Kyra & Mark's Family

Homeward Bound Adventure from Colorado

2008-12-04T20:23:00.002-06:00

While we were in Colorado (from Wednesday night to Sunday morning) it snowed Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday afternoon we checked the weather out on Hannah's phone to make sure that we weren't going to get bad weather on Sunday, when we were planning to leave. It said a 30% chance of less than 1" accumulation. We checked it a couple of times throughout the afternoon and it said the same thing - so, we figured we were good to go.

Boy, were we ever wrong!! We got up at 3:30am on Sunday morning and left my mom's around 4 am. When we left there was already about 4" of snow on the ground at my mom's. We got about 10 miles or so outside town (we take Hwy 24 from Colorado Springs to Limon and then get on I-70) and it was still very dark out and snowing very hard. We could hardly see the road so we decided that it was stupid for us to try to do this in the dark. So, we decided to turn around and go back to my mom's and leave when it got light out.

We left again around 7 am and we got to the last road off Hwy 24 that leads into Colorado Springs and they had closed the Hwy. We called the highway patrol to see if Hwy 94 was closed and they said that it wasn't but that it was under the same conditions as Hwy 24 and if we chose to go that way we were traveling at our own risk. We decided that we probably shouldn't do that so we went back to my mom's.

We called the highway patrol around 10 am to see if they had opened Hwy 24 back up and they had so we left AGAIN!! The roads were very icy and the wind was blowing very hard and the further we got the worse it got. We were in white out conditions at times and the wind was blowing us all over the icy road. There were times when Mark almost couldn't keep the car on the road. We got to Calhan, which is about 1/2 way between Colo Spgs and Limon and I told Mark that there was a hotel there in town and that we were stopping. We were being stupid to continue in the white out conditions. He agreed. So, we pulled into the hotel parking lot (you have to go down a hill from the highway) and due to the whiteout conditions he couldn't see that there was a 1 1/2 foot drift where you would pull in under the awning and drove straight into it and got the car stuck. It took us an hour to get the car unstuck and then we had to hike through a few more snow drifts to get to our room because we couldn't get the car to where our room was.

Poor Mark, he was soaked from the waist down and we had no clean clothes since we didn't plan to be there an extra day. So, we hauled the dirty clothes bag to the room so we could all have dry clothes and our pj's.

Around 2:30 pm or so, Mark looked out the window and it had finally stopped snowing and the traffic was moving on the highway. Mark said that we could leave if I wanted to. I told him that I was done trying to get out for the day. We didn't know what the roads were like and we only had about 2 hrs of daylight left to drive and I didn't want to drive all night (remember, we'd been up since 3:30 am). So around 3:30 pm we went down the street to Subway and I told everyone we were each ordering foot longs so that we could eat half for lunch and half for dinner later. So, that's what we did. We also bought some dice (the Subway is in a gas station) so we could play dice. So, we watched TV and played dice all evening.

We left the next morning at around 6:15 am and finished driving to Limon. Roads were still icy in spots but not really too bad. Of course, we got about 5-10 miles outside of Limon and there wasn't a drop of snow anywhere - go figure. All we had to do is get to Limon but we couldn't.

Anyway, we got home Monday afternoon - safe and sound!! And this is definitely not an adventure that I care to repeat ever!! :o)

Thanksgiving

2008-12-04T20:13:00.002-06:00

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Colorado to visit my family out there. This is the first time that my 2 sisters and my brother have all been together in 7 years. We tried it last year but that is when Hannah ended up in the hospital and we couldn't go. We had a really nice time. We actually did Thanksgiving on Friday because my youngest sister, Carla, is a nurse and she had to work Thanksgiving Day.

So, on Thanksgiving Day we went to my mom's church (the one I grew up in) and they had a Thanksgiving dinner there for some homeless families who are trying to get back on their feet. A few people from the church cooked the meal (Mark went down and helped) and people from the church attended along with a couple of homeless families. It was also my birthday on Thursday and my mom made me a birthday cake (I knew about the cake but didn't realize that it was my birthday cake) and they all sang happy birthday to me too. I was not very happy that she embarassed me, but hey, that's what mom's are for I guess.

Friday we had our meal at my Grandma's then. It was my sister, Tina, and her 2 daughters, Shannon and Krystal. Krystal's friend, Sarah. My sister, Carla and her husband, Michael and their three children, Arianna, Melieah and Treyven. My mom and Grandma. Mark, Hannah, Sarah and I. My brother, Kevin and his wife, Deb. My cousin, Jami and her three kids, Kaela, Cody and Morgan. We had a lot of fun.

Saturday we all met up at Fargo's Pizza Parlor for lunch. This time my cousin Jami's husband, Brandon came along. We had a blast there too.

I'll post pictures later. Now for a post about our adventure trying to get home from Colorado.

Sarah made State Honor Choir

2008-11-10T21:44:00.002-06:00

Sarah's music teacher sent in an audition CD of Sarah singing to the Kansas Choral Directors Statewide Honor Treble Choir and she and another classmate made the choir. They were the only freshmen from our school to try out and they both made it. We are pretty excited for her!! Their concert will be in February at the end of the month. It will be in Wichita so we will have to go for that (hopefully).

Week from heck!!

2008-11-10T21:32:00.002-06:00

I had a week from heck!! On Tuesday last week I got a flat tire on my way to work. I was three miles from work when it went flat. The bad part is that I work out in the middle of no where. I called work and asked for one of the guys to come get me. I started to change my tire to put the donut on while I waited. I had the jack out and was just getting it placed under the car when two guys from a construction company turned onto the road and they stopped and backed up and asked if I wanted some help. I said that I could change the tire but that it would be really great if they could help. So, I jacked the car up and one of the guys undid the lug nuts and took the tire off and put my donut on and then I lowered the car. Then I was on my way!! I ruined the tire so I had to buy a new tire!! After I was on my way to work I was about a mile from work and almost hit a deer that ran in front of me. On my way home that night after Mark and I cleaned out at the plant I almost hit a coyote. I really should have just stayed home that day!!

Then on Friday we took my car to Kansas City as we had to go to Hannah's school for her annual IEP review. It was an awesome review!! She is doing so good in school and living in the dorm this year and everyone had really good things to say!! Well, on the way back from KC we stopped in Topeka for dinner and to go to Goodwill (Sarah needed some things yet for her costume for the high school's musical that is this week). Well, we smelled antifreeze when we stopped at a stop light. I thought it was the truck next to us but when we stopped at Goodwill I smelled it again. Sure enough, when we came out the car was leaking antifreeze and water. We babied the car home stopping every so often to put water into the radiator. We thought it was the water pump. Well, we turned it into the shop today and it was just a hose but our mechanic had to take out the intake manifold (whatever that is) to put it on. So, it wasn't as bad as we thought, but still this is after a major ($2,000) repair on our truck in September.

On Saturday I had a craft show and it closed at 4 p.m. Mark called me on my cell phone and asked if I was getting ready to pack it up and then he asked me if I wanted some more bad news. Of course, I told him no but I was sure he was going to tell me anyway!! He said that my washing machine quit working!! Great!! So, I got to buy a new washing machine yesterday. Of course, they didn't have it in stock and had to order it so I get to go a week to 10 days without a washer!! UGH!! Calgon, take me away!!!

My MIL

2008-11-10T21:28:00.003-06:00

My MIL will probably get to come home tomorrow from the hospital. She was able to eat food today and was doing well. We'll hope she has a good night and that she will be able to go home for sure. They tested 20+ lymph nodes and none of them came back positive for cancer. That is awesome news!! Thanks to everyone for their prayers. Please pray for continued healing.

Hannah and goal ball

2008-11-06T22:33:00.003-06:00

Hannah has made the traveling goal ball team at her school. She was very excited today when she found out. She will go to Missouri this next weekend for their first meet.

Here is what goal ball is because I don't think that I can explain it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goalball

Good luck, Hannah!!

My Mother-in-law

2008-11-06T22:29:00.002-06:00

My mother-in-law was diagnosed with colon cancer last week. She saw the surgeon on Monday and was told that they also found a spot on her liver and her lung. She went in for surgery on the colon yesterday. They had said that once she recovered from the colon surgery then she would have to have chemo for the spots on her liver and lung because they couldn't operate on the liver because it was too close to an artery that goes to her heart. Well, while in doing the colon surgery the doctor said that they couldn't find the spot on her liver. There was no cancer. So, she will not have to have chemo and they will deal with the spot on her lung after she has healed from the surgery. Sounds like she is doing pretty good today. They had her up and walking about. Glad she is doing well.

MRI results

2008-11-06T22:25:00.002-06:00

Got the results back from my neck and brain MRI's. They are both normal. So, I asked the Dr. "now what?". She has scheduled me for an EMG and a nerve conduction velocity test. If you want to know what they do you can go here:

http://www.webmd.com/brain/electromyogram-emg-and-nerve-conduction-studies

It doesn't sound very pleasant but I guess we have to do what we have to do to figure out what is going on. The doctor basically said that if these 2 tests don't reveal anything then she doesn't know what to tell me. She says that she could refer me to KU Med Center in Kansas City to see if they might be able to offer some insight.

????? Not happy but glad that the MRI's came back okay ??? Don't really want to be a guinea pig either.

Report Cards

2008-10-29T21:48:00.002-05:00

Well, we got report cards this last week. Sarah has all A+'s except she had one A. Hannah brought home 5 A's and 2 B's and 1 C. The C was in Orientation and Mobility (this is her class that teaches her how to get around as a blind person).

Sarah always gets A's and we are very proud of her. However, I have to congratulate Hannah on her Report Card as this is the best one she has had in a VERY long time and we are proud of her for her accomplishment this year. She has really matured and seems to be enjoying school this year.

Hard to believe that the first quarter of school is done!!

Sarah has been practicing for the high school's musical that will be in a couple of weeks. She will no more than get done with that and basketball practice will start on the 17th of November then they will have about a 1 week break after basketball and she is on to softball til the end of school. I have a feeling this year will fly by!!!

MRI's completed

2008-10-29T21:45:00.002-05:00

I had both of my MRI's yesterday. One of the neck and one of the brain with and without dye. The tech said that they should have them read by the radiologist within four days and then I will get a copy of the report. I suppose that if they find anything I will hear from the doctor sometime next week.

I pray that they don't find anything and if they don't - then what?? Something has to be causing the "muscle spasms" and the weakness on my left side. I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime - I wait!!

I will update as soon as I hear something.

Sarah's Confirmation

2008-10-27T21:34:00.002-05:00

Sarah was confirmed yesterday in church. She had to attend classes for 2 years to learn about communion, the creed, the 10 commandments and baptism.

Family picture after church.

Sarah with Pastor Bill.

Sarah being blessed by Pastor Bill.

The cake for the reception afterwards.

R. I. P. Zorro

2008-10-16T22:15:00.004-05:00

I am very sad today because my beloved cat, Zorro, was hit by a car today. We think he got in under Mark's car when Mark left for work this morning. Of course, I am the one that found him this morning when I went to go start my car. He was laying at the end of the driveway right at the edge of the road and right behind where Mark parks his car. He was a very loving cat and he had a lot of personality. He will be greatly missed. Mark buried him in the back yard tonight after he got home from work.

This is Zorro as a baby (June 2006).

Zorro loved to lay on top of the computer tower while you were in the office. He would just hang out there while you surfed the net.

He love to go for rides on the baby gate that we have between the kitchen and the hallway (this is so the dogs don't eat the cat food and get into the litter box). If you opened the gate he would sit up there and you could swing the gate back and forth and he would hang on and enjoy the ride.

He loved to lay like this on the back of the couch too. He was a big, fluffy boy. He like to eat potato chips if you were eating them. If you didn't give him any he would try to get into the bag himself.

Machine is up and running!!!

2008-10-08T19:04:00.003-05:00

Yeah!! I got the part for my machine yesterday evening. I didn't get to do anything with my machine last night though because I had a sorority meeting and was only home long enough to scarf down my supper, load the car with some stuff to take to the meeting and leave (about 20 minutes). Then I didn't get home until 9:30 pm. So, I put the part on this morning and got the machine going this evening. I have done a hooded towel hood and I am working on the big towel to the crab towel set. However, I have to leave for church choir practice in about 20 minutes so I don't know that I will get anything else done tonight.

Broken embroidery machine

2008-10-05T21:37:00.003-05:00

Well, I broke my embroidery machine yesterday. I was VERY upset. It comes with 4 different standard hoops and when you select one of those hoops on the machine to use it shows you a picture on the screen. The outside edge of the hoop is in black, the inside "safe" area (this is where the needle can safely embroider without hitting the hoop) is in red and your design is in blue.

Well, you can purchase other size hoops for the machine but you have to enter it manually - so I did that. Well, not realizing that it doesn't indicated the "safe" area for you and even though I did a trace (the machine moves the needle around the hoop "tracing" the shape of the design to show you where the placement will be) and didn't have any problems - when it was stitching out the presser foot hit the hoop and it broke the needle. So, I changed the needle and put something else on the machine in a different hoop (using the same design though). Well, when that hoop moved, apparently the pressure foot was bent and I didn't realize it because it caught on the edge of the different hoop and REALLY bent. I was so upset because this is not an inexpensive machine and I just knew that Mark was going to be mad.

Well, he wasn't - he said to just order the part. He said some parts are meant to break so that you don't damage bigger parts. From what I can tell that is the only thing that is wrong. Still I was very upset. And, I am trying to get ready for a craft show that I have in 2 weeks and it doesn't help having my machine down.

Test results

2008-10-05T21:28:00.003-05:00

Well, I got my first test results back from the neurologist on Friday. I ended up going to visit Dr. R again because I had another "episode" of what happened in July. Of course, by the time they could get me in to see Dr. R. I wasn't having an "episode". However, she is very concerned and wants to get my MRI moved up sooner from the October 28th date that I have.

The test results from the EEG came back normal. However, she said that normal doesn't mean that I am not having seizures. An abnormal EEG would confirm that that is what was going on. So, I guess that test didn't do any bit of good.

I guess we'll have to see how soon she can get the MRI moved up to and go from there. She told me that she could put me on seizure medicine if I wanted her to but I told her no. There is no sense in putting me on medication that I don't even or may not even need. I'll wait for the MRI results, thank you.

The whole deal with the MRI is that they can do it on Ft. Riley but they were more than 30 days out so Tricare was going to refer me off post. Well, Tricare wanted more information from the Dr. as to why I had to have it done because an MRI for a family member has to have a "second level" approval (whatever that means). Well, my records from the first visit to Dr. R were out for dictation and by the time they would get them back and get them to Tricare and we'd go through the whole approval process it would probably take about a month so that is why I am scheduled on Ft. Riley on October 28th.

Now, since Dr. R doesn't want me to wait that long - she is going to use my office visit to her on Friday to submit to Tricare and she is putting "urgent" on the MRI request so hopefully I will know something sooner and can get it done off post in the next week or so. I'll keep everyone posted on that.

First Craft Show

2008-09-28T21:15:00.004-05:00

I did my first craft show yesterday here in town. I have done craft shows here before and they really don't make you any money so I figured I was paying my $20 booth fee to advertise. I did make around $120 though so I did 10 times better than I thought I would. I took 5 special orders. Two of those were for the kids hooded towels (a total of 3 towels).

My next craft show is October 18th. I am still keeping busy making lots more stuff.

I was able to figure out on my digitizing program how to add lettering to stock designs so I am pretty proud of myself for that since I have no clue what I am doing with that program.

See my embroidery blog for some pics of the special order bibs I did today.

Tests

2008-09-24T21:31:00.002-05:00

I went for my EEG today and my bloodwork. Obviously won't know anything until they get the results back to the Dr. I was supposed to go for my MRI tomorrow but the referral hasn't been approved through Tricare yet so I will have to wait for that and then reschedule it.

I was supposed to be sleep deprived for the EEG this morning so I went to bed last night at around 10:40 pm and probably didn't get to sleep until after 11 pm. And the alarm clock went off at 1:30 am. I was supposed to go to bed at the regular time, which is usually between 10 and 11 and then get up 4 hours before I normally get up. Well, I normally get up around 5:30 - 6, there fore 1:30 am it was. Mark gets up around that time to get ready for work anyway so he was up with me.

I did come home and take about a 3 hour nap but I am headed to bed here shortly as 3 hours wasn't quite enough!! LOL!!

I'll keep everyone updated on the test results once I know something. Hopefully it won't turn out to be anything.

My new embroidery machine

2008-09-24T21:26:00.003-05:00

These are some pics of my new commercial embroidery machine that was just delivered on Monday. I have been messing with it now for a couple of days to get the tension right and all that and I finally did my first item on it. It was the hand towel for the scarecrow towel set that I have posted on my embroidery blog.

