Onward and Upward

One of my friends who has been going through a hard time signed her email with the phrase "Onward and Upward" the other day and I really liked that phrase. So I decided to write a blog about somethings I am looking forward to or good news.

1. I know this is random to the rest of the world, but a year ago today I was dismissed from Dr. Phy's office. She was an amazing fertility specialist and I love her dearly, but I do not miss being her patient. I am still so very thankful to our Heavenly Father for the generosity of the gift of Corey.

2. Tomorrow is March. The weather report says it is going to be a couple of more days of nasty weather, but I am an optimist and I believe Spring and Spring weather is around the corner.

3. We are starting to make plans for our summer vacation. I think we are going to do a simple Sea World trip, but it will still be so fun and I am super excited.

4. The Olympics are over and it is time for some good TV again. The Bachelor is wrapping up tomorrow. Jim and Pam are supposed to have their baby on the Office on Thursday. Modern Family is new again this week.

5. Spring Break is 2 weeks away! We have nothing planned!!!!!!

6. I might get to see my sister's family this month. Today Corey was fussing in the TV Room. Carley was talking to him and trying to make him better. She said, "Your aunt lives in Keller. I know you miss her, but don't cry. She lives in Keller not here. She can't pick you up". Apparently I am not the only one missing the O'Rears.

7. Corey went to the Pediatric Dermatologist this week to get his little blue spot on his bottom lip looked at. It looks like it will be a "no big deal" kind of thing that we will just monitor. It is always nice to get things checked off our "mom lists".

8. Cody is going to get my car radio fixed for my birthday so it will play my IPOD. YEAH!

Here is for moving onward and upward. Praying that March is a wonderful month filled with good news and fresh starts for so many of you out there.

On Earth as it is in Heaven

Yuck, Yuck, Yuck. Our world is filled with yuck. (warning, this is a downer post)

This week has been so sad for so many of us in blog land. A week ago today, I asked for prayers for three things, Jenny, Kamara and the Cox family, and The Deavers.

Jenny left this world on Monday. God healed her, but not at all in the way I wanted. My heart continues to break for her family and friends. It is such a loss to our world.

Kamara's sweet baby girl, Ryleigh, is still fighting. She is doing as well as I can imagine any baby born at 24 weeks to be doing. Still, it is sad, her baby is fighting instead of growing in Kamara's safe womb.

The Deavers lost their twins. Wyatt Christopher and Eloise Ann are already home in Heaven and I cannot fathom what the loss is for their parents.

There are other babies I am praying for. Babies who were born to soon and went straight to Heaven, and the babies of my friends that I love who do not have babies on the way, even though they have prayed and prayed for God to open their wombs. Their mommies are on my heart daily.

A wonderful guy that we grew up with at Broadway, Jason, is fighting cancer. He has a sweet wife and 3 precious children. I have attached the link to his care pages for those of you who want to keep up with this. Jason Rogers grew up with us. His wife Lauren Pruett Rogers is my age and went to ACU. Jason's brother-in-law and Sister-in-Law are Zach and Tami Pruett. Tami is Kamara's twin sister. Can you imagine what this family is dealing with?

Also, a dear friend's marriage seems to be ending. Even though our friend fought for what was right and did everything they could, sometimes situations on this Earth are not up to us and Satan has a small victory.

On a less significant note, Corey's ear drum ruptured on Friday and he is STILL in pain. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to see if there is anything she can do for him. And I have the stomach bug, which just wears me out and makes me feel like what is rapidly exiting my body! (TMI)

Jenny's family eloquently wrote something along these lines that I am going to try not to butcher:

In Heaven, there is not amputations, no sickness, no disease, no divorce, no hurting, no infertility, no death. I long for this.

Oh, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Heal our pain. Heal our world. Give peace to these precious families who are hurting. Give support to those who feel alone. Please give healing to those who are hurting. And help us, Your Church, to be your hands and feet and minister to them in the way that you would want us to.

On a final note, my friend Lynley posted this link to a post that Jenny wrote on her blog in 2006. In honor of her and her life, I am going to post a link to that post. May it bless you and may it remind US ALL what our lives are truly about. http://kindermommy.blogspot.com/2006/01/random-nothings.html


Lord, what Satan intends for evil, please return it for good and to be used for your glory.

The Ultimate Healing

Jenny went to heaven today. Heavens gain is our loss. Thank you for praying for her and being with her family and friends and on the journey.

Big Sister and Lil Bro

More Prayers!

