~take 2~
~take 3~
~take 4~
~take 5~
Seriously, who would have ever thought that as I head down the hallway, after very little sleep last night, that I would be glad that the horrible stinch that was coming from the girl's bedroom would be the smell of vomit and that somehow inside I would be a little excited that at LEAST it wasn't POOP!?!
Last night I was woke up by Maggie who had a dirty diaper and she has such sensitive skin that you have to change her right away.....which is probably why she likes to take her diaper off all of the time. :) Anyway, she would NOT go back to sleep literally like 4 hours later she finally dozed off. Then of course, Keely girl comes in about 6:30 this morning to say that something stinks in her room and she doesn't know what it is? Poor Marlee. She seems to be feeling better right now; maybe it was just a sour stomach?
All I can say at this point is I think I would rather clean up vomit as opposed to POOP! Who would have ever thought that you would have one that you would prefer over another?
~;-) Renay
So, last night I decided to run over to the Toys R Us to get this one thing that was on sale for Keely. Well, after asking 3 different people to help me find it I was told "Sorry, we sold out & the ad clearly states while supplies last.":( Then I have to bright idea to run over to the Walmart to see if they had it and would match the price. The very nice gentleman helped me by even looking in the back to see if they had extras, but no such luck. After all of this Eric was truly not in the "Christmas Spirit" any longer. He hates the crowds and really the whole aspect of trying to find the perfect gift for someone. He is a "just buy a toy so they will have something to open" kinda guy. I on the other hand will drive to the 75 different stores to get the one most perfect item. I guess opposites do attract. ~;-)
~r
We all have heard about the tragedies that struck in Colorado, so I just wanted to put out there a prayer request for all of the families effected by these senseless acts.
The ice storm is effecting so many people with power outages and deaths....please take a moment to remember them as well.
I know that sometimes we get busy in our day to day life and forget that so many others that have it worse off than we do...or I should say that is the case for me. This is an opportunity for me to remember all of these people. My love and prayers go out to each of you during this Holiday Season. We can all become so obsessed with the other junk instead of remembering what Christmas is all about.
Love to you all!
~r
Here it goes:
1. I was born in Plainview, TX.
2. I was born on March 4th, 1975.
3. I am a Christian.
4. I have been married for 5 years.
5. I have 4 children.
6. My oldest is Tyler Dean.
7. My oldest daughter is Keely Elizabeth.
8. I have twin girls.
9. Marlee McKenzi is the oldest twin, by 2 minutes.
10. Maggie May is my baby.
11.My earliest memory was walking beside my mom as she pushed Keri in a stroller.
12. My sister, Keri, and I are 14 months apart in age.
13. I love eating Cookie Dough.
14. I used to wet the bed & suck my thumb.
15. I love to go on vacation….the beach or the mountains. I usually want to move to where ever we go. I start to picture this wonderful location all of the time as though this is the place I would call home…truly a dream.
16. If you say “Bless your heart”before saying something ugly about someone does that make it
OK? It might be just stating the obvious. In my book somehow it does. ;-)
17. I get homesick very easily.
18. I had to get stitches in my hand as an adult….long story!
19. I love NKOTB (New Kids on the Block) & 90210!!
20. Shhhh , don’t tell anyone, I have a couple of gray hairs.
21. I thought someday I would marry Donnie Wahlberg.
22. I skipped school in the 8th grade.
23. I would love to meet John Travolta.
24. I have been to A LOT of concerts.
25. My all time most favorite movie is ANNIE!
26. I could not even tell you how many times I have watched it.
27. I have been married 6 times.
28. I hate liver and onions.
29. I like Ranch dressing on my Chicken Fried Steak.
30. I graduated in 1993.
31. My parents took Keri & I to see ET at the theater 7 times when it came out 20+ years ago.
32. I was enrolled in Exposito Hair Design when I was 18 yrs old.
33. I played T-Ball when I was 6 yrs old.
34. I hated playing T-Ball.
35. I would like to go back to school someday.
36. Seriously, who am I kidding I hated school.
37. I like to read the ridiculously funny things people put in obituaries or the fact that they are
150 yrs old and have their high school graduation picture shown….It might be one of my
better pictures, but not what I look like now.
38. I wanted to be a movie star or a babysitter when I was younger. …clearly dreams do come
true!
39. I get very anxious when I go to a new restaurant….I guess I am always afraid that I’ll pick
something that taste like “Crap’ole“.---Yes, that is my word and I’m owning it.
40. I want to wear an Emerald green dress and sing on the CMA stage someday; of course you
need to know how to sing to accomplish this dream.
41. I have a letter from Tom Cruise.
42. I love to watch marathons of Friends.
43. I watch entirely too much TV.
44. I picture myself on the “The Biggest Looser” and other reality TV shows.
45. I love the “Amazing Race”
46. Did I mention that I love to watch TV?
47. Thank God for DVR!
48. I wish I had a bigger house.
49. I always wanted 5 or 6 kiddos.
50. ½ way there……
51. I’m pregnant!
52. I love to buy gifts for other people that are not expecting anything at all.
53. I have been friends with Jen for 17 years.
54. I have T-Shirt sheets.
55. I love purses.
56. I hate doing this more than I thought I would.
57. I like the name Kelby.
58. I am a people person. & I love to talk on the phone.
59. I have a letter from Ricky Schroeder.
60. I had a crush on Eric when I was 15 years old.
61. I love to get cards.
62. I love to send cards.
63. I have probably at the very least 25 pairs of Flops.
64. My vacuum is 10 years old.
65. I like hot tea.
66. I have a letter from Kirk Cameron.
67. I went to “Women of Faith” this year for the first time.
68. I started working at a Tanning Salon when I was 15 yrs old.
69. I got to meet John Schneider this past year.
70. Tyler loves “The Dukes of Hazard”.
71. I drive a suburban.
72. It is not big enough for our crew.
73. I can’t wait to be a Nana someday…..hints the word SOMEDAY.
74. I watched Dallas and Falcon Crest every Friday night with my Grandma Baker.
75. I sure do miss her.
76. I had long hair when I was little.
77. I am VERY tender headed.
78. I don’t like to sweat.
79. I have a letter from Michael J. Fox.
80. I would like to go to NYC.
81. I like lemon in my tea.
82. I am trying to cut out all sugar...sometimes I don't do very well with this.
83. #27 & 51 are not true.
