Tuesday, August 28, 2007

I'm pround to announce

I added a new link. My SIL's photo site. *Sorry it took me so long to add*

Check out my "Jillina's Photography" link

Anyway, I am happy to boast that I inspired her business venture and love for photography. She has really tuned her "eye" and is taking off as an up and coming professional in her town. If you are in Crossville, Tn or in or around the Knoxville area or know anyone who is and is wanting great photos please refer to her. You will not be disappointed!

Monday, August 27, 2007

It's worth more than a thousand words.....


On the go!


Ready to go!


Noah sans nap.


Too cute!


Noah and I at the Noccaloula State Park train


My last girl's night


Noah at Cole's bday party, just ran in from the sprinkler


The boys at my grandpa's, how sweet!


Caleb pulling himself to standing for the 1st time! At the train table, of course!


Jillina just did me wrong in this pic! Where is YOUR funny face??!!!!


Do ya think this kid was tired?

Sunday, August 26, 2007

The News

Since I last left you.....

Thursday night was to be a "date night". We got a sitter, made it to the theater to see Bourne Ultimatum, were in line to get a sweet treat and the phone rings. It's the babysitter saying Noah's drain has fallen out of his leg. She has looked and it is completely out and there is no way for her to reattach it. First of all I think, thank God the boys are with Sara (the sitter). Sara is so incredible with our kids, I am truly going to miss her when we move. I wish I could take her with us. Anyway, she took the time to assess the situation b/f she called and decided it was call worthy. So we ask for a refund of our tix and speed home. Yep, the entire drain line just came out of Noah's leg. He did not even realize it or care. So, I make a call to the surgeon and the one on-call gives me a positive diagnosis, but I questioned some of his comments to me and decide to follow up with my surgeon the next morning. The best of his brilliant comments was (Dialog style):
--Mary: "Do I need to keep him off of his feet so the fluid doesn't increase and and require a redrain with a needle?"
--Surgeon: "It's not like he is a 10 year old, he is a 2.5 yr old who will not be running around too much"
**uh, ok. you obviously don't have a 2.5 yr old tornado.

So anyway, Noah now has a hole in his leg where the drain was and is running around like a mad man. He has a taste of freedom again and is making up for the lost time with the drain. On a positive note, his leg is looking good and seems to not be retaining fluid. Lets hope and pray this lasts. I can not take him going through anything else. And it is probably good the drain came out on its own, cause that is one less traumatic ordeal Noah has to go through with the doc. We have an appt tomorrow afternoon with the surgeon. Keep him in your prayers.

Good news for all you grandparents, uncles and aunts out there, I found the memory card reader!! So, very soon I will post some pics of the youngest crawling and of the oldest causing his normal amount of chaos!

Friday night we go downtown, hit up our fav restaurant, Meritage. We meet up with a couple who are some of our best friends. We enjoy some SC cuisine, shrimp and grits (my fav) and take a ghost tour. This is a walking tour where you go around to a few graveyards and hear some ghosts stories. It was kinda cheesy but fun nonetheless. We end our downtown visit with a trip to Maggie Moos, mmmmm smoothies. Of course, it would not be the same with this couple if there were not a game of The Farming Game or Clue involved. So, we end the night with a game of Clue. We harass the couple we are living with to play along too. After much taunting back and forth, the couple we harrassed into playing won. Serves us right! Ha ha!

Saying goodbye:

Last night was my last "girls night". It was so much fun. A few of my closet and dear friends gathered together for a night of eats, games, laughs, and stories. We rehashed memories, gave funny speeches, and goofed off under the canopy of a tree with strings of lights hanging above. It was a scene out of a pottery barn mag, and we were the models. These women that I have met here have truly touched my heart. I aspire to be like them, have learned how to be a mom and friend from them, and am so blessed to have had the chance to have these great relationships.

We are leaving SC for the last time 2 weeks from today. It is hard to believe. Kevin is flying his "fini" mission tonight. Again, it is hard to believe.
Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this journey across the US.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Still want fast food?

