Life in the Hallum household

So, I just know that everyone is dying to hear about all the exciting news that is going on in our family! Ha Actually, it is pretty exciting to us…Patrick starts his new job at DHS this Monday. He is soooo excited and we are soooo proud of him! We celebrated a little early Thursday night with a cake. I think we’ll celebrate again this Monday night by going out to eat. He really thinks he will enjoy this job and enjoy working with the people there, am I am so happy for him. He deserves it. He has been soooo patient for so long.

Other exciting news…Caroline’s leg seems to be perfectly fine now. Praise God! It took just over 2 weeks, but it appears that she can now walk with no problems at all. I’m so glad that she is feeling better.

Enough of that, I know that the real reason people check out blog sites is to look at pictures, so here you go!

Caroline (aka big sister)
Caroline LOVES her little brother! She kisses him and points at him and says “baby!” all day long! She is very sweet and is learning to be gentle with him. Whenever she finds his pacifier she always tries to put it in his mouth, even if he doesn’t want it. Other times she likes to put his pacifier in her mouth, but with the nipple part sticking out, so silly! This morning she tried to give him some milk from her sippy cup.

Caroline likes to play with her little brother’s toys when he’s not looking. She doesn’t mind that she’s too big.

Caroline practicing the drum with her Daddy.

One of Caroline’s favorite things to do is blow bubbles. A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to the school down the road from our house. We tried to fly a kite, but there wasn’t enough wind. So we just blew bubbles instead, and Caroline had a blast.

Caroline goes to Mother’s Day Out in NLR twice a week. She loves it! I have really enjoyed spending one-on-one time with Daniel while she’s at school. Such a special time that I look forward to every week! But not for long- this week is Caroline’s last week of school. With Patrick’s new job he’ll be working 5 days a week, which means next week I’ll have both of them all day for 5 days in a row! We’re going to lose our minds, but we’ll love every minute of it!!

For a few weeks Caroline was having trouble going to sleep at night, and would end up falling asleep on the floor by her door. Every night before we went to bed Patrick would check on her and then scoop her up and put her in bed trying not to wake her up. This picture was taken one night around 11 or 12. It was too cute not to take a picture! Even the bright flash didn’t wake her up.

This girl LOVES some oranges! I love that she loves them too, but they’re just a LITTLE messy!!

Caroline painting a picture for her daddy. She got a little messy then, too! At least those markers are so easy to wipe off.

Caroline loves to put puzzles together.

I think this picture needs no explanation.

She got her first piggy bank and did a great job putting her change in it.

Caroline LOVES for her daddy to throw her in the air! When he puts her back down she’ll sign and say “more”, and he’ll say “more what” and she’ll point up!

Caroline and her boyfriend Drew! (He lives all the way in Houston, so it’s allowed!)

A lot of mornings I’ll put Caroline in her booster seat on the floor in the living room and put one of her Elmo movies in. That gives me a chance to feed Daniel, pump, eat breakfast, etc and I’m still close by. This particular morning she had yogurt for breakfast and was a very dirty girl afterwards!

Finally getting to fly her Elmo (aka “melmo”) kite on Mother’s Day.

Paw Paw has his hands full! I’m sure he’s wondering how I do it every day! Haha

Our beautiful girl who will be 20 months old tomorrow. Oh, how I love her so!!!

J.D.

Daniel is now 6 weeks old! He is such a good baby. He has slept through the night one night so far, and since then the nights have been very unpredictable with him. All in all, he’s sleeping pretty well. At his 1 month check up he weighed 10 pounds and was in the 25th percentile. I couldn’t believe it- he was 8 lb 7 oz when he was born and now he’s only in the 25th percentile? I guess Patrick and I just make petite babies. Here are a few pictures of our beautiful baby boy!!! (Still can’t believe that he’s a boy! I think for the 1st two weeks I said that at least 10 times a day!)

Notice his t-shirt!

Having a deep conversation with his Paw Paw, his namesake.

His first trip over to G. G. and Papa Loise’s house (my grandparents) with his Paw Paw and sissy and cousins Morgie and Mano! (BTW, Mano had a little accident the day before on the playground!)

Some black and whites that we took.

What is more innocent than a naked newborn baby?! I wanted him to be asleep for these pictures, but no such luck. As soon as we took his diaper off he woke up and starting pulling his knees up to his chest like he was about to crawl!

His eyes are very blue right now, but I don’t know when or if they’ll change. His sissy has beautiful blue eyes like her daddy, but I wouldn’t mind if he had green eyes like his mama!

