Mel's Mosaic of Life

2009-12-17T23:40:00.000-06:00

I Need A "Silent Night"

2009-12-17T22:58:00.005-06:00

Whew!!! Where do I start??? With the good stuff, always! I just got back from Lake Charles, Louisiana where my best friends Glenn & MaDonna live. I got to stay about 5 or 6 days and it was so good to be able to go this time of year to enjoy all the holiday decorations and beautiful Christmas trees. When I landed in Houston and MaDonna picked me up, we literally hit the ground running. Our first stop was one of the greats in Houston...Pappacittas. (sp?) They made the most fabulous guacamole dip right there at the table, and it was oh so delicious!!! We had a chance to catch up on the little things on our drive back to LC.

Then, when we got home that day we started helping MaD's mom, Brenda McFall work on a 50's and over progressive party where the main meal was to be served at their house the next night.

Then it was getting close to dinnertime so Glenn & MaDonna treated me to a wonderful restaurant called Pat's of Henderson. I had a big bowl of gumbo with potato salad and it really hit the spot. I LOVE that kind of food, so my goal was to try to get to eat as much cajun cookin' as I could while I was down there.

Then on Saturday MaDonna came into my room and asked if I wanted to go with her and help do the food or if I wanted to sleep in a little more......I opted to sleep, but then didn't wake up until 2:08 p.m.!!!!!!! I was so embarrassed that no one had awakened me, but it also felt REALLY good to get to sleep that long too!!! So, I got up and got ready as soon as I could and a then it was like stepping onto a hamster's wheel for the rest of the day making sure everything was ready for the over 50's party. I got to meet several of MaDonna's good friends from the church as well, so it was fun visiting with them and getting to know them a bit too. We served 2 separate groups of about 50 people and had a LOT of fun. Those older folks still have a LOT of pep in their step!! Then started the clean-up, but as my mom always says, "Many hands make for light cleaning." And before long all the workers were sitting around the table, the house once again quiet save the sounds of the holiday music and light conversation at the table. And man do these people KNOW how to cook down here! I've never been to any other part of the country where the flavors of each food is so intense. We served Rice Dressing, Beef Brisket, Baked Beans, Rolls & Sweet Tea. Mmm Mmm Good!!!!

Sunday was church. They had a guest speaker come in and preach that weekend. His name was Dannie Hood and he did a terrific job. I really needed to hear that sermon and took it to heart. Unfortunately, MaDonna had a Christmas concert that night and we couldn't attend the night service. After lunch we headed up to north Louisiana to Harrisonburg for MaDonna to do a concert for a church Christmas banquet. It was a good time and gave us 6 driving hours to talk, & talk, & laugh, & stroll down memory lane, & talk some more, then deciding we needed something from Dairy Queen, then deciding we needed coffee!!! We finally made it back home by 1:00 a.m. and collapsed in our beds!!

Monday we did a little shopping. Then we left around 5:00 that evening to drive up to Alexandria, LA to watch a Christmas musical called, "Imagine Christmas". It was like a broadway show. The lights, costume, & art design were top notch and the praise and worship in the building at the end was palpable. They told us this was their last year to do it, so I was so glad I got to see it.

Then Tuesday was our huge day to go shopping! We did mostly boutique shops and she took me to a store called "S&M" which is like a VERY upscale Hudson's store...if you know what kind of store that is. I bought several Christmas gifts, so it was a very productive day.

Then in the evening, Glenn wanted to have a family night at home, so we got the stuff to make smothered pork chops and went home and cooked at home. Mama McFall made the smothered pork chops and they were SOOOOOOO good and tender. She also made a hashbrown casserole that was so good too. MaDonna whipped up a couple of pumpkin pies for dessert and we could hardly stand to wait to let them cool enough to eat. I made some homemade sweetened fresh whipped cream for the top and we ate that while we watched "Julie & Julia". We got so tired as soon as the movie was over we just shut off all the lights, barely said good night to each other and again, just fell into unconsciousness in our comfy beds!!

That night as I was going to bed I was feeling a little weird with my stomach and my heart. I laid down and went to sleep, but I felt like I was going to drown if I laid on my back too much. Then about 3:00 in the morning I got so sick the closest I could make it to the bathroom was throwing up violently in the sink. I was shaking with the chills trying to think of what I needed to do. So, I got myself a bit together and found my way into Glenn & MaDonna's room and told them to start praying for me. I finally got settled down and went back to my own bed and the next day I was wiped, but not nauseated. Now, THAT'S how you know you have good friends...people who you can barge in their room at 3:00 a.m. and know they won't mind!!!

So, next day was my day to leave. I was sad already because I knew I would be missing everyone so much! I had bought WAY too much stuff, and we had to add an extra check=in bag PLUS an extra carry on!! Needless to say my shoulders are very sore today from having to carry all that weight all day.

We left Lake Charles in PLENTY of time to get to Houston, but there were two fatal wrecks on the way coupled with construction and it was a mess!! By 3:15 I knew I was going to miss my non-stop 5:15 flight to St. Louis. So I called and they said if I could get to the airport they would put me on standby for the next plane. Long story short instead of getting in @ 7:00 p.m., I got home around 10:00 p.m.! But, all is well and I have all my luggage so "all's well that ends well"!

I had to have a bunch of tests done at the hospital today. Things are not looking good for me, but something I've known for about three weeks...just didn't want to deal with it while I was gone. The thing that broke me down today was the imminent fact that dialysis is something that we're seriously facing within the next 1-2 months. Chemotherapy may also be started again. It's been the big elephant in the room for the past couple of weeks, just didn't want to dwell on it, as I've said. We will see what the labs show tomorrow and go from there as far as what the next step will be. I am devastated and concerned, so please continue to keep me in your prayers. I don't want the light at the end of the tunnel to be the light from the oncoming train!! :) :) :)

My wish for you is the happiest & most cherished holiday season with your family & friends. Cherish all of your moments together and HAVE A PARTY!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by - Melanie

"Tis The Season"

2009-12-07T22:54:00.004-06:00

Busy, busy day...

Dale had to go to the dentist @ 11:30...(by himself)

I had an appt. with my heart doctor @ 1:00...(we met at a gas station for Dale to get Gentry)

Heart doctor ordered a bunch of tests for my heart, but I told them I had a 3:00 appt....

They wrote some quick orders for all these tests...

Then had to schedule an echocardiogram for Wednesday...

3:00 appt. with Portrait Innovations where we usually get our family picture taken, as well as Gentry's birthday pictures......

I was running late, so I grabbed my clothes and swiftly walked to the "dressing room" to change...

The ladies stall was taken, but I was so late I had to go into the men's "dressing room"...

We finally got started with the picture and they turned out pretty good if I say so myself...

Then on to Factory Card Outlet to find some Batman topper for his cake and pick up plates & napkins & balloons...

Then we went to Toys R Us to let Gentry pick out what he wanted for his birthday and he choose a microphone that hooks in to his ipod...

Then he chose a guitar that does the exact same thing with the ipod...

Then to Chili's to feed our ravenous appetites....

Then to Maggie Moo's to find a cake for Gentry...

He picked one with yellow cake, blue cotton candy ice cream, marshmallow creme on the outside with sprinkles of M&M's...

Groceries were bought, Bills were mailed,

WHEW!!! I'm exhausted. So......as soon as I walked in the door the shoes came off immediately,

The Pajamas are put on in less than a minute, I got my ipod & computer and am in this cozy bed.

Tomorrow will be almost as crazy, but we just take each minute as it comes and above all - try to be patient & kind with those crazy holiday shoppers!!!!

2009-12-03T00:39:00.000-06:00

NO CAVITIES!!!

Gentry had his appointment today to have the dentist check his teeth for any cavities and they found.....drum roll....NONE!! We were so proud of him. He's always loved brushing his teeth, so now they said he has to start learning how to floss!! Pretty tall orders for a little boy who will only be 4 next Tuesday! He got to pick out three toys, his new toothbrush, floss and toothpaste. The last picture he is showing me his nice white teeth after they cleaned & polished them. On the X-rays of his teeth you could already see all of his permanent teeth in place ready to make their entrance in a few years. It kind of made me sad because I realized that my little 4 pound helpless baby is growing up faster and faster. I cherish EVERY moment with him. He lights up my world with that sweet smile & those ice blue eyes of his!!

2009-11-21T22:13:00.000-06:00

Two Months Later

2009-11-21T20:43:00.007-06:00

My Uncle Stan, his wife, Kathy & My Baby Gentry

Well, I have plenty of excuses, and none at all for not keeping updated on my blogs. But here we are just a few days before Thanksgiving. We have had our share of valley experiences the past month with the passing of my dear Uncle Stan who I loved with my whole heart. He had suffered for about 23 months with cancer. His homegoing was beautiful and stories I've heard about his last moments here on this earth were nothing short of truly a heavenly experience. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is in the presence of the Lord. I miss his smile, his blue eyes that sparkled. I miss his stories and jokes. He gave the best hugs in the world too. I know he is in a better place now, but I still wish he was here with us. He certainly left us way too soon. The picture is him holding my Gentry when he was 3 weeks old and his PRECIOUS wife, Kathy behind him.

We enjoyed having our best friends, Glenn, MaDonna and their children, Easton and Chapel with us during the end of September. It was SO good to be able to see them all again and visit, laugh and enjoy old memories while making new ones as well. We got to go to a Cardinals baseball game while they were here. There is a picture of MaDonna and me at the stadium. The Cards lead 6-0 until around the 7th or 8th inning and the other team (can't remember who)...started STOMPING the Cards. We stayed til the very last out with our hopes high of a major comeback, but left with a 12-6 loss over the opposing team...the Twins maybe??? Now, Glenn and MaDonna and of course, my husband are NOT Cardinal fans, but they were kind enough to cheer my team on with me...and for that I thank them!! :) :) :)

MaDonna has been working on a new project for several months and it just released this past week. I've heard all the "rough" cuts and I have to tell you...YOU NEED TO BUY THIS CD! I think it's her best yet and she sounds as good as ever. You can probably get her information and address on their church website: livingway.cc.

My sweet little grandma Sullivan (pictured in my Father's Day blog) has just been diagnosed with breast cancer on top of having pneumonia that she is being hospitalized for. I think they said she will be in the hospital for about another week. She has Alzheimer's disease, but they say she is taking all of her newly diagnosed problems gracefully. I think she will be taking some sort of chemo in the form of a pill.

This past Sunday we received a devastating phone call getting news that our dear friend, Rich Wynn passed away from complications with double pneumonia. Rich and his family were the very first members of our church out in Virginia. From the moment we met him and his amazing family, we connected and over time they became our surrogate family while we lived in Fredericksburg. So, with broken and heavy hearts, we headed out to Virginia as soon as we had packed a few things and just got back home this afternoon.

Rich was from New York originally, so we had a memorial service in Virginia and the funeral in New York. It was amazing to see how many people he had impacted over the years. He spent many years caught up in an addiction with alcohol, but when God delivered him, he became a completely changed man, committed to the cause of Christ and telling everyone he came in contact with about the great things God had done in his life.

He leaves behind a beautiful wife, Rosalind and 5 children, Ivan (&Maddie), Maggie, Marian, Danielle, & Tommy. He told us so much about his extended family and we had actually had the privilege of meeting several of them, but the ones we hadn't meant in person yet, we finally got to meet. What a beautiful, close-knit family he was a part of. So, Rich's family as well as Roz's family...you've just acquired three more members of the family! :)

I love you, Rich...you will always be in my heart.

We also got to see our good friends, Mark & Chantel who pastor at Church on the Move. It was so good to see them again as well and their 3 boys who are nothing less than handsome, cute, good-lookin' kids! Thanks for all your help with Rich's Memorial Service too!

Well, I hope this hasn't been a depressing e-mail. But life is full of ups and downs and you can't always be on top of the world. My heart is heavy with sadness for my uncle Stan & Rich, but I also find comfort in the fact that these two men followed the plan of salvation and are at peace. Thank God for the comfort of the hope beyond the grave.

I will sign off for now. I have some funny Gentry stories I'll post later on this week. Heading to Mississippi at some point this week to be with the Rutland family for Thanksgiving. I wish you all a blessed holiday season. Don't miss an opportunity to tell your loved ones what they mean to you. Those memories are the ones that will be cherished for years to come.

Thanksgiving Blessings - Mel

Spoilers & Teasers...

2009-09-19T23:25:00.004-05:00

Lunch - tossed salad...which consisted of brown edged lettuce, two tomatoes, FAT FREE Ranch dressing, chicken noodle soup, and scalloped potatoes. Now, how bad can THIS be? You guessed it. Apparently when you're placed on a heart floor, saying the word "salt" is a VERY VERY BAD CURSE WORD!!!! Too funny...I did eat it though!!! I found one teeny tiny packet of salt in the bottom of my purse and thought I'd found a priceless, missing diamond. Amazing how a little salt can entirely enhance the taste of foods in a way no other herb or spice can!! Ok...I'm saying too much....gotta keep my cliffhanger going for a day anyway. I'm outta here and off to sleepytown!! TTYL

Come on! You know your mouth is watering from that tangy & refreshing, GREEN BLOB of..?????!!! Nurse, Do I REALLY have to eat this? :)

Here are a few pictures I took and sent to a few people. This was only a "glimpse" into what my 5-star chef was whippin' up for me this week at Memorial Hospital down in the kitchen!!!! And, they wonder WHY? people don't want to eat it!!! How you can mess up some of these dishes is hard to fathom!!! And yet they never fail to bring something each and EVERY meal that tastes like it was cooked it dirty dishwater!!!!!

Enjoy the pics and I'll post ALL the drama that's happened this past week with my hospitalization. In short, I had a rare type of pneumonia that never cleared up, fluid to be drained off of my lungs, and have what they refer to as "transient congestive heart failure".

Lots of love, prayers, & gratitude for all of you who took the time to mention my name in prayer this week.

Mel

White Shoes...Permitted!

2009-09-07T20:20:00.002-05:00

Has it REALLY been since July 18th that I've posted on my blog???? Oh my!! I guess I could come up with some really good excuses, but I figure I'd just save my time to post about what's been going on in our life since I last posted.

The main thing (which I despise), has been that I've been in and out of the hospital twice. I was admitted about three weeks ago and had a nice 10 day stay with my hospital friends. I had been feeling yucky for about a week or so before I was admitted...starting running high fevers...got a bit delirious (according to my husband & siblings :) )...had a terrible sore throat, earaches & cough...continuous nausea & vomiting...but the last straw that had us calling 911 was that my blood pressure bottomed out to around 80/40. Now, I know you're thinking, "You dummy, why didn't you go to the doctor before it got this bad?" Well, those of you who know me well know that I can, at times, be a bit stubborn...and I just DID NOT want to go to the hospital AGAIN!! So, with every passing day I would tell myself, "If I'm not better tomorrow, I'll call the doctor." And those "one day at a time" promises turned into getting really, really sick.

So, after much cajoling from my sweet sister who happened to stop by and visit me, we called 911 to come and take me to the hospital ER. Turns out I had walking pneumonia and was slapped in the ICU for 4-5 days. I was in a total of 10 days and got to come home.

I had a week of recovering and Dale had his annual male bonding trip planned. We thought I was doing better enough for him to go ahead and go on his hunting trip to Idaho, so Gentry and I stayed with mom and dad while Dale was gone. BUT...apparently the pneumonia wasn't done with me! :)

So, this past Wednesday I went BACK to the ER via ambulance because my BP had gone from 162/113 to 82/46 within an hour's time. I started having severe chest pain and trouble breathing, so off I was carted again and this time my liver decided to act up. My enzymes went sky high and kept climbing for two days. Apparently if you have a really high BP that goes low really quickly, your organs get deprived of oxygen and they go into shock. So, I went into liver shock. I was placed again in a step-down ICU and hooked up to all kinds of monitors, having a battery of blood tests done to try and figure out what was going on. When they listened to my lungs they told me I still had some lingering effects of the pneumonia and put me back on the antibiotics for that as well.

With each day my liver enzymes started coming down and by yesterday I was begging to be discharged home and they finally let me come home. My enzymes were still elevated, but told me I could go home with the promise of getting labwork done to check the levels within a week.

So.......I am home and so glad to be back in my own comfy bed! I am weak and still in some chest pain from the lingering pneumonia, but I'm grateful and thankful that I didn't have to spend the holiday today trying to enjoy the hospital food!!

My sweet sister had a Labor Day get together at her house for our family today and I was DELIGHTED to be able to go...even though I was in my pajamas curled up on the couch all day or on the front porch watching everyone fish from the lake. We had such a great day today.

My heart is always full and I'm always a little emotional after I get to spend time with all of my family being together. My brother, Jared, has recently moved to Florida for a new job and I've missed him so much. But he flew in this weekend to surprise his wife and he got to be there with us today. It was SOOOOOO good to see him!!

The highlight of the day was when my baby boy caught the biggest fish of the day! Everyone brought their fishing poles to fish out of the lake that Charles and Christy has there in front of their beautiful country home. So, my little Gent-man would not be left out of the fun. So, we packed up his tackle box and $19.00 Superman fishing pole and he had a blast. Christy and I were sitting in the "Texas Room" catching up and all of a sudden someone comes and hollers at the window, "Y'all come out here quick!!" And Gentry had pulled in a HUGE catfish with his little, cheap fishing pole. It was over a foot long. Dale said he kept "trash talking" saying, "I'm catchin' a big one!...Here it comes...Get on my line, big fish!!...and no one was really paying attention to him. Then, all of a sudden Dale looks and sees that Gentry's about to lose his pole trying to reel it in, so he goes over there to help him...and my baby blue pulled in the biggest fish of the day!!!! I was so proud of him and he was squealin' and jumping up and down saying, "I caught the big one, I caught the big one!!" I didn't have my camera there today, but there were lots of other cameras clickin' so as soon as I get some I'll post them on here.

I got to talk to one of my favorite people in the whole world today too...my Uncle Ken. It was so good to hear his deep, soft, southern voice telling me he'd been thinking about me and praying for me. He is so special to me and plays a HUGE role in the reason that I still am living for God today. He never wants to take the credit when I've told him that over the years, but he and I both know those talks we had when I was a floundering teenager trying to decide what to do with my life changed the course of my life and the decisions I made consequently. I love him dearly and was glad I got to talk with him today.

What else??? Oh the food!!! How could I forget!! My brother-in-law, Charles fired up the grill for us today and we had what he called a "Gourmet Country Meal"...and boy did it EVER hit the spot. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Broccoli-Rice Casserole, Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Party Potatoes (yummy, Christine!), Brownies, & Yellow Fudge Marble Cake w/ Milk Chocolate Frosting!! And did I mention that "gourmet country" was 5-star in my book! :) Thanks everyone!

We put candles in the cake to celebrate the birthdays we missed this year- Jared, Dale, Christine & Charles...we're sorry for the "community cake", y'all, but by September we're worn out! :) I guess next year we won't celebrate the early birthdays so that we'll have enough energy for you mid-year peeps! :)

Well, my honey is making some chicken nuggets and fries for a late night snack, so I'm gonna wrap this up for now. Dale, Gentry and I are headed down to mom and dad's "crunchy" house tomorrow to spend the day with mom and dad. That's what Gentry calls mom and dad's house they have in "the holler". He calls their house in Belleville "the city house"...and their retirement home "the crunchy house" (he means country house). So, I'm gonna load up the car with pillows and blankets and ride down and spend the day relaxing with my sweet mama!

Thanks to EVERYONE who's been sending thoughts and prayers my way over the past weeks. I cannot begin to say how much it means to me. I hope to stay in better touch than I have over the past 6 weeks. Keep in touch, everyone! :)

Love always - Mel

P.S. Funny Gentry Story -

Dale was going to church yesterday morning with Gentry and the moon was still in the sky. Gentry, being the son of an avid outdoorsman & hunter, pulled out his imaginary rifle and "shoots the moon". He then tells Dale very matter-of-factly, "I just shot Jesus' house." Dale's eyes get big and he replies back, "Gentry! Did you shoot Jesus???!!!" And Gentry replies back, "No, but he jumped off!"

New Pictures

2009-07-18T19:08:00.006-05:00

Road Trip with Emmy, Elephant & I-pod

He's addicted to his I-pod!

Me & My Beau

My guys - Ryan, Gentry & Dale

The Gals - Christine, Courtney, Christy, & Me

The Light of My World!

C.C.C...

Posing for momma!

Another pose!

Hey guys! Not much going on here, but I wanted to post a few pictures I've taken lately. Last night we drove up to Illinois Family Camp for the Friday night service. Dale, Gentry and I rode up with my sister, niece, brother & sis-in-law. It was about 2 1/2 hours up there and the ride up and back home was the most memorable part of the evening. We shared LOTS & LOTS of laughs and some GREAT road snacks!

Jerry Jones was the evening speaker and he preached a message called "Encore". He's STILL my favorite preacher! I'd actually heard him preach that before, but it was just as powerful last night as it was the first time I heard it. We ended our evening with a good country dinner at Cracker Barrel before we got back on the road to head south. Us girls all were sacked out by the time we got back to the house, but Ryan and Dale kept conversation going ALL THE WAY home. I honestly don't know how someone could think of that many things to talk about non-stop for three hours!!! :) My throat would be sore from talking that much! ;) He said he was just trying to keep the driver awake! Yeah, right!

So, I slept in today and have been being lazy all day long. Dale and Gentry have been working and playing outside all day long. Dale got two new beagle puppies this past week, so Gentry has laid claim to them and has been carrying them around all day today. He has taken a shine to one in particular and has named him B.J.??? Don't ask! He came up with that one on his own!

Not much else going on here. Enjoy the pics! :)

Our Week In Mississippi

2009-07-15T19:21:00.002-05:00

What a good time we had last week when Gentry and I traveled with Dale down to his old stompin' grounds. Gentry and I had a couple of leisurely, lazy days in Baldwyn while Dale had to work for a few days. We went shopping at the mall in Tupelo, got way too many cookies at the cookie shop, rode the carousel, and played a slew of arcade games together. I enjoyed so much getting to spend the day with my little guy. We stopped for lunch at the food court and all the TV screens were tuned in to the memorial service of Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in L.A. Everyone's eyes were glued to the screens, mindlessly stuffing food into their mouths watching the "show" unfold. But, all Gentry was concerned about was riding the carousel which was in close proximity. He kept jumping up and down and asking me, "Mommy, are you done eating yet?"...over and over and over!! :)

I got to visit with some of my sisters-in-law and I made a pig out of myself with the most delicious watermelon I've had this season. Gentry got to play with Harlee & Hagen (his cousins) and Gentry and Hagen even got into a "fight" over a balloon they were chasing around the living room. My, oh my, the tempers were flarin'...and all of us were enjoying the show.

We left for Jackson on Wednesday evening to spend a few nights at Camp Meeting. We went to dinner after church on Thursday night with our friends, Wally & Vicki Tiller, who we hadn't seen in probably over 10 years. Wally employed Dale with a job when we first got married. "Tiller Remodeling" paid our bills for the first two or three years of our newlywed life. We used to have dinner with them a lot when we first got married and lived in Jackson. Their girls were just little blonde-headed princesses back then. Now, one has graduated from college and is a registered nurse, and the other one is attending a bible college! TALK ABOUT FEELING OLD!!! It was so good to be able to reconnect with them again after all our years of being away. We laughed and joked and reminisced about the good ole days, and got caught up on "life".

Then Friday, we got to spend some time with our dear friends and mentors, Bret & Dedie Cooley. He was teaching the day services at the camp meeting and so when we found out they were going to be there, we knew that we wanted to make every effort to try to see them. It was SO GOOD to reconnect with them as well. My only regret is that we didn't get to spend more time visiting.

Dale's birthday was that Thursday and we enjoyed spending the day together. We went to Stein Mart and he ended up buying ME things instead of him getting birthday gifts. I told him I didn't want him to buy me anything, but he insisted, saying I never buy myself anything. So....I very happily relented and let him spoil me a bit. Can't wait to show off my new black purse he got me too. (Thanks, baby!)

Well, I've got a couple of loads of laundry calling my name, so I better run for now. More Rutland Ramblings later! :)

Baci -

Happenings...

2009-07-06T12:28:00.006-05:00

Final biopsy results received on Thursday...
Watching labwork VERY closely for the next several months and will treat with chemo according to what labwork shows...
Next treatment may be in 4 weeks...or not for 6-12 months...I'm shooting for the latter! :)
Spent Friday with extended family for 4th of July BBQ & fireworks show...
Food was fabulous...company was comfortable...conversation was light...laughter & smiles were abundant...
Little kids (& big kids) rolled down the hill at the show! ;)...
Feasted on watermelon grown by the "Mideonites...I mean the Mennonites"! :)
Went Saturday down to mom & dad's "country home" for another 4th party...

Mom's BBQ Pork Steaks were the hit of the day...and the chocolate eclair cake Chris made topped it off perfectly...

Torrential rains most of the day that day, but that didn't stop the guys from exploring outside...they got soaked, but managed a few good pictures! :)
Grandma Sullivan got to spend the day with us and she enjoyed laughing with us all day too...
Headed back home Saturday night with tummy's full, but hearts fuller from having shared moments turned memories with loved ones...
Gentry started running fever on the way home though and nothing worries me more than my baby getting sick...fever broke Sunday, but no idea why he keeps running fevers off & on...
Taking him to dr. soon just for look/see...He's fine again today, Thank God!...
I would take ALL of his sickness & pain if I could...can't stand to see my baby sick...SO THANKFUL he's healthy for the most part...been to the doctor less than 10 times in his whole life!...
Packing & closing up shop here for the week...headed to MS with Dale & Gentry...
Dale will work first couple of days this week...then off to JXN for a few days of Camp Meeting...
Will get to visit with dear friends while we're down there...Looking SO forward to it...
Will be in touch later!

Baci & Abbracci... (hugs & kisses)

Going Back To Hospital

2009-06-25T19:40:00.004-05:00

PICTURE GENTRY TOOK OF ME THE OTHER NIGHT

So, I'd MUCH rather talk about something funny that Gentry's done, or something fun we'd done as a family this week, or something cool I found while out and about, but unfortunately, this week has forced me to take another hard look at the condition of my health and thus...this blog is an update on things.

I got home from the hospital this afternoon around 2:30 p.m. only to have my doctor call me back around 5:30 p.m. and let me know that I have to be admitted back into the hospital tomorrow morning for an intense treatment therapy for my lupus.

The preliminary results came back from my kidney biopsy that I had and it really wasn't what I was wanting to hear. I'll try to simplify as much as possible because all the medical jargon gets a little confusing after a while.

Bottom line is the lupus is very active again in my kidneys and the "filters" in the kidney that clean the blood (glomeruli)...half of them are irreparably damaged and will not ever regain function. The other half of the "filters" are having to work overtime to filter and clean my blood properly, thus putting an undue strain on my kidney function causing my creatinine to be high. I have approximately 35-40% kidney function at this time.

With lupus, my immune system is "confused" and instead of fighting off the "bad things" for my body like infections, etc, it thinks my kidneys are "bad" and my immune system is trying to "kill off" my kidneys. It "thinks" it's doing the right thing for my body, but the DNA is just faulty and reversed. THEREFORE...they are giving me an IV drug that will wipe out most of my B-cells which is part of the White Blood Cell System that produces antibodies. The goal is to suppress the immune system enough to trick the B-cells into not attacking the kidney any further and killing off the remaining function of the kidneys.

I will go back into the hospital and be hooked up to an IV which will give me this drug called "Rituximab" and then also be put on a higher IV dose of steroids. I am supposed to be in the hospital for two days and hopefully get to come back home on Saturday. The good news is it isn't like the chemo I've had in the past that makes me sick and so, so weak for months at a time. The doctor told me I will feel like I'm fighting a cold or flu for a few days, but no hair loss or throwing up like the chemo I've had in the past. This drug is mainly used to treat B-cell lymphoma, so hopefully it will be strong enough to deal with the acute process of the lupus going on in my kidneys.

I am frustrated because I feel like I've done everything I know to do as far as following dr's advice through the years, but I'm also hopeful that this new drug will work for me and preserve what kidney function I have left. So, what would the next step be if this doesn't work??? Well, I'd like not to have to even entertain the idea, but it would eventually be dialysis & hopefully a transplant.

But....we've got a long way to go before we get to that point. I feel like I'm under great care with the kidney doctor I have. He studied & did his fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, which is one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation. So, I know he knows what he's doing. Combine all of that with prayers and lots of hope, faith & support and I think I've got a winning combination.

Gonna get some rest before my guys get in. Pretty sore from having three big needles stuck in my back yesterday. The good news is I'm not allowed to do any housework for 2 weeks...so I'm going to enjoy that for sure!!

Thanks again for your concern, prayers & well-wishes. They truly keep me going on days I'd rather not face. I hope one day I can repay all of your acts of kindness to me & my family!!

Many Blessings - Mel

"Bless The Children" - Father's Day 2009

2009-06-22T00:58:00.010-05:00

FATHER'S DAY PICTURES - 2009 - ENJOY!

Collage of Gentry's "Moods"!!
My angel, doll-baby, stubborn, love 'em anyway "Blue Eyes"

Saying "Cheese".....

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE MY BABIES' BABY BLUES!

"I SOOOO DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS! GIMME A BREAK, DAWG!"

I gotta really cool dad! My parents had kids SO YOUNG, so there's only 21 years between us. He's still a kid at heart like me and we enjoy music together. He thinks Gentry is just about the best thing that could have happened to him. We gave him his very first GRANDSON! I love you dad, and hope to be able to spend more and more of these special occasions together.

Dad & his first-born child....Christine Elaine Sullivan-Cox

Daddy always said Christy got her big blue eyes from her mama!

Grandma Sullivan & her "Stevie"

Dad & His Mom (Grandma Sullivan)

THE FAMILY (minus a few...& we missed u2!) :)

Daddy & His Girls & "the suprise" of his life...Ryan Matthew!!

Mel #2, Dad, Christy #1, Ryan #4 (missing Jared #3 :( )

I wanna be JUST LIKE YOU DAD!!!! ????

Now there's some trouble in the making, right there!

My heart is full tonight, and sometimes what I "want" to say doesn't always pour itself out into words that I can put together. So often, I go looking for a song or poem that can say what my heart desires to say, but can't seem to find the right words from my own soul.

I was blessed to be able to spend the day with my husband...and father to Gentry. I am blessed beyond measure that Dale eased into the role of fatherhood so effortlessly and has made a little shadow out of the boy I call "mine".

So, I found a prayer written by someone else who's writings I've always admired & been inspired by. I thought it would be appropriate today to share this "prayer" with you simply entitled "Bless The Children"...which after all...is really what Father's Day is all about...if it weren't for our children, we'd have no need to celebrate this special day. Be blessed by this prayer as I am each time I read it.

"Bless The Children"

Bless the children.

Bless their questions and their un-jaded answers.

Bless their hands that hold my face

and peer guilelessly into my eyes.

Bless their lips that kiss without embarrassment,

their arms that hug without restraint,

their mouths that shape the deep truth in simple words - - -

"I love you."

Bless their minds that know no roadblocks

to their quest for knowledge,

no obstacles to their curiosity,

and no cynicism to block their trust.

While they still know purely, let the children teach us

While they believe openly, let the children pray for us.

While they trust us without restriction, let the children lead us.

While they know no disillusionment, let the children love us,

that we may healed

that we may trust again. . .

that we may regain our faith. . .
that we may recover our innocence. . .
that we may become children of the Father of Life.

Written by: Gloria Gaither

My Very Insteresting Week...

2009-06-21T00:06:00.006-05:00

So...I got a reminder from a dear friend of mine wondering why I hadn't been blogging all the craziness going on in our lives on a daily basis. So here is my week in review...

short & sweet... :):):)

Got to attend Sunday morning service TOGETHER as a family! That had been a while...
Had a wonderful family dinner with our special dinner guest being "Our Lady of Pulley's Mill - Mrs. Naomi Robertson-Sullivan (I'll save her for another time to blog all about her precious"ness" (is that even a word???)
Got a call around 2:30 p.m. Monday that the labs came back from the blood I had drawn on Friday and they think I'm in a more "ACUTE" (active) phase with the lupus actually attacking and causing damage to the kidneys. Talk about something just comin' right at ya out of left field! I was shocked and had no time to prepare for what they wanted to start very early the next morning.

Soooooooooooo....after scheduling, re-scheduling, getting more labwork done, scheduling and then rescheduling for the final time...I will be going into the hospital next Wednesday at St. Elizabeth's Hospital (the downtown Catholic hospital) for my... drumroll.....5th! kidney biopsy. I am not excited about this AT ALL, but since it's been 12 years since my last biopsy, they feel it is time to check and see what damage in the kidney is chronic and what is new and actively trying to "kill" my kidney.
I will stay in the hospital overnight and if I don't have any complications of bleeding out I will stay for a 23* observation and hopefully get to go home the next day.
So....Dale came home this week thinking I was going to have the procedure done this week, and now that it's been rescheduled....again...oh...and again...he's leaving tomorrow to go back to work! :) He will take Gentry down to MS with him and let him stay with his mother while he's working, and my family will be here for me during my procedure. I will stay with my parents until Dale and Gentry get back in town.
Courtney came and stayed with us for a few days during the early part of the week. We went & got pedicures done (hers for camp/mine so i'll look "pretty" while I'm having my procedure done! :) Went to Target to pick up the new Jo Bros CD, Topped it off with some yummy ice cream!!
Took Gentry to Wednesday night church/school. Got there last because of some road construction on the interstate that had everything backed up. But we finally made it.
Gentry's "school" teacher (Sunday School, but that's what he calls them!), is my sis, Christy. She loves that age group she's got, and Gentry LOVES going to "school" every Wednesday night that he's in town. He's always so proud to show me his pictures he made for me in school...and you better believe they go on the side of that refrigerator door!
Then last night, Friday, the "fam" went to St. Louis for a Michael English Solo Concert FRONT ROW SEATS!!! He sang quite a few songs, then ministered from the word. His voice was incredible, but his anointing and ministry God has given Him through his own story of failure & God's redemption is even more amazing!
Gentry enjoyed it so much...jumping...clapping...raising his pudgy little hand in the air in worship...and snappin' pictures of M.E. left and right...it finally started getting ridiculous, so I put the camera away. But then when I went back and looked at them, I was like, "Man these shots aren't too shabby for a 3 year old!
We topped off our night at Red Robin to eat a late, light dinner. They have a few little arcade games you can play up front, so we played for candy, stuffed animals, little bouncy balls, and raced in "Hong Kong"! It said Gentry and I got 2nd place!???
Good date/family night, but when we got home we all crashed in the bed asap!
Woke up this morning VERY sick at my stomach and have been keeping my little white wastebasket close to my bed...if you know what I mean. ;)
Now, Father's Day is tomorrow and I was going to go today and take Gentry and we would pick out something for Dale...it is now 12:37 a.m. Father's Day and what do I have? NOTHING! Nothing tangible anyway. But I will find someway to make it up to him...somehow ;)
So, next week will be another roller coaster week again, so we'll just have to wait to see how all the cards for next week's game play out!! :) :) :)
In the meantime, could someone please inform me.....how I can turn off the switch of this roller coaster ride??

Embracing the crazy, unpredictability of my interesting life!!

Blessings to you all who "take the time"...

You are SO LOVED!

Melanie

2009-06-05T13:59:00.002-05:00

Gentry by the old gas pump at Causeyville General Store

Gentry's "I really am not into having my picture taken" face

Old Wurlitzer Bar Room Piano - Causeyville General Store

Interesting array of what they used to sell at the old-fashioned General Store

Original Causeyville General Store built in 1869

Can I get an "amen" on how hard it is to get a decent picture of an active 3 year old!

Love that baby 'o mine!

Mmm...Mmm...Good... Chili's Sweet Corn on the Cob

Diggin' in to one of his favorite veggies!

My travels last week

2009-06-05T13:20:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone! Well, I certainly didn't intend for there to be this much time between posts, but somehow it just happened that way. I went to Meridian, MS last week on a job with Dale and between my time exploring little "out of the way" places, finding unique shops, taking Gentry swimming and watching the NBA semi-finals, the blogging got lost somewhere! Unfortunately, I've been paying big time this week for all my playing last week and have thrown myself into a pretty significant lupus flare. So, I've spent most of the week this week in bed resting and getting things back in order with my health. All will be well soon! :)

I was able to manage a few pictures here and there and wanted to share those as well as a story about an "real" old-fashioned general store that dates back to 1895!

In the hotel's general information book of "things to do", they suggested a visit to a place called the "Causeyville General Store". The directions in the hotel book said it was about 12 miles out from Meridian and you had to literally "follow the signs" to the store. So, on our last day there, Gentry and I decided to head out there to take in a piece of this Mississippi history. It was a beautiful drive out in the country and you really did have to follow those little brown historical signs to the General Store. After making about four turns, I started worrying I might not be able to find my way back to the hotel! I can find my way around any mega city, but those country roads still confuse me most of the time! ;)

So, we finally made it and it was the neatest little side-by-side general stores. It really was like taking a step back in time. I closed my eyes in the back of one store and imagined the people from a century or more ago coming there to trade and buy things. There is an "operating" convenient store built in 1895, and next to it is an old "grist mill" that was the original building that was built in 1869. The building(s) house a collection of player pianos used in old saloons, old toys and books from the 1930's & 40's, and lots of World War II memorabilia. The pictured building I have posted here has served as a post office, voting precinct, doctor's office, barber shop, telephone exchange, and movie theatre. AND...the original building (the one I have pictured) was also used as a trading post for the Choctaw Indians in the area.

I got a chance to speak with the current owner for quite some time and she was a wealth of information and history about the little place. The Causeyville General Store is not one of those places you just happen to "pass through" while on a trip. You have to go there "on purpose" and it is literally true that if you blink, you will DEFINITELY miss it.

So, I'm glad I happened across the "plug" for it in the hotel information book...and was even happier I took the time to visit that little place filled with rich Americana history from years and years gone by, and reveled in the slower pace of life...if only for a few moments.

Well, I'm going to sign off for now. Dale will be back home late tonight, so I'm going to try to whip up something delicious in the kitchen for him to enjoy as a midnight snack. LOVING this time of year when the markets are full of fresh fruit and veggies! I got some fresh Georgia peaches yesterday at the market, so I'm thinking we're going to be enjoying a homemade fresh peach cobbler!! And ice cream to go with it...of course!

I'll let you know how it turns out!!

Blessings to you, my friends!

Pics from my birthday weekend

2009-05-25T21:11:00.005-05:00

The very reason I breathe! Aiden Gentry Rutland- 3 years old...his mommie...30...something! :)

Nothing better than my little guy's sweet kisses!

Gentry & Momma

My little sunshine!

Still amazed by those blue eyes! And I get a double-dose!

My Angel!

Blowing out the candles...and making birthday wishes!

The Birthday Girl - Lanie Jo

Me & My Sweetie

Okay...so I guess you know how old I am now! ;)

My Sweet Sister-In-Love...Nicole (thanks for the sweet watermelon & doing the dishes!)

Me & my brother Jared

Ryan & Christine (a.k.a. Aunt Kiki) :) (thanks for ALL your help in the kitchen!)

Daddy & Mama

Christy (my sis), the 7-layer salad (yummy!) & the birthday gal

Auntie Mel & Courtney

My mama...my treasure!

Always Daddy's Little Girl...He's my HERO!

My Birthday Weekend

2009-05-25T20:48:00.002-05:00

This has been one of the best weekends I've had in a LONG time. I am so grateful to have been able to celebrate another year of living...another year of life! As you know, the past year has been one of immense struggle with my health issues. With everything that happened during my month long stay in the hospital back in November, to my recent ten day stay in the hospital for surgery, it's been a long, trying & painful year. There were times during my month-long hospitalization that I didn't know if I'd pull through one more time and live to see the next day. I've been really sick many times in my life, but I've never felt so close to death as I did during that hospital stay. So to be able to celebrate my birthday yesterday was indeed a celebration to me.

Thank you to my Facebook buddies who sent me lots of well wishes. I appreciated EVERY SINGLE ONE! Thanks to my two sweeties who spoiled me with a few gifts. And thanks to my AMAZING family who threw me a fantastic birthday party at my house today. Special thanks to my dear sis who put it all together and made it all look so festive.

We had mom's BBQ beef sandwiches, baked beans, broccoli & rice casserole, crab/artichoke dip, 7-layer salad, deviled eggs, watermelon, Maggie Moo's ice cream cake, pink lemonade and sweet tea! And it was ALL so yummy, I've already been back for seconds!

We had some GREAT conversation, laughed a lot, found ourselves tearing up quite a few times too, reminisced about loved ones gone and what it will be like to see them again one day. We talked about hopes for the future & dreams for our children. Gentry kept us laughing with his antics and we even snagged a few pictures of it all!

My heart is full and I find myself once again so utterly thankful for the simplest things in life...like family, love, relationships, friends, health and above all...my faith in an unchanging God.

I am headed to Meridian, MS with my hubby this week. Dale is putting up a building at a military base down there and hates to be without Gentry and me during the week. So since I didn't have any doctor appointments this week, I thought I'd try to venture out and go with him this week. Hopefully we can get a hotel with a pool so Gentry can go swimming and maybe I'll find something interesting to do during the day while Dale's at work. I don't know of anything "to do" in Meridian, so if anyone has suggestions, please feel free to let me know! :) We'll be back home on Friday night, so it will be a short trip. I'm looking forward to eating some fresh seafood while I'm down there. Been craving some crawfish, but don't know if I'll get to eat any before season's up.

Well, I think I've gone rambling, so I'll close for now. I'll keep you posted while we're gone.

Blessings to you!

Sweet Southern Comfort

2009-05-19T11:49:00.006-05:00

So, this picture is one of the things I love about the south. No pretention...people are what they are and if you don't like it, well it's YOUR loss. I've had the privilege of living in the south for many years with my honey, attending college in Mississippi for both of my degrees, and most of my dearest friends in the world hail from Mississippi, Louisiana & Texas.

My best friend, MaDonna, had the biggest influence on teaching me the art of being a Southern gal. She taught me to never let someone's tea glass get empty...how to be gracious and welcoming to strangers...the "right" way to eat turnip greens and gumbo...(sorry, still can't stomach the greens)...and how to charm your way right into the arms of a southern gentleman!

I got my wish, and married the most Southern, country boy I'd ever met in my life. I literally had true to goodness culture shock when I met his family for the first time over a Thanksgiving break. I'd never seen someone cook like his mom did. Almost everything was fried, and she made SO MUCH! But I have to tell you it didn't take long for me to warm up to the idea of fried pork chops smothered in brown gravy, rice, fried squash & okra, and corn (I still can't figure out how she makes it taste so good!)...and washing it all down with a big ole glass of cold sweet tea. (sorry, haven't acquired a taste for that either.)

I love the laid back attitude Southerners possess...I love their southern drawl...I LOVE the food they cook...I love the way people wave at each other in their vehicles...(I used to ask Dale, "Who was that?"...and he'd say, "I don't know...we just wave to everyone!)...and you just can't beat a good ole gossip session down at the local beauty shop! :)

So, even though I'm not a Southerner (by the grace of God)...I call myself a transplant. I haven't embraced all the southern ways of life, but I try to take the positive things I've gleaned from my southern friends and apply them to my life where I can.

Diversity is what makes the world go round, so to all my southern friends out there...this shout out is for you. Thanks for impacting my life with your southern ways, and accepting this yankee into your "GRITS" club!

Love y'all!!

Melanie

Auntie Mel & Courtney Layne

2009-05-17T22:41:00.001-05:00

We Have This Moment...

2009-05-17T22:04:00.004-05:00

WE HAVE THIS MOMENT

Hold tight to the sound of the music of living

Happy songs from the laughter of children at play

Hold my hand as we run through the sweet fragrant meadows

Making mem'ries of what was today

We have this moment to hold in our hands

And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand

Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come

But we have this moment today.

Take the blue of the sky and the green of the forest

And the gold and the brown of the freshly mown hay

Add the pale shades of spring and the circus of autumn

And weave you a lovely today

(Lyrics by: Gloria Gaither)

First and foremost, I do not take credit for the above written words. I'm still a fan of Gloria Gaither's writings and this one seems to always rise to the forefront of my memory and remains my favorite of all she's written.

As my niece's 8th grade graduation dawned on the horizon on Friday, it took me back to places and memories long forgotten in the busyness of living life. And what a lovely trip down memory lane I took as I remembered finding out that I was going to be an aunt for the first time. AND...Courtney decided to be stubborn in making her entrance into the world and waited until 3 days before my wedding to be born. So, my sister, Dave & baby Courtney were unable to attend my wedding. But my disappointment was quickly erased when two weeks later I laid eyes on her for the first time. It was unreal seeing the sister that I had grown up with, suddenly a mama to this little bundle of joy. She fell into motherhood so effortlessly, and when I held that baby with light brown curly hair almost down to her shoulders it was love at first sight!!

And so began my relationship with my one and only niece. I had so much fun buying clothes and toys for her and whisking her away to my home in Mississippi for 3-4 days at a time. She cut her first tooth at "auntie's house". We would have tea parties, trick-or-treat, read & she LOVED her Uncle Dale. Whatever sport Uncle Dale was into at the time, Courtney wanted to learn how to play.

We were heartbroken when we found out her DADDY Dave had leukemia and his only hope for survival would be a bone marrow transplant. Courtney's marrow was a 6 out of 6 perfect match, and they used hers when the first match didn't take. And then came the waiting, and waiting, and praying, and waiting to see if the graft would take. The fear of the unknown shook our family like nothing else we had ever experienced. We couldn't imagine life without Dave in it.But a terrible infection had ravaged his body and he was just too weak to fight it off. So, for reasons we'll never understand this side of heaven, God took Dave on to his eternal resting place when Courtney was only 10 months old. She was the light of her daddy's life and I can still hear him saying, "Hey ba-by", in his North Carolinian drawl and how her eyes would light up and sparkle.

Christy moved back home to be closer to family shortly after Dave's death and we "circled the wagons" around this broken family until love came around the second time for Christy & Courtney eight years later. Christy had found her "Prince" Charles, and Courtney found a new daddy. The first time they met was at General Conference in Toronto and Courtney whispered in her mom's ear, "Do you think he would let me call him dad?" And...he did! Charles and Christy will be married 5 years in July and he loves Courtney just like she was his own.

I'm so proud of the lady Courtney has become. She is one of my closest confidantes now and she adores Gentry. As I watched her walk the aisle to accept her diploma I thought, once again, how proud Dave would have been of her accomplishments. And although he's not here with us anymore, I see his smile in her eyes every time she crinkles up her face to smile.

And so I celebrate my special girl Courtney for being brave and courageous through all of the changes in her life. I hope she knows how much I love and care for her. No matter how old she gets, I'll always be "Auntie Mel" and she'll always be "My baby girl"! I love you, Court! And always remember...

We have THIS moment to hold in our hands...

And to touch as it sifts through our fingers like sand...

Yesterday's gone, and tomorrow may never come...

But WE have THIS MOMENT...TODAY!

Pics from the graduation & party!

2009-05-16T02:03:00.009-05:00

I have lots of fun things to post, but it's SO LATE...but I promised my family I take my pictures home tonight and put them up on my blog. So, Sullivans....this ones for YOU! Enjoy the pictures. I had fun with them...and I want to see your pics too! I'll run for now!
May PEACE wrap around you like a shroud and bring comfort to you this day!
Mel

Back to Life

2009-05-15T13:50:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe it's been 12 days since I posted. I don't have a lot going on right now, but didn't want you to think I'd totally abandoned my blog. I've spent the past couple of weeks being home from the hospital and trying to get back on my feet. As usual, the process is a bit slower for me because of the lupus and my compromised immune system and my body's ability to heal properly. However...I do feel a lot better and everyday I feel stronger. I go for some follow-ups next week with my doctors and hopefully things will be even better. The only problem I'm having is keeping my BP under control. It usually always goes up when I go into the hospital, but comes back under control (along with the BP meds I take) once I get back home. This time however, my BP has been SO HIGH! Last night it was 181/116! And it's been that high since I've been home from the hospital. I finally got concerned last night once I realized how long it has been that high. So, I decided to call my doctors this morning and wouldn't you know one of them is out until next Thursday, and the other one was out until Monday! BOTHER! So, I checked my BP again this morning and it was only 116/83!! Thank you God!! So, I'll keep taking my meds and following it close and hope I don't go into complete renal failure or have a stroke between now and Monday! :)
On another brighter note, my sweet little niece is graduating from 8th grade tonight and so we're going to cheer her on and party at her new house afterwards. I love getting together with my family. We're all pretty different and bring different views and personalities to the mix, so it's always fun to get together. One thing is for certain, there are always LOTS of laughs. I'll post pictures later on of our fabulous celebration. Now that my sweet Courtney is out of school, I hope she'll be able to spend some time at the farm with me. I always love having her around and Gentry thinks she's just about the coolest thing around.
Glad also to have my hubby home for a few days. He's been gone since Sunday on a job in Meridian, MS and has to leave out again this Sunday, so I'm going to have to make every minute count these next two days. He takes care of me so well, and I would be lost without him in my life. Yes, we fight like cats and dogs sometimes...he's SO opinionated...and my view is usually the polar opposite, but at the end of the day I know I couldn't/wouldn't want to live my life without him in it.
So, I hope we have a fun-filled night with family tonight and then have a great day tomorrow with my own little family. Hope you all enjoy the beautiful spring weekend with your loved ones and I hope to be able to be more consistent in my entries!

Love & Blessings - Mel

Sunday Night Update

2009-05-03T22:47:00.003-05:00

Gentry acting goofy with my earplugs...me getting juiced up with some blood

Me and my sidekick

My two guys...worn out from taking care of mommie

Hey guys! Sorry I've been unable to post for a few days...just not up to much but pushing my call light for pain meds! :) I am still in the hospital, but hope to be able to go home Monday, but realistically looking more like Tuesday. I had surgery this past Friday to have my gallbladder removed. Once the surgeon got inside with an ultrasound camera, he noted that my appendix was inflammed and/or infected and decided to take that out as well. I have a drain still in that will hopefully be removed tomorrow or Tuesday as well. They already have me up walking the halls and I've been in a tremendous amount of pain, but seemed to have turned a corner somewhat late this evening and am able to move a little better without being in a good deal of pain. They have stopped my IV fluids tonight as well, so I feel like all the "little steps" are big steps of progress in getting me back home. I am still on a full liquid diet and have had some trouble today with nausea and vomiting, but having lupus makes the healing times just a bit longer than normal, so I'm trying to be patient...no pun intended! :)

Here are a few pics Dale took the day I was getting some units of blood. Gentry was joking around sticking my earplugs up his nose...and no...I decided not to reuse them! :) And then the lab tech that came in to draw my blood thought Gentry and Dale were so cute knocked out on their "oh so comfortable" overnight bed/chair, so she grabbed my cell phone and snapped a picture of them too.

Sorry if this is "disjointed" and doesn't make much sense. I'm still pretty "drug-induced" with happy stuff to keep the pain under control. Hope to be home soon and back to living life. I'm hopeful this "tune-up" will be just what I needed to help things get back to some sense of normalcy with my health.

I'll be in touch as I can.

Blessings - Melanie

It's MEL...AGAIN! :)

2009-04-29T23:44:00.003-05:00

Hey guys! :) Thanks SO MUCH for your kind words of encouragement, offers for help and prayers being offered up for me and my family's behalf. It means SO MUCH to me and I know I say that all the time, but I TRULY mean it from the bottom of my heart!

So, here's what another 24 hour day in the hospital has brought to my plate...Gallbladder surgery is on hold until Friday. In the meantime, I get the "privilege" of having my "innards" explored by way of an endoscopy to look mouth to stomach through pancreas...AND...to have my "other innards" explored by way of a colonoscopy to check out the plumbing and pipes down south! :) What fun I'm having prepping for that in the morning. So, those of you who know about this procedure, or have had the wonderful opportunity to experience this for yourself, will know all too well know what these next several hours will be like for me...and will understand the "lack" of length in this post. :) :) :)

I have seen the general doc, the surgeon, the GI doc & the kidney doc...I am still so completely satisfied that I am with the right team of doctors working on my case. The surgeon said he wanted a few more of the "GI puzzle pieces" to fit for him before he wanted to make a go of the gallbladder removal.

So, we are all pleased with that plan and so tomorrow will be another day of testing. My hard part will be over by early morning and then I'll get to spend the rest of the day in a wonderfully drug-induced "best nap in the world", and will most likely sleep for most of the rest of the day. So, you probably won't hear from me until all the happy drugs are out of my system! :-)-) late tomorrow evening.

One last note before I go, and on a more serious note...I still do sincerely desire the strength of your prayers. They carry me on wings of hope that I so dearly cling to in times of uncertainty. Thanks so much for caring enough to even stop by and take the time to read my blog, muchless whisper a word of prayer to the Almighty Father that we serve!

Blessings to you all!!

Melanie

Health Update from Mel

2009-04-28T22:50:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone. Yes, it's me again tonight. My mom was gracious enough to sign on and blog for me last night. Dale was kind enough to bring my laptop up to me today and by this evening after enough pain meds in me to kill a normal human being...I have just enough sanity to be able to post a small update on my condition.

I am still in the hospital and look to being in here probably until sometime this weekend. I am hopeful to maybe be able to go home on Saturday or Sunday, but they don't get in much of a rush to do any kind of discharging on the weekends, so it is a strong possibility I may be in here realistically until Monday.

I've seen four doctors today and everyone has weighed in on their particular specialty. The plan at this point is to get me rehydrated which is coming along nicely. I've had 6 or 7 liters of fluid pumped in intravenously over the past twenty-four hours and already feel AMAZING strength just from the rehydration alone. I've suffered more today from the massive amounts of nausea & abdominal pain...more so than yesterday, but again, they are keeping me dosed up well on IV pain meds and anti-nausea medications, so that is helping even though I'm requiring large doses of that fairly frequently. I do have pancreatitis and "gastroenteritis" and the plan is to calm the inflammation down and to take out my gall bladder once and for all most likely on Thursday. One of the doctors said that this would probably reduce my number of pancreatitis episodes down dramatically. So, another surgery is on the horizon for me, but I am on board and ready to have it done if it will help with this persistent pancreatitis that seems to come out of nowhere.

I appreciate all the calls, texts, e-mails, & flowers that have brightened my days more than you will ever know. I have the best group of friends a gal could hope and dream for and I don't take your care and concern for granted. Well, this is short and sweet, but needs to stay that way for now since I need my rest. I will try to keep updated or have my sweet mama do it for me. Dale, Gentry & I covet your prayers.

Blessings to you & MUCH love...

Resting...in HIS care...

Melanie

Writing tonight for Mel...from her mom

2009-04-28T00:01:00.002-05:00

To all of Melanie's readers, she has asked me to post a brief note for her.

Some of you already know Melanie has never completely recovered from that month-long stay in the hospital in November. She averages about one good day a week, if she is fortunate. Such is her life with this vicious intruder called lupus. She has been quite ill since last Tuesday but has not wanted to return to the hospital. However, having been unable to tolerate any solid food for days now, she had no choice. She has been admitted this evening and they first sent her to Cardiology to look at her heart, then lungs, then checking for any newly formed bloodclots. They were able to get the IV in on first stick, which is truly a miracle, given the condition of her veins. We're praising God for that! She will have many tests and consults in the hours ahead of her. She is dehydrated, is experiencing nausea and severe pain. They have fluids running wide open and are doing their best to get her pain under control. I'm praying that they can get this lupus flare calmed before it sends her into renal failure again.

You all know she always puts on her brave face for everyone. However, as her mom, I will tell you that Melanie really needs a miracle. I trust each of you will remember her in prayer.
Thank you,
Becky

A Birthday Tea Party for us girls...

2009-04-16T15:29:00.004-05:00

The Sullivan Ya-Ya's

Christy & her Prince Charles

Inseperable...after all these years

Hand in hand...we faced the world together

I love my sis! - San Antonio, TX

Our first pink canopy bed!

Sorry folks...it was the 70's!!

I was scared of EVERYTHING!!!

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Today is my sweet sister's birthday...so glad I got to share some of the day with her and celebrate with her. Mom, Chrsity & myself met at this fantastic tea room for lunch today. It started out hilarious with mom being...well mom...and then once we got our tickle boxes turned upside-down and inside-out...well, we just couldn't quite pull it together the rest of the meal. Thankfully we were kind of stuck in a corner of the tea room, so we didn't really interrupt anyone else's "high class" lunch with our snorting! :)

First off, I was running around like crazy trying to get ready in time to make it there for lunch, then got caught behind some SLOW tractors and was about 15 minutes late getting there. I was unable to unearth a gift bag for Christy's gifts (probably in some of the junk I threw out last week), so I quickly stuffed them in my purse and off I ran to my lunch date. When I finally got there and sat down mom pipes up and points to my purse and says, "Oh, look! Are you reading a new book?" I just kind of looked at her and said, "Well, I was going to wait, but it's actually one of Christy's gifts!" So, my perfect "soap opera" moment of gift giving was quickly thwarted. Christy loved her gifts and we had a good laugh over that. Then we got to talking more serious "spiritual" things...and right in the middle of it mom lets a "word" slip out without realizing what she had said. And then when she realized she said something X-rated, she puts her hand over her mouth and says, "Did I just say that?!?!?!?!" That's when the pig snortin' laughs started and we couldn't get it together. Tears were pouring we were laughing so hard. Then every time we thought we had it back together, we'd look at each other and start chortling again. I don't think it would have been as funny if we hadn't been talking about such serious stuff. But we had a great lunch and took pictures outside afterwards. (still waitin' on those pics, gals!).

I don't remember one moment of my life when my sister was not in it. Mom says we were the BEST of friends growing up. Christy was my protector and caretaker and not much has changed over these thirty-something years. We had a rough patch during our teenage years, but when she got married and moved to North Carolina, it was like we became the best of friends all over again. My sister has lived her life with a grace that I've often envied. Losing her precious Dave when she was 23 years old, having to raise a child alone from 10 months to 8 years old, and then finding love the second time around in her "Prince Charles", she has lived her life with grace and dignity that amazes me!

I don't know what I would have done without her during my last stay in the hospital. I remember one night she knew I had taken a turn for the worse and things were touch and go and she got up at 2 or 3 in the morning and drove all the way up to the hospital just to be with me and help take care of me. Those are things I'll never forget. So, today I celebrate the life and birthday of my precious sister. I'm so thankful I have her in my life. She is solid as a rock and I'm glad that no matter what crisis may come along in my life, I can always count on her to be standing in my grandstand cheering me on through thick and thin. I love you, sis! So glad you're mine!

Happy Birthday...x2 - Ryan & Christy

2009-04-16T15:07:00.004-05:00

The Sullivan's...at Ryan's baby dedication - 4/1983

Every family tree has a few nuts on it...we just happen to have more than average!

Ok...try to be normal for the camera...

Ryan & his beautiful bride...Christine Kramer (p.s. Dale hooked 'em up)

One of my favorite people to hang out with...my bubba, Ryan Matthew

April 14th...Mom came into our bedroom some 26 years ago and told Christy and I that she was going to tell us something that was going to change our life forever...we rubbed sleepy Sunday morning eyes and asked, "What?" She said, "You're going to get another brother or sister in about 7 months!" My first question was, "Are we adopting?!?!" Mom just laughed and said, "No! Mommy is having a baby!" We were beyond excited! Our only other sibling was our little brother who was 5 at the time. Now, another baby coming to the Sullivan family?!? We could hardly contain our joy at the thought of another baby to spoil. We were CONVINCED he was going to be a boy from the very beginning. Mom had great faith in that kind of thing. She says she asked for exactly what she wanted with each pregnancy...and she got what she wanted every time. Talk about somebody having an inside track with the man upstairs! So, from the time we found out another baby was coming, we had him named and would talk incessantly to "mommy's belly" when we would get home from school. Every little movement we witnessed and after waiting and waiting...and waiting for what seemed like an eternity, mama finally took her journey to Memorial Hospital on April 14th, 1983. Somewhere after 9:00 in the morning we got a call from the hospital saying Ryan Matthew had finally made his grand entrance. And what a BIG splash he made weighing in at just under 10 lbs!! He had a head full of red hair and we were smitten from the instant we laid eyes on him.

Watching Ryan grow up and become the man that he is today has been one of the greatest delights of my life. Ryan is the kind of person that reminds me of Nathaniel in the bible...a man in whom no guile is found. I've never met a more honest person in my whole life. He is a peacemaker at heart and MY bubba! Since he was the baby of the family by several years, he was always the center of attention, but that didn't make him spoiled at all. He is so easy-going, happy-go-lucky and a diplomat at heart.

God placed a special call on His life at an early age and he has pursued his passion for God with unending thirst. He found a sweet someone to share his life with two years ago and he and Christine have settled into newlywed life beautifully.

So, happy birthday to my doll of a brother. You will always be the person in my life that sings my song back to me when I've forgotten the words, adding beautiful harmony and making the anthem ring. I love you always and forever, bubba!

My latest guilty pleasure

2009-04-08T15:40:00.004-05:00

I've always considered myself a plain jane type of girl. I like the classics in almost every area of my life. I figure if it's good enough to be considered "classic", it's good enough to leave it alone & enjoy it as is. So, I've gone through much of my life enjoying the simplest things in life. One of my favorite classics as far as dessert is concerned is a good old-fashioned vanilla milkshake. When it comes to ice cream, why mess with a good thing?...I almost always opt for plain old vanilla. I know it sounds extremely boring, but I just LOVE it...right along side a soft sugar cookie or piece of "plain" pound cake.

So, while pouring over my latest Bon Appetit magazine the other night, they did this small section about getting back to basics and started talking about the old time vanilla "malts" made back in the retro ice cream shoppes & diners back in the 40's & 50's. By the time I was done reading their mouth-watering description and history of this icy cold dessert, I had my grocery list going of all the ingredients I would need to make one of these babies at home...(which actually wasn't much at all). It actually turned out to be the easiest thing I've ever done, but that little addition of the "malted milk" just made it particularly unique. So, I've been enjoying one...or two...a day for the past three or four days. I know, I know...I gotta stop before I blow up, but I'm sure it's just a novel phase I'm going through and it will transition into the ordinary soon enough. But while I'm enjoying them, I thought I'd share my recipe with you and maybe you can enjoy some nostalgic magic of your own at home. Bon Appetit! :) :) :)

Old-Fashioned Malted Vanilla Milk Shakes

(serves 2)

3/4 c. chilled whole milk (don't even think of using skim!) :)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 c. vanilla ice cream

(I use Breyer's French Vanilla because you can "see" the vanilla bean running through the ice cream, but if I lived in the south...Blue Bell ALL THE WAY!)

2 heaping TBS. malted milk powder

~ place 2 (12 oz.) glasses in freezer to chill for about an hour

~ pour milk & vanilla into blender

~ cover & blend 15 seconds

~ add ice cream & malted milk powder

~ blend until thick & creamy

~ divide between glasses; slide in a straw & stroll down memory lane!

TIP: I found the malted milk on the aisle with the coffee, creamer, cocoa & tea are found. (who knew?) :)

P.S. And by all means, if you are NOT a plain jane like me, feel free to use your imagination in making any flavor malt you like...just be sure you use the malt and dress it up and make it your own! :)

Monkey Joe's & Good Times

2009-04-07T16:02:00.006-05:00

Running up the ramp on one of the inflatables...

Who wouldn't want a red hot sports car to drive around in?...

I'm ALMOST to the top!!! I think I can, I think I can...

My two blue-eyed boys!

Kissin' Cousins...

All tuckered out! Gotta have that thumb!

Auntie Mel & Court

Me & my sweetie

My sis - Christy & Me

Here are some pictures of our adventures over the weekend. I have a friend who is 25 months older than me. She is the kind of person that gives out of a loving heart and anyone who is the recipient leaves the encounter blessed beyond measure. I'm talking, of course, about my big sis, Christy. :) We got to have lunch together on Saturday and she came over to the house earlier this week just because she knew I needed a "pick-me-up"...and all it took was Subway, Red Velvet Cupcakes & the best company anyone could ask for. I love my sister so much and am so grateful for these times that we have right now to be living so close to each other. We had lunch at Red Robin with our honey's & kids & then Courtney came home to spend the rest of the weekend at our house. We took Gentry to a new place that's opened called "Monkey Joe's". It is a huge indoor place that has those big inflatables everywhere that the kids can romp & expend TONS of energy. Gentry enjoyed himself so much that we literally were DRAGGING him out of the place. Every time I grabbed his hand to walk out with him, he'd just sit down on the floor and say, "No momma, I wanna stay & play!" Of course, he was out about five minutes down the road.

I'm having a good time having Dale home this week with me. We've been in a spring cleaning frenzy & have adopted my sister's mantra for cleaning, sorting & throwing away. She says if you don't "love it, use it, or need it...get rid of it." We've been throwing so much stuff away, we might not even have a bed to sleep on by the time it's all said and done. It's a good feeling though. It's certainly brought back a flood of memories going through boxes that have been in storage since we left Virginia. Some memories are still too painful to delve back into, but some things I found and smiled through tear-blurred eyes. I found old piano lesson books that I used to take lessons from when I was a kid...I found ornaments people had bought Gentry his first Christmas...I found tapes of some of Dale's first sermons he ever preached...I found pictures of people I used to teach piano lessons to. So many facets of life & every memory is like a puzzle piece that makes up the picture of our lives.

I could have stayed in the basement for hours pouring over old letters, books, tapes, pictures, etc...but I happen to be married to a VERY choleric personality guy and he keeps us "on track" and makes sure we just "get the job done". I do need him for projects like that because I tend to take forever sorting through piece by piece of my past. So, we've got all of our "stuff" burned, goodwilled, thrown away, or put back reorganized, labeled & knowing exactly what we've got and where it is. It definitely gives you a sense of accomplishment & hoping somewhere in the back of your mind that you didn't throw away something of some paramount value! :)

Well, I need to get dinner going. We're going to have Chicken & Fig Packets...our new favorite! With a mixed green salad with green goddess dressing!!! I still have a Rum Cake I made for Dale over the weekend, so we'll have that with a cup of coffee & American Idol tonight. YUMMY!

Winslowe Sinatra Update

2009-03-28T17:46:00.003-05:00

Don't you LOVE these blue-eyed babies of mine?

Mommie's Lil Rough & Tumble Cowboy

Gentry acting goofy!

Shhh...they sleep in heavenly peace!

He's gonna be SO SPOILED!!

We've been having such a good time with our new puppy. He seems to be adjusting quite well to his new surroundings. He's been with us a little over a week now. So that makes him about 7 weeks old. He loves to play with Gentry and they run around together in the yard chasing each other. Gentry is very much into the fact that it's "his dog"! This ownership phase he's going through, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Nonetheless, they get along beautifully as well as Winslowe getting along "fair" with the 2 shih-tzus. We were worried that Winslowe might be the aggressive one, but actually it's the other way around. Emmy & Little Bit get pretty snappy with him. But I make them all play together so they'll get used to being around one another. Emmy tries to act like she's all big and bad and starts this low growling stuff, and then the next second they are rolling around playing together...funny stuff!

Winslowe loves to relax like his mama! He can crawl up in this bed and snuggle down with the best of them. He is going to be easy to housebreak too...I think! ;) So, all in all, I'm still happy with my decision and hope he continues to bring lots of smiles to us. Here are a few pictures of us with him. Enjoy!

Gentry's 1st Trip To Build-A-Bear

2009-03-28T17:34:00.004-05:00

So, all of you moms out there I'm sure have heard of Build-A-Bear stores found in most malls. Dale & I went clothes shopping for Gentry today and decided to let Gentry get a bear, pick out some candy from the candy shoppe, & ride the carosel after he had been SO GOOD shopping with us...really...he was amazingly well-behaved. So, since we were all in decent moods by the time we were done shopping, we decided to end our excursion with a stop at Build-A-Bear. Gentry picked out his bear, but MOMMIE picked out his outfit!...GO CARDS! We got to make a birth certificate for him and I didn't have time to think up a clever name like I did with my siberian husky or the rabbit. So, we just named his bear plain, old, unimaginative...TEDDY! It seems to suit him well and Gentry was SO happy with him. Here are a few pictures of our time in the world of "Build-A-Bear".

Things I'm Liking Right Now

2009-03-24T16:18:00.006-05:00

Well, since it's been 3 months since I've been out of the hospital, I'm finally being able to get out and about...but only about one day a week! Even though it's not much, it's still progress for me, so I'm thankful for just the one day I have strength to be able to get my running around done. I've been usually taking my Mondays and getting my errands and shopping (what little bit I can do) done. Dale is usually home on Mondays and can keep Gentry for me while I go out. The crowds are obviously much less than the weekends and I can move at my own snail's pace! :)

Since I've been freed up a bit from what I call my "house arrest", I've found a few things that I'm liking that I wanted to share if you haven't seen them. So, here's my list of things I'm liking at this point in my life! :)

In no particular order:

* Febreze's new scent called "Brazilian Carnaval"...LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!...and Dale does too. It's got a berry kind of scent, but fresh too and not overpowering.

* My glass milk jugs from Brylane Home's magazine. They are clear glass milk jugs that gives your milk a longer shelf life and looks pretty on the table. Kind of retro looking from "back in the day" when the milkman would deliver milk to family's homes. One side has a cow on it and the other side says "pure milk".

* V-8 Fusion's Gogi-Raspberry Juice...this is the easy way out for people like me who don't get their proper serving of vegetables in a day! I found this combination to be pleasing to my palate. I pour of glass of it and sip on it usually while I'm fixing supper. There may not be anything to it, but it sure does give you a feeling like you're at least TRYING to do something healthy for yourself. I can never think of gogi juice without thinking of MaDonna's late father Rev. James McFall. About a year or two before he passed away he started selling gogi juice and he was CONVINCED it would cure me of my lupus. He was so concerned about my affliction and I always thought it was so kind of him to care for me that way. He sent me a lot of free boxes of Gogi juice for me to try. (He also sent me a ton of juice plus as well). And that stuff wasn't cheap! I don't have anymore left of the gogi juice he sent me, but now with my V-8 fusion drink...every time I have a glass, I think of my friend, James McFall. (You will never be forgotten!)

* Martha Stewart Living Magazine - when I was in the hospital for a month back in November/December, my sister-in-law, Nikki, would bring me up tons of magazines to read. She brought me Gourmet, Bon Appetit & Martha Stewart Living. The funny thing was, I had been put on IV feedings and was not allowed to eat anything except ice for 17 days. All the magazines she brought me were torture because I CRAVED all the food I saw in the magazines. But, I loved looking at them anyway, and made big plans to have a huge test kitchen day once I got out of the hospital. She still brings me the Martha Stewart Magazines when she's done reading them and I have gotten to where I look forward to reading that one in particular. She covers a wide scope of topics and I find myself earmarking lots of pages to put in my own notebook of "tips".

* crazy8.com - My best growing up friend - Tara - connected me with this website. It has great, affordable clothes for babies & toddlers. I'm not sure how big the sizes go, but I think it's somewhere around a 7 or 8? I'm still in 2T-3T with my guy, so I'm good for a while on this site. They are kind of similar to Baby Gap or Gymboree, really trendy, in style, but SO SO affordable. I have been outfitting Gentry in a lot of his casual clothes from this site for the past 2 seasons. Looking forward to getting his spring/summer stuff. Nothing too dressy on this site, but great for casual & play clothes.

* Sam's Club Parkerhouse Rolls - I found these a couple of weeks ago on my grocery shopping excursion. They have this huge bag of 30 rolls...in the freezer section...but the neat thing is you can take out just however many you need and ziplock the bag closed again and pop it back in the freezer. These rolls are as good (or better) than homemade rolls. You just take them straight from the freezer, put them on a cookie sheet, into the oven for 10-15 minutes @ 375* and VOILA! I do a lot of different things to "customize" them. I brush them with melted butter and sprinkle poppy seeds or sesame seeds on them; or make honey butter and spread that on and bake; or melted butter with garlic; or a mixture of chopped fresh herbs such as parsley or thyme. You've GOT to try these babies! Mmm...Mmm Good!

* and last but not least...fresh flower arrangements! I posted a picture on my blog of the orange roses I got at Sam's that day. And since then I've been in the mood of dressing up my dining room table with fresh flower arrangements. I know...this is not a new idea, but I've not done this much before. I have several different silk arrangements for the different seasons that I keep and put out during the appropriate season, but I've just never taken the time to do a fresh flower arrangement much. But since I bought those orange roses and saw how pretty they were and how long they lasted and how much I enjoyed the beauty of them on my table, I thought, "I'm going to try to keep this up." So, I just get an inexpensive bouquet of whatever I think is pretty that week. I spend between $10-20 on them and they last at least 7-10 days. The bouquets I buy have that little "food" packet with it and it really does make a difference in how long the flowers last. My style is usually to just stick with one color and do lots of different flowers but all in the same color scheme. But this week I went with all different colors and still loved the way it turned out.

So, these are my finds, bargains and what I'm enjoying these days. I've tried to post pictures of a lot of these things because I'm a visual person and like to SEE what people are talking about. My best bud & brother, Jared is coming over for dinner tonight. It's kind of a payback dinner because I asked him to pick up a prescription for me that I needed and didn't feel like going to pick up myself. He said he would and I promised him dinner. So, we're having chicken and pork enchiladas with green sauce instead of the red, refried beans & spanish rice. Sugar cookies & grapes for dessert. Can't wait to dig in, but I'm looking forward to the company even more. He's one of my favorite people to hang out with. When I was in the hospital he was there with me almost 24/7...and I'll never forget that. Well, I better get to cookin'!

Privacy Please!!

2009-03-24T16:07:00.003-05:00

So, I don't really mean I want privacy...if I did I wouldn't be keeping a blog up and running!! :) Once you see the pictures, you'll see why I titled this blog "Privacy Please"! :) With a three year old running the household, we've learned to always have the camera charged & ready to shoot. Dale captured these photos the other day of Gentry and I thought they were so funny. When Dale walked in there he said, "Poppa, I'm reading!" And he looked back down at his magazine intently taking in all he could and acting like he really could read. Then he looked back up at Dale and said, "Poppa, I want "man-book"." So, Dale not knowing what he meant by that started going through the stash and when he finally got to the "Field and Stream" magazine, Gentry stated nodding his head and saying, "Yeah, poppa, that one...that one." I wonder where he learns all of these bathroom rituals?!?! The pictures finish the story. Enjoy!

A man's work is never done until he's completed the "paperwork"!

Winslowe's Here!

2009-03-20T12:41:00.003-05:00

So, the newest addition to our animal family is our Siberian Husky. We drove to Kansas City yesterday to pick him up. He is adorable! I was not disappointed. My favorite feature is, of course, his blue eyes...thus the name Winslowe "Sinatra"! :) He is doing well so far. He is six weeks old and loves to cuddle and be held. I've posted a few pictures of him.
Gentry is going for his first "real" haircut today so I can't wait to see what he comes home looking like. I had planned on taking him, but started feeling bad when we got home last night. I have fever, chills, laryngitis and my constant companion...pain!
So, I'm taking it easy today trying to rest and soothe my throat with some hot tea. No big plans for the weekend. Dale has another batch of chickens hatching this weekend. I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful weather. I'll sign off for now!

