Welcome Fall?

Ok, we're excited about all the seasonal changes and (somewhat) cooler weather.  I'm actually really excited about our electricity bill because our air/heat has not had to turn on.  We decided to take a family trip down the road to a local tree farm for some great fall photos.  Poor Asher...in the photo below I had him in a sweater and it was 85 degrees outside!  Don't worry, we were quick and I brought a shirt for him to change into.  As you can see, he didn't seem to mind the temperature...

Welcome Fall, we're glad to have you and look forward to all of the changes you bring.  (I, personally, am looking forward to the elastic waistbands)  : )

Oh my, Oh my...

Asher lifted Mickey off the potty, looked inside, and said, "Nope." : )

     Ok, let me begin with saying we are against Asher watching TV.  Fortunately, he's never been very interested.  I think watching TV means being still and he's just not into that.  Well, at some point I must have shown him Mickey Mouse and now he requests it if the TV is being turned on.  I do let him watch the 8:00 morning episode while he enjoys his morning milk.  I actually love this time because we cuddle and enjoy the show together.  My mom even found a Mickey Mouse that's about Asher's size that he enjoys.  So, when it came time to consider a Halloween costume, it only seemed right that we let our little guy be Mickey Mouse.  Well, last year I went with the already put together store bought outfit and decided to get creative this year so I'm piecing together parts from different stores but I think he's going to be super cute- as always.  : )
     While searching for parts to his costume, we came across this lion outfit.  I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed until I cried.  Well, this lion costume had me rolling.  Asher wasn't a huge fan so we let him take it off before I realized I must have it on film.  So, here's a video showing Asher in the lion top.  He was probably wondering why we had freed him only to put him right back in it.  I kind of wish we had purchased it just to have a good laugh later on. 

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Just for fun...

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A little overstimulation at Babies R Us.  He first began doing this unprompted.  I believe he would have continued down the row had there been more.

This is from early August but just thought it was funny...

This is from a day I wasn't feeling well and had to create additional entertainment.  He did it over and over (when he wasn't using the cushion as a slide).

Football time!

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So, our family pulls for the Gamecocks.  Am I anti- Clemson?  No.  Does Asher have a cute shirt that says, "I eat tiger and my veggies?"  Yes.  Again, it was a cute shirt!  : )

Ok, after viewing the video you can't hear Asher's sweet voice as clearly on the blog as you can in the video.  : (  Guess I'll search through more video.  He really does have the cutest voice and pronunciation.

One year later...

I've been putting off this blog.  I wanted to post on August 7, which would mark the one year anniversary since Asher had surgery.  I guess I knew it would be painful to go back there, to look over pictures, and to re-live what we felt and saw.  The bright side is that we are now on the other side.  God watched over Asher, the surgeons, the anesthesiologists, the nurses, and all hands who were laid on our amazing boy.     

Actually, this brings me to another point.  I claim Asher as our own.  Our preacher mentioned on Sunday how with the birth of his first born son, he raised his son in the air and said to God, "He is yours.  Do with him as You will."  We spoke of Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifice Abraham was willing to make.  Our preacher mentioned how this promise, which he made to God, became more difficult as his son grew and felt more like his own.  This is something I will also be working on. 

Leading up to Asher's surgery, there is one song that moved me more than others.  The first time it truly hit me, I was actually sitting in the Zaxby's drive-through and I do believe I was hiding tears behind my sunglasses by the time I got up to the window. 

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The song is Blessed be the Name.  Please take time to listen, think of the words, and be amazed at how Mighty our Father is.  The part that got me the most was, "You give and take away, You give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name."  It was God's will to bring Asher out of surgery without complications.  But...even if He hadn't, He should be praised.  I still can't sing this at church without being emotional.  Actually, I love all of our music at church, and I am quite often emotional regardless.  : ) 
Some of you may not know what exactly went on during surgery, and I'll spare some graphic details.  I will say that the incision goes from ear to ear over the top of Asher's head.  A large portion of Asher's skull was removed, cut apart, and then placed back together in new locations to create a smooth forehead and room for Asher's skull to expand with his growing brain and body.  The CT scan shows hundreds of tiny dots.  Each of these dots represent a screw.  Asher has dissolvable screws and plates and I now know how strong they are because Asher has truly tested them in the past year.  Immediately after surgery, Asher had a drain tube, which was removed after 2 days or so.  His orbital bone was also altered and contains screws.  By the night of surgery Asher was so swollen he was unable to open his eyes (this is normal).  Swelling continued for 2 more days but on that 3rd day it went down and Asher was able to see through tiny openings; regardless, he was a happy baby at this point.  We kept ointment on his incision, his stitches dissolved, and even with his white blonde hair you have to look VERY close to notice the scar.  Asher still has some soft spots and with our next CT scan and Duke visit  they will let us know how they are filling in.  Just to show the amazing healing power of our Father and prayer...

The morning of surgery

Immediately after surgery

At this point the swelling was so bad, Asher was unrecognizable.  I choose not to share photos of the swelling at its worse.  I posted a picture just so that all who came in knew what our little guy looked like.

Eyes are open just enough to go home!!

God's miracle and gift to us, 1 year later...

So, right now, all is well!  And I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but as our preacher has said before, "If you aren't in your storm now, I can guarantee one day you will be."  Take time to listen to track 10 below or for lyrics click here and remember who to turn to in your time of need. 

Baffled....