1. Please continue to pray for Jenny. Both of her legs were amputated below the knee today. https://www.carepages.com/carepages/JennyBizaillionUpdates

2. My dear friend Kamara from college delivered a baby girl today at 24 weeks. http://thecoxcorner.blogspot.com/

3. Brian and Melissa Deaver, are expecting twins. She is 17 weeks along, and was admitted to the hospital yesterday having contractions. She is on medication right now to stop them, but comes off of it tomorrow. Please pray that these babies will stay put for the full term!

Big Sister Date and Valentine Weekend

Here are my little Valentines

Friday was Carley's Valentines party. They had a huge party and dance at their school. The kids could dress up or wear normal clothes, whatever they wanted. They played music like YMCA, Hokey Pokey, Chicken Dance, and stuff like that. What was my daughter doing? Yes, my little fairy tale lover was SLOW DANCING in the corner with her boyfriend K. I just about died. I tell you, Carley loves a good romance!! Sheesh! All the others were running ramped in the middle, but not my girl.
That night we took Carley on a big sister date. Corey stayed with my mom and we took Carley to Bueno, where we had a preshow meal with the Kings, and then to see the Disney Live Road Show. She LOVED it! It was SO fun and so cute! Carley loved the attention and the time alone with both of her parents. She did miss her brother too, which was sweet. :) She was in awe of the show. There was the Mickey Mouse gang, Tigger, the Cinderella crew, and the stars of Toy Story. Carley loved it and especially loved all the confetti at the end.
The next morning we went to IHOP with my folks and began a really sweet family day. Lots of playing and cuddling with both kids. Cody surprised us with a cake from COLD STONE!!! He also gave me a new Willow Tree angel that I love and he bought Carley one too. :) And my sweet mom brought be a baggie of the white conversation hearts, which are my favorite.
That afternoon we went to the Tech Men's Basketball game against A&M with the Simpsons. We all love that sweet family, but Carley and Hudson are really funny together. She LOVES that kid. Parker and Corey were good troopers through all the noise.

Then about 11:00 that night Corey woke up SCREAMING! He never cries and he literally cried ALL night. Poor baby had a tummy ache and we did everything we knew to do. He didn't sleep more than 20 minutes all night until about 6:30 am when he finally pooped. It was SO sad and really exhausting for Cody and I too. Then Carley woke up sick. She had a low fever and a horrible sore throat. We missed church and waited for the clinic to open. Sweet girl had a sinus infection that was pretty strong. The rest of the day was spent in our pjs.

It was a great weekend, but I sure am tired! Glad my kiddos are better and SO very thankful for my Valentine, Cody. It was not the most romantic of weekends, but it was a great reminder of love and being there for our family and for each other. Cody makes each day brighter.

True Love

This song is not new. It has been a favorite love song for many years, but it was covered by Selah and has really spoken to me about my journey with God the past couple of years. I hope it blesses you as well. Take a listen to the whole thing and see if you can find a way back to God today as well.

Also, thank you for praying for Jenny. Please keep doing this. They are in an amazing battle.

Happy Valentine's Day. I will post pictures soon of some of our fun

P.S - Here is the link in case the youtube video has quirks through blogger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2671nJMXv8

Pray for Jenny!!!

Jenny Ross Bizaillion is a precious, precious girl. We became friends our Freshman year when we lived a few doors down the hall. We continue to stay in touch via Facebook and blogs. Many of you have probably blog stalked her before.

Basically about a week ago, Jenny found out she had the flu. On Thursday she was hospitalized because it turned into pneumonia. Today she it became sepsis. Currently her lungs, kidneys, and heart are starting to fail. She has been put on continual dialysis. It is not good at all.

She is literally fighting for her life right now. She is married to a precious man named David, mother to a sweet girl named Malaya, and sister to Josh and Jonathan who are just wonderful. This is a very scary time for her family. Most healthy 31 year olds don't start the week with the flu and end the week like this.

Please pray for this family and visit her care page for more updates.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

In August, Carley was the Shining Star Student of the Week at her school. It was fun. She got to be the line leader and go first at Show and Tell. Big Stuff. :) In October, Ms. Sharon started adding a poster to the Star mix. She usually tells the parents on Friday so they can make a poster with the kids over the weekend. We didn't have school of Friday because of the snow so I was surprised at the end of the day yesterday to see Carley was Shining Star again. I guess the first rotation had happened so it was time to be stars all over again. Cody had arranged a mini-spa for me last night that was going to take all night so I knew I didn't have time to do the poster. I told this to Carley's teacher and she offered to let Carley be the Star for two weeks. I knew this was not a good idea, because two weeks of star attention would turn her into quite a diva!

