Our little slice of Heaven

Crazy Week

2010-10-09T12:05:00.000-05:00

Sickness has invaded the Walker house yet again!! Both boys have had some sort of strange stomach bug that just won't quite go away!! Wednesday, Thursday and Friday consisted of cleaning up barf! Poor little guys.. they can't catch a break.. they act normal and then all the sudden it is "mommmmmmaaaaaa" followed by throw up! Send up a quick prayer for us.. hopefully they will get better soon!

Really struggling with missing our family!!

Still no word on the move, or possible move.. not that I don't ask Jett every day :) Ha Ha. While I have met a few people that have become really good friends.. I am so ready to move on.. to get my kids close to their family (and us too).. and to get started with the next phase of our life!

hope y'all have a great weekend!

Love,
The Walkers

Holy Bat Wings

2010-10-03T10:27:00.001-05:00

Has it been a year since I have posted?? REALLY?? I mean, I guess I do have an excuse, since Cam has come our lives have been pretty hectic. Two kids under 3 years old means less "me" time to do this things.

It is overwhelming to try to catch up on the past year in one blog. I really am not going to try to catch up. I am just going to move forward! Maybe I will remember a couple of things here and there to throw in but for now, we are just gonna start with the present.

We still have not heard a definite date for the move from Louisiana. I feel bad being sad about that but I am SO ready for the next phase of our life. I have finally figured out what I want to do when I grow up (lol) and so each day we are here is one more day I feel I am waiting to start that.

I plan to own and operate my own day care center. NOT out of my house, but an actual full blown center. I have so many thoughts and ideas. Things I have seen in my experience that I love and hate, things I would do different and things I wish were done here. I think this is the ONE time in my whole life that I have decided to do something and I actually believe in myself! I have no doubt that I am going to succeed, and succeed big!! I can't wait to start updating about that...

Back to the move: So we are still kind of in limbo. We had intended to put the house on the market in July, thinking we would be leaving sometime between October and December. That has moved back a month or two and we just don't know what to do. We don't want to get stuck with this house like we did in Lubbock. That was a disaster! So, we just keep waiting for the call that Jett will be transferred. We are ALMOST positive that we will be heading to Houston.. Texas is where our heart is, so we are praying and hoping that is where they send him. It is so difficult to be away from our family, especially since the boys are so young.

The one really bad thing about moving is that we don't think Krista is going to move with us. She has found her love and I don't see him leaving. That breaks my heart for us but fills our heart with joy for Krista. All I have EVER wanted is for her to find that person who loves her unconditionally and helps her to heal from past hurts. They are so cute together. His name is Waylon and he treats her wonderfully.

The boys are doing really well. Colton makes me laugh 1298273498723984728397423 times a day. He always has something to say. he LOVES his brother, except when he is helping me "parent" Cam. He loves to play outside, especially on his toy john deere or the trampoline. He is not a fan of getting dirty, but I feel Krista and Waylon and their mudding fun will help change that! Anything sports, he loves. Watching it on TV, playing with daddy, you name it! He is quite bossy. The other day our neighbor Sidney gave him a snack and told him to have me open it. He looked at her and said "Sidney Jett Walker, you open this for me right now".. YIKES! (Uhh, her name is Sidney Nicole Musselman LOL).

Camden is my tough guy. Guess he has to be around Colton. Never cries when he gets hurt. He fell out of the John Deere, banged his head up pretty badly and then was mad that we did not let him back on it right away. He is walking and jibbering up a storm. He had a pretty bad viral infection when he was 9 months that he could not kick, so he lost a lot of weight. Now that we have that kicked he is a bottomless pit! He loves to run and play with Colton but he also loves to climb up on anyones lap and get some love! He does not have a problem getting dirty.. seems I can't keep him out of the dirt. Mud mustache all the time :)

I am doing well at work. We let our lease expire and are all able to work from home, which I am loving. Jett is still just as busy on the bridge. Lots of guys have been taken off and moved to other jobs, which is why his "done" date has been extended.

I am off to play with the boys on this crisp cool day! Hope y'all have a great week!

Love
The Walkers

2009-11-11T21:30:00.001-06:00

Boo at the Zoo

2009-10-27T14:17:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we went to the "Boo at the Zoo" with a few friends. IT was Colton (and Cam's) first group play date, and I must say the kids did wonderful. The parents, well, we are wimps and were wore plumb out!

Captain America

Sha Pumpkin

Kim, Chris and Ry

Ava and Ellie, Kim Chris and Ry, Amanda and Cohen, Me, Jett, Colton and Cam.. fun times

Amanda and Cohen (13 months old)

Ellie and Ava (3 years old)

Aunt Kel and Colton aka Captain America

Super hero

Chris and Ry (same age as Colton)

Colton and Cam

2009-10-27T13:54:00.000-05:00

I hope and pray every single day that the boys will always be this close. Colton loves Cam so very, very much.

Cheeseball

First of many staring contests

Brother love..

" I saw this move when dad was watching white trash wrestling"

"Hey.. you have a nose too!"

"are you still here"

Kisses

Even George gets in the picture

presh

awwww

2009-10-27T11:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, so obviously my ability to keep up with this blog with TWO babies is not as good as I had hoped it would be.

Our life has settled into a sort of controlled chaos! We are trying to get a routine down, but dang, it is hard!!

The main thing that we have done since my last post is that Camden, Colton, Dana and I drove to Indiana to surprise Shorrie (Dana and Ricks oldest daughter). Shorrie's hubby Richard helped us surprise Shorrie, she had NO CLUE we were coming. We drove the whole way up there (15 hours) and back without stopping for breaks longer than to get gas. I am telling you, it was rough but the boys did WONDERFUL. On the way back, we had sort of a crazy hair to leave Indiana at 8 30pm and drive all night.. since Dana drove the WHOLE way up there, I drove about 10 hours back and had to take a no doze.. big BIG mistake.. how do people take that crap? The boys slept the whole way, which made that trip much easier!

