Burp Cloths!!

I made this set of burp cloths for my friend's baby shower! I think they turned out pretty cute! I only have a picture of the first one because I'm not quite done with the other one. Don't look too close...it isn't perfect. I have learned one thing about sewing: When you get tired, just quit for the day! I notice that when I don't stop and at least take a break when I'm tired, I end up messing up big time! Anyhow, I love making things and I hope my sweet friend will love them!



I also made a simple bow holder for the little princess to hold all of her bows. I'll post pictures of that in the morning.
I have so many stinkin' pictures I need to post. Ahh if I only had time!

Abby Grace is doing so well! I visited with her tonight...she's so sweet. Thanks for your prayers!

Be Inspired!

Saw this and had to post it on my blog! LOVE IT! Saw it on Rhonna's blog. She rocks.

It inspires me to be all I can, and follow my dreams no matter what comes my way, or what people say! I hope it inspires you as well! Live your dreams, follow what you love...thru adversity great ideas are born! Grab hold of those moments and take the creativity and put it to work! :0)

Blessings!
*long post coming with lots of pics!!

Bad Blogger

So sorry I haven't updated!!!

Abby Grace is doing well!! Praise Jesus! Keep praying for a painless recovery for her.

I have so much to post!! Exciting things happening! Lots of pictures to share too!

Maybe during naptime I can get that done! We'll see!

URGENT PRAYER

Everyone,
I have so much to say but have been so busy lately I just haven't had time.

PLEASE STORM HEAVEN'S GATES TONIGHT FOR ABBY GRACE. HER SURGERY IS AT 6AM IN THE MORNING. THIS IS A 6-8 HOUR SURGERY SO IT WILL PROBABLY BE THE AFTERNOON BEFORE WE CAN GET ANY UPDATES OUT. PLEASE, PLEASE PRAY FOR HER!!

HERE ARE SOME SPECIFIC PRAYERS:
~The doctors would be guided by the Lord
~A quicker surgery than expected with no complications
~Quick recovery with no infections
~As little pain as possible for Abby Grace
~Peace and overall calmness for her parents and family

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers!!!

Blessings,
Rachel

Kate McRae..heavy on my heart

Hi girls,
Are you all familiar with Kate McRae? If not please visit her parents blog and read about her. She is suffering with a terrible cancerous brain tumor. She starts chemo tomorrow. Please visit the blog and read. They really need our prayers. I am committing to pray for little Kate. I cannot even imagine if it were one of my children. They have such a big faith though; which encourages me to get on my knees and thank God for my blessings.

I may/may not have told you all before, but I have index cards all over my house with different bible verses on them. I mean they are everywhere. I put them up about a year ago after seeing it on one of my favorite shows. Anyhow, I have them throughout the entire house in places where I'll see them often. They encourage me greatly. One of the cards I saw right after reading about Kate was this one:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9

I am praying this verse over Kate and her parents.

Please visit her blog today and read about her updates. Pass the link along to your friends and fellow blog readers. Thank you.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate/journal

Loving Vacation!

I can't tell you how much of a blast we are having! My kiddos are just having the time of their life!

We hit SeaWorld yesterday and today and we really enjoyed it. Minus the intense heat and it was just awsesome. We saw the Shamu show yesterday.. it was magical. Britton was a little unsure at first but Bryce was all eyes on Shamu. Today we went back and went to the waterpark. I liked being in the water..we did the lazy river and we were so proud of how well Bryce swam! Britton is a little like his Momma, scared of everything so he hung on tightly to me or Daddy. From there we went to the kiddie pool and they both had a blast there.

Bryce is potty trained so he wears his undies under his suit but Britton is not yet potty trained so he wore a swimmer diaper.. he walked over to me and said, "Poop." Daddy offered to take him and change him (props to the great hubby I have). They were gone quite a long time. Daddy came back with a sick look on his face. He sat down in the water and said, "Rachel, I think I am going to throw up." "Why??" I asked. He begins to tell me that Britton's poopie diaper was the worst diaper he had ever changed and assured me that I had "never changed one like that before.." LOL Daddy is so silly.. OF COURSE I HAVE CHANGED ONE OF "THOSE DIAPERS" BEFORE!!
We left the pool right after that and Victor was gagging when we were walking around.. he was honestly sick to his stomach over the loose stool. From what he described, the poo was not solid and spilled everywhere. I am so thankful that my husband changes diapers.. the whole ordeal was just hilarious.

