Koleman's first BB gun

Our men's dove hunt at church was this weekend, and Khris took Koleman for the first time. Of course he didn't get any pictures, but he said Koleman was so funny! They didn't shoot any birds because everytime Koleman saw one he'd yell and point with flailing arms, "There's one daddy!" Or, Khris would look over and he'd be off shooting a cactus or a tree...LOL!!! So funny!!

But, I do have some pictures of his first shots with his new BB gun. Khris sat him down in the living room to make their list of what they needed to bring and said, "OK, son, what's the most important thing we need for hunting?"
Koleman: "A gun!"
Khris: "Well, I've got my gun, where's yours?"
Koleman looked like he was about to cry, "I use your Wed Widuh BB gun"
Khris: "No, that's my gun...go check the gun case for YOUR gun"
(Khris had the unopenned box sitting in front of the gun case.)
Of course his eyes were very wide and he was very excited!! So here's his first shots:

The last hurrah...

I had the most wonderful day! Now...to be fair, we woke up to this this morning:
But the precious angels who did this (the girls in our church youth group) came back to clean it up at 10 am...well, 2 of them did - Kelly and Julie - thank you sweet girls!

Then my parents came for a visit and we had a great time. Momma and I went shopping and I got some GREAT deals which included 2 new pairs of shoes!

My Dad's birthday is Monday, so we made him some "chocolate greatness". Koleman was so excited, he sat in front of the oven for 8 minutes (that's right, Koleman sat still for 8 minutes!) waiting for it. He started counting down at 30 seconds left. So funny!

As always, the kids had a great time with Mamaw and Papaw, but the favorite today was my dad's new iphone. He and Koleman were having so much fun playing games! So cute!!
And now, my summer is officially over...Monday I start school. I really am very excited about it. Our team was awesome last year and I think it's even better this year!! What a great way to end the summer!

Koleman's playing football

I just had to laugh last night at the dinner table, because I could not squeeze a word in between Koleman telling us about his first football practice. I haven't seen him this excited since he got his four-wheeler. Khris said he was one of the most aggressive boys on the team...he dove to the ground with abandon, and ran as fast as those little legs would carry him. He was talking about how he tripped his friend Cooper on purpose, so he wouldn't get his flag (it's flag football) and he asked, "Is that appropiate in football?" (I know how to spell - that's just how he says it:) ) And of course, my husband who is relishing every moment of this responds, "Whatever it takes, son!" LOL!! Koleman was one of only 2 boys on the team who caught a touch-down pass! I normally don't care anything about football (I'm so sorry hunny!) but I cannot wait to see his first game!

The Innertube Fiasco

At the request of many...I have decided to post the innertube story in correct chronological order, so you can grasp the full hilarity of the situation:

We went to Splashtown in San Antonio and we wanted to go on the "lazy" river. Khris made sure everyone was safely on their innertube and then decided to get on his own, he picked a 2 person tube at first so he could spread out on top...he jumped on...and fell off...
Huh...OK...let's see here...
How, in the world, am I supposed to get on this thing?!
Let's try laying on my belly...WHOA!!
Ok...just get situated...almost there...
Alright...let's turn over...CAREFULLY...
AH...see...
Whoa...rassum frassum...
No wait...I got it!!
Um...no he didn't...he flipped right after that picture..."Are you serious?!"
Daddy...you just lay like this..."Thanks son!" (with a lip curl)...
So he kept trying....


And kept trying...this time I was laughing so hard, I forgot to put the camera down...


And kept trying...


And finally made it into the tube and decided it was not worth the effort...they don't make those tubes for men as strong and powerful as my man!!! (You like that hunny??) LOL!!!

We're home!!

My sugar bear is home, safe and healthy. I want so bad to be overjoyed - but I'm actually feeling very humbled and sobered. As I walked around that hospital, I saw so many children who are not leaving healthy, so many who obviously have cancer or severe injuries, so many little bitty babies. I feel bad about saying, "Yeah - God answered our prayers!" Didn't all those families pray the same prayers? When my cousin died of a brain tumor when he was 11, it certainly wasn't after a lack of prayer. When so many of my friends have faced challenges and deaths of their children - it wasn't for lack of prayer then. Now - for fear of starting a very slippery slope - I FIRMLY believe God calls us to "pray without ceasing", and "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective", and that God tells the elders to come annoint with oil and pray - which we did. Our wonderful elders annointed Kensey with oil and prayed over her in the ER. I think what I'm trying to say is that I don't deserve for my daughter to be leaving healthy! I don't deserve to be home safe and sound. I am absolutely not any more righteous than any of the other mothers who are still sitting at the children's hospital! I am so thankful and feel so unworthy of God's faithfulness to my family. My heart breaks for every mother who is fearing for the life of their child! Would I still sing the Lord's praises if the outcome were different? If they found something horrible in Kensey's brain, would I praise the Lord? Would I still acknowledge that God is good despite my circumstances? I want to be able to say yes. I want to be able to claim that God is good no matter what, even when His answers to my prayers are not the answers I asked for. I can almost guarantee Mary, the mother of Jesus, prayed for her son's deliverance! We know Jesus prayed that "this cup" could pass from him. I'm confident He was a "righteous man" and that His prayers were powerful and effective! I guess what I'm trying to vocalize is:
"Thank you my Lord, for taking care of my Kensey this week. We committed her to you when she was born, and she is still Yours to use as You need in Your plan! May her life bring You glory and draw people to YOUR name!! Thank you for allowing her to stay in my arms a little longer! Thank you for the outpouring of love and prayers from the wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ You have allowed us to do life with!"

Waiting...

Isn't waiting always the hardest part of any trial?? We are still at the hospital, waiting for the neurology team to read the MRI, MRA, and MRV and work their magic. Kensey and I both slept well all night. And the nurse put fresh coffee in my blingy mug this morning. I haven't had even one moment to worry from all the texts, emails, and facebook entries. It really is wonderful! I feel so incredibly blessed. People all over the world, LITERALLY, are praying for my baby!

Scary Night!!

It all began last night around 6 pm. We were on our way to drop the kids off at the church so Khris and I could go to an elder meeting. Kensey said, "OW! There's something in my eye!" I told her to look at me and I noticed that one eye was fully dilated and the other was very small. I had her close her eyes and open them again - and the same thing happened. After we had her look into a bright light and the same thing happened, we decided to get her to the ER. On the way to the ER, she got a horrible headache, nausea, and dizziness. At one point, her eyes rolled back in her head and she couldn't make sense when she was talking to me. It seemed like forever by the time we reached the ER. Within hours, they were using very scary words...brain tumor, aneurism, stroke, cancer, blood clots, etc. They did a CAT scan and found nothing. Then, they did a CAT scan with contrast and still saw nothing. So, by 1 am, they decided to move us to Children's Hospital in Dallas. By 5 am, I was finally able to lay down with the thought that my baby will probably be OK.

Since we've been here, the doctors and nurses have been absolutely fabulous! The neurologist really thinks this is migraine related, but we're waiting for an MRI, MRA, and MRV. So, we still have no idea what's wrong, but the doctors really think it's much less serious than we first feared.

I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from our church, community, coworkers, friends, and family. It is a very good thing we have unlimited texting!!! :) Our elders were wonderful - they annointed her with oil and prayed over her. Tons of friends have come by!! We are VERY blessed!!

Please continue to pray that we find answers and there is a good solution that will allow my precious Kensey-bear a long and healthy life!