Christmas Eve 2008

Hopefully the video works. We had a wonderful Christmas and are feeling so blessed this holiday season!

Hubby Update

Eric is feeling much better.  He's continued to take the Nexium (for possible heartburn???) and is still off dairy.  He's no longer in pain which is good... and the nausea is also gone.  All of his most recent labs came back good - no problems... so that's a praise.  Though, it'd be nice to have a logical explanation for when he doesn't feel well.  I told him maybe he needed a psych evaluation to which he laughed and said, "well, you already KNEW that!"  HAHA!

For now I think we'll wait and see how things go.  If pain pops back up again, then i think it'll be off for the CT.. For now, without the pain, we don't really see it a need to get that done.  But, we'll keep you posted :)  

Thanks for praying!

Kid's Christmas Program

Noah and the 1st-5th graders sang a couple songs. They did really great! :) Over Christmas break Noah's getting a hair trim!
Carissa and Micah sang Away in a Manger and "C'mon ring those bells". They were adorable!
They sang for all 3 services. Micah's doing the actions for "no crying he makes" here... shhhh...
My pretty girl.
The little ones were so cute. These were the 3-5 yo's (not yet in kindergarten). Carissa was so excited to be on stage where mommy sings... and when we told what we were thankful for at the dinner table she said, "i'm thankful for singing songs to Jesus on stage!" That's my girl!!!! :)

What's goin on around here....

Eric's not been feeling well for a while. He has had a myriad of symptoms.. none pointing to anything real specific. His blood test from last week came back all on target... nothing out of the ordinary. His xray showed everything as it should. But still he's not feeling well.

He's doing a couple more test this week and hopefully we'll get results by Friday. IF those results all come back in the clear, then he'll go in for a CT of his abdomen. A couple years ago he had to get one done too (for different stomach issues) so at least he knows what to expect (and we know what kind of bill to get! :( lovely.. ha ha) . IF things come back in the clear on that, then the next course of action is to go see a GI doc. I feel good having a plan of action in line with the doc. He's puzzled by the symptoms and "lack" of symptoms as nothing is definitive. So, we wait and trust that God is in control. Eric's very tired so prayer would be great. He went back to teaching school today (After having TUES-FRI off last week) and was completely whooped by the time we got home.

We'll keep you updated as things change :)

"is it Christmas yet?"

MMM... thanksgiving turkey!!!! :) And homemade apple pie in the background!
Josiah, my snow bunny boy!! We drove to the top of Chinook Pass to find some snow to play in later in the week!
Eric, Carissa, and Micah on a sled..
Carissa toting her sled up the hill.
Noah, hanging out... "HI MOM!"
My snow angel!
The kids put up their China ornaments first...
Noah was going for the top .. "so joey can't get it, mom".
They dress themselves and are true fashion statements.




It's hard to believe December has arrived.. This'll be short tonight b/c it's time for bed but I thought i'd pop on here real quick :)

We got through turkey day. i bought the turkey - still frozen the DAY before. I did manage to get it thawed and cooked and we sat down by 4:30 pm! It was a way low key day with just the 6 of us.. well, as low key as any days is with 4 kids racing around. Eric felt puny most of the day .. and that continued the rest of the week and through the weekend. He went back to work Monday and seemed okay and on the mend, only to wake up feeling horrible this morning. So, he was home today again. I'm praising God that he's kept the rest of us from getting it... so far!

the FINISHED product!

Here we have the alcove. Scroll down to previous posts to remember how it looked if need be. :) Here it is textured and painted a warm cream color (tho it looks white with the camera).
Here, Eric is laying the Pergo click and snap boards. It took some cutting and tweaking but he did a STELLAR job!!! It looks rather classy, I think.
And screwing down the threshhold thing that covers where the wood meets the carpet. No clue what that piece is called! But it's ON! LOL
AND... drumroll.... the finish product (minus the decorating on TOP of it)...... Eric manuevered my beast of a piano into it's final resting place. I know he's thrilled that it won't be moved again for a LONG TIME! We plan to get a lamp for on top and then various kinds of pictures or what have you. For now though, we're just SO thrilled to have it tucked back into it's place. So, pat my hubby on the back.. he did a great job! :) He had the hard jobs... I got the easy ones (texturing and painting!).... :) But we made a pretty good team.. and it only took us 2.5 weeks, with most of the work done on the weekends! WOOHOO!

On our WARM balmy day, I found THIS outside

We've had a wet past few days...but today dawned beautiful. It was nearly 70 outside and the kids were playing. I went to check on them and I found Josiah, covered in dirt!!! And you know what he said when i pulled out the camera?? "CHEEEEEEESE!" LOL

Fall Fun '08

Here's Noah... my 6 yo.... soon to be 7 (in Jan).
This is Micah... my 3.5 yo who thinks he's 6... :)
Carissa is 4, almost 5 (end of Dec).
And Josiah is 18 months old... being held in place by Daddy... :)
And here's the whole crew :)

DEMO

BEFORE
CARISSA GETTING IN ON THE ACTION
NOAH TOO
DEMO'S DONE.... CLEAN UP WAS A BEAR! BUT WHEN IT'S DONE IT'S GOING TO BE SO WONDERFUL. MY PIANO IS GOING TO FIT VERY NICELY IN THIS SPACE!

We have a puppy!

Here's Josiah in his puppy costume :)

Halloween Costumes

Noah thought it was funny to grab them both and hug 'em close! :) I thought it was a cute candid shot tho :)

Micah is Anakin Skywalker, Noah was a storm trooper from Star Wars and Carissa is Minnie Mouse.
We had to take pics the day after b/c we were so rushed last night, that I forgot. Joey was a cute little puppy but he missed the photo op this afternoon due to his nap :) Maybe well get one of him later.

MY BOYS

Micah fell asleep in our bed the other day. I think he "forgot" to wash his face after lunch. No worries though, he was on Eric's pillow!! HA! He was sure tuckered out. Slept through the flash and everything :) Isn't there something so sweet about SLEEPING kids??? Somehow when they are awake, reality is so much more fresh. Micah does bring lots of humor to our home though. Just this morning he announched that he "diatortilla" in the potty and it was 'icky'.. Yes, we tried to get him to say the word right... but diatortilla is just what wanted to come out of his mouth... LOL

Funny sayings aren't exclusively Micah's territory though. The other day Noah came home from school announcing that his teacher told him to tell his parents to make sure to check for "head lights" in their hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my... we joked around about that... and for days it was, "Mom, head light check?" (said in the most serious tone!) Yes, son.. lets check for those "head lights".... said while holding back the laughter... When asked what they were, he knew they were little bugs but to call them "head lights" seemed ever so natural... Kids.... they keep us young!


Here's my oldest and my youngest... Noah and Joey have a special little bond going on right now. It's VERY sweet to watch the 2 of them interact. Here Noah is playing Legos Star Wars on the Wii (game system for the TV). These 2 are also the 2 that look the most alike. I was trying to get a profile of them both, tho i suppose the binkie rather interferes with that look, now doesn't it?! LOL
Just a few pics to share. They are getting so big and we're loving every second of it.

An Overdue Knee Update

So, last week - or was it the week before, I can't remember.... I had my appointment with the orthopedist. Dr. Kennedy did a thorough exam of my knee and ordered a few more x-rays (this time with me standing instead of lying down). After viewing the x-ray he said that it shows that everything is in GREAT shape! The joint is solid and there is no need for anything further.

As for the joint pain, he pointed out that anytime a joint has surgery, it's never the "Same" as before. It's likely to be more sensitive than the other. Any pain or imflamation can be handled with Aleve.

So, huge praises that there will not be any need for surgery. :)

It's still bothering me some, but not as much as it was a month ago. Who knows, maybe in the anxiety of everything my mind was on hyper alert to any twinge of discomfort?! LOL

Regardless, thank you for your prayers and your support thru the last 2 months of this waiting process.

getting really techy!

so i figured out how to edit my html codes and paste in my own blogging template! i've been wanting to do this for ages and i did it today!!! wahoo!!!! i love having more options :)

today is a lazy, lay low, just GET THRU The day kind of day. it started at 2:15 am when Carissa started throwing up! ugh. yuck. currently, she's already had one short nap (it's not even noon yet) and thrown up once since 4 am. micah is running 101.7 but NOT throwing up... joey is sporting a nice color of YELLOW snot....lovely.

today was my MOPS group but i didn't get to go. i was very disappointed. I so love those couple hours with my girlfriends as we support each other on this journey of motherhood.

but it's the weekend soon - thank you Jesus! :) I'm singing Sunday - so pray I don't get sick with whatever crud is being passed around our home. the lysol wipes have been out in full affect today and i'm a hand washin' fool! HAHAHAHA!

My dreamers...

We woke up to the temperature outside being at 33.5 this morning. BRRRR..... The kids were of course asking to play outside early on in the morning. They just couldn't understand that with the beautiful sun shining, that it wasn't acceptable playing temps! I finally let them out right after lunch and it was a beautiful 62 or so! Perfect when the sun is baring down on ya but a might chilly in the shade. Micah and Carissa pulled out the swimming pool and played in it for a couple hours (minus the water of course!). They had a tea party and Micah went fishing with his stick he'd found. They had fun! I can tell though that they are already wishing summer was back and the lazy days of playing outside all day everyday were still a reality. The fact is, soon they'll be wearing their big ole snow pants and snow boots and gloves and hats and winter jackets and they'll be making snow men and snow balls and snow forts. And they'll think nothing of a little relaxing in a frozen swimming pool full of snow!!! HA HA HA HA!

