Trading my Sorrows

Have you heard this song before? It is my niece Kersten's favorite. She loves the chorus. I was sitting here trying to work on a project for my boss when it popped in my head and I thought after the news of Sara's surgery success, it was very appropriate. I think its in my music selection at the bottom, if not, its by Darrell Evans:
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I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord
Chorus:
And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen

I'm pressed but not crushed persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I'm blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure
And his joy's gonna be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning

Here is a link to hear it: http://www.imeem.com/jla37/music/7LMpML7b/sonic_flood_trading_my_sorrows_yes_lord/

Update on Sara ~ 9/30/08 Part 2

Praise the Lord for prayer warriors!!!

I just got a call from Sara's sister Beth and she came through the second surgery really well and they were able to save her leg!

They have her in ICU right now and will keep her there for awhile, not sure how long she'll be in the hospital exactly, but right now they are focusing on keeping her infection free and eventually will work on skin grafting to get her leg back to "normal".

She is groggy from all the meds, but I did talk to her for a minute. She has a sore throat from two intubations within 24 hours, but sounds really positive.

We have an awesome God and I am so thankful for having Mayo and its outstanding doctors available to make this diagnosis and be able to fix it without too much trauma! The Lord had his hand on her and the surgeons because of all you prayer warriors who are faithful!

Please keep praying that things continue on the path for the good.

THANK YOU from me, from Sara, and from Sara's family!

Update on the fire

Well, from my glance last night at 11pm and walking to the bus this morning, I could not tell which house had a fire. It must not have been very big or bad cause it appeared as if everyone was home and going about things like normal. So since its nearing winter, am thankful someone wasn't ousted out of there home, its alot of work to do.

September 30th ~ Day 5

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (King James Version)
11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Father~
We know that Your heart's desire for us is to be at peace with You and with those around us. Place within our hearts the desire to live for You and to listen to the leading of Your Spirit. Let us diligently search for You. Open our eyes that we might see what is good, honorable and just for this country and for the well-being of all people.

Taken from If My People, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.

Update on Sara ~ 9/30/08

Please pray fervently this morning.
I went to visit Sara last night. She was looking pretty good, but all of the sudden she went from ok to the most excruciating pain within minutes of my arrival. She said it felt like something was in her leg scratching to get out. She was crying and you could just tell she was not having a good time. Sara is not normally one to complain, so for her to feel this way, it has to be bad.
So the nurse came in and gave her some pain meds and after about 10 minutes, she finally started to feel some relief. However, shortly thereafter, her IV line failed, so they had to call the VAT team to come do another one. It took them close to an hour to get there and during that time, she had another "attack". Was able to get some oral medication for her, but obviously, that doesn't work nearly as fast.
Meanwhile, they called the doctor and had her come in and look at the leg. While the redness had decreased in size, it was covering her entire leg from her ankle up to her knee, the area close to her ankle was very red, purple, and black. It looked very angry, almost like blistering and of course it was swollen to boot. They leave and a little while later the general surgery team shows up to do a consult. They checked it out, asked all kinds of questions and said they thought they needed to do surgery, they were going to consult with the attending and they'd be back.
The VAT tech finally shows up at this point to get the new IV going, but Sara is having another "attack" and is near inconsolable. The combination of the pain and the news she might need surgery was just a little too much to handle. The VAT tech does get an IV line in and they get her some more pain meds and her leg calms down again for a little while.
The surgeon comes back and says he is going to take her to surgery. They wanted to biopsy the purple/black area all the way down to the muscle to see if it is necrotizing fascitis. A pathologist would be on hand to look at the sample while she is under anesthesia and if it was necrotizing fasciitis, they'd take all the skin down to the muscle out. If they don't do this, she could lose her entire leg or even die. She again has another "attack". The pain meds are only working for 20-30 minutes at a time.
Well, it turned out to be necrotizing fasciitis. They took some skin out last night and she is going into surgery again right now to take more. They are hoping to stay ahead of the infection so she doesn't lose her leg, but that is something that very well could happen.
She is in the ICU right now on some pretty heavy narcotics and antibiotics. Her mom, dad and sister are with her and her brothers are coming today.
Please pray that Sara doesn't have to lose her leg. Skin grafting some day is much easier to deal with than a prosthesis.
Your prayers are very much appreciated.

Tuesday Funnies ~ Kids Say Again

Some more cute kid sayings............from the web.
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My young granddaughter Marylyn was asked to complete this sentence on a history test: The Declaration of Independence was chiefly written by ________." Marylyn's astute answer: "candlelight."
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Our 3-year-old son, Jordan, decided to be Moses for our Fall Festival (a Halloween alternative). My mom made the costume, and Jordan certainly looked the part. I asked him, "What did Moses say to Pharaoh?" Jordan replied confidently, "Let my pickle go!"
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When the Sunday school teacher said "God made everything," my 6-year-old son, Davey, begged to differ. "God didn't make everything," he said, "Most things are made in China."
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I was talking with my 4-year-old daughter, Ellie, about words that rhyme. "What rhymes with floor?" I asked. "Door, more, and sore," she said. "Good! What are some more?" "Bear, chair and stair." "Great! What else?" "Worm and butterfly." "Those don't rhyme," I said. But Ellie had it all thought out. "They are both beautiful to look at, so they rhyme in my eyes."
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And one from Kersten(remember, she is three):
When asked why she pooped in her pants? "I don't want to talk about it right now."

My One Year Surgical Followup

So today I met with my Endocrinology doctor for my one year gastric bypass followup.
He is very pleased with my weight loss, my bloodwork was good too. He is super excited for me and is very encouraging.
We talked about things that have been going on the past year including my PRC stint. He asked me if I was having pain today and I said yes. While the PRC was effective, I am finding it hard to work in the tenets of the program into such a short time that I have available when not working. He mentioned that there is a rare condition called blind loop syndrome that could potentially be causing me pain. It is a type of infection that makes your joints achy and painful. So, he gave me some antibiotics, I'll take them as prescribed and if I feel better after taking them, we'll know if I have it or not. If I do have it, he'll put me on prophylactic antiobiotics for eight months.
Aside from that potential problem, he is very pleased with my progress and counts me as a successful patient. If I could have this guy as my everyday doctor, life would be good. He treats me like a person that matter, unlike the current physician I am assigned to for general care.

People often ask me "was it worth it?" or "would you do it again?"
I always tell them yes. I am healthier, I have more energy, though it is still not as much as I'd prefer. I can do more things now that as an obese person hindered me. I really haven't had many side effects related to the surgery, I am very blessed to have done well. I still want to meet my original goal and hope to have that under wraps by Christmas. He said I only need to do half that, so I figure if I get to the half, the rest is bonus, right?

Update on Sara ~ 9/29/08

Well, Sara is still in the hospital. In fact, yesterday, they moved her into an isolation room. They aren't really sure what kind of infection she has, so its more or less a precaution.
She is still in pain, they have her on pain meds and antibiotics.

Please pray they'll figure this out soon so she can go home to her son Jake. Jake is still with Auntie Beth & Uncle Carl. I told her I'd take him a few nights if it would help.

Just keep them in your prayers.

THANKS!

Fire!

So I got an email today from a neighbor whose husband is home sometimes during the day. He just called her and said there is a house on fire down the street.
So she emails me to tell me and I was like, uh, how far down the street? Make Barry go check!

She emails me back saying the street is blocked off, it is on my side of the street, but it doesn't "look" like my house. Look like? or NOT? too different possibilities!

So I called dispatch and asked if it was my address and she said no. Phew! Whomever it is, was home, so hopefully the damage is minimal. I'll find out when I get home tonight.

That was my moment of panic for the day. Hopefully no other surprises await me!

Prayer Needed ~ Baby Max

Baby Max was born on Friday. He was a full term baby according to gestation, but it appears his lungs are quite immature. He was having difficulty breathing at birth and they took him for observation only to now say he'll be in the NICU for a couple of weeks until he learns how to breathe on his own. He developed a pneumothorax, aka a collapsed lung, so until that is better, he is stuck in the NICU.

Mom and Dad are quite distraught as they lost preemie triplets two years ago, one within hours of birth, one at about eleven days and the third after about five months. They know every nook and cranny of the ICU and dread that it is in their life again.

Please pray that baby Max's lung will reinflate without medical intervention as it is very extreme. Pray that his lungs start working the way the should and he can go home to be with his parents. Pray for his parents to have strength, patience, and peace as they are traversing this difficult road once again.

September 29th ~ Day 4

Deuteronomy 28:1-3 (King James Version)
1And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
3Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

Father~
Humble our hearts today so that we will hear Your voice. Help us as a nation to obey Your voice in all that we say and do. Continue to bless us, O Lord, and give us a compassionate and giving heart toward those around us. Hold us to a higher calling, that we will carefully observe Your commandments and be a nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

Taken from If My People, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.

Happy Birthday to..............

my nephew Dominick!

You are three years old today! So grown up! So smart and handsome!

Your Auntie Mamie loves you very much!

September 28th ~ Day 3

Philippians 4:6-7 (King James Version)
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Father~
The worries of each day are ever around us. Conflict, both within and without, threatens the peace we so desperately want and seek. Father, we come to You with an open heart, seeking Your guidance and being content with all that You have given us as a nation. Guard our hearts, O Lord, so that we will be faithful to You, and let the peace of Your presence surround us each and every day.

Taken from If My People, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.

George Washington

O eternal and everlasting God, ...increase my faith in the sweet promises of the gospel; give me repentance from dead works; pardon my wandering, and direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation; teach me how to live in the fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of they commandments; make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber, but daily frame me more and more into the likeness of they son, Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in they appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life bless my family, friends, and kindred.

--Undated prayer from Washington's prayer journal, Mount Vernon.

Taken from If My People, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.

September 27th ~ Day 2

Jeremiah 33:3 (King James Version)
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Lord,
You have asked us to call to You, with the promise that You will answer when we do. We humbly seek Your guidance for our nation. Give us wisdom so that we will be a people guided by Your Spirit and filled with Your presence. Help us, O Lord, to honor You in word and deed, that we as a people will have Your blessing and favor.

Taken from If My People, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.

One Year Anniversary

Of my life changing surgery!
Can you believe it? I can't! It was one year ago, I was sitting in the hospital lobby waiting for them to take me up to my room. Wish I had known then it would be six more hours before surgery. I was so hungry and thirsty and I couldn't have anything. =)

BUT, all in all, the last year has been good. I didn't lose all the weight I had intended, but there were circumstances beyond my control that prevented that. So with little to no exercise, I have lost over 70 pounds since that day and with my new found fibromyalgia knowledge and Pain Rehab lessons, my goal is to be all the way done losing weight by the holidays. This is of course so I can put a few on during them! HA!

I can pretty much eat anything these days, obviously just in smaller portions. I have had very few side effects. I occasionally come across something that doesn't agree with me, but for the most part, its been a breeze from that perspective. I am blessed and thankful for that.

So keep praying for me, so that I can reach my weight loss goal. And that I continue to have no complications.
I have appreciated everyone's support.

Happy Birthday to..............

my Uncle Matt!
He is hitting the big 4-2 today. Man he is getting old!
HA!

Hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Love you!