I love how he still curls up in a little ball when you hold him on your chest!

He is doing a great job holding his head up. That tummy time must be paying off.

He seems to like his swing more than Caroline did at his age. The only problem is that I have to keep Caroline away from him when he’s swinging b/c she wants to push him and turn the swing off and on!

His first trip to Cozumel’s to celebrate his “Aunt” Sarah’s birthday. I have a feeling that he’s going to love Mexican food like his mama!

Do you think Daniel is a mama’s boy?

Now that’s multitasking!

Meeting Ma (my grandma) on Mother’s Day. He is only the 2nd great-grandson out of 9 great-grandchildren!

First smiles…
Daniel has starting smiling for us, and we were finally able to catch a picture on Mother’s Day, what a present! His smiles are still so rare and precious at this point, that it truly brightens our day! He seems to have a habit of smiling at 4 in the morning right after I feed him. Of course that makes it soooooo worth it!

A proud mama with her two babies!

Best friends...

A E.R. Visit and a New Job

It has been a while since we posted anything of “merit” so I thought I would post what has gone on with us in the past week.

(I'll tell you the story as best I can, but I know I'll leave something out - but that's OK)

Last Tuesday Elizabeth took Caroline to the park after school. Caroline was on the slide when Elizabeth heard her start crying, Elizabeth rushes over and thinks that Caroline hit/bumped her head or something because she was leaned over. Elizabeth took Caroline back to her folks house to get Daniel and take them home. There is a first time for everything, both kids were screaming and crying all the way home (I’m sorry I had to miss that to be at work)

When Elizabeth got home she put Caroline down for a nap to see if that would help calm her down. When I got home at 6:15 Caroline was “all fired up again” so I thought that she just needed a nap. So I took her to her bedroom to lay down with her to help calm her down. 30 minutes later, she calmed down enough to go and have dinner with us. Caroline was in a much better mood then. After dinner I picked her up and went to put her on the floor when I noticed that she didn’t put any weight on her right leg. So I picked her up and moved her up a few feet to see if she would do it again, which, she did.

I asked Elizabeth if she had walked since she got home and she said, “come to think of it, no she hasn’t.” I showed Elizabeth what Caroline was doing and we decided to see if she was still doing it after our trip to Hobby Lobby.

When we got to Hobby Lobby we got the kids into the double stroller and took off. We got to the back of the store and I got Caroline out, only for her not to put weight on her right leg and she sat down on the floor. We called the “doctors” (Mimi and Aunt Lolly) both told us to go to the ER. So, we called the “REAL Doctor” thanks Jason. When we got home we called the medical exchange and they suggested that we go to the after hour pediatric clinic…which we were going to do anyways.

We get to the after hour clinic at 8:30 – well, after three hours and two sets of x-rays, there was nothing wrong with Caroline. About 10:45 after the second round of x-rays Caroline fell asleep on my chest…that girl can put off some heat. So the doctor told us to schedule an appointment with our doctor on Thursday to see what they want to do.

Well we got home and got the kids to bed and we slid into bed about midnight. And the next day Caroline didn’t do much walking but as the day went on, she would walk some. Over the next few days she started walking, with a limp on the right side. We are going to take Daniel in today for his one month check-up and we are going to have our doctor check Caroline out. Dr. Jason told us Sunday that there is nothing wrong with Caroline and there shouldn’t be any “long term damage” and that she should be back to normal soon.

Flash back to last week also. Last Wednesday I (Patrick) got a phone call at work and was offered a job. I told Jimmy that I had always told Elizabeth that I would discuss a “job change” with her before I accepted anything. Jimmy understood, but I told him that he “knows” what my answer will be and that I would call him back after lunch.

I went home for lunch on Wednesday to check on Caroline, Daniel and Elizabeth. When I got home Caroline was getting up from a nap and Daniel was eating. So I picked Caroline up and told her that I was glad she was up and that we needed to have a “Family Meeting.” At this time Elizabeth gives me a look of “what’s up????” I then made the announcement that I was offered a job with the Department of Human Services.

Elizabeth looked at me and said, “Well?” I told her that I had told Jimmy that I wanted to talk with you first and let him know this afternoon. It wasn’t a hard decision and it didn’t take us long to agree on it. I called Jimmy and told him that I was going to accept the position and then I went and filled out the paperwork.

