State Fair Highlights

We hit the State Fair yesterday afternoon and it did not disappoint. Despite the sweltering heat we had a blast. Here are the highlights:

A free train ride from the parking lot. Maybe they have done this in years past but we've never seen it. Tobey enjoyed his first train ride and we enjoyed not having to walk a mile to the entrance.

Of course the food. Rodney had a turkey leg. Tobey and I shared a foot long corny dog that was simply delicious. Sadly that was all we had. I wanted a roasted corn on the cob, a caramel candied apple and a funnel cake but the heat kind of took our appetites away. We spent our coupons on ice cream and ice cold drinks instead. We will just have to go again when it gets cooler ( if that ever happens).

I loved watching my husband watch Boys II Men on the Mainstage. He was really into R&B when we first met (I was not). I quietly tolerated riding in the car with him on dates because he was just so sweet and handsome. I actually came to appreciate this genre of music although my favorite is Babyface (who has a new CD out). We didn't stick around for the whole concert because our little man was ready to see the rest of the Fair but at least he got to hear his favorite song "Down on Bended Knee". Before we went to bed last night he told me thanks for letting him reminisce. The crowd and heat were worth it for those sweet words.

We ran into some sweet friends. We always seem to run into someone we know. Last year it was Heath, Janella, and Ella at the Auto Show. This year it was Curt, Amanda, and Jackson at the Boys II Men concert. Amanda, I never would have thought you guys were B2M fans. If I had read your blog the night before we could have enjoyed them together. It was fun seeing ya'll at the Fair.

There was an exhibit called Little Hands on the Farm where the kids get to pretend they are working on a farm. I so wish Tobey had worn his new boots. Tobey got an apron which I wore because he simply refused to put it on. Considering I have been dreaming about farm life lately, I proudly wore that apron and walked beside him. I was tempted to ask for my own basket. He carried around the basket and collected corn to feed the animals. He watered and picked from a peachtree, collected eggs, planted vegetables in a garden, picked out his favorite vegetable, rode on a tractor to feed the cows. Then he turned all his food in at the market and made a dollar. It was all very cute. They had this exhibit when we went to the Fair last year but he was too small. I remember thinking he will so enjoy this next year and he did.













The Fair is not complete without a stroll through the "air-conditoned" Auto Show. We were ready for a cool down by the time we made it over to the show. Tobey went to town on a popsicle that I never thought he would finish on his own but he did. And I got to sit and "pretend" in my dream car, a decked out Toyota Forerunner.





The Fair is also not complete without seeing a huge hog. This year we made it to the pig races. "Our" pig won three of the four races. We were oh so very proud. Afterwards Tobey enjoyed some time on daddy's shoulders.







I believe Tobey's favorite part was the Children's Barnyard. He fed the animals and pet a very friendly goat. He got very excited when he saw the giraffe and he actually said "giraffe" or at least something that closely resembled giraffe. We saw all kinds of animals. I was very impressed. My favorite was the kangaroo that actually had a baby in her pouch with his little leg poking out. Very cool.







It was a great day at the State Fair of Texas and as usual we saw some oddities. Deep fried Latte! Is it just me or does this not sound like the most disgusting thing ever. It is worse than the year they introduced deep fried twinkies. I guess I am a traditionalist when it comes to my Fair food. Give me corny dogs and funnell cakes but I'll take my cheesecake, latte, and peanut butter & jelly minus the deep fry.

JP in the house

We made the trip this last week and bought some boots.They are adorable and Tobey loves them.



They came in a barn box. Tobey immediately picked up his little plastic horse and put it inside.



He wore them around the house and out to dinner with some friends that night.


My boy was born for boots.

