Christmas Day!!!

Braxton woke up to a heap of toys, it was so cool! His face lit up with joy & he immediately started playing with his vacuum then of course the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book set! It was great! After he settled down a bit we then opened our presents. We all were blessed with great things, from books, to jewelery, to shoes & clothes!! The most fun was to open Braxton's gifts to us because we had no idea what it was. He went shopping with his teachers at school (they had this shop called Candy Cane Lane where the kids could pick out gifts to buy their family members & they wrapped them at school so only the kids knew what they were)so we really had no idea what to expect. It was sweet. Daddy got a pen that says # 1 daddy and I got a cute keepsake box. Braxton is so sweet!!!

After all of this excitement, we got ready for the days adventures. We headed to the Puckett building for Christmas with the Pruitt clan (Jeremy's mom side of the family.) We had a great time, lots of great food and lots of fun! Jer played rook and the kids all had a blast! Karen tried to learn how to play rook and to see her facial expressions, well let's just say it was amusing!!!

We ended our day at Uncle Toms house, my moms side of the family! We were loud as usual and had a wonderful time. My side of the family is crazy. We are super loud and always poke fun at one another! It truly is a unique experience each & every time we all get together!

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve. I can honestly say that I do not think we've had this much fun since the both of us were kids. It was so neat to start traditions with Braxton and explain to him what this night and season is all about , the birth of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ!!

The nights activities included making banana bread for Santa, writing Santa a letter, putting reindeer food outside, and when it was bedtime daddy read us the Christmas story in Bman's room while we were all sitting together. It was the best night by far!!! To watch Braxton get so excited about throwing the food out on the lawn for the reindeer, to him trying to eat & drink Santa's banana bread & milk. The magic of Christmas was truly brought back to life for me this year and I can not wait for all the years to come!!!

Our week of Christmas!!!

Yes, that's right, we had a week of Christmas. We had some sort of Christmas activity everyday of the week of Christmas & two on Friday, Christmas day! Let's just say WOW!!!! We had a blast at all of our families homes and especially at our own house with Braxton, Christmas Eve. He was a real joy this year even though we ended up in the doctors office Christmas Eve morning and not able to attend the Glaze side festivities that day, Daddy went for us, which was really weird!!
Here are the weeks activities & pictures from all!!!

Monday: we we to Grandma & Grandpas to have Christmas with them, Uncle Jason, Aunt Kim, & Cousins Carly, Reed, & Will. Everyone had a great time and racked up!! Braxton got a ton of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stuff, which is his favorite, as well as a cozy coupe car which he adores!!! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!!!

Tuesday: was Small Group Christmas at the Bells house. We had yummy food and celebrated a birthday as well as played a game and heard a really great message from Jeremy!! Group Rocks!!!

Wednesday: we were off to Nanny & Papas house to have Christmas with them, Uncle Lolo, Aunt Allison and cuz Lane. It was so much fun to see the boys play and open presents. Lane & Braxton are only 7 months apart so it's really cool to watch them play together. Santa(Papa) was really good to them as well. Brax got his kitchen which we can't get him out of and not to mention I am loosing all of my utensils to his cabinets!!! Thanks Nanny & Papa!!!!

So that was the starting of our week.... it was fun and we are so thankful for our families!!!

My friend, Hayes, spent the night!!!!

So we had company tonight. The Airharts spent the night, which is very unusual for us. We typically do not do sleepovers, not that we do not like having people over we just really do not have the right accommodations, the spare bedroom stinks, and that's being polite about it!!!!! All 6 of us had a great time, the boys played and Braxton even tried to get Hayes into Blues Clues. I think he liked it too! We did have a little trouble at first sharing our toys with Hayes ( I guess that's the only child syndrome) but overall they played well together and we look forward to doing this again!!!!

A life changing experience.....

