For Those Who Might Be Wondering...

I did have my follow-up appointment with the doctor yesterday, and to make things as unconfusing as possible, I will just say she did more bloodwork to try to find more conclusive evidence about whether or not I do or do not in fact have celiac disease. (This was the bloodtest I thought I originally had done and was hoping she would do.) And, she also re-checked my vitamin b12 while on the supplement dose to see how I was responding. So, hopefully I will get those results by the middle of next week, and I will keep you posted. I am not worried about it or anything. But, I know some of you were waiting to hear what she said. No big surprises. Basically what I already knew. I might end up getting a positive on this blood test and while technically unless the biopsy shows presence of the disease, that's the only way they say you definitely have it. But, that could just mean she didn't go far down enough in my endoscopy. So, instead of putting me through a colonoscopy she will just put me on a gluten-free diet if that bloodwork comes back positive. Which from my research is the correct thing to do. If that bloodwork is negative, then we will play the waiting game. Depending on the b12 result this time, then that will determine when she will recheck me again and how she will recheck me. Cross your fingers no colonoscopy! :)

Thanks again for all your kind words and prayers! I am feeling better lately, but I have been dieting. So, she said I was eating less carbs that way, so that could be while I feel better. I'm just not eating as much junk. My bad and neck are better than ever so I am hoping that means maybe those issues were b12-related. Which is good (if I haven't lost you already here goes...) If my body is absorbing the tablets and causing improvement in my back and neck, then I think that means there's a good chance I don't have celiac (or at least not to a great degree) because I wouldn't be able to absorb it well with celiac. But, she did say yes I was right this is a grey area disease. :) That I could just have a mild, latent form. Oh, well. I'm over it. How about you? :) Where's the beach? :)

Even though I know it is so wrong...

To wish your life away, I am often guilty of it. It has been one of my lifelong faults. Living for tomorrow instead of stopping to enjoy today. I am aware of it and try hard though to fight it. Part of it is my OCD nature; the other part is that I am just one of those people who genuinely gets really excited about fun events.

And, the one thing I am dreaming about right now is our family vacation coming up in June! This is what I will be gazing at come then:
We are heading to the beach with some family and friends to stay in a big condo all together and take in some rays and do other fun stuff like take the boys out on this pirate ship I've been wanting them to go on.

Isn't it gorgeous? All of the rooms are decorated differently, so ours might not look just like this, but still. I find myself looking at the pictures way too often and fighting the urge to go ahead and start packing. :) (Being OCD, I do ALWAYS pack very early but not quite this early.)

So, for now I am focused on enjoying these next 7 weeks at home with my wonderful family and friends. We do have lots of fun events coming up that you will be able to read about on my blog. Riding Thomas the Train again in Chattanooga, lots of baseball games and then the banquet, field trips to the strawberry farm, Mother's Day events, the end of the year school party, swimming lessons, our anniversary, Father's Day, the opening of our favorite water parks, baby gym, and I am sure more that we don't even know about yet! But, that sand and sun is calling my name for sure! I have no idea why so much except that maybe I thoroughly enjoyed the Bahamas and know I would have everything I wanted if I could have had the kids there, too. So, I guess in a way this trip will be the best of both.

So, pray that I can quit thinking about what is to come :) no matter how wonderful it will be and relish in what God has planned for me between now and then. Because I am sure the most memorable moments in the next 7 weeks will be lots of small things I didn't list above and that I don't even know about yet or things that I cannot plan for. Only things that He has in store for me...great blessings that I receive every day that are no match for any beach. :)

April is the New June!

The weather has been just gorgeous the past few days! I can't remember a time when the skies have been SO blue! Malia said she heard that the temperatures were supposed to feel like June, and I believe it! It made us have summer fever, so we put on our swimsuits and decided to have some fun! You'd think we froze, but honestly we didn't. And, trust me, Jackson is totally a whiner when it comes to being too hot or cold. :)
This was a Christmas gift for the boys from Carly. :) Like she said, it's one of the perks having a best friend who lives in Florida by the beach. Who else would have found a sprinkler for sale during the Christmas season?

Preston did enjoy it, too, but only when it was turned down like this. He would cry when Jackson turned it up. It is hard lately in some aspects with their age difference, even though it is small. I already am finding them choosing different games to play and wanting different movies or TV shows. :( I thought I had a while before that happened, but Jackson has really matured alot this year. And, it is showing. Preston in alot of way is very mature for his age, too, but he's still a baby. Which I secretly like and probably encourage. :)

As you see we did have to move it to the concrete. Why you ask? Because I was running (holding Preston) through it in the grass and since the yard had gotten so muddy and wet, I just about fell and busted my rear! :) Now, that would have a made us millions on America's Funniest Home Videos!

