Our Life

Chef Carter's "How To Make A Pizza"

2009-07-28T11:17:00.001-04:00

Moose Mud Muffins!

2009-07-06T13:39:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T07:51:00.000-04:00

One year ago today . . . .

2009-06-20T23:07:00.008-04:00

. . . . our family received a double blessing, a double miracle

and double the love, laughs, hugs and kisses. It hardly seems

like it's been a year since we were taking these pictures.

Over the past year our house has been filled with so much

happiness it can hardly be explained in words. Like a beautiful

rainbow after a storm . . . but better . . . . TWO beautiful rainbows.

Happy birthday baby girls . . . we love you, are thankful for you

both and look forward to all the fun yet to come.

Olivia and Emma turn one!

2009-06-20T22:38:00.002-04:00

Olivia's Ta-dah

2009-06-17T10:39:00.004-04:00

This is from a while ago . . . but it's so cute I had to post it. Emma was taking her first steps. As we were oohing and ahhing . . . Olivia decided she needed some cheers too.

Bath Time!

2009-06-17T10:20:00.002-04:00

Make sure to listen for Carter in the background.

Giggly Girls

2009-06-17T09:20:00.003-04:00

Girls' first night gowns

2009-06-10T09:18:00.002-04:00

They are so cute in their little nightgowns although they weren't too happy to have their picture taken . . . It was past their bedtime.

2009-06-10T09:14:00.001-04:00

Can you tell where one baby ends and the other begins????

Just stuff

2009-06-10T08:44:00.005-04:00

Daddy's home!
Carter and Olivia giving each other some lovin! They are all so sweet to each other. Most of the time.

Daddy being silly like always, wearing a pair of the girls' bloomers on his head.

One of their favorite things to do . . . build a "blanket tent". This time the little girls got in on the action. Sort of.

If anyone is still out there . . .

2009-06-10T08:37:00.002-04:00

It has been ages since I updated out blog and I feel really bad. Okay well not that bad. I have been busy on Facebook and neglecting my other forms of technological communication. I am going to be better from now on and my goal is to post something atleast once a week. So get ready for another peek into "Our Life". :)

GFCF?????

2009-01-19T09:56:00.004-05:00

We've started Carter on a gluten and casein free (GFCF) diet a/o last Thursday. Some children with an ASD show great improvement when these things are removed from their diet. Ryan and I think we may be seeing a slight change in his behavior (it may just be our imaginations) and we have most definitely seen a change in his "number 2". Before he would struggle several times a day and only manage to get a little out at a time. The past three days he has had one poopy each day. A great improvement. The main struggle is finding things for him to eat that are healthy and contain all the nutrients his little body needs oh and that he likes. I have been giving him supplements for some time now, but when reading the labels last night most contain milk (casein) or gluten. I'm headed back over to native sun tonight to see if I can find other supplements that fit within his new diet.

The other day I found some bread that I thought fit, but once I got home, spent an hour baking it (I'm no baker by-the-way) I found, in very small print on the package, "contains milk". WHAT!?!? How could I have missed that? UGH! So I just wasted an hour making bread that didn't get done in middle (see, I can't bake) AND wasn't even the right kind to begin with. Phew this is hard.

I did make chocolate chip cookies that taste terrible, but Carter likes them so that's all that matters. I also made mini pizza crust because he loves pizza. I just need to find dairy free shredded cheese. Wonder how that's going to taste? YUCK! oh wait I mean YUMMMMM!

Merry Christmas from the Richardsons

2008-12-13T17:28:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy 11th Birthday Shaye!

2008-11-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

Some New Pictures . . .

2008-11-16T16:26:00.003-05:00

Carter's Surgery

2008-11-06T11:48:00.000-05:00

Chicago Trip

Thanks dad for making this . . .

2008-11-04T09:12:00.001-05:00

It was great seeing the girls even if it was online.

Our amazing boy . . .

2008-11-01T09:34:00.003-04:00

I had hoped to be able to post some pictures but we are having some technical difficulties with our internet access and we have to use the public computers here at the RMH. I just wanted to post something to let everyone know how things are going here in Chicago. It seems that each and every thing involved with this trip and surgery has truly been blessed. From the fundraising where we raised enough money to pay not only for the surgery but for our travel expenses, the gift of sky miles for free air fare from a friend of a friend, the opportunity to stay at the RMH, which is amazing and of course the amazing results of Carter's surgery not to mention the fantastic weather here in Chicago. We could not have even dreamed to ask for all of this.

