Urgent prayer need for a dear friend

I was all set to post a Tuesday's Tip, but in light of today's events, I will wait til next week.  My heart is once again hurting for one of my best friends tonight.  She went into labor this morning at 36 weeks and delivered her baby via c-section.  Something is wrong with the baby they are in desperate need of a miracle.  The dr's are not giving my friend and her husband much hope.

I will respect her privacy and not share their names, but the Lord knows them and that's what matters.  This has completely blindsided them and all of us.  We just had her baby shower on Saturday.  I just can't believe this is happening.  If I am brutally honest, I am sick and tired of babies dying.  I am praying that this sweet baby's life will be sparred.  God in Heaven, please spare this child.

I ask for your prayers for me as I go see my dear friend tomorrow.  She was with me when I was in labor with Jonathan in August and she walked me through the pain and loss of my baby.  I pray I can be there for her in the days and months ahead.  Thank you again for your prayers.  I will keep you updated.

Hatched

Any bird experts out in blog land?  I'm trying to figure out what kind of birds these are.  At first I thought they were robins, but now I think they might be finches.  I'm not sure.  The mama only leaves her nest when we open the door, otherwise she is there day in and day out.  It's so sweet.  The papa is close by too.  This is the tree in our front yard.  This is where they hang out together.  Is that not the cutest thing?  Here are their babies.

They haven't been moving around much or making any noise which is making me a little nervous.  I hope they are o.k.  It's funny that I am being so protective of them.  We're not even using the front door right now.  We're going in and out through the garage door. 

Well I am off to bed.  Brian comes home tomorrow after being gone since Tuesday morning.  Thank the Lord.  I'm beyond exhausted.  Single moms, I seriously don't know how you do it.  You amaze me. 

I almost forgot, the quarterback he got to hang with yesterday was...........................Peyton Manning.  Brian said he was great and very nice.  Can't wait to see the pictures.

Weekend Wrap Up & Tuesday's Tip

We had a fun filled, jam packed weekend and I'm just now recovering from it.  My friends and I had a garage sale starting bright and early on Sat.  I left there around 8:00 to go see the girls do a mini triathlon.  They bike, run and run through sprinklers for the swim part.  It is the cutest thing ever.  They love it.  They get a shirt and a medal just like daddy.  Speaking of daddy, he rocked his triathlon in Knoxville on Sunday.  He beat his PR by 28 minutes.  We are so proud of him.

Brooklyn had her last soccer game of the spring season.  She scored 4 goals.  She was on fire.  She loves the game and she really hustles.  I just love to watch her play.  Reminds me of myself when I was her age. I just couldn't get enough and was constantly kicking a soccer ball whenever I got the chance. 

Now that soccer is over, it's time for swimming.  We only like our girls to do one event at a time.  That keeps me from running around like a mad woman and allows us to have family meal time at night.  Sydney is still loving ballet and dressing up like a princess.  The child is obsessed with all things sparkly and beautiful.  I asked her if she wanted to play soccer in the fall, but she was not having it.  I think it's because she would have to wear shorts. :)  We'll ask again in the spring to see if she wants to play.

Daddy left on a business trip today so I am playing single mom til Friday.  Ugh! I will clue you in on Thursday as to what big time NFL star he gets to hang with.  He will be his right hand man for 3 hours tomorrow.  Brian is beyond thrilled.  Any guesses as to whom?  I'll give you a hint.  He's a quarterback.

I'll leave you with a quick Tuesday's Tip.  I bought this stamp about a month ago. 

It's called Guard Your ID Stamp and can be found at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $9.99 (I used a coupon  and got it for $8).  I love it.  I'm worried about having my identity stolen and this was one way I felt I could guard against that.  Before I recycle our mail or anything with our name and address on it, I use this stamp.  I used to use a Sharpie, but this works so much better.  I highly recommend it.

It's so hard, to say goodbye, to yesterday

Yesterday my little baby walked across the stage and received her preschool diploma.  Where did the time go?  I remember your first day of school like it was yesterday.  You were just 15 months old and I was 5 months pregnant with your sissy.  I was nervous to let you out of my sight, but I knew it would be good for you.  For 5 years, every Tues & Thurs, I gave you over to the most wonderful, nurturing teachers I've ever met.  To her teachers over the years, thank you for loving my daughter and teaching her about God's word.

They had the sweetest ceremony for the kids.  I won't lie that the tears flowed freely.  I will miss all the teachers and the directors, Ms. E and Ms. K.  They were like family to us.   

Brooklyn had the most wonderful teachers that loved on her and taught her so much throughout the year.  I can say withou a doubt, she is ready for kindergarten.  Thank you Ms. J and Ms. P.  We love you!

The kids sang 4 songs all with sign language.  It was the cutest thing ever.  I will post a video when daddy puts it on YouTube.

I may be bias, but is this not the most sweetest picture ever?

Brooklyn had the sweetest group of girls in her class.  Some of them she's known since she was in the 2 year old class.  The hard part is that they will all be going to different schools.  I am so sad.

Brooklyn, I am so proud of you and can't wait to see what kindergarten has in store for you.  I love you sweet girl!

