A dog named Bo

My dog, named Bo
He came to me when I would call,
unless I had a tennis ball
-or he felt like it.
But mostly--he didn't come at all.
When he was young,
he never learned,
to heel, or sit or stay,
he did things his way.
Discipline was not his bag,
but when you were with him,
things sure didn't drag.
He'd dig up a rose bush just to spite me,
and when I'd grab him he'd turn and bite me.
He bit lots of folks from day to day,
the delivery boy was his favorite prey.
The gas man wouldn't read our meter,
he said we owned a real man-eater.
He sat the house on fire,
but the story's long to tell.
Suffice to say that he survived,
and, the house survived as well.
And on evening walks
(and Gloria took him),
he was always first out the door.
The old one and I,
brought up the rear
because our bones were sore.
And he'd charge up the street
with Mom hangin' on,
what a beautiful pair they were.
And if it was still light,
and the tourists were out,
they created a bit of a stir!
But every once in awhile
he'd stop in his tracks
and with a frown on his face, look around.
It was just to make sure,
that the old one was there,
to follow him where he was bound.
We're early-to-bedders in our house
I guess I'm the first to retire,
and as I'd leave the room, he'd look at me
and get up from his place by the fire.
He knew where the tennis balls were, upstairs
and I'd give him one for awhile
and he'd push it under the bed with his nose
and I'd dig it out with a smile.
But before very long, he'd tire of the ball
and he'd be asleep in his corner in no time at all,
and there where nights when I'd feel him climb up on our bed
and lie between us, and I'd pat his head;
and there were nights when I'd feel this stare,
and I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there
and I'd reach out to stroke his hair;
and sometimes I'd feel him sigh,
and I think I know the reason why.
He'd wake up at night,
and he would have this fear
of the dark, of life, of lot's of things,
and he'd be glad to have me near.
And now he's dead.
And there are nights when I think I feel him
climb up on our bed,
and lie between us, and I pat his head;
and there are nights when I think I feel that stare,
and I reach out my hand to stroke his hair,
and he's not there.
Oh, how I wish that wasn't so,
I'll always love a dog named Bo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY6f-jGJufQ&feature=player_embedded

TREASURED FRIEND

TREASURED FRIEND


I lost a treasured friend today
The little dog who used to lay
His gentle head upon my knee
And shared his silent thoughts with me.

He’ll come no longer to my call
Retrieve no more his favorite ball
A voice far greater than my own
Has called him to his golden throne.

Although my eyes are filled with tears
I thank him for the happy years
He let him spend down here with me
And for him love and loyalty.

When it is time for me to go
And join him there, this much I know
I shall not fear the transient dark
For he will greet me with a bark.

~Author Unknown

THE LAST BATTLE

THE LAST BATTLE



If it should be that I grow frail and weak
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then will you do what must be done,
For this -- the last battle -- can't be won.

You will be sad I understand,
But don't let grief then stay your hand,
For on this day, more than the rest,
Your love and friendship must stand the test.

We have had so many happy years,
You wouldn't want me to suffer so.
When the time comes, please, let me go.
Take me to where to my needs they'll tend.

Only, stay with me till the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time you will agree
It is a kindness you do to me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I have been saved.

Don't grieve that it must be you
Who has to decide this thing to do;
We've been so close -- we two -- these years,
Don't let your heart hold any tears.

~Unknown

My Angel

On February 5, 1974, God sent me to the arms of an angel. An angel whose arms are always open when I need a hug, whose heart always understands when I need a friend. An angel whose eyes are stern when I need a lesson, whose strength and love guides me and give me wings that enables me to fly. I am most fortunate to call this angel my mother.