--Wendy's taco supremo salad - 670 cal 43% from fat and 18 % from saturated fat

--Wendy's chicken BLT salad with honey mustard dressing - 2.5 times the fat calories of a Wendy's Classic single burger

--McDonald's Fiesta Salad with sour cream and salsa- 450 cal 56% from fat 26% saturated fat

--KFC extra crispy thigh- 360 cal, 230 from fat, that's 64% - more than 2x what the USDA recommends

--McD's sells about 150 million salads/yr. However, McD's feeds 46 mil people a day, that's about 17 billion people a year! So what does 150 million salads mean? That means less than 1 percent, NOT EVEN 1%, or 1 out of 100 people make the "healthy choice" of a salad.

Don't let those McD's ads fool you. The new marketing campaign is -- we have healthy food for your children b/c we care about our kid's health. -- WRONG! It's still the same food, just a new slogan!

--The bloomin onion at Outback has 2500 cal!!!

--Nutritionists say you should not eat fast food more than ONE TIME a MONTH!

I recommend a book called, Don't Eat This Book, Fast Food and the Supersizing of America by Morgan Spurlock. It will open up your eyes. Also, if you have not seen the documentary "Supersize Me", I would watch it, but you will never eat McD's again.

There are only 4 items at Mc D's that do not have sugar and they are:
-unsweet tea
-diet coke
-coffee
-sausage
EVERYTHING else has sugar added, that includes the salads!

Not to mention the added preservatives in these foods. I always wondered how McD's kept apples fresh looking for WEEKS! Everyone knows that when you cut an apple, it is turning brown within the hour.

I am sure this is a standard for all fast food places, not just McD's. High fructose corn syrup is used in the BUNS!

Did you know that high fructose corn syrup prevents freezer burn? It also keeps breads soft.

Kevin and I have not eaten at McD's in a long time. We should all take a lot of time to read the labels. If it can sit on the shelf for months, just think how long it takes to get through our systems. I know sometimes, for me, it is hard to see those with fast metabolisms eat whatever they want when they want it. However, I have to think to myself that they may be thin on the outside, but how unhealthy are their organs. The very organs that support that thin body. My body is God's temple and it may be flawed on the outside, but I want the inside to be pristine so my inside can help take care of the outside and prevent any more flaws.

Ok, just my thoughts about fast food today.

Quote of the day

Boy this one hits it home......

"What you are will show in what you do." -Thomas Edison

Monday, August 20, 2007

Starbucks

Just a funny moment worth noting.......

We took the boys to B&N today b/c they have this awesome train table there and we can look at books and mags and sip starbucks while N plays. Well, there were other kids there, to be expected. But there was this one boy. He was about 9 or 10. Very sweet and courteous kid to the younger ones around. All the other kids left and it was just us and our friends Tracy and Cole. We were just chatting, and this kid comes back and plops down with his starbucks in hand and says to Kevin (who is sitting in the chair across from him) "Don't you just love a frappucino?" I had to hold in my giggle and we replied, "yep, starbucks is really good" and the kid goes, "Yeah, I drink coffee every morning and starbucks is the best". I just thought to myself, "hmmm do you really?" Anyway, we left and the kid hung around and chatted with Tracy and Cole for a few more minutes. Starbucks has like around 350mg of caffeine compared to 50mg in a regular cup of Joe. I almost wanted to ask the kid if he ordered decaf.

Mental note: Noah and Caleb do not get coffee or coffee drinks until they are old enough to vote!!!!!!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Growing up soooo fast - Part 2

Caleb got his first tooth today! Yeah! It has been a hard week of teething and the torture has paid off! It has just broke the skin so it will be a little bit longer before it is fully visible.

Oh and for the many request that have come my way........
I would post pics, however I do not have a memory card reader or a cord to hook up the camera to the computer. So for now, you will have to use your imagination, and I will be as elaborate in my descriptions as possible. Hope you can understand and forgive me for the delay.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Prayer Request - Please Read

Please pray for my friend Cryssy. She is about 11 weeks pregnant and is having some complications. Please pray!!!!

