So we left on Friday, April 27.  We were up at 4 a.m. and had the boys up by 5 a.m. and on our way by 5:45 to Ocala, FL (our first stop on our way to mom’s and then WDW). We stopped in Vicksburg, MS and ate breakfast at McDonalds. Shortly after sitting down to eat, a busload of kids showed up. Little did we know, this was going to be the theme of the day.

The next stop, just to get out and walk around was at a fruit stand on the side of the road somewhere west of Mobile. The boys were needing to get out and walk around, and we needed a little stretching as well.

After getting back into the van, we decided to see how close a Chik-fil-a was, so Jennifer looked it up on her iPhone. We were using my iPhone for navigation. If one iPhone with TomTom is good, doesn’t that make two better? Right?

 TomTom sent us through a golf course, that was having a golf tournament, but eventually got us to a Chik-fil-a, about 12:10 PM. The place was packed, but to my surprise, an employee came over and ask me if the empty table behind me was fine for us to sit out? I was holding Caleb (14 months old). I said, “sure, but I haven’t ordered yet.” She replied, “I know, I’m going to take care of you, I take care of my customers with small babies. And she did, we sat down, she took our order and we were eating without standing in a really long line.

Part of the long lines was because of a busload of kids that was there.

We made various stops durning the rest of the day, to get gas, snacks, and supper and made it to Ocala a little later than planned. I will add, we stopped at a FastTrack gas station that had a Wendy’s, Dairy Queen and a Subway in Madison, FL (Exit 258 on I-10). Shortly after sitting down to eat, up rolled a bus load of kids.

We arrived at the Hampton in Ocala about 10:40 p.m. (9:40 p.m. before the time change), but it still was a long day. Both boys traveled really well, and we would have made a little better time without our Chic-fil-a detour, since it took us about 30 to 40 minutes to get back on course.  Ocala was having BikeFeast so the hotel was full of bikers, and everyone we met was really nice.

In preparation of Caleb arriving, we moved Caden to our “guest” bedroom.  We didn’t want to give up the queen size bed, but we wanted him to have room to play, so we built a Disappearing walled bed.  During this prep time I kept telling Jennifer, “I’ve got time, Don’t I?” ha! ha!

Caleb was born on March 1, at 11:15 a.m. and was 7lbs, 7 oz and 19” long (only 29 inches away from the elusive 48” at DisneyWorld! ha!)

He had a little problem expelling all of the fluid from the lungs, his color wasn’t great, and his respirations were a little fast as well, so off to the NICU he went (just the one in the hospital, no transfer this time to another hospital).  He hung out there most the day and as of 8 pm that night, he had been released on “probation” to the regular nursery. If he behaved he could stay there, if not, he would be sent back to the NICU. We’ll he behaved and has been fine ever since.  Photos are here and here!

So if having a new baby wasn’t life changing enough, Neal took a new job with Donnie Bell Design on April 11, 2011 as a web programmer, leaving his job as the Director of Information Systems for the Division of University Advancement at Louisiana Tech University (aka – the computer guy at the alumni center).  It was time for a change and he enjoyed the almost 15 years he had at Tech.

Jennifer continues to work for herself through the Early Steps system (as a Special Instructor for 0 to 3 year olds with developmental delays) and she is going back to school in January to work towards an early intervention certification degree.  Jennifer also was re-certified in Child Life in July, which was no easy feat.

This Fall Caden started preschool at the Lincoln Parish Early Childhood Center. The first day Jennifer and I took him to school he announced on the way there that “I’m a big boy and do not need you to walk me into my new school.” We encouraged this by parking, both getting out and marching him to his classroom, ha!  Of course the second day, I abided by the request (again) and allowed him to go into school all by himself, ha!

A few funny quotes from this year from Caden:

Caden: “Mommy, did you tell daddy?”
Mommy: “yes I did.”
Caden: “Mommy, Daddy and me don’t like tattle tales!”

Mommy: “Caden, why didn’t you get a sticker today?”
Caden: “I didn’t mind just a little bit.”

