Praising God

We all have those times when you feel life is going so smoothly and all is well. Then, out of left field, God likes to remind us that he created us and we are his. Difficult times in life have a subtle way of bringing us closer to our heavenly Father. So, as hard as it is during troubled times, I try to remember that the outcome is far greater than we ever expect. That being said, this week was one of those weeks. A week ago on Sunday (Nov 13th), Charles and I dropped off the kids for a night at Gamee/Grampee's so that we could celebrate my BD with a nice dinner. We went to Le Mistral downtown and the meal was AMAZING! We dined on escargot, tuna tartare, and beef wellington. So delicious and it was nice to have a quiet dinner with the person I love the most on earth.

Shortly after dinner, we found ourselves on our way to pick up Caelin who had started having severe breathing problems. Cindy had taken a video of her breathing and texted it to me. When I was speaking to a 24hr nurse helpline, we were able to share the video with the nurse who instructed us to take her immediately to ER due to "respiratory distress". We got to the ER around 11:30pm, and were immediately admitted to the hospital. To make a long story short, Caelin stayed in the hospital for 3 days and was on breathing treatments every 4 hrs, steroid injections for her lungs, constant oxygen and an IV drip to help maintain fluids. Her arm was bandaged up due to the IV, so Cade is still convinced she "broke her arm". The final diagnosis was Bronchitis, although they had lost her initial round of blood work for RSV, and Doc feels it was probably a mild case of RSV in the beginning. Whatever it was, Caelin healed quickly and was a fighter! The Pediatric doctor expected her to be in the hospital a minimum of 5 days due to her requiring oxygen. However, God cut that timeline down and gave us a healing miracle in 3 days! We brought her home on Tuesday afternoon and she remained on breathing treatments and steroids until yesterday. Today, she is medicine free and laughing again. Praise God for his miracle and all the support of our friends/family. While in the hospital, we were loved on by so many people through texts, emails, calls, and visits. Gamee/Grampee kept Cade for 3 days (Cade was in Heaven getting all their attention), and our Church went above and beyond sending people to pray with us. Our Sunday school class was the best with keeping up with us and praying for Baby Caelin, we really feel you are our "Life Group". I truly believe that the prayers and love was the reason she recovered so well.

On a side note, Monday was my Birthday and I must say despite Caelin being in hospital was one of my favorite birthday's. After all, I missed work and was able to hold one of my babies all day! I enjoyed our talking, singing, and playing all day. That night was even more special because I was joined by the entire family for dinner and cake at the hospital! Gamee/Grampee brought up Gringo's for dinner (my fav), a Starbucks drink, a RJ Goodies cake with butter cream icing, and double chocolate chunk ice cream! It was the perfect feast.

So, looking back, the outcome was far greater than I ever could have expected! I had a wonderful birthday, Caelin is healthy again, and most importantly...we reminded to rely on God every day and he will direct our paths.

Mommy's Lil Monkey

Few notes on Cade:

1- He is in Love with Tarzan, so we watch it a lot. I love the way he laughs out loud and covers his mouth while laughing!

2- As a result of the love for Tarzan, he wanted to eat bananas (PLURAL) only for breakfast

3- I let him, because after all bananas are a fruit

4- He has to hold the banana himself, but will request that I "take the plastic off Mommy" (the plastic = the banana peel)

5- 2 hours after multiple bananas is not a fun time for anyone potty training

CAPTAIN COREY

We got the news a few nights ago that Charles' Brother Corey passed his Captain's tests! It is official that we now have a Pilot in our family. Congratulations Uncle Corey, we love you and couldn't be prouder of you. You are such a smart man and we are proud of what you have accomplished in such a short amount of time!

Baylor Homecoming 2011

This Homecoming was made more special by the fact that BOTH my college roomies were in town at some point! Carolyn, her Husband Will, and daughter Sophia (3 mo) flew in from St. Louis, MO. Carolyn and I have been friends since our freshman year in college which was 12 years ago. Very fitting that we would have daughters only 1 month apart! In fact, Gam-ee even made matching Baylor bandana dresses for Caelin and Sophia. They were so adorable and everyone kept asking us if they were twins! We loved that part. We were running late coming into town Saturday morning and missed the parade, but was able to see the floats and play on them when they were parked at the end of the parade route. Cade loved this part and seeing all the floats! While there, we met our dear friends the Arredondo's. Mrs. Arredondo was a professor of ours at Baylor and was the person who convinced me to be Charles' partner in a class project. As you know, the rest is history and we are going on 8 years of marriage and have 2 kids! We enjoyed hanging out, watching Baylor beat Missouri (42-39), and eating Vitek's gut packs. After the Football game, we met up with our other roomate Britni. Britni and her hubby, Ronan, have a little boy named Grant (2 mo). So, it was an eventful evening with so many young babies and of course wild man Cade stealing the show. I sure miss my roomies and wish we all lived closer. What another wonderful year celebrating Baylor University, Traditions, and the legacy of families. HHHHEEEEYYYYYY SIC 'EM BEARS!