Prayer Needed ~ Sara

So this morning I get a phone call from Sara. I had emailed and called her on Wednesday about hanging out, but never did hear from her. I figured she was just crazy busy at work, since it is busy season, and thought nothing of it.
Well, the reason she didn't respond to my email or phone call was because she is in the hospital!
She has this cellulitis issue with her legs where they swell and turn red and of course, its painful to do much. She also had swelling in her groin area. She went to the doctor Wednesday morning, who had her taken to the ER, who admitted her because they were worried about the fluid retention and the possibility of blood clots. She is the type of person who doesn't eat or drink much when she isn't feeling well, so she was somewhat dehydrated as well.
They are keeping her at least until tomorrow, but she said the leg issue isn't resolving and in fact, it looks to be getting worse, so they'll probably keep her through sometime next week.

Jake is with Auntie Beth, Uncle Carl and his cousins, and Grama and Papa are helping out too.

Please pray for whatever is going on in her legs to resolve, quickly. She hates being away from her son and work, especially cause its a busy time and she knows they need her. So just pray that things change for the better and that she won't worry so much about work or Jake.

On a positive note, since her gastric bypass surgery in February, she is down 156 pounds to date. So proud of her!

September 26th ~ Day 1

2 Chronicles 7:14 (King James Version)
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Father,
We seek Your sovereign blessing on our nation. Forgive us for our shortcomings and the times when we have failed You. Draw us back to Your love and strengthen us as a nation to serve and honor You in all that we do. May we forever be faithful to the calling that You have given us. We recpectfully and humbly give thanks for Your continued blessing.

Taken from If My People, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.

Favorite Foto Friday ~ 9/26/08

This week, I am highlighting Jess again. Boys are climbers by nature, and Jess is certainly no exception to the rule! Our church has a wonderful children's area and part of it includes a sort of fort/tunnel/slide system. Well, we got to church early this past Sunday cause Cody had to be to work by 9, so we let Jess run around in there a bit. HE LOVES IT!!!!!

This is him climbing up the "ladder"."Peeking" through the hole in the wall.

Turning around backwards to go down the slide safely.
This is him after getting done with the slide. See the look of pure joy on his face!

Have a good Friday/weekend!

Update on Austin

Austin did well with the surgery on Monday.
Mommy is staying home with him all this week. He was in some pain(obviously) and has a catheter until Tuesday, so Mommy wanted to stay nearby.
Please pray that he bounces right back to his normal, cheerful self!
Thanks for checking in!

Octoberfest

So normally I wouldn't advocate drinking, however, since a good deal of my fellow Rochesterite friends do drink, I thought it couldn't hurt to advertise! On the other hand, there are other things to do besides drink, so join us anyway!

This Friday is Octoberfest. It is back in downtown Rochester. Proceeds from this event will benefit the Police Athletic League (PAL). I am on the board as treasurer. It is a great program that benefits kids in our community and hopefully soon, expanding to all of southeast Rochester. I'll be working the ticket booth and checking IDs to make sure you are all legal!

Here are the details!
What: Octoberfest 2008
When: September 26th 2008 5:00PM-8:30PM
Where: Peace Plaza Downtown Rochester
RSVP:Buy Tickets now. $10 in advance or $12.00 at the door
Details: Finally--Octoberfest has come back to Downtown Rochester!! The biggest party of the year!! FROM LASER 101.7 AND APOLLO!!
Outside where a true Octoberfest party should be!! For your one low ticket price you will get the best deal in town!! Over 100 beers to try, A free meal from the Kahler Hotel, Live Band, other entertainment, and to the first 700 people who buy tickets in advance--a free Octoberfest Collectible Glass!! Tickets availabel at all Apollo Locations!!

Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday to..............

my stepbrother Mario!

I don't have a current picture of him, this is from his wedding about four years ago.

Hope you have a wonderful birthday bro!

Love ya!

Update on Joia

PRAISE THE LORD!!
Prayer is an awesome tool!

Joia's ultrasound yesterday was completely normal. No fluid or any other worries.

God is good all the time. All the time, God is good!

Seven Things

So my blog buddy Nate did a posting on seven things you don't know about him and I thought it was pretty neat. Figured I'd give it a go.

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1. When I was born, I had 12 grandparents and great grandparents living. How cool is that?
Mom's(Sherri) side
Louise & Wayne
Mary & Stanley
Betty & Ray
Dad's(Mark's) side
Connie & George
Bill & Monica
Robert & Sophie
There may actually be a few more, but I don't know enough about my Dad's dad side to know the greats. Most people I know or am friends with have never met their great grandparents, and sometimes not even their grandparents. I was very blessed! Sadly, all my great grandparents (in pink) have now left this earthly life, but happily, they are rejoicing in Heaven! And since my parents divorced when I was young, I have two sets of stepgrandparents now, Bertie & Jeannie and Lloyd & Joann.

2. Up until last year when I had my gastric bypass surgery at the ripe old age of 30, I had never spent a moment in the hospital since I was born. I have never broken a bone or had my appendix burst or anything fun like that. I did go to the ER a few times, but they were short stays.

3. I do not ingest caffeine. Well, mostly no caffeine. And no, this isn't just because of surgery. Prior to surgery, I had mostly given up drinking caffeine and would choose a caffeine free soda or beverage 99% of the time. I have never been a coffee drinker, cannot stand the stuff! So, the only way I get caffeine? In restaurant iced tea or the minute amount in chocolate.

4. I do not drink soda. Well, not anymore anyway! This is because of surgery. The extra bubbles are not needed in my system, thanks! I was never a big soda fan anyway, so giving it up wasn't so bad. I "thought" I had a Pepsi craving one day, so I sipped a friend's only to discover.....................I can't stand it. It was awful! So, I guess you really can outgrow the taste of something.

