CAPTIVATED...

"Captivated"

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Your laughter it echoes like a joyous thunder

Your whisper it warms me like a summer breeze
Your anger is fiercer than the sun in its splendour
You’re close and yet full of mystery
Ever since the day that I saw Your face
Try as I may, I cannot look away, I cannot look away…

Captivated by You
I am captivated by You
May my life be one unbroken gaze
Fixed upon the beauty of Your face

Beholding is becoming, so as You fill my gaze
I become more like You and my heart is changed
Beholding is becoming, so as You fill my view
Transform me into the likeness of You

This is what I ask, for all my days
That I may, never look away, never look away…
No other could ever be as beautiful
No other could ever steal my heart away
I just can’t look away…

It's a memory we long not to forget...Making our way down the steps to a table supporting 4 candles. 3 representing our families and 1 waiting to signify our commitment to one another. All eyes on deck Melissa and I enjoy a special moment we would cherish till death do us part. She was stunning...I was captivated.

Hearing the lyrics... 

Captivated by You,
I am captivated by You,
May my life be one unbroken gaze,

Fixed upon the beauty of Your face.

would lead one to believe that this song was being played to express my feelings towards my lovely bride. Though it appears that way and very much could be the case it is not. We chose that song because it reflected our purpose of being married. We are fixed and captivated by our Saviors love. It is clear that He orchestrated our lives together. We were to be molded into co-laborers of the Gospel. Responding to the call He had on our lives. From that afternoon we would embrace an adventure leading us to places we would not have guessed. I am thankful for God and His mercy on my life to provide such a wonderful friend, bride and mother of my son.  But most importantly... a sister in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is much more to share but we will save that for another day. I just want to be clear about my heart and how thankful I am for my wife/best friend for the past 5 years. I love you.

Here are several photos captured over the past 10 years... a walk down memory lane.

 College Retreat

Dinner at Moms

Raising Cane's Christmas Party

Dinner at Sullivans

 Engagement Pictures- LSU Lakes

Engagement Pictures- Mississippi River

Speechless... My beautiful bride.

Honeymoon- Playa Del Car

ATV riding during honeymoon.

 Beach Trip with family

Cruisin'

 Oak Mountain, Birmingham, AL

My boys in BHAM and Bump N' Grind Race Day

 The Mitchell's wedding

Brookhills Student Ministry

 Fun at Anytime Fitness

New Addition "Marley Sue"

Nicaragua- Feeding and School Program

Our Team

First Astros Game

WOBC Students

Christmas Tree shopping in shorts

Settlers with the Kraffts

First Family Photo

Baton Rouge Baby Shower

Pre-Game

Post-Game

Family Photo 

My prayer...

That our lives may reflect the Gospel encouraging you to do the same. Our family is here on earth to bring glory to things not of this world. A mystery that fathoms us all. We know our position and embrace His mission. Captivated by a love only Jesus Christ can display. 

Humbled... Thankful...

-Casey

NANA BANANA

Last week, Monday through Thursday, Nana came to Houston to visit. We had such a good time hanging with the Boonster, recovering chairs, visiting with some of our faith family at White Oak, and eating at Pie in the Sky (delicious)! It was great just to spend time with Nana and relax. Here's a few pictures of Nana with the "lil rat". Enjoy!

Thanks for coming to visit with us Nana. We can't wait for you come back. Hopefully we'll be able to get home soon to visit with all our family and friends in Louisiana.

-Melbel

PAST DUE

This one time I had a mess of books that were overdue. So overdue in fact that they cost way to much to admit in cyber space. Nonetheless I accepted my swift kick in the pants from the ill-faced villainous librarian and paid my fine so I could reinstate my library privileges. (I love the library and can't stand to have a momentarily unusable library card.)  Well, today someone that's not quite so villainous (Ryann) gave a similar nudge for me to keep up with the blog. She's so right about the blog being the only way to keep up with the goings on of the Belgards and this is my apology to the few followers that are still reading. I'll be more diligent about my posts and try to put something together at least three times a week. I promise. Ryann I love you and can't wait to see you in a couple weeks.

So with that said... On to the events from the last post until now:Monday-Sharon and Kristen Morin came to visit with us and Boone's heart monitor kept going off. Like 26 times in a two hour period. Yikes! Talk about stressful. We called the doctor and scheduled an appointment to see Boone's cardiologist.Tuesday-Today marks Boone's first week home. We went to see Dr. Horenstein and she gave us a great report on Boone's heart: N.O.R.M.A.L.!!! After she said it we made her say it three more times. She's a good sport and Casey told her that sounded awesome because this friendship was costing us a fortune. Insert laughing. She thought that was hilarious too. Leave it to Casey to bring the humor in a situation.

The doc said everything was normal: EKG, echocardiograph, assessment of his vitals etc.

We are thrilled and proud once again of Boone's progress. We went home on a Holter monitor for 24hrs and one less dose of Digoxin. She said one of the reasons his monitor kept going off was because of his medicine and also the perimeters could be lowered so it wouldn't go off so much. Whew! I was really stressing out over the sound of that thing. (I have a strong urge to chunk the monitor off the top of our roof when we finish with it.) All in all, Boone is looking  good at 5 lbs 14oz and 19 3/4 in. He will have his heart monitor for at least two months.  Since we went to the hospital we figured we drop in on my high risk OBGYN. She loves Boone and we love her.

