The Davidsons

We've moved!

2010-09-12T21:44:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! This blog has is now located here. I decided to start a new blog called Sweet with a Few Nuts, and I hope you'll visit and bookmark it if you haven't already. You'll find both stories about our family as well as yummy recipes. Thanks for visiting!

A Huge Summer Update

2010-08-11T16:06:00.028-05:00

Okay, this promises to be my longest blog post ever...seeing as how I haven't updated all summer. I don't know what is going on, but I seem to have lost much of my blog motivation. I guess it could also have something to do with the busyness that comes with chasing around a 2 year old! I saw another blog friend do this recently, and I'm hoping it will help motivate me to blog more often, too. So, if you are reading this blog, please post a comment at the end of this post...whether you are a friend, a friend of a friend, family, or a person I've never met before. Please post a comment!

This summer has been wonderful. I have truly enjoyed each and every minute I've spent with Hayden. He can be a handful, but he is such a blessing in my life...and I am so blessed to have a job where I can spend so much time with him. This promises to be a random conglomeration of pictures and events...but here goes.

We had a lot of fun at the beginning of the summer at Renaissance. Hayden just loves any kind of water there is and always jumps right in without hesitation.

Exclaiming "lader" the whole time

He would fill up his cup in the fountain and drink the water! He drank a ton of water!

We had our first major injury this summer. Hayden always plays in the garage while I am cutting grass. The weekend before his accident, I had asked Chris to clean out the garage to make it more kid friendly...move out gas cans, fertilizer, etc. Chris did a wonderful job cleaning the garage. I was cutting grass a few days later, and I heard a loud crash. It was a huge scaffolding ladder that Hayden had pulled down on himself. Of course, he finds the one thing that was left in the garage and manages to hurt himself. The ladder fell and hit him on his face/head, and he fell back and hit the back of his head. He had a large gash under his eye and by his eye along with a massive knot on the back of his head. He also had some nice ladder rungs across his face for a day and a half. He was very upset and had a lot of blood coming out by his eye. Then, he started throwing up, and I felt like it was best that the doctor see him to rule out a concussion and/or the need for stitches. Both were ruled out thankfully, but it was scary....and Hayden ended up with double black eyes. Poor guy. It is the first of many, I'm sure! Chris and I told some people that he got in a playground fight and that they should see the other kid. Hehehe...

The other eye ended up the same color.

It was so pitiful!

This is a picture of Hayden and Lindsey that I just love from our trip to Trustmark Park. My cousin coaches baseball at Water Valley, and his team made it to the 3A state championship this year. The championship was at Trustmark Park, so we were able to go.

Hayden as a baseball player

Kristopher joins in the fun

Hayden is definitely all boy and loves doing anything involving being a boy.

Driving the big truck at Bass Pro Shops

Showing off his boxing skills. Look at that determination.

We went to a campout at Gran's house, and Hayden had his first swim in the pond.

This year, I helped with my church's Vacation Bible School. I taught 3rd grade Missions and absolutely loved it. I had three wonderful groups, and it was a huge blessing in my life. The theme this year was Saddle Ridge Ranch, and the missions room was called Firefly cavern. I kind of got a little excited this year and tried to decorate part of my room like a cavern. The cavern ended up being more difficult that I anticipated, and it was put up three times before it actually stayed. I was pretty pleased with the results and the kids loved it....but am planning on being a little less complicated next year! :o)

My friend, Leslie, had a baby boy at the beginning of June, and we went to Memphis when he was two weeks old to meet little Nathan. He is just as cute as ever, and thankfully, Hayden now has someone to loan hand-me downs to. By the way, aren't hand-me downs just the greatest? When Hayden was first born, I wanted to buy all these cute little clothes for him. That sure wore off after a few weeks when I realized how great free clothes were! Anyway, while we were in Memphis, we went to the Memphis Children's Museum. Hayden had lots of fun! They had so much fun stuff, but my favorite probably was the miniature Kroger where kids could shop and ring up their purchases at the cash register.

My friend, Abby, recently got married. Abby was my room-mate when we lived in the sorority house junior year. We had a shower for her, and it was so great to see so many friends. Congrats Abby and Matthew! And, thanks for allowing me to be apart of the wedding, too! It was beautiful! (I wish I had some pictures from the wedding, but hopefully, I will be able to upload some later.)

Some of us got pedicures beforehand at Aqua the Day Spa in Ridgeland.

The group of us at the shower.

Leslie, Abby, me and Juliana....Room 211 Delta Gamma House...and Abner's every Sunday...I miss these girls!

We spent July 4th visiting MaMaw, Kelli, and Brianna in Columbus. It was a weekend full of good food and Hayden's first experience with fireworks...at least that he can remember. He was in awe and sat in my lap the whole time just as still as could be. He also was all about the watermelon at the fireworks show. I didn't get any good pictures of the fireworks, but they were great.

Give me some of that watermelon, Mom!

He was all about it!

We went for a trip to Jellystone water park in Pelahatchie. It was packed, but we still had a great time. I terrified Hayden. He was all about going down the slide when we got there. He and I climbed up, I let him slide down, and I went down behind him....only I didn't wait long enough and barreled right into him. It terrified him for a while, but he still loved it!

Gran sliding with Hayden

Lindsey taking him for a ride.

By the end of the trip, he was brave enough to try it again on his own.

CAUTION! This part includes material that is kind of gross. Right before his two year old birthday, Hayden started going backwards on his sleep. He wasn't really wanting to go down easily for naps or bedtime. Although I thought I would switch him over to his toddler bed when he turned two, I wasn't sure he was ready for it. Well, about a week before his birthday, I had to get ready for it. I had put Hayden down for his nap, and he was crying. I went in there to get on to him and tell him to sleep, but he continued crying. I decided to let him cry it out, and sure enough, he got quiet. He woke up a few hours later and was crying again.

I went in to his room to find quite a surprise. Hayden had taken his diaper off many times before and made messes with poo poo, but he had never managed to take off his shorts. Well, on this particular day, he had taken off both his shorts and his diaper. He had poo-pooed (sorry, gross...I know) and had rubbed it everywhere....on his crib, wall, dropped it out of the crib, you get the picture. He was like, "Mess! Clean it up." So, I began cleaning it up and preparing him for a bath. About that time, he bounded both legs over the crib for the first time and was like, "Woa!" Woa, indeed. He had poo-poo all over himself, taken off his shorts for the first time, and he was escaping his bed for the first time. I cleaned him up and put him back in his crib. Over it he went again, so Chris and I changed him over to a toddler bed that night.

We made a really big deal out of his new "big boy bed." He did great with it and went right to sleep. He did great for about a week until the newness wore off and he discovered he could play with his toys anytime he wanted. Well, after a week of that and getting spanked when he got out of bed (I know, we are mean parents), he started sleeping well again. I have been so proud of him, and he is so proud of himself.

He especially loves saying prayers before he goes to bed, but now, he wants to say them before his naps, too. Of course, this involves Chris or I saying his prayers for him, but he is so cute when he goes into his room, sits beside his bed, and puts his little hands together. He even said his own prayers today in the car...prayers to thank God for Kritiker (his cousin) and pizza and Kritiker and night and Kritiker and Moma and Kritiker and Dada and Kritiker and sandcastles and Kritiker...you get the idea...He loves Kristopher, his cousin. Kristopher is definitely duly prayed for by Hayden today.

Fast asleep his first night in his big boy bed

The only casualty of war that first night

He wanted to take a picture in his bed. This one is one of my favorites!

As he put each animal in the bed, he said “night, night” to them. Night, night elephant. Night, night teddy. Night, night froggy. It was so cute!

On July 22nd, we celebrated Hayden's two year old birthday! We celebrated on his birthday by taking him to Pump It Up in Flowood, MS. They have all kinds of inflatable jumpy things, and Hayden had a blast. Chris was able to take off work that morning to come, and Gran came, too. Chris and I also celebrated by taking Hayden to see his very first movie in the theatre the weekend before his birthday….Toy Story 3. Hayden is all about Buzz and Woody.

For some strange reason, I decided it would be a great idea to make Hayden’s birthday cake this year…complete with fondant decorations and homemade buttercream frosting. I really love making cheesecakes and cookies and thought I would enjoy doing a birthday cake, too. I also thought it would be cheaper than paying someone else to make the cake for me. Wrong on all thoughts! I definitely didn’t enjoy the process, and it definitely wasn’t cheaper after I ended up buying all the supplies I needed. I guess it would be cheaper if you made a lot of cakes over time, but this is going to be my first and last experience with fondant. The entire process was about 6 weeks including planning time, deciding what the cake would look like, making fondant, making the decorations, etc. Oh well! At least I tried it to see if I liked it. Next year, I will pay someone like $1,000 to make Hayden’s birthday cake for me. It is worth it not to go through the headache. Cheesecakes and cookies are definitely more my thing.

We celebrated Hayden’s actual birthday on July 24th (also our 6 year anniversary) at Gran’s house. We did a Madagascar themed party, because Hayden loves the movie, Madagascar. We grilled out hotdogs and hamburgers, opened presents, ate cake, and went for a swim. Brianna joined Hayden, Gran, Lindsey, and I for a swim in the pond. It was a fun day all around. Chris and I bought Hayden a battery powered John Deere tractor. Hayden is so proud of his tractor. He hasn’t gotten the complete hang of it, but he wants to ride it like every day.

Oh, and by the way, after the whole headache of the cake, I was actually pretty pleased with how it turned out. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it tasted good and could have been much uglier for sure. Hayden definitely enjoyed the cake, and I guess that is all that matters. You’ll see the pictures of the cake. The cake was frosted in buttercream with fondant polka dots, a fondant #2, and fondant stars shooting out. I ordered the Madagascar characters from the internet.

I guess the last big event of the summer was a trip to the beach. We usually go to Orange Beach, but due to the oil situation this year, we decided to move the trip a little bit down the coast to Destin, FL. Hayden rode to the beach with my mom, because I was in my friend Abby’s wedding…and Chris and I left straight for the beach after the wedding. We got to Destin around midnight, and we found out the next morning that Chris’ grandmother had passed away. This is his paternal grandmother who lived in Gadsden. I was so sad to hear of her passing but was glad that she no longer had to suffer. She had been on dialysis for kidney failure for several months, had recently broken a hip and had surgery, and most recently found out that she had colon cancer. We were expecting her to live a little longer, but we definitely weren’t surprised to hear of her passing.

Due to her death, Chris and I cut our trip to the beach a little short…but we still made the most of the day and half we were there. Hayden did great on the beach and really loved the sand. He loved building sandcastles and even rode some waves on a boogie board. He had a little sinus infection while we were there, so he had to take breathing treatments. There is a really cute picture of him asleep during his treatment. My favorite part of the trip was going to Fudpucker’s for lunch the day we left. They had alligators that you could feed, and our family took a picture with an alligator. Hayden definitely didn’t want to get too close to the alligator.

Yes, that is a real alligator Gran is holding. And, yes....there is definitely tape around his mouth.

Chris and I left from Destin for the funeral in Gadsden, AL. God worked out all the details for us, though…of course! Chris had his suit since we came straight from Abby’s wedding. I had some black heels since I was an attendant in the wedding, and I even brought a black dress in case Chris and I wanted to go out to eat while we were in Destin for our anniversary. My mom was able to take Hayden back with her so that we didn’t put Hayden through tons more driving and a funeral. God is so good! His grandmother will definitely be missed but left a wonderful Christian legacy behind. I was so glad we went to visit earlier in the year so Hayden could see her. That was probably one of her last good days. God really is good!

So, you can see that the summer was full of fun and was very busy. Don’t forget to post a comment, and hopefully, this will motivate me to blog more often! Sorry for the long post!

Long Time, Huh?

2010-05-12T08:50:00.007-05:00

Long time, no see! I haven't posted since I posted our Christmas pictures, so needless to say, this post is long overdue! Around February, I began travelling much more so I could get all of my days done in the school district I was working in this year. I went from travelling two days a week to just about every day. So, my blogging went to the wayside because of the travelling. I finished all of my travelling for the school year at the end of March, but I guess I've spent the last month just recovering from travelling back and forth so much.

The bad news was that I had to travel so much, but the good news is definitely that I am done with all of my travelling for the school year and have been home with Hayden every day since the end of March. It has been so wonderful being at home with him every day...adventurous and busy and tiring but such a blessing!

Speaking of Hayden, he is 21 months old and has changed so much since my last post. He talks up a storm and learns new things every day. He really hardly ever is quiet and is such a ham. He loves animals, buses, trains, airplanes, Mickey Mouse (toodles), Pooh, and especially, his dog Gus. He and Gus play outside almost every day, or we will take Gus for a walk around the neighborhood (aka....tiring down Hayden so he will take a nap and/or sleep well at night). Right now, we are working on his numbers, colors, and shapes. I also bought him a potty yesterday at Wal Mart. Recently, he has been telling us that he needs to go potty, and a couple of times, he has successfully told us in time. I don't know that he is ready for potty training, but he went in his potty this morning...so we'll see how this goes. He also knows about Noah's Ark and Moses, and anytime, he sees angels, he says, "Jesus' angels." He has learned some of the blessing, too.

The other big news in our family is that we are selling our house. Yes, it is very unexpected. We built this home in 2008 and were expecting to stay in it for about 7 or 8 years, but God is just pointing us in a different direction right now due to financial and family reasons. We love this house, but it is just a house. It is For Sale By Owner, and our sign has been up for about 4 weeks now. We have a lot of ride-bys and people taking flyers, and we've had a few people come and look at it. God will direct the rest, and we are lucky to be in a good position where we don't have to sell but feel like it is the right thing to do.

So, I am posting a massive amount of posts to update everyone on what we have been doing. One of my friends told me recently that our Christmas pictures just weren't doing it for her anymore, so this should give y'all plenty of pictures to look at. There are five new posts below this one, so keep on reading after this! Once you get finished with our snow pictures, you are finished with the new posts.

By the way, my Mom (aka...Gran) recently started a blog of her own. It really is wonderful, and I hope you will visit it soon. Click here to visit her blog.

I'll try to do better with posting more frequently from now on! :o)

A Bunch of Random Stuff Lately

2010-05-12T07:22:00.023-05:00

Like I said in my earlier post, we have been busy bees since I ended my work for the year, and I have absolutely loved my time at home with Hayden. The following are just some random events that have happened in the last several months that don't really fit into any other blog post.

Several months ago, I made another trip to Easely Amused. I had previously blogged about a trip with my Sunday School class where we painted some pumpkins. This time, the trip was with some women from our church, and we painted a paisley cross. I had heard that it was more difficult, so I was nervous...but I was pleasantly surprised that it actually turned out alright. I haven't hung my pictures anywhere in the house yet, since none of them really match our colors. Maybe, I will start an art gallery sometime soon. Hehehe....just kidding, of course.

This was the goal picture that was painted by the Easely Amused staff.

This was my finished product. Pretty good, if I do say so myself. They really do make it so easy for you. The paisleys are just backwards sixes.

This was the entire group from Morrison Heights. Notice that one girl did different colors. Hers was for someone's nursery and turned out super cute! I couldn't get that brave, though.

Recently, Hayden had his first experience riding on those little moving animals you see in malls and shopping centers. Hayden, because of his great love for buses, had to ride the yellow bus first. He loves yellow buses. Next, he had to ride the "choo choo kain"...aka choo choo train. Finally, he had to ride the donkey. He said "hee haw" the entire ride.

We had a great Easter weekend. Hayden isn't quite old enough to understand the Easter bunny yet, and he doesn't like chocolate (is this really my kid?)...so the Easter bunny didn't bring a lot this year. I'm hoping he can understand a little more next year and especially that we can teach him what Easter is really all about....the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here is a family pic and a picture of Hayden's Easter basket.

Hayden loves water! Although he recently went on a little streak where he hated taking baths and screamed every time, he is loving them again. Every time he sees water while we are driving down the road, he has to tell us all about it. He can't quite get the "w" sound down, so water actually comes out as "lader." A few weeks ago, Chris and I went and got some yogurt at a place in Flowood called Berry Berry Good Frozen Yogurt. (Their yogurt is outstanding, by the way...the white chocolate is the best!) They have one of those frog fountains outside, where the water comes straight up from the concrete. Hayden went over to it, and it was on! He had a fabulous time getting soaking wet, pointing, splashing, and exclaiming "lader!" the entire time. He was so funny and cracked everyone up who was outside. I knew he would like it, but I had no idea he would get right into it and stick his face in it. Thankfully, we had a change of clothes.

He was just getting started right here.

You can probably tell how soaked he is here.

The next pictures are just random pictures.

This is from the Natural Science Museum. He looks like such a big boy here. Of course, he is a big boy. :o)

This was his first ride in one of the car buggies at Kroger. He drove us through all of Kroger.

A trip to the zoo

2010-05-11T16:04:00.007-05:00

Hayden loves animals! I mean, this kid really loves animals. Since he was about 18 months, he has been enfatuated with learning animal names and knows more animal names than any other 21 month old I know. What kid knows what a bison is when they are 19 months old?

So, the first warmer weekend that we could, we took Hayden to the Jackson zoo. It was a wonderful trip, and Hayden loved it. The entire trip was just one long exlamation! "Giraffes!" "Elephants!" "Tigers!" He was so excited. There were some birds that scared him half to death, but other than that, he had a great time!

He even got to go in the petting zoo. There was one goat that laid in a swimming pool the entire time and let the kids brush him. Needless to say, Hayden isn't professional with his brushing technique and ended up half hitting the goat with the brush. Chris and I are convinced they must have given this goat some tranquilizers.

A Trip to Gadsden

2010-05-11T15:47:00.003-05:00

In March of this year, our family took a trip to Gadsden, AL to see some of Chris' family. Hayden had never met any of the Gadsden family, so needless to say, it was a long overdue trip. We had a great trip, and it was so great to see so many family members. Chris has family members on both sides in the Gadsden area - his aunt, uncle, and cousins on his Mom's side and his grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins on his Dad's side. And, it was especially wonderful for Hayden to meet his great-grandmother. I was so thankful that he got to spend some time with her.

Here are some pictures from our trip, even though I wish I had taken more pictures. Chris and I took Hayden to Noccalula falls in Gadsden while we were there. The falls are beautiful, and Hayden especially loved all the ducks.

Mess!

2010-05-11T15:35:00.005-05:00

Hayden really is a mess, figuratively and sometimes literally. He never ceases to crack me up every day and is such a joy each and every day. He has his times when he can be really hard-headed and throw his little fits, but most of the time, he is really sweet.

There is one thing that he really hates...messes. I guess he has watched me being a kind of neat freak, and I have rubbed off on him. He is really good about cleaning up his toys and doesn't like having a lot out at one time, so he will pick up a toy and take it back to his room while simultaneously singing the clean-up song. After every meal, he takes his napkin and tries to clean his mess off the table. And, he hates getting food on his hands and only wants to use a napkin once after wiping his hands. He is always picking up things off the floor and taking them to the garbage. He has been going outside a lot lately to play with Gus, and if he gets the slightest bit of dirt on his hands, he comes to the door holding up his hand and saying "mess!" I'm really going to have to teach him that it is good to be dirty, especially when you are a little boy.

