Drew 2m & Jackson 20m

Sweet Drew celebrated his 2month Birthday in the ER! After a fussy afternoon he began running fever around 10pm. Since he is so young the ER had to run several tests...they were painful for him, broke our hearts, and took all night BUT all test results came back negative! Praise God for His healing power! We spent the next few days taking him to follow ups with Dr McGehee and Dr. Daher when she returned to the office. We could not have been more impressed with the care that Drew received. The ER Doc had great bed side manner, the nurses were excellent, Dr. McGehee was very reassuring, and Dr. Daher called us from home multiple times for updates and to remind us that we had prayer warriors at her house praying for our sweet boy! We feel incredibly blessed to have such an amazing doctor who also recognizes the fact that God is the ultimate physician!

Drew
12 lb 10 oz and 24 1/2 inches
Size 2 diapers
3-6m clothes
smiles
laughs
holds head up
grasp
rolls
EATS all of the time! ;)

Jackson has continued to amazes us with how fast he is learning. He loves "School time!" We do craft projects, colors, counting, and flash cards. He recognizes and says lots of words and letters. He always bows his head at dinner and waits for us to bless it before he will eat! This makes Mommy's heart smile every time! He is also not a big fan of the highchair...he likes to climb up and sit st the table like a big boy! A new word for him is Jesus, he loves to play with trucks, does every single thing thing daddy does, loves to wrestle with Daddy, helps Mommy unload the dishwasher and puts away his own laundry, holds his baby brother every chance he gets.

Jackson
30lbs
size 4 diaper, showing interest in the potty!
2t clothes
New fav song "This little Light of Mine!"
Beau is his best-friend!
Likes to watch Sid the science kid!

Thomas "Drew" Cantrell

BOY or GIRL has been the big question for the past 9months! On April 26, 2012 we welcomed Thomas "Drew" Cantrell. Drew weighed 8 lbs 11oz and measured 20.5 inches!We have been BLESSED beyond measure! Jennifer was able to be apart of the delivery and brought Jackson back to meet his baby brother. Jackson then made the BIG announcement while Marty showed off our beautiful new addition! During the stay at the hospital we were overwhelmed with joy over how God has blessed our family but we couldn't wait to get home to be with Jackson and start our new life as a family of 4! Drew had to stay an extra day due to jaundice and that broke our hearts. We were worried about him and missing Jackson. Since we could only see Drew every 3 hours we got out of the hospital and had lunch with Aunt Nancy, Paw, Mamaw, and Jackson! On Monday we were finally able to bring our baby boy home AND Jackson woke with fever! :( We spent the next couple of days adjusting to home with a newborn and going to visit Jackson! Thankfully the grandparents live next door so he was not far from home. FINALLY, on Wednesday he was able to come home! He has been the BEST Big Brother ever since! The next 2 weeks were spent loving on my boys!!! We are so grateful for friends and church family who provided meals for us so that we didnt have any worries! :)

2 under 2

Life has been GREAT and BUSY with 2 sweet boys!

The boys are growing SO fast! Jackson has become such a big boy! He loves to help Mommy with sweet Drew and the house work! We could not ask for a smoother transition for him. Drew had his 1m check up and he weighed in at 10lb and 11 oz and measured 23 inches long!

Mother's Day/Drew's Baby Dedication was a VERY special time for us! Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins joined us at church for this special service as we dedicated sweet Drew! This was also Drew's 1st time at church!

Birthday Parties! Jackson and I have been partying like crazy! Since Drew has not had shots Marty has kept him in while I took Jackson to his parties.I've enjoyed this Mommy/Jackson date time as well as watching him play with his friends and visiting with my friends!

Father's Day-Marty, Jackson, and I took Paw out to eat for Father's Day and to celebrate his retirement! :) Drew enjoyed visiting with his Nanny Nancy and Poppa Beary while we were away at dinner. The boys and I worked all week on a craft for Marty's Father Day present and then Jackson and I had a little shopping date and went to pick out a tool box that Marty had mentioned he liked.

Jackson took water baby swimming lessons at LA Tech. He has learned so much and really enjoyed it! One of my fav stories from swimming lessons...Jackson tends to be distracted by the pretty little girls at swimming lessons. Tonight while he was gazing at one of them she smiled back. He then raises his hand up like a claw and goes "Raaaaaar" followed by a big cheesy smile! Such a ladies man just like his daddy!

Swing Set-We decided that boys needed a good swing set for some outdoor recreation.  When we received two boxes, it appeared as though assembly would be a breeze.  Then we opened those two boxes!  After 20+ hours of assembly, 1000's of parts, and a 67 page assembly guide, the boys now have a swingset complete with a clubhouse, slide, monkey bars, and 3 swings.

Peach Fest-Afternoon at the peach shed visiting with cousin Debbie, the goldfish, and yummy peach ice cream! 1st Parade with both boys, oppressive heat, and Jackson went to the rodeo with Paw and Daddy!

