The Journey Begins!

Short post today as I am still very dizzy and on some pretty good pain killers. The surgery went well, except for my thick skull which took a little longer than usual for them to drill through! My face is swollen and my taste buds don't work on half my tongue but hopefully that will go away soon. Thanks for all the prayers, please keep them coming our way. I think I will inch my way back to bed now and rest my weary, swollen head!

50th Post- Big Day Tomorrow!

Hard to believe this is my 50th post but it is! Hope this finds all of you enjoying a post Christmas glow! Christmas was fast and furious as always. We were all sick at various times over the last week or 10 days but hopefully all on the road to recovery now.

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! I am scheduled to be at the hospital tomorrow at 7:30 am to check in and do lab work and surgery is scheduled for 10:30. I just finished up a round of antibiotics and still have a little bit of a cough but hopefully it will not be enough to delay the surgery, the anaestesiologist(spelled wrong, I am sure) will decide that after examining me in the morning. So please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray specifically that I can have the surgery tomorrow as planned, that the doctors will all be healthy and alert and God will guide their hands and that the proceedure will be a success.

We appreciate all the love and support we have recieved so far. Give me a couple of days to get over the proceedure and the headache that will likely accompany it and I will blog again as soon as I feel up to climbing the stairs to the computer. Happy New Years!

Finally some answers!

I am scheduled for my Cochlear Implant on the 29th of December. They are going to go with Advanced Bionics and I will go pick out my processor this thursday. It is supposed to be day surgery and I will go home that evening. When I have my appt with the audiologist to pick out the processor, I will probably get more answers to my questions, I like the audiologist, she is very personable. According to the office staff at the doctors office, the insurance has approved the surgery and there will be no out of pocket expense for us. Cool! This is going to mess up our Christmas Plans a bit but what a great after Christmas gift for me. What a great era we live in! I feel very blessed.

CHRISTMAS QUESTIONS

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? under the tree

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? We have two trees, one with white lights and mostly angel decorations and then a smaller tree upstairs with multi colored lights and all kinds of ornaments. Outside we have both white and colored ( I was not consulted! but not complaining because I did not have to hang the lights!)

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope, no parasites in the house!

5. When do you put your decorations up? Whenever we find the time, usually drawn out over several days (sometimes weeks)

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? "Honey Baked Ham" ( but too expensive so we get it from costco or Sam's instead of the Honey Baked Co) Broccoli, Cheese Rice Casserole is a close second! Yum!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Just spending time with family and all the good food.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? "What Truth about Santa?"

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We always opened gifts in my family on Christmas eve. Christmas day was all about Santa and what "he" brought. Hubby grew up with opening gifts on Christmas day. So it depends on who is spending Christmas with us but we always open at least one present on Christmas Eve ( usually new PJ's and a book for little K)

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? Granny's Cherry Cookies and Milk

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it! but rarely get it in TX. We saw a lot of it when we lived in Va.

12. Can you ice skate? No, unless you count sliding around the ice on one's butt!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not as a child but getting Family Bible as an adult was very special!.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with family, giving to the Angel tree (fun to buy presents for little one's who need it)

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My Mom's (aka Granny) Cherry Cookies and Pumpkin Bread

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? A few years ago we got a stuffed cowboy Santa and we named him Stinky Pete (after Toy Story) and Stinky Pete is a sneaky guy. At night time he roams the house and we find him in very unusual places. It is fun to wake up and try to figure out where he is!

17. What tops your tree? An Angel
.
18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Giving Although I am not opposed to recieving at all!.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? Shepherds We Have Heard On High

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yummy in moderation but oh so sticky!

Patience Is Not My Strong Suit!

Here it is Monday afternoon and I am still waiting on Dr. office to call with surgery schedule for Cochlear Implant. The Dr. said I would know something Thursday afternoon. No call, so I called Friday Morning, staff says Dr. is in surgery, office closes at 1 pm, will call Monday morning. I called again this morning and they apologize and assure me someone will be calling today. Meanwhile, all Christmas plans are on hold waiting for them to let me know if this will be done this year (Dr. said this year!) or if it will be in Jan. Both sides of the family and even extended family are waiting anxiously to know when the surgery is scheduled and can we keep all the Christmas plans we have made. At this point, I really don't mind (too much) waiting until January for the surgery, I just need an answer, so I don't finalize all our Christmas plans only to have to change them again. Lord grant me patience, but do it now!

Yahoo!

After a long, long day of CT scans and tests and waiting (lots of waiting) I have been approved for a Cochlear Implant. It is possible they may do it before the end of the year. This is moving fast. I am excited and nervous at the same time. More news later. Thankyou to all who prayed for me. Thanks to God for making it all possible!

ENT visit

The ENT visit on friday was long and complicated. They did a hearing test and then the Dr. spent over an hour talking and examining me. He does not know what is causing the dizziness but feels I would be a good candidate for a cochlear implant. So today, I went and did a 3 hour balance test, not fun but not painful either. On Thursday, I will have a CT of my ears to rule out any abnormalities which might make the implantation impossible. Then I take the films to the Dr. and I undergo a 1 1/2 hour evaluation for the implant. It is mostly a test to see how much I can understand using hearing aids. Then after that I will meet with Dr. Krueger to see if I "pass" and if I can have the implant. My sweet husband is going to take the day off and go with me. That way he can ask the Dr. any questions he might have and also be my extra pair of ears. It is an exciting time but also a bit nerve racking. Please pray for me that all will go well and that I will qualify for this proceedure. The Dr. on friday seemed very upbear about the implant. He kept saying you are going to be amazed at how well you can hear after this. So it sounds like he feels I will qualify for it. The level of hearing that the doctor indicated that I would achieve with the implant far surpasses anything I have been able to get using the hearing aids.

Makes You Wonder!

Yesterday I saw this headline "Eminem Impersonator faces life in prison", makes you wonder what the punishment is for actually BEING EMINEM!!!!! I know I don't want to find out! Have A Great Day!

ENT visit

I saw the ENT today and unfortunately did not get many answers. He really does not know what the problem is. He said it is possible that this is temporary and will clear up but also possible that I have lost more of my hearing and there is no going back from that. He is sending me for a Brain MRI to rule out anything else and also referred me to another ENT that does cochlear implants. They did another hearing test and I can tell a real difference in what I am understanding with regards to my good ear (the one with the hearing aid) for the first time since I lost my hearing at age 5, I am understanding more words in my right ear(un-aided) than my left ear. That makes me think that some serious damage has gone on in my left ear. I still feel like there is fluid on my ears and I am having ringing noises in my ears. Looks like I might be able to get into the other ENT by the end of the year so maybe will know something before too long about the possibility of an implant. All of this makes me question if I want to go ahead with the plans to go to Hawaii. I want to go but wonder if I would enjoy it more if I wait until after CI when I can hear better. I feel very vulnerable in strange places without my aid. Airports make me nervous when I do have my aid, so I am wondering how I will feel about trip. Hubby and I need to sit down and talk about all of this I guess.

