A photo blog of the last week

This is a photo blog showing what else has been going on in our lives this past week.
 
We have been spending tons of time on our new playset. I already don't know what we did without it! My kids want nothing to do with toys. We just spend our mild, overcast days swinging and sliding.






 



We had a new niece born last Friday! Bryon's sister had her third girl in 4 years and we all enjoyed getting to see her on Saturday. We went to Bryon's parents house for the day to see Avery and to pick up Bryon's new car. His Avalon was totaled in his wreck several weeks ago, so we replaced it with a Honda Accord Hybrid. Leonardo DiCaprio would be so proud! Bryon does a lot of driving with his job, so a Hybrid was a good choice for him.





 
On the way home on Saturday, I picked up my Mother's Day gift. A new birdbath! There is a great place on the way home from Conroe that sells all things concrete. I am really enjoying it.


 





Thomas had kindergarten roundup last week as well. This was highly anticipated and I had my parents watch my other two to make it a one on one date with Thomas. He literally ran into school and started introducing himself to his future classmates! When it was over, he looked at me with wide eyes and said, "This is it?" I think he was thinking that he would get to go to class. I told him the real fun begins in August. I am looking forward to doing kindergarten again!

A few final thoughts about Elizabeth McCullough

I just needed to write a little more about my coworker, Elizabeth McCullough. I went to work today for the first time since the accident. This was a difficult day for the entire office. When I arrived, a chaplain from our hospital was praying with the staff. After these words, I walked over to her cubicle. All over her cubicle, there were pictures of her two children and her husband. Her daughter looks just like her. Same brown hair. Same kind eyes. I hope this brings Elizabeth's mother some comfort knowing that a piece of her daughter lives on.

What really hit me like a ton of bricks was seeing her calendar. She had a calendar that had a different bible verse for each day. The nurse who had her cubicle across from Elizabeth recalls that Elizabeth shared the scripture with her often and would say, "I wonder what that means?" Sitting on her desk was the page for May 7, 2007. It said:

"Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God."

I can't believe that those were some of the last words she ever read. I hope these words gave her peace as she walked out of our office and into her fate. God rest her spirit.

I am using this tragedy to recommit myself to live each day like it was my last. To hug my kids one more time. To not get frustrated over little things. To say sweet things to my husband. To be kind to others. To reach out to those who seem lonely.

A sad day

It has been a sad day around here. One of my good friends was over at my house for lunch when I got a call from my mother. She called me around noon to inform me that one of my coworkers had been killed in a car accident while going to see a patient. She was on a two lane highway turning left onto a gravel road. An 18 wheeler was behind her going too fast and decided to try and pass her to her left at the same moment that she turned left. My friend graciously ducked out of the house and I have had a hard time getting off the couch today.

My mother directs the agency I work for. She had the unenviable task of going to the scene of the accident and identifying her body. The DPS officers asked her to come out with Elizabeth's contact information as all they could make out in the car was her work badge. They couldn't reach her cell phone. Mom had just seen her in the office 20 minutes before the accident. Mom really cared for her and joked around with us that there were too many Elizabeth's at the office.

Elizabeth was a beautiful and incredibly sweet nurse. She was only 24 and had two young children. She hadn't worked at our agency long, but I really enjoyed the time I spent with her. Two of our most recent conversations keep swimming around in my head. The first was a few months ago when she was asking me for help in finding a place for her daughter's 4th birthday party. The other, our last conversation together, involved a mutual patient whose family was having a hard time accepting that he was dying. It is just so hard to believe that our patient outlived Elizabeth.

Here is the first report of the accident.

Please say a prayer for the McCullough family tonight. Hug your husband and children tight. Enjoy everyday that we are given.

Butterflies!

 
 
 
 
 

When I was planning my garden, I wanted to put a huge emphasis on flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Looks like they took the bait! My garden is swarming with both. The hummers are too quick to take pictures of. Everytime I see them, my camera is not in hand. Taking a picture of one is my new mission! The butterflies have been much more cooperative. What a fun hobby!

