Soccer, French Fries and Chocolate Chip Cookies

This weekend was spent at the soccer fields watching Mason and Braden play soccer. Today is Mason's birthday, and we spent a little time celebrating him turning 11! Where does the time go? Today, Camden experienced a few firsts. He had some of my french fry, which he really enjoyed. Also, as I was out of the kitchen, his Uncle Shawn slipped him some crumbs from a Chips Ahoy. As I walked back in the kitchen, I noticed him chewing on something and when questioned what it was, was finally informed that he was eating some cookie. And need I even say that he liked that too!! He is, after all, his mother's child!

He Cracks Himself Up

Camden has such a great sense of humor. It amazes me that even at 7 months, he does things that he knows are funny and will make others laugh. We are so fortunate to have such a happy, funny child!!

Such a nice pose!

He cracks himself up!!

Sitting Pretty

I do believe that I can confidently say that Camden has now mastered sitting. He has been 'sitting' for quiet sometime, but when he first started, it was very short lived. He was what I called a 'lazy sitter'. He would sit for a few seconds and then throw himself back so that he could lay down. Well after much work from daycare teachers and ourselves, Camden is sitting like a pro. He can even play and sit now. He is becoming such a big boy!!!

Good Things are A Happening

After much prayer, fretting, stress, ups, downs, and more prayer, Shane finally has a job!!! It has been quiet the roller coaster ride and to say the least, I am glad he has finally gotten off the ride! Although it is not necessarily the job he originally thought he would be doing, it is the job God intended for him at this present time. The reason I say that is, if you recall, he originally wanted to be a coach, namely a baseball coach. He wanted to be able to impact kids, and what better way than through coaching something he loves. He has felt that this was his calling for years, and now he is thinking that perhaps that he is to be in the educational field, just not coaching. You see we discussed how our lives would be when he was a coach. We envisioned that Camden and I would be out at the ball fields supporting him and his team. I was never against this idea, in fact I was looking forward to it since I too love sports. Well, since Camden has entered our lives and he has spent so much time with him, he is not sure that he wants to be away from Camden as much as coaching would require. Also, he knew that he would be missing a lot of Camden's games when he started playing sports, and now he just figures he can coach his teams!! So, as for now, he is currently working at the school I am working at as a paraprofessional - which is like an aide. He could not find a PE position and felt that God opened this door up so that he could try this position to see if he wanted to teach the elementary age kids, or high school. He currently is mainly working with 5th graders and sometimes 3rd graders. We are able to ride to school together on days I don't have meetings, which saves money. Shane plans on getting certified to teach in the next few months and then will look to teach when able!

As for Camden, he is still loving daycare. Unfortunately he has had a runny nose since his fever over a week ago but you would never know by his mood. He is still as pleasant as can be and just plays and talks and even is still sleeping well. We did have a few mishaps on our way to school three out of the five days this week. On Monday, he exploded on the way to school and I immediately had to change his clothes and give him a wipee bath the minute we arrived at school. On Tuesday he projectile vomitted on the way to school and had it EVERYWHERE!! Wednesday I had a reprieve. Thursday, he again pooped on the way to school, but luckily it all stayed in his diaper, so just required a change as soon as we got to school. And again, I had another reprieve today! I know I say this all the time, but I just LOVE him!!! According to his teachers, he just loves music time!

This week he has been enjoying playing in the walker that Nana is letting him borrow.

Very intrigued by the toys

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Weekend at Nana and Poppa Ron's

Aside from the events surrounding Shelbe, we had a good weekend visiting with Shane's family. Camden got to swing on a swing outside hanging from a tree and got to play with a new activity walker. He had a great time with Nana and Poppa Ron, as well as Connor, Shanelle, Kelsey and Gavin.

Camden enjoying the swing

Gavin wearing Shane's Alabama hat

Gavin talking to Nana, Connor and Camden

Camden trying to decide if he likes the walker

His sweet little bald head

Shelbe Lin Kelsey Key 07/23/94 - 09/11/10

On Friday, September 2, 1994, I received one of the most precious and life changing gifts. I had just started nursing school in Sherman, Texas and did not know a sole there. I was living alone at the time and the guy I was dating gave me a fluffy 6 week old puppy to keep me company. The puppy was a white shih tzu with brindle spots. She weighed next to nothing. She was precious and I had NO idea what I was going to name her. For two days she remained nameless as I searched and searched for the perfect name. Finally, I came up with Shelbe Lin Kelsey Key. She was an awesome puppy and was potty trained within 12 weeks. She slept in a kennel right next to my bed for a short time, and then made her way into my bed. She finally topped out at a whopping 12 pounds, which is how much she weighed for the vast majority of her life.

Shelbe was wonderful. Anyone that knew anything about me, knew that I had a 'child'. I loved her and talked about her all the time. She was my pride and joy. She was my best friend and I confided in her about everything. I cried to her when I was scared, lonely, hurt or mad and I felt she listened. I studied with her and we learned nursing together. I would tell her things I had learned and again, she listened.