It was one of those days where you got warm, fuzzy feelings watching your kids play. And, if you could have heard the happy, joyful squeals. I LOVE hearing those.

Preston has always enjoyed drinking water from the sprinkler. (He also tries to drink the bath water..yuck!) He is so silly!

Thank you, Lord, for such a great family day!

(We had another great day today, too! Paul and I surprised the boys by taking them bowling and out for ice cream cones! Jackson was so excited! He loves bowling! And, Preston was hilarious to watch. He'd bend down like in a catcher's position and eye the ball waiting to watch and see what pins went down. :) And, they both did pretty good. Alot better than the first time we took them. :) That time Preston saw the ball rolling away from him, decided he wanted to keep it, and took off down the slippery lane after it, only to fall down and bust it!) :)

Speaking as an adult who LOVED to sleep in her parents' bed as a young child, there is just nothing like snuggling close to your mommy and daddy sometimes...even if they aren't technically in the bed with you. :) I remember laying in my mom's bed with her many nights watching Dallas or Hunter. (Remember Hunter?)

My boys love to cuddle in our bed and watch TV...although they've never slept with Paul or me. They just like our bed I guess.

Jackson did go to sleep in our bed last Thursday while Paul was at work and I was in the living room watching TV during that bad thunder storm. I have no idea why he felt safer in there, but he did. Probably because of the big window in his room. :) And, I had the bathroom light on for him.

And, Preston goes daily into his room to retrieve his "piwwow" and "bwanekit" to take to my bed to snuggle up during the day.

Am I not incredibly blessed?

Our Little Science Project

Jackson has been learning about plants and seeds at school, so I decided t let the boys plant seeds in their pots that I usually just plant pansies in each spring. They were very excited, and got quite dirty! :)

Here is how the seeds did just a week or so later!

Here are the boys posing right after they planted the seeds.

And, here they are watering the seeds right after they planted them. Isn't it so sweet seeing them working together?

They were hard at work! If you notice Preston's face all beat up, he fell off the front porch right before this. It was bad. :( Poor guy! But, as you can see it doesn't stop him from having fun!

Real Life

You just cannot make things like this up:

Jackson last night as I was serving spaghetti:

"Mom! Thank you so much for making my favorite! Spaghetti and meatbolts!"

Preston as I was changing his diaper the other day:
(this one took me a while to decipher)

"Timin tez tuh yur toes! Timin tez tuh yur bellwee!"

Interpretation: Simon say touch your toes! Simon says touch your belly!

Big thanks to Maw Maw for introducing that game! :)

Jackson today expressing his love to me:

"I love you, Mommy. (my response of "I love you, too, sweetie.") I love my Daddy, too, and Preston! And, I love myself when you're not around!"

And Preston has two new quirks:

I've got to catch this one on video: He is now attempting to suck his thumb and suck his sippy cup at the same time...seriously. He spends minutes literally trying to figure out how to make it work and make them both fit in his mouth at the same time.

And, lately at first I thought he had been throwing up or something strange...then I remembered how the other day I noticed he had been holding his milk in his mouth for several minutes before swallowing. I guess he has now decided to savor the taste on everything he eats and drinks because he's holding his waffle or goldfish and playing with it just sitting in his mouth and then every once in a while it somehow seeps and leaks out onto the carpet!

My life truly is never boring.

Happy Birthday, Me-Mommie

Today my Me-mommie would have turned 79 years old. I don't know if I should say fortunately or unfortunately God had different plans for her, as she is instead in Heaven with Him. I do miss her and really wish she could have met my children. I am very grateful though that she is not suffering anymore here with us. The peace and joy she has now is exactly what she deserves. I rejoice that I know where she is, but I must admit I do have some grief still lingering these 7 years later. I have felt the pain most recently when talking to Paul's grandmother. Those conversations remind me of what conversations I could be having with Me-mommie right now. You see, some people "get me." I know my personality can be hard to take, understand, and confusing to people who don't know me or my heart well. But, Me-mommie knew me. She got me. And, she was always my advocate I could count on. If there was ever a grey area regarding my intent, she gave me the benefit of the doubt. And, she knew even when I goofed up that I never did it because I wasn't trying to be my best. She knew I was always out to do my best at everything. I know she would be that way with my boys, too. She wouldn't ever stand for anyone to mistreat them or say a single bad word about them! It is hard to find someone like that who knows you inside and out from the longest hair on your head all the way down to your longest toe. I miss you, Me-mommie, and I'll see you again one day! Keep watch over us!

Time to Hunt for Eggs!

Here is my exhausted, sunburnt Jackson posing with his loot!
Before we hunted for eggs, the kids all played sports in the yard with their uncles. Soccer and baseball were on the list!

Preston had some trouble with the egg hunt. Why? Because all he was interested in was busting open each egg as he went along and eating the candy inside! :) That little choc-a-holic!

Here is Preston with the eggs he managed to get once I started rushing him along. :) Poor baby. At one time, he was so rushed, I noticed he had left his basket behind altogether! :)

Whew! That was a packed, busy, fun day! Next year I'll have to remember the sunscreen...and maybe the Benadryl so the day can get a later start! :) (You all KNOW I am just kidding!) :)

Easter Day

As you can see Malia and I attempted a holding hands cute picture with Bree and Preston...which was adorable as Bree led him quickly. :)

Maw Maw got the boys Easter buckets full of goodies including sunglasses just like Daddy's!
Here are Bree and Preston bonding. They really have just started playing together alot, and I think they just might have started a new little relationship! At first they weren't wanting to share with each other, then they realized they each could do a different task and with teamwork it actually worked out well! So cute!

Here are all four of Maw Maw's babies: Jackson, Preston, Breeana, and John Michael

Hollywood!

Easter Dinner at Maw Maw Brown's!

Although Preston did argue some about the tie, he ended up going with the flow. I thought they looked so adorable! They really had fun playing in Maw Maw Brown's yard all day with their cousins!

He Came!

Yes, the Easter Bunny visited our home, and as you can see he did remember Preston wanted wowwipops! And, he must have known Jackson loves pirates and puppets! (Sounds like a Kenny Chesney concert tour...) :)

Notice how it is still dark outside during Jackson's pictures, and not during Preston's. Yes, Jackson woke up bright and early to see his surprises! Preston, on the other hand, slept in as usual! :)

Here Jackson is posing with all of their stuff!

And, as usual...the pics are out of order...but here they are sitting out their baskets in anticipation the night before.

I really don't want to take away from the real meaning of Easter. I did make a conscious effort to remind Jackson of why we were celebrating. But, I will admit it is alot of fun to play the Easter Bunny and Santa and stuff like that. I truly believe it is because it just brings me back to my childhood! I liked my childhood alot! ;)

Easter Fun at Maw Maw's

Maw Maw invited us and Aunt Malia, John Michael, and Breeana to come over and dye eggs and decorate sugar cookies the day before Easter. The kids all had so much fun! Preston was such a big boy! (Although it should be noted he refused to eat the icing..so we switched cookies. Don't worry. He's not OCD or anything) :)
I don't have really good pictures because as you can imagine we had our hands full! :) Jackson is ready here to take his egg for a dunk!

He's very proud of his cookie!

Preston did a great job dunking his eggs, too.

When they finished dyeing the eggs, I hid them in the dining room for a small egg hunt. :) They all had fun...well except for Jackson. The whole thing at school where you hunted for your eggs with your name on them left him confused. And, even though I made it clear that you just got whatever egg you found, he was bound and determined he didn't want Bree's pink, cracked egg! That little booger! Now, that is slightly like me, but really ALOT like my sister! :) She wouldn't even share her crayons with me because she said I pushed down to hard on them and messed up the points!

I love this picture! Especially the look on Preston's little face! They all look so excited, don't they? And, have you noticed my model niece's hair?! She's two, guys! Check out how long her hair is!

Thanks for inviting us over, Maw Maw! It was fun!

Spring Break Fun

Even though my kids aren't on a typical school schedule of 5 days a week, I have still always tried to plan fun stuff during Spring Break for them. This past week was no different. We did lots of fun stuff! One of those things was continuing last year's tradition of visiting Stone Mountain Park during their Spring Break festivities.

Preston and Jackson loved the beanbag chairs (I'll have to keep that in mind for Santa next year!) they had set up to watch Veggie Tales movies.
In that room, they also had crafts the kids could do...the boys made flowers. Sorry, the choices were all spring-like and not very masculine. :) But, they knew no different and enjoyed doing it anyway!

Here we were getting ready to go ride their favorite...the train!

We also played with the balls and ball shooters in the barn...even though we were all tired by the time we made it over there, that just may have been the best memory. We all got so tickled! It was CRAZY busy in there, and things got chaotic quickly!

Once again, the pictures are coming up out of order on here...so now I'll skip to when I took the boys to the movies to see Monsters vs Aliens. (non-3D...they are afraid of 3D) They both really liked it, and I did, too! It had some adult humor which was nice. Jackson was a little skiddish about it at first because of the whole uncertainty about the title I think. But, it didn't take long for him to warm up to it and he ended up getting so involved he would make sudden outbursts that had the whole theater smiling and laughing. :) Preston was fine the whole time. No fear there. Why you ask? Well, popcorn of course!