After we left SeaWorld we headed to the riverwalk for dinner. It was nice, quite and lots of beautiful scenery.

I will have time to post pictures when we return. I've got some really cute ones.

I can't tell y'all how much I love staying in a hotel. I mean, someone comes in and cleans the room and brings clean towels.. gotta love that. Hotels are my kind of camping!!

Speaking of camping, please pray for my friend Amanda. You all know her on this blog. They are on their family vacation not too far from us.. trying to relax before Abby's surgery on Monday.. anyhow, Amanda was bitten by a copper head snake. I spoke with her yesterday evening and she was in the hospital.. they are monitoring her blood. They did not have to give her anit-venum (sp?). I haven't gotten ahold of her today but I have been away from my phone some. I plan on calling tonight to see if I can see how she is doing. Just pray for her. They are dealing with so much right now.

Well folks I gotta run! Gonna suggle up with the Hubs and my boys and watch some TV!!
Night!

Vaca is here!!

Today has been a really good day. Sundays are usually one of my favorite days of the week. I love hearing my pastor speak. It charges me up, puts me in my place and I feel that I'm somewhat closer to being where God wants me to be. The message today was so awesome.. I loved it. I know some people don't like the "step on your toes" type of message but I really love them. I welcome them because I want to hear when I may be out of line, or when God might not be pleased with me so that I can work on those things. I'm so blessed to have such an awesome church. I have some really sweet friends there as well. And being a stay at home mom, it's nice to get there and get to hug some of your good friends.

Tomorrow we leave for our vacation!! I am so super excited! We have been looking forward to this and I think this vacation is very well deserved. We'll only be gone a couple of days; but don't worry, I'll be blogging while I'm gone. I hope to be able to post pictures each night of the days events.

My oldest son is super excited and has even packed his own backpack with pj's and clothes! Oh, and he put his swimsuit (which he calls, "Swimsoup") in his bag as well. Too cute.

Please pray that we have safe travels. I'm so thankful for each of my blog readers. You guys are a blessing to me!

Looking forward to chilling out, sitting pool side and soaking up the sun!

Fun with kiddos

**Blogger isn't letting me load all of the pictures! It did load this cute one.. I will have to wait and see if it lets me upload the other ones of the kids in a little bit!

As I said in my last post today.. sorry it's been a few days. I've been super busy and I am SO WORN OUT!

I wanted to post these cute pictures.. Abby Grace came over to play the other day.. the boys and her had a blast. I got a few shots of them. My favorite one is of Abby Grace in one of our outfits! She is throwing her hands in the air and saying, "I am a Princess!" It was hilarious.

Baby shower pictures coming tomorrow!

It's been a crazy weekend!

Hey!! I'm sorry I haven't posted in several days! I have been running around like crazy getting ready for my best friend's baby shower! I love you Ann! I'm just jumping on to say that I have some great pictures of her shower coming tomorrow.. it was SO MUCH FUN!!!

Love y'all!!

Happy Birthday to the most amazing man...

Today is my husbands birthday! I want to say I love him more than anything in the whole world.

Victor, you are my ray of sunshine when life gets dark. You are my best friend in the whole world. You cheer me up when I am down. You are the most amazing father in the whole world. My kids do not know how blessed they are. Thank you for loving me, supporting me and carrying me through some of life's hardest times.

I am a very lucky girl to be married to my real life prince charming. I don't care how cheesy it sounds. You are my best friend. Without a doubt.

I hope you have a very happy birthday! I love you!!

Love,
Rachel

Pray for this family

UPDATED: Please also pray for my sweet friend Heather's uncle.. he has been in need of a heart transplant and they got the call tonight that they may have found a match! PRAISE! Please pray for success in surgery and also pray for the donor family.

Can you please pray for this family? They lost a daughter last year as an infant to Trisomy 18. I don't know alot about the condition but I belive it's almost always fatal. Most infants do not survive to the end of pregnancy to be delivered. This couple just gave birth to their son, Grayson, who lives for about five days then passed away. Please pray for them. I know they are struggling. We think we have such big problems. Sometimes I should be ashamed about my complaints. I'll be on my knees tonight for Grayson's family, for Kate McRae and Abby Grace.

http://kinseygracethompson.blogspot.com/

I am excited because tomorrow Amanda is bringing Abby Grace over to play with the boys. I'll take pictures of the kiddos. They are going to have a blast together.. goodnight friends!



