Just Because

**Because Lainey is becoming one with this 30 year old plastic dog who answers to Clyde.

This dog has been passed down through Kevin's family and Lainey takes him everywhere she goes. She even tucks him in at night, careful not to pull the sheets up too high over his nose. Isn't this picture sad? Cute and sad. Honey, doooo something, please!!!!!

**Because my adorable daughter and animal lover is only a human part of the time now.

For extended periods of time, Lainey will not speak "human" but only bark and pant and try desperately to get her message across. Thank goodness Natalie can interpret. She brings me toys in her mouth and "asks" me ("whoof! whoof!!") to play fetch with her. She will not break character and even demands to drink her water out of a bowl and insists on being led around by a leash. Can you see the collar with leash attached? And that's her getting a drink. She does have a flare for the arts but when should we start to worry??

**Because Ginger, our first baby (and resident crabby old lady),

has had enough of the kids' lovin'.

She's always preferred us and was around long before any of the kids came so she's been gracious to put up with them for this long. She's always liked Natalie since her world didn't change a whole lot after bringing her home from the hospital...they shared a bed at naptime for goodness sakes! Wow, how everyone's world, including Ginger's, was totally rocked when the 2nd kid arrived! I don't think she appreciates the 2nd kid's doggie impersonations either. Or Rhett's french kisses.

**And because we don't know what to do with ourselves now that we are getting sleep for the first time in 2 years...we are excited to be picking up a new Dickerson baby on Christmas Eve! My Honey and I decided a few months ago to start researching which new dog we wanted to make our family pet. We had so much fun on our search! What a surprise this is going to be for the kids on Christmas Day. Hello baby Labradoodle...

These pics were taken at around 4 weeks I think?

We've been getting updates on our baby every week since he was born and we can't wait to finally hold him and love on him. This dog (horse...it's on target to be large and in charge!) will be raised on slobbery kisses, sticky hands, and lots of lovin'...esp. from Lainey, the animal whisperer. The breeder says he's super playful and a little bit feisty...sounds like a perfect fit for our family.

Now we just need to figure out how to drown out his barks and whines as we open gifts Christmas morning since he will be the big finale! Then, how will we keep him from jumping out of the gift box? And how can we keep that Rudolph nose on him?? Just kidding. We'll be easy on him...for a minute anyway. Hang on Ginger! Your world is about to flip one more time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Preparing Him Room

Because of Lainey's difficult summer, her lung doctor advised us to cancel our trip to Disney World and stay away from large groups of people for a while longer...so we brought the Princesses to them. And what a night it was as we celebrated Natalie's 5th birthday and Lainey's 3rd!

Almost every one of the girls' cousins came in for the party and the night was full of girly fun...and some macho fun for the boys too.

It was a night I will never forget. The horse-drawn Cinderella coach was the highlight...well, one of the highlights of the night. Seeing my girls' faces when they opened the door and saw Belle, Cinderella, and Ariel standing there was priceless. I cried a couple of times that night.

It was a beautiful cold night with the stars and moon shining bright, complete with knights, dragons, and even a pirate!

Now, with this being the "Year of the Princess" in our house, we talk a lot about the way princesses behave (they do NOT tee-tee outside like Ginger!), how Daddy is Mommy's prince, and the princes who will come one day for Natalie and Lainey. It's a topic that Natalie, the romantic, especially loves.

Well, my world has been flipped quite a bit since having kids (exactly God's plan I believe), especially over the past two years as Lainey's health troubles escalated. God has used some of the most unlikely tools to shape me, one of the latest ones being, "The Jesus Storybook Bible."

***

Thanks to the suggestion from one of my sweet mommy friends, Erica, I bought this children's Bible and our storytimes quickly began revolving around this beautifully told love story. A story about a Prince who was coming after His lost treasure. Kevin and I would often read ahead once the kids were asleep and most every story ended with tears streaming down my face (and Mr. Man fighting back the tears). Below is an excerpt from the introduction...

God wrote, "I love you" - he wrote it in the sky, and on the earth, and under the sea. He wrote his message everywhere!...And God put it into words, too, and wrote it in a book called "The Bible."

...No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne, - everything - to rescue the one he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!...There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.



And at the center of the Story, there is a baby...and this is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend..."


This is the baby whose birth we celebrate this Christmas season, "God's Great Rescue Plan" for the world. What powerful words we sing this time of year that proclaim the wonderful truth: "Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared and the soul felt its worth." I've sung it a thousand times but this year is different...in part to this children's Bible and the picture it has painted of Jesus' love and His pursuit of us. I can say my soul has caught just a glimpse of it's worth. Really, what a love story.

I'm so grateful I'm learning I can trust this Prince with my little princesses.

May we prepare Him room this Christmas.

CHEESE!

Thanks to our sweet friend, Kristin, for the first time ever we have family pictures taken by someone NOT in the picture inconspicuously holding a remote while trying to get all the monkeys to be still and look at the dang camera, all the while keeping her smile (and cool)!! I need a drink just thinking about it. There were sooo many good ones of the kiddos, these are just a few I took off of Kristin's blog.

(I love having little girls! Although my bro, Mikey, could do a mean Bo Bo!)
Natalie, our super poser, almost 5 here.

Lainey, who wore these wings all summer, a couple of months from 3yrs. old.

Rhettsters, STUD!!!
My heart skips a beat when I see his pics:)
He's a little over a year here...

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!

