Life happens so fast

Seems like all I did was turn around and already it's the middle of July.

The 21st of June was Elizabeth's 5th birthday. I'm still not ok with it and don't know that I will be. We took her and her brother and sister to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday so we could celebrate with Nanna, Grammy, Peepaw, Grandpa Ed, Grandma Sue, Nandie and Michael. The kids had a BLAST!

The 26th was her birthday party and she had lots of friends to come and celebrate. She had a princess cake (of course) and although it was outside and very hot a quick rain shower cooled us off. The kids ran up and down the stairs and played on the swing set. She got lots of wonderful presents.

Elizabeth and Sarah Grace have each spent some time at their Nanna's house. They always come back rotten. Cole will have his turn later on.

Grandpa Shedd passed away, so we had to make a surprise trip to Cullman. We did however get to see Popaw (Shedd's dad that lives in Utah).

The kids and I met Grammy and Peepaw in Montgomery for a swim last week and the girls stayed the night in the hotel with them. They had a night swim and slept very well. The next day they came and picked me and Coley up for a trip to TN. Shedd had a coach's conference in Huntsville, so he come up to get us. That brings us back to today. We are finally all together again in TN, but we are also very tired. We miss our beds and just being "the 5 Shedds".

Summer seems to have gone by entirely too fast. Elizabeth starts Kindergarten August 9th and in September Sarah Grace will start preschool. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings it will just be me and my Coley. We won't even know how to act.

As crazy as this summer seems to have been I know that as these rascals grow up it will only get crazier, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I love these rascals!

Lunch

Meal times are always interesting here at the Shedd house. We eat all of our meals around the table for whoever is here. Most of the time during the day it's me and the kids, but yesterday Jonathan was here to join in the fun. I don't even remember what we ate, but I remember hearing Sarah Grace sing, "Glory. Glory. Hallelujah.Thank you for the cross." And somehow we got to Elizabeth saying, "Anybody need a knuckle sandwich because I'm ready to make a delivery." I don't know how we got there, but we all laughed. Sometimes I don't see how we entertained ourselves before these kiddos!

5 years ago!

Five years ago I was sitting in our apartment in the back of Cascade Market when I started getting pains in my back. Around 10 I decided I should go on and try to get some rest. My loving husband was up playing X Box at the time. I'm not sure when he came to bed, but I was still awake and was in pain. I remember going on the front doors of the market ever so quietly and sitting on a bench outside and calling my mom. I think this was around 1 am. I told her that my back was really starting to hurt and asked her what I should to. She told me to go to the hospital. I went back inside and woke my loving husband who proceeded to get on to me telling me that he'd only been in bed for an hour. I told him that I was very sorry, but that I thought I was in labor and needed to go to the hospital. We drove to Bedford County Medical Center where it was confirmed that I was in labor and far enough along to admit. I remember the nurse coming in and telling me that there was someone there to see me. When she told me it was my parents I told her to go tell my father that he drove too fast. I went upstairs and they started my IV and not long after that my brother got there. As soon as he walked in the door I was sick to my stomach. I threw up and my brother left the room quickly. I think he told me later that he went outside to lay on the grass. I remember the nurses telling me to get some rest. I don't understand why they tell you this. You're in labor and rest is not exactly an option. I do remember watching everyone else in the room sleep though. I did my best to try, but I don't think it worked very well. I remember being moved to the labor room and getting my epidural. From there things seemed to move fast. I asked for ice chips at some point, but did not get to eat them because it was time to push. The doctor told the Labor and Delivery nurse that she wanted the head of the baby to be partially out before she was page to come up. We got the that point and the nurse told me to quit pushing. I did and the call was made. She turned around just in time to catch the baby. All our family was out in the hall looking in and I remember hearing my sister in law saying, "It's a baby!" We didn't know what we were having. I have stubborn children like their father and this one would not cooperate when I had my ultrasound. In fact when we got to that point I seem to remember her crossing her legs and turning around. We were so excited that she was here that we didn't check to see if we had a baby boy or a baby girl until the voices from the hallway asked what it was. We had a baby girl! We named her Elizabeth Michelle and it was love at first sight.
Elizabeth,
You're 5 years old now. It seems like only yesterday that I held you in my arms at the hospital in Shelbyville. You had so many wonderful visitors that day. There are so many people that love you and care about you and I am truly blessed to be one of them. God gave me a precious gift the day you were born. I love you so much and though you're much more like you father than I would like you to be at times (she's stubborn just like him) I love you more than words can say. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. There are no more diapers, no more bottles, and now no more preschool. I can't believe you're about to start kindergarten. Even though you're nervous about it I know you will love it because you love to learn. I hope you never loose that. I hope you always love books just as much as you do now. I know how much you love princesses and I hope that one day (far, far away of course) you meet a prince that sweeps you off your feet. I hope that you have the joy of having beautiful children just like I do (again, this is far, far away). I love you, Elizabeth. Thanks so much for letting me be your Mommy. It's the best job I've ever had!