This day was so unique that I nor Jeremy and I believe I can speak for the others that were there with us will never forget and truly hold dear to our hearts forever. This day we made our way down to the Atlanta Dream Center which is in the heart of Atlanta, the 4th ward of the projects to be exact. We went to volunteer for the day at the Dream Center with our friends from small group, (Kim, Chris, Will & some of the Kim's neighbors & other friends). Let's just say all of our eyes and hearts were opened to what reality is in others eyes. Our mission for the day was to deliver presents to these kids that lived in projects. The program is called adopt-a-block. People go to these homes and knock on there doors to talk to these people, try to spread Gods love to them and give them a glimpse of hope! I believe that we the volunteers were touched by God in so many ways and felt Him at work all throughout us and the city!

The day started out in the front lawn of the the Dream Center which is an old house in a neighborhood. There were about 400 people just gathering throughout, bringing toys, grilling hot dogs & hamburgers, mingling, & getting ready for the days activities. Then we started worshiping. The worship leader started singing "God of this City," and wow it was life changing. It was so surreal. Standing in the front lawn of a house with 400 complete strangers all singing in one accord "Greater things are yet to come greater tings are still to be don in this city!!!" It brought tears of joy to my eyes and proved once again how awesome God is!! Once worship was over we split into small groups and embarked on our mission to find children that may not get a Christmas and give them one as well as to let them know God is here with us and is always with you. He is Great and all powerful!!! We saw many things that day; from smiles of disbelief that they were getting toys, to small children (age 2 or 3) trying to protect their little brother from us because she thought we were going to harm them as they were broken into just that week. It was pitiful to see that fear in her eyes. The little girl was literally shaking and trying to move her brother in the apartment. The end result at this house was amazing, they welcomed us into their home and we handed out toys to them all and the little girl that was once terrified was smiling & playing like one her age should be!

The last house we visited was by far the most emotional. I know it will stick with me forever. My heart broke for these kids that were lived here. A 3 year old girl, Honesty, & 8 month old little girl, Faith. The mother was in the car in the driveway leaving her children in the house alone. We gave them so many presents and showered them with love for the longest period of time. When I saw Faith, the baby, in a swing just sitting there unattended to and what seemed to be unloved I made a mad dash to get her. I had to hold, comfort, and love this child as if she were my very own. I held Faith for a long time. I held her so close to me and kissed her and just loved this baby! I was crying I could not help myself and did not want to put her down. I wanted this child to come home with me, to give her a better life , one she deserves. Faith showed me hope in the end. This little 8 month child who was in a dirty diaper, half clothed, & in a very poor,environment, was happy in my arms. She smiled at me, played with me, all in all making me smile & laugh when I thought that was not at all possible. God was there with us, right there next to us, holding all of us in his arms showing us His great power yet again!!! WOW and Thank you is all I can say Lord!!!! This experience, especially the last 15 minutes with Faith (the 8 month old little girl) changed my life. God spoke to me in a way that He has never before (or maybe I just never heard Him). I realized, I mean truly realized that God is always with us no matter what our situation. To have this child in my arms playing a game with me ( I was kissing her forehead and she would lean back & then lean into for me to do it a gain) while we are praying for her & her family was something that will remain with me forever!!!

I believe this experience impacted all of our lives in ways that we know and still have not figured out. All I know is I want more times like this!! Praise God for this day!!!!

Braxton's Christmas Party

Braxton had his first Christmas Party at school today. Daddy gave us a nice a surprise by showing up. I was in the parking lot of the school and Jer pulled up. I got so excited because I didn't know he was going to come. He had said earlier that he was going to try but it was doubtful, it made both mine & Braxton's day that he was able to be there!!! Braxton and all of his friends in his class had a great time. They got to eat chips, sandwiches, & yummy sugar cookies ( the good ones from Publix) which turned out to be Braxton's favorite, he had green icing all over the place! His teachers, Mrs. Karen, Mrs. Melanie, and Mrs Kathie were all there and they had made a stocking for each child as well had gifts for everyone! The kids had made ornaments for their parents that had their picture in it as well as another one that had all the kids names in their class on it. They are really cute keepsakes that I will cherish forever!!! All of Brax's teachers are truly wonderful and we are very fortunate to have such great teachers to take care & provide an eduction to our little guy! Props to you all!!!!

