3rd Hunt = Epic Fail

Jack was so tired from Saturday that he slept until 8:00.  That is LATE for him considering he's up by 6:30 every morning. I must admit that I was so thankful for the extra sleep, but it kind of put us in a rush for church.  The Easter bunny brought him a light-up airplane with candy, a soft little duck, a marshmallow football, some books, a bubble gun, and some hot wheels.  He was so excited about all of his surprises.  He especially loved the book about trucks. 

 After playing, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  When we were ready for church, I told Andy that I wanted to get a couple of pictures of Jack. WASN'T GONNA HAPPEN! So I got really mad decided to just forget it and try after church.


I did actually manage to snap a few during Sunday School. This is the best picture of him that I have.  :(  I wish he'd  been standing.

 Surprisingly Jack wasn't that bad at church.  This is where the day takes a nose dive.  We went to my parents' house for lunch.  Why I didn't fix Jack something to eat immediately, I'll never be quite sure.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Instead, we took another shot at a photo session.  STILL WASN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

So I got really mad put Jack's play clothes on and he went outside to play.  At about 1:15, lunch was ready.  Everybody was called in to have the blessing.  Jack didn't want to come in and definitely didn't want to eat.  He proceeded to yell cry, "Nooooo, Nooooo, Owside! Owside!"  He did this about a million times.  We fought with him tried to get him to eat for about 25 minutes.  It was terrible.  We finally snuck out the front door and left.   We went home and he  slept for about 3 1/2 hours.  It took me that long to stop feeling like I was going to have an anxiety attack.  The meltdown was a direct result of lack of food and sleep, two of our basic necessities.  Looking back on the day, I can see the mistakes that I made.  If I'd made different decisions the situation could have been avoided.  We could have spent the day with my family, hunted Easter eggs, and had a good time.
Mistake #1- not getting up on time and getting ready before the little one woke up
Mistake #2- fixing cinnamon rolls for breakfast...I never do that, I just thought it would be a nice treat...Jack needs more than sugar...DUH!
Mistake #3- not getting him something to eat immediately after church
Mistake #4- getting all wrapped up in everything looking/being perfect...not focusing on the real reason for Easter
Oh well, lesson learned and now documented for reference next Easter.   Even though the day didn't go as planned, I'm thankful I serve a risen Savior.  

Hula Hoops, Hot Dogs, and Hunting, OH MY!

Saturday evening we went to our 2nd Easter egg hunt with the Oliver family. I think we counted a total of 33 people that were there. It was wonderful to get to see everyone. You could just tell that everyone was glad to be together. Pop and Grandmother were especially glad to have us all together. We had yummy food and laughed so much! Somehow hula hooping made its way into our last Christmas gathering. Some of the "older" Olivers showed off their hidden hula hoop talents. Yesterday, Aunt Becky brought two huge hula hoops. Apparently, they don't sale extra large hula hoops at Wally World...wonder why? So, my Uncle Bill made a hula hoop. We took turns with it and I can't even begin to tell you what a workout it is! Wow, who knew? It really was funny to see everyone taking their turn. Even my grandmother, who is 81, took her turn!

Jared taking his turn!

Dad showing his skills!

Aunt Kristi was really good!  I have a video of this that's hysterical, but I won't do that to her. :)

After the hula hooping fun, the little ones hunted eggs.  Jack exercised his mad egg-hunting skills once again.  OH, he was really scooping them up until he encountered his first real dyed egg.  He was very interested in that.  He kept dumping his eggs out so he could find the real one.  He eventually fed it to the dog. :)  He played so hard...sliding, jumping on the trampoline, and running around with all his cousins.

Where is that egg?

What is all this stuff?

Do NOT let go Aunt Maggee!

Church Egg Hunt 2011

Easter, like all the other holidays, has been very busy for us.  We started out the celebration with an Easter egg hunt at church on Saturday. There were games, egg hunting, and good food.  They had Jack's favorites, hotdogs and cake.  We got our first glimpse of how Jack was going to like hunting eggs.  He did so good and was saying, "mers, mers (more)" as he was picking up the eggs. Although, once he discovered that there was candy inside he got distracted.  Jack had a lot of fun and so did I.  Jack was so sweet and as always loved being around all of the other kids.

Peepaw and Jack



M &M (Mackey and Maggee)



Mrs. Sonya helping Jack balance an egg on his spoon.

Jack wore these sunglasses all day! :)  I guess his baby blues are gonna be as sensitive as his mama's.

