoppers and sour patch kids. When I got up to the check out to pay , the cashier pointed to her stomach and asked me when I was due!!!! I was totally taken back bc while I know I don't look pregnant something inside of me sunk. No girl wants to still look pregnant 3 months after having a baby. I know that I have not lost my baby weight in full, however I am pretty sure that I do not look like I am "due". I am not sure exactly what my face probably looked like, but I am sure that my jaw dropped to the ground! I wanted to say "do you think just bc I am buying formula and 3 humomgous boxes of candy that I am pregnant?" I proceeded to tell her that I already had a baby 3 months ago. I could tell immediately that she felt totally stupid! The worst is yet to come though... Feeling very stupid for asking a customer if they were pregnant just bc they are buying formula and 3 big movie boxes of candy, when they clearly do not have a BIG round bump on their tummy, she says to me " I always had a hard time losing my baby fat too and I don't have an excuse, my baby is 19 months!" I must tell you that as she was telling me her sob story about not being able to lose her baby fat either, she was lifting up her stomach shaking it all around! Trust me I did not want to see that!!! She should have just stopped while she was ahead! Guess this means it's time to start working out or choosing cvs instead!!!I

GO VOTE for Camren!

2009-01-03T13:28:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone! The photographer that took Camren's newborn pics is having a baby contest. All you have to do is go to her blog and vote for Camren. Click on # 19 then submit your vote and you are done! It's that easy!
She is giving away a free 11*14 picture to the baby who wins!
Please click on her blog: www.denaehutsonphotography.blogspot.com and vote for our sweet Camren! Tell all your friends too! Thanks everyone! The contest ends January 10th so please tell everyone and go vote for our little miracle!

Christmas Vacation!

2008-12-27T22:41:00.007-06:00

Well Christmas is officially over! Coby, Camren and I had a wonderful Christmas. First, we headed out to my parents house in Houston for 5 days! Camren had soo much fun hanging out with Papa John and Grammi. He also got to see his Uncle John, Aunt Danielle and Uncle Jimmy, It was also his first time to meet his Great Grandparents. They loved him! He is the first of the Great Grandchildren, so it was a very special moment for us!
Some of Camren's favorite things to do in Houston were sleeping on Papa John's tummy, waltzing around the house, looking in the mirror, napping with Grammi, smiling a bunch, and we can't forget screaming in the car seat! We had such a good time in Houston and it was soo good to hang out with my parents and brothers. Camren is lucky to have such wonderful grandparents and I am lucky to have such wonderful parents! We were sad to leave and I think they were even more sad for Camren to leave!
Here are a few pics of Christmas in Houston... I can't believe that next Christmas Camren will be walking... or at least he should be! =)

After we left Houston, we drove straight to Lamesa to celebrate Christmas with Coby's grandparents and family. Then we headed to Mimi and G Dads house for our last Christmas! More details of these events and pics to come...
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know that we sure did!

Our little Santa Claus...

2008-12-22T06:55:00.007-06:00

Well, he did it! Camren's first plane ride was a huge success! He did not cry at all. He slept almost the whole time. I was very relieved that he was not screaming his head off annoying all the other passengers. It is kinda funny watching people's faces as they walk down the aisle looking for a seat. I know that in their heads!they are all thinking " I am NOT sitting by the lady with the baby." Well he proved them wrong! Way to go Camren!
My mom's friend bought Camren a Santa suit this weekend and so we just had to try it on and take some pictures of him. Here are a few fun pictures that we took...
HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS! HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS!

All Aboard!

2008-12-13T08:35:00.002-06:00

Last night we went to the North Pole. We traveled there by the Polar Express! It was Camren's first train ride and first time to meet Santa!

Not Me Mondays! and a question for you!

2008-12-08T18:16:00.002-06:00

so its been awhile! here we go...
I DID NOT go to the doctor and have a 102.6 temperature. I am NOT sick!

I most definitely did not go on my class field trip today even though I felt like crud!

I for sure did not secretly want to take the pregnancy test that I have left over from those many sad, frustrating nights of taking negative tests!

I most certaintly did not come home only to see my son in the same outfit he had on on Saturday night for bed and Sunday night for bed. Its not time to change his outfit! =)

Sorry that its not that interesting.
I do have a question I would like to ask...

What would you say is the best sound ever while in the doctor's office?
What is the worst sound possible while in the doctor's office?
** I thought about this while in the doctor today! **
I would love to hear what you think and then I will post my answers to these questions. Just curious... =)

why you really look at blogs!

2008-12-04T07:13:00.008-06:00

Face it, this is why people really look at blogs!

I love Jaycee!

Praise the Lord!

Camo Man!

First Tech Basketball game

LOOk MOMMY! I can lift me head so good!

huh?

thinking about something...

so thankful....for so many things...

2008-11-27T10:15:00.003-06:00

This Thanksgiving brings a whole new meaning to thankfulness than ever before. Ever since Camren has come into our lives, I have learned so much about what is important in life. There are so many little petty things that we revolve our lives around and in the big scheme of life, they don't even matter. Things like my house being clean, our clothes being put away, the Christmas tree being put up, what new clothes I want for winter, my job, and so much more that I think about on a daily basis. Loving my family and friends, my Savior, and the lost is what I want to focus my time and energy on. Are these other things bad? Of course not, but I DO NOT want them to run my life. This year I am thankful for my loving husband who is such a great daddy to Camren and a leader in our family. He loves the Lord with all his heart and is such a good example for our family and others. I am thankful for my son. I love him so much and I am so thankful that he is healthy and here. I love that I get to be his mommy for the rest of my life! He has already taught me so much about myself. I am thankful for wonderful parents and in-laws who would do anything for us. I am thankful that they raised Coby and I in a Christian home and have been such godly examples for us. Love you Mom, Dad, Troy and Carolyn! Other things I am thankful for are the house that I live in, food to eat, the car that I drive, great family and friends and most importantly my Lord and Savior. He is what brings me the most joy in life. Even though I don't deserve his grace and love, he gives it freely. So often I forget about how undeserving I am of him. I feel so blessed to be apart of his family. Thank you Jesus for loving me and for being my Father!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

2008-11-23T23:20:00.002-06:00

Yes, tomorrow is the day when I return to school. It is kinda a bittersweet moment for me. I have loved being off for 10 weeks, but I am excited to hang out with all my friends at school and love on my babies there too. I cannot believe that I have already been gone though for 10 weeks...time flies when you have a baby to take care of. I am excited/nervous about tomorrow because it will be Coby's first day to have Camren ALL day long! He is such a good daddy though and will do just fine! I am so thankful that Camren gets to be with his daddy. It makes going back to work for 1.5 days not so bad! Good bye stay at home mommy, welcome back to the working world!

8 things...

2008-11-23T07:14:00.005-06:00

I got tagged by my sweet friend Kori so here they are!

Eight TV shows that I watch:
1. Days of our Lives
2. The Doctors
3. The Office
4. Extreme Home Makeover ( always makes me cry )
5. Old Christine.New Christine
6. News Channel 11
7. ESPN
8. Sports Center
** the last 2 are only bc Coby has them on so I am forced to watch!
Eight Favorite Restaurants:
1. Caprock Cafe
2. Abuelos
3. PF Chang’s
4. Olive Garden
5. Chili's
6. Jason's Deli
7. Bless Your Heart
8. O'Hana's

Eight Things that happened this weekend:
1. Went to a Tech basketball game
2. Took family pics
3. Attempted to go to Holiday Happenings with a baby! Dont try it!
4. Went to Mi Tio's for Jessie's bday
5. Had Camren's 2 month pictures taken at Family Photo
6. Camren smiled for real for the first time!
7. Went and observed my classrom since I do go back on Monday
8. Watched Tech get killed ( sad day )

Eight Things I look forward to:
1. Camren smiling more
2. Camren sleeping all the whole night without wanting his passy back
3. My Birthday, we might possibly go to Vegas
4. My grandparents meeting Camren for the first time
6. Christmas shopping
7. Thanksgiving Break
8. Christmas Break

Eight Things on My Wish list:
1. Bare Minerals make-up
2. A membership to the Falls Country Club
3. For my class to be good!
4. Another baby!
5. New dressy clothes
6. To be able to run and like it
7. Camren to continue to be healthy
8. For us to grow together as a family

Now I tag Pam, Amanda, and Kelli!

8 weeks old!

2008-11-18T10:31:00.006-06:00

Camren is officially 8 weeks old today! Can you believe it? I can't! We just love him so much! He is changing so much! He smiled at us for the first time yesterday! It was so much fun! He only had about 4 smiles in him, but gave us 2 more big ones this morning! I cannot wait for him to start smiling all the time!
We have already learned so much about him: what he likes, dislikes, and weird quirks. One quirk about him is that he loves to sleep on his tummy or side and he hates his back! He also LOVES his passy! I probably put it back in his mouth 10 times or more during nap time and bedtime. I wish that there was a way to keep it in. Maybe I will try to invent something for keeping passies in babies mouths! He is so cute though when he tries to find it after it falls out. He will squirm, move his hands and mouth all around and scoot to get it! Its adorable! Here are some pictures of my sweet baby sleeping! Notice the passy in almost every picture! Enjoy!

And now just some fun pictures of him over the past week.
He loves bath time!

Mommy why are you taking so many pictures of me?

About to have a fun day with Mommy and Daddy!

He loves his hoodies!

Trying to hold Madison's hand!

Yes he is on his side in the swing! =)

Just playing!

Fear

2008-11-16T12:04:00.004-06:00

Fear is something that I know is not of the Lord! However, fear is something that I didn't really think much of until I had a child and became responsible for another precious life. There are many things that I fear as a mommy... I fear that when I go back to work Camren won't know me as his mommy, I fear that Camren will go to sleep one day and not wake up,I fear that something could happen to Coby and I and Camren won't get to experience us as his parents, I fear for his health and safety, and I fear for his future and for what America/society will be like whenever he gets older. The list could go on. But I know that I belong to a faithful God who "watches over all who love him" (Psalm 145:20). We belong to a compassionate and loving God who in all things "works for the good of those who love him". (Romans 8:28). But does that mean that along the way we understand everything that happens? NO! The Lord tells us that
"my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways" (Isaiah 55:8) Knowing these verses gives me confidence that no matter how much fear I have or how much control I attempt to gain, Camren is in God's hands, he is his.
I love the chorus to the song "Yours" by Steven Curtis Chapman :
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky
To the depths of the ocean floor
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
You're the Maker and Keeper, Father and Ruler of everything
It's all Yours

I trust the Lord with my life and with Camren's sweet life. Everything belongs to him and I have to totally give up all control that I so desperately desire to hold on to!

