I Don't Get It

This is the first place I have ever been to , where people at church don't teach their children to respect the " House Of God " . ever church we have been to , their is no nursery or children's church . I they do have one , it is not for long because no one will do it . Or it is after Praise and worship . They go on about how they want people to get into the worship but let the kids run like wild children during it .
This is very upsetting to me . My husband is a Music minister and works hard to get people into the worship and presents of God , but when you have kids running everywhere , how can you . Yes , I love my kids and want them to learn to worship but in the right way . I am teaching them just as my Grandmother did me , you do not run around , scream , dance , chase each other , wave flags ,eat candy and have a little party ,when service is going on . Church is to worship God in and learn his ways . Not a place for disrespect and rebellion .
There needs to be children's classes to teach them on their level . Did you know , that now days 80% of kids that are now teens and early adults , that went to church as kids , no longer go . HMmm... could it be because no one was there to teach them and they got bored . It sure was not because people made them behave , at least not here in Arizona .
Come on people ... Children are the future !!!!!

July 31 already !!!!

Where does the time go ? I can not believe it is already the last day of July ! This year has been a blur rushing by . The scary thing is ..it is only 5 months til Christmas ! OMG!!!
I feel like a the videos you see ,with a person standing still and the crowd of people rushing by . I still have so much to do since Dad's passing . Got to help Mom go through things and have yard sales and pack up our house so we can move down with her . This will all take some time . And we still don't know what we are going to do for sure.
The fun thing is , Rob got his new Runs timer ( company car ) yesterday . It is a Titian truck . We really like but are a little worried about the gas . It is a HUGE car compared to the jeep we traded in . We have to trade this in in three years . And the good thing is , the company pays for most of it . I think we will be out $ 150 . Not bad :)
Well , that is my summer at the end . Hope things slow down a bit this Fall . And maybe I can go see Drama Mama . Or we can meet up in Tucson , next time we go .

Can You Believe This one ? !

Yesterday , Rob had to fly out of Tucson to Kentucky for work . The Company is paying for the whole trip , even for checking in luggage . He flew out on US Air ( never use them ) . As he was checking in , they informed him , he needed to pay $15 dollars to check in his suitcase . He gave then the Company credit card but it was not good enough . They said they could not take it because his name was not on the card . So , he offered cash . They would not take that . So , he offered his debit card . Guess what , they would not take that ! The lady at the counter then called over a policeman ! The officer could not believe the hard time they were giving Rob . He told Rob to call the US Air office and file a report . In the mean time , the lady at the counter asked Rob to step aside while she checked in the man behind him . This guy had two bags and they charged him $150 a bag plus another $50 . Can you believe this !
Anyway , Rob got back up to check in and the manager had the US Air office on the phone . They asked if the card was a Visa . It was , . So , they said they take payments on Visas . Thank God he made it through ! Now on to security .
When he got to security , he was informed they needed to do an in dept search on him ! ( You guessed it , They Lady at the counter got pissed off and had security do this ) Thank God , Rob has a sense of humor ! He stood there and laughed to himself has they checked everything and swapped it all .
He finally made it to the gate and on to Kentucky .
Flying sucks now days !!!!!

Happy 4th Of July

IT HAPPENED

Last Thursday evening , my Dad passed on . he had a hard week . Thank God , we where here with him and spend the last days with him . I took him his last hamburger :) Even though he felt bad , his last day with us ( the day before he died ) he took the time to read Lucas his new book .
Thursday , hospice was here all day with him . They called me at 3 and told me to come down . So , I called Rob , we loaded the Jeep and drove down to my parents house . We had been here for 10 mins, then it happened . Everyone had went to his room to say good-bye . i was the last . i waled in ( he was sleeping ) told him I loved him , then he took his final breaths . I guess he was waiting for me .
A week has gone by,now is getting better. I am just hurt that Dad left Mom with nothing . Sure she has Grandma's house and a car but no money . He kicked himself over and over again because he did not have a 4o1k .Now all she has is his social security check . Our wonderful government takes her away now .
So , we have got to help her. Rob does not make alot of money . We are scraping to make ends meet . It looks like later this summer , we will be moving in with my Mom and building on to the house .
I really wish the church would pay Rob part -time . But everyone think because he works up at the mine , that we are rich . ( Guess what ... we are not ! )n The Pastor of the church Rob is music minster of , makes more then he does.
Any way , sorry for venting but thanks for letting me :)
This is a hard time , but I know with God , we will make it !

