One week and counting

Well the official count down has started. The kids are counting down the days till Granma Dee-Dee and Grampy Mac-Mac get here. I am counting down the days till the surgery. Honestly I never thought the last 6 weeks would fly by so fast! It was the week after Thanksgiving that we made the decision to go forward with the surgery and now we are a week away. Just seems so fast! There have been many days lately that I think maybe we should cancel the surgery or postpone it. But then I have days like I have had the last few days and realize I have to do this to get my life back! The last 4 days have been nothing but constant pain and my knee giving out on me. It's not a pleasant feeling when you can literally touch your knee cap and can feel it go back in place (or in my case back to where it started but not in place completely due to
mal-tracking).
I have been working hard at getting things organized and such for my mom and for Sean. Thankfully Mom has already been here once before after I had gall bladder surgery and she knows the basic routine of the house. Sean does to but it is usually me that says, ok Sean this has to be done or its time for this when it comes to the kids. Now I have posted up on my wall a Helping Hands chart so the kids as well as Sean knows what chores they are responsible for. I also have a chart with the usual activities for the afternoon such as homework starts at 4:30 and the bedtime routine. It should make the week my parents are here go smoother for Sean. This way he has something to look at instead of asking me. Specially since I will be in the hospital for a few days.
I think I have gotten everything ready. We have purchased the wood for the ramp my father will make so it is easier to get in the house, will be picking up the wheel chair on Sat, have a bunch of gel ice packs ready (been advised to have a bunch!), got a few puzzle books for me to do since tv is not that great during the day and I probably won't get much access to the computer. Trying to think ahead and stay ahead of the game. Should prove to be interesting that much I can say!
This week 4 years ago, I was in the hospital trying desperately to stop our twins from coming too soon. The little boogers just wanted to make sure they debuted much sooner than they needed to. Those days I wasn't counting down I was trying to keep counting forward in how many days they stayed in gestation. They made it to 33 weeks 4 days. It's amazing how much a day can make in the womb to a little preemie. I can't believe my "babies" are going to be 4 on Tuesday. My goodness the days go by so fast! It's hard to not think of them as my babies and then Eli will say things like, "I'm not a baby anymore Mom!" Normally it's "Mommy this and Mommy that" today it was "Mom (Eli -giggle) I can do it myself!" Once they were born then it became the count down to when we could bring them home. For us thankfully it was only 3 weeks later (the longest 3 weeks of my life!). They came home Feb 13...our Valentine's Day gifts!
Boy I remember so much from then, not much from the first year just the first weeks. But that is another blog I plan to do later in the week for their birthday. I can tell you that we plan to celebrate their birthday on Sunday, instead of their actually day the 22nd due to my surgery. So I will make sure to post pictures of them opening gifts and blowing out candles as well.
Good night all!

Visitors from Outside

Ever wonder why God created different things? I do all the time.
Some being spiders, snakes and other poisonous animals. Oh sure

I know from my classes in biology and zoology that all things

have a purpose on this planet. Gee doesn't the Bible basically

tell us that God created everything and in His view

everything was perfect.

So we know that without spiders we would have much more

insects to deal with, without snakes probably more rodents

and other small critters. Everything has a purpose and I am

sure that the purpose of a mouse is to feed the snake and

other predators such as large birds and even cats.
So here is my question if God did not create the snake

then He would not have had to create the mouse right?
Ok some of you may be wondering why I am blogging

about this subject. Well we have "visitors from outside"

captured in my washing machine.

Yes captured! Don't believe me?

Then scroll down and look at the pictures!

Yes those are little mice, little brown field mice captured

in my washing machine! They are scared to death and I

have no idea how to extract them! I found them this

morning. I went to pour in the laundry soup and and saw

something out of the corner of my eye, looked down and

surprise! (I had left the lid open last night after doing a load of wash.)

Now you have to understand, I love mice when they are

pets, in fact I have had many mice as pets. Mice, I say

because I have always started with two and ended up

with a small colony to find homes for. But these are not

pet mice these are wild ones who are terrified at this

moment. Needless to say I will not be getting laundry

done today! I have had bad experiences with wild mice in

my life! When I was a teenager I had gone out to our laundry

room and a few little critters ran across my path. I am sure

my family thought it was hilarious but I rather distinctly

remember screaming and jumping up and down. In my fright I
had jumped on and squished a small mouse. It is funny now

that I am older, I can laugh and I know my family laughs about it.

But when it comes to these in my washing machine or others

that we have had running through our garage and house

(in Nov when we had our first super cold blast we had a small colony

try to take over..they thought our house was the place to find

warmth..not they found mouse traps!).

As for the fate of these two, probably will end the same as the

colony, but how to extract them, I shall leave that to Sean to figure out!

So they call it puppy love!

My little man when he was 3!

My little man, Kristofer is in love. Ok yes he is only 5 1/2 yrs old.