Hello Operator

This one's a little sad, but it reminded me of me when I was a kid.
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Hello Operator, does Heaven have a phone number? Mommy went to Heaven, but I need her here today, My tummy hurts and I fell down, I need her right away, Operator can you tell me how to find her in this book. Is heaven in the yellow part, I don't know where to look. I think my daddy needs her too, at night I hear him cry. I hear him call her name sometimes, but I really don't know why. Maybe if I call her, she will hurry home to me. Is Heaven very far away, is it across the sea? She's been gone a long, long time she needs to come home now! I really need to reach her, but I simply don't know how. Help me find the number please, is it listed under "Heaven"? I can't read these big big words, I am only seven. I'm sorry operator, I didn't mean to make you cry, Is your tummy hurting too, or is there something in your eye? If I call my church maybe they will know Mommy said when we need help that's where we should go. I found the number to my church tacked up on the wall. Thank you operator, I'll give them a call.

Angel on Earth

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

"You will simply call her, 'Mom.'"

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom -
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Send this to someone whom you think is a special Mom...

And remember that behind every successful woman......
is a basket of dirty laundry.

Happy Mother's Day Mama

If roses grow in heaven, God please pick a bunch for me. Place them in my mother’s arms & tell here they’re from me. Tell her I love her & miss her. When she turns to smile, place a kiss upon her cheek & hold her for a while. Because remembering her is easy, I do it every day. But there’s an ache within my heart that will never go away. I miss & love you Mom!! Happy Mother’s Day!

So excited!!

I feel like the little kid waiting on Santa. lol  We leave in 16 days going to Florida & Disney World. I can't wait!! I may be a little more excited than the kids. lol Then in 22 days it will be mine & Kevin's 10th Anniversary!! YEAH us!! :)  We are spending our Anniversary at Disney World, where our marriage & the magic started.  We went to Disney World on our Honeymoon. This is the first time we have gone back since we married.
Kevin is taking 2 weeks off from work. We are driving there, stopping at cool places a long the way. It should be lots of fun.
We are going to stay here. The Cabins at the Wilderness Lodge.  It looks like such a fun place. lol  I always wanted to stay in a log cabin. It's my dream. Yes I know it's a silly dream but it's my dream from my childhood.  I'm just as excited to stay there as I am going.  I'm so excited that I have to check out their site almost on a daily basis.
We are also going to visit my great aunt who lives in Lakeland. I always promised her I'd come for a visit & have yet to get to come. But this year I'm going. She's always been the one to come to TX.  I just saw her a month ago at my Great Aunt Winnie's funeral & then the month before that when she was here for a visit. So it's very rare to get to see her 3 times in a year. Normally we go years between visits.

Happy Birthday Mama

Dear Mama,
Happy Birthday!! You would have turned 56 today. I wish Heaven a a phone so I could hear your voice just one more time. Or even an elevator so I could come for a visit. I'd love to see your face & look into your eyes once again. I always thought you had the prettiest eyes any mama could have. There are so many things I have wanted to tell you & share with you these past 26 years. I'm sure you already know about it all. I think of you so often &  miss you dearly. All I have are our memories and a few pictures. Your memory is a forever keepsake, from which I'll never forget. You would have made a wonderful grandma to my boys & would have spoiled them more rotten than they are. God has you in his arms, I have you forever in my heart.
~ ♥ ~ I love & miss you so very much! ~ ♥ ~

Spring Plantings

We worked in the flower beds today. Kevin actually did most of the work. I wish I could help him more. He's such a great guy!! I'm so lucky to have a man like that. :) The boys helped too. They enjoyed picking up leaves, sticks & old mulch out of the flower beds. They especially loved taking the old stuff to the dumpster. We would fill up the big trash can & roll it on the dolly to the dumpster. Then Kevin would dump it in. We made about 6 trips to the dumpster. Then when we got it all cleaned out it was lunch time & nap time for the boys. After they went to sleep, Kevin & I went out & planted the new plants. We planted lavender in shades of Pink, Purple & White. I can't wait until it comes up. I'm so excited. I will be posting photos as it comes up & blooms. :)

Resurrection Buns

Resurrection Buns
Ingredients:
1 Can Refrigerated Biscuits (larger ones work best)
8 Large Marshmallows
Soft Butter/Margarine
Cinnamon & Sugar Mixture

How to Do It:
1. Give the children a biscuit straight from the can and let them flatten it out with their hands until it measures about 5 inches across.  This represents the tomb.

