Starzz

Jordan had her first basketball games on Monday. She did very well. It will be intersting to see how these 1st graders that are playing for the first time progress over the season. She is #10 on the Starzz!

To Write Their Names in the Sand....

Another mom I've met online who lost her son to a condition similar to Stratton's found this website and posted it on her blog. It is a photographer in Australia who does memorials for people who have lost children. She writes their name in the sand and takes a beautiful picture of it at sunset....I couldn't wait to get on the waitlist to have Stratton's name written in the sand in Australia too. It may seem silly to some, but I absolutely loved the fact that someone on the other side of the world was thinking about my son, and taking time to do something to remember him! Here is a little about the work that they do, and the picture of our angel's name in the sand!!

"On Australia Day (January 26th) 2007 our son Christian was stillborn. Our world fell apart. We could not believe that our perfect baby boy was not going to be able to come home from the hospital with us.

Over the following 18 months we struggled to make sense of why this could have possibly happened to us. We still don't understand why.

On August 19th 2008 I dreamed of our son for the first time. He was playing on the beach with his friends that had also passed away. I walked up the beach to where he was but before I got to him, he ran away. I got to the point that they had been playing and it was then that I saw he had written his name in the sand.

This dream inspired me to visit the beach and write his name in the sand myself. I took my camera down to the shore at sunset and wrote his name. Since that day in the winter of 2008 I have written over 9700 children's names in the sand.

It is a simple act that recognizes a life. It gives something beautiful to a family that may only have a few memories of their child - or even none at all. " Carly Marie Dudley
http://namesinthesand.blogspot.com/


"At the end of the day all the children of heaven come together to paint the colors of the sunset"
Carly Marie Dudley

Starting again.....

Ok everyone, I'm going to try to start blogging again. I'm not sure what I'll be writing about, but I want to let you know that whatever it is, it is not meant to make anyone feel sorry for me, or make anyone sad. I want to be able to write about our lives, and if anything about it makes anyone uncomfortable, I am sorry.

So...the past year has brought a lot of joy and a lot of sorrow to our family. We have been forced to discover how strong we all are. My life has changed completely in the last year, and I am not the same person I was. I have learned a lot about myself throughout this journey...and even though the journey through grief is far from over (I don't think it will ever be over) I have learned how to live with it. I know that I will always be missing a piece of my heart, and there will always be an ache deep inside. And even though there are still days when something comes along and its like someone punched me in the stomach and I feel like I'm back to day 1, most of the time, I am able to look back and smile at the beautiful moments we were able to share with our son. He is always in our hearts & on our minds, and will be forever.

I am very excited about what the rest of 2011 holds for us...lots of babies (neice or nephew, cousins, friends); time to spend with family and friends; Jordan showing animals; and whatever else comes along. I am trusting in whatever God has planned for us. God is good & our family is very blessed.

Cody is my rock. He takes care of our family so well! He works so hard and makes it possible for me not to have an outside job. He is working on starting another crop year, and even though it looks as though it will be a challenging year, I have faith that it will all work out in the end. This is the first year Jordan can show at our county show, and I can tell you that her daddy is VERY excited about it! This is something that he has looked forward to for years. I love the fact that they have something that they can do together that they both enjoy.

Jordan is AMAZING! She is going through first grade with flying colors. She was a cheerleader for the youth football league, did Oral Reading for UIL again this year, and is now starting her first season of Little Dribblers. She keeps me very busy most of the time, but I am so thankful that I am able to be an active part in everything she participates in. She has been on the A-Honor Roll every six weeks so far.

Here are a few pictures from the past year...hope you enjoy & I will try to keep this updated as often as I can!

Well..I know I haven't blogged in a while. I really just don't know what to say. I can put up pictures of what's going on in our lives right now, but it just isn't one of my priorities right now.
Yesterday marked the 2 month anniversary of the worst day of my life. I can't believe my angel has been gone so long already. It feels like a lifetime since I was able to hold Stratton in my arms, but the pain & the memory are still so fresh. Right now, we're just staying busy and taking things a day at a time. Sometimes, I can't even think a day ahead...I just have to tell myself if I can make it through the next hour, that's enough. We are trying to spend as much time with Jordan as we can...trying to make her life a little easier, as she deals with her own grief. This amazing little girl...well, not so little anymore...we just celebrated her 6th birthday & her graduation from Kindergarten...has helped me get through so many days when I just wanted to stay in bed all day. She gives us a new point of view on the situation through the eyes of a child. I thank God everyday for her!
Cody has been so amazing for me. He has been my rock. I know that his heart is broken too and he has been so strong for me. I don't know what I would do without him. I love him so much!

