The Last Few Days

Tuesday evening we met my sister partway to drop Kyle off so that he could spend a few days with her. He hopped up in her SUV and was happily waving goodbye to us! I was surprised but happy that it was an easy send-off. He was excited about his adventure and I......... was missing him already as I watched my sister's SUV get further and further from my sight. We decided to go to Bob Evan's for dinner as it was right across the street. Marc had ordered a salad with his meal and when it arrived he started picking the cherry tomatoes off (Have ya seen the V8 commercial where the wife biffs her husband on the head?) He asked me if I wanted them and I started crying. Kyle always eats the cherry tomatoes off our salads! Oh Heather- pull it together! You can do this! I cried off and on all night, missing him something awful. We talked to him at bedtime and sang his prayer with him- I held it together until we hung up. I cried again when, out of habit, I went in to check on him before turning into bed and saw his empty little bed. Oh my goodness! I am one of those moms! Those clingy, overprotective moms that other moms make fun of!
Tuesday night I hardly slept- maybe an hour all night. I think I woke up around 4:30, started the coffee and got ready for our big day. We arrived at the hospital on time and surprisingly enough we didn't have to wait long. They were right on schedule. We took Bella back to the pre-op room and filled out more paperwork, spoke to the doctor, the anesthesiologist and the nurses. We dressed Bella in her gown and she threw a fit when we tried to remove her Dora sandals. The doctor and anesthesiologist agreed that it would be okay for her to leave them on during surgery!! Bella LOVES these sandals and the only time we can take them off of her is at bath time. She even wears them to bed!! The doctor let her take her bear and kitty into surgery with her as well for comfort. Marc and I were allowed to walk clear to the operating room door before passing her off to the doctor, who she didn't seem to mind going to!
After 15 minutes the doctor came in to the waiting room and said that he was done, everything went extremely well, he was able to get the tubes in both ears and he was even able to drain off all of the fluid behind her eardrum. That was good news!! Five minutes after that they called us back to see Bella in recovery. We walked into the room and as soon as I saw her I started laughing. She was already sitting up in bed! They told us that that was very unusual as kids are usually laying down and very fussy. Bella was groggy but she was drinking well and looking around. Most people would probably think I was terrible but I snapped a couple of pictures of her. This was, after all, a big day for her! We are going to look back at this and say "Remember when she had her tubes put in that enabled her to hear? And how wonderful it was because her speech improved?" A part of her history- it needed documented. Look at her face though!! She looks like she is mad enough to hurt somebody!! LOL!! She was still groggy from the anesthesia and ticked off because she wanted her hospital bracelet off her wrist! Apparently since it didn't have any jewels on it she didn't think she should have to wear it!

When I saw her face all I wanted to do was pick her up and cuddle with her and tell her how great she did and how proud I was of her for being so brave. But there she sat, staring at that doctor that just poked her in the ears!!! I wonder what she was thinking at that moment. Then again- maybe I don't want to know!

We didn't have to wait long before we could take her home. We stopped at McDonald's to get some breakfast as she was starving! We got her a plain bagel but she wanted the greasy hash browns! So, knowing that she would probably bring it back up from the anesthesia but looking at her miserable little face, I gave in. She ate the whole thing and still wanted more. Next fast food breakfast place on our route- Burger King, more hash browns. She scarfed that all down and fell asleep in the van. She never did get sick which was a great thing! She was a little moody for the rest of the day but did much better than we thought she would. She wanted to play and giggle and have fun! She took a long nap after we got home and then back to sleep for the night after a few hours. She slept very well last night. She has been a tad fussy today but is content as long as she is being cuddled- and I have NO problems doing that!

THANK YOU all for your prayers and thoughts for Bella. They mean more to me than you will ever know!

I will get around to all of you soon and thank you personally!!!! Have a great evening!!

