Up and then Down

We started the week going to say goodbye to Caroline's sweet friend Ryan. She was unbelievable. I was afraid of how she might feel once we got there, and what questions she might have. She was just like a little adult. She was very sad, but she simply told me that she wasn't going to cry because he was with Jesus, and he wasn't sick anymore, and he was playing with Princess for her {Princess was Caroline's dog that died}. Can I just say WOW! Ryan's family is so sweet, and they loved on her and were so glad that we came. We when got there, a table was set up with pictures of Ryan, and in the middle of them all was a picture of the 2 of them...let's just say she was super excited to see that picture. Before we left his mom gave me a gift for Caroline that Ryan wanted her to have, and she told me to hang on to it until she turns 18, then she can have it. How sweet! Of course I had to peek, and it's a beautiful ring that I know Caroline will treasure. Then Caroline went to spend the night with one of her friends, and had a blast. I figured it would be a good way for her to end a sad day, although I think the whole day was far harder on me than it was on her!


I tried to take her school clothes shopping on Wednesday, and let me tell you...if that girl gets anymore sass in her, I will lose my mind! The teenage years sre going to be sooo fun for sure! She literally walked around the stores like a little diva, a side I haven't really seen before, or not to this extent! We ended up leaving one store and not getting anything because she was demanding that I buy "this, and this mommy"! Ha! I don't think so little girl!



Then on Thursday she woke up with a fever and of course that makes me feel so bad for her. Especially because of her ITP, and the fear that her counts will drop. Poor little girl! We couldn't get into the doctor so I figured I would just drug her {give her the appropriate amount of Tylenol}, and hope for the best. Even with the Tylenol, her fever never would break and she woke up again this morning with the same 101.9 fever. Ughhhh...I hate this for her. So now we are sitting here waiting until the doctor's office opens so we can get her in today. But on another note, we are dog-sitting for my brother and his family while they head off on vacation for a week.
Velma is a sweetie, and yes , Caroline's cousin Blake named her Velma because he loves Scooby Doo!


This is Caroline and Velma a few years ago...how stinking cute!

This week has been full of ups and downs...oh wait, that's normal!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Just one Favorite?

I can't choose just one! You'll have to deal with getting several of my favorite pictures of Caroline! I love certain shots for certain reasons, I would never be able to choose!






These 2 just go together!


My Silly Girl

My Carefree Girl

My Morning Girl


Her first goal, she was so proud of herself


This is her ughhhh face

My Sleepy Girl

Please Pray

I am writing this with a broken heart. I'm not even sure what to say. Many of you have prayed for Caroline's friend Ryan, and today I have to tell her that he went to be with his sweet Jesus yesterday.

Please be in prayer for this family. Many of us have never known the loss of a child, many have. I can't imagine how people can make it through this experience without the love of Christ. Ryan's family has that, and I know it will be a comfort to them in the coming days. They turned it over to Him, and knew that it rested in His hands.

Please pray for me to have the strength and the words to explain to Caroline about her precious friend. I never imagined having this conversation with her.

"Lord, please lay your healing hands on this family to heal their heartache for the loss of Ryan. We know that you are with them Lord, and that you will never forsake them. Please give them peace and comfort and hold them in your loving arms."

When I get the chance, I will post the link to his caring bridge page so that you can shower this family with love.

Shoes!

Trina...this is for you girl!

Yesterday Trina and I both posted about shoes {well I more just mentioned my shoes!}, and told her how funny that was. She made a little video about her favorite shoes, and after we got to talking, I told her I would do one of all my shoes...if you've never been to Trina's blog, Fabulously Frugalicious, go NOW {after you finish up here of course!}, she is a doll, and is a lot of fun!

Now, this is a warning: please excuse my accent, and my appearance! I was not about to get all gussied up to make this after a long day of work lol, and I hate to be in front of the camera talking, so I tend to make some funny faces...quite embarrassing! Don't laugh too hard!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I know, I know...it seems so awful to have so many shoes, and your right! But just to redeem myself a little tiny bit, I do donate all of our clothes and shoes to charities when I clean out everything. I look for great bargains, and I like all shoes, not just expensive ones!

Thought Filled Thursdays?

I'm thinking that now I may have to change this to Thursdays since I have been enjoying doing the bloghop on Tuesdays! So whaddaya think?

I have missed several weeks since I was sick and all, so I have lots of stored up thoughts! Hope you can bear with me!

