Simply Mel(Formerly Mama Monoblogs)

Stop The Presses!

Be warned. This is another one of my random posts.

Be ready to be amazed. Shocked even! I have found a vegetable recipe that, get this, Mike actually likes. No, it's not April 1st and no I'm not making that up.'Tis true! My friend Sondre from Thirty Minutes Of Wonderful gave me this super easy recipe for Salt and Vinegar Asparagus. It's delicious.

Here's the recipe:

Salt and Vinegar Asparagus

Mix together in a baking dish : Bunch of Asparagus spears,  drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, dash of kosher salt, a small drizzle of vinegar.

Roast at 425 for 20 mins. They should b e crispy and golden when done.

Easy peasy!

Now for a prayer request:

Pat, the music leader of our church, lost her 7 year old nephew on Saturday to a tragic accident. Him, his 11 year old brother and friend were walking back home for the store on the side of the roade when JJ,the 7 yo was hit by a car. He died by the time the ambulance got him to the hospital. They still don't know why/ how he was hit by this car. The driver wasn't drunk. The driver stopped immediately. He, of course, will never be the same. Please pray for Pat and her family as they deal with this horrific loss. The funeral service is tomorrow. Also pray for Jason, the 11 yo old brother. He is suffering terrible guilt for feeling like he should have protected his brother. He told his mom all he say was his brother flying in the air. That's how quickly it happened. Pat was at church on Sunday but unable to play or lead the music. She had chosen all of the songs the Wednesday before the Saturday that the accident happened. One of the songs was "In Christ Alone". That song already really gets to me but when we started to sing it on Sunday it seemed so  perfect for the sad situation that I started to BAWL while playing it. I could barely see the music in front of me! There was a lot of crying on Sunday from everyone so I wasn't alone! Anyway, please keep this family in your prayers. I will be doing the music this coming Sunday too so Pat won't have to worry about it this week.

Now, on a lighter note, I've decided to post something fun I've seen a few people do on their blogs. I'm calling it " Funny/Weird Google Hits". Through  my sitemeter I've been able to see what key words on Google  have landed people on my blog. Some of them are pretty funny!

Here are a few recent ones:

"granny panties!"

Yes!! Someone was actually searching granny panties on Google! And sadly they were sent to my blog. Probably because I used that word in this embarassing post.

"Should Christian moms got to play dates"

SAD that this person has to ask!! What kinds of things have they been taught?

" neena nana nono"

What? Nanny nanny booboo? Eaney Meaney Miney Mo?

"mel the keeper pushed with everything she had"

I certainly did. And darn proud of it.

"my lower back aches awwww"

Awww,indeed! Try a chiropractor

"seet deems"

Sweet dreams in baby language??

And one of my favorites..

"preschool activities for tired moms"

When you find some by all means send them my way!!

And several searches for MckMama have landed people on my blog:

"against MckMama"

"dislike MckMama"

"blogger MckMama hate"

"MckMama fat wants money"

"MckMama affair husband"

There has been some drama/disgruntled-ness  going on with some readers of her blog and there are actually ANTI-MckMama blogs and forums now. Sad. I don't know if the people  searching with these words were looking for the sites just to read them or they wanted some fodder for MckMama bashing.

Those of you with blogs should definitely check your Google referrals to your blog ! It's fun. And please do share!

Updates and A Prayer Request

 

I've mentioned prayer requests on my blog a few times, most of them for people I'm only acquainted with through blogs. This time I would like to ask a prayer request for my in real life friend Kim and her husband Gregg. Gregg went into the hospital on the 10th of this month to have spinal surgery. Gregg has some severe back problems and has been living in pain for awhile now. What was supposed to be a 5  hour surgery turned into a 7 1/2 hour surgery. There were many complications and Gregg started bleeding. He bled 2 L of blood and had to have a blood transfusion. They ended up having to "make do" with screws and moving nerves around. Gregg is still in the hospital and in terrible pain. He still needs this surgery to be finished. Needless to say Kim is very upset, exhausted and worried. They have three small children at home. Please keep them in your prayers. I haven't heard back from Kim on what has progressed since around Thursday but I'll post some more news once I hear back from her.

Now for a couple of updates..

