tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72517282045038933672024-02-20T01:29:39.628-08:00The Rakes FamilyNot to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-64152604823840718212009-04-08T16:54:00.000-07:002009-04-08T18:57:36.101-07:00Happy Day<div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">April 8th is a fabulous day for our family because it's the day that Beckett finally got to come home!!! I am still in awe of how Beckett was only in the hospital for only three weeks. At the time, it seemed like forever, but three weeks was nothing compared to how long we thought he was going to be in there. We are SO blessed, and I thank God every day that we have Beckett.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322500289681381394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQa64TCVoAOssqNCIKHT_wtoPkAAGogBm0u1KRAmWzUeuCLYGlwamakrDSPD_y6wAQcen1Y4vZ8vwXhFgQmNU4e6DHHbxcWqy2s4iAw3YRAIVdFFGnydSEBE7O9go7oaXWQkwMBB6MEp0/s320/IMG_0239.JPG" border="0" />Here I am waiting for Matt to bring the car. I kept thinking that the nurse was going to say that they'd made a mistake and he'd have to stay longer. (Weird, I know.)<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322500296079580226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8Q5tIbJghTa5xdZCCI3xk0hG5iB263tgu3NKSC7iISwY61Hv5LJl5WiQIIFMBe3FKJS8QdZJqtdZeNou5wdtJ4Nc4hLX35hXCepPiAPO7ObcrukksxAMIhHm5M-Ho2P7rxRfQuWCvXg/s320/IMG_0241.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p align="center">Yeah! The Rakes Family leaving Parkland!! Even though we LOVED the doctors and nurses and all of the excellent care, it was time! :)</p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322500299725921794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRRSrkt-T3_V6yd4Bxoq_xW3v0T05S63SigyRu5nWye4ptlRLd7EX3NZNhw2KcfVVf_EHDMoru8EgUuGjV6Wu0bfxSE-nyjN95TGJu-NF77UqjmC5hDFJPR3Cqr6IYTSjkl5S9YRE1_n0/s320/IMG_0248.JPG" border="0" /> Beckett slept most of the way. When we got home, we were so excited to show him his room and the house, but I think we stressed him out. He started breathing kind of weird, and it totally freaked me and Matt out. He was fine, but we decided that we overwhelmed and overstimulated the poor guy.<br /><p></p><p></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322503513093855298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8bclj9fyI7gzQqc_DCnscsdfamy74uv5MX1hAp4Fuxvq2HkQF4mw_0jPemP1CiYLbbDWf50p_v6MsWaoDeXo6xikeGa6m4rn0vhEu63E2m9-WyIykfrC1vfEga6gGnid5bUmtJ_WC5M/s320/IMG_0249.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Sleeping his first night in our room. </p><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-55656765373680083432009-03-16T15:07:00.000-07:002009-03-16T15:44:25.333-07:00Beckett's First Birthday<div align="center"></div><span style="color:#009900;"></span><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">This last Saturday we had Beckett's One Year Old Party!! What fun!! Since Beckett was born on St. Patrick's Day, I decided to go with the lucky and green theme. We just had a small family party over at my mom's house.<br /></span></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313913079471736546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGThpb3GNtR1ATe-GEEYm7nL2tq7Zi0hVoKgCsOg5KXN3zh1uja8pGG-UasSx1XBK6DgoBjqk8shwdBayEyU5zZLjQBFco1UyZ89dPOUXNm6ATehTjAEVOz2HiNQ6WDgR56Ap9O2ylAI/s320/IMG_2497.JPG" border="0" /><span style="color:#009900;">Please note the difference between the cake I had made and the cake I made for Beckett-ha ha!! Don't worry, I'm not becoming a cake maker/decorator anytime soon! :)</span></div><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313913896415586466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkT82x54lYBmbH_Lm4NxG2YVEQtbow2L9SQQ-Dd7z8JFAW1QRxTqDw-Mzx5qb5FOjqwE8y6GlGEt1nEphs9uUkxtz2eoEcH7si_cWFlSKl6oZb8_K-4expQC9p2azDo0z7-8mvAypm1w/s320/IMG_2520.JPG" border="0" /><br /></p><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313915923470827842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxXYNizWwed7JcxN7fxT2LwZAQCKtu9ZZFKgcVnKSl8ZQQNAJRle3m9yc4ozaRLBUPr3jVTryVkLYPPlnhJbPAevOCL1dSDswqF90A_hus9GLb2d1Nr09FmliQW7tR-8wnlMiJ3Bi3Pw/s320/IMG_2525.JPG" border="0" /> <div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">Beckett did not like getting his fingers messy with the icing. He kept wanting me to feed it to him.<br /></span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313915928802579330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjFgYTNVg1n6W0Y-WjUoWTIikPJcI8kMWlXjrPYT16ZZys9ZvCbkIbeYFKlSXrkGa-kroUXT5JeV0xCV5eLSgj4F9dNTM7mZw-AcfvBwPh1oIQ5bkk6in3PZmNtCoFmi_JGJ6BwzSfcQ/s320/IMG_2531.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">He's not having it. Who came up with this tradition anyway?</span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313915924620130002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuD4OKVp9xTI3dOfEMqOJ6BXi8GUkl_o2_4pEjKBL3O1CNxVN48_hxgC4hlp-X5aHDtz_xwc7CP31WwZLlzQqPaRaj0Jp0rzXOjDzI9CK_3hbsTiCUu0RLj_VDS-nxkTkYRPWyS5olW0/s320/IMG_2529.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#009900;">Get this thing away!</span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313918011055478594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhnShxA7udDXDzcxJdN3J1ek6LZ4PqsQTaWh-Y6QuyG5lyFPk4n9cClAqScutf4WU8wLi6z_si1Bo_lq2aoqc5sJnhKr6RTMpLpbAESwpq7l_lVB1Eu6nLyKDmfpBzs3ss3_L2EDEr8s/s320/IMG_2539.JPG" border="0" /><span style="color:#009900;">Em and Harper (Beckett's girlfriend--he REALLY loves her) It's adorable! :)<br /></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313918027222526354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4NP0aqdxpr0c0Jksb0sBeu-pQ7cHB3Svia3mV6eIslepd49H99jo-jUcrXL3LcEldDIO5MHZG4j4cXosUaWYF9K0EXkk3AD5HQ01xjmkblRI0dhAdom6ufcFg7JQiH4uOLaUHBDsnCI/s320/IMG_2568.JPG" border="0" /><span style="color:#009900;"> We're so LUCKY that Beckett's one and healthy!! Thank you God!! :)<br /></span></p>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-48380888217887301182009-02-26T13:43:00.001-08:002009-02-26T13:56:39.381-08:00Besties<div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">A week ago, one of my best friends turned 30! I can't even believe we are at this point-no, no!! I like to think we are still 20. :) Anyway, my other best friend and I decided to go on a road trip down to Waco to celebrate the occasion. We had a great time, besides the fact that I got food poisoning--yuck!!! </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">Happy Birthday Holly!! Love you!!</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307227338513421618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6zTQPIyiF6P3aelUqHuCpwTbhb-7OjLMl12q_8IAy3VphCgVQe7y7tqg8m8635MhBthQMTNgX8igufBE_K0qp8ZgdJT0mqjiok34C-dLZRtme2ABLrPsZYQa1-RY5OZymA9YP2Ze-Tg/s320/IMG_2281.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"><br />Harper, Emily, Holly, me, and Beckett at Cathay House</p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307227352594700610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hHufuGpzVugBdw59lZz89BuhXIqioEQqKu-70t4MewZ7VEtE_fzIHCUIFJV3Ee8xbGJ7KAYTi4xo0nuDAraPdHKkChucNdYP036bclth8ET8NM-pTQovu99cLDr86-Jvmn4gu-tubvQ/s320/IMG_2282.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Besties!!!</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307227355876588402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsQ2WFt7xNIl7rYmAaTC0hVCld3KKdU_h-MpL-ICwTScqH5JaVJbjeQUWptu3G6fjVK2h5YkgwrL423ctfJousLXMHIWYHe3pspfi_Letwqotmi8SPWTYVVxgr9UIyVghvjn3LrunyBE/s320/IMG_2289.JPG" border="0" />Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-76292219594351889052009-02-24T12:56:00.000-08:002009-02-24T13:08:26.435-08:00What a Difference a Month Makes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkfMMXFtFdSfmeGhqfN2qlvVfMFusu4Im26lah5xeyt_nLAhIyNzYWBhysktg6ko3zSdD98OPu3tiiH8qwCHh-sJGNnTZ8PdrTKgcjj4rsJH_WKQqKMmyP5lJN4SbLelDQIxQmmc_AFI/s1600-h/IMG_2263.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2apng1Vl05n8ylvLuB9nY-BXUzUVARqwYYlOcoiFjiRSfhUdc23rwCK6QxWvlTLwpAwHjhUXG9RZvWJd_bF0xf_wo-al74ge7AIdR6xDCqUJK1aVTS-YzBNucpmorbflQwrvgcXfTFw/s1600-h/IMG_1952.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306471902543970658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2apng1Vl05n8ylvLuB9nY-BXUzUVARqwYYlOcoiFjiRSfhUdc23rwCK6QxWvlTLwpAwHjhUXG9RZvWJd_bF0xf_wo-al74ge7AIdR6xDCqUJK1aVTS-YzBNucpmorbflQwrvgcXfTFw/s320/IMG_1952.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkfMMXFtFdSfmeGhqfN2qlvVfMFusu4Im26lah5xeyt_nLAhIyNzYWBhysktg6ko3zSdD98OPu3tiiH8qwCHh-sJGNnTZ8PdrTKgcjj4rsJH_WKQqKMmyP5lJN4SbLelDQIxQmmc_AFI/s1600-h/IMG_2263.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306471905615079106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkfMMXFtFdSfmeGhqfN2qlvVfMFusu4Im26lah5xeyt_nLAhIyNzYWBhysktg6ko3zSdD98OPu3tiiH8qwCHh-sJGNnTZ8PdrTKgcjj4rsJH_WKQqKMmyP5lJN4SbLelDQIxQmmc_AFI/s320/IMG_2263.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkfMMXFtFdSfmeGhqfN2qlvVfMFusu4Im26lah5xeyt_nLAhIyNzYWBhysktg6ko3zSdD98OPu3tiiH8qwCHh-sJGNnTZ8PdrTKgcjj4rsJH_WKQqKMmyP5lJN4SbLelDQIxQmmc_AFI/s1600-h/IMG_2263.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkfMMXFtFdSfmeGhqfN2qlvVfMFusu4Im26lah5xeyt_nLAhIyNzYWBhysktg6ko3zSdD98OPu3tiiH8qwCHh-sJGNnTZ8PdrTKgcjj4rsJH_WKQqKMmyP5lJN4SbLelDQIxQmmc_AFI/s1600-h/IMG_2263.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I'm not really being fair. This was the only 11 month pic where Beckett wasn't smiling. I just thought it was hilarious and had to share. He really is happy and has a fun personality.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-14642660128026267062008-11-30T17:36:00.000-08:002008-11-30T19:02:06.268-08:00Thankful<div>November 30, 2007 was the worst day of my life. To hear that things are not well with your baby is an understatement. To listen to a doctor tell you that organs are where they shouldn't be makes you want to turn back time and figure out what went wrong. I remember thinking, "No, no this isn't happening. This isn't the way it's supposed to be." I felt so devastated, but yet there was still a part of me that knew God was still in control and He had a plan. It might be different than the plan that I thought I needed and wanted, but it was still His plan. I have never prayed for something so much in my life. Matt and I prayed throughout the process that God would be glorified and there would be no doubt that He was the one who healed and saved this baby. <div><div><div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0K2jZaxn1imJv1ZVMFIa3CRuhlBKJw7HdKGHwPM61PcxnLwj4QdNz8pY1UmR_edUtpr7SYjTxX3S3qzpL_0Tqp2fl2vxwxspvpw9Hzbx47lohpxz2YiUSZi3JInd8uj8eEOOOc3rT2A4/s1600-h/Beckett1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274650630069711154" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 208px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0K2jZaxn1imJv1ZVMFIa3CRuhlBKJw7HdKGHwPM61PcxnLwj4QdNz8pY1UmR_edUtpr7SYjTxX3S3qzpL_0Tqp2fl2vxwxspvpw9Hzbx47lohpxz2YiUSZi3JInd8uj8eEOOOc3rT2A4/s320/Beckett1.jpg" border="0" /></a>I am thankful that He answered our prayers in ways we never could have expected. I am thankful and humbled by God's grace, mercy, power, and love. I am thankful that I have experienced God's hand divinely placed on Matt, Beckett, and me. I am thankful that God gave me Beckett to take care of, love on, and raise him to be a man seeking after God's heart. I am thankful that everyday I get to hold, hug, and kiss Beckett. I am thankful that I get to see Beckett breath, laugh, smile, and I am thankful to the wonderful Maker and Creator who intricately formed and made him so perfect. I am thankful that November 30th is no longer associated with fear, sadness, and despair, but with hope and joy that we have an amazing Savior who performs miracles. I am thankful.</div><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPESA06LYVok-WmURJVVafphazKr_MbmE2I3jOCXqHbpeFDKE_2hLkvulaXVAmdxlmVwbEMrQnypenM6Ie0tGFN-ne2FZTUaYusgIetmtaAp0jvGsvrNHw4ZG6LkIF94RJDAnf4_ulXt8/s1600-h/IMG_1367.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274649417385769314" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPESA06LYVok-WmURJVVafphazKr_MbmE2I3jOCXqHbpeFDKE_2hLkvulaXVAmdxlmVwbEMrQnypenM6Ie0tGFN-ne2FZTUaYusgIetmtaAp0jvGsvrNHw4ZG6LkIF94RJDAnf4_ulXt8/s320/IMG_1367.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikh76m6GQ1ruLiD1TQ8Q1jk2a8nHhVWXmMj_Sq5W8uvn1FZB3wTtMRNZVBnRqcFaB-tkdngTIySoradZjMX8oV9YobiXYYX9Sam0Ov5cwGjinWpDqp9mw7eAJbBLo7IypBirs4D3pDPtg/s1600-h/IMG_0200.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274650623208761506" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikh76m6GQ1ruLiD1TQ8Q1jk2a8nHhVWXmMj_Sq5W8uvn1FZB3wTtMRNZVBnRqcFaB-tkdngTIySoradZjMX8oV9YobiXYYX9Sam0Ov5cwGjinWpDqp9mw7eAJbBLo7IypBirs4D3pDPtg/s320/IMG_0200.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvZDrgdIdTZBln9XQ0ISvGTBUNr2PFI9hfLhVVRR2FcUNh_7BgJERvYHs4DbjN7LxjYMpZTGQgfrXmimEiR0_OuUpY2VuXZTsE_T6GY3ZrsU1WIqw9Yw2gR-MatTs9Gm1Jr4EwTNafQo/s1600-h/IMG_0197.JPG"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvZDrgdIdTZBln9XQ0ISvGTBUNr2PFI9hfLhVVRR2FcUNh_7BgJERvYHs4DbjN7LxjYMpZTGQgfrXmimEiR0_OuUpY2VuXZTsE_T6GY3ZrsU1WIqw9Yw2gR-MatTs9Gm1Jr4EwTNafQo/s1600-h/IMG_0197.JPG"></a> </div></div></div></div></div>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-64966633071304708382008-11-11T09:24:00.000-08:002008-11-11T09:34:30.503-08:00Successful SurgeryBeckett made it through his surgery like a champ! He even decided that he was going to crawl for the first time the day after his surgery. I don't want to go into too many details about the surgery because one day Beckett will not appreciate it, but the surgery was unrelated to his CDH. He had hypospadias. (I'll let you google it if you want to know more about.) Needless to say, the recovery has been a little rough! Diaper changes were not fun, but hopefully we're on the up and up now! We go back in this Friday for the doctor to look at things and take some stitches out.