The Journey Begins: 2014

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Megarama Day

We went to an awesome DS Community event called Megarama Day last weekend. It was named after a sweet redhead girl with DS, Megan and this year was their 17th annual event. We even got to meet Megan! It was at a ranch... On an island!
Here's Braeden and daddy when we first arrived. Braeden got his own bandana! Isn't he so cute?! :-)

After we all got signed in, we went on a hay wagon ride down to the ocean shore! We sang songs and got to use instruments like maracas, drums and tambourines!! Braeden was mesmerized by Shooter, playing the Banjo. And, there's Megan sitting next to me :-)

After we got back from the ocean, Little Bear got to ride his first horse! He didn't like the helmet, but once he sat on the horse and started moving, he was giggling and smiling the whole time :-)

Everytime they moved again, Little Bear's face would just light up and he would giggle! Too bad it was around the bends where I couldn't get very good pics.

After our horse ride, we decided to rest and get to know more families. We met lots of new friends and everyone was very welcoming! We ate lunch (hotdogs, Braeden's favorite!), and then all he wanted to do was crawl around and explore the grass (and sidewalks). So we let him just crawl for awhile; everyone kept commenting on his strength and speed with crawling! He's doing so well and we are so proud of him :-)

When we were done with that, we did some crafts! Braeden helped (or tried to help) mommy stamp pictures of pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, and horses on our own barn page. Then, we colored a picture and actually got the crayon to paper, not just into our mouth! It was fun!!

Braeden was getting really tired by now, considering his nap time was about halfway through the event! But we decided to ride a horsey one more time before we left. We got to ride a black one this time and once again, he loved it!

By this point, Little Bear was very sleepy! Once he got off the horse, he was crying his sleepy tears, so I cuddled him up to me and he just fell asleep. We decided that he had had enough excitement for the day and we said goodbye to everyone. He was such a great sport and it was fun to meet new families like us!

I'll leave you with one more picture:

The Aftermath!

If you're interested in more information about DS Community or Megarama Day, visit their website:
www.downsyndromecommunity.org
www.megaramaday.com

Will write again soon! :-)
God Bless!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Braeden's Baby Dedication

We had the honor of having Braeden dedicated to The Lord this past August. Our pastor, Hutch, passed away at the end of December and this was the last of his baby dedications.

August 25th, 2013

Performed by Pastor Hutch

Morning worship team, including Hutch's 2 daughters :-)

Pastor Hutch

It was a wonderful ceremony during Sunday service and there were about 10 dedications. Braeden's was midway through, and he was the hit of the day! First, he gave the congregation a huge smile as we walked up and everyone laughed and clapped, making him smile more :-)

Braeden is such a ham!

Beginning of the dedication

Speaking to us about raising Braeden in the Christian faith and leading him to God.

Then, when Hutch took him, Braeden grabbed Hutch's ear-mic (is that what they are called?).

Mommy and daddy trying to get Braeden's hands off the mic!

Hutch has to hold Braeden's hand down!

And lastly, he covered Hutch's mouth! Hutch said "you're the only one who can do that and get away with it. Though I know lots of people want to do it!"

Covering Hutch's mouth!

Hutch said, "I don't trust you not to grab my mic or mouth while I close my eyes and pray." :-P

Praying for Braeden and his faith.

It was such a great experience! Grandpa and uncle Josh were on a hike and weren't able to make it back for the service. But grandma Hurley was able to be there :-)

Moving

We moved to my in-laws this summer; leaving the day after Braeden's Gotcha day. Hubby's parents and brother drove down to help us finish packing and cleaning the house, and helped us move up with them. We rented a big moving truck and filled it up. Then, dad drove that, pulling his car behind on a trailer; Mom and I drove my car with Braeden; and hubby drove the 3 dogs, with his brother. It was a 3.5 day drive and Braeden did so good! He got a little cranky on the last day, but who wouldn't?! We got settled in and are doing well. Been a bit of a struggle with the dogs. Our male dog and my in-law's male dog have alpha male complexes and don't get along. So we just keep them separated. Everything is settling in and it's nice to not have to worry about rent or food while we are transitioning.

