Let's laugh a little!

I feel like everytime I write I'm constantly complaining about this or that, well we'll say 80% whining/complaining and 20% talking about the loves of my life like family and friends that brighten my day!

With that being said, I wanted to do a silly post. One where you just write about all of the crazy, laughing so hard you cry when you think about it now, times. They can be from when you were a child all the way up to your adult years. Here goes nothing. Get a box of tissues ready and you may want to make a circle of pillows on the floor around you because you may fall off of your chair in laughter!

1) When I was around Ashlyn's age, 4 or 5, I thought that it would be oh so funny to lock my mom out of the car as she went to check the mailbox in the POURING rain. I got a good kick out of it, but she did not find it so amusing. =) My favorite show was Scooby Doo and I still remember to this day that I was punished by not getting to watch Scooby Doo that afternoon. Oh the horror! =)

2) My mom and dad had just started letting me answer phone calls. I thought that I was super special. It made me feel like I was a big kid now answering phone calls and all. Most days it was just grandparents and aunts and uncles that called, but one day a very nice man called and asked to speak to my dad. As you know kids DO NOT LIE, so I politely told the man "he will be with you in a minute. He's in the bathroom pooping right now." My mom jerked the phone out of my hand and tried to cover up my story the best way that she could. Needless to say I didn't answer the phone much anymore for about another year.

3)I was always small for my age. As most of you know in highschool all I wanted to do was be 100 lbs, but 97 was the highest those scales would go. Gosh if I only had that problem now! =) Anyways when we would go out to eat most restaurants have a policy where children could eat free as long as they were under a certain age. Mom would always tell me before going in "now today you are going to be 3." I was used to my age changing everytime we went out to eat. We were in the line at Western Steer and mom forgot to tell me my age that day. I looked straight at her once we got to the counter to pay and said "Well mom........how old do you want me to say I am today?" My mom nearly flabbergasted said "just tell her your real age honey." I know she wanted to crawl in a hole and hide.

4) There was a magic book that I had been wanting for months and months. My parents would not get it for me so I had a plan. I got all of the coins out of my piggy bank and put them in a ziplock bag. Once we were at the mall I took the book up to the counter and as the cashier told me the total I poured all of the coins on the counter. The look on that man's face was pricelss! My parents ran over and apologized profusely. They ended up paying for the magic book after all. Hey.............money is money, and I wanted that book! =)

These are just of my childhood. I have more coming from a little later in life!

Can you guess where these were taken? If you guessed a drag show then you are correct! =)
Ida and I went to Charleston the day after Christmas to visit her friend Steve and his boyfriend. I told them that I had never seen a drag show before, so that's where we went. I had the best time! It was definitely an experience!

Christmas and New Year's

I can't believe that it is 2010! Where did 2009 go? The past year has flown by! It's been a year with many ups and downs, but all in all 2009 was pretty good. I just hope that 2010 is a year full of smiles and laughter, and less heart break.

We had a wonderful Christmas! The kids got so many toys that we need to hire a construction company to come out and build an extra room onto our house! =) I've opened box after box of toys that the manufacturer makes nearly impossible to get into without some wire cutters and a screwdrive (why do they package these things so ridiculously?), and we still have boxes sitting in our living room unopened! My kids are soooooooo spoiled!

I LOVE Christmas, but I hate when it's over and all of the decorations must come down. I always say that "next year I'm not putting everything out.............just the tree" and I end up buying more and more decorations to add to my headache every year. Does anyone else do this? It just looks so pretty once EVERYTHING is up.

I usually don't make any New Year's resolutions, but this year I have a few in mind that I'd like to stick with.

1. Go to church every Sunday.
I have been taking the lazy way out and sleeping in on Sunday mornings. Growing up I was raised to go to church every Sunday, and I have not been a very good role model for my children when it comes to church. I'm going to make an effort to get everyone up and ready so that I can hopefully make a difference in their lives and mine.

2. Be more patient with my children.
Ashlyn is 5 going on 15. She argues with me 24/7. It drives me nutty! I start out calm, cool, and collective and then 5 minutes later we are both in a screaming match. I'm going to try to handle these situations with more patience and less raising my voice. This one is going to be a tough one!

3. Make time for others.
It's tough finding extra time to do much of anything these days, but somehow I find extra time for a nap on my weekends off. I'm going to try to cut out naps and make better use of my afternoons spending quality time with family and friends instead.

These are my BIG goals this year. I do have a few others that I'm working on also. 2010 is going to be a GREAT year..............I can feel it!