-Have I ever told you how much I love shoes? It's an obsession...no, really, it is. Ask anyone who knows me. My mom used to call me Imelda Marcos. Not that I really had 2700 pair of shoes, the worst I got was around 300, but Caroline's dad made me get rid of about half of them! So now, over time I'm at about 85. And I no longer spend every penny of my paycheck on shoes alone...that was years ago! But, I just love them. Please don't think I'm a shoe snob though...I like cheap ones, designer, what ever I find that I like. I love heels, flip flops, wedges...I just love them! And yes, I have read Shoe Addicts Anonymous...LOL! Anyway, one of my favorite pair of heels broke, and it makes me very sad.


-I got a new candle. It smells so good that I could eat it! So yummy!

Circle E - Almond Creme Cake


And of course you Texas girls know the best Circle E Candle of all : Bird of Paradise. If you have never heard of these candles, or smelled Bird of Paradise, I can assure you that if you want a candle that smells delicious, and makes the WHOLE house smell yummy, this is the one! Order one, you'll thank me!

-Caroline loves to go farming with Tab. I know I've briefly mentioned that during harvest time, honey works for a friend farming. Most of the time he makes the hauls to the grain lots to drop of the crops. So you can imagine that he drives a huge 18-wheeler to haul the corn, milo, or wheat. Caroline loves to ride with him. It's only a few miles to Crawford {where they haul the crops} from the fields, so every once in a while I will let her ride with Tab. She got to go recently, and had a blast! Oh, and so you don't think I'm totally crazy, the truck he drives has a nickname...we call him Harvey!


Caroline wanted to climb up into Harvey by herself

Tab helping get her seat belt and booster seat situated



All buckled and ready to go!


Kissy face as they pulled out
-I just realized school starts in a month! Where did the summer go? I blinked and its almost over! Now I have to start school shopping! Ugghhhh!

-This dog truly has such a hard life



Have a great day friends!

Southern Style - Recipes

Well, this one is kind of tough! I have too many good recipes! Okay so I'm a southern girl, and my momma didn't cook from a box, it was all from scratch, so I make just about everything from scratch. Your gonna get 2 recipes out of me today...One for the hubby {his favorite}, and one for Boog.


Alicia's Famous Green Beans
{Husband's Favorite...this is what he calls them...so sweet!}

1/2 lb. Fresh green beans, washed and snapped
1 1/2 sticks of butter
5 pieces crispy cooked bacon, broken up
1 tbsp. Lawry's season salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp garlic
2 tsp dill weed

-Stick all of it in a pot, cover with water making sure that you have about an inch of water over the green beans.
-cook on medium to medium-low {you want it to bubble a little but not have a roiling boil}.
-Let them cook for about an hour, depending on how tender you like your green beans.

*Yes, I know this is extremely unhealthy with all the salt and butter, what do you expect, I'm southern! When I want to make it healthier, I just use stick margarine, Morton's Low-Sodium Salt, and low-fat or turkey bacon.

_____________________________________________

Creamy Tomato Basil Spaghetti Sauce
{Caroline's favorite, along with Michelle & several others!}

2 cans tomato paste
2-3 cups milk
1 tbsp. basil or a handful of fresh basil chopped
1 1/2 tsp. garlic or about 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. oregano
salt & pepper to taste

*add any other Italian seasoning you like...marjoram, fennel seed, sage...you get the idea!

-Put tomato paste in saucepan, heat on medium, stirring constantly. slowly add milk until you have the desired amount of sauce, if you need to add more, keep going!
-Stir until all the lumps are out of the paste
-Add olive oil, onion, and any fresh herbs you use {if you aren't using fresh, don't add anything else yet}
-Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes
-Add all the rest of your spices and sugar
-Let simmer for at least 20 minutes.

*Remember adjust any of the seasonings to taste if you need to, some people want less flavor, some want more :)

Busy Momma

Whew...I have been a busy momma this last week! It was my first week back at work after being off for 2 weeks! And since I wasn't off vacationing I was a little slow at the beginning of the week! But as the week progressed, momma got her groove back! LOL!


Poor Shimmer got a bath...by Boog
Shimmer looks terrified, LOL!

I've had lots of projects that I have been working on, shipping out, and planning...I'm so excited and can't wait to share them! My parents dog groomer {for some reason that doesn't sound grammatically correct to me?} is moving her shop, and she wants some items to sell. So, the wonderful daddy-o told her about my work! So I have been getting some things together, as well as making a few new things to take up there so she can take a look! Hopefully, she'll love them, and I'll get more business!




Of course, I have a few orders I have been finishing up, and a few I am getting the details on, so I have been really happy with my side business lately! I lOVE to paint, sew, create fun things for people, so I have been having a blast! We {Caroline and I} are also working on a special project for her buddy Ryan...I'll post about it after we give it to him!