Braeden has grown so much! Here is a few pics from the past few months!

Sitting up more by himself!

Aren't I cute, trying to roll over?!

Cutie pie!

Sitting up all alone!!

Anyway, we have had some fun times since being here as well. For example, we drove to a huge park a few hours away to meet my good friend who was visiting her family. Got to play on some swings and a big slide! Plus, we went on an old carousel :-) Lots of fun!!

Swinging for the first time!

This is fun!

Family picture at the park in front of the big slide!

Making souvenir pennies for my friend's kiddoes at the carousel!

Braeden and daddy on the carousel, with me in the background!

Braeden loved his first carousel ride :-)

We had to stop at a Cabela's nearby, and my friend's daughter wanted to feed Braeden. Aren't they cute? :-)

We also got to meet hubby's cousins from France and the UK when they visited this summer :-)

Getting kisses from cousin Sara

Cuties :-)

And of course, we've had lots of FaceTime dates with Nana, Popo, and auntie Kristi back home!

Popo and Braeden :-)

Nana and Braeden having fun!

Sticking out our tongues with auntie Kristi :-)

More to come! :-)

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Lots of changes and we are back :-)

Alrighty, so it's been waaaayyy too long since I've written a blog post again. Times are changing and life keeps moving, faster and faster. Anyway, to keep you up to date on what's been going on, I'm going to be writing a few blogposts close together (I hope) that start where we left off in June!

Here we go... It was the first day of Vacation Bible School at our church, in the middle of June, and I was co-teaching a classroom. Hubby got off work about 5pm as usual and hesitantly came down the hallway toward Braeden's room. He's always quoting movies he likes and this time he came in saying: "The arrangement is changing, has changed. As a matter of fact there is no arrangement." (From Ocean's 13) I just rolled my eyes and smiled, but there was a sad look on his face when I looked up. He said, "I lost my job". I thought he was kidding, but then he started crying. It broke his heart that he was able to provide for us anymore like he had been. That was the worst: his clearly broken heart as he stood there before me. Honestly, it was a shock. I didn't know what to say. I quietly finished changing Braeden and then fell into hubby's arms and started crying too. That whole evening was very hard. More and more things kept coming into my mind once I started understanding what losing his job really meant. No more income, no insurance, no way to provide for Braeden, where would we live, how would we be able to afford our dogs anymore, what if we got sick, etc. Thankfully, hubby has a great head on his shoulders and said we wouldn't make any decisions that evening until we had time to talk about everything. We talked and cried and prayed. My main fear was that we wouldn't be able to finalize Braeden's adoption without an income. That was less than a month away and I was gripped with fear. God provided for that right away and it didn't effect the adoption at all!
I wasn't sure if I should continue going to VBS cause it was 30miles away and we should save money, not spend it on gas. But hubby told me I needed to go, it would help me. And it honestly did. I got to talk to many Godly women and they helped me a lot throughout the rest of the week.
Over the next few days, hubby and I decided that we would move north since we had talked about it since we got married 4 years ago. The only thing that was ever holding us back (besides my family) was hubby's good job. Without the job, there wasn't really a good reason not to move and be where we ultimately wanted to live. We then got a call from our lawyer that the court date for Braeden's adoption was set for July 10th. We made plans to move starting on the next day, July 11th. Hubby's parents and brother were coming down for the adoption finalization already, so we figured it would be easier to move then when they could help us! And we did it. Moved the day after Braeden's Gotcha Day!
It was tough to pack and leave my family. Looking back though, I see God's hand in it all and it was really for the best that we don't have that job and that we were able to move. Hubby is still looking for a job, but we are doing alright and getting by.

From Braeden's Gotcha Day: