In Hot Water

I took Hannah to school Friday morning, (Halloween party day) dressed as Snow White. She was quite cute, and Will announced on the way that a certian child who has trouble behaving (we hear about him quite often) better not feed her a poison apple.

Anyway, I digress, as we returned from the school run, around 8:00 I find a huge puddle of what appears to be water in the laudry room floor. I cannot imagine where it would have come from, except maybe Abe peed in the floor. I cleaned up the mess, and Abe was In Hot Water, so to speak. A few minutes later, the water was back, so I knew it couldn't be him. There's no way he could pee that much.

Mopping the water up for the second time, it dawns on me that the water is coming from underneath the hot water heater. Great, perfect Friday. Just so happens my husband is in Nashville too. I have no idea how to address this situation. I don't really even understand how a hot water heater works, except that I turn on the faucet and it magically comes out.

I proceed to call the appliance store, and talk to the man in charge. Just so happens I know him, so I get good advice and good bargins. As I'm reading him the label, I discover that the hot water heater was manufactured in 1983. He then laughs, (apperantly me mopping up gallons of water is funny) and tells me that I just need a new one. He assures me one is on its way, and sure enough an hour later it's sitting in the laundry room in a gigantic box that later becomes a super secret elevator.

In the mean time, I run around to the back of the house and unplug the hose pipe. I have been insructed to drain the hot water heater with the hose. I manuveur it through the house, all the while slinging left over water everywhere, and finally make it to the laundry room. Will in the meantime has ask about 1,000 questions pertaining to what I am doing, and why in the world we need a hose in the house. Abe escapes through the open door, and into the front yard. It takes me at least twenty minutes to realize he's gone.

Did I mention we have no light in the laundry room at this point? I bought some 8ft. blubs to replace, and it didn't work so I am assuming we have another major problem. Nothing

like replacing a hot water heater in the dark huh?

Father-in-law shows up to install the new heat

er, but first works on the light. Turns out it's so old, they no longer make the parts to fix it. I get a new light fixture too! Great!

We spent a day with no water at all, cleaned up several gallons of nasty water, and learned a few things about how a hot water heater does work. By the time the new one was installed, I was so exhausted that all I could think about was soaking my tired body in a hot tub of water, but alas, I had school to attend.

The New Hot Water Heater

isn't it a beauty?

I finally rolled home around 8:15, after sitting in class for over three hours. I finally got my tub of hot water, and all was right with the world. At least until the next major appliance goes out.

When I Grow Up:

Hannah informed me a few minutes ago that she wanted to be an author when she grows up. Possibly an illustrator as well. I'm pretty sure that when I was in kindergarten I wanted to be a princess or maybe a nurse. Definitely not an author. She is so unexpectedly funny sometimes. When I asked her why she wanted to be an author she said:

"Because, look at the pretty pages."

Me: "Why else would you like to be an author?"

Hannah: "Because they get to make good books, and I'll tell you what book I want to make, it's called "Let's Learn Some Words ".

Is it bad that her mother still hasn't determined what she wants to be when she grows up?

She also helped me make some peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses on top. She unwrapped about 40 kisses while I did the batter. I think she only ate 5 or 6.

We are off to put on our Snow White garb, and head out to find some more candy. Just what we need at the Sanders house to go with the 3 dozen peanut butter cookies.

Willisms Part II

We went to TPAC to see Curious George Live on Friday night. Parking in downtown is always a problem, and was no different that night, so we ended up in a parking garage about two blocks away from the theater. Will decided he didn't want to walk the two blocks, he had in fact rather be carried. So I carried my 35 pound toddler two city blocks in the cold, and then straight up hill to the theater.

About halfway up the last hill he announces to me: "Mama, why are you acting like a dog?"

(because by this point, I am breathing slightly hard, not to mention this is my first major outing since the surgery)

Me: "Because you're heavy honey, and this is a big hill."

Will: "Well stop acting like a dog."

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Yesterday watching a cartoon with Will in the bed

Will: "Momma, I saw a picture where you married daddy. Why did you do that? You were suppose to marry me?"

Me: "Well baby, when I married daddy you weren't born yet."

Will: "Huhmp"

He's not to happy with Daddy about that one. Evidently I'm his girl.

Old Favorites

The hard-drive on Mel's Dell laptop crashed about 6 months ago, and I am just now getting around to transfering the data to my computer. Slow huh? Wonder what I do with my time? Anyway, I was going through some old pictures and thought you might enjoy them too.

Will Summer 2006 About 4 months old

Hannah 10 mos. - Right after the bath. (this was during the time she had the terrible allerigic rash and so she was a little greasy from some cream too)

The now infamous "I pop a egg" picture. Yes, he really did pop about 8 eggs on the kitchen floor. Eggs are not fun to clean up, but who could be mad at that face? I think the shirt says it all "My Momma Says I'm Special"

My attempt at Christmas pictures. Will at 7 months.

