sixteen days

Today was a very exciting and special day. I had the honor of going to the NICU with Rachel to visit her baby girl. The hospital is about five minutes away. We had just enough time for a little chit chat. She told me that she just wanted to give me a warning in advance that the baby is small. I was thinking this whole time and trying to imagine for the past two weeks just how small she was.

Once we got to the hospital it took a few minutes to find a parking space. Then we went inside to the NICU. We washed our hands and headed in the direction where she was. The blanket was lifted off of her incubator and I stepped closer to get a better look. I thought I knew but really I had no idea at all, about just how tiny she would be. I really wasn't prepared at all. I never in my life imagined a baby could be so tiny. It really caught me off guard and shocked me. I began to cry, and Rachel told me to stop before I made her cry too. Just to try and give you an idea of how tiny she is, make a fist with your hand. Her head is smaller than an adults fist.

She is the smallest most beautiful little girl, she is just perfect.  She has the tiniest hands and feet, everything about her is so adorable. I wish I could just hold her and kiss her! I am completely amazed at the work of God, HE is so awesome! I could even feel his presence in the room. I stared in awe over her, she is truly a blessing! Today she was 16 days old!

The nurse asked Rachel if she would like to change her diaper. I think she was shocked because her answer was ''can I''? She did a fantastic first diaper changing! Even the diapers are so stinking cute, I should have stolen one lol! They are smaller than baby doll diapers! She forgot her camera, so I used mine to capture her first diaper change from her mommy! I will ask and see how she feels about me adding photos, so maybe later on I will add them but not for now.

I have prayed for her multiple times since she was born,but to finally be able to meet her was just an honor. She has already found a place in my heart. I will continue to pray for her and her family. Today was a wonderful day!

I also got news that my step-daughter will be induced at 5am. So I went to a local crafts store to purchase items to make her a wreath for her hospital door.

the letter ''n'' in the center of the wreath

the wreath I made for tomorrow

While I was at the craft store I came across a wooden cross. I immediately knew I had to buy it for Amaya Faith's mommy!

I don't think I could have found a better gift to buy her than this today! I'm so happy that I found it. I came home and made the wreath for my step-daughter's door. Later on I even made a special gift for Amaya. I took a regular sized baby stretchy headband and cut it and made it into one that will{hopefully} fit her. Its pink and ever so cute! I took a photo of it next to a regular sized headband, to show the difference in size.



Isn't it cute????

 Hopefully the nurses will allow her to wear it just long enough for photos! I already can't wait to see her again! But until then I will continue to pray for her! And I'm looking forward to our new family member arrive tomorrow.

annual Fall cruise-in

The past several weeks I have been running around like a chicken with i.............(you get the idea) collecting items to stuff the goody bags,working with vendors and local businesses to collect door prizes. I absolutely loved it!


Yesterday has come and gone, I can finally say I did it. My first event as president was a success! We work with a local Ford dealership, to have an annual fall cruise-in. Its basically like a car show, only the cars  aren't  separated into judged classes. Instead we give out specialty awards and sponsor's choice awards. Proceeds benefit the Madison County Veteran's Memorial here in the Rocket City.

Everyone arrived Friday afternoon at 5:30 @ WAF to start stuffing the goody bags and setting up everything for the show. I slept a total of four hours Friday night. I got up at 5am Saturday to get ready to go back to the dealership. I arrived there at 6:30 am along with other members and WAF employee's to start setting up the registration tent, the t-shirt sales table, and the PA system for announcements and music.

Last year was a huge flop because of all the rain, we only had 53 entrants. This year we had a beautiful fall day, it was warm in the upper 70's and thankfully there was no rain. We had 89 registered entrants this year! Which is such a blessing! We had loads of fun. There was really only one thing that went wrong, and that was the fact that our microphone decided to quit shorty before our awards presentation.

There were several vendors on site, one selling lemonade, another selling coke and BBQ sacked lunches, a toy car guy, and several automotive vendors. After the show there was plenty of food leftover so it was donated to the local food bank.

I had a blast meeting new people and making new friends. Last year Sharon {who is our MCA director} brought her niece Karen along with her. Since it rained she decided to get into a water fight with one of the members named Skip. So it was only natural for me to help her keep the tradition alive.

I asked Skip to come over to where I was, luring him into our water fight trap. Karen soaked him, which was followed by a desperate attempt of retaliation. I unexpectedly got a TON of ice cold water poured over my head. It felt nice actually since I was so hot after being up on the roof. {myself and two others went up there to get an aerial photo of the car show, the roof is white and reflected the sun right onto us & goodness it was hot}

Tomorrow I go back to the dealership to hand off the money to be donated to the local Veteran's Memorial. Its still a work in progress. It feels good to be a part of something big, and to know we are making a difference in our community.
You can find out more about the memorial at this link Madison County Veterans Memorial

I can't wait for our annual May car show now! I'm already starting a notebook of ideas!

vertigo

The cake the babies picked out for their Daddy.

                                                                               

• Yesterday was my husbands birthday. I let the kids pick out his birthday cake.
• Today was my mother and father-in-law's wedding anniversary.
• I have a major stress headache! Anyone care to give me a massage?
• My step-daughter is 2cm dilated, she was sent home though. I still think we will have a baby within the next few days! I can't wait to meet him & hold him. Her second baby shower is Sunday, so lets hope he stays in there until at least Monday.
• I went to a meeting today at the Ford dealership about the car show next week. I'm so excited that everything is coming together. T-shirts were designed & ordered, they arrived today! We have plenty of things to stuff the goody-bags with. I order the trophies tomorrow. Dash plaques are finished. I still have door prizes to collect from local businesses. Tomorrow I go get new tires put on the trailer (we use it to store our equipment in) So with all of the club stuff going on I feel like my head is spinning in circles.
• I went to the hospital today to visit my friend. She was getting ready to be released. Since it was an emergency cesarean she was put to sleep, and by the time she was awake her baby was already in another hospital's NICU.  So first thing she was heading over to the other hospital to visit her little miracle.Visitor's aren't allowed unless the parent(s) of the baby are there. So hopefully Saturday I can go visit. I didn't want to go today or tomorrow, because I know she will want to spend time alone with the baby since she hasn't even seen her yet. I can't wait to meet her! I have seen pictures, she is so tiny and beautiful! I'm going to make her lots of pretty pink sparkly things tomorrow. She has a long journey ahead of her, so please continue to pray for her. I made a prayer page for her on Facebook so please ''like'' it and post a message of support to her family.
• Here is the link http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Prayers-for-Amaya-Faith/257419037631643
• I am extremely sleepy. My husband is still at work. I can't sleep without him. Its 1am and I still have an hour before he will be home.
• I started this blog several hours ago, but because I am bored I keep clicking on ''edit post'' and adding random thoughts to it.

                                                                                   

faith hope love prayer

Today I was cleaning my son's room. I thought I heard someone at the door, but then it stopped. I assumed it was my daughter since she was in the living room. Then my phone began to ring. It was my sweet neighbor and friend, who is like family to us. She was expecting a package and needed us to watch for it. She was leaving to take her father to visit someone at the hospital.

Her sister was pregnant and due December 26th. She has been on bed rest for the last several weeks. She had been taken to the hospital at 4 am because she had gone into labor. She has already lost two babies in the past due to premature births. So this has had everyone on edge for a while. I have sent many prayers for her and her baby. (as well as many tears)

She was given a drug to help develop the baby's lungs, so that it would have a better chance of survival. She was taken to the operating room for an emergency Cesarean.

They hadn't even announced the sex of the baby yet. Nor had they even made a final decision on a name.                                                                

                                                                                      

She was born today by cesarean, and weighed in at two pounds. She is 13.5 inches long. She was transported to another hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit. It's known as one of the best in the state. She will be in good hands there.


So now everyone knows that she is in fact a sweet baby girl. I have sent out prayers as well as prayer requests to family and friends throughout the day. Prayer is a powerful thing. I received a message late this afternoon letting me know that she was breathing on her own. Something the doctors say is extremely well for a baby her age. She is big for her gestation period too, thank goodness because that will help her grow and develop faster.

                                                                                     

Her mommy has been worried sick and in tears all day and wasn't up for visitors. So tomorrow I will be going with her sister to visit her at the hospital. The  baby is so tiny so she is on a restricted visitation schedule. I hope we can make it by her hospital too, I would love to see her. I know I won't be able to touch her or hold her but seeing her will be a blessing.


They picked out the sweetest name for her, but I won't say it on here since she isn't my child. It's a perfect name, and very well chosen for the situation. She isn't out of the woods yet and will need prayers for weeks, maybe even months to come. So please keep this sweet angel in your prayers.


Love,
Jaybee

The Lincoln County Fair

Every year since I have known my husband we have made the trip to Fayetteville,TN for the  Lincoln County fair. It's become a tradition. We went before I was pregnant. while I was pregnant, and now we take our children there.

It's not just one of those carnivals that travels the country with a few questionably safe rides and a creepy clown. It's a full blown old fashioned county fair. A fair of a dying kind.

They have everything from rides, beauty pageants, livestock judging, 4H competitions, quarter horse races, cooking competitions, antique tractor display, demolition derby races, and so much more. Not to mention performances by country music artists Steel Magnolia, and Colt Ford.

It's almost like stepping back in time for a few hours. I have forgotten with the everyday hustle and bustle of adult life how much fun the simpler things in life can be. I enjoyed watching my children as they watched the hog judging, they informed me that it was the ''three little piggy wigs.'' I loved the excitement on their faces when we went into one of the barns and there were dozens of miniature horses waiting their turn to be judged, They were so cute almost made me want to bring one home! I can get away with telling people its a dog right?

Cotton Candy

As I walked around I took in all of the typical ''Fair'' smells like popcorn, cotton candy, funnel cakes, and so on. We tried just about everything. After all it only comes once a year so we might as well indulge ourselves. My babies are too small to ride most of the rides, so they had a few kiddie rides they could do alone. Then a few they could do with a parent. I let loose and had just as much fun as they did.  Seeing the excitement on their faces is just priceless. This was really the first year that they got excited about everything at the fair, not just the pretty lights. I could hear faint screams in the distance from the kids on the roller coaster and a few of the other rides too.                                                

                                                                              

I love that I have been able to share this experience with my children.  I hope this fair lasts for years to come. I wish that more old fashioned fairs like this would make a comeback. Maybe someday my children will still be able to take their own children to this fair or one like it. It saddens me to see good old fashioned fun events like this slowly disappearing. Kids these days are so wrapped up in video games and such that they don't do much of anything else. It was nice seeing all the kids in the arena with their animals for judging. At least someone is teaching the next generation how to carry on an old tradition.

It was an absolute blast! I would suggest this fair to anyone! If you are within a reasonable traveling distance it's well worth the trip!
  

                                                                               


Here is a link to their website http://www.lincolncountyfairinfo.com/map.html

and here is the link to their Facebook event's page                                          http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149866958400564

we shall never forget

Ten years, so much can change in ten years. Some things can change in the blink of an eye. Where have the past ten years gone? It doesn't seem as if it has been ten years.

Ten years ago today I was a high school student. I was sitting in Mrs.Cox's English class. A class I loved very much. I remember someone coming to the door and saying turn the TV on because a plane had crashed into one of the towers of The World Trade Center. Mrs.Cox quickly turned the TV on.

We watched the breaking news for several minutes. I'm not sure exactly how much time had passed, then suddenly we watched on live TV as the second plane crashed into the second tower. I still get chills when I think back on that day and remember the gasps from my fellow classmates. Some cried, some prayed, some sat in silence. I cried. I prayed. To this day it gives me chills.

Soon it was made aware that it was terrorist attacks. Our school was placed on lock down. We sat there and watched as people jumped from the tower's to their death, as they tried so desperately to escape. I remember watching as the first tower fell, then the second. I remember seeing the thousands of people running through the streets, and the fear on their faces. I remember seeing people walking through the street covered in ash and debris. It was like a scene from a movie. It felt so unreal. We heard of the plane crashing into The Pentagon, and the one in the Pennsylvania field.

The next day at school Mrs.Cox asked us to write an essay about the attack. She said that she would choose a few of them to be sent in to be published in the local news paper. I picked up the pen and the words just flew out onto the paper. I had never felt so powerful about writing before. I turned it in when it was due. I was chosen to have it printed in the paper. I still have my original copy, and Mrs.Cox's note & my grade that she wrote at the top of the page. I will post it when I am able to find it. It's somewhere in my closet.  Mrs.Cox has since passed away. She was an outstanding teacher. I will always remember sitting in her class that day. I wish the best for her son.

I will forever remember that day. I will remember how I was afraid. I will remember the images burned into my brain as I watched them on the news. I will remember it as the day America changed. I will remember how America came together as a family in the following weeks, months, even years.

It's a day America will never forget, a day the world will never forget. Our country was changed that September day. Thousands lost their lives that day. Including 343 firefighters and 72 police officers. I pray for their families on this day. I pray that they have found peace with their love one's deaths. I pray for the very best for all of the survivor's and their families. May all the victim's rest in peace. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Visit the memorial page, to plan a visit or make a donation.  http://www.911memorial.org/

A surprise homecoming

This afternoon Sissy texted me. She wanted to know if we were going to be home. My husband was in the bed sleeping because he had to wake up at 8pm to take a shower so that he could go to work at 9pm. Our son crawled in bed too,but never went to sleep.

 I proceeded to finish cleaning the house. So later on my daughter and I decided to go sit outside. We hadn't been out there long at all. Maybe 5-10 minutes at the most. She had just reached for her bucket of sidewalk chalk so that we could draw pretty pictures together. I was focused on her at ground level. I noticed someone walk up behind her and just stop & stand there. A man obviously due to the clothing. I said  to my daughter ''baby move so he can get by''.

 It wasn't until she got up to move that I looked up at the guy. I thought it was someone going to see our neighbor. I looked at his face. I stared at him. It took several seconds for it to sink in. It was my step-son Mickey!!!! I was in shock!

I reputedly said OMG OMG OMG!!!! He gave me the biggest warmest hug ever. One of those really good ''I missed you hugs''

We haven't seen him in months! In fact I think January was the last time he was home. He is in the Air Force & in stationed on the west coast.

Since my husband was sleeping I didn't want to just go open the bedroom door & say hey Mickey is here. Instead I made it interesting!

I opened the bedroom door.

I walked over to the bed.



 ME- ''hey babe, wake up. There is a police officer at the door and he needs to talk with you''.

Hubby-What? A police officer? Well what does he want?

ME- I don't know he just said that he needs to speak with you.

Hubby- quickly gets out of bed and puts on a shirt

I had walked back into the living room. My husband and son then walked into the living room. He too was in shock. It took him a few seconds before he let out a loud MICKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Which was followed by a really awesome hug!

Haha! Sissy tricked me, I tricked my husband. I tricked Nessa.

We all sat down & started to catch up on everything. It was so great to see him. it was almost unreal.

I know how much my step-daughter Nessa has been missing him and wanting to see him.

I then called Vanessa's mother & told her what was going on. I told her to tell Vanessa to get ready & I was on the way over to pick her up.

I drove over there and she got in the car. 

Vanessa- Why does Dad want me to come over there?

Me- I don't know he just told me to come and get you

We get back home and I put my hands over her eyes so that she couldn't see in the windows.

Shelby opened the door. I then took my hands away from Nessa's eyes.

She stood there looking at him for a few seconds. She then ran over to him and screamed MICKEYYYY!!!!!

She was a very very happy girl. It seems that all of us had a delayed reaction & it had to sink in. It was so awesome getting to see him. We are all thankful for this day & the time that we shared with him. We have missed him so very much!

The text after I realized how sneaky she was : )

Mickey & Nessa