What's new with the Woo's?

CHEAP & EASY HALLOWEEN MANTEL

2010-09-21T10:14:00.000-05:00

Officially the first day of Fall is Thursday, September 23rd but on Thursday I am going to be GLUED to my tv watching the season premiers of both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice :)))))))) So excited!! So I decided to start my Fall decorating a few days early this year!

This is what I am talking about...

Ok, so this is super easy and sooo very cheap....If you have $20.00 I can show you how to re-create this mantle AND give you some change back from that twenty ;)

I went to Dollar Tree (last year after Halloween to stock up for this year... but I checked and they still have this stuff this year). This is all you need...

3 Crows- Or as many as you want... I used 3, but I might go back for more

= $3.00

3 bags of these cute little skulls- They come about 10 skulls per bag

= $3.00

1 bag of spider webs- I didn't realize that a little of this stuff goes a super long way! so only 1 bag

= $1.00

1 bag of spider rings- I didn't realize that the spider web already came with spiders so I bought this bag and had extras... this purchase is optional

=$1.00

3 Tombstones- When decorating I like to work in groups of three's (however one of my grave markers did a tumble off the mantel so I am going to have to go back and replace it) I also noticed that I could really do more that three seeing as they are so small (and there only a dollar a piece) so I might go get a few extra

=$3.00

2 glass vases- for either side of the mantel

=$2.00

2 bags of "creepy cloth" - you could even get away with 1

=$2.00

And some sticks/twigs.... something like that.

Not sure if you can tell from this picture, but I went out in my neighborhood collecting sticks... I loaded them on the stroller and took them home :)

FOR FREE!!

Poor guy was hot and surrounded by my FREE sticks!

I took them home and used some black spray paint (that I already had) and did a solid coat to all sides of the sticks for that spooky Halloween look

(sidenote- I did this in the empty lot next to my hous because I didn't have an old sheet or drop cloth.. Do not do this in your yard or it will be noticable)

Ok... Time for Assembly!

1.)Spray paint the sticks!

2.) Lay the "creepy cloth over the mantle

3.) Fill up the vases with the small skulls (1 or 1 1/2 bag in each vase).

4.) Place the stick in the vase.

5.) Place the tombstones where ever you like.

6.) Cover EVERYTHING in spider webs.

7.) Place the spiders in random places all over mantle.

8.) Place the birds where you think they look awesome!

And TADA!!! You have a super spooky Halloween Mantle that is sure to put you in the Holiday Spirit!!!

Oh yeah .. let's add this up... Our total comes to ......$15.00 (plus tax) and you can even go cheaper that that by customizing what you like and adding too or taking away from what I did!

I would LOVE to know what you think...or if you have your own version of a spooky mantle, I would LOVE to see it! Leave me your link in my comments :) I am always looking for super easy and super cheap ideas for decorating!

And here is a BONUS project! (omg!) I had tons of spider webbing left over so I covered a wall of photos (that were already hung) with the left over web! I placed spiders randomly on there too... Now I have the spooky decor all over my house... I might not stop there...

Happy Decorating!

Jenny

If Brady could blog...

2010-09-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, So my mom hasn't been doing very well keeping this blog up to date, so I told her I would do a "catch-up" blog for her.... so here goes...(in NO particular order)

Here I am at work with Nana.... we are handling some very important things...like the "itsy bitsy spider" situation. She is very good at that song.

And here is Poppy and me at his first ever Braves game. I've been there before, but I was happy to share his first time with him.

This is my mommy and me with GeeGee on her birthday. We had CAKE!! and lots of it :) But we stayed out way too late...

Sooo this is me when we got home...

Here I am making alphabet soup... bet you didn't know I could cook, huh? Well, somebody's gotta do it around here...MOM!

Here is me trying to play outside in my back yard... or should I say, MY DOG'S back yard...

and again...

Ok, I give up!!

On this day, I found the cookie jar :) So I got comfortable in a place where I thought no one could see me...

WRONG!! She got me :) So I "cheesed" for her... as always.

Here I am at work again. This time Poppy is teaching me how to play the piano... well, his version of it.

I catch on quick!

and here is Nana and I pushing these fun things around ...Hard at work I tell ya...

One Saturday morning we met my cousins, Savannah and Arrington "Ari" for breakfast at my mom's favorite place...Cracker Barrel... While there, I got to do one of my favorite things... Rock Rock Rock. They have such a fun front porch... and yummy pancakes :)

when we left there, we went to the splash pad to play. It was the last day they were open for the year. I love that place... and I had such a good time!

One day my daddy was in a Putt-Putt tournament. So naturally, momma and me went to support him. He did very good! He almost won the whole thing... Momma said he only lost by one stroke! Can you believe that? Oh well, better luck next time :)

While we were there I had to work on my putting too! Hey, I am a third generation Wooten Golfer... Gotta start young.

Lookin pretty good out there :)

As most babies..hu hum..toddlers get, I got restless.. SO I decided to take off running so momma could chase me.... But I didn't see the step...You live and you learn!

Then momma took me to some kind of festival in Pelahatchie...long weird word, I know, but that's where it was. I have some cousins that live there so we parked at their house and momma pushed me in the 10000 degree heat to look at random stuff... but it was all worth it when I had this...

What is it you ask?? This my friends is a funnel cake! With powdered sugar on top!! Can you believe she has been holding out on me this long??

I couldn't stop eating this (or sweating) but this was worth ever drop of sweat!! Soooo good!

Speaking of sugar... Have you guys had the hotcakes from McDonald's?? My favorite breakfast ever!! Some day, mommy takes me to get some :) I can barely hold back the excitement! But I guess she is getting lazy these days.. she is making me pick up my own food and eat it!! Can you believe that??

I quickly realized why this wasn't very messy... She FORGOT the SYRUP!!!! Silly momma!

Just the other day I wasn't feeling so hot. I was very whiny All the time and my ears just didn't feel right, so my smart momma made me a Doctor's appointment and we went to have them looked at... I found this neat toy in the waiting room and I could have played with it all night! Momma said she used to have one just like it when she was little!

Could I be any cuter?

And here is my mommy in the Dr.'s office...Isn't she lovely?

Daddy took a picture of all of our feet .. guess he was bored.. Me and Daddy were wearing the same shoes.. Momma has the same shoes, but she was wearing her boring ole flip flops!

When we left the Dr. we went to Aunt Sissy's house for Uncle Ryan's birthday dinner and they had my favorite thing... CAKE!! Oh it was so good :) Then we got to sing my FAVORITE song ever... Happy Birthday!!! Oh, I could sing that song all day long :)

Here is my uncle Ryan... He got a cool hat and everything!

Then I got some floor time with Aunt Sissy... She just loves playing with me (I enjoy it a lot too)

She is a good tickler too :)

The next day, daddy was showing me some pictures he took on his phone...

I guess momma snuck a picture or two.. Man, she is sneaky with that camera!

Oh,, so this is how I like to sleep now...

In case you don't get it... Right in between momma and daddy...I get up and walk my self in their room, crawl up their big bed, and snuggle right in between them.

I guess that's a good place to end it, don't you think?

I think I have gotten momma all caught up now.. Maybe next time she wont wait so long to blog!

Alright, Peace out Blog world!!

Brady Wooten :)

Graduation Day... Well, Sort of.

2010-07-28T12:36:00.000-05:00

We just got back from Brady's Neurology appointment with Great GREAT news! They don't want to see him anymore!! Well, not that they don't want to... but there is no reason to!

Brady had his first seizure at 3 days old and his last one June of last year (2009), and because he is so so so much better, there is no reason to be followed by a Neurologist.

Let me give you just a bit of information here..

Infantile spasms is one of the “catastrophic childhood epilepsies” because of the difficulty in controlling seizures and the association with mental retardation.

The odds we were given when we were told he had IS were scary.. I still remember his Neurologist telling me not to go home and Google it, because it would scare the hell out of me. So whats the first thing I did... had Chris and my momma google it and they broke it to me gently. We were told that only 10% of children with IS would go on to live normal lives and the remaining 90% would have some kind on long term problems. Of that 90%, 70% would be labeled as "retarded" a word I HATE!

That was all told to us in January of 2009. A day that I will remember for the rest of my life. I remember right when I was about to walk out of the Dr.s office I remembered that I had taken a video with my phone of him doing something "weird" and I wanted to show her. When she watched that video she turned white as a ghost and asked if she could take my phone to show the other Dr's there. She came back in and said that we needed to go over to the hospital right away for an EEG. She said, she wasn't sure, but it looked like IS and NOT to Google it! True to my word, I didn't, but when mom and Chris arrived at the hospital they had already looked... needless to say, they were quite. After a very quick EEG we got the diagnosis that we did NOT want. It was Infantile Spasms. We were instructed to stop all vaccines and to take him out of daycare. We were told that we were going to have to do a very VERY expensive treatment. Each vial of medicine would cost about $25,000 and we would need around 4 or 5. We were told we would do bi-monthly EEG's and weekly Doctor's visits to check his Blood Pressure (a horrible side effect of the treatment). Needless to say, we were scared. Our lives were just sent spinning out of OUR control.

This was our first baby. We had only been parents for 3 months and now this! The seizures were bad enough, but now they had evolved into the worst possible type. The most catastrophic type. The most crippling type. The type that we weren't sure if we could beat. But 18 months later, the type that we did beat! Well, actually sooner than that, but TODAY, we were told that we didn't need to see our Neurologist anymore. A Doctor that we were sure we were going to see until Brady was old enough to use and adult Dr. We never imagined that we would be done with her in 18 months! Don't get me wrong, it was a LOOOOOONNNGG 18 months, but its was a short 18 months too.

For the families out there who are still trying different treatments every week for their babies because the ACTH didn't work for them, it was a short 18 months.For the families who can not get their babies seizures under control and watch them have hundreds of debilitating spasms every day, it was a short 18 months. For the families who's lives have been crazy with surgeries to remove half their babies brain, it was a short 18 months. For the families who lost their precious babies to this horrible monster, it was a short 18 months.

I say all that so you know just how much of a miracle this truly is! In my book, this is a Walking on Water, Blind will see, Dead will rise, Water to Wine, Feed 5000 with a few fish MIRACLE! Yes, we had tons of Doctors from Blair E. Batson, all the way up to Memphis helping with Brady's case over the past 2 years, but I give thanks today to the Great Physician Jesus Christ for the ultimate healing he preformed on my son.

What a testimony he will have to share the works of Jesus with all his friends and peers, and co-workers, and ball team players one day.

Thank you to everyone who has ever said a prayer to God for my Brady. Thank you Thank you Thank you! He is alive and well today because of those prayers. I bet my life on it!

Thank you to ALL the Doctor's that had anything to do with Brady's case... there are tons! But we saw Doctors today that we have been seeing since Brady was born and to see them stand AMAZED at the fact that he could say a word, walk, run, high five, wave bye-bye, throw a ball (thanks, Dr. Lee)... It truly is a blessing. We have been truly blessed. Iwill never forget the faces of those Doctors when they saw Brady. Maybe Brady will grow up, hear these stories, and choose to do what they do so he can witness miracles like this for himself. (hey a mother can dream)

Just a Special thank you....

Thank you Dr. Parker! Sweet Sweet Sweet Dr. Parker. She is forever on my Christmas card list. She was not only a Dr. to Brady, but she was like another Grandmother to him. She wouldn't let him leave without kissing his head every visit, but today he kept leaning in wanted more kisses.. He loves her... we do to.

I am not going to list them, because I will forget someone and feel horrible! But you know who you are. THANK YOU!

To God be the Glory,

Jenny

HOW TO: Make a Minky Dot pillowcase with a name appliqued on it!

2010-06-28T11:11:00.001-05:00

Ok.. Sorry about how small the font is on these pictures ... and I probally chose the worst color to type in...ORANGE??? who does that? But you can click on the pictures to enlarge them. There is not too much detail in here about how to make the pillow case itself, just to get the letters on it. But HERE is a tutorial on how to do the pillowcase part.. including measurments, what you will need, etc. Hope you love it as much as I do!

(WORKING WITH MINKY DOT FABRIC IS TOUGH.. IT PULLS AND STRETCHES. MY PILLOWCASE IS NOT STRAIGHT, BUT BRADY CANT TELL SO I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT IT)

Check out Sew and Tell...

Till next time~

jenny

Busy Busy Busy Day!

2010-06-24T17:25:00.001-05:00

So I've been taking a blogging break...yeah yeah yeah...Last night at dinner, my dear friend Lauren reminded me of this, so Lauren, This one's for you :)

Today Brady and I met Katie and Memaw at Berry's for lunch.. Let me just say, if you are from this area (Central Ms) you know about Berry's... it is FINE! It is an over sized buffet full of everything imaginable... um um good! I put Brady in his seat not even noticing the prehistoric turkey hanging on the wall above his head, till on my way back to the table with my food. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it..

I don't Think he realized it was there.. but It looked like it was diving straight for his head.. super funny!

They have a wall of wild animals ... we just happened to be sitting under the crazy looking Turkey.

Then we went down 49 a little bit to Donna Produce so we could get Katie a Mandivilla Plant.

A few weeks ago I saw how beautiful Memaw's was and I just had to have one, so she took me to Donna's and got me one, then today, Katie saw how beautiful hers was so she demanded that we go get Katie one...

While we were there, I got some good pictures of Brady.

he looks like Popeye because one of his eyes are dilated (trying to straighten them out) and we could not find his sunglasses...so he has just learn to squint with one eye...

He just loved this little rocker... he tried to rock real fast!

Then he tried to show Katie how to rock real fast....

And then me too!

Then we went to look at some garden art pieces.. not sure what you actually do with them, but he liked the turtle.

He found this huge "spin Spin" that he just loved

While we were having our adventure, Katie, Memaw, and Donna were having an adventure of their own. Memaw was determined that she would get this imperticular Mandivilla but its "runners" has wrapped around some of their garden structures there. So memaw said we would get that piece of garden art for free or they would stand there and unwrap this plant that had grown around it...

Well, we were not getting the structure for free

So they stood there and unwrapped this plant for about 10-15 mins in the Blazing heat...

But they got it!

Memaw is one stubborn lady, but she got what she wanted! Thanks for your patience Donna!

Brady enjoyed the fruit stand.. it was like a Brady-sized maze for him to run through

rarely standing still for pictures.

she had some beautiful Produce... and tons of it

If your ever heading south on hwy 49, stop by and get you some...

Memaw made me use her handicap sticker so we could get close parking everywhere we went... even though regular parking is at the front door .. oh well, I was handicapped for the afternoon

This is Memaw's Mandivilla that is so stunning!

So stunning that we all had to take pictures of it...

yes Katie, you too!

Brady got him some Goodbye Loving on the way out :)

Memaw has one of the nicest gardens in her apartment Complexes.. if not THE nicest... Zach went over when she moved in and helped her get it up and going.

after there we stopped by the Cemetery (My family owns it, don't worry) to take a few pictures of Brady with the blooming Crape Myrtles... they are B E A utiful! So Beautiful, I had my bridal portraits taken there.. yes, in the cemetery!

See! Told ya so...

Then, Brady noticed the "splash splash" and wanted to go get his hands wet... So off we went...

What? you didn't think I was walking did you? In this heat??? Girl Please! He's gotta learn sometime...

Oh, How he LOVES this fountain!

That's a Happy Face :)

~We had to do a little advertizing here~

and then back to the fountain

Whoa buddy! not in my car!

Then it was home for a brief nap! he was OUT!

But then...Sawyer came over for a few minutes so his mommy could go take a test

After we played with the dogs...in the heat...we hit up the sprinklers...much better!

Then we figured, why waste that water... so we pulled out the pool...

And boy did they LOVE that!

Sawyer was a bit of a hose hog but they had a great time!

Absolute LOVE this picture of these precious boys!!