Hope Your Thanksgiving Was Happy!

Here's wishing everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! Ours did not go exactly as planned but it was nice anyway! Only negative thing was that we did not get to see my family as planned, but we did get to visit with my husband's family. Looks like we are all about over our colds and sickness too, so that is good news! Thanksgiving is over so I guess it is time to get into the hussle and bussle of Christmas! Best get busy!!!

Things are looking up (a little!)

Sorry if my last post was negative. Things are looking a little better. K is feeling better, still coughing a little but not near as congested. All our plans for Thanksgiving had to be changed but that can't really be helped. I got an appt for the doctor for tomorrow morning (all booked for today) and am going back to the hearing aid guy this afternoon to see if we can't adjust the aid to at least help me a little bit. These last two weeks without my aid and with the ear infections have been very discouraging. I have profound hearing loss in both ears due to mumps when I was 5 years old. I pride myself on being able to function in the hearing world but that all comes to a screaching halt when my aid does not work. I find that I withdraw into myself and I lose my self confidence. I have been looking into cochlear implants but have been hesitant to do so because they have to cut off what hearing you have in order to fit you with the implants and the thought that something could go wrong and I would be worst off than I am now does not appeal to me. However if I lose any more hearing there will be nothing more a conventional hearing aid can do for me. I already wear the most powerful aid made. I have done a little research into the implants and found that my insurance will cover it but still scares me. I have not had the best of luck with surgical proceedures ( things tend to go wrong). I am looking forward to a great Thanksgiving and hope all of you have a wonderful one too!

Bummer Weekend!

K was up most of the night with congestion, so she is sick on her week off. Got my hearing aid back from the repair place and I can't use it. Sounds are totally distorted. Hearing aid guy says aid is fine, I must still have fluid or infection in my ears. Made an appt with ENT but can't get in until Weds after Thanksgiving. So I guess I will go back to regular Dr. on Monday to see what he can do for me. So all our plans for Thanksgiving are being changed, had planned to take K to see my parents but now we will have to stay home and go to dr. on Monday. I hope they are in the office this week, as all the kids in area are out all week for Thanksgiving Holidays. K is a total grump today. We were scheduled to have holiday portraits made today but cancelled that due to K being sick. So basically this is shaping up to be a bummer weekend. This too shall pass, just hope it does soon! Hope your weekend and plans are going great.

Different Talents

I was reading BST's blog this morning and he added some lyrics that a friend of his had made up to the tune of "Days of Elijah" and it just stuck with me all day. It was meant to be humorus and it was but for some reason it just bugged me as I went through my day of house cleaning and errand running. You can go look at it if you are familiar with BST but in a nutshell it was a put down on rich society, how there are starving kids in Africa and we are more concerned with our fancy cars and things. I wholeheartedly agree that we need to concern ourselves with the problems and the people in the world that are hurting but I also believe that God gave each of us our gifts and we should use them to the best of our ability. Not everyone can be a teacher, a preacher, or a missionary . Some must be financial supporters and emotional supporters for those people who do have the God given talents to go out and do the mission work.
We are not rich by any means and whatever we do have, we have because God has allowed us to have it and because we have worked hard to get it. When we were younger, we went on mission trips and we door knocked and played a more active physical role but now that we have a family and responsibilities we play a more supporting role. We give financially and we give emotionally to the Missions. We teach Bible Classes and help support our local congregation. I don't feel like I was a better Christian when I was younger and more active in Missions. Yes, I know that lots of people have families and responsibilities and still put missions first. Thank God that they can use their talents that way. I don't believe that is what God wants for us right now!
I know I am probably taking this way too seriously but like I said it stuck with me all day. We all have a role to play and as long as we are doing what God wants, what is the problem? Let God judge their hearts and just go on doing the best you can!

Which Hotel?

Travel Agent sent me three price quotes for the trip to Hawaii. The most expensive is for Hyatt, then Westin and the cheapest was Kaapannali Shores. Anybody out there got an opinion about one of these hotels or maybe a better suggestion. I guess I need to get a travel book from the library or bookstore and do some more research. I am torn between being my normal frugal (always hunting for a bargain) self and throwing caution to the wind and being a little extravagant with this trip. I guess I need a happy medium somewhere! So Jettybetty, Sandy tell me what to do, I need to make some decisions soon!

Awesome Little Swimmer!

K is doing fantastic with her swimming lessons. I thought those lessons were going to be the death of both of us. She fought me tooth and nail over them but Mama won and she has stuck with them for about 8 or 9 weeks so far! Today she swam the whole length of the pool twice, which is quite an accomplishment for a child who refused to even stay in the water a few weeks ago! I knew she could do it once she made up her mind. This child can accomplish amazing things if she has the desire. If she lacks the desire it is near impossible to get her to do it! She is my little blessing from God, the try-er of my patience, the cutie pattootee, my pride and joy and at times our greatest obstacle for household peace. I think I will keep her! (At least until tomorrow!)

A Bit Better!

I am feeling a bit better and starting to get back into my old routine. I need to go to the school and do some work for K's teacher and then tomorrow I work in the copy room at her school. Life goes on even when Mama gets sick. So far K has not gotten sick, thank goodness for that! Don't have much to say today, just wanted to get off the pity party entry and onto something more positive. Hope all have a wonderful weekend.

Poor Pitiful Me!

My ears have been stuffed up and ringing since Sunday and my hearing aid is broken. I could not go get the aid fixed yesterday because I needed to wait on the furniture repair guys to come pick up the blanket chest that was damaged when the water line burst and flooded the house. While I was waiting for the repair guys, I started sweating like crazy and was dizzy. Then the room started to go dark and I got dry heaves. So I sent my dearest hubby a text message (I need my hearing aid to use the phone) to come home, so he could let the repair guys in and deal with darling daughter when she got off the bus. ( Also just on the outside chance that I did pass out or have a stroke I thought it would be a good idea for him to be home!) Of course the repair guys got here before darling hubby, so I let them in warning them I might have the flu ( I am sure I looked like something the cat drug in and the dog refused to play with!) Once they left, I left the front door unlocked so daughter could get in the house incase hubby was delayed and went to bed. Hubby showed up shortly and was appropriately sympathetic and helpful, kept daughter out of bedroom and later brought me crakers and sprite. Whatever this was lasted about 4 hours and then I was okay.
Today I woke up and still have stuffy ears and it feels like I have battery acid down my throat and my ribs and teeth hurt (what is up with that?) So I drag myself to the doctor, where the nurse proceeds to yell at me because the receptionist told her my aid was broken and she should talk very loudly. I told the receptionist not to talk louder to me but to look at me because I read lips. I can hear the noise I know you are yelling at me but unless I can see your mouth I can't read your lips .But she still told the nurse to yell at me! (I think the receptionist must be related to the doctor because she has been there a long time (5 years) and is not the brightest bulb in the office!) Nurse was very apologetic and stopped yelling at me promptly! Dr. said I have one ear drum bulging in and one bulging out, guess there is a vacuum (or maybe a void) between my ears! Anyway, I have a sinus infection so he gave me two shots (sore bum!) and three different meds to take. I really hope to feel better soon.
I am going to take my aid in tomorrow (if I am not too dizzy to drive) and see if I can get it fixed. When it rains it pours around here. Hubby was sick last weekend and am hoping darling daughter can stay well! So here is my little pity party, tomorrow better be a better day! It has been a no good, horrible, very bad few days!

