Adventures

I love going on adventures with my little crew.  Today we started on the square, where we met Aunt Esther, and went all over Gainesville.  We ended up at a little park where the Kikers were.  Seth rode his bike while Hannah and Abigail rode in the jogger while mommy worked her booty off!  It was a lot of fun!  Every adventure with y'all is a gift that I will cherish forever.

Busted Nose

Oh Seth!  Your sweet, sweet, nose!  You were so excited to go to your first baseball practice and about half way through it you came running out of the dugout covered in blood crying!  We were so scared and so were you!  Hannah and Abigail cried for you and we rushed you to the ER.  You were very scared to have to have surgery and you did not want to be there.  Daddy and I talked to you and you finally calmed down and got a CT scan of your head because everyone was sure that your nose was broken but it was not!  We got home super late from the ER but you were calm and starting to enjoy the "perks" of being the patient.  I got you Doritos and a Sprite that night and the next day Ethan & PawPaw brought you treats!  Your nose is still a little swollen but you are doing great!  I love you and am so proud of who you are.  You are so brave Seth!  You always have been!  Thank you for being my amazing son!

"I love you more than the Wii"

So Hannah, you are such an expressive little girl and I love hearing how you put words around the messages in your heart.  Right now you love you to play the Wii you guys got for Christmas more than anything else!  You kids now have "tickets" to play for 30 minutes each day but somehow that never really happens ;)  So we were eating breakfast the other day and out of nowhere you said, "mommy, I love you more than the Wii!"  I knew how special that made me so I joyfully thanked you.  To which you replied, "No seriously, if you died, I would pause my game."  And with that, I know you love me Hannah with all your heart!  I love you sweet girl!  You are so perfect to me!

"My Booty is Crackin"

Abigail, you are an amazing 2 1/2 year old that says some of the cutest things!!!!  You are getting so big and independent and are quickly learning your "voice" in the world!  So every time your pants fall down you say, "oooh, oooh, my booty is crackin!"  We all laugh at you and you have no idea why.  I love you Abigail Lynn Oakley!  You are such a gift to our family!

Going Back a Little

So I am going to give blogging a try.  It is already March so I would like to go back to January as to document a year in the life of the Oakleys, A.K.A., the Incredibles.  Us Oakleys like to compare ourselves to the movie the Incredibles and how we are like them.  I like to believe we are!  This blog is dedicated to my family:  My amazing husband, friend, & lover, Eric, and my 4 incredible children, Seth, Hannah, Abigail, & William David!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Hannah, you wait for this time of year almost as much as you do Christmas!  It's the Daddy Daughter Dance!  You told me in advance this year that you wanted a purple dress so a purple dress is what you got!  We found the perfect dress, shoes, and purse for your special night with your daddy!!!  I painted your toes and nails purple and made you a beautiful corsage while daddy took Abigail to the ER because she fell off of her little bike and busted her head open.  I love talking to you about your dance and watch you get so excited to dress up and dance with your daddy.  He loves it as much as you do!  You both had such a good time this year and like every other year you played on the stairs and explored the Civic Center, the same place daddy danced with mommy on their wedding night.  I love you Hannah!  You are such a beautiful daughter to your daddy and I!

100 Party

This was a huge day for Seth and Hannah...Abigail, you joined in the fun too!  You guys waited sooooo long for this day to finally come!  The 100 party for school.  We had a fun party and danced to Justin Beiber for 100 seconds, made 100 fruit-loop necklaces, ate Oreas (the turned 100 too), ate cheese puffs just because we wanted to, and played some other fun 100 games.  Trinity and Bailey Bochet and MeeMaw & PawPaw came over to celebrate the fun.  I love watching how you guys enjoy the simple little parties and I love being your mommy!  Happy 100 day my sweet children!!!!

Abigail's MRI

Today was a crazy day because we took you, Abigail, to get your big follow up MRI of your brain!!!  We were very anxious to get this done for many reasons: 1) you having to be put to sleep... 2) did your cyst come back....3) I don't really like going to Atlanta during rush hour.  During the time you were having your MRI I wrote in my journal our entire journey to your brain surgery.  I was again reminded of what a miracle the entire experience was.  God walked us through the entire process step by step just like he did the remainder of that hard year and still continues to do so today.  It is the one consistent thing through it all, He is with us and He has already gone before us.  You were very nervous about the IV but I sang to you and you didn't even feel it!!!  You woke up fine and were ready to eat!  After the MRI we followed up with Dr. Reisner, Eric and I love him so much, and he gave us an amazing report!  Your scan looked amazing and you are a thriving 2 year old sweet girl.  I will forever look back over this experience with your head in awe to Him and also thankful for the sweet times your daddy and I had there.  He would work at night after he tucked you and I in the hospital bed. He is such a sweet man.  I love you Abigail!

P.S. I bought you a cute little jogging suit that you were over the moon about and a man at daddy's work, Ira, bought you some really cool Nike tennis shoes that you could not wait to wake up and wear.  You had your outfit laid out and wore it with great pride!

Seth's Birthday

So my son is 7 years old!!!!!  I cannot believe it!  He had a fun birthday with friends and family at Skate Country.  Seth, I love you so much.  You are an amazing little boy.  I will never forget the moment I first saw you.  You are such a joy to be around and I love listening to your amazing stories and all the intricate details you share with us.  You give us amazing understanding of God because you express yourself so freely.  Thank you for loving me and encouraging me as a mommy to you.  I love scratching your back everyday.  You have lost 4 teeth now and are getting so tall.  You love science and your favorite book is this creepy "Spider" book that you love to show me because it grosses me out so bad.  You have such a sweet spirit and you are an amazing big brother.  Loosing William David has been really hard for you but again, you don't hold back your hopes and dreams to see him again.  Thank you for being and "Incredible" son to your daddy and I!  I love you so much ~ Mommy

Jaunary - Florida Trip

So our family started a new adventure this Jauary, grief and healing.  We could have never imagined our lives would have been here, but we are and we are going to live it, not run from it.  Don't get me wrong, everyday I am temped to run from it, but I know there are promises for us in the midst of this that I don't want to miss.  Our trip to Florida was a gift from my parents that was planned back in September.  Who would have thought this trip would be such a time to rest, heal, and "gear-up" for life in general.  We had a great time in Florda.  Seth said he was so excited to "spend time with his family" and that's exactly what it was.  We went on some amazing bike rides and jogs and just down time.