So I stopped and bought a poster board on the way home and some stick on letters. I came home and asked Cody if he would do the poster with Carley. He was super excited. I pulled about 20 pictures for Carley and Cody to choose from and left.

It was hard as a mom not to do this with her. I had visions of this detailed and elaborate poster that I wanted my little Star to have. I knew which pictures I would pick and all of that. I wanted her to have a poster that showed the whole class how much she is loved and what she loves from my perspective.

Well the poster I came home to was PRECIOUS! It did not have the decoration, layout, pictures, or annotations I would have picked, but it was made by Carley and it was perfect. She picked her favorite pictures and told Cody what to write underneath each one. They were SO cute. Also, it is just supposed to be a photo collage, but Carley had her daddy go find some pictures on the Internet of Macaroni and Cheese, Hot Dogs, Fazolis, and a big pink 4. She wanted to tell her class all about HER!

I am so glad I was not home to "perfect" the poster. I will treasure this because it is her opinion of her little world. When I took it to her teacher today, Carley was SO excited. She told Ms. Sharon all about it and that she had picked out every part. When Carley went off to play, Ms Sharon told that it was her favorite poster of the year because it had really been done from the student perspective and not the parent's.

Just to give a little example of her annotations, I have to share a couple. Under her Easter picture I would have written something like "Easter 2009 or Easter when I was 3". Carley wrote "I look like Princess Aurora". Under the picture of her holding Corey I would have written something like,"I love my baby brother". Carley wrote, "This is my first day as a big sister".

Congratulations, Miss Shining Star. We love you!

So I watch TV...

When printing my blog for the past 4 1.2 years, I laughed at the number of TV posts. I can't help it. i love TV. My family has always loved it too. It is a great escape for me. Anyway here is what I am watching:

SUNDAYS - Brothers and Sisters - Now that Kitty and Robert are leaving the show (go to ew.com for details) I am not sure how long I will stick with the show. I still really like the family dynamics though. Their dinners are hilarious.

MONDAYS- CHUCK - It's back! I have still found it wonderfully enjoyable. It has the least nudity and cussing of any show on prime time in my opinion. Chuck and Sarah are precious.
BACHELOR- Cheesy Jake is super sweet. I am guessing he will choose either Ally or Tensley. Who knows though. None of them seem right for him, in my opinion.

TUESDAYS- LOST IS BACK! I can't wait for the premier on Tuesday. This show never ceases to amaze me and this is it's final season. I am ready for the ride!

WEDNESDAYS- Modern Family - This is the funniest, wittiest show on TV. I have yet to be disappointed in an episode.

THURSDAYS - The Deep End - Have you seen this? It premiered week before last. It is the new legal drama. So far it is pretty good. Not great, not bad, just pretty good. What do you think?
Grey's Anatomy - Yes I watch it. Yes I love it. In the past weeks, most of the couples have had some serious fights and shake ups. Can't wait to see how they resolve them.
Private Practice - Drama! This show is DRAMA! What did you think of the abortion story line last week.

Fridays- The Soup. - Always funny. Always hilarious.

That's it (I think) What are you watching??

Random Thoughts and Updates for the week

1. RSV - I totally underestimated how sad RSV is. I always knew it was a horrible cough, but I had no idea how horrible. Corey was sick all week and it was SO sad. He couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't get comfortable, couldn't breathe, anything. We had a couple of scares this week. One was when is blood oxygen level dropped. He had to get chest x-rays because they thought he had pneumonia. Long story short, Corey is better and I am SO very thankful. We all forget how quickly babies can go from healthy to sick! We spent much of the week rocking in the recliner and in pajamas. Every day when Carley came home from school, she would run in and see if she could put on her pjs yet. That's my girl!

2. Baby Food- So far Corey does not like cereal, green beans, or peas. Carley loved it all from the beginning. In fact green beans and peas were her VERY favorite baby foods. I am hoping he gets the hang of eating from a spoon.

3. Carley got a black eye at school. She was on the skate floor and a boy accidentally ran into her eye with his handle bar. She has had quite the commentary on it all this week. We are glad she is okay. She is a funny kid.

