-Mom Of 2-

I think I feel like blogging... a little.

2010-01-14T10:43:00.002-05:00

Just to recap some things from last year... 2009 for those of you that get a little confused by that. haha. The holidays were really nice. My sister & family came down for Thanksgiving. I enjoyed having all of them here. When they left, it felt wierd to have the house so quiet again.

Christmas was good too. We went to TN the weekend before. Although my weekends there are always hectic, it makes me SO happy to be with my friends & family. I like to be busy and well, Macon, GA just ain't the place to do that. Maybe I will get my 'moving' miracle THIS year. :)

Mom, Dad & Santa were VERY good to Kailee & Madelynn this year. :) Somehow they manage to make the nice list no matter how naughty they are throughout the year.

This was the first year in our entire marriage that Lance actually stayed awake to see the ball drop. HAHAHA! So after kissing our girls & each other, we went to bed. Lame, I know... but so much better than out partying with the crazies of the world.

So far, the new year has been good. Nothing exciting has happened... but nothing bad either. Not for us anyway. We are planning on coming to the youth thingy (not sure if it's a revival or what.) at Antioch Valentine's weekend. Sister Cox is preaching. If you can come, you should. She is SO awesome!!!

Guess that catches everyone up for the most part.
Hope January is being kind to you all!

Until next time...

BYE 2009!

2009-12-31T11:38:00.001-05:00

2009 has been craaaaaaazy.

Although I hate to see the holiday season end, I'm SO ready for a new year.

Bring it 2010!

What I want...

2009-12-08T23:22:00.002-05:00

Every now and then, I get these wild hairs and think 'I'm going to come up with a great invention and be a millionaire!' or 'I'm gonna make a demo, someone's going to discover me and I'm going to be a famous singer... and be a millionaire!' or 'I'm going to come up with a great home business for stay at home moms and make millions.'

Haha! Those things will probably never happen but I like to dream.

I thought I'd list some of my dreams.

1)As a child, I always said I'd be a teacher. I don't know why... because I ALWAYS hated school. Something about being the teacher appealed to me though. I always enjoyed helping decorate the class, staying after school to help the teacher clean or grade papers. It was a lot of fun. While I wouldn't go back to college to become a teacher now, subbing interests me. Maybe one day...

2)Using my skills as a massage therapist. The thought of having to take the board freaks me out. I've forgotten most of the information they crammed into me in less than a year. After going to my first professional massage therapist in May, I know my skills are MUCH better than her's. My RA wouldn't allow me to work full time but part time would be great. There's excellent money in it. Maybe one day...

3)I'd love to go to school for esthetics and incorporate it into a massage therapy/spa type business. I love facials, body scrubs, etc. It'd be something I'd enjoy doing. I'd like to be able to hire my nieces to come help me out. Maybe one day...

4)CSI. I want to be a crime scene investigator. I love crime. That sounds warped, huh? It just interests me. I don't like the evil of it of course but to be able to go in, investigate a crime scene and help catch the criminal.. it interests me. :) Maybe one day...

*sigh* Maybe when both my girls are in school, I can do all of the above. :0D

Maybe...

Time for an update????

2009-12-03T10:50:00.001-05:00

Maybe later. :0)

I told you HE was able!

2009-11-12T22:43:00.001-05:00

I got a text from Jodi earlier. She said that the surgeon told them he is confident that Johnny will make a full recovery over time. It could take up to 6 weeks for the blood to absord.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

FULL COVERY!!! PTL!

Johnny Bare

2009-11-12T11:07:00.002-05:00

April 1990. We moved in at 894 Irma Drive.
That's when I met the Bare family.
Jodi specifically. We are close in age.

So many memories.

Almost 20 years.

Johnny Bare is 57 years old. He recently retired early.
He & his wife, Barbara, sold their house of 30 years on Irma Court.
They moved to the Atlanta area. Roswell specifically.
Barbara's mom is 85 and in her final years. She wanted to help care for her.

With all their children grown, in stable marriages with stable jobs, their own lives, they packed up their life in Tennessee and moved 4 hours away.

John just bought a boat. He's always loved to fish.

He, his wife & sister in law/Barbara's sister, Patsy, took the boat out on the lake Sunday. November 8th. I wonder if they ever thought they'd retire and move away to GA. Enjoying their 'golden years' together.

After spending some time at the lake, they prepared to leave. John collapsed. Unconscious.

Several years back, I remember him having a brain tumor. It was inoperable.

John suffered a stroke that day. They found bleeding around his brain. He has paralysis on his right side, he's unable to speak & aspirates on liquid.

The doctor has said the damage is permanant.

John is aware of what is going on. He cried when the speech therapist tried to work with him. He cried when the doctor said the stroke was severe and the damage is permanant. He cried when his children came into the room.

He expected a new life. A life of relaxation, leisure. Whatever he wanted to do.

This whole situation makes me so sad.

Since being in the hospital, he's had an MRI showing the bleeding has stopped. He had some swelling as well but that has since stopped. He has experienced some discomfort. He is only able to take liquid tylenol at this time. He sleeps alot. His blood pressure has been unstable. They feel it could be from over-stimulation. He's also had a fever but that has stabilized.

I know when your parents are in such a situation, you feel like you have to be the strong one. They have 3 children. Jessica, Josh & Jodi. I know that they must be feeling overwhelmed. They must be wondering why they are going through this. I'm sure they're wondering where they go from here. How much of this is really permanant? What is life going to be like now?

I honestly don't see how people make it without the Lord. I'm so glad that this family has faith in God. They know where their help will come from. They know who to call on.

As long as there's breath, there's hope.

Miracle. John needs a miracle.

With God, ALL things are possible.

Stroke is just a word to God.

By His stripes, we ARE healed.

Everyone who's reading this & believes in miracles that only come from a mighty, merciful, amazing God - please pray for this family. Pray for healing, strength, comfort & peace. Pray for the medical staff caring for him. Pray that this situation can be a testimony to unbelievers. God is more than able.

Excitement, stress, sadness, uneasiness, disappointment, frustration, aggravation, grief...

2009-10-30T21:32:00.001-04:00

Those are all the things I felt this past weekend. I don't feel like posting about it all right now. A lot of it, I'd rather forget.

GA Fair

2009-10-16T19:03:00.002-04:00

If any of my TN friends have ever been to the TN state fair, or even the Wilson County Fair, the GA fair totally puts those to shame. This fair is HUGE. 5 times bigger than any other fair I've been to.

Lance got off a little after 12 today, we got ready and loaded up for the 30 minute ride to Perry, GA. Kailee was very excited to be going to the fair. We made sure to tell her over & over that if we were going to pay for the tickets, she was NOT going to chicken out and not ride anything.

After buying tickets, which were $1.00 a piece(!), we scanned the rides and decided what was worth forking our tickets over for. I paid $20 for 22 tickets. Each ride averaged 3 tickets. We gradually figured out that Madelynn couldn't ride ANYTHING (due to height restrictions) except the carousel. Major bummer. Lance went down a big slide with Kailee and Madelynn was not happy to be waiting on the outside.

We had to convince Kailee to only ride/do things ONCE. It was such a rip off. Kailee was just under the line to be able to do things alone. Next year she should be over the line - but this year she fell on the 'must have an adult ride too' category. Grr. And to top it off, they wanted 3 tickets from Lance/Me too! COME ON! Do they really think we get a thrill out of kiddie rides? Certainly not. Those people are making a fortune, which I guess is the point.

Typically, we have no problem going past all the random vendors who insist YOU NEED to win a prize for your children. Well, there was this very witty guy who was guessing weight/age/birth month. I thought, okay, I'm a pretty curvy girl but I'd like to think I hold my weight well so I think I can trick him. He was soooooooo close but I got him. I was a little offended that he got so close but I set myself up for it so I'll deal. Haha. When I approached the scale, he said 'you know you're not small but you got it all.' HAHA. I like that. :)

After I won Kailee a cheap sword, Madelynn got a little upset she didn't have anything so Lance let him guess his weight. He got Lance! So of course, we had to try again for Madelynn's sake. The guy said even if he was wrong, he'd let Madelynn have whatever she wanted. We let him guess her birth month and he got it. He was good! We chatted with him a little bit because he was a friendly guy and then thanked him for ripping us off and were on our way. Haha.

I couldn't leave the fair without getting a funnel cake so once I got that, I was ready to head home. After 4 hours, it was getting a little chilly and the wind was a little brutal.

Tonight will be our first night using the heat. I think it's supposed to be 45.

I made a pot of homemade vegetable beef soup earlier today. It seems like the perfect night for it.

Well, hope you all have a great weekend!
That's all from me for now. Until next time...

Is it possible to catch up?

2009-10-15T13:05:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it's been such a long time since I last blogged.

A lot has transpired over the last few months, I'm not sure I want to even TRY to catch you up on everything.

August, we took the kids to VBS @ TCOG in Antioch, TN. Kailee really enjoyed it.

September was Kailee's 4th birthday, Madelynn's 2nd birthday and the assembly. I wish I had another weekend to spend with everyone I got to see at the assembly. I didn't get much one on one time with people but it was nice to at least SEE them. Maybe we should have more than 1 assembly a year? HA!

October 7th was Lance's 40th birthday. He didn't want anything big so we only went to dinner. I don't think he was thrilled about turning the big 4-0 but he's healthy, strong and doesn't look his age so he should be thankful. :)

October 23th will be mine & Lance's 5th anniversary. We will be in TN during that time, preparing to renew our vows on the 24th. That's a little over a week away.

Other than planning a 2nd wedding and taking care of the girls, there's not much more to report.

I hope each of you are doing well and enjoying this Fall season. I love this time of the year. Today is the coolest day of the season so far. It's only 60 outside. That's fairly cool for GA. I LOVE it. I have the windows open. No air or heat running. Ahhhhh.

Tomorrow, we are planning on going to the fair in Perry, GA. It's about 30 minutes from here. It's also where I found the dress I'm wearing next weekend so hopefully it will be ready and I can pick it up then and not have to drive back on Saturday. We will see. I'm just glad I found something. I was getting worried.

That's enough from me. Until next time...

Look! I Blogged!

2009-10-08T12:05:00.000-04:00

...and I changed my layout.

GO ME!

BreakTime

2009-07-18T23:48:00.003-04:00

It's obviously been awhile since I've psoted. I've not been good at the blogging thing for awhile so I think I'm just gonna take a break from it.

Hope everyone is doing well.
Love each of you!

TTFN! (ta ta for now!)

I've decided to take a STAND...

2009-07-06T22:28:00.003-04:00

...not knowing I'd lose some of my friends.
BUT I would rather live RIGHT, than in hell lift up my eyes!

I wonder what all will be risked when standing for the truth.
Some of us have been in different situations where we've lost those we thought were our friends. Some of us have lost property, church buildings, money.
Some of us thought we would lose our minds.