Married Life Live

Well to end our date weekend we and two other couples(The Airhart's & Nobles) from our small group went to dinner & Married Life Live at North Point Community Church tonight. We started out for dinner at Chipolte which we about missed because we were meeting at 6 and they were closing then. What, closing at 6 on Sunday we thought???? No one knew this nor understood why but thank goodness the other couples were on time and already in there when we arrived! We had a nice dinner and then headed to church! Married Live live is a married couples ministry that puta on conferences and date nights etc., Tonight was all about Christmas. We got to hear great music and even a good message! They sent us home with their version of the 12 days of Christmas, an exercise for each couple to do over the next 12 days. Basically, what it boiled down to was each of us had a list of things to do for our spouse (things like flirt with them, tell them how much we love them, get them a small but thoughtful gift) it was a really great idea and Jeremy & I took it seriously and had lot of fun with it!!! The others we went with participated in the exercise too and we all held each other accountable so that made the 12 days of Christmas that much better!!! The whole idea behind this was to LOVE your spouse and really show your LOVE to them! That's what our God wants us to do and North Point just gave us a little kick start on ways to do so! God has truly blessed us with our friends in small group! We are thankful for them & love them very much!! Thanks guys for a great evening!

Christmas Sprinkles!!!!!

Tonight we headed to Allie's house for a Christmas party! Let's just say we had a blast!!!! Allie is one of my best friends from high school. She and her sisters hosted this party! Heather & Eric were there( among others that I have become friends with through Allie) and of course Jeremy & Eric had a fabulous time, as you can see in one of the pics Jer had E serving him before the night came to an end!!! All of us girls had a great time too! Heather even put on a shoe show for us which was quite a treat! The kicker for the night was us almost loosing our car to the Valet!!! So here's the story, Allie lives in Buckhead, and we could not park in her buildings parking deck, why I guess we are just not all there so we used a restaurants valet that is across the street but in the same drive as her building. Yea, well time past & time past til approximately 1 am or so and then all if sudden I realized that we need to see about getting our car. It was an ordeal. Jeremy & Eric went on the hunt for the keys & the car, The valet was closed and no one knew anything, not even the concierge in Allie's building so to say the least their journey was unsuccessful. I started to freak out just a bit because we do not do sleepovers, unless absolutely necessary, and we did not want to have to go back to Buckhead to search for the keys & our car in the morning! Guess what????? I got our car from a security officer about 45 minutes after it all began! We were ready to go!!! So we hit the road and Heather & Eric hitched a ride ride with us and when we got to their house Jeremy & Eric had a concert!!! They are so much alike it's scary!!! They were jamming out in Eric's office to old music, singing to the tops of theirlungs and all Heather & I could do was laugh and then we joined in!!!! We had a great time, Thanks Sprinkles!!!

Daraja Choir!!!

Jer an I had a a date night, well actually what seem to be a whole weekend!!! Friday night we went to North Point Community Church to see the Daraja Choir. They are a group of orphans from Kenya who are rescued from their situation by 410 bridge, an organization in Kenya. Let's just say these kids are amazing!!!! They truly are examples of Gods work!!! They come from bad situation, they are orphans living in poverty yet they are so happy and have the biggest, brightest, most vibrant smiles that bring tears of joy to your eyes!!! Their stories are incredible all they want to do is praise God & share His word! Its remarkable!!! We had a great time listening to the kids sing wonderful songs and watching them dance!! The energy that was in the theatre and with all that were there was truly God at work!!! We had such a fabulous time!!! Thank you God for being so great and letting us be a part of it all!!!!

My little shopper!!!!

What a serious look, a hardcore shopper!!!!

So we (Braxton Grandma & I) went to Walmart one day and Brax decided he wanted to push the buggy!! Pretty funny I might say. He would NOT let me or Grandma help him in any way shape or form! When he saw that we were trying to guide the buggy he would immediately stop and push us a way!!! The next thing that took me a minute to figure out was; He would stop pushing the buggy and go over to the clothes rack every few feet. Then it hit me he is looking at clothes or shopping !!! We just had to laugh!!! He is shopper just like his mama!!! Sorry Daddy!!!