The results of the surgery, hospital stay, Carter's recovery have all been exceeding way beyond our expectations. Carter is really doing great. He's out of the hospital and recovering here at the house. His incision is much larger than Ryan and I thought it would be and it's a little scary, it's about 5 or 6 inches long. But of course once again our little trooper has amazed us with his perseverance to just be himself and do what he wants to do. He's been able to play and walk around a little. We are having a bit of a hard time keeping the bandages in place just because of where the wound is located and he is iching from the bandages. I imagine that we haven't seen the worst of the iching. That will probably be seen when it really starts to heal.

We don't get to go home until he sees the doctor on Wednesday. I am very homesick and miss the girls terribly. Next to the surgery, that has been the most difficult thing for me.

I just have to say that getting this surgery over and it being so successful has been a huge weight lifted off of us. Praise God that He is watching over our little guy so closely. It's so amazing to see His work in each and every aspect of this experience. I hope that this testimony is visible to everyone that has been involved. Thank you to all for the prayers and all the love for our family. We love you all.

ick . . . . with a capital S

2008-10-27T12:12:00.003-04:00

It all started early last Wednesday morning. I was the first victim, then Shaye, then Emma and now Ryan. Four down two to go. Ryan started mid afternoon on Sunday and is still sick. Hopefully we will all be healthly by Wednesday when we leave for Chicago.

Updated pictures of the girls . . .

2008-09-22T17:04:00.001-04:00

Shaye's Home School Blog . . . .

2008-09-18T18:25:00.002-04:00

For those that haven't noticed the link to Shaye's home school blog I thought I would put it up so if anyone wanted to check it out they could find it easily.

http://shayetoday.blogspot.com/

So basically I post stuff and she posts stuff too. It's just a way for us to share what we're doing and also keep a record of all the learning we're doing and fun we're having! EnJoY!

The Simple Things . . .

2008-09-16T15:36:00.003-04:00

Lately Carter's favorite past-time has been playing with his cars and ramp. Popa built him a ramp to roll his cars down. He loves it! Everyday when he comes home from school and asks to play with his ramp. It's amazing how we spend so much money buying such expensive toys with all the lights and music and kids are more excited about the simple home-made ones. Go figure.

A stroll down memory lane . . .

2008-09-13T09:03:00.003-04:00

This is Shaye when she was 3 years old at her first dance recital. Isn't she cute?

Sunday Morning

2008-09-01T08:06:00.006-04:00

Who knew we could get four kids and ourselves ready for church and still have time to take a picture? Well, we did it! Here are our FOUR beautiful children. It's still hard to believe that we have four. That's always how many we (well I) thought we'd have. I just never imagined we would have two at one time. What a blessing!

We may have solved the shoe issue. . .

2008-08-27T16:59:00.013-04:00

I was at Walmart yesterday after Carter had come home the day before from school with his shoes gray taped to his feet and I found these fake Chuck Taylor high tops.

They were on sale for $3 bucks so I thought I'd take the chance. They look kind of goofy, but he kept them on all day! This is a first!

Hooray!

First day of preschool . . . . take two . . .

2008-08-25T16:09:00.010-04:00

Carter started his new preschool today and I have to say I wasn't too optimistic when I dropped him off this morning. While spending most of my morning wondering how things were going the teacher called and said that Carter had fallen and bumped his head. He was giving another little boy a hug and he lost his balance. He came home with a big bump on the back of his big head. He did end up staying all day and when I picked him up I looked at his shoes, I laugh as the teacher said that he kept taking them off and she didn't have time to keep putting them back on so . . . . notice the shoes in the picture . . . . they were gray taped to his feet! Hey you do what you have to do.

He came home in a great mood so all in all I think today was a success! Thank goodness! I had a surprise for him when he got home. Everyone knows that Carter loves to rip paper so Ryan bought him a 500 sheet pack of printer paper and we set up his old play pen, now known as the "paper pen". He is only aloud to rip paper in his paper pen. He loves it so far! Let's hope our plan works and this curbs is appetite for ripping.

Here is an updated picture of the twins. They are 9 weeks old and growing fast. They don't look very much alike, but sometimes it seems they are looking more like sisters. Shaye is about to begin her school next week. Now that Carter is in school all day we have tons of fun stuff planned. We're looking forward to a wonderful fall!

