ODDS AND ENDS....

Just wanted to share a few pictures of our ending days of summer and some other odds and ends of my wonderful kiddo's...

Nickolas and Emma taking a ride in the jeep (Yes he is driving a pick Jeep)...


Emma showing us her ballet moves....

Trying to hold her leg up, like the big girls do...

I just love this picture (don't know why)...

Nickolas and Emma ready for Kick off of the Texans game....

Wordless, she is just too cute...

Katelyn and Nickolas at Chuck E. Cheese...

All of my wonderful kids playing on the swing set...

We have had an amazing summer, I just wish we could have a few more summer days (but I am totally loving the cooler days and nights). I think we are all finally over all the little bugs and stuff that have been going around our home (thank God). Joshua has finally got back on his original work schedule (6pm- 6am), it is a big adjustment but all in all it is for the best, the kids get to see him a little more during week and he is also getting a little more over time which is really helpful, I just thank God that he has a job and that we are able to provide for our family, he always takes care of us... Any how, I have a few more pictures that I want to share with everyone I just have to find what I did with the disk, I have been a Little scatter brained lately. We love everyone and only hope that you are as blessed as our little family has been during these last five years of our marriage...

Bad Blogger...

OK so I am a really bad blogger lately, but I guess I can use the excuse that we have had ALOT going on lately... Well first, we took Nickolas to the Ortho dr. for his feet and found out that he might have some other issue going on developmentally and mentally. He was suppose to go to the Neurologist on the 11th but everyone was sick so we did not make it and as always we are waiting for a call and and a new opening for an appt. I have been really stressed and worried about what the dr might tell us, but then someone asked me if it would change anything and I had to say no... He will still be out sweet little boy no matter what some dr might say, he will always be our Nickolas, just as Emma has always been our Emma. I think God has given me some really special gifts, not only my husband and children, but he has taught be strong and patient. I have also learned to give my problems and worries to him, we are taught to let God do the warring for you. I think that is the hardest thing for me, just giving everything over to him, but I know that he will guide and help us through all our difficult times, he is always the light at the end of the tunnel... Sorry, didn't mean to get off subject... As for the rest of us, we have all been sick... Nickolas and I had a horrible stomach bug and them Emma got it, after we where all past that, we got another round of another bug. Last week I got sick again and found out that I had Pneumonia and now Josh has our stomach bug, God only hopes we don't get it back. We are all on the mend now and other than that there is not much to report... Emma is still loving ballet and is doing really well, pictures to come soon I hope. I will let you know more on Nickolas as soon as we go back to the doctor. I promise I will be a better blogger from now on, never mind I know I have said that before and as always my world gets a little crazy sometimes.... Love to all and may God bless your life as he has mine...

Getting to be a big girl...

We had Emma's 2 year check-up a few days ago and everything went really well. She weighed 27.6lbs and was 35in tall. I was so excited to hear her weight, she has gained 2lbs since we where at the cardiologist a few months ago. She didn't need any shots this time, thank god, It always worries me when she gets so upset and raises her heart rate...
Nickolas also when for his check-up and is 37lbs, he is getting to be such a big boy. They are both in the 90% in their height, Nickolas is also in the 90% for his weight, which the dr. said was really good. Emma is only in 50% for her weight which is really good for kids her age if she was a little shorter, I will take 50% (she has been in 25%), I am so proud of her, she just keeps fighting and getting bigger, everything she is suppose to do...

Emma also started to school with Nickolas two days a week. She did really well on her first day, she kissed me by and went off and played. When I got there to pick her and Nickolas up she was so excited, she had to show me the frog hat she made at school... She told me all about her numbers and letters and said that she had lots of fun playing at bubbas school today...

I have to share another cute Nickolas story with y'all... We where on our way home and it had started to rain...

Nickolas: "Mommy, it's raining"

Mommy: "Yep, it sure is"

Nickolas: "Mommy, where we get rain?"

Mommy: "Well, God makes the rain"

Nickolas: "Why?"

