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Highlights from April & May

In April our across the street neighbor asked if we could keep their 10-month old lab, Kobe. We decided it would be a good idea to see what life with two dogs would really be like. We've been contemplating getting a little brother or sister for Samson since the day we brought him home, and this was going to be the big test! In the first three hours of Kobe's arrival my decision was made. It was later confirmed after I woke up 5 times in the night to let him out. We will NOT be getting another dog. But, they are pretty cute together...

We celebrated Easter weekend in Little Rock. It was lots of fun, and keeping true to form, I have only three pictures to prove it. Saturday we climbed Pinnacle "Mountain" with Samson. As soon as we sat down at the top he plopped his rear on Reid's lap. I'm only slightly embarrassed by how spoiled he is. We went to church with my dad on Sunday morning, ate lunch with Mom, and had a great dinner at the Grandles with my dad and the Almeftys.


Laila asked my dad to come sit outside and talk to her. I think they were both in heaven.

Reid left for Memphis Monday morning and I decided to spend the week in Little Rock. There were horrible storms Monday night. The sirens were going off, and a tornado had just touched down about ten miles (give or take) away. My dad and I went to get in the "safe spot" with the dogs and found this:

Sadly, the only things in this closet belonging to my dad are the clothes hanging up and the vacuum. Everything else belongs to my sister - tennis rackets, ball basket, ball machine, clothes, sewing supplies, box of junk from her car, and a lot of other stuff (I'm glad we can laugh about it now). So, my dad and I hung out in the next safest spot and watched the storm from the back door. The hail was every Sonic lover's dream. And my car has a few dents to prove it.

Summer started in May for us this year. Our "month of fun" brought a trip to the beach and a long weekend away. The only problem is I have a tendency to see the cup as half empty. So, naturally I would wake up on June 1 feeling like summer was already half over. At least I'm aware I have a problem, right? :) But seriously, I am so thankful that our vacation came early this year and that we had the opportunity to spend quality time together, away from all the hustle and bustle.

One of my dear Dallas friends had her baby boy, Gray! What a treat it was to go meet this new little guy the day he was born!

Our month of fun also included getting to spend time with several life-long friends... and meet the first baby to be born in our group of high school friends. We celebrated at a sip and see for Jennie and Willow Grace Jaksha.

It was also my Dad's birthday that weekend and what better way to celebrate than with The Gaithers? (Personally, I can think of a few but his birthday wasn't about me.) During intermission I made him take a picture with his favorite singer. He was in the middle of telling David how awesome he was when I snapped the picture.


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Past Posts

Mary Grace

At 2:00 am this morning, our sweet Mary Grace was welcomed to Heaven. We found out this afternoon that she had a large brain hemorrhage. Reid and I spent three precious hours holding our daughter tonight. The nurses wrapped a pink bow around her little head and we swaddled her in a soft pink elephant blanket. During those hours, we told Mary Grace how proud we were of her fight, how she fulfilled our dreams of one day having a daughter to call "Gracie," and we even took a little nap, snuggled together as a family. If we told her we loved her once, we told her a thousand times. We prayed over her and gave her back to the Lord. We miss her more than words can say. I feel like we were punched in the stomach today and left with the wind knocked out of our lungs. Its so hard to understand "why?" in all of this. Tonight when we left the hospital, Reid turned on this song by David Crowder Band and we listened to it on repeat the whole way home. Its the exact state of our

One day at a time

For the first time in my life I feel like I'm truly living one day at a time. Reid and I had a pretty good day yesterday. We were able to sleep in which was wonderful. Reid made us lunch and we sat outside in the backyard. It was a beautiful day and being outside did a lot of good for my mental health. :) There were still a lot of hard moments as memories from the night before would come rushing back to mind. We miss our sweet babies so much. Olivia had a good day yesterday. It was uneventful (which is a very good thing in the NICU) and they were able to turn down some of her medicine. We call every morning to check on our sweet girl and her nurse was quick to tell us how feisty our daughter is. We picked up on that in her first day of life, but it was funny to hear that someone else had observed the same. We are so in love with our feisty little Olivia. After we left the hospital, Reid and I went on a dinner date. It was so good for us to get out and feel like we

Madelyn Barrett

I really don't even know where to begin or how to write this post. I've put it off for several days hoping that maybe if I let things sink in a little more it would be easy. This will never be easy. As you know, we welcomed three beautiful little girls into the world on Friday afternoon. We had hoped to continue to "buy time" and hold off on delivery for several more weeks. God has always had a plan much bigger than either Reid or I could ever imagine. I have to chose to believe, everyday, that somehow this all fits perfectly into that plan. We knew from the time of her delivery that Madelyn was struggling the most. The circumstances surrounding her birth caused a lot of trauma to her tiny body. After a day of fighting for a positive outcome, the neonatologist came to visit with us and told us it was time to let her go. Late Saturday night we went to the NICU to hold our precious baby for the first and last time. She was absolutely perfect and looked just like h

Surprise!

God has blessed our family with quite a surprise! Olivia is getting a little brother or sister in early December. We are thrilled! As of today I am nine weeks along. We went to the doctor several weeks ago and were able to see the tiny bundle and hear the heartbeat. Everything looks great and we are so thankful! I'll share more details in the next few weeks. :)

The babies are here!

Friends and Family, Late this afternoon we became the proud parents of three little girls. Madelyn Barrett: 1 pound Olivia Bain: 1 pound, 5 ounces Mary Grace: 1 pound, 10 ounces The babies are stable in the NICU  tonight and we are hopeful that God is going to move mountains as they grow and thrive. Madelyn's (Baby B) amniotic sac ruptured on Sunday night. We had a sonogram done each day this week to check her heart beat, fluid level, and position. The doctors told us Friday morning that she was not likely to make it and that delivering her was not an option as it put too much risk on Mary Grace and Olivia. Once again, we were told to wait and see. Around 4:30 Friday afternoon I delivered Madelyn. The NICU team was here immediately to begin working on her. When the doctor checked on the status of the other girls, he saw signs of infection and he immediately performed an emergency c-section to deliver Mary Grace and Olivia. We have seen the Lord's mercy through each to