Update on my dad

Well my dad made it through the surgery ok. They went in and found two blockages on the left side of his heart and therefor put in some stints to help open the blood flow. There was also some blockage on the right side of his heart but they can't do both sides at once. So, they are going to have him come back in for out patient surgery on Friday and get the right side fixed with a stint as well.

They said everything went well but they did say that he had arrested once on the table while in surgery. The Dr. sort of down played it and said that is common when you start messing with the heart but the thought of my dad having to have those paddles on his chest just breaks my heart! It also concerns me that this happened and now he has to have it done again on Friday.

Please pray that God will watch over him and keep him safe on Friday. It may be routine to the Dr. but I typically like my dad with a heartbeat!

Sucky Weekend!

All though the title of this blog eludes to nothing positive I will admit that the whole weekend was not terrible. Stephanie had 6 little girls over on Friday night after school to come celebrate being done with CRCT testing at school last week. They had a great time and it really was fun to have 7, 13 year old girls running around, laughing, screaming, giggling and eating their way through the night! No one went to bed until 4 in the morning....except for me, I was in bed by 11. So tired, I was able to tune out the girls and get some Zzzzzz's!

Saturday seemed pretty un-eventful in the morning. Sleepy girls, not moving very quickly, just your normal lazy Saturday morning. All the girls were supposed to get picked up on Saturday around 10am to go home for the day. Around 9:30 Ethan decided that he would start getting the mowing done while the day was still cool and since we still had 7 girls running around...he really didn't want to be in the house. After mowing a little bit Ethan got thirsty and wanted to go inside to get a drink. He came back out to mow some more and felt a sting on his foot. I guess he didn't think too much of it but about 15 seconds later his foot started throbbing with pain. He threw his shoe off to look at his foot and say two very distinct bite marks......snake bite! Jason tried to go find the snake to see what kind it was but that snake was GONE! I called 9-1-1 to find out what I was supposed to do for him. They sent out a First Responder who was not very helpful and just called an ambulance. The EMT's said they couldn't do anything for him but said he had to go to the hospital to be observed. So while we were getting Ethan out of the house and into the ambulance, girls moms are showing up to pick up their daughters....what a scene! Ethan got his first ride in an ambulance and after 5 hours in the ER we got to come back home. Thankfully Ethan never had any kind of reaction to the bite and the Dr's think it was either a bite without venom or very little venom. Seriously praising God for his divine protection, as things could have been so much worse.


















After that exciting day in the hospital I was ready to just come home and spend some time with Jason! We went to bed at a decent time when all of a sudden we heard my cell phone ringing and it was 12:30 at night. Knowing that sometimes people dial wrong numbers I was not worried about missing the phone call. After that ring my house phone started ringing. You know it's never a good sign when someone is trying to get a hold of you at 12:30 in the morning! Come to find out, my mom was taking my dad to the hospital to have him checked out because he was having chest and arm pain. They determined that he had a mild heart attack and admitted him to be checked out by a cardiologist. It has been a crappy weekend. My emotions are at the limit and now Jason is back in SC! Please pray for us this week! Pray that the surgeons hands will be guided by God and that they will know the best plan of action. During the Angiogram today they will either then perform a angioplasty or bypass surgery if needed. I know that God is in control but I love my dad and hate being so far away from him right now!

Another Lexi Post

I swear the other kids do funny things to share about on here too, but right now it's all about Lexi! Lexi just taught herself how to ride a big girl two wheeler! She was so proud, we had to get the neighbor to take off the training wheels since daddy has all his tools up in Greenville! Check her out....we're still working on turns! :-)

6 going on 16

I told Lexi we had to run a few errands today. I told her to brush her hair, wash her face, and get a clean shirt on because the one she on did not really match. I was finishing up getting ready when Nicholas walked into the bathroom and said, "Lexi is getting fixed up to go with us." Fixed up I asked? Lexi said, yeah like this and walked into my room like this:

Blonde moment

I was talking on the phone with my sister this morning while also walking around the house tiding things up. I found a home phone on the floor in my room and noticed that the battery was low so I wanted to get it put back on the charger. When I went to put the phone on the charger, I noticed that the display screen read, "line in use". I thought to myself, "Oh no, we have a phone off the hook somewhere." I went to the kitchen counter to find the phone I had left there to see if I had left it off the hook and couldn't find it. I asked the kids if they knew where a phone was.....just then it dawned on me. I was ON THE PHONE talking to my sister. Duh, of course there is a line in use! So much for multi tasking! haha!