2. Let the children spread butter on the flattened biscuit.  Then  sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture on the flattened biscuit, explaining how Jesus gave us the sweetest gift ever known.

3. Give the children one large marshmallow and tell them it represents Jesus. It's white because Jesus was holy and sinless. Have them place one marshmallow in the center of their biscuit, then fold the sides of the biscuit around the marshmallow, forming a "tomb."  Explain that they placed Jesus in the tomb and sealed it shut.

4. Pinch the sides of the tombs closed and place the folded side down on a baking sheet so they won't open during baking.

5. Put a little more butter, sugar, and cinnamon on the outside of each biscuit. Explain this represents the anointing of Jesus' body.

6. Bake the buns according to the biscuit packaging directions. Allow to cool.

7. When the buns are eaten, the children will be surprised to discover the marshmallow has disappeared from the center. 

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

The Last Saturday of the month

Well today is the last saturday of the month. It's been a lazy day. Haven't done much. But I have a million things to do before the weekends out.
I have to go to work in an hour. I work part time in the Church Nursery. Today they are having coir practice. So we are watching their kids. But we get pizza out of the deal & I get paid. Tonight we work 4 hours, but we are breaking it up 2 hours at a time. I'm on the 2nd shift & go in at 6 until 8. I get to take the boys. All 3 with me. So it's not bad.
The boys have been fighting off & on all day. I can't wait till they go to bed. Well gotta go get the boys & myself ready. They have been in their pj's all day. lol

Twins getting bigger & older

It's hard to believe the boys are growing up so fast. They turned 3 in December. I'm not sure where the time went. They are very active boys. Austin is the more dominant one. Where as Landon is more laid back & easy going. Landon relies on Austin to do things for him. We are trying to get them more independent.
Both boys have been slow on talking. They always did this thing I called "Twin Talking." They could have conversations in their own little world & understand each other where others couldn't. It was so fun to watch. So we started letting them have in home speech therapy. Austin started picking things up quickly but after 6 months Landon had no improvement. We found out last May that the reason Landon wasn't improving was because he could not hear. I took him to a specialist & they did surgery on him. Putting tubes in his ears.  He has perfect hearing now. The tubes are still in his ears & he has lots of ear aches & drainage. But he is learning to talk at last. In January they got to start taking speech class in the public school. Each have their own class. They go twice a week for an hour.  I think they both have improved greatly. I can see a big difference.

We are currently working on potty training. For some reason we are having a hard time getting this done. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Most of the time I take them & they have already gone before we get there or we just sit on the potty. I have tried stickers, targets, books, you name it. I have to get them potty trained before summer is over because they start preschool in the fall.
I can't hardly believe it's time for them to start pre-school. I have no idea where the time went. Seems like they were just crawling on the floor learning to walk.
They have been such a blessing in my life.

This May we are taking them to Florida to Disney World.  I'm looking forward to the trip. We are going to be gone almost 2 weeks. On the way home we are going to NC where I'm getting to see my childhood friend Shari whom I met when we were 6. We are both 36 now so it's been a 30 year friendship. I'm so excited to get to go see her. I haven't seen her in 16 years. 
I'll be sure to post how our trip goes & all about our reunion!

