Have you been crucified?

My new friend, Kristie, wrote a GREAT post talking about struggles with sin. It is definitely worth a read. It's nice to know that I am not alone in my daily, hourly, minute-by-minute struggle with sin.


LINK TO KRISTIE'S POST

Move over Sanjaya

D looks much cuter with a fau-hawk and he just may just give you a run for your money with his singing too :)

It was haircut day for D & Daddy. Victoria (at WestSide Salon) styled Drew's hair this way. It was pretty funny but I can't say that I'll do this on a regular basis. :)

The true barbarians

More taken off of what I've been reading in the book, "The Barbarian Way".

I've only read the first two sections but as I was reading this book I was hit with how I served in a ministry that is focused on the true "barbarians" for their faith each day - the persecuted church. Their faith is basic, pure & simple - it's all about loving Jesus and following Him, no matter what the cost. It hasn't been domesticated, prettied up, made "comfortable", it is raw and true. When they choose to follow Jesus, they are truly CHOOSING to suffer and often times die.


Philippians 3:10-11 says this:

I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may atain to the resurrection from the dead.

My good friend, and former boss,Todd Nettleton, authored the feature article in the April 2007 issue of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter and said this in reference to the verse above:

"It is sometimes easy to focus only on experiencing Christ's power through the Holy Spirit as a kind of guarentee that we will never have to share in His suffering. But, the two are inseparable. We cannot truly know the power of the risen Savior without being willing to walk all the way with Him. Our persecuted family members are witnesses that without the suffering and pain of Good Friday, there could have been no resurrection power on Easter Sunday morning."

I have to be honest, I don't want to suffer. In church on Wednesday night we spent some time focused on worship and prayer. We looked at verses talking about God's glory, His holiness, Sin & Repentence. We were asked to take some time and pray and ask God to show us any unconfessed sin in our lives and then repent of it. Some sin is so easy to identify, it's obvious, but there are those sins that are deep and sometimes not so easy to put your finger on.

I can't say that I liked what I learned about myself that night. I'm being a bit transparent here by confessing that what I learned is that what was separating me from God (a.k.a. - SIN) was a lack of trust that what He has planned for me is the very best. It's hard to explain but I have several friends that are completely sold out Christians - 100% - Barbarian Way Christians and their lives have been hard. They have experienced some incredibly painful times and some horrible losses. Honestly, I am afraid that God might require that of me too and it scares me and it's in the midst of that fear that I start to distrust that what God has for me is the absolute best (regardless of what that may be - good or bad).

I think I find myself often thinking exactly what my friend stated above that by "focusing only on experiencing Christ's power through the Holy Spirit as a kind of guarentee that I will never have to share in His suffering."

That is so wrong.

Tom White, Executive Director of The Voice of the Martyrs (USA), in his April 2007 editorial wrote this about the persecuted believers around the world:

"The victorious testimonies we encounter in our work are from believers who know the meaning of "take up your cross." They are living reminders that the whole gospel must include the possibility of suffering for Christ or we ignore the foundation and experience of New Testament Christianity."

Lord, help me to fully trust that what you have planned for my life is the absolute best, no matter what it is. Help me walk fully committed to serving you in every way that you ask me to.

The Barbarian Way

I just started reading this book during my morning work-out at the YMCA this morning. I first heard about this book while working at The Voice of the Martyrs - we advertised this book in one of our FREE monthly newsletters (you NEED to get this newsletter if you don't already).

So many thoughts but I wanted to post one particular quote that really stuck out to me.

"The original call of Jesus was so simnple, so clean, so clear: "Follow Me." He wants us to surrender our lives to Him and follow Him into the unknown. And if it means a life of suffering, hardships, and disappointment, it will be worth it because following Jesus Christ is more powerful and more fulfilling than living with everything in the world minus Him." (pp. 48-49)

Kids say the darndest things.

Kids can say the funniest things sometimes.

Here's a few that I want to remember from D.

MOM: D, did you pee or poop in your pants at church?
D: I didn't pee, I didn't poop, and that's the end of the story.


