A Pocket Full of Treasures: 2013

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Be still my heart!

Best friends forever! I love these two babies! ...holding hands at supper...so sweet. Stay little forever!

My parents so graciously bought tickets for the big kids to see Frosty at Casa Mañana in Ft Worth. It was amazing!! They had so much fun and loved every minute of the songs, dance, story, and Christmas magic. Thanks MeMe and Grandad for a fun night!

P.S.: Jordan was just a tad bit grumpy before the show started because he fell asleep in the car. He perked up as son as Frosty came on stage. :)

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Let your Light Shine!

As this time of year continues to roll on, I can not help but keep thinking about my stay in the hospital last year. Tonight my mind is totally fixated on one sweet lady that worked in the hospital. Her name was Kyle. She was one of the most darling people I have ever met. She was a hospital hostess. Kyle brought me my meals on many occasions...3 times a day for probably 4 out of 7 days each week I was there. I can still see her sparkly gold-tooth smile in my head. If Bryan was with me when she brought my meal, she would always "find a little something for him to eat too."

Every time I was moved over to labor and delivery, it would take a couple hours for someone to find my meal and bring it to me. I got accustomed to it and knew there were many more important things for hospital staff to attend to besides me silly hospital lunch! But, one time when I was transferred over to labor and delivery, I was a total-messy-cry-scared-wreck. I could hardly control my tears. The babies were trying to come again and it was still way too early. Kyle had tried to deliver my meal to my antepartum room and found that I was gone. She saw on the computer that I was transferred to labor and delivery. She walked my meal over to labor and delivery and brought it to my new room. She walked in to find my totally distraught self. She put down my tray and told me she was going to pray over me. My mom was in the room too. Kyle prayed out loud over me then and there. She called out to God as the Alpha and Omega. She asked for His angels to take charge of the lives of my unborn babies. She prayed for the Lord's will. Ya'll, she risked her job for me. For me! And for my unborn babies!! That is one selfless lady that knows how to love like Jesus. It was so evident that the Spirit of The Lord was alive within her. She is a City on a Hill.

Matthew 5:14-16

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

So, let your light shine. Let your light shine so that others will experience the glory of God.

"Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.""

John 8:12

Monday, December 2, 2013

10 Months

(posted by Bryan)

I can’t believe Carson and Harper are 10 months old. It’s gone by fast. Harper is a doll. She is easy going, giggly, and sweet. She loves Mickey Mouse, hugs, cheerios, and her paci. She has started crawling and her latest trick is pulling up on the bench and pulling off all of the folded laundry! As her dad, I'm probably a little biased, but I think she is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Between me and her three big brothers, I think she'll be well protected! It’s even harder to believe that Carson has only been home from the NICU for 9 months, off the oxygen for 6 months, and out of a helmet for 2 months. That kid! He’s such a trooper! He’s such a mess! His unofficial nick name right now is “Mr. Crazy Pants”. He doesn’t know how to be still and he does not like naps. He loves to watch Jordan and Nathan and you can tell that he is just itching to chase them around and be right in the middle of whatever they are doing. He laughs at them when we ride in the car and if they aren’t paying attention to him, he will start squealing until they do. He loves Mickey Mouse and giggles every time he sees him on TV. When I watch that little boy army crawl around the house, hear him laugh, and hear him cry, it’s surreal to think that just 10 months ago he was fighting for his life. 10 months ago his lungs were filled with holes. We couldn’t hold him, we couldn’t feed him, and we couldn’t even touch him. 10 months ago we listened to a doctor say that she wasn’t sure Carson had enough healthy lung tissue to survive. To say we are grateful is not nearly enough. We are humbled and in awe of God’s provision and healing. The most sobering part of our story is the knowledge that God doesn’t love us anymore than those who have lost a child, or not been able to have a child at all. That he healed Carson, even though he doesn’t love him anymore than a child born with any number of physical or mental impairments, or a child born into extreme poverty or abuse. When I consider all these things, just saying I’m grateful, feels very inadequate. And so, we will continue to share this story for many reasons. One reason I continue to reflect on this is because I don’t want to forget and I don’t want to water down or down play the miracle that God did in our family. I think about when Jesus healed the group of men with leprosy and out of the ten, only one came back to offer thanks and to give God the glory for healing him. It was God who protected and healed and we will continue to give Him all of the glory. This week we will go before our church family and dedicate Carson and Harper to the Lord. We will dedicate ourselves to being Godly parents. Ones that will teach them to love scripture, love others, and most importantly, point them towards a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

At this same time last year Becca was on bed rest and they were preparing us for all of the complications that the babies could have if they had been born during that time. They told us that we had a 14-19 day window of the babies being born (Becca made it 77 days). We were praying for time. We were praying for good health. We were praying for God to protect Becca and our sweet unborn twins. We were praying for God to protect the hearts of Jordan and Nathan who would have to be without their mom for an extended period of time. God provided all and so much more. What a difference a year makes. We are blessed and we are grateful and we are thrilled to be together for Christmas this year!

