Update on my family

Thanks so much to all of you for keeping my family in your prayers during this difficult time. This afternoon around 3:00 my grandfather passed away. Although it is very hard on my family right now, I know that he is in a better place. Please pray that we will have a safe journey tomorrow (they live in Tennessee), and pray for peace for my grandmother.

Thanks again to all of my "online friends". You guys are the best!

Fun Photos

Maryland Mommy challenged everyone to post favorite pictures of our kids, so here are a few of mine.

First my favorite recent photos...



Mommy's pretty girl!


Aren't they cute buddies?








Now a few blasts from the past...



When my oldest was only one and a half. Doesn't he look like a little man?


When my 6 year old was about 2 - he just ate some chocolate pudding!



Isn't she adorable?







Ahhh, the memories. I love being a mommy!!

Prayer Need

*****************UPDATE - SATURDAY 9:00 AM ****************
I just talked to my parents who are on the way to see my grandfather right now. The doctor told my granmother this morning that it would only be another day or so. He hasn't had anything to eat or drink in 3 days because he is unconscious most of the time. He is just too weak to wake up. My husband and I will be leaving when we get the call. Thanks so much for your kind words and prayers!

*****************ORIGINAL POST - FRIDAY********************












This is a picture of my family - my husband and kids, my grandparents, my sister and her husband (holding the baby), and my dad a few weeks ago when we all visited the hospice. My Papa was stable so we brought our whole family up to visit him.

Several weeks ago I posted about my grandfather who has end stage lymphoma. We received a phone call last night that he was probably not going to make it another 24 hours. He has suffered with this disease for 7 years and has told us that he is now ready to go "home". He knows the Lord - actually when I did my 100 List last night #100 said that I admired his faith (I wrote that before I got the phone call). He and my grandmother are such strong Christians. My prayer request is that my grandfather passes on without any pain (he is developing pneumonia and his body is too weak to handle all of his coughing), and for my family to have a peace in knowing that he will be in a place where he will not suffer any longer. I'm sorry this post is so depressing, but I love all you guys and know that you are prayer warriors. Not everyone in my extended family is living for the Lord and I pray that somehow through this the life of my grandfather will touch them and turn them back on the right path. Does that make sense? My family will probably be traveling either today or tomorrow (depending on when we get the call), so could you also pray for a safe journey? I will be leaving my 3 kids with my husband's parents because we feel they are too young for all of this. Thanks so much for your prayers!

My 100 List

I really enjoyed reading everyone's 100 List, so I finally decided to one of my own. Here goes...

My 100 List

Calling All Moms of ADHD Kids...

My husband and I are struggling right now with our 6 year old son. He has shown signs of ADHD since he was 2 years old. Being a first grade teacher, I've worked with several kids who have this disorder and am very familiar with it. I have put off getting him evaluated for a very long time...I guess because it's hard to admit your child has a problem. He is such a precious child, and very loving. But he has a terrible problem with not being able to attend to important details, not being able to follow through on directions, not being able to sit still ANYWHERE, etc., etc., etc. We finally saw his doctor last week and she gave us some paperwork to fill out. I guess the point of this post is to ask if there are other parents like us out there. If the testing comes back positive that he does in fact have ADHD (and I'm quite confident it will), what next? I'm not sure how I feel about medication, though I have seen several students respond fairly well to it. We are going back to the doctor next week, this time with my son, to get the results and talk about what the next step will be. My son doesn't even know what's going on yet. His doctor suggested that we sit him down and talk to him about it this week. I don't even know what we're going to say yet... Any advice out there? What works - what doesn't work? Thanks so much for your help!

Mommy Dilemma of the Week

As the end of the summer approaches, how are you getting your child(ren) ready for the back-to-school routine?

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Mommy's sweet baby girl!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy 6th birthday to my sweet boy!!!

Mommy Dilemma of the Week

What should you do about siblings that cannot seem to get along?

Just For Fun Quiz

Parents: if you'd like to participate please answer the following questions. (It gives us a chance to share our stories.) :)

1. How many kids do you have? # boys/# girls & ages
2. How long was(were) your labor(s)?
3. Something you wish you knew then that you know now?
4. Best piece of advice for a new parent?

I look forward to reading your answers! :)

Just like Mommy...

My daughter loves to come in the bathroom while I am putting on my makeup. I was putting on my mascara and she took the bottom part and put it up to her eye. She said "Look Mommy - eye!" Just a precious reminder of how our children watch everything we do!

Still Late....

