I have, once again, started blogging. I have adopted a new lifestyle and have learned so much about natural eating and ALL it’s benefits, I feel compelled to share.
My new lifestyle change happened just recently as I went to the doctors for “dry skin.” I didn’t know what else to call it – my skin did not FEEL dry, but I was itching everywhere on my body. The doctor said I some inflammation, gave me a prescription for some soothing drops and Prednisone and sent me home. I have never been one to just “pop a pill” when something is wrong. I try to find some “natural” way. During the routine vital check at the doctors, my blood pressure checked in at 141/96. For my age, height and weight, that is extremely high. Although I take my blood pressure periodically at home, it never has been that high, so either, I PANIC when I go the doctors and it’s just a one time thing, or I do have a high bp issue and I’m just not catching at home. Either way, this started me on the path to change.
The final straw was Tinnitus. In 2009, I had surgeries in both my ears to correct Otosclerosis. A symptom of Otosclerosis is Tinnitus. The surgeon told me that fixing my Otosclerosis would fix my Tinnitus. It has not. This drove me to the Internet to see if there was ANYTHING I could do to alleviate or lessen the ringing in my ears. While I do not claim to be a doctor, I do believe it is possible to come to the correct conclusions about ailments via the information on the Internet. During my research I discovered that high blood pressure and Tinnitus go hand in hand. I also learned that food plays a huge part in regards to Tinnitus. I won’t go into details just yet, but from what I learned, I have adopted a Mediterranean style of eating. I also have cut out all processed, pre-made, pre-packaged food. I am going all natural and all organic.
I have only been eating this way for a week, but I have noticed a major change in how I feel physically (SSSSOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER) and at times, the ringing in my ears has seemed to be not as loud, but I’m not ready to say I’ve found the cure-all.
This change has not been as difficult as what I thought it would be. I am doing this because I KNOW I NEED too PHYSICALLY and for my HEALTH. That has made all the difference to me. It’s just been a matter of perspective.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A year in review
My little Espresso turned 1 a couple weeks ago. Unlike most parents, I didn't think the first year flew by too fast. There were times I thought it was dragging on incredibly slow. I think that could have been due in part to my anticipation of my Espresso reaching certain milestones, which he did not reach in a "normal" time frame.
My hubby and I were discussing last night, after our Espresso FINALLY had his first tooth come in, that since about the 6th month, our son has been on his own time table with development and milestones. He took a LONG time to crawl, his first tooth did not come in within his first year, and he has no real interest in pulling up or even standing (even if we hold him), while so many other babies are walking, or at least pulling up and/or cruising, by their first birthday.
What I have noticed about my Espresso is that he seems MUCH more mentally aware, alert, cognizant and perceptive than many other babies his age. Perhaps I'm just a proud, biased parent, but when we compare his mental abilities and alertness with other babies his age, our Espresso surpasses them all. If I am in the room with my Espresso, it is impossible for me to sneak out of the room, sneak in the room or sneak anything by him. When he casts glances in my direction, it doesn't take very long for the little neurons to connect in his brain - he knows something is going on and all eyes are on me or what I'm trying to "sneak" by him. He notices new things almost instantaneously. We don't have to wait for him to find it. When we enter a room, his eyes are always scanning the room and he'll find that "new thing" within seconds. Today while we were at the park, there were two identical twin boys dressed the same. I watched my Espresso try to figure out how there were two of them. He kept looking back and forth between the boys. I think he finally figured it out, but he never took his eyes off those boys. He could have cared less about swinging (something he loves). Instead, he was more interested in the boys playing around him.
Now that the weather is warm, we go on walks, sometimes several in a day. Once again, our Espresso scans the world around him. He reaches out his hand to touch plants, notices street signs and wants to see what is on them, and is captivated by trees (trees have done that to him since he was 2 months old). When he spots another walker, he starts to wave even if they are over a block away. Unfortunately, most of the time, they do not see him, so he doesn't get a wave back. In stores, I think his arm is going to fall off he waves so much and will have the strongest cheek muscles from smiling at everyone who walks by. He also watches with incredible perception and curiosity everything I put in the shopping cart. He does not take his eyes off the item. When he recognizes his Cheerio box or some other treat I buy for him, he starts to reach for it, which I then have to let him hold it, until he sees something else more interesting he'd like to hold and tosses the whatever it is he's holding on to the floor.
His curiosity level is amazing. We see no point in buying toys. Our Espresso is interested in everything in this house and ends up playing with nightlights to coasters rather than his own toys. The other day, our Espresso escaped beyond the gate into the hallway to his room. In that hallway is a nightlight that helps us find our way to his room, if our son should wake up in the middle of the night. (Thankfully, that has come to an end!) Our little Espresso saw that nightlight and immediately made a b-line for it. Of course, he pulled it off and chewed on it a few times, but what surprised my hubby and I is that he tried to put it back in, and almost (coordination still a bit weak) was able to do so.
While our little Espresso doesn't have many words in his vocabulary, the one word he uses the most is "touch." And he wants to "touch" everything - particularly electronics. He knows those buttons do things and it's his goal to figure out what.
I like that he is (always been) curious about the world around him. I do hope he stays this way.
My hubby and I were discussing last night, after our Espresso FINALLY had his first tooth come in, that since about the 6th month, our son has been on his own time table with development and milestones. He took a LONG time to crawl, his first tooth did not come in within his first year, and he has no real interest in pulling up or even standing (even if we hold him), while so many other babies are walking, or at least pulling up and/or cruising, by their first birthday.
What I have noticed about my Espresso is that he seems MUCH more mentally aware, alert, cognizant and perceptive than many other babies his age. Perhaps I'm just a proud, biased parent, but when we compare his mental abilities and alertness with other babies his age, our Espresso surpasses them all. If I am in the room with my Espresso, it is impossible for me to sneak out of the room, sneak in the room or sneak anything by him. When he casts glances in my direction, it doesn't take very long for the little neurons to connect in his brain - he knows something is going on and all eyes are on me or what I'm trying to "sneak" by him. He notices new things almost instantaneously. We don't have to wait for him to find it. When we enter a room, his eyes are always scanning the room and he'll find that "new thing" within seconds. Today while we were at the park, there were two identical twin boys dressed the same. I watched my Espresso try to figure out how there were two of them. He kept looking back and forth between the boys. I think he finally figured it out, but he never took his eyes off those boys. He could have cared less about swinging (something he loves). Instead, he was more interested in the boys playing around him.
Now that the weather is warm, we go on walks, sometimes several in a day. Once again, our Espresso scans the world around him. He reaches out his hand to touch plants, notices street signs and wants to see what is on them, and is captivated by trees (trees have done that to him since he was 2 months old). When he spots another walker, he starts to wave even if they are over a block away. Unfortunately, most of the time, they do not see him, so he doesn't get a wave back. In stores, I think his arm is going to fall off he waves so much and will have the strongest cheek muscles from smiling at everyone who walks by. He also watches with incredible perception and curiosity everything I put in the shopping cart. He does not take his eyes off the item. When he recognizes his Cheerio box or some other treat I buy for him, he starts to reach for it, which I then have to let him hold it, until he sees something else more interesting he'd like to hold and tosses the whatever it is he's holding on to the floor.
His curiosity level is amazing. We see no point in buying toys. Our Espresso is interested in everything in this house and ends up playing with nightlights to coasters rather than his own toys. The other day, our Espresso escaped beyond the gate into the hallway to his room. In that hallway is a nightlight that helps us find our way to his room, if our son should wake up in the middle of the night. (Thankfully, that has come to an end!) Our little Espresso saw that nightlight and immediately made a b-line for it. Of course, he pulled it off and chewed on it a few times, but what surprised my hubby and I is that he tried to put it back in, and almost (coordination still a bit weak) was able to do so.
While our little Espresso doesn't have many words in his vocabulary, the one word he uses the most is "touch." And he wants to "touch" everything - particularly electronics. He knows those buttons do things and it's his goal to figure out what.
I like that he is (always been) curious about the world around him. I do hope he stays this way.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
How $10.80 saved my sanity!
One of the hardest challenges as a parent can be to teach your baby the difference between day and night. The day is for playing (and a couple naps) and the night is for SLEEPING! Some babies catch on quickly and for other babies, it takes some long nights and many futile attempts before your baby will sleep through the night.
Our little Espresso's problem was that he has (still is) never been good at comforting himself. If something upsets him, I have an unhappy (crying, fussing) baby until I can find something to distract him not momentarily, but consistently for about a period of 10 minutes. Then it's safe to say that he can continue on (hopefully happily) playing.
At 2 months, our Espresso was sleeping almost through the night. We would put our son to bed at 9 and he would wake once during the night, usually around 3 am, but would go back to sleep quickly after something to eat and would sleep until 7 or 8 in the morning. I thought this was great and figured he would just sleep longer and longer and night as he got older until he was sleeping ALL the way through the night. BUT...that didn't happen.
When our Espresso was 5 months, he decided that he would start this new routine of waking up at 1 or 2 am, cry, act like he was hungry but not eat. It was his ploy to have mommy hold him and comfort him back to sleep. It didn't take ME too long to figure this out and I told my hubby that we were going to put an end to this. Enter Chester.
On July 4, 2008, we bought our Espresso his first teddy bear. He cost $10.80! According to my hubby, EVERY boy needs a teddy bear. We christened our Espresso's teddy bear, Chester and Chester sat in the corner of our Espresso's crib patiently waiting until our Espresso was ready for some teddy lovin'.
Chester was introduced as our Espresso's comfort, rather than his mommy or daddy. During those first few nights of introducing Chester as his comfort, our Espresso had the 'caffeine' (crying fit) of 100 lattes! He's a rather persistent and determined little boy. Thankfully, after two hard nights of enduring cries, yells and blood curdling screams, our Espresso cuddled up with his teddy Chester and this began our son seeking out Chester, rather than mommy, to help him fall back to sleep. The rest is history and I have my sanity thanks to the consistent 7-9 hours of sleep I now get every night thanks to Chester.
Every night when we put our Espresso to bed, we place Chester by our little boy's side and he grabs Chester and gives him a ferocious hug. At times, I have watched from the door to our son's room as he reaches out and grabs Chester and cuddles up with him. It is one of the sweetest sites for a parent (or anyone for that matter) to see. Chester is doing everything a teddy bear should do for a boy: offering love, companionship AND giving a mommy and daddy a good nights sleep!
I love you Chester! :)
Hubby with his teddy bear he had as a boy and my Espresso & Chester.
Our little Espresso's problem was that he has (still is) never been good at comforting himself. If something upsets him, I have an unhappy (crying, fussing) baby until I can find something to distract him not momentarily, but consistently for about a period of 10 minutes. Then it's safe to say that he can continue on (hopefully happily) playing.
At 2 months, our Espresso was sleeping almost through the night. We would put our son to bed at 9 and he would wake once during the night, usually around 3 am, but would go back to sleep quickly after something to eat and would sleep until 7 or 8 in the morning. I thought this was great and figured he would just sleep longer and longer and night as he got older until he was sleeping ALL the way through the night. BUT...that didn't happen.
When our Espresso was 5 months, he decided that he would start this new routine of waking up at 1 or 2 am, cry, act like he was hungry but not eat. It was his ploy to have mommy hold him and comfort him back to sleep. It didn't take ME too long to figure this out and I told my hubby that we were going to put an end to this. Enter Chester.
On July 4, 2008, we bought our Espresso his first teddy bear. He cost $10.80! According to my hubby, EVERY boy needs a teddy bear. We christened our Espresso's teddy bear, Chester and Chester sat in the corner of our Espresso's crib patiently waiting until our Espresso was ready for some teddy lovin'.
Chester was introduced as our Espresso's comfort, rather than his mommy or daddy. During those first few nights of introducing Chester as his comfort, our Espresso had the 'caffeine' (crying fit) of 100 lattes! He's a rather persistent and determined little boy. Thankfully, after two hard nights of enduring cries, yells and blood curdling screams, our Espresso cuddled up with his teddy Chester and this began our son seeking out Chester, rather than mommy, to help him fall back to sleep. The rest is history and I have my sanity thanks to the consistent 7-9 hours of sleep I now get every night thanks to Chester.
Every night when we put our Espresso to bed, we place Chester by our little boy's side and he grabs Chester and gives him a ferocious hug. At times, I have watched from the door to our son's room as he reaches out and grabs Chester and cuddles up with him. It is one of the sweetest sites for a parent (or anyone for that matter) to see. Chester is doing everything a teddy bear should do for a boy: offering love, companionship AND giving a mommy and daddy a good nights sleep!
I love you Chester! :)
Hubby with his teddy bear he had as a boy and my Espresso & Chester.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The new teething rules
My little espresso, as I like to call my son, has been teething what seems to be like forever. He has a nice row of teeth snug in his gums, but so far, they don't want to pop through. I've received countless advice from other mommies but my little espresso is not taking to any of those methods. If my son could offer his teething advice, this is what he would tell other parents of teething babies:
1. Hold or play with something because the child will want it. Note to parent: It is best not to hold anything valuable or breakable during this phase.