Family Pictures 2013

(posted by Bryan)

We can't say enough great things about Ashley Monogue at Ashley Lauren Photography and we are so thankful that she has been capturing these memories for us over the past four years. http://ashleylaurenphotography.com/

Morgan and Chris are married!

(posted by Bryan)

We kicked off the Thanksgiving break by celebrating my little sister’s wedding. Morgan is the youngest Calvert sibling and the last to get married. Luckily the ice held off and everyone had a great time. Jordan and Nathan had a blast and Becca and I got a kick out of them dancing in front of everyone at the reception! I made a joke at the rehearsal dinner that when I was growing up I wasn't allowed to have girls over to the house but when Morgan brought Chris home he ended up moving in with my parents while Morgan was finishing up at A&M! I guess that’s the perks of being the baby of the family! We are excited to have Chris become a part of our family. He loves the Lord and he loves Morgan. Congratulations Chris and Morgan! We love you guys!

Life according to Tot…

Our Nathan (Nater-Tot) cracks us up daily. We always regret not writing down some of the funny and sweet things he says and does so I thought I would document a few of his most recent “Tot-like” moments.

While playing with a neighbor friend upstairs we overheard:

Jordan: “Hey, ya’ll want to play Jesus?” (Referring to the Nativity scene)

Neighbor: “What?”

Nathan: “You know Jesus, umm, he made us.”

Neighbor: “Yea, he lived like 9 million years ago”

Nathan: “Yeah, I know that, I met him when he was a baby.”

Neighbor: “I don’t think so, you’re only four.”

Nathan: “Yeah, I met him when I was 3”

Over breakfast before church:

Me: “Boys, do you know what bible verse I want you to learn this week?”

Nathan: “Umm, Santa Claus is coming to town?”

After his Aunt Morgan’s wedding:

Nathan: “now Chris is Uncle Chris and Morgan is a lady…”

Me: “What do you mean, she’s a lady? She was already a lady.”

Nathan: “Well, you told me that at the wedding, that Morgan is a lady now.”

Me: “oh, no I said LANEY, that’s her new last name.”

Nathan: “that sounds silly”

While listening to Charlotte’s Web:

Me: “so Charlotte has a plan to save Wilbur. What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter?”

Nathan: “She’s going to hide in that barn, jump out, and then shoot her webs at those guys who are trying to make Wilbur into bacon.”

How he starts every sentence:

Nathan: “hey daddy-need to tell you something…”

How he exits the van:

By pretending his ears are suction cups, then leaps side-ways while sticking his ear to your chest, forcing

you to catch him and yells, “Super suction ears!”, or “Larry-Boy!”

Over dinner:

Nathan: “Mama, need to tell you something. Some kids don’t have parents right?”

Becca: “That’s right, some kids don’t. Isn’t that sad?”

Nathan: “uh-huh…like Annie and Pepper.” (from the movie Annie)

Nathan: “Daddy, need to tell you something….I think Granny looks like Ms. Hannigan. That’s silly, right?” (from the movie Annie)

A note from his pre-school teacher:

“Nathan loved making his turkey hat today and even told us that he was going to GOBBLE US ALL UP!!!”

Me: (laughing) “Nathan, did you tell your teachers that you were going to gobble them all up?”

Nathan: “No. I just told Ms. Rachel that. I’m just going to gobble up Ms. Rachel, not my other one.”

Tot-isms:

· Falling out of his chair several times a day

· Putting his pants on backwards

· Giving hugs

· Describing the entire plot of a movie that he has only seen a commercial for

· Remembering details from vacations, movies, commercials, and books

· Repeating lines and laughing so hard during movies that he makes other people in the theatre laugh

· Thinking everything is funny

· Talking about “all his cousins”

· Pretending to be a Super Hero or Villain

· Referring to almost anything as “my favorite!”

This kid loves life, loves his family, and loves to have a good time! I pray that he never loses his joy for life.

(posted by Bryan)

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Thanksgiving Break

...was AWESOME!!

Oh my goodness I am basking in the glory of the season this year!! This time last year, I was on day 12 in the hospital. Little did I know I had 65 more days after that. I am so thankful to experience Thanksgiving and Christmas in my home with my family this year. My heart will forever be so tender to patients in the hospital during the holidays.

We started off the week with Morgan and Chris' wedding!! It was a totally fun day! The dance party at the reception was my favorite part! I think Nathan and Jordan would agree! I only have a couple of pictures from my phone that day.

This was the rehearsal dinner. I know I've said it before but I sure did gain 3 special sisters when Bryan and I got married 10 years ago.

The wedding day!

Love me some Harper sugars!!!

Then we decorated the house for Christmas!

Our little helpers...

Jordan was begging for someone to wear the Santa hat. I'm a sucker.

Christmas decor...done!!

We couldn't let the week slip by without a visit to Santa.

Nathan told Santa he wanted a Lego knight castle and Jordan told him he wanted a Star Wars set. Then Santa told them to be good boys and hugged them. Nathan said bye to Santa and then panicked because "he didn't get to tell Santa the rest of his stuff!" Oh goodness. That kid LOVES toys. Ha! Santa told him to write a letter. So that's what we did!