Big news...

Big news...
Halle Beth had a weight check today and is up to 10 pounds and 3 ounces!! That is 20 ounces in 21 days. Our pediatrician jumped up and down to celebrate!! We are so thankful that God SO good to us!!

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Push up Competition

Somehow our roomie Kevin through out the idea of a push-up contest with Brian. I must be honest, I thought it would be hilarious, because I knew my husband would shamelessly beat him....

Kevin-78 Brian -61

We think Kevin must be practicing upstairs at night! It's payback for Brian running him all over the neighborhood in their morning workouts. It was pure entertainment for me and Katelin!

Summer at Gingerbread

This is Ella's first opportunity to go to Gingerbread and I think its a great way to get her prepared for the fall. I thought it would be fun for Haynes to be there with her, and let Port have some special time with mommy! The first day we went to check out her class, she jumped right in like she was a pro. I left her with POrt while I took Haynes to class.

Haynes sat down and was so excited to be in the Giant classroom. He immediately told me I could come back after snack time, he wanted to stay! Ella was the same way...when I got back to her class she looked at me and said "See you in a little bit!" I must admit I was quite shocked, but thankful my kids were loving their classes. They are getting too big too fast!!

Swim Lessons

All the kids took swim lessons this year together. Ella cried the whole first day....they boys said:-) After that she did much better! Ella can "pop", kick her legs, and probably swim if she would release her death grip from you. It's a huge improvement from just putting her toes in the water...so we can't wait to see where she will be next year! The boys are both part fish. they can do all their strokes, dive for anything anywhere, and just love being in the water. Thanks Ms. Murrey for being so fun!

Fourth of July

Grandad is quite the face painter...

Mattie has a new best friend, since she painted Ella's nails

Watching the fireworks...

Mike Bower held Ella's ears during the entire show since she doesn't like the noise. It was really the sweetest thing I have ever seen. He loves me kids so well!

Late night swims were some of our favorites. This new little mat is a hit too!

Back in Norman shooting fireworks before we headed out to see the city of Norman.

Halle is 4 months!

Our sweet little angel is 8.15 and getting bigger every day!

She is loving cereal and we are loving adding calories to her each day!

She loves enjoying the lake with us too!

Safety Town

Waiting during the award ceremony

Braxton and Port

After the ceremony they got to bring their siblings into Safety Town and show them around. The kids had the best time, which is so fun because Brian and I remember going to Safety Town too! The boys had a great time with all their friends!

Halle Beth

This summer we have been going to multiple doctor appointments to make sure that our little princess is just perfect. The cardiologist recommended that we see a genetic specialist because he thought Halle had some physical characteristics of a child with Williams Syndrome. We decided to do the blood test in Norman instead of waiting until August. The blood work tested positive for Williams Syndrome.

While this was the last thing we were expecting to hear, we stand confident that God is good and that Halle will be healed of this and it is not her destiny. We have learned a little about Williams Syndrome, but this is a great website to check for more details. ww.williams-syndrome.org/

We have decided as a family that we will speak life over Halle and celebrate the victories we have daily as she walks out of this diagnosis. We are not in denial that she has this syndrome, but we are expectant for great things for Halle Beth.

Some things we are celebrating today:

-she doesn't have any eating problems

-she's started eating cereal and LOVES it!

-her heart is perfect...from the doctor!

-she is a happy/pleasant/easy baby!

-she is tracking with her eyes SO well!

-she holds her hands together & reaches for things

-tummy time is getting better and she is rolling over now

-she is talking non stop!!!

-her blood work came back perfect:

-calcium & kidney levels are perfect

-thyroid is perfect

-We started with Sooner Start last week and they basically told us that Halle wouldn't qualify for their program except that she has been diagnosed with Williams Syndrome.

-Our therapist, Ellen, is amazingly kind and Halle loves her.

Fireworks at Lollie's

Parachutes for everyone!

Finding some more tricks

We ALWAYS go to the farm to celebrate the 4th. The weather has been so dry that we didn't think it was going to be safe, so we just met at my parents backyard and did some small fireworks and watched a movie. It was the perfect night for friends and family.

Morning Buddies

Port is usually the first kid up along with Halle. If I am in the shower or reading, he loves to have some cuddle time with her before the others get up. His heart is so genuine and kind toward Halle it is amazing!

Campus Night Outreach

The Billinsley's joined us for dinner and walking on Campus one night. The kids decided we needed to get some ice cream when we were done...from the competitor! We had a great time and look forward to more campus walks!

Snake in the house

We feel like we are in a spiritual battle around our house this summer. We feel amazingly close to the Lord and are ready for battle. I came in one morning and Haynes and Ella found a snake in my kitchen. I ran and got a shovel and hit it once. Dirt went flying everywhere and Ella started crying. I decided to take it outside to finish my job. Haynes said, "Mom, we are suppose to crush those with our heals!" I killed it with a shovel and then Haynes crushed it too!

We felt like God was saying that we are in a fight is don't let your guard down, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy!!!

smothering....

Halle is the most loved little girl around here...it just actually smothers me! I can only take it for so long before they have to give her some space. I keep saying...this is a great problem to have! So much love....

Happy Birthday Champ!