But after all of it is said and done, NONE of these things move me.

Thank you Jesus for truth. Not what I perceive to be truth but what is the actual, unadulterated truth of God's word. Nothing twisted, nothing false.

Thank you Jesus for complete peace... knowing that I know what I know what I know what I know. And I know what I know is completely in the Lord's hands and HE will take care of it all. I don't have to worry about any of it. I don't have to get in a huff. I don't have to ask 'where do we go from here?' HE is completely in control.

*sigh of relief*

Slowly but surely.

2009-06-30T00:37:00.005-04:00

I've had several people ask about Daytona pictures. I am in the process of editing them. That takes awhile and it takes even longer when you don't feel like doing it. I will eventually get them done so CHILL. :)

Stare at these while you wait.

"I don't want my picture taken!"

...prayer...

2009-06-23T10:23:00.000-04:00

I need it.
Thanks.

Who's a good blogger?

2009-06-16T07:32:00.002-04:00

Not I.

I just haven't been in the mood.

Since I don't blog too often anymore, I just wanted to pop in and let you guys know that we will be making a trip to the beach. I'm not sure if we are leaving this afternoon, tomorrow morning or next week. HAHA! There's a story to all of that and I just don't feel like going in to detail. It's nothing bad - we are just tossing around some ideas. So anyway... Whenever I finally get down there, I will be sure to update with some photos of what all is going on while we are there.

The girls woke up at 530 this morning. I am so sleepy. I don't know WHY in the world they decided to get up that early but they did. Can we say 'EARLY NAP'?!

Wooooooooo. My eyes are blurry due to being sleepy so I'm gonna end this.

Have a good Tuesday!

PEACE

Well Hello There!

2009-06-10T11:08:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know it's been quite some time since I've posted but really, why post when you do the same exact thing eeeeevery daaaaaaaay?

There's nothing to report from the Johnson home. Just being a mommy. That's it.

I have to go to the dentist today. It's funny because usually people panic over such but when you're with your children 24/7, it's almost like a spa treatment to lay in a dentist chair while they buzz away at your teeth. HA!

So anyway... just letting you all know I'm still alive.

I can't imagine.

2009-05-26T21:06:00.001-04:00

Boxing champ Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daughter Exodus died Tuesday in a Phoenix hospital after accidentally getting her neck wrapped in a cord from an exercise machine at home.

"We are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love and prayers from all over the world," Tyson says in a statment. "There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Exodus. We ask you now to please respect our need at this very difficult time for privacy to grieve and try to help each other heal."

Click here to read the entire article.

"This is gonna be a funny story to tell!"

2009-05-18T10:12:00.002-04:00

That's what I was thinking as I was laying on the table getting my body wrap.

This past Tuesday was THE day for my spa day. I was so excited to be going to do something different and relaxing.

As I arrived at the place, I thought to myself, "I am in the ghetto." I found the place on the internet so I had no idea where it was or what it looked like except for the photo I saw on the website. The website was very nice so I figured the place must be as well. Don't get me wrong, the INSIDE was pretty nice but the outside was a little worrisome.

I parked my car and said a little prayer for it. I didn't want to go back out there to a busted window or my car sitting on blocks. HAHAHA. So I got out and had to walk from the back parking lot, down the sidewalk of a busy road and around to the front door. I TRIED to open the door but it was locked. I can't say that I blame them! I rung the doorbell and someone came to open the door. As soon as I was inside, she made sure to quickly lock the door behind me. LOL!

I filled out the appropriate paperwork and was called back. When I saw the girl that would be doing the massage, I wondered if she would be capable of deep tissue. She was 5 foot and MAYBE 100 pounds. Since being out of college, I had not had a 'professional' massage so I was really interested in seeing what her technique was and if I would be able to compete if by chance I decided to go to work one day.

2 words, I ROCK. 2 more words, SHE DOESN'T. I requested a deep tissue massage and got a quick, light massage. She didn't even turn me over and do the front of my legs and arms. BOOOOOOOOO! AND it was supposed to be 60 minutes and she only spent 30! GRRR! I was not relaxed.

After my massage, I was handed a robe and slippers and left to wait until the Doc was ready for me. I guess the lady is called a Doctor because she's a Chiropractor as well. Anyway... I waited a good 20 minutes in a room with no chair. My robe wasn't comforable and one of my slippers had a yellow stain. >:0s

The girl that did my massage finally came to get me to tell me the doctor was ready for me. I asked her if I was supposed to leave all my stuff in the room or bring it with me. I wasn't about to leave my purse unattended. She told me to just bring it with me. For those of you who may have a business one day that offers spa treatments, please make a place available for your client's things! There was no hook to hang my clothes, no safe for my purse, nothing. As I was grabbing my things, I was TRYING to keep my robe in place. The girl didn't even offer to help me. I was struggling to hold my robe, not lose my yellow stained slipper, carry an entire outfit, plus a purse AND shoes. UGH!

I hobbled over to the room and met the girl that was going to be doing my facial and body wrap. She was nice and personable. Although my massage wasn't great, I was hoping that the doctor/the owner of the company would make the remainder of my visit RELAXING. I was there to RELAX.

I was given my instructions and she left the room so I could get into place on the table. I was to lay facedown on a sheet of plastic. Well, when she came back in, I learned that I was on the table facing the wrong way so I had to try to peel myself off the plastic, hoping to not take it with me while getting up and then turn around and face the opposite direction. She didn't leave the room for this part. So while trying to PEEL off the plastic, I was half way around and accidentally kicked her. HA! Sorry lady. It was the least I could do for such an odd spa experience.

The body wrap was again, not such a great experience. The stuff she smeared all over me was kinda stinky. Oh, wait, I gotta tell you about the undies they gave me so if you're a guy and uninterested about what a spa treatment is like, skip the next paragraph.

I was given disposable underwear. I was thinking that they would be a COMPLETE pair of underwear. WRONG! It was g-string. AND you guys know I'm not a small girl. I think these undies were a size MEDIUM for my XXL booty so it was more like wearing a thong. NOT comfortable. SO try sliding onto a sheet of plastic in a disposable thong with someone in there watching you! I did have my robe over the top of me but STILL!

Okay, moving on. The point in the body wrap is to pull the toxins out of your body through your pores. I was laying on a heated table, on a sheet of plastic, with green stinky stuff smeared all over me - then she had me turn over, another difficult task, and smeared the stinky all over the front. After I'm thoroughly covered in green stinky stuff, I'm then wrapped like a mummy in plastic and 3 more layers of I don't know what. I COULD NOT MOVE! She said claustrophobic people can't have body wraps like that unless their hands are free. I'm not claustrophic but I was about to request to have my arms freed too.

After being 'placed back in my mother's womb', I was told that she would begin my facial since I had to stay wrapped for an hour. You would think that after 2 previous disappointments that I'd cringe at anything else coming at me but nooooo, I was hoping for yet another relaxing experience. GUESS WHAT! I was wrong. Ha.

My facial is started by hot, steamy mist blowing in my face. I do not like to sweat and to me, that is not part of a RELAXING facial. After being steemed for who knows how long, she rubs some stuff on my face, she checks my skin, explains a couple of things and then LEAVES THE ROOM! She left the room for 30 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You DO NOT leave someone on a heated table, wrapped in 4 layers with steam blowing in their face for 30 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could feel myself starting to go into panic mode. I was sweating. IT WAS HOT! I was starting to wonder if I'd be able to get out of the wrap if I needed to. I was wondering if I was going to need to yell for someone. I started to pray for her to come back SOON. LOL. I wasn't feeling claustrophic, I was feeling HOT! Way too hot! I had these little cotton things covering my eyes and I thought I'd probably feel better if I could just get those off. I shook my head to one side and one of the cotton things fell off. I shook my head to the other side and the other one fell off. Hahaha. About time I thought I was going to have to come up with a way of escape, she came back.

I don't think I'll be going back there. Although she did offer me a job...

So much for relaxing.

Mother's Day - Phase II

2009-05-11T10:50:00.001-04:00

My mom is going to be here some time this afternoon.
Tomorrow I am going to have a SPA DAY! WOOHOO!
I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!
I can't tell you how bad I need it.

So tomorrow starting at 2pm...
60 minutes facial
lactic acid peel
60 minute deep tissue massage
60 minute body wrap

COME ON TUESDAY!

My Mother's Day Present...

2009-05-10T23:07:00.003-04:00

If you haven't heard yet.

Volvo S80

(mine has a sunroof & 4 doors)

Motherless.

2009-05-10T10:51:00.005-04:00

So I'm here today without my mom. I could be sad about this but really, I'm grateful. Grateful because we are only seperated by miles.

As Mother's Day approached, I kept thinking of those who do not have their mothers. I kept thinking of those who desire to be mothers but aren't able.

I miss my Nanny but I'm sure Maw Maw misses her even more today.
I miss Brenda (Dupre) but I'm positive I don't miss her near as much as LaDonna and Jacinda do.

Those of you are who aren't able to conceive, LOOK UP! Miracles still happen!
CLICK HERE to see!

Life can seem cruel at times but remember to look at the bigger picture. The one that God is painting. The one that, in time, will be finished and beautiful. More than you could ever imagine.

I love you, Mom! I know you'd be here if you could.

Happy Mother's Day to all you hot mommas, potential mommas and mommas at heart!

LOVE it!

2009-05-06T10:30:00.001-04:00

awww! i want one!

2009-05-02T11:34:00.001-04:00

If you haven't heard...

2009-05-01T20:26:00.001-04:00

Spartacus passed away this morning. He had a hole in his arm and it developed maggots and caused alot of bleeding. Kailee has cried alot about it but I think she's better now. Poor kid. She keeps talking about how much she misses him. Ahh, the tough things we have to go through in life.

Our latest pet.

2009-04-30T18:14:00.002-04:00

Meet Spartacus
Well, sorta.
This is not our's
I pulled this off of google images but it looks identical so good enough.

A lady that works with Lance always manages to bring us any random animal she finds. Her cat brought the squirrel into her house today so she brought it to Lance. Well, she brought HIM to Lance. He is so cute! We are going to raise him as long as we can.

I found a very detailed site about raising squirrels so hopefully we can keep him alive. He appears to be about 5 weeks old. The website said that any kind of contact from a cat needs to be treated with antibiotics. Even if the cat just breathed on him. So we have to get some septra and give it to him for a week. He will also need a tetnus shot which is the only disease that squirrels can carry.

I hope we have success with him. My niece, Carie said that she has a friend at work that has a pet squirrel and he brings him to work on his shoulder. HA!

What a cool pet. Pray for the little guy!

So it's been awhile...

2009-04-29T20:12:00.002-04:00

I go through phases when it comes to blogging. Hey, I go through phases when it comes to just about anything. Ha! Sometimes I feel like blogging daily, sometimes I could care less if I ever blog again.

