Pumpkin Patchin it Up

Saturday morning in Dallas was a beautiful day and we headed to a fabulous pumpkin patch not far from my sister's house. Landrum had her first experience in a bounce house - she was not sure exactly what to do once inside, fortunately it was not super crowded and she was not trampled! She also got to ride a 'train' with daddy, shout at the horses and explore the pumpkins - she loved it!

Trick or Treat Texas Style

This past weekend we went to Dallas to see my sister and her family. Landrum needed some cousin time and everyone wanted to meet Luke. We had such a fun weekend. I laughed and called it Jared's "Man-Sports" weekend as he had a fun filled time. He played golf with an old friend on Friday at a very nice course and had a great round although he has not picked up his clubs in a year and a half! (we are a little busy around here). Then Sunday he and Luke, my brother in law, trucked on over to the new Cowboys stadium with 60,000+ other fans, and experienced the Cowboys beating the Seahawks. Of course we could only afford standing room tickets since all other tickets are so outrageous because they have to pay for that monstrocity! Anyway - he had a GREAT time doing all his 'man' activities. We all had a great time too playing with cousins and trying to do a little shopping (although it is very difficult to accomplish much with 4 kids 3 and under!). Saturday night everyone dressed up and we headed out to trick our treat. This was Landrum's first experience with trick or treating and she loved it! She was a little overwhelmed by all the costumes and got somewhat sidetracked. She kept swing her pumpkin bucket so hard that we lost a good bit of the candy we collected! She really did not care about the candy though. She was one dang cute Pink Poodle!

Fall is Here

Well, atleast technically fall is here. In Mississippi we don't actually have much of a 'real fall' but when the temps are in the 70's I declare it is fall! We went to the pumpkin patch with my parents on Saturday and had such a fun time. It is actually much more than just a pumpkin patch, there is a hayride with lots of stops a long the way to look at various animals - including a Zedonk - yes a zebra donkey mix - really one of a kind! There were performing goats and giant catfish as well as your run of the mill cows, donkeys, chickens and pigs. We all got to pick out our own pumpkins which Landrum loved! I carried Luke in the sling the whole time and he did great!

The Babies

We had a sweet friend come and take some pictures of the kids. She is just starting her own photography business and needed some new born photos so it worked out perfectly. We had fun and the children cooperated for the most part. Here are some of my favorites from that day!

Update

We are alive! Things are starting to settle into some sort of routine around here. I am at home on my own with the children during the day now.. while I will be honest by about 2:30 we are staring at the clock waiting for Jared to walk through the door!

We took Luke to his 2 week check up with our pediatrician yesterday and had a great visit. He is 6lbs on the dot - we were thrilled! He has really done well with his weight gain and the doctor was very pleased.. all this to say he is still only in the 5th percentile for his weight!! Developmentally he is right on track and looks great! We will have to go back each week for a weight check between now and his 2 month check up, just to make sure he is continuing to gain on track. He does have some problems with reflux that have kept us up during the night, in fact he and i spend most of our night on the couch together.. we started some medicine today and we are hoping that is going to clear up some of our problems..

I will put some more pictures up soon - promise!

This Week

Well, we knew the transition from one to two was going to be both challenging and exciting... but I am not sure we were quite prepared.. and I suppose it really would not be that bad except that Jared has been sick since we have been home. Turns out, we are pretty sure he has a stomach ulcer. It is terrible - he is so uncomfortable and not able to really do much at all. He feels terrible and I feel terrible for him. On top of him not feeling well, I am of course recovering from surgery, we are trying to tend to a newborn, and attempting to help sweet Landrum transition from being an 'only' to a big sister - a role she is a little unsure of I might add! Really, Landrum seems to like Luke okay - she is always anxious to see 'baby' as she calls him and to know what he is doing. She likes to help give him the pacifier, which usually ends up smashed in his eye, she likes to give lots of kisses, and pats and pull his hat off. If he is in the bouncy seat, she loves to help 'rock, rock' the baby.. we had to nip that in the bud pretty quickly lest he go catapulting across the room from the love of his sister!

Luke is eating well and sleeping most all the time. He is doing okay at night and I am starting to feel like we are getting into somewhat of a norm. He is such a good eater and I am so pleased as we are trying to fatten him up a little! He is so so tiny! We did get a good report when we went back to the hospital for his weight check, he was back at his birth weight (5lb 9oz) at less than a week old - they were pleased and we were thrilled!
Jared has seen a doctor and is taking some medicine, however, the pain seems to come and go. He will seem to be better and then take a turn for the worse and be out for the count. It has been a trial for sure.
I managed to get some sweet pictures of Landrum and Luke today when she got home from church - she went with her grandparents. Thank goodness my parents live here as they have been lifesavers for us throughout this experience.

