Party Boy!

So today we had Samuel's birthday party. It was so much fun. Unfortunately it was raining so we stayed inside and the kids played. The kids played and ate and then it was gift time.
He really didn't know what to do when it came present time. We would hand him a gift and say this is from.... Then he would just look at like he was waiting on someone else to open it. Finally we got him to open all the gifts. Then the kids played with his toys.

When we got home Jim made a big deal about all of these being for Samuel. He pointed to each gift bag and said all this was Samuel's. Well, unknowing to him a belated gift to Blake was in the mix. So Sam is going thru his stuff and pulls out a CD. He comes running in the kitchen "Blake, Adventures in Odyessy!" I try to explain to Samuel that this is in fact Blake's birthday present. He responds with "Well it's my birthday. Blake has to share." I just about lost it with laughing. I think by the end of the day he had a better understanding what a birthday was all about. Here are a few pics from the party.

All Smiles at the Party!

Wow Guns! His favorite.

Wow 4 years old!

Merry Christmas to Me!!!

This is Grace all prim and proper.

(Notice the straight hair. Compliments of Aunt Barbara.)

My sweet daddy all propped up.

Sam a little shocked by the camera.

So do you like all of the wonderful photographs? I do!! Simply because they came from my camera. I got up this morning and braved the rush to get to Wal-Mart and get the digital camera that was on sale. I am so proud. I was going to ask Jim for one for Christmas, but who can pass up a deal!? Anyway, I am glad I got it so now I can take pics and post them tomorrow after Sam's birthday party.

Life around here is pretty much the same. We live football for another week. The guys just won tonight so we advance to the next round. The final game will be in two weeks. Hip Hip Hooray! My daddy is doing about the same I guess. We try to hang out there as much as possible. Hope to be able to celebrates Samuel's fourth birthday tomorrow. This is his first birthday USA style. I sure hope he enjoys it. Until then...

Our Weekend

This has been a pretty great weekend. It started out with a win for our local high school football team. We are the reigning state champs and hope to get another title this year. Even though it was absolutely freezing there was still a very large crowd. Jim then came home and set up the sprinkler for the kids. The results...

These were just a few of the beautiful ice creations that the kids got to play with and enjoy. For kids living in the deep south these are the closest we get to any sort of "White Christmas."

Then it was off to my folks house to help my mom. We try to spend as much time as possible over there to give her a break. While we were over there the kids worked on making some Buckeyes. These are like little Reese balls. I think Jim has eaten most of them already. Here are the kids at work...

The kids have also thought it great fun to rake leaves into a big pile. They have made little "roads" all over the yard to get to their big pile. Then they enjoy jumping in them. Wow! Can I still convince them at 16 that it is fun to rake leaves?! Here is Sam posing in front of the pile.

This afternoon my brother took Blake hunting and they saw a few deer. Nothing close enough to shoot. They will try again next weekend. The kids are great and life is fun. As Thanksgiving approaches I am so very thankful for all of my wonderful blessings.

Home sweet home...

Mr. Joe Thomas Cauley

My daddy is finally home! They released him today and he is home and sleeping. It's really been a whirlwind. On his discharge papers they have 5 different reasons for hospitalization and that is only because they ran out of room. He has also been given 7 new perscriptions to add to the seemingly 500 he already takes. I think to docs have done all they can do so all we can do is try to help him along. His days are better but the nights are bad. He has developed a form of dementia that kicks in at night. Let me tell you he can come up with some stuff. All in all it is nice to be home. It makes for a closer drive for me to check on him and my momma can somewhat get on with her life also.

A few prayer requests. My step-siblings lost their step-father last night. This has been rough on them. For several weeks we have been tied up with our dad and now they lose their step-father. Please remember them in prayer.

Also, the father of one of my very best friends has been sick. We've joked about how much our husbands, who work together, have been single dads lately as we care for our fathers. Anyway, Jim got a call from my friend's husband tonight that says they got some bad news and would be traveling to Alabama tomorrow. I haven't been able to get in touch with my friend to find out. Please lift them up in prayer!

On a postive note, my friend Heather had her beautiful baby, Joe Thomas, yesterday. This makes number six and she is so excited. Of course all of my kids say we need a baby too. I am so ready to adopt again. Please pray we can soon. Sorry couldn't get the pic down here.

Daddy Update

Sorry for the delay in posting. I really haven't had much time. Friday night we took my daddy to Savannah to the hospital. For those of you not familiar that is the big-city hospital. We stayed in the ER until 6:30 Saturday morning when we finally got a room. He is on the cardiac floor and they are monitoring his heart. Not really sure what is going wrong. I told the doc all the problems down in the ER and she just looked at me very puzzled.
They have run almost every test imaginable on his body and nothing is showing up to say "This is it." His heart rate has been extremely high. It runs in the 140's with his BP average to low. Today his heart rate jumped to 180 and he was calling for my mom. They are giving him breathing treatments because he can't breathe. My mom said last night he really gave her a scare. Sometime in the middle of the night all these nurses come barging in and checking him out. He says he coming home in the next day or two, but we really don't know when it will be. Please pray for my daddy, but also my mom. She is tired. This is the start of week three of hospital stays. And she won't leave him at all except to eat.

In brighter news, my friend Heather will be going tomorrow to have her baby. This will make baby number 6 and boy number 3. I can't wait. I will be going over tomorrow to help out with the 4 left at home. She is taking her 8 year old daughter with her. This woman is such a blessing to me. Maybe tomorrow I can post pics of Mr. Joe Thomas Cauley!

