Laurel still needs prayer!

My sister-in-law still needs prayer! She had surgery Tuesday and it didn't go as well as the doctors had hoped. Her temperature kept dropping, so they didn't get to finish it all. She is in a lot of pain and has to go in again today, (Fri 8/29) to finish the skin graft surgery. According to her cousin she is putting up a very brave front and knows that this is what she must go through in order to get past it all and out of the hospital. So, please keep her in your prayers that her pain is minimal and that God gives her the strength to get through this time. Thank you!

Update on Laurel

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my sister-in-law. We appreciate them more than you know and they are working! Laurel was finally taken out of her medicated sleep state Tuesday night and she is doing remarkably well. She is in good spirits about the whole situation, which she does remember for the most part. She's had two surgeries, skin grafts, to her right arm and side, and has one more scheduled for tomorrow. The doctors are surprised at how fast she seems to be recovering, and that she has good pulses, even in the one that shows circulation to her right hand! Her right arm and hand were the most severely burned and there is still a question as to whether or not she'll have the function of them. She is drinking and eating on her own now, no more feeding tube, and she might get to go to the peace garden soon. That's an enclosed garden in the burn unit and in there she can actually get to be with her two younger kids who have only been allowed to wave to her through the window. So, prayers are definitley being answered and more prayers are needed as she is still in a lot of pain and has her third surgery tomorrow. James went to see her this morning, so I'll have another update soon. Again, thank you for your prayers for Laurel and her family!

Pre-school Days!

So, Ry-guy is officially in school now! He had his first day of Pre-school on Monday and things went way better than I had expected! For months now I've been asking Ryan if he was excited to go to school, like Jackson, and his usual response was "no, I want to stay home with you, Mommy!" Well this had me slightly worried that he wasn't going to have an easy time at school. The night before his first day things got even worse. He started crying and telling me he didn't want to go to school because I wouldn't be there and nobody was going to stay with him. I spent about an hour convincing him that it would be okay and that he should give it a try and then we'll see. So bright and early Monday morning we went to pre-school and he clung to my leg, just a little. Then he saw his friend, Alexa! Well, that changed everything and Ryan was good to go. When I went to say goodbye he actually gave me the quick head nod and wave! No crying, no screaming, no begging Mommy to stay. He has been fine all week, and really loves it. Way to go Ry-guy! I'm so proud of him, he's such a big boy now!

Jackson turns 6!

That's right, our big boy is now even bigger! Jackson celebrated his 6th birthday with a whole day of fun and excitment. He decided that this year he wanted to spend the whole day at Sunsplash, our local waterpark and arcade place, instead of the traditional birthday party. So we set out fairly early, around 10am and started off with a very hot round of mini-golf (it was forecast to be over 100 degrees that day!) Of course the next thing to do was go to the WATER PARK! I have to say it was the perfect day for it. We spent about 4 hours swimming, sliding, splashing and jumping the waves in the wave pool. We rented a little cabana and had our pizza and root beer lunch delivered right to us without missing a moment of fun! Once we were all ready to drop dead from exhaustion we moved onto the arcade and played some video games, Disney Dance-Dance and MarioKart being the favorites! Now you would think that we were pretty much done for the day, but oh no, we still had presents, cake and ice cream to do!!! My favorite part of the day was when Jackson opened one of his presents from us. He really wanted a new Wii game for his birhtday, so I wrapped it in an old shoe box to trick him. Well it worked! I wish I would have video tapped it, he was so upset when he saw the shoe box. He kept asking why I got him shoes he didn't like and in the wrong size (the box was from Ryan's old shoes!) I finally convinced him to open the box and he went crazy when he saw the game! It was pretty darn funny, if I do say so myself! It was a great birthday and I think Jackson would agree. Of course he's already moving on to his 7th birthday... ugh! Why do they have to be in such a hurry to grow up!?

Please Pray....

for James' sister, Laurel. She was in a terrible car accident on Wednesday and suffered major injuries. Her car caught fire after the crash and she has burns on about 40% of her body, mostly her right side and arm. She is in the burn center in the hospital and will remain there for at least a month, undergoing several surgeries and skin grafts. Please pray for her to make a full recovery, including keeping the function of her arm and hand, and for her family during this very hard time. Also pray for James to be able to see his sister soon, and for their parents who are helping to take care of the kids right now. Thank you! God bless.

Our new house!!!

Yep, that's right. We bought a new house!!!! After months of searching and even losing out on one house, we have finally bought our dream house! We will be moving in early September and can hardly wait. Jackson will even get to go to his new school from the beginning, no switching schools after a month or year! We feel so blessed and thank God for this awesome home that He has provided for us. Yipppeeee!

Grammy & Grumpy!

Grammy loving on Miss Hailey!

Jackson being silly with Grammy!
Grumpy being silly with Ryan!

Family time is fun time! Upon returning from our trip to see Gramma Bubba we got to spend the week with James' parents, fondly known as Grammy and Grumpy! What a fun, and exhausting week it was. The boys got to go to the zoo one day while I stayed home with Hailey, thank you so much! We went swimming as often as possible, took a tour of the Old Auto museum, (very interesting), and even got to go to the firestation and see James in action. Well, not really in action, but he did let the kids spray the firehose and drop water (gloves) balloons off the roof of the firestation! Don't tell anyone, though!! Pretty cool week, I think. On top of all that, we even found and bought a house! I'm so glad that Grammy and Grumpy were there with us and got to see the house first! Thanks for spending time with us, we love you!

Gramma Bubba!

That's right, I said Gramma Bubba! My grandmother has always been named Bubba and I don't see anything wrong with it! We went down to visit her last week and had tons of fun. We got to go to the Long Beach Aquarium, Newport Beach, visit James' cousin and family in Ontario, and we got to see my Aunt, Uncle and cousin in Anahiem! What a great vacation!