Life Is Good: Tornadoes, Deals and Decorations

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Tornadoes, Deals and Decorations

This blog post doesn't really all go together but that's just going to have to be okay.

If you've watched any news at all lately tornadoes have been the topic of conversation. Missouri was devastated by a major one and most recently Oklahoma has been too. For those in other states that may have been hit by tornadoes today...my apologies...I have no power. Yep...no power. The tornadoes came uncomfortably close to our area (within 4 miles) and as a consequence we will be without power until the weekend. Thankfully power is the only thing we are without tonight. Our perishables will be gone in a day, our comfort may be redefined, our kids are going crazy, and I feel pretty disconnected but...WE HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR! Many homes were destroyed...

This was just four miles from our home.

At least 9 lives were lost and many more were injured. One family...the Hamil family...lost a 16-month-old little boy and their 3-year-old son is still missing. Please pray for them. Please pray for all of the people affected by these storms.

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It almost seems inappropriate to blog about anything else tonight, so forgive me if the following is...indeed...inappropriately timed.

Today...as a way of escaping from the lack of electricity...we went out and about. Annie has outgrown her crate (bought originally for a mini-aussie), so I've been searching for one. Boy did I get a blessing of a deal!!! We stumbled into Petsmart today to *browse* the dog crates. This one...

...was on their clearance rack. Originally $129...it was marked down to $77. They gave it to me for $32!!! It has a crack in it and some marks and scuffs, but I don't care! It's big enough and basically new. Woohoo!

As a side note...the clerk asked me if it was for my dog or my kids...Hehehe. Little does she know!

And...moving on to another thought...

Decorating. Man do I have the bug! I've been wanting for quite some time to work on decorating our home...getting rid of some of the coldness of bare walls and rooms and bringing in some warmth and comfort. I want my home to feel like a place of refuge...warm and cozy! In Evan's room we recently moved in a twin-sized captains (I think that's what it's called) bed. The bed was built by my late great-uncle Rusty. It fits perfect and my intention is to turn it into a daybed of sorts. Here's the start...

I'm loving the orange! Need more pillows and I have a few ideas for the walls. When we move the boys together into the big room (since Evan's room is actually the laundry room) I'm wanting the extra space in the laundry room to be a guest/quiet-time/reading/project/relaxing room.

Or it may end up being a play room. Who knows!

I found some great garage-sale deals last weekend. Sprucing up and warming up the dining room a little...

$15 for the big mirror and $10 for the other grouping. I was pleased.

Now if I can just convince the hubby that painting and distressing furniture is not a bad thing I have a few pieces that I'd like to re-do. (Not the table). Oooo...and if I can find a really good deal on some new-to-me living room furniture that would be pretty awesome too.

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Brandy Danielle

Brandy is our firstborn, our precious angel baby girl. Her entry into this world wasn't without excitement. At 26 weeks I started preterm labor with contractions 5 minutes apart. With 10 weeks of strict bedrest, most of which were in the hospital, she made it to 36 weeks.
Brandy was diagnosed with "possible/probable" heart defect around 28-30 weeks gestation. After her birth she was whisked away to the NICU for monitoring and after a few days her defect was formally diagnosed and labeled...atrial septal defect and a cleft mitral valve.
Brandy, upon indications of failure to thrive and pulmonary hypertension, underwent her first of 2 open-heart surgeries at 4 months of age. A week after her surgery on the day of her anticipated discharge home Brandy coded for 13 minutes...a stoke.
From that point on Brandy's life was full of doctor's visits, endless crying, pain and suffering. She underwent another heart surgery, fundoplication and g-tube surgery, treatment for infantile spasms, and a mountain of tests and procedures. Her brain damage was extensive.
Upon counseling of our wonderful, most amazing heart surgeon, Dr. Christopher Knott-Craig, and many hours of prayer, we finally called in hospice and called off all of the extensive medical interventions and surgery needs that would prolong her suffering while possibly prolonging her life. Brandy, our precious baby girl...our angel...passed out of our arms and into the arms of her Saviour, Jesus at the tender age of 17 months.

Ryan Andrew

Ryan, our micro-preemie miracle, is a ball of life. After nearly a year of trying to conceive imagine our delight when we finally knew he was on the way. My pregnancy with Ryan was uneventful at first. It seemed perfect and with all of the precautions for preterm labor being taken and monitored we entered this pregnancy with cautious anticipation covered over by a whole love of naive excitement.
At 20 weeks we discovered our "Baby Peanut" was going to be a little boy. We began to make plans and began dreaming about the day we would meet our son.
Almost 2 weeks later everything changed in our lives. It wa a whirlwind of fear and emtions as I began to bleed, was sent for monitoring in L&D and eventually had an appointment with my OB only to find out that it was serious. I had incompetent cervix with hourglassing membranes. The doctor admitted me to the hospital immediately and an emergency cerclage was placed. The statistics were grim, but the hope was to keep our son inside for at least 10 more weeks. We only made it 10 more days.
Early in the evening of February 11, 2007 our son, Ryan, came into this world in emergency fashion at only 23 weeks 5 days gestation. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 ½ inches long. He was so tiny. All I could think of was “oh my goodness is he really that tiny? And is there any way he could actually make it?” I tried to hold on to hope, but in all honesty I had never met anyone with a baby born that early and that small that ever made it.
Ryan did make it! It was a long, hard road, but in the end he spent 90 days in the NICU. He was on a ventilator for 2 months. Finally on one fine glorious day in May we bundled up our 4 pound 4 ounce baby boy and went home...May 11, 2007.
Ryan is now a spunky, lively, strong-willed little boy. His laughter is contagious and his spirit is compelling. He is our miracle. There are no words strong enough to share our delight and joy that God has blessed us with this little boy.

Evan Alexander