My “Official Title” is Program Manager (or something like that). I will be responsible for all of the investigators in the Food Stamps department statewide. What I will be doing is making sure that the people that are receiving food stamps are complying with what the policy is. I will have 20 people under my supervision, 18 investigators and 2 secretaries. I’m going from being “Second Man” to being “The Man”. My first day will be on Monday May 19th. It will be hard for me to give up my Friday’s off, but I think I will enjoy working Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30. So on Thursday I submitted my letter of resignation to my supervisor and then I informed my staff of the decision and that my last day would be on the 15th. Two of my staff are still on “suicide watch” but they are starting to come around to the fact that I’m not going to be here anymore and that I won’t be “obsessing and compulsive” over most of their work.


Patrick's Public Service Announcement: For those who are new parents who need some help with the dos and don’ts of newborn babies

AMAZING SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES

1. If you are choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself.
2. Avoid cutting yourself slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.
3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.
5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.
7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.
8. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Daily Thought: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS

Pumpkin has Arrived!!!!

Well it has been a while since we’ve posted….ok, it’s been since April 1st. Well Pumpkin decided that HE wanted to come into the world. Pumpkin = John Daniel Hallum was born on April 4, 2008, at 3:28 p.m. and he was 21 inches long and 8 pounds 7 ounces (he’s a big boy).













(The Happy Hallum Family)


We had gone in to see the doctor with little to no changes. Elizabeth got what she wanted on Tuesday, it was now my turn to get what I wanted on Friday. The doctor sent us over to labor and delivery. When we arrived at 10:30 a.m. we had to wait for a delivery room. They told us that it would be ready in about 15 minutes…50 minutes later I went and asked and they had “just got the room ready.” It was during this time that Elizabeth decided that she wanted to walk around the hospital with her sister “Aunt Lolly” to try and get Daniel out the old fashioned way. We got into the delivery room and got things ready and the nurses started their thing. We now had to wait, hurry up and wait. Our doctor finally came by and broke Elizabeth’s water. After that the contractions started, hard and fast. Elizabeth got an epidural, and it took about an hour and our Pumpkin was ready to come. The nurses wouldn’t let her push until the doctor got there because Pumpkin was so far down. So more waiting on the doctor. Once she got there, it didn’t take long. Elizabeth did great….all three pushes and we finally heard the beautiful words: “IT’S A BOY!” Elizabeth and I both thought that Pumpkin was a boy, but we still couldn’t believe it. Our John Daniel was perfect and we were beyond ecstatic.




It was now more of the waiting game again, to move to our post delivery room around 8:00 p.m. Which I wasn’t really wanting to go to because the delivery room is larger and nicer and I didn’t want to have to sleep on the little couch. We made it there and got settled in. We had a lot of family and friends that came by over the next two days to visit with us.

Elizabeth had a great delivery and recovery. She is my hero! She tells me that her body was made for birthing babies. I’m afraid to ask her if that means she wants to keep up with the Tillmans?!

Our first outing as a family of 4 was to church this morning. Daniel sat in the worship service with us and slept through the whole thing. Caroline is adjusting well to being a big sis. She kisses Daniel all day long and points at him and says “baby”. She has only put his pacifier in her mouth once, which she then got a spanking for.

(After a good feeding this is what a boy should look like)

Daniel is a GREAT baby. He’s a good eater, good sleeper, and an all around happy baby. We are so thankful! We have already approached a couple (the Glasgow’s) about an arranged marriage between Daniel and Gracie in about 25 years.

(Caroline says "This baby is cutting into my beauty sleep!")

No April Fool’s Baby

Well, I promise that I am not “April Foolin” ya’ll out there!! Probably no baby today. I have to admit that I am a little bit stubborn in that I am not going with my doctor’s advice but rather my heart at this point. I have peace, and I am confident that that comes from the Holy Spirit, and I have no stresses or reservations.

So here’s what happened this morning…my contractions were actually 7 minutes apart. I think I felt one that was pretty big, but it still didn’t hurt and it only felt like the baby was moving. She checked me and I am still at 4 cm yet she said she could make me 6 cm. I understood her to say that the reason that I’m not already 6 cm on my own is because the baby’s head hasn’t descended further yet. Which tells me that Pumpkin is still holding out on us, and I’m just not comfortable taking him/her out yet when he/she’s not ready. My doctor said that she REALLY doesn’t want me to go past my due date (April 10), and I told her that I’m fine with that. I have an appointment with her first thing Friday morning (assuming Pumpkin doesn’t come before then) and I’m sure she will be ready to take the baby then, and I’m sure that I will be more progressed by then and I won’t have a problem with it. So as I have been lately, I will probably take it easy these next few days and stay at the house. Patrick has already taken off work so that will be nice. Caroline went back to school today after being off for Spring Break last week, and she was SO excited! She practically dragged my sister and mother-in-law down the hallway showing them where her classroom was. Poor girl misses her routine, I’m sure.

