Yes, I have her address. Not sure what she needs at the moment. I was shocked when she called to hear how bad it was and I wasn't thinking about asking her if she could use anything and she called from the cell phone and was afraid it would run out of juice soon and like I said earlier with the baby and other small children in the home she needs to be able to keep it charged somehow so we cut the conversation very short to the direct this is what is going on right now message, do you mind letting folks know thing to keep it a short as could be so as to NOT run the phone down. I will try calling her back later on in the AM to see if she needs anything at all. I hope I can get through. It is tough being so far away from people we know when things like this happen. Yes, Mark I do remember that storm you mentioned. It was a lot worse for ya'll then it was in our area. :) Fran

DH has problems going to sleep, especially when he gets thrown off his schedule. After 27 years married to the guy, it's my opinion that people should not get locked into strict go-to-sleep schedules because of the problems this causes when they get off of them. But, we are doing many things right. I don't have a problem sleeping, but these are the things we do, for DH . . . and ultimately for me, as well. We keep our bedroom cool and crack a window in Spring and Fall; we keep the patio doors open when the weather permits (Late Spring- Early Fall). We always keep the ceiling fan on. I think that cool, fresh air makes for a better, deeper sleep. I like to read before I go to sleep, but not some hair-raising thriller! If I'm not reading a good before-bed book at the moment, I'll look at a magazine or just daydream for a while with the lights down low. Low lights in the room with a good reading light next to each side of our bed is a must for me. DH likes to watch the nightly news, but I find that listening to all the bad news in the world ~ or to politics ~ just gets me stressed and/or thinking about sad or scary things. Because of that, I've put my foot down and said no tv before sleep. If DH ever feels like he needs to watch tv then, he can do it out in the family room or in the study. I've noticed that he does sleep better when he doesn't watch tv right before bed, though. We don't snack right before bedtime either, although DH likes a glass of vanilla soy milk (yuck!). I prefer hot tea or ice water. Both of us try not to do any thing, like laundry, dishes, cleaning, working out, paying bills, etc. before we head off to bed. The only light in our room when we sleep is from the moon and stars if they're out. I'm glad we don't need to hang blackout drapes here, but I would if we had lights outside that warranted it. Quiet: we live in the mountains and the only sounds we hear at night are the crickets and occasional coyotes. I've never allowed our kids to fall asleep to music or tv. I've read that falling asleep to tv or music can be counter-productive to getting a restful sleep and set you up for a lifetime of sleeping problems. That may not be true in all cases, but it made sense to me and it works for my family and myself. I've heard that a warm, relaxing bath or shower also helps you relax before bed. When my kids were young, I always gave them their baths right before bed and then read them a story or two in their rooms with their lights down low before putting them to bed. From all that I've seen and heard over the years, we are our own worst enemies when it comes to problems sleeping. Saying/believing that we have to do certain things or can't do other things in order to be able to go to sleep only reinforces our sleep problems, IMHO. I know that it's hard to break that downward spiral. Perhaps a hypnotherapist could help. Or maybe your family doc could prescribe a mild sleeping pill for a very short while to help you break your sleep cycle? Whatever you do end up trying, I think the most important thing you can do is stop saying "I can't . . . . " and start believing that you can. Lynn

I'm so sorry he was injured, but...not every HS player will play in college anyway. (Not sure that is a 'bright side', but that's how I intended it.) Very glad he won't have lifelong disability. Our next door neighbor has been an outstandng QB up to now, his senior year in HS. He's announced that he will attend Michigan, hoping to play football there like his dad. He was injured in a game and last week he had surgery on his right ACL -- will be having PT for months and months. His mom says he will be able to be a walk-on by next fall, but...who knows? Having a 'goal' in youth can be both a blessing and a curse! Set-backs feel so 'end of the world' when you're so young. (Kinda hard on a kid whose father named him Bo in homage.)

I am so sorry to hear this. I had typed a message after your first posting but I must have not hit enter as it didn't show up. I went through the Christmas holidays one year, not being sure if I had miscarried or not. All the blood work kept coming back positive but no signs of fetus. Sometimes the body reabsorbs the tissue - I know that isn't easy to hear but it happens. A D&C might be in order to make sure all is ok. I know its a difficult time - my prayers are with your family.