Clayton says HI!

I've been trying to get a good pic of Clayton for the last few days and he has been less than cooperative. I even tried to get some good ones of him in therapy, but he always has his eyes closed or a goofy look on his face! So this is the only one that I liked out of the thirty or so I took--maybe someday I'll get better with the settings on my camera and the lighting will be more professional.

The little guy has become a motor mouth--he has been talking our ears off for the past couple of days. I have no idea what he is saying half the time, but he sure thinks it's important!

He is one cute little man. :)

Good Monday Morning!

Report on band performance yesterday: It went well considering my voice was practically gone from singing with the choir and praise team first. Everyone clapped afterwards, and we got many compliments from people I've never even spoken too--which means a lot. A lot of people did say that at times the instruments were a little too loud when balanced with my voice. We'll need to work on getting the balance just right. When we were finished, Pastor Tim asked us if we had a name--that's something we haven't even discussed as a group, so I guess we'll have to get a name in order to be a "bonafide" group!

Clayton's oxygen flow is back to normal--praise the Lord! Only took him two weeks, poor guy. I think he's officially healed now. I hope this warmer weather scares all the nasty bugs away and he can stay well for a long time to come.

I'm going to go back to work today. You know, that job where I only work like four or five hours a week?? Yeah, that "work." :)

Only two weeks until I'm off to Birmingham for the Scrap Etc. Event. I am totally ignoring the nagging, worrying feeling I get when I think about being gone from Clayton that long. Please, Lord, help Brian handle it okay, and help me handle it without having a heart attack!

The Land of the Living

Okay, so I think we're getting back into the swing of things. Clayton's O2 flow is still high, but he is feeling MUCH better. I'm still coughing a lot, but I think it's getting better. I must say that I'm feeling SO MUCH better today because my mom had Tidy Tina and her bunch come clean the house. It smells so good in here and looks MUCH better!! THANK YOU MOM!!!!

I also have to say a big thank you to my friend Annette. I know she would never want a "public" thank you, but you're getting it, my friend! She has a big family and plenty that keeps her busy, but she still took time out of her weekend and came to visit us at the hospital. Having her visit made my day--it helps so much to pass the time. I always feel like a prisoner there and I always love having visitors because when they are there, the day flies by instead of creeping along. THANK YOU, ANNETTE!

We are Home

I'm still coughing. Brian is better. Clayton is lots better but still needing breathing treatments and more oxygen. He has a cough still too. We're pretty much pooped.

Ghost Writer

Hello, blogger world! I'm Ashley's Mom---Mary, and I've been coerced into writing this post today in Ashley's absence. As I don't have the teaching degree that she does, you will just have to bear with my grammar and spelling errors (I'm certain she will get her red pen out with me later!) Just where the heck is she? Well---the Smiths are a sickly bunch this week. Presently, Ashley and Clayton are in the hospital (Clayton is the patient, Ashley needs her own bed but doesn't meet the age requirement), Brian is ailing at home with the flu. Clayton's condition of fever and higher oxygen needs worsened so he was admitted yesterday. There is also concern of a possible abdominal issue and an upper GI is going to be done (didn't happen today, one of the testing rooms was not in working order). Meanwhile, there is a problem with the computers at the hospital that Ashley uses while there, and she is not able to view, send, receive e-mail or post to this blog. Hopefully, she and Clayton will be home soon and she can be back into her normal communication with you all. Clayton has certainly been ready to check out since his arrival. His wheelchair is parked in his room and today he kept pointing at it and his little hoarse, raspy voice would say: "Go"! Oh, how tempted I was... Thank you for your continued prayers for Clayton and good health to Ashley and Brian!

Layout of the Day

Came home today to a bunch of emails congratulating me on LOTD over at ScrapJazz! Totally unexpected, but definitely welcome! Thanks to everyone who left such sweet comments for me.

Monday, Monday

Thought to ponder: Why do kids only get sick at night and then act better in the morning and they want to play when you are worn out?

Update: I talked to the therapist's supervisor and the therapist and it's definitely over! Thank goodness I'm rid of that situation!

Clayton: We spent all day at Children's Friday only to end up with a flu shot that has had him running fever for most of the weekend and all of last night. He hasn't run fever today, but he still feels really bad. His little throat hurts and he is congested (more oxygen needed). We see ENT tomorrow and pulmonary Thursday for already scheduled appointments--they will be able to check him out real good.

Scrapbooking: I was asked by a fellow ScrapJazzer to do design work for her online store (very flattering!). She is in the middle of revamping her entire site and wanted to add some design team members. Her store website is www.noelmignon.com and for now we are posting our work for her on a blog: http://noelmignonlayouts.blogspot.com/ I really like the other designers and I look forward to working with this team--Noel was more than generous with all of the supplies she sent (and they all worked together great), so it was easy to crank out those two layouts. Look for more in the near future.

UGH!

Okay, so that same therapist is getting on my last nerve. It's 10:50 and she's not here. His therapy time is 10:15-11:15!!!! And he has more after that. I guess she thinks we just sit around and wait on her?! Doesn't she realize that Clayton is a busy guy? This seals the deal--I'm calling her boss today to cancel developmental therapy altogether. It's just too much--for me and for Clayton! With developmental, he has ten therapy sessions over four days. All of the goals she had are addressed in his other therapies--she mainly concentrates on what he would do in preschool if he were there, so it's not like he would be "missing" something. And they don't even come if school is out (breaks and summer)--so how important is a therapy that you don't have to have year-round? F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-E-D!!!

One of those Nights

It was one of those nights with Clayton again. And I have to laugh as I type this because my mom says any night spent with Clayton is "one of those nights!" On any night, he is restless, but he has night terrors or something and we were up most of the night last night with him screaming. Brian finally pulled out the guitar and it calmed him down considerably, but he still layed there and whined. "They" say kids grow out of this, but he's been doing it since he came home from the hospital--isn't that long enough?????

A Little Bit of Snow

is better than none! I sure wish we could get a true snowfall though. Guess I just live in the wrong part of the country!

I've spent most of the day snuggling with Clayton--nothing better on a cold winter's day!