<br /><br />Thanks for all of your prayers! :) We will try to get some pictures up soon!Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-59680360387507868092008-11-02T18:11:00.000-08:002008-11-02T18:15:07.232-08:00SurgeryI know we've neglected the blog a little this past month. We'll get some pictures up soon. We did want to let everyone know that Beckett is having a minor surgery on Wednesday. This is unrelated to his problems he had at birth and should be a routine thing, however, we would appreciate prayers during this time. It's never an easy feeling when you know your child is going under the knife. Anyway, thanks for your prayers and we'll get some pictures up shortly.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-87835951754760450342008-09-30T14:39:00.000-07:002008-09-30T18:04:45.738-07:00Baby Burrito<p align="center"><em>How to make a baby burrito</em>:</p><p align="center">1. Lay baby on back.</p><p align="center">2. Baby turns quickly over to stomach while holding onto blanket.</p><p align="center">3. Baby is quite pleased with himself.</p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpIrtj9UVcBj45WOuvOXoytkZ0uH-llf8AZqSxALpdRoqRmkq52lihCmTfgr7cX7XGNWTYBxYuYPTYnFr8slda_OmZaz9ibhKrRVJw66fvmEElWiOQ6VpIOIqvhbmZxTO455UfIsuGTc/s1600-h/IMG_1133.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251933630544596962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpIrtj9UVcBj45WOuvOXoytkZ0uH-llf8AZqSxALpdRoqRmkq52lihCmTfgr7cX7XGNWTYBxYuYPTYnFr8slda_OmZaz9ibhKrRVJw66fvmEElWiOQ6VpIOIqvhbmZxTO455UfIsuGTc/s320/IMG_1133.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZEnu1H5c7M46gwa3BeYCbig0KGhrCDd4yNZcfwb8J7pb2joOgtOaNGCNtv6ZvBL_0jezRiNcZ8Vr95Kzh5ihD8CjeRHzbVaJMkJJDanrKW6ELFxFdyzEsADwHdarKngNGrKN3rrJw4A/s1600-h/IMG_1135.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251933742223139266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZEnu1H5c7M46gwa3BeYCbig0KGhrCDd4yNZcfwb8J7pb2joOgtOaNGCNtv6ZvBL_0jezRiNcZ8Vr95Kzh5ihD8CjeRHzbVaJMkJJDanrKW6ELFxFdyzEsADwHdarKngNGrKN3rrJw4A/s320/IMG_1135.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUbP9FTdVG-s2VF2J3rIl6sfBB2_u2pyy9eEVgzKJW3bkVhD6ZcFqwOC8sUZxkbjvSdUVidByuahiTTd5UuDIhx-zuT6qKP036YGRWwIIDx0Li4lUYY5es1IxSNHoIvSzxVLXeoqNYjY/s1600-h/IMG_1136.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251933772875468050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUbP9FTdVG-s2VF2J3rIl6sfBB2_u2pyy9eEVgzKJW3bkVhD6ZcFqwOC8sUZxkbjvSdUVidByuahiTTd5UuDIhx-zuT6qKP036YGRWwIIDx0Li4lUYY5es1IxSNHoIvSzxVLXeoqNYjY/s320/IMG_1136.JPG" border="0" /></a></p>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-62509431673087363332008-09-30T13:44:00.000-07:002008-09-30T18:10:52.719-07:00Two little miraclesBeckett and I had a playdate with one of my friends from school. Beth and I both had difficult pregnacies so we bonded a lot last year. Beckett and Jillian were born 4 days apart, and it's fun to get them together and see how they interact.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUturLLgWxQCE_Woel51QhOEG-rhHtvrPbBdxkKKuM0cTwrOwzMG6Man2_S8JoAtOe8K00kTMmsSofZs-F6xt1kft8kJ8qYs8kmBW92c3HvuuxUaeZ_xJgQtcaNYzJuJRhILAQ3q2KNA/s1600-h/IMG_1120.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251923120283826498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUturLLgWxQCE_Woel51QhOEG-rhHtvrPbBdxkKKuM0cTwrOwzMG6Man2_S8JoAtOe8K00kTMmsSofZs-F6xt1kft8kJ8qYs8kmBW92c3HvuuxUaeZ_xJgQtcaNYzJuJRhILAQ3q2KNA/s320/IMG_1120.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center">So sweet....two little friends<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCo1yTsH3S2H99_CCseDy9ou_VMV31Ap-dfj_bmuF7wkYwrf8C6BqHAi8eYEsHTzxZZmDVhETR2lCTtE1neAvi85lKu4YCdXF-46CsK30hs6Ch2DWKv1BjW72azatv7JvxG5KPsNZD0w/s1600-h/IMG_1114.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wLI1LTRZxW81lw6Uuay5MwJ3WocXuIGnQXK88eGbY-iB4qkIAXWlQ9kOodqskCC9WUiALBOpDJuMtXTUC-25a7e3iPlGmFWse2aG-SzalK4fp1hgDKzYhJH2Va4MRI1zgM_JFQByr3s/s1600-h/IMG_1116.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251920250162452114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wLI1LTRZxW81lw6Uuay5MwJ3WocXuIGnQXK88eGbY-iB4qkIAXWlQ9kOodqskCC9WUiALBOpDJuMtXTUC-25a7e3iPlGmFWse2aG-SzalK4fp1hgDKzYhJH2Va4MRI1zgM_JFQByr3s/s320/IMG_1116.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Beckett and Jillian<br /><br /><p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9yNmgSTlV3-KJEm9LSW9ISdbfPzk9oDnX1aBRRt1x6TTbMc4nKLNpMmYcacd44wqo0IAevWVDIHhxyd6Aix6keJwoW871hrQqAcCXws5qZjVf9vWL8ZChfz8SLUN1TjQmQ76VqOwlw8/s1600-h/IMG_1118.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251920260690509122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9yNmgSTlV3-KJEm9LSW9ISdbfPzk9oDnX1aBRRt1x6TTbMc4nKLNpMmYcacd44wqo0IAevWVDIHhxyd6Aix6keJwoW871hrQqAcCXws5qZjVf9vWL8ZChfz8SLUN1TjQmQ76VqOwlw8/s320/IMG_1118.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Checking each other out</p></div>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-40753314748775436952008-09-25T13:08:00.001-07:002008-09-25T13:33:43.859-07:00A Haiku by Beckett<div align="left"><span style="font-family:courier new;">shot days are the worst<br />good thing i have tylenol<br />teething also stinks</span></div><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuN2fQkHD1qw_2t9EfNBfRnl3DH1DYyztg2avc-ECP65bqf2hM4oSdtjklA7Gv1OY1MW3VPH4WYlTp2xJ4SoT73TKmy9Wob8y6C2Oa-lp-84wBmSv6LheU_E33tuZ_AZVuX58nwtDCeyI/s1600-h/IMG_1111.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250057940516193490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuN2fQkHD1qw_2t9EfNBfRnl3DH1DYyztg2avc-ECP65bqf2hM4oSdtjklA7Gv1OY1MW3VPH4WYlTp2xJ4SoT73TKmy9Wob8y6C2Oa-lp-84wBmSv6LheU_E33tuZ_AZVuX58nwtDCeyI/s320/IMG_1111.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMlpGeO2mulXJsqU4DmzMO_H5NV0Ji8b3v-EA04om-tdOfARfKI18HSDhX_cfyJqelochwd9bXZecoFvvqIjDUqtlJfiNnM8Y-HzXkBdFHtTKpi2Ff-6h9u_YBY1uqWFnr_CWNdgWSlo/s1600-h/IMG_1110.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMlpGeO2mulXJsqU4DmzMO_H5NV0Ji8b3v-EA04om-tdOfARfKI18HSDhX_cfyJqelochwd9bXZecoFvvqIjDUqtlJfiNnM8Y-HzXkBdFHtTKpi2Ff-6h9u_YBY1uqWFnr_CWNdgWSlo/s1600-h/IMG_1110.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250057946553835794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMlpGeO2mulXJsqU4DmzMO_H5NV0Ji8b3v-EA04om-tdOfARfKI18HSDhX_cfyJqelochwd9bXZecoFvvqIjDUqtlJfiNnM8Y-HzXkBdFHtTKpi2Ff-6h9u_YBY1uqWFnr_CWNdgWSlo/s320/IMG_1110.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMlpGeO2mulXJsqU4DmzMO_H5NV0Ji8b3v-EA04om-tdOfARfKI18HSDhX_cfyJqelochwd9bXZecoFvvqIjDUqtlJfiNnM8Y-HzXkBdFHtTKpi2Ff-6h9u_YBY1uqWFnr_CWNdgWSlo/s1600-h/IMG_1110.JPG"></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMlpGeO2mulXJsqU4DmzMO_H5NV0Ji8b3v-EA04om-tdOfARfKI18HSDhX_cfyJqelochwd9bXZecoFvvqIjDUqtlJfiNnM8Y-HzXkBdFHtTKpi2Ff-6h9u_YBY1uqWFnr_CWNdgWSlo/s1600-h/IMG_1110.JPG"></a>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-19360653883493522692008-09-23T18:02:00.001-07:002008-09-23T18:16:49.232-07:00Beary CuteSome updates on our little cub-- 16lb 13oz 25 1/2in<br />Beckett is trying so hard to crawl. He definitely has the back scoot down, and he can get up on his knees, but he's working on moving forward. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUfw4RAApp-uQ6unPa5jwacTDoIr5y4HxnksXXlcUVhJPFff5Kms4OROm5zKxzkuELM2jPh8rS0ilfovX3NvaVPgekrg0qUnANtQiXv6I3uQ-BwXju3Gd9tek506G91yy_I7Eqy84y8Ia/s1600-h/IMG_1045.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUfw4RAApp-uQ6unPa5jwacTDoIr5y4HxnksXXlcUVhJPFff5Kms4OROm5zKxzkuELM2jPh8rS0ilfovX3NvaVPgekrg0qUnANtQiXv6I3uQ-BwXju3Gd9tek506G91yy_I7Eqy84y8Ia/s320/IMG_1045.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249389206488776930" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2oHajlXKAW8onWw8Fa45y8yU64wSZuIyHDcT463my0PIYB2xGC1mfx5gWRxAr77mjZC2hFI1gz7iplR-2A7_HNOI4ZB9MJWi3o3F97EFCQuxRYZ8We-Mhyphenhyphen8EKgWdcWPs8BQKmW97yhWNH/s1600-h/IMG_1081.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2oHajlXKAW8onWw8Fa45y8yU64wSZuIyHDcT463my0PIYB2xGC1mfx5gWRxAr77mjZC2hFI1gz7iplR-2A7_HNOI4ZB9MJWi3o3F97EFCQuxRYZ8We-Mhyphenhyphen8EKgWdcWPs8BQKmW97yhWNH/s320/IMG_1081.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249388400899402562" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Relaxing before bed<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-63068996460718999072008-09-10T16:16:00.000-07:002008-09-10T16:40:34.415-07:00Almost 6 Months!?!?Time is flying! We can't believe our little man is almost halfway to a year old! Every day he's doing something new. He's rolling over, and he's trying so hard to crawl. We love playing and loving on him!! Here's some of our latest pictures. Enjoy!!! :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2ugVtqftlDzO6o3UNBjNaoOde95cToikRLfdhrLckuLvkebgT_oUggJ4IIAS9NuAgfyrbYEumd4-DA5KldpYp2LeCk3djopcH81KkxKqwBSUFyZXydkrRsqt0sOyAyfV5Wg43XmkfK9G/s1600-h/IMG_0946.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2ugVtqftlDzO6o3UNBjNaoOde95cToikRLfdhrLckuLvkebgT_oUggJ4IIAS9NuAgfyrbYEumd4-DA5KldpYp2LeCk3djopcH81KkxKqwBSUFyZXydkrRsqt0sOyAyfV5Wg43XmkfK9G/s320/IMG_0946.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244538194576086466" border="0" /></a><br />Don't you just love that crooked little smile??<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTRXVLfTXfsPS6E8c2OLuumAc-AFQO4t-1GfVOOxRfKjlUj0njlGriXEKI6sQAUgXqwgO1vvRgtIHvX66YDekqoMy6NFb58FyO2U_iAfiaJpEfhlPDMegIJb8zNbv7rjlLzvMeimF3dfI/s1600-h/IMG_0918.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTRXVLfTXfsPS6E8c2OLuumAc-AFQO4t-1GfVOOxRfKjlUj0njlGriXEKI6sQAUgXqwgO1vvRgtIHvX66YDekqoMy6NFb58FyO2U_iAfiaJpEfhlPDMegIJb8zNbv7rjlLzvMeimF3dfI/s320/IMG_0918.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244538200989533986" border="0" /></a><br />Already reading-makes his mama proud!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHWo9al0EoE2yWzPOA_k-gj_0TW9DIYJwWhg34tlr7J7_3IzS4dZ1EZH63dZ-Ivb8dm2-EhehIojayprfRDWw1YpFf1lbNfDnfGw7o8padc7MmZOFrg5ZtOd0NmSiJmMB3oyA6NpRMLUd/s1600-h/IMG_0968.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHWo9al0EoE2yWzPOA_k-gj_0TW9DIYJwWhg34tlr7J7_3IzS4dZ1EZH63dZ-Ivb8dm2-EhehIojayprfRDWw1YpFf1lbNfDnfGw7o8padc7MmZOFrg5ZtOd0NmSiJmMB3oyA6NpRMLUd/s320/IMG_0968.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244538206526948818" border="0" /></a><br />What a precious tush!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyWIJkFCchtfDPbh85a-RwXYEV8rlWdbgdMbxeLKzpXnh0weJ6Op7nK2PPAhSrHFLvE_L-p8s_WZ-F_nHXxwQD8NgfIulL0D_Y0bSRjcUPhdDfIsWqpt2SLoK-zPn6kZYjZMdxI5DXvGa/s1600-h/IMG_0842.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyWIJkFCchtfDPbh85a-RwXYEV8rlWdbgdMbxeLKzpXnh0weJ6Op7nK2PPAhSrHFLvE_L-p8s_WZ-F_nHXxwQD8NgfIulL0D_Y0bSRjcUPhdDfIsWqpt2SLoK-zPn6kZYjZMdxI5DXvGa/s320/IMG_0842.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244538214007052802" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Love that cute little face!!!<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-82046891359105680172008-08-06T19:02:00.000-07:002008-08-06T20:05:53.730-07:00Providence VideoA few weeks ago, we were approached by someone on staff at our church and asked if we would film a video that would help illustrate the power of prayer. Of course, we were very excited to share the story of Beckett and God's answer to our prayers. One of the things we had prayed during the months prior to Beckett's birth was that God would work a miracle and use it to encourage others and bring glory to His name. We felt like showing this video at church may have had the affect we prayed for.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_FXgp4bU8lY"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_FXgp4bU8lY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></embed> </object>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-11277173035060490992008-07-31T20:24:00.000-07:002008-08-01T08:56:35.102-07:00Beckett the Musician<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwYhoWao0OH38MYeVAikFjf3pocn3y12WEhyEKy8Vb3KZC5KHFNYRfKeceT4Rh3JFuL1NGPHSMjN7DMSRXouw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-82935725618594589242008-07-12T12:00:00.000-07:002008-07-15T07:43:41.706-07:00Surfer Dude!Last night we went to a birthday party at a splash park for Matt's good friend Chris Kouba's daughter. We'd never been to one of these before, so we didn't know how Beckett would like all the water. We got him all dressed up in his Surfer Dude outfit and took him out. He seemed to do pretty well with the mist, but he'll probably enjoy it a lot more in a few months. Anyway, here are some pictures from our fun evening.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmiitQlUduYYNBptkcZT9xwkOp9AgEP2Q9yZciv-x8EFzLpdjuftcZr5paRtownML3TCvodQF0jiSggGQTpTaCIaxzlwfztaZc38QBoJf9L8tTI2F0kIzX3cOUtf3hHy6uJNsZliVKLk1/s1600-h/IMG_0724.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmiitQlUduYYNBptkcZT9xwkOp9AgEP2Q9yZciv-x8EFzLpdjuftcZr5paRtownML3TCvodQF0jiSggGQTpTaCIaxzlwfztaZc38QBoJf9L8tTI2F0kIzX3cOUtf3hHy6uJNsZliVKLk1/s320/IMG_0724.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222206909731173634" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAt4sky0xjfAG7ii3GFb0jjhX0-vRBq0zy84dUiU3iRyq6KJ6erhD4jMzkWyBVFK1XVXE07EKM7klB6TGAx8zcW8F_O_M7lNWMRjVNNnIaICkVVSh9FssVGIHx7mqSoaVedwiptUuwMmX/s1600-h/IMG_0722.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAt4sky0xjfAG7ii3GFb0jjhX0-vRBq0zy84dUiU3iRyq6KJ6erhD4jMzkWyBVFK1XVXE07EKM7klB6TGAx8zcW8F_O_M7lNWMRjVNNnIaICkVVSh9FssVGIHx7mqSoaVedwiptUuwMmX/s320/IMG_0722.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222212690655845890" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJ4ESuSR2_sgIiRTTMTMBzElgtrYYlMnNw1CE9VJskpeRc28W2FahtJhHvp_chZbGBy4OcTY5H3kT5nahO9KWP6AE1cCN1giPxoYafKel7NXFkBHxIzOJ4psvI6BBVKiSpzbO44zW3nXP/s1600-h/IMG_0717.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJ4ESuSR2_sgIiRTTMTMBzElgtrYYlMnNw1CE9VJskpeRc28W2FahtJhHvp_chZbGBy4OcTY5H3kT5nahO9KWP6AE1cCN1giPxoYafKel7NXFkBHxIzOJ4psvI6BBVKiSpzbO44zW3nXP/s320/IMG_0717.