I am very excited about my new machine but there is lots to learn I think!! And, of course, hooping things is a lot different than on the home machine I have so I am having to work on that too. It will all come with time (which I don't have right now because I have a craft show on Saturday!! Yikes!!).

Having some tests

2008-09-21T00:28:00.002-05:00

Please keep me in your prayers - I have to go for some tests. I go Wednesday for some blood tests and an EEG (An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain. Special sensors (electrodes ) are attached to your head and hooked by wires to a computer. The computer records your brain's electrical activity on the screen or on paper as wavy lines. Certain conditions, such as seizures, can be seen by the changes in the normal pattern of the brain's electrical activity.) I will also have to have an MRI but that hasn't been scheduled yet.

I am having this done because back in July I started having what felt like a muscle spasm in my left hand. It was tight and my fingers would move and twitch all on their own when I wasn't doing anything. It started on a Friday night and over the weekend into Monday morning it worked its way up my arm into my neck and jaw. By then I thought maybe I was having a stroke or something and I called the hospital. They set me up an appointment in the clinic and when I got there the PA that I saw told me to go to the ER. He said that that is where they should have told me to go in the first place so that they could do a CT Scan to make sure that I wasn't having a stroke. So I went to the ER.

They did a CT Scan and did a regular bloodwork and a blood test for Lyme's Disease. The CT Scan came back normal so I wasn't having a stroke, which I thought was a good thing and all the blood tests showed was that I was "slightly anemic". The anemia didn't surprise me because most people who have the weight loss surgery that I have had have low iron and B12 so I started taking more of those 2 vitamins.

Anyway, the doctor in the ER said he wasn't sure what was causing the spasm in my arm so he said that he would put in a referral to a neurologist. The "spasm" continued for 2 - 3 more days and then quit. The referral to the neurologist never came and I didn't think anymore about it.

Well, about three weeks ago I get a call from Tricare (our insurance) wanting to know if I had made an appt from the referral. I ignored the call and a couple of days later I got another call. See, when you make an appt from a referral then you have to call Tricare and let them know when your appt is. Well, I was going to call them back to let them know that had never received the referral and the next day I got the referral in the mail.

So, I made the appt with the neurologist and I went this last Wednesday. She did some observations and "tests". Like I had to push and pull against her hands and then she tried to pull or push my hands and legs, etc. She looked in my eyes and in my mouth and told me to say "ahhhh". She poked me with a safety pin to check my sensory nerves (yup - I can feel it - it hurt slightly). She tested my reflexes with her rubber hammer and then ran the sharp tip of it along the middle of my foot (that hurt worse than the pin pricks!!!). Then she had me walk across the room normally and then in a straight line with one foot right in front of the other and then she had me stand with both feet together, arms out of front of me and close my eyes.

After she was done testing me she said that I have significant weakness in my left side. She asked if I had had any spasms or weakness in my leg and I told her not that I noticed, only in my hand and arm. She said that what happened that day could have been a seizure. She said there are other things that can cause these "spasms" such as a deficiency in calcium (hence the bloodwork I am sure). She has ordered these tests to see if they can see anything else. On the orders for the tests she put down the diagnosis as a "focal movement disorder".

If you care to read more about it you can go here:

http://www.neurologychannel.com/movementdisorders/index.shtml

This is the website that I found had the most organized information about it.

I have not had anymore "spasms" but she said that sometimes they can happen and continue over the course of a few days like mine did and then it may not happen again for days, weeks or months but then they eventually can come more often.

So, I guess I get the tests done and we'll have to see what happens. I am a little nervous but trying not to worry until I really have something to worry about. I suppose that if they find something she will call me and let me know and if not I have a follow up appointment in 6 months.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Family Weekend

2008-09-20T23:42:00.009-05:00

After having to have our truck repaired (a major repair that cost a lot of money and two trips to the repair shop - once being towed there) so we could go - we went last weekend (September 11th - 14th) to the State Fair in Hutchinson. We pulled the camper down to Halstead, which is about 20 minutes from Hutchinson, and we stayed at the Spring Lake RV Resort (http://www.springlakervresort.com/). We have stayed there before and really liked it lot.

We left Thursday morning around 9 am and got to the campground around 10:30. Got the camper unhooked and set and then headed to the fair.

(Entrance Gate at the Fair)

We got to the fair grounds at around 1 pm. It was drizzling a little bit and did that most of the day. If it rained too much we just went to the inside exhibits and when it quit we went to the outdoor ones.

(This was the biggest pumpkin - it weighed 652.7 lbs)

(This was a very funny looking rabbit - it looks like a poodle to me!!)

(This is a Watusi cow)

We walked and walked and walked some more until around 9 pm that night. Hannah went to see a Puddle of Mud concert that night by herself while Mark, Sarah and I hung around walking some more.

On Friday morning we left for Wichita at around 6:30 am for Hannah's eye appointment which was at 8:15 am. This was her appt to see if she could wear contacts. It rained VERY hard all day Friday. Wichita even had some flooding and had some areas that were evacuated. It was miserable. What should have taken us around 40 minutes to drive from the campground to the Dr.'s office took us just a little over an hour.

Anyway, after they put the contacts in, it was amazing at how much more she could see with them. We had to hang out until 2:30 pm, which is when they wanted her to come back to the eye clinic to see how it went with the contacts in. We went for breakfast at IHOP and then went to places like Sam's, Walmart, the mall, Hobby Lobby, etc. When we went back to the Dr.'s office he checked her again and since her eyes had adjusted to the contacts she was able to see even better. So, Hannah is getting contacts. They had to send them back to have them tinted and they will probably be in sometime this next week. To say that she is excited is an understatement!!! LOL!!!

Friday night we played Bingo at the campground's Clubhouse. Hannah won 3 games and I won 1. Their prizes were things like notepads, a can of Pringles, candy bars, etc but we had fun doing it and it was still raining and beat being cooped up in the camper for the evening. Then we ate homemade ice cream that the campground does.

Saturday we went to the State Fair again at around 10 am and we walked and walked and walked some more. It was drizzling just a little bit when we got there but by about 11 or 11:30 am it quit and the sun came out and we had to take our rain coats and umbrellas back to the truck.

We looked at some antique tractors and watched a man do chain saw carvings.

We had concert tickets that night to see Jason Michael Carroll and Joe Nichols. It was a pretty good concert and I got some good pics.

(Jason Michael Carroll)

(Very nice close up of Joe Nichols!!)

I got an awesome shot of the moon and clouds while at the concert too. It was an absolute beautiful evening after all the rain that we had had.

We left Sunday morning to head for home. It was a fun weekend but boy were we beat. And then, of course, we had to take Hannah back to Kansas City for school.

Catchin' Up

2008-08-12T12:12:00.002-05:00

Well I will try to get everyone caught up on what we've been up to all summer. I don't know if I'll get any pics posted but here is a summary:

Sarah played softball from the beginning of June until the week after the 4th of July when they had tournaments. She pretty much has just hung out all summer but she has been babysitting for a teacher that went back to work last week Tuesday. She'll babysit for them everyday until she starts back to school on the 19th - which is next Tuesday. She is ready for school to start. She will be a freshman.

Hannah had summer school (Extended School Year is what her school calls it). She went up to school for 3 weeks from July 7th trhough July 25th. She worked in the Activities Room at a Nursing Home for those three weeks and really enjoyed it. She will be a Junior and when you go to summer school at the school for the blind at that age then they actually put you into a vocational program and you learn job skills/how to get along with your boss and co-workers, etc. So, she actually got to earn a paycheck this summer. She went to Heather's Camp from July 31st until August 3rd. Heather's Camp is a camp for visually impaired children. This is her 3rd year going and she absolutely loves it. She got to "drive" a speedboat and go tubing. She got to fish and do crafts and all the fun camp stuff. She will start back to school on Monday so we take her to Kansas City to enroll on Sunday. She is ready to go back to school too.

We went for her yearly vision exam yesterday and she will get to get contacts. This is a new Dr. and he said that she should have been in contacts a long time ago. He has worked on a study that shows contacts give people with certain visual impairments more field of vision (meaning they can see a greater area) and it also lets her read 3 lines smaller on the vision chart than what she can see with her glasses. So, to contacts she goes. We'll go back on Sept. 12th at 8:15 am to get her trial pair and then she'll wear them all day and we'll go back at 2:30 pm on the same day and she and the Dr. will decide if that's what she wants to do. If so, then they will have to send her contacts back to be tinted or order her her permanent pair that will be tinted and then she'll go back to get her permanent pair. They tint them so that it cuts out the glare - just like her glasses - and so that if she drops one she can find it. She is VERY excited to say the least.