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures!

Blind

I've been trying to start this post for days and every time that I would start to type I would get too angry and upset that I would put it off because I don't want to sound like a bitter person, but today I'm just going to let my fingers type and let my heart do the talking.
As most of you probably know my pappaw Drum is blind. This all started about a month ago when he lost vision first in his left eye. He was hospitalized for 2 days then sent home. The doctors really weren't sure what happened, but the conclusion was he had a stroke that had left him blind in one eye. Not good news, but we were ok with that. He could still drive, go to town, see his grandbabies, take care of himself, etc. Then not even a week later his vision started to fade in his right eye. Back to the hospital he went. All kinds of tests were ran. There was no sign of a stroke, but what else could it be?.............so the doctors kept him on strong blood thinners for days, treating symptoms of a stroke. He was now a blind man, but we all had hope and faith that since he was on these blood thinners maybe his vision would slowly come back. No sign of that. He was then sent to the rehabilitation floor to learn how to live as a blind man before being sent home. Once home he had more doctor's appointments where we learned the devastating news that he is 100% blind and his sight will NOT come back. All of our hopes were destroyed with those few words. All that we could do now is try to figure out what caused his vision loss. It wasn't a stroke. The doctor did a biopsy for a rare disease called temporal arteritis. The test results came back this week and he tested positive for the disease. Basically it's a narrowing of the blood vessels, especially the ones to the eyes, and it can lead to blindness. If caught in time though his blindness could have been prevented.
I want someone to blame this on...........someone to yell at and let all of my anger out on. I'm pissed! This isn't fair! Why did this have to happen to my pappaw? Why now........just a year after my mammaw passed away? He was just beginning to enjoy his life again! He was by mammaw's side for nearly 5 years while she was sick. WHY!?!?! Seeing him struggle to get around his own home just kills me! He was a man that everyone called when they needed help with something. Now he has to be the one asking everyone for help and you can tell that he is having such a tough time coping with this. He is trying his hardest though!
I know that it could be worse. At least he's still here with us. At least he can still walk and talk. But it's still hard! It's just hard seeing him have to rely on other people for his care now. I just have to keep telling myself how thankful I am that he's still here with us. It's going to be a huge healing and adjustment process for him and us. Hopefully each day will get a little better for him. I think when he's better we'll all be better too! Please just continue to pray. Miracles do happen!!!

Some pictures for now.........will update later

Pappaw glad to be home with his GRAND-babies!

Ashlyn, Brennan, Alaina, and Reid at the Cody Thanksgiving

COUSINS!!!

Pappaw Jerry with all of his Grandbabies

Ashlyn dressed up as an Indian for her class Thanksgiving play.

She was a little upset that I was leaving without her. =(

More Affordable Elf

Our family's Mr. Peep's

I posted this last year, but I thought that I'd put it up again for anyone who may have missed it. I did this last year and it worked like MAGIC in our house! I just wish that the elf could stay with us year round. Too bad he has to leave us on Christmas Eve. =(

No, this isn't a creepy little elf "peeping" in your window (wink, wink). It's a fun new family Holiday Tradition! Bare with me here. I promise you'll love it!Mr. Peeps is an elf sent from Santa's workshop to watch if your kids are "Naughty" or "Nice". He arrives with a poem and goes home with Santa on Christmas Eve. And the best thing about this elf is that you don't have to pay +$30 for the real Elf on a Shelf. You can buy an elf from the dollar store and then read this poem with him. The poem reads:

Christmas is approaching, and this is the day

Santa has sent Mr. Peeps to your house to stay.

He sent this small elf to your house and mine.

Soon after Thanksgiving, He must be on time.

Mr. Peeps has a purpose. His purpose will be,

To whisper to Santa all of the good that he sees.

Soon after he gets here, he moves only at night

To high places, low places, he stays in plain sight.

In the kitchen, for instance, he sits high on a shelf.

Mr. Peeps can sit anywhere, for he is an elf.

He holds very still when he thinks you are watching.

His magic is precious, it fades with one touching.

He sits on the tree on Christmas Eve day.

He knows that Santa is soon on his way.

He waits and he waits without making a noise.

He waits until Santa arrives with the toys.

So you better be nice and mind what you say

Because Mr. Peeps will tell Santa when he comes with his sleigh.

Once Christmas is here and Santa has come,

Mr. Peeps must leave, for his job is well done.

But, he will return next year on the very same day,

To watch your behavior as you work and play.

- Sharon Reynolds

Isn't that fun?? A great way to help your kids be good this season. So pop on over to your local $1.00 store and see if they have any "elves".