While we were in Indiana, my dad was actually up there dropping off a load! So, he got to meet Camden for the first time. Colton was THRILLED to see PawPaw J in his big truck.. we were less than thrilled that after that visit every truck Colton saw he said "paw paw big truck".. and let me tell you, there are quite a few 18 wheelers on the road!!

I don't know why I did not take more pictures while we were there, but here are a couple:

Uncle Richard and Cam, snoozin

PawPaw J and the boys

Momma and Cam

He is loving this

Such a big boy!

"Momma, I want one of these"

Happy boys

Our precious new son

2009-09-11T07:40:00.000-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Just wanted to share a few photo's of Camden Joshua Walker and his first two days with us!!

Everything went WONDERFUL!! We arrived at the hospital at 9AM on Thursday morning, got all checked in, only blew ONE vein in the attempt to get my IV (With Colton I had to get poked six times, OUCH). On to the epidural, was very nervous but it went great.

The C Section went smoothly. They started at 11 am and at 11:18, out he came. Dr. Kleinpeter leaned over the cloth partition and said "Well Mom, I cut into your uterous and all I see was this perfect little nose"!! So sweet. He was 6 lbs 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. A head full of hair!!! (That is thanks to all the tums/pepcid mommy ate while he was still in my tummy!!)

Granny brought Colton up to meet him after I got out of recovery. He loves Cam so very much.. he could not take his eyes off of him. He is going to be such a great big brother!!

Krista was in the room with us taking these wonderful photo's.. like with Colton, it is such a special bond to have her with us!!

Enjoy! (these are just a few of the hundreds we have already taken!)

Colton and his Pop Pop

Kiss Cam in Mommy's tummy one last time!

Kisses for Daddy too!

The whole crew

Big Belly

My sweet boy!

The best sister a girl could wish for

Look at that belly

Aww Sha

MeMaw, PeePaw and Colton

Cute.

I am ready!

After the "cocktail" I was nice and relaxed

Dr. Kleinpeter

Daddy and his second son

My first glimpse

Momma and Dr. K

MeMaws first glimpse

So handsome

Love

Good Drugs

Love at first sight

Not quite as big as Colton :)

Gran and Cam

My brother

Just a little closer PeePaw

What a great big brother

Auntie Sue Sue

Precious

Colton bought these socks for his little brother.... hmm

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Huggable

How you doin?

Sue Sue Kisses

Love my PeePaw

Aww

My Momma

Love to all

8 days

2009-09-02T21:39:00.001-05:00

Only 8 more days.. I can do it!

17 more days

2009-08-24T13:24:00.000-05:00

The days are dwindling down.
I am so excited to see the numbers in my countdown to Cam getting smaller and smaller. The past two weeks I have had my doctor’s appointments and have had great news. With Colton, my body never started preparing for him to come.. which is why we ended up doing the C-Section…. And while I still have the section scheduled for Camden (and we are going to have one no matter what).. my doctor says that I am progressing right along. Two weeks ago he told me that Camden had dropped into place and he did not see me going until the 10th.. of course, he DID say “don’t get upset if you do make it, but I am just saying I don’t think you will.” Last Thursday I went and was dilated to a two. Let’s hope that this week I get more good news.
Work has been very busy for me with deadlines galore, so I have really felt pressure to get as much done as I can.. all of our deadlines that are before the 10th have been met, so I kind of feel this sense of relief that I have all my loose ends at work tied up. I have found someone to work for me while I am out and I think she will do amazing.
The boy’s room is pretty much finished. We are just waiting for Colton’s toddler bed. We have ordered it, and it should be in this week. We are not going to transition him until after Cam comes and I am home. First he will take all his naps in it and if he does well, then we will let him sleep through the night. He is not yet two, and I don’t want to rush it. Until Cam sleeps through the night, he will sleep in the pack and play bassinet. I don’t want him keeping Colton awake or us disturbing Colton’s sleep pattern in any way.
I just can’t believe that soon I will have another sweet baby!!! Colton does so well with his Anna Claire (Leah and Brandon’s precious daughter). He loves to help his Granny and Tia Leah with any task they give him, getting diapers, bottles, paci’s.. you name it. He loves to take off her socks and touch her toes, and we have lost count of how many times a day he comes up to just kiss her on her head… I hope he loves his brother as much as he loves his Claire.
Colton is such a sweet boy. He has started talking so well.. not really putting complete sentences together, but getting there. He has so many words in his vocabulary.. some that I wish I could erase (like NO). His new thing right now is to run up to you and say “hold you” and then you pick him up and he squeezes your neck.. just at random times in the day… this my friends, is what makes my world right.
As for me, well, I am feeling half way ok  I will not lie, this is a total different pregnancy than with Colton. With Colton, I worked every day up until the day I had him. With Camden, I find it hard to walk sometimes and have had to take a couple of half days here and there to go home and put my feet up. Starting this week, I will probably take more and more half days until he comes.
Jett is doing great after his knee surgery. He is having a little more pain as the days go on, probably because he does not sit as much as he should, and he over does it.. but, what can you say?? Typical man!! But he has really done much better than we had anticipated!! Thank the Lord!
I will update more on Friday after my doctor’s appointment!

33 days til Cam comes and I decide on major projects :)

2009-08-09T20:49:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!

When I was pregnant with Colton, we did not find out if he was a he or a she, so in preparing the nursery, we went all neutral. As Colton has gotten older, we started putting more and more Texas Tech stuff in there.. and now that we know Cam is a boy we decided to redo the whole thing in Tech stuff. I am blessed to work with an amazing girl, Priscilla, who is student teaching this semester and will eventually be an art teacher. She is amazing. She offered to paint some pictures for the boys. I said sure, with no real idea what I wanted. We finally decided on some things and after seeing the outcome, I insisted on paying her.. they are amazing!!

