An Amazing Adventure

Any day Baby L.

2010-03-18T01:35:00.002-04:00

Faces and Phrases

2010-03-01T23:44:00.007-05:00

There comes a time when what is needed is not just rhetoric, but boots on the ground.

Baldwin Spencer

No matter what...Hang on Tight!

-"Titanic"

Only undertake what you can do in an excellent fashion. There are no prizes for average performance.- Brian Tracy

If you can dream it, you can do it.- Walt Disney

Lisa never thought she would be pregnant with her first, but here she is pregnant with her second miracle baby!

Rodney must have dreamed of meeting MM, cuz he struck the perfect pose!!

2010-03-01T00:42:00.001-05:00

Many people will walk in
and out of your life,
but only true friends will leave
footprints in your heart.

- Eleanor Roosevelt -

At a snail's pace

2010-02-24T14:00:00.008-05:00

That's about how fast we are moving with getting a definite diagnosis of secondary hypogonadism. Several days after meeting with the endocrinologist, DH asked if I thought my GP would listen to my theory and agree to treat him based on that diagnosis. Based on my 5 year history with Dr. M, I told DH that it was worth a shot. I knew that if I went in there with my research, diagnosis, and plan Dr. M would hear me out. If he didn't I knew I could always cry. It's worked before, and I'm willing to show my true emotions with him instead of stuffing and getting pissed! DH agreed to give it another shot, so before he could have a change of heart I called and set up the appointment for the next day.

After the usual 40 minute waiting room delay, we were ushered to the back where DH was weighed, vital'd, and questioned by the nurse. He sat wordless as I explained the dilema. After she left, I asked if I should "shut my trap". His shrug was what I've come to expect from low T DH...disappointing. The old DH would crack a joke or at least tell me that I'm some form of crazy. I sure do miss that man! Anyway, Dr. M came in asking about the labs we had brought from his old doc, Dr. DeG, showing how rapidly and drastically DH's T is dropping. I spread out my research showing him how all of the hormones are related, what the optimal levels are for DH's age and build, and what the AACE guidlines recommend. He admitted that he doesn't know enough about endocrinology to treat such an issue and suggested we go visit one...LOL!!! After telling him the very short story of our last visit ("The guy was an ass, and we won't go back!") he agreed to order an MRI for the pituitary. He also thought we might have better luck going back to the RE we saw several years ago.

The best nurses that I've dealt with work at PREG! Dr. N and Dr. P were so very lucky and very smart to hire these girls. This is the RE's office. The nurse that answered the phone immediatly recognized my desperation, and answered as many questions as she could over the phone. She took the time to speak with Dr. P after pulling our records from the 2008 files! The consensus was that we should complete the MRI to rule out a tumor, then we can make an appointment to speak with either one of the docs. We will be treated as if we are trying to conceive which will include an updated SA to determine if the low T is affecting DH's counts. The nurse explained that they will send those results to the only urologist in our area that treats men with infertility problems, Dr. H. She also affirmed that they have treated men with this problem before, and that they have done so using low dose Clomid. She wasn't sure if they have ever used HCG, but she giggled when I sighed loudly and said "It's about time someone knows what they are doing!"

That was last week, and this week has been just as interesting! It started off with the MRI appt at 7:15 am Monday morning. OMG...that's just insane! Somehow we made it on time, and I didn't even have to sing. Unfortunately the MRI tech doesnt' know what to do with an order that says, "MRI with sedation", so less than 15 minutes after he went back DH rushes out, grabs his stuff, and says, "Let's get out of here!" Turns out the tech didn't give him any sedation, and he flipped out after just the first 2 minutes. There was no way I'd be able to drag him back in there, so we headed over to Dr. M's office to let them know what happened. The nurse says she will let the doc know, and will make calls to the "open MRI" locations to find out if the test can be completed at one of their offices.

Now that it's 9am, and a few offices are open, I place a call to Dr. H. The receptionist reluctantly answers a few of my questions. "Yes, he will treat men with low T that want to maintain their fertilty withOUT using T shots." "No, I can't tell you what that treatment will be because it's based on the individual." "Yes, he will treat based on symptoms, and not strictly the labs." "Yes, I can make him an appointment." "No, he can't be seen before March 9th. Dr. H won't let us overbook. He prefers to have an open schedule so that he can spend enough time with each patient." "Yes, I will put you on a cancellation list, and call you if ANYTHING comes open!"

Did you catch all of those doctor's? We've used Dr. DeG...DH's first GP whom wanted to treat him with T shots, and doesn't know that they will cause infertilty and raisins. Dr. W...the endocrinologist. Enough said there! Dr. M...my GP for the past 5 + years, and now DH's. Dr's P and N...RE's from PREG whom have the best nurses on the planet. Dr. H...urologist with an infertilty specialty. I've got my fingers crossed that he also has all the answers! Whew. My phone's contact list is full, and I'm exhausted!

Who, where, what, why, and some how

2010-02-07T22:02:00.002-05:00

First, the basics:

34 years old

Female

Living in Greenville, South Carolina

Married since 10/28/00

Nurse since 5/04-I worked one year at a local hospital on their telemetry unit and hated the day shift nurses, so I found a job working with special needs children and their families. It is the perfect job for me!

Oldest of 6 children with ages spread between 34 and 12, only 1 boy out of the bunch. All of us came from the same mom and dad, and no we aren’t catholic, and yes they knew what caused it, lol. I live 600 miles away from them, and miss them all fiercely.

I have dealt with infertility for 5 years and 4 months now. I have an irritable uterus, and they don’t know why I don’t ovulate regularly. I also have a fairly rare double genetic mutation that does not allow my body to process folic acid correctly. One important thing that folic acid does is to keep the blood from creating clots.

I have lost 3 babies to the above mentioned gene mutation between April ‘06 and now. The most recent was on 6/25/09. This was the first baby to make it past 6 1/2 weeks gestation. I had heard the heartbeat 3 times, and was told that everything was going well on my new treatment plan. Unfortunately, the doctors didn’t begin this plan until the end of week 6, and by that time the gestational sac’s blood supply had already clotted. So, even though the baby was able to recieve good blood thanks to blood thinner shots, the sac stopped growing and suffocated my child at 8 weeks and 2 days.

Back to more fun stuff…

I take karate 2 evenings per week. It is American style with a little of this, a little of that all mixed together. I am finishing my green belt, and am ready to get down and dirty with the late evening grappling class.

I just joined a gym with my husband. It’s very nice with upscale equipment, a quiet atmosphere, a tanning bed, a hydrotherapy massage bed, private saunas, and the most beautiful private bathrooms! A gym is where DH and I first started to really get to know each other, so I figured it would be a great place to reconnect after the crazyness of the past several years.

I’m training to run 3 miles as part of my black belt test.

I’m a very amatuer photographer.

I’m a (slightly better than) amatuer cake decorator.

Lord, Sinner here...

2010-02-07T21:55:00.002-05:00

Lord,
It is I, Sinner.
Many of my friends are hurting tonight.
I am but a man, but you are God.
Among our differences is the fact that you have said over and over again that it is
your delight when we come to you.
And among our differences is that an old stiff necked, stubborn self-centered fool
like me can throw himself at your feet and not be crushed,
as I would crush if I were you.

So I am there Lord.
Forgive me my sins so I may ask of you…
Many of my friends are hurting tonight.
The Spirit tugs me to ask.
The Spirit puts tears in my eyes.
Wave your hand over us Lord,
so that for a moment we can all have peace.
Do not fix our problems – that is not what I ask.
Do not make us better – that is not what I ask.
I ask…. Just touch us.
Pass your hand over us so that we can be reminded you are there.
For just a moment take the hurt from all of us, if it is your will.
It is but a flick of your finger.
Just a nod of your head.
You are God.
Because my friends hurt tonight.

Amen,
Sinner

*Written and prayed by “Shipguy”
He can be found on www.themarraigebed.com forums

Adios

2009-06-10T23:09:00.001-04:00

It's time for this blog to close! Not only do I not keep up with it, the things I do post are read by people that don't have a reason to stick their big noses into my business! So, if/when I do start another, the people that matter will be invited to visit me!

Star Wars Sunday

2009-05-24T23:09:00.006-04:00

It all started with a mouse...

and a fastpass...

and a strong showing of control....

and patrol....

then we had sun and waiting....and more waiting...

then we went to TGIFriday's for lunch and came back for more waiting.

All for this man to show the thumb's up sign.

And some pearly whites...whose are prettier?

Then we saw some crazy people walking around like it wasn't 90+ today!

Hey guess what!!!!

2009-05-22T19:52:00.002-04:00

I'm leaving for Disney in less than 6 hours to spoil OB at Star Wars Weekends!

My cycle has been coming earlier and earlier, so I was expecting for her to show up in the middle of last week, but it didn't happen. Then I packed to stay at the Karate house over the weekend and took plenty of supplies, and again...nothing! Same on Monday and I started wondering, then Tuesday nothing so I decided to test Wed morning. I took the test and laid it down to develop while I started to get ready. Looked over at it real quick as I was getting ready to throw it away, but wait!!! There is 2 lines OMG *faint* So I hurry to get ready, call Candice to let her know I'm going to be late, send a text to Lisa "It is positive!", and head to the doc's office for a blood test.

I threw the whole office off-kilter because I didn't call first, my ob is off, and the nurse (that i've become close to over the past 4 1/2 years) is in total shock, and has to search down my gyn to write the orders for a beta and progesterone. She said what I've been thinking "How did this happen? You weren't taking anything were you? How is your husband going to take it?" My answers..."No idea except GOD! No! and Probably not so great."

Wednesday night I came home and made dinner for my OB and after he got out of his uniform and got his drink and plate ready I broke the news:
Remember that your mom taught you not to say anything if you don't have something nice to say.
Funny look.
We're pregnant!
How did that happen?
God!
But we only dtd once!
I know!
A little bit of thinking...
Well, don't go telling everyone or posting it anywhere.
Why?
Because we don't know if it's going to stick!
Well, it's there now, and i'm excited, so too little too late!
A lot more thinking...
That's good I guess.
Remember you aren't saying anything about it until it's nice!
Goodnight, I love you.