Breakfast with Santa

This was before we went into school, how adorable are my two favorite guys!!!!

The pic with Ms. Clause is very similar to the santa picture!!

WOW!!! That's all we can say!!!
Braxton's school put on a Breakfast with Santa that was really cute. There were a few different rooms set up with different activities for the children to participate in. There of course was Santa which Bman was having nothing and I mean nothing to do with at all, it was so bad that Jeremy said "I can't believe we are doing this to him we need to stop!!!" Then there was Ms. Clause in anohter room reading the Christmas story which went a litte better for Braxton. He enjoyed the reading after he saw that we( mommy was going to sit on the floor with him to listen to Ms. Clause read. Last but not least, there was a place for the kids to shop called Candy Cane Lane they could also wrap their gifts as well as make their own Christmas card! All in all it was a very neat production by Creekside!

Choosing the perfect christmas tree!

Brax says "this one mommy & daddy."
This is our tree!!!

This year we heard Jeremy talk about getting a Christmas tree starting in October (the man LOVES Christmas), yea I believe it was before Halloween. So when the time actually came let's just say he was so exited that it was like watching a kid in the candy store! We had an amazing time choosing the perfect tree for our family!!!

We stopped at a place on our way home from the Mountain house the weekend of Thanksgiving, so we got the most of our tree!!! It was fun to watch Braxton walk around and look at the trees, he loved to touch them and play in the hay! We enjoyed ourselves and I must say, Jeremy did a great job at choosing the tree. It was perfect!!! I usually pick the tree and there is normally something wrong with it, its too big or small or leans to the right but nope not this year our tree was great!!!

Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for!

So our Thanksgiving consisted of two stops on two different days, that's so awesome!!!
First we went to the Glaze side of the fam on Wednesday which was at Dan & Donna's house (Jeremy aunt & uncle) in Lilburn. We had a great time! We ate & played out side which consisted of both kids & adults attempting to kick field goals( Doug, Jeremy's dad, is featured in the pics) with the hopes of an adult missing completely and busting their behind with it all being caught on tape so we could put on YouTube. No luck, no one fell, few field goals were kicked, but many laughs were heard! RockBand was also played, and wow how music was taken to a new level!!! I hope you enjoy the pics! Next we headed to my Moms house on Thanksgivng. This year it was pretty quiet which is very unusual for my side of the family. The big to-do was: "is there enough food" and WOW there was way too much!! We ran out of food at our last family get together so this will never happen again, we could have fed an army with all of the leftovers! After these festivities were over we headed to the Mtn. house for the weekend with Doug, Joan, Jason, Kim & the kids (the Glazes). It is a tradition that I have to go shopping on Black Friday with my mom so every year I get up around 4 am and drive back to Suwanee to meet up with her to shop til we drop!! Carly came with us this year which was so much fun. Carly is my 13 year old niece. I had so much fun having her tag along and I think she had a really good time too. Maybe her & I will have a new tradition.! Anyhow, this week was a GREAT one and it just goes to show how awesome God really is. The loved that was shared, shown, & experienced is amazing! I love our families and we love God! So let me end by saying Thank you God for all things that You have given & provided as I know it all comes from You!!! You are AWESOME!!!!

Braxton Cole & DMB

Story Time!!!

Today we went to to Story time at the library & Chic-fi-la with our new friends Hayes & Briley. At story time we heard a couple of stories, sang songs, danced and even saw two puppet shows! WOW, so much fun! Next we went for the playground and lunch at Chic-fi-la. We had a great time. Our new friends are from our small group that we recently joined and are so wonderful in many ways! We have spent some time with Hayes & his mommy Kim before at the mall but this was our first time with Briley and her mommy Kacey. The kids got all along great and so did us mommies.

