An Answered Prayer

Yesterday while attending a friend's church, a woman stood up and filled in the congregation about a baby they have been praying for... a baby that is not even born yet.

At 13 weeks the baby was diagnosed with a condition, Gastroschisis (I think) where ALL his/her major organs were developing outside his/her body, even his/her heart. If this wasn't enough they also found fluid on the brain. The doctor's gave the baby 0%... let me repeat 0% chance of survival. The church prayed for the family.

Sometime later the mom went back for an ultrasound, and miraculously (meaning no medical explanation as to how this happened) the baby's heart was back inside his/her body, and the fluid on the brain was gone... again the church prayed.

The woman, at my friend's church, received an e-mail from the baby's mom the day before yesterday; most of the babies organs are now INSIDE his/her body, the organs that remain on the outside are FULLY operable, and the baby should be able to lead a normal healthy life without any permanent birth defects...

From 0% chance of survival to not even having any kind of permanent birth defect... If that's not the power of prayer then I don't know what is....

Halloween: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dustyandemese/5118327246/

Sports

We decided to be brave and take on two sports with one kid. We have done one sport each kid, but never two "demanding" sports at one time. Not quite sure how this is going to work out yet. Practices just started and I am already ready to pull my hair out. Jake is in spring baseball and he decided he also wanted to run track also, so he can be faster for football and baseball. Schedule for now:

Monday baseball 3:45 - 5:30,

Tuesday track 5-6,

Wednesday baseball 4-5:30,

Thursday track 5-6

Friday baseball 4:30-5:30 AND track 5-6 ( he hasn't been to a track practice yet on Friday).

I may complain, but secretly I enjoy the chaos...shhh don't tell anyone. I am just worried it may be too much on Jake and that Kayti may be feeling left out.

The decision was made

About 10 years ago, we (Dusty and I) decided we wanted two kids, first a boy and then a girl. We have been EXTREMELY blessed, we have Jake now 8 and Kayti just turned 6. When Kayti was 2 we decided that Dusty would "get fixed", I had to endure pregnancy and labor, it was HIS turn. So June of 2007, it finally happened...Dusty "got fixed". After about a month, he was to go back and get checked...make sure there are no swimmers left in there. He never went back, we just assumed everything was 'fine'. Back in 1998 I had a ectopic pregnancy, and lost my left fallopian tube, so it took me some time to conceive both my kids. This all being said, I missed my favorite time of the month in September. I took a test 2 weeks ago and it came out negative...

I secretly wish that he still has swimmers in there and despite all odds, I would love to have another baby. Financially not quite sure how we would manage, but I would welcome him/her with open arms! When I told Dusty (2 weeks ago) that there is a minuscule chance that I might be pregnant, I think he couldn't help but feel the same way...lets just say the look on his face was not disappointment.

Kinda Creepy

So I have been battling insomnia for a quite some time now. Not sure where its coming from, but one day I was able to sleep just fine, and the next day, not so much. I went to bed @ 10;30 last night and at 12 I was still tossing and turning. I have a real bad habit of not being able to fall asleep without the TV on, so of course I try to watch something interesting because heaven forbid I try to let the boredom lull me to sleep. Then I get into whatever I was watching, last night it was Hell's Kitchen, and even after its over I can't 'shut the brain down' I am exhausted, my eyes want to shut, but my mind keeps wondering.

About 12am I hear people walk by our bedroom window, of course I have to take a peak...as I am extremely nosey. There were three teenage boys, with spray paint cans in hand, walking down to the creek behind our condo...great! The hubs is asleep...do I go out there and say something...do I let it go? We live in a relatively good neighborhood, not much happens, so the odds of it being someone 'dangerous' is pretty slim, but do I chance it? I have two sleeping kids in the house. I let it go and watched through my blinds as they sprayed a bit here a bit there and kept walking down the path. about 30 min later, I here the spray can again, and of course I get out of bed and peek through the blinds just as they are walking by. They shined a flash light right in my bedroom window...and took off running. Me not being able to keep my mouth shut, had to yell back..."yeah you better run" like I was really going to be able to do something?!? For the next half hour I was pacing around the house making sure all the windows and doors were locked, making sure all the blinds were closed, I even shut poor Lola's (our dog) doggy door..she is a toy poodle...the doggy door is not that big, why I shut it, I have no idea??? Then I went back to bed and all I could think: if they were gang members they could just walk by my bedroom window and shoot me while I am sleeping....all I wanted to do is go outside and find out what they sprayed? Was it gang symbols = call cops, or just a bunch or kids being stupid = go back to sleep and deal w/ it later. After about an hour of panic, I fell asleep.

First thing this morning, I walk out there, because I am dying to know... and I see a bunch of dots...yes just dots = kids being stupid... Thank God!

Missing Maddie

I have a need to read posts about a beautiful little girl EVERY DAY. I am mesmerized by her smile, and her spirit and I have never even met her. I cling to these posts and I am not sure why? Is it because she was just so freakin adorable, yeah that probably has something to do with it, but I think it just amazes me how much she means to the world, to strangers (like me). It amazes me how much she was loved and adored by strangers (like me). I knew her mom for a short period of time during school, but to Maddie I am a stranger. She passed away this past April at a mere 17 months. It was as if I lost a memeber of my family...but "I have never even met her". For some time now I didn't really want to admit how much this effected my day to day with my own kids, because I felt stupid... yeah stupid, for feeling so much for someone I had never met. I have had the questions time and time again from friends and family: "Why do you read these blogs, they are just so sad?" "Why put yourself in that kind of pain, for a little girl you didn't even know" "I just don't know" is all I can say.

I just read a great quote from(yet again) someone I don't know posted on Heather's blog and it describes perfectly how I feel: "I have never found a blog that has more ’soul’ than this one. Each time I visit, I leave with an amazing feeling. I can’t figure out how we, the readers, have been blessed to share in your joys and pains dealing with Maddie. I have found myself looking at your posts and selfishly wanting more. Then, I think about all that you and Mike have given us, and remind myself that this is not just a blog, but it is indeed your life." -Keonte I don't know who this is, but finally someone was able to describe how I feel.

Why California Is Broke:

Re-Post of an e-mail I received from a friend - but I couldn't have said it better myself!

A GOOD REASON WHY CALIFORNIA IS BROKE

From a California school teacher - - "As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels. Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park, etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools. Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK) I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK) I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)  I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing things that the teachers were in tears. Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements? To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs. Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes. We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it .. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return? It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate , and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about " political Correctness" that we don't have the will to do anything about it. CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about? Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage. Consumers don't want expensive produce Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs. But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth, a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor." Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free. He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent. He qualifies for food stamps. He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care. His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school. He requires bilingual teachers and books. He qualifies for relief from high energy bills. If they are, or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare . All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense . He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance. Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material. He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits. Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his. The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up. Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people! THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO EITHER PARTY. 'AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!'