Silly Landon

Landon was looking at my right hand yesterday morning. He then asked to see my other hand. I showed it to him and of course my ring was there. He said, "Mom, I wish there wasn't a ring on your hand." I asked him why and he said, "Cause when I became an adult I would marry you!"

Then we were talking with Cameron about movies. He asked her if she had watched a particular movie on Netflix. She told him no, that she had watched it before Netflix was around. He said, "You mean, in the old days?"

VBS 2011

So many of our friends have recently asked about our story being in LifeWay's VBS material this summer. I am sorry I did not do a better job about letting everyone know! :)

The North American Mission Board sent a team to Houston in 2009 to follow us around for 5 days and capture a bit of our story and ministry. They made a video about our story and the church that can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpYHTXVXYCI

For VBS, they used the same content but dubbed over using a kid's voice. For some reason I can't find that video on YouTube. (and we all know YouTube is all-knowing!)

For the record, Landon is doing well. We just had his yearly check-up in April and he was released for another year of being a normal kiddo! We are so thankful for this.

Edited: here is the link to the actual VBS video:

http://mediasuite.316networks.com/player.php?v=v76s5m98

One Day

Happy birthday to my sweet little man! My first-born, my only (for now!) son.
Today not only represents the 6th year that we have enjoyed having Landon on this earth, it also represents the ONE day of parenting that Ben and I have experienced without the words "biliary atresia" in the back of our minds. For 24 blessed hours, we cuddled and loved on our little boy with great peace of mind. He made us parents, and we were overwhelmed with love.
It was like a fairy tale, that first day was. Somewhere near 40 people came to the hospital to help us welcome our child into the world. We chose not to find out the gender of our first born, so there was great anticipation, both for us in the operating room, and in the overflowing waiting room.
I will never forget Dr. Haskins holding him up and saying, "It's a boy! And a big one!" And he was, 10 pounds 10 ounces. How could such a large baby have anything in the world going on?
All evening, visitors floated in and out while I floated in and out of sleep. Early the next morning, Landon's pediatrician came to visit us. She told us that his bilirubin was high, but that didn't worry me too much because most babies develop jaundice at some point. I was very jaundiced as a newborn. Ben was a little more worried. That was around 7:30 a.m. She mentioned sending him to Shreveport if necessary, but that hardly seemed reasonable to me. For jaundice? Really? Little did I know, I was about to become a near-expert in all things liver-related, and that there were two kinds of bilirubin. Only one should be elevated in neonatal jaundice, but both of Landon's levels were high.
Dr. Sokunbi came back by around lunch, and his levels still hadn't fallen. This time, I was a little more worried, because she seemed more worried. My mom dropped my little brother off with my grandpa so she could be with us. At about 5 p.m., a team from Christus Schumpert came rushing in with an incubator stretcher. We hadn't even known for sure they were coming, and there they were. My dad was there by then so he could drive Ben over to Shreveport as well. Ben and I both lay on my hospital bed sobbing while they prepared Landon for travel. We had to sign all sorts of forms saying everything from "they might give him a blood transfusion" all the way to "he might die." Talk about the fairy tale turned nightmare.
When Ben and my dad left behind the ambulance, I really thought my heart was going to break in two. I think out of the whole ordeal, that day was the hardest. Being separated from my child and husband, when we should have been all together. As a family. I had a c-section, so my doctor highly advised that I stay until the next morning before heading to Shreveport. That night was fitful for me. I should have been nursing my baby, but instead my arms were empty.
I had told my doctor that I was leaving by 7 am, with or without him, so he better come check on me by then! He was there at 6:30, bless his heart. I am sure there is nothing as difficult as dealing with a mama with a sick baby.
....to be continued

camping trip

Ben took the kiddos backyard camping. This included a night swim, followed by sitting by the fire. Only in Houston!

The funny things they say!

Update 2/6/2010
Landon asked if we could take a spoon to Heaven in case Allie got an attitude! What a selfless young man!

Dec 17, 2009

The kids are really saying some funny and/or profound things lately and I don't want to forget them!

Landon to his babysitter the other night about a picture in his room: "That's Bethany. She's my girlfriend and we're gonna get weddinged one day!"

Allie tells us, "Y'all are wearing me out!" in the most country accent you have ever heard. She is also requesting pink birthday cake for Jesus' birthday party, which is coming up soon!

Landon asked me not too long ago how people got to Heaven before Jesus died on the cross. Try explaining that to a four-year-old. He also cried the first time Ben explained Jesus' death to him. Wow, that kid has a heart.

One thing Ben and I tell the kids is "I love you to Australia and back." Well the other day Landon told me he loved me to Heaven and back. Pretty sweet until I told him "that is such a loooong way!" He said, "Not really, it's only to the sky!" That stinker.

Well naturally I can't think of many examples since I'm taking the time to "write"
them down, but I am hoping to update as more occur!

Updated 1/1/10:
When we were moving Landon's furniture to paint his room, we asked him if he wanted his bed in the same place or if he wanted us to move it. He said, "I want it moved." We asked him where, and without missing a beat, he said, "Into y'alls room." ha!

On the way home from a Rockets basketball game last night, Allie told Ben (who was driving), "Be careful, father!"

Also, after the game, the kids were talking nonstop about Louis Scola. They want to meet him and talk to him.

sweet

Today I was telling Landon I would be sad because daddy would be gone to Guatemala. He said, "Well, I'll take care of you!" I asked him in what ways he would take care of me and he answered, "I'll rub your back!" He knows what's important!

"Not my Child" Monday!

This post is courtesy of MckMama's blog- usually she does a "Not Me Monday," but this, week, it's all about the children! I certainly don't have TONS of content for this post!

Wednesday, my son did not come in while I was praying for the women in our small group and throw a temper tantrum, swatting his hands in the air and saying, "I don't want to leave!" And I certainly did not become very... ahem... disappointed in him.

While taking my two little ones shopping on Saturday, I certainly did not turn around to find my 2 year old daughter eating candy straight off the candy rack in the check out line. (Which I certainly did not have to pay for, after I had just swiped my debit card!) I couldn't punish her, though, even if she did that, because that was honestly the first time she has ever been out of the buggy at check-out!

A few weeks ago, my son was not nursing a baby doll in front of about 15 people at one of our weekly ministries. Wow. Certainly he would not do something so embarassing!

Now it's your turn! Share your funniest stories about your child (or yourself if you do not have children) and feel a great deal of relief in the making! :)

Look for the Rainbow

Many of you reading this (all 3 of you!) will have already heard this story, but I feel like I need to get it out "on paper" per say before my memory fades. So for that reason, I'm going to describe the moment as vividly as I remember it.

Four years ago, we were spending lots of time at Texas Children's getting the correct diagnosis for Landon. On July 12 of that year (3 days after my sister's wedding), Landon had to have a liver biopsy. It was terrifying- everything about those few weeks was terrifying. He was only 6 weeks old at the time. Leaving my baby on that operating table as sleep-inducing drugs flowed into his IV is not an experience that I can even explain.

The next day, we were waiting, and waiting, and waiting, in his hospital room for the results of the biopsy. Nothing will make the minutes on the clock tick by slower than waiting for doctor's rounds. Especially when something crucial will be revealed.
About 5 p.m. or so the rounding doctor came by and told us matter-of-factly that the biopsy did make Landon "appear to have biliary atresia." Now this is the same doctor, who 2 days before, had walked in and took one look at Landon and said, "this kid doesn't have biliary atresia." So it was easy to be very disappointed in her when she brought the bad news... although it wasn't her fault of course.

Anyway, so by this time we are very, very depressed. I had never seen Ben like that before, and haven't seen him like that since. It was especially disheartening for me because he was usually my rock, telling me that everything would be okay.
My sweet mom was with us for this visit, and she was gazing out the window, holding Landon. She said, "Look, there's a rainbow!" (It rained constantly that summer- adding to our dismal mood!) We were like, "Who cares? Our baby is sick." I remember Ben laying face down on the "bed," which is actually a couch that pulls out into a twin bed for two adults to share. And usually a baby. But anyways. Let's say it was good that we have a close marriage!

Ben pulls himself off the couch after a few minutes and looks out the window, thinking of what the rainbow means in scripture. (See Genesis 9:13-17) He prays for Landon, and prays for God to show him that he has not forgotten us. We had so many people praying for Landon, and things just weren't going the way we thought they should. Ben prays for a sign that God was still there, and at that moment, a second rainbow appears. It was an amazing, humbling moment. I must be honest and admit that I still wasn't all that impressed at the time- if God could make a rainbow appear at will, why wouldn't he heal my baby? But looking back, I see that it was all part of his plan to get us here.

It may not seem like a huge deal, but that was God showing us his love and grace in a moment where we needed it most. Do I have the answer to why babies are sick, and even more tragically, die? No. I won't even pretend. I cry almost every day over some child or another who is having health problems. It just doesn't seem fair, even to me, that my child is doing so well while others are having a horrible time.

But I do know that when things are going badly, it might help to look for the rainbow.


PS I have a picture of the double rainbow that I will post as soon as I get it scanned. For some reason, I can't find the digital images from that month.

Orange you Excited???

This weekend we celebrated Landon's fourth birthday! We are so excited for the blessing of excellent health and lots of fun this past year! He is getting so big and loves life.
We had an "orange" birthday party for him... this was his request for months! When I'd ask him what kind of cake he wanted, he'd answer, "An orange cake with an orange truck on it." So that is what he got!
We had a great time with some family that traveled in from Houston, as well as new friends in Houston.
Here's the cake:



Landon being silly. Imagine that!



With one of his numerous cousins:




Sunday, his actual birthday, we went to Bass Pro Shop after church. Landon "deerly" loves this place!





We are so lucky to have such a great guy in our lives.

The children are...

Landon is...
...almost 4! So hard to believe that this TALL boy is the same one who made his debut at 10 pounds, 10 ounces almost 4 years ago.

...playing T-ball. He loves it one game, won't play the next! (one game, he hit the ball, then went and sat in a chair and closed his eyes, saying, "I don't want it!"




...OBSESSED with the Rodeo. Ask anybody who has been around us in the past 2 months, and they will tell you. Everything is a bucking bull. Including the chair he sat on while doing a developmental assessment. It "bucked" him off more than once! He also got a HUGE goose egg last week from jumping off the deck. While mommy and daddy were gone. Thanks, Nicky and Mitzi, for taking care of him!

...FUNNY! He told our good friend Danae the other day to come in to his mommy and daddy's room- their door closed and locked. Ahem.

... so sweet. Yesterday morning while we were eating breakfast, he came around the table to me and hugged me and starting singing, "My favorite mommy, my favorite mommy," over and over again! It brought tears to my eyes. I told him that was my favorite song and he had to sing it to me everyday for the rest of my life!

Allie is...

... TWO! And I'm sure the neighbors know it by the fits she throws sometimes! Don't know where she gets that from.

...so feminine, and a tom-boy at the same time! She loves to have her toenails painted and then loves to plow over her brother like a bulldozer!

...talkative. When she decided to start talking, there was no going back! She loves to talk all the time, and I love hearing her sweet little voice. I love how she says, "uh-huh." It's hard to explain in writing, but it is just precious! I also love when I lay down with her for her nap and she wraps her arms around my neck and says, "Don't leave me!" Sometimes I don't.

...also funny. She told her Sunday school teacher the other day, "I like to move it!" Still cracks me up thinking about it.

... beautiful. Sometimes I just stare at her, and think, "She really is gorgeous." No bias here! :) Oh, and in case you were looking for the newest beauty tip, it is to cover your face with spaghetti sauce. Improves one's looks everytime!

Landon's visit to the "liver doc"

(Pictures from Landon's ultrasound. I did not have the presence of mind to take pictures during the doctor's appointment; more on that later.)

Wow, can I just say that God is good. Looking back over the last almost-four years, I can honestly say I didn't see things working out this well. I don't know exactly what I expected, but not for our time inside TCH as patients to come down to 30 minutes a year! For those of you who don't know/remember, from the time Landon was born until almost 1.5 years, we spent a LOT of time in the hospital with him.
So here is the short of it: Landon has NEVER had normal liver function tests (LFTs) except for his bilirubin. Well, due to a lot of prayer and skillful doctors, his labs from last week are NORMAL!!!! I cannot tell you how good this does a mother's heart. Only one number (GGT for those of you who know the specifics) was out of range by 5 points, but compared to what it has been, it is amazing!
Thank you God for a great report. The doc's words were the same as last year: "See you in a year!" Biliary atresia is still a nasty disease; Landon is definitely the exception and not the rule. So we are keeping the other families we know in prayer that aren't having such an easy time.
Speaking of, since most kiddos who have BA eventually have a liver transplant, Ben and I are very much into organ donation awareness. April is Organ Donation Awareness Month and so we went to an event today to get TMC employees to sign up to be donors. Ben actually signed up the president of TMC! Anyway, Landon got to wear a shirt as a "future potential recipient." We got to hear stories from donor families, and let me tell you that is emotional. They are such selfless people who use their pain to bring joy to others.
Here is Landon playing with a friend who already had a liver transplant as a baby:




Side note: The actual doctor's visit last week is a blur to me because Allison was an absolute TERROR. And I am not exaggerating. Horrible. Embarrassing. Screaming. Throwing toys across the room. Don't let the cuteness fool you, that child has a mean streak in her! But we love her to pieces just the same. But hence, the reason for no photos of Landon with his awesome doctor!

Babies Don't Keep

I ran across this poem on the another blog and thought it was worth sharing:

Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

~Ruth Hulburt Hamilton.

So true. It's hard to remember when my babies looked like this:


and this:



But they'll always be my babies!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Wow, I cannot believe it has been an entire month since I last blogged! What a whirlwind it has been, too.

Dec. 19th-21st, my sister Lindsey and her hubby Alan came to visit us. We took Alan to a wonderful restaurant for his Christmas present, and also Santa came to visit us while they were here:





Dec. 21st-28th, we visited both of our families in East Texas. It was a very relaxing time of fellowship- well, minus the stomach bug that wiped out about 25 members of my family. It was an interesting Christmas, with everyone comparing bodily functions. :)

At Pop's and Mimi's house:


At Uncle Joe and Debo's house:


Dec. 24th, our new nephew was born. He deserves his own post, so look for that later!

Dec. 29th was our 7th (!) anniversary and we went to a Rockets game- Ben's first NBA game ever. It was very fun, and we discovered a great new restaurant as well!







Dec. 30th- my cousin Tasha and her four kids came to visit us for a few days.

Dec. 31st- my friend Mandy came to visit for a few days as well; we had a New Year's Party at our house

Jan. 1st- Tasha and the kiddos had to leave early b/c her kiddos got sick. Very sad.
Mandy, Fabia, and I went to eat lunch, then Mandy and I spent the rest of the day shopping.

Jan. 3rd- Mandy left to go back home.

So much fun! Now back to real life.
I hope that your holiday season was spent enjoying your family and friends, and celebrating Christ's birth.

Ben and Landon's Deer

Ben and Landon went hunting this past weekend- a Hays family tradition- with his dad and brother.
His brother Steven shot a deer in the morning hunt:



Then, Ben and Landon got one in the evening hunt:



(That's Pepaw, Ben's dad, in the photo above. Landon just adores him! As a matter of fact, so do I!)

It was a great weekend of "male bonding" for the men and Allie and I had a girls' weekend with Steven's wife Phyllis and their daughters Lauren and Cayla.
For $30 (the cost of a hunting license), we have our meat for the year! Yay Ben and Landon!

This needs no explanation....

.... or does it?
They did it on their own, I promise!
-------------------------------------------------------------
I want to update on Church in the Center , but eleven o'clock-ness is preventing brain clarity. I'll write more soon, I promise. (2 promises in a very short post!)
Have a great week.

sweet baby words

Tonight, I was putting Landon to bed amidst sobbing (his, not mine!) in a melt down. It was Preview Sunday* and he had NO nap. I asked him why he was crying.
He answered, in a little whiny voice, "My eyes were sad and then they cried." Oh, he almost made Mama cry!

