Finally.....some answers!

Well, we finally have some answers.  David's last day of work is on August 6th.  Originally it was the 2nd but they need him to help finish up a few things.  He did not get a job offer with the new company and we have no interviews scheduled and nobody has called or shown interest. 

This morning we had Andrew's MRI and I was taking notes in my head to come back and write a post about the silly things he did or how he acted (b/c of the medicine I gave him) and how odd it was to have to wear ear plugs while watching my child sleep in the ridiculously loud machine.  Hello???  Isn't it 2010?  Why is this machine so huge and so loud?  Anyway, I forgot most of it after 30 minutes of this annoying machine and a phone call from the doctor.  They finally found what is wrong with his hip.  They found an infection and we had to go back so they could do an MRI of the whole pelvis to see if it was anywhere else.  So, we got more chloral hydrate to sedate him.  Poor baby had to take it 2 times today to be sedated.  What a long day.  Anyway, we went back and before I even got home the doctor had called my house with the results.  She had the top radiologist looking at the MRI as it was being done and they were discussing it with 1 or 2 other doctors, one being the pediatric orthopedic doctor at Loma Linda Hospital.  They found that there is an infection on his hip which they believe is bacterial and has started toward his back.  They think they know what it is but it's in a rare place so they are probably going to do a needle aspiration (yes, pull fluid from his hip with a needle) to test the fluid and find out what kind of infection.  If it's what they think, they will do IV antibiotics for 4-6 weeks.  I don't know anymore than that.  I do know the antibiotics would be done at home and not through an IV in his arm.  He would have to have a port.  Not sure where or anything about it at this point.  I really don't even want to think about it right now.  The kid has a phobia of band aids.  Can you imagine putting him through all of this? 

We have an appt on Tuesday with the pediatric orthopedic at Loma Linda.  He is rushing this for us b/c our insurance will run out at the end of August.  We can get COBRA pay if we have to but it will be really expensive and with David only getting unemployment I'm not sure how we would pay for it.  Our pediatrician is going to give us a number to call that might take over his medical bills once our insurance runs out but we have to have a diagnosis first. 

Well, that's about it.  I told my friend Heather today that God will not give me more than I can handle but I'm pretty close to falling over the edge.  I'm more calm than I thought I would be but I'm worried about things I can't control like school, insurance, getting David a new job, appointments, handling this antibiotic thing. We've been so excited about Andrew going to school and I'm worried he'll have to miss and lose his spot at this great school that we were on a waiting list for.  I'm praying that it is something simple like only having to give antibiotics and not surgery or anything else. 

Well, this is long enough.  When I know more I will let you know. 

Oh, pictures from Disneyland still to come!  We had a blast!

Scrappy Challenge #7

I missed the last 2 weeks of submitting pages to Sketches in Thyme so last night I got busy and finished the one for this week.  It took me forever to complete.  I'm sure laughing with Stephanie and reminiscing by going through a bunch of pictures didn't help!  And, although I didn't get much done we had a lot of fun!

So here is the sketch that Kim gave us for this week:

And here is my take on the sketch:

Nothing

So really I have nothing.  Well, except that I took Andrew for his MRI yesterday and fed him prior to going and then I couldn't give him the meds to sedate him and he was scared of the machine.  Nobody told me not to feed him all day.  We looked through the window and someone else was in there and it was a little scary.  It was dark and she was in the tunnel and couldn't move at all.  They told me he would have to be able to lay there and not move anything for 30 minutes.  Hello?  How many adults can do that.  I know I should have known better than to feed him but I really haven't really been able to think clearly this week and he said he was hungry and I knew we wouldn't be home for a few hours to eat. Oh well.  It's better to do it early morning anyway b/c I have to monitor him until he is able to wake up and act normal again anyway.  He'll have to sleep off the meds and then will act all drugged and I have to be careful when he eats.  Honestly I don't even want to go through with the test b/c I don't think they'll find anything. 