Thursday I got my numbers! My first beta at 4w5d is 432 *praise
Today my numbers...beta at 5w is 896 *praise*praise

Tonight we had 5 arby's roast beef sandwiches, 2 each. When he got the last one he asked if I needed it or at least 1/2 of it. I asked why I would need that many. He said "Cuz you have to feed two!" *giggle

We are leaving early in the morning for our Disney trip for Star Wars Weekends. And when we get back I'm headed to a maternal fetal medicine specialist to determine if I need Lovenox shots in addition to baby aspirin, 4.4mg Folic Acid/vit b, and my prenatal vitamin. That appt is Wed 6/4 at 3pm. I'll have my first ob appt and u/s on 6/9 at 2:40pm.

And that's the news. When I get back I promise to keep you all up to date with the pregnancy, and back track to get you through the last 6 months. I might also have a few pics to show off from my Nikon with my new 18-250 lens *wink

A lot of catching up to do

2009-05-15T00:47:00.004-04:00

But not today!

Today I am worried about what is going on in DC. I believe a big giant Jesus stick needs to come down and crash their party! Have you heard about Bill s.909? “The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.” Sounds like something that would keep O.B. from racial profiling doesn't it? That's not it at all!!! Read the following blog post from Morgan Writes:

U.S. Senate Bill S.909
May 9, 2009 by morganwrites
There is a bill on the fast track in the U.S. Senate (S. 909) that would not
only criminalize free speech but provide elevated protection to
pedophiles.
The bill is euphemistically called “The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.”It should rightfully be called “The Pedophile Protection Act.”
It was exposed as such when an amendment to exclude pedophiles from special legal protections, offered by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, was rejected by the Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Florida, admitted from the House Floor that this bill put 547 forms of sexual deviancies listed by the American Psychiatric Association, which he referred to as “all of these ‘philias’ and fetishes and ‘isms’” on the same level of elevated protection as “race … religion … gender … or
disability.”
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, a former appellate judge on the House committee, clarified further: “…We just rejected an amendment to including pedophilia from being a part of this protected class. Do you realize what that means?
“If a mother hears that their child has been raped and she slaps the assailant with her purse, she is now gone after as a hate criminal because this is a protected class. There are other protected classes in here. I mean simple exhibitionism. I have female friends who have told me over the years that some guy flashed them, and their immediate reaction was to hit them with their purse. Well now, he’s committed a misdemeanor, [and] she has committed a federal hate crime because the exhibitionism is protected under sexual orientation.”If there was ever a time for the Senate to stand and fight with a filibuster, that time is now. Especially since the Democrat majority does not yet have the contested seat filled with Al Franken, which would provide the votes to block a filibuster. Janet Porter of Faith2Action is calling for members of the Senate, Republicans and Democrats alike, to stop S. 909.
This bill in on the fast track to approval. But you can stop it.
Click on this link.

Insurance bites!

2008-12-05T23:18:00.002-05:00

My insurance is being a pain in the butt! They aren't reimbursing me for $180 worth of progesterone suppositories that kept my little baby alive for 6 weeks, but they supposedly cover prenatal care 100%!?!?

They also told me today that they won't cover my prescription strength Folic Acid4mg/Vitamin B6B12. They say that since it is available over the counter at 400mcg I could just take 10 of those every day for the rest of my life! But, I also need to have massive doses of Vitamins B6 and B12. So... on top of the 10 folic acid pills, I will be taking another 10-15 vitamin B pills for the rest of my life! The very helpful HR lady said that they might cover it if my doctor will write out a letter of justification, "a strong one" she said. I really hope that works because the prescription would be at most $20/month, while the OTC price would be closer to $50/month. And taking 20-30 pills most of the month and also 2 shots/day for an entire pregnancy just plain out sucks!

Even though my probs suck a little, there are other people out there that are also having sucky times. Please check out KayTar's blog and Jennelle's Journey and continue to pray for the healing of Ben.

Some recent crafts

2008-11-26T14:03:00.004-05:00

Turkey bread basket. Feathers, wings, and head/neck all colored by the almost 2 year old pictured above. Assembled by myself. Stuffed (tomorrow) by 2 year old's dad! Stuffing enjoyed by all!!!!!

Last week we made a cake for Rodney's 9th birthday. The little kids helped by adding ingredients to the bowl and hanging on my leg while it mixed together. The big kid, Candice, has perfected the art of squeezing stars...cramped hand and all ;^) I figured out that you really need to let red icing "rest" overnight to make it REALLY red. Shucks! Too bad I didn't think of that, um, the day before! As you can see, not so red Elmo was still enjoyed.

Happy Birthday Hot Rod!!!!!

It's MTHFR and I'm so happy!!!

2008-11-20T23:17:00.002-05:00

Did I get your attention? I'm praising the Lord that i'm broken! And we know what is broken and we have a bandaid for it.

I'm sorry for the excitement but it's really great to finally have an answer after 4 years and 2 angels.

I have the MTHFR mutation. It's on the c677t gene, and I have 2 of them...one from each parent. It's actually the worst type of MTHFR to have, but now that I know about it we can hopefully do something to prevent another miscarriage and to prevent further complications from this gene.

This gene makes it so that I don't process folic acid correctly or completely. It leads to clotting disorders in the smallest veins and arteries (like the ones found in the uterus and placenta) and future vascular disorders like stroke, dvt's, heart attacks, and alzheimers.

Step 1: Take 4mg of Folic acid...forever, every day!
Step 2: Testing for homocysteine levels...it was sent off today.
Step 3: If those tests are abnormal, I will have to take baby aspirin everyday.
Step 4: If those tests are abnormal, I may have to take a blood thinner shot during ttc attempts.

The other reason to praise? Because now that I know I have it, we can also have my sisters tested before they ttc, before they have to suffer a miscarriage and the heart aches that they bring. I'm actually sending my paperwork to my mom so that she can try to get insurance to cover immediate testing for them. Having this gene leads to other health problems that can be avoided by taking the prescription strengths of folic acid! So, hopefully the test will be covered for the other 3 girls, and they can take the vitamin if necessary.

2008-11-10T00:31:00.005-05:00

A MOTHERS LOVE

I didn't have to look into your eyes

to fall in love with you,

I didn't have to hear you cry

to know you loved me too,

I didn't need to hold your hand

to cherish you always,

Within my womb

we shared our hearts.

You touched my soul,

You sweetened my spirit,

You gave me memories

I will always hold so very dear.

Yes my heart aches

since you departed so soon,

But a mothers love

does not end with death,

For you are my child,

My love is forever yours.

TOO SOON

This was a life,

That had hardly begun,

No time to find,

Your place in the sun,

No time to do,

All you could have done,

But we loved you enough for a lifetime.

No time to enjoy,

The world and its wealth,

No time to take life,

Down off the shelf,

No time to sing,

The song of yourself,

Though you had enough love for a lifetime.

Those who live long,

Endure sadness and tears,

But you'll never suffer,

The sorrowing years,

No betrayal,

no anger,

No hatred,

no fears,

Just love,

Only love,

In your lifetime.

So, I left you hanging on the edge of your seats on a roller coaster ride like no other. It had plenty of ups and downs before a dramatic ending...

Tuesday 10/14 (5 weeks) - We are in Ohio visiting family and my dying grandfather. I feel some cramps and head to the bathroom and find I'm having some red bleeding, just about 2 wipes worth. I make the decision to call the after hours nurse whom informs me that if I bleed heavily to go straight to the ER, if it stops, to call their office as soon as we return to town on Thursday.

Wednesday 10/15 - We drive safely home and take a break to call my personal nurse who gets us in for an ultrasound (forever more u/s) and visit with the doc at 10am on Thursday.

Thursday 10/16 - I meet with the doctor who does a quick check and notices something bad. He asks me to get dressed and move to another room with a better u/s machine. I get ready, and the u/s tech begins. She does not see anything in the uterus, but sees a large fluid filled cyst in the right tube, a luteul cyst on both right and left ovaries. (Luteul cysts are when an egg pops out at ovulation and becomes fertilized by the sperm, the cyst produces progesterone to support growth and implantation until the placenta takes over in the beginning of the second trimester.) It looks like we had twins!!!!! The bleeding at 5 weeks was the loss of the first twin, and the fluid filled cyst looks like a blighted ovum (second twin) in the right tube. This isn't any good news. The doc puts me on pelvic rest, light duty, and to be aware of sharp pains and bleeding. My bloodwork is still rising 5,900!

Monday 10/20 (5 weeks, 6 days) - O.B. attends this appt to show his support. We start off with the good u/s equipment. Using external monitoring she immediately finds a baby in my uterus. She then switches to the standard internal monitor and confirms that the size of the baby is 5 weeks, 2 days. The baby is 4 days smaller than he/she should be, and we don't see a heart beat, but it's pretty early still. The fluid filled sac in the right tube is gone with only a small amount of residual fluid hanging out. My bloodwork is still rising 9,200. The doctor's official diagnosis is "cautiously optimistic"!

Tuesday 10/28 (7 weeks, our 8th anniversary) - O.B. has to work again this day, so I'm on my own. The u/s shows a baby in the uterus measuring 6 weeks, 1 day. The baby is now 6 days too small. There is still not a heart beat. No cyst or fluid remaining in the tube, the cysts are still present on both ovaries. The doc says that there should definitely be a heart beat present at this time. It looks like this is going to end soon. I agree, but since there was some growth, I would like further testing to make sure we will not do something that will end a life. We repeat the bloodwork today for a level of 15,500.

Thursday 10/30 - Stop into the lab just for bloodwork and they put a rush on it. Around 3:30 they call back to let us know that it is now on the way down 13,600. The baby is dying. When we arrive back home together OB and I hold each other and cry for hours. Neither one of us know why this is happening, there are NO answers, and no relief.

