Pierson and hats

Pierson loves hats. Just scrolling back through photos from the last 5 months I realized that he is wearing a hat in half of them. The red polka dot hat that is his current favorite is one of Ava's dress up hats. For some reason Pierson always finds it, puts it on and refuses to take it off. He has worn that silly red hat to the park, the grocery store, and has even slept in it. Someday he will probably be embarrassed by some of these pictures, but I think they are adorable. I also realized that he is wearing his pajamas in most of these photos too. His favorite look is his "baseball shoes," pj's and the red hat. He keeps us laughing! We get smiles everywhere we go because of this little guy and his love for hats.

Eydie came home today! We are so thankful for answered prayer. She is doing well. Tonight during bedtime prayers Pierson said (with no prompting from us) "Dear God, baby Eydie, baseball, outside." That is his list of things he's thankful for today. Baby Eydie came before baseball. That's pretty big for Pierson. For more on her homecoming go to Kate's blog.

Loving on Eydie

Tonight we went to visit Eydie. She is so adorable. Pictures don't do this girl justice. Kate and Brandon have had a great set up in the Family Room in the Nursery area at Hendrick.  Even though Eydie is still on IV antibiotics they've been able to keep her in this room with them and the nurses come in and check on her every hour or so. Tomorrow they'll have to share it with another family, so Eydie will be in the NICU again most of the day. But I think it was nice for a few days to have some quiet family time. Tonight we got to spend a little time with her and since it is a private room Ava got to come in and see her for just a minute. (Kate asked for special permission because Ava has been desperately wanting to meet her cousin.)

Proud cousin!

Ava has been carrying around this doll all week wrapped in a pink blanket like Eydie's. You can see the resemblance with all that dark hair. Since she hadn't gotten to meet her cousin yet, I think it made her feel better to take care of her "Eydie" doll. She even slept with her. 

Here's one last picture of Eydie sleeping. She has an IV taped to her hand which is why it looks strange. We can't wait to welcome her home on Thursday!  Thank you again for all of your prayers for healing. God has been so faithful and we give him all the glory for her quick recovery. Kate said that one of the nurses who was with Eydie right after she was born came in today for the first time since last Thursday and couldn't believe how well she is doing! What an answer to prayer. . .

Please pray for my niece Eydie Paige

Thank you for all of your prayers, calls, texts, messages and visits today. It has meant a lot to all of us to feel the arms of God wrap around Kate and Brandon (and all of us) through the love and support of many of you. I can't imagine how hard it must be for my little sister to have the day she had today. My heart is aching for her that she is not getting to hold Eydie right now.  I also cannot describe how hard it is to watch someone you love that much have such a hard, scary disappointing day especially when we were all expecting such a happy day! I posted on Kate's blog with the latest on how Eydie is doing. You can check there for updates or to leave a comment of encouragement or prayer.  I might be partial but she really the most beautiful little baby. I mean look at that hair! I can't wait to snuggle her myself soon, but I am longing to see her in Kate and Brandon's arms. 

We covet your prayers right now for Eydie Paige. Pray for strength and healing in her lungs, strong breaths and loud cries, wisdom for the doctors and nurses working on her, peace and comfort for Brandon, Kate and everyone who loves them. 

Armoire Problem Solved & Redbud Designs

So my grandpa came over to inspect the armoire situation, and discovered that it was a European armoire which can be disassembled fairly easily with no pulling out of nails or dismantling hardware. He unscrewed a couple of hinges that were holding the whole thing together and it came apart like a puzzle. Who knew? It took 3 of us to put it back together in the right room, but the whole process was only about an hour from start to finish. Not bad!  Grandpa saves the day!

I'm entering to win a new blog header from Sharon at Redbud Designs. It's a long shot because I have never won anything in my entire life. Kate was the one who used to always win at cake walks and carnivals.  I have zero of that winning karma. Maybe that's my problem-- negative self talk. This time, I'll try to think positively. I think I can win. I think I can win. I think can win. . .

This, that, and a little advice

This post has no rhyme or reason. It is a collection of random photos that have nothing to do with one another that I have been wanting to post for a while, so here they are . . . a little of this and a little of that:

I am finally posting a few California pictures from a month ago. 

While at Pepperdine, I got a chance to see "Uncle" John and Terri Rodriguez. They are old and dear friends of our family. (I was a flower girl in their wedding when I was four!)

We had so much fun getting to spend an afternoon with Katie Maxwell. We miss Katie so much, but loved getting to catch up for a day.

We enjoyed a walk on the beach. I love getting to work with these women at Highland! I have learned so much from them.

Ava and Pierson "babysitting"

For Chad's birthday, we went to spend time with friends and family in Fort Worth. While we were there, we went to a Rangers game.

This is a picture of the family. Look closely at Chad's facial expression. We were trying to take a family photo at the exact moment that John Lackey was getting thrown out of the game after the second pitch. We could hear the crowd going crazy, but we were all focused on getting the picture. Chad and Kallan were the only two clued in to what was happening behind us. Chad is squinting to see the replay on the TV behind the photographer and was pretty ticked that he missed the whole thing for a picture.

Our good friends, The VanStaverns, came to spend the night with us because Jade was a flower girl in her cousin's wedding here in Abilene. Ava loved playing with Jade! The girls were super cute dancing together at the reception.

Pierson got in on the action too. Can I get a what, what?

More spinning

I got a little teary at the wedding. Ava was on my lap and I realized how quickly time is going by already with these kids. Shannon (the bride) was a flower girl in Heather's wedding, and that seems like just a few years ago. Amazing!

Heather and I with our boys (minus Chance who was sword fighting at the time.)

And now on to the advice. It's for me not you, just in case the title of this post threw you. I bought this really cool armoire to solve a storage problem we have in our home. We love this house, but closets in older homes are always an issue. I currently use the closet in Ava's room and she has a small armoire, but is outgrowing it. So I found this HUGE one for a great price at an antique store here in town and had Chad go pick it up only to discover after we got it in the house that we can't get it down the hall! It is a great piece and I really want to keep it, but I don't know what to do short of taking the whole thing apart and reassembling it. Chad's not too keen on that idea. 

This is the sharp left turn we can't get the armoire to make in our hallway. I set a chair next to it in the picture above so you could get an idea of how big this thing is. Any ideas on how to make it work? Help! Lesson learned: measure furniture before you buy it. 

Anyone want to buy a really big, really cute armoire that's sitting in the middle of my dining room?

Hot fun in the summertime!

Ava loves to swing like Jane of the Jungle on this rope in our backyard!

What to do when it's really hot: stick your head in a bucket of water.

Pierson eyeing the bubbles

Cheesin' for the camera

Hours of fun with a bucket and the water hose. . .

what more could you ask?