It's the small things (and people)

Just thought I'd share some randomness. Sometimes I find myself sweatin the small stuff, but this week God has blessed me with finding pleasure in some small things.

Here's a short list of things that I'm thankful for this week:

1. My niece Tiara told me I'm the best aunt in the world
2. Jenny Mann and Tiara volunteered to help keep the nursery during the church's viewing of "Fireproof"
3. 13 kids in the nursery Sunday night(for some reason I actually teared up watching all those little heads boppin down the church hallway, it just made my heart happy)
4. Playdough
5. Cheeseballs
6. Good books
7. A husband who folded all the socks in the neglected sock basket (I hate folding socks)
8. A son who decided he can wipe himself after a #2
9. Myoplex protein shakes
10.Wow Wow Wubbzy
11.A boss that puts family before work
12.That cool mouthwash that makes plaque turn colors if you miss a spot (i don't have to fight Taegan to brush her teeth now)
13.Cordless screwdrivers
14.Organized closets
15.Lists

I have many, many more things to be thankful for, but for today I'm takin notice of the trees while navigating the forest!

Psalms 30:12 That my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will
give you thanks forever.

Karri

P.S. I've lost 12 pounds so far since my Lap-Band two weeks ago!

And the winner is......

Taegan picked a name outta the hat yesterday. And the winner of "The Love Dare" is Wendy L! Congrats Wendy! I will bring your prize to you Wednesday night!

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Karri

I love him....+Giveaway

Valentine's Day has always been one of those useless holidays to me. Not because I am a prude or because I am down on love. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I think that love and devotion should be shown and expressed daily, not just one day a year. Roses and chocolates are nice, but there are many more ways to express love.

My valentine, Jason, is the most wonderful, caring man. God brought us together and has kept us together through it all! Not to say we don't have our tiffs and arguments, but we always find a compromise, even if its just to agree to disagree. I love my man. He takes care of me when I'm sick, he is a wonderful father, he helps with household chores, and he loves me like Jesus, unconditionally (not in that order). What more could a woman want?

I remember when we first got married, almost 14 years ago, I was 18, he was 20. Soooo many people discouraged us from getting married. They said we were too young, and in retrospect they were probably right about being too young. But, in a way I think it actually made our marriage stronger. We had to grow up and find our way through life together. There are many things that I would change about my twenties, but being married to Jason is not one of them.

I am so proud of Jason. He tries to live his life through God's word. He passes his love for God and for me to our children. He doesn't hold grudges or keep score. He is a mentor for so many kids at school and through coaching. He is soft when he needs to be, but stern when the time comes. He is smart, but he is openminded to new things. He is my love, my man, my husband and I love him with all my heart.

God has blessed our marriage far beyond what we deserve. I take my vows seriously and I will always strive to keep my covenant to Jason and to God true. Neither of us are perfect and good can always get better. That is why we have been doing the "The Love Dare".

It is a wonderful excercise for couples. I challenge all you married couples out there to take "The Love Dare". In fact, I am going to give away a copy of it in honor of Valentines Day. Leave me a comment and I will put your name in the drawing. I will choose the winner randomly (put your names in a hat and draw) on Saturday Feb. 14th and post the winner on the 15th.

I leave you with a few bible verses to think about on Valentines Day(and any other day).

Proverbs 30:18-19
There are three things that amaze me— no, four things that I don’t understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.

Song of Solomon 1:2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine.

Song of Solomon 2:16
My lover is mine, and I am his.

Song of Solomon 4:10
How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!

Song of Solomon 8:6
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

Song of Solomon 8:7
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

(THIS IS MY FAVORITE LOVE VERSE)1 Corinthians 13:1-8a and 13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Ephesians 5:33
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

1 John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.


Hoping Your Life Is Filled With Lots of Love
Karri

A new life begins!

Thank you all for your prayers yesterday. The surgery went great and I got to come home about 4 hours after it was over. I am extremely sore today. More sore than from any other surgery I have ever had, but I think it will be worth it. It even hurts just to breathe. At least I got me some gooood pain medicine! So if this post sounds crazy I blame it on my pain medicine stupor!

I will have to be on a liquid/soft food diet for at least two weeks now, but that's ok because I don't have any hunger pains for the first time in my life!

So here is where I am starting from. I weighed 215 lbs the day before surgery with high cholesterol, migraines, joint pain, and a never ending hunger.

I will post my progress as I go (not that anyone cares, but I want to keep a jounal for myself). I think this will be good for our whole family. Because I can't eat much at a time everything that I do eat has to have good nutrional value. So hopefully this will help Jason and the kids eat healthy too.

I feel my pain medicine starting to kick in so the words on the computer are starting to run together now. But I just wanted to thank you so much again. God has truly blessed me and my family in so many ways, but especially with good friends. I could actually feel your prayers yesterday. I love you all!

Karri

No more BIG MOMMA!

Hello, my name is Karri and I am addicted to food! At breakfast I think about what's for lunch. At lunch I think about what's at dinner. At dinner, I think about what I can eat while I am watching TV! It's really pathetic and I'm over it!

After a year of praying and 10 years of dieting (unsuccessfully) I have decided to take the big plunge! I am having the gastric Lap-Band procedure this Monday. Some people say this is the "easy" way to lose weight, but it's really not. It just forces you to do what you have no will power to do on your own.

I have been thinking about doing this for 3 years, but I couldn't ever get my act together to battle the insurance companies. However, about a year ago I was easily approved by BCBS of alabama. Then, mom and jr died and my whole world fell apart and I just didn't think I could mourn them and food too. When your approved you only have a year to take advantage of it or you have to start all over with mountains of paperwork. That meant I had to make a decision by the end of this month. So, with blessings from Jason, I scheduled it!

