Finally a date......

Well many of you know that I have been trying for over a year to get approved for gastric bypass surgery. Guess what.....I'm approved. Yeah!!!! Last week my insurance company denied my request due to me breast feeding 3 years ago and losing weight. My doctor appealed that yesterday. I talked to his office at 11:33 yesterday and they were about to get on the call with the insurance company. At 11:40 they called back and the ruling had been overturned. Praise God. I had already decided that if I wasn't approved then it was God's will and I would deal with it. So after telling me that I was approved Sandra said that we could schedule my surgery for November 5th. NOVEMBER 5TH???? That's just next week. I asked if they had anything else open and she said November 10th. I took that date. So, I will be having surgery on November 10th!!!! I am so excited and so nervous. It has started to hit me that I will be missing Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and various other things. I'm okay with that. This is something that I've wanted for 2 years and it's going to be a reality in less than 2 weeks. Wow!!!! I will ask for support from everyone. I know I will need the encouragement. We went to dinner with friends last night to celebrate. We won't be going to dinner again for awhile so we thought we should get it over with. I will start my pre-surgery diet this weekend and get ready for the big day. Praise you Father for giving me this opportunity and I will give it my all. Thank you friends for being there for us. We appreciate each and everyone of you.

Sean's Questions

Sean is too funny. It seems like daily we have the following conversation:

Sean: Are you my Mommy?
Me: Yes, Sean I'm your Mommy.

Sean: Are you MY Mommy?
Me: Yes honey, I'm your Mommy.

Sean: Are you being nice?
Me: Yes Sean, I'm being nice

So he asks this about 30 times a day!!!! Too, cute. You just have to love those sweet little boys.

Do you have a minute?

This has been one of the most emotional days that I have had in a while. I was sick yesterday and I didn't go to work. Many of you know about the uncertainty that I have been experiencing with the company that I work for. So I walk in the door at work this morning and go to my desk. I log on to my computer and then wait. About that time, my boss calls me in his office. We start off by talking about me being sick yesterday, it then proceeds to the latest news about our company. We have just been bought.....again. Let me just say that this has been one of the most stressful things in my life for the past year and a half. I am almost numb because of all the drama surrounding our company. Nothing prepared me for the next major event of the day. One of the guys I work for came in the office and visited with my boss behind closed doors (which hasn't been anything out of the ordinary with everything else that has gone on). When he comes out he asks me if I have a minute to visit. When I walked into his office I notice that some of his furniture is gone and his pictures are off the wall. I can't believe what is about to happen. He tells me that he has just resigned. WHAT???? This is a person who I have grown to really respect and admire. We have truly become great friends. We have talked about our spiritual lives as well as family lives. We have made a connection after almost 11 years of working together. As he is telling me everything, I just break down when I tell him I truly appreciate the fact that we have grown so much closer. I talked about how it was hard at first, but we have grown close. He told me that it was the Holy Spirit moving through us and fostering our friendship. He has really made me think about things in my spiritual life and I felt like I could go to him with anything. He has given us so many things for my nephews when we needed it the most. He has listened to me complain about work. He has listened to me share stories of my kids and I have enjoyed listening to him talk about his kids. We have come a long way as friends. I cried off and on all day. I realize that God puts people in our lives for a reason and my friend filled his purpose and now is gone. I know we will stay in touch, but it will be on such a different level. Thank you for becoming such a good friend. I will miss you terribly. Who's gonna keep me on my toes and make me laugh? I will be calling you. You aren't getting rid of my okay. Love ya friend.

Pictures Finally!!!!

So I finally decided to add some pictures to my blog. Here are pictures of the boys. Now I guess I'll have to dig the camera out and start taking more pictures.

Brayden

I wanted this entire post to be about Brayden. Brayden is my sweet middle child. He is the most loving, caring, and helpful child that I know. He tries so hard to do what is right even though it doesn't alrways turn out that way. Brayden was diagnosed with ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Disorder. We had Brayden's ARD meeting at school this last week. He is no longer part of the 504 program. Yeah Brayden. Academically Brayden is on track with everything. Of course he's not at the top of the scale nor is he at the bottom. He's right where he fits...in the middle. Brayden always finds himself in the middle. He's always in the middle of other people's business, he's always in the middle of fights, and he's always in the middle of hard work. God absolutely knew where to put Brayden in our family...in the middle. Brayden is known for ear hustling (as his Daddy would say). Brayden has been so proud of himself for memorizing the name of the cysts that he will have removed from his throat/neck in December. I have a hard time remembering the names. (Thyroglossal duct cyst, brachial cleft cyst) Whew those are some long names. I'm so proud of the person that Brayden is becoming. I love him dearly and hope that as a parent I don't over look my middle child. I love you Bray!!!

Thank you Father!

I just want to give praise to my Heavenly Father today for teaching me a valuable lesson. He taught me today that I needed to place ALL of my trust in Him and Him alone. He taught me that when He tells me to do something that He means it. He taught me that He loves me and will provide for my every need and not my wants. He taught me to have faith. He taught me that he can wipe my slate clean and give me a fresh start and then it's my choice on how I proceed. Thank you Father God. I will do my best to make you proud. You gave me no other choice than to look to you and I am thankful for that. I forget so many times that you are in control and I'm not. I need those reminders. Praise You!

Seeking Guidance From Above

Well, so much has happened over the past week or two. I haven't had time to sit down and post anything so I decided that I would do it right now while I had a minute.

1. Shena, Jaelun, and Jorden have arrived back at our house. We got a call at 3:00 am (that's right 3:00 am) on Monday. It was Shena. She had run out of gas on the far side of Bushland near the rest stop. So I wake Quentin up and off we go. We got them filled up with gas and back home we went. So you might ask what guidance we need.....

A. We need guidance from above on how to handle this situation in the most loving and caring way that we can. We love Shena and the boys and want nothing more than to see them taken care of.

B. Financially we are not in the position to support them right now. Shena has had an interview and hopefully will start working next week.

C. We need to heal this relationship. We need to mend the trust issues and the hurt feelings in this relationship. We love each other dearly and want nothing more than to become the sisters to each other that we've always wanted.

2. My second issue that I am seeking guidance for is my role at church.

A. Keri called me to ask if I wanted to teach upstairs. UPSTAIRS????? I have wanted to do this, but was really intimidated by the thought of actually teaching kids who might actually ask me a question. Well this is my opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and dive in. I have to say that I'm really excited and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me. I know that this will be a huge blessing to me. I'm scared to death!!!!

B. I have felt very led to pursue some type of volunteer activity out in the community. I want to go out and share the love I feel from God with other people. I am searching for the perfect opportunity to do this. I have had several suggestions and thoughts. I know that God will provide me with the perfect answer. This is also out of my comfort zone.

3. My next issue is my job. I love my clients, and the people I work with directly. It's everything else that I am struggling with. I have been here almost 11 years and I just don't know what to think about things now. Of course we are going through a merger, and it's emotionally draining. There are days that I don't even want to get out of bed. This is not like me at all. I have felt that God was leading me away from my job for a while now. What to do, what to do?

4. My last issue is with Brayden. He will be having surgery in December. He has a thyroglossal duct cyst and a brachial cleft cyst. He will be having them removed along with his tonsils. This is great in the fact that when he gets sick, he will no longer get the huge knot on his neck. However, he is my baby and I'm scared. I just want to make sure this is the right thing to do. The other good note on this is that there is a CHANCE that his ADHD will be better after removing his tonsils. Wouldn't that be a HUGE blessing??!!!

I pray for clarity and guidance. I pray for peace and comfort.