OH MY! Has it really been 5months?! Time flies when you're having FUN! After lots of prayer we have followed God's plan for our family and I began the journey as a stay at home mom! We could not be more happy with this decision. God has blessed and provided for our every need! The last few months have been BUSY but oh so FUN! Babymoon-over night getaway, Salt Grass, and George Strait! Jackson's 1st haircut! Jackson's 1st trip to the Circus and lunch at Cracker Barrel! Jackson's 1st trip to Chuck E Cheese! Easter egg hunting, homemade ice cream, and time w/ family! The pregnancy did not got any easier but I fully enjoyed every minute with Jackson Reid! I am so thankful that I was able to spend so much 1 on 1 time with him before he became a Big Brother! Jackson was also able to continue going to Mrs. Sammye(whom he LOVES) a few days a week to play with his friends!

Holy, Holy, Holy, is The Lord God Almighty

It's been 4 months since we last blogged! WOW! I've thought several times over the past few months I need to blog, I need to update, but for one reason or another I(Sheila) just couldnt find the energy or honestly the desire to do it....

We were blessed in September with a great surprise...Jackson is going to be a BIG Brother!!! You would think that we would be over joyed and that would bring lots of smiles to the Cantrell home that simply wasnt what took place. I was very sick and hospitalized from the beginning. This caused me to be pulled away from Jackson at just 11 months of age. :( As much as I wanted to focus on the excitment and this AMAZING BLESSING that God had blessed us with I simply could not. I was extremly sick and on bed rest with the possibility of major preg complications...this caused anger, fear, depression, basically every emotion except for excitment. To be honest I spiraled into the valley so fast that I didnt think that I deserved to be loved by anyone...much less my Heavenly Father.

October I tried to be full of energy and excitment for Jackson's BIG Day! His 1st Birthday! I was def lacking energy but I did manage to have the energy to celebrate with my baby boy on HIS Big Day! What a great day it was! It was everything I had envisioned and we are SO thankful for great friends and family that made it SO special!

The following weeks were hard...we experienced situations and events in our life that I never thought possible and as hard as we tried to cling to the truth of knowing that HE is Holy I found myself sinking deeper into the valley. I could begin to share with you all of the diffuclt sitations that made life so hard but I choose to share what we learned, how HE worked, and how God and only God was able to FILL our hearts, life, and home with absolute JOY!

We celebrated CHRISTmas OVER JOYED!!! We had no idea how much magic and excitement a little one could bring to Jesus Birth Day! Jackson lit up as soon as he saw what Santa had delivered! Our house is now a playhouse and to be honest we wouldnt have it any other way! As I thought about Jesus Birth I began to think about what Mary must have felt....What a TRUE miracle and Blessing I have been blessed with to carry our 2nd child! No matter the diffuiculties or bumps in the road we may experience over the next few months we are THRILLED about the arrival of Jellybean in April!

As we look forward 2012 we are excited and encouraged about God's plan for our family! I (Sheila) have never been more happy about where I am in life. We know with out a doubt God has used bad for good and richly blessed our family!

We have heavy hearts for sweet friends and family that are experiecing hurt right now. God has taught us over the past few months that no matter how hard the situation, no matter how deep the valley, when we follow HIS will WE will rise upon the mountain.

As easy as it ewould be to look back on all that went "wrong" we choose to PRAISE HIM! He is love, faith, provider, great physician, father, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!!!

This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions for me...sadness, excitement, fear, faith, joy, anger... I've never felt so unsure of myself... of my FAITH! Why? because I allowed Satan to blind me with FEAR!

Our adoption file has been officially closed for now...although, we know without a doubt that is what God has called us to do at this time, it does not make it easy!Even after God made it clear we did not want to see it. We searched in hope that a miracle would happen... Our agency along with every other agency we contacted told us basically the same thing...adoptions are just not moving...that country is not open at this time...you do not qualify for that country...every door closed in our face. So, for now, we will not be moving forward in our adoption journey BUT we WILL be seeking HIS guidance and having FAITH that is HIS timing we will complete the journey.

As hard as it was to accept that we could be closing the adoption for now...I am however, excited about the work that God has done in my life this week! He has humbled me, loved me, and showed me grace. I've experienced spiritual lows and spiritual highs...and through it all HE has carried me! He has reminded me HIS plan is always the BEST plan!

10 Month Update

Jackson's new favorite activity is eating! I'm not sure who's child he is, but his favorite is stewed squash and onions. Neither of us are fans! He also enjoys anything bread. Ice water is his drink of choice. He just returned from vacation in Gulf Shores where he fell in love with Lambert's and "girls in bikinis". We took him to the beach for a week's vacation just before Marty started back to work and Jackson started "playcare" at the Best home. We spent one night in Fairhope and took Jackson shopping at an old time toy store before heading to our condo. We went outlet mall shopping twice and Jackson loved playing in the sand on the beach. He really enjoyed his sandbucket and toys he got for a gift just before leaving. He had a blast floating in the ocean, swimming in the pool, and eating breakfast on the balcony overlooking the gulf. He has developed a love for the ladies and did a lot of waving. He tried out the dining at Tacky Jacks, LuLu's, Zaxby's, The Tin Top, and The Mellow Mushroom, but still prefers Cracker Barrel. He continues to learn new things. He says bye-bye, he crawls, claps, pulls up,rolls the ball, loves walk with support. sleeps 12 hours a night in his crib. He still loves reading and music. His favorite song is the Hot Dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. At his last check up he was in the 98% for length and FINALLY almost 20 pounds! HAHA Mommy's skinny boy!:)