We functioned at work and hid out through the weekend.

Tuesday 11/4 (8 weeks) - O.B. misses a training class to attend this appointment. In for the u/s first. Baby measures 6weeks, 2 days. There was only 1 day of growth. There is still no heart beat, and with the bloodwork decreasing we know that is time to make decisions. After several days of research I ask the doctor about fetal genetic testing. He states that those tests are up to us. He does recommend autoimmune and blood clotting disorder testing done on me. We decide together to draw for those tests, and that if nature does not take it's course we will have a D&C done on Thursday. I step over to the lab for them to suck me dry (8 tubes), then to scheduling for the surgery.

Wednesday 11/5 - This day is our first angel babies 2nd birthday if he/she had been born. I spend most of this day speaking with nurses, insurance billers, insurance go-betweens, HR reps, etc trying to find out if I can have the fetal genetic tests done on my baby. I want to know why both of my babies stopped developing at exactly 6 weeks. I want to know if there is a chromosomal disorder that is preventing me from birthing a healthy full term baby. I want answers. The insurance company doesn't want to pay because they received a billing code diagnosing me with infertility. WHAT???? You can't keep me in that category once I achieve a pregnancy! I go to bed with this thought in my head, "God, if you don't want me to have this baby tested you will take him/her tonight" I started cramping and spotting as I fell asleep.

Thursday 11/6 - I wake up at 8:30 with no cramps and no bleeding. Believing, that there is a way to get the tests covered, I begin the calls again. The insurance biller at my doc's office is out sick today, there are no notes on her desk about me. I call the genetics center and get an answering machine. I call another number for the genetics center...another answering machine. A call comes in from the counselor at Greenwood Genetics center, I tell her the situation and history. She recommends that I continue with the plan to have the testing done, and if the insurance company continues to cause problems, they will work it out later. She also gives me the list of codes that would be turned in on my paperwork. I call those numbers in to the insurance go-between, he forwards them to so-and-so. I rush to shower so that I can get to the hospital on time for my prep. As we walk in I place the call to my doc to let him know to prepare for the genetic testing. I do the paperwork, and go back to the pre-op room. O.B. hangs out with me, the nurse enters to place my IV and give me some "happy drugs" (no effect on me :( ) My cell rang and O.B. soon hangs up saying that THE insurance lady called to let us know that the testing WILL BE COVERED!!!!!

Praise the Lord, He answers prayers, He provides a way!

In all of this I will PRAISE my Lord! He alone knows what is best for my family! He alone has my life planned out! He knows the numbers of hairs on my head! He will guide me and protect me! He gives me the faith of a mustard seed! I will continue to Trust and Obey!!

Going for a ride

2008-10-22T23:43:00.006-04:00

on a super-duper roller coaster. Of fear, excitement, sadness, anticipation.

Last time I talked to you all the techs had just stabbed me for my second blood draw. Good-445. Almost double, looking good! Feel free to go to your normal kickboxing and karate classes, just don't get hit in the abdomen, and don't get into a car wreck on your way home. This part of the story to be cont...

On friday morning we headed up to Ohio to visit my family. My paternal gpa is dying of small cell cancer. He's in his mid 80's. He's one of 2 sons, his brother passed away several years ago. He knew Bob Evans-the sausage/restaurant guy. He signed up early to serve his country in the Air Force during WWII. When he came home my gparents married and moved to Cleveland, Ohio where my gpa opened a watch and jewelry repair store which he ran for 15 years. Grandpa Willis and Grandma Betty decided to grow their family, starting with my dad, Willis (Willy) Franklin Parsons, Jr., then Timothy (Timmy), Cindy, Pamela (Pammy), and a few years later James Christopher (Chrisy). After several years he closed up his shop, brought the supplies home, and found a job driving bus for the RTA (Rapid Transit Authority) in Cleveland. He was often requested to do special jobs like driving church groups, school groups. He said those were the best!

After working there for 25 years, they retired him out, and he went off to look for another job. The Plain Dealer is the large local paper for the Cleveland area and surrounding towns. My gpa's job was to walk downtown, building to building to pick up the ads from the local businesses and bring them back to be edited and taken to print in the Saturday and Sunday papers. Keep in mind that he worked this job from the ages of 61-76 in all seasons. And Downtown Cleveland is located on the banks of Lake Erie where they have lake effect snow throughout late fall and into early spring.

My gpa had surgery around this time to replace a valve in his heart. They used a pig valve transplant. This type is less trying on the patient due to some meds that don't have to be used, but it doesn't last as long, 5-15years on average. They are not used on younger patients, so my gpa was a perfect candidate, he was old, but strong. The day after his surgery at The Cleveland Clinic he was walking the halls, climbing the steps between floors, chatting with other patients, visiting with leaders of foreign countries and their bodyguards...yes, he was that type of man! He recovered quickly and completely and was released earlier than expected. The next 11 years were good, he remodeled the house using wood from the family farm in southern ohio, painted the home, added a back porch, and landscaped. He was faithful to complete the items on the "honey-do" list my gma came up with.

He was a great man of faith. Attending a local baptist church for his whole life. Serving as deacon for over 30 years. Always saying "Grace" everytime the family gathered together. This past June we surprised the whole family by popping in for a 5 day visit. We were able to pull together one of those family gatherings where there is food everywhere, people everywhere, tons of conversations, and a group of family members ranging in age from 10-85. Amazing!

This is my grandfather. I am the first born daughter of his first born son. And he is headed home to heaven tonight! God Speed Grandpa! Please kiss my first baby for me. I love you!

The good, The bad, and The ugly

2008-10-08T23:28:00.006-04:00

I guess the majority of people probably ask for the good news first when the question is posed, "Which would you like first, the good news or the bad?" So, here's the good news!

That's right! After 3 years and 11 months and 1 miscarriage, 9 rounds of Clomid, 2 cycles of Femera, one cycle with Femera and injectibles and a HCG shot and an IUI procedure we had nothing. In between all those drugs we would take "breaks" with no drugs from behind the counter at the local pharmacy. We turned to natural means...red rasperry tea, guaffinison, multi-vits, green tea, licorice leafs, extra vit E and A and C, flax seed oil. DH had to choke down his fair share too: extra zinc, and a butt load of other stuff they managed to shove into 3 pills to be taken 2x's a day on top of his 2x's a day multivitamin.

It came down to our very last try. I met with the nurse and told her about this research that had been done showing that Floradix elixer has made women's uterine lining thicker (that was one of my main problems, nothing for the bean to snuggle into). I took the stuff (YUCK!) for 8 days and came in for an ultrasound to check my lining. It was thicker than it had ever been before! The nurse was amazed. She went out to speak with the doc, and came back a few minutes later with just 2 prescriptions. 1 was Femera 5mg days 3-7, the next was for HCG shot on Ovulation day. She said they would order the super-duper shots (that no one in our area carries) that will increase my follicle growth. "Wait, wait! I don't have problems with follicle growth, I have problems with my lining." "Of course, these shots do both." "Well when I took just one shot not the 3 you are now suggesting I didn't O and my lining was still crap! I'm not doing those shots again, not for $400! And I want progesterone suppositories to support my lining until the corpous luteum kicks in." "I'm sorry, I don't think we can work with you then. You need to follow our protocol." I paid my office visit bill at the door and left...with my scripts for Femera and HCG ;^P I drove 5 minutes down the road to the local CVS and had them filled.

So, since we didn't have the super-duper shots or the progesterone we were left with what we knew wouldn't work. After about a week, Officer Boop decides we should start looking into adoption. Knowing how he occassionally speaks out of turn, I gave him 24 hours to think over what he just committed himself to. He afirmed that indeed he did wish to go ahead with the paperwork. So, my little Type-A/OCD self gets to work....research, call, talk, research some more. Get freaked out by how much $$$ it costs, how much paperwork there is, how long the time will be before we are chosen, the possibility that we'll be dumped by our baby on birth day. *cry, cry, hysterically cry, uncontrollable sobs!* And suddenly a tiny sound in my head. The old hymn Trust and Obey . Singing softly, then louder, and loud enough to get my attention. My only thought was "OK God, I get it, you can handle even this. It's totally in your hands." I walked to my computer and shut it down. I prayed for a while, then went to bed and slept peacefully for the first time since the decision had been made. 3 days later a great friend of mine called to find out how we were doing with our treatments. I told her the news and congratulated her on finding out that she is having boy/girl twins with the help of the RE clinic I had just walked out on. The purpose of her call was to find out if I needed progesterone suppositories!?! She had made it long enough that she wouldn't need the ones left and was offering them to us!!!!!!! Do you realize what that call was? The voice of God! The progesterone was the last piece of the puzzle *halleluja* I thanked her immensly and let her know that we would think and pray about it for just a few days. That following Monday I stopped by her house to visit and pick it up. O.B. agreed that it would be best for my sanity if we rid our cupboards of all fertility meds, syringes, needles, etc.

So on September 9th I started this cycle. I took the Femera on days 4-8 (thinking that 3-7 was a bit too early) while drinking my daily dose of Floradix and guzzling quart after quart of red raspberry tea. I peed on a stick on days 9,10,11,12,13 before finally seeing a strong positive result. That means shot time. I loaded up that syringe with bacteriostatic water, inserted into the jar with the powdered meds and let 'er rip. Swish. Swirl. And now suck it back out with the syringe. Change over to a sharp needle, carefully tap the syringe to rid it of bubbles, recap. Carry it and a alcohol wipe back to the bathroom where O.B. will not have to witness the self-mutilation. Find the right spot of thigh muscle, wipe, and BAM it in, then push the stopper to ensure deep placement of the medicine into the musculature, pull out quickly and apply pressure with a sterile cloth. Wait for that to START burning then command O.B. to make a deposit, same as yesterday, the day before, 2 days before, and 2 days before. Oh, and don't forget tomorrow's and the next night!!!