Caring for Carter Fundraiser . . .

2008-08-04T07:21:00.005-04:00

I had hoped to have a picture from Saturday's garage sale fundraiser for Carter's surgery but my camera went on the fritz and the few pictures that I took didn't turn out. Oh Well!

Michelle! You Rock! I still am in shock at how much work and effort you put into this. I don't think anything I could do or say would rightfully express how grateful Ryan and I are. You were certainly a God-send and have restored so much in us that had grown dim over the past few years. Thank you so much for that. Michelle, if you're ever in trouble, you don't have to worry, I've got your back, girl! ;)

Many others helped and I hope to have a list soon in order to give proper thanks where it's due. Until then . . . I hope all those who lended a hand, a box of items, baked goods, raffle donation, or time know just how much Ryan and I appreciate their thoughtfullness and efforts. What a blessing.

Michelle has organized another event on the 30th of this month. Here is the flyer. Please print it and take it with you to Bono's. They will donate 15% of the cost of your dinner to "Caring for Carter"

There is also a spaghetti dinner set for this Sunday, the 10th. I don't have all the details yet, but I will add them when I do.

Thanks again to all that care! Carter is so blessed to be cared for by many!

2008-07-31T16:25:00.000-04:00

More pictures of the twins . . .

2008-07-11T21:32:00.001-04:00

Where did my baby boy go?

2008-07-09T08:40:00.001-04:00

My little baby boy isn't so little anymore. Compared to Emma and Olivia, Carter is a giant! He's done really well with the girls so far. Mostly ignoring them and occasionally wanting to kiss them or take them for a walk. All done with close supervision, of course. Ryan has awarded little Emma with 1500 "experience points" because she took a blow from a Diego backpack the other day. It was an accident and Emma was fine and barely cried.
We are all doing pretty good. The girls are still sleeping well at night. They have a bit of a fussy time between about 9:00 at night and 11:00, but it's not too bad. Just keeps Ryan and I from getting to bed early. Carter is still waking around 3am and Ryan has been going in and laying with him to get him back to sleep. That leaves me to handle feeding the girls when they wake, which really hasn't been that bad either. It takes me about an hour to get both girls fed, burped, changed, and back to sleep. I'm nursing both girls. I have to pump for Emma because she had such a hard time nursing. I hope to get her back to nursing from me eventually, but as long as she's getting breast milk I'm okay with the current arrangement. I've had to take Emma to the doctor a couple of times last week to have her weight checked. I took both girls yesterday for their two week check up and both are doing great. Dr. Altomare was very please with their weight gain. Olivia weighs 7lbs 7 ozs and Emma weighs 5lbs 11ozs.
Although I really didn't know exactly what to expect with twins, things so far are definitely going better than I thought. The most difficult part has been continuing to manage Carter's needs. I'm very excited to figure out our routine and get started on getting things back to normal. This is the first week without my mom staying here and helping. I've been anxious to see how I handle things on my own and well, so far so good. Not too many tears yet ;) Just kidding. No crying as of today!

What a wonderful week!

2008-06-27T13:07:00.015-04:00

Our sweet girls are a week old. It seems unreal that just a week ago they were still in my belly kicking and hiccuping and now I can see them and hold them. I love it! So far things are going pretty smooth. They are sleeping better than I could have expected at night. They go to bed around 10pm, wake at around 2am or 3am to eat, and then wake again around 6am. I couldn't ask for any better. After our experience with Carter during the last 3 years this has been a breeze. Let's just hope it stays that way :)

Olivia is nursing great while Emma has had a little trouble, we are slowly resolving that and she's been doing much better the past few days. Olivia has almost regained her birth weight which usually takes up to two weeks. She's our little piggy. Emma lost quite a bit but has regained about 5 ozs that she lost so we're headed in the right direction.

Shaye is loving having two sweet baby girls and is such an enormous help. She is truly extraordinary in so many ways. I couldn't do it without her. Carter is, well, handling things as expected. He's like a bull in a china shop. Most of the time he comes charging at you and doesn't even see that you have a baby in your arms, so we have to be careful. He was holding one of the girls and gave her a squeeze and said "Does it turn on?" I guess he thought she was a toy.

My mom has been staying with us this week and will be back after the weekend to help more. She's been "loving" on Carter for us and making sure he sleeps good. She's been such a big help and has made things alot easier on us during this adjustment time.