When Glenda got back, they showered her with all the attention.. I didn't mind though ;)

Well that's it... and its only 5:15! Brady is finishing up that nap that he didn't quite finish earlier because we are going to eat Mexican tonight with Glenda, Stephanie and Leigh...Our Last girls night for a while with all 4 of us because Stephanie is moving to Pensacola Saturday :( I'll miss my Stephanie..

Ok, I'll promise to do better blogging more often. I've got my camera in my purse!

Till Next time

jenny

My China...errr... my Everyday!

2010-06-11T09:59:00.001-05:00

Kelly's doing another Show us How you Live today and it's all about your China Patterns.

We registered for China when we got married almost 3 years ago now...WOW... anyway, we didn't get any of the China that we registered for.. haha.. It was a little pricey. It was Kate Spade "Bonnabel Place"... It was beautiful, but a 5 piece place setting was $130.00! Yikes! I wasn't surprised that for the wedding, we only got a saucer.. HAHA.. So we decided to take back the $17.00 saucer and get something else, and we gave up on getting China.

However, we did get ALL of our everyday dishes! We got a full 12 piece set of everything.. and we LOVE our everyday!

They are Denby Jet. We mixed in the Denby Stripes, Denby Dots, and Denby Black and got 4 settings of each to make a full mix and match set!

I love the colors in all of them!

The Dots are my favorite! They have now been discontinued... good thing I got all mine :)

Ok so not everything.. I am lacking this awesome serving platter...But one day...

But I do have this awesome Bowl... LOVE IT!!

And we also got this serving dish in the Stripes design...

I just love mixing and matching the sets together when we have a dinner. I think i will Love this pattern for a long long time... I sure hope I do.. haha..

And one day, I might get me some china!

Until next time

jenny

Kids Names :)

2010-05-08T00:39:00.000-05:00

Today on Kelly's Korner she is asking about kids names... future or present kids... I feel we have the most fabulous name of all with Mr Brady, but I am curious to read all the other post for some ideas...for future kids, of course...

DAVID BRADY WOOTEN

We knew for sure that if when we had a son, he would be named David. That is Chris' first name and Chris' dad's name.. so naturally, we were going to pass it on.

(Brady and Mr. David the first time they met)

Before we knew how much that name would fit him, we chose it. Now, looking back, it is the most perfect name for him. Brady and his Papaw David lived such parallel lives for the few short months that they lived on this earth together. They spent most of those months in the hospital (different hospitals, same time) They were given some of the same medicines on the same days in those hospitals. They had similar symptoms.. When Mr. David was having his bone marrow test done at Baptist Hospital, Brady was down the street at the Blair E Batson hospital for Children in the bone marrow room, because it was the last room on the floor avalible... There were many more ironic stories... Stories that still blow my mind when I think about it... Last May, Mr. David passed from this world to his eternal home with Jesus and last June (one month later) Brady had his last seizure. We believe that Mr. David is sitting up there in Glory watching over our sweet "david" down here. We are so blessed to have so many pictures of the two of them.

And to blow your mind even more, we found some baby pictures of Mr. David that are CRAZY similar to what Brady looked liked at that age... we found them after Mr. David passed away... we had no idea that Brady even resembled Mr David until we found those pictures... I will let you judge for yourself...

No, this is NOT Brady... This is his namesake... This is his Pawpaw David! Crazy?!?!?! I Know, Right?

This is the last pictures we have with Brady and Mr. David ... taken 18 days before he met Jesus.

We will cherish these pictures.

So now that we had "David" down, it was time for the middle name...

We went through the alphabet..

A-Z...

we through around "Gabriel" for a while. We like "Austin" and "Clarke" too.

"Brady" was always on the list.

I am a life-long watcher of Days of our Lives...

my next favorite show was Sex and the City...

both of which have characters or Families named Brady

Okay... there, I got "Brady" from Days and SATC...

I admit it...

Big Deal!

I think it fits him well.

Here's a tiny side story for you...

During the child birth process his heart rate dropped pretty low and then would pick back up... It did that several times... They called it "Bradycardia" which means slow heart rate... I had no idea that was even a word. When the nurses asked me what his name was going to be and I told them Brady they told me it was the perfect name for him...

It was meant to be :)

Here are just a few recent pictures of my Precious "Brady", by the way...

This is such a sweet "Brady" smile

This is what "Brady" looks like when he is teething

This is how "Brady" crosses his feet when he sits to read a book

This is one of "Brady's" most Favorite thing in the world...TIRES!

With another tire... Sweet "Brady"

OH yes! I have picked out our girl name also, BUT, I am still convincing Chris that he loves it.. I have already taught Brady how to say it, and he LOVES it... It will grow on Chris, and until it does, its our secret.

~jenny~

Take me out to the Ballgame!

2010-04-22T22:59:00.000-05:00

Tonight we took Brady to his very First Baseball Game...

...and he LOVED it!

He is such a happy baby and he Loves to be outside!

So we knew he was gonna Love it.

He was such a Studd with his spiked up hair!

He never got cranky either.. we were very surprised...

Plus we had cookies! He will do anything for Cookies!

He couldn't get this one in his mouth fast enough :)

He wasen't too sure about this guy

(and mommy wan not ready for the picture)

Couldn't you just kiss his face off??

He was so intrested in Chris' visor or sunglasses, we couldn't figure out which...

Such a Daddy's Boy...

Love my Boys!

How Handsome :)

He Loves his mommy too though...

Here's the Braves Future Left-Handed Pitcher!!

Time to go home Already???

And he's too excited to sleep!

What a night...

What a memory!

Goodnight,

jenny

DIY Earring holder...Super Easy!!!

2010-04-20T23:17:00.001-05:00

If your like me, and you have a drawer full of dangly earrings and you can never find a matching set when you need them, or when you pull out one you get a ball of others that are all connected ... Then this post is for you! I found this project on one of the fabulous blogs that I stalk and went to Hobby Lobby and Home Depot and on that very same day I made this super easy earring display.

All you need is an old frame.. of decent size.. I found one at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section for practically nothing because it had a few scratches on it...

Next, some screen... I went for the plastic Pet screen (its thicker and more durable feeling) not the metal... but you can do whatever style you like. Plus, the screen that I found and liked was open so the lady at Home Depot gave it to me for half off... Cant beat that!

You will also need a staple gun (Home Depot for less than $10.00...Seriously), some Ribbon (the color or style of your choice...This gives you the oportunity to give it your own flair), and a pair of Scissors... Thats it!

In just a few short steps, you will have your very own wall art!

1.)Lay the frame on the screen and cut out the screen around the outside peremeter of the frame...

2.) Flip the frame over and staple the screen to the back of the frame... remember to pull tight... Start in the middle of the top then go to the middle of the bottom, then the middle of the sides ... THEN hit up the corners

The more staples the better.. I mean, It cant hurt it...

3.) Cut two pieces of ribbon about a foot long each

4.) Staple the ribbons to the back of the frame... REMEMBER to make sure they are the same legnth from the sides that way your frame dosen't hang crooked...

I stapled it under the screen , by the way...

5.) Tie the ribbon in a nice bow and hang on the wall ... decorate it with your earrings and...

...TADA...

Your own personalized wall art!

I hope you enjoyed reading how easy this was.. Hopefully you give it a try!

Why buy it, when you can make it?

Till next time,

jenny

Bet you Didn't know... I could SEW!!

2010-04-19T14:16:00.001-05:00

Well Neither did I! Thats right, I have never in my life sat down at a sewing machine but, while "blog stalking" the other day I saw an amazing post on round table coverings and said to myself...

"self, you can do that!"

I had never even thought about covering my tables because they were bought to be displayed... They were bought as a set ... they were bought for a lot of money... they were bought because the glass top was so beautiful... then I had a baby.. and that baby became a toddler... and I got tired of cleaning glass!!! Now, I dont want to put all the blame on sweet Brady... On one table sits a PS3 and all the georgous cords that go with it and under the other we are housing a subwoofer, and an extension cord with plugs for the laptop, the lamp, the subwoofer, etc... CORDS CORDS CORDS!

HaHaHa.. Don't you just Love my Beauty School Glamour Shot?!?!

You think this would have bothered me before now but for some reason I have never thought about covering it up... until I saw what It could look like...

On Friday Night I read the blog and on Saturday morning I was at hobby Lobby buying fabric... something I had NEVER done before! I go to Hobby Lobby weekly and have never stepped foot in the fabric section.. but on Saturday, I did. Well, we did.. Thats right, the very first time I went to match and buy fabrics I took my 18 month old son! CRAZY, I know (now)! So it was a quick trip... I got the fabric, some straight pens, a pen cushion, and a measuring tape ribbon... I am starting from scratch here...

Then off to my Mother-in-Law's to borrow her never been used, fresh out of the box, Singer Sewing Machine. Thats right, I got to break this thing in... ME, a completely unexperienced sewer! Good thing she trust me :)

So with fabric, accessories, and sewing machine in hand, off to the house I go...I laid Brady down for a nap then crack that sewing machine open and read the instruction book cover to cover.. I learned what every part of that machine did and where it was and why it was there... I had no idea! Next thing you know I was on the floor cutting fabric! By 3am that morning I was done with the first table! HAHA.. but hey, a flood starts with a rain drop .. because last night I finished up the second one!

By no means are these tableclothes perfect! They would have been darn close though if I was any good at math! I got my measurments wrong by 10"so that was fun... I just got some scrap fabric and made up the difference.. the patters goes every direction but Who Cares??? It dosen't have to be perfect to be beautiful, Right?

Not too bad for my first time, huh?? Not too Shabby at all...I mean, I'm pretty much a Seamstress now.

A few extra Cleaning Tips...

2010-03-26T00:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, so after giving my cleaning schedule I remembered a few more "tips" for cleaning...

1. Never leave a room empty handed. Ther is always something out of place or not in the room it should be in.. So if you get in the habit of leaving the room your in with something in your hand for the room your going to you are on the right track to making sure everything is where it should be... Confused?? Try it!

2. Clean while you cook... This way you dont spend too much time cleaning after you have eaten.

3. Flold Throw blankets and put pillows in their place. EVERY TIME I get up off the couch, or anybody does for that matter, I always fold the blanket that was hanging over the back of the couch and put the pillows back where they went. Even if you dont feel your house is clean, it will Look clean and sometimes, that's all that matters.

4. Get a Kone! The awsome handheld vaccume that sits on your furniture like a piece of art. It is great to just pick it up and suck up some dust bunnies when you see them rather than chasing them around on Friday floor days!!

5.Gather up all trash in the house the night before the trash runs... that way, no matter how late you are running on trash day you know its out there already and not stinking up your garage. This is a great time to clean out the Fridge too! Wives, if your husband refuses, do it yourself! I mean, it's not the worst thing you can do, right?? I recently realized that I was not too good to deal with the trash, now I dont mind.

6. Set aside time to clean. Do not turn on the TV or sit down and check your e-mails until this is done. Then reward yourself with technology :)

7. If you see something that bothers you or needs cleaning real quick and your not doing anything.. do it right then. That way, you dont have to put it on your list and you dont have to worry about seeing it over and over screaming at you a reminder that it still needs cleaning!

8. Make your bed as soon as your feet hit the floor. Unless you have to pee real bad. Even if your eyes are still shut... It is nice getting into a made bed everynight... Plus it just makes your room look cleaner, even if it's not :)

This could be it.. If I forgot anything I will just come back and add it later...

jenny

Show Us Your Life... Cleaning Tips!!

2010-03-25T23:35:00.001-05:00

Oh yeah.. This one I'm gonna love! It's Friday, so that means it's show us how you live over at Kelly's Korner. I did a post about this not too long ago but I do not mind sharing it again for Kelly :)

Like Kelly, I try to do a little bit of cleaning everyday that way I do not have to spend a whole day, expecially on the weekends, cleaning my house... thats just gonna get messy again! So if you do a little everyday your not overwhelmed and you dont feel like you have wasted a day or days cleaning.

Proverbs 31:17 " She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her task."

Just so you know, Brady wakes up every morning around 9:00, eats breakfast and wants to go back to bed within minutes of eating... What can I say, I'm spoiled :) ... So by 10:00 I have also eaten breakfast, made my bed (which is something I do as soon as my feet hit the floor) and cleaned the Kitchen.

Here is our morning routine...

Brady wakes up, usally around 9:00am, then we are off to Breakfast... (oatmeal and applesauce always!)
Then, after he eats we unload the dishwasher (which I loaded the night before after dinner)
I clean off the counters and his highchair then he is about ready for his nap... and he naps for about 2 good hours...I know, I'm blessed! So that is when I do my house cleaning, after a quick Quite Time & Bible Study... I like to use Women Living Well as a refrence point for this. She also got me on my weekly cleaning routine that I am currently doing.... will explain below... Brace yourselfs!

Every Evening...

We eat dinner, then I clean up the kitchen. Load the dishwasher, clean and disifect the counters (I like the Clorox Anywhere spray for this), and finally Shine my Sink! I never go to bed with a messy sink... Why, you ask? If you wake up in the morning with a sink full of dished, you already feel like you are behind for the day. You wake up overwhelmed ... already! Not a great way to start the day. So always Shine your sink, and dry it after each use to keep it shinning all day long........ your welcome :)

So everyday we take care of the kitchen, now what about the rest of the house???

MONDAY- "Menu and Market Monday" Every monday I plan out our menu for the week and when Brady wakes up from his nap we hit the grocery store and buy groceries for the week... Sometimes we have to hit up Sam's for our bulk shopping but if thats the case, we do it first then head to the regular grocery stores for the rest. By doing this we actually save money by not eating out on a wim because we always have groceries!

Proverbs 31:14 "She is like merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."

TUESDAY- "Toilets, Tubs, and Towels Tuesday" On Tuesday's I conquer the Bathrooms... Clean the toilets with Lysol , Tilex the showers and tubs, windex the mirrors, and then wipe everything off with Clorox wipes! Then on to the next one, repeat. Oh yeah, then I wash all the towels in the house... between our bathroom and Brady's and the kitchen I can usually get it done in one load... usually.

WEDNESDAY- "Wash Wednesday" Pretty self explainitory.. I do Laundry! Since all the towels are done (from the day before) I only have a few loads. I do all of Brady's clothes in one load (Super Load), then Darks, and finally Lights! NOT whites, Lights... So after 3 loads sorted, washed, dried, folded and put away I'm done.. Its not considered done until I have put them up and since I am pretty OCD and want everything done on the day it should be, I get it done on that day.

THURSDAY- "Throughly Dusting Thursday" ... I had to make it work... Anyway, on Thursday's, I dust. This includes all surfaces.. picutre frames hanging on the wall, bookshelves, our bed, dresser, etc.. I also windex the end tables and mirrors.

FRIDAY- "Floors Friday" You guessed it, on Friday's, I do the floors... not my favorite day to say the least! This one is a little tough for me because I have always hated to do the floors, not to wine, but it hurst my back... oh well, it gets done. Pine-sol for the tile in the kitchens and bath; vinagar and water for the wood floors in the den; then I vacume the bedrooms and rug in the den... and about the time it is dry Brady wakes up and throws something on the floor and walkes on it and tracks it throughout the freshly clean house.. then when he gets home, Chris walks outside and tracks in grass and dirt... blah blah blah.. I can never keep the floors clean and it drives me CRAZY!!

Here is me on Friday...

So there is my week.. in a nutshell.. Some might think that I am a little compuslive and perhaps I am, but this is the system that works best for me and my family. It is a routine for me now.. I don't ever feel overwhelmed, its just part of my day. I enjoy having a clean home. Anytime of the day, I would like to think that you could just drop by and my house would be clean. Its about taking pride in what you have, and showing appriciation for it. This is the wasy that I show appriciation for the house that we live in.

Proverbs 31:13- "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands."

I hope this helps you out, and hey, if you are like me (a little ridiculous) this might even work for you...

until next time

jenny

It's beginning to look a lot like SPRING~

2010-03-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

WELCOME!

Here is my "Holiday" tree! As soon as the parade ended (the one I didn't go to remember) I took down all my St. Patrick's Day decor (which wasent that much) and put up my easter things... Which I LOVE!

I got most of this tree decor from Michael's... the Place Mats from Khol's (a couple years ago after Easter for 50% off) and the Salt and Pepper shakers from Cracker Barrel (same way, after Easter!!)

Aren't they just the Cutest!!

Chris being the"man" that he is, dosen't call it salt or pepper anymore.. he calls it bunny or chicken brains! Seriously?!?!?!

Here's our "Bunny Brady" he is a bobble head bunny :)

This sweet sign I got from Michael's also... but this year.. it was only $10.00 so that wasn't a bad buy...

It sits on top of my Fridge

This looks cuter in real life.. the picutre dosent do it justice.. its a cute spoon holder in the shape of a chicken and a "Spring has Sprung" hand towel that Brady pulls off everytime he passes and throws it on the floor.. oh well...

Here's a better shot of the Chicken Spoon holder.. .(Cracker Barrel last year after Easter)...

You know, I dont even know if this is a spoon holder... huh... oh well, that's what I made it...

I just love this.. not sure why, but I do.. I bough several of these from Wal-Mart one year after Easter, of course, So I can use a fresh one every year...

Well, I guess that's it.. I could have sworn I have more.. oh well, If I find it, I will post it...

That's it for now

jenny

The era of a NEW Queen!

2010-03-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

Everyone has different dreams and goals for their lives... One goal I always wanted to achieve ( and still plan on reaching one day) was to become a Sweet Potato Queen! Laugh all you want, but I absolutely LOVE them.. Love the way they look, the way they act, their "I dont care what you think of me" attitude... The way they think that the bigger your hair is, the smaller your butt looks....all of it!

Around my area, Jackson, MS, the Sweet Potato Queens are a big deal when it comes time for the Saint Patrick's Day Parade... they have their " Million Queen March" in the parade... there are thousands of groups of women from all over the USA that come dressed as tacky as they can to walk in the parade and party all weeken! I alway thought that was so fun! So a few years back, I decided to get all decked out in my own Queen attire and start my own "wannabe" group...

Seriously! I attended the parade in this "get up" that I bought from the Goodwill for 4 dollars and dressed up with sequins and tassles...Fish net panty hose... and lepord print arm legnth gloves (not shown)

Funny thing is, Believe it or not, I didnt get looked at any different, laughed at, nada.. for at this parade, this is normal... How Fabulous is that!

Fast Forward 4 or 5 years (can't rember exactly)...

Today was the St.Patrick's Day Parade in Jackson... Thousands of people flocked downtown for a day full of fun, drinking, loud music, good friends, and , of cours, The Queens! I used to be one of those thousands, and one day, I probally will be again..

but this year I had a very special lunch date with my baby...

We went to Chedder's... Just me and him.

He devoured a bowl (a rather LARGE bowl of pasta)

Then, only after he was done, was I permitted to eat my, then cold, chicken tender basket...

It was still good ~

I was just wanting something Fried! It has been too long since I've had a good Fried meal... ya know, trying to diet and all...

He played with my keys to occupy the time ... while I was eating, The Nerve of me!!!

And on this day, I didn't care that I missed the Parade. The last thing on my mind was putting on fish-nets and that hot wig and walking in heels through downtown Jackson. Dont get me wrong, It is a load of fun, if that's your thing, but this year, it was not my thing...

My thing was sitting at the end of the table in a high chair with spagetti sauce all over his face screaming "BYE" to everyone that walked by us.

Its funny how your goals and dreams change when you become a mommy. Because now, I dream about him. What he could be, what he will be... I dream about being the best mommy I can be for him. I still have goals of my own, dont get me wrong, but they are just a little different. And just because I am not working toward my goal of becoming a Sweet Potato Queen right now, dosen't mean that I won't one day..

after all, I have all of his High School years to embarass him :)

Our First "Dirty Day"!!

2010-03-10T17:09:00.004-06:00

Now let me explain the title... Brady was in October of 07, his first warm weather was last year ... he was around 6 months old.. not really crawling yet, so he didn't have very much outside time. So now that it is warming up he is going "outside" for the first time in his life and playing. Now that he is walking, he doesn't stop! I bet he walks 5 miles a day! Seriously! So today, I went to work and he came along (duh).. we worked at the Florence funeral home today, not the usual Byram.

{for those of you who don't know, my family owns 2 funeral homes where Brady and I work}

Anyway, Florence is different from Byram in many ways, one of which being there is a cemetery there... a beautiful "garden" with a gorgeous fountain in the middle and a nice walkway... Brady walked non stop for about 30 mins! Trying to make a run for the fountain every time we turned around... after all, his favorite part of the day is bath time, and to him it was just a big bath tub.

No before you go off thinking I am weird for letting my son use a cemetery for his playground., just understand that I was raised in the funeral business all my life.. Once, I actually lived in the funeral home, I even took my bridal portraits in this "garden"... So this is nothing abnormal for us. You should sit down to dinner with my family and just hear some of the conversations that come up!

So after an afternoon of walking non stop, finding water puddles, dirt piles, grass, fountains, etc... Brady was a hot mess!! His pants were wet, knees were muddy, and shoes (New Balances without a speck of dirt on them) were Filthy!!! This was a first for us.. We truly have a baby boy on our hands not.. well, not so much a baby anymore (tear). This is just a taste of what is to come...

I made him ride home half naked! but his pants and shoes were a mess!! Soaking wet and muddy... Not in my car!

He didn't seem to mind being pant less though... He just curled up to his favorite book and enjoyed the ride... Then he got tired! He must have realized that somewhere among the afternoon of walking, running, and playing real hard, he forgot to take his nap! So we got a quick nap in the car on the ride home... still holding onto his book though :)

He was OUT! Soooo sleepy... He played hard though.

Our first "Dirty Clothes"...

We made a memory today. I hope you take some time out to do the same. Your babies are only babies for such a short while, then their toddlers, then kids, then preteens, then teenagers, then grown and gone... in the blink of an eye. I will always have the pictures and the memories, but there is nothing like be there, being Present, while they are still babies.

Gotta finish up this messy day with a HUGE bubble Bath!! I think he was overwhelmed!

Don't miss a single chance to make a memory!

Till next time,

jenny

Brady, Pictures, and My Cleaning Routine...

2010-03-09T20:24:00.010-06:00

I have taken so many pictures of Brady in his 17 months on this earth... Every day I keep adding to that! And ever since I got my iphone, I rarely use my camera anymore... It doesn't help any that Brady LOVES the camera! He has a small vocabulary, but "cheese" is in it! He knows what to do when you pick up a camera... Today was no different... I want you to notice all those toys by the fireplace... I have turned into the "mom with all the toys out" ... But the funny thing is, he doesn't play with one of them.. if you notice,he is laying on the floor playing with a calculator! The reason for this is, he is obsessed with buttons, remote control, phone, anything with buttons! So instead of him throwing my phone or the remote around, I got the clever idea to give him a calculator and he LOVES it! He doesn't even know the difference.. I tell him to go get his phone and he gets the calculator :) Now my electronics are safe again... I seriously could put all of those toys in the attic and he wouldn't notice... Hopefully he will get in the "playing with toys" stage sooner or later. Until then , they will remain all nice and neat in front of the fireplace... How cute is this picture... He looked at me for the picture, then turned back around to play with "his phone" just a swinging his foot.... he is so content... I love this boy! And Tonight my little helper was in full swing! First he loaded the dishwasher for me :) He loves doing this..up and down, in and out.. he could play with the dishwasher all day long. Every morning we unload the dishwasher from the night before... I believe that is his favorite part of his morning... I actually do all the work, he just pulls the the door open and the rolling shelves out... Oh well, you can never start too early teaching them the values of a clean house :) Next up, Laundry!! I don't know what it is about doors, but opening and shutting doors of all shapes and sizes is so much fun for him... books too for that matter.. he likes opening and shutting books, but not reading them for some reason... oh well, He shut the dryer door for me then pulled out all the towels from the basket that I had just unloaded from the dryer... if only I could teach him how to fold them instead of throwing them on the floor... But we couldn't start another load with out his clothes going in the washing machine... heheh... He never walks around the house naked! I know some might think that a good thing, and others have kids that never wears clothes, but Brady is one who always has clothes on.. so when I took them off to wash, he felt a little off... he became modest.. sweet boy.. he just acted differently. At least I can rest easier knowing he won't be a streaker. How funny is he with his shoes on and no clothes.. but he refused to walk without shoes or socks one on... haha His all time favorite part of the day... BATH TIME!! He could spend all day long in the bath tub.. as soon as he get finished eating he makes a bee line straight to the bathroom.. that child of mine is one scheduled child.. and I love it! He loves his routine and doesn't do well when he is off of it... Notice that fabulous toy he is playing with.. NOT! He has a frog pod full of toys that squirt water, balls, animals, etc.. but he has a Braves cup and his bubble bath, that is all he plays with ... it doesn't do me any good to buy him toys... But I must admit, I have only bought him a handful of toys in his life.. most of his toy are gifts for his birthday, Christmas, or other special occasions. I seriously am not responsible for the toy overload at my house. After bath time, Daddy got to play with Brady for a while... Brady likes to chase him around the couches, kitchen, table, wherever! Tonight, Daddy put him on the cutting board and pretended he was the turkey :) He pushed him and pulled him back, and Brady was just so impressed with this (notice his face) He sat perfectly still and enjoyed the ride.. Well that was our day for the most part. Well, our afternoon and evening anyway... You didn't miss much this morning. Today was Toilet, Tub, Towels Tuesday... which means I cleaned the bathrooms this morning... and even though it is one of my least favorite rooms to clean, I decide today to do it with a positive attitude.. SO instead of doing it complaining, I did it with appreciation that I have two toilets to clean. And two tubs. And towels to wash. When you look at it like that, it makes you grateful, then you don't mind cleaning the toilets...

Colossians 3:23

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the lord, not for men."

Just in case you were wondering... Yesterday was "Menu and Market Monday".. so I did just that! I planned out our meals for the week and went to the grocery store to get what we needed. Last night and tonight I have enjoyed cooking our supper... Baked Chicken Parm and Chicken Quesadillas... ummmm... many more meals to come :)

Tomorrow will be Wash Wednesday... which means Laundry! I started tonight though, by washing a couple loads.... I makes it easier having a planned night to do laundry so it doesn't pile up on you.. Then you only have a few loads a week... and its not considered done till it is folded and put away... just so you know! So I should have it all done by tomorrow night.

Thursday will be "Thoroughly Dusting" Thursday :) I gotta put dusting in there somewhere and there is no day of the week that starts with a D so I added an adjective... That includes dusting the house and cleaning all surfaces... Windex-ing the end tables, etc.

And Finally... Friday will be "Floors Friday"... pretty self explanatory... do all the floors in the house. Vacuum the bedrooms and the rug in the den, mop the tile floors in the kitchen and bath rooms, and clean the wood floors..

I haven't forgotten the kitchen... I clean it every morning! Ha.. I load the dishwasher after dinner each night so I unload it every morning.. and while Brady is sitting in his highchair after breakfast, I can do a spot clean of my kitchen.. shine my sink, clean my counter tops, and all that jazz...

This way the whole house stays clean and you don't waste a whole day doing it all.. just a little bit every day and it doesn't become overwhelming. It might not work for you, but this works for me. I like list, and schedules and having a clean house.. so this lets all of that work together for my good... It might help you out, or you can just call me crazy, but this is how I maintain my house.

Proverbs 31:13

"She works with eager hands"

I'm not sure if you have ever read about the Proverbs 31 woman.. but it is something I have recently came across and I love it.. I am nowhere close to being able to call myself a Proverbs 31 woman but it does give me something to work towards. If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to do so. Women Living Well does a study on this every Wednesday.. She breaks it down verse by verse each week. It is something work checking out if your interested.

Well that's it for me tonight! I know this has been a long post for me.. hopefully you didn't mind it...

till next time,

jenny

A Year of First

2010-02-20T11:58:00.011-06:00

I know this might be a few months late, but this is a video I did from Brady to everyone this Christmas. We gave them as Christmas Presents to our family. It is a sweet video of Brady's first year and all of his wonderful "FIRST"... Hope you enjoy.

John 11:4-

Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's son may be glorified through it."

I claim that verse everyday. I pray that God and his son were glorified through out this sickness. I pray that they will continue to be glorified as Brady gets older and is able to share his testimony to others.

{Watch the Video on Youtube here... sorry it dosen't have any music to it... youtube thought it didn't need it and the video was to large to upload to blogger... the music in the background is "He's my Son" by Mark Schults and toward the end its "Over the Rainbow" by IZ/ IS???... (that large Hawiian guy with the small guitar) }

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

jenny

"Tap Tap Tap..."

2010-02-20T10:52:00.008-06:00

When I was a child I remember going over to my Memaw's house a lot. We would spend the night with her often, and if we were sick and couldn't go to school we would spend the day with her. One of my most vivid memories of staying with her is nap time. We would go get into Gag's king size bed, with the thinnest yet softest sheets ever, and a thick quilt on top... but before we could go to sleep she would reach for it.. it haunts me to this day... you might not know what I am talking about but my family will... "IT" was the Vick's salve!!!

She would get a finger full of salve and rub it under each of our noses and tell us to go to sleep... It never caught on with me. I can sleep just fine without it... but my mom, my sister, and now MY SON must have it before they go to sleep. My mom says it puts her brain to seep... Katie just will not go to sleep without it... and Brady.. Guess who started it ... that's right, NANA did. When he stays at her house she does to him what her mom did to me... all up under his nose.

But obviously he likes it... or should I say LOVES it!! I have gotten in the habit of putting it on him before I put him to bed and he just smiles and lets me tap it on his upper lip. I started making the "tap tap tap"sound when I was doing it so now all I have to say is "tap tap" and he heads straight for his bedroom. Its unreal!! Not only does he respond with a smile and a bee line for his bedroom, but he also repeats me... "tap tap tap" with the biggest smile on his face.

I can't get the boy to say "momma" but he can associate "tap tap tap" to Vick's Salve and he gets so excited about it. I guess he will continue this for the rest of his life like Nana and Katie and Memaw still do.

The only difference is that Brady doesn't only want it smothered on his lip and nose.. he wants the container to hold on to and chew on... He went MAD the other night when I tried to take it from him. I had to show him that I was putting it in the drawer and that it would be there when he woke up... he was still visibly upset. So needless to say he went to sleep holding it and woke up playing with it. Hopefully he wont figure out how to take the top off... that will be a very messy morning.

So in conclusion, I would just like to say THANKS to Memaw, Nana, and I'm sure Katie too for continuing this tradition with the future generations. I can't wait to read Brady's blogs one day to find out what he truly thinks about it all :)

That's what's New-

jenny

Busy Day!

2010-02-19T15:26:00.005-06:00

I am excited to say that today I introduced Brady to Waffle House! And he LOVED it!! I am so glad he did, because Momma loves it too :) He ate a whole waffle (with syrup of course), eggs, and a few grits.. he was not too sure about the hash browns or toast. He finished it all off with Chocolate Milk! Now that is what I call a good lunch! The people in the booth beside us were taken by him. They could not get over how much he was eating... they should see him at a buffet!We tried to get a picture with the cook but he was busy cooking of course... So we did the best that we could. The cook said he has a little boy who loves eggs too, but he was also surprised to see Brady finish a waffle!

By the way, I am not sure if this is the only finger that can reach the teeth that are coming in or what, but this is the finger he chooses to chew on.. which looks sorda weird... I don't want people to get the wrong impression of my precious child, but this works for him, so whatever.After we left Waffle house, we stopped to get some gas. After I got whistled at by the passing trash man, I felt dirty so we went through the car wash.. haha.. no, seriously, Brady hasn't been in a car wash in a while and I wanted to see what he would think...