Johnny Poppers

I have to tell you a secret. I want to be a farm girl/woman. I want to live on lots of acres in a big farmhouse with a wraparound porch and a red barn in the distance. I want to have horses, and cows, and pigs, and chickens. Think Charlotte's Web-that's me. I want to drive a Johnny Popper tractor. On my farm we would grow corn because well I love corn. I would make a big breakfast for my family every morning and we would all sit together around a big wood table. In fact we would eat every meal together-a meal that I had lovingly prepared. No husband rushing off to catch an airplane at 6am in the morning. I would bake apple pies and homemade biscuits like my grandma's. My jack russell could run free all day and sleep on the backporch at night. My little boy would have a whole world to explore in his backyard. A creek to fish and wade in. A tire swing hanging from the huge oak tree in our frontyard. We would catch fireflies at night and look up at the night sky and see millions of stars twinkling. I could wear jeans, T-shirt, cowboy boots, and a ponytail everyday and not feel guilty for it. There you have it. My secret dream. A simple life on a farm. Maybe some day .......

All this dreaming about farm life has given me the hankering to buy my boy some cowboy boots. Part of it could be that he is dressing up as a cowboy for Halloween and boots would complete the outfit. But mostly I think he would just be too cute. I have always loved seeing little kids in cowboy boots. So last week I looked around when I was out and about with no luck whatsoever. There are tons of cute cowgirl boots but I didn't find one set of cowboy boots. So then I got online and found these at Sheplers and they are so stinking cute but kind of pricey for kid boots. I'll be lucky if he gets a year out of them before his feet go up a size. So I put them in the back of my mind because they just didn't seem practical. Well, guess what came in the mail yesterday. A coupon for 33% off any one item at, you guessed it, Sheplers. I couldn't believe it. The last time we were in Sheplers was the Christmas before last when we bought a gift card for my father-in-law. 33% off sure does make these boots look much more practical. We may have to make a journey over to the store and fulfill a small part of my farm life dream. I will have to post pictures of my little cowboy later.

What We Pass Down

(Beware: This is a lengthy documentation that I wrote mostly for Tobey and myself so that I could remember the details)

There are some things that you want to pass on to your children. For instance, your husband's smile and mannerisms. I love that when I look at Tobey I see a little boy version of my husband. However, where Rodney is laid back and easy going, Tobey is quite stubborn. Maybe it is just the toddler stage but I am afraid I have passed my own stubborness down.

Rodney and I are finding out, especially after this week, that we may have passed down a trait that we wish we could take back. Rodney and I both had asthma as children. Although mine only shows up occasionally now, Rodney still uses an inhaler once or twice a month.Tobey was unofficially diagnosed with asthma this past week. He woke up on Sunday morning wheezing and coughing. He had kind of a croupy cough so we tried sitting on the edge of the tub with the hot shower on. The steam seemed to make it a little better. He wheezed on and off all day but he was active and happy. He had a low grade fever. I honestly thought that his cold from the week before had just turned into bronchitis and since he was playing and in a good mood I didn't think it was that serious. I worked that night and it was the longest night of my life. I worried about him so much and called home I don't know how many times. When I got home that morning he was already awake and he sounded worse. Rodney was flying out for work that morning and Tobey and I headed straight to the doctor's office. I called on the way to tell them we were coming. Once we got into the exam room things moved pretty quickly. They checked his oxygen level and it was fine. But he sounded horrible and he had started retracting ( using muscles in his neck and abdomen to aid his breathing). The doctor gave him a steroid and two breathing treatments and asked lots of questions. He didn't think it was croup or bronchitis. He diagnosed him with acute asthmaticus. I felt horrible for not taking him to the ER the day before. My pediatrician was very reassuring and said kids are actually quite good at compensating during an asthma attack but eventually they get worn out. Well, Tobey fell fast asleep during the treatments. I think he had reached that point and he was worn out. The treatment did not seem to help Tobey at all and the doctor said we needed to go to Children's Hospital and that Tobey would probably need to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days for round the clock treatments and evaluation. I was very calm the whole time he ws explaining this to me but once I got in the car with Tobey I admit I lost it just a little bit. I was so worried and scared at this point. Tobey never even woke up when I put him in his car seat. He slept the whole way to the hospital. I called Rodney so he could work on getting a flight home. Then I called my sweet mother-in-law. She was so reassuring and comforting and I felt so much better after I got off the phone with her. Then I prayed prayed prayed the rest of the way there. Tobey woke up this time when I got him out of his car seat and into the stroller and he sounded slightly better although he was still retracting. Thankfully my pediatrician had called ahead and we did not have to wait in the very long line to be admitted. I still felt very guilty cutting in front of all those parents and their children. I am sure they were just as worried about their own children. By the time we made it back to an exam room Tobey was much better. The steroids and breathing treatments had finally kicked in. They kept us there for about an hour and monitored Tobey. The ER doctor had her doubts about asthma and dianosed him with Reactive Airway Disease agravated by a respiratory virus. He continued to improve and they sent us home with an oral steroid and albuterol. I am so thankful we did not have to stay there at the hospital.