Once that fun is finally complete you begin inserting progesterone suppositories, not in your ears or your nose, not even in your rectum, noooooooooooo they go THERE! Cold or they melt too quickly. And they are the size of a bullet from a 40 caliber handgun. Did I mention they are cold? Oh yeah, do them 2 x's a day, 12 hours apart! So, now you are wearing panty-liners 24 hours a day to ensure that your clothing doesn't end up with greasy streaks when the glycerin melts. Within those first 2 glorious days you develop some irritation...down there! The burning, the itching, the cottage cheese chunks-EW! A yeast infection. From the suppositories. That you have to take or lose the possiblity of having a baby. Ever.

Now you count down the days from when the pee stick said "GO" 14days, 13days, 12days, 11days, 10days, 9days, 8days, 7days, 6days, 5days, 4days...test=BFN, 3days ...test=BFN, 2days ...test=BFN, 1day ...test=

Is that a line? Take a picture, blow it up, analyze it, break it open and hold it into the sunlight, look again, post the pic on the internet and ask all of your "friends" to look at it and analyze it. Give up and take a different brand of test:

For sure! That's 2 lines alright! *start giggling, dancing, hooting, hollering* Hurry up and get ready because I'm supposed to be at a birthday lunch for a close family friend in 5 minutes!! Rush in there 15 minutes late with the excuse "Your going to be a great-grandma, grandpa, grandma, 2 uncles, 2 aunts, 2 cousins, and 1 more on the way!" More hugs, dancing, hooting, and hollering!

OOPS! Forgot to tell O.B. I manage to track him down to a local Firehouse Subs where he is eating lunch with his rookie and his former rookie. We give him a card that said inside "Daddy-to-be". He showed his typical excitement...that of a night shift disc jockey, then ran out the door to help a fellow officer that was involved in a foot chase.

So, here's the final verdict:

I went to the docs office first thing monday morning for blood work. The wonderful nurse, Amanda has been working with me for 4 years now. She greeted me in the hall with a bear hug and a whisper that she was putting this set of labs through STAT. No waiting until tomorrow, baby! The number came back at 226! *Yikes* That's a bit high. I'm considered to be 3 weeks along, the number should be 5-90. So today rolled around and I stuck my arm out again. More blood draws, but no STAT rush. Going to have to wait this one out! It shoud double, but if it's higher than that we may be looking at twins. YAY! So, OB doesn't hear me yell!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

I'm sorry, I'm too exhausted to write out the bad and ugly stories. I just have 2 prayer requests until then. Pray for my entire family, (in a nutshell)my paternal grandfather is being released from the hospital with end stage cancer to go home to die. They are sending him with oxygen and pain meds. We'll be leaving town early Friday morning to hopefully make it home in time to say goodbye.

The ugly story is that O.B. after 13 years on the Greer PD yet again did not receive a lateral move that he interviewd for. The person that was chosen has 10 years less experience, and didn't even request the position. But the person has less outer anatomy between their legs.

A Sunday downtown

2008-09-21T22:01:00.010-04:00

Flour Daniel Stadium
Hold on so you don't make a fool of yourself.
Lucky row 113! And a view of the jumbotron.
Let's make that clear...113?
I sculpt ice.
I cut fruit, put it into ice bowl so it can cool.
I like to use my manly tools to make pretty pictures!

Ice sculptures
Gamecock
Eiffel Tower and a fruit tray

Amazing what you'll find when you walk looking down. It is still the Bible Belt!
Kid's Station-a masterpiece!
A church-sorry I didn't notice the name.

Falls by one of the newer hotels at The West End.
It's a little hike up some stairs to get to the main road again.

Taking it easy and protecting the turf.

Reedy River Falls

Nice place to take a nap or throw around a football.

Reedy River Falls Park

Reedy River Falls

Please do a rain dance for us!

The family

2008-08-12T22:51:00.009-04:00

This is my side of the family. The begining of June O.B. and I took a surprise trip to Ohio. My 21 yo sis was in town from Cali with her bf. We managed to get 29yo bro around the house a few times during the 5 days. I arranged to have us all go to a photo shoot together!!!! After 2 hours of waiting, everyone finally shows up. Pics are done, processed and paid for. Out the door we go. Mom says lets go to the square for pics, since most of us are still dressed up. With much grumping from dad, away we go. Luckily there isn't a wedding this weekend. And the sun was shinning, and the square of Medina City, Oh is beautiful. So, here we go:

Dad and Mom

Me and O.B.

Amanda, visiting from Cali.

Sarah that visited here last year. She'll be back!!

Emily

Samantha-the baby

Samantha, David, and Emily-feel the love

"Littles", mom, and dad waiting oh so patiently in the background.

The entire family.

I think I might save some funny pics for another day.

I'm it.

2008-08-07T22:40:00.008-04:00

My first official tag! YippEE!!!!!!! YIppee!!!!!!!!! yiPPeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to Wendy over at Notes from the Sleeped Deprived. Check her out! She's from somewhere in SC, I still haven't read everypost to figure out exactly where *shrug*, she has 3 beauty babes, and a DH that kicks butt!

The rules are to post 7 weird and private things about myself. Then run around in circles until I get dizzy and tag the first 7 people that I can.

I'm going to start with old stuff, basic stuff, then work up to wacky weird modern stuff. Here goes:

1) I am the oldest of 6 children, by the same parents, and we are not Amish or Catholic. We are in order:

Lisa Marie (Nurse Betty L. Boop) 32

David Lee 29

Amanda Rose 23

Sarah Anne almost 16 (stay off the sidewalks)

Emily Lynn 12

Samantha Renee almost 11

2) I am not named after Elvis' daughter. David is not named after the former leader of Van Halen.

3) I took Sarah with me to a class my senior year in highschool, for "show and tell" in Child Development class. She was less that 6 months old and everyone thought she was mine. NOT!

4) The last 2 "littles" as I like to call them, where born after I moved out and got married.

5) When I moved to SC in July of '96 I met a young college student named Arthur. I was his manager at the Burger King right across from his college and dorms. He was my faithful drive-thru closer. Shortly before I transferred to another store he brought his girl in to have dinner with him and to meet the other employees and managers. "Hi, nice to meet you. I won't be his boss for much longer, I'm moving to another store." Anyway, during this time I was being stalked by an evil ex-husband. When he wasn't standing in the parking lot, calling me on the phone, he was hiding under my car! (No kidding!) I thank God that I had a closing shift full of strong, capable young men to run my store and keep me safe. Shortly after the move I lost track of Arthur and his girl.

6) Remember that girl of Arthur's? Well, they got married and moved not too far away. The started having a few problems with getting pregnant. But they always wanted to foster and possibly adopt. So they got approved to be a foster family. They helped several kiddos, and sent them home or on to other families. They ended up grabbing one young lady for themselves. The second one they decided to snatch up is a little man that you have met in earlier posts...Rodney. Well, the family had to make a court appearance. So my boss sent me to this house to care for little Rodney while the family was gone for the day. When I walked up to the door, I realized who the daddy was for these special kiddos. He did NOT remember me...for a while. I gave hints, and just before leaving for the appt he got it figured out. He met his wife at the courthouse as she had been working that day, and they came back together. I was finally introduced properly and found out that her name is Lisa, wow, me too! Hers is Lisa Grace-Marie, definitly had parents that were Elvis fans!!!! What she didn't know at that meeting was she was pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In December this family welcomed another miracle to the bunch. And I was assigned as Rodney's nurse shortly after. Lisa and I quickly hit it off. We ended up getting identical hair cuts, we both want a tattoo, she drags me to kickboxing and karate 5 nights a week, she has alot of weird things that are the same as my dear O.B., and in January O.B. and I will take the whole clan to Disney for their first trip!!! So, now I'm an aunt to 3 of the greatest kids on earth!!!!!!!!!!

7) Monday morning O.B. got up about 5am to get ready for work. Keep in mind that he is a city police officer. He works 12 hour shifts-7am to 7pm. So, he's wearing his tighty-weightys and knee high black socks. He was getting ready to put his pants on when the door knob starts rattling and the door starts shaking in the hinges...

So he grabs his duty pistol. Walks slowly to the door thinking, "this is the dumbest criminal! Breaking into the only house in the neighborhood with a patrol car in the driveway." He opens the door quickly at the same time pointing the gun out at chest height. Looks left, right, left, right.

Nothing!

He takes a step out and repeats the process, looks left, right, left, right.

Nothing!

Then he feels something move at his knees.

Looks down...

Wild turkey on our porch at 6 am. We live in the city, in a subdivision, there shouldn't be wild turkey's trying to break into our house!!!!!!!

Now I have to tag 7 more of ya:

1) Best Practice -Get to work "other" Lisa!

2)Chaffy's World-because I've known her a super long time on PH.

3)Moon Cookie- she takes some of the most beautiful pics ever!

4)Oh My Stinkin' Heck-more great pics, fun ideas, and a family I wish I was a part of!

5)Wheels on the Bus-she homeschools, her DH is a po-po too, and I've known her a while on OCP.

6)A Work of Art-Bennie, the man that got me into blogging to begin with! Read the whole blog people, it's amazing!!!!

7)Two girls and an angel-oh my! What to say about Melissa. She's a great friend that's been through too many TWW's with me!

The cake

2008-07-24T23:13:00.002-04:00

The start of something beautiful

2008-07-18T22:46:00.005-04:00

...I hope! The O.B. and I are headed to a surprise 50th b-day party for a great friend tomorrow. This wonderful woman and her DH are some of the most influential people in our lives. They are continuously supportive. They are great fun at Disney. They are a couple to model our relationship after. They have amazing faith.

So, after taking this cake to their super fun Superbowl party.

I've decided to make a birthday cake. This lovely lady deserves a beautiful cake. She loves antique items with class. She is a gem. She is a work of art. She is a masterpiece. I thought a jewelry box styled cake would be fitting.

The lovely, toasty, scrumptious smelling cakes.