Well, this particular "messy" event happened several months ago. I was feeding Hayden dinner and was simultaneously getting ready for Wednesday night bible study. As a parent, you always know that when everything is really quiet, it is time to get scared. Well, I was in the bathroom getting ready and noticed that Hayden was being unusally quiet. Well, I walked in the kitchen to find a nice surprise. Needless to say, Hayden had a great time with his potatoes. When I walked into the kitchen, he looked at me with the biggest smile and said, "Mess!" All I could do at that point was just laugh and grab the camera. Of course, he said, "Cheese!"

What a mess! :o)

SNOW! - February 12, 2010

2010-05-11T15:18:00.004-05:00

Can you believe Mississippi actually got some snow...and a substantial amount this year? The weather forecasters had been predicting large amounts, but because Mississippi never receives much snow at all, I must admit that I was dubious. Because of the large amount that was predicted, I knew that I wanted Hayden to have a full snow experience if we were going to get as much as predicted. It was hard for me to imagine staying in the city for so much snow, so the night all the snow was supposed to start, the four of us (Chris, Hayden, Gus, and I) headed out to my Mom's house in Pelahatchie. What better place to experience so much snow than in the wide open country!

Sure enough, the snow started the night of February 11th and continued through mid-day on the 12th. At my last measurement, my mom received a little over 7 inches of snow. It was beautiful. As far as Hayden goes, he had fun but hated getting down in the snow. He liked it for a short while and then just got mad at it. Chris was able to stay for a little while that morning, but then, he had to go to work.

So, after putting Hayden down for his nap, my mom and I started on my very first snow man. I had never built a snow man before, so it was really fun. It didn't turn out to be a perfect snow man, but I was pretty proud of it.

Hayden and I left after he woke up from his nap, and Clinton was still a blanket of white. Unfortunately, the snow had turned into an icee-like mixture, so that was the end of playing in it.

Here are some pictures from the snow.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-12T14:53:00.007-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Hayden had a lot of fun and was able to do so much more this year compared to last year. It really is amazing the difference a year makes. :o) Hayden had his own little tree this year, which thankfully kept him away from our big tree. Mostly, he loved dumping the Christmas tree balls all over the floor and getting glitter everywhere. :o)

He loved opening presents, and although he really can't understand what Christmas is really all about, I can't imagine what a difference another year will make as far as that goes! I'm hoping I can get the nativity set I want before next year, so we can start teaching him about the Christmas story.

Here are some pictures from our Christmas.

Hayden was really silly with his cousins this year at Gran's house. This is a picture of them chasing each other down the hall and laughing their heads off. Every once in a while, they would jump on top of each other in a huge dogpile and just giggle and giggle. Hayden loves "Linyey" and "Kritiker." :o) You will have to mute the music to hear all the laughter. :o)

My Purim 2009

2009-12-18T10:08:00.003-06:00

You are probably wondering what in the world my post title means…Purim, what in the world is that? Well, Purim is a yearly Jewish feast that celebrates the deliverance of the Jews during the time of Esther. I’m not Jewish, but I feel I have every reason to celebrate just as the Jews do each and every year. Let me explain.

I have loved the work schedule I have for so many reasons. One reason is that I get to stay home with Hayden some during the week and still do a little work, too. The other reason is that I get to enjoy Wednesday morning bible studies at my church with some wonderful, godly women, and that has been such a wonderful blessing for the past several years. This past year, I enrolled in a bible study called “Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman.” I had always loved the book of Esther and its story but never had studied it in very much detail. This study is a study written by Beth Moore, and it really touched my heart in so many ways. I definitely recommend the study if you haven’t done it before. You can buy it online at Lifeway Christian Bookstore. I recommend purchasing the study booklet and audio CDs. The study booklet is done at home, and the audio CDs include all of the in-class lessons so that you can listen to them in your car.

The study discussed several reasons why it is tough being a woman. It is tough being a woman in a world where beauty is a treatment. It is tough being a woman in another woman’s shadow. It is tough being a woman in the tight grip of fear. It is tough being a woman thrown a giant-sized weight. You get the picture. The study also focuses a lot on a term called “reversal of destinies” and how God is a God all about reversals. Think about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to this earth as a perfect Man to save us all, and He was mocked and scoffed at and crucified on a cross. And, one day, He will return and will be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How’s that for a reversal – from the most humiliating death at the time to being glorified for eternity.

Think about reversals in your own life. Have you had any? Have you been through anything tough in your life and come out on the other side a changed person? Have you seen the hand of God at work taking you through difficult circumstances to change you for His glory? I hope you have. That is what my Purim is all about. Purim for me is all about the celebration of going through a fiery trial and coming out on the other side a changed person for the glory of God. Only God could do something like that. I know it firsthand.

Although I am not a Jew, I have set a time aside each year to celebrate my own deliverance…deliverance from sin and death but also deliverance from some strongholds in my life. December 18th is a significant day in my journey with God to reverse some things in my own life and seemed only appropriate as the day for me to set my yearly Purim celebration. Anyone who has gone through anything difficult in their own life can agree that Christmas can be a very joyous time each year but can be a very difficult time as well, as you remember things that have happened in your life. This is true for me, too.

When I was a young girl, I loved Christmas. I loved spending time with family and playing games with family and having traditions as a family. Basically, Christmas for me was time spent with my family. Well, in one year of my life, all of that was swooped away, and it was devastating for me. That year of my life was the most difficult time I have ever been through and can ever imagine going through. That year of my life forced me to work through some lifelong issues I had and to rely more on God than I ever had. God became more of a central thing in my life as He guided me to and through the right people who could help me work through things. There were so many times when I remember just feeling so alone and so confused and just had to ask God to wrap His arms around me. I needed His love to guide me and sustain me, and it was only His love that brought me through it.

As difficult as the situations were during that year and as much as they still hurt sometimes, God has taken those situations that He allowed me to go through and made me stronger through Him. One of my favorite verses since all of this happened has been 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

God can make you strong if you realize your own weakness without Him. You must humble yourself before Him and others so that it could only be Him that could explain it. Well, only God could explain the changes that have happened since then. These are just a few of my reversals: from pretense to truth, from make-believe to real, from my control to God’s control, from confused husband/wife roles to learning how to be the wife/husband God wants Chris and I to be, from a false baptism to a true baptism, from insecurity to realizing where my security comes from, and so many others. I am convinced that Hayden would not be here had I not gone through what I went through that year and that I definitely wouldn’t be the mother I am now if I hadn’t. I am also convinced Chris and I would be different partners for each other had we not been through what we went through that year.

Is everything with the situation perfect? No? Is Christmas still difficult? Yes. But, I have reason to celebrate. God took me (and Chris) through difficult situation after difficult situation during that year and brought us both out on the other side. There might be some wounds there, but God has healed so many others. For that, I am blessed and have reason to celebrate. I continue to pray for more reversals to occur and for continued growth in my Christian life, but for those that have already happened, I celebrate today.

Maybe Christmas is a difficult time for you. Maybe you have deep emotional hurts that dwindle your joy during this season. Just remember that it is all about a baby who was born to save us all. Just remember that if you rely on Him, He can reverse all the hurt and turn it in to amazement. He can teach you so much about yourself and can glorify Himself through you. You just have to let Him. I don’t want sound like I am over-simplifying the process. The process of healing is not easy and is not quick, and that alone is done in God’s time.

What am I going to do for my Purim celebration? Well, I’m going to spend a wonderful day with my husband and child. Tonight, Chris and I are enjoying the opportunity to let our church watch our son so we can do something together. And, I might even enjoy some Hamantaschen. Do the study…you’ll know what I mean.

I hope this Christmas is one full of blessings for you and your family. May you remember the reason for this season.

The Last Month

2009-12-17T20:20:00.012-06:00

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged in so long. Actually, I really can. :o) It has been a crazy month in our household, which included a strange illness that lingered forever in our house and left me with pneumonia for about a week. Thankfully, all are well in our house now, and we are ready to enjoy the Christmas holidays.

I just thought I would update the blog with some pictures from the last month.

There is a new place in Jackson called Easely Amused. There are different classes where you go and they teach you to paint a specific picture. Well, some of the girls from my Sunday School class went, and we painted a picture with some pumpkins. It was really fun, and I definitely can't wait to go again. And, my picture actually ended up looking pretty good...for someone who can't paint or draw. :o)

Part of the group before we started

The goal for the finished product

Houston...we have success! Pumpkins!

A couple of weeks ago, we got a little snow. Yep, that's right...snow in central Mississippi. Hayden was staying with Gran to give Chris and I a chance to finally do something for my birthday, so he got to experience his first snow in Pelahatchie. Actually, they were at the Brandon Christmas parade when it started snowing, and they got to see Santa go by in the snow. How cool is that! :o) Here are some pictures of him that morning.

He was enjoying it here!

Oooo.....look at it! By the way, don't you love my hat! :o)

Okay, I've had enough! The dogs knocked him down, and he wasn't happy! :o)

More Fall Fun and a Belated Halloween

2009-11-01T12:20:00.027-06:00

I'm a little behind on posting some of these pictures, but it's been a busy fall! The day after the fair, Chris and I took Hayden to the MS Museum of Natural Science. We didn't know if he was too young for it, but as much as he enjoyed the animals at the petting zoo at the fair, we figured we'd try it. Well, he loved it. He spent most of the time running from one place to another and pointing and telling us all about it. I don't know how much he could appreciate some of it, because he was going so fast through everything. But, he definitely had a great time.

Last weekend, Hayden was able to go to his first Mississippi State game. We had a great time. My mom, brother and his family, and Chris and I bought some season tickets this year so that we would have enough for some of us to go every once in a while. Little did we know, all of us could go, since Kristopher and Hayden didn't need tickets. We didn't know how well Hayden would do in the stands and figured he wouldn't last long at all, but we weren't too worried about it since we figured there was no way State could beat Florida. Well, much to our surprise, our Dawgs played super hard and kept it a close game, and Hayden was able to stay into the 4th quarter. I was so proud of him. At the beginning of the game, he thrashed all around and acted like he wanted to get down and run around in the stands. After a few minutes of holding him in one place, he figured it out and was able to enjoy the game and all the activity. Here is a picture of our family at the game.

I even got a picture of him ringing the cowbell.

Hayden really does have a very funny personality. He learns quickly and mimics often, and he loves shoes. He brings you shoes and insists that you put them on your feet or on his feet and even tries to put them on by himself sometimes. Here is Hayden in Chris' new boots.

I love these pictures, too. Can you tell I had been cleaning all week?

Halloween didn't go quite as planned this year. We were supposed to go to the Fall Harvest at church Halloween night, and Hayden was going to be the cutest fisherman there. Hayden had been having a cough for a couple of weeks, and he was a little hoarse on Friday. By Friday evening, he was running a fever. We went to the after hours clinic Halloween morning, and Hayden had bronchitis. He was cleared by the pediatrician to go to the Fall Harvest that night, so we were excited that he was still going to be a fisherman. Hayden took a turn for the worse Halloween evening. His fever rose higher than it had been, and he stopped eating. He just wanted to lay around and was pitiful. I was hoping to at least get pictures of him in his Halloween outfit yesterday, but he didn't feel like it at all. I kept him home from church this morning to make sure he gets better before the week starts, and he felt like getting dressed up and have a belated Halloween this morning with me. (Chris had to go out of town for work this morning.)

Most of his halloween costume was ordered, but the vest that came with the costume was really lame. I ordered him a real vest and added the lures myself. I was really proud of how it turned out. He was a cute fisherman this morning and even tried saying "trick or treat."

Fall Fun and The Fair

2009-10-16T15:19:00.008-05:00

Fall. I love this season. The leaves turning, not too hot or too cold, warm soup time, and finally an excuse to wear a coat (even though I wear coats year round...in the house...which drives my husband crazy, by the way). :o)

And.........it's college football time. Chris and I finally had an opportunity to make it to Starkville for a game last weekend. We left Hayden at home with my mom, because we didn't think a 14-month old would do too well in football stands. The weather was supposed to be really yucky, but it held off and didn't rain...but, it was super cold when we got there. We tailgated for a while with some friends and then went to the game. State played Houston, which I didn't realize had been ranked #12 in the AP poll. State played hard but couldn't quite pull it off, but I absolutely loved being in Starkville, regardless. Starkville is like a home away from home for me and always will be, I guess. After the game, I was able to meet up with my old roomies at our favorite spot, Abners. It was great to catch up with and see them and had definitely been way too long. I meant to take more pictures than I did, but oh well.

Here come the Dawgs! Oh, and you can see a small portion of the new Jumbotron!

Chris and I....(the misty air didn't help my hair out...oh well!) :o)

The other great thing about fall is the fair. Deep fried greasy food, sugar galore, and the smell of barnyard animals...what more could any person want? Because of the monsoon weather we've been having this week, we had to wait until today (our only dry day this week) to go. Hayden and I met Chris during his lunch break. We ate a healthy lunch, I'm sure and topped it off with some funnel cake. Hayden had a few bites of our funnel cake and loved it, and then, the wind blew and blew powdered sugar from the plate all over him. There's a picture, but you can't see all the powdered sugar. It was pretty funny. :o)

We went to the petting zoo and ran into my brother and Tracie and the kids. Hayden and Kristopher had a great time yelling and laughing at each other and entertaining everyone at the petting zoo. Hayden was fearless when it came to being around the animals and absolutely loved every minute of it. Kris and Tracie bought some carrots to feed the animals. Hayden took a carrot, stuck it up to the goat's mouth, and then, tried taking a bite himself. So, Hayden might end up with a rare form of goat flu or something. :o) We all smell like barnyard after our little adventure, but it was fun.

Summer is over, Work has started, and Daycare

2009-09-16T16:01:00.012-05:00

Well, I've totally been slacking on updating my blog for the last several weeks...surprise, surprise, huh? :o) I can hardly believe summer is over. It feels like Hayden and I had just figured out a good summer routine that worked for both of us when the end quickly was upon us. I really enjoyed the time at home with him all summer, and it was really the first summer I've had since I quit teaching three years ago when I didn't work at all...so it was a welcome break. As much as I enjoyed the time with him and a break for me, I looked forward to the beginning of school and a little work for me.

This year, I have gone from traveling one day a week to traveling two days a week. I'm doing something a little different this year. With the education consulting contracts I usually get, I am working with middle or high school teachers in Mississippi who teach math or science. This year, I am working with elementary through high school teachers in Lake Providence, Louisiana (only 85 miles from me) to help them implement technology into the classroom to positively impact instruction. Sounds thrilling, huh? Hehehe.... I think it will be a nice change of pace.

Because of the number of days of traveling this contract requires, myself and another consultant are splitting the days and working together since we have to work with all of the teachers. That other consultant who is working in the district with me is my Mom (aka...Gran), so it has been really neat to get to work with her, too. It is the first technology contract the company has ever sold to a school district, so my mom and I are paving the way and figuring things out as we go...but, if you talk to someone in Lake Providence, pretend like she and I are the most knowledgeable people you know about the subject of technology in the classroom, okay? Hehehe....

Last year, Hayden went to Mother's Day Out two days a week to allow me time to travel. My mom and/or Tracie would help me out by taking Hayden and picking him up on days I traveled. Well, since Tracie has moved to Brandon and my mom is travelling with me, I had to come up with an alternative to Mother's Day Out. So, Hayden started daycare. At first, I was real wary about it and not sure if I was ready to "move my cheese" that much, but it has really been wonderful for both him and me.

He's going to Funtime in Clinton and loves his teachers, Ms. Kim and Ms. Hannah....as well as all of his little friends. He's in the giraffe room, and most of the kids in there are several months older than him...but he has done super well adjusting to the class. He gets to go outside to recess several times a day, takes naps on a cot, and goes to lunch and snacktime and sits in a big boy chair and eats at the big boy table. The classroom has an online video camera that parents can login to occasionally check on their child. I don't login while I am working in schools, but it is a funny sight to see those teachers putting all those kids down on their cots. So far, Hayden has had about six accident reports (falling down and scraping knees, bruises on his face from falling into a table, etc) while he has been there. He also had two bite reports in one day. The bite reports mean another kid bit him, so the poor kid got bitten twice in one day. This will also toughen him up some. Hehehe..... Now that he is well-adjusted to the routine at daycare, he'll probably go three times a week and stay at home with me the other two days. I have to pay for a full week regardless of how much he comes, so it is nice to have the option to take him if I need to shop, etc. But, I do love getting to stay home with him some.

Speaking of Hayden, he is going everywhere and into everything now that he is walking. He literally went from taking two steps in one week to walking clear across the house the next week, and since he has been walking for six weeks now, he is really looking much more natural now and is really fast. He even tries to imitate us swinging our arms sometimes, which is really cute but completely unnatural right now. :o) Hayden walking everywhere rather than being held is nice, but it still seems just like yesterday that he was born.

He seems to learn something new each day, and even though he doesn't say many real words, he loves talking and telling us all about things and his day. We can't understand a thing he is saying, but I'm sure it is something real important. He is definitely a kid who wants to know what things do, so he often brings things to us to try to figure out what to do with them. He's insistent on you showing him how it works, and until you do, he just gets mad at it. You'll see a funny picture below of this. He's learning quick and knows to put shoes on my feet, but he can't quite figure out how to get them on there so he just puts them on top. Oh, and he's even feeding himself with a spoon if we put applesauce on a spoon for him. He hasn't mastered the scooping yet, but he's doing well. Oh, and he feeds himself a lot with his left hand. Chris and I won't know what to do with a leftie, but we'll have to wait and see.

Here are a couple of pictures. I've been slacking on taking pictures lately, too.

Once a climber always a climber. We usually catch him before he gets up there, but sometimes, he sneaks past us. :o)

He brought me a diaper and just insisted that I show him how it works. He walked around with the diaper over his clothes for a while, and then, he was bored with it and wanted to know how something else worked. He's so funny!

Swine Flu in the Davidson Household

2009-08-24T09:01:00.006-05:00

Yep, that's right...that old pig-kissing, bacon-loving virus made a visit to our house recently. It started early last Thursday and hit me all of a sudden, much like regular flu does. I had no energy, was running fever, had a horrible headache, and felt so achey. Chris had a fantasy football event that night and didn't get home until around 9 o'clock that night, and by the time it was time to get Hayden ready for bed, I seriously didn't think I could do it. By Friday, I knew I had to go to the doctor. Hayden went to daycare early Friday morning, and I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 2 o'clock. By lunch-time after several other symptoms appeared, I had a sneaking suspicion that I had the dreaded swine flu.

When the doctor's office checked my temperature and heard my symptoms, they immediately stuck their flu-checking stick in my nose. The results - Negative. I was doing a little happy dance inside. My doctor came in, looked me over, and told me I had the flu - the swine flu. I was confused since the flu test had come back negative, but he said the regular flu test wasn't really catching many swine flu cases (only about 40%). Because I had the symtpoms of the regular flu plus the stomach virus symptoms that swine flu can add, he felt positive that I had come in contact with the swine flu. He told me they could check and send the test off, but by the time the test came back, I would be finished with the virus. He sent me off with a prescription for Tamiflu and a preventative dose of Tamiflu for Chris and told me I would be banished to my house until I was fever free 24-hours. Apparently, my doctor has been seeing cases on and off all summer. Because the regular flu dies off after the cold season ends, they are treating all flu cases right now as swine flu. And, for me, at least, swine flu was different and had a few extra symptoms that you don't get with the regular flu.

