My 1st Mother's Day and Cade is 7 months!!

(Cade's painting)

Happy Mother's Day!!! This year was my first official Mother's Day with Cade. Last year, he was on the inside ;-) That seems like a lifetime ago. Now my baby is 7 months old. I have loved being Cade's mommy. Time has flown by, and Cade is doing more everyday. Right now he is trying to crawl. He can get onto his hands and knees, but usually ends up doing a pushup or scooting across the floor.

Blake and I could not have asked for a happier baby. Cade is constantly smiling and laughing. Don't get me wrong---he has his moments, but his overall spirit is beautiful. I am so proud to be his mother on this Mother's Day.

What's been going on lately?

It's been awhile since I have blogged. Cade has been keeping us busy. The biggest thing that happened lately: Car wreck :-( Last Saturday when the rain was pouring down, we hydroplaned and lost control. Our Envoy spun across I-30 and hit the left guardrail twice, which bounced us back across 30 to the right shoulder facing the wrong direction. Luckily, Cade wasn't with us. We had just left Malvern, Arkansas, and for some reason, I suggested he spend the night with Blake's parents in Arkansas and come back Sunday.

I worried about Cade the entire hour before the wreck. Should I have left him so far away? Was he going to be okay? Was Blake's mom going to have enough energy to keep up with him? As soon as we hit the guardrail, I was so grateful that he wasn't with us. I counted our blessings the rest of the night that he hadn't been with us. God is so great at giving us those moments.

When it was all said and done, the Envoy was totaled, and we have a Nissan Altima!

Easter 2009

Happy Easter!!! This blog is a little late, but these days it has not been easy to keep up with the blog and the family. Our first family Easter was great. Cade looked adorable, and our Easter service at cLife was great! We are looking forward to watching Cade hunt Easter eggs next year :) What an awesome time of year to celebrate Christ's resurrection!

This year I was able to talk with my 6th graders at school about Good Friday, which was awesome. They had a lot of questions about what Good Friday was for, and we were able to talk about it. They were so cute asking questions like: "Why is it called 'good' Friday?" They thought it should have been called Black Friday. It's all perspective I guess.

The best part is: Christ is risen!!! And that gives us a hope for tomorow.

6 months old: A Bittersweet Time

There is a beautiful bluebonnet patch in Forney by the flags. This is Cade Leland on his 6 month birthday. It is such a bittersweet time for me. I love that Cade is learning so many new things, but I can't believe that my baby is half a year old. Don't get me wrong. I don't miss those newborn nights, but I do miss that newborn look and those tiny baby clothes. My sweet boy, though, is sitting up now and he wants to badly to start crawling and even walking. We went to the doctor this morning and Cade weighs a whopping 19 lbs. and he is almost 28 inches long. He also got his shots, so these bluebonnet shots are a little deceiving. He actually wasn't too thrilled about taking these pictures at this point in the day. The shots had kicked in, and he was pretty fussy. At least he was a good sport for a few of the pics. CADE: Daddy and Mommy love you so much! We can't believe how quickly you are growing, and you remind us daily of God's love and blessings. Happy birthday!

Marriage retreat-Cade's first overnight stay

This past weekend Blake and I were able to go to our church's first marriage retreat. It was a great time for us to get away and just refresh. We were reminded of ways to renew our relationship, and we're actually attempting to follow through with some of the things we learned.

To go on the retreat, though, we had to leave Cade with Blake's parents overnight :( It was our first time to be without him that long, and it was, of course, much harder for me than for Blake. Luckily, my mother-in-law was nice enough to send us pictures during the weekend. The first picture she sent Friday night was Cade taking a bath in the sink. It was so cute, but it almost made me cry. He did such a great job, and we knew he would. He has his Daddy's social personality. We can't believe how old he is getting. He is sitting up now, and he gives such wonderful hugs and kisses. Blake and I feel so blessed to have him, and he adds so much to our marriage.

Blah...Internet woes

I was just reading a blog entitled "Bad Blogger," but I think I definitely win that award. It has been almost one month since I've blogged. Our home internet has been having issues (I am currently on my parents' internet). AT & T said that somehow our account was erased? Not sure on that one, but the guy that Blake talked to said he'd only seen it about 3 times in his 10 years there. Someone from AT & T came to fix it, but for some reason it still doesn't work. I'm not even sure where to start on what I've missed.

On March 10th, Cade turned 5 months!!! I think that's the main thing. I'll try to fill in the gaps as I go through pictures. Until then, here is one of Cade's 5 month pics

Fireproof weekend

Our family has had a pretty eventful weekend. On Friday, my mother-in-law Dana had a mastectomy. Blake and Cade were able to go up to the hospital to sit and wait during the surgery. We only found out two weeks ago about her breast cancer. It was a shock to us all. It really makes us re-evaluate things. Blake and I talked about how it's hard to think about your parents being mortal. We know in our head that they are getting older, but we never realize it until something like this happens. Dana is doing well, and she is in great spirits. We visited her today, and she should be going home tomorrow. I was impressed to see her sitting up with her makeup done when we walked in this afternoon. With the short span between the diagnosis and surgery, we all haven't had much time to dwell on the situation, which is an answer to prayers for all of us. We are now praying that she won't need chemo or radiation. Thank you all who have been praying for her and our family.

Friday night Blake and I were able to go see Fireproof (http://www.fireproofmymarriage.com/) at the church. It was almost like a real date night! Those are few and far between these days. It was a great movie once we got past the cheesy acting. Blake and I had a chance to talk last night and on our way to the hospital today, which we haven't made time for lately. The movie was a great reminder of living in a godly marriage. We often get too busy to notice that anything might be wrong. We go through the motions, and after a month, two months, or even a year, we realize that we are more roommates than husband and wife. Blake and I are really looking forward to cLife's marriage retreat (March 27-28th) as well. You can start signing up Sunday...just so you know ;-)

Overall the weekend has been a great one. Blake and I are looking forward to relaxing as a family tomorrow night.