Girls Night Out

Lolo, Laurie, Kam and I decided it was finally time for girls night out. The plan was to go to Olive Garden for all you can eat soup/salad/breadsticks and then off to the beauty shop for pedicures(manicures too if wanted). We had invited Jill and Betsy to join us, but they were busy, although Betsy was going to try and meet up with us if she finished early. Fred is watching his seven children, Dave is watching his four, Mikey is working and of course, I have no husband or children.
So Lolo picked me up around 5:00 and off to Olive Garden we went.

Favorite Foto Friday 06/27/08

This week, it is about my cousin Heather's kids. They are so cute! Austin, Trinity & Brandon

Austin is the oldest, Brandon is next and Trinity is the baby, only SHE is not a baby and she is all boy! All three of them are very close together in age and play well together. Wish they lived closer so I could see them more often. Brandon is the snuggler of the bunch and he and I have a bond from when he was a newborn, he is my Brandon-Boo.

Love you all!

Have a good weekend!

Out with Jake & Sara

Well, after more than six weeks, I finally got to see my nephew Jake and his mom Sara on Monday. I hadn't seen them since before I went on vacation. Sara is in the process of moving her and Jake to Spring Valley and has been spending all her non-working hours fixing things up at the new house and taking small loads over. She has been a busy girl, so not much time for socializing.

So Monday night, she finally squeezed me in. She picked me up after I got off of work and we were going to Denny's for dinner. Now, I knew Jake was going to change cause he is a growing boy, but the surprise was Sara. She is not quite five month's post surgery and has already lost 130 pounds! She looks awesome already! You can really see it in her face and the rest of her too. I remember my weight loss taking awhile to show, at least to me anyway. She has more to lose then me, so her number might seem dramatic, but its pretty close to on par with what her doctor was hoping for. She joined a gym and has a trainer and is planning to run a marathon next year. She is WAY more ambitious than me!! I am so proud of her, this is a huge step closer to the goal!

Pretty soon, she and I will both be so skinny, noone will recognize us!
Congratulations thus far kiddo, keep it up!!

Oh Kersten............

Well, I couldn't wait until Tuesday to share this with you because it was just entirely too funny.

Last night, I went down to the Peaslee's because I needed Laurie's help with some paperwork for a day camp I am taking the girls to on Saturday. They needed alot of personal and medical info, you know, the stuff moms know! Plus they had to sign off on the adventure.

So, as a sweet part of the deal of going down there, I got an excellent dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn. MMMMMMMMMM, nummy. Not a bad trade off for the long drive.

Anyway, before supper was ready, Kersten and the big girls were outside playing, but as always, whenever Mamie arrives, she has to come and give me a hug. Well, whenever she comes inside, she is supposed to try and go potty. She is in PullUps for potty training, and aside from the poop issue, she does pretty good. So last night, after she hugged me, I asked her if she needed to go potty. Her reply? In a very matter of fact tone:

"No Mamie, I already went. I can change myself."

The three year old who is all grown up except in this one little area!!!! Oh the girl can frustrate you some days. When you ask her why she didn't go in the big girl potty, typically her answer is she didn't want to, but lately, its I dunno. Thanks older siblings for passing those pearls of wisdom on to her! And then to top it all off, she came back one day with "Josh doesn't". How do you respond to that? Her 14-year-old brother pees his pants at night and poops them during the day, so why should she have to go in the big girl potty when he doesn't? Three year old logic!

Tuesday Funnies ~ Jess

Jess is almost 14 months now and I think he thinks he is two. He kinda skipped a year and went straight to the terrible twos, cause boy, can that kid through a tantrum! It is hillarious! If he gets mad or doesn't get what he wants, he stomps his feet and throws himself around. He'll sit three rooms away from you and just scream because you didn't pick him up on your way to wherever you were going. Not sure who taught him these actions as he doesn't go to daycare and noone in the house is as much of an actor as he is!
I do love that he is finally not so stuck on his mama. For awhile there, she was the only person he wanted, nobody else was good enough. He is mostly getting away from that and there have been a few times he chose me over her even. Mama said I was grounded cause he called me "mama". I didn't instigate it, so not sure how that is my fault. I love to hold him and snuggle(if you can call it that) with him. He never sits still for very long though.
I find it amusing that almost all of my "kids" when they are little call me Mamie. I think its the natural progression from Mama to Mamie that makes it easier for them. He does say "Mamie" now and I am sure to correct him if he is saying "mama".
Something else fun about Jess is his love of the outdoors. I don't know if he felt as cooped up as the rest of us over the long winter and much anticipated spring we never really got, but he LOVES to be outside and if you go without him, he throws a tantrum and beats on the door. His sister Kersten loves to be outside too. Mom & Dad bought them a swing set/jungle gym apparatus about a month ago and they both could play on it all day. It is probably the best money they have ever spent! They both love to swing, but Jess is still in a baby swing due to his age, so he gets buckled in. When you swing him, if you get close to him and let him "think" he kicked you or if you say boo or try to tickle his feet, he giggles uncontrollably. He has the best laugh, I could listen to it all day. And when he figured how to climb the ladder and go down the slide himself, the smile on his face at the bottom was priceless! He was so proud of himself! He can do it over and over and not get tired.
Still hard to think he is already one, but he is definitely working on two. He can walk by himself now, but is still sort of in the drunken falling down phase and very wobbily. Its cute, but we encourage him all the time to keep going. I am sure he'll be running in no time!

