Two Special Birthdays for Two Special Boys!

The past weekend was spent celebrating two very special birthdays...my Dad's 39th (hee!) and Vance's 2nd!

It was a warm and pretty day on Saturday, so we had a little picnic for Dad's birthday at the Greenway Pavilion. They have a small playground there, and Dawson took his first ride down a slide!


I think he liked it!
It got pretty windy and a little chilly, so we headed back home for birthday pie and gifts!
Zoey had her first taste of Four-Layer Pie...
...we missed you, J, but Zoey had no problem eating your piece!
Our gift to Dad was a DVD of his field dedication ceremony and a frame of pictures and grass from the field for him to keep.
Me and my Jer!
On Sunday, Dawson and I headed to the Discovery Center to celebrate Vance's second birthday! Dawson had a BLAST!
We joined Megan and Web and Vance and all of their family and friends to sing Happy Birthday to the big boy...
Vance had a special fishy cake complete with fins that Rachel made.
This pretty much sums up Vance's entire experience! He was so excited!
We had our own fishy cakes, too...little cupcakes! Dawson had blue icing all over the place.
After cake, we got into some serious playtime. Dawson loved "driving" the life-size fire engine...
...playing peek-a-boo with Aunt Meag...
...crawling in and out of the giant caterpillar...
... and playing with all kinds of neat toys!
We had a wonderful time! I think we all took good naps afterwards...adults included!

Thank you, Megan and Web, for hosting a great party and letting us be a part of Little Man's life! He is precious!

Look Who's Walking!

Dawson started "toddling" around his first birthday, and now he is unstoppable!
He'll walk from one end of the house to the other, try to run and usually likes to carry some sort of drink with him. Hee!



"Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"
"Psych!"

A SuperParty with SuperFriends!

We celebrated Meagan's birthday on Sunday by getting together at our house, eating A LOT and watching the Superbowl! I think most of us were pulling for the Cardinals just because they were the underdogs, but honestly, we watched the commericals more than the game!

I found THE CUTEST cupcakes at Publix...
It's a Superbowl ring on top! Squee!
My once camera-hogging and Guy Smiley-ish son has now decided he has better things to do than pose for a picture. And you can bet I was pleading with him through clenched teeth to "just stay still for a second!"
Riiigghhhht.
Happy Birthday, Meag! I made the birthday girl a coconut cake, per her request...I think it was pretty good!
Opening prezis...
Dawson and Vance had a blast together. Vance is the oldest child that Dawson has ever played with, so it was interesting to see how he would react. Vance is very gentle and loving, so I think D-Word felt like he found a new BFF!
I love celebrating with these two...they are a party in themselves!

Dear Levi,

" I just want to thank you for risking you're life to fight for me and the people of America. To show my thank and try to help your broken heart please take this teddy bear.



I'm going to tell you all about me so you can get to know me better. My name is Samicka. I'm 12 going on 13 years on August 13. I go to Central Middle School. I'm in the 7th grade. My favorite things to do is: swim, dance, cheerleading, softball, basketball, gymnastics and track. I am a cheerleader at Kittrell Middle School, too. I have 2 brothers 3 sisters 4 counting me. My dads name is Dallas. My moms' name is Tammey. And that is all about me.

Roses are red Violets are blue Since your fighting for me I just want to thank you."


My best friend, Meagan, teaches at an inner-city school, and one of her classes wrote letters to Levi to be included in a care package I'm sending to Iraq next week. I didn't cry until I came to this one.

What you can't tell in the picture is that the seam in the teddy bear's leg is torn and the stuffing is falling out.

Being one of six children, I would imagine toys are scarce at her house.

Obviously, love and generosity are not.

A Party, A Pageant and a Praise!

We celebrated my mom's 33rd birthday (hee hee!) this past weekend in Chattanooga, where, as you can see, we set the world record for Worst Grandkid Photo Shoot.
Thanks, Dawson, for cooperating. Appreciate that.
Gran/Mom with her super-yummy chocolate ganache bon-bon cake from the Publix bakery...way to go, Dad! (If y'all have never had cake from Publix, run - don't walk - and get some.)
How many men does it take to light birthday candles?
G-Pa the Great fed (read: shoveled) Dawson some cake, and then we watched Miss Tennessee compete in the Miss America pageant...

Sadly, Ellen Carrington didn't win the crown...
...but Zoey had a great time watching all the contestants and contemplating what her talent will be in 2030. I'm thinking she'll be competing against this little cutie...
...the future Miss Arkansas, Harper Stamps, who is now off her ventilator, being held by her family and eating!
I don't think there is a better word for this than "joy."

Thank you for praying for her!

In Case You Were Wondering, Girls Rule

"Whoa, step back, homes. Does this look like your book? Did I say you could touch it? Um, no."

"Geez. Overreact much? Sorry!"

The Power of Prayer

Harper Stamps is three days old today, and she is a living example of the power of prayer.

She continues to improve, and the outpouring of compassion to her and her family has been an amazing thing to behold.

"We were able to meet with Harper's doctor today for the first time since she has been there. It was a very good meeting. He gave us a lot of details. It was very difficult for me to sit and listen to him talk about how sick my little baby is. Our families felt it was very positive but it was just scary for me. Basically it is a long and gradual process. They believe she got an infection which has caused the problems with her lungs. They think her heart and brain are both good. Very, very slowly - they are trying to get her off the oxygen that is supporting her lungs. They think ECMO is a final resort. We will most likely be here for weeks. Her numbers seem to improve little by little and we do have a lot of hope. She is critical but stable."

Please keep praying for them!