Not Me Mondays!

2008-11-10T06:36:00.004-06:00

Okay some of you may be wondering what Not Me Mondays are all about. I was curious as well! As I was blog stalking one day, I came across a very intriguing blog, www.mycharmingkids.net. You should check it out. The mommy whose blog it is does a NOT ME MONDAYS! There are over 100 people that participate in this each Monday! She entitles it "being brutally honest and living to tell about it". It is my first time to try it so we will see how it goes. I thought of several other things this week that I was going to post but now cannot seem to think of a single one. Uggh!

1. I DID NOT know that Camren had gotten his Pj's a little wet but was too tired to get up and change his diaper!
2. I DID NOT stand in line at Red Raider Outfitters for 30 minutes only to get home and the shirts I bought were too small!
3. I DID NOT purposely not want to tell Coby that I bought new jeans bc of the fear that he would ask me how much they cost!
4. I DID NOT pump in the car outside O'Hana's restaurant and when I was done was real proud of myself for being able to do so. =)
5. I DID NOT try to think of all options that would keep me from not having to go back to work in 2 weeks. I DID NOT think about asking Coby to get a 3rd job!
6. I DID NOT spend 2 hours looking at personalizationmall. com while I should have been doing laundry or a million other household things!

Okay that is all I can think of right now...
If you want to participate, go to the blog site and copy the NOT ME MONDAYS link. You will have access to all the hundreds of other crazy bloggers out there that do it too!

It's now 6:30am, I have posted my Not me Mondays blog and I am refusing to go back to bed, today is going to be a productive day I can already tell!

Blue Man Group!

2008-11-04T09:05:00.007-06:00

On Friday, Coby and I had our 3rd annual Colley Costume Party at our house! People came dressed in really creative costumes...Frankenstein with his bride, Bo Peep and Woody, Danny and Sandy from Grease, Bonnie and Clyde, John the Baptist, and many more.
What were we you ask??? =)
Well, this year Coby had his heart set on us being "Blue Man Group". In order for us to do this, we would have to get a bald wig and completly cover our faces,head, and neck in blue paint. Now this seems like a great idea if you plan on NOT touching anything the entire party, however with a 6 week old baby, that was going to be nearly impossible! Oh, did I mention that Coby did NOT want us to talk the entire night! I highly doubt that is possible!
So the day went on and I had a big decision to make: Was I going to be the Blue Man group or something else?
After a long day of contemplating this GREAT constume, I decided that getting blue paint all over our newborn son would not be the best idea. So what did I decide to go as????
BRIDEZILLA of some sort. Creative I know! I have always wanted to wear my wedding dress one more time before getting it preserved ( something I should have done 4 years ago ). So I did it! I busted out my wedding dress and barely squeezed into it for the party! About halfway through the party, the dress came off! I was afraid I was going to pass out and Camren would be left with a Blue Man Daddy who could not even pick him up!
Did I mention that John McCain and Sarah Palin were there? Along with Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo? I was starstruck! =)

My Blue Man!

Tony and Jessica!

Family Pic!

My lame attempt at Bridezilla! =)

John and Sarah!

Bonnie and Clyde

Friends!

Frankenstein with this bride!

Coby writing stuff down...remember he isnt talking the entire night!

Group Pic!

Any recommendations?

2008-11-04T08:36:00.002-06:00

Wanted: an indepth bible study for a new mommy! ( doesnt necessarily have to be concerning mommyhood )
any recommmendations?

Happy Halloween and GO Red Raiders!

2008-11-01T13:20:00.002-05:00

Truthful Thursdays...

2008-10-30T18:35:00.003-05:00

Truthful Thursdays is something that I am going to start making myself do...not to be confused with any other days that I am "not" truthful. It more so means I am going to be totally honest with myself and with y'all.
So here it goes, my first post...

well over the past few days I have been real sad as I think about going to back to work soon. It has just recently hit me that I am not going to be with Camren for 8 hours or more a day. That is tough seeing as how I am with him all day everyday now. I know that he will be in good hands with Coby, his mom and a sitter, but the thought of being at work instead of with him is almost unbearable. I truly never thought that I would have a problem going back to work especially since he wasnt going to be in a daycare setting but with his daddy, mimi, and a good friend! Please start praying that I will be able to teach part time next year or not teach at all. One main reason, besides money, that I need to teach is bc of insurance. My hospital bill alone was 77,000 and Camren's was 11,000. Without insurance, there would be no way that we could have ever had that paid. I feel very blessed to only have to pay a very small amount. Also, Coby and I plan to have another baby as soon as we can so I really need good insurance, especially since I had so many medical isssues with this pregnancy. I know that the Lord will provide for us, just please pray for me as I go back to work in a month. Its going to be really tough being away from my precious little baby boy!

Another thing... I have been very far from the Lord lately.I havent read my Bible or really spent time with the Lord since Camren was born! I try to justify it in my head that I am super busy with Camren so I dont have time, but that is a big fat LIE! I have all the time in the world to spend on the computer blogging, stalking other peoples blogs, checking email, checking facebook, etc. So I dont really have an excuse for not spending time with the Lord. I am determined to take time tonight to spend some quality time with my Father. For soo many months I prayed and prayed for a child, prayed for a healthy chlld, prayed that my child would love the Lord,and prayed that Coby and I would be godly parents. Now that we have a child, I somehow have made myself believe that God doesnt need my time or me. What another LIE from Satan. I am so thankful for Camren and feel so blessed by him. God is such a good God and he deserves way more attention that any blog, email or facebook does.

Okay..so there you have it my honest thoughts! I have way more to share with you, but I will wait until next Thursday!

wordless wednesday

2008-10-29T11:48:00.005-05:00

Camren and Uncle Seth hanging out!

Ooohhh!

trying to wink at you!

Camren and Kendall. She weighs 5 lbs. Look how big Camren looks compared to her!

Sound asleep!

All dressed up!

Today is the day...

2008-10-28T08:57:00.003-05:00

I cannot believe that today is the day that Camren was "suppossed" to be born. October 28, 2008 has been his due date from Day 1. Its crazy to think that this little guy would have still been in my tummy. I am so glad that he is here and not moving around inside me ( even though I do miss that sometimes ).
We went to the doctor yesterday and Camren weighs 8 lbs. 12 oz. He was 7 lbs 9 oz just a week ago so that means that he gained about a pound and a half in 1 week! I am afraid that I cannot keep up with the excessive eating habits! =) We went to the doctor yesterday so that they could take off his umbilical cord. It still had not fallen off. Now it is off and Today is the day that he can get his first "REAL" bath! I have a feeling that he is not going to like it at all!

Anyways I need to get off the computer bc I have a million things to do... Where do I start?
Laundry?
Cleaning?
Dishes?
Cleaning Bottles?
Bath TIme for Camren?
Bath Time for Jaycee?
Shower time?
Eating?

Time flies when you have a baby to tend to! I love it though! I will post some pictures and videos this afternoon when I have checked off a few other things off my list!
Good bye for now!
Happy due date Camren! =)

Top 10 things I have learned about Camren...

2008-10-26T16:47:00.004-05:00

In no particular order...

10.He has temporarily decided that he does not like his swing.He used to LOVE it!
9. He cries when you interrupt his feeding to burp him.
8. He is very impatient! When he is ready to eat there is no going back, no warning at all! Its either right now or I scream bloody murder till I get fed.
7. He loves to lay on Coby's tummy!
6. He LOVES to lay on his own tummy instead of his back. If it werent for all that research about tummy laying I would sleep him on his tummy ALL the time.
5. If you just lay him in our bed he is the quietest, happiest baby in the world.
4. He will eat and eat and eat if you keep giving it to him.
3. He DOES NOT like to be changed. ( diaper or clothes )
2. When he is asleep he looks sooo peaceful.
1. He LoVeS his Momma and Daddy.

Happy 4 week birthday Camren!

2008-10-21T14:47:00.012-05:00

So today ar 12:50 pm Camren turned 4 weeks. He will officially be a month old on Thursday! Time flies doesnt it?
We went to get weighed yesterday and he weighs 7lbs 9 oz. He is a growing boy!
Here are few pics of him over the last 4 weeks...
I have more pics, but I am too tired to upload them to my computer so these will do for now! =)

I am so proud of my little man and his smart momma!

2008-10-20T17:51:00.004-05:00

I am so proud of Camren! He slept almost the entire night in his pack n play, thanks to his momma's intelligence!
Let me start from the beginning...About a week ago, Camren decided that he LOVED sleeping in between his mom and dad. For the record, I am not the parent that initially put him with us. One night he would not stop crying so Coby put him in bed with us. He did have his infant positioner so he could not roll or move around, but none the less, he was in bed with us. And to our surprise, slept perfectly the rest of the night. It was heavenly! So since that night, whenever he is crying and wont stop, we or mostly Coby, have put him in bed with us. He doesnt start off in bed with us, he always starts off in his pack n play, but after his middle of the night feeding, he decides that he does not want to be in there by himself. We have tried a lot of different things, but sleeping in between us is the one thing that magically makes him calm. He loves his momma and daddy! So, last night I decided that I would pull the pack n play right next to my side of the bed. It has always been on my side of the bed, just not flat up against it. GENIUS IDEA! Why did I not think of this earlier?
So last night, everytime Camren's pacifier would fall out I could just reach over and put it back in, when he started to fuss I just put my hand on him and he was quiet! One time last night he grabbed my hand and would not let go of it! It was the sweetest thing. So here I am with my arm resting over the pack n play most of the night. But they say whatever works, do it right? Well this has worked or at least it worked last night! Wish us luck tonight!! Now I need to go tend to my crying baby, which I have no clue what he wants except to be held my mommy. Thus allowing me to get nothing done! =)
Now he is all swaddled up and resting away! Its shower time for me!

Please keep praying that his eye gets better. It is really matted and crusty when he wakes up or cries!
The doctor said they cant do anything about it until he is 6 months and then they refer you to an opthamologist. I hope we dont have to get to that point!

love...

2008-10-18T00:12:00.002-05:00

Everyone has always told me about how much I would love my baby, but you dont really know what they mean until you experience if for yourself. Its so crazy how much I love Camren and want to protect him in anyway possible! I know that you moms out there know what I am talking about. Everytime I look at him, I fall more in love with him and cannot imagine my life without him. The thought of something bad ever happening to him breaks my heart. I now have a glimpse into how my parents feel about me. What an amazing feeling being a parent is! I LOVE being a mommy!