My Hero

Sitting and watching the things that have been going on in my life , I have to say that truly , my Mom is my all time hero . I may never tell her this but I think she already knows. I look up to her so much and wish that I could be more like her .
She is a women of great faith and very dedicated to her family . She has overcame a near death sickness and gives all she can to everyone .

9 years ago she became very ill , with lots of pain and throwing up . She never had been sick ,that I can remember . This was not an easy time . The Dr found that she had Pancrentitice and Gall stones . They had to wait for 3 months before they could do surgery . She was a very sick women ! We they finally did the surgery , they had to remove 90% of her pancreas . She also got Candious of the Blood ( a yeast infection in the blood ) . They told us she would not make it . But , through much faith and prayer she is here today . She no longer has the candious !

Through all this , my Dad had and has Emphezema . He is in the last stages and on Hospice now . My Mom stays by his side all the time , giving him food , water , and meds . She is worn out but keeps on going and giving all the love she has . She has only let me see her cry a couple of times through this .

She also is always there to listen to me and my problems . Understanding and praying for me and my family . She helps me so much with the boys too .
My mom is an amazing person . Always helping others and loving God with her whole heart . I don't know what I would have or would do without her .I thank God everyday for my hero ... my mom .

BIG TURN AROUND

Well , it looks like our trip is back on . We got together with the Pastor and the rest that wanted to go , and we bought our plane tickets . We found tickets for $338 a piece! Our timeshare gave us a little bit of a hard time but in the end , they got us a room .
We will be going to the Revival in Lakeland and going to the wedding . Lucas is now the ringbarrior .
I am ready to get out of town . The wedding is not my fav thing to go to as of I think they should have gone to the JP . but .. anyway ...
I am looking forward to the revival and the beach and just Florida . I really miss that place.

Whatever

Well ,after looking at the price of things , it looks like we most likely will not be going to Florida , next month. Money and my sister-in-laws additude , would be the reason . We called her and to tell her we would be at the wedding but no answer or returned phone call . Well, after about a week , she finally called . To inform us that if we did not want to stay at our timeshare , we could stay at her house , because she would not be there . She and her husband to be will be staying at Disney World with his family . And she made sure to mention that they were paying $700 a night . Ok , fine ! She always says she has no money ! Whatever !
I think the whole wedding she is having is stupid anyway . She and her future husband have been living together for 2 years ( why not just go to the JP and get it over with ) and did I fail to mention this is her second time to get married ( ok that is ok , if you had not done what she had )She had a n affair with her ex- hsband's best friend , while they were still married . And he was living with them at the time . Ok , enough said about her .
And Our stupid time -share sucks ! First of all , they will not let us trade weeks ( they told us when we bought it , we could trade ANYTIME of the year ) And now , they want $500 for the week and $130 for extra days needed . This is just one of the many things they have done wrong . So , I tell you , never buy with Westgate ! They SUCK !!!!!!!!!!
We , will see what else we can do for our summer vacation . Right now it looks like ,fixing my van and paying off creadit cards are all that we will be doing . Fun , fun , fun ! WHATEVER!!!

