Quite possibly the worst night ever...

I went to bed at about 11 o'clock last night. As usual, Brad fell asleep in about 30 seconds....takes me a little longer, like 30 seconds x's one million....

It was the first night that we didn't turn on the AC....even in the cold weather, we turn the fan on for a little white noise...last night was just too cold...No white noise means that my wonderful husbands breathing keeps me up even longer than usual. It also means that I hear every noise in the house. At about midnight, I was sure that someone was walking around downstairs...but I was to tired to check and I couldn't wake Brad up...I prayed that God would keep us safe and tried to fall asleep.

12:15 Grace woke up. Her cry indicated that she wasn't going back to sleep on her own, so I went and settled her down.

1:00 I'm still awake, Sam comes in. He's scared, he wants to sleep with me. I'm too tired to protest, so into the bed he comes...he starts snoring...I've got snores to the right and snores to the left....I can pick Sam up so I put him back in his bed. If I could pick Brad up, I would have stuck him on the couch.

2:15 I think I might have fallen asleep...Grace woke up again....cried for 10 minutes and fell back to sleep.

3:00 I'm asleep. Grace wakes up again. She's ticked. I get her and bring her to bed...nothing like a little nursing at three a.m.

4:00 I put Grace back in bed

4:15 Sam comes in and says he wants to go downstairs and watch tv. I say no and let him climb in bed with me. He starts snoring again. This time Brad wakes up and puts him back in his bed. Sam starts yelling, "I want to sleep with mommy!"

4:30 Sam waked Grace up. She screams from 4:30 till 5:30. I try to sleep with a pillow over my head. At 5:30 I get up and go into her room. I discover that Sam never went back to sleep. Grace will not settle down so I take her downstairs. She plays for an hour and then climbs up on the couch and falls asleep next to me.

10:00 I say to Sam, "wow buddy, that was a bad night." He replies, "Yeah, but it's over mommy."

Yes it is, it's over.

Hillcountry Dollmaker

I really can't say enough about Joyce of Hillcountry Dollmaker. I found her on Etsy months ago and have been admiring her Waldorf dolls and wanting one for me, I mean for Grace.

I contacted her about ten days before Gracie's birthday to see if she thought a doll like this would be appropriate for a one year old. She got right back to me with all kinds of suggestions and modifications that could be made. She also said that she would finish it and have it at my house in time for the big day.

I spent hours looking at her shop on Hyena Cart. Her work is amazing....everything is done by hand. They are stuffed with wool from her sheep and she dyes the yarn for their hair and the fabric for the clothes herself. No lead paint in these sweet babies!

Her long haired dolls are my favorite, but not a good choice for little girls who eat their toys. She also makes dolls with baby pigtails and they are so sweet. I actually liked the pigtails better than what I chose, but I was afraid that Grace might rip them out and then we'd have a bald baby...

If you're in the market for a really special present for your little one, check Joyce out. They cost a little more than a doll you'd buy in a store, but you will not regret it! I'm already planning my next purchase!

Horrified

On Friday morning, my phone rang. It was my friend Sharon. "Are you in a good mood?" she asked. "Why, Do you need someone to watch Andrew?" "No, but I have a pass to the ______ rummage sale if you want it!"

The ___________ rummage sale is even better than the ______ ______ Children's Academy sale. Why shouldn't it be? Ten times the number of rich kids equals ten times the fabulous donations....The sale is on Saturday, but if you have connections, you get a little blue card in the mail and can shop early. I've never had connections...till now....

So Sharon stops by my house to drop of the pass...She left Andrew in the car...I tried to stand in the door to block her view of the mess...she went back to her car and came back with Andrew..."Andrew wanted to say hi to Sam, is that okay?"

She proceeded into my house and asked, "What can I do?" I quickly replied, "NOTHING!" She grabbed a sponge and started cleaning my kitchen...washing dishes, scrubbing the counter, scrubbing the sink....I protested...but Grace was screaming and I knew Sharon wasn't going to stop...so I sat down and nursed Grace and watched Sharon clean. I tried to just be thankful that I have such a good friend. I tried not to feel embarrassed while she picked things up off the counter and cleaned the grime...she tried to make me feel better by talking about having to go home and do the same at her house (Lies and a big, big one!...she has a house keeper....her house is spotless).

Finally, my kitchen was spic and span and I thought she was done....but no....she approached my microwave..."NOOOOOOOO!" I screamed. Too late. The microwave door opened and the fact that we are NASTY, NASTY folks was revealed. Microwaves are like refrigerators...they have doors that close...company doesn't usually see them....therefore, they do not get cleaned at Casa Twinkle...that is, they didn't get cleaned until Friday when my friend Sharon cleaned my microwave.

Harvest Party

There was a Harvest Party and Parade at Sam's school today....so stinkin cute!

Then we went home and took more pictures....

Please Pray for Janessa

This babies uncle goes to our church. I'm sharing the story so that as many people as possible can be lifting them up in prayer.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

We had some hard news this week concerning our unborn baby girl. We wantedto share it with you so that you can pray for us. We'll let our little oneshare her story, so you can get to know her too!Thanks for praying for us! ~Jon and Amy Lyttle

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Janessa Lyttle. I am just over20 weeks old now. That is my gestational age, as I am not born yet. Mymommy is Amy and my daddy is Jon. I have a big brother, Evan (15 months),who you might know. I am still in my mommy's belly, but I already needyour prayers. You see, I have a few very serious physical "defects," as thedoctors call them. I believe God made me the way I am, and He doesn't makeany mistakes, ever! But, since we aren't in Heaven yet, there are certainthings that help us stay healthy and able to live on earth. My problemswill make this very difficult for me, and so I need you to pray for me andfor my little body. Of course, Mommy, Daddy and Evan need your prayers tooas they wait on God's timing and for grace to see them through the hardtimes ahead. My name, Janessa, means "God is Gracious", and we all believethat is true! We serve a great God, and we want Him to receive the gloryfor whatever He decides to do!""On Thursday, October 25th, my mommy and daddy and Evan got to see me forthe first time via ultrasound pictures. My mom and dad thought I lookedjust perfect to them. I even gave them a wave, and showed a bit ofpersonality by not cooperating with the ultrasound tech. However, when theymet with the Dr. afterwards for an appointment, she let them know that I hadmultiple birth defects. She gave them a list of things that were wrong withmy body, and then said we should go see a Maternal-Fetal Medicine doctor,on Friday, who would re-do the ultrasound, review the findings with them,and discuss the future prognosis. Dr. Bayliss, the specialist, was verysweet and compassionate as he explained the problems he found on theultrasound. He said that he saw a problem with the brain calledHydrocephalus (fluid in the brain) and Lobar Holoprosencephaly (a brainmalformation). I also have a congenital heart defect called a HypoplasticRight Ventrical (the chamber that pumps blood to the lungs isunderdeveloped). I also only have 2 vessels in the umbilical cord, insteadof the usual 3. Unfortunately, the combination of these problems points toa chromosomal abnormality- possibly Trisomy 13 or Trisomy 18, which are bothLethal syndromes, meaning I would not be able to live very long, even if Idid make it through delivery. My mommy had a Amniocentesis done on Fridayand they will do a complete chromosomal defect test on that to see if theycan, by chance, rule out the Trisomy 13 or 18. If so, it may be possiblethat I would have Down's Syndrome, which has a higher rate of survival. Inthat case, all stops would be pulled to make sure my mommy and I get thebest care possible up to my birth and afterwards. One bright spot in theirday was finding out I was a girl!"

"Mommy and Daddy would ask you to pray specifically for me in the followingways:1) Pray for a miracle- that I, Janessa, would be born alive so that Mommy,Daddy, my big brother, and the rest of my family can meet me. My due dateis March 10th. (I'm halfway there already!)2) Pray for healing- we know all things are possible with our God!!3) Pray for wisdom for the doctors and counselor to know how to prepare usfor the future.4) Pray for grace for each moment."

"Thank you so much for supporting my family during this time. I really hopeI get to meet you someday- if not here, then in Heaven. I know that yourprayers for healing will be answered- in Heaven I will have a complete,perfect body even if I don't get one here. All tears will be wiped away,but I have a feeling that we'll be able to remember what we went through,but we won't be sad because we will fully understand what God was doing. ToGod be the glory!"

Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway!

If you have found your way to my blog because you googled "custom made tutu" please feel free to contact me (my email is in my profile). I'd love to make your little girl a tutu. I can make them in any size and just about any color or colors. I have photos of others I have made and wam happy to send them to you if you'd like to see other examples. Cost is $25 plus actual shipping costs. I can take Paypal.

There's a really fun Bloggy Giveaway extravaganza going on this week! Hundreds of bloggers are giving all kinds of things, all you have to do is leave them a comment! I've spent the last half hour entering some great giveaways and started feeling a little guilty that I wasn't participating on the giving something away side. Sooooooo...After much deliberation, I have decided to make one lucky little girl an adorable tutu!

They really are adorable. Each one is made out of over 75 yards of high quality, super soft tulle. I have several colors that you can chose from and I will make it to fit your special little girl....perfect for a baby or a big girl!

All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post by midnight on Friday, November 2. A winner will be selected randomly on Saturday, November 3. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to those living in the US and Canada. Sorry, if I have to package it to ship internationally, it will never get sent!

Update: Several people have asked about buying one of these...To date, I have only made them for friends, but if you are interested in purchasing one, let me know. Price would depend on what you want...I can do them in one color or more....I can embellish with flowers, ribbon and crystals for some extra princess sparkle....

Thanks everyone. I am overwhelmed by the positive feedback!

I'm raising a cave man

Sam doesn't eat. Really, he doesn't. Most of the time we call three bites a meal around here. This morning was no different. He finally agreed to a bowl of Quaker Dinosaur Oatmeal (breakfast of champions...I know). Three bites later he declared that he was done and let out a HUGE burp. So intent on making him eat more, I didn't respond to the burp, in fact, I hardly noticed it...I began my usual "You're not finished, you have to eat more." speech. To which Sam replied, "Mom, did you hear my burp? A burp means you're done eating." Where does he come up with this stuff? Mine is by no stretch a home run by Miss Manners, but I promise, upon completion of a meal, neither Brad nor I let out a loud belch!