New posts below...I've put the concert info back at the top....scroll down past it to get all the new posts and pictures including an update on my grandfather, the babies, and new pics from some babysitting and zoo adventures.

Concert WITH Cohen

There may be new posts below....scroll on down!!!


(Click on image to enlarge)

Some of you may remember the Concert for Cohen last year( go check it out if not)... and it thrills us to no end to have a Concert with Cohen to celebrate his one year birthday. We have wanted to corporately celebrate God's work since Cohen was born and felt like his birthday was a great time to do it. Nothing we could ever do could thank everyone enough. Everyone's love, prayers, and support has meant so much to us over the past year and a half and we would love for all of you to celebrate with us. We will also use part of this time for Cohen's "baby dedication" ( so yes, he'll make an appearance!!) Please feel free to join us as we look back over this year, praise and worship God for all that He has done.....and eat cake!! Everyone is welcome!!

* I'll leave this post up until the day of the concert so scroll down to see new posts from now until then.

New updates

Thanks for praying for my grandfather and our friends.

My Paw-Paw is doing well. He is out of the ICU and will be moving to a rehabilitation center on Monday. He is still in a lot of pain. My grandmother is very nervous about staying by herself while he's in at the rehabilitation center. We'd appreciate your prayers as he recovers.

Riley and Quinn are doing well. I'm still updating their blog for them so you can just hop over here to check it out. They could use your prayers for a few things.

4 kids for a day

About two weeks ago we kept the Burn's two girls overnight. So for a very short period we we got to see what having four children felt like. Their ages were 5, 3, almost 2, and almost 1. This was the first time we've done an overnight babysitting so i wasn't too sure what to expect.

We had a lot of fun and all the kiddos were pretty well behaved!! We had to run a tight ship to keep things organized, on schedule, and clean but it wasn't too bad.( though I'm not sure how MckMama does it everyday and still finds time to blog about it :)) We actually had all 4 of them fed, bathed, and in bed by 8 o'clock!! It helped that the kids were all worn out from playing so hard all day. And all though we had a child in every room in the house, including ours, we all slept great. We somehow managed to have not big battles, no accidents or trips to the ER, and very little crying.

Cort loved having playmates all day and Cohen loved watching them play all day!!

We love Kate and Nancy like family so it was neat to get to spend time with them for such an extended period of time.

So, the verdict? We do it again. It was a fun mix up to our normal routine and well worth it to help out some good friends.

Me with all the kiddos...

With the youngest two...

Gotta love little ones in their jammies...

Nancy was very into Cohen...

Cohen was all smiles for Nancy...

Watching the older ones run around...



Cutie pie Nancy...

Two Zoos

We have this crazy place near by called Hollywild - they have some animals in cages but they also have an open range with all sorts of animals... zebras, antelope, bison, emu, ostriches, ox, etc. that you can feed. During the summer they take you out in a school bus with no windows and the animals just come right up. Apparently during the winter, you drive your own car throw the field. Chris took Cort while Cohen and I were out of town. Cort thought it was super neat, though while he started out in the front seat, he ended up in the back seat....with the windows rolled up.



While enjoying some warm weather a week or so ago we ventured for our 1st trip to the zoo this year. While Greenville zoo is very small, it's great for little ones because you can go through in less than an hour if you want and then enjoy a picnic and time on their great playground. It was super nice to get out of the house and spend some time with some friends.

On the playground...


Cohen enjoyed the zoo except for the howler monkeys - they were howling their little hearts out and he was not a fan!!! Here he is chillin' in his ride....

Haley and Cort checking out the giraffes..



Avery and Cort in the reptile house - I know you can't see them well but for some reason I really like this picture...something about them all crouched down checking out the animals - they just look cute to me.

It's electric...boogie woogie woogie

Here's what you get when right after a bath, your son rolls around on an apparently very statically charged chair long enough for his hair to dry....



The above picture is not due to static - this is how his hair actually dried!!!

Babies and Paw-Paw

The Babies are here!!! I updated their blog for them so jump over their to get the update!!

My Paw-Paw is doing well . They did keep in the ICU over night to monitor his heart and blood pressure. They are waiting to here from the cardiologist but are considering him stable. There are still some irregularities with his heart beats and blood pressure they feel like he's headed in the right direction. Big praise that my mom and grandmom got to a good night's sleep last night.

He's still in a lot of pain so please pray for his pain management. A physical therapist will start seeing him today so I know that will be hard on him.