Never A Dull Moment

2009-03-14T22:43:00.002-05:00

I had a sweet surprise on Thursday from my sister asking me if she could bring Courtney up for the weekend since she was off for Spring Break and also wanted to hang out with me and Gentry that night. I was SO GLAD for the company since Dale was out of town working. 24/7 conversation with a three year old can get mighty interesting!! So, I welcomed some "adult" conversation.
I was glad I got to share dinner with her as well so I didn't have so many leftovers. Not that I couldn't have handled them all on my own, but a meal shared is ALWAYS pleasurable. We had lobster ravioli with a cream sauce, salad & parkerhouse rolls. Then chocolate covered strawberries leftover from earlier in the week! Still yummy!!
I love hanging out with my sister. She gets me like no one else does. We know each other intricately and somehow she still loves me anyway!
Her hubby had to work Friday night, so we decided to go to a concert over in St. Louis together on Friday night. I got to hang out with some of my cousins that I'm so close to and also saw some old/new friends from Louisiana. I had a GREAT time, but by the time we made it back to the house around 1:30 a.m. a striking reality hit me, that this gal ain't up to what she used to be! My feet were screaming "Get These 4 inch Heels OFF!"...my ankles were swollen, I had a headache and couldn't WAIT to find the most comfortable nightgown to slip on!
But, I couldn't go to bed without wandering down to the basement one more time and checking on our first batch of eggs that were hatching. As of right now we hatched 17 and one is working SO HARD trying to make their entrance. Christy & I, being the "uneducated" city girls that we are had never seen a chicken hatch before. We ended up being late for the concert because we wanted to watch one hatch. It really is a pretty amazing thing if you've never seen something like that.
I have always heard that if you see an chicken trying to hatch out of an egg that you can't "help it" along in the process. Got me to thinking about life and how it's sometimes in the struggle where we find our strength to face the days ahead and what's outside our comfort zone. I guess if we always had it easy and were saved from our own selves, that we'd never gain the strength it takes in the midst of the struggle to make us who we are. I'm not trying to get all philosophical about a crazy chicken hatching, just a thought that ran through my mind while all this was happening. Enjoy the pictures!

Taking A Poll

2009-03-11T23:29:00.004-05:00

Hello friends and family! Okay...so as most of you know, I am one of the biggest animal lovers on the planet. I come by it honestly from my Grandma Sullivan and Great-Granma Robertson. At the moment I only have 2 indoor dogs left. I had 5 shih tzus, but due to tragic circumstances, I lost my beloved Rocky, Cambridge & Budgie over the past 1 1/2 years. I still have the "mom" Little Bit and the baby of the family...Emmy.

But, I've been wanting another dog and have been SO completely intrigued by the Siberian Husky. I think they are so majestic and regal looking and their blue eyes are so striking. So, I've been contemplating back and forth for a month or so trying to decide if I really wanted to take the plunge and get another puppy.

I mentioned my dilemma to Dale over the weekend and that's all he needed. It was like telling a dog "sick 'em"! He got on the internet and started searching all over the place to find me the perfect "TOP BRED" siberian husky.

Long story short is that we're going next Thursday to Kansas City to pick up a black and white male siberian husky with beautiful blue eyes. I can't wait!!!! I'm so excited about getting another baby to spoil!

So, I've narrowed it down to three names and I was going to take a poll to see what everyone liked as far as the name choices.

Here are the names:
-Windsor
-Westin
-Winslowe

I've got 1 vote for "Westin" and 1 vote for "Winslowe" so far. So chime in everyone! Here's his picture.

At THIS Moment...

2009-03-10T17:20:00.008-05:00

At this moment...

I am reading a Dolly Parton Memoir, a book called "Inside The White House" about "secrets" known only to white house staffers over the years, "Bringing Up Boys" by James Dobson, "Creating Family Traditions", and the book of Isaiah from the Bible. I know, quite the span of subjects! I get bored easily! :)

At this moment...

I am concerned for my best friend, MaDonna, because she's having to face difficult family decisions with regard to her dying brother. I wish I could be there with her just to be support for her...OH...and so she can take me to all those UNREAL places to eat in Lake Charles! I'm CRAVING some more rice dressing from Nina P's!!

At this moment...

I am sad because I just found out my uncle who's been battling cancer got more bad news on his prognosis yesterday.

At this moment...

I am glad my sister and family are finally moved into their new home. I can't wait to see it.

At this moment...

I am looking forward to making homemade beignets & coffee this evening...ordered straight from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans

At this moment...

I am reminded by an earlier conversation I had today with my doctor just how much of a miracle Gentry is. He should NOT even be alive, but here he is lighting up the world with his 1000 watt smile and infectious personality.

At this moment...

I am grateful I got to spend a little time visiting with my precious mama today. I haven't seen her in two weeks and I was starting to go through withdrawl. I DO NOT know how I survived before moving here and enjoy SO MUCH being able to see her so much more often now.

At this moment...

I wish Dale didn't have to go out of town every week to work, but I'm also thankful that in this uncertain economic crisis, that Dale has a job and we have all of our needs met.

At this moment...

I am enjoying being a part of facebook and reconnecting with people I haven't seen or heard from in over 15 years.

At this moment...

I am content; always reaching and striving for what's just beyond the open door, but learning to be content with where I am AT THIS MOMENT in my life!

Blessings!!!

All Good Weekends Must Come To An End

2009-03-10T00:30:00.005-05:00

25 BEAUTIFUL orange roses I picked up at Sam's on Friday for $20!! Now that's a deal! Aren't they pretty? My mouth-watering Chocolate Covered Strawberries I made tonight! Mmm...Mmm...Good!

Gentry & Mommie making chocolate cake. Yes, that is marker drawn all over him!

Monday night...well actually it's early, early Tuesday morning, but I still consider it LATE Monday night. I had an enjoyable weekend with my guys. They got in late Thursday night and we just spent the weekend here at the house hanging out and getting things caught up. Dale and I sat up until 1:30 a.m. talking when he got home and then all of a sudden I asked him, "Are you hungry?" And then it turned into a nice impromptu early morning breakfast. We sat down at 1:45 a.m. and dug into some good ole "country breakfast" food. It felt like we were teenagers again doing something that was "forbidden" and loving every minute of it. It was casual with paper plates and Zac Brown Band music playing in the background, but it was much needed one-on-one time that we enjoyed the most. There are pictures below of our adventures.

We slept in a little bit Saturday, then had a fruit tray and juice in bed while we watched "vintage" cartoons with Gentry. Then Gentry decided he wanted to take the new bunny rabbit for a spin in his tricycle!! Poor thing...she was so scared, but didn't move a muscle while he was riding her all over the place! We've decided to name her "Beignet" because that's french for the word powdered donut and we thought that was appropriate for her. Here are pictures of Gentry & Beignet tooling around in his tricycle.

Beignet's favorite spot to hang out.

Beignet's got her eye on the prize...actually she won't touch a carrot, but loves McDonaldland cookies! (and lettuce)

Gentry's "passenger"

On Saturday night we had Ryan (my brother) and his wife Christine over for dinner and game night. We played a new dice game (new for us) and I actually won the first game...which I never win anything, so I was pretty proud of myself! :) We always have such a fun time when they come over for dinner and a visit and always promise each other that we'll do it more often.

Sunday of course was church and then today Dale spent making sure all of his animals were taken care of before he leaves out again early in the morning to head back down to MS to work. We enjoyed chicken piccata, squash casserole & chocolate covered strawberries for dinner tonight. YUMMY!! And the leftovers will be even better!

I head back to the doctor tomorrow for another checkup. Hopefully things will be improving even more on my labwork. My main issue this weekend was tremendous pain again. I can't remember the last time I can actually say I was without pain. It's just something I've learned to live with, but still no fun when the pain ramps up more than normal. Well, I'm going to post a few more pics and sign off for now. Hope you all are enjoying your week so far.

What A Friend!

2009-03-03T23:50:00.003-06:00

I woke up this morning feeling a good bit under the weather, sore throat, earaches, chills, and pain...but wait...come to think of it...I'm always in pain, so that doesn't count. :)
So, I reluctantly rolled out of bed in my pajamas, wrapped a coat & scarf around my face so I could go pick up a prescription "incognito"! I got some food on the way home, then fixed myself a WONDERFUL cup of English Toffee Cappuccino and curled back in bed.
I woke up with an old hymn on my mind this morning.
The song is "What A Friend We Have In Jesus". That is one of my favorites because He sees us at the lowest points in our life and carries us through them...but He also celebrates with us when we rejoice as well.
As you know, music has always been my passion. I love it all...well most all of it! :) I enjoy all the praise & worship songs. So bring on all the new stuff, but let's not forget those old hymns that have comforted many from generation to generation. Let's keep passing the hymns down to our kids too.
Read EVERY SINGLE WORD of this song...it will inspire you!

What a friend we have in Jesus!

All our sins and griefs to bear

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He'll take and shield thee;

Thou wilt find a solace there.

Trip Down Memory Lane

2009-03-01T19:30:00.000-06:00

Grandpa could ALWAYS make me laugh!

Showing off my pride & joy!

This picture brings tears to my eyes many times because I think of all the people that her precious hands have caressed, loved & cared for and seeing her wrap her arms of love around my little one is a priceless treasure. No one loves children like grandma does!

Kenneth & Jewel Bolinger

Isn't She Lovely??!!

He's got style!

My precious "Jewel"

One of my faves

Well, today I've had a lot of time to think and reminisce. Dale & Gentry left last night going to Mississippi for the week. I miss them like crazy and it's SO quiet in the house. It's amazing how much noise one 3 year old can make! So, it's been "loudly" silent except for the crowing of the roosters & the gobbling of the turkeys running around outside.

I've always kind of been a loner at heart, so solitude doesn't bother me. I miss my guys, but am thankful that I'm comfortable enough in my own skin to be able to enjoy my times of solitude as well.

With solitude comes A LOT of thinking...for me anyway...and today I've been thinking about my grandparents. I'm so blessed to still have all four of my grandparents still alive. My dad's parents are in their mid-70's and my mom's parents are both 90!!! And still living in their own home! I can't imagine what it will be like to have to say good-bye one day to them, but I know that time is inevitable.

My thoughts especially turned to my maternal grandparents today. From meeting for the first time around the age of 13 or 14 until they got married in 1937...to still being madly in love some 70+ years later, well, it's just the thing that fairy-tales are made of.

Grandpa & Grandma Bolinger had 12 children together...my mom being #10. Grandpa fought in World War II for 1 1/2 years if I remember correctly. Grandpa was the first one in his family to attend a old "brush arbor" church meeting and was saved when he was 13. He felt a call to preach at a young age, and eventually moved to Lansing, Michigan to start a church. He pastored there until 1986 and resigned to enjoy retirement. However, God had other plans for him and he ended up pastoring my home church for five years...after his "retirement". Seems that God wasn't through with him.

When they came to Belleville to pastor I was around 14 years old. I wasn't really close to them growing up because we lived so far away from them with dad being in the military and us living in several different places. But, when they moved back to Illinois and became our pastor, I got REALLY close with them. They lived in the church parsonage for a time and I used to go over there on Sunday mornings and have coffee and breakfast with them. I would sit and listen to all of their stories and tried to soak up every bit of history from them that I could. Since I was home-schooled during my high school years, on many occasions I would go home with them on Sunday nights and spend two or three days with them at their home in Salem. I felt SO blessed to be able to get to know these extraordinary people.

Of all the things I could write about them, I think the one thing that sticks out the most to me is their unshakable faith in God. They have certainly had more than their share of heartache in their life, but their faith and trust in God has been inspiring and rock solid. They have passed a legacy and heritage down to future generations that beckons us to march forward with faith & trust in a God who never changes.

Dale & I were so grateful to be able to have him pray a blessing over Gentry at his baby dedication. I have posted some pictures on here of "The Early Years" and also some of Gentry's dedication. My prayer is that the road of truth Grandpa & Grandma Bolinger paved for their family can be a road that I can continue to walk down and teach my son the importance of enjoying the journey as well.

Well, I hope this doesn't come out as fragmented as it seems in my head at the moment. There is just SO much I could say about them, but don't want to take up too much "cyber-space" to say it. Enjoy the pictures and thanks for strolling down memory lane with me today!

Blessings - Melanie

FAT LIP PICTURE

2009-03-01T19:29:00.000-06:00

FAT LIP CONTEST

2009-03-01T19:28:00.000-06:00

Okay folks...I've just GOT to share this picture! I did get partial permission to post it!! Mom had an allergic reaction to some unknown allergen last week and had to seek medical treatment for it. She's doing much better now...so after making sure she wasn't on the verge of death about it, we all had a good laugh about how funny she looked. Mom's always been a good sport when it comes to making fun and she's always been able to laugh at herself as well. So, it got me to searching through some old photos because I remember a certain go cart accident my brother had when he was younger. Then I found a picture of Gentry's swollen lip last year and thought...now this is what would make a good collage of pictures! I sent the picture to all of my immediate family members first and asked for mom's permission to post it to my blog. She agreed to let me post it! Thanks for being such a good sport, mom! So, the question is...who wins the "fat lip" contest on this one? Mom's from an allergic reaction; Jared's from a go cart accident; or Gentry's from...well, I really can't remember!

We've all enjoyed a chuckle over these pictures...and I think we all could use a bit more comedic intervention in our lives! Hope this makes you LOL or smile at the very least!

ENJOY!!

Gentry's New Toys

2009-02-27T14:46:00.002-06:00

You never know what my guys are gonna come home with next. Here are the latest additions to our animal farm!!

2009-02-23T15:03:00.002-06:00

Just another typical day living life with a three year old. It's been one of those days with Gentry where one minute I feel like I'm about to pull my hair out, and then the next minute he's got me laughing hysterically. Since we've been back home, Gentry has taken on the role of terrorizing the dogs. He think they LOVE the fact that he drags them around the house by their two front legs, or puts them in a laundry basket and scoots them around the house, or chases them around with his remote control truck or tricycle. He thinks it's hysterical when they run for cover and can't imagine in his wildest dreams that they might not be enjoying the playtime as much as he is.

But, when the food comes out, they are his best friends and he feeds them any & everything that's on his plate.

Today we were making carrot cake cupcakes, and Gentry always loves licking the beaters. So, while I was putting those paper things in the muffin tins, I hear him spitting. I turn around and he said, "I got a carrot..." and he was spitting it back into the batter!! I look down into the bowl, and sure enough, there was Gentry's "carrot" spit! So, what's a girl to do? I just stirred it all up and thought, maybe the heat from the oven will burn away all the germs!! Nasty, I know, but I promise not to serve them to company!

Then he decided he wanted to take me down to the basement to see the baby chicks. Dale had told me earlier in the week that he had a couple of baby chicks down there, so you can imagine my surprise when Gentry took me downstairs and there is about 40 baby chicks down there! Dale is so busted! Gentry just reached right down into the box and pulled one out and held him. I thought he'd be scared, but he wasn't. It's funny how "a couple" in terms of numerical value can mean different totals to different people. I don't care one bit about the chicks being down there, I just think it's funny that Dale said he only had a couple down there and then Gentry takes me down there and I see dozens of chickens in a little box.

Well, I need to get dinner going. We're having filet mignon with a bearnaise sauce, loaded mashed potatoes & a vegetable (haven't decided on that one yet). And of course, our carrot cake cupcakes! Can't wait! Gentry's out for his nap, so I think I'm gonna rest a bit with him before I finish dinner.

I have to see another doctor tomorrow and have some more labwork done. My anemia is my biggest battle right now. I am SO PALE...more than usual...and have NO energy. Dale gave me a shot of Procrit today, so I'm hoping that will help my counts to come up. It takes about 3-4 weeks for the Procrit to start working, so I may end up having to be transfused in the interim, but I know in time everything will work out. Pastor Blake preached the most awesome sermon last night about God either carrying you "through" a difficult situation, or carrying you "over" a situation. So, whether God allows you to go "through" a trial, or He allows the trial to be removed from your life...either way, when you come out on the other side of it, you will ALWAYS have a testimony.

So, no matter how God chooses to work my health situation out, I feel confident once I'm on the other side of it, I'll be able to say with confidence that:

Through It All...He's Been Faithful!

Good News!

2009-02-18T16:21:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to share my good news from one of my doctors today. It seems for the past 3 months my life has revolved around home health care, hospitals & a LONG list of doctors to follow-up with. I went to see my nephrologist (kidney specialist) today and the lab results I had done to see how active my lupus was in my kidneys were back & MUCH improved from when I was in the hospital. My potassium level was normal which had been too high several times over the past months and it required another overnight stay in the hospital to get it corrected. They worry about high potassium with kidney patients because if your K+ gets too high...well your heart just stops. So, I was thankful that was in normal range.
She told me since I had a good report with my labs having to do with my kidney function that I could start the tapering of my steroids and she hopes to have me COMPLETELY off of them by May!! OMG!!! I am more happy about that than anything because that means I won't have a "puffy steroid face" by the summertime! I have never been able to successfully be off of the steroids for any length of time in the past, but I'm really hoping that this time will work and I can stay off of the steroids.
You have to be slowly tapered down on this medication, so that's why it's going to be over a period of about 2 months to get off of it. But, I'm so happy about that and I'm really hoping I will continue to do well as I taper down.
The other good news is my surgeon called me today and is going to take my non-working port-a-cath out tomorrow. He's worried with my history of blood clots that leaving it in and it not working and me not on a blood thinner that I may develop clots again in my chest & neck (where I had them when I was in the hospital). So, I am going outpatient tomorrow to have that removed & we'll talk at that point to see if we will put another in at some point down the road...OR just hold our breath and hope I don't have to have IV access anytime soon! :)
I had more labs done today at my primary care doc's office, have another appointment with my GI specialist on Tuesday to check out the pancreas with more extensive testing, so we'll see what he has to say about all this. It's been a hard two years since moving back to Illinois to find the right team of doctors, but the ones I have now I really trust & feel that I've finally got the right combination of docs to treat me.
So.........now that I've got all the health issues out of the way...I'll fill you in on other "stuff". Last night was my first night to cook dinner for Dale & Gentry and myself since November when I went into the hospital. It felt good to be back in my kitchen...one of my favorite places in my home to be. I fixed Chicken Piccata & Sagaponack Corn Pudding & the old standby crescent rolls. It was SO yummy and Dale loved it too. We've been SO sick of eating fast food or ordering from sitdown restaurants, or frozen dinners.
After my appt this morning I went and got a pedicure...I've been sorely lacking in "that" department since my "house arrest" too. It was nice to relax there for an hour. Then I went to a local specialty food market and picked up a few more things to cook with. When I got home I was greeted by my blonde-haired darling with those big blue eyes & a big smile...arms outstretched & Gentry running to hug me saying, "Mama! Mama! I missed you!" He truly does color my day...so he helped me put the groceries away & we rinsed off all of our produce together & then we made chocolate cupcakes. I was afraid I'd have to make mini "cake-cups" as Gentry calls them because we were eating so much of the batter!! He got up on his bar stool and helped crack the eggs and put the sugar & flour in & the chocolate. We had a blast!
I've got MaDonna's "Dego Chicken" in the oven & eggplant gratin to go with it for dinner tonight. The timer's beeping at me, so I need to run for now.
Thanks, as always for stopping by! I'll be back soon!
Thankful - Melanie

Progress

2009-02-17T00:05:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I've probably got a little TOO much time on my hands these days that I've had to spend in the bed recovering. It hit me tonight when I got on here to blog and thought..."What exactly is the purpose of a "blog"? Am I even doing it right? Am I even qualified?" Again...too much time to think! Anyway, I went to the trusty "wikipedia" site and typed in the word "blog". After reading what they had to say in describing a personal blog I thought, "Well, I guess I'm not THAT off track!" I've always loved writing my thoughts down on paper whether in prose & poems or just random thoughts. I have countless notebooks and journals filled with things I've written over the years that I'll probably take to the grave with me without anyone else ever reading them. But it was therapeutic for me at that particular moment in time to capture what I was feeling and experiencing. I still "handwrite", but since I was turned on to blogging by my awesome sister-in-law, Crystal, it's been a little easier to keep a journal of my life this way. I love going back through my old things I've written and them transporting me back in time to that specific season of my life. Some things I read and I'm so thankful that season of my life is over, and others I read and lament the days of youth & innocence that so fleetingly slip through our fingers. But mostly, I experience smiles & thankfulness for all I've been blessed to experience in my life. So, for all you readers out there that DON'T blog yet, I've copied & pasted a paragraph from what I read on blogging so maybe you'll consider taking it up yourself. :)

Personal Blogs
The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following.

