imagination and a story

A friend of mine shared a video with me of her son telling her about the crocodile outside. It turned out that he saw a cloud which looked remarkably like a crocodile. Because of the video, I was reminded of my seahorse. N & I were outside one morning as N was heading over to her bus stop. I saw this cloud formation and ran for my camera. I was amazed at the detail in the cloud. It was simply amazing.

And now for a story. Michael and I heard this on the radio last night and it is too good not to share with all of you.

A man decided one day that he was going to quit shaving every morning. He told his wife that he would be going to the barber shop each day for a shave before he went to work. So the next day he stopped by his usual barber shop. The owner was also a pastor and had been called away that morning. The owner's wife, Grace, said she would be happy to give the man a shave. When she was finished, she told the man that it would be $20. The man thought that was a bit high for just a shave, but then again, she had done a good job. He paid her and went to work.

The next morning, the man got up and noticed that his face was still smooth. He was pleased and headed off to work. A few days passed and the man's face was still smooth. After a few weeks went by and he still did not need a shave, he decided to stop by the barber shop again to compliment the owner's wife on the shave that she had given him.

When he stopped in, the owner was out and once again, the owner's wife, Grace, was there. The man asked her how she was able to give him such a great shave. Grace's response?

"You were shaved by Grace and once shaved, always shaved."

In sickness and in health...

Our family has been sick lately. The saga really begins with a friend of mine.

My good friend, Cari, and I were talking on Tuesday the 10th. Her son was home sick and was not even interested in looking at the boat kayak ramp that was being built on the property they are renting. Wednesday, he was better and I saw them at church. Thursday, Cari invited A & me to come hang out at their house while she prepped for our Bunco night that was coming up on the 21st.

Thursday afternoon~ Cari got a few text messages from her husband. A friend of ours had a "minor" surgery on Wednesday and was still in the hospital with severe pain. Another friend, MJ, had spent the day Wednesday and much of the day Thursday at the hospital with our friend. She needed relief. And sleep! I volunteered to go relieve her. I sat at the hospital with our friend from about 3:30pm until about 10:30pm.

Friday morning~ I spoke with MJ and we decided that I would come back to the hospital before 9pm and spend the night with our friend. I got to the hospital around 8pm and found out that our friend was back in surgery because of some complications from the original surgery. A few people dropped by to see if she was out of surgery and after talking for about an hour or so, they left to head home. By this time it was around 11pm. I still had not gotten word that our friend was in a room where she could receive visitors. I finally found the number to the OR desk and found that she had been transferred to the Surgical Trauma ICU, where she would spend the night. I hiked across the hospital, looking for bathrooms along the way because I was beginning to feel a bit sick to my stomach. I was able to speak with the ICU nurse and my friend before I really began to feel like I needed to go. I was sick once before I left the hospital and made it the hour+ drive home without being sick again.

Saturday~ Valentine's Day. I stayed in bed almost all day. That evening while A & N were playing, I heard A go into the bathroom. She made a strange noise and I realized that she was throwing up. Michael took care of her and she kept telling him, "I frow up!" A couple of hours later, the same scene repeated.

Sunday~ I was still very weak so I stayed home from church with A.

Monday~ I was on the road to recovery, but not quite feeling the best. I had an appointment in the morning and Michael had the day off, so we spent the morning and early afternoon in town. By the time we got home, I was ready to collapse. So, I did.

Tuesday~ I was much better. I was even able to get the grocery shopping done!

Wednesday~ I decided that since no one had gotten sick in the past 2 days and I was feeling good, I would go see my friend who was still in the hospital. On my way out of town, I decided to check my phone. I realized that it was off and when I turned it back on, I had 2 voice mails. N had gotten sick at school and I needed to pick her up. Sudden changes in my plans are not always easy to adjust to. I still had several things left on my to do list while I was out. But N, poor girl, was sick! I took her to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things and the moment we walked in the door, she asked to go to the girl's room. She collapsed on her bed when we got home and slept for several hours, waking only to race to the bathroom.

Thursday~ I woke up to, "Mommy! Can I go outside to play? Please?!?" I was a mean mommy & made her stay inside until after school got out. But I also knew it would be warmer in the afternoon.

Thursday night~ Michael came home from work and just didn't look as though he felt great. Sure enough, later that night, every time I was almost asleep, I was jerked back to consciousness because of Michael getting sick. Neither of us got much sleep.

Friday morning~ Michael still had to go into work, but he was able to go to sick call at the medical clinic where he works. They sent him home!! I was very glad about that. I was also watching our next door neighbor's girls on Friday morning, so once Michael got home, we left to try to finish up my to do list from Wednesday.

Friday evening and Saturday morning~ N went to a lock-in at the church and worked with a missions project on Saturday morning. Michael was feeling quite a bit better after having slept much of the day on Friday. I asked Michael if he would come with me to pick out some ant killer. He told me he wanted to stay home. I said, "So, it's okay for you to take me out when I'm sick, but when you are sick it is a different story?" His response?? "I saw how you did on Monday and I think I'd rather stay home." We got a good laugh about the double standard there!

Saturday night~ BUNCO!!! We got together with 9 other couples and played Bunco. We always have a great time. Good food, good friends and definitely lots of fun! When we got home, I told Michael that I was starting to not feel so good again.