Happy 3 week birthday Camren!

2008-10-14T23:55:00.003-05:00

Today Camren turned 3 weeks old! It has gone by soo fast! He has not had another bad night yet ( fingers crossed ). He loves to toot really loud...Coby and I think its hilarious! He also gets the hiccups quite a bit, but we have some stuff called gripe water that helps them go away (thanks Darby). He doesnt seem to be getting much bigger,he is still wearing preemie and newborn clothes. I love dressing him each day...its so much fun! Here are some recent pics of him...

every night is a new night...

2008-10-13T08:51:00.004-05:00

So far Camren has been a really good sleeper. He wakes up every 3-4 hours on the dot, I fed him, he lays awake for awhile, then he falls right back to sleep for a couple of hours. It is the perfect situation. Coby and I actually get some rest and for the most part feel refreshed in the morning. Saturday night was a different story... It all started around 11 pm. I fed him, laid him down, put his pacifier in, got in bed with Coby and about 5 minutes later we start to hear some noises and moving around, then we hear "WAAAAAA". He starts crying! Coby blamed the crying on me bc he said I should have never put the pacifier in his mouth to begin with bc he was already sleeping so good. Coby kept nudging me to get up and do something..
Here is our conversation:
C: He is crying, are you going to get up?
J: " He is fine, Babywise says not to get up at every little sound!"
C: Dont you feel sorry for him?
J: NOPE! He is fine. He will stop in a second...
C: He's upset, we need to do something..
J; Okay, then you can get up and put his pacifier back in
C: ( just lays there with no comment ) =)
J: ( gets up and puts his pacifier in )

Camren stops fussing, I get back in bed and we do this whole scenario( not exactly like that but close ) over and over until about 2 am.
Around 2am, I change his diaper, and head to the glider. I rock him for about 45 minutes with him on my shoulder bc if I cradle hold him he will get upset. I think that maybe his tummy was hurting. So after 45 minutes of rocking, he is fast asleep. I slowly get up to move him to the pack n play. Not 1 mintues after I lay him down he starts getting real restless again... wiggling, fussing, waving his hands in the air ( like he just don't care) Sorry i had to add that in there. =) So, I get him AGAIN and put him in bed with us. Normally this will work and he will stop crying for awhile, but Saturday night, nothing was working.
So I change his diaper again and he was really really dirty. I had never seen a poopy diaper like that before on him.
Now, just for the record, he has NEVER peed on me while changing a diaper. So as I am wrapping up the other diaper reaching for the new one, he started getting after it. I of course did not see the pee shoot straight up, I just felt it on the changing pad. It was everywhere and he was SCREAMING!!!! Then I lifted him up and the whole back of his head was soaking wet and smelt like urine, his shirt was covered and the changing pad was soaked in pee! It was so sad! I picked him up, and laid him on our bed. Why I did that, I have no clue bc now I have a huge wet pee spot on my side of the bed.
Coby gets up and holds him while I give him a quick sponge bath at 4 am. Poor guy!
So then we go back to rocking and it does not work. Around 5 am, I am super tired and irritated that I get him and go put him in his swing in the living room and I get a blanket to sleep on the couch. ITS A MIRACLE!!! He immediately stopped fussing and went right to sleep, sleeping until 10:30 when I had to wake him to eat.
I forgot to mention how annoyed our dog was at the while situation. It was like you could see on her face " Would you just shut up already?" She slept the entire day yesterday! Saturday night really wore her out too! =)

Fast forward to last night... fed him at 11:30, laid him down around 12:30 and he is out until I had to wake him up at 4:30 to eat again. Coby fed him a bottle, burped him and laid him right back down. ASLEEP so soundly! 8:30 rolls around and he begins to cry a little bit, I get up to fed him, he burps, goes right back to sleep and here I am writing a blog about it, feeling fully refreshed and ready for the day! and might I add, Coby and Camren are fast asleep right now!
Its amazing how every night is a new night!!!!
any other moms have stories like this?????

my first two weeks as a mommy...

2008-10-08T18:06:00.006-05:00

Tuesday was Camren's 2 week birthday! I cannot believe how fast it has gone by. It seems like yesterday they were rolling me down to the operating room and I was awaiting his arrival.
Camren has been such an easy baby ( even at night ) with the exception of last night. He wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat and mommy has to wake him up a lot during the day to eat. I have been nursing and giving him a bottle every once in awhile. I want him to get used to taking a bottle before going to back to work. He does not seem to have a problem with either. I will say though, bottles are so much faster!
Most of his days consist of sleeping ALL day long! I am ready for him to be awake more so we can play together. When he is awake Coby and I just sit and watch him..stare actually! =) Sometimes I cannot believe that the Lord has blessed me with this little child. Its amazing the love that you feel for your child. It puts a lot of things in perspective for me. It is such a great picture of the love that the Lord feels for his children! WOW!
We took him back to the doctor on Monday and he weighed 6 lbs 9.5 oz. He is almost back up to his birth weight! Yah for Camren and Mommy for feeding him enough. He is in the 75th percentile for height at 20.75 inches.
I cannot believe that he should be in my tummy for 3 more weeks! That is a crazy thought! I am so glad that he is here safe and sound in my arms.
My gallbladder has not given me any problems and I have been able to eat anything that I want. We have had so many people bring us meals and feel so thankful for that. I already do not cook very often and we have definitely been spoiled with all these yummy meals. They plan on bringing meals every other day for a month. What a blessing!
Coby has been such a good daddy to Camren. One of my favorite things about being a mommy is watching Coby being a daddy! It is the sweetest thing ever!
Please pray for Camren. He has a clogged tear duct and it is so sad to see his eye all matted up.
Here are some pictures of us over the last 2 weeks...

so sleepy...

we had a little accident!

Uncle John and Aunt Danielle came to visit me!

I love sleeping with my hand by my face!

my husband's favorite things...

2008-10-06T21:52:00.006-05:00

I was going to write about Camren and our first 2 weeks, but then I got tagged so I will do this post tonight and then write about Camren tomorrow!

the beach!

Las Vegas!

this pic of Camren!

India house churches...

Basketball!

being a daddy!

Some other things... dirtbikes,snowboarding,dr.pepper,texas tech football and basketball

I tag: Kristin Foster, Stephanie Stanford, and Kori Truby

sneak peek

2008-10-01T10:13:00.003-05:00

In case you haven't seen...

2008-09-27T20:53:00.017-05:00

We are home! Thank you mom for keeping my blog updated! We are having so much fun being parents! Coby has been such a great daddy and husband! I feel so lucky!
We just love Camren so much! Here are some pics of the last couple days! We took over 200 pics of him in a matter of 3 days!!! Sorry that I cant post all of them, but I hope you enjoy looking at our little miracle!
Thank you so much for praying for us! We feel so blessed to have a healthy baby boy at home (especially since he was born 5 weeks early ).

My stomach the day Camren was born!

Getting ready to have a little baby! We cant wait!

Waiting to go back for my C Section

Camren is here!

Proud Daddy!
Mommy on drugs but determined to see her baby!

Mommy and Daddy loving me!

Daddy's Favorite Red Raider!

Sweet cousin Presley!

A happy Mimi and G Dad!

Mommy and Darby!

Me and Levi! Cant wait to play with him!

I am a cutie!

Grammi's Last Day to Blog (I think!)

2008-09-26T10:21:00.012-05:00

Jennifer's Hospital Picture!

Camren's Hospital Picture!

Hi Everyone,

Well, Jennifer, Coby, and Camren are coming home this afternoon, so I figure Jen will want to take over her blog. So, it is with deep regret that I have to relinquish my blog duty. But, I will be promoted to diaper duty this afternoon. I know which job I like better!!! I bet you do too!

Jennifer was very animated yesterday. I think getting all that new blood made her stronger and made her feel really good. She was walking around yesterday. I was amazed. I was never like that.

I asked Jennifer how long she wanted me to stay yesterday, and she said, "for the rest of my life." Wasn't that sweet? However, I will be going back to Houston sometime next week. I do have a job that I have to get back to. For those of you who don't know, I am a high school librarian. I know I will go back looking at those high school students in a new light and asking these questions to myself as I observe my students, i.e. What did he/she look like as a baby? Was he/she born with that spike hairdo? Did his diapers fall down as low as his jeans are now? You weren't born knowing those words, so why use them now? With an outfit like that, what did you wear when you came home from the hospital? Okay, this is getting stupid. But, I will go back to work suggesting research topics, such as, Pregnancy, C-section, Parenthood, Childhood Illnesses, Post-Partum Depression, etc.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your life through this blog. It has been so much fun!

Grammi (that is what my kids decided for me!)

I love my baby!

2008-09-25T09:54:00.012-05:00

Hi Everyone,

It is Jennifer's mom again. I like blogging for my daughter. Times have changed. If someone would have told me that one of the "Grandma" jobs when you go and help your daughter with a baby would be blogging for her, I wouldn't have believed it. But, you should see the hospital room. Three laptops are plugged in at once. Cell phones are plugged in, and cameras are flashing right and left. My husband commented that there weren't enough outlets in the hospital room for everything. Hmm, I wonder why! This is the electronic baby generation, for sure.

Jennifer is doing fine. The blood transfusion yesterday really put some color on Jennifer's face. Yes, she was pale under all her make-up! Her strength is up too.

Camren is up and about. Not literally, but we did see him open his little eyes yesterday. He looks so much like Jennifer did when she was little. In my next post, I will show you a comparison pic.

Jennifer was amazed at how many comments she got on her blog yesterday. I told her it was because I wrote it, but she said it was because of the baby. Hmm. But, keep the comments coming. They are fun to read, and let's beat yesterday's record number of comments of 36 - may be higher even now.

Camren is here!

2008-09-24T12:58:00.013-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm Jennifer's mom, and she asked me to update her blog since she can't do it right now.

Here are the stats:
Birthday: September 23, 2008
Time: 12:50 p.m.
Weight: 6 lbs. 11 oz.
Height: 20 inches
Born 5 weeks early

Camren is already in his Texas Tech outfit. He has been released from NICU. And, he is a CUTIE! He has chubby cheeks and a little bit of dark hair. He was in NICU for one night so they could check his feedings. He was never on oxygen.

