UPDATE on Steph

Just an update. Steph's surgery went well. She is home recovering. I just went by to give her a kiss and drop off JD's medicine from earlier this morning. He is home sleeping. He and KK walked every square inch of our yard and He was pooped!!! He even picked all the flowers (weeds) for his mommy!!

Thanks for your prayers.

Prayers for Steph and Baby V

Log on to The Van Fam for Steph's post but she is about to go in to surgery in just a few minutes. Please pray for the Precious Lord to wrap His arms around both she and the precious little one growing inside her. I trust and know she will be fine!

PaTim and I had the privilege of having JD spend the night with us so Steph could go home last night and get a good night's rest and they had to leave the house at 6 this morning. I love the precious time with JD. As everyone was going to bed last night you go through the ritual of "JD kisses" which consists of a regular kiss on the lips with sound and all! Next comes eskimo kisses then of course you end with butterfly kisses. First one eye then he say's, "oder one". So both eyes kissed! Everyone gone to bed, just JD and I cuddled on the couch watching The Lion King when he finally said, "KK, I sleepy." So I took him up to his bed in Matt's room, hugged on him bunches, prayed with him and laid him down with all his sleepies...Mickey House, Bear, Bear blanket and regular blanket. He even took hostage my new neck pillow which he cuddled up with. I told him when woke up in the morning, just call KK and she would come get him. Then I leaned over kissed him and said, "I love you JD." With his precious and sweet little voice, he looked up at me and said, "I wuv you KK." Oh, I melt every time.

This morning as PaTim was finishing up getting ready I heard, "KK. KK." I opened the door to find the most precious little face with the biggest smile on his face waiting for his KK......holding in his arms everything in his bed!!! I'm thrilled to be able to work from home today and take care of my little man.

Thanks for your prayers for his sweet mama and my precious Sweet Pea!!!

Grandchildren - What Incredible Gifts!

JD is the MAN! What a precious grandchild God has blessed Papa Tim and I with. He makes me laugh my head off all the time. At 2 years 3 months he is a talker. Oh, but I love the conversations. How precious. I love each and every second that I get to spend with that precious little fellow! He indeed thinks his KK is awesome! Feelings mutual Little Man! He hasn't been feeling good the last week and went to the doctor this morning. You got to check out the stickers from the doctor's office. Look at that face. Is he cool or what? And do you think he knows it?!?!?!

Speaking of grandchildren and doctors, surely you caught on my post about the wreck that I have a grandchild on the way. Sweet Steph is 12 1/2 weeks pregnant with grandchild #2. Praying like crazy that she gets a little girl. SHE NEEDS a little girl. She was the girliest of all girls growing up and she needs that. BUT, we'll take whatever healthy little one the Lord sees fit to grace us with! Especially after Steph having a miscarriage! We are just grateful each and every day for the precious life growing inside that darlin' Steph. Here are pics at 12 1/2 weeks of Baby V as Steph calls her. Actually the doctor said today if she was to guess VERY EARLY she would say boy. Jimmy is already picking out boy names. I'm thinking I want to wait until next ultrasound (anatomy scan) in 6 weeks (June 8th) to find out for sure!! I can't make heads or tails out of these pics but I still love to look and praise God for our next grandchild - girl or boy - doesn't matter. I love that precious life already!!!!!!!

Several have asked about Stephanie. Here is her blog page to keep up with her and her sweet family........................The Van Fam

Also, I pasted in a portion from Steph's email today she sent when sending her pics! Please keep her in your prayers!

I had my second pre-natal visit today. Things are looking good and I am all set for my surgery on Monday. I'm a little nervous but I'm sure everything will go fine. My due date is still set for Nov. 4th and the baby looks good. Dr. Sinacori did say as of right now my placenta is too low. If it doesn't move up (which is usally does) then I will need a c-section. Too soon to tell or worry about that. This will however make Monday's procedure a bit more riskier b/c this means the cervix is much closer to the placenta. She's aware of it though so I'm sure things will be fne. I'm trying not to stress too much about that right now. But a few extra prayers couldn't hurt...

What a Weekend!

Here is it Thursday and I am just now blogging about last weekend. I think maybe it was a little need of rest from such a full and FUN weekend. And, coming back to work and the mountain that always grows while I am away. Also, yesterday was Dustin's 19th birthday so we were busy eating at the NEW Los Cucos by our house. Anyway. Happy B-day again Dustin.

OK, my friend Kelly at Girl on a Mission wanted to know how the weekend went. First of all let me just get out the way that NO I was not happy at the outcome. I respect Jeff Gordon as a driver. He is a good driver. He was mentored by one of the greatest drivers of all time (which I grew up loving - BIG E!) and I also think it was very honorable of Mr. G to fly the #3 Dale Earnhardt flag in honor of tying Big E's wins! I just don't CARE for Mr. G. Enough said.

We had a lot of fun with Rick and Tanya (corporate doctor and his girlfriend) in Phoenix. Got to hit two on my favorite spots there. We usually stay in Old Town Scottsdale when we go and there is a place there - Itallian Grotto. Yummy!!! And the manager there remembers us (well he really remembers Tim - funny story) so he took very good care of us that night. The other place is RA Sushi. Love it. Love it. We now have one in Houston so Tim, I, Rick and Tanya hit it often. Still love to go there in Phoenix since that is where we discovered it. Didn't stay long....we went on a Friday night right in Tempe where ASU is. We walk in to a VERY LOUD (thought maybe I was just getting old but even Tanya (26) said it was) sushi bar filled with VERY YOUNG adults!!! We ended up at Sushi Brokers in Scottsdale.......good choice! Then we hit the huge 30 person hot tub at our hotel. Very nice relaxing way to end the evening.

