Its been over a week...

and she is still sick...YUCK!! I mean, who knew that "Croup" could last so long! I posted here about Avery not feeling good and she is STILL not feeling good! It all started last Thursday morning (well it started long ago, but the latest sickness was last Thursday) when we were driving to Denise's house. She had this horrible cough, like she was getting chocked on something! I went ahead and left her at Denise's house and told her that she was coughin alot! I picked her up and she seemed okay Thursday night...just the usual fussy, cranky, whiny that she has been for a week! All through the night she had that same cough and Friday morning when I got her out of bed, she had 102 fever...UUUGGGGHHH! The day never starts good when your child wakes up with fever that high! Ray HAD to be in Jackson for a meeting, and I HAD to go to work...Our Office Manager was out and no one else in the office knows how to operate all of the computer stuff...SO I get both of them in the car and you can tell that Avery is miserable...I ask Denise if I can leave her for just a few hours to get things at work in order and then I would come back and take her to the doctor! I get her to the pediatrician and she says, "Yes, It looks like she has viral croup, lots of liquids and alternate Motrin/Tylenol" UUUGGGHHH! I am not for medicating my child when its not necessary, but it is so frustrating to have a child that is that sick and not get anything to help her! So we leave there and head back to my office to finish out the day and then out to the country! We had large plans for the weekend...none of which came to pass because of my sick baby girl! Chad (my brother) met me in Michigan City (Mississippi that is!) to pick Brenly up so she could spend the night with Baylee (and watch the Hannah Montana Concert



...in which she feel asleep half way through!) Sunday we were going to get up and try to go to church...Avery hadn't have fever for 24 hours (so the doctor said she wasn't contagious!) However on the way to church she gets chocked and starts coughin real hard and throws up everywhere! UUUGGGHHH!!! So we get home and decide that it would be best for us to stay put for the day! Chad drops Brenly off with Nonna (Jenni, my cousin) so that she can got to swimming lessons this morning! Ray stayed home with Avery again today and I am praying that she will start feeling better! I Hate it when my babies don't feel good, esp. when it lasts this long!

This one is for Grandfather...

So off you may or may not know that Ray's father plays bluegrass music...and Brenly loves to hear Grandfather play...You may also know that my children have NO rhythm (Avery might have slightly more than Brenly, that is still to be decided)So this video is from several weeks ago when we were at the Bellvue Star Spangled Celebration, however I just figured out how to get it loaded onto the computer! SO sorry that it is a little outdated...Its still REALLY funny...and I am so sorry that you are going to have to tilt your head slightly to the left...When I was recording them dancing...I didn't realize that I had my camera was turned..and that I wouldn't be able to fix it once I put it on the computer (You may also know that I am computer ILLITERATE, so its quite possible that it can be turned, but I would have know clue how to do that--HELP anybody?!?!)...So work me, tilt your head to the left and watch my girls dancing their heart out...or trying to at least! Be sure to turn up your volume so that you can appreciate how well the dancin goes with the music!

and I am laughing at loud...because I can just picture all of you with you face close to the computer with your head tilted to the side...Too bad I can't be a fly on your wall!

Today is another one of those days...

that I just miss her! I have NO clue why today?...It just happens...Every so often mom will come to me in a dream...and every dream ends the same way...and although I don't remember what happened last night...I am pretty sure she was there (why else would I be so upset this morning) In every dream that I have ever had about her since she departed this world almost 9 years ago, (I know, you would think that I wouldn't still have these moments, but I do!) We are always at a place that we must leave from..one time it was the park, one time the store, different people's houses, etc...and EVERY TIME we are getting ready to leave, I ask mom if I can go with her (ride in her car, walk home with her, get on the same plane with her, etc...) and her response has always been the same..."Kim, You KNOW that you can't go with me, but I am okay and we will get to the same place, eventually!" I know that mom understands that I have always been the worry-er and so she thinks its necessary to remind me every time that she is okay and one day we will be re-united! This morning when I woke up, I was fine...until we got and the car and starting on our daily journey into town..and K-Love (contemporary Christian station) played a song by Stephen Curtis Chapman (who recently lost his daughter ,Maria, in a tragic accident) "Yours" in which he added another verse after experiencing such horrible loss...

