Fun times...

I don't have much time to post as James is hungry, sitting on his Daddy's shoulder, but I wanted to post a few pics form the last few weeks (along with a video at the end)...

Happy birthday to our main man, Tommy! We celebrated with dinner out the night before and this YUMMY cake! Is James a clone of his father or what?!?!

Emily on her first day of FIRST GRADE! Seriously, where does the time go? We are so proud of Emily and her accomplishments. She is an amazing reader and she has the kindest heart (although Matthew may beg to differ).

Emily is in Mrs. Wright's class this year and she just loves her teacher. She has so many wonderful friends in this class and we are excited to watch her blossom this year!

This is a new video of our little man. James is 6 months old now and is a crazy little guy! He does not have stranger anxiety, but does have "I don't want to be put down" anxiety. He really likes to be held and entertained. We are still waiting on him to sleep through the night, but we are just thankful he is here with us! I took this video this evening as he was playing on a toy that Sabrina (cousin) gave him. He likes to stand up on things. He has fairly good balance, but Mommy holds on to his arm just in case. He is a strong little bugger!

Just a quick note on two heart friends: my dear friend, Rebecca (mom to HLHS angel Annabelle--her blog address is on the right), gave birth to a HEART HEALTHY, beautiful baby boy named LUKE last week. Rebecca and I have shared stories as well as tears many times and I am so happy that she, Scott, Wyatt, and Annabelle (up in heaven playing with our Luke) have their own "bringer of light" to enjoy! Also, I met a new heart mom friend, Charity, through DyMisha (Nia's mom). Charity gave birth to Asher on my father's birthday in July. Asher also has HLHS and has had a lot of ups and downs. Asher is currently in heart failure and the doctors are trying to figure out how to help him out. Please keep Charity, Wallace, and especially Asher in your thoughts and prayers. Asher is another gorgeous baby who is stronger than most people. He is an amazing little guy!

Thanks for checking up on us. I really appreciate the tips on the cradle cap--I have tried the baby oil in the bathtub trick and that seems to really help. It's just so hard when the baby is as bald as James! We always love to read your comments and appreciate them so much! God bless you all and have a wonderful week!

Missing him...

Just a quick note tonight...I just wanted to let Luke know how much I am missing him tonight. I miss him every day, but there are some days (such as today) when the loss seems so unbearable and I feel like I can't stop crying. Luke, I miss you more than you could ever know. Thank you for your strength (I wish I had an ounce of it), your beauty (again, an ounce), and your wisdom. Thank you for asking God to send us another child and thank you for being his guardian angel. I was talking to someone yesterday about how James had two true knots in his cord and how it was a miracle that he made it. She told me that James must have had a guardian angel looking out for him...that's when it hit me: Luke is James' guardian angel and he made sure to keep James safe in my womb until he was born. I don't know why I never thought of that before. That's how I know that James is going to be ok...Luke won't let anything happen to him, he will always be watching over him, asking God to protect him. As my mother says, Luke is sitting on our shoulders and is keeping us all safe. Thank you to our dear angel, what an amazing soul!

Thanks for letting me let out my emotions tonight...it has been a tough week as one of my dear friends here lost her mother suddenly this weekend. Kimberly set up the Sacrament of Healing when we first found out about James' omphalocele and she also set up meals for us after James was born. Kimberly has been a constant source of prayer and support for our family since we moved here and I am so saddened by her loss. Her mother Linda and father Bob (a deacon at our parish) raised an amazingly faithful woman and I commend them for that!

Our house has been pretty low key, waiting for school to start. Emily can't wait to start first grade and she is looking forward to finding out who her teacher is this week. Matt found out his teachers last week, but won't start school until the end of the month. They love each other a lot, but seem to be losing more and more patience with each other as the summer winds down. James is trucking along and he will be 6 months old next week. He is a little chunk and no one can believe he is only 6 months old. Oh, if anyone has any idea on how to get rid of cradle cap (or the dried skin left behind), please let me know--this kid has the worst case of it ever!!!! I took the three of them to get some pictures taken today and will post them when I have time to scan them into the computer.

Thanks, once again, for listening to my ramblings...you guys are awesome! God bless!