Hannah 18 mos. Pumpkin Patch

Fear, Pain, and God

I spent a restless night, tossed turned, surfed the net, watched random TV, slept a few minutes, took a bath, paced, considered cleaning out my closet, and finally just got dressed for the day. I was scheduled for out patient surgery this morning at the same hospital where I gave birth to my beautiful babies, the same hospital where I almost lost my life. Sleep would not come.

Why?? I asked myself several times, did I ever agree to do this. The only answer I could come up with was a desire for relief from endometriosis pain, and a need to push myself past the bad memories and prove that I could survive.

I prayed all week, and all night as well. I felt God telling me to just trust in Him; so through perhaps the most anxiety I have ever felt I began to trust. I was trusting when I took a Valium at 6 this morning, I was trusting as I paced the driveway in panic, as I broke into the ugly cry at the hospital entrance, and as I pulled on the ever fashionable hospital gown. Perhaps from an outsiders perspective "trust" isn't the emotion or action they were witnessing, I dunno just saying. My uncle was there (mike the farmer for those who know) who offered to dose me with some substance that would drop a 2,000 pound bull in 20 seconds. I seriously contemplated it, but was too stressed to figure out the math involved in dosing it.

The time came for the dreaded IV, and I just knew I was going to pass out. I can feel it coming like a freight train, but I closed my eyes and held Millie's hand. Small talk helped, then the left vein blew. Great news for a girl on the edge. Mel came around for the second attempt, which is a big deal for him as well. He held my hand, talked about some random something and we finally found success. Bullet dodged, I stayed conscious the whole time.

Things moved fast from there, Dr. was ready to start, another childhood friend was the OR nurse which was super nice. I was wheeled into "holding" and given the mother of all feel good drugs Versed. Man that stuff is good, only problem was I didn't get to stay in "holding" long enough to feel the joy. On over to the OR, the beloved white milky meds, and next thing you know I was done. Sounds simple right? I awoke in recovery with blurred vision and a basket full of pain which was eventually dulled my two shots of Demerol. This is the point where I'm just happy to have woken up. Seriously that was my one and only goal, to wake up. Sad huh?

All in all I was successful. I never did pass out, which in and of itself is a phenomenal task. The surgery was a great success and all the designated tasks were completed.

The point of my story is that God was there, all the time. I wasn't brave, not necessarily strong, and certainly not able but He was all of those things for me. When I couldn't breathe form fear, He provided a much needed breath of air. My Ipod was my friend along the way, and the song below has been a source of inspiration to me the last few weeks. Lord knows I needed it.

From "Glory Revealed" What We Proclaim

We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the power comes from God

We are afflicted in every way, but we're not crushed

We're perplexed but not driven to despair

persecuted but not forsaken

struck down but not destroyed.

What we proclaim is not ourselves. Oh, we proclaim the Holy name of Jesus.

BMI and Growth

I just got a notice from the Board of Education that they performed Health Screenings at Hannah's school, and I need to take her to the Dr. Evidently they measured BMI and it's 13.4, which is below the 5%. I find this amusing since she has never been on the growth chart, and you can obviously look at her and tell that she is not going to be close to the other children's sizes.

I will not be making an appointment with our pediatrician, since this topic has been rehashed since she was 6 weeks old, but I just found it amusing. If only you could transfer that, I'm sure there are plenty of people that would gladly donate, me included.

Just for fun here are her stats:

Birth- 5 # 11 oz.

1 Year- 15 #

2 Year- 22#

4 Years _ 29#

Who wouldn't want to?

Who wouldn't want to wake two sleeping children, dress them, feed them and load them into the van all by yourself? Who wouldn't want to listen to the two fits that unsued before I could start the van, argue over the clothes to be worn, and head out at the break of day, all to make it to an ENT appointment in Hixson Tennessee? I wouldn't that's who.

Hannah had her follow-up this morning for the tube/adenoid surgery and everything went great. Tubes look perfect, don't have to go back for six months. We arrived early, appointment was at 9:20 our time, and we were sitting in the waiting room by 9:05. Finished up there around 9:50 our time, headed to McDonalds, and began the hour and twenty minute drive home. Dropped her at school at 11. What a morning, right?

It's also worth mentioning that Stella (handicapped cat) has a vet appointment this afternoon at 3:30 so she will be joining us for school pickup. Do I even need to ask who wouldn't want to take a handicapped cat and two children to the vet? I didn't think so.

Will just asked me: "Mom, why isn't Stella speaking to me today?"

Me: " I don't know, she just isn't"

Maybe he's Dr. Doolittle, I don't know, but she never speaks to me. What she does do is poop in my floor, shead on my black furniture and drive me absolutly crazy most of the time. I digress. We are off, cat and all for school pick up. Happy Day!