4. Right now Carley and I are trying to help eachother to better. I am working on not getting frustrated and she is working on obeying. As you can imagine hers leads to mine :) Really I am trying to be honest with her that it is not easy for me to keep cool all the time, but that I know it is the right thing to do, even when I don't want to do it. Neither of my parents nor my sister has my quick frustration level. I see signs of it in Carley so I want to help her deal with it and let her know it is tough. Isn't it hard when we see our own weaknesses in our kids? As for her, she really doesn't want to obey right now. She think she is right and her time line is accurate. She doesn't want to disobey, she just thinks she knows better. Can't wait for her teen years! :)

5. We are starting a 5 week parenting session at church. The theme is passing on your faith to your children. I am really excited about it. Today's was excellent.

6. My parents had extra tickets to the "Wizard of Oz" musical that came to Lubbock. Carley, Corey, and I went with them (Cody was working) and had a BLAST! Carley loved it. She was SO good for it. She had seen the movie a couple of times so she knew a little. She really got into it. Watching her sit between my parents, wide-eyed and mesmerized, is something I will never forget. (You can still see her shiner in the picture. This is 4 days later!)7. I am making a pledge to seriously not text, email, or facebook while driving. I am pretty good about 90% of the time, but I often find myself reading these at read lights or empty roads. I know it is an accident waiting to happen. I have no idea why it is SO addicting to check my blackberry. SO if you see me doing this while driving, hold me accountable to doing better.

Do you text while driving? Are you convicted about this issue? What are your thoughts?

Baby Pictures

I only have 2 pictures of Cody when he was little. I am guessing he is just about 3 months old in the first one and maybe 9 months to a year in the second. It cracks me up how much Corey looks like the first picture of Cody and Carley looks like the second!Here is smiley baby Ashley. :) I think I was about a month old in this picture. You have to remember I was over 10 lbs when I was born. I have always been mature for my age. :)

This looks a lot like Corey and Carley to me as well.

Genetics are funny things.

Here is Carley at 4 months.

Here is Corey at 4 months. He is just the sweetest little boy. We are all 3 in love with him. Today we found out he has RSV and an ear infection. It is SO sad. Hopefully he will feel better soon. He had such a rough weekend. We are ready to get this sweet, smiley baby back.

So who do you think the kids look like?

New Baby Must Haves

Baby stuff is always improving. Here are some of my new favorites since having Corey:

Wub A Nub - These are the Soothie Paci's attached to a little stuffed animal. My friend, Davida, gave this cute little frog one to Corey, and it has been a LIFESAVER. The counterweight of the animal helps hold in the paci, and it also is easy to be strapped in the chest strap of a car seat to help it be help in place. Here was Corey when he was tiny using his frog wub-a-nub and then one from now, when he is 4 months.

All-Purpose Steam Sterilizer by My First Years - Ann gave me this as a present for Corey. She told me as a working mom, this was a necessity, and boy was she right. It can sterilize SO much in a super short amount of time. If you have more than one kid, or are on the go, pump a lot, or use lots of bottles, this is a WONDERFUL thing.

Bumbo- Carley didn't have a Bumbo and when I finally sat her in one at her friend's, her sweet little fat thighs would get stuck and she hated it. I put Corey in his at one month and it as been wonderful. He loves his and it is so sturdy, easy to clean, lightweight, and safe for him. I really love it.

Sleep Sack- It is SO wonderful to put your baby in this and not have to worry about the blanket getting stuck around them. Carley used them forever and now Corey loves his. They are even better now. They have more sizes, types of fabric weight, and even ones that swaddle. The great thing with Corey is when he plays in the floor, it gives him lots of room to kick and wiggle, but keeps him warm too.

There are SO many wonderful baby products out there. I did several of these posts when Carley was a baby. These are just some of my favorites since Corey was born.
Two of my all time favorites are:
The Ultimate Crib Sheet - These snap on top of the crib sheet so that it is protected and it is so nice to be able to yank it up in the night when he has accidents.
The Safer Bather - This pad in the tub lets them lay on their back or tummy and makes them feel very safe during bath time.

What baby accessory am I forgetting to mention?

What I have been reading

I have read several books over the Christmas break and into January. I had taken a break from reading for a few months, and now it is really good to be back.

