Celebration of Life

Celebrating Papaw's life now....today is also my brother in law Mark's 31st birthday.
Right before Jake's birth
Christmas 2006

Turkey Time....Jake: 11 months and silly Papaw is trying to hold him like he used to with Matt and Mark

His first glimpse into the Tyler fried turkey business

We love you so much Papaw and know you are dancing among the angels.

Papaw

I took this picture on Jan. 17th ish and today Papaw is not doing well. Matt went over to Bossier this morning after an incident. Praying very hard he doesn't suffer long. Thank you Lord for such a great man who means so much to so many people. He has lived a wonderfully blessed life and we love him so much!


Sent from my iPhone

To Run or Not to Run....

that is the question....I mainly post the same thing over and over...so I thought I would ask an opinion. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was training for the New Orleans half marathon. I do have friends out there who are, what I consider to be, extremely fast. I do not consider myself a serious runner but I am still a competitor and try to run 4 to 5 days a week(no workouts on the track or things like that: been there, done that. No thanks!) in the wee hours of the morning while most are still sleeping. Since Matt's dad has been sick and he has been out of town a lot, I haven't run in almost 2 weeks. Plus my running partner has been gone on a cruise(it's gotta be tough being a college student...oh to be 20 again!) and just got back today.

So I will resume my running in the A.M. and am still pondering going down to the big easy next weekend(the 28th) and running anyway. It would be a nice getaway...just have to get past the fact that it'll be a training run as I won't try to race it. Any suggestions out there?

And I must brag on my current running partner, Kennedy, for a minute. She is one of the most disciplined 20 year old non college athlete runners(meaning she doesn't run competitively in college). She is a machine and pushes me every morning. In December she ran a 20 minute PR(3:35 and some change) at the White Rock marathon to qualify for Boston. I personally think she could have run a lot faster than that knowing the kind of shape she was and is in but then again, it was a 20 minute PR from her first marathon a year before. We plan to do Boston next April as it filled up before she had qualified this year( my qualification time I ran at last year's Boston is good for 2 years). Right now she is training to help me out and getting up way earlier than she has to on some days to help a friend out...that is dedication. Thanks!

And Papaw is about the same for those keeping up. We plan on hanging out for a bit in Bossier this weekend. Will keep you posted on any changes.

Happy Valentine's Day

We aren't too big on Valentine's Day around here but I though this picture of them on Thursday turned out cute. They had small parties in their class at Mom's Day Out and I pulled out some of their red and white outfits(and a bargain $2 shirt for Jake at WM)to create the festive look:).
And a friend of mine whom I found through a blog, Donna Strickland, made these cookies baskets for Jake and Landry Grace's teachers. She is very creative and after placing my first order with her(she did the Mickey and Minnie cookies for the kids birthday) I discovered she lives in our neighborhood. Small world.

Have a great day!

Snow Day!!!

Gotta love some SNOW in Louisiana! Our school board dismissed school an hour early yesterday and canceled classes for today. Combine that with a holiday on Monday for President's day and you have a PARTY. It is a nice and welcomed break. We welcomed daddy home today. He has been taking care of Papaw since Monday and we were glad to see him drive in the driveway earlier today.

Our snowman we built just before nap time today....by the time they got up from their naps most all of the snow was really starting to melt.

Big Mama's makeshift sled.....didn't work so well but they were entertained for about 5 minutes.

About 8:30 this morning at my parent's house. Snow was EVERYWHERE!! The kids really don't have any proper clothing for snow but we made due.

Wish I had a picture of our house from this morning but I don't. This was yesterday about 4pm. Before the inches of snow came.

Posing for me by the bulldog.

This week has been long and I am so thankful that I have parents to help me in time of need. It is hard enough being a temporary single parent but add in the element of a full time job and it is just tough. Let me also add in there that I have a WONDERFUL supportive principal that works with me any way that she can. And I am so glad Matt has been able to spend time with his dad and take care of things that need to be done. It's been extremely tough on him and we certainly appreciate all of the sweet messages, e-mails, phone calls, etc. As for Papaw he has chosen not to do chemo and they are at the point where hospice has been called. I took the kids over Bossier Wednesday after school and I think it was a little much for the situation but I know Papaw was glad they were there. Please continue to pray for Matt's entire family. I'll stop there but just know that we really appreciate your prayers.

There is a God

Loving how this song puts so many things in perspective. Wanted to
share it with you.

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XkwJJW0lB4&feature=youtube_gdata

Sent from my iPhone

Update on Papaw

I forget that there are people who aren't on FB that I need to update. Found this picture from last year of LG and Papaw. He has taken a turn and I am afraid to say that it isn't for the better. He went into the hospital yesterday morning where they drained 40 pounds of fluid off of him. He is very jaundis as his liver is shutting down. The drs. sent him home from the hospital tonight. This may be a little much information but I am risking it by asking for very specific prayer. They are meeting with the oncologist Friday to determine whether or not to do chemo. Matt is with him during this time and I am so glad. How much we take things for granted. Will continue to keep you updated as we know anything new.

Busy Weekend!

Last weekend was spent in Bossier with Matt's family. It was fast but nice to hang out with family and friends. I ran in a 10 mile trail run Saturday morning instead of a doing my usual long run and to say it was muddy was an understatement! It was like running through lakes. Never again, but I did get a run in...the hard way!!
Saturday afternoon we decided it was just too cold to do pictures outdoors with Matt's dad and the babies. It was 35 degrees and though that may be warm to some of you northerners(!!!) we decided against it. We used Bill Jones; he lives in Benton and was great to work with. He accommodated us and I am pretty sure we got some great shots! It makes a huge difference with the kids depending on what type of picture you are trying to get. When we did 2 and 3 year pictures last Wednesday with Kevin Beasley, they were NOT very enthused! If you want to go to his website(www.beasleyportraits.com), click on clients and then find our name. The password is tyler. There are about 3 shots I like...which is about right considering their age I suppose!

Right before we went in for pictures
The babies with GiGi and Papaw

Then we headed off to a birthday party for Sadie and Bennett Hamby. If you remember from last year, Bennett is the baby who had to be air lifted from the WKS NICU in Shreveport to Arkansas Children's and was on the ECMO for a while. He arrived there in critical condition but is perfectly healthy today. A blessing indeed.
It was fun seeing everyone in person and not through e-mails and phone calls. Had a good time but was exhausted by nights end.

Me, Carrie, Tracey, Julie, Hailey, and Melody

Bennett and his MAMA Katye
Love the cake and his little theme!! Perfect.

My parents normally keep LGT on Wednesdays but both were sick today so I was able to stay home with her and have a little girl's day. It was fun! Our babysitter that comes twice a week is going to be doing her student teaching in the spring, so we are currently looking for someone to stay with Landry Grace. Hoping to find someone 3 days a week so that mom and dad can have their Wednesdays back!

Please continue praying for my father-in-law, Ralph Tyler. They are going to begin aggressive chemotherapy soon. Have a great rest of the week.