Busy Bee....

WOW it has been forever it feels like since i have been on here. Things get crazy when school starts. Soccer season is now in full force and girl scouts will be starting here shortly. Olivia will also be going to choir on thursday mornings. Not to mention fundraisers and everything else a mommy has to do. Don't get me wrong I love it all but sometimes it makes you a little tired.

A step in a new direction

A lot has been going on these past few weeks and I am finally able to step back and take a deep breath. With a few encouraging words from true friends I have decided to finally take the steps I need to start venturing out on the photography path. It is not going to be some lucrative business and I don't expect to get rich from it but it is something I love to do and apparently others see it too. I am so excited about the future.

What a crazy week it has been

Last friday I felt very weird pulling up to the hospital knowing I was going in for surgery. Last time I pulled up to the hospital for surgery I was pregnant with Natalie and knew I was coming home with my sweet angel in return. This time was different. I thought I might feel nervous sitting there in day surgery waiting for them to come and get me but strangely I felt a sense of calm. The only problem I had was the almost 2 hour wait for everything to be final and the nurse to come by with the hospital bed and tell me to hop on so we can go upstairs. It felt strange because that morning I was not in pain and here I am walking over and getting on the bed to be wheeled upstairs and then laying there waiting for anesthesia to come run my IV and epidural. I remember being taken nito the OR and hearing everyone talking to me and then I awoke in the recovery room. I am trying to take it slow and keep my pain levels down with medication but I want so bad to get back into my old routine. I am not allowed to drive or lift anything heavy for 2 weeks and I thank God everyday for all the support I am receiving from friends and family. Natalie is also ready for our routine to fall back into place. This morning we were both overjoyed when we got to wake up and sit on the couch eating pop-tarts and watch cartoons. She had a smile from ear to ear and that made me smile too. Last night I made it to meet the teacher at Passmore. Olivia was so excited to go and I wanted to be there for her so I slowly made my way through the school with her. I am glad that the surgery went smooth and ready for my life to get back to normal.

Surgery is in my future

I went back on monday for a follow-up ultrasound to see if this cyst has gotten any smaller. Of course it hasnot and my doctor scheduled me to go in on August 14th to have it removed. I am so thankful for everyone who has offered to help. My mother unknowingly took the 14th off from work to have some "me" time and has now offered to watch the kiddos while Bobby takes me to have surgery. Sheila has offered up her house for me to stay at until I can get up the stairs to our apartment and has offered the services of her two teenagers to help me take care of the kids until I am recovered enough to do it alone. The kids would have offered anyway they are like my siblings and I love them so much. Hopefully after next friday things can go back to the way they were before and I can get rid of this pain.

A test from God...

I have put off blogging about this experience until now because I have been filled with such emotion regarding it. Last month when I went in for my yearly woman exam I told my doctor about my bad cramps (something every woman can realte too) and how my abdomen was sore for a week afterwards. He gave me some medicine for pain/cramps and said if the meds didn't work to call back and he would schedule a diagnostic laparoscopy because I might have endemetriosis. Well that sounded like a plan to me. Then comes last monday when I start my cycle and the pain. I took the meds I was given and they seemed to help some. Bobby and I decided to have a date night and I called my BFF Dawn to come babysit. During dinner I started having some more pain and I brushed it off thinking my meds were wearing off and I would take more when we got home. At Cinemark we sat in the first row going up so I could put my feet up and relax hoping to help some of the pain. This worked until the movie was over and I stood up. That is when the pain hit me. I slowly made my way out to the truck and climbed in. On the way home I knew this was not my regular pain and didn't know what else it could be. By the time we reached the front door I was in a lot of paina dnwent in to take some vicodine and a muscle relaxer to take some of the edge off the pain. I know from experience that a hot shower helps relax me so I figured what the heck lets try that. Not a good idea, when Bobby helped me out of the shower the pain had doubled. I called my 2nd mom Sheila who is an OB/Gyn nurse and asked her what I should do. She told me to head to the Emergency Room. After sitting at the ER for 6 hours and having 2 ultrasounds and a shot of pain meds in the butt they sent me home with a prescription and a diagnosis of pelvic pain. When I called my OB the next day to schedule a follow-up and fin out what was going on I found out he was out of the country for the week. I made an appointment for the following monday and the nurse told me she would look up my chart from the ER and call me back to let me know what the ultrasound said. When she told me the ultrasound showed cysts I was in shock. That is not what I was expecting. I waited patiently until the next monday to get in to see the doctor. The when my appointment came he told me I still have 2 large cysts on my ovaries. One is 7cm in diameter and the other is slightly smaller. His plan of attack is to wait 2 weeks and do a follow-up ultrasound to see if they are resolving on their own. If not then we will do a laparoscopy to drain them or see if they need to be removed. I held it together until half way home. I had to stop at my Aunt Tracy's house because I needed a shoulder to cry on. She kept telling me we have to believe that they will go away on their own and that the Lord will help you through this. I hope so

What a way to end a day....

