A few new pics

Our little Cade is rolling over both ways now, sitting up, and eating real food! (Baby food that is) So far, there isn't anything he doesn't like! He is going to be 7 months on Dec 19th. He's already been on so many airplane rides to Texas and Tennessee I can't keep up with the number any more! There is one word to describe him that I hear alot from other people, and of course, we think this too, is that he is just so sweet! He smiles at everyone. He doesn't mind other people holding him, yet. I thank God every time I look at him. He is truly a blessing to not only our lives, but those he comes in contact with. People get so excited when he smiles at them! I hate to tell them that he smiles at the toilet too!!! I don't know why, but before he gets a bath I lay him on the floor to change him and he kicks and screams at the toilet! Or maybe he just likes being naked! He is a boy! Oh well, it's cute!

Newsflash...

We've had so much going on I haven't had time to blog. If you haven't heard, Chris resigned from his position as Youth Minister at Fairfax Church of Christ. December is his last month, and boy is it a busy month! We have been here for 7 1/2 years now. Our plan is for Chris to go back to school for his counseling degree. We have a long road ahead of us because he'd like to get his PhD in counseling. We have prayed so much about this decision, and we feel it is better to go ahead and get started on this program while Cade is still young. We would like for Chris to be finished with school by the time Cade is starting school so that we can settle down in one area of the country and not move around too much to interrupt Cade's childhood. We are getting many questions about our decision. Why didn't we do this before Cade was born? Why are we doing this in the middle of the school year and not in May or June before summer starts? What are you going to do if you don't sell your house? Why doesn't Chris just go to school in Northern VA? How are you going to pay for school? Is he going to work while he's in school? Are you going to work? What will you do with Cade? The list of questions goes on and on. Let me just say, we have prayed and prayed and PRAYED about this, and we can't answer every question. Everything that is happening is happening for a reason. God has opened up a door and it is time for us to walk through it. If there's anything I've learned about God it is HIS timing that is PERFECT. We trust in that alone. For those of you out there who have ever had a "leap of faith" you know what I'm talking about. Not everything is mapped out perfectly for some of us! I wish God made it that easy!!! But how else would we grow to love and trust in Him if he made life easy? Let me just say, we love this church, we've loved our time here in VA, we love the teens and their families, we love our friendships we've made, we love that so many people love our son as much as we do, and we appreciate that SOO much. This church has been so good to us. This was a very hard decision. One that we do not take lightly. We leave with sad, heavy hearts, and a bit of excitment about the next phase of life.
I think that's about all I have for the newsflash for this month! We had lost the camera for a couple of weeks so I didn't have any pictures of Cade, but we found it and now we're back to taking pictures for you to enjoy!
love to all!

Uncle Matt a.k.a the Gobstopper

Matt Wert is trying to convince us that he is Cade's Godfather. Someone thought Gobstopper would fit him better! I'm not sure what I'd like to call him!

Even More Pirate Pics!

I can't get enough of the pirate pics!! Notice the treasure chest filled with chocolate coins we handed out! Well, we didn't hand out all of them! I'm still eating them! He kicked his boots off and they would land either on him or on the ground. He thought that was so funny!

Halloween Costume...AARRGGHHH!

Our little Pirate! We have a tradition of going over to the Gulick's for Halloween b/c our neighborhood is BORING! Kenndey is the cute Lady Bug and Cade is the "scary" Pirate!!! And, yes, that is Kennedy picking her nose! We tried to get her to stop, but Erin said she does that sometimes when she's nervous. There were too many people calling her name and telling her to smile at the camera. What's a girl to do when so many cameras are around? We can't all pose like a celebrity!

Cade's Halloween Outfit #1

MiMi (my Mom) went crazy over Cade in this Halloween outfit given to him by his Pops and BB (Chris' Dad and Step-Mom). I put him in this outfit on the airplane when I flew back to VA and everyone was going crazy over him!! I figure this is the only time I can get away with putting him in stuff like this, especially the hat! He will hate me when he's older, but right now he loves the attention!!!

