I am now onto reading Something Borrowed, Something Blue recommended by Alison and Wendy. It seems cute so far. Will let you know....and I think I need a book club to join in Clarksville with all my spare time.....
Thursday, October 21, 2010
More Read Books
Since my last book post I have finished reading Water For Elephants and The Undomestic Goddess. Water for Elephants was really good, it was not something I would have ever picked out if it hadn't been recommended to me. It was about a 90 or 93 year old man that was remembering back to his Circus days. He was taking his veterinary school finals at Purdue's vet school when his life took a turn for the worst and he ends up on a train.....a circus train. It was a good read and I own it if anyone wants to borrow it. The Undomestic Goddess was a quick and fun read. It was a good girlie book. Really showed how all the hustle and bustle we are in as working women can really make us miss the most important things in this life. She really had a funny and yet happy ending. I hope both of these become major motion pictures!! I think there is talk that Water for Elephants is being made into one.
Addie Fall 2010
Claire my youngest Joy
My little stink, Claire. She celebrated her big 2 year old birthday in July. I wasn't able to have her 2 yr old check up with our regular pediatrician until September. At that time I expressed to Dr. Roads that I was worried about her speech. Of course you compare your children. What age was Addie doing this and saying that. Well, I believe Addie came out talking and therefore it might be part of Claire's issue with not expressing what she wants because her big sister Addie says and does everything for her. (those of you that know my Addie Lou know this as truth!!) However, in talking to Dr. Roads he did feel that Claire was severely delayed for her speech development and wanted to have the state screen her for that as well as her hearing if they requested for it to be checked.
Our first screening was last week with an in home visit from a lady with the state. She asked me several questions about Claire and I answered those and then she ended up "playing" with Claire by asking her to do several different tests. Some of which I thought were obvious and that Addie at her age would have done swiftly and Claire acted like she didn't understand anything. At that point I felt a hard knot form in my throat and wondered is this my fault? Don't we as mothers always wonder if it is our fault? I know not all, but in some way did I have a bearing on her delayed development??? I was okay through the rest of the testing and I did not shed a tear, but I continued to feel the hard knot in my throat, you know the one that is there right before you start to cry?
Chris comes home for lunch after the screening was over with and he asked me how it went. I broke into tears!! What if this is my fault because I don't get her little toys out to play with like I did with Addie. Claire just follows Addie's lead and plays with things a 5 year old plays with. Addie learned all of her shapes, colors, and objects from Rhonda at daycare. Had I just let Claire fall "thru the cracks" because I would assume she would learn all of that to, on her own???? How could I be so stupid......and on and on I went. Chris is trying to calm me down and it worked for a little while, but I couldn't get this self-doubt about the situation out of my head!!! You got to love satan, right? He was loving that he was kicking me when I was down, because had I thought to pray about it before then??? NO!!!!
That night when I laid down and prayed, I prayed for the Lord to give me a peace about it and to totally turn it over.
Yesterday Claire was screened again, but this time it was a lady that was testing her to see if she qualifies for the state to pay for any type of speech therapy or for an audiology screen. We won't know how she did until next week. I am no longer in tears over it and I know that Claire understands what I say to her, it just breaks my heart when she points and gets frustrated with me because I don't understand what she wants.
I will keep you posted on the situation and would covet your prayers for my little stink.
I have had so much fun taking the girls pictures this past week. Claire and I had her little "photo" session one morning while Addie was at school. I had ordered them some Matilda Jane Clothing thanks to Kristin!!!! I really love their clothes. They are a little bit more than Gymboree, but Addie and Claire love how the clothes feel and they will wear them all day without complaining, which is HUGE for Addie. I may have found yet ANOTHER girls clothing weekness.........
Monday, October 18, 2010
Dr. Susan Holloway McFadden
I found out today in an email from the veterinary school that a classmate of mine passed away October 1st, at the age of 38. Susan Holloway was married our fourth year to her steady boyfriend, Tom. They were dating and after Susan was diagnosed our fourth year in clinics with an astrocytoma in her brain Tom proposed and they were married our fourth year. I knew then and there he must be a good man. For better or worse, right?
I was in shell shock for her our last year of vet school. After all this hard work and three years of gruesome classes Susan began having terrible headaches. After she went thru tests to show she had a brain tumor she held her head high and came back to finish her fourth year!!!! She went thru several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. She walked across that stage just as I had, but she did it all by the grace of God. Susan was a believer, she was a fellow Christian.
Chris and I were fortunate enough to run into her at a CE meeting in Louisville, KY two years ago exactly. October 3rd to be exact was when she and I had lunch together at the meeting. It was so good seeing her and re-connecting with her. She wore a navy colored bandanna on her head and in talking with her she had just gone thru another surgery on a completely different type of brain tumor and had finished her radiation. She was amazing to see!! Her strength, stamina, and overall pleasant attitude about it all. She was never mad or asking why me in any of our conversations that weekend. You know what we talked about? Our kids. I had just had Claire three months prior to that meeting and I believe Susan had a fairly newborn son as well. She talked about Ian and Morgan that Saturday and she invited me to a huge fall craft fair in downtown Louisville. We drove there and I really enjoyed talking and shopping with her. She and I laughed because we couldn't find our car at the end of the afternoon. We kept walking down streets to find it. Susan is from Louisville and kept apologizing because she said her memory wasn't what it should be with all the surgery she had had. I didn't have an excuse so we laughed it up!! I truly had a wonderful time. That would be the last time I got to speak to her. Life happens and you lose touch with others.
So, to dedicate this post to you now Susan. I know you were a strong Christian sister, wife, mother, and friend. I know I will see you again in heaven. I know that I will take time to pray for your husband Tom tonight and your two small little boys that are without their mother. I know that I will hug my children tighter tonight because of you. For we never know when it could be the last time. Thank you for your sweet spirit and for letting me reflect on the most important things in this life: my family.
Until I see you again my friend,
God Bless
Friday, October 8, 2010
Fall Break in the Mountains
Addie had fall break this week. Chris and I didn't go anywhere this summer and I was ready for a break and to get away from it all!! We decided to take the girls to the the mountains. We left Monday morning and got up there that afternoon. The girls did awesome in the car going and coming thanks to the dvd player!! I bought them a dual screen dvd player from Sams with their birthday money from Nana and Grandpa and it has been a life saver!! We stayed at the Wilderness Resort in Seiverville. This is the resort with the indoor water park. We had a lot of fun. It was a little young for Claire, but she was a trooper.
Tuesday we did the water park and then went to the Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge. It was a little cheesy but the food was good and Addie and Claire both loved it. We had to sit on the North Side, which Chris and I weren't real happy about, it just didn't feel right!! Ha
Wednesday we took them to Gatlinburg and it wasn't really that crowded. We went to the Aquarium for several hours and we loved their new penguin display. There was a little penguin that kept following Addie around the tank. She would run and he would dart after her.
Thursday we went back to the water park for the morning and that afternoon we shopped until we couldn't shop anymore!! Dad bought several pocket knifes and I bought my first Coach bag.
Addie wanted to ride the Skylift in Gatlinburg. So, we did, HOWEVER I was a nervous wreck holding Claire and praying Lord, please don't let her try to jump out of this because we will just have to die together.
My two girls outside of the Ole Candy Kitchen!! Yes, I bought lots of taffy, another NARON tradition. Addie liked it a lot.
My Chance Man
Sometime during my years at Southern Veterinary Center in Smyrna, TN I came to be very fond of an extremely intelligent breed; the doberman. I think it was all the terrible cases of parvo I saw there in certain breeders and pet owners. I had the "lowly" job of cleaning kennels during my early years of college when I worked at the vet clinic. I got to clean up the nasty parvo cages full of bloody feces and vomit, sorry Mom I know you wanted me to leave that out. Parvovirus loves to pick on the black and tan breeds if you will: the Rottweiler and the Doberman. I saw so many sweet sweet babies there look at me with those sweet dobie eyes and those HUGE carpal joints that they have as puppies and I loved them all!!! I also became very fond of Heidi, she was a red dobie that boarded with us quite frequently. I always said, one day I would have a doberman. WELL, Chance came along a few months ago and he was a patient of mine. His original owners had presented him to me for sores/wounds on his back. When I examined him I immediately could tell that he was burned by some type of chemical. The whole "truth" became a little shady, however I believe that he was injured/burned with an acid based chemical either for cruelty or a weird accident. I treated the little guy with antibiotics and hydrotherapy and he eventually got better, however his back will be scarred for life. He captured my heart with his sweet disposition and would lick my hands when I would clean his wounds. Two weeks later the little guy would return to me for a pit bull dog attack. He had multiple wounds present down the fronts of his legs. I sutured them, took the sutures out 2 weeks later and a week later animal control called me to let me know the owners had surrendered him to them. The owners stated that I had treated him and they couldn't take him to New York with them. So, I got my wish.....I got Chance.
Chris was not keen on the idea to have him so I tried to place him in two different homes, they didn't work out so I got the number to a WONDERFUL lady in Clarksville, Patricia that does doberman rescue. She was very interested in taking him and found him a foster home that very week. Chance flew out a week ago today on his own plane!! Thanks to Pilots for Paws he was flown free of charge to the rescue by pilot Jim to his new home in Ohio.
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