Fast forward to Monday (yesterday)~ I went to the doctor because of some pain and I am now being treated for a kidney infection.

So, that is what has been happening in our home lately.

I believe I've had enough of this sickness stuff for a little while. Can I get some health around here?? :)

I'm getting old

Or as N likes to remind me, I'm turning 31 this year because SARAH"S BIRTHDAY IS TODAY AND SHE IS GONNA BE 21!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, our dear, sweet brother used to tease her that we could not celebrate her birthday until the time of her birth. And because she was born at 11:59 pm, we couldn't celebrate later than the time of her birth because it would be the next day and therefore, no longer her birthday.

So, Sarah, I will wish you a happy birthday now, instead of waiting as Andrew has suggested many times over the years!

I love ya! And I really enjoyed talking with you the other day.

Tagged, again

Here's how it works.
1. Go to the 4th picture folder on your computer.
2.Post the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 more bloggers.

Well, I had to cheat a little bit. The 4th folder only contained 3 pictures. So, I went into my photo software and picked the 4th folder. That particular folder contained 50 pictures, so I figured I'd be safe there.

And to explain the picture... I took both girls to the church and propped them up in a tree that had a great couple of branches. One branch is almost parallel to the ground while the one above it forms a great arc that leaves plenty of head room. So, this is a pic of N in a tree.

And as for tagging, well, I guess that would be Rachel, Sarah and Shery since they are probably the only other ones who read my blog on a somewhat consistent basis. However, if I have anyone lurking who has a blog, consider yourself tagged too.

Birthdays

I was talking with N tonight about different things and one of her questions was if we finally had one due date for the baby or if it was going to continue to change. Then we talked about the possibility of the baby being born on her birthday. I shared several birthday stories, including the one from College Station where the server didn't really think we were celebrating 10 (or was it 12) birthdays. She laughed and laughed!

One of my most favorite things about our birthdays was each of us had our own celebration. Even with a whole string of birthdays lasting from Dec 31st to Mar 1st. (5 total in that time, not to mention the extended family) So, even though I think it would be neat to have the same birthday as a child or sibling, I am praying that our little one does not make their entrance on N's birthday. I want her to have her special day just like each of us had as we grew up. Just like I want our little one to have his (I hope) or her special day as well.

So, Mom, thank you for making our day special. I love you!

Baby update and a photo

A quick note about the picture: baby's head is toward the bottom of the picture and the line on it is showing the crown to rump measurement.


My appointment went well once I was seen. I waited with Michael for an HOUR before a room opened up for us. I really liked my doctor. She is not an OB, but she is a family practice doctor who also delivers babies.

She started out with the ultrasound. There was a brief moment of panic (on my part) because she was not able to see my uterus on the abdominal u/s. We switched to the trans-vaginal and sure enough there was baby. According to the crown to rump measurement, I am 10w 6d with a due date of August 29th. Baby had a heartbeat of 166. Baby even did a complete flip while we were watching. I admit that I was nervous when I first saw the baby because I couldn't see the heartbeat & baby wasn't moving. So, the flip & heartbeat were VERY reassuring.

When we got to the internal part of the exam, we found out the reason for all of my back pain & cramping as well as why we couldn't see anything on the abdominal u/s. A normal woman's uterus will grow forward as the pregnancy progresses. Right now, mine is severely tilted toward my spine.

As far as monitoring me considering my previous losses, she says I am still in the "normal" range and that there would not be anything special that would be done because I have not had 3 losses. She explained so many things and the best part. . . . . She's PRO-LIFE!!!!!! We were talking about the screening tests and how many women decide to abort after a positive for Down's. She was very clear that she didn't agree with it and Michael said that abortion was not an option for us anyway.

So, it was a very good appointment and we are very happy with the choice of doctor. Even though I do anticipate long wait times. My appointment was supposed to be 40 minutes long and we were in there for an hour and 10 minutes.

Prayer request and a little note

Please pray for Athena & baby. She went into pre-term labor yesterday. The doctors were able to stop it and Athena is now on moderate bed rest. After she was discharged from one hospital and on the way home, she started having contractions again. She went to the Naval Hospital and was monitored for several hours.

Her family lives in a different country and her mom will be arriving sometime next week.

Please pray that baby stays put for a few more weeks. Please pray that Athena does well with the bed rest.

Just as a reminder I posted the pictures I took of Cuong & Athena here.

On another note, I should have more baby information for all of you tomorrow afternoon. I have my first official appointment tomorrow morning and I should hopefully find out a more accurate due date.

Groundhog Day

Why anyone thought it would make a good holiday is beyond my comprehension...

However, 2 special events in my family occured on the 2nd of February.

Way back in 1976, my big brother made his entrance into the world.

Then, because my brother has this thing for numbers (he's an engineer), he married a wonderful (and beautiful) girl named Shery. They married on 02/02 at 2pm. I am sure Andrew would have preferred the ceremony to take place at 0200 (also known as 2 in the morning), but this is one person who would have really struggled to stay awake at that hour.

So... Happy birthday to Andrew and happy anniversary to Andrew & Shery. Hoping this year brings more joy than pain, more laughter than tears, and more of God than anything!

Love ya!