WISH RISSA HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

We had Rissa's birthday party tonight and it was a blast! We wish everyone that loves Larissa could have been there but we understand that life is busy and chaotic. We went to our favorite pizza joint, Palio's Pizza, and then retired to Gaston Manor. She opened some great presents, we ate some scrumptious cake and ice cream, and then I kicked some serious butt playing Scattergories (despite Bryan's attempt to legitimize "jumping monkeys"). It was also Mr. Cayden's first night out on the town and he did fantastic! He's definitely a party animal! It was an awesome night and we had a wonderful time hanging with our friends and family.

Rissa's actual birthday is Tuesday, February 3rd. I thought it might be fun to have some of you leave a little message on the blog to Larissa as she celebrates this birthday. I know firsthand how much of a blessing she is in everyone's life. I thank God everyday for allowing me to be in her presence. So please take the opportunity to tell Rissa happy birthday!

Please Pray!!!

Please pray for Stephanie as she heads off to London to visit Katie!

Lessons Learned in 2 Months

So here we are two months since the birth of our beautiful little girl Maylee Gail. Time has flown by but as I sit down to think about the lessons learned in the past two months, it's quite clear that I've been in an accelerated learning program. Here are just a few of the many....

• Pinching chubby cheeks = joy
• Maylee likes being at church (thank you Lord!)
  
• Maylee hates being at the mall (thank you Lord!)
• The vowel "O" makes Mommy and Daddy happy
• Carrying a car seat with a healthy baby is as good as hitting the free weights at the gym
• Maylee likes to wait for her Momma to hand her over to me to spit up
• There are four categories of grunting (don't ask about the fourth one - it's not pretty!)
• Seeing her smile (and being positive it's not gas) is a glimpse of heaven
• I add "ies" to a lot of words nowadays
  
• The term "urp" is a combination of the words "burp" and "spit up" - (I learned that one from Rissa who learned it from her dad)
  

Friday Night

Nothing better than a night of yummy Mexican food, fun fellowship, and cozying up at home in your pj's but the best part is seeing this precious angel face. We fall in love more each and everyday!

Say Hello To The Highlander!

After 11 years and lots of patience, Larissa Diane Simpson has a new ride! To honor her favorite movie (no not Legally Blonde), she now has a brand new (to me) Toyota Highlander! It's a 2006, which was a very good year, and is champagne in color. I told her gold over the phone and I just heard silence. Little did I know that gold and champagne are not the same color. So I guess banana yellow and canary yellow are different too? Anywho, according to the picture below, I think Miss Rissa has champagne tastes! So now that we have an SUV we are hereby volunteering for all carpools even if we don't work with you. Need the kids hauled down to the local pool? Give us a shout! Have yet another soccer game to get to but have had a long day? Give us a ringy ding! Need some skis or a kayak rigged for that family vacation? We have a rack on top of our SUV! We'll go with!

With all kidding aside, Larissa deserves this vehicle. She has been so patient and even made sure that I drove the newer car because I drive so much. She's amazing! So the next time you see Riss and Lil Miss riding around town, give 'em a wave and a honk! Unless Maylee is sleeping then don't but you can still wave. On the other hand, I don't want her to take her eyes off the road, so please don't. So I guess just follow her to wherever she's going and then tell her "hey" once she's safely parked and is off the road.

Thanks goes out to everyone who prayed for us to find the perfect vehichle! Happy trails Larissa!

Swing is king!

Here in the Simpson household the swing rules. When ever Miss Thing has to be put down (which doesn't happen to often,Ha!) her preference is the swing.

The really fun thing is she has just discovered the mobile. She loves to watch those little lambs dance around : )

We wonder who

Maylee looks like. We keep trying to figure it out. So I pulled out the baby pictures the other night to try and solve this puzzle.

This is my hospital picture (now you know why I was surprised Maylee has no hair! The Gaston girls have always had plenty ; )

Clint's baby picture

Miss Maylee, a day old.

She is definitly her daddy's daughter!

Now we know! Clint has to claim her! Ha! Too much fun!

First Meeting.......

Maylee meeting her new best friend : )

Can you see her excitement! Well you can see her mommy's!

We love you Day's! Cayden is SO beautiful!

Our Father Uses Fender Benders

Yesterday while on our way to visit the ever-popular Cayden Day, we had a bit of a fender bender. A young guy rammed us from behind because he assumed that we had already taken off at the yield to Bryant Irvin. He hit us fairly hard with Larissa, Stephanie, and Maylee in the backseat, and it gave them all quite the jostle. All of the girls are ok and we praise the Lord for that!! Larissa teared up afterwards and it spoke volumes. We are so thankful that our precious five week old was protected throughout the accident. It could have all gone so much worst, but in all of God's grace he saw once more to cover us from pending danger.

I know that from day to day that I continually forget how precious and fragile life is. That at any moment our lives can be transformed physically or mentally. A moment of indiscretion by ourselves or of another can turn our lives upside down. I need to live my life with an urgency. An urgency to tell others about Jesus Christ. An urgency to give hugs when possible. An urgency to take each day for the blessing that it truly is. I praise our Heavenly Father for reminders however jarring they might be. I pray that each day is kept in utter humbleness and reverence before a Father who watches over His little ones.

