Super Bulldog Weekend

We had a great weekend in Starkville! Two friends of Hal's were also there, Ben and Alicia. We were married within a year of each other and all had boys within 4 months of each other. Hal and Ben also grew up together in Laurel. It was fun to be able to see all of them as well as be in Starkville. We drove up Friday night and Saturday morning we met at a playground so the boys could meet.

Drew and Wyatt (Alicia and Joe's son)

An attempt to get a picture of the moms and the boys!

After the playground, we took Drew back for a quick nap and the headed to the Little Dooey for lunch.

Taylor (Ben and Michelle's son) and Drew. I stole this pic from Facebook, so I guess that is why it is tiny. :)

After lunch we went to an arts festival they were having in the Cotton District.

We also met up with our friends Cliff and Christi and walked around campus. Then we headed to the Spring game. I was expecting the absolute worst. I though there was no way he would sit still, but he was great! We got there about 45 minutes early and made it through 2 quarters until we had a diaper blowout that meant it was time to go! He loved watching all the people and got really excited when he heard the band and the cowbells. He would start clapping with everyone and did his fair share of dancing with the music as well!

Watching the Bulldogs with Daddy.

Taking it all in!

Where are we?

We are in a bit of a lull right now and I must say I am enjoying it. The last few months have been filled with moving, road trips, house hunting, chemo treatments/hospital visits, and lots of little details.

We are set to close on our house in Brandon on April 30th. We did not get the house we originally made an offer on, but are so excited with our 2nd choice! I had seen the house several times online, but just couldn't get over the funky and not functional layout of the kitchen. We made an offer and asked the buyers for an allowance to remodel the kitchen and they accepted the offer! After closing, a contractor will be working on the kitchen and we hope to be in the house by mid-May. I will post before and after pictures later, but here is a pic of the front of the house.

Hal's daddy, Randy, finished up his last round of chemo a few weeks ago and has been feeling pretty good. He is set to begin the bone marrow transplant process this Friday with a chemo treatment in the hospital in Jackson. He will then come home for 10 days and do a series of shots to stimulate his bone marrow growth and will then do the collection. We are praying he handles this treatment as well as he has the chemo. We know the next couple of months are going to be rough on him but are so grateful that he is willing to go through the treatment! Please pray for strength for him as he goes through this first phase.

Fun Day With Family

The last few weeks have been crazy! Drew and I have been to Florida to pack up the house and then we spend Easter in Arkansas. Mom and Dad brought us back on Thursday and they spent the last few days in Laurel. Tonight we had a shrimp boil with Hal's family. My niece, Jess, took the pictures of Drew below. She is so talented...I will have to share a few more of the ones she has taken of him.

He got hungry before the shrimp was done, but as you can see from his face he loved his PB & J.

Playing with daddy

Saying cheese...through the truck window.

Ed and his "lady friend" Shannon. :)

Finally......

I have delayed writing this post because I didn't know where to begin or end for that matter! So here we go, I will tackle it subject by subject! Please excuse all typos...at least I am finally updating. You must get to the very end to see a pic of little man. They are all from IPhone so the quality isn't great. :)

Florida House: We received an offer on our house on March 18th. The offer was quite a bit less than what we were hoping for, BUT we are so grateful to have it and we accepted the offer. Due to some bank owned properties (foreclosures) that have been coming on the market right around us for considerably (like $50,000) less than what we had ours listed for, we felt it was time to move on. We are currently waiting on relocation to get all their paperwork done and then the buyers will do an inspection. Once that is complete and everything is clear with the inspection, we can settle with the relocation company. PRAY that the paperwork can be expedited and that the inspection comes back clear.

Moving: I was able to get a date with the moving company quickly. Drew and I are heading to Florida Sunday-Wednesday. I can't wait to see a few friends and I know he is ready to see his girlfriends, Mia and Mary-Allison. PRAY that Drew adjusts well to be back in FL and does well on the flights.

House in Mississippi: Hal and I have spent 3 different days looking at houses and several phone calls with our Brandon expert, Nate Stroh, and we made an offer on a house in Brandon contingent on our inspection coming back clean on the house in Florida. This offer will have to be approved by the bank. They have until Monday to get back with us. Because of our knowledge of Short Sales from Florida, I am afraid we won't get this house, BUT I trust that God is in control of this and just maybe this is the house He has for us. If not, there are plenty of other house out there for us to live in. PRAY that the bank accepts the offer and we can close as quickly as possibly!

