Feb. 19, 2009 - Mommy/Clarke moment

...A tiny snippet of the countless mommy/Clarke moments that transpire throughout our day...


Mommy: "Clarkey, it's time to take a nap."

Clarke: "Nat. Nat. Take Nat."

Mommy: "No, Clarkey.  It's 'nap'.  Puh-puh-puh."

Clarke: "Puh-puh-puh. Nat.  Take nat."

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May. 7, 2008 - The Lord's goodness never ceases

Wait!  Don't give up on me ever posting again!  I apologize for giving ya'll such deep news about Travis last time (3 whole months ago), and then practically falling off the face of the planet.  Our life has had so many, many, MANY things going on this year that I can literally barely keep up.  I do want to share the tremendous news that we have concerning my hubby, even though it's a little late in coming. 

After the overwhelming and semi-scary diagnosis of an immune disorder, God sent us the PERFECT doctor for Travis.  At long last, we were able to sit down with an allergist/immunologist who looked at ALL of Travis' health history and was able to see the whole picture.  He had no doubt that all of Travis' problems were a direct result of a severe allergy to something that triggered an acute case of adult onset asthma.  Going without a diagnosis on this type of thing for so many months had only made everything worse, causing more and more problems.  Yes, he did have low IGG levels, which means his immune system was having some difficulty, but this doctor assured us it was totally within normal limits and that with the right type of focused asthma and allergy treatment, Travis would be able to bounce back without having to go through the costly and extremely complicated IVIG infusions. 

That was six weeks ago, and praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow, Travis is now almost completely back to normal!  Whatever special combination of asthma/allergy medications and treatments that this new doctor gave Travis finally did the trick.  Just two weeks after the initial consultation with this allergist, Travis told me he actually felt like SUPERMAN!   Can you believe that?  I nearly wept for joy when he told me that because it had simply been ages since my baby had felt healthy, let alone like a super hero!

Travis continues to improve, with only relatively small set backs along the way.  The adjustments now are coming because he is learning to live with asthma.  He was able to go back to work a week ago and he seems to be right back into the swing of things.  He even finished up another college semester with three more A's under his belt!

We truly feel that it is GOD who has done a tremendous work in Travis' health and we give HIM the praise for everything that has happened in our lives these last six months.  We also cannot tell you how much everyone's sweet prayers and encouragement have meant to us.  The love we have experienced from the calls, notes, gifts, comments, etc., have utterly overwhelmed our hearts.

This has definitely been a journey of faith, trust, patience and seeking the Lord's face like nothing we have ever experienced before.  I cannot begin to explain how many times our prayers have been directly answered as the Lord has provided for us in ways we never thought possible.  It is amazing how our family has been strengthened through all of this, as well as our faith in our most gracious heavenly Father.  Of course, our journey of faith is not complete, and will not end until we at last meet our Lord face to face, but this one stepping stone along the way has taught us so very, very much.  There is still a great for us to learn (and most definitely re-learn!), but our gracious Heavenly Father has most certainly revealed His love and mercy  to us in ways we will never forget.

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Aug. 13, 2007 - Two amazing years

Two years ago today I married my very best friend and soul mate.  While a great deal of things have changed in our lives since then, quite a lot remains the same...


My heart still skips a beat at the sound of his voice...

I could spend all day looking into his eyes without getting tired...

His smile and laughter never fail to lift my spirits...

Holding his hand still gives me "warm fuzzies" inside...

I cannot imagine knowing anyone more kind or considerate...

My admiration for him continues to grow deeper and stronger with each passing day...

I love my sweet husband with all that is in me and I cannot thank my Savior enough for allowing me to be his wife!

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Aug. 2, 2007 - Clarke's Great Adventures

There's so much to see, do, and learn in Clarke's little 6 1/2 month old world... He's such a BLAST!


Happy little blinkin' eye boy.

 
Our Crawlin' King!


Funny face droolin' puppy.


I caught him trying to crawl up into his carrier the other day...


Think he's trying to tell me something?


He loves to look at this photo of mommy and daddy on their wedding day.  He especially enjoys looking at his daddy.  He'll always smile and reach out to touch Travis in the picture.  Too sweet!


Box playing.


