Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fun but relaxed Memorial Day Weekend in my hometown. We stayed with my mother and were able to visit with my sister and her family. My sister, Beth, has three children with the oldest two being the same age as my boys. Caroline just turned 11 last week....Happy Birthday Caroline!!!! Will is 8 just like Anderson...actually, Anderson is only 5 weeks older than Will. Then there is Anna Claire who is 5 and....ummmm...hard to explain. She is a mess and a complete HOOT!!! The things that come out of that child's mouth are hysterical. My mother and sister say that she should have been my child, that she is just like me but I think she has me beat!
We swam all weekend at their neighborhood pool, had a low country boil Sunday night and cooked out on Monday. It was such a fun weekend and we can't wait to go back to do it all again soon!
I didn't take too many pictures but here are a few. They are mostly of the kids swimming but then there are a few of Anna Claire giving me a makeover. Uncle Milledge had allowed her to put clip on earrings, bracelets and necklaces on him but he drew the line when it came to make up and of course taking pictures. So, I let her put the make up on me...didn't she do a great job??!! ;)

Adult swim...they hate this part of the day!

Uncle Milledge and Anna Claire

Grandy, Will and Anderson

They all love to spend the night together...no matter how uncomfortable it is!

Beautiful...don't you think??

Random

Due to the recent sad news and the fact that Leslie has requested baseball pictures, I decided to do a random post of recent pictures that make me smile. I hope they will do the same for you. However, remember I am not Mother of the Year and I haven't taken too many baseball pics yet, but here are a couple!


Crazy dog! This is the way he sleeps, in my bed, I might add. He gets half way in and half way out of his little bed and hangs his head over the side. Doesn't look too comfortable to me but he sleeps through the night!!! Whatever it takes!


This is when Anderson was sick with pneumonia. Duke kept a vigil beside him....just in case Anderson needed him!







Jon Milledge fell asleep with little Duke in his arms. Look at Duke...he seems to be saying..."HELP ME!!!!".





Anderson is down and ready! He and his team have done great this year. They have their last two games this week. Maybe I will get more pictures then!





Jon Milledge making the play at first! He got him! His travel ball team is doing very well and we are having lots of fun watching them play.







Tiger was jealous that he wasn't getting any blog time. Isn't he beautiful!?






Enjoy! I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Tragic News

There are many sad, heavy hearts today in the Christian music world as well as in the international adoption world. Maria, the five year old daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, died yesterday after being hit by a car in the driveway of the family's home. You can read the story here. You can also read more, see a precious video of Maria and her daddy, and send condolences here.
Please be in prayer for this family. I cannot even begin to imagine the grief, sadness, despair and sorrow that they must be feeling. May God hold them in the sweet palm of his hand during this difficult time.

Happy Heart

A heart murmur is an extra sound heard during a heartbeat that is caused by turbulence in blood flow through the heart. Most heart murmurs are innocent, which means they do not cause health problems and may disappear with age. But some heart murmurs require medical treatment because they are a sign of a problem in the heart's walls, lining, or valves, or are indications of other diseases or conditions.

What's an Innocent Murmur?
The most common type of heart murmur is called functional or innocent. This diagnosis means the murmur is produced by a normal, healthy heart. It can come and go throughout childhood. It usually goes away on its own as the child gets older and doesn't pose any health threat.

Kids with innocent heart murmurs don't require a special diet, restriction of activities, or any other special treatment. They do not need to take a dose of antibiotic before going to the dentist. Those old enough to understand that they have a heart murmur should be reassured that they aren't any different from other kids. In other words, an innocent murmur is the sound of normal blood moving through a normal heart in a normal way. A simple analogy is that just as we can sometimes hear the sound of air moving in an air duct, or water flowing through a plumbing pipe, we can often hear the sound of blood moving through the heart even if there is not a heart problem.

