The month of March, in a nutshell...a very large nutshell

About two weeks ago, I was sitting at home alone feeling a little mopey. My mom called, and I had a little bit of an emotional breakdown while I was asking her to pray for some things that had been burdening my heart. Once I finished talking to her, I decided to do something that I hadn't done in much too long...read my Bible. I got up from my chair and started to walking toward the bookshelf where my Bible is kept when I spotted Riley destroying the carpet in front of the foyer. I was already feeling emotional, so this only added to my lousy mood. While I was cleaning up the fragments of carpet, David called. I could only laugh to myself because I knew that my attention was being diverted from what I had intended to do. I am usually easily distracted, but I was able to maintain my focus and read my Bible as planned. I still felt deeply saddened, but I found some scriptures that helped me feel hopeful and refreshed. After only a short amount of time passed, my mom called me back. I tried to answer the phone, but each time I did, she couldn't hear me. For some reason I wasn't able to dial out on my house phone, but I was finally able to reach her by calling her on my cell phone. She informed me that Dad had passed out at work again, and asked me to pray for him. When I had finished talking to her, I texted David to let him know and ask him to pray also. He said that he would and told me not to worry. I told him that I wasn't worried, but I hoped that they could figure out what was causing it this time. Ever the optimist, he said that they probably wouldn't and proceeded to explain what he thought the problem was and why they wouldn't find it. It sounded very plausible to me and so I decided to call mom back and tell her what David had said. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to talk because she was getting ready to go to the hospital. Jennifer had gone to pick Dad up, but they urged mom to come because they needed to talk to her. Just moments later, Jennifer called me and she was very upset. One of the nurses told her that Dad had flat-lined and they were planning on life-flighting him to Birmingham. Last summer when Dad first started passing out, he had a battery of test to try an decipher what was causing it to happen, his heart or his brain, but all the tests had been inconclusive. This was the first time he had been hooked-up to a monitor while it was happening. They decided not to have him flown here because of the weather, but had him brought by ambulance instead. I few hours later I was able to visit with him at Brookwood Hospital. The next morning he had a heart catheterization to make sure that there were no blockages and that afternoon he had a pacemaker implanted. The doctors said that we will probably never know what caused the problem, but the pacemaker should prevent him from passing out again. I am relieved that this will hopefully close this chapter in our lives once and for all. We are all so thankful that through it all, Dad was kept safe. He has a check-up tomorrow. I am confident that it will go well, and I am looking forward to seeing mom and dad again.


Me and my Dad

Tomorrow is especially special for another reason...it is my baby sister's birthday! I cannot believe that she is turning 26 years old. She has been my best friend and a huge part of my life since God first brought us together, and I am so thankful to have her a my sister and friend. Unfortunately for me, mom is hogging her this weekend, so I won't be able to celebrate with her until later in the month. She and Marissa are coming to stay with me while David is out of town for an anesthesia conference, and I cannot wait! Birmingham better watch out with the Self Sisters and Marissa on the loose.


Me and my baby sister

It has been just over a month since we brought our new addition, Riley home. I have to admit, it has been a big adjustment having him in our family. I had certain expectations of what he would be like, and the reality is that he has his own unique personality that doesn't exactly match what I had imagined him being like. He is very smart, but he is also very independent. He's never really let me baby him or love on him. He would much rather bite me than give me kisses. David says I romanticize everything, and that I had many of the same complaints with Charlie when we first got him, but I of course, don't remember it that way. I'm just going to keep loving him until he becomes lovable. He's already making progress, I think. I say every day, "I think he's getting sweeter". He is cute a can be, but that's no surprise. He's very spunky and fearless. For example, Charlie was afraid to jump off of our couch for months, and Riley did it in within two days. He is such a little piggy too. He has a much bigger appetite than Charlie did, and as a result, is growing at a much faster rate. He is already almost half Charlie's weight! He will definitely be bigger than Charlie before too long. The most important thing is that Riley seems to have adjusted to his new home quite easily. I really don't think he could be any happier. Also, he is filling his role quite well, as a friend and playmate for Charlie.


Charlie and Riley cuddling together

In February, as part of my Valentine's day present, David had our privacy fence put up, and the end of March we got some patio furniture. He spent all last weekend planting grass seed, so we are currently in the process of waiting for the grass to grow. He bought a certain type of seed that is supposed to be able to grow anywhere. I really hope it can because that is exactly what we need! I am really hoping that we have grass in a couple of weeks when we are having my cousin and her husband and their dog, Bella over for a playdate with Charlie and Riley!


Our new patio furniture