THANK YOU for all the meals, calls, visits and provisions that you have made for Caroline. Truly, the only thing that was worried or stressed me has been what to do with Caroline during these unknown. I hope to repay these wonderful favors to you gals someday!

Pumpkin update- Monday, March 31, 2008

This afternoon I called Baptist Hospital to cancel my induction for tomorrow morning. It wasn’t a big deal, and the girl on the phone was really nice. About 2 minutes later the phone rang and the woman said, “Elizabeth, it’s Pam. So what’s the deal with tomorrow?” It took me a minute to realize that it was my doctor, Dr. Pam Wills! She basically told me that she was very concerned because I am progressing and not feeling any contractions and that the baby could come so quickly that I won’t have time to get to the hospital. She did say that neither I nor the baby are in any danger. I told her that I just didn’t have peace about being induced, but would rather the baby come on its own. Her clinic is closed on Mondays, but she was out and about and told me that she wanted me to meet her at her office so that she could at least check me.

Trying to make the story short: I am dilated to a good 4 cm, and after being on the fetal monitor for about 30 minutes we discovered that I’m having contractions every 6 minutes, even though I’m not feeling anything.

So here’s the plan: I’m supposed to be at her office between 8 and 8:30 in the morning. They will put me on the fetal monitor and after Dr. Wills visits another patient in labor she will come back to her office and check me. She said that if my contractions are closer together OR if I am more dilated that she strongly suggests we go on to the hospital. Though, she of course can’t make us do anything we don’t want to do. She told me that she is going to call Baptist back and tell them not to cancel my induction, but rather that I would be late. Ha! I should say so!

So it looks like we’ll have our Pumpkin tomorrow! We didn’t discuss the scenario of what we’ll do if the contractions aren’t any closer together and I’m not any more dilated. I think the stubborn side of me will say let’s wait one more day then. But I’m almost to the point where I’m ready to give up the fight and just give birth to this little munchkin. The stress of figuring out what to do with Caroline and how to transfer car seats and take her to school, etc. is about to get to me! I don’t know what we would do without friends and family.

So, hopefully you’ll hear from us soon and learn whether Pumpkin is a beautiful baby boy or girl! Love you all!

Pumpkin update- 38 weeks

Still no baby! But definitely progress…we had another doctor’s appointment on Thursday, March 27th and I was dilated between a 3 and 4 (she said closer to a 4) and effaced 90%. I still have felt no contractions and have had no pain, and have slept wonderfully the past 2 nights- Praise God! As I have mentioned before, my doctor is extremely cautious. Which is why she told me a big fat “NO!” when I asked if I could work for a few hours on Friday! Haha She thinks I should be induced b/c I can have this baby any minute and if history repeats itself it will be a quick labor. (Caroline was less than 4 hours from the 1st contraction.) One good thing is that my doctor told me to continue taking my ampicillin for the group B strep. That means that I won’t be as worried if I can’t get at least 2 hours of penicillin in the hospital once I am in labor.
So, we have an induction scheduled at Baptist for 6 A.M. this Tuesday, April 1st. Apparently that was the only day available. My parents won’t be back from their trip, and it would be 9 days before my due date. Still, I don’t know if I want to be induced!!!! I was told that I could cancel if I want, but I would have to call the hospital b/c my doctor’s office is closed on Mondays.
Please pray that we will make the right decision, and that we will do what is best for the baby. I want GOD to be in control, not me.
Thank you for everyone who has sacrificed through homemade meals, cleaning house, watching our daughter, all the encouraging words and lifting us up in prayer. We are abundantly blessed, I just can’t put it into words.
Maybe the next time we have an update it will be that little boy Hallum or little girl Hallum is here!!