Over the years, Shelbe moved from Sherman to Dallas to Nacogdoches to Orange to Beaumont to Tuscaloosa, Alabama and then to her final destination of Tomball, Texas. She visited many places in between and became a favorite of my Nan Naw and Paw Paw. She was the spoiled grand dog and always had oatmeal cookies waiting for her at their house. They loved to dog sit and after they kept her, it always took a few days to get her grounded again.

Nan Naw and Shelbe - Christmas 2008

She saw me graduate nursing school, get married then divorced, suffer through miserable relationships and then 9 years later get married again. She loved Shane, and Shane loved her (although he may not admit it).

She loved Shane's dog Zach, and even better he loved her. We were so grateful that they got along so well and Zach made it very known that he wanted to be near her always. It was Zach who demanded they sleep together, and luckily she did not mind.

Zach curled up next to Shelbe

She had multiple names that she acquired through the years. She was my 'Sweet Baby Girl', 'Shelbster', 'Shelbeville', and "Sissy Girl.' She was always laid back and that definitely helped her in her later years.


When Shelbe was about 10, I noticed that she started getting cataracts. I took her to an ophthalmologist in Houston who did not feel it advisable to take out her cataracts because she had leakage behind her eye and removing the cataracts would cause her to have glaucoma and eventually go blind. Working in the eye field, I knew that glaucoma could be painful, and did not want that for her, so decided we would not undergo cataract removal. She slowly but surely became completely blind and also over the past few years deaf. Luckily, she coped with it all so well. She took her time walking around and did her best to maneuver here, there and everywhere. A little over a year ago she started having seizures and after taking her to the vet, found out that she had mild kidney failure. We changed the type of food she ate, and made sure she ate consistently to keep her blood sugar up. She had seizures occasionally and would loose bladder control during them. They really had not seemed to worsen over the year, but occurred at any given time. Before Camden was born, I had prayed and prayed that the Lord would allow Shelbe to stay alive long enough for Camden to meet her. I knew that he would hear stories about her and wanted there to be pictures of them together.

Shelbe and Camden

After he was born and that prayer had been answered, my next prayer was that Shelbe would die in her sleep so that I would not have to decide her life for her. Unfortunately, God did not answer that prayer in the way I wanted.


I dreaded when it was time for us to move from Alabama, because she had some vision when we moved there so was able to figure out her surroundings before completely losing her vision. I was really unsure if she would even make it back to Texas. But, she did. And seemed to be adjusting okay until this past week. By mid week, it seemed like she could no longer control her bladder and urinated in her bed and if not on the floor not far from her bed. I knew the time was coming but had been putting it off for quiet sometime. I actually had been trying to prepare myself since she was 13 years old, but recently had really been trying to accept the fact that her days were numbered. On Thursday, Shane went ahead and called around to different veterinary clinics to find out how much it would cost to put her to sleep. It was much more expensive than I had expected, and if you wanted to remain in the room with your animal it was about $50 or $60 more. Not only did I not want her gone, I didn't want to pay someone a lot of money to take her life. And further more, I did not want her to be alone when she passed. Also, I had issues with letting them dispose of the body because I really wanted to know where she was and since we have no permanent residence at this time, that was a problem. We had pretty much decided that Shane was going to take her to one of the places on Friday and broke the news to my nephews. They luckily were very understanding. I called my mom that evening to talk to her about it, and she knew that we were going to Lumberton to Shane's parents house and she suggested that we call Shelbe's veterinarian in Orange that we used for years and see what her charge was. I mentioned it to Shane, but figured he would just be taking care of things on Friday. So after a miserable and emotional evening we went to bed. On Friday morning, Camden and Shelbe took pictures together, although I was unable to capture just how excited Camden always was when I held him in one arm and her in the other. He loved that and would just pat and pat her.


Mason said his goodbyes before he headed to the bus stop and I loved on her and told her goodbye. It was a miserable morning and I broke down at daycare and multiple times at work. UGH!! At about 10:30 am Shane texted me and told me that he had contacted Dr. Kennedy in Orange and that she charged a minimal $50 and that included you being in the room with her. He suggested that we go ahead and take her there and then bury her in his parents back yard. That was such a relief! That definitely sounded better to me. So when I got home from work, I got to see her yet again.


My sister told me that evening that in the morning before Braden went to school, they talked to Shelbe and asked her to tell Skittles, their dog that they had lost last year, hello and that they missed her and loved her. Talk about more emotions!!! But, I do believe that she will see Skittles and that one day I will see her again!

Shelbe in the snow - 2009

So off to Lumberton we went. I had prepared myself now to go ahead and go with Shane to put her to sleep. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but felt like I should be there. I just did not want her to die alone. On Saturday morning we woke up and Shane told me I should just stay there and take care of Camden. I honestly do not think he wanted to have to deal with me and my emotions as well as the hard task of putting Shelbe to sleep. I knew he would love on her and be with her, so I stayed home. Before he left, he grabbed a Milkbone for the road, I said one last good bye to Shelbe, and they were gone. It was a somber time and I hate that Shane had to do it. But, I was grateful that he did. He brought back her body and buried her in his parent's back yard. I am so glad I know where she is, even though it is so hard.

