My New Year's Eve Gift

Today I got the greatest gift..............my Daddy is getting to come home! After 16 days of rehabing in the hospital and SKY Rehab he is doing well enough to go home! We still have to make sure he is not alone, but I would do anything to make sure he is home! Colby is so excited too!

Jeremy's father Larry had hip replacement surgery this morning. It went very well and he will be in the Medical Center for three days and then he will go to SKY if he can not go to the restroom on his own. Please pray for Larry!

Thanks again for all of your support and prayers over the past two weeks!

A Bit of Good News

Today Daddy found out that he will be coming home hopefully by the end of the week! We are thrilled with this news! He has come such a long way during the past two weeks. Today he was able to walk about 20 feet from the bed to the door with the help of a walker. Daddy is upset that he will have to use a walker and wheelchair for mobility for a while, but he also realizes how lucky he is to be able to move at all. Thank God for blessing Daddy!

I had also been meaning to post about some fun we had as a family over the weekend also. On Friday Jeremy, Colby, and I went to see Marley and Me at the theater. It was a very sweet and funny movie based on a true story about a lab that gets into a world of trouble over the course of his life. The movie however was very sad. We enjoyed it but it really was too much for Colby. I would recommend it to many people with kids under 8 because it deals with the issue of death.......somewhat of a modern day Old Yeller. It was so sweet though because when we got home all Colby wanted to do was love on his dog Max!

Jeremy, Colby, and Max

The Passing of a Dear Friend

Tonight I got a phone call from my sister saying that Nathan Vincent had been killed as the result of a car accident. I don't know all the details, but I do know that Nathan was a wonderful friend who had really gotten his life in order and was living as we all should. Please remember Nathan's family during this terrible time. Also, take a little time to show those around you that you love them even more...........we never know how much time we are allowed on this earth.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Pa!

Today my Daddy turned 55. We celebrated with him at SKY Rehab Center. We took cupcakes and snuck in the room with party hats on singing "Happy Birthday." Daddy was very emotional about being in the rehab center on such special occasions, but we all know it is for the best. The length of his stay is still undetermined, but we are getting closer to his release every day!

Today we also enjoyed the unusually warm weather by letting Colby ride his four wheeler. He rides so well and it is so much fun watching him!


Colby riding his four wheeler.

Christmas Day

Colby was so excited Christmas morning!

He LOVED his new tee-ball bat!

Colby's face when he came into the living room Christmas morning.

Look at the mess Santa made!

We had a wonderful Christmas at the Vincent home this year. Colby enjoyed things so much this year. He had been such a great little boy all year and it really seemed to have paid off with a great visit from Santa. Now let me tell you though, Santa really left a mess in our house! Colby just knew that Santa would come in through the chimney and that is apparently exactly how he got in.............there were ashy footprints all the way from the stove into the living room!

Colby got more than any kid needs, but his favorite gifts were his camera (Fisher Price Kid Proof camera...............wonderful item!) and a remote control car. My personal favorite gift was the NERF bullets Santa left for the guns we have...........Colby, Jeremy, and I all have the guns and it is all out WAR when we play! Jeremy swears I could be an assasin with my excellent aim!

Daddy was still in SKY Rehab on Christmas day so we went down and had a small celebration with him. We plan to really celebrate Christmas for our family when Daddy gets to come home!

We are all so thankful for everything we have this holiday season. We enjoy each moment we have here on earth and thank God for so richly blessing us all. Happy Holidays everyone!

Colby opening his gifts from May May at SKY.

Christas Eve Fun

Jeremy and his Daddy, Larry.

Me and My Christmas Sweetheart!

My Two Favorite Men!

I Love Being A Mommy!

Colby in his Christmas PJ's

Our Christmas festivities got underway today. We got up and made our cookies for Santa. They turned out great. Next we went to the Reedyville Community Center to celebrate with the Vincent family. This is the first Christmas since Mamaw Thelma passed away, so it was very nice to see the family come together again.

Our next stop was at Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Linda's house for the Cowles family gathering. It was much different not having Daddy with us this year, but we had a good time being together.

Now that the gifts have started coming in for Colby my house has turned into a race track. It seems that each stop we make adds another remote control vehicle to the fray and my kitchen is filled with the sounds of speeding cars and laughing boys. I don't know who has more fun - Colby or Jeremy!

