Pray for Alivia.

Please pray. Today is her 90th day in the hospital. She has developed a secondary cancer and is not doing well. This is a plead from one mommy for another. Please pray for their baby, even if you don't know her. Just say a quick prayer that the Lord will heal Alivia and provide them with the miracle they are desperate for.

Quote of the Day.

"I'm like a dandelion, jack. You can cut me down; I'll just grow right back." - Kid Rock

This song randomly loaded on my ipod from Jeremy's music list, and I ended up listening to it today while I was walking. That's how I feel right now. Amazing how different things are this year...I think this is our year. Things are going so well. Remind me of how I feel right now if things change later on, kay?

Once the bad times pass, they really are just a distant memory. No matter how rough anything seems, once it gets better, the pain of it all fades quickly. Hard to see when you're mucking through it, but it's great to reflect after the fact.

All smiles here.

Mother's Day Revisited.

Last Sunday was spent running around and celebrating and recognizing our moms, so we didn't really get to celebrate as a family. So today, Jeremy and the kids treated me to lunch. So nice to relax together for a bit.

Colin got to spend the night at Mark's last night, which is always a ton of fun. He also got to visit with Grammie Carnahan for a while in the evening as well. It must have been an exhausting day. He asked if he could relax in bed for a while. :) He's been in bed since we got home from lunch.

Things have been going so well for us healthwise, so I have a prayer request for someone else. Two-year-old Alivia is 80+ in the hospital for a bone marrow transplant. It has been a rocky road, and although she is healing, she has faced a lot of challenges. Their family needs prayers for her complete healing and their continued strength. Please take a moment. Hospital time is like a warp zone, and at this point I'm sure they feel like they have been their for years rather than months. Please pray that they will be home together soon. Thanks.

Summertime and the livin' is...

Crazy. Baseball started this week, school is finishing up, Chloe is getting teeth (hopefully)...and this all explains why it's been a week since I posted. Colin is loving coach-pitch ball this year. He's so excited about it. He can't wait for school to finish up and has started counting down the days. Chloe is attempting to add more teeth to the few (6) she has and is a little unhappy about it all. Poor girl. I've been working like crazy and debating starting work with a second service in addition to the one I am currently working with, so I've been testing with other companies in my "spare" time. ha! I want to get things down pat with work before school is over so that I have a schedule that'll work around swimming and park time. :) We'll see how that goes.

Well, the kiddies are waking. Time for another full day!

First sinus infection of the year.

Took Colin to the doctor today for a persistant cough, which of course is a sinus infection. But, I wanted to note that this is his FIRST infection of any kind of the year! That means 5 months straight of a healthy little boy, who by the way is not so little anymore. He weighed in at 52.5 pounds today! That is a full 10-pound weight gain since July of last year!

The joys of home ownership.

Had a leak...led to mold...removing mold...discovered termites...treating termites...more mold discovery...removing mold...broke pipe...repairing pipe...had to turn off water...turned water back on...water was brown...went to flush hot water tank...discoverd a rusting-out bottom...replaced hot water tank...problem with vents...carbon-monoxide is creeping into our home...so,

now I guess we'll call the chimney repair man.

Anybody wanna buy us out? We could use a landlord right now.

Checkup for Colin. Other updates.

Today would have been a surgery day, but instead we went to the Pediatrician for a checkup. His unaffected ear is looking great. A very thin membrane has formed over the hole in his eardrum and the doctor is confident that it will get thicker over the next month. He also found his tube in there. Colin thought it was pretty cool...and small. :) We have to continue using plugs for a while to make sure that he does not get any water in there. It is still as risk to re-rupture. So excited! He might get to swim this summer without the worry of earplugs!!!!

Work is going great for me. I'm starting to get a routine down, which is nice, and I'm feeling less nervous about it. So far I'm edging on $500 for my total earnings in less than 3 weeks! Yippee! More than I expected getting started. Supposedly, you continue to increase your income for the first few months, so I'm even more excited about the months to come. So far, the hourly rate I'm earning is continuing to increase while the amount of time it takes to finish my work is decreasing.

