Trent's Beach Photo Shoot

Candace Nelson {Candace Nelson Photography} took pictures of Trent while we were at the beach in May, and she did a fabulous job!  If you have a beach trip planned this summer and need some portraits, I'd highly recommend Candace and David.  I had a hard time picking my favorites, because they all captured his personality and expressions.  Thank you Candace!

Airplane, Memory and Mike's "Blog"

Trent went on his first airplane ride last weekend.  Some of our good friends invited us to come "see" the plane, and Trent and I ended up going on a quick ride.  Trent loved it, and he is obsessed with watching the short video clip Mike took of us taking off.  Thank you Mindy, Jackson and Momo!!

As I've mentioned before, I'm one of the least crafty/creative people you'll ever meet.  I usually can't even copy ideas very well.  However, everybody gets lucky every once in a while.  

Trent loves playing "Memory" on Mike's phone.  Attempting to divert him from the phone, I created a simple home-made Memory game by drawing shapes on some cards.  He loves it.  He does not take turns {it's a one-man game} and he may or may not turn the cards back over if they do not match.  His game usually consists of him picking up a card and holding it in one hand as he turns over the other cards saying, "No match... no match... no match... YES match!!  Yay Tent!" until he's found all of the matches.  {I realize there are lots of memory games available for purchase, but I thought this would be educational, since it's shapes and colors.  And, it was a random idea on a Sunday morning, so there was no time to shop.  Ha!}

Last, but most important, Mike has taken over his CaringBridge site {at least for now} and he's doing a great job.  Everyone always asks me what Mike thinks or how Mike feels about what is going on, so I'm thrilled he's sharing his thoughts and feelings with the www.  He's always joked that he wanted to post on this blog, so I told him now he has his own blog.  He got a kick out of that one:)  That being said, it's been a hard week-  really hard.  One of those weeks when I find myself begging God for clarity, explanation and peace.  The short story is that Mike's counts {white blood cells, platelets and red blood cells} were unexplainably low this week.  He had to get blood and platelets, which he hasn't had to do in years.  His platelets were the lowest they've been since his bone marrow transplant in 2003.  We still don't know why.  He had a bone marrow biopsy today, which he explains on his site, and we should find out the results next Wednesday.  In eleven years his cancer has never been in his bone marrow.  Please pray that is still the case.  If you want to visit his site, click here.  The picture below was taken today after the biopsy.

Dermabond, the Lake, Cancer and Bailey

I bet that title hasn't been used before, but it summarizes the last week around here.

• We had our first Dermabond experience last Friday.  I figured it would happen sooner rather than later, and I'm very thankful that stitches were not necessary.  Mother of the year here was not there at the time. It happened at my mom's house.  Trent and Trevor were playing, and there was a fall.  Trent's head took the blunt of it.  I hear {from my dad and sister, who took him to the doctor} he was very brave and didn't even cry at the doctor's office... except for when he had to get on the scale.  For whatever reason, weighing on a doctor's office scale is terrifying for the child who likes to jump on our scale at home.

• We went to the lake the next day for Memorial Day weekend.  We had a great time with my family.

• We got some pretty tough news this week.  Mike had scans, and his cancer {Hodgkin's Lymphoma} has returned around his spleen and liver.  He went into remission in February, so he was cancer-free for 3.5 months.  It was great not to have to worry about doctor's appointments, treatments, etc. for that time, but now we're back on the roller-coaster.  While I would never have chosen for the cancer to return, God has allowed it, so we are accepting it.  Mike wrote about his feelings here.  
• We've been spending some time outside... after the sun goes down and the temperature gets below 100 degrees.  Bailey hasn't been featured on the blog in a while, but she's been back home for a few weeks.  She's enjoying pine combs, Trent's food that falls on the floor, and lots of naps.  She misses walks, games of fetch with Papa, and the personal space she received during her time in Opp.

I guess that's all for now.  Happy almost Friday!!

A Week at the Beach

We spent the whole week at the beach last week.  We are usually a Wednesday-Sunday {or shorter} vacations kind of family, but we tried something new this year.  It was fabulous!  I wondered if I'd be ready to come home after a week, but I could have stayed another week.  My parents rented a house in in Destin, FL and let my sister and I and our families stay the first four days, and then my parents came down the rest of the week.  We loved it and have already requested to do it again... maybe even this year:) 

Of course we took a million pictures.  Here are some of my favorites:

The last day we were there, Candace Nelson {Candace Nelson Photography} took pictures of Trent.  Not only is she super sweet and great with children; she's an incredible photographer!!  I'm trying to narrow down my 30+ favorites:)

Puddle Jumpers and Ice Cream Sandwiches

We are at the beach this week, and I've discovered two new favorite things in the few days we've been here.  First, the puddle jumper I bought this last year, but I think Trent was too young for it.  This year, at two, it's perfect!  He loves it- so much that he wants to wear it inside the house.  In a couple of hours, he figured out how to swim/get around the pool by himself wearing the puddle jumper.

Next, Skinny Cow's Strawberry Shortcake ice cream sandwiches.  They are divine.  Buy some ASAP.  We bought them at Wal-Mart.

And since I've already taken hundreds of pictures, I'll go ahead and post a few...

Have a great week!  I'll be back soon with a beach recap.  

Prayers for Tuscaloosa

Please pray for Tuscaloosa and the other cities devastated by this tornado.  I honestly can not imagine the pain and suffering these people are enduring.  I am so thankful to see so many people coming together to help one another, and I pray it continues.
Mike and I spent four years at UA, and I am there each week for work.  It's a special place full of  amazing people.  Thank God none of our close friends or families {Mike's brother, Brandon, lives there now} were physically hurt.  If you're interested in helping victims, you can read about some options here.

Awesome Twosomes and a Long shot

I am addicted to this candy.  I stumbled upon them at Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago, but then they disappeared.  I searched two Wal-Marts, Publix, CVS, and Walgreens.  When I Googled them, I saw them on Amazon.com.  So, I might have ordered a case and upgraded to Amazon Prime in order to get free and faster shipping.  In all of my candy-loving years, I've never ordered candy online.  These are that good!

I know this is a long shot, but I don't have anything to do with these shirts.  They are size 24 months {Trent wore them at 18 months} and monogrammed tRm.  If you have or know of a little boy who can wear them, I'd be happy to pass them along.  They are used but still in good condition.



















I'm finally updating the picture on the side of our blog.  The old one was almost a year old, but we don't take family pictures very often, and we hardly ever get decent ones.  Mike will be happy to see the new picture, because he was not a fan of the other one:)