I know I really enjoy being with these other women and their children. I thank God for them in several ways. I look forward to our kids growing up together and us parents making the journey of life together. I am so thankful for our small group because it has opened doors for my whole family that were not even cracked before these people were placed in our lives. I truly believe that all of the people are good people and love life as well as our great God and it shows in so many ways. I hope & pray that our children can and will see all of these characteristics in each of us over time. I know that I want to grow with these women and their families for years to come! Like I stated in my previous blog, Good friends are hard to find and even harder to keep but maybe just maybe we will all be in it for the long run! I feel truly blessed to have these ladies and thier families in our lives, I can't seeem to say that enough.

That would be so nice because I already have the scenario played out in my head. Briley is 15 months and is the cutest little red head with the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen. I would not mind if Braxton wanted to keep her along his side but my worry is there is Hayes who is a little younger (6 months) but really cute too and knows what he wants so I think what's gong to happen is Braxton & Hayes will wind up fighting for Briley. How do you like that Kim & Kacey)!! Oh I know I am weird for even writing this but that just shows where I hope our future lies. Thanks for a great morning!!!

Good Friends!!!!

This past Friday we had our dear friends Heather & Eric over for dinner. It was so nice to have them here. We had a great evening of talking and being entertained by Braxton.

Heather & I went to middle & high school together. We played traveled softball for many years and which meant we spent every weekend as well as many week night together. We experienced many things over the course of the years and are still wonderful friends. It never amazes me the conversations that we indulge in every time we get together! I guess that's what great friends are all about!!! We always laugh and just enjoy each others company. Luckily our husbands get along great. Sometimes all too well, if you know what I mean! This makes things so much easier and so much more fun!!!

Friday was a great time, like I said Braxton had to show off for them which we all found amusing!!! He would laugh at his self, run around like a chicken with it's head cut off and just be crazy B!! All in all it's fun to watch your child try to be the center or attention at all times.

I just want to say Thank you to God for friends like Heather & Eric. It's hard to find good friends and even harder to keep them as permanent figures in our lives. Jeremy and I both said at the end of the night "we really enjoyed their company and they are good people!" I think a lot of times we take our friends for granted and we shouldn't. Heather & I have been friends 17 years and as we get older we grow together in different ways. I always look forward to the times when we get to hang out because it's always interesting, fun & most important genuine! I guess this is somewhat a tribute to Heather & Eric. Thanks for being you and loving us! We love yall and look forward to growing old together.....

17 months!!!!

Braxton Playing RockBand to Dave Matthews; Got to start out right!!!
Braxton & Duchess Chillin!!!
The boys & their dog!!


A summation of the past 17 months, WOW!!!!
It has been crazy!!! All of us Jer, Brax & myself all have learned and continue to learn so much each & everyday. Braxton is truly a God sent angel and has done so much for both Jeremy & I. Braxton has changed our lives in so many ways that's it so hard to know where to begin.

First off, I resigned from my job as manager of a BB&T bank so I could spend all my time with my little guy! That was the best thing that I ever choose to do. Although it was very hard and took much deliberation I can honestly say that it was the right thing and more importantly the best decision I have ever made, well besides marrying Jeremy!

Life begins at home......
So here are, home from he hospital and what now, that is the million dollar question. Learn, live, grow & love or another way is change diapers, feed, sleep, change diapers, feed, sleep etc., you get my drift. Oh yeah I forget to mention stare in awe at Braxton and get the biggest thrill when he does the smallest thing! I knew I always wanted to have a child but I never would have imagined doing the things that I do as a mom (being puked on or cleaning up a diaper explosion as good friend put it). I get excited about crazy things but they are so cute and so much fun!

Braxton's first momentous moment was at two weeks old. He rolled over form his stomach to his back. I was in disbelief as was everyone else until he proved mommy right. Way to go Braxton!!! I called Jeremy immediately to tell him & he played it off like it was a freak happening well Braxton again rolled over when daddy got home from work so let's just say dad was shocked!