Why go this route, some people have ask? Well, as I said earlier, I have tried every diet known to man and admittedly failed at every single one of them. And over the past couple of months I have been examining my life, how I live it, and what kind of example I want to set for my children. I am angry at myself for letting my body get to this point. I am frustrated that even with prayer I haven't had the strength to do anything about it. I am embarrassed to have to shop in the "big girl" stores. I am sad to feel beautiful on the inside and not be able to portray that because of how i look on the outside. I want to be healthy. I want to eat smart and not be hungry. I want my husband and kids to be proud of me. Most of all, I want to be around to see my kids/future grandkids grow up and to grow old with my husband.

I get so angry sometimes when I think of mom and jr. If only they had never smoked or even stopped smoking when they found out how dangerous it was...they might still be here today. So, if I can save my children some pain down the road by doing something today, bygolly I am going to do it (Lord willing, of course)

I am not ashamed that I need help to do what it takes to lose the weight. I am just happy that there is some help available. I am going to chronicle my weight loss and emotions. I know it is not going to be easy physically or emotionally, but I am ready.

Me and my family have probably drained your prayer bank this year, but if you have any prayers left, please pray for us as we go through this together. I can't promise I will be in a good mood for the next few weeks, I am told it is a bit like going through drug addiction withdrawals but I know with prayer, good family, and supportive friends, I can and will get through this!

Love you all!
Karri


PS. The Church Cookbooks are back in! If you know someone who would like one, would like to take some to work, or know of a business that would sell some for us please contact myself, Jenny Mann, or Lisa McKay! All the proceeds go to the community recreation center!

Feelin the LOVE!

I just wanted to tell everyone who prayed for Taegan yesterday, THANK YOU! By the grace of God, she is ok!

Between my two kids, I would've never picked Taegan to be the first one to have a concussion.

I'll start at the beginning. We were just getting home and as soon as we walked in the door Taegan had to go to the bathroom. She didn't have shoes on, just socks, and she took off running (on the hardwood) to the bathroom.

The next thing I heard was a loud thud and screaming and crying. I tore off through the house and there was my baby girl, laid out on the floor screaming her lungs out, holding her head. I grabbed her up to check her out. There was the biggest goose egg and blood everywhere from her forehead.

Poor Cohen, he was scared to death. I was trying to keep it together for him and he was such a good helper. He ran and got me a baggie with ice in it and put his clothes (he still had on pjs from spending the night with my sweet friend Tammy) on faster than I have ever seen anybody change.

I knew right away this was not just a knock on the head. Taegan couldn't stand up straight and she was talking crazy with slurred words. So off we went to Ft payne. That was mistake #1. I thought I would just take her to rapid care and let them do an xray to make sure she didn't have a skull fracture. I knew she had a concussion, but I just figured they would tell me to watch her and send us home. Nope, they said she didn't have a skull fracture but we needed to go to the ER right away for an MRI or CT scan because her head was still swelling and she still couldn't walk a straight line.

Mistake #2- I took her to Ft payne ER! Keep in mind they sent her info from rapid care over. So we got to triage at the ER and I can't keep Taegan awake and neither can they, but they make us go out the waiting room for 2 1/2 hours before taking us back. Forget about brain function, they said her vital signs were ok so she could wait! Oh no they didn't! This mad momma caused a scene in that ER (not that it did any good). Anyway, if the waiting wasn't bad enough, once we did get to a room, they put my otherwise healthy child in a room with a baby who had a 106 fever on one side and a 6 yr old with a staph infection on the other side. Hello? INFECTION CONTROL ANYONE???? Since I was by myself with both kids, holding a sleeping Taegan, and no staff ANYWHERE around, I reserved that issue for a little letter I am putting together for the director of the ER.

In the meantime, aunt Deanie came and got Cohen, Jason was close to being back from the men's church conference trip, and the doctor on staff and the nurse practioner could not agree on how to treat my baby.

The doctor wanted to observe her for 8 hrs, the NP wanted to get a CT scan. Meanwhile, Taegan is STILL sleeping. They woke her briefly to check her walking and speech, neither of which was normal yet.

Finally, 4 hours after arriving at the ER, they finally decide to do the CT since she is still not waking up. She slept right through the CT scan with no problems. Jason finally gets there and an hour later....still no CT results. He goes to ask someone and they say they don't have a radiologist there to read them so they transmit them over the computer. Apparrently, Taegans got lost so they have to resend them. AAARRRRGGGG! 6 hours after we got to the ER, CT results get back. She does have a bruise on the frontal lobe of her brain but no active bleeding and she of course has the pocket of blood and swelling between her skull and skin (the gooseegg). They classify her as having a moderate-severe concussion and want to observe her for two more hours.

By this time she has woken up and is talking normal, but still a little shaky standing and walking.

Thank you Lord God Almighty that this was not super serious! I don't know how I could live without my sweet baby girl!

I learned/reaffirmed several things from this incident.
1. God is Good!
2. I love my kids more than anything in this world!
3. I have the best family and friends that anyone could ask for
4. Anything else ever happens to my kids, they will be taken to TC Thompsons unless I cant stop the bleeding before I can get to Chattanooga
5. Ft. Payne hospital may be good for general surgeries, but their ER needs more staff, and they do not need to be treating pediatric patients if they don't know how to care for them
6. Hardwood floors, socks, and doorframes are not a good combination
7. Watching a sleeping child is just about the most precious thing ever
an
So, once again thank you all so much for your prayers for Taegan. And thank you all for your prayers for me over the past couple of weeks. I have never worked so many hours in my life!
Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him. I hope my lifesong always thanks HIM and honors HIM!

I love each and everyone of You!
Karri