Lizard Love

Eli is an animal lover!  He loves fish and all other kinds of critters.  Ever since Eli's fish in his aquarium sadly died, we have been discussing with him what kind of pet he would like to get in his aquarium next.  His choice was a bearded dragon.  Marshall and I did the research and learned that beareded dragon lizards are actually very docile and make great pets, especially for the beginner reptile owner.  So after months of deliberation, Eli got an early Christmas present from Marshall and I, a sweet little beareded dragon lizard. 

The result?  We have some serious lizard love going on at my house!  Eli is totally in love with this new addition.  He named him Harry and plays with him everyday.  So far the lizard is great!  Very docile and chill as Eli holds him each day.  He likes Harry so much he asked me to take the following pictures of him and his new found friend.  Can you see the lizard love?

Thankful...

We have so much to be thankful for!  Sometimes it is overwhelming to think about. 

Usually we go to Tennessee for Thanksgiving, but this year since Hogan was only 4 weeks old for Thanksgiving, we decided it would be best to stay home.  So this year we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving at home in Atlanta!  My parents and Marshall's mother and grandmother came over for Thanksgiving lunch.  Brooke and Russ joined us in the afternoon.  It was Hogan's first Thanksgiving, and it was a great one!

  

Thanksgiving Day 2011

Happy Thanksgiving from our littlest turkey...

More pictures to come after we eat our turkey and take a nap!

28 days...

Today Hogan is 28 days old.  He has been with us exactly 4 weeks now.  As I hold Hogan today, and look at him, and snuggle him, my thoughts are captured by memories of his beloved brother Odell.  I simply cannot stop thinking about Odell today.
You see, this is where our journey ended with Odell...day 28.  This is when we lost him.  This is the day his heart became weak and his battle to great and God welcomed him home.  This is when we had to say goodbye. 
Spending these last 28 days with Hogan has been a vivid reminder of how short our time really was with Odell.  No wonder we miss him so much, we were just getting started in life together.  I had so much more to learn about who he was as a person, and what his personality was going to be like.  Although I had seen Odell's courageous and brave spirit in those 28 days, there was still so much more life to be lived together.    
Because of those short 28 days, my memories of Odell are limited.  It's not as if I have a lifetime of memories that we made together.  He wasn't here for a lifetime, or a few decades, or even a year...just 28 days.  So that's what I have to remember, when he was with us here as a baby, for those first 28 days.
I can't seem to take my eyes off Hogan today.  I just keep staring at his precious features and feeling his soft hair, remembering Odell and what it felt like to hold him. 
Today I am thankful for the 28 days we shared with Odell.  I am grateful for the 28 days and counting that we have had with Hogan.  I am thankful to be blessed with another son to love and care for during my time on this earth.  Lord thank you for my children, and for each and every day that I am able to spend with them.  Let me not take even a moment for granted. 

He is here!! Hogan has arrived...

We are delighted to announce that Hogan Marshall was born October 24 at 1:18 p.m.  He weighed in at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and has the sweetest red hair you have ever seen.  We are completely in love!

Surgery went very well.

 Just got into surgery, eager to see our son...

Welcome to the world Hogan!

 He looks just like daddy!   So glad his middle name is Marshall!

We finally get to "meet" him

 Love this picture of daddy checking him out!

 The big weigh in

 All cleaned up, hairbrushed and all

Just came out of surgery.  Feeling good...

My mother and sister picked the kids up at school during lunch and brought them to the hospital around 1:00.   By the time I got done with surgery, went through recovery (1 hour) and moved up to a regular room it was after 3:00!  The kids had waited very patiently, and very excitedly.  They were super thrilled to see their new baby brother.

 Payton got her hands on him first...

 Let the inspection begin.  First his face...

 Then his hands and fingers...

and finally his toes and feet...

Then Eli got his turn

I must say, there is nothing sweeter than seeing the kids holding and interacting with their baby brother.  Melts my heart everytime.

Two Weeks...

Two weeks from today (if he doesn't choose to come before!) we will meet our son, Hogan Marshall Presley.  Because I have already had 2 c-sections, we have another one scheduled for October 24 at 1:00.  We are so excited, to say the least.  It has been a wonderful pregnancy...I have felt good and all the doctor's reports have been great.   With each visit, the perinatologists said that he looks good!  It is amazing the technology they have at an office like that and how clear the ultrasound images are.  Not to mention the trained eyes of these doctors and nurses.  We got to see our sweet boy a good bit more than with a "normal" pregnancy.  Even close up shots of his heart and the valves...truly mind blowing.  Praise the Lord- it all looks good.
Anticipation is running high around our house.  The kids are getting super excited, and I am getting more uncomfortable by the day.  Hogan truly must be growing everyday!  We have created a "countdown" since we have a scheduled c-section, so that has been fun for the kids to be able to actually count down each day.  It also helps Eli realize how long we have until delivery.  The kids (particularly Payton) have been a HUGE help in getting the nursery ready, and I can finally say that I think we are good to go!  Hard to believe.
The beginning of the pregnancy seemed to go very slowly, the summer was a bit faster, but once school started, there was no looking back.  The weeks have absolutely flown by since August.     
My heart is so grateful for another child.  God is so good to give us another life.  Another son.   I am overwhelmed by feeling God's love for our family through this child.  We are so very blessed.

