Surgery Went Great! and DON'T CALL ME MOM

Selah did great in surgery.  She did have some blood loss but there is a machine that collects and purifies the blood and returns it to the body.  They did that with her blood, isn't that the neatest thing?   The doctor said things went picture perfect & he doesn't anticipate any problems.  Her leg looks to be in a better angle already & the small bandage relieved me! 

Selah is resting comfortably in the ICU as a precaution tonight.  I'm so thrilled to have the surgery behind us.  Now I just ask you all to pray that she will recover quickly with the least amount of pain!

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 You get a twofer......

I just HAVE to share my one of my absolute pet peeves....when nurses or medical people call me "MOM".  In fact on my FB page I shared "Why the H*** do nurses call me Mom?" (of course the H*** meant HECK!  Lord help me)   If you are a parent of an handicapped or chronically ill child you have encountered this countless times.  Maybe if you have "regular" kids who only go to the doctor for check ups and shots, it might not be so noticeable. 

In my "humble" opinion, I can NOT stand it and feel it is so disrespectful to call a parent of a child "mom or "dad" in a medical setting.  Jon and I both feel it is a way to put the parent in "their" place.  I have 5 kids, and have no need of some nurse calling me "mom".

For example, today in the waiting room, the nurse came to get me to take me back to recovery.  She asked the room for "Mrs Clanton"   I responded and we walked back.  Once we got back there, it was "mom this" and "mom that"   REALLY?  Did you just forget my name? 

There is no other profession  (except maybe public schools) that people do that to parents.  It is very demeaning to me.

I've begin asking nurses not to call me mom but to call me either Yvonne or Mrs. Clanton.  If I don't know a nurse or doctor's name I generally would call them "Sir" or Ma'am"  That is respectful. 

After 10 years this just grates on my nerves.  Ten years of people who work with my handicapped kids whether in a medical, therapy or school setting calling me Mom.....guess what I am not YOUR mom.  I am MOM to five wonderful kids but that is it! 

Mom is a sacred word and no one but my five have the right to use it in regards to me:)  If a professional wants respect from me, they should show me respect. 

So if you are reading this and you work in the medical profession, or therapy or as a teacher....PLEASE use the parent's names. 

Ok that is my rant for the day...MAYBE.....

Although I'm about to have to start another rant as her regular meds have not been sent up from pharmacy.  I took the time to pack all her meds so she wouldn't get off her schedule and sometimes they don't have the particular med....but they don't want me to use my meds.....

Truly the Death Penalty Law works as a deterrent.... as I am NOT in prison...  Nothing irritates  me more than incompetence!   I went over every single med with the person on the phone yesterday....then again this morning, then again in the ICU....gave them each a copy every time of her med list....been here for 9 hours and still have not seen one of her regular meds.....and ours' from home are here, packed in their travel pack....not being used..... (the reason they aren't being used is...they don't want to use meds from home- guess you can't trust them)


My close friend was here today and now she has taken Shad home with her, he went swimming with them and now they are out to eat at the Melting Pot.....what a treat for him.  He was a big help on the way over, he kept his eyes on her for me.  She had her heart/oxy on that shows her heart rate and oxygen level but he was able to make sure she didn't slump over in the seat or have any issues.  I appreciate how he and Steve help out with the little kids.  Thanks to my friend for giving him such a nice treat. 

Thanks for all your prayers for Selah....maybe you need to add me to the list LOL

Getting ready for surgery!

Tomorrow is Selah's surgery at 12:30 pm (EST) please pray for her.  For some reason, I'm really nervous about this surgery.  I PRAY it will be the answer for her hip issue and not be too painful during the recovery time. 

Between the kids, we have endured more than 75 surgeries, or exams under anesthesia.  Most of the time, it's been just been Jon & me together waiting.  Now with more kids, it's seems that it's more just me as one of us has to be with the other kids or at least in the same town.  That is hard.  This time one of my closest life long friends has moved to Tampa and will be with me.  That is huge to me.   I don't think I've ever had anyone besides Jon with me waiting for a child in surgery.    It's lonely.  Waiting rooms are awful places for a parent to be.   Steve will be keeping Sarah and Sam, and Shad will probably come with me.   Jon will be working and able to come home if he is needed.  It gets complicated......

