Just pics

This is a long time coming, and these pics are way out of order, but it's better than nothing!

Bray at Jill and Kevin's pool
The sweetest big sister. (She can be quite aggressive when it comes to loving on her bubba. "Bubba" is her new favorite word!)
Our bathtub escapee
Camden and poppy
Camden and Pop Pop
Braylin and Granny
Camden and Great Grandma Kindberg
T I N Y Camden and Daddy
Braylin and Daddy matching
Good times with the Grubbs!
Snuggle time with Daddy!
BIG Girl!
Granny and Camden
Aunt Traci with Bray and a little bit of Paisley.
Uncle Jake and Braylin at the hospital.
COUSIN DUSTY!!


In Austin with Cousin Dusty.
The Sweetest Babies in the world!

Humpty Dumpty at 2 months!

This is a splash of the last 10 weeks. Hope you enjoyed!

I know, I know. It's about time!

These past 2 months have been exciting, stressful, long, adventurous, busy, and wonderful. We closed Zida July 27th. We decided to have Camden induced on July 30th. Fortunately, mom and Jacob were there to help us. I want to focus this blog on sweet Camden boy, but there are lots of details to share as well.

Camden Lee was born July 30th at 12:19pm. He was 8 lbs 1 oz and 20 1/2" long. He made quite the dramatic entrance into this world. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his little neck and the Dr. could not unwrap it. He was delivered very quickly and the NICU team was called because he was not responding. They immediately grabbed him and called for Joel to follow them. In the NICU they were working hard to get him to breath. There was not a more precious and glorious sound in the world other than his sweet little cry. After a few minutes he was okay.

Nanna and Jacob brought Braylin up to the hospital to meet our little guy. Nanna and Jake immediately loved him. Braylin...not so much. Whoever was holding Camden, Braylin wanted all their attention. Joel and I braced ourselves for coming home to work with Braylin to adjust to him. Once we got home though, she LOVED him. She is still such a proud sister and loves to take people to him and will point and talk about him for as long as you will listen (granted, you can't understand a thing she is saying!)

A few days after birth, we found out that he had MRSA (as well as momma and Braylin) We were all put on antibiotics and everything was okay (mostly)

2 weeks after his birth we had him circumcised and the next day got in the car to move to Texas. (During those 2 weeks, we had a garage sale, finished up at Zida and packed up or house. INSANITY!!! We are so grateful to all our family and friends who helped. We literally could not have managed without you)

Camden at the Dr. Office

Our Texas trip took 7 days and as crazy as it sounds, it was a wonderful adventure for our little family. (Realize I am writing this many weeks after the fact. I am thankful that I can look back on it as a good time!)

We got to Texas via LA to visit Jill and Kevin and Arkansas to visit Joel's family. (Yes, I realize this was not the quickest way! Many people like to point that out.)

Bray in the car watching movies

At a hotel
Lunch break one day

The day after we got to Texas, Joel and I interviewed to be house parents at Happy Hill Farm Academy. The next day we got the job and have been working and trying to settle in since. (We are really enjoying the job and the 5 teenage girls that have been entrusted into our care. They are great with the kids and have really opened up to us even in this short time.)

The week we got here, we really became concerned with Camden's circumcision, and turns out, we had good reason. He had surgery yesterday to fix it. Thankfully, he did really well and will hopefully will heal quickly and correctly.

Braylin has also seen a dr here as she is still dealing with UTI's. We are looking forward to seeing a specialist and getting her fixed up as well.

As you can tell, this has been an intensely chaotic time, but we can see and feel how God had and continues to have His hands around us and guides us through each day. We are blessed beyond belief.

Minor side note, Joel started seminary a couple of weeks ago as well, and is loving it. It is awesome to see God moving in our lives and for the opportunities we have been given.

As far as Camden goes, he is a sweet baby boy. He LOVES being held and snuggled. He will literally sleep all day if someone would snuggle him (there are plenty of volunteers, don't worry!) He has grown so much already. He is a BIG boy. We have nicknamed him Chubba Bubba. At his 1 month appointment he was 12 lbs 7 oz and at his procedure yesterday (6 weeks) he is 14 lbs 10 oz. This boy obviously loves to eat and rarely skips a meal. He makes the sweetest sounds and is even okay with his sister patting his head, or belly, or pulling at his toes, etc. I think these 2 will be very close!

I know Cam does not look happy in this pic, but it was taken at 1 month old and I wanted to show that he officially lives on a farm by wearing overalls!

Precious Boy!


Recovering from the surgery in just a t-shirt.

I have tons more pics I want to share, but I have to get them from Joel's phone. I wanted to go ahead and post this, and I will have a follow up blog with pictures. Sorry it took so long, but thanks for the much needed grace in getting this up!

Change is here!

No, Camden is not here yet, but this is a crazy time for us. For those of you who don't know, we are in the final stages of liquidating our store. Yes, an insane task right before having another child. Our goal is to be done by the end of July, so we can focus on Camden's arrival at the beginning of August. Once he is born and gets cleared, we are moving back to Texas. Joel is starting Seminary in Dallas on September 7th. We are still trying to work out the other details of our lives, and would appreciate prayers for those to be worked out. It will be such a blessing being close to family!

