TWO STORIES

I am so mad at myself….I had written an entire post,  my hand slipped (I am typing at an strange desk in a hotel)and I erased the post…I think that is the first time I have ever done that.  Kind of fits with my week.  This has not been my best week.  Just when I thought we were ready to live life again full speed, one trip to a new doctor and everything changes.  Jack needs some heart surgery. 
Not a huge deal, but everything seems to be magnified since his stroke.  It seems that over the twenty uneventful years of NO problems since his heart attack and quadruple bypass…
(Can it really be that 20 years have passed?) his heart muscle has gotten larger and weaker.  Scary!
I could go into a hundred details about why we should have known this before .  There are a lot of “what if’s, we should have and why didn’t his longtime cardiologist tell us this". 

But it is what it is.
 
So in a week or so we will see another specialist and prepare to have a pacemaker/defibrillator put in..I think something like Dick Cheney has…more than just a pacemaker…but not exactly sure what it is, except for scary. I will post more about it when I know more.  For now I ask you to simply pray. 

After the news this week, Jack and I decided to just take a trip.  Dallas was close and so we are here for  four or five days and just living life.  I need to make a stop at market and we have several new restaurants that we have wanted to try…Today we saw a GREAT movie, The Grace Card. 
See it! 
I got to spend some time in Central Market, which I love and we had a great meal at The Grand Lux.

My natural instinct is just to hibernate for a few days after unsettling news, but I can already tell this normal trip is going to be good for both of us.
I had not planned to write about the surgery, but maybe one of you out there has one or has a family member that does and you can tell me more about it. Jack in his typical attitude wanted to go straight to the hospital and have it done…Does not happen quite that fast, but probably will be within the month. 
The doctors words were we needed to do it sooner rather than later. 

Guess I better get to the two stories.  One is a BRAG. (Grammy's are allowed) and one is just funny or at least it was in person..
For the BRAG….
I vividly remember when someone rudely questioned Amanda (in my presence) about whether she would be able to raise a baby….THAT BABY THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING when she was an 18 year old senior.
  This is NOTHING against adoption, that just was NOT an option we looked at.  Period, end of story, none of your business was what I always wanted to say and probably did a few times.    Yesterday we got word that PARKER scored in the TOP 5% of fifth graders in the STATE of Louisiana. 
I think she handled it pretty well.  I don’t know who I am prouder of, her or Parker.  There is no doubt in my mind that Parker is going to be a world changer. 
and yes he was raised by a teenage Mom.
Here’s the FUNNY
It may lose some of its FUNNY when I tell it….but if you look at the pictures under it, you will see the character I was playing with.
Jack ran errands with us Friday and decided to come home and spend the night.  He just had a bag with diapers and a change of clothes, as we had not planned a big overnight.  I have told you Woody has all of us role play and normally his bag is full of all the Toy Story characters in all shapes and sizes. He had Woody and we were about to sit down and watch Toy Story for the 1000th time.  I ask who I was going to be.  He takes a long look
into his bag,
then looks at me very seriously and says,
“Do you want to be a diaper or a shoe?”

I am still laughing just thinking about it.  That’s all he had to offer…
In case you are wondering these are the many faces of Woody while watching the movie.

 

ENOUGH  SAID! 
HE  IS  A  MESS.

KEEPING IT REAL

Some days you have NOTHING but random.  At least nothing that would not be a downer to share and seem so small  compared to what so many are going through. There are hurting people everywhere, many in the blog community.  I can get overwhelmed with those stories in a heartbeat. 
This has been a week with some bumps in the road, some hurts that really  hurt, I am down in my back and have an aching shoulder from tripping over a thousand covers the little's had on the floor watching movies which I automatically tried to catch myself and caused a giant
flare-up with my chronic bad shoulder…I went the entire tree season and had almost no problems and then to take a fall in my own family room…Irritating plus keeps me from getting back to walking regularly.    Plus I have some major decisions just about life in general that I need to make soon. 
Jack has had some medicine problems that we are trying to get straight which has caused him to have a very low pulse and be lethargic.  (that’s a word that no one would use to describe him).  So that has meant doctors appointments and more this week.  I think it’s a minor problem, but still one we need to stay on top of. 
Add to all that I am not sleeping….I mean not even sleeping with a sleeping pill….just some form of a menopause problem and is so frustrating to me….so all this sounds like whining. 
I do need some help.  I had said I was not going to do this, but I have been approached about advertising on my blog….GIVE  ME SOME FEEDBACK, pros and cons.
If you would prefer to email me, (annah99@aol.com) or even if you don’t advertise and know some one that does, send me to the blogs that you think might be able to help me. 
Thanks for all the sweet words about my blog anniversary….
ANOTER  REQUEST
If you are going to Beth Moore's living proof in April, would you let me know?
I am trying to decide what to do on my holiday blog during this time of the year…I hate just leaving it empty. 
 ANY SUGGESTIONS?
For those of you that won Pioneer Woman's LOVE STORY…..you should be getting it any day….Set aside some reading time…
So this may have been my worst post ever…just trying to keep it real….Some days, weeks and even months are just a season of “STUFF”! I promise to try and come back with sunshine soon. 
a couple of cute pictures of Grayson tonight.
 
Looks like the food WON
BATH  TIME
The winner of the cards is…….and remember this is my BEST giveaway……is

Nama Halacy's Comfy Cottage....This is a new blog to me so stop by and check it out….

Have a good week……

TWO YEARS AGO TODAY

TWO YEARS AGO TODAY I WROTE MY FIRST POST.
My world changed.  My reason to begin with was to document our little family unit as we did life together.  NEVER did I IMAGINE that I WOULD MEET SUCH AMAZING WOMEN,   READ STORIES and POSTS and then had to read them again , know NAMES of  YOUR family members  AND have even gotten to meet some of you face to face. INCREDIBLE…
I love that this BLOG is MINE. 
MY THOUGHTS, MY WORDS, my hopes and dreams ….AND above all
my LITTLES…
I love the written word (off on one of my many rabbit trails….but if you happened to see the TODAY show today …Jenna Bush H interviewing her grandparents and sharing their love letters…Politics aside, you had to be moved. I am so glad that I did not miss it.
I HAVE LEARNED A LOT IN THE PAST TWO YEARS 
ON THE “how to” SIDE, I still know next to nothing!
Help is needed in the technical department.
One thing I have learned is we all have the same hurts, same dreams, same battles….we are all so much more alike than different.  For some reason that is comforting to me.
Stay with me…the winners of the books are coming…Parker is Mr. Math and getting the winners now..
Today was not exactly the normal Valentines date. When you have been married 38 years, the day you celebrate is flexible.
I did wake up to flowers and a gift certificate for a long massage..I also got a sick little man dropped off that has been in my lap all day. He has fever, his belly hurts (his words), has a good little cough and feels totally YUK!
  
This is his sad face and this is how he has looked all day…yes I let him put stickers on the pillows.

Amanda had her first of two BIG tests tonight so we knew she had to study…and we know how to hold a sick boy….
A few snapshots from Greg's birthday..



Sweet Grayson…..and
Amanda and the Two Little's

 Amanda and Jack

THE WINNERS OF Ree Drummonds love story…..and it’s a real love story ARE
Michelle at Joyful Journey

Tales From My Empty Nest

Nezzy at Cow Patty Surprise
Congratulations….now for my
2 YEAR Blog Anniversary Gift….(all comments all week will go into the drawing)  FOR A $100 CARD BOX..
If you have been a reader for anytime you know what this is…If not you can follow the link and read about it.

If you are here, I am so glad that our paths have crossed in life.