5. I do not like most vegetables. Most of you know I am picky, but did you know that of a list of over 180 vegetables, I like only ten? TEN! You heard right! Lettuce, tomato(could be a fruit or veggie, don't start that argument!), cucumber, green beans, peas(technically a starch), potatoes(technically a starch too), carrots(again, technically a starch), celery, radish and corn(yet another starch technically). And I like garlic and onion, but not to eat, only as flavoring. So does that count??

6. My favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor is Tutti Frutti. I also like Bubble Gum, Root Beer and Toasted Marshmellow.

7. There are 20 grandchildren on my Mom's side of the family(from my mom and her three brothers). Aimee, Jason, Phil, Mark, Jessica, Sharon, TyLene, Heather, Danny, LeeAnn, Shawn, Carolyn, Jeremiah, Donald, Albert, Marissa, Elijah, Tony, Steve, and John. Of these 20, 11 have children already, the total number? 25! Austin, Brandon, Trinity, Adam, Adrianna, Sabrina, AJ, Natasha, Corbin, Skye, Sage, Ariel, Dianna, Carl, Sam, Logan, Gianna, Alex, Maya, Austin, Courtney, Jared, Braelyn, baby girl & baby boy(twin siblings to Braelyn). And nine of us haven't even produced offspring yet! Can you say BIG FAMILY!!! I love it!
On my Dad's side of the family, there are just Mark and I, my stepbrothers Teddy and Mario and my cousins Melissa and Melannie. Much smaller dynamic! And only four greats ~ Dominick, Olivia, Autumn, and Jacx ~ with another due to make an appearance soon.

Well, that should keep your mind spinning for awhile. Maybe someday I'll do another random facts post. For now, toodaloo!

Prayer Needed ~ Joia and baby

Please be in prayer for my blog friend Joia today.
She is having a second level ultrasound today because they suspect low level of fluids in the amniotic sack. Joia is about 25 weeks along and while a baby can most likely survive through extreme medical intervention at this point, for obvious reasons, we want God to intervene and make everything okay for this baby to go to full term.
Thanks!

40 Days of Prayer

I went to church with my grandparents in Wisconsin on Sunday. It was a good sermon about having a willing heart. Something I think we all could work on more.

Anyway, starting Friday, September 26th, they are participating in a 40 day prayer program that is intended to help us pray for the best outcome in the upcoming elections.
The booklet is entitled If My People, and in it are 40 days of scripture and prayer, plus some segments of prayers/speeches given by our forefathers. It is written by Jack Countryman and published by Thomas Nelson, Inc., you should know of them as publishers of the Bible and other Christian books.

I will be posting the scripture/prayer each day and I urge you to follow along. This election is vital for what is going to happen to our country and we know the Lord is in control no matter the outcome. It will be His will.

Tuesday Funnies ~ Glenn Beck

Well this week I was reading something and came across this sticker and come to find out, it was Glenn Beck's idea. I don't know if I have ever mentioned him, but he is a commentator on CNN, he has his own show every night. He is the most down to earth normal person on CNN, he is their one not so left person. I enjoy watching him.

Anyway, enjoy this!

If you are interested in buying it, go HERE.

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HYDRO-CARBON POWERED ECO-VEHICLE STICKER
Have you ever driven by a hippie, environmental protest and had your beautiful gas guzzling SUV keyed?Now you can protect your car by making it appear environmentally friendly with the Glenn Beck Hydro-Carbon Powered Eco-Vehicle bumper sticker. Look like a friend of the Earth while killing it at the same time!Hydro Carbon just means oil, but with our clever recycle-shape inspired design, environmentalists and global warming zombies alike will take one look and think you’re on their side. Only we’ll no the truth behind it…you evil conservative hate monger!And with this sticker 2-pack you get one for your car, and one to share with a friend.

See You At The Pole

Wednesday, September 24th, is See You At The Pole day. Suggested time to gather is 7am.
Hundreds of thousands of teenagers and children will gather around flag poles around our nation's schools and pray.
If you are in school, please join your fellow students, do not be ashamed! Do not fear persecution!

I remember doing this back in my teen days. I went to a private school and a bunch of us drove up to Chi High to join the students there. It was awesome how many showed up. Teens making this statement of faith get a huge thumbs up from me!

Sesame Street Live!

Laurie and I took the babies to see Sesame Street Live! last week. It is a good thing I went with, no way could she have done it alone. Jess sat wonderfully for most of the first half. The second half, he was so done with sitting, he wanted to get into everything, run, play, etc.

Despite Jess, we had a wonderful time and Kersten got to see all her Sesame Street Friends. They really do put on quite a spectacular show, though I do think everything was way overpriced. People paid ten dollars for an Elmo mylar balloon for their kids, how gullible can you get? We paid nine dollars for a sno cone and a bag of cotton candy. It was completely ridiculous. So, that is my only complaint. A show for kids should have kid pricing, something affordable.

Big Bird Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Telly, Cookie Monster and Zoe

Joined now by the Count and Elmo

And Abby Cadabby and I think its Oscar's girlfriend Grundgetta

Zoe leading a song with Big Bird & Telly

Rosita has now come on stage to dance with Elmo,

Cookie Monster, Zoe, Telly, Big Bird and the Count

Grover has now joined everyone on stage

Grover is trying to be a superhero, but is having trouble flying

So Elmo, Zoe, Rosita and Telly decide to help him out

They are in their superhero costumes now

And Oscar did a skit with Slimey too.

The five superheroes

I was able to catch pictures of the kids totally glued to the show while munching.

Meeting Emmalina & DLMP Family Picnic

So my department had a picnic last Wednesday. I helped with the food committee, so I got a free t-shirt out of the deal in addition to the food. I opted for four tickets for some reason, I don't know what I was thinking at the time I asked, but it worked out beautifully as it took place just prior to Sesame Street Live, so it was a great way to feed the kids, plus they had some kid activities to occupy the munchkins for a little while until the show.

I took a few pictures of the kids, but everytime I'd try to take one of Jess he'd either turn the wrong way

or do this!

Goofy kid was trying to lick the camera!!

Got a great show of Kersten in mid-air, so happy!

And collapsed.............
We had a good time.

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Prior to the picnic, we went up to the NICU to meet Kersten & Jess' baby cousin Emmalina. She was born a little more than three months early, but is doing really good. They call her a "feeder and grower" right now, she is almost breathing totally on her own, as it is, she is only on CPAP. Such a fighter! And a cutie too!

Here she is snuggling with Grama Sandy
and a close up!

Prayer Needed ~ Wren

One of my favorite NICU babies is having surgery today. Wren is now five years old and having his ostomy site repaired as it did not close properly.
This should be his final surgery and medical intervention related to being a 22 week and six day old preemie. Supposed to be a quick surgery with discharge tomorrow morning. God does indeed work miracles all the time.
Wren is a walking, talking miracle if I ever saw one. A cute one at that!
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Lord, please guide the doctors as they perform this last surgery on Wren. Keep Wren's parents covered in your love as they surrender their precious boy to these surgeons hands. We know you are the ultimate healer and we thank you for the miracle of Wren. Help him continue to be a walking testimony of your power. AMEN!

Favorite Foto Friday ~ Birthday Pics of my mom

This year, on September 7th, my mom hit the big 5-0!

My dad, the jokester that he is, had a sign made to document this important occasion. He planted it at the end of the driveway and tied 50 balloons to it on Friday the 5th. Wasn't suspicious looking at all, was it!?

My mom gets home from work that day, and of course, my dad has left for work already, and she tells Elijah to go take it down and bring it in the house.

Mark, Ashly & I sent her a flower bouquet and she agreed to pose in a picture for Marissa so I could post on the blog. She was smiling, so it wasn't so bad I guess! Glad you liked the flowers and 50 wasn't so bad now was it? It is all downhill from here!

Love you!

On the news updated

ok, well, I made it in the final seconds, you can see the back of me as I am shooting the gun. That is me in the blue shirt.

So, here is the link:
http://www.kttc.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=2925776&at1=News&h1=Emergency%20response%20training

If I make it on the rest of the time I am in Citizen's Police Academy, I'll post those too.

GQ Gentlemen

Ok, so normally, I have no clue about GQ or what issues they cover, but one of the blogs I follow, Heather Duckworth, posted about this. The president of the Pediatric Cancer Foundation is Chad Harrod. He has been nominated as one of the top five men who give back in some way.

Please check out GQ's voting site and while the other candidates are worthy, I urge you to vote for Chad. He is a champion for this cause having been a pediatric cancer patient himself. I have watched Heather from afar and having watched her child be taken by pediatric cancer, she is an amazing women who will tirelessly campaign to end this horrible disease. If Chad is selected, $10,000 will be donated to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Money that is desperately needed to help end this devastating disease. Very little money is out there for this effort, that is why I support this cause. Children are the future, they matter. Help end pediatric cancer!

Please vote for Chad Harrod!

Adoption Info Session

So tonight I have my first meeting about the adoption process. It is an informational Q&A type of deal. Thankfully, even though this agency is based in the cities, they are hosting a meeting here in Rochester, so I don't have far to go. No committments or anything to be made tonight. I'll blog tomorrow to let you know how it went. Wish me luck!

On the news.........

Well, maybe!
Last night at Citizen's Police Academy, we were joined by KTTC's Crystal Oko. She will be attending class with us for the remainder of our sessions and will do a story that will air every week about the class.
Last night, we were out at the Police Shooting Range learning about the Emergency Response Unit and all that they do, as well as gun safety. We learned about all the weapons they have in their arsenal including a taser. One girl volunteered to be tasered just to see what it was like. Crazy woman! The end of our learning led us to the range where we each got to take turns shooting an official police issued gun. The kind the police in our area carry. It was actually quite fun, even though I am not a big fan of guns in general. My dad would be so proud!

Anyway, there is potential for me to be seen in the story, so watch the news tonight at 6pm and let me know if you see me! I am recording it since I won't be home and I'll post a clip if I show up.

Tuesday Funnies ~ VP Palin

Found some cute comics for the week.............

Prayer Needed ~ My Nephew Austin

My nephew Austin is scheduled for the first of two outpatient surgeries on September 22nd. He was born with a peeper that wasn't all the way done forming and while it works, it doesn't work the way it should.

Please pray that the surgeons working on him will be able to fix everything the way they need to and for the anesthesia to not give him any problems. And pray for my brother Al and sister Brenda, Austin's parents. No parent wants to see their kid have surgery, especially as a baby, and they have alot of anxiety over this.

Thanks!!

Favorite Foto Friday ~ 09/12/08

Ok, so, I HAVE to post yet another picture of my blog friend Doni's daughter Tori!

Doni has done a bunch of family photo shoots lately, including her own and the pictures coming from them are simply amazing! Doni is contemplating a business doing photography, however her time is limited due to being a SAHM of three very active children, two of which are being homeschooled and baby Tori is into the exploring of everything stage.

At any rate, Doni's photography skills only get better and now she has discovered a skill on her photoshop program that allows her to turn pictures into an oil painting finish. Breathtaking portraits keep coming from this option, and I know it takes her hours to do a photo, but they are simply too gorgeous to not do.

Look at this close up. Is it not dreamy!?
If I lived in AZ or nearby, I'd certainly utilize her! Have a good Friday/weekend everyone!

Happy Anniversary to.............

My good friends the Peaslees!

Fred & Laurie are celebrating 16 years today. Ten years ago, they were the first people I met after moving here and it is amazing the changes that have occurred in this time! Ten years, two sibling set adoptions and two natural children later, they are still some of the best, most wonderful people I know!

This picture is from 2001, not too long after they got Cody & Joey.

These pictures are from the first school year that Josh, Samantha & Cadi joined the family in 2004.

And this is from Christmas 2007, the entire family!

Congrats you two!

I am thankful for you all the time!

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!

Update on Hurricane Ike

Well, Ike skirted Florida and stuck to hitting Cuba and Haiti. They are still under water and will likely take a long time to recover. Haiti is one of the poorest countries as it is, this is devastating to them. Ike is now on target to hit Texas. Galveston and the Houston area are being evacuated. I don't know anyone specifically in that region, but I know we have churches in the area that we associate with.

The remnants of Ike are on target to circle round and hit Illinois and Indiana, in addition to several other states. I find it amusing that tropical storms can make their way so far into the country having not very much water to power them.

At any rate, please pray for the churches in these areas to be safe. Also pray that the residents do as asked and evacuate. And finally, that Ike will not pick up any more speed and do as minimal damage as possible. Enough flooding going on in the country already and even though some areas are in a drought stage, this isn't the kind of thing someone prays for to relieve it.

Remembering 9/11

Today is the 7th anniversary of 9/11. It seems impossible that the most tragic day in US history occurred so long ago. To me, it still seems fresh in my memory. I am sure for the victims and their families, that day is relived every day. I can remember most every detail of my day that day. Where I was the exact moment I found out and repeatedly checking CNN and NBC for updates. I didn't personally know anyone that died that day, but it doesn't matter, those people still bear remembering.

The Pentagon unveiled their memorial to the victims today. You can check it out online HERE. I think the artist who worked to design this memorial really put alot of thought into preserving the memory of the victims. It is an interesting design, but very well thought out.

As an American, I hope that I never forget or let my guard down about what happened that horrible day. I hope that those of you reading this never forget either. Freedom isn't free. Support our troops who are defending us! You may not like or support the war, but you have to support the troops, they are just doing their jobs.

Never forget!

More franchise restaurants should choose Rochester!

So I blogged awhile back about some restaurants I thought should give Rochester a chance. See this POST for what I said previously.
I have now decided I want several others to come to the area, so I am again writing emails or making phone calls begging them to consider the area to the ones I wrote about before and to the new ones.
Complete list of places I'd like to see in Rochester is as follows:

• Sonic ~ click HERE to email the franchisee for Rochester
• Red Robin ~ click HERE to comment
• White Castle ~ click HERE to comment
• Texas Roadhouse Grill ~ click HERE to comment
• Chilis ~ click HERE to comment
• BJ's Restaurant ~ click HERE to comment
• Rocky Rococo Pizza ~ click HERE to comment
• The Old Spaghetti Factory ~ click HERE to email them your comment.
• Mimi's Cafe ~ click HERE to comment
• Chick-Fil-A ~ click HERE to comment

and I do like Ruths Chris, but it is MEGA expensive to eat there, although we do have alot of doctors in this town, they could afford it right! It is definitely something that you would go to as a treat and not just any time.

Please click on the links above and join me in the call to Rochester!

There are other places that I would love to see as well, but I figure I'll concentrate on my faves for now. If you are interested in a full list of US franchised restaurants, please click HERE and go to any of their websites and feel free to beg!

Sonic Rant!

Sonic is coming to Eau Claire this year. LaCrosse and Winona next year.

WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?

Why can't we get one in Rochester? A community much bigger than any of those three!! Crazy!!!

I just wrote the franchisee owner for the Rochester area, hoping he'll add us to his list soon. At least one, but I am sure we could support two!

That is my rant for the week!

If you would like to join me in my request to get a Sonic in the area, please go HERE and send a note to the franchisee.

If you have never heard of or been to a Sonic, I suggest you try it sometime, you will not be disappointed! And Happy Hour half price treats cannot be beat!!! or cheesy tater tots for that matter. MMMMMMMMM!!!

Update on Grama Connie 9/10/08

Well my Grama Connie is doing better every day. Turns out that the majority of what was going on was because my Grama stopped taking one of her medications. She was tired of the side effects they were causing and she figured if she went off of it, she'd feel better. Turns out, she needed that medication, side effects and all. The radiation side effects did play a part as well, it is apparently a known complication that about four to six weeks after radiation, water on the brain can occur. It did. I can't recall if the medication she was on was supposed to help that or not.
So, the doctors have got her stabilized, she is getting physical therapy every day as her right side was weakened somewhat. She should be able to go home this week.

Thanks for all your prayers, I really do appreciate them!

Prayer Needed ~ Friends

I have some friends that need some prayer right now. They are dealing with adultery and trust issues. The wife is willing to try and make things work, so please pray that the husband will see the error of his ways and return to his family. They have one child and are pregnant with another. God really needs to intervene in this family. I hope they see how much they need him to be part of their marriage.

Also, prayer is needed for another friend and their family. They have alot of issues in their family that are not resolving even with therapy and counseling. It is wearing them quite thin. Something needs to happen to make things change or I am afraid they are going to end up somewhere they don't want to be.

Sorry I can't be more specific, but God knows who these people are and their needs.
Thanks for praying!

Tuesday Funnies ~ Kersten

Kids are forever trying to get out of doing their chores, but at three, Kersten is normally willing to oblige most things you ask. Not so much the case these days!!

