Showers of Blessings

We are so truly blessed! For the past two months, I have had 3 showers for Cameron. They were so much fun and Cameron got lots of stuff! My pictures below do not do the showers justice. I don't know what has happened to me with my picture-takingness (I know it's not a word, but indulge me!). I used to take TONS of pictures of EVERYTHING. Before I had a digital camera, they knew me by name at Walgreens. I had at least 1-2 rolls developed every week. But lately, I just bring the camera and it sits. So, some of these pictures have been sent to me from family and friends (THANK YOU!!!), and a few are off my camera. I do have more, but 90% of shower pictures are of me holding up gifts. So, I hope this gives you a small glimpse into my awesome showers and I will try to do better on the picture taking!

My Family Shower

This shower was hosted by my Aunt, sister-in-law, and my mom's cousins. This was my side of the family. We had a very nice luncheon with yummy chicken salad and buffalo wings. I know, crazy combination, but it was PERFECT! We also had fruits and veggies! It is so much fun to get together with the family. We always have a great time full of laughter!

Some puppy outfits and a handmade afghan from Nana (my mom)

LSU Baby! He is ready for game day!

Cameron's loot

Some of the family

Emilee, Natalie, and Anna- cousins!

My BIG Shreveport Shower

This shower was hosted by eight of mine and my mom's friends. It was beautiful! It was held at my parent's church in one of their fellowship halls. We had awesome food like chicken salad sandwiches, cheese and crackers, strawberries with 3 dipping sauces, nuts, and cake (wedding cake- my fav!). We had a great turn out! I think I opened present for an hour and a half straight! There was so much stuff to look at. Thanks to everyone who helped and came to this shower!

Sandwiches, strawberries, lemon water, and some very yummy punch! Don't you LOVE the decorations? It was very cute and boyish!

Cameron's Tricycle...also used as decoration! The dot fabric underneath is one of my fabrics for Cameron's bedding! This was the theme of the whole shower.

My very awesome cake! If you are in the Shreveport area, you need to get your cakes from Kathy Cubley...yummmmm!!!! She is the BEST! She also did our wedding cake and many other cakes for me!

Opening presents!

My Wonderful Hostesses (L to R): Nancy Bradford, Joyce Turner, Me & Cameron, Patsy Foster, Ashley Stuart, Darlene Feazel, Lesa Caldwell, and Susan Norris. Not pictured is Janet Cubley.

Camterra Shower

My mother-in-law's office also threw me a shower. These are some of the nicest ladies I have ever met! They are so sweet. I met most of them while I was going through or just finished chemo, so this was the first time many of them saw me with hair...hehe! They prayed for me through everything and were very excited to hear about Cameron joining our family. It was held at their office and we had just snack food since it was the end of the day. Don't get me wrong, it was AWESOME snack food! Cupcakes, punch, multiple dips, chips, and pretzels! It was decorated so cute too! Thank you ladies!

Some of the ladies

Chillin'

Ruby (my mother-in-law), Natalie- all sprawled out, and Emilee enjoying the shower

Cameron's loot

Cute little decorations. The boxes spell out "Baby." The basket had this cute teddy bear, some rubber duckies, and a feely book- it has different "furs" to match with animals for Cameron to learn.

Thank you to all of you who helped, sent a present, prayed for us, and are celebrating our little miracle with us! We are truly blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives!

And the Belly Grows!!!

I thought I would share some belly pics so you can see how fast he is growing! Enjoy...

22 weeks

23 weeks, 2 days

24 weeks, 1 day

24 weeks, 1 day

26 weeks, 5 days

26 weeks, 5 days

Hope you enjoyed watching my belly grow! It is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world! He is VERY active and LOVES music! We are still so amazed at this miracle God has blessed us with!

On a medical note, all my bloodwork has come back in normal range and my health continues to improve. Thank you for all your prayers and support! We love you all!

Happy Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day this year, we decided to take it easy and just spend the weekend at home. The girls are SOOO busy with all their stuff, that to try andwork around it and get out of town is crazy! So, we went to Church, came home and all took naps, then went to dinner and played games. It was the perfect Mother's day for me! Here are some pics:

Me & Rob with our little man

The girls lovin' on their brother

Happy Mothers Day- me with my 3 kids!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mom's out there! I hope your day was everything you hoped and dreamed for!

Two Years and Counting!

