Hanging out with the girls!

Georgia and I have been hanging out with Mary Katherine and Caroline a lot these days...fun times! Kathy & I are a good team...helping each other with projects, etc. etc. We had to go to the farm last week to cut a couple of Christmas trees (since Dad is still not able to do much) for a photographer who is doing a book for Christmas. The first two trees I've cut of the 2009 season...won't be the last!

Look at these two little hillbillies...cutie pies with hay in their mouths! They LOVE being at the farm & we are all excited about the 2009 Christmas tree season!

A bunch of hillbillies...even Georgia Claire had hay in her hand! =) While we were at the farm, we got some hay bales and dried corn stalks to decorate our yards for the fall with our scarecrows and pumpkins!
Mary Katherine "driving" Paw Paw on the mule...not really driving, but having fun anyway!

Kathy had to take Luke to the doctor on Monday and while they were gone, and Georgia was asleep, I made a fort for Mary Katherine and Caroline between their two beds. They were SO EXCITED!

We also colored for a bit. Caroline gathered up about 5 crayons and said, "Look BB! A Family! A family of CAY-ons!" She was so proud of herself!

And here is a project that Kathy helped me complete...a folding table in my laundry room. Shelby made the top out of a hollow core door from Lowe's and I painted and distressed it and Kathy and I sewed the skirt for it. It's a GREAT place to hide all kinds of stuff! I'm sure it will be a hiding place for Georgia one day, too!

Life in the country...

I enjoyed my day thoroughly today...spent the day with Shelby and Georgia Claire and it was so nice. Once again, I am reminded of why we love living in a small town. Mom and Dad planted a huge garden at the farm and decided (before Dad's surgery) to plant some fall purple hulls. When we found out Dad would be having surgery we thought the peas would be ruined by the time we all got home. BUT, we were pleasantly surprised to see that they were just ready to be picked when we made it home. As Mary Katherine (my FOUR year old niece) reminded us all during the first picking, "Timing is everything!" We have no idea where she picked that up, but she is so right! Even God worked out the timing of the peas! He knows how much we love our peas and cornbread! Ha!

Shelby and I got to pick today...probably one of the last pickings, if not the last. Right after we started Shelby told me it was his first time to pick peas!!! "WHAT?!" -I said, "Well, go get the camera! This has to be documented!!!"...and so here he is just starting out on his first pea picking...does he look like a farmer or what?! Such a cutie in his Carhart overalls, white t-shirt and boots!

And here I am...yes, I am under the deer net...not so much fun for someone who's 6 ft tall! But, I survived...sore hamstrings, but I survived!

Georgia Claire slept the entire time we picked...such a sweetie! Look at those cheeks!

And a little bit of our scenery while at the farm--there's nothing like the smell of cows...

AND the sound of a drilling rig nearby! These are our skyscrapers in East Texas...

When we got home, Georgia Claire decided she was going to work some more on holding her head up...she held it up for quite some time and Shelby captured this picture of her hard work!

We ended the day at Mom's & Dad's where I made homemade chicken 'n dumplings with Mom! It's my Granny's recipe...one that I've grown up with and LOVE LOVE LOVE! Nothing cures us better than Mom's chicken 'n dumplings and now I can make them! In fact, that's what Mom made for me back in October, when we found out our last attempt at IVF had failed...they always make things better! I felt that night that God was saying, (yes through Mom's chicken 'n dumplings), that everything was going to be alright. Little did I know at that time, the time of our greatest heartache, that God had already planned for Georgia Claire's life to be in ours. Her birthmom, at the young (but VERY mature) age of 17, chose life for her baby...for our baby...and for that we are forever grateful! We love you!

Three Months Old

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." -1 Corinthians 2:9

Eight months ago, when Shelby and I made the first call to Generations Adoptions, we never imagined we would be where we are today! For over 5 years Shelby and I prayed for A CHILD, and how sweet it is to know that GEORGIA CLAIRE is the child for which we prayed. It is so obvious to us that God orchestrated the whole thing...being on the website for birthmoms to see for only 2 weeks is CRAZY FAST! It is amazing to see God's timing in it all and to look back on HIS plan. I think I've said it before, but Georgia's birthmom found out she was pregnant in October...I found out I was not pregnant in October. Georgia's birthmom first went to Generations Adoptions on April 1st. On April 3rd our profile was complete and we were officially on the website! Two weeks later, she chose us and so our journey began. Really, it began WAY before that day, but our journey WITH Georgia Claire's birthmom began.