A little about me & how I became a mommy. :)

When I was growing up I always wanted twins. My great grandmother was a twin & so I figured I was a shoe in to have a set of my own. Little did I know my wish would come through. It was a long road a head of me.
When I was 10 my mother suddenly past away. I had to grow up very quickly. I had to go from being a kid to running a house. I learned to cook very quickly. I hardly ever read a recipe, I just made things up. I'm still that way today. lol  I lived with my dad & a few new step-moms until I was 14. Then I had all I could stand. I moved out & moved in with my grandparents who treated me like a daughter. I was allowed to have fun & be a kid again. I graduated high school in 1993. Then went on to college & graduated in 1996.
I met my future husband in 1996. We were both desk clerks at a local hotel. We never dated the entire time we worked together. In 1998 he moved on to a new job & I was still that lonely desk clerk. Or so I thought. 1998 was an interesting year for me. I got a promotion & soon became front Desk Manager & Sales Director of the hotel. If you want to know the truth, the pay wasn't that good & the job was mostly a title. I only had a $1 raise. Big deal! Like a $1 was going to take me far. lol I still worked the front desk alone from 7am to 3pm. I still had to clean the lobby, get house keeping going, check people out, check new people in & now I had to do sales on the side as well as manage the other Front Desk people.I also got my own office. Lucky me. lol Being a front desk manager meant that you were the one that got to deal with the un happy customer because the desk clerk on duty wouldn't deal with it. One thing that being a Front Desk Manager & Sales Director did for me is that I got to go on special trips. I went to Washington DC that October. I had the time of my life. Well the most fun a singer person in DC could have. I went with my boss to a hotel convention! We had a great time. I also got to go to other out of town meetings. That was a lot of fun. It meant getting out of the hotel & letting someone else do my job.
In early 1999 my future husband Kevin started stopping by to visit at the hotel. We would chat while I worked. Little did he know I had this furry smushed faced pug dog named Shad. My birthday is in February & that year I was given a birthday party at work by the maids & my grandparents. My grandparents thought it would be funny to send me flowers from Shad. The next day I was un decorating my office when Kevin showed up. He didn't know I had a dog. He had planned to ask me out that day, but saw this bunch of flowers with the card that read "Love your room mate Shad" lol He assumed that Shad was a human & that he was my boyfriend or something. Well after a few more visits he decided to get up the nerve to ask me out. Of course I said yes. On the night of the date Shad met him at the door for the first time. It was then that he found out Shad was a pug.  Each time we went out as we would look toward my apartment we would see Shad sitting on the back of a chair by the window. He would stand on the chair & put his paws on the window looking like a Garfield Clingy Doll. He was so cute!
Kevin & I dated until December. Then on December 12th 1999 he asked me to marry him. We planned our wedding for May 27, 2000. There was a lot to do & so little time.
We went to Disney World on our Honeymoon. It was magical!
I worked at the hotel until November 2000 when I was in an auto accident & hurt my back. I have a degenerative disk & am not able to work full time anymore.
Soon after we married I went to the dr learned that I had some cysts & needed to have surgery. So I had that done. When the dr was done she told us that there was no way I'd ever have kids. This was heart breaking to me. Here I was newly married & was told I wouldn't be able to have kids of my own. I was told I had endometriosis, a fibroid tumor & PCOS. I went to another dr & was told the same thing. This time the dr told me I needed to have a hysterectomy. Of course I didn't do it. I ended up going to a 3rd dr. This dr said yes there was hope. She put me on monthly lupron shots. When after a year I still hadn't gotten pregnant she sent me to a specialist. Dr D was wonderful. The first time I meet her she said that she would do everything she could to make our dream come true. First off she did surgery to remove the tumors & cysts. We decided to go with the IVF program. The first time we tried IFV it was not a success. My eggs were not healthy & in fact I just had one semi good egg. We fertilized it & implanted it. I soon lost the baby. So we tried again a year later. This time I had several good eggs. We had 5 that became embryos. Because of the last experience we never dreamed that it would go so well. We ended up using one & freezing the other 4.  I carried that baby until 7 weeks & 1 day. It was Due December 12, 2005. I lost it on April 25th 2005. It was a hard thing for me to go through. I started believe those other drs were right. I went through a depression. I ate maybe once a day & not much at that. I didn't leave the house or anything. except when I had too. I met a lady online names Melissa. She too had just lost her baby on the same day I did & her due date had been the same. We bonded right off.
