Name them before you forget them

Morning y'all.  It's another night of waking up at 3:30 am and being unable to go back to sleep. Dad called before 6 am because he saw my house lit up on his way to breakfast with the boys. ;)  

We've had a few more bits of tough news this week. I won't say bad because it may all be overcome simply through medicine. Mom had been concerned about Macy's vision and took her to the elementary school she retired from for a vision and hearing test. Hearing was good, vision not-so-much. Took her to the pediatrician who basically said - we don't do eye tests on three-year-olds so we'll refer you. As a side note here: it's amazing how little doctors know about their community. He had no idea if there was a pediatric optomistrist in our area and flabbergasted that it was requested. Thank heavens for the nurse who knew the answer and got us referred to a great doctor. 

Mom took her to the eye appointment. Pretty much immediately mom knew something serious was up. Both sides of Macy's family has Marfans. Marfans impacts connective tissue - most frequently eyes and heart. Macy is only seeing out of a small portion of her eyes right now. She'll have to head back to the dr for a more thorough checkup for heart issues. She's getting special glasses that will hopefully retrain her brain concerning her eyes, but if that doesn't work, she's headed to Duke for eye surgery. *DEEP BREATH* I'm sure you can try to imagine Katie's reaction to hearing this about her baby girl. But let me tell you about this doctor. The fact she has heard of Marfans is impressive. The fact she sent my sister her cell phone number with instructions to call at nine so she could explain everything - WHOA. This lady rocks. And let me say here: thank you, Lord, for placing this lady in our lives. I give Him all the credit for making it happen. 

My family is pretty familiar with Marfans because we assume our dad has it, and all three of us kids have signs but haven't been tested. Don't want that not covered by insurance as a pre-existing condition. It can be bad ma'am-a-jama stuff. 

That was Wednesday. 

Thursday, my brother and his wife were told both of their micro-preemie baby boys have heart murmurs. Things have been going really well for the boys so this was a toughie. Granted, you knew there would be setbacks along this path. Anyway, this is a common issue in preemies and they are trying to address it with meds, too. However, if that doesn't work, it's surgery for the little fellas, too. 

In the midst of all this, I realized I let all the negative news in our lives dominate my very well-being. My heart, my soul, my health. It's like everything in me is weighted down with sacks of heavy boulders I'm desperately trying to carry everywhere I go. So last night I vowed to make a change. 

In my prayer journal, I will start with five things I'm thankful for- Five Blessings. Because I know if you get out of the habit of being thankful, you can't even see your blessings anymore. 

Last nights blessings: 

1. The doctors found this heart issue with Liam and Kellan, are familiar with it and know how to treat it. 

2. The Lord led us to a wonderful eye doctor for Macy, who believes in supporting her patients- even at nine o'clock at night! 

3. My cousin's abdominal mass (10 lbs!) was NOT cancer!!! Huge cheer!!!! 

4. The Lord has given Clay & Angela and huge network of supporters praying for them and their sons. 

5. The Lord provided my mom a friend in one of her sister-in-laws when she needed one. It's been a huge blessing because she's trying to deal with all these issues, too. 

I'm going back to the basics, count your blessings and name them one by one. 

Yup. This is a long wordy post. Sorry about that. Sometimes I just need to unload it somewhere. 

You know, I think we may need to check! I mean, it couldn't hurt, right? Ok y'all, I'm heading into work. Gotta try to get Macy a minions Halloween bucket from Mcdonalds today. :)  I mean, yeah it does seem like the world is crumbling beneath my feet, but you still gotta have priorities!! *wink*  thanks for your prayers! 

Name them One by One

Count Your Blessings, Name them One by One.
Count Your Many Blessings, See What God Has Done.

Don't ya'll remember that hymn? I'm sitting here at my desk at work, staying late so I can type this up and post it before I leave for the weekend, and that is what popped into my head.

