Happy Halloween

Grandfather Mountain

We took a trip to the mountains this fall with the kids. They absolutely loved it! We went to Grandfather Mountain for one day and explored there. We made it to the Mile High Swinging Bridge, but only made it half way across. 55 MPH winds and a swinging bridge are not a good combination!!

Off to the Turtle Class

Brower was super excited to start school today in his turtle class! His teachers are Mrs. Wait and Mrs. Peizer. It was a big day for our little guy!

Too Spicy

I have what my kids call "spicy mints" in my car. They are peppermint Ice Breaker mints. The kids asked for one the other night so I gave each of them one. It was a beautiful night outside, so I had the windows down in the car as we were driving home. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Brower with his mouth wide open. It really scared me because I thought Brower was choking on the mint. I asked him if he was okay. He said "I okay Mommy, I just getting lots of air in my mouth. This mint is too spicy!"

And She's Off....

...to her first day of Kindergarten. I
cannot believe my little girl is old enough to start school. I know it is so cliche', but time flies! I have been trying to prepare myself for this day all summer. I knew I was going to be so sad and was going to have to do my best to hold it together!
The night before school Kate and I had a really sweet time cuddling in bed and talking about the next day. She told me how excited she was and I told her how proud of her I was. I will cherish that time with her
forever.
Kate had a huge smile on her face from the moment she woke up and realized that today was the day!! Finally, the first day of kindergarten had arrived! She got dressed and enjoyed waffles and milk for breakfast. We took lots of pictures and then headed off to school. We had to wait in line for a teacher to check Kate in. That gave Chad and I lots of time to give her plenty of hugs and kisses and to spend time praying with her. We got her checked in and said our last good-byes before Mr. Hurlihy took her around the corner to her classroom. I have to say, I held it together pretty well. There were definitely lots of tears, but I will remember the smile on her face forever....she was just so excited! Brower was super excited for her to come home too. We made cookies for Kate. As soon as she walked in the door, Brower said "Hi Kate, how was kindergarten, tell me about your day!" It was so cute. We sat and enjoyed our cookies as Kate told us about how great her first day of school was. She loved it every bit as she thought she would!
Dear Kate, you are such a joy in our lives. Daddy and I could not have been more proud of you today. You looked absolutely beautiful with your pink bookbag and your big smile. Seeing you turn the corner to your classroom was really hard for me. It was like having to give up a part of me so that I could let you take this next step and grow up. You have grown into an amazing little girl who is so fun to be with, who loves to laugh and play. You are super girly, but you also love to be tough and play in the mud. I love the sound of your giggles and I will miss them everyday while you are at school. My prayer for you this year is that you will love learning in school, that you will meet lots of new friends and that you will grow closer to God...and of course that you will learn how to read! (you have been asking me all summer to teach you to read!) I know you will acheive all those things. You are such a smart girl and will do wonderful in school. Mommy, Brower and Holt will miss you while you are at school and will be looking forward to seeing you come home everyday! We love you sweet Kate and are so proud of you!

Holt-3 mos.

Happy 4th of July

Thank you for your prayers!

Well, I can honestly say that I have never felt so many prayers in my life! Chad and I have been so overwhelmed by the love we have felt from our friends and family while Holt has been in NICU.
We got the best news today! That Holt's last x-ray looks completely clear and that he gets to go home with us tonight. I have been preparing myself for the past three days that I would have to go home and leave my little baby here in the NICU. I never thought he would get to come home with me today. Chad and I got the news and were elated! God is good and we know that he is soverign. We are so ready to leave the NICU forever and get our sweet boy home!

Please Pray!

While Nonna and Papa were hanging out with us later that evening, our wonderful nurse Kristen came into our room to check on Holt. While she was in there, she noticed that Holt was making a grunting noise and wanted to take him to the nursery to have him checked out. They ran tests on Holt most of the evening and made the decision to admit him to the NICU because they found fluid in and around his lungs. Chad and I were finally able to go back to the NICU around 11 and see Holt for the first time. I don't think anything could have prepared us for seeing our new baby boy in an isolette in the NICU connected to so many machines. It was so difficult to be in there with him and not be able to hold him or feed him. The doctors put an IV in to keep him nourished and to start giving him anti-biotics. He was also connected to a machine to monitor his breathing and oxygen levels. We were able to meet with the neonatologist late that evening who gave us the grim news that the fluid in his lungs could be caused by three things- fluid from birth, pneumonia, or a heart defect. Our hearts hurt so badly for our baby boy! It was so difficult for us to leave him alone in his room that night. The nurses did tell me that I could come back at 4 to see him and that they might let me feed him.
Chad and I left Holt's room and went back to our room to pray and cry. We sent out a few emails, texts and made a few phone calls asking everyone we knew to pray for our little boy. Chad and I will never forget that night. I have truly never felt the power of prayer like I did that night. I knew that I was being surrounded by prayer and was given an amazing peace from God. Chad and I were laying in our beds that night and both of our phones were beeping every minute for about an hour from people who loved us sending us texts telling us that they were praying for us and for Holt. It was a silly thing, but for us, each time we heard our phone beep, it was another prayer for him. We both just layed there in bed and cried. Amazingly, I was finally able to fall asleep- I had been up for over 36 hours.
I got to go to the NICU at 4 and hold and feed Holt. I just sat there with him in my arms for over an hour and cried. It felt so good to hold my little boy in my arms. Just holding him gave me such a peace.

Proud Big Sister and Big Brother

Kate and Brower were so excited to come meet their new baby brother! They loved that we named him Holt William. They both wanted to kiss him and hold him. Brower decided he needed to lick his head...not sure what that was all about! Kate could not get enough of him. She wanted to hold him all day. It was so great to have our whole family together!

Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Rob, Aunt Linda, Aunt Anna, Nonna and Papa all came to meet Holt that day. Everyone was amazed at how big he was. He has really big hands and lots of chubby rolls. Even Dr. Flannagan wanted to stay in the room to see how much he weighed because he looked so big when he was born!

Holt William Evenhouse

Holt William Evenhouse was born today at 8:23 am. He weighed 9lbs. 5ozs. ( a big boy!) and was 20 1/2" long. We were so excited to finally meet our sweet boy!

Cowboy Days

Kate's end of the year program was called Cowboy Days. She and her teachers and friends have been practicing for the past couple of months. She did such a great job and we are so proud of her. They said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang My Country Tis of Thee. Of course, I was crying as soon as they said the Pledge of Allegiance and continued crying through the whole show. They sang some really fun songs like Tony Chestnut, Yankee Doodle and Buffalo Cows. They also sang You Are My Sunshine with a special verse to mommies and daddies. It was such a great program! We love you Kate and couldn't be more proud of you!!

Strawberry Picking

One of our favorite traditions is to go strawberry picking each spring. We picked up Holden and Sawyer to strawberry picking. The kids had so much fun picking strawberries and eating homemade ice cream.