Prayers Please!

My Dad was just taken to the ER with heart problems. My Mother is in the hospital in another town with blood clots in her feet. My whole immediate family is down and out with cold/flu symptoms so I can't go and help our till we get better. Please pray for my brother as he is dealing with both my parents being hospitalized in two different towns (about 15 miles apart) Thanks!

Christmas 2007

May your Season be filled with Love, Laughter and the Knowledge of the Love of Our Lord! May God bless us everyone!

Back with Mom and Dad

Hello, I am here with Mom and Dad for a few days. Mom is about the same although she is eating better this week. It is good for me to be here to give Dad a little break, it is like having a child in the house again for him. That is difficult when you are 76 years old, but it is sweet to see how gentle he is with Mom. We have found she eats more if we feed her (I guess it is because she does not have to expend the energy to lift the fork or spoon) but he is really sweet with her, encouraging each bite and calling her "my sweetheart". It's one of those breaks your heart but warms it at the same time. Mom seems a little more lucid than she was the last time but you really have to engage her and keep her on track and focused to get a good response from her. Today we are waiting for the home health aid to come and give Mom a bath, they are supposed to come 3 days a week but so far have only come once in a weeks' time. They need to do better than that.


Tomorrow Mom goes back to the doctor and possibly will have a chemo treatment. We will see how that goes. I am hoping to return home on Weds or Thursday so I can be at my daughters' class party on Friday. I am one of the room mom's so it would be good if I could make it. I just wanted to give you an update on what is going on, I will update as needed.

Back Home (for a little while at least)

I was really conflicted on Friday whether or not to leave my parents and come home. My brother had been out of town all week and was due back at noon but I just was nervous about leaving. I was praying that God would send me a sign so I would know what to do. I texted my husband to talk to him about it and he told me that he was at home that our daughter's school had called and she was sick. So the decision was made, so I said a little "Thank You Lord" and came home. She was very ready to see her Mama and I was very ready to see my family!

I am still very conflicted but know I need to be here for a little while longer. I sent daughter to school today as she did not get sick yesterday at all, but she had a bout of diarrhea so they sent her home again. She has not had anymore so I think it was just a one time thing. Hopefully she will be well enough to go to school tomorrow as I really need to get some shopping done this week.

Mom has taken a downward turn and is not doing good. She is wandering around the house at night and unable to take care of her basic needs. Dad was taking her to the doctor this morning, so we will see what the doctor recommends but I feel at the very least they need to get a visiting nurse out to the house. Not much I can do from 300 miles away but I know that my brother is helping Dad out so it will be okay.

I am trying to decide whether to take my daughter with me next time I go. I am not sure Mom would even know she was there. I need to weigh the benefits to my parents with the harm it might do to my daughter. I was talking with our Children's Minister and she told me that her son was 9 when his grandmother died and he told her years later that he wished he had not seen her when she was so sick but just had the memories of her being healthy. I know I can't shield her from death but am wondering what good it would do to bring her into the grim situation.

I continue to seek your prayers for my whole family as we deal with this sad time.

With My Parents Now

Hello Friends, wanted to let you know that I am with my parents now and have been here since Sunday. I was shocked by how much my Mom's condition had changed since Thanksgiving. She has lost 10 lbs since then and all she does is sleep. We took her to the oncologist who prescribed several medicines and started her on chemo on Tuesday. She tolerated the chemo pretty well but it is a long shot that it will help but we try to think positively. Yesterday was long, as we had to be at chemo center early and Mom was very weak but we made it through the day. Today has been a little better with Mom eating more than she had been. I stay on her case always handing her something to eat or drink. She eats better when I am here with her, so I fear if I go home she will stop eating again. Please continue to pray for us as this is a very hard time for the whole family.

The News Was Not Good

I wish I could tell you that it was all just a big mistake with my Mom but unfortunately I can't. The doctor called on Tuesday and said that it was cancer. They are supposed to be setting her up with an oncologist near her hometown. The doctor says that chemo will not prolong her life but will make her more comfortable. We hope to hear something about that this week. Dad came through his surgery fine and is healing well. He will begin his radiation treatments after Christmas.

We spent Thanksgiving with my hubby's parents to allow my parents to rest. My Mom was still very weak and needed lots of rest, so we felt it was better not to bring our daughter up. Hopefully, Mom will regain some of her strength and will be able to enjoy Christmas.

Thank you for all your prayers during this difficult time, please continue to pray for all of us.

Update on my parents!

We spent a long day at the Medical Center on Friday. We spent the morning with my Dad and his news is quite promising. The doctor feels the cancer was contained to the spot they removed from his ear. They will remove his earlobe on Monday but will not be getting into the lymph nodes at all. After Christmas, they will give him 5 radiation treatments over the period of three weeks and then he will just need routine follow ups to make sure it does not return.

The afternoon was spent at Baylor College of Medicine with Mom. The news there was not good. The doctor feels that she has a pancreatic tumor (not cyst because it is solid, not fluid filled) and that it has already moved into her liver. They will do a biopsy of her liver on Monday and if then we will know for sure if it is cancer. The doctor recommends chemo for as long as she can tolerate it but says it will not cure this only keep her more comfortable. This was not the news we were looking for.

So tomorrow morning, my brother will bring my parents over to Houston and Dad will have his surgery beginning at 7 am and then about 9 we will take my mom over to St. Luke's in Houston for her biopsy. My brother will stay with Dad till he gets through and then bring him over to St. Luke's to wait for Mom.

We are thankful for Dad's good news but are hoping there is some mistake with Mom's. Please continue to pray for us during this difficult time.

Calling All Prayer Warriors!

Please continue to pray for my folks. They both have important Dr. visits this Friday and then Dad has his surgery scheduled for Monday morning. Please pray that my Mom's problem is not cancer and that Dad's is contained and completely removed with this surgery.

Please pray for my little family too as we are separated during part of this time. Pray that we will have safe travel and the good Lord will bring us all back together safely.

Pray for peace for all of us from the stress and the discouragement that Satan is throwing in our paths. God WILL use this situation for His Glory!

Thank you all for your support during this difficult time! Blessings to you all!

From a Camel to Dolly Parton!

Thought I might get your attention with that post title! When I was with my parents a couple of weeks ago, we visited with my Aunt and Uncle one evening and were discussing Maggie's unhealthy obsession with chewing power cords. My Uncle told me to get Pigs ears for her to chew on to curb her habit. I checked them out and found they were much cheaper than Bully Sticks (I guess that makes sense, 2 per animal verses 1 per animal--if you don't understand that line then "google" the words "bully sticks" and you will!) Maggie has never had any problems with bully sticks so I thought she would be fine with pigs ears. Turns out they do not agree with Maggie puppy at all and gave her a nasty case of colitis along with vomiting and diarrhea! So yesterday, after arriving home to a royal mess and cleaning up said royal mess, I took her to the vet.

