Candy ONEderland

I am FINALLY posting about Sweetpea's birhtday party, 17 days later. Below are pictures taken by my camera and my firend, Stacy's, camera. She selflessly took tons of pics- acting as the photog for the day. What a priceless gift- thanks Stace!

Before we get to the pics, I have two highlights to share:

1. While opening presents, my mom told the kids that if they stayed on the rug that, "Mrs. Tricia has a present for you." {the party favor} Little E, (pictured below), kept looking at me saying, "Mrs. Tricia, you keep giving the baby all the presents." Yeah, ok, whatever. lol After a few repeats of this she says to me, "Mrs. Tricia, you keep giving the baby all the presents. Your mom said you would give us a present." OH!!! She thought my mom meant that I would give them one of Sweetpea's presents. Needless to say I was quite tickled.

2. My stepdad would move the presents into the hallway while we were opening them and little Abigail asked, "Whys that man taking all Annie's presents?" lol



Without futher adieu, I give you the Candy ONEderland:








I didn't have all her pics to do her 12 months growth chart, so I improvised and did her many faces- because you may have not noticed, but she has a 'tude! :)
She cried her whole first birthday photoshoot with traci-marie photography- I made lemonade people. ;)

The party favors, "candies" with candy in them. :)

I had planned a 4 tier wedding cake design with candy as the decor. Well, I used white cake which is much to fluffy and after breaking a few layers I settled for this:

{not what I had in mind for her cake, but it fit the theme so I'll take it as a W}

Some more details:

My grandma adopted my dad and my aunt, (pictured below). Talk about a legacy of love! :) See also 4 generations: My grandma, my mom, me and Sweetpea. :)





Sweetpea and some of her guests:
Above: Isn't this a great pic of them? Below: Some Fun Friends!

Cake time! Mommy totally got choked up!

She cried the whole time and could not have cared less about her cake. Notice little E- she sat on my lap. :)

Present Time! She even got Sweetpea Beauty dishes!!

One

When I started this post, it had been one week since Kaitlyn joined Jesus in Heaven. Her parents are mourning but at peace with God at the same time. Praise God for that! Please keep praying for them!!!

It is hard for me to transition from Kaitlyn to something less meaningful- which is why I haven't posted much this week.

Today however, marks one year since Sweetpea went to the hospital, (to spend 3 months there). We are so thankful for what the doctors did for her, but selfishly I am thankful for this: She was alive for last Christmas, (her technical first), but she was in the hospital. SOOOOO THIS Christmas is really her FIRST! :)

This is her first Christmas and our first Christmas with her! We are busting at the seams!! I will post a little more later this week- we finally left the stone age and got smart phones so I haven't turned on my computer in days. ;)

Last week my mom and I got Sweetpea's ears pierced. Enjoy. ;)

She cried the WHOLE time- like when they cleaned her ears and put the dots on- little turkey!
I usually don't hold my daughter's face like this, but she always moves right before you take a pic- so the piercing was no different. It is one thing for her to move when I am trying to get a pic- it is another when there is a gun on her ear...
The second they were done piercing, I stood up from the chair and she immediately stopped crying. Did I mention she has the manipulative cry down? See my phone? About 30 seconds after this pic was taken she dropped it- hence why we have new phones. ;)

Posts to come- Our First Annual Christmas Eve Tradition and Christmas of course. ;)

Answered Prayer

{Hey readers, I am enabling anonymous commenting just for this post so you can share love and prayers for Jared and Jess. Because it is anonymous, you do not have to sign in so PLEASE comment below ALL OF YOU! (and sign your name- nobody wants a true anonymous comment). :) Thanks}

God is good and faithful all the time!

We went to Dallas this past weekend to visit Kaitlyn's parents. I was so encouraged by them. They are utterly heartbroken as you can imagine, (well I guess we can't really imagine), but they are at peace with God's will. They are not mad at Him- they just miss their little girl.

I will share some of what they have written on Facebook- not for some cathartic experience but for 2 reasons:

1. This is real. They need your prayers! This is a little window into their pain so you know how to pray for them.

2. In spite of their pain, they are still at peace with God and His decision. What an encouragement and testimony!

from her mommy's facebook status:
"I love you and miss you baby girl. I will never know why but I trust that God has a reason. I can't wait to see you again. You would have been the best big sister in the world. I know you are watching over me, daddy and Caleb. You are now my guardian angel. I love you."

from her daddy's facebook statuses:
"yesterday, our precious little angel left us to be with the Lord. We have already had so many friends and family come to help us out, in ways we couldn't have imagined, and we are all so thankful."