Madison and Cade

Madison is Sidney's older sister (5 yrs). She is a BIG help with her sister and with Cade. She is growing up too fast, as they all do, and she gets sweeter every day! We love sweet Madison!
P.S. Those are not store bought highlights in her hair! Those are real! Don't we wish we didn't have to pay to look that good! I hope she never has to pay for those!!

Aren't They Sweet?!

They were so fascinated with each other!!

Cousin Sidney and Cade

Here is Cade and his cousin Sidney in Memphis. My sister-in-law, Courtney, holding them. They are 5 months apart. So cute!

Pumpkinville

We went to Pumpkinville with the Gulick's and Patterson's and Cade came back with wind burn! It only lasted a day. We thought this picture was cute! This was at the beginning of October; I do have more pics of Pumpkinville, but they are on 35MM. Haven't had them developed yet.

Out Of Touch

Sorry it's been so long since the last blog. So much has happened. We took a trip to Memphis to attend my Grandfather's funeral. James William Hubbard (Billy) was 85 years old, married 61 years. He lived a great life and has a wonderful family as his legacy. His legacy also includes Hubbard's Hardware if you're from Memphis and have heard of it. He would've been proud to see all the people at the funeral and hear the funny stories they told of him. He had a great since of humor. In fact, we found out, the day he died he had been making the staff at the nursing home laugh one more time. Doesn't surprise me!

Cade and I stayed in Memphis with my Mom and Gran for the rest of the week. Then we made the long trip back to Dallas with my Mom. For those of you who know Cade you know he HATES riding in the car. Well, I must say, the 8 hour ride to Dallas was very pleasant. Erin let us borrow her portable DVD player and he watched Praise Baby and some of Finding Nemo and Cars. He actually slept in his carseat more than once (that is very rare). The only time he pitched a fit was right as we pulled into Mom's complex! By then it was too late to have a fit. We were already out of the car!! He is now much better about being trapped in his carseat!! He's much happier in the backseat now. I hear happy sounds coming from that corner instead of screams and kicking feet!!!

I flew back by myself with the little man and we both did fine. I was nervous at first, but then met the lady sitting beside me and found out she was a retired flight attendant! Needless to say she was a big help during the flight! I did most everything of course, but she helped hold stuff like my drink during turbulence. Cade fussed just a little, but that didn't disturb anyone. He was an angel of course!

Last week, after we got home, was a blur. It was our 8th anniversary and Halloween. I'll post some pics from Halloween asap. Last week was also the week of Power House (youth ralley). I didn't really do much for it, but I got myself organized and cleaned the house because our friend Jackie Qualls, his wife, Joellen, and sweet baby, Sydney, came for PH. Jackie was our speaker this year. He did an AMAZING job. I'm not just saying that b/c he's our friend. Ask anyone from Fairfax and they will say the same. I'm sure you can see pictures and possibly hear some of his talks on the website. www.fxcc.org If it's not up yet it will be soon.

I will have some pictures of Sydney (9 months) and Cade (5 months) later this week. They were so cute together! Joellen and I had so much fun with them this weekend. They will definitly be friends! I think that's about all that happened during October. I'll put all the pictures up when Cade goes to bed tonight. I'll have more time then.
Love to all!

Tag You're It!