My family, we've had some serious trials lately.  It's been less than fun.  Heck, it's been down right crazy stressful. My sister-in-law had surgery, then my brother-in-law about a week later, then my dad a week later.  My close friend 6-hours away from me, her husband had a wreck and was in critical condition.  Now I'm having a biopsy to screen for uterine cancer.  And my b-i-l's last surviving close relative passed away yesterday.  Can I say I'm stressed out?!?  Because I really am.  We all are.

So yes, I'm asking for your prayers. 

But I'm also sharing with you some blessings we have seen:

So many wonderful people - including folks I'll never meet and don't know -
have been praying for us tirelessly.  That's so humbling. And powerful. 

Our preacher has been on the ball, really giving us support and we are so thankful. 

My workplace has been wonderful about me being out for all this
and my co-workers have texted to check on us continuously. 

The first surgery went well - and we are still seeing positive results! (hooray!)

I pray I meet my two nephews in December!

The second surgery went well - this was my b-i-l's 2nd back surgery in 5.5 months.
The hospital was HORRIBLE last time - but was just GREAT this time.
Talk about being thankful! 

The third surgery went really well. I was afraid mom would be there alone,
but my brother and our preacher were both there with her. Again - so thankful!

My time with Macy has just been a delight. Yes, she's definitely impacted by

all these events, but she's just been precious. Three nights she spent at my house

and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. 

My friend's husband is becoming more alert, nodding his head and rolling

his eyes at questions he thinks are ridiculous (Like her asking him if he knew her! haha)

A good friend is expecting and I'm so excited! I've decided it's a girl... :) 

There are dozens more, I'm just too tired to remember them all.  I'm trying to write more in my journals to remember those blessings because sometimes, you need to look back at all that is good in life.  And there is so much. 

Please keep us in your prayers.  And please celebrate the good things in life! :) 

2014 Wrap Up

2015 has already been quite eventful, and I haven't even had the chance to wrap up 2014 yet! So let's do that before 2015 totally overtakes me and I just blow off the 2014 wrap up all together.

January - It seems I started doing a photo a day in January.  Here is the first post. I'm not sure how long this lasted - I guess we'll find out as I move through the year.  I kinda hate I quit because it's great to look back and see what you were doing on a day by day basis!

February - February brought snow to the South.  Yes, we kinda lose our freakin' minds when it snows because we don't see too much of the fluffy white stuff around here.  So photos galore and happy children playing in the snow is the theme of this Photo Challenge Wednesday.

March - I was pretty darn happy in March.  The ice and snow melted and Spring slowly started to emerge.  Lots of fun photos of pretty sunsets and flowers and all things nature. And sweet niece voting! See more here from one of my Photo Challenge Wednesdays!

April - I love otters, did you know that? I think otters rock! I also love Spring, flowers, mild/warm temperatures, and cuteness on babies. :)  April I only posted three times - all three Photo Challenge Wednesdays, which I find impressive.  Check one out here.
























May - Spring time photo shoot with the chappies!  Sweet niece #1 is a perfect princess to pose for photos. She is really photogenic, too.  Sweet Niece #2 ... well it's a bit harder.  You can check out some of the pics here. Just looking back over May, I can see how work was pushing me under without a breath, trying to drown me!

June - Things got ugly in June.  June was sickness for me and about 8 doctor visits?  June was sickness and emergency surgery for my sister, too, which was obviously stressful.  And an election, which is what my job is all about.  Read some here, which was written before we realized she would have surgery.  It also shows photos of my house all cleaned up!, thanks to the goodness of my mom and sister. But there was a lot of good in June, too, as this post shows. Painting party being one of them!

July - Let's finish up the medical drama, including mom getting shingles, in this first post.  You'll also get fighter niece! HI-YA! And then, because I know no one wants all that drama, I shared fun photos of both kids and great scripture verses.  

August - Ahhh... August.  With August came EDISTO.  (Or Edislow as it's called).  Man, if we all didn't need a break to soak up salt water mist and melt into warm sandy beach.  Yes, Edisto is good, and you can see how good here and here. I also got crazy crafty with my LOVE canvas here and the office-grown pumpkin, fru-frued up for the fall holidays, which is featured here. :) 

September - It's my birth month! But during an election season - yeah, it's not as much fun.  But I got Downton Abbey so WHOOPIE!  Also took Baby Sweet Niece to a pumpkin patch - loads of fun! Check it out here! 

October - Man I love autumn and the beautiful leaves of the season.  Love it.  Enjoy lots of it here. And a stroll down a Friday's Letters Lane here. 

November - This is a very excited Ellie! She's part of this Friday's Letter! Along with Shrek, Sunsets, Macy baking cookies, ... all kinds of funness.  And one little Thanksgiving blog with no photos here. 

December - Obviously, the Election is over bc I finally caught up on Halloween and Thanksgiving here!  A new kitten appeared in this post "Run Faster, Catch Up With Life!"

And I think I will end it there.  Of course there were dozens of posts outside of those highlighted here, but eh, that's the past! Onward to the future! :) And to the first post of 2015! :)  Thanks for joining me on the journey. 

Monday Muses.

The weekend was a good one! Saturday morning I texted a friend until she mentioned - you know, we could talk. HAHA! So we did and it was great. She gives good business advice and I'm thankful for her.  :) I spent Saturday day at a pottery show with my mom and sister - our annual outing.  All three of us found someone we knew, so it was even better having our joy spread between friends.  I adore pottery and picked up a few pieces for gifts.  I could have gone hog wild, but didn't really have the funds (or the need) for all that in my house.

Sunday I met a sweet little boy, Lane, 3 weeks old and oh my gracious he is a cutie. How can you not fall in love with newborn babies? I think it's impossible.

One thing that keeps coming back to me over and over is how attitude plays such a large factor in our daily lives.  Like - Yes, I'm tired, still sick, butt draggin', etc etc. I could complain and moan about how TIRED I am, how BAD I feel, DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA. Play it up, get more sympathy, wallow in my low points. 

OR - I can get in the floor and marvel at how wonderful it is to play with my niece, notice how quickly she is learning her nursery rhymes, watch how she plays with her blocks and laugh at her silliness. Live life instead of letting life lead me around by the nose and suck out the joy.

I CHOOSE JOY!

Yeah, it doesn't always work.  Saturday evening I let things get to me a little too much and my feeling were hurt. Which pissed me off. Oh woe is me. (Seriously, get a grip!)  But it didn't last long and I was feeling ok again. Because SERIOUSLY - how blessed am I? Abundantly.  Amazingly.  Wonderfully.  God is so good and I am so ungrateful and being so childish.  By not taking care of myself (going to bed on time!!), I'm making it more difficult to love life. Bad Bethie. So my goal this week is to get back on track. 

And since I just snapped another person's head off... maybe I should go to sleep about 8 p.m. and see if I can restore my relatively good nature.  It's slipping quickly.  :)

Monday Muses... or Not.

So, I'm a wee bit late on this, but I do have a reason.

This weekend/end-of-last-week-beginning-of-this-week has been another adventure for me and the fam.  First let me say, I put stuff here with emphasis on the drama to entertain, but I totally realize how blessed I am.  Wonderfully blessed!

So on to my life.

Last week was busy. I had events on the road. Did a bit of driving/riding for work over three days. Visited with friends for dinner (Donna, Sister Beth and Ellie - always fun!).  Rode with Dad to visit my uncle in the hospital.  Life is so uncertain from moment to moment, even though we like to think we have it all in control.  We SO do not. If you are a praying person, please add my uncle to your prayer list.

Saturday drove an hour and a half or so to see my friend Paulene, which is awesome.

Paulene is a super cheerleader to me. Inspiring, so talented and smart, so creative and forward-thinking. She has it going on big time. She just doesn't realize it most of the time... but seriously, a great encourager.  Check out her shop, Leen Machine, a modern stationary and invitation shop. Love her line of stationary.

Sunday, I will admit, we skipped church to go on an all-girls picnic!  My sister, Sweet Niece #1, Sweet Niece #2, my S-I-L and I all gathered at the park for BBQ sandwiches, fresh fruit, and great family time.

