Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Friends

Yesterday we had Taylor over to play. Taylor is our across the street neighbor who is 3 months older than Caitlin. We used to play together all the time but then we all got so busy! Finally, I emailed Marisa (Taylor's mom) and asked if Taylor could come over on Saturday for a few hours.

The girls had major fun. They played dress-up, games (Chutes and Ladders & Hungry Hungry Hippo), hair, puppet show and baby dolls.

I, of course, had to snap some pictures with my new camera...


Thanks for coming over to play with me, Taylor!
Love,
Caitlin














Saturday, January 24, 2009

Up Close!

My mom and I had GREAT seats for Girl's Night Out! We were up close to Lysa, Renee, Kate, Ayiesha and Jason. There were 3,998 other women all around us and by the laughter, clapping and tears - you could tell a good time was had by all.

First, Susan, from the Morning Show on KSBJ, greeted us. She was funny and it was nice to see the face of the woman I spend the first 30 minutes of my morning listening to as I drive to work.














Secondly, we heard Ayiesha Wood's music. I had not heard it before, but my favorite song of hers was "Happy."














Third, we heard the testimony of Lysa Terkeurst. You have to watch the videos here from when she was on the Oprah Show. Lysa is an amazing woman of God who knows what good can come from saying "Yes" to God.














Next, we heard the testimony of Renee Swope. Her story is one that many of us can identify with. Maybe we are that person or we know that person, but she's a woman of God who has gone through many personal life struggles including her parents divorcing when she was 2 years old, depression, alcohol abuse, self-image issues, and trying to find love and appreciation through others (and not rely on God). Through it all, Renee is a woman of God who now relies on God each and everyday and never forgets what it took to get where she is now.














Next, we heard Jason Catron sing. Wow, he can sing!














Ok, Ok, and last but certainly not least, Kate Gosselin...she was wonderful. She told her story - if you ever watch Jon & Kate Plus 8, you've heard some of their story - their fertility issues, the twins, the fertility treatments that led to the babies being conceived, the bed rest at 7 weeks, the loss of the 7th baby, the hospital bed rest starting at 20 weeks, the birth of the babies at almost 30 weeks and the miracles that the babies are today - healthy 4.5 year olds who were born early with no health issues to speak of.

Miracles. That is the word that was resoundingly Kate's throughout the night (she spoke for almost 2 hours). Jon and Kate had to rely on God to perform his miracles in their lives because there would be no other way. When Kate began bed rest, she received a call from Jon that he'd lost his job. They somehow were able to make it through the pregnancy with no income. Kate told a few stories about some miracles God made happen when they had no money. That in and of itself was sobering - not to mention the 8 kids surrounding them during that struggle. Through it all, they have come out on top, but they thank God everyday for the miracles that He did in them, for them and through them. She travels the country now (when she can) speaking about the Love of God that can get you through the most difficult of situations.

I only took a few pictures of Kate (but you should have seen how the church lit up with everyone snapping pics of her after she sat down on stage!!! there were at least 3,000 flashes going off for a solid 5 minutes!!) but mostly I tried to do videos (I got 3). Caitlin LOVES Jon & Kate Plus 8 and she made me promise that I'd take videos of Kate for her.

So, here are the pics:






































Here are the videos: (please pause the music at the bottom of my blog first)

In order:
1) Kate talking about getting through the pregnancy with no income;
2) Kate talking about getting through bed rest and relying on God for strength;
3) Kate answering a question during the end of the show when audience questions were answered...the question was, "What are Kate's favorite things (that make her mommy life more manageable)"?


Hope you enjoyed the recap :)
Love,
Amanda

Pics and Videos to come very soon from Girl's Night Out :)

I will try to get the pics and videos up soon from our awesome night with Proverbs 31 Ministries and Kate Gosselin.

It was so fun!

Love,
Amanda

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Girl's Night Out!!

My mom and I are going to Girl's Night Out tonight. It's going to be great!

