Speaking In Accents


As Dev (age 14) fluttered around the kitchen, speaking and singing in accents spoken by those in faraway lands – D’Lo (age 4) was growing visibly irritated at the change in her voice. As she switched back and forth between her Brittish, French, and Australian speech patterns – he tried mightily (with the strength of Spiderman) to focus on his plate full of pizza and glass of milk. As she explained to me how her new venture would be to tackle an Irish accent, and her concerns that it may sound very Aussie at first – he had finally had enough!

“STOP TALKING LIKE THAT!!!”

I can only describe HIS accent as loud and angry! lol

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Rudolph


Me: “Look at this! I cannot believe I got this pimple right on the end of my nose!”

Hubby: “Now you know how I feel…I get those all the time.”

Me: “Yeah, but you’re black and that hides those pimples…I’m white and they make me look like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer!”

Hubby: “WELLLLL…IT IS CHRISTMAS TIME!”

#wiseguy

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Brace-Face


My baby girl. Indecisive since the day she was born. Seriously.

Do you want red or blue?…”Ummmm, you decide.”

Do you want a hot dog or hamburger?…”Ummmm, surprise me.”

Do you want pants or a skirt?…”Ummmm, what’s Dev having?”

Do you want to stay or go?…”Ummmm, what do you want me to do?”

Twelve years into her precious life and guess what? Her teeth are as indecisive as she has always been, lol. Her front teeth are spaced out…her back teeth are crowded. Her top teeth are a little right of center…her bottom teeth a little left of it. Her bite matches up on one side…but not on the other. That’s ok though, because just like throughout her life when she looked to me for an answer, I gave her teeth an answer today as well…

Say it with me now – “B R A C E S.”

Isn’t she the most beautiful, most magnificent, most stunning, most spectacular brace-face you ever did see? She loves her new look, and is smiling broader already, trying to show off her new bling. With all the confidence in the world, she is flashing that big grin to anyone she thinks may notice what’s different about her. The best part? When the orthodontist asked her what color she’d like in her brackets…she VERY decisively chose baby blue!

I love you, Baby Girl! You make my smile broader too!

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MULTICULTURAL FAMILIA: “From One Christian to Another…An Open Letter to ‘Pastor’ Melvin Thompson”


Dear *ahem* Pastor Melvin Thompson and voting members of the Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church,

I wanted to introduce you to Someone very important to me, because I’m not sure if you all have ever really met…He is the God I serve. The heart that I have for Him pales in comparison to the the love He has for me. His grace has been more than sufficient, oh wait…sorry…Grace: Unwarranted Favor. That means that despite my failures and shortcomings, He has continually blessed me daily. I see my miracles every, single day of my life, and I am so grateful. My life’s partner – He designed and created specifically for me…and I, for him. The God I serve then used the combining of us to bring forth new life, five times, and then entrusted us with these gifts. Amazing. What’s even more awesome is that, as much as we love each other and our children, He loves us even more than that. Hard to fathom…but true.

The people who my husband and I have loved and lost, and even those before them, the ones who have gone home ahead of us…they are all in the same Heaven. Did you know that? I guess I assumed that, as a pastor, you would have that specific knowledge. My bad. I was surprised to hear that your idea of unification involved segregation. As a Christian myself, I was disappointed that you don’t hold a much broader and inclusive definition of the word UNITY…read more.

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Thirteen Weeks Into Treatment, Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome


I cannot believe this time has passed so quickly! Standing at the beginning of the race, the finish line seemed so far away. Now, just two weeks before Christmas, D’Lo is already thirteen weeks into treatment for his kidney disease. While I know that the true finish line lies somewhere between his teen and adult years (God willing), the first leg of this marathon is nearly behind us.

We are past the six weeks of high-dose prednisone. We are past the following six weeks of half-dose prednisone. The pediatric Nephrologist says his urine still looks great and, although she warned me that he will most likely relapse if – or should I say when – he ever gets sick, she is pleased with his progress so far. That’s some news that I’m not quite sure how to absorb. Of course I’m beyond grateful that his constant uplifting by all of you Prayer Warriors has been effective…but I’m also trying to figure out how to keep a four-year-old, living in a house with his family of seven, from catching even a cold.

While I know that nothing is too great for my God…I also know that I have to get all the Sparrows from This Nest up to the clinic for our flu shots!

The next phase of his treatment involves the slow weaning of his tiny body off of the steriods. It took three months to get through the high and half-dosing…and it will take that same amount of time to take him all the way down to a medicine-free existence. He will take a little less each week until, one day, he will be free from the nasty syrups that literally make him shiver in disgust as squeezes the syringe-full into his own mouth (he’s a little independent but, don’t worry, I do all the measuring).

During the same period of time, I expect to see (and have already begun to see) the reversal of the drug’s side effects. His very swollen face, his huskier frame, his increasingly hairy body and face, his sleeplessness. I have to admit though – we’ve sort of become attached to his chipmunk cheeks! I will miss those.

I want to thank everyone who speaks to our Father on our little boy’s behalf. Everyone who has been concerned about the kidneys of a cute, little boy named D’Lo – even though many of you don’t even know him outside of the posts I share. All of you who have hit your knees for our son, I love and appreciate each of you!

Please continue to remember our maniac midget because, as I mentioned, we are only at the end of the beginnining. This won’t be a sprint…it is, indeed, a marathon.

Be blessed.

Posted in CHILDHOOD NEPHROTIC SYNDROME/MCD | Tagged , | 6 Comments