SUNDAY SWIMMING

Today, Brian put out Brianna's swimming pool. It's nothing big, just one of those rectangle blow up pools. I think it's perfect for Brianna to splash around in, and it is just big enough for me to float around in to get some sun on these white legs of mine. I took some pictures.

BRIANNA LOVES THINGS OF NATURE

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Well, we don't really have nothing planned for Memorial Day. No big cookout or anything. Our grill has just recently started to leak gas, so Brian is a bit afraid to use it. Who knows what we will do tomorrow. Yesterday, I went to pick out paint at Lowe's with my Mom and Dad. She is wanting to paint her computer room and really has no clue. If you saw the last room she painted, you would understand why I was so quick to jump in. Anyway, after filling all the nail holes and lining the ceiling with blue tape, I only got on wall primed. So my goal today is to get my house cleaned up. It's a total mess. I haven't washed dishes in 3 days,and for those of you that know me, know that is something that I never do. So anyway, this morning I will be washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen, mopping the floors, dusting and vacuuming in the living room, and pickin up toys in Brianna's room. Its really not that much because our house is small, its just getting the motivation to get it done. For some reason I would rather play on this computer than do house work. I bet none of you have that problem:) Anyway, maybe once the house is cleaned I can ride down to moms and get another wall or 2 painted. Just have to see if I get burned out cleaning or not. So anyways, I guess I will go and get this "stuff" done as it won't do it by itself. You all have a great weekend. Eat some steak for me!

WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON AROUND HERE LATELY

Well, about the same I guess. We survived the whole Birthday thing, now we are looking forward to Brianna's graduation from 4k. She graduates from Memorial Methodist on May 27, 2008. Our little girl is growing up fast on us, that's for sure. We are also trying to figure out what we are going to do for childcare this summer. Memorial Methodist is an option, but they only have hours of 9-3 during the summer for Brianna's age group. I have to speak to the director to see if they will make an exception and allow Brianna to be dropped off at 8. I mean come on----don't most of us have to be at work by 8:00 in the mornings? Plus, as many of you know, there is a great possibility that Brian will be losing his job very soon. If that's the case, then our problem is solved. He can watch her all summer on his "hiatus". Anyway, please say a quick prayer for us that things just somehow work themselves out for us. As far as other things go, I am really wanting to try to get some of my scrap booking caught up. I am now so far behind I don't think I will ever get caught up. Blogging is great, but I think I like scrap booking better. So maybe I will get a couple layouts accomplished on my 3 day weekend! WOO HOO!! Allright, its 8:00 and the season finale of American Idol is about to come on, so I have GOT TO GO. All I can say is GO DAVID COOK! Don't know what I will watch now that that show is over.

WELCOME HOME HEATHER

Heather,
I am so very glad that you are home. I know that you are probably scared to death, but don't worry. The same ones of us that supported you while you were in the hospital will now support you on your road to recovery at home. If anything, I am sure you will see more of me, since you are right down the road now. Heck, you may see too much of me. I just wanted to let you know that if you need anything, I mean anything, please don't hesitate to call. I can be there in 2 minutes and you know I will be. Love ya.

HEATHER IS AMAZING!

I went to see Heather in the hospital Wednesday and I was totally blown away by what I saw. I saw my very best friend sitting up in bed, with clothes and makeup on, wearing a huge smile on her face! She looked amazing. She thought she was about to get an xray and she sat right up in that bed, asked me to grab her shoes, and was going to put them on all by herself.(Fortunately, they came to get her by mistake, no xray till Monday) I swear, it was just like sitting in Heather's kitchen talking to her while our kids ran around playing. She said that she had a good day in physical therapy, stood up for 3 hours and played Connect Four. She was looking forward to her Day Pass on Thursday, but was a little nervous about the whole thing. I stayed and visited her for an hour, but then had to go because she had more company coming. If I could, I would have stayed everyday with her. But she understands, some of us have families we have to take care of. Anyway, I spoke to her Thursday night to ask about how her Day Pass went. She said that she had went to Mexican for lunch and then she even managed to get out of the car and walk on her walker up to the window at Brewster's to order ice cream! When I tell you all, Heather has worked so very hard to get to where she is at. I don't think anyone else could have come so far so soon. Hopefully, she will get to come home on May 20th. Keep her in your prayers, as she will surely need the Lord's strength to readjusting to being at home.

