Blessed Beyond Measure

Today as B put N into her car seat, he accidentally popped her in the eye. Nothing serious, of course. After a late bedtime and an early wake-up call, she wasn't in the best of moods anyway. So, her reaction was, of course, a little more dramatic than necessary. She cried and cried. She needed mommy to hold her hand while we drove down the road. She (fake) cried almost the entire way to school when she suddenly stopped. The silence was almost too much for me after hearing her scream the entire way to school. "Mommy, why am I crying ?" "Well N, I don't know. Why are you crying?" "I can't remember." "I'm pretty sure you were crying because of your eye." "MY EYE HURTS!!!" Bawling again. I'm telling you, if this kid doesn't win an Oscar some day, I will be surprised!

Wish I had exciting news to blog about, but I really don't- so I will just catch up on a few things. I have been a little apprehensive about N starting her new school next week. I know in my heart it is the right choice for her, but change is just so hard. After practically camping out to get her a spot at this school, I sure am praying that we love it as much as everyone else does. She took cupcakes to school today to celebrate an early half birthday with her friends and to celebrate an end to her years there. Everyone has told us how much they will miss her great personality. I can only imagine! We found out that Bryan's mom's cancer has come back, so prayers for that situation would be really appreciated also. Tucker is graduating on Friday. Can you believe it? Isn't he still three years old?! Where did the time go! With my work schedule, I can't be there, so I am pretty bummed about missing it. School is almost OVER!! Yea. I cannot wait. Having the...

I believe that you've seen the hand of God. I believe that he's wanting you to know. I believe that he never let you go. I believe that he'll lead you 'til, You're back in His arms again. These lyrics played on my radio as I pulled away from a beautiful little country home outside of Beaumont, Texas. From the outside, it seemed a happy home- perfectly groomed lawn with fresh planted flowers, cars lining the street out front as if a party were happening inside. Inside a different picture all together. As I walked into the dark living room, I noticed the balloons all around and a room full of people watching and waiting. There was an air mattress in the middle of the floor and chairs in a circle around it. On the mattress lay a tiny three year old boy, drifting in and out of sleep. Each time he woke, he asked for a different type of food. First it was waffles- and of course his grandfather obediently made him waffles. As soon as the waffles arrived he wanted...

God really has a way of putting me into my place doesn't He! A couple of weeks ago another Piggies artist asked me to do her a favor and take over a gallery she had scheduled for her on the 18 th of this month. I jumped at the chance to earn a little extra money and was very excited about the opportunity until I found out the gallery is almost two hours away. The more I thought about the drive, the more it frustrated me. I HATE losing time with N and the thought of losing practically the entire day really frustrated me. I called mom today and vented about my day- wrapping up the year for 8 th graders combined with my busy weekend had me complaining quite a bit! I'm pretty sure I used the word "pissed" at least twenty times during our conversation. Then, tonight, I checked my email and read this note from the hostess asking for a favor: I want to run a favor past you. One of my husbands employees grandson has cancer and he is only three years old. They sent him home ...

This morning on our way to school N says, "Mom, I am skipping school today." Taken aback by her comment, I really didn't even know how to respond. I mean, where in the world does a three-year old even hear that comment? I said, "Oh yeah?" "Yes, me and Brenton are skipping school today." Hmm. Isn't it a little early for this!

Last weekend, N, B, and I took off through town to run a few errands. As we traveled along, N informs us that she needs to potty. I began thinking of quick places we could go and B suggests we stop at a nearby McDonald's. N mentioned several times that she needed to potty on the way, so I began to worry she couldn't hold it. Luckily, she was able to hold it and she chose me to be the lucky one to take her in. I prop her up on the potty and I can tell she is contemplating something very important. She suddenly asks me, "Mommy, where are we pottying ?" I responded, "We are pottying at McDonald's, why?" She starts to get down and I point out that she hasn't even pottied and she had made it very clear that she needed to. Her explanation - "I want to go potty at Chic- Fil -A." Picky. Picky.

The Good- no surgery for me!!! That was great news. After months of searching for the cause of my back pain, countless hours in multiple doctor's offices, and a million dollars (not really) of medical testing- most of which wasn't needed- we now know for certain I will not have to have surgery at this point. Yea! The Bad- I guess when you search, you often find. They randomly found a cyst in my lower spine that I have most likely had since I was born and they recently found a "hole" in my upper spine that spans five vertebrae. The hole is probably being irritated by the recently found scoliosis as I lift and move- causing daily muscle spasms, thus the pain. The Ugly- nothing they can do really. Drugs-which are out of the question. And exercise- which I begin on Wednesday at physical therapy, to learn exactly how to strengthen this part of my back. Too bad he didn't recommend chocolate ice cream and O reos ! Now that would be a plan I could get on board wi...

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/8091708/Opponents-carry-injured-home-run-hitter-around-bases # It is a true story of team work and what it means to help others!

I am thinking this has been the longest week EVER! I have been stuck in my classroom with the same set of 7th graders every day for five hours at a time. Sitting in silence, eating in my room while they watch, sending them out one at a time to the restroom- what has TAKS testing done to us??? Made us crazy this week. The teacher across the hall from me lost her dog last night too. Man, it's been a rough week around here. I'm so glad it's Friday!

One of my sweet students gave me a card that says this: On the other side of the bridge to forever, our animal friends wait for us. Good-bye hurts so much, but someday you will think of your animal friend with smiles instead of tears. And it will feel as if this little soul left a rainbow in your heart. Isn't that awesome! It is kids like this one that make my job the best job in the world (next to being a mom)!

When we arrived at home yesterday, Chester didn't even get up to greet us. He just sat there with a sad look on his face. We immediately went outside to love on him and give him some special attention. He moped over to us and began to cry. He just cried and cried. It was as if he was telling us his story- and Nixon was listening. My grandmother and I have talked on several occasions about dogs having feelings like us. There was no question about it yesterday as Chester told N how sad he was and she felt his hurt. It was as if N could understand every word he said. Up to this point, she had taken a fairly dry approach to the entire situation asking lots of questions about "the other dog." But suddenly, she was focused on Chester's face as he cried and shared his feelings. This went on for minutes until N broke into a hysterical cry. She crawled into my lap and asked, "Why does he miss his friend so much? He is so sad." For the first time, she u...