84. I watched Cujo and Jaws when I was really young and to this day hate big dogs.
85. I don’t watch scary movies.
86. I tell Eric all Heavy Metal music is from Satan.
87. I know that #86 is not true.
88. I did not ever go to my high school prom, but still have my dress.
89. Keri wore the dress a couple of weeks ago.
90. Keri and My Mom planned my wedding completely.
91. I love silver jewelry.
92. Eric never asked me to marry him…he just told everyone that I was the “one“.
93. I wish I could say this took me a long time, but seriously it took only 20 minutes.
94. I like to vacuum a least once a day, but prefer twice a day…...I like all of the lines in the
carpet…I know that is where the OCD comes out.
95. I got all of the addresses to the movie stars that I received letters from out of “Teen Beat”.
96. I have a load of laundry in the washer and dryer right now.
97. I can’t wait too see what everyone has to say about my 100th post.
98. There are 6 chairs at my kitchen table.
99. I like to print more than write in cursive.
100. My very 1st movie to see in a theatre was “Superman.”
This was so much fun! I can't wait to do my 200th post!
~renay
***I worked forever trying to get the layout right....but finally figured you all would understand that blogger sometimes is just not the friendliest to me. ;)****
Jen, had her kidney stone thingy(it has a really good professional name, but if you know me but at all I am doing good to remember it as "thingy") done on Friday. She is such a trooper. I admire her strength thru this whole thing. I am also so glad that I was able to be there for her because she has always been there for me. She and I have been friends since we were 15 years old. She has seen me thru absolutely everything in my life since we met. I love her sweet spirit and kind heart. She is an awesome mother, wife, friend & Christian woman who I am so lucky to have in my life. I love you Jen and hope you have a quick recovery.
~R
I got Tagged again!! So, the object is to come up with an adjective to describe yourself using the letters in your middle name. Luckily for me my middle name only has 5 letters. ;-)
" 'If you can'?" said Jesus, "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Mark 9:23
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you: he will never let the righteous fall.
Psalms 55:22
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Proverbs 14:30
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Isaiah 40:29
So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Hebrews 13:6
~r
So, I am somewhat getting used to my hair. I didn't jump when I looked in the mirror this morning, so that is a good sign. It is dark, but ya know this may just be what Nay needed! The new over 30 with 4 kiddos look.
I had so much fun at the Christmas Party!!! There are so many great and funny people at church that honestly make get togethers like this so fun. Keri did a great job with the MCing or as I would like to call it "Breaker, Breaker 1...9ing". (an inside joke) Also, I got new ornaments for my tree...YEAH! We all did the "Chinese Christmas Exchange". After seeing what some people took home I was so glad that I picked the golden bag with all of the goodies. I love this time of year.
HAVE TO SHARE:
Marlee has had to deal with the poop issue too, since she is always in the room with Maggie, anyway yesterday was a hoot! I used the "Ultimate Combo" technique for Mags to insure that there would be NO disasters at nap time. It was a success. She even waited until after nap time to take care of her "business". So, I'm changing her with Marlee watching over me to make sure I am doing it correctly. I securely duck taped the diaper on backwards and was headed to the trash can to make a deposit when Marlee came up and patted my leg saying "Thank you Momma...Thank You!". It was the funniest thing ever! She was clearly glad that I had prevented her from having to experience another catastrophe.
~R
***I also have a prayer request....My long time friend Jennifer has had a death in her family. She is also scheduled to repeat the kidney stone procedure on Friday, so please keep her and her family in your prayers as they go thru the next few weeks.***
I know!!!Grace lost her very 1st tooth today at school. I received a phone call about 12:30 from Keri crying that she had missed this event. Of course, I told her that she could pull Marlee or Maggie's first tooth. I am not really good at things like that, so we will leave it for Sis. Grace is getting so big. It is hard for me to imagine this sweet and precious little girl is even old enough to be loosing teeth. I love you Gracie Girl!!!
So, I googled "babies taking there diapers off" and got some really comical advice that I just had to share.....I hope you all find it as fun as I did.
So, clearly I will be trying the "Ultimate Combo".
~r
Here are some pictures taken over the past few weeks......
"Our Pumpkins"
"All of the Kiddos going to Ty's last game."
"Women Of Faith 2007 OKC"
"Women Of Faith 2007 OKC"
Thank God that I am finally feeling better this morning. Not 100%, but much better. Thank you for all of your prayers and sweet notes of encouragement.
~R
I am not feeling any different than last night, but hopefully things will start to change soon. The kids have been great to help me while Eric is out of town for a couple of days on a hunting trip. FYI the numbing throat lozenges are helping, but you have to suck on about 6 of them before they really kick in.
~R
You are probably not going to believe this, but I have Strep Throat!!! I feel like needles are poking all down my throat. I am now on antibiotics, so please pray that they take effect ASAP!
~Renay
Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband. We have been married for 5 years now and honestly I can't imagine a minute without him in my life!