Jennifer had her c-section followed by her gallbladder surgery. She wasn't allowed to be awake during her surgeries. She did well in her surgeries; but, she lost a lot of blood, so today they are giving her a transfusion. It takes two hours for each unit of blood they give her, so she will be receiving blood all day long. But, she is happy and content holding Camren as they both rest.

Coby was so excited when he came out in his "Papa Scrubs" to tell us about Camren! He wore his scrubs all day long. He is the proud dad for sure!

Enjoy the pics!

Jen loves those comments, so keep them coming.

Patti Greene

Please Pray!

2008-09-23T08:50:00.002-05:00

Today at noon I am going to be having a c section and a gallbladder removal suregery. I am very nervous about them doing both one right after the other, but I trust the doctors. Please pray for wisdom for both doctors during the surgery and for a safe delivery for Camren. We do not know yet if he will have to go to the NICU for a little while or if he can go straight to the nursery. Please pray that he is healthy and breathing good! We appreciate all your prayers and will keep you updated!

Tomorrow at noon!

2008-09-22T16:01:00.002-05:00

This time tomorrow I will be a new mommy! I can hardly believe it! I am freaking out a little bit. I have given up control of my house, but now I am wanting to gain contol of everything that is going to happen tomorrow! Its a weird feeling knowing that you will be having a baby in less than 24 hours! I am so excited though and cannot wait for little Camren to be here! Coby and I feel so blessed that the Lord has given us the privelege of becoming parents. He is entrusting this little guy to our care and we cannot wait to meet him. We know that the Lord has had his hand in his life from day one to now. He will be born at 35 weeks so we are praying that he will not have to go to NICU and that his lungs will be developed and healthy. I wanted to share some verses with you that have helped me on this faith filled journey as the struggle of getting pregnant began to today.

“Faith is the confidence that we hope for will actually happen: It gives us assurance about things we cannot see”
Hebrews 11:1

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
Colossians 4:2

“Yet I am confident that I will see the Lord’s goodness”.
Psalm 27:13

“Hear me as I pray O Lord. Be merciful and answer me.”
Psalm 27:7

“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes wait patiently for the Lord.”
Psalm 27:14

“The Lord directs our steps so why try to understand everything along the way?”
Proverbs 20:24

“The Lord formed me from the beginning before he created anything else.”
Proverbs 8:22

“I will praise you Lord with all my heart; I will tell of the marvelous things you have done.”
Psalm 9:1

“There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filed with wisdom and God’s favor was on him.”
Luke 2:40

“Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”
Psalm 40:3 b

“Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them! “
Isaiah 43:7

“Children are a reward from God.”
Psalm 127:3

“ For this child I prayed.”
1 Samuel 1:27

life.road

2008-09-21T22:46:00.003-05:00

Life.road
For those of you wondering what that means go to www.cobycolley.blogspot.com
Yes, Coby finally gave into the blogging world. He is a little different blogger than I am, but I think that you will enjoy it! Anyways, on your spare time take a look at his and if you think about it, leave him a comment so he will continue to blog! =)

Latest Update:
Doctor said that it will be Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. We have to wait for Killeen to get back in town. That could be tomorrow or Tuesday. We also have to coordinate with the gallbladder surgeon as well. So I will let you know as soon as we find something out.
I got to go home today too! Coby put together the pack n play, the papasan chair, and we got the carseat in the car. We were very productive! I think we are ready to have a baby, or as ready as we can get! I have given up control and Coby has forbidden me to worry about anything else! I am going to try my hardest!

latest update on camren and my adventure!

2008-09-20T13:41:00.005-05:00

So...here is the latest update. About 3:15 yesterday ( Friday ) I had a gallladder attack. It started out as a mild stomache then quickly progressd into what was a 'gallbladder attack'. It took forever before my nurse really believed that it was what it was. She wanted to give me Mylanta for heartburn and indigestion, but I knew that wasnt going to help. Needless to say, it was a very slow process getting someone to take me seriously. Finally my friend Haleigh saw the doctors standing in the hall at the nurses station and asked if someone could please come to my room bc I was having a gallbladder attack. The doctor immediately came in and by this point I was hysterical bc I still hadnt gotten my Mylanta and I was hurting soooo bad. The doctor ordered me some pain medicine that had to be administerd through an IV. Once they finally found a IV pole ( 20 minutes later ) and got my IV started, I was in no more pain. It had already come and gone or I was just distracted from the pain of her putting the IV in me. I finally got my pain medicine almost 1.5 hours later and it started to make me sleepy and loopy. However I did not sleep very well bc the pain from the IV was still hurting me. I could not take it anymore and I called the nurse to come take it out. It was so painful that even pain medicine wouldnt help it! IMAGINE THAT!!! =)

Dr. Atkinson ordered for me to have an amnio and sonogram this morning since I had an attack. He does not want me to have a feeding tube or go through this gallbladder pain again. So... this morning I had another sonogram and amnio. He said that if the amnio was in the forties he would deliver on Monday. Coby and I were freaking out a little. We have known that we are 'taking it one day at a time' , but Monday is like 2 days. WOW! The results of the amnio came back and his lungs were 34.5 which isnt in the forties, but by Tuesday would be 40. They sent my amnio off to get another test which came back better than the other. I cant remember what the test is called but mature lungs are 50,000 and Camren's came back 48,000. The nurses were very positive and told me that this other test is more sensitive and so it would for sure be this week somtime.
Dr. Atkinson will be here tomorrow and I am going to try to get him to nail down a date however he has to coordinate with my other 2 doctors ( OB and Gallbladder surgeon ). I would like to be able to tell my parents when to start heading up here for the big brithday! I will know more tomorrow when Atkinson comes by in the morning. I cannot wait!!!

My big adventure...I got to leave today for a little while. YIPPEE! I was given permission to leave yesterday but when my gallbladder attack hit, he changed his mind. So today I got to bust outta this hospital! It was so much fun! The one thing that I wanted to do was to get my toenails and fingernails painted. Coby thought that it was a little crazy that I wanted to go get my nails done on my 2 hours out. But, what mom doesnt want their fingernails and toenails to look good before they have a baby. Where would you have gone? I will show you a before and after pic and you will truly understand why it was so important for me to get them done. We had a great time at the mall. I even got Coby to buy a real sweet Texas Tech shirt. I can definitely do some damage in a matter of 2 hours!
I am going to try and get permission to go to my house for an hour or so tomorrow so I can get a few things ready before Camren arrives! Hopefully they will let me.

Well thats the latest update. It has been a very exciting day for me ( the most exciting day since last Friday ). I guess thats what happens when your doctor gets back in town from Cancun! lol

Oh yeah one last thing, Coby and I took a tour of the NICU last night, just to see what it was like. Coby didnt really like it that much, but I didnt mind it. Not as bad as you think it is, or at least in my opinion it wasnt! Coby will tell you differently! The babies in there are so tiny! Camren is already 2x the size of most of them. We are praying that when he does get here he will not have to go in there. Please pray that his lungs are developed, for a healthy delivery and gallbladder removal surgery!
Anyways I will let you know tomorrow what the doctor says!

Coby sitting at his computer in the room!

So excited that I get to leave!

maternity pics!

2008-09-19T09:00:00.003-05:00

2008-09-18T22:39:00.002-05:00

Thank you Amanda for telling me about " cutest blog on the block". I am so glad to have a new blog design. I have had the old one for a loooong time! I am excited! Nothing too exciting has gone on around here, so here is my top 10 list for today...

1. I LOVE FALL! Its makes me so excited when the weather changes and the leaves on the trees start to change color.

2. My dream is that it will be a cool, rainy night when Camren is born. Then Coby, Camren and I will all cuddle in bed together.

3.The nurses up here have been awesome and I am actually going to be sad when I dont get to see them anymore.

4.One nurse said to me today " what does your husband do, he gets here so late at night and always looks so tired"?
I was tempted to tell them something crazy, but I held my tongue! =)

5. Coby has been wonderful! He takes me outside to eat lunch, gives me wheelchair rides around the hospital and outside, spends the night here every night, stays with me as much as he can, and searches all around our house for my long list of things I ask him to get. ( sometimes he cant find exactly what i wanted, but he's doing a really good job! )

6. I met a friend across the hall yesterday. YIPPEE! She is so great! We have the same doctors and both kinda feel like they stranded us here bc they are out of town all week. Its so much fun having someone to talk to while no one i visiting. We just sit and share pregnancy storie and talk about how we think things should go down in here. ( we are both control freaks and planners )

7. Whoever came up with bedrest in the hospital is mistaken...there are constantly nurses, doctors, and people in and out all day long. Its not near as restful as you think it is suppossed to be!

8. Has anyone watched the show The Doctors? It comes on right after Days of our Lives and it is sooo good. I would have never known it existed if it hadnt been for bedrest. If you have DVR, you need to DVR it. It comes on at 1:30 on NBC.

9.My sweet sister in law Kelli made me a sunshine box and I get to pick 2 or so things out of it everyday as a special treat. Tonight I got a fun little game to play with. You roll the ball off this ramp and try to get it into the holes. I will have to take a picture to show you what it is exactly!

10. I am soooooooooo sad that I am not going to be able to go the South Plains Fair this year. The fair is one of those things that reminds me of fall and brings back such good memories in my life.
I might ask the doctor if I can have a pass to go to the fair for 2 hours... what do you think he will say?? =)

anyways, thats about all. I will try to post some more pics and a CRIBS video tomorrow. It is downloading them slow tonight and I am not patient enough to wait on them!
Dr. Atkinson gets back tomorrow so maybe I will have another sonogram and some more exciting news to share with you all. Thanks for all the prayers, emails, and comments. Keep them coming!

changing background???

2008-09-18T18:06:00.000-05:00

can someone please tell me how to change the background to my blog on pyzam without loosing all the widgets I have?

pics of the room and more...

2008-09-16T14:31:00.005-05:00

Well this morning started out not so good. =( I got a little bit down and emotional because my doctor came in and told me that he was going out of town too. So... now, both of my doctors are gone and I feel like I am just stuck here. I feel absolutley fine and even though I know that this is the best place for me to be, its hard to be cooped up in this room. I feel GREAT! Coby got back this morning from speaking at a chapel service and I just lost it. I just want to go home soo bad! Its so hard to start another day bc you dont know who is going to come see you, what you are going to do, and what the doctors are going to tell you. You start your morning at 8 am or so and think to yourself, " What am I going to do today?". It gets better as the night goes on because it is just one day closer to having a baby. But please continue to pray for my attitude because I do not want the devil to get me down. I read a verse last night that we have all heard, but really spoke to me yesterday " Be still and know that I am God". What a hard verse to follow!

