On Overload

It seems like our family has been overloaded with sickness!! First my sister being diagnosed with MS, then my baby sister has been on bed rest on and off for the last two weeks with some minor (we hope) complications with her pregnancy, my brother-in-law has been sick again, hubby’s cousin has been diagnosed with progressive breast cancer at the young age of 38, and now my sweet mother-in-law is in the hospital having tests run.  We will know the results of my MIL’s tests tomorrow.  I know there are so many more people out in this world that are worse off but geez so many things at one time has put my mind on overload!!  Please pray for my family to get through these hard times. 

On a happy note: My sweet MIL has a new “friend” in her life and I don’t think I have seen her happier!  He is such a nice man and we look forward to getting to know him better.  He has been by her side through all the craziness that’s been going on and I couldn’t thank him enough! My MIL deserves to have happiness in her life and it makes my heart happy.

I have been homesick lately and I’m sure a lot of it has to do with all that my sister’s are going through.  Of course missing my mama has some to do with it to since I am just a little bit of a mama’s girl! HA!  Anyway, not sure when I will be getting down to visit but I always have a phone!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Keep Calm Giveaway!

Megan over at http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/ is hosting a giveaway for these Keep Calm prints that she has displayed in her home.  You can see them here at http://www.etsy.com/shop/KeepCalmShop.

So head on over and leave a comment on her blog for your chance to win one.  And if you blog about it and leave another comment on her blog to let her know that you blogged about it that will give you a second chance to win. 

My favorite one is the Keep Calm and Drink Coffee.  Yep! Since I love me some coffee that would be the first one I chose.  The second one I love is the Keep Calm and Read On and the third one I would choose is the Keep Calm and Love On!! 

Good Luck!

Baby Sister and Big Sister

My baby sister Stacey, is expecting her first baby in March.  She is 12 weeks pregnant and we are all so excited!!!  She has had a few days where she has been spotting and it gave us all a scare.  But she has had 2 ultrasounds in the past week and it shows baby is doing just fine!!! Baby is bouncing around in there having a ball while all of us have been worrying.  We are so glad all is fine.  We all know getting past the first trimester is the first goal and after that it’s usually smooth sailing.  We are praying for a smooth pregnancy and Mama and baby are healthy.  My sister is at the age where she will be seeing a High Risk OB just because of her age.  She should start going the High Risk OB next month.  I have never had to go to an additional doctor so I don’t really know what all that entails.  My sister did say they would be doing genetics testing and some other tests.  I guess we will find out next month. 

Please pray that her pregnancy will continue to go smoothly and for her and baby’s good health.

 

My big sister Lisa, had her doctors appointment this past Tuesday to get the results from her Spinal Tap that she had done.  This test was the last test her doctor wanted her to have done to rule out one last possibility.  Which was Lupus.  The good news is that she does not have Lupus which also confirms the other bad news of the doctors suspicion of Multiple Schlerosis.  Which really isn’t much better news but we are glad to finally have a name to all the pain that she has been going through.  So this is what she is going to have to live with for the rest of her life.  This is sad news for our family but certainly it is something that can be treated (Not cured).  There is no cure for this disease and the treatment that she has chosen to start using is suppose to prolong the disease not heal any damage that has already been done (mainly her limping on her leg).  So she has chosen Copaxone which is a daily injection and this is suppose to help with any numbness, dizziness, gait disorder (balance).  We are going to have faith that this medication will help prolong this disease.

Just a little information that is encouraging to me is that country music singer, Clay Walker has MS and has had it for 13 years.  He has been taking Copaxone since he was diagnosed and so far has not had any relapses.  I think that’s great news!! This doesn't mean that this medication will do the same for my sister since everyone’s body is different.  But it’s something to hang  on to right now. 

Thank you all for praying for my family.  I will update more when I know more about how she is doing on her medicine.

A Big Update (Length Wise)

Lots of things to update on so I hope you will just hang on tight cause it's a long one!!!!

First:

I'm so excited that my baby sister, Stacey is going to have a BABY!!!! YAY! We are all so excited!! This will be her first baby and I will say that it's about time! We have all been waiting for her to have a baby. So congratulations to my baby sis and we are praying her pregnancy goes by without any complications!! And I think she is having a girl because I keep saying "she"!! I guess we will see if I'm right or wrong in a few months. I will keep you posted.

Second:

My older sister, Lisa is still waiting on the results from her spinal tap. She is now on medical leave from work since her doctor put some really strict restrictions on her and her job said they couldn't accommodate her with those restrictions. Hopefully she will start getting her treatments and she will be able to go back to work by October 1st!! So if you will keep her in your prayers that would be great.

Third:

Also, the little girl that I asked for prayers for is now home but she is still struggling. Her family is struggling to give her some quality of life while she is healing from all the surgeries she has had in the last few months. Her liver is not functioning well and they are waiting on news of a medication that will make a big impact on her liver. Please keep Ashley Adams and her family in your prayers.

And Finally:

Well, I guess I need to update on what's been going on around MeMe's lately.....
On the grandbaby note, Harrison, Tuff and Ada are growing way to fast!! I cannot believe how fast time goes.

 

 

Harrison is now 21 months old and is saying all kinds of words! Well all kinds of words EXCEPT MeMe!!! Now how hard can that be???? I have worked with him from day one on saying MeMe but he always says Mama!!! Go figure! But he does love his MeMe. I love when he comes in every morning and runs straight to me to pick him up and he lays his head on my shoulder and says "aweee"!!! It makes me tear up to just think about it. We are so lucky to have this little person in our lives. And I like to think that he is just as lucky. I sure do love him. Harrison is such a busy little boy but he also loves to be cuddled! He is now saying, Papa all the time, I ask him to say Nana when she was over yesterday and he says "Nana"!! Just like he's been saying it forever!! I guess he will say MeMe when he's ready. He and Tuff had a nasty virus a few weeks ago and he was the sickest I have seen him. His fever got up to 103 while he was here and it scared me to death! The doctor says it was viral. Well I have never heard of a viral infection that causes blisters in the back of the throat. I tell you, those boys were miserable!

Tuff is now almost 14 months old and he is a little lover!!! He loves to love on Ada! He's not real cuddly and he can be quite stingy with his kisses but he will walk by Ada all day and lean over to kiss her. He learned to throw a ball a while back and now he wants to throw everything! He and Harrison have learned to turn our tv on and off and this goes on off and on all day...Drives me nuts!!! Now Tuff is definetely a Papa's boy. He follows him around all day and Papa has been taking him on a few little outings and Tuff is lovin it! Tuff has been going to our High School football games to watch his cousin play and I think he is really lovin that!

Ada is 3 1/2 months old and she is our little Butter Bean! I started calling her that because she is such a chubby little girl and when she smiles her face looks like a fat little butter bean! She is now smiling all the time, holding her head up so good and she likes to be sitting straight up!!! No more holding her like a baby! Ada hasn't rolled over yet and I'm pretty sure that is due to her being so chunky. Her laugh is so cute and I right now I would have to say she is a MeMe's girl! Papa says that will change since she is now with us in the mornings when he is here so we will see! She has been fighting ear infections and has now completed her 3rd antibiotic! She will go back today to see if they have cleared completely up. She has been eating 6 ozs. and acts like she is starving in 3 hours. So I gave her 7 ozs and she ate that right up. She spits up all the time!! I mean from the time she eats right up until her next feeding! The doctor says some babies are just spit up babies!! You would think with all the technology there is these days they could find something to help. She weighed 15 pounds at 15 oz.

 

UPDATE: Ada’s left ear is still no better than 6 weeks ago!! Now on to her 4TH antibiotic! If it doesn’t clear up after this round of meds then it’s off to an ENT.  I personally think this has been going on way too long!! I just hope there will be no damage in her ear.

Sometimes Life Throws You A Curve Ball

Yep!, sometimes God throws something at us that we just don't know how to deal with. My older sister, Lisa has been undergoing some tests for some medical problems she has been having for sometime now. This has been going on for some years and now after several MRI's to rule out stroke, cancer, tumor the doctor is "almost" 100% sure she has MS (multiple sclerosis). What? How did this happen? How do we deal with this? What is gonna happen now? How is it treated? Can it even be treated? What is MS? All of these questions are things that I don't know the answer to. What I do know is that our God does not throw any curve balls at us that we can't handle. We may think we can't handle them but He puts us through these trials to bring us closer to Him. Sometimes I think it does the exact opposite for some. I am praying that my sister will have faith in Him and let Him guide her in what He has in store for her.



I have done some research on the Internet and now know that MS attacks the CNS (Central Nervous System) in our brain, neck and spine. My sister has been dealing with symptoms of MS for 6 years or more and we didn't even know it. She was told she had Restless Leg Syndrome and that is what her doctor has been treating her for. Just in the last 6 months or so has the symptoms gone from her leg hurting only at night to going numb during the day, no balance, dizziness, blurred vision, numbing and tingling in her hands. So finally she went to see a Neurologist and this is what he has concluded. He still wants to do a spinal tap on Monday to rule out Lupus but he said he is almost positive she has MS. So he puts her on light duty at work and her employer sends her home until further paperwork is provided by her doctor. Don't know if that is the way it is suppose to work. But until her doctor provides this paperwork she is not allowed to return to work. My sister is devastated! Not just about this disease but she has always worked and worked hard. She feels guilty, she feels hopeless. Their financial situation is not the greatest and she is the sole bread winner. Her husband is out of work due to several strokes and is in the process of applying for disability. Not an easy task dealing with Social Security.



I have always been pretty close to both of my sisters. We have always gotten along pretty well, except you know we were normal sisters and had our disagreements growing up. We have a crazy family and it definitely gets chaotic when we are all together but I wouldn't have it any other way. This news has been hard on me just for the fact that our family has always been pretty healthy. No big surgeries, disabilities, diseases, etc. So for our family to have something like this come up is definitely going to be challenging. Oh we will gather around and love and support her any way we can. That's just how we roll.



So if you will pray for our my family that He will show us how to deal with this disease, for faith, for love, for peace for my sister and her family. And also, the little girl I have asked for prayers for has now been moved closer to home so her dad and sister and brother can visit more. She is not doing well. Her family almost lost her last week but our God didn't mean for her to leave this earth. She is still on a ventilator but hoping she will be able to come off of that soon so continued prayers for her would be great.



I hope everyone has a blessed day:)

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Good Luck!!!

A Long Awaited Guest!!

This was us way back when.....

and this is us now.....


My cousin Snooge came to see me this past weekend and we had a great time catching up with each other and what has been going on in our lives. It's been about 4 years since we have seen each other so we were really excited about our weekend. She flew in on Friday and from the minute we met at the terminal we talked nonstop. Now Snooge is not her real name but to me it's all I know. Her real name is Vonda but I have and always will call her Snooge. I know she doesn't care and deep down it's really sentimental to her that I am the only one that ever uses that nickname.


Snooge has such a sweet spirit inside and out! She has 3 children and a dog named Petey!! Oh and she does have a husband too.!!

Now we have some doozy's of some memories of when were little!! I will share one that I know that I will never forget.

We went to the YMCA during the day while my Aunt worked and we took swimming lessons, tennis, and other various activities. So one day we decided to walk across the street to this strip mall and walk around. Snooge calls her mom and says "mom can we walk around?" and my Aunt says "that's fine". Little did my Aunt know that Snooge meant around the whole town of Statesboro!!!! Snooge had me walking from one side of town to the other. We went by her Uncle's house, then we headed to the mall and tried on everything they had in the junior's dept. then we decided we would just walk on to my Aunt's work so she wouldn't have to pick us up. Well about a mile from the mall my Aunt drives by us walking on this busy 4 lane hwy and turns around and comes to pick us up and of course we were given the wrath!!!! But then the tables turned on my poor Aunt. We turned at the next red light and a cop pulls us over!!!! He wants to know why my Aunt was picking up 2 young girls off the side of the road!!! We admitted that we did in fact belong to her and he let us go on our mary way!!!

You see, my cousin has always been such a free spirit and was never scared of anything. I would have never done something that crazy since I was always the paranoid one. That was just one of many special memories that we have.


When we were very young I would go and stay every summer with her and her family. They lived in a house in Georgia that sits on the banks of the Ogeechee River and shaped like a stop sign on stilts and very small. But I thought that was the neatest thing. My Aunt Voncile (her mom) treated me like her own and still does to this day!!


It was a short visit but we made the best of it by eating, a little shopping and of course we stayed up late into the night with lots of talking, laughing and a few times there were almost a few tears. Next summer I will be flying down to Florida for a week and we are going to take a short trip down to Key West!! I can't wait. I have always wanted to go and she lived there for 2 years so she knows the ins and outs of the island. We are gonna try and keep this visiting up to at least twice a year.