Memories

Today our former neighbors, the Hibbards are on my mind. They have recently moved to Arkansas which means we don't even have our monthly visits anymore, but they are in the middle of God's Will which is the best place to be. I talked to Ann earlier and she said things are falling into place. I am watching Emily right here next to me dancing and Benjamin playing with his Planet Heroes. He fell in love with the Planet Heroes after he played with Spencer's Planet Heroes. And now Spencer loves Thomas the Train!!!!!

Ginger's Birthday

Our sweet friend Ginger, she has become a part of our family and she is precious. She loves Benjamin and Emily and they love her. For her birthday we cooked out and had cake and ice cream. Okay, the story about the cake, Sugaree's is where you can get the best cake, our walmart doesn't have a bakery and I am not sure how long their cakes sit in the freezer section. So....I head to the bakery that Monday and they are closed! Ugh!!!! So, I call them and they let me into get a cake, I love a small town!!! They can't decorate it so it's left up to.....the Shawas, the Oswalts and Bill! Lindy did the letters, Bill did the clouds, well they are supposed to be flowers, but he was a trooper and he did great!

Stone Mountain with the Fam

Still catching up!!!! We met our family in Columbus, Georgia where Jason and his family used to live when Dad was pastoring there. We had fun visiting with old friends and then headed to Stone Mountain, GA. It was breath taking! Benjamin got to ride a train and of course, that was all he wanted to do. Emily just soaked in everything. We also "Rode the Ducks". The kids were so very exhausted that night they went to bed on the pull out sofa bed, dirt and all. Then we all headed back here for a few days and just relaxed, well as much as you can relax with 5 kiddos in one house!!!! We had a wonderful time!

Fun with the Choates

Okay so this was actually a couple of weeks ago, but I'm trying to catch up!!!! We had a wonderful visit with the Choate family as they had been so precious to stop here and see us for a couple of days. We had lots of fun!!!! We miss you guys.

To The Beach

What a blessing it was to load our family in the van and meet the Oswalts in Destin, FL! The sky and the water were absolutely beautiful! We ended up going mid June and the weather was great! Benjamin loved the water, Emily...ummm not so much. There was lots of sun and fun! We also went to the gulfarium. The dolphin show was the best! And...Bo and Lindy watched the kids and we had a date night, it was nice to just sit still. Lindy and I also got to hang out on the beach by ourselves for a little while, thanks guys!!!! We also went to a cool place called the Track. Benjamin actually drove a go kart by himself! We were so proud of him. All the kids rode a train..until it derailed...sparks and everything. The Oswalt/Shawa clan had fun!

Our Pets

So, in the last couple of months we have acquired two new family members. Our dog Jack and our kitten Alex (who started out as Isabelle, but discovered at the vet he is in fact a boy). Jack is more for Benjamin, he is strong and sturdy and Benjamin is...a big rough boy. Emily and I love Alex. He is very relaxing. Jack is a hyper 80 lb lab who is about two that we got from a shelter in Tupelo. It is funny how much Jack and Benjamin are alike!!! Wow!

I Am In Big Trouble

Okay guys, so this has been ridiculous. I have had many "requests" from friends to update! We have had so much going on this past few months. Wow...where do I begin. We continue the saga in getting Benjamin therapy and Praise the Lord we have gotten him into Occupational Therapy! Yay! We are hoping to get to Louisiana next month. We have said goodbye to our dear friends the Hibbards who I will blog more about later, and right now we have the Choates with us who we will not see for a few years as they head off the coast of Austrailia in a few months. We are hanging in there. Jason's fam is heading this way to visit next weekend after we meet them in Georgia for a trip to stone mountain. Our sweet friends the Oswalts have since moved to Starkville, MS where Bo has taken a church and are finally in a house to live in since the end of April when they lost their home in Oxford to a fire. Big deep breath...okay...so here we are...My sweet husband is trying to figure out how to get pictures from our camera on here...haahaa! Ain't no stoppin us now! This is for you my friend...I won't mention any names...Holly! Goodnight all!

The Shawas

Play date, and day!

The Shawas and the Oswalts had a good time together eating at Olive Garden for Easter and then coming together at the Shawas. The guys ended up having a West Wing marathon while Lindy and I opted for the chick flick! The next day we just hung out. The kiddos had fun! Lindy and I ventured to Walmart with the 3 boys, needless to say, it was an experience! Wow! The cart took a tumble a couple of times!!! Emily had fun just sitting with Spencer and Benjamin and Carter played with the fake food! Spencer just dotes over Emily, it is too funny! And she is such a princess, it is perfect!!! She doesn't mind the attention at all!

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs!

What a weekend! We had fun! Saturday morning we went to Lisa Cook's, Benjamin's Sunday School teacher, and hunted eggs. I didn't get any pictures there (we forgot the camera). Benjawmin did well with me showing him which direction the eggs were and Jason showed Emily what to do with one egg and she just took off with it. She was so cute in her dress as she bent over from the waist and her bloomers stuck out at she picked up the colored eggs! Then later we had an Easter Egg Hunt at home. The other pictures are Easter morning. Benjamin looked like such a little man in his suit that Grammie got him and Emily was precious in her Cinderella dress Grammie sent as well. She was not so thrilled about taking pictures Sunday. We have yet to dye Easter Eggs, but I think we are still going to do them! Better late than never, right! Haahaa! Do you expect much less from the Shawas. Another blog soon with

pictures from our day with the Oswalts!

Let It Snow!