D to Dad during game of Snap!: I'm gonna beat you dude!

D after he pooped in the potty: Holy cow, look at that!

American Idol - Final 10

Okay, so I am a big American Idol fan so, of course, I was watching tonight. Apparently whoever decides when to do the monthly test of the Emergency Broadcast System isn't a big fan of the show because it cut in right in the middle of Jordin's performance! Grrrrrr.

Sanjaya isn't great and all but seriously, tonight was the WORST of all. I wish I could find a picture of his hair tonight. It was so many ways of wrong that I don't know where to begin. A pony-tail mohawk? WHAT???? His singing was as bad as his hair.

Phil Stacey - well he sang well but something bugs me about him. Not sure what.

Gotta say, Belinda is always wonderful. She's my personal favorite. Morgan likes Hayley and Blake Lewis. We'll see who wins.

Man, when did I get so judgemental???!!!


What are your thoughts on the show?

EDITED TO ADD A LINK: To see a pic of Sanjaya's hair click HERE

Easter Egg HuntS!!!

I was just thinking about this. My kiddos are going to be on an egg hunting craze here soon. On Wed. is the egg hunt with my Mostly Mommies group, Saturday is the underwater egg hunt at the YMCA, Sunday is the neighborhood hunt and then there is the hunt I'm sure we'll go on with family over Easter. That's FOUR Easter Egg hunts!

I also want to do the Resurrection Eggs hunt with the kids. My friend, Dina, gave us a set this year and I'm excited to use them. Check them out HERE.

A bunch of randomness

Several things running through my head tonight so bear with me.

NEIGHBORHOOD STUFF

Good day in the neighborhood today. I think I visited at least 40 homes today passing out flyers for our 1st Annual Easter Egg hunt next Sunday. It was really nice to meet so many new people. I have to say, while I get frustrated with certain things in this neighborhood, there are many things I love about it. I love that it is kid-friendly. Our other neighborhood was great but it was really hilly, had lots of trees, and lots of FAST drivers that made it nearly impossible for kids to safely play outside for very long - at least on my part of the street. The kids are having fun riding their bikes, playing with neighbor kids and playing on their playset. It's great. I am enjoying meeting lots of new people. Lots of opportunities.


ORGANIZATION

I am NOT good at keeping my life organized. It a character flaw of mine that seriously drives me nuts. I hate that I can't seem to be consistent in things for long - usually the things that I don't enjoy doing like keeping the house straight, laundry done, etc. If I enjoy it then I am WAY better at being consistent.

I used to think there was no need for a planner more than a monthly calendar hanging on the wall - after all, I am *just* a stay-at-home-mom. WHATEVER. I am a SAHM to 3 kids and we are busy, busy. I bought a monthly/weekly planner to use to plan our weeks. I intend to put the things we are scheduled to do on there, the household chores that I need/want (ya right) to get done on there and the meal planning. I'm hoping that helps me be more intentional in what I do with the kids & around the house. We'll see!

So - that's my random thoughts for the day. Aren't you glad you read it?

A visit from Flat Stanley

Morgan's friend, Adrienne, from Oklahoma is doing a FLAT STANLEY project with her Kindergarten class. We received Adrienne's Flat Stanley last week and today we took FS on many adventures. Here are just a few of the pictures:


Down by the Honky Tonks (is that how you spell that? And, no we absolutely did NOT take Flat into any of those places. But, hey, Nashville is the home of country music so we couldn't leave them out).



How wrong is it that my child had no idea who Elvis was? :)



The Batman Building (BellSouth Tower)


The Parthenon - exact replica in Nashville!


We went other places but that's a little highlight.

ADRIENNE: Flat Stanley enjoyed his trip to Nashville and will be on his way back to you on Monday! :)

Birthday Book (scrapbook pages)

I went to the church scrapbooking night last Friday and got 5 pages done. I'm almost caught up in Drew's birthday book (a book with pics from each year's birthday party)

The rest of Drew' s 2nd birthday (Buzz Lightyear). Click HERE for the first few pages.