It is now time to get into our new Christmas pajamas and snuggle in bed with a bedtime story. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

Movie Time With Pa

Colby and Pa

On Tuesday night we went to the hospital to visit my Daddy. Colby took a present to Pa. When he opened it it was Scooby Doo's Christmas Movie and they had to watch it. I took a couple of pictures of them snuggled up in the bed. They love having this kind of quality time together because the time we get with Daddy right now is so limited.

Today they moved Daddy to SKY Rehab for an unknown amount of time. He was so upset when we left him tonight because he loves Christmas and hates to be alone (they don't allow overnight visitors there). It was so hard to leave him tonight because he was crying and it broke my heart. Please remember Daddy in your prayers.

The Hustle and Bustle of Christmas

What a busy week it has been! We have spent several hours every day at the hospital with Daddy. Colby has been such a good boy through all of this. One day we took my laptop and he crawled in bed with Pa and they watched "Horton Hears a Who." It absolutely made Daddy and Colby's day!

Daddy is doing better, but has a long way to come. He has had to have two blood transfusions and he is having trouble keeping his blood pressure up to a suitable level. The conditions for him to be able to come home are that he is able to get up and go to the bathroom by himself. So far he has not been able to stand up by himself. The doctor and insurance company will be letting us know tomorrow what the next step will be. Please keep my Daddy in your prayers. He is so tired of being in the hospital and he is upset about all the things he has missed with his family this week.

On a lighter note, we have almost finished our Christmas shopping. This year to tighten our budget a bit we are only buying for the kiddos. That's what it's all about anyway! We spent part of the afternoon today going from store to store and fighting the COLD!!

Good luck to everyone on getting your last minute Christmas preparation completed!

Update on Daddy

Today Daddy had a second surgery. They inserted a rod into his left femur. He immediately felt a little relief. We also got the great news that if they can get him to walk enough to go the restroom alone he could be home by Christmas!! He has a lot of healing to do, but things could be so much worse. We are so thankful for everything the Lord has given us! Thank you again for all your calls, messages, and prayers!!

Please Remember My Daddy

On Monday afternoon my Daddy was in a very nasty car wreck on the way home from work. The first few hours were very uncertain because we were unsure of what all his injuries consisted of. Last night they discovered his left leg was broken near his ankle and mid way up his calf. They operated on him last night and placed a rod and pins in his leg. Today when Physical Therapy came to get him up to move around he felt extreme pain and heard a "pop." They just found out that the main bone in his thigh is shattered. He will be going into surgery again as soon as they can get him in. The bones will mend eventually, but the immediate concern is that they have to put him under again for the surgery. He does not do well with anesthesia and that scares me so bad! Please keep our family in your prayers. Thank you for all the calls, messages, and emails.

Love,
Brooke, Jeremy, and Colby

Dear Santa

Someone can't really understand why stockings aren't for your feet!

Please come see me Santa! I PROMISE I've been good!

Dear Santa,

I am writing this letter to about my son Colby. I wanted to let you know that he has been a pretty good boy this year. If you forget about him taking the nails out of the door frames, dropping his daddy's cell phone in the toilet so it could "swim" and all the times snuck animals in the house without Mommy and Daddy knowing it - He has been great!

Colby wanted me to let you know that he has finally decided to pick up his own toys since Mommy takes them to the consignment shop he doesn't clean up. He also said that when you come to our house on Christmas Eve that you need to take all of Mommy's wooden spoons with you (that way Colby will get no more whippings with the spoons that really "sting" a lesson into him.)

Here are the things Colby would like for Christmas:

• a guitar



• the Wall-E movie and v-smile game



• a Tonka car hauler



• a laptop with games on it



• the Operation game



• a camera

Santa, Colby really is a good boy so please do your best! We look forward to your visit on Christmas Eve!

Love,

Jeremy, Brooke and Colby

**This letter appears exactly the way Colby told me to write it! He says the funniest things! I nearly fell out about him wanting Santa to take all the wooden spoons away. Maybe Mommy's stocking needs a couple of new spoons put in it!

The Puppies Are Ready!!

The puppies are ready to find their new "forever" homes! They will be 6 weeks old on Tuesday December 9th. All of the puppies are eating solids for each meal except for the nursing they still do for comfort.