Story from Laurie to me:
The other day Kersten found a bug on the carpet and wanted me to pick it up, so I did. Then she said the other piece was in a different spot. So I told her that I would vacuum it, but she had to pick up her toys. She did, then I told her to pick up her toys in the living room so I could vacuum in there too. She said, "No. That's OK mommy. You don't need to vacuum in there. I don't want to pick up my toys. It will be OK."
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In other funniness, Kersten loves to be outside, but can't go out by herself, Samantha, Cody, Joey or Mom or Dad has to watch her. The other day she wanted to go out really bad and Mommy and Mamie were busy cooking and baking. Daddy was golfing. Cody was the only older kid home, but he was sleeping. She didn't care, she opens the door to the basement and as loud as she could, yelled his name, repeatedly, until he finally responded. It was soooo funny. And Cody, being the thoroughly doting big brother, obliged her even though he was napping. She has him wrapped around her finger! She was determined to go outside and outside she went!
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So Laurie, Kersten and I went shopping Saturday. We needed stuff from Walmart and we also went to the Produce Market. Kersten is such a dolly, I love spending time with her and although she loves her brother Jess, having Mommy and Mamie to herself is a good time for her. We had just left the Produce Market. Mommy had taken her potty while we were there, but we weren't more than five blocks away when she announced she needed to go potty and poop. I told her we were going to the Dollar Store and she could go there. She goes, "ok, but hurry!" I told her to squeeze her "cheeks". I look back at her from the front seat and she has the biggest cheeky grin possible on her face! Oh to be so innocent! She had no idea what I meant, but tried to please me anyway! And then she asked, "why do I have to squeeze my cheeks?" I lost it, I was laughing so hard, I nearly peed my pants!
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One more funny about Kersten for this week. Mommy found out a ballet studio opened up in Lewiston this summer and she has been wanting to sign Kersten up for awhile, so it was handy that one opened so close to home. Kersten shows pretty good dance skills, so Mommy figures we'll see how she does. Ballet starts on Monday and the entire time Mommy has been talking to her about going to ballet, she has told Kersten that unless she is potty trained all the way, she can't go, it is a class rule. Well, Kersten does just fine going potty in the potty, but as previously mentioned, poopy has been a big problem. Well, this week Mommy reminded her again about the "rule" and would you believe the kid is going poopy in the potty this week!? She has been so stubborn about it, I can't believe it took this ballet class to motivate her. Nothing else has worked thus far.

Silly girl!! I love you and am proud that you are a big girl now!!

Happy Birthday to..............

My mother! She's the pretty one in the photo! =)
I know normally one does not disclose the age of a woman, but this is a milestone year and my mom is celebrating the BIG 5-0!

She looks nowhere near 50 in my opinion. In fact, most people think her and I are sisters vs. mother/daughter. Not sure if that is insulting me to say I look old or complimenting her to say she looks young or what!

Anyway.............Mom, I hope you enjoy your day. Wish I could celebrate with you, but I'll see you next month hopefully!

Love you lots!

Hurricane Watch 2008

So Hanna did make landfall in the Carolinas, but it was just a breezy and wet day, not too much damage. Josephine completely fizzled out.
And then there is Ike. Ike is down to a category 3 hurricane and headed for Cuba. The cone tracks it to Louisiana in the next week. Now that could change, but that is the prediction for now. Ike is favorable to pick up speed again, and just about anything can affect which direction he heads. It looks to miss my friends in Florida thankfully, but I still cringe thinking about it hitting Louisiana, even though I don't know a soul there, I keep thinking, not again!
A friend at church mentioned that maybe hurricanes headed to Louisiana is God's way of saying we need to clean up the joint! I laugh and because I am evil minded from time to time, I said God said he'd never flood the entire earth again, he never said he wouldn't do it piece by piece however!
In all seriousness, I hope that the hurricanes give us a break for a few more years, the US is in enough doodoo all by itself without natural disasters making things worse.

Wow!

Ok, so God must have been preparing me last week when I found Adrienne's post and typed THIS post referring to where He is during the bad times. Tuesday night, a bad time made itself known to me. My Grama being hospitalized and doctors not knowing what was going on, I was a basket case all day Wednesday. I was going crazy because I couldn't be there. I normally am okay with not living so close to family all the time, but in situations like this, you really want to be there. Well, I am having to live this experience through my brother. Praise GOD he is not working right now. We couldn't believe it when he got let go because he is an awesome worker and they really had no excuse for why they let him go. Well, God obviously knew that a trial would be coming for our family. My brother being off work right now is a true blessing because he can spend all day if needed with my Grama and he has this calming effect that he refers to as "the Christ in me" that helps hold the family together. He also can make some sense out of what the doctors are saying and through me, knows what questions to be asking. I am so sad I can't be there, but God made a way for Mark to have the time to be there so I am not worrying as much as I would be otherwise.

God is good all the time. All the time, God is good. I have to keep remembering that life is on HIS highway, not mine and we have to trust He knows what He is doing.

Thank you Lord for this lesson in humility that you provided me this week. Please keep my family wrapped in Your arms during this trial. Help my unsaved family realize that You are the ultimate Comforter and Healer and that You do carry us through it all.

Favorite Foto Friday ~ 09/05/08

This week, its my Grama Connie.

She's the cute one!

I am so missing not being able to be with her during this time of her hospitalization, but am thankful that my brother Mark is able to spend lots of time with her. We couldn't have foreseen it at the time of his layoff, but this is a blessing in disguise!


Hope you are progressing on the path to coming home Grama. I love you!

Update on Grama Connie 9/4/08

Ok, so my Dad is totally not medically inclined at all and got a few things mixed up and thus I errantly reported some details last night.

My Grama Connie did not have a stroke to the best of the doctor's knowledge. They think that the pre-existing brain tumor that she has been fighting all summer is the cause. She had six weeks of radiation in June and July and for the most part, the side effects were minimal until after she was done with radiation. She has been very exhausted and just not quite herself. They think the radiation caused the tumor to swell and thus cause pressure on the brain which in turn is causing some neurological symptoms. These symptoms are nearly exact to the way things happened eight years ago when she was diagnosed with the first brain tumor. It is mostly affecting her right side. She is not paralyzed, just not stable and she is having involuntary movements.