So, the girlie's are going thru this phase right now where they enjoy taking their diapers off and smearing POOP all over everything. Yes, you read correctly EVERYTHING!!!
When this happens it is always incredibly silent in the bedroom, so you make your way down the long hallway to find this distinct odor that is repulsive....You make it thru the green fog to find 2 little girls playing naked in their own secretions. Now, I know that this makes everyone of you so jealous at the thought of this wonderful thing, but it is truly a gift that Marlee and Maggie have given me. But then the germaphobe that I am has to BLEACH & LYSOL everything. You all know the routine, but clearly this is not one of our finer moments.
Of course, after their Daddy found them in the horrible mess a few weeks ago he came up with the idea of using DUCK TAPE to put on the front of their diapers. And then tells them that they are "SUPER WOMAN"!!! And today I have to say that I am using the duck tape as well to insure that the disasters are kept to a minimum.
LOL!!!~;-)))
Well, it has definitely been awhile since I last blogged. We all have those moments where there has been so much going on that you really don't even know where to start so here it goes......
Eric:
We are so proud of him.... He recently was given the position of Assistant Foreman. YEAH!!! He has been patiently waiting for this for over a year.
Ty:
The boy finished up Football and I have to say did a great job this year.....He received the "Fullback of the Year" & "Best All Around Player" award from his coaches. He also made the A/B honor roll!!!! GO TYMAN!!!! But if you were to ask him his greatest accomplishment yet was getting to shoot his 1st deer this past Saturday. It was a 6 point mule deer. This is something that he has been wanting for a long time. (I will post pictures soon.)
Keely:
Keely girl went back to school yesterday for the 1st time since her surgery (Nov 6th!). I know that she was ready to get back into her regular routine. She was really tired when she got home yesterday, but had a lot to tell me about her day. She has recovered really well.
Marlee:
That girl is a talker...she will talk your head off. I am not sure where she gets that from???:)
Maggie:
Her new thing that she does ALL of time is....she brings me the phone and tells me "call Boppy!!!!" over and over again I hear this until I let her call him.
Me:
Well, I have lost a totally of 12 pounds so far...now of course I haven't weighed since Thanksgiving, so let's all pray that the scales are nice to me.
I had everyone over to my house for Thanksgiving and we honestly had a blast!! We all played cards and ate way to much.
I am so thankful for a wonderful family and group of friends to be able to share my life with. Thank you Jesus for all that you have done for each of us!
****Seriously, this time I PROMISE...I will keep up my blog!!!*****
WOW, what a wild week! Tuesday, Keely had her surgery and everything went wonderfully. Thank you to all of you that called, came by and sent e-mails! God healed her ear so the doctor didn't have to do anything and the tonsils & adenoids definitely had to come out.....I know that less is more when it comes to all of the details, so I will just leave it at that. She is slowly healing. We have had to really be on her a lot about eating and mainly drinking, but she is coming around. She has had a few friends call her from school that have really brightened her spirits which has helped a lot! I got tickled because she has told them that she would be back to school on Monday and clearly that is not going to happen, but a least she is optimistic.:-)
Eric and I have had the nasty head cold/sinus/congestion junk. Hopefully that will all come to an end soon.
Ty had a run in with the chair and desk at school on Tuesday....as they are wheeling Keely off to surgery I get a phone call from the school saying that someone needed to come up there and check out the situation. He tripped over a chair and landed on the corner of the desk hitting his eye and cheek. He has a horrible black eye, but is doing fine. I have to brag a little about Ty....I went to the parent/teacher conference this past week and his teachers told me what a wonderful kid Ty is in class. That truly was so great to hear! Everyone always wants to hear all of the good things about their kiddos.
I am sorry for the blogging slump, but I'll try to get back on track soon.
Keely woke up this morning at around 5:00 or so with a 102 temp. She was complaining of her head & stomach hurting. So, of course I immediately was thinking "STREP"!!! We were able to get her in to see the doctor first thing and found out that it was strep throat as well as a perforated eardrum. She had tubes when she was 3, but the hole in her ear is not from that. The doctor suggested that we get her in to see another ENT for a 2nd opinion on getting her tonsils and adenoids removed.(the ENT that we have seen most recently was reluctant to do anything with Keely due to all of her other medical issues) Luckily Mom was able to get her in with her original ENT that put the tubes in; so then we were off to see him. He feels as though we should go ahead and remove both her tonsils & adenoids as well as try to repair the hole in her eardrum. Her surgery date is scheduled for the 6th of November. There are always concerns when it comes to anything with Keely and I realize that this could really help with the long term effects of her being sick ALL of the time, but it is really hard to think about going thru all of this with her.
Please pray for her during these next few weeks.
That Keely always has something funny to say, but this has to be one of my favorites. She was telling me how Ty was worried that she had taken 2 quarters to school in her purse the other day and that he was "paranized".....AKA paranoid. I was laughing so hard and luckily Ty followed along with it and didn't start the fight over her saying the word wrong. This was just too cute not to share.
Keely's ARD was this past Wednesday. It was a little disheartening because you(I should say I) are always wanting them to say"well it is a miracle....everything that you are doing is working and she has finally snapped out of all of this." But that was not the case. I have to just be real about the situation and know that she is really not doing any better than she was 2 years ago, but not any worse so we can find comfort in that. Her test scores are as follows: in Math she is at a .7 which means she is in the 7 month of Kindergarten and in Reading she is at a 1.6 which means she is in the 6th month of the 1st grade. Now I know that she is really smart somewhere in there she has all of this knowledge that we have all taught her, but she can not recall any math facts and truly doesn't even know how to count to 100. Then with reading it is a true mystery to me how she is able to do that at all because she can not spell even the simplest of words. The seizures are like a cloud that covers a satellite signal, so she is unable to recall things that come so easy to the rest of us. With the Asperger's most children are able to function very well with their school work, but Keely doesn't have a very high IQ due to the epilepsy. Then of course you add ADD and Asthma on top of all of that and you have one heck of a problem.
