Rebecca McIntosh O'Dell

In September of 2007, as many of you know, we found out that we were parents of three little miracles. I was 16wks along in the whole pregnancy journey and the weight of that news was literally every emotion in the book. Yet at the same time, we were over come by the peace that only God could give us, as he quickly comforted Jeremy and I with his assurance that he was still in control.

After we left the sonogram we called our church and asked to pray with a pastor. God connected us with Doug James, a pastor on staff at HCBC. A connection was instantly formed with him and we dearly love and cherish him. He is a wonderful man after God's own heart and is everything you could want in a family pastor. I could go on and on and on about how much he means to our family, but that is not the intention of this post.

God also brought a wonderful and remarkable woman into our lives. After every service as Tim would ask a deacon or elder to offer the benediction, elders and members of the prayer team come forward to pray with members of the congregation individually. One of those people was Rebecca McIntosh O'Dell. I can vividly remember the first time we meet. She looked stunning as always, and with her warm smile greeted us genuinely. We began to share our prayer request, she laid her hands on my pregnant belly and prayed for us. Each Sunday there after, when our paths would cross, she would make a point to stop and pray for us. Her heart for God was inspiring. She truly lived out our call as Christians to be His hands and feet.

I learned today that she passed away over the weekend. I do not know the cause of death, but I do know that there is a HUGE party in Heaven as she is welcomed home. I am certain that she is hearing those words we all hope to hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant, well done!"

Life with Lemonade and Peach Tea..........

Well those are my new nick names for them. =) As they were playing the other day outside -Austin truly has the best spring time weather- I got the craving for old fashioned lemonade or ice cold peach tea. Looking at my two giggle boxes I thought, well there you have it- Refreshing Lemonade and Peach Tea! - totally different yet equally fantastic!

A quick update on my lovely ladies. Both are completely chatter boxes. In the last 4 weeks they have totally expanded their vocabulary, but mainly we can actually hold a conversation with them and know they understand. I love it! As I get ready in the morning they sit on the bathroom mat, eating Dora cereal chatting with me about the days events. Granted there are still moments of fighting over where to sit, who can touch Heidi, quick checks to make sure their cereal cups are equally full and the list can continue, but all of that quickly vanishes back to giggles and chats about what to do.

Mallory and Kelby are both still being seen by ECI. We continue to be blessed with wonderful therapist that are truly knowledgeable in their field of expertise. They girls will remain in that program until they turn 3. (sniff, sniff, don't want to think about how fast the next 7 mths will go!) At that time, if developmental services are still needed they will be seen by the school district. With all of that said though, they are developing so well. The girls annual evaluation was at the beginning of this month and in every area they are with in 4mths of their age group or above in some cases.

As far as potty training goes, I had huge hopes of Mallory catching on quickly and diapers going away. Granted thinking that our trips down the baby isle at HEB would be coming to an end was sad for this Momma, yet I still encouraged Mallory to wear her Dora panties proudly. ;) In the midst of praising Kelby for being Momma's big girl that could go all by herself, and still working with Mallory, Kelby began to really act out, bite aggressively and chew her nails at the cuticle. So as we pieced this puzzle together the thought crossed our minds that Kelby was not seeing being a big girl as a good thing, but more of as a punishment. Reluctantly we went back to diapers for her. This was seriously an adjustment in parenting for us, but as soon as we did her over aggressive behavior stopped, she began minding more, and her nails began to heal. In the whole process of figuring out the problem, we have redone sensory evaluations on both of the girls. Kelby has shown to have a very mild version of Sensory Integration Disorder. Both her occupational therapist and physical therapist feel that with catching it so early we can give her (and us) tools to use to help Kelby transition easier to new life stages. As we have slowly added new activities and techniques for bed time etc, we can already see a difference in her.

We continue to thank God for the miracle that the girls are. This is a teeny tiny drop in the big bucket of possible outcomes that they doctors gave us for Kelby. (you may remember that she was born with a grade 3 and 4 brain bleeds) If this is all we have to deal with, then bring it! Praise God for blessing our girls with the outstanding physicians, and therapist that work with them. Do not ever think a day goes by that we are not grateful and humbled for the care they have received!

Well I am off to clean house during what is supposed to be nap time, however maybe that should be renamed giggle time as I am not hearing snoring!

Springtime Playtime

Mallory has a new 'purse' that she has to carry around at all times... it's more like a big bracelet.

Thinking of our sweet Evan Reese today......

Won't you join us in walking in this years March for Babies on May 8th, and if you are able donate to the March of Dimes? God uses this amazing organization in so many ways. We are grateful for them and their dedication to preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Glory Baby, by Watermark

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby..
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby…baby..
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…
Until we’re home with you…

Miss you everyday
Miss you in every way
But we know there’s a
day when we will hold you
We will hold you
You’ll kiss our tears away
When we’re home to stay
Can’t wait for the day when we will see you
We will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you
‘till mom and dad can hold you…
You’ll just have heaven before we do
You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard to
understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-
That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…

BRIDGE:
I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies
and what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home
And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…

_________________________________________

Sweet precious little girl. Momma and Daddy miss you so much. Your time with us was a blessing and a miracle in an of itself. We are so thankful for you. Praise God for letting us hold you and meet you. We look forward to the day when you can show us around heaven and take us to meet Jesus face to face. We love you~

Pig- Tails!

Mallory's hair is now long enough to actually fix. From day one neither Mallory nor Kelby have wanted anything on their head or in their hair. Friends, family and strangers are always asking "Won't they wear bows?" To which we always sigh and say "We try, but they yank them out." The girls ask for bows all the time, but once we get them in their hair, you can almost count down the seconds before they pull them out. However, yesterday Mallory let me put her hair in pig tails. I took tons of pictures on our camera and drove her nuts talking about how cute she looked. Surprisingly today, she let me fix her hair again AND she asked for bows!! If this trend continues, I will have to get busy making hair bows. (now if her bangs will just grown out long enough to pull back.)

Pictures!

Kelby and her "Big girl panties"
- also giving Mallory the look of "I drawn the line at sharing underwear. I'm not joking."


If you are going to clean out your closet, you must try everything on one more time.


The girls "proofing" everything I am pulling out that doesn't fit.


Hat- check, Shoes- check, Pj's- check. Hmm what am I missing??


Oh yes! Mittens!

Easter Pics.- or attempt at.

Mallory trying to act interested in a ball. - AKA ignoring Momma


What? Stand where?? Really Momma, we have to take pictures now?



IF you can catch me, I might sit for a picture.


Kelby : I said might! Gave you 5 seconds, not my fault the camera is slow.
Mallory: You just said sit here, you never said smile.


The neighbor kids get to play, why do we have to pose for pics?


Trying one last time. Looks like the adorable smiles will only be in our minds. Best place actually!

Will try to add more later. We didn't get very many on Easter, both camera batteries were dead and refusing to hold charge. Jeremy tried to get a few with the video camera, not sure how well those will turn out. We had a great Easter weekend!! Friday we attended our church's Good Friday service, Saturday we hunted eggs with some friends from church -it was gorgeous outside- and Sunday we went to church then came home to spend the rest of the day with our neighbors. Most of their family lives here in the Austin area and they had some family in town for the weekend. Together there were eight kids ranging from 7mths to 7 years old. We rented a bounce house and had an egg hunt. The kids LOVED it!! They ran, played and jumped til they could hardly speak a complete sentence. Made for two very tired girlies come Sunday evening!! We are so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors that graciously included us in their family gathering. They are also from the west Texas area, so we share the appreciation of trees and "no dirt days"!

I hope I never forget............

It seems as if in the last few weeks my babies are now kids and as we move on to next steps I realize how much I want to go back and relive the past two years. I didn't absorb it enough. Here are a few things I hope I never forget.

1) When you wake up, be it from nap or in the morning, Kelby always says "Hey Mallory... Boo!" and I hear you fall over in your crib laughing.

2) "Daddy, mere, help you!" or "Momma, help you, Momma." (anytime they need some help)

3) "Momma hold your baby, pease"

4) "Daddy, hold you"

5) The thrill of trying on all of your shoes in your drawer.

6) My cleaning helpers, obsessed with organization.

7) Claps of excitement for popcorn, chocolate milk, eggs, Dora cereal, cookies, etc.

8) How you both instantly take your shoes off when we get in the car

9) Sleepy sillies at night. Running around the house giggling at everything

10) "I poop, I stink!"- Mallory

11) Kelby- your high pitched voice as you imitate me to Mallory

12) You both love to hold hands in the car, as we walk, in your high chairs.

13) "Momma, Color paper, pease"

14) Kelby- your creative hiding places and the thrill you get out of hiding things - especially your glasses (or anything of Mallory's)

15) Playing with my shoes in the morning while I get ready.

16) Sitting on Daddy's rug in our bathroom, side by side, eating cereal out of your snack cups in the morning.

17) Night, Nights! - and your puppies... 'must haves' before bedtime.

18) Reading the same book over and over and over....... and over....

19) Your request to sing songs every where we go. And Mallory's insistence on singing while we're doing your breathing treatments... "SING.... SING... SING..."

20) Kelby- your sweet over protectiveness of Mallory

21) Kelby- your smirk and half laugh when something funny happens to someone else.

22) "Uh-oh, Break it!"... (at least once a day)

23) "Where go?" and the genuine bewilderment of not knowing where Daddy went when he's holding the blanket in front of his face... or not knowing where your cup is when you put it under the blanket... it's like Magic... and it's oh so exciting when you realize it's still there... under the blanket.

24) Reading the same book from #18.... again.

25) You love going to church to play with your friends, but we love how you're so excited when we come to pick you up, like you thought you'd never see us again.

26) Kelby- We love your 'seriously thinking' face.

