Thankful Thursday

this week i thot i would highlight several bloggers that i am thankful for. tho i started my seed story blog back in '06 i didn't find out there was this huge bloggy community of christian wives, mothers and gals until last summer when i was surfing around one day. i felt like i had found a bunch of kindred spirits who live all over the country and even the world! what a treasure the internet is.

so i want to introduce a few of these kindred spirits to you:

carrie has a great title for her blog. "with all that i've been given" isnt' that great? she is a young mom with a one year old son. she loves her family, practices hospitality and shares some great recipes. she ministers to young girls, which gives her extra brownie points in my book. go visit carrie's blog

another blog title i love is cindy's at "still His girl" referring to both the Lord and her husband. her husband has his own blog and they are both a hoot. cindy is that girl back in highschool that you wanted for your best friend: fun, cool, nice, funny, extroverted, coming up with lots of great ideas and has tons of energy. when i grow up i want to be cindy! besides her fun side she also has a serious side which endears her to me. she's willing to be real and doesn't pretend to be perfect (even tho i know she must be!)

monica from the homespun heart has a heart for her family, home and hospitality. i love reading about her 2 little ladies (ages 3 and 18 mo) and her newborn son. plus they live in south carolina and since i would love to move to north carolina i get to live down in the south thru her blog. monica shows her strategies for feeding her family well on a budget, cleaning up the clutter that accumulates, how she makes her home more homey with her feminine touches. she is serious about her walk with the Lord and makes balancing all her demands look (almost) effortless. maybe we can move to south carolina and i can be her n'bor???

kathy and her husband, tim,co-write their blog "the duckabush blog." they live in western wa, my stomping grounds growing up. when i need a reminder of what i'm missing i just have to wander over to their blog and be reminded of the rain that i got away from, the beautiful pics of mt rainier that i miss seeing on a regular basis. kathy homeschools her brood, which i had always planned to do if we had had the brood we had planned on, instead of our special boy that God gave us. so i get to homeschool vicariously thru her blog. one of the reasons i like kathy's blog is that she includs lots of photos and she posts every day. and if she doesn't blog, she has bribed her husband to blog with added computer time for his obsession. i'm so glad my husband doesn't read my blog. if he knew that tim had a set amount of computer time and had to do something to earn more time, well, just say it wouldn't be pretty around here if something similiar was instigated.

there are a ton more that are in my fav file, but those are the ones i go to regularly to catch up on their lives. go visit these wonderful blogs and let me know what your "must view daily" blogs are.

is febuary over yet???

i have nothing, nada, zilch ... so i'm stealing this idea from cindy at still his girl who got it from her friend, emily. if you like it feel free to steal it from me and play along.

If i were a shoe ... i'd be a black and white tennie

If i were a city ... i'd be a bustling, warm, crowded place, miami?? atlanta??

If i were a season ... spring! i'm ready to bloom

If i were a car ... a cute bug convertable, most likely red or yellow (and no, i don't run around with my top down!)

If i were a vegetable ... i'd be a potato

If i were a fruit ... i'd be a fruit salad, all mixed up

If i were a color ... i'd be pink with black and white stripes

If i were a piece of furniture ... i'd be a comfy club chair

If i were a song ... wake me up before you go-go by wham

If i were a country ... i'd be a small island, like jamaica, not cuba!

If i were a beverage ... i'd be a lime cranberry soda. my new fav from fred meyers

If i were clothing .... i'd be a comfy sweater

If i were weather ... blue skies, sunshine with a few white fluffy white clouds

If i were an animal ... a puppy, cute, energetic, not quite potty trained

If i were a plant ... i'd be a fuscia

If i were a dessert ... hot fudge sundae with nuts and whipped cream

If i were a word ... i'd be forgiven

How 'bout you? what kind of shoe, animal, dessert are you? do let me know if you decide to play along as i'd love to see your list.

Thankful Thursday (a day late)

today i thot i'd write about being thankful for good hospitals and medical personnel. having been thru the ordeal with our son last weekend i can truly say how thankful i am for doctors nurses and others, esp since healthcare and nursing don't come naturally to me.

i was very impressed with st al's in boise where we went. the nurses were personable and caring. each room in the pediatric wing was like a mini suite. there was a couch that unfolded into a bed, a rocking chair, a small table and 2 chairs, lots of cupboards, a tv with a dvd and video player and a full size bathroom that included a shower. we felt well cared for and were able to spread out.

they had a menu that we ordered from for our son's meals just like ordering room service at a hotel, plus they had a pantry on the floor where they had coffee for mike and juice, jello and applesauce for joe.

i can't imagine living a hundred years ago or even farther back when medicine was so primitive. i am thankful that we have all the technology we do. and i'm thankful that the Lord has given these docs and nurses wisdom in what they do.

what are you thankful for today?

concussions and balance

yesterday, #1 son seemed like he was ready to go back to school. i drove him and let the teacher and aides know what had happened over the weekend. joe seemed pleased to see his classmates.

by lunchtime i was antsy to hear how he was doing so i called the school. helen, his teacher, told me that his eyes were dilated, which could mean he had a headache. he was somber and laying his head on the desk alot. they had kept it a low key day for him. he hardly ate any lunch, which in his case is a sure sign that things are not well in his world.

so i told helen that i would come pick him up. i canceled his speech therapy and his afternoon program and brought the poor guy home. dh was home from school, too and tried to get him to take a nap, but alas, sleep was not to be. so joe and i cuddled on the couch and watched tv.