He looks like a tiger about ready to spring here!


Playing with daddy's hat...


Our little Dude...

 
Whoops, where'd he go?


"This is just waaaay too fun!"


Ahhh, and finally sweet sleep after playing hard all day...

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Jul. 9, 2007 - Another Milestone

Our handsome little boy started saying my name on Saturday - Momma.  It's also the very first thing he said to me Sunday morning when I got him out of his crib and was giving him super mommy hugs and kisses, just as clear as can be.  

Yes, my dad is right.  Words cannot express our feelings right about now.

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Jul. 5, 2007 - Life keeps moving on

My word!  Has it really been that long since I updated this blog?  Yikes.  This summer is turning into one big blurrr.

Let me start by saying that life has been absolutely wonderful here for us!  Even though it feels like the tasks we must accomplish from day to day will sometimes consume us, we are still enjoying life and feeling God's blessings upon us always.  

So far our summer has consisted of quite a lot of school for Travis and I.  We are both taking online courses this summer and I have to say that he's amazing me once again with his ability to work full time, spend quality time with his family and still make fantastic grades!!  He is such an inspiration to me.  There’s really no one quite like my hubby. 

Because there has been such a huge amount of things keeping us occupied of late, I’ll just fill you in on what Clarke’s been up to lately.  After all, he’s waaaay more interesting.

First of all, he is growing sooo fast!!  Travis and I say all the time that we LOVE the stage that he’s in right now.  It's not that I want Clarke to stay this age forever, but I definitely want to remember as many of the details and precious things he's doing at this stage of his life.  Pictures and home videos only capture tiny glimpses into the life of this adorable little man of ours.  He truly is an absolute JOY.  Somehow, I just want to hold on to these days in my heart so that I can cherish them for years to come.  When he's snuggling up close to me I just pray that I won’t ever forget these wonderful moments together. 

Our little guy started army crawling/jumping forward/rocking on all fours about 3 weeks ago.  He’s so cute!! He loves his newfound freedom and mobility.  

Also, we gave him his first bite of real food (well, if you can call rice cereal “real food”) last Thursday.  We couldn’t believe it, but he DEVOURED it like we have been literally starving him his whole life!! 

He and his daddy are such buddies!  Travis always makes Clarke just SCREAM with delight when they’re playing together.  It’s so cute.

Also, Clarke enjoyed his visit with his sweet cousin Faith at her 1-year-old birthday party last month!  

A couple times Faith looked like Clarke was invading her personal space a little here, but he seemed oblivious.

What else can I say?  Clarke just brings so much joy and laughter into our home.  

GOD IS GOOD. 

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May. 18, 2007 - A look back

My journal entry on May 17th, 2006 - Exactly 1 year ago yesterday:

Wednesday
9:29 PM

Oh my word.  Yesterday we found out that we're expecting!!  I can hardly believe it!   I got all teary-eyed and had trouble breathing as the little test strip was sitting there showing off 2 pink lines.   All of my headaches, exhaustion, etc. make sense now.  Looks like I'm about 4 weeks along!  We've been discussing names, how to tell everyone, when to go to the doctor, etc...

Help us, Father, as we begin this journey.  I give you my fears - fears of safety, miscarriage, delivery - everything.  This little one is Your's and we give him or her to You.  Please take good care of Baby Vinson?  Please help me to be careful and safe, esp. in the first few months here.

Guide us, God, as we embark on this new journey You have laid out for us!  Thank you for this amazing and tremendous blessing.

   

I love you, Father, I love you, Travis, and I love you, our child. 

___________


I still remember the lump in my throat and the shaking of my hand as I stared down at the 2 pink lines on the test strip looking up at me.  In my disbelief all I could say was, "Travis, there are TWO pink lines!"   A year ago I was only 4 weeks along with Clarke, who was just the size of a sesame seed.  Now, our little man is 4 months old and weighs over 15 lbs.  How did we get here so quickly?!    Clarke has brought sooo much joy into our hearts and lives that it is difficult to express in words how our life has changed and what he means to us.  We simply wouldn't trade him for anything in the entire world. It's such a wonder to me, this precious miracle of life.  We love our son more and more with each passing day... 

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Mar. 30, 2007 - Spring has sprung...