*check back tomorrow for an update on this, I'm going to bed! And yes, it's 8:45 p.m.

Company, company, company

Over the past month or so, we have had TONS of company! I have enjoyed it so much, and know that it is over for a while now that school is starting. :(

Thought I would share some of the pictures from over the weeks: top left is Landon with my cousins Peyton and Emilyat the Hays family's first Astros Game! (Emily is 2 days older than Landon!). They were visiting with their parents, Stephen and Holly. (Stephen is my uncle, but we won't tell! :) )

Second pic is Landon with Cameron, one of our former youth and now a very good friend. Happy 21st birthday this week, Cameron!

Next is Allison, with my college friend Nicole's daughter, Allison. Yes, they are both Allison! So cute. Mine is Allison Danielle and hers is Allison Noelle, which was almost our Allison's name! Wow, that was a mouthful!

Then, Landon is shown with Nicole's son Zethan. They had such a good time together!

The last picture is of my cousin Mitchell. We went and saw his family in Galveston, and then they visited us in Houston! (yes, that is Caleb buried in the sand behind him! My mom did that!)

I'll have to add more pics on another blog because I couldn't put all of them on one post!

suckers for sweets!

Just to show you how much my kids love sweets, here are some pics of them actually sucking through the gum wrappers to get to the flavor! Came up with that idea all on their own, I'm sure!

When I caught them doing it, I took the gum away, but then gave it back for a few pics! Decided I needed to capture the moment, and not stress about it!

Random Child thoughts and actions

I love having children- they really do say and do the cutest things. For example, one day Landon and Ben were talking about God. Landon said, "Where is God? I want to go to his house. I want to hold him and hug him and give him five!" That just melted my heart. And it made me think- how badly do I want to go to God's house (in this instance, I'm talking about Heaven, not church), and how happy am I in my current home (earth)?

Allie is getting her own personality, as well. She just loves her baby dolls and.... her toothbrush! That's right. She will carry that thing around as long as we let her, and screams when we take it away. So she has one we let her carry, and one we brush her teeth with. Now that is not to say she doesn't get the good one, and Landon's, and mine, and Ben's whenever she has a free chance. She will drag Landon's stool around just so she can reach up on the counter! So if your toothbrush goes missing, check the Hays house!

I would love to hear cute things about your kids, or kids you know, say/do!

July 18th: a bittersweet day

July 18th. This day always brings mixed emotions for me, and undoubtedly I will cry, at some point, on this day. You see, today is the anniversary (3rd this year) of Landon's life-saving surgery that he had at teensy, tiny seven weeks old.

At seven weeks old I handed him over to a nurse I had never met before, kissed my precious baby good-bye, and walked out into the waiting room- where I would sit, stand, talk with the 30 friends and family members that travelled to be with us on that day, cry, and even laugh a little. Mostly, though, I stared at the photograph of Landon I had carried with me. I still have it, and it is wrinkled from my carrying it around all day- nine hours to be exact. Nine hours. It was within these hours that our life's course was determined, I feel. If Landon had not had biliary atresia, we probably would have been released from the care of Texas Children's, and Houston would by now be a faint memory of Landon's first year.

But he did. Sometimes I want to scream, "God, you could have chosen a different way to get us here! We would have obeyed whether Landon was sick or not!"

But, where would our connection be? (although my grandmother received excellent care at MD Anderson, I never actually had visited the Texas Medical Center before Landon was a patient) It makes so much more sense for us when explaining why we came when we tell them how we fell in love with Houston, because of the great care Landon received here.

So, yes, today is a bittersweet day. Bitter because I remember the heart-wrenching grief I felt as a new mother, trusting our wonderful surgeon, Dr. Wesson. But it is also sweet, because it enabled me to have the adorable, fun-loving little boy that I have today.

Thank you God, for modern medical technology.

I love my son.

**The first picture is the one I carried around all day with me. The second is Landon now! Praise God