The items that will decorate the cakes. There is a set of silver jewelry to place into the box. I'm in the process of beading silver and pearl beads to use as an edgeing. And curly-q stamps to use as a pattern.

Wish me luck!!!!! Hopefully I'll be back before the end of the weekend with a finished project and pics of a great surprise!

God Bless America

2008-07-04T16:54:00.001-04:00

Cedar Point

2008-06-29T21:21:00.005-04:00

What a beautiful site! Blue skies, white puffy clouds, and some of the best roller coasters in the WORLD!!!! They have some beautiful landscaping throughout the park.
Here are some of the fun coasters we did throughout the day.
Here is my sister, Sarah, about to go on her very first roller coaster ever...Maverick! About 2:00 in the afternoon, we took a water break and watched the insane folks ride this:We decided we weren't crazy enough for that. So we walked around the corner and found these:

Sarah and her BFF, Megan, rode this...O.B. and I rode this...It goes way, way up
and then goes way, way down. Then you shoot through the loading area and do it backwards, repeat the forward and backward and forward again.

Whew...How about something a little more calm?

Nope, not the skyway. Although this ride does go 420 ft into the sky! Straight up into the wild, blue yonder!

At 120 mph!

Mere seconds after the ride of a lifetime! Sarah sure did conquer her fears that day. WTG lil' sis!!!!!!!

Celebrating the failure

2008-06-04T22:24:00.002-04:00

at Cedar Point! Not really celebrating, but since I'm not preggo, I might as well get Corkscrewed , pray like a Mantis , get Wicked Twisted, fly like a Raptor, and be Millenium Forced. Heck, by the time I leave there, I might even be deemed a Maverick! I'm going to ride all 17 roller coasters! And then eat "fair" food. Then I might get on the Himalaya, or some other spinning, twirling, whirling ride. I figure since I should have been just starting the puking faze of my pregnancy, I ought to see what it would have felt like. So, now you know how I "put my big girl panties on and Deal with it!"

Oh yeah, Why am I going to Ohio anyway?? To visit family. I have both parents, 4 siblings, and multitudes of extended family living in the Cleveland 'burbs. My remaining sibling, a 22 year old sister, will be in town with her boyfriend from California. They will be flying in on 6/12 or early on 6/13. We'll be driving up on 6/12. And there are only a few that know about it...the Cali girl, my bro (I left him a message on his voice mail, I think!), and my almost 16 yo sis. You remember her, don't ya? It's Sarah!!! From last summer's posts.

I like secrets! I'm glad my parents aren't old enough or frail enough to have heart attacks.

FAILED!

2008-05-31T00:06:00.005-04:00

I guess I'll join the masses.

Join the ranks of baseball and football players, bicyclers and MMA fighters, spelling test takers, driver's test takers, newly designed engines, computer programs, NASA equipment.

Well, that all makes me feel a little bit better. Ok, not really.

Until I think of the lives that have been on hold, just waiting for these test results. The lives that have been changed and rearranged based on the fact that I KNEW that I was going to pass this time.

The real problem is that I didn't even have to take the test to find out that I failed.

So, what are we going to do next?

Here's the plan:

1) Eat the cake. All by myself. Yes...the whole thing!

2) Go on a diet to lose at least 5 pounds a month until we decide to try again.

3) Keep working on earning my orange belt stripes in Karate. I will be receiving my 2nd on Tuesday, and I need 3 more before I can test for the yellow belt.

4) Get O.B. to chill out at the gym and lay off the diet pills that the GNC "experts"(aka-the Furman football players) tell him will help him lose the almost 39 year old belly pooch. Most of the pills he buys are within the pages of my Women's Fitness magazine...perfect for an almost 39 year old man. Right?

Thanks to all of you who sent me support, love, and prayers. I'm sorry I left you hanging for the entire 2 weeks. I'll try not to do that as often. There are quite a few things I should post about. Maybe I can get on the ball (see the cold ones up there? ;^) )

It's happening

2008-05-16T00:24:00.003-04:00

not again, and hopefully only once! In a few hours we will prayerfully begin growing the next generation of Boop's. After 2 weeks of being on some serious hormone medications I have 2 potential halves of the little one(s) deep inside of me. Hopefully Officer Boop will have the missing halves (or at least 1 missing half) and that little soldier will find its way. We will be getting assistance for O.B.'s little marching men. They will be collected, spun, washed, examined, then shot directly towards their target.

In technical terms they call this IUI, intrauterine insemination. Please don't get this confused with IVF. We aren't creating "test-tube" babies. We are just getting assistance with getting his sperm to where they need to be when my egg comes scooting down the fallopian tube and lands in my uterus. It's still a God thing, and He'll get all the praises or tears whatever happens.

So, for the next 2 weeks you will probably see more of me. I will be here venting my frustrations and worrying like crazy. It's so hard not to POAS (google it)!

The Fairy Tale We SHOULD Have Learned.

2008-04-16T23:28:00.003-04:00

This is the fairy tale that should have been read to us when we werelittle:

Once upon a time

~~~~~~~~

in a land far away,

~~~~~~~~

a beautiful, independent,self-assured princess

~~~~~~~~

happened upon a frog as she sat

contemplating ecological issues

on the shores of an unpolluted pond

in a verdant meadow near her castle.

~~~~~~~~

The frog hopped into the princess' lap

and said: " Elegant Lady,

I was once a handsome prince,

until an evil witch

cast a spell upon me

~~~~~~~~

One kiss from you,

however,and I will turn back

into the dapper, young prince that I am

~~~~~~~~

and then,

my sweet,

we can marry

~~~~~~~~

and set up housekeeping

in your castle

~~~~~~~~

with my mother,

~~~~~~~~

where you can prepare my meals,

~~~~~~~~

clean my clothes,

bear my children,

~~~~~~~~

and forever feel

grateful and happy doing so. "

~~~~~~~~

That night,

~~~~~~~~

as the princess dined sumptuously

~~~~~~~~

on lightly sauteed frog legs

~~~~~~~~

seasoned in a white wine

~~~~~~~

and onion cream sauce,

~~~~~~~~

she chuckled and thought to herself:

~~~~~~~~

I don't freakin think so

AMEN!!!!!!!!!

The Secret is OUT!!!!

2008-04-12T23:37:00.020-04:00

This was THE hardest secret to keep....EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is Bennie's response: Why was he so excited? Because a wonderful family, The Peters, came to visit. From Michigan. For the weekend. To meet Bennie, Joan, Jessi, and Ben. And it was a surprise!!!!!!! Gretchen Peters contacted me via this blog several weeks back suggesting the trip for the weekend of Bennie's A Lowcountry Evening in the Upstate. I was so excited to be a part of the surprise...I jumped around the living room, yelling "Yippee" at the top of my lungs. (It's a good thing O.B. was working that day. I kept the secret for more than a week before I went back to work with Ben...then I had to tell him. His eyes got big, he smiled, and you could see his little tongue point forward to say "Si" over and over! I had to tell Gretchen that I broke down. But I thought I was safe. She said "Ben will get a burst of verbalization's and yell, 'Daddyyyyyyyy, Simon is coming!'" We got lucky, and he didn't spill the beans.
But there was some members missing...Joan, Jessi, and Ben!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jessi had a dance recital that went very well. So here is Joan's first response to meeting The Peters family:

Mom (Gretchen) meets Mom (Joan)

Simon meets Ben's mom, Joan

Meanwhile, there was a bit of art selling going on, we didn't want to get in the way there so we set up post in the living area. We were visited by Vicki (one of Ben's past full-time nurses) and her daughter Hailey.

Vicki and I had a lot of questions about Simon, and obvious similarities between Ben and Simon. Gretchen is very helpful, calm, pretty, and knowledgeable. Check out the PKSKids website.

Do we look alike????

Now to put almost the whole family together. We are missing two teenage Peters children...Shame on you two for not wanting to visit our wonderful state!!! ;^)

Simon says, "Maddy where is my kiss?"

Lets Start Spring Break 2008

2008-03-30T22:47:00.012-04:00

WOW! I had a busy fun spring break w/ Rodney and his family! We actually started out by watching his dad graduate from ITT Tech..."WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!" There were a few family members that came to town to witness the big event...Grandpa from Texas, Grandma from Maryland, Aunt from Georgia, Uncle & Aunt & Cuz & little bean from Pennsylvania. They all stayed at various places, and came and left at different times. But ALL were amazed at Rodney's progress! He is such an a mazing little guy!!!!!!!

So the first official day of Spring Break came on Monday with a trip to the local theatre where we saw Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who. We thought it was good...for a non-Disney movie ;)

We then came home to watch this little crazy girl play with a toy that countless kids have used over the past century or so.

The Upcountry History Museum was our second stop of the week. Here it is in pictures:

They loved to be pushed along the cobblestones.

Oreos, towns, and churches

2008-03-16T22:16:00.012-04:00

Oreo Cow Family

A Baby Oreo With Her Family.
A Baby Oreo

The Oreo's Neighbor, and an Albino in the Background.

The Neighbor Cow Called over her Friend for a Photoshoot!

Tooter Town, SC-featured on Oprah

Population 8-that's all! Just 8 people!

A church in Greer, SC

I Double Dog Dare Ya!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-03-07T23:20:00.003-05:00

Repost this questionnare with your own answers. It's a quickie, it'll only take a few minutes!

PROMISE

1. EVER BEEN GIVEN AN ENGAGEMENT RING? Yes! (twice...yes! I gave the first one back!)

2. LONGEST RELATIONSHIP? Just over 10 years. I had my first "boyfriend" before I turned 3 and we hung out and our families swore we would marry until I moved away at 13.

3. LAST GIFT YOU RECEIVED? Several Valentine's Day cards.

4. EVER DROPPED A CELL PHONE? All the time! I cracked the lens of the camera around 1 year into the contract. I dropped into the bathtub full of water several times. The dang thing is waterproof...too bad it couldn't hold a charge!

5. WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED OUT? 6 hours ago. I take a kickboxing class with a friend. We work out from 4:30-5:30 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

6. THING(S) YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON? Paying motgages on 2 houses that we don't want and neither does anyone else!

