Fun in the Summer Sun!

We had our annual vacation to the beach last week. Here are some of the highlights.

Bear was saying "Tada!"

Mamaw helping Bear bury himself in the sand

The big guys went on a Segway tour at Huntington Beach State Park 

Siblings having fun at the beach

Little Fox did not like the beach. He did find it relaxing, though!

Daddy carrying his youngling boys

Six Months of Smiles

Compare the Babies

I thought I would add some pics up so that people could compare our newest little man to some other family members. I don't have one of Joe scanned in at this young of an age, but I will try to add one in later when I get one out.

Fourth Month of the New Man

Here are a couple of the recent pics of the new little man. I have told Joe that I like to call him Beauregard since he has such a bright, beautiful smile and is very expressive. No nickname yet, though. :( He started rolling over on his Papaw's birthday (Mar 13th). He loves to play and laugh.

My Own Knaffl Madonna

Several years ago I first mentioned the picture called Madonna and Child by Joseph Knaffl. I love this picture just because the beauty of the art, but I had a personal interest because both of the models married into my family. I have been wanting one for years, but I never did purchase when I saw one for sale from time to time. This year my husband got me one of these for Christmas. I was so excited! I will have to update a little later with a picture of my own Knaffl Madonna!

Another Son

This month we were blessed by the birth of another son. This little man has been a wonderful addition to our family! He is sweet and has a very good schedule for a newborn! We do not have a nickname picked out yet for him, but I hope we can figure out one before too long. I was nervous as to how Bear would react to him, but no fear. Bear loves his baby brother and loves to kiss on him all the time! First thing he does when he wakes up is to come to give the baby a kiss. The baby gets more kisses than Mommy now!

Give A Little Whistle

Tonight we got a huge kick out of hearing one of the boys whistling. The funny part was not that one of them could whistle, but more of which one it was. Otter had just gone to bed and Joe had the older two boys helping to pick up the living room a little before they went to bed and Bear was sitting in the floor watching. Then the next thing I know I am hearing someone whistling. Joe was over by Bear and the other two were on the other side of the room. I asked about who was whistling and we all look down to see Bear sitting there whistling! This made me and Joe immediately turn and look at Bubba then bust out laughing! Bubba has shown frustration in the past about being unable to whistle especially seeing that Butch can whistle very well. So here was the 18 month old younger brother whistling right in front of him. You can imagine his reaction! We were all shocked, but he was so upset to see that his baby brother can do something that he has not been able to do yet. I doubt that Bear realized exactly what he was doing, but it was cute. His mouth was a perfect little circle and he was just playing around. After the laughter had died down he was trying to figure out how to do it again so that he could make us all laugh again!    

Otter's first field trip

Last week we went on our first field trip with our home school group to a local Childrens Museum. Inside they have this kid size doll house. It was Otter's favorite room in the building. She was on the second floor playing with the baby dolls most of the time. Bear decided that he wanted to play, too. I let him play in the lower level which consists of a living room and kitchen. He like the chairs in the living room. Typical of most of the men in his family he found his reading material and a comfy chair!

My Son

I think it is funny that in an assembly at school my son raises his hand to say that he was not happy with the new lunch schedule. It is 90 minutes broken in 30 minute segments. One is for socializing, one is for advisory, one is lunch. It also includes a free school credit (for the Advisory part). He told me that almost everyone raised their hands saying they liked this and when they asked who did not like this that he was one of few (possibly the only one) to raise his hand. He was later asked by the principal and another teacher why he did not like that idea. He said that school is not for socializing. That makes this momma proud that he was not afraid to go against the crowd and is really interested in getting a good education!

Bear Turns One

A few months ago my little Bear turned one! Here are some pics from his birthday celebration.

He just decided that the best way to eat cake it to put his face down in it!

After he had devoured his cake

Bear At 10 Months

I am late again with this, but it has been a crazy month in our house! Sickness had a grip on most in our house for about three weeks. We also had to go back to being a one car family since Joe's car died on him. So here we are just having these crazy busy days. I feel like I am constantly driving. Some of the things that have happened this month with Bear...he got two more teeth, says DaDa, loves to reach for things by standing on tiptoes, devourers his Cheerios and he is making more sounds that I can distinguish as mimicking words!


We did get to go hiking a little over a week ago. Bear did very well, but could not sleep in the frame pack. Joe ended up carrying Bear in his arms as he slept for the last little bit of the hike. Bear did love crawling around in the woods. He was trying to chew on sticks every chance he could and was sword fighting with Joe a little!

Tricks of the Mind

Some times it is hard to put into words my feelings now days. These nine and a half weeks have been so difficult and it seems time creeps by slowly. It feels like it has been so long since I heard my Daddy's voice and since I have seen him that I wonder was he just a figment of my mind? I would love the opportunity to go back in time just a few months ago so that I could maybe be there when my two cents might have made a difference. In my head I know that our days are numbered and that it was just Daddy's time to go home, but oh how I wish it was all just a bad dream! My heart is broken wishing that I could change events so that he would still be here with us. There is not one day that has passed that I have not thought of my dad. I have tried to search my mind for memories of him. I long to hear others share stories about him or to see pictures of him. I still find myself at times intensely missing him and just wanting to see him. I doubt that will ever go away. Many things are happening in our family that make me sad that he will not be a part of and others I am glad that he will never see.

