Who dat?

Who dat is? I been missing you fo sho! ;)

School is starting back, my house is back in order after this, (so you will be seeing more of me):

Santuck and Ella's reward

Last week, we had to help Ella with a project for school. No, I didn't take any pictures. Yes, I'm ashamed. I'm over it, ok? ;) The project was about John Adams. Not John Quincy Adams, but his dad... the second president of the United States. The project was to be on half a sheet of poster board and would be graded and judged at school. The winners would go on to Montgomery for a little regional contest. We took one evening brainstorming ideas on what we would do. She is a bit over ambitious when it comes to crafting (hmmmm...) so I had to reel that little imagination back in several times. But in the end, we decided to do the background in the Star Spangled flag and then glue a picture of John Adams, a small paragraph of his accomplishments, a picture of the White House (he was the first pres. to live there, by the way)and a picture of his home state, Massachusetts. I was proud of how hard she worked on the project. She gets distracted very easily so we had to make sure she stayed on task. She measured and cut out the stripes for the flag and helped glue them on. We used a little bit of hot glue so she wasn't able to do that. She did 85% of the work. She was so proud to take it to school. We had to have it to school on Wednesday at 8am sharp because the "professional" judges, as she called them, would be there to judge. First place, $10, Second place, $7.50 and third place, $5.00. When I picked her up that afternoon, she had this sly look on her face. She gets into the car and says "aren't you gonna ask how I did on my project?" And I said, "well, yes... but you could get completely in the car first!". She was so excited that she got 2nd place! She was thrilled most of all about the $7.50 she was to get the next day. So excited, in fact that when Scott woke her up, she jumped out of bed (as she NEVER does) and quickly got ready. So, her poster is somewhere in Montgomery awaiting another competition. Once it's finished, I'll be sure to post a picture. So, what did she do with her money? She saved it for Santuck! Do huh?? Oh, yeah. If you've been around here (Wetumpka, that is) very long, you've heard about it. It's Santuck Flea Market, but if you are from around here, we just call it Santuck. That's how we roll, ;). Once a month (except January and February), the little community of Santuck hosts a flea market. Now, when I was a kid, it was really a flea market. I've been "going to Santuck" since I can remember and I have very fond memories of the actual flea market. But, of course, things change over the years. Now, you'll find things like knock off Louis Vuiton bags, contraband cd's, machetes, turtles, dogs, candles, plants, unfinished wood, Amish cheese (it's good!), antiques, and the list goes on. I go periodically for a few reasons. Number one... I live a mile down the road from it and why not? Two... the candles (JJ's candle in birthday cake is my fave) and the rugs. Rugs? Really? Um, yeah. 3 rugs for $10? Who can beat that? Oh, back to Ella. What did she get with her money? She had $7.50 to spend remember? Are you ready for this?? Yes, a gun. My baby girl is packin' heat, ha ha ha! And since this picture was taken, Scott has painted the orange cap to make it more realistic... God love that man, ;) The "BB" gun was $5 and $2 for 1000 extra bb's. Scott bought "us" a pair too so we could all shoot. And I tell ya, that has been the most fun money we've spent in so long. Those little suckers shoot a long way too! She'll be wanting a REAL gun next, just watch. So, I'm anxious to hear what she tells the kids and teachers at school when they ask her what she did with her money... she wanted to take it to show and tell but I didn't think that'd go over too well, ;) And here are other images from the day on Saturday at Santuck. One last thing, I do believe this was the most crowded I've seen Santuck in all my years of going. It was crazy packed.

Oreo blizzards

There is no doubt that having two children changes the dynamic in the family. We have to "spread the love" between both of them and be aware of each of their affectionate needs. Because there is such a big difference in their ages, they both have completely different needs. While it seems we pay much more attention to Shep, it's simply because we have to meet so many of his needs whereas Ella is much more independant and can do things on her own... such as making her own drink, brushing her own teeth, taking a shower, etc. But to her little mind, she sees us with Shep all the time and she can get quite jealous. So, we make sure that we spend extra time with her when he isn't around... and being that his bed time is 7:00, this works out perfectly for us. We usually put him down and then have an hour or so with her, put her down and then it's quiet time for us. All of this is on a perfect day, of course... it usually happens on Fridays! So, this past Saturday night, we decided to have Oreo milkshakes and game night after T.O. went down. The cast of characters:



Pour 1 cup of milk into blender.

Next,gently drop ice cream in blender...

Blend, pour and top with oreos and enjoy!

The Benchmark

Scott and I have figured out the benchmark on how I'm feeling from day to day. I get tired of him asking me "how are you feeling" "you ok" "you sure you're ok" and on and on. I KNOW he does this out of love and compassion. I KNOW how much he deeply cares about me. And if anybody is close enough to us, it's obvious that he loves some Da... ;) Always has. And I pray always will. He's quite protective of me. So, if things are not quite right with me, he constantly asks me. He just wants to make it right. How blessed to be loved. Well, I SO appreciate him and thankful that he does care about me but if I'm asked over and over again how I feel... well, it makes me think about how I feel when I wasn't otherwise thinking about it. If out of the blue he asks me, I may just say ok. I do say that 90% of the time. But after he asks, I may start thinking... well, my back does ache a little. What could that be? Or ooh... I have a bump on my forehead, what is that a sign of? Just silly, crazy things I know. Sooo... we've figured out that the best way for him to know how I'm feeling is to be observant before asking. How am I carrying myself? What am I engaging in? Mainly, what HAVE I been doing? We've both discovered that if I'm feeling good, then here are some things that I might be doing.

I may be making a honey do list
I may be planning a trip
I may be spring cleaning
I may be blogging

So, ya wanna know what I did yesterday and today?

-Called Scott with a gazillion ideas for our house (on a shoestring budget, mind ya)
-Looked up ideas for a trip for our 15 year anniversary (which is next year, sheesh!!)
-Cleaned the house yesterday (sans upstairs... ugh. That one's a doozey)
-Purging books, books and books.
-And I'm writing a blog post.

Now... do you need to know how I'm feeling today? ;)

Whew

To say that it's been a crazy week would be an understatement. It's literally been a horrible week and I'm just going to be honest. I seriously thought I was going crazy. Oh, how gracious God is to me... I know I say it over and over but His mercies really are new every morning and I'm really feeling that blessing today. You can get a quick history lesson here on my bout with Graves disease. I started meds in January and was feeling better really soon after that. Almost back to my old self. Then came last week. Last Wednesday night, really. I even remember telling Genea at church that I was not feeling well that maybe I should NOT have had any caffeine. (Sweet tea is such a weakness). I couldn't put my finger on it, but I just didn't feel quite right. I go into Thursday feeling the same way and each day seems to get worse. I should be feeling better but I feel like I'm getting to that "fog" again. Though this time, it's different. I describe it as this... I went from a fog, to clear skies, to a funk. And boy oh boy, a bad funk. I went through the weekend feeling this way and just being "here in body" but that's about it. It's that going through the motions kind of feeling. I knew I would be labbing (that's what others call bloodwork) on Tuesday and I'd just talk to the tech guy then. So, Tuesday comes (I'm leaving out a lot of details for your sake... ;)). I drop E off at school and head to take my labs. I told the guy all about how I was feeling... I even wrote this down since I'm keeping a journal of the ups and downs:

-- For a few weeks, great energy and an almost normal feeling. More tired in the pm. Expected though. Heart rate began in the 90s (on Atenolol and no ATDs) but now is in 50s sitting and standing resting is in 60s.
--Since Thurs. Feb. 17
--tired, melancholy, very near panic attack, a bit more cool than others
--Tuesday - neck pain that went down to shoulder blade. Pinched nerve feeling.
--Wednesday - pinched nerve feeling on shoulder blade.

I got a call from the DOCTOR (yes, how about that. I leave a msg for the phone nurse and the doctor calls back. Nice.) and he says he has some of my labs back. Most importantly, my T4. It is now in midrange and I can lower my Meth dosage. (No, not that kinda meth, lol). And wean myself off of the beta blocker, Atenolol. More than likely, since my levels adjusted so nicely so quickly, I was swinging the other way... towards hypothyroidism. No big deal, right? Wrong. Medically induced hypothyroidism can wreak havoc on you and this is what was happening. I was overmedicated basically and my levels swung the other way very quickly and just kept getting lower and lower. Well, naturally lowering my dosage is something that would not be felt right away so some symptoms would and will continue until my levels get back to where they need to be. With that said, even though I changed my meds on Wednesday, I had my worst day EVER yesterday. Scott took E to school and I was already having a bout with anxiety. What if this really isn't my thyroid? What if the doctors don't know what they are talking about? You think of a negative thought, and I had it. Up until yesterday, I had been able to control it. I say I. I give God complete glory for carrying me through all of this. Really. He is my strength. So, I remember thinking these negative thoughts and then I see Shep pick up what I believe to be a cheerio crumb and put it to his mouth. That's all it took for me to absolutely lose it. I went into hysterics. Over a cheerio crumb. I called Scott crying and carrying on and he immediately came back home. I called my aunt who has Graves and she tried to calm me down as well. By this time, Scott gets back home and I'm not better. Keep in mind, I called him when he was on Dozier Rd. close to the school... a good 25 minutes away from home. I'm no better when he gets back home. I couldn't be still. He grabs my shoulders to calm me down and has this serious look on his face and says, "Da, why is your nose bleeding?" Oh my goodness. Could it get any worse? If I remember correctly, I try to run but am in such a panic that I just jump around like a crazy person. I'll spare all the rest of the details but I finally calm down after I don't know how long. It was by far the most hysterical (not in a funny way) that I have ever been. All because of my THYROID!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I never ever ever would have known I would be like this. I am SO thankful though that I listened to my body and I urged the doctor to look at my labs right away b/c I knew that something wasn't right but I just couldn't figure it out. I knew I didn't feel like I once did when I was hypER but I certainly didn't know overmedicated me would push me to hyPO hell either. After the panic attack, I felt a great bit better, honestly. Scott stayed with me the rest of the day to monitor me and I really can't complain right now. I still have the pinched nerve feelings but that should go away in a week or so. Says the doctor, anyway.

I say all of this not because I want anybody to feel sorry for me but I do want people to understand what's going on inside of little ole me, ;). And I want to offer hope for anyone going through anxiety or anything close. Prayer with my husband during this yesterday was more calming than any anxiety medicine that I could have given myself. The Great Physician is who we should run to in times like these. I pray you will as you face storms of life. He will give you peace that passes all understanding. I promise. Cling to Him.



Philippians 4:6 (English Standard Version)
6(A) do not be anxious about anything,(B) but in everything by prayer and supplication(C) with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

So....
with that, I've been a bad blogger. But here are some super cute vids of the kids...

Shep was too cute that I had to catch this on video.

This one is little Beethoven, ;). And you can hear T.O. (that would be ONE of Shep's nicknames) in the background.

Theology Thursday

It's been awhile since I've had a Theology Thursday post. More than likely, I will post a TT entry periodically. When something strikes me or crosses my mind. I thought since it's kinda still the beginning of the year that I would share my 2011 reading list. Some of these books I've read already but they may have been read when I was sleepwalking... or whatever I should call how I felt for a year and a half, ;). So some I'm re-reading.

Safe in the Arms of God by John MacArthur. This was a gift from a friend. I don't think that it's one that I would have bought to read otherwise but God has a way of knowing what we need. Just the last week, a childhood friend of mine became a proud father again. To make a long story short, the baby had many complications and she passed away just the other day. So, I think I will send this book to them. I can only imagine what they are going through. If you would like to read their story and cover them in prayer, please visit them here.

Radical by David Platt. I posted this one TT last year. I posted it because Scott's two brothers were reading this book and they had me all kinda interested in it! And as it turns out, our church began the Radical bible study three weeks ago. Since we just got started, it's impact hasn't been felt quite as strongly in the study yet. I think as each week goes on, we will be challenged more and more to give up the American dream and realize that it is totally antithetical to Scripture. (I'm re-reading this one and I listen to it on audio cd as I take Ella to school, so she gets a dose of it too)

A Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper. This is a book about the book of Ruth. I've struggled with this book for about a year now. I'm not sure what it is but it's a great book but John Piper is just hard for me to read. Love to listen to his sermoms but his books are just so "over my head".

Tactics by Gregory Koukl. Again, a gift from a friend. I've heard a lot about this guy recently so I'm anxious to clear the shelf with my other books and dig into this one.

Portrait of Calvin by THL Parker. I have read this book and I can't remember much about it. So, I'm gonna re-read it as well.

Adopted for Life by Russell D. Moore. I have read over half of this book and stopped. I stopped because I started really going downhill with how I was feeling. I couldn't concentrate AT ALL so I just pushed this one aside. I am *supposed* to be reading this with a friend and I'm afraid I've let her down. I'm sure she's finished this one and move on to better things. I'll get there, I promise. :)

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. Another that I've started on. This one was, *clears throat* "in our bathroom" for awhile so I've basically read all of it but just don't remember certain parts. Gonna re-read it as well.

So there you have it. I've got a lot to read... better get started!

We start 'em young around here...

Here is a video of Shep helping Ella unload the dishwasher. Have I ever mentioned that I don't unload the dishwasher? Nope. I taught Ella how to do that when she was 5 so that's her chore... ahhhh. Nice. Now, if I could figure out how to magically get the dishes into the dishwasher... Ella says I need a bippity boppity boo stick. I agree.