For those of you who do not know I am Catholic and Lent has begun.  With Lent you are supposed to give something up but for the life of me I could not think of anything to give up.  I have done everything before so as I am racking my brain and  it dawns on me that maybe instead of giving something up I should work on giving up more of myself.

I have been saying if for a few months that my faith is really growing with each passing day.  I find myself praying more and more throughout the day and I truly feel my love and faith growing that I just get so excited.  I am not saying that I am perfect because the Lord knows that couldn't be further from the truth.  I am just trying to become a better me and a better follower of Christ. 

Matthew 7:24
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

 ...you did the right thing!

Andrew started preschool in September and by the second week I knew something wasn't right.  When he came home from school and I asked him how his day was he would say fine and nothing else.  I would ask who he played with and he would simply say "No one.  I played by myself."   It brook my heart but inside I knew something wasn't right so I went to his teacher and asked her how Andrew was doing at school.  I asked her if he was playing and interacting with other kids and she said yes that he is very happy.  I told her that he says he doesn't play with anyone at play time after lunch and she said no he usually plays by himself but not to worry that is normal.  I pushed all my feelings aside as me just completely over reacting and wanting to protect my sometimes "socially challenged" child.

After a few more weeks Andrew came home and said a little boy stole his juice box from his lunch.  I couldn't believe it...really?  Andrew being Andrew didn't want this kid to get in trouble so he didn't tell the teacher.  The next morning I inform the teacher and she said she was sorry that she would watch to make sure it didn't happen again.  Well the kid did try and do it again, but this time Andrew stopped him (this was after a long talk with him telling him not to let the kid take his stuff). 

A few more weeks went by and it was becoming much more obvious that Andrew was not enjoying school like he did the previous year only I couldn't figure out why.  He started telling me he was sick and couldn't go to school.  He had no symptoms of being sick and I knew he was not telling me the truth so I told him if he was too sick to go to school then he had to stay in his room, in his bed, with no toys, tv or books.  He did!  All day that little boy stayed in his room and he was prepared to do it again the next day.  What child would rather stay in his room all day then go to school?  I sat down and had a very serious conversation with Andrew and he was crying and just said that kids were mean to him.  I asked him who and he gave me two names.  I asked him what they did and he said that they called him names and would poke and push him.   So into school I go and talk to the teacher again.  She moved one of the little boys away from Andrew and for a while that seemed to work.  Sadly there were other signs that at the time didn't make sense.  He stopped eating lunch, he wouldn't complete his work, he couldn't write his name, he wouldn't even practice writing or any other school work.

Then the day and moment I lost it!  During the Christmas program as I am watching Andrew smile big and wave to us one of those little brats boys starts screaming in Andrew's ear. I can see Andrew telling him to stop and then the kids hits Andrew in the head.   That was it for me and that was it for Andrew.  I was not going to let this go on any longer.  I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do in that moment but I knew something was going to have to happen before Andrew started to hate school so much that he wouldn't want to go to Kindergarten next year.   Luckily I had two weeks to think it over because it was Christmas break.

I had a stomach ache about this for the full two weeks but decided the only thing I could really do was take him out of that situation.  I found a new school for Andrew.  Now Andrew hates change and I really thought when I told him he was going to a new school (half way through the year) he was going to flip out, but much to my surprise he was so excited.  I knew then that I had made the right decision. 

Now that Andrew has been there two months I can say that my child is completely different.  He loves going to school everyday.  He gets in the car all excited and tells me tons of details about his day and how he now has friends and he plays with everyone in his class.  He can now write his name and he writes it good something he couldn't do when he left his old school.  The changes in him are amazing. 

When I think back I want to kick myself for not doing this sooner, but I am glad that I did it.  I am glad my baby didn't have to spend another day getting picked on and hating school.  He eats his lunch everyday, he plays with other kids, he has friends, he doesn't "feel sick" anymore and most importantly he is happy!

Hi Everyone,
I am hosting a great giveaway on my other blog Pink Hippo Boutique.
I would love for you guys to come over and check it out and enter to win or pass it a long for others.





Thanks!

Well my mom had a slight setback this week.  She was admitted to the hospital yesterday afternoon because part of her incision is infected.  They wanted to keep a close eye on the infection to make sure they could get it cleared up using a cream because if that didn't work they were going to have to go in and surgically remove the infected part.   Luckily the cream seems to be working and they discharged her this afternoon.  The bad news is they have postponed her chemo treatments which was supposed to start this Thursday.  The oncologist said that once she starts chemo her body will not be able to fight off an infection and that she needs to be 100% healthy before they start it and it is just too risky.  So we wait now for the infection to heal completely and then find out when her chemo treatments will start. 

