It's working !!

Wow it has been so long since I could update.. For some strange reason out Internet here started blocking all blogs, I could not update nor read anyone else's blog. But I decided to try again and it let me. So since October a lot has changed around here. We still love our new home and all the things we are slowly adding. The boys have started some homeschooling which will get serious in October when they turn 6. Jonathan struggles, it has become more and more evident of the damage done to his brain by his seizures. Which is really hard as a mom to see what all he has lost and may never regain. But I praise the Lord that he is here and mostly healthy. It pains me to know that so much damage has occurred to his brain. The left side which controls education,learning type things is where his seizures occur. So over the last few months we have realized how much he has been affected. But paise be to God that he has been seizure free for over 6 months. At least the "big" ones we can see. I am anxious to know if his brain is still seizuring and we cant see it. We go back in April. Jeremiah is doing great he is so sweet and loves to lend a helping hand anytime ask. And loves to take care of everyone.. Gracie is so funny she keeps us all laughing. But has some serious attitude that gets dealt with daily. She is very strong willed her and Jonathan butt heads on a daily basis. They are all so fun and we are so grateful for them. Matt got a promation at work, which is good because the business is struggling to stay afloat. We are hoping for a building increase soon. We have added a few animals the boys have a pony, and we have 2 calves that I bottle feed 2x a day, praying they both contuie to grow and be healthy, ducks, and a dog. Which we are so thankful for, we started out dog sitting for a fellow who works with Matt and we fell in LOVE with Boone so we asked to keep him and they agreed. He is the sweetest, most obedient do ever and house trained. So he gets to stay in which I love and goes out when we are out. Jonathan and Boone have this awesome relationship they formed a special bond in less than a month. I am praying that boone may start to sense Jonathan seizures. We have heard of dogs doing that if the child forms a bond with the dog. That's alt the new critters for now probably get some chickens in a few weeks once it warms and looking to get a few cattle to raise and sell for beef. Getting ready for Garden season which I look forward to. Here are a couple pics, will try to add more soon. I am thankful this is allowing me to blog again. I hope you all are well. !!

Pictures

From the last couple months .

Worst Blogger !!!

I am officially the worst blogger !! Sorry it seems like we have been running and working like crazy since being here. But we are doing great LOVE the house and the land. We had the 3 donkeys, just sold 2 of them to make room for ponies for the boys and a horse for me. We got Buttercup home this week and have been working her and getting her back in the routine of being ridden. She is a light brown color with a blonde main and tail. She is out of practice and needs a little work. But I think she will make a wonderful horse for the boys. And Cupcake is still at the folks we bought them from b/c she runs very fast and is giving us trouble catching her.She is pregnant so a little more scared, so as soon as we can catch her she will come home with us. She is a black and white paint and is Beautiful, cant wait to see her baby. Which will be a mini mule, because she was bred by a mini Donkey. And yesterday we found a tiny kitten in the barn, which appears that the mommy left it. It was starving, so we are feeding it milk with a dropper, hoping it will survive. We all love the farm and all the work. The kids are learning so many lessons and having a fun time as a family workiing together. I will post pics of the last few months int he next post. (soon)

God's Grace

I came across this it is so true and Amazing.. I pray that those of you who read it, that it will be a blessing to you .. And if you don't know Christ that you will seek him and pray until you receive his wonderful gift of Salvation.



When I say that 'I am a Christian', I am not shouting that 'I am clean living.
I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on..

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God.

My baby will turn 2 tomorrow !!! Which makes me very sad, she has grown so fast. Gracie is such a joy and load of fun. She is so silly and makes us all laugh. She has such a personality, very loving and sweet and then very mischievous. The boys adore her ( most of the time ). It does not seem possible that 2 years have passed but I am learning more and more each day to enjoy each minute. Because its all going to be gone before I blink. But to my dear sweet baby girl we love you very much and wish you a Happy Birthday !!!
Enjoy a flash back ..

Monday, August 2, 2010

Family Pics

Thanks to Arminda Dozier for these wonderful sunset Family pics !! Contact her today at armindadozier@yahoo.com for your family pics !!
She is wonderful and very affordable !!

New house and Summer Fun

We are enjoying the new house.. Getting settled and making it home. We got 3 donkeys which are providing lots of fun and work. Their names are Mac (from Cars) Jeremiahs pick, Bandit Jonathan's pick , and cookies Gracie's pick. They are 3, 1, and 9 months old. Need lots of love and work to get them to trust us.
Jonathan was feeling bad one morning so Jeremiah ( all his own idea) got a box and filled it full of stuffed animals and drew a picture on the box. And had me write " hope this package makes you feel better ".. For Jonathan. So sweet.
There is a sweet elderly lady at church that makes braided rugs so she made me quite a few for the house. Well I can never find them. And you will see why in the pics with Gracie. She loves them drags them from room to room and sits on them at any given time there will be 4 or 5 in her room.
Enjoy the pics. Check back soon we just had some family pics taken and I will post them as soon as I get the cd.

NEW HOUSE !!!

Here is a sneak peak of the new house.. The way it is now with all their decorations and such. We finally closed on the Athens house today and will close on the other Thursday. We plan to start moving Friday and Saturday.

Summer Time !!!

Means POOL TIME !
Here are a few pics from our first pool day of the summer at Paw and Maws. The boys had a blast with Caleb but Gracie said "not like" . So she just watched.

The kids I are home from church today Gracie has what appears to be the croup and the boys have a stomach bug. Hopefully everyone will be better soon. I guess I will go tend to the 5 loads of clean laundry that needs to be folded and put away. Oh the joys of sick children. But I would not trade it for the world, Jonathan did something this morning that makes it all worth it. He is not normally the lovey kind especially with Gracie. But she was crying this morning and he comes over and rubs her hair and starts singing Oh how I love Jesus to her. And she stop crying and smiled. I LOVE IT !!!

Pictures

Finally, I am posting pics from the past 6 months.. Enjoy

Busy and Crazy !!

We did not fall off the face of the earth.. Just been super busy and crazy.. I have wanted to blog 10 times and something always comes up. Well we are moved to Halls and living in the church parsonage for the time being. Which is a HUGE blessing !! We were suppost to close on the house in Athens a week ago. But the buyers loan fell trough at the last minute, so he had to start the process all over so we are still in Limbo waiting to find out what is going to happen. We have found a house and have a contract on it in Luttrell. Which we are very excited about nice house with 10 acres. But I will wait to share all the details till we know for sure if we will be able to get it. I am going to post pictures on Sunday. We are having a Yard sale Saturday , but I have a ton I want to post so I plan on doing that Sunday. Thanks for all your prayers on the house situation !

It is SOLD !!!!!!!!

Praise God !!! Our house is Sold , we will be moving the first week of May. Yes very quickly but they wanted in so I am more than willing to get out. This weekend the boys are with Maw and Paw going to the Orange and White game. So Matt and I are packing while Gracie plays and Naps. We have been quit busy with bounce house play dates,spending time with family and friends and we went on vacation last week to Mule Days in Columbia, TN. We had a great time and so nice to get away and relax. I will post pictures soon, as we have to do that in Knoxville because the Internet is too slow here.

New Adventure

I am embarking on a new Adventure, something I have never done. Being in business ! I have wanted to do something like this for a long time but never sure what to do. So many of the company's have way too many salespeople and it makes it hard to sell the product. But I finally found Uppercase living, and unique company that sells vinyl decor for your home and business. It is a great way to express your self and your family with out paint. Is is easy to apply and easy to take down. I love the products and I am happy to be selling them. So go on over to my website and take a look at all the Awesome products they offer. Feel free to contact me with any questions, I would LOVE to host a Open house or catalog party for you.
http://elizabethtindell.uppercaseliving.net

Jonathan's BACK !!!

Well we wanted our normal little man back and he is !! Back to his crazy, silly self. I am not sure if the medication just needed time to get in his body or what. But something has changed and leveled out, we are happy to have him back to normal. But the noise level is 10X what it has been in the last couple of months. We have really seen God's hand at work in this whole situation. Matt suggested I give it some time before we made any appointment's anywhere, and so much has happened in that time. I am glad I took heed to his counsel. We got advice from a man who is a genius's in Child Neuro and Child Epilepsy. He has been the director of the country's best Pediatric Epilepsy Centers over the last 20 years. His entire career has been dedicated to epilepsy and finding a cure. The Minister at our church growing up was very close to our family. Their daugther married this doctor and mom was close to her before they moved away with his job. So we called and asked if he would talk to us, he called me the next day and talked for 45 min !! I felt like a ant talking to some one so intelligent. Long story short the wait was worth it all to get to talk to him and hear his take on things and recommendations for good doctors. So we will see a doctor is Knoxville in April (the first appt they had) Unless Jonathan gets any worse. And then I called a friend of ours from School to ask him about a truck he had for sale. We talked a while then he asked about Jonathan, and proceeded to say "well you know mom is the manager over that office " (Neuro office) we had no clue !! Just a general rule at the office is you cant change doctors there once you see someone you stay with them. Well she got around that for us, and has been a big help. Another way God is touching this and making all the puzzle pieces fit right together. And as I mentioned earlier Jonathan is returning to normal. So if I would have gone on and got another opinion we would have missed all this change. I want to give God all the Glory for taking care of us even we doubt him. Sometimes as a mother I let the worry and nerves get the best of me. But as soon as I step back and I look and see how blessed I am , and how much I need to lean on him and let him have control. I am thankful that he is always there waiting on us with open arms when we doubt, and try to control our lives alone. What a mighty GOD we serve !!

Update

All the kids have a nasty cold and cough, taking a week or so to get better. But it has hit Gracie the worst she is pitiful. We are praying she will get better soon, she has not eaten well for a week now. And we can tell she is loosing weight. Hopefully she will recover soon or we will have to go see the doctor.
We have upped Jonathan's medication and he had been seizure free for almost 2 weeks, until Wednesday night at church. He actually started shaking which was the first one he has done that. Thankfully he remained conscious, his upper body was shaking for about a minute. After the seizures he is groggy and very sleepy, after a short rest he was back to normal. Please continue to pray that we will make the right choices with him and the medical care we seek.

Thank You God

Thank you God for Dirty Dishes.
They have a tale to tell.
While other go hungry
we are eating very well.
With home & health and happiness
I should'nt want to fuss.
By this stack of evidence
GOD has been good to us.

I love this, when we get to a new house I want this painted on our Kitchen wall.

So Many Decisions..........

We took Jonathan to the Neurologist yesterday, this is the first time we have seen her since the Hospital stay. She is a very nice doctor and seems very knowledgeable in her field. We had many questions for her and she answered most of them well. But I am just not happy with her way of treatment. Which seems the answer to all his problems is just give him more medican. And I am not crazy about that, the medican is having some sie effects we don't desire for our little guy. It is making him so sleepy he can hardly function at times, and the aggressiveness is getting worse. The sleepy part I cant deal with, I miss the way he used to be. It makes me sad everyday when he is wiped out by lunch time. She wants us to double his dosage and see how he does, but I am scared to do this as I think it will make him even more sleepy. He is still having seizures and I know we need to get them under control but I am not sure to keep drugging him is the best option. SO now we are starting our search for a new Child Neurologist to get a second opinion. We have considered Vanderbilt and the hospital in Chattanooga. We still have to do a little more research and see which would be the best fit for us. This is a very frustrating process as I want to trust the doctor and do what she says but my gut does not think it is the best. I guess I need another Doctor to tell me the same thing then I will be ok. But you never know they may something totally different. I just want to make sure I am doing what is best for Jonathan so he can be a normal little boy who can play with out falling asleep. I will continue to search and PRAY that God will give us wisdom as we decide what to do. If anyone out there had any advice send it my way.

Snow in Knoxville

We came up to Knoxville last night for a Church dinner and are staying the weekend.We got up Saturday to 4 inches of Snow at Nana & Papaw's so we went out early and played and made a snowman. Then we came over to Maw and Paws to play some more. They wanted to make a snowman family, so we have Paw snowman, Maw snowman and J & J snowman. We had lots of fun ! This is a Beautiful snow. Enjoy the pics and stay safe and warm.

Piggy Tails

Gracie finally has enough hair to get 2 piggy tails, I love it.. But she does not. She had them out in less then 2 minutes.

Great Thought !!!

Be kinder than necessary- Everyone you meet is fighting Some kind of battle.

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly......

Leave the rest to God