answered prayer

Tomorrow marks a week until the school year begins. I'll be honest --- I've been dreading it. Usually I am a little sad to see my lazy days of summer come to an end; however, this year I am really sad to see my maternity leave end. I have been blessed with 6 precious months at home with Everett. Days spent walking with Aunt Jules, laughing, changing dirty diapers, loving on Marley and Kai, hanging by the pool, drinking lots of coffee, cheering on dad at softball games, taking naps together, vacationing. The last 6 months have been an unbelievable blessing, perfectly perfect days spent with my sweet boy. Needless to say, I'm incredibly sad that my time at home with Everett will end next week. Despite lots of prayers and plans, I'm not able to stay at home with him. So, Aaron and I started searching for somewhere/someone to watch Everett. We looked at a number of daycares and talked to a few individual babysitters. In the end, we lined up a woman from Morgantown to watch him 4 days a week and my mother in law, Diane, once a week. The babysitter came highly recommended from a fellow teacher and so we were confident that she would do a good job watching Everett; however, neither of us was completely at peace. We continued to talk and pray about it- Aaron more diligently than I. I kept pushing the thought of Everett with someone else to the back of my mind, denying the fact that August 30th would get here whether I wanted it to or not. Aaron (unbeknownst to me) was continuing to pray that I would be able to stay at home with Everett or that if that wasn't possible that another opportunity would present itself. Thursday I called my friend Missy O'Malley. I had a dvd of hers that I needed to return. She just happened to be thinking about us and asked me what we were doing with Everett for childcare. And that was the beginning of our prayers being answered. We've been friends with the O'Malleys for years. They've got two fun little girls- Aubrey (4.5) and Leah (2.5). Missy runs children's ministry at church. They live near us in Honeybrook. They love Everett. And most importantly- they love Jesus. It was an instant relief, a weight off our shoulders knowing that my friend would watch my little boy, that he will learn about Jesus, that he will play with her sweet girls. It's funny the way the Lord works sometimes. The way his answers to prayer wouldn't always be mine, but that he has things worked out for us. How thankful I am for a praying husband, a willing friend, and a faithful god. Proverbs 16:9 - In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Aubrey and Leah with 2 week old Everett

philly fanatics

For an anniversary, most people go out to dinner, somewhere romantic perhaps, maybe a weekend getaway or just some alone time are on the agenda; however, that was not us for our anniversary this year. We were sitting 9 rows back from home plate with Everett and 43,000 of our closest friends. Okay, maybe not, just Uncle Sethie and our friends Amber and Nate Todd :) You see Aaron's boss just happened to send Aaron an email on Wednesday (our anniversary was Thursday) offering him 5 diamond club tickets for the next night. It was a no brainer really. We wanted to take Everett to a game and this was the perfect opportunity. Awesome seats, a parking pass, and $30 per ticket of food or merchandise. I mean really, who wouldn't want these?! Anyway, so Thursday came and we headed down to West Chester, picked up our fellow diamond clubbers, and headed off to Citizens Bank Park. Everett was all decked out in his Phils gear (compliments of Aunt Sara Thomas) and did such a good job all night! I'm pretty sure it was just sensory overload for a while. He just sat in Aaron's arms and looked around. After ordering sodas, cheesesteaks, chicken fingers, fries, and hot dogs (and Everett having a bottle) we were all feeling pretty good. A few innings later, Amber and I were off in search of dessert. The diamond club ran out of vanilla ice cream (boo), so we trekked up a level in search of the good stuff. Apparently everyone else in the stadium was getting ice cream too, because by the time we got back to our seats Amber had melted ice cream all over her hands, legs, and feet! When we got back Everett was passed out on Aaron looking adorable. So adorable, in fact, that the camera guy came over and put him on the jumbo tron! Seriously, do you know how many sporting events I've been at in my life and Everett's first professional game ever he gets on the big screen?! haha Cotton candy, more soda, waters, and beer were ordered. We were determined to use every last dollar on all the tickets (we did)! The game went to extra innings and the Phillies ended up winning. It was a perfect end to a perfect game.

our little family :)

the view from our seats

Aaron and Everett (I love this one!)

The Todd's

ice cream mishap

There may have been ice cream inside Amber's ring...

Nate plotting how he was going to get on the jumbo tron...

what Everett was doing when he got on the jumbo tron

Uncle Seth putting Everett to sleep :)

so cute

love

hahaha

where has the time gone?