He was pretty curious about it at first, but as time went on (and I do mean on.. it took forever.. I think it was broken) he started to love it. Every time it would pass his window he would open his mouth real wide .. almost like he was surprised... priceless

I thought that with all that syrup in his system I would take him to the park to release some of that energy.. even though he didn't walk around too much he seemed to have a good time... He like going up and down the slide ( an momma got a good workout doing it) The sun was in his face, but he was smiling...Then he found some "drums" so we played there for a while just patting on them... and it was in the shade so he could open his eyes... he liked this...He spent a few minutes trying to get them to spin like a steering wheel or something, but when he figured out that they were not going to do it he just banged on them some more... That's been our day so far... Its about time for a afternoon nap now that we got the syrup out of his system.

That's whats new,

Jenny

Cupid came a little early...

2010-02-11T21:15:00.003-06:00

This year since Brady is not in daycare (not that I am complaining... I love him being home, but, its Dr.'s orders that he not go to daycare for the time being) so he is missing out on all the fun parties that they throw.... or should I say I am missing out on all those parties :) I can't wait to be that homeroom mom that throws all the parties and decorates out of this world.. but for now I dont get to attend those parties... So, I will make my own, hehehe.

Since Brady was not going to get any little Valentine's Day cards or goodies this year, I decided we would GIVE them. We started with cookies.. homemade... rolled dough cut into shapes.... Just so you know, this was my very first time doing this. I have never rolled dough for cookies in my life! But I sure had fund doing it...

Then came the even funner part... DECORATING THEM!!! Of course, I did all of it, but I put Brady in my lap for a picture or two... I want him to at least look like he was involved when he is looking back on these pictures... Oh, the icing and sprinkles... HOW FUN!! He wasn't too sure, but it was like I was in preschool all over again...

Here are just a few of our masterpeices.... Just like a snow flake, no one alike :)

And look at the lips.... Glamourous lips...

Yes, I am aware that Christmas is over, but this year I decided to keep up my silver tree all year long and decorate it with the seasons... I bought all this decor last year after Valentine's Day for half off... so this year I broke it open and decorated with it... at no cost to me :)

Oh yeah.. we made two pans of rice crispy treats (with pink marshmellows and SPRINKLES) for the fire stations and Police department... Just to show them a little appriciation. FYI- it doesn't have to be Thanksgiving for you to be thankful. Its a good jesture... plus, if you put your address on it, it might make them come faster to your house if you ever needed it... hopefully not though...

I just love my cookies.. they turned out so cute... too bad I never tried one, thats right.. not one bite... I am on a diet after all (that's right.. I lost 14 lbs in the month of January.. Go me!!!

Here is our Valentine's Day tree with all our little goodies... all wrapped in their little baggies that I bought last year for like $0.50!!

Nothing Sweeter :)

And there's my little helper now...

Till next time~

Jenny

Oh when the Saints, go marching in....

2010-02-09T12:50:00.003-06:00

Ok, so, as I am getting older and settling down a little bit, I am finding that I really enjoy football more and more. I watched a few OleMiss games this past season, but I watched more of the Saints. I have several friends who are obsessed with them, which makes watching the games much more fun. It is really just something fun to do... expecially when others around you are going for the same team. I enjoy getting into it with everyone else. Not that I am jumping on the "Saints band wagon" or anything, but after watching this past season and after Sunday's Superbowl, I would say that I am truely a Saints fan!! And, I just can't say enough about Drew Brees... he is an outstanding man. I was watching an interview he did that I found on Youtube and I was just taken back. He is into giving back to the City of New Orleans and considers his disicion to come to New Orleans a "Calling" from God. You should watch this interview... Click the link above for that video :) And just look at this picture... I mean, there are no words... Such a sweet moment for them... Alrighty then... See ya next year Saints Fans!! "WHO DAT"

Beauty tips and Favorite Products!

2010-02-08T21:53:00.012-06:00

Kelly's Korner is doing another "Show us how you live" blog and this time it should be pretty fun! I have always LOVED hair and makeup products :) even if I don't wear make up everyday, I still like having it. Chris jokes that I am a Make-up and hair product hoarder... oh well, we all have something... Let's start with hair. Seeing as how I did go to hair school and I am a licensed cosmetologist (not in practice) I love having fun hair products around... and, of course, Paul Mitchell is my favorite...

My hair school was Paul Mitchell and then I went on to become a National Educator for Paul Mitchell Systems so naturally I have tons of their products and tons of product knowledge, which makes it better :) Extra Body is my favorite line... cause " Big hair makes your butt look smaller"... I gotta have some body in my hair and their Extra Body finishing spray and Firm Finishing Spray are always on stock in my house... and I have a travel size one in my purse. I love that stuff !

Next, My favorite smoothing iron ever is the Paul Mitchell Smoothing iron.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! However, my smoothing Iron recently went out :( I have had it since I was in hair school 5 years ago and I love it... unfortunately they no longer make the original one.. and since I haven't tried any of their new ones yet so I don't know what I'm gonna do...My hair has been large and wild for a week or so now so I gotta do something soon. Ok.. on to skin care... Every night for several years now I have washed my face with the same stuff my mom washes her face with... I smell like her when I go to bed.. its a very familiar smell... It smells like home :) Its Pond's!!! and not the new stuff, the classic Cold Cream... My favorite "guilty pleasure" of all is ... drum roll please.... MAC MAKEUP BRUSHES!!!!

I am obsessed with them, I don't think I will ever be able to have enough of them.. as a matter of fact, I spent Saturday night shampooing my brushes while coloring my hair... some may think "Lame" but I enjoy it! I keep and inventory of the one's I have in my phone in case I make and impulse stop at a MAC store and just NEED a new one... (they also make great Valentine's Day gifts... hint, hint, honey!)

And with my Mac Brushes, I love playing with my eyeshadow... here lately, I have worn a smokey eye using blacks and some days browns but on the occasion, I love a wild color.. and I have tons of MAC colors... Don't be surprised one day if you see me out like this...

And, on a final note.. my favorite nail polish is, of course, OPI.. my favorite color now is "Lincoln Park After Dark" ..

This is not that color, but I thought this one was pretty too...

ANYWAY- That is a list of my favorites and timeless beauty tips and products.. I am currently into watching YOUTUBE and other websites to get more tips and techniques and some of my favorites are...

Miss Jessica Harlow & Fashion Face

Alright, that's it for me.. See you guys next time... Hope you enjoyed it :)

Jenny

Eyes Straight Ahead...

2010-02-04T16:52:00.004-06:00

Brady had his long awaited eye surgery yesterday and has been GREAT all day long! His surgery went well too... We had to be at Blair E Batson at 6:00am yesterday (which made for a long day). Nana and Poppy came by to wish him well. Nana stayed for the duration but Poppy, of course, got a death call and had to go... Some things never change :)

He got to wear the baby blue gown for his surgery. Every time we have stayed there we got the mint green or yellow, but never the blue... it made his eyes look even more beautiful than they already are.

Chris and I got to go back with him to see the Doctors and the "put you to sleep" Doctor... I can never spell that, so I won't try... By the time we got back there, his "verset" (loopy medicine) started working and he looked as if he was floating on a cloud. He was so fascinated with my hair, and he would just laugh. He flirted with the lady nurses too! What a stud!

We handed him off to the nurse with the promise that she would take good care of him. I believed her. Not once did I feel uneasy about this surgery. I wasn't nervous at all. Either I am getting hard to all this sick baby and hospital stuff, or I have complete faith that the Doctors will do what they do to the best of their ability and if they can't Jesus will step in... Either way, I had a peace. A peace that I firmly believe I would not have if I were not a believer. And that peace comes in many circumstances, not just surgery. Its good to know you always have someone on your side.

They called the waiting room a little after 8:00am and said that Dr. Carron had already clipped his tonugue ( just something we thought we would go ahead and tackle while he was under) and Dr. Mungan was about to begin his eye part. After 45-50 mins the nurse came and got me so I could be with him when he woke up. He was so swollen and his right eye was bleeding and oozing a little more than the left so they patched it up. He looked like he had just gotten mugged... so pitiful. I hated to see him hurting like that. No mother ever wants to see her baby hurting.

After an hour in recovery and a few sips of water later, we were gone. They gave him morphine after the surgery so he was really hard to wake up.. he just wanted to sleep and not be bothered. He slept the whole way home and until 3:00PM that evening... (so did momma and daddy) So naturally he was up last night!! YAY for us!

He is doing great today, you wouldn't even think that he just had surgery yesterday... he is so resilient. He is so strong, brave, happy... There are not enough words I could use to describe that son of mine. What a year he has had! We are at the 1 year marker from our IS diagnosis and this is a much better place than we were in a year ago... this is no where near where we thought we would be today. He is truly a miracle! Ask any Doctor who saw him then and now... We still bring our Neurologist to tears.. she is so pleased with is progress!

Thanks to everyone for the year of prayers! Hard to believe its been a year, but TRUST ME, it has!

Until the whole world hears,

Jenny

Fa la la la la... la la la la!

2009-12-14T16:46:00.005-06:00

Hello ALL and Merry Christmas to you! I am so happy to be doing the tour of homes this year! I have been wanting to do it ever since last year when I found it and read just about all 800 post! I also got some great ideas from the tour last year, so I thought I would give it a try this year.

As you can see, my style is very modern and as my very traditional husband would say... "festive". I decided to go with all the bright bold colors this year. Plus, anything I could find with glitter was a MUST!

I will start you off with my kitchen table.. probably the most traditional part of the house..

Here is Brady's very first picture with Santa Clause last year... What a difference a year makes.

I love the floor mat here.. found it at Lowe's last year...

Here is a picture of my TREE! Oh, I just loved how this turned out!!! The red mesh and the glittery curly sprigs just make it, don't you think?

Here is a full body shot... no presents yet :( But I just got that tree skirt in last week, it matches the stockings we got last year.

Here are some of my favorite ornaments...

The purple peacock came from Michael's.. it is sorda my inspiration for all the decor. There are several of these hiding through out the house...

Here is our mantel and stockings! Love them! They are pretty traditional too, red and green...

And here is the wreath above the mantle where my husband's Christmas present will be soon :) Bet you can't guess what that will be, huh?

Here is the Garland above the cabinets in the kitchen... I love how every strand of garland looks the same in the house. It really ties it all together...

Here are the dogs stockings...not on the mantle because they don't match... and that would drive me crazy. So we found them a home on the bookshelf...

In Brady's room we have a small tree with special ornaments we have received so far. We got this set from my mom for our first Christmas married...

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you loved it as much as I do...

From my family to yours... Merry CHRISTmas! May you be truly blessed this holiday season.

Jenny

O Christmas Tree... O Christmas trees...

2009-12-07T13:11:00.005-06:00

Its almos time for The Nesters Tour of Homes 2009, but before I do that, I will do the Kelly's Corner Show us how you live: Christmas Trees!!!

I am real excited about this one because I am real excited about my Christmas tree this year.

This is my Christmas tree this year! I have had the tree but last year I did a silver and pink color scheme and this year I went with all bright bold colors! It is FABULOUS!! I haven't got the tree skirt in yet, but it has been ordered to match my stockings so hopefully SOON I can show you a picutre of that too! Next year I might just have one in every room. They are so fun to decorate!! See you soon for the full tour! Jenny

Its beginning to look a lot like.... fall!!

2009-09-24T17:20:00.002-05:00

Today was my first trip to Hobby Lobby for FALL DECOR and I was like a kid in a candy store!! I love decorating my house and every year i accumulate more and more.. but I wish I could do it all at one time, oh well. So here is my haul: Grape vine wreath: $4.95 Fall Swag: $39.99 (50% off) so only $20.00! Sunflowers (x2): $3.00 each after discount Pumpkins (x3): $1.50 each after discount so all in all I only spent $37.00 for my fall wreath! Brady hiding behind the wreath...

Katie working on tying on these pumpkins

and straightening up the leaves... i swear I helped, but someone had to take pictures

and the grand finale.....

I absolutely love the final outcome! Cant wait to get to the mantel and centerpiece!!!!!

Whats for dinner Wednesday?!?!?!

2009-09-23T20:22:00.003-05:00

CREAM CHEESE RIGATONI

Ingredients:

-1lb Rigatoni Pasta

-1lb ground beef

-1 jar of Prego (I didn't use the whole thing)

-1 Tbsp Parsley

-1 cup sour cream

-1 cup softened cream cheese

-1 egg

- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil (not sure where to use this but i coated the baking dish with it before baking)

-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

-salt and pepper to taste

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees... cook pasta and drain... brown beef in skillet, season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, simmer for 10 mins...

*In a bowl, mix sour cream, egg, cream cheese... stir in spaghetti sauce... add one cup of shredded cheese.... stir in ground beef... place in casserole dish (first pasta then cheese sauce on top)...*sprinkle the top with the rest of the cheese and parsley...*Bake 25-35 mins ... I served with garlic bread! It was very very very good.... but it makes a ton... make sure you are feeding more than two people (unlike myself) we will have leftovers for a week! Tomorrow will be a chicken dish... Meat Monday, Chicken Tuesday, Meat Wednesday... so naturally we will be having a chicken dish tomorrow night.... stay tuned!

Whats for dinner Tuesday?!?!?!

2009-09-22T22:00:00.004-05:00

CHICKEN PARMESAN

Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast 2 eggs beaten 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs 2 tbsp veggie oil 1 1/2 shredded mozzarella cheese 1 jar of prego (that is my choice of spaghetti sauce) Preheat oven to 375 degrees -dip chicken breast in eggs then bread crumbs ( see picture)

then into the frying pan... heat oil on medium/high in large skillet....brown chicken on each side then drain on paper towel... in baking dish, arrange chicken breast on spaghetti sauce...then cover with remaining sauce and cheese...bake 25 mins or until chicken is no longer pink... then serve!!! I served with salad and roll.

This one was one of my all time favorite meals! So good and so easy to make. I will be making it again! See you tomorrow with cream cheese Rigatoni!

Whats for dinner Monday?!?!

2009-09-22T18:21:00.003-05:00

So I am going to cook supper every night this week starting last night and I thought it could be intresting to make a dinner blog... so here we go...

MEAT MUFFINS (not sure if that is there real name or not but it fits)

-3/4 ground beef

-1/2 cup of ketchup

-1 tbsp mustard

-1 tbsp brown sugar

-1 can biscuits

-1/2 shredded cheese

preheat oven to 400 degrees, brown beef and drain,

mix ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar together to make a bbq sauce

add that sauce to the beef

seperate dough into biscuts and put them into cup form in a muffin pan

add beef to the dough cups

bake 10mins until the biscuts start to brown

sprinkle the tops with chees while hot

*chris said i could have sprinkled more cheese but other than that they were pretty good... and very easy to make. I served with shells and cheese! Yumm-O... dinner is served!

August Catch-Up Blog...