Happy Birthday to...........

My sister Marissa!!

She is Sweet 16 today!!

I cannot believe how fast time has flown.

My baby is definitely not a baby!

She will be driving soon! AHHHHH!!!

I love you tons!!!

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PICTURES FROM THE LAST FEW YEARS

This was in May 2006 at Mark's graduation party in California.

This was in September 2006 at Donald's wedding.

This is Marissa's 2006 school picture.and this is her 2006 volleyball pic

These were taken in May 2007 at Mark's wedding

These were her 2007 school pictures.

Prayer needed ~ Wyatt

Please be in prayer for a little three year old boy named Wyatt today. Wyatt fell off his deck about two months ago and it was scary initially, but he is a very big miracle today in that he is mostly "normal" for his age, but there are some underlying things that will require treating for some time yet.
Today, he is having laser surgery on his throat because the intubation from his initial hospital stay cause alot of damage and its the only way to correct it. Oddly enough, they may have to intubate again today.
Pray that the surgeons have steady hands and precision with results. The wrong move could result in no voice ever again. Pray for his parents as they are weary from all that has transpired since the accident and of course worried about today and the outcome. Pray also for Marshall, Wyatt's younger brother who is not getting as much attention lately and is reacting accordingly. As a side note, Sooki, Wyatt's mom, is pregnant, so the stress of all this is not good for the baby either.
Thanks for your faithfulness as always!

Update on Greg

Please continue to be in prayer for Greg.
Today, they were going to make a decision to amputate half or all of the injured foot.
Greg is very positive and upbeat despite all the trauma and pain and indecision. He trusts God implicitly to be leading him where he needs to be.
Please pray the doctors make good decisions and that the family will continue to feel comfort during this difficult time.

Had to share..........

My friend Wendi has had quite an eventful week. She came to Minnesota last weekend for a wedding and stayed a few extra days to do some visiting with friends. On her way home, at the Minneapolis airport, she took a pregnancy test and it was positive.

Here is the cool part. Not quite seven weeks ago, baby Isaac joined their family via adoption. Wendi is seven weeks and three days pregnant. IRISH TWINS!!!

Wendi and her husband JB have struggled with infertility for years, even going through several cycles of IVF.

The girl is pregnant on her own!!! No medical interventions! A real God given miracle!!
They are excited, their friends and family are excited and God is the awesomest(I know, its not a real word!) God ever! He sure does have a funny sense of humor!

Two babies nine months apart will be alot of work, but oh they are looking forward to the blessing of a sibling for Isaac. If you didn't know, Isaac means laughter, I think its pretty fitting!

God is good all the time, all the time, God is good!

Congrats Wendi, JB, Isaac and Scrubs!!

Memorial for Carrie

Today is the day for my friend Carrie's Memorial Service. If you'll remember, she passed away about a month ago, we still don't have an official cause of death. Click here to read her obit.
The service starts in about 20 minutes. I was hoping to go, but its inconvenient from a weekday perspective, and its three hours away. I also just found out.
I am sure her family will honor her in a fitting way.

Thought I'd share a memory, though since they are so old, they are lacking a bit.
Carrie was older than I was by about five years. I remember always wanting to hang out with her, she probably thought I was a brat, but she didn't treat me that way. Growing up, I was essentially the only girl in our church, so for that little while, it was nice to not be the only one. After her parents divorce, we didn't see her or her brothers very often, but I just remember what a treat it was when I did see her. She was always smiling and happy. I hope she kept that quality in her grownup years. Several years ago, she was in what should have been a fatal accident. I remember going to visit her in the hospital and she was in this bed that rotated her, basically it was like she was on a rotisserie. This was somehow supposed to help the circulation I think. She smiled even through that.

Carrie, although I hadn't seen you in a long time, you will be missed. Your children and your family are missing you most of course, but know that friends miss you too.

