Gidgi of the year!

(note: this entry contains a lot of rambling and quite a bit of whining...read with caution~ you've been warned!)

Craziness! That's about all I can say about the first part of the weekend. I was stressed about it already because I knew I needed to be in two or three places at once and didn't know how to make a twin of myself on such short notice. I knew this weekend was going to be busy with a soccer tournament for Tink but I just didnt' know the dates or times until earlier in the week. I also knew that we had been invited to one of our college students summer missions banquet on Friday night and I was trying to set up childcare for that. Of course all it took was one phone call to Gidgi and she selflessly volunteered for whatever we needed. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

THEN the tournament schedule came out. Game at 6pm on Friday, game at 8am on Sat, game at 11am on Sat. O.K. I guess I should stop here and let you know what my soccer games have been like recently. Basically it's me running around after Princess keeping her off of the field and out of the way. She is non-stop action and she doesn't ever sit. Tink is on a very talented and fun to watch soccer team and I knew that three games in 18 hours was just going to be too much for both Princess and I both to handle. Add to that the fact that Man-Man's soccer game was at 900am Sat. and it was on the other side of town. Yep, that was three games on Sat. morning. Help! So, another call to Gidgi and again...all was taken care of. She would keep Princess on Friday night and Sat 8am game and then we could all go to the 11am game. Yeah!

THEN I wake up Thurs morning to an email from our coach saying that there is a make-up game that night at 630. What?? A make up game right before a tournament weekend? O.K. change the plans and deal with it. Are you counting? That's five Kyser games within 36 hours all with an 18 month old who won't sit still!

THEN I remembered the missions banquet for Alleta. Oh, is Tink's game going to be over in time? Can we show up late? What do I do with the kids? So, you guessed it...another call to Gidgi. After the soccer game we could bring all of the kids to her and Jeremy and I could be off to the missions banquet even if we were just a tad late. Great!

THEN at 4:10pm on Friday afternoon Man-Man comes to me looking horrible and asking for medicine because his ears hurt. O.K. this child has an incredible pain threshold. I've never heard him complain, even when he's sick. The night before he didn't sleep and mentioned that his ears hurt but once he woke up he never said another word about it. So I figured we were in the clear. No! Right before the Dr. closed (and too late to be seen at the regular office) he tells me this. I immediately call the Dr. and they say I can be at the after-hours clinic for a 6:10pm appt. Uh, can I just get a prescription for Amoxil right over the phone? I know that's all they're going to do anyway. The flu is very bad here and the last thing I wanted was for him to catch something bad just because he went in for the earache. Nope! I had to see the Dr. After a mini-breakdown I pull it together and...you guessed it...called Gidgi. I would take Man-Man to the Dr. Jeremy would take Tink to soccer. Gidgi would keep Princess. When Tink's game was over he would drop her off with Gidgi and go to the missions banquet. Once I was out of the Dr. (which btw is in Jackson- 25 minutes away) I would drop Man-Man off and be late to the banquet. It wasn't ideal but it was all we could do.

After a 45 minute wait in the waiting room (we were the second people in there too!) we finally got in to see the Dr. Three minutes after we were called back we were walking out of the door with a prescription for...yep, Amoxil! Sigh! Double ear infections 10 on a scale of 1-10. Long story long...I made it to the missions banquet right in time for supper and it was a wonderful night. During all of this madness I kept clinging to one verse, "For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I knew that I couldn't get through last night and this morning on my own. I knew that only He could get me through it and help it to all work out. God is so good!

THEN (yep, you thought I was done rambling) we get to this morning. Remember Gidgi is showing up at 730am to keep Princess (and now Man-Man since he's sick) so that we can go to Tink's game. We get to the fields and at the last minute they postpone all of the games 2 hours due to water on the fields. Uh, what is two hours going to solve? These girls were ready to play. There were hundreds of people already there who were ready to play. Away we go. We call Gidgi and let her know that our games are now at 1000am and 100pm. Of course each time I tell her she's not expected to keep these kids the entire time. But each time she selflessly tells us that she will do whatever is needed. Amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So we finally get to play at 1000am and it's now 15 degrees colder and misting! Not a smart idea to delay the games. The girls played great but due to an inexperienced ref who allowed three goals to count for the other team that were illegal (i.e. handballs and indirect kicks that went straight into the goal without touching another player) they lost by one point. 4-3. That one point ended up keeping them out of the championship game. It was heartbreaking because they played two other perfect games and didn't allow any points to be scored on them. They were by far the best team out there but I guess you can't win them all. I'm so proud of Tink and the Hurricanes! They are having so much fun.

But I am most proud of my mother...the best Gidgi in the world. Who gave up her entire weekend to be at our beckon call. She cooked for us, kept sick kids, bathed them, watched movies with them, and even took one home with her this afternoon so the rest of us could crash! You're the best mom! I can't thank you enough. Now...about next weekend....

Jill

First tooth (teeth)!

You know, I don't remember loosing teeth being such a big deal when I was little. I mean, I remember losing a couple of them. In first grade I was kicking leaves during recess and thought it would be cool to do a high "Pride of the Tide" type kick (think Rockettes for those of you not from Picayune). I kicked my front tooth out. O.K. it was loose anyway but I remember it miraculously landed right in my hand. Other than that I remember mom threatening to tie my tooth to a door handle and slam it a couple of times but that was it. I'm sure she remembers more.

I have not had any memories of my kids losing teeth until Friday. Tink has had a couple of loose teeth for a while. One was so ready to come out that I didn't see how it was still hanging on. I had a dentist appt. on Friday so I took Tink with me. She loves going to the dentist and since her appt isn't for another month I let her go. After Dr. Everett checked my teeth I told her about Tink's first tooth. She asked Tink if she wanted to trade seats with me so that she could get a better look. She told Tink that she had "sleepy jelly" that she could rub on the tooth and make it not hurt anymore. Before I knew it I was asking for a camera so that I could take before and after pictures. One quick shot with Dr. Everett's camera and that tooth was out!

Well, I knew that Tink's two big teeth were already coming in behind her baby teeth and Dr. Everett knew she needed more room. Yep, more sleepy jelly and the next minute the other tooth was out. This one hurt quite a bit. I felt so bad for Tink because she had no idea what she was getting into. This wasn't even her appt. The second tooth was just slightly loose so the root was still very much intact. Sleepy jelly only goes so far and she hurt for a while. Now somewhere in the middle of this I did what any guilty parent would do and kinda started promising things to Tink to get her mind off of what was going on. So not only did the tooth fairy leave a VERY generous first tooth (teeth) gift under her pillow but I had to also immediately go get her a vanilla frosty from Wendy's (per Dr's orders) and I had to go to Wal-Mart and pick up High School Musical 3 which she didn't even know had come out on DVD earlier that week.

Well, that was the end of the traumatic dentist visit. Poor thing...I'm afraid she may have to have another pulled in March when she goes back. Her big teeth are just coming in faster than her baby teeth want to leave. Of course, I have NOT mentioned this to her. Oh, what a visit that's going to be. She won't be fooled the next time.

Jill

Happy Valentine's Day!

As a child I spent many hours- many, many hours helping my aunt make king cakes during Mardi Gras season at her bakery. She is the owner of Paul's Pastry shop in Picayune, MS and is probably best known for her famous king cakes. She bakes the king cakes year round now but of course, during Mardi Gras they work pretty much around the clock. The other day U.S. congressman Gene Taylor from Mississippi came into Aunt Sherri's bakery telling him of a solider that he had recently been speaking with. This solider is stationed in Afghanistan but is from Gulfport. Congressman Taylor asked the solider what he could do for her and she said, "I would just like a king cake from Paul's Pastry." Congressman Taylor then came into the bakery to talk to Aunt Sherri about getting a king cake sent over to her.

Aunt Sherri told him that she had been trying to send cakes overseas for years but it was impossible to get them there due to the fact that they are perishable food items. Customers call daily wanting to send them to loved ones oversees - but packages take weeks to arrive. So, Congressman Taylor went on a mission to see if he could make this happen. They worked it out that the cakes could be sent over on a military plane leaving Gulfport.

My Aunt's bakery is closed on Sunday's but this past Sunday it was full of Paul's Pastry employees who were donating their time to make 150 king cakes to be shipped to our troops in Afghanistan. She could only send 150 because of the weight and size of the cakes. She actually wanted to send 1,000 - but maybe another trip. I wanted to say how proud I am of Aunt Sherri and the wonderful workers of Paul's Pastry. I know there are soliders enjoying those king cakes as I write this and that makes my heart proud. It may not seem like much but it's a little taste of home for those men and women who serve our country.

One last thing, Princess went for a follow-up checkup and her leg is healing great. She doesn't have to wear her walking cast at night and in another week we can start weaning her from it altoghether. God is so good!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Remember that Christ is the one who loved us so much that He willingly died on a cross that we might be able to spend eternity with Him. Who do you know that would die for you? Who do you NOT know that would die for you. He died for you whether you believe it or not, whether you accept the gift of Salvation or not. He is the ultimate example of selfless Love! Let's remember to thank Him tomorrow...and daily!