Caden came into the living room tonight after supper and said “I sure would like dessert now.”

“Girls use a brush and boys use their hands” [in reference to how boys and girls fix their hair]

“I’m not going to sleep ever!”

Caleb is doing great, he is at the early stages of crawling as of this weekend. He crawls about 3 steps forward, then back, then sits down.  He really loves Caden (and Caden loves him just as much). He is always reaching for Caden and gets excited when he sees him.

Caleb will get to go on his first Disney trip next year! We are all looking forward to it!

We hope you and your family are doing great!  Drop us an email or comment and let us know how you’ve been.

Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

 Bonus! Watch Caden tell the storys of The Three Little Bears!

• Neal’s dad had deep brain stimulation surgery (in Baton Rouge) to help with his Parkinson’s disease on August 9 and 10 (Monday and Tuesday). Tuesday, during the surgery, Jennifer called Neal to confirm that the doctor agreed with us that she was indeed pregnant.
• Neal dropped his Dad off in Pineville on Wednesday, leaving him with Clint, his brother, who drove down to stay with their dad for a couple of weeks.
• After talking with Neal’s mother, they decided, with God’s prompting, it was time to head toward KY. With a 12 hour drive, they decided to break up the trip and plan to arrive on Friday afternoon, expecting Memie to have already passed.
• We left on Thursday afternoon and stayed in Jackson, TN. On Friday, after a quick lunch in Nashville with our friend/musician, Andrew Greer, we started on the last 2 hours of our journey.
• As mentioned, we did not think Memie would still be with us when we arrived on Friday afternoon, but she was and Neal got to spend the last hour and a half of her life here on Earth with her. Although she was not “alert,” after talking to her, she moved her leg and closed her mouth. We believe she indeed heard Neal talking to her (as well as the rest of the family). The grandfather clock struck 6 pm and before it was finished counting, Neal’s Aunt Betty saw a tear roll down Memie’s cheek and she stopped breathing.
• We had been praying all week that we would be able to just make it to the funeral. We never thought we would see her alive one more time. It was more than what we could have asked for, God is so good! We can’t thank Neal’s family enough for the care and love they gave Memie over this last year and especially the last few weeks that were so tough.
• Karen and Neal spoke at her funeral, reading Proverbs 31:10-30, The Virtuous Woman, and then sharing stories that related to some of the passage. She lived up to this passage of scripture in so many ways.

1) My dad, who has Parkinson’s Disease decided to have a Deep Brain Simulator implanted to help in managing his disease. This decision has meant a lot of trips to Baton Rouge for me and a chance to hear some funny stories of his youth. It has also taught me a lot of patience.

2) In August, the week dad had this surgery, I lost my Grandmother Stroud who was almost 96, otherwise known to me as my Memie).

3) In October, we announced that we were expecting our #2 child.

4) That same month my mother retired and moved to Florida (actually it was November when she moved). She is no longer just 8-12 hours away, but has enjoyed telling me how warm it is, especially when we were freezing in January!

5) In February, I turned 40 (yea, I don’t act it, so that really wasn’t much of a change)

6) On March 1, 2011, Caleb Gene Breeding was born.

7) And the latest change in my life happened on March 15, 2011, when I turned in my resignation as the Director for Information System at Louisiana Tech University’s Alumni Center. I’ve been an employee of Louisiana Tech for almost 15 years and I have grown to love the University that I graduated from even more than I did when I was a student.

I will be starting a job with Donnie Bell Design on April 11, 2011 as a web programmer for them. Be sure to visit their site, blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook page!

