The joys of picture taking...

Fit throwing...

Refusing to get his picture taken...

More interested in the quarter...

Totally worth it!!

Stayed tuned for the finished product!

Prayer Request

Please keep Max in your prayers... he went in for emergency brain surgery on Friday night. I talked with his mom Kelly several times last week, so this came as a complete shock to me, as I am sure it was a complete shock and very scary to Kelly and John. Kelly has been such an inspiration to me and she cares so much about children with illnesses. You can read Max's story here. Please, please keep him in your prayers, hopefully he will be discharged soon!

The Winners are....

Cassie, Andrea and Allison... yay!!

Email me your address @ afgk03@gmail.com and your gift will be in the mail! Thanks ladies for commenting!

Pay It Forward...

I don't usually participate in the"blog surveys/contests"... however, I read about "Paying it Forward" on my wonderful sister-in-law, Erin's blog and thought it would be fun! Here is the very cute polka dot frame I received in the mail a week ago...Now it is my turn to "pay it forward." What am I talking about, you ask? I am paying it forward with a premeditated act of kindness. Would you like to receive a fun gift and then give a gift in return? THE RULES: The focus of this is to do an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and "pay it forward."I will send a small, fun gift to the first 3 bloggers who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and then the game will continue!! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found, anything you want!! Just a gift that will make the person's day!! If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment!! You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link back to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog. Doesn't this sound like fun!!?? All of you lurkers out there who never comment, now is your chance to prove to me that you read my blog. :) Let the games begin! Good luck trying to be one of the first 3 commenter's!

Praying for Gavin...

We have always prayed for Gavin, even before he was conceived. But I never really put much thought to pray for each activity that Gavin is involved in during the day. I ran across a blog post talking about praying for children and using bible verses to pray over them- praying for seven activities, for seven days. So I have decided to use the same format, but pick my own verses for Gavin- verses that apply to him and his age. I encourage each of you with children to do the same. I can't wait to see what God reveals to me in doing this! I am so thankful for Gavin and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for him!


1. When he wakes up/gets dressed: "I prayed for Gavin, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give Gavin to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." (Adapted from 1 Samuel 1:27)


2. When he is eating: "Lord, as Gavin grows teach him that life is more than food, and the body more than clothes...For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Adapted from Luke 12:23, 34)


3. When he is away from us: "Lord, please be with Gavin as he is away from us because we know that the One who was born of God keeps Gavin safe, and the evil one cannot harm him." (Adapted from 1 John 5:18)


4. When he is playing: "Lord, please do not let Gavin forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (Adapted from Hebrews 13:16)


5. When he is taking a bath: "Lord, give Gavin clean hands and a pure heart, and let Gavin not lift his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let Gavin receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Let Gavin be a part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob." (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When he is going to bed: "Lord, give your angels special charge to accompany, defend, preserve and provide safety for Gavin, day and night" (Adapted from Psalm 91:11 and Psalm 4:8)


7. When he is sleeping: "Lord, we ask that you continue to give us wisdom, knowledge and understanding as we raise Gavin" (Adapted from Proverbs 2:6)

"Cock-A-Doodle-Doo"...

...."Happy Halloween".... From Gavin!!!

Two Years Ago...

...today was my original due date and since I didn't post a sentimental 2nd birthday post, I thought it would be appropriate to share a video I created for Gavin. It includes some of the bible verses that really pulled me through during our times of struggle...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

“Be still, and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

Our Little Pumpkin...

Past and Present...

2006

2007
2008

...Our Little Pumpkin has come a long way!

Gavin's 2nd Birthday Celebration...

Sunday evening, the night before Gavin's birthday, our church honored Gavin and threw him a birthday party! Several of our dear friends came up with the idea to help raise money for Gavin's third surgery, which will be out of state. We are so humbled by their actions and their support. It was a great opportunity for Adam and I to get up and read a letter to them, a letter I have wanted to share for a long time. Thanking them all for their wonderful and gracious love they all have shown.

Here is a video montage of the wonderful evening... I chose the song "Mighty to Save" by Laura Story. It is one of my favorite songs. The song reminds me of how Mighty our Savior is and how he has moved so many big mountains in Gavin's little life.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?" 1 Thessalonians 3:9

Sick Season is Here...

RSV season brings much disappointment at our house. We are stuck in the house with a 2 year old who likes to be on the go! We are constantly cleaning and washing hands!!

Gavin has officially caught a bug... vomiting, diarrhea, high fever, no sleep and congestion... When Gavin gets sick, especially with upper respiratory issues, he is almost always put on oxygen. He hates the nose cannula (you can barely see it on Gavin because he is so pale right now : ( you can tell he doesn't feel good at all), so Grandpa and Daddy decided to make him feel better by putting the tubing on their noses too! I had to take a picture, too funny! Daddy and Grandpa definitely made Gavin feel better!!

Elmo Party

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy 2nd Birthday Gavin!!!

Today the birthday boy and I went, for the first time, to Build-A-Bear!! We had a blast, he really enjoyed "making" the bear. Can't wait to go back! Gavin is holding his new motorcycle "cool" in all of the pictures... he is obsessed, he sleeps with it every night!!

Getting ready to put his foot on the pedal to "stuff" the bear.

Holding "half" of the bears heart...

They cut the bears heart in half to make the bear just like Gavin!
Hugging the bear
Holding the other half of the bears heart
Giving the bear a bath
All done
I am outta here!

This weekend was full of parties for Gavin. We had a great time and we enjoyed having family and friends from out-of-town... we already miss all of you!! Stay tuned for pictures and posts from the parties!!!

Almost TWO!

I realized I never posted a "23 months" post. I thought I should because Gavin has really picked up his vocabulary. He was actually dismissed from Speech Therapy last month, which really, really makes us proud!!

*New words/phrases:

Phrases I hear in the car, every time!
"Mama, da cool bus" -Mama the school bus.
"Mama, da truk" -Mama the truck.
"Mama, da pane, da sky" -Mama, the plane in the sky.
"Mama, cream" -Mama, ice cream. (Every time we pass an ice cream store)
"Mama, booooo"... starts crying -Mama, moo. (When we pass Chick-Fil-A, he is very scared of the cow that stands out there and waves)

Colors:
"Owange" -Orange
"Yellow"
"Boo" -Blue
"Wed" -Red
"Geen" -Green

*Gavin's Great Aunt Patti brought him an early birthday present last week... it's really a rocket, but Gavin calls it a "pane"! You press the button and it says "Blast Off"- Gavin screams "OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF". He rides that thing around every where. Definitely a favorite toy! Thanks Auntie P!!

*Gavin loves to say his prayers. When we sit down for dinner he has his hands together, ready for prayer time. I know you all are thinking, "what a sweet little boy"... well we discovered the other night that once we close our eyes, he throws his food on the floor for the dog to eat! We caught him... and for awhile we were so impressed with his wanting to pray at such a young age! Ha! Ha! Don't worry he is still a sweetie and says his prayers at bedtime... Our night time routine is bath time, read a book and say our prayers together. We each take a turn... Gavin says "Daddy pay... Mama pay". Then he pretty much repeats what we prayed for. Most of the time this is how his pray goes, "MamaDadaNanaPaMimiPaPaKikiBubbaCarCar(his cousin Carson)...AMEN" no pauses, no breaths, just straight through! These are the names that he has down pretty solid. The other night he threw in "Rye-A-Knee"(Uncle Ryan)"TaTa"(Aunt Tara)"Yawn"(Jon)"Baby"(Cousin Paxton). We are working on Cousin Camryn and Aunt Erin, a little hard for him to say!!... but don't worry you and every one else are in Mama and Dadas prayers!!

*Monday, Gavin will be TWO!!! I can't believe it!!! Stay tuned for a birthday post and pictures!!!