"Do not fear, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strenghten thee and help thee, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." ~Isaiah 41:10

Awesome Day

Today was such an awesome day. It was just wonderful. We enjoyed the services at church so much. I felt honored to be there and didn't take for granted today the fact that we have a wonderful church and church family. It's very easy to take it for granted sometimes...

My husband and I teach in the Elem. dept. at church and have been doing so for the last 4 months or so. We really enjoy it so much. I love the kids; they are so sweet, so innocent. I teach the 5th grade girls and Victor teaches with the 5th grade boys. Some of our girls are already about to promote out to the 6th grade and it makes me so sad! I don't want them to go to Jr. High!

I love those girls to death.. they are precious and sweet. It's so endearing when as a 10/11 yr. old girl, you can stand up in front of your peers and pray outloud. It impresses me.. I think that's why Jesus says in His Word that we must, "come as a little child." They have a big faith. Because they do not yet know to fear what other people are thinking of them.. they just love Jesus.

Anyhow, we always ask for prayer requests. I told the girls in our class about Kate McRae and it just touched my heart when one of our girls prayed outloud and asked God to heal Kate. How precious is that? I believe with all my heart that God heard those prayers..

After church this evening we went to eat with Amanda and David and their kiddos. We had a great time. We ate Mexican food which is mine and Amanda's FAVORITE! Mexican food does this prego gal good! ;0) Abby Grace is just the most precious thing. She wanted to sit in "Aunt Rachel's" lap. She has got to be the most sassiest little girl in the world. Pretty, polite and a little bit of southern charm in her but let me tell you, she will let you know what she wants and when she wants it! LOL She wanted to come stay the night with me.. I told her she was going to come over this week and we were going to paint each other's nails! I'll have to post some pictures of that.

Her surgery is getting closer and closer and I must admit that it's even scary for me. I know God is going to take care of her and get her thur this.. but I think the waiting is the scariest part. Her older sister, Kayli said tonight at the table that she was worried for her little sister. How precious. I told her that God was going to take care of Abby Grace. I am going to have them stay the night with me that night. We are going to pray for Abby, talk things thru and have some good old fashion fun.

Please keep Abby Grace and Kate McRae in your prayers. I've added a side button for Kate. You can click there and read her parents daily journaling. Right now poor Kate just keeps asking to go home and she really doesn't have any idea that she has such a long road ahead of her. Chemo, hair loss, endless spinal taps and pokes. But The Creator knew before one of her days began that she would have these days ahead. I am praying for peace for little Kate and for her parents..

So here are a few pictures I took of my boys this morning before church. Are they cute or what?! I know one day they are going to ask me to quit dressing them alike.. but until then I'm eating up how cute they look!!

Ps-just went in to say goodnite to my boys.. Bryce says, "You're the best Mom." Melt my heart!!

Awesome Devotion

I have been doing this women's devotional that I really want to share with y'all. It flat out rocks. The book is called, "The bathtub is full but I feel drained.. defeating Mommy stress." You have to run out and get this book. It's wonderful.

It's part book, part devotional. I am so enjoying reading and growing closer to the Lord through motherhood experiences. It's amazing how much God has to say about motherhood in His Word.

I plan on taking a picture of the book and sharing some of the things I've learned tomorrow. For now, I'm beat! Not everything was crossed off the TO DO list today.. but that's okay. We hugged, we laughed, we spent quality time together. I'm blessed.

Goodnight sweet friends!

We're Open!!

Hi friends!

Jack and Cole Designs is now REOPEN!! The new site is up, with some of the products we've added. We have so many more left to add and I'm working overtime to get those up! Please be patient with me.

I'm super excited because some of the fall clothing will be coming in during the next two weeks!

I can't contain the excitement of a few things!! Many of you already know that we have an Etsy store.. it only had a few items on it. We have been working really hard on some exclusive-made designs! Some handmade clothing, accessories and a SUPER CUTE ITEM FOR MOMMIES!! You're gonna love em!! Can't wait to unveil them!

My husband and I have been discussing hiring a seamstress. I just have been so behind on sewing because I have the kids so often.. I can't really get any sewing done while they are with me because they get into all of my things and I can't concentrate. We'll see where that idea goes. But for now, I'm sewing like crazy to get some of these sample items ready for pictures.

So stay tuned!! You can visit the new look of the website at www.JackandColeDesigns.com

Blessings!
Rachel

Kate Update

I already posted once today.. if you haven't read that post it's below. I had to get on and post this update on Kate McRae. PLEASE pray for healing for this little girl. It is very sad.. her parents are trying to be hopeful. Let's flood heavens doors with prayer for this family!