I have posted pictures of the puppies from this afternoon, however a 6 week old puppy is much too "busy" to sit and pose for a picture. Colby tried to hold them for me so that I could get some facial shots, but they are not all great pictures. I am so sorry! If there is a specific puppy you are interested in please contact me and I will take more pictures and send them to you!



We lost another puppy two weeks ago to under development. It is believed that they puppy got no colostrum during those first few vital hours after birth. We now have 6 females and 2 males remaining.













Female - Brown and white

Female - brown and white

Female - fawn and white -SOLD

Male - Brown and white -SOLD

Female - Brown and white

Female - Solid white with one brown ear and one brown eye - SOLD

Female - Fawn and white - SOLD

Male - Fawn and white

The Trees Are Up!

The Living Room Tree - this picture does not do it justice!




The Heirloom Tree in Colby's room.






This weekend Jeremy had to work and Colby and I found ourselves with lots of time on our hands Saturday and Sunday. We decided to surprise Daddy and put the Christmas trees up. We put the large one up in the living room on Saturday night. This is the first year I have done a "themed" tree. Everything on the tree is crystal, red, silver, and gold (with white lights) and it is the most BEAUTIFUL tree I have ever put up! I am so pleased with the way it has turned out and I spend a lot of time now sitting and staring at the tree. We camped out under the tree lights last night just for fun!

On Sunday we put the "heirloom" tree up in Colby's room. It is decorated with colored lights and has all the ornaments from my childhood (Jeremy didn't have any from his) and all the ornaments we have collected as a family over the years. You will find everything form a 1980 Baby's First Christmas ball to several John Deer Tractors covering the branches. Colby is so excited to have a "big" tree in his room also! I just hope it stays up instead of becoming a victim to a ball whizzing across the room or a monster truck racing across the floor!

I love the holidays and anyone who knows me knows that I can really take it over the top with my decorations. At one point I had six trees up in my house......I don't have the room for them all now, but I am trying to incorporate as many of my decorations as I can without being tacky!

How Quickly Things Change

Colby at 4 years and 4 months old




New born Colby at 2 pounds 15 ounces




Just the other night my little man was feeling bad and asked me, "Mommy will you rock me please?" Of course I said YES because the times he wants me to rock him now are few and far between.........he still LOVES to snuggle though. Anyway as we settled into our rocker and got covered up and cozy I began to feel something brushing my ankle. I looked down and realized it was his feet! It broke my heart, but at the same time made me proud of how much he has grown. It seems like only yesterday I was rocking that tiny baby and now his feet are nearly touching the ground in the rocker! Children grow so quickly and I want to savor every moment I can with my sweet baby boy!

Puppy Fun

We are having a wonderful time with out newest litter of puppies! They are doing well but we have begun to supplement two of them with bottle feedings to help them along the way. Today we had 8 of them in the house while the smallest two had some alone time with Mommy and Colby decided he would be the "babysitter." I went to check on supper and heard the puppies all whimpering and went in the living room and found him with all of the puppies in a line patting them saying "It's okay, Daddy's here." It was so cute! He are a couple of pictures from today. Enjoy!

Want to see more about the puppies? Visit www.mustloveboxers.blogspot.com

Halloween Fun!

We had a great time on Halloween! Colby and Jeremy both dressed up like soldiers for trick-or-treating. My mom made Colby's costume and it turned out great! We made the rounds to the homes of family and friends then went to Melissa's mom and dad's for a Halloween party! We had a lot of fun and made a lot of great memories. Colby is already plotting what to be next year!

Fall Pictures

We had Fall Pictures taken by ChrisNicole Photography a couple of weeks ago at Jackson's Orchard. I wanted to post a few of the pictures on here to share with all of you! Enjoy!

New Boxer Puppies

Colby was "loving" his puppy.



Our female boxer Honey had a litter of 10 puppies on October 21st (Jeremy's birthday!) They are so pretty! There are 6 girls and 4 boys. Here are a few pictures at one day old. If anyone is in need of a new puppy let us know. They will be ready just in time for Christmas!

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

Today was Jeremy's 29th birthday. We began celebrating last Saturday with a family party at his brother's house. Then today we enjoyed some quiet family time and had a BEAUTIFUL cake made by Ms. Donna! Look at the cake pictures closely - it's Jeremy and Colby fishing! Thanks Donna for the wonderful cake and HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEREMY!