Yesterday, Today and Forever!!!

Our 12 year wedding anniversary is in 3 days!!!

Last week was one CRAZY week!!!  The boys had swim lessons in the mornings we had VBS at church in the evenings, three baseball games, one baseball practice, and a doctor appoint.  I don’t guess I was ever so happy to see a weekend come around!!!

Saturday we went to fireworks in a neighboring town with Manda, Fred, Alice and all of our kids…all 11 of them!!!  We had really horrible seats behind the trees, but we had a good time watching the kids play and spending time together.  Afterward we all headed to Sonic where we had ice cream.  The kids had fun playing with sidewalk chalk.  I dropped Josh and Andrew off at home and then took Brayden and Caleb some clothes back to Manda so they could spend the night.  She was brave and kept 6 boys all night long!!!

When I got home around 2:00 am Josh was listening to the scanner and heard that the trailer that we grew up in (and his cousin lives in now) was on fire.  It was a total loss. It is so sad!

Sunday I was way to tired to make it to church.  I picked the boys up from Manda’s around 1:00, brought them home to Josh, then went to Mom’s to make our picnic dinner for the VBS closing ceremony.  Things got started with everyone bringing in a picnic to share with your family.  Then we went in to watch the slide shows from the week and listen to the kids sing the songs that they had learned.  The children had two offerings that they were working on durning VBS week.  They were trying to bring in enough money to buy 100 evangelism soccer balls.  These are AWESOME soccer balls that help spread the story of Jesus’ love to children in countries that don’t allow Bibles or to ones that can’t read the Bible for themselves.  By the end of the week there was 157 soccer balls bought!!!  They also were bringing in food items for the Broken Bread Food Pantry, our church’s out reach program.  SO MUCH food was brought in.  It was a wonderful week at VBS and lots of children were taught about God’s love!!!

So now it is a new week.  We have swim lessons everyday this week in the morning and 2 ball games.  It will be Calebs last game for the season.  And Brayden’s second to last.  Thursday Josh has his TEE test in Toledo.  And Saturday Josh and I will celeabrate our 12th wedding anniversary!

We went to the Cardiologist today.  He told us that more then likely Josh will have to have heart surgery to replace the aortic valve.  There are a few other test that they want to run first, to get a clearer idea of the problem.  The first test will be a transesophageal echocardiogram.  For this test they will insert a scope down Josh’s throat that will be used to get a better view of his heart.  He is really not looking forward to this test!

The doctor also told us that he would need a heart catheterization to make sure that everything else is OK and that he can withstand the open heart surgery.

Lots of scary, big words used with us today.  Lots to try to soak in and absorb.  Please keep praying!!!

It has been a few weeks since I posted a Wiseman Week-End Update so without further ado…

Thursday I spent the evening (and some of the early morning) helping Manda and Angie with Relay for Life decorations.  I guess you can say I was getting a jump start on getting no sleep the next night.

Friday I had a ton of stuff to do and no way to do it, I am still trying to adjust to this whole one car family bit.  Manda came over and we did a bunch of running to get ready for Relay that night.   Then we headed to the fair grounds to unload and set things up for the night.

This was my first Relay for Life but I won’t be my last!  It was a wonderful time.  It is a great way to remember the ones lost to cancer and to honor those who have survived!  As I shared in the post the other day, we walked in memory of Josh’s Grandma.

Josh and the boys spent the evening with us there.  We ate and walked around looking at the other teams camp sites.  One team was playing Rock Band, you could play for a dollar donation.  That was a big hit!  Around 10:30 or so Josh took Brayden and Andrew home for the night.  Caleb stayed with me for the long haul.  Manda’s step son Bry stayed too.  We walked OSU/UM laps, silly hat laps, crazy boxers laps, Elvis laps, the boys ate ice-cream at the ice-cream social, we played Bingo at 4 o’clock in the morning, we made s’mores in the rain, etc.  I passed out sometime in the 5 am hour while Manda and I were working on a team project that we never did finish.  I woke up at 6:15.  Feeling worse after falling asleep for 40 minutes then before.  :o)  One of the teams made a wonderful breakfast that we enjoyed.  And things started wrapping up.

