here are some pictures of the children. We had a blast at my Mama's today, and I was able to get some really great pics of the younguns. I have a couple of funny tidbits to share from today, but I will do that later. Enjoy the pics!!!
Tamarama
Slim
So there you go! I will be back tomorrow with some more pics and more details from our 4th of July! I hope everyone had as much fun as we did today!
Every Thursday, Jessica @ Farm Fresh holds this little thing she calls "It's Real Life". I have been wanting to participate for the last two weeks, but I did not have a camera until last Friday. She gives you a list of things to photograph (no prepping, no cleaning, just as it is) and you post them. I have decided that since I now have camera, I am gonna do it. So without further adieu...here is my real life...
First up...Under the bed. I was not prepared for what I saw!
Let's see... we have one of Kenny's Nerf guns, a LilKinz golden retriever, and it looks like Tam's water bottle.
Secondly...what is on and in your dresser.
On my dresser you will find a picture that Paul stepped on and broke the glass, Paul's ABU hat and belt, a pair of shorts that did not quite make it into the drawer, and posters that need to be hung in the kids' rooms.
In my dresser you will find my wide variety of pajama pants. I love lounge pants; in fact, I buy a new pair almost every payday. Wow, that is pretty sad, if I say so myself.
Next up... what is on your nightstand?
Let's see...a multitude of Coke cans (what can I say? I am addicted), my sleeping pills, my CPAP (or my elephant trunk as my kids would say), a lamp with no bulb and no lampshade, and my Bible.
Let me see. What is next? Oh yeah, the pictures and decorations.
Pictures of my three beautiful children from a couple of years ago.
A couple of rocks that Kenny painted in art (the one on the left is a hotdog and the one on the right is a video game controller), the weaving that Kenny did in art, and a small photo album from my big sis April!
Up next is what I love about my bedroom...The big walk-in closet.
See my pretty purple vacuum? I love that thing.
Next is what I hate about my bedroom. My husband's choice of decorations. (The bedroom was the only place I would let him hang them though; nobody goes in my bedroom but us.)
Let's move on, shall we? What makes my bedroom uniquely me would have to be these two things right here.
A pillowcase that April painted for me the first time I went to camp so that I would have a part of home with me. And my stuffed koala bear that my Pawpaw gave me when I was a baby. I know he has seen his better days, but I would not take a million dollars for him.
Next we have what I sleep in... Are you really ready to see this?
I don't know about you, but I sleep in a bed. This big huge King size bed that I love. I know it is not made, I jumped out of bed this morning, got ready and left the house in a hurry because I was late to a function that Paul's squadron was having. At least I pulled the covers up.
So...I hope you enjoyed your little tour of my bedroom or as Jessica put it..."Where the magic happens!" Hahahahahaha...yeah right! Go check out more people's bedrooms over at Jessica's and come back next week. I think I just might be doing this again.
I GOT A NEW CAMERA!!!! Can you tell I am excited? I know what all of you are thinking...it's about time, right? Paul surprised me on Friday and took me to Best Buy so I could pick out a camera. Isn't he the greatest???
He gave me the amount I could spend on the camera and let me go. It was really hard to decide, but I finally decided on this.......
That is a Canon S5 IS digital camera. It is absolutely awesome!!! Since the kids are gone until after the 4th of July, I have no subjects to take pictures of. Which really sucks, but once again, my amazing husband came to the rescue. He woke me up this morning and told me to get dressed because he had another surprise for me. I was racking my brain trying to figure out, but of course that got me nowhere. As we were leaving, Paul told me to grab my camera because I was gonna need it.
SO I did what he said because I always do what my husband tells me to do :) We got in the car and Paul drove us to the Montgomery Zoo so I could play with my new toy. He knew that I had been chomping at the bits to play with my new camera, and he knows how much I love to go to the zoo and watch all of the cute animals. Once again...isn't he wonderful?
So I played with my new toy and I absolutely love it. It is soooooo awesome!!! It does some really neat things to, like this....
Isn't that cool? There is a setting that allows you to pinpoint a specific color and that is the only color that shows in the pic. I just think that it looks really neat. That was one of the features that sold me on this particular camera. I know, I know..I am a nerd.
Ok this is my favorite animal in the zoo. Her name is Makena and she is a baby elephant that was born here at the Montgomery Zoo last year I believe.
Just to let you know...I was standing so far away from this cute little thing and was able to zoom in this close and the picture is still so clear. I love it!
Here is another pic of Makena and her mama that I love.
Isn't that just too cute for words? Paul thinks I am such a dork...I could stand at the elephant exhibit and watch these two all day long.
But of course then I would miss all of these cute animals.
That is Rocky and his mama. He is cute, but not as cute as Makena!
This is a picture of Paul's favorite animal. I literally had to pull him away from this exhibit.
And this is Mechelle's favorite animal!
That is a squirrel monkey and if Mechelle could bring one of them home from the zoo, she would.
This picture is of Tamara's favorite animal (at the zoo)...the kangaroo. This kangaroo was way back by the back fence of the exhibit and I love that I was able to get this close to it with my camera.
I could't get a picture of Kenny's favorite animal, the Canadian Lynx, because the little sucker likes to hide behind the rocks. But I did get a picture of his 2nd fave. The Jaguar!
And last but not least...since it is the week of the 4th. The symbol of freedom, the symbol of America and all that it offers, the symbol that reminds us what all men and women in uniform are fighting for...
Ok that should make up for the lack of posts lately. Expect more pictures, more often since I have a camera now. And I promise I will post some pics of the kids after the 4th of July. We are having a cook out at my mama's on the 4th because her birthday is on the 3rd. She tries to act like the cookout is because of the 4th of July, but we all know better. We all go to her house on that day to celebrate her birthday. So if you see her...tell her Happy Birthday! See ya soon!!!!
YOUR help. My mother, my rock, my best friend, the only person I want when I am sick, someone who loves me no matter what I do...is smack dab in the middle of a major health scare. I am not going to go into details, but know that it could be something very serious. My mama had a test done last week and the results showed some abnormalities. She is scheduled to have more extensive tests ran on Tuesday and she really needs your prayers. I really need your prayers. Help me in asking God for the tests to go smoothly, the results to be good, and for my mama to be okay. I know that He has a plan, and that no matter what, He is watching over my mama, His child.
I am an only child, and I lost a woman 4 years ago that was my second mama. I do not know that I could handle losing the only mama I have left. Please pray for my mama, and keep reminding me to think positive thoughts. I am going to need that between now and when we get the results.
Mama, I know you are reading this and I really want to take this opportunity to tell you how much you mean to me. I know that I don't say it enough, and it should not take a health scare for me to tell you I love you every time we get off the phone. I love you with everything I have, and everything I am. You have always been there for me and I promise you I will be by your side every step of this rocky, rough road; no matter what the results are. I am here if you need me, and I can be to Opelika within an hour. Call me if you need me, I don't care what time it is. You know I never sleep at night anyway.
BTW LeAnn...CALL ME!!!! I love ya girl!
Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this and thank you for your prayers, we really need it right now.
Later gators!!!!
I know. I know. I am a couple of days late updating this. Kenny saw the cardiologist on Thursday and I have not had the chance to post because I have been working on my Critical Thinking homework (man, this stuff is hard. Well not really hard, just time consuming.)
The cardiologist confirmed what I have known for awhile. The doctors at Maxwell are idiots. He did an EKG, a rhythm strip, and an echocardiogram on Kenny when we arrived on Thursday morning at 7:30 (that was a little too early for Kenny and me). After looking at the results from those tests, he told me that Kenny's heart was perfect. His exact words. He also said that he did not know what the original EKG showed that warranted a visit to see him because he did not have a copy of it. I was under the impression that it had been sent to him (that is what the doctor at the clinic told me). He did say that he was going to try to get a copy of that EKG and he would call me if there was a need for further investigation. I wonder the same thing as him, what did they see on that EKG and why was it not visible Thursday? So that is where we are right now; not really sure what all of this means, but I am relieved. I trust the cardiologist and I am mad as a wet hen at the doctor at Maxwell. I think I might request a new primary care manager for Kenny. I honestly believe that this doctor is incompetent. Not really sure what I am going to do now.
On another note, I am still concerned about Kenny's weight loss. When they weighed him at the cardiologist's office on Thursday, he had lost another 2 lbs. That means he weighs 45 lbs now. Something is going on with him and I am not gonna stop until these doctors get off their behinds and figure it out. We have an appointment with the gastroenterologist on July 1st and I have an appointment with a pediatric nutritionist on Tuesday. Kenny does not have to be present at the first appointment with nutritionist, but will have to go any appointments after that. I really hope that we figure his weight issues out soon because if we don't, Kenny is going to waste away to nothing. He is so small that it is scary. I have faith that we are on the right track and that we will get this figured out soon. Keep Kenny in your prayers and I promise to keep you all posted.
By the way, I am at home most days all by myself because the kids are in Opelika, so if anybody wants to call and chat, I won't be too busy. Gets kinda boring around here without the chaos of the kids. Talk to you all soon!!!
Not really sure how I am feeling about the cardiologist appt tomorrow morning. Kind of scared, kind of anxious, heck you name an emotion I am probably feeling it. I picked Kenny up from Opelika this afternoon and the emotions flooded in. I have been okay since he has been in Opelika, but I guess picking him up brought it all back to the surface and made it real again. I will post something tomorrow as soon as we get home from the doctor to let you all know what we found out. Oh yeah, almost forgot...Kenny's appt with the gastroenterologist is scheduled for July 1. Hopefully we will figure out why he is losing weight instead of gaining it. Of course, I will let you all know about that appt as well.
In other news...We have a gifted math student! While we were at the school today distributing yearbooks, we got the letter stating that Tamara will be in the Gifted class for math next year. She was so excited that she jumped up and down for several minutes. She has tested for gifted several times before and not accepted into the program because of the way the program worked in the past. Thank God they changed it because I really feel like she needs it for math. She was so bored this year in math and kept wanting to do more, but couldn't. I am just pleased that there is actually one subject in school she loves.
Mechelle and I went to the zoo on Monday and took some pictures. Well actually, Mechelle took the pictures; can't wait to see those. When I get them developed, I will post some of her handiwork on here for all of you to enjoy. I am sure they will be beautiful.
Everything else is great and I am looking forward to some much needed time off. The kids will all be in Opelika this next week and I plan on sleeping late, staying in my PJs, and doing some cleaning and organizing around the house. I will let y'all know how that goes!
See y'all tomorrow!!!
Kenny's appointment with the cardiologist is scheduled for June 5 @ 7:30 am. I called Tricare today to check on the referral and they gave me the name and number for the doctor. I called and luckily the doctor's office had already received the referral and was able to go ahead and schedule his appointment. So until that day, I won't really know anything else.
We are still waiting on the referral papers for the GI specialist and will let you all know what happens with that.
In other news, I am in my last week of my first two classes. I am so excited, but I am also stressed because I have 2 final projects due on Sunday. I have one finished, but I haven't even started on the PowerPoint I have to do because I really don't know what to do with it. So between now and then, I am praying for a miracle (maybe I will wake up tomorrow and know exactly how to work PowerPoint and exactly what I need to do for this stupid project!!!) Hey a girl can dream.
Mechelle will be leaving for Opelika tomorrow; she will be spending the week with Aunt Pat, Austin, and Hayden some. She is very excited.
