Happy Fourth of July! I think this holiday is tied up with Valentine’s Day for my favorite holiday…probably because it’s HOT outside, there’s hot dogs and fireworks, and Derek actually gets the day off! We had such a good fourth of July compared to last year’s (spent in the hospital).

The big kids got to be in a parade with the grandparents and great-grandparents at Manor Park Retirement Community, and they were SO excited (and adorable). Of course, Hadelyn needed a super sparkly new outfit, because in her words, she needed to “look like a cheerleader for America.” Makes sense. She rode in the golf cart with the greats, and Ruger rode in the Trans Am with G and Grandmother. I didn’t get as many pics of Ruger, because when he drove past, he decided to be shy <3 Sunley and I walked along with the parade for just a tiny bit, until I remembered that I’m SUPER out of shape and allergic to sweating. Really need to work on that…eventually.

We also got to go to a pool party and cook out with our church buddies, and Sunley LOVED the pool! She eventually got way too cold and blue, so we took her out, but she was in there a good long while. It feels so good to be doing normal baby things. I will never ever take the normal stuff for granted.

Speaking of normal baby things, we’ve been working on flat-foot walking, and making tiny bits of progress. Sunley still has not stood unassisted, and that obviously comes before walking, but we’re getting there. She just knows how fast she is crawling (seriously, SO FAST), and doesn’t seem to care much about walking. We’ll get there! If I remember correctly from her Developmental Outcomes appointment back in May, she won’t need PT for walking unless she gets to 18 months and still isn’t doing it. So, we have a good 3-4 months until then to work on it. And, honestly, a little PT would not be a big deal considering all the other bullets we’ve dodged. Cognitively, Sunley is doing perfectly, which is just wonderful to see. She’s extremely playful and talkative, and loves to wrestle her big brother and dance with her big sister (and pull Hadelyn’s hair…not so fun).

The kids are not enjoying the packing happening in our house! The entire house is a disaster zone, with the move coming up in NINE DAYS! We opted to not use a moving company because this is our sixth move, and it’s just SO expensive every time. But, yall. Packing with 3 kids in the house is no joke. My mom has been helping by watching the kids A TON, and I don’t know how it would get done otherwise. And speaking of living next door to my parents, I am really REALLY gonna miss it. A lot. Besides the help, which is wonderful, it’s just been so wonderful to have a buddy next door during the day <3 I love having someone (an ADULT) to talk to while Derek’s at work, and I also looooove seeing my kids run over for a snack. Just melts my heart. I know everyone jokes about living next door to parents/in-laws after you’re married and all, but it’s honestly been so, so good. I can barely think about the move without tearing up, especially now that it’s so close. I completely feel like it’s for the best, but that doesn’t make it easy.

Now, check out these coincidences! A few God-things that He’s done to show us He is right here with us:

1. An old friend contacted me a few weeks ago, and told me that she knows ALL the pediatricians and cardiologists at OU Children’s. She even offered to get us a tour at the hospital when we get there. She’s already spoken to a couple doctors for us, and is getting us hooked up with the right people.

2. Turns out that Dr Ayres, our Houston cardiologist, knows the chief of cardiology at OU Children’s really well (she trained him, or trained with him, or something like that…) and is also helping us with that hook-up. This also means that, should we need it, communication between OU Children and TCH will be a little easier, which is very comforting.

3. The 5 acres we decided to buy is around the corner from our new church’s evangelist and his family, who we love! We also found out that it is down the street from some old friends we used to worship with when we were in college in Oklahoma! AAAAAAND, our next door neighbors turned out to be really good friends with Derek’s cousin who lives in Midland. Little connections like that are just warm and fuzzy and make the transition just that much easier. Now I just need to know who I call when Derek is out of town and I find a mouse. Because we all know my body won’t cooperate with that scenario.

ALL that to say, we keep receiving this little comforts, and there are just way too many to each be a coincidence. Just like my crazy nail salon encounters before Sunley was born, God keeps just reminding us that He is walking with us.