Excerpts from Tekia's Diary

Or her diarrhea, as Hunter calls it. Yes, Kia has a diary now (a sparkly pink one, of course) and she's given me permission to share some of her thoughts. Each of these is an entire diary entry. About every twenty pages or so, there will be one or two lines of writing and sometimes a picture, too. There are several pictures, including tracings of her hand and foot. She's a woman of few words (on paper, that is!). Let's see what goes on in the mind of a 6-year-old girl...

"I have a pride afit"

translation: I have a pretty outfit.

"Me and Rumi have a nalis it ses fred frevr."

translation: Me and Rumi have a necklace. It says "Friends Forever."

"We are in the car."

"Avre got a Fath like me."

translation: Avery got a Faith (bear) like me.

"I got a pixel chix."

"Sackre got a hepstr."

translation: Zachary got a hampster.

"Pa Pa is sick."

"Rumi licks a boy."

translation: Rumi likes a boy.

"I love Pa Pa. I got waht I wnted baby alive bick."

translation: I love Paw Paw. I got what I wanted - Baby Alive and a bike.

"I like Callie. She is my best frend." (added later in a different color) "and Rumi is too"

Avery faces

In addition to saying, "What up, dog?" and "Peace out, homey", Avery's becoming quite the little actress. Here are some of her latest tricks...

mad

happy
surprised
scared

Update on Paw Paw

Not a whole lot to report, but I just wanted to let everyone know that Paw Paw continues to improve. He's mainly just been resting at home except for a couple hours he spent in the office today; he says he plans on going back to the office for a few hours tomorrow!

And for those of you keeping up with Carthel...my spoiled little fish is eating like a pig (there's a funny sentence) now that he's back in his regular bowl. For now, his office is sitting on the kitchen table right beside his bowl. I don't know what we're going to do with him.

Why people are scared to come to our house

Paw Paw & Carthel both improving

Paw Paw's finally HOME! And tired. So let's pray that he'll get lots of rest and fully recovers quickly!

And Carthel ate one pellet for lunch today. Of course he'll eat now that he's gotten his way! I don't even know what to say about him. He's spoiled rotten and proud of it.

Carthel - 1; Rach & Callie - 0

Carthel the fish again refused to eat all day yesterday. I got on the internet and tried to find out why bettas might not eat. What I found was that bettas won't eat if their water's too cold. They are tropical fish and their water needs to be kept around 72 degrees. We don't have a thermometer for him, but his water felt cold to us. I also learned that some bettas do this when they've been moved; one person said it took his betta 3 days to get acclimated to his new home. And I learned that bettas can go several days without eating, so we were no longer panicked about Carthel fasting for a couple days.

In an effort to get him warmer, I put Carthel in Rachel's bathroom with the heater turned on. I closed the door and left him in there all day. Also, in my internet search, I learned some foods that bettas might like to eat. I read that pieces of a shelled pea will stimulate their appetites as well as clean out their digestive systems. So now Carthel's got us cooking for him! I fixed him a few green peas and cut one up into little pieces. I put one piece in and he ate it! About one minute later, he spit it back out. So I put one more piece in there; he ate it and I never saw him spit it back out!

Later I went to Walmart and got a cheap little thermometer and some freeze dried bloodworms (betta fish are supposed to LOVE those and the internet suggests trying them if your betta won't eat). According to our thermometer, his office was around 74-78 degrees - perfect. Of course Carthel wanted nothing to do with the bloodworms.

We tried once more to feed him after church tonight. That tricky little fish gobbled up the first pellet we dropped in...and promptly spit it back out. Again he wouldn't touch the bloodworms. So we finally gave in and put him back in his bowl. He won. It's a sad day for fish disciplinarians everywhere.

However, Carthel still hasn't eaten since being back in his bowl. He wouldn't eat the pellets at all, but he has attempted to nibble on a piece of a pea. He seems to be just playing with it, though. So not only has he gotten his way and been put back in his bowl, but he's playing with his food right in front of us! I don't know what we're going to do with him...

Paw Paw - 1/17/07

Still there! I think Paw Paw felt a little better about being there today after the doctor explained the potential severity of his condition (i.e., how he could bleed to death before he got to the ER if his incision came open or something like that). He at least realizes now why he still needs to be there. But he's still ready to get home as soon as they'll let him! The doctor told him that if his Coumadin level gets back to normal, they'll let him go home and just come back for blood tests. So let's pray that his Coumadin level will go back down!

Paw Paw - 1/16/07

As you may have already heard, Paw Paw is still not home. :-( His Coumadin level is still too high, and because of that, he is at a very high risk for bleeding, which is why they want him at the hospital. As you can imagine, Paw Paw is not very happy right now. Please pray that he will stay positive and patient. And pray that his Coumadin level will get back down to where they want it so he can go home!

Happy Birthday, Mom & Dad!

I was trying to do this post kind of in between their birthdays...Mom's is today (1/16) and Dad's is tomorrow (1/17). Makes it easier for us to remember, haha. This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of them from one of my all-time favorite moments with them...a gondola ride in Venice.

