HELLOOOOOO...

I have gone from an OK blogger to a REALLY bad one!! Lots has happened...and I certainly have more time so I could update this more often but I just don't! I guess since I put stuff on Facebook and keep it updated, I forget to put it here too. Can you believe that Christmas is upon us again? This year...especially the last few months have gone SUPER fast!

The big news, in case any of you are reading this and haven't seen it any place else is that I HAVE SOME MOVEMENT in my face!! Yep, after 15 years and 2 operations (the last being 2.5 YEARS ago) something is happening in there! Now don't get too excited...it is not like my face is all of the sudden back to normal BUT, at this stage in the game, I am ECSTATIC about ANY movement!! The last surgery I had (the Temporalis Tendon Transfer = T3) connected tendons from my lip to the muscle in the jaw. Therefore, any movement that I had was a result of me clenching my teeth thus giving me a HINT of a closed mouth smile. I have noticed some strange fellings (even though I have no feeling in the right side of my face?) the last couple of weeks so the Friday before Thanksgiving, I looked in the mirror at a stoplight. Lo and behold, I could move that side of my mouth without clenching my teeth (or placing my tongue on the roof of my mouth like I did after the 1st surgery (12/7 graft) - even could move it with my mouth open!! I emailed my surgeon in Baltimore (love that man) and he emailed me back to say that it is very rare but could happen! I asked him if this was "supposed to happen because if so, I missed that part!"!! Again, it is not much - but I'll take it!! A few people have mentioned that I have been so patient...um...like I had a choice?? I can't believe that on the 12th of this month it will be 15 YEARS since I had my Acoustic Neuroma surgery! Time flies when you are having fun...even sometimes when you think you are not!! :o) LOL!

New Background

Usually I do this while the girls are at school but tonight was different - I let them have input & this is what they picked!!

Two Songs...One We LOVE and One Not SO Much!!

First of all, I have added a song to my playlist here...it is INTRODUCING ME and we LOVE it!! I know that it is from CAMP ROCK 2 (I haven't even seen it) & that is certainly not why - I just think it is a fun song. I heard it on Radio Disney when we were in the car. Part of the reason that I love it is because all the girlies sing it and it just makes us all happy. I love to hear all the girls be silly and sing songs - together!! It is our new favorite FAMILY song!

Now, onto the one that we DON'T really like...but of course, there is a funny story that goes with it! It is a song by Willow Smith (Will's daughter) and I am sure that she is a really nice little girl, but we don't care so much for this song! Now let me just tell you the whole story, and then I will tell you the name of the song, OK? The first time I heard it, I thought that it was just a bunch of obnoxious noise and that they just repeated the same phrase over and over...which is pretty much what she does. However, I kind of heard the WRONG phrase...I thought that she was saying "I WAVE my HAND back & forth" over and over. To be funny, I started frantically waving my hand in the air. The girlies laughed and so I thought that this was a funny thing and continued. It came on another time...and I waved my hand back and forth...all the time wondering WHY in the world that this was a popular thing to be saying!! Finally, about the 3rd or 4th time we heard it, Addi asked why I always did that and of course, I answered her that I did it since that was what she was saying (insert crazy look from mom to daughter - why else would I be doing that? ). It was only then that I looked on the display to see that the song is titled I WHIP MY HAIR BACK AND FORTH AND to see the incredulous, crazy look from my daughter to me!! :o) Needless to say, we have had a LOT of laughs over that! It reminds me of the time MY mom thought that they were saying "GREASEBRAIN" instead of "Freeze Frame" or my friend said her dad was singing "Oooh, I'm drivin' my WIFE away, lookin' for a better way, for me" - what funny things do you hear in songs??

PS - I have NEVER inserted links before & I think I did right on my 1st try - snaps for me!! :o) Well, too excited - sometimes they show up a different color & not the others...hmmm...what am I doing wrong? There are 2 links here to the songs...

I'm Back!!!!

WOW!! I think this is the longest I have ever gone without making a blog post. Obviously, things have changed a bit in our little lives. We are in Houston now and are finally in our new home - it will be 3 weeks on Wednesday since the moving truck arrived. For the most part, we are settled in and able to go about our day to day activities (that are MUCH curtailed from the previous level before we moved). Of course, there are still boxes that I should be unpacking...but here I sit blogging. Isn't catching up with you more important anyway?? :o) Dave is at the office today, but is able to work from home 3 days a week so that is nice to help save on gas and toll. It will also allow me to sub some - I am only subbing when we know in advance so that we can plan our schedule around it. The girlies seem to be adjusting well to their new schools. I think that the biggest complaint I have heard (& why Kendie is NOT going there next year) is that they can't wear flip-flops to school!! Poor kid, even has to wear teenies to church on Wednesday nights! Addi tried out for the volleyball team (84 girls tried out for 24 spots) and made the "A" team! We are very proud of her as she has played vb a little, but has concentrated on basketball the last few years. Believe it or not, that is the only extra-curricular activity that anyone is involved in right now. Emee would REALLY like to take horseback riding (the stables are DIRECTLY behind our house behind trees but we can hear the horses) and Kendie needs to get back in gymnastics, but since our other house has not sold yet (PLEASE say a little prayer about that, OK??), we have decided to put everything on hold! Besides, I think a little time to settle in is a good thing! I have done some some volunteering for the middle school...well, actually a lot the first 2 weeks of school. [Did I mention that until our house was completed, we lived with Grandma & Grandad. It was a wonderful, special time (I hope they think that too!) but I drove the girls over to our new neighborhood each day so that they could start at the school that they would be attending...& I stayed all day so I wouldn't have to pay all that gas & toll to go back & forth. I rotated between WalMart, Target & HEB to use their restroom so that I wouldn't be the homeless lady that showed up on the same security tape everyday!] I have not been near as involved at the elementary school as I would like, but they just haven't called me. I signed up for everything, so I am hopeful that those calls will be coming in soon! Well, I better go get busy now...I think I heard the trash truck so I have to go wheel those cans in - no alleys and dumpsters here! I'll try to do a better job of updating...I promise!

Getting Ready

Things have been VERY busy around here!! I am not even sure where to begin - I guess with Emee's adventures at the ER! One Saturday we were at a basketball tourney for Addi and Emee started crying & complaining about her arm - apparently she had hit it on a chair at lunch and then a little girl had kicked it at the bb game. She KEPT crying and holding it to her side...this is not usual behavior so we finally figured that we better get it checked out. We called our neighbor & he was just about to go on duty in the ER so he met Dave & Emee there. You gotta love that quick, personalized service! They got it x-rayed and put a sling on it for a "bad bruising," got something to eat and were back for the next game all in 2 hours!! The following Friday at 2:45, they called from school and said that Emee had been in the nurse's office off & on that afternoon complaining that her tummy hurt. I went & got her (by that time school was out) - thank goodness I took a bowl because before we could get to the Middle School to get Addi, she started throwing up. She got sick a couple of more times but nothing out of control: however, that evening while I was taking Addi to practice, she told Dave her SIDE hurt and her fever started going up. He immediately thought APPENDIX and started looking on the computer. We called our pediatrician and talked to the nurse and he recommended that we go to the ER. We called our neighbor - AGAIN - he had just got off but did call up there for us and expedited our visit and told us the specific Dr. that would be working with us (he was AWESOME, BTW). **Let me just say here 2 things: #1) needless to say, we are doing something special for our neighbor & #2) In 12 years and 3 girlies, we have made exactly ONE trip to the ER - ONE, I say!! - now we have gone twice in less than ONE week's time!! (& we might as well say that poor Emee has been the one to go all 3 times!)** Anyway, it did turn out that she had to have an emergency appendectomy that night around midnight (which does bring me to my burning question - is there ever an appendectomy that is NOT an emergency??)...poor girl but she was such a trooper! She is all OK now and got the "All Clear" from the Dr. a mere week and a half after the surgery! I think the girlies took me a little too serious when I told them that "we were not taking anything we didn't need to Houston!" - I didn't mean body parts!!
We were already scheduled to go to Houston that next week to "House Hunt" so my precious mom, who was already watching the girlies that last week of school, took on the added task of a little patient that had just had surgery. Dave left on Sunday and I left on Monday after Addi's Theatre Arts play (so cute!) and we hit it hard on Tuesday looking at houses and communities! We were finally able to narrow down an area and are building a house. We will be leaving on July 1st for an "extended vacation" at Grandma & Grandad's. We will leave all our furniture here until this house sells or we need it in a new one...of course, I guess if we don't sell this one, we won't get a new one! Please say a little prayer that our house sells fast! That brings me to the next craziness of our lives! We had to have our house listed in a certain number of days from when we signed to start the house so it would be "Contingent" so the minute we got home we started (I had done some "purging") getting this house ready to go on the market. I must say that it looks AWESOME and I am SO PROUD of all that we have done! The pics are up on the internet now so let me know if you want to look at them!
We went Saturday to OKC to take the girls to catch the bus for Kamp Kanakuk! Getting two girlies ready for 2 weeks away at camp is not an easy task...especially while trying to keep the house relatively clean so if they call at any minute to show it, you can! They left bright & early Sunday morning and we got home last night. Kendie doesn't even know what in the world to do as an only child. She has NEVER been with Mommy & Daddy by herself for more than a day! She has already written her sisters letters!!
Ok - that was a quick rundown, but now I feel like we have caught up a bit...how about you?

New Slide Show

I left a few of the old pictures so you could see how the girlies have grown, but I added a whole bunch of new ones! Check it out...
:o)

MOVING!

Well, once again it has been quite awhile since I have written here. We had quite the ordeal with Kendie & getting her tonsils removed. She did great & was eating by that Friday but then apparently got a virus. She woke up Saturday morning with 103 fever and the ENT on call "didn't think it was anything to worry about" even though the orders SPECIFICALLY said to call if her fever was over 102. Long story short, it got worse, then better but then she started bleeding on Tuesday afternoon - probably because she got so dehydrated from the fever. I rushed her to the Dr. - I looked like a homeless woman (at least I had taken a bath that day but wasn't planning on going out!) - and they immediately took her back into surgery. Seemed like all was well until Friday morning when her fever shot up again. Mom realized that she had big blisters on her tongue - poor girl, that's why she didn't want to drink anything. They admitted her back to the hospital to give her steroids and fluids (IV) - we were there for over 24 hours and then got to come home. Then she got sick again from all the medicine the next week and missed 2 MORE days of school! She finally was released from the Dr last week and started gymnastic back (after 5 weeks) this week...hopefully we are through with that chapter of our lives!

Following right on the heels of that, we found out last week that we will be moving to Houston after school's out. We have known for quite a while that it MIGHT be in the works so I feel like I have been living in limbo for months - it has definitely been a roller coaster! Dave is getting a promotion and I am SOOOOO proud of him!! However, moving away from here and all our friends and way of life was not exactly what I WANTED, but #1) I'm just so relieved to know something for sure & #2) I am choosing to embrace this and have a good attitude!! Really, I feel a peace about it because we had prayed so much for God to put us where He wanted us...I feel VERY strongly that this is where we should be going & that God has great plans for us! I am ready to find out what those are! I have told the girlies that this is our next great adventure!! Dave parents and two of his siblings live in Houston so we will be surrounded by family and I know that the girlies will probably be spoiled to death by Grandma and Grandad! My mom will probably eventually move to the DFW area to be near my brother and her cousins (life-long friends) - she will always have a room at our house and will hopefully visit OFTEN!! I have a LOT of PURGING to do to get ready for this move - I have started a little and have made LOTS of calls already to find out about different things! We could definitely use some prayers during this transition in our lives!

Spring Break 2010

Spring Break is here - yesterday the weather was BEAUTIFUL. I got out & cleaned up all the dead stuff and leaves from our flower beds. It is always seems a little unfair to me that WE really don't have any trees (one in the back) but yet we have TONS of leaves...obviously they aren't ours! Oh well, I figure all the neighbors put up with our barking dogs and wild girlies so what is a few leaves! LOL! It is a little colder and is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. We didn't do much today - church, lunch with friends, NAP & then I went to the hospital to visit my little friend, Miss Trixie. I am so glad that it is Spring Break when we have the time change - I think it will be SOOO much easier on the kiddos (and ME!)! Kendie has her tonsils and adenoids out Tuedsday morning so I doubt we will be doing much other than trying to get her to drink and watch movies the rest of the week. We are hamster sitting and quite enthralled with the little guys...so much so that we are very seriously considering getting our own. We thought that we would wait until these have gone back to their owners, but now we may get ours tomorrow night to help keep Kendie's little mind occupied. I think she is getting really nervous. I put a status update on FB asking opinions - most thought that we were crazy but then others put they it was one of their fondest childhood memories. It may be something that we regret, but it sure will make our kids happy and make a memory! I'll have to let you know how that goes...Please say a little prayers for my sweet Kendie on Tuesday!

changes...

I took off the word verification a while back because it is just easier for those leaving comments - I hadn't had any trouble until now! SO...back on it is and we will see how it goes...

this & that...

It has been a while since I last wrote...I have no excuses, we were even snowed in our house for many days, but I just never got the urge to update this blog! Sorry to the few of you who do try to keep up! Kendie's basketball is going well - our last 2 games were snowed out so we will see when they are rescheduled. Our biggest goal has been accomplished - ALL the girls LIKE basketball now and want to play the whole game - they beg me to go back in. I figure that is the MOST important thing in the 1st Grade - instilling a love for the game! Addi is going to be playing on yet another new team when the club season starts back up. She has been going to some Sunday clinics - I watched this week and she is starting to LOOK like a player (more like HS/college girls than a 3rd grader that just kind of runs around) - she positions her body well and puts up her arms like a PLAYER! She is still much better at defense but her offense is really coming along too. The coach they had this fall REALLY helped her game and confidence a TON!! Emee got some new figure skating clothes from Grandma & Grandad (they're only ones that live in a REAL city with a skate shop!) for Christmas and the clothes seem to be making a LOT of difference - she is doing great! Apparently, she hasn't passed her Level 3 test yet, but is able to do some Level 8 skills - go figure!! :o) Dave & I have definitely noticed a change in her attitude towards skating...she is also more interested in skating and skate shows on TV.

It snowed here last week and it is still VERY much around (I haven't been out in it much the last 2 days because poor Emee is home with the stomach bug). We got ICE first and then about a foot of snow with drifts up to 5 feet deep! The worst is trying to get across streets that they have plowed but the snow is a HUGE pile in the middle. We had rain forecasted for Wednesday & Thursday but now they say FREEZING rain and then SNOW again...can't wait to see what the roads are like then!

I know this has been pretty boring, but at least I wrote something!! :o)

Day of Firsts...

Today was Kendie's 1st ever basketball game! They did well and I was very proud of them, even though coaching 1st grade girls when they know NOTHING of basketball, is kind of like herding cats!! It is a good thing they didn't call walking, double dribble, running, double dribble...you get the picture. Kendie didn't play her best - she was just kind of out there, but I think you can tell by the pictures that she just doesn't look like she feels well. I guess it is back to the Dr. tomorrow - we are getting VERY good at going to the doctor on call on the weekends. I bet she has strep again - bet she is a carrier - if so, I will be talking to them about getting her tonsils removed. Could you tell that Kendie had been drinking BLUE Gatorade?



Another first today was that I did my first photography shoot. My friend, Nancy, told her granddaughter that I was getting into photography and so she and I went out and took some pictures. She was GREAT to work with and VERY patient with me. I think that we got some good shots and I can learn a lot when I go back & edit. Here's a couple that haven't been edited or anything. Thanks, Elizabeth!

We have another game tomorrow - wish us luck!

Old Friends are the Best Friends!

I don't know if I have ever had a BEST friend (aside from Dave)...& contrary to what a lot of people would say now, I still don't have a BFF. I have always been blessed to be surrounded by a BUNCH of great friends and I have never wanted to single anyone out by saying, "Oh, _______ is my BEST friend!" I have some friends that are better than others and I have had friends that are really good friends for a "season" - I think that we should live everyday like it was our last & enjoy the company that is there with us right then!! This week, it turned out that I had lunch on three different days with 3 different friends/groups of friends and they were all wonderful! Obviously, I share interests with all these girls, but I think it is interesting to think back and realize how different they all are AND how different our "connections" are...however, I love them all and cherish the time that we spent together laughing and talking! The first was girls that I am on PTA with and we had just finished a meeting, the second was someone that I get along with great but have just recently started to hang out with because I am working for her with photography and the last was a very dear, longtime friend and my maid of honor when I got married. (Just as an aside, I had to stop writing so I could run to WalMart and get ketchup - Addi went with me & we had this whole discussion about friends because apparently everybody at school has changed friends because the new semester began & everyone's in different classes - kind of weird how all that was at the same time I was writing this!) The thing that prompted this whole entry is that we talk about different things with different people and I think it is all dependent on how well, & a lot of times, how LONG you have been friends. Today, my friend & I were discussing how different people hold pens/pencils...how dorky is that? I am almost 40 years old, I go to lunch with a good friend and we talk about how to hold a pen. We also discussed how you erase when you are marking with a pencil and you make a mistake - I personally just kind of twist it in my hand but I had a friend all through school who would lay her pencil down and then pick it up so that she could erase. When she finished erasing, she would place it on the desk again to grab the other end...not wrong...just different - kind of like all our different friends! At a pause in our conversation, I told my friend that that was one of the reasons that I loved our friendship because we could discuss anything and have a great time just being together. We got tickled when I said people would think we were crazy when they asked what we talked about at lunch and we replied, "Well, how you grip a pencil, of course!" BTW, how do you hold a pencil and how do you erase?? :o)