The Changing of the Beds

As a mom one of the first major purchases you make for your child is a baby bed. This is apparently one choice that I absolutely stink at. Poor little Cole's bed was recalled. This was the bed that we bought before we had Elizabeth, so it's been around. Even Sarah Grace slept in it. We wanted to keep it, but had to turn it in to get a new one since the mattress supports could break and cause some serious damage. If he didn't jump in that bed like a little monkey I wouldn't have taken it in! I managed to get his bed into manageable pieces and get it down stairs and in the van. We got out money and picked up a new bed. By 3:15 groceries were put away, lunch had been consumed, the bed was put together courtesy of my own skills of course and Cole was asleep on the couch! I really like his new bed, but I really don't think he cares too much one way or the other.
Sarah Grace's bed completely fell apart on me. The bracket that holds the mattress supports to the bed (which is metal) snapped in two and broke the mattress support. I am currently going rounds with the manufacturer trying to get the parts. They first told me I would have to pay for the parts. I then went online and found that the parts in question had been recalled. Yes I picked out 2 beds that have recalls in one form or another. I called the company back and told them that I had found the parts I needed had been recalled. After much conflict I was told to email the parts department. They want me to purchase the mattress support bar that broke as a result of the faulty bracket. I say no way. It broke when the support broke! Today I found that another part of her bed has been recalled as well.
What a day!

Surgery

This past week went by so fast I think my head is still spinning. Jonathan hurt his knee dancing at a wedding and it's gotten progressively worse. Monday he went to see the orthopedic who sent him to have an MRI done the next day. We got the results from that Wednesday and scheduled surgery on Thursday. Cole got really sick Wednesday night and I had to take him to the ER. He slept downstairs with us which meant that I go NO sleep. Thursday was surgery day and there was no rest there, but Jonathan got a good nap. They fixed the tear in his meniscus and drilled holes in his femur to set up scar tissue. In layman's terms he's on crutches for 3-4 weeks and can't put any weight on his left leg. He also got a shot in his right leg because he's getting old (cortisone for arthritis). I don't think we'll be doing any more dancing for a while.
Cole is doing much better. He had a great day Thursday and has done really good since.
I registered Elizabeth for Kindergarten Friday. Still can't believe that we're ready for that. Maybe it's just me that isn't ready for that.
Sarah Grace is getting ready for preschool! Two mornings a week it will be just me and Cole! I have no clue how to act with just one kid, but I guess we'll figure it out together.
The patient (Jonathan) is doing well. He's sore from just using his right leg,but he's ok. Apparently there's little pain unless Cole smacks his knee.
I'm looking forward to getting Jonathan off crutches as soon as possible. I don't like doing bath time and bed time by myself!

Busy Little Bees

We've been a busy little family the last few weeks. What a busy few weeks it's been around here. I'm working on my Masters in Special Ed and it seems like I doing something with that every day, which I guess is how it should be when you're in school. We went to a wedding a few weeks ago and then went to visit some friends. While at their house my purse was stolen. I finally got replacement social security cards figured out and got a new license yesterday! It was a busy day in itself. We've visited kindergarten, been to the zoo, gotten shots and worked desperately on several projects in the back yard. We got a swing set for the kids. I don't know if you've ever put one of these together or not, but it's much more worth it to pay someone to come do it. We didn't have all the parts we needed, but as of now the slide and the swings are functional and that's all the kids really care about! We got a table and chairs for outside with a "bigella" or umbrella as most people would say. We also got several flowers to plant and a fountain. Long story short we're skipping church tonight to try to get everything finished before everyone comes in for Elizabeth's last preschool program tomorrow. By the way if anyone has any medication that might help keep me from crying my eyes out throughout the program please send it my way. I'm still having trouble with it. We've been so busy in the mornings that I haven't been able to go to the gym, so when I go to Tennessee with the kids this weekend I'll need a good run! Hope all is well with you!

God Bless!

The Shedds

Kindergarten, Driving, Weddings, and Babies

I took Elizabeth to school today and received her last preschool calendar. Every time I think about her being in Kindergarten I want to cry, but today I did. I'm sure there's much more of this to come with us touring Kindergarten next week and her final preschool program coming up and then her last day of preschool. I know for a fact there are many more tears to come in the next few weeks and then in August when I take her to Kindergarten for the first time. I guess I didn't realize that it would all happen so fast. All of a sudden it all seems like a blur and even though I stay at home I feel as though I've missed it. I know that I haven't because I've been here day in and day out in happy times and times I thought I really needed medication. But Kindergarten! Seems like her going to school should still be so far off and like a friend of mine said in her blog not to long ago I feel like Kindergarten leads to her getting her driver's license, going to college, getting married and her having babies of her own and it all seems to be happening so fast. It's not like my preschool days are over. I still have Sarah Grace and Cole to go, so you'd think I'd be ok with this and for the most part I "play it cool" like I am, but truth is I'm not! I never thought I'd be like this by Elizabeth since I had 2 more "babies" at home with me, but apparently someone told them it was ok for them to grow up too! Seems like yesterday I was fixing bottles and staying up all night feeding babies. Now I wake up at 6:30 am to the sound of Sarah Grace and Cole jumping up and down in their beds and laughing and I think about how blessed I am to have these 3 kids. I never asked for them. I never decided I was ready to have babies, but the Lord had other plans. He saw it fit for me to have them and I guess He will see me through, but that isn't making it any easier for me right now. I know that I am blessed to have them I just wish they wouldn't grow up so fast!