I called Chris, who was very concerned and shocked. Our biggest concern was, of course, for Hayden. I had been contagious since Wednesday (one day before symptoms started), and Hayden was with me Wednesday after daycare and all day Thursday. He had been doing typical Hayden things like sticking his fingers in my mouth and feeding me food from his plate. I called his pediatrician, who told me they would not provide preventative Tamiflu for him but only would give him Tamiflu if he actually got the virus. They told me to keep him away from me. I was upset about having to stay away from him, and it definitely threw me for a loop that they wouldn't go ahead and give him Tamiflu. I knew God was in control. Chris would pick Hayden up from daycare and meet my mom, who would stay in a hotel with him to protect my brother's family from getting the virus.

It is so unfortunate how the media has depicted swine flu, because you usually only hear about the extreme doom and gloom cases. Don't dare google about a toddler getting swine flu...it will make you worried sick. Now granted, swine flu made me feel really bad, but I have definitely been much sicker with the regular flu, especially before the wonderful days of Tamiflu. That doesn't mean we should throw caution to the wind and start attending swine flu parties. Have y'all heard about this by the way? Crazy, pure insanity. Look it up if you haven't heard about swine flu parties. Anyway, there are people who get a mildish to regular case of swine flu who might pass it on to someone else that might get really, really, really sick. Elderly, children under 5, and people with pre-existing conditions like asthma are at the biggest risk from getting extremely sick, and there is no vaccine yet to provide us with any immunity. So, that is why they advise so much caution.

Luckily, Chris and Hayden stayed pretty much in the clear. On Saturday, Chris had some of the initial headache and no energy symptoms that I had, but he never got the fever or the other symptoms of the swine flu. The Tamiflu prevented him from getting it, and luckily, Hayden has been just fine. After the hotel stay Friday night, he and my mom went to her house Saturday and have been there since.

Besides being sick and feeling real yucky, the quarantine has been one of the hardest things about this. There are really only so many things you can do when you are banished to your house, but it has been nice to catch up on my sleep and sleep late. If the fever stays away until 4 o'clock today, the quarantine will be over. I still don't feel 100%, but I know that seeing my little boy will make me feel so much better that I won't care about the few symptoms that I still might have. Chris stayed at home from work today to prevent taking some of my swine flu germs up there, and if all goes well today, Chris plans on picking Hayden up from daycare late this afternoon and bringing him home finally! :o)

According to my doctor, he expects the number of swine flu cases to increase drastically since school is starting. Apparently, Mississippi State University is getting hit hard by it right now. So, wash your hands and be safe. And, if you get sick, stay away from people just in case! Oh, and don't go around kissing any pigs or eating too many ribs...you can just send the ribs along to me! :o)

Look at Hayden go!

2009-08-11T16:23:00.005-05:00

I never knew that a parent could be so happy about walking! Being mobile at such a young age and being an early crawler led me to believe that Hayden would walk early, too. Nine months rolled around and people started asking if he was walking. Now granted, he was a nine month old who was the size of a 15 month old...so he probably looked like he ought to be walking. But, of course, parent worry set in, and I began to think he needed to start walking. I would stand him up, and PLOP! He would fall right down and go back to his business and was as happy as he could be that he was crawling. I guess I was worried that Hayden might go to college and not walk there or something. Hehehe...

Isn't it funny how we can't control things but we try so desperately to so many times? It doesn't always just have to do with our children, but I must admit that I often see parents trying to control their children's lives. They encourage their child to be the best soccer player or the most popular person in school or keep up with so and so when the child is perfectly content to be in the band or hang out with math nerds or to challenge themselves to be the best they can be rather than keeping up with someone else. Or, some crazy parent might even challenge their child to walk rather than be content to let them develop at their own pace. Hehehe...

Now granted, I have made some huge strides with my control issues, but just when I think I've licked them, my flesh kicks in and those ugly control issues rear their ugly head again. Isn't it funny how when we "let things go," they take care of themselves?

Now, look at him go! Sorry for the obnoxious number of videos, but I am really excited for him! (And me...26 pounds is a lot to carry around.) Hehehe...

I had to remove a toy that was in the way on this one!

Beach Trip 2009

2009-08-09T20:32:00.007-05:00

Chris, Hayden, and I are back from a wonderful week long trip to Orange Beach, AL. We went with a big group of people from our church and had a great time. Hayden was able to enjoy the beach much more than his last trip at a mere 6 weeks old, and I was so glad that he loved the beach and the water. I knew he'd either love or hate the sand, and he handled it like a champ. He loved playing and crawling in the sand, and of course, he ate a good bit, too. His hair is white now after being in the sun for a week...he looks like a little surfer boy.

There were lots of birthday celebrations while we were down there. On Monday night, we had a cookout and cupcakes to celebrate Kellan, Chloe, and Hayden's birthdays. Hayden had no idea he was going to get to have another party, and he was even more excited that it involved cupcakes. We celebrated Gran's 60th birthday on Friday with some pies from Sweetie Pie's. I definitely recommend Sweetie Pie's to anyone who visits the area...they are so yummy!

Poor Hayden woke up from his nap on Monday with a fever, so we had to take him to the doctor down there. It was the most interesting/weird doctor's visit I have ever experienced. Anyway, he had the beginning of an ear infection which turned into a full blown ear infection a few days later. That's right...tubes for only 3 days and already an ear infection. Hehehe... Thankfully, we were able to get some medicine and then some ear drops to help him out. Nearly every family that went had a child who was sick or injured down there...it was a very interesting trip. The urgent care doctors got their money out of us Mississippi folks, for sure.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip full of fun fellowship, relaxation, good food, and time away from the hustle and bustle of life. I miss the beach already, but it's always nice to be home, sweet home.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the week.

Here he is playing in the waves. He wasn't always this excited about it, but he got so tickled at the waves that first day.

He's used to the swimming pool in Clinton where he can walk around in the shallow end, but the pool at the beach wasn't that shallow. I had been working with him in the deep end at Clinton, and he did great floating around and swimming by himself.

We took some time Friday evening to take some family pictures. Gran was a great and patient photographer.

Birthday, Toddlerhood, and Tubes

2009-07-31T14:23:00.007-05:00

Hayden had a wonderful birthday party last weekend. We decided to have it at Gran's house and enjoy a sunny day in the country with some grilling out, presents, cake, and of course, a swim in the pond. We kept his birthday small after learning some valuable lessons from Hayden's cousins, so it was Chris, Hayden, me, Gran, MaMaw, Tracie, Lindsey, Kristopher, Kris, Kelli, and Brianna.

True to the Twinkie incident, he thoroughly enjoyed his cake, and after some short observation, he dug right in. The cakes were made by DreamCakes MS in Flowood, MS...I thoroughly recommend them for making cute, cute cakes that taste yummy! Hayden thanks all of his guests for attending and said he had such a fun birthday and loves his gifts!

Well, we had an exciting event yesterday...July 30th will forever live in infamy as the day Hayden left infancy and entered toddlerhood. That's right. He took his first steps yesterday. Just a few steps from one object to another object, but he did it about 7 or 8 times last night. Who knows how long it will take him to begin walking, but we are on our way within the next couple of months, I guess. So exciting! I will no longer have to carry around a 26-pounder. :o) I'll try to catch it on video sometime soon and add it to the blog.

Hayden got so many wonderful presents for his birthday - a lion hand-made by Gran, some blocks, clothes, an ice cream bowl, bath toys, a dolphin, books, his first plate, a ride-on Radio Flyer turtle, and a Pottery barn chair. And today, he got another birthday gift - ear tubes! Hopefully, his tubes will help those nasty little ears stay clear. Hayden was such a big boy and never cried when they took him back and didn't cry at all in recovery. We were in and out in no time. He looked so cute in his hospital gown that I had to snap a quick picture.

On Sunday, we leave for the beach. Hayden has made one trip before when he was 6-weeks old, but he will be able to enjoy it much more this year. I am so excited about going to the beach and just relaxing.

Here he is during the observation stage.

As you will see in the pictures, he warmed up to the cake after a very short while.

Hayden's First Birthday

2009-07-22T22:03:00.013-05:00

At 2:14 pm a year ago today, Hayden Kristofer Davidson came into our lives and has blessed us so much throughout the year. Chris and I have been privileged by the gift that he is in our lives and have enjoyed so much watching him grow up throughout the year.

I've had work training part of this week, but I did leave a little early this afternoon so I could spend some time with the birthday boy. Chris was able to help me out by working from home today, so I was so glad they got to spend some time together. A terrible diaper rash has made him extremely unhappy for the past couple of days, but we managed to have a little celebration anyway.

After eating some dinner, we gave Hayden a Twinkie. Since we are having his birthday party this weekend and didn't want to steal the show and give him any cake today, I decided to buy something that would be cakelike so he could at least have a little treat on his birthday. And, what is more cakelike or wonderful than a Twinkie.

If the Twinkie was any indication of how much he will enjoy his birthday cake on Saturday, we should be in for a good show. After a few moments of observing, he went right into the process of getting rid of the Twinkie. The whole process didn't take more than a couple of minutes, because he accomplished the goal by sticking most of it in his mouth at one time. Pretty funny stuff.

I'm including a slideshow of some pics from the year to show how much he has grown. It is amazing to look at old pictures now.

The funniest part is getting to see him engulf the Twinkie. Here are some pictures of that.

And, here he is in action.

A Fabulous Trip to New Orleans

2009-07-21T10:49:00.003-05:00

Chris and I made a trip to New Orleans this past weekend to celebrate an early anniversary. Our actual anniversary is on July 24th, but since Hayden's birthday is on July 22nd, we thought we'd go ahead and celebrate our anniversary a little early. We had a wonderful trip and some much needed rest and relaxation.

We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast called Ashton's Bed and Breakfast. We stayed in the Creole Queen room, and our bathroom was almost as big as the bedroom...it was really nice. Breakfast was always wonderful, and I would definitely recommend this as a place to stay if you ever visit the area. It's not too far from the French Quarter, and you avoid the massive hotel tax you get if you stay at a regular hotel. We loved it!

We were worried that we would get rained on the entire weekend, but the only rain we got was on Friday on our way and for a little while when we got there. We ate on Friday night at a restaurant neither of us had ever been to before called Mulate's. The food was excellent, and they even have some live cajun music and dancing every night. They have two what-you-might-call good cajun dancers, but anyone and everyone can join them. After we watched for a little while, we ended up joining in, too...we looked like idiots, but we had fun doing it.

After a late sleep in on Saturday and some very good breakfast, we headed out to the Creole Creamery...a local ice cream shoppe with tons of yummy flavors. Because of a late breakfast, we ended up calling our ice cream lunch, and that is my kind of lunch. Both of our sundaes were good, and we even got a little entertainment. The Creole Creamery has what they call the Tchoupitoulas Challenge, which involves 8 scoops of ice cream, 8 toppings of our choice, and more whipped topping than you could want in a lifetime. It is a $22 concoction, and you have to finish the entire thing by yourself to get your name on a plaque. Two guys came in as we were finishing our ice cream, and they took on the challenge. I took some pictures of their bowls (mixing bowls) of ice cream. I have never seen something so huge in my life. Don't know if they were able to finish it, but I'm sure they went into diabetic shock after it.

We've been to the zoo and aquarium in New Orleans a couple of times, so we wanted to do something a little different on this trip. So, we went to the WWII museum. The WWII museum is in New Orleans to honor native Andrew Higgins, who invented the Higgins boats that were used to unload troops at Normandy. It was super interesting and something I would recommend. I took lots of pictures, but you couldn't use flash...so I only included a couple of pictures.

Saturday night, we enjoyed a super good anniversary dinner at Emeril's NOLA. This is about our 6th trip to an Emeril's, and it never ever disappoints. This was our first trip to Emeril's NOLA, and we sat at the chef's bar, because you can watch the chefs prepare the food. After that, we walked off our food at the Riverwalk (by the Mississipp River). Oh, and as if we had not had enough food already, we went to Cafe Du Monde for some beignets...you just gotta do it.

After breakfast on Sunday, we left the bed and breakfast and headed to the French Quarter to walk around some of the shops down there. People down there are selling anything and everything. It was very interesting just to walk around and watch people and look at all the stuff they make and try to sell. After a good walk, we headed to Court of Two Sisters Restaurant for our traditional Sunday brunch. I would definitely recommend this brunch if you are in the area....such a wonderful buffet, and I'm especially fond of the omelet station.

So, with full stomachs and rested and relaxed bodies, we left New Orleans and headed north to get our Little Man. It was a wonderful weekend.

Blessings from God

2009-07-15T17:07:00.004-05:00

I sent my mom an email this morning, and at the end of it, I said, "Little boy will be a year old a week from today. Wow! I was on steroids at this point last year and praying for a miracle. God is so good." I feel compelled to tell you all that story and about just how good God is.

I've been thinking back to a year ago today, and I can remember it very well. I was totally off bedrest, 37 weeks pregnant, just starting steroids, and as I said in my email, praying for a miracle. And, I had a lot more people praying for a miracle for me, too. Apparently, some women's immune systems take a little beating when they get pregnant resulting in low platelets of pregnancy, and I was one of those women. Having low platelets during the pregnancy wasn't really ever all that big of a deal, because the platelets never got dangerously low so that there was a threat of me free-bleeding. It became more of a deal when it was closer to time for Hayden to be born.

Since the platelets were so low, there would be risks involved in having an epidural or spinal...so I was either going to have him naturally with no pain medication or be completely put to sleep by C-section. I was prepared to have him naturally if that is what had to happen, but there was always the chance that he would be hard-headed and wouldn't want to come. And, I didn't mind having a C-section, but I wouldn't be able to be awake to see him being born...and I really wanted to see him be born and see his first breaths outside of my belly.

So, my doctor put me on steroids at 37 weeks pregnant, because occasionally, the platelet levels will rise with steroids. The last woman my doctor put on steroids for the same condition came back in a week later, and her platelets levels actually got lower. I was nervous during that entire week but confident that I would be taken care of no matter what, and when I returned for my 38-week checkup, my platelets were high enough for me to have an epidural or spinal. I would return to the hospital the next day, July 22, 2008, to be induced and give birth to my son. Yay!

I was hooked to Pitocin early the next morning and was in labor for 7 hours with no pain medication and a very hard-headed son that didn't want to do anything at all other than stay in my belly. The decision was made to have a C-section, but because the platelets were high enough, I would be able to have a spinal and be AWAKE to see our son born. Hayden was born at 2:14 pm that afternoon with both Daddy and Mommy watching behind our little curtain. :o)

I cannot begin to tell you all how blessed I have been to see God working in my life. You see, I was praying for a miracle and hoping I would be awake when my son was born, and God allowed me to do just that. From a disappearing nodule in my lung to completely curing a stomach issue that nearly put me in the hospital with feeding tubes, I can't even begin to tell you story after story of the miracles God has performed in my life and the ways He has placed His protective hand over me.

There have been some rough times along the way, too. Chris and I have both been through some very difficult family situations, and we've had lots of heartache along the way. Through all of that still, God's invisible hand was guiding and turning the situations and taking care of us beyond belief. From the timing of it all to the people involved and so much more, all of the "coincidences" that have happened along the way have been 0% coincidence and 100% God. You have no idea.

I am so overwhelmed right now thinking about it all. It's not about the miracles God has performed in my life or the tough times He has allowed me to go through. It's not about seeing Hayden being born or having something really tough happen at just the right time. All of that is wonderful, but it is about God in his sovereignty weaving it all about to accomplish His good and perfect will. And, I am lucky enough to sit back and watch Him do it. There are so many times when I wonder why God allowed me to see so many miracles in such a short span of time and so many other times when I am wondering just what He is up to when I seem to be going through a huge mess. Sadly, I believe so many times it took something huge to knock me off my feet and put me on my knees. But, it is not up to me to understand God or his sovereignty. It is up to me to trust Him and to use each situation as an opportunity to glorify Him. So many times, I make a mess of the situation, but God doesn't give up on me and never will. I am so thankful for that.

So many people love the verse Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God..." You see, I love that verse, too...but I prefer to keep going. Pick up your Bible and continue reading through verse 31. That verse that so many people use applies only to those who are called or to the elect...in other words, it applies to those who have salvation by trusting in Jesus ALONE as their Savior and Lord. In each and every situation that you go through if you have trusted in Jesus ALONE, God is "working" it for your "good" or for your benefit.

So maybe you are seeing one of God's many miracles, or maybe you are going through some tough times. Rest assured that God is in control of the situation no matter how wonderful or how difficult it might be. He is using it to weave and mold you into the person he wants you to be. Trust in Him alone. Lean not on yourself. These are the sweet words He is whispering to you.

Do you know Him? I pray that you do. I may be a huge mess, but I am God's mess. And one day, I will trade this mess for a perfect body and will live in a world just the way God intended it to be - perfect! I can't wait. Hope to see you there!

A Great Summer So Far

2009-07-13T16:38:00.011-05:00

We've had a wonderful summer so far...and it's not even over! :o) It didn't take long for Hayden and I to figure out our summer routine, and after I saw how much he loved the pool, the pool is in our routine almost every day. He is an absolute water bug. I started off with a ring float, but he didn't like it and spent most of his time trying to climb out of it. I bought him some floaties thinking that he wouldn't be ready for them, but he took to them after about 30 minutes. He isn't walking on land, but he can walk all around in the water like a pro. The YMCA in Clinton has a large kiddie area in the pool that is about 2 feet deep and just perfect for him to walk around by himself and play. He is blowing bubbles in the water now and can recover by himself when he accidentally goes under (and doesn't cry either). He is just now beginning to relax enough to float for a little while in the deep end. It really is amazing to watch him in the water. Here's a short video of him walking over to one of his pool friends, Courtney...she's there more than we are! :o)

I never would have believed he wouldn't be walking by now since he crawled and started pulling up so early, but he doesn't seem ready yet. He has just now started letting go of the furniture some, and there are times when we can stand him up in the middle of the floor and he will stand there by himself. He's also beginning to walk while holding on to our hands some, too. But, he definitely has a mind of his own and knows when he wants to do certain things, so I'm just going to let him figure it all out. He can get around well enough and fast enough by crawling. :o) He's also begun climbing things...climbing into drawers, climbing into cabinets, and trying to climb furniture.

Recently, I made a trip to Jellystone water park in Pelahatchie, MS with Hayden, my mom (Gran), Tracie, Lindsey, and Kristopher. We had a great time. Having a Ward's (I do love their breakfast so) was about as big as I thought the Hatchie would ever get, but they have their very own little water park. It was perfect. It has an area with shallow water (shallow enough for Hayden to crawl around in) with a couple of slides and water fountains. It also has a pool, but the kids were never too eager to get in the pool since the area with the slides was so much fun. It was really cute...no sightings of Yogi and BooBoo...but maybe next time. :o)

Hayden has a new friend, and his name is Eeyore. When Lindsey turned one year old, I gave her an Eeyore ride-on with the understanding that it would be kept so that my children could use it one day. Tracie passed it on to me recently, and I pulled it out this week. I didn't think Hayden would be ready for it, but he loves it. He rides it around the house. He's not too directionally smart yet, so he runs into a lot of walls and furniture, but he just looks at one of us to turn him around and keeps on going. We're getting him another little ride-on for his birthday since he loves this one so much.

