January Recap

Here it is...the 1st of February, and I am still wondering what happened to January. It was an emotional month in the Paty house...some "firsts", some tears, some changes, and lots of laughs. I apologize for my lack of posts. I have been experiencing a bit of "writers block" and everytime I sat down to chronicle some of the firsts, tears, changes, and laughter previously mentioned...I lacked the words to express myself. Hopefully tonight, the block will be lifted.

First, the firsts. Meredith Grace turned one! She had her first birthday on January 14th, and it was a wonderful day! We kept the celebration very small and intimate, just sharing some dinner and cake with "family"..which in our case includes my parents, Cody's parents, and our precious close friends, the Dodds and the Gleatons. Meredith loved eating her cake and thought the whole experience was quite hilarious. We reflected on what an incredible blessing Meredith is to our family. She is the most laid-back, easygoing child in the world. She is joyful and happy (most of the time) and she has brought so much happiness to our lives.

Another "first" that occurred (finally!) was that Miss Priss finally decided to stop giving her mommy fits and start crawling! I know this sounds alarming to some of you because most 1 year olds are working on walking, not crawling...but Mere is running at about a 4-5 month delay in her gross motor skills because of her PHACE syndrome. Although she got a clean bill of health last year with all of her specialists, she still has struggled with each milestone involving her gross motor skills. This has been a very difficult aspect that I was not told to be mentally prepared for by her doctors, but as she has grown month-to-month, it has become more and more evident to me and her daddy that there would be some delays. Her neurologist told us in the very beginning that he felt like she had "low muscle tone" in her upper body, so naturally crawling is difficult for a baby that doesn't have much arm strength. In talking with her doctors, we have been repeatedly reassured that she will eventually "catch up" by the time she is about 2 years old. The good side to the story is that in EVERY other area of development, she is perfect. Her fine motor skills are great, and cognitively, she seems on track in every way. We are so thankful for this and will continue to provide her physical therapy on daily basis. I know an AMAZING PT! :)

Check out my skills! And check out the piece of paper I am anxious to put in my mouth! I crawl until I reach my point of destination...and then I poop out! Just like my Grandaddy always says, "it's hard being a baby...."

We also celebrated Cody's 33rd birthday and my birthday was today (31st). I've got quite the working out to do to work off the cake I have consumed in the last thirty days. Speaking of cake...we attended one of the most beautiful weddings in San Antonio. Cody's boss's son married Jenna L*cado and it was amazing. They are an unbelievably precious couple that is madly in love with God and with one another. It was a great trip, sans children, that allowed us some sweet time as a couple. Weddings always make me so thankful that I married Cody. He just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter.

Changing gears....Cody and I are going through an intense period of CHANGE in our lives right now. We moved homes twice in a six month time period, but more importantly, our relationships are changing. I have often said that living in Sweetwater has it's blessings (and its curses) but more than anything, I believe that the relationships that we have built here are what makes our lives so rich. Three different families that have played a pivotal role in our lives over the last 8 years are leaving Sweetwater (one has already left) and in all honesty...it has rocked me to the core. I have grieved and cried over this situation more than I care to admit. Each family is leaving due to better job situations that are going to immensely bless their family, and I am sincerely happy for all of them. But each family is precious to us in different ways and the void is going to be incredibly hard to fill. Our dearest friends, the Gleatons, that I mentioned earlier, is one of these families. Their daughter, Sophie, is 5 weeks younger than Meredith. Look for these two at ACU in 2026 as college roomies because I know that they are truly going to be friends for life....as will their parents.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, God has found ways to reveal Himself to us daily. Claire and Gregory continue to grow and learn and amaze us with their precious little personalities. Claire memorized and recited "The Lord's Prayer" for her Bible Class this morning, and I cried as she remembered each word she had worked so hard to retain. There is no pride like the pride a parent has for their children when they exhibit their love for the Lord! Gregory split his forehead open while playing at church last week and nearly gave me a nervous breakdown with the amount of blood that he shed. We were afraid that he was going to need stitches, but Dr. Mike (our beloved doctor that delivered all three of our babies.....and one of the other families that is leaving SW....did I mention he is BELOVED) graciously cleaned up the "battle wound" in time for Gregory to still eat a sandwich at the party we were attending. The highlight of the experience? The "Get Well TOY" that Granna and Grandaddy took him to get post-trauma. We are now the proud owners of not one, but three Star Wars Light Sabers....proudly pronounced "light savers" at this house. He is absolutely the cutest 3 year old on the planet. Period.

(This picture of Meredith and Gregory was taken before the split head incident...but I figured you could just imagine the yucky wound on his forehead and just enjoy their cuteness)

After typing all of this out, I am exhausted. No wonder I haven't blogged...who's had time? I realize this wasn't the most eloquent of posts, but its the best I could do with the amount of brain cells I have left at midnight. I'll close with a pic of Madeline Claire in all of her 5 year old glory......

Blessings to everyone for a fabulous February!