When people come to see me, they think that I am crazy bc I am dressed, with makeup on and ready for my day. That is one thing that I have found makes me feel better. I dont know if many of you like staying in PJ's all day, but after so long, you just feel yucky! So I take a shower daily, and I usually take my sweet little time showering and getting ready. After all, what else do I have to do? lol

The doctor that is taking care of me while all my other doctors are gone is pretty laid back and might give me a pass to go out of the hospital for an hour or so. You have to have a specific reason to leave and a place to go though. If you are stable they normally let you go, so lets hope that I am stable. I am still having contractions every once in awhile and they have me on medicine to keep me from going into labor. They bring me my medicine every 6 hours. I get woken up at 6am, and midnight to take it and then I take one at noon and 6 pm. I have found it very hard to get rest up here though with all the visitors, doctors, and nurses coming in and out. But please dont stop coming up here to see me! I love having company. If I dont answer your call though when you call me, please dont think I am ignoring you. I just might have visitors or a doctor in here.

I do want to tell you about my exciting adventure today....wish I had pictures to show you but we forgot the camera. Coby took me downstairs to the grill ( in the wheelchair of course ) and we were able to eat outside on this little patio together. It was so much fun! I still had to order off the heart healthy menu, but it is well worth it. So far my day has not been as bad as I was expecting it to be! Here are some pictures that I took of my room. Maybe it will give you a glimpse into my life!

Please email me or leave me comments. I have all the time in the world to respond and would love to chat with each of you!

5 days down, who knows how many to go...

2008-09-15T23:10:00.002-05:00

Well, it is day 5 of being on bedrest. So far it hasnt been that bad. I am going a little crazy, but I have had a lot of visitors and have kept very busy. Doctors and nurses are constantly coming in to check on me and I can hardly even get a shower in. =)
Coby is able to give me "joy" rides ( wheelchair rides ) , which ends up being the highlight of my day. He can wheel me outside to get some fresh air, but we cant be gone long. The nurses up here have been sooo nice and I have even debated going back to school to be a nurse. Of course, I think I might only want to be a nurse on the Antepartum floor because its all preggos that are on bedrest.

My specialist doctor went to Cancun yesterday so another doctor is taking his place this week. He wanted to do another sonogram today to see if he thought I had vasa previa. If anyone of you read about what it is, its kinda scary. He did my sonogram this afternoon and does not think that it is " officailly" a vasa previa, however the cord is very close to my cervix and it could be alot worse. They are still keeping me here on bedrest until Camren is ready to be here. I am very thankful that the doctors are watching me very carefully and looking out for us.

Please pray that I do not have another gallbladder attack. If I have one, they are going to put me on a feeding tube until Camren is born. I am praying against that and so far so good. God is faithful and i refuse to be anxious about this! i am on a strict diet up here and have to order from the 'heart healthy' menu so I am staying pretty healthy. Tonight Coby brought Rosas back to the room for himself for dinner and the queso and tortillas smelt soo good! Can you believe he tortured me like that? One thing i cannot wait for is to get my gallbladder out so I can eat all kinds of good things!

My mother in law and neice made a sign for my room so people can sign it when they get here! Everyone has been so great to take such good care of me. I have a wonderful husband to that has been awesome. I am so thankful that he is able to stay with me some during the day and at night! All I need now is my puppy dog.

One of the nurses today told me that they will sometimes give you passes to leave for an hour or two if you have a specific place and reason to go. I asked Dr.Killeen today if he would give me an hour pass to go home to see Jaycee ( my little pupster) and he said maybe in a few days. He told me to sneak her in ! Coby and I might try to sneak her in tomorrow. Coby is pretty nervous about her barking and getting by the security guard. We will see how it goes.

Tomorrow I will take some pictures of my room and me on my " joy " ride for you.
Thank you so much for praying for me and for being so wonderful!
If you want to come visit me, please do!
love yall. time for bed! They wake me up though at midnight and six to give me a pill, so its kinda hard to get a good nights sleep! =)

Lubbock Baby Shower

2008-09-14T07:51:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures from my Lubbock Shower. I feel so blessed to have such great friends and family! Coby and I can not quit talking about how awesome our friends and family are and how we feel so lucky to have them in our lives.God has truly blessed us with the best! Thank you to everyone! We love y'all. Cant wait for Camren to meet everyone who has prayed for him, loved him, and taken care of his mommy and daddy!

Just another ordinary day...or not!

2008-09-12T21:31:00.000-05:00

okay... so this post might be a little bit long, but very informative! =)

Wednesday afternoon, I left school kinda in a hurry because Coby was speaking at our OnCampus college worship service and I really wanted to go because I wasnt sure if I would get to go anymore, especially since Camren is going to be here in 3 weeks! So...i didnt have everything ready for the next day at school, which normally I do just in case something happens and I cant come back. Well, I went to OnCampus and around 9:30, right in the middle of Coby's message, I started to feel a gallbladder attack coming on. AHHHHHH! I was praying that it would get better, but needless to say, it actually did not get any better, only worse, and it ended up lasting till 7am. YES 7AM!!! It was a LOOOOOOONG night of excruitating pain. I tried taking several baths, I was throwing up, taking Tums, anything I thought would help. NOTHING HELPED!!! So...I went up to school to get a few things ready, called my long term sub ( who is absolutely amazing ) and she said she could sub for me that day. My pain started to subside, but I was really sore from the bad pain and delirious bc I got no sleep that night. I fell asleep for about 2 hours and then called the nurse. The doctor decided to admit me to the hospital to get an " official " scan of my gallbladder to see just how bad it really was. Yesterday was a very boring day for me bc they couldnt test me since I had eaten that morning and so I pretty much just hung out. Then school got cancelled for today and I was very relieved that I was not going to be docked a day of work. I was suppossed to go home today but thats when things took a crazy turn.

If you dont want all the details you can just skip to the bottom of this otherwise here is a breakdown of my day!

When they did my gall bladder scan this morning, the surgeon said that it needed to come out immediately bc it was affecting my pancreas and it was extremely dangerous. He was very concerned that if I passed another one I could go into labor or it could send me into some kind of traumatic stress. The doc said that when I was in that horrible pain, I was actually passing a gallstone which caused me to get pancreatitas. Anyone ever heard of that???? me either!!!!

The 3 doctors talked with each other and decided that Camren needed to come out tomorrow (Saturday) and then they would take my gallbladder out after they sewed me up. So basically I would have C-Section, then gallbladder removal all in a matter of minutes! So that 'WAS' the plan.
Coby and I were starting to get a little excited, but a little freaked out. We both were aware that if Camren came he would have to be in the NICU for a few weeks before even coming home with us.

Around 4 pm, they did an amnio. That is where they stick a long needle inside of you to get some amniotic fluid which tests if the babies lungs are developed. They have a sonogram up so that the doctor can poke the needle down and see where the baby is so that he is doesnt stick him. I was so worried that Camren was going to move. He moves ALL THE TIME! Praise God Camren cooperated. I did not watch the needle go inside, I kept my eyes glued to the sonogram machine. My sweet husband had his hand on my shoulder and watcher Dr. Atkinson put the needle into my tummy. The amnio results came back about 2 hours later and were not good. Camren's little lungs are not developed. They needed the number to be a 55, but said they would take him with a high 30's- 55, but nothing below that. Well his number was 17.5. NOT GOOD! He is definitely not ready to come out tomorrow. After the amnio, they took a look at my placenta previa. REMEMBER?? Oh yes, I have placenta previa too. I know... if you can get it while you are preggos I have it! lol

While they were looking at the placenta previa, they found that I have vasa-previa. This means that the cord is attached to the side of the placenta by some blood vessels. This was something that they either missed or has changed since last time. The doctors said that if they had found this earlier I would have been on bedrest since 24 weeks. He was very impressed and blown away that I have even made it this far. If a woman goes into labor or her water breaks with this type of previa, the baby potentially dies due to blood vessles breaking and intense hemorraging. God is so good! Just the thought of losing Camren brings tears to my eyes and a pain to my heart. I am so so thankful that I am here in the hospital with great doctors and nurses taking care of me and Camren. God works in mysterious ways and he is a God that protects his children. I truly believe that he has protected me from so many thing throughout this pregnancy and is going to continue to protect me. Please keep us in your prayers and please pray for wisdom for the doctors and nurses. I am in great hands!

All that to say... they have put me on hospitalized bedrest until Camren comes. Its going to be a day by day monitoring to decide when he will be here. It will depend on gallbladder attacks, contractions, and some other things.

It has been a very hard, emotional day for me. One minute I am thinking I am having a baby (who will have to be in NICU for a few weeks) and getting my gallbladder out - to not having a baby, not getting my gallbladder out and being put on hospitalized bed rest till he comes. It has just been an emotional roller coaster, but I am so thankful that I have the Lord lean on and bring me peace through anything that comes in our path.
I have been reminded of the verse " The Lord directs our steps, so why try to do it on our own."

Who would have thought that when I left my house on Thursday, I would not be returning. =)

Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and for Coby and I. We want Camren to get here safely! We have worked so hard for him and the Lord has just been so gracious to us!
Here are some recent pics of Camren and us in the hospital!

I will keep you updated through the blog! Love you guys!

important or not? for mommies...

2008-09-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

How important is it to wash all the clothes you have before you put them on your sweet baby?

kindergarten, baby showers, maternity pics, and Oct.2! !

2008-09-06T08:17:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics of my kindergarten room and my baby shower in Levelland. We are so blessed! The naternity are coming... I didnt realize that they were on Coby's computer not mine! =)
October 2, 2008 is the day that Camren will enter the world ( as long as his lungs are developed ) and Coby and I will be parents. What a crazy feeling! They have scheduled me for a C Section at 5 pm. I will have my amnio done that morning at 8 am. If everything looks good then he will be here at 5! We are so excited! Its kinda a weird feeling though knowing that your son is going to be entering the world on a certain date. Anything could happen, but that is the plan for now!

when it rains it pours...

2008-08-20T23:10:00.000-05:00

So I dont really know if this is the best quote for what has been going on, but let me explain.
Rain Storm # 1:
So...last week, I found out that my long term sub might not be able to be my long term sub. Stressful! I began to think to myself, what will I do, who will I get that will be good enough? Well PRAISE THE LORD, God answered that prayer and she will be my long term sub after all! I feel so blessed to have an excellent, certified teacher in the room to love on my kiddos while I am away being a mommy!

