Christmas Rewind...

We arrived home from Lubbock safe and sound this afternoon.  After almost a week away from home and 675 photos taken, it is going to take me a few posts to get through it all!  We had an amazing time and loved spending Travis's first Christmas with so many of our special friends and family.  Travis was such a good boy and loved being a little party animal.  He only wished Lubbock was 30 minutes closer because he is ready to be out of his carseat by Slaton.  :)

On Tuesday evening, Travis's great great great aunt and her husband traveled from Midland to meet Travis for the first time.  She is 82 (about to be 83) years young, and she was my great grandmother's sister (so she is Grana's aunt).  We had been wanting to get a Five Generations picture forever and Travis was our missing piece.  What a treasure this photo will be!

Here are some more photos from Tuesday night:

I'm going to be reliving Christmas for the next week so bear with me.  There are some pics worth the wait, I promise.

Xoxo,
Gara

The day we found out …

We found out we were pregnant one year ago today on 12/26/08.  We had been trying (and hoping and praying) to conceive for a while so every month we wondered if this would be the one.  I had been diagnosed with a staph infection in my leg on Christmas Eve.  Totally random, I know.  I was scheduled to go back to the doctor at CareNow - the doctor there was not happy with my progress and suggested that I go immediately to the emergency room.  Since we weren't sure yet if we had succeeded this month and didn't want the treatment to be a problem if we were, we wanted to ask if they could do a blood test at the ER.  Thankfully, the ER wasn't packed at 9 a.m. so we were able to get through pretty quickly. We met with the doctor (who was awesome) and you could tell he was hesitant to do the pregnancy blood test because he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news if the results were negative.  I told him we could handle it, and that we would like to know before he decided on the treatment for the staph.  He agreed and took 4 vials of blood to test for all of the staph-related things plus the pregnancy hormone.  I was given (pregnancy safe) IV antibiotics and the doctor cut on and cleaned my staph infection spot on my right shin.  Fun stuff.  The doctor left for a few minutes and returned with all of the blood results.  I'm pretty sure he said "blah, blah, blah re: staph" and then "you're pregnant."  Again, I'm pretty sure he left the room, but I can only remember holding Brandon's hand and us both crying.  We were shocked, surprised, and elated.  The doctor gave me his business card with a hand-written "Congratulations" on it, and all of my discharge papers talk about the treatment of staph infections and pregnancy.  It is funny!  My family was all still at the house, but we weren't ready to tell just yet, so we had to hide the excitement.  What a way to begin such an amazing journey!

I know all of these special memories will get fuzzy over time so I look forward to documenting all sorts of stuff on this blog so that we (and Travis) will always have it.

Xoxo,
Gara

Happy 4 Month Birthday!

Dear Travis,


Your first Christmas! The very best Christmas gift of all has been the gift of you. I have only known you for four short months, but my heart overflows with love for you. My heart skips a beat and my breath is taken away each time I lay my eyes on you. I am totally fascinated by you. I have discovered a new and wonderful kind of love – the love of a grandparent for a grandchild. The child of my child. Nothing could be more precious. I so look forward to watching every new change, expression, and trick you learn as you continue to grow.

As with most children, Christmas will probably become your favorite holiday. You will begin to look forward to each Christmas with great anticipation brought on by the lights, decorations, smells, music, treats, gifts, and a visit from Santa. Your family will be so excited to watch your excitement. We want you to enjoy being a child and having lots of fun. But in time I hope you also come to look forward to Christmas as a time for thanks, giving and sharing, contentment, charitable acts, friends, home, family, love, and togetherness.

I hope I can be everything you need me to be as your grandmother. I will be your biggest fan. I promise to always be there for you. When you get old enough to use the phone, your calls will take priority. Nothing will be more important than talking to you. You have other grandparents who love you and want to be near you just as much as I do, and you will have to spread your sweet self around, but I want to be with you as much as is feasible. The years will go rapidly, and I will cherish every moment of our time together. You may not fully know the breadth and depth of my love until you have your own children and grandchildren. But please know that I love you.

Travis, you are a very fortunate child. You have been born into a loving, extended family who will support and nurture you and provide you with an environment which will allow you to thrive. It is quite clear that you are well loved. If I could have one wish for you, it would be for you to always be surrounded by this love. I hope all of us who love you now can be there for you whenever you need us.

In addition to your extended family and more importantly, God has given you the best parents you could possibly wish for. Being the child of your parents has given you a huge advantage in life. Your Mommy and Daddy love you so very much. They are going to give you all the love, wisdom, guidance, encouragement, understanding, and support you will need to succeed in all of your pursuits and endeavors throughout your life. And I commit to being supportive of your parents in all they do to raise you. They will provide a solid foundation from which you will grow and flourish. Your Mommy and Daddy feel very blessed to have such a special son, and you have been very blessed to have such wonderful parents.

Merry Christmas and All My Love,

Pepper

Merry Christmas Eve!

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Luke 2:9-12

Hope you have a blessed Christmas!

Xoxo,
Brandon, Gara, and Travis

Visit with Santa!

This morning we (me, Lovey, Grandpa, and Aunt Momo) took Kyler (Sonnet's 8 year old) and Travis to see Santa.  We got there 15 minutes before Santa arrived and we were second in line.  Thank goodness!!  Kyler was such a good boy and asked Santa tons of thought provoking (and hysterical) questions like where does Santa park his reindeer and sleigh when he gets his Starbucks.  Too cute.  Travis didn't smile, but he didn't cry either so we are counting it as a success!

Hope Santa brings you what you wished for....

Xoxo,

Gara

Christmas with Nana & PaPaw!

Travis got another Christmas celebration under his belt Sunday night as we celebrated with Nana and PaPaw.  Nana and PaPaw graciously padded his college fund so unfortunately no curling ribbon, but Travis did have lots of fun chatting with his Nana.  She does good baby talk!  I was tuckered out from taking pictures all day at a wedding (I've got a cramp in my pointer finger from clicking away), but I did snap a couple. 

Three generations of Hill men:

Chatting with Nana:

Grandpa, Travis, and I are heading to Lubbock tomorrow.  Our longest road trip so far so wish us luck.

Xoxo,
Gara

Christmas at Pepper's!

Travis enjoyed his first of many Christmas festivities this season.  We celebrated with Pepper, Granddaddy (T's great-granddaddy), Uncle Blake, Aunt Kimmie, and special friends, Harriet & Wendy.  Of course, Travis got tons of loot.  I think he is especially fond of his new monkey friend and all of his camo goodies.  He wouldn't be a kid if he didn't also find the ribbon more amusing than the gifts!  We are so blessed to have such amazing families with which to share this Christmas season.

Four Generations:

 
Xoxo,
Gara