October ....

...in pictures! Pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving and Trunk or Treat!

The verdict is....

Zena, who is now Maggie (Zena just DID NOT fit us!), is a keeper! We are definitely going to have to get her used to outsiders...she is quite attached to the 3 of us, but is not too sure about neighbors who walk up when we are outside. Poor girl gets scared and backs up as far as she can, but we know she will get comfortable! I am just crazy about her, and love having a new companion in our house!

In other news....we have had to find somewhere new for Will to stay during the day, long story! We are thrilled that he is going to be starting a church school in Conroe starting the first week of November. Thanks to YaYa for coming to the rescue!! We feel very confident that Will is going to be very happy at his new school and will stay there until he starts kindergarten!

Life is good here ... we are all doing well, over some sickness that Will and I had this week which was no fun! Two days of us stuck in the house with a pup who has lots of energy is exhausting when you don't feel well! Other than that nothing is new! We are ready for Trunk or Treat next week and loving the fall weather!

Zena

We are "fostering with the option to adopt" ...... you know, kinda like, "leasing with the option to purchase"??? We want to make the best choice for everyone involved. We want a new dog, Will wants a new dog, but we have to be sure it is a perfect match for our family and for this sweet girl. She is an American Staffordshire Terrier and seems to be a sweetie! We will keep you all updated...........

Just Pictures......

That's it. We have been so caught up in our lives I have shared very few pictures of the cutest little boy in the world lately!! So, here he is! Our little guy is turning into a big guy before our eyes! He is smart, and sweet, and tests us constantly! But .... we LOVE him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I think both of my boys are a little lonely with Riley gone ... so they've really bonded!

We are surviving!

Well .... life is going on in the McLendon house. Will loves going to MDO and playing with his friends. We feel so blessed to have him 2 places he enjoys being!

Patrick loves the new job ... now that we are over the hump of him being unemployed, we see that it was all a blessing. We now have a whole afternoon as a family, rather than the hurry-and-get-home so Will can see you evenings. It is beyond what I ever imagined, and we love having Daddy home!

Life is a blessing. Every day something happens that reminds me. Knowing God never gives you more than you can handle has gotten us through some difficult times. We do truly believe it is all God's plan!

Daddy's a Triathlete!

On Sunday Patrick competed in his first triathlon! He did awesome ... we unfortunately don't have any swim pictures. Patrick was first in his divsion, Clydesdales (men over 200 pounds) and had he competed with his age group he would have been 3rd! We are so proud of Daddy ... and looking forward to many more triathlons ahead.
Good job, Daddy!

Another sad day....

Well, we are due for something really great to happen in our lives.... and soon. Yesterday we had to put our sweet dog, Riley, down. For those of you who were lucky enough to spend time with our baby, you know he was the most gentle dog around. He loved kids, and he loved being with us.
Last month we took him to the vet, and he had extremely swollen lymph nodes which caused alarm. Over the last month his health has quickly gone downhill. The masses grew and were restricting airflow, he lost 7 pounds, he became lethargic and not himself.....we came home Wednesday to blood on our dining room floor.
Patrick and Mom took him to the vet, and were assured that it was time for his short life to come to a peaceful end.

Riley, we love you and miss you, bub.

The Zoo

We are so lucky to have Ms. Ashley waching Will ... on Friday they packed up and took the boys to the zoo, and took tons of pictures so Mommy and Daddy got to see just how much fun our boy had. He did have a little catastrophe of his sippy cup falling into the sea lion pool, but other than that they all had a blast!

Will and Trey








Of course Will made a friend ....


Worn out!

What has really been going on with us?

About 3 weeks ago I was very excited that I was finally going to get to publish a post I'd been waiting a little over a month to share with all my Blog friends.