Oh, not exciting but our pool is dirty and the kids really want to go swimming but I don't have a vacuum for it and I think it's disgusting but I think I'm going to give in tomorrow.  I won't personally get in the thing but if the kids don't mind the cloudy water then whatever.  All the chemicals are fine it just gets cloudy from stirring up the dirt....gross, I know!  They have really wanted to go in the last couple days but I had to add soda ash to up the ph and then wait for that to clear up and then add more chlorine.  Blah, blah, blah!  I'm not really a fan of this pool.

Well, I hope all of you are having an exciting week!  The most exciting thing that has happened to me is my neighbor asked if I want to scrapbook tomorrow night.  Umm.....yes!  I need some adult time and something to take my mind off our current situation.  Oh, I guess we will find out on Monday if they are going to offer David a job with the new company.  If not, his last day is 8/2.  Either way his last day with the current company is 8/2.  We found out they have really crappy insurance and their employees have to go to clinics.  Ummm, no!  The did negotiate that the employees of the stores (and any corporate employees) will keep their current insurance so they won't get the crappy stuff.  Soooo, if David is offered a job then our insurance would stay.  It's not great but it's better than what we would have if he had to take theirs.  Honestly I have a pretty negative attitude about the whole thing.  Our anniversary is August 7th and we both forgot it was even coming soon b/c we are so consumed with what is going on.  Thanks to Stephanie for reminding me.  David also realized it at work while talking to a guy about his anniversary.  Crazy!  It will be 6 years.  It's gone by rather fast. 

OK, enough rambling!

Splashing Good Time!

In the picture Andrew is trying to decide how far into the splash zone he really wants to go.

And now you will see that he (and his daddy) LOVED it!  It was so hot at the company picnic last week and if I had different clothes on and didn't care what my hair looked like I would have gone in as well!  Oh, and I'm not sure what my husband is doing in this picture but I assure you he is NOT picking his nose!

Not sure who is the bigger kid here!

Andrew had a blast running through the water and splashing around with his daddy!  I think it was the perfect day!

And now for what Grace did the entire time the boys played in the water.....

She played with sticks in a puddle of water and asked if she could get mud on her dress.  She was curious whether or not she was wearing play clothes.  Thank you for asking sweet little girl!  Aren't boys supposed to play in the mud?

She also relaxed on a towel and just watched all the kids running around.  If no one else was around she would have been out there in the water acting silly but she is so shy when others are around. 

My garden

Well, I have a garden that I haven't shared with all of you yet.  I've just been really lazy about taking pictures.  Here are a few pics that I just took the other day!

Do you see my little watermelon starting to grow?  I have about 3 growing but with all the vines in that garden everything is so confusing and I can't tell if I have anything else.  I did find one very small pumpkin beginning to grow.  Look at all these vines (below).  I have honeydew, pumpkins, watermelons, and cantaloupe.  Probably too many in the same bed but I didn't have anywhere else to put them.  I had already planted the other garden area and didn't want to dig everything up and move it around.  We'll see what happens!

This garden has corn (so fun to watch), jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, cucumbers (that the heat is killing) and strawberries.

Here is one of the green bell pepper plants.  Last year I had 5 plants and couldn't keep up with all the peppers.  This year I only have 2 and still have a bunch to use up.

Can you see the little jalapeno peppers?  They are hard to see but I have 3 plants and have quite a few coming in.  I've never grown these before so it's fun to see that I can grow something new!

I really enjoy having a garden but with the last couple of weeks I haven't really been enjoying it so much.  Too much stress and this week has been over 100 degrees and miserable to be out there.  This heat is so hard on the plants but they somehow manage to survive.  I can't wait to get more out of my garden.  I have a few tomatoes almost ready to pick and have already used 2 bell peppers!

Sweet Moments

Our sweet nephew was over this past week.  His mommy has been rather sick and they had to make a trip to the ER and we got the privilege of baby sitting.  He was such a sweet boy and loved sitting with his Uncle David and cousins while they read their books before bed.  He sat through 3 books and here Andrew is reading to him using baby talk and the sweetest voice!

The kids were so thrilled and wanted to help with everything!  In fact, Grace carried his pacifier around waiting for him to wake up and then lost it.  She finally found it (just today, 4 days later) and insisted that we take it to him right away!  Of course, we will get it to him soon!  We went to pick him up and when we got home he was asleep so the kids went and played for a while and then just sat next to his seat and waited for him to wake up.  I'm pretty sure he could have slept longer but my guess is someone was touching him.  My sweet little girl just couldn't stop touching him and giving him kisses.