October 9th

I have my appt. set up with NW Orthopedics, FINALLY! I just love it when I call the drs. office on the DAY they told me too - to check in on it's status... and they go on to tell me it could take 2 and sometimes even 3 weeks to make the appointment.... only to have them actually LOOK at my file and say, "OH, we have that appointment already scheduled!" WHAT?!

So, anyway... I'm meeting with Dr. Kennedy, October 9th, and hopefully we'll get some more answers!! :)

The boys room!!

This is Josiah's bed. This is also the view from the doorway to their room. The boys room has been in process, and honestly STILL isn't 100% done... but it is SO close. Today I did the border on the small wall where we have put the tall bookcase. Because we are anchoring the bookcase to the wall, we wanted to have that painting done before hand. So, yesterday I got out the tape and paint and went at it. One wall down and 3 more to go! :)

Here is the boys room upon entry. This is Noah and Micah's bunkbed. My mom made both the boys quilts on their beds and they LOVE their "grandma blankets". Someday well actually paint the bunk bed too... maybe next summer....

Here is the "done" wall. :) This is the great big bookcase that really helps with the organization in the room, not to mention getting some stuff out of reach for Josiah!


Here's a closer up look at the drawers under Micah's bed. They fit perfectly under there and it's a great use of that space. The drawers hold their cars, small balls, army men, plastic animal toys and action figures!

My MRI is scheduled!

God is good and has worked out to get my MRI for Sept. 18th (that's THIS Thursday). Yesterday I had been told that it'd be possible that the MRI not be scheduled for another 2-3 weeks still. I was feeling really anxious about waiting that long - just feeling like I'd like to get to the bottom of what's going ON in my knee.

Last night it was super achey and was sending pain up the back of my leg (hamstring) and it sometimes sends pain down to my ankle. It's so difficult to explain and describe. I remember back in high school feeling so frustrated by the pain - it was sometimes so unpredictable and inconsistent and this is seeming to follow suit. :\

But, God is forever a GOOD God and i choose to trust in HIM to find my strength and stamina for this process, however LONG it could be.

my meat-a-tarian

This is how I found Josiah the other day. I had heard him in the kitchen and then realized it had gotten quiet! He was intently chowing down!

What a Welcoming Gift dontcha think?

SO, after we moved into the house I completely cracked up when I saw that she'd left some hangers in the closet. Not only that, but she left THIS hanger. It made me laugh so hard!!! (click on the picture to enlarge it).

Carissa and her doggie who remains un-named as of yet

Carissa's tonsils are GONE

Carissa and I were up early early early this morning in order to get to the surgery center by 7 am. Carissa got her tonsils and adnoids out this morning. What a great trooper. My heart was nearly wrenched out of my body though, having to try to calm her while she was crying for daddy and crying, "I don't want to be here, I want to go home".... She was not impressed with the hospital jammies and called them scratchy. When it came down to being "TIME to go" back to the OR the nurse took her and she was SO distraught. I had to stand there a minute and dry my eyes before leaving the pre-op curtained area. The nurses were so very kind and reassuring and told me that most momma's cry.... but it sure didn't make it any easier knowing that she was taken from me, scared and not knowing WHAT in the world was going on. I'm so glad it's OVER and we can not do that again!

Here we are this morning before we left the house.... She got a new doggie this morning so she'll stop stealing her brother's to play with! LOL

Referral MRI

I just called the drs office to ask about a timeline for the referral and she told me it could easily be 1-2 weeks b/c they process up to 400 referrals a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY WORD!

So, we could be settling in here for a bit of a wait.

Knee Going's ON's...

My knee has been giving me pain this summer. After extended walking or ups and downs or long periods of it being stationary were key contributors to the "aggrivation". With my history (tho it be 11 and 12 years ago!) of the bone tumors (chondroblastoma's..which incase you didn' t know, only make up 1% of all bone tumors!) we thought it best I get it checked out. Just to rule out recurrent issues.

I had the drs. appt. on Wednesday and he ordered an x-ray as that would give him a peek in my leg to see what was going on. Yesterday they called with the results. The nurse said that they can see a "lesion" on/in the bone and they want to follow up with an MRI to further investigate that area. Lesion can be another term for mass/growth/tumor so it's very possible that another tumor has grown. I don't know anything more than that right now.

I do know that God is good and His plan is perfect. I told Eric last night, I'm less afraid of the actual tumor and possible surgery, than seeing how it will affect my family and wondering how long my recovery will be. I'm not 17 and 18 anymore you know!!! HA HA HA

So, I will update as I know information and of course we covet your prayers as we sit and wait for answers.

few more pics

Okay, here are a few more pics around the house. This is our master bath. WE love having 2 bathrooms!!! :) The double sink is really nice too...

And then there is the garden tub.... (happy sigh)

This is that mini bar where my computer sits. We now have 3 of the bar stools up there so the kids can sit up there, color, look at books or what not. It isn't used for eating b/c it's over carpet, not to mention near the keyboard. :)

Our awesome back yard :)