Thankful

We have so much to be thankful for this year!
Garrett is six and is the sweetest, most adoring, big brother ever! Our baby Jace turned one year old two weeks ago! Jacob and I had the 15th anniversary of our first date on November 11! (WOW!) We have the BEST family and are so thankful to be near them all! And lastly, we have the most precious group of friends that make our lives complete! So, thank you all for blessing us! Our lives are so much richer by knowing each of you! Happy Thanksgiving and may you all have a blessed holiday season!

ONE! -- A year in review!

OH.MY.GOODNESS! Where has this year gone? I cannot believe that is has been a year since our tiny white headed monkey came struggling into this world! What a wild ride this year has been and how blessed we are to have come out on the winning side! So, here we go on a trip down memory lane!

On November 10, 2008 at 8:57p.m, Jace Jacob made his grand and nerve wracking entrance!

5lbs, 14 oz, 18 inches

We were able to quickly kiss his head, but he was immediately taken away to check breathing issues...
Sometime around midnight, the nurses called to inform us that he would was not transitioning well and was being moved to NICU.

Sick Sick Baby

Having ridden the NICU train before with Garrett, this was devastating news! After a couple of weeks, he began improving and talk of going home was being whispered. However, on Thanksgiving Day, we were given the blow that he had spiked a fever and that could only indicate infection. So, after a lumbar puncture, we learned that he had meningitis. UGHHHH! 21 more days of antibiotic! Finally, after 38 grueling days, numerous antibiotics, several blood transfusions, countless IV sticks, and a surgery to insert a broviac, on December 18, we were able to bring our doll baby home... Just in time for Christmas!

Long nights in NICU

Getting ready to make our escape home! ;)
December 18, 2008

Garrett's first meeting with his baby brother

January 15, 2009, a day I will never forget. Jace and I were headed to the pharmacy, but stopped for a quick run through Ross. After checking out, I got Jace's carseat situated and realized he was not breathing and was turning blue. What seemed like minutes went by as I struggled to get him out of his carseat, began to administer CPR, but was still unable to make him breathe... 911 is called by employee, and I continue to work feverishly to get him breathing... Finally, after 3 rounds of breaths and compressions, he drew in a breath and began to cry! AMEN! Ambulance was called off and we went straight to the pediatrician, who in turn admitted us to the hospital for further testing. 8 days a gazillion IV sticks, and lab work out the wazoo later, the consensus was that he aspirated on reflux, which caused the not breathing episode. He came home on an apnea monitor and had it until he was 9 months old.

January 2009

February 2009
5 generations ~ David, Delories, Toda, Jacob, Garrett, and Jace

March, 2009
Mad Mad Mad

April 2009
Baseball Boys

May, 2009
Blue eyes Boy!

June 2009 with Aunt Lee

July 2009, Sleeping in the Jumperoo

August 2009

September 2009
Sleeping Boys


October, 2009
First Haircut!


Happy Happy Birthday, Jaceroo!

MMMMM!!! Cake!

What a MESS!

Look at that water! YUCK!

Happy Birthday, Little Monkey! We sure to love you!

HOOK 'EM HORNS?!?!

HAHA! We had such a fantastic weekend! We traveled to Austin for the third time in 33 days!! Friday night, Jacob and his best pal, Matt, went to the AC/DC concert and had a blast. The little boys and I did a bit of shopping and eating and came back to the hotel to hang out! Saturday, we were up super early to do some tailgating with the Rutherfords and friends! It was too much fun! The game was unbelievably hot, so sweet Shelley took Jace and I upstairs to the air-conditioned suite area! It's nice to have friends with perks! :) And speaking of perks... Matt, Jake's best pal, works for the Longhorns and treated our Garrett to some serious perks! After the game, he took him into the locker room where he got to meet Colt McCoy and get his jersey signed! He was so tickled! He also got to meet Earl Thomas and we all got to see him shake hands with Jordan Shipley! I'm sure these ball players get tired of shaking hands and signing autographs for little ones, but they were so kind and made our little fan a BIG time fan! (Not sure how I really feel about all the burnt orange ;) that has invaded our house, though!) We all went out on the field after the game and Garrett and Jacob got to run and play on the turf! It was an awesome experience and we are so grateful to the kindness shown by the players and the generosity of our "Longhorn Matt"! Thanks for a GREAT time!

Bill Rutherford and Garrett before the game!

Jacob and the boys on the field!

Sweet baby Jace checking out the turf!

Hmmmm....

Garrett and his buddy, Carson, racing!

Matt and Garrett with the horns

Garrett sitting at Colt's locker!

Shelley, Matt, Garrett, and Carson

Jacob and Garrett running on the field!

THE PAINTED POPPY BLOG

THE PAINTED POPPY BLOG IS UP AND RUNNING! HAVE A LOOK AND GET INSPIRED TO DO SOME HOLIDAY PAINTING! STAY TUNED... MORE PICS AND IDEAS COMING SOON!

THE PAINTED POPPY

OCTOBER FUN!

WHAT A MONTH! I cannot believe how quickly this month has flown! Jace will be one in a couple of weeks and is growing like a weed! We have traveled... ALOT! We were in Austin the first weekend of October, as well as this last weekend! And, we will be heading to Austin again in two weeks to take the boys to see the Longhorns play! The first weekend, we celebrated the engagement of some sweet friends, Matt and Shelley. We had a great time and enjoyed spending time with them! This last weekend, Jacob rode in the Lance Armstrong LiveStrong Challenge Cancer Ride. He really enjoyed the ride and said the scenery was amazing. He was so impressed with the number of cancer survivors cheering on the riders... It is such a worthy cause and neat thing to participate in! We stayed with our friends Chris and Lindsey and had such a fun visit!