Hal's Dad: Hal's daddy is doing really well. He just finished his last Chemo treatment and we are now waiting on his bone marrow transplant to be scheduled sometime in May. I am so grateful we have been able to be here the last month or so to spend time with him. This morning Drew crawled up in his lap to read a book and I realized this is SO where God wants us to be!

My Grandmother: While I was in Fayetteville in March, my grandmother had a light stroke and was hospitalized. When she came home from the hospital, we learned that she would need care 24/7. While trying to get that arranged, she feel again and had to be put back in the hospital. The doctor then recommended that she be moved to rehab and then transitioned to a long term care facility. She is now in rehab. This was an extremely emotional week for all of us but especially for my dad. I was so proud of the way he handled all of this. I can't imagine what it was like to have to make a decision like this. Grandmother is struggling with the transition and the biggest problem is that she isn't eating well. PRAY that my Grandmother adjusts to her new home and eats well daily.

Drew: Oh my has he changed in the last month and oh my is he BUSY! He loves being outside at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's. He loves their dogs, Sam and Sally. He is talking up a storm these days although none of us are quite sure what he is saying. He is now bottle free and finally sleeping past 6:30 each morning. We are down to one nap a day unless we get really tired from playing outside. He is eating anything and everything these days including turnip greens and grits like a good Mississippi boy. He is showing a little bit of the terrible 2's already with a few temper tantrums! He loves reading books. He runs everywhere he goes and is trying to jump. He blows kisses and loves getting kisses on the forehead from his Maw Maw. He is way more cuddly than he has EVER been and his momma loves it. In Fayetteville, he was Grampy's boy sitting in his lap watching The Wiggles. He gets so excited when Daddy gets home each night. We watch for him out the window and it is precious the way his face lights up when he sees daddy pull up and get out of the car.

Hal: Hal is settling into his new job. I think he is enjoying a new challenge and he is looking forward to really getting rolling once his clearance comes in. He traveled to LA a few weeks ago and will have to go back in April. Other than his hour and half drive each way, I think he is really happy with it. I feel like I have my Hal back. Seen we have been here, I have noticed such a difference in him. The stress is gone and he is more relaxed. Welcome changes. :)

Me: Well...I am busy with Drew, the FL house, and MS house, but I am so grateful to see God moving in our lives. I have learned so much over this whole process about God's timing and His provision. My perspective on a few things has changed along the way. I know the time we are spending here with Hal's parents is precious. There was a time I probably would have revolted and never agreed to this just because I would have been selfish and wanted my own things and my own space, but God is and has changed me. It is more than just about me and my wants and needs. It is about serving others and more importantly doing just what God wants me to do. And for right now, that is to be right here in Laurel. And honestly, I am loving it. I must admit that knowing we have a contract on the house does help. I know that we will get in our own space someday soon, but as I said before, the time here has been absolutely precious to me. Something I wouldn't trade for anything.

Catching Up

I still need to put up pictures from Disney, but that will wait for another post! We packed up the car and drove to Laurel a week ago today. Drew was was great on the drive up here and he put on a show when we got to Hal's parents. Wednesday we went house hunting with Drew in Brandon, something we won't do again in the near future! Saturday we left him behind with Maw Maw, Paw Paw, Uncle Ed, and the girls and headed for more house hunting. Sunday we recovered and Monday, Hal started work. Yes, it has been a little busy around here. We are so glad to be here and I think the best way I can sum that up is that we told Ed and and the girls bye on Sunday morning it was so nice to know that we wouldn't be waiting months to see them again!

Hal and I prayed for a long time about whether God wanted us to make this move or not. On Wednesday, our decision to move was confirmed a 100%. Hal's dad, Randy, had an appointment with a specialist in Jackson on Wednesday. We learned some sobering (for lack of a better word) news from the appointment. His doctor here in Laurel has been consulting this doctor all long, but this was Randy's first visit. This visit was to talk about doing a stem cell bone marrow transplant.

The results/content of this visit was a little different than any of us expected. We thought it was more of a consult about the bone marrow treatment and in fact it was more informative about the type of cancer he has. The doctor let us know that Randy is in Stage 4 of lymphoma. The type of lymphoma is extremely aggressive and is only diagnosed in 1-2% of all lymphoma patients. The chance of this cancer recurring is 80%. If he elects do the stem cell bone marrow transplant, the chance of it recurring is 50% If he makes it to the 2 year mark without a relapse the chance of recurrence decreases dramatically. He has elected to do the procedure. We are grateful that the bone marrow biopsy they did last week came back clear. This was a major hurdle to clear before he could begin the transplant process. It usually takes about 2 months for insurance approval, so we are hoping he can start this sometime in May. The transplant process is involved and can be quite painful.

