Their Father's Eyes

I used to sing a song with my Mom called Father's Eyes by Amy Grant. Since Jack was little I've sung the chorus to that song to him, and now to Cal, while praying it's words over them.

He's got his Father's eyes, his father's eyes...

Eyes that find the good in things

When good is not around

Eyes that find a source of help

When help cannot be found

Eyes full compassion

Seeing every pain

Knowing what you're going through

And feeling it the same.

Just like his Father's eyes

Tonight Jack asked me to rock him in Calvin's room. Calvin was already asleep so I said we had to be super quite. We snuck in and he curled up and I sang quietly and prayed for my boys while he fell asleep in my arms. He doesn't do that much anymore! It was such a blessed moment in that quite room with my two sleeping babies.

It was nice to know Aaron was in the other room listening. It won't be too long before his presence will be missing in this scenario. I know a few things to be sure right now in a time in my life when uncertainty seems to be looming in the shadow of Aaron's upcoming deployment.

1. I am blessed beyond measure with two strong, smart boys that are more resilient than I can fully imagine.

2. I have a husband who has his Father's eyes and has passed them on to his boys! I see him in their eyes every day.

3. God has given me peace that we will overcome this year.

Gammie's Backyard!

At Christmas Aaron's Grandmother told us that she would like to be called Gammie by the new great-grand babies. I thought it was the cutest thing ever and am trying to get it to stick!!

On Saturday we spent pretty much the whole afternoon in Gammie's backyard! The boys had a blast!! I took so many pictures that I don't quite know how to post them all... I think a few slide shows might be easier than making you all scroll through the mass of photos that I uncontollably shot! Hey if you were hanging out with these two cuties you couldn't help but fill up your card either...

Jackson

Cousins!! - Jackson and Axton

Fun With Nana, Gramps and MiMi

Playing With Mommy and Daddy

The Boy Lucas and Today's Experiments With Food!

My wonderful nephew Lucas turned 8 on Monday!! 8 holy moley!!! Lucas is such a great, talented, caring kido!

He loves to
write songs and
draw and
play video games and
climb things and
loves animals

...he made his entire class Valentines from scratch this year... that's the kind of kid he is! Creative juices ooze from him as does thoughtfulness for others. I love all of my nephews so much.

Here's Lucas when he was about 1!
Here's our little man now!
Well, yesterday Lucas called me on the way to school for a special favor! I have gotten so excited since then! His party in on Saturday and he has chosen a Dog theme... can Indee come, I'm wondering?

Lucas needs some dog biscuits for his party. So I made some shortbread dog bones! It was fun creating them and experimenting with colors and stuff... they look REAL!! I'm excited!

Jack also experimented with food today! Pureed green beans, brown rice and turkey dinner from a jar... turkey dinner from a jar just sounds so wrong! Here are the results of his endeavors!

Our Not So Concrete Adventure

I've always been at least somewhat amazed that creatures that I consider wild still live in this concrete world of ours... wild bunnies that Indee loves chasing playfully, the wolf mom (not "man") and her pups that live next door to the fire station (we can hear them out and about at night when we leave our windows open), the armadillos that tore up the yards at our apartment in The Colony, big lolly-gagging turtles crossing major streets, hawks, opossums, cougars...


I love that we can still witness this part of the wonder of God's creation around us... even in Dallas!

Yesterday our little family troop took a pretty easy hike! It was all paved, but for out of shape little ol' me it was quite a trek. Jack loves being outside and I hope that we can do a good job of instilling a love and respect for nature in him. Aaron was just excited that he got to finally use his "piggy pack" for Jack. It was a great mini adventure in the woods in heart of our city.



It's was refreshing to find a place where the sounds of cars on the highway melt away and are replaced by the trees being blown in the wind and birds chirping and water gurggling in a stream! We did get a reminder that we were still in "Kansas" (as Drothoy might put it). But all in all it was a wonderful way to "waste" an hour or so.


Jack loves looking up at the tops of the trees... something taller than daddy to be amazed by. I hope we haven't missed our chance to do this some more as the weather is starting to turn colder.


I love my family!

Here we are...

…almost October!Aaron’s been diligently posting blogs, but we haven’t had a good fam update in a while, so I thought I’d toss one in! (hope that’s ok babe?)

We doing pretty ok! I realized today that October is sneaking up on us… know what that means! Pastor appreciation month!!! Oh yes, so many good memories from last year and all the appreciation that we got! (for those of you that are wondering…this is sarcasm! Aaron was fired a year ago this October)

What a year we’ve had!!!! Here’s a recap…

Aaron was fired

I was 4 mos. Preo at that time

We moved to Dallas

Aaron turned 30 (yikes)

Lived with friends

Aaron took three jobs

Moved in w/ my parents

Kerre turned 30 (BIGGER YIKES)

Finally Sold our house

HAD JACK!

Got an apartment

Had our 9^th anniversary

Got a Crash Course Craniosynostosis

Jack had surgery

Jack got his helmet

Aaron Got a New JOB!!!

So that’s where we are now… Jack is adjusting to the helmet so well. We’re still readjusting to a decent sleeping schedule. Before the surgery Jack was sleeping 8 hours a night. Now we’re up about every two-three hours. I think this is due to lots of factors. He’s still growing like a weed!!! I’m not a fan of growth spurts. He’s got helmet head!

He’s TEETHING… pooie!! They should cut through any day!! We’ll post pics when they FINALLY get here. – He does nap good during the day which helps mommy some, but exhaustion has become a normal part of my life.

Otherwise, Jack is the best kid in the world. He’s a happy baby! People are drawn to him like moths… he’s got the best grin in the world and doesn’t keep it to himself. He’ll flash (what will soon be those pearly whites) to anyone, anywhere, anytime. He makes people happy! I love that he does...

YES, you read right! Aaron got a JOB!! He is working for Bluefish TV. It’s a sales job and he’s still in training, but if it works out this will be a great place for him and our family (and our budget). I’m a very proud wife. He’s been through the ringer this year and has been so strong and persevered so well. He’s my tower!

So that’s us right now in a nutshell… Love you all!! Stay in touch!

Kerre sent me this email...

Here is an email that Kerre sent me yesterday...Today is our 9th anniversery. Jack is such a great celebration!

Kerre Thorne to me
Jul 9 (1 day ago)

It is now 5:30 in the morning. Jackson woke up at 4:30. Normally, with your
help, I would have been asleep a good 30 min by now. Alone...no such luck.

Jack wakes up...I'm leaking
I have to pee like a race horse (I never have to pee right away when I
first get up anymore??)
I pee
Return to room
Jack is MAD!
I clumsily unwrap Jack
Search for flashlight
Once I get the bottle in his mouth he's ok
Feed 1/2 of bottle
Burp Jack (who's not satisfied)
Lay Jack down for a change (still not too happy w/ me)
Open diaper to Poop!
Clean Jack with the aid of the flashlight I'm glad I searched for
Decide not to press my luck ... so I don't turn around to throw diaper
away
Begin to rediaper...
PEE! ... not a little ... not on the pad ...
Jack's happy now! (very proud)
Finish diaper
... yeah he's dry (I don't have to search for a new onsie)
Strip bed (Jack's losing his happy)
There is a standing puddle on the mattress pad
Get towel from bathroom to sop up pee, cover with quilt
Feed Jack about 1/2 of what's left and decided to go ahead and
swaddle
Burp Jack
As I'm wrapping last arm ... SPIT!
He's soaked, his blanket is soaked
Unwrap JackUndress Jack
Turn blanket upside downReswaddle
Finish bottleRockSleeping baby... Whew
Still leaking (only on one side though)
Sit down ... Start pumping
No longer sleeping baby!
Stop pumping
Rock Jack
Now leaking on both sides
Once again... Sleeping baby ...Whew!
Pump
Store
Write this email!!

The good news, Jacks supply of milk in the fridge is finally
replenished.

Just wanted you to know how much I love and appreciate you and it was worth
the extra 10 min of sleeplessness it took to type this tell you how awesome you
are. I and Jack are so blessed to have you. Thank you for your help and
understanding and love. I'm proud of how hard you work for us and I know that we
(together) can do this parenting thing at least to par, but probably a lot
better than that! Even the scary parts.

I love you more than my luggage!! - Kerre (Kid)

Can I deal.....

So, Jack has a problem. He has a condition called Craniosynostosis. It helps to say it out loud. Jack has a problem. We have known about it for about a week and the ramifications are just hitting home.

Basically the plates his skull is made up of are fusing together too quickly. We see a specialist next week and should then know the extent that the fusion has occurred.



The thing that has hit the hardest is that this come just when things were looking up.

It has been a long year and I can deal with getting fired, being lied about and lied too, being abandoned by "friends" and people who I lived life with. I can deal with the unknown as far as jobs go and a place to live. I can deal with broken promises and false assurances. I can deal with being ran off and being misrepresented.

The question is can I deal? Can I deal with my son having surgery on his skull? Can I deal with my wife's broken heart? Can I deal with all of the unknown that is going to come over the next week and month?

There is so much more to be said and I am losing my words. I'm not really looking for any answers or sympathy, I just wanted to say that life really sucks some times.

Made with love...

Why is it that the best lunches are the one made by my wife. She could pack dog food and I would think it was great...

But I go to make a lunch and there is nothing to pack...even if the fridge is full.

Love gives satisfaction? (At least in my stomach.)