This is the life I've dreamt of since I was a little girl. Literally.

Thank you, God, the giver of every good gift...and every sweet dream.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to

thank you for 7:30 bedtimes...

another good gift!

It's Your World...

We're all just living here, right Lainey Bug?? Good thing you are THE cutest, sweetest lil' diva I've ever seen.

Our baby girl turned 3 last week and we celebrated her life all weekend! First, the night before her big day, Lainey kissed her bottle days goodbye! She picked out a special cup to drink her milk out of and she was given that cup on her birthday. She hasn't looked back since. She was ready, just attached and we didn't care to take that away from her. Until now:) (Shhhh, don't tell her but we would have totally given it back to her if she'd had cried about it;))

Bye Bye Bottle!

(The night before her birthday, having her last bottle)

We started the day off right with birthday donuts! And lots of sprinkles!

(In her princess garb, of course.)

Then off to sushi for lunch! The girl loves "sushi beans" and Lydia!

Lydia LOVES Lainey and made her lunch celebration so special.

Just whipped cream. Lainey's favorite.

Brother getting in on the fun!


After sushi, we killed some time "shopping", waiting for Nat to get out of school.
It was fffffreezing, so Peter Rabbit needed to get in her coat.

Time to open presents, then we're off to the big surprise!

All Lainey wanted was a Snow White dress.
As you wish, My Dear...

And for the big finale...

ICE at the Gaylord!
Everyone gets a parka!
(you get a parka! you get a parka! you get a parka!)
This year's theme was Grinch and Who-ville.

WOW!

So fun.
So cold.
9 degrees.

Nana got to come with us to celebrate!
She bought Lainey this baby doll...
who was cold, of course, so in to the coat she went!


Did I mention that everything is made of ICE?!

That is a big ICE slide she just went down.
Brrrrrrrrr!!!
What a good mama!

We had one last surprise for Lainey for this wknd. She got to go to OK with us to see our family there! It's been almost a year since she's been able to go so we were beyond excited we got to all go as a family this time.

Blowing out candles at NaNa's, with a little help from T!

oh my gosh, did that dog's hair burn????

Seriously, NaNa, you might want to check that!

The Party Girl is all partied out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRECIOUS LAINEY!

You have rocked our world and we are full of HOPE and EXCITEMENT as we catch glimpses of your future.

WE LOVE YOU,

"toot toot hiney"

(and the girls would be giggling right now if they read this!)
Toot and hiney are very funny words around here!

An Expensive Life Lesson..and One for Free

I had all kinds of quips for this post and lots of pics too...but I'm not feeling it at the moment. I've been overwhelmed with gratitude for the mercy God has shown us this past week.

So, after the dr decided to move forward with surgery, we began trying to emphasize a couple of things to Natalie. First, never ever put a stinkin' coin in your mouth. She knows this but now it's an "AH-HA!" moment, the light bulb came on. When your kid is safe after one of those life lessons, it's such a FABULOUS way to learn, don't you think? Expensive, but worth it. Maybe. Ok. Nevermind. No, yes it is totally worth it. And look at His protection over Nat while we were away...that phone call could have been so different, but the quarter lined up perfectly and slid right down.

Second, prayer...I'm such a grateful mommy tonight...we prayed. Kev and I, as a couple at night, as concerned parents, we cried out to God to show us mercy and help Natalie do this without surgical intervention. Then, with Natalie, we would pray simple prayers asking God to touch her tummy and move the quarter out. With every cramp and stomach pain, we'd ask Him again, to do something.

So, Monday morning rolls around and it's time for surgery. They take one last xray right before they are to begin. And what do they find? Hello quarter in colon, making it's way down all of a sudden after 9 days in the belly of the fish. My heart dropped when the nurse called out, "CANCEL!" I was so relieved...then overwhelmed with what God had just done.

After taking goofy pictures in the car on the way home from the surgery center, it hit me again. I then turned to Natalie and excitedly said, "NATALIE! Do you remember us praying over and over that God would touch your tummy and move that quarter?!" She smiled real big and shook her head. "Girlfriend, He totally answered our prayers and MOVED IT!", I said. I reminded her (myself) how BIG He was, how He made everything, the mountains, the stars, all those trees she was staring at on the way home, and He made her too. And He came down to touch her tummy so she wouldn't have to have surgery. I told her she must be pretty important. She said, "I know! He loves me a lot." Amazing. She was not surprised at all. Excited, but not surprised. Hmmm...I, on the other hand, was surprised.

I felt like a parent thanking a movie star (or a hired princesses at our princess party) for taking time to say "hi" and make my kid feel important...I just keep saying thanks to Him for taking time out to show Himself to Natalie, to me, to Corban, Natalie's little friend, who was so concerned and asking God to take care of Natalie. Of course He showed up! Why am I so surprised?! Natalie needed Him, she asked for Him, she got Him. The Creator of everything, and she got Him! I'm not sure who needed that life lesson more.

He is good. He is involved. He wants to be involved. He wants to rescue us and sweep us off our feet. Oh yes, He does. Our Prince...I wish I could have wrapped my brain around this a lot sooner.

Here's our little piggy bank, in the waiting room.

She chose Zoe the Zebra (who is a boy, BTW)

to make this trip with her.

And here we are about to see what God was up to...

And here's the proof!

A few short hours after taking this pic, Nat delivered her baby.

Poor thing, she needed an epidural.

I pulled out all of my doula/nursing skills I could find.

It's all good now.