American Soldier Needs Our Help

A friend's nephew, who has been deployed in Iraq with the U.S. Army has recently suffered a tragedy.

On December 4th Alex Shew and his wife Cassie were expecting their first child. Nevertheless, MaKenzie Michelle Shew was born on November 8th. She weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces and everything about her seemed healthy. MaKenzie was released from the hospital earlier than expected. Because MaKenzie was born early Dad (Alex) was unable to get back from Iraq in time for her birth.

This past Sunday Alex and Cassie awoke to discover that McKenzie had passed away. Although the autopsy results are not complete the death is being ruled a case of SIDS.

As an active duty soldier in the Army, money is very tight for Alex and Cassie. They simply do not have the money for MaKenzie's funeral expenses. Alex has received an interest free loan from the government so that he and Cassie can have their daughter's funeral. Alex has not asked anyone for help; nevertheless, his Aunt (our friend) has set up a memorial fund to help pay for the loan.

I know that all of you will keep Alex and Cassie and this entire family in your prayers as they go through this troublesome time. I hope that you may find it in your heart to send a few dollars to help Alex and Cassie pay for their beautiful little girl's burial. I have included the information below if you can help.

Thank you for your love, support and prayers. Remember to give your little ones an extra hug and kiss this evening and thank God for His blessing on their lives.

Donations can be made by mailing a check or money order made out to MaKenzie Shew Memorial Fund to:

MemberSource Credit Union
10100 Richmond Ave
Houston, Texas 77042
Account Number: 659850-4

Alternately, you may drop off your donation at any of MemberSource Credit Union's branch offices or a Shared Service Credit Union location. To find a branch or Shared Service Credit Union location near you go to the following web address: http://membersourcecu.locatorsearch.com/index.aspx

Thank you...

Hi-ho the dairy-o

We went up to East Texas for the long Thanksgiving holiday. Much fun and food was had by all. On Friday, we all went to Jefferson, TX to ride the Santa Train along the river to see the Christmas lights. Of course, AJ had a blast riding another choo choo train. Unfortunately, he wasn't so enamored of the Santa that was there. We had to put people in between AJ and Santa to run interference, because AJ would completely flip out whenever he saw Santa. It's just like he does with the Santa at the mall. Doesn't want to go NEAR him.

Funny side note -- AJ was playing with some toys in the living room on Saturday afternoon. One of the toys was a small stuffed cow. He turned the cow over, pointed to the underside of the cow, and told me "the cow have milk." He then proceeded to lift the cow up to his mouth like he was drinking the milk straight from the cow! Umm...okay....this is new knowledge...

On Sunday, we all went to lunch after church and ate pizza with the Mayor. He and his ladyfriend are very nice people. He has been Mayor there for 28 years...we all felt very important...lunching with the big wigs...

Prematurity Awareness Month

For anyone who didn't already know - November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Here are some startling statistics:

• Babies born at 23 weeks gestation have a 17% chance of survival.
• Babies born at 24 weeks gestation have a 39% chance of survival.
• Babies born at 25 weeks gestation have a 50% chance of survival.
• 1 in 10 premature babies will develop permanent disabilities, such as lung disease, cerebral palsy, blindness, or deafness.
• 50% of babies born before the 26th week are disabled; 25% of those severely so.
• There is a greater risk of severe disability and lower cognitive function results for boys compared to girls. This supports the theory that male sex is an important risk factor in extremely premature infants.
• In 2004, 12.5% of US babies were premature (less than 37 weeks). That is an 18% increase over the rate in 1990.
• In Texas, that rate is 13.7%.
• That accounts for 1 in 7 babies.

Through my blogging this past year, I have discovered many other women who are living with children who were very premature. Reading their experiences has made me feel a lot less guilty and a lot MORE blessed. Although he was born at 26 weeks, AJ was growth restricted, and at only 18 ounces, was measuring the size of a 23-weeker.

My world has been blessed with this tiny baby whose life could have turned out so differently. The following ladies have been a true inspiration to me:

• Christy at Following Elias.
• Nicole at Who Cries Over Spilled Milk.
• Kyla at The Journey.
• Katie at Ramblings of an Interrupted Mom.

There are numerous more stories out there available through the March of Dimes. So if you see a small child who maybe seems a little "different" or "small for his age", remember what a survivor he/she may be. Give that little miracle a special smile and a special prayer.

BUSTED

I so TOTALLY got busted by a three-year-old last night.

I was experimenting with some baked spaghetti for dinner. We sat down to eat dinner. AJ took one bite of his food and said, "I want a meatball."

Me: "Sweetie, there's a meatball in there. Mommy just cut it up for you."

AJ: (digs around in the bowl for a bit) "Mommy that's not a meatball -- that's PEPPERONI!"

Hubby smirks in my generally direction and mutters "busted!" under his breath at me.

I had never heard AJ use the word "pepperoni" before...I guess the days of him believing everything I tell him are gone...and he's not even a teenager yet...

And you know...it wasn't even really about him catching me in a lie. It was the snarky tone of his voice when he did it!

It's like...

New fad for the month seems to be similes. AJ is constantly telling us how something "is like" something else.

A packet of mayonnaise or ketchup at a fast food joint "is squooshy -- like Mommy."

A box truck driving down the road "is like a garbage truck."

A bird sitting on a power line "is like Zazu, from Lion King."

Last night in the bathtub he was playing with his shampoo visor that has a crab on it. "Mommy - a crab...like a lobster....she pinch. No! No! Lobster! No pinching you friends. Not nice."

A Night at the Museum

On Thursday night, the three of us attended a function at the Museum of Natural Science. It was an after-closing affair. That was nice, because there were no crowds. AJ absolutely LOVED the dinosaurs. We were not allowed to leave for the night without going to each one personally to say goodnight. We also found AJ quite interested in a short film about water vapor molecules. He even asked me yesterday where the "paper mall-cools went". While walking through the gem and mineral section, Hubby commented to me about a huge geode on display. AJ walked by us and declared, "that's a geode." Mr. Smarty-Pants Myna bird!

Note to self for our next visit: Do NOT take the three year old into the dark 3-D Imax to watch "Sea Monsters of the Deep" thinking he would enjoy the fish. I apparently wasn't paying attention to the title Sea MONSTERS....a sea monster with a very long neck and very very sharp pointy teeth came at him in 3-D. Not. Fun. At. All. He was still scared even after I took the 3-D glasses off of him. We had to leave after about 5 minutes of the movie.

Where Are Your Parents?

Other people's kids irritate the crap out of me. This was extremely evident at the Fall Festival we took AJ to last night. Turns out it was just an arena filled with about 8-10 giant inflatable moonwalks. The place was overrun with kids (and unfortunately adults) who have no consideration for the fact that they weren't the only ones there to enjoy themselves. Kids were allowed to run completely wild with no parent in sight. More than once, AJ was frightened to even go into a moonwalk because there were older kids in there fighting, wrestling and generally trying the tear the place up. And NO ONE SEEMED TO CARE! Where are these kids parents? What are they being taught other than to push everyone out of their way to get what they want? More often than not, we ended up carrying AJ around to keep him from being trampled by packs of kids on a sugar high.

And did I mention that this was a church-sponsored festival?! So. Not. Going. Back. AARRRGGGHHH!!