I knew I needed to get her well quickly or I would have probably nursed her back myself. The Vet gave her some antibiotics and special food. They also gave her some hydration to ward off the dehydration she was experiencing due to the vomiting and diarrhea. I had never seen anything like this. I thought they were going to give her an IV but they came back in with Maggie and she had this hump on her back. They had injected the saline solution under her skin between her shoulder blades. She looked like a camel, okay a White, Fluffy Camel but still a camel (I wish I had taken some pictures--it was too funny) So we brought her home and she started to feel better and move around a little more. About 8 or 9 pm I noticed her hump had gone down quite a bit but now she had boobs! We laughed and said she had a saline breast implant! This morning she is looking more like a teen girl going thru puberty than Dolly Parton but she is still pretty jiggly!

So Maggie is on the road to recovery, the pigs ears are being thrown out and my pocketbook is substantially lighter! Oh well, you gotta laugh or you'll spend all your time crying!

Rejoice With Us!

Our daughter put on her Lord Jesus Christ in baptism yesterday. She had been talking about baptism for some time and studying with her Dad. I was concerned that she was so young (just turned 10) so I found a couple of Bible studies for her to do and we talked to some people at church about was she old enough. Every question anyone suggested that we ask her, she knew the right answer. In the middle of church yesterday, she leaned over to her Dad and told him "I need to be baptized, I want to be with God"

So my husband told me what she said and I took her out to talk to her. She had all the right answers but I was still concerned that she was not emotionally ready. I found one of our Elders and he sat down and questioned her too. He said he believed that she was ready, so on Nov. 4, 2007 at about 12 noon, she was baptized by her earthly father for the forgiveness of her sins, so she will always be with the Heavenly Father now!

This was the day her Dad and I had prayed for and hoped for all these years. As with most things in my life, it did not happen the way I envisioned it but Praise the Lord that it happened!

MD ANDERSON ROCKS!

Just a quick update. I got back home this afternoon. It was a long drive (5 hours) and two separate cops tried to kill me in Houston (they drive crazy there) but thankfully I am home in one piece. I will write about the cops another time.

My Dad had his test at MD Anderson on Tuesday and then we went home that evening and came back on Thursday for more test. Mom had test at the local hospital on Thursday before we left for Houston and then again on Friday Morning. We have not gotten any information back on any of those test yet.

MD Anderson is an amazing place and I am totally impressed with how well they run things. The doctor seemed pretty confident that my Dad's cancer was confined to the earlobe and that he would not need extensive surgery or treatment but won't know for sure until the test are back and he goes in and looks at the area. One of the test he took was a PET scan which injects a radioactive isotope into his body and then scans his whole body for any changes. It come out as a color change if there is cancer anywhere in his body.

Mom is doing better everyday but I am glad that I was able to go and help them out a bit. She is still feeling poorly and they are just treating the symptoms now, not really knowing the full extent of what the problem is, so hopefully they can find out what it truly is and fix it soon.

Please continue to pray for them to get good results back. I am happy to be back with my little family and am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. Blessings to you all.

Prayers For Papa! (and Granny!)

My daughter calls my Dad, Papa--(which makes for some confusion because we also call my husband's grandfather Papa but add his last name to cut down on some of the confusion) and has always had a close relationship with him. About three weeks ago, my Dad had a skin cancer removed from his ear, the doctor assured them that it was nothing but sent it off to the lab to be sure. Well, you guessed it turns out to be malignant and the worse kind of skin cancer. Funny but somehow my Mom knew that it was not benign and was worried about it all along.

After waiting forever for an appointment at MD Anderson, they will go tomorrow to see what the treatments will involve. The local doctor did not paint a very rosy picture for them, stating that it would be a long and difficult journey.

So I have some very specific prayer request for my blogging friends--

1. Pray for the cancer to be gone.

2. If it can't be gone, pray that it is contained and treatable. Pray for the doctors involved to make the correct decisions.

3. Pray for safety as we travel, my brother is bringing them from their house and I am driving to Houston from San Antonio.

4. Pray that my Mom will continue to heal and feel strong as she takes care of my Dad. She has been sick for the last few weeks (almost hospitalized last weekend)

5. Pray for my husband and daughter as I will be away for a few days. My daughter does not always handle change very well, so please pray that God blesses her and gives her peace.


UPDATE- My Mom (AKA Granny)had an abdominal ultrasound today that shows she has a pancreatic cyst. The doctor says it does not look like cancer but she will need additional treatment and test to be sure. He agreed that she could wait until the situation with my Dad and MD Anderson is worked out and they have a treatment plan for him in place. But wants to see her as soon as it can be worked out. So looks like both of my parents will be undergoing medical treatment in the very near future.

Thank You In Advance For Your Prayers!

Some Funnies!

I got this off of Heather's blog but don't think she will mind if I borrow it




After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a “gripe sheet,” which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS ‘ pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit
S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That’s what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you’re right

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.


Do you have a favorite? If so leave me a comment and tell me which one!

Castaway Cay

Think I will write about this day later but wanted to go ahead and show you some pictures of this beautiful island.





The first two beach pictures are of the family beach, which was crowded but not unbearably so, you could still find lounge chairs and move around without any problems




The last two pictures are of the adult beach. It was on a different side of the island that you reached by tram or bike. The water was much clearer on the adult beach and it was very open and relaxing. Not crowded at all.

Nassau

The second day of the cruise we were docked at Nassau. We did not plan any excursions that day so we left DD in the Oceaneer's Lab to play with her new friends and we went ashore to walk around a bit. I was a little nervous walking around because there were so many people trying to sell you things, they would reach out to hand you stuff or touch you on the arm to get your attention. It just really made me nervous.

So after a little walking around, we just went back to the ship. Hubby was starting to get a cold or allergies so he took a short nap before we hit the Adult pool. DD beeped us that she was ready to be picked up a little before dinner, so hubby took her to the kids pool and I got ready for dinner. On the Disney cruise you rotate between their three restaurants but keep the same wait staff at all three restaurants. Tritons was the dinning room of our second night and the more formal of the three. So we dressed up a little and when we got there the wait staff immediately tied pirate scarfs on our heads ( well, tried to on me, I opted to wear mine around my neck) as it was Pirate Night on the Disney Wonder. After dinner was another show, this one was called the Golden Mickey's. It was like an awards show with disney movies and characters.


The last activity of the second day was The Pirate Party up on deck. It starts out with Disney Characters dancing and then the Pirates take over the ship. In the end, Mickey flies in on a high wire and saves the day. Then the fireworks go off. It is a lot of fun for all with music and dancing. I think Disney is the only ship that shoots off fireworks.
By this time, DD was getting a little tired and cranky but not ready to give up activities for the night so we had a little melt down but all was made better by the arrival of cookies and hot chocolate delivered by Room Service! And so was the 2nd night of the cruise!

More to Come.....

Cruising with Mickey Mouse!

Since we were unable to really take a vacation this summer, we decided to take advantage of darling daughter having half days (due to teacher conferences) and take a family vacation in October. We started out by flying into Orlando on Southwest Airlines, which worked out great for us because it was a direct, non-stop flight and for the most part cheaper than other airlines. We used on line check in 24 hours before and we able to snag group A 5-7 which meant we boarded in the first group after the wheelchair folks were put on the plane. Trip to Orlando was uneventful, we caught a complimentary shuttle to the Holiday Inn Express spent a comfortable night, got a better than continental breakfast (free) and caught the shuttle back to the airport.

We checked in with Disney and waited maybe 20 minutes before boarding a bus to Cape Canaveral. The trip is about 45 minutes long and they show a video (with captioning) during the trip so you are occupied with seeing the ship and knowing what to expect when you arrive at the port. Going through security at the port was painless, we had about an hour wait before we could board the ship but there were interesting things to see in the terminal. They had a mock up of the ship, they had Character greetings and photo opportunities, so the time went very quickly. You enter the ship in groups, we were in group 3. Once you pass though the giant Mouse Ears, you have your portrait made in front of a giant map with Hidden Mickeys in it. Then as you board the actual ship, they announce your family....Disney Cruiseline is proud to welcome aboard the xxxxxx family and everyone claps. Then you are greeted by another castmember (CM) who gives you information about where they are serving lunch and reminds you that you may not enter your cabin until 1:30.

We went to lunch at Parrot Cay (pronounced KEY), which is a brightly decorated Caribbean themed restaurant. For lunch it was a buffet but there were still waiters to seat you, take your drink order and pick up after you. Disney is big on sanitation, so at every meal you are greeted by CM's who hand you sanitizing wipes for your hands. There are also sanitizing gels available through out the ship. The buffet was good but not exceptional. They had lots of salads, cheese and deli meats, a few main dishes, a kids area with Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc...
Then they had two dessert areas, one with cheesecakes, tarts, brownies, etc... and one where you could make your own ice cream sundaes. The food was the only real area that I don't think Disney excels at, it was good but I felt the food on the Royal Carribean Cruiseline was better.

After lunch we looked around the ship awhile before going to our cabin (after 1:30) The cabin was bigger than the one we had on Royal Carribean (RCCL) and had more closet space and drawers. I liked the bathroom set up, there were two rooms, one with a tub and sink and the other with a sink and toilet. The bathtub was small by household standards but huge compared to RCCL.

I unpacked while Darling Husband and Darling Daughter went swimming and then at 4 pm we had the Mandatory Evacuation Drill. All went smoothly, much faster than on RCCL. Then we all headed updeck for the Bon Voyage Party. Lots of music and dancing (and a little rain) We had dinner at 6 pm at Parrot Cay and then a show in the theater- Hurcules- The "Muse"ical. The production was great. Unfortunately, Hubby was suffering from seasickness by this point, so he went to bed, I let DD go to the Oceaneers Lab (Kids program) for a couple of hours and I just roamed around the ship seeing where everything was and getting oriented. So was the first day of our Disney Cruise!

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Bahama Mama...

and Daddy and Baby! Just a short post to say we are back from our cruise to the Bahamas on the beautiful Disney Wonder! Unfortunately, we came back with more than just memories as we are all a bit sick with allergies. I will update about our trip soon.

Disney does themeparks AND cruises very well!

Deaf Humor!

Hello Friends,

I got some really funny deaf cartoons in the mail this week but I am not sure about the copyright laws regarding posting them here, so go to this website and look at the t-shirt section and it if you click on the pictures they will pop up and you can see the cartoons. Funny and so accurate!

Folks, I am not sure this dog is going to live much longer. I just don't know if I am going to be the one to do her in or if she is going to take herself out. I just went to the bathroom and in the 3 minutes I was gone, she jumped up onto the table and was chewing on my brand new watch. (The one I got for my birthday last week) Yes, I know it is my fault for leaving the watch down but it rubs when I use the laptop so I pull it off and then put it back on once I am done with the computer! I could understand if it was a leather band but it is an all metal watch (bracelet type)Do you think she has Pica disorder? She HAS backed off on the power cord habit so that is good. Why can't we ever get a normal dog? Or is that a misnomer?

Hope you all have a great weekend! Blessings!

Can You Believe, She Struck Again!

Yep, we have another item in our house with a decapitated plug. This time she crawled behind the couch to get to it and had it in multiple pieces before I could even get to her. (if you have no clue to what I am referring to, please read my previous post)

So the dog is now in "time out" in her crate! I really don't wish for her to spend her entire life in the crate but am running out of ideas on how to stop her from chewing. She had already had two chew bones this morning!

It's A Good Thing She's Cute

Because if she were not so cute, she'd definitely be dead now! Now before you all go calling the SPCA on me. Let me disclose that no Dogs were harmed in the writing and producing of this blog!


This dog must have 9 lives like a cat because she has developed an unhealthy habit of chewing through power cords. Maggie's first victim was the A/V cable to the Karoke Machine which was plugged into the machine which was plugged into the wall socket when she chose to chew the plugs off.
Then I caught her licking the end of the computer cord while it was plugged into the wall socket. Her second victim was the afore mentioned laptop cord, she managed to completely decapitate the plug in a matter of seconds.
Maggie's third (and we hope final victim is the fan plug which again in mere seconds she managed to almost decapitate. Sorry, victimization number three just occured so I do not have a picture yet.

Now before you all start filling my comment box with all your helpful suggestions on how to stop her there are a few things I wish to remind you of

1. She can do this in a matter of seconds, so it is hard to stop her once she has a cord in her mouth.

2. I have tried Nature's Miracle Best Behavior spray (which is supposed to stop chewing) and Tabasco (this works a little but stains if you get too much on!) We used Bitter Apple with our other Bichon and it did not work so well either.

3. We have given her loads of toys and chews. Bullysticks, rawhides, Kongs, balls, you name it we got it!

Keeping those three thoughts in mind, if you have some ideas on how to stop this irritating and dangerous behavior please feel free to leave me a comment! My Husbands suggestion for a solution is to leave the cords plugged in,,,,he thinks in time that will take care of the problem! But I think that is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Maggie also managed to climb up in a chair and onto a table and snatch a pair of fingernail clippers. When I found her she had dismantled the clippers into three parts but had not actually eaten any of the parts. It really makes me wonder what the dog has eaten that we don't know about. CRAZY DOG!!!!

What Do You Think About The Blue?

Ps. Maybe I should use this as my portrait on the blog.....it looks a lot like me...short, round and with black circles under my eyes!!!!!

Did Ya'll Know There Was a Hurricane?

My Mom got on chat (instant messaging) with me yesterday and was complaining that she was tired. I am like "why are you tired Mom?" and she said "well I did not get much sleep with the Hurricane coming through here and all."

WHAT HURRICANE? Apparently, there was a tropical storm sitting in the Gulf, just offshore of Houston and it became a Hurricane and the eye went right over my parents town! The national weather service did not even call a Hurricane Warning, it happened so fast! Most of the town lost power (but not my parents) and they had some wind damage to the area. My parent's patio cover lifted up and got folded back onto itself, so they are waiting to hear from the insurance people.

Guess my brother is busy again, he is the Fire Chief and has to go around rescuing people and making sure the places are safe. Fortunately, it was just material damage in their main area and no one died. Although in a town nearby they did have a man killed when part of his house collapsed. That area was really hard hit during Katrina two years ago, it is sad that they got hit again.

It is funny, all the years we lived there, I can't remember evacuating (we came close once or twice) and just vaguely remember some wind or water damage once every 10 or 15 years and now twice in two years time, they have had a direct hit! May be time to start thinking about moving farther inland.

I guess I need to check out the Hurricane tracking website more often huh!!!! Oh What a Bad Daughter I am!!!! Just glad they are all safe and sound!

Yes, we are all still alive here!

I haven't been real good about keeping my blog updated but here goes for the couple of you who still read me. School is back in session here, we are getting back into the routine of things. Darling daughter is doing well so far in school. They have already put me to work in the copy room and I will work for darling daughters' teacher on Weds. They strongly believe in volunteers in this school district.

We are still working with the signers at church. Some of the kids are learning a song to perform at a fund raiser for SWCC in a few weeks. We have held this fund raiser at our church for the past few years and it is always a lot of fun with some really good singing. This is the first year that the signers have been asked to perform, it should be a lot of fun for the kids....they range in age from about 7 to 17.

We are taking a trip soon and I will be posting about that later. You know how I like to leave you guys hanging and in suspense! Actually, that is the only way I know of to get people to read my blog. :0)

Stacey is going home!

Hey everyone, I heard from my Aunt today and Stacey is being released from the hospital. Please continue to pray for her, as she has a long way to go on the road to recovery. I thought she was going to rehab but from the email, it does not sound like she is going at least not at this time. Thanks to all of you who prayed for her recovery and posted comments on this blog. It was a great comfort to my family that so many people were praying for her.

No News Is Good News

I guess? I am more of a "needs" to know sort of person, I can deal with anything except "not knowing". But we really don't have any news to share right now, it is totally a waiting game with Stacy. My Mom said she is improving everyday but they still don't know what kind of brain damage was done by the drugs. This will be a long difficult recovery I am sure. Thank you all for your prayers, I think she is out of immediate danger now but still could use your prayers.

School started yesterday, darling daughter has made it to the bus on time both mornings. She seems to like her teacher and may be making some new friends. I wish she would, I am not too crazy about some of the ones she has right now but that is a post for another day!

It is nice to have the house back but a little quiet around here. I am trying to get the laundry and cleaning caught up before I work at the school on Thursday. Hope you all are having a blessed week.

Update on Stacy

My parents went to see Stacy today. This is what I know about the situation, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Stacy had been having major back problems and had back surgery 3 weeks ago. She was seeing Pain Management Doctors and they had her on a "pain cocktail" which I don't know much about but am assuming it is mixture of different pain medications. Apparently, she was taking the medication and either forgetting she had already taken it or doubling up on it. They think the overdose actual occurred over several days time until her body just could not handle it. One of my cousins is a nurse and said they call it "rebounding" or something like that.

Anyway, she is still unconscious and in ICU. They are waiting until the drugs have totally left her system before doing an MRI to see if she has brain damaged. All the functions below the neck are okay but they don't know about the brain yet. The plan is to send her directly to rehab if she comes out of this without major brain damage.

Mom said she saw her briefly and she was showing some eye movement so that in itself is encouraging. So now we wait! Thank you all for your prayers, please continue to pray for Stacy and her family. If she is fortunate enough to come out of this without brain damage, she still has a long hard road ahead

Urgent Prayer Request!

My Mom just called and she got a call from my Aunt and Uncle saying they found my cousin, Stacy (age 41) unconscious. Stacy is in ICU but my Mom said she thought my Aunt said the doctors could not find any brain activity.

Please pray that the information about no brain activity is wrong and that the doctors can help Stacy. My Aunt and Uncle have been through a lot in the last few years, they lost a son to suicide, and now may lose their only daughter as well. My Aunt recently had a stint put in her heart so her health is not real good either.

I know there is power in prayer, so please lift up Stacy and her family.

Thanks

Update- My Mom talked to my Uncle a little while ago and Stacy is still in ICU, she has kidney and liver function but they will not know about her brain until they do an MRI, which may not be done until tomorrow. My parents are going to the hospital tomorrow AM, they are about 2 hours away and will let us know more then. It appears to be a waiting game at this point. Please continue to pray that she can recover from this.

Darling Daughter and one of her friends were playing upstairs a bit ago. HSM2 soundtrack was blaring, the keyboard was turned way up and they were dancing around the gameroom having a grand old time. All the sudden I heard KABOOM and the house literally shook. I made it up the stairs in record time....I thought the loaded bookcase must have fallen on top of them (maybe they had climbed it trying to reach the CD player).

No, Darling Daughter had climbed on top of the desk and turned the whole thing over along with the computer. This is an old old desk and it is huge (and heavy) It is amazing they did not get hurt. The computer is another story, I have not turned it on yet but inspected it as I put it back on the desk. The monitor case is all out of alinement but the glass did not break. Fortunately, it is an old desktop computer that we rarely ever use anymore. As I was cleaning up the mess, darling daughter was trying to be helpful (I guess) suggesting perhaps we should just get rid of the old computer since we never use it anymore anyway. I suggested this might be a good time for her to just be quiet as I was grunting and sweating trying to upright the heavy desk and put the computer back together!

Hubby will have to test it all out when he gets home but I think the computer may not have survived it. The wireless router went down with the ship also but seems to be in working order since I can still use the laptop. I suggested to the girls that they try really hard not to give me anymore surprises today as I just don't think my heart can take it!

She's Back (but she's going again!)

Darling Daughter is back home again. The In Laws brought her back on Weds. (a day early) and I was so glad to see my baby girl! She is leaving again this evening to attend a Birthday/High School Musical 2 party!

Hubby and I were going to rent a movie and have a cuddle up on the couch and watch something other than Disney night but then the doorbell rang. UPS delivered his beloved Wii (it has been at the Nintendo Corp. being repaired!) So I am pretty sure our evening will involve playing Wii games! Oh well, I am sure we will have an enjoyable evening just being together!

Hope you all find something fun and cool to do on this hot August evening!

Road Trip!

That's right I went on a road trip with my girlfriends last week. The 4 of us piled into a Honda Odyssey about 7 am last Wednesday and headed for Cloud croft, NM. It was a 654 mile trip one way. We had a blast! One of the girls' parents have a cabin there and we were able to spend a few days enjoying the beauty of the mountains and getting to know each other even better.

I have some quirky friends, but that is okay because I am pretty quirky myself. We sang songs, played games, watched the hummingbirds fight over the feeder off the back porch, shopped at little mountain hideaways, enjoyed meals together, stayed up entirely too late talking and just recharged our batteries!

The cabin was beautiful with everything we could possibly need and then some. We each had a comfy bed, mine had a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub (which I put to good use the very first night after a 10+ hour car trip) This was no "roughing it" trip, this was camping the only way I like to do it, with a comfy bed, bathroom and heater! It got down into the 40's while we were there.

I had never been to NM before so it was all new to me. Very beautiful place! I will try to collect my thoughts and tell you all more about the trip in a later post but for now I am just enjoying my memories of a great trip with some great ladies!

But glad to be home with my Hubby! I miss Darling daughter but she is having a good time with her grandparents and will be home later this week. Hope you all are having a good Monday, blessings to you all!

Quiet House!

Darling Daughter is spending a week with the grandparents, so it is very quiet here today. Maggie (the dog) keeps looking for her and then she looks at me like "ok, where are you hiding her?" Hubby and I are going to miss her but will enjoy having some couple time together. Tonight we are going to eat some seafood (darling daughter doesn't like seafood) and then go see the Harry Potter movie (it is captioned)

I have some plans for this week and I hope to share some stories and pictures with you all next week. Enjoy your week and I will be sure to enjoy mine also!

How to Scare Someone Half to Death!

About 2 in the morning, my husband hears my daughter singing in a loud voice, flies out of the bed trying to figure out what in the world is going on, and realizes the sound is coming from my purse. Darling daughter had recorded herself singing and made it the ringtone on my cell phone. Thank goodness it did not happen while she was at a sleepover or it would have really freaked him out.

We don't know who the idiot was who was calling at 2 am but have changed the ringtone so it won't happen again. Suppose it would help if I remembered to turn my phone off at night too!

Guess what....no measurable rainfall at our house today! Thank You Lord! Guess what the forecast for tomorrow is though.......Ah well, I will take what I can get these days!

Been Tagged Again!

This is for you Jenn! I am going to answer the questions but I am not going to tag anyone, if someone wants to do it feel free....

WHAT WERE YOU DOING 10 YEARS AGO?

I was pregnant awaiting the birth of darling daughter in October. We were living in Northern Virginia about 25 miles south of Washington DC

WHAT WERE YOU DOING 1 YEAR AGO?

We had just gotten back from our vacation in Hawaii and I was still struggling to learn how to use the Cochlear Implant but beginning to see some improvement.

5 SNACKS I ENJOY

Dr. Pepper
Quacker Granola Bites
Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Beef Sticks (not jerky)
Chips and Dips

5 SONGS I KNOW THE WORDS TO

Almost any country song from the early 80's
Star Spangled Banner
Aggie War Hymn--Texas A&M Fight Song
Most Children's Songs--("wheels on the bus"."barney song--I Love You", etc...)
85% of the songs in the church song book

5 THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A (Multi) MILLIONAIRE

Build my parents a new house close to me
Build myself a new house with a landing strip for my jet
Build my church a new building
Lots of Charities would benefit
Hire someone to housebreak the dog or at least pick up the *&^% messes

5 BAD HABITS

Spend too much time "on line"
Don't keep my house as clean as I would like
Eat out too often
Stay up too late
Don't exercise like I should

5 THINGS I LIKE TO DO

Travel
Movies
Shop
Play games with friends
Read

5 THINGS I WILL NEVER WEAR AGAIN

Strapless Bra- or anything else strapless
Short skirts
High heel shoes
High top tennis shoes
Skin tight jeans

5 FAVORITE TOYS

Lap top computer
Wii
Cell Phone
Digital camera
Portable DVD player that keeps darling daughter happy on car trips

BLUB, BLUB, BLUB

Yes, indeedy it is still raining here! Hubby says I should change the name of this blog to "Local Forcast" or "Local Weather Report"! I am about to lose my mind here with all this rain! Everyone is cranky, the dog keeps going potty in the house due to the rain and our season passes to 6 Flags sit in my wallet having been used a grand total of once!

AAAAUUUGGGHHHH!

STILL RAINING

Yes, believe it or not, it is still raining here in South Texas. I read in the paper on Friday or Saturday that we have already had 33.43 inches in 2007 and that our annual rainfall is usually 32.92. So we have already had more rain than we usually get in a year! The paper also said it had rained all but 3 days in July so far!

Enough already, Yes I love having green grass in July, yes I love the cooler temps but I am so sick of the rain. We have season tickets to Six Flags but can't find a day without rain to go! I find myself searching for rainbows to make sure God has not changed His mind!

UPDATE 7/24/07- Still Raining! Under a flash flood watch!

Great Deal!

Hey blogging buddies!

I took darling daughter to the movies today to see Ratatouille (we had seen it a few weeks ago but this time we saw it with captions--makes a lot more sense to me now!)and afterwards I took the ticket stub by our local Super Suppers store and they gave me a FREE chicken and bowtie pasta entree. Yes, totally free, no tax, no nothing!
All I had to do is give them the ticket stub and fill out my name and address, so I may get some mail from them but I can live with that!

So if you have a Super Suppers near you, check it out! Once we eat it, I will post and let you know if it was any good! I have heard good things about their meals so I am hopeful that it will be yummy!

UPDATE: We had the entree for dinner tonight and it was a little disappointing. The dish seemed to be made with high quality ingredients but the pasta was very starchy and the dish was a little watery. I think you could probably get the same thing (perhaps even better tasting) in the freezer section of the grocery store. Oh well, it was free!

What I would like to be doing....

What I am doing....



Watching it rain!

Summer Blues!

I don't know about you guys but I really need this scripture today! I think we are in the midst of the "Summer Blues" Our vacation got rained out and messed with by work and other people, so we only really got one night (the one at the Adolphus). So I am feeling a bit cheated in the Vacation department, and yes I know that we can't have a big vacation every year (yes, I remember that we got to go to Disney and Hawaii last year!)

Darling daughter is kinda in the dumps too as most of her friends are out of town on vacation right now. She was supposed to be with her grandparents this week and that got cancelled due to a death in the family. Hubby is getting swamped at work because he was on vacation last week and then on a business trip for two days this week. So basically everyone here has the blahhs!

Give me a couple of days to have my pity party and I will be over it (hopefully!) I will just look at this picture and remember that no matter what happens in this life I have the promise of a home in Heaven! This is just a short time and Heaven is forever!

We're Back!

For the few who read this, yes hubby made it back safe and sound. It was proof God hears our prayers because it had been raining buckets all day and about three or three thirty that afternoon, the rain stopped, the sun came out and hubby's plane landed safely about five oclock. Then it started raining again all weekend!

Hubby had a week off, so we went up to the Dallas area to spend some time with his family. We were able to see his grandparents, parents, both brothers and their families and even a cousin or two. His parents kept darling daughter and not so darling dog (she peed on the carpet!) and we were able to slip away for a well deserved night alone.

We stayed at the Adolphus in Dallas. It is a beautiful old hotel. When Queen Elizabeth visited Dallas she stayed at this hotel. There is a big portrait of her and Prince Phillip in the lobby. I still don't know how to do links but just google it, if you want to see where we stayed.

We had a nice visit while in Dallas but unfortunately it rained and rained and rained on us. So we finally just gave up on doing anything outside and came on back. If we were going to be stuck inside it is better to be stuck at home!

Hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July.

Update: Thanks for the link lesson, David--I think it worked!

It's Raining, it's pouring......

Don't know what it is like where you are but it is WET here in South Texas! The back yard is a total lake, and there are fast moving rivers going down the street. No chance that the dog will go outside to do her business (not that she was doing such a great job of it before but we were making progress!) Don't know what it is about Bichon's and housebreaking.....

Hubby is trying to make his way home from a business trip....here's hoping and praying that his flight can land. Other than those few things, life is pretty good here. Hope you all are getting ready for an enjoyable weekend! Do something fun!

Hopefully we won't get swept away by flood waters or drown....blub....blub....blub....

Ahhh...The Sound of Silence!

Darling Daughter is in Day Camp at church all this week. While this requires that we get up much earlier than we usually do in the summertime, it means that I get a quiet house for 7 hours. I am amazed at how much I accomplish when it is just me here.

I am thankful that we have such a wonderful Children's Ministry at church and that darling daughter has someplace safe to spend the week. I know she is learning a lot and spending time with her friends. It helps keep Mom sane to get a little break from the constant "I'm bored, Can I call XXXXX, Can you take us swimming, shopping, to the movies, (fill in the blank)!"

I think everyone will win this week, hubby is going to come home to a delicious dinner (pot roast with potatoes and carrots) and a peaceful wife! Hope your week turns out as well as mine! Blessings Everyone!

DA CHAMPIONS!

SWEEP, SWEEP,SWEEP!

The Spurs are Champions once again!

Tony Parker deserved MVP...he is an awesome player!


Shame on those Cavs fans for booing during the awarding of the trophy! They should be more like their players and show some class!

Not Much of An Update But...

I am still having a lot of pain in my back. The doctor ordered more x-rays, bloodwork and gave me a different muscle relaxer (but I can't take it until Friday evening because I can't drive while I am on it, so I need to wait until after VBS is over)

It has settled into my rib cage and it feels like a horse kicks me every 1/2 hour or so, so life is painful right now. I am trying to keep my attitude good and stay busy but it is hard when you are in pain!

Keep praying that they find out why all the sudden I am having so much pain, I did not do anything to cause this (at least not that I know of!) So it is rather puzzling to us all! The Dr. is supposed to have the X-ray and lab results tomorrow so maybe I will know something tomorrow afternoon.

Just two more days of VBS! Yeah!!! It really has been a pretty easy week (I know I should not say that until Friday) and I don't forsee any problems with these last two days.

Hope you all are having a great week! Thanks for the prayers, keep them coming!

Got Any Extra Prayers Lying Around?

...if so I could use a few thrown my way. This is an incredibly busy month for us, lots of activities going on around our house and church. For the last couple of weeks I have been having weird back pain, it moves around and I have not been able to pin it down to anything. A couple of days ago it got a lot worse and it started hurting when I took a deep breath. So I tried to get a dr. appt, but of course it took a couple of more days to get in. Friday....busiest day of the whole week for me I finally got an appt with the PA. They don't know what it is but did order an X-ray and gave me some muscle relaxers. She told me to take the muscle relaxers this weekend and I should be feeling better by Monday. If not, to call them back.

Well, it is late Saturday and I am not doing much better. If these things are going to work by Monday, they better get busy! I am trying to not complain a lot but this is really pretty painful. I am helping in the kitchen for VBS all next week and while I am sure they could do without me (I am not so vain to think I am indespensible) I really hate to let people down when they are counting on me for something.

So if any of you readers would like to throw some prayers for my back this way I would really appreciate it. Hope you all are enjoying a fun (and painfree weekend!) Blessings to you all!

Been Tagged!

8 Random Things About Me?

1. Met Randy Travis (country singer) in a little bitty airport in my hometown back in the '80's. He is not as tall as he looks on TV

2. Inherited my love of Coca-cola from my grandmother, who swore the stuff tasted better in 6 oz bottles.

3. None of my friends would ever be considered "normal"--just don't seem to attract "normal" friends! (I know--takes one to know one!)

4. Had severe hearing loss for almost 20 years before I learned to sign!

5. Broke my little toe the night before my hubby's 20th reunion and then broke my big toe 2 weeks later. Broke them both in the same bedroom at my In Laws house!

6. Insurance company wanted me to sue "in laws" for medical bills on my broken toe! I refused! (BTW--breaking a big toe is a bigger deal than it sounds like...causes all sorts of problems with balance and long term effects!)

7. Hubby and I suffer from two extremes when it comes to major purchases, we either procrastinate and take months and months to make a major purchase (ie. new flooring for the house, new car) or we go shopping for one thing and impulse buy something else. There does not seem to be any middle ground with us.

8. This one should not be a surprise to anyone.....I am really lousy at these Meme things.....


There you go .....if you read this post and want to do the random Meme ....knock yourself out (and leave me a comment so I can read 8 random things about you!)

Purr-fect Peace

SHHHHH Don't tell Maggie I have a picture of a CAT on my blog!!!!!

Memorial Weekend!

Today at church they showed this video, it was very moving. I don't want to turn this post into a debate about the war but if you know someone who has served in the military, go give them a hug and say "thank you"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd5_YZbhtl0

Once again I tried to make it a link but blogger was not cooperating with me, hope you can just copy and paste and view this for yourself!

Awww---not even just a little bit?

I just took this "How Evil Are You?" quiz and Lo and behold:


How evil are you?


Just goes to prove that I am BORING!!!!

Wedding Fairy

My darling daughter was asked to be in a wedding this summer. The theme is a fairy tale and she will be a pink fairy. This is the dress she will be wearing

and she will have fairy wings and a bucket to match. I think she will be handing out programs or favors or something. Mostly I think she will just be flittering about being a fairy! She is pretty excited about it!

(I got the picture off the ebay site that I ordered it from--I don't know how to do a link so I just put the picture up there--sure hope that is legal....I need to figure out how to do links I guess!)

Three more days of school here! Summer--ready or not---here we come!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Update on the Neighbor Situation!

Thought I would give the few of you who read my blog an update on the "Loss of Innocence" post. I talked with the counselors at school about the situation and one of the counselors offered to call the other girl's Mom and explain the situation (so of course being the coward I am, I jumped at the chance to pass that messy duty on to someone else!)

So about two days later, I am in my family room and there is a knock on the door. It is the Neighbor girl, her Mom and her older brother. The Mother wants the girl to apologize to me and my child. We just kind of jump into the subject when I realize that my daughter's friend is standing there, soaking up all this info. So I stop everything and send the friend up to my daughter's room. (I am thinking "great... now I have to explain this mess to HER MOM!")

Long story short.... the Mom makes the daughter apologize and tries to tell me that it just popped up, that none of her children were looking at those sites. I put on my best diplomatic face and suggested to the Mom that she might want to look into it a little further since the girl had to type in an address for not one but two different sites. I was really proud of my daughter because, she was by far the smallest of all of us standing there but she stood her ground and she told the truth about what happened. She even told the girl's Mom that she treatened her...that she should not tell anyone about the sites. (I did not know about the threats before this point) The family was trying to blame it on the little girl but I just kept pointing out little things that did not add up. I did not want to insult anyone but I also did not want this little girl to be blamed for this completely.

I think everyone went away okay with the situation. I told the girl's mother that she was welcome to come over and play with my daughter and that I thought she was a sweet girl who just got caught up in some stuff she did not understand. I also diplomatically suggested that maybe a Mother Daughter talk was in order, since she seemed to have some mistaken ideas about women's roles, etc....

After they left, I went upstairs and gave my daughter a big hug and told her how proud I was of her. She stood up for the truth even when the adults were telling her she was mistaken. I told her I was proud that she told us about the sites even when she was treatened. (that was the info that got my shackles up, was that the girl treatened my child!)

BTW--I am good friends with the other child's mom so I explained the situation to her and she was fine with it. She laughed when I told her about it and that I was afraid her child was going to come home and say " Mom what is oral s#$?"

So I think all is going to be okay. We live, we learn and we move on to other things!

Another Scripture Sunday!

I don't have much to say today--Hope you all had a great Mother's Day!

Blessings!

Sunday Scripture

Ever Feel Like This?

Every Morning! But thankfully, God and my hubby still think I am beautiful! Ya'll have a beautiful day!

The Sun Will Come Out.....

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood here! The sun is shinning, the birds are singing. Mama got a new outfit! Life is good! Thanks to those of you who left the encouraging comments on the last post. I appreciate your kind words. I participated in some retail therapy (yes, I went shopping) today and I think just getting out of the house helped.

I decided "what's done is done" there is no going back and no use crying over what might have been. I will make sure my daughter has the information she needs and trust the Lord to keep her safe when I cannot be there. I am thankful that she came to us and told us what was going on instead of just keeping it inside.

Innocence Lost

Today was a sad day for us. It was the day we found out that our 9 year old will never be the carefree innocent babe she was just a few hours ago. She let us know that the neighbor child (only a year older than her) had showed her games on the internet that her older brother liked to play. S*x games, with graphic pictures and live models. So my innocent little girl who still likes to play with baby dolls was asking why girls should perform oral s*x on boys.

I had already started introducing her to literature and other information to help her understand the changes that are starting to take place with her body but I thought I had more time to prepare for the facts of life speech. Instead we were thrown into the discussion with no warning and no preparation.

We have always been very careful about what she is allowed to watch on TV and never let her on the computer unless someone is monitoring it with her. I am super careful about who she plays with and where she goes. I feel I have failed her by not protecting her better. I hate, hate, hate that her first introduction to s*x was something dirty and nasty as porn games on the computer.

There is no going back now, all we can do is make sure she has accurate, healthing information and somehow make her understand that what she saw on that computer was not what God intended for it to be. That it is a beautiful thing between two people who love each other and the world has turned it into something nasty and distasteful on the computer.

Please pray for us as we deal with this situation. Pray that God gives us the words to help her understand. Pray that He helps me forgive myself for not protecting her from this.

Maggie Moo does Granny and Papa's

Here's a picture of Maggie taken in my parents back yard at Easter! She had a very good time with Granny and Papa while the rest of us were at LTC. Granny says she managed to wrap Papa around her little finger...err....paw?

REAL TEXAN? FUR SURE!!

I got this off my friend, Jennifer's blog. I should have scored even higher as I have lived here all of my 43 years except for 7 (in Northern Va) in my 30's. There were some strange questions on this quiz but it was fun. My hubby gave me some help (those are probably the questions I missed!)

You are 87% REAL Texan!!

High five, you're a complete Texan. People from other states should tremble in your presence because they're simply not worthy. Let them bow before you and convey their undying adoration to you while they announce their true desire to be Texan.

How Texan Are You?

Happy Monday Everyone!

Thanks to those of you who prayed for me this weekend, it must have worked because the sinus problems were limited to Thursday and although it made getting ready to leave difficult, it did not effect our weekend.

We have some awesome kids at our church and they did a great job at LTC this weekend. We went to the convention center in Houston and stayed with about 55 kids at the Hilton (which is connected by a walkway to the George Brown Convention Center) I guess there were about 80 of us (kids and adults) from our congregation there.

Let me tell you it takes a lot of teamwork to get that many kids into all the different events--on time and with all the props they need. Hubby and I had a full weekend and we definitely did our part to make things run smoothly but so did a lot of other people. We got up early Friday, packed the car, dropped off darling daughter at the church with a friend at 8:30 (they were going to catch the chartered bus to Houston at 11 and come with all the kids) and we headed out to Baytown (other side of Houston) to meet up with my parents who drove over (90 miles or so) to pick up Maggie. In past years, they have babysat the darling daughter, this year they got to keep the darling puppy!

We met the parents at the mall in Baytown and they took the puppy home with them. By the way, we have found out that three out of four members of this family suffer from carsickness! The poor puppy heaved most of the way there and back, I will have to ask the vet if there is anything we can give her before our next trip. Otherwise, I think Maggie is going to have to be boarded. She would sleep a little while and then cry and heave (no food to throw up). Very nerve wracking when you are driving in bad Houston traffic!

We got to the Hotel about 2 and spent the next hour or two getting the rooms ready for the kids. We have to check each room to make sure the keys work (one year almost every key did not work!) and put up the $5.50 a bottle of water so the kids would not drink it up. Then we have to assign rooms to the groups of kids and adults. By the time, we do all that the bus is pulling up with the kids and the food for snacks and breakfast on Sat. So all that has to be sorted out.

Competition starts at 4:30 on Friday, so the kids have to change clothes and get to the right room wih whatever props they need. The Adults judge the competitions, so they have to be sure they are in the right place at the right time also.

Friday night they had a devotional at 9 pm. It was really uplifting. Special props go to my Hubby and also my friend Jackie, for jumping in and interpreting for me on Friday night. They usually have an interpreter for the devo but forgot to schedule one this year. Friday night is wrapped up with Pizza back in the hotel rooms.

Sat. morning we have to get everyone packed, fed and out of the rooms before the competitions start at 8:30. Our competition (Signing) always runs from 8:30 in the morning until about 3 pm. So we are either moving our kids through, or judging during that time. This year I judged at the 10:30 to 12:00 competition and then from 1:00-2:30. Darling daughter signed at 8:30 and then performed at 10:30 with the chorus group. So as you can tell it was a full full day for us.

I am just so proud of my kids, they all worked so hard and poured their hearts into it. I think they all deserve a gold medal. We will find out on Weds. night how they did. But they are all winners to me! This is getting long so I will wrap it up for now and maybe post about it again later this week.

It was a great, God glorifying weekend. I am glad I went, I am glad that we worked our tails off and I am glad it is OVER!

Ahhh, Spring is In the Air!

Make that Ahhhh Choo! Spring is in the air!

My daughter had a dentist appt today and I thought I was just being over sympathetic with her when my teeth started hurting. Then my head started pounding, when I bend over it feels like my head is swelling up! (Ha Ha I know I've got a big head!)
Progressively through the afternoon, my eyes have gotten watery and my nose burns. All these are recognizable symptoms that Spring has Sprung and my allergies have begun. (I am a poet!)

However, there is a new symptom this year that has caught me off guard.....it feels like the cochlear implant is unscrewing itself from my head. I actually feel like the little metal wires that run down into the cochlea are being slowly unscrewed from my head!

So.....either I am losing my mind completely or I have got a head full of sinus problems going on. Either way I am going to take advantage of my daughter playing at a friends house and go lay down.

I have got an incredibly busy weekend planned with a lot of people depending on me, so if it's not too much trouble----Say a little prayer for me! Thanks!

This and That!

This has been a busy week for us, the LTC program is wrapping up soon so there has been a whirlwind of stuff going on with that, Easter Celebrations at Church, etc....

I enjoy participating as a coach with LTC, it is great to see the kids learn something new and practice it until they are almost perfect. I am also glad to see it come to a close as it is a lot of time and work preparing for it. I guess that is how some teachers feel when summer break rolls around.

Need to post some new pictures of Maggie Moo, she is up to 6 1/2 lbs as of last week's vet visit. The vet gave her a cortisone shot along with the other shots and she did not keep us up all night! Yahoo! She also had her first grooming appt. last week and she looks much better, they cut off her shaggy baby hair that was going all over the place. She still looks like she has perpetual "bedhair" but in a more "controlled" sense!

Things that make you realize your "bad" day is manageable:

One one of the blogs I was reading a few days ago,(sorry I honestly can't remember which one it was...) this woman was writing about her friend. I had to check the date on this one to make sure it wasn't just an April Fool's Joke but it was actually written a month or so ago. Seems her friend is going through a difficult time and is suffering from "panic attacks". This friend is also very claustaphobic, to the point that riding in a car can be a problem sometimes. Well, her friend was going through an automated carwash, when she experienced a panic attack. Friend jumped out of car in middle of carwash, leaving car door ajar. So friend is standing in carwash getting wet, soapy and bumped around by automated wash, when the car door gets ripped off the hinges. So friend, jumps back into car which is getting a good soaping both inside and out now and tries to exit the carwash by driving backwards. Friend gets to call husband, explain what happened and Husband gets to drive car to dealer minus drivers door. My very bad, no good, rotten day just doesn't seem so bad anymore!

Lastly, please take a moment and pray for our Deaf Ministry program. We found out Sunday that one of our interpreters is leaving (immediately). Her husband has taken a youth minister position. Please pray that God sends us someone who can help us continue this ministry, as we will be working with three interpreters (instead of four) and two people who are learning but do not have the experience to fully interpret yet.

What's new with the Implant!

I realize I have not posted anything about the implant in awhile so here goes. Things have pretty much leveled off. I am not gaining anything really significant now just maybe a little here or there. I had an appt with the Audiologist a few weeks ago and she only made some minor changes, pretty much keeping things about the same.

I did find out at that appt that the Dr who did my implant will not be accepting any insurance after the first of April, so I will be looking for a new doctor and audiologist. The doctor I don't mind so much but hate to give up my audiologist as we have a good working relationship. It costs $175. an hour for me to meet with her with no insurance vs $30 for someone under my insurance plan. Since we have an HMO, they will not reimburse me for anything if we go out of their service plan. I did a little research and I believe there is one other doctor in the area who specializes in Cochlear Implants who is on our insurance plan, so I guess I will be using him. Funny thing is I believe that my audiologist used to work for him before.

Today I had a dentist appt for a crown, and they always forget and try to talk to me with their mask on. I actually was able to pick up some of what they were saying with the mask on but definitely did better when they removed them. I also noticed that I was aware of the noise of the machines. Before I don't remember hearing the different sounds of the denistry equipment. So I guess I am making progress but sometimes don't realize it since I have nothing from the past to base it on.

So there you have it, an update on the Cochlear Implant. Nothing Major to report but nothing negative either. I know I am better off with the implant because the first thing I want to do every morning is put on the processor. What a difference a year makes!

Brown Thumb!

It is that time of year again, things are starting to bloom and the urge to rush out to the nursery and buy some flowers hits me hard. The problem is I have the proverbial "brown thumb" when it comes to plants. So the question becomes is it worth it to spend the money for something that I know is going to die?

I have one real houseplant and I am trying my best to keep it alive. It is a peace lily that my Mom sent me when I miscarried my first child, so it is really important to me to keep it alive but it is looking sad! It really needs to be repotted but I am afraid that would be what pushes it over the edge. Sometime I will post a picture of it and you will see what I mean about a pitiful plant!

Anybody out there have any suggestions for plants that even a serial plant killer like myself can't kill? I love plants and flowers, but just can't seem to keep them alive. Our yard gets a lot of sun, so they need to be something that likes sun and doesn't mind hot temperatures as it will get boiling her in S. Texas in a couple of months.

Back in Town....

....and back to the old grindstone. We had a nice visit with my folks this week and got back into town yesterday afternoon. Today was busy as most Sundays around here are and will be until after LTC competition is over. Our kids are doing great with their signing and I know they will all do fine at competition.

The laundry is going and darling daughter is about to go get ready for bed and another week of school. Funfilled week of dentist appointments and grocery shopping awaits us. Hope the weather cooperates this week, could use another few weeks of cool temperatures and sunny days. Blessings to you all!

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us all rejoice and be glad in it!

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!

We survived the 10 houseguest and a good time was had by all (at least I think so!) It was a noisy, busy weekend but we enjoyed the whole crazy bunch. Really the only negative thing was the 2 1/2 hours we sat in traffic trying to get into the gates of Six Flags. We learned from our experiences and now know, do not go on opening day and take an alternate route to the park!

We had classes to teach at church yesterday and none of the guest wished to attend church with us (they all had various reasons for needed to get off) so our immediate family left the house about 20 after 9. When we left we still had 10 house guest and when we got back after church and lunch, we had none. So things are back to normal here.

It is our Spring Break and we have various activities planned for this week. Hope you and yours have a great week. Blessings!

Ever Have One of Those Days?

I really think I need to stay home and lay low for the rest of the day. I am a little afraid of what will happen next.

It started this morning when sweet Hubby was awakened by the sound of Maggie "woofing", now that is not so unusual you say but she was "woofing" at the foot of the bed instead of from her crate in the breakfast room. The little escape artist had made her way into the bedroom and was making her presence known. I am searching for presents today since I don't know how long she was out of her crate and where all she visited before coming to see Mama and Daddy!

I got up at 6 am to get darling daughter off to school and the alarm was lit up saying a door was open, so panic sets in really quickly but it turned out to be just the door from the garage into the house did not get completely shut. Hubby leaves for work and I walk to the bus with darling daughter. The bus stops on our corner, so often I just go through the yard to the side of the house, thankfully I did not today as Hubby left the garage door open when he went to work. These are minor things but when you can't hear, you learn to be very meticulous about things beings shut and locked.

To say the idiots were out today would be the understatement of the year, I was dodging them right and left all the way to the doctors office. So I decided that the safest place for me today is home. I come in and the puppy wants attention so I put her in my lap as I check my email. She bites my necklace and all the beads come sliding off. Unfortunately, some of the tiny ones land on the keyboard and get stuck under the keys. After a lot of hard work and some muttering under my breath, I think I have managed to extract them all.

It isn't even 3 pm yet, I am really afraid of what the rest of the day has in store for me. Did I meantion that I have 10 people coming to spend the weekend with our little family of 3? Fortunately, they have decided to leave the dogs at home, so we will only have our little 5 lb troublemaker to deal with.

The doctor said I was anemic and need to eat more red meat (how often do you get a doctors okay to eat red meat?) I guess I could use that for an excuse for being so tired and go take a nap instead of finishing my cleaning for my guest this weekend! Oh well, better go get hopping on those dust bunnies! Hope you all are having a better day than me!