Keeping baby Hadlee and other happenings

The past couple weeks have kept us pretty busy. I wanted to share about my experience keeping baby Hadlee last Friday. My best friend Megan asked if I would be willing to keep him for a day for her and I was so excited to get to spend a day with him. Who doesn't want to sit around and hold a sweet baby all day?!? There was a tiny (teeny tiny actually) part of me that was a little nervous that it was going to be tough. But I feel like I am doing pretty well separating other babies from my grief over Evan. This isn't the case ALL the time and definitely not the case for babies that are right around the age Evan would be but it's true for the post part. I spent basically the whole day holding him. It was so nice and I enjoyed myself so much. It would be terribly easy to spoil a baby to being held all the time. If I put him down and he made even the slightest whimper that was reason enough for me to pick him back up. I think that this was an integral part of healing. Taking care of other babies is still a little tough for me. I can't help but have the thought in the back of my mind "I should be taking care of/feeding/changing Evan." But I can still appreciate the sweetness of other babies. Sometimes it is more difficult than others BUT I LOVED my day with Hadlee and can't wait until I get to keep him again.
I mean look at this sweet face...my view basically all day :)

Although since I go back to work tomorrow that will probably be a while :( Speaking of going back to work...I cannot believe that the school year starts tomorrow for teachers. I am both excited and not. I spent one of my days this past week preparing meals for the freezer. I posted a picture of my meals on FB because I was so excited about all of my meals and had quite a few requests for the recipes. I typed them up in a word document. Send your email here and I will be happy to send the file your way. Fall and winter is such a busy time and I am really looking forward to having some meals on hand to just pull out and throw in the crock pot! It took me about 2 1/2 hours (I was putting some other meat away and doing other things around the kitchen during this time) to get about 10 meals ready. I didn't think that was too shabby!
Brent and I have been trying to savor one another's company this weekend. With school starting back for me on Monday I know that life is about to get crazy hectic and we will spend less time together. We spent Friday at the beach with my mom, sister and my cousin Andrea and her two adorable kids. Then Saturday we just hung out around the house in the morning and then went to a birthday party that afternoon. We watched the movie Mud while eating supper on Saturday night and went to bed much later than we should have. Which leads me to Sunday when I slept through my alarm clock and we missed church :(  I sweet-talked him into cleaning the house with me on Sunday afternoon and we are planning to go to bed super early tonight. I am so off schedule and I know I will hate myself if I keep the hours I've been keeping this summer. They resemble the hours of an owl and that will not go well with being at school. I cannot wait to share pictures of my classroom when I finish it up this week. On Friday I will get to meet the sweet faces of the children that will be "my children" this year. Then next Monday the school year will begin. I pray that I can be the best teacher possible and that His love shines through me! Please pray for all teachers as they start back in Santa Rosa and Escambia tomorrow. I read this blog today when someone shared it on FB. It was very well written and really explained well what a teacher does. Besides work 7-3 and have ALL summer OFF. (As many people think...It's very well worth reading and checking on.

The beach was beautiful on Friday. We had such a great time relaxing and playing with the kids. We dug a huge hole with a tunnel with them.  I was reminded how great of an exfoliant sand is. My knees are still a little raw. 

Saturday afternoon at Oops Alley for Madilyne's birthday party. I cannot believe this little girl is already six!

I like to keep little devotional books sitting around my house in various places. When I just have 5-10 minutes free I can sit down and quickly read a little passage and it just uplifts me!  My friend Deanna gave me Jesus Today by Sarah Young while Evan was in the hospital.  One of the mini-devotionals from that book that I read today featured Luke 11:10 "For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened."  I found this so appropriate for the time Brent and I are at in our lives. We know that we want to try to have another baby in the somewhat near future but we are still very nervous about doing so. There will have to be some testing performed before we go down that road again. Without going into details we just want to make sure we are as well prepared and informed before we begin trying for another baby. Our sweet Evan will NEVER be replaced but the rainbows we see almost every day remind us that there is hope beyond this storm we are in the midst of right now. Please pray for us to allow God to lead us in the direction that is His will in this area of our life. That is something we are praying about on a daily basis.

My friend Deanna is with her family at the Wahoos game tonight. She just sent me this picture of a rainbow. Even as I am talking about rainbows and their hope and promise I am reminded yet again....
So beautiful.

I better start preparing for the week ahead. Early to bed tonight I hope!  :)