I'm sure one of these days I will feel like blogging again, but I don't know when that will be. I just wanted to update everyone. Thank you all for your love & support.

Finally a picture of our baby boy!!

The surgery went well yesterday. So, now, once again we are just waiting. He is in Pediatric ICU and will be there for a while, but we're not sure how long. Everytime we get to visit, the nurses & dr reassure us that he is doing very well. Please, just continue to pray for his recovery from this surgery and that he continues to do well.

Stratton Kye Albus

Sorry...no pics just yet. I keep leaving my camera out in the trailer when I get in here with internet access.
As you know, our precious little boy was born on March 25, 2010 at 1:05 pm. He was 6lbs 8oz and 19 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair.
After he was born, we quickly learned he has a heart defect that will require multiple surgeries over the next few years. His first open heart operation will be tomorrow.
We have watched him everyday, and he just seems to be such a strong little boy. He keeps his stats stable. The only one they have a problem with is his oxygen saturation...and the only problem with that is the little guy keeps it too high and they can't lower it. Thats a good thing because it means his lungs are strong, but the dr. would rather have it down a little.
Please continue praying for our family, and for the doctors and nurses who will be taking care of him. Please pray for our Jordan too. She hasn't been able to meet her little brother yet, and hasn't been able to spend very much time with Cody & I. She is being well taken care of because we have a wonderful family who have been amazing throughout this week, but she is still only 5 years old, and has a lot to deal with.
Stratton has a long road ahead, but we have faith that God will see him through this time and guide the doctors hands as they work to fix his little body.

Baby Shower

Aren't these cute? Laci Jo made the diaper cake & Brandi made the towel cake & cupcakes.


One of the adorable gifts I got. I know our baby boy will love this blanket for years!



Brandi, Marti & Shonnie are so awesome. They threw this baby shower for us!



My wonderful family that all came together to celebrate our upcoming joy.



We got so many clothes, blankets, and other things for the baby. Now we just can't wait for him to be here!!!

Thanks everyone!! I love you all.

Stock Show & UIL Awards Assembly

Baby Update

We went for a sonogram this morning. The baby looks great. It was fun to watch him. He cooperated very well at first for the pictures, and when she got down to the necessary measurements and stuff he decided to be stubborn for a while. He finally let her see everything she needed to see, but he made her wait for it. We watched him have the hiccups and make faces. He made a couple of pretty pouty faces like he wanted us to leave him alone!

Christmas @ Grammie & Pa's

No...these kids aren't spoiled at all. Look at that stack of gifts!!


Marti & Bryan gave the girls these water/straw glasses. They had fun using them.


It was pretty funny to watch the girls walk around wearing their fly glasses (also from Marti & Bryan).

Santa came!

Santa brought Jordan the pogo stick she wanted. She says Marti is going to come teach her how to play.

Gotta love "A Train Story" and the wonderful lady who wrote it!

We got Jordan some new boots. She put them on straight out of the box and wouldn't take them off all day long!

She got a Barbie Pet Vet Center and animals that she gets to make feel better. She loves doing this. Her new kitty cat toy had "furry foot-itis"!

Christmas Eve @ Mother & Pop Pop's House

Nana & Randy did a good job with this present! She LOVES her bear!

She had fun playing with her cool new Play dough with her daddy. This playdough smells good is pretty cool!

Here she is with her new bigger bike. I can't believe she has already outgrown her other one!

She also got a Wiggle Racer that she loved.

Kindergarten Christmas Party

The kids had a lot of fun at their party this year. We had games & snacks & of course, presents. I didn't get very many pictures because I was busy most of the party, but here are a few.

This is Jordan after opening her class gift. They got lots of things to play with.


In this game, the kids had to unwrap a box while wearing oven mitts! It was very fun to watch. They struggled a bit, but all of them were very excited to get their turn to try.

Awesome girls!!

These girls worked very hard on their poems & it paid off! At the District UIL meet in Sundown today, they all made the finals and took 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th. This is pretty awesome since they competed against all the schools in our district. We are so proud of all of them.

Summer (2nd place), Kortney (3rd place), Jordan (1st place), Harley (4th place)

Santa

OLD pictures!!!

I found these pictures on the internal memory of my old digital camera. WOW!!!