2. If the dishwasher is open, let your child chew on the edge or let them pull out forks & spoons to chew on. It's beneficial because they may take in some dried food for extra nutrition.
3. Give them a remote (not a play or old one), but the tv or dvr remote, and let them slobber and chew the dickens out of. You don't really need a remote. You can always get yourself up off the couch and change the channel's manually.
4. Get them addicted to teething drops so they will wiggle, smile and scream for them.
5. Offer your chin as a teether.
6. If you would not like offer your chin as a teether, an empty egg cartons work wonders too.
7. If the child is no longer interested in your chin or egg cartons, offer them the antenna on a cordless phone. This would need to be a phone you use every day, not an old one you could care less about.
8. Leave your shoes scattered about the house. Teething children, like puppies, can't resist shoes!
9. Mommies, leave your purse in a place when the child can chew on the straps. If you leave it open, make sure there are packs of gum accessible where child can chew your gum.
10. Cut a lemon and make it accessible within their reach at the table. If you're lucky and they grab it the sourness will distract them momentarily and you'll get a kick out of their sour expression!
Before any one takes this seriously, please don't. These just seem to be the things that my son WANTS to chew on or do during his teething phase. I really don't let him chew on the edge of the dishwasher or forks and spoons. What kind of a mom do you think I am! :p
1. Hold or play with something because the child will want it. Note to parent: It is best not to hold anything valuable or breakable during this phase.
2. If the dishwasher is open, let your child chew on the edge or let them pull out forks & spoons to chew on. It's beneficial because they may take in some dried food for extra nutrition.
3. Give them a remote (not a play or old one), but the tv or dvr remote, and let them slobber and chew the dickens out of. You don't really need a remote. You can always get yourself up off the couch and change the channel's manually.
4. Get them addicted to teething drops so they will wiggle, smile and scream for them.
5. Offer your chin as a teether.
6. If you would not like offer your chin as a teether, an empty egg cartons work wonders too.
7. If the child is no longer interested in your chin or egg cartons, offer them the antenna on a cordless phone. This would need to be a phone you use every day, not an old one you could care less about.
8. Leave your shoes scattered about the house. Teething children, like puppies, can't resist shoes!
9. Mommies, leave your purse in a place when the child can chew on the straps. If you leave it open, make sure there are packs of gum accessible where child can chew your gum.
10. Cut a lemon and make it accessible within their reach at the table. If you're lucky and they grab it the sourness will distract them momentarily and you'll get a kick out of their sour expression!
Before any one takes this seriously, please don't. These just seem to be the things that my son WANTS to chew on or do during his teething phase. I really don't let him chew on the edge of the dishwasher or forks and spoons. What kind of a mom do you think I am! :p
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Andrew's Song
This story is not really about me, but for sake of background and understanding, you'll have to bear with me to lay some foundation.
I became an American Idol fan during season 4 as Carrie Underwood boosted her way on to the national season. The following year, I was drawn to Mandisa, a big, black girl with big pipes and big testimony for Jesus. Simon, the notorious, critical judge, had made a comment about Mandisa's weight which was aired on national television, and which Mandisa viewed with a roomful of her friends. (OUCH, SIMON!!!) During the selection of the Top 36, Mandisa was able to confront Simon on his "weight based remark." She blew everyone away with her response. To quote her as best I can, she told Simon that she had forgiven him for his remark because Jesus had forgiven her for all she had done wrong. I can only imagine how uncomfortable it was in that room. She made it known right there she was Christian and was going to make no apologies for it.
Mandisa made it through to the Top 12. :) I do not know which week it was, but the contestants were told to pick a song from the past three years to sing. Mandisa chose Mary Mary's "Shackles(Praise You)," a Christian artist and very Christian song. I was blown away again! Not only does she tell Simon that she's forgiven him because Jesus has forgiven her, she goes on a national stage and sings about Jesus setting her/us free! You go girl!! However, one week later, Mandisa would be voted off. But that was not the end of Mandisa. She has now come out with three CD's and is still singing about/for Jesus.
My hubby and I moved to Huntsville in 2007 and started the long process to find a church. (This is the South so there are lots to choose from.) Eric & I felt led to Willowbrook Baptist and a specific Sunday school class. We've met some great people there, and some extra special ones in Billy & Rebecca. When we joined the class, I was pregnant with Ethan. Rebecca was also pregnant - just a few weeks behind me. Ethan was born in April 2008 and in May we were awaiting the birth of Andrew, Billy & Rebecca's son.
Jumping back in time a bit, Ethan was extra special to us because the week I found out I was pregnant with him, our good friends in VA lost their unborn son (Matthew) when he was six months along, still snug in his Mommy. Finding out I was pregnant that same week was bitter-sweet to say the least. We decided to honor Matthew's life by giving our son Matthew as middle name.
With the foundation laid, let the story continue....
Rebecca was given a baby shower by some friends and one of those friends knew that Rebecca was a Mandisa fan. She wrote Mandisa to ask if she would write a blessing for Rebecca's baby shower. Of all the fan mail Mandisa receives, she chose that e-mail to read and graciously replied with a blessing for Rebecca. Just weeks before Andrew was due, Mandisa was in Huntsville at another baptist church and Rebecca was able to meet her.
It was nearing the end of a work week, when Rebecca started to feel some labor pains. She was scheduled for an inducement in just a few days, but it appeared as though baby Andrew wanted to come early. Billy & Rebecca headed to the hospital thinking that they would meet their boy earlier than expected. However, tragedy struck. While the nurses attempted to find Andrew's heartbeat they could not. God chose Andrew to skip this world and join him in
Heaven.
This sounds like such a sad story, but hang on...
The friend that wrote Mandisa to ask her to write a blessing for Rebecca, contacted Mandisa again to tell her that Billy & Rebecca had lost Andrew. Mandisa set about to find songs that could comfort Billy & Rebecca and was searching particularly for a song from Andrew's perspective in Heaven. She could not find one, so she decided to write a song ("You Wouldn't Cry," or as we like to call it, "Andrew's Song") for Billy & Rebecca.
The blessings that have come from this are numerous. You'd have to ask Billy & Rebecca about them all, but I know they could go on and on for hours. Rebecca was asked by Mandisa to be in the video for this song and next month, she and Billy are flying to Dallas to hear Mandisa sing live the song written for their little boy.
While I know Billy & Rebecca struggled with many emotions after the loss of their son, it was the power of Jesus that got them through. If ever I saw Jesus and God's grace in anyone so vividly, it has been Billy & Rebecca.
Mandisa's new CD, Freedom, which includes "You Wouldn't Cry (Andrew's Song) comes out March 24. To hear her CD visit:http://www.imeem.com/mandisaofficial "You Wouldn't Cry" is #11. I ask that you take a few minutes to listen to this song. It's powerful!! Before you do, please keep in mind that even though the circumstances of both Matthew and Andrew are extremely sad, if we really could see them in Heaven (or any loved one) we really "Wouldn't Cry" for them.
I hope you will share this with anyone you know. Not only is the CD awesome, I know God is gonna use Andrew's short life in his Mommy's tummy through the song, "You Wouldn't Cry," to be a blessing and encouragement to SO many people.
Oh, our friends in VA that lost their son Matthew have since had a beautiful baby girl, Hannah Renee AND Billy & Rebecca are expecting a little baby this Fall. Praise Jesus!
An article about Mandisa and her upcoming CD: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/11/mandisa/index.html>
Lyrics - You Wouldn't Cry
You Wouldn't Cry (Andrew's Song)
All you saw was pain
All you saw was rain
But you should see me now
Moments filled with tears
Lasted all those years
Disappeared some how
You never said goodbye
On your knees you cry
You're still asking why
But blue has never been bluer
True has never been truer
Honey never tasted so sweet
There's a song in the breeze
A million voices in praise
A rose has never smelled redder
The sun has never been brighter
If I could find the right words to say
If you could look at my face
If you could just see this place
You wouldn't cry for me today
What you think you see
Isn't really me
I'm already home
You've got to lay it down
'Cause Jesus holds me now
And I am not alone
Your faith is wearing thin
But I am watching Him
And He is holding you too
And blue has never been bluer
True has never been truer
Honey never tasted so sweet
There's a song in the breeze
A million voices in praise
A rose has never smelled redder
The sun has never been brighter
If I could find the right words to say
If you could look at my face
If you could just see this place
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
Oh what may seem like years
Will just be a moment
Oh the day will come
When I'll show you where you're going
I can't wait to show you
And blue has never been bluer
True has never been truer
Honey never tasted so sweet
There's a song in the breeze
A million voices in praise
A rose has never smelled redder
The sun has never been brighter
If I could find the right words to say
If you could look at my face
If you could just see this place
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
I became an American Idol fan during season 4 as Carrie Underwood boosted her way on to the national season. The following year, I was drawn to Mandisa, a big, black girl with big pipes and big testimony for Jesus. Simon, the notorious, critical judge, had made a comment about Mandisa's weight which was aired on national television, and which Mandisa viewed with a roomful of her friends. (OUCH, SIMON!!!) During the selection of the Top 36, Mandisa was able to confront Simon on his "weight based remark." She blew everyone away with her response. To quote her as best I can, she told Simon that she had forgiven him for his remark because Jesus had forgiven her for all she had done wrong. I can only imagine how uncomfortable it was in that room. She made it known right there she was Christian and was going to make no apologies for it.
Mandisa made it through to the Top 12. :) I do not know which week it was, but the contestants were told to pick a song from the past three years to sing. Mandisa chose Mary Mary's "Shackles(Praise You)," a Christian artist and very Christian song. I was blown away again! Not only does she tell Simon that she's forgiven him because Jesus has forgiven her, she goes on a national stage and sings about Jesus setting her/us free! You go girl!! However, one week later, Mandisa would be voted off. But that was not the end of Mandisa. She has now come out with three CD's and is still singing about/for Jesus.
My hubby and I moved to Huntsville in 2007 and started the long process to find a church. (This is the South so there are lots to choose from.) Eric & I felt led to Willowbrook Baptist and a specific Sunday school class. We've met some great people there, and some extra special ones in Billy & Rebecca. When we joined the class, I was pregnant with Ethan. Rebecca was also pregnant - just a few weeks behind me. Ethan was born in April 2008 and in May we were awaiting the birth of Andrew, Billy & Rebecca's son.
Jumping back in time a bit, Ethan was extra special to us because the week I found out I was pregnant with him, our good friends in VA lost their unborn son (Matthew) when he was six months along, still snug in his Mommy. Finding out I was pregnant that same week was bitter-sweet to say the least. We decided to honor Matthew's life by giving our son Matthew as middle name.
With the foundation laid, let the story continue....
Rebecca was given a baby shower by some friends and one of those friends knew that Rebecca was a Mandisa fan. She wrote Mandisa to ask if she would write a blessing for Rebecca's baby shower. Of all the fan mail Mandisa receives, she chose that e-mail to read and graciously replied with a blessing for Rebecca. Just weeks before Andrew was due, Mandisa was in Huntsville at another baptist church and Rebecca was able to meet her.
It was nearing the end of a work week, when Rebecca started to feel some labor pains. She was scheduled for an inducement in just a few days, but it appeared as though baby Andrew wanted to come early. Billy & Rebecca headed to the hospital thinking that they would meet their boy earlier than expected. However, tragedy struck. While the nurses attempted to find Andrew's heartbeat they could not. God chose Andrew to skip this world and join him in
Heaven.
This sounds like such a sad story, but hang on...
The friend that wrote Mandisa to ask her to write a blessing for Rebecca, contacted Mandisa again to tell her that Billy & Rebecca had lost Andrew. Mandisa set about to find songs that could comfort Billy & Rebecca and was searching particularly for a song from Andrew's perspective in Heaven. She could not find one, so she decided to write a song ("You Wouldn't Cry," or as we like to call it, "Andrew's Song") for Billy & Rebecca.
The blessings that have come from this are numerous. You'd have to ask Billy & Rebecca about them all, but I know they could go on and on for hours. Rebecca was asked by Mandisa to be in the video for this song and next month, she and Billy are flying to Dallas to hear Mandisa sing live the song written for their little boy.
While I know Billy & Rebecca struggled with many emotions after the loss of their son, it was the power of Jesus that got them through. If ever I saw Jesus and God's grace in anyone so vividly, it has been Billy & Rebecca.
Mandisa's new CD, Freedom, which includes "You Wouldn't Cry (Andrew's Song) comes out March 24. To hear her CD visit:http://www.imeem.com/mandisaofficial "You Wouldn't Cry" is #11. I ask that you take a few minutes to listen to this song. It's powerful!! Before you do, please keep in mind that even though the circumstances of both Matthew and Andrew are extremely sad, if we really could see them in Heaven (or any loved one) we really "Wouldn't Cry" for them.
I hope you will share this with anyone you know. Not only is the CD awesome, I know God is gonna use Andrew's short life in his Mommy's tummy through the song, "You Wouldn't Cry," to be a blessing and encouragement to SO many people.