Rain Storm #2: Found out that I am anemic! Not that big of a deal, just makes you a little more tired and I was put on a iron pill that is suppossed to be real hard on your stomach. YUCK!

Rain Storm #3: This one calls for some more explanation. Since May, I have been having real bad heartburn and indigestion. ( or so I thought ). I would wake up in the middle of the night with this herendous pain in my chest up to my heart. It would last for hours upon end. I would lay on the bathrrom floor crying while my sweet husband just sat there and comforted me as I screamed " I DONT KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT, BUT IT HURTS SO BAD". During one attack I actually asked him to take me to the hospital. We didnt go and now I kinda regret it. This pain would always subside by the next day, even if it lasted 3 hours or more. Well Monday morning, I woke up to this pain AGAIN! I thought to myself " OH NO, how will I sit through my workshops today?" Luckily I had a doctors appointment at 1:30 so I thought if its not done hurting by then I will ask him. About 11:30, it was still hurting. I was in excrutiating pain. Had to leave my workshop and come home to lay down. Finally !:30 rolled around and Coby and I headed to my doctors appointment. While in the sonogram, I began to explain to them these episodes that I had been experiencing all summer and most painfully today! The sonographer looked at my gallbladder and sure enouigh GALLSTONES!!!! WHAT i thought? Seriously, could I have one more problem with the pregnancy?
The doctor came in to talk to me while I was in my Non-Stress Test and these were his exact words..." you have a nasty gallbladder". So, all those times I was in horrible pain, it was not heartburn, not indigestion, but gallstones. If only I would have known that wasnt normal, I would have had the doctor check it out sooner. In the meantime, i just kept popping the Pepcid and Tums! =)
The doctor put me on a very strict, bland, non-fat, non-greasy, non-fried diet and told me that I would have to get my gallbladder out after Camren was born! However, a new diet will not cure the pain, hopefully just make it not be so common!
So I guess bring on the pain. Pray that I do not get in during the week and these episodes/attacks just hit on the weekends!

Rainstorm #4: While in the Non-Stress Test, I began to have small unterine contrations. Every other time I have gone things have been "FABULOUS". Not this time...this time I was contracting, but Camren was doing great. Doctor didnt think that it was big enough deal to put me in the hospital for further monitoring, but told me that I have to come back twice a week now! So I will be frequently visiting the doctor!
I do feel blessed that they are watching me so closely, but I pray that I stop having contractions and can continue to work normally for a few weeks!

So I dont know if all of these are considered HUGE rainstorms, but when you are pregnant and a planner, these seem huge.
I am praying that the Lord would give me peace and watch over me and Camren for the next 2 months.
Doctors say they will probably take him on October 3rd! I cannot wait to be a mommy!

Please pray for me to, tomorrow is Open House and I am still a little bit nervous, but I know that I have prayed for my class and for the kiddos placed in there. I already know that I have several Christian families in there, which really excites me!
If you have had gallbladder issues, please let me know what has worked for you and share your pain with me! lol
Good Night! Its been a long day!

30 week baby bump

2008-08-13T22:00:00.001-05:00

hello! Its been awhile since I took some belly pics so I thought I would take some tonight. It took at couple of tries because I was taking them with my timer since no one was here to take them. Hope you enjoy! Camren is growing and growing everyday. I cant wait for him to be here. Only 8 more weeks!

Worry Wart

2008-08-07T16:30:00.000-05:00

Hey all! Its been awhile since I posted last! Things here have been fast and furious! Growing belly, getting the nursery ready, going to showers, getting my classroom ready, and now I am about to start my 2 weeks of inservice before school starts. My summer is basically over as of this weekend. Coby is taking the you to Rock the Desert in Midland and I will be tagging along, but mostly staying at the hotel and then driving to Lamesa for a baby shower.
As I said school is about to start and I am getting really worried about OPEN HOUSE. yes open house. you see let me set this situation up for you...

Your baby is about to start kindergarten! You walk into your child's kindergarten classroom ( their first "real" experience with school ) and for some of you it is your first baby to start school so you are pretty emotional, nervous, excited, etc. For others of you, it is not your first baby in school and so you are feeling a little bit more laid back and relaxed about the whole starting kindergarten thing. Then as you walk into the safari themed room, you begin to look around at all the decorations, the kitchen set, the calendar, the blocks, etc, then your eyes focus on the teacher. you see the teacher chit chatting with the other students and parents in the classroom. You start to get excited for your little one UNTIL... she turns around and you see a big belly sticking out. OH NO! She is pregnant! ( and prob due anyday now). you start to panic as a million thoughts run through your head... " how long will she be gone?" " when is she due?" "do I really want my child in a room that will have a sub?" " who is the sub?" " Is she going to be a good sub?" " will my child be ok with this?" and on and on and on and on...
So as you begin to talk to the teacher, you put on a smile, or at least a semi smile,all the while thinking " Why did my child get put with the teacher having a baby?" " Will the principal let me switch to a new class?" and "Gosh I wish she would just quit talking so that I can go straight to the principal to request a change of teacher."

This I am afraid is going to be my OPEN HOUSE night in a nutshell. Now I am trying really really hard not to focus on this and to stay focued on my job and my little baby, but to be real honest its hard. I am such a people pleaser and I strive off praise and encouragment from others. I am also a big time worry wart and worry about what parents will say when they leave my room. Will they be sad that their child has me as their teacher? Will they ask to me moved from my room? Probably! And you know what that is so hard to not take personally.
Please pray that my nerves would be calmed and that God would begin to prepare the parents for me leaving for awhile to have Camren.
I have an awesome long term sub and feel very prepared to be gone. I truly want to give my class all that I can and I know that the Lord tells us that in all we do, ' work as if working for the Lord.' That is what I am trying so hard to do, but Satan gets in my little brain and tells me otherwise and tries to get me very discouraged. If anyone has been through this or has any advice I would be more than willing to take it! Thanks so much for praying for me!

steroids, stress tests and a healthy baby boy

2008-07-23T18:37:00.000-05:00

Well, I went to the specialist doctor yesterday for another ultrasound. The previa has not moved, but I am confident that it will not be a problem. It is just barely stretching over my cervix and praise the Lord I have not had any bleeding yet. They did give me a steroid shot yesterday and today which will help develop Camren's lungs in the event that he comes earlier than planned! I also had to get belted up for a non- stress test. They monitored me for 20 minutes to see if I was having contractions and to watch his fetal movement and heartbeat. Each time I felt him move I had to press this button! I will have to go back each week for a non stress test! That should be exciting! However I am so thankful that I am being watched so closely and have such amazing doctors who I know are watching over us and doing their best to make sure that Camren is safe and sound!
One side effect of steriod shots is not being able to sleep. Well I have already been having trouble sleeping due to the way that his body is laying. He is laying sideways in my stomach and so when I lay on my sides he shifts over which makes my stomach real heavy on that side and I literally feel as though I have to lift my stomach up and move it when I roll over. Not fun! However last night I did not sleep a wink. I tossed and turned ALL night long, drove my husband crazy because I was moving and was not even the slightest bit tired. If anyone knows me, I do not have trouble sleeping so this whole experience is brand new to me. I am actually able to stay awake in movies, which NEVER happens! I got up around 5 and searched the web for the perfect glider/recliner for Camren's nursery. I found the perfect one and ended up ordering it! I figured if worse came to worse I could sleep in the glider. About 6 I decided it was time to attempt to go back to bed! I finally fell asleep around 6:30 and woke up around 8:15 when my alarm clock started going off! Please pray that I will be able to sleep tonight! I got another steroid shot this morning so it will probably be a really loooong night ahead! Maybe I can get Coby to stay up with me and watch movies ALL night! Doubtful!
Here are some recent pics of Camren. He is measuring in the 90th percentile and the nurse says he weighs around 2 lbs 9 oz.
We are so thankful for a healthy baby boy and feel so blessed to get to meet him in a couple of months!

Thoughts on Thursday!

2008-07-17T08:52:00.000-05:00

I am: getting bigger everyday!
i dream: about all my friends being married and all of us hanging out together with our husbands and kids running around the yard!
i think: about how my life is going to change once I become a mommy!
i know: Coby is going to be a wonderful daddy to Camren. Can't wait!!!
i want: to be a person that breathes life on others.
i have: an weird craving for ice since I have been pregnant!
i wish: I didnt always care about what people thought about me. Being a people pleaser is hard sometimes!
i hate: it when people do not keep their word. Very frustrating!
i miss: having all my close friends live in Lubbock or at least closer to me.
i fear: I am going to have to go on bedrest and not be able to start the school year.
i feel: overwelmed at all the things I have to do before school starts.
i hear: nothing. My house is so peaceful right now!
i smell: a clean clean house.
i crave: to be more like Jesus everyday.
i search: for baby stuff all the time on the www.
i wonder: the exact day that Camren will be here,how much he will weigh and what he will look like.
i regret: not searching around for more baby bedding. I like mine, but I was a little too impatient to search for the perfect set. =)
i love: my husband sooo much! He makes me want to be more like Jesus!
i ache: if I do not take Pepcid AC Complete at least 2 times a day!
i care: if my house in not clean. Wish I was a little more laid back, but I'm not!
i always: want things to be in order. I can function soo much better.
i am not: glad that my parents live in Houston and will not be able to be with Camren all the time. =( makes me so sad!
i believe: that God has his hand in every situation in our lives and knows exactly what we need when we need it. He is indescribable!
i cry: if my feelings get hurt or my hormones are out of control.
i don’t always: read by Bible before getting on the computer. Jesus is truly the one whom I should give my time too.
i fight: for things I believe in.
i write: blogs, but dont think I am good at it. Definitely not a natural.
i lose: track of time when I am on the computer searching facebook or other blogs.
i never: sleep on my stomach anymore! It hurts too bad and I dont think Camren would appreciate it very much at all.
i listen: to alot of baby advice from others.
i can usually be found: at my house, at school, running errands, or at church.
i need: to take it easy sometimes. It cannot ALL be done in one day!
i am happy about: becoming a mommy and starting a new chapter in our lives.
i desire: to be a godly wife, mommy, friend and teacher.
i hope: that I have a healthy baby boy!

A glimpse into our life!

2008-07-05T09:40:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, we headed to Dallas with our youth group to take them to a Rangers Game and to Six Flags. A couple at our church got us a suite for the game. It was alot of fun being up there. Our good friend Seth and his girlfriend Cara met us there too. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them. Seth has been one of Coby's best friends for a long time, we have only met his girlfriend a couple of times, so it was great hanging out with them.