Prayer request

One of the guys from our church, Greg Moser, who is the founder and leader of Rock Solid Youth Center in Winona, was injured on Monday in a terrible accident.
He ended up losing all the toes on one foot and there is some other damage as well.
I haven't heard an update for a few days, but can only presume he is recovering okay in spite of all the trauma.
Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

No headache today

Well, today was the first day in over a week I didn't awaken with a headache!
YEAH!!!!!!
I went to the chiropractor yesteray, so I think she may have had something to do with it. She adjusted a few things she normally doesn't, so I am thinking those things that were off were the cause or at the very least, a contributor.
I am just thankful I get a day without it, I hope the trend continues!
Thanks for your prayers!

Favorite Foto Friday 06/20/08

This week, I am going to highlight my cousin Melannie and her new husband Angus. They got married last September and the picture is from that day.

The recently found out they were expecting a baby, I think s/he will make their appearance in later January or early February. Am so excited for them!

Happy Friday everyone!

Update on Grama Connie

Well, my Grama Connie is nearly completed with week two of six of her radiation treatments. She seems to be doing fairly well, although initially she had some issues with the mask and feeling clausterphobic, the techs have been really awesome and patient in helping her deal with this. She has been mostly taking it easy, she naps whenever she feels the need and my cousin and stepmom have been helping out alot with various household tasks. She did overdo one day and realized that she has to take it easy and is trying hard to pace herself. Its hard for a person who is used to doing everything herself and her way to just let things go, I have been there, so I can sympathize!
Anyway, please keep her in your prayers. We have just over four weeks to complete and hopefully that will shrink that tumor to nothing and we can get on with life without a health issue for a change.

Update on Migraines

Well, I went for the shot on Monday and it did the trick. It worked almost immediately. I was warned it might make me nauseated, dizzy or tired, but I felt completely normal, so I went about the things I had to do.
After I got off work, I went home to get my car and drive to the PAL office to work on the books. Around 7, I left and still had a little time to kill before the meeting, so I went to the grocery store to grab a few things before heading to the PAL meeting. The PAL meeting was over within an hour and I ate dinner while I was there. After the meeting, I ran to Big Lots, needed some cleaning supplies. While wandering around the store, I began to feel dizzy. I was doing the utoh thing! Apparently the side effects took a little while for me, so I decided I better head home before it got out of hand. Fortunately, I was only about a mile away from home, so it wasn't too far, but by the time I got home, got out of the car and into the house, I was feeling even more dizzy. Even sitting on my couch, I was dizzy! So I decided I best take my vitamins and medicine and head to bed.
I woke up the next morning around 4am. I had a headache again. I nearly cried! I was so tired of waking up with a headache and I really thought the shot would do the trick. I took some Tylenol as the narcotic they gave me was supposed to make me tired and I didn't want to worry about that with work. Fortunately, the Tylenol did the trick and I made it through Tuesday ok.
When I woke up this morning, I again, had a headache. Tylenol worked once again.
I am not sure what is going on in this crazy head of mine. I know part of the reason can be the fibromyalgia, but it just seems odd that all the sudden its happening like this. I had three MRIs and one CAT scan this year already, so am pretty sure I don't have any tumors, but am beginning to wonder what is up.
Please continue to pray for me. Migraines are no fun no matter what, but this every day for a week business is so getting old.
Hopefully the Pain Rehab Clinic will give me some solutions. Unfortunately, I have a month before I go.
Thanks for your faithfulness.

Happy Birthday to...........

Rebekah Ann!!
I can't believe how the time has flown. Seems like just yesterday I was changing your diapers!
You have grown into a beautiful, mature young woman.
Love ya kiddo!

Pray for me

I have had a migraine going on five days now. My regular medicine that I take for it only works for an hour or two. I called my doctor this morning and am going in for an injection this afternoon. Pray this does the trick, am really tired of the pain and the general feeling of malaise that it brings with it.
Thanks!

Update on Tricia

She came through surgery REALLY well and was off the vent immediately and only had one chest tube to deal with. She got to skip the ICU and go directly to a normal patient room. Praise the Lord for these small miracles!
The outcome looks to be as expected, most likely cancer. They will be meeting with the doctors to find out the course of action that will be necessary to get her back in recovery mode.
Please keep Tricia, Nate & Baby Gwyneth in your prayers!

Happy Father's Day!

To my Dads!

Mark W. Pittman ~ father to Aimee & Mark; stepfather to Ted & Mario

Mike Wood ~ father to Donald, Al, Marissa & Elijah; stepfather to Aimee & Mark

To my Grampas!