The first time Braxton smiled at me was one Saturday morning when he was 6 weeks old, talking about incredible! His smile made me fall in love with him that much more!

I am basically going to bullet point because this could take forever...

4 months was fun!!! Braxton started sitting up by his self and he got to now eat cereal & solids, I couldn't wait for this day! I had went to Walmart three days before his 4 month check up to buy what seemed like the whole store of baby food! I was soooo excited about this moment. The first time he ate cereal was hilarious. Jeremy fed him and the facial expressions (of both daddy & Brax) along with the cereal all over Braxton was so much fun! After he started to get the hang of the spoon it was on, my boy loves to EAT. He now says "EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT" whiling dragging his hight chair to the table!!!

Teething began at 5 months and by 9 months he had 6 teeth. Braxton never really crawled he would scoot on his belly but he picked up walking a week before he was 9 months old. We were amazed. He was shaky but hey he was not even 9 months. By 10 months I was chasing him everywhere. His first steps were to me from his daddy, and yea we are those parents he is on YouTube!!! Now was the time when Brax started to get hurt a lot! There was one week that there was a different injury everyday and I am not talking little things either. We got pushed off a tractor and hit his on the concrete by his cousins, a busted lip, cut finger from a kitchen tool, pulled a chair over on him, and ran into the end table leaving a monstrous knot on his forehead, that Jer & I debated on taking him to the ER. WOW what a week!!! Thank the Good Lord above one of those weeks have yet to happen again as well as none of the injuries were too serious.

As for talking, well I think he is going to be like me. He said mama at 6 1\2 months and has always been a chatterbox! Braxton also loves to dance, sing & play musical instruments especially the piano & drums! He also loves to be loud and has loved other to be loud all his life!

Other big things we have done along the way, the beach twice, we love the pool (went for our first dip at 6 weeks), thank goodness for Grandma's pool! We enrolled Braxton in ISR (Infant Swim Resource) training. He can save himself if he were to fall into a body of water, its on YouTube if you do not believe me! We started preschool which loves and has peed in the podie standing up three time already!!! I know there is so much more that I am leaving out but thats what I get for waiting so long to do this.

Basically we have a happy, loving full of life little boy who loves to play outside and be with family & friends. We love to play on the playground, read books, watch blues clues & especially Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and play with his dog Duchess!

We could not be more proud and thankful for our Braxton, he truly is the love of our lives!

Uhh OOOOHHHH!!!!!!!!

My son Braxton, is 16 months old and a REAL character! He thinks he is 3 already! Anyway, we have been introducing the pody to him just to see what he does and how he feels about this big round hole with water. For the past week or so he will get his stool beside the toilet and put it in front of the toilet and stand on it as if he were really peeing. TOO CUTE, let me just say! Well on Sunday the 26th of October 2009 he actually peed in it! I went nuts, jumping up & down screaming; "Great Job, way to go, that's awesome, your such a big boy" all the while he takes hold of the toilet bowl with both and looks down and says "uhhh ohhhh!!!" I was in disbelief he went pee in the pody.... this just amazed me and what's even more amazing is what gratitude we parents get when our children do something so little but in all actuality is HUGE! I can say that was one of the most proud & exciting moments that I have experienced as a parent. Now, you are most likely thinking he is only 16 months and yes I know he is YOUNG and I know it (peeeing in the pody) will be a random happening for a while to come but hey I just wanted to brag! Braxton did GREAT and that's all that matters! Parenting is truly a gift frrm God, He teaches us in so many ways that life and all of it's happenings mean nothing when it comes to HIS gifts that He generously hand to us. I can't thank my God enough for all the GREAT gifts He has blessed me with over my lifetime and yet he still seems to amaze me with both small & big things! Thank you God for letting me witness my son peeing in the toilet for the first time and it being such a HUGE deal. I never would have thought I would have ever been so grateful for one peeing in the toilet! Hahahaha, that just goes to show that uhhh ohhhhs are wonderful and most meaningful occurences in our lives!

Family...

So, here is who we are.....