Saturday Night Wow!

We attended a fundraising concert for SWCC (Southwest Christian College) that was held at our church last night. All I can say is Wow! There was a group from SWCC, A couple of groups from Austin (One Voice and Soldiers of Power), and then some local groups that sang. Wow, it was awesome! It ran long and my 8 year old was getting antsy by the end but it was great! I am surprised the old church is still standing because they raised the roof and rocked the rafters last night. A couple of my friends at church were in charge of getting it together and they were very pleased with the money that was raised last night so I guess it worked out well for everyone. Our church has gone from being a predominately anglo congregation to a nice mixture over the last year or so, due mainly to a split within one of the black congregations in the area unfortunately but their loss has definitely been our gain. We have become good friends with several of the new families and are enjoying the diversity. During the benefit, my daughter said she wanted to attend college there when she grew up and then after seeing the video show she said "but there were no white people there" We told her maybe that will change by the time you go to college. Hopefully by the time she can go to college it will not matter what color you are, no matter where you decide to go to college or worship. Thank you God for making us all different and all special!

Hawaii Lowdown!

Anyone who lives in or has visited Hawaii, please leave me a comment and tell me what to do and what to see when we go for our second anniversary. Please keep in mind that I am over 40 (just barely) and out of shape (not so barely) So surfing is probably right out, although I might could manage jet skis. So if you are listening (or rather reading) out there send me the inside scoop on what to do and see to make this a memorable trip. Thanks in advance. I know that Jettybetty and Sandy will have some good suggestions for me, anybody else? If you haven't been to Hawaii but just have a good travel tip or romantic suggestion, send it on my way!

Lots of Trick or Treaters!

Our little subdivision always has lots of trick or treaters and last night was no exception. Seems like no matter how much candy I buy, we end up giving away most or all of it. Which is good because we certainly don't need to eat the leftovers. It is good to live in an area where I feel safe letting my daughter (she was Cinderella by the way) go around to the neighbors houses. I may have done too good of a job making her feel safe, she had a hard time understanding why she could not eat the candy until we had inspected it. She kept saying "no one would hurt me" or something to that effect. How do I keep her innocent and yet keep her safe? I don't want to scare her but there is no way I can know every family in this neighborhood although we do try to limit her door knocking to the immediate area around our house.
We live in a gated community but it is not real hard to get in ( just follow someone) so we usally get extra carloads of kids for Halloween. In some ways that bothers me that "outsiders" are in our neighborhood but then I realize they are just looking for a safe place for their kids to trick or treat. As long as they are not causing trouble, what is the harm? So I try to soften my attitude and figure that is what Jesus would want me to do.
It is a lot cooler today but it is Nov. it should be cool outside! Hard to believe that 2005 just has two months left. They will be busy ones and fly by I am sure. Hope this finds you and your families enjoying the blessings that God has bestowed upon you. For we are all blessed beyond measure and have so much to be thankful for. Happy Autumn Everyone!

Good Day!

Today has been a good day! Got my hair cut and best I can tell they did not butcher it. I got twenty dollars off a sweater I have been wanting but wouldn't buy because it was too expensive. I went up to the school for a look at the finally finished Guided Reading Book Room ( the one have I spent a million hours in since school started) It was almost finished when I had to take a break to deal with all the repairs on my house and this was the first time I had seen it completely finished. Several people told me they appreciated my hard work in the bookroom and the volunteer coordinator even mentioned my name in the school newsletter. It was not necessary but it is nice to be appreciated (it really was a lot of hard work and long hours in basically a big closet!) Little K has been a lot sweeter today than she was yesterday and big K brought me roses!
Another big weekend awaits us, K has two different Fall Festivals tomorrow and then hubby and I are going out tomorrow night (long overdue) Sunday, hubby will do communion for both services (long morning) and then K has birthday party across town. Maybe we will find sometime to rest in there. We gain an hour on Sunday morning so that will help a little. We have really been enjoying the cooler weather around here, hope it continues but you never know in TX. God's blessings to all of you. Have a great weekend!

Whirlwind Week-Part Deux

Here it is Weds and I feel like I am just now catching up after the past week and weekend. K had a nice birthday party with 4 little girls from her school. We had it at a little teashop. The owner provided them with boas and hats and they had tea and scones. The owner was supposed to spend time with them and give them some etiquette lessons but the shop was overbooked and packed. I knew when we got there that things were not going to go as planned. There was a group of older "society" ladies waiting to go in to have tea. They were mostly dressed in black with the most outrageous hats you have ever seen. One of the hats was a huge spider with black netting as the web. My Mother in Law asked them if they were a "Red Hat Society" and they exclaimed "Oh No Dear, we are the "Mad Hatters" Before the other little girls arrived they latched onto my daughter and took pictures with her. They were quite a group of characters and there were quite a few of them and this was a very small teashop. So the tea party did not go exactly as planned because the owner had to keep leaving the girls to go wait on the other groups. The girls still seemed to have a good time and the owner tried to make up for the inconvience. She gave K a cute little ladybug teapot and charged me less than half of what we had agreed on. MIL was not happy with the situation but K was okay with it so everything was fine.
In Laws breezed out bright and early Sunday morning, did not even say goodbye to me or K. I think they said goodbye to their son but am not sure! Hubby had to be at church early to set up communion for early service, so I was left to deal with a very angry little girl. Sometimes I think that people forget how important little things like saying goodbye are to kids. K got to sing and sign a song with the elementary kids during the baby dedication at church so that helped her mood a little. Sunday afternoon found me running to get a baby gift for a shower I had forgotten about and then attending the shower. It was sweet because this girl had several miscarriages and I had spoken with her in Feb. and she told me that she knew that God was going to answer her prayers and she had not given up hope. Now, her baby boy is due in Dec. Sunday was wrapped up by going to Life Group, end of a long day. Monday and Tuesday were spent getting the last few problems worked out on the work done to the house. Halelujah, it is finished! Also yesterday I was able to find K a halloween costume for about $10, she likes it and it did not cost me a fortune or require a tremendous amount of work on my part. Yeah. She will be Cinderella, originally she was going to be a beauty queen but outfit looks like Cinderella so she is going with that. Last year she was the Statue of Liberty and that costume was a pain to make.
I think maybe we are back to semi normal around her, just the normal everyday life stuff. I think I have had enough excitement for awhile so it will not hurt my feeling to be dull and boring for a few weeks. Hope that God is blessing all of you with a wonderful week!. I apologize for the mis-spelled words but can't get the spell checker to work and am too lazy to go hunt up a dictionary!

