Amazing!

I got to do something on my 'Bucket List' today!

I got to witness childbirth!

Now, don't get me wrong...I have GIVEN birth, but never had the privilege of witnessing birth...until today.

I went to visit my friend, Deborah in the hospital. I knew they were inducing her today. I thought I would stop by, visit, laugh a bit and then be on my way. We knew she was only allowed 2 people in the labor and delivery room...her mom and her husband...(yeah, don't know why she didn't pick me...)

Well, I got there and she had the COOLEST nurse.

I kept asking the nurse if I should leave and she kept saying no.

I asked Deborah if she wanted me to leave and she said no.

So, I stayed. And before I knew it, little Nathan was entering the world!

Amazing!

Here is Nathan's first picture in his mommy's arms.

These are the siblings that are waiting at home for their little brother to join them!

(Yup, you see it right...the youngest is only 18 months! Whew!)

Deborah and Family...Thank you for letting me be a part of an amazing experience! God has blessed me and my family with your friendship!

Thank you, Lord, for the miracle of birth!

I Remember...

Just read this post over at Osborn Odds n Ends and decided to write about some memories today.

Here's what I remember:

I remember having 2 sets of parents and 4 sets of grandparents. I thought I was lucky!

I remember going to my father's house and grandparent's house every summer.

I remember getting our first dog and naming her Cadillac McNack.

I remember moving A LOT!

I remember having an Irish Setter that ate my bycycle seat and knocked me down everyday when I came home from school.

I remember wanting to sleep with my older brother because he let me smoke his cigarettes.

I remember my good friend Wendy Neumeister. She was a ballerina.

I remember my parents fighting A LOT!

I remember having a sleep over and jumping on my brother's bed and it collapsed.

I remember my mother finding pot between the mattresses when she came to fix it.

I remember my brother getting into a lot of trouble.

I remember having an African American teacher and picking up her accent.

I remember loving to read.

I remember my 6th grade teacher telling my mother that I was 'too pretty for my own good'.

I remember my best friend was Nikki Nelson.

I remember having a crush on Leif Garrett and hanging his poster on my ceiling!

I remember eating sunny side up eggs 'grandpa style' (eggs on top of toast, eggs cut into miniscule pieces and then toast cut into bite size pieces).

I remember praying to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior in my Aunt Ann's guest bedroom.

I remember thinking my cousin was a brat!

I remember camping for 3 consecutive summers in Leakey, Texas with my cousins.

I remember falling off the dam on the Rio Frio because I followed an older cousin across it.

I remember going to church by myself.

I remember Ronda being a fantastic woman of the Lord and taking me under her wing!

I remember eating Corn-nuts and cracking a tooth in half. I still have a hole in my head where that tooth used to be!

I remember going to South Padre Island every weekend.

I remember my step-brother coming to live with us and our parents playing 'your kid-my kid' (different rules depending on who was your biological parent).

I remember shopping with my step-dad for my first car.

I remember when my mother told me I couldn't live with her anymore!

I remember moving in with the family of a high school friend. My parents had never met them when they left me there.

I remember moving to my father's house.

I remember the day I moved in was the day my grandfather died.

I remember a really bad poodle perm my senior year in high school.

I remember watching my father not be able to put down his alcohol.

I remember learning to play games with my step-mom...blackjack, skip-bo, chicken foot...to name a few.

I remember my father going to jail...and re-hab.

I remember being part of a great church and youth group.

I remember Cathy L. being a person I could go and talk to!

I remember lying on my step-mom's bed, crying while whe told me that she wanted to divorce my dad.

I remember begging her not to...not for his sake, for mine.

I remember not wanting to go to college.

I remember going with my best friend to visit Howard Payne. Her parents would not let her drive up by herself. I was just going along for the ride.

I remember coming home and telling my parents that I wanted to go to HPU.

I remember my father taking me to HPU.

I remember being sad that my step-mom couldn't take me.

I remember getting to HPU and not having a room assignment.

I remember getting a 'party animal' room-mate! At HPU!

I remember wearing men's boxers as shorts to class numerous times.

I remember working my way through college. Now, I am proud of that fact.

I remember my father calling me during dead week to tell me that my step-mom was filing for divorce.