Britt and me in the Mountains on our anniversary

Brennan and his blankie

My little witch and gorilla

Life These Days

Sorry it's been a while since I have posted. I've had so many things going on that I feel like I haven't had time to breathe, let alone sit down at my computer and let out all of my thoughts and emotions. If only we lived in that ritzy class society where I had a chaeffeur to drive me to and from work everyday because that's basically my only quiet time throughout the day. It's my time to refect on certain things in my life. It takes me a little more than half an hour to get to and from work. Some people may not like having a long drive to work, but me I kind of like it because of the alone time and the time that I have to pray, think, sing, cry, or call friends to catch up. It's my only moment of peace throughout the day other than bedtime, and bedtime sometimes isn't even peaceful for me anymore.

Ashlyn is FINALLY getting adjusted to school. It only took her two and a half months! SHEESH!!! She is definitely going to be a homebody..........doesn't want to leave her mommy or daddy for any longer than she has to, well unless she's going to nana and pappaw's house. That's her second home. =) Last week the teacher sent books home with the kids whom she felt were able to begin reading, and do you know that my baby can read! I'm so proud of her!!! She's taking gymnastics and dance this year and LOVES every minute of it!

Brennan is my fearless one. He has new bumps and bruises everyday. He is not afraid of a thing! He is my little love bunny. He’s started this thing where he’ll grab my face and just kiss me………such a sweetie pie!!! He eats non-stop………never full. I believe that he will be one of those boys that is going to eat me out of house and home. =) He's started getting really attached to his blankie. It's been in his crib since he was born, but one day a few weeks ago he went in his room and grabbed it out of his crib and started carrying all around the house. Ever since that day he hasn't put it down. I think that it is adorable, but Britt can't stand a little boy having a blankie. He thinks that I am the one who pushed the blanket on him.........whatever! It's not like he'll be in school carrying a blankie around. He's only 18 months old for heavens sake!

Let's see......what else has gone on in the last 2 months. I've been sick, sick, sick......which is one of the reasons why it has been so long since I have posted. That, and having two wild children running around. I had a bad case of vertigo one week. I had never had it before. Let me tell you it was not fun. I felt like I was on a cruise ship that hit a terrible storm combine with one of those rides that spins around and around. Not a good combination! The next week I had the swine flu. =( YUCK! Then this past weekend I'm almost 100% certain that I had strep throat. My throat felt like I had swallowed sand. Everyday it was getting worse and worse but I didn't want to go the doctor AGAIN so I just gave it a look myself and sure enough there were blister all over the back of my throat. I dug through our medicine cabinet and found 2 Z-Packs with 3 pills left. Today I feel like a new person again. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I also had pink eye while I had the flu. LOL! This just sounds so funny typing all of this out!

I'll try to do a better job of keeping up with my postings. Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner? I can't wait to eat all of that YUMMY food!! Gobble gobble! =)

Emotions

Last week was such and emotional roller coaster. Ashlyn started her first day of school on Tuesday and she did great! I was worried about how I would handle her starting Kindergarten and seeing her walk into that classroom..........coming to the realizatin that my baby is growing up faster than I want her to and before I know it she will be in middle school, then high school, then she will be out of the house and in college..........gone. Being a parent is truly the best gift that God can give! The love that you feel for your children is truly amazing. There is no love like that............NONE! You will simply do anything and everything to make sure that they are safe, and when something does go wrong your heart simply hits the floor. That happened last week.