Whirlwind Week!

What a week it has been! They finally finished the repairs on my house (well, almost they have 3 things to fix tomorrow) and it looks livable again. The carpet relayers and the carpet cleaners both came on Weds and finally got out of the house about 3:30 ish and K and I left the house for a doctors appt at 3:45, followed by dinner and church. Thursday was K's 8th birthday so it is was a whirlwind of activity all day long. It started out at 6am with:

1. breakfast taco's (which is a big deal because I am NOT a morning person)
2. logged onto the computer so that I could wake up K with an e-card from her Granny and Papa,
3. got K off to school
4.stripped her bathroom of all rubber ducky stuff and redecorated with tie-dye and butterflies.
5 Errands and picking up her cake (while I was doing my errands I witnessed a shop lifter so I had to take a bit of time to report that to the manager)
6. Take Cake and juice boxes to school for party
7. Work for K's teacher at school (2 hours)
8. Party with classmates, blue icing on carpet ( fortunately it is blue carpet)
9. run home to change into swimsuit and do homework
10. Swim lessons
11. Birthday dinner at Magik Time Machine (across town)
12. Home to open Birthday presents
13 Finally everyone to Bed!

Friday Morning I only had a little to do:
1. Get K off to school
2. Workmen doing touch up on the house
3. Try to put back all the furniture and stuff from having three rooms of carpet clean
4. Change sheets on beds
5. clean 3 bathrooms
6. plumber replace pressure regulator valve (dug up front yard and cut off water)
7. welcome in-laws for weekend visit at 3 pm
8. K off bus at 3 pm

Whew, I am getting tired just typing about it, well time to get the dinner going so I will make this Part 1 and continue with Part 2 later. Hope all of you had a much more relaxing weekend than me!

Great Family Retreat

Our family just got back from a great retreat. We went out to Leakey, Tx to the H. E. Butt Foundation Camps. The man who started HEB grocery stores, set up this camp area in a canyon along the river ( don't remember the name of the river) and he allows church groups to hold retreats out there in the spring and fall and then they have youth camps during the summer.
When I was in the Aggies For Christ we used to get to go out there occasionally, it was great then and even better now. They have made a lot of improvements over the last 15 years or so, but even way back then it was the nicest place we went to for the AFC retreats.
Our childrens coordinator and our youth minister did a fantastic job with everything. One of our members is a manager for Red Lobster and he took charge of the food and we ate GOOD! We got a little piece of the Zoe Conference in that several of our members went and brought back the beautiful new songs for us. We had a joyful time praising God and learning these new songs.
One of the best things was that K did not get sick and end up in the hospital this year!!!! Praise God for that! (Last year she caught a virus and had to be hospitalized for dehydration and her birthday party had to be rescheduled. Let's face it, it is hard enough for a kid to be sick but on their birthday, that is just too cruel!) We were able to witness a baptism in the river so that is alway a wonderful thing! Guess I better go tackle the mountain of laundry but I go happily singing "Great is our God, sing with me. How Great is our God...."

Graduate!

It is official now I am a graduate of the Physical Therapy Program. Today was my last day of PT and I passed my evaluation with flying colors. I stuck with it and it really helped my shoulders and neck. The Dr. was really pleased with how far I had come in a few weeks. I am able to sleep all night without waking up every 1/2 hour or so because my arms are numb and I have significantly less pain than before the therapy. I am going to miss seeing everyone at the office but not paying the big co-pay every visit. They gave me some exercises to keep doing at home and said to come back if it starts acting up again. So, yeah for me I stuck with it and am relatively pain free now!

Whoops!

Boy, did I mess up this year! I totally forgot that I needed to get the Cherished Teddie Age 8 Birthday figurine for my daughters birthday ( which is in about a week) K was going through the curio cabinet and she brought out some figurines and asked why we had two of these ( I got a great deal on a set of 13 on ebay and so now I have about 4 that are the same) and she also announced "I will be getting number 8". Lightbulb goes off in Mom's head!
Of course the store does not have #8 (every other stinking # but no 8) so today while K was playing at a friend's house I called every store within 20 miles and of course no one has it. I even looked into ordering it online and they will express deliver it in 4 to 8 working days (still too long and too expensive) So I went on Ebay and found one that ends tomorrow night, it still may not get here by her birthday but at least it will not cost as much. I went ahead and bid on #9 and #10 too, so this won't happen again for a year or two.(depending on if I win the bid of course) I guess I need to put the 4 duplicates back on ebay and try to sell them, I have bought from ebay before but have never tried to sell anything. It is usually easier just to donate my stuff to charity and take the tax write off. Lazy way to go!
Here's hoping that I win the cherished teddie #8 so my daughter will get her traditional bear and Mom will save face this year! I will probably get all three and promptly forget where I hid them for year 9 and 10! Things we do for our kids!

Yeah for the Weekend!

It finally feels like Fall here! It is in the 50's, drizzle rain and the wind is blowing. K performed in a PTA program last night, she did a really good job. It was so cute, all these 2nd graders singing and dancing to these silly songs. K did one about the wild west, complete with rattlesnakes, cactus and wagons. Then, they did a version of the chicken dance. I couldn't help but think this is probably the last year they will be able to get the boys to freely participate, they are going to start saying it is "too girly" to dance before long. They all did a great job.
I guess I am an old stick in the mud but it drove me crazy the way people did not control their small children. Some of the parents let their children run around the cafeteria (where the PTA meeting and program were held) and up on stage, before and DURING the PTA meeting. These kids were making so much noise, we could not hear the speakers. They were walking up to the stage area and clowning for the audience. They repeatedly asked the children to clear the area and had to ask the parents 2X to come get their children so the 2nd graders could perform. Is it any wonder that schools have problems controlling kids when their own parents will not take responsibility for their kids? I had no problem with them running around before the program started but during it was a bit much.
They came out and did the estimate for the repairs of my house today and said they will start fixing it next week! Yeah!!! My parents are back home after being hurricane evacuees for about two weeks. You can just hear the relief in their voices now that they are back home. Today they were clearing out limbs and brush that had blown into their yard.
I bet it is a quiet blogging weekend with so many people at the Zoe Conference, hope they all have an uplifting time. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I certainly plan to have a great one!

