Raising money for my father-in-law to run Boston Marathon

Picture from Hole in the Wall website

My father-in-law Chris Tucker is trying to run in the Boston Marathon next year. He is very passionate about running and decided this year to run in it by raising money for a certain charity. The charity he has chosen in The Hole in the Wall Gang. This charity is a series of camps and activities for children with severe life threatening illnesses, such as sickle cell anemia, cancer, or HIV/AIDS. I just wanted to put this out there. If any of you know my father-in-law and would like to help him out you can either give him a call or shoot me a message on here and I can get a message to him or give you his cell phone number. Here is a link to the website also if you would like to check it out.

http://www.holeinthewallcamps.org/

Sunsets & Clouds

Happy Birthday Pawpaw

Saturday would've been my Pawpaw's 81st birthday. I went shopping with my mom that day, but before we went out to the mall we stopped and got some balloons to take and put on Pawpaw's grave. It was so cute, Carson ran up to the grave and started singing happy birthday to Pawpaw. Then he looked at my mom and said Pawpaw was "going high in sky with Jesus and he says WEEEEE" It was so cute! Here are a few pictures.....

Sorry it's been so long....

Well we had a long weekend for Memorial Day. I really needed that extra day. I did lots of shopping and nothing all weekend. It was wonderful! We never made it to the pool because the water was freezing. I did get to take Carson to the park and over to Uncle Brad's house. Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Gas Prices where I live

I remember when I graduated high school (and I haven't had my 10 year reunion yet) gas was less than a dollar. Well it is now $3.85 here in my little town in VA. I know it is more in certain places, but I have never seen it this close to $4 before in my life. So while I was driving the other day I snapped a picture of the sign at our local Sheetz.

Life Before Death

photo by Walter Schels

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/gallery/2008/mar/31/lifebeforedeath?picture=333325404

I was reading ABC News just now and came across this article. It was about a photgrapher and another artist who put together a series of pictures they took at a hospice in Germany. The pictures show people, mostly in their 40s & 50s who are terminally ill. Then they show a picture of them after they have passed away. All of the pictures are in black and white. I found these very moving and decided to try and find a website with more information. The link above shows all the photos that are on display in Germany. It is hard to describe how I feel about the photos but they really move me and in a good way. I myself have had a brush with death and it has changed my life. I only hope that I am living my life now like I should be and to the most. I am not doing everything I wish I was doing, but that is because I am trying to make sure my son can live the life he wants without having to work as hard as his father and I. Please take a look at the website.

Sickness!

Ok, so I have been getting sick off and off for the last 2 weeks. Two people in my office have Bronchitis and they are coming in because they don't have any sick time. They are on medicine and they are still hacking away. I have had a head cold and it goes away and then comes back and it is driving me crazy! Also, I have not had my cycle since havnig my IUD removed! I have taken several pregnancy tests and they all say negative! So I had to call the doctor the other day and get a prescription for a hormone steroid. I've only taken 2 days of it and haven't really noticed much except when I am around Carson. It just seems like he is plucking every nerve in my body. But I understand that part of it is the medicine and part of it is just him being a 2 year old. So it bothers me for a few minutes and then I am over it. Hopefully this hormone will get me going because I really want to get prego ASAP!! Were are now getting to the point where if I get prego now, the baby could have the same birthday as Carson or really close to it and I don't want that. But Memorial Day weekend is coming up and I can't wait to head down to the Festival in the Park!

Waiting!

Well, my doctor told me to wait to start trying for another baby after I had my next cycle. He said if I got pregnant before my cervix would be too thin and I would run the chance of miscarriage. So now I have to wait! It is driving me crazy having to wait! I wish I had known and I would have taken it out a month earlier. Oh well! It should be soon, I've been really cranky lately. Matt was really worried about having to wait because he didn't want anything to happen bad with this next pregnancy. My last one was bad enough and stressful enough on him after all that happened. Anywho, I am having a yard sale this weekend. I hope it turns out better than my last one. It should though, my last one I didn't advertise for and this one I have! I guess I don't really have much to say....still feeling a little cranky and irritable right now. So I will just post another picture!

I love how this turned out!

Busch Gardens

Well Carson & I went to Busch Gardens this past weekend with my parents and my brother and sister. It was so much fun! I thought the weather was actually perfect! It wasn't hot at all, we actually all had to wear longs pants and long sleeve shirts. That was great for me, because after having Carson I tend to swell in the heat (even more than I am normally :-) ) I ended up only riding one roller coaster, the Griffon, because I had so much fun watching Carson ride things. He had a blast!! Here are a few pictures from our trip!

My sister officially has an Associates Degree!

Well my sister finally received her Associates Degree from Virignia Western on Friday night. That's so great!! She will be moving up to Radford in August and I hope she continues to do well and finishes her Bachelor's degree!!