On Saturday, April 17th, I took a moment to think back to two years ago. That was the day I was told I had cancer. A day that changed mine and my family's life forever. As I reflected on it, I remember thinking that the "thing" that would not and could not happen to me, had just happened! I remember wondering why God would allow me to go through such an experience. There are days that I still wonder this. There are days that I know the answer to this. Anytime I come in contact with someone with the same battle and I can empathize with them, or talk to them and their families, I understand. Days when people tell me my testimony through the process and how I continued to praise God, even through the tough times, I understand. And, the days someone tells me, that I inspired them to go back to church or to start reading their Bible again, I understand. But, on most days, it's still a mystery.

Would I change it if I could? Well, if you're wondering if I want the side effects, the sickness, and everything else that went with it, then NO...I don't wish that upon ANYONE! But, do I wish it all away? Absolutely not! I am not the same person I was two years ago. God has shaped me and molded me to the woman I am today, and for some reason, cancer and chemo were part of that process for me. Do I want to go through it all over again? NO!!! That was a stupid question, but if God chooses, He knows why and I will trust Him all over again!

The more I pondered the same day two years ago, it made me realize just how short two years can be, but just how much can change in that short amount of time. In two years, I went from beginning a fight for my life to growing a precious life inside me. WOW!!! That is ALL God!

I am so truly blessed!

Boy or Girl?

So, here we are, 22 weeks into this pregnancy. After waiting and waiting, we FINALLY had our sonogram appointment to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. In the beginning, we both REALLY wanted a boy. Can you blame us?? We already have two beautiful daughters, so a son would be awesome. Soon after that, I really didn't care, I just wanted my baby to be healthy. Rob still was hoping for a boy. Soon, my "mother's instinct" kicked in and I was absolutely sure we were having a girl. To the point that I really only looked at pink stuff. Rob wouldn't even discuss a girl name or look at anything pink because he was so sure it was a boy. Well, we went in for our ultrasound, she took her measurements, said the baby was looking good. Measuring around where it should be (some right on schedule, a few a week ahead). Everything looked good. Then, she asked if we wanted to know what "flavor" we were getting. Well, of course we wanted to know! She looked and said "well, it looks like y'all have a little boy here." Rob was jumping up and down, I looked at her and said, "WHAT!?!?!" I was so sure she was going to say girl. Either way, we are very excited, but...

IT'S A BOY!!!

We are happy to announce that Cameron Shaw Mullins will be joining our household in August (if he isn't early!) The name comes from - Cameron- just a name we liked, Shaw- my paternal grandmother's maiden name. My grandmother was such a HUGE part of my life that I really wanted to use a family name from that side of the family. We have had our boy name picked for quite some time (YEARS!!!). For our girl name, just for those of you who have bugged me like crazy, was/is Raeleigh Joy. Rae- mine, my mom's, and my maternal grandfather's middle name, not to mention MANY cousins middle names, leigh- well, b/c her sister's are Emilee and Natalie, so we had to go with a "lee" name, and Joy- because of the situation and all the joy this pregnancy has brought to our life. So, maybe in the future (like 4 or 5 years down the road), we can use that girl name.

So, I leave you with some pictures of our little man...

His sweet arms!

Isn't that just the most precious profile!

Sittin' back relaxin' just like his daddy!

It's a BOY!!!

His face...I know, he looks like a skeleton, but it's him!

Hi everybody!
Sucking his thumb

A cute profile again!!!

21 weeks

Oh WOW!!! Check out that belly! I had no idea it was that big until I saw this picture! HAHAHA! And man, do I look tired! Things are going great right now! We go in on the 12th to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. We can't wait! We are so ready to start getting things ready for our little miracle. We still only have the crib set up, but at least it is a start!

I hope everyone had a great Easter and took a few minutes to think about what we were really celebrating...HE IS RISEN!!! This year has been such an amazing year so far, and I hope it continues.

Sorry this post is so short, but there really isn't a whole lot going on right now. Just work and staying busy with the girl's activities. They are so excited to find out if they will have a brother or sister. I will let you know as soon as we find out!

The Sweetest Sound

I went to the doctor on March 1st and even though we weren't able to find out if we are having a boy or girl, we were able to hear the heartbeat! The doctor even let us record it.

The video is just black, but you can hear the heartbeat. Turn up your speakers, it is a little hard to hear, but here is the sweetest sound any mother could hear: