I should have trusted my first instincts.

Aaron's surgery

Aaron went in for his surgery this morning bright and early (well, it was still dark outside when we got there). They started about 8:15. I think they finished in the OR at 9:20. It took him about 15 minutes to come out of the anestesia. When he did, he was waling! It wasn't his normal cry- it was like he was trying to cry and scream, but his voice wasn't working the same, so it was a deep broken cry. Very pitiful. The surgeon said everything went as planned in the OR. They put in the new tubes and removed his adnoids (his tonsils looked good, so they didn't remove those). As soon as it was over and he was awake his asthma started to act up pretty bad. They rushed in and put him on oxygen for about 10-15 minutes. Then he had to do a breathing treatment after that. The dr was afraid to take his IV out too soon, so Aaron had to keep it in for the next few hours. HE did NOT like it! As long as I kept it covered up with a blanket, he was fine. If he saw it, then he would start shaking and screaming. His heart rate kept getting extremely high, which was scary. We finally figured out that he was fine. It only would go up when the dr and nurses would come into the room. He was scared they would do something to him I guess. Once that was under control I could breathe again. We stayed 6 hours in all at the hospital. It was awful! I hope that this all helps him be a healthy little boy!! Nothing makes me feel worse as a mom than watching Aaron be sick all the time and not be able to 'fix it'. He's had a hard little life for someone so young :( When we got home Aaron started to look for his little puppy dog. Which we left at the Hospital! He cried and cried. He pulled everything out of his bad while calling out "doggie! doggie! where'd you go doggie?". Nobody could get up there to get it today, so I called and asked that they hold it for me to pick up tomorrow. The nurse who answered the phone said she had it in her lap. Her name was Carmen, and she told me she lived right by our street and wanted to bring it to us when she got off of work. She lives 2 houses down from us. She is one of the sweetest women! I was so thankful to have Aaron's little dog back before bedtime!! I'm going to think of something nice to do for her soon. Thanks to all of you who were praying for him today! We still have 3 weeks ahead of trying to get him to take it easy and not play outside. That will be really tough, but the hardest part is behind us now.

just what I needed... or not

My car Cali is broken! (yes, my car has a name). It's still sitting in a parking lot because I didn't know where to tow it to yet. Even if I knew where to take it, I wouldn't have the money to fix it. On top of everything else going on this week, I really didn't need to be without a car. I wish not everything had to happen at once. I handle things better one thing at a time. I feel completely overwhelmed right now, and I would like it to go away...

Prayer Request

If everything goes as planned (and if I can keep Aaron well for the next few days) he is scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday. He will be getting his 2nd set of ear tubes, and they will also be removing his adnoids. I don't think they will be removing his tonsils, but it's a possibility. I know in the long run it will help him stay well. I still can't help but worry. So please pray for him (and if it's not too selfish, for me too- I will be waiting at the hospital with Adam and his girlfriend ... ). The surgery is supposed to take about an hour. Afterwards he has to stay at least 4 hours to be monitored. He will have to have pain medication for several days after the surgery. The surgeon said it's possible that the pain medicine could make him sick. Aaron will not be able to be outside or to play and run around for about 3 weeks. If he gets excited and runs or plays too much, or if his allergies outside bother him, then the scab inside from the adnoids could come loose and his nose will bleed- a LOT I'm told. I really don't know how to keep a 2 year old boy calm for 3 weeks! I will try my best, but I'm just not sure how to accomplish that for so long. I'm hoping that allergies won't be too bad, and that Aaron's asthma won't give him problems during those 3 weeks. I'm trying to work out now a way for Aaron to not go back to school/daycare for that whole time. My mom is taking off work next Thursday and Friday to keep him. Adam said he would take off some to keep him, however I kinda doubt that will actually happen. My mom and Adam both have paid sick/personal days, and I don't. I will take off any time neccessary to give Aaron the most time to heal. I've already missed over 2 weeks of work in the last 6 weeks, and it's getting a little more difficult with money. Please pray that Aaron can heal quickly, and that I can miss as little work as possible. While you're at it- go ahead and pray for anything and everything else too ;) I will try to post how his surgery goes as soon as I can.

I'm still not ready to say too much about personal stuff going on with me. I have lots I would like to talk about, but I don't feel that I should say anything negative about Adam. So, that makes my 'venting' a little hard to do. The divorce was supposed to be final in February, but the lawyer keeps wanting more money before they finish all the papers. I'm not really sure when it will all be final now. Things were better and easier for a while at first. Lately, it's all been harder. I think too much and then worry too much...

my car is all better

It's been a month since the lady hit my car. I got it last night, and it's all fixed and pretty again! My friend Josh did it all for me, and it was less than half of the insurance money I got. (so I can use the rest for bills and drs coming up). That's a huge help! I'm so thankful he wanted to fix everything, and for less than anyone else would be able to. While he was working on my car, I've had his truck for the last 3 weeks, which Aaron absolutely loved! He could see everything while we drove. Last night when I picked Aaron up in my car from my mom's house he just shook his head and said 'no mama'. I think he was waiting for Josh's truck before he would agree to go home. It was cute.

Short update- kind of..

