Where did all these kids come from?

Here are the pictures of the little ones in the family...

Chloe

Samuel - the meanest cowboy in North Georgia

Kaleb

Landon - my little man

This is the bunch that we will be adding another little girl to in September.

Tanya is knocked up!

Yep, I am going to be an uncle! Craig and Tanya are having a baby girl in September. The family is excited about a little one being around the house. Yes, my baby brother is married and having a baby before I even get close to that point. It's a little disheartening, but I will keep this post about Craig and Tanya and the baby.

On Christmas Day, after all of the family gatherings and everyone was back at their own home, Craig called me. This was the conversation:
Craig: "Hey Uncle Josh!"
Me, after a moment of contemplating what was just said: "For real? That's cool. Congratulations. Tell Tanya I said congratulations too."
Tanya, yelling from the background: "That's all you got?"
Me: "Yep."

Craig and Tanya were just married last October ,so they are following Mom and Dad and having a youngin' a mere eleven months after their nuptials. When they told me on Christmas Day, I was in shock (not sure why, but I was) that they were trying to get pregnant so soon. I am not sure what my initial reaction was but I know that Tanya was a little disappointed. I am not sure if she expected me to jump up and down, clapping my hands, or to scream, but she should know me better than that by now.

I am excited for them and for the family. Mom and Dad have been waiting on me to find someone and settle down for a while now. Everyone tells me to not worry and that being single at 27/28 isn't a big deal, but I think it is a southern thing. You go to school, graduate high school, get married, have babies or you throw college in there between high school and marriage. It didn't happen that way with me, because of my apprehension with the transplant and not feeling God's direction in the relationships.

Anyways, back to Craig and Tanya and the baby. They are still trying to decide on a name, but they are down to two names Keeley Renee or Hayden Renee. Renee is Mom's middle name, so she is especially excited about the baby being named after her.

I have no doubt that Mom is more excited about the baby than anyone. She is tickled pink that it is a girl. Mom grew up the middle child between two brothers, then she married Dad, the ultimate man's man, and had 2 boys. She has been surrounded by testosterone and is happy to be adding a little more estrogen to the family.

I am excited as well. I have a few small cousins who I love to death, but this baby girl already has me wrapped around her finger. My two prayers for her at this point are that she is healthy and that she knows Christ more passionately and deeper than I ever will. I pray that she is taken care of and watched over and that one day she will give her heart to Christ and be another light and sword in the army of the Lord.

I'll post some more pictures of the rest of the family as soon as I find the transfer cord to my camera. I have a million cords here, but can't find the 1 that I need.

Life is funny!

I think that when you forget that you have a blog, you have crossed the line to being a NERD! I have my original blog and I have never forgotten about it, but I had forgotten that I had started this blog. I have been blogging for so long that I have come, gone, come, gone, and come again. It is even worse when you have the blogs listed on your facebook page and still forget about them. My only out is that I never look at my own profile or change it for that matter (at least until someone calls me out on never having changed my pic or info). Anyways, I know I am a nerd, always have been, always will. I like not being an idiot!

Moving on to the meat of this post.

Life is funny how things that are such a big deal at one time lose their drama and magnitude if you can just let time put distance between you and whatever it is. I read over the few posts I have on this blog today and couldn't help but laugh. I was so depressed and down in those posts. Contrasting them with my life now is like comparing night and day.

I started this blog with a few things in mind. I had my heart broken in two last summer by THE girl. You know, the one that you THINK is THE ONE! We went from serious to nothing overnight.....seriously! Over one night, she decided that a life with me wasn't what she wanted and I had to learn to deal with it. It blindsided me, though I doubt the revelation was an overnight thing for her. Anyways, enough about that, needless to say, we have both moved on and are happy with the current situation (I am anyway and I assume she is as well.)

Before that happened, I had been thinking about starting a new blog, and keeping my other blog focused on organ donation and trying to get the word out about how it changed my life. I also decided to do it because I knew she read that blog and I didn't want her to see me writing with heartbreak. (She heard it enough!) I guess that once I got past the initial heartbreak, this blog lost its purpose as a therapeutic outlet and I forgot about it.

I also wanted to distance myself from thinking that people saw me as someone waiting for a transplant. I will always be a transplant patient, but my other blog dealt so much with me being sick that I didn't want people to read my thoughts and think that I was still in that same frame of mind. I am as healthy today as I have ever been and I want that reflected in my writing.

I now look at myself as someone who has fought a battle for my life and won. I continue to fight small battles everyday with my health, but I am not facing the same outcome as long as I take care of myself. I am now learning that one of my major fears is people forever looking at me as the "sick boy".

I am still in the process of finding the person that God has hand-picked for me. I have made a mess of relationships in the past because I was seeking what I wanted, instead of seeking God and letting Him deliver to me the girl who loves Jesus as much as I do. I am not one of the type of people who think that when SHE shows up in my life, it will be flawless and a heavenly choir will sing. I realize that I am [though only occasionally ;)] capable of making mistakes, and I realize that whoever God sends me will be a less-than-perfect human as well. I know that a relationship requires work. I think that two people working toward and with God will be much easier, than one working toward Him and the other pulling away or two people both pulling away from God.

I also want someone who is comfortable with me. Who knows, understands, and is okay with me having had a transplant. I say that I want someone who is okay with it, but I have never had someone turn away because of that. They have ran away for sure, but never because of the transplant. It is usually because I let it slip that I am crazy too soon!

Whew!! This post has gotten long. I was on a roll, so I figured I would just keep going. To sum all of this up. Life is funny how things that seem so big of a deal in the moment are really not that life altering in hindsight. My life is better and I feel like I am now as happy as I have ever been. I am closer to the Lord and putting more trust in Him than I ever have before. I say all of this to say, the negative tone of the blog was a momentary thing. Each day is an undeserved blessing, and I am going to live in that blessing and rejoice.

Oh, and if you followed me over here from my other blog you have heard this before. I am going to try to post here more often.

Lata!