Tuesday's Tip-Cleaning your dishwasher

I have two tips for you today.  It's your lucky day. :)  I have been using these tips for about 3 years.  We have a builders grade dishwasher that I cannot stand.  It just doesn't clean very well at all.  If it was in the budget I would get a new one, but it's not.  I'm drooling over this dishwasher right now. 

 

Here's the first tip:

Picnic, Pictures and Praises!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.  So thankful to have my sweet girls.  We went to church in the morning then headed to a local vineyard for a picnic.  I've been wanting to have a picnic for the longest time and yesterday seemed like a great day to do it.  It was a cool 70 degrees here in Nashville.

After our time at the vineyard, it was home for a Siesta.  Anyone else love Sunday naps?  The girls and I crawled in bed and enjoyed a 2 hour nap.  It was heavenly.  Then we ended the day with a little shopping at Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware, dinner at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) and frozen yogurt at Sweet Cece's.  It was a wonderful day with my precious family.

This picture cracked me up and I had to share it with you.  She has no idea what this means and I didn't tell her.  lol.

My sweet girl always in princess mode.  She will only wear a dress.  Don't even dare try to put pants or shorts on this child she will throw the biggest tantrum. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.  This day can be very painful for those still waiting to be called Mommy.  I know because I've been there.  I would avoid going to church on this day because I couldn't take seeing moms with their babies or watching a baby dedication.  Please know I prayed for you today. If you are still waiting for your miracle, please take this verse to heart.  Write it down where you can see it every day.

 "He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD."

Psalm 113:9

Results

So I had food allergy testing today and it came back positive for peanuts and almonds.  Lovely.  We don't do peanuts at home, but we do eat Almond Butter, which I love.  So I will come completely off of peanuts and almonds and see if I feel any better.  I will have to read every single label and menu to make sure there are no peanuts in anything.  I also had blood drawn for Celiac and we should know within a week or so.  It's probably doubtful that I have it, but you never know.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.  This is an incredibly difficult season for me.  I thought losing Jonathan was bad enough, but this has pushed me over the edge.  Please pray for Brian.  He is amazing.  I am so incredibly blessed.  He never complains, he just encourages and loves me.  He has hope when I have none.  He has to help me around the house and with the girls because I just physically can't do it.  He works so hard and I HATE that he has to help me.  I love you my sweet husband.  You are an angel.

In other news.  We have one fertile bird hanging out on our door.  :)  Can you believe 5 eggs?  From what I read, it's pretty rare for them to lay more than 4 eggs.  It's getting exciting.

Hoping for an answer

I have been hopelessly searching for an answer to the dizziness I have been experiencing for more than 6 years.  In the last month it has gotten increasingly worse.  I have seen every specialist under the sun and they all come up with nothing.

Sunday night we were eating at a restaurant and got into a conversation with our server.  She was so sweet and somehow we started talking about Celiac Disease.  She had it.  Hers showed up as horrible acne all over her face.  She stopped eating gluten and it cleared up.  That got me thinking, not about me, but about Sydney.  She was a colicky baby and dealt with awful painful gas even as a toddler.  I remember nights she would roll on the floor screaming in pain.  To this day she complains of a tummy ache about 5 times a day.  We have an appointment with a Pediatric GI set for Monday.  As I got to reading the symptoms of Celiac, I noticed Sydney had about 1/2 of them.  I will push for her to have testing on Monday to see if she has an aversion to gluten.

I never thought about having Celiac myself until I talked to one of my best friends on the phone yesterday.  She told me that her father in law dealt with horrible dizziness that never went away.  They tested him for a neurological disorder and cardiac problems and they all came back normal.  One of his doctors suggested Celiac.  He changed his diet and went Gluten free and guess what, yep, no more dizziness.  I had no idea that one of the symptoms of Celiac was dizziness.  I don't know if this is the cause, but it's worth exploring.  Thankfully we have a dear friend who is an allergist who can see me tomorrow to be tested.

I'm secretly hoping I have Celiac.  I know that may sound strange, but it's treatable with diet and I'm so desperate to get rid of this once and for all.

If you or a child has been diagnosed with Celiac and wouldn't mind sharing your experience with me, please leave me some encouragement in the comments section.  I would so appreciate it.  Thank you.

Last but not least, looky here:

Hoping for 5 tomorrow.

#3

Sure enough, this morning there was another egg.  This is so much fun.  The girls and I can't wait for them to hatch.  Will there be another one tomorrow?  We will have to wait and see.

A new beginning

A month ago, I was getting ready for Easter.  I wanted to change my wreath on the door with my cross wreath.  As I took the wreath down, I heard crack....  I looked down and saw 2 little robin eggs cracked open.  Poor Brooklyn saw it all and just stood there with her hands over her mouth wide eyed.  She didn't say a word.  I felt so bad.  I had no idea that a bird had built a nest on top of the wreath.  The nest was still in tact and I didn't touch it, so I put it back on the door and prayed that the bird would come back and build again.

That's exactly what happened- the birds came back- and we were so thrilled.  I went online to see how many eggs the mama would lay.  It said that she would lay one every morning until she got to 4.  Then she would sit on the nest for 12-14 days before the babies would hatch from their eggs.  So yesterday we saw this:

The girls were excited to wake up to see if she layed another egg.  Just like the article said, there was another egg.

Will there be 3 tomorrow?  Stay tuned.