Let me start by saying how proud I already am of my 2 precious little girls. They are absolutely amazing individuals who blow me away on a daily basis. We turned in Olivia's soccer fundraiser today and she is so excited about starting another season of playing soccer with her friends. I honestly can't wait either. I love watching her play and enjoy herself on the field. Also today I got the news that Natalie has won her first pageant. I entered her in an online tutu cute beauty pageant a few weeks ago. I got the email tonight that she won and will be receiving her crown, sash and prizes in the mail shortly. How exciting is that!!! My heart is about to explode with pride. With our schedule is is easier to do some of the online photo pageants and I would love to enter Olivia in some because even though I am her mother I think she is gorgeous. Well when the crown comes in you can bet we will be taking some pics to post. Well it is time to go tuck my soccer star and beauty queen into bed. :)

Today was actually a "lazy day" for me and the girls. We have been trying to stay quiet for Bobby while he sleeps during the day but with Olivia and Natalie that is impossible so we usually are out and about. Today I decided I will do whatever I have to to stay at home in my pajamas. I don't get days like this often enough where we can just lounge around all day in our "jammies" and I loved every minute.

I have decided to pursue a passion of mine with allmy heart. I love love love taking pictures and reading about photography and going to photographers websites to see all the galleries. So I decided to alk to Bobby and start researching cameras online for the best one for me. I am so excited about what this path holds for me and I can't wait to get out there and start shooting "professional type" pics of everything I can see. LOL

Back to Reality

We made on our trip through part of Texas. I absolutley LOVE the Texas Hill Country and have decided once we retire that is where I want to live. There is something about the view that just takes me away. We headed out Monday towards San Antonio. After we checked in our Hotel we headed over to the San Antonio Zoo. That was an amazing place. The girls loved it and I got a pretty good workout pushing the stroller up and down the hills. After touring the whole zoo and downing 4 bottles of water in the scorching sun we headed over to Hard Rock before taking the RiverBoat Tour. What vacation would be complete without a little case of heat exhaustion to make you feel complete. That definetly made my boat ride feel a lot better. Tuesday we headed out to SeaWorld

We had taken the kids here last year and knew we were in for a long hot day. To my surprise though there was no whining and the kids did great. We got to see things this year that we missed last year because of time. After SeaWorld we cleaned ourselves up and ate at Mi Tierra for dinner. It was a very relaxing end to a busy day and they had wonderful food. Wednesday meant back on the road. In a Guide to Texas I found a place called Dublin, Texas that has the very first Dr. Pepper bottling Company. Next door is a museum, soda shop and gift shop. The bottling company still makes their Dr. Pepper with real Imperial sugar and let me tell you it is the best. Bobby was in heaven drinking Dr. Pepper and taking the tour. Then we headed out for Arlington/Dallas. After we got ourselves settled into our hotel we took in some sights and had dinner. We made it back to the hotel just as the weather took a turn for the worse. It rained all night with 70 mph winds and severe lighting and tornado warnings. When we got up Thursday we were not sure if we were going to be able to finish our vacation at Six Flags Over Texas. Due to the rain that was still coming down we took the kids to the Wax museum and Ripley's Believe It Or Not! We found a place called SpringCreek Bar B Que for lunch and then headed over to Six Flags which opened at 1:00. I have never seen Natalie get so excited as she did when we pulled into the parking lot. That was one of the best family experiences we have had in a long time. Bobby and I took turns riding the big kid rides with Olivia and then we each rode some little kids rides with Natalie who thought she was on an actaul "rollercoaster" and would put her hands up and scream "WHHEEEE". It was so cute. But all good things must come to an end and so Friday morning we packed up and headed back to Alvin. It is good to be home and we look forward to planning a GREAT summer vacation for next year that I hope my kids will remember for many years to come.

Quote of the day from Natalie Jane...

Mommy: "Natalie do you want to go eat taquitos?"

Natalie: "No mommy you can't eat my stinky toes!"

It is things like this that I want to remember forever. I love when little things like this can make my day.

I just want to pass the test...

I feel as though God is throwing struggles at our family to see just how much we really can handle. My aunt is almost to her breaking point and I am sure if I was in her position I would have broken down by now. Starting out with the fact that my 16 year old cousin is pregnant and refuses to see past her puppy love to realize she is now forever responsible for a hmna being that is growing inside of her. My aunt has tried and tried to give this girl chances and her only response is "You just don't want to see me happy!" UUGGHHH. Then my other cousin is having to go to a neurologist for testing to see why he is having massive headaches. Another test on my poor aunt. On this side of the road I am trying to help my husband who is having symptoms he believes are related to Huntington's Disease and is going to a doctor on friday. I am praying that the Lord has not put that on our family. I am hoping that the Lord will hear the requests of this family and help us through all of these situations before someone has a meltdown.

School is coming to end and as it draws near I am confronted with the thought of Olivia getting one more year closer to the dreaded High School years. Granted she is only going into the 2nd grade things are really changing already. Arguments with Best Friends, crushes on male substitutes and what to wear the next day.

My sweet social butterfly is graciously walking into to the terrible 2's and happy to have a spotlight on her. I can already tell my future grey hairs will mostly be from her. She refused to wear a dress yesterday because it was not pretty. She is very picky about what she wears and the right shoes already and I can see where this will be headed in the future. It is not a pleasant hing for a daddy to think about especially with little practice saying no to baby blue eyes and blonde curls. We have had way to much experience with the brown puppy dog eyes but now we are in a whole other ball game.

I am starting this blog as a way to keep everyone in the loop of what is going on the our small piece of the world. Life is passing by so quick it is hard to slow down and reflect but I must make myself do this. :) Olivia is doing great in school and I still can't believe she will be going into the 2nd grade. She is growing like a weed and will soon pass me up in the height department. My sweet Natalie is doing her best not to grow at all. She is going to be tiny for a while if not her whole life. She is such a character. The other day she told me she did not want to wear a dress because it was not pretty. The kid already has an eye for fashion I guess.