Welcome Summer

I can not believe time is going by so fast ! Summer is already upon us , with god forbidden temps. ( already ) It has been over 100 for the last 3 days ! That is hot for the mountains ! And did I forget to mention , the dirt flying ! Living by the copper mine does not help !
Anyway , I have been planning a little vacation . There is a huge revival in Lakeland , FL. , and a bunch of people from church want to go . Well , since we have a huge timeshare in Orlando and my sister-in- law is getting married ( again) next month ; I and Rob decided , why not go . So , we are planning on going June 22 - June 30 . We will be driving two hours to see his parents , to St. Petersburg , but that is ok . And just maybe ... if I play my card right , we can go to Disney for a day .
I hope to lose 20 pounds more by then . Than I can go to the beach too ! As of now , I am on my third week and have now lost 10 pounds . I am on phase 2 of my diet . I feel like I am cheating on it now , but I am not . This is a diet you have got to try if you need a diet . :)

On day 11 ( Can You Believe It )

yes , I am on day 11 today ! When I weighted on Sat . I had lost 5 pounds and 2 inches . At that time it looked like I was losing a pound a day ! ( I will weigh again this week-end .
I feel alot better . I am not tired all the time , depression is going away and I like what I have to eat . :) We went out for Mother's Day , the bread plate was placed in front of me , but I was strong and did not eat any ! I have been very good . I guess when the DR says you have to do it , you will listen . That is when it becomes life and death ! And I am sure my heart is happier too .
This diet really works !
I have been doing exercise with our new Wii . the boxing is wonderful for this . I plan on buying the new Wii Fit also .
So , I guess you could say , I am on the South Beach ( Wii ) diet :)LOL

Day 5

I have made it through five days of my diet now ! Yesterday I ate egg whites with cheese and salsa , tomato juice , lunch .. Steak Chili , water and ricotta cheese with sugar free Hersey's and splenda and Dinner a grilled chicken salad. Oh yes I had two snacks also ... Sugar-free jello and cheese stick . This is not feeling like a diet 1 I love the food I get!
I got up today ate egg white with mushrooms ,onions and cheese . Drank tomato juice . And have had 4 almonds and cheese for a snack . I feel great . I put on my jeans today and I actually need a belt ! Awesome !!!
The South Beach Diet does work :) One more week of Phase 1 , then i can have fruit again . I can not wait for that day :)

Day 1

Well ,I began my diet today ( The South Beach Diet ). i had an egg omelte with canaidian bacon , cheese and salsa ; with tometo juice and green tea . Not bad ! ( it was egg whites ) Next , I will have a snack ( cheese stick ) , lunch a greek salad and afternoon snck ( sugar -free fudgecycle ) and dinner ... a bean burrito .And this is the Hard phase !!!! I think I can do it !
The first two weeks , I can not have any fruit or cerel . The whole diet ... no white things ( patatoes , sugar , rice or white flour products )

What's going on

Yes , it has been awhile since I last posted ! Things have been crazy around here . It seems we have been living at the Dr's ! Now our Government has made it a law that children on meds for ADHD , have to have EKGs and Echo grams , so I have been trying to set all of this up . Crazy thing is ... no one wants to do it because Lucas is under 18 . I have been pulling my hair out !! But , finally today , I got ahold of Tucson and they have a Child Cardeo Dr that come down once a month . ( Thank God ) So that will take place in May .
I changed Dr because the one I had been seeing , was not helping me at all . He just would say things , like , I was over weight and needed to do something about it . I asked if he would check my Tyroid .. he never did nor did he answer me . He also just about killed my friends husband by giving him the wrong meds . So , I moved on !
My new dr is wonderful and the one that helped save my Mom 7 years ago . He looked at my files and found that I had heart damage . Something no one had told me before ! He ran more test on me and my cholesterol is too high . So , he has put me on the South Beach Diet . We are also waiting for results of test done on my thyroid ( a thyroid problem can be lenghed with high cholsterol , high blood pressure , depressing , fatuige and weight gain ) I will post on the results as soon as I hear . And keep up to date on the results from this diet . Fun , Fun , Fun !