Saturday was race day! As soon as we get the pics off Tim's camera I'll post a few. My camera drowned at our cook-off in March when the storm came through. BUT, here is one that Tim and I had taken in front of June Bug's car! I didn't know the guy was shooting so I'm talking away (using my hand as well)! We got pit passes and all and really had fun at the race. Afterwards, in a bad mood, then had to fight 2 1/2 hours of traffic to get out. NEVER, in all the races we have gone to have we ever had to fight that much. Bummer.

Over all, great weekend. Tim and I enjoyed our time together and finally decided after sleeping in probably one of the most comfortable beds EVER, to buy us a new LUXURY king size mattress!!! After returning from Phoenix and waking up two mornings in a row with ACHING backs we did it. Ahhhh. Last night slept like a queen and king!

AND even though he finished 19th I still think.........................

Headed to Phoenix

Well, Tim and I are off to the races in Phoenix (Phoenix International Raceway - PIR)!!!!!!

I am so excited for another long weekend with my Bestest Friend. We have both looked so forward to this weekend and know we will have a blast. We are going with some friends (our company doctor and his girlfriend) so that will be fun. The place we are staying at has a spa so I'm thinking while Tim and Rick are working for a few hours tomorrow Tanya and I are going to have to have massages and have a little pampering done!!!!

The PIR Spring race is a night race so Saturday night we'll be screaming for Junior to win. He usually runs quite well at Phoenix. As a matter of fact, the first PIR race we went to Junior did win!!! I was a happy woman!
So, hope you all enjoy your weekend! You won't hear from me until next week - I assure you I will be enjoying mine!!!!

Go Junior!!!!!!!

Back in Time....

Yesterday was a day I'll treasure forever. I got to go back in time and enjoy Stephanie at 8 years old and Shannon at 18 months again. Sunday when I picked Matt up, Mike gave me a cassette tape that he had found in cleaning. He said it was Stephanie when she was younger singing.

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Yesterday when I got in the car to take Matt to sitters for school we decided to put it in and listen to it. It was absolutely precious and I laughed and cried all the way to work (1 hour drive).

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You see, Stephanie Lynn Bankard (now Vandagriff) was born an entertainer. She was singing and performing for Mike and I from the time she could stand. She would make the hearth of the fireplace her stage and constantly performed. She even put on plays with the neighborhood kids at Christmas and Easter giving us parents the pictures of the Nativity and how everyone would have felt at the death of Christ. Performer. Director. Cheerleader. That was Steph wrapped up!!!

This tape started off with her, obviously teaching school, having her students do the pledge. I'm talking ...."ok, class, let's stand for the pledge. Hand over your heart and face the flag..." She did leave half the pledge out but how precious. She went on the give the students birthdays for the day and directed her class to keep their eyes on the teacher and follow her direction. Next she goes in to telling her class to be ILAC (with such enthusiasm in her voice) and went on to explain, "I AM LOVABLE AND CAPABLE!" She obviously was also born the cheerleader that she later became and excelled at.

Anyway, for an hour I listened to my precious 23 year old become 8 again and listened to her sing her heart out (bless her heart - she knew the words but God just didn't think Steph needed the beautiful voice), teach her students to be ILAC, fuss at her baby sister, Shan, and play with her childhood friends (one particular she is still extremely close to...Miss Ashley Meyer). It was an hour I'll treasure for years.

I called her during the day and shared some of it with her and she couldn't wait for me to get home so she could come over and listen to it. I thought about it all day.....that child was precious. She was so talented and gifted. I listened to the tape again all the way home and it was only a few minutes after I arrived that she and my little man, JD were over. We set up an old stereo in the kitchen (one that still had a cassette player) and we all listened to Stephanie entertain us. I then loved watching her face as she went back in time. It was another moment that was precious.
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We had such a blast and all laughed. Steph felt bad at how much she fussed at Shan because today, those two have the most precious sister relationship. I only have two brothers so it has been such a joy for me to watch two sisters relate. They have been there for each other through many tough times and I know they treasure each other more than I realize. Praise God!
One last note. Even today, my precious Stephanie is still quite the entertainer. She is so full of life and loves to laugh. She is so much fun to hang with and I still treasure all the entertainment!!!!!!!!!!
Stephanie Lynn Vandagriff, thank you for being such a gift in my life. I love you with all my heart!!!!!!!

AND EVERYONE ELSE REMEMBER - ILAC - I AM LOVABLE AND CAPABLE!!!!!!!

The Day of My Birth

Well, today I turn 44 years old. On one hand I'm thinking to myself that I am getting old. On the other, I feel young, I am in love with my Soul Mate, and I pray God gives me 44 more years!!!

This is what he gave me for my birthday. We both are Irish and love things that reflect our Irish heritage. We have even both dreamed of visiting Ireland someday, hopefully soon. This bracelet speaks of us better than anything. It is what we call each other all the time. The Gaelic language - Mo Anam Cara - meaning My Soul Mate. Of course I bawled when I opened it. Tim has given me incredible pieces of jewelry since we have been together....my beautiful engagement ring which he picked out himself and of course that wedding band that bonds us for life!!!!!! First Christmas we were together he gave me a beautiful diamond heart necklace which he said was him giving me his heart. Next Christmas the Past, Present and Future Diamond Necklace. He even had me open three seperate boxes first which he wrote some incredible words describing our past. Our present. Our future. I loved them both so much that I combined the two penants on to one necklace which I never take off. He has given me incredible pieces of turquoise which I love. Now this...a beautiful bracelet that says My Soul Mate. Thank You Baby. You are TOO good to me! I love you!!!!!

My cup indeed runneth over and over!