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222212702527939634" border="0" /></a><br />Matt, Beckett and Chris<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-90131809378816774762008-06-28T10:13:00.000-07:002008-06-28T10:33:16.184-07:00Blog UpdatesSo we are very behind on updating this blog...as many of you have kindly informed us :-)<br /><br />Beckett is doing very well. He's starting to smile and coo more every day. He's definitely a night owl so far and thinks his bed time is around 1am. I think he likes to make sure he can watch Letterman each night.<br /><br />Anyway, here are some of his latest pictures!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGM5qVKfJ_9YjcX-AcXd7RGDTQCU6Lodc9UNY07sKbUQL76EVOM9_hT_fJQXbeCShDKk266rujnihPM0jiS9GL6ZHGIweqN69OHBXXDbKgTQyni00nlwGyu_6ZI3HQaRC5T2IYwk3pvyP0/s1600-h/IMG_0685.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGM5qVKfJ_9YjcX-AcXd7RGDTQCU6Lodc9UNY07sKbUQL76EVOM9_hT_fJQXbeCShDKk266rujnihPM0jiS9GL6ZHGIweqN69OHBXXDbKgTQyni00nlwGyu_6ZI3HQaRC5T2IYwk3pvyP0/s320/IMG_0685.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216985064803622130" border="0" /></a><br />Check me out!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfVg5uXNnypb-OZeNXm-vUBxAs0FJhKZay5IJ5Q1pmMqB_q8GNYlchP9fly_hfuM3eQYg0f3vfSJ_QaQEU3NGzCBPKVpKXd57aQI8vMgis0yFgZ5ZSF8rkdcWIi7LUlkjLHnv6Wm-emFf/s1600-h/IMG_0687.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfVg5uXNnypb-OZeNXm-vUBxAs0FJhKZay5IJ5Q1pmMqB_q8GNYlchP9fly_hfuM3eQYg0f3vfSJ_QaQEU3NGzCBPKVpKXd57aQI8vMgis0yFgZ5ZSF8rkdcWIi7LUlkjLHnv6Wm-emFf/s320/IMG_0687.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216985606375515634" border="0" /></a><br />Can't a guy get some sleep around here??<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWhLOXDNmBdikaXnKIpVWCndRqNSrvqFwP8ESdPubv2lvNYkehWBCK6dgNePrMqFpy-_5SR6xewfIaXOSKl7-hyqhs93kexN3JeCTUwijJZQD8J5mDOzLH-IIowGMgMo_aSea8jZ2sJxn/s1600-h/IMG_0699.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWhLOXDNmBdikaXnKIpVWCndRqNSrvqFwP8ESdPubv2lvNYkehWBCK6dgNePrMqFpy-_5SR6xewfIaXOSKl7-hyqhs93kexN3JeCTUwijJZQD8J5mDOzLH-IIowGMgMo_aSea8jZ2sJxn/s320/IMG_0699.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216986493385786338" border="0" /></a><br />Trying to smile<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-73311372031135714902008-06-02T20:20:00.000-07:002008-06-02T20:42:25.230-07:00Pictures<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNhwovFnh2laMUBJrBdvhjM5aPYWCGz_CSU6V2mZpHoLXyG2Eb10ukk0lEZlX7J1n0jzLBb9sVZe-3ncbPJf96j3xiZ7d3lhvJLKHHwIsnNPa8y4BrHw09DO0SptWSHdwIPhWKn8ueqo/s1600-h/IMG_0606.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207494116244462562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNhwovFnh2laMUBJrBdvhjM5aPYWCGz_CSU6V2mZpHoLXyG2Eb10ukk0lEZlX7J1n0jzLBb9sVZe-3ncbPJf96j3xiZ7d3lhvJLKHHwIsnNPa8y4BrHw09DO0SptWSHdwIPhWKn8ueqo/s320/IMG_0606.JPG" border="0" /></a> "I'm so worn out!"<br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4WKKk4MVqqI4TXTnUgmgYuHh1aFOMKbT_MANGmn-DzbJbV4vVJzs0_zpYirs2ZKMAMZOQsTMBBqpCUdxmXFe913lrmIYx2F47wxCg_5dXGhow03XdHTYCLIefZ_-bk8NXjHAQYP55rQ/s1600-h/IMG_0631.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207493484884270034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4WKKk4MVqqI4TXTnUgmgYuHh1aFOMKbT_MANGmn-DzbJbV4vVJzs0_zpYirs2ZKMAMZOQsTMBBqpCUdxmXFe913lrmIYx2F47wxCg_5dXGhow03XdHTYCLIefZ_-bk8NXjHAQYP55rQ/s320/IMG_0631.JPG" border="0" /></a> Surf's up Dudes!</div><br /><div align="center"><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hiXy343FF5MBMCKKwJK5t1qOuRoHhvJxIF0nseyOPiumEUFR7Sz9k2g8ITvF8TWI2JDqGgZaQqxVtTdKPSifSevvKOYcisVqkfxtAHwncphgFkdvjL7fQwv85_tWO-8J47iXdmloWP0/s1600-h/IMG_0569.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207493042502638530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hiXy343FF5MBMCKKwJK5t1qOuRoHhvJxIF0nseyOPiumEUFR7Sz9k2g8ITvF8TWI2JDqGgZaQqxVtTdKPSifSevvKOYcisVqkfxtAHwncphgFkdvjL7fQwv85_tWO-8J47iXdmloWP0/s320/IMG_0569.JPG" border="0" /></a> Sweet Baby<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkNzd0GV5DMeWorznHaO1qkkAKDAy5IfRsFoKMn6xmWZDr8qtvvEfKtmkM8iNORCvcxjPiucaptuIP6WA0F0BSAfQl84AMMtpnsWbDRv5IaDYMk-VMwqyCHSFCHH_EiSq4_0eh3FxB8M/s1600-h/IMG_0613.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207491887156435874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkNzd0GV5DMeWorznHaO1qkkAKDAy5IfRsFoKMn6xmWZDr8qtvvEfKtmkM8iNORCvcxjPiucaptuIP6WA0F0BSAfQl84AMMtpnsWbDRv5IaDYMk-VMwqyCHSFCHH_EiSq4_0eh3FxB8M/s320/IMG_0613.JPG" border="0" /></a> Dad and Beckett</div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93P4NKm533VJGxvYcsPOmgLLHW-W-xRk84vT0Qy8Ela5hSkfYDd6T55SOVl4A1TIPfU2zcIaswdqv6Sv-yTjVUQ4-4zO-FFbe7Q8NQYk42drOQ4kMqMnWOUraR16QlX6_kgRvCQP7UIU/s1600-h/IMG_0627.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207491474839575442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93P4NKm533VJGxvYcsPOmgLLHW-W-xRk84vT0Qy8Ela5hSkfYDd6T55SOVl4A1TIPfU2zcIaswdqv6Sv-yTjVUQ4-4zO-FFbe7Q8NQYk42drOQ4kMqMnWOUraR16QlX6_kgRvCQP7UIU/s320/IMG_0627.JPG" border="0" /></a> Beckett after bath time.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1eT_vkWnPGJPgbWFeWYHeKJZk3y97hVtyItuz7ABjDBTUyXrzznqVVH_KKQT2kzuQ_CeBVeoV-D0ghSalwdShub4JgfcjMejllVa-JqjUliGh7o4ylMauE2i-a5pKJtEkLFUCL_hLKc/s1600-h/IMG_0640.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207490396802784114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1eT_vkWnPGJPgbWFeWYHeKJZk3y97hVtyItuz7ABjDBTUyXrzznqVVH_KKQT2kzuQ_CeBVeoV-D0ghSalwdShub4JgfcjMejllVa-JqjUliGh7o4ylMauE2i-a5pKJtEkLFUCL_hLKc/s320/IMG_0640.JPG" border="0" /></a> Crazy Uncle Mark visiting with Cousins Peyton and Devin. Thanks for coming over! :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOszZem9GpbOXKav2DYGcvvN6bO6GbLFJcOCEzIan-kJsyg-26HpWZ4xhGMQdU-e_tmRaoRgwBI_1pmThzV3xivSpmPPefvk7AfKIlTJ2QPuszLBF9EWGzmQTldMkN46LnV0DxNMrHgmc/s1600-h/IMG_0618.JPG"></a></div></div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-32428783084735209772008-06-02T20:01:00.000-07:002008-06-02T20:45:14.071-07:00What's wrong with this picture?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4BmVaouc1VItnMckAVQYVhon9p29xJGJVZ5lvuRMPwAgEvDJ54QhZoU13QgtLbeQtYmr_CEE-LhNdtSj1gV7SegbiLz7y09hK2JVAt3V9H7nW2xpZHa2Jyr8vAAZfKbossWliZkYd3o/s1600-h/IMG_0643.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207488567146716002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4BmVaouc1VItnMckAVQYVhon9p29xJGJVZ5lvuRMPwAgEvDJ54QhZoU13QgtLbeQtYmr_CEE-LhNdtSj1gV7SegbiLz7y09hK2JVAt3V9H7nW2xpZHa2Jyr8vAAZfKbossWliZkYd3o/s320/IMG_0643.JPG" border="0" /></a> The other night Matt was helping me out with Beckett, and I asked him to change Beckett into his pajama's before I fed him. This is how Matt brought him to me-the shirt inside out!! The best part is that Matt had NO clue! :) I just started laughing. All this no sleep is catching up to us. I wonder if it was hard to snap that way.