He slept really well that night and my pediatrician even called the next morning to check on him. His fever never returned but by the middle of the week he started coughing. A very wet and productive and not so pleasant cough. And he was very fussy all day. He played some but mostly wanted to sit in my lap and lay his head on my shoulder. He had a follow-up appointment with the pediatrician on Thursday morning and he diagnosed him with Bronchiolitis which is basically a respiratory virus. He prescribed breathing treatments twice a day for the next two weeks. So we purchased this little nebulizer machine and stocked up on Albuterol and Pulmicort. He is still not 100% but is so much better. I asked the doctor if maybe it wasn't really asthma and Tobey just had a respiratory virus which caused the wheezing. He said that he really believed, especially with his family history and food allergies and excema, that this was asthma making its first appearance. The virus may have brought the asthma on or the asthma may have led to the virus. He couldn' t say. Now I am wondering if that is what his little cough was all about the day before his birthday party. I so wish that we had not passed this on to our sweet little man. But at least now we know what to expect and we have the equipment and medicine to help him out. He has been such a trooper and I can't wait for him to get back to his little energetic and wild boy ways. We can't always help what we pass on to our children but thank goodness for medications like Albuterol and Pulmicort. I have a feeling we will be very good friends.

And now we have the task of finding a new home for our first baby-our jack russell terrier Scooter. Tobey has a confirmed allergy to dogs which we found out at the beginning of the summer. And allergies can lead to asthma so I think it is time to really de-fur our house for the sake of our son. Scooter is definitely an inside dog and would not do well if we just left him outside. I am struggling quite a bit with this step. I am praying someone in our family will step up and take Scooter for us. That way we could still check in on him. It would be really hard if we could never see him. He has been with us since he was a puppy. For six years he has been a member of our household. Until Tobey came along he slept in the bed with us. He is a sweetheart who has has never been aggressive toward Tobey. In fact, they love each other and play really well together. Hopefully, Scooter will still be in the extended family. Beyond that I can't even think about.

Chaos vs. Order

BEFORE NAPTIME:









AFTER NAPTIME:






There is a reason I am showing you pictures of my disastrous house. What is it about order that is so much more pleasing to look at or live in? I cannot stand when my house is in chaos. I can't think. I am unproductive. It immobilizes me. But when my house is in order I am much more productive and energized. This is true of my spiritual life as well. When I am not spending time with the Lord I feel confused, anxious, more tired, more grumpy, and just plain negative. But when I am in the Word it lifts me up, decisions come more easily, I am peaceful, and overjoyed. I couldn't help but relate this to the Fall Bible Study that I am in. It is an in depth look at Genesis focusing on the Creation. Last night our wonderful leader Janelle brought up the point that God created everything in a logical order. The whole time I was cleaning I was thinking of God and how everything He created was in a logical order. What if he had created all the animals first, threw man somewhere in the middle, and saved light for the last day. That seems so chaotic to me and less beautiful. But God established light and darkness first thing. That makes so much sense to me. And of course he saved us for last. The most intricate and detailed of His Creation. And the most loved. I am learning that order is very important to our God. He does not want us living a life of chaos. I am not just talking about having a clean house but I am talking about our hearts. Chaos simply means disorder, confusion, unpredictability. This is not God. He is order, peace, and has a Master Plan for His Universe. This is just the first week of our study and I am psyched about the Truths He is revealing!