So, if you like and are interested, please email me at shaunawalker01@gmail.com and I will get you in touch with her.. she is so talented and does many different things.. nursery paintings to paintings for your dining room or bedroom. She is VERY reasonable in price.. so email me :) Plus you would be helping to support a future edcuator and Lord knows we need good ones like her!

See below for the pictures of their room. we are ordering Colton's toddler bed and when I am home on maternity leave we will transition him into it, during the day he can take his naps in it while I am awake to make sure he does not roam the house :)

This is the HUGE toy box that Jett and his brother and Dad built for the boys last time they were down. It is massive and I am sure the boys will enjoy for years to come!

You can't really read the words in this picture but this is the TTU Matador song

This is our fight song.. WRECK 'EM TECH

Colton's side of the bedroom

Another view

Coltons TTU Jersey

Cam's side

Cam again

Camden's Jersey

Both Jerseys

Camden Joshua Walker

2009-07-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

Had a great doctor's appt on Friday.. he went ahead and scheduled my c section for September 10th at 11:00 AM!!! An end in sight! 45 days from today (unless he makes his appearence earlier!!)

I am really excited and READY!!!

A Home for Quincy

2009-07-27T12:15:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally did it. We stuck with our decision to go ahead and try to find a good home for our black Lab Quincy... The story is pretty cool... I placed an ad in the paper and the lady who took the ad called back to say that her and her husband wanted him!! It was a match made in Heaven.. they live out in the country, with 30 acres of land, with a pond and five other dogs.. Erin has emailed me every day, telling me Quincy stories.. he LOVES it there, and in fact, has a new girlfriend, Kadence who is a pit bull ( I think). It really has worked out for the best.

With Quincy gone, we realized we needed to get our back patio cleaned up and re vamped. So that is what we did this weekend. I have some before and after shots that I will post soon. We borrowed Darren's power washer and washed off the whole back patio and driveway.. YUCK is all I can say.. it looks SO MUCH BETTER.

On Saturday, Dana and I went to the nursery and bought lots of plants and planters and spent the day making the patio more homey. Jett and I went to home depot and picked out the patio furniture we liked which was on sale.. SCORE!.. all in all, it was a very successful weekend!!!

We miss Quincy, but we know he is so much happier in his new home.. we are so thankful at how things turned out! :)

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy :)

This is half of the patio... with my new furniture.. you can kind of see some of my plants :) I LOVE IT

Isn't he so darn cute!

Nan bought him these glasses when we were in NM!

HANDSOME lil man

He also likes Momma's glasses

So Cool

Concan

2009-07-18T21:29:00.000-05:00

WOW.. I am so far behind!!! :)

For the annual 4th of July get together with the family, we decided that instead of going to the lake, we wanted to head back to Concan. It was SO.MUCH.FUN. We found a cabin that we rented, which was so very nice! The room that Jett, Colton, Kent Sarah and I shared had NO AIR conditioning though, so on the first night we made a fun filled trip to Walmart 40 miles away to pick up some box fans!

The river was very low, in fact too low to actually tube. We went down and sat in it once, which was nice, but due to me being 7 months pregnant the slippery rocks were not very safe. Instead, we spent a LOT of time in the cold tub (hot tub with no heat!)

I think the very best thing for me was watching Colton and Eli.. I just know they are going to grow up to be as close as Jett and Kent.. we had a lot of laughs ... Jett and Kent are still as big of nerds as they have always been, age has not matured them in the least (which I guess could be a good thing??)

Here are a few pictures:

He loves his cheesy grin!

Sam

Game time

Colton sharing his juice with Eli

Took them two days, but they put this 10000 piece puzzle together and not a single piece was missing!

Sweet kisses

My presh Eli

Give me the monkey

NO

How bout a kiss instead??

Old Fort Days/Reagan Rally

2009-06-26T12:18:00.000-05:00

It is no suprise to anyone when I say that this past year has been really tough on our family. The biggest worry on our plate has been of our sweet Reagan, who as you know if you read my blogs is my 7 year old little cousin that was diagnosed with a Whelms tumor. She has been going through chemo and lots of tests for the past year. Well, our home town of Ft. Sumner has an annual event each year that is a weekend long celebration. I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to get together with as many family members, ESPECIALLY cousins, as we can. I decided to have a Reagan Rally to raise money for cancer research..

Krista, Colton and I flew to Lubbock on Tuesday. Darla picked us up, we ran by and saw David and Aric and then I made a flying trip through Sam's to get groceries for the week. Then Darla drove us to Muleshoe where we met up with Nana. We switched vehicles ( I wish I had taken a picture of how much stuff I bought!), we barely fit! We spent Tuesday night and Wednesday night with Nana and Peepaw. It was so great to see them and hang out and let Colton get to know them again..we had some great home cooked meals. Colton especially enjoyed visiting Nana at the office:

Well, I think that price is a little too high...

Do you hear my phone?

Let me check my calendar

Mom, enough pictures

On Thursday morning, we packed up our stuff and headed up to Clifford and Molly's house. They just redid Grandma Cathy's place and turned the barn into a bunkhouse, and that is where the boys and Krista stayed, along with the Butler boys as well. The first night we just visited. Sherry and Bill West invited the WHOLE group out to their house and they cooked us steaks and potatos, the whole 9 yards!! It was so great to be around everyone.

Reagan lent Colton her stick horse, but we had to figure out the batteries!

Grandad and Colton had a grand time

Three generations

Is it fixed yet?

Zach also saddled up gooch, the oldest horse on the planet and made Colton the happiest baby in the world!!

