When it rains it pours...

Have you ever noticed that when you have "bad" things happen to you, they happen in 3's? Well, I'm waiting on my third one now.

On top of Stranger being SO sick, Kendall decided to throw up all over herself and her car seat this morning on the way to daycare. Tony had taken her and he left her there while he came back and I helped him clean everything up and get clean clothes for her. It was really gross and a mess. Yuck! We thought that maybe she was car sick since we had just fed her breakfast before she left and she is now riding front facing in her seat. Well, while at school she had a diaper blowout... Double Yuck, I'm glad I didn't have to change it. Then on the way home she puked all over herself and her seat again in her daddy's truck. Triple Yuck! Poor Tony had to roll the windows down so he wouldn't get sick because of the smell. Eeewwww! Then she got home, I dunked her in the bathtub and she wanted to whine and eat. I let her have some step 2 fruit (I wasn't about to brave the solids) and a piece of bread and some water (Milk, NO WAY!). We let her have some puffs and a few goldfish and promptly sent her to bed. I'm just hoping she sleeps through the whole night considering she didn't really have a filling dinner. Hopefully the piece of wheat bread she ate will have given her enough fiber to keep her filled up.

So, those are 2 "bad" things that have happened this week and I'm waiting on the third. But, maybe we've already gotten it with the vet bill we had to pay on Thursday for Stranger and Oscar with his grooming, shots and ear infection, ugh... Hopefully we're at the end of our bad luck streak and will be headed up. But, I think tomorrow will prove to be a difficult day.

Hi/Lo Thursday

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and get your link on their site.


I thought I would try this this week, maybe it will help with the pain I'm feeling today.


My HIGH for this week has got to be Kendall and how well she is finally picking up baby sign language; this is so helpful since she is still little and doesn't talk yet. That and all of the dancing she does every day. I think she must get her rhythm from her mama. :D

My LOW for this week is obvious for those of you who know me and have spoken with me today. My kitty of 9 years, Stranger, has been diagnosed with Liver cancer. It has metastisized so much that in his X-Rays you couldn't even tell where his organs are. The doctor and I were surprised by the fact that he hasn't had any issues until now. Apparently, this can just grow and grow inside of you for a long time without really doing anything else until one day it grows big enough to push on a major organ and really cause some damage. At this point it looks like it is pushing on his stomach which is why he suddenly does not want to eat and has been losing weight this week. I'm really going to miss laying on the couch with him to watch TV and listening to his LOUD motor boat purring as I stroke the fur on his chest and under his chin. The doctor says he probably won't live much longer but gave him a steroid shot to hopefully shrink the tumor and bring down some of the inflammation caused by the cancer and give us a little bit longer to shower love, affection and as much "kitty junk food" on him as he wants. I'm seeing chicken in his future, that is if he decides he wants to eat. Which he may if this steroid shot works. If it doesn't, we should know by tomorrow evening or Saturday morning and we will have to take him in and show him mercy from any pain that would doubtlessly be in his future. I've asked Stranger to tell me when he is ready to go, he is a mature 14 or 15 year old cat who I rescued when I moved back to my hometown from my college town, so I'm sure he will give me a sign.

Please pray for me that I have the strength to take him in to be released from pain when the time is right and before it gets too bad for him.

Please pray for him that he doesn't feel too much pain. At this point he doesn't really seem bothered by it except for the not eating part and being lethargic and having lost a little weight. But, if I pet him his motor boat still goes.

I love you Stranger (My Strangie)

This picture was taken just a few weeks ago. Isn't he a beautiful kitty? It's sad that even though he seemed fine here, the cancer was throughout his body.

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

Lisa

The Rodeo take two

So, we went back to the rodeo grounds yesterday. I once again forgot the camera! ugh... I think being pregnant with Kendall sure took all of my brain cells away. Does anyone know if I ever get them back? I have a feeling I won't. Oh well, I'll just have to keep playing Scrabble on Facebook to exercise my brain as much as I can. :-) Tony even wrote a note and put it in my purse to remind us to bring it with us. Well, I moved the note in order to get a few things out of the purse to put in a smaller purse that I use at the rodeo. So... that's why I forgot the camera. BUT, we used my camera on my cell phone to take some pics of K at the petting zoo there at the rodeo. She was nervous at first, but after I showed her that the animals wouldn't hurt her she was good to go and enjoyed pointing, laughing and even touching the goats, sheep and llama. See the pic below of Kendall at the petting zoo.

Yes Patricia, this is a G-O-A-T. hee hee...

I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!

Hitting, Pushing and Yelling OH MY!!!

Well, it seems as though Kendall's development is right on track. On two separate occassions this week at daycare, I SAW Kendall push a little girl down AND hit another little girl. I, of course, reprimanded her... well, as much as you can reprimand a one year old.

The pushing incident involved a little girl name Miyu who was using my legs as something to hold on to as she was standing up near where I was squatting to talk to all of the little kids. Well, Kendall decided that she was ready to go home and she wanted to be near me instead of Miyu so she just took her arm and pushed little Miyu down. I was mortified. So, I spoke sternly to Kendall and told her NO! Seriously how much can you reprimand a 1 year old? Then she started to cry. ugh... What a mixed message! She just wanted to be near me and got yelled at. At least that is what is in her mind at that moment. When you think about it that way don't you feel a little sorry for her? :-(

The hitting incident was a little later in the week. I had just dropped K off at school and she pulled a toy out of the toy cabinet. She put it on the table and turned around to get another toy out of the cabinet. Well, another little girl name Ryan saw a toy that wasn't being used and decided that she wanted to play with it. Well, apparently K wasn't done playing with the first toy which Ryan was now playing with and she hit Ryan. Ugh... mortified again. The daycare teacher informed me that all of the little girls hit each other now. I was like, seriously? Oh no!

Well, I got home and saw an email in my inbox about my 4th week 13 month old. It was so fitting and appropriate. Here is a small excerpt from that email: If your toddler indulges in fits of screaming, hitting and biting, you can take some solace in knowing that his development is right on track. Well, thank goodness she's on track... I think.

She has really developed a lot this month. She is completely eating table food and using a sippy cup at daycare now and has moved up to the next classroom. They sleep on a little cot in there, it's really cute.

So, if you guys could say a little prayer for me that I don't go crazy and that I stay patient with her, that would be great... yeah...

Abby Riggs - Please Pray For Her

Hi Guys - I have something important to write about today. I was on Facebook reading through my friends statuses and saw that one of my friends was "Praying For Abby". Her status included a link to a blog. This blog chronicles the story of a little girl named Abby, she has Leukemia. She's going through chemotherapy right now and is just about to enter possibly THE most dangerous and painful phase yet. I've read the blog in its entirety and have seen the postings which mention the horrible pain she has already gone through. I would just ask that any of you who visit our blog please take a moment to visit Abby's blog and in that moment while the blog is loading, say a little prayer for her. Her family has many specific prayer requests, some for good pain control, some for Abby to have energy and some for them to have the energy to get through the day. These are very trying times for them, but their faith is keeping them strong. They know that even if she does not get well here on Earth, she WILL be well in Heaven.

So, before bed tonight, say a little prayer for a sweet little girl that you most likely don't know.

Also, if you have specific prayer requests, Abby's father has a prayer network on the site. See below:

We participate in "Pray for Me... Pray for Others" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to add your prayer request.

Thank you and have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Lisa

Retired after 38 1/2 years... Mama Gail!!!

Well, she finally did it! My mom retired after working at the same place for 38 1/2 years. That's amazing to me! I've now been there for 8 years now and that by itself seems like forever. I'm not sure I can imagine 30 more years at the same place. I think I'll just focus on the present for now.

Thursday was her party, it was a lot of fun! Thank you Grandma Carolyn and Aunt Patricia for watching K-dub for us. We really appreciate being able to stay out passed 6:30 or 7.

Below are a few of the pics from the party. I hope you enjoy them!

The Rodeo

Well, Saturday was Kendall's first trip to the rodeo. And, boy was I disappointed when I realized I had forgotten my camera. I think she really enjoyed it. She loved looking at all of the people on the grounds and watching the animals at the actual rodeo. She had such a cute outfit on, it was a little onesie with an attached skirt. The bodice of the onesie had a pair of boots on it. So cute. My mom bought the outfit for her last year right after K was born in anticipation of this year's rodeo. This year my mom thought it would be fun to get her a little purse with her name on it. She loves it and likes to put different things in it.

We can't wait until she's old enough to really enjoy everything there. AND... we'll definitely be entering her in Mutton bustin' as soon as she's old enough. So cute!!!

We saw Alan Jackson that day and Reba on Monday. Reba is soooo awesome. Thank you to my mom for babysitting Monday night. T and I had a great time!

Kendall's 1st Birthday! part two

Last Sunday we had Kendall's first birthday party. It was a roaring success. We are so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends! Your generosity and love is astounding!!!

Kendall had such an awesome time and we really hope you guys did too. She got so many awesome presents, we finally got them all put away yesterday. Woohoo! We love all of the clothes that she will grow into and she loves all of the new toys that she gets to play with.

We had a ton of food at the party and the venue worked out great! We used an upstairs loft area which had a TV and DVD player. I played the movie I made of Kendall's first year, then we watched the basketball game. I think it turned out great for kids and adults. I wonder what is in store for next year. I'm looking forward to it.

Here are a few pics of the day, I hope you like them!
Happy Birthday Kendall!
Kendall's Cake and Cupcakes - cute right?

Happy Birthday to you!

Mmm... Mmm... Good!Mimi, Trudy, Jeff, Mackenzie, and NickMost of the group, some were on playground at this point. We had like 60 people there. I couldn't believe it!Todd and Denise Reus with Aaden and Addison. Denise is an awesome realtor if you need one. :-)

Annie and Kenzie take Kendall to the playground, isn't this cute?

Mackenzie took Kendall down the slide. She loved it!

Dada and his sweet baby K.

Our friends Ken and Kristen, cute couple!

Mimi and Kendall, isn't this sweet?Patricia and Kendall - beautiful pic!Carson, son of Bonnie and Ryan. He's so cute and getting so big.

Look at Aiden go! He's the son of our friends Jennifer and Rick who are also in the pic with him.Mama and baby! Go, K, Go!

Cousin Nick! Such a sportsman!

Austen playing soccer - he's the son of our friend Kristen. So cute and definitely looking older than he is. Time sure flies.

Poppy with his grandkids. Connor, Mackenzie, Layton and Kendall. Kendall was so tired by this point. But, she was a very good sport about it all. Good girl!

All in all it was a great day! I can't believe my little pooty is so big already. Time flies when you're having fun, and boy are we having fun with her. We cherish the time we have and look forward to experiencing what God has in store for us with her in the future.