I went to the Gym today after not being able to go all week and of course the big weigh in took place.....I have lost now a total of 9 lbs.!!! GO ME!!!!!!!! I was truly amazed. Keri had to come check it because I couldn't believe my eyes. We worked out really hard this morning and are trying some new things just to change it up a little bit. I am still loving the gym; I know that is hard to believe, but I do!
Eric is home for awhile and honestly we are LOVING IT!!! Yesterday was awesome....I had 7 friends come to church with us and the Sunday before we had 5 other guests. God is blessing us in ways that are beyond compare. Randall, our Pastor, is doing a phenomenal job as a voice from God......we are doing a series right now on marriage that is AWESOME!!! I can't get enough. I have been quoting some of the scriptures to friends of mine that were needing an encouraging word and that is when you know that there is a true reason why you read that earlier in the day.
We are all healthy right now with no complaints. I hope you all have a wonderful week!;-)
So, did you all think that I was an idiot that didn't know how to spell on the "IBS" blog??? I put BOWL instead of BOWEL and didn't even realize it until Eric was reading it last night. We both just started laughing so hard!!
Just thought I would give you all a good laugh this evening. Have a GREAT weekend!
My 2 new favorite songs.....I love everything about these songs...
This Is Your Life by Switchfoot
Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now
And today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
This is your life
Are you who you want to be
This is your life
Are you who you want to be
This is your life
Is it everything you've dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Yesterday is a kid in the corner
Yesterday is dead and over
This is your life
Are you who you want to be
This is your life
Are you who you want to be
This is your life is it everything you've dreamed it would be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not who I was by Brandon Heath
I wish you could see me now
I wish I could show you how I'm not who I was
I used to be mad at you
A little on the hurt side too
But I'm not who I was
I found my way around
To forgiving you
Some time ago
But I never got to tell you so
I found us in a photograph I saw me and I had to laugh
You know, I'm not who I was
You were there, you were right above me
And I wonder if you ever loved me
Just for who I was
When the pain came back again
Like a bitter friend
It was all that I could do
To keep myself from blaming you
I reckon it's a funny thing I figured out I can sing
Now I'm not who I was
I write about love and such
Maybe 'cause I want it so much I'm not who I was
I was thinking maybe
I should let you know I am not the same
But I never did forget your name
Hello
Well the thing I find most amazing
In amazing grace
Is the chance to give it out
Maybe that's what love is all about
I wish you could see me now
I wish I could show you how I'm not who I was
**I think it is funny how God can bless you in ways that are so unimaginable to us. I was having a bad day, a really bad day, the first time I heard the song "I'm not who I was" when I realized that I have grown so much and that I am not truly who I was. God has healed the things in my life that I thought were the unspeakable to have been healed. I had unforgiveness in my heart that effected every aspect of my life....I never realized how much I needed to forgive and allow God to heal past relationships or people who have hurt me or that I have hurt. Once I allowed God to show me that His love was so much more powerful than any hurt that I could have I was able to move forward and love the way I was supposed to. Trying not to judge or allow my tongue to get in the way of His work in my life. I also realized what a wonderful gift from God my handsome husband and beautiful children are, as well as, what my purpose in their life is. Each one of them need that special part of me that only a wife or mother can give. To be able to take pride in the fact of being that person is something that only God could show me. I am not the "career mom" nor was I ever. I think women who can juggle all of those things are phenomenal, but I personally can not ever seem to juggle all of the work and wife and mom duties very well. But if I put my focus on what God has personally called me to do then He always shows me how to prioritize everything....down to how to juggle everything with Keely in the correct manner.
Everything that each of us may go through makes us able to relate and be able to love others more because of our mistakes. None of us are perfect, but the one thing that we can all do for each other is be the open hearted person who can always be there with a lending ear and a promise of prayer. And through the promise of prayer there is hope and faith that only God can give & that is who we really have to put our trust in!
~Renay
So, the verdict is in......I have IBS(Irritable Bowl Syndrome) & ACID REFLUX. I know it sounds so sexy. That Eric is a lucky guy, huh??? Just like you all said the worst part was drinking the junk. I didn't feel a thing!! My mom was able to be off with me today to take care of the girls, so I was able to sleep off the drugs they gave me. I will meet with the doctor on October 19th to see what medicine he wants to put me on. So, enough about me......Eric is home for awhile!!! YEAH!! He got off early today and was able to take the boy to football practice. We are all so glad that daddy is finally home. Well, I am so sleepy that I am going to have to call it a night. Thank you all for taking the time to pray for me and talk me through drinking the junk. ~;-)
This evening I have had the honor of drinking the junk before my upper and lower GI in the morning. It is the most disgusting thing that you could possibly ever imagine drinking. It kinda taste like Alka Seltzer with a dash of orange Kool-Aid....without the color of course. Today I had to only drink or have clear liquids.....YEAH!!! Of course, I cheated this morning with some coffee, but preceded to have 4 qts of Crystal Light, 1 can of chicken broth & 1 pkg of lime Jello, so needless to say you would think that I have completely cleaned out my system, but not so much. Anyway, all of the kids are in bed and the schedule is typed out for tomorrow. My obsessive ways always tend to come out when I feel like I am not in control of things. :)
Thanks for all of your prayers and hopefully tomorrow I will have some news on the whole stomach issue, so we can finally put this thing to rest!
