Carving Pumpkins

Thursday we spent the evening with our good friends, the Dickersons, being all kinds of fall festive! We ate yummy stew, carved pumpkins, and then finished the night with yummy pumpkin bread and cherry cider! It was such a fun night...we may just have to make it a tradition :).  Levi had so much fun. He loves the Dickerson crew and their big back yard and their toy car. He "drove" that thing for probably 1 hour straight! The weather was perfect, the food was good and the company was great! A perfect fall evening!

Me and the littlest man, Hudson (2 months and oh so sweet!)

 All three girlies LOVED the pumpkin guts! They were laughing so hard and just having a blast...too cute!

  Anabelle

Ella                              Elizabeth

all 7 of our awesome pumpkins :) Levi's, Hudson's, Elizabeth's, Ella's, Anabelle's, Aaron's and Lorrie's

Levi LOVED getting in the goo, squishing the guts, scraping with the spoon and observing all the craziness! He had so much fun and slept like a log that night!

Yes, It's True :)

You may have heard a little rumor about me...maybe not, but if you have, yes it's true. I am pregnant and Levi is going to be a big brother in mid May, 2011. We are very excited and can't wait to add another to the family! We are truly blessed! I have been feeling pretty yucky this go 'round (unlike with Levi) with lots of fatigue and nausea, but I think it is starting to get better. I am 12 weeks along and already starting to "show" a little and my clothes are getting a little snug.

Here are a couple sonogram pics of the newest little Boyer:

6 weeks - baby left/"placenta" right

 11 weeks - head left/body right (if you look real close you can see baby's face and hands)

As I always did with Levi's pregnancy, I would also appreciate your prayers throughout this process. I had a tough labor and delivery with Levi and am already dreading that process...but doing my best not to think about it too much. I also have a 4x4 fibroid in my uterus (which could cause scary things like preterm labor, IUGR and excessive bleeding at birth...all small risks) and an umbilical hernia (which could cause me some pain) this time which have been giving me a little extra worry and concern. I overall feel peaceful about the "problems" and have faith that everything will turn out well, but of course you never want anything abnormal during your pregnancy. The good news is that so far it seems like God has blessed us with another perfect little baby...everything with baby has been great. I will be having an appointment and sonogram with a perinatologist (pregnancy specialist) at some point to make sure that everything looks ok. Again, I would appreciate the prayers.

Quick Carol Update

Well...every time we think we know how things are going to go, something changes. Carol has been discharged and is now "home" staying in a spare room of a long time family friend. We thought she would be in the hospital quite a bit longer. She is adjusting to life outside after about 3 months in prison the hospital. Home health will be seeing her regularly and she will have many follow up and check up appointments while she continues her rehab and recovery. The next step is still a bone marrow transplant once she is healthy enough to withstand another major assault to her body. Please continue to keep her and the family in your prayers. Carol is also considering coming home to Texas for the remainder of her treatment once she is feeling better. Please pray for guidance, wisdom and peace. Thanks!

Also, you may have noticed the new header and side pics on the blog...I don't think I ever gave credit to their wonderful designer my amazing friend Lauren. Thanks Lauren! I love it and you...you are such a huge blessing to me and I'm so glad God put us in each others lives!!!

15 Months Old!

Well, I haven't posted an update all about Levi's milestones and development since he turned 12 months and goodness has a lot changed! He turned 15 months old on Saturday and had his check up today. He has had a word explosion (I am going to end with a list of all his words(pronunciations) for my sake that you can skip if you wish). He is adding what seems like a new word every day since about 14 months and has also started using 2 word sentences (aka down/up please, no mama, quite penny, night dada). He will repeat almost anything, sometimes up to 3 words in a row.

Levi has also gained a lot of confidence in his fine and gross motor skills and can color more easily, pick up the tiniest speck and step up and down small steps with out hesitation. This has kept me very busy trying to keep him on the ground and safe :) He is running like wild and climbing constantly. He can use a spoon, but really prefers to use his hands. Levi is becoming more and more aware of the world and observant. He notices and points out things often and makes sure that I "see" what he is pointing at. He seems to have dropped his morning nap, but is taking a longer afternoon nap (1-3 hours!). His affection has also become more apparent with lots of hugs and kisses given out to family, friends and pets. I love how he makes a little smack sound with his mouth during his kisses and leans his head on you and says "awwww" when he gives a big hug. We sure are lucky to have such a sweet, happy and cute son. God blessed us beyond what we could have expected or deserved.