Mommy: "To make our flowers and trees grow pretty"

Nickolas: "Oh, Mommy, he is a good God"

I could not have said it better myself, sometimes it takes a three year old to remind us when we are having a bad day, that "He is a good God"...

Sorry this is such a long post, but was wondering if I could ask you to pray for a heart family... Their son Connie has the same problems as Emma and just got the news that he needs to have a heart transplant. Doing another surgery would put him to much at risk... They are praying for a better second opinion and that no transplant will be necessary...

Thank you so much for checking in on us, we love you and in the words of Nickolas, always remember, "He is a good God"...

Sick...

Yesterday Emma started to run a fever of 103 and never acted like she felt bad. She continued to run a fever through out the day and night, but by morning no fever, so I just though it was a little bug and we where all done, (I could only wish). We went to lunch today with Non, Ms. Angie and all the kiddos, by the time we where half way through lunch the fever was back, I decide to take her to the doctor and after getting very angry with the doctors office (that is another topic all together) I finally decided to just take her to the emergency clinic by the house. The Dr checked everything out and did a strep test on her and come to find out she has strep...

My poor baby, she is never sick and is so sad now. I think it all finally caught up with her and her throat is finally hurting. As I was trying to give her her "yummy pink meds" she spit it all over me, along with the Tylenol and anything else I tried to give her. She just kept begging me not to and to stop. It just broke my heart, I almost said fine no meds, but I new she had to have them and we did finally get them down after calling her Maw Maw over to help me hold her down :( .

I am just hoping and praying that after a couple of doses of meds she will feel better and not be to mad at Mommy for holding her down... I also hope that the rest of us don't get it, but I am afraid I will be taking Nickolas to the Dr next and just to be sure I am going to call me and Josh's Dr and see if he will send us an antibiotic just in case we need it as well...

Back Home...

Well, I am back home and everything went really well. The surgery took about 2 hours and the Dr said that everything looked good and I should start to feel better in the next couple of days. I am really bruised up, but I will take it, at least it is all over. The pain is OK, I am hurting but nothing that rest and medication won't help. I am going to lay low for the next couple of days and not do anything and as the Dr put it, just be the queen for a few days... I think I can handle that, it doesn't happen very often... Love to everyone that has been praying and thinking of me these last few days and weeks it is very much appreciated... Once again God has blessed our family, he has always taken care of us and always will...

Off to the hospital I go...

Well today is the day, I have been waiting for it for a long time and now that it is here, I am not sure I am as excited as I once was. I just realized yesterday that this will be the first time I will have surgery done and have my kids. It kind of changes everything, I am worried more about what could happen to me. I mean, I am the one that takes care of everything around the house and the kids, they are my heart and the thought of something happening to me and not being there for them is to heard to think about. Let me also say that Josh also does his things around here that keep us going and is sooooo important in the completion of our family, but I am the Mommy. I am the one that tries and hold everything together and today everything is out of my control and I hate that.
I know I am over reacting and women have this done every day, but I guess once you have a family, you are in charge of someone other than yourself and you have to put everyone else first.
I know everything will be ok, I have prayed and prayed that God gives me the strength to leave my family for a few days and brings me through this with flying colors. He has blessed me thus for in my life, marriage and family, that I know that he will get me past this.
Now I will be positive again... I thank God that I live in a country that I can get medical care when needed, which means no more pain, other than the recovery and I am sooooo grateful for that. It has been a much needed and wanted operation.
I will post in a few days when I get home, I am suppose to have surgery at noon, but that could mean 11 or 2 in the afternoon.
Please pray for me to keep the strength and courage to keep going through with this, I would be lying if I said I was not just a little scared, but I have the faith that everything is going to be great...
Talk to everyone in a few days....

Sooo Excited....

Well we just finished at the cardiologist with Emma and I could not be more relieved and excited. Dr. Kim said that she looked good and nothing has changed since February. Her heart function and size has stayed the same, which means that her heart failure has not progressed any further so far. She has also gained 2 pounds, (whooo hooo), I was ecstatic when I saw 26lbs on the scale. I am so relieved and thank God for all the thoughts and prayers for her. She is such a fighter and just keeps on fighting. She is just so amazing to me....