He ended up with quite a loot! 

Hudson's House

A few weekends ago, we went out to dinner with Amy, Zach, and Hudson Hope.  After dinner, we went back to the Hudson's house as Jack called it.  For days, even still, we'll be going down the road and he'll say, "Onna go to Hudson's house."  Hudson is about 8 months older than Jack.  Jack loves Hudson though and he LOVES his toys.  Thanks Hudson for being so sweet and sharing!

Hudson was giving Jack the 411 on how to run the "tractor". It was hilarious!





The Big One!!

On April 2, I turned 30!  Wow...it was kind of depressing.  Believe me, I am so blessed and thankful for my life, but I remember when my own parents were 30.  Back in February, I went to Nashville with my sister and some of my girlfriends.  That was my official "gift" for turning 30 from my hubs. 



L to R: Alisha and Nathan McFarland (Nathan is an old friend who now lives in Nashville), Katie, Maggee, Annah, Kellye, me, and Alaina

Andy and my parents gave me a family birthday party on my actual birthday.  We had a lot of fun and somehow the only picture I ended up with was the one of me and my dad.   All in all, my birthday was great and I got to spend it with the people I love the most!

Look what I got...

WOW!!! Excited isn't even the word to describe how I feel about this camera! I've NEVER spent so much money on anything that isn't considered a necessity. Ohhh, I love it though! I just hope I can learn to use it. Here are a few of the first pictures I made. They are definitely not professional shots, but I can already tell a big difference.

Possibly the worst hair day we've had in a while...

Using his new "golf ball club" that Peepaw (Grandpa) got him.

Look at those baby blues!

Sneak Peek of Easter Pics

He L.O.V.E.D. the rabbit!  We could hardly pull him away! :)

Not Lucky...Just Blessed

This will be the hardest post I've ever written.  I am, by nature, a private person.  I LOVE to talk and gab with the girls, but when it comes to sharing personal things it is a bit harder for me.  I have to work on letting people see the vulnerable side of me. 

Andy and I were married in 2004 and it was several years before I had the desire to have children.  But, when the desire came it was consuming.  I wanted to become a mother and I think that God lets us have those feelings.  It's the way he intended for it to be.  We tried for about 8 or 9 months before I ever saw my doctor.  He referred me to the infertility department because of some problems I was experiencing.  The day we met with the infertility nurse was one of the toughest days I've ever experienced.  Every fear and insecurity I had was confirmed.  The chances of you getting pregnant on your own are very slim.  It could take a while for it to happen.  You could need extensive intervention. I won't say it's impossible, because God is in control, but it's almost impossible. (I am hesistant to even write this because as we all know I do have a child.  There are others who haven't yet and I CANNOT imagine the heartache they must feel. ) I'll spare a lot of details, but I begged God for a child.  There were medical hold-ups and I never got to start fertility medicine.  The month I was supposed to have surgery, the Lord blessed us with a successful pregnancy.  I've always acknowledged that it was God who blessed us with Jack.  But today, my heart was reminded even more than ever.
Today, I went for my first blood drawing to begin treatment with the infertility clinic in hopes of conceiving our next child.  I told myself that I wasn't going to be emotional.  I've been here before...I know I've gotten pregnant before...etc.  When I went in, the nurse talked with me and spoke about how it had been a while (almost 3 years since I started my last treatment).  She looked at me and broke my tender heart again.  How does someone's words have so much power?  I want you to prepare yourself.  This isn't going to be easy.  It's going to be much harder this time.   Why?  Because I'm 3 years older?  No, you shouldn't have gotten pregnant last time.  You were very lucky.  No, I was blessed.  I want you to get yourself ready.  You just got lucky last time. No, God's will is his will, but it's going to be much harder this time and I need you to hold up. 
My heart instantly broke.  Am I sad that it will possibly take a long time for me to conceive? Yes, but that wasn't it.  She confirmed, again, for me everything I already knew.  Jack was sent to me straight from the Lord.  I know that I was blessed with him.  That's why I titled my blog, Brandee's Blessing. He isn't my only blessing, by any means, but it is the most powerful way that God has ever revealed himself to me.  I got so emotional, and still am, by the thoughts that I could have missed out on him.  I feel so blessed to know that the Lord heard and answered my prayer.  It brought this song to my heart,

"Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

"Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—

"Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!

I am reminded of God's faithfulness.  He has never failed me and never will.  If I am blessed to be a mother again...Praise be to God!  If not, Praise be to God for his faithfulness.