Growing up soooo fast

Just wanted to share that C has a new accomplishment....

He is going from the crawling position into a sitting position. This is awesome! I can't believe how fast he is growing up.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Frog in my eye

What a day! Ever since Wed, N's leg has not been quite right. His entire leg became swollen and he was limping worse than the day of his surgery. So this morning I give a ring to the surgeon. They told me to remove the compression bandage and call back in an hour. So, I did this and the swelling in his foot goes down some. I call back and tell them the leg is still swollen and the area of his surgery looks like it is full of fluid again. They tell me to bring him in. The surgeon had mentioned something about a drain on wed, and this was sounding pretty darn good, cause I did not want N to be stuck with needles every 3-4 days to drain this wound. We get there at about 113o, and the doc sees him right away. He too thinks the drain is the answer cause he said he could not traumatize N anymore by continuing to drain the wound in the office. It took 4 of us to hold him down on wed, plus he bent the needle! I am thinking great, pop the drain in and we are good to go. Wrong. The surgeon also mentions that because it is filling up with fluid so quickly N could have pulled a few stitches leaving a pocket where fluid could keep building up. He wants to go back in, be sure all is well, insert the drain and stitch him back up. WHAT!! My stomach immediately goes into knots and all I can think about is that N is going to have to go through this again?! So, off we go to the hospital. We get there at 1:30, we were told they were going to bump N up in the schedule so he wouldn't have to sit there starving. They finally took him back a little after 6. Poor guy was so hungry and tired. Luckily he fell asleep and I did not have to hear him screaming, "MOMMY" as they carted him off down the hall. We finally got back to him in recovery about 7:30 and we were discharged an hour later. Poor guy has this vacuum bulb the size of a large apple hanging from his thigh. Hopefully it will come out on Monday if it does not drain a lot of fluid over the weekend.

Oh and the title I gave this entry. After finding out we were having a repeat surgery, I go home to pick up some necessities and start crying on the way. Noah asked, is something wrong. I said I had something in my eye. He said, you have a frog in your eye? I said yes, giggling and crying and he said, can I see it? How sweet he is. Lord willing he will be over this in a week. Please pray for him.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Follow Up

Noah had the appt with the surgeon. His little leg got even bigger overnight. The doc is so nice, he did not want to hurt Noah. I think it hurt the doc as much as it did Noah. The doc had to drain his leg. It took me and Kevin to hold him down. Everyone, even in the waiting room, heard him screaming. It was awful. We may have to do this 2-3 more times. Another compression bandage was put on and we have another appt in a week.

The doc also went over the results of the lab work on Noah's tumor. It was not a lypoma, the original diagnosis, also not a cystic hygroma, the diagnosis after the surgery, it is actually a lymphangioma. Kinda the same thing as the cystic hygroma, just different names. It doesn't matter what it is called, the word I was looking for was benign, and it was. Praise God.

We also got some good news about our travel plans today. We are going to be able to take the ferry all the way up to Whittier, which is 2 hours from Anchorage. Our original plans were us getting off the ferry in Haines, AK and having 800 miles more to get to Anchorage. I like the former much better. So, we made our reservations today, and we were able to get a pretty good sleeping room reserved. We also saw that the schedule is going to have us spending Noah's 3rd bday in Juneau. That should be interesting.

Caleb is really crawling around now. He is also babbling like crazy. He is going to be just like Noah, a chatterbox. It is really funny to see Caleb scooch around. He will see something he wants and off he goes. He is really confident in the fact that he can get somewhere and he is really getting all over the house fairly quickly. I still can't believe how quickly the time is passing with Caleb. Soon, both boys will be graduating college and I will feel as though I just brought them home from the hospital.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Good Friends and Good Food

This is one thing I am going to miss in SC; comfort food, weekday dinners, and good friends. Tonight we went over to this couple's home and had a delicious dinner and even better company. This is the type of visit where the conversation is easy and we would have stayed longer but the kiddos were tired. Time is coming to an end so quickly in SC and I am welcoming the change and utterly dreading the good-byes.
I am so glad that we are living with friends as our time dwindles down. It is weird not having our own house, but we get lots of time to do things with our friends and enjoy the last few weeks we have with them. We have made so many really great friends here, they have really set a standard. Our calendar is jam packed the next few weeks with camping trips, parties, game nights, touristy things we want to do, etc. 2 things that will be greatly missed, our church and downtown.

