Three.
That's the number of Christmas presents I've bought.
Yes, that's all.
Three.
I'm proud, actually.
Proud to say that each of my children have a present under the tree.
I couldn't say that yesterday.
I'm not the only one happy about it.
My kids are THRILLED!
=)
They are just hoping to see that number increase.
I'll get it done......
Eventually
There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.
I mean, I finally got a haircut tonight for the first time since June.
Yes, June.
How sad is that?
Oh well, it's just hair, lol.
When I weigh in the morning, I probably will have lost 5lbs from all the hair she cut off.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway.
Wouldn't that be great?
Yeah, I think so too.
=)
In my last Blog I shared some of my favorite ornaments.
I added another one to my collection this week.
One of my sweet work friends, who is a Bama fan, gave me this adorable Auburn ornament.
I just LOVE it!
Isn't it the cutest thing?
Who would've ever thought to use a light bulb to make a Christmas ornament?
Question is, how many of you are saying, "Why didn't I think of that?"?
I know that's what I said.
Love you MUCH!
=],
War Eagle!
It was great watching my Auburn Tigers play Steve Spurrier's
South Carolina Gamecocks tonight in the SEC Championship game.
We won 56-17!
There were some people that picked Carolina over us.
Glad they were wrong.
SEC Champions.
I love the way that sounds!
This means we will be facing the Oregon Ducks in the BCS Championship game in Glendale, Arizona on January 10th.
I have been searching online for travel packages.
I REALLY want to go.
Yes, I know there are more important things than Football.
Actually, I know that very well.
All I have to do is look around my house right now and I'm reminded of that.
Haley is next to me on the couch.
Hayden is in the floor playing with his football men.
Kylee and her Friend are giggling, whispering, and sharing secrets, in her room.
Yes, indeed, there ARE things more important than football.
That being said, I would still LOVE to be in Glendale, Arizona January 10th.
Anyone wanna volunteer to send me?
Just let me know if you're interested!
=)
Today's been a really lazy day.
I made it out of my pajamas around Noon, I think.
Just to be honest, I probably wouldn't have if Kylee hadn't had company.
I didn't want to scar the poor child.
Hayden came yesterday.
He's played all day.
Oh, I LOVE watching him play and hearing him laugh, and pretend.
The girls are great, busy doing their own things.
They have become buddies.
I love that, too.
It was just yesterday a year or so ago they would rather have had bamboo sticks shoved under their fingernails than hang out together.
Haley is finishing up her first semester as a college girl.
She registered for next semester last week.
Kylee is, well, Kylee.
She cracks us up.
She says some of the funniest things.
She really is a blond in every way, Lol.
She has her own thoughts and ideas about
things and is not too shy or too afraid to share them.
She and I are a lot alike.
She definitely gives me a run for my money.
Work is great.
I am so blessed to have a job I love.
I know I've told you that before, but it is true.
I don't dread going to work.
I actually look forward to it.
How awesome is that?
Pretty awesome, if you ask me.
I hope all is well with you, Blog Friends.
Love you MUCH!
=],
THANKSGIVING
1: the act of giving thanks
2: a prayer expressing gratitude
3a : a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness
b capitalized : thanksgiving day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
I've told you that before.
I won't even discuss Christmas until after Thanksgiving.
No really, I won't.
I think Thanksgiving deserves a day
all to it's own without having to compete.
That's why this whole post is about Thanksgiving
even though I have LOTS to catch you up on.
Why do I love Thanksgiving so much?
It is like Christmas, without the emphasis on gifts.
It's being thankful for what you have, not wanting more.
It's spending time with Family.
Yes, I double, triple, quadruple ♥ Thanksgiving.
I have MUCH to be thankful for.
Are there things I'd like to see different?
Absolutely!
Are there people I love that I don't see as often as I'd like?
Absolutely!
BUT.....
There are TONS of things I am thankful for, too many to name actually.
All of my kids were with me for Thanksgiving.
We had Hayden from Wednesday til Monday morning.
I am SOOOOOO thankful for every minute I spend with him.
We are all healthy.
Haley is recovering nicely from her surgery and is back
to sleeping like a teenager once again.
She is doing Therapy twice a week and is progressing well.
She wears a sling only when in large crowds so people will be
cognizant of the fact she has a hurt arm.
Kylee remains seizure free.
I LOVE my job.
Not many people can say they
love to go to work everyday.
I can honestly say that.
I have a Family that loves each other and is
there for each other no matter what.
I have amazing Friends, some of which I would have never formed a
relationship with or even met had the Detour not been placed in my path.
Yes, I am thankful for the Detour.
It is one I didn't plan, nor would I ever
have planned, but it has been an amazing journey.
I am thankful for His Promises.
I am thankful He sends us reminders of Who He is.
I am thankful He will never leave us, nor forsake us.
(Even though we allow ourselves to be convinced otherwise, at times)
I am thankful His mercies are new every
morning and there is always an ample supply.
I am thankful for Flashing Neon Signs.
Yes, Blog Friends, I have MUCH to be thankful for, including you.
Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving.....
My Mother with Kylee and Haley
My Cousins, Lesha, Lois and I.
(We missed the rest of you, see you Christmas!)
My Nephew, CJ and Hayden
My Nieces, Laina and Grace
My Brother, Brandon (Hayden's Dad) and I
And
My ABSOLUTE, MOST FAVORITE
Picture of the Day.....
This makes me smile,
REALLY BIG!
=)
Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!
Love you MUCH!
=],
Post-Op Day #1
My Patient is doing as well as can be expected after
her shoulder surgery yesterday.
The nerve block they gave her during surgery worked wonders.
It, combined with the pain meds every
4-6 hours, has kept her basically pain free.
She continues to be restless though.
That is the biggest problem she's had.
She only slept 2 hours after surgery yesterday.
I expected her to come home and sleep the afternoon away.
It didn't happen.
She cat napped off and on last night, never getting
into a good, deep sleep.
Needless to say, she is exhausted.
She is sleepy and tired but just can't seem to settle
down enough to actually go to sleep.
We are hoping that changes soon.
She can shower tomorrow so she is super excited about that!
=) =) =)
Tomorrow is Hayden's 5th Birthday.
This will be the first birthday he won't wake up with us.
I am trying not to focus on that.
I'm trying really hard indeed.
My Brother is getting him tomorrow afternoon, so we will see him then.
We are actually throwing him a party at our house.
We are so happy and thankful to be able to share some
time with him on his special day.
As I've said before, we are taking what we can get, whenever we can get it.
Savoring Each Moment
Love you MUCH!
=],
Haley had her surgery today.
Thankfully, everything went beautifully.
Let me just go ahead and tell you, everyone was amazing.
Before her surgery, our Doctor came in to talk to us at her bedside and led us in prayer.
Yes, the Doctor led us in prayer.
He was great to us, everyone was.
The staff of the Surgery Center did a FABULOUS job taking care of us today, too.
I couldn't have asked to be treated any better by either our Doctor, or the Surgery Center Staff.
He was able to do everything he needed to do.
The space between the bone and the rotator cuff was only 1/10th of an inch wide.
This means every time she moved her arm, the rotator cuff was compressed.
The rotator cuff wasn't torn, but it was inflamed and already had a groove that had been worn in it from the constant compression.
There's no doubt the rotator cuff would have torn had this surgery not been done.
She's in a sling and has a large bandage on her shoulder that we will remove tomorrow.
He did a nerve block in her shoulder, so at this point, she isn't really in pain as much as she's uncomfortable.
I've also been giving her pain medicine every 4 hours to stay ahead of any pain.
It's working but she is restless and has only slept 2 hours since surgery.
She's tired, worn out and sleepy but just can't seem to settle down enough to sleep.
Hopefully, that will change soon.
We will follow-up with the Doctor Monday and she will start Therapy just as soon as possible.
Thank you all for your texts, facebook messages, phone calls, visits, and prayers.
We will never be able to tell you how much each of you mean to us.
I'll update more later.
Love you MUCH!
=],
A great weekend, as well as a great Auburn Season, is coming to an end.
We have made some amazing new Friends this year.
You all know, I believe NOTHING happens by chance and that God has a PLAN and a PURPOSE for everything.
The same holds true for our Auburn Season Ticket seats.
Yes, you read that right.
Our Section 39, Row 47, Seats 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 were divinely appointed by God Himself.
Yes.
I believe this.
Without a doubt, our seats were exactly where God wanted us to be, with the exact people He wanted us to be around, for the exact reason He wanted us to be there.
It's really awesome how you sit in the same seats week after week and you form friendships with the people around you that you will never forget.
You get to know them and their Family.
They get to know you and your Family.
You laugh, sing, yell, scream, cheer and even cry together.
Yes, cry.
You pray for them and you know they are praying for you.
They are the new friends at the beginning of the season that seem like old friends at the end of the season.
They become Family.
Such is the case with our Section 39, Row 48, Seats 24, 25 Friends.
I am so thankful God's Hand is in EVERY part of our lives, even our Auburn Season Ticket seat location.
I am thankful He placed these two precious people not only in our lives, but in the lives of our children.
He knows EXACTLY what we need, WHEN we need it, and EXACTLY who we need there.
I didn't ask their permission so, I won't post their names.
You know who you are.
Thank you both for your Friendship and for all the memories we've made this Season.
There is no doubt in my mind that God placed you in our lives.
We are not sure what we will do on Saturday's now?!
Thank you for your smiles, your hugs, all the laughs, and the high-fives!
Thank you for being patient with the little curly blond headed boy sitting in front of you.
