Getting My Head Together

Well, I still don't have my head together. I'm still in Indiana...I just want to stay. Now I have a migraine, but at least the "major snow storm" isn't going to be "major". So there are no worries about travels whenever I go.

Thanks to everyone for the calls, emails and especially...the prayers. I need all that I can get.

Walking Through Faith Alone,
Traci

Going Home

So much can be said with those words. Sunday I will go home to Berea after saying goodbye to my father. He passed away on Feb. 2. Just two short years after my mother. I also say goodbye to EVER going home again. It frightens me beyond words.

I hope to be able to raise my children in a way that makes my father in Heaven(both of them) smile. I hope to make them, and my mother proud, and I hope to be able to do for my children as my parents have done for me.

God willing(and the creek don't rise, my father would say...) that will be done. Besides that, I want to live happy and healthy and enjoy each day as if it were my last.

Noble goals, I know, but in light of all that's happened in my life since 2003.....I would be a total idiot not to learn something.

God Bless you all.
Traci Lee Smith Andis

It's been Awhile...

It's been too long since my last post. I could blame it on the Holidays, but unfortunately...I can only blame it on my life.

We never know what God has in store and sometimes we're just not prepared and we get wiped out. That's what's happened to me.

Not to post doom and gloom, but I want to catch everyone up to speed. My father had a heart attack on New Years Day. I spent the next 2 weeks in Indiana, sharing the decision making with my sister and my brother, via the phone. While in Indiana, Dad's beloved cat, JD, died and was put into the freezer to wait for Dad to come home to bury him. That TOTALLY FREAKED ME OUT!!!. Eventurally my brother-in-law buried JD so that we could all get over that. Then their cat, Carly, had to be put down. It was like a really, really bad Stephen King novel.

Dad also has COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis...so he cannot have the bypass surgery that he needs. He has 6 arteries blocked at 95%. There's nothing more that can be done. Even though, Dad's pulmonologist is sending him to Indianapolis to see another cardiologist. I don't think anyone will risk the surgery, but it gives him another few weeks of hope.

I can't imagine him facing suffocation as his death sentence. I'd much rather him go quickly. It's God's choice, not mine.

Since Thanksgiving

WOW.....what a lot has happened....the children are growing....I am happy to say that I'm thinning out a bit....and taking in a little "light therapy"....can you tell?

Neal finished his role as the dog catcher in ANNIE. He hopes for a bigger role in his next production.

Football season ended, thank GOD, and Noland enjoyed the banquet.

Naricyn's first GOTCHA DAY...came and went. She went to everyone and said, "I got chew"...then laughed. It was sweet. She also picked out this "adorable" teapot that bubbles and sounds like it's pouring water. CONSTANTLY...but she loves it.

We went to Berea's Christmas Parade...and Naricyn was in the middle of the street for any candy she could get. The lights didn't impress her much. Niah LOVED them!!

Then it snowed....and the girls thought it was fantastic. But "too cold to play outside."

Here's our family picture for the final installment of Naricyn's adoption. Finally. Thanks for all the prayers and love y'all've (is that a double contraction??) sent to us. We're doing great. Thanks be to God. More later.

Happy Halloween

It was Naricyn's first Halloween but Niah wasn't feeling well so Momma couldn't take them out. Instead, "Rina" came over and we had a princess dress-up party to hand out candy and celebrate Halloween at home. The girls did a great job at picking out Rina's princess accessories.

Before we had any visitors, Niah expressed concern that nobody would say "Trick or Treat". Fortunately, she was so excited to learn that not only did the girls and boys ask nicely for candy, they also said "thank you!" The girls had a lot of fun putting handfuls of candy in each trick-or-treater's bags. Every time we closed the door, Niah would dance around in her princess dress and exclaim "I LOVE TRICK OR TREATERS!". Naricyn would twirl with her princess mermaid fin and giggle in imitation.

The truth is, Naricyn simply liked the opportunity to eat some "mo cany" on her first Halloween.

Naricyn's BIG Day

Happy Birthday!!








