Date Night with My Boys

Last Friday Rolf had the entire day off and we spent it playing outside and enjoying being a family. That afternoon we went for a picnic lunch and a hike, as Rolf likes to call it (I would call it a walk since it is totally flat here) and even Sadie was invited along. Unfortunately there are no pictures from that little adventure as the camera died on the way :-(. After a good long nap we headed out for an early dinner.

I was one lucky lady, getting to go out on a date with my two favorite boys to one of my favorite restaurants. It is interesting go out to dinner with the early crowd - old folks and families! Before having kids, I said "we will never go out to dinner at 5:30, that is crazy!" Well....insert foot in mouth...because we are totally those people heading out to dinner for the early bird special. However, I will sacrifice eating dinner with all of the cool kids any day to have an enjoyable dinner with my sweet little guy while he is still "sweet"! Rolf and I even got to both enjoy a drink while keeping Liam ever so entertained with the guacamole!

Yummy, yummy in my tummy, tummy!

(Can't wait to visit my friends in Texas, I heard they have lots of this down there!!)

After dinner we headed for dessert at Rita's Ice just down the street. This was Liam's first taste of Italian ice and he couldn't get enough of it! He is really looking forward to our trip to Italy in just a couple of weeks and hopes to find more of this delicious dessert!

Hanging out with mommy after dinner.

Doing tricks with Daddy!
(This absolutely drives me crazy, I am so scared he is going to drop him.)

My boys...

Gina Weekend 2009 - Reynolds Plantation, Georgia

This past weekend Liam and I traveled down to Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee in Georgia for the 3rd Annual Gina Weekend. The "Ginas" are a group of girls that I have been friends with since college. For the past few years we have planned a reunion weekend since we are scattered all over the east coast and aren't able to get together as often as we would like.

This year Cam graciously offered to host us at the Reynold's family home on Lake Oconee and we were truly living in the lap of luxury, if only for a few days. We had a great wekeend staying up late and sleeping in (even Liam slept in one morning), laying by the pool, diving off the diving board, and jumping in the lake. Although Liam is not a Gina he is still nursing and so he got to tag along for the fun. He had a great time playing in the baby pool and getting lots of loves from all of the Ginas.

Thanks ladies for loving on my little guy and letting him tag along. I hope he comes to know and love each of you as much as I do!

The Reynold's beautiful lake home.

Baby Whit taking a nap poolside.

Liam and baby Whit playing in the pool!

PS: Check out Kristen's blog for more pics of the weekend. There is even one of me doing a flip off the diving board!!

Hurricane Warkentien

Two weeks ago, Hurricane Warkentien blew into Portsmouth and it was a category 4! Although it was only here for a couple of days it sure did do a lot of damage but the clean-up was well worth the fun we had while it was in town.

The Warkentien's (Tyler, Shelby, Jackson (3), & Kate (10 mo.)) are some of our good friends who now live in San Diego. They are spending the summer in DC while Tyler is doing tropical medicine training at Bethesda and they decided to venture back to Portsmouth for the weekend to visit us and hang out with some other friends. It was quite a whirlwind of a weekend for them trying to make the rounds and visit all of their old friends in just 2 short days, all the while trying to make sure the kiddos didn't get to far off their routines.

On Saturday, we had a cookout at our house and our friends Bethanne and Danny and their 2 girls Eliana and Emily joined in on the fun. On Sunday after church a big group of us had lunch at the Olive Garden and then the Warkentien's got back on the road for DC. It was so nice having them stay with us and although it definitely made for a full house we wouldn't have changed a thing because we got a lot of quality time with some great friends we haven't seen in a long while.

Shelby & I with our new babies! We were pregnant with these little ones at the same time.

Kate(10 mo.), Jackson(3), Liam(8 mo.), Eliana(1.5), Emily(6 mo.)

"She's pretty cute..."

"but I'm not a big fan of the bow!"
(Kate held her own in this battle, she was after Liam's paci!)

Don't Mess with Texas

We "don't mess with Texas" in our house...we EAT it!!

For the past couple of months I have been making most of Liam's baby food and I have really been having a good time with it. I love it because I can buy organic or local veggies and fruit and then mix and match it to make whatever I want. I have made peas (pictured above), green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, apples, pears, and a couple of other things. I make a large batch of my chosen veggie or fruit and then freeze it, that is where Texas comes in. The only ice cube tray that we have makes ice in the shape of the great State of Texas. I thought in the beginning that this might be a big hassle but it really is well worth the time and effort.

