Happy Easter 2010

Just Needing Lots of Prayers for Friends

My heart is heavy right now as I think of those in my life who need prayer.

*Daycare providers young teen daughter is in PICU with RSV complicating her severe asthma. God is great that there's a neighbor near provider's home that will watch my kids and I totally trust.

*Lady at work has a one year-old grandson who is in hospital with respiratory distress, bronchiolitis, and RSV (boy, those names sure hit a nerve with me!)

*A friend of a friend has cancer and it's getting much worse. Friend is afraid that they will lose her soon.

*A colleague/friend at work has cancer that has spread from breast to lungs to brain and now in spine.

Dear God, I just lift all of these people (and the many more that I can't even begin to list here) up to you Lord and ask that you heal and comfort them.

Please Pray for Bronson

http://www.stakerzxposed.blogspot.com/

That's what I call customer service!!!

Back in Dec. I bought some Just Kidz brand (Kmart) doodle boards. Great price but they were all defective (I bought 10 for the daycare). I contacted the buyer for this brand, Y. Sagol and he apologized but I didn't expect much more (I had gotten my money all back). Fast forward to today.........
I open the door and have to sign for a package. It's a big box from Hong Kong! In it were doodle boards (12 of them!) plus a projection board (the kind with a light to help the kid trace stuff) and a letter from Soma International Ltd. saying they had fixed the problem with the boards and are sorry for the inconvenience and here are some ... See Morereplacements plus another gift. WOW!! I'm totally impressed! The boards all work so the daycare will get their Christmas gift on Monday. Taylor loves the projection board.WELL DONE Y. Sagol and Soma International Ltd. That's what I call customer service!!!
I won't hesitate to buy from the Just Kidz brand any more!

Videos

I should be doing Progress Reports, but I'm not. I should be reading for book club, but I'm not (it's The Shack and I have to read it before next Thurs. but I'm just not into it...this is second time I've tried to read it). I will try to read some tonight though!
I am playing on Facebook and reading blogs.
I'll leave you with some videos of cuteness (yes, I'm biased).
Oh, and did you see this? So proud of my school system for making national news (insert sarcasm here).
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35224766/
Grady laughing (and at the end accidentally kicking the phone...listen to him say "Sorry Mom") and then Taylor having to get in on the action too! :)

Please Pray for Aly

I have a cousin (2nd or 3rd, doesn't really matter though) named Aly. She's 15 and just found out she has stage 3 large cell lymphoma. Visit this link to join her Facebook prayer group.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=274895564197&ref=nf

I know she and her family would appreciate any and all prayers.

MLK Day: A Day of Memories and Celebration

Below you will find a link to last year's MLK post and a link to the story of all Grady went through. This year as I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in a bit on my day off from school and as I smile listening to my kids play, I am reminded of how different things were two year ago. MLK Day was Jan. 21 in 2008. I was scheduled to go back to work from maternity leave on the 22nd. You can read the rest of that on the links.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't count my blessings and realize how differently things could have turned out. There were times in the hospital that the doctors told us they had no experience with Grady's situation, they had no answers, they didn't have a prognosis for the future. Without his blood transfusion (among many other medical interventions) he was very close to dying. Side note: please give blood! It truly does save lives! I just gave Saturday and I'll give once again when my 56 days are up. There were times when we thought he'd never eat by mouth. I could go on and on, but I won't. Because, just like every other day since his journey began, I choose to celebrate instead of dwell. Today, I listen to Grady playing a triangle and calling it a square. I listen to him arguing with Taylor. I watch him coloring pictures. I laugh with him and as he laughs. I get aggravated with him as he keeps doing things I tell him not to do. I roll my eyes as he pretends to be a baby so that Taylor can be his mommy. I laugh at his powdered sugar covered face from donuts at breakfast (yeah, healthy, I know). Right now he's yelling, "Ride'em cowboy, weehaw!" and running through the living room. He needs a diaper change if the smell is any indication! :) He's rotten to the core, smart as a whip, a little parrot with everything Taylor does and says, a singer and hugger and kisser and giggler. We still have to do asthma meds, he still gets gagged easily...but compared to what others have to go through and what his life could have been, I know that we are infinitely blessed and I don't ever want to forget that. To this day (two years has never seemed so long ago or so close) I can still hear/see/feel/smell the 40+ days at Riley. I can picture it all. I don't eat Cinnamon Melts from McDs without thinking of our first breakfast there in the PICU on Tuesday morning. I can't smell certain hand sanitizers or soaps without being transported back there immediately. I can picture the halls, the people, the rooms, everything. It's finally not something that causes me to feel sick, it's just memories. It's a reminder of where we were and where we've come. I would never wish for Grady to be sick but I have learned so much from it all. The lessons have been many but the main thing I have learned is that God carried us through, made us all stronger, and will continue to carry us through.

So, this MLK Day, I leave you with this picture of Grady (and let you know that he's singing The Wonder Pets theme song while playing with his toys!) :) The green cape he has on is a Wonder Pets cape that Grandma Beth made.

MLK Day 2009 http://breathingsoundssoeasy.blogspot.com/2009/01/mlk-day-2008-vs-mlk-day-2009.html

Grady's Journey

http://breathingsoundssoeasy.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-had-planned-on-posting-this-in-jan.html