Ch-ch-ch-Changes!

Thank you to everyone for all your well wishes and prayer support! I'll look forward to keeping you all updated on the details of the pregnancy as some of you out there are already sending me inquiries! First off, I am due June 10, which seems like a lifetime away. But considering my doctor told me Monday that at 18 weeks I need to have all my helpers lined out for taking it easy, I really don't have that long it seems (that's just 10 weeks away!). My biggest concern has been lifting Clayton and his wheelchair which is already hard on my back. Doctor says I'm okay for now but accept help if at all possible. I'm soon going to have to enroll the school personnel to help me get Clayton out of the car. When I was pregnant with the twins, I had lots of issues with my sciatic nerve and I'm already feeling that pain after lifting Clayton a lot. Not good, but what do you do??? Things are already changing. Clayton gets a bath at night now instead of the morning so Brian can do the lifting. And at church I pretty much let everyone else take over. Being pregnant also immediately affects my singing if you can believe that. I haven't had enough breath for singing since almost day one of the pregnancy. I can't even reach the notes that usually come easily for me either! And since I have a singing engagement tonight, it should be pretty interesting!

Overall, these first few weeks have been a breeze compared to the twins. I was sick from day one with them. I have had some waves of nausea but so far not truly sick. Thank goodness! Here's to no real morning sickness!

The BIG News!

I've been keeping a secret from my blog readers!Can you believe that after such a long wait Brian and I have finally decided to have another baby?! We've had Clayton telling everyone that he is going to be a big brother and I think he's actually getting excited about it! (Or at least he's starting to notice babies even more than usual!) We got our first peek this morning and everything is looking good so far. And I think for old time's sake I'll be affectionately calling this baby Baby C since Shawn and Clayton were our Babies A and B. :) I'm so happy to finally share this news with the world! Everyone pray for a normal, uneventful pregnancy as one early labor was defintely enough for me! (I guess I'm going to find out just who in fact reads my blog with this announcement!)

The Other Patient

Just wanted to give a report on Clayton's latest doctor's visit. We saw the pulmonologist on Monday and he told me to get lots more aggressive with weaning Clayton off the oxygen. So now Clayton only wears the oxygen when he is asleep and after a couple of weeks of that I'm supposed to start shortening the time he wears it while asleep a couple of hours at a time. He's really doing well with it so far. It's been such a long road, but I really think he's ready for it this time--that is, all except giving up his nasal cannula which he is VERY attached to!! (Poor little guy, it's like his little security blanket is being taken away!)

(And I have to say a big THANK YOU to Sherrie and Todd for this little chair. It's perfect for him, and allows him to sit out in the yard without us getting the wheelchair out. We love that!)

Good News!

My dad is AT HOME! He was doing so well in his therapy that he got to skip going to rehab! PRAISE THE LORD for miracles!!! According to Dad, the doctor was pretty astounded at all the progress he is making. I saw him walk today without the walker and it was great. He is still shaky and it's going to take intense therapy to get back to normal but he has definitely made leaps and bounds of progress each day. THANK YOU everyone for your well wishes and prayers!!

Wow.

What a difference 24 hours makes. Yesterday at this time I was living life as usual and now I'm trying to take care of myself, be there for my mom, and praying my dad gets better. My dad has pain management injections in his spine and yesterday something went awry with one because he ended up losing all feeling in his legs and torso and having emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his spine. He is in ICU now and it looks like it will take some time for him to regain use of his legs. His right leg is actually moving around pretty well, but his left not so much. He can wiggle his toes on his left foot so hopefully today he'll be gaining strength on that side. Pray he gets up and walking soon!

(As a side note his surgeon was Dr. Burson who has operated on Clayton about 5 times--totally small world and he knew exactly who we were without even seeing Clayton with us. I so want him to see Clayton but I don't know how I'll swing it because everytime we walk in a hospital Clayton gets majorly upset!)

Withdrawals

This is my favorite restaurant. It's right up the road from my house and they have a drive-thru that is so easy for us. I have the chicken chimichanga dinner there at least once a week. AND NOW ALL OF THE SUDDEN THEY ARE CLOSED! No warning, just a sign on the door saying "closed." I wanted lunch from there on Monday and hoped that it was just a one day thing, but still no sign of life around there today when I drove by. I'm getting a little worried because I really NEED their food to survive!! It's like a little treat I get each week and now that they're closed it's like I'm craving it more than ever! I'm just hoping upon hoping that they're just on a small vacation and all will be back to normal next week!

Hayride at School

Clayton's school kicked off their fall festivities with a hayride and some line dancing today. :) Clayton was one of the few kids that actually looked like he was enjoying the ride in the trailer. I think it was mainly because we were being pulled by a big ole' John Deere tractor. And because he was so excited, he was the only one that got to sit in the driver's seat of the tractor (he's special like that--or at least I think so!).

And I have to include this picture even though it's out of focus (I somehow had manual focus turned on)--this little girl has started really doting on Clayton and she was in his face the whole time they were sitting and eating popcorn. My son, always the ladies man!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Little Brother!

Yesterday my little brother turned the big 3-0. Guess that officially makes me old??? Nicole planned a little surprise party for him and I think it actually worked because he did seem surprised when he walked in!

We had a good time but Brian and I realized how old we are when we started yawning at 9:00. Boy, are we the big time partiers or what?! At any rate, we enjoyed ourselves yawning and all!!

Another Layout

Here's this week's layout for the Survivor contest I'm in. Layout had to have (1)the word journey, (2) raw chipboard, (3) painted chipboard letters that were different sizes, and (4) pink!

Journaling: Despites sometimes difficult circumstances, time has taught us that we are indeed blessed beyond measure! Destin, FLA 8/08

Birthday Party Pics

We went to Heidi and Drew's birthday party this weekend and Clayton had a blast "chasing" all the kids around (and I think Brian lost a couple of pounds from all the running around he did!).

Here's just a few snapshots from the day---

Who knew cupcakes could be so fun? :)

Layouts

Yes, it's been a slow blogging week. Clayton was home the last two days sick and I really didn't think anyone wanted to hear about how many times we moved from the couch to the chair to the bed and then back to the couch. But to make up for that I'll share some layouts. I did this first one for a Survivor contest I'm in. We had to create a layout with the following: (1) title is "Life is Beautiful" (2) journaling on a cloud (3) paper-pieced tree (4) stitching on an edge (5) bird, owl, or deer (6) and two photo corners. I decided these pics by Nicole were great for this title. The journaling is a quote from Ashley Smith Robinson: "Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams."

The next one is Clayton's latest birthday of course. Journaling: This year, you knew the party was for you. NO CRYING--ALL SMILES!!!

And this last one is just my thoughts on this whole struggle with preschool.

Journaling: Your journey into preschool has opened our eyes in such a shocking way. With us, you experience everything possible—there are no limits to what you can do. But out in the world, people see your brain as incapable and slow just because your body doesn’t work. It is this revelation that has forced me into my “mama bear” mode, essentially screaming out with my words and actions to anyone who will listen—he is a normal five year old living inside a body that won’t work! And there’s only one word for it: TRAPPED. My little boy is trapped inside his body, and trapped in a system that only reluctantly makes modifications. But no matter . . . we will carry on like we always have, ignoring the boxes that people try to fit you in. Daddy and I will always bend over backwards to give you all the opportunities imaginable!!!!!