On another note, after 2 days of phone battles we finally got an appt with the ortho guy in Seattle for Caleb. We have a very strict timeline for traveling from AL to the city we catch our ferry in WA. It all hinges on Caleb's appt and the ferry schedule. Lord willing, we can stick with the schedule we have planned.

Noah is back to the surgeon tomorrow for a follow-up. Possibility of the area on his leg having to be drained b/c it filled up with fluid. Poor guy. Hopefully this will be the last of the leg situation. Recently, he has been asking to go home. I think the stress of the situation is catching up with him. It will be wonderful to have him settled in a home with his things, so he will feel stable again. He is a strong little man, though.

Friday, August 10, 2007

No expectations

I knew today would be a great day!!!


I had completely NO expectations with Caleb's appt this morning. We went in as usual, saw the doc, got the BEST news. No brace during the day! YAY!!!! We are doing 12-14hrs/day. This is so awesome for Caleb and us. Now is doesn't matter what type of high chair is in a restaurant! Joy! Joy! Joy! He also got new shoes put on his brace and he is a size 1. That is up from size 00. He also had his 6mo appt this week and he weighs in at 18lbs 10oz and is 25in long


After C's appt, we took him and N to the children's museum. So much fun. C got to play along too in the water room and baby room, then he took a nap while N ran around in the castle. Me and N also did a craft in the craft room. It was a Moroccan inspired flower design. N like the Moroccan themed music that was playing and danced as we were gluing. We hit up the mellow mushroom for some yummy eats and both boys fell asleep in the car on the way home.


KJ is on his way to work to do a sim. The quicker he can complete the more free time he will have to play with me and the boys.


NO I DID NOT FORGET........


Here it is. The gnarly beast. Thank goodness it is gone. I look forward to the comments on this one. I told you I would post this pic. Thank you for waiting patiently.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

My bright ideas

Boy, I have had some brilliant ideas as of late. Let's begin.....

Noah has been healing from his surgery and doing great. However it is very hard to keep a 2.5yr old cooped up in the house for more than 2 days. It has been so hot here, heat index of 113, that we can not go outside and he can't swim because of his leg. So, I decide that since he has been running around and seems fine a visit to the House of Bounce would be fine. We go, we bounce, we have a great time. We get home and I put Noah in the shower and notice that his leg is swollen. More especially, the site of his surgery was swollen. Oh great, major uh-oh. So I put him to bed and luckily the next morning the swelling went down and we are out of the dog house. No more big activities, for now.

Idea #2, going to the gym this morning. Had a great workout, love the class I went to. The instructor is a friend. Nice being in the gym after a 4 month hiatus. My membership was up and they would not let me pay month to month, so I sneak in this morning! Come home, feed everyone lunch, decide to take a shower. Insert problem here. I have to go up the stairs to go to the shower. On the way up, every time I bend my knees it feels like someone is shaving a layer off the back of my knee cap. Great. Going to the ortho surgeon on Tues to discuss some therapeutic remedies. Well see what happens. So, I get a shower, nice to rinse off the sweat only to get out of the shower and sweat more from the horrid heat wave we are having. It was so pointless to blow dry my hair.

Tomorrow promises a "do-over". C has an ortho appt to hopefully have his brace removed for half of the day *keeping fingers crossed*, and we are taking C and N to the children's museum. This place offers a great time for all. I just hope it pans out.

Alaska is growing nearer and nearer. We are getting anxious to get there (secretly we are dying for the cooler temps) but a big part of us wants to stay for all the friends we have here. How we wish we could take them with us. Who knows what Alaska may hold for us though, change is good.