As for what's on my mind today to talk about...well it's probably not really earthshattering to anyone but myself. BUT...drumroll...I was able to go the WHOLE DAY without having to take a nap...PLUS...are you ready for this one?...I was able to take a shower, wash my hair AND shave my legs all in one shower!
Now I know that is TOTALLY laughable, but since coming home from the hospital I've only been able to perform ONE of those tasks at a time without fizzling out and having to go straight back to bed. So, let me tell you, I was SO excited when I tried this paramount activity and succeeded...mostly! I was so out of breath and shaking by the time I got done with it all that I had to head back to bed, but let me tell you, after two months of having to divide my personal hygiene routines up into manageable timetables, I feel like I've just conquered the world! :)
It is AMAZING how debilitating being in the hospital for 28 days can be. But this makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, there may be an end in sight to my "house arrest".
Dale even got worried about me because I was in the bathroom for so long. He comes to the door and says, "Are you ok, babe?" And I was so proud to announce that I was doing GREAT!
Anyway, just had to share that because that was my "yahoo" activity for the day! :)
My niece, Courtney got to stay with us yesterday and today because she was off from school for President's Day. There is 10 years difference between her and my little guy, but they are like best friends. She makes him laugh and he makes her laugh hysterically. They are good for each other since they are both "only children". It's always such a treat when she comes to stay with us.
Dale is here with me this week and then he's going to have to go back to work. He works for his dad, and they have been SO understanding of our situation, but you can't live on love alone, so he's going to have to go back to work. He usually leaves early on Mondays and then comes back home on Thursday nights. It will be hard for him to be gone, but I think Gentry and I will probably go back and stay with my mom and dad during the week.
Well, I'm gonna sign off for now. My sweetie just made Gentry & me a fried egg sandwich...YUM!! My appetite is coming back and I crave the stragest things...at the strangest times...thankfully Dale cooks eggs better than I do, so he was sweet enough to fix me one. I'm gonna run & enjoy my midnight snack!

I'm Engaged...PLUS 14 years!

2009-02-15T16:07:00.003-06:00

WOW! That's the only way to start this blog off! With the Valentine's Weekend wrapping up, I've been taking a trip down memory lane of my own Valentine's story over the past 14 years. And what a ride it's been! I got engaged on the 13th of February in 1995. Dale and I were both in college at the time and the tradition at the college we attended was instead of a traditional Valentine's Banquet, we had a "Sadie Hawkins" Banquet...which is basically just the girl getting to ask a guy out instead of vice-versa. Dale and I had been dating since October of '94 and had talked about getting married. He had already asked my dad for my hand in marriage over the Christmas holidays, so I knew a proposal was coming, but I didn't know exactly 'when'.

We went to the banquet that night and when it was over, we drove out to our "special place" to "chat"...and...well, kiss and stuff!! :) We had nicknamed the place we always went to "The Lane". I could take you to the place today, except instead of a quiet, secluded, romantic quiet place, it's been replaced by big hotel complex. Maybe we'll go back there one day and stay for old times sake.

Anyway, I digress...we had gone to "The Lane" and were listening to our favorite "tape" of a country group called "Shenandoah", and he just started talking to me telling me he didn't know of anyone else he wanted to spend the rest of his life with than me and he opened the door to his truck, got down on his knee beside the truck and proposed to me. It was so sweet and we were both just sobbing and of course I said, "YES!"

We had 5 months to prepare and plan the wedding of my dreams and on the 29th of July, we made it official and I became Mrs. Dale Rutland, for better or for worse.

I look back over the years we've shared together and especially those early years and think, "My God, we were such BABIES!" We knew NOTHING about life and how to delve into carving out a life for ourselves as a family unit, but dive we did headlong into the journey of a lifetime.

Sometimes I look back at those young pictures of the two of us and see two kids who were fearless and unintimidated by the challenges of creating a life together. We should have been scared to death, but we had each other and we knew that was all we needed. We were uncertain of what we would face, but we felt that together we could make our dreams come true.

Over the years, we've had triumph & tragedy, but no matter what season we found ourselves in, at the end of the day we always had each other's back. Our love has deepened through it all and I have to say, I'm still glad I said "I DO" some 14 years ago to that blue-eyed country boy from Jayess, Mississippi.

Home Again!

2009-02-13T22:13:00.002-06:00

Well, it's been quite a week! Dale and I finally moved back to our home and I've just gotten settled back into bed with my new laptop. Just after I had posted my last blog earlier this week my computer screen went blank and crashed. My brother, Ryan, offered to take my laptop in for his IT guy at work to take a look at it, but he said it was not salvageable. Luckily he was able to recover all of my pictures and documents and put them on CD's for me so it wasn't a complete loss.
Dale got me a new HP today and I'm loving it so far. It feels good to be back home, but I left mom and dad's this evening misty-eyed. It has been such a blessing to be able to recuperate with the loving care that only a mama can provide.
I could never thank them enough for all of the support they've offered over the past few months to us. I will certainly miss spending time there.
Dale has completely rearranged our living areas here so that I won't have to use the stairs right now. We've moved our "bedroom" into our formal dining room area and moved our dining room table into our kitchen. It's cozy and will be so much easier on me to not have to tackle stair climbing several times a day.
I got my results back from my gallbladder study and everything looked normal on the test, however the surgeon still thinks I might benefit from having my gallbladder removed and wants me to see a GI specialist for another opinion on it. My labs came back that I had pancreatitis again and they're all puzzled by that as well since pancreatitis is usually only caused from excess drinking of alcoholic beverages! So...I'm supposed to be on a clear liquid diet until the stomach pain clears up and my labs start improving.
Sometimes I feel like it's one step forward and two steps back...and I do get discouraged from time to time, but I'm just taking things a day at a time and trying not to stress out too much. I will see my GI doc next week and see what his recommendations are.
Well, I don't have much to say and I'm tired and in a lot of pain, but wanted to post about getting to move back home after 2 1/2 months of being gone.
Happy Valentine's Weekend to you all!

Health Update

2009-02-09T18:00:00.003-06:00

Here is a diagram of a port-a-cath. It is located right beneath my clavicle (collar bone) and is about the size of a quarter. The line tunnels down into the main vessel of my heart. In an ideal world, this is a GREAT invention for people with lousy veins and can ideally stay in for life. Hopefully the new one I have placed will be successful. I'm a visual learner, so I thought the diagrams might be helpful! :)

Okay...one more post for today and I'll leave it be for awhile! I just happened to have a window of time where Gentry is taking a LONG nap, and I have a little "quiet time" alone. As you know from one of my older posts, I've been in limbo for several weeks on what to do with my non-working port-a-cath in my chest and the gallbladder issues.

Well, today I went to a NEW, different surgeon that was recommended to me by my primary care doc. We discussed all that had happened and what had gone wrong in the hospital and tried to form a revised game plan from that point. He told me if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all...sounds like an old country song, huh? I never thought of it that way, but I guess he's right! :) Anyway, Dale and I REALLY liked this surgeon and felt VERY comfortable with his recommendations.

I had more bloodwork done today and will go in the morning to an outpatient clinic and have a more "intensive" scan done of my gallbladder and once the results come back from that (should be this week sometime), he will schedule me for surgery to have both my gallbladder AND the defunct port removed at the same time. We will decided post-op what the best options are as far as vascular accesses for the future.

I still am having terrible issues with continuous nausea and inability to eat anything more than 2-3 bites of food. Do you know how disappointing that is for a gal who LIVES to eat!!?? I mean, I LOVE LOVE LOVE food and just the smell of it turns my stomach sour! I'm really hoping that if it indeed is my gallbladder causing all of these GI problems that surgery will correct my eating habits. I've lost 15 pounds over the past 10 days!!

So...I should know more once the test results are back later on this week. In the meantime, I'm taking anti-nausea medication and trying not to get too dehydrated. I'm out of here for now. Thanks for checking in and I'll write more soon.

My In-Laws

2009-02-09T17:36:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to share something sweet that occurred over the holidays that really touched my heart. Since I was hospitalized for 28 days right around the holidays, I was unable to go to Mississippi to visit Dale's family for Thanksgiving, Christmas OR New Year's. Dale and Gentry went down for a few days right before Christmas, but they didn't get to spend much time down with his family over the holidays either.
But, right after Christmas Pam and Kennith and their three girls, drove all the way up here just to get to see me and visit with me for a little while. They were only able to stay for less than 24 hours and had to turn right back around and go back to Mississippi, but I was so touched that they sacrificed that time and came up here for the sole purpose of seeing me. Pam is Dale's sister and she's always been such a sweetheart. I knew they loved me, but to demonstrate it in such a way was just really heartwarming.
Then, on New Year's Day around 6:00 p.m. that evening, we saw a vehicle pull up in the driveway and us girls were sitting in the living room visiting and all of a sudden I see Dale's mom and dad walking up to the house. We had NO IDEA they were coming up. I was SO shocked that they drove all that way...again...just to see me and visit for a little while. They are so busy with their business and family down there that I knew it was a big sacrifice for them to come up as well. They were only able to stay for a few hours and had to turn right back around and go back home that night which made the visit that much more special to me. Again, I've always known that they love me...but an act of kindness such as that just really makes you feel special.
I'm grateful to be surrounded by those kinds of caring individuals. I am glad to say I've never had one cross word with my mother OR father-in-law and after 14 years of being in the family, I'd say that's a pretty cool accomplishment! :)
When I was in the hospital, Dale's mom told him to go and buy me $100.00 worth of nightgowns and pajamas so I'd have something comfortable to relax in while I was in the hospital and once I got home! Boy, have I sure taken advantage of those gifts over the past few months!
BUT...the greatest gift they've ever given me is my sweetie. Our vows about the "for better or worse and in sickness and in health"...have certainly been put to the test over the past three months. I'm thankful that Dale has taken on the unwanted role of caregiver without complaining ONE TIME (at least to me anyway!). I know it's a burden on him to have to deal with a sick wife, but he seems to take it all in stride and always is my encourager and keeps things light even when the tears flow like a river.
So, thank you to my in-laws for giving me such a cool guy to share my unpredictable, roller coaster ride of life with!

Gentry's New Year's Day "Prayer"

2009-02-09T17:23:00.002-06:00

This is backtracking a bit, but I wanted to post it so I wouldn't forget about it. On New Year's Day, all of us kids got together over at mom and dad's house for a big New Year's Dinner...and NO...it did not include a pot of beans that's supposed to bring you good luck for the rest of the year! Instead we dined on Poppy Seed Chicken with all the fixin's. That dish has been a family favorite for well over ten years now and it's something we all enjoy - including the picky brothers of ours!!

Anyway, mom and dad had flown the coop for warmer weather in Florida, so we crashed their pad while they were gone and enjoyed the New Year's Day festivities at their home. Once we all got seated around the table and ready to say the blessing over the food, Gentry pipes up and says, "I wanna pray for the food!". So, of course, we obliged him (train up a child...). And as serious as he could be he bowed his head and looked down at his plate (with food I had already served up for him to be cooling) and said, "Jesus...cheese on my plate...cheese on my plate...Jesus... and then a triumphant AMEN!!"

We about rolled out of our chairs laughing at him. I had dipped him out some broccoli rice casserole and I guess that was the first thing that flew through his mind. It was hilarious and sweet all at the same time. Of course, he loves being the absolute center of attention, so he was soaking up all of the spontaneous laughter that he inadvertently provided us with.

What a character he is!

Gentry's First Visit To The Dentist

2009-02-09T17:11:00.003-06:00

So...instead of apologizing for my lack of continuity in blogging, I'll just dive right in and start updating y'all on what's been going on in our lives the past few weeks. Gentry had his first appointment with the dentist this past week. I am still not able to get out and about, so Dale had to take him. I hated that I had to miss out on that milestone, but I had Dale take a few pictures so I could at least enjoy that. I was SO PROUD when he came home and told me Gentry had NO cavities, no tartar or plaque buildup on his teeth and his teeth were in perfect alignment! I guess since this parenting thing is still relatively new to me, the little things like that seem paramount to me.

I felt a sense of accomplishment, that I had done at least one thing right in sticking to my guns about Gentry's limitation of soda and sugar-overloaded beverages.

He came in the house with a big grin on his face showing me his new Winnie the Pooh toothbrush and toothpaste and his little bag of toys and stickers he got from the dentist. Dale said he wasn't scared at all and was such a trooper while they did the exam. Enjoy the pictures!

Some of my battlescars!!

2009-01-17T01:45:00.004-06:00

This is Gentry & me in the hospital bed. I still had my triple line catheter in my neck at this point. Gentry always liked to take the balloons that people had brought up home with him!

This is GROSS I know, but it's so much easier to explain sometimes with pictures. For those of you who tend to have a sick stomach at stuff like this...well, consider this your warning!! This is a picture of my neck after they had discovered I had blood clots in my neck. Bruising I knew would go away, but my concern was the blood clots and AWFUL pain!

The other huge bruise was from the port-a-cath that infiltrated and the UGLY bruising that went along with that. I makes me "shudder" to even think about reliving those days!!

Then finally this is the top of the inside of my right arm where all of the TPN (IV Nutrition) filtered out into my body instead of my veins. I am SO THANKFUL for the body's own ability to heal itself if we can just be patient! I hardly have any scars or bruises from my arm or neck.

THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE HOSPITAL!! But we tried to make the best of it. Dale brought in Cracker Barrel's Thanksgiving Dinner and pumpkin pie, and we were so pleased with that, but we couldn't help but wondering what our families were doing and wishing we could be there with them. But we made the most of it. We played games, watched football, walked the halls & played with Gentry. Gentry even curled up in the bed beside me and took a nap with me. Now that is the "sugar & spice" part of parenting I wouldn't trade for the world.

Christmas Evening! We all took family pictures and I didn't want anyone to see my face with it being SOOOOO HUGE from the steroids, but mom finally convinced me in her gentle non-pushy way, that "this is life" and Gentry will want to remember years to come. So, I set my foot down about getting dressed, but fixed my hair and put on my best new pair of pajamas and posed...for what it was worth.

I'm getting sleepy, so I need to head to bed.

Enjoy life and get to living it!!

Melanie

P.S. There will probably be a "Gent-stories-time" soon. He's been saying AND doing so many cute things lately that I want to capture them in prose and film so I won't forget in years to come. Thanks for spending a few minutes of your time reading about The Rutland Household. We've had rocky roads, lots of ups and downs, a lot of dreams come true, a life and laughs and adventure and tears and shoulders to cry on, but all in all, I can say that I am truly blessed among women for what God has so graciously given to me in my life.

Love always - Mel

Back To The Land Of Blogs and Widgets!

2009-01-14T14:16:00.005-06:00

Hello to all my long-lost cyber buds! I CANNOT believe it's been over two months since I've even signed on to my blog. I should be ashamed of myself, but I guess I have a valid reason.
For those of you who don't know, I was hospitalized on Election Day, November 4th and spent the next 28 days in the hospital. I finally got to go "home" on December 1st. Home being at mom and dad's house.
I had gone to my doctor that morning of the 4th for unexplained, continuous nausea and vomiting and just overall fatigue. He told me (as nicely as possible) that I looked awful and needed to go next door to be a direct admit into the hospital. Who knew that would land me there for a month!
The story is so long and detailed, I'll try to give you the gist of what all happened without having to write an entire book.
When I was admitted they found that I had acute pancreatitis and my gallbladder was enlarged. There was talk of taking my gallbladder out, but didn't want to take it out with my pancreas being so inflamed and infected. So, they waited for my enzymes to show some improvement in the labwork. I was also severely dehydrated when I went in and after 6 or 7 tries to get IV access for fluids, they finally decided to put in a central line in my neck. After three failed attempts at that, they brought in a second surgeon who finally was able to access my veins. PAIN!!! I also went into a flare with my lupus during this time and had to start IV steroids.
My pancreatitis was not resolving on the antibiotics alone, so after 4 days of being in the hospital, they stopped all food and kept me "NPO except ice chips" (nothing by mouth) for the next 16 or 17 days!
I was started on TPN (nutrition in an IV bag) that bypasses the GI system and keeps you nourished while you're unable to eat real food. Along with that came fingersticks to check my blood sugar four times a day. I have a new level of empathy for diabetics that have to be stuck multiple times a day with those lancets. My fingertips were so bruised by the end of that ordeal.
I had started responding to the treatment and was actually getting better, but my doctor was fairly certain that I was going to have to be discharged on the TPN (nutrition) and I needed a permanent IV access to be placed.
I was found to have blood clots in my neck from the central line that they placed the day of my admission, and a scan of my chest showed my veins were small and "shriveled". (Is that a word???) Anyway, one surgeon came in after hours that Friday night and said he would attempt to place a Port-A-Cath which is normally an easy procedure and you have an IV access under your skin that barring any complications of infection can stay in indefinitely. After 3 attempts, he was finally able to get my port placed in the right side of my chest just under my collar bone, but during the procedure, my lung was "knicked" and I started bleeding internally and my lung slowly started to collapse.
Now, my surgery to have the port placed was on a Friday evening and they checked my blood every morning and for some "unknown" reason, my red blood count kept dropping dangerously low. I was given several units of blood over the weekend while they were trying to figure out the cause of my bleeding.
In the meantime, I was just out of my mind in pain and thought maybe that was to be expected after the port placement. Turns out, once another chest X-ray was ordered 4 days later, I was found to have a "pneumothorax", (collapsed lung). I was placed on oxygen and a pulmonary doctor was consulted to place a chest tube in my right side to drain the collection of blood that had accumulated in my lung and to re-expand my lung. I've NEVER EVER experienced pain like I did when that tube was placed. I had to have it in for about a week and slowly my lung started re-expanding and I was weaned off of the oxygen.
THEN...when the nurses went to change out the needle one night and start my TPN, there was so much swelling around the site of the port that when they inserted the needle, it didn't go into the port. They "thought" it was in the port, so they hooked the TPN up and started it going wide open. But it kept leaking around the site and I had to change gowns 3 times before I finally realized that something was terribly WRONG. After an hour of the TPN going, all of that "nutrition" was infiltrated through my chest and down my right arm. You should see the pictures of how awful it looked. My mom took pictures it was so unreal.
So...finally on Dec. 1 I was discharged with a non-working Port-A-Cath, orders for home health and physical therapy and the hope that in time the swelling and bruising would go away enough for the port to try to be accessed again in hopes of salvaging what had happened with the port.
My nurse came out yesterday to attempt to access and flush it again, and it didn't work, so I'm scheduled to see a NEW surgeon in a few weeks for him to take out the old one and they'll decide at that point if they want to put another one in and take my gallbladder out!
WHEW!! Have I totally confused you?? I'm a little hazy on all that happened myself, but I know that I am getting better and stronger with every day that goes by.
My parents opened up their home to Dale, Gentry and me for us to stay with them while I got back on my feet. I was not strong enough to be able to "keep house" and do the stairs out at the farm. I could not say enough "thank yous" to convey how much it has meant to me to have their support over the past few months.
My whole family were amazing throughout the whole ordeal. My sister was a lifesaver so many times throughout my hospitalization. And my brothers and sisters-in-law were amazing too. I KNOW I could not have handled all I went through without the support of my family. I felt that I was carried by the prayers of everyone who took the time to mention my name to God.
I am so grateful that God was merciful to me one more time and spared my life. I came so close to death that I just don't want to take one day for granted.
I know there are so many other things I want to say, but I guess I need to get some rest for now. I hope to be more faithful with my blogging and keeping in touch. I'll post more later!

Much Love - Mel

"Dynamite and Aspirin"

2008-10-29T22:49:00.002-05:00

I know I won't do the sermon justice, but I wanted to post what I could remember about Pastor Blake's sermon Sunday night. It was SO good! The title of his message was "Dynamite and Aspirin". The gist of the sermon was that when you are spirit-filled you receive power to overcome the circumstances life throws at you. This is the "dynamite" in your life. The second part of the message was that there is also "rest" in Christ when you are weary, burdened and filled with uncertainty about your problems. He showed through study of the greek language that the word "rest" in the bible is the same root word that the medicine "Anacin" came from. Anacin was an over-the-counter remedy back in the 30's that had aspirin and caffeine in it. He said that God said in his word in essence that when we are children of God, we have the promise of "dynamite" in our lives, but also the promise of "aspirin" in our life. Relief, rest & calm from the chaos of life. He encouraged us when we are down and discouraged to open the Word of God and "pop a promise"!
I enjoyed that message so much because I've felt with all the political "fighting" going on and the economic crisis that I've been guilty of worrying too much instead of "resting" in the promises of God's Word. It's comforting to know that when we let God, He really can be all we need Him to be in our lives...including dynamite AND aspirin!
Blessings - Mel

P.S. They have podcasts of all Pastor Blake's sermons available on the church website. I don't really know how to do the whole "podcast" thing, but if you know how to work it, it would definitely be worth your time to look that message up and listen to it. The website for the church is www.ckac.org.

Boo At The Zoo!

2008-10-27T22:37:00.005-05:00

Dale, Mel & Gentry - "chillin' at the zoo"

sweetest kiss in the world!

just woke up from a nap on the way...not sure if he wants to be here yet!

Are you scared, momma??? That's what he kept asking me!

His "scared" face

petting the...um? guinea pigs?

Our carosel ride on the BULL!

Hey guys and gals! Man, I went for a week and didn't blog one bit and now I've got so many things I'd like to say and know I'll run out of brain power before I get everything down I want to say. So, I'll give you some "teasers" and hopefully "reminders" for me so I'll remember all I wanted to talk about. The first blog I'll attack is our "Boo at the Zoo" family night we had tonight. Then I don't want to forget to tell you about one of the most AWESOME sermons I've heard that Pastor Blake preached last night. That teaser will be the title of the sermon: "Dynamite and Aspirin". It's gonna be GOOD! And then the other thing is Dale's "health condition". Nothing life threatening, so I'll wait for another night to blog about that as well! :) Sorry, honey!

Okay, so back to "Boo at the Zoo". Dale will be leaving Wednesday morning to go down to Mississippi to meet his dad and brother for them to take their annual "man-trip" to Colorado to hunt. He'll be gone for 10 days, so he's been attached to Gentry and me at the hip for the past few days wanting to gather up some "quality time" before he heads west. So we decided to go to the St. Louis Zoo this evening for a "kid-friendly, non-scary" Halloween fun night. Now, I know it's probably not "politcally correct" these days to do the Halloween thing if you call yourself a Christian, but I guess I have enough rebel blood in me that I still like to bend the rules a bit. So...off we went!

I'm sure I always say we had fun, but we REALLY did tonight. The park was decorated so festive with lots of pumpkins, lights and AWFUL organ music! There was an animal show with an assortment of animals ranging from little rats to the biggest snake I've ever seen. Gentry was particularly interested in the armadillo and owl. Who knew you could find those at a zoo? We got to pet some...well, I think they were guinea pigs, but I couldn't tell you for sure. We saw foxes, fish, seals, geicos, turtles and penguins. We sat around a "contained" bonfire and heard a "spooky" story, rode a bull on the carosel ride (Gentry's choice) and stopped by a pirate's ship and found sunken treasures. The only thing that scared him during the entire evening was when I "perched" him on top of a railing to look at some pink flamingos. That TOTALLY freaked him out. I don't know if he thought I was going to let go of him, but he was truly petrified of the flamingos and started screaming to the top of his lungs "Let me down!!!" But I have to say, Dale and I had a big laugh over the fact that nothing in the entire park spooked him but a bunch of harmless pink flamingos! It was pretty chilly(40*), but the walking, gloves, jackets & scarves kept us toasty warm. The night ended perfectly when Gentry got a bag of candy to snack on as we left the zoo.

Our little excursion must have worn us all out, because once we got back in the vehicle, Gentry knocked out and Dale and I didn't say one word to each other the entire trip back home. That's one nice thing about the comfort of old married life...no pressure to produce conversation; just comfortable silence.

Well, Gentry is jumping up and down, grabbing my arm, and saying, "Mommie, Mommie, I wanna watch Bam-bee!(emphasis on each syllable)" So, I'm gonna run for now and get my little man settled in for his late night show!

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the pictures. Hugs to you all!

Melanie

Has It Been A Week???

2008-10-25T22:29:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I've been a little behind the eight ball in getting something posted here this week. I have no excuses, except that I've just not felt much like talking this week. I'm a quiet kind of girl most of the time, and sometimes I just don't have much to say. This past week has been one of quiet introspection. Thinking a lot about life, but nothing interesting enough to put on paper.
Had a great day today with my family. Dale was gone hunting again, so Gentry and I met mom, Christy, & Courtney at Chevy's for a mexican lunch, then headed to mom's house to relax in the sunroom and visit. Papa was outside raking leaves, so Gentry went out there to help papa out. Actually, he was hindering more than he was helping, but papa didn't seem to mind much. Gentry ran through the piles of leaves with reckless abandon and squeals of delight.
Mom made some DELICIOUS chili for dinner and her famous no bake cookies. There was only one cookie left on the plate when I left, and I SO wanted to take it with me, but didn't want to seem like a pig! I'm telling myself, "Mel, you have this exact same recipe...you can make a batch when you get home."...but as you know, there's just nothing like mama making something and it tasting SO MUCH BETTER than anything you could cook or bake.
It was such a nice day getting to hang out with my ya-ya's. We did a lot of laughing, a lot of talking, and a good bit of oogling over my little man. Mom tells me all the time, "Mel, he just makes me laugh!" I'm glad someone else besides me thinks he's pretty neat! :)
Well, I'm gonna run for now. I'm REALLY hoping to be able to make it to church tomorrow. I didn't get to go all week last week...and BOY CAN I TELL IT! Just kidding...I do love being in the presence of God...it does wonders for me! So, I'm gonna hit the hay and talk to you all tomorrow. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me. I know your time is precious, and it means a lot that you came by! Be blessed!!

Melanie

A Perfect Fall Saturday

2008-10-18T19:09:00.003-05:00

Oh what a perfectly beautiful day I had today! I'm worn out, but it was so worth it! Dale was gone again for the weekend hunting, and as you know, I've become a "deer hunter's widow" as of about two weeks ago. Dale has some hunting land leased about 2 hours south of here and he enjoys getting to go down there on the weekends and hunting. So...that's given me A LOT of free time on the weekends do to some exploring.

Today, Gentry and I slept in and then left the house around lunchtime and went over to St. Charles, MO for the afternoon. St. Charles is a suburb of St. Louis and is about 20 miles north of St. Louis. I had done some looking online earlier in the week and decided to take a day trip over there this weekend.

So, me and my buddy headed out on our excursion. I saw on the internet that they have a quaint, historical downtown shopping area right on the Missouri River. There is also a park on the river called "The Frontier Park" where they were having a fall festival entitled "Life is Good". So, with my handy-dandy map on my lap, off we went to have some fun...just the two of us. :) When we arrived at the park, the first thing Gentry saw was all the balloons and he got so excited. He knew this must be a place to have fun. They had a lot of inflatable play stations like the trampoline, slide & obstacle course. Gentry is always so timid at first, but after a couple of minutes of coaxing, he finally pulled his shoes off, and he was off and running and playing his little heart out. His favorite one was the inflatable slide. He loved climbing up and then tumbling down the other side. They had face painting, all sorts of games, a magician and juggler, live music and a bubble machine that Gentry thought was amazing. He was running all over the place popping those bubbles. I was trying to snap pictures, but he was too active having fun that I didn't really get any good ones of him at the park.

When we got done at the park, we walked a block over and made a loop down and around the historical downtown shops. Oh my goodness!! It was MY KIND OF SHOPPING. They had lots of ecclectic boutiques with home decor, clothing, sweets, antiques & holiday shops. Gentry wanted to touch everything he saw, especially in the Christmas shops. He thought the reindeer and snowmen were just SO COOL! He made me a little nervous because I could just see him breaking things everywhere and me coming home with LOTS of broken merchandise I really didn't want to buy! But, once he got the rule down that he had to hold mommie's hand in the stores, and just look, well, he was the best sidekick I could have asked for! The weather was just gorgeous and we took our time strolling down those old cobblestone streets. There were trolley cars and horse-drawn carriages and it just made you feel like you'd stepped back in time.

We found a candy store and stopped in and got some taffy, peanut brittle, & a popcorn trail mix. YUMMY!

After we'd shopped to our hearts were content, we headed back home, stopped by Cold Stone & got a shake for the road and then stopped by St. Louis Bread Company for a sandwich and warm bowl of broccoli cheese soup...the perfect ending to a perfect day.

I do wish my sweetie could have been with us to share our day, but I realize that before too long, Gentry will be old enough to go hunting and I won't get these mommy/son days as much. So, even though it was just the two of us today, I LOVED spending the day with my angel. I asked him when we got back to the car, "Did you have fun with mommie today?" And he put his arms around my neck and squeezed really tight and said, "Uh-huh!" I mean, it just doesn't get much better than that, my friends!

Enjoy the pictures I snapped from our day today. The name of the festival we went to in the park was titled: "Life Is Good"...and that about sums up the way I feel about life today. Hope you're enjoying these beautiful fall days as much as we are.

Love & Blessings - Mel

Just Another Ordinary Day...For The Most Part...

2008-10-14T22:41:00.004-05:00

Good evening! Well, as you can see from the pictures, we (Gentry) had a little mishap today! And I have NO IDEA what he did! Here's the condensed version...as much as possible. I had to pick up a few things at the pharmacy and grocery, so I had jumped into the shower REALLY quick. All was fine until I ran upstairs to get dressed. Gentry has been in this phase of wanting to wash dishes and he has a favorite red mixing bowl that he carries around with him. He told me he wanted to wash it, and I told him we would as soon as mommie got some clothes on. So, up the stairs I run and had put on ONE item of clothing and I heard this CRASH and then a blood-curdling SCREAM! I go running downstairs in nothing but...well you can imagine...and scoop him up from the hallway floor and see blood everywhere in his mouth! I have NO IDEA what happened or how he could have injured himself so badly. I've questioned him about what happened and every time I ask him he just hides his face in my chest like he did something wrong.

The first thing I checked was if any teeth were missing...NOPE...THANK YOU, GOD! Then I ran back up the stairs with him and a wet washcloth, threw on some clothes and jumped in the car to go to my mom's house to get a second opinion on whether he needed stitches or not. Well, by the time I had gotten to mom's house he had quieted down and I had gotten the bleeding to stop. He kept asking me on the way over there, "Will mimi make it better?" And I kept assuring him, "Yes, mimi will make it better...she always does." So, after assessing the situation again with another set of eyes, we decided that Gentry would be fine without a visit to the ER. I think maybe I needed a trip to "mimi's" more than Gentry did! :) Anyway, he's got a FAT lip, but otherwise, no worse for the wear this evening. He looks pitiful though and my heart about breaks when I look at his little face and that BIG FAT lip! But, thankfully, the mouth is one of the fastest healing parts of the body, so hopefully he'll be good as new and ready to give his mommie another heart attack sometime soon.

I'm just thankful that he didn't really hurt or disfigure himself. I can deal with a fat lip for a few days!

Ta-Ta!

A Gentry Story

2008-10-13T01:23:00.000-05:00

My little man is the joy and delight of my life...as if you didn't already know that. I cannot believe in less than two months he will be 3 years old!! He is SO independent and so full of energy and life. It's hard to look at him now and think of him being such a tiny, tiny little four pound helpless baby. I remember the first time I laid eyes on him and you know, there truly is such a thing as "love at first sight" because it happened with me when I looked at that angel face for the very first time.

Gentry's story is an amazing display of God's infinite love, grace and mercy manifest in such a tiny package. So many people have told us (with good intention) that Gentry is so "blessed" to have been able to have been adopted by us. And I understand their sentiment, but I always say in return, "No, we're the ones who've been blessed to be his parents. Gentry stormed into our lives quite unexpectedly and has been giving us such pleasant surprises of joy and happiness ever since. My little "Gent-man" shouldn't even be alive, but the ONE who loves him more than life thought he'd be better off with two ill prepared 30 something kids who had no idea how to parent. Then again, I guess no one's given a "test" to pass to certify them to attempt this job, huh?

So, into the parenting deal we fell almost three years ago now, and man, what a thrill of a ride it's been!

I wanted to get on paper one of his funny antics before I forget it.

Gentry has found 2 new friends. He has an imaginary, invisible cat and dog. I've asked him several times what their names were and he just simply tells me, "No, mommie...jus ki-kat and dawg." Yeah, his pop's a southerner, so he's picking up that accent even though he lives in yankee country.

Now, I know most of you mom's out there have experienced this phenomenon of these invisible, imaginary friends. I know my sister had a couple of "friends" like that when she was a kid too. But, I tell ya, when I see MY little one in his little play world, I just can't help but get a kick out of him. The other day I was washing dishes and Gentry decided he wanted to help me do the dishes. So, who am I to stop a man from helping out in the kitchen?!?! Well, we pulled the step ladder up to the sink and I pulled out a bowl for Gentry to start washing. After he scrubbed hard enough that he thought his washing was sufficient I bragged and told him what a good job he did helping mommie out. Then, I made a mistake!! I let the stopper out of the sink and down the drain went the kitty-cat! I never even knew the kitty-cat was in the sink with the bowl, but apparently the kitty-cat was getting a bath. So, down the drain went the cat along with the dishwater.

Now, those of you who know Gentry knows that he is VERY persuasive if he wants you to do something for him. So he kept telling me, "Mommie, wore(water)...back in...sink...get ki-cat." I could tell by this point that if I didn't do something quick I was going to have a "situation" on my hands. So, I put the stopper BACK into the drain and started filling the sink back up with water. Once the water had filled back up a couple of inches, Gentry cupped his two pudgy little hands together and "lifted" ki-cat up out of the water. He then looks up at me and smiles this million-dollar smile and says, "K-ku (thank you)...now I go dry her off." And off he runs to the bathroom to "dry off" the cat!!! And all was well again in the Rutland household! I just loved that "story" and had to share with you. I've been rooted off of my pillow several times because I've laid on top of dog and cat, but he still hasn't beat my mom's story of my sister's meltdown when mom left Christy's imaginary friends in the cart at the department store! I'll have to let mom tell that one. She can tell it so much better than I can, so check her blog out for that story!

Thanks for letting me share my Gent-stories! It's so much FUN getting to be his mommie!

"Lead Me On" Tour

2008-10-11T15:53:00.002-05:00

I am unashamedly a HUGE Amy Grant fan and have been since my mom brought the "record" home (yeah, I know I'm dating myself) of the "Age to Age" project. I remember my sister, Christy, and I would sit for hours on end and listen over and over to that record and we still know every single word to every single song on that album...and all the other ones she's come out with since then. We were young teenagers when the "Lead Me On" album came out and I remember we were staying with my aunt and uncle, Duane and Nancy, for the week in Michigan when it was released. I remember them taking us to a Christian Bookstore and us buying it (a tape this time! :), and sitting in front of their stereo system and listening to the "Lead Me On" project. It wasn't really like anything that was out there at the time, but man did it ever speak to so many levels of life out there to be lived. We were young and innocent and just enjoyed the sentiment of the songs like "Faithless Heart" and "If These Walls Could Speak". Who knew twenty years later that these songs would still be so relevant and looking back we've seen our own lives lived out in so many of those lyrics.
Fast-forward twenty years and Amy is doing a reunion tour of the "Lead Me On" project. When I found out she was coming to Branson, I HAD to get tickets to go. It won't be until November, so we decided to do a girls weekend getaway in celebration of my mom's birthday and go see Amy again.
It's going to be mom, my sister, my niece and yours truly on our trip. Can I just tell you how excited we are to get away and turn back the hands of time for just one evening and reminisce with those good old songs from back in the day. So, when Amy sent the e-mail that had the "widget" she wanted us to put on our blogs to get the word out about her tour, how could I say no?! :)
So, that's why the Amy thing is on my blog. I'll keep it up until the concert and then let y'all know how it was. We're looking so forward to our girls weekend in Branson. It will be here before we know it. If you're not an Amy Grant fan, check out her stuff. She speaks to the soul through her lyrics and says in song what my heart tries to say a lot of times, but can't find the right words. Music truly is the language of the heart!

