Vance

Vance is growing up. He turned 14 months old on Aug. 16. I have taken my time weaning him from the bottle, and I am happy to say that I am packing the bottles up today. They will stay packed up until the Lord blesses us with another little one.

These pictures were taken last week at the beach (Destin, FL). Vance didn't care much for the sand and really just wanted to be held while we were at the beach. That is the only time I have held him for an hour straight since he was tiny, so I enjoyed it. Can you believe he sat in my lap for an hour at the time? He also played in the waves, but I didn't get pictures of that since Jeremy and I were in the water with both children. I also got a Baby Spring Float for Vance before we left for the beach, and we used that a good bit in the water. I highly recommend it for the beach and the pool. (I got it on clearance and then with extra bucks from Walgreens, I only paid $3 for it.)

Funny story...

A few minutes ago I was noticing that we have a follower of our Apartment Life blog, so I went to her profile to find out more about this person. Anyway, without saying a word to Jeremy I proceeded to read her blog. One of the first posts was a CARES video. I figured they too are a CARES Team. WOW! Small world... Anyway, the video is called Small Things. I watched it a few minutes ago and you can imagine how shocked I was when I heard Charles Thornton (VP of Apartment Life) say our names in this video. Even crazier is that he came to speak tonight at our monthly CARES meeting... Small world.

So, Jeremy is in bed asleep beside me, but I woke him up when I heard our names in the video. He and I were both speechless since no one ever mentioned this to us... He watched it and went back to sleep.

By the way, it turns out that Nine Mile found our blog when she and her family were considering CARES, and now they are a CARES Team. Jeremy told me that she commented on our blog months ago. He and I discussed it so long ago that I didn't remember...

This two minute video was made for CARES Teams, but I wanted to post it for you to see that little things all of us do, do make a difference. Remember that God calls us to the little things with great love. Thanks for your prayers and continued support!

Small Things from CARES Team on Vimeo.

Posting a comment that will get a reply

Have you ever posted a comment on someone blog and never heard back from them when you expected to? Have you ever received a comment on your blog and wanted to reply but couldn't because they have NO REPLY when you go to reply? Well, here is a post to help you stop the NO REPLY madness- Change your no reply to a reply.

Gotta love a good deal!

I just love a good deal and wanted to pass along some Huggies' coupons and Kroger info.. After I used manufacturer's coupons and a $3 Kroger deal, I paid $5.50 plus tax for a pack of Huggies today at Kroger. You have to spend $15 in Huggies to get the $3 deal, which I did by buying 2 Jumbo packs. It was such a deal that I wanted to share.

For $2 coupons, go to: Huggies Coupons. My Penny Pile posted them.

I have to say that I've converted. To Huggies that is! I used to love Pampers (LOVE, LOVE LOVE), but I started finding more deals on Huggies and bought them since Vance is such a heavy wetter and doesn't do great in cheap diapers. I still use Parent's Choice (from Wal-mart) at home, but I prefer Huggies... Anyway, last week when I was serving in the nursery, I changed several diapers and disliked the smell of the diapers I changed. Well, guess what? They were all Pampers. I guess I was immune to the smell for the last 3 years. It's funny that Luvs bothered me though???

Speaking of Wal-mart, I got a call last week from Schlesinger Assoc. about a focus group for Moms that have done a baby registry in the last year. I was so excited because it's only 2 hours and pays $125. YAY! (I can't tell you how many times I have tried to do one of those groups and have been denied... ) We will be spending some of the 2 hours at Wal-mart, so maybe Wal-mart is trying to step up their game by sending Moms in their stores to talk about registries.

Have a great day and happy bargain shopping!

Update on Stellan

Stellan made it through surgery. Praise the Lord! If you would like to know more about the surgery, please read his mom's post.

Continue to pray for Stellan. Pray for this to be the end of SVT. (If it's not the end, he will need medication or more surgery.)

Thanks for caring, thinking about Stellan, and praying for him!

Tuesday is a big day for Stellan

You may have noticed the button on the right side that says, "Praying for Stellan". Stellan is on my heart big time. He has been for the past month, but this Tuesday is a huge day for him because he is scheduled to have an ablation. This is a very serious heart procedure and risky to perform on a baby. The surgeon will figure out where the extra electrical pathway is to his heart and remove it. They may or may not have to give him a pacemaker. He isn't even 6 months old...

Please keep Stellan in your prayers. Pray for the Lord to give the surgeons wisdom, and for Stellan to get through it with flying colors. Pray for his parents and the rest of his precious family to have peace that only comes from Him as I know this is a scary time for them. Pray for the Lord to use this procedure to save Stellan's life. Pray for the Lord to use Stellan's life to bring others to Christ. So many are following his story, and so many lives are being changed through all of this.

My heart goes out to Stellan's mom right now because there is something about being a mom and feeling this special bond with your kids because you birthed them. I know she is trusting the Lord, but I am sure she needs your prayers to stay strong in Him. She is in Boston with Stellan now, and she doesn't even have her husband around. I expect he will come into town the day of the surgery though.

I will be praying, and I hope you will join me. I will give an update once Stellan is out of surgery.

Could he be any cuter?

I was so happy when Jeremy got home around 4:00 and said that I could head over to the hospital to meet Dawson. Both boys were still napping, so he could work from home while I enjoyed some time with friends. He said to stay as long as I wanted to, so I took him up on that. I got home at 7:00 PM.

Can I just say that Dawson is adorable and I would love to take him home with me? Oh, did I just say that? Oh well. I admit that I am smitten!

I wrote a short note to Dawson after meeting him. Here it is:

Dear Dawson,

I remember your mommy calling to tell me that she was going to be having another baby. I remember how happy she was and how excited I was for her, your daddy, and your big brother Bryce. I have prayed for you since you that day. I was so happy to meet you today for the first time and to see that you are here safe and sound. I prayed for you to be healthy, and healthy you are. Now that you are here I will continue to pray for you. I pray that you will grow to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, and mind. I also pray that the Lord will protect you all of the days of your life and use you to further His kingdom. You are blessed with so many people that love you, and I just know that the Lord has wonderful things in store for you!

In God's love,
Marianna