Right now I have no words that I can write to express the way I feel. Please go to this blog and read. Prayer heals and Jace needs all the prayer he can get. Please pray with all you have in you. Thanks.
asecondmiracle.blogspot.com
Monday, June 14, 2010
A little boy and her mother need your prayer
Right now I have no words that I can write to express the way I feel. Please go to this blog and read. Prayer heals and Jace needs all the prayer he can get. Please pray with all you have in you. Thanks.
asecondmiracle.blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
9 Years Ago....
9 years ago I was getting married to my college sweetheart.9 years ago I had no idea what marriage would truly be like.
9 years ago I didn't realize what beautiful little boys we would have.
9 years ago I knew we'd make it, while others had doubts.
Nicholas James Gillespie, I love you so much and I am so lucky to be your wife. I know that people thought we got married way to young, but we showed them!!! "Looks like we made it...They said I bet they'll never make it, but just look at us holding on. We're still together, still going strong!" - Shanie Twain (Our theme song!!)
I've just got to hold on for one more year and I get a new wedding ring. I think I can do it!! No really, these past 9 years have been such a blessing. We've been through so much together and God only knows what wonderful things we will experience together in the next 9 years!! I love being married to my college sweetheart and wouldn't change a thing.
I thought I would include a picture of Nick's signature pose!!!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Couponing Tip of the Week-Don't Pass by a Good Deal!!
As many of you know, I have taken up couponing. I absolutely love it, but also have a lot to learn. I will try to share my "finds" every week as well as include a "Couponing Tip of the Week" and I would love to hear your finds and tips each week as well. This week I bought $123.25 worth of groceries at Walgreens for $53.70. I have found that the big key to couponing for me is stocking up on things that you know you will use, but you don't necessarily need at the moment. Below is a picture of my purchase! I also was compared to the Coupon Queen twice today which I took as a GREAT compliment. I am in no way, shape, or form as frugal and savvy as the Coupon Queen, but give me some time. This is one of my goals!!
Marble Slab Creamery = $15.78, the experience = PRICELESS!!
I never knew that getting ice cream could be as exciting as it was for us last night. Friday night was Relay for Life and therefore I didn't get ANY sleep at all, but I was determined to have a fun family day together on Saturday. We went to a birthday party, went to dinner at Uncle Tommy and Aunt Christy's house and then we decided to go get ice cream (because those of you who know my well, know I had a coupon!!). We had told the boys earlier that day that we would go to the River Walk, but decided to just stick with Broken Arrow to save on time since I was extremely tired. The boys were dissapointed at first, but we told them there was a pond that we could eat our ice cream at, so they quickly cheered up.
We got our EXPENSIVE ice cream (so much for the coupon), loaded up on napkins, and started walking to the pond. The second we stepped outside their ice cream started dripping EVERYWHERE!! Carter was an absolute mess, but was having a ball.
We reached the pond, sat down and the first thing we heard was "I have to go to the bathroom!". Carter needed to go to the bathroom and there was not a single bathroom in sight. Nick has taught the boys to go outside, but this was not exactly the place to be "adventurous". As I tried to decide where we should take Carter to go to the bathroom I heard a splash in the water, looked down and saw Nicholas up to his arm pits in the pond with his ice cream cone above his head. Nick ran down to help him and needless to say his ice cream was not saved.
As you can guess children with sensory problems do NOT like getting dirty and Nicholas was BEYOND dirty. I could not contain myself and was rolling on the ground laughing, even though the whole situation was very traumatic for Nicholas. What else could you do but laugh?
As we walked back to the car, ice cream covering Carter, and black tar-like mud covering Nicholas I knew this would be a trip to the ice cream shop I would NEVER forget. We got Nicholas cleaned up (in Daddy's Complete Lawn Care shirt). Nicholas decided he needed to go the bathroom "RIGHT now" and preceded to go in the parking lot by the truck and Carter (who needed to go from the get go) held it until we made it to the gas station. Even though this was not how I had envisioned our trip to the ice cream shop, I loved every minute of it because we were creating memories that will last a lifetime. It was definitely priceless!
Who wants to go with us to Marble Slab next weekend?!!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Family Feature #2
You have now been introduced to my oldest son Nicholas and now I would like you to meet my youngest son, formerly known as Alyssa Nicole Gillespie (keep reading):
I know you're probably thinking what a strange name Carter had at first. Well, for a month Carter's name was Allysa Nicole. Yes, for a month Carter looked "pretty girly" and when my doctor told me my ultrasound looked pretty girly at around 14-16 gestational weeks I took it and ran with it. I had always envisioned myself with one boy and one girl. As an only child there were many times I dreamed of having an older brother. I sometimes even prayed at night for one (prayers do work, I now have three of them)! My mom and I were so excited that things looked "pretty girly" that we even went out and bought the cutest little girl outfit and blanket. In the back of my mind I knew it not was a guaranteed thing, but he did say "pretty girly". On my next appointment my doctor asked us if we wanted to know the sex. I told him that he told us things looked "pretty girly". Well, he told us that things were definitely not girly now. It took everything in me to not cry at that moment. I called my mom and told her that Alyssa was not Alyssa anymore and I will never forget her reaction...dead silence. "Mom are you there?" She was still there, just digesting the fact that she was not going to be having a granddaughter in a few months. It was really hard for me to handle that night and the next day. I had already told all of my students that I was having a girl and now I had to tell them that the doctor was wrong. I didn't even know how I was going to face my students the next day. I think the hardest thing for me was knowing how many people can't even have kids and here I am crying over not being pregnant with a girl. It took a day for me to get over it (prayer truly works) and I was totally fine. It took us many months to come to a decision of the name Carter Anthony and I couldn't imagine him as anything else. Carter Anthony Gillespie was born on March 12, 2007. He is now a little over 3 years old and he is the sweetest little BOY in the world. He is definitely a boy inside and out, although I do have to admit that I might have given him a complex by calling him Alyssa for a month because he does love to wear high heeled shoes around the house, but I'm sure he won't be doing that forever (or at least Nick hopes he won't)! Carter is a natural born athlete. I'm pretty sure he was born knowing how to throw a ball. He already weighs 40 pounds and is not much shorter than Nicholas. Any time we go to the mall at least one person asks if our boys are twins. Although our boys are not twins, Carter LOVES his brother and I call Carter my little monkey (monkey see, monkey do). Whatever Nicholas does, Carter HAS to do. If Nicholas says something witty and people laugh, Carter repeats it and expects the same reaction. If Nicholas goes down the stairs on his stomach, Carter has to follow right behind him. Carter has a heart of gold and continually tells me that he loves me. His favorite place to do this is in the car. I'll be driving down the road and out of the blue I'll hear Carter saying "I love you Mommy". It just melts my heart. Carter's new thing is whenever I pick him up he wants to know where we are going. Lately he's been asking if we are going to heaven today. I'm not quite sure where he has gotten this from, but be ready because he tells me Jesus is coming any day! I told him I'm not ready for him to see heaven yet unless he can take all of us with him! I try to even out my attention equally to both boys, but this is sometimes hard with Nicholas and his sensory/behavioral problems. I worry that sometimes Carter is left out and this is something that I must be cognizant of and not let happen. He is such an amazing little boy. I'm a little scared because he didn't go through the terrible two's, nor has he gone through the terrible three's yet. KNOCK ON WOOD! What are the four's going to be like? I love you Carter Anthony. I know that God has great things in mind for you (maybe even the NFL)! I thank God every day for my precious little BOYS!!