Hero

This week -end was a very busy week-end . Bills , to pay , groceries to buy and Dr . visits . So , I took the van down to Safford ( the place all had to be done ) and Rob took the Jeep . He had to get back to work by 6 Monday Morning and I had all the appointments Monday afternoon .
All day the word "brakes " kept coming to my mind .All I kept thinking of , was what if the brakes went out on me , on the way home . I shook it off , because I did not hear any noise from them while in town .
4:30 came around , all the errands had been done, and now it was time to get everyone ( the two boys , two cats and dog ) and everything loaded into the van . I really hate the drive home . It is a very dangerous road through the mountains .
While going around one of the sharpest corners ,trying to pump the brakes , there were no brakes ! Then the ABS light came on . I began to pray . Finally , I got through the rough part . Called Rob , no answer ! Crap , what was I to do . I tryed again and again . Finally , I got through to him . He met me and we traded cars . We made it home safe ! :)

New House

Rob and I talked about all the negs and positives of moving last night . It seems we have decided to stick it out here in Arizona . Besides , we can not get out of the buying of the house now. It will be nice to have and I think it will make me feel better . The only bad thing is , I have to get a job . YUCK ! I have not worked in four years and really not looking forward to going back .Not sure where to even find one in this little town . I am sure I will find something . But until then ... I will sit and enjoy my kids , some hot tea and Russell Stover International candy :).

Call Me Crazy

Lately I have had Florida on my mind . ALOT !!!! I am really missing it there ( in St. Petersburg , FL ) NOt because of family but because I love it there . It is a beautiful place . Lots to do :) And I miss the pelicans . I love to go and feed them .
I miss the beaches , the sunsets , The Buccaneers , Disney being right there , Busch Gardens , the Palm trees and Church ( Southern Style )oh and the food ( mainly Greek ).
There is nothing to do in this little town . My kids have no friends . I am tried of the dirt . The church Rob has been playing music for , is going down the tubes . He just bought a $4000 keyboard and it seems like everyone but him is playing it .
I am ready to go back to Florida . Sounds crazy huh ? The church Rob grew up in says they can use him and there are a lot of Planning jobs there that pay alot more then here . So , we will see what happens . I will be praying for God's will .
Mom says she would like to go there too after Dad passes .
I MUST BE GOING CRAZY !!!! LOL

Running on Full

Some may think that ADHD is just being hyper but there is more to it then that . The person with it seems to be in their own little world . And from this , there are alot of temper tantrums ( meltdowns as I like to call them ))

Lucas began to show this signs around 5 months , we just did know what it was . I was flying to our new home in Jacksonville , FL from a visit from Arizona , when the uncontrollable crying began . At the time , we thought it was lactose problems . The next bad one was his first time in the church nursery . Again we though it was lactose problems . This would continue on when he would get mad ( usually when we would leave him with a babysitter ) . The fit would get so bad he would throw up . It was the thought of lactose problems until he was three and we saw him begin to stick his hands down his throat to make himself throw up when he was mad.
He did not walk until he was 18 months old . I should say running , he never walked !From then on I was chasing the ever-ready bunny .
I took him in for his normal check ups and all the DRs would say was " he is probably ADHD , good luck " . No one ever told us about helping him as he got older .
Finally , we moved to Arizona when he was 2 . Took him in for his check up and once again , no help ! They just said , he has alot of energy .
I was going crazy ! I knew something was wrong with my child . The meltdowns were getting worse and the hyperness was so bad , he was not sleeping much .
It was just a month ago , I found a Dr willing to help . The Dr did alot of test on Lucas and has diagnosed him as ADHD and probably OCD . He is going to a neurologist in May . And now on Ritilin . It has done wonders ! He is now talking clear ( before his speech was very jibbery ) he is now working with potty training ( and he will be 4 in 3 weeks ) never before did he have time to go potty , ands he is doing pre school work at home ( he is very smart for his age )
You would not believe all the negative feed back I get ! People are very mad at me for having him on meds . But you know what ... they are working and the Dr is keeping a close watch on him .
I am glad I have finally found some DRs willing to help him . Did you know that if a person does not get help with ADHD when they are young , they can hurt themselves very badly or some one else . They can turn to drugs as they get older ( to help with the edginess they feel ) they can have bad car wrecks because they are unable to pay attention . So , I have choose to get my child help . So , he can have a better life and feel better .