This weekend, Chris and I are headed to New Orleans for an early 5-year anniversary celebration. I'm excited to get away and have some time for the two of us. And, in a little over a week now, Hayden turns 1 year old....and we are having a little family party for him that next weekend. So, I'll be posting pictures along the way.

Here are some pictures. There are some from a recent swimming trip...Dad got to come with us recently, so I could take some pictures. There are some from around the house, and there are some from Jellystone.

A Blogger Award

2009-06-26T14:23:00.011-05:00

My sweet cousin, Ginny, from The Patterson 5 has given my blog a "Kreativ Blogger" award for my creative parenting. I have loved blogging since the day I started, and one of the blessings God has granted me through blogging is a wonderful way to keep up with such a sweet cousin who lives so far away and who I rarely get to see. The other blessing God has granted me is a way to communicate to the world what a blessing being a parent is and let you guys into just a little bit of our lives. I actually think all parents are creative...you can't raise a child if you don't have a little creativity or have a sense of humor. Thanks for my award, Ginny. I love you.

My instructions are now to nominate 7 other bloggers for this award, and they are to nominate 7 others. (Be sure to leave a comment on their blog about the award.) Those nominated must then write a list of 7 things their blog readers might not know about them.

So, here I go with my 7 things you might not know about me...which is hard to do since I already have done a post with 25 things you don't know about me...I'll try to come up with new ones:

When I sleep in long pants at night, I tuck my pants into my socks so that I don't have any air unevenly touching my legs and so my pants don't ride up my legs in the night. Be glad you've never seen a picture of this...it's a very lovely look.
I have never dyed or colored my hair, and the only makeup I wear is mascara, lipstick, and gloss. I like quick and easy.
I am a creature of habit about a lot of things, and my habits change over time. My current habit: Before every meal, I have a Lorna Doone shortbread cookie topped with peanut butter and two peanut M&Ms. It's really good...you should try it.
I sneeze when I take Benadryl or after I choke on something. I said this next statement in my 25 things post, but my brother says I should donate my body to science. Maybe he's right.
Chris and I love to eat out. We always joke that we are going to buy an RV when we get older and travel around the country eating good food. We want to find the best bbq and ice cream in the nation. We've often wondered how you get the job of being a food critic. You get to go out to eat for free....sounds like a job I could have.
I used a push mower by myself for the first time two weeks ago. Even though I grew up in the country, we always used riding mowers. I felt like I really accomplished something by cutting the grass while Chris was at work.
When I was younger, I used to think teachers never went to the bathroom. Even though my mom was a teacher and I knew she went to the bathroom, I never saw any of my lower elementary teachers go into the bathroom. This always baffled me. My mom laughed at this when I told her this years later.

Here are the blogs I'm going to award:

O Love that Will Not Let Me Go - Even though I don't personally know this couple, their blog has been such an inspiration to me over the past year. The Roberts family had a little girl (Magdalena) who was born around the time Hayden was born with a chromosomal abnormality. She was able to bless the world so much in the short time she was on the earth and made a huge impact in my life and in the lives of others. Their blog tells their story in such a creative way that can't help but draw you closer to your family and closer to God.
The Neyland's - Creative describes this blog perfectly. Just check out the creative buckets for her daughter's birthday party and her room decor ideas. She created a website for Chris and I when Hayden was born as a creative way to let family and friends know about his birth, see some pictures of the family, and post some notes to us.
Picky-Palate - This is one of my favorite recipe blogs. She makes such creative and wonderful things. I love the Cookies and Cream Rice Krispies, Cookies and Cream Cheese Brownies with a Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache, Nutter Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies, and so many more. If I were going to have a cooking blog (and I've thought about it before), this is what I'd want mine to be like...and she takes wonderful pictures.
The Patrick Family - I know I may be a little biased and that she hasn't blogged in about a month now (hint, hint...hehehe), but I have to award this blog for its funny stories created by all the crazy things her creative little children do. They may be my neice and nephew, but they do some funny stuff.
As We Go - I love all the creative stories about scorpions and reading her Friday Fritters. She calls herself a "work in progress" on her profile, but I think she handles life with three little girls very well. She is a creative parent if I've ever seen one. :o)
Life on the Chicken Farm - Being a country girl myself, I just had to award this blog for her creative parenting...well, on a chicken farm. Her cute little girl is a girl after my own heart. She loves to look cute but then can be digging around in the dirt with her dog, Otis. I love it.
The Macs - I stumbled across this blog after hearing their story at a bible study. This family had a little girl named Cora...one day, her mommy was posting about ear infections, and the next day, there were posts about cancer. Cora is with Jesus now, but I love their story and how they have clung to God for strength. Cora's mom is very creative and has opened a store on Etsy called Cora's. She makes the most creative and cute clothes. There are things for little girls and little boys.

Well, there you go. My first blogger award. I hope to be posting some pictures soon of Hayden's swimming abilities. I am amazed at how well he does in the water. Until next time....

Into Everything

2009-06-11T10:52:00.005-05:00

Wow...I have let my blogging go lately, haven't I? I've been trying to get adjusted to being home everyday with Hayden (no more Mother's Day Out this summer) and trying to get us into a good summer routine....not to mention trying to keep up with him. Hehehe... I think we're figuring out our routine now. In his best babble 10 month old talk, Hayden clearly told me recently that he wanted to go to the pool regularly to make up for putting me on bedrest all last summer. I, being such a sacrificial mother, am willing to leave my fun housework duties at home and oblige, so we've gone everyday for the past couple of days. I really want him to get used to the water, since I love swimming so much. He does great and especially loves to smile at all the pretty little girls at the pool...he seems to have a preference for the blonde ones. I'm going to have my hands full. Actually, I already have my hands full. Hehehe....

We've definitely reached the "getting into everything" stage. Even though he's been crawling for about 3 months now, he's now become a pro at it and is almost as fast as me. He sees a door open that he's not supposed to go into, and those little legs book it to try to get in before I get there. He's been pulling up for about 2 months now, but now, he can pull up on a flat surface like a door or cabinet...so he's discovered the kitchen cabinets. The locks we bought for the kitchen cabinets didn't work, so I put some picture hanging wire around all of them the other day. It is a temporary fix but is making my life easier not to have to chase him everywhere he goes.

The improved mobility also means I have a little shadow now. He follows me throughout the house, and pulls up on my legs. If I'm sitting on the floor, he pulls up on me, and hugs me. If I'm sitting on the furniture, he's pulling up and trying to get to me. Everyone told me when I found out I was having a boy that, "Little boys love their mommies." That is definitely true. He loves his daddy, too, and Chris is a wonderful dad.

He's getting to be a pretty good eater. Like most kids, there are times when he just doesn't want to eat...and I don't press the matter, because he'll eat if he's hungry. Then, there are other times when I have to limit his food so he doesn't fill himself up so much that he spits up. When he first started eating finger foods, he was super picky, and I was resigned to the fact that he would only eat bread and puffs. But, he's gotten to where he likes more things. He won't eat bananas. That is a definite fact....I think it's a texture thing. He loves sandwiches, gerber cereal bars, puffs, turkey sandwich meat, chicken nuggets, waffles, and he's just now gotten to where he'll eat that fruit that comes in the snack packages.

Some new things he can do: says "Gu" for Gus and "Du" for duck, gets the ball when I ask him, gets his duck when I ask him, plays peek-a-boo (this is especially cute), tries to clap, turns the lights on and off, turns the faucets on and off, does this funny thing with his lips that we taught him (I'll video it), and says "Mama" and "Dada" on request (this is in the last day, but I still don't think he really connects us with our names yet). He's pulling up and sitting back down real smoothly and cruising well along furniture. I don't know when the walking will happen, but I think he'll run before he walks. :o) Oh, and he has 7 teeth now.

Here are some recent pictures. As you can see, that hair is getting so thick and is almost ready for his second haircut (it's traveling over the ears). He definitely has his daddy's hair. :o) I'll try to get some swimming pictures soon. Oh, and the picture of him swinging was at Gran's house. He laughed and laughed and totally loved it. My brother and sister-in-law are living out there right now in between selling their house in Clinton and building a new house in Brandon, and their swing set went with them out there.

Dedication and Mother's Day

2009-05-12T11:17:00.005-05:00

My first official Mother's Day was absolutely wonderful! Chris and I considered last year as my first Mother's Day since I was pregnant and was technically a mother, but this year was more special since Hayden was able to be with us...not to mention the fact that last year's Mother's Day was the first time I went into preterm labor and ended up having to be put on bedrest...apparently, Hayden wanted to say Happy Mother's Day last year, too. :o)

In addition to being Mother's Day, we had baby dedication at church. We had not had baby dedication since last Mother's Day, so there were 16 children who were dedicated Sunday morning. The front of the church was definitely full. So many people came up to us talking about how special that service must have been for us. To be perfectly honest, it was special, but I had that personal moment of Hayden's dedication to the Lord a long time ago.

I've shared with all of you that I have had a previous tendency to be extremely controlling and fearful and uptight about certain things. I've been through some things in my life that caused me to be that way, but that didn't give me an excuse to try to have control over my life. A year of working through some things and giving certain things over to the Lord has brought me a long way with my sin of control and self-reliance.

All of that happened before Hayden was born, but when he was born, the first several weeks were tough for me. I was determined that breastfeeding would work for us, because I knew of all the benefits that breastfeeding gives to a baby. Ultimately, I thought something I could control would help control his life and make it easier for him and for me. After several weeks of crying and trying to make it work, it just wasn't working. I realized that I had tried to grasp control of him and his life and knew that I had to give it up and let the Lord take over. I remember sitting there trying to feed him and crying while realizing that it was just not working. At that moment, I dedicated Hayden to the Lord. Ultimately, Hayden belongs to the Lord and is only a gift to Chris and me. Nothing I can do can control his life and make it perfect. Sin entered this world and made it an unperfect world, and Hayden will go through some illnesses and tough times and will be affected by other people's sins just as all of us are. My job is to be his mother and to raise him to rely on Christ rather than himself.

So, baby dedication on Sunday was an outward symbol of something I had done shortly after he was born. I was so glad I was able to do it publicly, but the most special moment definitely occured that night I cried while trying to feed him and gave him over to the Lord. I've been so blessed to see how Hayden has been taken care of through these first 9 months, 2 weeks, and 6 days of his life, and it hasn't been because of anything I've done. I'm so glad he and I went through those experiences those first 6 weeks of his life. I needed that to happen. I feel so lucky God hasn't given up on the mess that I am and that He continuously tries to mold me into someone who relies on Him. I am still a mess, but God hasn't let go of me and never will. I feel so lucky and so blessed.

On another note, Hayden has had his first real illnesses this month. Nine months of not having any real illness with no fever was bound to end at some point. He got a double ear infection 12 days ago, finished his medicine on Sunday for that, and went to the doctor today with viral tonsillitis. He's feeling pretty yucky, but it will work it's way out of his system.

Here's a picture of us from Sunday. I was just glad Hayden didn't leap out of Chris' arms and crawl up the aisle. :o)

Happy Birthday, Gus!

2009-05-05T21:22:00.008-05:00

Today marks Gus' 3rd birthday! Chris and I had been married for nearly a year, and we decided to get a dog. After all, you know what they say about keeping a plant alive, a dog alive, and a child alive. Well, we kind of broke the rules, because we killed the plants we had. But, we thought we might have some luck with a dog. A basset hound seemed like a good candidate for us, because we lived in an apartment at the time.

We bought Gus from a family in Grenada, MS. His parents were Fred and Lola. We were able to meet Lola, but Fred had been run over shortly after Lola got pregnant. We were, however, able to see the pictures of Fred and Lola's wedding. I mean, you have to explain the puppies to the children in a biblical manner...with a doggie marriage, of course...complete with a veil for Lola and a bow tie for Fred. We knew right away that Gus was the puppy we wanted out of the litter. He seemed to have the most personality, and the children had deemed him the favorite puppy. The family had named him Big Bubba, but we decided to change that to Gus. We won't go in to the reason for the name Big Bubba. :o)

Well, as you can see, we had more luck with the dog than we did with the plants. Gus threw us right into getting to see what parenthood is all about with all of his medical issues (complete with allergy shots), and he definitely showed us the importance of puppy-proofing your home. I won't even begin to tell you all the things this dog has eaten. I believe the entire container of onion flakes took the trophy. Or was it the pound of chocolate? Or the bottle of mint extract? I could name so many things. We definitely called animal poison control several times.

Gus enjoyed two years of indoor life before we moved into our new house, but the shedding and claws were not welcome inside our new home. Shortly after we moved in, Hayden entered the world, and poor Gus was not only banished outside but he was no longer the only child. The inhumanity of it all!

Along the same lines, Hayden has said his first word. I wanted to wait awhile before I deemed it his first word, because I wanted to make sure the association was there. He had been saying dada for forever and then added things like mama and baba and nana. He says those things, but the word association isn't there. In other words, he doesn't understand that Chris is dada or Missy is mama. Well, his first word is "Gu" or sometimes "Guk." That's right...I said it all along that his first word would be the dog's name. Hehehe.... Hayden's so cute standing there at the back door saying "Gu" over and over.

Happy Birthday, Gus or Gu or Guk. We love you, buddy!

Easter and A First Haircut

2009-04-30T14:13:00.005-05:00

This school year has flown by, and thankfully, my traveling to schools is finished. Don't get me wrong...I love working with my teachers and I do only travel once or twice a week, but I enjoy a nice, long summer break from traveling. I'm looking forward to summer, spending time with Hayden, maybe taking a trip with Chris, getting a tan and going to the pool (the tan didn't happen last summer when I was pregnant and on bedrest), organizing (one of my favorite things to do), and maybe even doing some decorating of my house. I mean, we have lived here nearly a year, so I figure a few pictures on the wall and around the house might be a good addition. Hehehe... :o)

Life here changes nearly every week, mainly because of Hayden and his new tricks. He seems to change almost overnight and learn new things faster than I can get used to the old, new things. He's starting to feed himself finger foods, but as hard as it is to believe (being nearly 25 pounds at 9 months of age...the size of the average 18 month old), he seems pretty picky. He definitely knows what he likes and what he wants. I can't really get him to eat anything mushy (like sweet potatoes or bananas). If he does eat those things, they usually go in the mouth and right out of the mouth, or they just end up mashed up between his fingers. He's figuring it out, though and figuring out the textures he likes. I don't think it would be a terrible thing if he lost a pound or two or maintained his current weight for a while...he's a heavy load for this girl to carry around.

He's really mastered the skill of pulling up now and is pulling up on everything (including me). The latest thing he has discovered is that he can pull up on our furniture finally (it was too tall for a while) and the toilet (good thing I clean) and the whirlpool tub (can't wait til he figures out what those knobs do). He has even done some real crawling (instead of his usual tummy-on-the-floor brand of crawling) in the past three days. He's figured out how to find me in the house and how to follow me around the house, so I have a constant shadow. Sometimes, I'll leave the room, come back, and find him wandering around the house trying to find me.

Hayden's first Easter was good but uneventful. He's too young to really do much of anything, but he did have a good time playing with the grass in his basket (pictures included below). I'll be glad when he can understand Easter and what it means and enjoy our wonderful Easter services at church...we had some really good ones this year.

We did get his first professional pictures taken (pretty late, I know) by a photographer in Clinton, Heather Bryant. She's quick, which is the best thing you can be when you are taking pictures of an infant. Hayden's first pictures were some Easter pictures with a real, live Easter bunny. Bingo was the pet of a friend of our photographer, and I promise you that they had tranquilized that poor bunny. Heather would just plop Bingo down next to Hayden, and he'd just sit there and was content to chew on a piece of grass or leaf. There was never any hopping or biting. Heather had a real carrot as a "prop." Hayden took hold of that carrot and put it right in his mouth and even took it and beat Bingo upside the head with it. It was super funny. Let me tell you...those pictures turned out super cute. He also took some regular 9-month pictures the next Friday, and we took some pictures as a family, too. I'm excited to finally be getting some pictures of Hayden and of our family.

The latest new thing was a new haircut yesterday! Hayden had a pretty good head full of hair when he was born, and it's been over his ears for a couple of months. I've held off for a while, but lately, I've really had to do some work with it to make it go behind his ears and prevent him from looking like a girl. I love those curls he's getting, but I can't handle the prospect of my son being called a girl with hair over his ears. My mom and I went yesterday to get our hair cut, and after we were both finished, I asked the lady who cuts my hair (Beverly) about Hayden's hair. Well, I asked her and showed her how it goes over his ears, and she started cutting. It was so quick and happened so fast, and Hayden did super good. He never cried or anything. He was a normal kid and squirmed a good bit, but a blueberry sucker (a rare treat, but everyone deserves a treat during their first haircut) that Beverly had helped out with the squirming and left him with a very blue mouth. My mom took some pictures and gathered locks of hair while I held Hayden, but we didn't get a picture that showed his blue mouth. I can't imagine what his mouth would have looked like if I had let him have the sucker afer his haircut...there was blue everywhere. He looks so cute now, and as much of a little man as he was before, he really looks like a little man now. I remember going with Tracie to Lindsey's first haircut when she was two, and I couldn't believe my 9 month old was getting his first haircut. Lindsey was actually old enough to say she wanted to go shopping for shoes after her haircut. :o)

I'm including some pictures of Easter, Hayden and his cousins, the first haircut, and post haircut. You'll notice Hayden's cousins hiding from Hayden in some of the pictures. They are so funny to watch when they're around each other.

Sitting, Standing, Scooting, Pulling Up, Laughing, Breathing Treatments, Teething, and A First Wedding

2009-04-08T16:49:00.014-05:00

As you can see from the title of my post, there's a lot going on in the Davidson household. Hayden has quickly moved from army crawling to sitting up on his own to standing using support and even pulling up to a standing position. He's quite the little daredevil. There isn't a whole lot of pulling up going on (we don't have a coffee table or low enough furniture), but he was doing it so well on his crib that we had to move his crib mattress all the way down to the bottom to prevent him from doing any middle of the night tricks. He loves pulling up on his knees using the fireplace and finds every drawer that will open, opens it, and pulls himself up to check out what is inside. He really loves standing up now and would do it all day long if he had someone behind him to make sure he didn't fall. He is especially fond of standing at the door and looking out at Gus. Oh, and he just got his third tooth in and has another coming in soon.

He's gotten quite good at his army crawl, and although he still doesn't pull his tummy off the floor, he is doing more of an alternating movement with his arms and legs that is more similar to real crawling. So often, he gets up on his knees and hands and rocks back and forth like he is ready to do a real crawl. He might make a few little crawling movements and then falls on his stomach and does his best bird flying impression. Whether he every really crawls or not, he can definitely get around very quickly and easily and is quite a handful. I call him our little garbage finder, because he is always finding new and exciting treasures on his journey and putting them in his mouth. Roomba is getting more of a workout than usual because of that.

