Roller Coaster

This week has been a roller coaster of a week. My dad has been in a nursing and rehabilitation center. He is there to get physical therapy and occupational therapy. As soon as I get off work, I race over there to check on him. He ended up in the ER last night because his potassium dropped to almost nothing. I had just been to the nursing center and when I got home, my mom called to tell me the ambulance was coming to get him. I raced back to the neighboring town to the ER. He looked so sick, cold, and clammy. He spent the night in the hospital. This morning he was released to go back to the rehabilitation center. He did seem better. Please continue to pray for us. For my mom and dad especially.

On a different note, the weather has really been strange lately. Today it was 70 degrees. My daughter's 3rd birthday is coming up. Look what it did last year in March. I hope we don't have a repeat snow.

Baby Be Blessed

Last spring I found the neatest company. It is called Baby Be Blessed. I have them listed on my blog roll. Tina Thompson began the company and now has Laura Swymeler to help her. These gals are fabulous. Tina made a special doll for Mary-Kate and my niece Isabella. They turned out so cute. Each doll has a scripture patch on its belly. What is neat is you can pick out your favorite scripture to have placed on the doll. She also puts their names on them.

When my brother passed away I asked his wife if I could have a few of his favorite t-shirts. I sent them to Tina and she made some dolls for the little ones of our family. My daughter got a kitty cat. I had a doll made for my great nephew and one for Blake's baby. Remember, these were made with his t-shirts. It is such a keepsake. Please check out her blog and website. You'll be glad you did.


The three keepsakes.

My Birthday

Wednesday was my birthday. I had a great day at school. My friends got me some of the neatest gifts. My dad called me from the nursing and rehab center to wish me a Happy Birthday. It made my day. My parents always made it a special day. Especially my mom. We'll probably go out to eat this weekend to celebrate, but on Wednesday we stayed in and had pizza and that was fine with me. There was only one phone call that I didn't get and it broke my heart.....

My brother Blake didn't call. My brother was killed in a traffic accident in Ft. Worth on July 28, 2008. He was only 40 for a week. I have never blamed God or even the 19 year old that hit him. It was a tragic accident. When we were granted free will, I think that opened up accidents to be able to happen. You can read more details in my previous posts. He was a police officer. He also refereed football games and was a professional fisherman. Last year in March he came to visit and brought his boat. It was wrapped like they do Nascar cars. He had a sponsor and everything. He didn't get to fish hardly at all because of the weird weather we had. I came across this picture. I thought it was neat because you see my daughter wearing my brother's helmet and my dad in the reflection. You can also see my brother grinning and me taking a picture. Click on the picture to enlarge.

One memory about Blake that stands out is he became a Christian on my birthday in 1986.

I thought I was handling everything well. All of the first holidays and birthdays that he missed gets to me. He missed seeing his daughter's first birthday. That crushed me.

Dad

My dad got out of the hospital yesterday. He has been there since January 16th. At the hospital he wasn't getting enough therapy and he met all of their goals so he was dismissed. He is now in a nursing and rehabilitation center. He will be getting Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy. If he meets their goals he can come home very soon. Unfortunately if he can't meet their goals he will come home sooner than expected. Believe me, we want him to come home, but we want him to build strength and not fall. Please continue to pray. It has been so hard on our family, yet we have all gotten stronger in our faith. I have learned that I am not in control of anything, God is. We have to rely on Him for everything. My dad is making improvements everyday. On January 16th, I thought I was losing my dad. I can't tell you how scary that was. To lose my dad and my brother within 6 months scared me. He has made tremendous improvements. We have been given a gift having him back.

Fun Night with Honey

My mom watched Mary-Kate tonight so that Hubby and I could go out to dinner. We are taking her out for Valentine's Day dinner tomorrow night. She and MK made cupcakes together. Watch the process....

Valentine's Party for MK

MK had a blast at her Valentine's Day party at her school. I was out of school today and was able to go with her. She was so good! Here are some pictures.

I need Decorating 101

I love my entertainment center. I need to do something at the top of it. I have a tray ceiling. So my ceiling goes up pretty high. I just didn't capture this in the photo. What would you suggest to place on top of this? It is really cool. It has great storage for videos.


These are some ways I have decorated other areas in my house.

Crafts

MK has a Valentine's Day Party on Friday at her school. I found a cute idea in the Family Fun magazine. I am not artsy fartsy at all. I think they turned out neat. You take Teddy Grahams and put them in little sacks. (Found mine at Hobby Lobby for 40% off.)



You can write little messages like:
A Bag of Bear Hugs
It would be unbearable to be without you, Valentine
Have a Very Beary Valentine's Day

You are probably wondering, why in the world is she doing this today? Well, Monday night I have Parent Teacher Conferences. I will be at school tomorrow from 7:45AM to 9PM. The rest of the week doesn't get any better. I thought I better get a jump on this so I wouldn't forget.

Glad It's Friday

From my other posts you have probably figured out that I love being a mom to this princess. My husband and I both work. She goes to daycare. We can't wait for the weekends to spend extra time with her. I hope the weather is nice so she can play in this. (Zooming in, the mess behind my fence is another post.)



And maybe we won't need this raincoat. Sure is cute though.

March Birthday

I am on the lookout for Max and Ruby (They are bunnies on NOGGIN) items for MK's birthday. You can buy the toys and things on Amazon. I was looking for plates and cups. My birthday express catalog didn't have these characters. If you have seen anything like this please let me know where.

Dad Update

My dad is in the rehab part of the hospital. They are working with him on walking and initiating conversation. It has really been tough for my family. During the week we are only allowed to see him at lunchtime and from 5:30-6:30PM. The hospital staff asks that only two people at a time see him at one time. Well, we all need to learn to take turns because we all show up at the same time and some of us are hogging him. My mom would love some time alone with him because she misses him so much. When our wild bunch shows up she doesn't get to talk at all. He is having some memory issues, too. Hopefully all of this can be worked out. Please continue to pray!