Saturday after I got home from Relay, around 1:oo pm, most of the day was lost to periods of  sleep and unconscious moments of being awake…lol!  It is moments like this when I realize that I am getting OLD!

Sunday was Father’s Day.  We went to church and then got Dad and Mom.  We took Josh and Dad to a new Sonic for dinner.  It is the simple things sometimes that mean so much.  We had such a nice time.  I am so lucky to have such a wonderful father and for my boys to have such an AWESOME dad!!!  :o)

Tonight is our county’s Relay for Life.  Manda has dragged included me in her Relay Team this year.  I have helped out with a Spaghetti dinner, bake sale and placed a few buckets at my Mom’s work and Josh’s.  I have really enjoyed being apart of helping raise money for this great cause.

Josh’s grandmother passed away in 2005 from leukemia.  Tonight we walk in memory of…tonight we walk for Sue… tonight like so many other nights we miss you grandma!!!

(Flash Back Post from November 23, 2006)

Mary “Sue” Wiseman
October 23, 1933 - November 23, 2005

A year ago today the world lost a wonderful person. She meant so much to so many people. She was truly one of those people this world has to few of, she was a Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother. She was a good friend, a hard worker and a joy to be around. I can’t put in to words what she meant to everyone but I can tell you what she meant to me.

It is going to be hard to find a starting point, so lets start from the beginning. She was the woman that raised my husband, she was the one that filled Josh with all that he is. She was his Grandmother and the best Mom to him anyone could be. The sacrifices she give for Josh and her family were immeasurable.

I loved to talk with Sue. We could talk forever on the phone. I can still hear her say ‘It’s just me, I’m only gonna keep you a minute…’ Well, it very rarely was just a minute….LOL!!! I loved to spend time with her. Before Josh and I were even married we would go to concerts together. She took me to see Alan Jackson at UT one time. We got there and in line to go in and she couldn’t find one of the tickets. She dug and dug in her purse, with no luck. So luckily they had a handful of tickets left and she bought one more. Now mind you they were $50.00 seats. And once we got out to the car after the concert, Sue reached in for the keys and pulled out the lost ticket…lol….She had had it the whole time. But we decided that Alan Jackson was worth every penny spent.

The support and help she lent us was invaluable while Josh was laid off for six months and our Caleb was born 4 weeks early and had a NICU stay. She spend all night with Josh in Toledo Hospital the first night that they took him. All the while her mother was very sick back home. Caleb was born on Sunday night, and she would make trips to the NICU and to the Nursing Home. One Wednesday night after Josh and I, had just spent the day in the NICU, we stopped by to see Grandma Motter and Sue. Sue looked so tired that night.. We had no sooner got home until the phone rang. Grandma Motter had passed on. That week we buried Grandma Motter and brought home our now, healthy baby boy. Sue was so strong. What a strong person she was.

In 2000 I lost three grandparents with in three months time. I really took the loss of my Grandma Spurlock hard. While talking and crying one day with Sue, I told her ‘my Grandma Spurlock is gone and my Grandma Smith is so far away in SC“. I felt so much pain right then. I will never forget her words to me. “Shana, I will be your grandma, I love you“. From that day on, Sue was my Grandma, not just an in-law!!!

Later that same year I became pregnant with triplets. Wow!!! Three baby’s not even trying…lol…and we still had one in diapers. The news was overwhelming, but still a blessing. Until a few weeks later, I miscarried them. Sue was always the one who understood my loss the most. That year and every year after she would give to me an ornament with three angels on it. She never forgot my pain. And I believe she felt it right along with me.

So many wonderful memories I have of her, to many to list them all. But today, a year from her death, and Thanksgiving 2006, I have to say one of the greatest things I am thankful for today, is having had her in my life for the time I did.

We miss you Grandma!!!

Josh’s echo cardiogram was Monday morning.  The tech told us that Josh as a Congenital Heart Defect called Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease.  Which the best definition I could find was…

‘Bicuspid aortic valve disease is a congenital valve disease that affects the aortic valve. Instead of the normal three leaflets or cusps, the bicuspid aortic valve has only two’

We have an appointment scheduled with a cardiologist for Wednesday.  Please keep him in your prayers…I could use some too…

Caleb has been fighting eczema for quite awhile now, with little to NO relief!  We have tired COUNTLESS products.  Most all of them burn and irritate his skin upon applying them.  As a case of  “the cure is worse than the disease”.   With some products we have seen some improvement at first but then the eczema get worse again.  Some have been very expensive and do nothing at all to help.

