Wow, Do Not Put Yourself Out, Really...

Yep, had to drag Ye 'Ol Soapbox out for this one....

As you know my gallbladder is not functioning, which in return is causing me somewhat of A LOT of pain. I was referred to a surgeon last week, that, was on spring break. Go figure! I was given an appointment of 3 pm on Wednesday. WHAT?? I could not wait that long so when I complained, I was told by my doctors office (which set up the appointment) to call everyday for a cancellation. So I call everyday, beginning the moment I hung up my phone with my doctor, to get in sooner. Of course everyday, I was told there were not cancellations, but if the pain worsens to go to the ER.

Well I called again yesterday, well because I guess I was feeling stupid lucky, and again was told, sorry, but if it gets worse to go to the ER. I am not an ER person, but have thought about it a lot, especially in the middle of the night, but then I try to hold on, and I do, which brings me to today.

The surgeon's office just called, guess what?? The lady on the phone says, we have a cancellation, (I'm thinking to myself, great, Hopefully in the next 10 minutes) Do you think you could come in at 2:30 tomorrow instead of 3. WHAT??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? THAT"S WHAT YOU CALL GETTING ME IN EARLIER????????

Of course I took it, I did not want to look ungrateful. Geeze, I give up. Oh well, what's 24 more hours, right?

BTW, don't forget, if you have not already done so, go here and leave a comment for this book!! I will draw for a winner tomorrow evening sometime!

Net Trigger Giveaway!

Our pastor, Dr. Mark Gregory, just had his first book published, Net Trigger. Needless to say everyone is so excited for him. What I have heard, it's it wonderful. I just purchased the book myself, but have just begun the book, but what I have read has been wonderful. Here is the book and it's description:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation receives an anonymous tip of an international technology company's plot to shut down the Internet and create a national security risk. They also obtain photographic negatives from a 24-year-old 35-millimeter camera depicting passengers struggling to survive a Convair 580 plane crash. The resolution of the crisis can only be found in the remains of the crash, deep in the Campeche jungle of Mexico. Though separated by decades, two timelines converge as Agent Darin Newsom and a team from Honduras search for the wreckage and the documents that can stop the countdown of the "net trigger."

I am so very excited for him and for his book, that I purchased a book for one of y'all! If you so happen to win, Dr. Mark will also sign it for you! I know, it's great to have connections!!

So how do you win? First leave a comment on this post and of course that will get you entered into the drawing. If you would like to have a second entry into the drawing, mention this on your blog, then come back and leave me another comment and you will get another chance at winning it.

If you so happen not to be the lucky winner, you can order Net Trigger off of Amazon & Barnes and Noble, and if you live in Middle Tennessee, you can purchase it from Life Way. Of course any Life Way store can order it for you and you can avoid the S&H. Either way, you will not be disappointed!!

I will close the contest sometime Wednesday evening and announce the winner on Thursday morning. Good Luck!

O Baby...

How fun is this?? I can't wait! Join the fun!

To God Be The Glory

I have been singing this song all day, To God be the glory, great things He has done... then I got the call from Hubby

He received the new of his biopsy this afternoon and it's benign! Yay! Thanks so much for praying. We are so relieved! They will check it again in six months to make sure there are no changes.

God is good, and to Him be the Glory for the great things he has done!

A Few Things That Make Me Smile

First, I wanted to thank y'all for all your prayers. It means so much to us and as soon as we know more, I will pass it on. We should have hubby's results tomorrow. As of right now, I am not scheduled to meet with the surgeon until next week, unless things get worse, or there is a cancellation. We are right now, focus on Him and His plans and not worrying about the small stuff!

Now for a few goofy things that makes me smile!

I love baby goats, they have such personalities. Check out Robin, our newest addition....See her smiling?? Awwwww, she is so cute and spoiled! She loves Bradley and when he goes outside and hollers for her she always runs and jumps until she gets to him!! That makes me smile!

Since DJ and Joey are in Florida living the high life, at night it has been just me and Bradley hanging out at home. Since I have been a little under the weather, we have not done to much but lay around and watch TV. Last night I made Bradley some cheesy eggs and while I was making them he told me to turn around and look what he made.....

He was goofing off with some craft supplies I had laying on the island. Bradley told me, and I qoute, "Take a picture, this is blog worthy"!! That made me smile!

Something that makes me smile everyday is of course my Higgins! He brings so much joy to my life! Each and every night he sleeps with me, right next to my back, flat on his back, with all four legs in the air. Sometimes he snores so loudly that it wakes me and hubby up....no joke!!

Our bed is very high off the ground and I use a step stool to get up in it. This morning after I got up for work, I was having a hard time getting my butt in gear and laid back down, Higgins wanted up on the bed so badly, but I did not want to twist around and lean down to get him, so I didn't. Higgins ran to the living room got his duckie and jumped on my bed!! I kid you not, he just flat footed jumped right in the bed. So, this much be a once in a life time thing, so I threw his duckie, he jumped off the bed, ran to get it and jumped again, flat footed, into my bed!! I could not believe it.....he did it fives times this morning!

