From Analog to High Def

These first few months the new year have brought many changes to our little home in Georgia.

For starters, we have involuntarily overhauled our Internet and email services. Such fun.

Please note the intended sarcasms in that last statement. As my grandma would say, 'I would just about take a beatin' than phone a call center for technical support, how about you?

With our communication crisis, I was drafted back into service as the family techno geek. Understand, it is not like I'm super cyber-savvy or anything - far from it. I'm just the designated point person who makes calls to various virtual nations when trouble shooting issues arise in our household.

My hubby tries to convince me that this is one of my talents as he emphasizes his trust in my keen ability to understand instruction via the phone or Internet no matter the country or continent of origin I may be reaching out to.

My response to that?

Hogwash!

After more than a months worth of calls, repair men in and out of the house and our email accounts being sucked into the great unknown (maybe where odd socks go to die???), we appear to have workable virtual communication.

We shall see.

Now while our virtual reality has been given a clean bill of health, the same has not been true of the family.

For the first time ever our baby grand was prescribed an antibiotic.

Ever!

This child has been blessed with incredible health for the past 6 years, having at most the occasional cough, cold or runny nose.

The first part of 2009 has been a polar opposite, with the child attending a bit more than week of classes in the month of February alone. The most distinguishing highlight of that month was an unplanned trip to the Pediatrician to be diagnosed with Strep Throat during Winter Break.

Like any good child our kiddo regularly invited us to the germ fest. Woo Hoo! Party on!

I must confess, we are all just sick of being sick, can you relate?

We are also very aware of how much we have to be grateful for.

Little man K began the year entertaining us (and himself) with various antics and an assortment of funny faces including him crossing his eyes at the strangest of times.

It has since been discovered that the little guy has very poor eye sight and was in need of some fairly strong glasses, the kind we used to call 'Coke bottle' glasses.

As his Mama pointed out, he sort of reminds us of Ralphie Parker from 'A Christmas Story'.

Isn't he darlin?

Seems Mr. K has taken to wearing his glasses like a champ. He ask for them first thing in the morning, only taking them off for naps or bed time.

I can't help but wonder how different the world must appear to our baby boy compared to his first 2 1/2 years.

It's as though the boy has jumped from seeing snowy analog images to vision in deep color and rich hues. Our little man now has the ability to view the High Definition plasma world most of us look out at every day.

How blessed we are!

Kaden's vision is so drastically improved that he does not want to return to his old way of seeing things. His Mama tells us, first thing in the morning the little guy gets grumpy if he does not get his specks right away. He has no desire to go back to his old way of seeing things.

Witnessing our little guy embrace his newly attained vision with such passion gives me a visual reminder to start each morning asking God for eyes to see and ears to hear in the way He would have me see it - listening to His leading and call on my life. There is nothing like allowing myself to yield to my Father that I might get a glimpse of this world through His eyes. Without continually submitting to His will, asking to be equipped with eyes and ears trained on Him, I am destined for disaster aboard the 'Tammy Train' - a ride that always ends with a crash and burn.

I pray to be as grumpy and stubborn as Mr. K in seeking vision through my Fathers eyes every day and in every way.

"You will listen and listen, yet never understand; and you will look and look, yet never perceive. For this people's heart has grown callous, their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears, understand with their heart,
and be converted—and I would heal them. "

Acts 28:26-27

With a little help from Mr. B

Angela tagged me and with help from my this sweet man 'o mine who was more than happy to share a few of my little known eccentricities with ya'll.

Such as it is...I give you the following.

7 Random/Weird Facts about me-per Mr. B

1. I can smell with an interpreter.


2. I talk in my sleep - according to my sweetie...personally have no recollection of this (Jenny - Nancy no squawkin, ya hear?).


3. I usually read at minimum 3 books at one time (different themes and styles for different occasions)


4. I am a known suspected leech smuggler (my husband is so proud to share)


5. I have a small collection of items by St. Louis Artist, Mary Engelbriet. Should the family favor me with a ME gift, my spouse has them all bow and repeat "Hail to the shrine! Hail to the shrine!"
6. My grandchildren and other small people seem to enjoy silly songs and rhymes I make up on a whim for them.


7. The first music I learned to read and understand was in shape notes and no I was not raised on 'Cold Mountain"

Whew, thank you darlin, I couldn't have done it without you!

