Happy 75th Birthday Mom!

Last night, the family came together in honor of our mom's 75th birthday.

She looks fabulous! 

We are so blessed to still have her around. 

She told me that she doesn't feel 75, but much much younger. 

 She never in her wildest dreams ever thought that she would make it to 75, but so happy she did. 

We had our celebration at Chamblee's Restaurant.  They were great to work with, very attentive and made the night special.  I was so glad that most everyone got to attend, a total 25 people showed.

"Happy Birthday Mom"

I look a lot like my mom.  Don't I?

Opening up presents

Pretty African Violet and card Sandy and Wade gave mom.

Sandy, mom told that you hit the nail on the head.  She has been really wanting another violet. 

She absolutely loves it!  Thank you!

My mom's favorite flower/plant

The roses represent mom's children - 5 pink roses are her 5 baby girls; 1 white rose is dad and the other flowers are all of her grandbabies and great grandbabies. Look what she created = 5 girls, 5 boys (in-laws), 10 grandchildren and 8 great grandbabies.  

Skating Queen

Katie got to go skating for the first time in her life this afternoon. Her friend, I, from school invited her to his birthday party at the skating rink. Doug offered to take her, so I could go visit mom. It sounds like she had a very good time. According to Doug, she skated real good and stayed up on her skates better than a lot of the rest of the kids. She didn't need his help to get her started. He took lots of pictures and I noticed that most of them she's skating by herself. He said it was because S couldn't skate without the help of her mother and I think that was the only girl from Katie's class to show up. He did say that Katie fell a few times, but didn't cry. She got back up and went at it again. I'm so pleased to hear this good news. She has a tendency to give up quickly if she fails at something over and over. Not this time. YAY! I told Doug that we'll have to take her to the skating rink more often, since she did so well. I guess she'll have to get a pair of skates this Summer for her birthday. HAHA!

Digital collage personalized with Smilebox

Colton and I went over to mom and dad's place for a little while. From what I could see, mom got around a little faster than the other day. Her right leg still wants to drag or give out, but it will just take time. Thank you for all the prayers. They have definitely been heard. I'll keep you updated through her progress.

Mom Update and Katie's Party

Mom's Update
Yesterday Doug watched Colton for me, while I spent half the day with mom. I hoped to be able to help out a little. Maryann stayed the night with mom and dad the night before. They had a little bit of a rough night, so Maryann went home to get some well needed sleep. I think she also had a few things to take care of as well. Before she left, we were able to bathe mom and freshen her up. I know I always feel better when I get a good shower. I think mom had somewhat of a bad day when it came to the pain. To top it off, she had muscle spasms in her right leg. It would not cooperate with her. Her left leg is her bad leg, so out came the walker. It helped her out some.  It's just going to take time and patience to get over this mountain.  Thank you for all the prayers.  She really does appreciate it. 

The nurse told Maryann today that it being the third day, her swelling is coming down and she is feeling the nerves. She is to stay on the pain pills and muscle relaxers for a few days. After all mom has been through the past couple of days, I have to say that she is doing remarkable compared to the last time. Coming home from their house last night, I kept tearing up because I am so grateful to God Almighty that it was nothing near as bad as it was last time.

GLORY BE TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!

HE IS A MIGHTY MIGHTY GRACIOUS LORD OF MY LIFE.

Us sisters have come together and set a plan as to who can help and when. Tonight, Susan is staying the night to give Maryann some relief. Tomorrow, mom's bandage is suppose to come off. Maryann and Susan plan to give mom a shower, depending on how well the wound area is healing. I think we will try to visit for a little bit tomorrow. Susan hasn't seen the kids since Christmas and buddy am I hearing it. She told me to not show up, if the kids are not with me. LOL!

Birthday Party
Katie was invited to a boy in her class' 6th birthday party.  I've never really been inside the AIO building because the only times Katie's been is when Whitney, Leslie and Natalie have taken her.  She pretty much knew what to do, I just followed.  It was nice to meet some of the moms and dads.  I knew a couple of them already, which makes it a little easier to carry on a conversation.  I tried and tried to take a good picture of Katie playing on the blow-up stuff, but they all pretty much turned out blurry because she wouldn't stay still long enough to get a good picture. 

In the slideshow below, I've also included a few pictures of Colton and his new hair cut and outfit.  He was eating M&Ms, so I thought it was a good photo op.  When Katie and I got back from the birthday party, I caught her outside helping daddy change the oil in the car.  LOL!  She's such a tomboy when she wants to be.  I had to capture this moment.  She didn't stay under the car the whole time.  She told her daddy after awhile that changing oil was too boring, so she came in the house.  She grabbed a few of her things from her bedroom and went back outside to play. 

Click here to view these pictures larger

She's got another party tomorrow at the skating rink.  She's never skated before in her life, so this should be interesting.  Stay tuned . . .

Mom's Birthday and Stephen Fite Concert

Mom's Birthday
My mom loves Chinese food, but she never gets to eat it because my dad isn't a big fan.  I knew mom's birthday was coming up very soon and I couldn't come up with a gift idea.  Susan suggested I make her a Heart Felt Wreath for her front door.  The week I was to make the wreath, my family and I came down with a terrible stomach virus that took days to fully get over.  I never got to make the wreath, so I thought a nice bouquet of flowers and cake to celebrate the day.  Then, I thought of taking her to P.F. Chang's for lunch the Saturday after her birthday.  Talking to Susan, she couldn't come up with an idea either.  So, I suggested that she get mom some flowers and I'll do the cake.  The day, I would be bringing her a cake, my dad had plans to take her out to their favorite seafood restaurant, Red Lobster aka "Crawdad's".  What now?  So, I treated her to a 4-course meal at P.F. Chang's.  OMGosh!  The FOOD.  Two of my sisters, niece and I were able to take mom out to lunch.  We had so much fun!  We all piled up in my vehicle and headed to Bridge Street in Huntsville. 