Drew's 3rd birthday was a Cars party. A lady at the crop had her Quick Kutz letters with her and I used them to create the "license plate" look below.

Not completely happy with this page but it looks decent small :)

New words

It is so fun when little ones learn new words (well, most of the time it's fun). O is really starting to add to his vocabulary. In addition to "thank you", "mamma", "juice", and "ball" he added "please" and "more" today. He doesn't pronunciate perfectly of course - the kid is only 18 months - but it is so fun to hear him saying new words. Now I just need to get it on video.

Pop!

Did you hear that sound?

It was my nice, comfortable Christian "bubble" bursting.

It's a good thing - really!

Before moving here I would say that I was living in my nice, comfortable, "Christian" world. I worked at a Christian ministry, was active in my church, had Christian friends, and my immediate neighbors were also Christians. Nice & comfy cozy.

Too comfy & too cozy and far too easy to be complacent in my faith. I had become what I detested when I first became a Christian - a complacent Christian, content to live life in my "Christian" world without much regard for those that were lost around me.

I read this the other day:

150,000 people die every 24 hours—most without the Savior. We are deeply concerned that so few Christians reach out to the lost. Statistics show that this is as low as 5%

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20)

16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

As a believer, God expects us to go into the world and teach people who He is and show them just how much He loves them. It's not optional for any believer. You may not be gifted in the area of evangelism but that doesn't mean you get a pass on the expectation. If you have a mouth and can talk, you can "evangelize".

Build a relationship with someone who doesn't know Christ. You don't have to hit them over the head with the gospel, I'm sure they'd prefer it if you didn't. Get to know them and show them Christ in any way you can. At the very least (and very most) - pray for them. GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS.

I'm thankful for where I am right now. I have such a great opportunity to share the love of Christ, specifically in my neighborhood. While I definitely have a passion to start a ministry to moms, that's not going to happen right now so I need to focus on what I can do right now. I can get to know my neighbors. I can show them the love of Christ through my actions and eventually, hopefully, I'll get the chance to share directly about what Jesus did for me and for them.

My little Christian bubble is no more and I'm thankful for it.

How are you being intentional on reaching out to those that don't know Christ?

Miss. Robin's house

We went to "Miss. Robin's house" today. Robin, if you're reading this you are probably wondering how you missed us LOL!

"Miss Robin's house" is how Drew refers to Red Robin restaurant now. No matter how much I try to correct him he still refers to it as "Miss. Robin's house".

For those of you that don't know who Miss. Robin is, she watched all three of my kiddos while I worked while in Bartlesville. She watched Morgan from 6 weeks until 4 years old, Drew from 6 weeks until almost 2 years old and Owen from 6-9 weeks of age. She was/is a HUGE blessing to our family and is greatly missed. She has three kiddos of her own - Garrett, Madison, & Tanner and the kids loved hanging out with them as well.

So, Miss. Robin, if you are reading this. You are missed!!! The kids still talk about you & your family all the time.

Patience (or lack thereof)

Remind me never, ever to pray for patience. Seriously. How do I think I'm going to have to learn it?? LOL!!!

I've never been good at waiting, especially when I'm excited about something. I want it to happen NOW. I want to do it NOW. I don't want to wait. I hate being told that I have to wait, even when there is good reason. Drives me crazy.

I know that I need to be more patient, especially with my kids (doesn't everyone?) and I'm working on that as well.

PATIENCE - ughhhhh - I'm SO not good at it. Guess I'm going to have to learn to be.

Ministry Gifts

In Sunday School/Small Group we are going through a book and the current topic is spiritual gifts. We stopped this week to do a "Ministry Gifts Inventory" put out by Lifeway. Everyone in the class took it and it was interesting. I've taken these before while in college and again while in Bartlesville but hadn't taken this particular one so I was interested in what it would say.