he's still very unbalanced on his feet. he walks with legs spread wide and has an uneven gait. think old monster movies from the 50's and you get the picture. except no arms extended straight out in front of him.

at dinnertime, he ate his applesauce, jello and pasta with relish, so that was a good sign.

so we're trying school again today and we'll see how he does. hopefully he'll last a little longer today than yesterday. the docs have told me that it can take awhile to get over a concussion and return to normal so i'm trying not to worry, but to trust that the Lord is still healing and watching over our son. as you moms know, worry is an occupational hazzard where our kids are concerned.

my weekend: co-opted by circumstances

if you notice the last post i made i said not much was happening. how that can change in such a short time.

friday nite #1 son came home from his special needs program crying. turns out he fell in the bathroom and bumped his head.

dh and i monitored the situation, checked the internet as to how to care for someone with a concussion. i knew he wouldn't feel like eating so we just settled down in front of the tv, making sure he could rest. soon tho he was throwing up and after an hour his crying hadn't ceased. when you're dealing with a non-verbal child it is so hard to know what he is experiencing. it is a very helpless feeling ....

so we headed off to the ER. even tho the ER was being slammed, they got him in quickly. we weren't sure what to expect since everything we had read said that docs can't really do much for a concussion. the ER doc finally got around to seeing #1 son. after checking his ears, nose and eyes he told us there was blood pooling behind his left ear. so he wanted to proceed and order a CAT scan. he asked if our son could hold still for 5 minutes while in the machine---HA! so first they had to give him some drugs. oh how i hate to see my son poked and prodded and drugged up. when he came out of the CAT scan his eyes were glassy and darting everywhere as he tried to shake off the effects of the drugs. and he was still crying.





we soon found out from the results of the scan that he had blood between his brain and skull, not a good thing. and the pressure that ensued was causing the pain which was resulted in the crying ....

what we weren't expecting were the next words out of the doctors mouth: "we can either send your son to salt lake or boise" what?!? i thot we were going to be sent home and told to rest for a couple days. but no, because of the blood and the pressure our son needed to be in a larger hospital in case it didn't go away on its own. so, they ordered a helicopter to take our son up to boise. we decided that dh should ride along with them and i would drive up and meet them at the hospital.

i kissed my son goodbye, watching him being carted off to the ambulence, and rushed home to toss a few clothes and necessities into a bag before heading out. of course, i forgot a few things, like a change of clothes for hubby! oooops!

as i drove the 2 hours to boise i prayed, i sang along with worship songs, i prayed some more. i had made a few phonecalls already to let others know what was happening and put our son on their church's prayer chain. as i flew along the freeway i felt the wings of the angels holding me up and keeping me awake. i knew the Lord had heard my prayers and others and was anxious to hear what this hospital in boise would say and do.

they had admitted our #1 son into the ER and i connected with dh and son. he had been given some anti nausea meds so he wasn't throwing up as he had been doing the previous 5 hours. later that night he was transferred to a regular room in the pediatric ward. dh and i decided that he would stay and i would drive over to my brother's and bunk down there for the night. i am so thankful that my brother and sister in law moved to boise 2 years ago. and not just so i had somewhere close to bunk down for the night.




the next day #1 son seemed to be getting better and then took a turn for the worse in the afternoon. so we as his parents, along with his doc and the main nurse who had been caring for him decided it would be best to stay one more night.

finally sunday afternoon we were released and headed home. #1 son is no longer in pain, is holding down light foods, but is still a bit unsteady on his feet. we had a low key day today and hopefully he'll be ready to go back to school tomorrow.

i have pics and hope to download/upload? some and get them on this blog. and now, i'm ready for a weekend! where did mine go?

not much here

last week was crazy and this week i got slammed again with a to-do list to long, and an energy quotient too short.

hope to have some time to post soon!

Thankful Thursday

today i'm thankful for the 4 seasons God created. we are having our share of snow and cold here, and i am more than ready for the next season in the rotation--- spring!

i'm also thankful for warm sweaters, slippers, sweatpants and blankets.

i'm thankful scarves, gloves and knitted hats.

i'm thankful that my mom has come thru the radiation looking good. still tired, but healing nicely.

i'm thankful for decaf mocha's and conversation time with hubby at the espresso shop.

what are you thankful for?

what does my latte say about me?

What Your Latte Says About You

You are easygoing and pretty simple to please. You don't put up a fuss... ever. You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious. You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast. You have a healthy relationship with caffeine. You're definitely not dependent on it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are sophisticated and daring, but you are never snobby.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

What color should my blog be???

yes, i'm sure you're dying to know!

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere. You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant. From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

so why did i just change my blog to orange over the weekend???

What kind of English do i speak?

Your Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English 15% Upper Midwestern 5% Midwestern 0% Dixie 0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

where's west coast on this list???

My Travel Personality

i'm the adventurer!!! woo hooo!!!!

Your Travel Personality Is: The Adventurer

For you, travel is how you learn about the world. And you like to learn the stuff that's not in guidebooks. You truly have wanderlust. When you're not traveling, you're dreaming about where you'll go next. And your travels are truly legendary - they leave you with stories you'll be telling for the rest of your life!

What's Your Travel Personality?

some more cards ...

here's some more cards that i made a couple weeks ago.
sorry the photos aren't as sharp as i'd like. anyone have any tips on photographing cards?