Why friends are important

“A friend is someone who, upon seeing another friend in immense pain, would rather be the one experiencing the pain than to have to watch their friend suffer.”

I have a very small amount of friends that I consider actual friends. 

And to those friends I would do just about anything for. 

They are the people who I love. 

They are the people who drive me crazy.

They are the people that despite driving me crazy are the one's I want to always be there for. 

Friends are important for several reasons but to me these are the most important. 

1. Sometimes you need to say out loud to another human being that life sucks and know that they don't think you are being negative. They understand that sometimes life DOES suck, and sometimes saying it makes it suck a little less.

2. When you are having a super emotional day for no reason whatsoever, your friends are there to make you laugh.

3. Sometimes you just need to hear a familiar voice saying I love you without expecting anything in return. 

4. You know you can call a friend and tell them "I'm going to kill these kids today!" and they KNOW you really aren't going to kill them. They understand that those days come and go and they remind you of the days when the kids were being so sweet you mentioned you could have 20 of them. 

5. Friends are important when life is going great and you want to brag about how perfect life is at that very moment. 

6. And friends are important on those days that your heart has been crushed in a billion pieces and you can't find a single person in the world that understands that pain. 

Today I am very thankful for my few friends who are all very much different, but very much alike. They each have a common piece of a very important puzzle in my life. I wont list them by name, because if you are reading this, you know if you are one of those people. 

And on this day... I want to say Thank You. Thank you for being there. 

If friends were flowers, I'd always pick you. 

:) 

And now I'll spam you with old photos that make my heart smile. 

What will they be like?

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only mother who watches their children play and learn and wonder what they will be like when they get older. I don't want to rush time to find out either. 

I watch Zachary learning and growing taller and stronger each day and I wonder what he'll grow up being like. Will he be a teacher? He takes so much pride in teaching his younger brothers all the stuff he learns at school. Will he be a politician? He is amazingly awesome at convincing us one thing when we know it's something completely different. Will he follow in his daddy's footsteps and make video games since he loves them so much? Or will he surprise us all and become a doctor? :) 

I watch Brennon and I'm amazed at how far he has come since he was born. He was born into a life that just wasn't nice to him at times. Yet through it all he has maintained his sense of humor. He can make you laugh when you want to scream. I foresee some sort of acting in his future. You are bound to see Brennon in a comedy movie one day. He also is a bright child. While it took him forever to learn to ride a bike, it took him 1 time playing "Match" before he could easily beat the entire family. His memory is amazing! His humbleness is also amazing to me. He takes after his mama in not being materialist at all. Sure, we both like nice things, but do we need it? No. Brennon would have been ecstatic to get nothing but a Wiggles DVD for Christmas. I can picture Brennon the president of a non profit agency of some sort. 

My sweet Tripp. He is by far the happiest child I've ever seen. He smiles ALL THE TIME. It's a little early to try to guess what he'll be when he grows up but I can assure you it wont be politics. Maybe a preacher. Or a race car driver. By age 18 months he was riding his brothers big bike. I'm talking about a 16" bike with training wheels. And he doesn't just poke along... Is is full speed around the house. He falls, and he gets back up. I don't know what he'll end up being but I know that he will require lots of medical insurance. :) 

My mind often thinks about these things and I always end my thoughts with a prayer for safety and a love for Christ. 

Whatever they end up doing.... I know this mama will be proud. 

My First 2012 Blog Entry!

Happy 2012!!

I haven't updated in a while and I apologize for the lack of a blog entry. 

The beginning of the year hasn't started off as smoothly as previous years and I'm hoping it's not a sign for things to come. I spent New Years Day at the hospital. I have had issues with headaches, passing out, blurred vision, and dehydration. After passing out in the waiting room, I was giving IV Fluids, blood work was done, a chest X-Ray, CT Scan (to check for a blood clot in my chest) and a few other tests. Everything came back pretty normal. I was completely dehydrated and had a my iron was slightly low. Otherwise everything checked out. I am pretty confident the dehydration was the root cause of a lot of issues I was having. Everything has pretty much got better except a lingering headache I can't seem to shake. I never realized how much they could drag you down. I've spent several days locked in my room with the lights off and covers over my head trying to get some relief. Luckily my new OBGYN gave me some medicine to help with them and we set up an appointment with a neurologist just to be safe. 

Speaking of my new OBGYN office... 

I decided at the end of December to switch practices. I had my 2nd REALLY bad experience with Carolina OBGYN and decided I could not keep going to them. This pregnancy hasn't been as nice to me as my previous pregnancies, and while I don't expect special treatment by any means, I do expect them to realize that I know my body and when I tell them something is off, well... something is off. 

I had asked some mama's in my area from Spartanburg Mom's website about a good obgyn office in my area. They all highly suggested a place called Woman's Clinic. I was extremely excited to hear that not only are the doctors amazing, but the staff is incredible. I called and begged for them to accept me as a patient. I had my first appointment last Thursday. I saw a doctor named Dr. Brown. She was a delight. But before I get to her.... let me talk about the staff. From the receptionist to the nurses, all were great. They were friendly, and listened to me. I was given information on my first visit that I honestly didn't expect to get until much later in my pregnancy. My blood pressure was checked, urine, weight, and I was asked if I had any concerns. Two of those things Carolina OBGYN failed to do at a normal visit, much less a "sick" visit. I was placed in my room after speaking with a nurse (And I apologize for not remembering her name but she was awesome as well!) I didn't wait long before Dr. Brown came in. She checked my belly measurements, which were perfect, and we began talking about concerns I had, the problems I had been dealing with. She seemed very in tune with my "birth plan" and I felt as ease talking to her. Now, this is where things went differently than Carolina. After we spoke in the exam room I was asked to sit in a small waiting room area. The doctor looked in detail over my chart and then called me into her office. I immediately was brought back to my visits at Lakeside OBGYN in Ga. (And that's a fabulous thing!) I spoke to Dr. Brown again in her office for several minutes before we ended our chat and I left. Point was, she took time to really understand me as a person, and mother instead of "just another patient". We went over my VBAC plan, and both our mutual fears of another shoulder dystocia delivery. I could go on and on about how impressed I am with this office. It was truly a breath of fresh air! Here is the direct link to their office in case you are from the Spartanburg area. 

Woman's Clinic

Since my visit I have had some good days and a few rough days. My HG seems to be acting up again. Yesterday was a day filled with a lot of nausea and throwing up. However, I feel much better today so far. My headache is a dull pain today, and I'm hoping to keep it at bay with regular Tylenol since the prescription makes me feel drunk. ( I hate that feeling!) 

I am enjoying life, and not forgetting that with everyday of rain, I will have a day of sunshine. 

I am looking forward to seeing this little bean this Thursday. We will see the pediatric cardiologist and have his/her heart checked out in detail since two of my boys already have heart defects. I'm sure everything will be fine and seeing the baby seems to give me more reasons to smile when I want to cry. 

My next visit at Woman's Clinic will be next month, and I will have the pleasure of seeing the midwife, Amy Somanini, FNP. She will be doing my 1 hour glucola test. I am excited to meet her (even if she can't deliver this baby) but I have no doubt things will start to look up for this pregnancy. 

I'll leave you with an updated progression of the belly. :) 

Enjoy!!