Well, I woke up Saturday morning to the wonderful sound of Grace and Keely telling me that "Maggie had done something in her bed!".....of course when asked "WHAT??" they said "I am not sure, but it stinks!" You can all imagine the wonderful thoughts that were going through my mind at that point. I got her up and bathed and low and behold she starts vomiting again, so on to plan B....I called my mom to see if she could take Tyler to his game and Grace home, so hopefully she wouldn't get it, and of course mom was happy to help in anyway. Maggie seems to better, I honestly think that she is just having issues now with the whole gag thing which is making her vomit easier. (I hope that makes sense.)
Luckily Eric surprised us by being able to come home early~~YEAH!!! We were all so excited to see him. He left again this morning, but will hopefully be home Tuesday evening. Of course, that is the BIG day for me...I am having that upper and lower GI done.
The girls are waking up so that is all for now, but I still have more to say so hopefully I'll get a break later to write more.
I only have 25 more post to go until I have my 100th post!! I am trying to come up with some really good ones!
Everyone is doing a lot better these days. I should say everyone, but Maggie. She is still not wanting to eat very much and has the diarrhea, but other than that she is doing fine. Who knows maybe she just has her Mamma's tummy issues. ;-)
Ty is doing well in school and still loving football. Then of course Keely is just loving being Keely...she always has her hand in something.
The girls with there 1st Fair corn dog....Marlee just took a couple of bites and threw it down, but Maggie ate every bite down to the very last crumb on the stick.
Keely had Bailey spend the night Saturday and while she was here I had them decorate some little pumpkins with markers. Anyway to make a long story short Marlee decided that she needed to taste Keely's pumpkin and this is what she looked like when she was done....
So, this morning I wake up to Maggie who had vomited in the bed...what a pleasant surprise to greet you in the morning. Anyway, shortly after getting Ty & Keely off to school she started with the diarrhea. I then decided that it was time to call Boppy to see if he could make the run to the store for more diapers, wipes & GATORADE! He of course was happy to help in anyway as long as he didn't have to enter the germ infested house. The girls laid down for a nap and slept for an incredibly long time which should have tipped me off about what was fixing to occur....About 5:00 I hear a scream from Keely that "Marlee is throwing up! HURRY come quick!!!" And of course she had vomited all over my beautiful cowboy area rug in the living room. Her poor face just said enough of "I'm sorry" for a life time. She looked so sad that this horrible junk was coming out of her. I quickly scooped her up and head to the tub while asking Keely to take Maggie outside on the front porch for a minute while I cleaned Marlee and everything else up. Then while I am washing Marlee's hair and finishing up Keely brings Maggie and says "Momma, Maggie just diarrheaed all over me!!". At this point I am thinking what else???? Keely was very calm and just waited her turn to take a bath after Maggie. (which of course each one of them had to have new water each time & the tub had to be cleaned....yes, I am truly that crazy about germs) I then made my way back into the living room and safely put all 3 girls in the recliner while I preceded to get everything cleaned up and low and behold Marlee vomits again & again & again. Needless to say it has been one heck of an evening. After 6 loads of laundry today, 8 baths and also having to give the dogs a bath because they decided to do some investigating as well....I am ready for bed. We defiantly could use all of your prayers that this stomach bug is just a 24 hour one. ;-)
So, everyone knows that I am loving going to the gym and today I have to do some bragging.....I have lost a total of 5 lbs!!! YEA~~~ I really needed to see that today. I have really been trying hard to stay focused as well as stay positive, but when you watch things like "The Biggest Loser" it makes it hard.
I guarantee if all I had to do was eat right and exercise as much as I wanted I would be skinny in no time!! The day to day life worries come in to play and you realize that you can't remember when the last time you ate exactly what you were supposed to. Anyway I am really thinking this is just the tip of the iceberg on the weight loss issue. Thanks to all of you for being so encouraging!
Caden, Jen's son, is spending the night this evening while she goes in to have surgery tomorrow, so please keep her in your prayers. She is having a stint put in one of her kidneys so that she will be able to pass some stones easier. She is such a trooper to have passed several of these on her own...I am such a weenie that there is no way I could have ever done that. Anyway, Caden is having a blast with all of the kiddos. And if Keely will leave him alone he might could play with everyone else.....she has been showing him everything out here. I even ventured in to United earlier with all 5 kids....the looks from everyone were priceless!!
I have figured out what to do when I am stressed......last night I had a lot on my mind when I took Tyler to the park for Football practice, so I decided that I would just walk around on the side walk a time or two until I felt a little bit better. Besides I was going to the gym in a couple of hours anyway, so I would get my "true" work out there. Well, one lap turned into 11...yes that is right 11 which means in an hour and half I walked 5 1/2 miles! I was talking on the phone most of the time venting and what not so time just flew by.(thanks Amanda for lending me your ear!) Then I got in the car and thought "yeah, I think I'll for go the trip to the gym and go home and take a long hot bath". I had no idea how much exercising can truly be a stress reliever. Who would have thought that I would embrace the whole idea of getting sweaty???
Eric is still gone and man oh man I really miss him this week. I am ready to see his sweet smiling face that lights up the room.
Prayer Request:
Eric's dad, Billy, is having a colonoscopy done on Monday. We are all feeling a little anxious about the results. Please prayer that it goes really well for him and all of our worries are put to rest. Also, prayer for my sister and Cannon, my nephew, that everyone gets over the awful stomach bug that they have all had. My friend, Jenifer has 2 kidney stones and is in A LOT of pain right now...she will see an urologist today, so please pray that he is able to give her some answers to relieve this horrible pain.