For those of you who read the post "LA Mommy of...4?!?", I am still "waiting". I called my doctor's office yesterday and spoke to a nurse who wants me to come in today for bloodwork (FUN STUFF!) to see what's up. Anybody have any experience in this? What do you think they are testing for? She said if the bloodwork comes out okay they will give me a medication to make "it" come down. I am over a month late and I took 3 pregnancy tests (about a week apart each time) and all were negative!

Mommy Dilemma of the Week

Week #4:



When should you begin potty training? What helpful tips can you share?

What Ever Happened to Atari?

I'm feeling old today, folks.

I used to think I was computer savvy - ahead of the game in my knowledge of computers, but that time is slowly fading away... :)

I have been trying to add new features to my blog, like adding myself to the site Blog Explosion - but the whole credits/traffic thing totally confused me. I spent about 30 minutes chatting with Blog Explosion users who were between the ages of 19 and 23 trying to figure out what it was all about. I don't know what has happened to me...my five year old can now beat me at Nintendo GameCube games. My 7 year old spouts off websites left and right and I am left looking at the two of them going "Huh?".

It amazes me how quickly children these days have picked up on computers and the Internet. When I was their age the coolest thing in the world was the pong game you could hook up to your TV. And then came Atari - now that was awesome!

Any other moms (or dads) experiencing this right now?

By the way, this might be fun -- what was your favorite Atari game? Mine was Haunted House.

Things My Mother Taught Me

Found this cute list on AHAJOKES.COM

My Mother taught me LOGIC..."If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can't go to the store with me."

My Mother taught me MEDICINE..."If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they're going to freeze that way."

My Mother taught me TO THINK AHEAD..."If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job!"

My Mother taught me ESP..."Put your sweater on; don't you think that I know when you're cold?"

My Mother taught me TO MEET A CHALLENGE..."What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you...Don't talk back to me!"

My Mother taught me HUMOR..."When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT..."If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.

My mother taught me about GENETICS..."You are just like your father!"

My mother taught me about my ROOTS..."Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My mother taught me about the WISDOM of AGE..."When you get to be my age, you will understand."

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION..."Just wait until your father gets home."

My mother taught me about RECEIVING...You are going to get it when we get home.

and my all time favorite thing - JUSTICE..."One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like YOU..then you'll see what it's like."

LA Mommy of...4?!?

I'm sure many of us have been there before. You're "late" and you resign yourself to go buy a test...man those 2 minutes seem like a lifetime. Today we had one of those scares. I won't keep you guessing - according to the folks at EPT, I am NOT PREGNANT.

However, I am a little perplexed. I am probably a month late by now and I've taken 2 tests a week apart and both were negative. As much as I ADORE my children, the thought of having 4 made me think about checking myself into a psychiatric clinic or something. :) What's funny is that one of my first thoughts was "I'm too old!" I'm only 31 but my body feels a lot different now than when I had my first son at 23. I'm aching and popping and cracking in places I didn't even know I had before! :)

When my husband and I found out I was pregnant for our third child (our daughter) we were SHOCKED. We thought we were finished having children and really had no plans to have any more. (I have to interject here that I am SO HAPPY that I have my daughter and I can't imagine my life without her. It's amazing the way God knows EXACTLY what we need even when we don't know!) My husband's reaction was not exactly that of joy - we were in the process of building a new house and finally getting on our feet financially. Anyway, I was really upset last time at how he was not as supportive as I would have liked in those first months of my pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, he was very sweet, but I could tell that all he kept thinking was "How are we going to afford this?!?!" But today was different. I was waiting for the "test results" and he came in holding our daughter and looked at me and said that last time he was upset and God gave him Gabrielle (she is very much DADDY's GIRL already), so this time he was going to be okay no matter what happened. That meant a lot to me.

Well, hopefully that will be our last scare...ever! :) But, if God decides to surprise us with another "bundle of joy" at least I know that I have a WONDERFUL, supportive husband to see me through.

Mommy Dilemma of the Week

Question #3:

Should a child have a TV in his or her bedroom?

My 100 List

1. My first name is Heather.
2. I have always lived in Louisiana.
3. My husband's name is Eric.
4. We have been married for 9 years.
5. We are both born-again Christians.
6. We have 3 children (2 boys - 7 and 6, and 1 girl - 2)
7. I am a first grade teacher at a private Christian school.
8. We built a house 2 years ago and we love it.
9. We rented 3 apartments before we moved into our house.
10. I have a bachelor's degree in Child Psychology.
11. I love the color blue.
12. I have blue eyes.
13. I hate my hair.
14. I never battled with my weight until I had children. Right now I still look pregnant! I struggle with being overweight - and sometimes get very depressed over it.
15. This will be my 6th year teaching.
16. My husband and I have never been in a fight (we have disagreed but never screamed at each other).
17. I have never been drunk.
18. I have never done drugs of any kind.
19. My sister is my best friend (other than my DH).
20. I love my parents and have a great relationship with them.
21. I have never traveled outside the U.S.
22. I hate being outside when it is hot (I'm definitely an indoor girl).
23. I love tulips.
24. I love to watch reality shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and American Idol.
25. I sing in my church choir and sometimes help direct.
26. My sister and I sang backup vocals on a CD done by a local Christian artist.
27. I was on the Dance Team in high school.
28. When I was 14, I performed a solo dance routine in Ceasar's Palace at a dance competition.
29. I performed in the opening act of the Cotton Bowl parade in high school.
30. On my honeymoon I went to Disney World for one week and on a cruise to the Bahamas for the second week.
31. Disney World is my absolute favorite vacation.
32. We are planning to go again next Mardi Gras.
33. Last month we got a new Nissan Quest.
34. I love to eat seafood.
35. My favorite restaurant is Red Lobster.
36. I love to order the fondue for an appetizer.
37. I also love their crab legs.
38. I met my husband at his best friend's house.
39. I used to date his best friend.
40. My best friend was his best friend's sister.
41. They both stood in our wedding.
42. I am 3 years older than my husband.
43. I love to play volleyball and tennis.
44. I haven't played tennis in many years.
45. I used to be captain of my gymnastics team.
46. I used to be able to do a no-handed cartwheel (an arial), a back handspring, and a back walkover.
47. Thinking about doing any of that now makes my back ache! :)
48. I love chocolate.
49. God's greatest gift was the combination of chocolate and peanut butter.
50. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Reeses cups - the best is the Reeses eggs available at Easter time.
51. I love holidays - especially Christmas.
52. For Christmas I put out a little village - each year we add another building or two to our collection.
53. I am very organized - sometimes my husband calls me obsessive-compulsive.
54. I love my job.
55. I love being a mommy.
56. My favorite drink is Coca Cola.
57. I don't drink Coke at home because of all of the calories, so I drink Diet Dr. Pepper. I drink Coke when I go out to eat!!
58. I don't like nuts of any kind.
59. I absolutely hate coconut.
60. I am not always punctual - I am often running late (I hate that - its' a bad habit)!!
62. I was raised Southern Baptist.
63. I started attending an Assembly of God church after high school and joined it a year later.
64. I won Christian School Teacher of the Year for the state of LA last year.
65. I don't always read the Bible as much as I should.
66. I want an even closer relationship to the Lord than I have now.
67. I like figuring out Math problems.
68. I did not like Math in high school.
69. I also enjoy brain teasers.
70. I am not good with directions - I get lost sometimes. I need to SEE the map, not just read the directions - and that's kinda hard when you are driving.
71. I am good at being "co-pilot" - reading the map and telling my husband which way to turn on a trip. He calls me MAP GIRL.
72. My mother called me Heater Hose growing up.
73. I always hated that nickname - it made no sense!
74. I am 5'10" tall - only one inch shorter than my husband.
75. I never wear true heels because I am so tall - I wear flats or pumps.
76. I make a really funny monkey face that always seemed to amuse my friends at parties. ;)
77. I am claustrophobic.
78. I am extremely scared of roaches.
79. And spiders.
80. And wasps.
81. When I say scared I mean SCARED - I once almost jumped in a student's lap because I thought a spider was on me.
82. I love to laugh.
83. I love the way I feel when my house is in order.
84. I enjoy reading.
85. I have read all 13 of the Left Behind series books.
86. I also love to read books by Nicholas Sparks.
87. I want to read A Purpose Driven Life.
88. I have trouble saying no to people.
89. I am a lot like Monica on Friends.
90. I have been told I am competitive.
91. I love to play board games.
92. I like to watch romantic comedies - While You Were Sleeping is one of my favorites.
93. I also enjoy disaster movies - Titanic, Independence Day, I, Robot, and Armaggedon are among my favorites.
94. I do not curse.
95. I hate movies where the characters curse.
96. I think a lot.
97. I get flustered/stressed out easily, but people tell me I don't show it.
98. My husband sees it - he knows me better than anyone.
99. I still have all 4 of my grandparents living.
100. I admire the faith of my paternal grandparents.