On Saturday, Coby took the kids to Six Flags to play ALL DAY in the hot scorching Dallas heat. The lines were super long and Coby did not seem to be having a good time. I was lucky enough to not be at Six Flags riding rides ( obviously ), but laying out at the pool with my friend Natalie. That night Natalie cooked dinner for some friends and we headed to the Matt Wertz concert at the House of Blues. He is an awesome musician if you have never heard him before, you should check out his music

Me and Nat

This past Thursday, Coby, Kailee and I painted a wall in Camren's room. It is a very bright room. We are going to decorate in red, black and white with Texas Tech accents. Red is a very hard color to paint, but we did it. I still have to go back and do some touch ups to the ceilings and baseboards, but I am putting it off, bc I know that it is going to be a pain.
Thursday night Coby and I put together the crib ALL BY OURSELVES!!! We were so proud that we had NO help. It only took us about an hour and surprisingly we worked really good as a 'parent' team putting it together. Sometimes tasks like that can get a little frustrating, but it was a lot of fun! I cant wait for Lil Camren to sleep in it. Here are some pics of his red wall. The nursery is still in the works, but at least we have the wall painted and crib put up!

Happy 4th of July!

Lil' Camren

2008-07-02T17:59:00.001-05:00

Today Coby and I went back to the specialist doctor. I know that some of you are wondering " back " ? Yes I had to go back. When I went to the specialist on June 5th, he told me that I have Placenta Previa. If you have placenta previa, it means that your placenta is lying unusually low in your uterus, next to or covering your cervix. The placenta is the pancake-shaped organ — normally located near the top of the uterus — that supplies your baby with nutrients through the umbilical cord.

Placenta previa is not usually a problem early in pregnancy. But if it persists into later pregnancy, it can cause bleeding, which may require you to deliver early and can lead to other complications. If you have placenta previa when it's time to deliver your baby, you'll need to have a c-section.

If the placenta covers the cervix completely, it's called a complete or total previa. If it's right on the border of the cervix, it's called a marginal previa. (You may also hear the term "partial previa," which refers to a placenta that covers part of the cervical opening once the cervix starts to dilate.) If the edge of the placenta is within 2 centimeters of the cervix but not bordering it, it's called a low-lying placenta.

My placenta is pretty close to my cervix, almost covering it. The doctor has to see me every 3 weeks to monitor and check to see if it has moved or if it is remaining in the same spot by my cervix. Because of this, Camren is laying sideways. His head is just to the right of my belly button (very high up)! =)

When I enter into my 3rd trimester, I am going to have to go to the specialist doctor every 2-3 days to get a non-stress test done to make sure that I am not having contractions or going into early labor. That is what they are most concerned with. They may start me on steriod shots to help develop Camren's lungs. I will know more about all of that at my next appointment.

Please pray that I will not have to go on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy. I shouldnt have to as long as I follow the doctor's strict precautions and do not start bleeding. If I do start to bleed then I will have to be on hospitalized bedrest until he gets here. We are praying against this. I really would like to start the school year off in August with my kiddos!

Off to better news, I am starting to feel him kick/punch all the time! Its such a comfoting feeling. Coby has gotten to feel him several times, if he will be patient enough to keep his hand on my tummy! I am ready to see him moving all around in my tummy and hear his hiccups! I hear that is a cool thing to experience.

We are both so thankful though that he has a strong heartbeat and looks completely healthy! God is so good! The nursery is about to be in full swing. We got the crib and bedding in, now Coby and I have to put it together sometime real soon! I am ancy! We may paint one of the walls red tomorrow. I will post some before and after pics later.

Here are some pics that we got of our little Camren today! He has the cutest little button nose ever! Who do you think he looks like?

23 week baby bump

2008-06-25T21:31:00.001-05:00

The 20 week baby bump!

2008-06-16T09:40:00.001-05:00

Its a BOY!!!

2008-06-12T20:54:00.000-05:00

On Thursday June 5th, we found out that we are for sure having a healthy baby boy! We are so excited about him! Coby cannot wait to buy him a 4 wheeler and motorcycle! The past 5 days have been very eventful...we spent the weekend in Dallas at our good friends Blaine and Jenna's wedding, then we headed to New Orleans and Destin to vacation a little bit. We had lots of travel time to discuss baby names and I think that we have narrowed it down to... Camren. We are still in the process of coming up with a middle name and are open to suggestions! =) I am almost positive that his first name will be Camren though. I am so excited to start decorating a nursery, ordering fun items for him, and the most fun thing is that I am feeling him kick a lot. Coby got to feel a kick too while we were on vacation. It is such a fun time in our lives! Thank you Jesus for a healthy baby boy. I will post pics of our detailed sonogram when I get a chance to scan them in ( possibly tomorrow ). Until then I will post some pics of our vacation =)

the beautiful bride and her bridesmaids!

me and the flower girl Sloan!

Coby and I at LSU visiting our friends!

The view of the beach outside our hotel window in Destin, Florida!

June 5, 2008

2008-06-04T21:20:00.000-05:00

Do you ever recognize God in the little daily happenings of life? I am often too busy to even catch how amazing our Lord is and how he ALWAYS has a plan regardless of the plans that we make. Well, yesterday and today were 2 of those days where I was able to let myself see the hand of God in my life. As many of you know I was suppossed to have my big 20 week sonogram today, the one where we would find out for sure the sex of our baby. It seemed like today was never going to get here and now its here and almost over and we DID NOT have our appointment and DID NOT find out the sex of our baby! Yesterday the doctor's office called and told me they were going to have to reschedule our appointment for Thursday June 5th at 9:00. We were totally bummed out not to mention a little stressed out!! Coby and I are leaving for a wedding tomorrow morning in Dallas and then we are headed on vacation to New Orleans and Destin, Florida. We were planning on getting out of town around 9:00am but God had other plans in store for us. As many of you know tomorrow is mine and Coby's 4 year wedding anniversary. June 5, 2004, was the most special day of my life. I feel so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man! It fills my heart with joy that Coby and I will get to spend the morning in the doctor's office with our sweet little baby. I am such a 'date' person. Every important event in my life, I remember them very clearly. God knows that is how I work and that dates are very special to me. I feel so blessed that my God knows me inside and out, he knows what is important to me, he knows how to make my heart melt and he knows how to make good days better! He definitely made this day better than it could ever have been and will make our 4 year anniversary better than I could have ever imagined! Not only will I have my precious husband to spend the day with, but I will have my precious baby!

Today I also had so much to do to get ready for our trips that I was in a huge hurry. I desperately needed to get my nails and toes done before the wedding so I decided to stop in to the nail place that I always go to. It was super busy, so I thought " There is NO WAY that they will be able to fit me in right now". Well I told the man ( who speaks no English, just Vietnamese ) that I did not want a pedicure or manicure just painted with a french. He immediately sat me down in the first pedicure chair and this very nice lady came over to paint my toes and nails. She was the quickest, most efficient, and did a better job than one i have ever gone to. Come to find out she was the owner of the place. I was in and out in 35 minutes! I know that is such a little thing, but the Lord really took care of me and knew that my time was valuable today! Thank you Jesus for looking out for me. Take time to see the Lord in everyday happenings! You will be amazed at what you will find! You will find that the Lord loves you so much and always knows the best for you! I am excited that I serve a God who knows me so intimately and so deep. I pray that you will get to experience the love and hand of God in your own lives! I will try to post tomorrow when we find out for sure what we are having!

Thursday Thirteen!

2008-05-29T21:04:00.000-05:00

Since its been awhile, here are a few highlights from my life lately!

1. We will find out for sure on June 4th if we are really having a boy!! (still cannot decide on a boy name, but have a girl name just in case) =)
2. We have had house full of international students staying with us for about 3 weeks! (2 Japananese, 1 Jamaican ) I feel so cultured!
3. Please pray for one of the Japanese girls to become a believer! We bought her a Japanese bible and have been able to have many conversations with her about the Lord.
4. Coby and I are going on vacation to New Orleans and Destin in a couple of days! I am so excited to get away with my hubby for a few days... Bring on the tan!
5. I am starting to feel this sweet baby moving inside of me. ( or at least I think thats what I am feeling ) =)
6. We got our flower bed planted this weekend!
7. I have been packing up my classroom all week getting ready to move to a new school. I am almost done though! It is a never ending job!
8. 1 more day left of school...3 years of teaching kindergarten down!
9. Each day I am realizing how much I need the Lord to guide me and give me peace.
10. My parents came to visit about 2 weeks ago and my mom bought me a boppy! I am starting to feel like a mom!
11. I am ready to start decorating the baby nursery as soon as we know FOR SURE what we are having.
12. I have been really convicted lately to start a bible study/hang out time for married woman. The Lord has shown me that you can learn and grow so much from fellowship with other women stgriving to be the moms and wives that the Lord has called us to be. If you are interested or know any one who is, please let me know!
13. My 4 year anniversary with Coby is on June 5th. It has been such and amazing 4 years! I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man! I cannot wait to see him as a father!

Okay, there is my life in a nutshell. Sorry for the randomness!

Its a ... well 90 percent chance

2008-05-05T22:20:00.000-05:00

ITS A BOY!!!!
Coby and I had our 15 week sonogram this afternoon. We were super excited to see our little baby and to see how much it had grown! Our doctor told us that he would be able to tell us to the best of his ability if it was a boy or girl. Well him and the nurse both said boy. But... not 100 percent, just 90. I am still not totally convinced and do not want to start buying 'boy' things if he is wrong. We go back on June 4th and will see the specialist doctor for an indepth sonogram. Hopefully he will be able to tell for sure at that appointment!
Coby has not scanned the sonogram pictures of our cute little baby, so I will post my 15 week belly pic for you to see.