Here he is before his 15 month check up. He was happy running around in just a diaper waiting on the doctor after being weighed and measured. Sadly he has to be on antibiotics for the first time because he has an ear infection...other than the runny nose and little cough you would have never known he was sick. Other than some sick ears he of course passed with flying colors and continues to be "ahead of the game." Way to go little man!

New Stats
height: 32.75in (90%)
weight: 24lbs 8oz (50%)
head circumference: 48.5cm (80%)

Favorite Things:
being outside
giving hugs and kisses
dancing (to any music any where - usually involves head bobbing, hip swaying and feet tapping/rocking)
shooting hoops
throwing/kicking balls
climbing
bananas, cheese, bread, sweet taters, peas, grapes and berries
water (to drink, splash, swim, bathe)
his momma and dada (and especially his dada lately)
his Moe, Pop and Popa
Penny and Jessie
his stethoscope, lego blocks, mower and pull toys
wearing shoes, hats or glasses
using hand gestures to express himself

Ummmm NO Thank you!
getting his hair cut
getting his face wiped (especially the nose)
having to go inside
being told not to throw his food (yeesh!)
being left in the church nursery on wed and sun (luckily they say this only lasts 1-2 mins)
being still

OK....here are all his words (at least the ones I can think of right now):
Mama/Mommy
Dada/Daddy (I guess those depend on his mood)
Penny (Menny)
Quiet (kwite)
Moe
Pop (Bop)
Popa
Gran (Gra)
Nora (Noree)
Autry (Autee)
Evie
Jessie
Door (doe)
Outside (side)
Swing (wing)
Dog (daw)
cat (gat)
Bird (bur)
Bear (bae)
See
Tree
Ball (baw)
Hoop (oop)
Water (wawa)
Pepper (pep-pur)
Mail (maee)
Open (oh-en)
Close (coes)
No
Yes (yeah)
Eat
Yummy
Milk (Mulk)
Cheese (chee)
Cracker (cra-cwa)
Banana (Nana)
Apple (Ah-poo)
Peas
Turkey (tuh-kee)
Cup
Done (duh)
Please (pweas)
Down (dow)
Up
Amen (Ahmeen)
Go
Bye-Bye
Night-Night (nigh-nigh)
Diaper (die-poo)
Wipes (why)
Poop (poo poo)
Pee (pee pee)
Cow
Moo (mmmmm)
Duck (du)
Quack (kkkwakk)
Bow-Wow
Whoa
Uh-Oh
Bark (bach)
Hot (aut)
Belly (beyee)
Eye
Mouth (mou)
Head (ed)
Shoe (sshhooo)
Hat (at)
Bath (baaaath)
Ouch (ouwch)
Light (l'nite)
Baby
Color (co-wur)
Boat
Moon (moom)
Boot
That (dat)
Book (boouh)
Balloon (boo-oon)
Soap (soat)
Bug (buhg)
Clock (cock)
Car(caw)
Keys (kays)

The Great Outdoors

This past Thursday Popa, Philip, Levi and I all headed out for the weekend to the hunting lease to enjoy some time in the great outdoors and of course for Philip and his Dad to get some bow-hunting done. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we had a wonderful trip....here it is in pictures:

We stayed in my Dad's cabin (thanks Pop!) so it was like upscale camping :)

Levi LOVED being outside for most of the day 3 whole days! Here he is showing off a cool rock. Notice the pretty flowers in the background. The lease was covered in flowers, which made it extra pretty.

Here are the 3 men in their camo...this is in the morning when Popa and Dada returned from a hunt.

Levi loved to mow the grass in camp with Popa on the riding mower, they did this twice :)

Our little cutie with his ear protection while the big boys did some target practice.

Although I really was at the lease, there is not a single picture with me in it...I did however sit in the blind one morning and watch the deer while Philip sat in his bow spot. It was pretty neat to watch the sun rise and see all the deer come in to feed. I enjoyed it, but I think I have my fix for quite some time :). I did really enjoy seeing Philip and his Dad so happy to spend time together and enjoy God's creation as well as to watch Levi beaming with joy as he ran through the dirt and grass. Loving the outdoors must run in the family :) Although no one saw a deer worthy of "harvesting" I think the trip was a success.