7. LAST FOOD YOU ATE? A 1/4 of a brownie with melted Hershey's chocolate bar on top.

8. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? Build. I don't like a puny dude!9. ONE FAVORITE SONG?

10. WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Upstate of South Carolina

11. HIGH SCHOOL YOU ATTENDED:Highland High in Medina, OH

12. CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER:Alltell (Chad is in My Circle!)

13. FAVORITE MALL STORE:

14. LONGEST JOB YOU HAD:

15. DO YOU OWN A PAIR OF DICE? A pair of large fuzzy ones that have Mickey Mouse heads instead of the dots. They hang in my car, lol!

16. DO YOU PRANK CALL PEOPLE? Nope, never have.

17. LAST WEDDING YOU ATTENDED:My cousin Kimberly's.

18. FIRST FRIEND YOU'D CALL IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY: My mom, dad, and sisters, then my boss to let her know that I wouldn't be working for them anymore ROFL

19. LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BEST FRIEND: About 8:30 when he sacked out to get some sleep before a long shift tomorrow.

20. FAVORITE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT: Chick Fil A

21. BIGGEST LIE YOU HAVE EVER HEARD: I didn't mean it! We can work it out.

23. WHERE'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT WITH FRIENDS? There are several restaurants, it depends on the friends!

24. CAN YOU COOK? Yes, but I bake better.

25. WHAT CAR DO YOU DRIVE? '05 Toyota Camry

26. BEST KISSER: My husband, but I wish we would kiss like when we were dating!

27. LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last Night

28. MOST DISLIKED FOODS: Deer Liver

29. THING YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF:

30. THING YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF:

32. LONGEST SHIFT YOU HAVE WORKED AT A JOB?: 22 hours as an LPN when we had an ice storm and the next shift couldn't get to work.

33. FAVORITE MOVIE? There really isn't any movie that I watch more than once.

34. CAN YOU SING? No! But I can play several instruments.

35. LAST CONCERT ATTENDED? American Idol 2007

36. LAST KISS? Before the hubby went to bed.

37. LAST MOVIE RENTED: War with Jet Li

38.ONE THING YOU NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT: Keys, cellphone, bank card, and water.

39. FAVORITE VACATION SPOT? So far it's Disney. But we are going to start venturing out a little farther over the next few years. We are planning a Cali trip, Vegas trip, and Hawaii trip.

40. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Card games!

41. FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM? Ohio State Buckeye's football.

42. DREAM JOB? 1) Become a nurse practicioner and open my own practice as a GP for special needs people of all ages. 2) Become a certified Nurse Midwife and deliver babies.

43. LAST BOOK YOU READ? Karen Kingsbury "Dandelion Dust"

44. FAVORITE COMEDIAN? Bill Cosby

45. DO YOU SMOKE? Never

46. SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES? With

47. WHO SLEEPS WITH YOU EVERY NIGHT? Hubby

48. DO LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS WORK? I don't think so.

49. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE? Too many to count DH is a police officer! LOL

50. PANCAKES OR FRENCH TOAST? French Toast

51. DO YOU LIKE COFFEE? Only Java Chip Frappacino

52 HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS? Over medium/hard

53. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY? No

54. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Hubby, trying to decide what to get for supper.

55. LAST PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALL LIST? My hairdresser...going to see her tomorrow.

56. WHAT WAS THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECEIVED? From the hairdresser...Is it time for a HC?

58. NUMBER OF PILLOWS? 1

59. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW? Sleep shorts and DH's old t-shirt

60. PICK A LYRIC, ANY LYRIC:

61. WHAT KIND OF JELLY DO YOU LIKE ON YOUR PB & J? Homemade blackraspberry jam.

62. CAN YOU PLAY POOL? Kinda

63. CAN YOU SWIM? Yes, grew up in Miami!

64. FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Extreme Moose Tracks

65. DO YOU LIKE MAPS? Not really

I'm Bugging out on you guys for tonight!

66. TELL ME A RANDOM FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: I have a 1st degree Brown Belt in TaeKwonDo

68. EVER ATTEND A THEME PARTY? A 5 year old's Princess Party.

69. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? late Spring or early Summer

70. LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED AT SOMETHING STUPID? Yesterday playing Uno.

71. WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP THIS MORNING ? 11am

72. BEST THING ABOUT WINTER? Nothing!

73. LAST TIME A COP GAVE YOU A TICKET? Never, but I cheat being married to a Po-Po.

75. NAME OF YOUR FIRST PET? Taby-a taby cat.

76. DO YOU THINK PIRATES ARE COOL? Yup, and some are yummy looking when not in costume!

77. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND? Working.

78. BIRTHDATE? December 23..it sux!

79. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE? Just what I am, a nurse! I'm still working on the mommy part.

85. ARE YOU ON A LAPTOP? How did you know????? Am I being watched?

87. ARE YOU SMILING? No, listening to a sad song on TV.

89. DO YOU MISS SOMEONE RIGHT NOW? Officer Boop, he's working all this weekend.

90. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Australia

92. ARE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL? Not anymore.

93. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH? Yeah, on my hubby!

94. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NAME? Alexander/Alexandria

95. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHING SUIT? I have several, but one is Black.

96. DOES YOUR SCHOOL START IN AUGUST? I'm not in school, but I need to go back.

97. DID YOU GO ON VACATION LAST MONTH? No, the next is a short weekend in May.

98. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A CRUISE? Not yet, but it's on the list.

99. DO YOU HAVE A SISTER? 4 of them, from 9 years younger to 21 years younger!

100. ARE YOU UPSTAIRS? No, I heard it was dangerous on the roof.

101. ARE YOU IN LOVE? Very much.

102. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL? Yes, for outpatient surgery, and 1 time in the ICU for migraines and anaphylactic shock.

103. DO YOU WISH YOU COULD SEE ANYONE PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW? My maternal g-ma. She went to heaven before I was born.

104. WHAT JEWELRY ARE YOU WEARING? Just my wedding band.

105. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AFTER THIS SURVEY? Start another round of antibiotics for this never-ending sinus infection.

Spring has Sprung

2008-03-07T00:52:00.004-05:00

Table Time Fun

2008-03-02T21:07:00.005-05:00

I belong to a wonderful website called Online Christian Parents . We have begun some fun blog challenges. This is a mini-challenge that was posted this morning. "Table time fun! Get out that playdough, moonsand, or any other ooey gooey concoction and let your kid(s) at it! Join in on the fun! And of course... SHARE those photos! =)"

Wellllllllllllll I don't have kids, not yet, and not really. So here
are a few messy, ooey, gooey, pics of "Big Boy Ben "

Let's Play 20 Questions

2008-02-24T01:02:00.002-05:00

1. I love to play puzzle games online and spades with another couple.
2. I am my husband's insanity-especially while I'm taking fertility drugs.
3. I worked as a Burger King manager for 8 years-we don't flop Whoppers!
4. I drink southern sweet tea. One large will last me all day.
5. I HATE coffee (unless it's a Java Chip Frappacino from Starbucks).
6. I HATE olives - any kind, in anything.
7. I make desserts that most people want to know what store I bought them from.
8. I have quit alot of jobs as a teenager (over 20 in a 2 year period).
9. I love to watch home-improvement shows.
11. My dream is to travel to Australia, Ireland/Scotland, and Europe.
12. I have lived in Miami, FL, Medina, OH, Evansville, IN, Greenville, SC.
13. My mom is a much better friend now that I am grown and almost 700 miles away.
14. I was born with blonde hair, but it's getting darker as I get older. I occassionally die it just for fun!
15. I play the piano, trombone, and baritone. I still own a trombone.
16. My first car was a chevy Impala painted blue w/ sparkles and my dad pin-striped it with red and my little brother gave me hot pink windshield wipers.
17. I knew I'd marry my husband after I knew him about a week. It was a total set-up!!!
18. I bought him a necklace with a badge. He said it was nice and put it away. When we started getting really serious, I started to wear it...and still do almost 10 years later!
19. I had to move out of my room-mates house because she propositioned my man! He didn't tell me about it until 2 weeks before we got married.
20. I love to read more than anything else in the world. When I have time, I can read an entire novel in one day.

First Time Ever

2008-02-07T22:04:00.000-05:00

to get the flu. It's really awful when you add a sinus infection, double ear infections, bronchitis, and tonsilitis. On Monday, I went to work with my buddy Ben then headed over to the Karate school for my fitness kickboxing class. I was a little "run down" but thought I was just tired because I didn't sleep well over the weekend. By Tuesday morning I was running a low grade fever, coughing, a sore throat, and had body aches and chills. I got into my doctor's office around 3:00 to find out that I was the 4th person that day with flu symptoms. He wasn't convinced that I had the flu, but gave me the perscription for the medicine to start taking if my fever started to go higher. He believed that my main problems were the multiple bacterial infections. So he also gave me a perscription for antibiotics and a cough medicine to take after giving me one of those lovely shots in the behind.

Well, it's now almost Friday and I feel worse than ever. My temp went up to 102.4 just a few hours after taking Tylenol. I'm still coughing, sneezing, aching, chilling, and sore throating. Please pray that I feel better soon.

Decisions made, date set, paperwork complete

2008-01-10T23:46:00.000-05:00

We are moving on to bigger and more expensive approaches to achieving our dream of finding Baby Boop. On January 31 at 10am a fertility specialist (Reproductive Endocrinologist-RE from here on out) will be reviewing our medical history, possible procedures, expected outcomes, and $$$$$$$$$$ with us. Yes, that's 10 dollar signs, because infertility procedures, medications, and monitoring is NOT cheap. South Carolina, along with at least 33 other states, don't require insurance companies to cover infertility procedures. SO, the first time a check mark shows up anywhere near the infertile box it sets off alarms in their offices! "We've got a big one here! From now on we do not cover ANY blood work, gynecology appointments, or medications for this one! They will have to go through the red-tape, yellow-tape, and any other tape we can find around here before they see another dime from us!!! *Enter evil laughing smilie here*

Officer Boop has also agreed to allow his type-A personality of a wife to begin filling out paperwork for adoption. We have agreed that we are going to pursue a domestic private adoption. I know that there are already soooo many older children and special-needs children out there waiting to find a good home, but at this point in our lives we need that sweet Baby Boop in our arms, the wailing cries at night to keep us awake, endless diaper changes, and formula puke on our work uniforms. I will feel peaceful knowing that the B.B. that comes to live with us was saved from an abortion, or would have been living with a struggling family.

