Monday, August 6, 2012

Addie's Battle with the Monster!

We first heard the growling of the monster on Sunday, July 22 when Addie casually mentioned that she had a headache when she walked.  It was no big deal - didn't slow her down one bit.  Monday, she went to soccer practice and out to Dead End Bar-be-cue with Chelcie and her current love, Nathan Barnhart.  Drew paid us a quick visit to meet Nathan and (hopefully) give Chelcie his approval.  Tuesday brought slightly more discomfort for Addie.  She mentioned her headache was hurting a little bit more.  Wednesday, I decided to take her in to see the doctor because we were planning to trip to Lake Lure, NC on Wednesday evening thru Saturday. 

Unfortunately, we were unable to see our guardian angel, Dr. Peeden.  She was seen by Dr. Lauren Spectner.  Dr. Spectner took a look at Addie and suggested that she had been drinking too much caffeine and not sleeping well.  She said she noticed some fluid in her ears that could possibly develop into a sinus infection and since we were headed out of town, she prescribed amoxicillin as a "just in case."  I mentioned that Addie has a high pain threshold and even though she doesn't "look" like she's in pain, she is.  The doctor assured me that a "no caffeine and plenty of rest" protocol should remedy the problem.  If not, I had the prescription to use if needed.

So...we headed off to North Carolina!  Addie still didn't feel great, but she was walking around, talking, and eating.  By 3:00 AM, she was in severe pain- pleading with me to make her head stop hurting.  She threw up several times, and had a fever.  We packed up the car as soon as the sun was up and I called the doctor's office again.  The nurse told me to get the prescription filled and it sounded to her like a sinus infection.  We stopped at Walmart to start her on the antibiotic, but she still felt terrible!  She laid with her head in my lap all the way back home. 

Friday was no better.  She was trying to get some rest/relief with Tylenol and Ibuprofen, but she was not getting better.  Saturday, I called the doctor's office again.  The "on call" nurse called me back and shared that I hadn't had her on the meds long enough and it sounded like a sinus infection to her.  I insisted that Addie was in extreme pain and when the nurse heard Addie moaning through the phone, she said that I should "go ahead and take her to Children's Hospital."

More later...

Friday, July 13, 2012

Chick-fil-a is awesome.  The cows are amazing.  The food is scrumptious.  The staff is outgoing and friendly.  The stores are clean and colorful, and...
They Give Us FREE CHIKIN for Dressing Like COWS!
...and I love that. A lot.

I especially love that 3/4 of my herd will actually dress like a cow and go out in public!  (picture coming soon!) 

Sunday, January 1, 2012

1.1.12

The first day of the new year started off beautifully!  Temps in the low 60's and clear skies in the afternoon, but the day didn't start out that way.  Cloudy in the morning with torrential rains during the 11:00 church hour.

NorthStar is entering into a season of prayer and fasting for 21 days.  The fast begins tomorrow.

Addie is spending the night with Abby Mink (good!), and Chelcie and Drew are both home safely from their respective New Year's Eve trips to Nashville.

Chelcie, Sam, Tom, and I had dinner with the Alfords and what a great time we had reminiscing about some of the many, many great times we've had over the years!

Verse of the day:  Jeremiah 29:11  Live it out!

No animals for 21 days...starting tomorrow.  Focus on building my relationship with my Savior...and my husband.

And So Ends 2011...

What a year this has been.  As I look back over the last twelve months, I can't help but be filled with mixed emotions.  Relieved that in spite of all the struggles, we're all still here.  We're still healthy.  No one has gone hungry and we still have a roof over our heads.  The big stuff is covered.  Maybe that's what God is teaching me.  HE's got me.  He will take care of me.

What would a New Year's Eve blog entry be without a look back at the year that was?
January - I lost two good friends, Rick Campbell and Vickie Tharpe.  We got two good snow days and I got the first major health scare of my young life when I felt a lump in my breast!
February - Still toughing it out at Sarah Moore Greene, trying to make sense of my apparent inability to form relationships with the folks I work with there.  Inside, I was miserable and counting the days until I could say goodbye to that school forever and return to comfort and friends I had at West Valley.  The month's highlight was my first mammogram and irregular results, second visit, and the sweet sound of relief when I was told there was nothing to worry about, everything was fine.
March - Trip to Ron Clark Academy was the highlight and getting Manuel Scott booked as our 11.1.11 speaker for Reach Them to Teach Them were the highlights
April - THE Storms, the end of OBIYTC and Nick and Brittany came out to lead us in the TCAP cheer that ended up on the news!  I began the difficult process of disengaging from SMG
May - The Locker Room closes forever
June -
July - Beach Trip to Topsail
August - Back to school at West Valley!
September
October -
November- 11.1.11
December - Mission Unstoppable and kids are HOME!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

You Have Beautful Eyes, Ma'am...

5 words.  Big impact. 