<br /><div> </div>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05720429175680402688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-47851204519284852012008-05-17T14:00:00.000-07:002008-05-18T13:35:51.464-07:00Shots!Beckett went to his 2 month appointment last week. The doctor said he's had "excellent weight gain" and is now 8 lbs/12 oz and 21 inches long. He got all of his injections and we heard a new cry that showed off his great lung capacity :-) Luckily, the doctor had bugs bunny band-aids to make it all better.<br /><br />Here's some of his latest pictures:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHjrQNX_iECpilBQtii-jCm3aan-EZj2jItJXywsQFvUeW0yE0lhe2VzBpzbtdeoN2GgUuusYyzkZsqwJ1P9c6y7gCJZDmTih8ruNaH0Fby3BDkH89HZwBNp92Nhci8ptb4h0aqceOhK5/s1600-h/IMG_0541.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHjrQNX_iECpilBQtii-jCm3aan-EZj2jItJXywsQFvUeW0yE0lhe2VzBpzbtdeoN2GgUuusYyzkZsqwJ1P9c6y7gCJZDmTih8ruNaH0Fby3BDkH89HZwBNp92Nhci8ptb4h0aqceOhK5/s320/IMG_0541.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201817106876333346" border="0" /></a><br />Cool Band-aids<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6uRzhW9hDb3m9hkzACZWmo0OY32uYk0wkRUGoR0ZRQV9frTo_Zp_JUD-PqCbUGwPU9jTYwAaxu9xuO3I4BWcLGsDE2q9SDrJQYGLInrZMM-gZGMLAzClghYM8lD9z7D878ZqpiswKq8-I/s1600-h/IMG_0480.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6uRzhW9hDb3m9hkzACZWmo0OY32uYk0wkRUGoR0ZRQV9frTo_Zp_JUD-PqCbUGwPU9jTYwAaxu9xuO3I4BWcLGsDE2q9SDrJQYGLInrZMM-gZGMLAzClghYM8lD9z7D878ZqpiswKq8-I/s320/IMG_0480.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201818335236980018" border="0" /></a><br />Bath Time<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tmzIPrTcLSsViS1a4uTvp9DsFP1XC5KUeE_reKJtP2adgiK944ZK0CuuK3xTdnH_E34oSE1kpGGZKSH0jie28ykhVVGP9iJukcRX-kswvp7NYr3ykIu0k7AwFzvcJC9Ms6GflTCKadNx/s1600-h/IMG_0553.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tmzIPrTcLSsViS1a4uTvp9DsFP1XC5KUeE_reKJtP2adgiK944ZK0CuuK3xTdnH_E34oSE1kpGGZKSH0jie28ykhVVGP9iJukcRX-kswvp7NYr3ykIu0k7AwFzvcJC9Ms6GflTCKadNx/s320/IMG_0553.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201819207115341122" border="0" /></a><br />Too Much Fun<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-22476835393194558842008-04-26T20:39:00.000-07:002008-04-26T21:01:41.572-07:00Playing Catch UpSo we're still trying to catch everyone up on how Beckett's been doing and we'll have some more frequent blog posts now that we have this thing up and running.<br /><br />We went back to see the surgeon on Friday for a follow-up appointment and he says that Beckett looks really good. He weighed 7 and a half lbs and is gaining weight like a champ...I promise we're not doing any weight training in the gym yet.<br /><br />A few people have asked about what his scar looks like. We'll put a few pictures below and one has a good view of his manly scar.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDgtu_j9THM0XUiU90APNNNLyDZGX1KdaEGWdfid6EnMa-mOQnrxXAeU_9Qcld67f_g3NGlAtD1HALgkRQkPQTJQkiOno_qaIaMBsPaBaeScM1ipGGon4wvGgwctSzCsOxHH1kS0-NQQq/s1600-h/IMG_0241.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDgtu_j9THM0XUiU90APNNNLyDZGX1KdaEGWdfid6EnMa-mOQnrxXAeU_9Qcld67f_g3NGlAtD1HALgkRQkPQTJQkiOno_qaIaMBsPaBaeScM1ipGGon4wvGgwctSzCsOxHH1kS0-NQQq/s320/IMG_0241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193767864221838946" border="0" /></a>Leaving the Hospital<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4qeHcE1ehjlAPNjePEOhl_U6W3PZNFkjlmppIQyUqM2KL7xSurcBRVZSK6AnWKPb-SbWyMrWTR1trFdS21nD165bXQrCpsoJaGw-QDY-_cOimNe-P13C6KdWI9yu2xr797DGcXOetTn4/s1600-h/IMG_0132.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4qeHcE1ehjlAPNjePEOhl_U6W3PZNFkjlmppIQyUqM2KL7xSurcBRVZSK6AnWKPb-SbWyMrWTR1trFdS21nD165bXQrCpsoJaGw-QDY-_cOimNe-P13C6KdWI9yu2xr797DGcXOetTn4/s320/IMG_0132.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193768697445494386" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Old Man Beckett Pose<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWh2KEYMqstFvgIBi-MR0iKKHC0iBtF7mQwL8satqzPGryGEg0eJy4luD5LYTVdzjY-w67LV_bTOiDfIK3tBJQA3eWVzv0_-DqHUp12LALcCtC1C0xbQEBFF6QI7vCylNp9jKODSdJ_hTm/s1600-h/IMG_0371.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWh2KEYMqstFvgIBi-MR0iKKHC0iBtF7mQwL8satqzPGryGEg0eJy4luD5LYTVdzjY-w67LV_bTOiDfIK3tBJQA3eWVzv0_-DqHUp12LALcCtC1C0xbQEBFF6QI7vCylNp9jKODSdJ_hTm/s320/IMG_0371.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193769973050781314" border="0" /></a><br />Battle Wound<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-63882394447786079352008-04-23T19:01:00.000-07:002008-04-23T19:07:01.172-07:00Beckett's Story...Unexpected, but MiraculousThis is a list of the emails we sent out for a few weeks right after Beckett was delivered:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">March 17, 2008</span><div><br />Much to the Rakes' surprise, Beckett Micah Rakes was born this morning around 7 am. He is doing well and is breathing with some assistance from a ventilator. He was 17 3/4 inches long, and Matt said he had "chubby little cheeks." Beckett weighed 4 lbs 13 oz, which the doctors say is very good for his age and for being delivered early. Likely, they'll perform an operation on Beckett in the next few days to address the hernia condition, but for now he's stable.<br /><br />Courtney went into labor Monday morning around 1 am and they headed to the hospital. Doctors performed a C-section around 7 am and put Beckett on a ventilator to provide some assistance with breathing. Matt said Beckett is doing most of his breathing on his own, which is a miracle from the Lord. They have not been able to see him much yet, but will get to spend more time with him later this morning.<br /><br />Matt was really optimistic about how well his son was doing. This is certainly great news and they're very excited. We can continue to pray for lung development and for Courtney to recover quickly. They don't know about visitors yet, but he'll send another note once they have more details.</div> <div> </div><span style="font-weight: bold;">March 18, 2008<br /></span><div>Just an update on how things are going...</div> <div> </div> <div>Beckett did well during his first day. Given his progress, the doctor believes that there is no reason to delay the hernia surgery so they will be operating later this morning. Matt asked that we pray the surgery goes well and that Beckett recovers quickly. The first 48 hours after the surgery are important so if he can progress through that time frame, the doctors consider that a big step in his recovery. </div> <div> </div> <div>Courtney is doing fine as well. She did get to visit Beckett once yesterday. She's recuperating and is eager to recover quickly so she can spend more time with her son. She's in transit from the recovery room to a private room at Parkland so they aren't quite settled yet.</div> <div> </div> <div>Matt and Courtney wanted to say thanks for all your prayers and support. They'd love to have visitors, but it might be easier once they're settled in a private room. I'll send another update after Beckett gets out of surgery.