Zach standing by her burial place

Shelbe had a great life and brought me and many other people great joy. She is and will be so very missed. I love you Shelbe Lin!!!!

The Joys of Daycare

At about 4:00 am this morning I heard Camden stirring around on the monitor. He was a bit fussy, but also chatty. I let him be and within five minutes he was back asleep. He again woke up around 5:15 am and this time was even more fussy. I went in his room to console him and as I walked into his room I could hear him breathing. He was so stopped up and just sounded bad. I suctioned lots of exciting snot out of his nose and then we headed downstairs to see if he would eat something. After I fixed his breakfast, Shane took him to feed him and noticed he felt hot. (Yet again, what a great mother and nurse I am - I had not even noticed!) Shane went ahead and fed him and then I took his temperature. It was 99.8 by the thermometer you use in the ear and 101.6 rectally. So we gave him Tylenol and by 9:00 am or so it was close to 103. So he received Motrin. He has been on the course of alternating Tylenol and Motrin all day and went to bed at 7:00 pm. Luckily, he has been a great eater today which makes me feel better. I am praying that he wakes up a new boy tomorrow!! Ah, the joys of daycare!

The Wait is Over

I have been waiting since Camden was ten weeks old for him to have a bad night. Well, the wait is over! On Sunday night, after Shane and I had gotten to bed, he cried for about 5 seconds and then went back to sleep. Nothing unusual, because sometimes he does that. Then at 12:45 am he woke up crying. We let him lay there and cry for about a minute and then realized this was the real deal. Shane got up and got him out of bed and he cried, and cried and cried. No tears, just whaling. We could not figure out what was wrong. I checked his temperature rectally, and it was perfect - 98.6. I took off all his clothes to make sure there was nothing causing him pain - all clear. We rocked him, tried to give him something to drink, rocked him some more and still, nothing. After an hour of this, I finally took him and put him over my knee to see if perhaps it was gas and that would help. Within five minutes he was asleep. Thank goodness!!! So off to bed we went and within an hour and a half he was up again. This time Shane rocked him to sleep in about 20 to 30 minutes. Finally Shane just laid on the couch with him on his chest. During the course of the night, he woke up two more times whaling and within 20 minutes or so Shane had him back asleep. We honestly couldn't figure out if it was gas or reflux. Perhaps it was none of the above and just a bad night. But when he woke up at 8:30 am on Monday morning, he was just a smiling and chatting! Thank the Lord!!! I am happy to say that last night was a nice and quiet night. Let's hope it stays that way since we have been so spoiled up until this time! ; )

The Happy Family in Kerrville

Visitng the Key Grands

We took advantage of this three day weekend to go and visit my parents and both of my grandmothers in Kerrville. I was so excited to go for several reasons. First, I have not been to my parents place in four years and absolutely love it there; second, Shane had never been there so I was excited for him to finally see where they live; and third, I had not seen my Nan Naw for almost 2 years and always love to see my Grandma Key. We arrived there around 11:30 pm on Friday night due to the horrible traffic. Camden was an excellent passenger, since he slept most of the way. On Saturday (his 7 month birthday) we got up, ate breakfast and then went and visited my grandmothers.

First we stopped and saw Nan Naw who has not only been chomping at the bit to see Camden, but also was looking forward to seeing me since it had almost been two years. Camden really enjoyed her and spent a lot of time smiling and laughing while we were visiting.

Nan Naw and Camden

We then headed over to my Grandma Key's place. My parents recently moved her from Missouri to Kerrville to keep a better eye on her. Unfortunately, she has dementia and forgets a lot. It is so very sad to watch her struggle to remember things. Anyway, when we arrived to her place, she met us out in the hall and was pleased to see us!

Grandma Key and Camden

Admiring one another

We of course made sure to get back to my parents by 6:00 pm in order for Shane to watch the Alabama game on the computer, since it was not on TV. Camden fell asleep on our ride home, and stayed asleep for a bit. While I was outside visiting, Shane stayed inside with Camden. After 30 minutes or so, Camden woke up and when he and Shane came outside, Camden was in a different shirt, and to boot, it was NOT one I had even packed!!

Roll Tide!

On Sunday, we all headed to church and afterward, Mom, Camden and I headed over to visit Nan Naw again and then picked up Grandma Key to bring her over to eat dinner with us. We had a very nice time and had lots of good visiting while there!!!

Four generation picture

Camden getting some loving from Grandpa Key

Day Care Update

I must say that Camden has made the transition to daycare so easy for us all. He smiles when we arrive, smiles when I leave, and generally is smiling when Shane picks him up. They comment how he smiles all the time and apparently loves when it is music time, which is not surprising. Today, however, we did receive an accident report. Apparently one of his friends was going up to him to say 'Hi' and somehow scratched Camden on the head. Shane told me that he would prefer Camden's friends not talk to him! Oh boy, it is going to be a long road with an over protective dad!! ; ) I am sure since he is the smallest in his class and is the only one who does not crawl or walk, he is at a disadvantage. But his day will come when he will be able to do what the other kids are doing.

Shane feeding Camden before school

Camden ready to go to school!