Anyhow please pray for her!  Thank you!

More good news coming out of Ukraine!
It seems the Ukraine army is taking back cities from the Pro-Russian (Russian) groups.  Still praying for our friends and all the orphans caught up in this. 

We woke up this morning to the sound of sledgehammers.   I could not figure out what was going on but went outside to see that huge tarps cover the side of our country road.  It is being widen.  We are NOT happy.  We have cars coming onto this road at 60 miles per hour.  There is a sloping entrance to our road off the bigger country road and people come down it like they are hitting the interstate.  The ONLY thing that kept some people to the speed limit of 30mph was the fact the road is so narrow.  We are REALLY glad we are moving now! 

Steve worked at Habitat for Humanity today and brought back updated plans for the new house.  it just keeps getting better and better:)   They've added an attic to our storage room off the carport!  And they've increased some of the bedroom sizes.  It's going to be an amazing house to raise our kids in, I'm just in shock still and that's just from the plans! 

Steve is really hoping that he can get a job working for HH while he is in college.  He enjoys working with the folks there.  I thought he'd like it, but I had no idea how much fun he'd have.  He works like a dog moving furniture, loading up furniture  & doing various other jobs around but he really enjoys his time there.  I'm hoping they will hire him on at some point.

Jon got today off instead of last Friday, so he went to buy some waterproof snake boots and then he headed out for his beloved woods.  There is a lot of water this year and he's basically ruined a pair of tennis shoes PLUS he's seen more snakes than usual.  We have poisonous water snakes called "cotton mouths" or water moccasins.  He has seen a few recently and having to cross watery areas, it makes sense to have boots on!

Steve came back from his kayak trip safe & sound late last night.  They had a blast.  We had awful weather and just an hour north of us, was good weather-I'm glad!  Now I'm ready to go to Weechie-Wachie springs again! 


Hope you all have a great week!

Rainy Sunday

Rainy Sunday!
Hearing good news from Ukraine. 
http://www.kspr.com/news/nationworld/URGENT-Ukraine-Kramatorsk-Cleared-Separatists/21051646_26809838

Please keep praying for the people of Ukraine!


Yesterday Steve and I both worked at Habitat for Humanity's Restore (thrift store)   Steve has done about 50 hours there & really enjoys working with the folks.  I had a great time too, really got some good laughs in.  Also got 10 books for Selah's hospital stay, including a very scary Stephen King book.  I've already started reading it but I know I won't be able to read it at night!  LOL    During hospital stays it is a blessing to be able to read.  One thing that was so weird, after Selah's accident, I could not focus enough to read for months.  Just so you know, I'm one of those book devourers... But during the first couple of months, I couldn't' read anything.  After a while I could read books that were very light.  It was such an odd reaction to the whole experience.   Well I've bought 10 books for her stay so I should have plenty to read!

Today Steve is out kayaking with some friends.  To be honest, I am nervous!  No adults are going with them and it is a long river.  For some reason, no one wanted the grownups to go LOL!  I'll be glad for him to get home safely.  Makes me long for the play dates of long ago at Chuck E Cheese or the playground!   My friend and I kid around that we'd like to keep our kids in an underground bunker and bubble wrap them if they step foot out the door!  Unfortunately it just doesn't work like that! 

Jon will have Monday off since his regular days off are Friday and Saturday and Friday was a holiday....YEAH!   We will be able to relax some!  Having Monday off is a good way to start a week

Hope you have a good week- please pray for Selah as she has surgery on Tuesday.

Helping Believers in Ukraine!!!!!