1. https://picasaweb.google.com/nealbreeding/20110304?authkey=Gv1sRgCKeF0Z6L-ZEW&feat=directlink
2. https://picasaweb.google.com/nealbreeding/20110303?authkey=Gv1sRgCJToh7fIlveCjgE&feat=directlink
3. https://picasaweb.google.com/nealbreeding/2011030202?authkey=Gv1sRgCOPc89uRhJWeVA&feat=directlink
4. https://picasaweb.google.com/nealbreeding/20110301?authkey=Gv1sRgCPuA-MDgg4-cOw&feat=directlink

Breif history for the day,  Jennifer was scheduled for the second C-section of the day, but she got bumped due to an emergency C-section.  Caleb waited patiently until 11:15 am (March 1, 2011) to show his 7lb 7 oz 19″ self!

More to come later…

Although it is not 100% complete, it is ready to go. I still have some touch up paint a few other minor adjustments to make on the bed.  As for Caden’s room, I still have some additional painting and new baseboards that I need to install.

Here are few photos from earlier in the week and yesterday.

Enjoy!

Jennifer’s has had a great pregnancy with no major issues, no high blood pressure like last time and we are well on our way to the March 2, 2011 C-section date… so I thought until today!  Because of the inability for the hospital to give a time to our doctor to preform the C-section on March 2, we’ve been moved up a day until March 1.  One day, not a big deal right? Really it isn’t, we’ve just been making plans with March 1 in mind.

I’ve not done as well as I did last time in documenting Jen’s pregnancy, but a 3+ year old does keep me busy, as well as some side web work I do.  I hope to be better the rest of this year, ha!

We are WAY ahead of where we were this time last time (especially with Caden coming 3 weeks early).

1. We’ve already installed the car seat (didn’t do this last time until the day we went to pick him up, and after the day we had (skip down to June 13), I couldn’t remember how to operate the thing!  We are old pros this time, right?
2. We have a name!  Caden was born on June 6, 2007, he was Baby Breeding until the morning of June 8, 2007.  What is the name you ask? Well I have to have some secrets! lol Yea, mom and sister aren’t happy about this, but I told them, “Hey we know it is a boy!”
3. His room is 99% complete, of course it is Caden’s old room and we are moving Caden to the former guest bedroom (which will still double as a guest bedroom, when it is done) is not done!I’m currently building a Murphy Bed, make that a Disappearing wall bed, Murphy is a trade marked name, ha!  I’m making progress, and hopefully I’ll have things wrapped up on it this weekend.  Of course we’ve painted Caden’s room and we’ll have a space theme going on in it eventually.  Photos are coming soon!  Check back on the blog next week for updates on Baby Y and photos!

I’ve heard more than enough about all of the 3D televisions, and I could care less about any tablets other than Apple’s iPad.  What I find interesting is the products that aren’t saturated by the media.  Here are four that I’ve found interesting (so far):

1) Light and Music: A winner at from CES 2010 was back this year, with LED lights, that have speakers built into them.  Really they are light sockets, that install into existing fixtures. The speakers use a wireless transmitter to receive sound.   http://www.klipsch.com/lightspeaker/

2) MakerBot (http://www.makerbot.com) had their latest 3D Printer, Thing-O-Matic, printing items out one right after another.  The printer comes in a kit that has to be assembled.  It is only $1225.00 and can print objects 96 x 108 mm and up to 115 mm high.

3) Gaming R.A.T. or mouse (http://www.cyborggaming.com/prod/rat9.htm). I’m not a  gamer, but gamer’s hardware is designed to take a beating and be comfortable. I found this mouse very interesting in the ways it can be adjusted and programmed. Madcatz is the parent company for Cyborg (that makes the R.A.T.) and they also make surround sound headphones as well as flight simulator components.

4) Really Small Computers were at CES from a company called Xi3 (http://xi3.org). Most of their computers have the processing power of a full-size desktop PC but uses up to 95% less power to operate.  They have no moving parts, and can easily be adapted or modified for any application or industry. No moving parts and less than 30 Watts of heat means they should last longer and be less likely to fail. While a little pricey, if they outlast the traditional 2 to 4 years, then it may be worth the investment.

One Booth I thought was dumb: I also saw that the US Postal Service had a booth with a Fast and Furious video game contest.  I don’t understand why the USPS can (and why?) they pay for a booth at CES, yet the cost of stamps continue to go up?