Carter Anthony Gillespie
I know you're probably thinking what a strange name Carter had at first. Well, for a month Carter's name was Allysa Nicole. Yes, for a month Carter looked "pretty girly" and when my doctor told me my ultrasound looked pretty girly at around 14-16 gestational weeks I took it and ran with it. I had always envisioned myself with one boy and one girl. As an only child there were many times I dreamed of having an older brother. I sometimes even prayed at night for one (prayers do work, I now have three of them)! My mom and I were so excited that things looked "pretty girly" that we even went out and bought the cutest little girl outfit and blanket. In the back of my mind I knew it not was a guaranteed thing, but he did say "pretty girly". On my next appointment my doctor asked us if we wanted to know the sex. I told him that he told us things looked "pretty girly". Well, he told us that things were definitely not girly now. It took everything in me to not cry at that moment. I called my mom and told her that Alyssa was not Alyssa anymore and I will never forget her reaction...dead silence. "Mom are you there?" She was still there, just digesting the fact that she was not going to be having a granddaughter in a few months. It was really hard for me to handle that night and the next day. I had already told all of my students that I was having a girl and now I had to tell them that the doctor was wrong. I didn't even know how I was going to face my students the next day. I think the hardest thing for me was knowing how many people can't even have kids and here I am crying over not being pregnant with a girl. It took a day for me to get over it (prayer truly works) and I was totally fine. It took us many months to come to a decision of the name Carter Anthony and I couldn't imagine him as anything else. Carter Anthony Gillespie was born on March 12, 2007. He is now a little over 3 years old and he is the sweetest little BOY in the world. He is definitely a boy inside and out, although I do have to admit that I might have given him a complex by calling him Alyssa for a month because he does love to wear high heeled shoes around the house, but I'm sure he won't be doing that forever (or at least Nick hopes he won't)! Carter is a natural born athlete. I'm pretty sure he was born knowing how to throw a ball. He already weighs 40 pounds and is not much shorter than Nicholas. Any time we go to the mall at least one person asks if our boys are twins. Although our boys are not twins, Carter LOVES his brother and I call Carter my little monkey (monkey see, monkey do). Whatever Nicholas does, Carter HAS to do. If Nicholas says something witty and people laugh, Carter repeats it and expects the same reaction. If Nicholas goes down the stairs on his stomach, Carter has to follow right behind him. Carter has a heart of gold and continually tells me that he loves me. His favorite place to do this is in the car. I'll be driving down the road and out of the blue I'll hear Carter saying "I love you Mommy". It just melts my heart. Carter's new thing is whenever I pick him up he wants to know where we are going. Lately he's been asking if we are going to heaven today. I'm not quite sure where he has gotten this from, but be ready because he tells me Jesus is coming any day! I told him I'm not ready for him to see heaven yet unless he can take all of us with him! I try to even out my attention equally to both boys, but this is sometimes hard with Nicholas and his sensory/behavioral problems. I worry that sometimes Carter is left out and this is something that I must be cognizant of and not let happen. He is such an amazing little boy. I'm a little scared because he didn't go through the terrible two's, nor has he gone through the terrible three's yet. KNOCK ON WOOD! What are the four's going to be like? I love you Carter Anthony. I know that God has great things in mind for you (maybe even the NFL)! I thank God every day for my precious little BOYS!!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Welcome to Gillespie Gossip
I thought I would give blogging a try. I love to read other friends' blogs and have told myself that I need to do this as well. My husband sees me reading blogs and wants to know why I don't have one. This was one of my goals for the summer and so I thought there was no better time than now to start! I'm going to take the next couple of days to introduce you to my family. Some of you may already now us, but I want to feature everyone and try to paint of picture of how wonderful each of them are and the beauty they add to my family. I will start off by featuring
Nicholas James Gillespie Jr.
