Hug your mother-in-law, if you can...

My family has had a helluva weekend...
Our hearts are so sad.

My sister is doing well physically, but their hearts are breaking over and over.

My daughter's best friend is struggling with a death of a neighbor (an 8yo girl died on Friday...you have probably seen it on the news if you are in my area. My oldest daughter was on the property at the same time this accident happened. Not near it or involved...but shaken to say the least. Her best friend, G, is completely shaken to the core...dealing with something that a 12yo should never deal with. Our prayers are with the family of the girl who lost her life...and the family of my daughter's best friend. She has some healing to do as well...

And my mother-in-law...such a wonderful, kind, caring, welcoming, thoughtful woman...is getting closer to heaven. It is any day now...it is so hard to think of. My husband is beside himself...and I am struggling to comfort him. We really don't know what to do in a situation like this...thankfully, never having to deal with it before...
My MIL has so many family that will miss her terribly.

Please keep my family in your prayers...if you read my blog.
Please keep my husband in your prayers as he comes to grips with the loss of his "mom".
Please keep my children in your prayers as they deal with alot of things that children should never have to deal with...but unfortunately have to. Saying goodbye to your "gramma" is so difficult.
Please keep my brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, niece-in-law, nephew-in-law in your prayers...they are so sad, too.
Please keep my sister and brother-in-law in your prayers as they grieve their first child.
Please keep my mother-in-law in your prayers - for comfort and peace...

Finally, please pray for my father-in-law as he cares so tenderly for his wife of over 50yrs. As my SIL put is so specially...he is fulfilling his marriage vows as promised, caring for his wife in sickness and in health.

I know that this is alot of stuff to pray for, but, please, just mention them once....

God Bless.

And hug your mother-in-law, your kids, your hubby....heck...hug 'em all...

So sad today...

My sweet sister and her husband found out that they lost their baby today. She was about 9 weeks and loving every nausea twinge and nap that she needed to take.

Today, they are grieving. Deeply. Sadness that I cannot comprehend, but want to take away from them.

If you read my blog...please say a prayer for Mandy and Steve.

Thinking....

I haven't posted for awhile because I can't post any pictures to my posts. My camera and my computer are no longer communicating.

I have decided that I will continue to blog, for myself, as a kind of therapy.

There is so much going on in this head of mine. Sometimes I want to scream just to let a bit out.

Spring is here. And I have this overwhelming desire to simplify my life...and all that is caught up in that net.

I need to simplify our home, our schedule, my brain, my faith....

I need to settle down and focus on what is important. My faith, my family, my marriage and ME!!!

I don't know where to start. It overwhelms me at the task that I have set before myself. The complications that are around me have tied themselves in knots and tangles.

All that I know for sure is
- I love my husband.
- I love my children
- I love my family
- I love my Lord

These are the things that are important to me. These are the focus' of my life.
ttfn....

It didn't hurt much....

Well...here I am. One year older.

As my birth "moment" occured...I was in the triage unit of the Labor and Delivery unit I work on. I looked at the clock at precisely 1:42 am. That was the time that I was born. Or so my mom says....ha. My rear was kicked last night. I ended up working the unit by myself, for 4-5hours. And it was a bit crazy. But I felt good. I was on my game and the IV's were sliding in like butter. (Only a nurse can appreciate that).

This birthday is just mildly freaking me out. My last 30-something birthday.

All is well. I am well. My family is well.

And I have a surprise cake waiting for me in the oven. I am not supposed to know about it...but my sweet 3yo blabbed the secret to me within seconds of me walking in the front door this morning. She even walked me to the oven and showed me the display.

I will be appropriately surprised when the "surprise" is revealed later this evening.

I am hoping to get some scrapbooking done in the next couple of days...my gift to myself.

***crossing fingers***

Pizza Hut will be delivering my birthday feast this evening. I don't think that a gal should have to cook her own b-day dinner...do you???

Oh yeah...the cake above? My dream b-day cake. Someday...

Have a wonderful day!!!

Birthday, shmirthday....

Yeah...OK...I am going to have a birthday in less than 24 hours. I will be at work when the moment that I arrived...well...arrived.

I was thinking how cool it might be that I am helping someone deliver her baby at the time that my mom was delivering me. It might be cool.

I am not looking much forward to this b-day. It is a strange milestone. My last 30-something birthday. Time to reflect. What have I accomplished???

Well....At the top of my list?

My marriage to my sweet sweetie Eric. 15+ years now. Crazy. I love him more now than I ever thought that I could when we said "I do". We have had some ups, downs, sharp turns to the left or right. But...we have muddled through together. And that togetherness has given us our next accomplishments...if you want to call them that...

Kathryn, Emily and Allison. Our girls. The girls. The sisters. Big, little and middle. The monkeys. The chicks. Whatever we call them, they are the lights of our lives. Mine and Eric's.

I have also accomplished other things...but they pale in comparison to the above mentioned items. Graduating nursing school, being a nurse and doing/seeing all that I have done/seen...unbelievable to me.

My family and my salvation are at the top of my list. My friends follow a very close second. \

I guess my b-day isn't too bad...Eric will always be older than me....bwahahaha!!!

Seriously...I have been blessed. This I cannot deny. And I remind myself of the blessings everyday.

Take a few minutes to count your blessings....

ps....guess how old I am going to be....

Computers can get the CROUP!!!!

Apparently...when Allison had the croup last week... she gave it to the computer.

Yeah...we had a virus. Bad. Dang.

Our computer is still in the shop. Hopefully, we will be getting it back this weekend...or early next week.

I miss our PC. Seriously.

But, I am thankful to Eric for letting us use his work laptop.

Thanks, honey!!!

Talk at you soon.

Not Me Monday!!!!!

I absolutely love this idea.

And I have become addicted to this blog. The "real" mom is dealing with some heavy duty stuff...and some "just every day mom stuff". She will welcome her 4th baby Wednesday...and thousands of her readers are waiting to meet her "Stellan".

Check out her blog here... http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2008/10/not-me-monday_27.html

I really think that it helps us moms "confess" our transgressions...and still feel like we are not alone.

We all know that these children of ours will survive...and actually have good stories and sweet memories of their childhood's.

My girls are, for the most part, patient beings. My 3yo...well...she is 3yo. But she puts up with alot...especially a momma who works night shift and chooses to keep her kids home and not put them in day care.

Soooo...without further ado...

I did not give my youngest daughter a cheese sandwich and 2 sippy's of apple juice and sit her in the bed with me, to watch television, while I grabbed a pseudo-nap.

I did not auto-tune 6 Dora's, SpongeBob's, Diego's, Little Bill's in a row...so she would stay in bed with me for 3 hours.

I most certainly did not laugh so hard at an off-color joke at work that, with the result of delivering 3 big-headed babies, I pee'd my pants and had to borrow work scrubs.

I really, really did not tell my 7yo that I would tell her the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus's phone numbers when she grew up and became a mom.

Ahhhh. That feels better.