2009-09-02T21:45:00.004-05:00

Yeah Yeah.. so I go for a while with out blogging, then I try to catch you up on what you missed... So here is my best... Brady is a crawling machine right now.. well, he is up then down, belly crawling, scooting, whatever! He is getting where he needs to go and he is doing well! Another development step that we have achieved! He is doing therapy every Thursday and that is going well. She comes out to the house and works with him for about an hour so that is GREAT! I have been trying to get more into my new hobby..."paper crafts"... cards, tags, labels, gift wrapping, etc.. I realized that you can go as deep into this as you want to.. you can spend as much as you want to too! I am addicted to Hobby Lobby and Michael's right now... but the want list is endless... so I don't dwell on it. Chris put a shelf over my "craft desk" so I have more storage (but nothing to store). Oh well, It will come... Just know that if you will be getting a card from me, it will be hand-made.. and right now, they are not tooooo good! But hey, I'm learning. I have recently started walking... and I have been everyday this week! GO ME! I tried the 6:00 in the morning thing, but that ain't working... Plus the weather has been too perfect in the afternoons not to! Brady enjoys it too, of course I am doing all the walking! Mom and Katie just got back from Nicaragua with a fabulous story about a 5 month old baby that they saw in their "make shift" clinic... out in a village deep in Nicaragua... The mom brought in her baby girl and complained to them of "nerve problems". You have to understand that when anyone within a 100 mile radius gets wind of a FREE medical clinic coming to the village of Nicaragua...everyone shows up!!! It doesn't matter if they are the spitting image of health.. some of them have never seen a Dr. in their lives, so they come and bring the whole family to see one. Back to my story, the mother was saying that her baby had nerve problems. Well, it just so happened that she gave the baby to Katie (sister). And after a few moments of holding her, Katie witnessed what she surely thought she would never... the babies legs went stiff, her eyes deviated, her head dropped.. the baby thousands of miles away in Nicaragua was having an infantile spasm. Katie immediately called for my mom to come over there and see what she had just seen. She also called for Teresa, the Nurse Practitioner that works with Brady's Neurologist (coincidence... don't think so) to come over. That sweet baby was in fact having infantile spasms... Something someone else might have overlooked if they were not introduced to it because of Brady's story. That baby was sent to Katie, Momma, and Teresa.. 3 women from Mississippi who just so happened have been affected by infantile spasms months earlier. I believe everything happens for a reason. And , as far as I am concerned, this could very well be the reason that my Brady was ever affected by them. Had he have never had his spasms, that baby girls spasms could have never been diagnosed and treated. This reminds me that God has a plan, even if you don't know what it is today, be patient and let him show you. Just thought I would share that information with you.. Maybe you needed to hear it. Maybe you could use good news, or proof of Gods Plan. I hope it does you good, maybe even strengthens your relationship with God, as it has mine... as this whole adventure has. He will never leave us or forsake us.. that is his promise. Here is the first footage we got of Brady crawling. It was at Mrs Patty, Sissy, and Didda's birthday party.. he did not think we were watching him, but he was going after Sissy's laptop...

Happy birthday to all of them by the way!

I am trying to get the finishing touches on Brady's birthday party. Can you believe he will be a year old in a month!!! What a year! Man, it sure flys by fast. Of course, I am hand making the invites (half way done). It will be at the ZOO! I love the zoo! oh, and of course Brady will too :) Chris is not too sure about it, but it will be fun!

We also went on vacation this month!! Gulf Shores! It was a great get-a-way for Chirs and me. We left the baby with mom and dad and they had a blast with him! We ate so good! It was great spending time with Chris' brother and sister and her family. We don't get to see them enough (well, Ryan we do, but not Trisha) It was great making family memories with our niece and nephew! They had a ball at the beach! Thank you to Mrs Patty for that!

Ok, I think your caught up through August. I will try to do better next month :)

Love,

Jenny

What a day, What a Testimony

2009-08-11T16:37:00.003-05:00

Today we went for Brady's "swallow study". Because he has been on bottle strike for 5 weeks now, we needed to check and see if when he does get liquids, its going down the right pipe. He had the "hand, foot, and mouth" virus the first week of July and he has not taken a bottle since then. Its been pretty aggravating because a baby has to have fluids, even I know that, but my baby refuses any type of liquid!! I have been syringing him fluids for the past month so he doesn't dehydrate and let me tell you, its getting old! We put him behind this x-ray machine and had him take different consistencies of liquids from the spoon and everything seemed to go down right but when I did it with the syringe, it went straight down to his lungs!! So needless to say, we will NOT be syringe feeding him anymore! After that test I went over to the Medical Mall (not in the best part of town) to turn in a application to get him in with the feeding specialist to see if maybe she had any suggestions. Well, we walked in and the feeding specialist was in the lobby with another specialist and the lady who authorizes applications so she asked if we could just see her today! "Are you kidding me?? Can we? I have been force feeding my son for 5 weeks! Yes we can see you!!" So we did. (and it just so happened that the application got approved right away! (which normal takes a couple of weeks) Isn't God Good? So we had a long visit with her. She watched him eat and watched what he did when I tried to give him a bottle and she said he just associates liquids with pain. He had soars in his mouth during the Hand foot and mouth virus and it hurt to eat, and since then we have been traumatizing him with a syringe!!! So, naturally, he doesn't want anything to do with a liquid. But we are gonna thicken it up and see if that doesn't work any better. It did while we were there, so I am very encouraged! This has been a very frustrating few weeks! Probably the most frustrated I have been as a parent so far and to know that there is now someone with suggestions ... that is such a relief! Oh yeah, after we left the "swallow study" we got a call from the Neurologist saying that Brady has a perfectly normal awake EEG yesterday. And he no longer has the diagnosis of "infantile spasms"!! This catastrophic, devastating, seizure disorder did not win over my Brady. We have God on our side and there is nothing that can't do, no sickness that he can't heal. I give God all the glory for this one and one day Brady will to! What a testimony he already has. Thank you all for your prayers! They were heard. He was healed! Jenny

Scared of the Cookie Monster!

2009-08-04T18:30:00.002-05:00

Well, I have finally found something that Brady is not too fond of! The moving, laughing, vibrating, cookie monster! It freaks him out!! You have to watch this.. I took it away as soon as I made this video.. but it was too cute not to share.

By the way, I believe this was a gift from Nana and Poppy! HAHA.. dont worry, I wont tell him who its from...

First day of Occupational Therapy

2009-07-23T16:31:00.003-05:00

Today was our first day of O.T. ( it was more like an evaluation to see what we gotta work on) either way, Brady did great! He just loved Ashley! He is a big flirt!! She is going to start coming out weekly to get Brady doing things that he shold be doing at his age and hes not.. We have noticied such a big improvement since we have taken him off all his meds already. In the past month alone we have stopped Topamax, Phenobarb, Hydrocortizone, Prevacid, and ACTH! So even without the therapy he has already come so far. So this should help even more.

We also saw Dr. Parker today! We love seeing Dr. Parker. She absolutely loves Brady (who wouldn't?) and he absolutely loves her. Our bi- weekly visits are now going to be every 6 weeks! We will miss seeing her as often, but we are glad that Brady man is improving so well! She is very pleased with his progress and has scheduled another EEG just to make sure everything is as good as it seems to be! She seems to think that the reason for Brady's all the sudden panic at bedtime is seperation anxiety!! She said 9-12 months is when they start this and that is right where he is. So now I dont feel like there is anything wrong with him when he just all the sudden starts crying when I put him down... and I can finally explain to Chris that he is not spoiled.. He is supposed to be doing that! He just wants his mommy! and there is nothing wrong with that!

Tonight Chris has invited all his family over for supper.. His sister and her kids are down from Southaven and his Aunt is back in town from work so it will be a good reunion. It will be the first time that we have all been together since the funeral (Chris' dads). I think it is good to keep in contact with your family so I am glad we are doing it! Chris and I just got back from Bay St Louis with my family. We went to the MS funeral Dirctors Association convention. We had a great time! The first night there, all 5 of my siblings and their significant others were there and my Memaw and we had a great time at dinner then at the Casino! It will take Brady weeks to get back on a schedule but we had a good time. So did he!

Till next time,

Jenny

PS- T minus 6 days till my 25th birthday!! Just a reminder!

Here is Chris and Brady in the hotel hanging out-

Today is all we have

2009-07-15T17:52:00.004-05:00

Tonight Josh and Katie are keeping Brady so Chris and I can meet Trisha and Ryan and see Harry Potter!! I am super excited! I am also missing my baby already. Which has me thinking, what am I going to do with myself when my baby is healed, fixed, recovered, back to normal, just a typical child and I have to put him back in daycare. Now, I know this is what all mothers of babies go through when they first put their little ones in daycare for the first time.. but I'm not "all mothers" and brady is not just"any child". He is ...my baby, he is funny, he is laughing at things for no reason now, just out of the blue; he is smiling at me and bouncing at me when I walk into his room to get him out of his crib EVERY time; he reconizes me as his mom; he clapps his hands and smiles when I shout "YAY"; he is rolling around everywhere, until he hits a wall, then he rolls back; he is up on all fours rocking, just trying to crawl, he is sitting up all by himself, then just crashes back for no reason; he loves the water, bath tub or pool; he jumps in his bouncer all the time! I think he would stay in it all day long if I let him; in the middle of fussing, he laughs; he never cries.. i mean NEVER cries! He is a happy child. He is my child.

Now, for those of you with children, you know these are normal things. But when something happens to your child, your infant child, and there is a possibility that none of those things could ever happen and they do... that's amazing. Every little thing that Brady does is amazing to me. Every little milestone is amazing. Every new thing he does is another reason (on the ever growing list) to give thanks to Jesus Christ. We thought there was a chance he wouldn't see, and he sees; we thought he might not develop, and as you read, he is doing great; Now we don't know what the future holds but I know who holds the future. God hasen't promised us tomorrow yet we are so quick to make "plans". I have never really lived for the day until I became a parent and now I live for every single minute. I cant wait to watch Brady grow and Prosper, but first I am going to enjoy every second I have with him. The same way I should live every single day of my life. We are not promised tomorrow.. Live for today! Rejoyce for today! Be amazed everyday! Life is too short and too fragile and too precious not to take it all in. If your not happy, get happy! If your sad, get glad! If you depressed, snap out of it! Today is all we have.. Today is all we have. Why dont people get that? Be thankful for what you have, be grateful, be compassionate, be pleasant, be respectful, be positive... Love your neighbors, Love everyone.

By the way, I think I must be suffering from PMS .. this just came out of nowhere! I guess it needed to be said. I'm glad he used me to say it.

Because he lives, I live.

Jenny

Home from Memphis

2009-06-14T12:48:00.003-05:00

We got home Friday from Memphis (earlier than we thought) and Brady is doing great! He was hooked up to his EEG leads fror about 48 hours and was recorded the whole time, (VEEG). That crazy kid of mine did not have the first spasm or siezure the whole time he was hooked up! But they played with his medicines and we even cut some meds out completely! Dr. Wheeles took him completely off his Phenobarbatol and Topamax and started him on Depakene (the liquid form of Depacoat). He also gave us a new ACTH schedule that will have Brady getting off his ACTH in 2 weeks!!! We should also be getting off the Hydrocortizone and Prevacid at that time too! So that will be a total of 5 medicines that Brady will be off in 2 short weeks if everything goes to plan! What a blessing!!! I dont know that I am going to know what to do with myself if I dont have to give him medicine at breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I hope this works and the Spasms go away forever and never come back!! I pray they dont evolve into another type of seizure also! I Pray this is it for all of that!! I pray he gets his personality back, he gets his developement on track, and he continues to grow and develope normally as a health boy would. We will follow up with our neurologist Dr. Parker Thursday but we will go in to check his levels monday and again the following Monday. We should go back to Memphis to follow up with Dr. Wheeles after we take him off the ACTH. I pray we go back with a different child.. completly healed of IS forever! In Jesus' Name.. Amen!

Here is Brady when they were taking him down for MRI.. he is about too big for this little newborn bed, dont ya think?

And here he is in his room.. EEG leads on his head, and IV in his foot.. sitting up in his stroller!

Memphis Bound tonight!

2009-06-09T16:59:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick update on my little man ...Well, he has started having the spasms again. They have been gradually getting worse over the past couple of days so we have gone back up on the medicine that we should have already stopped!! (little frustrating) We are back up to the starting dose and everyday again. Our great Dr. Parker sent in a referral to Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, TN yesterday morning and we got a call this morning saying that they just happen to have a cancellation for tomorrow and asked if we could come on up... oh, by the way, the next appointment was not till late July, so this was a big deal. Oh yeah, and it just so happens that the Doctor on call all week just happens to be world renowned in his field of Pediatric Epilepsy and he come highly recommended from or Dr. here. And Chris' mom has offered her van for us to take up there to make the ride and loading and unloading much easier and Chris' cousin Katherine has offered us a place to stay tonight when we get there... (Coincidence ??? I think not) It seems like God has his hand in this one big time. It is obvious that that is where we need to be this week so we are packing now! We have to be there at 5:45 IN THE MORNING!!! for the start of many test.. MRI and EEG tomorrow morning. We will be staying in the room with him all week (4-7 days). The rooms are equipt with beds for 2 adults, a fridge, and microwave so we dont need to rent a hotel or anything. Chris will be taking us up there and getting all the info tomorrow and then my mom will come up to stay with us to help out with Brady.. He will be hooked up to his EEG leads for a while and I am not to sure how that is going to work.. now that he is rolling around and pulling at things. We are hoping to be back Sunday with some new Plan of Action. So please keep us in your prayers, expecially my Brady. We want these siezures and spasms to stop!! Pray for us as we travel, my mom too! I will keep you updated with any news as soon as I get a chance. Pray Pray Pray!

Jenny

Dancing Queen!

2009-05-25T11:42:00.003-05:00

This is my niece Arrington dancing away to Luke and Savannah singing YMCA on American Idol Karaoke! This video is going to be about the same for her as my perm video was for me! Enjoy...

Here are a few more of Arrington trying to get Brady up to play with her.. He is just as big if not bigger than she is now and she dosent understand why he wont play!! :)

Bitter Sweet

2009-05-24T10:23:00.009-05:00

So it seems I have let my blogging get behind so I will attempt to catch you up with this one. This has been a very up and down month already! Up in the fact that Brady is doing better. No spasms, had a much improved EEG taken on May 13, only 3 weeks left on this medicine. Down in the fact that also on May 13 we lost Chris' dad, my father-in-law, and Brady's pawpaw to cancer. He had been battling and I do mean battling this cancer since the week of our wedding a year and a half ago. Mr David gave it all he had. He did what the Dr.s said, he did every kind of chemo they had to offer, but after all that chemo he still lost a very long, hard, courageous battle. We are so happy with the memories that we have with him. (Chris' 29 years, my 8 years, and Brady's 7 months of memories) We are also so very glad that we have great pictures of him with Brady. Mr. David will never be forgotten. Brady will know all the great things he did, and how much he loved him.

This is Mr. David with Brady and Wyatt (Brady's cousin) the day after Brady was bornMr. David, with Chris and Brady Thanksgiving 2008Brady with PawPaw in February 2008The last pictures taken with them together 18 days before Mr. David passed away.

These are great memories for Brady and for our family. Mr. David truely loved Brady and we are truly appreciative of the time we each got to spend with him. He will be missed greatly.

In another note, Brady is doing extremely well with his treatment. Like I said before, no spasms! His EEG was not 100% but it was much improved. They are still seeing some spikes in different areas of his brain but his neuroligist says that is to be expected. We have taken his dose down yet again to .12 (from .37 to .30 to .24) and next will we will drop it to .6!! which is just a drop! He is truely a miracle baby. The Doctor's had told us at the beginning of this journey that we could expect some REgressing in his development, loss of muscle tone, and just an overall not developing on tract with others his age. Well, I am here to tell you that Brady has started Rolling over!, he is trying so so very hard to crawl and sit up! He is doing everything that he should be doing and we couldn't be happier! God is in controll of my son, not the medicine! Continue to Pray because HE is hearing your prayers, and HE is faithful to answer them. Here is a little more about what all has gone on this month.. in pictures...

Brady getting pushed around (already) by his cousin Arrington

Brady's first 4-wheeler ride with Poppy! He is out like a light!

Brady's first time in the pool and he LOVED it!

Brady with his GeeGee and Aunt Didda

Brady with "Cole" and Katherine

Brady in his Daddy's old high chair at his GeeGee's house

Chris, Brady and me Mother's Day 2009 at his Baby Dedication service

Happy Mother's Day in deed!

Brady with Nanna and Poppy at lunch after church on Mother's Day

All the children (except Josh) Mother's Day 2009 with Mom and Memaw

Brady with his Best Friend Forever Sawyer!

Brady and me making Chris a meatloaf .. I hate meatloaf and I have never tried to cook a meatloaf, but we wanted to make daddy a special supper and I think we succedded!