Please join us in praying for quick insurance approval as well as for strength and stamina as Randy continues to walk through this process.

Here are a few pictures from our week! Hal's parents have 2 dogs, Sam and Sally. Sally isn't to sure about true, but Drew and Sam were fast friends.

A trip to the park with Paw Paw

Drew and his buddy, Sam.

Picking Maw Maw's flowers

Terrorizing Sam!

Telling Sam good morning!

Off to Disney...

I am overwhelmed by God's grace in the little things today. We started the morning with a sick momma and a baby that wasn't feeling so hot either. We are leaving this afternoon for Orlando and I hadn't packed a thing! Very unlike me, but I just hadn't had the time yet. I was completely overwhelmed with all that needed to be done. On top of needing to pack, we had to get Hal's car to have the brakes worked on and I had an eye appointment at 11:00. As of almost 2:00, we are 95% packed, the car is at the shop, and my eye appointment has been moved to 4:00. A quick trip to Target after the eye appointment, and we will have everything we need and be ready to go when Hal leaves work. The house will be picked up and ready for any weekend showings that we might have. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the circumstances and all that needs to be done, I am overwhelmed by God's grace and how He cares about the little details of our lives.

Today is Hal's last day at Cooper. I think it was a little surreal for him this morning. I know he is going to miss many of the people and he is grateful for the opportunities the company has given him. He has really challenged me lately as I have watched him finish this work that God gave him with absolute excellence. Once his notice was given, his hours nor his passion for his work changed one bit. I know that he is ready for the break this next week will bring.

Here are a few pics of little man getting in the Disney spirit!

Weekend

We have had a slow weekend and it has been great! This is our last weekend when we will just be here at the house. We will spend part of next weekend at Disney. We spent yesterday running a few errands, had an open house today, and tonight we are watching the Super Bowl here at home. I had hoped to go down to the beach sometime this weekend, but the weather wasn't that great.

Drew loves glasses. He tries and tries to get them on himself and then signs "please" for us to help him.

This week he has discovered that he can climb behind the shelf beside the TV. He things he is pretty funny. I think it looks like he standing behind a lemonade stand! :) Notice the drool on his chest. Poor kid is ALMOST done with teeth until his 2yr molars if we can just get these last two in!

Oh Lindsay of little faith....

I have been a little frustrated with myself over the last few days. As we have walked through this process of a possible job change, we have continually seen God open doors to make this move happen. Some have been small and might not seem like important details and others have been really huge things like getting an interview. Whether large or small we have tried to take notice of each one and thank God for each of them.

We put the house on the market last Friday and heard of a couple who might be interested. I think I set up this great situation in my mind and thought I could see how God was going to work it all out so fast, but God doesn't work on my time table. The couple wasn't interested in the house. Because my plan wasn't God's, I have really been down this week and started to panic over whether we will sell the house. I know you are thinking, "Lindsay, it has only been a week." Whether it has been a week or 6 months doesn't matter, what matters is that at the heart of my panic is sin. Sin, because I am choosing not to trust in God. God had used this verse in John 12 a few weeks ago when we were waiting on the Raytheon offer and He brought it to my mind again this week.

³⁷Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. John 12:37

We have seen so much over the last few months, but how quickly I forget and turn to panic when things don't happen as quickly as I want them to. There is no reason for me to fear or panic because I trust the Lord. He is in control of when our house sells. It doesn't matter what the market looks like or what other houses are for sale down the street. He is in control. The fear that I put myself through is useless. I can't change anything, but I can chose to trust Him completely. I don't want to live my life going from one panic to another. I want to learn from the situations God puts in our lives and face the next challenge with more trust and more faith. His mercies are new every morning and I pray that when I wake up in the morning, I face the day with a heart that trusts Him fully.

Funny Elephants

This video is from a few weeks ago. He loves the puppets in the Baby Einstein videos and thinks the elephants are pretty funny. He has been interacting so much more lately. It is so fun to see his little personality really start to come out.

It has been a busy few days for us around here. We listed the house on Wednesday night and it went on the MLS on Friday. I spent Friday getting the house power washed, the windows washed, and the carpets cleaned. We had our first showing Saturday afternoon. The couple is still considering our house and we are praying they make an offer. We have an Open House scheduled for Sunday. We are taking time this week to spend time with friends and looking forward to our trip to Disney next week.

He's packing his bags and getting ready to go!

