Wow! We are thirteen months! I am so excited about this birthday weekend! Hayden has enjoyed a weekend at the lake. You know how I am always talking about Florida being like Heaven on Earth? Well if I can’t be in Florida, I’ll settle for my second happiest place on Earth, the lake house! Today, we will celebrate with a sunshine cake. (The topper from his 12 month cake). Each month is a miracle. Each month is blessing. I am extremely proud of the Blessing of the 13 month birthday. Why? Because June was not a very good month at all L we had increased seizure activity. Our seizures have changed. His new seizures are very scary. We had one seizure where he instantly turned blue. Yup this is discouraging. The EEG results showed lots of negative results which I’d rather not discuss.  We have been very discouraged. Sometimes, I just do not know how much one person can handle. UGHHH Luckily, we have such an awesome group of friends and loved ones that are helping us remember to take it one day at a time.

Please continue to pray for our 13 month Earth angel as we are going back to Batson this week. They were very discouraged with his EEG results 2 weeks ago. We added a new medicine. Well guess what? The new medicine is not helping. Hopefully we will see improvement in the EEG Friday. We will also get his feeding tube changed out. (This is a simple procedure every 3 months). We will be exhausted so prayers are appreciated. The positive part of this week is getting to see Amy and Ava Grace. Please continue to keep sweet Ava Grace in your prayers as she is still fighting for her life.

My goal from this past month is to remember that you never know which day will be your last day. I spent many days in tears and saddness. I had to quickly remind myself to smile and get out of the gutter. Make memories! Enjoy the moment!  Hayden and I had a fun month of arts and craftsJ

Hayden makes so many people happy. He did flower pots with his precious toes!

 It is 104 degrees in Mississippi. Hayden ate ice cream. He LOVED it!

 Hayden went with his Nona and Papa to the Mississippi River. He enjoyed the nice breeze in his face:)

 Nona bought him a Life is Good shirt. He loves it. P.S. do you know the story behind "Life is Good"
http://www.lifeisgood.com/about/affiliates/. They are all about helping kids overcome special challenges. HMMM this is a great reason to buy a shirt?

 Hayden made birthday cards for his friends. From the bottom of my heart to the tip of my toes... I love you! Hayden has to use his feet because his hands are always balled into a tight fist.

 Hayden did his one year old handprint pottery. He even made 12 Christmas presents!

 Hayden styled in all of his new cute clothes! He is quickly growing out of his 18 month clothes. Hmm.... Growing BIG boy!

 Hayden says Life is Good when water is involved!

Everything Belongs to God

The earth belongs to the Lord, and everything in it. The world and all its people. Psalm 24:1

You belong to God, and everything that is made or ever will be made belongs to Him. He is sovereign over all He has created to honor Him and be a blessing to those who love you and care for you. He wants you to know that He loves you and will love you forever with an affection that nothing and no one can take away. You are God's special gift.

He saves us from His namesake and for His glory.

Life with Our Angel!

Well it has been a busy few weeks. Our angel turned one on June 1. Since then, we have been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. Living life to its fullest! Hayden will have his 13 month birthday celebration soon! Praise God! We are loving every moment with him! I must admit that I am the proudest mommy in the world!

Hayden went to Jackson last week. We have had increased seizure activity! UGH can we ever catch a break! Its like the good days are always followed by the bad! We are not giving up though. After many long and exhausting nights, we are finally climbing up the positive day hill again. Praise God!

Hayden's EGG results were slightly discouraging. SIGH.... some encouragement would be extra nice! We added an extra medication. We will be going for a follow up EEG next week. We are trying to remain positive with great attitudes. Hayden is a blessing. Hayden is a joy. We are so thankful for every moment with him! We will continue to stay strong in our Faith as we walk through such an exhausting and discouraging journey. The Good Days outway the BAD Days!

Birthday Party Complete

Wow! I am pretty sad to be finishing my last birthday blog. I have enjoyed telling each of you about Hayden's birthday celebration. If this is your first blog to read in awhile, you can go back and read from the beginning four blogs ago.