I can't believe April is almost over. Tomorrow is the last day of the month. I turned 27 on the 8th. We celebrated Easter the next weekend and then the weekend of the 17th, I made a trip to TN.

My trip to TN was alot of fun. We had alot planned and it made for a very tiring weekend but it was worth it. We made it into town in time for church Wednesday. Thursday, we called Sis. Viv about taking the kids to meet her dog, Lady. After that, we did a little shopping before meeting Jodi for dinner. I hadn't seen Jodi since 2006. I couldn't believe it had been that long. Way too long for sure. While at the restaurant, Madelynn busted her lip on the concrete slab table. It was a nasty, bloody mess. We think her tooth went through her top lip. Her lip was so swollen. Poor baby. After dinner with Jodi, we went to spend some time with my dad.

Friday was spent preparing for my mom's 50th birthday party. It was a success! I spent a little more time with my dad Saturday and then Saturday evening was spent with some of my best friends at my very own birthday party. Emily was a great host! Thank you Emily for being such a great friend! The party was 80's themed and although not everyone participated, it was ALOT of fun! Sunday morning was of course, church and then we had to head home so Lance could be at work Monday morning. I hate when we have to leave following Sunday morning service because in my opinion, Sunday afternoons are meant for napping not traveling and I'm always SOOOOOOO sleepy.

Well, I think that catches everyone up on a few things. I'm sleepy and already tired of typing so bye for now!

I just don't even know where to begin.

2009-04-21T10:59:00.003-04:00

So much has happened since my last post.

Easter, Tn trip, thoughts processing through my brain, etc.

I have no idea where to begin or what to say.

Right now, I am just overwhelmed with how awesome my friends are. I have been down here in Macon, GA for 5 years in June. I have had some of my loneliest days here. BUT recently, I have been able to create some of the strongest bonds with people I've known for years. It's super hard to feel lonely here now. They aren't nearby physically but I know that a simple message, text or phone call is all it would take for them to travel 5 hours to be near me is what is SO encouraging!

I don't feel like blogging much more than that right now. I just thought I'd give everyone an update. Enjoy your Tuesday.

2009-04-14T22:22:00.001-04:00

Im testing my new ability to blog via texting on my cell. Talk about modern conveniences.

He Lives!!!!

2009-04-12T15:19:00.000-04:00

I serve a risen Saviour,
He's in the world today;
I know that He is living,
Whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy,
I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him
He's always near.

this cracks me up!

2009-04-10T13:29:00.000-04:00

This makes me sad...

2009-04-09T10:52:00.003-04:00

Longtime WSMV-TV anchor Dan Miller died Wednesday night of a heart attack in his hometown of Augusta, Ga. at the age of 67.

Link to the actual story.

Dan's Blog

Sounds about right.

2009-04-08T13:08:00.000-04:00

Strengths of a Phlegmatic

The Introvert | The Watcher | The Pessimist

The Phlegmatic's Emotions
Low-key personality
Easygoing and relaxed
Calm, cool and collected
Patient well balanced
Consistent life
Quiet but witty
Sympathetic and kind
Keeps emotions hidden
Happily reconciled to life
All-purpose person

The Phlegmatic As A Parent
Makes a good parent
Takes time for the children
Is not in a hurry
Can take the good with the bad
Doesn't get upset easily

The Phlegmatic At Work
Competent and steady
Peaceful and agreeable
Has administrative ability
Mediates problems
Avoids conflicts
Good under pressure
Finds the easy way

The Phlegmatic As a Friend
Easy to get along with
Pleasant and enjoyable
Inoffensive
Good listener
Dry sense of humor
Enjoys watching people
Has many friends
Has compassion and concern

So Sorry!

2009-04-07T10:57:00.003-04:00

I have really been at a loss for words about this past weekend. From the very beginning to the very end, the presence of the Lord was VERY strong. I am so thankful for the strength that he provides me when I need it most. I'm very encouraged. We were truly 'In the presence of Jehovah'.

I saw some of my very close friends minister in ways that I've never seen before. It made me very proud. I love them very much and I hope they know how much of a blessing they were especially to me.

It was really good to see all the Tn folk. I'm so glad Kailee got to see Mo. She loves Morgan. I notice her bond with KatieLynn this trip as well. That makes me so happy! Even though she doesn't have those spiritual connections here, I am so glad that she has those special bonds available to her when we travel.

I am so glad I got to meet EmilyLynn in person for the first time in a very long time. She is super awesome and pretty hot too. HAHA! I love you Emily! I hope we actually get to sit down and talk next time we see each other. Oh, and you're still more than welcome to come down anytime you want! Just gimme a heads up! :)

I think one of the main highlights was being approached by someone, hearing them say hello and turning around and realizing it was JOSH! I squeeled and y'all know I'm not a squeeler. Ahh, I love Josh Yohe! Just being around him makes me happy!

Just so I don't forget anyone, I'm also glad I got to see Lindsei! That girl is getting tall! Her & Morgan did a great job on their song. Andrea played some amazing piano, as always and Chelsei did great on the drums. Josh rocked the Sax and KatieLynn did really good with her signing. KatieLynn had JUST learned the song the day before. Very impressive. The most amazing thing about each of them is that they did it for the Lord. They came 7 1/2 looooong hours all for the LORD! Ahh, amazing kids!

Waaaaaaait a minute, I almost forgot about Cha. Chandler is super quiet, you almost forget he's there. I'm so glad he came too. I squeeled for him as well - although I don't think he cared quite as much as Josh. Haha! I love Chandler. I love his sense of humor. He's super cute too! WOO! :) Okay, enough about all that.

Moving on...

Yesterday was my mom's 50th birthday. I just want to say that I truly hope this is the year of miracles for her. She certainly deserves it. She said she feels 100 but just in case she's wondering, she doesn't look it. Haha! Love you Mom!

Tomorrow is my 27th birthday. The thought of it makes me cringe. I can't believe I'm sooooooo close to 30. It's unreal. I feel like I should be 20. I hope that all of my friends don't look at me as some old, married chic cause I don't feel it! Sure my bones are those of an 85 year old, but every other aspect, I'm STILL young! So don't hold my age against me!

Okay, well, that's enough rambling for now. In my next post, I will be talking about the motel room we stayed in. Awful & hilarious all at the same time. I took pictures of it. HAHA!

Check back soon.

HOLLAH!

Jeremiah 32:27

2009-04-01T09:41:00.001-04:00

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?"

Picture from last assembly.

2009-03-31T10:40:00.004-04:00

Casie reminded me of this photo. I had forgotten about it. I love Kailee's smile in this. It's so hard to get her to focus on the camera. She'll smile but she'll look off somewhere else. Drives me insane.

I haven't really said much about the girls lately so I think I'll blog about them.

Kailee - she's 3 1/2 going on 17. She is super smart. She says things that shock us on a regular basis. She knows most of her letters. She can spell her name - although sometimes the letters aren't in the right order. She was counting backwards yesterday. We walked into blockbuster the other day to get a movie and look for a game. They had flooded because of all the rain so it had a smell that seemed very familiar but I could not for the life of me think of what it was. Kailee looked at me and said 'Mom, it smells like a motel!' HAHA! It was hilarious. It smelled just like a motel. What's funny is we haven't stayed in a motel since September and that was probably the 3rd motel she's been in in her whole life. She's a mess. She's very wild and needs to be entertained constantly. She torments Madelynn on a regular basis. She's very mischevious. If she's being quiet, you had better go check on her because is more than likely into something. It usually involves Madelynn - like putting glitter glue on her eyelids. UGH!

Madelynn - she's 1 1/2 and the complete opposite of Kailee. Kailee was talking VERY well before she was 1. Madelynn, on the other hand, doesn't want to say much of anything. I've heard that children who keep a pacifier are more likely to grunt and whine to get what they want instead of talk. Maybe that's what it is. Kailee gave up her pacifier at 6 months. Madelynn still has hers. She is talking more now than she was a month ago. It's funny to hear her talk because she only says the first half of all her words. It's so cute though! She's starting to say more than one word at a time now too. Yesterday, she said 'Da, whe-ah-you?' (Dad, where are you?) She also says 'uh oh, fah-ah! (uh oh, fall off!) If it's just her and I in the house, she will crawl up in the recliner with me and just sit there quietly, watching tv, until someone comes back in the house to stir her up. She has always been a great sleeper. Again, the opposite of Kailee - who still doesn't sleep through the night. Kailee also wasn't potty trained until she was 2 1/2. I believe Madelynn's ready now, we just don't have a potty in here yet. Kailee didn't want to let go of her bottle until she was almost 3. Madelynn hasn't had a bottle since she was probably 9 months old. She was never really attached to it. Even though, Madelynn doesn't talk much, she understands everything we say and can follows commands well.

I'm very proud of both of my girls and how smart they are.

CBF Pics

2009-03-26T11:16:00.003-04:00

Nice Try!

Growing up too fast!

Ready to ride!

Hello People.

2009-03-26T10:49:00.003-04:00

We went back to the Cherry Blossom Festival again last night. I think it was drunken redneck night. Seriously. They have a stage there and different random talents will perform through the week. Last night was apparently country. The guy was a pretty good singer. We stopped by the stage for a few because the girls like to dance around a bit. There was this little black lady there dancing. She was probably 65 or so. She was so cute. She tried dancing with the girls but they weren't interested. They just stared at her. She had some good moves though.

Every once in awhile, a little old black man would pop up there for a dance but I think it was just to hit on the girls. He tried to dance with the little black lady but she just gave him this look like, BACK OFF! Haha!

The best part of it all was our 2nd stroll by the stage. Although the man was drunk, he was HILARIOUS. My camera was dead so I didn't get a picture. I'm bummed. He was dressed in a camo jumpsuit. The little black lady came up to dance with him. As soon as the music stopped, she ran off. Haha! Can't say that I blame her. Unfortunately, she didn't go far enough because he came up to her seat to breathe his strong alchohol breath in her face. There's no telling what he was saying. Oh! They were dancing to BRICK HOUSE! HA! That song was not meant to be country. ICK!

We beat the rain, which was good. I knew that since there was rain in the forecast for the rest of the week, we had better get back over there before it hit. It sprinkled briefly but then stopped. The girls were able to enjoy a few more rides. Lance attempted to win them a few BIG prizes but failed so we got some of those cheapy ones and headed home for the night. I didn't want to miss American Idol. I got here just in time. It had just started!

Kailee needs a potty break. I'll be back to post pictures.

Have a good Thursday everyone!

Just another day...

2009-03-24T16:20:00.003-04:00

I really have nothing to post about. Nothing exciting or different has happened. It's the same ol' thing day in and day out.

I just thought I'd update my blog since I know some of you out there like to check it regularly and have SOMETHING different to read so here ya go...

:)

Cherry Blossom Festival

2009-03-21T19:26:00.003-04:00

It's that time of the year again. We took the kids to The Cherry Blossom Festival yesterday. It's like a carnival with rides, food and shopping. All of which costs too much.

I don't feel like posting anything lengthy tonight so I'll save the rest of the photos for another time but here's one I wanted to share. Madelynn & Kailee rode this ride together. It's a boat that goes around in circles. It goes up and down mini-hills as well. Anyway, I think maybe Madelynn felt like it was going a little too fast. She couldn't decide if she liked it or not. This is the face she had for half of the ride. I think Kailee was trying to console her. I must admit, it was a little fast for a kiddie ride.

arm, 2nd pair of frames, new hair.

2009-03-19T23:52:00.011-04:00

I didn't feel like having pictures taken or posting but since there are several of you wanting photos, I gave in so here ya go.

1) I know my arm is dry, crusting and flaking but I thought you guys could use a better photo than the previous webcam shots.

2) Lance doesn't like my 2nd set of frames but I do. They're kinda retro. I realize they're on crooked in my close up shot.

3) The reason the hair photos are in differnet locations of the house is because we were testing out different lighting. It's still hard to see how vibrant the highlights are but really, you can't get the full effect of anyone's hair color unless you're out in the sun so this is as good as it gets until you see me in person. :)

Natasha Richardson

2009-03-18T21:35:00.003-04:00

I don't know if any of you have followed this story or not. You can google it to get more detailed information. This is gut wrenching.

She was learning how to ski and fell. She was fine but within 20 minutes, started getting a headache. She taken to the hospital where she declined quickly. She has now passed away. It is so strange how our lives can taken fron us. According to the new I read, she didn't run into anything so I think they are unsure how she ended up with such a horrible brain injury. The family had to unplug her from her life support. She was only 45.

Again, if you are unsure of who she is, google it.

New Frames!

2009-03-18T20:43:00.009-04:00

I love my new glasses!

Trying to get the glare to go away.

Different angel.

Kailee wanted to try them out.

Lance's turn. Haha!

We tried to get Maddie in on the action. She wouldn't be still.

Looks better, yes?

Not quite drastic enough.

2009-03-18T12:43:00.001-04:00

I'll probably do something similar to this... maybe a little lighter.
We shall see. Maybe I'll go platinum. KIDDING!

Well, at least it's not just me.

2009-03-18T12:33:00.002-04:00

I have so many ailments that I'm always afraid to talk about them because I don't want to be perceived as a hypochondriac. When I went to the eye doctor yesterday, I thought for sure she would tell me that she didn't see anything wrong with my eye. My right eye has been driving me insane!

Sure enough, there's a problem with my right eye. HA! She said it looks like someone sprayed something in my eye. She asked me if I had been around paint or anything. I told her no and I don't remember spraying anything in my eye for that matter. I told her that I've never had any allergy issues with my eye and really, I didn't start having problems until I started wearing contacts. We never really come to any kind of conclusion as to what the problem with my eye is but it's definitely irritated. So, I have to do drops during the day and liquigel at night. We are treating it as dry eye right now.

I told her that I have RA and she that could be the issue. She said her mom has RA and has an additional disease (don't remember the name) that causes extremely dry eyes and it's related to her RA.

Other than that, my prescription hasn't changed. YEAH! It's been the same since I started wearing glasses in 2003. I got 2 awesome pairs of glasses. They've already called today to tell me that one pair has arrived. My orange pair! WOOHOO! I'll wear them when I take pictures of my new hair tomorrow. WOOHOO!

Still unsure about what I'm going to do to the color of my hair. If you go back to the haircut photo I posted before I got my hair cut off, I really like the color in it. Hang on and I'll post it again. I have to resave it since I'm on a new laptop...

Much Better.

2009-03-17T10:59:00.002-04:00

My arm started looking better after my last post so I decided to forego (or is it forgo?) calling the doctor. I even took my FIRST shower last night in 3 weeks. Don't worry though, I've been bathing. The butterfly bandaids helped quite a bit. When they finally come off, I'll start putting the lotion on that I bought. It should help with the scar quite a bit. If it doesn't, I have a cool story as to why I have a scar. Scars have never bothered me. I'm not sure why. They just don't. Stretch Marks are another story though. UGH!

Anyway, just wanted to give an update in case any of you are actually interested in my incision. Haha!

I have an eye appointment this afternoon. My eyes have really been bothering me. Stabbing pain, bloodshot, blurriness. I think my vision has changed in my right eye too, which is a bummer cause my vision hasn't changed in the last 5 years. My vision has been the same in both eyes and that's pretty convenient when you order contacts. I hate contacts anyway so I guess it doesn't matter. I plan on getting some HOT frames!

My hair appointment is Thursday. I'll be sure to post pictures. I'm still not sure what I want to do yet. I've had no luck finding hair color photos on the net. Not good ones anyway.

Okay, well I'm done for the day... I think.

Everyone have a good one!

Just bust a.... Arm!

2009-03-15T21:46:00.003-04:00

I had my staples taken out Thursday as you read previously. I traded the staples for tape. Well, after sticking to everything and losing most of the tape by Saturday, I figured everything would be okay. WRONG! My arm started busting open. ICK!

So I've traded my tape for butterfly bandaids.

My father in law pieced me back together and I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow. When I went in to pick up the bandaids, I let the pharmacy doctor look at it and he said it looks like it needs stitches. Niiiiiiiiiice!

O-well. Life happens.

I'll update when I find out what they're going to do.

Pretty, huh?

2009-03-14T10:25:00.001-04:00

So this is the next step in my recovery. TAPE! A few pieces have already come off. I can shower tonight! WOO! I am a little paranoid though. I can tell that my skin is still gapping open. I'm afraid if I get it wet, it's going to pull apart more. ICK! I bought some vitamin E lotion last night to help with the scar.

Staple Free, Glory Be!

2009-03-13T12:01:00.002-04:00

So, I went into the doctor TUESDAY. I was so glad that I was going to be getting my staples out. I walked in BEFORE 8am (which should be outlawed!) and signed in. I sat down and was quickly called back up. I was informed that my appointment was in fact MONDAY. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! They said they couldn't remove the staples because of it being a total elbow replacement and I would have to come back THURSDAY when the doc was there! UGH! Talk about disappointment. The next 2 days creeped by.

Thursday has since come and gone and I sit here with NO STAPLES! Aaaaaaahhhhhhh! I'm SO glad. It stung a little to have them taken out but it was SO worth it. Well, it was slightly worth it. I would feel ALOT better if they hadn't put strips of tape on my arm after removing the staples. GRRRRRRRRR! I keep sticking to the recliner. Talk about annoying! Still, not as bad as staples. No more gauze and ace bandages either. WOOHOO! If you're wondering why I have strips of tape on my arm, it's because my arm hasn't completely healed and when I would bend my arm, my incision would gap open a little so I guess I'm basically being held together with tape. Haha!

Oh, another thing. They said my bone cracked when they went to put the implant in so I have an additional wire holding my bone together. Nice, huh? He said it happens in about 1/3 of patients and I shouldn't have any trouble from it.

I can't completely straighten my arm out but it's so much better than before. The doc said that it gets better over time. I just need to keep working it and trying to make myself do things I wasn't able to do before. I can already tell it's loosened up quite a bit just sense yesterday. YAY!

Okay, enough about that.

I think Kailee has officially quit Weeball. We tried another practice last night and she just didn't want to get involved. She'd roll the ball around for a few seconds and then she was done. She just wanted to play in the dirt. We got her hat & jersey last night. I don't know if we'll go for the pictures Saturday or not. The only picture we'd get is of the group. We can take pictures of her in her uniform ourselves.

My birthday is in a few weeks so I called my dad up and asked him if he'd send me some 'birthday' money so I can get my hair done. I'm going to get the top cut shorter and do something with the color. It's been quite some time since I've colored my hair. I've had my natural hair color for about a year I guess. Every now and then, I'll buy something semi-permanant but other than that, it's natural. Well, I'm tired of the same ol' thing so I'm going to do something drastic. I can't decide if I want to be a redhead or not. I may just go with some hilights. Who knows. Ya never know with me. I'm always trying something different. :) I'm going to look up some hair color photos so I'll post some pictures soon and get some opinions from you guys.

I can't wait for the youth convention! I'm so glad the Antioch Youth are coming to support GA. We soooooooo need it. We are planning on being there Saturday so y'all be prepped to spend lots of time with me. :)

Okay, enough rambling for now. Almost naptime. I'll have some hair color photos up soon.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Among the Living.

2009-03-08T14:16:00.004-04:00

The past several days, I have felt more myself. I have times where I feel really tired but other than that, I think I'm back in full swing. Well, whatever full swing is for a one-armed person.

The pain has pretty much subsided except for sorness of ligaments, tendons and muscles that haven't been used fully in several years. The itching of the incision is enough to drive one mad. I cannot wait to get these staples out! I've had my bandage off several times even though they tell you not to take it off just so I can scratch! I noticed last night that I have a green discharge. I hope that's normal. I think it's because my staples are past due on coming out and my skin is trying to grow around the staples. GRR! I'd call about coming in tomorrow instead of Tuesday but my appointment is 8am Tuesday morning so I'll just wait.

I've been to the last 2 weeball practices of Kailee's. I'm not sure if she's going to stick with it or not. I think she is easily bored and since there are several kids on her team, she's not quite entertained enough. We will at least get her jersey and photo taken. Team photos are Saturday so after that, if she decides she doesn't want to go to anymore games, we will just stop going. I'm sure it won't be the first time she decides she doesn't like something.

The weather has been crazy. As you can see in a previous post, it snowed a week ago. Today, it's at least 80. I'm glad Kailee got to build a snowman. As much as I like warm weather, I'd appreciate it if we could experience Spring instead of skipping it altogether and going right into Summer. Again, crazy weather!

I'm gonna have a cool scar!

2009-03-07T20:45:00.001-05:00

I believe there's 22 staples, Momma.

For Tam.

2009-03-03T11:05:00.001-05:00

Just in case...

2009-02-22T09:58:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't been very good at posting. The kids have been soooooooo sick.

It started with Madelynn throwing up, then spread to Kailee. Kailee had it much worse than Maddie. We were up every 10 minutes ALL night long Friday night. It was HORRIBLE! I hope my kids never have to experience the stomach virus again!

The day of the sickness, both of them were very lethargic and just plain yucky. Kailee is NEVER still but she either slept or laid in my lap all day yesterday.

She's moaning while holding on to her trash can right now. Bless her heart. She didn't throw up at all last night, which was great but she must still feel nauseated. She hasn't been able to keep anything down. She did drink some sprite and juice during the night and both have yet to come up. Oh yeah, and she had some chicken noodle soup before bed that didn't come up.

Please pray we are past this. I can't go through with my surgery if I end up catching it and I certainly don't like seeing the girls sick.

The reason for my post is to let you guys know that I probably won't be posting again for quite some time. I don't know how I am going to feel after this surgery or how long my recovery will take. Please pray all goes smoothly.

If by chance something goes wrong, I love each of you VERY much! Don't let my girls forget about me and how much I loved them. Don't let Lance marry someone who won't take good care of my girls. HAHA!

To answer a previous question. Valerie, we aren't sure of the age of the puppy. We're guessing a few months but she already appears to be full grown. If Lance has the papers for her, I'll tell him to check her birthdate. She come from a girl who is addicted to drugs and she is in treatment. We ended up with her because she was passed on to my brother in law. She's been pretty neglected the past couple of days since Lance has worked over-time and the girls have been sick but when we get the chance, she'll be taken to the park to play. She loves the park. She does really good on a leash. She's so funny because she barks at dogs much bigger than her like she's going to eat them up. Wonder what it is about Chihuahuas not realizing that they are merely ankle biters and certainly not the pit bulll that make themselves think they are.

Well, this has turned into a scattered post. O-well. At least I got one in before my surgery.

Chloe

2009-02-20T12:47:00.002-05:00

Memories

2009-02-19T21:13:00.001-05:00

Pre-Op

2009-02-17T10:25:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know I never took a picture of the back of my hair. I haven't felt like it. I will eventually get around to it.

I went to my pre-op this morning. I had to sign a paper saying that I understood that I could bleed to death, have seizures and all other sorts of crazy stuff. I looked at the lady and said, 'Uh, nevermind.' HAHA!

They will call me next Monday and tell me what time I need to be there Tuesday. I will have a block in my arm to numb it and I will also be put to sleep. I will come home with a Morphine pump for 24 hours and then a nurse will come and take it all out and give me pain medication. I have to wear a sling for 2 weeks and keep my arm covered while in the shower until I have my sutures taken out.

I still can't believe I'm about to have a major surgery. UGH! Please pray for me. I have a feeling I may panic when I get there. Haha.

Anyway, backtracking.

Lance and I went out Friday the 13th instead of Valentine's Day. We went to Longhorn. It was soooooooooo good. Next time you go there, try the Redrock Grilled Shrimp. YUM! Afterwards, we shopped a little. We bought the girls some things. Lance had already given me my gift a couple of weeks before. He got me a new laptop. My other one was acting a little crazy and we had to send it off to HP. I wanted a Sony anyway so he got me one. He hasn't gotten his gift yet but hopefully, it's on it's way.

Nothing else to report. OH WAIT! The girls got a puppy for Valentine's Day. She is so cute and sweet. It's a chihuahua. She's registered but we didn't have to pay for her. She came from a friend of the family. She's a few months old and she's a very good dog. She's really smart too. We all really like it. I thought Kailee might not be able to have a puppy right now cause she can be pretty rough but so far, she's done really good. She came with the name Chloe, which I think is pretty cute so I'm not going to change it.

Okay, well, enough from me. I'll try to get some pictures up soon since I haven't put anything on here in awhile.

Have a good day!

To all you Back-Seers.

2009-02-11T10:10:00.004-05:00

After I wash and fix my hair today, I will take some better pictures. I always think my hair looks better after I fix it anyway.

Something funny.....

I have always told my mom she looks like a hedgehog when she wakes up in the morning. Seriously. She looks like she sleeps on her head. There's one hedgehog in particular that I'm referring to. Sonic.

Anyone who has seen my mom in the morning, before she's fixed her hair, knows that this is no exaggeration.

When I woke up this morning, I looked in the mirror and thought, 'HA! I look like Momma!' I walked out of the bathroom and Kailee said, "You look like Grami!' HAHA!

Lord, help me!

The DooDoo Scoop.

2009-02-10T18:42:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the part I was really worried about wasn't that big of a deal. The part I didn't like was when my stomach filled up with water and it started cramping. Other than that, it was an okay experience. Supposedly, you can tell a big difference after the 2nd one so I'll let you know after my 2nd one, which will be Monday. :)

Here is my hair. I HATE pictures of myself. This is disgusting but it shows my hair so here ya go.

Quick One.

2009-02-10T14:49:00.002-05:00

I'm about to head to my hair appointment. After my hair appointment, I will go to my colonic.

New hair. New digestive system. Go me!

I will do my best to get some photos up of my hair. I loooooathe pictures of myself. I could take 100 and find something wrong with all 100 of them and not post a single one so if I can bring myself to take a picture of my hair and post it on here, then I will do that. :)

Fortunately for you all, there will be no photos of the colonic. HAHA! I told Lance to come video it but he wouldn't. I was willing. Of course, it would've been tastefullly done. Anywho... I will post about that this evening as well.

Some random occurrences since my last post...

We signed Kailee up for WeeBall. If any of you think you could make it for her first game, please do so! She would LOVE that. I don't know the dates yet but it'll be this spring.

Madelynn slammed Kailee's bedroom door and it grazed across the top of Kailee's big toe. It pulled her nail up half way. It's laying down now and we're keeping bandaids on it but her nail is definitely going to come off. She doesn't want me messing with it. She just recently started letting me put a clean bandaid on it every now and then. It's soggy and stinky. She won't let it air out or dry out. UGH! The brief time she had the bandaid off, she hit it and it started bleeding. PRAY FOR HER TOE PLEASE!

After the toe indicent, she jammed her pointer finger and now it looks like it's going to come off - the nail, not her finger. She has jammed it several times since the first time. What is it about us that once we do something to ourselves, we manage to do it a hundred more times? Like biting your jaw. I HATE THAT!

Okay, Lance is here. I gotta go to my appointment.

Don't forget Tam! If my hair is jacked up, I'm blaming YOU!

ALL opinions welcome.

2009-02-05T22:36:00.001-05:00

Most of you know that I have always liked to try different things with my hair. I feel like, although the length has changed, I have had the same hairstyle for quite some time. I'm ready for something different. REALLY different.

I think this is what I'm going to go for. Tell me what you think!

In case you're waiting...

2009-02-02T21:28:00.001-05:00

Wait no longer.

Aunt Flo came to visit today so I had to put the colonic off a week. Bummer.

I be skurred.

2009-02-02T11:51:00.003-05:00

Okay, I had to reschedule my colonic so I'm going in TODAY! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! I so better lose like 10 pounds from this. Haha! I've already lost 5. WOOHOO! GO ME!

I'll be sure post later on........

EVERYONE needs some!

2009-01-30T10:34:00.004-05:00

You all should run out to your health food store NOW. Especially if you love ice cream. It's not really ice cream. It's dairy free, gluten free & sugar free. It's safe for diabetics. It's AWESOME! My new found love... and I'm not even a huge ice cream eater.

See if they sale it near you by clicking here! I know they do in Nashville.

You read my tone, right?

2009-01-30T10:29:00.001-05:00

The comment I left to Momma in my last post had a joking tone to it. I wasn't being ugly. Sometimes it's hard to tell and I just wanted to make sure everyone knew how I meant it. I reread it and thought it sounded ugly myself. Haha.

Sorry DooDoo Guru!

I'll TRY to explain this....

2009-01-29T13:07:00.003-05:00

I was at the nutritionist for 2 1/2 hours yesterday. Since I have previous knowledge of the natural health field and things pertaining to RA, I knew he knew what he was talking about. It was VERY interesting. He knew alot of things about me and my past just by hooking me up to a machine.

You can read about the machine here. It's called Asyra.

He also knew the nutritionist I went to, and several other people go to in my family, Dr. Dunseng. I may have spelled that wrong. Anywho...

He really feels like he can get my disease under control. He believes that he can back me out of everything that lead me to where I am today. I REALLY liked him. The reason we were there for so long is because we could sit around and chat about anything and everything. He answered any of my questions like it was the very first time he had ever answered them. When he would discover something in my past and connect it with something today, he would get really excited. Most of you know that I'm not easily excited but I was actually getting excited too. Ha!

I can't get into ALL the details because it's quite lengthy but a few things that were interesting was he was able to tell through the Asyra machine that I had asthma at one time, I have a aspartame weakness (no more diet dr pepper - depressing!), I had a parasite at one time and one of my immunizations as a child gave me some problems (How do you like that Rachel? - HA!). Through some other factors present, he asked me if anyone, my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, ever had TB. My answer was YES. My great grandfather had it. My grandmother/MawMaw/Peggy, is a carrier. Wierd, no? He said although I was not neccessarily exposed to it, it showed in my test because it has effected me in one way or another.

One more thing. This may be beneficial to some of you. If you have an O+ blood type, you are sensitive to wheat and dairy. I had a dairy allergy as a child! Trippy. I am also sensitive to yellow food dye. As I was leaving, I popped a piece of gum in my mouth and jokingly said 'Can I have this cause I'm about to eat a piece?' He read the label and said 'Yes' and then quickly responded with 'NO! It has yellow dye in it!' I would've never guessed that my orbit mint gum had yellow dye in it. Too crazy!

I can no longer have cheese unless it's the light colored ones like mozarella, swiss, muenster, etc. I can't drink milk. I have to get goat's milk or rice dream. I asked him about eating read meat and he said to get buffalo. He said it's leaner than deer and alot of times Kroger carries it.

Anytime I eat a sandwhich, I use wheat bread. I thought it was better for me than white. I wasn't aware that I was sensitive to it.

My thyroid is dying. I had my thyroid tested not too long ago and nothing showed up in my bloodwork. He said 90% of the time it won't. So, we are treating my thyroid. He said I should be able to tell a difference in as little as 2 weeks. He said I should be MUCH better in as little as a month or 2. He said thyroid also effects weight loss. I told him that I used to be able to lose weight like nobodies business but recently, I'm having alot of trouble. Now I know some of you are thinking that if I could lose weight so easily in the past, why didn't I? Because I didn't try. Although I did lose 100 lbs in less than a year. ANYWAY, so treating my thyroid should make the pounds come off whether I try or not. Just taking what he gives me should cause weight loss. How awesome is that?! I was getting aggravated. My weight fluctuates like crazy. Down 6 lbs one day, up 6 lbs the next.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh, I'm SO excited about all of this!!!!! I was thinking last night that this guy is heaven sent. Seriously! I believe 100% that ONLY GOD can heal but this guy could be the key to my healing.

Next week, I go have my poop flushed out. HAHAHAHA! The doodoo guru, uh, I mean Momma, should be thrilled about it. I am going to have a colonic or whatever you call it. They run 30 gallons of water through you and flush you out. I bet I lose 20 lbs just doing that. HA! I'll be sure to blog about the experience.

Okay, I think that's enough for now. I hope you enjoyed your health lessons for today. You are dismissed!

PS. If you wonna check this guy out and read up on him, visit Nutritional Consultants.

Mark Your Calendar!

2009-01-28T10:39:00.002-05:00

Februrary 24th, I will be having total elbow replacement surgery. I have thought about this for sometime and I feel like I am ready to undergo such an extensive surgery. I'm asking you to mark your calendar so you will remember to pray for me that day. I don't know the time yet. They said that they would let me know the day before. I have pre-op the 17th.

I keep thinking back to having my tubal. I was all ready for it and then I realized I was laying on a metal table with lights shining in my face and people surrounding me. Panic kicked in. I am reeeeeeeeeeallly hoping I can remain calm this time.

At 5pm today, I will be going to a nurtitionist. I will let you all know how that goes.

Other than those things, I have nothing to report. Life is very routine. I suppose that's a good thing.

in love!

2009-01-23T11:29:00.001-05:00

I don't remember how I stumbled upon her site but I absolutely LOVE this girl's photography! She definitely inspires me.

Check her out if you're interested. CLICK HERE!

Friday Fill-In

2009-01-23T11:13:00.002-05:00

1. Oh, I am so tired of not having friends around to make plans with!

2. Looking for changes, big and little.

3. During my teen years, I had A LOT of insecurities.

4. Barack Obama; are you kidding me???

5. Right now I'd like to be somewhere besides here.

6. My laptop is my favorite gadget.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finally getting some things I've needed from the store for awhile, tomorrow my plans include going to buy painting supplies at Michael's and Sunday, I want to relax!

If you wonna play along,click here!

Stolen from Valerie

2009-01-23T10:51:00.002-05:00

If you had to choose between being deaf or blind which would you choose and why? deaf. it would be easier to learn to read lips than try to find my way around places. plus, i'd never get to see the beautiful faces of my children. there is something nice about being blind... learning to appreciate things through your other senses. people tend to take their site for granted and pick apart appearances in ways God never intended.

If you were to die tomorrow, what would your tombstone say? I'm not sure. I'm tossing around the cremation idea. I suppose if I had a tombstone, it would say 'I've fought the good fight! I've finished my course! I'm going to get my crown!'

If you could perform in the Olympics, what would you like to do? i was always the fastest runner in school up until junior high so i'd say track. although, my RA would be an issue now.

Would you rather spend the rest of your life in love with a rich person or a poor person? If I'm really in love, than rich. There's alot of stress that comes with financial issues. If the poor person had their priorities in order and loved me, then I'd accept that too.

It’s Saturday morning. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? same thing I do the rest of the week. make sure the kids are taken care of. Then i'd locate Lance and find out what the plans are for the day.

If you could erase one day in history which one would it be and why? the day my Nanny suffered the most.

If we Googled your name what would we see? lemme check.... some skanky looking celebrity.

If you could live in any sitcom, what would it be? i always like family matters.

Which way do you eat corn on the cob? I cut it off the cob. I can't handle it getting stuck in my teeth.

What is something unexpected that has changed about you in the last few years? I'm a mom! I never planned/expected to have children.

Would you ever loan a significant amount of money to a friend/relative? Why or why not? Depends on what it's for and who it is.

What do you think?

2009-01-21T09:23:00.002-05:00

So I've been tossing around some ideas. Things to do with my spare time and try to semi-enjoy living here. I've tried Melaleuca but the cost was more than I thought it would be and you can only buy so many cleaning products a month, right? Especially since you can dilute one shipment of cleaner and make FOUR bottles of cleaner.

Since my BFF, Grace has gotten involved with Avon and I browsed her page and asked a couple of questions, it really sounds like a cool way to entertain myself. It's inexpensive for me and everyone else too. I saw some GREAT deals on their website. Seriously. Things as cheap as 1.99! Can't beat that! I know that Maw Maw/my grandmother likes Avon and I can host parties when I come up to TN.

Would any of you be interested in it? Check out Grace's site and see what you think! If you see anything you want to order NOW, it definitely won't hurt my feelings. I'd be happy to help Grace out with building her business so go ahead, LOOK! http://www.youravon.com/gracealexander

Another thing is photography. I'd really like to get more involved in it. I'd love to set up photo shoots. You guys are always so nice about mine and Lance's photography and it'd be great to make a little dough off of it. So again, would you all be interested in photo shoots? It would definitely be reasonable since alot of you are close friends of ours. And of course, word of mouth is the best form of advertisement so if you guys like your pictures, you could tell your friends and we could build our business that way.

I've GOT to do something with myself. I need the support of friends and family though because I live somewhere where I don't have either.

Leave LOTS of comments. :)

About my babies.

2009-01-20T20:22:00.004-05:00

This is a survey for all the mommies. Fill it out for each of your children.

1.

Age?
3 1/2
1 1/2

2.

Name?
Kailee Elizabeth Laynie
Madelynn Sophia

3.

Birthday?
9/3/05
9/17/07

4.

Time of birth?
134am
213pm

5.

How long did labor last?
6 hours
around 6 with her too.

6.

Who was in the room when baby was born?
Lance, Momma, Wendy
Lance, Momma, Kailee

7.

How long did u push?
a minute
i think i grunted a little. haha.

8.

Weight?
6,13
7,8

9.

Length?
both 21 in.

10.

Any Hair?
both had some fuzz

11.

Who does baby look like?
Kailee looks like Lance
Madelynn looks like me.

12.

How much weight did u gain during pregnancy?
39 lbs
13 lbs

13.

Was baby early or late?
4 days early
5 days early

14.

Who drove u home from hospital?
Lance with both

15.

How many baby showers did u have?
4 with kailee
none with maddie --- what's up with that?!

16.

When did baby start sleeping thru the night?
Ugh. Kailee still doesnt.
Madelynn has since she was a few days old.

17.

Did u breastfeed?
tried to with Kailee. had to stop at 3 weeks. she had acid reflux and needed special formula and meds.
I did a few times with Maddie but had already decided she was going to be forumla fed.

18.

If not, what kind of formula?
Kailee - Alimentum
Madelynn - Enfamil Lipil

19.

Who keeps your baby the most?
ME

20.

When do u wanna have another?
never

21.

How did u pick the name?
Kailee was named after my dad. His middle name is Layne. Her middle name is Laynie.

Madelynn was named after my mom. My mom's middle name is Lynn.

22.

How did u know when it was time to go to hospital?
water broke
consistent pain

23.

What was your pain management?
Epideral

24.

Did u go home or somewhere else when u left the hosp.
I went through a drive thru after both of them and then went home.

25.

Anyone spend the night with u first night home?
with Kailee.. no
with Madelynn... momma

No title.

2009-01-19T09:20:00.002-05:00

I was trying to think of a title for this post but nothing was coming to mind. This is going to be lots of random things so let's get started...

The guy across the street owns 2 horses. Every once in awhile, Lance will take Kailee over to see them. The other day he went over there to feed them some carrots and the owner, Lee, said that the female was pregnant and would probably give birth within the next couple of weeks. Friday, as I was blow drying my hair, I heard Lance say 'Erika, COME HERE!' I thought it was snowing cause that's how excited he sounded. I walked to the front door and there was a baby horse walking around across the street with his mommy. He is SO pretty. He's a paint. I really don't think I've seen a newborn horse before. He was born this past Wednesday.

We went to Walmart to get some things Friday and stopped in at McDonalds. The cashier was pregnant and was asking questions about Madelynn. She kept mentioning her children so I asked how many she had. She said SIX and she was pregnant with her SEVENTH. I knew she looked pretty young but looks can be deceiving so I asked if she minded telling me her age. She was 27! OH MY GOODNESS! NO WAY! She said she was getting her tubes tied after this one. I told her that I did after Madelynn cause 2 was enough for me! She said that 2 really is enough. haha!

My house was very loud last night. I was waiting for the police to pull up. The Early Morning Show is having a family singing contest so Patrick, Cameron & Castle are performing a song Lance wrote (yes, Lance wrote it.), Lance is going to video and edit it and send it in. The deadline is Friday. They have their stuff set up in the basement and they practiced for a few hours last night. As soon as it's sent in, I will be sure to put the link up so you guys can vote.

Saturday night, we went to see one of Lance's cousins renew her vows with her husband. It was really simple but nice. It was in a HUGE catholic church downtown. I got some cool ideas for when Lance and I do ours. The reception was very nice too. It isn't often that we get to do things like that and we had alot of fun. The most entertaining thing had to be watching my sister in law's husband dance. He looked liked Chris Farley. Poor guy. He is SO white.

Well, that's all from me for now. Hope everyone has a great day!

CIAO!

Clarification.

2009-01-14T17:45:00.002-05:00

I did not weigh 275 in 5th grade. HAHA! I did weigh 275 at the age of 16 though. It was my highest weight. Over time, I lost 100 pounds.

I forgot to say what my WiiFit age was. I don't think it's acurate because we registered Kailee and it said she was 28. I was 36. Lance was 40 something. I can't remember.

Anyway, 2 posts in one day is enough. :)

Well, looky here.

2009-01-14T10:57:00.003-05:00

Since I've had a few people comment lately that I need to get back on the blogging bandwagon, I thought I'd do an update.

Nothing too awfully exciting to report. We've made it through the first few weeks of the new year without any major catastrophies so we're blessed! Those of you who have children know that if nothing has been broken, dented or scribbled on, life is good. HA!

So, anyway, let's see if I can come up with something worth reading.

........

.................

NOPE! You'll just have read the same ol' boring stuff I was posting before.

Let's get started.

I am loving my Wii more than I thought possible. I have always had the latest gaming system but once we had children, we just didn't have time for it anymore. Not to mention the fact that my children have damaged my equilibrium and it's a little, okay, ALOT off. So, typically alot of the games make me extremely nauseated. The more advanced it is, the more I want to hurl. It has something to do with the background spinning around. If I can focus on my character and not pay so much attention to the background (which is hard, btw), I can usually play for awhile but before too long, it just gets to be a hassle and I quit. So far, I have had no issues with the Wii whatsoever.

Those of you that have access to my facebook status know that we've been looking for WiiFit. My dad said he would buy it for me ($90!) so I jumped right on that. I called EVERYWHERE. That's no exaggeration. Walmart, Kmart, Target, Sam's, Gamestop & Best Buy. No one had it. Of course, they tell you that they will be getting some in but they never know when and supplies are always limited. When we were at Walmart this past weekend, we asked the electronics associate about the next shipment, and as I stated previously, they have no clue when they're getting them in. She also said they would only be getting 3 at a time. GRR! When I called Sams's, they said they were expecting a shipment of 5 but again, they didn't know when they would arrive. UGH! I had a prescription that needed to be picked up at Walmart yesterday (which ended up being 40 instead of 75, Momma!) so I told Lance to look for it again. When the kids and I got up from our nap, Lance was cooking. Sweet, huh?! I asked him if he found WiiFit and he said 'What do you think?!' I told him that I need to call Sam's again then. As I was sitting in the livingroom eating and feeding Madelynn, I heard him tell Kailee he had a surprise to show her. I thought he had bought another toy for her. Kailee came down the hallway and said 'Mom, close your eyes!' so I did and when I opened them, I had a WIIFIT! WOOHOO! Lance said Walmart had gotten 20 in! COOL!

Once we were finished eating (spaghetti, in case you're wondering), we started setting it up. It takes your weight, BMI and checks your balance. I told Lance he was NOT allowed to comment on my current weight. It's been several months since I've weighed myself and between boredom and pain meds, I tend to munch alot. I thought for sure I weighed more than I have in quite some time. Lance guessed a weight, which was 10 pounds more than what I guessed for myself. What a guy! GRR! As I stepped on to the board, I cringed. I just knew I was going to be depressed the rest of the evening. Sure enough, I'm a fatty but get this! I weigh 9 pounds less than what I expected and 19 pounds less than what Lance expected so no depression here. WOO! That makes my goal weight loss at 31 pounds. That's a short term goal of course. I would be comfortable being that weight but would be happy losing more. Unfortunately, WiiFit will only let you choose up to 22 pounds to lose but I can reset it later. If I lose 31 pounds, I will weigh what I did when I got married, which is what I weighed in 5th grade! Can you believe that?! When I was 16 years old, I weighed 275 pounds! WOOWEE!

Okay, I am totally rambling. Moving on. I love WiiFit! I don't care too much for the yoga stuff and I fumble through the aerobics but the balance training is so cool! Soccer is one of my favorites! I really like hoolahoop too. It's killer. The longer you play, the more games you can access. If you hoolahoop a couple of times at the beginner level, it opens up the advanced level. You definitely feel a workout on that one! It's HILARIOUS to watch Lance hoolahoop. The game tells you to move your hips in large, smooth circular motions. Lance wasn't limber until he started virtual hoolahooping. HA! I totally smoked him in it. It keeps up with how many times you hoolahooped and I definitely topped his score. He is waaaaaay better than me at soccer though. If you have a Wii but don't have WiiFit, you totally need to get it. Some of the things you do, you wouldn't think you would get a workout from but you totally do and it's fun. We spent hours playing last night.

I was wondering though. Can I take off a few pounds since I weighed myself at night after eating spaghetti? HAHA!

Monday afternoon, Momma was dropped off by the Campbell's who were in town apartment hunting. In case you didn't know, they are moving to Macon. It's just for 6 months. If they are led to stay after the 6 months then they will but right now, they are just committing to a 6 month lease. So while they were out apartment hunting, Momma hung out with us. When Lance came home, we went to eat dinner at Logan's. We had planned to eat with the Campbell's but they were trying to make their rounds to as many apartment complexes as they could before the offices closed at 5. We all finally made it back to our house where we chatted and watched Brother Jerry try to stay awake as long as he possibly could. We talked Viv into bowling on the Wii and after her first attempt, which was a strike, she was hooked. She was actually pretty good at it. Momma & the Campbell's left early yesterday afternoon after Bro. Jerry was finished with some church business.

This post turned out to be more lengthy than I expected. If you made it through, I'm sorry for the rambling. Haha. You asked for it though.

Madelynn has just taken her diaper off so I have to go find another one. Hope everyone has a good Wednesday! I'm planning on it!

HOLLAH!

Although I'm taking a break...

2009-01-02T10:47:00.003-05:00

I wanted to say 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!' to each of you.

I'm not one to make resolutions but I do plan on this being a better year than last. I've started the year with a different outlook on things. It is way too easy to focus on the negative and forget about all the many things we have to be thankful for. No more pessimism.

As long as we live on THIS earth and in these bodies, we can expect life to be a rollet coaster ride. We can either be terrified of the ride or we can throw our hands in the air and squeel with excitement. I'm excited about this year!

There will still be those seated behind us, screaming and hyperventilating from fear - even sometimes tossing the occassion upchuck our way to ruin our ride but we can still choose to respond differently.

I'm choosing to enjoy the ride so don't ruin it for me! :)

PS. If you're interested in what I got for Christmas, Lance bought me a Wii along with several game packs and tons of cool accessories. We have since bought a PS3 as well. We wanted a bluray player anyway so now we can watch bluray movies AND play games. Those 2 systems along with our XBOX 360 we bought a few months back and we have a mini arcade going on here. I think I'll start inviting people over and charging admission. HA!

...taking a break...

2008-12-28T13:29:00.000-05:00

...from blogging...

TOMORROW!!!!!

2008-12-16T22:03:00.003-05:00

WOOOOOOOOOOO! Tomorrow I am going HOME. YES!

My favorite time to go to TN is during Christmas. The church services, the gift exchanges, the hope of snow. LOVE it!

So... you probably won't hear from me until next week sometime unless I find a chance to get online. Hope everyone has a good week!

OH! and if by chance I don't get to blog again until after Christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I leave you with some photos...

I thought this was funny.

2008-12-16T11:52:00.003-05:00

This is a questionaire that Kailee and I did together on myspace. I wanted to share it because her answers made me laugh.
________________________________________________________________________________

If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say?
E- I knew I'd fall into the 1% that could actually get pregnant after a tubal!
K- What? I'm not having a baby!

Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love?
E- derr
K- Who?!

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
E- yes, even if it is from your own stupidity.
K- YOU!

Can you make a dollar in change right now?
E - yes
K- I don't have any money monkeybird!

Which one of your friends do you think would make the best doctor?
E- Momma
K- GG!

Are you afraid of falling in love?
E- ive had my reservations.
K- nooooo. GG's a good doctor. she's nice.

Is there someone who pops into your mind at random times?
E- yep
K- nnnnnn...yes.

I love:
E- everyone
K- GG, I said!

How many kids do you want to have?
E- apparently 2.
K- 3. Ben, Toby, Alice & Silas.

Would you make a good parent?
E- i hope so.
K- yeeeeeeeees monkeybird.

Where was your default picture taken?
E- mall
K- don't know.

Honestly, whats on your mind right now?
E- none ya.
K- uuuggggh, nothin. just thinkin about snow.

Who was or will be the maid of honor/ best man in your wedding?
E - first time it was my nanny. wedding renewal - dunno yet.
K- NO! I don't wonna get married!!!!!!!!!!!!... cause I wonna stay like this.

Best place to eat?
E- Taki
K- McDonalds.

Favorite jeans?
E- my levis.
K- green!

Favorite animal?
E- monkey
K- zebras... and elephants.

Favorite juice?
E- grapefruit
K- strawberry

Have you had the chicken pox?
E- yes
K-noooo

Have you had a sore throat?
E- quite often
K- no.

Ever been in a bar fight?
E- nope
K-nnnnnnnno

Who knows you the best?
E- Jesus
K- GG!

Do you wear contact lenses or glasses?
E- yes, both
K- my pink ones.

Ever been in a fight with your pet?
E- not quite.
K- a chipmunk?

Did you buy something today?
E- no
K- no

Did you get sick today?
E- not yet
K- no

Do you miss someone today?
E- always
K- yes. Grami!

Did you get in a fight with someone today?
E-nah
K- yes

Last person to lay in your bed ?
E- Kailee
K- Mommy

What are your plans for the weekend?
E- i'll be in TN!!!!!! Friday -Christmas with fam. Saturday- dad's, ugly sweater party, Sunday - Church.
K- going to see Grami!

Who was the last person you hung out with?
E- kids
K- GRAMI! (okay, she's delusional)

If your significant other asked you to marry them TODAY what would you say?
E- did you forget we're already got married?
K- NO!

Okay, I can't wait...

2008-12-15T10:23:00.003-05:00

THIS is one of my favorites. I had actually picked another one as my favorite but after I edited this one, I decided it was my favorite. Isn't it SO pretty? Lance captured a great shot. The lighting isn't exactly perfect but when I saw it, I pictured them seeing an angel or even Jesus. Sooooo precious.

update on my jaw & lance's knee.

2008-12-11T10:27:00.002-05:00

The dentist's assistant was nice enough to call me yesterday morning and check on me. I told her of my pain and she said sometimes it takes awhile for it to clear up so they called again this morning to see if it was any better. I thought that was sweet. I really like the staff there. Especially the girl that cleans my teeth. She is super sweet and we've kinda bonded. I love going in and seeing her. We always make sure to say hi to each other.

My jaw is a little better. I'll just chalk it up to having really bad jaw joints and having to sit there with my mouth stretched open because it stiffens up at night but gets better during the day. My cheek, however, is still hurting. It feels like she hit it with the drill. It hurts pretty bad so I'm trying to not obsessively check it with my tongue.

After the 2 shots Lance got in the booty and the antibiotics he was taking orally, his knee slowly got better. It's all cleared up but he still complains of some soreness. I hope this is the last of the staph infections but something tells it isn't. He works around it daily and he told me several other people that work there have had staph infections. YUCK! As long as he stays away from me and the kids then everything will be okay. I think he's crazy for wanting to risk his health working around such conditions but that's up to him.

Anywho... enough from me for now. Hope everyone has a good day!

I thought it was winter time?????

2008-12-10T10:06:00.001-05:00

Did we skip Winter? I totally missed it. It was 70 degrees yesterday and today, we have a tornado watch. CRAZY! Absolutely crazy! If it's 70 degrees on Christmas, I'm going to be really disappointed. It doesn't snow here as it is. I'd at least like for it to be cold.

Everyone help me pray it snows while we're in TN. Seriously. I really want y'all to help me pray. Everytime I have prayed for snow, it's snowed! It can happen again. I really want my kids to see snow since it never snows here. Snow is such an awesome thing for a child. Kailee really wants to build a snowman. If you pray hard enough, maybe will get snowed in up there for an extended visit. Haha.

Moving on...

I had an appointment to get more cavities filled yesterday. The last time I had some filled, I had no trouble. When the numbness wore off, I felt no pain. Well, this time is different. My jaw is killing me! My cheek is sore too at the injection site. UGH! I was miserable most of the night. I really hope the soreness wears off soon. It's probably due to me having such terrible jaw joints anyway and having to lay there with my mouth open for an extended period of time just aggravated the issue.

So, 3 things to pray for. No tornados, snow for our TN trip and my jaw!

Now stop reading and start praying!

Thanks!

My daily headache.