Here is where it put me (top 3):

1. Administration (16 out of 18 possible)
2. Helps (15 out of 18 possible)
3. Leadership (14 out of 18 possible)

Here is what it says about each one:

Administration:
Persons gifted in the area of administration are goal-and objective oriented. They often have strong organizational skills and are able to coordinate resources to accomplish tasks quickly. They are motivated by accomplishing desired tasks and often derive great satisfaction from viewing the results of what they have accomplished. If you scored high in this area, you should consider being involved in an area of ministry in which you can utilize your organizational strengths to carry out the church's measurable goals. (Measurable goals are objectives such as numerical growth, ministries advance, missions expansion.)

What I find completely ironic about this is that while I do love to plan & organize things, I stink at it in my own personal life. Does that make any sense? I would love to be an event planner or start a ministry/program. It was perfect in my job at The Voice of the Martyrs because I was responsible for putting together the production schedules but didn't really have to do many of the actual tasks other than keep everyone else on task. Perfect for me. I think I struggle at home because I need to plan/organize/set goals but I also have to work toward reaching those goals, working the plan. That's where I struggle some.

Helps:
Persons gifted in the area of helps are motivated by a desire to further the church's ministry by meeting the needs of others, specifically those in leadership positions. They enjoy giving immediate help to key individuals in order to relieve them of their financial burdens and responsibilities. While these person are willing to do whatever is needed, they are motivated more by a desire to provide assistance than by a desire to accomplish a task. If you scored high in this area, you should consider being involved in a ministry in which you can provide assistance to someone in a leadership role to enable them to be more effective than they would be without you.

I think the line, "motivated more by a desire to provide assistance than by a desire to accomplish a task" is very true of me most of the time.

Leadership:
Persons gifted in the area of leadership have the ability to lead others toward spiritual growth. They often are considered visionary and have the ability to set goals and motivate others toward accomplishing the goals. They usually have the ability to communicate effectively to large groups of people. These persons often are chosen for leadership positions because of their ability to accomplish objectives. While giftedness in leadership is similar to giftedness in administration, persons gifted in leadership often are more concerned with the "big picture" than with the details of accomplishing tasks. If you scored high in this area, you should consider being involved in an area of ministry in which you can use your strengths to lead others in accomplishing the church's measurable and non-measurable goals. (Non-measurable goals are objectives such as spiritual growth, atmosphere, and attitudes).

Do I see myself as a leader? Sort of I guess. I do tend to step up but I just can't stand sitting around doing nothing. I am more than willing to let another lead but if someone isn't willing to then I tend to be the one to step up. I do enjoy it most of the time.

So - where does this leave me? Knowing where you are gifted is great but I think you also have to identify what the needs are in your church and what your passion is. I think that people too often volunteer in an area of service not because they feel called to that particular area but because they don't know where else to serve or because someone asked them to serve there. Just because someone asks you does not mean that it's where God wants you to be.

I know that I am not called to work in the children's ministry (preschool or otherwise) on a regular basis. I am more than willing to help in instances like VBS or the like, but I honestly can't see myself helping on a regular, reoccurring basis. Perhaps it's because of my previous experiences in children's ministry (not at our current church) but I also think it's just not where God would have me work.

I hesitate to put this "out there" but, if I could pick where I'd work, here's what I'd really love to do at our current church.

I would like to help start and lead a ministry to moms. As a mom that often struggles with my role, I need support from other moms. From talking to many other moms in our church, I know that there are others that also feel this need in our church as well. From what I can see, there is no formal ministry to moms going on right now and I'd like to change that.

A quote from a previous post:

"If you want to have a lasting influence upon the world you must invest in people's lives; and if you want to maximize your investment then you must invest in those lives while they are young."
-George Barna

Who is on the front line of investing in young lives? MOMS. Let's invest in them as they invest in the lives of their children.

Bugs be gone

Wow - the stomach bug and flu are running rampant here. It's crazy. I've never been overly concerned with trying to keep my kids away from everything. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to let them go play with someone who is sick with the stomach bug or flu but I also don't shield them to a point that they go no where and are therefore exposed to nothing. I try to keep a good, healthy balance.