The Blessings of Encouragement

I debated on whether or not to write this post but I was so touched and encouraged this afternoon that I wanted to share. Today I met a group of women at The Cheesecake Factory. We ranged in age from 60 to 20. We gathered there to encourage a sweet sweet young woman. A friend of mine who is pregnant and giving her baby up for adoption. This friend of mine and I grew up together in our youth group. She was a few years younger then me but we were still friends. We were in our church's drama group together and endured many interpretive movement performances. She was quite good and had more of the speaking roles. I was happy to be in the background with my cheesy arm movements. Those were great times. She is also blessed with a beautiful singing voice which I have not heard in a while. She went away for college and strayed a bit in her walk as so many of us do. She recently moved back home after finding out she was expecting. The father is not involved and she has decided after lots prayer that the right thing to do is to give her baby (a girl) to a loving family where she would have a mom and dad. Her courage is amazing. Instead of a shower a couple of girls from my church decided it would be nice to just take her out for a brunch and love on and encourage her. I am ashamed that I did not think of this myself but I was so happy to go along. It was an amazing afternoon to see all these Godly women loving on my friend who really really needed to know that her church loved her and supported her and most of all that we do not judge her. I pray that she felt the love of Christ through all of us. We laughed and cried and shared stories of our own labors and most importantly shared some fabulous cheesecake. I was blessed by just being in the midst of this loving atmosphere. She timidly asked details about labor and epidurals and what to bring to the hospital. I have noticed that most women are eager to share the details of their own birthing experience and hear the details of their friends birthing experiences. It definitely brings a group of women together. Sadly enough we all left out the part of holding our child for the first time and how special that moment was. It didn't seem appropriate or beneficial to go into those details today. My friend was very open about the adoption plans but admitted that she doesn't know how she will feel when she actually sees her baby girl. There is that part of me that wants to pray that she will fall head over heels in love with her new baby and that she will not be able to go through with the adoption. But I don't think that is the right prayer in this case. I really feel that God has a hand in this whole situation. He is definitely in control. So more importantly I pray for peace for my sweet friend, for a confidence and assurance from God that this IS the right thing to do, that this IS His plan. And if not, then He will allow her to fall head over heels in love and that He will give her the courage to take on the responsibilty of motherhood. Whatever move she makes will require courage and a Christ-like strength. Her due date is actually tomorrow and if she does not go into labor on her own by Thursday then her doctor will induce. If you think of her this week will you pray for her and the decision that will have to be made. I have decided to not give her name out for privacy issues but if you go to my church then you may know who I am talking of anyway. I also encourage you to seek out those who need encouragement. You will be blessed. I know I was.

More Birthday Pics.....

Sweet Emma Riley

Ava Wava

Colby. He and Tobey are exactly 1 month apart and have grown up in our church nursery together.

Gift time

Tobey received some awesome gifts. I was so thankful that we were not overwhelmed with toys. He got lots of clothes, books, a cute froggie backpack that he took to church with him on Sunday (Thanks Amanda & Jackson), some cool safari pajamas (Thanks Sunni & Ava). He also got a Backyardigan themed guitar that he got very excited about.

I will say that Tobey enjoyed his gift time much more than last year. He was digging into the bags , throwing clothes aside, yelling with delight at his cool new stuff

Mimi & PawPaw got him his first red wagon which he was very excited about.

Tobey with his cousins who stuck around after the party and swam.

Tobey and his buds Reed and Ryan.