It's your 3rd, but your first one with your family. What a day we had watching you explore. You sang "Happy Birthday" louder than any of us. We had sloppy joes and chips, scalloped potatoes, broccoli and carrots....to be healthy. :) Your cake was funfetti...but Mama made the icing...and even if I did make it, it was sooooo much better than the canned stuff.


We love you, Baby Girl.......And YOU loved your cake, and your presents, and just being 3.

Loving The Fall

As the breeze blows, you can hear the leaves rustling....the girls take turns sliding and swinging. Moonshine (our parakeet), chirps along with the birds outside. The house smells of apple pie, thanks to Home Interiors.....no, I'm not baking.

I just love the fall. Hopefully we can get to a pumpkin patch this year. There are a lot of firsts for Naricyn with the holidays coming up. Can't wait to see her reaction to the trick or treating. Knowing her, once she realizes that it's food......LOOK OUT!!!

Preschool Starts Today!!

"I so esssssited, Mama." These were the words out of my daughter's mouth as I woke her at 7:30 this morning. Gone are the days of sleeping until she wakes up on her own. Niah knew that it was her first day of preschool; this year in the FOUR year old class!!! Oh, and her Sarah......her Sarah would also be in her class.

She reminded Naricyn that she too could go to school when she could pee-pee and poopie and in the potty.....not in the "nasty" diaper. Even with that, Naricyn thought she was going too. Which wasn't entirely untrue....

We met Miss Debbie, Niah's teacher...and Naricyn did get to play in Niah's classroom while Debbie and I talked. Leaving was another issue....Naricyn cried, "I got too!!" Now we're trying to play without Sissy....something new.

Little Models

Here they are? Do you like the shirts? Look on eBay for them. The girls are doing some modeling for on of the sellers. So far it's been really fun.

So....it's Sunday....and it's been a pretty slow weekend here. That's been nice. The boys are working on homework, and the girls played outside most of yesterday. Naricyn has the HUGE mosquito bites to prove it. We decided to play inside today. Lunch is over and it's time for naps. More later.

A Staph-filled Week

Thanks to God for the weekend. We've finally gotten our feet back on the ground, so to speak, after a VERY interesting week.

Noland reacted to the black face paint used by the football players at the game last Friday. LOOK AT THE PICTURE!! This was how he looked by Sunday morning!!! It just started with a really big pore under his eye. It was black and I figured that the paint was in it. By Saturday it had swollen his cheek and he was feeling "flu-ish". By Sunday...his eye was swollen and very painful. Then DR. MOM kicked in.

I started with hot compresses and egg membranes to try to draw the infection out. Not to go into details....but there was some nasty stuff in that boy's face. It was really hurting him....so I used hydrogen peroxide and bactroban to try to kill what I couldn't get. Even with all that...we ended up at the doctor's office on Monday.

The doctor tried to take a sample, but the novacaine(sp) didn't work and the needles were so big. He has such a pain tolerance!!! So he looked worse when we left the office....but we had antibiotics in hand and went to work with those. 6 pills a day!!!

Doc called on Tuesday to check on him and decided that he needed to be hospitalized. I thought we were doing better, but what do I know. So we packed a bag...got our class work and headed back to the office. Upon seeing his face, Doc thought that we'd done a pretty good job and he didn't have to be admitted. HURRAY!!!

So we're much better and I'm off of the ceiling. More later as the drama of the household unfolds.

I learned something this week...

It's Saturday morning....a cool morning, quiet. Noland and Greg are off to do more set construction for Greg's next production. If anyone is in the Richmond, KY area during the first 2 weekends of October....The Rose Barn Theatre is presenting JEKYLL and HYDE: THE MUSICAL. It's an incredibly strong show...not for kids....full of murder, love, lust, an one man's struggle between what he knows is right, and what he wants...that is wrong.

Greg was supposed to direct the show....but when all those interested came to auditions, there was no one to play the lead Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. So now he's co-directing and doing the double roll. I got the opportunity to go to rehearsal the other night. Not something I can do very often without any of my 4 children, but Noland stepped up and I was there for a couple of hours. Even this far away from when the show goes up....it's already really good. Anyway....I honestly hope that he can put up the show that he's always dreamed of. We saw the original Broadway cast doing the show in NYC.....we fell in love with it, and he's wanted to do it ever since. That was 7 years ago.

