"Dobble, Dobble!"

From our little turkey to yours,

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Love,

Jeff, Les and Max

102 days in the NICU

Today marks 102 days that our nephew, Jackman, has been at the Children's Hospital NICU. 102 days since my sister-in-law, Lisa, gave birth to him and had to watch the paramedics take him from her and put him on a helicopter to Children's. 102 days that they have driven 2 hours a day to visit with their baby during an allotted time period. 102 days since the life they already knew would be changed forever by the birth of their son was changed in a completely different way than they planned. 102 days is a long time.

On the other hand, it has been 102 days that we have been blessed to have Jackman in our lives. 102 days that his parents have been able to get to know him and hold him and love him. 102 days that his grandparents have been able to spoil him. 102 days that he has been able to grow stronger and become ready for surgery. 102 days that we have seen our big God work through our little Jackman. 102 days that I have watched my brother-in-law lean on his Heavenly Father in order to become the best earthly father for Jackman. A lot can happen in 102 days.

Jackman is doing great. He is adorable and growing like a weed (see pics below). He is smiling, playing and sticking his tongue out. He is a normal baby. He rocks a mohawk like nobody's business and has every nurse wrapped around his chubby little finger. We are more than ready to get this boy home. He needs to be at his house with his parents. He needs to meet his cousins, his extended family and his church family. He needs to be HOME.

He had his first procedure this past week to begin stretching his esophogus. He is presently sedated and on a breathing tube so that he will not disturb any of the stitches. They doctors will be checking tomorrow to see how the stretching is going. We originally thought they would be trying to attach, but it looks like now they are just going to be seeing what progress has been made.

Please continue to pray for baby Jackman. Join us in being specific with your prayers . Pray that Jackman's esophogus is growing, that the doctors will be able to attach it to his stomach SOON and that he will be home by Christmas. When we were young, we never just asked our parents for a bike. We were specific. We asked for a pink bike with purple streamers or a red bike with a black seat. Why should we be any different with our Heavenly Father? We know we may not always get what we ask for, but He wants us to ask and give Him all glory no matter the outcome.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers for our family! We really appreciate them!

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who is promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

Gloomy Day Pick-Me-Up

Proof that we actually have had some sunshine lately, though it is hard to remember that today!

Max loves to play outside, whether it's going to the zoo, the park or just hanging out in our driveway. On this day he was all about pushing his car around (he did NOT want to actually ride in it), walking up and down the "hill" next to our mailbox and collecting rocks in a cup. What can I say? He's easily entertained! : )

Halloween Flashback

2007

2008

2009

Where did the time go??

We had a fun Halloween this year! Keep scrolling down to see Max at Trunk or Treat, his First Class party and Trick or Treating on Halloween night!

Trunk or Treat

Our church held our Trunk or Treat the Wednesday before Halloween. Each adult Sunday School class decorated a car and handed out candy to the children. It was a lot of fun! Max dressed up as Woody from Toy Story and did not have any issue with wearing his costume - just the hat. He would NOT keep it on! It was Max's first experience with Trick or Treating and he figured it out pretty quickly. He started opening his treats and trying to eat them all! We had quite a tantrum when it was time to leave and he was not allowed to hold his "punky with snacks" in the car! Call me crazy but I did not want M&M-colored stains on my car seats! He also loved pointing out all the other Woody's and Buzz's - and, boy, were there a lot of them! Definitley a popular costume! Overall, it was a great night. The weather was beautiful and the kids were all adorable. Keeping up with Max was stressful at times due to the large crowd, but we all had so much fun!

Class Party

Max had his first class party last week. The kids were so cute and had a great lunch of Chick-fil-A nuggets, Cheetos, grapes, juice and lots of Halloween candy! Needless to say Max was wired when it was over! He was literally spinning in circles around the room. : )I think he thoroughly enjoyed his first party!

Trick or Treating

On Halloween night, we decided to "trick-or-treat" our family, rather than neighbors that we don't know! Max had fun dressing as Woody again, though he still refused that hat! : ) We headed to Grandma Brenda's, Ash and Ricky's, Mamaw Jo's and then ended at our good friend, Cassie's, house. It was a lot of driving but a lot of fun! Max seemed to really enjoy getting treats for just knocking on someone's door! Hopefully, he won't be expecting that from now on!

At Grandma Brenda's

Knocking on Ash and Ricky's door

Getting M&M's from Mamaw Jo

Trick or Treating at Cassie's house