A few prayer requests for today:

**My SIL, Jillina, is going on a mission trip today, please pray for their safety and for God's work to be accomplished
**My friend Cryssy is pregnant, she is high risk for very early delivery, pray for at least 34-36 weeks gestation. I know God can do this for her and her family

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Just the facts

My SIL's did this on their blogs, I thought I would follow suit. However my version is cut in half, well, I might quater it. Anyway here goes

Things about me

1. I am not a people pleaser

2. I never wanted to be a mom until I met Kevin

3. I love love love being a wife and mom

4. I don't read my Bible like I should

5. It took me 9 years to finish college

6. I am so bad about letting my toenail polish grow off...... (that is really hard to admit)

7. I am not happy with the way my body is after 2 pregnancies

8. I eat like I have a VERY fast metabolism

9. I am tired of the frumpy look

10. I am a very good secret keeper

11. I detest corduroy pants

12. I want to be a morning person

13. I think integrity tells you everything about a person

14. I love baseball, but hate to watch it on TV

15 I am not as strong as people tell me I am

16. I believe in individual spiritual warfare

17. I am always noticing the muscular tone of legs

18. I am a moody person if I do not get in the gym regularly

19. I hold everyone to high standards, which sometimes is not fair

20. I love having lots of girlfriends

21. I can talk on the phone for hours

22. I wish I were more athletic

23. Kevin is my best friend, confident, and partner in crime

24. I am scared of lizards

25. I have 2 tattoos

26. I used to have multiple body piercings

27. I love to remember random facts about random things

28. I love being close to my SIL Jillina

29. I am a copycat

30. I love to take pictures

31. I wish I had more time to devote to my photography

32. I can not stand to do laundry

33. I think being strong-willed is a good thing

34. I cry a lot

35. I continuously fight being impulsive

36. It's hard for me to take my own advice

37. I love to read

38. I believe in getting respect by giving respect

39. I love to go fishing, but will not touch a fish

40. I am a "call it as it is" kinda girl

41. I am sometimes an emotional drama queen

42. I listen to rap music

43. I still listen to my NSYNC cds

44. I don't believe in luck, I think God did it

45. Becoming a Christian was the best decision I ever made

46. I get angry when people do not respect the flag or its pledge

48. Sometimes it takes me 3 days to take off my eye makeup. I just reapply

49. I love Christmas and it's whole charm. I will encourage the belief in Santa for as long as I can
50. I believe organic food is better for you and it is worth the price.

ok, that's enough. Maybe I will do 50 more later.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

It's over

Well, we are back home. Noah has a huge bandage on his leg and is very calm (I know, odd for Noah, right!) The surgery took about 45min. The surgeon came out and talked to us afterwards and told us that after getting in there he realized that it was not just a lypoma. Noah actually had a cystic hygroma. Which from what I can find out online, is a birth defect that is usually detected around 2yrs of age. Luckily for us, Noah's was not in the typical location, which is the neck and face. There is no chance of recurrence. Surgical removal takes care of it. It was also much larger than it looked on his leg cause it grew inward not outward.
Now the hard part starts, keeping Noah from running for 2 days. Yeah, right! We will have to do the best we can. If you know Noah, you know the boy has NEVER walked. He has ALWAYS ran, everywhere!
So, I am feeling lousy after finding out this is a birth defect. I am 2 for 2 when it comes to kids and birth defects. Makes me VERY scared to have a third. Ultimately it's in God's hands. Maybe if I repeat that enough times it will stick. A lot easier said than done.
Overall, Noah is home, doing well, and we are glad to have this behind us. Thanks for the prayers.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Noah's Big Day

Tomorrow is Noah's big day. He is having the cyst removed off of his leg. I really don't know how mothers can raise children without God. He will be the one I am leaning on tomorrow. I know this is something so simple, but it tears my heart apart all the same. Seeing my child go through something that is out of my control, I can't take away the pain, or put a band-aid on it and make it feel better. Things could be a lot worse, but it won't stop my worrying. Even reading Matthew doesn't take away my worry. Anyway, please pray my baby does ok tomorrow. Please pray he is brave and is such a big boy.