We've had tons of wonderful people from our church, family and friends that have brought food for us. What a huge help that has been. Not to have to worry about what to feed everyone. I could get use to this! :)

The twins have arrived!

2008-06-24T16:12:00.004-04:00

Olivia Jane Richardson was born at 12:41am and Emma Marie Christine Richardson was born at 12:44am on Saturday, June 21, 2008. Everyone is healthy and we arrived home as a family of six on Monday, June 23rd.

Love

2008-06-09T14:41:00.001-04:00

I ran across this picture today. It was taken a few years ago while we were taking a walk on the beach at night. Just thought it was sweet and reminded me of how much I love my husband!

Still waiting on "The Girls" . . .

2008-06-07T15:49:00.004-04:00

36 weeks and no sign of labor in sight. I went to ROC (Regional Obstetrics Center) for my usual monthly ultrasound and the 36 week stress test on the twins. The girls passed with flying colors and everything looked great on the ultrasound. Baby "A" weighs 6 lbs 3 ozs and Baby "B" weighs 5 lbs 10 ozs. Only 4 weeks to go and the way it's looking it's going to be that long until these girls decide to make their grand entrance. I start going for weekly ultrasounds now so my next one will be next Friday. We are as ready as we can be . . . now we are just anxiously awaiting their arrival.

Carter got his port out!

2008-05-23T16:12:00.000-04:00

A few pictures . . .

2008-04-27T21:03:00.002-04:00

Some pictures from this week . . . it's been awhile. There's a story behind some of the pics . . . to keep from re-typing check out Carter's website journal. www.caringbridge.com/visit/carterrichardson

Carter's First Day of School

2008-03-18T16:49:00.002-04:00

Here's our big boy on his first day of school. Things went okay today. It is a big adjustment for him and for us too!

Great Video! Must See!

2008-01-08T16:19:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law sent me this video today . . . it's pretty amazing. Thanks Dawn!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T06:16:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to all . . .

2007-12-23T06:13:00.001-05:00

We just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We hope that your time with family and friends is happy and safe.

The first gift of this Christmas . . . . given by our Christmas tree . . .

2007-12-17T10:22:00.001-05:00

So, I'm allergic to our tree. I woke up this morning with a swollen right eye.

And a rash on my neck.

I usually have some kind of reaction . . . first year my hands and arms had a rash, the next year it was a little worse, last year my hands, arms and neck and this year . . . . well you can see for yourself. Next year . . . a fake tree!

2007 Richardson Christmas Tree . . . another "special" tree!

2007-12-17T09:57:00.000-05:00

Each year we pile into the van and take a trip to Sanderson, Florida to visit Rudolph's Christmas Tree Farm. We usually get to take a hay ride out to the tree fields, but this year the hay ride was closed so we drove out on our own. As you can see we aren't interested in looking for a perfect tree. We've had some crazy looking trees in the past. This year's well, it has character.

2007-12-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

TWO BABIES!

2007-11-30T07:20:00.001-05:00

Here they are! TWO new additions coming in early Summer 2008!

Last Chemo!

2007-11-02T16:13:00.001-04:00

Halloween Fun!

2007-11-01T07:11:00.000-04:00

The kids had a wonderful time at our church's Harvest Festival last night. Shaye ran around and had a blast playing games and collecting candy with her friend Madelyn. Carter actually seemed to enjoy playing the games and I think he kind of got the candy thing. He told my mom that he wanted to "put some more in". It was a fun night for everyone.

Our trip to Camp Weed with Deliver the Dreams . . .

2007-10-11T18:48:00.000-04:00

A few very cool videos . . . . way better than You Tube!

2007-10-01T20:24:00.001-04:00

Nurse Shaye . . . .

2007-09-22T10:53:00.000-04:00

Nurse Sally let Shaye put Carter's port flush in at clinic yesterday. How Cool! She felt very important. She's had such amazing life experiences over the past two years. She's becoming a very compassionate little girl.

It's hard to believe . . .

2007-09-14T18:13:00.000-04:00

. . . that it's been 19 months since Carter started chemo. Didn't realize at the time how sick he was, looking back it's hard not to see. He looks so thin and frail. This picture was taken two days after he started chemo.

This one was taken after the first chemo and the day after port surgery.

New Information About Carter's Leg . . .

2007-09-12T20:18:00.001-04:00

on his website. www.caringbridge.com/visit/carterrichardson

Wonderful people . . .