Favorite Poses...

Hands behind the back...

Hands behind the head (this pose means "I am tired")....

This picture was taken on our way home from his heart cath, his neck was a little sore, so he could only put one hand up.

Back from our trip....

We are home! We left last Wednesday to see Gavin's cardio thoracic surgeon Dr. P! It all worked out, my dad had a game and it happened to be where Dr. P and his family moved to this summer. The visit and hospital tour re-assured our decision to follow Dr. P for Gavin's surgery in the Spring. Dr. P's staff got us free tickets to Sea World and the zoo. We had a blast! I put the pictures in a slide show because there are to many to choose from!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Family Fun Night!

Cheese!

I love my Gavin kisses!

"Mommy, you need more flour on this side!"

"Daddy, you are doing such a great job!"

Tasting the flour...

Dipping the cookie cutters in the flour...

Coloring with Dad...

Dads wonderful creation!We have been busy the last couple of weeks! This week we have nothing planned so we decided to have a Family Fun Night last night! No TV, no Computer, no phones, nothing... just quality fun time together! We made animal cracker cookies, cut out shapes, colored and talked about the letters of the alphabet. When you ask Gavin to sing the alphabet his answer is "W", we are trying to explain to him that there are other letters in the alphabet besides "W". I guess he thinks "W" is the most interesting!

Bring The Rain...

I can count a million times

People asking me how

I Can praise You with all that I've gone through

The question just amazes me

Can circumstances possibly

Change who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed

Long before these rainy days

It's never really ever crossed my mind

To turn my back on you, oh Lord

My only shelter from the storm

But instead I draw closer through these times

So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace

Bring the chance to be free

Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know there'll be days

When this life brings me pain

But if that's what it takes to praise You Jesus, bring the rain

I am yours regardless of the clouds that may loom above because you

are much greater than my pain

you who made a way for me suffering your destiny so tell me whats a little rain

Holy, holy, holy

Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God almighty is the Lord God almighty

I'm forever singing

everybody singing

Holy holy holy you are holy you are holy

-Mercy Me

Even with all the hard times we have experienced with Gavin and the recent deaths of our dear heart friends, we still praise You... we know You have a plan, greater then we can comprehend. Thank you God for bringing the rain...

Katelyn Habel

Another Mended Little Heart earned her angel wings this morning. Please pray for Ashley (Katie's mom) and the rest of the family.

More Video...

Gavin was excited about the "plane" in the sky and the "ball" on the field, all at the same time!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Picture Slide Show (See post below)

Before you watch this, you need to scroll down and pause the Carrie Underwood video first...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mended Little Hearts

Mended Little Hearts with the Team

Gavin with Briggs- his "Big Buddy"

Papa, Gavin and Mama

We joined Mended Little Hearts back in May of this year. Mended Little Hearts is a non-profit organization that helps make awareness about heart defects in children. A few months ago we teamed up with the Bishop Kelley Football Team. Kind of like a "Big Buddy" Program. The students there have to earn so many community service points to graduate, so this program is a way for the team to receive points. The football players come to our meetings and participate in events with us. We got together with them through Baby Bailey (see link), her dad Brandon is a coach for the BK football team. Last night, we attended their first home game against Memorial. At halftime, each Mended Little Heart were teamed up with a player. The player and some parents walked the child out on the field, there name was announced. Two football players walked out on the field alone. One in honor of Manning, who is currently in the hospital awaiting a heart transplant. The other player walked in memory of our precious angel Emma, who passed away at 3 months of age. Our youngest member Zyron was walked out by his big brother who plays football for Memorial! It was so touching and emotional to watch each football player with their "buddy". It's obvious these coaches and team members want to make awareness about heart disease/defects.

Hair and Corn-On-The-Cob...

Gavin spent an afternoon with Grandpa and Dada, when I got back this is what he looked like:

Apparently they had fun styling Gavin's long hair!

Gavin's new love is corn on the cob!