I'm bordering on the keeping them quarentined at home though because the flu (7-10 day, high fever kind of flu) and the stomach bug (24-48 hour thing) is spreading like crazy here. WOW. Let's see - Becca's crew, Ashley's crew, Kim's son & boyfriend, Dawn's crew and now Tammy's Braden are all sick with one or the other. Yes, Drew threw up 2 weeks ago all night but the dr. later said that it was caused by pnuemonia and not the stomach bug plus no one else in our family got it.

Let's hope this all passes everyone quickly and gets the heck out of middle TN!

Wal-Mart vent

I just got back from a shopping trip to Wal-Mart and I just have to complain. First, I know I chose to go with 3 kids in tow but honestly, it's the only way to get grocery shopping done and not be there after 8 pm. They have those carts where I can have all three kids sitting down, you know, the blue ones that the older kids can sit and get kicked by Owen who sits in the seat?

I don't know what it is about this particular Wal-Mart but they always leave those carts outside. This morning they were all WET! I go inside and they have literally 20-30 of the handicapped and/or ride-on carts inside but NO FAMILY CARTS. It's always like this - rain, shine, snow, etc. NO FAMILY CARTS.

I commented on it once before and was told that they were told to keep those carts out there and that they would clean them off for me if I needed one. Fat lot of good that does me, the straps are still soaking wet!

So, I decided to complain to a manager today about it because it's just so stinkin' inconvenient to let my "spirited" 3-year old walk around. Her response - we don't have any room for them. WHATEVER. You have room for 20-30 of the other carts (which were obviously being used) but you can't bring in one or two family carts on each end???? Seriously?????

Can't wait for Super Target to come and I will NEVER go to Wal-Mart again!

Spring is in the air

Ughhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love spring but I hate the allergies that come along with it! NOT FUN. I had heard that TN was worse for allergies than OK was and so far I'd have to agree. I need to find myself a primary care physician (any recommendations?) and get some allergy meds!!!

What kind of investments are you making?

"If you want to have a lasting influence upon the world you must invest in people's lives; and if you want to maximize your investment then you must invest in those lives while they are young."
-George Barna


I really, really like this quote. It says a lot. We've been talking a lot at church about developing relationships with those that don't know Christ in an effort to share Jesus with them. Relate - Connect. Relate - Connect. While I know that people can come to know Christ through some random person coming up to them on the street (or whereever), most people come to know Christ through a relationship of sorts with a Christ-follower. Hence the reason that we NEED to invest in the lives of others.

While I think it's important to invest in the lives of adults, I think it's even more important to invest in the lives of children. The percentage of people who accept Christ drops significantly after they graduate from high school! Reaching our children is VITAL. It makes me absolutely crazy when I see ministries, churches, etc. minimizing the needs of children as if they are an after-thought. That is SO backwards. We have to be intentional about reaching them when they are young. WE HAVE TO.

As a mom, I have the awesome responsibility of investing in the lives of my children and hopefully maximizing every opportunity to share Christ with them. It can be a bit daunting and I feel very inadequate for the job. Thankfully I serve a God that is FAR more than adequate and He won't give me a job and not equip me to complete it.

Let's maximize our "investments"!

I don't want it to end!!!!

Well, it's the end of the 2nd full day that Dina's been here and tomorrow I have to take her to the airport!!!! :( I'm so sad to see her go but I've had such a blast with her here. It's been a much needed visit for me as I have really been struggling lately.

We have been busy while here. Poor kiddos, today none of them got more than 30 minutes to nap. Yesterday we went by the park, Chick-Fil-A, Scrappin'USA Superstore and The Rocking Horse consignment shop. We came home and Dina cooked us a Peruvian meal (she was raised in Peru and is an amazing cook) and then we went out to Chili's for a desert and some girl talk. It was FABULOUS!

Today we took the kids to The Discovery Center and then by The Sassy Scrapper. After that, another trip to Chick-Fil-A (it's our favorite place and there isn't one close to Dina), Toys 'r Us, Carters outlet, Once Upon A Child consigment (highly recommend), and then to Demos' for dinner (YUM!). It was a crazy busy day but was so great.

We've taken a bunch of photos but will post those another day (still working on pics from my mom's visit - I'm behind!).