Another Prayer Request

It seems like I am posting a lot of prayer request these days but then again, there is a lot of people who need prayers. This one if for my parent's preacher and his wife. His wife is undergoing radiation treatments in Houston, so they are staying with their daughter (who lives in Houston) She is having a hard time and talks of "not making it" and wants her husband with her at all times (very understandable) but he feels torn because he feels needs to be overseeing the repairs of his church (roof and water damage) and helping out his congregation members with their problems. Also their grandson is serving in Iraq and that worries them. So if my blogger friends could lift these folks up in prayer I would really appreciate it.

My parents and brother's family are all still stuck in Ark but hopefully will be going home by this weekend. My parents are older (late 60's and mid 70's) and this is taking a toll on them. They are trying to take care of everyone else and they could use someone to take care of them sometimes.

We are still in a state of disarray due to the water damage but hope to get started with the repairs as soon as the adjuster gets out here. We are thankful that the damage was not worse and that we are still able to live in our house, even if it inconvient right now. Anybody got any really good news to share? We could use some around here! Blessings to everyone!

K- My daughter the Hero!

K saved the day yesterday ( or at least the house) School is out early this week for teacher conferences and K and her little friend S were in the family room watching a video. I had just been downstairs and fixed them popcorn and a rootbeer (this is significant because I had to get the rootbeer from the 2nd fridge which is in the laundryroom). They were fine so I went upstairs to (what else) read my blogs. Not five minutes later, K is screaming for me that there is water in the hall. I fly down the stairs and there is water coming into the familyroom, masterbedroom, hall and laundryroom. The hot water hose to the washer had split and a geiser was shooting up, hitting the shelf over it and literally raining in the laundry room. I start in to turn the water off and realize that first it is hot water and second I have an expensive hearing aid on that will ruin if I go running in there. So a quick detour to remove the hearing aid and then I turned off the water. It was hot but it did not burn me.

What a mess, it was about 2 inches deep in the laundry room and running out the back door into the garage. I got ahold of my hubby ( he just loves to get my phone calls these days!) and called the insurance, they connected me with a water extraction company who came within the hour. So we started moving furniture out of the way and emptying closets ( what a job) They tore up the carpets and cut out the padding, took off baseboards to let the walls dry. They had to cut two big holes in the closet to get to the area under the stairs which was full of water. All of this in less than 5 minutes of running water. They brought in 12 fans and 2 big dehumidifyers and it is noisy and windy in my house now. I know just a little of how hurricane victims feel now.

It is our new family joke that my parents and my brother get the hurricane ( they still have no water or electricity) and I get the flood! How fair is that? The main carpet area affected is the area that we were planning to ceramic tile anyways, so maybe this will spur us on to go ahead and do it.

Today is my day to work in the workroom at school and also I have a conference with K teacher today so I guess I better get hopping. It is good to keep my mind off this mess. All we can really do right now is wait and hope it drys out with no mold forming. Hope all of my friends out there are staying dry and go check your washer hoses RIGHT now!

Prayer request regarding Rita

I heard from my parents last night and they are safely in Ark at the camp house. My mom had emailed me a day or so ago and asked me what I wanted her to save from the house when they evacuated. I wrote her back and said that was a no brainer, I wanted her to save herself and my dad! Then I suggested she take her important papers and her photo albums and leave everything else for the insurance. Nothing in that house is worth dying for, so just leave it. My brother is the Fire Chief in the town they live in so he is not able to leave. So the first prayer request is for him and his family. Then my husbands older brother lives in Houston and has decided to stay home to repair any damage that might occur. They live in the northern part of Houston area so they should not flood. His family left last night and are at my husband's parents place in Dallas. So he is prayer request number 2. I just got back from the grocery store and it is a mad house. The only problem we may have in this area is losing electricity. Our area has not flooded in the 5 years we have been here and we have had some doozy of floods in this area, so it is unlikely we would be flooded but very likely we could lose electricity. The news just reported that it looks like Rita is turning and will go in around the Tx/La border (right where my parents and brother live) that is good news for my area but not so good for my family. Please Pray! This turning of the hurricane also means that New Orleans could recieve a lot of rain which they absolutely don't need!

Survived Another Year (and Birthday!)

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile, it has been a busy week. The weekend was good, hubby and I got some alone time on Friday. We hired a babysitter and went to eat seafood ( darling daughter doesn't like seafood, so it was a good time to go) Nice to be together even if he was in a quiet mood that night. Sat. was filled with errands and picking up the car from the shop, big bucks to get the A/C fixed but after spending most of the summer with subpar A/C enough was enough! Sunday was busy with church and life group activities.

Monday was good in that K went back to school and stayed there! I had my physical therapy and they did not forget me on the bike! After school was dance class and then home to hubby! He had gotten off work a little early (rare thing for him) and wrapped (?) my birthday present. Now by wrap, I mean that he wrapped the box in bubble wrap and put a plastic pink lei (the kind the kids get at parties!) on top. I might mention that he had to walk by not one but two rolls of wrapping paper to even get to the bubble wrap but hey he gets points for wrapping and remembering to get me a present. My bubble wrap present was a shredder! What a romantic guy I have! He did buy me a watch for my daughter to give me and that one actually got put in a gift bag! He had ordered pizza for supper so what more could a girl ask for?

People keep asking me if I had a good birthday! I had an okay birthday but maybe not the most memorable one I have ever had! I have a great husband, a sweet daughter, all the earthly possessions I need and many that I just want (and lots that I neither need or want!) I have family and friends that love me. I have a God who loves me best! So if my birthday was not the most exciting day of the year, so what! I am trully blessed and thankful for what I have. I still have a girls night out this weekend to celebrate with my friends so it ain't over yet!

A quick prayer request, my parents just informed me that they are evacuees from Hurricane Rita! They have a camp house in Arkansas to go to so they are more fortunate than most. Please pray that this will not be another killer storm and no more people will die!

Lesson Learned!

Darling daughter woke up this morning complaining that her stomach hurt. I did not pay much attention as her stomach hurts or she feels like she is going to throw up at least two mornings a week. Usually it is just a matter of getting woke up and dressed to get over being sick. Besides it was picture day and I had ironed her dress ( I hate to iron!) So I sent her off to school on the bus and told her that if she was still sick at school the nurse would call me. The bus left the house at 7:12 and I got the first call from the nurse at 7:55, school starts at 7:45. The nurse said she had been in the office complaining of a stomach ache but did not have fever so she sent her back to class. The second call from the nurse came at 8:05, K had vomitted (fortunately for all she made it to the restroom) so off to school I went to pick her up! I guess I should have believed her. She looked fine when I got there and the nurse even sent us off with a plastic bag to have her picture taken so she would not miss picture day. She probably could have stayed at school but school policy said she had to go home. She has not gotten sick again today and has been eating. She doesn't feel good but it doesn't seem to be a virus. Don't know what it was but hopefully it is gone now. In my defense the school nurse did not think she was sick either and she is a "trained professional" As if I don't have enough guilt in my life. Here's wishing all of you healthy happy children!

