A Kind And Polite 12 Yr Old!!

It's that time of year again!

The time where my kids get older and time slips through my fingers.

Kyler is now 12 and much to his dismay the all knock out parties are coming to an end.  We had family over for dinner and presents a few days ago and last night I took him and a friend out to dinner and then roller skating. Oh and lets not forget that he went to California for a week to spend time with his grandparents.  Someday when I have the time and energy I will go through his pictures and post something about it. 

 But despite the lack of party I think he had a good birthday.

This kid has a love for Halo!

While he was in Californis he discovered that he liked to play tennis....who knew!

And even if mom was slacking in the party department...the cousins know how to put on a party instead!!!

Happy Birthday Kyler!!!!

 I am so proud of how you are turning out!!

I mean how many 12 yr olds do you know that won the student of the month award for kindness and politeness???

Yep I have a winner!!

Nurse Andrea...Paging Nurse Andrea..

I am happy to report that Todd is alive and...I guess you could say well.  Surgery went as well as can be expected.  Our patient is sore, VERY SWOLLEN (not that you want to but you should see it!!) and he has alot of recovering to do. Doctor wasn't kidding when he said he will most likely be out of work for 3 weeks or more.  Poor guy can barely walk (Kaden is always asking..."Daddy, are you still walking slow?") He can't sit in the same position for too long.  And he constantly has an ice pack sitting on the family jewels. (" Daddy, is the ice for your penis again?") But things are going pretty good despite all that.  I wait on him hand and foot (I even tie his shoes for him!) And I have had to drive an hour away to get him more pain meds but can I say that I love having him home! I love knowing that he will be having dinner with us.  I love knowing that when I come home from babysitting that he will be there.  I love that he is home on the weekend.  It's been YEARS!!!  So even though I am playing nurse and servant...I am ok with it because I just love not having to share him with his work!!

Smile baby.....You get to hang out in your PJ's and slippers all day!  Plus the happy drugs have got to kicked in by now..

Science Lesson

I know it's been long time since school for some of us but it's always good to learn new things to keep the mind sharp.

The word of the day today is.....

EPIDIDYMECTOMY

Care to take a guess at the meaning of this?

........Yes, your right.  It is The surgical removal of the Epididymis.

What pray tell is an Epididymis??

The long-tightly coiled tube that lies above and behind the testicle.  The Epidiymis is where the sperm mature and are stored until ejaculation.

To much information??

 Sorry but it's part of our everyday life because Todd gets the pleasure of having his left one removed on Thursday.  Did I make you squirm in your seat a little??   And why in Gods name would  man put himself through it??  Well trust me it did not come as an easy decision!! For a few years he has been putting up with cysts developing in the epididymis. (ouch is right!) He has had some removed but they keep growing back.  The pain and discomfort is becoming to much for him to take,even with a truck load of vicodin.  So after much prayer and asking for guidance, he has made the decision to have the entire epidydimis removed to HOPEFULLY take care of the problem.  There are alot of worse case scenarios that could take place if this doesn't work.  I am not going to go into that right now because I have decided that I will not let my mind even entertain the idea of it. 

We have alot of faith that God will take care of Todd!!  I get asked alot if I am stressed or worried but....I have to say that I really am not.  It's been a roller coaster of year for us in many areas and God has always been faithfull to us. All we have needed He has provided. Whatever it is that Todd needs to go through then we will be ok with it.  I have learned so many times that our lives are not our own and being worried or stressed out doesn't do anyone any good.  If anything it shows a lack of faith and I have never had more faith then I do in this time of my life!!

So please pray for the love of my life!! He can use all he can get right now. He will be off work for a month and yes money will be tight.  But he gets vacation pay and disabilty so I think we will be ok. 

See......God is already taking care and providing!!


Will I believe you when you say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day


Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me


Help me to RID my endless fears
You've been so faithful for all my years
With the one breath You make me new
Your grace covers all I do


Well I'm broken- but I still see Your face
Well You've spoken- pouring Your words of grace


Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Well because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

Hallelujah

Tales Of A Floppy Ear Kitty

It's been a few days since we talked about the case of the cauliflower kitty.  The more I thought about it the more I just felt really uneasy about leaving her ear be.  I did more research on the web and talked to another vet in the area and I decided to trust my instinct and have her ear fixed.  I felt if I didn't do anything about it then it would probably cause more infections in the future and ultimetly costing me more money in the long run.  So I called my parents and asked to borrow some money which they very graciously did.  They understand my love for this cat and also the importance of being responsible pet owners.  They had a dog with mutliple health problems and always did what they could for her.

So I took her in and I have to say that I love the place where I take my cats!! They are so kind and helpful. Plus I feel they are very reasonably priced. So they put her under and drained her ear of all the blood. 2 hours and a few stitches later she got to come home. I now have the unfortunate task of keeping her ear clean and free of scabs.  I have to attempt to wrap her in a towel and apply wet pads to her ear to loosen the scabs

Let me tell you she does NOT enjoy this process.  And it's sometimes hard to believe just how strong cats are.  Most of the time we are all over the house trying to get this done.  There is alot of screaming, squirming and down right fighting going on.

I am also all over the house trying to get a picture of her.  She doesn't care because she is trying her darndest to ignore me

Do you mind? I am trying to wash that experience off of me!!

She has about 6 stitches.  And the 6 holes are what I have to keep scab free so it will drain properly

I think her ear will still be a bit disfigured.  Her little floppy ear kind of reminds of an cartoon rabbit. And this picture of her totally shows how very pissed off she is.  She is now just starting to come out of hiding. She is starting to eat more and actually bath herself.  She may hate me doing this to her but she usually quickly forgives me and goes back to being my shadow

You know WHERE you can put that camera of yours!!