I remember calling my step-mom at work, crying!

I remember my step-mom saying, 'I'm divorcing your dad, not you!'

I remember going home that summer...to my step-mom's house!

I remember, a year later, getting a call from my mother telling me that my father was not my father (surprise, 21 years later!).

I remember being pissed!

I remember graduating from HPU and moving to San Antonio.

I remember the phone ringing at 2am telling me that my grandmother passed away.

I remember my world, as I knew it,-falling apart because of it!

I remember years of counselling.

I remember having my first serious relationship.

I remember knowing it was a dead-end but hanging around anyway.

I remember seeing David for the first time and knowing he was the one...even before meeting him.

I remember the not-very-romantic proposal.

I remember 'ruining Christmas' when we got married (at least that's what one of HIS family members said).

I remember wanting to walk through the middle of the hotel lobby in my wedding gown!

I remember being told we were having a boy.

I remember being told he had craniosynostosis.

I remember my mother-in-law fainting in my hospital room.

I remember giving my 5 1/2 month old son to the nurse for his first head surgery.

I remember having my first ruptured ovarian cyst...and 2nd...and 3rd.

I remember giving my 5 year old son to the nurse for his second head surgery.

I remember moving to Lubbock.

I remember hating it and begging David to get me back home.

I remember moving back home.

I remember going to the hospital to have a hysterectomy.

I remember waking up to my husband and best friend talking about my ovaries not being removed.

I remember being pissed!

I remember the 4th ovarian cyst, 2 months after my 'hysterectomy'.

I remember being rushed to out-patient to have the ovary removed.

I remember telling the doctor that I wasn't paying those bills.

I remember him being pissed!

I remember my mother calling me to see if I would adopt a relative's baby.

I remember saying, 'YES!'

I remember that fell through.

I remember the feeling of wanting to adopt did not fall through.

I remember talking to David about adopting.

I remember talking to Jake about having a sister.

I remember the long wait!

I remember having anxiety attacks about going to China.

I remember seeing Kaylee for the first time.

I remember the airport reunion with all our friends and family.

I remember deciding to home-school my son.


Wow! Time to go make more memories!

What a Great Time!

Photo Highlights of our trip...

(take a minute to study these photos...look at the size of the baskets

compared to the size of the balloons!)

BTW, the pictures don't do the event any justice! You MUST go!

My kids and my favorite cousin!

Jake and Sophia at the museum.

We are home...and exhausted!


We had a fantastic time! We packed all we could into our trip! We visited here and here (which, by the way, was the best I have ever been in! We are now on the bandwagon to get our local one up to par!) and visited some family members!

Remember, we went on this roadtrip with another homeschooling family...and we are all still friends!

Conversations with Jake

We were on our way to Chik-fil-a tonight to support Jake's old school (I think this is as important as Christine does) and this is the conversation that took place:

Jake: Mom, can I ask you a question?

Me: Yes.

J: Did you ever like 2 boys at the same time?

M: No.

J: Oh, cause I was gonna ask how you chose Dad, if you did.

M: Oh.

J: Did you date other guys before Dad?

M: Yes.

J: Who?

(I named the very few guys I dated before David...even if you count puppy love crushes, the list is quite small)

J: Did you kiss any of them?

M: Yes.

J: Did any of them want to marry you?

M: Yes.

J: Did they ask you?

M: No, but if they would have, I would have said 'no' because I knew it wasn't right.

J: OK, just asking.

From the mind of a 9 year old boy.

Life Science

Today, Jake and I had a fun day of Homeschooling. We are using R.E.A.L. Science and studying life science. We have been discussing that all living things have cells. Plant cells are rectangular and animal cells are round. Today, we made a model of those cells using lime jello, grapes and lime slices. Way too fun!

Camp

Do you remember the joys of going to camp?

I remember meeting new friends, doing things like: rope swings into lakes, meals in a mess hall, trecking through large fields and up hills, sleeping in bunks in cabins, telling ghost stories, making new friends...and many more happy memories.

Do you recall those times? Stop, sit awhile, close your eyes and 'remember when'.

I send my 9 year old son off to camp tomorrow and I hope he makes many memories while he is there!