George Booth ~ father to Mark, Mitch, Mike & Matt

Wayne Gardner ~ father to Ken, Bryan, Sherri & Tim

Bill Rutledge ~ father to Mark, Mitch, Mike & Troy

Bertie Wood ~ father to Mike, Mark, David & Daniel

And to my Brothers!

Mario Ricci ~ father to Autumn

Ted Ricci ~ father to Dominick & Olivia

Donald Wood ~ father to Maya & Alex; stepfather to Desiree, Andy & Michael

Albert Wood ~ father to Austin

Prayer needed - Tricia

I have been following the blog entitled "Confessions of a CF Husband" for over six months now. If you don't know what CF stands for, it is Cystic Fibrosis. Nate is a really awesome blogger and has been chronicling his family's medical traumas. Nate married Tricia almost four years ago now and together they have been battling Tricia's CF. About a year ago, Tricia was to be evaluated for a double lung transplant when they found out that she was pregnant. Not wanting to harm the baby or get rid of her, they chose to proceed with this pregnancy against medical advice and take their chances. Well, in January, Tricia's lungs just couldn't handle the extra work to support the pregnancy and Gwyneth Rose was born a little more than 15 weeks ahead of schedule. Gwyneth was a huge miracle and was breathing on her own almost from the start and completely amazed all her doctors with her progress. During Gwyneth's early start, Tricia was again being analyzed for her double lung transplant again and in April, some awesome family made the decision to donate and Tricia got her new lungs. Tricia did really well post-transplant and was released from the hospital in May and only had outpatient therapy daily to deal with prior to coming home. During her outpatient therapy, Gwyneth was released from the hospital to come home and both her and Tricia have been doing really well. They got to go to their actual HOME last week for the first time in over six months.
This week however, brought some bad news. Duke called to say that Tricia had the mono virus in her system and she needed to come back in for a PET scan and a bronchoscopy/lung biopsy. Needless to say, this is a big setback, but they are very upbeat about the situation. Tricia's PET scan was positive for the virus and the lung biopsy did not go well during the bronchoscopy, so she is going into surgery right now to be opened up to do a better biopsy. By having a full surgery, this puts Tricia back on a ventilator and of course, anesthesia complications are always a risk.
Please pray that everything goes well and that Tricia will have a quick and easy recovery.
Basically, they know what it is, it's a fairly normal outcome for lung transplants, its more or less the extent of the disease and what will be necessary to overcome it.
Tricia and Nate have been through so much and I honestly believe that God will see them through this next storm, but they are going to need our prayers very much.
Please be thinking about them and praying for God's will.
Thanks!

Favorite Foto Friday 06/13/08

This week, its about the Dad's! Wishing a Happy Father's Day to my biological Dad, Mark and my stepdad, Mike. Enjoy your day!! My biological Dad, Mark
My stepdad, Mike

Love you both!

Also want to give shout outs to all of my Grampa's, but I don't have photos to post.
Happy Father's Day to Grampa George, Grampa Wayne, Grampa Bertie, Grampa Lloyd and Grampa Bill.
And to those not with us any longer, Grampa Ray and Grampa Stanley.

Happy Father's Day to my brothers as well, Ted, Mario, Donald and Al are all Dads now and I am grateful for all my nieces and nephews!

Happy Birthday to...........

KERSTEN!!
She is three years old today! Cannot believe how fast it went!!
Love you pumpkin!!

Cody Graduates

Goodness, can it possibly be already?
Cody James Peaslee, Class of 2008.

It is crazy to think that the last seven years just zoomed right by. I know it didn't feel like it at the time, but this week, that is definitely what I am thinking.
How can the adorable 11-year-old momma's boy be graduating? Do you remember when you first came Cody? You hated ANYone taking your mother's attention. You would throw the biggest tantrums over it. But you grew up, you matured, and now, I'd like to think that I played a part in the person you've become. You are still the sweetest boy, but definitely have grown up! You were shorter than me when you came, now you tower over everybody! You still have a tender heart for your baby sister, and she loves you so much in return. And you even managed to let Jess sneak in there too. Those babies love you to death! You have your own car now and soon, you'll have a license to drive it. Am a little scared about that still, but I know you'll do fine.
You still don't know what you want to be when you grow up, and, well, that is part of growing up sometimes. Just remember Cody, you can be anything you want to be. Don't ever let anyone tell you different!

Congratulations on this huge milestone Cody! I know we'll be seeing great things from you.

I love you kid!

Favorite Foto Friday 06/06/08

This week, its all about Cody! We don't have any of his baby pictures, so I can't show you the complete progression of his growing up, but from the time he was 11 to now at 18, here are the changes.

Cody, 11 years old, with his younger brother Joey

Cody, 11 years old, with his younger brother Joey

Cody, 14 years old

Cody, 17 years old, fall of 2007