Dr Ramirez is on the left and Dr Mastrobatista is on the right. Both Docs were working closely with us through everything. They were great and we couldn't have been more blessed to have them on our side. After we got home from the doc's office the Luces brought the best pork chops I've ever had for dinner. FYI: they are getting the little additions to their family this weekend and we are so excited about them. I'll give more on their new family members in another post.  To end the night, Casey and I watched The Voice and went to bed.

Wednesday-relaxing day with way less alarms and a few visitors.

Thursday-I went shopping with Boone for me and Casey's 5th anniversary and his first Father's day. Then we had dinner with the Bransons and Justin & Janelle, went to look at a sofa sleeper for the house, and waited for maw maw and poppy to arrive for their weekend visit with Boone.

Friday-Casey and I had lunch, did a little shopping for our anniversary, and I got a hair cut while Casey went mountain biking. Maw Maw Judy and Poppy babysat Boone and of course Marley.

Saturday-Today we had pizza and game day with the Kraffts and Lil Adam. So much fun. Rebekah Villareal brought over lasagna (amazing) and we went to bed early. Whew!

Sunday-Happy Fathers Day Casey and Pops! Even though my Dad is a state away I'm so thankful for him and the little nicknames like: "pooter" and "squirt". 

Pops

I didn't really get the first name until I was like ten years old. And yes I was totally offended when I realized what it meant. Thanks dad! Anyways. It was a sweet day and me and Boone gave Casey this:

The arrow is homemade complete with his birth date and represents the following scripture:

Psalm 127

1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Casey is already an incredible father and I can't wait to add more colorful arrows to our quiver.

So those were the events of last week. I'll post the events of this week soon. It was a fun one chuck full of Nana snuggle time, a new baby cousin, and a visit to MD Anderson for the Brad Booth' surgery. Stay tuned. For real stay tuned. I will be making another post. Soon.

SNUGGLEVILLE

This was Boone's first week and weekend home. Wheh! We're tired, but so excited to share with you some of the special moments over the last couple days. We had lots of visitors and some great meals too! Thanks meal train participants. It's been a load off not having to think about getting dinner etc together. On to the pictures: Boone's Nana and Great Maw Maw came to visit this weekend. So, we got our cutest little lion outfit, lion blanket, and little socks and waited for the snuggle time. 

Roar!

We snuggled...

And rocked...

And ate...

And even took a bath!

We really enjoyed the time with Nana and Maw Maw. Can't wait for Nana to come back in a week. Looking forward to many more rocking sessions, target trips, great meals, and snuggle time. We'll see what adventures this week holds. Stay tuned.  

-Melbel

P.S. This is Quack. It's Boone's ducky from Maw Maw Bonnie. It tells us if the water is to hot before we put the Boonster in the tub. Pretty cool idea if you ask me.

Better late than never.

This post is a little late going up. It's actually from last weekend when we were still in the hospital. Wow! So much change in the right direction over the last week.

Since we moved into the NSCU (Neonatal Special Care Unit) we were able to spend some unhindered grandparent time with Boone. It was great and we knew our next step would be home which made it that much more special. So here's a few pictures of Grammy and Poppa with Boone for the first time. Enjoy!

We appreciate their continued love and support.

-The Belgards

yesterday... today... and forever

We begin with Boone's first visit to meet his Pediatrician. After a productive two days I must give my main little man props... weighing in at 5 pounds 14 ounces with a length of 19' 3/4 he continued to turn heads. Despite entering this world 7.5 weeks early he is on point and remaining healthy. We are thankful once again. Do work Boone... Do work!

As the day continued we had our first lunch out and about as a family. It was a peaceful one. We all left the Medical Center with full tummies. Unfortunately, Boone was the only one suited up for a nap. After a quiet ride back home we continued to nestle into our new routine. Then it struck me... It's moments like these that you pause... look around... and be still. A season of life that makes you say "Wow!". God, why are you so good to me? You are so faithful... You are so true. Then I was reminded of two passages:


Romans 8:28
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."


Philippians 4:6 
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."


These two verses resounded in my head the weeks prior to Boone's arrival and with him here safe at home they still ring true. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.


Hebrews 13:8
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"


With these thoughts I rested and got that nap I was slightly jealous of :) 
Soon after waking I was able to enjoy some time behind the lens... .

Then Mel had a little fun... my Boone "One eye open, pucker lip, sad face".

After a little afternoon fun we welcomed Aunt Trish, Uncle Bradd and cousins McKenna and Ayden. Their home north of Houston has been a place of good times and great conversation offering Mel and I a taste of home away from home. We were thankful and excited to invite them over to see Boone. The hang out time started with Aunt Trish showing the kids the ropes and Ayden quickly jumping in to show us how it is done...

 Aunt Trish and Ayden

 Ayden

McKenna

Uncle Bradd

After a few hours of Boone love and conversation we made our way to a local pizza joint to enjoy some of our favorite hot pie. So glad they all could make it out. Looking forward to many summer days poolside and dancing the night away... Wii style!

Well, today was a great day. Looking forward to the weekend when we have some more family arriving to visit with the Boonster. With that said, off to change a diaper... or 2. Adios!

-Casey