Wait....I thought I was forgiven? I thought you loved meeeeeeeee!!

Not So Pretty Anymore

I am feeling a bit sad today (yes again...so what?)

Remember way back when I talked about how my cat is a princess.  How she can't help being beautiful and you all are jealous that she is mine..

You don't remember?  Well, read HERE so you can get caught up.

Don't worry, I'll wait.......

Isn't she the most precious thing?  Yes??  Well not so much anymore I'm afraid!!  Yesturday while I was laying on the bed watching the Golden Globes, she was laying curled up next to me like she always is.  I was playing with her ears, like I always am and suddenly I noticed that things didn't feel right.  Upon further inspection I noticed that one of her ears was all puffed up like someone injected air into it.  It's the most weird thing!  In 14 yrs and 7 cats (no I don't have that many now but I have had a total of 7 cats in 14 yrs) I have seen alot of strange things but puffy ears has not been one of them.  Todd thought she might have had a spat with one of the other cats, which was very highly possible since she can be a royal biotch at times.  But as I worried about it all night I decided to look it up online. (I love Google!!)  Anyways...after reading online and speaking to a friend of mine who is a retired vet...it's a pretty high chance that she has an Aural Hematoma on her right ear.  Because she has struggled with ear mites for quite some time and because it makes her constantly scratch and shake her head (or one of the cats really did get her good) there is now clotted blood from broken blood vessels on her ear flap.  I asked this friend  what could be done about it and after a very lengthly description of high priced treatments it comes down to the fact that I can't afford to really do anything about it.

Must you shove a camera in my face while I'm mourning the loss of my looks?

Help...I have a small pillow for an ear!!

Is this life threatning?  No

Is she in pain?  I don't know.  My friend says probably not. She is just irritated.  But other stuff I have read says that it is painful.

You think she was a biotch before? You aint seen nothing yet!  I have tried to leave her alone because she is not in the mood to be handled right now.  I feel so horrible because all I can do is sit and watch her be uncomfortable and eventually she will become like this...

Her ear will become flat and disfigured. It's like watching one of your children hurt one of his limbs and not do anything about it.  And KNOWING that they will eventually lose that limb!  I don't know what to do because I'm told to not worry to much about it but I have read that you should really get it drained at least.

Oh the agony! 

Things would be so less confusing if I could just win the lottery!!

It Must Be January

It's been two week since I have posted anything....

It's been two weeks since anything has even happened in my life

The weather is cold, grey, rainy...crappy

Todd's not selling any cars

I have no money

The cats are driving me crazy

Actually everybody is driving me crazy

I don't have a good book to read right now

I've gained all my weight back that I lost this year

Kyler's having fun in California right now...without me

I'm bored

I'm lonely

I'm down

I don't think anyone reads my blog anymore...

It must be January!

Christmas Day 2009...It Finally Arrives!

Christmas day finally arrived in our neck of the woods and even the cats were waiting in anticipation for Old Saint Nick to make an appearance, I don't know why because it's not like they get anything.  Oh wait...yes they do. They get another year of free room and board.  Even though sometimes I really have to rethink that decision!

I like to take a picture of the tree before all choas happens and the moment gets lost in all the craziness

The is the when the kids are going insane because I make them wait!  I insist on pictures...

And telling the story of Jesus (notice how very interested my kids are at this moment!)  I try to savor the morning and make it last as long as I can.  There is so much build up to this day I hate when it's all over so quickly.

Finally I allow the morning to move on and the kids recieve everything they could ever want

This is the big box, saved for last which neither of the boys knew who it was for.  Kyler was going crazy not knowing who or what it was.  Finally we told him it was for him.  Which he was probably thinking "good thing, cuz I sure didn't get alot!"

Oh man...what could it be???  Such a big box!  It must be good!

Oh...another box inside

Did I mention I wrapped it in packing tape so he would really have to work at it?

Another box...good greif does it ever end?

Ok this is getting rediculous!  What could it possibly be??

The look of shock and disbelief! Because let me back up a bit....

Kyler has been wanting a certain something for a VERY long time. But this certain something is not cheap! We told him "sorry buddy...it's not in the budget" So all year he tried everything he could think of to get this. He entered contests, he studied craigslist and E-bay, He would get excited about being "the millionth visitor" to some random site and thinking he won the prize! He tried saving his money but since he refuses to do his chores...he didn't get too far. He begged every family member for help. This boy was relentless! After awhile you kind of felt sorry for the kid. Then one day back in September I walked into Kmart and learned about a little thing call L-A-Y A W-A-Y!! Oh boy...the possabilities!! Wouldn't he just freak if I got it for him?? And so that's what I did!! Every couple of weeks I went in and paid toward the balance and every time I did I got more and more excited about being able to do this. Finally in November I paid the sucker off and a month later he opens his own hearts desire!!

I was expecting a dramatic performance when he discovered what it was but because he is his fathers son...the reaction was not what I had pictured in my mind a thousand times.  I was hoping for at least a few tears!! Oh well....I'll try not to be disaapointed

But Kaden felt sorry for me so he decided to cook us all breakfast. Such a gem!  And good thing we had such a good breakfast because he needed his energy for the races.

It was another good Christmas of being together and having fun.  I love my family and all I could ever want is just what we have...a good relationship, fun times and lots of love!!

Even if they do leave all the mess for me to clean up!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

From our family to yours..May God bless you in the coming year!

(Yep...this is your Christmas card...so enjoy it!)