Tuesday's Tonsil sTories --

Dr. Marky, once again has accurately diagnosed himself with...

this may come as a surprise.....

Strep throat ! Ugh !

Started yesterday with an 0915 phone call from the school.

I had just dropped him off 15 minutes earlier and was pumping my fist....all the kids gone to school...and ive gotta day off ! Yahoo, the possiblities were overflowing ! Especially with the new "Pirates" movie out !...(Johnny Depp---oh yeah)

"Marky's here in the office, he says he just threw up."

And that was "that".

The positive strep test at Dr. Stampfl's today is the LAST STRAW !

I'm plotting the demise of those offending tonsils!

Will probably hire the same mercenary that whacked Sam's tonsils years ago.

NINE times this school year, those derelict tonsils have harbored that repeat offender, "Strep". . That's once a stinking month !

Oh, the wonders of a non-existent immune system!

"The GobStopper Maneuver"

Last night Marky casually said..."Mom, I saved my own life today."

I wasnt really paying attention, you know, the multi-tasking zone you get in after working a 12 hour day, then coming home to a house-full of....well, just a ..."house full of" ! ! !

He says, " I was suckin on one of those Willy Wonka Gobstoppers and I breathed in and it got stuck in my wind pipe "

At THAT point, my ears perked up ! Now he had my attention !

I tried to calmly say, "What'd you do?"

He said, "well, I couldn't talk or breathe, so I just walked over to the drinking fountain and tried to take a swallow."

"Then, I grabbed myself under my ribs and shoved my fists upward and...POP ! The thing shot straight out ! "

My eyes were popping outa my head !!!

I raised my voice to him and said, "Marky, we just got you through this life threatening disease, and you lived ! You better not die NOW from a little half inch piece of candy ! !"

I guess all that time spent in the hospital watching their "Health Channel" episodes on CPR and lifesaving techniques paid off for Marky !

He was pretty proud of himself for saving himself !

Glad he paid attention to the TV and remembered the "Gobstopper remover maneuver" !

I YAM YAM --

Translated means:

I am Sam !

What else could it possibly mean !

For those of you who arent in geographical proximity to us, Sam is still mostly using his "Verbal Approximation" skills!

He refers to himself as "Yam"...simple and very original.

Tonight as the 3 boys and i knelt for prayer, I sarcastically, (I know, that's not my nature!), asked Sam if he wanted to say the prayer.

He said, "Yeah".

So the other two guys and I looked at each other and shrugged, "this is gonna be good" !

Just then, Sam launched into the most beautiful, fervent prayer i've ever heard.

It was a sincere and VERY verbal demonstration of love and communication from an earthly angel to his Father above.

It lasted a good couple of minutes. I could've listened forever !

We were taught, spiritually, from an angel tonight what prayers are meant to be.

We couldnt understand a word.

If Sam could speak (our language, not his), I wonder if we would be spiritually on a level to grasp, or even deserve to know what he knows ?

Think about that for a second or two..

I whisper in Sam's ear every night as I lay him in his bed, "Thank you for coming to me, Sam."

I realize what a gift he is.

What gifts EACH of our children are.

I'm going to try harder to deserve my gifts.

Goodnite, everybody.

"Half Inch of Butter"-Day---

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.

It's a "mixed feeling's" kind of day for alot of people. I get that.

I decided to try to make it just what it was intended to be, just honor your Momma, the end !

I started the day calling my beloved Mother in Phoenix and thanking her for bringing me into this world...and for accepting her role and magnifying her role at that!

I went out for an early morning walk before anyone even got up at my house. I love the early dawn hours when its peaceful and quiet.

I came home and made scrambled eggs for Sammy, gluten free pancakes for Marky. Scott and James still slumbered at that point.

Then, I got BACK in bed, so Marky ( he insisted!) could bring me breakfast in bed !

It was "gourmet" Raisin Bran Crunch ! Then two pieces of toast arrived with at least a half inch of butter !

Oh man was I pampered !

Life is good !

Hope all of you had a "Half inch of butter" kind of day, too !

You deserve it !

Love, Netti

Saturday the 7th of May--

The other day Scotty came to me, very solemly and concerned.

This week in his health class the subject of male/female reproduction is the topic ! .....

I can hear you all laughing ! Me too !

He said, "Mom, can you write me an excuse to get out of class on Friday?"

I said, "How come?"

He said, "Well, yesterday they talked about the female reproductive system and I got all clammy and sweaty and i thought i was gonna throw up ! I had to ask the teacher for a hall pass, and then I just waited around outside till I thought they were done. "

Then he said, "And today they're talking about the male end of things, And tomorrow is the "talk" about.. you know !"

He said, "I remember back in Jr. High when they did the maturation talk, but that was with all the guys in one room and the girls in another!, now we're all together in the same room !"

He said, " I dont mind talking about the "bee's", but I dont like hearing about how they "Pollinate" !"

Chuckle, chuckle !

Hi to all of Marky's friends !

We are home from Cincinnati !

Marky managed to emerge victorious !

The specialist reported that his colon is working well. No blockages or kinks noted. !

Hurray for that news ! Doesnt explain where his pain is coming from, however.

The Dr.s answer to that is ...."to approach his pain from a psychological standpoint now."

He said Mark had been through so much trauma, that likely, any pain sends Marky's young brain into panic that thinks , "OH NO !, There's that pain back, I'm gonna almost die again!".

This is apparently common in a lot of chronic illness kids, and adults i'm sure.

So we'll go that route, for now. And go back to the accupuncture guy and see where that gets us.

HOWEVER ----The JEEP is UNCOVERED and the "Captain" is back in command at his base-camp !

There have been steady droves of "would-be" recruits looking for a chance to enlist in Marky's corp of soldiers !

All is well in Marky's world !

A huge shout-out to my sweet niece, Erin, for all of her love and service while we were in Cincinnati. She drove down from Columbus (2 hr. drive) and stayed 5 days with us to shepherd us around.

Marky loved spending time with his cousin that he doesnt see nearly enough.

The Saturday before we flew back home, Erin's husband, Ben, even drove down from Columbus to hang out w/ us for the day ! We went to the Zoo and, of course, McDonald's...(gluten free Angus Burgers arent all that bad..just order em between two giant leaves of lettuce).

Ben was great with Marky. I know Mark really was missing his Dad and brothers by then, so Ben stepped up and filled in the cracks !

Thanks also to all of you for your prayers and love and donations that helped get us there...and back !

Love you all, Markysmom