Another Mother's Day weekend

I love you Carson!! Thanks for making me the happiest mother alive!!

No news is not good news!

Well I took a test yesterday and it came out negative! I wasn't really expecting it to be positive but there was still that little bit of hope that after a very short time I would be. So, after feeling the way I feel today I think the tiredness of the last few days is because I am coming down with something other than morning sickness! Blah! At least if it were morning sickness I could still be happy! Oh well, tonight is Thirsty Thursday, I don't know if we will be attending or not, Matt has homework for work! YUCK! We haven't made it to a game yet this year. Maybe I am sick because I never do anything anymore. But, I am planning on going to Busch Gardens this weekend with Carson and my parents. Hopefully my leftover Amox. will start making me feel better. I would also love it if Matt were going with me this weekend. I feel like we never get to do anything fun together anymore. Ok well after venting I feel a little better but it made out for a horrible post! Sorry, hopefully tomorrow will be better!!

Not much to say

I don't really have much to say today. I am really tired! I don't know if it is because Mary has been out all week and I am actually busy in the office or if it is because of another reason. If it is the other reason I will be really surprised because man that was SUPER fast! I might have to go by the store after work today and get a test...... :-) Well it is about that time, I have to go get my oil changed now that Uncle Sam has graciously provided me some extra money. I hope I feel better tomorrow....

Baby Reesie Cup

That is what Carson likes to call her. Isn't she adorable! She is the reason Carson wants mommy to have a baby!

Ducks

I just wanted to share a few pictures of some of the ducks from the duck pond. Some already had babies and other were still laying on their eggs.

My first Photo Shoot

I finally had a chance to do my first official photo shoot on Sunday. I was so nervous at first, but once Darryl and his family got there it just went smoothly. I think it helped that I knew them for my first time. I just kinda let them go around the duck pond and act naturally with the occasional "pose". Here are a few of my favorites that I captured.

Greenhill Park

Well I had a pretty good weekend, except for this horrible test I had to take for work. I am trying to get my CPS certification so I can get a raise. I have passed one part of the test already (there are 3 parts) and I had to take the other 2 again on Saturday. I have no idea how I did and I don't find out the results for another 45 days. But at least I can relax now until I find out if I have to take any of it again. I did get to spend some time with Amy and Myah and Carson on Friday night and Saturday night I got to hang out with Thurm and Daniel who really needed a night out. Matt was out of town all weekend for another bachelor party for Jud, so while we were waiting on daddy to come home we decided to go to the park. Here are some pictures of Carson throwing rocks into the river. He had so much fun!

Stem Cells

Ok, I know this is a touchy subject and I am trying to figure out why exactly it is so touchy. I have been trying to read up on this to have a better understanding. I keep hearing that Stem Cells can save thousands of lives, even in cases such as cancer where a person would normally die without the stem cells. What I am hearing is that people are mainly against the research because most of the research comes from aborted & miscarried babies. I can see where people don't think it is right to use the stem cells from a baby who was killed. But my thinking is why not make something good out of something bad. I do not think abortion is good or the right thing to do, but I have friends who have been through it and I understand why they did it so I do not judge them for their choices. But if a baby dies of natural causes as in miscariage or even they are aborted, those babies can help save the lives of thousands. Is it better to throw them away in the trash and not save anyone? I don't know. I think people need to be more informed on the donation of the cord blood after they have a baby. There is a lot of promotion of storing you childs cord blood for you own family use if ever needed, but have you seen the cost you have to pay to do this. Matt and I checked into while I was prego with Carson and it was just way too expensive for us as well as probably most people. So why not donate it to research or to someone who is sick already and could use it?? Is better in the trash or out there helping someone else. I urge people to think about this, not all stem cell research is bad. I know that when I get prego again I am going to take all the necessary steps to have mine donated. The two little girls from my previous blog could really use the help from this as well. And sorry if this offends anyone, I just don't see how throwing it away is any better.

NPC

I was reading ABC News today and came across a story about 2 very sweet 4 year old twin sisters. They have recently been diagnosed with Niemann Pick Type C (NPC). It is a very rare disease, with only 500 confirmed cases worldwide. It causes build up of cholesterol of great amounts in the liver spleen and brain and other parts of the body. It is being referred to as the Alzheimer's disease in children because it has similar symptoms. Most children only live to the age of 10 with this disease and the oldest being 20 years of age. I am writing this blog to inform people about this disease. These girls story really touched me and I wanted to spread the word. They have a website http://addiandcassi.com/?page_id=11 where you can read their story for yourself and also make donations for a cure. If you or someone you know likes to crochet, they are asking for volunteers to crochet baby and children's caps that they can sell to raise money to find a cure for this horrible disease. Please check it out and help spread the word.