Jon Milledge went to see the pediatric cardiologist today and was diagnosed with an innocent childhood murmur that is actually quite common and was of no concern to the doctor. He said that 95% of all murmurs were not serious and that 80% of all athletes have a murmur. He was exceptionally nice and put me, Milledge and Jon Milledge at ease with our fears. He asked Jon Milledge all about his baseball and assured him that he had a perfect heart for baseball and that it should never interfere with him playing it or any other sport. In fact, he said that Jon Milledge and his heart were "disgustingly normal"!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Thank you God for your guidance, protection, peace and answered prayers! Thank you also to all of you who kept us in your thoughts and prayers over the last couple of weeks. We certainly felt them!

Heavy Hearts

Our hearts have been so heavy and burdened this week after hearing about the devastating earthquake in China. We can't even begin to imagine the magnitude of death and destruction that took place in just a matter of seconds. I think about the parents who simply did that morning what I do every morning....sent their babies to school. I think about a country trying so hard to be prepared and look good for the Olympics in August. I think about the parents here who are waiting to hear word that their babies are alright. My heart aches for them all.
Please keep China and her people in your prayers. Also, if you are like me and feel helpless in situations like this and would really like to do something to help, you can. Here are links to a couple different but reputable organizations that will take your donation and certainly put it to good use.

Love Without Boundaries

Half the Sky

Thank you....

I'm No Longer in the Running.....

.....for Mother of the Year. For those of you who also struggle each year to attain this lofty, coveted, prestigious award, you have a better chance now because there is one less candidate in the race after this week! Let me tell you why...

They call me from the school on Monday to tell me that Anderson is vomiting. GREAT! I immediately start thinking of the awful stomach bug that will soon descend upon my home, all of the laundry I will be doing and the fact that I think we are out of Lysol and how can I stop at Walmart to get more with a child that is throwing up. Once I pick Anderson up, he immediately goes to sleep in the car and then goes straight to his room where he sleeps for the next 3 hours never to vomit again. I am thinking maybe we were going to get lucky and escape the bug and all of its nastiness. I kept him home on Tuesday because he said that his head and throat were killing him and he had a slight fever but nothing like he has had before with Strep. On Wednesday he thinks he feels well enough to go to school plus he has a baseball game that night and as I so "Mother of the Year" tell him, "You can't play ball if you are sick enough to stay home!". They did not call me from the school so I am assuming that all is well. He went home with a friend of mine after school to get ready for his game because I had my first middle school "thing" with Jon Milledge. Ok, let me just tell you about the knots that my stomach immediately goes into at the thought of my child going to middle school. Frankly, it is nauseating to me. Have you heard the stories of things that happen at middle schools these days??? Anyway, we got a letter about two weeks ago stating that if your child plans on trying out for any middle school sport they must have a sports physical. All of the local doctors give their time to go to the school and do a VERY basic physical on all potential athletes for $5 with all the proceeds going to the athletic program. Basically, I looked at this as a formality that the school must do to protect themselves...just in case...and to raise a little moolah for their program. So, back to my story. I take Jon Milledge over to the nauseating middle school with butterflies or something in my tummy for what I now call The $5 Physical. They take his group back and I plop my un-middle school liking self down on the gym bleachers to talk to another mom. Five minutes later I look up and see my precious child, who really can't be old enough to go to that awful place, looking at me with his eyes as huge as saucers and lip quivering. I run to him not really caring that I might embarrass him in front of the aliens already known as middle schoolers. As soon as I get to him, one of the local doctors, who is a very nice man but he is Cuban and I can't understand a word he says, starts talking very quickly and I pick up only a few words like....heart, noise, doctor, immediately. I yell, "WHAT!!!". On the other side of me, Jon Milledge is wanting to know if something is wrong, is he going to die and even more importantly to him...is he still going to be able to play baseball. Thankfully at that moment our friend and family doctor walks up and I ask him to please explain to me what is going on. He tells me that nice doctor #1 is trying to tell me that Jon Milledge has a heart murmur and that I need to have him tested by a pediatric cardiologist before they can clear him to play alien...uhmmm, I mean middle school baseball. I ask him if he could please listen to it for himself because no one has ever told me that they heard anything but a happy, healthy heart in my now transforming alien. He listens and he hears it too. He tells me not to worry and that he will call me the next day with an appointment with the heart doctor. As I am leaving the awful place, that now resembles a brick flying saucer to me, I have knots in my tummy AND shaking hands as I call Milledge. I say, "GOOD GRIEF! I came over here against my will for The $5 Physical, not for them to actually find something wrong!!!". I mean really, do people actually fail The $5 Physical? He tries to assure me that everything will be fine and that Jon Milledge will not turn into one of those slightly green tinged monsters.
Ok, now back to Anderson, who by the way was diagnosed with an innocent, childhood murmur when he was 18 months old but no one has heard it since. I leave the wretched school and head to the ball field where Anderson was there with my friend watching her child's game. He says that he had a good day and felt fine....well that is until time for his game to start. A few minutes before his game he tells me and Milledge that he doesn't feel good and that he wants to go home. Again in my "Mother of the Year" manner, tell him that we're already there and his team is counting on him to play so he should stay and play. Throughout his game, where they won and he went 3 for 3, he kept looking at me and pointing to his throat telling me that he really wanted to go home. I kept telling him he was fine. He cried all the way home saying that he felt horrible. I get him out of the car at home and immediately notice that he is very warm...must be how hard he played??! I think maybe I should humor myself and take his temperature....102.4. What kind of mother makes their child play ball with a fever like that???? I get up Thursday morning and take him to see our friend the doctor and Anderson is diagnosed with a bad sinus infection AND drum roll please.......PNEUMONIA!! And if that isn't enough, the doctor hears HIS heart murmur for the first time in 7 years!!!!!!!! So, Anderson is now on an antibiotic and breathing treatments.
Also, just to add a little more drama to my week. Tuesday night our outside dog, Jackson, drags up some sort of dead, disgusting varmint to the back yard. Milledge goes out to the shed to get a pitchfork to carry it away so that we don't have to look at it. Twenty nine hours later I can't find my beloved, Tiger, but I can hear him crying. We start following the cries and find him locked in the blistering hot shed. I can't believe he was crying loud enough that we could hear him and honestly can't believe he didn't die. It has been so hot here this week and the shed has no ventilation.

