Shopping...

My little girl is growing up too fast! Tomorrow she is off to Anchorage for a shopping trip with the "Girls"! Her Aunt Deanna, New Cousin -in-Law Jessika, and Cousins Hollie, Shelby, Virginia and Victoria are all going to hit the Big City and do some clothes shopping and asked it Joanna could go along!
Her Daddy said she could and so she grabbed her purple purse and her purple over night bag and out the door she flew with long brown hair and coat tails blowing in the wind and a "Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I love you!" yelled over her shoulder.
Of course she had spent hours with me the night before going through every item in her purse and bag making sure she was packing just right and she had already hugged and kissed us bye at least two or three times each before they got here. But when the moment arrived...She was out of here in a second!! She will be 12 in March and is already taller than most of the women in our church! She is a little lady already!
I'm not sure I am ready for her growing up, her confidence, her independence, her beauty, her shopping without me...but I'm afraid it is here...ready or not!

Joanna 11 1/2

Victoria 11 1/2, Joanna 11 1/2, Virginia 11 1/2, Shelby 13

Aud One in AK: Sock Bun Curls!!

http://madeinpretoria.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/the-sock-bun-diy-big-hair-bun/

Sock Bun Curls!!

I am a member of Pintrest and love looking at new hairstyles amongst other things. One of the easy styles I found to try was a "Sock Bun" for rolling your hair. I wanted to try it for several reasons so last night my daughter and niece who are both 11 1/2  and have long thick hair, one with naturally wavy hair that usually OVER curls and one with board straight hair that won't curl normally, and I decided to give it a try so we rolled our hair on a sock according to directions from.
http://madeinpretoria.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/the-sock-bun-diy-big-hair-bun/ which is the site I found on Pintrest. She explains it really well. It is super easy. The only thing I did different was in the beginning where she suggests cutting out the original hairband, I bypassed that by tying a ribbon close to the head below the band and slid the band off before rolling. Then when I was done rolling I untied the ribbon and slid it out...No waste of bands and no ring mark around the head in the am from the band!!

Niece - straight hair- sock bun

Daughter- wavy hair- sock bun

Just unrolled the sock from her hair!

From straight to curly with no pins or rollers and it stayed up all night!

Wavy - Curled up in big bouncy curls!

No marks from hairbands or divider lines between rollers.

Thank you Pintrest and
MadeinPretoria.wordpress.com  !!

Proverbs 31 Woman

I'm sitting here tonight crocheting a hat for my husband. It's that time of year again in Alaska! Mornings are getting chilly. A little frost on the windows a few times and rain cooling it down with the winds. Autumn is hear and our winter is JUST around any corner!
So I have started taking stock. Buying coats and boots that have been outgrown. Making slippers, hats, scarves and adding length to gloves. Stocking up for winter season!
I always think of the Proverbs 31 Woman while I am doing these things. It gives me such joy to make things to keep my family warm and protected from the elements! I love verse 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed...
That is what I think about when I am sewing and crocheting and felting things for my family to wear. So as 2011/ 2012 winter is upon us...I am not afraid because I am preparing for my families needs!

Benjamin Dewayne Noel

Benjamin Dewayne Noel
Congratulations on your wedding Ben and Jessica!! 9/10/11.

Missionary Cemetery

This is kind of a continuation of the previous thought process. I don't know what to do with it or who to go to with this kind of an idea so I will just write it here and see what happens....


There is a church here in Alaska that has it's own cemetery. I remember when they created it and set the ground aside for it. One of their own, a young girl died unexpectedly and the family couldn't afford the enormous cost of a funeral and burial in Alaska.


So the Church got together, got permission from the proper authorities and set aside some ground and dedicated it for it's special use. Then they came together and built a simple wooden casket and buried her.


Over the years others...old people, preemie babies, car wreck accident victims from the church...the list goes on.


Now we get to the point of my thought and perhaps idea or question...is there or could there be, with out all the financial and political trappings, a place such as that created and set aside for Preachers, Evangelists, Missionaries and their families? From here and abroad that God sees fit to take home early who have no finances and no where for a final resting place because they have given all (home, lands and jobs) for God's service.


A place that for free to the family helped answer all those big unknown questions. Someone with heart and love that was there to help and guide them through the steps of getting their loved one where they need to be, a casket, a final resting place and a place they know they can come back to to visit their loved one.


But also a place that offered these services of help to them if they needed to take the lost loved one home to a family cemetery. Still keeping them from the worry of cost and questions of who, what and how. Someone to ease the way.