MOM

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HAPPY MOTHERS DAY, MOMMA

How much I love you I can't say:
It's more than words can hold.
You're all at once my rich, red clay,
My potter and my mold.

Yours the words that shaped my voice,
The spirit within mine.
Yours the will that shaped my choice,
My fortune, and my sign.

How lucky I was to have had you
At the core of me!
Wise and good, you always knew
Just what I could be.

And so I came to be someone
Whom I could be proud of.
For this I give my swollen sum
Of gratitude and love.

A FUNNY STORY FOR HEATHER

Heather, the Greer Family Festival was last night. No, we didn't go to it. But you know how close we live to downtown. Well, anyway, at the end of the night fireworks were shot off. You know where I'm going with this don't you? So, we went outside to sit on the driveway to watch them. They were really beautiful and I could not help but think about us watching fireworks on Fourth of July, and I started missing you so much. Then Brianna being Brianna, said "Momma, sometimes fireworks are a flud. Remember how at Fourth of July with Heather, one didn't go off, well that was a flud." Anyway, after the "Grand Finale" we went inside and I knew I would have to tell you this story before I forgot her exact wording. I know you may not get much amusement while you are at the hospital, but I'm sure this gave you a laugh.

Love ya

COME OVER FOR CAKE

We decided that since Brianna's actual birthday was Thursday, we would have a small celebration. Nothing too big, since her party is on Saturday. I invited Skylar, the little girl from across the street and Carson to come over for cookie cake. MyMy and Papa and Granny came by too. Brianna opened up some of her presents, and like I had predicted, the Bug Vacuum was a huge success! Here are some pics of our evening for those of you that couldn't come.

BRIANNA'S DATE WITH CHANDLER

BRIANNA TURNS 5 YEARS OLD THURSDAY

I tried to take one cute picture of Brianna the morning of her Birthday. She had other plans. I had hoped this would not dictate how our day would follow. Our plans were to go to Inman First Baptist(Briannan's old school) to treat everyone to cookies for her Birthday. Then we were going to pick up Chandler so that he and Brianna could go on their first "date" together. The kids at the school were so very excited to see Brianna and her broke arm. It was like she had never left. I would like to say "Thank You" to Ms. Joyce for allowing the kids to share in Brianna's special day.

BRIANNA VISITS THE DOC TODAY

The pediatric orthopedist took a look at Brianna's arm today. He said that the ER docs set the bones really good and that she would probably be in a cast for about 5 weeks. He decided to keep her in the "soft" cast that was placed on her in the ER. He said that she still had some swelling and he also wanted the bones to begin to heal a little before cutting the old plaster and placing the new cast on there. She of course, opted to have it wrapped in pink. The plan is to bring her back to the doctor next week, he will do xrays, remove the old cast and place a new waterproof cast on her. The only bad news is that he said due to the fact that she broke the bones high up on her forearm, it would require a fool arm cast. That should be fun. In the meantime, she is steady hanging in there and discovering more and more that she is capable of using her arm. She just has to be careful. She is almost proud of her pink cast and guess what? Her daddy was the first one to sign it. SWEET, I KNOW!