I hope one day to go to CES.  Jennifer is a bit of a geek also and says she thinks it would be fun to go.  Go figure? I married the right girl! ha!  (Not that there was ever any questions, ha!)

We are having another BOY!  Some time in late February or early March. Jennifer’s sister Angie (and John) are due with their second child a couple weeks before Jennifer is due!  Caden seems pretty excited about the baby and predicted that the baby was going to be a “boy” — a “BIG baby Boy.” So we’ll see if the rest of his prediction is correct.  Jennifer hopes not!

In February, we used our Disney Vacation Club points and took a 4 day cruise on the Disney Wonder. Caden enjoyed the plane ride to Orlando, exploring the cruise ship, the aquariums in Nassau, bike riding and the beach on Castaway Cay, the nightly musicals on board the ship, and of course all of the desserts (just like his Momma)!  His parents had a lot of fun as well.  There is a two part “trip” report with all of the details, photos and a link to more photos in this blog,  or just use these links: part 1; part 2

When we landed  in Jackson, MS, it was snowing. It snowed the entire trip back to Ruston and we woke up to a few inches of the snow the next morning.  Photos are mixed in with Trip Report #2.

On August 13, Gretrude Stroud, otherwise known to us as Memie, went “home” to be with Jesus.  She was 95 and ½ and had lived a wonderful life.  It was amazing how God worked out our schedule this week, so we would like to share a few details of the week:

• Neal’s dad had deep brain stimulation surgery (in Baton Rouge) to help with his Parkinson’s disease on August 9 and 10 (Monday and Tuesday).  Tuesday, during the surgery, Jennifer called Neal to confirm that the doctor agreed with us that she was indeed pregnant.
• Neal dropped his Dad off in Pineville on Wednesday, leaving him with Clint, his brother, who drove down to stay with their dad for a couple of weeks.
• After talking with Neal’s mother, they decided, with God’s prompting, it was time to head toward KY.  With a 12 hour drive, they decided to break up the trip and plan to arrive on Friday afternoon, expecting Memie to have already passed.
• We left on Thursday afternoon and stayed in Jackson, TN.  On Friday, after a quick lunch in Nashville with our friend/musician, Andrew Greer, we started on the last 2 hours of our journey.
• As mentioned, we did not think Memie would still be with us when we arrived on Friday afternoon, but she was and Neal got to spend the last hour and a half of her life here on Earth with her. Although she was not “alert,” after talking to her, she moved her leg and closed her mouth.  We believe she indeed heard Neal talking to her (as well as the rest of the family). The grandfather clock struck 6 pm and before it was finished counting, Neal’s Aunt Betty saw a tear roll down Memie’s cheek and she stopped breathing.
• We had been praying all week that we would be able to just make it to the funeral. We never thought we would see her alive one more time.  It was more than what we could have asked for, God is so good!  We can’t thank Neal’s family enough for the care and love they gave Memie over this last year and especially the last few weeks that were so tough.
• Karen and Neal spoke at her funeral, reading Proverbs 31:10-30, The Virtuous Woman, and then sharing stories that related to some of the passage.  She lived up to this passage of scripture in so many ways.

The Fall was busy, as always, with Tech Football, a few more trips to Baton Rouge for Neal and his dad, and life in general.  Thanksgiving was spent with all of Jennifer’s family, there were 18 of us!  We got to spend some time with her precious grandmother who is 92.  Lots of good food followed by the Saints winning, ha!

We are excited about Christmas this year. We are celebrating it in Ruston and Neal’s family will be coming for Christmas!  Jennifer’s mom and dad will be stopping by for a visit after Christmas as well.

Neal just started his 15th year working at Lousiana Tech in the Division of Advancement (Alumni Center). Jennifer is in her 4th year of owning her own business, providing services through Early Steps as a Special Instructor to children that have developmental delays.

We hope your 2010 was as good as ours, and we wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

God Bless!

Neal, Jennifer, Caden, Baby Boy,  & Emma (the dog)