More Pics of Baby Luke

We are still in the hospital as Jayme and Luke needed an extra day of care. Luke woke with a low temp this morning and Jayme fought a spinal headache all night so each of their respected Drs recommended them getting one more night of hospital care. Both of them are having a good day - Jayme got her headache taken care of and Luke is wrapped in 18 blankets with the room temp at 80 degrees so if he is still cold, the only solution is more meat on his bones. So as long as things are normal in the morning, we will all get to go home tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers during this up and down, but joyous occasion. Here's some more pics of Luke's friends and family.

Luke Hamilton Yates

Luke is here! He was born on Friday, September 4th at 12:56 pm. As many of you know we were expecting to have a planned c-section on September 9th, however, that was not the Lord's plan I guess! Last week I (Jayme) started having higher blood pressure readings and so they were keeping an eye on those. Thursday evening, she started having some regular contractions and those combined with high blood pressure found us in the doctors office Friday morning checking things out. The doctor on call decided that it was probably best for us to go ahead and deliver Friday afternoon. We had a wonderful experience with our c-section and both Luke and I came through beautifully. Luke weighed in at 5lb 9oz and was 19 1/2 inches long, very tiny! He had some difficulty transitioning into the world over the next 12-24 hours or so but since then has been doing great. He has been eating well, is eager to look all around and check out his surroundings and loves to be held! We don't have tons of pictures to post yet as we were not able to see him that much at first - but we'll get plenty more in the coming days.

Landrum and Luke had a wonderful first meeting. She was curious and attempted plenty of poking and prodding to see if he was real or a doll. Going home with an addition to the family will be an adjustment to all of us but I am sure she will enjoy her role as the big sister. Thanks for continuing to lift us up in prayer during this joyous time and we look forward to introducing Luke to you soon.

Our Life is about to Change!

Well as most of you know we are expecting baby number two - Luke Hamilton - to be called Luke. He is set to arrive in two weeks! I can't believe it. We are having a c-section on the 9th of September, it is hard to believe that the time has already arrived. Life is about to change. For the past 16 months we have been a family of three and have really gotten into a routine of things - all that is about to be turned upside down with an infant! We are so excited about his arrival. Landrum really loves babies so I think she will like him, sometimes she just loves them too much - there is such a thing. When she was around her 12 week old cousin last month we had to really supervise her visitation - she would have catapulted her out of the bouncy seat or swing with her vigerous helping! I know she will be such a sweet big sister, it is just hard to imagine loving another baby as much as I love her. I know that I will, every other mom I know tells me it just happens - your ability to love grows! I am looking forward to that. Here are a few shots of Landrum lately - she is changing so much every day. She is learning new words and using them all the time! She is a non stop talker! She loves to play with her friends, go to church, do ANYTHING with daddy, ride in her wagon, and read books. She is such a joy in our life and makes us laugh all the time. I have really been enjoying sewing for her lately and have had some free time in which to do that - I know that will slow down once Luke arrives, but hopefully when we get back into the swing of things I will get back into it.. for now enjoy!

Landrum enjoying birthday cupcakes at her cousins 1st birthday party!

Landrum and her Mimi at her Mimi's birthday party!

Stewardship

So we have been having a sermon series at church about stewardship which has been great and I have thought some about this idea as of late.. how can I be a good steward of our resources and make them go as far as possible. Well one area that we always seem to go over budget is groceries - isn't that the case for almost everyone though? I just realize that every little trip we make to Kroger/Wal-Mart during the week adds up - you just can't go and spend less than $20 or $30 a pop. So I thought about how I could reduce our budget and stop these mid-week expenditures... I decided I would only shop once a week - buy all that we need and when we run out - we are out, until I go again. I thought that was a good plan but I was still researching ways to do even better. And so... I have joined The Grocery Game. Some of you may have heard about it - but if not, it is a very inexpensive program you can join online that does almost all the work for you (if they did all the work the groceries would just magically appear in my cabinet!). Anyway - each Sunday I go online to the website and download the "list" for my grocery store(s) and all of the sales are already organized. The company knows exactly what is on sale and if it is at it's lowest price, it tells you precisely what coupons to use and when. The idea behind the program is to stockpile items when they are at their lowest price instead of paying premium price for goods. The point of the program is to drastically reduce your grocery budget. Several acquaintances of mine with families of at least 4 have budgets low as $60 a week when using the game! So if you are interested you can read about it at http://www.thegrocerygame.com/. It really does not take that much work and there is a four week free trial! I am excited to be able to save money this way for our family. This past Sunday night I went shopping at my local Kroger, I got $120 worth of groceries for $60!!! Yeah!

Quick Update

I just wanted to update that we got good results from Jared's mom's biopsy. She had the bone marrow biopsy on Thursday and Friday we found out that the leukemia is gone. This is great news and exactly what we prayed for. However, we ask that you continue to pray for her. She is at her lowest point and having very bad days right now. They are continuously fighting fever and cannot get her white count to rise or her platelets. She has received platelets every day for the past week but her body is rejecting them. Please pray that her body will start accepting the platelets and making their own. Please pray for her comfort and strength as she is very weak and feeling awful with many side effects from the chemo this time. Thank you for faithfully praying for our family.