We love you Champ!

We all drove to Johnnies on 240 and celebrated Champ's birthday!

We love you and are so thankful for everything you do for each of us!

Happy Father's Day!

Brian is really the best daddy I know...he has some pretty great models to look up to! This picture just says everything. He loves each of our four kids individually well. Just like in the picture he will do anything for sweet Ella. I love you babe and your love for me and our kids.

Father's day with PaPa

Ella loved having some time with PaPa opening gifts too! We are extremely blessed by the godly men surrounding each of us in our families. This year I told my dad that I was most thankful for the way he has loved me so well. It makes me receive love from God so easily because of his extravagant love for me. We only hope that we can pass that on to our kids!

Happy Father's Day!

Movie Night with Friends

Kids waiting for the movie

Popcorn is a must!

Ella and Millie have become sweet friends!

These boys LOVE movie night...I even surprised them with a movie they hadn't seen. An old Chipmunk Movie from when I was a kid!

Swimming with the Gladhill's

We spent the afternoon swimming with Mel and her kids. Our kids had a great time, and the mommies always love to get together. Mel has been one of my longest and most faithful friends. Over the last few months I have really treasured Melanie more than ever. She's the friend that just shows up without asking. She showed up at the hospital after I delivered halle when everyone else was at the nursery. I couldn't move to get anything and so I was slightly stranded...she was a lifesaver! Mel drove immediately to see me in Halle when Halle was admitted. She drove all the way to children's first and then realized we were in Norman. I just realized how thankful I am for friends that just respond because they know you so well. Mel, You are the most loyal and faithful friend I could ask for, I pray our kids will say that about each other too! Love you!

Happy Birthday Josh!

We all met in the city for lunch to celebrate Josh's birthday. Lunch was super yummy and we all loved the cupcakes...I ate 3!!

We love celebrating in our family so it didn't end here. Everyone came to the boys last tball games, then to Johnnies for dinner, and then cake at Lollie's!

Happy birthday Josh! We love you and pray that this is the best year ever!!

Halle Beth is growing more every day!

She really has not enjoyed a bath in the least. She loves Brian holding her in the shower, but bath time sounds like torture. My friend Brooke, recommended this little bath tub, and she really loves it. It's so fun to see her play with the water and interact. Thank you Jesus that our baby is getting bigger every day!

Average Summer Day

What do you do when it's over 100 everyday? We go to the pool A LOT! Here's a picture of some of our friends that came by the pool that day. There's nothing better than a little popsicle at the end of a pool day!

MICROBURST!?!

We were eating dinner at Qdoba when a "microburst" hit! The hail was amazing and terrifying for some of us who love our cars so dearly....my dad:-) Thankfully we didn't get any damage on our cars. We drove to my parents to let the kids play so Brian and I could go pray for a friend and while we were driving it hit again.

My dad was parked in the "no parking zone' under the bridge at our house. He moved his car so I could put my car there instead, true love!!! Then he realized that the garage door wouldn't go up and by the time he got it up the storm was over again. No hail damage thankfully, and my dad still really sacrifice ANYTHING for me:-)

All of the power was out! Champ had a generator, so he could light a few things. My kids thought he was magic. Refrigerator, tv, and a lamp...dream come true for the kids!

We decided to spend the night at Grandad and JuJu's because they had power. We got everyone over there and laid down around 11:30. About 15 minutes later all the power went out over there!! I was so exhausted that I just took Halle to be and Brian eventually put the other kids back to bed after playing with flashlights with Grandad!

Night to remember!

Kevin...watch your back

Kevin, our current roommate, decided to play a trick on Brian. He stuck this snake in Brian's truck seat one Friday morning. Brian and I were meeting with the pediatic cardiologist as Brian tells me the story...Once we figured out Kevin was to blame, all I can say is "GAME ON!" My favorite quote of Brian at the time was, "You don't even have a lock on your door! I can get you whenever I want!"

I'll let you know how this turns out:-)

Frontier City

JuJu, Kourtney, and I took 10 kids to Frontier City for the day. We obviously had the favor of the Lord on us because no one was there and the weather was nice! They had great areas for our kids and then Kourntey and I took turns riding the big ones too!

We started small so we could make a plan! Everyone loves a carousel!

Paddle boats....Haynes road with Preslee, and Brax road with Ella...such sweet little gentlemen:-)

Halle's first amusement park...many more to come her way this summer:-)

Basketball camp

The boys were able to participate at First Baptist Church Sports camps this year. The boys LOVE baseketball, so they had a great time!

The first day when I came in to pick up the boys, Haynes coach came over and said, "He's a BALLER!" What he lacks in size he makes up for intensity! Love you Haynes!

Port has turned into quite the little defensive player. He will get his arms up and in your face....where does he get that from?!?!

Let's Go!

Getting ready to fly...

first trip as a family of 6!

Halle and Lolli

Halle was a great traveler as we expected!

The kids could quite understand that we were going to have a full week together to do everything. We immediately got our suits on and headed to the beach...the kids LOVED it!

Ella LOVED the showers! She preferred to play there instead of in the actual pools:-)

We headed to downtown Seaside for dinner. We ate at a fun pizza place that the kids requested to go back.