Living with a child with ADHD

My oldest son , Lucas has been told by the Dr that he has , ADHD . I am going to share with you all what it is like to have a child with this problem . I have wished for a support group in my area , but have yet to find one . So, by writing this , it may come to help others .
Lucas was born 6 weeks early , March 12 , 2004 . We were living in Mississippi at the time . The Drs there seem to not care about their patients , As you will read about in this Blog .
I had a very hard time in my pregnancy . I threw up the whole time . Had high blood pressure ( that was not helped with ) and prego diabetes ( not informed of until 8 months of pregnancy ) . I also had a very bad kidney infection and gave meds that were 10 times the dose that should have been given ! Thank God , i am a RX tech and picked up on this and did not ask them , but went back to my DR and showed her this . She them put me on the right meds .
A week before Lucas was born , I had a DR appointment . We talked that I would need a c-section because my bones on my hips were very weak and could break if I had a natural child birth .
The next week , I began to bleed . It was time for another check-up that day , so I went in . They put me in the hospital because I was dialed to 4 ! No pain was ever felt . I asked the Dr if she would do c- section , as we had talked about , SHE REFUSED !
I was in labor for 19 hours . I never had any pain , but felt I better get an epidural at dilating of 7 . The Dr made me push for 3 and 1/2 hours . During this time I began to throw up blood ( and a lot of it ) . Lucas' heart dropped and so did mine . Finally , an ER c-section was to take place.
He was born with problems of breathing and had to me rushed to the Children's Miracle Hospital in Alabama . Let me tell you something , there is nothing as hard as having your new born taking away from you by strangers , Never get to hold him before they take him away !
He was in there for a week . It was three days bdfore I even saw him or held him ! My husband took good care of him those three days .
The reason I go back this far with this story , is because they believe , his birth may have had a reason for him having ADHD .
I will continue on with this tomorrow .

Need a Kiss

I have been so busy the last too days . Cleaning , chasing kids and taking care of animals. We got a new dog yesterday . He is a malamute and very big !!!! So , I have been trying to get him comfortable . Lots of work and money . Bought a big chain and put him on it . But he got all tangled up , so I had to fix that . It was very heavy ! Now we bought an electric collar so he can run .
The reason for buying him , we are moving out to the country in a couple of months . There are lots of desert wild life out there ( hawks , bobcats , coyotas etc ) and he can take care of them . Now I just need to buy a big dog run to put him in when the kids go out . He likes them and is a bog teddybear but I am afaird he may forget how big he really is . He is just like the dog , Buck , in "The Call Of The Wild " ( one of my favorite books , by Jack London )

Anyway , I was fixing dinner after doing all this , when Rob brings Jeremy into see me . Jeremy was holding out his hands , pouting , saying " Mommy " . Rob said " Do you want to tell Mommy what you had , or do you want me to ?" Then he holds out a Hersey Kiss to me . I guess he thought I was in need of a kiss from a long hard day .

Looking Up

Things are looking up ! Lucas is now on meds for his ADHD and doing much better ! He is very focused now . The potty training is going good now too ! He still had some meltdowns but they don't last as long . We are still waiting for the insurance to ok him having an MRI and CAT scan . We have to see the neuralogist first ( that will be April or May in Tucson )
We went and speced out our new house yesterday ! It is going to be very nice ! A fireplace in the master bath and one in the living room . That one will be see through into the office area . We are putting it outside of town and will have a view of mountions all around us ! I can't wait !
And the jeep is now back to us . I loved the rentals but I sure missed the Jeep !:)
I will keep my head up . Good things are coming our way !!!!