Our dear friends,  the pastor and staff of the Pentecostal church in the town we adopted our girls are refugees right now.  A few weeks ago, gunman came to the church told them to leave or they would be killed on the spot.  They left knowing that the CHURCH is so much more than a building.  Then things became so hostile they had to quickly leave their homes with just a few things with them and travel to the Western side of Ukraine for their families' safety.  Our church has been praying for them and we were able to help them some.  There are at least 8 adults and 4 or 5 children.  These are people who have faithfully served God in a society that did not quite understand them. 

Ukraine has a national church the Russian Orthodox church.  Being apart of it is approved of by society.  It is interwoven in the fabric of the country. 

Being a part of the Protestant movement is not as accepted. 

We'd been afraid that our friends might become targets in this war torn country.

These folks were doing outreaches through their church to the community in the months and weeks leading up to this.  Just a few weeks before they had gone into the Women's Prison and did a service in which many woman came to Jesus.  They were doing street evangelism.

I have our friends' permission to share, but I'm afraid for them.  I've got some wonderful pictures that they've posted in the last few months.  But I'm too afraid to post them. 

I'm sharing this to let you know you can help them.  They've never asked for anything from us.  They showed us such love while we were in Ukraine, feeding us after every church service, going to buy special chips just so Sam would be happy.  They were so kind to us, embracing us as part of the body of Christ. 

I asked them if our church could help and we took up an offering on Sunday and sent it to them.  But then I also asked if it was safe for me to share about them on here.  I was given permission as they feel safe now. 

If you would like to help them at this time, please send a check to
 Grace Church
7060 Berry Road
Zephyrhills Fl 33540
mark it UKRAINE

Can you please pray for them?  Can you imagine having to flee your home, your state and be homeless because of your belief in God and the freedom of religion?   Most of the staff are old enough to remember the Communist days, they want freedom not just for the sake of freedom but so that they can share the gospel freely.

Please pray for the Christians in Ukraine, many have been beaten, tortured and killed.   Pray for the orphans, we've heard of orphanages being targeted. 

Also please pray that God will protect the church and their homes.  Their church was a very nice building for that area, very functional and modern.  The members had worked together to pay for and to work on it.  They were understandably proud of what God had done for them through providing such a nice building that they used to reach the souls of their city.  After going through a building project here, I can understand how we would feel if we were in their shoes.  Yes a church is "just a building" but it is a building set apart for God's use.  And if you've gone through a building project, you have some "blood, sweat and tears" invested in that building!!!! 

And pray that God will supernaturally protect their homes.  We've had the experience of having to evacuate a few times because a hurricane was coming.  Once I remember being the last one our of the house, closing the door and wondering if we'd ever see our home again.  I'm sure they had the same feeling as they were leaving. 

My husband and I have such a love and connection to these folks.  We may never see them again this side of heaven but we believe God brought us together with them for a reason.  Maybe this is the reason, so we can help them in this time of great need. 

Please consider donating to help them as they are away from their homes and jobs.  (Most of them were bi-vocational)  They are in a country torn apart by war.  Let me tell you there is so much more going on that what you see in the news.  I follow some Ukraine sites, as well as hear first and second hand reporting of what is going on and it is bad. 

Please pray and help your fellow believers!!!!



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Today we were able to go and visit Jon's dad who is now in a rehab.  he is beginning to be able to walk again.  This last sickness was hard on him but he is working hard at regaining ground.  He is a fighter!  Thanks for your prayers for him.  He is loved!

 

As you can see Sam is happy that Pa Pa is better!

 

 

the kids being so good.....

 

 

this picture is from early this morning.  House sitting is such hard work LOL

Steve came home and curled up with Sam and they both went to sleep!

 

 

Selah's nurse had her in her 4th of July outfit.  A tshirt given to her by my roomie on our way home from Ukraine ( we met in the airport in DC)  and a cute jean skirt that is 2nd hand but adorable!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selah always pays attention to daddy.  She will ignore me and then respond to him.  It's so cute.  She always loved him and it still shows. 

 

She was looking the other way and as soon as he said her name, she turned to him & looked straight at him.  she hadn't seen him since the day before yesterday as she was asleep when he got home last night.  So it was clear she was glad to see him. 

