Brown Bear, Brown Bear...

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

I see a baby cow, Lemly Bumgarner (and our daddies).

I see a blue cross.

I see a fireman, John Keil Beavers, with a sucker (that I'd love to have!).

I see my momma!

We had a great time tonight at the Highlands' Reformation Party. Since Reformation Day, a big day in the history of Protestant churches, is celebrated the last Sunday in October, our church has a fun party with activities for the little ones and of course everyone wears their costumes! Even though Andrew dressed up as a cow last year, he was little bitty and slept the whole time. This year he had lots of fun walking around, seeing his buddies in costume, and digging in the sand box. I think he could feel the excitement because he actually left his little hat on! (We've tried his costume on several times and he has always pulled it off!) We're looking forward to dressing up again later this week.

Andrew & Ally

Wilson, Andrew, and I enjoyed a visit with our Nashville friends today! Kathryn and Ellie came in town for a wedding...along with Kathryn's boyfriend, Charlie, and Ellie's husband, Tommy, and their little girl, Ally. We were so glad to finally meet Charlie. :) And it was great seeing everyone else, too... since it is always way too long between our visits. Andrew loved Ally!! She helped keep him entertained while we ate at Primos and then was so sweet to play with him at Kristi & Alan's. This picture was taken right after Ally had been "holding" him on the couch, but she thought he was a little heavy :) (i agree, ally), so we just sat Andrew next to her for the picture. Ally is so cute. After our visit, Wilson decided having a little girl wouldn't be bad at all. :) Thanks Ally!!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

We took a trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend and had lots of fun! Andrew loved the hayride and looking at all the animals.... donkeys, ze-donks (zebra/donkey mix... my first time to see one of those), goats, cows, etc... The first picture is of Andrew looking at the donkeys over the edge of the wagon! When we stopped in the pumpkin patch, Andrew had fun walking thru the pumpkins and touching them. He found his pumpkin, as you can see from the last picture!

Happy Fall!!

Happy Birthday, Wilson!

We celebrated Wilson's 29th birthday on Monday! What a fun time we had! We are so thankful for you Wilson - and we love you bunches!!

Andrew is helping Wilson show off his 2 new hats!

Andrew and I visited Wilson at work in the afternoon and took he and his co-workers a cookie cake to snack on!

Andrew LOVED it when I turned off the lights, lit the candles on the cake, and began singing to Wilson. He had the biggest smile on his face and was so excited. You can see from the picture that he was very curious about the candles on the cake!

Our Buddy...

We are proud of Rebecca and love her so very much. To those of you who know our family, you know that Rebecca and my dad have always been "buddies". That is what they have always called each other. Dad has always been "Buddy" to Rebecca, not Dad, and that's how he got his grandparent name. How fitting that that the "Buddy Walk" is held every year in support of the Central Mississippi Down Syndrome Organization. Rebecca has said the opening prayer for the last 3 years - she truly has a gift for praying. We loved being there a couple of weekends ago to hear her pray and to hear The Mustard Seed Handbell Choir play. It was a great time!

Sisters!

Our family had lots of fun! Wilson went to see the Bulldogs play with Dad and Elizabeth after the Walk was over.

"Is that an airplane?"
Andrew loves looking for airplanes. He hears them going over and immediately looks up to find them in the sky. He even said "airplane" last week when he saw one! Now, he can add that to his repetoire.... mama, dada, truck, airplane, banana!

A sweet family who needs prayer...

Jason and Kelli Medders went to MSU with us - Jason and I were Orientation Leaders together, and I want to share with you what is going on in their lives and ask you to remember them in your prayers.

Jason and Kelli notified friends a couple of months ago that they were pregnant with identical quadruplets (naturally-occurring)! What a testimony to our Creator! Since the beginning, they have been trusting in a faithful God for his provisions and have truly been witnesses to those around them in Fargo, North Dakota, where they live.

A couple of weeks ago, Jason and Kelli went in for an ultrasound and heard difficult news. Two of the babies were not doing well. Without going into great detail (I'll include the link to their blog if you'd like to read more), one of the babies (Baby A) was taking in too much fluid causing her heart to work too hard while another baby (Baby D) was not taking in enough causing slower growth and development. After much research, Jason and Kelli flew to Providence, RI, where the babies (and she) underwent surgery. Although the doctors felt like the surgery was successful, Baby A still did not make it - her heart just had too much work to do for her little body and she didn't recover. As of now Baby D is improving, but the doctors would still like to see more growth and development. They are having another ultrasound this Friday, the 19th, so the big prayer is that they will see more improvement in Baby D. Give praise that Babies B and C are doing well. As you can see this sweet family has already been through so much and still has a way to go (Kelli is around 21/22 weeks now, i think). This week Kelli moved into a hotel close to her hospital and is there alone during the week. I can only imagine how hard it must be for her to be away from Jason and their 2 year-old son, Wyatt.

They have a great website, http://meddersfamily.googlepages.com/home, which includes prayer requests and a blog that Kelli updates almost daily. Please say a prayer for this family.

Andrew's First Haircut

I finally decided that I had postponed Andrew's first haircut long enough. It was pretty long in the back and a little shaggy in the front and around his ears (as seen in the top picture). Wilson wanted a haircut, too, so the boys got a cut together last Saturday morning. I thought that Brandi, the girl who cut it, did a good job, and I was pleased with the turnout - not too "big-boy"! The "before" and "after" pictures are above.

Congratulations Elizabeth & Bryan!

Congratulations to the newly engaged couple! We are so excited and love you very much!

Elizabeth, Bryan, Laura, & Wilson at the beach for the Fourth.
(Don't you love the guys' matching swimsuits & t-shirts?! May-May had all the boys coordinating 4th of July gear.)