Bama-isms

Hi. I know I have been the worst blogger ever. I have no excuse. Except that having 2 kids is a lot harder than having one for me. But that is another topic for another day.
There is a lot that I need to catch up on but I really feel that I need to write about my grandma right now.
So we decided to sell our house, pack up and move to Dallas, Tx. A place that we know almost nothing about. In the process of finding a new place to stay, I have been living at my parents house with our boys while Steven has been house hunting and working in Texas. We have been here at mey parents house for a little over a month. 2 weeks after we moved in, my grandma(Bama) had to move in as well. She is 80 and her body and mind are starting to go. According to her Dr. she does not have much time left. This time we have been able to live in the same house with her has been such a blessing in disguise. I am so glad that we are able to spend some serious quality time with her before we leave.
Even though she is starting to go she has not lost her sense of humor. We have been able to sit around and talk at nights and I really wanted to record some of what she says. I know that my writing won't be able to it justice even a little bit but my hopes are that I will be able to preserve my memory of her.

Bama can not remember my name or who I am. Even though she doesn't always know who I am, I think that she knows that I am important to her. She treats me like she loves me. Bama also has a hard time finding her words or figuring out where people fit into her life... Ok, now I feel like I am ready to share our almost daily conversation.

Tonight I was talking with her and she said;
"I know I should know... but who are you again?"
"Bama, it's me Emily."
"Oh. How do I know you?"
"I'm your granddaughter. Remember?"
"Oh... how?"
"I'm Tracy's daughter."
"No...! You have to write that down for me, I don't think I heard you right."

On a piece of paper I wrote;
Emily (25) is your granddaughter. 
Winston (3) and Tommy (11 months) are your great grand children. 

She was shocked.
It is kind of fun watching her discover every day that she is a grandmother and a great grandmother. Sometimes she doesn't believe me.

He hears me.

For some reason Winston has been getting scared going to bed lately. We have been talking to him about praying to Heavenly Father whenever he is scared or needs help. Now of course I think just about everything I teach this 3 year old goes in one ear and out the other. It's frustrating, but part of the gig.
Last night I heard Winston crying at 1:00 in the morning. He doesn't usually wake up in the middle of the night anymore and when he does he just goes right back to sleep. But, I could tell this cry was different. We have kept his door locked from the outside for a while, but lately we have been keeping it unlocked because he has been doing so good not climbing into bed with us all hours of the night. The fact that he was in his room crying and not in our room, was a big indicator that something was wrong.
When I walked into his room he was sitting on his bed in a big puddle of vomit. He was so confused and shaking and crying and it was almost enough to break my heart. I got him and his bed cleaned up and took him into our bed to sleep.
As soon as we snuggled up into our bed he looked at me and said, "Mom, Heavenly Father heard me. He answered my prayers."
Tears.
I am not sure what he prayed for or how it was answered, but the fact that he recognizes that he can count on Heavenly Father to help him, and he answers our prayers is more than I can ask for.
He ended up throwing up 4 more times only to act and feel perfectly fine by morning time.
However, his little prayer discovery trumps anything yucky that happened last night.
I think that watching my childrens testimonies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ grow will be the highlight of my life.

Winston is 3!!!

Take deep breath. I have a 3 year old. He turned 3 on Dec. 22nd.

He is my little buddy. He talks non- stop, still obsesses over trains, loves super heros, toy story (anything pixar actually), is the sweetest and best big brother, almost counts all the way to 20, loves singing/ dancing (hates when I sing or dance) loves his grandparents and hanging out with his uncles. He is a rowdy little boy with so, so, so much energy. He keeps me laughing all day every day. This year he started pre school and he LOVES it. He loves his friends and starting on Sunday he will be a sunbeam in church. Can't believe it. I love him more than I can say. I am so lucky to be his mom. 

This year we celebrated his Birthday all weekend. We started out by going to a train track that is set up in a mans backyard down the street. The next day we had a little party at his favorite park, "the train park" where we had cupcakes and went on a train ride (no pinterest parties over here), then went to chick-fil-a for lunch (obviously). And on his actual Birthday we had a Birthday breakfast of whole wheat pancakes and a homemade pizza dinner with family. 

3 Months!!!

Can you believe it? My baby is 3 months old! He is such a good baby. He started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks, moved into his own room at 9 weeks and has been so good. He is super smiley and is babbling more and more! At 2 months he was 10 pounds and 23 inches long and perfectly healthy. He does not have another appointment until next month but I am guessing he is about 14 pounds. Love this little cutie.

first day of church- 3 weeks old

twins

walking with mom

My amazing dr. who delivered both my babies. 

tommy and bama

could snuggle this boy all day

Blessing

On December 1st Steven blessed our baby boy in church. 

Thomas Steven Hale was blessed with intelligence, to serve a full time mission, to find a special woman and marry her in the temple, to able to come to his parents for counsel (especially his mother), and to be a good example to others among other things. He is such a special little boy and we are so lucky to have him as part of our family. 

He was blessed in the blanket that Winston and I were blessed in which I think is pretty neat.