2008-12-08T20:34:00.002-05:00

I think I've had a headache almost every day since I had Madelynn. I've heard it could have something to do with the epidural I had but I think I addressed that when I went to the neurologist and I believe he didn't think that could be the issue. I don't really remember. I personally don't think it's related to my epidural because it feels more like sinuses. Anyway, I had a terrible headache again today. One of those where you feel like your heart is beating in your head and you could throw up at any moment. UGH! I laid down for naptime with the kids and had it the entire time I was laying down and even when I woke up. Lance was here when we woke up so they played in Kailee's room, he cooked Kailee some pancakes and I laid down on the couch and hoped that my pain meds would kick in. I feel a little better now but I am so sleepy. I have been for the past few days. I go through phases where I feel more rested at times than others but for the most part, I stay tired. It's miserable. I'd like to have some energy to feel like getting out and doing things with my kids. It's very rare that I feel up to doing much. Please pray for my strength.

Sorry for not making paragraphs and such. I didn't feel like it.

Sneak Peak

2008-12-08T11:03:00.004-05:00

This year we decided to have a photo shoot with the girls so we could include a picture in our Christmas cards. Here is a sneak peek.

Kailee's skirt hem is showing. Sorry. Haha! I can't show you my favorite though. I may post it before too long but I want to get my Christmas cards out first.

Funny Girl

2008-12-06T22:34:00.001-05:00

Me: Kailee, if you don't stop, I'm going to tell Santa you're being not nice.
Kailee: Oh, he's going to be SO mad at me!

*riding in the car to see Santa*
Kailee: Mom, don't tell Santa I've been bad, okay??

*seeing Santa*
Santa: Have you been a good girl this year?
Kailee: silence

Thank you Lance.

2008-12-06T22:32:00.003-05:00

Lance had to work today. He was taking pictures of the residents and their families at work like he does every year. They pay $5 a sheet and all the money goes to the residents.

Anyway, he didn't get home until around 630 and when he came in, he was holding a cup of white chocolate mocha from Starbucks. Ahh, it's the little things...

This is really sad.

2008-12-05T11:25:00.002-05:00

This is a new ad campaign coming out this month in Washington DC to be displayed on their buses. How sad!

2008-12-05T10:54:00.001-05:00

You Should Have a Pink Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays represent a time of friendship and sharing.

You're happy as long as you're spending time with the people you care about.

You are passionate about the holidays, and that start of the holiday season makes you very excited.

You sometimes go a bit overboard in your celebrations. You just can't help it!

Passionate, easily excited, sweet, giving, love, friendship, sensitive, caring

Your pink tree would look great with: More pink!

You should spend Christmas Eve watching: The Muppet Christmas Carol

What you should bake for Santa: Rice krispie treats with red and green food coloring

What Color Christmas Tree Should You Have?

Guess who's 1 year older!!!

2008-12-04T18:19:00.003-05:00

My old friend, Baby Say! Okay, not OLD, like age, but old, like I've known her a loooooong time.

I hope you've had a great day! I'm a little late on posting this. I hope you have an even better evening!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas... early.

2008-12-03T11:53:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, Lance asked me if I wanted my Christmas present. I, of course, said yes. So he brings in a box. It turns out to be the tiniest laptop I have ever seen. I mean TINY. As much as I appreciated it, I told him to take it back. I just don't think my arthritis can handle a teeny tiny thing like that. He said he was okay with taking it back so we'll just see what else he comes up with. Haha.

Monday evening, I went out and tried to finish up my Christmas shopping for other people. Although every year Lance says not to get him anything, I do anyway. So I picked up his Christmas presents while I was out as well. I got him a CSI game for the XBOX and I also bought him the complete first season of CSI:Miami. He is SO hard to buy for. I usually just buy him a shirt, hat, boxers, something like that but that gets boring and really, you can buy that anytime. So I came home and asked him if he wanted his Christmas present early too. When I gave it to him, he said he LOVED it. I was happy to say the least. The next day he said he stayed up until 430am watching it. HAHA! Gotta love a successful gift!

More Talent

2008-12-02T13:20:00.003-05:00

Casie, the niece that did the stop animation video I posted recently, painted this picture of Kailee and submitted it into an art contest downtown. I haven't heard how it went. I thought the picture was pretty cool.

Kailee's Latest Hairdo.

2008-12-02T13:15:00.004-05:00

We took Kailee to 'Sweet & Sassy' hair salon for children on Sunday.

This is what we got.

Another holiday gone.

2008-11-29T11:06:00.002-05:00

We wait and wait in anticipation for something only to have go by like lightening speed.

I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my family this year. I don't think I've spent Thanksgiving with them since Nanny cooked in 2004. I've always stayed here for Thanksgiving and came up for Christmas.

I apologized to Kim for her traumatic Thanksgiving. Haha! She's not used to small children and Kailee is pretty rowdy so I think the non-stop action kind of frazzled her. Poor Kim! Hahaha!

Kim & I were a good team in our Black Friday shopping. I enjoyed being able to do it with her. Once we were done, we had breakfast at Cracker Barrell. Thanks for going with me Kim!

We really are a blessed nation. I don't know how long that is going to last but we shouldn't take it for granted. While we were all having dinner and shopping with our family, people were being killed in a terrorist attack in India. 5 americans were killed. 2 of which were a father and his daughter from VA. People just visiting on vacation, enjoying their time, had no idea what they were about to face. I've just now been able to sit down and really watch it. There's a little boy on there now who lost his mom, dad & siblings. There's a 2 year old little boy who was rescued by someone nearby and he is now an orphan. HOW AWFUL! Pray for these people. Just because the attack is over, doesn't mean the nightmare is. I'm sure these people will have a long road of healing, emotionally/mentally, ahead of them. I'm so glad I know the Lord!

I was reading something on CNN.com the other day about a family facing war. I can't remember where these people were located but I believe it's been going on for almost 10 years. While they were fleeing from a certain situation, they lost track of one of their children. The father said he had to decide whether to keep going or go back, risk death and try to find his child. He chose to go on. Now this family have to go about their lives wondering about that child. Whether he's safe, whether he's alive. I cannot imagine! We have no idea what people are going through while we are living our cushy lives. It's hard to wrap your mind around at times.

I think I'm done rambling now. We have some things to return today. I did some shopping for my sister in law yesterday morning and one of the things I grabbed for her is wrong so we have to go trade it out. They actually still have them in stock! I also bought a cookware set. It's TFal and while it's not the BEST cookware, it was hard for me to pass up the deal. I saved $40. I'm still tossing around the idea of keeping it. If any of you might want to buy it from me, I'll keep it and you can have it for the price I paid for it. It's a 20 piece set. It has pots, pans, baking sheets, round cake pans and some utensils. It's regularly 89.99 and I paid 49.99.

Hope everyone has a good Saturday!

Black Friday

2008-11-28T04:11:00.003-05:00

Well, it's a little after 4am and I'm sitting here waiting for Kim & MawMaw to roll out of bed. I really don't think I slept at all last night. If I know I have to be up ridiculously early for something, it's hard for me to go to sleep so I tossed and turned all night and checked the clock hourly. I couldn't set an alarm because I didn't want to wake the girls.

Lance is already gone to pick up his nieces and shop. He has a couple of ads with things Kim & I want circled and he's going to pick those up while we go to other stores. I am going to be super tired later. I'm SO glad my mom is here to watch the girls while we do this. THANKS AGAIN MOM! Don't forget about my naptime when I get home. Hahaha!

Anyway, I'm starting to wonder if I need to wake them up. I hope they're not on TN time cause it's 3am there. I better go check.

Hope everyone has a safe Friday. Watch out for the crazies!

*just heard an alarm go off*

Stuffed.

2008-11-27T17:57:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I've had 2 plates of food and I'm done. I think I'm going to throw up now. I ate a plate of food earlier today, took a nap and just ate another plate. I don't think I can hold anything else... until tomorrow. HAHA!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'm glad I got to spend mine with my family.

The Verdict

2008-11-24T18:32:00.001-05:00

Lance has a staph infection. The doctor is giving him 2 shots of antibiotics. He said if it doesn't start clearing up, he's going to put him in the hospital and give him IV antibiotics.

YUCK!

Haha.

2008-11-24T17:29:00.000-05:00

"Friends are just enemies who don't have enough guts to kill you."

I don't think I'll ever understand some people.

2008-11-24T17:22:00.000-05:00

Seriously.

2 things.

2008-11-24T14:51:00.002-05:00

Lance has decided to wait until this evening to go to the hospital. There is a doctor that comes to see the residents where he works so he is going to wait until he is on call before he has his knee checked so that he can get him to look at it.

I have decided to go through with my elbow replacement. It didn't sound as bad as everyone else has made it seem. It's not as invasive as I expected. It is also an out-patient surgery. The only thing I think will be an issue is that I cannot pick up more than 5 pounds for the rest of my life. Crazy, huh? I will set a date after the 1st of the year.

Pray for Lance.

2008-11-23T22:31:00.002-05:00

Lance's knee started giving him trouble last week. It started turning red and he said it felt like a boil. It has slowly gotten stiff, swollen and more red. The redness is spreading down his leg. From what I've seen on the internet, it looks similar to a staph infection. He's going to the med center in the morning. Please pray that everything is okay. Staph infections are very serious. His family has him paranoid about it. His brother in law had cellulitis once and by the time he went to the doctor about it, it was almost too late. They said if he had waited any longer, he could've lost his leg.

With him working in a nursing home, he is suseptible to quite a bit. He has psoriasis pretty bad on his knee and he is constantly picking at it so there's no telling what he has opened his knee up to.

He just said he has chills.

Lance is taking anti-biotics already but his knee is still gradually getting worse.

I'll let you guys know what they say tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers!

Thank You Hubby!

2008-11-23T19:36:00.000-05:00

Lance just brought me a White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks without me asking for it!

Isn't that sweet?!!!

Thanks Lance!

Mmmmmmmmmmm, starbucks!

More Wedding stuff.

2008-11-23T19:14:00.003-05:00

Everytime I decide something, I want to post it. So far, the only thing I've decided on is one bridesmaid. Haha! Sad, I know.

I have quite a few friends but only a few I feel particularly close to so I'm trying to decide who I want to stand next to me on that day.

So far, I have decided to have Emily as a bridesmaid. There is another person I am going to ask to take my Nanny's place. I haven't done so yet but I will soon enough. Amy is going to help me with decorations.

I'm not sure how I'm going to go about this with it being long distance but I know this one thing, I'm thankful for the internet.

Oh yeah! I'm going to wear ivory. A simple but nice ivory dress. David's Bridal has some really nice inexpensive things so as soon as EMILY COMES DOWN and I have someone to watch the kids at the same time, I'm going to hit DB. We'll take pictures of the ones I try on but NOT the one I decide on. =)

Well, I guess I've decided on a few things, not just one.

We haven't decided on a date but since youth conventions/revivals are usually in April, I better save a date soon! I can wait until May if neccessary.

Moving on...

I found the swimming dog Kailee wants for Christmas. I had been to Target once before but didn't see it. I was there again yesterday so Kailee could spend the $30 she had saved up in her piggy bank and I SAW IT! Ahhh! I was so glad!

K, I'm done now.

TOODLE LOO!