Update

My Grandaddy has been moved to Healthsouth Rehabilitation Center as of Friday. He stays very sleepy and sometimes sleeps through the whole visit. He is recognizing people more frequently now. My dad was walking away and he called out his name which is an improvement as he was not recognizing him before. He knows me and Raegan but the other day he told my grandmother that she was me. Then he saw me and corrected himself. We all got a big laugh out of it, including him.

This week has been a rough one. Raegan is getting over her sickness and we are all trying to stay well. Grandaddy (Scott's dad) didn't fair so well. He has been under the weather for a few days so Scott took off and stayed home with Raegan so that Grandaddy could get some rest. Grandaddy Steve (my dad) came over for about an hour so that Scott could go to the dentist. He is going to have his wisdom teeth taken out soon.

It was nice to have a break from class this weekend. I only have one weekend off in Feb. and that will be busy with Valentine's Day/Scott's Birthday. He's turing 30! Wow!!! He was only 21 when we started dating. Where did the time go?

I hope to visit some of your blogs and leave comments. I just haven't had the time lately.

Update on Grandaddy

Gradaddy seems to be in good spirits today. His response is still delayed as well as his memory. Last night he went for some tests but we do not know the results yet. He seems to be resting most of the time. In fact, yesterday they had a hard time waking him up for therapy. All we know right now is to be hopeful and pray that he recovers. We do know that he will have to stay at a care facility for a while after he gets out of the hospital to do some therapy and then he may home after that. It is so hard to accept that he may not get any better than this but I am thankful that the Lord has spared him and that every day with him s one more than the day before.

Thank you for the kind emails and comments that you have left me but mostly thank you for your prayers.

Please pray for my Grandaddy.

*UPDATE : We are doing much better. We got some much needed rest today and Raegan is better tonight than she has been in the past few days. As for Grandaddy, there really is no update. He is no better and no worse. The doctors will continue watching him, so it seems to be a waiting game for now. They said putting him back on blood thinner was too risky due to the bleeding but that not having it could be a risk for another stroke. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers these next few days.

Amy



Today I have had the first moment to update you on what a whirlwind our lives have been in. On Saturday night after class, Scott and I decided we needed to get out of the house, so we did. During our outing, my grandmother called with frantic requests to help get my Grandaddy to the hospital. So, we raced back home, dropped Raegan at his parents and went to their house. Once we got there we proceeded to gather the necessary meds and get him in the car to the hospital. I drove them and Scott went to find my dad who was not reachable by his cell phone. We go to the hospital about 8:30 pm. The ER was a nightmare, full of ailing people and their families. They ended up taking my grandaddy back and a man who had a heart attack back very quickly. They immediately did a CT and x-ray to find bleeding on the brain. Air-vac was called in and we decided to send him to Nashville where he had been seen for his heart condition and other major surgeries. THEY REFUSED HIM!!!!! So he had to be re-routed to Huntsville hospital which was actually closer. He is there now. They have decided not to do surgery and just evaluate his progress since the bleeding has now stopped on its own. They have diagnosed him as having a hemorrhagic stroke on the left frontal lobe and bleeding from trauma (falling) on the rear right side of the brain. As of now, they are waiting on the swelling to subside. He will have to do extensive therapy before he can go home "if" he can go home. They said that if he doesn't show more improvement then it will not be possible for him to be cared for at home alone. My grandmother is so worried, as we all are. But God reveals himself in a mighty way when things fall apart in our lives. Its a miracle that he is still alive at all with all that he has been through. Last Tuesday home health started coming out to check his blood due to the blood thinner that he takes daily for his heart. The nurse tried 3 times and couldn't get blood so they sent another nurse on Friday who also tried 3 times with no avail who called another nurse who tried 3 times and failed. All the while they had stopped the blood thinner and his last dose was Tues. night. He went from Tue. to Sat. with no blood thinner. Had he taken the med. he probably would've bled to death, and to think that in our stubbornness we were upset that he was being used as a pin cushion instead of recognizing the miracle of God's plan right before our very eyes.

Scott and I are trying not to get sick and Raegan has a cold so we are all trying to take care of ourselves as well as the family. Please pray for healing and strength for our family during this time. Thank you to everyone who has helped us so much the past few days.

Back to school....

Blogging, de-cluttering, and everything in between has taken a backseat to higher education. I started classes this weekend and I have another one next weekend. I am going to be really busy over the next couple of months. However, I got to spend some quality time with my girl today. We painted our toes and finger nails....did some coloring, singing, dancing, and drawing. She is the light of my life and I am so lucky to be her mommy. Sometimes feel guilty for going back to school and taking time away from her but I know that this is the right time. Any other schedule would have taken me away from her more. I have been waitng for this opportunity for years and I know that it was nothing short of God's doing.

Operation: De-clutter

After an unexpected day off on Friday, we officially started Operation: De-clutter. I went to school as usual to find firetrucks and police everywhere. Apparently, man called in a bomb threat so we got the day off. Raegan had her 18 month check-up in the afternoon. She is cutting her stomach teeth. YUCK!!!! She hasn't felt well but she's a trooper. She is still in the 25th percentile for height and weight. The doctor said that she seems to be above average in her skills and she was surprised about her potty training. She is learning new words but is still relying on signing for some communication. We are using it less so she is talking more. This week she has been saying Uh Oh , Uh huh, and Uh Uh alot more. Of course the usual dog, baby, momma, and daddy. She is learning "if you're happy and you know it," but for now her favorites are still the Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Bunny Foo Foo. This girl loves to sing songs. Today, I heard her and Daddy saying A-B-C-D. That's as far as they got.

We have been busy with Operation: De-clutter. I did my closet earlier this week and then we tackled the bathroom closet and Raegan's bedroom and closet. I re-organized the toys, books, and clothes. We packed up so many things to put in the attic. I know that one day Raegan will probably have a baby brother or sister so I just can't throw away her old stuff yet. I am ridding myself of some of my pack-rat ways though. I have bagged up some of my clothes to take for donation and I've already given some away. As soon as we do every room downstairs then we're moving to the upstairs. One room has already been done but I have another bedroom to tackle and of course the catch-all attic. This week we plan to re-arrange the living room furniture and that will complete the downstairs. My muscles are so sore. I think my mind was much more ambitious than my body. Poor Scott... I have worked him to death. Besides the usual week-to-week household chores and our de-cluttering projects, he has helped me with the laundry. We have washed every stitch of dirty laundry in the house. Now for the usual household of 3 that wouldn't be much but we were way behind. My washer and dryer were on the brink of breaking down just before Christmas and well they finally gave in so I've had lots to catch up on. It's nice to have EVERYTHING clean but I didn't realize that I would have a hard time finding places for all of it. Go figure, can you tell it's been a while since I've had an empty hamper. Ha Ha!!

Hope you all have a great week! We will busy as usual and trying to get back into our work routines again. I am soooooo missing being home everyday with my baby girl!

A Great Day!

Today was a great day. I was greeted by friends and colleagues who gushed about their holidays and told stories about the joy their children had on Christmas. They acted as if it had been years since we had seen each other instead of weeks. All of this fellowship helped me keep my mind off the fact that I was at work while my sweetheart was catching up with her grandparents. Then after a short time a colleague and I traveled to another school for a special in-service training on how to use our new projectors and think pad smart boards. Can you say Merry Christmas all over again. I can't wait to use it in my classroom. I have so many ideas. This little detour also helped keep my mind focused on work and kept me from crying. I was missing her like crazy if you can't tell. Its amazing how your outlook on life changes. Before her, life was so different. I never expected to feel this way. I don't now what I was expecting but this is so much better than I ever imagined. She turned 18 months old today. Happy 18 months baby girl. You have made me the happiest Momma on Earth. You are such a blessing to us all.

We got a crash-course training from a teacher at another school on how to use our new equipment. He seems to be really technology savvy and I'm sure will help us with this new endeavor. He introduced himself and told a wonderful story about how he became a teacher. I'll give a shot at telling his story..... He and his wife traveled for a month long mission trip to Guatemala, leaving behind their infant daughter in the states. To make a long story short, they fell in love with the country and its people and decided to move there. They took their daughter with them to their new apartment in Guatemala. They served as dorm parents to a home for girls and he also became a teacher in the school close by. They were expecting another baby during this time but unfortunately suffered a miscarriage and were told that they would not likely be pregnant ever again. In the meantime, the girls were allowed to go home on weekend passes once a month to visit their families. The way he explained it to me was that most of the parents still wanted their children but they could not afford to feed and care for them so they were taken in by these homes. He and his wife noticed that on the weekend visitations that there were a few girls who were never visited. One little girl captured their attention and later their hearts. He said the took her to the zoo and spent time with her in the city. One particular weekend she became ill so they took care of her and let her stay with them. He said that the next time they had a weekend pass she showed up at their apartment and practically refused to be anywhere but with them. This went on for 6 mos. and then they returned for a month visit to the U.S. He said they couldn't stand being apart from her and knowing that they were not likely going to have more biological children they decided to adopt her. By this time, she was around 7 or 8 yrs. old. They talked to her about the meaning of adoption and explained that she would be there child forever and they started the process. Here's a twist. After a few months she was talking to them and said I know that you are going to keep me forever but what about my brother.... where will he go? Brother... they knew nothing about a brother. They contacted some people only to find out that she had a biological brother in a nearby orphanage. Guess what? You're right.... they adopted him to. So now their family had grown from one child to 3 in less than a year. That's not all..... they decided to return home to the U.S. to complete the adoption process and due to their relationship with the system were able to bring the children home before everything was official. In the meantime, they were blessed with another biological daughter to complete their family. Man, doesn't God have a sense of humor. According their dad, all the children are thriving and at grade level according to U.S. standards. I know I did not do justice in telling the story and I was ambiguous with some of the details because I do not want their names out there but I felt the need to share their story. I have many friends who have adopted children and have cousins and a niece who are adopted so I am intrigued when I hear a happy adoption story.

Happy New Year!

Well we have had a whirlwind of things going on over the last few weeks. We seem to be wrapping up our holiday excursions and are reluctantly trying establish a routine all over again. Next week is going to be so hard. I know I am going to struggle with going back to work and sending Raegan off to Grandaddy and Grandmomma's house. We have had so much fun. She's like a minature me....seriously she is so much like me that its scary. Although she is much more prissy than I was. I never liked dressing up or jewelry. Wow have I changed!! She will be 18 months old on Monday and I keep asking myself where the time went. I was paying my insurance the other day and the girl said she couldn't believe how she was growing up. She said, "it seems like you just had her." Some days I feel the same way.

I didn't make a new year's resolution. They seem to be made only to be broken. However, I would like to finish a few projects around the house and I would like to simplify things in my life. I would like to rid myself of my pack-rat-like ways and keep my house a little neater. I would like to eat a little healthier and maybe lose a few pounds in the meantime. Don't laugh....I still don't have a resolution just a few suggestions for myself.

I am a little late on my Happy New Year Wishes but I hope you all have a great year. I hope you cherish your family, enjoy your friends, and love yourself. May you be blessed in more ways than you could ever imagine.