Oh, our friends in VA that lost their son Matthew have since had a beautiful baby girl, Hannah Renee AND Billy & Rebecca are expecting a little baby this Fall. Praise Jesus!
An article about Mandisa and her upcoming CD: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/11/mandisa/index.html>
Lyrics - You Wouldn't Cry
You Wouldn't Cry (Andrew's Song)
All you saw was pain
All you saw was rain
But you should see me now
Moments filled with tears
Lasted all those years
Disappeared some how
You never said goodbye
On your knees you cry
You're still asking why
But blue has never been bluer
True has never been truer
Honey never tasted so sweet
There's a song in the breeze
A million voices in praise
A rose has never smelled redder
The sun has never been brighter
If I could find the right words to say
If you could look at my face
If you could just see this place
You wouldn't cry for me today
What you think you see
Isn't really me
I'm already home
You've got to lay it down
'Cause Jesus holds me now
And I am not alone
Your faith is wearing thin
But I am watching Him
And He is holding you too
And blue has never been bluer
True has never been truer
Honey never tasted so sweet
There's a song in the breeze
A million voices in praise
A rose has never smelled redder
The sun has never been brighter
If I could find the right words to say
If you could look at my face
If you could just see this place
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
Oh what may seem like years
Will just be a moment
Oh the day will come
When I'll show you where you're going
I can't wait to show you
And blue has never been bluer
True has never been truer
Honey never tasted so sweet
There's a song in the breeze
A million voices in praise
A rose has never smelled redder
The sun has never been brighter
If I could find the right words to say
If you could look at my face
If you could just see this place
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
You wouldn't cry for me today
Monday, March 9, 2009
WARNING: Say NO to Lortab
This past week I had a wisdom tooth extracted and part of another tooth removed. It was a quick 35 minute surgery and before I knew it, I was on my way home. As with any surgery, the doctor sends you home with a prescription for pain. I have had numerous pain medications, but this was my first encounter with Lortab and it will be my last!
My surgery was mid-morning and it was not until mid afternoon that I started to feel the first twinges of pain. Wanting to be on top of the pain and not wait until I was IN pain, I decided to pop a pain pill and continue chilling on the couch. I did just that minus the chilling.
One hour after taking the Lortab, I started to feel nauseous. My first thought was that it was the anesthesia working it's way out of my system that was making me nauseous. I was told following my ear surgery that I might feel some nausea due to the wearing off of the anesthesia. With this knowledge, I decided to take a nap and sleep the nausea away.
Just as I was about to doze off, the doctors office called to check on how I was doing. My hubby told them I was nauseous and they said it was from the Lortab, but not to worry. They would call in a prescription for nausea and I'd be good to go!
I woke up a couple hours later and I thought I was feeling better. "Thought," that's the key word. After taking care of my son's needs, it was after 6:30pm by the time I was able to get my supper. I had developed a nasty headache, which I thought was from lack of food. (I did not have breakfast because of the surgery and lunch was mashed potatoes and yogurt.)
I settled down on the couch with my tomato soup and started sipping away. Three sips later, I put down my tomato soup and curled up in the fetal position. The nausea was back.
Having experienced nausea with my pregnancy, I immediately started doing things that helped me during my pregnancy. I also took a nausea pill and waited for it to do it's work. (It definitely did not work as fast as Zofran). Fifteen minutes later, I was leaning over the toilet bowl offering it my lunch.
During my pregnancy, vomiting always made me feel better. "Ok," I thought, I'll be able to eat now. After two more sips of tomato soup, I put it down again and curled up in the fetal position. Fifteen minutes after that, I was back before the toilet bowl offering it the nausea pill and the few sips of tomato soup that I had managed to get down.
Surely, NOW I would feel better, right? Cold foods always did the trick for me during pregnancy, so I thought, "ICE CREAM." Much to my horror and dismay, I had three small bits of ice cream before I set it down and watched it melt. And, you guessed it, fifteen minutes later I gave the ice cream to the toilet bowl.
Everything gets hazy after this. I know I get on my pj's and crawl into bed. The headache I had earlier was now a throbbing, aching, pounding headache. As I lay in bed, the headache would subside, but as it did, my nausea would return and I would find myself leaning over the toilet boil in heaving convulsions. I had nothing in my stomach to offer. I think what did come up was my saliva!