Dear Jesus (Or Pop Pop or Santa).. if you would only bring me a horse like this at my house, I will be the best baby ever! Amen.

Momma, do you see me????

Cheese ball

On Friday, Molly, Clifford and Reagan had to go to Lubbock for Reagan to get her final scans. I felt so blessed that we could all be there and pray for her, and feel that connection. While they were gone, we had to get the Reagan Rally set up. Now, let me talk about my hero, Amanda Kenyon. You see, I emailed her and asked if she would help me run a couple of small games after the Old Fort Days sponsored games. She said of course (as usual). She went to the chamber to ask and came out in charge of EVERYTHING OLD FORT DAYS. Ok, that is a little exaggerated but.. she took on a LOT.. that is to say the least.. I could write pages and pages about how much she did for this to turn it into the success that it was.

Well, we got started on the little games, and up runs Reagan, they made it back JUST IN TIME!!

Reagan and her best friend Katy (Amanda and Rusty's oldest daughter) running the tombstone race.

Always protect the face!

You have heard of kissing cousins, right?

Working hard

Makin a dollar

On Saturday, we started off at the cow plop.. only in a small farm town will you have people stand around a fenced in cow, waiting for it to poop. It's like bingo.. if it poops in the square you bough, you win! And lo and behold, Uncle Mike won second place :) I thought I had pictures of this, but I don't. Kyla is sending some my way.

Then we went on to the parade.. Colton LOVED IT! (I was burning up hot, but he had fun)

ohhhh did you hear that noise mommy

Man, Pop should bring his car to this parade

Momma I am HOT

After the parade we went and ran the horseshoe tourney.. and sold water again for a dollar for the Reagan Rally fund. (no pictures of this either)

Sunday we got up and packed and then headed back to Lubbock. Molly, Colton and I drove together and Krista, Kyla and Zach drove together. Zach and Molly were headinng to get Zach registered for Dallas Baptist College (GO ZACH!).. we were all exhausted but man, we had a great time.

I am so very blessed beyond words at the people I have in my life. This renewed me and made me remember how lucky I am.

The icing on the cake, Molly sent out a mass text on Monday that the scans came back clear on Reagan.. our prayers were answered. Not that we can stop praying, it is going to take Reagan time to heal and gain all her strength back, but we cannot thank each of you enough for your thoughts and prayers for our family!!

When we were in Lubbock, Colton decided he was now officially a cowboy, so Uncle Aric, Aunt Ash and Aunt Brit bought him his first cowboy hat.. oh my GOSH, he has not taken it off since we have been home:

Sweet

Aunt Ash

Uncle Aric

Momma and Colton
Love,
Shauna and the rest of us!!

Krista and Kelsey's graduation

2009-06-19T13:45:00.001-05:00

WOW, can you believe the girls are graduated?
Krista graduated from Baton Rouge Community College and then Kelsey graduated from Calallen High School the following week.

I just can't believe how grown up they are!

Kelsey: It blows my mind to think that you are a high school graduate! It seems like yesterday Jett and I were driving to Corpus so he could introduce me to the family. I walk in to your bedroom and you had spent hours cutting out shapes and making letters to decorate your room for me. I felt so loved and was so glad that we all bonded so very quickly. Over the years, watching you grow up has been so much fun.

I hope you know how special you are to us and how proud we are of you. You are about to start a new chapter, one that most young people start to kind of phase their family out and branch off into the world on their own.. I hope you know that no matter where life takes you, or what decisions you make, this family you are blessed with will ALWAYS love you and support you... never forget that!!! We love you!

Dang Colton looked away :)

Krista: I can still remember you as a tiny little baby, and feeling SO proud when I changed your diaper for the first time.. I remember you riding the pet pig in your diaper, your mouth full of shiny silver teeth.. your bowl hair cut.. I remember how sweet you were, getting ready for church on Sunday's, but SCREAMING if we dared to brush your hair. You wanted to hang out with us so bad.. you always thought we were so cool... :) it was always so fun to go to the elementary and get you and bring you up to the high school with me :) Then there are the boys.. man, you and your crushes were always a constant source of amusement for us haha Remember Cage Kisser??

Then there was that moment, or series of moments when our lives drastically changed. Grandad Cones died, and the events that lead you to come to Lubbock, first with Jett and I and then with Darla.. It was so heartbreaking for me to see your anguish.. I was 20 years old and could not fix it for you, and it killed me to see you hurting, you confused and not understanding... yet you came out of it such an amazing and wonderful, confident young lady. You took what life dealt you and instead of feeling sorry for yourself, instead of using it as a crutch you made the statement to the world that YOU were in control of YOUR life, of YOUR destiny and those around you better watch out!

There have been so many proud moments, so many times my heart has just been filled with excitement and love for your accomplishments.. I think the most special memory I have of all, one that I will cherish for all times, is you sharing in the birth of Colton, you being in that room with Jett and I.. and welcoming our son into our family with us...

I love you and am so very very very proud of you. I know that whatever lies ahead, you will be a success, but most of all, you will be happy!!!!

Love,
Shauna and Jett

So grown up

Our Family

David and Krista

Dar and Krista

Pooped out

Remembering Josh

2009-06-02T20:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, another sad post.. but I also have happy posts coming up, about my sisters graduation.. I just have to make sure that this post is done.

June 1st marks the one year "anniversary" (for lack of a better word) of Josh's death.

Everyone told me that with time, it would get easier, yet it has not... like my cousin Amanda Kenyon told me that someone told her, the pain does not go away, it just dulls... and I guess that is an accurate statement.

