Sounds that I LOVE

*Walking on gravel. Or, a car pulling onto a long gravel driveway.
*A toddler drinking out of a sippy cup.
*Fire crackling.
*My garage door opening when Paul comes home.
*Packaging tape being put on a box.
*Fireworks-the squealing sound right before it bursts in the sky (especially at Disney)
*Trains-my gramma used to have one pass right in front of her house. It reminds me of her.
*Shaking glass in a china cabinet (side effect of the train going by:)
*Wind (I have a screen door on the back of my house and I love having it open on a windy day)
*My boys belly laughing.
*The ocean.
*My dad whistling.
*A horse chewing on grass (okay, so you might think I'm crazy, but I LOVE that sound, I was just feeding horses the other day at a friends house...)
*Football on tv in the background while I take a nap!
*The click of a roller coaster as you go up the hill.

The BEST Doctor EVER

Folks, meet Dr. Watkins. He is my cardiologist. This is the best doctor on the planet. He is one of those doctors who listens to you complete your thoughts and sentences before he makes a suggestion. He lets me talk about my life and my boys. He has a gift. Not only is he book smart, but he is truly gifted to be a cardiologist. He is the reason I drive 2 1/2 hours to go to a doctor's appointment. He laughed a little when I asked to get a picture of him. I told him, "I have a picture of all of the important people in my life and you need to be in those pictures." He obliged. I don't know what I'll do when this man retires. Please, oh, PLEASE don't let it be too soon!

My appt. went well. He changed my beta blocker and gave me a pep talk. I need a pep talk often. I don't know if he gives everyone a pep talk or if he could just tell I needed one. So, I've started new medicine and we'll see how it goes. Thank you to everyone who commented and loved on me. And, if you ever need a cardiologist...he is your man! 

What is DYSAUTONOMIA anyway?

Dysautonomia is a heart condition. Basically it's an exaggerated form of Mitral Valve Prolapse. It affects the autonomic nervous system. I was diagnosed with this almost 5 years ago. I was pregnant with Wesley at the time and I was scared to death. I had a tubal litigation after Wesley was born. It was a bittersweet moment. I was SO THANKFUL my baby made it through that rough 9 months with me, but I was sad that I wouldn't have anymore babies. Now, my "baby" is almost 5 years old. (I'm pregnant with Wesley in this picture.)

I've made great strides in conquering this condition. And, I have had many setbacks. It's treatable. It's live-able. I know what I need to do to keep my body healthy and strong. Along with taking a beta blocker, I drink a TON of water and try to exercise regularly.

I have discouraging days though. Sometimes, I think..."whew, I'm out of the woods and I'm back to NORMAL". Then, the next day...WHOP. I'm flat on my back again. The past 2 months I've been "WHOPPED". I've been trying to just deal with the every day tasks and push through hoping my symptoms would go away. But, they haven't. Sooooo, I'm headed back to my incredible cardiologist in Birmingham, AL. Whether my dr. changes my medicine, or puts me on a different regimen, I don't know. But I DO know this:

Psalms 91:14-15 "Because she loves me, 'says the Lord', I will rescue her; I will protect her, for she acknowledges my name. She will call upon me, and I will answer her; I will be with her in trouble, I will deliver her and honor her."

He is my healer. My provision. In my mind "healing" might be something completely different than what HE has planned. But I trust HIS healing.

Don't you just love that for the simple fact that we "ACKNOWLEDGE HIS NAME" He promises to rescue us? When we are at our lowest point and we can't do anything else but acknowledge Him, THAT'S enough. That is grace.

Today, I'm headed to go for a run. I'm gonna try to train for a marathon in October. Dysautonomia or not. :)

My New Favorite Accessory

The "OFF" bug repellant clip-on! This thing totally works. I tested it by running toward a swarm of gnats - (again, my neighbors probably think I'm koo-koo), it was like I had a plastic bubble protecting me. I have seen bees come flying toward me and when they get about 5 feet away they change their course. YES! That's right, don't mess with me. Yep, ehhhh. :)

Now the reason this is so vital to my wardrobe now is because in the last few years I've been bitten and stung I don't know HOW MANY times. Here's all the things that have bitten/stung me: (just for fun:)

*Fire ants
*Brown Recluse (2 yrs ago on Paul's birthday, I literally passed out and my foot swelled twice the size, ER visit and off my foot for a week)
*Yellow Jacket
*Corn snake (while I was pregnant and mowing the grass, I ran him over and he bit me)
*White faced hornet (at my pool - that one HURT!)
*Wasp
*Lizard
*SCORPION!!! (3 times in 1 week! this year on Mother's day i woke up to a scorpion stinging me in my BED!)
*Cat
*Dive-bombed by bats in my neighborhood
*Jellyfish
*Mosquitos 
*Random spiders
*Horse fly

I am NO LONGER THE VICTIM! I have my weapon and I'm ready to attack! Today I clipped this on around my waist and mowed the grass - not a SINGLE bite, sting, itch...nothing! There's a coupon for BOGO at coupons.com.

