Happy day!

What a difference a couple days can make. Or maybe it’s just that God’s working on my attitude. Nothing has changed…still battling weight and the Daniel Plan, still have inventory at work to figure out, still have tons to do with children’s ministry, still behind on all the housework…but today, it’s all good.

I’m reading “Kisses from Katie” again. She is a missionary in Uganda, Africa. She went on a 3-week trip to help out in an orphanage over Christmas Break of her high school senior year and fell in love with the people of Uganda. She took a year between high school and college to work as a kindergarten teacher in a mission in Uganda and ended up adopting 14 children and founding a mission of her own. You can read her blog here: http://katiedavis.amazima.org/ Maybe reading about how hard her life is, not to mention the lives of the Ugandan people, and they are able to find joy gave me the spiritual slap in the face that I needed. I highly recommend reading her blog and even more highly recommend reading the book as it dives more into her emotions and feelings as she made her life choices.

Lorie is doing much better. I heard from her yesterday and she was back to talking in her normal upbeat, hurried way. She’s sore from the retching and from her body being so tense during all that sick time but is definitely on the other side of the mountain. I am so grateful for everyone who covered her in prayer.

Today is a rainy Friday. I’m battling sleepiness. It was a battle getting up because it would have been so nice to just snuggle back into bed. If I’d known it was rainy at that point, I might have! It’s a bit ironic that it’s so rainy out (and supposed to rain through tomorrow) because we’re going to go see the movie “Noah” tonight! I find that amusing.

I also got a big kick out of my husband this morning. First, he’s still taking out the dogs for their morning walk. He looked at me and said, “What do you do when it’s raining?” My answer? “You hope they pee fast!” Not helpful, I know. But still… Anyhow, he also put on his knight in shining armor costume and helped to “slay the dragon.” Not really, but anyhow he knocked the dragon down a couple pegs. He’s such a good man. We’re about to celebrate our 23^rd anniversary on Sunday. I am more and more astonished that he’s put up with me so long. I’m a pretty high maintenance kind of gal.

I really am blessed!

Phone calls

There are phone calls from your kids that you pray you never have to receive: “Mom, I’ve been kidnapped.” “Mom, I’ve flunked out.” “Mom, I’m eloping.” “Mom, I’m pregnant (got a girl pregnant).” This was not one of those calls. But it wasn’t fun either.

Yesterday I was helping a staff member with a technology issue when my phone rang. From the ringtone, I knew it was Lorie but I just couldn’t take the call at that time. When I got things square with the staff member, I went to find a place where my phone had enough bars, and listened to the voicemail she left. It’s never easy to hear your children crying. It’s harder when they are hundreds of miles away from you and you can’t get to them to help make it better. Lorie was sick. She had been “both sides” sick all night long and needed help. I called her back and told her she needed to somehow, someway get to the clinic. Her roommate told her that she would help her, so off they went. Either she had food poisoning or some kind of stomach bug…they weren’t sure. But the sent her back to the dorm with a prescription. Now, I understand that they can’t supply everything, but, seriously, the child is a freshman who aren’t allowed to have cars so they sent someone who is draining from both ends off with no medication to help and with a prescription that she’ll have to use public transportation to get to a place that will fill it? Really? REALLY?!

Anyhow, long story shorter, the sweet roommate went to CVS to get the meds but couldn’t get away to do it until nearly 5pm. CVS took 2 hrs to fill the script so even though Lorie went to the clinic around 12:30, it was nearly 7pm before she got anything to help her.

She called me last night and sounded 1000x better and so much more like herself. She got some sleep while waiting for her roommate and had been trying to study for an exam today that is worth a third of her grade. Poor baby had to clean up all the mess from throwing up in the trashcan in her room all night. She said that she promised her roommate to make the room “not smell like death.”

So hard to be a mom at times like these. There’s no way to fix it, help out, or do anything but listen to your offspring hurting. I did a lot of praying yesterday. Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers. I know You love Lorie infinitely more than I do.

Saving Mr. Banks

Lorie, Jo, and I went to see "Saving Mr. Banks" this afternoon after church. It was also a mini-celebration because the church voted to keep me as the children's director. The past 6+ months I've been the Interim Children's Director and now? No "interim" to see here anymore, folks! I don't know what the actual numbers were...know it wasn't unanimous so there something to worry over. :) But, whew! What a load off! Now to get to some planning for the year, decisions about VBS, asking for help on a planning committee and prayer group, starting a group specifically for the 4th and 5th graders to prep them for the move to youth group! Yippee...