1 week old

3 months old

5 months old

beach baby

Everett and Dad

I think this was Everett's overall feeling about the beach...

family shot

standing in the sand

passed out with grandpop

love that face ... and those lips :)

Grammy and Everett

1,461 days

is the number of days Aaron and I have been married and I'm pretty sure he's made me laugh every single one of them :) I knew it would be like that when I married Aaron 4 years ago. What I didn't know was how I could possibly love him more every day (I do). What I also didn't know was the way I would love him ten times that when I see him with Everett. Who knew a man like that, so funny and quick-witted and quite the manly man could be so sweet and gentle and hands-on with our son. I am so thankful for that man, for the life we've created together, and for the rest of our lives to spend together!

buddies

Everett and his buddy Nolan Lusby hanging out poolside

a month of firsts...

Everett made his first trip to IKEA with me and my good friend Sara Thomas. I always forget that they don't give you bags, so Everett was stuck holding everything. He didn't seem to mind ;)

It seems like we can never quite finish all of the bananas before they start turning mushy. This was one of those mornings, so I decided that the mushy bananas should be used to make some chocolate chip banana bread. Everett sat in his bumbo seat and watched me make it. He loved the noise of the little hand mixer and fell asleep watching me. First try at making banana bread "together" was a success!

First July 4th holiday.

Everett got to see fireworks in Downingtown, although he didn't seem all that impressed?!

First attempt at eating rice cereal.

He was unsure at first, but ended up loving it. We can't seem to shovel it in fast enough now!

First trip to the cottage. I spent my childhood traveling to Tionesta, PA (north of Pittsburgh) and playing in the river, hiking in the woods, and fishing with my dad. I have so many great memories of that little cottage on the Allegheny, and I'm thankful that Everett can have the same!

First tube ride. We dropped Mimi, Pop-pop, Aaron and the boys at the bridge about a 1/2 mile upstream from the cottage. Aaron was so excited to take Everett! He cried for a little bit, but Aaron said he really seemed to enjoy it! It was also Everett's first time wearing his life vest from Grammy. He didn't seem to mind it, which is good because I forsee Everett getting a lot of use out of that little vest :)

It's pretty amazing how much fun we've had with Everett. Watching him experience new and different things makes it that much more fun for us. He is awesome and we're loving every minute of being his parents :)

first fathers day

I realize this is a week late, but Happy Father's Day Aaron! Everett loves you so much and I do too. You are an incredible man and an incredible dad. I pray that Everett will grow up and be just like you. I'm pretty sure if he could talk he'd let you know you really are his HERO :)

Everett's new trick

a bump in the road

This is a difficult post, and hard to come up with the words to write it. Usually, I stick to the happy and fun things going on in our life, but we've hit a bump in the road. Everett was born with a heart murmur. Many babies are, it's a common thing and usually goes away we were told. So, we didn't think anything of it until his two month appointment when the doctor showed some concern that she could still hear the murmur. We were scheduled for an echo (ultrasound) and an EKG and finally got the testing last Thursday. Test results came back and he was diagnosed with something called aortic valve stenosis. We didn't really get a good explanation, probably because I was in a fog after they told me my perfect little boy has a not so perfect heart. We spent the next 5 days frustrated and bitter at times and sad and just upset. Millions of questions filtered through my brain --- was it something I did or ate or didn't do when I was pregnant? Will Everett be able to live a normal life? be a regular little boy that digs in the dirt and runs around the playground? The questions were unending, but also knew that the Lord had things worked out. So we prayed. Family prayed, friends prayed, and we waited (anxiously) for clarity. We had an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist from CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) on Monday. We spent 2.5 hours there, having tests done and re-done and watching poor little Everett poked and prodded. In the end, we got a lot of clarity on what was going on with Everett's heart. He does in fact have mild aortic stenosis and they also found that his aorta right past the valve is twice the size it should be. While that sounds grim, it's not as bad as it could be. For now, Everett can be treated just like any other little boy his age. In fact, the doctor told us to pretend we didn't have the conversation (I think he could see the worry on our faces as he told us the diagnosis). We will have to go back to CHOP in September to have another echo and EKG done and will most likely need to have an MRI done on Everett before his first birthday. As long as his aorta does not enlarge any more, Everett will just be monitored. And while a lifetime of pediatric cardiologist appointments seems daunting, we are SO SO thankful that that is all that needs done for now. We don't know what the future holds for Everett and if he will get to run around on that playground or play sports if he wants to, but we do know that the Lord has amazing plans for him... and for that we are incredibly thankful.

(Psalm 139:13-14) For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and WONDERFULLY made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.