Now the seven I am tagging are the following:

1- Pat at Sweet Tea 2-Kate at Stuff and More Stuff 3-Annie at Calling to Deep 4-Kate at The Accidental Traveler 5-Fran at Blessed by Him 6-Angela at Ramsey's Ramblings 7-Lisa at The Preachers Wife

The instructions are above, I can hardly wait to hear back from ya'll.

Thorns in the flesh need not be fatal

Recently I opened my closet door and wondered,

“What did I want in here?”

Try as I might, I could not remember. Eventually, I closed the door and gave up, when it occurred to me…

“Oh yeah! The cd I was loaning a friend!”

I shook my head, retrieved the prize, and chalked the incident off to yet another bout of Mom-nesia.

This is not the first time Mom-nesia has raised its forgetful head, and unlikely to be the last. From what I've learned, Mom-nesia’s been around as long as care taking itself. This malady is not restricted to the female population, although the primary sufferers tend to be us gals. There’s no need to beat ourselves up over these slips, as our problem is not rooted in age, hormones or lack of wits – we’re just trying to take care of too much for too many!

You afflicted?

Early signs of Mom-nesia include refusal of the mouth to cooperate with the brain.

Example:
You know whom you’re addressing yet as you utter what you think will be their name, out rolls every member of your family tree and then some! Not until you spout anyone you’re ever known since birth and their pets, does their title burst from your tongue!

The same goes for words. Ever been having a robust conversation when suddenly you’re rendered speechless, unable to utter another syllable?

Frustrated you begin,

‘Starts with…uh…sounds like…uh’ the hearty dialogue you were just exchanging has digressed to playing Charades in a vain attempt to recapture the momentum lost when your mind and mouth left the room.

While Mom-nesia can be a thorn in the flesh, it need not be fatal.

Begin each day just you and the Lord. Take a walk, a class, read a book, enjoy a quiet cup of coffee or tea and just be. Allow yourself time for God to speak into the chaos that often fills our lives as we attempt to meet the needs of so many.

Jesus took the disciples away for this very purpose (Mark 6: 30-56). Having spent the day surrounded by a throng that wanted one more Word, touch, or healing, Christ led the 12 away. Jesus then went onto a mountain to spend quite time with His Father. He returned renewed and revived, ready to pour Himself out to the masses once more.

What an example He set for us…one we would be wise to follow. We may not come off the mountain a picture of perfection, but we could find it easier to forgive our overtaxed memory, letting it instead remind us to quit trying to be everything to everybody and spend a bit more time with our Father.

He's Channeling MacGyver

We live in a gated community...

a baby gated community.

This is due to him, Mr. K....
The Little Man....

on a mission.

Cute isn't he?

At 25 lb, 26 inches this boy, my Grandson...is the epitome of masculinity.

If it rings, buzzes or lights up, he's all over it.

If it does all three? He's kickin up his heels, and squealin for joy as he wallows in yet another supercharged endorphin rush.

Life at two, should always be so simple.

The boy knows the difference between a child's toy and those of adults. And given a choice (or not) he wants big people gadgets and gizmo's.

Little K is also a scientist at heart.

Wants to know the how and why things work, what will happen to ___________ if you ___________ (fill in the blanks with any ole thing you can think of...that's what he does!).

This child's greatest delight is to reprogram pretty much anything he can get to his dimpled little hands on. To that end, he has mastered the finer skills of tower building and wall scaling.

If there is a step, a stool, chair, box or pillow?? You can figure he's going to climb it...and quickly. Lightening fast this kid is!

As grandparents, we are not so slow, he is just faster and more highly motivated. After all, his 'prize' awaits him, if only he can thwart our wicked schemes to stop him.

Our resolve to crash his party and save him from himself have driven us to take extreme measures.

I never saw myself as someone who resorts to putting things up because a lively toddler was in the house, we never did that with our kids or the other Grands.

Oh how times have changed!

As stated earlier, our little guy is extremely talented with his tiny hands. He has shown us this by use of his highly developed gifted-ness when bypassing traditional child proof locks.

Our response?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Don't laugh....it works!

**I would like to note, his sister added more security bands to "make it look more fancy"

And it does....don't you think?

Crash

"No Mawmaw, I do not need a nap...I do not need a nap...I do not zzzzzzz..."