I think that this picture really shows the personality of my sweet, little Nicholas. Nicholas is 5 years old and will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall. From the moment he was born on March 19, 2005, I knew he was going to be special. He was such an easy baby. Nicholas was a VERY early talker. He started talking at a year old and could say complete sentences at the age of 20 months. I remember sitting in his room and him saying his first sentence, "I have a nightlight in my room, Mommy". After my initial shock of this long sentence I said, "Yes, you do!" Also, at the age of 20 months he could say his ABC's and he wasn't shy in the least. I remember taking him to my mom's school before Carter was born and he sang the ABC song to the whole 4th grade class (I wish I would have gotten it on tape like I was told to). He never ceases to amaze me. At around the age of 2 I started to notice some differences in him and an "average developing 2 year old." I had noticed things earlier, but my doctor told me not to worry because every child develops at his own pace. Nicholas did not crawl normal until a year (before that it was the most adorable army crawl). He didn't walk until he was 16 months (before that it was the most adorable walking on his knees walk). He was not fully potty trained until right before he started Pre-School (he still has to wear a Pull-Up to bed). Nicholas struggled to make friends and if things did not go EXACTLY his way he would have MAJOR meltdowns. My college degree was in Special Education and therefore I saw these signs as things that needed to be dealt with immediately because I knew that early intervention was the key to helping him. I talked with Nick about the possibility of Nicholas having Asperger's Syndrome (a form of Autism). At first Nick was totally against us having him tested, but eventually decided that it was the best thing for Nicholas. In the Fall of 2009, we had Nicholas tested by a developmental pediatrician and it was determined that he has Sensory Integration Dysfunction. I will have a post that is dedicated to this disorder in the next few weeks. I am still not completely certain that he does not have Asperger's Syndrome, but concentrating on strategies to help him overcome his SID is a start. It has been somewhat like a grieving process for us, especially me. Everyone envisions their child as the "All-American" boy or girl. I don't know if Nicholas will ever be that, but he will always be my brilliant baby boy whom I love and adore. I think the hardest part for me is when strangers see how he acts sometimes and they look at me as this awful parent because to them he looks so "normal". Or when family compares my two boys and picks favorites, which is always Carter. It hurts so bad. I try not to let it bother me, but it does. Nicholas is one the most amazing boys you will ever meet and I am so lucky to have him as my son. I am continually looking for ways to help him. I am his greatest fan and advocate and that will never change. I love you Nicholas James Gillespie Jr. You are one special boy!
I think that this picture really shows the personality of my sweet, little Nicholas. Nicholas is 5 years old and will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall. From the moment he was born on March 19, 2005, I knew he was going to be special. He was such an easy baby. Nicholas was a VERY early talker. He started talking at a year old and could say complete sentences at the age of 20 months. I remember sitting in his room and him saying his first sentence, "I have a nightlight in my room, Mommy". After my initial shock of this long sentence I said, "Yes, you do!" Also, at the age of 20 months he could say his ABC's and he wasn't shy in the least. I remember taking him to my mom's school before Carter was born and he sang the ABC song to the whole 4th grade class (I wish I would have gotten it on tape like I was told to). He never ceases to amaze me. At around the age of 2 I started to notice some differences in him and an "average developing 2 year old." I had noticed things earlier, but my doctor told me not to worry because every child develops at his own pace. Nicholas did not crawl normal until a year (before that it was the most adorable army crawl). He didn't walk until he was 16 months (before that it was the most adorable walking on his knees walk). He was not fully potty trained until right before he started Pre-School (he still has to wear a Pull-Up to bed). Nicholas struggled to make friends and if things did not go EXACTLY his way he would have MAJOR meltdowns. My college degree was in Special Education and therefore I saw these signs as things that needed to be dealt with immediately because I knew that early intervention was the key to helping him. I talked with Nick about the possibility of Nicholas having Asperger's Syndrome (a form of Autism). At first Nick was totally against us having him tested, but eventually decided that it was the best thing for Nicholas. In the Fall of 2009, we had Nicholas tested by a developmental pediatrician and it was determined that he has Sensory Integration Dysfunction. I will have a post that is dedicated to this disorder in the next few weeks. I am still not completely certain that he does not have Asperger's Syndrome, but concentrating on strategies to help him overcome his SID is a start. It has been somewhat like a grieving process for us, especially me. Everyone envisions their child as the "All-American" boy or girl. I don't know if Nicholas will ever be that, but he will always be my brilliant baby boy whom I love and adore. I think the hardest part for me is when strangers see how he acts sometimes and they look at me as this awful parent because to them he looks so "normal". Or when family compares my two boys and picks favorites, which is always Carter. It hurts so bad. I try not to let it bother me, but it does. Nicholas is one the most amazing boys you will ever meet and I am so lucky to have him as my son. I am continually looking for ways to help him. I am his greatest fan and advocate and that will never change. I love you Nicholas James Gillespie Jr. You are one special boy!
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