RYAN - MOVE MY FRIEND TO NASHVILLE!!!!!!

Awake...

It's almost 4 am and I am awake. My head hurts a little bit and I just can't sleep. I'll be paying for this later I am sure!

Have you ever been woken up with the urgent feeling that you have to pray for someone right then? It truly doesn't happen often with me but when it does it catches me off guard a bit. I start to worry about what is going on that I am woken like that to pray. That happened earlier this evening (morning!). It's still on my mind and I am still praying for this family.

Lord, please be with____. Keep them safe and healthy in your arms. Protect them.

I have the best honey in the world!

I am in total shock!!! Eric came home tonight from "work" with my very best friend, Dina & her son Zachary in tow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH - I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am. They will be here until Wed. around noon!!!

This has to be one of the most thoughtful things that he has ever done. I have been really struggling lately and just wanted to spend time with my friend Dina. Friday was an especially hard day and I was really feeling down (despite the fun time at the zoo). They booked the trip that night!!!!

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Dina is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

America's favorite pasttime?

Baseball, of course (St. Louis Cardinals basebal at that!).

Eric bought the baseball stand (what is the right word for this?) and played with the kids this weekend. They had a blast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

A day late but...

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Grandma!
Happy Birthday to you!

We love you!!!!!!!

Zoo pics

I am working on editing LOTS of pictures that I've taken lately. I put together a slide-show of Friday's Zoo visit as there were a lot.

Enjoy!

Prayer request for a friend

If you have a moment, please say a prayer for a friend of mine who lost her father last night to colon cancer. She is traveling with her family to Iowa this weekend to be with her mother & rest of the family during this difficult time. In addition, she was just diagnosed with the flu (it seems to be going around lately) and just had gall bladder surgery. It's been a rough week.

Thank you!

What to say...

I think I've typed & retyped this post several times. There are a few things on my mind but not things I'd put here (nothing bad, just not blog appropriate).

So, random thoughts will have to do.

This was a GREAT day. The weather was perfect today - 70's for sure. Went to the YMCA this morning & then crashed Tammy & Suzanne's "party" at Suzanne's house. It was nice to see Tammy again with her crew, Braden & Aubrey. I got to hold Aubrey for a while and it was so sweet. I forget what it's like to hold such a small baby. Loved it!

Then it was off to get Morgan at school and home with a sleeping baby. Put Owen down for a nap and went outside to play with Becca's kiddos - Eli & Jonah. I think they had a good time outside between the play set in the back and the cars/rocks/etc. in the front.

Suzanne came back over and we had pancakes for dinner & watched some American Idol (Uggghhhh - at least they got one of the people voted off right!).

So, it was busy and fun.

Ohhh - it must have been a week for ER trips. My good friend, Dina, had her son in the ER with a cut on his head that required 2 staples!!!! :( DINA: Our boys need to keep out of the ER!!!!

I have to say, I am very blessed here. It takes a lot of time to develop good friendships with people, it took YEARS to develop the friendships I have back in Oklahoma, and I worried about that when we moved here. God has really blessed me with some awesome new friends. It's not easy to let someone new in when you have an established group of people you hang out with yet I feel like I have been very welcomed here. THANK YOU.

Life of Hope Ministry Video

Some friends of mine work for Life of Hope Ministries. Please, please check out this video for more information about their work.

BRYAN: Great job on this video. I think the work your ministry is doing on behalf of the street children in Latin American is awesome. WOW. Miss you guys!

Blessings!

What a beautiful day!

Wow - today is gorgeous! It was 70 degrees at lunch time and just beautiful. I wish it could be like this ALL YEAR LONG! This morning we went to the Mostly Mommies book study at World Outreach Center and then to the park to meet some friends. We were a little (okay, a lot) late but that's okay. The kids had a blast. Here are some pictures.

Throwing sticks in the water - shortly after Drew fell into the water, thankfully only his shoes & bottom of his pants were wet and he wasn't hurt.


Morgan & Eli collecting sticks

Drew looking at ants.