June's not into Chinese food too well, so I introduced to her Mongolian Beef and Lo Mein Vegetable noodles.  Someone from her work told her to order the Sweet and Sour Chicken.  I'm not too big on Sweet and Sour Chicken and now neither is June.  I ordered a regular size portion of lo mein noodles to share with the whole table.  June said she will have to remember the Mongolian Beef and noodles the next time she comes, which made me feel special.  I love to introduce good food to people who will appreciate it.  Susan and Mom both ordered Crispy Honey Shrimp.  I've had the Crispy Honey Chicken before, but I really liked the shrimp better. 

On the way home, we dropped Leslie off at Chase's house and got to visit with his parents, Kellie and Larry.  I just LOVE them.  It's great when two families that will be coming together in the future get along so well.   I think it limits the stress for the young (soon to be) newlyweds when their families are happy with each other.  Leslie and Chase left soon after we got to his house.  He coaches basketball for a young group of kids, so they left for the game.  Us ladies stayed and visited with his parents, to get to know each other a little better.  I received the best complement from Larry.  Backing up, the last time I saw and met him for the first time was during my mom and dad's anniversary party last July.  Well while we were all talking, he asked which sister I belonged to.  HAHAHA!  He thought I was one of my sisters' daughter.  I loved it!  We all started laughing, including Kellie because I see and talk to her more than him.  Kellie quickly told him that I was a sister.  He said that he thought I belonged to one of them because I looked so young.  I told him that I knew I liked him for some reason.  LOL!  That was everyones laugh for the day. 

Mom had a really good birthday weekend.  Dad taking her out to eat on her birthday.  Us ladies going out for lunch and visiting.  Maryann and Kevin had mom and dad over for supper on Super Bowl night.  They didn't stay for the whole ballgame, but they had another lovely evening with Maryann's family.  She received tons of cards and nice birthday wishes over the phone from relatives and friends.  Next we'll have to plan a special event because it will be her 75th birthday. 

I would like to ask that you please pray for my mom.  She has been experiencing some pain down her left leg like electric shocks.  She's been seeing specialists for her pain and discomfort.  She's had blood tests taken and x-rays.  Monday, I got a call from June.  Mom had a bad morning and had a hard time getting out of bed.  Once I got to their house, she was resting in bed.  I found out that the pain down her leg got worse and she ended up taking two Lortab pills to kill the pain, so she could rest.  Mom got an appointment with her doctor, so I went with them.  The doctor pulled up the results from the x-ray.  It showed mom had a collapsed vertebrae.  After hearing mom's description of the pain, her doctor feels the disk is being pushed and is more than likely pressing up against a nerve.  She even thinks maybe the disk is inflammed.  I believe mom's doctor is working on scheduling a consultation with a back surgeon for a possible back surgery.  This time, they are talking about having a plasty done on her lower back.  This plasty is like putting cement in between her vertebrae.  The doctor seems to think this will help mom a lot.  We are all on wait and see right now.    

Dr. Seuss Activity Booklet
I finally finished Katie's Dr. Seuss activity booklet.  After printing the book out on card stock, I protected it with clear laminate paper.  I punched a hole at the top left corner and placed an "O" book ring to keep it in tack. 

I love the fact that Katie can write on it with a dry erase pen and just wipe it clean.  I'm hoping to pass this booklet down to Colton.  CLICK HERE to print the activity book pdf file.  Katie likes her new book and thinks it is so cool to be able to write on it over and over.  I love it because it will help her to practice reading, writing, and solving math problems. 

Katie
Yesterday, Katie and I went on a school field trip to see Stephen Fite in concert.  As a chaperone, I was assigned to watch over 2 little boys in Katie's class.  The one little boy, L, was privileged to sit right next to me before the show started.  L could not be still for nothing.  He was either hanging on my arm or begging to get something to drink.  I was trying to get my group to make the same movements as Stephen was demostrating and singing the songs.  L wanted nothing to do with it. I loved how the audience was encouraged to participate in the concert - singing and dancing.  Stephen even got a few school teachers up on the stage to help him out.  I really liked the songs because they were all surrounded around learning.  You'll have to check out the website.  

Our group

On Stage

Afterwards, Katie and I went shopping.  I wanted to get the kids Winter coats and jackets for next Fall/Winter.  Right now is the time to get really great deals from Dillards and Belk because they are pushing their Winter stuff, to make room for Spring and Summer clothing.  I had Katie pick out her coat.  Can you guess what color she chose?  Pink.  We found a very nice coat for her and I only paid $14.99, it was originally $53.  I grabbed two coats/jackets for Colton.  His coat is a Nike insulated for $24.99 and the thinner jacket with hood was $14.99.  I also picked him up a nice pants suit for $11.99 (long sleeved dress shirt, sweater vest and couroy pants).  By the end of the day, we were both exhausted.  We didn't head home until close to 5PM. 

Colton
I was going through Colton's closet and went through the clothes I bought him this past Summer for this Spring.  I bought him a Will'beth Jon-Jon suit and it is so precious on him.  The suit came with a matching cap, but it doesn't fit his big head.  I hate it, but he didn't mind wearing it today anyway.  I thought he looked so darn cute, sitting on his Thomas while wearing a train suit with cap.  I had to take a picture.  Maybe he won't hate me later.  LOL!