- My neurology appointment was moved up to this Friday, the 19th. I don't know if my neurologist will allow me to start driving this Friday or if he will, indeed, make me wait until the 27th. It would be sooo awesome if I could drive home from this appointment! My original appointment was supposed to be the 23rd but his secretary called me last week and said we had to change it. At first she wanted to change it to July 22!! I  told her that was fine as long as Dr. Ross didn't mind me driving before the appointment. So then she wanted to move it to the first week of July and said " That's only, like, a week and half later. Do you have some commitments or something that you need to drive for?" I replied " No, I just REALLY WANT TO START DRIVING AGAIN!!". So, she moved it to this Friday. If I have to wait until the 27th there's nothing  I can do about it but pray he allows me to start this Friday.

-I'm excited at the possibility that Katelyn may be able to start a Pre-K program this fall! My mother in law has a friend at church(Roberta) who teaches  at a small, private school called "The Faulkner School" close to where my in laws live. It's a very old school(one hundred years old or something like that. I could be exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea) and is run by a foundation that was set up for it many years ago. They have one preschool, one pre-k and one kindergarten class. Since the foundation covers the cost of the school and teachers, only a monthly donation of whatever you can afford is required for your child to go there. It has a huge waiting list and they don't want people registering their children there just for monetary reasons. Anyway, Roberta had heard that I wanted to send Katelyn somewhere but really couldn't afford a regular preschool so she spoke with her boss about us. We know Roberta well and she knows us well so she was very kind in trying to get an "in" for us. Her boss said there is a waiting list for the Fall but spots usually open up by the end of the summer so Katelyn would be the first one to be considered if a spot opened. Even though Katelyn is on the younger end for Pre-K she would be allowed to do two years of Pre-K or two years of Kindergarten there.(I can't believe we were actually discussing KINDERGARTEN plans for Katelyn already!! AH!!) Anyway, her hours would be TWTH 11:00-2:30. Roberta told me what their day is like and it sounds wonderful. It's very structured with a little bit of free play. Katelyn gets plenty of free play so I am all about the structure. I am praying that there will be a spot for her. I know my mother in law is excited about the possibility too. She has even mentioned that I could drop Katelyn off and they would pick her up. I think this would be a WONDERFUL experience for Katelyn. She would have somewhere to expend her mental, physical and vocal energy!! lol Knowing her, she would cry on the days she didn't get to go to school! I'm praying that everything will work out for her to be able to go to this school.

So, there's my update post! Please keep these things in your prayers if you can.

Wearing Orange For Stellan Day

5 month old baby Stellan of the MckMama/MckFamily fame, is having  heart ablation surgery this morning, as I type this,at  Children's Hospital Of Boston. Please keep them in your prayers as this is a very risky procedure for an infant. In honor of Stellan many of MckMama's blog stalker wolverines have decided to wear orange(this being MckMama's favorite color). One of MckMama's friends is posting the pictures of readers in orange on her(MckMama's) blog as we send them in. This is the picture I sent in this morning.

Katelyn doesn't look too thrilled because she did not want to wear those pants this morning and was in a bad mood. But that story is for another day. Today we're going to focus on praying for Stellan. If you want to read updates and Jennifer/MckMama's twitter tweets go to her blog.

Oh, and if you have a little more time on your hands check out this awesome picture she posted in one of her recent posts. I thought this was sooooo neat!! Boston has redeemed itself a little  in my opinion because of that. *wink*

Anyone else wearing orange for Stellan today?

 

Please Pray For MckMama

I'm sure many of you have either seen my "Not Me Monday" posts hosted by MckMama at "My Charming Kids" or seen her name here and there on my blog. She's one of my favorite bloggers and her blog and story have touched the lives of thousands of readers. Her 4 month old, miracle son, Stellan, is back in the hospital with a dangerously high heart rate and is showing signs of the same heartcondition he had in the womb.MckMama has been in the hospital since last night with him and, of

course,is very worried. She has been posting updates on her blog and on Twitter(which also shows up on the sidebar of her blog).

Although I don't know her personally, I have been blessed through her faith, her blog and her family. Please pray for Stellan and his family throughout the day.

Please Pray for MckMama!

Many of you have seen this button on the left of my blog-

   

I have been reading her blog for a few months now and I love her!She is pregnant with her 4th baby who has a serious heart condition and an enlarged heart. She is giving birth to baby Stellan tomorrow via c-section 4 weeks early. She was told 13 weeks ago that he would not make it past a few more weeks and God has brought him this far. He has miraculously been doing well in utero but the doctors are not sure how he will do after birth. She has a huge following and tons of people are praying for a healthy and safe delivery tomorrow. If you think about it, please keep her in your prayers. MckMama and baby Stellan have had a huge impact on many lives through her blog and her testimony during her trials. I know I don't know her personally, but feel as if I do. You can check out her blog and her story at www.mycharmingkids.net

 

Thanks!