Totally Random Bits and Pieces

Trying to organize my thoughts this morning and there are a least a thousand things running through my head.  Our schedules are so busy and although summertime is supposed to be a slower, more relaxing pace I have realized that this is not to be true in our household.  I'm totally not complaining, just trying to fill in the calendar and seeing that life with two teenagers is crazy!

So lets talk about the book Dave gave me for my birthday.  Have you ever held a book in your hands and realized that every single word inside of it was written by you?  Seriously an incredible feeling.  Page after page my heart, my life, my experiences poured out.  Really cool.  I had no idea it would effect me so much to see it in print.  Watching it typed out on the computer screen and then hitting publish is so different than actually seeing it all compiled together.  Knowing that there at least 20 more volumes coming my way is so exciting!  Its like the gift that never ends:)  Its funny because I can sit and read page after page and then come across an entry that I just can't get through and I have to put it down.  There are some really difficult days shared in this place and reading about them again isn't an easy thing to do, but I can't express how grateful I am that they are recorded.  One day my Blake and Allie will open up the volumes of Ashley's Story and have an inside look into our hearts.  That part is soooo cool.  Blake and Allie have never read our journal.  They have lived it, but they have never been allowed to read it.  I think God is going to move in their lives one day using this story.  I'm excited about that.

The book is not for sale, but the cool thing is you can still read it.  I mean as long as blogger is up and running its here for you to read.  Several people asked who printed it for us.  Apparently there are lots of companies who print blogs into books but Dave used(and seemed to be happy with) Blurb.  I don't know anything about it, but he said it took him a couple of weeks to get the first book printed.  He could fit 240pgs into it.  That was about the first four months of our blog.  Now he's working on then next 6 years!

Moving on.
Ashley's 7th birthday is just around the corner.  I only have 3 months to work on it!  This years theme is "Ashley's Acres"  Down on the Farm.  So excited about it!  We are busy building a barn, locating old farming tools, equipment, dishes, and props.  My garage is filling up a little more each week.  If anyone in our area has connections we are looking for chickens, goats, bunnies, maybe a pony?  to have on the grounds.  Ashley LOVES chickens and roosters.  She is going to be soooooo happy to see them pecking around.  We are also looking for a hay supplier.  We don't need to buy and keep thirty or so hay bales, but possible rent them for the party?  I have no idea how to get this all done, but I'm figuring it out the best I can.  Anyway, here it is....SAVE THE DATE...Saturday, August 4, 2012.  Hope to see everyone there.  Seriously, if you can make it then your are WELCOME to join us in celebrating the life of our littlest girl.  Just let me know you are headed our way so I can make sure we have enough barbecue for everyone.  Invitations are being designed now and will be headed out soon.

We are in full sport mode around here.  Pre-season volley ball going on, summer league basketball, high school soccer try outs, club soccer and a tournament in San Antonio, varsity baseball play offs, and tournament baseball gearing up.  Throw in the cheer leading schedule and our calendar is FULL.  Every single week until school starts back up we are on the go with one teenager or the other, and sometimes both at the same time.  Blake has a play off game tomorrow night.  Then again on Saturday.  He also has a huge try out for the Texas Rangers Area Code team coming up next month.  I am super excited about traveling with him all summer long.  He has a 9 week tournament schedule taking him to colleges and universities all over Texas, into Oklahoma, and over to Georgia.  Good times on the road with my 16 year old.  Spending our days on the baseball field.  Life doesn't get any better in his world.

My mom and my sister are on their way here tomorrow.  Really looking forward to having them for a visit.  My mom will spend the summer with us helping with Ashley Kate and with Allie's schedule so I can travel with Blake.  Without her willingness to help he wouldn't have the opportunities he's getting and I wouldn't be able to go with him.  Ash will go a few places with us, but being on the road every week is just too much for her.  She needs to rest and to play this summer.

On the medical front she's doing as well as we could hope for with her circumstances.  Things aren't perfect in her little body, and never will be...but...she's hanging in there and living a life of quality.  In the end thats all I can hope for any of us.  Her CBC came back really messed up and we aren't too sure whats up with all of that.  Low hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets, WBC, and RBC.  Seriously, weird.  Her metabolic panel was status quo.  Liver is struggling, but its been worse so I'm breathing a sigh of relief that it was what it was.  She is sleeping about 12-14 hours a day.  At the end of the day I look at her sleeping safely in her bed and I say to myself, "She was happy today.  It was a good day."  Her laughter fills the air in our home.  I don't regret the time we are spending with her here.  I'm at peace with our decisions to wait.  Allowing her to laugh and play and rest and be almost 7 is the best we can do at this time.  It won't last forever( and I know that),so we are enjoying it while we can.  While she can.

I'm going to wrap this up.  Wow, this was long. Random.  Scattered.  Reflective of my days lately!  That's funny to me.  I feel exactly that when I lay down at night.  Long day, random events, totally scatter brained.  Then I close my eyes and sleep so I can wake up and start it all over again.  Life is good.  I'm totally blessed!