I would also like to give a little update on Carol; she has been moved off the cancer unit and to the rehab unit! She will be there for at least 1-2 weeks to do daily physical therapy, occupational therapy and discharge planning. She needs to learn how to do basic tasks with her limited use of her fingers, increase her strength and stamina (walking) and organize her long term treatment plan. She is still feeling pretty yucky from her last round of chemo, but getting better slowly. She also has a friend of her father's that is still in good health (an elderly woman) who has an extra room with a mini kitchen set up, where Carol can stay for a while when she is released. We are so thankful for her and her generosity! All of this is great news and we continue to praise God for the many miracles and blessings we have seen during Carol's struggle with cancer and illness. Thanks again for the prayers and please keep them coming :)

Fun Fall Weekend!

This past weekend we went camping with some of our good friends at Eisenhower State Park on Lake Texoma. It was a wonderful trip and Levi had a blast! He LOVES to be outside, so he really enjoyed living outside for 2 whole days :). The weather was beautiful with warm days and cool nights. It was even warm enough to let the kids swim in the lake a little. I was totally unprepared for swimming so Levi went in his regular diaper and it was HUGE by the end, but he still had fun, he love the water. We spent most of our time letting the kids enjoy the dirt, sticks and rocks with yummy meals in between and smores with a fire at night. Levi slept pretty well in the tent and I think we have a real camper on our hands! Can't wait to go again in the spring!

We showered up as we left the park and headed straight to my parent's house for Grampa's 80th birthday party. It was so nice to celebrate with a lot of that side of the family, especially since we hadn't seen most of them since Thanksgiving! Grampa has so many accomplishments in his 80 years, and is such a hard worker; he was a very respected physician at Presby Dallas for many years, raised 9 children and now has 16 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

We watched the cowboys and rangers play and ate a yummy meal. My youngest cousins really enjoyed playing with Levi and Nora, which was great because it allowed me to enjoy visiting with everyone else! Levi also laughed for I think about 5 minutes straight by saying "GO!" to my Aunt Cindy which prompted her to tickle him. It was too cute! Unfortunately Philip and I can't always make it to Dallas for all the family get-togethers, but I am hoping we will make it to more! It was great to see everyone!

A little update on Carol: She has successfully finished her 2nd round of chemo! It was for only 6 days this time and although she is not feeling too good, and very exhausted, she has remained stable, which is a huge blessing! Please continue to pray because she has a long road to recovery and it can take several days to several weeks for all the chemo to clear her body. Thanks again for the support!

Another Carol Update

I realize that I haven't updated the blog with what has been going on with Carol. I'm sorry if any of you out there have been wondering, and I appreciate the prayers that have been sent these past 2 weeks since I last posted about her status. Up until 2 days ago everything with Carol was remaining about the same with very slight improvement. This past Friday the doctors were talking about transferring her to a rehab facility because they didn't think she would regain kidney function so they were more concerned with getting her mobility back so that she could have some more normal days while she is not fighting the cancer. So...we seemed at a bit of a stand still.

Well, over the weekend a new batch of doctors took over (as they do every week). They saw an improvement in her kidney labs and have discontinued the dialysis (amazing!), but with this great news came some tough news. This time the attending is a bone marrow transplant specialist and when he reviewed her bone marrow aspiration results he saw them in a different light. He is VERY concerned about the cytogenetics (chromosome abnormalities) and wanted to restart her chemo immediately. He does not feel that she can afford to wait any longer with out a great risk of relapse and that would be very dangerous. This of course greatly troubles all of us because of the way Carol's body responded to the chemo the first time around, and has made Carol feel very anxious and depressed. They allowed her one day, but started the chemo again yesterday. So far she is feeling about the same. They are using lower doses this time and hope she will have less side effects.

Please be praying for Carol and the whole family. We are hoping to go and visit her some time soon, possibly in the next couple weeks. Please pray for Carol's emotional health as well as her physical health. It is very scary to restart the chemo considering how terrible it went last time and to be blunt that it very nearly killed her. I will try my best to update more regularly. Thanks again for the prayers and support.