...and with it, so many wonderful changes in our lives!!

I'm tellin' ya'll, we have had quite a busy month, and the next several weeks are fixin' to be just as busy still.   Much has happened since I've last written...Like, seeing more and more of Clarke's amazing personality every day (he's truly the smiley-est, most social baby I've ever seen! ), relishing the new, longer nightly sleeping patterns of my little boy (we're talking 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours of sleep at a time nearly every night now!!  *huge well-rested smile*), a big move to a fantastic new home (really, the Lord just dropped this deal right in our laps. ), a visit from my dear, hard-working mother (who helped to make our move last week soooo smooth! ), and much more...  Honestly, I wish I had time to write and share all of the Lord's blessings in our lives over the last several weeks.  But alas!  I have moving boxes still left to be unpacked, a baby boy who needs a huge amount of mommy time every day, dinner to cook, bills to pay, errands to run, thank you cards to write, and Heart of Virtue business to tend to.  This seems to be the same list of things to do every day now.  Hmmm, you'd think I'd be making a dent in it sometime.   Oh well! 

Here's the latest pics of our beautiful, err rather, handsome boy! 

A sly smile while doing belly and neck excersises

Pretending to be baby Moses

Chewing on anything he can get his hands on

Gettin' good at blowing slobbery mouth bubbles

Kisses from a mommy who loves him

A happy little thumb-sucking boy

Precious little giggles and belly laughs!

A  moment of pure bliss during a much needed nap

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Mar. 6, 2007 - A post of substance

Promises, promises...

Yes!  As I have promised several times, this is a REAL post. That is, one with more than just pictures and/or a few sentences.  I honestly thought it would only take a few days after being home from the hospital with Clarke before I'd be able to sit down and really fill ya'll in our lives.  HA!  That's a quite funny thought.   Even though we have the most compliant and happy little baby ever, he still requires so much time and attention that I rarely have a spare moment.  And when I do, I usually have such a long To-Do list that posting on my blog makes me feel guilty about everything else I should be trying to accomplish!  But this morning I decided to just go ahead take a few minutes and really write down some udpates for ya'll.


Baby's first word?

Clarke is getting pretty talkative!  He just coo's, smiles, gurgles and makes all sort of vocal sound these days.  It's so cute!  His favorite sound is "Haaaa".  It actually sounds like the southern version on "Hi."  So, we can get him to say it when we're with other folks and it sounds like we've taught him to "hi," when in reality we're just getting him to repeat his favorite noise to make! *LOL*  It's pretty fun.


To sleep or not to sleep, that is always the question

Clarkey gets up about twice a night to eat these days, but lately his nightly sleeping stretches have been getting longer.  He actually went 2 nights in a row where he slept for 4 1/2 hours at one time!!  Even though I think I've adjusted to his getting up frequently in the night, it still makes this sleepy momma pretty happy.  I slept so poorly when I was pregnant also that it really seems like another lifetime ago when I could actually go the whole night uninterrupted.  (Heh heh, It reminds me of those Rozerem sleep aid commercials about how much your dreams miss you. *grin* Too funny.)


Heavy weight champion of the baby world

Our boy is sooo big!  Everyone keeps guessing him at 3 or so months when really not quite 2.  As Travis says, "Yep, I don't think he misses too many meals."   He'll get weighed next week at the doc's and we'll see what kind of poundage we're really talking here. Check out those cheeks!



Hand discovery

So I noticed these last couple of weeks that Clarke has been more deliberate with his arms and hand movement.  He'll reach out and smack and sometimes grab the farm animals that hang over his little play mat repeatedly.  He's also getting really good at grabbing my hair, necklaces and earrings. (NOTE TO SELF: Invest in some good post earrings.)  And his favorite thing to do with his hands is to try and stick them completely into his mouth, as is evidenced below.  '*sigh* 'Tis too cute!




Thankfulness

It's such an exciting time of our lives with so many blessings being poured down upon us from above.  How truly grateful we are, Lord, for Your wonderful provisions and gifts.

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Feb. 22, 2007 - Our little boy is...

...Mommy's little "Googie Bear"...





...Daddy's little "Mister"...




...and our pride and joy!! 

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