In June I found this parenting website called Expressive Parents. The ladies there were awesome! Their friendship is nothing like I ever had. All of these ladies became special friends to me. I'm thankful for them. They helped me get through a very difficult time in my life.
In March of 2006 we decided to try the IVF 1 more time. We planned to use the frozen embryos. We decide that if they didn't work that we wouldnt try IFV again because it was such an emotional roller coaster. Personally I wasn't sure if I could handle another miscarriage. So in April I started taking the shots again. I hated sticking myself with needles. But if it worked I was willing to try.  We actually did the the transfer on May 2nd. That morning they took all 4 embryos out of the freezer. One did not survive the thawing but the other 3 did. So we implanted all 3.  Then two weeks later we found out I was very, very, very pregnant.  A few weeks later I had my first u/s & we learned we were having triplets. I'm not sure who was more surprised!! I was so happy! At 9 weeks I started spotting one morning. By the time I got to the dr I learned that I had lost one. That after noon I had to go to a family get together with my father in law. He knew I had lost the baby but thought that the get together might help get my mind off of things. We decided not to tell anyone yet that I had lost the baby. All afternoon the family was buzzing with excitement of having triplets. I was some what down. I was scared to death that I would loose the other two. When I made it to the 2nd trimester I was sent to a regular OBGYN dr. Dr D was the other Dr D's brother in law. He was wonderful! Kevin says he reminds him of Wilford Brimley. lol And I have to admit they look a lot a like. Being pregnant with twins through IVF I was high risk. As a precaution I was sent to yet another specialist for high risk pregnancy (at 15 weeks) so that I could be regularly monitored. It was a good thing I went because on the first visit I was told that I had to have emergency surgery to have a circlage put in the next day. Which happened to be a Saturday. We later found out that the hospital normally doesn't allow this type of surgery done on Saturday because they like to keep the OR open for births. But they also said that had we not found this in time I would have lost both babies. At this time we found out that one of the babies was a boy. That was Baby B. (aka Landon)  A few weeks later we found out that Baby A (Austin) was also a boy. I'd love to be able to say that the rest of the pregnancy was uneventful but it wasn't I was put on bed rest from then on out.
In August I started bleeding again. I woke up in the middle of the night bleeding. It felt just like I had started my cycle. Kevin rushed me to the ER.  I was 19 weeks pregnant at this time. They admitted me. Dr D was away in Hawaii on vacation so I  saw another Dr on call. I spent a week in the hospital before they could figure out why I was bleeding. They finally learned that baby A's sack had a blood clot in it & everything was ok.  So I was sent home to do nothing but rest. I went to see Dr D weekly by this time & I went to the specialist twice a week to be monitored. Things were going great & I was getting as big as the house. Friends had started planning my baby shower for October. Well the end of September came along & I started having horrific pains. I couldn't stand it. I hurt so bad. Kevin was gone & I was home alone one day. I called my grandparents to take me to the dr. They took me to the ER & we found out I was in labor. The babies were not due until January 19th & this was the last week in September. I was about 25 weeks pregnant at this time.  I was scared that I'd loose them both. They started giving me shots to control the contractions. As long as I had the medicine in my system I was fine, but the minute it wore off I had more contractions. So they put me on a medicine pump. After spending a little over a week in the hospital I got to go home a few days before my shower. This time I wasn't allowed to be left alone. So now when Kevin went out of town (which was Monday-Friday) I had to go stay with my grandparents. They, my aunt & my father in law would take turns taking me to the dr. Other than having a hard time breathing & sleep apnea I did great the rest of the pregnancy. The boys were born December 22, 2006 at 36 weeks. There were 5 sets of twins born that day & they were the only set that did not have to go to NICU. I got to take them home Christmas Morning. It was the best Christmas I ever had.

Testing New Blog

Today I started a new blog on this blog site. This is a test blog just to see how I like it.