And then there was Friday....

Yesterday's post was about what happened on Thursday.

Ellie ended up spending Thursday night with me.

She and Luke had their checkup and overdue shots scheduled for Friday at 10:30.  Ellie really really wanted me to be there at the checkup and the "shot event" because I'm always at the pediatrician's office with them.  She had a point.  I really usually am - but didn't plan to be this time.

I had my one day of Huntsville  Christmas shopping rescheduled for Friday.  It was originally planned for Wednesday, but we had had our winter freeze on Friday.

Charlie and the Toyota dealership had me planned to come down on Friday and pick out the right color Camry which Charlie and I had decided to purchase for my next new car, since my 1995 Corolla had quit.

As I was getting ready, putting on my makeup, for whatever I would actually be doing on Friday, Sarah called from New Orleans - confused about the pain which was accompanying what she had thought was a bladder infection.  I continued to insist she either go to Urgent Care or find a doctor.  She had her own things that absolutely had to be done on Friday.  Is there ever a good time to be sick??? NO!

Ann and Steve, with Luke and Andrew in the van, came and picked up Ellie.  I told them I'd meet them at the pediatrician.

Charlie and I talked and agreed we'd pick out the color that afternoon.

Ann called back and said she thought Ellie was fine and calm enough for me not to meet them at the doctor's office.

Kate, who had just arrived at home on Thursday afternoon, was just getting up and decided she did want to go with me to Huntsville.  She probably showered and got ready in 10 minutes.  15, max.  Meantime, I hear from Sarah whose pain has increased to Kidney Stone level.  She, and I agreed, thought she probably had Kidney Stones.  She had driven to Urgent Care only to find out they didn't open until 11:00. End of that story?  She couldn't get in touch with whatever friends she had who weren't at work.  She drove herself to the emergency room, after "throwing up" at a red light - opening the door and heaving - soiling the pavement and maybe a little of her car and clothing....while in extreme pain.

I then talked with Ann and yes, Ellie was expecting "Near" (that's me) who had promised to meet her there.  I had.  I had promised her.

Kate and I drove straight to Dr. Powell's office (pediatrician to my 4 girls and now to Ellie, Luke, and Andrew - he even saw John during Thanksgiving holidays - John with all the Pink Eye) I left Kate in the waiting room - and went back to the very small room where I round very tall Steve, Ann, Mike Powell, Ellie and Luke, who were both on the exam table sitting up,  and Andrew in Ann's arms.  It was a tight squeeze to add one more person.  Mike was looking into Luke's eyes and swung around on his swivel chair when I came in.  We were all amused at the idea of adding one more adult body to the mix - (Mike is an old friend - so I was able to do this sort of thing.)

All the while I'm wondering about Sarah who I knew was at the ER in New Orleans with Kidney Stones, looking for relief.  I was also on the phone a lot with Charlie who also wanted reports on Sarah.

Ellie didn't get shots.  She'll get them next visit.  Luke got two shots and did GREAT! Amazing.  We all then went to Chik Fil A and had lunch.  Funny and the usual fast food experience with lots of Christmas Shoppers and lots of moms and kids.

We parted company - with the Barbers - and Kate and I headed off into the Huntsville world to get what we needed to get.  Got a text from Sarah.  She was  being seen by a doctor and tested for whatever.  By the way, her throwing up at that red light had greatly relieved her nausea and her unbearable pain.

End of the day.  Sarah spent ALL OF FRIDAY in the emergency room.  After much waiting mixed with 2 urine specimens and a Cat Scan - she was told she had one stone trying to pass, one still in her kidney, and no bladder infection - but still had the sensation of a bladder infection.  She was sent home with pain medication and a "good luck".

End of our day -  Kate, who had been tremendous help with my thinking through everything, and I came home and were greatly relieved that Charlie said we'd wait until Saturday morning to "pick out the car".

SATURDAY

Sarah called very early - she'd been wakened at 5:45 by the kidney stone trying to get through.  It was all harrowing and the phone calls intensified and Charlie knew she couldn't drive home and he made the decision to go get her.   We were stone faced,  driving to pick out the "dang" car - no conversation - if you could have heard Sarah's voice in distress - as she heaved and agonized with the crazy stone -  the kindest things were, her roommate driving her back to the hospital - and delaying her trip home for Christmas by a day.  Also - that God already knew about this dilemma, therefore,  her roommate  knew of a Urologist in their church who is also in her roommate's community group.  They were able to call his cell and talk directly with him.  It was Saturday and  Sarah wasn't an official patient of his, but he did say she absolutely had to go back to the hospital since she couldn't keep liquids down.

That was incredible relief, knowing she was going back to the hospital.   Laura, her roommate, drove her.

End of the day, once again, Sarah got relief with nausea and pain medication with shots - they kept her for a couple of hours - did another test for any possible infection - still not there - sent her home with nausea and pain medication this time -  Sarah felt good enough for the two of them to get as far as Evergreen where my sister lives.  We had wondered if they would even be home as early as Monday.

Sarah and Charlie came home today.

She has spent the entire day without pain medication so instinctively wonder if the one stone has passed.    All other bladder sensations are also gone - hence - we have hope that the one stone is passed.  Don't know when the other one will decide to travel.

Back to Christmas.

Meanwhile - Children did an adorable Christmas program today at church.

After this long post I'll give just a few pictures of the performance.

It Seems So Long Since My Last Post

This is Monday.

A lot happened in our family since Friday.  But I'll let Ann post about that on her blog .  She hasn't actually posted anything new, but just keep checking and she will.

Aside from that,

Ellie, Luke, and Andrew spent Friday night with Charlie and me.

I had found a project  - an art project - titled, Build Your Own Cupcake.  I've wanted to send the reader to this place, but it's not all working out.  I will just show pictures -

I found this through Laura Beth's blog - I think - but neither she nor I can figure out how I got there from her blog.  Anyway - the blog is, well, it starts with an etsy shop - go here  This shop owner has a blog on which she has freebies and on freebies she has kids projects and she lets you download this project as a pdf file, whatever that means, and it comes up on your computer and you print it out on cardstock - and you've got a fun art project for kids and adults.

Okay - let me just say that Luke appeared as excited about it as Ellie - but he couldn't carry it off - I mean - he made a cupcake, but it was in such "boy style" - hard to explain.  I don't know if it's because he is a boy or if it's that he doesn't have the art gene.  Ellie is eaten up with the art gene.  She did this project all afternoon and into the evening.  I was having to draw new decorations for it - extra cupcakes and cupcake liners.  More candles.  She LOVED it.  I had no idea it would be such a hit.  

For Luke's sake I fried chicken nuggets.  I had thawed two chicken breasts and cut the meat off and into cubes.  I fried those and frozen fries.  and made mac and cheese out of a box.  It was also for Andrew who doesn't have a huge appetite and the fam is trying to fatten him up.  He loves french fries.  I did those for him.  Ellie has a great appetite.  She'll eat almost anything.  All of that was plenty for Charlie to have nuggets and the two breast bones with meat still on them, fried.  Charlie loves, loves, love good fried chicken.  He was so excited.  So - there was our Friday night.

Woke up - had Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls - the refrigerator kind - for their breakfast.  Luke was practically twirling he was so excited about those.  Isn't it funny?  Grandmothers can do 100% junk food all along.  Fried dinner - boxed mac and cheese - white flour cinnamon rolls - the kids loved it.  That's why Grandmothers are so popular.  They can get away with this stuff and make the grandchildren so happy.  Moms have to maintain nutrition.  Don't they?  And it's so hard to do that and see happy faces.

Crow Mtn.  First trip on Saturday.  Ann, kids and I went.  It's Apple Season!  

Joy Baldwin, if you're reading this, you should travel down for a trip to Crow Mtn.  Meet your mom here.  We should get Yonea in on it.  She loved Crow Mtn.

And then Sunday, and now Monday.

Happy Monday.

When Your Child Leaves Home You Clean Out Her Closet

Kate's closet was way over due for "going through".  I've done it a million times - it seems like it -

but - it had gotten so out of control.

If you go to  her blog ever , you'll find that she is fascinated with fashion, weddings, ummm, well, Hollywood glamour - yep - she is - and she is not kidding and I am not kidding.

Good grief!  The magazines that were in that closet.  I did some major cleaning out - but don't panic, Kate, if you're reading this.  There's a lot of wedding mags I saved.  The good ones - the ones still in tact.  I kept albums you'd created - any fashion sketches I kept - but my dining room table is full of throw away stuff.

And to get it from her closet upstairs and to my table downstairs,

I had to make lots of trips up and down these

carrying as much as I could in my arms.

and it's  a narrow space between bed and closet,

so I was in the closet most of the time just sitting and reaching and pulling out stuff.

These girls wondered if they were gonna be cast offs or keepers.

I wondered, too.  I stared at them, stroked their hair,

remembered the look on Kate's face that Christmas when she opened up the dark one.

She'd seen it at Unclaimed Baggage - it was new, it was being sold in what used to be their furniture store.  She loved it.  I surprised her with it.  She thought Santa had surprised her.

and then the redhead joined the beautiful Indian girl another year - but soon Kate outgrew that interest and the two dolls.  They were just for display - not for playing.

Don't they look bewildered?  I could imagine that the Indian girl was whispering in the Redhead's ears,

"Is she gonna give us away?  Do you think she'll keep us?"  And it looks like the Redhead is whispering back, "I don't know.  I'm just trying not to think about it."

I kept them.

And this character?  What do I do with this?

It's a valentines box for receiving classroom cards.

Made out of an Oatmeal Box.

and this one...

I didn't have it  in me to toss out this part of Kate's childhood,

when she trusted me to "create" for her - oops!  I mean, with her.

See?  When the girls had a project like this....welllll....

I had a tendency to take over.  I got into the whole creativity thing and in elementary school, often, gawdy was better.  So I was able to express my inner gawdy/tacky side.  

And let me tell you something, people.

In a family of 5 women - we have the 10lb, 5lb, and 3 lb weights.

These are not all we have.  Kate took some with her to Wake.

Laura Beth has some in McDonough on the living room floor

right next to the diaper stash.

I have to step over some in the garage, gathering garage dust and debris, 

in order to make my trek to garbage cans,

walking around all the stuff we moved home from Auburn.

I'm telling you, we look like classic hoarders.

But it's getting better and we will be taking a load of stuff to New Orleans for Sarah.

So, after cleaning out the closet, I kept her bulletin board from high school,

the one that shows the 18 year old Kate - heart and soul.

I did stick up that little wooden ADPi thingy, just because,

my girls walk away from all that sorority stuff after they graduate from college,

but it was such a part of their college experience.

Good or Bad, it was.

And this wedding picture that has stood the test of time,

well,

it remains, defining Kate's style interest.

I think it does.  It was on her wall in high school.

Now it's on her closet wall .

Put there by mom, who might just be trying to hold on to a time when I had daughters living at home

under our care.

and this,

it's hanging on the opposite closet wall.

When each of the girls turned ten,

I made them a poster of the first ten years of their life.

This is Kate's.

And, finally, the clean closet, organized and not as packed.

Sarah's will be next.

I've done it before, but it needs it again.

I'm Peering Out from Under His Wings

Yesterday was Tuesday - I accompanied Ann and children to Huntsville.

We left in heavy flooding rain and drove home in sunshine.  Amazing.

Oh, those childbearing years.   The possibility of life inside your body - again - even more amazing.  Beyond amazing.  The image of that little bit on the ultrasound screen.  I thought it looked like a girl.  Ann laughs at me.

We have a small glitch in our thrill - our breathless anticipation of watching her/it grow.  Ann's calculations are that she's 8 weeks.  The baby measures 5 weeks 6 days.  Could be that Ann is off but she knows she isn't off 2 weeks.  She was too small to hear a heartbeat although the nurse pointed to it beating.

Ann will return next week to have another look - when hopefully the size will be more and we can have more assurance.

And this week John, in McDonough, 6 month old John, will return to the neurologist place for his eeg and bloodwork - just to make sure that his screaming fits/holding breath/seizures are just his temper and not brain related.  Has a 6 month old ever been to any anger management programs?  Awww, John, so cute - but you get so upset!

And then Andrew - seems he has some normal looking birthmarks which they call "cafe au lait" birthmarks.

Who knew?  and doctors pay close attention to them - and watch them - and in rare occasions they become Neurofibromastosis.  They count them and if there are several then they test a little bit more.

Good grief - just when all is smooth sailing, little glitches come up.

It just so happens that the pediatrician of Ann's children was the pediatrician of my children and is a personal friend of Charlie and me.  He's not worried about Andrew and doesn't expect the birthmarks to be anything but benign - still - have to watch.  

And Dr. Wheeler,  Ann's ob/gyn, was very relaxed about the size of Ann's baby - still no promises -

and don't we want promises?

Promise me no heartache, no disappointment, no pain.

Promise me comfortable and easy and smooth sailing.

Promise me no trials, no sadness, no sorrow.

Can't promise that.

Well, what promises can we have?

How about Psalm 91?

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the Shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust."

For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with His pinions,

and under His wings you will find refuge; 

His faithfulness is a shield and a buckler.

There's more in this whole chapter.

Verse eleven reads:

For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

This is the day.

Sunshine, a repaired lawn mower, and time to cut grass.

Today Is Double Post Day

Besides being Laura Beth's birthday, of which I've already posted below or here,

it is also the day my youngest, my 4th daughter, really flew out of the nest.  Sarah flew on Tuesday April 27.  I wrote maybe one paragraph about it, but I remember crying the whole day.  on and off.  very emotional.  I didn't even take pictures.  Weird.  My brief post was written on here on May 1st.

I did today.

Official Travel Mug, filled with coffee, of course.

and don't we want to stay hydrated on a trip?  Why, yes, certainly!

Load the purse.

Keys, Cell, Wallet

What's that lime green envelope on the counter?

oooohhhh.  a note for "Mom".

that's me.  I'll read that after she leaves.

Laughing at her mom for taking all these pictures

One last tightening of that bicyle.  Hope it stays on, all the way to Winston Salem

Her loaded front seat

and back seat - and the trunk is packed also, of course.

She's in the car

and closing the door

bye, bye Kate, be careful, be sweet, and call me.

I love you.

Now, the note.

wow.

And then I went in and started cleaning my house.  It's a wreck.

Thank You Lord, for taking care of my girls.  

Thank You that with each of them I had a few months of their living at home between college and leaving.  Just a bit of their being a part of my world again before they made their own world.

Thank You that they love You and desire to serve You and seek You.

Thank You, that You loved them first.

I pray Your protection over them.  Surround them , please, with Your Holy Spirit, giving them wisdom and discernment and direction.

Happy Birthday Laura Beth!

28

How can this little baby be 28 and have 2 babies of her own?

It was August 11 when we went to the hospital - a scheduled C-Section - Ann had no idea how her world was about to be "rocked".  "changed". "invaded".

It had been the 3 of us, Charlie, Ann and I, for 18 months.

we'd spent the summer tryng to stay cool.

and having fun staying cool - if you call being a pregnant adult  in a tiny blowup baby pool fun.

But we did have Laura Beth

and Charlie took Ann to see her new little sister in the hospital.

I had never been away from Ann for that length of time.  It was hard.  In those days they kept me in the hospital for about 8 days.  With Ann I had stayed 10 days to recover.  Now, it seems a C-Section is practically day surgery.  

Here I'm seeing her for the first time and I so dreaded what my emotions were going to do.

Finally we brought Laura Beth home - Ann was able to get "up close and personal" with her new baby sister.

Charlie was buying LOTS of diapers.

Check out the packaging.  Big boxes with handles.

That was August 1982.

Ann was wanting to constantly kiss and touch the "new baby".  It seemed I was always saying, "Be Careful'.

Shortly after we came home from the hospital, it was time for Ann to start school, Mother's Day Out.

I don't remember how many days she went - 2 or 3 - but it helped the situation, and Ann was happy to go.  Wish I'd saved that metal Sesame Street Lunchbox.  I remember selling it at a yard sale.

But Laura Beth grew and grew and only was drinking my milk.

and she was spitting up volumes more than it seemed she consumed

but she continued to gain weight.  Her doctor said,

"Her weight gain is 'spectacular' ".  

I have to say that first year of hers nearly put me in the nut house.

I know now that all the spitting up she was doing - and it was so much in volume - had to have been uncomfortable.  it would come through her nose at times.  The doctors then did nothing to relieve it and just said she'd outgrow it at about 8 months.  She did.  

I had to always keep her on her tummy - I was so afraid she'd choke if she was on her back.

and we had to always keep thick cloths under her to catch whatever came out.

Ann had to mimic what Laura Beth did.  

and in this photo, I was showing Laura Beth to my cousin Rachel.

Ann, of course, had to get in the bed, too.  

I recall it was so brief that I let her be on her back in this moment.

Notice, she's crying.

The liquid which shot out from her tummy was always at any moment.  

Never predictable. 

Laura Beth must have been 6 months here because Ann is eating from her baby food jar.

I never fed my babies solids before 6 months.  

Anyway - Ann would always hang around for the jar of food to scrape the leftovers.

After this photo I was holding Laura Beth on this couch of Mother's.

She spit up and drenched the 3 back cushions of this couch.  

We had to remove them and wash them off and let them dry.

I remember that moment.

This day was a major breakthrough, it seemed.  Our first weekend with a hint of spring possibly being around the corner.  It was Mother's Day Weekend.  Laura Beth's spitting up was tapering off.  It was not the crisis anymore when she did her "projectile thing".  I guess it was no longer projectile.  

this picture was taken after we returned and I had her and Ann bathed.

I was so aware of the simplicity of just being able to sit her in her bed and she was happy and I wasn't worried about where all the liquid was going to go from her mouth.

This was one of those "AHA" or 'Wow" moments.

It felt like we'd made it through a really tough place.

Notice in the back right corner of her bed.  The stack of cloth diapers that had been my mainstay through her first 8 months.  Not for diapers but for all the spitting up.  That's about half the stack.

I used the whole stack each day and had to get them washed and dried to begin all over again for the nighttime and next morning.  Had to keep a constant washing and drying going on.

My first Mother's Day with Laura Beth.

We're headed for church, but first a Kodak Moment.

Again - Ann reaching for Laura Beth - always.

growing and growing and increasing good moods.

And she's ONE!

I was so glad.  We'd made it through a difficult year.  

and she had become such a happy cute and laughing baby.

She was so happy and enjoying life. (but still always with a bib. had to have the bib)

And I would find her in random places.

so here we are 28 years later.

I was 28 when I married Charlie.  Laura Beth is married and has 2 babies.

She and Ann still are posing for Mom's pictures.

This was last week when we celebrated Ada's 3rd birthday.

And Laura Beth is doing the mommy work, like getting folks buckled in.

And having birthday parties for her babies.

Now I'm holding her 2nd born and sitting with Ann's Ellie.

 John is now 6 months old.

And Ellie is kissing John and I think we are still saying, "Be easy, be careful."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAURA BETH!