Back to Stone Mountain...we did not climb the mountain ourselves. I mean sure I'm nuts, but not quite that nuts. I like to think I am a hands-on mom, but hey I do know my limitations! We rode the skyride up there instead, and then we climbed all over the top of the mountain! Last time we went up there with my sister, I had flip flops on. I also don't think Preston was walking so I was holding him. That made a bad combo. So, this time I made sure I had sneakers on, and we climbed all over! Jackson was very excited when I pointed out Atlanta in the distance. Then, he wanted me to start telling him who lived in all the buildings and houses we could see. Yeah, I ended that discussion pretty quick! Imagine the questions!

Here they are on top of the mountain...

We had a great time. As usual, we didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted at Stone Mountain, so now that the weather is improving I can't wait to start our weekly trips there. :)

They have been in good moods lately. Yesterday I took them to the inflatable place. I've kept them busy (with Easter and all, too.) They like that. They are so spoiled I tell you! But, this is how I make my memories with them. They are such active boys, it is hard to get them to sit and read books nowadays. So, instead I do inflatable obstacle courses (I kept double checking the weight limit even though the lady said I would fit)! I actually got my hair somehow stuck in one of those things yesterday! I am one dedicated mommy! And, we wonder why my back hurts. Hmmm...

I'm Mommy...Not Busy

Although I know I shouldn't complain, sometimes I do complain about Jackson's incessant talking. I explain to him that I talked alot as a child, too, so I understand how he feels. But, then I also follow up with sometimes mommies and daddies have important business to take care of or phone calls that have to be made, so sometimes he has to be quiet or at least stop asking us for responses.

Earlier this week, I was changing Preston's diaper, and it unfortunately was a very messy one. :( Jackson came up and started asking me a question, to which my response was "Not now, Jackson. I can't talk right this second. Mommy's busy." Jackson continued, and I once again said, "Jackson, I'm busy. Just a minute."

I happened to gaze down at Preston's face, and he looked at me very intently and kind of looked confused and sad at the same time. He said, "Mommy, can you talk to me?" That of course made me feel like a big failure! :( I explained, "Preston, mommy's just busy right now." (Trust me by now I was thinking heck I can talk and do this...after all I AM talking to both of them right now telling them I CAN'T talk..go figure!)

It was then that Preston came back with his retort and pointed his little finger at me and stated firmly, "You not busy! You Mommy! You not busy! You Mommy!"

Yes, I am mommy. But, unfortunately, booger, sometimes I am a busy mommy. :)

The Easter Bunny!

In keeping with tradition, I took the kids last Monday to see the Easter Bunny at Tanger. They were really excited to go. Of course, Preston, like any typical 2-year old was terrified at first. But, a little bit of peer pressure from big brother and well, really me just plopping him on his lap anyway worked. I told Preston to tell the Easter Bunny what kind of candy he'd like in his basket which of course got Preston's attention. I mentioned Hershey's Kisses and lollipops, Preston's favorites. So, Preston quickly looked up very unafraid to the bunny and said, "I want chocwit kisses and wowwipops!" (Of course, the Easter Bunny followed those instructions come Sunday morning.) :)

Note: If you've ever seen pictures of Paul as a young child like around the age of six or seven, then you'll know Jackson has never looked more like Paul in any other picture than this one. They look ALOT alike in this picture.

Happy Easter!

I am exhausted after a fun-filled Easter day, and I promise I will blog tomorrow with pictures and details of our day! I am too tired right now though! In fact, I am so tired I was getting the kids ready to go to bed, and I asked, "All right guys...You guys ready to head home?" Jackson looked very confused, and said, "We're already home!" Wow! I am wiped! I meant of course to ask if they were ready to head to bed.

I do have lots of fun stories to tell though (including our Spring Break festivities) and funny things the kids have said over the past few days, so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday, Paul!

Today we had lunch with family and friends to celebrate Paul's birthday. Yes, he doesn't turn 30 until Monday, but with everyone's work schedules, we decided to celebrate today.

Joe, Gail, Uncle Steven, Aunt Malia, John Michael, Bree, Maw Maw, and Paw Paw all helped us celebrate!

As you can see the kids were quite excited about the cookie cake! They of course assisted Daddy in blowing out his candles.

In honor of Paul's love for music and his guitar (yes, he does play some at home), I decided on this design. He was surprised and liked it!

Happy Birthday to a man who loves alot, is devoted to his family, and works hard for us. I am truly blessed to know him, let alone walk by his side through life. Love you, babe!