Last week, I had to take Hayden to the doctor. Praise God that he's never been sick, sick or run a fever. Just a few colds and sinus infections along the way. About seven or eight weeks ago, I took him to the doctor for a little sinus infection, and he never really got over it. Last week, he had a lot of junk rattling around in his upper chest and was coughing through the night and even doing a little wheezing here and there, and I thought it would be best to get it checked out. Dr. Myers heard all of the junk rattling around and thought it would be best to start him on Singulair and breathing treatments to knock it out of his little bronchiole tubes. She thinks it's from allergies, and poor Hayden is doomed to have allergies in this family. Asthma runs in my family (my brother and niece), so we knew all about the nebulizer and breathing treatments. Hayden isn't too sure he likes his breathing treatments very much...mainly because he has to sit still. Most of the time, I end up having to put a mini wrestling move hold on him to get him to take it, and he really lets me know how unhappy he is with that. I'm hoping all of this will help break that junk out of him and help the allergies or whatever it is that is causing it.

This past weekend, we were so excited to go to my cousin's wedding in my little home town of Pelahatchie. I was so excited for Lee and Greg, and it was especially wonderful to see so many family members I had not seen in forever. Many of them had never met Hayden personally, and he was in proper form and really hammed it up. On Friday night, we went to a family dessert in honor of the couple, and Hayden was the life of the party. I think he was excited about being up past his bed time, or maybe the Singulair and breathing treatments had made him a little crazy. He was really funny and had a great time. I was also able to return to the church Chris and I were married in and that I grew up in. I had only been back to the church once since we were married, and it was really great to see so many people that I had not seen in years. It was so wonderful to see so many people I love so much and celebrate such a beautiful union.

Here are some pictures I've been meaning to post for a while. The ones in our back yard are from a really pretty day several weeks ago, and the standing up ones were probably two weeks ago or so. I'm also including a really cute video of him laughing. He has the funniest laugh. Here, he is laughing at his cousins, Lindsey and Kristopher. He really loves when they come over, and I love the cheap entertainment. :o)

Independent Man

2009-03-15T16:15:00.020-05:00

Hayden is growing so independent, and it is super exciting to watch. There are so many times I look at him or hold him or see him smiling his goofy new smile at me or get a kiss or hug from him (yes, he really does have his own way to kiss us), and I just wish I could freeze the moment so I can remember it. I don't want to freeze him in the moment, because it is my job as a parent to allow him to grow up and gain his independence. But, I do wish there was some way to freeze the moment so I'll be able to remember it.

During the first several months of parenthood, you are exhausted nearly the entire time. During those first several weeks, it just seems like a neverending cycle of sleep, eat, change diaper, then repeat. And when I say sleep, I don't mean that you as a parent are getting to sleep. You are just getting to watch your little one sleep all the time. They are so dependent on you, and I think it's so neat how God designed this whole stage in life and the slow progression towards independence. I know many parents get weepy about it (independence, that is), but for me, it is so exciting and fulfilling. Not to mention the fact that more independence on his part means more time for me to do some things around the house that need to be done. Hehehe....

These are just a few of the independent things he is doing now - drinking out of a sippy cup, feeding himself a bottle, rolling anywhere and everywhere he wants to go, doing a sort of army crawl across the floor (I'll have to video it so you can see what I mean), finding all of the door stoppers in the house and making them go boing over and over, taking the caps off the door stoppers (I have since removed them all after I found out he could remove them), unscrewing the door stoppers from the wall (he's a smart cookie and very strong), opening drawers in the kitchen, shimmying himself out of his carseat when he's not buckled in (that's when I realized it's time to get a new one), and finally sitting up! And, that's only to name a few! You can tell I have my hands full...and he's not even fully crawling yet.

Hayden kind of decided to be a late bloomer with the whole sitting up thing. He was getting around the house everywhere and had even moved up to the "crawler" room in Sunday School because of how fast he can roll and scoot around, but he would just not sit up. We had been trying to sit him up for a while, but he would always fall over within about 30 seconds of sitting him up. But, all of a sudden in the past week or two, he has decided to sit up finally.

You better not make fun of his sweet, chubby self...there are times when you can't even see the diaper! :o)

I had to include one that he wouldn't be embarrassed of later.

In the video, you'll be able to see his other favorite thing to do....put his feet in his mouth. In this video, he discovered he can do it sitting up. Such a neat trick! Sorry about how dark it is...I didn't turn on the lights in the living room before taking it.

And, on Saturday, I discovered his very first tooth! :o) I knew he had at least one coming in, but it finally began making its grand appearance on Saturday. I'll try to take a picture of it when it's up a little further.

I feel so lucky that God has gifted me with a child and has allowed me to experience seeing him slowly begin to gain his independence. I think that this week I might just leave him here at home by himself and go shopping. I'll be sure and leave a TV dinner in the freezer that he can heat up real quick. Or, since he finally has this tooth, I guess he could always call for pizza delivery with his play phone Mamaw got him. Hahaha....

Facing the Fear

2009-03-05T14:50:00.003-06:00

Something has been on my mind for the past couple of weeks, so I am just going to start writing and share it with you all, because....well, because I think I'm supposed to. Right now, I am doing a Beth Moore bible study on the book of Esther, and it has been SO good. I have always loved the book of Esther, but the way Beth has picked it apart has been amazing and brought new things to light to me about the book. First of all, you must know that this is one of only two books in the Bible that bear the name of a woman (the other being Ruth, of course), and the Bible study is appropriately named Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman. The Bible study is (obviously) geared towards women, but there are so many things that apply to people in general - both male and female...except maybe that week on beauty treatments. :o)

Anyway, we only have about three more weeks of bible study left, and it has been such a blessing. I would definitely recommend doing or leading this study if you have the chance. There are about ten weeks worth of lessons that you do at home as well as a DVD that you watch with the group. This study will truly speak to you.

Each week, Beth concentrates on a reason "it's tough being a woman." During this particular session I'm talking about, she talked about "It's tough being a woman in the tight fist of fear." I know the study is for women, but can't everyone just substitute their name right in there in place of "a woman." I surely can...It's tough being Missy in the tight fist of fear. Fear. We are all fearful. Do you all know the most frequent command in the Bible? Some would think it would have to do with love or repentance or honor. However, the most frequent command in the Bible is "Fear not!" And, by the way, that is not a coincidence, because God isn't about coincidences. Human nature is to fear.

You might be saying, “I’m not afraid of anything. I’ve never had a problem with fear.” Well, I hate to tell you (actually, I really don't), but you, my friend, are in denial. And, Beth says in the video that there is no denial in courage. Courage is looking flat in the face of "it" (your fear) and denying that it will have victory over you. It's not courageous to deny your fear's existence, but it is courage when you deny that it has authority over you. Can we all just say "Wow" real quick. Culture teaches us to "toughen up" and "to get over it." So, we take that idea and worldly thought and end up just shoving the fears to the back of our minds. When we choose to ignore and deny our fears, those fears continue to live in us and continue to have power over us.

So, we must overcome those fears. But how? Obviously, we need to face our fears and identify them. How would you fill in the blanks for the following statement? If ____, then ____. Isn't that how all our fears echo around in our minds? If my husband cheats on me, then I'll just die inside and never feel alive again. If my child dies, then I'll go into a deep depression and cry all the time. If I fail, then I'll look like a complete idiot and lose my self-image. If the economy grows worse, then I'll be left with no money. Go ahead. Fill in the blanks. There are endless possibilities. And, the possibilities don't all have to be that extreme. Many of you have read my hand sanitizer post. If you haven't read it, read it now (I linked it). I'll have to say it is my favorite post ever. I'll have to say this one, "If I forget my hand sanitizer, then I'll get sick." That doesn't sound like something terrible to think, but there is an extremely fine line in there where even seemingly small fears like that can take over our minds.

Beth then said that we must fill in the blanks like this, "If ____, then God." If ____, then God will take care of me. If my husband cheats on me, then God will take care of me. If my child dies, then God will take care of me. You get the point. If we allow anything but God to fill in that "then" blank, we will be left in the tight grip of fear.

Notice that the statement isn't "If ___, then God will take care of me and make it right." Well, He will make it right, but we might not get what we want. Our husband might cheat on us. Our child might die. We might lose our self-image. We might get sick. God doesn't always give us what we think might be the best thing, but we are promised that He will still take care of us. He will give us strength and love and grace and everything else we need to handle the situation. If we are a child of God, we are given that promise. And, amazingly, we will eventually move on and go about regular life. God doesn't want our conditional trust but our trust...period.

Courage comes from the Latin word meaning "cor," meaning heart....a heart, that is, that knows God loves you. There are numerous places in the bible where we are told to, "Take courage...." I've never really thought about it before, but notice that word "take." It's kind of like we are being told by Jesus, "Okay, here is some courage. Now, take it. Go ahead. It's right here." We just have to trust Him. Remember, if ____, then God! Since I heard that, I have been so tempted to take a Sharpie and write that really big on my mirror, but I don't think my husband would be too happy with that. We have an amazing God, don't we?

Our Little Traveler

2009-02-24T09:17:00.006-06:00

I took some pictures this morning of Hayden's travels across the floor. You'll be able to see his progression throughout the house. I stopped him once he got into the kitchen and brought him back in the living room, but he probably would have gone much further if I had let him. One of his favorite things to do (as you will see) is go to the back door and look out to see if Gus is at the back door. Hayden loves his brother, and Gus loves his brother, too. :o)

And, here he is....hitting the motherload! Turn the music off (or pause it) at the bottom before you play the video so you can listen.

I made two other posts today, so keep reading!

Attack of Roomba

2009-02-24T08:55:00.005-06:00

Both Chris and I don't like vacuuming....are there really many people out there who enjoy that job anyway? When we moved into our new house, some friends of mine came over to visit and both were talking about their Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners. I had heard of the Roomba, but I seriously doubted that they really worked all that well. After we heard both of them rave about their Roombas and after we read reviews online, we decided to use some of our economic stimulus money to stimulate the economy by buying a Roomba.

Well, I'm not sure we really stimulated the economy all that much, but we found a wonderful household addition when we bought Roomba. With a push of a button, Roomba zooms around the house vacuuming up all kinds of stuff. Yes, that's right....Roomba really works....and it works really well....trust me, I have serious allergies, and Roomba really gets so many more dust bunnies than our previous vacuum cleaner did. Roomba actually even helped with bug collection when we had our bug infestation after we moved in....long story by the way. Anyway, that's my plug for Roomba...go buy one!

Seemingly switching topics but not really, Hayden is always on the move. He absolutely loves rolling around everywhere. Roomba is currently plugged in and charging in our living room, and this weekend, Hayden visited Roomba. He has always liked watching Roomba do its thing, and I guess he thought he might roll over and give Roomba a visit. Chris and I were both busy working on our laptops and were halfway paying attention to Hayden when we hear the famous sound of Roomba....you can all hear the sound in your head if you have one and are reading right now. We look around the couch to see Hayden laying on the floor and Roomba attacking Hayden. Hayden apparently figured out how to turn Roomba on, and Roomba went straight for him. Hayden got upset, and Roomba kept trying to suck him up. Roomba actually took Hayden for a ride for a second, because it managed to get up underneath him. All Chris and I could do is sit there a laugh for a while. Needless to say, Hayden was somewhat traumatized and wouldn't even get down on the floor for a while until I got down with him.

It obviously didn't traumatize Hayden too bad, because he went and visited Roomba yesterday. He stayed far enough away to make sure Roomba didn't attack him, though. Hehehe... He has such a personality!

RIVERDANCE

2009-02-24T08:03:00.007-06:00

This past weekend, several girls (and several of our moms) from our church headed off to Memphis to see Riverdance. Yes, that's right...I went to see those Irish dancers who have amazing fast, fancy footwork do their "thang." :o) We made it a day trip and all rode together, and after lots of laughs along the way, we made it to the rainy city of Memphis. We met my friend Leslie there, and it was so good to see her. I've mentioned Leslie before...she is the amazing person who managed to put up with and live with me and all my randomness for four years in college.

We enjoyed some fantastic ribs at Charlie Vergos Rendezvous, which is one of my all-time favorite places to eat ribs (Dreamland BBQ is right there with them). After stuffing ourselves full of ribs, we headed off to Riverdance at the Orpheum Theatre. What a combination by the way - ribs and Riverdance!

The show was great! My favorite part was an act that included some hilarious tap dancers and some Riverdancers. You can see something like it (not quite like we saw it but pretty close) here. I would definitely recommend seeing this amazing show if it ever comes close to where you live!

The Riverdance Group

Leslie and I

An Update on the Davidsons

2009-02-19T15:39:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone! I know, I know....It's been way too long since I've blogged. Anyway, I'll try to give y'all an update on the last several weeks. This post will kind of be a smorgasbord of information, but here you go. Hayden is, of course, growing, growing, growing. He had to go to the pediatrician's office yesterday (just to get two shots...his second dose of the flu vaccine), and they weighed him while he was there. 23 pounds, 2 ounces! He is one big boy!

A couple of weekends ago, it was really pretty and warm outside, so we took Hayden outside for a while. Gus (our friendly bassett hound) was ecstatic to be around his brother. Because it has been so cold, the two haven't really been around each other very much other than to look at each other through the back door. Gus did meet him the day he came home and gave him a lick or two to welcome him into the family, and when he saw him this time, he practically bathed the child with slobber. Hayden loved it, Gus loved it, and Chris and I were both laughing. We put Hayden in his Bumbo, and Gus decided he needed to tell Hayden all about his problems. Gus was super protective of Hayden...it was really cute. When he (Gus) would hear a frog croaking or a dog barking, he would rush over to Hayden and sit beside him. Oh, the love of a dog.

During Valentine's weekend, Chris and I enjoyed a little bit of a child break. Chris' mom and sister took Hayden off our hands Friday evening, and we had a little time to ourselves Friday and Saturday night. It was really nice to have this, and I think every married couple needs a little time away from the kids every once in a while. On Valentine's Day, we made a trip to Gulfport and ate at Emeril's Gulf Coast Fish House....yum, yum! It was super good. If you ever have a chance to go to Emeril's, take the chance. We've been twice to the one that was in Atlanta and twice to one in New Orleans, and all three restaurants have been super good. We headed back towards Clinton on Sunday and met my mom, who had gotten Hayden. I love my two Valentine men so much! I am so blessed to have both...Chris, Hayden....oh, and don't forget about Gus!

Today, I went swimming at the Y in Flowood and then needed to go shopping for a swim suit and for a shower gift for my cousin. My mom helped me out by going with me and doing a little baby-sitting while I was doing my shopping. We put Hayden in one of the buggies at Belk, and boy, did he love it! He flashed that grin all along the way. You'll see in my pictures below the result of the trip....needless to say, shopping is hard work for a little boy!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the last few weeks. Enjoy!

25 Random Things About Me....

2009-01-29T07:59:00.005-06:00

Wow! This tagging thing is catching on like crazy, but it's kind of fun. This tag came from Kimberly, and these were the instructions. I am supposed to write a list of 25 random things about me. Then, I am supposed to tag 25 people as well as the person who tagged me. So, here goes...

I love to swim. Although I have fallen behind the last couple of weeks, I usually swim 3 times a week. I started it after I had Hayden.
I absolutely LOVE ice cream and could eat it all the time. My favorite? Maggie Moos and Cold Stone...they mix whatever you want in your ice cream...what could be better than that?
I really enjoy cooking. My specialty? Cheesecakes and baking. I'm thinking about turning the cheesecake thing into a semi-business during the holidays.
I'm a huge math and science nerd, especially math. Almost everything I see, I relate to math in some way. I'm weird.
I can't stand eating semi-warm food. It has to be piping hot.
When I eat a hamburger that I cook myself, I have to tear the cheese off the corners (the cheese that hangs off the edge) and distribute it evenly on my burger.
Chris and I met on a blind date our freshman year. We were married 4 years later and were only engaged for 14 weeks. We were ready to get married, and my mom and I are quick planners. :o)
I am so glad I have a God who sent His Son to die for me. I am so glad that being a Christian and going to heaven is as easy as confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and believing in your HEART that God raised him from the dead. (Romans 10:9)
I've broken both of my feet, in the matter of only a couple of months. Oh, and I should probably add that I broke them both falling down the SAME stairs. Clumsy, I know!
I enjoy playing tennis, but I haven't played since before I was pregnant.
I grew up in the big city of Pelahatchie, MS but went to school at Brandon. My parents were both educators in Brandon, so that's why I got to go to a different school.
My brother and I both raised pet cows (these were calves who had moms that died). My brother had Alex and D.C. (stood for da' cow), and I had Alexandra (one of Alex' calves).
We also (mostly my mom and I) raised a baby squirrel we named Timber. It fell out of its mother's nest. Timber died after we let it go.
I enjoy playing cards.
I was a member of Delta Gamma sorority at Mississippi State, and I love my Room 211 girls!
I wear a coat a lot of the time when I'm inside, and it drives my sweet husband crazy!
I love trout fishing, and my mom and I make a trip to Heber Springs, AR every year.
I love Burt's Bee balm...it's a great chapstick.
I had three hernia surgeries in one year in college, and all three were rare for me to have. I usually manage to defy medical odds. My brother says I should donate my body to science.
My full name is Melissa Doris Patrick Davidson, but since I've been married, I'm Melissa Patrick Davidson. Doris is my grandmother's name. I've been called Missy since I was born, though.
I love being a wife and a mom.
My mom drank castor oil to get me here. She must have been ready to not be pregnant anymore. She laughed (happily) when I was born and she found out I was girl. Probably because she was so tired of dealing with my dorky brother. Hehehe...
I am really perplexed why the Germ-X and Purell bottles (even Clorox cleaner) all say that they kill 99.9% of germs. Is anyone else wondering about the other 0.1% of germs, or is it just me?
I really hope my child doesn't like Barney and Baby Bop. I find them extremely annoying. I'm more of a Pooh girl.
I am not a decorator. Just come look at my house! I do hope to get it decorated a little along the way, though.

Okay, that's it! Whew, I thought I'd never finish. Now, I have to tag 25 different people. So, if you are reading this and you have a blog, that means you - especially Tracie, Robyn, Mary Lee, Lori, Dee Dee, Ginny, Tiffany, Jill, and Melissa! Don't pretend like you didn't read this and skip out on this fun activity. Do it, or else! Hehehe... Oh, and if you have a blog and I don't have your blog address, post a comment to give me your blog address.

6 Months Old!

2009-01-22T07:33:00.004-06:00

I can hardly believe that Hayden is 6 months old today! I know that the one year mark for a baby is always super exciting, but I'm almost as super excited about him being 6 months old. The last half of a year has been so wonderful, and Hayden has definitely filled this house with so much joy and excitement. Chris and I love our "Little Man" so much!

Hayden in his high chair...That's sweet potatoes on his mouth!

Last Thursday, I had to take Hayden to the pediatrician because of a sinus infection, so they went ahead and did his 6-month checkup and shots then...since he wasn't running any fever. Hayden came in at a whopping 21 pounds and remains in the 95th-97th percentile for his height, weight, and head circumference. He was a really big boy when he got his shots and only cried for a few seconds, just long enough to make the pretty nurse feel sorry for him...he is such a ham and flirt! Oh, and he's feeling much better after getting some Amoxicillin...he loves that pink stuff!

Hayden has lots of new tricks he loves to do. Since a little before three months old, he has been rolling over, but last week, he moved from rolling over one way to rolling clear across the room. And, a 6 month old who is 21 pounds and as long/tall as he is can get across the room pretty quickly when he wants to. He's beginning to pull himself up to a sitting position when he's in my lap, but he can't quite get the balance right to sit up on the floor by himself.