Okay, Erin this is for you... no one else cares!!!
1. Who is your man? Christopher James Bedard
2. How long have you been together? Married 8 years on Oct. 30th
3. How long dated? 3.5 years
4. How old is your man? 35 (But I'm so old I had to ask him how old he is! I couldn't remember!! The memory is the 1st thing to go!)
5.Who eats more? it's a tie!!
6. Who said "I love you" first? Chris, I didn't say it back until I was sure of it weeks later!!
7. Who is taller? Chris by a few inches!
8. Who sings better? Chris for sure! If you've ever heard him (or me) you already know the answer to this!!
9. Who is smarter? This is a dumb question!
10. Whose temper is worse? Chris says his and I say mine. But it takes ALOT to get either one of us going. Most of the time we are happy people!
11. Who does the laundry? Mostly me, but Chris pitches in more than most husbands typically do. He's always been Mr. Independant and can take care of himself. I love that about him! And he does the ironing!!!
12. Who takes out the garbage? Chris (but sometimes I do too)
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Chris. I like to sleep close to the bathroom, like Erin, but we tried trading places (since the b-room is near that side) and neither one of us could sleep in different positions!! Creatures of habit!
14. Who pays the bills? Chris, but he tells me whats going on so I don't spend too much!!
15. Who is better with the computer? Chris for sure! He converted me to be a Mac fanatic. I'm a believer now!! Everyone needs a Mac!
16. Who mows the lawn? We don't have a lawn, but if we did it would be Chris. I have too many things I'm allergic to!! I'm a dork!
17. Who cooks dinner? Me. If he did we'd have goolash every nigh!!!!
18. Who drives when you are together? It's about even, but if we are going far Cade starts to scream so I sit in the back and entertain him. He's getting better about his carseat, but every once in a while he still gets mad.
19. Who pays when you go out? Most of the time Chris, but sometimes me
20. Who is most stubborn? We both point to each other on this one!!
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Chris. I have to think things over first and make sure I was wrong!!
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Both
23. Who kissed who first? We talked about it first, so it was mutual!!
24. Who asked who out? Not sure, but I think Chris. I asked him on a Sadies date, but he payed for it!!!
25. Who proposed? Chris at Preston Road C of C with our friends and his brother and sister there in the balcony! It was a night I'll never forget! We have it on video! Too bad we don't have a VCR any more!!
26. Who is more sensitive? Me for sure! But Chris is too, and he'll admit it. When you get envolved with teenagers lives you can't help but be sensitive to them and for them.
27. Who has more friends? It's even
28. Who has more siblings? we have the same- 1 bother, 1 sister. Chris is the oldest and I'm a middle child. That's why he takes such good care of me and I let him (such a middle child thing to do)!!
29. Who wears the pants in the family? What year is this, 1950? It's even between us. It may seem like I do, but if you listen to us when we are making decisions for our family it's a team effort.
30. Who makes the bed in the morning? Me it just makes the room look so much nicer even if the room is messy. Lately I don't feel complete until it's made. Is that a touch of OCD? I'm not sure!!!!
31. Who is a morning person? Chris for sure! Morning to me is 11 a.m.!! ha ha ha! But having a newborn has changed all that.
I tag Jaime S. and Ellyn S. (Julie I would tag you but you haven't started your blog yet!!)

Guess What...

He ROLLED OVER TONIGHT!!! Of course we missed it b/c he did it while he was asleep. Cade hates to sleep on his back so when he turned over it woke him up and he started screaming. Chris went in to check on him and found him on his back!!! I think tonight might be a long night for us if this continues. We put him down on his stomache, he rolls over and wakes up, we turn him over, he rolls over, and so on and so on!!! Let the games begin!

Eating W/ His Grandma

Chris' Mom, Dianne, comes to visit once a month after flying in from Qatar on business. She hasn't yet decided on her grandma name, but we think it might be Ya Ya (Grandmother in Greek), but sometimes Chris calls her La La to be funny. I like either one! This time she got to help with the cereal. (Don't worry MiMi, you will get your turn in November!!)
Notice his t-shirt? This was the night the Cowboys will go down in history for winning the game in the last second by a field goal. That was the weirdest game I've ever seen! But who cares! They won!!!

Look What He's Up To Now...

Rice Cereal, YUM! He loves it! And he's sleeping better at night. That stuff is God given for sure! We are getting more sleep too! Next is oatmeal for breakfast.

Reading A Good Book

The Wert's brought this book back from their trip to Alaska for Cade. He is enjoying it as you can see! Thank you Barbara, Paul and Uncle Matt!!!

Down For The Count

We are all 3 sick this week, so no new pictures or interesting things to post. Cade is doing much better than me or Chris. He's getting more sleep than we are, so he's getting over his cold faster. I'll keep you posted...