**Ok, seriously none of you have stepped up to the plate on the talking me thru drinking all of the nasty tasting junk before my testing???? I can't imagine why no one would want to do that?
On to another subject:
I have watched Bishop TD Jakes before on TV, but never really got that into it. But he has a new book out that I can't wait to read...It is called Repositioning your Life(??). I can't wait for this winter when you can curl up in bed and it is cold outside and get down into a really good "can't put it down" book. Does anyone have any suggestions??
Well, I have rambled on for awhile and now hear the girlies talking to one another in bed, so I better get off here and get on Mom patrol. I hope you all have a wonderful blessed day!
Were are now finally pacifier FREE!!!! YEA!!! The girls are 17 months and ever since they were probably oh let's see ummm 6 months old I have wanted to get ready of that stinkin' pacifier!
Monday night I put them to bed without their pacifiers and of course there was lots of crying, but they finally gave up and went to sleep....BUT Keely decided that Maggie needed one in the middle of the night, so she got up, got Maggie and put her in bed with her along with a pacifier. So, then all day Tuesday I preceded to find every single pacifier and throw them all away so that Keely would not even have the option. Needless to say we had about 25 of those boogers around here. Marlee and Maggie did just fine Tuesday and today I can report that they don't even realize what they are missing. We had to complete this task before Daddy got home....he never wants to hear them cry and honestly thinks that we will just deal with the "no pacifier thing" later even if that meant trying to wean them off of it at 5 yrs old. ;-)
Ty had his game today and did so wonderful again!!! The girls and I had to watch from the car because it was so hot out in the sun.
Eric will leave to go out of town again tomorrow after Ty's game...This has been the shortest weekend ever!!
So, we survived the week without Eric. He is taking his test right now and will soon be on his way home. YEA!!! Everyone has missed him so much this week.
I took the girls to the fair with Jennifer, Keri & her friend Melissa along with all of our kiddos....man what a sight!! We had such a good time and honestly think we have to all get together more often. While we were there I picked up Sean(Amanda's son); he is such a good little boy. The kind that you almost don't even realize that you have another kid with you, because he is just that good.
Tyler is supposed to go this evening with a friend and honestly that completely FREAKS me out to have him go to the Fair at night without me. I know that he is growing up and I have to let go, but seriously....he is still my baby!!!
I have to get ready to head to the gym, so that is all for now.
So, I know that I have completely let down all of my fellow bloggers with my lack of blogging lately........Please forgive me that this one is about a lot of different things that have been going on.
Keely:
Well, remember me saying that 3 out of the 4 were sick....I spoke too soon. I received a phone call from the school on Monday afternoon that Keely had fallen in a hole and "broke her foot". But remember that at home I still have 3 kids sick and Eric is at work, so I went and got her, brought her back home and called the doctor to see if she would just call in orders to the hospital for an X-Ray. Thank goodness that our doctor is so understanding and totally gets the whole concept of having more than just one kid. She called in the orders and when Eric got home I took her to hospital. Luckily!!!! It was not broke....and since Keely has no emotion about things, it is hard to tell how bad something is hurting her. Anyway to make a long story short the doctor and I agreed that since she had sprained her foot it would probably be the best idea to sit this soccer season out. Which Keely honestly didn't even act like it fazed her one bit. But other than that she is doing really well.
Tyler:
Tyler had his first game on Saturday and did GREAT!!! His love for Football has grown so much since last season. He is truly loving the game now. I was just glad that he was able to get over the Viral infection that he had earlier in the week so that he could play in the first game. He survived with only a jammed finger!! YEA!!! All of the girls are Tyler's cheerleaders so I made them little jerseys with his number on the back.....they all looked so cute.
Marlee & Maggie:
The girlie's are finally well and back to their ornery selves. Maggie has started talking a lot more and tells me that she is "done" all of the time. "I done!" "I done!" And then of course Marlee is such the ham that she is constantly wanting me to sing to her...our new song is "Little Bunny FuFu". She really amazes me with all of the motions that she knows.
Eric:
Eric is off to Kansas City, MO for the week. He is taking a class for work at the local college up there. He will come in late Friday night and then have to leave for Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon to be gone another week. Please join me in praying for a safe trip with out any worries and also that he is able to take this course and pass it with "flying colors". He is so smart and always does so good with stuff like this, but has been so stressed out lately that I am hoping that it doesn't interfere with this class.
Me:
Okay, enough about everybody else lets talk about me...HA HA!!! I love going to the gym!!! Can you believe that those words actually came out of my mouth?? I was able to go and work out all last week and then even got the opportunity to get to work out with Jen on Friday. I honestly couldn't do any of this with out the great motivation from Keri. She is so awesome at keeping you wanting to achieve more and more. Thanks, SIS!!!
We went to church this morning and I had invited Tyler's football coach and his wife to come with us and they came!!! It was friend day and what a blessing to see this very sweet couple come with their whole family. The church had a big meal afterwards and everyone was able to stay and eat. I truly thank God for placing us at Plum Creek...not only do we get to worship our Saviour, but we have the most awesome opportunity to do it with our wonderful family. God has just blessed me in more ways than are imaginable.
Here are some pictures of the game on Saturday:
Maggie
Cute Jersey
Tyler is the one running with the mud all over the front of his pants.
Tyler...Great game boy!!!
~~~~~~~~~~So, when you have this many kids and it is the beginning of cold season you are bound and determine to have at least one kiddo sick.