I am a facebook junkie.. I posted a note asking all the people who knew and loved Josh to share their favorite memories of him.. I am just going to share those on here. If you have a memory of Josh, please post it in the comment section.

here is what I posted:
"June 1st marks the one year "anniversary" of Josh's passing. 365 days have passed so quickly. I know that the day will be a sad one, and Krista and I really want to try to concentrate on all of the good times. So what we are asking is that everyone send us your favorite "Josh" memory... tag your friends, repost, forward but please tell them to send theirs to Krista and I, either add us as friends on facebook or email them to me shaunawalker01@gmail.com

I have SOOO many memories.. Josh used to do "funny" shows for all of us, with Mikey or the rest of his cousins.. Josh is the one who got me drunk the first time (GO FIGURE). Mo and Josh took me to Allsups to go to the bathroom, drunk as a skunk... sitting on the shelf next to the bread.. I can remember Melissa just laughing at me... on a snow day, he took a bunch of us in his blazer out to the air base and was doing donuts.. Joslyn was scared so Josh rolled down his window (Joslyn was behind him) and did a donut, we all look at her and she was covered in snow.. we used to have gord wars with kyla and adam... cruising with Mo and Derek.. one time some kid called me a bitch (which I probably was), but Josh went and tried to fight him.. of course, if you knew Josh back then, he was a little shrimp, but he was pushing and shoving him and just protecting his sister...him being in my wedding, and everyone teasing him that he "fell into a tackle box" because of all the piercings in his face.. I did not even ask him, but when he walked out in his tux, he had taken everything out and later told me he knew I would want my pictures to be classy.. I remember he used to take out his peircing in his chin and would drink milk and blow it out the hole (like a whale) to make me gag.. GROSS!!! I remember my heart catching when he held my son for the first time.. and I remember thinking "we are going to be ok.. things are going to get back to the way they should be" but I waited too long.

it kills me to think that the last years of his life we let stupid drama come between us.. i miss him EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. and I know you all do too.. I feel so bad for his friends, the ones who he talked to and laughed with, drank with and worked with... he was so lucky to have all of you but you were all lucky to have him as well.. please PLEASE share your memories with us.. we need them to get through this.."

Here are the comments:

John Carey: i truly have to many good times to stop and think of just one!! we hunted and fished on the river al the time so those are the ones that stick out along with wrestling on the trampalin and drinkn beer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Daniel: well there are so many the ones that most stick out are ice ice babby, hunting and fishing and just all of us hanging around with each other a nother one is when one of you got to come to lubbock for the summer that was always fun

Kyla: Oh Joshua...gord wars were ALWAYS fun! I use to love to go in that old trailer behind y'alls hous and dig through all that crap, funny shows, and of course, "She's Got the Jack" head banging sessions with our air guitars! Remember all of us squishing into Granny's car for church?!?! But what I like the most now is that everytime I see you and Krista, I see Josh in you. I miss him so much. I love you and can't wait to see you guys...two more weeks!

Darlene:
you all were a crazy bunch, full of life and fun, how can we forget his crazy smirk or those unruley cowlicks. it is so haard to believe its been a year....we will keep you all in prayer.

His very best friend Melissa:Shauna do you remember when Josh and I skipped school to go to Clovis and someone from the school called the cops on us and the cops stopped us heading out of town and tried to make us go back to school.

Granny:The first time Josh came to our house he was just a wee baby. Shauna,you were so proud of your brother you couldn't wait for Granny to hold him, all of 5 min.--then you wanted Momma to hold him so you could sit on my lap, after I was YOUR Granny.
The last time Josh was here it was the middle of May. He and Grandaddy played horse shoes.They finally quit after 6 games, tied 3each. Love you!

Jill Pruitt: Josh and I used to work together in the office at Finney Farms, when Annie Mae had her heart surgery. Most of the time it was boring unless Josh was there keeping me entertained. Josh was always doing something funny. I was also a witness to the gross blowing water out of the chin where he had his peircing. Denzel wouldn't let him wear the ... Read Morepeircing at the store so he broke off a green paper clip and would stick that thru his chin. He used to sneak into Denzel's office when everyone was gone, and get on the internet and watch Joe Cartoon. He was quite the character!

Denae: I have been thinking about you all day as I'm sure lots of others have. Just know there are lots of people who love you and are honoring your brother's memory today. xoxo

Robert Kenyon (wrote two) I remember when we were real little i used to go over to you alls house and play mortal kombat one!! with Josh and go fishing in the ponds by the shop when they were there alot of great times with that man and just know that my love and heart will be with all of you tomarrow and always! I Love and miss you all and hope that you all will stay happy and on course with your lives Josh would have wanted us to be happy......and take a shot of jack or two.. he he he
My God I don't even know where to start there are soooo many good memories of that man, It is really hard to choose just one of them. I remember when he rolled into the fire at the reunion, I think he was laughing more than any of us. I remember us running threw a fence and nearly going of the side of a cliff we all got out so fast trying to pick up the fishing equipment off the road before anybody seen that we tore up there fence. WE laughed about it for a couple days. There was also a time when we went fishing with our dads, God I will never forget this, oue dads got so wasted that night we had to littilary carry them to the trucks and drive them home, We drug them to bed and meet back at the fishing spot, just to make fun of how goofy they were acting. These are just a few among thousands. I could probley write a novel of fun tales that we had together. My heart is with you all on this day of rememberance All my love Robert Kenyon. We love you Josh!!! and can't wait to see you again.

These are just the ones that were sent on facebook..

It goes to show what an amazing guy he was, and how he touched so many lives.. and not a day has gone by that I don't think about him.. Usually on the drive to and from work, when I am by myself, I find myself thinking about him... I miss him..

I will say that all these comments helped Krista and I through the day, but there is one person who is our rock ,and that is Jett. He has so much strength and is able to not only comfort and console me but also Krista.. I really and truly don't know how I got so lucky, but I thank God every day for sending Jett my way.

For all the phone calls/text messages/emails sent to us.. we thank you and we love you.. one day at a time, that is all we can do.