Brady had a hand in preparing the meal too!

And here is the end result! Love my bowls?!?!? Me too! thanks GeeGee!

Chris and Brady in a stare-off! Wonder who will win?

As you can tell, it has been a crazy few weeks. We will go back to the Doctor the first week of June, but I will try to keep you updated on what goes on till then!

Take Care till then

Jenny

Need a good Laugh?

2009-05-06T21:22:00.003-05:00

OH he is just going to hate me one day!! But Chris saw this at Northpark last night and had to buy it!! I bet you cant look at this and not smile :) Just a smiling like his momma! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

March of Dimes 5k

2009-05-06T20:50:00.003-05:00

Ok.. so for those of you guys who know me, you know walking isn't my thing... sweating in any form or fashion isn't my thing. I am all for inside and air conditioning! But when asked by my sister to do a 5k walk for the March of Dimes, for some strange reason, I agreed. March of Dimes is for all of those sweet preemies that spend the first part of their tiny lives in the NICU without any control over what happens to them. Now my Brady was not born early, but for complications that were out of our control, he did have to spend time in the NICU. We were not in then NICU very long, but nevertheless, we were still in there and I know the heartache of a parent who has to do the "3 minute" scrub down just to go see their precious baby. So I decided to do the walk. To help raise money and awareness for the March of Dimes organization. Brady and myself went to Ridgeland with my sister Allie, Sister in Law Brittany, and her two children Riley and Halea. After meeting up at the Baptist Hospital tent and doing a quick warm up (not really) we started walking from The Renaissance on Highland Colony Rd and walked 1.5 miles up Highland Colony Road and then 1.5 miles back!!!!!!!!!!! While pushing Brady! Allie Draging Riley, and Brittany hitching a ride with Halea because she got a Blister on her foot!! Haha! I just kept repeating under my breath, "this is for the babies... all those sick babies" WOW! I am telling you! If I am going to continue with with whole walking thing (and that's a big HUGE if) then i am going to need some new shoes! I even had a Blister at the end of the day! But God is good, it was overcast and Breezy that morning.. oh did i mention that I had to be there at 8:30! I wouldn't even recognize me if I didn't know it was me :) I am glad I did it though. And I know Brady is glad we did it too!

Allie, Me, Brittany, Riley, Brady, and Halea Before the walkThis is Brady's special friend Brandy. She was his nurse when he was in the NICU. It was great seeing her again and I know she was glad to see Brady. She is pregnant with her second child so Congratulations Brandy!! (from Brady and me!)

Riley and Halea with Brittany in the Ambulance. It was there incase people like myself didnt make it! haha.. Kidding! (or am I?)

Mr. Brady after the 3 mile walk.. Dosen't even look out of breath does he? He is acutally just waking up!! Lucky boy!

Till next time

Jenny

"Eye" can see!!

2009-05-02T13:31:00.003-05:00

As promised... We went yesterday to the eye dr. We have really been looking forward to this because since birth, we have been concerned about his vision. The blood clot had damaged a part in his brain that dealt with visual interpertation and we didnt know if that was going to affect his ability to see or not. The first couple of months of life it was pretty obvious that he couldnt see well. He would not follow anything or focus on anything. He wasnt reaching for any toys or trying to roll over. We were obviously pretty concerned. The past couple of weeks have been a complete difference!! He can find you from across the room and will focus on you and follow you wherever you go. He will find you up close, which was another problem, and just smile at you. He is reaching for toys and for faces. Just a completely different baby. The Doctor we saw was dr Mungan @ UMC. He was great. His staff was wonderful and I even met another mom of a 7 month old in the waiting room and we talk and compared babies the whole time. He gave us a great report!! After Dilating Brady's eyes :) hehehe, he was able to look at his eyes and tell that he would not need glasses. He was impressed with his fixing and following. He didnt follow so well on the right side (his blood clot was on the left side and the brain is opposite) so that makes sence. He thinks that will correct itself in time. The baby's brain is an ever evolving organ that will change so much so I really feel strongly that when we go back in 6 months we will see that corrected!! He did, however, get "Memaw" sunglasses as I like to call them. They remind me of my Memaw. Every time you get in her car she has a couple of pairs in her cup holders. When we were kids we would all wear them when we rode with her. So I couldnt wait to get Brady in his new pair! And I made him wear him as we walked out of the hospital!! He got a lot of looks and laughs. He will hunt me down one day, but I dont care. You can't tell me that's not the funniest thing you've ever seen!!!

Praise God AGAIN!! Another Miracle for my baby!

Jenny

What a BUSY month!

2009-05-01T16:40:00.004-05:00

I know its been a while but I am going to try my hardest to update you about the month of April without leaving anything out! We have been to the Dr. twice since our last post and both times we have been given GREAT reports! We have dropped the ACTH dose twice now from .37 to .3 now to .24!! Brady is responding beautifully to it too! We are getting to take him more places now because his immune system is growing stronger, but now thanks to the swine flu we might cut that back... Brady has had a few visitors this month. He finally got to see Aunt Trisha! Its has been a while but she came over and gave him a bottle. We are glad we got to spend time with her this month! He also got a visit from Aunt Brandi! After several attempts at a picture we finally got a "decent" one... even though he sorda has a crazy look on his face :)And of course we got to go visit Nana and Poppy at work! He always loves doing that and I am pretty sure they dont mind either...

Good picture Nana! But Brady has on his mad face.. you cant see his smile because of those cheeks! haha

And we cant forget about Brady's first visit from the Easter Bunny! We didnt get to go to church Easter Sunday but Jesus understands.. We will be there next year though... Here is Brady very excited about Easter... you can just see his excitement .. haha

But here is all his Easter Baskets from Nana, Aunt Sissy and Aunt Brandi! (dont tell Brady that his momma didnt get him one, I thought he had enough)

Last week we had two very special visitors! Gee Gee and Pawpaw!! Since Pawpaw has been sick it has been pretty hard to get these two guys together but we managed to do it saturday. Chris finally got to BBQ some chicken and PawPaw and Brady got to hang out a little bit...

Paw Paw even let Brady wear his hat! Which looked Great on him by the way!!

Since then, Brady's PawPaw (Chris' dad) got put back in the hospital. He got some pretty bad news this month that his cancer was no longer responding to the chemo that they are giving him. There is a different type of Chemo that they can try that will be a trial and if that dosent work they may look into going to Texas to a hospital that specializes in Cancer. Please continue to pray for him .. he is a David Wooten, just like our little David Brady Wooten and these guys have been battling illnesses for way too long now. Pray we get a miracle or at least some relief. God hears your prayers and he is faithful to answer them. Please Pray for these two guys!

You can tell summer is coming in Mississippi! It is already in the 80's and feeling every bit of it. Brady got some pool time at Nana and Poppy's house last weekend and I can not quite laughing every time i see this picture.. all he is missing is an umbrella for his drink and a lady fanning him off! what a riot!!

We have also had some major milestones this month! He had begun playing with toys! He loves this toy .. he just spins it and spins it while he is waiting on his waitress..errr.. mommy to make his meals. He is also rolling over now. I know its a little later that usual but he is 23 pounds and every bit of it! It has to be hard to get all that moving... haha! He has also learned to squeel this month and boy does he love to do that! He hits notes that I have never heard in my life! He laughs, he simile, he sings, he rolls, he plays, he sleeps great... all that is proof that HE LIVES! Praise God every day for what Brady is accomplishing. He is surpassing his Dr.s expectations. They are truely amazed at his progress. I know he will be fine.

Ok! You are now updated on our lives! HaHa!! We did go to the Eye dr today but I have got to get that picture from my phone to my computer so I can tell that miracle story to you! Watch out for that blog next!

Praise God,

Jenny

Just another exciting day...

2009-04-08T14:30:00.007-05:00

Well we went to the Dr today and it looks like the spasms he is having have decreased a lot! They finally read the EEG and said it looks good. He is starting to have a little more seizure activity out of his temperal lobe so we are going to start him on yet another seizure medicine... But the good news is we should start taking him off the other 2 seizure meds he is currently on pretty soon. This is great news to me!! The spasms (which are the big deal) are going away and the injections are working!!! So we are going to keep on keeping on. We are starting week 4 of the shots .. only 8 more to go after that. I know this will work!

In other news today is mine and Chris' 8 year dating anniversary!!! yes...8 years! So Happy Anniversary babe! and here is to at least 8 more :) This was us on my 18th birthday 6 1/2 years ago...When we got home we ate a late lunch and Brady thought he could feed himself so I let him try.. Then he wouldn't give me the spoon back so I could finish feeding him..

Thank God for good news!! and thank you for your prayers!

Jenny & Brady

The Power of Prayer

2009-04-07T13:46:00.003-05:00

Look at that Happy Boy! Now you might not think this is a big deal, but since Brady has been on all this medicine and since he has been having all of these seizures, it is VERY VERY VERY rare that we get a smile out of him. And usually he has a blank stare on his face and he smiles quickly then its over. I have seen him smile two or three times in the last couple of weeks even the past month. But when I woke him up from his morning nap and put him on his changing table.. like i used to do... he gave me the biggest grin!! So I ran and got my camera and he did it again for me. That is proof that under this fussy, miserable, medicated baby my Brady is still there! I prayed so hard last night and obviously so did a lot of people. I take this as a good sign.. Just wanted to share!

P.S. - Incase I didnt explain it very well, this medicine that he is on is going to make him gain quite a bit of weight (obviously) But as soon as we stop the medicines it should go back to normal. That is why he looks soo round faced.. I didn't even notice it bad until I saw this picture :)

My new Guilty Pleasure...

2009-04-07T10:45:00.002-05:00

I watched Oprah today (it was yesterday's show) and I can not wait to get this book! I was laughing out loud while I was watching it! The writers are too funny. The stories are spot on about the whole motherhood thing. This is actually the newest in a series of books by the same authors. (I was a really good mom before I had kids... Dirty Little secrets from otherwise perfect moms)I am not a reader by anymeans but this is something I think I can relate to. But since I am budgeting right now I might just go to the bookstore and read a chaper every time I get the chance.. haha.

First trip to the E.R.

2009-04-06T23:07:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful boy Its Hard to believe that with all of Brady's medical history we have never been to and E. R. Not to worry! Brady is fine... for the moment anyways. Mom and Dad kept him last night because Sunday night he woke up at 11:00pm and didnt go back to sleep until after breakfast!!! The whole time he was doing this horrible whiney cry thing...THE WHOLE TIME! His head arches back soo far it looks like it is going to pop off his body! Needless to say it dosent look very comfortable. He chokes on his saliva while he is arching back too.. not a fun time all around! Anyway, he started doing the same thing today and since our regular Neuroligist is out of town (not sure why) we called the Neuroligist on call and he wanted to see him just to check him out. We still havent got the results from the video eeg they did the other night. The dr's are confused on it. Brady seems to be confusing a lot of Dr.'s. They can't tell if all the tensing up is a type of seizure, or if its gastric pains and he is just tensing up his muscles to relieve it. Either way the EEG shows a cluster of brain waves when he is doing it and they cant tell which one it is. They are having some specialist look at it today. Hopefuly we will have some results come Wednesday. Since Dr. Parker is out of town, we will be seeing Dr. Vada. We ended up cutting back on some of his medicines today (which is rare) and cutting his shot back to every other day instead of every day. It is alway good to cut medicines back instead of adding to his already long list of them. So we should see some results in the next couple of days! I pray its Gas!!! If it is the spasms still (which none of the Dr.s think it is) then that means the ACTH is not working and we will probally stop the injections. That is not a good thing.. Because that is the only medicine in the USA approved to stop the spasms. God Please Please Please dont let the spasms be coming back!!! I know the power of my God. I know he will not give me or Brady anything that we can not handle. And I know he will be right here with us while we are going through it all. I also know he is the God of miracles and I pray for one everyday. We have see him work in Brady's life since day one of Brady's life and I know he is not about to stop now! Please pray for such a miracle.. Pray that he preforms such an awsome miracle that there is no denying the work of God! I pray he stops the Dr.s and Nurses in their tracks.. I pray he leaves them scratching their head saying "what just happened here" I dont just pray that he will be ok.. I pray that he will be Great! Perfect! ExtraOrdinary! A living Proof of God's work and of God's love! I hope you pray for the same. This week (yesterday) 2000 years ago Jesus was getting beaten over and over. His flesh was being ripped off his body. He was being laughed at, taunted, murdered all so we can live and have an everlasting life with his daddy. Isaiah 53:5 says " He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisment of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed" I claim that everyday for Brady! That by the striped of Jesus Christ, he will be healed. Thank you Jesus for doing what you did so I can be here today with this peace I have about my baby, your child. And thank you for choosing him to witness to so many. I know your work has just begun in his little life and we will see great things from him, thanks to you! Well, I will let you know what we find out Wednesday. Hopefully Great news. How great would it be to hear it's just gas or an upset stomach... so simple... Pray Pray Pray Until Wednesday, Jenny P.S. off the topic.. did anyone catch House tonight! I am still so upset. How shocking!!!

Yet another hospital stay... BOO!

2009-04-03T14:04:00.006-05:00

Not Again!

That's right, we stayed overnight last night at the UMC and we are just gettin home. This past week, Brady has been having a different type of seizure activity, or what we thought was seizure activity, but it was confirmed today. The past week or so he has been throwing his head back and screaming and everyday it has gotten more frequent. So when we went for our weekly check up our Neuroligist, Dr. Parker, just wanted to be safe and watch him overnight. So they put us in the video telemitry (???) room at the hospital and hooked him up to and EEG machine. This way they could watch the video of him and if he did anything they thought was weird (like the kicking his head back thing) they could look at the eeg read and see if he was having abnormal brain activity at the same time. According to the on-call Neuroligist, Dr. Vada, there was still some seizure/ spasm brain activity but they were going to get a epilepsy specialist to review it over the weekend and then we will see what we are dealing with. We will go back to the dr monday for the results. Pray Pray Pray that these spasms will stop for good!! We have a 70% chance that this medicine will work. But there is that 30% chance that it won't and with him still having spasms on week 3 of the medicine, its a little nerve racking!! We are still going to stick with once a day shots until we see Dr. Parker Monday, then she might want to change things up... depending on the results of this EEG. I took a few pictures of him last night and this morning...

Getting the EEG machine hooked upDaddy watching closelyKatie and Nanna holding him down :) or just destracting him...He is not too happy about this!Ok, all doneHey dad!There's my momma!!me and my daddy...WHAT?!?! now it's gotta come off!!

Now thats more like it!

Well naturally we couldn't wait to get home and he is sleeping so good! I need to be doing the same thing!! I will let you know how Monday goes...

Till then,

Jenny

Off to Nanna and Poppy's

2009-03-22T23:50:00.006-05:00

One Cool Baby Well last night Brady went and stayed at his Nanna and Poppy's (my parents) house so mommy and Daddy could get some much needed r&r! (and a drink!!) He has been pretty fussy on this medicine .. like constant fussiness and crying.. occasionally screaming. Needless to say, we just needed a night of quite. And thank God my parents are willing to take that on. Hopefully this stage or whatever it is will pass quickly! Anyway, it gave Chris and I a chance to hit up the Carters outlet in Vicksburg to buy our quickly growing son some new clothes .. he is almost 6 months old and the 12 months are becoming tooo small!!! Crazy! Anyway, Brady has had no spasms in the past couple of days, Praise God! Only 11 1/2 more weeks of treatment and I can't wait to see the results...

Chris and I went over to pick Brady up today and we found out that he is quite when he is in his stroller... so memaw and Nanna were kept pretty busy...

she waked him up and down the driveway! He never made a peep... But when it was time for a bottle.. Poppy got that Job...

What a sweet Picture...

But nanna or memaw one (i cant remember) said it was too windy and he needed a hat, so we got him a hat...