Marlee woke up yesterday morning with a high fever, cough and couldn't talk....she would try but nothing would come out. At noon our doctor's office was having clinic, so luckily I was able to get her in....she has a viral infection, but sounds horrible. Then of course I come home and notice that Tyler has red checks and his voice is sounding weird. Which for him that would mean Strep Throat!!! He was the only one last time who didn't end up with it, so that would be about right. :) Anyway, he insisted that he was NOT sick and that I had just completely lost my mind, but this morning I woke up to him crawling in bed with me saying that "Momma my throat hurts and I think that I have a fever." And then Maggie is still having the lingering cough and runny nose, so this morning I have used a whole can of Lysol on my house AGAIN and bleached everything in sight to try to get us all over this junk. This is just the beginning I am sure of what is to come this Winter. I guess you just have to take it in stride and always remember it could be so much worse. Oh, and believe it or not Keely is the well and doing just fine right now.
Friday I went to see Dr. Ellington a gastroenterologist about my stomach issues. He feels like that since I have been battling these issues for awhile that I probably have IBS. Aren't I so lucky to have that diagnosis?? It sounds so sexy I know....You are all jealous and wish that you could be like me, but that is not all of it. I have to have a sonogram of my gallbladder, since I have been having some higher abdominal pain, and an upper & lower GI done. Seriously I just wanted a pill that would make me have some regular poops and low & behold I end up with the whole battery of test for intestinal, colon & stomach issues. But I guess if this gets me back to "normal" I can't complain. Who wants to sit on the phone with me and talk me thru drinking all of that junk before the GI???? Anyone....Anyone???? It sounds so exciting, so make sure and mark your calender for October 8th...6:00PM.
I hope that you all got a great laugh at this, because at this point that is all there is left to do. Have a blessed weekend!!!
Oh, and I almost forgot I got my hair cut on Friday as well as joined the gym....I love my hair and I hope you are sitting down...I LOVED working out. I was sore the next day, but truly loved everything about it. I haven't ever even been in a gym, so it was really exciting for me to get to see all of the neat machines. And thanks to Keri I have a great motivator to want to be healthier and not so out of shape.
~Marlee~
~Maggie~
~My Cousin Cody @ the Game~
~My Cousin Robin Playing the Bass Drum~
(in the middle w/ the ponytail)
We had such a great time, but I realized as I was down loading all of the pictures that I didn't get even one family picture. :(
So, since I have been really bad about blogging lately this one is going to be kinda long.....
I'll start with our weekend:
We had my Uncle Joe & Aunt Pam come in from Missouri on Friday and then Saturday my Uncle Tommy & Aunt Angela came in from Hale Center. Anyway to make a long story short we had almost 30 people out here on Saturday and I had the honor of getting to feed them all. It was so much fun!!! I love to cook so that was truly right up my alley. We also got to watch my cousin, Cody, play at Dick Bivins on Saturday. His sister Robin was there as well playing the drums. I loved getting to see them all and having the time to sit and visit. We honestly can not allow that much time to pass by without getting together again.
Eric's Birthday:
Friday was also Eric's 36th Birthday. He was such a good sport to put his "Birthday Meal" off until Monday night. Of course, you always get to pick what you want for your meal and he picked Chicken Fried Steak...YEAH!!! (a personally fav of mine as well)
My Wisdom Teeth:
I had 2 of my wisdom teeth out on Thursday....the top 2 to be exact. Along with 4 fillings done. And I have to say the anxiety of knowing you are going to go in and have this done was worse than the actually procedure. The doctor was great and I you know me and if I was hurting you would have all heard about it.
The Girlie's:
Maggie has CROUP!!! YUCK!!! I haven't ever really dealt with this before, but it truly sounds horrible. She is doing better today, so let's just pray that Marlee doesn't get it.
Keely Girl:
Keely has done great with school so far. She is playing soccer and just loving it.
Tyler Boy:
Tuesday night Tyler was at football practice when he fell or something(...I'm still not really sure how it happened..) and hit the inside of his wrist. It started swelling up really quick, so we thought that we should have it looked at. After being at the ER for a couple of hours the doctor came in a said that it wasn't broke. YEAH!! He had bruised the tendon that would cause something similar to Carpal Tunnel pain. Anyway, he has a brace and is doing fine.
I have pictures off all of the events that I'll post in a little while.....
~Cannon, Marlee, Mason & Maggie~
~Cannon & Marlee~
~Baby Mason~
~Cannon & Mason~
~Cannon &Mason~
~Tyler~
~ Keely~
~Tyler & Keely~So, I couldn't even sleep last night....I was so excited for the kiddos to get back to the grind. If I hear one more time..."Momma, can I wear my new shoes or clothes???" I think I might just scream! I remember being Tyler and Keely's age and the first day of school is like the anticipation of Christmas coming. You get to use all of your new school supplies, backpack and wear the much awaited new shoes.
I know that Marlee and Maggie are going to be so lost today without Keely and Tyler, but thank goodness I get to watch Cannon and Mason this morning, so that will take their mind off of not seeing the big kids. Oh, and if you haven't read Keri's blog lately then you HAVE to read it today.....some excitement took place at their house yesterday......
http://patientlywaitingforheaven.blogspot.com/
This past week was so busy like I am sure it was for most of you, so I won't bore you with all of the minor details.....BUT I have to brag on the fact that one of my oldest and dearest friends came to visit at our church yesterday. Jennifer and Caden came and were even able to stay to eat up there. I was just absolutely so THRILLED to see them. And hopefully all of my kids didn't scare them off....Maggie was for sure in a wild mood. Anyway, I love PCF and the fact that Eric and I have had the opportunity to share that with Quentin and Amanda is more than words could ever express. And now for Jen & her crew to share in the excitement is just as thrilling.
