2008

I don't even think I realized it until I started to think about this post, but 2008 was a hard year for us. There were some really great things that happened, but the lows were lower than "normal" lows. There were times where we wondered what God was doing, what He was trying to teach us, and to this day, some of those questions are still unanswered. But, we keep trusting and keep on keepin' on. So, as I turn the pages of my calendar, here are the highlights of the year. Ok, you may be bored, but this is my record keeping.

January

• I determined to read the Bible through in one year. And, I have one day left!! This is something that I'd never done, and was very excited!!
• Savannah got RSV. This involved an ambulance ride to the hospital, but thankfully, didn't require a hospital stay

February

• Our friends, the Bodes, left Texas for Washington. This was a low point for especially Emily and me.
• Emily and Savannah went back to Urgent Care with Pink Eye and Ear Infections.
• My parent's dog, Shatzie, had to be put down. We got her when we first moved to NC. She was 14 years old.
• I got bronchitis that lingered into March and turned into pneumonia.

March

• Emily got bronchitis and Savannah got another ear infection.
• Yay for an "up-point"--My BFF Melanie and her two girls came to visit....oh wait, they all got stomach flu while they were here...oh well, I tried.

April

• Started on a good note!! My mom and dad came to visit for 2 weeks!!
• Brian and I got to go to the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Oh look, Savannah got another ear infection.
• This is the month we started looking for another schooling option for Emily. This was a hard decision for us. We decided to homeschool, and haven't looked back!

May

• Took Emily to an allergy specialist and it was determined that she is allergic to everything. Seriously, I'm not kidding. Every tree, grass, flower...yadda yadda
• I'm sick of typing it, but Vannah got another ear infection.
• The Homeschool Book Fair was a HUGE highlight of the year!!! Not only was it SO much fun, but it gave me the feeling that I really could do this homeschooling thing.
• Savannah got really sick and ended up in the hospital with Rotovirus. She was in for 2 days.

June

• I have to add a "whole" summer thing. We spent SO much time at the pool and it was SO much fun. Emily and Savannah loved it, and I got so tan. :)
• Oh look! On June 19th, I have written "Savannah's skin clear"! Hm. Wonder what caused that?
• We got the news in late June that Brian didn't pass his Tech Sgt test. I have to admit, I responded NOT well. This was one of those times that I didn't know what the Lord was trying to do. I still don't, but He's given us peace about it.

July

• Started very nice as my dad came on July 2 to pick up Emily to spend a few extra weeks at their house.
• We had the best 4th of July ever!!! It was so fun and relaxing! We had yummy food and watched the fireworks from our back yard!
• WOW!! July was a GOOD month!!!! We left on the 29th to go see my parents!

August

• We spent the first two weeks in NC with my parents! We went to the beach and had so much fun with them (as usual)
• My mom went to the dr for a routine check that ended in months of hospitalization. Mom had Triple by-pass on August 21st.
• Wow, no one was sick three months in a row!

September

• My baby girl turned 2 this month. I have no idea where the time goes.
• My mom came home from the hospital on Sept 11th.
• Brian didn't pass his PT test and thus started months of salads and 2 hour work outs.
• My mom went back into the hospital on the 22nd.
• AUGH! I almost made it...Vannah got another ear infection at the end of September.

October

• Sarah and I drove home....3,200 miles....with 4 kids....it was a BLAST! Really, it was!

November

• Girls got ear infections and pneumonia.
• Our friend, Chris Bode, came to see us....ok, not really, but he saw us while he was in town on business.
• I started having heart palpitations....still don't know what's wrong.

December

• Girls got the stomach bug...thankfully, just 24 hours.
• Brian passed his PT test!! He lost 35 pounds and 6 1/2 inches off his waist!!

Ok, so that was LONG, but I promise you I tried to add all the good things and bad things. It was a ROUGH year!!! I learned in this year that I need Christ. I started the year with, "Sigh, I need to read my Bible so I don't get behind in my schedule." and ended with, "I NEED to read my Bible NOW!" My quiet time became my place of rest, reproof, and encouragement. My mom's illness brought me to my knees over and over again. Our illnesses (13 in all) brought me to my knees several times. Not only did I wonder what the Lord was trying to teach us, but we suffered through the "Are ya'll sick again?" and the fear that people were going to think we were staying out of church "just because". God taught us that that is a pride issue and we have to take care of our family FIRST and then everything else.

I am glad this year is over and am looking forward to 2009. It's not going to start out very fun, with Brian leaving at the beginning, but I have big hopes that God is going to do wondrous things!!!

Merry Christmas

We had a good day. Three years ago, we spent Christmas with Brian's family. The last two years, we've been with my family. This year, it was just us. Sigh. It was nice, but the grandparents were greatly missed.

The girls had so many presents that we split them up. They opened most of them this morning, and then some after dinner. It was nice that way. Our favorite gifts were, Brian: The Dark Knight (movie), Jenn: My Willow Tree Nativity set, Emily: Her Doctor kit and coat, Savannah: tie between her new pacis and all the candy!!

After an afternoon walk with Emily's birthday bike and Savannah's new tricycle (it was 71 degrees today), we had the Shines over for Jesus' birthday cake. It was yummy. Now, the girls are bathed, eating popcorn, and ready for bed. I am ready for quiet. The noise level on Christmas is about 10 decibels above a normal day.

So, tomorrow, we pull down all the Christmas decorations and get the house in order so we can get organized for Brian's deployment. Pray for us. We told Emily that he is leaving. She took it well....not sure if she realizes what's going on. Now that Christmas is over, I have time to think about the time of separation, and it slightly panics me. We're enjoying our time together.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and took time to remember the true meaning. When I tried to remind Emily of the importance of Christmas, she said, "Mom, I know that Christmas is about Jesus being born, but I am excited about my presents!" Point taken. :)


Emily found the pickle, and thus was allowed to open the first present. I had never heard of this, but evidently it's a well known tradition. My friend, Sarah, gave us the pickle a couple years ago.


Emily and her Dr. Kit and Coat


Savannah's new tricycle

The girls with their princess dolls.

On our walk!

Yay, Brian!!!

Brian had a fitness test yesterday and he passed it with flying colors!! Speaking of flying, he ran just under an eight minute mile. He said that's the fastest he's ever run. Pretty good for an old man. :) For the last three months, he has eaten nothing but salads for lunch and dinner, and a protein shake for breakfast. He's worked out at least 2 hours every weekday. He lost almost 40 pounds and 6.5 inches off his waist!!! I am SO proud of his discipline and what he's accomplished!!! Here are before and after pictures.


This was at the beginning of September


This is now!

Emily's Birthday

We had the best day yesterday. Emily was the center of attention all day. Let me tell ya, it is easier to do housework and laundry than to make a 6 year old feel like the world revolves around her ALL day (you may not think that the world should revolve around a child on his/her birthday, but that's how I was raised, so deal with it ha ha). She had donuts for breakfast, didn't have to do school, went out to lunch, and had a birthday scavenger hunt for her big present....her new bike. Between Meme and Papa and Emma (her BFF) she had twelve (yes, twelve) presents to open. So, instead of opening all of them all at once, she got to open one every hour or so. It was the best day ever.

The only thing that was a bubble in the day was her 6 year well child Dr. visit. She is 3' 6 1/2" tall and 43 pounds (yes, she is a little girl). Her doctor is sending her to an opthamologist for her left eye. It is slightly (very slight) lazy, and she said we may as well have it looked at before it gets worse. She also is sending her to a speech therapist. Emily can say her S's (she doesn't have a lisp), but she sticks her tongue between her teeth when she does it. How she says her S's like that I have no idea. I've tried teaching her not to do it, but she doesn't get it. The Dr. said it's a habit and we need to break it before she's older. She also wants a pulmonary functions test done. Emily is on 3 different types of allergy/asthma medication, and the Dr would like to take her off some if possible. That won't be until January sometime.

Speaking of January (I know this is a birthday post....sorry), my cardiology appointment is January 5th. That is the initial appt, so I know there will be tests to follow. The only problem with that is, Brian is leaving very soon after my first appointment. So, I'm going to have to do all those heart tests without him. I don't think there is anything wrong, per se, but doing something like that while your husband is 8,062 miles (I calculated) away is not appealing. Not to mention, Emily's appointments will be during that time, too. Just pray as we prepare for Brian's deployment that all our hearts (pun not intended) will be full of God's peace.

Anyway, here are Emily's birthday pictures.


Here is Emily with her birthday donut


The bag of loot

Aren't these beautiful? Sarah decorated them for me. Thank you Sarah....oh wait, she doesn't read blogs. :)

Emily's new bike. Too bad it's 19 degrees outside. Oh well, it's supposed to be 79 on Sunday. Yeah, I'm not kidding.

Happy Birthday Emily!!

They say that a woman never tires of telling her labor story. In fact, there was a study done between 1964 and 1971 where a child birth educator made the women write their birth stories out. Then 20 years later, these same women were told to do it again. Most of the stories were word for word. So, I'm no different. Here is my Emily story.

Six years ago today...right now...I was in class. Yes, in a class. I got this idea after I graduated college and got laid off from my accounting job to go back to school and get a medical secretary degree. That all ended on December 9, 2002.

I woke up that morning and went to the Dr. He told me to expect to be pregnant for at least 2 more weeks. I was ok with that. I wasn't miserable, and thought I had 2 more weeks to enjoy being kid free. I had breakfast with Brian at McDonalds and went to class. After class, I went home, and wrapped up all the Christmas goodies I was sending to Brian's family and took them to UPS. My parents called and invited us to lunch. It was a Monday, and we were having the leftovers from Sunday. Salsa Chicken. Isn't it funny the things you remember??

Brian was working swings, so he left the house at 3:30 for work. At 4:00, I got my first "twinge". As it was my first baby, I had no idea what I was feeling. I thought I was ill from the salsa chicken. About seven minutes later, I got my second "twinge". Again, no clue. About five minutes later, my third twinge came. I thought, "Man, these are coming like every couple minutes.....Ooohhhhhh." I called Brian and told him what I thought was happening. He said, "Call me if you thinks it's the real thing." He suggested calling my mom to sit with me. I was going to call her until 5:00 if they were still coming. I was watching something on TV and wanted to see the whole show.

About 4:30, I decided I couldn't wait. I called her and she showed up in record time. My contractions started coming stronger and every 3-5 minutes. This was happening way to fast, I thought. I called Brian at 6:30 and told him to come home (it took him forever, by the way) and called the hospital at 7:30. They told me that there was no way it was time yet. She said to take 2 Tylenol and drink 3 glasses of water and call back in a hour if I was still having contractions. Well, an hour later, I was in so much pain, I didn't think I could make it to the hospital. My contractions were right on top of each other. The nurse said, "Well, you can come in, but we'll probably send you home."

We left for the hospital, and honestly, I don't remember the drive much. I know for a fact that if I hadn't gone to Lamaze classes, that she would have been born in the car. I knew how to breathe without pushing. I told the insurance lady that I needed to push, and they wheeled me right up. I remember briefly thinking that I looked horrible. I had on sweat pants and a T-shirt (probably Brian's considering my enormous size) and these horridly ugly, fuzzy socks.

When I got up to the room, I told the nurse that had told me to drink water that I needed to push. She said, "No, you don't, you probably just need to use the restroom." She decided to check me at the last minute and I saw her panic. Emily was on her way. She hurriedly set everything up and told me to push. I asked about the Dr. and she said he was on his way, but she didn't think he would make it in time. I'm thinking, "So the crazy lady that told me to drink water is going to deliver my baby?" I also asked about drugs, and was told that it was too late for drugs. Anyway, the dr made it (my favorite dr that I had seen), and 42 minutes after we arrived at the hospital, and 2 pushes later, at 9:46 pm, Emily Anne Moix arrived.

Sorry that you had to endure my story, but I had to tell it on this day. I wish I had pictures of that day. I have hard copies, but all our computer pictures were lost when we moved here and our hard drive was broken. I'll share pictures of her birthday later!! We have a fun day planned!!

Emily, I am so proud of you. You have seen heartache already in your young life, yet you always have a smile on your face. I'm so glad that you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior and strive to please Him. I love you baby....you will always be my baby girl!!!

Mommy

Round Two!!!

Here we are with our second round of sickness for the winter. This one is NOT fun. Well, not that being sick is EVER fun, but this is the stomach flu, and that is especially not fun. Savannah had the 24 hour version. Emily is 12 hours into her (hopefully) 24 hour bug. Brian and I are praying that we don't get it at all.

We are also in the flurry of birthday and Christmas excitement. Emily's birthday is Tuesday. She was sick last year for her birthday, so we're hoping that she gets over this quickly. I get to go shopping today for her birthday present, and I'm so excited. We are getting the Christmas packages together to mail to family. It's that time of year where the excitement doesn't stop!! Right now, we need to get through the bug.....then back to excitement!!

A Rant

This has nothing to do with much of anything. I don't know who shares my feelings, but I need to vent, and it's my blog. HA!

Why can't little girls be little girls, anymore? I've been shopping quite a bit in the last few days, and do you know what I see?? I see Hannah Montana everywhere. I see bikini panties for little girls. I see off the shoulder dresses and spaghetti strapped tank tops (those were on the clearance rack, since it's winter). WHY WHY WHY?????

As I was doing Emily's hair on Sunday, I had the thought, "She's getting so big, but in this dress, and with her hair like this, she still looks like a little girl." Praise the Lord!!!! When did we stop wanting little girls to stay innocent and start letting them dress like teenagers, watch things that involve teenager situations, and act like teenagers??

Small disclaimer. I've never seen Hannah Montana. I did some reading about it, though. Did you know that her audience at her concerts is age 6-10? SIX??? Are you serious?? Who lets their six year old go to any concert, much less a rock concert. Ok, so I did read that compared to Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and others that Miley Cyrus is innocent and sweet. Someone once told me (I think it was my pastor, but I can't really remember) that we don't compare ourselves to other people, we compare ourselves to Christ. How innocent and sweet is she compared to Christ?

Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say. Surely I'm not the only one out there that gets irritated while shopping for their daughters. Let's keep our little girls little!!! They can be cute and chic without being skanky, right???