Winding down

 
 
 
Well, it looks like the year is finally winding down. Matthew had his final piano concert on Monday night. He has been in a two year program at Baylor since his first weeks as a kindergartener, and now it is over. I always got a kick out of watching the director and student teachers react to Matthew! These women and men are very artsy, very plain jane, very musical, very soft spoken. Most of the kids in the program were the same way. And then there is my full of testosterone, sports loving, loud voiced, full of energy Matthew who walked into the room and completely changed the atmosphere! Matthew was pretty legendary around the piano program! He played beautifully on Monday night and never missed a note! I guess there is room for lots of different personalities when it comes to the piano.

Monday night was one of Matthew's last games. Only one more day of baseball and it is over for the season! This is always bittersweet for me. I love getting to know the players, parents, and coaches and I will miss them dearly. On the other hand.....I can now feel less guilty when Mary Beth unwraps her burrito from Taco Bueno and says, "Thank you for making my meal, Mommy!" Baseball was three times a week and took out 5p.m.-7p.m. Perfect conditions for eating out! I am ready to start cooking again.

Less than four more weeks of school. Didn't Matthew just start 1st grade? Are you telling me that in four weeks, he will be telling people that he is a second grader? Thomas's kindergarten roundup is just around the corner. He is chomping at the bit to get started! I am so happy for him but am taking in every morning watching him wrapped up in blankets as Matthew rushes to get ready for school.

Our birthday bonanza month is winding down today as well. We have 5 close family birthdays in two weeks. Bryon's 36th was this weekend and we had a fabulous time celebrating his life and how much he means to us. I took him to a great new restaurant close to our house on Saturday night while Lauren and Josh watched the kids. We are returning the favor for them to celebrate Lauren's birthday, which was last week, very soon. My mom's birthday is today. Happy birthday, Mom!

Yes, I am ready for the semester to wind down and to have all my chicks at home. I go through a nesting phase every year around this time in anticipation of all three at home all day every day. Get rid of excess! Pare down! Make a list of rules, activities that will last us the next 2 1/2 long, hot months!

Bluebonnet pictures

 photo by Laura Endsley 













photo by Laura Endsley
















My friend Laura Endsley is such a talented photographer! A few weeks ago, we attempted bluebonnet pictures. I had low expectations, as most of the time, my kids can't be still and smiling at the same time. I was so happy with the results, though, and find it a small miracle that no photoshopping different heads on bodies was needed! Thanks, Laura!

This and That

A few things going on here:

My aunt came in from New York to visit my mother while my Dad is in China. Aunt Barbara, along with their other sister, Aunt Carolyn, are the closest of friends and talk almost daily. Since they lead busy lives they only get to see each other once every one to two years. It was such a treat having her here! I love seeing my very responsible, organized, motherly mother revert back into someone's baby sister. Aunt Barbara is such a gift to our family. I love hearing her and my mother talk about growing up.

Sunday, Mom treated us all to see Wicked in Dallas. It was great! It is the back story of the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz. It was so much fun hanging out with my sister, mother, and aunt!

Yesterday, our school celebrated Earth Day. Lauren watched my little two and I got to go help plant a butterfly garden at Matthew's school.

Last night, Matthew got his first sports injury. He was catching a baseball and it hit him square in the eye. His glasses were hit and they scratched up beneath his eye. I was called onto the field and Matthew was crying. When I asked him if he was OK, he said he was crying because he was afraid I would take him out of the game! Man, I love that kid! He is oh, so proud of his first shiner, and thinks he looks like Rocky Balboa!

The biggest news around here though, is that our playset is finally complete! We bought the set 4 weeks ago and took one look at the directions, which stated that 16 hours of skilled labor were involved, that we set out to find skilled laborers! It took three weeks to find a crew who could do it, and they completed it last night. We missed our playset from our other house dearly, and are thrilled to have one again.

Matthew and Thomas are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame as the coolest kids in the neighborhood. Of course, it rained today, so they whole area was muddy. You can see from the picture that several boys thought it would be fun to paint our back fence with mud! I have 6 shoes in desperate need of de-muddifying, but it was worth it to hear the squealing of delighted children!

I think that is about it for now!


 

Baseball and a car accident

I haven't had much time to blog this week. First of all, Tuesday night, Bryon got into a car accident on the major interstate running through our city....while I was on the phone with him! We were talking and then I hear, "NO! NO! NO!" and then the phone went dead. Very scary.

It turns out that he hydroplaned during a torrential downpour and wound up hitting the median between the northbound and southbound lanes. I dropped ME off at my parents and asked Lauren to keep Thomas, who was at her house, and raced to the scene. I was concerned about Bryon sitting out in the rain and dark during a very lively lightening storm while 18 wheelers were zooming by him.

We feel very blessed that Bryon wasn't hurt. Just a little sore. We spent most of our night on the interstate waiting for cops (lots of accidents that night) and a tow truck.

In other news....

I remember being a kid and feeling like once baseball season started, it was time for school to be out. I still feel that way! We had three games this week alone. Matthew has moved up to a more competitive league. This is great for my super intense, very competitive child. What is about to drive me crazy is the super intense, very competitive parents! I actually witnessed a mother on the opposing team a few nights ago screaming that our team was cheating! Can you tell me how 6 and 7 year old boys could possibly be cheating? Utterly ridiculous and I am afraid just the beginning of crazy parents who are living out their childhoods (and maybe their frustrations?) vicariously though their children.

I love watching Matthew play! I, like every parent, am in awe of how his body is growing and how he has picked up the game. My heart bursts with pride!

The good and bad of our world

I have felt a few strong emotions this week about the planet we live on. Here is a sample of my disgust:

1. While watching Oprah this week, I saw 4 siblings get up and announce that they are gay, after which, the audience breaks out in applause. If I got on Oprah and announced that I was straight, would I get the same reception? How twisted is that?

2. Don Imus....I have had mixed emotions on this one. It is obvious that he said deplorable statements and should be sanctioned. When Rosie said last year that Christians were no better than Muslim terrorists, was there the same backlash? I chose to retaliate by turning off her show.

On the other hand...

I have been obsessed with Planet Earth over the last month! Watching the beauty of our world in high definition is breathtaking. Every creature has adapted to its surroundings with remarkable precision. It is one of those experiences where you wonder how anyone could dare assume that these miraculous sights could be formed by anyone other than God. We watch every Sunday night with the boys and marvel at God's creation.

In other news...

*We are finally getting our new carpet in today. We have been living in a bit of upheavel these past few weeks. Everyone has limitations. Mine is upheavel! I am ready to have beds and carpets back where they belong.

*Thomas is finally coming home today! He was supposed to come home Thursday, but Bryon had a case down near his parents today, so there was no point in making the long trip twice in a several day span. Thomas has never left me for so long, and I find myself just staring at pictures of him. I am counting the hours...

*Today is my nephew James's first birthday. What joy he has brought our family over the past year! We celebrated his birthday yesterday and he was so cute eating his cake and squealing over the fuss made over him. What a doll!

TGIF!

We have had a great end of the week! ME continues to heal and be more like herself with each passing day. Thomas is still in Conroe and I miss him dearly, but he is having the time of his life, so I am happy about that. I have also enjoyed devoting all of my energy to Mary Elizabeth. I am even getting closets organized while she sleeps which always brightens my day. ;)

I have added some pics of my flowers that are blooming. I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and these flowers have endured floods and snowstorms! I would like to add a gardeners journal to the blog and maybe once a month document progress. I was going to do that the beginning of April, but most of the garden was underwater! Have a great weekend!


 
 
 
 

The story

 
 

Well, I got a full 8 hours of sleep last night and feel like I could conquer the world!

Monday was a long day. We woke up at 4:45 for the drive to Ft. Worth. My mother came with me. Bryon had to stay behind to do carpool, work, and take Matthew to his baseball game. Cook Children's hospital was wonderful. They gave ME a nose spray that they call a "pediatric margarita" so she was feeling no pain when the nurse took her from me. I wish they had had an "adult margarita" nose spray for me at that moment!