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">March 23, 2008<br /></span>Courtney and I have finally had a minute to get back from the hospital and send out an update on how things are going...and send some pictures :-) Thanks to Scott for sending out emails earlier.<br /><br />It's certainly been an eventful week. As you know, Courtney's water broke Sunday night and Beckett was born on Monday. He had his surgery on Tuesday, which was a lot sooner than any of us could have hoped for. They told us then that the next 48 hours were critical to his recovery. Beckett made it through those 48 hours with only a minor set back that he has now recovered from.<br /><br />Since that time, Beckett has been exceeding all expectations. He is now breathing completely on his own and is pretty much just being treated as a premature baby. He's receiving small amounts of breast milk that are increasing every 12 hours and he's tolerating that very well. They're hoping to remove some lines that are giving him fluids through his belly button tomorrow. Once those lines are removed, he should be moving to a less critical room where they can provide him care, but don't have to watch him as closely.<br /><br />Honestly, I don't think there is any doubt that this is a miracle sent from above. In November, we were told that he had a 1 in 5 shot of survival, and now today we're being told that we need to start putting a nursery together. What an amazing turn of events. Pretty much every nurse and doctor that we've come across has been almost in disbelief as to how well this has gone. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the staff:<br /><br />"I've worked in the NICU for 14 years and seen a lot of babies with this condition. I have to say that this is really impressive."<br />From the surgeon, "He literally could not be doing any better post surgery. This is truly the work of the Lord."<br /><br />Others have used the words "unbelievable", "amazing", and probably more that I can't think of. I tell you this to illustrate that God has really answered all of our prayers...and then some! From the time we found out about this condition none of this has gone according to our plan. What this really has shown us so far is that His plan is perfect.<br /><br />We again thank you for all of your prayers and ask for continued prayer for Beckett's recovery as he does still have some ways to go before he'll be released from the NICU.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">April 10, 2008<br /></span>We just wanted to give everyone an update on Beckett. He pretty much flew through each step of the process to leave the NICU and after an amazing three weeks, we were able to bring home Beckett on Tuesday. What a great feeling to bring him home at all, let alone after only 3 weeks.<br /><br />The nurse that discharged him told us that she had worked in the NICU for 35 years and that babies that survive this illness are in hospital for at least 8-12 weeks and many times have a lot of problems throughout their life. As I said in a previous email, we heard stories like this all throughout our stay at the hospital.<br /><br />The last couple of nights have been pretty crazy with little sleep, a crying baby, and even a 3:30am piling in to the closet after hearing tornado sirens. We thank God that we are able to start this adventure. <br /><br />We know many of you are eager to meet Beckett and we can't wait for him to meet all of you too. However, please be patient with us as the doctors and nurses restricted us from bringing him out to public places and coming in contact with other children for awhile. Even though he's been given a virtual clean bill of health, he is still premature and thus much more susceptible to illnesses.<br /><br />I know that we've said this before, but we thank all of you who were so faithful to pray for us over the last several months. God has answered our prayers and then some. We give Him all the glory and know that we serve a God who is more powerful than the grim odds we were given.<br /><br /><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-52027166670206693692008-04-23T18:47:00.001-07:002008-04-23T19:00:33.256-07:00Beckett's Story...Pre-DeliverySo Beckett's story is pretty amazing and for those who haven't followed from the beginning, we thought it'd be cool to see the emails over the months:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">November 30, 2007<br /></span>Friends,<br /><br />We had our sonogram yesterday and they found some things that they wanted to look at more in depth with the baby. We went into a specialist today at 2pm and were told that the baby has something called a Diaphragmatic Hernia. Basically, this means that the baby has some organs that should be growing in the abdomen that are actually growing higher up in the chest. This means that this is not leaving enough space for the lungs to fully grow.<br /><br />The doctor told us that from what she saw today, the baby is fine within the womb, but once it's delivered, there is a long road ahead. She told us that when they find this problem this early in the pregnancy there is a 20% chance that the baby would live upon delivery. If that happens there will need to be a lot of treatment and surgeries to help the baby breathe and hope for the lungs to properly grow.<br /><br />Needless to say, we are pretty shocked right now and could use your prayers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">December 6, 2007<br /></span>Hello Everyone,<br /><br />For those of you who haven't heard, we went in for a 19 week sonogram last week and got some pretty startling news. Our baby boy was diagnosed with a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. This basically means that there are some organs growing in the upper part of the chest cavity and making it difficult for the lungs to grow properly. We were told that the baby has a 20% chance at living once he's born.<br /><br />We've received a ton of calls and emails from many of you and that sure does mean a lot to us. We have people praying all over the place and I'd like nothing more than to respond to each of you in April with news of a miracle.<br /><br />To keep everyone in the loop and know what to pray for, we figured we'd send out any periodic updates as we can.<br /><br />Today, we went in for an amniocentesis. While we were in, the doctor did another sonogram and it showed that the stomach is still forming in the upper part of the chest (hence the lungs don't have much room to grow). She made it through the actual amniocentesis like a champ and it seemed to be successful. She's at home and doing well right now. This test is basically to determine whether there are any defects such as Down's syndrome with our baby. We'll get the test back in a couple of weeks.<br /><br />With all the things on our plate right now, we'd sure love to get some good news back in a couple of weeks from those test results. If you all wouldn't mind praying for the results of that test along with the growth of the baby's lungs, we would appreciate it.