She is 3 months old today (on her birthmom's 18th birthday!) and we cannot believe it! She is now 15 lbs. 4 oz and is 24.5 inches long! She's getting so big! As you can see from this picture, she has found her hands...and likes the way they taste!

My Uncle James "Bubba" and his wife Linda sent her this doll...she likes it! I'm sure this will be the first of MANY baby dolls that will come into our life!

Here are a couple of pictures from today...my sister Angie gave her this onesie...SO CUTE! Georgia Claire has begun to really "talk" to us while she's on the changing table. We have the best conversations! She was squealing and cooing at me in the first picture and liked what I was saying in the second picture!

A couple of verses that have stuck out to me today, as I was reflecting on our journey...

"Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise." -Hebrews 10:23

"Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you!" -Hebrews 10:35

These verses are under the subtitle "A Call to Persevere" in my Bible. Shelby and I definitely persevered throughout the last several years. I'm not saying that we didn't get frustrated or sad or mad, especially when someone announced they were pregnant. BUT, we always knew that God could be trusted to KEEP HIS PROMISE! We had CONFIDENT TRUST in the Lord and continue to have that trust in Him as we continue to grow as parents and continue to build our relationship with Georgia Claire's birthmom and her family. Thank you, Lord for trusting us with this precious life...we are in love with Georgia Claire!

Family Fun

We ended a great day today with family fun at Mom's & Dad's house. We had supper and just enjoyed playing together. Georgia Claire is getting stronger and holding her head up longer and longer. We had to take her Bumbo to show everyone what she can do...it doesn't last long but she is trying so hard! It's like you can see the concentration on her face!

She sat and visited with Caroline, Mom & me while Mom was making homemade biscuits to go with our meal! YUMMY!

Sweet Caroline...enough said!

Aunt Kathy had to get her Georgia fix...they shared lots of smiles!

Kathy, Mary Katherine & Caroline made homemade heart-shaped teacakes with icing and sprinkles for dessert in honor of Paw Paw! Kathy said the girls may have gone overboard with the sprinkles...to which Andy, Shelby and I said, "Is there really such thing as TOO MANY SPRINKLES?!"

Taking their first yummy bite...look at those faces!

Luke started this pile...why they thought it would be fun to pile on BB I haven't a clue, but we all loved every minute of it!

Silly Luke...my first nephew and so much fun...(I just noticed Andy giving us bunny ears in the background.)

I'll take a hug from this 6 year old whenever he wants to give me one! He's usually too busy to stop and give hugs!

Georgia Claire just cuddled with Grandma and drank her bottle while all of the silliness was going on!

And then she fell asleep while Shelby was eating some ice cream (thanks to Joel) and watching football. Such a good night...my kind of night...

Sweet Baby Girl

Georgia Claire loves to be sung to. I propped her up on the pillows on her daybed yesterday and started singing to her and she tried so hard to sing with me! I captured these pictures from that sweet time with her. At first she was just content...

And then I got a little smile...(and look at those thighs!)
And then I got a REALLY big smile!
And then she fell asleep. Being so happy takes a lot out of ya! She took a 3 hour nap...
I really didn't know what to expect last week in the hospital. I thought she might not sleep well and she might be cranky, etc. but she was an ANGEL! We have been blessed that she has been sleeping through the night since she was just a few weeks old. Last week she started waking up about 3:30-4:00 each morning, taking a bottle, and then going right back to sleep until 7:00 or so. She did that until this Tuesday and now she is back on her schedule! The last two nights she has gone to bed at about 10:00-10:30 and is waking up about 6:30-7:00...PLUS taking a LONG nap in the afternoon! WOW!

Not only is she sleeping and eating well, but she continues to be SO VERY HAPPY! She made lots of friends while we were at Baylor. When she was born she seemed so little to us, but as you can tell from the pictures above, she is GROWING! One nurse at the hospital walked by us and said, "Ooohhh...she's a big 'ol baby!" and then he walked back by us when I had her smiling and he said, "Ooohhh...she's a big 'ol HAPPY baby!" Thank you Lord, for our "Big 'Ol Happy Baby!"

A long week with a great ending!

