A few quick things that have been going on...

1. My precious Godson, Jameson, turns 1 tomorrow!! I can't believe it's been an entire year since we were blessed with his arrival.

2. They have picked four "highly likely" matches for my mother-in-law. As far as we know "they" (whoever they are) are in the process of contacting them to see if they would like to be tested to see if they are a perfect match. It costs about $10,000 to test those four people, and insurance doesn't cover it. Some organization covers the first $10,000, so we are hoping one of the first four will be a perfect match!!! She has kept her spirits high, so we are trying to do the same.

3. I went through 3-4 days of not being able to talk at all, and then barely being able to talk. This all happened after a "routine" seizure. It was very frustrating. Ever since then I've had a terrible headache that won't go away and I'm having trouble staying awake. Russell called my neurologist about it, and they had me do an MRI last Friday. I was so nervous about the MRI because I've heard so many horror stories about them. It honestly wasn't bad AT ALL!! I think I even fell asleep in the middle of one of the tests. The only bad part was when it was over and the technician asked me if I was going in for any treatment that day. What is that supposed to mean? We are very anxious to find out the results of the test and see what's going on.

4. I lost another 2.4 pounds last week, for a total of 9.4. I'm afraid with how nervous I am about my MRI results, I may gain all 9.4 back this week!! EEK!!!

5. We are counting down the days to our first TAKS test. I'm fairly worried about some of my kids, mostly because when I'm at school, my head is pounding and killing me. I just don't feel like I can give them 100%. :( This makes me very sad. I'm sure they will all be fine, but I still worry. We have over a month left until the writing test, so we will be doing lots of hard work between now and then.

6. Basketball is going well. De'Von has come so far since last year and it's been so much fun watching him play!! I'll have pictures next time...

7. I am not rereading this or checking over it, just FYI....

That's it for now.

yet.another.update....

Well, we heard from Russell's mom. Her brother is NOT a match, which is very disappointing. There is some good news, there are 28 people in the "bank" that DO match her. Now they (not sure who "they" are) have to call those people and see if they are willing to save the life of a complete stranger. Let's pray they are willing!!

Week 2 update....

Well, here's the weight loss update for week two....

Confession - I haven't worked out in a few days....I mean....all week...since LAST THURSDAY!! AH!!!!

Confession - I totally splurged at Joe T. Garcia's, but I didn't have any adult beverages, which is good. :)

Good news - I somehow still lost 3.2 pounds this week. This is a total of 7 pounds since the first of the 2009, and a total of 25.2 pounds overall on WW. This is good news. I do plan to workout this week, but I am so glad I somehow didn't gain weight this week!!

How do you like my new blog design? I am loving it! Jenny from Pink Armchair Designs did an amazing job. You should go check her out for a design of your own.

We had a wonderful Christmas, although it was different this year. We were so thankful to have Russell’s mom home with us this year. Although she tires easily, she was such a trooper during the festivities. We are stretched so thin during the holidays, this year we didn’t even get to see my dad while he was in town. I was so bummed, but he was only in town for a few days from California, and time just wasn’t in our favor.

New Year’s Eve was great! We did what we’ve done for the past several years and rang in the New Year with Kasey and Lee. We went to dinner and then back to their house for some games and drinks. Jameson stayed with his grandparents so we could have some adult time. Who knew games like Apples to Apples and Blokus could be so much fun? We are so incredibly blessed to have Kasey and Lee in our lives, they are such amazing friends.

On New Year’s Day I started working out, just randomly. It was like something hit me, and I got serious. So, I’ve worked out almost everyday since. I get up early and get it over with early in the morning, which makes me feel great and then I don’t think about it for the rest of the day. I told my students about it, so they are keeping me accountable. I’m taking my lunch each day, eating breakfast at home, and TRYING to be better about dinner. During week one I lost about 4 pounds. Not a huge loss, but I’ll take it. I rejoined Weight Watchers, which is so easy to follow, and I plan to follow through on it this time. Last time I joined was fall of 2007. Since then I’m down 22 pounds. I’m not sure how that happened, but I’ll take it.

We did receive some not so good news a few weeks ago. Penny, Russell’s mom, is currently in remission, but she will only be in remission while on chemo. So, if she takes chemo for the rest of her life, she will be fine. Of course, this is no way to live, and no doctor will allow this. So, they have suggested a bone marrow transplant. Her brother was tested to see if he would be a match, and we hope to get those results back this week. He will be the best candidate to find a match. If he isn’t a match, they will look in the donor bank. We are hoping and praying they will find her a match!!

Basketball season is officially here for us. De’Von has practice on Tuesday and Friday nights, much better than football season practices. He practices from 8-9, that’s the bummer part. I hate not getting done with practice until 9:00, it makes for some late nights. We had our first preseason game on Saturday and lost 36-30. Our team actually looked really good, they just need to work on a few things. De’Von is by far the smallest kid on the team, but he’s enjoying it. He’s come so far since last season, and we just love watching him play. Russell really seems to enjoy it! Before each practice Russell has De’Von do some drills he’s come up with, it’s funny. He will be a great daddy someday!!

Yesterday...

Yesterday was an interesting day. Let me start by saying we have some great news!! My mother in law, Penny, is home until the 29th!! They weren't planning to send her home until Friday, but she was doing so well they sent her home YESTERDAY!!! WHAT GREAT NEWS!!! There are a ton of strings attached to make sure she will be healthy and safe, but I'm sure every rule will be followed strictly. We are very happy to have her home for Christmas. :)
I wrecked my car yesterday, ran into a pole. It was very sad. I'm honestly not sure what happened. I ended up backing into a pole at the house. I don't know if I hit slick spot or had a seizure, which is very scary and upsetting. The new doctor I'm going to isn't even sure I'm having seizures, so I'm still driving. It's all unsettling. The car doesn't look "too" bad. It will have to be fixed. As my mom says, I wasn't the only one in the area yesterday upset about a wrecked car. With the icy roads, I'm sure there were more people. When I first got to my car yesterday I had a flat tire, I should have known to stay home at that point!!
Only three more days of school until the break!!! I can't wait!!!

9 more days...

There are only 9 more days of school until our winter break. We just got back from the Thanksgiving break, but I'm so looking forward to the winter break! I have so much shopping left to do before Christmas, so I guess I'll be doing that the few days before while I'm on the break. This year we have adopted kids from Townsell again. So far we have adopted 14, I think. Luckily, it's not just Russell and myself doing this. We get lots of help from family, friends, Kasey and Lee (they are included in the friends category, of course), and some strangers. We have been able to do lots for these kids this year. Most of their gifts have been purchased and wrapped. I'm done buying for my three boys, and their gifts are mostly wrapped as well. I have had a hard time keeping their gifts a secret. The only reason they don't already have them is because they were wrapped the day they were bought!

This year I am giving Russell tickets to go to the Dave Ramsey seminar when he comes to the Dallas area. I am so not looking forward to this, but he is, so I'm just pretending. I know it's good for our future, so I'll be excited by the time it gets here. I am also done shopping for sweet little Jameson, he was easy to buy for! My sister-in-law is done, I finished her early this year. As for everyone else, I'm at a complete loss!!

My mother-in-law, Penny, has been doing very well the last few days. She is back in isolation and her blood work seems to indicate that her blood cells are doing what they need to be doing. We are hoping and praying she will be home in time for Christmas. Her scheduled release date is the 19th, so it looks like things will be okay. She should have another bone marrow biopsy soon, and that should tell us more. Russell is off all week this week (I am so jealous!), so he plans on going up there to see her quite a bit.

We finally finished the entire football season on Saturday with the pro-bowl game. I should have taken pictures, but I was doing good to get us all there on time, I forgot the camera. Both boys played well (De'Von and Ja'Vontray were on the same pro-bowl team), but their team lost miserably. They had to play against a team that was comprised of the two teams that played each other in the championship. That's not fair if you ask me. I think the boys had fun, but we are all relieved to have a break. Basketball season is scheduled to start in January, which seems like it's far off, but it will be here before we know it. I'm thankful that basketball is an indoor sport, football was starting to get a little chilly. Of course, when summer track starts, I'll be wishing for the chilly football weather!!!

My elf name!

Your Elf Name Is: Pixie Stocking Stuffer

Son of a nutcracker!

What's" Your Elf Name?