I am not sure even where to begin with this post. So much has been happening in our lives that I have wanted to write about, but it just hasn't been the right time. We are moving to Mississippi! Hal has a new job with Raytheon in Forest, MS. We are so unbelievably excited to be closer to both of our families.

Over the last few months we have seen God do an incredible work in both of our lives and in this job situation and move. I must be honest and say we said we would never move back to Mississippi. It just wasn't in our plans, but after living away from both of our families for almost 4 years, having a baby, and Hal's dad getting sick, our desires changed drastically! We are really looking forward to Drew growing up around his Ramsey family and getting to see his Parnell family a whole lot more.

There has been some wait involved with the timing of all of this. Those of you that know me, know that waiting isn't my strong point, but I must say that God has most definitely used this wait to change and refine me. I would often say, "Hal- can you believe I am not freaking out right now!" I saw myself be able to take a step back and really trust that God was in control and whatever he did was the best...the absolute best.

There is a lot going on with us right now! Our house went on the market today! We already have a showing tomorrow afternoon. As most of you know because you live here or have seen on TV the Florida real estate market is dreadful. But we have really seen God's provision and glory dealing with our house already. We have wonderful agents. The market is up as of late and our house is listed for more than we expected! We are praying it sells quickly and would love for you to join us in that. Hal starts on February 22nd in Mississippi! His last day with Cooper is on February 9th. We will be spending the 9th-13th at Disney and heading for Mississippi sometime early in the week of February 14th.

I can't write this post without saying that although we are moving closer to family. We have very mixed emotions about leaving family behind here. There are several people here who have been family to us. They have walked with us through a very special season in our lives as we anticipated Drew's arrival and then as we spent our first year as parents. They sat at the hospital until the early morning the night he was born, talked us through the early days of being parents, shared as we dedicated him to the Lord, and celebrated his 1st birthday with us. We have been incredibly blessed with the people God has put in our lives and look forward to having those friendships for many years to come!

Poor Little Man

January has been a little rough on Drew. RSV over New Year's and then this week he has been battling a fever. No other symptoms just a high fever. I may never get him to take a bath again after the traumatic experience of having to give him a lukewarm bath in the middle of the night to get his fever down! The picture below is Friday afternoon. When I got him up from his nap, his fever had finally broken. He and his bed were drenched. Now if we can get these last 3 teeth in life should be a little easier for him!

One of the few smiles we were able to get today. He loves bubbles!

First Haircut

We took Drew to get his first hair cut today. We had it trimmed a little back in the fall, but it was time for a major cut. I love his curls, but it was getting long and time for a cut. He did great! He thought it was pretty cool to sit in the jeep and watch a video.

The best shot I could get after we got home.

LIttle man loves to READ

The last week or so Drew has been all about books! A few books in particular are his favorites. I think we have read the Pooh book in the video at least 100 times. He even carries them to his changing table. He has also started signing "please." You will notice him put his hands to his chest and say please. I will admit that we do hide the Pooh book and a few others from time to time. :)

Great day and a video for Aunt K

It has been a great morning! My house is clean and my baby has been happy! I am feeling so blessed to be a wife and a mother today. There are days when the house is a wreck, Drew is cranky, and mommy is cranky also. Those days I often find myself frustrated and crying out for patience to make it until daddy gets home. I know that the Lord grows me more in those days so that I can enjoy peaceful ones that much more. Here is a video just for Aunt K to see little man walking. Enjoy, Aunt K!

Resolutions-2010 and a look back at 2009

No cute picture of my little man today....just back to good ole' me writing just like the old days. I don't know that I have ever really made resolutions. I do think this is a good time of the year to set some new goals. Time for a fresh start. I am also thinking that if I put them down here, I will have some sort of accountability!

1) Respond to emails better. I am AWFUL at this. I read them and think I will get back to them later, but I NEVER do. So if you are reading this and I haven't responded to an email or a facebook message, it isn't that I don't love you, I just have bad follow through with emails!

2) Listen to voicemails. I never listen to voicemails. I am not sure why, but I just don't listen to them. I have learned my lesson though. A very close friend of mine left me a voicemail over Christmas to tell me she had been in a horrible car accident, but I didn't listen to the message and thus didn't find out for almost 2 weeks. I will do better.

3) Run.....Run....Run. I was doing so good, but the holidays and a cold combined with a little bit of laziness means that I have not had my running shoes over since before Drew's birthday. Although I don't necessarily like the running, I do like the way I feel when I am working out.