2007-09-11T17:39:00.000-04:00

Several months ago one of Ryan's dad's customers brought in a "prayer blanket" that she and some others from her church had made for Carter. It's a fleece blanket that each of them had tied a knot in and as they tied the knot they said a prayer of healing for Carter. We were very blessed by this blanket and the kindness that a stranger had shown us.

Ms. McCranie decided to have her Sunday School Class of I believe 6 & 7 year olds "adopt" Carter. Today I received the sweatest basket full of handmade cards from the students in her class and a prayer blanket that they had all made for him. Again each student tied a knot and said a prayer of healing for Carter . . . how sweet! They also sent two adorable bears "stuffed with love and prayers".

It's so nice knowing that people care about what's going on with him. Thank you Ms. McCranie and children!

Shaye Starts Dance!

2007-09-11T17:34:00.000-04:00

Shaye started Hip Hop dance class on Monday. She enjoyed it. She's taking at Legacy Dance, previously Shoshannah Arts, so it's a Christian based arts center. Ryan's Aunt Shelley decided to give her lessons after she had a conversation with Shaye about how much Shaye liked to dance and that hip hop was her favorite. ;0)

Free Jags Tickets . . . .

2007-09-10T08:33:00.000-04:00

Ms. Joli, the Child Life Specialist at Nemours, gave Ryan and I tickets to the Jaguars game. After church mom took Carter home with her and Ryan, Shaye and I headed over to the game. We didn't make it for kick off but as we were walking in the gates the jets flew right over us. That was LOUD, but very cool.

I think Shaye was a little bored and it was pretty hot. During the entire 1st half of the game there was one huge stationary cloud right over us, but by the second half it had decided to move on and the sun was beating down on us.

I would have to say the highlight of the game was the Marine Corp Silent Drill Team. I'd never seen then in person before and even though we were in the nosebleed section it was still really neat.

Note to everyone . . . . even when you get free tickets it still costs a fortune. $25 to park . . . and check Ryan out drinking his $6.00 bottle of water. And we all thought gas was high!!!!

Unfortunately, the opening game against the Tennessee Titans wasn't as grand as the drill team. The Jags lost! :( Oh well, it's just a game. ;)

GO Blue Angels!

2007-09-08T16:02:00.000-04:00

Shaye's first soccer game of the season! They won! 5-2!

Coach Rob talking over last minute games plans with the girls.

You go Shaye! That's YOUR ball!

Blue Angels! We WON!

A visit to the Lab at Nemours . . .

2007-09-07T15:34:00.000-04:00

This is Carter a week or so ago with the girls from the lab at Nemours. They just love all over him when we go in. They are all so nice.

Today, Ryan and I had to have blood drawn for a genetics study. Ryan was not looking forward to it and I really wasn't as excited as I look . . . . she was actually already done taking it and was just pretending for the picture.

Ch, Ch, Ch, CHIA!

2007-09-06T19:20:00.000-04:00

Shaye started growing her CHIA PET today. She completed the "pre-planted" steps today and will spread the seeds tomorrow. I will post pictures to update you on "Donkey's Hair Growth" :)

Recall Madness!

2007-09-06T12:45:00.000-04:00

So, I'm thinking that the people who are responsible for these defective toys should have to come to my house and search through the mounds of Polly Pockets to find all of the pieces that have to be sent back! UGH! Who has time for this?

These are the polly pockets that have to be returned. $125.00 worth of vouchers! I just hope you don't have to buy the same kind of toy with it. I do not enjoy vacuuming up teensy shoes. The Polly Pockets were just the magnet hazard, but she has about 5 Barbie toys that had pieces painted with lead paint. Thank goodness she keeps it all in her room away from Carter's slobbery jaws!

I guess I need to clean out my "plastics" cabinet . . .

2007-09-05T11:24:00.000-04:00

This is Carter keeping himself occupied while Shaye and I do math :)

Does anyone elses coat rack look like this????

2007-09-04T16:34:00.000-04:00

How does this happen? Where are the coats?

2007-09-04T16:24:00.000-04:00

Ryan started school last Monday. He's working full time and going to school full time :( Poor him!

Shaye had her first day of 4th grade today. There she is diligently working on her Social Studies.

Shaye starts soccer today

2007-08-31T07:19:00.000-04:00

Shaye has her first soccer practice of the season tonight. Her games start next Saturday. This is her 5th season playing on the Blue Angels team.