It's only Tuesday, and we've had quite the week. Jeremy started to pull out the cabinets in our laundry room yesterday afternoon, in order to remove the now moldy drywall from behind them...the cabinets had been built around the pipes. Ugh! And in the process of getting them out, one of the pipes sprang a mini leak. And, of course, in the process of trying to fix the mini leak, it turned into a major leak...the water to the house had to be shut off, and in the end, we called a plumber. Then, today, I didn't realize that the drainage pipe for the washer and dryer had to be cut as well and hadn't been capped yet, and I started a load of laundry. And left to take Colin to the doctor. So, when Jeremy returned home...we had a basement full of water. So, he spent this afternoon sucking water out of the carpet and capping the drainage pipe, so that I don't create any more messes. :) And, it's only Tuesday.

Sometimes I really wonder about the odds of the things that happen around here on a daily basis.

Neuros and IEP

Colin's neurosurgery appointment was uneventful just as promised, and I am not complaining. He is healing fine and showing no signs of a redeveloping syrinx or tether. They will schedule him for the followup MRI sometime in June/July.

The IEP meeting went fine. Colin is doing really well. They have been working with him on lipreading this school year and he has made a lot of progress. They will begin working more aggressively, both in private sessions and the classroom on self advocacy. Colin has a lot of difficulty speaking up when he is having issues such as being able to hear, etc. Mostly because asking someone to repeat or letting them know that he has difficulty means he has to call attention to himself, which he does not like at all. So, they will be working to make him interact more one-on-one in situations with adults he is not as comfortable with around the school so that he can become more comfortable engaging in conversation with them going forward. I know this might seem silly to some of you, but it really is a big deal. It is extremely important for him to overcome his shyness to some extent so that he is able to convey to the adults around him when there are inadequacies in his learning environment so that he doesn't fall behind simply because he is missing information and the instructor is unaware.

But, all-in-all, he is doing really well. He is reading on grade level and his teacher bragged about his outstanding problem solving strategies. She said he looks at problems in a way that none of the other students do. Extraordinary...no doubt!

Annual Spring Colds...sniff.

We all have colds. Jeremy and I for some reason seemed to have gotten the worst of it. Lucky us. Jeremy has been fighting it all week, and yet, has continued to go to work. He even worked double shifts the last 2 days. Love you! Thank you , thank you, thank you for always working so hard for us. The transition to this new job has been difficult financially, to say the least, and Jeremy has worked as much as possible, even 80 weeks at times...without so much as a single grumble.

My first full week of work went well. A little busy and a lot of hectic with the sickness and all, but I'm happy I chose to do this. I think it's going to be a great thing once I really get the hang of it.

Colin has a checkup with the neurosurgeon on Monday, which will be uneventful. They can't really tell us to much about his spinal cord from and external review, so the doctor will pretty much run down a list of questions, which we'll answer and she'll check how he's healing post-op...which is just fine. Most likely, we'll also discuss and start the scheduling process for his June MRI.

Next Wednesday is his IEP meeting...no idea what that stands for, honestly, at the school. To review the work his IEP teacher (not her title by the way) is doing as well as what the school can/is/isn't doing in regard to his unilateral hearing loss. This will be routine as well. Just a yearly, have to, kind of thing. My main topic of discussion: The routine letter generated by the school requesting my assistance in making sure Colin is missing as little school as possible. You know, it is difficult for them to teach the required curriculum if regular attendance is not encouraged on the homefront. If his absences are medical in nature, please provide the necessary document to prove so I know it was a mass generated letter, but it steams me nonetheless. The school is well aware that his absences are medical in nature. We do our best to make sure he misses as little school as possible. And, I still don't understand why, being that his counseler, nurse, his teacher, and the principal all received copies of the letter...I don't understand why one of them wouldn't have pulled it, noting that he does have a medical condition requiring obvious routine care. I know it's stupid, but when you are working so hard to be the best parents you can and juggle it all...it really sucks when someone questions your ability to do just that. Even if it was unintentional. I'm done ranting. It's been bothering me for weeks.

This week has been long and exhausting to say the least and ending it sick stinks.

Easter Pictures.

It appears that I didn't have my flash on Easter morning, so most of the egg hunt pictures didn't turn out. Here are some from the day.







Our obsessively clean baby, picking fuzz, etc. from her feet. :)


Notice the pistol. Ha! :) She was aiming at Colin of course.

I've been neglecting my blog.

No idea why. Just have been. So this post will be a schloo of updates.

