its been a while.......

Since the last post...Cooper is now 3 months old! Ayden is doing great in kindergarten...he is learning to read and it is awesome! Cooper went to his first Auburn game with us. (see the picture above) He did great. Looks like he will love it like Ayden does.

Jake got some exciting news...he will be leaving on Feb. 2 to start the State Trooper Academy. Can you believe he FINALLY made it??? The boys and I will be staying with family quite a bit but I will need to find someone to help me out with Cooper one day a week.

The bittersweet part of Jake getting in to the academy is that we will be relocating to Calhoun County. :( Sad, it is....but also an exciting time for our family. New beginnings that will make us a stronger family. God is doing his thing, I really believe this.

Please pray for us as we start this new life...I will definately need prayers as Jake will be gone for about 22 weeks. Ayden is a littl upset about his daddy leaving. He doesn't quite understand why Jake is leaving to go to school. Pray also for me and my work...I am at a great place where I am and may continue to drive to Huntsville and work, especially if other areas are not hiring. YES - the economy has affected healthcre too.

WE LOVE YOU ALL!

newness in the air....

For those that don't know, I started with Pampered Chef just before giving birth to Cooper. I felt that I needed something to get me through maternity leave. I am having a blast! Such a fun way to socialize and earn a few extra bucks. I am going to continue down this road, hopefully strengthening my business so that I may work only part time at the hospital. I would like to have flexibility to be a mom! This said, please visit my website...host a show (you get to eat!!!)....order Christmas gifts...start your own business and venture out like I am. I promise it is FUN!! (and when you sign up, you get lots of cooking things...yeah!!)

www.pamperedchef.biz/ashleybrook

Oh, if this doesn't appeal to you, tell someone else. You might just make their day :)

losing a family member

we lost a member of our family this morning. Ayden's dog, Oliver (the small one) was hit by a car. please pray for Ayden...that God will heal his broken heart quickly.

more pics of our family...

WOW!! What a fabulous 3 weeks it has been. That is right, our baby will be 3 weeks old on Tuesday. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. Ayden has been wonderful with Cooper. He is so protective of his little brother. We have had very little jealousy problems. Jake has been great too! He is a wonderful dad to both of our boys. Alway willing to help out. I have to say that we have a great support system - our families have been wonderful. Enough gabbing, enjoy the pictures!

Baby update and pictures

Here are some pictures of Cooper Alexander Smith. Born Sept 30, 2008 at 1959CDT. He weighed in at 8 lbs and 4 oz and was 20 inches long. A beatiful baby boy. I never have been so proud. Thank you all for your prayers, calls and messages.

Thank you and God bless,

Jake, Ashley, Ayden and Cooper

LABOR!!!!!!!

Hey everybody,

Just thought i would let you know we are at hospital in Labor and Delivery. Everything is going well. Here are a couple pictures and I'll keep you posted. Keep us in your prayers.

Thank you,

Jake

baby news

As you know, we were told we were having a boy. As of today, its a girl. No, we are not kidding. According to the ultrasound and by confirmation of our doctor, we are indeed having a girl. They were pretty sure it was a boy and now convinced its a girl...we, however are not convinced either way at this point. So, if you choose to purchase something, keep the receipt!! :)

ALSO - the kidney update - still have fluid. The amount has actually increased a little. We will NOT have to go to Birmingham - praise God! We will only have to follow up with a pediatric urologist. I am super excited about this! Please continue to pray for our baby...whichever gender it may be!

Ayden's first day of school....

the beach, the beach, the beach!

so here we are at the beach..............






this is video of ayden in the gulf!

4-D pictures

here he is.....

the good and the bad

So, good news - we sold our house and we have been moving this past week. We are able to stay in a family owned place which is a great plus! All we need now is Jake to be accepted into the academy in October....keep praying for us!

The bad news - our baby has some renal dilatation...we had a repeat ultrasound this past week and there is an increase in the fluid amount. Though it is still at a level which is considered mild, we are asking for your prayers. I believe God can and will heal this anomoly!

its been a while...

I can't believe I haven't updated since April. Wow! Let me fill you in...
May - Ayden graduated from preschool. I can't believe he is starting "big boy" school this year. Time flies...

June - Jake didn't get into the June academy for state troopers. We are patiently awaiting the next class which tentatively is scheduled for October. We took a mini vacation to Gatlinburg and had a blast. We went to the Dixie Stampede which was an experience. We all had such a good time. BTW - we are having a boy, so the ultrasound says. No names yet. :)

July - As most of you know, we put our house on the market in preparation and anticipation of moving soon. (state trooper thing) Well, it sold! We are excited. Our first step towards the future we are so unsure of. We are kind of dangling, waiting for God to open up doors and lead us in the right direction. It is a little frustrating sometimes not knowing where, if, when but it is all in God's time and we are willing and eager to do what He has planned. Still, it is exciting!! Anyway, we are moving out of our house this week. We are so very fortunate to have a place to stay. (not with family but owned by family)

Till next time....