Jeremy, Jessica & Braxton Glaze. We are followers of Jesus Christ and LOVE life. We are very honest and caring people who strive to be the best we can at all we do. We enjoy family & friends, loving each other, and sharing Gods love with all we can. Jeremy & I have been married for 6 and half years but have known each other for 14 years. I am a 28 year old stay at home mom and Jeremy is 32 year old business owner/sales manager of a company in the aggregate industry. We live in Suwanee GA and just enj0y life and what God so graciously provides for us each & everyday!

We were blessed with our son Braxton on June 4, 2008. He has truly changed our lives in so many ways and opened our eyes to much more than we ever anticipated. Braxton is a gift from God and we cherish him and are so thankful to God for giving us such a wonderful little boy! Through parenting I have become someone who I never thought I would be, a stay @ home mom, and I love it! I think that this was Gods way of letting me know that there is more to life than work and the basic routine that we all fall into. That FAMILY and LOVE ( both of which God wants us to have as well as share) are the two main ingredients to a rich & successful life! God also is teaching me what my purpose is and that is to be the best wife, mom, & Christian I can be. I do this through actively seeking God, having a friendship with Him (like I've never had before) most importantly caring for my family & giving as well as experiencing true love, GODS LOVE. In doing these things life has become so easy, its like all the chains of this world have been taken away and its time to really live, really have quality time with family and love like no other. All of this is overwhelming, I know but this is truly what I as well as my family is experiencing and that's what we want everyone to have & experience.

FAMILY: love, honor, cherish, take care of, provide for and most of all live by the word of the GREAT GOD!!!!

Braxton Cole Glaze

The story of Braxton....

Braxton was conceived on Jeremy's surprise 30th birthday party in Vegas, so you know that saying"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...." Yeah well what happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas for us!!!! We could not be more excited that the conception of our 1st child happened in one of our favorite places much less the weekend of both mine & Jeremy's bday! So what else can I say except we have a crazy now 17 month old who we adore more than anything in the universe!!!!

My pregnancy was very good, might I say even easy. I was that woman who was scared to death of being pregnant but always wanted kids I just did not want to go through "the being pregnant part." People always told me I was silly for thinking that way and now I know they were right it was not that big a deal. I know it was God who helped me/us through the pregnancy because it really did go all too well. Jeremy said on many occasions that I was a champ; that if I didn't have a belly(among other things but we ill not mention) you would have not known I was pregnant. We did have a hi-cup or two along the way which in the end was made out to be nothing more than a good scare. At 12 weeks when my blood work was taken I found out that I am a carrier of Cystic Fibrosis ( a very serious disease which normally leads to an early death due to undeveloped lungs and many respiratory problems) this was the first time that I was made aware of this and now we had to go to a genetic specialist to have Jeremy tested and for counseling..... First let me clarify something, I am only a carrier I am not sick, but the issue at hand was that if Jeremy was also a carrier than Braxton would have the disease. Thank the good Lord above that Jeremy's test was negative, so all is well. I do want to say, if you have or if you do visit one of these specialist in the future my opinion is that they go about it all wrong. They counseled us first and then ran tests on Jer. So here we are first time parents sitting in a genetic counselors office on that couch listening to her go over all of the possibilities and even mentioning termination. WE WERE SCARED TO DEATH... But once again, Jeremy is not a carrier so we were all good! Our next venture with the pregnancy was about 28 weeks or so. We were headed to the doctors for our visit and then the plans were to head to Disney World with the Glaze family for spring break. Well plans were halted because my goofy doctor, yeah my doctor, didn't know how to take my blood pressure so the reading came back high & she sent me home to rest and then come back the next day (when we were suppose to be in FLA) to have another BP taken. Turns out everything was fine and we immediately left for Disney after day 2 of doctor visits! The reason I blamed my doctor for this was because the last leg of the pregnancy (2 days before my c-section) we were again at the doctors office for routine check up ( Braxton was diagnosed as Macromesia"BIG BABY") and pre-op visit and "good ole" doc took the BP and she was off by a mile so much so that she had me lay there & rest for 10 minutes and made the comment "that if my blood pressure did not drop we were going straight to the hospital to deliver, but stay here & rest and the nurse will be back in a few to check your BP again...." Jeremy & I were FREAKIN OUT!!!!!!! How the heck was I suppose to rest & remain calm when something like this was just said. Well I did and the nurse came in and what do you know my BP was normal! What a good doc I had!!! She really was great just didn't know how to get the correct BP.