Can you say.....

So, after the week I've had, I think I am no longer eligible for Mother of the Year. I mean really people, who makes their child play baseball with pneumonia, discounts The $5 Physical as only a formality or some sort of money maker AND almost kills the family cat all in one week? Oh well...I have been trying to win that blasted thing for 11 years to no avail. I guess I did pretty good to make it all the way to May, last year I think I was out in February. Maybe there is hope for 2009! I'll keep my fingers crossed!

All joking aside, please keep Jon Milledge and Anderson in your prayers. Anderson seems to be a little better today and I really think the breathing treatments are helping. Jon Milledge is scheduled to see the pediatric cardiologist on May 20th. I will keep you posted. OH yeah....don't forget me, the mother of a soon to be 6th grade Martian!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers I know...whether you are still in the running or not!! ;-)

18 Months of Patience and Waiting......

Every man must patiently bide his time. He must wait -- not in listless idleness but in constant, steady, cheerful endeavors, always willing and fulfilling and accomplishing his task, that when the occasion comes he may be equal to the occasion. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Mulberry Toys!

My dear friend, Vanessa, is living her dream right here in our little antebellum town. Vanessa has taught school for years but always wanted to open a fun, educational toy store. Well, she has finally done it!!! It is the cutest store and my boys LOVE to spend time there. Mulberry Toys has been open for about a year but their online store is just now ready for customers. I promised Vanessa that once it was up and ready I would share it with all of my bloggy friends. Click here to start shopping. They have great items for birthdays, cyber showers, baby gifts or just because.
When visiting the website, check out all the different links like....Our Story, Worth Repeating, Love it and Mulberry News. Vanessa and her co-owner, Michelle, have worked very hard to make the website and the store a fun, colorful and memorable experience.
If you would like to make a purchase at the online store there are a couple of coupon codes that I can tell you about that will save you a few dollars. Use the word mulberry for the code and it will take $10 off any order over $50. Use the word launch and it will take $20 off any order over $100.
Have fun, shop away and let me know what you think!

Congratulations Vanessa and Michelle!!! We love you and Mulberry Toys!!