This would be a ministry of the heart and of love. I wonder if God has this ministry for someone? Does anyone else have an opinion or idea or thought on this???

God's Mighty Men 2011

In the last year and a half there have been so very many great men who have been instrumental in making me who I am today as a Christian and even as a woman and a mother die. I can't seem to keep my "weeble wobbling"! It's like I keep taking one hit after the other and wondering which one is going to be the one that knocks me down for the KO.


There have been Evangelists, Preachers & Missionaries. Some I have known for 7 years some for 25 some since I was in Kindergarten and some since in the womb. Some were new friends, some were Dear Memories of days and years gone by, some were family who have faithfully served God for over 50 years as assistant Pastor and others were missionaries and Uncles who were Preachers and Pastors. Some just friends who were faithful men who served God and took care of and loved their families!


Now I look at my Dad and his heart problems which are VERY serious. I see one of my Dearest  and Longest Friends and her Dad (Also a preacher) is battling cancer. Another Friends Dad (An Evangelist) lost his battle with Cancer.


We have lost some Mighty Men of God in a very short time as far as this old earth is concerned. (Another dear Evangelist went Home to be with God last Night on the way back from preaching.) But God knows what He is doing and he never leaves us Comfortless! Nor does he leave us without guidance. 


Is this a shake-up and wake-up call? Maybe, I think so! I think we have set back for years and let the old and faithful work themselves to death! And now it is time for some younger men, REAL MEN to step up and fill in the gaps that have been left open! Are you a gap filler?

16 On the HighWay

Yesterday, was it only yesterday, James and I, against our desires as parents allowed Mathew to drive our car to Eagle River, Alaska on the other side of Anchorage from us. At least a 3 1/2 hour drive each way. The plan was for them to drive up after school (Mathew 16 and in 11th grade and our friend who is in his early 20's that we have known for years) and work to get a car that the friend was buying and turn around and drive back that night.
We really only had two concerns...Mathew driving in downtown Anchorage for the first time alone and them driving tired so late at night. We had them check the car for oil, fluids, ect... Change the busted headlight that went out on the car and warning Mathew about all the things to be careful for and when and where to call home...we forgot to have him check the spare tire and make sure the jack was in the car!
So off they went on their grand adventure!! They called and texted as told before leaving town, when arriving in Eagle River...Then Mathew got separated from his friend in the traffic in Anchorage he did just what he should. We were so proud! Then they headed out for home. A couple of hours later Mathew called, he had had a flat and had no jack and once again was separated from his friend. It was 1am.
Finally, after much deliberation, with James having to work a 12 hour day today and me being unable to drive,  James' brother Allen volunteered to drive up in the middle of the night to take him what he needed for repairs.
All in all they got home around 6:30am and they were exhausted!!!!
"My God shall supply ALL your needs according his riches in Christ Jesus!"

Writing with Joanna

I have had a love of Journaling or keeping a Diary for years. I'm not good at it. But have always picked up and collected and picked up the "style" of book or Journal that spoke to me. Whatever caught my eye. 


My Mamaw Barlow, was a diary keeper for years and my Mom has them now. I wish I could be more faithful at it like she was but I am to very sporadic with it.


This weekend when we went camping as a family I told everyone to take a couple of small items (book or toy) for in the tent in case it rained one day. To my delight and surprise, Joanna brought a notebook for journaling in!!! I was so thrilled that she is picking that up also!


It was fun to sit in the tent with her and write in our journals together! So very special!!!

Joanna Journaling in the tent with me!

Serious concentration with her writing!

Who, Me? Pull a King David?

I have very recently started looking at the lives of some of the most honorable, Godly, “Saints” in the Bible and guess what? While they loved God and served Him with their whole heart and soul, they were still just humans like you and I and they still made bad (wrong, sinful) choices and decisions.

These people (Starting with the very first man, Adam, had very real, very personal relationships with God. Some of them God called his “Friend”, some He called “Faithfull”, “Righteous”, and even “After His own heart”.

Adam – the very first man on God’s beautiful earth chose to separate himself from a loving God and disobeyed by eating of the fruit from the one tree he was told not to. We are so often like Adam and Eve, we want the one thing that is off limits in our life.

Abraham- In Genesis 12 Abraham had the nerve to question God! He also lied and gave his wife away not once but TWICE to save his own hide! And yet God considered him a righteous man and was willing to give two cities a chance because Abraham asked him to!

