Never Giving Up

When the Princess was younger she had a hard time in school. We worked and studied and worked some more but, it just seemed like something was just not clicking. After having her tested, we discovered that she had a learning disability. Through our school we were able to get her the extra help she needed. It could be so frustrating because she was very intelligent. She was also very artistic and could do anything on a computer. Yet, her reading  and spelling were way below level.

I was told that she would probably never read above a 6th grade level. I was told by some (not teachers) that she would most likely drop out of school. Mostly out of frustration. All of this was told to the wrong Mama!

I made sure that I made all of her IEP meetings, I met with teachers and stayed in contact with them. I helped her with homework, sat and listened to her read and I read book after book trying to find different techniques to help her learn and study.

Slowly but surely, we started to see improvement. She worked so hard and by the end of the eighth grade her reading level was on a twelfth grade level. As she started high school, I was so worried about her passing the exit exam. For those of you not in Alabama. This is the test that each child must pass in order to graduate from high school. There are several parts and each one has to be passed.

I watched this child who had struggled so in school go from mostly C's and occasional B's to A's & B's! Recently she took the exit exam. My anxiety has been high, just waiting on the results. Today......we got them. She passed every single section of that exam and did it on the first try! I laughed, cried and smiled until I thought I was going to be sick!

Our schools have some of the best teachers around. They helped us and worked hard to get her where she is! I don't care what anyone says......if you want to make sure a child with a learning disability succeeds, it takes hard work on the part of the child, a parents interest and involvement and the diligence of some truly wonderful teachers.

During all these years we never once gave up. She never gave up on herself and I never gave up on her. Today I felt like we made it! I know she still has two more years of school but, she did it......she really did it.

The best part of all is the confidence she has gained in herself. I came in from work and started telling her how proud and excited I was for her. She just looked at me and nodded. I said "aren't you excited?" She gave me that look like "whatever"! This told me all I needed to know. She knows what she is capable of and the things that used to be a struggle for her has now become routine and second nature. My little Princess has turned into a mature confident young woman. She knows what she can do and she doesn't need a test to tell her!

It is all about never giving up......never give up on yourself as a parent and most importantly......Never.....Ever.....give up on your child!

The Detour

You know how it is when you head to a particular destination and you have your route all mapped out and suddenly you come to a detour? Your first thought is great! I'll never get to where I am headed! Then you start following the little detour signs.....you turn here and you turn there and suddenly there you are......right where you were planning on going in the first place.

Have you ever noticed how our lives are just like this? This has really come home to me in the last couple of days. As parents, we start making plans for our children from the time they are born. Along the way we have to make these little detours and sometimes we even change our plans for them but, they always arrive at the exact place they were meant to be.

Today, I want to tell you about our plans for our middle son Big E. The last couple of years he has been in college with plans to get his nursing degree. He has worked at our local grocery store, while going to school. He is a hard worker and a good student. We had a path planned out and his path was set until........we ran into one of those detours!

Our son and his girlfriend's lives have suddenly come upon a detour called a baby! Yep, I am going to be a Grandma (um yea....gonna have to come up with a better name than that!). Any way, my first thoughts were...."What about school will they finish....can they finish?" My answer is yes!

Even though he had a straight route planned toward finishing school and now he has run into a detour, he can still do it. The path now has a few twist and turns that we did not expect but, in the end he can still reach his destination.

A baby is a blessing regardless of the circumstances or the timing. Even though this little one was not in our plans, it WAS in God's plans. We are going to take this little detour as the gift God meant for it to be. My son and his sweet girlfriend will reach the destination they are meant to and they will do it with the love of their families behind them.

Today, I am thanking the Lord for his many blessings both big and small but, I am especially thanking him for life's little detours!

Thirty-Something Years Ago

Thirty-Something years ago today was one of the most special days of my life! It was the day my baby sister was born! If you have read one of my earlier post, you will know that she is the baby sister that I prayed so hard for and God answered a little girls prayers.

I am not going to tell you how old she is because then you will know just how old I have become. I will tell you that I was twelve years old when she was born. I can't even imagine what my life would be without her!

My baby sister went every where with me. I took her to dances, ballgames and every thing in between.I dressed her and carried her around just like she was a live baby doll!

When I was a teenager, we shared a room. Now most teenagers would hate having to share a room with a sister that much younger than them, but not me! It never ever bothered me. I loved it. My favorite times were when I would come in for a date and she was awake in bed, waiting up for me. I would go open a can of chicken noodle soup and we would eat it together straight out of the can, right there in our bed!

Since the day she was born, I have never once been angry with her. We have NEVER, in all these years had an argument! I guess it was just a perfect situation. It is hard to define our relationship. With the age difference, she was almost like my own child. Yet, she was still my baby sister. It is so hard to put into words, the overwhelming feeling of love I have for her.

I am so proud of the woman she has become. She is a perfect Mom to her precious little boy. She is a wonderful wife to her soul mate!

As I said before, I can't even begin to explain the bond that we have. All I do know is she is my pride and joy......she has always been a bright light in my world.......she is everything I could have wished for and most of all.......she was an answer to a little girls prayer!

Happy Birthday Baby Sister..........I Love You!

The Princess Turns Seventeen

It is hard to believe but, tomorrow my beautiful baby, The Princess will be seventeen! It seems like yesterday that she came into this world and changed our lives in a way that we could never have imagined.

We had two little boys when we found out that we were getting a very unexpected bonus baby. We had thought we were through having children but, God had a surprise for us.

We chose not to find out what we were having and it was a wonderful surprise to find out that we now had a little girl to go along with our precious boys. Our joy soon turned to fear when we realized that all was not well with our baby girl. She was struggling to breathe and was immediately put on oxygen and antibiotics. As the next two days wore on our little one just kept getting sicker and sicker.

Our baby, it turns out had pneumonia. The fluids quickly filled her lungs and the doctors made the decision to send her to the hospital in Montgomery. The ride to Montgomery was the longest of my life. We did not know if she would still be alive when we got there. Thank the good Lord she was.

We put our trust in God and he took care of our sweet baby. Each day I watched her tiny little chest as she struggled to breathe. The only part of her that I could touch was her little hands. When I went into the PICU to see her, I would sit there and rub the palms of her hands. This ritual became a part of our nightly routine. We would rub the palms of her hands until she went to sleep.

Every day that I headed into the PICU I was afraid of what I would find. I remember telling her Daddy that I knew that God was not going to give us this special gift just to turn around and take her away.  Finally the day came that our little one was able to breathe on her on. We were finally able to bring her home ten days after she was born.

I remember during those horrible days of uncertainty thinking to myself that soon if would be sixteen or seventeen years from now and all of this would just be a distant memory. Now, here I am seventeen years later and it IS a distant memory.
 
Our Princess has grown from being that tiny sick little baby to a beautiful young lady! She is our miracle baby! So, on her seventeenth birthday I want her to know how proud I am of her. You have overcome so many obstacles in your life and you have done it with grace, class and dignity. I am so proud of you my precious girl and I can not wait to see what the future holds for you! I love You Haddie Bug! Happy Birthday!

Promises

I don't believe in New Years resolutions but, I do believe in making promises to yourself. So, that is just what I did!

Last year I promised myself that, 1. I would chisel away at our debt. 2. I would lose weight and get healthier 3.I would spend more FUN time with my family. 4. I would work on being a better person. I am happy to say that I have worked really hard on all of these things.

I have paid off two of our credit cards and about to pay off the third and last one. This will leave us with three bills, not including utilities and such.

I have joined Metabolic Research Center and I have lost almost 30lbs. While I still have a lot more to lose, I can honestly say that I feel better than I have in years and I am excited about losing even more!

I have always spent a lot of time with my husband and kids but, that time has not always been fun and relaxed. This past year we went to the beach twice with the whole family, I went with the kids mudding and I have spent a lot of one on one time with them. I have enjoyed real conversations with them as well. My oldest got married and even though there were moments of stress (it's a wedding!) I still enjoyed the special moments that wedding brought to us.

I have worked this past year to be a better person. I know that is a very vague statement but, I knew in my mind what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a kinder, more thoughtful, happier and less stressed person. I have tried to focus more on others and their needs rather than my own issues. I have tried to remember birthdays, special occasions and important things going on in the lives of others. I have worked hard not to let the stress get to me and even when it did, I tried not to let it spill onto others. I have gone out of my way to make sure I let some people know how much I appreciated the things that they do. Some people I just gave a hug to. You would be amazed at how a simple gesture like that makes not only you, but the person getting the hug feel. I have said the words "I love you" more and meant them. We so often assume that people know we love them but, just to be on the safe side tell them any way! I have also tried to give an encouraging word when I knew someone was not having the best of times. Sometimes people just need to know that someone does care!

In the last year my life has been so much better. You will never convince me that it is not because of the things that I promised myself last year. I hope to chisel away at those last three big bills and put more money in savings. I AM going to continue to lose weight. Losing weight has allowed me to enjoy more of the fun time with my kids and there are so many things I want to do with them and I know losing weight will allow me to do that. I am not the person I want to be yet but, I like the me that I am now way better than the person I was before. I am still a work in progress.

Now, I have worked really hard on all of these things but, I am no where near finished so, I am going to promise myself those same things again this year. While I have many challenges ahead of me in this new year, I know that with the right attitude and the support of my family and friends I will get through it.

Happy New Year to all of you and if you see me out and about remember............I am a work in progress!