In other news....

I've got a new job!!!

After 7 1/2 years at the Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, I'm changing jobs. Ever since Jay took his new job at Madison Central in August, it has been our desire to move that direction. I've been job hunting in the Jackson area, but I haven't spent a whole lot of time on it (mainly b/c I don't HAVE alot of time) and have depended on word-of-mouth. Well, the word spread, and I start my new job on March 26. I'll be working for an IT consulting firm, TCS, in Ridgeland. We'll spend the next few months preparing to sell our house, throwing tons of junk away, and finally packing up to move. Jay & I have been looking at houses for months, so we sort of know the neighborhoods where we want to live. But now it's time to narrow it down to one house. We're so excited!!!

Vicksburgers who still read this blog: It's not going anywhere! I'll still keep you updated on what's going on at our house, whether we're in Vicksburg or Madison (not that I've been doing that great a job in updating). Maybe this will jumpstart me to do better.

Hayden is doing well following her hospital stay. She gets breathing treatments three times a day and does really well. She doesn't like that she has to stay still, but we just put a movie in, and she's good to go. Hank surprises us each day with big, long sentences. Oh My! How could I forget? Hank can "read"! Okay, so it's not really "reading", but it's recognizing words. Who cares what you call it, it's remarkable! He knows little words like bowl, cup, spoon, nose, cat, dog, etc. But he also knows big words like tomato, grapes, butterfly, and xylophone. And he knows every television show and movie that he watches, from Oobi to Franklin to Cinderella and Little Einsteins. And I don't mean the logos either, he can tell you what it is in regular print or even when I write it by hand. It's so amazing since he's had so many developmental issues, plus the hydrocephalus and shunt. I can't tell you how proud we are. I'll try to catch him on video and post it one day (don't hold your breath, though!).

The kids are going down to McComb for the weekend, while Jay & I take a much needed get-away to Beau Rivage on the coast. We're going to see Kenny Rogers on Friday night (don't laugh, I LOVE me some Kenny!) and a Cirque du Soleil type show on Saturday night. And it's all FREE!!! I won this trip when we were the ambassador family for March of Dimes last year. How sweet is that? Y'all have a good rest of the week.

We're finally home!

After 5 long nights in the hospital, Hayden is finally at home. Apparently, the pneumonia was worse than we thought, plus Hayden's prematurity caused her lungs to not recover as quickly as most kids would have. Regardless, we are SO glad to be home and be a family of four again! I took some (okay, a bunch) of pictures while in the hospital and have put them in the album below - just click on it to open.

Hayden did a great job in the hospital. She had everyone eating out of her hand - she was the princess of the 4th floor. You would have never known she was sick after the first day. She had the best disposition and was so much fun to be around. We played lots of games and colored a bunch (she's on a sunshine kick, so we mostly drew sunshines... of EVERY color). She never tried to get out of the bed until Hank came to visit, and she wanted to get down on the floor to hug him, which soon led to her wanting to run around with him, but we just plopped him up on the bed with her, and that solved the problem.

For those of you who are lucky enough, enjoy your Spring Break. And enjoy the pictures...

March 2007

Princess Hayden has a new castle...

THE HOSPITAL!!!

She was admitted this afternoon with pneumonia... She's acting fine - being spoiled and getting everything she asks for. We'll probably be there 2-3 nights. Keep us in your prayers! I'll update more later.