All our love,
Shauna and Krista

What it means to me

2009-05-22T20:11:00.000-05:00

I wanted this post to be perfect, but I can't type through my tears very well.. bear with me.

"Rick, I never had the honor of meeting you, but I feel like I knew you, like you were my brother the same way that Shorrie, Leah and Max have become my siblings. I wish you were here to play with Colton, Anna Claire and Camden... to give them rides on your shoulder, throw the ball with them.. take Colton for a ride in your mustang that he loves so very much.. I truly believe that every once in a while, when he does something outrageous to make your momma and family laugh, that it is probably you, knowing that they need that joy in their life.. no one or nothing could ever fill the void that is felt with your death... know that you are thought about daily, talked about often and loved still to this very second... We feel you here with us, watching over us.. and yes, tears still fall on a regular basis in your memory, but you have left your family with so many happy memories, so many things for them to be proud of, that even with the tears there is laughter... Keep an eye on us always, especially these babies who I swear will grow up hearing stories about you.. and we will meet someday my friend.. of that I am sure.. Thank you for your sacrifice and for loving this country enough to die fighting.. Rest in Peace.. Semper Fidelis.. We love you."

Most every single person I know is excited about a three day weekend. Don't get me wrong, I am loving the fact that I don't have to go to work this Monday. But this year is different. This is the first year for me to observe this weekend with the respect and honor that it deserves.

Do you know what Memorial Day means? I looked it up to make sure I got it right. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

I cannot tell you how selfish and ignorant I feel that this, my 30th year on this Earth and I am almost brought to my knees at the meaning of this "Holiday". I have always used it as an excuse to either go home to spend time with my family, or an extra day to clean up my house, run errands or enjoy a book. My oh My how fickle I feel.

If you have read my blog any time in the past year, you have heard me go on and on about how lucky I am to have the Morris family in my life... for so many reasons. They have become our family, and have helped to fill a void that I have had in my heart for quite some time.

Ricky, Dana, Shorrie, Leah and Max Morris lost someone very special to them on March 18, 2004, their son and brother, Marine Pfc. Rick Morris Jr. I did not know them at the time, although, Jett worked with Ricky in Lubbock. I remember him coming home to tell me that one of his coworkers son's had died in Iraq. Since I had never met them, I thought that it would be best for me to just say a quick prayer for them, but not to intrude on their grief. Hindsight, I wish I would have gone.. I did not think of them again until we moved to Louisiana and I found out that they too were on this job. After Colton was born and I needed a babysitter, Jett told me to call Dana.. and lucky for me (and I hope her) we hit it off so well.

We never really talked about Rick at first.. the first real conversation I remember having about him was after Josh died.. Dana and Leah always could see through my fake smile.. and I remember Leah sitting me down and telling me the whole story surrounding her brothers death. She told me about the phone call at work, where they had told the family that he was hurt..... then hours later getting the news that he was gone.. she took me through the emotions of looking at her momma and daddy going through anguish that can only be described as a nightmare... we talked about going through the motions of planning the funeral.. how the family was able to lay his body out in the viewing room of their family cemetary, and actually spend the night before his burial with him.. Dana talked about how she rubbed his finger, and could feel the place where he had broken it years before.. They talk about the military funeral, the flag and purple heart they recieved in his honor.. and then they told me about having to leave him and come home... it is heartbreaking..

Not a week goes by that we don't talk about Rick in some form.. and it is usually accompanied by much laughter.. I would give anything to have known him..

Here is what is posted about Rick on one internet site:

Marine laid to rest in Louisiana

Associated Press

MONTEREY, La. — Marine Pfc. Rick Morris Jr., a football hero during his days at Monterey High School who was killed by mortar fire in Iraq, was buried in his hometown and remembered as a “gentle giant”.

Many said they believed Morris was talented enough to play college football after graduation, but instead, he decided to join the military.

More than 300 family members and friends came Thursday to pay their last respects to the United States Marine who lost his life seven days earlier in a mortar attack in Al Qaim, Iraq.

They recalled that Morris, 20, never hesitated in spurning the gridiron for his true passion — service to country.

After delivering an emotional eulogy during the service, Morris’ sister Leah fought back tears while she spoke.

“There sure are more people here than I expected,” she said. “It’s what he deserved, and he’s earned this.”

Her brother had served only 17 days in the field after arriving in Iraq.

Nevertheless, the Rev. Russell Crum, the pastor of the Monterey Church of Christ and a close family friend, said Morris’ time on earth was well spent.

“Life can be taken so quickly, there’s no time to say ‘I love you,’ or ‘I’m sorry.’ His life was taken from us, but he’s fulfilled his dream,” he said.

Cutting through the quiet of a crisp, cool day, were the sobs of a community that had lost a young man they called a “gentle giant.”

The already aggrieved front row of family members were jolted to attention when three volleys were fired by the six Marines who were on hand to present his parents, Dana, and father, Rick Sr., the folded American flag and Purple Heart medal.

Shannon Bairnsfather recalled how her cousin, who’d moved with his parents to Lubbock, Texas, eight years ago, would come home and stay at her house during summers and Christmases.

“He wasn’t just another cousin,” Bairnsfather said. “He was active, he’d make you laugh. He was big, strong, sweet, a gentle giant. A tenderhearted young man. There are many, many boys still over there.

“You can’t help but feel good for them when you see them come home on TV. I just hope they don’t have to pay the price Rick did.”

The burial service was held on the property owned by Bairnsfather and her husband, Jeff. The Magnolia-Campbell Cemetery where Morris was buried lies on the same property. Morris was buried next to family members.

Morris’ lifelong friend, A.J. Smith, recalled just “hanging out” with Morris and other friends when he visited. Fond memories included tooling around in a small convertible and going to see the movies in nearby Natchez, Miss.