Morgan and her friend, John. How sweet. I have to say, when I told Eric about these pictures he wasn't too pleased - his daughter already holding hands with a boy???!!!! I tried explaining it was just innocent, they don't understand anything other than being friends (thankfully!). He still didn't like it. Dad's and their little girls - I tell ya!

Do you like silver jewelry?

Some of you may know about the website www.silverjewelryclub.com and may already buy from them. If you do can you go through my friend's website? My friend in TX is starting up her own business so she can work from home and while it is based in Houston, you can still help her out. With each purchase you make she gets $ .50!! Please visit www.northhoustonmetrowoman.com. Scroll to the bottom and click on the link to the silver jewelry club and she gets credit for any sale.

THANKS!

Drew's follow-up appt. w/pediatrician

I took Drew into a follow-up appt. with Dr. Eastham today. It went fine but it left me feeling very frustrated with the people in the ER. When I told him the reasons I brought Drew into the ER in the first place, the VERY FIRST THING he thought of was PNEMONIA! He said those were all classic symptoms and that he was very suprised that they did a cat scan when the normal procedure for diagnosing pnemonia was a chest x-ray and blood work. When I mentioned that they were concerned about the appendix he went on to explain that he would not have even considered that because, well, I can't remember his reasoning. He asked if they tested him for the flu as well just in case. I mentioned that they did do blood work but I never heard anything from it. They faxed him the information from that night and it did not include any lab work!

I'm glad that my baby is okay and I know that the drs. in the ER are good but they aren't drs. that deal soley with kids. From talking to Dr. Eastham, I think that's the difference in what they chose to do medically. I don't know. Just irritates me that now my child is afraid of drs. He screamed when the nurse wanted to take his temp in his ear and made me promise him all the way to Dr. Eastham's office that it wouldn't hurt. Ughhh!

Despite the frustration, I'm glad my kiddo is on the mend. Fever free for 24 hours now, puke free for 48 hours. AND HE POOPED! (TMI - I know!)

I feel like a drama queen

Sometimes I think I make life with 3 sound really, really difficult. It's not that bad, believe me! It has it's moments (like puking all night & the er visit) but all-in-all it's great. Lots of good moments - more than the hard ones - and that makes it all worth while.

Drew is doing great since waking up. He's slightly warm (99-100) but NOTHING like last night and is in a great mood. Still hasn't pooped though - maybe a Poop-Fil-A run is in order LOL! :)

Well, that was traumatic

I ended up having to take Drew to the ER last night about 9 pm. He was fine all day long, you wouldn't have even known he had been up all night puking by the way he was acting. About 5 pm he started to run a temp again. I gave him some tylenol about 6 pm and it didn't help. His temp just kept going up and then he started complaining that his right side hurt. I had visions of appedicitis running through my head so it was off to the ER we went. Thankfully my mom was still here so she was able to stay home with the other two kids as Eric was still out-of-town (flying back in late last night).

We got to the ER and Drew's temp was 104.2!!!!!! They gave him some Motrin and then later some tylenol to help bring it down. Took a long while but it did start coming down. The dr. told me that he wanted to do some blood work and get a catscan done to rule out the appendix. Ughhh... I understand that it was better to test him and make sure but I was't too thrilled with the idea of an IV - with good reason too.

The nurses came in to do the IV and by that time Drew was asking to go home as he felt better. This was about 11 pm. Eric wasn't there yet but on his way. OH MY GOSH. I about knocked those nurses out. Seriously. It took 3 tries in 3 locations to get that darn thing in!!! The first time was in him right arm. The poor kid, I was holding him as were 2 nurses and he was screaming, saying it hurt and begging them to take it out. The nurse sat there and DUG around in his arm for what seemed like forever before blowing that vein. Another nurse came in and they tried his right hand. Ughh. By this time I was in tears for Drew. It sucked seeing my child in pain like that!!!! Thankfully Eric came in about the time they were going to start try 3 in his left arm. I had to leave and they FINALLY got the IV in this arm!!!