Bear At 9 Months

My little bear is 9 months old, which is terribly hard to believe. Just look at how big he is getting! He no longer likes to stay on the floor. He loves to stand by things. He will go anywhere in the house he can (until we go get him to try to keep him out of some rooms). He does this hilarious thing where he growls as he talks. Sometimes he cannot do it because he gets tickled and will not be able to do the low growl, but he tries. He will turn to go from standing at one place to another as long as he can reach with his hand then step. So many changes from that little newborn we brought home just nine short months ago!

Loneliness

It has been two weeks since Daddy has been gone and it still seems unreal. I keep waiting for his call so I can come get him. I go to the house I grew up in and wait to hear him walk in the door or the room. Disappointment sets in every time I leave and I do not see him. I am drawn to his room just so I can find something that smells like him. The sanctuary of his office has been changed and it is losing the feeling of being his. I long for the sound of his voice, to hold his hand, to kiss his cheek and tell him that I love him. Loneliness is plaguing me. It is completely selfish, but I desperately wish he was here.

Prayers Needed

The past month has been difficult, but the past week has been devastating. My Daddy went in the hospital last month for open heart (aorta replacement) surgery. The surgery went well and he was recovering very well. I took him for the first of his follow up appointments on Nov 29th and blood work and exam both came back with good reports. Then last week on Thursday he started feeling poorly and had a dizzy spell.

Friday I went back and he was worse and had a drop in blood pressure and almost collapsed. We took him to the ER and after 2 EKGs and a chest x-ray came back fine we thought he would just stay overnight for observation then come home. I got a call about 1:45am on Saturday morning from my mom and something was wrong. Seems several factors came together to create a "perfect storm" in Daddy's body. He went into cardiac arrest and was unconscious. He was on a fine line and they said it would be a miracle if he came out. I was praying for that miracle! After the first few crucial hours past and he was still declining we were told he might go at any time. My brother lives 14 hours away so we called him and he and his wife were coming as well as my Daddy's younger brother who lives 5 hours away.

Against all of the Doctors and nurses expectations Daddy stayed with us until Sunday morning. My brother and his wife had made it in at 2:30am Sunday and were able to see him. Although Daddy never regained consciousness I know that he knew we were there and he waited until they all got in. I had rarely left his side since 4:30am on Saturday when we first were able to go in the room with him. I was still having to leave every so often to take care of the baby, but I tried to only be gone for 20-30 minutes at a time.

I was with Daddy by myself for those last hours. I talked to him, held his hand, rubbed his shoulder and kissed his forehead and told him how much I love him. Around 6:30-7am Sunday I woke and his vitals were slipping lower. We knew it was going to happen soon. I got the call that little man needed me so I told Daddy that I was going to be gone for a little bit then I would return. I asked him to hang on until I returned. I was gone for about 15-20 minutes to nurse my little man when I got the call from the nurses to hurry back. I rushed back to him and a few minutes later he was gone. I was so glad that I was with him at the end, but I am devastated that I will not see him again until we meet in heaven. I just remember not letting go of his hand for a long time almost afraid to let go of him. Please pray that I will have the strength to help my mom during this time.

Bear At Five Months

My little Bear is growing quickly! It is hard to believe he has been with us for five months now. Of course it is also hard to believe that there was a time before he was with us. Over the past couple weeks he has started eating rice cereal, sweet potatoes and green peas. He liked the rice cereal and loved the sweet potatoes! The green peas were not such a hit! He started to spit them out after two bites! He has also started to move around more. He turns around and will roll multiple times to try to reach things.

Rolling and playing on the floor

Sitting on the couch with Bubba.

Dressed for the Vols game

Bear At Four Months

Yes I am late again with posting pics, but here they are anyway! :)

2011 East Tennessee History Fair

This looks to be an amazing event! Civil war trolley rides to historical sites, historic craft demonstrations, and walking tours led by Knox Heritage are just a few of the great things planned. To learn more go to the event page on the East Tennessee Historical Societies website. The event will be at the East Tennessee History Center, Krutch Park, Downtown Knoxville on Saturday, August 20, 2011 from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Columbia, SC

I have been to Columbia, SC many times, but this year we saw a few things I had never seen before. I just thought I would share these wonders with you all.

Bear At Three Months

Here is a little of what has happened in the third month of Bear's life:

Just being happy at home with his family

Butch holding him as he sleeps

Resting with Bubba after touring Biltmore in Asheville, NC

Getting ready to see the beach for the first time

Putting his feet in the ocean for the first time at Sunset Beach, NC