A Place and A Space - Nook GiveAway

You might already know that I'm a contemporary christian music junkie. Or, you might not. If not, heads up, I'm a contemporary christian music junkie. The radio in my car STAYS on 107.3 unless I hit the Raleigh area, and then I switch over to HisRadio. And, if I'm not in an area that I can pick up either, I'm tuned into the AWESOME HisRadio app on my Android device.

That being said, I'm kind of digging this song, "Alive," by Nate Fowler. Today, on facebook, Nate posted a blog about his wife's blog - a place and a space - and a give-away that she's doing. I have to admit that I haven't used the Nook - I have the Kindle app for my Droid, and I am soooo addicted. But, a real, true to life, actual eReader? That's my dream. So, I'm entering the contest to win the Nook she's giving away. And, so shoud you! (And then you should go enjoy that song by her husband!) ;)

Have a good one.

So *That's* What it Feels Like?

Let me be clear, I am NOT making light of strokes. Stroke is a very serious thing and leaves lasting effects on those who experience them, as well as on their loved ones.

And, I think I must now know what it feels like when you're about to have a stroke.

About 6 years ago, during a trip to the mountains, husband bought me a beautiful 3.5 ct. emerald-cut garnet right-hand ring set in 24K gold. The setting alone was over $300, which is probably not alot of money to you. But, to me, it's a truck payment. Or almost 3 summer-time light bills. And that doesn't include the cost of the stone.

This morning, I've been:

In every room in my house.
On my deck.
In my yard.
In my car - twice.
In Levi's daycare parking lot & building.
In my office parking lot and both floors of the building.

Around 9:40, I sat back down at my desk for the 300th time (that's probably a slight exaggeration). As I began working on the tasks on my desk, I glanced down. My ring setting was EMPTY. Immediately, panic set in. I emailed our IRA, asked her to send an all-building e-mail with a description of the stone.

Then, I started back-tracking. Nose down, watching the floor, trying to think of every turn I had made in this maze of an office building today. The very most recent place I had been was a colleague's office. As I turned the corner to walk into her office. THERE IT WAS. Laying on the floor. No way anyone would have spotted it, had they not been looking for it. The vacuum would probably have eaten it tonight when the janitorial crew came through. I very nearly collapsed in my colleague's office. SCARY, SCARY, SCARY. My heart is still racing. I could never have replaced that stone. Not financially, or sentimentally.

And, here's my ring. And stone. In a zippy. Until I can take them to a jeweler.

Husband, despite the fact that I probably never tell you, I love you. And I appreciate what you do for me and our family.

Levi's First Train Ride!

On Sunday, we took Levi to New Hope Valley Railway in Bonsal, NC. It's no secret that my boy is a huge train fanatic. Just take a look around our living room. Or the floor board of my car. Or his bedroom. Or the apps on my Droid.

So, NHVRY is a great little all-volunteer led living museum. They offer train rides one Sunday per month in Spring, Summer & Fall (for a nominal fee of $10/adult, $7/child). I recommend going in Spring, or waiting til Fall. August, 100 degrees, and 9658.3% humidity are NOT ideal conditions for sitting in an "Open Air Coach," no matter how beautiful the scenery. Though, I have to admit that dealing with the heat was way beyond worth it just to see this look:

Or this one:

We had a nice little family day, with Jeremy, Lauren, Levi, PePaw and I. Totally going to do it again when the weather cools off.

I plan to edit some more of our photos from the train ride, using my new friend Picnik, and will post those later.

And God Bless All My Friends

Is there anything in this world more precious than a child's simple faith? We should all be so lucky as to hang on to that for as long as we live.

We have a bedtime routine at our house. It involves bathtime, medications, snuggling, reading, and...bedtime prayers. You know the one... "Now I lay me down to sleep..." When that's over with, we need to "God Bless" everyone. Which goes something like this (I start, then Levi, then me, then Levi, and on and on and on):

Okay, and, God Bless Daddy.
God Bless Mamma.
God Bless Levi.
God Bless Sissy.
God Bless Granddaddy.
God Bless Gate Ganny. (Great Granny)
God Bless MeMaw.
God Bless Cotton. (the Donkey, not the plant)
Yes, Levi, God Bless Cotton.
God Bless Papa.
God Bless GiGi.
God Bless PePaw.
God Bless MaMaw.
God Bless PaPaw.
God Bless Aunt Nette & Michael.
And God Bless Cotton.
Yes, Levi, God Bless Cotton.
God Bless Sara-Marget. (Sara-Margaret, that is)
God Bless Bailey.
God Bless Mannie & Dillon. (Mattie, that is)
God Bless Rylie.
And God Bless Cotton.
Yes, Levi, God Bless Cotton. Now, God Bless Miss Kellie and your other teachers.
God Bless Bittney. (Brittany, that is)
And who else, Levi?
And God Bless All My Friends.

Now, if only the rest of us in the world would take the time to do that every day!!

Living the Life of Rylie

So, last Monday, I came home from work and there was this teeny little kitty in our yard. Being the softie that I am when animals are concerned, I got it a little bowl of food and milk. I noticed something wrong with its little face, like it might have been caught in something and got ripped.
The next night, it was still here, but had decided to venture onto our back deck. So I did the humane thing and moved its food to the deck. And that's when it let me pet it. I told husband, "He let me pet him!"
Husband went out to try and pick it up - and the kitty let him! He brought him inside to get a better look at its injury. It was BAD. So, I took him to the vet.
Two days later, and against my better judgement, meet Rylie J. Hall.

CT Results

Levi had a 2nd CT of his sinuses today. Even after a 21-day cycle of antibiotics, his sinuses are blocked. So, sinus surgery is in the future. As is a tonsilectomy, repeat adenoidectomy (apparently they can grow back), and new ear tubes. Dr. Rose thinks Levi will feel much better after having this done. We appreciate that everyone keeps us in their prayers.

Tomorrow is Levi's Procedure at Duke

Tomorrow is the day that my peanuts butters goes to Duke Children's Hospital for his Upper Endoscopy with Biopsy.

We will leave home around 6 am. Check in at Duke Children's Hospital by 8 am and begin the pre-op procedures. Then, his actual procedure will take place.

WARNING: READING ANY FURTHER MAY RESULT IN BEING GROSSED OUT

The doctor will be running a tube with a light/camera/pinchy-thing on it through his esophagus and stomach to the top of the small intestine. There, they will take tissue biopsies to look for ciliac disease (the inability to process wheat products). On the way out, they will stop off in the stomach to take tissue biopsies there to determine if ulcers, infection and/or gastritis (inflammation) exist, as well as any other disease processes. Finally, they will stop in the esophagus and take tissue biopsies to look for infection and disease process as well as looking for: inflammation (a sign that his gastric problem is, in fact, reflux - what he's been treated for since May 2009); increased eosinophils (a sign that the problem is actually Eosinophilic Esophagitis aka "EE", which is what 4 of our 5 doctors highly suspect with the 5th accepting it as a possibility).

Levi always has a hard time "waking up" after anesthesia. We're hoping he's grown out of that (it's been 9 months since he was last anesthetized) but just in case, will you say an extra little prayer for my baby boy that it'll be easier than the other times? Especially since he's going to have to go through it again on Tuesday of this coming week for his CT at UNC.

The plan is that we'll speak with the doctor who will tell us what he saw while doing the procedure, but that we will not have a definitive answer on the result of the biopsies for about a week.

I appreciate that any of you reading actually care. It means a lot.

Take care.

Anna