I hope that you all have a blessed week.
Tonight we went up to the school for the annual "tailgate party and meet the teacher night". It is always so much fun for us to get to see some of our friends that we don't see all of the time and just hang out with the kiddos and visit.
We went over to Keri's house today to play on the slide and believe it or not I refrained from getting my big ol' butt up on the slide and falling again. It was hard, but I truly thought no one would ever believe me that it was an accident if it happened again.
I have to say that Cannon is such a cutie...he has so many new phrases and is so loving. And then of course Mason is just my lover boy. And last but certainly not least Grace is my "Big Girl" who I absolutely adore and am so glad that she has such a strong bond with Keely. What a blessing that Keri and I are able to raise our babies together.
We have had a busy week, but also so much fun....
I took Keely to see the neurologist on Monday. Dr. Lewis is so awesome and truly just loves Keely. Even though she doesn't ever talk to him really his heart is always pouring out to my baby girl. He feels like the recent big seizure that she had was completely due to being sick, so we don't have to up any meds. YEAH!!! We will go back to visit with him in November to check her progress.
Then on Tuesday we went swimming and just had a BLAST! It was so much fun hanging out with my sister and cousin. The kids love going to the Town Club, which has made us seal the deal on getting a membership there. We love getting to see everyone and hang out playing in the water. The work out regiment will come later. :)
Tyler had an eye doctor's appt this week as well and in turn needed some new glasses. Our insurance in VSP so he won't be able to get his glasses for a couple of weeks, but when he gets them I will have to post some pictures of my handsome boy. He picked these really cool bold black frames that look adorable on him.
Yesterday was the dreaded ARD....I say that because in the past it has never been one of those situations where I have enjoyed getting to talk to the teachers about Keely and all of her problems, but for some reason yesterday it was different. We are all in the same boat in not really knowing at times what is the best situation for Keely, but after doing all of the testing this summer we are all hoping that she can truly surpass all of the expectations we have for her. Her teacher is AWESOME!!! I absolutely adore her. She is so kind and is looking forward to getting to have Keely in class. And honestly if she was freaked out about everything with Keely, she keep it to herself because I gave her a lot of information in a short amount of time. I have to honestly say a BIG THANKS to our Lord Jesus for stepping in and taking care of this situation and taking all of my anxiety away.
There are still 2 days left in the week so check back with me, because we all know that in 2 days time I will have the 8 pages to write. ~;-)
So, I haven't had time to sit down and go into everything so now you get the blow by blow details of everything that has gone on this week.
~Keely & Strep~
Keely had the Strep Throat as of Saturday and Sunday morning she had a seizure, so the rest of the week even though she was doing better as far as the Strep she was just a zombie at times from the seizure. Then of course the twins ended up getting sick. They are all better now, so we can have a good weekend.
~Wisdom Teeth~
I was supposed to have 2 of my wisdom teeth out on Thursday, but I have to have some other dental work done, so I am going to have the right side of my mouth done on the 30th and then schedule to have the left side done later.
~Doctor's Appt & ARD~
This next week I have a doctor's appt literally set up for almost everyday and then we have Keely's ARD before school starts, so we will have a super busy week. We found out who Keely's teacher is going to be and are so excited that she is getting to meet her and that we are going to hit the ground running with her this school year.
~Tyler~
Oh, and Tyler came home.....YEAH!!!! We missed him so much, but he had a blast with Sisa and her family. He came home with tons of good stories to tell about the trip.
~Marlee & Maggie~
Marlee is biting Maggie!! So, unfortunately we are having to separate them. But thank goodness for our church, because they had 2 cribs that the girls could use. Our big crib will be put in storage until someone needs one.(anyone....anyone????) It is kinda ironic that Marlee is biting Maggie because Maggie is the one with all of the teeth. ;)
I know that this past week has been a whooper, but we truly have to thank God for all of his many blessings.....It is kinda of funny how you can still look around even when all of the daily crap is going on in your life and see what God has done for you. Thank you Jesus!!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to Cannon!
Happy Birthday to you!
I am so proud of you big 2 year old!
We love you so much!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to Julie!
Happy Birthday to you!
I hope you have a spectacular day!
We love you!!!
It has been 4 years today since my Grandma Baker passed away and honestly there hasn't been one day since then that I haven't wished that I could talk to her. I miss her so much that words could never express what this wonderful woman meant to me. She was a single mom of 4 boys, Joe,her next the oldest son Jack was killed in a car accident when he was 19 years old, my daddy Walt & Tommy. She worked at the Furr's grocery store as a checker. She loved absolutely everything about family....she would cook enough to feed an army and literally sometimes that is what she had show up at her house. Her home was open to anyone.
Keri and I would spend EVERY Friday night with her and we had our normally schedule...Grandma would pop popcorn (or if it was in the summer we might have watermelon) and get ready to watch "our" shows---Dallas & Falcon Crest--She would let us sleep in the bed with her and she read us wonderful books like 'Alice in Wonderland' over and over. She would tell us some of the most wonderful stories and then in the morning we always fixed pancakes. Before it got too hot Keri and I were off to the backyard to make "mud pies"....we normally would play like we were the lunch room ladies and serve all of the students our great masterpieces. By the time we were done with all of our fun it was time for Momma to come and get us. We would also go and stay at her house after school and when she would get off work she would play dominoes with us to teach us how to add. We had so much at Grandma's house. I wish that all of my kids could have experienced this woman the way I did......I know that she would have loved getting to see all of the babies. We love you Grandma and know with out a shadow of doubt that you are in Heaven having the time of your life. I can't wait to see you again!
Grandma with her boys!