Wonderful News!

I just got a call from one of our Elder's sons. He was calling to tell me that his Dad's bypass surgery was a success. You could hear the relief in his voice. He said the doctors were all pleased and that he had seen his dad briefly in ICU and he looked good. Praise God! This Elder is one of the best people I know. He has had a rough summer in that he lost his wife of 52 years suddenly and he has been helping to take care of his terminally ill sister also.

When we first moved to this church 5 years ago, he was the first person that we really connected with. K had eye surgery within just a few weeks of us placing membership and he came to the hospital and sat with us while she had the procedure. He has a powerful love for K and he has been so patient with her. When we first came to church she was so "man shy", she would not even shake his hand but would bury her head every time he came around. He never pushed her but just kept coming back and getting down on her level to talk to her. Over the course of a couple of years, they progressed to hand shakes, then to talking and finally to big hugs. Now she loves him like he is one of her grandparents and always seeks him out at church for her hugs.

So I am so happy that this surgery went well and we can hopefully keep him around for many, many more years. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers and keeping our Brother H. safe.

Physical Therapy

I am finally getting some physical therapy for my shoulders. They have been bothering me for awhile but kinda got put on the back burner while I was dealing with my kidney stone. Funny but shoulders don't hurt much when you have a kidney stone or maybe the pain meds just drowned them out! I like the doctor at this place, he is easy to talk to and seems to listen to me. The rest of his staff I am not so sure about but I will try not to make any lasting judgements until I give them a couple of chances to redeem themselves. One of them put me on a exercise bike, the kind that works your arms too, and told me to do it for 10 minutes. She did not set the timer, and promptly forgot about me. I did not have a watch on so I did not know how long it had been but after the second person came and did their cycling and left I got to thinking maybe I had been forgotten. The arm motion was not so bad but the seat was uncomfortable and boy is my butt sore! Things kinda went down hill from there. I think we overdid the shoulder(with the bike) so the other exercises were painful and I was in tears by the time I got to the doctor. He was upset because he had told the staff not to push me, that the idea was to loosen up my shoulder and it should cause no pain. So nobody was happy by that point! He spent time manipulating my neck and shoulders and that always feels nice and then more exercising and then we end it with the electrode therapy ( whatever they call that, where they zap your muscles) and ice down the shoulder (brrr cold!) This will be my routine for the next 4 weeks, three times a week with daily exercise routine as well. Have I meantioned that I hate to exercise! But I hate shoulder pain and not sleeping more, so wish me luck and pray this works.

Exactly, What do I believe?

I have been struggling with this one for awhile now! Life as my parents and my husband's grandparents view it is so simple. You believe what you have been taught about the church for the last 50+ years. I have been reading a lot of blogs from members of my "denomination" ( although we say we are Non denominational) and some of them are embracing things that fly in the face of my "conservative" upbringing. Even my own congregations seems to be getting wrapped up in this need to be bigger and better and more progressive. Some of the things I accept as outside my comfort zone and not spiritually or biblically incorrect but some just seem wrong. I also question, why we suddenly (or at least it seems sudden) need to make all these changes. Why is change being forced upon people who for what ever reason do not want this change? Why is it not enough that some people are hurt by these actions and are uncomfortable with them in church. It seems like the needs of the people who are uncomfortable with the changes should be equal or perhaps even more weighty than those who are just looking to change things to spice things up. I really fear that if all these changes continue to take place at this fast pace that the end result will not be one of growth but will cause people to leave the congregation . Don't get me wrong I can see the need for some changes and I am in no way as conservative as my parents and grandparents but still question what is the big rush. I have friends at church who are more conservative and friends that lean towards more liberal (although I dispise those two words) and I don't want to lose any of them over these changes. I also don't want to say one group should have more influence over the other, although if I am forced to choose then I think we should err on the side of caution. I don't think the more liberal minded people are going to leave over these things but I think the conservatives just might. I realize that I am being a little vague about all of these but just sharing what has been on my mind for awhile. So I am forced to ask myself "What Do You Really Believe? " "Is this a spiritual issue or a comfort issue?" and "What do I need to do about it?" I know that prayer and serious study time will help and I need to make a committment to do both!

So So Sad!

This is such a sad time, it is really hard not to become seriously depressed. I know that I should not watch so much T.V. or read the internet news all the time because it is affecting me so but it is like I am drawn to it. I think I keep hoping that a little good news will be thrown in but let's face it that's not what they like to report on. Poor Hubby pulled a muscle (or something) in his back this morning, so he is laid out with back pain. It is raining but fortunately my daughter has a little friend over and they are playing nicely together so it is reasonably quiet here. I think I will go read a book or something to take my mind off all the negative and try to focus on the positive for awhile. Here's wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Praise God!

I only know one family that lives in the New Orleans area. A couple that I knew in high school and college from my parents congregation. They were also at A&M during the time I was there. I had not talked to them in years but kinda kept in touch with them through friends at my parents church. Anyway, I got to worrying about them, so I looked up their e-mail address on their church web site and sent them a note, not expecting to hear from them since there is no electricity in the area. I got an e-mail back from D, they are all okay! He works for the electric company in La and they moved him to an office in Little Rock, Ark and of course he is swamped with work trying to get everyone's electricity back on (he works with the computers) so I didn't get a long note but enough to know that he and his family are safe. He did not mention what condition his house was in, just that the family was safe. He is a great Christian guy and he KNOWS that is what is important. I just wanted to share this with you guys in blogland. I am so thankful and happy that my friends are okay!

Way to go Granny and Papa

I just got an e-mail from my Mom (yes, she has figured out how to use her computer and the internet!) She said that she got a call from the church secretary early this morning that there were some hurricane refugees being sheltered at the Bible Chair at Lamar University (in Beaumont,TX) and that they needed some help. So my parents rounded up some donations from fellow Christians and my Dad smoked up some sausage for their dinner. They took bedding and other supplies down to the Bible Chair as well as the food for dinner. Mom was saying how good it felt to actually be able to do something for these poor folks instead of just sitting around watching the news saying "I wish there was something I could do!" I just thought I would share this with my blog friends. I am very proud of my parents. I thank the Lord that he gave me such good parents, who continue to be good examples for me and my family.

Hurricane Victims!

Just wanted to send out a prayer request for all the people affected by Hurricane Katrina. Having grown up on the Texas coast, I am well versed in the danger they bring, with the high winds and rising water. My heart is heavy for the people in the SuperDome, the news says many of them are sick, old and have no place else to go. I can't imagine how uncomfortable they must all be, especially with no A/C and two holes in the roof. Let's all just pray that the damage is minimal and that most can return home soon. Also that cool heads will rule and people will practice patience and goodwill towards each other. Blessings to all of you whatever your situation is right now!