We went to the waiting room and I started having mental images of what ME was going through. At that moment, a sweet couple sat down next to us and we struck up a conversation. I really think they were put there for a purpose, because the 1 1/2 hours that ME was in surgery went by much quicker because I was occupied with our conversation! Before we knew it, we were up in the room. ME was out of it most of the day, and we all took turns holding her. My dad got to come up for a while because he had the day off of class.

The roughest part of the journey was Monday night. People were coming in at all hours and I ended up sleeping on a plastic lazyboy holding ME. Someone came in at 4 in the morning to draw ME's blood. I am sure you can imagine how that went over! I don't remember a longer night than that one!

Tuesday, ME was feeling much more like herself. I included two pictures to demonstrate the resiliency of children. The second picture was taken 24 hours after surgery! Her doctor took a look at her last night and said that she needed to give up her room for a child who was actually sick. We have never been so excited to be home!

Today has gone well. ME has been having bladder spasms which are painful but expected. She will be walking, stop, cry for a few seconds, then be fine.

Thank you, thank you to all of you for your show of love and support! Thank you, Mom for going through the whole ordeal at my side. Thank you, Michael, Jilinda, Kristen, Kevin, Sam, Seth, and Dad for visiting us! Thank you, Lauren, for taking care of Matthew after school! Thank you Mimi, Big Mack, and Aunt Shari for taking care of Thomas. Thank you, Joy, for coming up to the church building Sunday night to retrieve my purse that I left that morning! I have never done that! I must have been preoccupied. Thank you Bryon for being Super Dad! I love you ALL!

We're home!

Home has never looked so good! We were released a few hours ago and are home again. Mary Elizabeth is doing incredibly well. I am amazed by her recovery. Mom and I, on the other hand, have had 1-2 hours of sleep in the past 40 hours. We are exhausted so I will fill in details tomorrow.

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!

Update on Mary Elizabeth

This is Lauren guest blogging...

Elizabeth called me and said that Mary Beth is out of surgery, and everything went well! She is acting very subdued, but that is to be expected. I talked to her on the phone and asked her how she was feeling and she replied, "Where Jamsey go?". I took that as a good sign that she is getting back to normal. She will go home tomorrow night or Wednesday morning. Thank you for your prayers!

Happy Easter!

 
 
 
 

Happy Easter, everyone! I told the kids to enjoy the snow this morning, because it will probably be the only time in their lives, should they choose to reside in Texas, that it will snow on Easter. There are only three times in recorded history that it has snowed in our town in April!

Bryon took the boys down to his Aunt Bernie's farm to hand off Thomas. I will miss him dearly, but he will have a great time with the grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. I am feeling anxious about tomorrow and am ready for next week to get here. I was fine until the nurse told me about intubating ME. I just didn't need that visual. Our concern at the moment is that she had a fever on Thursday (for a few hours) and has been coughing ever since. She hasn't had a fever for 2 1/2 days, but if she has one tomorrow, they will postpone the surgery. I am praying this doesn't happen!

ME's surgery is scheduled for 9 a.m. I am told that there are computers at the hospital and I will try to update or have Lauren do it.

These are some pictures from yesterday and this morning. ME is wearing a spring coat and hat that my grandmother made for me. It was nice having that coat when I was 2 and living in ILLINOIS! Never thought we would need it here! Her pink dress is the one that my mother made for my sister for Easter 24 years ago. I had a matching one that ME will wear in 5 years!

"I'm dreamin' of a white Easter?"

Sample of crazy Texas weather:
Last Friday, floods and tornados
Last Wednesday, beautiful day in the high 80s.
Today, snowing like crazy!

Huge, beautiful snowflakes are blanketing our bluebonnets. Who would have ever guessed? What an unexpected gift! As for my poor, beautiful plants who have bravely made it through the last few weeks, but will probably succomb to this latest assault, I am channelling my best Scarlett O'Hara and will think about that tomorrow.

 
 
 
 

Friday night pics

 

Wrestling before the game! My boys love to wrestle. I often find them giggling and jumping on each other. No doubt these two are all boy!
 