Niah and Naricyn are playing, and Neal is totally crashed.....sleeping off the effects of his first middle school dance last night....... Oh, and also the acquision of his first girl friend. He came out of the dance grinning as if he'd won the lottery. We knew something was up. From this mom's perspective...he was adorable.

Still wondering what I learned? I learned that there is so much time, even in our busy weeks, that we waste....while we could have used it to do something nice for someone....to linger a little longer with a friend......to put things into perspective. Funny...that I, being someone who never wants to waste time, has probably squandered the last 20 years doing things that in the long run....didn't matter......if they had, I would remember what they were.

Feeling Nostalgic

Guess that my trip home just got me thinking about the "good 'ole days." What made them so good? I think it's the naive way we found pleasure in the smallest things. Things that we now are "too busy" to notice or care about. These are the things that when they are gone, we remember.

Sitting at our breakfast bar with my mother and "talking about it" over a PB and J....climbing trees and feeling like I was the only person in the world....even when I was hiding from someone. BOYS........the butterflies....the cute things we said to each other in the notes that we passed. "I like you, do you like me? Circle YES or No" Losing someone special.....a goldfish, your best friend who had to go to a different school. Firsts of everything......driving alone.....kissing.....holding hands. All very small things that in the scope of life are a millisecond, but never leave your heart.

Meeting my husband.....beginning a live shared completely with someone......handing someone your complete heart, soul, body and mind.....

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great time in Indiana with Pappy, and Aunt Jenni's crew. Noland helped Uncle Adam assemble the new firepit...then we had smores!! The girls loved them.

The boys also enjoyed video game time. Even Pappy "killed" some of the bad guys. What wholesome entertainment is this???



While it's said that "you can never go home again", it's still nice to have somewhere to catch your breath, even if only once. As time passes and people come and go from my life, I can still stand in the field that I stood in as a child, and for a moment....just a moment, things are in complete harmony. I can still be anyone that I want to be. I can still do anything that I want to do. There are no boundaries, rules, social expectations, politics, races or creeds. It's just me, my Lord and I......and all the potential He can give.

Sniffle, cough...

What a rainy week!! The first week of school is almost over, and we're all sniffling, sneezing and sore throating. Noland is really wearing down. It's either practice or a game every day. This morning he looked like death, big dark circles under his eyes.

Neal is the same way. His circles are clearer under the freckles. :) He stayed after school yesterday to audition for the middle school musical, ANNIE. The video has been playing in the house for several days in his preparation.

Niah seems to be only whiny. She won't claim an "owie". She's just not her same self. Naricyn has come off of my lap, where she was ALL day on Tuesday. If either one of them is feeling or has felt as bad as I do right now....no wonder they are whining.

I think this entire family could sleep for 12 straight hours if the conditions were right.

Here are my little pirates. While the Pirates didn't win on Friday night, they did score....AND no one died. All in all, a good night!!

Noland is now playing a JV game in Garrard County. Greg has kept me in the loop via the phone. He's played center the whole time.

Niah was so cute in her first tap class. Shuffle, shuffle....hop, hop. The girls were so well behaved last week. It's obvious that they were comfortable with Miss Renee' enough to "to their own thing."
















Naricyn wants sooooo much to join in the fun. She leans on the windows, presses her head against the panes and talks to her sissy. Naricyn and I will take a Mommy and Me class next month.


Finally Neal poses with our littlest princess.

Pictures, Pictures EVERYWHERE

Just learning to use what BLOGSPOT has to offer. 

So Why the Change?

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you've found me....I just decided that I couldn't stand the commericals anymore on fotopages. So this is where you'll find me.

Tonight we're watching the EMMYS and the girls run around the living room....screaming about underwear. It must be the brother influence.

Hopefully I'll be posting daily. Thanks to Sam Campbell again for helping me find BLOGSPOT!!

Blessings,
Traci