I Baptize Thee...

It was a very eventful weekend for our family. Friday night we went out for dinner with a group of family and friends and then went home and got a few things ready for Archer's baptism on Saturday.

We were up early on Saturday preparing for baptism.  What a gloomy, dreary, rainy day. After taking tables, chairs, food and drinks out to Mom and Dad's, we came home to give the kids naps (and me too!) and then got ourselves cleaned up and ready to go for Archer's big event!

We picked up my grandpa at his retirement home and then made the trek out to Farley for mass at 4:30. Nora was a very good girl in church and Archer was happy as a clam in his seat just watching me. Nora even "sang" and bobbed her head when we sang hymns! I think Father Cain even got a chuckle out of her because he saw her - how could he miss her - she was in the very front pew!

After mass when church cleared out, we gathered up front with another family who was baptizing their daughter, and waited for Father Cain. Oddly enough, the other family baptizing was my second cousin Rhonda Hefel and her husband! I thought that was really neat that we got to baptize our babies together. My mom and Rhonda's mom were very close cousins growing up. Rhonda's daughter Georgie Mae and Archer were born exactly 2 months apart. He was born on September 19th and she was born on November 19th. Father Cain does an amazing job of incorporating and involving any other little children who are in attendance, so he had his "helpers" help him bless the holy water, hold the baptismal candles, place the baptismal bib, etc. My nephew Noah was absolutely enthralled by that candle, which he got to hold. He didn't take his eyes off of it.  Thanks go to my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Meghan, for her outstanding photography skills!

Archer only cried once when he was getting the holy water on his head. I got choked up a few times when he was getting baptized, but I held it together. I remember getting that way with Nora too. It was a monumental moment in his life because he is accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior and I am so proud to be his mother and to guide him through his life as a Christian. It is my job to teach him right from wrong and to lead a good, moral life. He is such a happy, good boy now, I hope and pray that he stays that way!

Following baptism, we had a gathering of family at my parent's house where we had plenty of food, drink and conversation. Nora took a few tumbles off of the couch and chair (which she knew she wasn't supposed to be jumping on!) and even I took a nice tumble down the stairs, but it was so nice to get together with such wonderful people. I love both mine and Jed's families so much and I really don't know where we would be without them. I feel like we get closer and closer every time we see each other. We are truly lucky to be close to our families, in both proximity and in our relationships. It is the way we were both brought up and the way I want to raise our kids too. So Nora and Archer, if you are reading this someday down the road - that's my way of saying don't move away from us!!!

Archer & his Godparents, Boomer & Abbey

Family Portrait

Getting Back On The Horse

A friend of mine just started his own blog and it got me to thinking that I should start mine back up.  I've been thinking about all of the funny things that Nora says and does and how I should write them down, but writing takes way too much time for me.  I'm a very fast typer, so I can document more if I type it instead.  Which leads us to where we are.  Here.  So this is where you can come to read about updates of what's going on in the Hurst household whether it be a funny anecdote of Nora's or how big our little guy Archer is getting or whether Jed and I have managed to squeeze a date night in.  Nothing of true significance really, just our everyday lives (which, to me, is significant!).  I have so many things to say, but nowhere for those things to go except to just sit idle in my brain where they are doing me no good - just cluttering my head.  So here we go - back on the horse with our first post in well over a year!!!

Last night around 9 PM, Nora woke up and came out to the kitchen where I was on the computer synching my Ipod.  I'm pretty sure she was sleep walking because her eyelids were like slivered almonds and she didn't walk like she normally does.  Jed and I said she was like Brennan from "Step-Brothers".  I picked her up, she laid her head down on my shoulder, I put her back in bed, she managed to mumble something that sounded strangely like "I want to pee in the shower" and she was back to being sound asleep.  I think we might have to put chain locks on our front and back doors so she can't get out in the middle of the night!

Archer is just Archer.  He is a smiley, happy baby.  His biggest stressor in life is whether or not his bottle is hot enough.  He is just like his daddy...he doesn't get worked up about too much.  Hard to believe we brought him home from the hospital 4 months ago yesterday.  It seems like he has been a part of our lives forever.  I oftentimes wonder what I ever did with my free time before I had kids. I must have wasted alot of time because free time now is like finding the "Golden Ticket" to the Wonka Factory.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I will try to post as often as I can, but being a working wife, mother and chauffeur, I can't guarantee daily posts. But as I have said, I will try to post as often as I can!  Wishing everyone health, wellness and happiness!

There's Always A First

I got a call from Nora's daycare provider this morning saying that Nora was throwing up. So I had to leave work around 9 AM to pick her up. When I saw the massive spot where Nora had thrown up, I was appalled. Her daycare provider, Codi, and I wouldn't have been too worried, but she threw up several times and it was ALOT of vomit. So I called the doctor's office and gave them the run down and they said that they thought I'd better bring her in. I took her in and they thought she might possibly be getting a stomach virus or it could be something as simple as her brace being too tight. Regardless, I have to keep her home today to keep an eye on her and to keep her away from the other kids at daycare just in case she does have something. But my mommy instinct tells me this change in weather is giving her a touch of a cold and her sinuses are draining causing her to get sick. She threw up Saturday and Sunday too, so who knows.

Welcome!

Catchy and original title huh?


I've decided to lose the other website for updating everyone on Nora's progress and will be continuing to do so on this website. As of August 25th, Nora is CAST-FREE! Her cast was removed and she was put in her leg braces, all in the same appointment. She did wonderfully and has adjusted to life in the leg braces beautifully. Dr. Dietz said that her sockets are not closing as quickly as he has seen in other patients like her, but they are closing, nonetheless. We go back on October 24th for a check-up and to see if she has to continue with the leg braces. Hopefully she will be completed with treatment by then, but it is doubtful. We did get some other bad news at the appointment. We were told that we cannot take the braces off for ANYTHING as we had originally thought we would be able to. Therefore, the little munchkin has to have sponge baths for another 2 months :o( (She HATES sponge baths). Giving her a bath is like trying to wrestle an angry, oiled little pig! Even with the braces on she is rolling over and scooting places. I firmly believe that once those braces come off, she's going to take off running and never look back again!

It's hard to believe that Nora is 10 months old today. These last 10 months have been such a blessing for us. Just after Nora was born, my Grandma Gaul gave me some of the best advice I have ever gotten. She told me to cherish this time in our lives because even though things can get hectic and rough, they are the best years of our lives. Before we know it, our kids will be grown up and gone in the blink of an eye. Everytime I am having a rough day, I think of what Grandma said and try to keep things in perspective. Thanks Grandma! Nora has brought us more joy than we ever could have imagined possible. It absolutely boggles my mind how much of an impact that this one little person can have on me. It's incredible.

At any rate, Jed and I would like to thank everyone for all of their help, support and prayers for Nora over these last few months. They actually went alot more smoothly and alot more quickly than we thought they would. Time flies when you're having fun I guess! (And when you're so busy with a little one that you can't even keep track of what day it is anymore!!!) Please check back as I will TRY to keep updated with Nora's progress. But as you all know, she keeps us quite busy ;o)