But back to "Saving Mr. Banks." I love Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson so that made this movie a "must see" but to show the background on how "Mary Poppins" went from book to movie? I couldn't wait to see it.

It pains to me to criticize the movie because it's Tom Hanks! Emma Thompson! MARY POPPINS!! But the first part was slow. Very s-l-o-w. Luckily for me, since it almost hurt that I wasn't enjoying the movie more, the last half hour was so beautiful. I sat in my chair and wept (which is hard to do sitting between Lorie and Jo. I've got to say that I'm impressed that they didn't do what they usually do when I'm moved by a movie and ask in a mocking tone, "Are you crying, Mom?!" which TOTALLY takes me out of the moment and messes it up for me).  I won't see it again and won't buy the video, but I'm very glad I got to see that last half hour...and I guess that half hour wouldn't have made much sense without the first part of the movie. I totally want to do some research on my own on P.L. Travers and, of course, watch "Mary Poppins."

Graduated!

She did it! My Lorie-loo graduated high school last Thursday. And, as always, she did it with style. She has a 4.25 weighted gpa which made her 3rd in her class (our county does some weird weight thing for the dual enrollment kids that everyone thinks is unfair and the county has changed...but the change goes into effect NEXT year!). As Secretary of her class and one of the ones who actually did stuff, she got asked to give the inspiration speech at graduation (and gave a speech at the Baccalaureate Service). As per usual, the residents of Rockdale County showed their tackiness and lack of manners and decorum and either screeched like banshees whenever anyone they knew's name was either announced or when they walked past to get back to their seat...or they decided to have a loud discussion about their lives because their graduate either had been announced or wasn't announced yet. Either way...it meant that I didn't even get to hear my kid's name announced because of the ridiculous behavior of others. It's not going to get better...I suggest that Rockdale invest in a super p.a. system that blasts so that all names are blared louder than anyone could possibly talk.

But that's just my opinion.


My girl getting her diploma. What a smile!

Mom got here on Wednesday. Dad & Susan got here on Thursday. We all met up at the house and drove to the school. It was plenty hot but a lovely breeze. That lovely breeze ended up blowing pretty hard so it made noise on the mic and Lorie's hat blew off during her speech. But it wasn't a sweatbath like Kenny3's graduation two years ago!

The sisters blew into town on Friday night. We did Lorie's family party on Saturday. Dad & Susan and the Jehns went home early Sunday. Mom and the Haneys stayed for church and I got to see them as I popped in to do Promotion Sunday and watch the graduate video and then for a couple minutes at the graduate reception after church.

Meg left with Mom to spend the month in Olean. I hope the time away is good for her.

Good heavens. I have to go to work tomorrow morning and see what I can pull together that the other secretaries have been working on since school ended. Should be interesting. Also gotta get myself in gear and stop making random plans for CM and actually do something!

Remembering little Lorie

Lorie turned 15 today. She's beautiful...inside and out. I can't take any credit for her physical beauty...she looks more like my sister than she does me. I hope I can take some credit for her inner beauty, but seeing that I act more like a temperamental, immature 12-year old boy (my apologies to any 12 year old boys) , I'm not sure I can take credit for that either...that would be due to the calm, solid nature of the Hubby.

On her birthday I can't help but remember the first few weeks of her life and just how scared I was. She had jaundice, but that was something we'd gone through with little Kenny. I knew as soon as her system decided to kick in, things would be fine. Jaundice and breastfeeding kind of go hand-in-hand. But the day she was cleared by the doctor, he gave the news this way, "We have good news and bad news for you." Never a good sign. I was by myself with Lorie. Mom (if I remember correctly) was at the house with little Kenny, so I had to deal with whatever the "bad news" was all by myself as this was before the cell phone became part of my life. The good news was that her bilirubin levels were fine so the jaundice situation was over. The bad news was that they detected a heart murmur and I needed to take Lorie to the hospital immediately and get an EKG. I still remember thinking, "crud, I'm in white pants", which will be a duh moment for anyone that has been one week postpartum...if you haven't, you don't want to know. Anyhow, the doctor's office was right next door to the hospital so I packed her up and drove her over to the hospital. I remember walking around the hospital being directed to where I needed to go with a big diaper bag and that mammoth-feeling car seat. The technicians that hooked Lorie up to the EKG machine weren't really very soothing. They were nervous because they'd never done this with a child so young. Stoic and strong...that was the word for me. I'd called Mom before going to the hospital to let her know not to expect me home and to let her know what had happened. She got in touch with Kenny and somehow, someway he tracked me down. The phone rang and it was him...that's when I lost it. I can remember being numb and just needing to get through it and then as soon as I heard Kenny's voice, it all became very real and very scary.

