Road Repair

I can't believe its August already! I feel like this year has flown by for our little family! Daren is growing up so fast. I haven't had a lot to write about the past months so my blog has suffered. However, I watched a video this morning that really got me thinking.

First, let me say I LOVE my son with every fiber of my being. I feel that everything that happened in our marriage that had to do with having kids and where to live lead us to be his parents. He's the most amazing child and I can't imagine my life without him. I assure you we were ALWAYS meant to be his parents.

This is the video and article:
http://www.freeflys.com/blog/2014/08/dads-video-premature-sons-year-breath/

Anyway, back to the video. This video was very sweet and for me very close to home for what I experienced giving birth to our two other sons. This video is of a child born at 25 weeks and our second son was born only two weeks sooner than that. I get so frustrated that some people out there would think my child was never "alive". I assure you as his mother he was alive before he ever left my womb. I felt such a strong bond with both of my other sons and I get so upset when I think many people would think it's odd I refer to having two other sons. Does a mother who loses a child at any age all of a sudden say they have one less child? NO, they have the same amount of children and one just happens to have passed away. As far as I'm concerned I am a mother of three beautiful boys two of whom have passed away.

If you don't agree that my two sons who passed were really alive I feel sorry for you. Heaven forbid you ever have to experience going through what I have been through. I did not choose to have problems with being able to get and stay pregnant. I bet I took better care of my body than many people who have healthy "normal" pregnancies. I often feel gypped because somehow my body is defective and there's nothing I can do to fix it. I even had someone tell me once that they hope they never have to have problems with their pregnancies... guess what.... me too. I didn't choose to go through what I have and I have to deal with the heartache and depression of my reality every day.

My point of this whole post is that I'm coming out un-apologetically saying I have three sons. So if you ask in the future I'm not going to hide the truth or feel bad for being honest. I love my kids and I shouldn't have to lie to try to not make someone feel awkward that my story isn't all puppies and roses.

MPG

I have had little opportunity to blog as I am home in Oklahoma. The main problem I face is that we have no internet at our home here. I can access a slow roaming version of the internet on my phone and that’s it. We made the choice that unless I can find a career that allows me to work from home online we will not pay for the internet because the price is so much higher than if we lived in the city and the service is still slow.

The past month Daren and I have been able to go to Runaway Bay, TX and visit with my parents there. We then traveled back with them to Mesa, AZ and visit with family and friend here. Daren and I are so lucky to have this opportunity. He loves being around his family and friends here and loves all the other kids being around him each day.

While I have been in Arizona I have been searching for a career that I can do from home and it is proving to be more difficult than expected. However, I will continue to press forward as I strive to have a career that allows me to put my family first!

Daren grows so much each day and I’m amazed at how much he learns from others. I wish we could have more opportunities for him to be around other kids more often in Oklahoma because he thrives being around his peers. However, he does love being home with his parents and puppies and playing outside on the many acres we live on.

I tried to take as many pictures as I could of him playing here and enjoying his time!

NOW for the picture OVERLOAD!!!

Loose Gravel

I've been trying to think of what to share since I've been out here in Oklahoma. Some days being here feels like I'm back in Alabama on my mission, only because I'm so far from friends and family. I miss being "home" but being here has taught me a lot and it's growing on me. 

Since we got here Daren has grown a lot. He was crawling like a swimmer when we got here and now he's almost walking. He is so smart I'm amazed at how much he understands and how funny he is. He turned 1 on the 10th of January and I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. He's truely the most amazing gift in our lives! 

Our dogs LOVE it here because they have so much room to run and play and lots of birds and critters to chase. 

Alex loves his job and is learning a lot about the oil industry here. He works so hard to provide for us. He is studying hard to take the CDL test soon so he can be a driver for the company he works for. 

We stayed local for the holidays. We had the missionaries over for Halloween since we live too rural for trick or treaters. Next year we may have to go into the city if we're still in this house so Daren can trick or treat! 

We went with the Coggins/Martin family for Thanksgiving (this is the family Alex works for). They have really helped us feel welcome here. I got to make pies for the dinner. I missed some traditional items I'm used to at the dinner and I missed making rolls and pumpkin rolls, but it was a lot of fun. 

It also snowed before Christmas and that was a fun and interesting adventure! 

For Christmas we all went down to Arlington, Texas to spend time with Bonnie and Ed (Alex's aunt and uncle). We had fun but Daren didn't sleep well, so neither did I. Luckily we were only there one night so it was fine. Despite the lack of sleep we all had fun spending the holiday with family! 

For Daren's birthday we didn't do anything crazy, we had home made pizza and chacolate cake (Daren loves pasta or bread with red sauce and chocolate). He likes food in general but always eats everything when it has a red sauce. 

The other day we have Daren his first hair cut! 

As far as my life I'm the primary chorister and have been workin hard to get things ready to teach the kids the beautiful music for the year. I love being able to stay home with Daren. He is such a joy for us! 

I can't believe the holiday season is over and it's nearly spring! Happy 2014!