We enjoyed Hayden's birthday week! Hayden started the week out in Florida. He concluded the week with a birthday party at Black Bayou Hunting Club. We had many loved ones travel from across the United States to see Hayden turn one! We are blessed with so many people that care. More importantly blessed with so many people that express their caring hearts to us directly. Brent and I would not have strength to continue with our lives if it was not for the positive thoughts and words from friends and family. We have gained so many friends through this difficult time in our lives. Thank you for treating our child equally. Thank you to such an awesome group of supporters that love Hayden like their own!!

Hayden began his pre birthday dinner with a meal at Shermans. He was so excited that his Uncle Andrew could celebrate with him. Andrew had to go out of town for Hayden's birthday. He was devastated. We surely missed Uncle Drew. I am so thankful for the bond that each of my brothers have developed with Hayden. As young men, I must admit that yall are truly going to be awesome father's one day! The meal was amazing. He even ate a bite of lemon ice boxed pie. He then got lots of kisses from his Aunt Meg and Aunt Kelli. Kelli snuck alot of birthday loving as Hayden was in an amazing mood!

The following are pictures from the family and friends that attended the Sherman's Pre- Birthday Celebration! THANK YOU for helping kick Hayden's Birthday party off right!!!!!

 Thank You God for the Perfect Birthday week!

 He is so thankful for his Aunt Meg and Aunt Kelli! He loves both of them dearly!

 Aunt Kelli and Uncle C! Wow where would I start? Helpers, Encouragers, and friends through THICK and THIN! Thank you for your love for our child. We can not wait to return the favor one day!

 Miles and Miles to come celebrate a birthday party! Thank you Linda and Paige for driving 14 hours to celebrate this special day!

 Nona and PawPaw Love!

 Nana and PaPa Love!

Hayden had his birthday lunch with his Nona and Papa at the Yacht Club. He was pretty excited about turning one! He decided to sleep through lunch to prepare for his birthday celebration.
Hayden then went to visit his Nana, Cousin Linda, and Paige. He stayed with them while Mommy and Daddy rain to the grocery store. He loved getting some Nana love!

Hayden then had a birthday party at Brown's Pharmacy. The girls wanted to give him a birthday gift! They love Hayden. We LOVE them too!

Hayden hurried home to get ready for his birthday dinner at the Cowpen. He was able to meet his cousin Cash for the first time. I am pretty sure they could become best buddies! We enjoyed seeing Mindy, Missy, Matt, and Micheal! I sure wish I could see our family more often! We are so fortunate to have some awesome family! Dinner was great! Hayden received another piece of pie!


Cheesecake for the Birthday BOY!

 Cousins were worn out after a late night dinner!

We hurried home to sleep and rest up for our big celebration on Saturday. He was greeted at the birthday party by many loved ones and friends. My grandmother's family all came down. We were only missing our sweet Aunt Jerry and Uncle Lee. Mrs. Angie's family was all able to make it! Hayden's great grandma Mrs. Mrytle even made it! We were so excited that she felt well enough to arrive! WOW! So many family members were there to encourage, love, and show our family support! Remember support is what gives Brent and I strength!

FAMILY!

 MORE FAMILY!

 FAMILY LOVE AGAIN:)

 AGAIN:)

 LOTS OF LOVE:)

AUNT MEG LOVE

 

FAMILY LOVE

COUSIN LOVE

 MILES AND MILES OF FAMILY

MINUS DREW:(

They love each other! Uncle B was able to get a large smile out of  His Chi!

We are so thankful for Aunt Patricia. She does not care what time of night we call her. She always seems to make us feel better. A nurse in the family is a plus! Especially a caring nurse!

My Daddy is awesome! He has an awesome family! So glad they made the drive for Hayden's day! Cash is an amazing cousin!