Several of my friends tease me for reading so much or ask how I had time for books. This is a quick story about how I became an adult book nerd. In 2000, I made my new year's resolution to read one book a month. I was graduating college and unsure about what all life held. I realized it had been a LONG time since I had read a book that I picked. I read a lot in high school and in college, but almost all of them were books that I read for assignment or text books. Nothing fun about either of those. So I decided to start reading SOMETHING, ANYTHING for a year. The books didn't have to be long, but I just had to complete one a month. Fast forward 10 years later and here I am, still reading. It was a great new year's and new decade resolution and I highly recommend for you to take it on as well.

Okay, so here is what I read. The first book I read was "At First Sight" by Nicholas Sparks. It was really good....very much like his other books: sweet, romantic, and sad.
Then I found a new author that I really like right now. Her name is Debbie Macomber. Her books have all been delightful, VERY lighthearted and easy reads. I can finish them in a few hours. They are all sweet, romantic, and fun. They are a lot like Lifetime TV movies in book form. I really do like her. My friend, Joy, started sharing her books with me as well and I have not been able to stop reading her stuff. These are the books I have read over the past month that are hers
Sooner or Later
A Perfect Christmas
Fairy Tale Weddings (this one had 2 books in it: Some Kind of Wonderful and Cindy and the Prince)
Angels Everywhere (this one also had 2 books in it: A Season of Angles, Touched by Angels)
Mrs. Miracle
When Christmas Comes

That is right, I have read NINE books in the past month.
What have you been reading? Have you read Debbie Macomber? Any takers on adopting my new year's resolution from 2000?

Happy New Year, Bloggers!

What a busy start to 2010! I am not sure what we have been up to, but I know we have been busy. Such is the life, I guess!

It was back to work for us all this week. Corey went to daycare for the first time! I don't know if I choked up more over leaving my precious baby or writing the check for double child care! YIKES! It has been a great week, though. Carley is THRILLED to have her brother at school with her. She is giddy about it. Corey is really unaware of stuff like that right now, but he is happy and the teachers all love him. I am the obsessive mom that logs on to watch them both several times a day and I really couldn't be more pleased with how it is going. I sure do miss my babies though!

One thing I have been doing is printing by blog into books. It is SO neat! I started blogging when I was pregnant with Carley. It has been so neat to see God's hand in our lives during each of these years and what He was doing and what we were doing. I am going to be a better blogger because of these books. I really do pray they are a blessing for my kids one day.

Something crazy did happen the other day, Carley started reading 3 letter words. They are all consonant-vowel-consonant. I normally wouldn't blog stuff like this, but since I am making books of this now, I want to get some major milestones documents. She just did it on her own. She is such a smart kiddo! I am a little freaked out by it all, but as we all know with kids, they kind of set their own pace sometimes. I am not doing anything to encourage her going further, but I am happy to see her enjoying words and reading.

Also, Corey is 4 months old tomorrow! Boy is it going by quickly! He truly is such a blessing. He is a great sleeper and eater. He is a very sweet and happy baby. I am anxious for his 4 month appointment on Monday to see how much he weighs!

I hope your 2010 is off to a great start!

December Wrap Up

Well, here it is, the last day of 2009. Wow. What a year! This has been a year of faith, fear, birth, death, answered prayers, unanswered prayers, and, always, a light of hope shines on for the next year. We are most thankful for God sustaining us through the changes of 2009. Corey is here, he is healthy and he is a physical manifestation of God's faithfulness. Carley has grown up and adjusted to a new school, a pregnant and bedrested mom, and now, her role as Big Sister. Cody has made choices on the direction that he wants to go in his career, has focused on tasks ahead, has found ways to use his gifts in service, and has realized the power of providing us with more time with him. I have balanced all year living in faith that God would provide and fear that He would not. I am blessed by the changes in my life in 2009 and pray that I can find ways to bless others and be there for others in there time of need. May 2010 be a year that we all grow in Faith of Him, Compassion of others, and Love in all.

Here is how 2009 ended for us (beware, it is like 5 posts in 1):

I love making Christmas cookies with my favorite chef's assistant.

Carley was the cutest little thing at her Christmas recital. Look at that hiney in a tutu! :)

She had a blast at her 4th Birthday party! What a Princess she is! We gave her a Splaster and she loves it!

Santa Land with my family is always a treat

Watching Princess and the Frog with my family

Kids in matching pajamas

Santa's cutest elf, if I do say so myselfWatching the Tech Lady Raiders

Playing in the Snow
Christmas Eve with my Parents

Carley acting out the Nativity Scene and practicing scriptures she learned for the holidays
reading Twas the Night Before ChristmasSanta brought Carley a doll house and Corey a little farm