Please pray for her, surgery on her hip is Tuesday.  I am absolutely dreading it for her.  She HATES to be in the hospital and truly understands she is not at home.  Please pray for peace and manageable pain after the surgery. 

 

Am I a Foodie?

Yesterday's post was a deep thoughtful post.  This post  might seem silly in comparison but there are a lot of thoughts going through my head right now.  I will be sharing tomorrow some of our friends' story who are refuges in Ukraine and how you can help them.  There is so much going on in this world right now, that everything seems light and frivolous  in comparison. 

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So here is the picture from last night's supper to prove I cooked....  Meatloaf, corn on the cob, baked beans and mac & cheese!

 

Then I also made lasagna roll ups with left over noodles from the night before. 

Just lay the noodle out,

put sauce and cheese on it and whatever stuffing

roll it secure it with a toothpick

bake 350

YUM!

 

 

This morning I decided to boil peanuts.  It takes about 8 hours of boiling so you have to know you are going to be home all day!

YUM!

 

If you don't live in the south, you probably don't eat boiled peanuts but they are so good!

Just buy some raw peanuts

put them in a big pot with lots of water and salt

boil for 8 hours

keep adding water and salt

They are so good! 

 

 

 

 

Oatmeal cookies too

 

this is what 8 quarts of boiled peanuts look like.

 

 

 

 

then supper tonight

yellow rice and Mexican lasagna

Mexican lasagna is so easy

just brown your meat   (I used a mix of ground chicken and beef)

add taco seasoning

put a layer of tortilla down

layer the meat and Mexican cheese on the tortillas

I did three layers

 

You can add beans or tomatoes, corn in the Mexican lasagna but Mr Picky (Steve) was home for supper so I just did the meat and cheese. 

 

 

So I'm seriously thinking about writing a Cook Book

one that is EASY and good food.

I hate cook books that have 50 steps to do something and ingredients you've never heard of before

And I also hate the easy ones that are so unhealthy

I want to write one that is cooking from scratch or close to scratch.  I do use canned veggies like baked beans but nothing that is processed.   Anyhow I am serious about writing a cook book that moms can actually use!

 

I came across this article today......

 

http://www.charismamag.com/life/health/20723-could-inflammation-be-slowly-killing-you

Please read this. This is the new lifestyle we've tried our best to adopt in the last few years. Much less processed foods, REAL butter- meat that is organic, grass fed beef, free range chickens & eggs. We still eat lower fat because of J...on's family heart history choosing chicken over beef. At home we are pretty strict about this, but we do eat out. But we rarely eat fast food when we do eat out.

The BIG thing is we stay away from Vegetable oils Look in the ingredients of what you buy, almost everything has Palm. Soybean, corn. safflower, etc.....we only buy things that use Expeller pressed oils which are thought to be much better. However I try to stay away from them also.

Basically I don't buy anything that has ingredients that I can't pronounce/never heard of or if something has 20 ingredients....we are not perfect. I still use sugar I do try and buy things that have less sugar and that don't have high fructose syrup. High Fructose syrup is in a lot of things also! HOWEVER be careful when you go for lower sugar- Splenda (sucralose) can be in lower sugar things. It's been linked to leukemia in kids so my doctor told me (we used to give the kids Roaring Waters by Caprisun to drink)

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Please keep praying for Ukraine- so much is going on there.  Our friends have given me permission to share their story and I will tomorrow and share how you can help them out. 

Selah's surgery is set for Tuesday.  I dread it, hate for her to be in a hospital with nurses who don't "know" her and the worry of her getting sick in there.  Plus I hate to think of her being in any pain.  The doctor said the pain should be minimal but isn't that what they always say?   Please keep Selah in your prayers!

"Why Didn't I do more for Jesus?"

This is an early post, trying to get it done while Sam's teacher is here otherwise I have to wait till late tonight and I just have a feeling that won't work for me!

So since it is early, I don't have a picture of supper BUT it will be meatloaf, corn on the cob, mac& cheese, green beans and baked beans.  I have everything ready to go:)  I'll put the photo up tomorrow.

