the girls

Please continue to pray for baby Bennett. I am having a hard time posting anything b/c my thoughts and days are so consumed by him. So, for now - I'll just post some recent pictures of my beautiful girls that I have been hugging and kissing way more than usual this week. I think Kaitlyn is getting sick of it but I just don't care.

Prayers

James and I have some really good friends that had their sweet baby boy, Bennett on Sunday. He has had many complications and is really fighting right now. Please remember Travis, Kelly and baby Bennett in your prayers. Here are two websites if you would like to read about it. Thanks.

http://www.totsites.com/tot/bennettmitchell

www.prayingforbennett.blogspot.com

No Rest for the Weary

But, we've had a fun few days! My niece and nephew (James' sister's kids) stayed the past 5 days with us. Their Dad is stationed in Iraq and their mom was enjoying a week of vacation. Kaitlyn had a BLAST with Lofton and Graham here for an extended "sleepover." We did lots of fun things including, Chuck E Cheese, "Underdog" at the movies, trips to the park, swimming at friend's houses, a water balloon fight, playing on the Slip n Slide, lots of games, and ending our time together with a trip to the new water park in Eastland, Texas. This is a really fun water park by the way. It was just their standard city pool, but some rich guy donated a ton of money to upgrade it. It now has lots of little slides, an awesome toddler area, and even a big slide that goes into the deep end. The kids had an absolute blast. They could have stayed there all day. The best part is, it only cost $1 for kids and $2 for adults. And you can bring your own food and drinks. I will for sure be taking Kaitlyn back a few more times before summer is over. The drive (right at an hour) isn't too bad - especially if you plan on spending the day out there.

Baby News:

Still feeling pregnant. I'm 16 weeks now. We won't know boy/girl until September 10th. My guess is a boy. Not sure why, just have a feeling. I do have what's called Pregnancy Induced Hypo-Thyroidism. Not quite sure what that is, other than my hormones are completely out of whack, I'm really lethargic, and I have to take a pill every day. This would explain why I had a complete and total break down at 11:30 the other night when I wanted to re-arrange my entire house and James wasn't up for it. I'm ready for things to stabilize to say the least!

Our air conditioner went out today. It's currently 84 degrees in our house and steadily climbing. Fortunately, the guys are out looking at it now. This is another reason that I like renting. This is the 3rd time this summer that we have had to have someone out to look at it. And we haven't had to spend a dime.

Just can't get this out of my mind....

I saw this on a blog a few weeks ago, and I just can't stop thinking about it. This is amazing on so many different levels.

This picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by a surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb. During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope."The text explaining the picture begins, "The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life." Little Samuel's mother said they "wept for days" when they saw the picture. She said, "The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person." Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful.