Easter Weekend 2013

We had a great Easter weekend...

Friday night, Aunt Valerie came and stayed with us.  

Saturday morning, we went to the Easter Egg Hunt at Friendship Baptist.  But I thought it started at 10, and it didn't start until 11.  So to kill time, I went to the outlets and picked out a special outfit for him to wear for Easter. (Isn't that what you're supposed to do with kids?) I also got to see a sweet friend!  Then, I made it to Friendship for the egg hunt.  Tyndall was given two eggs. :) 
 

 He certainly got plenty of attention.

 I enjoyed watching Hailey find and collect eggs... especially the one's in other people's baskets. ;) 

After the egg hunt, Tyndall and I went and hung out with Morgan, who we hadn't seen in over a year and a half!  In the evening, when Matt got home from work, he announced that he had ALSO bought an Easter outfit for Tyndall.  :)  And we settled in to watch Sound of Music.  

Sunday morning, we gathered with our River Church family for the first time since Tyndall came home.  We were advised to wait until April, but 3/31 was close enough, and it was Easter Sunday!  We wanted to celebrate the risen Savior as a family.  I'm so glad we did, and Ginger joined us too, so it was extra special! 

Matt saw this kind of tie knot on Pinterest and watched a YouTube video to learn how to do it.  He was very proud of his special Easter tie.

 Matt had to go to work after church, but Ginger and I joined the family for Easter dinner at Steph and Mark's.  I was supposed to make mashed potatoes but didn't leave myself enough time.  Thank goodness for KFC. ;)

 Ginger, however, made this awesome 'bunny brownie'.  She's pretty talented at the baking thing.

This basket was made by Matt's Mom when he was younger.  Steph had an Easter basket for Tyndall and used Matt's basket, which was very special.  After we went through the basket, we decided to put Tyndall in it.  And he even smiled for some pictures. :)  

 He met Cousin Noah. And Shared some smiles with GiGi.

It's so fun to have kiddos around for family holidays. :)

Lots of Family News!

Each girl in this picture has already had a great start to 2013.  

Here's the exciting news for each!! (left to right)

Laura-- new special guy friend... he's got her all giddy and goofy like a middle-school girl. So annoying cute.  :)

Valerie--baby on the way!  Baby Goldston is due October 8!  YAY!!  On the record, I'm hoping for a BOY!  We found out on 2/17 when Valerie & Zeb gave Mom a birthday card signed "Valerie, Zebediah and BABY!"  AHHHHHHHHHH!

Baby Goldston! 

Me--Well, I think you know what's been exciting around here.  And he turns 3 months old tomorrow! 

Lauryn--engaged!  Randy proposed 3/23.  So excited for them! 

Stephani--baby GIRL on the way!  Baby Peterson is due end of September!  YAY!!  Hailey is going to be a great big sister!  We found out the week Tyndall came home that they were expecting and found out on 3/19 that it's a little girl! 

I don't like keeping secrets... especially wonderful secrets like this.  So, I'm so glad we can finally be openly excited about all these new babies!  And that Lauryn and Randy are officially engaged!  And, well, some things with Laura are still under wraps, but I'm still excited for what's going on with her too.  

Matt's 27!

This is what you looked like as a baby.

This is what you looked like yesterday.

Today is your 27th birthday!!!

These are things about you that are true today:Jobs: Client Service Coordinator at Banfield Pet Hospital & Grad School Student.

Things I love about you: You are a man who has great Faith.  I am so thankful that God gave me such a faithful husband.  You are also hilarious and incredibly loving.  You are an individual-you do things when you want, how you want.  You have great compassion.   You are an amazing husband to me. 

You're my best friend, and you are my favorite person to hang out with. I love that you kill spiders and bugs for me even though you don't like them either. You love Nala so much, and I can't wait to see how much you'll love our kids. You remind me to turn to Jesus instead of you sometimes. You really love your family. You aren't perfect, and you know it. You're real! You help me to be real. I love your eyes. Your kisses. Your hugs. I love how you get excited about things I think are silly. You do the dishes and laundry. You read out loud to me. You write me love notes.
Activities/Interests: Movies!, Hanging out with me, Nala, Community Group & Church stuff, Reading, TV (stuff we have on DVD or can watch online), Aquariums, Wii-ing,  watching scary movies, photography, animals, playing games (Nertz, Spades, Settlers...), playing computer games (Words With Friends!), watching Spongebob, cartoons, traveling.

Favorite foods: Japanese, Italian food, Sushi, Salads. Ginger's frosting. Desserts! Sugar, Brown Sugar, Powdered Sugar. Raw hamburger meat. Stove Top. Rice.

Least Favorite foods: Anything Breakfast. Meatloaf.  Grandma's Mac & Cheese.

Things you did while you were 26: Moved to a new apartment and started being a Cares team!  Became an uncle for the first time!  Took lots of grad school classes-even one up in Virginia at Liberty.  Had your sister-in-law live with us for a few months.  Borrowed your mother-in-law's convertible for a couple months!  Went to adoption trainings & did adoption fundraisers.  Got a brand-new car for a Christmas present! Paid off another credit card.