Sampson – Judges 15- Sampson was set aside, promised himself to God. But he had a problem with women, he couldn’t leave them alone! And they were his downfall. But in the end with his eyesight gone and years of being used as a slave and laughing stock God still used him in a mighty way.

Eli – I & II Samuel – A Priest (Preacher) in the temple and yet he had no control of his own sons. They lived in sin in full site of the whole town and made a mockery of their Dad and the house of God. Yet God used him to train one of the greatest Prophets of all time, Samuel.

Jonah- Jonah 1- Was called to preach by God, but didn’t like where God wanted him to go, so he ran away. When God finally got his attention and he agreed to go, once he got there he got MAD AT GOD and threw a temper fit because God didn’t act the way Jonah thought he should! But God still used his begrudging sermon to save a WHOLE city!

David- Known as “A man after God’s own heart” – He was the King of Gods Nation and yet he still sinned. He Looked and Lusted after a married woman, Committed Adultery, Tried to cover it up by getting a man drunk, Then Committed Murder.

Peter- John 6- Had enough faith to walk on water! But when he took his eyes off of Jesus he began to sink!

                        Later when they took Jesus to be questioned before he was crucified, Jesus had told Peter that he would deny Him three times and Peter was horrified at the very thought of it! But he not only denied Him he cursed and denied him! And yet Jesus forgave him and when Peter was later crucified for being a Christian he asked to be hung upside down because he felt unworthy to hang upright like his Lord.

If you have a weakness or Prevailing (found most commonly or having the most power or effect in an area; or found, existing, or in force) sin. Run away from all cause for temptation! Don’t allow yourself to be put in or caught in places or situations which test your strength. If you have failed once… stay away!!!

The Bible says that “ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” It does not say that once we become saved and start following Christ we are magically transformed into perfect beings who no longer do anything wrong. We are still sinners, we are just “Sinners saved by Grace!”

Audrey Grant

Too Young to Be Old?

July 12, 2011
I just found my first "age spot" or liver spot as some people call them, on my right cheek! A defining pause in my life. Isn't that rather "childish"? After all I am...(at which point I realized I didn't remember how old I am!) I know I am 42 or 43 but would have to do the math to figure it out, because honestly, right this min. I don't have a CLUE! Must be another SIGN of getting older.
I thought I was taking such a HUGE, Bold step to quit coloring my hair and let all my grey hair show! And I must admit I keep a "Panic" bottle in the bathroom just in case...
And I know I'm getting to where I need more oil changes, tune-ups and body work done. That's obvious with 13 surgeries in 16 yrs! And all but one in the last 10 yrs!
But for some reason this big brown freckle on my face at 42 (I did the math!) screamed at me today..."You are an Aged Woman!" Titus
Lord, please help me to use all the many, many trials and tribulations, Mountain tops and Valleys deep that  you have brought me through in my life to help someone else carry their burden, learn something new of Your wonderful Grace and Mercy or just be there when needed.
Please don't let me waste one grey hair, one age spot or one wrinkle that has taught me something that can help someone else! I desire for ALL of me to Glorify YOU!

You might be an Alaskan if:

You might be an Alaskan if:


by Janet Hillyer on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 1:19


pm



1. Your idea of a traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a motor home on the highway.


2. "Vacation" means going to Anchorage for the weekend.


3. You measure distance in hours.


4. You know several people who have hit moose more than once.


5. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.


6. You use a down comforter in the summer.


7. Your grandparents drive at 65 mph through 13 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.


8. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.


9. You install security lights on your house and garage, and leave both unlocked.


10. You think of the major food groups as: deer meat, beer, fish, and berries.


11. You carry jumper cables in your car, and your girlfriend knows how to use them.


12. There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at the grocery store at any given time.


13. You know what Bunny Boots are.


14. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.


15. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and flannel pajamas.


16. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and construction.


17. It takes you 3 hours to go to the store for one item, even when you're in a rush, because you have to stop and talk to everyone in town.