Tamara's teacher called me today to inform me that he was doing the grades and that at this moment, Tamara has an F in social studies because she has not turned in 2 packets. She has brought all of her other grades up, but she is still struggling to remember to turn in social studies. I don't know what I am going to do with her. There is a little good news though. They tested her today for Gifted because of her math scores and grades. They are changing the gifted program here at the school and instead of a child having to be all around gifted to be accepted in the class, gifted will focus on the subject(s) that the child is gifted in. Which means that Tamara could be dumber than a rock in social studies and still be in gifted for math. The gifted program hasn't always been that way here. Glad they are finally changing it. Now my baby will be recognized for what she is truly gifted in. Lord the child could take college level math classes I think. ( When I was helping Charity with her finite math...Tamara helped me figure out some of the problems.)
Paul is great and I am great. Just tired and trying to figure out what we can do to help Tamara understand the importance of her being organized, what we can do to get Kenny healthy and gaining weight, and how to help Mechelle with her reading comprehension problems. So any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Talk to you soon.
has come and gone, and I still don't really know what is wrong with my child. The doctor said that she could not give definitive answers and that is why she is referring Kenny to a cardiologist. His EKG showed signs that he has Incomplete Right Bundle Branch Block (IRBBB). The EKG also showed that his QTC is prolonged. (QTC is the measure of the amount of time that your heart is contracted.) Like I said, I still really don't know anything, except that the doctor has scared the HELL out of me and I have to wait on the referral papers to come in the mail before I can make an appointment with a cardiologist. Dr. Jones did say that she put the referral in over a week ago and I should be receiving that paperwork any day now. I think that I will call her tomorrow and just ask for the doctor's name so I can call and make an appointment now. Because really...the sooner the better.
I did a little research on the internet and did see one piece of good news. Having IRBBB is better than having ILBBB (Incomplete Left Bundle Branch Block). Having IRBBB means there is a possibility of underlying heart disease, where having ILBBB is almost always a sign of underlying heart disease. That made me feel a little better. But of course, I also read some things that only frightened me more...like the possible need of a pacemaker, that if bundle branch block is associated with syncope or presyncope (loss of consciousness or that feeling like you are going to pass out) there is a higher occurrence of underlying heart disease.
So all in all, the doctor's visit today only scared me more, makes me worry more, and makes me a whole heck of a lot more impatient with the doctors. Please keep Kenny in your prayers and while you are at it, pray for me too. I am gonna need it to make it through this. Prayer and family and friends. Just what the doctor ordered. Talk to you all soon! ( I think I might need some NERVE pills!!! ;)
Oh yeah!!! Almost forgot... she is also referring Kenny to see a GI specialist to find out why instead of gaining weight he is losing it. Lots of fun to be had yet!!!
I will let you all know something as soon as I know something!
New developments in the Hollis/Heinig household today. A couple of weeks ago Kenny had some tests ran; blood work to test for Celiac disease, thyroid problems, cholesterol, and a few other things I can't remember. He also had an EKG done because it has been discovered that children with ADD and ADHD, who take medicine for the disorders, have a higher risk of heart problems. Well, it has been found that the medicine children take for these disorders can exacerbate an underlying heart problem; a heart problem that might go undetected for years.
Well, I got the results back today. Kenny tested negative for Celiac's, thyroid disease, but his cholesterol was "borderline" high. Which of course, he could possibly come by that honestly. High cholesterol is hereditary, after all.
The one thing that concerns me, though, is he had some abnormalities on his EKG. Not really sure what that means yet, but we have an appointment with his doctor on Thursday. She did tell me that she would be giving us a referral to a cardiologist, and that the appointment with them would most likely be next week since Kenny was only 10 and had abnormalities on his EKG.
SO that is what has been going on here today. I will keep you all posted on new developments with Kenny, and will try to let you all know something on Thursday. Until then, have a great week and I will talk to you later!
Anita Shreve: Light on Snow
(*****)
Janet Evanovich: Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14)
In true Evanovich style...a book I read from cover to cover in one sitting laughing the whole time. I can't wait for # 15!!! (*****)