She was eventually diagnosed as having two VSDs (ventricular septum defect) and we had to make a number of visits to a pediatric cardiologist. Those were heartwrenching as Lorie was a very healthy, robust type of child and when we'd go to the cardiologist there would be parents in the waiting room with their babies who were thin and obviously not doing well. Lorie was released from the cardiologist's care when she was two. They determined that the holes had closed.


Seems like yesterday sometimes...I am so grateful for my girl!

Shall we dance?

My baby is growing up so fast! Lorie is at her school's 8th grade dance. (Kenny wasn't interested in attending when he was in 8th grade.) This is our family's first "major" dance. We went out and got a new dress. (We'd just finished getting the shoes when I got the call about little Kenny's accident.)  I'm just about to go pick her up. We stopped by the ballfield so that big Kenny could see her before she left, so she got to see some of her ball friends that don't go to her school. I know she felt beautiful. I was so proud of her when I dropped her off...especially after seeing some of the stripper shoes and taa-taas on display from some of the other young ladies being dropped off. When we got the dress she said she felt like Cinderella. Awww...she's definitely a keeper.

Eye exams

I've needed to get Johanna and Lorie's eyes checked for awhile now. I kept putting it off and putting it off because of money and time issues but finally got a jump on the calendar and scheduled them for Winter Break.

I wish I could have read the thoughts of the optician because Johanna was ON! The way she was talking reminded me of game show contestants from the 70's and 80's..."I'd like to buy an E for $300, Jim" in that overly-loud, overly enunciated way they talk. So funny. "That's an H, then an I, then either a G or an O, then a T. Wait let me go back to the G-slash-O and I'm going to say it's a G." She also read the letters from right to left, which threw us all for a bit. Add into it all that with the thing you look through in front of her face, she was stylin' a little like Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars I getting ready for a Pod race, and you can understand why Lorie and I giggled our way through Jo's exam.

The glasses should be ready Monday. I'll post pictures after we pick them up.

Auditions

Lorie has really caught the acting bug. It became apparent that her being part of school plays was no longer going to be enough for her. While we were at the dance studio for our ballroom dancing we noticed that they are actually more of an Arts studio. They offer all sorts of dancing, vocal lessons, acting lessons, etc. Dakota Fanning was part of that studio once upon a time. We took home one of the brochures and called the acting coach. We found out that they allow a lesson audit to see what was involved so we went to one. While the audit lesson wasn't all that great (how can it be when half the class is auditing students with their parents alongside). We decided to try it for a month to see how Lorie liked it. After her first REAL lesson, she was starstruck. She went on her first open cast call for casting agents for TBS and CNN and Tyler Perry Studios today. She's scheduled to get her headshot by a professional photographer (the amazing Roger Cannon) on Thursday but needed to take a photo with her to her audition so Kenny took her outside last night and didn't do half bad! Her teacher helped her with her resume, picking out a monologue for the audition and picking out her headshot from the shots Kenny took. I don't know if anything will come of it, but I'm excited about her excitement and proud of her going all out for something that she wants. She's a heck of a lot braver than I am!

Lorie gets to third base

Tonight I forgot that I had nursery duty at church. I'm supposed to have it every fourth Wednesday but for whatever reason, I haven't been in the nursery for awhile. Johanna stayed home sick from school so I was keeping her home from church when Lorie called to tell me that I had nursery and there were 4 babies there. So I grabbed Jo and got to the church. I made Jo stay in Kenny's office and told Lorie to help me out in the nursery. There ended up being only 2 babies but in the end I was glad to have her in there because of the humor factor.

One baby hadn't ever been at church before and when she got sleepy, she got more than a little unhappy. She was actually unhappy at Lorie. For whatever reason, she decided that Lorie was mocking her pain and would cry and sob whenever Lorie would laugh. I rocked her and sang to her and eventually she went to sleep. That's when the fun started and Lorie got "lucky".