Busy, Busy, Busy...

The kids Had a blast in their new pool, hopefully this one won't bust...

Well it has been a very busy few weeks and I still have more to go. Katelyn turned 7 on Saturday so we had a nice family party for her at Chucky e. cheese. She got lots of fun stuff, Hanna Montanna and the Jonas Brothers where the biggest ticket items this time. I would share some pictures but my camera decided to poop out that morning.

Nickolas had his first basketball game on Saturday morning as well and if you have never seen three year olds play, it is hilarious... We put him in it for the interaction with other kids but, also to learn more listening skills, I think he just likes the running part... I will post some pics soon if I can figure out what happened to my camera...

This week Emma has her cardiology appointment so that is always stressful for me, the whole never knowing what they are going to say, (Pray for good news). After Emma's appt. on Thursday, I get to go spend all day at the dr's office and hospital for all my wonderful pre op stuff.

Saturday is Emma's big 2nd birthday, so back to Chuck E. Cheese we go...

Next Wednesday is my surgery, so I am on top of everything in the house to try and get things ready for anyone and everyone that will be here. God bless the kids Non, she said that the kiddos could go stay with her for a couple days and then their Daddy will be off work so then he can take over, (God help us all when the men take over)...

Please pray that I make it through all this craziness... I am looking forward to everything, I am just not wanting to hand the reins over for a few days...

Back to the DR...

Tomorrow I will be heading back to the doctors office. I have been in alot of pain lately and nothing seems to work and there is only so much you can take with kids. It is still 4 weeks or so till my surgery and I was told that the pain won't get any better, only worse. Well, I can't go through this for another 4 weeks, I can handle alot of pain, but I can't handle this getting any worse... I know, I sound like I am complaining, but I really am tired of hurting (I guess I am complaining). The nurse I talked to today said that it is a possibility that he can do surgery earlier and on a different day other than on his surgical day (Wednesday). I told her that I am not doing this to move up my date, I just want to do something that is going to help in the next 4 weeks. Hopefully he will have more answers for me tomorrow, I even told Josh that if this gets to much worse we will just go to the ER and they will definitely do something there... I will keep you up dated. Thanks for listening to me ramble and complain, my kids have no idea what I am talking about when I tell them, "Mommy doesn't feel good"...

And the date is set...

I have a date for my surgery finally, It will be July 1st. It seems so far away from now, but as I always say, God has a plan for everything. I came down with a horrible cold and if surgery was set for sooner, I would not be able to do it... I am still really nervous about having it, but am looking forward to no more pain. I will be in the hospital over night and hopefully be able to come home the next day. I always say that I need a vacation or a night away, just didn't think it would be this way, oh well I will just keep looking for the positive.

On a brighter note Emma has started eating alot better. We started giving her nutrition drinks with extra calories and it seems to be working really well for her, She will even sit down and eat most of her meals. Thank God, prayers just keep working for this little girl, I still believe that God has big plans for her... We go back to the Dr's June 25 for a check-up and stuff, so hopefully he will have good news and we can have even more to celebrate at her birthday on the 27th.

God bless and I will keep everyone posted on how we are doing, love to all of you...

Finally....

We have been working with Nickolas for awhile now to potty train and I think it has finally began to work. We have gone a day and a half now wearing "Big Boy" pants and have not had one accident. I am so excited for him and me. One down and one more to go... I guess it was kind of funny how it all come about, here is a little re-cap...

Nickolas: "Look Mommy, I changed my pants".

Mommy: "Nickolas, did you put on your own diaper?"

Nickolas: "Yep, I am a good job."

After that and seeing that my child was changing his own pants, the decision was made no more pull-ups or diapers, no matter what (other than at night). I just hope all keeps going well, we have an hour car ride tomorrow, lets pray he does OK. I am soooo proud of him, maybe if he is potty trained, Emma will want to do it to... I can only hold my breath and pray...

Another chapter closes...

When I was 21 I was told that I had poly cystic ovaries, at the time I did not understand what that meant, now I know only too well. In the past 8 years I have had 5 surgeries to "clean everything up" and multiple Dr visits. Recently I have had ALOT of pains and discomforts, so back to the Dr I went. I finally got in for my ultrasound yesterday and found out more than I had expected. I was told that my ovaries are shot and are full of cyst, so that could only mean one thing to me, surgery again... After telling me that my ovaries are bad he began to tell me that my uterus doesn't look so good either. I have uterine tissue growing out side of the uterine wall, to say the least it could be very dangerous. At the end off hearing all of this I was told that my ovaries and my uterus needs to come out and asap.

I know that I was not planning on having anymore babies, but just the thought that it is not even a possibility anymore really hurts. God has blessed me and my family with beautiful babies, two babies that I was not supposed to be able to have do to all my other problems. I am so thankful for that but, I guess I am just being a little selfish, I don't want someone to take what makes you so much different from men...

I am trying to look on the bright side and think that there will be no more pain no more pain meds, I can finally really enjoy my kids. I am also so thankful that God gave me my children when he did, he his the only one that knew my future and thankfully he gave me a chance to be a Mommy early.

Please pray for me and Josh as we journey down this road, I know I am still going to shed more tears and there will be a little more pain, but I know God will take care of me.

Princess Emma...

We are getting ready for two up-coming birthdays, Katelyn will be 7 and Emma will be 2. I asked Katie girl what kind of birthday she wanted and to my surprise she said a water luau party (that is what we had last year), so easy enough for me I still have some of the stuff. Emma on the other hand was very funny...

Mommy: "Emma what kind of birthday do you want".
Emma: : "hmmmm (tapping her finger to her chin) mommy I'm a Princess"
Mommy: You mean you want a princess party?
Emma: "No Mommy, I a princess"

So after a little back and forth she finally understood when I showed her a party book. She was soooo excited when she saw the princess stuff, she started kissing the book and saying it was her princess. So low and behold guess what kind of party we are having for Ms. Emma? "Princess Party". I will be sending out invitations to both soon, hope to see everyone. I just had to share our little conversation, almost two year olds can be so funny...

Grandpaw Womack...

Grandpaw has been fighting cancer for about a month now and went to be with the Lord today. He was a very strong and proud man and fought until the end. He will be greatly missed by all his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and the rest of the family and friends of this wonderful man. Please pray for the Womack famliy as they go through this great loss...

1 sick Mommy = 2 happy kids...

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Mothers Day, I know I did. We got to spend lots of time as a family which is very rare since Josh works nights. We had dinner over at Non and Grans, which was great being able to relax and see rest of the family, not to mention Gran is pretty good on the grill.
Yesterday I woke up and had the worst congestion in a long time, it was only in my head so I did not think much about it, take some benadryl and go about my day. I wish that was the case, when I got up this morning my throat hurt, my head hurt and my ears a are killing me. To say the least the kids had a good time running around and doing what ever they wanted today. I think they only settled down to eat and to actually take a nap (at the same time), thank God for that nap. I can only hope that tomarrow I feel better and the kids don't totally destroy the house...

Happy Mothers Day...

I had this Poem sent to me and just thought I would share...

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day With little time to stop and pray For life's been anything but calm Since You called on me to be a mom Running errands, matching socks Building dreams with building blocks Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes And other stuff that children lose Fitting lids on bottled bugs Wiping tears and giving hugs A stack of last weeks mail to read So where's the quiet time I need? Yet when I steal a minute, Lord Just at the sink or ironing board To ask the blessings of Your grace I see then, in my small one's face That you have blessed me All the while And I stop to kiss That precious smile.

So far I have had a wonderful Mothers Day weekend, I actually got to go out for a few hours with my Mom, we got are hands and feet done and even snuck in a little shopping. When I got home my wonderful husband had both of the little ones fed, bathed and ready for bed. That in its self is the best present I could ever ask for, "thank you honey, your the best".