We can now accomplish GREAT things . . . .

2007-08-31T07:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I made a major breakthrough with Carter . . . . I successfully convinced him to take another bite of sandwich by bribing him with a grape. This may sound horrible to some, but any mother that has had or currently has a two year old knows that negotiation tactics are necessary to stay sane. This new development opens up a whole new realm of possibilities.

In all seriousness it really is a pretty huge breakthrough . . . . just the fact that he understands that if he wants a grape then he has to eat another bite of sandwich is really cool. The little things ;)

Back from TN

2007-08-29T08:54:00.000-04:00

We got back yesterday from our trip to Tennessee. The kids and I went with my mom and mamaw to my cousin's wedding. We had a good trip, but we're glad to be home.

2007-08-11T19:11:00.000-04:00

My friend Katie drove over from Gainesville on Thursday to spend a few days with us. She and I had a scrapbooking marathon Friday night and were up until around 2am. Then we started again this morning. YAWN!

I added these pages to Shaye's book. They are my favorite from this weekend.

Another Poem

2007-08-09T23:30:00.001-04:00

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
Not sure who wrote this . . . but I love it.

My little helper

2007-08-08T18:58:00.000-04:00

Carter decided to help me fold laundry today. He put a pair of Ryan's undies on and has been wearing them for the whole afternoon. Funny!

Nice Poem

2007-08-08T10:19:00.000-04:00

LOST AND FOUND

DON'T LOSE HEART KEEP ME INSIDE YOU, AT ALL TIMES, THE WHOLE DAY THROUGH

WHEN YOU FEEL YOURSELF STARTING TO FALL, KNOW I'M ALWAYS THERE TO CATCH YOU.

I REALIZE YOU HAVE DREAMS UNFULFILLED, BUT MINE FOR YOU ARE FAR MORE GRAND

IT'S IMPORTANT YOU LET THINGS JUST BE DEVELOPED, AND SOON YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.

YOU WERE CREATED WITH A PURPOSE IN MIND, YOUR TRIALS ARE MEANT TO BE

A WAY TO BRING OTHERS BACK INTO MY ARMS, FOR IN YOU THEY WILL SEE ME

PLEASE, DONT GIVE UP HOPE, REMEMBER TO ALWAYS LOOK UP AND NOT AROUND

BECAUSE WHAT YOU DESIRE HASN'T BEEN LOST, RATHER IT HASN'T YET BEEN FOUND - Ghostwriter

This was written by a friend on a NF BB I post to. I read it this morning and asked Ghostwriter if I could post it on my blog. This is what he said . . .

CB THAT'S A 10=4 YOU MAY COPY AND USE IT WHEREVER CUZ I'm JUST A GHOSTWRITER 4 GOD AND....

YOURS AND MINE

WHAT'S YOURS IS YOURS AND WHATS MINE IS MINE

AND THIS IDEA DOESN'T NEED FIXIN', IT WORKS JUST FINE.

BUT IT IS BY YOUR WILL, IT IS BY YOUR WAY

THAT WE AWAKE IN THE MORNING, TO LIE DOWN ANOTHER DAY.

IT IS ON YOUR TIME, IT IS ON YOUR TERMS THAT WE TEACH AT CERTAIN MOMENTS, AT OTHERS, WE LEARN

IT IS FOR YOUR GLORY, IT IS FOR YOUR GAIN THAT WE ARE OVERCOME WITH JOY,AS WE ARE OVERCOME BY PAIN

IT IS BECAUSE OF YOUR COMPASSION, IT IS BECAUSE OF YOUR CONTROL

OUR PARTS CAN BE REASSEMBLED, TO MAKE US AGAIN WHOLE

YET, IF YOU URGE, WHAT'S YOURS IS YOURS AND WHAT'S MINE IS MINE

IF YOU STILL CLING TO THIS IDEA, IF YOU STILL BELIEVE IN THIS LINE

THEN TELL ME WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE, IN IT WHAT WILL I FIND

AS I WANT TO SEND ALL I HAVE BACK, WITH MY NOTE,

HERE, LORD, IT'S YOURS NOT MINE - Ghostwriter

THIS IS ANOTHER OLD POEM I WROTE YEARS AGO

AS ALWAYS BE BLESSED LOVE MICHAEL

Looking for something to do . . . .