Sweet Niece #1, S-I-L, Sweet Niece #2

Sweet Niece #2, Sis, and Sweet Niece #1

The Sweet Sisters together

It was a perfect beautiful day. The temperature was just right, we had no bugs bothering us, no person bothered us - just a great day.  We were concerned when we saw envelopes about surviving an Zombie Apocalypse on one of the benches, but it seems the zombie war happened before we got there. Thank heavens.

Monday I was off work to watch Sweet Niece #2 while Mom & Dad went to the DR and to visit my uncle. That night, Mom fell and broke her foot. Tuesday, I watched Sweet Niece #2 while Mom went to the DR for her foot.

Today, I'm back at work. I'm in dire need of a break because babies are exhausting! Holy cow, that's hard work.  And I needed to do my homework for Financial Peace University since that started last week.  Tonight is class #2, so I needed to not show up already behind. Seriously.

So there is my life.  No muses. I'm just too tired to try and come up with what I'm thinking. As my Dad has been saying the past six months, "We are in survival mode." Yes we are.

BUT - GOD IS AWESOME. And I don't want that fact to be lost. Because Mom's break could have been SO MUCH WORSE. And things with my uncle could be worse. I'm getting my financial life in order and that is such a BLESSING.  I'm good, I'm happy. I have a wonderful family and I love them dearly. I have a great work place that picked up everything and covered for me at the drop of a hat. That's awesome, ya'll, that's awesome.

So someone tell me what you are up to? Share something good, something funny, something about Big Brother or Downton Abbey? :)

The Purpose of Registries.

credit

Let's talk for just a minute about wedding gifts.  No, I'm not getting married, but I do want to chit chat with brides for just one minute.  (Well, actually anyone receiving a gift, please read on.)

On the radio this week, brides were calling in all ticked off because people were BUYING THEM GIFTS that weren't on their gift registry. I know, how dare they.  How dare they take their hard earned money and BUY YOU A GIFT that you didn't already pick out for yourself. *gasp* Horrific of them, I know.

SERIOUSLY?!?! You must be kidding me, right?

Holy cow, I about flipped my lid and put my car in the ditch when I heard that attitude. Whew. Ok, let's review: 

• I work hard. 
• I earn a limited amount of money.
• I have bills to pay.
• I thoughtfully review your registry and what I would like to purchase you for your wedding. 
• I realize I either a) can't afford your registry or b) would like to buy you something else not on your registry. 
• I spend my money on you, purchase you a gift that I found to be a thoughtful gift to celebrate your upcoming marriage.
• I take an afternoon of my time to attend your bridal shower and share my gift with you. 
• You open it, fake smile about it, and secretly seethe about me not going by your registry. 
• Umm... can I just have my gift back and I'll exchange it for something I want? Thanks. 

I think we have lost something in our society these days.  Like the thoughtfulness of the gift?  I understand registries - and please don't give me the drama of how hard you worked to play with the scanny thing in the store to make your registry because seriously, I've gone on those trips more than once an it's not a hardship. But registries, in my opinion, are suggestions and not ultimatums.  

Please folks, let's remember that people are investing their dollars into gifts for you. They are thoughtfully giving up something in their budget to share joy with you. Let's keep it all in perspective and appreciate the loving thoughts that are shared through a gift of any sort.  What a blessing that someone wanted to gift you with anything! 

Ok, I'm stepping down from my soap box now and my breathing will hopefully return to normal soon. And PS - that poor couple at the top have nothing to do with this - I just found them on the web and really liked their looks. :) 

Life's a Beach.

A few weeks ago, my coworker's hubby was unexpectedly hospitalized for a week.  He was supposed to go to the beach, but obviously he missed that trip.  We felt really bad for him and knew he needed our special brand of cheer.  Therefore, brought the beach to him. :) 

We picked up one of those folding display boards from the Wally World, used the scene setter door covers from the dollar store and lots of rubber cement to make it beachy.  Cotton balls for clouds, a fire truck (he was going to a fire convention at the beach), a hot babe in the truck, birds - we made it as close to paradise on paper as possible.  The tray contains actual sand, shells, margarita glass, shades and the beach ball and sand bucket completed the decorations. 

Oh yes.  We asked his wife to wear a bikini to take it over the top, but she refused. Darn.

We had this huge scene setter left over and so we decorated our office with it.  Yes, this is what I'm looking at these days.  You get used to it but I'm sure the people who come into our office are baffled. I mean, it's huge flamingos. Well over six feet tall.

I kinda expected them to be gone when I got back from my vacation, but nope, it's still there. I think we all are still in need of a vacay. So maybe this is what I'll day dream about today...

And I wonder when it will be taken down?

Silly Insecurities

"I have learned to live each day as it comes, and not to borrow trouble by dreading tomorrow. It is the dark menace of the future that makes cowards of us."
Dorothy Dix

Ya'll, I totally psyched myself out this weekend. I can be very outgoing. But when I'm the odd man out, when everyone knows each other except me, I tend to become a wall flower.

Since my weekend plans were changed due to everyone being sick, I agreed to go to an event, a party of sorts, with a friend. When the day got here, I really didn't want to get off the couch. I knew no one would talk to me, I'd be left out, I would be undressed, people would wonder who I was and why I was there...I think you get the picture.

I just have to shake my head. Seriously, why do I do this to myself? While all the above was somewhat true, I had a good time visiting with my friend and an older guy that talked about wars all night. Even if I only visited with the friend I went with, it would have been fine. I enjoy catching up with him.

Good grief, I really got worked up about what to wear, should I take a gift, what will I do if no one talks to me, blah blah. So childish, these insecurities. Do we ever outgrow them? -sigh-

I can hear those words, Don't go borrowing trouble. I'm really good at borrowing trouble. Hee hee. But, I'm glad I had a good time and maybe learned a lesson?

How was your weekend?

S-i-c-k

Ya'll, I'm one sick southern girl. My face hurts, my eyes water, my nose is beyond nasty. I sneeze, I cough, I sleep lots and I can't taste or smell anything. I have shivers off and on and have walked around with tissue shoved up my nose part of the day. It's just easier.

I'm short, I feel like poo.

And I may have cracked a tooth. But I'm not sure if that's why my teeth hurt because that entire side of my face hurts.

Do you feel bad for me yet? I hope so. I need pity. :)

Motivation... oh where have you gone?

Sunrise this morning, looking across the road from my house

"I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge."  -- Og Mandino

I haven't been motivated to do much in the past few weeks. I haven't started cleaning up and cleaning out and simplifying this way. I haven't even packed up Christmas yet. What am I saying - I'm still listening to Christmas music!! I think the drama is beginning to weigh on me again - the worries we have happening with health issues in the family. :(  Please say a prayer for my family and God will know exactly where all to apply it. Thank you.

This little girl is the light of our lives. Granted she refuses to sleep at night and isn't the light of her mama and daddy's lives at the moment, but she is so joyous. Do you see her little toothie in the pic on the left? One little toothie has poked out. My oh my, she's not a happy teether.  But thankfully we've found a gel that works and Sister Beth gave us some teething tablets by that same company that works, too. I'll find the name and share with you later - all natural! So that made us all a bit happier.

Any suggestions on getting a 6-month-old to sleep through the night? Please share. She hates her crib at home and refuses to sleep in it. Play in it - yes. Sleep - no.

In other news, I'm working on my first ever Cara Box! I have a few ideas I have to work on this weekend so it's ready to mail soon! I need to read those directions again... but anyway, I'm so excited! I have been given Amy to send a Cara Box to with New Year's Resolutions in it... and she's a Carolina Gal living in Kansas! So I plan to help her remember all about the Greatness that is South Carolina!! :) :)  Lovin' it already.

*sigh* Ok, I'm off to do something ... not sure what but something. Motivate me, ya'll... help me out here! :)