Those plans were changed after a visit wih my doctor. On July 13 Patrick and I found out we were expecting Baby McLendon #2 ... very exciting stuff for us. I made Will a Big Brother shirt and we shared the news with the people closest to us (and of course took pictures to put on the blog). I decided to wait to blog until after the first appointment when we'd have an ultrasound. That appointment was scheduled for August 5. We saw our little one on the screen, and heard a heartbeat that day. But, the doctor was concerned because the baby was measuring 6 weeks and I was 8 weeks along. They did some bloodwork and my progesterone levels came back low. I was classified as a threatened miscarriage due to some spotting and the low hormone levels. They put me on a progesterone supplement with hopes this would raise my levels and help the baby grow. We then scheduled another ultrasound for August 20 to see what was happening ... and waited for the longest 2 weeks of our lives. August 20 came and we waited patiently all morning for the ultrasound at 2:30 that afternoon. The doctor said that the baby was now measuring 7 to 7.5 weeks (but at this point I was 10 weeks pregnant) ... and after a long pause she informed us there was no longer a heartbeat. Honestly, this was my biggest fear, I said it over and over during our 2 week wait between ultrasounds ... no one ever wants their biggest fear to come true, but it had for us. Dr. Winkelman was able to schedule my D&C for the following day at noon. So last Friday, August 21, Patrick and I said goodbye to our baby....it has been a rough week, a roller coaster of emotions. One minute I feel fine, and the next I feel beyond sad, and so very lonely. I know our baby is in Heaven and we have our own guardian angel watching over us .... but I selfishly would rather have our baby with us. I am so thankful Will is not old enough to understand what has happened, and he has been able to bring lots of smiles to Patrick and I during this tough time. He is an absolute blessing to us both!

I wanted to share our experience because, as sad as it is, it is way more common than I ever realized. Until it happens to you, others don't talk about it.

Please keep our little family in your thoughts and prayers. We are blessed in so many ways, and do trust that the Lord knows best even though right now we don't understand.

With Ms. Ashley

It is back to work time at the McLendon household...it has been nice to get back into a routine. Will has adjusted to going back to Ashley's beautifully this year! It has made life much easier on Momma and Daddy! Here are a few pictures that Ashley has sent me since he has been back with her (I am so lucky she keeps me informed all day when he is there!)

Will and Trey sleeping on the way to visit Trey's gramdma

Will "hiding" ... hey, if he can't see you, how can you see him??

Playing in the water!

Big Day ...

Yesterday (for the first time since we have been potty training) we had an ACCIDENT FREE DAY! We are so proud of Will ... while we know that our progress may be interfered with as he goes back to Ashley and Mother's Day Out, yesterday was huge!

We also took Will to the pool last night and he is really getting much braver in the water. It is fun to see how each time he goes swimming he gets a little more comfortable in the water ... good thing we live in Texas and still have a while to swim this year!

No pictures again. Life has been busy. I promise some soon!

Where have we been??

Enjoying our summer.
We have relaxed, played, slept, ate, and played some more...as summer is beginning to wind down we are just taking each day to enjoy our family time. I am starting a new position this year as a District Literacy Coach so I'll be starting work the first week of August. I will have a day here and there, but summer is close to being over. Since Patrick will also be starting a new job as a PE teacher he goes back to work the second week of August. We have been trying to prepare Will for what is coming, but after being home with both of us ALL summer I am afraid the transition may be a little tough! He will be going back to Ms. Ashley 3 days a week, and Mother's Day Out (thank to YaYa and Nonnie & Poppy) 2 days a week. We think this is the best of both worlds ...
Potty training is going okay. Some days are great, others not so much. But we have made progress! He pretty much hangs out in his big boy undies at home so sorry for the lack of pictures....
Hope everyone else is enjoying summer as much as we are!!!!!!!!!

Cousins

4th of July Celebration(s)

This year Bentwater held fireworks on the 3rd, so we got 2 celebrations! Will and Miler had a great time playing, but Will still is not a fan of fireworks....the kid is fearless usually, but loud noises totally freak him out. He kept saying, "Fireworks berry, berry woud! Too woud!" We tried again on the 4th watching Walden's and he chose watching a DVD in the Tahoe and peering out instead of sitting in the front yard with everyone else. Hopefully next year he will be over this fear!

Taking a snack break

Waiting for the parade to start

Good family friends, Pam and Donnie with their grandchildren

The boys playing YaYa and Pa's

Baby Stewart News....

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get to be at my sister's BIG ultrasound for baby #2! We are super excited to be welcoming a little girl in December .... and you better believe she is going to be spoiled rotten!
It had been so long (when I was in labor with Will) since I had heard that sweet sound of a baby's heartbeat in the womb. She was moving around like crazy, so she may turn out to be the wild one of two Stewart kiddos! Baby girl Stewart is measuring right on track to be due December 3. We will have a new baby at Christmas time! Congratulations on the news of a baby girl on the way Josh, Amy, and Miler (who I know will be a great big brother!)

I'll keep everyone updated!