I hoping to get lots of back logged posts up about Cort and Cohen over the next few days. Have to get caught up before the BIG BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Updates

My Grandfather had his surgery and things went pretty well. The doctor said that things went really well with repairing his leg. He did have some strain to his heart due to the anesthesia( only a spinal block because they didn't feel like that he could handle going under) and the stress of the surgery. They said that that there were some changes on the EKG during the surgery and that his heart rate is a little high and blood pressure isn't very stable. So they are running some tests and trying to get all of that under control. He is responsive and talking with the nurses so that is good. They will most likely keep him in ICU to monitor him and until that get all of that under control. Please pray that that happens soon and that there isn't any permanent issues or damage to his heart. My mom and grandmother are very tired as they both haven't slept in over 36 hours. Please pray that they get rest tonight.

My friends, Geoff and Brenna, will be having their sweet babies, Riley and Quinn, tomorrow morning at 7am. Pray that they have a peace and feel comfort during this uncertain time and that Riley and Quinn do really well out here in the world with us!!! Pray that Riley's small size will not be an issue and that her distress(some issues with bloodflow through the umbilical cord) in the womb will disappear once she comes out. Pray that Quinn will adjust well to the shock of this environment since he is thriving so well in the womb. So excited for them to meet their babies tomorrow and can't wait until I can get back down there to see them.

Hop on over to their blog and let them know you're praying for them and to meet their new little ones tomorrow.

Emily's Grandfather

Correction to the last post...Em's grandfather thought he was going into surgery, but it is not until 5:30pm. Thanks for your prayers.

Please Pray

I would love your prayers for two situations today.

One, my grandfather, who has been battling cancer since last spring, broke his leg last night just by turning over in bed. It is not a broken hip but broke at or near the hip from my understanding. They are doing surgery today to repair it. Obviously, there are huge risks involved but my Paw-paw's main concern is quality of life for what short time he may have left. Without the surgery he will remain in the hospital on a morphine drip just waiting until he dies. While, we have no promise he can with stand the surgery either, it's the best shot of giving him some more time. I am heading down there today to be with my mom and grandmother. I don't know what time the surgery is yet and may not be able to update you until later tonight.

Second, my good friend, Brenna, is carrying twins after a long struggle with infertility. She was 34 weeks yesterday and we are so thankful she made it to that point!! However, when she went in yesterday they discovered that Riley( their girl) has not really gained much weight in the last few weeks while Quinn( their boy) has grown a pound in a half. Currently, Riley, is not in distress though there are a few signs she could be heading that way and obviously there are concerns that her growth has seemed to stop in the womb. That being said, it is most likely that they will be delivering today or tomorrow. She is receiving her second injection to develop their lungs. We would love to see them stay in everyday possible so please pray that at her scan today things have improved or at least the same. If things look any worse, they will deliver today.... the same, they will deliver tomorrow... .and with improvement they'll monitor her everyday or so and try to wait until next week. Please pray for Brenna and Geoff as they make these hard decisions and that God would cover them in a peace as they prepare to meet their little ones. I will be trying to update their blog as I get information from them if you would like to follow their story.

Cohen's first playdate

Cohen had his first real playdate about a week ago. A great old friend of mine, Elizabeth, has a precious little girl, Mary Wallace, who is just about 3 weeks older than Cohen. We got together at a friends house when she was in town. Cohen is pretty isolated right now to keep his lungs healthy - he has his own room at church for nursery and we don't do a ton of playdates these days unless they're out doors and since he isn't mobile at all he doesn't get to interact too much with the kids. We do get together with friends from time to time, but but most of our friends 2nd children are a good many months older or younger than Cohen. It was fun to get him together with someone almost exactly his age ( not size, mind you ;)). Looking forward to coming out of cold and RSV season where we might be able to do this type of thing a little more often.

In door Entertainment

Prior to the past week we had a super long spell of really cold weather. We've filled our time with trips to the library and lots of creative indoor play like forts, obstacle courses, car tracks all over the den, indoor putt-putt, and some construction vehicle play. Most of it left for a clean up nightmare but was tons of fun in the meantime!!!

Indoor Putt-putt

Construction Truck Play - ( a cookie sheet full of dry beans of toy construction trucks = a whole hour of play while mommy cooked dinner)


As much fun as all this creative in-door play was, we have been thrilled to have warm spring like weather this past week. We've spent countless hours outside and it's been SO NICE!!!! Can't wait for Spring to come and STAY!!!