Waiting.....

Yep, still here!  I took Andrew to the doctor today and is sending us for an MRI of his hip.  Last week she got the referral for Loma Linda Hospital and they want to do more x-rays but she doesn't want to expose him again so she ordered an MRI and insurance approved it.  Plus, we couldn't get into Loma Linda until October 12th and since our insurance will be changing soon we would have to start all over again.  We LOVE our pediatrician!  She took care of this without me even knowing anything about it and I love that about her.  When I need something done I have to call my doctor and ask for it and then keep bugging them about the referral.  She doesn't mess around and I like that.  We have to get an appt for the MRI and she gave me some medicine to sedate him so he doesn't freak out.  So, basically if she doesn't find anything in the MRI then we are done exploring his hip.  She calls him her little mystery patient and she wants peace of mind (as do the rest of us) that nothing is wrong.  If we don't stay here I will definitely miss her.

Everything is still the same.  Waiting to find out the last day of work and insurance.  Waiting to see if the new company offers him a job.  Waiting to see if he can get another job.  Waiting.....did you know that I'm not good at waiting?  It has consumed my mind.  I know we will be fine in the end and I know that God will provide but it still consumes my mind.  I eat, sleep, and breathe wondering when we will have answers.

Well, I hear my dog outside my window trying to kill himself to get through the gate.  He has chewed through the wooden gate and I have it blocked with chairs but he still manages to get in.  Oh yeah, what on earth will I do with these dogs if we go?  Just playing the waiting game!  Sure wish someone could just give us the answers.

Another Busy Week

So, it's another busy week!  Today I have a meeting at church and Grace has preschool and ballet.  Wednesday is preschool and David's company picnic (yeah, I know, Great timing!), and then Thursday Andrew has a doctor appointment and Friday is the dentist. Have I ever mentioned that this kid is terrified of the dentist.  Not sure how this will go.  It's the same office but a different dentist.  We had to wait for a referral for a pediatric dentist to see him and the whole process took like 6 months including waiting for the appt.  Crazy!  Sure wish everything out here wasn't done by referral.  Life would be much simpler!

Wish I could at least share a pic of the kiddos but I don't even have any to share!  Have a great Monday!

Unsure

It's been a long week of being stuck in the house with sick kiddos.  It's just a cold with a rotten cough but Grace has been so emotional (that's being nice!).  Hubby found out he needs to find a new job.  They sold the company and the new corporate office is a really long commute and he would either never be home or have to stay gone all week and only come home on the weekends.  It's something we can do short term but I know David can't handle being away from his kids (and hopefully his wife).  I was super stressed at first but now I've been praying so much that I know God is handling it.  We would really like to get out of Cali and into the Midwest but not "home" (just closer)!  Not sure if that is where God will lead us but it sure would be nice.  If not, then we need a decent paying job for David with a decent commute so we can stay here in our house.  We are really open to whatever and wherever but if we need to move to be closer to a job we would rather move out of state.  Just had a lot to process this week and sleep doesn't come easy now.  I know that's just me being a worry wart even when I'm lying in bed with a blank mind....the worries are back there somewhere. 

Hopefully this weekend will be better.  Andrew seems to be catching the cold now (along with the rotten cough) and David was home sick with a terrible sore throat yesterday and a cold.  I'm the last one and I'm praying that I don't get it!  I'm ready to get out of the house....the only place I went this week was to the post office yesterday.  Other than that I got the mail and stayed in the rest of the week.  I dislike it very much!  Next week I want to get out and be around people and feel normal again!  OK enough of all that!  Hope you all have an awesome weekend! 

Scrapbook Sketch #4

It's another scrapbook challenge for Sketches In Thyme!  I finally had a chance to sit down and work on this week's sketch.  I like it but it's missing something....not sure what yet but I'll figure it out.  I'm trying to use only what I have here and not buy anything new.  I have so many papers and scraps and embellishments that I need to get rid of a few things or use up what I have so that's my goal with these challenges is to make them work with what I have at home.  Here is the sketch that Kim gave us this week:

Here is my layout based on this sketch:

This is from Grace's 1st Birthday!  I haven't had inspiration to do this birthday yet.  Nothing seems to work when I try putting it together.  I have bought all kinds of cupcake paper b/c that was the theme and I never liked the colors once I brought it home and tried it.  For some reason this paper worked for me.  I guess it's the colors.  I've already done her 2nd and 3rd birthdays but this one sat!  Thanks Kim for helping get this layout done!

Our Weekend

Well, let's see...Friday night we went to the Angels game which was a lot of fun!  We left Grace with David's brother and Amy and we took her son Jordan with us!  It was great b/c nobody was whining to go home!  I took a cute picture when we picked up Grace of her sleeping with Jayden.

 Lately Andrew has been hiding from the camera....this was no exception!  We had a blast at the game!  They had an awesome fireworks show after the game which is why we didn't bother going to see the fireworks on the 4th.  Grace isn't a fan of loud noises and we had already seen the fireworks at the game so we just stayed home.  Grace was sick with a cold anyway.

On Sunday (the 4th) I worked the morning services at church and then we played in the pool that Andrew got for his birthday.  David went and picked up the boat from his dad's house and we got everything packed for our day on the lake (Monday).  I invited a friend from church and her teenage kids.  We had an awesome day. It was quiet and peaceful and the kids had so much fun.  Everyone took a turn on the tube, even Andrew and Grace.  We had a few falls and my back is hurting today as a result of being pulled under/around/back by the tube.  Not really sure what happened but I grabbed the handle and next thing I know I was under the tube and couldn't breathe and my hip was hurting really bad.  I guess it threw me around under the water somehow and David, my knight in shining armor (or swim trunks!) jumped in the water to rescue me and get me back in the boat.  I went back out on the tube after that but I was a little scared.  I'm not a fan of being out on the lake waiting for the boat to get back to me anyway, there are some crazy jet ski drivers out there.  We had a great day anyway!  I don't have any pics but I will soon.  My friend took her camera and she'll get them to me.  She got some great shots of David on the tube!

Here is a pic of Andrew and daddy in the pool that Andrew got for his birthday.  He really wanted someone to get in and play with him and Grace was sick.  Hope you all had a fun, safe 4th of July!

Birthday Boy

So I tried my hardest to ignore all the #5 cards and the #5 shirt Andrew was wearing all day and the 5 on his cake.  It was hard to do but I think I made it and I don't really believe he is 5 (until Aug 9th when he has to go to kinder).  We'll not deal very well with that deal with that when the time comes!  We had a great day with some great friends.  Andrew's friend Ty has the same birthday and is the same age so we all went to the park and had a picnic.  The kids had a blast.  Click here to see all the pictures!

Here are the birthday boys!

Here are their cute sisters all holding holding hands wearing the same swim outfits!  Ty has twin sisters and of course that's my Gracie in the middle!

It was a great day for fun at the park.  Here's a picture of the park so you get an idea of what it looked like!  And, of course don't forget to check out all our pictures!

There's a spray area over on the left that the kids can run through and the regular park is over to the right.  It's a really big area and the kids had a blast.  It was hard to keep track of them.....well, Andrew was mostly in the shade playing in the sand under one of the climbers so we could usually find him!

And here he is with his cake!  He had a great day and got a lot of fun things for his birthday!  Last night he got a tent, a pool, and some clothes!  I think we are all glad the partying is over for a while!

Tonight we get to go to an Angels baseball game.  My hubby's boss gave him tickets so we get to have another fun night!  Grace is staying with my brother-in-law and his fiancee and kids.  She will love playing over there if she can get over the fact that we are leaving her!

4th of July scrapbook page

 Here is a layout of the kids for 4th of July.  The pictures are from a few years ago and it's not very exciting but I'm submitting it to a Stars and Stripes, and red, white, and blue challenge over at Frosted Designs.

I hope to make some more 4th of July layouts this weekend.  I already made a digital layout with my new Creative Memories software.  I love the new software.  I couldn't figure out my photoshop elements and this is so easy and I can use kits from online.  I don't only have to use the CM kits which is great!