Love you, Mom & Dad! Happy Birthday!

Carthel's a working man now!

Some of you may not know about Elden Carthel Mcconauhey, the fish here in my Searcy home...Jill and I got Carthel last February, and he instantly became a part of the family! Unfortunately Jill graduated last May and had to leave us, so now Rachel helps me take care of him.

Well, Carthel has some BIG news...he now has his own...office!



I got this new home for him over Christmas break. Isn't it amazing? We moved him in last night. He seemed to like it at first. However, today he has refused to eat! Maybe he's just nervous about being in a new place and will eat when he adjusts. Or maybe he doesn't want to work and this is just an act of rebellion. Rachel and I tend to think the latter is more probable. When we put food in there, Carthel just stares at it as if to say, "I am not eating that until I am back in my bowl where I can lie around and do nothing all day!" We've tried to tell him that growing up and getting a job is just a part of life. We're going to give him one more day and then I guess we'll have to take action. I'll let you know if he gives in.

Paw Paw - 1/15/07

Well, he's not home yet. :-( And he's not happy about it, either! He didn't get to go home today because they haven't been able to get his coumadin levels where they want them. If you're not familiar with coumadin, it's a drug that's given to prevent blood clots. Paw Paw will be on it for 2-3 months to ensure that blood is passing through his new valve properly. Coumadin can be a very dangerous drug; people on coumadin have a very high risk of bleeding. They're basically borderline hemophiliacs, which is why it's so important to check levels often to make sure there's not too much in the blood. There's my nursing teaching for the day, haha.

Paw Paw's still doing well...just not happy that he's still there!

Paw Paw - 1/14/07

Hello friends (and maybe people I don't know, since my mom has given this blog address to anyone who might have ever heard of Bill Hester!)...Paw Paw had an uneventful day today. He's just tired of lying in that hospital bed and ready to be home! Tomorrow will be two full weeks in that bed. All but one of his doctors have cleared him for discharge, so we're expecting him to get to go home tomorrow. :-) Thanks to everyone who's called or sent cards and especially those who stopped by to see him. I'm sure you could tell by the way he talked your ears off that he is bored and loves having someone to talk to!

I'm back at school now...blah. I'm glad this happened while I was home so I could be there with Paw Paw and, of course, so I could offer my nursing expertise, haha. ;-) I'll let y'all know what happens tomorrow!

Paw Paw - 1/13/07

Not much to say about today, except that Paw Paw's making good progress. We were in Little Rock all day for Avery's birthday party, so we didn't see him. But he told Mom that he walked quite a bit and ate a lot more today. :-) One of his doctors (not sure which one) told him he may get to go home tomorrow or Monday.

Thanks for all your calls, cards, visits, and prayers.

Three years ago today...

Three years ago today, Paw Paw was in court finalizing an adoption - something he does often. However, this one happened to be the adoption of his youngest grandchild. On January 12, 2004, Tekia Celine-Kitoko Williams officially became....

Tekia Faith Lillard!

Tekia was supposed to be with us "less than 30 days," but God had other plans for her. When she became available for adoption in 2003, my parents decided to make Tekia a forever part of our family. She has been making us smile since the moment we met her. We are so blessed to get to be a part of her life.

Happy Adoption Day, Tekia!

Avery is TWO!

I'm finally getting around to Avery's birthday post...

On January 4, 2005, Avery Laine made her debut! She weighed 7lbs, 10oz, looked just like her mama, and had so much HAIR! She was named for her Granna (Patricia Elaine). What can I tell you about Avery...since day 1, she has been such a sweet girl. She was always willing to let anyone hold her and love on her. She's recently started attempting to throw temper tantrums, but she's so sweet that she's not very good at it, haha. She has the sweetest little voice (see my post with the video of her singing) and the most kissable cheeks. She has been talking up a storm since she was around 18 months old, and, unlike her big brother, she even loves talking on the phone! Like her aunt Tekia, Ave loves shoes! If she spots a pair of shoes lying around without feet in them, you better believe she'll be trying them on! And like most little girls, she loves baby dolls, particularly whichever one Kia is playing with. She also loves gum and other edible things she might find in a purse. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she said, "Candy."

She has no idea that she's the youngest of the bunch. She thinks she is just as big as Hunter and Kia! She follows them around and wants to be doing whatever they're doing. She's learned a lot from them, too...when she was around 20 months old, I overheard her telling a teddy bear, "You not boss of me!"

She's a real mama's girl, but one of my favorite things about Avery (and one of her Granna's not-so-favorite things, haha) is that she is also a Callie's girl! She loves her Aunt Callie. :-) And I have adored her ever since we knew her as "the fetus."

Avery came right when we needed her...just a few months after we found out Mom's cancer was back. She brought some much-needed "happy" to our family then and God continues to bless us through her now. I can't wait to see who she becomes.


And here she is in pictures...warning: Avery is the only one of the kids who's been born since I've had my digital camera, so you can't even imagine how many pics I've taken of her!