Anyhow, 2 days later on June 4, 2008 at 1:25pm Braxton Cole Glaze rung in at 9lb 9oz & 22 inches long. The biggest baby that had been born in the hospital. We were so proud. I know that sounds huge but he really wasn't that big! I am so very thankful for the c-section, it was sooooo GREAT!! God answered all of my prayers! I could not believe that was our son, he was precious and from the minute I saw him I loved him like I had not loved anyone before. I was a mom now and it is amazing!

The next days to come were quite a roller coaster. Everything was great with Braxton, except it was hell getting him to nurse which was all my problem, talking about feeling inadequate. I was not producing milk fast enough for my big guy. We had to supplement with formula which turned out awesome. Then Brax being a boy came day two, that's what we coined it "Day 2" because it was the worst day of our lives. Little man was cut (I think it hurt Jeremy more than it did Brax) which was completely unbearable (but necessary) to know your child is enduring such pain, we felt so helpless. Then we had soooo many visitors (don't get me wrong we were grateful, just exhausted) my parents made me laugh which killed my insides and therefore I was in tears squeezing the daylights out of sweet Jeremy's hand and then the nurse wanted me to pee in a cup and to me at that point was just impossible. All in all, Day 2 was just that Day 2 a lot was said, learned, forgotten, and later forgiven! We made it through and if you ask me we did it with shinning colors that just got a ittle dim at times....

Next was my blood pressure, that stupid BP. My BP truly did become elevated post delivery so that meant we were there for the long hall, Braxton was discharged before I was. We watched people come & go. We were there for 4 full days and I mean 4 full days! It all worked out in the end when we finally got to come home.

I am grateful to an amazing hospital staff especially Mrs. Carolyn, the lactation specialist, the most helpful, kind, caring & loving person we have met as a family! All of the staff were incredible in so many different ways and we can't wait to visit again!

I also owe the world to my wonderful husband. He truly was amazing while we were in the hospital. He took care of me in ways that i am not sure my own mother could, for this I owe him the world. Jeremy is a trooper he endured so much and all the while did it with a smile of his face and like it was nothing. Believe me it was something, that man, my husband is truly my gift from God. I couldn't have got through those 4 day without him by my side. We continue to learn new things about each other and especially about Braxtpn, but its in moderation now and not all in our face in the heat of the moment!! Jer your a rock star and I love you more than you will ever know. Thank you for all you did, do & will do for us in the future!

WOW.... Look what I have done!

Ok..... I am now an official blogger, Goodness what has this world come to considering I am not at all computer literate and have no idea how to utilize basic computer tech stuff. So I am proud of myself for even getting this far and more so for doing it on my own. Jeremy, on the other hand, has a knack for this kind of thing and would already have an elaborate blog spot up and running.

Why am I doing this one may ask? Well I am trying something new and I need to record my thoughts and life happenings somewhere and this seems to be fun, much easier than writing, and well the new & cool thing to do! I love to journal but just never have the time and my hand always hurts after just a little while of writing, so I rather type! Plus, I need to do this for myself as well as my family. Braxton can one day read all the crazy stuff we do and learn where and how he was taught the things he knows. That should be quite the day!!!! Actually I can't wait for him to read but then again yes I can because I so enjoy him now as mommy's little boy! Braxton is 16 months old and our first child. Can we say I am getting way ahead of myself?

Anyhow, this is pretty neat thus far. Who knows what's to come of it... If I had to make a guess though; it will most likely start as a recap of the past two years of our lives and move on from there. But hey, that's just a guess and if it turn out to be correct, I can promise it will not be boring!