“At one time, he was the only one who had a license, so we needed him here to drive,” Smith joked. “There wasn’t much to do here. We just cruised. He was a true friend, real nice to everybody. A great guy.”

Lea Ann Morris recalled her late cousin’s passion for his country.

“He was a wonderful child,” she said. “He was a gentle giant, but he was intense. If he decided he wanted to do something, he’d do it. That’s how he ended up fulfilling his dream.”

______

Please observe this holiday with the honor and respect that it deserves.. Take a minute to reflect quietly on the freedoms we all take for granted.. visit a cemetary and put flowers on the grave of a fallen soldier.. say a prayer for their souls.. look up a family who has lost someone and send them a letter, don't let these men and women die in vain and be forgotten.. we OWE it to them, it is our DUTY to rember them... if you want to send The Morris family an email, their addres is darmo7070@yahoo.com, or send me an email and I will give you their address...

Thank you for reading this blog.. I wish I could have been more eloquent..

My favorite gift

2009-05-08T20:31:00.000-05:00

(Please read the entire post!!)

When I had Colton, my very favorite gifts were two home made blankets, sewn with love by my great friend (and co worker) up in Minnesota, Kathy "Wippy" Wipperling. Colton has slept with those blankets every single night of his life (except when he spends the nights with Granny or Tia Leah). As an infant, they were the PERFECT size for me to stumble through that mysterious art of swaddling.. only with those two blankets could I master it. In fact, on my to do list is to email Wippy and ask if I send her more fabric, can she make me a few more! I am worried that these will wear thin and I ... I mean, Colton.. would be devestated. (note to self, send email soon).

I think I am just blessed with amazing co workers :) I work with a wonderful lady named Jenny. When she first started, I remember thinking "oh my, I hope everyone is nice to Jenny, she seems so quiet and introverted".. WRONG first impression.. She can take care of herself.. she is witty and always quick with a comeback. She is a defender of the underdog, in a very vocal way. On days where I am down or tired, Jenny is always the one to sense that and just offer a kind word or hug.. we are constantly battling back and forth with sarcasm and pretend personal attacks.. but she is such a good friend. I have probably shared more with her about my state of mind, especially regarding the loss of Josh, than I have shared with anyone else. She is just that type of friend, the one who you feel so comfortable letting your true emotions show... and did I say brilliant.. she is super uber smart...

Well, Jenny loves to write.. it is her passion.. and she came to me today and was acting very... well, strange.. she kind of threw this paper at me and said "I wrote this for Camden.. but i feel like a dork" and basically ran out the door.

As I started to read, I could not stop my eyes as they filled with tears.. it is the most BEAUTIFUL story/gift I have ever read.. I just was so moved and can't believe the gift Jenny has with words and the fact that she shared that with me for Camden...

Enjoy:

Gifts
By Jenny Keegan

Princes in the stories never seem to get the extravagant gifts
that princesses do.

You don’t hear about fairy godmothers
handing out gifts at boys’ christenings,
of beauty and charm, grace and wit and musical aptitude.
(So that they can sing to their babies, some day,
without necessarily making them cry.)
Not even slightly more useful things:
He will have an uncanny aptitude for finding girls
based on the size of their glass slippers.

I would give him gifts, if I could.

Buckets full of tears, cried by someone else on his behalf,
every drop a coin, to pay for something,
knowledge, or wisdom –
(What did we buy with our tears?)
Knowledge, or wisdom. Something like that.
He will learn what we have learned,
and he will never have to pay the price we paid.

Novelty, to keep forever.
The world will not age with him. Every time he bites into a strawberry,
it will be his first bite.
Each river will be his first river, each sunrise his first sunrise.
He will always see as a child sees,
a brave new world,
wonder and glory.

The gift of battles won.
Water to pour on witches,
an ax for inconveniently placed beanstalks and wolves in flannel nightgowns,
a sword for slaying dragons,
courage and rightness of purpose.
He will not be defeated
by thorns or monsters, or by the fears of his own heart.

But when all’s said and done,
(I say it as a blessing
and you give it as a gift)
the gift you give him every day is this:
He will be loved.
He will live his life in the certainty of your love.

Photo's of Camden

2009-04-29T20:40:00.000-05:00

I had an appointment today with a Fetal Medicine doctor (for high risk pregnancy). I was a little confused as to why my doctor (who I LOVE and respect)would send me with this pregnancy and not with Colton. He said the reason that I was going was due to spinabifia in Jett's family. Strange because the same factors were there with Colton.. but I went. Luckily, we got great news.. Camden is just as perfect as can be. Spine looks great, head looks great, and so does everything else!! I have to go see my doctor next week for a checkup and then the specialist again in 5 weeks just for one last look.

We also found out today that my cousin Adam and his girlfriend Sandy are expecting a baby BOY as well. Aeden Caleb Kenyon.. such a blessing :)

Here are two pictures from today of Camden. (the first one is my FAVORITE.. can you guess why... hint: Wreck 'em TECH!!)

Easter Pictures ( a few days late)

2009-04-19T09:50:00.000-05:00

I meant to post these on Easter Sunday but things were a little hectic. I went with my boss and her daughter to San Diego for a work trip. It was not a fun trip, just because the travel was so bad. We flew from Baton Rouge to Houston, but due to bad weather, our flight was late getting to the gate.. we ran to the connecting flight, which was still parked at the gate, the door was just closing and we ran up.. of course, unlike TV the guy informed us that we were not there 15 minutes pre boarding time, so they gave our seats away (you would think Continential would have some policy that informs connecting flights that passengers are on board)... we sat around trying to get on standby and did not make it... so had to stay overnight in Houston. Monday we get up, sit through two standby's and finally Kristy gets a flight to Los Angelos.. and she rents a car and drives to San Diego. I told Alex if we don't get on by noon, then we are heading back to BR. Luckily we did get the last flight. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.. we meant to take the trolly to the zoo however, we ended up on the city bus.. which was a tad bit scary! Pictures of zoo will come later.

