Bear

For those of you who don't know our family very well, meet Bear - Our first pet - rescued from

the animal shelter summer 2006.

Sunday night, we noticed Bear acting unusual and his stomach was very hard. Due to it being late and on a weekend, Casey had to take him to the emergency clinic for x-rays and tests. We were told that Bear had a bowel obstruction and would need surgery. The estimated cost was so high we were faced with the decision to pay or put him down. It was an agonizing night and morning knowing Bear is only 7 years old and in good health and should be better within days if we did the surgery soon enough. We simply couldn't afford it.

This situation is all too familiar - Christopher's intussusception was this exact week last year. This felt like a cruel and unfair joke. The decision was impossible. We decided to go to our vet and try to get a lower estimate. Our vet did a consultation for free, but it turns out she doesn't do bowel surgeries. Thanks to a sweet, sweet friend with veterinarian connections, we were directed to a vet who might be able to help us. 3rd vet in 1 day! 'Dr. A' did an examination and told us he felt like it was a simple, non-surgical fix. We were so relieved! Unfortunately, he called us back after a re-examination and said Bear would still need surgery. Thankfully, his estimate was 1/3 the cost of the emergency clinic.

It seems like a simple obstruction. We decided for surgery. We feel good about our decision. It's so frustrating to experience this right now...in so, so many ways. So please pray for us:

Prayers that Bear's surgery will go well tomorrow

Prayers for that I can handle it all while Casey's out of town

Prayers that we can be at peace

Prayers for our finances

Prayers for everything

Something extremely odd:

Christopher's surgeon last year was Dr. Adkins

Bear's vet/surgeon is Dr. Atkinson
Our house showed tonight for the first time. The realtor? Katie Atkinson.

<>< Stacy

"I'm a big kid now!"

I have to take a moment to brag on my little baby boy. We decided to transition Christopher from crib to toddler bed at the beginning of the year - 18 months old - and he is doing SO well! Even at naptime he will stay in his bed without many issues. At first, we had a few nights when I would walk by and find him in his room "vacuuming" with his toy vacuum. He would look at me, smile, and run back to bed. It was so incredibly cute I could hardly keep from laughing and smiling. :) Now that we have a good routine in place (brush teeth, read/cuddle, pray, tuck-in with Scout), we rarely have any issues. No tears either! It wasn't nearly this easy with Michael. I figured he would do better since he has big brother in the room, but he even does fine on the nights when Michael isn't going to bed at the same time.

He's such a little sweetie. Although he is usually on-the-go all the time, I got a lot of unexpected cuddling in this weekend! I love my boys!

{ <>< } Stacy

Giving Back

I wasn't expecting to be home with my sick little boy today, but I was able to complete a few things that just kept getting pushed aside in order to keep things running here on my own. I had plenty of time to design a flyer for our February toy drive!

I am excited to announce that we will be collecting new books and toys throughout the month of February in celebration of 1 year since Christopher fought for his life. The books and toys collected will be donated to Happy Wheels, an organization that gives books and toys to each patient at the children's hospital on Mondays. Knowing the Happy Wheels cart was coming made each Monday a little bit brighter when we spent 33 days in the hospital.

I am hoping this toy drive will help me focus on 'giving back' during February. We had support from so many people at church, family, work, within the hospital, and even strangers praying last year. There is no way we could ever give enough thanks for the support we had. Through this toy drive, we will give back to an organization that is continuously supporting children and families in the hospital that are currently enduring challenging circumstances.

I can remember each and every terrifying moment when Christopher was admitted to the hospital, had surgery, and was on a ventilator for 9 days. I am praying February will be a positive month in which I can reflect on God's grace, love, and blessings in our life rather than re-living the painful emotions we experienced last year.

Please help us by contributing to our donation! Even 1 small book, toy, or $5.00 helps! If you prefer, you can make a financial donation and we will purchase toys at the end of February. We have already received toys from a few friends that have followed our story.

<>< Stacy

Couponing Blurb

I haven't been couponing very effectively the last couple of months (well, we really haven't even shopped much!) Yesterday I got some good shopping in while waiting for Christopher's medicine at the Publix pharmacy (free oral antibiotics at Publix).

19.99 Huggies 82 count diapers

2.99 Huggies wipes package

3.99 Viva Napkins "on the go" (in a box like tissues)

5.59 Health and Beauty purchase

- 3.00 Publix Huggies coupon

- 3.00 Manufacturer Huggies coupon

- 2.99 Free wipes if you buy Huggies diapers

- 3.49 Free Viva napkins on the go if you buy Huggies diapers

- 3.00 Health and Beauty Publix coupon

- 2.00 Health and Beauty manufacturer coupon

Total Spent: 17.36

Total Saved: 17.48

Not bad since that included diapers! Also, I did this transaction twice so I got 2 of everything!

To sweeten this deal further, I am using the diapers, wipes, and napkins UPCs (Kimberly Clark products) to get a mail-in $10 rebate for purchasing $20 KC product + Cars 2 (which my mom got the boys for Christmas).

Not bad, Not bad at all! :)

<>< Stacy

Every Road

The blog is dusty again!! I can't think of a better way to get it going again than with the words of this song as a prayer to God. I was touched by this song as I played it on Sunday.

Every Road
Lord, I give You every road. Guide my steps and take control;
Til this journey leads me home, Lord, I give You every road.

Lord I give You all my past. Find me holding nothing back;
Cleanse me, make me free at last, Lord I give You all my past.

Lord, I give You every storm. When my spirit's weak and worn;
Give me grace to trust You more, Lord, I give you every storm.

Lord, I give You all I am. All my dreams and all my plans;
Now I place them in Your hands, Lord I give You all I am.

'Til this journey leads me home,
Lord, I give You every road.


**** You can hear the full recording here http://www.jwpepper.com/10095813.item

My family has seen many storms and made many plans, but I am praying now and giving every road to God. May his will be done in our lives always.

<>< Stacy

BIG changes for the Wiley family

First of all, congratulations to my hard working husband on his new position at the USC School of Medicine Greenville campus! This Friday will be his last day at USC Columbia. He will be moving in with family in Spartanburg to begin his new position on Monday.

I, on the the other hand, will be staying behind to complete the rest of this school year in Columbia. The kids will stay with me [so if you see me looking all frazzled, I'm just super busy on my own!]. We will be spend weekends cleaning and packing some things for a storage facility in Spartanburg so we can put the house up for sale as quickly as possible. In June, when school is out, the kids and I will come up to Spartanburg as well. Until then, pray that I can maintain my sanity!

I am extremely excited because next year I will be able to be a SAHM! Casey and I have prayed and prayed for an opportunity for me to stay home with the boys. After all we went through with Christopher earlier this year, I have wanted to stay home even more. Next year, I will finally get that opportunity! I will be staying home with the kids and doing a little bit of teaching private violin lessons. I am BEYOND excited! Praise God for opening this door in my life!

I have developed many very dear friendships in Columbia and will be leaving a fantastic church family that cared for us in the worst of circumstances. I will also greatly miss the 100+ students that smile in my class everyday. But God is in control of every moment and I am excited about the next chapter in our lives.

So watch out Spartanburg, here we come!

Stacy { <>< }

Planning...

So it is obvious based on my posting #'s month by month that I am NOT posting enough on the blog. I will try to think of a clever way to post more often next year when I am a SAHM! More details to come soon :)