Fair Pictures

Here are some pictures from our first weekend at the fair.

Fair Friends! Our fair neighbor Anna Scott loves Landrum and is a huge helper!

Landrum and I are so proud of Jared! Great job on the triathalon!

Quick story: Landrum was exhausted Friday night after playing hard at the fair. We put her down around 7 and didn't hear a word from her. Jared went up to check on her around 8 and this is what he found! She had reached onto the ledge above her crib and found Jared's wallet. She then proceeded to empty all of its contents and spread them all around her crib. I found a $10 under her!

Loving the sawdust!

Update

Jared's mom finished up her chemo last night. She handled it really well all through the week and is only starting to feel some of the effects today. Her fever has gone up and her white count is very low. This is all expected and part of the process. She is starting to have some body aches and a bad head ache but otherwise is still doing well. She will have her biopsy this Friday and we will know more after that. Please pray for early remission and a clear biopsy so that we can move forward in this process.

We spent this weekend at the Neshoba County Fair and will head back up on Monday afternoon after my doctors appointment. We missed Debbie desperately as the fair is not really the fair without her! She is the life of our cabin! We still had a good and fairly relaxing weekend. Jared knocked the Heart of Dixie triathalon out and I was so proud of him! He completed the triathalon in a lot better time than he expected and felt great afterwards! He said he really enjoyed doing it and I am so glad that he was able to do it this year - the 30th running of the triathalon! Landrum and I were so so proud to cheer him on at the finish line!

Tonight is a really special night for us as well - Jared is being ordained as a minister. Another reason we have to be so proud of him! He and our good friend Craig Curtis (who was in Turkey with his wife Katie while were there) are both being ordained at Pinelake tonight and we are looking forward to a very special time with our family, church family and friends!

Pictures are soon to follow I promise!

Jared's Mom

Well it is hard to write this post, at least I did not think I would be writing it so soon. Jared's mom's cancer has returned. We found out today. She went in for her regular monthly check up and her counts were off. The doctor went ahead and orderd a bone marrow biopsy for today and checked her into the hospital. We received the results this evening while we were up at the hospital with her. The leukemia is back. She will begin 7 days of 24 hour chemotherapy tomorrow morning. They will do a follow up bone marrow biopsy in about 2 weeks and if it is clean they will begin building her counts back up so that she will be ready for a stem cell transplant in 6-7 weeks. She has already had her healthy stem cells harvested so they are ready whenever her body can handle the transplant. Unfortunately, she will not be able to have this transplant done here in Jackson and will have to go to UAB (in Birmingham) to have her transplant.

Please keep our family in your prayers as we battle this together. We know that the Lord is control of every one of our steps and has each of us in His arms. Please pray for Debbie, for strength, comfort, peace and for the ability to fight this disease. Pleae pray for Stan, that he will be able to offer her the comfort she needs and that he will have peace and strength as he battles with Debbie. Thanks so much for your support and prayers.

First Tooth

Yes you read that correctly. Landrum is 15 months today and is JUST NOW cutting her first tooth. Well one has cut through the gum completely and is slowly working it's way in, a second is close to follow I think. Can you believe it has taken this long? You have no idea how many times I was convinced she was teething over the past 15 months.. and now when she is really teething she has none of the classic symptoms! So that is pretty great... the doctor kept saying.."as long as she gets them by 18 months"... but would not ever say what would happen if they did not come in by then.... baby dentures? Ah well, not to worry - she is getting her teeth.

Otherwise - we are doing well. I am now 30 weeks pregnant - Landrum makes sure I go to bed each night completely exhausted. I feel great and am progressing well I guess. We will meet our son 9 weeks from today... hard to believe! I would post pictures of his nursery... if he had one. That is my next project... so there will be pictures one day soon!

Visiting the Cousins

Landrum and I went on our first solo road trip last week. We drove to Dallas last Sunday to spend a week with my older sister Erin and her family. Erin just had her third baby, Olivia, in April and this was our first time to meet her! We had a great time. I was a little nervous about the trip over as it is about 7 hours driving. I tend to get really sleepy in the car and Landrum tends to get fussy after about an hour of riding. Well the Lord heard my prayers and we had a great trip. Landrum slept all the way past shreveport - wonderful! I was so sleepy until Monroe when I remembered I had several sermons in the car, I love listening to sermons while driving - focusing keeps me awake.. so Chip and the Word saved our lives! We had such fun even though it was unbearably hot each and every day. Landrum adores her cousins and did not want to nap or even sleep at night as she was convinced she was missing out on all the fun. I made Landrum and Rylie matching dresses to wear to a picnic/outdoor childrens concert that we went to one night and they were both thrilled! We can't wait for them to come and visit us in August, along with Bethany, David and Pace! What fun!

Not so sure about the apron!

Playing dress up

Fun at the picnic/concert

Cooling off!

Week 2 (Savannah and Tybee Island)

Please read the previous post for a recap of our fabulous two week vacation. Enjoy the pictures from the second week!

Exhausted after a hard two weeks of playing!!!