~Heather :)

Today is the Day

Today is the day Bella gets tubes put in her ears. She is scheduled for surgery at 8:15 this morning which means we have to be at the hospital no later than seven a.m. Right now the coffee pot is making those beautiful noises- the noises you love to hear after only getting an hour of sleep. The noises that say "Relief is on the way!" I tossed and turned all night until about four this morning when I think I finally fell asleep. And here I am again. But the sun is starting to peak over the roofs of the buildings and it looks like it is going to be a beautiful sunrise. I think I will go grab a cup of coffee, sit out on my balcony and have a few minutes of prayer before the crazy day of traffic, hospital hallways and nerves kick in.
I will post later with a report. God............. stay right beside us today, ok?

~Heather :)

A Fun Weekend and House News

I had a pretty good weekend! My poor husband was on call all weekend and ended up with about 25 hours of overtime though! He is so exhausted. Saturday afternoon I got a surprise! My Aunt and Uncle showed up to surprise me for my birthday! My Aunt had made her famous lasagna (pure heaven on a fork!) and brought garlic bread, salad and homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert! I stuffed myself like a Thanksgiving turkey! LOL!!! Of course I found it hard to move for a couple of hours but it was worth it! We had so much fun just talking and visiting with them. They didn't even leave until almost one o'clock in the morning and they had a two hour drive home!!! It was so wonderful to be able to spend time with them as I miss them and love them so much. This Aunt and Uncle have always been so special to me and we have always shared a wonderful relationship. In fact we are naming the new baby after my Aunt. They will share the same middle name of "Kay".
Sunday I decided I wanted to get out of the house for a bit so I took the kids and went to the flea market. We ran into some of our friends so we walked around together which was fun! I ended up buying some fabric from one of my favorite vendors. I couldn't believe the deal he gave me! I was getting spoiled! I needed fabric for living room curtains and throw pillows and I have had my eye on this fabric for awhile now.............


This gingham fabric will be the curtain panels and some throw pillows. It is very heavy duty fabric and is 65" wide!!! And at $3 a yard...... can we say BARGAIN??? This cute red and white fabric will be for more throw pillows............

And more pillows from the toile. This is not a cheap toile fabric but I got 4 yards for free!!! When I got home I noticed that all of the writing on the salvage edge of the fabric is written in French!! How fun is that? French toile fabric- literally!! he he he

So all 3 fabrics together........ I think they look good together. With some ball fringe and fun styles I should get that cottage look I want.

We were driving home from the flea market and the kids were quiet and content in the backseat sucking down their chocolate milkshakes when I saw a yard sale.................. and of course I stopped!!!!!! Glad I did too! I got some bargains. I picked up this mirror ($3) which will be painted either red or white..............

This little vintage white table cloth with six matching napkins ($2)............

Another vintage linen table cloth and 3 matching napkins that are hand embroidered ($2).....

A lamp, a vintage shade and a tall topiary (or ball tree as my husband calls them). Everything for $10!!!!!!! Jack-pot!! I love bargains!!

Now for the house news. The night I drove by my house and saw it was back on the market I called the realtor and left a message. Well, she called back and I talked to her today. She gave me the dreaded news. No- it has not been sold. I think that news may actually be a little easier to swallow at this point. She told me that the bank that has the house is wanting a short sale and is willing to accept any and all offers, and that this would be an opportunity to buy the house at half (or less) than it is valued at. Huh???? Oh my. I got off the phone and felt my heart sink. To think we could get the house for THAT??? I walked around in a funk again for a couple of hours and then sat down at my computer. I was reading an email and at the bottom was this quote by James Oppenheim: "The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet."

Talk about a sign! More like a smack in the face!! So I guess I need to do that thing of reevaluating my priorities and be happy being where I am and happy with what I have. I am a very blessed person- way more than I feel I deserve. Maybe I just need to forget about my house for now and count all of the blessings I do have- the ones that are right under my feet.

Enjoy your evening!

-Heather :)