If you are thinking about making your own baby food check out this website, it really has a lot of great information.

Liam's Story

I saw a compilation of posts like this on another blog that I frequent and I really liked that it kept all of the posts together and told a story. So here is Liam's Story...

As you may already know, our son Liam is truly a miracle. You have come to the right place if you want to read all the posts about Liam's amazing story! The posts are in reverse chronological order, starting with Liam coming home from the hospital and going back to the time in my pregnancy when his congenital heart defect was first diagnosed. To read them from the beginning, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "older posts" until you get to the first one, and then read from older to newer.

We ask for your continued prayers for us and especially for Liam, as we journey along the path God has for us.

Hand Me Downs

Liam has acquired a lot of great hand me downs but few are as special as this little outfit. This outfit belonged to my baby brother, Alex. Although I still refer to him as my "baby" brother or "little" brother, he is neither a baby or little but to me he will always be. Alex is growing into quite a young man. After two years at Hampden Sydney he will transferring to Carolina in the fall and will be a junior. I am so proud of the man that he becoming and I am so excited for all of the amazing things that his future holds. Alex is a loving son, brother, uncle, and friend. He is a man of character and wit, love and a kind heart. He is growing every day into the man that God wants him to be and I am blessed enough to walk on that journey with him.

So Liam wears this outfit with honor and is so lucky to have such an amazing Uncle Alex. I love you Boog!

You Never Let Go

When clouds brought rain and disaster came

Oh my soul, oh my soul

When waters rose and hope had flown

Oh my soul, oh my soul

Ever faithful, ever true

You, I know, you never let go

In joy and pain, in sun and rain

You're the same, oh, you never let go

This day a year ago changed us forever. It was a year ago today when we first learned that something was wrong with Liam's heart and it was also the day that we learned that God would never let go. On that day we were rocked in a way that I can not explain, a way that you can only understand if you've been there.


A few weeks after finding out, I asked for your prayers on our blog. Here is a clip from what I posted:

Right now we are still trying to come to terms with what this means but know that God has a plan and has chosen us to be this little guys parents for a very special reason. What this all means for us is that nothing about delivering this little guy or his first few months of life are going to be normal.

Liam was still unnamed and unborn, he was perfect and he was broken all at the same time. I had a strip full of ultrasound pictures clutched tightly in my hand, we had just found out our baby was a boy; we were thrilled and we were scared, we were ecstatic and we were heartbroken. The doctors were telling us that something was wrong with his heart, they were drawing us pictures and asking us questions and trying to explain things. In all honesty, a lot of that day is a blur but one of the things I do remember is that as Rolf and I drove home from the hospital that morning, each in our own cars, we heard the same song on the radio. It was "You Never Let Go" by David Crowder Band and the lyrics are above. I knew in that moment that God was there with me, it was as if I could literally feel his arms holding me and I knew he was speaking to me. It is those words that have carried me through this last year and I know they will continue to carry us along this journey.

God never let go when we were told that our sweet baby boy would be born with a rare congenital heart defect. And he was there as we were going through additional tests, and searching for a hospital. God never let go as we were waiting in Philadelphia and preparing for the birth. He never let go all through delivery where Liam's heart stayed strong and then when Liam was born and he was big and strong and ready to fight. And he was there during the surgery, he was with the doctors as they operated on Liam's small heart and there when Liam came out of surgery already off the ventilator. And when we brought Liam home from the hospital and each and every day since.

God has never let go and we have made it through our darkest moments, through hours and days when we thought we might lose him or maybe never even meet him. And though we don't know how many more dark moments may lie ahead for our sweet baby boy, we do know that we are celebrating this one year anniversary knowing that God will never let go.

Just like one year ago today, when I relished every single kick and flutter I would feel from Liam moving inside of me, knowing my baby was alive and safe, cherishing each special moment I was able to spend with him, so it is today, a year later. We savor each new day we are allowed to spend here on earth with our precious little miracle, our strong-willed warrior, our sweet baby boy, Liam! Am I scared of what our future holds? Most definitely. Do I wish that we were on a different path, that this wasn't our reality? No doubt about it. Do I have faith and hope that God has a plan far bigger than us? Absolutely!