2007-08-07T15:29:00.001-04:00

. . . other than laundry and cleaning. Thought I would show you some of my favorite things.

These are some of my Willow Tree figurines. I think they are beautiful and so far I have 13 in all.

This one is my favorite. I bought it for Carter on his 2nd birthday.

Anyone that comes to my house notices the paper towels and toilet paper in my curio. They always ask about the story behind such an unusual display. As long as I can remember my grandpa, my dad's, dad, has loved to shop sales. He would take his coupon to the Greyhound (a grocery store in Southern Indiana) on double coupon day and get a cart full of coffee, ice cream bars, toilet paper, paper towels or whatever else was on sale that week. He'd store the toilet paper and paper towels in his homemade truck top camper that sat under an awning in his back yard or in the building out back that was dusty and smelled like moth balls. After I got my own home I began getting a large black yard bag full of soap, bath towels, washcloths, trash bags, toilet paper, paper towels and whatever else he had stashed just like my mom and aunts had gotten for as many years as I could remember. We called them carepackages. The first year I received my care package was probably 1996. The one thing that I remember was opening the pink toilet paper to find a coupon that expired in 1982. I didn't really care that it was so old, it was just pretty funny and gave me a giggle. Well, in 2002 my grandpa passed away and the next summer my mom and dad went back to Indiana to help my grandmother go through some things. My mom called me kind of chuckling and said that they had just spent the last 30 minutes moving toilet paper and paper towels by assembly line from the building and truck top camper. He still had tons of this pink toilet paper and paper towels that he'd probably bought in the late 70's or .early 80's. I told my mom that the only thing I wanted her to bring me was one package of each and it's been in my living room as a reminder of just one memory I have of my Grandpa Pershing. Carter has his name and I can only hope that he grows up to be as great of a man as my grandpa.

This is my family picture wall in my livingroom. I love pictures of my family. In case you haven't noticed.

This is a drawing of me when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I was waiting next to the tree in front of my house for the VBS bus to pick me up. A neighbor sketched this from across the street and gave it to my mom. I wasn't actually sitting like that but I did have that dress on and my hair was up like that.

It's HOT

2007-08-07T14:09:00.000-04:00

Ok, So even if I could go somewhere I don't think I would. Shaye went out to check the mail and I stood at the door to wait for her. I think I melted a little while I was standing there. I feel really bad for Ryan because he works out in the heat. Oh . . . that reminds me of a prayer request. He is applying for a new job (within the same company) and we would really love it if he got the job. It would mean quite a significant raise in pay, which would mean a lot to us right now. Thanks!

Mattress Jumping Olympics

2007-08-05T09:42:00.000-04:00

We have a tradition of untraditional sorts on "movie night" in our house. Ryan and I drag out our king sized mattress from our bed and lay it on the living room floor. Anytime you have such a soft place to land, well, there's going to be jumping. I think we got the biggest laugh from my jump. I received the gold medal, Shaye got the silver, Carter got the bronze, and Ryan received honorable mention. We didn't watch Everyone's Hero, we watched Happily Never After, which wasn't all that great. Ryan, Shaye and I had a slumber party in the living room, but Carter sleeps better by himself so he slept in his bed.

Lazy Day

2007-08-04T19:07:00.000-04:00

Carter's ANC was quite low at yesterdays appoint so we are keeping him in this weekend and probably most of next week. Today has been the laziest day we've had in many months. Ryan and I have piddled around on our computers most of the day in between entertaining the little man and well, that's about it. It's been very nice. We are having "movie night" tonight. The feature presentation is "Everyone's Hero". I'll let you know how it is.

My very first official blog! How exciting!

2007-08-03T17:49:00.000-04:00

So, today one of my friends emailed me a link to her new blog and I immediately said "I want one of those" so here I am. Today was a "stay at home in your pj's, light a candle, drink some coffee that has way too much french vanilla creamer in it, watch Oprah and sit on the couch all day" kind of day. Unfortunately, life doesn't stop just because it's rainy and gloomy outside so Carter and I crawled out of bed and prepared for a day at the clinic. Shaye spent the night with grandma and then spent the day today with a dear friend (Sandy) who took her to see that rat movie.
Ok! Maybe this blog title should be "Life with Carter" . . . . he is such a stinker. This blob of stuff in my hand was at one time a book . . . . I guess he's starved for knowledge. We are staying in tonight (as if we ever actually go out) our pizza is here and I'm hungry so good bye for now.