"I feel like the wind has been beaten out of me. I know it's all in the good Lord's timing, but I wanted at least another 90 years of her being around. My precious little baby girl went to heaven to see her heavenly father and to go hug His neck. The night before she passed, we read the Bible, and she could say "Jesus" and point to him in the manger. She was just ready to see Him face to face."

"Thank you everyone for the prayers. I cannot begin to really describe this experience, but I'll just say that I hope no one has to experience the gut-wrenching pain that we have already been through. I know prayers have been, and are still being lifted for the peace that surpasses all human understanding to guard our hearts and minds. Each day we both feel a little stronger, but miles and miles from where we were."

"Thank you everyone for the prayers. I am so thankful for the family and friends that have helped us along so far, you are all such a blessing at such a needed time. This is going to be a long journey, and we will walk this one together, hand in hand with God. We know our little angel is praising Him right now in paradise."


I wish we could be there today and tomorrow for the viewing and funeral, but sadly we cannot be.

In regards to the viewing today- her daddy's status:

"Today is the last day that I get to see the face of my little angel until our sweet sweet reunion up above. I couldn't do it without my dear Lord, my family and friends. I love and cherish everyone of you. This is just a reminder that our time here is short and not known, so make the most of every moment."
This is a great picture because it shows what she is doing now- lifting up her arms to her Father in Heaven to praise Him.
I know the common thing to say about kids is how beautiful they are, but I think you will agree that when it is said of Kaitlyn it is not out of kindness or lip service- it is the truth. She IS so beautiful!

Jared and Jess, words will never to justice to how I feel for y'all right now.

I truly am encouraged by y'all at this time. Jess said how Kaitlyn wasn't truly y'all's but God's. That is something that I may not have mentioned with your pain so fresh, but I am so thankful that y'all understand that!

I hate that this happened. God does too. Even though He is in control of it all, He would rather this not happen. We know this is a result of the fall, and one day we will all get to be together in Perfection where there is no more pain and no more tears. Kaitlyn is already there. ♥

You have our hearts, thoughts and prayers. As I said before we left- call us anytime and we will come stay with y'all on those days when the house is a little too quiet. Or y'all are always welcome here to get away from it all. PLEASE do not hesitate to take me up on this offer!!

We both regret that we never met her on this earth, but we look forward to the day that we will get to see her in Heaven.

We love y'all!


Kaitlyn's Obituary

Life and Death

Please keep praying for Kaitlyn's family. We will be visiting them soon, and I will post more info on here as I receive it. Here is little Kaitlyn October 2009.

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I know this is a big change in post, but how else can I do it?

Happy Birthday to my precious little Sweetpea!! She is the happiest, laid back baby you will ever meet, and her personality shines through more everyday. She learned kisses last week, and every time I say, "I love you," she gives a kiss. ♥

Last night I started having panic attacks thinking of Kaitlyn, and was so worried about Sweetpea. I know it was satan torturing me, but still. Needless to say, when she woke me up talking, it brightened my whole day! We had plans for her day today, but because of sweet Kaitlyn, I do not think we will do them anymore.

Sweetpea cried during her whole birthday photo shoot with Traci-Marie Photography. We made lemonade people. :)

More party pics to come later- for now, we are focusing on Kaitlyn's family. PRAY!

Please Pray

Last night our friends' little girl, Kaitlyn Olivia, died suddenly. She had a cold so they took her to the doctor. They cleaned out her nostrils and put her to bed, and found her cold and not breathing this morning. We are heartbroken. Please pray for her mom and dad.

I almost forgot to mention that mom is about 22/23 weeks pregnant. Pray for her especially right now. We need to keep mommy and her little boys safe!!

Please leave comments of encouragement or prayers and I will let them see them when they are ready to. Kaitlyn in March 2010

Kaitlyn with Mommy and Daddy April 2009.

Shutterfly Christmas Card 2010

There is more on the inside, so be sure to check your mailboxes next week! Here is a sneak peek! :)

Good Blessings Religious Christmas 5x7 folded card

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