Yeah for Daddy!

Today it was official! Charles was named Principal of Ehrhardt Elementary School! We heard the fantastic news on Wednesday, but we were waiting for the paperwork to be finalized and approval to be given by the Superintendent. Today, his current campus (Kaiser Elementary) and Ehrhardt were both told at early faculty meetings today. Kaiser Elementary was elated when the Principal gave the news. However, I was told by several friends there that there were quite a few tears as well. He will be missed greatly and he has already said he will cherish all of the friends he has made while being there for the last 6 years. Now Ehrhardt Elementary was an even funnier story. Ehrhardt just happens to be where Charles and his brothers went to Elementary School, where Charles first began his teaching career as a Developmental teacher, as well as where his Mom (Gam-ee) worked for about 15 years before retiring to care for Cade/Caelin. So, most of the faculty are already close friends of our family or know Charles as a colleague. When the current Principal shared the news, people were screaming and whooping. I heard that some cried with excitement, and it was quite an affair! Wish I could have been there in person to see it. It makes me so happy to see Charles get the love he deserves. If you have ever worked in schools, you are aware that the Administration can make or break the heart of a campus. I am so proud to say that Charles will totally MAKE that campus better for many years to come. Our family couldn't be prouder to share our lives with such a FANTASTIC community, school, and staff. Soar Ehrhardt Eagles!

Caelin at our celebration dinner..."Where's the beef?"

A very special 4 months

Time again has snuck up on us and today we celebrate Caelin being 4 months old! She is drinking 7oz bottles about every 4 hours. We thought we were on a great sleeping schedule of about 10 hours, but lil Princess Caelin has become more of a 6 hour (if that) sleeper these last few nights. We are looking forward to the return of sleep during the night. I think she knows one little whimper will get her on Daddy's chest, so she is a smart one! Caelin is still happy as ever and loves to be propped up to see the action. She hardly ever cries, and if she does chances are she is hungry or wants her paci. When we feed her, she will reach out to grab the bottle like she wants to hold it, but instead her motor skills still push the bottle away. Poor angel has quite a battle with her bottles until we finally hold her hands while feeding her. We have also come around to bows and lots of PINK in the house. Caelin will talk to just about anyone already. She will cackle and make noises back when someone talks to her. She recognizes lots of people and it is so funny to watch her face light up when she figures out who we are! Sometimes she "talks" so loud that she even scares herself! Could this be foreshadowing something in the future? Her favorite toys are anything she can grasp and hang on to. She will cross her mid line to reach for toys and loves to be in her swing. She also appears to take after Cade as she is a little bit of a thinker. I will catch her staring at objects and inspecting them. Her eyebrows will furrow and then she will sigh or look back at us. Makes us laugh every time! She enjoys sitting on Charles' lap while he watches TV and taking baths. Cade is still in love with her and kisses her several times throughout the day. At her 4 month check-up, she had very good stats! She weighed in at 14.11 lbs (70%), and for height was 25.25 inches tall (81%). We are enjoying every minute of Caelin in our family. She adds so much to each of us and melts our hearts when she smiles...especially her Daddy's! We love our lil angel, Caelin Roe.

Halloween Tricks and Treats

This Halloween season was so much fun with Cade at his current age! He dressed up like He-man and had so much fun! Caelin was a beautiful butterfly and we owe Gam-ee a special thanks for all the time and love she put into making their costumes! THAT'S RIGHT...Gam-ee HANDMADE both of their costumes! Between Pumpkin patch's, carving pumpkins, festivals, church Trunk or Treat, and then Trick or Treating in our neighborhood...we were blessed with many memories! I thought it was so funny how Cade enjoyed handing out candy more than actually trick or treating! He would wait by the door saying, "C'mon trick or treaters come to MY house!" When we had a little break, we ran outside and let him go to a few houses also. He enjoyed that, but quickly said, "we have to go home Mommy, the kids need their candy!" He is so funny. He also had a blast playing with Hana next door (she was scooby doo) and handing out her candy to the kids...Ha!