Awesome Birthday

So for my birthday this past weekend, we decided to head to the lakehouse! We are so blessed to have a place to go, get away, and just relax. In fact, there's no Internet there, so it was IMPOSSIBLE (literally) to do any work. Just what we needed!

The lakehouse is in Kingsland, a tiny hill country town with a moderately-stocked H-E-B. Brian didn't think he should rely on the H-E-B to have a birthday cake, so he said he'd make me a HOMEMADE birthday cake!! (Well, Betty Crocker, but that's about as homemade as it gets around here...)

Here are some pictures from this weekend- don't judge me- I didn't know Brian was taking half of the ones of me, and NO, I did not get out of my pajamas for most of the time. Why would I? We were at the LAKE!!!! Yeah!!!!!



Lounging in the hammock. This was on Friday morning, and still pretty chilly outside.



Brian stole my spot in the hammock the MINUTE that I got up to go to the bathroom, and immediately fell asleep.




So as it is the beginning of spring, I decided I had to have a watermelon. I convinced Brian that we should drive to this little fruit stand I thought I knew about, and once we got there (5 miles out of town, mind you), it was not open! So, we drove back in to town to the H-E-B, and found this beautiful (and incredibly tasty!) watermelon...



Here's Brian making me my birthday cake! (I decided to document the occasion as it may never happen again.)



Check it out!! He did such a good job, and it was SOOO tasty.



Reading on the porch on Sunday morning. Chilly again, and I swear I had no clue he was taking this picture...



That's Goose in the shadows. The lake is her very favorite place in the world, even though she almost drowned herself this weekend.

There were some fisherman in a boat off the end of the dock, and one was using this top-water lure that spun and splashed on the water. We were on the porch when we heard a splash, and immediately knew she had jumped in the lake. Silly dog that she is, she swum UNDER the dock, and by the time we got down there, we couldn't see her. I heard her splashing around, and all of a sudden, it stopped. I freaked out, and started yelling at Brian (much to the fisherman's enjoyment, I'm sure) "She's not swimming!! She's not swimming!"

Brian grabbed my shoulders and shook me a little while saying "Kelli, she's standing!!! It's shallow right here." Oh. Okay. Duh. So I went over to the boat lift and was able to look underneath the dock, and saw her WAY back underneath the dock. The only way for her to get out was to swim out, and she was not excited about this. After 5 minutes of calling her, she started swimming to me. Unforunately, there's a big wooden brace that runs diagnally under the dock for support, and once she reached that, she sort of layed on it and wouldn't move.

Brian had to go get her. Needless to say, it was 10am, and all three of us were wet and icky (under the boat dock is NOT clean) and the fishermen were pretty sure we were insane. And we scared the fish away, I'm sure.

Alas. We had a blast!!! We were so thankful for the blessing of relaxation this weekend!

Oh, Sweet Barrow Bambino!

My cousin Nathan and his wife Lucy came to stay with us this past weekend. They brought with them the most precious cargo- their 7 1/2 month old baby son, Thomas Scott Barrow.

HE. IS. SO. FRIGGIN'. CUTE!!!!!!

I went to the door on Friday night to let them in, and I barely looked at Nathan while I grabbed Thomas out of his arms. This is the first time that we got to meet Thomas, and he came right to me and laid his sweet head on my chest, and then started giggling. I'm in love!!!

Unfortunately, with Nathan and Lucy having Thomas, Brian and I are next in the cousin line for baby-making. Apparently, all cousins, aunts, uncles and specifically my father (Hi, Dad) are making it their personal mission in life to let me know that I am no longer enough- they need a kiddo to love. As if I weren't feeling that pressure myself.... :)

It would have helped if Thomas were awful, and not sweet at all. However, that is not the case. This was the sweetest, happiest baby who wants nothing more but to love on you. And eat. Oh, man, is he a Barrow!!!




How cute is this kid?!?!

Goose, however, was not of the same opinion. On Friday night when I was holding Thomas, Goose was pretty sure she needed to be on high alert. Any noise that came from Thomas required a sniff and a bark. By Saturday night, though, she was pretty used to him. She was particularly interested in his toys, going so far as to steal them from him.... She was not too sad to see him leave on Sunday, although we were!!

Brian and I babysat on Saturday night while Nathan and Lucy went to a wedding. I told Brian that I would be fine giving Thomas a bath by myself, and then had to shout for him to come help- this was the squirmiest kid!! He was scooting along the bottom of the tub, going to town, and I was trying to wash him without loosing my grip on him. He was like a bar of soap- about to pop out of your hands at any second!!!



Thanks for visiting, Nathan and Lucy!! We miss y'all already!!

Prayer Requests

I know the readers of my blog come from different places, and have different beliefs. I can't be sure that everyone who reads this post cries out to the same God, or that they cry out to a higher power at all. Today, I have several prayer requests to share with you, and I ask that while I'm on my knees praying to my Lord, Jesus Christ, you will pray as well.

Seven months ago, my sister-in-law Andrea's best friend, Anna, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Grayson. Doctors had recommended that Anna terminate this pregnancy (even suggesting that she should go to Kansas where it's legal to receive an abortion later in your pregnancy than it is in Texas) because Grayson had been diagnosed with down syndrome and a heart defect. Anna, a pillar of strength, carried her son to term and gave birth to this blessed baby boy.

Tomorrow, Grayson will have his first of possibly several surgeries on his tiny heart. Please pray for Grayson's health, for Anna & her husband Dane's peace of mind and for the doctor's skill and knowledge.
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My parents' very good friends- the McClane's- had kiddos around the same time as my parents, and so we all grew up together. Katie (the oldest girl in their family) had a precious baby boy last month- Hector Santiago Ornelas. He was born with a condition called craniosynotosis- basically, he doesn't have the soft spot on his head that most babies do. This condition prevents his head from growing correctly.

Tomorrow, Santi will have surgery that will correct this issue. The doctors have emphasized that this is bone surgery, not brain surgery, but of course, Katie and her husband Hector are really nervous! After the surgery, Santi will need to wear a helmet for 2-3 months as part of the healing and correction process.

Please be in prayer for this dear family as their tiny baby undergoes this procedure. Again, for Santi's health, Katie and Hector's peace of mind and the doctor's skill and knowledge.
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Lastly, Stellan. (Click on the "MckMiracle" button on my sidebar to go to MckMama's blog.) Here's the deal. While MckMama- Jennifer- was pregnant with Stellan last year, he was diagnosed with tachycardia (really fast heart beat). Again, this mother was encouraged to terminate her pregnancy because her baby was so sick, he was expected to die. Jennifer carried Stellan to term, and he was born without a thing wrong with him. You heard correct- when Stellan was born, the neonatal ICU was in the room, and though he was checked again and again, the docs could not find one thing wrong with this baby.

On Sunday night, Stellan was having a heard time breathing. Thinking this could be a relapse of RSV Stellan had suffered from last winter, MckMama took him to the ER. The nurse gave him a neubulizer treatment, and the junk cleared up. Right as they were about to discharge him, Stellan started coughing and struggling to breath again. The nurse (or probably a doc) ordered another neb treatment, which sent Stellan into SVT (severe ventricular tachycardia- I think.)

Although he has been sent to a Children's hospital and many different drugs have been tried, there are some SERIOUS problems, and Stellan remains in SVT. While I have never met this woman, I have followed her blog for about a year, and I could not feel more tied to her if she were sitting in the next room. Please be in prayer for this family.
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Did you notice that all of these prayer requests were for babies?? That's so hard for me- thinking about sick babies... Wherever you are today, I ask that you take some time and pray for these families. Thank you!!