A word from Kate's Mom:

As I write this my heart is racing, hands shaking. We DO have a diagnosis. Yes, you read right, they just got finished giving us the type of Kate's tumor. Dr Kaplan came in and told us. I told him I needed to sit down, we needed to prepare ourselves. I really didn't think they would have one. So here it is.. she has a Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor. The culprit of my baby's hospitalization. It brings an eerie relief, mixed with anxiety. There is now a name to this awful disease. I will tell you what I know, which is not a whole lot and filtered through the ears of a mother, not a nurse. This is an extremely aggressive tumor and high risk because of it's location. (this is not the typical location for these types of tumors). However, these tumors are usually extremely sensitive to chemo and radiation (a prayer answered). So most likely (we have yet to meet with her oncologist) she will get high doses of chemo and radiation. However, because of it's location, we will most likely have to join a study. This means she would follow strict protocal for treatments. We are not sure what study she would enter yet, possibly one out of LA. This would most likely (we know nothing for sure yet) involve a bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant. So there it is. Many long days ahead. I asked if there was any idea how long we would be hospitalized, obviously it depends on many, many things. (treatment, how she responds, complications etc). However, we are pretty sure we will be here for months on end. He said it could get scary again. But we need to be hopeful. And we know the giver of hope. So please cry out to God on our daughters behalf. Ask for complete and total healing, whether that is through modern medicine or simply DIvine intervention. Please do not grow weary interceding for us. The battle has just begun. Fight for us. Fight for Kate. I will post more later as we are still processing this. And please do not send us research from the internet. We have an entire library here at the hospital. Just let us figure things out slowly as we can digest them. We need the Bible as our guidebook now. Will let you know more shortly.

Update on Vivian and Baby Info

Just wanted to let all of you know that little Vivian is making progress and doing better. They said if she had been struck just millimeters over she would have had serious brain damage...BUT GOD!! God is good and her mom said that it is a miracle that she is doing so well.

Let's keep praying for Abby Grace and Kate McRae

So today is already a MUCH better day than yesterday. My husband walked in the door last night with a gift for me. He bought me the new bible I have been wanting and the most beautiful damask black and white bible cover.. he knew it was a rotten day. It cheered me up so much. I sat and read my new bible for probably two hours. I really enjoyed it. I lifted my spirits greatly.. I told Satan to crawl back in his hole in the name of Jesus! haha!

So this morning we had our monthly baby checkup. It was a little scary because the nurse couldn't find the heartbeat.. last time she found it quickly. I try not to panic but it's hard. The doctor came in and couldn't find it either...right before he was about to do an ultrasound we heard it! Whew! So glad the baby is ok.

So now we're about to be 15 weeks!


Baby is the size of an apple! I hope nobody is offended by the above pictures.. it wouldn't bother me but you never know.

I'm super excited because two of my best friends are about to have babies. So we're busy planning showers for them. It's so fun. I can't wait to meet their little ones!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful day. Keep those little girls in your prayers!

Blessings!

A really poopie day...seriously.

So, today has been one of the worst stay at home mom days I think I've had. I know, I know. My children are healthy and happy; there are alot of children suffering and I should just shut up and be thankful. But we all have our days so just let me be human for a minute...

I woke up this morning to the foulest smell ever lurking into my bedroom. I could hear my boys in there awake and moving around. Sure enough, little one pooped and took his diaper off and decided to have an art show on the wall. Great.

My house is trashed with toys. It's out of control people.

So naptime rolls around and they continue to make noise and NOT sleep or be quiet. I wanted to pull my hair out. I decide that ok, don't go to sleep.. but I'm shutting my door and having some quiet time of my own. A few minutes later I hear my oldest son say, "Mom, Britton pooped in his bed again." SERIOUSLY??

Sure enough, he had done it--again. Poop on the wall, poop all over the blankets, poop on the crib. Love it.

So now, I'm sitting on the couch with a box of vanilla wafers and I'm going to eat all of them. No I'm not sharing.

Hoping tomorrow is better.

Pray for Vivian

I just saw this prayer request on Kelly's blog and wanted to pass it along to all of you. Please pray for this little girl. Seems like so many are hurting right now. Keep praying for Abby Grace, Kate and little Vivian.