Thank you for sharing your peanuts, your popcorn, your gum, and even your ball cap the game his head got hot.
Thank you for crying with me as my heart broke.
Thank you for praying for our sweet boy and this situation.
Thank you for loving our Hayden.
He would always ask us, "Are our Friends gonna be there?"
He loves y'all.
So do we.
A LOT.
We MUST keep in touch.
MUST.
Yesterday, my Beloved Tigers took on the Georgia Bulldogs in our last home game of the 2010 Season.
It was a great game!
We won 49-31.
It was a hard, ugly battle that got uglier as the game went on.
I remembered around the end of the first quarter that I had to sing this morning at Church.
I tried to lay off the yelling as much as possible.
It was hard.
I would forget and I paid for it, dearly.
When I woke up this morning, I could hardly talk.
I really didn't yell that much!
Seriously!
Maybe it was the cool, night air.
I'm not sure, but whatever it was had me in a bad way.
I got out of bed this morning and headed straight for the medicine cabinet.
Have you ever heard Nurses are the worst patients?
It's true, we are.
You wanna know what's even worse than that?
A Nurse that is treating herself, (with OTC meds, of course).
Anyway, I sang and I hope it turned out ok, I hope?!?!
Lord knows I prayed over that Mucinex enough! =)
I'm only working 3 days this week.
I told you all about Haley's surgery.
She has an impingement in her Left Shoulder.
What is a shoulder impingement?
Shoulder impingement syndrome is caused by compression of the tendons of the rotator cuff between a part of the shoulder blade and the head of the humerus. This can become a chronic inflammatory condition that may lead to a weakening of the tendons of the rotator cuff, a situation that may result in a torn rotator cuff.
She does not have a torn rotator cuff, yet.
It's just a matter of time if we don't get it fixed.
This is, by far, the lesser of the two evils.
What is causing the compression in her shoulder?
Her acromion is significantly sloping downward.
What's an acromion?
Glad you asked! =)
Acromion- the lateral extension of the spine of the scapula, forming the highest point of the shoulder.
Why is it sloping downward?
God designed her that way.
Literally.
It's always been this way.
She was born with it.
So, why is it causing her trouble now?
Not sure exactly.
There are a number of things that are contributing factors.
She is left-handed.
She has played softball since she was 5, so that's 15 years.
Remember, she was an outfielder, a Left Fielder, to be exact.
You know what that means.
Long, hard throws from outfield to get the ball in as quick as possible.
She hasn't played ball since July or so when she played in the High School Alumni game.
Her shoulder has NEVER hurt her one time throughout her softball career.
Her elbow, yes, from tendinitis, but never her shoulder.
She hasn't had an acute injury.
It will be done Thursday of this week as an Outpatient.
She is out of school next week, the week of Thanksgiving.
That's why we planned it now.
This will give her 10 days before she has to go back to class.
We are hoping that's enough time.
She will have to have Outpatient Therapy so we'll get that set up just as soon as we can.
Wanna know what's worse than having a Nurse as a Patient?
Or
What's worse than a Nurse that is treating herself?
ANSWER:
A Nurse whose child is a Patient.
That is THE WORST ever.
=)=)=)
Just kidding.
Kind of.
I have some really precious Friends.
One of them will actually be doing her Surgery and others will be taking care of her during and after Surgery.
Above all, My Friend, The Great Physician, will still be in COMPLETE control Thursday.
Haley belongs to Him.
He simply allowed me to be her Mom.
Have a wonderful week!
Love you MUCH!
=],
We are in Auburn for the last home game of the 2010 Season.
It makes me sad.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE coming here.
There is nothing like watching Nova or Spirit circle Jordan-Hare Stadium before landing at midfield.
There is nothing like singing God Bless America and The National Anthem with 87,000 other voices.
Imagine Heaven.
I have that same thought every time we sing them.
There's nothing like watching and hearing our Country's fighter jets fly over the clear blue sky in God's Country.
There has been a scandal of sorts in the media the last week or two involving our cute quarterback with the beautiful, white teeth.
It REALLY, REALLY frustrates me to hear GROWN people actually say they WANT him to be in trouble and have trouble.
I mean, REALLY?
I don't care what team a person plays for or cheers for that is RIDICULOUS and they should all be ashamed of themselves.
Today, all over our State, there are people who are sitting on cloud 9 thinking Cam Newton is going to be declared ineligible and thus, all our games be forfeited.
Really, people?
He's a real kid.
With real feelings.
With a real Mother.
With real feelings.
I can't imagine how mad I would be.
I'm mad now and he's not even mine.
Ok, enough of that rant.
On to the world of the Johnson's.....
We have Hayden this weekend.
Nothing has changed.
We are taking what we can get, whenever we can get it and savoring every minute of it.
He is in Auburn with us today.
He is too cute and soooo sweet!
