Gracie Update

I know I said I wouldn't blog again until Gracie's surgery, but it has been reschedule for TOMORROW at 6:30 a.m. The last couple of days have been good days for her and the doctors feel this is a window of opportunity. As Beth Moore would say, "Get on your face!" and pray more than you have ever prayed. Thanks so much for your prayers and if you have no idea who Gracie is, see the previous post.

Meet Gracie

I would like to introduce my "blog audience", as few as you may be, to Gracie. She is an adorable 7 month old little girl who is fighting for her life. She has something called (and I'll quote her mother) " Severe Partial Digeorge syndrome. Doctors say that she has very little of an immune system, but because she has a little T-cell function, she is not eligible for a Thymus transplant. This is a dangerous condition to have because there is no treatment but a once a month antibody injection."

She has never left the hospital and needs our prayers desperately. On October 2nd, they are going to do a Glenn procedure on her which will redirect the blood flow directly to her lungs instead of going through a weak (or absent) ventricle. This is kind of a last resort for Gracie because the doctors say without this she will not get any better. The problem with this procedure is that she only has a 10% chance of surviving this surgery. Her parents have the most incredible amount of faith. Probably due to the fact that they have seen all of the obstacles God has brought her through so far.

I know that her family covets your prayers now more than ever. If you will read her journal, you will see what an amazing work God has done in the life of this little girl. I will not post anything else until Gracie has her surgery. I believe in the power of prayer. I am asking that if you have a blog please link to this (or Gracie directly) to lift this little girl up in prayer all over the world. Thanks for your help and please, be fervent in your prayers for this sweet little girl!

Click Here for Gracie's Journal

If you have problems with the link above, you can just copy and paste the link below into your address bar.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/graciejeanlockyer

A Five Year Old's Party

I always try to think of different party ideas. All of the little girls in my daughter's class have had the princess parties and the tea parties and the dress up parties. I wanted something different for her. So we decided to have a painting party. It was quite enjoyable. This was the first party that I haven't really had to do alot to prepare. The party favor was the item they were painting. The cake was made by a local bakery and the location was not my house. Which meant I didn't have to clean up before or after the party. What a fabulous idea!!! I must say that this party would not have been a success without the help of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. He was the "photographer" (for most of the shots) and she was my right hand. Literally. She is always so wonderful to have around for parties because we think alike when it comes to things like this and she just does things without asking. It was so great. The birthday girl got a little overwhelmed when it was time to open presents. I guess that's par for the course. But my absolute favorite part of this party was the present they give you for having the party there. It's supposed to be a tile, but I paid a little bit more and got a plate. I just don't like items that don't have purpose and I knew she would enjoy the plate every time she used it. (Of course, you know I blurred out her time name to protect her privacy.)They took all the children (and adults) at the party and did a thumbprint. Then they turned all the thumbprints into little animal figures and wrote their names on it. What a great way to remember her 5th birthday. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Blogging Blues

So I haven't really been in the mood to blog lately. And let's face it, you have to been in the mood. Plus, we've been out of town for the past 4 days and there is lots to catch up. I decided to post about something that I enjoy doing. I love to put a party together.

Recently, we gave my nephew's new wife a recipe shower. I wish I would post more pics, but I forgot my camera and have had to wait for other people to email them to me. We had some really neat ideas for this shower (at least I think so). Instead of having everyone bring their recipe to the shower, we decided to have the recipes mailed back to me. I then made a recipe book through shutterfly which included the recipes (obviously), pictures from their wedding, and Bible verses to correspond with either the recipes or the pictures. I loved this idea because it's something she can keep forever and she will always remember who gave her these recipes.

The next thing we did was a little alteration to the oh so typical corsage. I ask you, people, who keeps corsages? Sure, you may keep them for a little while, but let's face it. They all end up in the trash, right? We decided to get her an apron to wear with her intials monogrammed on it (thanks to jday) . Also, attached to the apron (as her corsage) were measuring spoons accented with zinnias and ribbon, of course.

Now for the table. This picture wasn't taken until later, so that's why some of the food was missing...it was quite a rush to get things done and pictures were the last thing on my mind. We decided to forgo to flowers in the center of the table. We replaced that idea with a glass pitcher filled with all kinds of kitchen items. And there you have your multi-purpose center piece. Yet another wonderful gift for the blushing bride (if I do say so myself). And last, but not least, the bride mentioned that she didn't have any funnels. Your wish is our command. Notice the funnels were also used as vases to hold the zinnias. I love it when a party comes together. Stay tuned. If I can get my act together, I may post pictures from my daughter's 5th birthday party.