MICK HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!

Rejoice with me, I have managed to pass most of that awful stone! Dr. says I may have a rough weekend ahead as I get rid of the rest of it but the worst should be over soon! I feel bruised and battered but very happy. More news when I feel a bit better! Thanks to all who prayed for me, I know that helped tremendously!

Ahhhhhhh, a little relief!

Things are going better today after a perfectly horrible couple of days. No unfortunately, Mick is still in residence but the stent going from my kidney to my bladder is not. It was just getting progressively more painful with every passing day, so I went to my doctor today and he agreed to remove the stent. It is possible that I could end up in major pain like I had at the beginning but it is not likely. I am looking forward to being able to sleep through the night without having to pee every half hour. I am not walking bow legged anymore. It was one of those things where the cure was as bad or worse than the disease. Dr. says that sometimes removing the stent will jar kidney stone and make you pass it. Here's hoping and praying for that scenerio! Otherwise we are scheduled to blast that Mick to kingdom come on Monday the 29th. Other good news for today, I had my pre-op bloodwork done and the guy got it on the first try (instead of 6th like the last guy) Bless his heart, I almost kissed him! Things are not perfect, I still have a big kidney stone, still have a lot of pain and am still tired but I am so grateful and thankful to be rid of that stent. Thank you Lord for relieving some of my pain! I know I am incredibly blessed and am sorry that sometimes I let the pain and circumstances of life blind me to the fact that I am so extremely blessed.

Add to 7 lists

I forgot a couple of things on the 7 list

Aparently something I cannot do is PASS A KIDNEY STONE without medical intervention.

Celebrity crushes: Mick Jagger (NOT) ( there is a reason that I named my kidney stone after him!)

Ya'll have a good evening, only 6 more days till this stone goes away, Praise The Lord!

7 things

Can't think of anything to blog about today so I thought I would do the "7 things" that I saw on Sandy's blog.
these are not listed in order of importance.

7 things I want to do before I die
1. share the gospel with as many people as possible
2. go to Hawaii (hopefully in Feb. for our anniversary)
3. go to Ireland
4. own a metallic blue Lexus RX330
5. skydive
6. see my daughter baptized, married and have children of her own (in that order)
7. pass this kidney stone!!!!!!

7 things I can do
1. sign language
2. cook
3. sew
4. carry a tune
5. listen
6. teach Bible class
7. love unconditionally (most of the time)

7 things I cannot do
1. skydive
2. lose weight
3. keep my house uncluttered for any length of time
4. swim well ( dog paddle alot)
5. paint and or draw ( can copy pretty well but not creative)
6. accessorize my house
7.turn my back on my Lord and my family

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex

1. sense of humor
2. compassion
3. beard
4. strawberry blonde hair
5. ability to laugh at self
6. Christian man
7. unselfishness
they all describe my darling hubby to a T

7 things I say
1. "oh my"
2. "what did I just tell you?"
3. "I know it was an accident"
4. "you did WHAT?"
5. " hurry, we are going to be late"
6. "I Love You"
7. "we'll see"

7 celebrity crushes
this is hard because I generally find celebrities unattractive because of their lifestyles but I will put down the men I think are physically attractive
1. Mark Consuello ( Kelly Ripa's hubby)
2. Sean Connery (younger version)
3. Pierce Bronson
4. Patrick Steward (star trek)
5. James Denton (desperate housewives)
6. Viggo Mortenson ( aragorn LOTR)
7. Harrison Ford

7 people I want to do this
first seven people to read this blog who have not already done it. Leave me a comment so I can go read it

My Mom got a new computer!

My Mom finally took the big step of buying herself a computer. Actually, she gave us her credit card number and had my husband (our resident computer nerd) buy her one over the internet. Surprisingly, she got it after only a few days, not the two weeks the company said it would take. The first day she got it, it sat on the table. My Dad said "let's open it". Mom says"no way". Day two, she worked up enough nerve to open the boxes and put it on the table. They hooked up all the cables and wires but she refused to plug it in. My brother (who lives in town) told her that he would try to come by and help her get it set up, but that he might not make it over for a day or two so to plug it in and see what happens. Nope, she would not plug it in. Third day, she decides that she will plug it in but the monitor won't come on. So she calls technical support and after a 10 minute wait gets someone in India, they help her figure out that a cable is in the wrong spot and they get it to working. She wants to connect to the internet but feels overwhelmed, after several hours, she braves it and establishes an internet connection and gets her very first e-mail account ( at 68 years of age). Day four, she tries all day to connect to the internet again but can't manage to get it to work, she finally calls me at 8 pm and my wonderful hubby walks her through it all and somehow they get her connected again. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Bless her heart, she is finally in the 21st century! She has drug her heels and has had a few panic attacks along the way but by golly she is here now! Way to go Mama!!! So far she has only called us about 6 times in three days so maybe her phone bill won't be too bad either! I am picking at her a little bit but seriously I am proud of her for overcoming her fears of the internet. Of course, the woman who called her at 4:30 am this morning and greeted her with "I heard you bought a new Dell Computer" did nothing to alleviate those fears. My Mom asked her if she realized that it was 4:30 in the morning and the woman said "Oh, I am sorry I thought this was my cousin"and promptly hung up on her. That is a bunch of bull, no one except Dell knew she bought a computer so it had to be someone at Dell who messed up on the time zones. (calling from India, maybe!) I think I have convinced her they are not spying on her through the internet but we will see. By the way that scum Mick Jagged is still in the house! Aughhhhhhhhh

Bootstrap pulling time!

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired so I am not going to do it anymore. I had promised at the end of last school year that I would help get the reading resource bookroom set up at my daughters new school. I was all ready to get in there once they opened the building ( the second week of Aug) when ol' Mick came for his unwanted (and ongoing visit). OH how I wish that man would leave!!!!! So today I decided that I was going up there and start working no matter how I felt. I put in a good two hours before I had to come home. I am pretty much wiped out but feel good that I got something done. I hope that once this is all over ( either I pass this stone or they zap it with the laser on the 29th) that the doctor can tell me what caused it and how to prevent it from ever happening again. I feel like I have wasted two weeks of my life waiting on this stupid rock to make it's painful journey. I am sick of talking about it and I know everyone is sick of hearing about it. I am going to try to take a Paul approach to this and just accept this as my "thorn in the flesh" and try to go on with life as best I can.

On a more positive note, I have a funny to tell about my 7 year old. She was misbehaving at dinner on Monday night and she had to leave the table before dinner was over (she had eaten most of her dinner so I was not starving the child) and I would not give her anything else to eat that night because she had been "willfully disobedient" So she whined and carried on most of the evening about how we were starving her and how I should give her a second chance. She went to bed that night without anything else to eat but I fixed her a big breakfast the next morning and sent her off to school on the bus. She gets off the bus in the afternoon, all smiles and as we are walking into the house she looks up at me with the big green eyes and the sweetest voice and asks "Mama, do I get to eat dinner tonight?" I could hardly keep from laughing, I said "yes, you may have dinner tonight as long as you choose to mind me" and she said "I will, I will" So, I guess that was a lessoned learned!