Amy Grant

2008-10-11T15:50:00.001-05:00

Big Plans...Simple Times

2008-10-11T02:23:00.002-05:00

What a wonderful evening this turned out to be. I love it when you have moments that you don't plan, but they just happen and you walk away from that experience saying, "Wow! I really needed that!" Tonight was just one of those nights.

I had made plans earlier in the day to take Gentry to the park to feed the ducks...yes, I know...it seems that's what I'm always doing in my spare time these days! But hey, with weather like this and the cold and snow bound to come, I'm trying to monopolize on these beautiful fall days. But, I digress! Oh I've always wanted to say that!! :) ANYWAY, my BIG PLANS for the day was to go have fun with Gentry at the park and then go and spend the afternoon with mimi (my mom) and then maybe have a nice dinner with Dale and do a little shopping. Well, the old body just wasn't up to it and after tidying up my kitchen I was so weak and lightheaded that I called mom and told her, "Well, I'll call you when I feel like I'm not going to literally pass out!" Yeah, I know, I'm such a baby! Well, by the time it was all said and done and Gentry had woke up from his nap it was 5:30 p.m.! Where did my day go?? But I refused to totally lose my day, so we all got dressed and finally made it over to mimi's around 7:30!

And man...it was just one of those visits that I really, really needed. Dale, mom and I sat around and talked mostly politics and the economy until Dad got home from work. Then we all were trying to chime in over each other and cast our "opinions" about all the craziness of what's going on in the country right now. We had our share of laughs over Gentry's little antics and then about 12:30 Christy & Courtney got in from the party they had been to. Courtney had called from the party and asked if she could spend the night with us, so we waited around until they got there.

I said all that to say this...it's been a VERY uncertain week with all the events going on in the news and sometimes this week I've just had a sense of fear and dread about even turning on the radio or TV or signing on to the internet for fear of what I might read about in the news. I felt a lot of turmoil inside and knew that wasn't of God. But there truly is something about gathering together with people of like precious faith and sharing the hope that we have if we're God's kids. I felt so uplifted and encouraged when I walked out the door of mama's house and know somehow that everything really is going to be alright.

I was SO thankful that my sister wrote what she did in her blog today. I felt that in the midst of all of this uncertainty, I was hoping that someone would remind me once again where my faith lies. THANK YOU, sis for what you wrote. It was so encouraging to me.

We finally made it back home around 2:00 a.m., but with a lighter heart and a calm I've not felt in several days. I KNOW that God is in ultimate control of all of man's affairs, but sometimes it's just nice to be reminded again.

So, my big plans today ended up being a simple evening at mama's house, but you know what?...most of the time that's all it takes to make things better!

Climbing back in the saddle!

2008-10-09T13:47:00.002-05:00

Hey friends! Well, after being in bed since Sunday, I decided that maybe I'd had enough rest and felt strong enough to get up, get dressed, fix my hair, and take Gentry to the park to play and go to the grocery. So, after it taking over an hour to get all that done PLUS get my little man ready to go, we go out to the vehicle chasing all the chickens, turkeys & geese out from under the car...oh my, how this city girl's life has changed...and get all strapped and buckled in, turn the key in the ignition and...NOTHING!
My battery was dead in my car! Now you talk about MAD and having no one to blame it on. I guess my Expedition's just getting old and the battery needs replacing. But, man was it hard to try to explain to Gentry that we couldn't go to the park to slide. He is always SO SO excited to get to go to the park and the weather has been just magnificent to do so.
So, back into the house we went with the promise that as soon as his poppa got home from work that we would take him to the park.
But...I DID get some fall cleaning and sorting done in some dressers and closets and got rid of a bunch of stuff that had been cluttering up the place. That's always such a good feeling to get organized to some extent. But, in the midst of my organizing frenzy, my little blondie came walking up to me and put his head in my lap and said, "Mommy, you come lay down with me?" And those crystal blue eyes looking up at me, well, how could anyone resist his request? And so, he found "Lady and the Tramp" and asked to watch it. So, we're all cozied up in bed again and laughing and enjoying Lady and the Tramp (for the 100th time)!!
He's just about to give it up to sleepytown and I'll probably read some more in a David Baldacci book that I'm working on.
We'll take a trip to the park and hopefully the grocery when Dale gets in this evening. Other than that, just an ordinary evening planned. I'll write more later. Thanks for stopping by.

Warm Regards - Mel

It's Wednesday!

2008-10-08T11:53:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the beautiful fall weather we've been blessed with. I know it may not have cooled off much in the South, but I'm sure it's at least a little bit cooler than those dog days of summer!
I've had a really rough week physically. I've spent most of my time this week resting in bed. It is during times like these that I feel that life passes me by while I sit "waiting" for a good day again. But I'velearned with my condition that it ebbs and flows and EVENTUALLY I will have better days again.
So, until those days come, I'm getting caught up on a lot of reading, thinking, thinking, and thinking some more...and resting, of course.
Dale is working at my sister's house this week building their front porch on their new house. I hope they will be able to get in it soon. They've been working on it for several months and I know it will be a relief to finally be able to move in.
And my sweet Gentry is keeping me company and taking good care of his mommie. He is such a caring little boy and is always concerned that mommie "feels better". He'll grab me by the face and put his eyes right to mine and say, "Mommie, you feel ok?" And I'll say, "Yes, mommie feels fine." And then he'll say, "Well, I'll kiss it and make it better." And so wherever he thinks mommie has a "boo-boo" he'll kiss and say, "Now, all better." And I'll assure him with certainty that THAT kiss was what really made it all better.
Oh if a kiss could really make it all better! The beautiful simplicity of youth! I cherish these times!
Hope you all are enjoying your week so far. Love to you all!

Melanie

Pictures at the Park

2008-10-06T23:05:00.001-05:00

I will write more later...just wanted to share some photos. I do have something to say...just not in a frame of mind to do it right now.

Enjoy the pictures!

Love - Melanie

If it aint' one thing...

2008-10-02T18:17:00.003-05:00

Oh what a week it's been!! It's all been good, but just sometimes a little inconvenient! About a week ago I started having a lot of swelling and pain in my right ankle. The inside of my ankle had a mass about the size of a golf ball on it. I'm like, "Ok, do I really need another health issue to deal with?" So, I just brushed it off and tried to ignore it HOPING it would just go away on its own. But alas, I was not that lucky. After limping around for several days and having no relief from the pain I finally decided to see a foot surgeon yesterday. He told me that I most likely had a tear of some tendon down there and severe inflammation. He said things were just starting to wear out due to my long-term steroid use. He told me I needed to have an MRI done to evaluate all that was going on.

Normally I would have been the compliant patient that I always try to be, but Dale is gone this week and I have company staying with me. It just was not the most convenient time in the world to be dealing with health issues. Well, I guess he must have seen my hesitation about having the MRI done and finally said, "Or...you can wear a compression stocking on your foot and a surgical boot for seven days, keep your ankle immobilized, and come back in a week to see if the swelling has gone down and your pain is better."

So...I opted for the glamorous, ever-fashionable surgical boot! Ah, you should see me "strut" around like a cripppled chicken in it! Now, mind you, I've never broken a bone in my life, so I'm not real familiar with how to walk around gracefully in one of these things.

When I got back to mom's house to pick Gentry up I had mom help me put it on and tried to walk around in it. Well, needless to say, we had a big chuckle out of it. I'm telling you, people that wear those things must have to go to a class to learn how to walk in them before they're let out in public. I'm telling you, I was walking across the front lawn of mom's house and I truly looked like a double-jointed, crippled, chicken strutting around a barnyard.

And those of you who know my mom can picture this...she's standing in at the front door and is watching me try to walk in this monstronsity of a shoe and she gets tickled. You know how she does...she kind of bends over like she's got a kink in her lower back and then she crosses her legs and lets out a good laugh. If you're lucky she'll start yelling, "Stop it! Oh, shoot! Now I have to go to the bathroom!" And off she'll run down the hall laughing all the way.

But hey, if life hands you lemons...that gal has learned how to make lemonade! And so, even though I was frustrated to have to wear that dumb boot all week, she made it seem like fun.

I've tried to be a good girl and stay off of it, but so far I haven't been too successful. My sister-in-law and her kids (who are staying with me this week) and Gentry and I decided to go to the park to play today after lunch. So, who am I to let a little "ankle immobilization" get in the way of a perfectly beautiful fall day? So, off we trudged to Bellevue Park to enjoy the day. I could feel my heartbeat in my ankle by the time I got back home, but OH WHAT A GOOD TIME we had.

I'm propped up in bed now with my little guy sacked out next to me from playing so hard at the park with his cousins. A little pain meds & I'll be good to go. No, really I am going to try to take it easy...well, after our trip to St. Louis Mills tomorrow...(shhh!! Don't tell my mom...she'll kill me!)

For now, I'm going to make creamy tacos for dinner and get a good front row seat to the Vice-Presidential Debate this evening and wind down with Biden and Palin going at it for a couple of hours!

I'll post pictures later on of our day at the park. Glad you stopped by to check in. Thanks as always for coming! Enjoy this beautiful weather!

Blessings ~~ Mel

Autumn came for a visit!

2008-09-30T23:39:00.005-05:00

We spent a good part of the day today making Miss Autumn feel at home on the Rutland Farm. She took me around several shops to make sure that she was properly adorned for fall out on the farm. I hope we did her proud and what she thinks we did to the place is acceptable for her. We sure did have fun doing it! Here's what Miss Autumn chose to be adorned with at the Rutland House. Wonder what style she'll decide at your place? Enjoy the pics!

2008-09-28T15:29:00.000-05:00

Fall Festival Pictures

2008-09-28T15:24:00.002-05:00

Fall Festival Sunday

2008-09-28T15:03:00.003-05:00

Gentry has discovered that he can take pictures...here he is taking one of his Uncle Ryan right before church started. Love you, bubba!

Hello, my friends! It's been another great day and I just wanted to share a bit of it with you and some pictures as well. It is always a privilege to be well enough to be able to attend church. I took church attendance so much for granted until I was unable to attend so many services due to my ill health. It truly is the rest and the refreshing that my soul and spirit longs for. I find such refuge when I can close my eyes and sing a song of praise and worship and find myself immediately translated to a place where God's presence is so near to me. I am thankful for strength and health enough today to be able to make it to church. Pastor Blake's message was so inspiring about how many more benefits there are to salvation than just eternal security. It made me thankful all over again that I know the truth and have been blessed to be a part of the family of God all of my life. My desire is to continue to share this precious way with as many people as I can so that "whosoever will" can come and drink from the river of life and live "the good life"!

And so, part of "the good life" we live included a celebration of the bountiful blessings God has bestowed on our lives this year and we celebrated with the annual church Fall Festival. The people involved with this ministry always do such a superb job of planning and executing a fun-filled day with events for kids of all ages.

Of course, my eyes were tuned most of the day to a certain little blonde haired, blue-eyed, red-faced angel who had SO MUCH FUN climbing up the slides and tumbling down the other side. He jumped in a pool of colorful balls with a bunch of girls and LOVED being the center of their attention! He used his tickets to play several games and even won a prize or two. His laugh was infectious and I had so much fun just watching him play. He climbed like a monkey up those slides and wasn't afraid to tackle anything. I know the theme of most of my blogs are him, but I just can't help it. He brings so much joy to my life and I guess waiting so long to become a mother has made me really appreciate these special moments that will all too soon slip from my hands.

But after a few hours out in the sun, we were HOT and ready to head to the house for some rest. And the sun and lupus are not the best of friends, so I had to get out of the sun before I ended up looking like a red lobster! Enjoy the pictures of our day today, and thanks again for stopping by!

Blessings - Melanie

P.S. John McCain

2008-09-27T23:48:00.002-05:00

P.S. Oh...and how could I forget the most important event of the day!!!??? We got to have our picture taken with Presidential Candidate Senator John McCain!! Well, a life-size standup cutout of him anyway!!! :):):):):):)

A Yahoo Day!

2008-09-27T22:55:00.002-05:00

Oh what a fun, family day we had today! I'm glad I'm cozy comfy in bed now with my feet propped up though! But the swollen feet and sore muscles were all worth it.

Today we spent the day in St. Louis. My sweetheart of a niece, Courtney, got to spend the day with us as well. I had seen that there was going to be a "Picnic in the Park" at Forest Park today and there was going to be lots of inflatables to slide & jump around in plus "characters" to meet & greet. Well, it was a good IDEA, but that was about it. We got there around 1:30 and it started at 11:00. There were SO MANY people there!! (about 50,000)! We had NO IDEA it was such a huge event and the lines to meet Bert, Ernie, Curious George, Clifford, Arthur...and some others I didn't know were over an hour. You would have thought people had come to meet the president or a famous movie star! So, how do you explain the concept of having to wait in line that long to a 2 year old? He just didn't understand that. Sooooo...we waited in line to slide down one of the inflatable slides and then decided we'd just have to wait until next year to meet all of the characters.

It was fun, but we'll know next year to get there EARLY if we want to really have fun.

After we left Forest Park Dale wanted to go to Cabela's out at St. Louis Mills. Oh and by the way...for those of you who don't know...hunting season starts next week. Yes, I will officially be a widow for the next four months! So, a Cabela's run was a "necessity" to make sure he is ready to go the first day of hunting season!

Well, Courtney and I decided we would do a little shopping of our own. Court found some cute tops for school and I...well, what does every mom do? Shops for her kids instead of herself! And man, did we find some sales! Gent is set for fall...and spring because of all the end of season sales. We found a choo-choo train and some cars for Gentry to ride in and then took a pit-stop to the Cookie Company!! Mmmm...all that shopping can sure work up an appetite!

We finished our evening at Cracker Barrel and then headed back to Mimi & Papa's house to drop Courtney off. Courtney showed mimi & papa the stuff she bought and then Gentry wouldn't be outdone. So, he wanted his poppa to go get a bag of HIS clothes so he could show off what he bought to mimi & papa.

And I have to say, they were such a gracious audience to him and he just grinned from ear to ear each time he pulled something else out from his shopping bag.

We about fell asleep coming back home, but it was such a good day to be together and spend time with each other. Gentry is sacked out next to me and I think life is just really good right now.

I'm worn out and probably should have stopped a lot sooner than I did today, but I'm just happy to be feeling well enough to be out of the house. I've had such a rough go of it lately that it makes me want to capitalize on my good days and squeeze as much fun out of them as I can.

We've got another big day tomorrow with our Fall Festival at the church. It is a huge outreach event for our community and is an all-day affair with a concert under the stars to end the day. I'm looking forward to it, so I better sign off for now or I'll never be able to get up in the morning. Enjoy the pictures of our day and thanks again for stopping by!

Mel

2008-09-26T22:46:00.000-05:00

A Mommie & Gentry Day

2008-09-26T22:14:00.002-05:00

TGIF! It seems like this week has flown by. Gentry and I spent our day cruising around several small Illinois towns. Our first stop was right here in New Baden. I took him to our town park and boy did he ever have fun! I had promised him yesterday that we would go to the park and slide, but by the time I had finished running my errands and was headed to the park, my little blondie had given out on me. He was sacked out in his carseat when I was almost to the park. I happened to notice the extreme "quietness" in the backseat and looked back in my mirror and saw him sound asleep. So, when he woke up this morning, the first words out of his mouth was, "Mommy, we go to the park?" How could you say no to those adorable baby blues.

So, away we went this morning to play. It was a gorgeous day here with the bluest of skies and not a cloud in sight.

After wearing ourselves out, I decided to do a little sightseeing and go to some small towns that I'd never been to before. My first stop was Highland. Can you believe as long as I had lived in Illinois before that I'd NEVER been to Highland? It's a shame to even admit, but I can finally mark that one off of my list. It had a very quaint downtown sqaure and I stopped at one of the boutique gift shops and picked up some more fall decor for my house.

Then I decided to go to a town called Greenville...or was it Greenfield??? Well, I can't remember the name of it, but I do know they had a Dollar General!

Now I know you're thinking, "Why in the world would she remember that?" Well, about 5 miles outside of the town Gentry got sick! He had been fussing to get out of his carseat and so I unbuckled him and put him in the front seat with me (buckled in the passenger seat, of course). I had driven through Mc'D's to get us something to eat and he wouldn't eat a bite. Now, those of you who know Gentry's eating habits know that is not totally unusual for him. So, I really didn't think anything about it until he started gagging. I started watching him REALLY closely at that point. I asked him, "Gentry, do you need to throw up?" He rubbed his eyes and emphatically said, "NO!". But no sooner had I put the Mc'D's bag under his chin than he started filling that bag up! YUCK!

Oh, I felt so sorry for him. But he was really good with his "aim" and didn't make a huge mess. Just all over his shirt and hands.

I didn't have a wipe one in the car so I just kept driving until I saw a gas station or ANYTHING that might have some wipes.

Luckily, as soon as I got to the Greenville/field? town I saw that yellow box sign that said "Dollar General"! It was like an oasis in the desert!

So, I ran inside while Gentry sat in the vehicle and found a clearanced short & shirt set and a box of baby wipes.

After he got all cleaned up and changed, Gentry was ready to go again. I don't know what made him sick, but he just threw up that one time and he hasn't been sick the rest of the day. Strange!

So, we found a few shops that we looked around in and then it was on to Lebanon. Now, I HAVE been to this town before, but not to shop. I found three more boutique shops where we picked up a few more things for our fall decorations around the house.

Our final stops were back home at Cold Stone Creamery for a chocolate shake, World Market, Hallmark & Michaels.

Then we decided our day just wouldn't be quite complete without a visit to Mimi's house. Gentry knows as soon as we turn into the subdivision where we are going. He gets a big grin on his face and starts yelling, "Mimi, Papa, Mimi, Papa!".

He is always so glad to see his mimi. Papa was still at work so he didn't get to act silly with papa. Gentry told mimi about going to the park and then getting sick. He went into dramatic details of how it all happened too. What a ham he is.

We finally headed back out to the farm to meet Dale and go to dinner. We went to Tony's in Mascoutah and Gentry stole one of the waitresses heart's. When we were leaving he ran back into the restaurant and said, "I give you a hug" and he wrapped his little arms around her neck and gave her a big bear hug. She was speechless.

Then, we raced home to catch the rest of the presidential debate between McCain & Obama.

All is quiet again on the home front. We're going to take Gentry and Courtney to Forest Park in St. Louis tomorrow so we're looking forward to another fun-filled day. With the weather being so beautiful, we're taking advantage of it while we can.

I hope you have a great weekend and thanks for dropping by here.

Much Love - Melanie