We had a fairly laid back weekend, with a quick impromptu date with the hubby thrown in! Saturday, Boog and I headed over to her cousin Blake's house for a bit. They just got a new pool, and the kids were just dying to go swim! His mom had a meeting to go to and I hung out with the kids for a while, then when she got home, I ran a few errands {which took way longer than I imagined} while she hung out with the kids! Boog did not want to go home! She ended up staying the night, which she loved, because she adores her aunt, uncle and cousin Blake!

Hubby has a second job during harvest working for one of his old bosses farming. He loves the change in work, so he looks forward to it every year. Needless to say, that during harvest, we only see him around 9:30 at night every night, which Boog is almost always already asleep by then. On Saturday night they finished up a little early, and we had no kid! We almost didn't know what to do! It has been literally months and months since we have had a night to ourselves! We decided to go ahead and grab dinner {it was already 9pm}, and hopped on the bike. There's this little mexican place we love and we headed up there, only to get there and see that they are getting ready to close! But the owner is super nice, and we hapopen to go there frequently, so he ushered us in to eat...which was so sweet of him! We had a good meal, great conversation {I talked way more than I ate, and Tab kept laughing the whole time, but I never see him and I had a lot to catch up on!} and knew it was time to get out of there and let them get home! Don't worry, hubby left a huge tip for staying there just to feed us!

Sunday, I picked up Boog, and we headed home to do laundry. That evening we had Blake's birthday party at the Water Park here. He and several of his friends with July birthdays rented the place out for the evening! It was tons of fun, and such a great idea. Boog was asleep within minutes of getting home last night!

Blake on his "real" birthday


How was your weekend? Do anything super fun?

Praying for Ryan

Several months ago I posted about Caroline's sweet little friend Ryan. They had a charity fundraiser at her school for Pennies for Patients, which I talked about here. Then literally days later, I got a call from Ryan's mom...she was searching for Caroline because Ryan was diagnosed with Leukemia and really, really wanted to see his friend. We went to visit them in the hospital, which you can read about here, and we have kept in touch ever since.


Ryan was diagnosed with leukemia {T-cell ALL with recurrent Lymphoma} on March 28, 2008.

I keep up with his CaringBridge & CarePages sites and give Caroline updates on how Ryan is doing. He recently had his transplant, and he got to go on a Make a Wish trip, which while he was there, he called to tell Caroline about it!


Ryan on his Make a Wish trip


Yesterday, I heard from his mom. She wanted me to know that Ryan was feeling fine, but that the cancer is back, and they have run out of options. Medically, there is nothing else they can do. My heart breaks for this sweet little boy and his family. They haven't told him how grave the situation has become, and I decided I wouldn't tell Caroline either. We made plans to get the kids together very soon, so they can enjoy some time together playing.




Friends, will you pray with me? I know how much this fmaily believes in His grace, and the power of prayer. They have put this in God's hands. I can only guess at how emotional, how painful, how unfair this whole thing seems to his parents. I thought it was rough enough going through our ITP battles. I can say that I do understand the fear of the unknown when your child is diagnosed with a disease, and it breaks your heart as a parent, no matter how much you trust in Him.

We are blessed to be parents. And even though it is a blessing, it still hurts from time to time. God hears us. God answers prayers. God heals. So today, I'm asking you to join me in praying for sweet Ryan. I'm asking you to pass this on to your prayer groups, other blog friends, link to this post so others can pray too. Thank you sweet friends...I knew I could count on you!

My 3 Things

***Hmmmmmmmmmm......3 things that you don't know...that may be hard since I talk, er...type, so much! Let's see:

1. I'm double jointed in my hips and knees...weird, I know!

2. I danced for 16 years: ballet, tap, jazz, modern, drill team, etc....

3. I'm a natural blond - it used to be just like Caroline's, but slowly over the years it gets a tad darker...but even now at 31 {sniffles} it's still pretty darn blond on it's own! But yes, I do get highlights and low lights depending on the time of year! :)

I know this isn't all that interesting, but hey....it's all I've got!***

Fighting MRSA

After I got all settled in my prison for the next 6 days, I had visits from 3 doctors, telling me what to expect...oh boy! My nurse came in and started my IV, which wasn't too bad...especially for someone who can't stand needles and happens to have really bad veins. Things were trucking right along, just hanging out with hubby and my parents, when my arm started to really hurt. Nurse comes in to check the IV, says it looks great and shoots some pain meds in...Whoa baby! Not in a good that really helps kind of way, in a OMG get this thing out of my arm kind of way.