AH....The Sound of Silence

I got my house back! It is official, Summer is over! Darling daughter is back in school as of 7:30 this morning and the house is quiet again. Sure did not start out that way though, of all the mornings for us to oversleep. Hubby thought the alarm was set, it was, just not turned on! I had a rough night with ol' Mick and was up and down alot so when I woke up this morning and hubby was still asleep I though it must not be time to get up yet, then I realized it is awfully bright in here for 6 am. It was 6:51 am!!!!!! Major Panic attack! So everybody flew into action, I fixed DD some breakfast and DH got her up. He was a little confused and had her brush her teeth before breakfast but "no harm, no foul" She just brushed them again after she ate. We got her fed, dressed , brushed, took the traditional in front of house picture and were in the car by 7:15 and at school before 7:30. She is so big now, she was so focused on getting into her classroom, she did not even tell us bye. We called her back for last minute hugs and pictures. I hope that she has a wonderful first day of school and I pray that God blesses all the teachers at her new school with patience and knowledge for they are caring for our most precious gifts. Blessings to all of you!

Open House Tonight!

Tonight we are going to my daughters open house to meet her teacher and classmates. This is a brand new school and K will be attending 2nd grade there. We had a serious overcrowding problem at her last school and so the district opened up three new elementary schools in this area. However, we are already at capacity with this school so I don't know what the district is going to do now. I have watched this school built from the ground up and am excited to finally get to see it finished. K will have some of the same classmates but almost all the teachers are new and it is a new environment, so she has a little anxiety about starting school on Monday. Hopefully, seeing the school and meeting the teacher will put her more at ease about it all. The last two years have been great so I hope and pray this year will follow suit. Keep us in your prayers.

Mick Jagged

We decided that the kidney stone needs a name so he has been named Mick Jagged because he is trully a Rolling Stone. I thought it should be a guy because a girl would not give me this much grief and would definitely make her presence known and then get on out of there. This guy is rolling around having a good old time, oblivious to my pain. Seriously, we just thought that was a funny name! My parents have been here helping out this week but are going home tomorrow. My Dad lost a filling yesterday so he need to get on to his dentist, he says it doesn't hurt but that can change quickly. I went back to the urologist today and he is scheduling me for more surgery in a couple of weeks. There is a chance that I may still pass the silly thing but it is looking less likely all the time. Apparently it is Kidney Stone Season and they are having a run on surgery appt so it is going to take a couple of weeks to schedule me in! He said that the surgery would be a lot like the stent procedure but that he would blow the stone to bits with a laser, I asked him why he did not do that while he was in there on Friday and he said well that was an emergency proceedure and he was just trying to allieviate my pain. I am sure there were some insurance issues involved and face it, he makes more money doing two proceedures. So that is where we stand with the lovely kidney stone. I appreciate my parents help so much and I know I am still in for a few rough days but school starts here monday so maybe things will be back to semi normal and who knows maybe that silly stone will make its appearance and there will be no need for more surgery. Please keep us in your prayers.

Warning: Blogging Causes Kidney Stones!

Or at least is seems that way! Weds. morning I woke up with the most horrible pain in my right side and I am thinking too high for appendicitis, too low for gallbladder, what is this? After 4 hours in the ER, ultrasound and CT, we have found the problem: a lovely kidney stone! They send me home with lots of pain medicine and an appt with an urologist on Thurs. Thurs I see the doctor, he thinks I can pass the stone in a few weeks(?????) without surgery by just using pain meds.(So what am I supposed to do put my 7 yr old on hold for a few weeks?) I am wary but go on home. Thursday night, vomit all night long, I can't keep the pain meds down, I can't sleep, poor hubby can't sleep. Miserable night. Friday, surgery to place a stint in to alleviate the vomiting and hopefully doctor can pull out that sucker. Nothing medical is ever easy with me...they tried 6 times to place the IV, poked and dug around so much, both arms are sore. Finally got it on the last try ( that was stupid to write, of course they got it on the last try, what was I going to do say, "stick me once more just for fun!") Doc was able to pull out some of the stone, and showed it to my husband. Told him that he had learned from experience not to keep pulling if stone did not want to come out. So, what I am wondering is if he can't pull it out, how am I supposed to get it out? Anyway, they sent me on home last night. It was a much better night, I still woke up every couple of hours but I wasn't vomiting anymore and the pain was not as bad. I feel as though I have been hit by a truck (or at least what I imagine that must feel like, not ever actually enjoyed that experience). Sandy, I can definitely relate to your little boy, because it hurts to pee! I can at least understand it a little I know he is so confused. I am still on drugs so I apologize if this post is incoherent or misspelled. I know I have some rough days ahead but I have been blessed with the best family and friends. My friend Carrie, kept my little girl during the day on both Weds. and Thurs and then my friend Joy, called and asked my daughter over for a play date on Friday (at the exact time I found out I needed the day surgery) How is that for God supplying exactly what you need, when you need it! It was amazing because Joy did not even know that I was having the kidney stone problem! I can't even write this without crying because of my fantastic husband. He has been right beside me every second since I called him at work Weds. morning and told him how bad I was hurting. He is my best friend and protector. I thought he was going to slug that nurse last night because he could not get the IV going and was hurting me so badly, hubby does not get mad easily or quickly but he was not happy with that nurse. I apologize for the long post but please keep me in your prayers for a quick recovery, school starts next week so we need to get back to normal around here.

Similarity in Kids

I recently got a chuckle out of a post by my friend, TMK about her son finding some old pictures and wanting to know who the guy was with Mom and did Dad know about him. Today I am writting a comment on a blog and my 7 year old daughter wants to know "Who is Mark? ( Minister from a church we used to attend in VA) and "does Daddy know about him?" Yes. Finally she winds it all up with "Should I be concerned about this?" I assure her that neither herself or her Dad needs to worry about this but wonder where she picked up these ideas. Seems like 7 year olds should be worrying about dolls and if they can have ice cream for dessert, not whether it is wrong for Mom to write a man a note. World sure is changing! I think that my family is removed from the threat of divorce (as the only D word my husband and I know is DEATH, as in "one of us may die but there will be no divorce!") but I guess it does touch my daughter and there is some fear there. I think I will close and go kiss my husband and reassure her a little that he is the only one for me!

And so it begins...

After spending several months reading other people's blogs and hearing my husband say " you really ought to start your own" I am ready to take the plunge. I am not sure I have anything worth sharing but some people say I have a funny way of looking at life. So here we go, SPLASH !!!