Finally Friday and Ready for February

Brookelynn went to a hospitality dinner at Steven's Street Baptist Church this evening with Cassie and a few of her other friends.

 After the dinner, she went home with her friend Ella for a sleepover. Brookelynn is a rambler. She likes to keep moving. She is either at a friends house or has a friend coming to ours every weekend. The rest of us made a trip to Sparta and we ate dinner at El Tapatio while we were there. Not sure why, but the Sparta El Tapatio just isn't as good as the Cookeville ones. We also visited my dad and Phyllis while we were in Sparta. Daddy always has valuable information to share. I try to soak in as much as I can when I am with him. He is the smartest person that I know and God hand picked him to be my daddy. God always knows just what I need.

Way Too Soon

Well, today was the day. Not only was it a birthday, but it was a milestone. The day that my Devin entered adulthood. Of course, not much changed from his normal daily routine, and yet it seems everything has changed. In his mind, he thought things would be a lot different starting today, but as we all learn, changes in our life don't just happen because of a date on a calendar. Devin thought that he could take the day off of school since he is now 18. I quickly informed him differently. He also thought that going to church or staying home would now be his decision. Again, he stood corrected. One thing turning 18 did not change, is the fact that he is still my baby and he always will be.
Until he graduation, we are still going to function, live and breathe by the Hayes House code of ethics. The only thing that being 18 means for now, is that he is legally old enough to be punished by law should he make bad choices. Sometimes being an adult has its downsides. I hope he makes good decisions in life. I hope he adapts well to the grown up world and I pray for Gods guidance and gentle corrections when Devin veers from Him.
As I have explained to Devin numerous times...I have made many parenting mistakes, but I am learning too. There are many things that I would do differently if I could, but we just don't get a trial run on raising our kids. One thing that I have done, is love him every minute of every day with my whole heart.
I know that for a couple more months, he will be here at home where I know he is safe and far from trouble. After that walk across the stage and into the real world, the true worries will begin for me. I dread it so badly. Oh how I wish he was little again. The years sure flew by.
We celebrated tonight with dinner at O'Charley's. Gary and Darlene came over to join us. We had cake at home afterwords. Even a new dog showed up in our fence today to celebrate with us, but Stoker set that little doggie back on the road. Two dogs are plenty for this yard. It is your day Devin...I hope you have a happy one. 

We are Tired of Winter

Brookleynn and I looked at open houses Sunday, January 26 after church. I just like to look at "how the other half live". Brooke goes through houses claiming rooms and mapping out everything. I bet it is such an emotional roller coaster for the realtor's to initially think she has sold the place according to Brooke's remarks and then I drop the "were not looking to buy a house" bomb.
Brooke had an orthodontist appt after school on Monday, January 27. She had new wires and bands put on to start pulling her teeth into the gaps where she had four teeth extracted a few weeks ago. She is a little sore now.
I guess the school system wanted to be proactive on Tuesday, January 28, so they closed school due to frigid temps and snow flurries.
School was back on for Wednesday, January 29.  We went to church that evening. Brooke took a rainbow loom phone case to school today to sell to a classmate ( that's my girl). We had to shop for more bands Wednesday evening because she has a couple more orders to fill.

Spring Tease then Winter Weather

MLK Day was beautiful. Monday, January 20 was 63 degrees and sunny. The kids and I enjoyed a day at home together. I washed all the extra blankets that we had in the house, donated extra pillows and blankets to the help center, moved my printer to the master closet, cleaned the master bedroom, 5 loads of laundry, and cooked dinner. A successful day.

Tuesday, January 21 was back to cold weather. I dropped off the kids at school at 8 am. I was back in line picking them up at 11 am because the snow was falling fast. The warm temperature from Monday had plummeted down to 20 degrees.

School was closed on Wednesday, January 22 due to snow accumulation. Mildred and Paradise stopped by for an evening visit before we went to church.
The high temp for Thursday, January 23 was 18 degrees. Needless to say the snow was still hanging around and schools were closed for another day.
School started at 10 am on Friday, January 24, which threw my whole day off. Brookelynn had a friend Megan to spend the night at our house Friday night. We ordered pizza and stayed indoors because it was freezing outside.
I took mom to her friend Nina's funeral on Saturday, January 25. I can't imagine how mom feels to be the last survivor of her family including her parents, siblings and now to see her friend pass. That has to leave a lonesome void in her heart.
Darlene and Gary came by to visit us Saturday evening. Although I had cooked at home, they loaded up Devin and Brookelynn and took them to Outback for an early birthday dinner for Devin. Whats up with that?

The Saga Continues

I received a text from Devin at school on Monday, January 13, that said "come pick me up". After a few messages back and forth, I knew the panic attack was in full swing. I've never had a panic attack, but I have learned a lot about them in the last couple of weeks. I had already explained to Devin that he was going to have to learn to control his breathing, try techniques to calm himself and learn to get through the attacks. If these are going to be persistent, he is going to have to cope with them instead of retreating to his room until they pass.

Devin managed the school day and Monday, but dreads the next episode. We went over calming techniques after dinner at El Tap on Monday.  To be honest, I think I am on the verge of some sort of "break down" or "attack". Not being able to just "fix" the problem that my children encounter is overwhelming and exhausting. I am the parent, I want to make it go away...but I can't. I have prayed about it, so now I have to let God handle it. I completely trust God in this, it is just hard for me to wait.
On Tuesday, January 14, I cooked dinner at home. I really, really really want to make a lifestyle change and prepare home cooked meals more frequently. I know it is healthier for all of us, but old habits are hard to break. By the time that Brookelynn got out of Power Athletics, dinner was ready to eat. By the time dinner was ate and dishes were washed, it was time for baths and bed. That is just one of the pitfalls of working all day and cooking at home. There just isn't time for much else.
Wednesday, January 15, was the day that I took Devin to see his doctor. She confirmed the panic attacks and told Devin that the day his fingers were tingling at school was due to hyperventilating.  She suggested breathing into a paper bag if it happens again.

She decided to send him for an echo-cardiogram just to be safe.
Before church Wednesday  evening, Stroker spread grass seed and straw in the yard to cover some of the mud where Kimba has dug holes. It's a bit early for seeding, but our yard looks like someone has been digging for lost treasure. 

Stroker was offered a job in the shipping department at his work on Thursday, January 16. He is pretty sure that he is going to go for it. Devin went for his echo-cardiogram Thursday as well. I also had to make a trip to Sparta Thursday evening.
Friday evening, January 17, Stroker and I grabbed Taco Bell in the drive thru for the kids, then he and I went to IHOP for dinner. It feels good to have dinner for two.
Saturday, January 18, was a nice day to get outdoors. Stroker rotated the tires on the trailer and followed that by grilling burgers. Brooke's "Rainbow Loom" arrived in the mail so she has mad dozens of bracelts, hair bows and phone cases. 

After church on Sunday, January 19, we went to daddy's for lunch. We followed that with a visit at mom's. We also returned the dog crate that we borrowed from Kevin since Kimba is trained to not leave the front rug when she is in the house. 

Although I am trying to cook at home more, we wound up at Cheddar's for dinner.

Self Diagnosis

School was cancelled on Tuesday, January 7, not for the holiday of my friend Maleigha's birthday, but because the roads were still iced over from Monday mornings snow and freezing rain episode. Our road was a solid sheet of ice. One of the DJ's from a local radio station must have taken a short cut down our road on his way to work today because he broadcast "watch out for Short Street" on the radio.

Don't these dogs look cozy?
Wednesday, January 8, was yet another "Snow Day". The temperatures just won't rise enough to allow the roads to thaw. Other than work and church this evening, the Hayes' family stayed off the roads.

Besides, I have my odometer and a good round number. I hate to mess it up. 
Finally on Thursday, January 9 the rain came down and rinsed the leftover ice, salt and yuck off the roads (and vehicles). Not in time for schools to be open, but what is one more day off after three weeks of sitting home.

Friday, January 10, was the first day back to school since dismissal for Christmas break. I think the dread had an effect on Devin. He got me out of bed at 4:15 am with some type of anxiety attack. His heart was beating fast and he had spells of trembling. I stayed up with him until time for school.
He didn't really feel like going, but I just couldn't let him stay home since school had been out for so long. Before I dropped him and Brookelynn off, we went for breakfast at IHOP. I thought it might help Devin feel better and I thought it was a good way to begin the new semester. Devin was feeling some better after eating.
I received a text from him at 9am that another anxiety attack was happening. He told me he was having trouble breathing and his fingers were tingling. I checked him out of school and we went to Satellite Med for a check up. Other than a slightly elevated blood pressure and a slight decrease in white blood cells, he checked out fine. He even started to feel okay again after a while. We stopped for lunch and spent the rest of the evening at home as another attack hit around 5pm. I just sat with him and coached him on slow breathing techniques until it eased up. What else could I do?

Devin is convinced that he has diabetes. I spent the day trying (unsuccessfully) to reassure him that he is not diabetic. He is scared to death of the next attack, but we just don't know when to expect it. I spent several hours with Devin throughout Friday night as the episodes set in a couple more times.
Saturday, January 11 was a bit better. No panic attacks until the evening came. It's a good thing too. I was not worth a dime from being up and down all night. I had a tough headache that I just could not get a grasp on. As it eased up temporarily mid-day, the four of us went for lunch at O'Charley's. Devin was trying to make healthy choices due to his new "diabetic" (he's convinced) condition.
Sunday, January 12, consisted of church and a trip to Crossville. We went to the outlet mall, Ruby Tuesday's, Lowes and Wal-Mart. We wasted a bunch of money that we probably should have just held on to, but I think it was the cabin fever that just had us ready to get out today.

Here's a couple of pictures that I took of Stroker and Brookelynn acting goofy at the outlet mall today. He found a reflective shirt. 

She found some nerd glasses. 

Polar Vortex

Maybe this year is going to be a quiet one. We have spent the first week of 2014 mostly at home snuggled up. On January 1st, I got all the Christmas decorations put back into the attic and shed while the temperature was still in the 50's. At 2:00 that day, we went to Mildred's for a New Years dinner. 

January 2nd was the day that the worlds workforce had to suck it up and get back to reality. It turned cold today and began to snow and sleet. It was a "rip-off" for the kids though. Snow and sleet is much more fun when it is during scheduled school time. It's just not as exciting when school is already out.

The frigid temperature made me want to stay home for dinner, so I cooked a ham, mashed potato'scorn and crescent rolls for the family. 

On Friday, January 3rd, Brooke and I got out and went to the movies to see Madea's Christmas

Stroker doesn't get into the Madea movies so he and Devin sat this one out.

We spent Saturday, January 4th mostly at home. Me and the kids went to Sparta to visit my mom for about a bit and we went by Stacia's and got to visit Jett and Dash for a while. They were testing out a new game that they had gotten for Christmas.

Sunday, January 5th, was the day that the news warned us all of single digit temperatures that would arrive after dark.  Wal-Mart was a mad-house. To be honest, my nerves were shot just trying to maneuver through the parking lot so I came on home.  Brookelynn went to spend a few hours at her friend Cassidy's before the "winter storm" hit. Stroker and I started calling around looking for a place for Snuggi to go. Snuggie is Paradise's Shitzu dog that isn't allowed to come inside at Mildreds. With the forcast calling for a low of 2 degrees, we didn't want him to freeze. Finally after about an hour on the phone, we found a taker. 

Today, Stroker and I both decided not to get out in the weather. The high today was 9. We stayed indoors and so did the doggy's. It should be a lot warmer by the end of the week.

Happy New Year

This new year came in quietly. Hopefully that is a sign of a peaceful and quiet 2014. 

We were all getting ready to lay down just shortly before the "ball dropped" tonight. Stroker was already snoring as I went to Brookelynn's room to tuck her in. Devin was still awake when I passed by his room. I asked Brooke to get up and step into Devin's room so we could welcome the new year together, and that is what we did. 

 As we whispered down from 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1...It's 2014!

I told the kids good night and headed off to bed my self. 

God has been good to us this past year, for all our past years as a matter of fact. 

I can hardly wait to wake up each morning in 2014 to see what He has in store for us. 

My resolution this year is Colossians 3:2 

"Set you mind on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth". 

That is one of my favorite verses. One that I sometimes struggle with. It's easy to be ungrateful for what we have and to always want better, but the truth is that God has always provided us with everything we need. How selfish we are to think God's provisions are not good enough.  

We go through racks of clothes in our closet claiming to have "nothing to wear", we head off to school in our car wishing we had seat warmers, we wash the dishes in aggravation that there is no dishwasher. All the while our bodies are clothed, we have transportation, and we have dirty dishes because our tummies have just been filled.

Tonight, I go to bed with a grateful heart.