Ayden's Birthday

Ayden turned 5 this year. I can't believe it! We had a birthday party for him with a camo theme. The kids had water balloons and water guns to soak each other. The children had a blast! I think the party went well. Special thanks to Chandra Holland for making the cake!

SOCCER TIME

As promised, pictures of Ayden playing soccer!

on our way.....

WOW! We are getting closer to a long summer. Jake went last weekend for his physical. Turns out he is a-ok! Our next step is with the psych interview. Guess they need to make sure he is mentally stable. :) He should pass this with flying colors. I am getting so nervous...scared... He is going to be gone for so long.

On a different note, Ayden is playing soccer this year. He is amazing. I am not at home right now but I will post a picture soon. I took an awesome shot of him getting ready to kick the ball.

Pregnancy update...did an ultrasound and the baby looks great. "It" is kicking me all the time...I just can't feel it yet. Still don't have a confirmed sex on the baby. We can't seem to get a good view. (I guess the little one wants us to keep guessing for a bit) I am feeling much better. Still having some bouts with nausea/vomiting but I am at least able to eat some things at this point. Speaking of...there is some bbq with my name on it.

ash

Ahh, Spring

It is so nice to see flowers blooming and trees budding. Signs of new... Things are new in our family too. Ayden is playing soccer this spring. He is so excited. We have had 2 practices and I must say I am impressed! Jacob got his much anticipated letter from the state...we are getting closer to a new beginning. We had our 2nd visit with the OB doc and everything is going great. :)

Please keep our extended family in your prayers. We are having some rather disturbing and stressful trials. Pray things get handled in the way they should be handled by the people that need to be handling them. Pray the burden of it all is lifted!

EXCITING TIMES

I think it looks like me when I was that age. HAHA. And just so everyone knows it is going to be a girl I've decided. Isn't she beautiful. Blue eyes and sandy color hair too. I kniow these things. I got butterflies in my chest when I saw and heard the heart beat. It was AWESOME!!! I can't explain it. I'm sure all Dad's know the feeling. I can't wait. I just hope and pray that make it home in time from Selma to be there when she decides to come into the world. How Exciting!

the process

Jake's update......after the trip to Mobile, he had an appointment with an agent who hooked him up to a lie detector and drilled him. As far as we know, he didn't lie! LOL!! We are waiting now for another letter. We think the academy might start sometime in June. Such a short time for use to prepare.

Since the last post..........
Ayden has played upward basketball this year. He and two of his friends were the youngest players out there. They played with kids who were a bit older. They did great though! Ayden has progressed so well in the learning process and his skills have improved so much. I hate I didn't get a chance to post during the short season, I have great pictures!!

jake's update

I was waiting on Jake to make a post regarding his trip to Mobile. Those of you that know him understand why I am writing this. He did great on his physical ability test! He has other types of testing ahead of him but the most challenging part is over....until the academy. He is very excited and I am very proud of him. It is comforting to watch him make this career move...knowing he is doing something he chose to do. This is a stable career and one that will support his family. I am glad Ayden will grow up with a mom and dad who are both hard workers. (though Jake works much harder than I do!) He is leading our family like a husband and father should. Gosh, I have a FABULOUS man!! :)

it is here!!

so, Jake is on his way to Mobile! I am so nervous about everything. It is now we take a leap of faith and rely on what God has planned. Please continue to pray for Jacob and for our family. This is such a huge step in his career path and an even (potentially) larger move for our family!

money...ugggh

So, I was opening up my bible this morning to have a quiet time. I did the random pick....you know find a topic and read it. This one was about finances...money...the oh so wonderful topic. (i am sure it really would be a great topic if I had lots of the green stuff) Jake and I had been talking after the holidays how we spent so much money buying stuff for others. Don't get me wrong, I love buying things for others...much more than I like receiving it actually. But, we have to save money to purchase gifts. There are those that are more fortunate than we are and they spend a lot more money on us than we can afford to spend on them. That makes us feel so bad....embarassed.... Anyway, I found peace with that this morning. I read a story in my Bible about a lady and her family. How they were considered as living in poverty based on the income amount. She mentioned that they had a roof over their heads, clothes, and food. They didn't lack for anything they needed. This verse was quoted Proverbs 30:8 Give me neither poverty nor riches but give me only my daily bread.
WOW! Everything we have is such a blessing...really. The gifts we give are out of love for others. We get so caught up in how much or what it is we get when really it is about the act of giving and what it means. We don't give out of obligation - we shouldn't anyway. We give because we WANT to... I love you all!!