18. You didn't know what the word "county" meant, and we were never taught about "area codes"... 907 is all you had to know


19. You think bald eagles aren't that great


20. You know to go to Best Buy a month after a CD release because that’s when it will FINALLY arrive in Alaska


21. You wish seagulls came with a mute button


22. You can go to McDonalds and order off the $1.50 menu which they feel is equivalent to the $0.99 menu


23. You were appalled by the "Carrs-Safeway" merge a few years ago


24. You have to have a raven cage around your trash to keep them out


25. You go to school, work, or both in the dark and come out in the dark


26. 30 degrees is shorts weather


27. -10 is a bit nippy


28. Buses leaving school are delayed because a bear is in the parking lot


29. You tell people you live in an igloo for kicks


30. You don’t swim in natural bodies of water for fear of swimmers itch or beaver fever...or leeches


31. Having a moose in your front yard is a legitimate excuse for being late to school


32. There is nothing like Matanuska Maid...who cares about Meadowgold, Dairyland and Viva!!


33. You only go to the fair for turkey legs and a husky burger


34. You refer to the continental US as the "lower 48"


35. You get an attitude when you have to pay tax in the lower 48


36. There is 4 feet of snow the night before school and you STILL have to go.


37. If you don’t like the weather wait for 5 minutes and then go back out outside.


38. You sleep through an earthquake like nothing ever happened; the only way you know is because the clock fell off the wall


39. Salmon isn’t a delicacy, it's a staple


40. Halibut is beer battered rather than cooked some fancy way


41. 70 degrees is equivalent to 90 degrees in the lower 48


42. You know who "Sleeping Lady" is


43. During the winter you rarely use your freezer


44. You think $4 for a loaf of bread is cheap


45. A "cookout" is not all the time outside because it’s entirely too cold for all of that


46. You don't sleep in the summer because it’s too short to miss a minute of it


47. Half your friends own a sled (snow machine) and you think people that call them snow mobiles are idiots


48. You have been chased or know someone who has been chased by a moose at least once.


49. You’ve seen the northern lights, and you know why they are such a "big deal"


50. You know its all about the snow, DUH.


51. You know that Cattle Company has the best potato soup there is.


52. Your bedroom windows are covered in aluminum foil or black blankets.


53. You know the two speed limits in Alaska: the ‘get outta my way limit’ and ‘taking cover limit’


54. You only watch the news when they announce the amount of the year’s dividend


55. Your school classes were never canceled because of ice


56. You have to start your car at least an hour before you leave so most of the ice and snow will melt off by the time you leave


57. You wear flips flops all year without getting sick


58. You've never seen cotton or tobacco growing, but your neighbor has a 30 acre pot field


59. You literally can’t leave the house without seeing some one you know.


60. You know the term "studs" isn’t referring to hot guys.


61. You have to ski in gym class


62. You know who "Binki" was, made fun of that stupid Australian tourist, and was so sad when he died.


63. You expect to see a moose crossing Tudor every time you drive down.


64. You give up and tell people in the lower 48 that you DO live in an igloo and you DO have a pet polar bear named Mishka when they refuse to believe otherwise.


65. You call someone without a crack in there windshield a tourist


66. You remember what Showboats was and you’re little sad it's gone.


67. When you go to the lower 48 you wonder where everybody's block heater cable is


68. You've been to the Peanut Farm for a drink but refuse to tell anyone...ever


69. Combat fishing isn't a joke, it's a religion.


70. You've seen a 2-month old moose get hit by a full-size van at 65 MPH, then get up and run off


71. Two words "Korn Fritters"


72. Your parents taking you trick-or-treating involves riding door-to-door in the car


73. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

The above list was written by my niece who was born, raised and still lives in Alaska with her husband and two beautiful Children.                                                                                                                                    Audrey L. Grant Girl, you are right on! I would add...
74. You know to take a jacket to the beach in July.
75. Your kids drive sleds (see above) and 4 wheeler's before they can ride a bike.
76. Your honeymoon includes bug dope.
77. Baby shower's include fishing poles.
78. An acceptable engagement "ring" is a gun.

PRAYER REQUEST

I need a LOT of prayers please...this is not my health so no panic and please no questions, just (As Bro. Marvin Clanton asked me years ago) "Every time you think of me or my family would you say a prayer for us?" I just need guidance and wisdom from God in a really big way. Thank you.

Betrayal

How do you deal with betrayal of the worst kind? Does evil never stop attacking? Will we never be safe in this world? I know all the answers to these questions. I've LIVED these, more times than I care to remember and came through it all stronger, wiser, and closer to God.

But you never know when evil will strike again. Today I found out some of what my parents felt that awful day 27 years ago. Betrayal by someone you have trusted as "family" for years, is one of the most devastating and shocking things to wrap your heart and mind around.
Where to turn, what to do, what to say, what to ask....How could I not have known???? What is the next step after picking myself up off the floor where I've huddled in tears, pain and prayer with my Heavenly Father?