 











Matthew changes into a coordinating shirt while keeping his baseball pants on. Pictures in the bluebonnets before the game. Matthew has "hat hair" but what else is new? ;)
 















Matthew playing third base. He had three great hits tonight. I love baseball games!

Cool picture!

 
This is a picture taken yesterday at Ft. Erwin. The soldier standing at the right of the picture is my cousin, Matt. Yesterday was his 24th birthday. Matt (my father's brother's son) is from New Mexico, and graduated from West Point two years ago. He was in the first class to graduate who enrolled after 9/11. Matt will go to Iraq probably in July. He is our reminder to pray for our troops!

Wild, whacky, week!

You have heard the expression, "When it rains, it pours." This has been very true this week both literally and figuratively!

This weekend, a washer on one of our toilet pipes came loose and water seeped into our wood floor, den carpet, and the boys' carpet on the other side of the house (but sharing a wall with the bathroom). This was completely unrelated to the flood. I couldn't believe it as we have never had an inch of flooding in our entire history of home ownership! We had to cut out the carpet pads and have fans drying the foundation and carpet. I think our den carpet is salvageable, but the boys carpet has got to go. Matthew is extremely allergic to mold so we are going with a fresh start. I am thinking black shag to hide all the future staining, or perhaps keeping it just the foundation and putting in a drain so I can hose down the room daily! ;)

Then yesterday, Thomas had his first case of hives which covered 3/4 of his body. This child, who absolutely never complains of aches or pains (other than those his brother inflicts) was miserable with itches last night. His eyes were swollen and his limbs were red and warm to the touch. He had welts all over his little body. Poor baby! I took him in today and the doctor said to keep him on Benedryl and we will do some testing if it happens again. He didn't eat anything unusual and didn't have a but bite that we could see. Very curious!

All this as we start the giant task of distributing children for our ordeal next week. My in laws are keeping Thomas and he is very excited to go to Conroe "all by myself!" Lauren is helping with Matthew after school, and Bryon will be helping with Matthew and possibly coming to the hospital in the evening. My parents are coming up and helping as well. Experiences like this are always so humbling as loved ones step up to the plate and offer their time, service, love, and prayers!

Approved

 


Well, we just heard back from our insurance agency today offically approving ME's surgery next week. We will be in the metroplex for a few days and then returning home for a week long recovery. Please say a pray for our little girl on Monday!

Friday

 
 
 
 

What a day yesterday! We have had a week of crazy weather with the grande finale occurring last night. All week, we have had tons of rain. Two of our baseball games were cancelled because of it.

Yesterday afternoon, it started to pour and the local weather cut into Oprah. A tornado was heading our way and the sirens sounded. Matthew knows just enough about tornados to be dangerous and was yelling, "We are going to die!! I just know it!!" Over and over. He tried to convince me to drive away from the storm, but of course, due to the torrential rain and hail, this wasn't going to happen!

The tornado cloud just passed us, but the flash flood did not. In a matter of minutes, I watched my backyard fill up like a bathtub. Schlitterbahn could have opened a new waterpark back there!

After the storm passed, I took one walk around the back yard to survey the damage. At some points, the water was up almost to my knees. I knew there was nothing I could do about it, so I told the kids to put their bathing suits on and have at it.

At this point, Matthew exclaimed that this was the best day of his life! There are 10 young kids who live in my house, my next door neighbors house, and across the street from us. They all got geared up for major water fun, and I have to admit that seeing their joyful faces took the sting out of watching my perennials float down the street.

We ended up letting them play for hours and we all ordered pizza together for a fun and spontaneous evening. One of the neighbor boys who is good friends with Matthew even spent the night.

I didn't sleep well hearing the rain all last night, but was pleased to see that we only had minimal damage this morning. I just need to shove my dirt back where it belongs and replant some flowers. It could have been much worse! Last year's tornado in May was definitely worse.

Today, I finally got my hair hightlighted after ME exclaimed, "I have yellow hair and Mommy has black hair!" We took professional pictures in the blue bonnets tonight as well and I am excited to see how they turn out.

The good news is that with our record breaking, 9 inches of rain this month, even if we don't get another ounce of rain this year, we won't have to water ration this summer. Yippee!