Update on Dodie

She was moved to a room yesterday and is feeling better. Her throat is sore and she is coughing alot. She is getting lots of rest now; which enables the fluid in her lungs to break up and come out. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.

Thanks to my California Cousins!!

Special thanks to two of my cousins on my father's side who came from California and stopped by today for a visit with Mom and lunch with us. It was such a welcoming break. It is amazing when you begin to visit with someone you have not seen in 15+ years. They had not changed much from what I remember. It was so good to see pictures of my Aunt Voncile also. I remember going to her house after my father passed away and listening to all of the stories that her and my Uncle Eddie told. Those are such great memories to have and pass down to my girls.

Mom was thrilled and so in her element with their visit. I have heard from her numerous times about how nice it was and how glad she was to have that visit with them. Special thanks to them for the visit and lunch! Especially making Mom so happy:)

Prayers are always appreciated

My friend Dodie is in the hospital in critical care. She was admitted into the hospital on Monday with pneumonia. I went to visit her in ICU this morning; only to be greeted by her parents, sister-in-law and doctor. The grim look on their faces really made my heart sink. Dodie was laying in that bed obviously scared. The doctor started telling us that he was going to do a broncioscope (sp?) to test the matter in her lung. This is a highly dangerous procedure; therefore, she would have to be placed on life support.

The procedure did not take long, but her parents and son had a little scare afterwards. I stayed with her so that they could all go eat. The doctor finally came back with the results of the CT scan in which he determined that they would not have to do another broncioscope. This was excellent news. He would keep monitoring her and in 24-48 hours start weaning her off of the oxygen and breathing machines. By the time I left her oxygen had been reduced from them giving her 100% to 70%. She is still heavily dependent on these machines. The next couple of days will be critical.

I hear that this is common, but I heard the doctor myself say that there were a number of things that he just could not explain. My request is that you pray for her and her family as they mean so much to me.

Tire Trouble Continues...

You can't help but laugh! I went again this morning to get my tire fixed. This time I had a nail in the left front tire. It has been there for a week or two that I noticed. I went yesterday, but they were busy; so he put air in my tire and sent me on my way until my appointment this morning.

As I walked into the door, I was greeted with a kind personable hello and a "do you want to pay today or should we bill your account". Since I had not given any information - at this point I begin to question myself if I just might frequent this place to much? As I sat and waited for the repair, I counted SEVEN (yes, 7) tires repaired or replaced due to nails, blow outs, patch replacements, etc... all since January 3.

Well, April Fools on me... I had both front tires with leaks in them. A nail in the left one and the right one was not fixed properly and the plug was already beginning to leak. Lauren and I had this one fixed two weeks ago by our house. MY tire guy warned me against that. Undoubtedly, there are different kinds of repairs. There are patches and plugs. Well, the one in the right tire was a plug that had not completely filled the hole.

Karma? Hmmm...

Grant's Birthday Party

Happy 4th Birthday to Grant!! Thanks for inviting us to your Bouncing Tiger party on Saturday. We had so much fun jumping and bouncing and running through the cool train. The "army" treat bags were a huge hit. Lauren and Annalise are still playing with them. Where else would they get army men?

Grant's Delicious Birthday Cake!! Yummy:)

Annalise, Mrs. Cara, Lauren and Grant

Annalise and Lauren

Kyndal and Annalise (Trouble x2)

Tree Cutting

We have been planning, scheduling and rescheduling for months to cut TJ's (a guy I work with) trees. Finally on Sunday, it happened. Three pine trees down and pruning of a fourth one. The weather was beautiful, we had help from Matt and Elaine; as well as Lauren and Annalise who helped pick up the limbs. I was amazed that in only 2 hours - it was done.

Sorry, you have to look sideways.

Elaboration to Easter event

Chris' black eye was the result of him breaking his nose. Sorry no pictures of the crooked nose, because he went into the bathroom and cracked it back into place before I could get to the camera. Carl was both amazed and thankful. Thankful that it was not him that got hit by the fierce vine that got caught on the rack of the 4-wheeler and popped Chris. Thankful that Chris decided not to duck and "took one for the team".