So, I was thrilled when I saw the e-mail requesting for me to do a review for SkinFree products.

A Little About SkinFree Skincare:

*SkinFree products are 100% natural and were specifically formulated by pharmacist Julie Hilton.  She has over 30 years experience in pharmacy, compounding and natural skin care formulation.  She developed the products for people with extremely sensitive skin, allergies, or those with disease states which cause the skin to break down.

*SkinFree products have received a Toxicity Rating of  ‘0′ from the Environmental Working Group.  (Did you know that there is a national class action suit filed against MAJOR baby skincare manufactures for including toxic ingredients in there products?)  SkinFree products are safe to use on newborns to geriatrics.

* SkinFree soap has received the National Eczema Association’s Seal of Acceptance.

*Most lotions that we buy only contain 5% oil and the other 95% is water, additives, preservatives, and fragrance.  Super Moisture Body Balm is 100% rich butters and natural oils.  While looking at the ingredients of a national brand lotion the first one listed is WATER.  The back of the Super Moisture Body Balm from SkinFree is Olive Seed Oil.   I also read ALCOHOL and ISOPROPYL as ingredients.  NO WONDER CALEB’S SKIN WOULD BURN!!!  There is NO alcohol in the Body Balm.

Where to buy SkinFree skincare products:

Currently specific CVS/pharmacy stores on the east coast and in 2500 Walgreens stores and www.walgreens.com.

You can find the full line at www.skinfree.net and a broad selection at www.durgstore.com and www.cvs.com.

My Thoughts on the products that we used:

Niaouli Butter Stick — This has been great for my rough heels.  My feet feel great after I use it.

Lite Moisture for Blemish Prone Skin — LOVE IT!  I talk about it a bit in the video.

Watch the video below for my thoughts on the other products we used.

WIN A $30.00 Gift Certificte from SkinFree!!!

This one is simple…

Go to www.skinfree.net take a look around then come back and tell me about one item you would like to try, by leaving a comment on this post.

For extra entries:*Mention this giveaway on Twitter linking back to my blog (@my3wisemans)

**Mention this giveaway on Facebook linking back to my blog

***Blog about this contest linking back to my blog and skinfree.net

****Subscribe to my blog feed.  If you already are just mention it in the comments.

Just leave a separate comment for each one you do…

That gives you an opportunity for 5 different entries. GOOD LUCK!!!

Back in February I had the pleasure of offering a gift certificate giveaway for Tiny Prints.  I also was lucky enough to try out the site and some products for myself.  I was thrilled with the both!!!  The ordering process was very simple  and the products were printed on  high quality paper.

Tiny Prints product lines have become so diverse, and they have created several new official Facebook Pages which concentrate on specific product areas.  To get the word out about the new Facebook pages Tiny Prints is hosting an Open House Contest! If you want a chance to win one of twelve $50 gift certificates, become a fan of their Facebook pages (listed below) And once each page reaches 400 fans, they will be drawing 3 random fans’ names to receive gift certificates – for a total of 12 gift certificates all together!

The Facebook pages consist of:
Eco-Friendly Cards: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tiny-Prints-Eco-Friendly-Cards/775377…
Business Stationery: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Business-Stationery-Tiny-Prints/82405…
Holiday Cards: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Holiday-Photo-Cards-from-Tiny-Prints/…
Wedding Invitations: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wedding-Paper-Divas/20005774861

I am also lucky enough to offer you a chance to win a $50.oo gift certificate from Tiny Prints from here on my blog, follow these rules…

1:  Become a “fan”* of one or more of our Facebook pages listed above and post a comment on the “wall” containing a link to your favorite Tiny Prints or Wedding Paper Divas product.

2:  Come back here and leave a comment on this blog post telling me which page you became a fan of… (If you became a fan of all four leave a separate comment for each one.)

EXTRA ENTRIES…

*Mention this giveaway on Twitter linking back to my blog (@my3wisemans)

**Mention this giveaway on Facebook linking back to my blog

***Blog about this contest

That gives you an opportunity for 7 different entries.  GOOD LUCK!!!