<br /><br />Thank you again for all of your love and support.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">December 14, 2007<br /></span>Hi All,<br /><br />Just wanted to share a bit of encouraging news with everyone. We went to the Pediatric Cardiologist yesterday to make sure that our baby's heart is ok. Apparently, there are sometimes some issues with heart disease and impingement on the heart with this congenital diaphragmatic hernia diagnosis.<br /><br />We had an ECHO test performed and everything seems to be normal with the heart...except for a displacement to the right which the doctor didn't seem worried about at all. Apparently, this is easily resolved with the surgery to reposition the stomach. Seemed like it should be more complicated to us, but it looks like that shouldn't be a huge concern.<br /><br />Anyway, we were excited to get any good news we could at this point. Our next step is to get those results back from the amniocentesis regarding any chromosome defects. Please continue to pray that those all come back normal. That would be an excellent Christmas gift :-)<br /><br />We'll send out another email once we receive those results and then we probably won't have much to update everyone on until the due date in April.<br /><br />Thanks again for your prayers. We really feel encouraged with all of your support.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">December 21, 2007<br /></span>Hey Everyone,<br /><br />Just wanted to pass along some good news we got at the doctor's office yesterday. We received the results of the amniocentesis back and our boy has normal chromosomes. Needless to say, we were both very excited and relieved by this news. I think we're both glad to know the extent of everything we're dealing with. <br /><br />Thank you so much for your prayers. We feel that this news was definitely an answer to prayer as the risk of these chromosome abnormalities increases dramatically with the congenital diaphragmatic hernia.<br /><br />Please continue to pray for the baby's lungs to develop over the next few months and that we hear a big loud cry when he's born. <br /><br />We probably won't have too much to update everyone on until it gets closer to April and we plan a due date. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">March 11, 2008<br /></span>Friends and Family,<br /><br />It's been awhile since our last update, but we have some news to pass along. We went into the doctor last Friday (33 weeks along) and was put on bed rest. She went back on Monday to take a test that determines whether she's at risk to deliver in the next week or two. This test came out positive. This means that she has a 50/50 chance of delivering in that time frame. For the baby, it'd be best if he can stay in the womb as long as possible (or til April 18th when they want to deliver him).<br /><br />As far as the baby's condition, we found out that part of the small intestines are working their way into the upper chest. We knew this was a possibility, but it's of course best if nothing else moves up there. We still don't know much more about the lung development and won't know the extent of the development until he's born.<br /><br />We has another appointment scheduled for Thursday to see if she's progressed any further. If she has, she may have some more restrictions placed on her. Either way, we're hoping that they'll allow her to go to a couple more appointments she has scheduled in the coming weeks to check in on the baby's condition.<br /><br />Even though this has been a difficult few months, we know that we have a God who is walking through this with us every step of the way. We know that He is hearing all of our prayers and that with Him, all things are possible.<br /><br />Thank you all for all of your support and we'll keep you updated in the coming weeks.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">March 13, 2008<br /></span>We just thought we'd update everyone on some news from today's doctor appointments. She was examined and is still at risk for pre-term labor. They allowed her to stay at home on bed rest as opposed to being hospitalized which is nice for now. She's at 34 weeks now and we're hoping to make it at least another 3 weeks.<br /><br />We also went down to Dallas for a Fetal MRI scan. Courtney was a trooper and laid in the MRI machine for 40 minutes (in a very tight space!). Afterwards, we reviewed the results with a doctor. She told us that they could see some lung development in our baby. The right lung looks to be decently formed and the left lung (where the hernia actually is) shows a little development. The physician was encouraged that there was some lung development on the left side as some babies with this condition don't have any formation at all. Overall, she gave us a "good prognosis for survival outside of the womb." She also mentioned that the longer he stays in the womb the better chance he has to develop his lungs further.<br /><br />Needless to say, this is some of the best news we've heard in awhile! Thank God!<br /><br />Thank you all so much for your prayers. We appreciate that more than you know. We also thank everyone who has been so kind to email or call with words of encouragement.<br /><br />Please continue to pray for Courtney as she's still at risk to deliver early as well as for our baby's lungs to continue development.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7251728204503893367.post-42770694384296904532008-04-13T19:12:00.000-07:002008-04-23T18:42:51.040-07:00Baby BlogSo we're a little late in getting this blog up and running. Beckett was a wonderful surprise and thus we've been running around getting things ready and hadn't had time to devote to the all important baby blog.<br /><br />We're so excited to have the little guy home. In future posts, we'll backtrack a little and tell a little bit more of his story, but for now here are some of our most recent pictures.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVE1AkAx5ZYZbnLGYfW_Eq7duo5clOZtYH3jmKOVEhwvnYiLS2nUqY6cQMZhyO-sZZDszsM7vHIDUOQG2rvnQ0cUGgBagb4NmK-rZFen45SxF_N-P0wCTp0hVDF7OaEqcuYiH9Ae1DO5i/s1600-h/IMG_0360.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVE1AkAx5ZYZbnLGYfW_Eq7duo5clOZtYH3jmKOVEhwvnYiLS2nUqY6cQMZhyO-sZZDszsM7vHIDUOQG2rvnQ0cUGgBagb4NmK-rZFen45SxF_N-P0wCTp0hVDF7OaEqcuYiH9Ae1DO5i/s320/IMG_0360.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192220533533978162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDWgEbvmIWZbkR8LukSXv-_BXAxhI66yCTiVBX9Qk18l8mWMANSufwOTlHOBaoLN1TdDPjnhdoAOwCFuQIPzJA1MHbbB7_pZvIPtiRyonzbDgg_bCRA_QO-TmvwJkrT6HiyloNiX6zDo1/s1600-h/IMG_0290.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDWgEbvmIWZbkR8LukSXv-_BXAxhI66yCTiVBX9Qk18l8mWMANSufwOTlHOBaoLN1TdDPjnhdoAOwCFuQIPzJA1MHbbB7_pZvIPtiRyonzbDgg_bCRA_QO-TmvwJkrT6HiyloNiX6zDo1/s320/IMG_0290.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192221126239465026" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789950353974529477noreply@blogger.com1