My plea to you fellow bloggers is to send up some prayers for The Boop's. Email or post comments about your stories of achieving parent-hood.

Night shots

2007-12-23T22:24:00.000-05:00

Did you see how cool my house looks decorated for Christmas????

My future home

2007-12-22T22:48:00.000-05:00

Alright! I'll give you a break, but tomorrow we're checking out the night views ;)

The entire month of November in 1 post

2007-11-23T00:22:00.000-05:00

It started off at the end of October w/ Ben starring as Lighting McQueen at his schools trick or treat parade and dance. It took me a solid week working 3 hours a night to create this for him, but I loved it, his parents loved it, and so did his schoolmates. Ben loved to rev the engine w/ the little steering wheel and gear shifter that was secured to his tray!

This costume is too big for his family or I to keep around our houses, so it's FOR SALE!!! All monies will be donated to PKS Kids for research of Ben's disease and also to his class for them to buy more adaptive equipment for Ben and his classmates!

Ben and his dad also have some artwork left over from this season's artshows. They paint amazing work and charge meager fees. Check them out benandbenniewaddell.blogspot.com Read through the links on the left hand bar to find "art for sale" and also scan through their blog to find interesting info about all people in general and the Waddell's in particular. Oh yeah...they often throw in some new art to look at!

Rodney's in love w/ watching his own TV in his room,

or the new (to them) big TV in the living room.

Where ever he is you will find this little red chair.

He has learned how to put on a shirt by himself. A few Sunday's ago his mom gave him his morning meds and formula to drink while she got everyone else ready. She laid his clothes at the top of the bed like usual, and when she returned he was fully dressed!

Every few months this boy proves how wrong the doctor's are about kids like him and Ben! Rodney double his life expectency yesterday! He turned 8!!! They said he would go before 4...suckas!!! They don't care to feel the determination in these kids, their families, and caregivers!

I am sooo proud of the progress that Rodney makes everyday. We are already working on potty training, and I expect we could be in big boy pants by spring, at least for the day time! Look down there to see Rodney put his shirt on by himself.

http://s88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/tnl2000/Blackstones/?action=view&current=Ididit001.flv

On a personal note: O.B. and I have decided its time to start trying again to create a Baby Boop. I planned all the days with birth control pills, vacation days, ovulating days, DTD days. So, I am now taking the 4th of 5 days of Clomid 150mg. It's a very high dose, and the drug has a tendency to make a perfectly sane person HOMICIDAL if the trash isn't taken out on Wednesday, the potty isn't wiped, fall leaves are brought into the house that has just been vaccuumed!

And to top it all of! I'm taking my psychotic tendencies to Disney World for 10 days w/ O.B. and friends-George and Jane Jetson! This is the place where DTD must happen everyother day w/o fail or we will fail again! So, here I am going pyscho about the planning for everything. I have to work 10 hours tomorrow, do laundry, take out trash, fold laundry, trim the flowers, pack the laundry and sundries, and do a general fall cleaning on the house so the realtor can show it anytime while we are gone! AND we leave in 2 days!!!!!!!!!

I promise to return sometime the 2nd week of December to give updates on "my boys", lots of pics from the Disney trip, and status "Yes or No" on Baby Boop!

Feel free to use the comment section to start a poll or a prayer chain about success of creating Baby Boop! It'll be an interesting story for him/her as they grow!!!

2007-10-25T23:38:00.000-04:00

Some "early morning" humor to start your day.

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just turned 3-year-old, and you never have to ask him to turn up the volume; it's always fully cranked. There have been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not so audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco. Halfway through our shopping trip nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to last stall:

"Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?"

At this point, I started mentally counting how many women had been in the restroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full. 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity.

Cade continued, "Mommy, you ARE going stinkies, aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh, Mommy! I'm trying to see in dere. Oh, I see dem! Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You ARE gonna get some candy!"

I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need one? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, "Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some."

"No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies. Oh! Mommy!" He started to gag at this point. "Uh oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!

As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: Okay, there are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.

"Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done doing stinkies! Get up! Get up!" He grunted as he tried to pull me.

Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. "Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at, Mommy? You wooking at da wady's feet?"

More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation. "Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy." He started pounding on the door. "Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!"

I saw that my "wait 'em out" plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found, standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, "Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?" But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, "I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as 'Mommy' to this little fellow."

Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids , Michigan , where she no longer uses public rest-rooms with her 3-year-old in tow.

I had a very long response to this and Blogger ate it! I guess that will happen when you try to blog on Ambien. Oh well! Maybe tomorrow!

Remembering

2007-10-04T23:18:00.000-04:00

Sweet Baby

Do you know I have already seen you?

You are so far away from me,

yet I have felt the touch of your soft skin.

I have stared at you in awe…

marveling at the fact that you are mine.
I have felt you in my arms,

as I touched your fine hair

and stroked your smooth, round cheeks.

I have looked at your sleeping face,

as I wondered if you looked like me or your daddy.
Oh, how I do not want to awake from these dreams

and return to my place of empty arms.
But for now I will.

I can only try to remember you, little one,

And the feeling of you nestled in my embrace.

I will try to hold onto that feeling,

finally knowing what it is like to be a Mother.
I will try to remember that dream with hope and not with sadness,

Praying that maybe…

Just maybe

My Sweet Baby

Is not so far away after all.

author unknown

Please remember those of us that have lost babies, born and unborn, on October 15th...Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance Day.

2 Days with Earth's Angels

2007-09-30T22:46:00.001-04:00

Buddy Walk 2007

Furman University

What could be better than free ice-cream, soda-pop, hot dogs, and Furman cheerleaders??? How about around $10,000 to support Down Syndrome Family Alliance of Greenville? I had a great time walking w/ the Blackstone family! Rodney is featured in the middle of the passle of cheerleaders! He is one of "my boys". I get paid to play with, watch movies with, and feed this awesome young man. He is constantly moving and bending into the weirdest positions. The never ending string of Veggie Tales and Sesame Street movies will give you crazy nightmares. And the belly of this boy is a deep dark pit...it holds every food imaginable in generous amounts...except CHOCOLATE!!! Weirdo! ;)

Special Olympics 2007

Challenge Day

Bob Jones University

Ben worked with his volunteers, John and Cole, to earn 2 gold medals and the pretty rose (that I'm guessing was given to mom and sissy!). For this day, I got paid to follow around these 2 strong college guys while they pushed and pulled Ben, his Red Racer, and all his equipment around the field! All I had to do was make sure he wore his sunglasses outside and kept from losing his Passy Muir Valve...we wouldn't want him to be quiet (?) Not really! He loved talking to all the volunteers there and even amazed the Speech Pathology Professor! We are really looking forward to our next Olympics this spring at Furman University. Meanwhile, we'll keep painting, learning to talk and walk, and having all around fun!!!

2007-09-24T23:36:00.000-04:00

"It's alright to cry. Crying gets the sad out of you. It's alright to cry. It might make you feel better." Free to be you and me.

I have to admit that I've been doing this quite a bit lately. It might be hormonal, frustration, or just because I need to get the sad out!

As you have seen in my intro...I'm a nurse. This is the only area of my life right now that always makes me happy. I love, love, love "my boys". My older (by 7 weeks) is linked to the left. My younger, I will introduce after getting permission from his folks. Let me just say that every night before I go to bed, I look forward to seeing one or the other, or both the next day! They always make me laugh...at least once each shift ;) In one house we are learning to poopy on the potty, the other, that some colors of paint taste bad.

A wife. What wife doesn't cry on occassion??? I work full-time, take kickboxing 3 days a week, pay the bills and balance the budget, cook dinner, clean the house, arrange for the "house from hades" to be fixed, that house and this house to be sold including the extra cleanings that showing w/ an hours notice requires, laundry, trash, arrange for the yards to be cut, and "scratch". I literally scratch the body part that O.B. points to...with his perfectly healthy finger! He works. For the P.D. that shares too much love if you were born with the right body parts....O.B. obviously (thankfully) was not born with said parts. And he works out. He wants to be a (geriatric) body builder. Good for him. During the 3 hours a day he is gone, I'll wipe his dribbles from the toilet rim, scrub the grease stains from the carpet that he left with his duty boots, and try to figure out how we are going to pay the power bill now that he bought:

But, I Love Him! Somedays, I really don't know why, but others he shows the strength to not strangle me, and he has a big shoulder to cry on!

A wanna-be mommy. In other words, "I WANT TO BE A MOMMY!" So, go...do the deed (DTD), baby dance (BD). Done that! Now what? Do it again...is 5-8 times a month for 3 years enough? Not yet. Because there still isn't a Baby Boop! Go to the doc. Been there so much the nurse recognizes my voice and I don't have to show my face to get fertility meds called in to the pharmacy. Actually...she has said that she doesn't want to see my face anymore. She has referred our case to a reproductive endocrinologist (RE). The beautiful state of SC does NOT require insurance companies to cover infertility treatments. It looks to me like Yoda needs to find a new home! I think I can get enough out of him to pay for the first 5 shots that will help us achieve the dream of parenthood, hehehehehahahaha ;-) I have alot of Star Wars for sale...what piece do you want? I need to invest in a turkey baster!

It's gettin' HOT in here!