The boys are into everything! Garrett is staying busy in kindergarten and is doing so well. We are so proud of him! We love his teacher and he has made some great friends! He is such a great big brother and loves making Jace giggle!

Sweet Garrett Collin

My precious boys!

Jace is getting so strong and growing like crazy! After a scare with some abnormal blood work, we are delighted to report that everything came back perfectly normal! AMEN! He will be one on November 10 and I cannot believe it! Thank goodness it is 2009 and NOT 2008! Whew, we made it! :) He has 2 teeth on the bottom and all 4 top teeth are coming in at once! He is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. He can be seen climbing into laundry baskets, pulling himself up to the fireplace, and just today, I found him standing up, knocking on the wall in his crib! Let the fun begin!

tSweet blue eyed baby!

He climbed INTO the basket of pillows!

On the way to standing...

Up he goes...

Hi Mom!

October has been a busy and fun month and we are looking forward to starting the holiday season in November! Happy Fall, Y'all!

Chicken Caesar Tetrazzini

SHOW US YOUR LIFE... FAVORITE RECIPES!!
I am participating in Kelly's show us your life blog hop! This week, it is recipes and I am sooo excited to read everyone's and hopefully get some new ideas! I am TIRED of making the same things over and over and over again!
We have lots of favorites at our house, but the one I make the most and get the most compliments on when taking to a potluck is chicken caesar tetrazzini! It is KILLER! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

CHICKEN CAESAR TETRAZZINI

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 box of your favorite pasta, cooked (i use angel hair, but spaghetti, linguini, etc. will be fine)
1 can chicken broth
1 bottle caesar dressing (i like creamy caesar the best and walmarts great value brand is cheap and perfect!)
1 can (4 oz) of mushrooms (optional: it is great with or without, so if you dont like it, dont put it in!)
1 cup of shredded colby jack cheese (or your favorite cheese)
3 table spoons of dry bread crumbs

In a large mixing bowl, combine shredded chicken, broth, dressing, cheese, and mushrooms. Stir. Add in cooked pasta . Stir all together. Pour this mixture into a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with a tad more cheese or parmesan if you like, and top with bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. This is also great to make up a head of time and freeze. Just combine all ingredients and put in fridge or freezer. Pull out and bake when ready! If frozen, it may take about 45 minutes to 1 hour to heat through.
I serve this with corn, green beans, and garlic texas toast! YUMMMMMMMMY!

So, hop on over to Kelly's Korner and check out all the other great recipes!

STAR WARS EXTRAVAGANZA

This has been one WILD weekend! I did not go to bed before 3 a.m. any night last week in preparation for Garrett's Star Wars extravaganza birthday party! We had a blast and all the late nights of sewing 23 jedi robes paid off when Garrett's eyes lit up the morning of his party! He was DELIGHTED!! We had a houseful of kids and parents and it was pure chaos, but it was the most fun birthday party we have had yet! (I like to kid that it was the last birthday party we will ever have, too! haha!) Garrett got a ton, and I do mean a TON of Star Wars stuff and he and Jacob have had a blast assembling it all! So, thanks to all who came and made his 6th birthday an event to remember! Here are some photos of our fun day!

Little Jedi

Cupcakes

The Birthday Bar

The cake

Opening TONS of gifts!

Jacob filming

The smiley birthday boy

Blowing out candles

Mom and Garrett and lots of little friends!

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY, GARRETT COLLIN!

MY, MY, MY! Where has the time gone? My first born is turning 6 today and it absolutely blows my mind! He has turned into such a young man! It seems like only a few days ago, he was toddling through the living room and now he is a big brother, plays all kinds of sports, and runs around with the "big kids" in the neighborhood! This has been an emotional week all around with school starting (kindergarten) and such a big birthday and party in the works, but I am so tickled that I get to share my Garrett with so many people. He is such a blessing to us and we are so proud to be his mom and dad! Happy Birthday, Little Man! We Love You! Hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane!

FINALLY, home from the hospital! He was born Sept. 1, 2003, but had to spend 13 days in NICU. We got home on Sept. 13! What a GREAT day!

Dancing with Mom. Jan. 1, 2005
age: 16 months

Christmas 2005
age 2

FIRST TEXAS TECH GAME
COTTON BOWL
JANUARY 2006
AGE 2

AT THE BIRD LEASE WITH DAD
SEPTEMBER 2006
AGE 3

Our family picture! May, 2007
Garrett - age 3 1/2

Our Rockin' Christmas Picture 2007
Age 4

Dallas Stars Game
March 2008
age 4 1/2

T-ball
April 2008
age 4 1/2

Meeting baby brother for the first time
December 18, 2008
age: 5

Easter Sunday 2009
Age 5 1/2

T-ball 2009
age 5 1/2

End of School Program with best buddy, Cannon
Kiddie Kollege 2009

First fish
June 2009

swimming lessons
July 2009

50 years of MOJO football with Nanna and Pa
July 2009

With our FAVORITE neighbor, Christy
FBC Family Picnic 2009

First Day of Kindergarten
August 24, 2009

Cant wait for the big Star Wars party to celebrate you turning 6!
Happy Birthday, Garrett Collin!