They have run a plethora of tests, most of which have all come back as normal. She had an elevated troponin level. This typically would signify a heart condition, however, her ECHO, EKG and ultrasound of the heart were all normal. She also had a normal ultrasound of the brain. The CT scan of the brain was negative. She had a brain MRI yesterday late, I don't have the results of that yet.

I work at Mayo, and my two bosses are cardiac guys. Dr. Jaffe is a well known cardiologist and Dr. McConnell runs the cardiovascular risk lab. So between the two of them, I can get alot of information figured out. Plus I have been in a medical setting for ten years now and I know alot just by myself. So, I am going to consult with the two of them over all the bloodwork that my brother gave me results of and see what their thoughts are.

I did ask Mark to ask the doctor about a PET scan. PET scans are performed to:
~detect cancer
~determine how much a cancer has spread in the body
~assess the effectiveness of a treatment plan, such as cancer therapy
~determine if a cancer has returned after treatment
~determine blood flow to the heart muscle
~determine the effects of a heart attack, or myocardial infarction, on areas of the heart
~identify areas of the heart muscle that would benefit from a procedure such as angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery (in combination with a myocardial perfusion scan).
~evaluate brain abnormalities, such as tumors, memory disorders and seizures and other central nervous system disorders
~to map normal human brain and heart function
So, I think this could be useful to determine a number of things. They are pretty sure its not cardiac, but the elevated troponin indicates something isn't right. They are pretty sure its not stroke, which can be an embolism in any area of the body. Because she does have the tumor and its neurologically affecting her, I think this might be the best tool to determine what is going on. It could also clear up the heart concern.

Well, that is all I know for now.

Please pray for wisdom of the doctors, peace for my family, and healing for my Grama.

Uh Oh............

Tropical Storm Ike turned into Hurricane Ike overnight. A category 4 hurricane to be exact! If this formation keeps up, it will cause some serious devastation. It appears to be on a similar path as Hanna, so the Bahamas and the eastern coast of the US are in line for these systems. Josephine is still out there as a tropical storm as well, but looks to remain calm like Hanna.

I am really hoping that if things do progress, that people evacuate and listen to the warnings as they should. Some things can't be helped, but others can.

Praying that those in the areas mentioned are smart about the hurricanes and hoping they just present themselves as rain and wind without the serious devastation.

Update on Grama Connie

Not much to report, but my Dad did call me this afternoon to tell me a few more details. She is at Marshall Hospital, which apparently, is one of the best in the state and country, so some relief to know that she is in good hands. They are certain it was a stroke, it appears to have been mild. She has movement, but is weak and her talking is becoming coherent again. They are still doing testing, my Dad said someone is there like every 30 minutes to do something else. I guess one of the tests they did showed she had pieces of her heart floating around, my Dad isn't very medically inclinated, so not sure what test that was. I work in a Cardiovascular lab, my boss was like, What? SO, my inclination is that she had a troponin or an embolism in her heart that set things off and that the blood thinners and such are doing their jobs. They did do an EKG and it was normal, they also did an ultrasound of her brain and heart, but I have no results from that yet. CT scan results aren't back either. I guess she is in alot of pain, and I don't know the explanation for that either, but she is on morphine.

My Dad, my Uncle Matt, my brother Mark, my cousin Melannie and my Grama's brother Tom and all their spouses are taking turns being at the hospital with her in addition to my Grampa George.

Please keep them all in your prayers. My Grama has always been a fighter and I have no doubt that she isn't ready to give up. Just another roadblock to overcome.

Tropical Storms & Hurricanes

Well, my blog friends Wendi and Heather, both in Florida, have been on alert for over a week and it appears that will not end anytime soon. Now my blog friends Nate & Tricia are on the lookout.

Hurricane Gustav hit 70 miles south and west of New Orleans on Monday morning and is now parked over Texas and upper Louisiana as a Tropical Depression. Big MISS for New Orleans, at least they prepared the people this time and they listened. Better safe than sorry.

What was Hurricane Hanna is back to Tropical Storm Hanna and headed toward the eastern coast of the US. It is thought to be headed toward Georgia and the Carolinas, hard to tell at this point however. Hopefully she'll remain a tropical storm and just send some much needed rain to the area.

Tropical Storm Ike formed on Monday, followed close by Tropical Storm Josephine. They appear to be on the same path as Hanna at the moment.

You can't escape danger no matter where you live - hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, dust storms, blizzards - no area is exempt, some have more frequency is all.

Praying that all my blog friends and the family members I have in the aforementioned target areas remain safe and sound no matter what comes their way.

Prayer Needed ~ Grama Connie

I just got a call from my brother Mark. My Grama Connie is in the hospital. They think she had a stroke, but testing is still underway. A CT scan is on the schedule this morning. I guess this all started last night and my Grampa George called my Dad and then they took her in. She is still recovering from radiation for the brain tumor. It could be related to the radiation, it could be the tumor, they aren't sure.
Please pray for her. She is my Grampa's sole caretaker. I am really struggling once again not being able to be there.
I'll keep you posted as I know more.

Tuesday Funnies ~ Joey

So we were sitting at the table having breakfast the other day. We were discussing with Kersten how eating the rinds off of an orange is yucky and we shouldn't eat them. And then I said but some people eat watermelon rind, they pickle it. Fred then pipes up to say, watermelon rind is known to be an aphrodesiac. Joey(the 15-year-old) looks at Fred with a puzzled look on his face and says "Is that like accupuncture?"
As Laurie, Fred and I all burst into gales of laughter, Joey is standing there with a "what did I say?" look on his face.
I told Fred we had to buy the kid a dictionary.