2007-09-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

The "stufff" is hitting the fan at Officer Boop's PD! One of the guys quit and had a revealing exit interview that was attended by the chief, city mayor, and city administrator. He let them know about all the inter-office affairs, property theft, and time theft! The chief was told "Find out what's going on and fix it, or else! You can either do it in-house, or I'll bring in an outside agency to do it for you!" So far there has been 1 sergeant poly-graphed...he's expecting his 3rd child w/ his corporal. He's married (obviously to someone other than the corporal), she's just a baby machine! She often is running personal errands, picking up her kids from daycare, or just "gone" while on the clock (even leaving a crime scene in the middle of an ongoing investigation)! All of these things were reported by 2 officers last summer...they were then black-balled, one has been fired and the other sent back to street patrol! There were alot of people that covered up the issues that were brought up. All of those people are now being investigated and most will probably go through polygraphs also. All the way up to lieutenant! With everything going on there be anywhere from 1-20 people w/o jobs in the near future!!!

So glad O.B. minds his own business!

"The Money Pit"

2007-09-19T15:24:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Boop's money pit, more commonly known as The House from Hades! This was all Officer Boop's brilliant idea..."we need to get this house and flip it! We could make an easy $20,000." That was almost 4 years ago. The stupid thing won't even sommersault, but I believe it does back-flips! 3 years ago we petitioned our county council to rezone the house as office-commercial so we could open a business in it (another of O.B.'s brilliant ideas). After sitting unoccupied for over a year we allowed 2 brothers to "rent-to-own". They started a small hispanic based real-estate company in our house, built up their business and decided that they couldn't get the money to complete the purchase, hmmmmmmm, convenient! So they tell us all this on Wednesday and are out by Friday! Back to empty :(

Last fall a (now former) friend decided to move back into our area. We offered to allow him to live in our rental for 2 months w/o requiring rent payments while he got a job and got settled in. Yeah, we're suckers! We also put the electricity in our names..."Here's your sign!" $6,000 in missing payments later, it's July '07 and "N.B. and O.B., I don't think I can continue to make these rent payments and pay the utilities (WHAT???????). I'm going to move back in with my mom."

2 days after former friend moved out, the A/C unit was stolen from the outside of the house. You know what I'm talking about....the big box looking thing outside!?! Yep, the whole thing! Gone!!! Funny thing is, the trashcans were moved over to block the view of that side of the house, the unit was turned off from the inside (yes, all the doors and windows were locked), f.f. used a panel van to move all his stuff out in the middle of the night and then payed us 3 $100 dollar bills the next day! I tried to call the recycling company down the street, but they gave me the runaround about checking for his and his friends name on their list.

"Two weeks" later the water heater blew up!!! That's the start of the current crisis with "The Money Pit/House from Hades".

"2 weeks" From start to finish it'll be 2 weeks. That's what the dude said on August 11th. It still looks like this! Only they added this hole :

And threw the trash into the tub and sinks...destroying them.

They also moved both toilets off the sewer holes. Wonderful! THANKS!!! And they are the Preferred Service Providers! Due to the extra damages The Paul Davis Co. caused, our check from State Farm Insurance is just enought to require us to send it to our mortgage company. They will then send us 1/3 to complete 1/2 the work. After inspection #1 they will send us another 1/3 of OUR money to complete the job. After inspection #2 they will disperse the final 1/3 of the money so we can pay the contractor. Fun!

BTW-the house has been For Sale since February when f.f. let us know his credit would not allow him to purchase the house. Original price $72,000. Current price $55,000 "AS-IS"! Anyone????

Sarah's angels!

2007-09-07T01:07:00.000-04:00

Sister, Sarah, is from Ohio....no mountains! So she wanted to go for a hike today, but we had an Orange Ozone Alert. DH, Sarah, and I went driving instead. We stopped at Ceasar's Head State Park and walked along the edge so we could get good pics of the mountains. We came up to this:

So we get down inside and she wants to strike a pose:

Look closely at the top of the picture, where the exit meets the wood fence...do you see anything? Keep reading...

I decided to get a close up (unfortunately did not use the red-eye)

Nothing there!!! I know, these pics were all taken just a few seconds from each other! As she is walking out of Devil's Kitchen look what the camera catches:

It isn't dust! It's not on the picture before or the pics after! There isn't anything to reflect! On the original pic you can zoom in really closely and see a figure resembling an angel...with wings and a robe. There is also a noticable shadow on Sarah's back!!! There is a second lighter one at the bottom left side of the pic. I don't believe in ghosts, orb's, supernatural activites except angels!!!

The history is this: We were visiting my friend Tony on Sunday, and I asked him to tell Sarah his angel stories. He has many from his lifetime! He is actually in the process of publishing the book he has written containing his and other angel siting stories. He is a phenominal Christian man, and is always in the Word. He lives and breathes Christ!!! So, he was telling us and Sarah asked why she had never seen her angel? He said you haven't asked! So she stated that she would like to see her angel(s)!

4 days later!!!

Goals

2007-09-04T00:06:00.000-04:00

In no particular order of importance or time-frame

1) Have a baby (or adopt) by summer of 2009

2) Loose 70 pounds and not the same ones over and over again!

3) Pay off the timeshare within 12 months (again...this is the 3rd time we have upgraded) Anybody need to rent a week somewhere????????

4) Pay off my car within 18 months

5) Pay off my school loan within 24 months (unless it is on hold due to continued schooling)

6) Sell this house yesterday (yeah right!)

7) Sell the rental house tomorrow (double yeah right!)

8) Read at least 1 chapter in my Bible everyday

9) Join a church

10) Figure out how to use Blogger

Football Virgin!!!

2007-09-02T00:26:00.000-04:00

My 15 year old sister has never been to a football game. Not a pro game, not a college game, not a high school game, not even a pee-wee game!!! I asked her around 2 this afternoon if she wanted to drive through the mountains to take pics or go to a football game.

"Are the mountains going to be there tomorrow?"

Uhhhhhh, yeah!

"I've never been to a football game. Let's go!"

So, away we go! We arrive early to hit up a tail-gate party, but we only knew one person there (the author of a great blog http://www.benandbenniewaddell.blogspot.com/ )! Bennie is a great guy, dad, artist, and friend! His son is my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday patient, stay tuned and you will learn alot more about him... and you'll fall in love with this family the same way I did!

OK! Back to my sister, she's 15. She is #4 of 6 kids and is the most mature so far!

Really!! She is! She is an accomplished pianist (I will post a link soon so you can listen to a true talent) that's only been playing for 6 years, but is working on a repertoire for The Juilliard School of Music. She was in Brazil this July helping to paint a school with her church. She is basically self-taught as my mom homeschools her, my 10 year old sister, and my 11 year old sister. She has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up, except that she wants to get married and have as many babies as she can, and adopt even more. She's even offered to be a surrogate for me, if we don't produce Baby Boop before she turns 20 or so!!!! I LOVE MY YOUNGER SISTER !!!

BTW: Even though she doesn't look all that excited in the first pic...we did win the game!

GO FURMAN PALADINS!!!!!!

Giant Hairy HUH?????

2007-08-31T22:23:00.000-04:00

We thought M.D.'s were making this stuff up -- until we checked the books

By: Kristina Grish for Women's Health Magazine

Whoever comes up with medical terminology definitely has a sense of humor -- or else they've been inhaling too much formaldehyde. How else can you explain conditions with names like retarded ejaculation and spastic colon? After curling up with a copy of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine and about half a dozen other toaster-size tomes, we found the silliest, grossest, most misleading vocabulary ever to escape a doctors lips and translated it into plain English. And since this branch of the medical biz clearly needs some assistance, we've offered up monikers we think are much more to the point. Heres hoping your man never becomes spermally challenged.

Docs call it: Cardiac Tamponade

Sounds like: What bright-siders make when life gives them tampons
Really refers to: A condition caused by blood or fluid buildup in the space between the hearts muscle and its outer sac
WH prefers: Bloated Heart

Docs call it: Cul-de-Sac

Sounds like: A good spot to crack open the keg, light bottle rockets, and call it a block party
Really refers to: A highly sensitive area (were talking orgasm-trigger level) behind the cervix

WH prefers: The C-spot

Docs call it: Giant Hairy Nevus

Sounds like: What you've nicknamed his member (behind his back)

Really refers to: A dark and often hairy birthmark that may cover a large area of the body (think your entire torso)

WH prefers: Epidermal Toupee

Docs call it Incompetent Cervix

Sounds like: Your vajayjay just blew its annual performance evaluation

Really refers to: A cervix that becomes weakened during pregnancy. Pressure from a growing fetus can sometimes cause it to open before the infant is ready to be born

WH prefers: Chubby Baby Syndrome

Docs call it: Jail fever

Sounds like: Whats playing at 2 a.m. on Skinemax
Really refers to: A bacterial infection spread by lice or fleas
WH prefers: Raging Cooties

Docs call it: Labyrinthitis

Sounds like: A pathological compulsion to send tourists in the wrong direction

Really refers to: A disorder that occurs when the inner ear becomes inflamed and irritated, which can lead to dizziness and balance problems

WH prefers: Weary Canal

Docs call it: Retarded Ejaculation

Sounds like: Someones spunk is special

Really refers to: An inability to ejaculate during intercourse or while masturbating with a partner
WH prefers: Spermally Challenged

Docs call it: Spastic Colon

Sounds like: Your poop chute could use a shot of Ritalin

Really refers to: A disease of the lower intestinal tract that can cause abdominal pain, alternating constipation and diarrhea, gas, bloating, and nausea

WH prefers: Busted Gut

Docs call it: Valley Fever
Sounds like: You're, like, totally hot for, like, dudes from Reseda

Really refers to: An infection caused by inhaling fungal spores that blow around the desert

WH prefers: Toxic Whiff

Docs call it: Wet Mount

Sounds like: How an Olympic swimmer celebrates after winning the gold medal

Really refers to: A test for vaginitis -- the catch-all term for common vaginal conditions (such as yeast infections) that can cause itching, pain, odor, and discharge
WH prefers: Crotch Scene Investigation