Yard Sale Finds!!!

I haven't been yard sale-ing in forever. Today, it was just me and my Wesley hanging out. We went to the pool in our neighborhood, and on the way back to our house, we scored some GREAT deals!

Nice, heavy duty tongs for the grill...25 cents!

Sterling Silver tongs for fancy stuff...25 cents! Maybe for a fruit tray or ice cubes with mint leaves and berries frozen inside. Ooooh, I'm getting excited about the possibilities.

Regular tongs...25 cents. Now, this is where you really score. These were in the SAME 25 cent bin as the sterling silver tongs. I got these, well, just because. Actually, I thought by getting these too, I would disguise the SS ones...hee hee.

Table cloth/linen, hand embroidered...$1.00. This is precious! It has little easter bunnies and chicks embroidered on it. Can't you just see it under the centerpiece with some little colored eggs on it at Easter dinner?

Table cloth/linen...$1.00. Here again, all in the same bin and I just grabbed this one as well. I thought this would be darling on a table at a tea party. Yeah, because I have tea parties all the time. Oh well.

Table cloth...$1.00. Oh, I wish this picture did this table cloth justice! I squealed inside when I saw this. I mean really??? Pink and green gingham! Linen! Embroidered! Spotless! It doesn't even look like it's been used. I need to have a girl party so I can use it.

Twelve Extraordinary Women by John Macarthur...50 cents! This looks like a really good book and just this week someone was telling me to read it. Score! Oh, and look what was inside...

Family Christmas cards...I guess I'll need to drop these back by their house. Or, maybe they were part of the deal, who knows? :)

Teacup and saucer...$3.00. Isn't this just so dainty? It is bone china from Germany and it's in MINT condition. I got it for my gramma. She has the most beautiful collection of teacups.

So I spent under $8.00 and got some fun treats! $8.00 isn't bad to get the shopping bug out of your system.

Happy Birthday Paul!

Today is my baby's 34th birthday. What do I love about my hubby?

1. He makes me laugh.
2. He tells me I'm not high maintenance, even though I know I am!
3. He's an incredible daddy.
4. He has the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen.
5. He's just HOT!
6. He has a heart to serve God.
7. He kills every bug/scorpion/spider that comes my way.
8. He tries to appreciate the things I like (ie, flowers and The Bachelorette:)
9. He isn't selfish, in any sense of the word.
10. He makes the best cup of coffee!

I love you, my favorite, Happy Birthday! 

Who You Are When Nobody's Looking

Our dinner table hasn't always been a good place for family discussions. In the past, Paul and I would scramble to get the boys fed, keep food from flinging on the walls and I felt as if we were constantly saying..."take ONE MORE BITE". As our boys are getting older, we still have the "take one more bite" moments, but we are able to talk to them more. This weekend at dinner, Will was asking us about a friend who acts very polite in front of me and Paul and then says dirty words the second we walk away.

What a great opportunity to talk to our boys about INTEGRITY. Your character is who you ARE when no one is looking. When the teacher walks out of the room and tells the children to stay in their seats...you should stay in your seat. We are trying, as imperfect as we are, to teach our boys to be people of integrity.

This brings me to Justin Bieber. The hot new teen singing sensation sweeping our nation! :)

Will got in the car after school one day and said, "Justin Bieber sings like a girl. His music is kind of annoying." I knew, KNEW that he had heard that from a kid at school and if he actually heard Justin's music he'd like it. So, I downloaded a few of his songs and put them on Will's ipod. SURE ENOUGH:
Yesterday, Will had some alone time while I was getting ready and blowdrying my hair. He was so proud to show me his music video he recorded it himself and he loves the mirror effect on photo booth:

I watched this and said..."See, Will, you DO like his music!" Now, of course I didn't do this experiment to throw my child under the bus and prove him wrong, but I wanted him to see that when NO ONE ELSE WAS LOOKING, he discovered who he really was. And who WILL really is, is a GREAT KID with an expanded taste in music. :) Yes, he listens to Justin Bieber with integrity.