Thoughts at one month...

Well, today Raylee is one month old! I can't believe I have been a mom for four entire weeks...yet, I also can't picture my life without her. She is such an angel (ok maybe not when she is crying at 4 am), and I can't even begin to describe my love for her. While awake last night from 2 -4 am, I did a lot of thinking about this first month...some of my random (not always comprehensible) musings that came to me at odd hours of the night...

-I desperately want her to know God and seek His guidance throughout her life.

-It scares me to death to think of something bad happening to her.

-I want to cherish every moment (even the crying) because you never get this stage or day back.

-Michael is the best daddy! I love to watch him stare at her.

-I am already praying for a future husband for Raylee. Marriage is such an important determiner of life, and I want what Michael and I have for her.

-Michael and I have the most amazing support system of family and friends. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by people that already love and care for Raylee.

-I get sad thinking that my family won't be able to see her weekly, but I love their extended visits!

-I think the nights get worse before they get better...:(

-Life is completely different for me than just a month ago.

-Nothing is more fulfilling than watching your three week old daughter roll over for the first time (she is such an overachiever, just like her mom!)

Here is a picture of Raylee at one month! She only has 2 pair of pants (because we were prepared for casts!) and it is cold today!

Link to video of Raylee!

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=59444199329&h=WzvyT&u=8JpED&ref=mf

Top Five Baby Items

These are some of my favorite baby items!

(in no particular order)

Bright Starts Infant Seat

This is the most amazing infant seat. Raylee slept in this for the first two weeks, and it instantly soothes her! It vibrates, plays music, ect. It is great because it is a good height compared to other bouncing seats. Thanks Mamarae for this wonderful lifesaver.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2864758

Boppy Tummy Time Play Mat

Raylee loves her tummy time on this cute mat. She loves the boppy pillow!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2574116&moduleName=Brand+Name+Secondary

Prince Lionheart Ultimate Wipe Warmer

This wipe warmer is great, and easy! The only problem is when I change her without using the warm wipes, she always seems surprised by the cold!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2919723

Magic Moon Glider

We spend a TON of time in this glider. It is so comfortable! I love the matching ottoman, but our nursery is too small. Thanks again Mamarae!

http://themagicmoon.com/

Baby Trend Expedition LX Jogger and Car Seat

I love my jogger stroller! The car seat fits nicely into the jogger so you can use it as an infant as well. Thanks Grandma Glenda!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2980786

Aunties and Uncles!

This post is pretty outdated now that I am actually writing, but things like mastitis and other breastfeeding woes seem to have gotten in the way. Last week was a week filled with aunties and uncles! My sister Rachel came in town for the week on her spring break, and while it wasn't a spring break in Padre, hopefully she had as much fun as Raylee did. We took lots of walks, cuddled with Raylee, and even got to go get pedicures (sans Raylee). On Thursday we had another fun evening with Aunt Ashley and Uncle Stephen. They were kind enough to bring us all a very tasty dinner, and an even tastier fruit tart for dessert! We had a great time as you can see from the pictures. I was very fortunate to be extremely close to my aunts and uncles throughout my childhood and even now, so I feel blessed that we had this time together. The week ended with SUSHI (first time in about 9 months) and more family. (I highly recommend Flavor if you are ever in Lake Highlands craving Asian Fusion food). Mamarae and PapaJ took us to dinner and then watched Raylee while we went to see Duplicity. The movie was only sub-par but the company was absolutely delightful!

Job 9:10

I was reading in Job this morning as little Miss Raylee listened to her Praise Baby music, and I came upon this verse, "He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. " I want to remember everyday what a miracle God has performed in Raylee. She is doing so well, and I can't believe how the Lord has blessed us with this healthy baby. My own disbelief leads me to think that I need to work on having faith that God can create miracles! As I was working on a post yesterday, Michael said that I should use this outlet to reach out to others with infertility/miscarriage/complicated pregancies ect. My friend Erin (blog Lavenderlilly) said that she found out someone had searched for "scripture for complicated pregnancies" and had found her blog, and she was touched that someone was searching for comfort in her blog. I have found such comfort in scripture when times seemed so challenging. My church offers a ministry called Shiloh (http://www.watermark.org/ministries/care/shiloh-infertility-miscarriage/) that caters to women who have had dealt with infertility/miscarriage. It gets its name from 1 Samuel and the story of Hannah (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=9&chapter=1&version=31). This ministry truly changed my life! In all of the challenges that have come our way, I always recite Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." What a comfort that the Lord already knows the plan for our future!

Blessed by Friends and Family

Over the past two weeks, Michael, Raylee, and I have been extremely blessed by all our wonderful friends and family. We had many visitors at the hospital, which was great considering I love to be surrounded by friends and family. We have also been blessed with many meals! I think we have had a fabulous meal almost every night since returning from the hospital! (How am I going to loose the weight with such great food?) My good friend Brittany set up a CareCalendar http://www.carecalendar.org/ for us, which is designed to organize meals for families with big life changes (babies, illness, ect.) This has been such a blessing! Check out some pictures of all the fun visitors Raylee has had!

Check out the sneak peak of photos of Raylee!

We took Raylee to have her pictures taken on Thursday with Amy Columbus! She posted a few pics as a sneak peak, and they are adorable. I would highly recommend her as a photographer! She was great with Raylee and had a lot of ideas. I am so excited to see the full photoshoot soon.

http://amycolumbusphotography.com/blog/

Welcome Raylee!

After a very difficult pregnancy, we welcomed Raylee Michelle Toney into the world by c-section on February 27th, 2009. She weighed 7lbs and 13 ounces, and measured 20 1/2 inches! In utero Raylee was diagnosed with clubfeet and when she was born it did seem that she was going to need to have her legs casted in order to fix them. However, after being referred to Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (specializing in clubfoot) they informed us that she does NOT have clubfeet! What an answer to prayers! We really believe that God has truly healed her! The high risk specialist told us multiple times that she would definitely have clubfeet, and now it seems that with time and stretching her feet will be perfectly fine!

Nursery

Raylee's nursery is extremely special because my grandmother put hours of time into creating the beautiful room, all from 550 miles away! My grandmother is an amazing woman who has a special talent for decorating and interior design. My grandmother puts all her time and energy into her family (which is getting larger by the week). She is an incredible example of a Godly woman who knows how to prioritize the ones she loves. All her grandchildren admire her strength, endurance, and love for her family. I was fortunate enough to have her come and visit this week and I wish she could have stayed longer! Here is a small glimpse of her creative vision! Raylee is extremely lucky!

Life before Raylee

This blog is really the result of the desire to share our little girl with my family, some of which lives very far away! However, I thought I would post some pictures of what life was like before Raylee was born to show the contrast. Life before Raylee was filled with work, which I loved. I love my students at school, my varsity cheerleading squad, and the high school sports which consumed much of my time. I can't believe that three years passed so quickly at MacArthur High School. I can only hope that I touched a few lives and taught my passion for history and cheerleading. Here are a few pics of my cheer squad! I am so proud of those girls, many of whom are going off to college after they graduate from high school.

Last summer, Michael and I went to Europe along with some of our friends (The Griffins and the Andersons). Here are some of my favorite pics! We were so excited to be able to take this trip, and it was one of the things on our "list" to do before children.