Update on Mandy

Thank you Prayer Warriors! My mom just called me with an update on Mandy! They did not keep her at the hospital last night and they did not find any blood clots - HALLELUJAH!

We are still not really sure what they "diagnosed" as the problem, but I do think they gave her some migraine medicine. So...not sure if that was the root of the problem or what.

I am sure the fact that she just had a baby last week and she was probably over-doing it might have played into this as well!!!

So, thank you for your prayers...they are much appreciated! Hopefully she will update us soon or if I hear more, I will certainly pass it along!

The whole blood clot thing really had me freaked out since I just about lost my friend Kelli to blood clots a few years ago! But...God is good!!!!

I will try to put a real post up later today - if work allows! LOL

Love you all and appreciate you all so very much!

Please Pray...

Ladies, It appears that we need to keep two of our dear Journal Goddesses in prayers right now! Debbie - which hopefully you have seen her emails and know what is going on there with her eye. And now Mandy. I just got off the phone with my Uncle Ronnie (Mandy's dad) and she is at the hospital in the ER. They have not admitted her yet, but she is having substantial chest pains and having difficulty breathing. They are looking for blood-clots. Like I said, at this point they have not admitted her, but I am not sure what the rest of the evening will look like for them. Mandy's parents have both Abbey and Eli.

I will update as I hear more, but I now that she will appreciate your prayers - as well as Debbie! Just pray for God's wisdom to be with the doctors and for His peace to surround everyone involved.

Love you Girls!!!!

Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day Ladies! I am really looking forward to a weekend, even though I had an unintentional 4-day weekend this past weekend! But I love Holiday Weekends! Just something about knowing you have more time with the family…makes me smile!

So, let’s see…it has only been a week this time since my last “real” post. Of course, I told Mandy that I was the official reporter so I had to go to the hospital to see Eli right after he was born so that I could report it back to you all! I took my job very seriously and got there just a little more than an hour after he was born! LOL It was really my Mom’s idea! I think she was so excited because this was the first baby that was born now that they live in Ohio. She said when they were in Kentucky it was so hard to not be able to come to the hospital right away. So, as soon as she called me to tell me he was here, she asked if I was ready to go to the hospital! I have to tell you…she made me cry at the hospital. My mom is not a very emotional person…so, I get it from my Dad, not from her. Anyways, when Uncle Ronnie (Mandy’s dad and my mom’s brother) walked in the room, my mom said: “Well, congratulations again Brother!” and they both got all teary-eyed….which means that I have to get teary-eyed too! That was a sweet moment. But as you can see, he is adorable! Mandy looked great and was feeling great at the time (thanks to the epidural). I know that they will have some rough days ahead as they get used to having a 4 year old and a newborn, but they will do great!

Well, Scott went on his Emmaus Walk this past weekend and he had a FABULOUS time! For those that don’t know what that is, it is a 72 hour spiritual renewal weekend retreat. It is just a wonderful time of reflection and really, so very much more. I don’t want to go into a lot of detail because there are lots of wonderful surprises built into the weekend, but let me just tell you that he loved it! I am so glad that he was able to go and have that time just for him. He certainly deserves it!!!

So, I dropped him off at the church for that on Thursday night…so I was flying solo with the kiddies this weekend! We did great….except for the last part of the weekend when things took a turn for the worse, but I will get to that in a minute!
Before I took him to the church, we went to dinner at Outback! That was nice to have a quick date-night! We don’t get that very often! I took the day off on Friday and went to the church where he was at to serve him breakfast…he was surprised by that! Then I was able to go and do some shopping all by myself! My mom had the girls and Isaac was at school, so I went to a few stores…all by myself! Did I mention that I was all by myself? LOL It was heavenly to be able to look around at my own pace! And since I have lost so much weight, I really have to try things on because I am not sure what size I am! And let me tell you, I had to squelch a squeal in the fitting room when I tried on a pair of capris that were like 6 sizes smaller than what I was wearing at my heaviest! I haven’t seen that size in MANY, MANY years! So, that made my shopping trip even more enjoyable! LOL

Well, after I picked up the girls and Isaac, we went home and I was able to take a nap with Faith Anne and Gracie while Isaac played the Wii. I told him that he had a decision to make because he wanted to go to the Family Fun Nite (picture mass chaos) at his school, but I didn’t want to take all three of the kids there by myself. So, I told him to decide to do that or go to the mall and we could go to Build-A-Bear. Well, he chose to go to the mall! So, when we got up from our naps, we had a quick dinner and then headed to the mall. They were all three very good and we had fun at the BAB store! The girls both made doll babies and Isaac made a doggy. We did a bit more shopping, split a milkshake, played in the play-area and then headed home! It was a very nice evening with the kids!

Saturday…we got up and cleaned the house some and then walked to the church’s rummage sale. We just kinda had a leisurely day. I made all three kids take a nap – because they got up so early and more importantly because I wanted to take a nap! Isaac had a birthday party to go to at a pet store. That was fun for him….and he got 3 free goldfish as party favors! So, we now have 7 goldfish! I took them all out to dinner and then picked up a girl from our church who watched the kiddos for me while I went to a church service. Jodi came up for that and we had a great time!

Here is where the fun starts! At about 2:30 in the morning, Gracie starts screaming! I go into her room and the smell hits me as soon as I open the door – yep, we had the stomach bug! Well, SHE had the stomach bug! And Scott isn’t home. Great. So, I persuade Faith Anne to stay in bed and I get Gracie stripped down and in the tub. I left her in there while I went and stripped her bed and re-made it. I had to keep going back and forth between the bathroom and her bedroom because she kept crying. But it was easier to do the bed while she was out of the way. This happened 2 other times that night. Lots of fun! She got sick a few more times on Sunday…but thank goodness for my parents! They came and took Isaac and Faith Anne to church and then just kept them pretty much all day.

Here is a cute conversation I had with Isaac on Sunday morning:

Me: You are going to have to stay away from Gracie today.
Isaac: Why?
Me: Because she is sick and I don’t want you to catch her germs.
Isaac: I can’t!Me: Why?
Isaac: (tears in his eyes and voice shakey) Because I love her!
Me: Umm…can you love her from a distance today?

That kid is so sweet…..most of the time!

So, Gracie slept most of the morning/afternoon and kept stuff down all evening. Scott came home…we were happy…we went to bed….we woke up to Gracie getting sick two more times! So, I ended up calling in sick – or actually working from home – so I could stay with her. She is better now and so far, no one else has come down with the stomach bug in our house. Hopefully it stays that way!!!!

Faith Anne had her last day of preschool yesterday and tomorrow there is a picnic and then she is done until next year! I have to remember to get her teacher gift all wrapped up today! I decided to give them the Vera Bradley softback book covers with a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble (or whatever bookstore that is at the Greene). I think a teacher would appreciate that…at least, I hope they do!

Baseball is in full swing for us. Isaac has games on Mondays and Wednesdays and Scott has softball on Friday nights. The girls have been pretty good so far, so hopefully that continues!

Well, we have something going on every day this weekend…including going down to see Jodi, Jimmie and the girls on Memorial Day! It sounds like the weather is going to be great this weekend….and it is about stinking time! I told Scott that I was glad it was going to be hot on Monday because I bought Faith Anne a very cute red, white and blue tank top! LOL It is all about the fashion with her, you know!

Love you all and Happy Memorial Day!!!!

Baby Boy is Here!!!!

Today is a GREAT DAY! Mandy and Steve welcomed their newest addition to the world! Here is the information:

Eli Jacob Lee was born at approximately 2:50 PM. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 21.75 inches long! He is adorable as you can see for yourself!

Mom and I visited them about 90 minutes after he was born and Mandy was feeding him his first bottle...he ate it right up and gave her a good burp!

Big Sister Abbey is doing great and is having fun looking at her new brother! She was a little upset that she didn't get to feed him, but we assured her there would be plenty of time for that! She also didn't want Mommy, Daddy and Eli to stay in the hospital tonight...but Grammy was going to take her home, so I am sure she will get over that very quickly!