The main man doc from Cali e-mailed me back. He is very interested in taking a look at Colin to assess the situation. He may provide the same answer as our current doctor, but it will be peace of mind if nothing else. Now we have to work out insurance logistics...ugh...and figure out when to schedule the appointment. We already have a visit scheduled with my Dad in July, so that'll probably be it. Hate to wait that long, but obviously can't really just take off to Cali. I'll cancel the May 1 surgery for now...and figure the rest out later. Never got around to calling local docs for a second opinion yet, still on the to-do list.

I have lots of cute Easter pics, I'll post those tomorrow. The kids of course had a wonderful weekend and the holiday itself was great.

Chloe is adding word after word and finally says Ma Ma!!!!!!! Yippee! So happy. She also says a dun (all done) and pup up (puppy). I love it. She is so sweet.

I haven't actually started working yet, but tomorrow is supposed to be the day. Wish me luck!

April Showers Bring...

Termites. So, when it rains it pours. We found out on Tuesday that we have termites in our basement. We've been having a little leaking in the corner of our laundry room, so Jeremy went down to remove the carpet and assess the situation. His discovery: Termites. The pest control guy came to verify Wednesday, and they will begin treating before the end of the month. Between the water and bug damage, we will be replacing a great deal of drywall, trim, and obviously the carpet will need to be removed. We will most likely also have to have a new floor poured to eliminate the cracks causing the leaking, and the list goes on. Yuk.

I Got a JOB!

In less than a week from getting my final results, I received a job offer! And, it happened to be with my #1 choice of companies to work for! And they offered me a little more money than I was expecting! So, I'll be working on an oncology account, which I think will be okay. It happens to be an area that I struggled with in the course, but I'll take that as a challenge. I'm so excited to get started! Jeremy and I are going to spend the day getting my office set up and ready to go. Interested in being an MT? Check out this site. In exactly six months, I completed the course and got a job from home! I'm so happy I decided to do this! I'll never have to go work in an office again! Yipee!

Measles...what?

What are the odds? The vaccination Chloe got to keep her from getting the measles, gave her the measles. It's obviously a milder form, but the measles nonetheless. Here are a few pictures. The bumps are hard to see, but there are hundreds there. If you double-click on the picture, you can see them better.




She doesn't seem too bothered by the actual bumps, she actually hasn't really even noticed them. Although she definitly is sleeping a lot and is a little crabbier than usual.

Second Opinions, ENT.

So, I've contacted the best-of-the-best, who happens to be in the Bay area, minutes from my Dad. What are the odds? I sent him pics of Colin's ears, etc. earlier this week, but haven't heard yet. I think I'll make a quick call later this afternoon to be sure that they were received. Colin's pediatrician also gave us a few numbers, so I'll spend today calling them to get their histories with microtia. I think the Cali. doc without a doubt will be #1 on our list. I've heard and seen a lot of great things he's done. Amazing rib graft reconstructions. A picture never lies...isn't that what they say?

Avrey Rose Jordan

Very fitting. Welcome to the family, little niece! We're so happy to have you!

Welcome, Baby Jordan!

My sister gave birth to another baby girl last night at 7:54 pm. Baby no name weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long. So sweet. They are working on providing her with a name, but so far nothing seems to fit.

I PASSED!

My medical transcription final! Yipee! With high honors! Now the job search begins! So happy this stage is past!

Patience.

Everything comes gradually and at its appointed hour.

~Ovid

Chloe's 15-month Checkup

If you're doing the math, you're absolutely right...she's 16 months, but she had a sinus infection at 15, so we rescheduled. All is well in the world of Chloe. She is perfect weight, above average height, and was the best little girl ever today. Doc said she has a little umbilical hernia. Nothing to stress over. It should correct itself eventually. And, she is a little delayed in her speech, but so was Colin at this point. So, I'm not concerned. She'll take off at some point, and I'm sure I'll be wishing that she'd stop talking for a moment when she does. :) Early intervention he says; no thank you says I.

She had to get 4 shots today, and as the nurse and I were holding her down, she thought it was a game of sorts and was wiggling and giggling until the first prick of the needle. Oh, if you could have seen the look that nurse got! It was a look that said, "What the? I thought we were playing here! And, who the heck are you anyway!" Her little head snapped back and the evil look was given...and then the tears began to flow. Poor girl. She was over it quickly and walked to the front counter to retrieve the golden prize: An Elmo Sticker.