One step, one moment, one breath, one whispered prayer at a time. I have walked these dark paths before with my hand in my Savior's and He has lit my path. It was a hard path, a rough trail, miles of rocky uphill climbing, but He was ALWAYS there with me. Even when I stumbled, faltered, looked back and got scared or looked ahead and doubted because the way looked too steep. He was always there.

And I know He is with me through this deep valley and mountain I must travel. It feels I have been on a journey for two years with my health but today my health feels like the pack on Pilgrim's back in "Pilgrim's Progress" and this is the journey I have been in training for.


Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in PERFECT peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Psalm 119: 105 Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help the; yea, I will uphold the with the right hand of my righteousness.

With time, women gain weight because we accumulate so much information & wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy , we are enormously cultured, educated & happy. Beginning today, when I look at my self in the mirror I will think, Good Grief look how smart I am, I must be a genius !! 
LOL


Stolen from a friend's Facebook Page

Am I a Fake???

So, tonight I found out that the word is out that I am faking! I am a Lazy Fraud! A no good Mother who just wants to lay in bed all day, not do housework, take care of my family, play with my children, love my husband, work the two ministries I had to give up and pay my bills!

I guess everyone except James and the kids and I knew that I am addicted to the computer and so I just quit life so I could sit here and spend my life on the computer. All my migraines were faked, the neck surgery must have been unnecessary…? And my upcoming appointment with the specialist for my hip, that must be pretend also.

I’m not sure how I managed to fool all the x-ray machines, nerve test machines, MRI’s and all the other copies of tests that I have sitting here by my chair in this HUGE folder from the last few years.

Hey, maybe I even faked cancer both times and conned the Dr’s into all those surgeries and tests also!! And maybe I just stretched the facts and exaggerated and Mathew was only 8lb 13oz. like the Dr. claimed he was going to be instead of the 10.5 the scale said!

And Maybe Andrew didn’t really weigh 10.14, I bet I followed them to the nursery and put my thumb on the scale!!

Are people NUTS!?!?! Do they really believe that after all I’ve been thru in my life that I haven’t had enough pain and stress to last a lifetime??? These are years to treasure with my kids and my husband!

In the last two years I’ve missed all of my son’s Basketball games, I’ve missed family birthday parties and get togethers’. I’ve missed Christmas and school programs. Patch the Pirate plays, going to the beach and walking and hiking with my kids and friends. I’ve missed too many dates with my husband to even count.

I’ve stood the humiliation of having to have other people wash my hair, while I stood and cried from the pain of bending, because I couldn’t even raise my right arm. I’ve had to be bathed and dressed by my husband at times.

I’ve gone weeks and even months without seeing any of my friends or family other than my brother-in-laws. And I thought that all this time friends and family were praying for me, but more importantly to me, praying for and encouraging my husband and children who have stood by me and loved and helped and encouraged me thru this whole thing. Rejoicing with each step we take forward and telling me time and again that they love me and are praying for me! They make sure they each come and spend some one on one time with me and we have even closer relationships than before this all happened!

But tonight my Dear Tower of Strength. My Best Friend, My Love, My Husband, My James came home a broken and sad man. He didn’t want to talk. But we don’t keep secrets from each other. So with tears in his eyes he told me what he had found out today. That people we love and trust. Some family, some friends, some people we look up to, have been talking about me and James.

They are saying that I am faking and “milking” it. That I am not as bad as I say I am. That I am mistreating my kids by making them help James clean the house. I know that sometimes when some people see me I am smiling and laughing. But you all need to realize the effort and the amount of medication it takes to get me to a point where I can be like that for a little while and then the actual DAYS it takes to recover. Plus, if you have known me for very long at all you know if I have a choice of laugh or cry, I will laugh until I am alone. I hide my pain as much as possible from everyone.

As far as James goes. Everyone can get their mouths off of my Husband right now! He is the miracle God put in my life and I won’t have anyone talk bad about him, PERIOD!! He is a wonderful, strong, Christian man who loves God, his wife, his kids, his family. (In that order).

James surrendered to do WHATEVER God wanted him to do over 7 years ago. That does not mean that if he isn’t a missionary or working full time in a church, he’s not in God’s will. It took him a while to figure out that it isn’t about what God had him doing, it was being willing to do whatever God wanted him to do!