Oh Happy Day!

Just wanted to send out a Happy Birthday to my new buddy Cayden Glenn Day. He was born this morning at 4:08am and weighed a whopping 8lbs 3oz and stood (with help) at a long-legged 21.5 inches tall. He has sort of an olive skin color and has a full head of black hair. So all you ladies down at the nursery, be on the look out for this tall, dark and handsome young man. Collin and Kristin did a fantastic job. Kristin was an absolute super mom throughout the process and looked like a super model at the end of the ordeal. Collin was, as usual, a rock of a Godly man. We had a blast hanging with their family and eating all of their food (I heart sausage balls!). I praise God for last night. To be able to partake in seeing a legacy of Godly men continue throughout Collin and Kristin's family was amazing! So in the words of the wise (and loud) Ty Pennington, "welcome home Cayden Day, welcome home."

Lesson Learned in a Month

Maylee is a little bit over a month old now (can you believe it?) and it's time for me to address the Institute in reference to what her father has learned in retrospect.

I will list them in order although the numerical order has no binding on how well I learned the lesson...just that it's 1:50am and it came to my mind before the others on the list.

1. If she can still lift her head, then her bow is not too big.

2. Don't change diapers on the grandparents fancy bed comforter.

3. The mixture of a warm butt and cold wipes makes baby cry every time.

4. You don't need to snap your fingers in front of the baby's face every time she goes cross-eyed, the problem will fix itself.

5. Her head smells like heaven.

6. When you're singing to your baby and she begins to cry intensely you shouldn't take it personally. Your singing is not necessarily the reason.

7. Don't forget to unsnap the buttons by the neck-hole of the onesie. This will help to avoid the appearance you might be choking the baby when you remove the garment.

8. Larissa is an awesome momma!

9. Desitin smells good but does not taste good.

10. Always sing a lullaby. (Thanks Jenna, that was good advice!)

11. It's cool when Rissa hands me Maylee. It's neat to know that every time she does so I'm actually "receiving a blessing". God is good!

12. You don't need teeth to have one of the most beautiful smiles in the world.

The History of 10! Push Kristin Push!

So just a little bit ago, Collin came out to the waiting room and disclosed some fantastic news to us. He proudly proclaimed that Kristin was at 10! Now I'm sitting in the "family area" and most everyone is sleeping or praying. I've done one but I'm too excited to do the other, so I'll give you a bit of a history lesson while we wait.

The word ten comes from the root Greek word of tenopaulus which means "lady of the race" which was a derivative of Miss Mary Isaacs' voyage from Spain in 1810 to parts unknown. Miss Mary Isaacs' ship was a competitive sailing ship on the high seas and at the end of her last voyage it was discovered that she had gone insane hundreds of hours before and had been racing an opponent that never existed, a figment of her own mind which she described as a strange clown-seal-Behemoth woman by the name of Marge who Miss Mary (pictured to the left) claimed had stolen her reading glasses when they were last at port. The ships crew assumed she was just in a hurry to get somewhere so they dare not question her authority. The last words Miss Mary Isaacs spoke before she was shut away in an institution were "push, dang you, push!" in reference to the wind in the ship's sails. That is why, to this day, that nurses, upon discovering that a mother in labor is at a 10, that they ask the mother to push. Tada! History. It's fun. Now go and read a book without pictures.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that at some point in my life, my education and my imagination became entangled in a bloody mess so you cannot assume that what you have read is completely factual or fictional or either. It might possibly be some mixture of the two, a fictactualional, if you will.

In the words of Miss Mary Isaacs, push Kristin push! We're rooting for you! We're praying for you! You're making history as we speak!!!!!

Baby Day Is On The Way! Please Pray!

Just wanted to update you and ask you to pray. Collin and Kristin are in labor as we speak. Cayden Glenn Day should be here some time today. They are delivering at Harris Southwest and are in room 2124. They'd love to see everyone....and to introduce Little Day to everyone once he's here. Please give me a shout if you have any questions. Please pray that this little boy is healthy and happy. Please pray that the birth is an easy one on Kristin. Please pray for Collin to be a supportive husband throughout this process. Praise the Lord for He is so good!!!!

By the way, this is not an actual depiction of how a baby is delivered. Please consult your parents first and if they don't know then look it up on the internet. Thanks!

One month

Here's one of Maylee's announcements that our sweet friend Kristin did for us. Its hard to believe our baby is already a month old! This has been one of THE fastest months of my life. Between having a newborn, recovering from surgery, and Christmas; time has flown by! Maylee has already grown so much and has been such a joy added to our lives. Now we cant imagine her not apart of it!

We had a wonderful holiday and our annual new years eve pj party was a blast. Next post I'll hopefully have pic's up from Christmas and New Years!

Oh and please be praying for Kristin, She goes in tomorrow to be induced! Hopefully by this time tomorrow Mr. Cayden will be here! Im SO excited! Were all going up there tomorrow and Im so glad Im on the other side this time. Can't wait to meet this sweet little boy and Maylee's new buddy and partner in crime : )