Sunday School Class

What a big boy! They said he wouldn't let go of his Bible!! Miss Leeann is his teacher and God bless her with all those boys in the class! We are missing one boy in particular... Baby Bennett we are awaiting your arrival to this crazy bunch! We are praying for that day and your parents will be as excited (and a little nervous) as we were today!

The funny part of all this is that I didn't know what I was doing to check him into class. The old system was to grab his tags from the wall put one on him and one on me. Of course, we have never done that system since today was his 1st day, but I noticed that they had made these tags for him and they were hanging on the wall. Now, they have a new system to check him in on the computer and they print off 2 stickers with his name on them (one for him, one for me). So, I took the tags AND got the sticker AND they gave me a pager in case they needed to find me in an emergency! I was all loaded up! When Chris saw me he said, "I want to wear one"! (Again, you have to remember, we waited 5 years for this day, so everything was exciting to us! It was hard to watch the parents in the hallways with multiple tags hanging off their clothes with the names of all their kids. It just reminds you- no tag, no kid.) So, Chris wore his tag and I wore his sticker and pager!! I went to Chris' class for a little bit and then Lisa wanted to tell me how well Cade was doing in class. Then I got distracted and sat outside the nursery with another Mom and her baby (Kristen and Kate) and chatted with them until class was over. No, I was not checking up on Cade, but I was not going to be late picking him up on the 1st day! When they handed him over to me he was asleep. He had played and played and had enough!! Our little angel!
I think I might grab the tag and the sticker again next Sunday just so Chris can be a Dad with a tag hanging off his clothes. One more Sunday won't hurt anything! He was just so proud to wear it!

Baby Dedication Day/First Day of Sunday School!

Whoa! We had a big day today! Today was a baby dedication day and Cade's 1st day of Sunday School!! For those of you who know our story of trying to have a baby you might not know that I used to skip ALL Sundays that included a baby dedication. Those were just too much to handle. So, today when our names were called to go on stage and Lisa handed me his little Bible and picture frame and said "We've been praying for this day for so long and now it's here!" you can imagine the emotions!!! She and I both started crying, but then I was all smiles when I got on the stage holding my sweet baby! Chris and I both were so happy!!! He was a perfect angel on stage while Bruce said a few words and read scripture to us, and the 11 other families with new babies (all boys except 2 girls!!), and then an elder said a prayer for all of us. I don't remember a word Bruce said or who the elder was that said the prayer b/c the whole time I just kept thinking I can't believe we are up here with our little boy! I've never had a dream come true before until Cade. Later Lisa told me she was thinking about how much we all prayed for this day and how sometimes we don't see our prayers answered in the physical sense. Here he is, our answer to prayer in the flesh. Thank you, Jesus! And thank you to those who prayed for us for so long. What a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday!

Sweet Cade is 4 months old today (the 19th)! This time is very exciting and also sad. Baby Bennett is still in the hospital. He continues to make improvements, but we can't wait for the day when he turns 4 months old and he's discovering his toes and fingers. Please keep praying for the Speck's. We love them and we beg God to heal Bennett completly. He is so adorable- see his pictures by using the link to his blog beside this post...

Discovering His Toes

Cade has figured out that he can move the spiders with his toes!! It is so hilarious! The bouncy seat plays the song 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' and the spiders move up and down. Tonight he started touching the spiders with his toes and made them move back and forth. He didn't kick them just gently touched them like he was so curious about what they felt like! Next time I'll get this on video because it was adorable to watch.

Lauren's Wedding

We attended the wedding of a former youth group teen. She is all grown up now! When we first met her she was learning how to drive and now she's a married lady and a college graduate! We had a wonderful time at the wedding. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding. Here are pictures of Lauren and Justin (bride and groom). Me and Chris and Teresa (Mom of the bride), and you know the rest!

Our Sweet Little Boy!

Cade 1 & Cade 2

Here are pictures of the original Cade!! This is the Cade in Abilene that our Cade was named after. He is in 7th grade now, and we can't believe it! He was in Preschool when we saw him last! It was so much fun to see him and his parents, Tom and Judy. We love them so much! It was a very short visit, and it was WAY past little Cade's bedtime, but it was worth it to see them again.