Better Late Than Never

Well, the nester is having another party and I'm a day late. Only this time it's a P.O.O.P.I.E. party. Yes, that's right. I actually typed that word on my blog, but I promise it's not what you think. It stands for People Opposing Objectionable Pretend plants In the Environment. I do not have any fake green plants in my house. I do however have lots of fake items. In fact, I didn't realize how many things I had until I started snapping pics. The first is on my mantel. I did however put a real plant below it. The second is, get ready for this, in the SAME ROOM! I know...gasp. It is just fun. This is one of my favorite things in my house. The next one used to be in my dining room before we got new furniture. This also used to be in my dining room until I got the silver set for my buffet. Then it got moved to my formal living room. And last, but not least is the newest addition to the P.O.O.P.I.E family. While the stones are hopefully real, the vase filler is exactly that. It really has no purpose here, but it adds another dimension to the stones. This particular container has been empty for about 2 years, so it is just happy to be filled. That's all the P.O.O.P.I.E. I have for ya! You must admit, it's a little fun to say (although I'm sure my mother is gasping right about now). Sorry, mamma! I guess I just have enough of your middle child in me. I'll blame it on him :)

Slacker

I have been so slack. I feel disconnected from my blogging world. So here is my attempt to get back into the routine of posting. In the past, when school has started back, I have always felt as if I had tons of time on my hands. For some reason, this year things have changed. Maybe it's because my oldest is in kindergarten and we are all on pretty different schedules. Well, she has adjusted well to life in real school. I am probably going to divulge some information here that lets you know little more about me. You see, my oldest is in kindergarten, but it's a special needs class for children with developmental delay. She will hopefully one day be mainstreamed, but until that time she needs a little more one on one. One of her issues is that she can be very hard to reason with because you're never quite sure what she understands. She doesn't communicate her feelings very well. And by that I mean she is easily frustrated. To the common acquaintance or friend, she appears to be a very sweet and loving child. For the most part, she is sweet and loving. However, for the past couple of years when I would pick her up from school, it was like a switch was flipped as soon as she got in the car. She would be so happy to see me and would be all smalls and then 10 seconds down the road, she'd be screaming at her sister. I have tried everything that I can think of to change this scenario and nothing has worked. This year as I picked her up the first week of school it was the exact same situation. Screaming, yelling, crying the whole way home. Needless to say, it left me very frustrated and I also felt very angry at her. I felt like I was at my wits end. Enter my saving grace...We had decided before the school year started that we would try to let her ride the Special Ed bus home. We weren't sure how this would work out, but we were willing to give it a try. I picked her up the first week of school just so that she wouldn't have too many things to adjust to at one time. When the second week rolled around, she rode the bus. She loved it and hasn't looked back since. She gets home while her sisters are still napping. We walk inside, get a snack and I get to ask her about her day. (Now, let me just say that I have always asked her about her day and have always stressed the importance of her sisters not talking when she is telling me something. It never made a difference.) This bus is the best thing that could have ever happened to the two of us. I have never been a proponent of school buses...until now. I am so glad that when my daughter gets home from school, I can relax with her and enjoy her instead of stressing out and wondering what else I could possible do to make the situation better. I am a mother with a happy heart who is ever so thankful for the small yellow bus!

I May Hate Framing, but I LOVE Houses

There's nothing like driving down a country road and seeing an old farm house. This house will most likely be set back off the road with a long driveway lined with tall, tall trees. Do you know what comes to mind when I see this? It's my idea of a dream house. I came across this house last week when we were in our home town. It is the epitome of everything I love in a house. There's just one thing missing. The history. I have no idea what has happened in this house over the years. My dad told me who has lived there, but those people don't mean anything to me. On this same road however, there are two houses that have lots of personal history. The first house is the house where my mother grew up. I'm quite sure that my parents have driven by it numerous times and tried to show it to me. It wasn't until this particular day that I was in awe at the very thought of that house. The history that this house held involved my mother and her childhood. As we drove by, I pictured her and her siblings (she had 10 of them) running around in the back yard when they were the age of my children. I'm pretty sure there was some smoking behind the shed, but I try no to think about that. My dad said that it didn't have the brick around the bottom when my mom's family lived there. It was the very house my mom lived when my dad (in his words) courted her. Isn't that just the cutest little phrase. Anyway, I yearned to walk inside and have my mom tell me about all the rooms and what they used to be like. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. Maybe one day that will happen, but I guess until then I'll just have to use my imagination. The next house is unbelievable to me. I love everything about it. It was built by my great-grandfather. When he built it, there were only two houses in the town that had running water. This was one of those houses. My dad told me a little bit about this house, but I just want to know more. As much as I have done to make our house our home, it doesn't even come close to having the history that all of these houses have. I guess that's where they get the phrase "if walls could talk."