27) Mallory- We love your supper sweet, flirty, ham it up smiling face when you get up in the middle of the night.

28) That you INSIST on singing B-I-N-G-O while you use the potty. "Sing, Puppy"

29) Dancing feet!

30) Your fettish with wearing your church shoes around the house so you can dance.

31) You are both so excited to see us if we leave the room for just a second.

32) When you look at the screen of the laptop and ask for "Gran and Grandad"

33) Mallory- you love to play like you are talking on the phone. Kelby- my future speedy texter.

34) Your creative daring climbing abilities.

35) Mallory- You patiently sit and use your nebulizer and get your blood drawn as long as we sing songs from Veggie Tales or church.

36) Kelby- you are the sweetest overprotective sister.

37) You putting your glasses on your forehead while you play "peek-a-boo"

38) Asking where your eyes are when you look for your glasses




and I'm sure we'll be adding to this list as the days go by...

Are you with us???

It is that time of year again, actually we are a bit late in announcing, the March of Dimes March for Babies walk is May 8, 2010 9am. This is the one event that we will try our hardest to never miss. Jeremy and I decided that our family participation in the walk would be our tribute to Evan every year. The March of Dimes is an amazing organization that does so much for NICU's across the country and research for babies born prematurely or with birth defects.

This year is going to be extra special for us. The Austin MoD chapter has memorial towers scattered through out the grounds area on the day of the walk. These towers each pay tribute to a little one that has left this earth way to soon. I received an email Friday asking if they could do a memorial tower in honor of Evan. Of course I said yes and sent in the information. So honored and humbled that they want to honor our little girl. I know God is using her story in so many ways, and it just warms my heart when we get to be apart of it. The sponsors that donate the funding for the towers will also give us the banner after the walk as a keep sake.

So with this special tribute we are working extra hard to raise money for the Austin MoD chapter. If you would like to donate to March of Dimes, we will have a link posted on our blog shortly. I am going to call around tomorrow to check on locations for a bake sale fundraiser and am looking into other ideas as well. If nothing else we would love to have you walk with us on Saturday May 8th. The walk is a short 3.2 miles through gorgeous downtown Austin. The path goes around the capital so there is even a photo op! We would love to have everyone join us.

Potty Training.

Whew! Seriously can not believe how fast time has been flying! It has been little busy at in our neck of the woods lately. Jeremy is studying for his PE exam (take 2) and attending a prep course for the last 5 Saturdays. Which has left the girls and I entertaining ourselves 6 days a week. I love the time with just the girls and makes me appreciate even more how much Jeremy helps me and plays with the girls.

I had a wild hair to try potty training a few weeks ago. The girls had pulled a stunt with taking their diapers off during nap time and a few other Mom's I knew made it seem not near as bad as I envisioned. So not expecting the girls to really be ready just yet and figuring we would go back to diapers with in two days, I gave it a shot! However, the girls fooled me and some what caught on, so I can't go back now! They LOVE their Dora panties and refuse to wear anything else. Needless to say if I had a nickel for every time I have said "Do you need to potty?, keep your panties dry" over the last three weeks I would be a rich Momma!

Kelby has a better hang of it and actually, today, pooped in the potty. Mallory thinks it is more fun to sit on the potty with your panties on, which defeats the purpose of keeping them dry.
- Sorry I know many of you could care less about potty training, and honestly before kids I rolled my eyes at parents that went on and on about the whole process. HOWEVER, now that I have been over my head in the whole ordeal, I feel the need to be one of those parents and ramble on! Plus it is a big mile stone that needs stamped and celebrated! - On a rough estimate once the girls graduate fully to panties we will save $160 in diapers and wipes monthly! Now that there is some incentive for Momma and Daddy to hang in there.

Fun and cute pictures have been taken and will be uploaded soon. Hugs to all of our friends and family!! We love you all and miss you bunches!

SNOW in Austin!

TWO days after the nice trip to the park, we got about 1-2 inches of snow! So we went out with the girls and built their first snowman!



Kelby was having a GREAT time...



Mallory... not so much...



Kelby - having a blast!



Mallory - "Seriously, can we go inside..."






There's a smile, so she wasn't completely miserable...






Our 'Snow Raider'

We love the park!

We had a great weekend a couple of weeks ago, it was really nice on Sunday so we spent the afternoon at the park.

Valentine's Weekend

We had a great Valentine's Day weekend... Momma and Daddy got a weekend away. Gran and Granddad came to the house to keep the girls.









We got the girls a princess tent... they're still not sure about it.







We had a great weekend in Fredericksburg... this was the place we stayed.

Super Bowl Sunday

We made some snack food for Super Bowl Sunday and let the girls dig in... this was their first experience with chips and queso... they loved it.

notice Mallory's glasses are missing in these... we try... its hard when they're 2... ;)

Mallory's first haircut

Mallory's hair was starting to resemble a mullet, so early February we decided to take her for her first haircut.

Before shot




During...






After...