An update on Braylin:

Our sweet little girl has been battling UTI's for about 2 months (that we have known, at least). After going to several Dr's and having several less than pleasant tests run, we found out that she has reflux. She is having to take daily antibiotics to clear up and prevent more infection for about a month. Once we are in TX, we will be seeing a specialist about having a procedure done to hopefully correct the problem. If it doesn't work, we will be looking at a more invasive surgery.

We know that God is sovereign and has a plan for us and can more than take care of Braylin. Even though things are hectic, we are looking forward to the next chapter in our lives to see what the Lord has for us.

Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers during this crazy time.

I added some random pictures from the last month.

Joel needed to use the car to take some kids to lunch, so he brought in Braylin's car seat. She loved her seat being in the living room. She just wanted to be strapped in with a couple of toys with the TV on. It felt a little abusive or neglectful, but I cant lie...I got a lot done around the house that afternoon!
We had a heat wave come through, and it was a bit miserable without a/c. It drained everyone of energy. Braylin NEVER falls asleep in our laps, but she was obviously worn out.

We have great friends who have helped watch Braylin so Joel and I can both be up at the store getting things done. This is her very favorite friend, Enoch. She lights up even when she just sees a picture of him.

graham crackers and bible stories...life is goood!

Things have been so crazy around here. Braylin and I got to stay home and have our normal routine yesterday. It was wonderful. I know I blogged yesterday, so it is a shock that I am blogging today. When I blogged, I realized how terrible I have been about taking pictures. Braylin had a couple of picture worthy moments yesterday, and I wanted to share.

Braylin is a little climber. She loves to climb into chairs. Yesterday all she wanted to do was sit in her rocking chair with her toddler Bible. She talked and "read" for a looooong time. It was very adorable!

Later, Braylin and I were in the living room. She walked out, but I figured I could stay seated for a few minutes before chasing after her. After a few minutes I realized it was very quiet which made me very nervous. When I turned the corner to the kitchen, this is what I found.

Our tall little girl pulled down the whole box of graham crackers and dug right on in.

She managed to take a bite out of each one in the package. The good news is, I had just mopped the floor. The bad news is, I had just mopped the floors. I am learning as a mom, nothing stays clean for long!

I love my little Munchkin and could not be more blessed by this little girl!

Catching Up

Sorry people, but I don't have many pics to show. I have gotten terrible about taking them, which yes, I regret. I'll still catch you up on the things that have been going on though.

This picture was Brayin just being cute before church.

Mom and Dad came out and visited the last week in June. We had a blast! We went to the coast and it was BEAUTIFUL. (Which, if you have ever been to the Oregon coast, you know it's a rarity) We thought Braylin would love playing in the sand, but she was pretty terrified. She would do anything she could not to touch it. She ended up sitting in Poppy's lap the whole time. Mom got to go to the Baby Shower for Camden with me. We were blessed by the shower and the fact that mom was there. We are starting to feel more ready for Camden to be here. The countdown to Camden has begun...1 month! While mom and dad were here, Braylin had to have a test run at the hospital. She is having urinary tract problems. We are going to a specialist July 14th, so we will know more details then.

The shower hostesses.

4th of July was a fun family day (despite having to work). It started with Mommy and Braylin cheering dad on in the Butte to Butte (6.2 mile run). We went to church where Braylin showed off her walking skills. Work, then we grilled sausage and hamburgers while Dad did little fireworks for Braylin. Her new favorite saying is "Oh Wow". And that is all she said the whole time. She LOVED the fireworks. Paisley on the other hand....not so much. We gave her Benadryl, but that didn't really work. We were so afraid she was going to have a heart attack from all the noise. We thought we lost her at one point, but after much searching the house, found her squeezed UNDER Braylin's crib. What a protector we have...a dog that hides under the baby.

Braylin watching the fireworks.

The butte to butte runner. We are so proud of all of you!

Braylin has been walking for about a week now. At first, she walked with her hands above her head for balance, but she is getting better. Now, she keeps her hands in her armpit (looks like chicken wings). She is slowly working her way down. You can tell she is pretty proud of herself. It's crazy to see how many changes Braylin has made and how big she is getting. She is more and more of a blessing every single day, and more and more fun too!!

Sunday Fun day!

We took the day off from work and went to Roseburg. We hung out with our friends Brook, Val and Charlie and went to Wildlife Safari. I can't lie, I was a bit nervous about how Braylin would handle the animals since she was terrified of the fish at the aquarium. But to our surprise and delight, she loved it! (When she noticed them. She was too busy playing with Charlie.) Braylin and Charlie were the best tour guides as they babbled back and forth. It was so sweet! After the safari, we went back to Brook and Val's and let Braylin and Charlie play. These pictures are completely out of order, but it will have to do.

Braylin loved the pretty flowers on the porch. (Due to her Mother's brown thumb, she had not experienced this before.)
Our family photo on the porch swing.
As you can see through the pics, they both loved playing with plastic spoons.
Looking out the window at their dads.


Yes, Braylin is filthy, but it was all good fun! She had just stolen the spoon from Charlie and was quite pleased about it.
Milkshakes at Sonic were buy one get one free! Braylin loves a good milkshake!
This picture was taken in honor of Mavis and Aunt Judy.
I really tried to get a picture of Braylin looking at the animals. This was the best I got. (giraffe)
Bear
It was such an adventure. Braylin loved not being in her car seat, and most of all wanted the camera. I snapped this just in time before she grabbed it. Look at those blue eyes!

It was a WONDERFUL day. Thanks Brook and Val for taking us on a Safari and letting our kids play! We love you guys!