Favorite Movies/Shows: too many to name: (You are currently in the process of watching every single movie you own during 2012), The Nightmare Before Christmas, Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Christopher Guest movies, Transformers series, LOTR series, ...What you want to be when you grow up: Elementary School teacher and stay-at-home DadLast year, I wrote that the previous year had been the toughest year of our marriage and prayed for more joy this year. I totally think God answered that prayer as we figured out how to have more time together and time doing ministry together.  Though we still face challenges, we are moving forward and trusting God to lead us.  I'm so thankful for this past year and what we've learned about living together.  Maybe next year, we will be celebrating you becoming a father!

This is what you look like today!

 I love you, Matthew! Happy 27th Birthday!

Gail's Birthday!

Today is Gail's birthday, so a perfect day to make sure she knows how much she means to us.
(Like we did last year!)



The more we've gotten to know her, the happier we've become.
She's a very special lady who cares about people deeply.

  She makes a WONDERFUL GiGi to Hailey, and it's so fun to watch them together!

  Happy Birthday, Gail! We love you!

Still Thankful

I didn't do a Thanksgiving post last week, AND my Thankful Thursday theme has gotten slack... BUT I'm still thankful.  Exceptionally thankful.  

Here are a few things I'm thankful for: 

• That God is Faithful, Abundant and True.  (And for the study I've been doing with a couple of ladies from church by that name.) 
• My husband--who has been surprising me with a written love note every single day this month. (Stud!)

• My job.  I started a new job in July, and it's definitely much more "me".  It's project-oriented, let's me be creative as well as administrative!  It is also meaningful--and the best part is that it's normal hours! Even better, starting in January, it will be full-time with benefits!  I'm extra thankful for the latest news. 
• Hailey.  She is 7 months now and is SO much fun.  I wish I could see her more, but I'm thankful for each time I do get to see her. 

• Other babies & kiddos in my life.  Thankful for my friends & family who let me snuggle their babes and take care of them every once in awhile. 
• Family & friends who have been encouraging us through the process of adoption--especially those who have helped with yard sales and/or given donations. 
• Nala.  Honestly, I love this dog so much!  

• Our finances.  We've seen a lot of progress lately in our financial management, and this has been HUGE in helping with my frame of mind. Prayerfully, next time we touch base with the adoption social worker, we'll be approved thanks to these changes!

Well, that's all I got for now, but I'm hoping to do a better job with "Thankful Thursdays".  It's good for my heart to be "publicly" thankful.  AND by the way, I love reading thankful posts from other friends. :)

Hailey's Here!

Well, most of you already know this, especially if you're on Facebook. But, to follow up on the "Waiting for Hailey" post, I wanted to document what happened when she arrived.

After getting to 10 cm, Stephani pushed for over 2 hours, and the doctor (finally!) realized little Hailey was face up and wasn't going to be able to maneuver out the natural way. So, they rushed Stephani in for a cesarean (is that the right spelling?) at around 5:00 am.

We all got wake-up phone calls and foggily rushed back to the hospital.

Hailey was born at 5:32 on Saturday, April 30th,
7 lbs, 11 oz, 20 inches long,
and she is stinkin' ADORABLE! Here's a video of when we first met her and Grandma's commentary.

(Yes, that is a Flagler male burping in the background.!! We all thought she would have red hair, so that's why we were having the hair discussion.) :)

It was so special to be there so soon after she entered this world. Stephani was doing good after her surgery, so we got to visit with them as a family of 3 and also watch when Hailey got her first bath.

The next couple of days were filled with LOTS of visits to the hospital and being in awe over our little, perfect niece.

If it's not been obvious, this Aunt T is definitely in love! (And Uncle Matt is pretty darn smitten too.)

Waiting for Hailey

During our meeting at Bethany, we got a text that Stephani was in labor, so we headed straight to the hospital when we got back in town from our meeting.

We picked up some food for everyone waiting and arrived at the hospital around 7 pm. Hailey is one loved little girl, so there were lots of family & friends already there. (Mark and Steph had checked into the hospital around 3:30). Even more arrived after we got there. Pretty sure there was a total of 16 people who were there throughout the evening cheering Stephani on and waiting to meet baby Hailey.

Gary, Grandpa, and Dad/Papa

Grandma, Lauryn, Gail/GiGi

Towards the beginning of the evening. Waiting for updates.

More of Mark's family starting arriving.

Sydney, Dana, Mike/Popa, Judith/Petey, and Kevin

While we were waiting, we would go back to the labor & delivery room and visit them periodically, but we spent most of the time out in the waiting room.

Grandma, Lillie, Maddison, Lauryn, Gail (the guessers)

We made guesses about what time she would arrive and what she would look like. (see videos)

We watched clips of the Royal Wedding reruns and Shark Tank. We played games with their nieces and the visitor stickers.
We anxiously awaited any updates about Stephani's progress and how Hailey was doing.

Callie came out to give updates.

And Mark came out to give updates.

Stephani had a very difficult labor and was stuck at 8 cm for about 3 hours. She finally got to 10 cm around 2 am, but they knew it would probably be at least a couple hours of pushing. So, we all left to go home and get some sleep. Matt had to work the next day, and we had already only slept for about 3 hours the night before.

Some of the waiting party fell asleep long before 2 am,

and some even went home starting at 10:10 (Gary!)

So, we all left around 2:30 after saying goodbye to Steph, and we went to sleep praying for Mark, Stephani and Baby Hailey.