I measured my bed and from the floor to the mattress it is 3 feet. I measured Higgins legs and they are 5 inches long! That folks is total love for his mama!! After I quit throwing his duckie, he grabbed his blanket, covered up and was ready for a snooze. That makes me smile, a lot!!

Update & I'm Asking For Your Prayers

First, The HIDA Scan was not as bad as I had envisioned it to be. I survived with a mild headache and a pretty purple bruise on my arm! Note to self: quit googling medical procedures!

The bad news is: My gall bladder is not functioning. That means I will have to get it removed. I am none to happy about that. My nausea started going away today so I thought I was getting better, but while in Wow-mart, I started having some mild pain and now it is hitting me full force. Hopefully it will subside for a while, because I really want to put this off as long as I can!! :) At least until next week. You know it is all about my procrastination!!

I now have a prayer request for y'all. I have been pretty quiet about this for a while. Hubby did not want it public knowledge until we saw the doctor. We saw the doctor today so now I am asking for your prayers.

Hubby's thyroid is enlarged on the right side. The doctor that found it wanted him to see a specialist because it was enlarged beyond his expertise. Today we saw said specialist and the appointment went really well. They did go ahead and proceed with a biopsy today. Hubby did really well, I was so proud of him. They are checking to see if it's pre-cancerous, benign or malignant.

The doctor was very reassuring and if it's bad news, he feels that we caught everything early and they will do surgery and radiation with the success rate being great with the thyroid and he sees no complications. Of course we are a little anxious and it seems like everything is hitting all at once.

Please join us in praying for Jeremy. We are praying for a calming peace while we wait for the results and of course a clean biopsy. If the test comes back showing that there is something more, we pray for a quick and successful surgery and complete healing of this. We know our God is a Mighty God and we are putting our full trust in him with this situation.

I thank you way in advance for your prayers and will let you know what is going on when we get the biopsy results back!

I Rather Diet!

Today is the day. The day for my HIDA Scan, and I would rather be beat to death. Well, really not to that extreme. I dread this like I dread a diet! Yep, it's that bad!

Do you know what they do to you during the HIDA Scan?? I have Google it, and I can tell you I am not looking forward to it. Just maybe the horror stories on the Internet are just that, horror stories, so I will give you an update on what really happens!!!

Pray for me, at noon sharp, I am going to need it. Maybe the rapture will happen before I go in....that's a thought!!

With Great Pleasure....

I most humbly accept this award from my wonderful sis, Jenny over at Flutterbye Chronicles. Trust me I am sooo excited!!

Two rules accompany this award:

1. Confess 5 things you are addicted to.

2. Pass the award on to 5 deserving bloggers.

Five addictions:

1. I am totally addicted to my Chi-wi-wi, Higgins! Yes, this is coming from a lifelong cat lover, but there is something about him. It must be his MAN-tastically wonderful disposition!! :)

2. I guess I better say my Hubby, I think he gets a little jealous over the dog!! All kidding aside, I have the most wonderful Hubby in the world, and of course, he's a good addiction!

3. I love my Kitchen Aid mixer. LOVE IT, totally addicted to it!!

4. Food. All food. I love to eat! After a big 'ol scrumptious meal, I love a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha to wash it down! YUM!

5. I love reading. (If I can find the time) I can be lost for hours in a good book!

Five deserving bloggers:

Meredith @ Simplicity Simplified. I met Meredith at church and she moved all the way from California to be my friend!! (Poor thing!) I love Meredith and her family...her hubby leaves a lot to be desired......totally joking folks, I luvie him too!

Melissa @ Melissa's Thoughts . I also go to church with Melissa and she is so wonderful. She is a newbie in the blogging world and started her blog not to long ago. If you ever need help with anything, ask Melissa, she always says yes and with a smile!

Darla @ heARTshare . She is such a sweet person and has the most talented kids that I have ever...read about!! She lives in Texas, but I have the great honor of getting to meet her soon when she makes a trip to Nashville! Can't wait!

Tracey @ Mi Vida Loca . This crazy girl has been my friend since the 5th grade. She and her crazy hubby and kids bring great joy to my life! If I ever need a good laugh, a shoulder to cry on or anything in between, she is the one I call!

Jeanette @ Our crazy kids... I mean life! I always love reading Jeanette's blog. She reminds me of myself with her crazy never ending schedule that her two teenage girls keep her own. She has the girls, I have the two teenage boys, and trust me life with teenagers is always an adventure!

Of course I have to give an honorable mention to my BFF, Greg @ Greg's General Store My sister-in-law already awarded him the same award. He's a crazy BFF and I always laugh when I read his blog!

Glory Grabber!