It's a night of music and ministry with Lysa TerKeurst and Renee Swope (from Proverbs 31 Ministries), Ayiesha Woods and Kate Gosselin (from Jon & Kate Plus Eight).

I love Jon & Kate Plus Eight and love Proverbs 31 Ministries!

I plan to take my old camera and hope to get lots of pics. I also hope to have a nice night out with my mom :)

Happy Thursday!
Love,
Amanda

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Miracle on The Hudson

I had to write a little something about the miracle that was seen worldwide this past week.

I'm sure if you watch the news you already know what I'm talking about, but I just had to give Glory to God and Praise Him for such a miracle to have occurred. There were just too many other things that could have happened for this to not have been seen as a true miracle.

People don't always believe in miracles, but I think they happen everyday. Some are just too busy to see them - or for them to be broadcast over all the airwaves and other methods of communication these days.

But, this is what I believe to be true:


MIRACLES HAPPEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THEM.


Thursday, January 15, 2009

Happy Birthday Lauren!

We want to wish you a very Happy Birthday, Lauren!!!











Love,
The Hoyt Family










This is a pic of Lauren and her cutie pie Natalie (Evan is hiding in there) :)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Happy Birthday Uncle Jared!

Well, Uncle Jared is probably at work right now in China - it is his birthday on January 15th. Join me in wishing Uncle Jared a wonderful birthday even while away...



Happy Birthday, Jared! Come home soon and safe!
Love,
The Hoyt Family

Please pray with us

Please join us in prayer and praise today and everyday...

Go to Before His Throne














Thank you and have a blessed day.

Love,
Amanda

Monday, January 12, 2009

Our First Miracle

I am just feeling extra blessed today and I wanted to share with you a little about how our first miracle (Caitlin) came to be the love of our lives...

First of all, it took 18 months to conceive Caitlin and the day she was conceived was the only time we tried the entire month (August 26, 2003 to be exact!).

Then, sometime within the first 6 weeks of pregnancy, a series of amniotic bands grew in the amniotic sac. We did not find out about the bands until the 20th week big ultrasound. We found out she was a girl and then we were delivered the news...

I had to have an Ultrasound every week downtown at a perinatologist's office to check to make sure the bands were not going to cut off one of her limbs - or worse...
An amniotic band is very rare and is not caused by anything known and is not genetic (doctors still don’t know why they happen) but they are ruptures in the amniotic membranes that cause “band-like” structures (my doctor described them as rubber bands) that can become entangled with the baby and cause loss of limb or life. That’s why they had to watch Caitlin via U/S so much – we are lucky that we live in the city we do - the peri could have done neonatal surgery on her if she had become entangled and he could have freed her (he was the only peri at that time doing these surgeries so we knew we were in the right place if that were to happen). I’m so glad that did not happen in our case! Living with the worry and uncertainty for 21 weeks was very difficult.

With God's help and yet another miracle, Caitlin Love was born extra healthy at 41 weeks and at almost 9 pounds! The worry, though, during those 21 weeks, was excruciating. I never knew if she would be born early or if she would be put in danger from that band.

We praise God everyday for the miracle that Caitlin is to us and our family.

We love you, Caitlin Love Hoyt!!!

For those of you who are interested, I've taken pictures of only some of the ultrasound pictures we have. We have TONS and these are the best ones. As she got beyond 28 weeks, the pictures were too hard to see (even for us) so I did not post those...and then as I was going through the photos, I came across some very cute ones from years past that I just had to share. Enjoy my baby!!

Cait at 18 days - First Father's Day














Cait at 5 months




























Cait at 4 months - Oh how I love to see those two together!!














Cait at 2 years - Bandera, TX - family vacation - how did my camera actually catch her jumping?? Wow!













Cait at 3 days














Cait at 1 year



















Cait at 11 months



















Cait at 28 weeks (3D) - great sleeping shot













Cait at 28 weeks (3D) - this one has always amazed me! She's looking at us!!