Wow...it is March right? We have seen the possibility of snow for the forecast for weeks, but we didn't get our hopes up. So...this time would it really happen! Indeed it did! Yesterday afternoon it began coming down and continued through the night.

We woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow everywhere! Benjamin was so excited! He would not let up asking if he could put on his coat and go outside to play. Emily was not too sure of it. We put Benjamin's shoes on her since they were big enough to fit over her pyjama feet and Jason put her in the middle of it. She didn't move! It was too funny.

We came inside since the kiddos have been sick with a nasty cough and runny nose, but Benjamin was not all that happy with the plan. He looked out of the window and let out a shriek " Uh oh, the snow is melting!" He knew he did not have much time left. He wanted to play in the snow. So, Mommy got a plate and filled it up with snow so he could play with it! He grabbed Thomas and played for the longest time. I refilled the plate with new snow as needed. We then went for a ride and looked at the snow before the sun melted it away.

And of course how could we forget, the Myrtle Snowman!

MRI Anyone?

Well our day yesterday was a day. The MRI went really well...Benjamin was knocked out. It's when they had to put him on a board and wrap him up so they could the IV in. Poor guy was very scared. They got it on the first try though, so that was good. Jason was able to stay with him the whole time, so that was comforting. Glad it's over. I called the doctor today and left a message, but have not heard back from them. The Shawas got a bit of good news today! Benjamin is eligable to have a wish granted to him through Make A Wish Foundation. We are very excited. Those of you that know him know he loves Mickey Mouse, Cars, Little Einsteins, etc...which leads us to believe that he would absolutely love...DisneyWorld. I showed him a few pictures of Disneyworld online and now he randomly says, "You want to go to Disneyworld?" It's too cute. Emily...she is doing well. She stayed with the Oswalts Monday night and Tuesday. Lindy said she would wake up through the night and Emil would just be staring at her. She said they would have a stare down and she'd go back to sleep, this happened several times. She is a mess! Hope everyone is doing well. Time to get on pyjamas and get the runny nosed kiddos to bed!

Afternoon At The Park

Wow, has it been a week already! We didn't fall off of the face of the earth, I promise! The yard was too wet and muddy so we headed to the park in New Albany, about 10 minutes away. The kiddos were so thankful to be able to get out and play. Benjamin loved going down the big slide and Emily was trying to go right behind him, until it came to the slide. My little daredevil wasn't ready fot that one! I think we are all doing better, no one sick, yay! Tomorrow we head to LeBonheur for Benjamin's MRI. They will sedate him so hopefully he will be out and it will go fast and he will wake up easily from the sedation. Going to update tomorrow afternoon. About to start getting ready to pack the kids up and head out in a few hours. Hope everyone is doing great!

R

What A Relief

Hello everybody! Just wanted to let you know Benjamin's cardiology checkup went wonderful. Dr. Douglas said that the defect we are watching has not gotten any worse and we don't need to see him again for a year! That is the longest we have gone without seeing him. Overwhelming. To say the least, we are relieved. Also, sweet princess Emily is doing much better. The swelling has gone down and I took it upon myself to take her off of the steroids unless she blows up again! She went to bed much easier tonight! Yay! Mommy is a bit more sane tonight as well! Haahaa! Hope everyone had a wonderful day.

What Is It?

Hello folks! It's been an interesting few days! Our sweet Emily has gotten a virus and a full body rash secondary to that virus! It started out as what looked like a few red small bumps and progressively got worse. By yesterday morning her left eye was swollen shut! She is drugged out on Benedryl and steroids! The steroids make her hyper! It's like I told Jason, it's estrogen on steroids! It's crazy! We caught a few pictures the last few days and a couple of sweet ones of the kiddos! Sweet sweet moments! Tomorrow will be another big day. At 9am Benjamin will see his cardiologist for his 6 month checkup! Will post to let you know what happens! Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

What A Day

This has been a long day. We have two very tired kids in the bed as I type. Oh, praying they sleep through the night! The appointment went as planned. We got a diagnosis of high-functioning autism/asperger's. The doctor wanted to get blood drawn to test for any genetic problems, next will be an MRI to look at his brain. She mentioned something about because of the heart bypass and ECMO that he has been on she wants the MRI. We are very overwhelmed, but know our boy needs us to help him in so many ways. I just need God's wisdom as I care for the very different needs of two very different precious kiddos. I am going to go to bed! I am sleepy. Will put some new pictures up soon! Goodnight all.

Tomorrow will be quite a day

Well, Jason and I are trying to get ready to head out early in the morning. Emily will be staying with the Oswalts and we are heading with Benjamin to Memphis for an assessment to see if he has what is called Aspergers. We have noticed for quite some time that things were just different in ways here and there as we observed him day in and day out. We are praying for God's wisdom as we go. We just want to know how to help our little man. A good website that my friend Lindy pointed me to is very informative about this condition. If anyone is interested, this is the address : http://www.yourlittleprofessor.com/index.html Will let you know tomorrow how everything goes!

These kiddos grow too fast!

We have had a pretty uneventful day, it's cold outside, but Benjamin is always wanting to get out of this house! I don't blame him, he's like his Momma! Emily is a little princess. She has a little fluffy purse that she already holds on her arm and walks around with! They are fast asleep in their beds, and wow is the house quiet! Dad just got in from teaching a greek class at church and practicing basketball for the upcoming church league that is starting! Watch out guys, he's pretty good! Momma, well, I've got my feet up catching up on emails and sitting back relaxing. I am hoping this will be a good way to keep everyone up to date on how the Shawa family is doing! Bye for now!