Brennan had been sick with a fever of 104 since the Friday before last. I had taken him to the doctor, and the doctor looked him over and did some bloodwork. He told me that he felt like Brennan had a 48 hour virus and that he should be feeling better by Sunday..............just let it runs it's course. By Sunday he was still sick, but his fever was a little lower. Monday I of course kept he out of daycare. His fever had broke and he was playing, finally back to his old self again. Tuesday I took him back to daycare. That afternoon I got a frightening call from them that when he woke up from his nap he had a fever of 104.6! How could this be? He was fine yesterday. I called Britt and had him rush to pick him up. I left work and met them at the doctor's office. The doctor looked him over once again and said that he felt like he had developed a sinus infection and that he was going to start him on an antibiotic. I had an eerie feeling that it was not an infection at all, but the flu. I questioned the doctors diagnosis, but he insisted that my child did not have the flu. Britt then jumped in the conversation and asked if we could just have a flu test to confirm. The doctor was hesitant, but told us that he would do one just to make us feel better. Twenty minutes later he came in with the news that no mother wants to hear...................Positive..........the swine flu! He was shocked. I was shocked. I was sad. I was mad. I had so many emotions running through me at that very moment that I didn't know what to say. He started Brennan on 2 flu medications and an antibiotic to ward off any kind of infection like pneumonia. He also started Ashlyn, Britt, and me on flu medication as well since we had all been exposed to this rapidly spreading virus that you are hearing about on every news station that you turn to. Why did he not do a flu test on Friday? Brennan had all of the signs. Another sign that is a fever that will go away for a day or two and then come back. How did the doctor not know this? Tuesday night Mom came over and Brennan's fever was 104.1 with tylenol and motrin. He didn't even have enough strength to open his eyes and he was throwing up because his fever was so high. We were both in tear and our nerves were shot. We were ready to take him to the ER because we were worried about him becoming dehydrated. I was worried sick. He finally began to take in some fluids and by Wednesday he was taking a turn for the better.
We have all been flu free so far. I'm just praying that Ashlyn doesn't get it! I don't know if I can go through seeing another child of mine suffer like that again. Check out this page for swine flu information swineflufacts .
Also, Ashlyn had brought a book home from school yesterday titled, I'll Love You Forever. We read it at bedtime and I bawled! It is a great book and if you have kids you definitely need to go out and buy a copy of it! Here's a link to the story - I'llloveyouforever . Get a box of tissues.

A New Chapter Begins...

First Day of Kindergarten

Get out the tissues!

World, I bequeath to you today one little girl in a crispy dress, with two blue eyes, and a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs. I Trust You'll Treat Her Well.

She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning and skipping off down the street to her first day at school. And never again will she be completely mine...

Prim and proud, she'll wave a young and independent hand this morning, and say goodbye and walk with little-lady steps to the nearby schoolhouse...

Gone will be the chattering little hoyden who lived only for play, and gone will be the delightful little gamin who roamed the yard like a proud princess with nary a care in her little world. Now, she will learn to stand in lines...and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called...

She will learn to tune her little-girl ears for the sound of school bells, and for deadlines...

She will learn to giggle and gossip...and to look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy across the aisle sticks out his tongue.

Now she will learn to be jealous...and now she will learn how it is to feel hurt inside...and now she will learn how not to cry. No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch while an ant scurries across a crack in the sidewalk...

Or will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew. Now she will worry about important things...like grades...and what dresses to wear...and whose best friend is whose. Now she will worry about the little boy who pulls her hair at recess time... and staying after school...and which little girls like which little boys...and the magic of books and knowledge will soon take the place of the magic of her blocks and dolls.

And she'll find her new heroes. For five full years I've been her sage and Santa Claus...her pal and playmate...her parent and friend. Now, alas, she'll learn to share her worship and adoration with her teachers (which is only right).

No longer will her parents be the smartest and greatest in the world. Today, when the first school bell rings, she'll learn how it is to be a member of the group...with all its privileges, and, of course, its disadvantages, too.

She'll learn in time that proper young ladies don't laugh out loud...or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms...or watch ants scurry across the cracks in a summer sidewalk...

Today, she'll begin to learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. That "the group" can be a demanding mistress... and I'll stand on the porch and watch her start out on the long, long journey to becoming a woman.

So WORLD, I BEQUEATH TO YOU TODAY ONE LITTLE GIRL in a crispy dress, with two blue eyes, a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of light blonde hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.

I TRUST YOU'LL TREAT HER WELL.

By Dan Valentine
From the book "American Essays: Sentimental Classics Designed to Make the Heart Sing"

It's the Most Wonderful TIme of the Year!!!

Well other than Christmas that is! Campmeeting is here in full force and I LOVE IT!! Nothing is better than...

Two full weeks spent swinging on your front porch and socializing with friends and family that you don't get to see nearly often enough!

Eating country ham sandwiches and drinking the best milkshakes ever made!

Listening to the best gospel music around!

Hearing my daughter's laughter running from tent to tent because she is chasing her boyfriend around!

Hearing my son throw a tantrum because he wants to throw rocks and be pushed around in his car night after night!

Going to the shack to buy the cheapo toys that your children think are better than gold! =D

My list could go on and on, but I'll stop here for now. I'm just so thankful that I grew up where I did and campmeeting is part of my life! I couldn't imagine my life without it! I really mean that!!! Some of my best childhood memories were made there and I'm sure that some of our best family memories will be made there also. Ashlyn and Brennan absolutely LOVE IT! I'll try to get some pictures up later.