Joy bound by Fear

I am happy to report that so far this pregnancy has been filled with joy and delight.  All the doctors visits have been good and normal, with no bad news to report.  I am feeling some sweet, sporadic kicks and bumps inside my belly, which causes my excitement to increase exponentially.  Signs of life!  Precious, sweet, new life.
The love I have for Payton and Eli is at an all time high.  That might be a weird thing to say, but each night as I tuck them into bed I look at Marshall and smile...I don't think I could love them anymore than I do now.  They delight my soul to the very core, and take my heart with them everywhere they go.   They are getting so big!  Payton is now taller than I am and Eli looks like a giant lying in his bed each night, long arms and legs often hanging over the sides.  Then I think about the new life growing inside me, and how my heart swells with love for this child even now.  With every sweet bump or kick I feel, I think to myself-I cannot wait to meet this precious life.  God is so good to give us another child.
As my belly is growing and more people recognize that I am pregnant, I am beginning to get the question - Do you know what you are having?  With much anticipation, in just a few days, we will have our 19 week ultrasound that will hopefully answer the question...the gender of this new life.  Of course when I tell people that we don't know yet, they then ask, well what do you feel like it is?   What does your gut say?  Frankly...I have no idea!  But as the date grows closer to actually find out, I am getting more and more anxious and ready to know.  That has been the focus for me the past few weeks.  The wonder and excitement of what gender we will add to the family.  Payton is voting for a girl, and, of course, Eli is voting for a boy!  Me?  I am voting for health!  A good, healthy baby! 
Last night as I was in bed thinking about our upcoming ultrasound, Satan attacked boldly and whispered lies of fear and doubt into my head.  For, not only is this ultrasound the one that tells the gender, but it is also the big heart ultrasound with the perinatalogists, that will hopefully tell us the heart looks healthy and wonderful.  This is a big day for us as a family, as they look closely at this baby's heart and how it functions.  I have had divine peace so far this pregnancy, but in one quick moment Satan took that away. 
Like a loud voice in my ear, I suddenly was told that Thursday would be the day we would finally find out what is wrong with this baby.  My joy was quickly stolen and complete fear gripped my body.  Doubt rushed in like a mighty tidal wave.  The great deceiver had spoken to me.  For a few moments I lay there, unable to move, wondering if something really was wrong with this sweet child.  Then I had to step back and realize whose voice it was - Satan's.  I prayed for a while, and worked through the fear, listening to the Father instead of the enemy, but I would be lying if I said that the fear and doubt is completely gone from my thoughts.  My inner peace is not what is was, and now I am even more anxious for the appointment to get here.  How quickly my focus was changed.  I am doing my best to trust God every moment.  Whatever the outcome of the ultrasound is, He already knows and is in control.  This baby is His anyways, not mine, I am just blessed to be called mother while the child is here on this earth.  Please pray for us this Thursday, as we get to see this sweet life on the ultrasound, listen to the beat of it's heart, and find out how things look. 

Helloooo Summer!

Summertime...it's finally here! The Presley family is officially on summer break. We kicked off the summer with a Memorial Day long weekend in Amelia Island, Florida.  It was fabulous! Gorgeous weather, warm waters, extended family with us...absolutely awesome.  We would liked to have stayed longer, but we are grateful that the time we were there was all sunny and beautiful. 
The kids played exceptionally well together, and stayed in the water most of the time - jumping the waves, riding the waves, and punching the waves (if your name is Eli).  Payton also worked on one of her infamous "drip castles", as seen below.  She loves to makes them!  Unfortunately, Eli loves to somehow destroy them...stinker!

My parents were on the trip, as well as Brooke and Russ, and my Aunt Diann and great Aunt Christine, who drove all the way down from Tennessee!  Aunt Chris, who we also call Aunt Tini, enjoyed sitting under the tent on the beach watching all the action.  But then she got chilly in the shade, and preferred to sit in the sun and work on her tan.

Eli and Papaw enjoyed playing croquet one evening.  Aren't they cute together?

Thanks to Brooke, the family photographer, we got some great family pictures one night before going to dinner.  I am always thankful for Brooke and her willingness and ablility to get everyone to pose for amazing pictures! 

The beach was beautiful and we were sad to leave.  Now summer break consists of catching up around the house and working on a few home projects before the next fun trip.  The kids are swimming on swim team, and we have been spending a lot of time at the pool trying to stay cool.  I love summer break!