So Sarah's bottom is looking better with the new expensive med but I'm not sure it is going to be the 100% answer.  I'm going to call Dermatology again today about this.  Thanks for all the advice, I'm checking out everything that I've not used.  Thankfully it really doesn't seem to bother her, it's just pimples and doesn't seem raw or painful to her.  It bothers ME!  None of the boys ever even had a rash except for Sam while he was in the NICU.  It's a new thing for me to deal with. 


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Yesterday I watched a short clip of a lady's testimony about dying and going to heaven.  I'm always fascinated by stories like that although I think some of them are actually lies from the devil to deceive.   The account I've read that comes closest to the bible is the book "90 minutes in Heaven"   I'd encourage you to read it.


http://www.charismamag.com/life/women/20724-watch-nine-minutes-in-heaven
However this video was interesting.....


The ONE thing that really really struck me hard is when she said she was going to ask God why all kinds of terrible things happened to her but all she could ask is "Why didn't I do more for you Jesus?"


You know I have questions, that remain in my heart regarding several things.  Of course the accident is the absolute hardest thing for me to wrap my mind around.  I ponder different things, different scenarios, it never goes away.  Last night for some reason I couldn't sleep good.  Our dog kept barking, Steve was with his friend house sitting, Jon was snoring......  so my mind pondered and went through Selah's whole story, of how she came to us.....and then the accident......   Sometimes I can not even take a deep breath for the sadness of it all. 

Last night I pleaded again for God to heal her, to deliver her from this coma/ brain damage, to bring her back to us.  My heart will always cry out for that for Selah.

But yet I trust God......

Then I started thinking of what the lady said in the above clip, how all her questions changed to "why didn't I do more for you (Jesus)?"  

I've lived 48 almost 49 years.  All of those years in a Christian environment, and most of them as a professing Christian.   If I stood before God today, I know my question would be "why didn't I do more for you Jesus?"   I don't do enough...  I'm not saying this in some legalistic mindset that I HAVE to do all kinds of steps to win God's love.  I do not believe that at all.  But I think of the years and times wasted in foolishness, in sin. in laziness, so much more I could have done for the kingdom.

My circumstances are different than many people's but that does not change my responsibilities, nor do your circumstances change your responsibilities.      If we are professing Christians, we are not just along for the ride.....we need to be about our Father's business.  We get ONE go around on this earth and we are not promised tomorrow.  This became really clear to me last night.  

We can have crappy lives, we can have tragedies  happen, life is uncertain and hard times come BUT if we really believe the Bible, these hardships are fleeting in the light of eternity.

In my circumstances, I try and keep my eyes focused on eternity.  It gives me perceptive and keeps me straight.  What I mean by that is, when I'm looking at circumstances in the light of eternity, I realize no matter how hard things are, this present life is very short, just a moment in time.  Eternity is forever.....

So for me, the drudgery of every day life, dealing with insurance, doctors, therapists, nurses, schedules, school placements, teachers....those things are so annoying.  Then you add the other mundane things of life like DIAPERS...thank God I didn't change but one or two diapers before I had my first child as I have changed thousands since!   These things are just short lived, and being faithful to do them, as unto the Lord,  keeps my heart focused on the eternal things. 

There is a song we sing sometimes
"Faithfulness Faithfulness is what I long for,
Faithfulness is what I need
Faithfulness is what You want from me......."
Honestly I DESPISE that song.  Sorry if you like it.....but it is such a weak willed sounding chorus.   Faithfulness is something we have to cultivate in our lives.  Life & circumstances will give you times when you have to make the decision to be faithful to God, faithful to your family, faithful to church.... 

There have been times I've not been faithful in many areas, but singing a silly song about needing faithfulness doesn't do much for me.  Realizing I will stand before God one day makes me want to be faithful! 

So I'm not sure how it will play out but I know I do not do enough for God in my life even now.  I've been encouraged to step out more.

One thing I will ask you all to do is to continue to pray for Selah.  Thank you so much!

