He was madly ROBBED!

 

Johnny Depp was up for BEST ACTOR...

in a comedy or musical...

twice in the same catagory...

once for THE TOURIST...

which I thought this was a drama...

but what do I know?...

and again for ALICE IN WONDERLAND...

and he didn't win...

so depressing...

I must have chocolate...

Sunday happenings...

Mr Wiggles playing in the pop box...

we have found raising babies...

that these are the best toys for cats...

and after each litter, we throw them away...

he thinks he's hid...

pay no attention to my 80's country blue carpet, please...

I have plans for a hardwood floor in here if things would just cooperate...

so, today was the day we decided to break this thing in...

it comes with a recipe and helpful hint book...

so we decided on apple cinnamon muffins...

cooking...

and in 3-5 minutes...

they are done...

but we have figured out we need little cupcake papers...

so the next time we do these it will be a lot easier to get them out and we can do so many in just a half hours time...

the guys made brownies last night after I went to bed...

I had DH pick up a can of cream cheese icing..

which is really good on the muffins and its amazing on the brownies...

these brownies are so moist!...

so now they have junk food...

so while I was sitting at the table waiting for the muffins to cook...

I took a couple extra pictures...

so, I would highly recommend this cupcake maker to anyone...

we just set it on the table and sat around and made muffins and talked and laughed...

it would be great for grandma's with kids who like to help...

I like the smaller portions...

I can grab one or two and be fine with that...

the guys can grab more...

we have them all under a cake dome...

and DH opened the lid awhile ago and filled the house with the smell of chocolate, apple and cream cheese...

what a combination!

YUM YUM...

PRAYER IS NEEDED FOR:

I do need a prayer warrior. Her name is Nannette. She is critically ill following colon surgery. She was moved to a hospital in Savannah, Ga. Please pray that she will be able to breathe without the ventilator and retain good vital signs for heart and kidney function. Many thanks.

THIS WAS LEFT BY CONNIE...

in a comment on one of my posts...

and there is no blog to find and a noreply email...

so I couldn't go and leave her a comment or find out anything more...

so Connie, she will be in my prayers...

I put in a note in my God Box for her...

and all my blogging buddies now will know to pray for her, too...

God's blessings to you and Nannette...

The final leg of the story...

my first born...

Doug...

which most of you know is deaf...

but what you don't know is how he is tied into all of this...

I married the first time right out of high school...

and we got pregnant pretty soon after...

and my mom was with me through the whole pregnancy...

and when I was 3 months, mom always went to the doctor with me...

because of Kathy and the theory it happened to the first borns...

and she had her medical records...

so we talked to doctor about it and he made arrangements for me to go the Champaign...

the see an obgyn at Carle and to talk to the genetics department at the U of I...

so mom and I went first to the U of I and answered all kinds of questions...

then onto Carle for an amniocentesis test...

they were going to check the chromosomes to see if I was carrying a child with downs...

but by the time they went through all the information...

the experts determined I had a great chance of miscarrying a normal baby from having the test than of me having one with downs...

so I decided not to have the test...

I went home...

and I was walking down the hall and I started talking to God about it....

because everyone was tense around me...

and we really wanted to know to see what we were going to deal with...

and whether to continue the pregnancy or not...

but I never had to make that choice...

but my doctor did want me to have all the options...

so as I was talking to God...

I told him that I would take any child He gave me...

and that it would be an honor if He trusted me enough to give me one of his special children...

as soon as I said that, a peace like nothing else I have every felt came over me and lasted through the whole pregnancy...

now, there are certain characteristics of ds children...

almond shaped eyes, flat fingers and the one I love the most...

in your palm, the lines going across it make an M...

in downs, the line is straight across...

mom had told me all of this and that as soon as this baby was born...

we were to check its palms and we would know...

so when Doug came out...

I grabbed a hand...

there was an M...

mom was waiting just outside the door, so when they wheeled us out, I held up Doug's little hand and said it's ok...

a couple of feedings later...

I looked at both palms...

one palm has the M...

the palm I didn't check has a straight line...

did Doug have downs and God lessened the disability?

or was it just a reminder from God about our conversation in the hallway when I was 3 months along?

18 months later we found out the Doug was deaf, for sure...

and I have never felt like Doug was cheated by God...

and in raising Doug, I hit it head on every time...

even when it seemed hopeless and I couldn't find one sign book...

or anyone who could really tell me anything...

I kept on...

making my own supplies to teach him...

learning fast so I could show him...

making sure he got what he needed...

and when I hit a road block, I would look at his palm...

and remember that God trusted me enough...

the next time Doug comes by...

I will get photos of both of his hands...

and show you God's work...

The rest of the story...

my dad's parents with my sister...

when mom had Kathy, they whisked her away quickly...

so mom knew something was wrong...

and she kept asking...

"What's wrong with my baby?"...

when they did finally tell her...

she said a prayer...

and she only asked for one thing...

she said...

"Lord, I know she's not mine to keep...

but could you let me have her for just one year?"...

Kathy had weighed over 6 pounds when she was born...

but in 3 days, she was below 5...

and like I said...

the nurses scrambled to come up with enough blankets to make up the weight on the scale so they could take her home for a little while...

my mom always looked at it like a bonus...

she asked for 12 and got 13...

she got 30 more days than she had asked for...

my mom was always like that...

and when my sister died, it was on August 2nd...

and my mom and dad's anniversary was on the 7th...

mom had had to go to bed to carry Kathy in the last part of her pregnancy...

so when she got pregnant with me...

she was working...

and the doctor advised her to quit and take it easy...

and she said...

"Nope.  I'm ether going to carry that baby on my feet or not."

because she said, her body knew something was wrong the first time...

and she was either going to carry a strong, healthy baby this time or give it back sooner...

"It's harder to give them back once you have held them in your arms."

she had zero problems carrying me...

on her feet, working full time, until her 8th month...

my sister's stone marking her grave in  Ohio...

see the lamb...

that's why I collect little lambs...

my parents were married in August...

Kathy died in August...

and I was born in August...

and when my mom died...

one of my first thoughts were...

she's rocking Kathy...

it was Kathy's turn to have mom...

because they could never hold or rock her much...

she couldn't get enough air if you held her to your chest...

they always had to hold her out and away from them...

or just watch her as she laid in her crib...

she would turn blue so easy...

in my parents and grandparents eyes...

Kathy was perfect...

she was a gift...

and Kathy's special gift from God...

was that she changed lives forever...

and she was never forgotten...

and yes, I have met her...

through my mom's heart...

and they lived happily ever after...

now that's a happy ending...