2009...what a year! My first full year of being a mother. You have heard me say that motherhood has challenged me like never before. I seem to think that more and more with every new stage that we enter. Lately, I have really been dwelling on the awesome task that God has given Hal and I in raising Drew. As I watched my little man lay himself out on the tile floor and throw an all out fit a few weeks ago, I realized what I had known for awhile, but wanted to ignore....I don't have a baby anymore. He is changing, maturing and we have to be ready for that. How we respond to situations now will help shape who he will be in the future. How we handle discipline, temper, frustration, joy, and sadness will make a difference in the man he becomes and how he responds to his need for a Savior. What a responsibility....but what an awesome God who has equipped us uniquely for the task of raising Drew Ramsey. We can lean into the Lord Jesus and He will direct us as we raise our little man. There are days I feel completely overwhelmed with this task, but I am so grateful I have a partner in Hal who supports me and has the same goal for Drew: to know Jesus as his personal Savior.

Apart from motherhood, God has taught me a lot this year. Lessons that have stretched and grown my faith. I have seen parts of my character that God has been refining for some time really change...I hope to share those with you soon! :)

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Happy Birthday to my best friend and most amazing husband! So sorry that we spent your day at home taking care of our sickly little man!

I am beyond blessed. Thank you for being such a great dad, making me laugh, encouraging me and loving me very day, and most importantly for loving the Lord and seeking to look more like Him every day!

Happy Birthday!

New Experience for New Years Eve

Our poor little man has been pretty sickly the last few days. I took this picture after his bath tonight...we can't keep his poor little nose dry! He started getting a cough on Tuesday night that sounded pretty nasty by Wednesday. I went ahead and took him to the doctor on Thursday morning because I didn't want to go into the holiday weekend not knowing if we had an ear infection or something else. The doctor said everything looked good and it was probably just a cold, but we ended up taking him the ER on Thursday night/New Year's Eve. I had checked his temp shortly after Hal got home from work and it was fine, but by around 6:00 it had shot up to 103. The on call nurse told us to take him to the ER since it was a holiday weekend and he couldn't see his doctor until Monday morning. She didn't like that it had risen so fast. We were able to get in pretty quickly. They checked his ears which looked fine and did a chest xray to make sure it wasn't pneumonia as well as a culture to see if he had RSV. His chest looked okay, but he does have RSV which is a respiratory virus. He has been better today and his fever is still up but not what it was last night! We are praying for a good night's sleep tonight!

We spent the day playing with little man and watching football. It looks like we will be doing the same for Hal's birthday tomorrow!

Happy New Year!!

Christmas Cards

I love Christmas cards! I love getting them in the mail and I love sending them out to friends and family. They are one of my many favorite things about this time of year, but this year I haven't sent one single card YET. We have had a hard time trying to get a family picture. We finally had some made while we were in Fayetteville, but I don't have them from the photographer yet....so it looks like I will be sending Happy New Year cards this year! :) In the mean time, enjoy a few pics of my little man walking around his grandparents front yard.

Finally....

I have been fighting with blogger to get pictures uploaded for the last few days and I finally had success! We have had a great last few weeks. It has been wonderful to be with family. We have been on the go since we landed in Fayetteville! Drew started walking last week.

Hal's dad is in the hospital this weekend for his 2nd round of chemo. He is hoping to come home again on Monday. Both treatments have gone great so far! Thank you so much for praying for him.

Drew is back from a trip with Dad and Uncle Ed to the donut shop....gotta go! Enjoy the pics.

Courtney, Kennedy, and Landry

On the square

Trying so hard

Grammy and I have created a monster over the last few days. Little man has had a rough few days. He has several molars that are coming through and really giving him trouble. Mom and I have had to work hard to keep him happy and entertained. Yesterday we took him outside for a "walk." Now he wants to walk everywhere! The only problem is he needs a finger to hold on to. He did take 4 or 5 steps on his own last night...so we will see!

Busy Morning

Here are a few pictures of Drew's busy morning playing in the front yard and eating a Rice Krispy treat with grammy.

Tour of the South

It is harder and harder to get a picture of little man these days. Not only is he never still, but he always wants the camera! This is about as good as I have been able to do this week.

My mom is here this week and we are loving having the extra help. Drew and I fly to Arkansas with her on Sunday to begin the Ramsey family tour of the South! Hal will join us in Arkansas on the 19th. My parents will then drive us to Mississippi on the 22nd. We will spend Christmas in Laurel and drive home to Florida later that weekend. We may be crazy to do this with a 1 year old, but we are looking forward to spending time with both our families this Christmas.

Randy has done well the first few days of his chemo. Today he gets a treatment the doctor has warned will be tough. Please pray for strength for him today