Tasty Tuesday

We've got our first tropical storm off the east coast of Florida.  I'm hoping for some good cooling rains as it is really hot for this time of year. 

My son is "helping" a friend housesit.  As you can imagine, all the bad 80's movies from the horror to the silly have gone through my mind.  Last night they had quite the experience while shopping at the Dollar Store for candy to take to the movie.  They got into a conversation with a couple of guys who asked them is they smoked.  My son stated that he and his buddy's voices both went an octave higher as they answered "Cigarettes?"   The guys were like "No man...weed"    They politely declined the offer....and we are still laughing about it!   Later the cops followed them back to the subdivision .....  they were leaving in separate cars and Steve's friend flashed his lights at him.  So Steve flicked his a couple of times (we have a bulb out)  Evidently the cop thought they were person's of interest.  However since Steve was driving my van with all the stick figures on it, the cop quit following them.  Good Times:)  He can't look too suspicious with a "mommy van"  and five kid figures on it!

Yes I'd like to go back to my teenaged years at times:)  Their adventures bring back memories LOL

Today I got my "time out" with my Tuesday friend (who happens to be the mom of the above young man)  We had some good laughs but were thankful that our kids know how to deal with things like what happened to them.  It got us talking about how it takes consistency when you are training your children. 

Jon & I are real with our kids.  We are not fake folks, and we are not perfect.  But we have strived to point them to what the bible teaches even if we don't always live up to that perfect standard.   We hope & pray we've given them a foundation to cling to as they grow up. 


After we ate today, we went to the health food store and I bought "ear candles" for Jon.  The first time my friend told me about the ear candles, I truly thought she was messing with me.  They are long, (about a foot) candles that you lite on one end and put the tiny end in your ear.  I kid you not! So since Jon has not been able to hear for days and was slow at going to the doctor I bought them.  However he decided to go to the doctor and get his ears cleaned professionally.  He called me and was not yelling anymore.  The ear wax/river/spring water had been so bad, when the doctor cleaned his ears, it made Jon nauseated (probably the doctor too)   He had to come home for a while and be still but he recovered, ate some leftovers and went back to work.  All I know is someone in the Clanton household is going to use an ear candle tonight, I want to try them out LOL!!! 

I also bought Sarah some cream for the rash.  I've tried everything that was suggested and then some and nothing has cured it. (thanks for the suggestions!)   The nurses' cream has helped it not get worse but it is no better.  I have a call into dermatology but still waiting on that.  She doesn't seem bothered by it thankfully.  So the cream I bought today was expensive, I'm sure it will work and I'll be stuck buying that from now on. 

Selah is not in the fish oil study anymore so she has not been receiving the oil.  So I went and bought some at the health food store.  I'm interested to see if there will be any changes in her with the oil since she has been off it for about 2 months.  We did a lot of changes in the past couple of months and she has not been as stable with her heart rate as she was before.  She has times when her heart rate shots up.  Her doctor "tweeked" the medicine before we left on vacation and it's been better but now we'll see if fish oil is what has been missing. 

I'm continuing on my quest to cook supper EVERY night this week.

 

Tonight was my standard beef stew.  I know it is too hot in Florida on July 1st to make beef stew but Sarah loves it so much.  I bought some small glass containers to freeze portions in for her to have instead of canned soups when I cook things she can't/doesn't like to eat.  

Beef stew is so good and it is easy to make, 20 minutes of work and you are done. 

So I figure if I post the suppers every night, I'll be accountable to cook:) 

Crock pot cooking is so easy - to make a beef stew....

carrots
potatoes
celery
onions
green peas ( I don't like but the kids do LOL)

a package of beef cut up for stew

a package of Slow Roast seasoning

a carton of beef stock

About 2 cups of water to mix the seasoning in and to cover the food

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Add as much of the vegetables as you need, for us, I used a whole 3lb bag of potatoes and a bag of carrots, 3 celery stacks and a half of an onion. 


cook on high for 6 hours, then low for 2 hours....

Eat and enjoy:)