I tried again to take a nausea pill only to leave it in the toilet bowl. After three or four times of laying down, having my headache go away, getting out of bed, heaving, having my headache return, laying back down etc...I FINALLY fell asleep and slept 11 straight hours and thankfully NO MORE NAUSEA!!!
From sharing this story with a few people, they shared with me that Lortab has this affect on many people. Others, like my neighbor, it does not bother. With all the pain medications out there, why would they prescribe one that may possibly cause some unpleasant side affects, similar to what I experienced. The nauseousness that I experienced Wednesday night was by far ten times worse than any I experienced while pregnant. Thankfully, I did not experience any severe pain, and the pain I did feel, was quickly sent packing by 600 miligrams of ibuprofen.
The moral of this story is, don't take Lortab if you've never had it before . It's not worth it. The next time I am at the doctor and they ask me if I am allergic to any medication, I am telling them Lortab!
My surgery was mid-morning and it was not until mid afternoon that I started to feel the first twinges of pain. Wanting to be on top of the pain and not wait until I was IN pain, I decided to pop a pain pill and continue chilling on the couch. I did just that minus the chilling.
One hour after taking the Lortab, I started to feel nauseous. My first thought was that it was the anesthesia working it's way out of my system that was making me nauseous. I was told following my ear surgery that I might feel some nausea due to the wearing off of the anesthesia. With this knowledge, I decided to take a nap and sleep the nausea away.
Just as I was about to doze off, the doctors office called to check on how I was doing. My hubby told them I was nauseous and they said it was from the Lortab, but not to worry. They would call in a prescription for nausea and I'd be good to go!
I woke up a couple hours later and I thought I was feeling better. "Thought," that's the key word. After taking care of my son's needs, it was after 6:30pm by the time I was able to get my supper. I had developed a nasty headache, which I thought was from lack of food. (I did not have breakfast because of the surgery and lunch was mashed potatoes and yogurt.)
I settled down on the couch with my tomato soup and started sipping away. Three sips later, I put down my tomato soup and curled up in the fetal position. The nausea was back.
Having experienced nausea with my pregnancy, I immediately started doing things that helped me during my pregnancy. I also took a nausea pill and waited for it to do it's work. (It definitely did not work as fast as Zofran). Fifteen minutes later, I was leaning over the toilet bowl offering it my lunch.
During my pregnancy, vomiting always made me feel better. "Ok," I thought, I'll be able to eat now. After two more sips of tomato soup, I put it down again and curled up in the fetal position. Fifteen minutes after that, I was back before the toilet bowl offering it the nausea pill and the few sips of tomato soup that I had managed to get down.
Surely, NOW I would feel better, right? Cold foods always did the trick for me during pregnancy, so I thought, "ICE CREAM." Much to my horror and dismay, I had three small bits of ice cream before I set it down and watched it melt. And, you guessed it, fifteen minutes later I gave the ice cream to the toilet bowl.
Everything gets hazy after this. I know I get on my pj's and crawl into bed. The headache I had earlier was now a throbbing, aching, pounding headache. As I lay in bed, the headache would subside, but as it did, my nausea would return and I would find myself leaning over the toilet boil in heaving convulsions. I had nothing in my stomach to offer. I think what did come up was my saliva!
I tried again to take a nausea pill only to leave it in the toilet bowl. After three or four times of laying down, having my headache go away, getting out of bed, heaving, having my headache return, laying back down etc...I FINALLY fell asleep and slept 11 straight hours and thankfully NO MORE NAUSEA!!!
From sharing this story with a few people, they shared with me that Lortab has this affect on many people. Others, like my neighbor, it does not bother. With all the pain medications out there, why would they prescribe one that may possibly cause some unpleasant side affects, similar to what I experienced. The nauseousness that I experienced Wednesday night was by far ten times worse than any I experienced while pregnant. Thankfully, I did not experience any severe pain, and the pain I did feel, was quickly sent packing by 600 miligrams of ibuprofen.
The moral of this story is, don't take Lortab if you've never had it before . It's not worth it. The next time I am at the doctor and they ask me if I am allergic to any medication, I am telling them Lortab!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
sssssoooo bad
I've been so bad at writing on this blog I created. I get too distracted with other things that by the time I remember I need to write something on my blog, I'm way too stinkin' tired. I need to write myself a note where I can see it daily to get on here and write. But then again, it's not like I have a super large following anyway. I do a lot on facebook, so this is just really extra.
But, I will try to be more consistent.
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