Yep, my IV infiltrated, pouring fluids and pain meds right into my upper arm. There was lots of pain, and swelling, and days later bruising. This began my 7 IV party...yes, they had to change locations of my IV 7 times in 6 days. I haven't decided if it was bad placement, or bad veins, but either way, it hurt like the dickens and caused me lots of unnecessary tears. Have I mentioned that I hate needles...and I am a bad patient?



Most of the time wasn't horrible, except that I was stuck in my room. I couldn't go walk, go outside to walk Boog out, go to the gift shop....nothing, I was quarantined. Fun stuff people, fun stuff. The worst part was being away from Caroline. It broke my heart, not being able to see her every day. I didn't want her up there, seeing me that way or potentially getting icky germs...but I did see her a few times. By Friday, I was really sad, and so ready to head home, but the docs thought I might need surgery, so I was stuck. Tab was great, he stayed with me at night and played gin with me to keep my spirits up, unhooked my IV so I could go to the bathroom, held my hand when I got new IV's...I love him to pieces. And my parents were great, offering any help they could give, and my brother and sister in law were great, offering to keep Caroline for us.

I was slightly depressed that we weren't going to get to do anything with Caroline on the 4th of July, but Caroline was thrilled to get to spend time with her cousin Blake. So while the rest of the country was enjoying all of the festivities of Independence Day, I was told I would be stuck in the hospital and having surgery at 8PM...while people were enjoying burgers and homemade vanilla ice cream, I was in the OR having surgery.

They finally let me leave on Monday. That started a whole new slew of problems. The meds they put me on had the worst side effects ever! My mouth started to swell, was raw, cracking, my face was swollen, and I won't go into detail about what it did to my stomach. I finally got that staightened out and a good check-up from the doc, and things seem to be going a lot better for now. I get to go back to work this week, and my meds now seem to be fine other than they make me really emotional. Oh, one of the most important things that happened during the whole ordeal was that since I couldn't leave my room, I was forced to quit smoking, yes...I smoked. Not really something I talk about on here, but something I have fought for years, my only real vice. So on top of all the fun medicines and their side effects, I have been fighting the effects of not smoking.

All in all, I think I am a-okay. I have a few more follow-ups, and then hopefully it will be all over! If you have never dealt with MRSA {staph}, I hope you never do. It is an awful, nasty infection, that really stinks! Hopefully we can finally get rid of this mess, and quit passing it from person to person.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers! They mean so much!!!!

Back Among the Living, I Think?

First, I want to thank Hollie for posting for me while I was in the hospital! I had my laptop with me, but the hospitals wi-fi was a little sketchy, and I couldn't log in to make posts, but luckily I could tweet from my phone!

Well, where do I begin?

Last Monday {6-29-09} I went to the doctor because I had an infection, a "bump" and it kept getting bigger. I know from past experiences {Tab & Caroline} that this could be a staph infection, and I wanted to get it checked out. I was given medicine, sent home and told to follow-up on Wednesday. By Tuesday night, I was really hurting and noticing a lot of swelling and redness. I figured I would just go ahead and wait until the morning for my appointment. I got there, and was immediately sent to another doctor, who then called in several other doctors for their opinions. Next thing I know, I am being sent to the hospital with admitting papers and my room number in hand! Okay, when does that happen? They don't even give you a room number when your in labor!

So to everyone's shock and amazement, mostly mine, I find myself in room 1431 by 11:30 in the morning last Wednesday. Wow.

I had 2 doctors that were assigned to handle my case while I was there, given ungodly amounts of antibiotics, and had surgery . I will detail all {mostly all, leaving out some details} events, and fill you all in! But for now, I will leave you with a few pictures of my first few days.


This was my glorious view for the duration of 6 days in isolation. Fun Times.


This is what the other side looks like. Well, behind me too.


This is what time it was when they finally had me settled.

Another update on Alicia

It's me again! I got a text message back from Alicia this afternoon and it said, 'serious staph infection...been in the hospital since Wed. morning. Just be in prayer. I had surgery yesterday and might go home tomorrow'. That is all I know...but if they are talking about her going home tomorrow, that's a huge blessing! Please keep her in your prayers and if I hear anything else I will update again.

Drama Mama, here - PRAYER REQUEST

Hey guys! It's The Drama Mama and I have officially hijacked Alicia's blog! I have an urgent prayer request for Alicia. I received an email from her saying she had been in the hospital since Wednesday and would be having surgery Friday night or Saturday. I have NO other details....I don't even know why she is in the hospital. I have tried to text her, but haven't heard back yet. PLEASE, PLEASE pray for her right now! As soon as I know more, I will post again!

Update - I just read her twitter updates and evidently Alicia had surgery at 8 PM last night all because of that Staph infection....poor girl! I will post more when I hear more!