It feels so good to be writing this post and sharing these pictures of the week. On Monday, August 31st, Dad had open heart surgery at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. WOW! We are amazed at the work of our Lord. We know that HE is the one who healed Dad. It seemed like he was healed right before our eyes...each and every day getting a little stronger and in a little less pain. We are BEYOND impressed with the doctors, nurses, patient care technicians, respiratory therapists, and even the housekeepers at Baylor! Dad got the best care! Dad went into surgery about 7:30 on Monday morning...Dr. Hebeler found that his mitral valve was too far gone to repair, so he had to replace both his mitral and aortic valves. At about 12:30 we were in ICU talking to Dr. Hebeler and we got to see Dad for the first time about 1:00. NOTHING can prepare you for seeing your Dad, who has never had a broken bone, lying in an ICU room after heart surgery. It was a very emotional time but we were so very glad that the surgery was over and it was time for him to begin healing. Georgia Claire and I were able to stay the entire week with Mom...it was tiring for all of us, but I was SO glad we could do it! Georgia did INCREDIBLY well and made LOTS of friends at the hospital! They don't see many babies on the thoracic surgery floor! =)

My Dad is so strong...one of the toughest men I know. To hear him tell his nurse that his pain level was an "8" on a scale from 1-10 on Tuesday was very hard. I wanted so badly to help him! Because Dad was in pain, they did not make him walk, but he DID walk on Wednesday morning. Here he is on his first walk with his nurse Erich and Mom...he was only able to go about 3 doors down, and was in a lot of pain, but it produced great results! He still had his chest tube in and was on oxygen at this point. Dad told me later in the week that he was thinking to himself, "What have I done?!" during this first walk...

Georgia Claire helped with our stress level. Seeing her precious smiling face was really great for me, but ESPECIALLY for Mom & Dad. Here she is with Grandma stretching her legs in our room...

On Thursday Dad said, "I would walk if someone would bring me a walker." We sat there a minute or two longer and he said, "Push that stroller over here." So, I put Georgia Claire in her stroller and Dad walked pushing her, instead! Talk about PRECIOUS! Erich, Dad's nurse, came out in the hallway right after Dad and Georgia did and stopped and said, "OH MY GOSH! That's the cutest thing I have ever seen! I am going to remember this forever!" He called some people out into the hallway to see them and they got lots of smiles!

Here Dad is sitting in a chair, playing with Georgia on Friday...getting stronger and stronger!

We knew Dad was probably coming home on Monday so I decided to make a onesie for Georgia to celebrate the occasion! She definitely brought a smile to his face!

This picture brings tears to my eyes...this is what I prayed for! When Dad went into his surgery I was afraid that Georgia Claire might not get to grow up knowing her Paw Paw! I had faith that God was going to protect him through the surgery, but whenever you are talking about open heart surgery, it makes you think differently about the future and just how precious it is!

Here she is playing with silly Grandma...
Waiting...and sleeping to pass the time! Getting discharged from a hospital is never quick!
While Dad was in the hospital, he and Mom celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary! Mom was 18 and Dad was 19 when they married on September 1, 1962. By the end of the week they realized they could both fit in the bed...along with his buddy, his heart pillow. I found them like this more than once! Their love is stronger now more than ever! Here they are waiting to be discharged...it looks like Mom is giving him some serious instructions!
And here he is getting wheeled out...
And getting in the car to come home! It will be 6-8 weeks before Dad is able to do much, but he is so glad to be home. Thank you Lord! You have heard our cry and answered our prayers once again!

Georgia Makes More Friends...

This past weekend Shelby, Georgia and I stayed with his parents and got to see Layne and Ellen, dear friends of the Braman family from New Mexico, since before Shelby was born. They are really like second parents to Shelby. I had the privilege of meeting them for the first time in 1995, right after Shelby & I started dating. We don't get to see them too often, but when we do, it's always a fun time! They came for a visit and to meet Georgia...this little girl is SO LOVED by all who meet her!

Layne sang a song to Georgia Claire about little birdies and she just stared and listened and seemed to really enjoyed the entertainment! Georgia's birthmom loves music, and I think she is going to, as well. She loves for people to sing to her or to listen to music. It's really perfect because Shelby & I love music so much, too!

Ellen feeding her a bottle...such a sweet time.
Layne holding her for the first time...she's getting SO BIG!
Georgia LOVES this Baby Einstein mat...at the top it has a sun that blinks and plays classical music. Layne and Ellen enjoyed watching her react to the music. As soon as you put her on it and turn it on, she immediately smiles!
I LOVE this picture...the smiles make me smile!
Thank you Layne & Ellen for coming to meet Georgia Claire! We love you and are SO glad you got to meet this sweet baby girl that you prayed for right along with us.