Happy Birthday Colden

On to birthday number 3 for October.

Colden James entered this world after his Mom was at the hospital for 18 minutes. I was blessed to be there for his birth and will never forget that day. I remember sitting in the rocking chair after he was born, and just being amazed with the speed he entered this crazy world. He came in with a bang and has been going non-stop ever since.

He was the second grandchild, and the first boy. Needless to say, tractors have been in his life for as long as he can remember. It is a bond that will be forever strong between him and his Dad, and him and his Grandpa Walizer.

Memorial Day parade, 2008.

He has his Grandpa's love for tractors, but his Grandma's blue eyes. He is gonna be a heartbreaker.

Happy 10th birthday buddy!!!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary

15 years....

Hard to believe that 15 years ago today, Mark and I said our I do's....

We were talking the other night about how quickly the years have gone by. We have been through a lot. Our married life has not been an easy one but it has wonderful rewards.

We have tested the "good times and bad" and the "sickness and health" pretty frequently. If you had told me 15 years ago that I would spend six weeks away from him fighting to get my life back, I would have called you crazy. Yet it happened. He was there for me all the way. I will never forget the one phone call home when I told him that I just could not do it anymore. I wanted to stop the treatments because I could not handle the pain. He gave me a good pep talk and pushed me to finish. It was hard to leave him and the girls, but he was strong enough for the both of us when I did not even have the strength to climb a flight of stairs.

Thank you baby for standing by me, in sickness and in health, good times and bad.

Happy Anniversary.

Happy Birthday Tater...

So, October is a busy birthday month for our family.

Taylor is celebrating her 6th birthday today. We celebrated on Sunday with an October birthday party for the 3 birthday kids.

Colden Tristin Taylor

All children are a miracle, but Taylor is our special miracle child. Taylor was born with two very rare conditions. The first was a total situs inversus, which means that her internal organs are all reversed. She likes to tease the doctor when she goes for her check-up. She tells him that when she says the Pledge of Allegiance, she puts her hand on the opposite side.

The second condition that she was born with, was an abnormality with the greater vessels of her heart. Because her organs were reversed, her heart turned an extra quarter turn, and the vessels of her heart connected incorrectly.

She will never now how special she is to us. We had a direct line to heaven during those first couple of weeks. We still say a prayer every year when she goes for her check-up.

When Taylor was born, her grandmother asked her big sister Lauryn what the baby's name was and she replied "Tater." She could not say Taylor very well.

The name has stuck.

Happy Birthday Tater bug.