UPDATE ON DAD: He seems to be doing a lot better. He called and talked to Jett the other day. His heartbeat is not where the doctors would like it to be, so he is going to be on medication for three weeks, then he will go back to the doctor and possibly have to have his heart shocked again. We are all so thankful for the prayers and emails asking about him... we love him so much and are just worried about him... I will keep posting updates.

EASTER: Jett, Colton, Krista and I went to church Sunday morning with Kim, Chris and Ryland. We hunted eggs at Granny's house with Tia Leah, Uncle Brandong (Boo Boo), Uncle Max, Gran and Pop Pop. Colton LOVED finding the eggs... he did not enjoy putting them in his basket.. maybe next year!!
Enjoy the pictures:

Uncle Boo and Colton

Momma and Colton before church

Our Sweet Baby Boy

MOOOOOM I hate these things

Look what the Easter Bunny brought me.. wow!! I must have been GOOOD

All seems well

2009-04-13T16:31:00.000-05:00

Kala posted this on her blog:
"Dad went in for his procedure around 8:30 this morning. Everything went good. They found no blood clots and Shocked his heart two times. His heart is at 90%. Still not what the doctors would like to see it at or what they consider normal. So they are giving him a series of 3 shots. If this doesnt make his heart beat normally they will keep him on a blood thinner with weekly lab tests for around three weeks, and then try to reshock his heart again. So pray that the shots will work and that he will beable to go home by Wednesday. He is ready to go home, if you could see him you wouldn't even think anything was wrong. "

We are so thankful that the procedure went well. I will tell you, when something like this happens, it hits so close to home how FAR from home we really are. it was such a heartbreaking conversation between Jett and I.. do we go now.. do we wait.. what do we do?? I had a work trip that left on Sunday.. I was torn.. We feel like we miss out on all the good stuff, which really does suck but it is so hard when the bad stuff happens and we can't be there.. one day we know we will be closer..

Please keep Dad and Mom in your prayers.. we hope the good news continues..
we love y'all!
Shauna, Jett, Colton, Camden and Krista

Dad Walker

2009-04-11T11:31:00.000-05:00

We got a call yesterday that Dad was en route to the hospital.. he woke up to a very rapid heart beat and called his doc. She wanted him to come in.. long story short, they admitted him to the hospital to run some tests.. and being the weekend, we have to wait until Monday to run and find results.. so he will be in the hosptial until Monday.. they are calling it atrial fibrillation.

We will keep you updated.
Love
Shauna

We Caved!!

2009-04-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Dang it.. we caved.. well, I caved... all along Jett has wanted to find out the sex of the baby. Me, not so much.. then my friends at work started planning a shower and needed to know what I needed.. hence the pradicament (yes, I know spelled wrong)... do I find out or not.. I was wavering.

We went to the doc last time and the heartbeat was really high.. in the 160's.. Colton's was in the 130's. I started to sweat.. if this is a girl, I need to plan.. buy girl things... come up with a name I actually like.. because all along I was sure it was a boy (like I was sure with Colton).

So I caved.. we went to the doctor today and guess what.. she saw a PENIS!! WOO HOO, it is a boy!! I knew it! And am SO VERY EXCITED.. I really feell like I am meant to be a momma to all boys. Don't get me wrong, if I ever am blessed with a baby girl, I will love her as much as I do my boys (how cool does that sound) but I just see myself surounded in a house full of boys.. and that is my piece of heaven!!

We will name him Camden Joshua Walker.. The same initials as Jett and Colton, and Joshua in honor of my brother.. we will call him Cam for short.. Colton and Camden.. Our boys!!!!!

Of course, I went in on April Fool's day..I told the sono tech "you can tell me girl, you can tell me boy but please do NOT tell me twins" I don't think i could handle that!!!

Other than that, the doctor said all looks good. I got a little bit of trouble when he noticed my weight.. umm, not what you think.. I have actually lost 10 pounds since I got pregnant. With Colton, I only gained 10 pounds... while some women are calling me bad names right now...let me assure you, it kind of sucks.. this is the time I should be eating like I just don't care.. instead the thought of putting food in my mouth makes me wanna hurl (in fact, sometimes I do ha!) but I am going to work on it.. I am instructed not to lose any more.. I am so ass backwards.. who gets pregnant and LOSES weight??!!???

When I go back for my 20 week and get better sonogram pictures, I will post.. to be honest, I can't tell the boy parts in the picture anyway.. Jett claims he can but lets face it.. it is just a blur!!!

hope this finds you well!!
Love
Shauna

Reagan's Website

2009-03-31T10:19:00.001-05:00

Please visit Reagan's website:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/reagankkenyon

Love,
Shauna

Water, Water everywhere

2009-03-24T15:54:00.001-05:00

To all my Minnesota friends, I apologize for this post..

It has been so beautiful the past week and a half. My sisters Krista and Kelsey decided on Saturday that they were bored, so they went and bought two slip n slides :) Sidney and her cousin Daylen came over to play as well.. it was much fun. Colton loved to stand at the end and watch them slide but HATED getting water in his face.

I am so blessed, he is such a happy baby.. especially when he is OUTSIDE!!!

Mom and dad and Kelsey are home.. BOO FOR THAT!! I hear all these horror stories about in laws from hell and I just have to secretly laugh because I truly am so lucky!! I would live in their backyard (ok, build a house in their backyard) if we could..

Enjoy the pictures:

Hard to believe they are 21 and 17!

FUN FUN FUN

Dalen

Loves to clap

My water baby

Close up

Sunbath time

what a SMILE

My girl Sid

Best Friends