God is Good

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Mark 11:24

It's been a long road. Some days we've had more tears than laughs and smiles. It's hard to understand why it rains upon those who need the sun the most. It's hard to see the silver lining in the cloud when your heart is hurting. But, regardless, we kept the faith. We knew that mom was stronger than she knew..we saw it even if some days she didn't see it herself. We knew that miracles can happen and that statistics were just that..statistics. We had faith...we had faith when it was hard to, when we were afraid and felt lost. But still, we had faith. We prayed. We enjoyed every minute. We remembered why we love our families so much. We laughed, we cried, we embraced life and God's blessings...the good and the bad. We looked forward to the day we would see our prayers answered.

And with the love, faith, prayers and support of a wonderful network of family and friends, we received some wonderful news on Monday. Mom's CT scan came back clear.

Life ain't always beautiful
Sometimes it's just plain hard
Life can knock you down, it can break your heart

Life ain't always beautiful
You think you're on your way
And it's just a dead end road at the end of the day

But the struggles makes you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has its own way of takin' it sweet time

No,life aint always beautiful
Tears will fall sometimes
Life aint always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride

We will enjoy the ride together, mom...no matter how long the road, no matter how many twists and turns lie ahead. And we'll continue to pray, knowing in our hearts that faith is real and true. We'll live with the belief that miracles can and do happen.

"...believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

God is good.

Weekend Wrap Up

We were able to have some quality time with Cade this weekend. On Saturday, Grandma Janet spent the day with Dane. Cade was a busy boy.

He helped daddy with the sand for the new patio...

There was a family day at the local hardware store so we took Cade to see Uncle Kyle...oh, and the firetruck and ambulance. He loved climbing in and out, keeping Uncle Kyle on his toes...

At home, of course we had to get some golf in..the off season is on its way so Cade had to get his swings in.



Cade and I got tossed around the football as well...he especially loves to "hut hut hike"...

And on Friday, Cade and I met Auntie Lys and her friend Julie at the DCE Homecoming parade...the things you do for your children. It was just a bit windy when we left but once there, the wind really picked up and then it started raining on and off. Fah-reez-ing...but Cade got to see Uncle Kyle driving the big ladder truck...oh and some candy. He was a cold but happy camper.

Two Months

Two months..how did that happen? Our sweet boy is developing quite a personality and it's such a joy to see him change and grow every day (sometimes every minute!?). I'm a bit delayed on the two month post so let's call it two months + five days. Dane had his two month check up on Wednesday (two months + two days). He checked in at 13 lbs, 5 oz and just about 24" long, putting him between the 75th and 90th percentiles for both height and weight. Unfortunately, big bro's two month check up was actually at over two and a half months so we can't compare the growth rate of the boys at this point...but Dr. Mathias seems to think we're going to have another off the charts boy on our hands. Other than the dislike of his two month shots (who wouldn't hate being pricked three times?!), this little man is a healthy boy.

At two months, Dane...

...definitely has a signature smirk

...always gets a huge smile when he wakes up in the morning and after his naps
...is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes
...is in size two diapers
...still LOVES stretching out and kicking his legs

...is still eating every 3-3.5 hours during the day

...can sleep entirely through the night, but still wakes up around 3:00 a.m. most nights

...usually has three naps a day, with the longest ones in the morning and late afternoon

...finally likes his swing...and doesn't mind his bouncer, especially the swinging parrot and music

...still doesn't like his car seat due to his reflux but it's getting better, especially if you wait 30 minutes after he eats to put him in there (or if he's sleeping in there!)

...loves his white noise as part of his night time routine

...sleeps swaddled at night

...goes to bed like a champ drowsy but awake (thank you iPod white noise and musical seahorse)

...loves to see himself in the mirror...he smiles and coos away happily (he must be thinking "who's that handsome devil?")

...and continues to bring us so much joy. Happy two months sweet boy!

So much love...

Brothers...forever friends...

Who's who...

When I noticed I had Dane in an exact outfit that I had a picture of Cade in, I recreated the photo to compare the two bros. It just so happens the pictures were taken within the same time period (around 6-7 weeks old).
Can you tell who's who?

Miracles all around us...

Sometimes your heart hurts. It aches to know why pain comes to those who are so good...why it rains on those who need the sun the most. You find yourself searching for any miracle...to know that they exist and give us hope. We rely on our faith, not always what is reality, to guide us. We remember that God is good.

Here's such a story. I saw it at a time when I needed it most...to know that miracles do happen...and faith and hope and a belief in family and love can triumph over medicine. I don't normally stray from the family updates on the blog, but today I'm happy to share this story with you in hopes that it will restore your faith in miracles...and motherhood.

Mom's hug revives baby that was pronounced dead

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38988444

Like father, like son...

As I've mentioned, it's usually much easier to manage the two boys when both Jon and I are home so we can take a split shift. I usually put Dane to sleep and Jon usually takes care of Cade. After swaddling and rocking sweet baby Dane, I headed into Cade's room to see how my other boys were doing...

Do you see any resemblance?? And who knew Jon liked snuggling with Ruff the dog and Cade's blankie as much as Cade? (sorry hun...)

A Day in the Life

This weekend, I was reminded by Jon's great aunt Karen that I have been severely lacking in the blog posting arena. Admittedly, the addition of a second child has had a negative effect on the blog. Sorry we've been so MIA lately...we've been busy drinking coffee and catching up on sleep...ha! I'm going to try to keep things updated a bit more often. I think I've always thought that each post had to have a photo accompaniment, but perhaps not. So, today I'm implementing a new feature - "A Day in the Life," featuring silly conversations at the Felch house.

Today's installment...

Scene: Walking out of the YMCA after picking Cade up from school, where he was reading books in a tent with his gal pal Abigail

Katie: Did you have fun reading books in the tent today with Abigail?

Cade: Yea-ah
Katie: Oh, that's good. Do you like Abigail?
Cade: Yeaaahhh...she's beautiful.
Katie: (dumbfounded look, he knows the word beautiful?!) Oh, that's nice.
Cade: Yea-ah. I gave her a hug.
Katie: (thinking oh boy, and so it begins...)

My, how things have changed since the week of September 15th, 2008...

And the week of September 15th, 2009...