WOW! What a couple of weeks...

We have had Jack now for a couple of weeks and things are going well. We have been getting to know each other and I think we all like each other ok.

A couple of things I have learned:

--I have been surprised about how much he is able to communicate with us. When he is hungry he has a little routine he does before he cries. If Kerre and I are paying attention we notice it and he gets to eat before he cries. He takes his lips and makes a tight puckered circle with them. Then he tries to eat his hands and then he cries.

--Breastfeeding is a ton of work. It is a good thing that this is Kerre's department, because I would have given up. They told us in the hospital that baby's don't "know" how to feed, but it is something that is learned, by both mom and child. And two weeks into it, I think they are both still learning.

--One of the best things so far has been taking a nap with Jack laying on my chest. What an awesome experience. I think we might do it again this afternoon.

Life as of late...

So, we are waiting with bated breath for Jack. It could be anytime now and we are in a weird place know that it could be anytime. I think it might be like a good purgatory. We know that things are about to greatly change and we have prepared much, so...we wait.

I haven't written much, and I want to say that is because I have been busy (which is true), but honestly I have not wanted to.

Work is going good and I am looking forward to seeing how this fleshes itself out..
I am not working at Starbucks in the mornings and REI at random times in the evenings. Yesterday I pickup a job at Dean International for the middays. I am going to try this for awhile and if it doesn't work, make some adjustments.

I think I will miss the pregnant Kerre. She is very cute. I know how uncomfortable she is though and I do look forward to her being able to move without a ton of effort.

Update...

Kerre did this awesome update for all of our family and friends so in case we don't have your email and you read this here it is...

Hello Friends,

Sorry our updates have been far and few between. We just wanted to give everyone a shout to say hi and that we miss you all.

Aaron and I are doing very well. Living one day at a time, but amazed at God's provision in our lives. We may not have all we want, but we have more than what we need!

We are still living with our friends Jonathan and Sandi Tindal in Plano. Their family is such a blessing. Our little room is comfy (however the full size bed is starting to become a tight fit as my belly grows more and more). We've been told our house is showing well in Corpus, but there haven't been any nibbles as of yet. Keep praying that it sells soon. We'll be here until it does. House payments and rent at the same time add up to a little more than we can handle right now.

Aaron is really enjoying being back at Starbucks. He loves people and has unlimited supply and a large mix of them there to keep him happy. He's throughly enjoying building relationships with coworkers and customers. He has made friends with one young woman that frequents his drive thru... she heard his accent and the first thing she asked him before she even ordered was if he was from West Texas. Turns out she is also from Amarillo. He mentioned we were pregnant in passing conversation and one day she came by just to let him know that she just found out that she and her husband are expecting as well. I made her a gift of peppermints and lemon drops with a card (they helped me tons with the first trimester nausea). So everyone be praying for our new friend Emily from Amarillo. This is just one example of ways Aaron has been able to reach out to those around him. He truly has a shepherd's heart and he is really in his element.

Aaron has also interviewed at UT Dallas. He is really hoping to get a job there so that he can reach out to college students. We've heard through the grapevine (my sister-n-law works at UTD) that one of the ladies that was in the interview is thinks he is overqualified for the job that he interviewed for and is trying to get him in a higher paying position! Keep praying there as well. We hope to hear from them late this week or next.

Aaron has a blog if any of you would like to subscribe. He tries to update it fairly regularly: http://aaronthorne.blogspot.com/

I am doing well... I'm officially in my 3rd trimester. Growing is an understatement. Our little guy (we still are not 100% on the name, but we're getting closer) is doing great!! He is VERY active. For those of you that know Aaron's family at all I think we're going to have a little Ronnie (that's Granddad) on our hands. Today I told Aaron I think he was getting his 4 miles in, taking laps around the tummy (Ronnie's a runner and moves a lot too). My biggest prayer is still that it's very hard to dream and especially nest when we don't have a place of our own yet. I get down sometimes because I can't do a lot of the things that come along with the "expecting" part of expecting. But God reminds me often that we didn't pray for all of that stuff, we prayed of a baby and he said yes! That's more than enough!!!!

There are pictures and more updates on our myspace. If any of you have one and are not yet friends come find us. I keep it pretty up to date: http://www.myspace.com/stickboyandgirl

Our church, Residing Hope, is doing awesome. We are planning to multiply our cell in the next few weeks. God is blessing us with tons of people that need his touch. We're enjoying being his hands and feet.

Well guys, thank you so much for all your love and prayers and we'll continue to keep you all posted. We'd really love to hear back from you, please let us know how you're lives are if we haven't talked in a while and let us know how we can pray for you.

Love, Kerre

I've attached a few pictures for those of you who haven't seen us in a while... as you can see Indee Anna is super excited about being a big sister!