Here is some info on her situation:

Dear friends,

Just wanted to let you know about a situation involving Vivian Day, the three year old daughter of Clif and Somer Clark-Day. She was involved in an accident on her bike yesterday with a parked truck. This accident apparently caused a skull fracture. Somer notified me late yesterday evening... and was obviously overcome with emotion. Vivian had been taken away in an ambulance from her home because Somer knew fairly quickly that the accident was more than a major laceration. At the time of her call, she knew that Vivian would have to have a CT scan and knew she was going to have a consultation with neurosurgery. Somer had called me to ask me to put Vivian on the prayer chain at church.

I received another call from Somer later concerning the fact that Vivian was going to have an operation on her skull. Once the doctor and team began performing the operation, they discovered that the skull was a little more depressed than originally thought. The depression was approx. 2 1/2 inches long and an inch wide. Her head was shaved and cut from the middle of her head to her ear. The team pulled the depressed part of skull out and attached sutures. No screws were used, so it is thought that theses will grow with her. This is some good news. Other hopeful news is that no brain bleeds were detected. The doctor is concerned about a possible contusion (bruise on the brain). Therefore, Vivian will have another CT scan today. She is currently on anti-seizure meds and antibiotics. She is in the ICU at this time. If the CT scan looks good today, she might be able to move to a room within the next couple of days. After yet another normal scan, she would be able to go home. Somer did indicate that she did wake up and ask for some water and has spoken a bit. She is cognitive.

The nurses who were assisting on the operation had worked with Somer previously before Somer had children... and while she was pregnant with Vivian. She said they took extra care in cleaning her up and caring for her. Our senior pastor, Guy Whitney was there for Somer and Clif throughout the evening... staying until after 3:00 a.m.

Specific prayers have been requested for continued improvement and healing. Please pray for no contusions and/or brain bleeds. Please pray for these parents, who are in agony. Clif is apparently very distraught as he was assisting Bauer, who had fallen off his tricycle... and Vivian took off her little helmet and rode away from him.

Forward this information to whomever you think would need to know and will pray.


Isn't she precious? I hate when anyone is suffering but most of all when children are hurting.

*be sure and check the below post for our fourth of July pics!

Fun on the Fourth

Did everyone enjoy their fourth of July? We did! It was such a good day!

We started the day out pretty early with a 9am outing to our local Chuck E Cheese! Not sure why I thought Chuck E Cheese was such a great idea for the fourth of July but it really was! I'm telling y'all we were the only people in the place for 2 hours! It was so fun to have the place to ourselves! The boys had a great time. Here are a few pictures from our fun...






After that we headed home for a nap. Boy, I love my naps! We then got dressed and headed up to the church for the fireworks and fellowship. I loved hanging out with our church family and friends. It was such a good time. There was BBQ, ice cream, big blow up jumpies for the kids.

Below is a picture of some of our good friends.. the Warricks. They have four kids. Three girls and the most precious little boy! Lindsey (the mom) is SuperMom. Seriously she is.. she always looks so chic and her kids always look so put together. If there was a Mom of the Year Magazine, she'd be on the cover!





Here is a picture of all the kiddos. A few were missing.



Miss Abby Grace showing her patriotic spirit! Me, Abby Grace and Amanda.




Abby Grace's Mom & Dad, David and Amanda. We love you guys! Amanda is my zebra-print lovin' sister-friend! Hah!



Meet the Pope Family. We love our Popes! Such good people. Michelle is one of my closest friends.. not sure what I'd do without her! Don't they have the most beautiful girls?!













Also wanted to mention that they are now selling Praying for Abby Grace braclets. They are $5 each and the proceeds go to her family. They are super cute! Hot pink and black..my favorite color combo! You can order them by e-mailing Amanda at something_sassy123@yahoo.com I will have a picture coming of the braclets really soon!!

Kate's Parents

Remember the previous post I asked for prayer for little Kate? This is a video of her parents...it was taken the day before she had her brain surgery.

Let's keep praying for this sweet little girl!

Click HERE for video.

PRAYERS FOR KATE

This little girl's name is Kate. I found her info on Kelly's blog. Please be in prayer for her. This is so heartbreaking. I know you are all praying for Abby Grace right now too. Please keep both of them in your prayers..



This is Kate - isn't she beautiful????

On Monday - her parents took her to the doctor for some hand tremors she was having and now they are faced with a very aggressive, malignant brain tumor that is wrapped around the major blood vessels that feed the brain.

She is having surgery tomorrow. They can not remove all of the tumor because of where it is.

Please pray for her.

Here is the website with updates on her:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate