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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Five Random Things

A while back, I was "tagged" and was supposed to write five random things about myself. So here goes:

1. I absolutely love hot chocolate, especially mint hot chocolate.

2. I visited New York City exactly six months after 9/11.

3. I can slalom and water board, a fact I am especially proud of since I had never done it before, and I showed up all the boys!

4. I can say "cockroaches are delicious" in Mandarin Chinese.

5. I jumped hurdles in high school and even made it to Regionals.

And here's a bonus....I have a wonderful husband who graciously puts up with me despite my many flaws!

Now I tag Janna

Friday, January 25, 2008

The Ultimate Sacrifice

This afternoon I wanted to write a blog, but seeing as how my life is pretty routine and uneventful at this point, didn't really have anything to write, that is until I came across the following story. On foxnews.com, I saw the headline "Mom dies, refused treatment to save baby's life". They way they word the headline makes it sound like the mom died and her baby died too because the mom refused to treat the baby. I was pretty disgusted with that idea, so I clicked on the article to see why the mom would be so cruel. As it turns out, this was not the case at all. You see, the mom found out she had advanced liver cancer when she was four months pregnant with a little boy. The doctor's told her that she could treat her cancer with chemo and the baby would die but she would live OR that she could wait until after the baby was born but that it may be too late for her at this point. She boldly stated that she would never do this to her baby. She died two months after the baby was born. In light of the many abortions that take place daily, this mom could have chosen to save her life. Instead she made the ultimate sacrifice for her little boy. What a beautiful picture of love! I am reminded of God's love for us in sending His Son to make the ultimate sacrifice for us.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8


If you would like to read the article, I have pasted it below.

Expectant mother Lorraine Allard learned the devastating news that she was in the advanced stages of liver cancer when she was four months pregnant, according to the Daily Mail.

Allard, of St. Olaves in the U.K., had a choice: Delay treatment to save her baby, or terminate the pregnancy to save herself.

She chose the former, waiting until the fetus was viable before scheduling a Caesarean section.

"If I am going to die, my baby is going to live," Allard told her husband, Martyn, according to the Mail.

The baby came a week early and Allard, 33, gave birth on Nov. 18 to a healthy but premature boy she named Liam.

Exactly two months later, Allard died. She'd begun chemotherapy just after her son's birth. But in the end, it was too late.

Doctors believe Allard had bowel cancer that had gone undetected for years, eventually spreading to her liver. She realized something was wrong after she began suffering from stomach cramps, and tests revealed that her liver was covered with malignant tumors, the Mail reported.

"The doctors said they couldn't do anything because she was pregnant," Martyn Allard, 34, told the Mail. "She told them straight away they were not going to get rid of it. She'd have lost the will to fight."

The courageous and selfless mother was able to get out of bed and hold her tiny son several times beside his incubator before her death. Liam is the Allards' fourth child and first boy; his sisters are Leah, 10; Amy, 8; and Courtney, 20 months.

"Lorraine was positive all the way through," Martyn Allard told the paper. "She had strength for both of us. I can't begin to describe how brave she was. Towards the end we knew things weren't going well, but she was overjoyed that she had given life to Liam."

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Wheel of Fortune



Before Peyton was born, we didn't have a t.v. I know that is shocking news. I will say it again...we didn't have a t.v. Well, we had a three inch black and white tv that also had a radio, but that was only for hurricane weather. It was funny how many people tried to give us a tv. I think they felt sorry for us. But it was our choice not to have one. (There's just not much to watch, and most of the stuff on is bad, and then you end up wasting so much time sitting in front of it for hours on end). After Peyton was born, Arnold's parents came and visited and surprised us with a tv. I guess they figured we would need one to help us stay awake when we were up at 2 in the morning with the baby. Anyway, I try not to watch too much tv these days, but when you're so tired, you just kind of stare at it glassy eyed. So now I have become addicted to a game show. Maybe you've heard of it...Wheel of Fortune. It's 25 years old this year, almost as old as me. I think I'm attached to the show because the last night we were in New Orleans before Katrina hit, we got to watch Wheel of Fortune live. It was a lot of fun, Katrina was not a lot of fun. The Wheel is a great little game show...fun contestants, lots of money, and my favorite...trying to solve the puzzles. So if you ever think of calling me from 6:30-7:00 at night, hang up and call back later, cause I'm tuned into the Wheel.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Grandmas

Me and Arnold woke up yesterday feeling the same way--yucky. It's amazing that we would BOTH be sick at the same time. Amazing and very inconvenient. I think he's actually felt a little worse than me, but either way, it stinks! I just hope Peyton doesn't get sick, if she's not already feeling bad. It's hard to tell with a baby. How do you really know unless their nose runs? Even though I was sick yesterday, I still got out to get my hair cut. It has looked so bad, and I was so desperate, that I was willing to leave the house in thirty degree weather. (Yes, it was actually in the thirties yesterday here!) After years of growing my hair out, long, long years, I got it chopped. It's not above my shoulders, but it is much shorter. I was tired of Peyton grabbing it and I always had to wear it in a ponytail so that she wouldn't grab it. I think I'm ready to grow it back out again though. :) Isn't that always how it is?


me and my new do


cute pic of Peyton

I'm happy to report some news on my three grandmothers. #1 My Granny celebrated her 89th birthday today. I wish I could have been there. She's a special lady. #2 My great-grandparents, Granny and Paw-Paw Owens celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. Can you imagine being married 75 years? WOW! #3 My friend Tiffany (a.k.a. Grandma) got engaged....finally :) :) I'm so happy for her! She's a great friend.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Pictures

Now Arnold mentioned in the last blog that we had gone to Sears and had pictures taken of Peyton. We had a coupon and went in there determined to not go crazy with the pictures. We knew it would be easy to spend a fortune. But darn it if she didn't look so cute in all the pictures! And it's so hard to say no! I mean, we didn't go too crazy, but a little more than was probably necessary. She did so good though, and who knows if she will do that good again! The manager is going to be putting her picture on the wall. So if you ever go by the Sears in Metairie at Clearview Mall, look for her picture in the portrait studio.


This is the picture going on the wall at Sears

On another note....When I am tired, I tend to get snappy(especially with Arnold), as I'm sure many people do. It's so easy, but God brought me this verse last week. I hope it will help you too, even if you're not tired and snappy.....
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Shots and more shots




This has been a big week for Peyton. She got her second set of immunization shots on Thursday. As we waited in the pediatrician's waiting room, there was another couple with two kids. One was an infant and the other was a little girl around three years old. The nursed called them in before us and the mother with infant got up. The dad asked if he could go and the nurse said, "Sure, come on in." Well, as the dad walked across with the little girl, she started crying, "No, No, NO !!" The dad replied, "Its ok, its not for you."

Funny how kids figure out that bad things happen at the doctor's office.

Well, Peyton was all smiles during the routine part of exam. Peyton can be a real charmer when she wants to be... then the needles came out. Poor thing cried out when they poked her in one leg and then poked her again in the other leg. She really only cried for a few minutes. Poor thing will get shots just about every time she visits the doctor. Pretty soon she will be crying out, "No, no, NO !!"

The next shots she got was today... but a different type of shots. We went to Sears portrait studio for her first set of professional pictures. She is right at 3 months so we wanted a good set of pictures. Peyton did soooo good. Of course, we tend to judge "good" in terms of her colic these days. But again, she can be a charmer when she wants to be. In fact, the manager loved one of her pictures so much, she asked us if they could put the picture on the wall as one of their samples.

It was so funny because we were just hoping that Peyton wouldn't be a colicky mess, but she ended up becoming a local star! We had to sign some papers to let them put her picture on display. I asked if we could get a discount since they were using her picture and they gave us two more free.

We spent the remaining time walking around the mall. It turned out to be a really nice little family day out.

-arnold
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Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Family Church

Sunday Arnold decided that he wanted to visit a church plant in Covington, La. This church plant is being conducted? (I guess that's how you describe a church plant) by one of his friends. The cool thing about this church plant is that it's a family integrated model, meaning that it's very family oriented. The whole family is supposed to be in the worship service together, babies, toddlers, teenagers, etc. The church plant is currently meeting at a Hampton Inn. I was excited about this model because I think it is important for families to worship together. Most of the time at church, the babies go to the nursery, the toddlers and kids go to children's church, and then the teenagers may go to a separate service in some instances. Families are pulled so many different directions during the week, and church usually adds to the pulling apart. Well, needless to say, I didn't get to worship much this past Sunday. Peyton was not a happy baby, and we had to go to the "cry room" (a hotel room designated for crying babies) because she just got out of control. But, the few minutes I was in the service, I really enjoyed it. Yes, several of the children may talk out, and one little boy decided to throw things, but it was neat to see families sitting together worshiping God. I really enjoy the time I get to spend with my little family, so I think it's cool they want to keep the family together during this special time of the week.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Aunts and Uncles


Uncle Skylar



Uncle Blake



Aunt Keri


Aunt Janna

Friday, January 4, 2008

Back to Work

So this is officially my LAST day at home with the baby. I will begin work again on the 7th of January. It has actually been really nice the last few days at home with her (of course as I write this now she is crying). I slept until almost 11 today! Of course don't be too jealous, Peyton was up SEVERAL times last night. That's the beauty of getting to stay at home though...if the baby doesn't sleep well at night, I can try to catch up on naps during the day. That's not going to happen at work. Yesterday I was able to take down all of my Christmas decorations. I'm beginning to realize how much work it is to do this. Every year, I accumulate more and more decorations, so each year it gets harder. Then, I have to find someplace to store them in our apartment, which seems to be shrinking.

Anyway, it seems like everyone I know right now is either pregnant or just had a baby. Two friends from back home are pregnant, one with a girl the other with a boy. Two friends in New Orleans are pregnant with boys. And one friend just had a little boy. Congratulations to everyone! What an exciting time!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Happy New Year!


my Mom and Peyton



my grandmother and Peyton



me and the Christmas bunny


Well, we made it back to New Orleans December 31 after a fun, restful time in SC. It's always nice to be around family. They just want to hold the baby so much, so I actually get to take a long shower and eat food without choking.
The Lord was very good to us this Christmas! Even though we weren't able to do presents, we received many wonderful things, which is very humbling. Arnold got a few gift cards to Best Buy, his favorite store in the world. He bought an external hard drive to back up the lap top, or at least something like that. He was so excited. I got clothes, some jewerly, a few gift cards to Target (one of my favorite stores!), a fondue pot (can't wait to try it out! thanks GT!), and a beautiful Nativity scene. Peyton received some clothes, toys, and lots of hugs and kisses.
Tomorrow Arnold goes back to work. I don't have to go back until the 7th. I'm so excited that I get a few more days with Peyton.
And what is up with the weather?! We thought it would be 8o like it normally is in New Orleans. It was like 30 degrees last night! That's freezing for this place!
We posted some Christmas pictures on the slide show. Hope you enjoy! And Happy New Years!