Ok, there's nothing that will drive you to blog than an experience that just blows you away.  Unfortunately, this blew me away in a bad way.  So, after a great weekend of visiting with friends Friday night and driving to Orangeburg to visit and spend the night with family on Saturday for my 30th birthday, Brent, Asher, and I are heading home around 6 this evening.  We take Hwy. 1.  Brent remembers he needed something for work from Lowes so he runs in while Asher and I wait in he car.  We're pulling out of Lowes and see a "clearly" homeless man sitting on the curb across the street.  By "clearly," I mean this man could have been cast in a movie.  Thin, gray hair, shirt that looked as if it were once white, sandals, beard, and dirty all over.  I think to myself, what if that's Jesus or what if this is a test.  I mention to Brent that that man sure looks homeless.  He responds, "He does, do you want to buy him a meal?"  I'm thinking WOW, I'm so glad he thought that too.  I mean, the man was sitting on a curb right beside a Popeye's Chicken so we decide to head through the drive through.  We decided on a three piece chicken meal with mashed potatoes and gravy, a biscuit. and sweet tea.  Sounds yummy and filling to me!?!  So, the man is sitting on the curb beside a stop light on my side of the car.  I roll my window down and say something like, "We thought you might like something to eat" while holding the bag and drink out of the window.  I had planned on ending the conversation with something like, "God bless you, have a great day."
     Ok, this is where things get interesting....his reply is something like, "What do you got?"  Me: "Chicken and mashed potatoes with a sweet tea." Him: "Hmm, no biscuits in there?" Me: "Um, I believe there is one biscuit. Sir, do you not like chicken?" Him: "Not really" (I believe that at this point Brent chimed in with something like "We were trying to do something nice, don't take it if you don't want it."  Brent was a little more perturbed than me.  I was still in a small state of shock.)  So, I had already handed over the bag while he's telling me he doesn't like chicken.  He said, "Well let me see" as he begins to open the box and I stare at his black hands, nails, and crust in the inner corners of his eyes.  Me:  "Sir, if you don't want the meal please hand it back to me and I'll get out what you'd like" because as I mentioned before, I like chicken and Brent and I had planned on eating left-overs at home but I wouldn't mind eating chicken instead.  Well, too late, he's in the box and I knew at this point the meal was all his because I was not taking it back.  I still held the tea in my hand as Brent had had too much.  I'm not sure if we said anything or if we just pulled forward to pull away as he said, "wait, I want the tea!"  As we continued to pull out he screamed, "F*** Y** B****!"  All while swinging the bag of food over his head into the near by flower bed behind him. 
     Oh my goodness...first of all, I've never been told the F Y part.  Second of all, I don't believe I've ever been called a B!  I'm SO non-confrontational and do not like friction or disagreement.  I was in shock!  Brent drove down the road a little ways and turned back around to see what the man was doing.  Well, as we went back by he was enjoying the mashed potatoes.  So, here's where I'm lost.  Did we really intend to bring joy and nourishment and cause anger and hatred in the process?  Was Satan using this man to make us think twice about doing good deeds for strangers in the future?  I just don't know where everything went wrong?  If it were just me, you bet, that man would have his tea and I would have pulled away in shock for his lack of appreciation.  Brent's opinion, the man needs to be taught a lesson on gratitude.  I don't know who's right out of Brent and I but I do know that this man was wrong.  As I mentioned before, this incident just has me baffled and saddened so I just had to share.  Please don't let this story stop you from thinking, "What would Jesus do?" in certain situations.  I do, however, hope that your story has a much happier ending...    

Where does the time go?

Goodness gracious it's been a while since I've had the leisure time to sit and type! My last post was about Asher waking in the night. I ended up calling the pediatrician and speaking to a nurse. I guess I was looking for permission to let him scream it out.  : (   We had let him do this some as an infant but I guess we felt now he really knew what was going on. She said they've had them cry for 4 hours before and that toddlers are smart enough at this age to know that if they wake and scream, mom or dad will come and give them undivided attention. So, Asher cried from 2:50 a.m. to 5:10 a.m. Brent and I pretty much stared sadly at the monitor as Asher cried and cried. This story does have a good ending however...Asher has not woken up and cried during the night since that night and I'd say it's been 2 weeks or so?
The issue has now transitioned to nap. My normally 2 1/2, 3 hour napper has decided he will now nap for 45 mins. to maybe an hour.  Anyway, I don't want to just purge my problems so I'll just stop there.

I'll move on to all of the good things that are going on. Asher loves to run (especially away from, or to, mommy and daddy)! He talks all day long and says new words daily. He now lets his daddy give him his nighttime milk. He has always enjoyed books but especially now. He sings with pretend words and uses the granite in front of the fireplace as his stage. He loves anything that goes "broom broom." He has this new thing where he gets close enough to you, throws his arms up into the air, and then falls into your arms. He thinks it's so funny and I appreciate his trust but just have to be ready to catch at all times. He loves to say "bye bye" so much that he sometimes says "bye bye" to his toys when he leaves the room. Today he even went up to a full length mirror, said "bye bye," gave himself a kiss in the mirror and then said "hug" and wrapped his arms around the mirror before walking away. Oh how I love that little guy!!! : )   Now just a few photos to show what we've been up to...

Asher plays drums at the Lexington Peach Festival, where we also enjoyed peach ice cream, peach cobbler, peach tea, peach zinger, peach honey, and even brought some peaches home.

 

I love these guys...

The 4th of July on Lake Murray

At my parents' pond property...

He does always seem to be the center of attention...

At Ansley's 2nd birthday, there was a little jumping on the bed before going to bed.

Riley and Asher's misplaced kiss goodnight.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing brother and Asher's Uncle "TOY!"