But to him he is in love. I wrote on this previously about him

declaring he was going to marry Koreena and have some kids.

Every first Monday of the month we take the kids from our

church skating. They look forward to it and have to earn the right

to go through attendance. If they come no less than twice a month

the church pays their way, otherwise they have to pay their own

way. Well tonight Jaron and Kristofer went and had a ball. They

are so excited and worn out when they come in from skating for 2 hours.

He directed them straightto the bath and that is when we learn that

our little Kristofer has not only skated all night with his girlfriend,

as he calls her, but he was seen hugging and "kissing" her on the

cheek and lips. UGH!!!!!

So here we are thinking oh we have at least another 10 years

before we talk about kissing girls with the boys and now we are

sitting in the bathroom discussing what is and isn't allowed.

Now we could just let itpass and say nothing. BUT these two sit together

in school, play togetherat recess and see each other at church.

They already get each other in trouble as it is.

So here I am telling Kris, "Yes I know you really like her and I

know she likes you too, but you are not old enough to kiss a girl."

Sure I am! "Well Kris our rules are no kissing the girls until

you are older." But I am older I am almost 6.

"UGH!"
Jaron just laughs...he thinks this is so funny!

So I am hoping that with our talk and with Sean's talk we will not

be getting a call or a note home about inappropriate behavior in class.

I think I will just fall over if we do....

And everyone says, Wait till they are teenagers....

Thoughts on Surgery

Well I guess this says it all!

Actually this is as close as I could get to

what I will be looking like in two weeks.

In reality I have been on crutches for 4 months now,

since Aug 30, 2007 to be exact. It looks like I will

continue to be on crutches for at least another

10-12 weeks. UGH! Although the first 6-8 weeks I

will not be allowed to even put my toe down, which

should definitely make life interesting to say the least!

Let alone the pain I have been told to expect. Good

thing there are pain medicines in our world today!

So what have I learned so far about

my journey through knee pain...

1. Don't take your knees for granted.
2. Your knees are your mobility...the biggest part!

3. Sitting down and standing up is controlled by your knees!

4. Being over weight your whole life truly does affect

more than just yourself....it affects your family too!


Oh I am sure there are a lot more points I have learned

in the last 4 months and am about to learn in the next 4.

I am busy preparing my family and my house for

a huge change. God is definitely teaching me humility,

dependence on Him and others, and that I have no control

over anything. I can not control my environment and I can

not control the out come. What I can do is trust in the

Creator of the Universe and know that as long as I

live for Him and trust He knows what is best that I am

going to be fine. Peace comes from the Father above!

Yes I will be honest I am scared! Not really of the surgery,

but yes I'll admit it, what if I don't wake up...what if something

bad is found...what if the surgery doesn't help...what if....

I am nervous about the weeks following the surgery,

the pain, the rehab & the pain that comes with it.

I am nervous about how Sean will maintain our

household, work and still Pastor our church efficiently.

I am nervous about the kids and them not understanding

why Mommy can't get in bed "with them" or let them

sit on my lap, or that I can't give them their baths.

Well instead of concentrating on the "what ifs" I am going

to trust my judgement that I have been lead to and

I have chosen the best Doctor for this surgery and for me.

I am going to concentrate on getting better as soon as I can,

so I can start my new healthy life.

This has already changed my life!

I am going to concentrate this year on getting to a healthier weight

for my knees but mainly for my life. I want to be around when my

grandchildren are growing up. I truly do want to live my life

to its fullest and I have not done so in the last 37 years.

God is a God of mercy, grace, strength, and HE is my all in all!

Through Him I can and will accomplish my life goals,

be at a healthy weight and look fabulous!

I declare:

"This shall surely not be me in a year!"

Face Plant

Earlier this afternoon the kids and I took a trip into town...to Wal Mart.

Sean has to work today, a double....6 am - 10 pm which means he will be home around 11pm. We celebrated our anniversary last night. One of the dear ladies in our church called me last week and offered to watch them so we could have a date! It is the first dinner date we have had since we moved here 14 months ago. Oh we have had grocery dates where we go shopping for groceries while the kids are in school and usually we have to grab lunch on the way. So last night was a treat!!! We ate at Applebee's and thoroughly enjoyed just couple time.We had a great conversation and dinner and we ended our evening by going to Starbucks and having a deliciously warm mocha latte. AHHHH!!!

Anyway, today after we had a relatively good shopping trip...remember I am on crutches with 4 kids walking through a super busy Super Wal-Mart. There was no fighting, no screaming or hitting and no one ran off! YEA! Needless to say we never can make it out of Wal Mart without something interesting happening. Poor Eli! He decided he wanted to walk so he and Kris traded places in the riding cart. We were a few cars away from the van when Eli made a face plant into the black top. No arms to stop him, all I heard was a loud thud and looked down and there was Eli on the ground in front of the cart next to me. I scooped him up as he was trying to catch his breath. Poor baby has a really nice goose egg on his forehead and a scrapped upper lip. his first words were "I just wanted to walk" through tears. Just broke my heart! Poor Jaron he was the one pushing the cart and he thought he caused it. It was partially his fault cause he ran his foot over but it was really Eli's because he knows not to walk in front of the cart when Jaron is pushing!

Anyway wanted to show off Eli's bump... oh, he is fine by the way, he has been playing just fine this afternoon but I will continue to keep my eye on him...this stuff always scares me...

Poor Eli

Side view...see how far it sticks out!

OUCH!!

11 Wonderful Years!

Today is our 11th Anniversary! YEA We made it! Honestly each year we make it is like giving satan a black eye. With so many marriages ending in divorce or separation I feel like

we have accomplished something each year!

So let me share a few things about my love. Sean is the most gentlest man I know. He is quiet spoken and most would say he seems to be in his own world alot. Always in his thoughts I guess you could say! He is the smartest man I have ever met. You want to know something about history ~ ask Sean, want to know something about other religions ~ ask Sean, want to know something about the Bible ~ ask Sean, music? ~ ask Sean! Getting the theme ~ JUST ASK SEAN! He has passion for Christ and wants other people to really "get it!"

He is a writer at heart and writes beautiful pieces...in fact he has his own blog... http://www.matthew16-3.blogspot.com/

When it comes to being a dad he is great! He does his best to get involved with the kids. Last year was the first time I saw him take the boys to sporting events. Sean loves football, baseball and basketball. Last year he took Jaron and Kristofer the the school basketball games. The first time either had experienced this game. Last spring you could find Sean and Jaron playing catch. Jaron listening to every word of encouragement. At night Sean always tells the boys and Sara bunny stories. He brings Tido our bunny in their bedrooms and uses the poor bunny as a prop and tells them stories. I am never allowed in by the request of the kids. It's Daddy time!

Sean is my best friend, lover, and husband. He is my knight in shining armor!

He is my everything! With out him my life would be empty. He knows my deepest secrets, thoughts and desires. He is my biggest supporter and I know just as I am his biggest fan he is mine. I love him deeply! I am still just as crazy about him now as I was 12 years ago. Actually it will be 14 years that we have known each other in Aug. We have gone through the death of our son, three of my grandparents, the halting of an adoption, all super hard on us. But we also have walked through victory after victory! The birth of Jaron, Kristofer and the much to our surprise twins ~ Eli and Sara! I will never forget the look on his face and his reaction when the ultra sound tech said "So what do you think about twins?" He asked for smelling salts!

What is even funnier is we had talked about what if we are having twins on the ride to the ultrasound that day!

We have laughed and cried and laughed some more!

I am looking forward to the next 30 years and what it may bring our way.

Life is a journey and I could never imagine taking this journey without him in my life.

Thank you Sean for 11 wonderful years of commitment!

YES I'd marry you again even knowing all we would go through.

I love you baby!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!

My prayer for all of you is that God would richly and

abundantly bless you and yours with good health,

strength and a harvest too big to contain,

may your barns be full of provision for you so that

your overflow may bless a multitude of others!

Our New Year's Eve Party...

Basically the kids and I made homemade pizzas tonight and they watched a smorgage board of movies ranging from "Cars" to cartoons of "The Hulk". Sean spent time praying at the church when we were making dinner and I spent time searching for more info on my impending knee surgery.

Let me tell you something about this impending knee surgery...I am a little uneasy to be honest. I found a great site called http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/index.php
it has message boards and general info. I love the message boards because there are real people sharing their experiences with the surgery and post-op about the same surgery I am having. There are so many different experiences. Some leave the same day of the surgery and others leave 3 days after. Some are able to have weight bearing and others not for 6wks to 6 mo. All have said the first 2-3 weeks are the worse for pain and mobility and I do not look forward to that! Thankfully my parents will be here the first week and Sean has asked for the next two weeks off. He may end up using all of his sick time and vacation time up just to help me and that bothers me. We have been hoping and planning to take a week vacation to NY in the spring and a week to Florida late summer/early fall. This may put a bit of a damper on our plans. The surgery and my thoughts are worth a blog of their own....

Later close to midnight eastern time, Sara and I could be found in her room cleaning and rearranging. She did more playing and rearranging her doll house furniture while I did most of the cleaning and rearranging of her furniture and toy houses. The boys could be heard playing super heroes in the living room. All waiting for midnight here Southern Illinois. Right now all of them are watching Santa Clause 3 for the umpteenth time while I am trying to get my knee to relax as I type this. Sean is working. Although we are grateful that he is working it is the first time in 12 years that we are not together on New Years Eve. (Sean you own me a dance and a kiss! ~ Love you honey!)

I do hope you all are having a safe and happy new year's celebration! I also hope that one your your resolutions this year is to draw closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Be blessed!

The Honeymoon Package - Chonda Pierce