Have you ever had a spiral of unknown aches and pains. We are having that in our household. Hubby is having his issues and not to be outdone I had to join the party and have one of my own. Around our house when someone is sick, not feeling well or injured and then another one of us, during the one's episode of being sick or whatever, has something wrong or gets sick, we call them a "Glory Grabber"

Well folks I am a glory grabber. Usually hubby takes that title, but not this time! I think I am having a gall bladder attack. Ugh! It has been a very long few days to say the least! I felt whiny Tuesday, felt pretty bad Wednesday and I woke up Wednesday night, with what I thought was a stomach virus. I started praying hard that God would take it away from me. After a few sharp pains, I realized that it was not a stomach virus, but a gall bladder attack, so I started praying that God would give me a stomach virus instead. I am wishy washy that way!

I have an appointment on Monday for a HIDA Scan, which I am not a happy camper about. Last time this happened I got better, and I hope that I will get better again. I hear that each time it gets worse until you do something about it! I am rather grumpy about that! I hate hospitals, doctors and anything to do with both!

I have been stalking the y'alls blogs, but not really been leaving many comments, so hopefully I will catch up this weekend, when of course, I WILL BE FEELING BETTER!!

On a side note, DJ and Joey took a Spring break trip to Florida to see Hubby's family. They left this morning and made it safely. I will miss them so terribly much, but it looks like it may have been for the best with me not feeling well.

I guess that is my quick wrap up of my week. I have been a boring blogger, but the computer is the last thing I have been thinking of the last few days.

Lots Of Celebrating!

Today is Connie's 65th birthday. Connie is the most wonderful, sweetest, loving person that I have ever had the pleasure of being friends with. The most awesome thing is that I work with her and Hubby and I teach the 3rd grade Sunday School class together with her!! It's a good things she likes us!! He he! Anyhoo.....

Again, today she turned 65, and I am ever so devastated that she might just retire. She thinks that working till she turns 85 is a little out of the question, but if you ask me, the church walls will crumble to the ground the day she retires!! She go's way above and way beyond as a ministry assistant and right hand lady to our pastor, and we all love her so much! She is also the best proof reader this side of the Mississippi and can find a place for a semi-colon in just about any thing we have her proof! A-MAZE-ING!!

So how do you begin to throw a birthday celebration for someone like Ms Connie?? You wake up really, really early to try your best to beat her to the office. So here is how my day begin...

• Woke up at 5:30 am
  
• Get the cake to the Jeep
  
• Take the bowl of icing to the Jeep
  
• Grabbed the flowers
  
• Got the camera
  
• Purse
  
• Forgot my glasses (oops!)

Finally on the road at 6:15am heading to church making a mental note of I need to pick my contacts up from the eye doctor and I need to find something to take for this killer headache that I am going to have because I am blind as a bat, and driving with no glasses on, is quite the feat!

On the way to church, I called April, the children's director to see if she was awake and getting the balloons and streamers for Connie's office, yep, she was on her way! We decided on the phone to park on the other side of the church so when Connie got to work, she would not see our cars and hopefully the surprise would be a surprise!

I unlock the door next to the Youth room, granted I had two bags in my hands, a cake, a pot of flowers, my purse, my keys and a bowl of icing. I had so much in my hands that I could barely unlock and open the door. As soon as I opened the door and turned to turn off the alarm system, the alarm starts going off!! I forgot that the Youth room door does not have a key pad and it set off the alarm when opened! I had a mild heart attack, dropped everything, kicked off my heels and started running to the key pad, at the other door, to turn off the alarm. Then I ran to the office to unlock it and turn off that alarm to get to the phone to answer it to tell them that I was safe and that I was the one to set the alarm off!! It was a very anxiety producing moment.

So after I went back to the pile I left on the floor, I set out to get things ready for the big day. I...

• iced the cake
  
• unlocked Connie's door and set her flowers in her office
  
• made the coffee for her
  
• helped April get the loot in from her car

We then proceed to blow up countless balloons and decorate her office with streamers!! I think she was surprised!

(Really, there are streamer and balloons, you just can't see them!!)

One other surprise we had up our sleeves was we wanted to surprise her with lunch at her favorite restaurant. So we had her hubby come and pick her up for lunch. What she did not know was that he was on a mission for us. He drove real slow, went to the bank and then made a wrong turn, while the rest of the office staff raced across town to be at the restaurant waiting for her when she walked in!! Mission accomplished and it was a perfect time had by all!!

(This picture, is Cindy, the Worship Pastor's wife, entertaining the staff with a song of E-I-E-I-O, with puppet fingers!! We are so easily entertained! See how our pastor and Ms Connie is enjoying the show!!)

Check out the church sign that our Associate Pastor put up, one side said:

The other side said:

All she said was, "that Mike, he left out a semi-colon"! Ahahaha!! Too Funny!

Happy Birthday Ms. Connie, I so Luvie Duvie you!! You're the best!!!

Another Great thing about March 16th? It's Hubby's mom's birthday too!! What a great day of birthday's! Hubby's mom lives in Florida, so we did not get to celebrate with her on her special day, but I am sure, she had a great day!! Happy Birthday Mom, Love you! Check out Jenny's blog to see a picture of Hubby's mom! (Jenny is Hubby's sister.)