Love you all,
Jill

Update on Princess

Well, I guess I should update everyone on our little Princess. After two days of not walking on it we were tired of waiting on the Dr's. So we called the Ped. Orthopedic ourselves and they got us in that day. For the record he was wonderful and had such a fun waiting room that I almost wished our other kids were with us...almost! He took x-rays and determined that Princess did indeed have a minor toddler fracture and would require a cast or a walking boot. We opted for the walking boot (although there is not much walking going on in it!) so that we could take it off of her for baths. She has to wear it all times though and she's really gotten pretty compliant. The first couple of days were pretty miserable for us all. She just wanted to be held and when I put her down she just sat there. She was just so pitiful. It was like all of her will was gone. We placed all kinds of toys around her and I felt like she was like 6 months old again. I did enjoy sitting and playing with her. I loved the cuddle times and the long rocks in the rocking chair. She's been so busy recently that I feel like I never get to just sit and hold her. I guess God gave me some good snuggle time!

She's started really getting around with the cast now. She will stand and walk as long as she's holding onto something stable. She's even started using her boot to climb onto things. She realizes that with it she is a lot taller and just today I caught her climbing onto the benches in the school room and the couch (the little stinker). Last week was very rough but today was great. I was able to get the house cleaned finally because she would crawl off to play with her brother and sister. We go back on the 13th for more x-rays so I'll update you on that visit then.

I believe God uses times like these to teach us how precious and fleeting our lives and our children's lives are. We get so caught up in everyday life...running here...going there...cleaning this...that we don't realize that it is o.k. to just sit and hug your babies. This past week we were all forced to slow down to a crawl (literally) and we had some very special moments as a result. I realize that my pastor was right this past week (of course, he usually is!). God doesn't promise us an easy life with no problems. I don't even consider this a real problem compared to other people. But he uses EVERYTHING to work together for HIS good, even/especially the hard times.

Jill

Princess

I just wanted to let you all know that Princess hurt her little foot yesterday while on a slide at the park. She won't walk on it at all. We've taken her to the Dr. and had it x-rayed and no breaks were notcied. We're keeping her on anti-inflammatories around the clock and ice. We will take her back to the Dr. for more x-rays on Fri. if there is no improvement. Please keep her in your prayers as you know it must hurt her. It's not normal that my 17month old just sits there and won't run and play.

Jill

Need suggestions...

Ok my loyal friends and family...I'm in a reading drought and seeing as how I LOVE to read this has become a problem. I've been looking for some good books to read but I just can't seem to settle on any. I love to try reading new things and am in need of a few suggestions. Some of my very favorite books have been suggested to me by my friends and I'm hoping you can all help me out of my slump. I must admit that my most recent reads have been the books in the Twilight series. While I never thought I'd like anything of this sort I actually fell in love with these books. Obviously I'm game for any suggestions. So email me, post here, or just tell me when you see me but I need some ideas of your favorite books (And yes, I've already read the Shack!).

Love you all and have a great week!

Jill

Tag! You're it!

O.K. my wonderful "tag" buddies (Amy and Tracie) I promise to do my part and place the fourth photo from the fourth album on here....AS SOON AS I AM ABLE! See, I kinda...well, I crashed the computer that holds all of my pictures. No problem, right! Well, my wonderful husband has already assured me that my photos are o.k. They were put on an external harddrive just in case something like this were to ever happen. (I guess he knows who he married!!) So I have the pictures but I can't access them at this point. At this point I only have one folder of pictures on this computer and the picture is of Princess and Man-Man sword fighting (see previous post). Now I really want that computer fixed so I can see which picture I have to post.

The funny thing is when I opened my blog I started looking through my friends blogs from the bottom of my list upward (I have no idea why I do that but that's the way I've always done it) to see who had updated. I saw Missy's first and thought....aw, how cute, a picture of her and her brother at her wedding. Then I started thinking, "Oh, no! I bet I got tagged". The more blogs I read the more tags I got. I haven't even read them all yet but I know I'm tagged twice.

So to continue the game I'm going to go ahead and tag some wonderful ladies myself. Just know that I promise to fulfill my end of the bargain as soon as I can. This should be scary!!!!

I now tag Laurie, Summer, Kaci, and Claire. Go ahead girls, you are supposed to go to your photos, choose the fourth folder, and then the fourth picture. Then post the picture and explain it. Don't cheat!!!

Jill