Cait at 28 weeks (3D) - great profile shot













Cait at 28 weeks (3D) - look at that eyeball!













Cait at 24 weeks - sucking her thumb!













Cait at 21 weeks - first peri visit













Cait at 20 weeks - first found out about band after this picture was taken

I Heart Faces - January 12, 2009 Contest - Kids Entry



My daughter Caitlin (4 1/2 years old) - on Christmas Day 2008


This is my first entry into this contest. Since I just got my new camera for Christmas, I thought it would be fun to start entering a few of my photos (http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/)...since they have a kids section and in February are coming out with a pets section, I should be good to go :)

Happy Monday!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

6 Things Tag

I was tagged on December 16, 2008 by my friend Rachel. Sorry for taking so long to do this post, Rachel!!!

Here are the rules:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself.
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Here are my 6 random things:

1) I love to dip all foods in something. Mostly Catalina dressing or bbq sauce or sweet n' sour sauce :)

2) I cannot drive a stick shift. People have attempted to teach me in the past, but an automatic is my way to travel...especially in the traffic where I live - there's no way I could drive one of those!

3) I don't like the beach very much and neither does my husband. Very fitting that we only have been to the beach to satisfy Caitlin's urges. We both do not like sand...we went on our honeymoon to Santa Fe, NM. Who does that??

4) I have been to Europe 4 times (first time when I was 7 and last time when I was 14). My dad, step mom, brother and sister used to live in Germany. I've been to Germany (obviously), France, Switzerland, Spain, Greece and Holland (just to name a few) :).

5) From Kindergarten all the way through High School, I never missed a day. I got an award for perfect attendance at each school I attended. I am obsessed about not missing anything or being late to anything...

6) I cannot be around blue cheese or Parmesan cheese. They are so stinky to me that I barely have them in my home (we do have Parmesan cheese for Chris and Caitlin when we eat Italian food) but I do not touch it!

Okay...now it's my turn to tag someone. I can only pick 6.

Here's my 6...Melanie, Lauren, Maria, Sara, Jen Baker, and Kahla.

Have fun!!!

Birthdays and Anniversaries I Missed (Sorry!)

I was so busy in December that I missed posting about several birthdays and one anniversary, so without further adieu:

On December 3rd, it was Cousin Andrew's birthday!

On December 7th, it was Cousin CJ's birthday!

On December 17th, it was Grandma Uta's birthday!

On December 17th, it was MeMe and Grandpa's 20th wedding anniversary!

On December 20th, it was Uncle Mike's birthday!

On December 31st, it was Great Aunt Murlene's birthday!

Sorry to everyone - I know some of these birthday/anniversary wishes are very much overdue!! But we hope you all had great special days.

Love you,
Amanda & Family


Saturday, January 10, 2009

Hope for '09

My church is beginning a new series starting tomorrow...we are so excited...seems like the perfect title to this new year: "Hope for '09!"

Check this out (first pause the music at the bottom of the page):




Hope for '09 Website

Flashback Saturday

I was looking through pictures this morning and found this one. Had to share. Although I love that my Caitlin is growing up, I oh so miss those tiny baby times...

This picture was taken on August 3, 2004 (she was 2.5 months).

Love you, Cait!













Thursday, January 08, 2009

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

The Tale of Despereaux

Caitlin and Grammy and I went to see The Tale of Despereaux on Saturday. It is THE CUTEST MOVIE! You have to go see it!!

It is for adults and children alike. It's the tale of a tiny mouse who thinks he's a gentleman. He and the princess (he ends up rescuing) in the story have HOPE. Hope for a brighter tomorrow. I thought it was very fitting for this new year. We have to have HOPE that tomorrow (and this entire new year) will be good and full of blessings.

Despereaux is SOOO CUTE! He has huge ears, a tiny body and a little nose that is precious!

I plan on getting a Despereaux stuffed animal for Caitlin (I mean me :)) because I think he is just adorable.










2 thumbs up for The Tale of Despereaux!!!


Love,
Amanda