This week Josh was on vacation and we went to Kalahari, an indoor water park resort.  We had a BLAST!  (Even though Josh was still sore from his accident and worried about his heart.)  We got to the resort around 11:oo am on Monday.  We were lucky and was able to check in to the room right away.  We ate some of the food that I had packed for us then got into our suites to head to the water park.  We played in there for awhile then decided to check out the rest of the resort.  We let the boy’s play in the arcade and Tree Top area.  We painted some pottery pieces.  Then we had dinner at one of the  restaurants in the resort.  The food was AMAZING!  Josh was really tired by this point so we headed back to the room to wind down for the night.  It was 8:30 by now and Andrew and Brayden were ready for bed too.  Well, I thought Brayden was ready for bed, but at 10:00 he was still up (while Josh and Andrew were sound asleep) so I took Caleb and Brayden down to the lobby and we got a sweet treat from the Candy Hut.  :o)

The next morning we got an early start and spent most of the day at the water park.  The Wave Pool and Cheetah Race were our favorite things.  But we also enjoyed the outside park and the Lazy River.  We had lunch outside where we ate pizza and chili cheese fries.  Also VERY good.  And played some more in the water.  For dinner we used a coupon that they gave us when we first check in.  We all shared a few appetizers this night.  Great food with a fun presentation.  I didn’t have my camera this time around and missed taking a picture of our smoking volcano in the middle of the plate and the pineapple top that had skews of shrimp and chicken strips stuck in it.  SO COOL!!!  By 9:00 pm this night we were all ready for bed.  :o)

Wednesday everyone but me sleep until after 9:00 am.  I was up and showered and packing up to leave when they started to wake up.  LOL!!!  We checked out and then went back to the water park.  We stayed there for about 2 hours and Andrew was crying while he was playing on the side, we decided it was time to wrap things up.  LOL!  We picked up our pottery, cashed in our tickets from the arcade and had a caricature of the boys done.  We got the van and drove one last time around the resort, which is HUGE!

We all had a great time and can’t seem to figure out how our time went so fast.  We are already talking about going back!!!!!

Here is a slide show of are trip…

I was just setting down in the living room to wait for Josh to come home.  I was pretty proud of myself with what I had accomplished during the day.  It was the first day of Summer vacation for the boys and I had taken ALL THREE to Wal-Mart and the grocery store.  I had done 4 loads of laundry, dishes, cleaned the bathroom, picked up the clutter downstairs and had dinner in the oven.  The boys were being good, playing video games and I was looking forward to Josh getting home.  Instead of the squeak of the Jeep, (a belt squeak always announces his arrival)  I hear the phone ring.  It was Josh’s cousin Denny, whom he works with, calling to tell me that Josh had been in an accident.

Josh had been stopped at the light behind a purple car.  The purple car moved and turned left and Josh followed.  Unfortunately the purple car had turned left on a RED light and in turn so did Josh.  A car hit Josh going about 55mph!

His Jeep is totaled.  He was taken to the hospital by EMS and treated and released.  He is VERY sore and stiff.  The sheriff, EMT, and doctors has all told us both how lucky he was to walk away from the accident.  We know that God was with Josh keeping him safe.

Wednesday our family Dr called us and told him that he needed to be seen in the office, one of his x-rays didn’t look good.  They were worried about his trachea, it looked as if it might be shifted.  WHAT?  They decided that his trachea must of been a bit off before the accident, just normal for him. But they were also concerned with the size of his heart.  After a repeat chest x-ray and both the PA and DR examining Josh we were told that his heart was enlarged and that he has a heart murmur.  (Nothing related to the wreck!)  They are concerned with it and are sending him to a specialist for further testing.

While in the ER I reminded Josh that everything happens for a reason.  I am convinced that the accident happened so we could find this issue with his heart.  I believe what the bible says, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God… Romans 8:28.

But I am only human and I am pretty stressed out about all of this!  Josh is my high school sweetheart and soul mate.  I have loved him since I was 15 years old!  I was so close to losing him Tuesday in the accident and now I have a fear of his heart.  Please keep him in your prayers as we continue though this journey.