My eyes have been growing older lately.  Not me of course, just my eyes and I've struggled this Thanksgiving break with being able to see the fine print.  Lately they've also been stinging and watering a little...maybe allergies.  Anyway, I've been feeling kinda, not-so-pretty lately.  Pictures of wrinkles and such...I need a haircut.  You know the drill.  Well, today after working at the Fantasy of Trees for 4 hours, I drove thru McDonalds to grab a bite to eat.  Rainy, yucky November Day.  When I cruised around to pick up my sack o' calories, the young man handed it out to me and said, "You have beautiful eyes, Ma''am."  I was stunned.  I murmured a thank you and headed toward home all the while thinking, Do I?  Do I have beautiful eyes?  I pulled down my review mirror to take a look. 

I remember a song entitled, "if You Said My Eyes are Beautiful, It's because they're looking at you,"  I thought about how important it is to fix our eyes on Jesus.  It is He who is beautiful and it is He who should be reflected in our eyes. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Updating the Life Status

It's been nearly two months since my last post, but so much has happened since then I couldn't possibly catch up.  Here are the biggies-
Food City came on board with Reach Them as did Comcast and Boys and Girls Club to make it possible for us to end the year in the black and ahead of where we started! 

I had the opportunity to speak at Jack and Sue's church in Halls and John Jones from Food City came by to give me a check for $5000!  Amazing drive to Halls in the rain.

Planning evaluation scored all 5's!  Yay!  The two nights I was up 'til 3AM paid off!

Reach Them was one of the best event EVER!  Manuel Scott is a HIGHLY recommended speaker.  Hallerin remains my all-time fav Knoxville superstar!

Lori hosted Halloween dinner - Manny was late, but dinner was fabulous!

Prayers have been answered like crazy - above and beyond my wildest dreams.  Our Dream Team is amazing.

Addie is doing a great job in 6th grade and the braces she had put on this year make her look so "middle schoool-y."

Finally, Sam has discovered Reading with much thanks to The Hunger Games.

Addie's soccer team bonded through the unexpected death of Barry Long, Erin's daddy, and a hero who walked among us.

Pinterest is taking WAY too much of my time.

Ricky still lives in my house.

I had my formal evaluation on Instruction today and it was less than perfect, but I'm glad it's over.

Tom and I went to SharpTop as adult guests during Young Life camp.  Good times!

Grandma Crawford passed away last Saturday.  We're going to Greensboro on Thursday for her funeral.  So sad to see things change and grateful for the time we spent at the beach through the years.

My classes are da bomb!  My students are hilarious and smart.  They are well-behaved and fun to be around every day.  Now if I could only find the time to give them the best 7th grade experience they could ever imagine!

Time to plan!  And go to bed. 

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Back on the Gerbil Wheel

Yep, it's that time of year that I find myself on the spinning gerbil wheel that takes a brief pause at Christmas, but spin furiously until the last day of school...and I love it.  I am happier when I'm busy.  I need something to do.  Yes, I know there is always something to do, but I need something that satisfies me, something that challenges me, something that causes me to depend on my God to make it happen.  My every day classroom adventure provides the challenge and reward I need and Reach Them to Teach Them provides the faith builder I crave.

This week, I spoke with Scott Fitch at HT Hackney and he agreed to provide over 2,000 bottle of water for our Reach Them to Teach Them event on November 1st.  He even went above and beyond and said he could provide customized labels with our logo, mission statement, and other information we'd like to include. 

Our Two Rivers event was last Tuesday and much to our surprise and delight the weather was gorgeous and warm, but not too hot.  Vallie Collins had our crowd absolutely mesmerized with her survival story of the Miracle on the Hudson.  She is a polished, professional, and endearing speaker! 

I shared the mission of Reach Them to Teach Them by putting a face on our mission.  With Dakota Lee as our emcee and my powerpoint detailing Field Day 2010, I shared two extremes- Dakota, Mr. Hardin Valley Academy, and Martez, a little boy who needs someone to love him.  I was thrilled to have Nick Reveiz in attendance as my story centered on his willingness to let Martez sign his UT shirt in permanent marker.  Chelcie didn't mind having Nick there either!

Our silent auction went well, as everything sold, and our live auction brought energy and enthusiasm to our mission.  David Pozy did a great job bringing humor and financial challenge to a crowd with limited financial resources.  Next year we'll do a better job filling the seats with those who can help us financially.

Some highlights of the auction were UT skybox tickets that went for $950, and lunch with Inky Johnson that sold for $350.  All in all we raised about $7,000 which is not bad for our first attempt.  Especially when we consider that the event used to cost us money.  Youth Transitions provided a delicious "upscale-ish" meal for our guest and as usual, our volunteers were over the top when it came to customer service! 

We had about 75 guests which is fewer than we wanted to have, but we know that God had just the people there who needed to be there and we give Him all the glory and honor and praise for His answer to our prayer.

We have one month to go until 11.1.11!  I could never imagine that time to pass so quickly once school started!