The baby she was holding started stinking. Lorie got a panicked look on her face because I told her that she'd have to change him since I didn't think that my baby would let me put her in a crib without waking up and screaming bloody murder. That's when Lorie informed me that she's only changed one other baby "and that didn't go well." I told her tough luck, that she was a smart child and needed to just get on with things. So she takes the baby and get a diaper and wipes out of his bag. Then she sits him on the changing table and looks at him. I suggest lying him down. Apparently this is the point where the other baby she'd attempted to change started pitching a fit and rolling around. She got a scared look on her face and gingerly laid the baby down. This baby, being a bit more good natured, lay down nicely and kept playing with whatever toy Lorie'd given him. He was dressed in overalls, so I told Lorie to look for the snaps between the legs. She said there weren't any and hauled the baby up and started unbuckling him from the top while we argued about whether there really were snaps or not (by the way, I was right...there WERE snaps). So she gets him out of his overalls and laid back down again. In the meantime, I'm laughing as hard, yet as quietly as I can, because I have this sleeping baby on my chest. Lorie crosses her legs and informs me that she's really got to pee. Well, seeing that I've got dead weight on my chest and she's got a half-naked baby on the changing table, I told her that that would have to wait. She tentatively opened the diaper and SURPRISE! false alarm...he'd only been passing gas. She got him in his new diaper and then back into his overalls (sooooo funny) and then back on the floor so she could run down the hall to use the bathroom.

When she got back, her baby was unhappy. She got the bottle out and him in comfy-to-him-horribly-uncomfortable-to-her position and gave him his bottle. At which point he put his hand back and copped a squeeze. So between the open mouth kisses she got at the beginning of the night, him "feeling her up" and her getting up close and personal with his privates, I told her that she'd gotten to third base and didn't even get dinner and a movie out of the deal.

It only got better when as we are leaving the nursery, I caught sight of her from the rear...she really HAD needed to go to the bathroom!!! Add to it being in the car with little Kenny and her arguing about whether or not her knowing how to change a diaper in theory was just as good as being able to actually do it (and from her recent experiences, I'm not sure why Lorie was so adamant about her position) and then them arguing about Kenny's usage of the word "airy" (Lorie said it was "ar-ry" as in saying the letter "r" with a "ry" on the end) only to find out that what Kenny really meant WAS airy and what Lorie really meant was "awry"...well, it was a classic Stokes night!

Hair issues

Okay, so yesterday at the Premier Designs Rally I'm feeling goooood. I'm feeling fiiiiiine. I'm feeling like I actually have it together! I'd spent extra time doing my makeup (even remembered to put the green concealer on to tone down my red areas) and doing my hair. I'd gotten lots and lots of complements on the jewelry I had on (no mean feat in the company I was keeping) and my outfit (again, no mean feat seeing that I am fashion-challenged in a mighty way). During our lunch break I used the ladies room and when I went to wash my hands I, naturally, checked myself out. Unfortunately, the vision in my head of what I looked like did not quite match up to what I saw in the mirror. I'd obviously been rubbing my eyes (a horrible habit I've picked up lately) and my eye make-up was smeary. My red areas on my face were shining through the foundation, leaving those areas looking mottled and my hair! My blasted hair looked like I'd cut it myself!

If you look at my family photo in the slideshow, you can see that my hair had some length to it. Right before school started I got it cut off to my chin in a bob. That was the hairstyle I was sporting. That morning, it looked good, but by lunchtime some of my curls had fallen out and the frizzies and the gray hairs were popping out to say, "how do you do?" (Now, I have nothing against gray hair...I just wish it wasn't a totally different texture!!) My head has curly, wavy, slightly wavy and straight hair. It's a pain in the patoot to deal with, but yesterday I thought I'd put enough product in it to make sure it lasted all day! Not so! So today I decided enough is enough, time to go a little more drastic.

My friend, Bonnie, is a hairstylist and puts up with all my whining about my hair and helps me try to tame it. My hair likes Bonnie and willingly does whatever she wants it to do. Then it comes home with me and give me "nanny, nanny, boo-boo" stuff and nonsense. I just got my 'do done. Hopefully the hair likes what Bonnie did and gives me a little cooperation. I had Bonnie cut it shorter in the back and stack it so that when I straighten my hair, it has a little oomph, then I had her go in and layer the heck out the rest of the hair to try to lighten the load for the curls. When I got home, Lorie came and kind of "hmmmed" but I'm going to overlook that non-comment (and the look on her face) and pretend I'm jim-dandy fine with it.

I just want to feel like I have a hairstyle and not just a mess of hair on my head! Most of the time what my hair looks like has nothing whatsoever to do with me or what I've done. How sad that a big part of my "look" is up to weather and how my hair feels that day. I really, REALLY hope my hair likes this style and backs off for just a little while!

My daughter with her chorus picture. Love the eyebrow!