Meet the Family..Part 5 (the last one, I promise!!)

I would like to introduce you to the youngest member of our family...Jalynn Paige. Jalynn is my grand-daughter. She is almost 4 and, let me tell ya, she is a little spit fire, a total ball of energy! And, I have to say, my favorite person in the world! I could continue to brag on her. I could go on and on (really!) but I'm not going to. Instead I am going to tell you how we almost lost her. Believe me, you will hear about her...ALOT!

A little over a year ago I received the worst phone call ever. Jalynn had been in a terrible car accident and had been rushed to OU medical center. That's all anyone knew. Her mom was at work and so was I. I knew that Tiffany had no business driving so I had her meet me so that I could drive her to the hospital. I had to be the calm one, the strong one. The worst part at this point was not knowing how badly she was hurt or what had happened.

I am going to let her Uncle Vic tell you what happened. He was the driver of the car that Jalynn was riding in. Vic was 19 at the time and I copied this from his blog on Myspace. Please ignore any typos or any other mistakes, Jalynn was still in ICU when he posted this.

"i cant stop thinking about what happened. it replays in my head over and over again and again. me my sister San Juana and my niece were out for a drive when my niece got hungry and wanted a chicken nugget happy meal from Mcdonalds. she was not feeling well so we went through the drive thru. we turned out in to the turn lane at the intersection of s.w. 59 th and penn. ave. she was upset and did not want to be in her car seat. Anyone who has ever had a child has let that child into the front seat just a couple of blocks from home so they would be happy. she climbed up front and gave us the biggest smile. a maroon 1996 chevy tahoe was also in his turn lane to turn east on to s.w. 59th street. We were turnigng west on to 59 th street. the driver of the tahoe decided not to turn and instead floor his gas pedal to go south on penn ave. At 2:11 pm on saturday june 28, 2008 a maroon chevy tahoe sturck a red 1998 mitsubishi eclipse causeing the airbags to deploy with an extreme force causing 2 year old Jalynn Paige to become unconscious. We had not moved 6 inches before we were hit. With my car still sitting in the turn lane I opened my door grabbed jalynn and put her in the grass were she would be safe from more traffic or the car catching fire. she was not breathing at the time i laid her down supporting her head. The driver of the tahoe did not stop at all. he fled the scene and was later arrested at a corner store at 74 th and douglas. No one saw what i did that day. i had to pull my 2 year old niece from my totaled car and beg her to breath. Seeing the burn on the side of her face were the airbag hit her. Seeing her blood on her face. She lied thier in my arms motionless for what seemed like hours. She took a gasp of air and all i could do was keep begging her to do so. Jaylnn was taken to O.U. medical center were she is getting better and will get to go home soon. Everyone keeps telling me and san juana how it wasn't our fault and how it could of happened to any of them. I dont agree with that. they all love her just as much as we do but they only seen her in the hospital begging for her to be okay and fighting for her life. A fight that Jalynn won. I cant stop seeing her lie in my arms lifeless with my tears falling over her begging and praying for her life to return to her body. the moment she began to breath again and let out that first cry of the pain.It killed me to see her that way knowing that she was left in our care when this happened and knowing no matter what i did. This time Jalynn was not going to open her eyes forget what was going on smile at me and say "thanks vic" or " I love you vic". I am sorry for what happened. I LOVE YOU JALYNN. Jalynn will get to go home soon and i cant wait to tell her that i love her and can't wait for her to say it back."

It's been just over a year ago and she doesn't have any scars, no brain damage (she had a brain bleed), and no hearing or sight problems, which were a concern. I am so thankful that she is ok. I praise God everyday that her life was spared. This precious child is such a blessing and my life has been changed because of her.

Lost my mind today

So, when I was writing the post about Logan, I had a specific picture in mind to use. I knew it was on the memory card in the small digital camera that I carry in my purse. I took my memory card down to CVS to transfer my pictures onto a cd. None of these pictures were the one that I was looking for. Dang!! So back home I go. I tore my house apart, people!! Could not find that memory card anywhere. I looked high and low for 2 days....nothing! So, I gave up and published my post with a not so great picture of her and called it a day. Today I had to run home and let my dogs out, walked through my living room and right there on my end table, in the digital frame my mom gave me for Christmas, is that blasted memory card! So, to make me feel better and to really show you how beautiful my girl is, I have to post a better picture of her.



Ahhhh, that's better!! Look at that dimple!

Meet the Family...Part 4

Logan is my youngest daughter. She is 16 and when school starts she will be a junior. Even as I type this it's a shock to me!! When did this happen and how? I'm sorry, but I did NOT give permission for this (insert foot stamp here) nor do I approve of it!! I guess it's hardest with her because she was always my baby! And did she ever play that role well! She probably didn't need to walk until she was 5. Between me and her big sisters her feet rarely touched the ground! When she was 10 I had to make Kylee stop picking out her clothes for her everyday because I was afraid she would never be able to dress herself at the rate things were going. (She has since learned to do this!)