I hope everyone has as great of a day that I have, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

Please Pray For Emma!!!

I just got off the phone with the cardiologist and he said that feeding issues are very common in heart kids. He also said that due to her lack of eating and weight lose that she might have to have a feeding tube put in. I told him that I did not want to do that and if we could exasperate all other options first. They are sending all her records over the the nutritionist and I should be hearing from them soon. He also said that her heart surgery was drawing closer, but that we will discuss that more in our next appt. in June. I am just praying for her to gain some weight so she will be healthy when they do her heart surgery. If you can please pray for peace for our family, I know that this journey is hard on everyone not just Josh and I. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers, I will let you know more as I do.

Not sure what to do...

For the past few months Emma has not been wanting to eat. When she does, she eats half a chicken nugget and few Fry's or maybe a little fruit. I just don't know what else to do... When I took her to the cardiologist three months ago I brought the issue up, but he said that everything looked fine. I just don't know if everything is really OK... I mean how healthy can it be to not eat... I know everyone says that heart kids have alot more difficulty eating, but this is more than difficult, this is a lack of... This is really stressing me out, I mean I just don't know what else to do to help her, I feel so helpless. I know that if she does not start eating that could mean a whole new round of test or maybe surgery sooner than later. I can only pray to God that he gives me and my family the strength to journey down this path and to give Emma comfort and his hand to hold, whatever path she will be taking.

Please pray for Emma, please pray for her to stay healthy and to stay strong during this long road I know she will have one day.

I will update soon, I am going to call the cardiologist tomorrow...

Samantha

Just thought I would share a few pictures of the kids, there will be more to come, These are just the newest ones on my computer. I am the worst at putting our pictures on the computer...

It's been soooo long....

Sorry it has been so long, honestly I totally forgot about mt blog... I know I am not a good blogger, I promise it do better...

Let me start off by updating everyone about Emma...
Emma has been doing really well, she has had no hospital visits in over a year. It is so amazing to me that this little girl with so many heart issues has had no major problems lately, God is truly a great God and has kept this little girl under his wing. I know that she is going to have to have surgery soon, probably in the next year or so. I can only pray that when it is time he prepairs our family and doctors for that day. The only thing that we are having to watch is her weight. She has not been gaining and actually lost some weight. From what I know, this might be the first sign that surgery is nearing. Other than that she is amazing. God has big plans for her. I honestly believe he is using this little girl to show people that he still works miracles. Everyone that meets this amazing little girl is amazed by her, not only that she is still here with us but that she is doing as well as she is. She teaches people to be so thankful for what they have and not worry with the little stuff. He is in control, if you give your problems to him he will do the worrying for you. I know I have learned to live life for every moment and if God decides to give you more moments, give thanks, life is such a precious gift and we should be truly thankful for what we have and not dwell on what we want or think we have to have. God never gives us more than we can handle, although I feel he pushes us a little further than we thought we could go. Please keep praying for Ms. Emma, every day can produce more challenges, I only pray that we are strong enough to work through them.

As for the rest of us it is just the same ol' same ol'. Nickolas is still going to school two days a week and loves every minute of it. He had tubes in his ears and can hear and speak sooo much better. His favorite phrase now is "Mommy, you make me mad". he usually uses this one when he doesn't get what he wants. I then have to explain to him why he can not have it and let him tell me why he is mad. You have to love three year olds, they come up with the cutest things.
Katelyn is wrapping up her first grade year and is looking forward to her summer vacation. She is such a good reader that her teacher says she is reading on a fourth/fifth grade level. She thinks she is just hot stuff because she can read chapter books, I have to say it is quite amazing.
Josh is still working nights, but he received a promotion and is now the night supervisor. I am just so thankful and blessed that I am able to stay at home and be with my kids. Trust me, at times I wish I could go back to work, but I think all Mommies have though's days.

We have just been truly blessed with everything we have been given, God is good we just have to stop an look...