Things I Don't Want to Forget

The days of having a baby and an active teen at home are a blur. We move at lightning speed and snap as many pics as we can but there are certain things I don't want to forget. 

I don't want to forget that I first got a call about this sweet baby while frantically driving around town to wrap up loose ends as Taylor needed to be picked up early due to a fever. And the following day we headed to Dallas for a volleyball tournament where we were cautiously excited all day and then swooned as a new batch of photos arrived via text. 

Like the look on Taylor's face when we first met Baby S. And that she was the first person to hold her. That I fed her while Tonto snapped pics and sent them to my mom and went through her medical records. And the look of utter ecstasy when he first held her.

Or MLK afternoon when she came to our house for the first time. And I just sat and stared at her because I could not believe my eyes. And how I fed her in the back of my Explorer for the first official time while Taylor headed inside - on a cold winter evening - for practice. We must certainly not forget Tonto texting pics of baby gear from Wal-Mart at midnight because we didn't realize she would begin staying with us so soon.

This tiny baby was the smallest human I had ever held and it amazed me that she made expressive faces in her sleep and raised her hands in the "touchdown" signal every time she began eating. To see such expression from one who was still swallowed by preemie clothes was amazing. I melted during those first few days when she slept on my chest and neither Tonto nor I could put her down. Not to mention the hundreds of selfies Taylor took while holding her.

I don't want to forget the nights when I was convinced she would never sleep when it was actually dark outside. Or the many times Dave jumped up in my moments of greatest frustration and rocked her to sleep. And we certainly can't forget the many hours of breathing treatments and nasal suctioning because, as we learned all too quickly, poor baby girl has terrible allergies.

And, though it sounds crazy, I don't want to forget the many moments I got news that stopped my heart for a second and made me wonder whether or not she would ever really be ours. Or the millions of tears I shed because I could not fathom handing her over. Ever. And begging God to allow her to stay with the only people she knows. 

The reason I don't want to forget is because, though we've received potentially DEVASTATING news at times, He has always removed the obstacle. And we have very good reason to believe those obstacles are in the process of being permanently removed. 

No, it's still not a done deal. And, yes, I'm sure it will take longer that I would like. But the right people are now in the process of taking what we believe to be actions in the baby's best interest. And I don't want to forget that there's absolutely no way any of this would EVER have happened if it was solely left up to us.

So, today, I'm so grateful. And I don't want to forget.

Belt Buckle Bonanza

Last Saturday was a biiiiig day - Dottie and Taylor's first time in the show ring. I would be absolutely LYING if I said it didn't make me nervous because there's a huge difference between a 70-80 pound goat and a 500-600 pound heifer who's still growing.

But they both did really well and were, unbenownst to me, competing against the biggest and best Beefmasters in Texas. So we're gonna take not coming in last as a big ol' victory. Particularly for the first time out. And, honestly, we had no expectations. It was a warm up lap, of sorts. :)

Somehow I caught this super cool photo by mistake but I looooove it. And, yes, Dottie is a very compliant heifer. Despite what the photo might indicate.

Gotta love a girl and her cow.

Tiny was there too and she broke out her adorable pink tennis shoes for the first time. So. Stinkin'. Cute.

And, yes, the boys are still around. As are the girls. Most of my photos just aren't of dogs these days. BUT I thought this was super cute because they're usually wrestling and annoying each other. Brotherly love is hard.

And, yes, we're absolutely preparing for the opening game at McLane Stadium. Including Tiny. :)

Festivities of the Fourth

So, at this point, I'm so far behind on blogging that it's not even amusing; however, since we just celebrated a holiday (and we all know I'm ALLLLL about holidays), I thought it might be a good time for a little update. 

Truth be told, life is moving so quickly right now that I'm doing well to check everything off the 'to do' list each day. Wouldn't change it for the world but it also doesn't leave much time for blogging. Facebook and IG? Yes. Complete sentences? Not so much. :)

In what should come as a surprise to no one, Tiny had some festive clothing for the 4th of July. We had contemplated going to the Belton parade since it's tradition and all but my dad's cousin passed away last week so my parents made an unexpected trip to Tyler and needed some R&R. Plus, it was hot and Tiny isn't exactly a fan of sweating. AT ALL.

Luckily, the parade is now televised so we watched it from the comfort of our bedroom. Well, Tonto and I did anyway. Taylor was still asleep and Tiny passed out approximately 10 minutes after it began. But she looked adorable while taking a very long nap. (This will become Tiny's 4th of July mantra...just wait.)

Once Taylor roused, we decided to go ahead and do our grilling for the day because she had been invited to spend the afternoon and evening on a friend's houseboat. So we cooked, ate, cleaned up...and Tiny was still sleeping. We were, like, four hours in at this point. (No, she wasn't sick...just tired apparently...)

Eventually Tiny woke up - while Tonto was taking Taylor to the lake - and made it clear she was ready for a wardrobe change by spitting up all over the first one. Point. Taken. The second one was my fav anyway... :)

Side note: the romper was made of satin, which she apparently thought felt nice because she kept rubbing her tummy like a tiny buddha. A-dor-a-ble.

Once the older one was out on the lake, it was radio silence but I did manage to snag a pic from her IG account.

She had a blast and even watched the fireworks from the lake. Meanwhile, we tried to figure out why every single neighbor of ours thought it was ok to set off fireworks in the city limits. It was seriously ALL of them, y'all. And still Tiny slept. Meanwhile, Rambo hid in the closet.

Little one eventually woke up but the City fireworks had already ended so I showed her a video of them on my phone. And she found it FASCINATING. Maybe next year she'll stay awake to see them. :)

It was a late night waiting for Taylor to get home but we were up and at 'em early the next morning because it was time to show Dottie for the first time. More about that later, though. :)