And right now God has him reaching old and sick people in their homes, one on one, each and every day. We are praising God that He just gave James a new client to take care of so he is now back at full time!! James made a comment to someone when I was going back and forth to a lot of Drs Appointments and surgery that he was thankful that God hadn’t re-increased his hours yet because it let him be with me during that time. Well, it was taken out of context and turned into a rumor that James didn’t want to work full time and he was thankful he only had 20 hrs a week. Truth be told he had been begging for more hours and clients for MONTHS! He just said that in a moment of worry about me when I was having neck surgery and he was glad he could be there with me.

As far as our back bills, it is hard to keep a family of 5 (6 for now) going on 20 hours a week. But we have never NOT paid our bills. And we do NOT feel like it is anyone’s place to discuss what we owe with anyone other than us. Even if they are family. We pay every dime we can as it comes in and then drop lump sums on what is owing when our dividends and income taxes come in. Just like everyone else we know. We do not have credit cards. We do not have a car payment and our house is almost ½ paid for. So we are not careless and reckless with our money.

The school bill that EVERYONE seems to be talking about behind our backs (which is supposed to be private, by the way). I was working at the church as payment for that bill. That is how our children could afford to go. But I got bad and got sent home because I could no longer do the job. So we ended up with a bill owing. That is why we homeschooled this year. We refused to rack up a bigger bill we could not pay. And we just paid on it each time we got money. So we are not cheating the Church and School and we are paying our bills!

So from now on if you have anything to say about me…have the guts to say it to my face!!! Or email, face book, letter, phone call. Whatever your pleasure is! I CAN TAKE IT!!! But leave my husband alone!! He has carried the weight of his and my world on his broad shoulders the past years and he doesn’t need to hear anyone badmouthing me. If you have something to say to or about me. You know where I am…Because IF there is a next time, expect me at your doors. Even if I have to borrow a wheelchair.

My family and I are doing GOOD! All three of my kids can do laundry, clean a bathroom, vacuum a floor, sweep and mop, Mathew and Joanna are GOOD cooks and Andrew is learning fast, they all make GREAT Coffee! BUT they also go camping, spend the night at friends, go swimming, have cookouts, go bike riding, walk the dog, have and obstacle course they built themselves in the back yard the do two or three times a day. They read, draw, color, paint, build, go shooting, bow hunting, fishing, drive bumper cars, and many other things. They have full and fun lives! So don’t pity us, we are a happy family!

Audrey Lynn Grant

Monday, June 27, 2011

11:57 PM

Health Update

Feeling better, but not...confusing. My pain level in my neck is much better since the surgery and is healing well but the Dr is upset that I am doing too much too fast. It isn't normal to have over 1/2 the discs in your neck replaced at one time and so he wants at minimum 6months to a year for it to all heal and get strong. (one or two is usual but not 4). Plus with my back and hip I toss and turn so much at night that I'm not keeping it still enough. So now I am on a pill that makes me sleep HARD at night so I don't turn over more than once or twice, but that means I don't hear the phone, the kids, James leaving for work or anything until the pill wears off and then I'm so stiff from laying in one position for so long I can't even get up until someone brings me more pain pills and a drink and I wait for them to kick in! LOL kind of a weird circle!! But at least the migraines are down to only one every couple of weeks and they are not NEAR as severe!! Thank the Lord!! And The constant neck pain has gone from a 8-10 with pills to a 2-3 with pills!!! I am so thankful!

The next step is another specialist in July for my hip. We will see if they can get me some relief so I can stand and walk again. The back (scoliosis, osteoporosis, arthritis and spurs) are right next to the heart and so they won't work on that area and said I will just have to live with it. As with the fibromialgia. But if I can get rid of the headaches so I can think halfway straight again and get my hip fixed so I can stand, walk and sit without agony I will be THRILLED!!

Thank you all each and everyone who has walked this journey with me. You've listened to my pain, prayed for me, visited, encouraged and been here even when HERE was my bed and recliner. Thank you my friends and family. I continue my journey with more hope in my heart every day!

True Friendship!

1. When you are sad,I will jump on the personwho made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!! 
2. When you are blue, I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you. 
3. When you smile, I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in. 
4. When you're scared, we will high tail it out of there. 
5. When you are worried, I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big sissy!!!! 
6. When you are confused, I will use little words so you can understand. 
7. When you are sick, Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.... 
8. When you fall,I'll pick you up and dust you off-- After I laugh!!! 
9. This is my oath... I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask; -- because you are my FRIEND! 
Friendship is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only YOU can feel the true warmth..**********************


Sent to me by Lauralee!!