Mandy did great and she looks great! I will let her share all the details once she gets settled in, but Praise the Lord! We have another bundle of joy in our family! Dr. H has now delivered 8 babies into this family!!!!

Thanks for your prayers! I know that Mandy and Steve treasure them! Love you all!!!!

Hi Y'All!!!

Holy Cow! It is the middle of May already! Is it just me or does this year seem like it is flying by? I guess that is a sign of “aging”, huh? Seems to me that time just goes by faster and faster! Boy, that sounds old. LOL

So much has happened since my last post….I just feel like we are running a marathon lately! I told my friend Kelli that having this third kid has really pushed me over the edge for some reason! There is just never any “down” time it seems. Oh well! Scott and I always say that we wouldn’t have it any other way! The kids are just the light of our lives and we don’t know what we would do without them and the craziness that they bring!

First, let me tell you that our Vera Bradley Shopping Day was a ton of fun! Joy, Jodi, my Mom and I all rode over to Ft. Wayne together and we had a blast! We had lots of good conversations, laughter and of course, shopping! Laura (Hair-dye) and her mom followed us over, so we had lunch with them too. It was just a super enjoyable day! I am sure that was in part to being in “my happy place”! The prices weren’t as good as they were last year, but we still got some great deals and I got lots of presents bought…and too much for myself, but I digress! LOL It was a great, great day.

Now, let me just do my normal…person, play-by-play! Here goes:

Scott: He finished up the patio and got all the tree trimmings off to the dump and the yard looks so very nice…if it would just stop raining! I LOVE it and I am so proud of him for doing it…with LOTS of help from my Dad, but he still did it! He really takes pride in his yard! We have really enjoyed being on the back patio and the kids playing on their swing set. We had Bob and Joy and their family over for dinner one night and it was just so nice! We also had a party at our house this past weekend that I didn’t tell him about until a bit last minute! He was a trooper and got up early on Saturday (which is really hard for him to do) and started working on the yard and got done just in the knick of time! So, he is doing good…allergies are bad for him this time of the year. I am very, very excited because he is going on an Emmaus Walk this weekend! For those that aren’t familiar with that, it is a weekend-long Spiritual Retreat that is just amazing. I hope he loves it! I take him to the church tomorrow night and he doesn’t come home until Sunday night! So, it will be a long weekend without him, but very much worth it! So, keep him in your prayers this weekend! And me, I guess! LOL

Isaac: He is doing so well in school – I just can’t tell you how proud of him we are! His report card is all E’s and S’s (Excellent and Satisfactory). He is “above grade level” or “at grade level” average in everything and really excels in math and reading. I can’t believe that he is almost done with the first grade! Man, time flies…(there I go again, sounding old!). He had his first coach-pitch baseball game on Monday night. He did good! He had to use the tee for his first at-bat…after 7 pitches if they don’t hit it, they pull out the tee. But for his second at-bat, he hit it! I was very proud of him! He is already talking about football and anxious to start that….I am not since that is every day! So, luckily we have a bit until that starts! His school program was really cute and he did a great job and so was his church program. He has watched the video of that several times already! He sure loves to see himself on TV! I am still amazed by him every day because he is so much like my dad in some ways – very, very tender-hearted. He is so patient and loving with his sisters, even when they are hitting him! He has his moments, but for the most part, he is so good with them.

Faith Anne: She is also just growing up so fast! She had her dance recital a few weeks ago and it was very good…lots of laughs! She was probably the best (maybe I am a bit biased) at following the instructor – except for the one time when she realized that people were watching her and she had to put on a little show for them. We have watched that a few times too and she loves to see it. She loves to look at herself in the mirror, in the TV…really wherever! She sometimes will watch herself cry in the mirror! So funny. She had a program at her school last night and got a “diploma”. It was very cute and she did a great job singing really loud! Preschool has been so very good for her! I am amazed at how much she has matured this year socially and academically. I guess we really notice the difference because we didn’t send Isaac to preschool. Faith Anne is definitely a leader in her class, as her teacher has told us. They have a picnic next week on Thursday and then they are done for the summer! I know she will miss that!