Then he needed his shades so the sun wouldnt get in his eyes.. this is chris' favorite picture of Brady to date.. Brady will hate me for this one day...

Then daddy decided to show Brady how to fish...

Chris caught this small fish.. yeah I'm a little bitter... it was actually 5lbs!

but not to be outdone, Uncle Anson caught this one.. It was huge but I was standing on the other side of the lake with my zoom .. that is why it looks small...

and then we saw something we have never seen in our lives.. our neighbors horse decides he wants to go swimming while the boys are fishing... too funny not to take a picture...

All in all we had a great day.. It was beautiful outside and it was great getting Brady outside to enjoy it. We came home.. I gave him his shot all by myself and he didnt even cry, then bath, bottle, and bed! He is sleeping like the prince he is right now.. not a peep! God truely does answer prayers, no matter how small!

Till next time

Jenny

First Shots at home... OUCH!!!

2009-03-20T20:25:00.004-05:00

Are you sure you know what your doing???

Ok so we just delievered Brady's first shot.. or should I say Chris did and we might need a little more practice with that trusty ole orange. Poor Brady! I recorded it, well, what i could get of it..

As you can see, there are a few things we will be doing differently next time... uggggg.. it makes me cringe to think about giving him a shot but it has to be done! I took a few more pictures too...

Here is the medicine.. yes that little vial of medicine cost BC/BS $25,000!!!

Here is a closer look.. at least this one makes it look a little bigger

Chris drawing up the meds

Be careful with that honey!!

Alright, I have got to go put a fussy baby to bed! See you later...

Jenny

~ Home Sweet Home ~

2009-03-20T16:50:00.004-05:00

Well, today we got to come home!! All the Dr.'s wanted was for Chris and I to get comfortable drawing up and giving the injections, and we did.. well, as good as we are gonna be. I think I will let Chris give them for the most part ;) The last spasm that Brady had was yesterday morning, which was only after one injection.. and no more since then!!! We will be giving the injections daily and checking up with the Dr.'s weekly for the next 12 weeks... I know great things are going to come out of all this. He is doing exceptionally well right now and I pray it will continue. Seeing how is immune system will be compromised for the next 3 months we will pretty much be "shut ins". No daycare, per the Dr. so it will be an intresting couple of months. He is already experiencing one of the side effects of this medicine - FUSSINESS- Hopefully that will calm itself down too! Another side effect should be rapid weight gain.. right now he is already in 12 months clothes and I haven't bought any more so it looks like I get to go shopping for big boy clothes! Chris is cutting the yard today for the first time this year! Believe me.. it needed it! Our dogs are not too happy about it, they are going nuts barking, but Brady is sleeping like a, well, a baby! He is out.. I know he is soo happy to be home to!

See.. Here is chris watering off the back porch.. not expecting to get his picture taken :)

And my little man sleeping away

Thats about it for now.. I am back to catching up on my Days of our Lives .. while I am at it, I need to watch American Idol and Biggest Loser to see who got kicked off! What a way to spend my Friday night.. no really, I'm excited!! I will send Chris after a bottle of wine before too long and we are chillin in our p.j.s tonight!

Till next time

Jenny

Haven't they ever heard of a schedule?!?!

2009-03-19T14:31:00.005-05:00

Finally REST!!

Brady started getting his injections last night (once we got the doseage under contol) and he is doing great.. He has only had one "cluster" of spasms today. Chris just came up there to relieve me of my post so I could come home and get a shower (and Blog, of course). Today has been ridiculous though.. 6am- heel stick to check glucose & serum glucose 7am- BP check, temp...just the vitals 8am- more blood work, didnt get enough at 6 to test glucose 9:30- meds.. Finally! He is used to getting them at 8:30! 11:00- I finally go and get our nurse so he can get his shot (that he was supposed to get at 9AM!) all the while Brady is trying his hardest to get a nap. He gets good and to sleep and they come in, flip on the light, flip him over, time after time again.. The poor baby is just tired and wants a nap! Things will change in the morning though.. we will get it all done at once or we will come back when he wakes up! He is so used to his schedule and this is throwing him for a loop! I pray this medicine will work and will control his spasms and that he will be a perfect normal little boy , then young man, and so on.. but while I was praying that I also realized that I was praying for God to work through Brady and let his little life be a great testimony for anyone he meets. At that moment it hit me. God has a plan for Brady. This plan is already set into action and there is nothing we can do to change it. I can hope it goes one way, but what right have I got to tell our almighty God what to do with his own children. God will use Brady, wether it be through a little boy with handicaps or delays or worse.. or be it through a perfectly little healthy boy. I am just thankful that I will have front row seats to the awsome life that that little man leads. I have a peace about it all. God is in control of the situation, and has been from the beginning. The only reason we are in the hospital is to "train" how to draw up and give him injection so tonight we (well, one of us) will be giving Brady a shot for the first time... Pray for Brady and Us! ahahha. We are looking to be going home tomorrow! Keep him in your prayers. I will update again soon! Jenny

This is Chris' angry face because I was leaving!

And here he is after I made him smile for the camera... what a big baby!

Off to the hospital

2009-03-18T13:30:00.003-05:00

Ok so we got the medicine in today... What a relief! We will be leaving the house shortly and will be headed to the hospital (Blair E. Batson) for our "training" . We have to learn how to give the injections and they have to moniter him to make sure he responds well to the medicine. We should be there till Friday or Saturday so Please continue to pray that all goes well and he responds beautifully to the medicine! As much as we love our friends and family, Brady's immune system will be affected greatly by this medicine and the slightest common cold could turn into something worse super quick. So we ask that you dont visit, just call. If you are coming to the hospital for any reason, please let us know and we can get you scrubbed in really good! :) Brady has been sleeping great today because he was up so late last nigt.. didnt go to sleep till 11pm!! He is always in bed by 8-9 every night but last night he was not having it! He must have been too excited to sleep.. probally not! He has only had one spasm today so far so hopefully we can get these under control asap!! By the way did you catch American Idol last night... I thought most of the contestants did pretty well with country.. You could tell it was a little out of most of their comfort zones but they still did ok. Megan is still my favorite Girl!! and I am not to sure what Adam did .. I was real confused after watching that.. pretty weird but that seems to be him! Oh well, we will jsut have to see tonight! I will be watching from Brady's hospital room :( Ok I will let you know as soon as I know something! Hopefully this goes ok, he has no adverse reactions to the medicines, and we will be home and getting back to normal before too long! Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray.. If you are wondering what you can do for us... Just PRAY! in HIS hands now and always Jenny

Here is him yesterday for St. Patricks day "I'm a McCutie" haha

T.V.Land

2009-03-16T18:18:00.003-05:00

Ok.. so this week was pretty decent on the T.V. front. We will just start at the beginning... MONDAY: Jon & Kate- Ok so the babies (hanna) left her toy horse out for the dogs to get and naturally the dog ate it.. therefore the dog needed surgery. Poor Pup! It might just be me, but the show doesn't seem as intresting in this house as it was in the other. I used to love Kate. I am similar to her in the OCD cleaning ways. I like order and with 8 kids you have to have order, but recently she is really riding my nerves. On the show where they were showing the house to the kids she told them to get a good look at her room because they were never to step foot in there again and that really bothered me. Now I know they need their privacy but they have all the time in the world once the kids go to sleep. I can not wait for my baby to come crawl in the bed with me.. even if I have 8 kids (which i dont see happening). I think the money is starting to get the best of her.. Ah well, we will have to see what happens tonight. House- I could watch House everyday. I love that total honesty that he has.. I would love to be like that for one day.. haha.. I dont think I could do it though. Anyway I thing House is softening up to Wilson. They are bonding and truely becoming BFF's.. Where is Cutty's baby?? Wonder what they will do with that story line? hummm TUESDAY: Biggest Loser- I am obsessed with the Biggest Loser.. Alison Sweeny (sami from Days) is fabulous as the host. I have watched these women who were ALL bigger than me at the beginning of this season loose weight and are now mostly smaller than me. But I choose to watch and not do.. I dont understand. I would sign up for that show in a new York min.. but I dont want to leave my Brady and Chris for that long.. maybe in a different life. I am really rooting for Kristen. I think she is great! I love watching the interviews they do with her. Jillian got it handed to here last week. Those guys didnt go easy on her at all! I think Bob would have to be my coach.. I am too soft hearted and emotional to be yelled at like she yells at some of them. I am so proud at the way these contestants are losing the weight.. and I am glad to see that Tara isn't a robot.. she finally hit her wall and didnt lose a single pound this week.. usually she is in the double digits every week.. whatever.. I will miss Mandi! I really like her. Why aren't they sending Ron home?? Confusing.. Cant wait till next week. American Idol- I cry when I see Scott preform. I absolutey love his passion. Great Job to him, even though I have never heard that song. Adam Lamber and "Beat it" was awsome!!! He is a true superstar..He will go far in this compition. Megan i s still my favorite girl contestant. That song was so her. but I like her style of singing. Danny and "Hero" was good. I like Danny alot. He is one of my favorites! Allison is pretty good too.. she has a powerhouse voice for someone of her age... Chris really likes Matt alot.. he has that JT look with that Coldplay sound and I like that. I have to say I like Jasmine because she is from MS.. She is not horrible but I didnt see her making it very far. I really think there were better choices than Kris and George with a J . Anoop was ok, but I wouldnt buy his cd.. Lil Rounds did a great job both proformances so far. Alexis is good but she reminds me of someone who would have been on the first season.. she looks so dated, does that make since?? ah well, good voice though. WEDNESDAY: American Idol Again: So Mississippi Girl and George with a J go home.. not too surprised with that. Why did they think they needed another judge.. Cara rides my nerves with all her lingo.. CHops, mad pipes, etc.. come on already.. Paula is enough to listen too and now we have even more babbling.. i aggree with some of what she says but I dont think they needed another.. I enjoy watching the love hate relationship between Simon and Ryan, by the way, does anyone elses husband have a man crush on Ryan like mine does??? I think Chris is more excited about what Ryan is wearing rather than how the contestants do. whatever! THURSDAY: Grey's Anatomy- I could have come through my tv at Derick. If I was Meredith, I would have taken that baseball bat from his hands and beat him over the head with it!!!! He makes me sooo mad.. Attention writers of Greys Anatomy... will you let them be together already!?!?! This is really getting old. If I am not wrong George and Izzy are both leaving the show so what better way to go than with a brain tumor so Derick can feel like an even bigger failure than he already does by letting Izzy die too! That is just me guessing, I dont know that for a fact. I really like that Izzy told Christina, I think this will humanize her now. She might start to show some compassion, or maybe not.. By the way, other than that whole post traumatic stress stuff her man Dr. Hunt is sooo hot! I am a fan.. I know this might be crazy but I loved the whole thing they did with Izzy and Denny.. I miss Denny :( I dont want to see Alex get his heart broken but I know it is going to happen. Baily and the Chief's relationship is too funny. I am glad she tattled to Addell.. how high schoolish.. Cant wait till next week! Private Practice- If Addison persues this relationship with a married man I am going to be sick. She is trying to save the life of his baby and he is hitting on her! Come on already!! Sam and Naomi just need to get back together. Violet shouldnt be forced to get the paternity test. She can do that later.. I think she is handeling it all very well. Cooper and Charlotte excite me. I think they are great together... What a cliff hanger with addison and the cheater.. we will just have to wait and see. FRIDAY: Ghost Wisperer- Jim Remembers!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am soooo happy for Melinda! I have missed their relationship so much. I cant wait to see where the writers will go with this. Jennifer Love Hewitt always looks amazing on this show! What a great eppisod Friday was! Wife Swap- BORING!!! the crazy alien people who yell and throw milk and the supernaturals whos kids tap dance and have that whole "vote for pedro" look going on. What a sorry combination America. A few things, if your 5 year old is flipping off adults and dropping the "f" b0mb, someone needs a beating! Be a parent and diciplin your children. That is our futre america!!! They get it honestly thought.. that crazy dad of theirs throwing milk on people and their paid for mom need to grow up too! SUNDAY: Big Love- I dont want this season to end yet.. Only one eppisode left!! Nikki deserves everything she is getting... I and not liking Barbs sister right about now.. well, i never really haved (is that a word?) Sarah and here "babies daddy" getting it on in Nikki's bed? really? I aggree with Bill in wanting to Divorce or get "unsealed" from Nikki.. I would too! There are too many open story lines for there to be one eppisode left! HOw are they gonna wrap this up? Chris told me they have signed on for a next season so that is good news! Ok so I will not be doing this once a week anymore, It has taken up too much time already! I will try to vent a little each day or somehow try to get it all in through out the week. But I really like venting about my shows.. If you are a fan I am sure you know what I am talking about. It is a release! haha Brady is with Mom and Dad tonight so I can go grocery shopping and get my laundry done.. I was going to clean but Allie and her mother-in-law are coming up while we are in the hospital to do that for us! What a blessing! We are still waiting on his medicine to be approve by blue cross before they send it out so my baby is still having spasms 2-3 times a day because of paperwork.. Believe you me, Bc/Bs will know my name in the morning!!! Till next time, Jenny

Sick Sick Sick

2009-03-15T16:18:00.002-05:00

So we are waiting on this medicine to get here!! Come on already. Brady is averaging 2-3 spasams a day right now, mostly when he wakes up from a nap or something. But there is nothing we can do without this medicine that we are waiting on. It should be overnighted tomorrow and arrive here Tuesday. I have never been more anxious to get my baby in a hospital. While we wait we have to keep him well. They will not give the treaments to him if he is sick due to the damage it does to his immune system. He is on antibiotics (that makes 5 medicines he takes daily). So tonight my mom is going to come over and watch him so we can go to the hospital and visit with Chris' dad.. Yes thats right, Chris' dad is back in the hospital. He is going through chemo trying to get well enough to have a bone marrow transplant and right now his platelets are real low. Not sure what his reason for being admitted is this time but I hope to find that out tonight. Right now Chris is sleeping on the couch trying to sleep off the sinus medicine "coctail" that he gave himself befor church this morning. I sure hope he isn't getting sick too.. That will put Brady and I in a hotel! Check back later tonight for the week end review of all my shows.. Its a new thing I am going to try out. Just so I can vent to whoever wants to listen about all the shows I follow all week long.. I cant do it righ now because I haven't seen Big Love or Extreme Makeover Home Edition or The girls next Door... so after all my shows tonight I will do another post.. haha.. I love it.. See you guys tonigh~ Jenny

Update on Life...

2009-03-14T23:05:00.004-05:00

Well it has been quite a while since I have been on but I figured this would be a good way of keeping everyone up-to-date on my Brady.. Sweet boy, his "partial onset seizure" diagnosis has evolved into "infantile Spasams" (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh) sorry, had to have a moment! We just though we were through it all, but we a just getting started! He will be put on a strong medicine and they will be treating this aggressively! by the way, this is pretty rare 1 in 6,000 infants have this condition. I tell you, when he turns 21 I am taking him to vegas with those odds. The medicine (ACTH) has been ordered and shoud be here Tuesday so we should expect to be admited Wednesday so they can begin treating him. I try to stay away from google.. there is too much negative and not enough God! It is a pretty scary place. All those worst case stories break my heart. I know that Brady will be ok. I claim it in the Mighty name of Jesus Christ! What a testimony he will have in his future. I will try to keep you updated with picture and regular post. Here are some picture that you have missed out on the past couple of months...

Brady at bath time.. he loves it!!

Brady on his first day of daycare.. we have just recently had to remove him from daycare so he can under go this treatment.. hopefully we will get back soon. he Loved daycare!!Eating his very first bite of "big boy food" he love it now!!His first school picture day! How cute is my baby!

Brady's new Jumper..

Brady at my parent's house.. how handsome!

God is good - All the time.. Not just some of it. He has a plan for our family and for our son. We might not know what it is just yet, but we will soon enough. He never said it would be easy, but he said he'd see us through the storm. We serve a mighty God. Please lift Brady up in your prayers. We know who the real Dr. is.