Thank you for...

the internet. Okay, I know there is lots of trash and stuff out there, but boy is it helpful. This week as my daddy has been diagnosed with several different ailments I have been able to research each of them with the internet. It has given me a better understanding and also helped me form questions which might not otherwise have come to me.

My daddy is better. Still not up to par and still not completely well, but hopefully enough so that he can come home tomorrow. I sure hope so or else he and my mom both will go slap crazy. Being almost completely confined to the room has not been fun for either one of them.

Here at home things are moving right along. Today I picked up a friend of mine's two girls from school. We came home and I had all five of the kids around the table doing schoolwork. It was kinda cool. Maybe one day I can teach five of my own around the table. Their dad popped in and they all ate dinner with us tonight. That was also pretty fun, cooking for 8. Shine, if you are reading this, the girls really missed you and can't wait until you get back home.

The kids are all doing great and such a joy to be around. I really didn't know how much I enjoyed being home with them until I had to disrupt that routine. Today was nice because we stayed home all day except to run to the school. Hoping for more days like this.

Update

So here is the daily update. My daddy is doing a little better. His mind is a little clearer and he is not trying to get up and leave all the time. One time today he told Blake he wanted his pants so we got them on him and got a wheelchair. We rolled him around the hallways on his floor. This seemed to satisfy his desire to go somewhere. I told Jim today that he has to keep himself healthy. I don't think I could do what my mom is having to do. It's wearing me out and I am not even spending the night down there. We go each day and the kids have been great. I am thankful God gave me very flexible children and they do very well at the hospital. Not really much other news to report right now as this seems to consume all of my time.

I'm back...

Sorry I missed a couple of days on the posting. I have been staying with my mom at the hospital so she could sleep some. It looks like my Daddy may get to come home tomorrow. I sure hope so.

Well, I have a thanks and this one will count for today and the two days I missed. I am so thankful for my friend Heather. She is such a rock and helps out so much. She found out Thursday my dad was sick and called to see if she could help. I hadn't called her but since she asked I took her up. Now this is the woman with 5 children and about to pop number 6 any day. Here she is volunteering to take on my three as well. How awesome is she!!! So I drop off only two of the kids with her yesterday. I go back last night and not only does she have her 5 and my 2, she has someone else's 2!! Nine children and she never even bats an eye. I'm telling ya this girl is my hero!

Today was fun. We celebrated Blake's birthday by having a friend over. We took the kids for pizza and then came back to my parents farm and let them play. They practiced lassoing a cow, fed the fish, road in the boat and had a few rounds of target practice. We all really had a great time. It was such fun just to romp thru the pastures and enjoy the beauty of the day. I wish every day was like this one. Hope everyone else has a great weekend.

Thankful for Starbucks...

Okay, so I know it sounds a little silly, but boy am I glad for a white chocolate mocha! I have been getting one almost everyday this week. We don't have one in our town, but there is a new one where the hospital is located. So with the long days at the hospital and long nights trying to keep up with my house, these things come in handy.

This hospital thing is really getting to the kiddos. Blake asked me tonight why did I have to go tomorrow. He said he just wanted to spend some time with me. That really broke my heart. However, my daddy goes for a scope thing tomorrow so maybe we will know something a little more definate and he can prepare to come home.

Thankful for family

My thanks for today goes to my brother. My brother is one of the best around and he really loves my children. Well, I found out yesterday that he is trying to build Blake a deer stand for his birthday and have it ready for his party this weekend. Now that is an act of love. He knows how much Blake wants to go hunting. In the past we have simply hunted from the ground because we couldn't both sit in the stand, but maybe now that is all about to change. Aren't brothers just the coolest.

Not much else to report. I spent the day again with my folks at the hospital. The docs now say it is colitis not diverticulitis and that he has a blood clot in his leg. They will perform a colonscopy on Thursday to find out more. By the way, Robbie could you please let Bro. Randall know for us. Daddy really thinks a lot of him.

Thank you Lord for all the wonderful blessings you have given me.

My cup runneth over...

Well here is my thanks for today... Thank you God for the blessing I received 8 years ago. He has been such a wonderful child who has truly blessed my life. My "baby" (the first one) turned eight today. It is our custom that on your birthday I rock you to sleep. This allows me to continue cuddling my children even as they grow up and gives me a chance to reflect back on all those nights I rocked them as infants. I sing and rock and just thank God for the wonderful gift He has given me. I have found out my children look foward to it too. Tonight I was still at the hospital with my dad and Blake call's "Momma, how much longer?" I told him to get my seat warm I was coming home. He was so excited when I walked in the door. I pray my children are always that excited to spend a little time with their momma.

An update on my daddy. The doctor says he will be there a few more days to treat the diverticulitis. He has also asked a couple of other docs to step in and check on him. One came in tonight after I left and is more concerned with the swelling in his leg. It is really swollen, red and warm. They have done a sonogram and hopefully we will know more tomorrow. Please continue lifting them up in prayer.

Thankful...

So the official season of Thanksgiving has begun. Although I am thankful daily, I decided to use a fellow bloggers idea and post a thanksgiving every day of November. To start, I am thankful for a God who has forgiven me of my so so so many sins. It's almost daily that I just kinda think in amazement at how great and wonderful God is. I am also thankful for my dear husband. There are many times that I am so frustrated with him and his busy schedule but he can really come thru for me. This weekend my dad has been in the hospital and Jim put off a trip to his parents, cared for the kids, and kept the house tidy all weekend! The keeping the house tidy part is an absolute miracle because my laid back hubby never worries about the mess.

Please do pray for my dad. He's in the hospital with some abdominal pain and they can't really decide if it's gall bladder or diverticulitis. Anyway, it is causing him great pain and is hard on my mom to be there ALL day.