Quick Update!

Well, I've fallen off the wagon again w/ this silly blog.  Mostly things have been cruising along in normal mode for our little family of four, so I will use that as my excuse.

Taylor is playing volleyball at the Y & loving it.  It is pretty entertaining for those of us on the sidelines, but the girls have a great coach (thank you Jennie George) and are learning the basics.

Derek is really into skateboarding stuff right now & most days I just stay inside and don't watch.  Hoping no major injuries are in our immediate future.

Mike has been playing music A LOT.  Including w/ his dad two weekends ago.  Joe played his guitar on stage for the first time since his stroke, it was a wonderful thing to watch.  He continues to improve and is feeling fairly well most days.

I am getting ready for Christmas, doing extra cooking & trying several new recipes.  So far, no major flops!

Wishing everyone a peaceful, healthy & safe holiday season!

When Flushing is a Bad Thing

Well, today has been one of those days that make me question my ability to parent my children effectively.  Most of the time I feel like I am a decent mom.........they have good manners, are kind & considerate, know right from wrong, make good grades in school, etc.

And then there is today.  My sweet son happened upon someone else's boxer shorts in the boys bathroom and after his friend threw them in a toilet, Derek decided to flush them.  Only guess what........it clogged the toilet so then he stuck his hand in & pulled them out & threw them back on the floor.  Needless to say, this behavior was not well received by his teacher, principal or parents.  And can I just say G-R-O-S-S!!!!  I mean, SERIOUSLY, there was probably a reason why someone discarded their undergarments in the bathroom in the middle of the school day.  It is just repulsive.

No doubt you are laughing hysterically, glad I could send a smile your way! 

P.S.  We probably shouldn't mention this post to Derek, I promise you he has been sufficiently subdued & embarrassed this evening.

Labor Day Weekend

We managed to have a somewhat normal weekend amid all of the craziness of the past couple of weeks.  Saturday early was spent dealing w/ rent house junk and then Sat. night Mike hung out w/ his dad at the hospital while I went out to dinner w/ two great girlfriends.  We ate at Arris's Pizza, did some fabulous shopping at TJ Maxx and ended our evening w/ frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf.  If you haven't yet been there, I highly recommend it!  My favorite was White Chocolate w/ fresh strawberries on top.  If you are a lemon fan, Angie says it's awesome.  Thanks for such a fun night Angie & Michelle!!!  Kristi, we missed you!

Mike & Derek went to the hospital Sunday morning for Joe's swallow test.....he passed.  Yay!  And Derek had a good visit w/ his Aunt Toodie.....double-Yay!  Then they went to a hog roast with a bunch of Mike's music friends.  Taylor and I met up w/ my good friend Dawn, her daughter Savannah & her wonderful boyfriend Terry for an afternoon boating & tubing on Stockton Lake.  Some much needed fun in the sun.

Joe continues to progress and is very alert most days.  Still a long road of rehab ahead but they are hoping he can leave the hospital and go to a nursing home late this week.  Please continue to pray for his complete recovery and patience for him and for us as we navigate the communication barriers.

Looking forward to beginning a new Beth Moore Bible study w/ my Thursday Moms this week.  Oh, how I've missed those girls this summer.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Wishes & Stars

A teacher friend of mine uses a system on her progress reports called 'Wishes & Stars.'  The Stars are the things your child already does well or deserve praise/recognition for and the Wishes are things that are a work in progress and/or still need attention.  The following is our list of Wishes & Stars for the past few days!

STARS
Taylor has left for school 2 mornings in a row w/ no drama or tears, yay!
Derek is loving 5th grade & he typically is not a fan of school.
Mike's dad is more responsive today than yesterday.
Lots & lots of much needed rain today!


WISHES
Continued improvement for Mike's dad; they tried to move him to a reg room on Mon but it was too soon so he's back down in the Step Down unit (similar to ICU, but not quite)
Rest & peace of mind for our family as we navigate the journey ahead for Mike's dad
A little less drama from the 8 yr old (lol)


I would love to read YOUR wishes & stars, please feel free to add them in the comment section of this post!

Joe Clayton

Many who follow this blog are aware that my father-in-law, Joe Clayton, has been in Cox South NeuroTrauma ICU since last Sat., Aug 21.  He is having issues w/ bleeding between the brain & skull.  They did surgery on his brain on Sunday, all went well then things fell apart on Tues & they had to go in again.  The prognosis after the second surgery was about as gloom & doom as it could be, the dr didn't offer us much hope at all.  By the grace of God & the Power of Prayer, Joe is now breathing on his own & is still hanging on.  This week has been a tremendous, never-ending roller coaster of emotions for our entire family.....But through it all, we have been overwhelmed by the number of people praying, calling, visiting, helping w/ our kids, on & on.  We have had visitors every day and that helps lift our spirits so much, I think we counted 93 visitors as of last night!  Our congregation at Bolivar Church of Christ and my in-law's congregation at Arcola Christian Church have been so very good to us all week long and we feel so loved & supported.  My girlfriends have helped me keep my personal sanity through it all........taking care of my kids as needed, bringing snacks to the hospital, allowing me to call at all hours to cry when it's a rough day & praise when things go our way. 

The Clayton family has had a rough few months, we lost Mike's Uncle John at the very end of May, then Grandma Clayton two weeks later & now we are traveling this journey together.  While I can't pretend to understand why this is the hand we've been dealt, I do know without a doubt that God is in control and He knows why.

Please continue to pray for our entire family!  We love you!

Private Words

This conversation occurred on Friday night en route to Springfield, I was driving 65mph on Hwy 13 & nearly lost control........

Taylor:  We played 'would you rather' at school today, the teacher asked if we'd rather go on vacation to Hawaii or Alaska.  When it was my turn I said, "Hawaii, you can't wear no coconut bra in Alaska."

Derek:  TAYLOR! You shouldn't say 'bra' in public, it's inappropriate, you should have said 'bikini.'  'Bra' is a PRIVATE word.

First Day!

It's official, the kids boarded the bus at 7:20am to embark on their first day of 3rd & 5th grade.  Amazingly, both were in a chipper mood this morning and we had no drama!  Yay!

Back-to-School Time

The kids & I spent this afternoon meeting their new teachers.  They are both looking forward to a fun year.  Taylor has Ms. Mitchell for 3rd grade and is excited to have several girlfriends in her class.  Derek has Ms. Cribbs for 5th grade and a room full of buddies.  For now he is most excited that he is sitting by 3 friends and NO GIRLS!!!  I told him he better not be a chatter-box or she might surround him w/ girls. :)

I am backing off of my PTA duties this school year and spending more time in the kids's individual classrooms.  This is Derek's last year before middle school so I figure this is my last chance to spend time w/ him in that setting.

I have several personal goals for this school year as well.  Including, but not limited to.........completing the Couch to 5K program that I attempted to start earlier this summer and then got halted due to a staph infection & ecoli.  Also hope to get my scrapbooking caught up, I have hardly touched it for the past 2-3 years due to my PTA responsibilities. 

I will try to remember to take pictures & post on Thur morning before the kids head out for their first day!

La La La La La La La

Can you say "awkward"? That's my word to describe parts of my afternoon w/ my Grandma. Let me explain....I got a call at approx 2pm from my great uncle saying my gma was in the ER at CMH & could I go be w/ her b/c he had to go back to work. So I leave home feeling all warm & fuzzy cuz she thought to have him call ME and she wants ME to be there w/ her........I spent A LOT of time w/ her as a child & miss our visits. Well, I get to the hospital and they had already done a chest xray, EKG & CT scan so she proceeds to tell me her symptoms, etc. Then after that info we got caught up on all the "family news" about all my cousins & such. Soon after the dr came in & said all tests were clear and she was only severely dehydrated, she was being sent home & is to follow up w her regular dr next week. So........I think all is well, we will get her discharged & I will drive her back to Stockton.

NOT SO FAST!! She then proceeds to tell me about her other upcoming appt w another dr re: her bowel issues and describes it all in great detail. Followed by a tale of how she has used the same GYNECOLOGIST for 157 yrs and how much she likes him.

This is where I want to cover both ears & say "la la la la la la la la....I'm not listening." God bless her, I love her to pieces, she has been a huge part of my life but I do NOT care to discuss bowel problems nor gynecology issues w my grandma.

I have officially vowed that should God ever bless me w grandchildren of my own, I will not under any circumstances discuss bowels or gyno with them.

I LOVE MY GRANDMA!!! :)

We are Cheap!

Ok, maybe not cheap but it certainly doesn't cost much to entertain us!

~My mom took both kids to the city pool today for ONE HOUR, then to Sonic for ice cream cones; cost $7

~My mom took both kids overnight recently for a trip to the beach at Stockton Lake including roasting hot dogs and having candy and orange soda; cost $10

~Mike took a giant sheet of plastic from his shop, put baby oil & water on it and the kids had a slip & slide; FREE

~Taylor and I checked-out 2 seasons of Little House on the Prairie on DVD from our local library, she loved them; FREE

~Derek found a random bobby-pin today in my truck.......entertained him for like 30 min; free.

All of this makes me very happy that my kids can be happy without me having to sell a major organ to finance their fun. Summer is almost over but it's been one of our best ever.

Trying again...

Ok, here we go! I am trying the blog AGAIN! This latest attempt is motivated by a couple of different people; a local teacher whose husband was in a serious accident recently and she created a blog to keep everyone updated on his condition and their prayer needs and secondly, a good friend at church mentioned that he had stumbled upon my blog & enjoyed it (thanks JK).

Summer is nearing an end but it has been quite wonderful for our family. June was pretty much a blur. Taylor played softball (see team pic above) and we stayed busy w/ that including a weekend tournament in Arkansas that was a fabulous trip for the two of us. Then the following weekend we met Aunt Sue in Tulsa to watch a WNBA game and that was great fun as well. In the middle of those two trips, my mom had some surgery done and it went well and she is doing great.

On a sad note, Mike lost his Uncle John Griffith and his Grandma Lorene Clayton within 2 weeks of each other at the beginning of June. Cancer is an ugly enemy and though we are thankful they are neither one suffering any longer, we miss them bunches.

Derek worked w/ Mike for a few weeks at the beginning of summer and learned about stucco. But I have enjoyed having him home w/ me in recent weeks too. Taylor did one week of volleyball camp, 2 weeks of VBS and celebrated her 8th birthday on July 10th.

We feel very blessed that Mike's work has picked up and is nearly all in Bolivar....yay! Last winter seemed to last forever around here.

The kids start back to school on Aug 19th with Taylor in 3rd grade & Derek in 5th. It will be nice to have them both in the same building again (for 1 yr)!