I am so in love with this boy.
I'm sure I'll have a picture or two to share with you.
Thank you, Father, for every single minute I get to spend with this sweet boy.
Kylee is fabulous.
Seizures?
What seizures?
No sign of any seizures, AT ALL.
Thank you, Father, for healing my precious baby girl and freeing her from that nightmare!
She is having a wonderful 8th grade year.
She is an excellent student who never fails to tell others of Christ and stand up for Him.
I am so proud of her.
Haley is good.
She is having shoulder surgery Thursday.
She has an impingement in her Left shoulder.
She is left handed, so that should be a little bit of a challenge.
Remember when she decided she didn't want to play college softball because she was burnt out and I was so incredibly sad about it?
Well, God has used that to show me how He takes care of us when we don't even realize it.
The Surgeon's words Monday after looking at Haley's MRI were, "It's a REALLY good thing she's not playing softball anymore. She would have REALLY, REALLY messed up her shoulder bad."
WOW!
Thank you, Father, for taking care of my baby when I had no idea that you were protecting her from anything
I'm so glad He knows far better than me.
He sees the WHOLE picture and not just a tiny snapshot like I see.
I'll share more about her surgery soon.
I'm in God's Country and I've got a 4 year old screaming, "Mom, come on."
I LOVE the sound of that!
Brings a smile to my face.
Every.
Single.
Time.
Enjoy your day, Friends.
I Believe in Auburn and Love It!
War Eagle!
Love You MUCH!
=],
As I told you, we have Hayden this weekend.
I've tried to soak in every minute.
Savor every moment with him.
It's hard.
I can't lie.
As I walked through the preschool building to get him from Sunday School this morning, I got a lump in my throat and felt like I had been kicked in the gut and couldn't breath.
I had tears streaming down my cheeks.
I try so very hard to hold myself together.
I really, really do.
I mean, I can't tell you how hard I try.
I've always been the strong one, the one everybody else leans on, but it's just so overwhelming.
Basically all through the service this morning, he wanted to sit in my lap.
I hold him and as I nuzzle against his neck and he wraps his arms around mine I can't lie, I'm hurting, I question God, "Why, Why does it have to be this way?"
Our Sunday School lesson this morning couldn't have come at a better time.
Once again, God knows what we need, when we need it.
We studied in Mark about Jairus, whose daughter was dying.
The story goes like this.....
Jairus fell at Jesus' feet and begged him to touch his daughter and heal her.
There were some that said, "Your daughter is dead. There is no need to bother the Teacher anymore."
BUT.....
Jesus didn't pay any attention to them.
His focus was on Jairus.
His words to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
Did you get that?
Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
Then Jesus goes to Jairus' house where He finds a large number of people crying and making a lot of noise.
Jesus asks them why they are making so much noise because Jairus' daughter is not dead, only sleeping.
They laugh at Jesus.
He throws them out.
Then He takes the child's Mother and Father, along with Peter, James, and John to see the girl.
He takes her hand and says to her, "Young girl, I tell you to stand up!"
At once, she stood up and began walking.
At. Once.
I love this story.
See, Jairus was begging Jesus for his daughter's life.
There was no bargaining, or negotiations.
Simply begging, and pleading.
A desperate, heartbroken Father begging for his daughter's life.
Sounds sorta, kinda familiar.
I've been begging and pleading.
God, Jairus, and I share something in common.
God knows what it's like to lose a child.
Let me say that again, God know what it's like to lose a child.
Have you ever really thought about that?.
He knew how Jairus felt because He had been there.
He knows how I feel because He's been there.
He gave His Son.
How his heart must have broken.
Jairus' heart was broken.
My heart is broken.
Jesus asked TOLD Jairus not to be afraid and just believe.
He told him to SEE the UNSEEN.
The same with me.
He tells me not to be afraid and believe.
I have a choice.
I can either see the hurt or The Healer.
I'm trying so hard to stay focused on The Healer.
It's times like now, when I know our time with him is coming to an end that my eyes begin to well up with tears.
Don't be afraid, just believe.
Don't.
Be.
Afraid.
Just.
Believe.
Love you MUCH!
=],
I'm thankful for friends.
Today, I had the pleasure of eating lunch with a sweet friend.
It was wonderful to be able to talk and share my feelings without hearing all the things I spoke of here.
God truly does know EXACTLY what we need, when we need it.
He knew I needed you in my life.
Thank you, Jamie, for being a Friend, a non-judgmental, supportive Friend, whose vocabulary doesn't include, "What's the big deal?", "You will still get to see him some", "It will be ok.", or "It will all work out".
Thank you for listening, for knowing it doesn't always work out, it's not always ok and that winning the consolation prize isn't really winning.
You will never know how much you mean to me.
Love you MUCH!
=],
I couldn't say that yesterday.
Isn't it the cutest thing?