Logan has always been my sweetest and most compassionate child. She's the type of kid that will give her lunch money to a friend and do without herself. She split all of her spending money for church camp this summer with her best friend because she didn't have any. For her friends' birthdays she draws a picture of them and adds a poem to it and gives it to them as their gift. My husband and I were fortunate enough to receive one of these special gifts for our anniversary. It's something that will always be treasured.

Of all my girls Logan is the tomboy. Not that she's not girly, she's a good combination of both! That's how I always was. And that's about all she got from me! She is the spitting image of their dad and looks nothing like her sisters. Usually people don't even realize that she is mine. But she is...she is and forever will be my baby!

Meet the Family Part 3

Kylee is not your typical child. I always said that if I could be guaranteed that all my children could be like her, I would have a dozen! Not that there is anything wrong with my other two girls. It's just that Kylee has always been soooo easy! She was an easy baby, and ALWAYS happy!! She never cried in the mornings when she would wake up...I'd go into check on her and she would give me the biggest smile and say "Hi, mommy!". And my heart would puddle!!

It got really interesting, though, when she started developing her own little personality! She couldn't stand for anything to be around her waist, so all of her clothes had to go below her belly! She would only eat chicken nuggets or pancakes for the longest time! Insisted on wearing her shoes on the wrong feet, and there for about 3 months, when she was 3, would only wear this one dress and she had to wear it everyday! Of course, I had to wash it every night so after she got tired of it, it wasn't even good enough to use as a dust rag!! And the poor girl had a speech impediment. Tiffany was the only one who could understand a word she said so we called her the Interpreter! Kylee was always trying to tattle on Tiffany and Tiffany would have to tell us what the heck she was saying! We called Kylee the Informer.

Now Kylee is 18 and absolutly beautiful! (and, thank God, the speech impediment is gone!!) She is so smart that I sometimes wonder if she was switched at birth! And organized!! The child is sooo organized! I used to joke around that when she turned 12 I was going to turn the check book and all the bills over to her because I knew she could do a better job than me! You think I'm kidding? She starts college in the fall and wants to be a high school English teacher. That's the perfect career for her..her nose is always in a book! (ok, maybe she wasn't switched at birth because I am the same way!!)

Denise

Meet the Family Part 2

I had my oldest daughter, Tiffany, when I was 18. We kinda grew up together. She has been my playmate, friend, child, and sometimes even my enemy, (not really, but that's what it felt like during her teenage years!). We've laughed, played, cried and fought. She's the kid that made me call my mom and apologize for every bad thing I ever did as a child! (My mom said apologizing wouldn't change anything but she appreciated the effort!!) She was and is my wild child! I have to say, though, despite the constant battles, she has turned into a beautiful young woman. She is now almost 24 (next month) and a mom herself. She is going to college, ( she wants to be a police officer!), works full time and is a single mom.

I know that sometime in the next 10 years I will probably be getting that call from her apologizing for everything SHE did as a kid!!! It won't change anything but I'm sure I will appreciate the effort!!

Meet the family...

Just to get you familiar with the characters in my life, I thought I would do a little introduction. Today's character is my husband, Brian.

B and I have only been married since May of '08. We both had been divorced for 12 years and knew almost immediately that we had met our soul mate! He never had any children but loves my girls like they are his own. I have been blessed with this man and I am so very thankful! Believe me, God definitely knew what he was doing when he put the two of us together! Brian is quiet, I never shut up. He is laid back, I am slightly, (ok, ALOT!) high strung. He is slow to anger, I tend to fly off the handle! We fit perfectly, he and I. I wonder, almost daily, how he puts up with me. I am always breaking or losing something, screwing something up. And I ask him all the time if he regrets marrying me (and my kids!!). He always tells me that no, he loves me, and he has never for one minute had any regret! Ya know what? I believe him!

Denise

Finally!!

So, I have been a blog stalker for as long as I have known what a blog was. And I've thought for a long time that it would be fun to have my own. I've thought about it, dreamed about it and talked about it!! I've finally decided that the time has come to actually go through with it and stop talking about it! Be a "doer", if you will. Now, this is no easy task for a girl like me. And not just because of the time it takes to have a blog, or because I am a self employed mom of three girls, a wife to a wonderful man, mimi to a 3 year old grand daughter or any of the other things that keep me going 90 to nothing every day!! Nope, none of that is the issue! The biggest problem is that I am one of the most technologically challenged people I know!! Not to mention I am horrible at grammar and the queen of run on sentences!! But, all of that aside, I think this will be a fun venture! And a great way to keep distant family and friends up to date on whats going on in my little piece of the world!

There!!! I finally did it! WooHoo!! I am officially a blogger!!

Denise