See you soon,

Jenny

Happy Anniversary!!

2008-11-14T09:35:00.003-06:00

So Chris and I celebrated our 1 year (married) anniversary this past Monday, November 10!! And as a gift, my parents kept Brady so we could "get away" for a couple days. We never went on a honeymoon so as a married couple I dont think we have gotten a chance to go anywhere so this was a real treat! We went up to Tunica..I know, but hell, it's AWAY! We stayed at Harrah's but we went to Hollywood Casino and Sam's Town to check out the Casino floors. Let's just say we didn't do too hot at the casino.. but on the way back we stopped at the Carter's outlet (baby clothes) and I hit the Jackpot!! haha.. Here are some pictures from our trip..

This one is me by the Bat-mobile at Hollywood Casino

Here is Chris by the "Delorian"..I am not sure how to even begin to spell that..

Here is me and Paula Deen.. She has her own buffet at Harrah's, that alone is worth going to Tunica

Me on the "front Porch" of the Buffet

And here is Chris waiting for the vallet guy to bring the car... I was inside, It was freezing!!

And here is us on the way home....

Well, that's the trip! Exciting, I know!! Ha, we did have a good time though... It has been a long first married year for us, with building our house, getting pregnant, his dad getting sick, having a baby, and our baby being sick... so it was good to get some Jenny and Chris time.. I am so very thankful for Chris everyday, even if I don't show it everyday! But I know God put him in my life for a reason and I am glad he did! I love my Husband!

And I couldn't post a blog without a picture of my son.... so when we got back to Byram (to the funeral home) to pick up Brady, my parents had got him his first business suit!! He had to be dressed for work now... How freaking cute is that?!?!!? That alone was worth coming home for...

Happy Halloween

2008-11-03T22:36:00.002-06:00

We couldn't decide what to be for Halloween this year.. ha! I love having the chance to dress up my baby this year, is what I meant to say! This sweet little pumpkin costume was given to us at one of my baby showers by his Great Aunt Sissy! and the Monkey aka Obama was only $5.00 at Babies-r-us.. funny, you would think the prices on presidental candiates costumes would increase before the election!! ah well.. We are still doing great! Got a check up tomorrow, mainly just a weight check then we are off to vote!! Please do the same!!! God Bless..

Brady and his Journey in Pictures

2008-10-28T18:04:00.003-05:00

First family Photo

Brady and I with Dr. Travelstead First time holding him in the PICU at Blaire E. Batson

Him in his room at Batson with all his tubes..

The morning we took him to the dr. before we knew what was going on

Brady on his Birthday... right after birth

Brady the day before we got to go home!!! With all his cords off

Chris feeding Brady for the first time... In our room at Blaire E. Batson

It's been a wild couple of weeks...

2008-10-28T15:01:00.003-05:00

Ok, I know it's been over 3 weeks since my last post but maybe after reading this you can try to understand why... On Monday, October 6, Chris and I went in to the hospital to get the labor process started so we could finally meet our son..after an induction on Tuesday morning we finally met him around 5:02 pm.. He was a beautiful 8lb 30z 20 1/2 inch (seemingly healthy)baby boy. We were surrounded by our families and friends and we couldn't have been happier. After a normal 1 1/2 to 2 day stay at Baptist we were given a clean "bill of health" and sent home to begin our new life as a family. Of course my mom came home with us to "let us get some sleep" but we knew she wanted to spoil her first born grandson and we let the excuses slide... We started to notice that Brady wasen't eating very well and it started to bother us that evening so we called the hospital nursery and tried to figure out what to do to get him to eat.. They said just be persistant with the breastfeeding but to try formula from a bottle if he still didn't eat.. so we did.. after our 3rd phone call to the hospital that night they told us to come so they could take a look at him.. so at 8:30 the next morning we took him to the clinic at Baptist Hospital for them to give him a once over and get him eating... He started acting weird (well, i now know it's weird.. at that time i thought it was normal) he was clinching his fist and screaming rythmicly, sweating from his forhead and neck, and was also being very lethargic.. once the nurse saw him, she was extremely consecrned.. she had the nurse practicioner from the nicu to come down and check him out, they got blood work and found out this blood sugar was a 12.. now for those of you who dont know.. a 12 is bad.. they explained to me that normal range for an infant is 60-110.. with a 12 he should have be comotosed.. they immediatly admited him to the NICU at Baptist where we were put into a waiting room to wait out some kind of news... Chris, my mom, and I sat waiting for dr's to asses him and get him some what stable while I was still just confused.. I had no idea the extent of his condition.. I was thinking we were gonna come in for a check up and go back home.. This was completely unexpected. Finally, the Dr., nurses, and Nurse Practioners came into the waiting room and asked us lots of questions about his behavior at home and then told us that while he was in the ICU, he had multiple seizures and had even turned blue at one point...we freaked out!!! I could not understand what was going on.. it was almost like a bad night mare.. I had just had this baby that I had been waiting 9 months to meet then after 3 days of barely knowing him, he was hooked up to all kinds of machines and pumped full of medicines.. I didnt even know him that well and it was like he was already being taken from me...Its the most horrible feeling. We got to go and see him in the ICU and he looked so helpless laying naked under a warmer hooked up to all kinds of cords and seizing the whole time we were talking to him.. It was truely petrifying.. The Dr.'s initally thought that the not eating caused the dehydration which caused the blood sugar to drop which caused the seizures.. but after getting his blood sugar stabilized he was still seizing.. Everyone seemed to be puzzled by this.. the next day after consulting the NICU dr's at Baptist, Chris and I decided to have Brady transfered to the PICU at Blaire E. Batson where the specialist were so they could all have a look at him. This was a hard decision for me to make because when I thought of the University, I thought "serious" and it honestly scared the hell out of me. We got him transfered to the University on Saturday, October 11th.. Chris' 28th birthday... Hell of a way to spend your birthday, I know! At Batson we saw several specialist... Neuroligist, which blamed all this on his brain; Hemotologist, which blamed it on his blood; Endocrineologist, which blamed it on his glands and hormones; and a Metobolic / Geneticisis which thought it could have been somthing to do with his genitics... after several test.. and I do mean several test, we found out that Brady has a blood clot in his brain.. this clot is in the venus system (veins) which drains blood from the brain not supplies it.. but it had totally occluded a vein draining blood away from his brain.. there were also some dark spots on the scan which was initally thought to be strokes ,or an area deprived of oxygen for a period of time... Well, naturally, we were extremely conscerned about our baby..not only with "can we fix this?" but now with "how will this affect him long term?" See, the thing with infants brains, as we were explained, is it is still forming and developing so if he HAD to have some kind of braing trauma it is best that he have it at his age.. me, personally, I would have rathered him not even have any kind of brain trauma, but what can you do?? So then treatment became an issue.. the dr.'s don't really like giving neonates any type of blood thinners, because they can cause more problems.. there is more risk of damage with bleeding in the brain and stuff, so even though that was an option.. it was gonna be a last resort kind of option... So they started him on a baby asprin and fluids.. yeah yeah, not to impressive, but they thought it could help and it did!.. after a repeat scan (MRI) after 8 days, there was some (very little, but some) improvement in the blood flow through that vein.. the "dark spots" were down graded from Strokes to Post Seizure Changes which was excellent news, and some of the dark areas were gone completely.. they compared this to a bruise healing.. all the dr.'s seem to be very encouraged by this news.. by this time he was only on one seizure medicine ...Phenobarbatol... and he had no seizure activity since we had been at the University..Genitics still had tons of test pending had him on Carnitine (some type of vitiman he was missing) and Endocrine docs had him on Cortizone to regulate his sugars... He was moved to a normal room and out of PICU- thank GOD!! We were thrilled but we really love all his nurses there including his favorite nures that was never "his" nurse.. his Aunt Katie, she works in the PICU.. so she made sure he was ok when Chris and I would go home and my parents were not there... Its so hard to stay up there 24 hours when he is in the ICU.. you cant sleep by his bed or anything.. it's just sitting in the waiting room with other families of sick kids.. its really heartbreaking!... but anyway, we were in a room!!!They were doing heel stick every 2 hours to check his sugars and still monitering him for seizure activity, which he had none! So after a couple of days up there they started winging him off of his meds.. they completely stopped his Phenobarb, and cut his cortizone down to twice a day instead of 3 times...Then they eventually cut his heel stick from every two hours to every six! Fabulous news again!! Its been a long ride trying to figure out which came first, the chicken or the egg, and i am not sure that we will ever know ( that probally would have helped us treat him quicker) but so it goes... I believe every Dr/ Specialist has their own chain of events of how everything occured but the final conclusion is... He had a clot (probally born with it)-The clot caused the seizures- The seizures caused damage to the adrenal glands,which made them stop producing cortizone- which made his sugar drop.. So we were sent home with cortizone to stabalize his sugar and thats it!! Praise God! Now we will be seeing every one of those dr regularly so the long ride is still not over but he is home and that is so great! We are finally getting to be a family at home and raise a baby like normal.. for the most part... WE really appriciate all the calls, cards, prayers, everything.. We couldnt have done any of this without the help and support of our families... my parents expecially for doing everything they did...Oh did i mention that the same time we were in the hospital with Brady, Chris' dad was in the hospital because his cancer had come back.. so his family has been through it double time this past couple of weeks.. its acutally a very freaky coinsadent of a story that I will have to blog about on another day.. but the important thing is that both our boys are home now and hopefully that is where they will stay for a long while! I do however, want to thank all of our Dr.'s personally though.. they have all really been wonderful to us... ~starting with my OBGYN Dr. Travelstead.. She has truely been amazing, first with the delievery, and then will checking on Brady while he has been going through this.. Thank you! ~my labor and Delievery Nurse Amy!! you were great and I know I couldn't have done it with out you, she was great when she found out Brady was back in the hospital too. Thank you for checking on him .. Thank You! ~ All the nurses on the Post partum floor at Baptist.. We seriously had the best nurses ever.. Chris and I can't say enough good things about each and every one.. Thank You All! ~Mrs. Terry Meadows, Director of women and childrens services at Baptist and Friend to me and my family.. you were truely a Godsend during alll the experiences we had at Baptist... Good and Scarey times.. Thank You! ~ the Neonatoligis at Baptist NICU, Dr. Temple and Dr. Robbins..They were both great with Brady and with us... Thank You! ~Brady's nurse Brandy at the NICU.. she was great! She cried with me and encouraged me while he was there.. we wish we could have taken her with us.. Thank You! ~The Neonatoligist at UMC ..Dr. Thomas, Dr. Boyte, and Dr. Hallstorm... Fabulous Dr.'s.. Thank You all for everything ~All his nurses in the PICU... Lindsey, Jennifer, Dustin, Heather, Christy, Gretchen, Lacey..... Thank you all!! (for all you do) ~for all the nurses who were not his nurses but still concerned and became our friends/family... Sarah, Jim, Elizabeth, (His Favorite) Aunt Katie.. and I'm sure I am forgetting someone.. but I hope not.. There were some we talked to and never got their names but Thank You ALL!! ~All his nurses on the floor at Blaire E. Batson... Amanda and Beth Ann I know I am forgetting some, but these two were his constant nurses.. Thank you soo much! ~ His Specialist: Neurologist- Dr. Parker, Dr. Vada, Dr. Evans; Endocrinologist- Dr. Moll; Metobalic/ Genetics Doc- Dr. Omar Abdul- Rahman and Dr. Boch; Hemotologist- Dr. Majumdar Now I am pretty sure that is it, but if I missed anyone...THANK YOU!! I will continue to update you on Brady and his status but thanks for being patient.. continue to keep us in your prayers.. Thanks again.. we are truely blessed Chris, Jenny, AND Brady!

39 weeks pregnant!!!

2008-09-30T22:53:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we (my mom and me) went to the Dr. today for our last prenatal check-up and I have finally started to dialate!!! I am at 1cm and about 60% effaced or thinned out! That is great great progress...Brady's heartrate was 142 which was good and my blood pressure was on the high side, but she wasn't toooo concerned with that.. So the plan is... I will go in Monday night and she will do something to "ripen" my cervix and then start giving me inducing drugs first thing Tuesday morning... on Oct 7, we should have our baby boy!! Now all that is IF I haven't gone into labor on my own before then, which is a possibility.... expecially with the Fair coming into town tomorrow.... you know I am gonna be walking that midway eating some good food.. so with enough walking, I could go on into labor on my own..which would be alright too! Either way I am a week away (at least) from meeting Brady!! I am soo excited!! I will keep you posted on whatever happens.. I am sure I can get computer access at the hospital, so I will let you know how it goes! Cross your fingers for us... We're gonna be parents!! This could be my last blog as a married woman with no children... ha! weird!! Jenny

38 weeks Pregnant... 2 more weeks!!!

2008-09-24T16:08:00.000-05:00

Hello all.. So monday I turned 38 weeks pregnant and Tuesday I went to the dr. for her to tell me that we are still not dialating any...booo! We are still thinning out some but no dilating.. ah well, it will happen when it happens... hopefully not tooo much longer.. Even though I only have 2 more weeks of being pregnant :( thats me being sad... I have really enjoyed this pregnancy... I mean, dont get me wrong, there are several not so good features about being pregnat that I will not go in depth with but for the most part.. its a wonderful experience to have as a woman and I would wish it for anyone..just knowing that i have created (with a little help from Chris) this child and I have gotten the privilage of carrying him around for the past 9 months is amazing and truly a blessing from God himself. Plus all the perks of being pregnant are great... the close parking at wal-mart and belk...people letting you go to the front of the lines at the bathroom... chris not letting me unload the groceries...(even though I often wonder how he thinks they got in the car?? whatever)... not having to lift anything heavier than my purse... getting an excuse to fall asleep at work ( and those bosses of mine are great for letting me stay asleep for a little while)... just the attention you get as an expecting mother is fabulous... and hell, I'll let anyone rub my belly, I think its great too! Just one thing.. dont ask me if i'm having twins.. (you know who you are people working at Target!!) thats sorda rude...oh well, for the most part, like I said before, Pregnancy is a great experience and has been a great time in my life that I am truely thankful that I got to enjoy.. I go back to the dr next week.. same day... same time.. seriously, they mean it when they say "see ya in a week"... hopefully I will have something to report then.. who know what could happen in a week though... Just please continue to keep Chris and I in your prayers as we continue to prepare to become parents for the first time... as as we try to get as much sleep as possible in the next couple of weeks!! "See ya next week" jenny&brady

37 weeks pregnant...Full Term!!

2008-09-17T10:28:00.000-05:00

I hit my 37 week mark Monday!! and yesterday I went to the Dr. for my weekly visit.. She said all is good! I have started to "thin out" some but not dialating yet.. which is fine, but that should start soon... hopefully.. i'm not rushing it but I am pretty curious to meet my son so "lets get on with it"!! I guess at this point its just a waiting game. I have a baby shower Sunday and I am super excited about it! But other than that, I believe I am ready! ~I have got his nursery all set up.. I am usually in there at least once every day just looking around.. ~I have got all his clothes washed ( in dreft) and waiting on him... Dreft smells like babies, so his nursery already smells like what I think a baby smells like! ~I got a call from the day care that we have had him on the waiting list for since January and they have him a spot, so that is great!! What a relief! ~His carseat is already strapped in! ~I finished finalizing the phone tree (list) of people Chirs or someone is to call when it all happens. So now its just on to stocking up on diapers and baby stuff and just waiting... good thing I am a patient person..ha! (not really) I can not believe I am carrying around a full term infant in my stomach all day everyday ( it explains the constant state of exhaustion) I am just sooooo very ready to see who/ what he looks like! Anxious really... black hair? blond hair? my lips? Chris' eyes? I mean what will he look like???? oh well, not much longer... I go back next week .. same day... same time! So i will just catch you all up to speed then... See ya next week! Jenny