The Last Lecture

Just wanted to take a minute and share a story that inspired me. Last night, when I could have been sleeping I got pulled into a TV program I don't usually watch. A Diane Sawyer special highlighting the life of one man named Randy Pausch. Randy Pausch is a 47 year old man who has been married for a short 7 years to his wife Jai, they have 3 beautiful children and were living life when one day Randy found out he had Pancreatic Cancer. Pancreatic Cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer and being such, he was given only 6 months to live.

Being a University professor he got up in front of his students, colleagues, and friends to give his "Last Lecture". A friend taped the lecture for someone who could not be there and then posted it on You Tube and since then many have been inspired. I have not watched the whole lecture yet, only clips that were showed on the TV program last night but this guys outlook on living life is what is inspiring. It was just a reminder how short and fragile life really is.

Nothing is guaranteed in this except of course for death and taxes. Of course we all know we will die someday but if left with only 6 months to live....would have to courage to live life to the fullest like Randy Pausch or would I spend the rest of my days angry with God and resentful for not getting to live a full life?! Deep thoughts! I don't know.......just thought you might want to check out his book or video posted on You Tube.

Sometimes we all need a reminder of how precious life is and to not take things for granted....even the bad days when the kids aren't acting perfect or the car won't start, or the money isn't there to pay the bills. The most important thing to remember is to cherish the time you have on this earth and always LOVE the ones that are close to you with all your heart!

My coffee maker has ears!

I am an avid morning coffee drinker! I have got to have my coffee or the day just doesn't start right! Mornings and coffee go hand in hand, that's just the way it is. Back in January my old coffee pot started dieing, this was a really bad thing because I HAD to have my coffee in the morning.
So, I went to the local Wally World and bought myself a very nice new coffee maker. Mornings were great for about 2 months and then my new coffee pot started being uncooperative. What used to take my pot about 3 minutes to brew was now taking 45 minutes. There is nothing worse than not having coffee in the morning, other than to be "teased" for 45 minutes waiting for the coffee to be done.....TORTURE!!
I tried calling Mr. Coffee but every time I finally got around to calling, it was always after hours. I stopped having my morning coffee or I would make 12 cups just to warm up a cup a day, so as to not have to wait the next morning to get my next cup of brew! I started checking Wal-Mart again to see if I could buy a new pot and then take this old one back. Not to be deceitful but because I don't have the receipt nor the box so how could I exchange it.
Finally I called Mr. Coffee yesterday morning. I was fed up with having to wait for my coffee and dang it, I just bought this 3 months ago, I expect my new coffee maker to last longer than 3 months! I explained to the guy how my pot took HOURS to brew when it should take minutes. I also explained that I had no proof of my purchase and wondered if there was anything he could do to help me. The guy was SOOOOO nice and told me they would send me out a new coffee maker at no charge! Yippee! I was so excited I decided to make myself some coffee.
I kid you not, that coffee maker heard that I was getting ready to replace it and brewed me a nice 8 cups of coffee in minutes. This morning, I decided to make some coffee again, guess what? Minutes to a nice pot of coffee! What the heck?
I swear my coffee maker has ears, and it's scared of going to the dump!

My name is Bekah Granstrom and I'm an addict.....

....No I'm not an alcoholic, I'm addicted to Reality T.V. I try not to be, but really I can't deny it. My husband is gone during the week so once the kids are in bed, what am I left to do but to watch the T.V? I know I could be doing laundry, cleaning my closet, mopping, getting things ready for school the next day, but none of that is fun! Reality T.V. though, that is fun! :-) Here for your viewing pleasure and so that I can try to get a handle on my addiction, are all the reality shows I tune into regularly and my reason/excuse! :-)
Rock of Love 2 with Brett Michaels
~Yes, I have to admit, I was once a big Poison fan! Big hair bands rocked back then! I came home from school and ran straight to the MTV channel (you know before reality T.V. when MTV actually played music videos). I would watch the countdown every day to see who was still on top, was it Poison with their song, "Nothing But A Good Time" or was it Def Leppard with "Pour Some Sugar On Me". Oh yeah, those were the days....so naturally I had to check out this reality show to find out if Brett Michaels will ever find true love!
Survivor
~I think this show has just become a habit....I started watching it years ago and so every season it comes on, I have to watch again. I always think my husband would do well on this show....I, on the other hand, would not survive. I would be like the Kathy of this season, having a mental breakdown and crying to be taken off the island. Fun to watch, but could never be that last Survivor.
The Bachelor
~Come on...the quest for true love.....ok, so maybe it's not really true love but the drama is great! Hehehe! I don't know, I get sucked in. Hoping that maybe this one couple will fall madly in love and stay together forever. Totally romantic! It worked for Trista and Ryan!
High School Reunion