Gracie: She is still a hornet, as my Grandma calls her! She has a very unique personality! I honestly think they switched her at the hospital and she isn’t our kid – except for she looks too much like the others! She is very strong-willed and free-spirited! Can we say…CHALLENGE?!?!? She is starting to say more words, finally! For a while there, we really only heard her say Papaw! But now she says a lot more. We have to really watch her all the time because she gets into EVERYTHING. The other day she got into the bathroom and had my pads all over the floor…and some stuck onto the wall. She is very ornery, but adorable! She will literally be looking at you when you tell her to stop something (like pulling on the curtains or getting a knife out of the drawer or hitting her sister or biting Isaac…basically anything bad) and she will look you right in the eye and keep doing it! I have never witnessed anything like it! The other two were NOT like that at all….so it is very interesting, to say the least! But I love her to death!!!

Me: I am doing alright! I have lost over 50 pounds now! I weigh in today, but I am thinking I will be up to about 54 or 55 pounds after my weigh-in. So, that is going good. It is so exciting to wear smaller clothes and to see the progress! I have a pretty empty closet right now because nearly all of my summer clothes from last year are way too big this year….but that is a good problem to have! I gave about 6 bags of stuff to Scott’s sister! I am getting rid of the stuff because I am planning on NEVER going back to that! In fact, I think I am going to try to become a PT Weight Watcher’s Leader once I hit my goal. That would be a great way to stay accountable to keep the weight off…and it would be very rewarding, I think. So…I still have a LONG way to go to that, but I am shooting for that! Aside from that, everything else is going alright. I am a little concerned about my job right now because of the economy. There have been some job eliminations around me….not in my “department”, but in some very close to me. The only people who are really “safe” are the branch employees. So, I could always go back to the branches, but I would lose my flexible hours. We’ll see….I could be worried for nothing, but it is a bit scary when you see others that you work with lose their jobs. If I did lose my job, I would get about 20 weeks of severance pay, so that would help while I tried to find something else. But….the job market isn’t the greatest right now! So….that is weighing on my mind some. At this point, I have no reason to think I would lose my job, other than speculation. So, you all know me…just something for me to worry about!

Umm…everything else is going fine with me. I am really enjoying reading my Bible every day and spending more time in prayer. It really is amazing how much better my days seem to go when I stop and spend time with God. I really think that is why I am also doing so well with losing weight this time too. I have really worked on addressing ALL aspects of my weight issues and not just what goes in my mouth. I really do recommend that study that we did, “Lose it for Life”. It is a great study!

Mother’s Day was really great – or I should say the weekend was really great! Saturday we had our “impromptu party” at our house. It ended up being a Birthday Party for Mayce (Jodi’s oldest foster-daughter)/Mother’s Day get together! It was a beautiful day and the kids all had so much fun and it was great to visit with “my girls”…the cousins! Poor Mandy just looks so miserable and ready for Baby Boy to make his entrance! We tried to play corn-hole and get him moving, but he is being stubborn! Every day I keep thinking that it might be the day that we get the call! Anyways, we had a great time! It was so neat to see Mayce and how she reacted to everything…I think it was really special for her. Then on Sunday, we had Scott’s mom and sisters over after church and that was nice. Scott grilled out (while under the umbrella) and it was a good dinner! Oh, I forgot to mention that I was woken up by Scott, Isaac and Faith Anne putting a plate in my face and yelling Happy Mother’s Day! They made me an egg sandwich for my “breakfast in bed”. Scott also got me a gift card to Sephora – one of my favorite stores at The Greene. I had a very nice Mother’s Day, thanks to my great Hubby!

I guess that is about it for now! Sorry this is so long. I guess when I only post once a week or every other week I have a lot to say! Love you all and hope you are enjoying the month of May!!! Hopefully we will be able to share news of Baby Boy’s arrival soon!

Just a pop in to say.....

Happy 30th Birthday Mandy!!!! Today she is the BIG 3-0!

Love ya!!!!