No right to Self-Defense may be a huge part of the problem.

I’m a little bothered today and am looking for a few different views on this so if you feel so inclined please leave me a comment and chime in.

We got a call this morning from the Middle School and Joe was in a “fight”. He has had trouble with this kid for years, I’m not sure what the problem is, I really like the kids parents and I know they are good parents but for some reason he and Joe cannot get along. So they got into a little argument over touch football in gym and the boy came after Joe and was choking him (trust me Mr. Perfectly Stubborn grilled the teacher to make sure Joe didn’t start it). In his defense and to get the boy off of him Joe punched him twice in the face. They both got 5 days of suspension from school. Here is where my dilemma comes in.

I know that the school has a No Bullying policy and they also have a No Violence policy but it seems to me that at some point these two collide. What was my son suppose to do? Am I supposed to teach my child to let people hurt him and just stand there and take it? I can guarantee you that won’t happen. When a kid is attacked, do they not have the right to protect and defend themselves? Does this not, in and of itself, lead to more bullying? I can’t seem to find the logic in these guidelines that they have set up. No, we do not condone violence. Our children know that if they start a fight they will be severely punished but we also will not teach them to allow themselves to be trampled on by others. It seems, in my motherly mind anyway, that the school should have discretion in these matters. They should be able to decide on a case by case basis whether the kid was justified in defending themselves or not. I could understand if he had laid into the kid and not stopped but he merely did what he had to do at the time. I know that the school has no choice; they have to follow the guidelines set out for them. I’m just thinking that maybe these guidelines should be altered and the schools given a little more control in these matters. It seems there should be some middle ground because having it set up this way may be what is encouraging bullying in today’s schools because a good kid who doesn’t start trouble and fears getting kicked out of school is going to be less likely to
stand up for himself.

I am not saying that my son was being bullied, or that he did not deserve to be punished, it just bothered me that they have cut off a kids own means of self-defense and forced them to either "rat" on their classmates or take abuse. For the kids in the school that are being bullied it seems there is no good way out. It is either get in trouble, put yourself in a position to be picked on by more people or set back and let someone dump on you. None of those options are good. Our kids should be allowed to stand up for themselves at this point, in small ways, before it gets to the point that they are walking through those school doors with guns and hatred.

Random Abandon

I had no idea how badly my mouth could hurt. I now understand why people decide to just pull all of their teeth and get fake ones. Much more of this and you can Sign. Me. Up.

My birthday was this week and there is only one thing I can think to sum it up - Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children.

Honestly I'm having a little trouble writing. The pain in my mouth tends to block out everything else. Sorry I've been so distant and uncaring lately, I just can't handle thinking while in pain. I know I'm a whiner but I'm so ready for this to be over.

#63: 365 day self portrait project

My list of 101 in case you don't know what I'm talking about.

I wanted to wait and start this one today because It was my birthday. I thought it would be cool to do it from birthday to birthday, which will technically be 365 days + 1 but who's counting......right. I'm not going to bore you guys everyday with my picture but I will put up a link to the photostream and occasionally I may show the picture on here.

So here is today's picture. It's not a great one, it was taken with my cell phone after we left the High School football game.

If I could take tomorrow off work I'd.....

be devastated. In order for me to have a day off, in order for any mother to have a day off, you would have to erase the memory of her family. They couldn't be alive or dead; they would have to never have been. A mother can't take a day off, even if you gave her the day off and she went and got that mani-pedi she's been dying for - she would still be thinking about her family back at home. Even if you give her a break from all of her duties for the day she would just be feeling guilty because she isn't there doing them. Even if you tell her not to worry that you'll take care of everything for the day, she is going to worry; about something, about anything, about everything. So you see I don't really want a day off from work, the consequences would be too great. Someday the world may understand what Mothers do.

10 things I believe in....

I believe in......
1. God.
2. The Bible.
3. Creationism.
4. every one's right to choose.
5. doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.
6.Myself.
7.learning. For the rest of your life.
8.being healthy not necessarily skinny.
9.writing to soothe my mind.
10.there being a difference between being in love with someone and loving someone.

Mama's losing it gave us some great prompts this week and I have already completed 2 of them. I'm still working on #3 and am not sure if I will ever even post it. We'll see how it goes. Go check out some of the other Links on this one too. They are always great.

#46: Get teeth fixed

I have a horrible history with dentists and I would rather do just about anything than go to one. When I was little the dentist that Mom took us to was horrible. He put a filling in the same tooth 11 times and it still wasn't right. When I finally had to go to the dentist years later because of my wisdom teeth, instead of cutting them out they decided to pull all of my back teeth because they weren't great anyway. Of course my wisdom teeth have still not all come in and the 2 that did weren't any good, they were hollow on the inside. One of the teeth they pulled got a dry socket and I didn't know what it was and tried to suffer through the pain. I finally went back and let the fix it but when I got pregnant the second time I ran into problems. Where I had let the dry socket go the nerve had unattached itself from the gum and attached itself to my cheek bone. As I swelled with the pregnancy it was putting pressure on that nerve plus I was grinding my teeth and putting more pressure on it. It was horrible. They gave me mouth guards and as much medicine as I could take while pregnant to get me through it. They literally wanted to slice my face open and cut out the nerve, I said NO and once I had the baby it went away and hasn't bothered me since. Glad I didn't let them cut my face open. So you can see why I have issues with dentists. I haven't been back in 10 years and hadn't had a cleaning since I was a little kid.

Fast forward to today. I posted the other day about my tooth problem and today I went to have it fixed. I had an appointment with a different place to get the rest of the work done but this place could take me in now. So I planned on getting the tooth pulled today and then going to this other place later and getting the rest of it done. In all honesty once I got the tooth pulled and the pain went away I probably would have canceled the other appointment. I really liked this dentist today though. She looked at my teeth and asked me if I wanted to get the rest of my teeth fixed. I was reluctant at first but she told me she could do the sedation dentistry. In other words they will knock me out, do all the work and when I wake up it will all be over. She said this reduces the chance of dry sockets too because you aren't aware enough to mess with the tooth and mess things up. So I figured what the heck, I'm going to bite the bullet and get it done.

They did all of the x-rays today and set up a plan. Since Insurance sucks they can't do everything at once. They will sedate me next Wednesday and do all of the major work; Pull the one tooth I just broke, cut out the wisdom tooth that wasn't any good and do 2 root canals and fix my 4 front teeth(they are thin). They will go back in January(once my insurance starts over for the new year) and do the rest of the work; Permanent crowns on the root canals and replace the rest of the fillings that aren't good(that the quack put in when I was little). So now I can't back out because the one tooth has to come out.

I also let them clean my teeth, can you believe it? Man does it feel weird. Hopefully I will not have a bad experience this time. Hopefully all will go well and by this time next year I will have good teeth, I may even get them straightened. Not sure I could handle braces but I may check into the Invisaligns.

Why I love Blogging.....

I got into the world of Blogging to give myself an outlet. I use it as a way to release alot of things that I might otherwise hold onto. If it is entertaining, encouraging or enlightening to someone else, well then that is just a bonus. It quickly became way more than I ever could have hoped for though. I love being able to write down all of my thoughts, I love the idea that my kids will be able to read this when they get older and have a true glimpse into the how and why that I did some of the things I did and I love the connection to other people. The latter has been the biggest surprise to me. It is so awesome that even on the days that I don't feel up to blogging myself I can come here and find someone who has felt exactly the way I do. What a wonderful encouragement to know that there are people out there who feel the exact same things you do everday. Whether its guilt over not being perfect for your kids or pain over things that have happened in your past; there is someone who knows and understands that exact feeling.

Then of course there are all of the cool give-a-ways, contests, writing assignments and so much more to keep your mind working and entertained. Like Mama Kat's vaccum give-a-way and writing assignments and the newest in a long line of give-a-ways from the Sits Girls, as well as their daily featured blogger. Not to mention being able to Blog Around the World or join a Political Campaign as it travels.

I'm a very private person (believe it or not) and I have trouble sharing my life with people. I'm horrible at keeping up friendships but no matter how long I stay away I know that when I come back the Blog World will still be here waiting. Although I have no intention of staying away!!

Random Abandon

After yesterdays post I thought maybe I should list a few things that I was thankful for this week:
1. That only Joe got the Chicken Pox (so far, knock on wood) and not all 4 kids.
2. That Audrey's volleyball team is finally working together and won a game.
3.The God-send of a doctor who gave me medicine for my tooth.
4.That they didn't steal anymore from us than they did.
5.That we have friends that will try to help us get our stuff back.

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and Autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

The Worst Week Ever

I know I haven't posted much the last few days and may not post much for the next few days. Below is my explanation.

I have had many bad days in my life, who hasn't? I have had many bad experiences, many heartbreaks and many aggravations. I must say though that this has been the worst week I can ever remember having. It started, as you probably know already, with Joe having Chicken Pox. Then Audrey hurt her shoulder. We are pretty sure she tore her rotator cuff but she pushed herself through the game on Thursday and they won (there was one good point). She has been in a lot of pain but it seems to be healing up now. Then on Friday morning at 2 am I woke up to a mouth full of tooth. My mouth had been hurting and I knew it wasn't a toothache so I just assumed it was pressure from my sinuses. Apparently I had been grinding my teeth really badly again, I use to have a horrible time with that years ago. So I was in immediate pain and was up crying the rest of the night. Not only was my dentist not open on Friday but apparently around here NO dentist is open on Friday. My god-send of a doctor gave me some pain medicine and started me on antibiotics for it. The pain meds didn't work though, they just wouldn't break through the pain. This morning Hubby took me to the emergency room where they quickly gave me a shot for the pain and told me to keep taking the medicine she gave me and that once the pain was under control those pills should work. All is good right now and I'm riding high, hopefully that will keep it under control until Monday. As if all of that wasn't enough when we got home from the emergency room we had been robbed. I am so furious and aggravated. Why do people have to be so lazy that the only way to survive is to steal from others? The worst part, to me anyway I'm sure hubby wouldn't agree, is that they stole our fire safe. I'm sure they thought they would get money out of it and I hate to disappoint them but the only thing in there was paperwork. The documentation for our jewelry, the kids birth certificates; that type of thing. It's obvious what they were after and that the safe and few other things they took just came as a bonus. They took hubby's ginseng that he had dug for goodness sakes!! It is everywhere around here - go dig some yourself!!! I am just so ticked off and no longer feel safe in my own home. This week really sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reoccurring Dreams

I don't dream much or at least I don't remember my dreams. The few times in my life that I can remember dreaming are when I have had reoccurring dreams. The first time I ever had a dream that I remembered was when I started having nightmares after my grandmother died. I was in 3rd grade, I believe and it was a horrible time for my family. I had a few cousins the same age as me and when our grandmother died one of them just quit walking. I can remember them saying that it was psychological but I didn't understand that. I kept having nightmares about Mamaw coming to take away our ability to walk. It was very traumatic for me but in a few weeks the dreams went away and I would beg for them to come back just so I could see her again and remember what she looked like. The only other time I can remember dreaming is when I was pregnant with each of the kids and while each kid got their own dream it was the same dream the whole time I was pregnant. I don't really remember much about the dream I had with each of the boys now, they weren't really strange just normal baby dreams. The one I had while pregnant with Audrey though I will never forget. We kind of figured it was a news story or something that I had seen that had started it. I would dream that we were all at the hospital and I had given birth except it ended up being twins and one of the babies was black. I would keep asking people "Don't you think he looks different?" and they would just say something about how he looked perfect to them. I dreamed this over and over and over again while I was pregnant with her and it drove me crazy. I'm not sure if I don't dream often or if I only remember the ones that keep reoccurring but these are the only times in my life that I can remember actually having a dream. Obviously they were brought on by stress but it still seems weird to me.

Pox confusion

I actually had time today to get a few things done. The truck was in bad need of some routine maintenance so that was first on my list. No sooner had I arrived at the shop than Mr. Perfectly Stubborn started calling. When I finished talking to the guy about the truck and called back he told me that he had to go pick up Jo. He had broken out the night before on his neck and back. We had decided that a bug had got in his shirt and bit him a bunch of times. It looked a little worse this morning but I gave him some Benedryl and put Caladryl on them and sent him to school. They were now itching so bad that he couldn't stand it and needed to be picked up. Mr. Perfectly Stubborn was perfect today and took him to the doctor for me. Despite the fact that he has had his vaccination he has the Chicken Pox. I'm confused, why do they get the shot if they can still get chicken pox after having it? They say that it will be a milder case - we shall see. I've been reading about the vaccine since I got back and I am left with a lot of questions. They aren't sure how long the effectiveness of it lasts and if I remember right it is worse to get it when you are older. I'm wondering how this effects getting shingles when you get older too. All of my kids have had their shots for this but now I'm wondering how smart of an idea that was.

Our Family History

Part 10: It always get worse

before it gets better.

Being released on the same day that I had surgery seemed a little odd to us all. Especially since it was 4 days before they could do the surgery but I was just glad to be home and have all of this behind me. That didn't last long by the next day I was back at the emergency room and readmitted to the hospital. Upon further tests they discovered that one of the gallstones had torn holes all in my pancreas. The pancreas works in a way that when it has a tear it will seal itself back off but this still leaves it weak. I was in the hospital for 22 days this time, back home for a few days and then back in the hospital for 10 days. It was a long and horrible process. I had to be very careful about what I ate and still do. For the next year I had to have a CT Scan every 6 weeks to ensure that my pancreas was healing properly. When it seals itself off it forms what they called pseudo cysts and they had to make sure that these dissolved and it healed itself up completely. After Matt's birth and all of this sickness I had lost a ton of weight but with the CT Scans they had to give me contrast and dye. The dye messed with my thyroid and within 3 months I had gained 60 lbs. In the middle of all of this, while I was back in the hospital for the 22 days, my kids were being taken care of by their grandparents. When Mom would come by with Matt, I knew that something was wrong but I couldn't figure it out and they weren't telling me anything. Finally they told me that he wasn't crying, wasn't making much of any noise except with every breath. When he would breathe, he whistled. So we got him to the doctor as soon as we could and he had a congenital laryngeal strider. Big word to say that his voice box wasn't hardened. They told us that it would take about 18 months for it to harden and that then he would have to play catch-up on learning how to talk. Most likely he would have to have a lot of speech therapy to get to where he needed to be. Getting used to the whistling was very difficult. Instead of listening for him to cry during the night I had to learn to sleep through the whistling and wake up when it stopped. It was hard for awhile. He started making a few sounds around 15 months and by 18 months was going full force. He learned how to talk quickly and did have a little speech therapy through the school when he was in Preschool but that was it. Thanks to God it all turned out alright in the end and I do give him credit for it all. That was without doubt the roughest year I have had so far in my life but we made it through and like the saying We are stronger for it.

Next: Stories from their childhood - Audrey

Random Abandon

The old saying - You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar- Let's just say some people would do well to remember that.

I think the fact that Luke Russert is taking up (almost) right where his father left off is remarkable. It looks like he has the potential to be just as cutting edge and innovative as his Dad. Check out how he has been blogging about the election as well as covering it, along with Hurricane Gustav and other things.

Ever wish someone would stand up for you like Johnny stood up for Baby. "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." (Yes I've watched Dirty Dancing again)

One day, One choice, One pound at a time

SW-218
LW-194.6
CW-193.7
GW-160

Finally down a little. It is getting easier to get the exercise in. Now I just need to get the eating completely under control. I'm going to do the first 2 week phase of South Beach starting Monday. I have been doing better gradually but that is the best thing I have ever tried for getting the junk eating out of my system.

Letter to Me

One of the bloggers that I love to read has started handing out assignments. I couldn't manage the time last week with all of the back to school adjustments but I am on board and loving it this week.

The Assignment: You are 20 years in the future, write a letter to your today's self.

Dear Melanie,


I have thought often about you through the years. I know that you are at a crossroads in your life. A place where you are honestly not sure which way you should go. Staying on the same path seems unbearable yet finding the courage to go another way is more difficult than you could ever have dreamed. It is hard for you, I know, to see the good in the life that you have. Letting go of some of the heartaches that you carry around is the only way for you to make it to where I am today. Trust yourself, believe in yourself and there is hope. Things will never be perfect and life will never be easy but if you make the decisions that you know must be made, you will be all right. You have friends that you can depend on, more than you realize; you just have to give them the chance. You must quit letting the fear of rejection hold you back and stop worrying about what people think of you. Just be who you are. Yes, you will be rejected at times but the payoff will outweigh those disappointments. You are an amazing person and you have a wonderful future ahead of you. Just believe that,hold on to that, keep your head held high and push through the things that must be done. You have strength that you have not needed yet and have not discovered but it is there. Use it, stand up for yourself, be the person that you want to be. The people who love you will still be there in the end.

Sincerely,
Melanie

P.S. On a lighter note, being in your 30’s does not make
you old. When you get close to 60, then we will talk about it.

Our Family History

Part 9:The beginning of a rough year

Our not so little family was finally complete and I was looking forward to settling in and figuring out how the logistics of a family this size were going to work. I didn't get the chance before everything fell apart. Remember I mentioned how I stayed sick while I was pregnant with Matt? The hospital continued to tell me that I had gastrointestinal flu and I had ultrasound after ultrasound to make sure the baby was okay. Not once in all that time, not once in any of those ultrasounds did they notice the real problem. I never really got to where I felt normal after Matt's birth and when he was 3 weeks old I started to get really sick again. Now that I didn't have a pregnancy to worry about I was not going back to the hospital to have them tell me again that I had stomach flu, so I tried to ride it out. After a few days I started feeling a little better and everyone relaxed. Mike was gone to work and after a little convincing Mom and Dad left and went out to a movie they had been planning on seeing. Not long after they left it hit me hard. At the time Audrey was only 7 but if it wasn't for her I would not have made it through that day. She would get Matt's bottles and kept the other 2 entertained. I had Matt setting in a baby seat next to the commode because I couldn't move. By the time someone got home to take me to the hospital I really thought I was dead. Not to be too sickening but the stuff I was throwing up was pure acid and was literally eating up my throat and mouth. When we got to the hospital I'm not sure what we were expecting but we thought it would be something simple that they could just give me some medicine for. In reality we were in for a long journey. Within no time they told us that they would be keeping me for awhile and that I would be having emergency surgery. I was full of gallstones; they were no longer just in my gallbladder they were now moving through my system. It was 4 days before they could do the emergency surgery, not because of shortcomings on their part but because I was too sick and not considered stable enough for surgery. Those 4 days were very difficult. I was worried about my kids more than anything, I knew they would be well cared for but I still wanted to be with them. Finally I had surgery and believe it or not was released on the same day. I was so glad to have all of this behind me. I couldn't have known at the time that it was just the beginning.
Part 10: It always gets worse before it gets better

Alzheimer's Walk in Priscillia's memory

As most of you know, Mike's family lost their mother to Alzheimer's in April of this year. On September 20th there will be a memorial walk at the Crossroads Mall that will benefit Alzheimer's research. I have created a team, in Priscillia's memory, for that walk. It is short notice because we ourselves just found out about it but we would appreciate any support that can be given. I will post a link to the site below and if you want to come and join the team and walk with us that would be great. If you want to give a donation to the cause in Priscillia's name that would be great too. You can do that through the site . If all you have to give is words of encouragement and prayers that too will be greatly appreciated. To Mike's family I personally want to say that this is a burden that was on my heart as soon as I heard about it, I think it is a small way that we can give back something for a wonderful woman who was taken long before any of us were willing to let her go. I hope you all will join me in walking for her.
Alz. Walk Site-http://beckleyoakhillmemorywalk.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=259242&lis=1&kntae259242=A867C531781641A3A170BBA5FBB3C06F&team=3166797&tlteam=0

Random Abandon

Things are getting back to normal. If there is such a thing as normal around here. I am settling back into every day life.

There's one sad truth in life I've found
While journeying east and west -
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.
~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

First volleyball game coming up this week and I can't wait. Basketball tryouts started Friday and all of that will be underway soon.

After a very lengthy discussion about something silly, these statements were made:

Mr. Perfectly Stubborn - Let's change the subject.
Drew- Let's switch to Math.
Yep, that's his favorite subject!!

One day, One choice, One pound at a time

SW-218
LW-192.6
CW-194.6
GW-160

This makes it almost exactly 10 lbs. I've gained. Honestly I don't know why I gained this week. I know that sometimes once you start down the right path it takes it awhile to show up. I exercised a lot this week and ate better but still not great. I'm going to cut out any strength training until I start losing again and I am giving up the Soda this week. That is my biggest weakness and it seems to make the eating worse too. Hopefully next week the work I did this week will show up. I joined the challenge at In-Shape Brag Blog and have done well this week for it. I will have my 15 miles I need for this week.

I Picked a Girl featuring John McCain and Sarah Palin

I actually think I am coming around to the McCain-Palin ticket but this video is just so hilarious that I had to share it.

Sleep- - -Please!?!

I have mentioned the "Destruction Crew" and I knew that they would cause destruction but I had no idea how much havoc they would bring to my life. It was a given that there would be a mess, mud and dust everywhere. That is the least of my problems though. They keep the road blocked half the time, I can never come and go when I want to. I don't go anywhere I don't have to because I'm afraid I won't get back home. They are always around so I haven't been going outside much. The worst thing of all though is that I am not getting any sleep. The drills are running constantly and the noise is not that bad during the day but at night when it is quiet that is all I hear. Then add in the trucks coming and going constantly and there is just no resting. I swear every time I get to sleep they do something that wakes me up. I am going insane here. I need some good sleep. I am tempted while the kids are off for the weekend to take some Tylenol PM and put in some ear plugs and just tell them all before they go to bed that if they need me they will have to come in and shake me to get me up. I need a full nights rest!!!!

101 in 1001 progress

I feel like I am spinning my wheels. I have so many things that are just on the verge of being completed but I can't quite get there. A few of the things are a little too dependent upon Hubby's help. Like #25 and #9. A lot of the things are planned and it is just a matter of finding the time to do the follow through. The beginning of a school year is always hectic, I'm hoping to get settled into the new routine in the next few weeks and get some things accomplished. I am working on the walls for #15 and that is going to be a long process. The crocheting and knitting for #64 & #65 are going to have to wait till it cools down, it is just too hot to fool with that. I am going to start #63 on my birthday this month but as it suggests it will take a year to complete. I thought it would be cool to do it from birthday to birthday though. For #76 I have actually got my keyboard back out and am now looking into taking some type of class because I just don't think I can teach myself this. So I am making progress, it just isn't very visible.

Our Family History

Part 8: The Misery that

brought me Matt

When I last left you I had started trying for baby #4 after giving my tailbone the 6 weeks they said it needed to heal and had made a wonderful deal with my husband to close up my baby-making factory. Of course, as my history should show, it didn't take me long to get pregnant. It took even less time for me to realize it was bad timing. Audrey was in Kindergarten when I found out I was pregnant and would be just a few months into 1st grade when I had him. My life was total chaos and I was in no shape to handle most of it. Yes, in 6 weeks your tailbone is healed enough to not really worry about lifting things or doing things you had to be careful about when it was healing. That did not mean it was ready for the changes or pressure of carrying a fetus. Not ready AT ALL!! I was very sick, as usual, for the first few months and as soon as that started to ease up the pain set in. I had trouble with my hip every time I got pregnant because I fell when I was pregnant with Audrey and dislocated it. Now on top of that I also couldn't set down because of my tailbone. There were very few positions that I was comfortable in and by the time I was ready to have him I was one miserable woman. On top of that I kept getting sick, they told me 3 times while I was pregnant with him that I had gastrointestinal flu(I will explain what was really wrong in a later post). My stomach hurt so bad most of the time that I couldn't feel the baby moving and they had to keep doing ultrasounds to make sure he was okay. It was tough but somehow we made it through, I was so glad though that this was the last time I would be doing this. I signed the paper for getting my tubal at my very first doctor's appointment. I knew he would not go through with doing his surgery and I wanted to be prepared, I wasn't taking any chances. When it was time to have him the doctor schedule my appointment to be induced. I went to see her the day before to make sure everything was going as planned and she said she wanted to "strip my membranes" now and that would make things go a little smoother tomorrow. I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 6 for my induction the next morning. At 3 in the morning I woke Hubby up and said "Let's go!". I had actually gone into full blown labor ON MY OWN. By the time we got to the hospital and got me checked in and settled I knew it wouldn't be long. They picked up a heart murmur on the monitor and were afraid that he was going to be born with something wrong with his heart. Mom immediately went and called to have everyone praying for us. The doctor checked me and told Hubby and Mom that I still had a little while but that it wouldn't be long BUT she didn't move. She stayed setting right there, that was not a good sign. Within a matter of just a few minutes and long before the drugs had time to kick in I was giving birth. He was born at just a few minutes after 6 (right when I should have been being induced) and was perfectly healthy. They could not find a single thing wrong with his heart and could not explain what had been showing up on the monitor just disappearing as soon as he was born - I could, it was God. The next day as they were wheeling me down the hall to surgery to do my tubal Mr.Perfectly Stubborn was still standing there saying "You aren't really going to do this are you?" No answer was needed just a look as they shut the doors. He must be crazy.

Next-Part 9:The makings of a tough year.