CINCO DE MAYO

Well, around here we just say May 5th. Today happens to be my great grandmothers birthday. Granny Thelma turns 69 today. You definitely wouldn't know it to look at her that's for sure. Brianna and I took her a present, cards, and a cake by her house earlier. She really enjoyed that. As far as things go around here, well, I took the day off work to take care of Brianna. I am still a little apprehensive about sending her to school. She goes to the pediatric orthopedist tomorrow, so maybe he'll put her in a permanent cast and say that she will be ok to go back to school. I finally went to get Brianna's birthday presents from her Dad and I today. Originally she wanted a trampoline, but since I don't want her to have 2 broken arms, we have to axe that idea. Instead, I picked her up a swimming pool for the back yard, sandbox toys, and a StarStation. I thought she might like watching herself sing on TV. Oh yeah, and I also got her a bug vacuum gun. You press the trigger and it sucks up bugs and you can then place them in a bug kit. I know, I know, I know, that is right up her alley. I managed to get all the party bags done for the guests that will be coming to the party. So with her gifts and that out of the way, I feel a little bit has lifted off my shoulders. Now I'm just trying to figure out who will be coming. Chandler, her "boyfriend" from Inman called tonight and said he would be there. But only for a little while, due to a baseball game that afternoon. That made Brianna really happy. I am taking invitations to the other kids at Inman First Baptist (Brianna's old school) tomorrow. I was planning on taking them last week, but the she broke her arm and things have kind of been up in the air. Anyway, I know its kind of late notice, but if there are parents and kids that don't have any plans for Saturday morning, maybe they could drop by and play a little while. The more the merrier, I guess. Well, wish us luck as we venture off to the orthopedist Tuesday. I sure hope that nothing complicated is going to happen. I would HATE for that doctor to say her arm isn't set right, and that he will have to do it again, UUUUUGGGGHHH!

I SAW HEATHER TODAY

She looked beautiful. Though she would not agree with that statement. But seriously, she looks really good. We carried on conversations just like always. She said that today she could actually tell the pain medicine was helping her. Her spirit is great and her attitude is positive. I offered to take her out of the bed and wheel her outside, she said that she hadn't gotten that far yet:) Anyway, it was really good to laugh with my friend today. I sure needed that!

FUNNY STORY #2

As I mentioned earlier, Ms. Kim brought Brianna some markers to color with and that has pretty much kept Brianna occupied all weekend. I went to wash Brianna's hand last night and saw that she had marker all over her body, but especially on her feet. I said, "Brianna, why do you have marker all over your feet?" She replied, "Well, I have to use my feet to help me put the lids back on!" I guess that makes Brianna somewhat "ambidextrous".

FUNNY STORY #1

Brianna hung up the phone with my brother last night and said, " I'm tired of everybody telling me to be careful! I know I have to be careful, I have a broken arm!"

BRIANNA'S BIRTHDAY WISH LIST:

People have been asking what Brianna would like for her Birthday. Here are some ideas:

*Littlest Pet Shop Things
*My Little Pony Soft Baby Rarity or other My Little Pony Things
*Horses: HORSELAND STUFF-wants "Scarlett", she especially likes horse "families"
*Outside playstuff: Any of that Crayola outdoor chalk stuff would be great, just anything that she could play with OUTSIDE!
*BuildABear gift certificates or clothes: This is one of her favorite things right now.
*Games: WhacaMole Tower Game, Flippin' Frogs
*Arts and Craft Stuff
*Clothes: Dresses(Girl SZ.4) Shorts 4t, Shirts Girl SZ. 4
*Barbie Mariposa Stuff
*Gift Certificates to ToysRUS: She loves going "shopping" with her money.

I could go on, and on , and on, but I really don't have the room in my house :)

ADJUSTING TO A BROKEN ARM

This is no small task, but I really must say Brianna is handling it as best as could be expected. Friday was a little difficult. I had to help her sit on the toilet and get on and off furniture. Bathtime was not very easy, though it was better than I had expected. I think probably getting her clothes on and off is probably the most difficult thing. Her school had flowers delivered to her and they were beautiful. MyMy and Macy came over and that cheered Brianna up a little. Brianna read some books to Macy and played with her. Then Brianna's teacher, Ms. Kim, came by to bring Brianna a present of coloring books and markers (Washable Thank God). This visit cheered Brianna up tremendously. But I still felt like I needed to do something "special" for my little girl, so I took her to Build A Bear. She had fun, but it was a very fast trip! I didn't want her to do too much too soon.

BAD THINGS COME IN 3'S

I knew that we still had one more bad thing that was going to come our way. I just wasn't prepared. First it was losing a very close friend, then Heather was in an awful accident and I almost lost her, and now Brianna. No I haven't "lost" her, but that is the 3rd thing that has happened to me in a matter of 3 weeks. So let me give you the scoop:

I went to pick Brianna up at school Thursday. She was playing on the playground like usual when I arrive to get her. I was speaking to her teacher, Ms. Kim, when all of a sudden I heard another teacher yell, "HER ARM, HER ARM, LOOK AT HER ARM!" I looked over and saw Brianna standing there with a horrified look on her face, but I saw no blood dripping from her arm. So I thinking to my self for just a second, "What is she talking about?" And then I see it. Brianna's arm was twisted like nothing I have ever seen before. I guess my best description would be from her elbow down, her arm was in a curved "snake" shape. It has to be the worst things I have ever seen in my life. Apparantly, brianna was running toward me and tripped and fell over a tire on the playground and landed on her arm. So anyway, her teacher was freaking out and ran inside to call 911 and we took Brianna inside. A father of one of the boys in Brianna's classroom helped me get Brianna inside and sat her at a desk. We let her rest her arm on the desk and placed an icepack on it till someone got there. You all should have seen Brianna. Boy was she a trooper. She just sat there. She had a few tears in her eyes, but she mostly just kept saying that her arm was crooked and it hurt. The firefighters arrived first and actually set her arm. They were so great with Brianna. Heck they even asked her if they could come to her Birthday party next week and bring the fire truck for her to ride on. I told them though it was in Spartanburg, since it was Greer FPD that came, I doubt they could drive it to Spartanburg. So one of them gave me her name and number and told me that she had a class at 11:30 Saturday but after that she would come by PumpItUp to see Brianna because "she was one of them now." I thought that was just the sweetest thing. I have got to tell you, they were just terrific. I'm taking Brianna next week to see them at the fire station to give them a thank you card and some doughnuts. Maybe she might get to ride on the firetruck then. Anyway, back to the drama of the day. So I'm standing there as they try to brace her arm. I wanted to cry so bad, but I knew that if I fell apart, Brianna would to. So instead I "cowgirled up" and stood there about to just die inside. Oh yeah, and felt like I was going to puke everywhere. But Brianna, she was just so very brave. The paramedics arrived in the ambulance, placed Brianna on a stretcher and took her for a ride that I can to go on too. On the ambulance, the guy placed an i.v. on her. I think that might actually have hurt her more than breaking her arm:) We arrived at Childrens Hospital at Greenville Memorial about 3:15, they did xrays on her arm. Yes her arm was broken:2 bones broken in about the same place. Then they had to place her under sedation so they could set the bones and place her arm in a temporary cast. Next came another set of xrays to be sure they had set the bones correctly. I guess they succeeded because they never came back into reset it again. They sent us home with Loratab for her pain and we have to follow up with a pediatric orthopedist this morning. I think the funniest thing that Brianna has said during all this was when she woke up from the anesthesia, she asked "Is my arm straight?" I was telling everyone how brave she was and she finally said,"Momma, I've heard it a hundred times about me being brave, that's enough!" She might break her bones, but NOTHING is going to "break" her attitude!

HEATHER:10 DAYS AND COUNTING

Today makes the 10th day Heather has been in the hospital. She is adjusting to things the best that she can. I haven't seen her since Wednesday, but I call daily to check in on her. I wish that I could see her EVERYDAY, but sometimes daily life has other plans. With work, dinner, laundry, bath time and then bedtime; it's hard to get away sometimes. Plus, she has so many others visiting her that I think she would rather rest than see someone else walk in the door. So instead, I call in the afternoon on my lunch break and then again in the evenings. She sounds really good, almost like her old self. But there is always pain in her voice. I pray that this eases up in time. I can't even imagine what she must be going thru. I am trying to keep her blog posted as to her progress, but here lately she has been doing a pretty good job of doing her own postings. And boy am I thankful. Heck, ya'll know how hard it is to do one blog, just imagine doing 2. I'm kidding really. If helping Heather out on her blog is the only thing I can do for her right now, then that's what I will do. Please keep her in your thoughts.

BRIANNA HAS A FIELD DAY

Today Brianna participated in Field Day at school. The kids went on a trip to the Pavillion in Greenville for the activities. They spent the day playing on the playground, blowing bubbles and having a picnic lunch. They also took a train ride around the park. Brianna said she had a lot of fun.

A PLAYDATE WITH CARSON

We asked Carson to come spend the afternoon with us. Our original plans was to go to the Greenville Zoo, have a picnic lunch, and play at the park. However, the weather didn't look so good so we went to GattiTown instead. Carson had never been there. The kids had fun there. We were going to try to go to the Zoo after GattiTown but on the way it started to pour down rain. We came back to the house so the kids could just play inside.

MARCH FOR BABIES

Saturday I walked with Shirl and Kerrie in the March For Babies. It was a 6 mile walk starting at Greenville Tech and thru downtown Greenville. Let's just say the walk started off with a "BANG", that had me asking if anyone had any tissue so I could clean myself. Just joking of course:) It was a nice day for a walk, but after 3 miles I was ready to call quits. But somehow I persevered. Me, Kerrie and her dog, Jackson barely made it. Shirl, on the other hand, probably could have walked 6 more miles. It was for a good cause and we had fun! But I sure am paying for it today. All I can say is "Thank God for Tylenol."

A QUICK UPDATE ON HEATHER

Heather is improving with everyday. I saw her at the hospital last night and managed to get a smile or 2 out of her. I just spoke to her tonight. She sounds alot better. They stopped the morphine drip today so she's a little bit more aware than she has been. They have started physical therapy, but today was hard on her. I told her that I wanted to help keep her blog up to date for her, because I know that if she had a computer there with her in that hospital right now, she would be steady blogging. She said Elizabeth and the other girls were just discussing that earlier. So I'm off to her blog now.

FOR HEATHER & HER FAMILY

Please know that I am praying for Heather. I really love her like a sister and you all are just like a second family to me. Heck, I basically grew up at your house. Just please know that if there is ANYTHING that I can do, please let me know. My family sends you all nothing but well wishes. I love ya'll.

THE PASSING OF A GOOD FRIEND

Sharon Mills passed away Wednesday after going into heart failure and being placed on a ventilator. For those of you that know her, you know the loss of a truly good friend. For those of you that don't know her, I will write later to tell you all about her as she was truly one of a kind. All I can say right at this time is that I'm so sad and my heart is very broken. I will pray for her family, especially her son, that they have strength to get them thru this difficult time.

FOR SHA:
Sha had sickle cell; but she never used it as an excuse. She fought it and fought it until finally , at age 43 she was just too tired to fight anymore.
I really don't know what to say, as I am not very "good" at this type of thing. I have known Sha for about 8 years. And she has a very special place in my heart. My first impression of Sha was that she was CRAZY. When I first met Sharon Mills, I thought she was 20 years old. She would go out to that football game to watch the Jackets play every Friday night and I would joke with her because she had to have a new outfit to wear, COME ON NOW!! The whole GREER/BYRNES thing was always a big joke with us. This girl would say and do the funniest things. There are way too many examples to list so I will share this one with you. You all know we worked at the DMV together. Well there was this one time she called me out to her counter to help her with this guy that was trying to get his license back. He was suspended till like 2099 or something and we told him he couldn't get a license. He asked what he could do and Sha replied, "I guess you need to get a bicycle!" She would have us all rolling up in that place. And boy there were customers after customers that would complain about how rude she was. I'd say "Sha, you have to watch your body language." I say that because those eyes of hers would be stretched out of her head at those crazy customers and she would cross her arms and just turn her back on them. I don't want you to get the wrong impression; most of those people deserved it, probably. But on the other hand, there were customers I saw her wait on that she went over and above to help. On a personal level, I think that she could read people well---she knew if you were for real or not. If you weren't she just didn't bother. She had many friends. I used to hate going to the mall with her. I bet she would see someone she knew every 10 feet. Heck, it would take us forever just to walk thru the dang place. I spent a lot of time with Sha, not as much as I would have liked to, but every time we were together it was nothing but fun. Sha was honestly one of my closest friends and I will miss her. I will never forget Sharon Mills. No one could.

A PRAYER FOR SHA

Sharon Mills is a very close friend of mine. For years she has battled sickle cell and for the past year and a half she has had heart problems. She has been in and out of the hospital constantly in the past 2 years. She was placed in the hospital again last week because they thought she had food poisoning. Just after lunch today, she was placed on a ventilator. The hospital has called in the family and it doesn't look good. I know that there is power in prayer. Please say a prayer for her and her family. I know that she is tired of fighting, but I just can't imagine what my world and those that knew her would be like if Sha Mills wasn't in it. I love her and my heart is breaking.

SPENDING NANA'S MONEY

POLLEN PROBLEMS

So this is what Brianna has to deal with---POLLEN & ALLERGIES!!! I feel so sorry for her. I have never seen someone that has as many problems with allergies as this little girl. She goes thru so much this time of year. Everytime she goes outside, she comes in looking like this:

CORN ON THE COB & CHOPSTICKS

Brianna has just recently started eating corn. But only if its on a cob. So we had some last night for dinner. Except she didn't want to eat it because it wasn't on a stick. So she said that she had an idea! She ran to the utensil drawer and pulled out a chopstick. She stuck it in the corncob. I don't know how she came up with the idea, but it worked. Here are the pictures:

A DAY AT GREENVILLE ZOO

I took Brianna and Skylar, the little girl across the street, to the Greenville Zoo today. They have a new giraffe exhibit there. The girls really liked that. The cutest thing I thought was the lemurs. There was a little baby that had just been born a couple weeks ago. The baby was hanging on to its momma's belly and riding underneath her. It was really cute. Then there was a baby orangutan. It was climbing so far up the fence. The girls said it was trying to escape:) After the zoo, we made a quick trip to get ice cream and back home. I am now trying to get laundry done and nursing a migraine headache. Maybe I will be feeling better by tomorrow. I also wanted to give you guys a quick update on the TB thing. Brianna went for a second skin test on Friday. She will go back tomorrow for them to make sure it's ok. If so, then she won't have to take anymore of the preventative antibiotics. That's really good news. As for my mom, as of right now, she is still having to take the medicines. Hope you all have a good week.

THE BIGGEST JOKE I KNOW!!!

APRIL FOOL'S DAY WAS ALSO BRIAN'S BIRTHDAY. HE TURNED 40. BRIANNA AND I GAVE HIM A SMALL PARTY WITH BALLOONS AND A CARVEL ICE CREAM CAKE. I HAD MADE BAKED ZITI FOR DINNER THAT TO MY SURPRISE TURNED OUT PRETTY DARN GOOD. WHILE I WAS MAKING DINNER, BRIAN AND BRIANNA PLANTED THE GARDEN. IT CONSISTS OF TOMATOES, SQUASH, BELL PEPPERS, EGGPLANT, AND STRAWBERRIES. KEEPING WITH THE WHOLE "GARDEN" THEME, I GAVE HIM SOME NEW PRUNING SHEARS, GARDENING GLOVES, AND A BOOK ON GARDENING. I ALSO GAVE HIM A GIFT CARD TO LOWES. BRIANNA GAVE HIM SOME CRAFTSMEN TOOLS HE HAD ASKED FOR. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HE'S 40. WELL, THEN AGAIN, HE IS FALLING APART ON ME SO I GUESS HE IS STARTING TO SHOW HIS AGE:) BUT I NOT READY TO TRADE HIM IN ON A NEWER MODEL JUST YET:)