One of the other things he is doing is something Chris and I call "kissing me." He loves to put his hands on both sides of my face, bring my face toward his, and put his entire mouth around my chin. I think it has something to do with teething, but it is super cute. He's done it to Chris a couple of times, but he does it to me ALL the time. One morning, Chris was holding Hayden, and Chris gave me a kiss goodbye. Right after that, Hayden grabbed my face, put my chin in his mouth, and then let go with a smile like, "There you go, Mommy. There's your kiss from me." Also, I'm pretty sure I won't end up with any hair after this whole hair pulling stage is over!

Even though he can't totally sit up by himself yet, we've started feeding him in his high chair and letting him ride in his stroller without his car seat. He especially loves riding in his stroller, because he loves people and being able to watch people. He just rides and smiles and flirts. What a ham!

Hayden in his stroller...ready to go!!!

Oh, and I'll give everyone an update on the pacie adventure. He did great when we took the pacie away, or I guess I should say that he did great after I broke his pacie. We had two nights of screaming when we put him to bed, and that was it! It was remarkably easy.

Happy 6 month old birthday, Little Man. We love you!

I've Been Tagged...Thanks, Tracie!

2009-01-15T14:04:00.004-06:00

Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Tracie, I've been tagged. So, here goes. These are the instructions: Go to my picture folder on my computer, go to the fourth folder and the fourth picture in that folder, post it, and explain it...no cheating.

Now, this really is funny, Tracie...and you can tell my brother that YOU were the one who put me up to this. First of all, I have two "My Pictures" Folders on my computer, so I figured I should go to the first "My Pictures" folder I ever created. So, I browsed, went to the fourth folder and the fourth picture, and this is what I found.

This picture is one I scanned into my computer from my wedding. This, of course, is my brother kissing me. And, now, he's really going to kill me. Oh dear! I didn't cheat, I promise.

Now, I'm suppoed to tag four other people. I tag Tiffany Brooks, Melissa Cook, Dee Dee Williams, and Kimberly Neyland. Follow the instructions to the "T."

A Sweet Baby's Journey

2009-01-13T15:24:00.002-06:00

Magdalena Grace Roberts. I have never met her nor have I ever met her parents, and she was only 5 months, 1 week old today. To be so young and so little, her story has been one that has affected me and many other people. I first learned of Magdalena when she was in her mommy's belly. When Magdalena's mother, Julie, was 22 weeks pregnant, Julie and her husband, Noah, learned that they would be having a little girl, but the healthy, little girl they hoped for would be a little girl with a terminal chromosomal abnormality, Trisomy 18. Julie's sister is in my Sunday School class and Bunko group, and Julie's due date was 2 weeks after mine, so I quickly became engrossed in Magdalena's journey into the world.

I hoped that Julie and Noah would be able to spend at least one day with Magdalena, and they did. I hoped that they would be able to spend Christmas with her, and they did. I hoped Magdalena would beat all the odds and be one of the less than 5% of Trisomy 18 babies who make it to their first birthday, but Magdalena did not. This morning, Magdalena went to be with Jesus. Her short life was one that brought many people, including me, into a greater faith in Jesus Christ, and her parents were so gracious to share her sweet story with so many people. I've had their blog link on the side of my blog for a while now, and I imagine some of you have been following her story at http://noahandjulieroberts.blogspot.com/. If you haven't read Magdalena's story, you need to right now! Beginat May 2008.

My heart breaks for Magdalena's family, and I have been brought to tears several times today thinking about how much her family must be grieving right now. I can't imagine losing a child. But, right now, Magdalena is with Jesus and has a perfect body that isn't plagued by a bad heart, a heart monitor, and a feeding tube. Please pray for the Roberts family.

No More Pacie

2009-01-02T14:45:00.010-06:00

Chris and I have declared war on the pacie, and we will win! While Hayden was in the hospital after his birth, the nurses, of course, asked if we wanted to use a pacie, and our answer was a definite, "YES!" Hayden has always loved them...and so have we. They were great "plugs," as we sometimes called them and helped us get some much needed rest at times. However, the pacie has lately been declaring war on us. In the past month, Hayden has become dependent on his pacie...especially at night. His waking has become more frequent, and everytime he wakes, he thinks he needs the pacie to go back to sleep.

I was reading about it online, and apparently, around 4-5 months of age, babies begin developing associations. One of the big associations they develop are sleep associations. In other words, I need this pacie to be able to go back to sleep. Sometimes, these associations can be good things, but sometimes (like in our case), they can become a problem. On New Year's night, I was up with him every 30-45 minutes during the night, meaning that I was able to sleep for about 15 minutes before he woke up crying and wanting his pacie. And, as all of you parents know, sleep is a very important thing to have to get through the next day.

Chris usually takes night duty two nights during the weekend, and he declared war this morning. He wants Hayden to quit this pacie thing cold turkey and is prepared for two entire nights of screaming if that's what it takes. I thought I might find another idea that might help break Hayden of his pacie addiction, and I think I've found a great idea! An idea that almost seems cruel and inhumane. Break the pacie! Apparently, you can put a hole in the end of the pacie, and the pacie loses its suction....hence, the pacie is broken. Cruel, probably, I know....but I'll be a better parent if I can get some sleep.

When I tried it the first time, I was kind of doubtful that it would work. I gave Hayden the pacie with the hole in it, and within 1 second, he spit it out. He looked at it with a kind of puzzled look, put it in his mouth, and spit it back out. We continued this over and over until he resorted to talking to his pacie. I know we'll probably still have some crying fits, but at least I can give him his pacie...which is what he wants. The pacie is broken, but he gets mad at the pacie instead of being mad at me for not giving it to him.

Hopefully, Hayden will soon get better with finding his thumb, and he can be soothed by that. In the meantime, I introduced a new "pacie" to him...a bear blanket Chris and I bought him before he was born. My niece, Lindsey, had a "green" (a green blanket) that she still sleeps with, and a blanket is much easier to find than a pacie. After about 10 minutes (which seemed like much longer) of screaming at the top of his lungs, Hayden is actually taking a little nap in his crib with his bear blanket. Here's a picture of him napping. The lights are off, but the flash on the camera was on. I think I might safety pin the blanket to his sleep positioner so he can't get it quite that close to his mouth, but I think we are starting to see some success already.

I wrote most of this earlier in the day, but I was trying to load some videos with not much luck. I'll try again tomorrow and add them to the post then. Just a quick update...so far, pretty good. He took a two hour nap this afternoon, and I had to wake him up. It took 30 minutes of violent screaming for him to go to sleep tonight, but he's asleep now. Hopefully, he won't make tonight too difficult. We'll see. :o)

Christmas Fun...

2008-12-30T08:56:00.008-06:00

Christmas was wonderful for the Davidson family! Last Monday, we headed off to Columbus to have Christmas with Chris' mom (MaMaw), sister, and niece (and Samson, Kelli's dog). I'm normally super busy before the holidays cooking food to take to all of the relatives' houses, but this year, I took a break from cooking to just soak in all the wonderful time with family. We had a very yummy brunch Tuesday morning at MaMaw's house and then all opened presents. Hayden was so excited to receive lots of fun gifts and was especially excited about all of his big boy clothes and his MSU baseball piggy bank.

We headed off Tuesday evening for my mom's house to spend Christmas in the Hatchie (or Pelahatchie, as some call it) with my mom (Gran), brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew (and Gus and Bridgett, the dogs of the family). My brother and Tracie had bought their kids (or was it really for them?) a Nintendo Wii with some money my grandmother gave them and had evidently already allowed them to open it before the holidays. We plugged it in Tuesday night and played it most of the time, and oh my, is it addicting or what? We had lots of fun playing games from the Wii Sport pack that comes with the Wii as well as Mario Kart. Oh yeah, and Christmas....we actually did have Christmas. We ate a yummy lunch provided by my mom on Christmas Eve and then opened presents. We even stopped long enough to take a family photo.

Around dinner time on Christmas Eve, Chris and I headed back to Clinton so we could get ready for Santa's first visit to Hayden. Chris and I also opened our gifts to each other that night...Chris got me a beautiful antique, pearl/diamond ring....I was super excited...it's beautiful! After that, we had to make sure the chimney was ready for Santa to come, and I think it must have been ready and that Hayden must have been good....because Hayden got lots of fun things from Santa...a jumper, a Teddy Ruxpin, some books, a musical table, a MSU Mr. Potato Head, and a lamb that you can load songs onto. After Santa's visit Christmas morning, we had a family brunch at my house. Hayden jumped in his jumper the whole time! He loves that thing!

On the day after Christmas, Chris and I did one of the most senseless things we've ever done. We went shopping! We had to take my ring back to Albriton's to get it sized, and then, we headed off in search for a Wii of our own...we were addicted to Kris and Tracie's Wii. After a long search, we found some in stock at the Game Stop in Clinton. Well, let me tell you, I really don't think it was senseless for us to buy a Wii (because we used some Christmas money to buy it), but it was super senseless to stand in a line THAT long for a Wii. We couldn't even use the excuse that we were standing in line for our children, because Hayden was obviously fast asleep in his stroller, not too worried about the Wii. But, after a long stay in Game Stop, we have our Wii and our Mario Kart game.

That evening, I was able to see some of my college friends. I meant to take some pictures but didn't. Leslie lives in Memphis and was my college room-mate for all 4 years and my matron of honor...can you believe someone would actually WANT to live with me for 4 years? :o) Abby lives here in Ridgeland and was one of my roomies in the sorority house, and Elizabeth lives in Portland, Oregon and was my roomie one year in the sorority house and my big sis in the sorority. It was great to see all of them!

Since then, Chris, Hayden, and I have just been enjoying quality time with each other. Chris is out of work through Thursday of this week, so Hayden and I have really enjoyed our time with him. We've just been Wii nerds most of the time, but it sure is fun to all be nerds here together.

We are so blessed! Hope you enjoy our pictures. I'm even posting a video of Lindsey and I racing each other on the Wii....and, yes, that is a Pearl shirt I have...from my days of teaching there. Oh, and Lindsey was right...I did smoke her on Mario Kart...but she made it a really close game! I have some video of Hayden's Christmas morning that I'll try to load from the video camera sometime soon.

So Thankful...

2008-12-25T16:05:00.003-06:00

It might seem like a weird title for a blog entry on Christmas, since Thanksgiving would be the natural time for reflection about being thankful. But, it seems right to me, because that is how I feel today. As I sit here right now, I am full from visiting family members and having lots of yummy food, and I am also brimming with thankfulness.

I am thankful for Hayden, our little gift from God. He is such a bright light during this holiday season and is such a reminder of joy that I can't help but smile when I see his sweet, happy, smiling face. Around this time last year, I knew I was pregnant, but it didn't seem quite real. It didn't seem real that such a special gift could be with us this year, and I had no idea of the love that I would have for the little baby growing inside of me. Shortly after Hayden was born, I had a short time (when certain things I wanted to work out weren't working out) when I got upset because I felt like I wasn't providing things that Hayden needed. During that time, God taught me that Hayden isn't mine. He is God's, and God has chosen to give him to Chris and I to take care of and grow under His loving wing. I hope I continue to realize this and that I remember daily to thank God for the gift that he has given us.

I am thankful for my husband, who has chosen me to be my life partner. Chris is such a wonderful man. We met on a blind date when we were freshmen in college, and the rest is history. We were engaged in April 2004 and were married in July 2004...a 3 month engagement, because we were READY to be married. During our first year of marriage, we were tested time and time again with one hardship after another, and basically, our marriage was either going to sink or swim during that trying time in our lives. Thankfully, that time only made us closer together and more determined to stay together and keep our marriage vows. I am so thankful for such a Godly man and to have such a wonderful friend and husband. And, he has given Hayden a wonderful Dad. It means so much to me to have Chris in my life. God sent him to me. I know He did. If you know much about our story, you know what I mean.

I am thankful for family and friends. We have just returned from what seems like a whirlwind of get-togethers with family, and I am so thankful for that time. These family members have performed so many roles in our lives and have provided us so much support, love, friendship, direction, and fun during our lives! In the upcoming days, I am going to be getting together with some friends I haven't seen in a while. God has sent so many wonderful people into my life. I am more blessed than I can ever deserve.

And, most of all, I am thankful for Christ, the gift that we celebrate today. I am thankful that He came into the world to become a man and to be the perfect example to us and show us what our relationship with God and other people should be. I am thankful that He came to die on a cross to redeem the sins that I commit daily. I am thankful for the grace that is given to us each day...just enough grace to handle all the hurt and hardship and confusion that will happen that day. I am thankful that when life seems to make no sense that we can rest in the promise that God is sovereign in all things. I am thankful that I have been given all the people and things that I am so thankful for, but ultimately, God is all I really need. Time and time again, people will upset and will come and go. If we place our hope and trust in people, we will always be upset. But, God is our constant companion and will never leave us. Is it hard to remember that? Absolutely! So many times, it is so easy to let people and things come before what is most important, but God continuously forgives me for being so selfish. Thank you, God, for sending your perfect Son into the world and for sacrificing Him so that we all (those who believe and accept Him as their Lord and Savior) might live in this world and look forward to a perfect world with no hardship and no sin.

On a different note...I know I haven't been the greatest at keeping my blog updated this month, but preparing for the holidays with a (now) 5 month old is more difficult than I thought. Anyway, I will be updating my blog with some events from the month in the upcoming week, so look back occasionally.

Merry Christmas! May your holidays be Merry and filled with joy!

It's Beginning to Feel alot Like Christmas

2008-12-08T19:17:00.002-06:00

I have just come to realize that Christmas is right around the corner. This is a wonderful and exciting thing, except when you have hardly done anything to prepare. Hayden has just a few Christmas gifts, and that's about it...so if you are expecting to get a gift from us this year, hope you don't have your hopes too high. Hehehe...

Anyway, I have just ordered Christmas cards, and they should be here on Friday. Yay! I've never done Christmas cards, so this will be a new adventure for me. I was going to try to get a picture of Chris, Hayden, and I outside at my mom's house, because we only have two pictures of the three of us - one from the hospital and one from the beach trip when Hayden was 5 weeks old. But, it's been too cold to get Hayden outside since I had the idea. So, I created my own "photo studio" at the house this past week, and I took some pictures of Hayden myself. After a little editing with a free program I downloaded to edit out a huge line of drool, I'm really pleased with how the picture I decided on turned out.

Chris and I also purchased a Christmas tree for our house this weekend. We have the Christmas tree I used to help Pap (my grandfather on my mom's side) put up at my grandparent's house, and I'll always keep it since it's so special to me. We'll probably use that tree for all of Hayden's future hand-made ornaments. The tree we bought is a 9 foot pre-lit tree (artificial because of my allergies). One of the things about having a house of my own that I have most looked forward to was having a big tree in the front that you could see from the street. Strange thing to want so much, probably, but it's always been my dream. Well, our tree is right in our front foyer, and it will look even better when I actually buy some ornaments for it. Chris is also going to put some lights outside sometime this week. I'll take some pictures of our Christmas decorations when we get it all done.

We even had a little taste of Christmas this weekend, because we went out to eat with my mom's side of my family at a restaurant called Biaggis. The food was great, and it was great to see everyone. Hayden had never met most of them, so he had lots of fun getting passed around before the food came. Madi, one of my cousin's children, really loved holding Hayden and was even excited about changing his diapers. I would love for her to come live with me if she's that excited about changing his diapers. :o) Anyway, I'm posting some pictures from our get-together. It's so wonderful for me to see a picture of my grandmother with all of those great-grandchildren. Some of the pictures at the end aren't the greatest, so if I get some better ones from Tracie or my mom, I'll add those later.

A Really Great Book

2008-12-04T08:57:00.006-06:00

Okay, I have just finished reading an outstanding book, and it is so outstanding that I must put a plug in for it on my blog. The book is called The Shack, and you'll also notice that I've added a JPEG with a link to the book's website on the side of my blog as well as a link under some of our most visited websites. First, you must understand that I'm not as avid of a reader as I was in my younger years, which is probably caused by letting the business of this world invade my life in more areas than I should. Anyway, I have recently decided that I would try to set aside more time to read more books, and this book was a great place to start.

I was introduced to the book by our guide when we went trout fishing, who gave the book to my mom. My mom read it in two sittings, and she passed it on to me. It sat unread for about a week on my dresser until I picked it up two days ago. Well, I read the book in two sittings, too. I read 60 pages or so the first day and the other 185 the next day. It was that good. I passed it on to Chris last night, who read until 1 am in the morning (even though he had to go to work this morning). I know I keep saying this, but I'm telling you - This is one good book!

I won't go too deep into the book, because as my mom and Chris can tell you, if I start talking about a book, I will give the entire plot of the book. (I'm not too big on summarizing...I'd rather just tell the entire story.) I will say that it gives one of the most intimate pictures of a human's personal relationship with God than any other book I've ever read. The book is fiction, but don't dismiss it because of that, please. There are so many things you will find that relate to you personally. I even had a character in the book named after me...well, not named after me personally, but you know what I mean.

Feel free to visit the website, where you can read more about the book and even can read the foreward and first chapter in the book. Oh, and my mom says she found the book at Wal-Mart, so go buy yourself a copy and read it, please. I guess I must say that you need to be open when you read the book. There's one kind of weird thing in the book, but it serves a purpose. And, there's one paragraph that I totally disagree with theologically, and you'll find that on page 182. If you read the book, please don't take everything the book has to say literally. There are times when the author might seem univeral in regards to religion, but if you read this book in context and know scripture enough to discern for yourself what you are reading, something in the book will grip you and make you rethink your walk and evaluate your faith. The book has been praised by people like Michael W. Smith and Eugene Peterson (author of The Message) and criticized and called heresy by many others, but if you read it with discernment, I believe anyone can get something out of it. After all, we as Christians are called to demonstrate discernment with everything we hear and read. I'll leave you with the summarization on the back of the book.

"Mackenzie Allen Phillips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!"

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-01T17:21:00.006-06:00

We had a great and fun Thanksgiving as a family, but we're pooped from all the traveling and turkey-eating. On Wednesday when Chris got off work, we headed to Columbus to Chris' mom's house. We spent Wednesday and Thursday nights with MaMaw, Kelli, and Brianna and then headed off to Starkville on Friday around lunch for Hayden's first visit to the home of the Bulldogs. Chris and I ate at one of our favorites (as if we hadn't already had enough food), The Grill, and then did a little shopping for Hayden. We headed off to Pelahatchie for my mom's house Friday evening and had Thanksgiving with Gran, my brother, Tracie, Lindsey, and Kristopher on Saturday. Chris, Hayden, and I all arrived back in Clinton Saturday night very tired, very stuffed, and very much thankful for the time we were able to spend with family.

Hayden was a very good traveler (as always) and had a great first Thanksgiving with us. I can't even begin to explain how thankful Chris and I are for the gift that God has given us in Hayden. He continues to change everyday. He's really doing well with his rice cereal and as of Saturday began opening his mouth in readiness for his food. We've also added a little bit of bananas to his cereal a couple of times, and he REALLY loves that.