Friends! Wow! What would we do without each of you? Thanks to each of you for caring so much. The friends section is nothing more than a simple thank you. With over 100 people at his birthday party, I'd never be able to place a picture of everyone. I just selected a few random pics:) Our friends seem to understand us so perfectly. They are such encouragers. They pull us out of the hole when we fall deep. They invite us over when we need a smile. They bring us supper when we have a bad day. They send simple messages when we are down. Thank you to each of you for being apart of our life.

Thank  you to each of you for being such great friends. Lauren: We've been friends for awhile! Thanks for becoming even a closer friend when we are at our worse. Thank you for understanding our heartache. Thank you for loving Hayden like your own! Lacey: Thank you so much for being such a supporter to Hayden. Your prayers are heard. Your meals have been wonderful! The love your child gives Hayden is memories in my heart for a lifetime.

  Lisa: Thank you so much for all of your tears, screams, and yells with me. Thank you for all of your hospital visits. Thank you for allowing your children the opportunity to understand that Hayden is just as wonderful as a healthy one year old. Thank you for allowing us to love your kids like our own. Thank you for loving Hayden like your own.

 Hmm... Where do you begin? Thank yall! Thank yall! Thank yall! The love that yall give our child is something that brings tears to my eyes. The way Hayden looks at yall is amazing. We would not be the people we are today without all of yalls advice. Lauren, I know your not very strong. I know you love to cry. I know you have left my house crying a ton of times. I do thank you for not giving up and staying strong for Hayden and myself. Hayden loves each of you like family.

 Hmm. Where do you begin! A HUGE THANK YOU TO BOTH OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES. FROM GREENVILLE TO INVERNESS, WE LOVE THE DILLS AND GRECO'S! We are so glad to call yall friends! Thank you for all of your sweet morning messages! Hayden loves each of u!

 We are so thankful for all our friends that came to Hayden's party. Thank you for stopping your busy schedules to be apart of Hayden's special days! Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your motivation! Hayden can not wait for you to move back home Miss Carrie!

 We are so blessed with so many new friends that have hearts of gold. We are so blessed with awesome supporters and friends! Thank you Leah for all of your help with the fundraiser and more importantly your kind messages and genuine prayers.

 Neighbors? Hmm! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! We had dreams of our boys playing on a dirt pile. We had dreams of running around chasing our boys. Our dreams have been slightly altered. Thank you for still loving us! Thank you for not giving up on our dreams. I can not wait to watch the boys run around together one day! Oh what a glorious day!

 Okay, I am getting slightly emotional as I think of how blessed we are. Thank you friends from new to old. Thank you Holly for being there for us. Thank you for explaining how you dealt with your brother. Thank you for sharing your amazing mommy with me.  Thank you to my high school bestie for treating Hayden like your own. Thank you for the kisses to the outfits to the feedings etc as the list could go on. Thank you for being the first person that I called to scream at. Thank you for driving to Jackson to hear the doctors say our little boy would never walk and talk. Thank you for not leaving my side as my dreams were crushed. Thank you for reminding me of how lucky I am!

Thank you to all of the other friends that are not picture. Everybody is amazing. Hayden's birthday party was amazing. I am slightly upset as I do not want to end this blog. I am ending this blog with a large amount of emotions and questions in my mind. What does the next year hold? Thank you God for answering my prayers. Thank you God for allowing me to see his first birthday. I am slightly selfish as I want to start planning his second birthday. My prayers have changed. I hope that I can write this blog again next year. I pray that this is only the beginning and not the end. I am going to do my best to remember that tomorrow is not promised for Hayden or anyone in pictures above. I am thankful for the 376 days that you have given me with Hayden. I hope that you give me more.

Well I guess it is that time. Time to end this blog. I hope that I am blessed with the opportunity to write a blog this exciting again in my lifetime. I never thought I would see Hayden's first birthday. God answered this huge prayer for us. We are so thankful! I am going to pray that I receive the opportunity to plan a rainbow and sunshine party next year.  Brent and I rarely saw each other until the end of the party. We took all of the balloons outside together as a family of 3. We had a moment together to make a wish and a simple prayer. We released the balloons into the sky. We wished for a good year of zero suffering. We sent the balloons to heaven to Thank God for allowing us to celebrate with Hayden on Earth.