For those of you who are concerned, the vine was okay. Although, Chris did later take the machete and chop it into many small pieces for revenge.

For me, I have had a week of laughter. Since I am the one who usually does something stupid; turnaround has been really nice:) I have shared the story with everyone I know and some I did not know. Chris has been a real sport and taken the laughter in stride.

Cara- Chris says if he still has a black eye - he will be coming to Grant' s party just to give you some laughs. That will be your chance (or his) to punch the other in the nose:)

Easter

Easter was full of laughter, good food and family fun.

Here is some of the kids playing.

My favorite surprise was seeing my friend Dodie and her family.

My biggest shock - Eli is just getting so big!!

My favorite food was the brownies. Thanks Liz:)

Most shocking moment - Carl riding a 4-wheeler.

Funniest moment - Chris getting a black eye riding the 4-wheeler with Carl. hehe

Aquarium of the Americas

The day after the Christening, we decided to walk the Riverwalk and take the girls to the Aquarium. We had not been since Katrina hit in 2005. It has definitely changed since then. The girls favorite section was the Mississippi Delta exhibit. It was everything that they are familiar with (alligators, turtles, jellyfish, etc...). I was so proud of Lauren who conquered her fears and was interested in touching all the animals on display. It turned into such an educational experience for us all; as Lauren always has more questions than we have answers for. We found ourselves reading the placards to get the answers to so many of her questions.

Annalise and Lauren

Christening of the "Bill Tullier" in New Orleans

The Christening of the Bill Tullier was an amazing experience. If you ever get the opportunity to attend such an event; it would be my recommendation not to miss it. It is something that my family will always treasurer. The girls were excited about seeing a boat like Uncle Pete works on. They asked tons of questions and were intrigued by most of the events. As you can see from the pictures - Lauren, Annalise, Nicholas and Landon were little ladies and gentlemen. Thanks Billy T!!

Easter Bunny Photo

Lauren and the Easter Bunny.

(Where's Annalise? At this time, I am holding her. Maybe next time?)

Sugar levels are okay

I had yet another doctor visit today and everything was fine. All my bloodwork came back okay and I passed the glucose screening test. I am measuring fine and have officially gained 10 pounds. Right on target with 12 weeks to go:)

We talked more about labor and delivery. He also mentioned that this baby is measuring larger than the girls did. He must have seen the panic on my face, because he immediately began to comfort me with all the precautions he has prepared for this time. (For those who don't remember or know, I had Annalise without an epidural. It was not by choice.)

Yes, we have made a decision!

After several weeks of searching for the perfect bunk beds for the girls, this is the one that we all agreed upon with the proper bedding.

And no, no talks about a name yet.

The Results are in...

Today was the big day - Allergy results are in!

Annalise's results were excellent news. Her allergies are getting better. Her counts have reduced on almost everything including apples. Apples had been a +5 (worse) and resulted in anaphylactic symptoms and countless trips to see the doctors. This count is now a mid 2.

The not as good news is that she is now testing at a medium level for egg whites. This is the first we have heard of this allergy; but very manageable. (I think!) Lucky for us, I work with a girl named Cara whose son has allergies but their reactions are different. I know she will be my guide into the new phase of avoidance of egg whites.

Dr. gave us a new prescription for a nasal spray to help alleviate some of the symptoms from her chronic rhinitis.

Annalise will have to continue to carry an EpiPen, daily medication and a nasal spray especially with the SpringTime coming. Spring is our most active allergy period.

Another prayer needed...

Last weekend, we received our school packet for this fall for both Lauren and Annalise. Tuition increase was drastic. We found ourselves contemplating what to do. After several sleepless nights, late night chats, number crunching and figuring, and phone calls and emails with all the parents we know. I also found myself being stopped in the local stores by people I did not even know to determine what we were going to do (I had Lauren with me in her uniform). It is amazing that everyone is so stressed by this change. A number of Lauren's friends have already decided that they will not be returning next year. This is huge; since some of this kids have been together since they were 6 months old.

During the week, I have been on the phone with numerous schools, school boards, and administrators in our quest to do what is best in the long run for our girls. As every other parent has been in the school. Please pray that we (all the parents) are given the strength and judgement to make the right decision for their future.