Now, as Christmas time is approaching, I must also say that I am most thankful for the gift God has given us in His Son, Jesus Christ. I hope that as the business of the Christmas holidays approaches that I can constantly remember the true reason for the season, the celebration of Christ's birth. On that note (Christmas, that is), I hope you all enjoy the Christmas music that is now on our blog...I could listen to these songs all year long.

Here are some Thanksgiving pictures for y'all to enjoy!

Hayden really enjoyed Gran's exersaucer, and I just had to share this video. He figured out he could jump in it and really went to town after that. You'll really enjoy Gran's comment at the end of the video...I don't think it worked, by the way. Hehehe....

Our Little Big Man

2008-11-22T08:30:00.009-06:00

Yesterday, Hayden went for his 4-month checkup and shots, and I was shocked to see how big he was. He weighed 18 pounds, 1 ounce! Wow, now that is a chunk! He is in the 95th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height, so it's good that his height and weight are proportional. The doctor came in, and one of the first questions she asked me was if he was eating alright. I laughed and asked her if he looked like he skipped too many meals.

Anyway, he didn't do as well with these shots and screamed alot longer than he did with his last shots, but he felt remarkably well all day yesterday. I think he already had his feelings hurt at the office, because I had scratched his face up earlier when I was taking off his outfit...that 18 pounds is a lot of body to pull those outfits over. :o)

Along with turning 4 months old comes the exciting adventure of starting cereals and baby food. Hayden had his first experience with eating rice cereal and with eating out of a spoon last night. It was truly hilarious, but he did really well with it.

This is me feeding Hayden his first bites of rice cereal. The camera man wasn't doing too well. I got better with feeding him by the end of the bowl, but you'll see here that I definitely didn't have expert technique. I did do better than the first time I ever fed my niece baby food...my mom can vouch for how terribly I did feeding Lindsey when she was a baby. Hehehe.....

This is Chris feeding Hayden later. The canmera woman has a little better skills, and Dad sure did do great feeding Hayden. Oh, and you'll hear us talking about how he would never finish that much and me saying that I mixed too much. Well, he finished the whole bowl, and it didn't take him too long to do it. By the time Chris fed him, you can see he was really enjoying himself and was really excited and happy about getting some real food!

And, here are some pictures.

You can tell he enjoyed the experience a lot. :o) I just can't wait for carrots and peas and bananas and other things to come. I'll be sure and get a bib next time, though. :o)

A Fishin' Trip

2008-11-21T13:05:00.007-06:00

This past Sunday, we left for our yearly trout fishing trip to the Little Red River in Heber Springs, Arkansas. My mom has been going yearly (sometimes several times a year) since 2001, and I have been going yearly since 2002 or 2003...I can't remember. Chris went for his first time last year and loved it, so he went back with my mom and I. Chris' mom also went to watch Hayden for us. Thanks, MaMaw for doing that for us!

Anyway, we had a great fishing trip! Usually, if we go about this time, we hit the trout spawn, and there are trout everywhere. However, due to some issues with dissolved oxygen levels and details I won't go into, the spawn is running a little late this year, so the fish weren't quite as willing to bite or willing to come out from their trout hiding places. All in all, after two days of fishing, the three of us (Chris, my mom, and I) caught 5 fish total...usually, that number would be much higher. I will say this, though....we definitely caught the biggest fish that we saw there. Chris caught one that was about 25.5 inches, and my mom caught one that was about 24 inches.

The great thing about going trout fishing is the place where we fish. We always stay at a place called Lindsey's Rainbow Resort and go out with one of their guides, Jared Lindsey. I would definitely recommend Lindsey's to anyone who has ever wanted to go fishing in Arkansas. The people there are great, and they have really quaint little cabins. I would also definitely recommend Jared as a guide if you go....that is, if you can take a little ridicule and joking from your guide. Hahaha.... We always fish at a place called Beech Island, a tiny little island just a little ways down from the resort. As you will be able to tell from the pictures, it is truly beautiful. There are many times I just sit down on the side of the bank (after my fishing arm is tired from catching all those fish), and I just relax and think about how amazing it is that God could create such a beautiful place. I almost said probably, but I will take the word probably out of there....It is my favorite place to be. I can go and not catch any fish and not really care.

Now that being said, I do still love to catch fish, but you will see from the pictures that noone was too worried about taking any pictures of me fishing or catching a fish...I did catch ONE fish. :o) There's one little video of me catching a fish that ended up getting loose from the hook later. Well, I'll tell you why noone took a picture of me catching a fish. That's because they are jealous of all the big fish I've caught in the past years of fishing. I've taken the past two years off from catching big fish, but after all the ridicule I got this year, I'm ready to show them all what I can do next year. Hahaha.... Just kidding, of course.

I'm especially glad Chris caught a nice-sized fish this year, since he didn't catch a big one last year. My mom caught her first really big one last year (a 30-inch brown trout). Anyway, I'll show them next year and catch a big one. My two years of not catching a big fish are over!

I did manage to do something I had never done before. I netted (is that a word?) one of the fish my mom caught while Jared and Chris were on the other side of the island. I can only imagine how funny it must have looked to see me holding the net with two hands chasing that fish around in the water, but I managed to get it in the net. My mom said it was quite hilarious!

Also, while we were down there, I celebrated turning 28-years older (November 18). It was a beautiful place to turn a year older. My mom, Chris' mom, Chris, Hayden, and I went to eat at a place called Michael's with our guide, Jared; his wife, Ashley; and their daughter, Ella Grace. Ella is only 6 weeks older than Hayden, and she is just too cute! I think my mom arranged a marriage between Hayden and Ella Grace. Her big plan is to have Hayden marry Ella so that Hayden can become a trout fishing guide and so that she and I can go fishing every year for free. Sounds like a plan to me! Hayden and Ella really enjoyed meeting each other...Ella is an agressive girl and really took a liking to Hayden...she grabbed on to him quickly. It was too cute!

Oh, the other eventful thing that happened was that my mom ended up in the emergency room. She managed to get a hook in her finger all the way through to the barb, so she had to go get it cut out of her finger. She's fine, though....and even somehow managed to drive herself to the hospital in Heber Springs with a barbed hook through her finger. Owww!!! She said they have a tackle box at the hospital dedicated to cutting off rings and getting fish hooks out of fingers...they must see a lot of hooks through fingers.

Here's a video of Chris' big fish.

Here's the only proof that I actually fished.

A few pictures from a great fishing trip!

A Need for a Little Transparency

2008-11-12T08:49:00.004-06:00

If y'all will allow me, I feel the need to be a little transparent and share something with you. I can't really explain why I'm sharing all of this other than that I'm supposed to. I admit that I can be wordy at times, but I'll do my best to keep it simple. So, here goes. I have two confessions to make before I really get into the "meat" of what I want to say.

First of all, I enjoy blog surfing. That's right! During occasional free moments or during those times when I just feel like escaping to someone else's world, I will get on fellow friends' blogs and look at the blogs of people they know and then the blogs of people those people know and so on. I find it so interesting and definitely recommend it. Some would call it blog stalking...I just like to think I'm getting to know a variety of people. Hehehe.... Anyway, when I am getting to know these new "friends," I often find some very interesting posts, and recently, I have found a very interesting post that I want to share with all of you. At least, I will share it with you after I share my next confession.

What is that next confession, you might ask? Well, I am a control freak. One of my greatest struggles is to let go of control that I so often want to grasp onto. I won't belabor much about this or go into very much detail, but during several times in my life, it has seemed to me that my life was slowly beginning to spin out of control, so in response, I grasped onto anything and everything that I could control. I think so many of us do it without really realizing it, because as a matter of fact, we don't control our lives. Someone with far more omniscience and omnipotence controls it, and so often, we forget that God is in control, and we think we are. Anyway, I am slowly making progress with my issues of control and am learning to recognize when I am trying to control things.

I came across this post I am sharing with you during some of my blog stalking...I mean, surfing....and wanted to share it with you. I am removing some of the personal stories from it, but I just had to leave the first story about the hand gel. I was laughing so hard that I was crying when I was reading it, so I just had to leave that personal story in there. I'm not sharing the author of the story, because I just really want you to concentrate on reading the story. Y'all can feel free to do the same with me if I ever write anything as eloquent or beautiful as this....my writings are not copyrighted, and you don't have to share me as the author. Hehehe.... The person who wrote this has an amazing personal story that goes along with this, but I feel it's more important to make your own story when reading this. Because, I think all of us have control/fear issues to some degree. Hope you enjoy this post as much as I did, and I hope you can identify some of your "hand gels." :o)

My in-laws are wonderful people. Not long ago, the family went out to this local Mexican spot to grab some dinner. The whole group was there: my husband, his parents, his sister, and her 2 little girls. As is routine in restaurants, we got seated, the waiter took our drink order, and then made his way back to take the meal order. Then, as is routine with my in-laws, my mother-in-law pulls her purse into her lap and begins to search for it. My father-in-law is looking, in anxious anticipation of it. It is of vital importance to their dining experience, and I have never seen them eat without it. Then, she finds it and sets it as a centerpiece on the table. The travel size bottle of anti-bacterial hand gel, claiming to kill up to 99.9% of germs. She coats herself with it, then he coats himself with it, and they attempt to get everyone at the table to coat themselves with it. There truly is nothing like the aromas of alcohol and sizzling fajitas colliding together. I politely decline.

I can only speculate on how the restaurant gel routine came about. Maybe my father-in-law saw a very convicing commercial, or possibly, my mother-in-law had a friend tell her of the preventative powers of the gel. Regardless of how they got there, they have their gel. I guess we all have our gel - something that makes us feel better about the inevitable "germs" that are out there in the world. I would venture to say that for most, the deep-rooted issue of the "gel" is one of fear intermingled with control. We fear something, something we don't like or would be unpleasant for us, and that fear leads us to think we just have to control the situation to make it right or clean or safe or healthy or better. It's sort of like when we learned about "if-then" clauses in grade school. If I put on this hand gel, then I will not eat germs. If I have a net on a trampoline, then I can bounce and not get hurt. If we pass laws against abortion and homosexuality, then the country will be morally "safe." If I eat right and exercise, then I will not get cancer. If I study and search enough, then I have it all figured out.

I have no problem with any of those things. They are wonderful things: safety nets, hand gels, healthy lifestyle, and knowledge. Laws speak of responsibility and stewardship, both of which I am a huge fan of and both of which honor God. My issue is not with the "if's" but with the "then's." We have this tendency in our western, comfortable culture to hang our hat on those "then's." Everyone feels above them: the harm, hurt, accidents, pain, sickness, death, and all the things that are a part of our mortal lives and the fallen world in which we live. We feel about it all, because when the feear of those things creep in, we go into super control mode. More hand gel! Taller nets! A newer vitamin! Harder helmets! I can control this fear! I can make my world safe!

The truth is that the Creator of us, of the universe, of all that we are and see and experience is the only One in control. He is the only One that redeemed what went wrong in the garden on the cross. He, not us, is the only One that sees past the momentary "unsafety" and hurt to the character being built in us in adversity. We can not make all things right or safe and believe a lie when we think we can. Only One can...and does.

I am no expert on the matter, and in fact, more times than I'd prefer, I give into that sneakly lie. Thinking we can do enough to be safe and do enough for our kids to keep them safe is simply a myth. Only One holds our days in His hands. "For YOU have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living." Psalm 56:13

Wow! I hope that spoke to you as much as it did to me.

A New Leader

2008-11-05T08:02:00.005-06:00

Wow, can you believe it's finally over and that we've elected a new leader? You may be leaping with joy, or you may be weeping and discouraged. Regardless of how you feel about America's choice, it is important to put the election into an appropriate perspective.

First, we must realize that, as Christians, our temporary citizenship is here on earth, but our eternal citizenship is found in heaven. Now, that doesn't mean that we should ignore the difficulties facing humanity on earth. God clearly does not. Instead, the longevity and value of our dual citizenships should serve as guides to how invested we become in them. Simply put, eternal issues matter more than temporal ones. We should not allow politics and social issues to overtake our commitment to eternal issues. To do so is to risk idolatry.

Next, we must remember that God is bigger than elections. No matter how strongly you felt about one candidate or another, and no matter how disappointed you may or may not feel about the candidate who won, God is bigger than all of that.

Finally, there are certain things that will never change - no matter who is the American leader, no matter how good or bad our economy is, no matter what people define marriage to be, and no matter how people view the value of human life. I found this on someone else's blog, and I think it's quite appropriate. The Bible still has all the answers. Prayer still works. God still pours out his blessings upon all of His people. There is still room at the cross for those who seek it. Jesus still loves you unconditionally. Jesus still saves the lost. Jesus is still King. Our responsibilities as Christians have not changed. The greatest agent for social change in America is not legislation but is winning people through the gospel. The cross, not the government, is still our salvation. My neighbor is still my neighbor, and loving them is the second greatest commandment. The fact that "Jesus is Lord" is still the greatest truth in the Universe.

God is sovereign. God is in control. Now, let's trust God with the results and join together in prayer and support for our new leader, Barack Obama.

Hayden's First Halloween

2008-10-31T15:40:00.004-05:00

Hayden enjoyed his first Halloween! We are so lucky to have a church who has a yearly Fall Carnival on Halloween, and we attended that last night. Even though Hayden couldn't trick-or-treat this year anyway, I'm glad we won't have to worry about trick-or-treating when he gets to that age. Unfortunately, trick-or-treating just isn't as safe as it used to be.

Anyway, as you can see from the pictures below, Hayden was a monkey. He looked so cute in his costume (complete with a banana on top) and really enjoyed his first Fall Carnival. It was so cold, but his costume kept him nice and warm. We ate with my brother's family before the carnival, and Mariposa (Lindsey) and Thomas the Train (Kristopher) were also quite cute.

It is so much fun to have a house, so Chris and I even got festive and carved a pumpkin (actually, I carved the pumpkin...hehehe). We also got an idea from my cousin to buy these special Mr. Potato Head parts for a pumpkin.

Hope you enjoy our Halloween pictures below! Also, I have another post from today, so keep on reading!

Catching Everyone Up

2008-10-31T15:27:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted! I've been so busy with work and trying to keep up with a 3-month old. We're doing well. Hayden is getting so big and is such a blessing from God each and every day. Chris and I often talk about the fact that we can't imagine what life was without him...and it's true.

Hayden had his first night away from home last week and did great. Chris and I were tackling a painting project on our fireplace, and I thought it would be best if Hayden wasn't near any paint fumes. So, he stayed with Gran last Thursday night and did great. He had a lot of fun and met my favorite toy as a child, Teddy Ruxpin. Teddy is now at our house, and Hayden just loves talking to Teddy as Teddy talks to him. It's so cute! Oh, and mom and dad did fine with Hayden's absence as well. We missed him, and it was awfully quiet in our house...but the fireplace looks great!

I've been super busy with work and have several upcoming deadlines. It's such a blessing that I'm able to do alot of my work from home, but as you can imagine, it's quite difficult to get very much done with a baby who just loves lots of attention. So, this Monday, Chris stayed home from work to watch Hayden so I could get some work done. On Monday morning, Chris was talking about trying to get some of his work done during the day, but by the afternoon, Chris saw what I meant about not being able to get much done. I overheard him talking to someone from work on the phone and telling them that he needed to get back to work so he could get some rest and that keeping up with a 3-month old was harder than he thought. I think Chris really enjoyed the day and getting to hang out with Hayden, and I was so greatful for the chance to get some work done.

Hayden has two new toys - a Bumbo and his exersaucer. Well, he's had the exersaucer for a while, but it has just now gotten put together. Hayden enjoys his Bumbo, and I recommend this for all new parents. It is a contraption that actually allows a baby to sit up. Hayden loves being near us and is especially needy when we are eating supper, so we thought putting the Bumbo on the kitchen table so that Hayden could see us might help things out. It worked...Hayden loves eating supper with us and especially enjoys staring at our food. No food yet, son....wait a little while longer. Hehehe.... As you can see from the pictures, Hayden also thinks his Bumbo is great for sleeping. He's so funny! He is also really enjoying his exersaucer. I'm surprised how much he can do with it already. He can turn himself in it pretty well and especially loves reading the book about a duck and a dog. He's a very studious child!

Well, I'm posting some pictures below. Hope everyone enjoys!!

A Good Night's Rest

2008-10-23T11:19:00.003-05:00

Well, I don't want to press my luck by saying this will be a permanent, consistent thing, but it seems that my present for the 3-month mark is to be able to sleep through the night. That's right...for the last three nights, I have been blessed to have restful nights. Hayden usually has his last night-time bottle around 10 or 10:30. He woke up at 5:45 on Tuesday morning; 6 o'clock on Wednesday; and 6:45 this morning. Woo hoo! For all of you moms out there who appreciate getting up for months and months every hour to go to the bathroom (while you are pregnant) and then getting up at night for feedings, I know you know how wonderful it is to get some much needed rest. And, for all you moms who are still getting up at night with your little ones, just realize that your rest will come, and it will be wonderful!

Hayden's Film Debut

2008-10-15T08:10:00.006-05:00

I realized that I haven't shared a video of Hayden yet, and I couldn't resist getting him to "talk" for you guys. He is definitely the most expressive baby I've ever been around, and although this video doesn't really do justice to his expressiveness, it gives you a little sneak peak. He loves to smile, talk, coo, and squeal to almost anyone he is around, and it definitely warms my heart to have such a wonderful person to "talk" to each and every day.

Also, you will hear me reference him "sucking on his fist." He hasn't quite found his thumbs yet, but he rather enjoys sucking on his fist until he can figure out how to open his hand.

Just a Fishin' and a Splashin'

2008-10-14T15:43:00.004-05:00

Last week proved to be a busy and fun week in the Davidson household. Weekend before last, Chris, Hayden, and I went on our first trip as a family to Gran's house to fish with Gran, Kris, Tracie, Lindsey, and Kristopher. Hayden and Kristopher looked so cute in their matching Tigger fishing shirts (Tracie and I didn't plan that, by the way). We had a lot of fun just relaxing, fishing, feeding Gran's pet bass (she spoils her fish, which makes catching them pretty easy), watching some football games, and grilling some hamburgers.

As I think I've shared with everyone, I've been swimming at the local YMCA. Last week, I decided to get Hayden some swim diapers and a swim floatie and take him for his first swim. After wasting most all of my breath blowing up his swim floatie, we headed to the pool. Hayden really enjoyed his first swim. He looked kind of perplexed when he first was placed in the water, but after a few minutes, he was kicking and smiling and squealing away. He had a great time!

On Friday of this past week, my mom, Hayden, and I headed for a shopping trip to Foley. Chris left this weekend for a work trip in West Palm Beach...By the way, he called it a work trip, but he spent most of it playing golf and hanging out with Jesper Parnevik at his 30,000 square foot house. Doesn't sound like he got a whole lot of work done to me. Hahaha... Anyway, Hayden did great on his first big shopping trip. He had a great time hanging out with the "girls," but both of us are ready for Chris to get home from his trip tonight.

Here are some fishing and swimming pics for you to enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Chris!

2008-09-25T18:05:00.003-05:00

Twenty-eight years ago today, the wonderful man I'm married to entered the world. That's right - today is Chris' birthday! Chris and I were able to celebrate together this past weekend with a trip to Ruth's Chris (thanks MaMaw for keeping Hayden). But, how could I resist putting Hayden in a goofy birthday hat, buying a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, and taking this cute picture today when Chris got home? Happy Birthday Chris! Hayden, Gus, and I love you very much!