Pumpkin update-37 weeks

We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Good news- I am not any more effaced! Holding on tight to 80% :) I really think this bed rest is paying off and even though it's not fun, it seems to be working. I am dilated between 2 and 3 cm, which didn't alarm me any b/c I was dilated the same with Caroline when I was 37 weeks with her. My doctor did another ultrasound to measure the baby, but silly me, I forgot to ask how much she estimated the baby to weigh and I don't think she told me. Again she tried to determine the sex (though she wouldn't have told us if she did see it) but she wasn't able to. So Pumpkin is still a mystery!!! Though Patrick and I both think it's a boy. Last time we finally came to an agreement right before Caroline was born that she was a girl, so maybe we have parents' intuition or maybe we were just lucky!



I have another appointment next Thursday, the first one of the day. I'm not supposed to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before. I can see what's coming...I'll be dilated between a 3 and 4 and she'll want to admit me to the hospital b/c the baby could come really soon once you're dilated that far. (Which I know from experience with Caroline- I was between a 3 and 4 on Thursday and she came the following Monday morning. Which was 4 days, not exactly 30 minutes.) I really don't want to be induced, and I see no point in being admitted to the hospital to be induced if I'm not having any contractions. So I'm ready to argue if I have to next week.



Just 13 more days and my parents, who leave Monday on their trip, will be home and that is the countdown I am going by. It could be wishful thinking, but I just can't help myself.



A big THANK YOU to everyone for all the calls, prayers, meals that are coming this week and everyone who has offered to come help me with Caroline as Patrick works next week and my parents are out of town. I cannot tell you how loved we have felt this past week by so many people. We are blessed to have you in our lives and we love you all!

Pumpkin Update

Well, I never thought I would say this, but I am officially on “BED REST!” Late yesterday afternoon I had another doctor’s appointment. I knew that I would once again be tested for group B strep (should know the results next week) and that my doctor would check me.

So she checked me and immediately asked me, “Have you had any contractions?” I wasn’t alarmed at first b/c she asked me the same thing the 1st time she checked me with Caroline. At that point I was dilated between a 1 and a 2. Well, last night I was dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced. You got it. 80%. And I am only 36 weeks and 1 day. So basically I can go into labor at any point. (BTW, I couldn’t help but think of my sweet friend Rebecca T last night, I’m wondering which situation would be worse at the time: the baby won’t come out or the baby is a little too anxious to come out! Ha) Needless to say, my doctor was very concerned. She said that the sac was “bulging” and that she could feel it. However, the baby doesn’t seem to be as low as Caroline was at this point, but I am much more effaced. My doctor was also concerned that we don’t know the sex since the lungs of little boys generally develop later than little girls.

She then gave me very clear instructions: bed rest for 2 weeks. No picking up Caroline, no exercising, no cleaning house, no working, and no Duck Duck Goose this weekend. Needless to say, I was shocked, devastated and scared all at the same time. She told me to elevate my hips above my heart (and just how am I supposed to do that?) and rest.

She did a quick ultrasound just to make sure that Pumpkin is head down, which he/she is. She tried to determine the sex, but wasn’t able to b/c the cord and legs were in the way.
So…I have another appointment scheduled for next Thursday and this time she will do an ultrasound to measure the baby and determine its weight, which is typical for all her patients at 37 weeks.

I originally had my appointment scheduled for today, Friday, but she had surgeries all day so I had to reschedule for either yesterday or next Tuesday since their office is closed on Mondays. I am soooo thankful that I opted for yesterday.

I have had a few good cries, talked to family a lot these past few hours, am working through details with my boss about possibly working from home some the next couple of weeks, and basically trying not to freak out about not being in control and accepting help from others (which I NEVER ask for help!). Besides the obvious fear that my sweet child will come too early and that something might be wrong with him/her, I am downright devastated as I am now certain my parents will miss the birth of this child. It breaks my heart. But all I have prayed these last few months is that Pumpkin would come in God’s timing. I felt like a while back I had to accept the fact that Pumpkin might come while my parents are on vacation, but knowing now that my body is potentially close to having this baby, it just adds to the stress and worries.

Please pray for our family. Pray that I won’t drive Patrick crazy as he is such a servant to me, constantly propping pillows under me and getting me anything and everything that I need, while taking care of Caroline at the same time. Please pray that Caroline will adjust well to being a big sister. I think she finally understands that there’s a baby in my belly and she will rub and kiss “the baby”, so sweet. Please pray that I won’t lose my cool, and above all else, that God will be in control of Pumpkin and his/her entry into this big world, and that we will have no complications. I trust in the Lord with all my heart, and I know he hears our prayers.

We will try to update this blog more regularly in the coming days.

Love, The Hallums

25 REASONS I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
"Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13 My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favorite:
My mother taught me about JUSTICE
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"