"I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief"

2008-04-28T21:09:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, last February I suffered a miscarriage, and then again in September I had what they call a 'chemical'pregnancy, which resulted in loss as well. These two losses have caused me to suffer a tremendous amount of unbelief that I would really have a healthy baby some day and get to experience the joy of becoming a mother. The last thing I wanted was a miscarriage, but it seemed almost like I was expecting it any day! It consumed my mind, kept me from telling close friends and family of our exciting news, and kept me from experiencing the joy of this growing baby inside of me.
I knew that it was normal for me to worry based on what I had experienced in the past year and due to the fact that I was considered 'high risk'. I had also been given very strict rules from my doctor concerning this pregnancy, which made me more aware that something bad really could happen to this baby. I had and still dont have any guarantees! Still I wondered 'Why was I worrying so much?'.
If I was going to have a miscarriage I could do nothing to stop it. I could not in my power make this baby stay alive if it was not God's will. If I carry this baby to full term, I don't want to look back and see that worrying kept me from experiencing the joy of pregnancy. This is where I am at right now and what I am trying to get away from. Nothing good ever comes from worrying.
I know that there are many things that can go wrong in a pregnancy and you are never guaranteed your next breath no matter how old you are or how young your are. However, there are many things that can go right and the question is " Where am I going to focus my heart and mind?" I have a choice!!! I know that I can rest in God's peace and joy if I trust that God knows what is best no matter what happens. He is in control. So when I am faced with the fears of possible miscarriage I want to be like the father in Mark who said " I do believe, help my overcome my disbelief". Mark 9:24
I do need to remember that God is soverign and no matter what happens, he makes NO mistakes.
Please pray that I will be able to rest in this truth each day!

my list...

2008-04-23T14:53:00.000-05:00

Okay so I normally I dont like these posts, but this one was pretty easy to fill out!!

4 Jobs I have had in my life:
1. Lifeguard
2. Swim Instructor
3. Substutute Teacher
4. Kindergarten Teacher currently

4 Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once:
1. Anne of Green Gables ( all 3 of them)
2. Sound of Music
3. Sweet Home Alabama
4. JESUS movie ( it was my favorite as a kid, I was very sheltered) =)

4 Places I’ve Lived:
1. Kingwood ,Texas
2. St. Louis, Missouri
3. Katy/Houston, Texas
4. Lubbock, Texas

4 TV Shows I Watch/Watched:
1. Days of our Lives ( recorded )
2. American Idol
3. Oprah's Big Give
4. Beauty and the Geek

4 Places I have Been:
1. Las Vegas
2. Bahamas
3. Vermont
4. Cancun

4 People who email me regularly:
1. Mom
2. All my teacher friends at school
3. Jenna
4. Gosh, I dont even know what 'reguarly' means!!!

4 of my favorite foods:
1. Spaghetti
2. chips and salsa
3. Salad
4. Every kind of fruit imaginable

4 Places I Would Like to Visit:
1. Paris
2. Hawaii
3. Portland
4. Australia

Things I am Looking Forward to in the Coming Year:
1. Feeling this little baby inside me kick
2. Celebrating my 4 year anniversary with my Hubby
3. Decorating a baby room ( is it a boy or girl??? ) GO VOTE!
4. Going on some vacations with Coby before we have a little baby
5. BECOMING A MOM!!!!

Its gonna be worth it!!

2008-04-16T19:42:00.000-05:00

WOW! What a blessing it has been to be pregnant. It has been such a blessing to see how God's timing is perfect and his hand has been in everything from doctors appointments to morning sickness. I am not going to lie and say that it has been an easy road, in fact from day one of trying it has definitely been a daily struggle. I have been sick most of this pregnancy, but God has been so faithful to give me 'night' sickness instead of morning sickness. God truly does take care of his children because if I had morning sickness, I am pretty sure I would NEVER get out of bed to go to work. Please pray that I will begin to feel better! I am pretty hopeless past 5 pm and could really use the energy to clean my house, read my Bible, hang out with friends and hang out with my husband, whom I must say has been INCREDIBLE! He has been there for me when I am lying on the couch feeling horrible and complaining, been there for me when I am puking over the toilet, and been so patient when I have had to stay home instead of hanging out. It has truly been a humbling experience for me to be sick and somewhat out of the loop. I always want to be where my husband is and where my friends are, but I have learned to sacrifice all that for this precious baby! I am also a clean freak and so having a house that is not clean all the time has been difficult. I believe that God has truly given me a glimpse into parenthood. I know that once this sweet baby gets here, life is going to change. And, I am thankful for the change that will occur, but know that it is going to be a big sacrifice in my life as well as Coby's life.
Currently I am 12 1/2 weeks along and hopefully closer to feeling better! (fingers crossed)
On a lighter note, I rented a baby doppler so every night before I go to bed I get the privilege of listening to our baby's heartbeat. I cannot begin to tell you what a refreshing and calming feeling it is to know that your baby's heart is beating strong. My prayer for this child is that his/her heart would beat strong for the Lord and that someday they will come to know him personally. I am so thankful for this child and want ONLY the Lord to gain glory from their life!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you again for always praying for me and sharing this journey with Coby and I!

The faithfulness and love of our Father!

2008-04-08T18:01:00.000-05:00

Well, this post is one that I have dreamed about being able to blog for over a year now. As many of you know, Coby and I have been trying to have a baby since last February when we found out that we had lost our baby. Over the past year, we have endured many frustrating nights, many sad 'times of the month', many tears, many cries out to God, and more prayers than I have ever prayed or received in my life. I am now overflowed with joy to tell you that we will be expecting our first baby at the end of October. We are so thankful to everyone who has prayed for us over this past year! Thank you sooo much! I have so much to tell you about this journey we have been on, but for now I will leave you with our 10 1/2 week pictures!

Enjoy God's great miracle!

BIG NEWS!!!

2008-04-03T13:32:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! So sorry that it has taken me so long to post! Coby and I have big news to share! We got a new car... or 'I' got a new car. It was a bittersweet moment for me. I have had my silver Honda Civic for 6 years. It was the first brand new car that I have EVER owned. It was time though. We traded it in for a 2003 white Chevy Tahoe. Here are some pics of the old and the new!

Baby Lilly

2008-03-08T19:20:00.001-06:00

Please pray for Baby Lilly's parents! Even though I do not know this family, my heart is breaking for them. I am reminded of the verse " the Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way".

Here are some websites inside Baby Lilly's life:

www.babylillyspad.blogspot.com
www.lillyinspirations.blogspot.com
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/030608/obi_obit27.shtml

new york, new york

2008-02-26T23:33:00.000-06:00

This is going to be a short post! We will NOT be taking our Boston/NYC vacation until April or May. I am sad tonight bc we would have left tomorrow morning, however , we will not be going due to weather and other things that have come up. Walking around in 30 degree snowy weather just did not seem appealing to us. We have decided to reschedule sometime later and hopefully it will make the trip much more enjoyable. We only lost 64.00 in the whole deal so it all worked out for us! We have had such a crazy busy week and are exhausted. But I still wish that I could have taken off work for 4 days and stayed home, but I need to save those days for when we go later. So... that is our life!!!! NO VACATION until April or May. We will be going to South Padre for Spring Break ( a mission trip with our college students) on March 14th. I cant wait for that. At least I have another trip to look forward to! =)
Good night!

Happy 'belated' Valentine's Day!

2008-02-16T14:17:00.000-06:00

Coby is home safe and sound!!! =) He had a great time in India and I am so thankful he got to go!

In honor of Valentine's Day. I am going to post some engagement pics of us! This was in January of 2004. 4 Years ago!! Wow! I am so thankful to be married to the best guy in the world! It was 7 years ago this V-day that we became "official"! Its been the best 7 years of my life!

coby still gone...

2008-02-10T09:50:00.000-06:00

Well its has been exactly a week since Coby left for India. I am so thankful that he was given the opportunity to go there. Things did not quite go as planned and the devil through them some obstacles, but still in the midst of that, they saw God and were able to serve where he is moving! Coby said that after being in India again this time, he has really been given a clear picture of the word " persecution". A word that most of us have heard of and pretend that has happened to because of our stand for Christianity. However in the big picture of thing, most of us dont really know what it means to be persecuted for our faith, almost to death! It is something that has opened my eyes. We are very blessed in America to not have to be scared to proclaim the name of Jesus, not scared to hold a Bible, not scared to go to church, go to Christian conferences. Please pray for all the Christians in India. each day is new day of persecution for them! They truly know all that God is and believe in Him with all their heart and are willing to die for Him everyday! Am I? Are you? Are we as Christians?

On a lighter note, Coby planned a youth lock in this Friday before knowing that he was going to be gone! So, it was left up to his interns, friends, parents and me to get this together. We had so much fun. We performed our second annual Spice Girls dance at the Talent Show! I did forget how much I hate the feeling at 3 am when you can barely keep your eyes open and cant go home for another 4 hours. Because of the lack of sleep I had been getting this past week ( trying to stay busy while Coby is gone ) , add the lock in on top of that and it makes for a really sick girl! I slept yesterday from 7:30 am-6:30 pm. 11 1/2 hours! Then... I went to bed at 10! Coby called about 12:30 so I woke up and talked to him for about 20 minutes. I am so ready for him to be home. I hate being sick and all alone. His mom, sister and my niece and nephew came over and brought me dinner and medicine so I didnt have to get out. I did not attempt to go to church this morning, but am going to try to go tonight for our Sunday Night Worship with college students!

Please keep praying for Coby. He will be home on Wednesday!

A peace that surpasses all understanding!

2008-02-05T15:04:00.000-06:00

It was exactly a year ago today that God gave me and Coby some of the most peaceful moments we have ever experienced. It was through one of the hardest times in my life, but God showed me his power and peace through it all. This exact day a year ago was the day that Coby and I found out that we had lost our first child. It was such a heart breaking moment for the both of us. I remember it so clearly. We walked in to the doctor's office,chatted for awhile and the I laid down on the table and he started the sonogram. My heart was racing! I had seen our baby at 8 weeks and everything looked fine, so I wasnt too worried, but I had had friends that had sonograms in November and there was no heartbeat on their baby. I was prepared if he worst was to happen. When he ran the sonogram machine over my tummy, I knew immediately something was wrong. I knew from looking at tons of baby websites and books that the baby on the screen was suppossed to be much bigger than it was and I saw no sign of a flashing light that indicated a heart beat. As the doctor continued to take a look, I knew I was right, no heartbeat! The baby was suppossed to be measuring 12 weeks and it was only measuring about 9 1/2 weeks. The doctor sent me downstairs to do a second sonogram on the hi-tech machine with a specialist, however it did not change the outcome of the situation. Our baby was in heaven with Jesus! As tears flowed down my face and down Coby's, we were overcome with such a peace. A peace that you know only comes from the Lord! It was because people were praying! If you were one of those prayer warriors during that tme, THANK YOU SO MUCH! You will never know how much those prayers helped us get through that time! I am not going to lie and say that this year has been easy, in fact it has probably been one of the hardest, but I do know that God has a plan and I am excited to meet our child someday in heaven! God is the peacemaker and I will remember that day forever!