Then they brought in this huge glass of "lemonade" drink that he needed to drink BEFORE the 2 hour wait to get the CT scan started. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It was about 11:30 and he was already EXHAUSTED from everything else this evening. We got about 1/2 down him before he puked it all up. Got a little more down him & he puked that up to. Thankfully the radiology tech decided to go ahead and do the scan and counted 2 hours from the time we started getting him to drink this junk.

Took him back to the scan about 1 am. Another trauma! Holding that kid still on his back was a challenge. Eric help his hands and I held his feet. Got that done and went back to the room to wait. Drew fell back asleep and all was good.

Dr. came in about 2:30 and told us that Drew was really "backed up" (stool wise) and then asked us if he'd been coughing a lot. He has been coughing but I would not have termed it as a lot. Turns out the kid has pnemonia in his left lung! They tried to give him a dose of antibiotics but the combination of the drink & the contrast they put in the IV caused him to puke it up. So, a prescription for antibiotics later and a suggestion for suppositories and we were home. I am relieved that it wasn't anything more - my mind tends to go to all the worst case scenarios.

Poor Eric though - we got home about 3 am and he had to leave to take my mom to the airport and go to work at 6:30 am. I'm tired but I can kick it around the house, minus the prescription run, so it's not that bad. I hope that Owen & Morgan take it easy on me though - I am BEAT!

So, that's our story!

Ughh - Stomach Bug

I know, it's 2:45 am and I am posting. Drew came into my room a short while ago with an upset stomach. He has thrown up a little once and is now laying in my bed watching Diego a la Comcast On Demand. Poor kid - has a temp of 101, an upset stomach and is STILL singing with Diego.

Please pray that no one else in the family gets sick!!! I hate the stomach bug!!!!!!!!

Our Mom-Mom rocks!

Okay, so I have to brag - Morgan, Drew & Owen have another Grandma, we call her Mom-Mom, that rocks! Aren't they lucky kids?

My mom is in town for a long weekend and we are having such a good time. Yesterday we just hung out at home as my mom was really tired (she got up at 3 am to get to the airport) and it was raining. We had a blast though and played games and just had fun together.

Today was really fun as well. We took the kids to the free playarea at Christ Church in Nashville along with Becca & Suzanne. It was a BLAST! If you have kids and haven't tried out this place, you NEED to go. I have several pics to share but it will have to wait until I have more time to edit them. After Christ Church we went to McD's and then we came home. Mom-Mom played games with the kids and then took them out to blow bubbles. They just had so much fun. I love it!

Thank you Lord for a wonderful mom and fantastic Mom-Mom for my kids!

It's raining, It's pouring

And, I wish I was snoring! It's the kind of day where you just want to stay under the covers and sleep. Oh well.

Mom-Mom comes today!!! That's my mom, she didn't want to be called Grandma so Mom-Mom it is. I am excited and the kids are beyond excited. I think Morgan has planned several things for them to do already. I have to say that one of the biggest perks about living in the Nashville area is that it is SO much cheaper to fly to see my family and vice versa! It was super expensive living in the Tulsa area so the visits weren't as frequent. She is here thru Monday morning so those in Sunday School will get to meet her.

Other than that, I have a cool update to share. Remember my post about the neighborhood stuff (click here)? Well, I have really tried this past week to pray for my next door neighbors every single time I started thinking negatively about them (they got LOTS of prayers this week) and it is funny how God works things. There were two things that were making me a bit irritated - the trash just thrown in the back yard for all to see as they drove past and the junk car parked on the side of their house. Well, this week they have finally gotten actual trash service that included nice, new trash cans so that's what they have out back (still against neighborhood policy but a heck of a lot better than a pile of bags) AND the junk car is GONE! WOOHOO!!!!

In addition, I just heard about a small group that is being started in our neighborhood as an opportunity to outreach to those around us. I thought that was cool and plan on introducing myself to the couple doing it soon.

Well, the bad weather is starting to pick up again and I need to go check the status of my mom's flight. If you read this before 9:40 am, please say a prayer for me as I travel to the airport in yuck weather and for my mom as she gets sick really easily on planes and I can't imagine flying in this would be fun.

Thanks!