A Birthday Miracle

I just spent the last hour (precious blogging time) trying to take my son's carseat apart because it needed a major cleaning. He got sick while we were out this evening and it was the worst ever. I am so drained right now. But I am amazed at God's love for me and my little guy. Tobey actually was trying to get sick last Thursday on his birthday. He was very grumpy all day long and I could tell he just didn't feel well. Runny nose, little cough, watery eyes. I thought maybe it was just allergies. I even dragged him around for his first haircut at a real salon as well as some birthday pictures. He took a three hour nap that day and when he woke up he felt much better. When his Daddy got home we went out for dinner and then to a softball game. Tobey had so much fun at the game. He got very excited when he saw his Daddy on the field. His birthday party was planned for Saturday and I was worried that he might be really sick the day of his party. The cough was worse on Friday but no fever and he was in a great mood. I earnestly prayed that God would keep any sickness away so that Tobey could enjoy his birthday celebration. He woke up Saturday in a great mood and no coughing. Hallelujah! The party was a great success. I know I had fun and I think Tobey did too. We had a great turn out and as always were very touched by the love of our friends and family. My only regret is that I didn't take enough pictures. After all I am a picture queen. I didn't even take a picture of the lion cupcakes I slaved over that morning or our very decorated sunroom or the wild safari hunt we had in the backyard. Oh well....it was a great day. I wish we could do it all over again. Oh wait, we will for the next 16 years.

Back to the carseat catastrophe. It really took me an hour to take that thing apart. There was seepage everywhere. It was pretty gross. But it will look like a brand new carseat when the cover comes out of the wash. Shortly after we got home I took little man's temperature and he did have a fever. By that point he was acting sick. I gave him some tylenol and put him to bed. He fell asleep in my arms before I finished the first book. His temperature has already come down. I wish he felt better but I am still praising the Lord that He answered my prayer and kept Tobey well so he could enjoy his swingin' safari party. Plus Tobey's two year checkup is tomorrow so I don't even have to try to get him an appointment. I already made it-weeks ago! My grandma and Tobey's granny has been staying with us since Saturday. She has been a big help this evening. She is such a good granny and Tobey loves her so much. She will be 78 years old on the 28th of this month but she still carries him around and gets down in the floor with him to play. He always takes to her so fast when she comes to stay with us. He must sense her many years of experience. She is going home tomorrow and we will miss her. I want to say more, I feel I have more to say but I am so tired at the moment. I will have to write about granny another day.

Eating some birthday pancakes!



Tobey hanging on to his very own softball at the game and playing at the playground during warm-up time

At least we got a picture of a cupcake and the two candles




Hanging out with granny post party

So Big, So Fast

Tomorrow my baby boy will turn two and I am beside myself with excitement and sadness and disbelief. It just doesn't seem right, that he should be two already. He is an amazing little boy who has changed our lives completely. He is all boy but he has this little tenderness that melts my heart. He has been melting my heart since the day he was born. The first time I held him, he stared deep into my eyes. I promise you it was love at first sight. I wrote a birthday poem for my little man and it is cheesy but I am feeling cheesy and sentimental and emotional at the moment.

Dear Tobey,

How did you get so big, so fast
My time with you is flying past
I wish that time would slow
And you my baby wouldn't go

I remember holding you close
rocking you, kissing your nose
for hours, I could sing
or stare at you my darling

But too soon you began to crawl
Then walking began that Fall
Now you can run, kick, and jump
And in my throat there is a lump

You are too busy to cuddle with me
Learn and explore is your philosophy
Sometimes I trick you with a book
and cuddle with you while you look

As much as I love these days with you
And long to see the man in you
I can't help but miss my baby boy
who has brought me so much joy

The years will keep coming fast
This little boy phase will not last
But I look forward to watching you grow
For time I cannot slow

I will pray for you everyday
That you will find His way
Discover His unfailing grace
And unconditional loving face

So Happy Birthday my sweet child
You are two and getting wild
You still bring me so much joy
And will always be my little boy

I LOVE YOU!!!

MOMMY