I’ve walked the valley of death’s shadow
So deep and dark that I could barely breathe
I’ve had to let go of more than I could bear
And questioned everything that I believe
But still even here
in this great darkness
A comfort and hope come breaking through
As I can say in life or death
God we belong to you.

And I lost it...I started thinking about losing mom and how much she has missed since she left...How I long to pick up the phone and tell her about Brenly being able to go under water..as long as she has goggles :), or about Avery cutting her last molar, or about Jenni's test coming out negative for MS or a brain tumor, just everyday stuff that I want to talk to her about (and in my own mind...Mom knows all these things...We just can't converse about them!) ...As I am cryin, driving down the highway, Chris Tomlin's song "Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone" comes on...This song is special to us because it is one of the first songs that Brenly recognized on the radio and quickly learned the words to it (or what she believes to be the right words) and sings it often

...So often that I look back and Avery (my 17 month old) is trying her hardest to sing all the words, ones that she has certainly learned from her big sister...The first two lines of the chorus are

My chains are gone, I've been set free
My God , My Saviour Has Ransomed me...

And all Avery knows to sing is...
blah, blah, blah eeeeeeee
blah, blah, blah eeeeee
(substitute all blah's with whatever baby babble you would like)


and then I started crying even more (this time they were happy tears)..at the fact that my 17 month old is trying her hardest to worship the Jesus that we have taught her to love...(I would love to tell mom that story!) because my momma taught me the very same thing!

So the start of my morning was rough...missing mom is never fun, but my tears quickly changed from sad ones to happy ones...For we are teaching our children about our Jesus, the One who loves us in spite of our mistakes, the One who is constantly with us no matter what, the One whose timing is perfect (whether we like to believe it or not), the One that Brenda Deaton spent her 50 years loving and living for, even until her very last breath. Because of momma and what she taught me, my girls are worshipping Him like only children know how...with all their hearts! I was reminded this morning that even though I have walked through the darkest valley in losing mom, there is ALWAYS that great comfort and hope in knowing this is not the end! And the fact that one day...All of us with be reunited with "granny in heaven"! Praise the Lord! There is no way that you can be sad about that!

Who says you can't...

swim in the bathtub?!?! Yesterday at Swim Lessons, Mrs. Kim let Grace and Brenly wear some goggles to get them to go under the water and open their eyes...Funny thing is that BOTH of them put the goggles on kept their eyes shut the entire time! So Mrs. Kim encouraged us to get some good goggles for them and let them practice in the bathtub...So I rush out to get them some (the ones I found were pink frames-which happens to be Grace's favorite color - with blue lenses-which happens to be Bren's favorite color) So last night bath time rolls around and Brenly rushes to get the goggles! I put them on her and tell her that she is going to go under water and I am going to hold up my fingers and she is going to have to tell me how many I am holding up (to make sure that she is really opening her eyes!) So she gets ready (and I am waiting for her to hold her nose and go under the water...and while I am waiting she holds her breath and goes under...WITHOUT HOLDING HER NOSE!



I was shocked, but very excited...So I hold up two fingers and she comes out of the water and screams, "TWO"...We play this game for a LONG time and she is becoming much more confident in the water...every time staying under a little longer. I couldn't believe it! I asked her how Mrs. Kim taught her how to do it...and she said, "What, I can swim as long as I have these things!" Oh my goodness...*side note* Ray's mom is not the most proficient swimmer and several summers ago we were in Captiva Island, FL. and she put on a snorkel mask and claimed that it allowed her to swim as well...I think that MiMi and Brenly have been spending way too much time together...Brenly is starting to believe MiMi's fabricated tales?!?! Anyway so I had to take a few pictures of Brenly "swimming" in the bathtub with her new goggles!
and I couldn't resist taking a few of Avery (I know that isn't such a shock!) but while I was taking pictures of Brenly...Avery was sitting on the counter saying "EEEESSSEEEEE" Too Precious!

What is the matter...

with our little red head?? I am not sure exactly what is going on with her but she has been "not herself" for the past several days! Ray called last Thursday and said that she woke up with fever and had been pretty fussy all day long! After I got home from work, she was extra CLINGY to me! I mean she LOVES her momma, but she NEEDED me that night! Friday, Ray called again and said that she had fever, snotty, pullin at her ear, etc. again and she was just sittin in his lap all day! UUUGGGHHH! I hate it when my babies don't feel good! After I got home it was very apparent that she didn't want to eat and cried when she tried to swallow anything (milk ,juice, food, etc) Saturday morning, MiMi came to visit us and we could tell that it was going to be another one of those days....Whining, clingy, fussy, in general just YUCK! And then out of NO WHERE the FLOOD GATES from her mouth opened up and she has been DROOLIN' like crazy!...Neither of my children were ever droolers...I mean, a little here and there but I never made them wear a bib because of excessive drool! Well, I have never in my life seen so much slobber...At one point, Brenly called out and said "Avery has got a lot of DRIBBLE again! (Dribble instead of Drool...too funny...and Dribble freaks Brenly out...she won't even let Avery drink from the same straw as her because of dribble!) So we now have come to the conclusion that Avery is cutting that last molar and it has caused her to be a GROUCH! We have been giving her Tylenol and just allowing her to be held all the time...Yesterday, we didn't even try to go to church because she was being that much of a nightmare...SO I laid her down for a nap at 11:00 and she slept until 3:45...and woke up a much happier child...We still had a little drool but nothing like the previous day, and we actually got to play with her! I am hoping that we are on the other side of feeling YUCKY and that that tooth will pop through REAL SOON!

P.S. this picture was from a few weeks ago when we were at Misty's house and she found these "Wiggle" slippers and put them on...She LOVED them and wanted them on at all times! Too funny...and it even looks as if she is posing with them on!


(and just a little side note for us...(because I use this as a journal for what she is accomplishing) She is starting to say so many things and trying to put words together to form little sentences...Granted the words are exactly correct, but enough to understand what she is tryin to say! The obvious, Mommy, daddy, BB (for Brenly), Mami(Lamby), ball, dog, es'mum(for yes mam...and even sayin it in the right context without being prompted!) es sir (yes sir) NO (she has that one down pat...and not necessarily with good intentions) baby, i own juice(for I want juice) i own go outs(I want to go outside), eeee (for whee, which is what she says when she swings, so ultimately eeee means swing!) bye bye, ank u (for thank you) use me(excuse me), she can count to 10 (and yes she misses a few numbers but for the most part has the sound correct!) ABC's(if we are singing them with her and again she doesn't say every letter, but sounds somewhat similar) Tries to sing Patty Cake(by herself and you cant really understand her , but because she is doing the motions, you know that is what she is "tryin" to sing) out pease(when she wants out her her seat (at the table or her car seat...which by the way, she still HATES to be in the car:( She LOVES her sister and gets lost when she is no where to be found...She will hold her hands out to the side and say er's BB? for Where's BB? She loves wearing other people's shoes, esp. Bren's. She will bring them to us and say shoooes and we will have to put them on her. She will hold her foot up in the air and say inky toes (for stinky toes!) (I am running out of things that she can say and know that there is more...so I will just continue to update this for us!)

An Update....

before I was able to write the original post! My plan was to come into work this morning and type this...
~PRAYER REQUEST~
My 27 year old cousin Jenni, (who is more like a sister to me than a cousin!)


has been having some difficulty with numbness on the left side of her body and being real dizzy for the past 2 weeks! Last week she went to see a neurologist and had several different tests run to check for MS (multiple sclerosis) Mini-Strokes, Brain Tumor, or pinched nerves...All of which sound not-so-good! She had an EEG, MRI, and a muscle test to see if her muscles were reacting to an electronic stimulus (basically she got SHOCKED to death...) Anyhow...this morning she was going back to the neurologist for the results of all of these tests at 8:15! If any of you know our family, we have had our fair share of heart ache and difficulty over the past 3 years (and we know that everybody has their fair share of heart ache!) First my aunt (her momma) got diagnosed with ovarian cancer (she is now doing great, just dealing with rheumatoid arthritis and the effects that chemo can have on your body!), one year later my uncle (her daddy) had just finished seminary school and was in Greenville, MS starting up "Hope House" a ministry for one of the poorest cites in Ms. While he was worshipping at a Christmas Cantata on Dec. 10th 2006 (in Greenville) He had a Massive Heart Attack and passed away immediately (One minute he was singing, I stand in awe of you, the next minute, her literally was...Standing in awe on HIM!) and now for her to have to go through this extensive testing for what seemed like some very heavy duty health problems, it was stressin us out a little... I mean, God only gives you enough for you to handle, but sometimes I wonder!
So I get to work at approx 8:15 this morning and didn't even have time to write all that out before I get a call from her that said...

"THERE IS NO NEUROLOGICAL EVIDENCE THAT ANYTHING IS WRONG WITH HER...SHE IS NORMAL!" (well, I'm not so sure about NORMAL! but she is going to be OKAY! PRAISE THE LORD!!! There was slight evidence that she was having mini-strokes on the left side of her brain (which would affect the right side of her body, which has been completely fine...my aunt also has a blood clotting disorder:( But the report that he got back never mentioned anything about the mini strokes. The neurologist placed her on an aspirin a day and said that she was OKAY! I am soooo relieved that she is going to be okay...I'm not sure that I could've handled something major (of course I could have, because Jesus will help us through anything! but I am certainly glad that her report can back negative!) So now we are thinking that she may have a bulging disk or something that may be causing her to have these numbing/ dizzy spells. So I guess our prayer now is that we can find out the cause of that and it be fixed before she goes crazy...It is wearing her out to compensate for her left side not working properly! (esp. with her being a hair stylist...but not to worry, even with the numbness, she is still the BEST hair stylist out there...Let me know if you need a good one! :) SO continue to pray for her as we continue to investigate the issue, but we are grateful that she has been cleared through the neurologist!!!! YAY!

I posted alot today...

so make sure that you scroll down so you read them all!

Sisters!

No special reason for this post other than the fact that I love this pictures of the two of them! It is a feat that I don't often accomplish..so I just wanted to share...

Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other.
A ministering angel shall my sister be.
-- William Shakespeare

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there.
-- Amy Li

How do people make it through life without a sister?
-- Sara Corpening

I smile because you are my sister, I laugh because there is nothing you can do about it!
-- Author Unknown

It was nice growing up with someone like you - someone to lean on, someone to count on... someone to tell on!
-- Author Unknown

Of two sisters one is always the watcher, one the dancer.
-- Louise Glück

She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child.
-- Barbara Alpert

Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other.
-- Carol Saline

The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend.
-- Cali Rae Turner

To have a loving relationship with a sister is not simply to have a buddy or a confident -- it is to have a soulmate for life.
-- Victoria Secunda

More time in the pool...

After swim lessons we met Misty and Shannon and our passel of kids at Pop's (Misty's grandfather) house to spend the afternoon swimming! I figure the more I can get her in the water, the better off she will be! We ordered pizza and had Capri Suns and played all afternoon long!






AND I don't have a picture of Misty or Shannon because they were both whinin' about it...I don't want my pictures made! Poo on both of you!

We just might...

have a little fish on our hands! I had mentioned in an earlier post that Brenly was going to start swim lessons this week...and I was alittle concerned, seeing as how she HATES to have water anywhere near her face! I felt that we had made a little progress when she decided that taking a shower was fun, but was still somewhat apprehensive about the upcoming lessons! I took her yesterday and got to watch her and I have to say that she is doing really well! I mean, we have a ways to go, but I at least want her to be ale to be in the water without being so nervous! We met Grace there and they started their lesson with Mrs. Kim...and she is so good with both of them! The pool has no stairs to get into the water, it is just real shallow at the front and the farther you walk the deeper you go! So she has them walk get on their hands and walk in the shallow water like an alligator and splash their tails (kick their) feet



and every so often, they had to dip their face in and catch some fish (get their mouth and nose wet) after they had gone across the pool and back, Brenly let out this HUGE burp and we realized that she was REALLY trying to catch fish and she was opening her mouth and drinking the water (Praise the Lord for a good immune system!)


Anyway the fact that she got her face wet enough to get her mouth in the water is an improvement! She was teaching them to lay on their backs


and walking in the deeper water where it is just above their shoulders!


They played Hot potato with some balls in the water, she would throw them so that water WOULD splash in their face and they both did great with it!


And I can only hope that they continue to get better with every lesson!


P.S. Avery and Brody did good as well...They both were very patient while their sisters were in the pool!