~This is the first season I have watched this reality T.V. show (thanks Seanna). It is supposed to be a High School reunion for people who in their 40's. I don't know how they find these people. I mean there are like all these people and they seem to have kept in touch and all this drama and relationships. Marriage, divorce....just drama! Very intriguing.

Scott Bao is 46 and Pregnant

~Once again I had to tune into this show because back in the day....who didn't love Chachi on Happy Days? And what about Charles in Charge? I mean Scott Bao was in every Teen Beat magazine out there! Interesting show....Scott Bao is nothing like the innocent Chachi or Charles on the T.V. shows we remember. The man seriously needs help, but that's what makes it a good show, right?

The Hills

~This is another show I have just started watching. Seriously, I have only watched 2 episodes, but two of my friends were so excited about the new season starting, I figured I had to check it out. I'm still not sure what I think about this show but really.....what else do I have to do at 10pm at night. Sleep?

Beauty and The Geek

~Ok, this is the end of my list. I don't know why I watch it. The beauties are very shallow but beautiful of course. The geeks are like the nerdiest out there and of course brilliant! My favorite part of the show is when they do the geek makeovers. Ok, now I sound shallow. The point of the show is pretty wholesome, get people to look beyond appearances to see that everyone is really the same on the inside. We all have fears, insecurities, and feelings, you know? Not near as much drama but decent show.

So that concludes my list of reality T.V shows that I watch. Pathetic huh? You know the good thing about reality T.V? It makes you feel so much better about your own life! Ha-ha!

Life without the internet

Running some errands today, my son and I had the following conversation.......

Ethan: Can you imagine a day without the internet?
Me: Yeah, Ethan I can. The internet was not really around until I was in High School.
Ethan: You mean there was no Google either?
Me: Nope, no Google yet....imagine!
Ethan: How did you find stuff out?
Me: We made phone calls and looked things up in books.
Ethan: Wow!

As much as I might look like I'm still in my 20's, in Ethan's eyes, I must have lived with the dinosaurs! Ha-ha

I've had nothing to write about

I'm stuck in a bloggers lull! I spend about 30 minutes every day just wondering around blogs, checking in on my "friends" and seeing what great stories they have posted lately. I don't know if I am looking for inspiration or what but I just have nothing to write about! Life has pretty much been life, you know?
This past weekend was crazy busy because Stephie had her big show choir performance. They did a two night dinner theatre so we went one night and then our friends went the other night. We did this so that we could swap free baby-sitting with one another. It was really good and the kids worked so hard and did so well.....it just kind of sucks when your 2 weekend nights are taken though.
Jason was home this weekend so that was GREAT! He had some tinkering to do on the cars though, so he spent all weekend working on cars while I spent time running around like a crazy person. After Stephie's first dinner theatre on Friday night, she came home with sore and bleeding feet. Seriously, her feet looked like something you see when they do those dancer documentaries or something. Her shoes were just waaaaaay to small! So, being the good mom that I am :-), Saturday was spent running into Savannah to the shoe store to get her some new shoes. Not to mention running to the meat market, getting everyone lunch, and bringing Stephie's friend over so that they could get ready together and do each others hair!
We did not even attempt to go to church Sunday, which I'm sure sounds awful but J and I were just too tired! I made a really nice dinner Sunday night and Jason got to take the leftovers to S.C with him. :-)
Monday morning Jason meant to get up and leave around 4 in the morning but he over slept. He got to S.C at 10am but that is ok. Nicholas and Ethan had dentist appointments yesterday and then of course we did school.
See, nothing very exciting....just life! But I will admit, it is a life I love and am proud to be a part of!
Have a great week!