So much has been going on lately, but I still don't feel comfortable talking about any of it. As soon as I do, you guys will be the first to read...

Aaron was really sick again this week. It was a stressful week full of minor emergency visits, and part of Thursday night in the emergency room at the hospital. His breathing was not really good, and had been wheezing and coughing horribly. He has bronchitis again :( Despite my attempts at giving him his breathing treatments at home- they weren't seeming to help at all. Thankfully at the hospital they gave him a stronger dosage of the medicine for his breathing that helped a lot! Today was the first day he started to smile and act more like himself. I'm soooooo thankful he is getting better! Nothing makes me feel more helpless as a mother than when Aaron gets so sick. I hate not being able to make him better just by holding and kissing him.

I guess I'm bored too, thanks Sarah for giving me something to do!

ABC's of me

A
- Available: not sure how to answer this... I'm dating someone so No, I'm not available... ?
- Age: 24
- Annoyance: when people have absolutely no common sense it drives me crazy
- Animal: puppy dogs, I want one sooooo bad!!
B
- Birthday: October 28th, 1984
- Best Friends: lots of them, they know who they are
- Body Part on opposite sex: eyes, and hands even though ya'll are gonna think I'm retarded for saying that haha
- Best feeling in the world: when Aaron runs up to me, hugs my legs and gives me a kiss! he is so sweet (most of the time, afterall he is a boy)
C
- Candy: Kit-kats I only eat them frozen though
- Color: Blue, green, and pink
- Chocolate/Vanilla: I like both together
- Chinese/Mexican: Mexican!! I can still remember being really sick after eating Chinese food when I was pregnant :( ughh yuck!
- Cake or pie: Cake
- Continent to visit: I would LOVE to visit several places in Europe
D
- Day or Night: depends on what is going on in the day or night
- Dance in the rain: I love the rain, but I can't dance
E
- Eyes: Green, and sometimes blue
- Ever failed a class?: I dropped a couple classes in college, but I have never failed anything that I finished...
F
- Full name: Joyia Ree West
- First thoughts waking up: Go to Aaron's room
- Food: Chicken from Babe's, Mozzerella sticks from BJ's, Tacos from El Pasano's, Chips and Salsa from Villa Grande... :)
G
- Greatest Fear: Not falling in love again or having a family that is all together
- Goals: love, another baby, house, car, job...
- Gum: I rarely ever chew gum
- Get along with your parents?: I guess most of the time I get along with my mom, when we don't talk about anything serious that is. My dad and I were a lot more alike
- Good luck charm: none
H
- Hair Color: several shades of brown, with blonde and red natural highlights
- Height: 5'1"
- Happy: Pretty much so, Josh is going to start fixing my poor car today
- Holiday: Christmas
- How do you want to die: in my sleep would be nice, something not painful
I
- Ice Cream: cookies and cream
- Instrument: I can play the organ/piano some. I looooove guitar but I can't play
J
- Jewelry: I don't have any jewelry to wear anymore, hopefully one day I'll have rings to wear again...
- Job: 3's Preschool Teacher
K
- Kids: Aaron Lee West, hopefully another one someday
- Kickboxing or karate: I would absolutely love to try kickboxing, but I don't think my dr. would approve
- Keep a journal?: nope, this is pretty much where I write
L
- Longest Car Ride: from TX to NC I guess
- Love: God is Love :)
- Laughed so hard you cried: yes, but it's been a while
M
- Milk flavor: regular vitamin D milk
- Movies: Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Shawshank Redemption, Usual Suspects, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Con Air, Cowboy Way... I could go on
- Motion sickness?: Only in tiny little airplanes that bounce around in the clouds
N
- Number of Siblings: 2
- Number of Piercings: none, and that really bothers Josh for some reason... not sure why
- Number: 28
O
- One wish: don't really have one right now
P
- Perfect Pizza: Sausage, Canadian Bacon, lots of cheese
Q
- Quote: Any quote from FRIENDS of course!! And, umm "Why couldn't you just put the bunny back in the box?" from ConAir
R
- Reason to cry: usually it's something stupid that reminded me of my dad so then I'll cry
- Reality T.V.: I guess HGTV and Food Network or something
- Radio Station: 107.5, 97.5, 102.9, 102.1, 98.7...
S
- Skipped school: In Elementary school every now and then my Memi would come and pick all the grand-daughters up from school without our parents knowing and take us shopping. It was sooo much fun, but now That's like illegal...
- Slept outside: Camping, or at my lake house
- Smoked?: Never!
- Strawberries/Blueberries: Strawberries
T
- Time for bed: anywhere between 10 and 1am
- Thunderstorms: like them as long as I'm not driving in it
U
- Unpredictable: I like routine!!! but every now and then if it's a good thing then that's okay too
V
- Vacation spot: I love to travel so anywhere I would be happy with
W
- Weakness: Victoria's Secret... they keep sending me coupons darn it!! and I lost weight again so I need clothes that fit, so it just makes it more tempting to order some
- Who makes you laugh the most: Aaron probably
- Worst feeling: rejection
X
-Ex's: only a couple, hopefully won't have anymore
Y
-Your worst habit: biting my nails I guess
-Yellow: a song by Coldplay
Z
- Zoo animal: Elephants and Monkeys!!