First Days of School

2008-09-23T15:23:00.004-05:00

Because Hayden received his 8-week shots last week, this has been a week of many firsts - first trip to Sunday School to learn about God and first trip to big boy school to learn how to read, write, and do a little arithmetic (aka...Mother's Day Out). Yep, that's right...Chris and I have a very advanced 2-month old! Hahaha...

On Sunday, we woke up two hours before church began to get Hayden ready for a morning of Sunday School. After all, we had to have our boy looking good, so he could learn about Noah, Moses, Adam and Eve, Joseph, and most importantly, God and Jesus. We got him dressed in his Sunday best - an outfit and some shoes given to us by two of my aunts (thanks Billie and Kitty...he looked so cute!). Ironically, the picture that I'm posting describes his morning at church very well...look at that yawn!

We dropped him off with his Sunday School teachers at about 8:45 am. He met his SS teachers shortly after he came home from the hospital...they came by the house to meet him and bring a gift basket...how sweet is that? Anyway, when we dropped him off at 8:45, he was fast asleep in his carseat with his blanket (a pretty white blanket given to Hayden by Gran) wrapped around him. They asked if they needed to wake him up, and I assured them that he'd let them know when he was ready to get up. Chris and I headed off to church (it was so nice for us to be back in church together), and we had Sunday School after that. We, of course, were dreaming about all of the wonderful things our son would be learning that morning (I'm only kidding, of course). Anyway, when we picked him up after our Sunday School at 11:45 am (three hours later), he was still fast asleep...in his carseat...with his blanket over him. The nursery workers were worried that we'd be mad that he slept the entire time...I laughed! I learned my lesson the hard way, because needless to say, getting him to go to sleep Sunday night was pretty difficult! Hahaha....oh well, at least everyone can see him all dressed up in his picture.

Today was his first day at First Baptist for Mother's Day Out. His bookbag was loaded with all of the things he'd need to have for his first day of school - diapers, a change of clothes, bottles (for lunch time, of course), a burp cloth, and a bib. When I dropped him off, I was surprised to see his aunt, Tracie, in his room. She had been asked to help for part of the day, and I was excited Hayden would get to spend a little quality time with his aunt. Keeping up his ritual from Sunday, Hayden was fast asleep in his carseat. Having learned my lesson on Sunday, I asked Tracie and his other teacher to please wake him up in an hour.

My day was so weird without him. I went swimming this morning at the YMCA with my mom. I've been swimming for the last three weeks or so...trying to lose those last several pregnancy pounds. When I got home from swimming, it was SOOOO quiet. It suddenly hit me that I had not been in that house without Hayden before. (When Chris and I moved in to our house, I was 29 weeks pregnant.) Although I definitely missed him, I believe my Tuesdays and Fridays will be good for me and make me a better mother...giving me a chance to travel a little for work and have some "me" time.

I picked Hayden up at 2, and he was asleep in the arms of one of the workers. They said he had a good day and were able to verify that he didn't sleep the entire time. On his "Daily Information Sheet," it said "I can taste, touch and smell." It was so cute. When I got Hayden home and took him out of his carseat, he opened his eyes, spit out his pacifier, and gave me a grin from ear to ear. What more could any mother want?

Bath Time on My Birthday

2008-09-22T14:03:00.004-05:00

Hayden turns 2 months old today! Actually, as I am typing this, he is now officially 2 months old (he was born at 2:14 pm). I thought we'd celebrate his birthday by sharing one of Hayden's favorite events with everyone - bath time! When we first got Hayden home from the hospital, he absolutely hated getting baths and would scream all the time, but now, he absolutely loves his bath. He usually gets one about every other day...only a total of about 2 to 3 a week...usually not more often than that, because I don't want to dry his skin out.

His little tub is great. It has a little hammock mesh-type thing that Hayden lays in while he's getting a bath, and it can be used until he's a toddler. Hayden is a lot like his mom, because he enjoys warm bath water. I was actually afraid it might be a little too warm when I found a temperature he liked, but I guess he'd let me know if it was too warm! As much as Hayden likes getting a bath, he really enjoys what happens after his bath. We have these really fluffy brown towels that we bought at Linens N' Things, and he likes those so much more than the baby towels. We wrap him up tight and carry him back into his room to dry him off.

I'm posting some pictures below. In an effort to reduce his embarassment when he is older and sees the pictures, I tried to minimize the nakedness. Oh, and there's also a picture that gives everyone a good idea of how LONG he is!

Shot Day

2008-09-18T14:10:00.002-05:00

I took Hayden to the pediatrician today to get his 8-week shots. He had the best little time at the doctor's office. He got weighed and measured and must have thought that the doctor's office was just beautiful, because he was spellbound by everything in there. He just cooed and laughed and smiled at just about everything and everyone in there...he's a little ham! And, boy, has he grown! He weighed 7 lb, 1 oz when he was born and now weighs 12 lb, 4 oz. He's grown 3 inches in 6 weeks and has gone from the 25th percentile in height to the 75th percentile! That must be why his little 3 month clothes are almost getting too short already!

Dr. Myers, his pediatrician, is just great and was really pleased with how he is doing and how he looks. Other than a case of cradle cap and seborrheic dermatitis (just a little rash that goes along with cradle cap), he looks healthy as can be! Hayden really enjoyed smiling really big at Dr. Myers. Apparently, he didn't know what was coming...because, before he knew it...

In came the shot lady! Oh no! His happy trip to the doctor's office was soon over as he got all of his shots. He really did good, though. He screamed pretty hard when he was getting his shots but calmed down pretty quickly afterwards when he got his pacifier. Since getting his shots, he woke up just long enough to eat and is back to sleep. He cried a lot and wanted me to hold him while he was going to sleep, so he must not be feeling too good. Poor little guy!

The good thing about the 8-week shots is that he can officially now be around other little children in large groups. Oh, we've been getting out and about a whole lot...because I'm not one of these moms that can sit inside all the time. I figure he'll get sick at some point, and we might as well go ahead and build up his little immune system. But, he hasn't been able to go to Sunday School at church or go to Mother's Day Out yet. He'll get to go to his Sunday School class on Sunday (he went with Chris and I to our class this past Sunday), and he'll start Mother's Day Out at First Baptist in Clinton next week. He'll be able to go to that on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 am - 2 pm to give mom a chance to travel for work or just to give me a little free time to run errands without having to lug around a car seat. Even though it's not like he can really play with little children or anything, I think he'll really enjoy being around other little kids...it will give him some different faces to look at every once in a while.

Daddy's Look-A-Like...Mommy's Boy

2008-09-17T13:57:00.009-05:00

"Oh, he looks just like his Daddy!" I hear it everywhere I go! When Hayden was born, Chris and I had not even seen him and the cord hadn't been cut, and the first thing my doctor said as she was pulling Hayden out (I had a c-section, by the way) was, "he looks just like his Daddy." Yep, that's right...even before Hayden had been cleaned up, my doctor could tell that he was his daddy's boy. Just about anywhere we go as a family, it is inevitable that a complete stranger will come up to us and tell us how much Hayden looks like his Daddy.

There remains a few people who don't see the look-a-like connection (EVERYONE sees the connection with the hair...how could you not?), and my mom says she OCCASIONALLY sees little pieces of my brother and I in him...but for the most part, that cowlick gives Hayden away. The only other look-a-like connection I've seen with him is with my two-year old nephew, Kristopher. Kristopher's hospital picture and Hayden's hospital pictures look very much a like.

I obviously think that my husband is very handsome, and I think Hayden would be lucky to look like him (I'm still excited to see those bright blue eyes...just like his Daddy). After all, nothing really matters as long as Hayden is happy and healthy.

Well, that boy may look just like his Daddy, but it seems as though I have a mommy's boy. I had heard other moms telling me (before Hayden was born) that "little boy's LOVE their mommies." This fact has always been evident to me in my brother's home, where Kristopher absolutely LOVES his mommy, Tracie. Even in the hospital when Hayden was born and Tracie held Hayden for the first time, Kristopher obviously didn't enjoy seeing another "man" in Tracie's life, because he quickly said, "want to push the baby off"...meaning he wanted to push Hayden off Tracie's lap. Rest assured...there were no mishaps in the hospital in which Hayden ended up on the floor, and Kristopher absolutely loves Hayden (especially pulling Hayden's pacie out of his mouth and putting it in his own).

It seems as though Hayden is carrying on the "boys love their mommies" tradition. Poor Chris! There are times when he tries EVERYTHING to get Hayden settled down, and he'll finally give up and pass Hayden to me. Within minutes of being in my arms or laying on my chest, Hayden is out like a light. Just the other night, Chris was holding Hayden, and Hayden was upset about something. I went over to put Hayden's pacifier in his mouth, and Chris said he had already tried that a dozen times. I put that pacifier up to Hayden's mouth, and he quickly took it and was asleep within a few seconds. Chris just shakes his head and smiles and says, "I don't know what you do that I don't do." I guess being his mommy is all I have to do.

On that same thought, I realized there weren't any pictures of Hayden and I on the blog. Chris has his "game day" pictures when Hayden, but I don't have any pictures with him. So, I'm including a picture of Hayden and I. Hayden is wearing my favorite outfit...a really cute set of Winnie the Pooh overalls that Tracie gave him. I tried to get Hayden to look at the camera, but he wanted to look at his mommy. I'm also including a picture where you can see his little overalls better...forgive the hair in that picture...I have to calm that cowlick down sometimes with a little water. :o)

By the way, we solved the "Mystery of the Fussy Baby" this past weekend. We put Hayden back on his el-cheapo formula, because changing his formula just wasn't helping. Anyway, I realized that when Hayden started getting fussy, I had stopped pre-mixing his bottles and heating them up and had started just making his bottles when he got hungry. Well, one of the things that comes along with making his bottles when he gets hungry is LOTS of bubbles when you shake the bottle. Poor little guy...those bubbles were hurting his tummy. Now, his bottles are made when he wants them, but they are stirred and not shaken...it keeps the bubbles away and makes for a happier baby! I'm so glad to figure that out, and bless all of you mothers who have chronically fussy/colicky babies! Two weeks of all that screaming and crying was about all I could take.

Safety First...First Fingernail Cutting

2008-09-09T09:12:00.013-05:00

Safety first! Isn't that what every mom always says? (Well, maybe not my mom, but when you grow up in the country in Pelahatchie, MS, I don't think there's any such thing as safety when your idea of fun is chasing your brother around in the barn, catching crawdads in the creek, and jumping haybails.) But anyway, like I was saying, every mom wants to be like superwoman...flying around town ready to fend off anything and everything that might hurt their little one!

So, what does that mean if a mom hurts their child? Yep, that's right...I've officially made my child bleed for the first time. It was going to be a harmless adventure for me (being superwoman and all)...just a simple clipping of Hayden's fingernails. After all, he had started scratching his face and hasn't even had not one fingernail clipping yet...he's 7 weeks old today, by the way! First, I should probaby say that this was probably not the best time to choose to tackle such an adventure, since I didn't have Chris (I guess that would make him superman?) to help me. Not to mention that the mornings are Hayden's fussy time, and keeping his little fingers still long enough to cut them wasn't going to be an easy task. But, being the superwoman-like person that I was, none of this was an obstacle too big for me to tackle.

I armed myself with fingernail clippers (which humorously are even Safety 1st brand, by the way), placed Hayden on my lap, and I was ready to tackle this new adventure. Well, you can only guess what happened. He started wriggling all around and didn't want to keep his fingers still, but I was still determined. Clip, clip, clip. Hey, this isn't so hard. Clip, clip, SCREAM...and then little bitty drops of blood. It didn't really bleed all that much and didn't make him mad for too long, and I was determined to finish cutting the rest of his fingernails. I succeeded in finishing. Better luck next time, superwoman!

Confessions of a Mom of a Fussy Baby

2008-09-08T12:28:00.006-05:00

The first five and a half weeks with Hayden were so smooth. He was an easy baby. Sure, he had his nights where he didn't sleep too well and would stay awake for three or four hours, but that got better with time. We also had some breastfeeding difficulties for about 4 weeks, but those difficulties finally ended with both mom and baby deciding that bottle feeding would work so much better for the both of us. He had fussy times, but they never really lasted very long and usually weren't anything that a bottle or some sleep wouldn't help. For the most part, though, Chris and I were dealing with a very happy baby.

Hayden started getting a little fussier while we were at the beach, but it only escalated when we got back. Last Wednesday, Hayden screamed almost all day. I called the pediatrician's office and could hardly hear what the nurse was saying because of the screaming. Their suggestion? Maybe it's gas...Try some Levsin drops. The result? They didn't help. So, Chris and I thought we'd try changing his formula (even though he had been a very happy baby on his formula before then). That didn't help either. For about a week now, Hayden has continued to scream almost all morning and fuss much of the rest of the day. The only deviation from that pattern was yesterday when he waited to do his screaming until night-time.

About the only thing that might soothe him is for me to sing hymns to him, and one of the worst things that can happen when he is screaming is for me to put him down and not be holding him. Although I love holding and singing to him, holding and singing to a baby is just very difficult to do all day. I've heard other parents talk about how far they go to calm their fussy baby, but I never really understood...until now. While we were at the beach, my brother told Chris and I that the only thing that worked to calm their oldest child, Lindsey, was to jog around the house holding her. I chuckled at the time at how ridiculous it must have looked for my brother to be jogging around the house with a screaming baby, but now, after only one week of enduring a fussy/screaming baby, I completely understand why he tried and was willing to do just that.

I woke up today hoping and expecting some peace and quiet. I was hoping that I could actually get some work done. (One of the things I do as an education consultant is to write curriculum. I'm so fortunate and blessed to be able to do some of my work from home, but it's been difficult to work very much lately.) The screaming started shortly after Hayden woke up and ended when he fell asleep for a little while. My sister-in-law and nephew came by, and he didn't scream. I was beginning to think I was going to be lucky. They left, and the screaming broke forth with new power. It continued until after lunch, and I decided that I had to have some peace and quiet.

The solution? Look at the picture below. No, this is not an advertisement for my Chicco carseat and stroller (though I do love them and find them easy to work with). What you see below is the confession of a mom of a fussy baby. I put my screaming child in his carseat, snapped the carseat in the stroller, and pushed the stroller around my house. After a few laps, Hayden was out like a light. He's woken up once since then, but a few laps put him back to sleep. I understand and appreciate moms and dad out there who go out of their way to calm and soothe a baby who is upset. A parent wants to do anything and everything they can do to make their little ones happy and content. And, a special thanks to my mom (Gran) for the great suggestion!

On a second note, Hayden started smiling at us while we were at the beach. He had been "smiling" in his sleep for a while, but he started smiling at us with his eyes wide open and focused on us. It makes me feel so good when he looks at me and grins. He's a little cutie and a blessing from God...whether he is screaming at the top of his lungs or smiling at me from ear to ear. Although the screaming period is difficult to bear, I know it will be over before I know it, and I'll barely remember it when he's older. I can't wait for that to happen! Hehehe...

A Family Beach Trip

2008-09-05T10:24:00.028-05:00

From Wednesday of last week through Labor Day weekend, our family took a little beach trip to Orange Beach, AL with some friends from our church, Morrison Heights Baptist Church. It was obviously Hayden's first trip to the beach, and he had a great time being a little beach bum! My brother and sister-in-law donated the SPF tent; we donated a bouncie seat and a portable fan from Wal-Mart (only $10 by the way); and Hayden donated lots of peaceful sleep on the beach in his tent with his little personal fan. He was a great baby and gave mom and dad some time to just relax.

We had a pretty large group with us - consisting mainly of people from my brother and sister-in-law's Sunday School class and their children and extended families; Chris, Hayden, and I; and my mom (Gran). Gran and Chris were both a huge help to me with Hayden and often volunteered to give me some time to myself. Now, don't get me wrong! I love spending time with Hayden, and he is the joy of my life...but every mom needs a little break every now and again.

For the most part, our activities consisted of hanging out on the beach and crab-hunting, but Saturday included lots of college football games - including LSU, Mississippi State (our alma mater, of course), and Auburn (boo!). Dad and Hayden both got dressed up in their game day outfits and enjoyed a day of watching games together. The Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech didn't end in our favor, and as you can tell from the pictures, Hayden had just about all he could take and spent the rest of the day sleeping.

The weather was beautiful and couldn't have been more perfect. The sun was shining; the beach was calm and peaceful; and the ocean wildlife was plenty. The crabs were huge down there...literally eating size. We also managed to catch a sting ray, several skate (which I was not familiar with until this trip), a starfish (a real live one...not the dead kind you see in souvenir stores), and several little fish. Anyway, the trip was so pleasant...until...Hurricane Gustav. That's right...we were down there when Gustav hit. We were those crazy people you see on the Weather Channel, and you are like, "Why are those crazy people still there?" Although Gustav didn't make a direct hit at Orange Beach, we got plenty of action...they even had mandatory evacuations about 10 miles down the road. Did that stop us from staying? Absolutely not. :o) When we woke up Monday morning, it was amazing. The waves were breaking even with the walkway from the condo to the beach, and the waves were so high. The wind was also very strong, and we had tornadoes popping all around us. In all seriousness, I was extremely glad that Gustav was not as strong as had been originally forecasted and that we were kept safe.

You'll notice the strength of Gustav's winds from the video, but you can't reallly get an appreciation of the water or the white caps in the swimming pool! I apologize in advance for my video attire...I was in my pajamas still! I'm adding an appropriate song to my playlist in honor of Gustav.

A Video of Hurricane Gustav

1 Month Old!!

2008-08-22T09:31:00.011-05:00

One month ago today, Chris and I welcomed our son, Hayden Kristofer Davidson, into the world. Hayden is named after his wonderful father (Christofer is how he spells his name) and his uncle Kris (my brother....Kristopher is how he spells his name). Since being born, Hayden has already proven to be such a huge blessing in our lives and a reminder of how amazing our God is....when I look at Hayden and think of the miracle that he is, I can't help but wonder how people don't believe in God.

Chris and I have enjoyed the month that we've had with our baby boy, and I'm amazed at how quickly he has wrapped both of us around his little finger. :o) Hayden is growing all the time (probably since one of his favorite pasttimes is eating). Some of Hayden's other favorite things to do are gazing at fans, hanging out in his bouncie seat and swing (which are two of the best inventions ever made for babies), sitting/sleeping in his Boppy pillow, grinning in his sleep (which is so cute), messing up numerous diapers when we are changing him, gazing at his Mommy and Daddy's faces, and spending time with his brother, Gus (our basset hound). Wow, that sounds like a tough life!

We look forward to the months to come with Hayden and know that he will continue to grow and change each and every day.

So excited about his beautiful ceiling fan!

Our sleepy boy....Doesn't he look so peaceful? It must be nice!

The beginning of our blog!

2008-08-20T16:51:00.003-05:00

Well, I guess I better enter the wonderful world of technology and start a blog for our family. I've also been told that a blog is a MUST when you have children, so I better do the "in thing" and join the crowd! I'll try to post as regularly as possible, but life with a newborn is extremely busy....so you'll just have to bare with me.