1 Chronicles 16:11
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

As some of you know we found out my mom had breast cancer the week before Christmas and then four weeks ago she had a mastectomy.  I went to Ohio to be with her during her surgery and take care of her for the first week after.  Although it was a long week I was really glad I was able to be there for her.  I knew it was going to be emotional, but I don't think that anyone or anything can prepare you to look at your mother without her breast. 

When it was time for me to change the dressing I knew it was going to be hard, but I wasn't prepared for the emotion that overcame me.  I tried to keep it together for my mom, but it was hard and she saw me crying.  In that moment all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around my mom like I did when I was a kid and cry.  Of course I couldn't do that because in addition to her having just had her left breast removed, she suffers from severe RA and just touching her causes her so much pain.  The amazing thing about mothers is they know when they are needed and I needed my mom just as much as she needed me.  She let me cry and then I finished doing what I needed to do and we sat down and played Boggle. 

I love my mom so much and I am scared for her.  I know that God is with her and will help her get through this so I am leaning on Him during this time to get me through it also.  Today she had the port put in because next Thursday she begins the second half of this long fight.  She starts her first round of chemotherapy. 

Everyone goes through times where their strength and faith are tested, that is just the way life goes.  What we have to remember is Jesus is with us every step of the way and it is only when we forget that, that the hard times seem unbearable.   I know this because the last month or so has been the hardest time in my life thus far and I started to feel a breakdown coming.  I have always believed in God and I have always prayed but sometimes I have a hard time giving my troubles over to the Lord.  I forget sometimes that He wants me to give everything to Him and that He will take care of me.  Why do I forget?  I guess it is because I get caught up in the day to day of life and don't leave enough time during the week to sit down and really pray.  I don't always say thank you when things work out and more than I care to admit I take for granted the blessings in my life. 

About a week before Christmas my mom called and told me she had breast cancer.  I felt as if I had just been punched in the gut.  Panic immediately took over and all I could think about was what if my mother dies?  My mom is already not in the greatest health and the thought of her having something else wrong with her was terrifying. 

On top of this I was dealing with issues at my son's preschool.  Apparently some boys in his class were picking on him and he no longer wanted to go to school.  There is a lot more on this issue but I will have to fill you in later.  Long story short I had to find him a new school before I headed up to Ohio to take care of my mom.  She was scheduled to have her mastectomy on January 7th so that only gave me 3 days to find a school that had an opening, visit the school and sign him up. 

I prayed everyday for strength and guidance and never did I lose my faith in the Jesus.  I got my son in a new school and he loves it.  My mom had her mastectomy and they got all of the cancer and there was none in her lymph nodes.  Things may not always go the way we think they should and more times then we want we will be tested.  Just remember that God is amazing and he is always there for us especially in our toughest moments.

I know sooner get used to the fact that Andrew turns five when he looses his first tooth!  Last Wednesday he comes running downstairs that he thought his tooth was loose and sure enough his bottom tooth was loose.  Not only was it loose but his new tooth was already poking through his gums! 

He was very excited that he was the first of all his friends to have a loose tooth, however being the first had it's drawbacks too.  The fear of the unknown!

On Sunday Andrew came downstairs saying his tooth was really "wiggly" and he didn't like how it felt and he was scared.  I told him that his tooth was almost ready to come out and there was nothing to be scared of.  I tried to wiggle it for him for a while to see if I could get it out, but it just was not budging.  I accidentally wiggled it to hard and made it bleed a little, but I didn't tell him because I knew he would totally freak out.  He was already mad at me and crying hysterically because he was so scared.  I am not really sure what he was scared of.  Maybe because he really thought it was going to hurt or maybe just the no knowing part.  I told him to go to bed and we would try again tomorrow, but he just cried harder and said he wanted it out.  So for 45 minutes I sat wiggling/tugging that darn tooth.  It was hanging by just a small thread but it was not coming out.  I wasn't sure how much longer I could sit there and do that but I also knew it was too loose to send him to bed.  I said a prayer and the tooth popped right out.  Now it was really bleeding!

Andrew immediately stuck his finger in the hole of his mouth and I told him to keep his hands out of his mouth until the bleeding stopped.  BLEEDING???  Let the hysteria set in!  After a few moments of crazy crying he settled down and became very excited at the little tooth in his little hand.  Not to mention the Tooth Fairy was going to come!  So we went downstairs to get our little Ziploc bag to put the tooth in and placed it under his pillow. 

WOW!  When did my baby boy became a young boy?