As the balloons floated into sky, we simply smiled a happy smile. A smile of joy, a smile of hope, and a smile of receiving a miracle. Hayden Brent is the Sunshine in our life. Without Hayden, we would not have such a large ray of sunshine! Thank You God for the best year of our life!

Wow! I am back! I LOVE LOVE LOVE to BLOG on Hayden's Birthday!

I would never be able to blog on each individual gift that Hayden received so this is more of a simple thank you! Opening gifts for Hayden was once again bittersweet. The main reason was the word TOYS. I WISH that Hayden could get a tractor, car, and a swingset. Instead people had to use their imagination. I had thought about donating toys to Batson like we did at 6 months. I then decided that I wanted to VOID the hospital out of his first birthday. I wanted Hayden to be treated like every child in America. Remember the saying Treat others as you would want to be treated?  I am mighty proud to say that Hayden has some creative friends. The first gift that I opened was a card from some dear friends. They had made a slide show to all of Hayden's photos from the year. I cried and cried! Creative and Awesome. Hayden received a football signed by Archie and Eli Manning. He received adorable clothing. He received crosses, angels, frames, albums, books, paintings, gift cards, money, pediasure and the list goes on. We are so proud that our friends made his birthday perfect. Thank you for giving us a lot of smiles. Thank you for helping us make his first birthday a special memory.

WooHOO Diapers:)

I am thinking of hanging this above his bed and redoing his bedroom!

He even received creative outfits that matched his birthday theme. This outfit made me so excited that I changed him during the party:)

 He received many inspirational verses. He loves his bean bag chair from Aunt Meg too:) He is relaxing:)

 He has a wardrobe FULL of adorable new clothes:) Mommy loves her stylish little angel:)

Hayden also received many cards in the mail. He LOVES getting mail. ENCOURAGEMENT is the way  to staying strong. Hayden received over 50 cards during his birthday week! He even received some extra ordinary gifts. Hayden has an angel friend  watching over him in heaven. She asked her mommy to give Hayden a gift card to red leaf  for deer handprints. We are going to do our deer handprints Thursday. Thank you Landry for caring so much for our angel! I would love to blog on the 60 plus gift he got. Unfortunately, I'd never be able to say enough great things about everything.

I had an Elementary friend named Mary Beth. She has followed Hayden's blog. She went through the trouble of getting Hayden an autographed shirt, ball, and cardinal mascot. WHAT an awesome birthday surprise! Hayden was so excited! I am going to frame his shirt. We will have a wall of autographs for Hayden in his "big boy" room. Mitchell Boggs #41 from the St. Louis Cardinals has a new number one fan! I am sure to him its nothing more than a signature. To our family, its so much more. His signature is a memory, a precious smile, and an experience. We are so thankful for his simple signature. We are so thankful for Mary Beth's creativity! We love the fact of allowing Hayden the opportunity to experience more in a few  years than many kids do in a lifetime. How many one year olds have Eli Manning and Mitchell Boggs autograph??? Hmmm.... We might have to take him to a football and baseball game instead of the beach :)

An autograph is nothing more than a signature to a famous person or an athlete. An autograph to a parent of a terminally ill child is tears, smiles, and memories. I am so thankful for these awesome people!

GO CARDINALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the worse parts of Hayden's disease is that I have nobody to talk to. It is so rare that finding somebody living with it is few and far between. HEARTBREAKING. Well until my blog ended up on Christine's computer screen. She has been such a rock to me! Bethany and Christine sent Hayden this book!

Do you believe in Miracles? Do you believe in angels? Do you believe in HOPE? Do you believe in teaching your children life lessons? If you answer YES to these questions, I'd recommend ordering this book. Thank you Christine for a simple reminder of why I will NOT give up on Hayden. Thank you Christine for reminding me that I HAVE HOPE FOR HAYDEN!