Mark and I have just been still both working our full time jobs and our 2 cleaning jobs. I have just added the embroidery to my schedule as I would like to do this and maybe eventually make it a full time job (I can dream can't I? - LOL!!)

We have only gotten to camp 3 times this summer - which really stinks because we usually camp 2-3 weeks out of each month. However, Mark's work schedule and the weather - we have had a lot of rain/thunderstorms this summer - have not permitted it.

We are going to go to the Kansas State Fair the weekend of September 12th also - so, we will get to camp that weekend and we are going to see Joe Nichols and Jason Michael Carroll in concert that Saturday. I can't believe that the summer is pretty much gone!!

Embroidery Blog

2008-08-08T22:09:00.003-05:00

I have started machine embroidering. Thanks to my SIL, Rose, for doing such great work - it hooked me. I have created a blog just for my embroidery. It is http://kountrytymestitchin.blogspot.com. Take a look when you have time.

Snuggle Bug bib

2008-07-23T21:30:00.006-05:00

Here is a bib I did tonight that will go with a blanket and burp rags that I am doing for a friend whose due date was yesterday. Don't know if it is a boy or girl so I am doing it in materials that will go for either. Want to wait until the baby is born though to get it's name so I can embroider that and it's birth date on the blanket.

Sarah's towel designs

2008-07-23T21:21:00.004-05:00

Here are some more designs that Sarah embroidered on my old towels. They are just tooooo cute!!! (I couldn't get the top bunny one to load right - it wasn't this way in the file on my computer - oh well, you get the picture!!)

2nd attempt at embroidery

2008-07-18T23:10:00.005-05:00

Here is Sarah's attempt at embroidery. Again, we did it on an old kitchen flour sack towel from my drawer. Good thing because I didn't check to make sure we had all the extra part of the towel out from under the embroidery area and we stitched a corner in with a small part of the design - oh, well - just learning. We'll remember from now on. I also didn't quite get the design in the spot I wanted - again, we're just learning. I can see that this will be a trial and error deal.

Embroidery

2008-07-18T20:44:00.003-05:00

OK. Rose has me hooked - I think. We bought an embroidery machine (a used one from Ebay - and that is a story all in it's own) and I am very excited - I think (no, seriously, I am very excited although I don't think my hubby is because of all the money I am spending - but it was originally his idea - he thought it would be cool to have one). Anyway. I am going to post a picture of my first attempt. I think - it turned out okay. I just used one of my old flour sack towels that way if I messed it up I didn't mess up something new. I had to make sure that the embroidery part of the machine worked because the "sewing machine" part isn't working right. I am hoping that it is just because it went through shipping.

Anyway, I will be taking the machine to the "doctor" tomorrow so they can check it out. Sarah is getting ready to do something on another old towel to do a test run. I'll post that here in a little while.

We're okay

2008-06-12T10:30:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know if you heard about tornadoes ripping through Kansas last night that we are okay. We did have to take shelter at about 11:15pm in the basement when the sirens went off but all we got was some rain.

However, please keep in your prayers the town of Chapman, which is about a 30 minute drive north of us. The town is only about 8 blocks wide and a tornado ripped through about 6 blocks of it. We are hearing reports that it is about 80% destroyed. We have friends whose parent live there and I have heard that they are okay but that they lost their house. The schools are destroyed and 2 churches. The funeral home is gone. It basically went through the downtown business district, destroyed 60 homes, 30 homes have major damage and 20 or so more homes have minor damage.

A tornado also hit Manhattan, which is where we go to do shopping. It hit the Kansas State University campus and damaged some buildings there. My bosses home was hit with debris and houses 300 yards from his were leveled (about 30-40 homes gone) and there was a car dealership and lumber yard that were very heavily damaged. Manhattan just had a hail storm that came through there about 1 1/2 weeks ago too. They had softball size hail that destroyed cars parked at the airport and some manufacturing plants out there. My bosses cousin owns a used car dealership and they had about 250 cars on the lot and all of them were totalled.

It is scary and sad and I pray we never have to go through something like that. This has just been a bad year for weather between the tornadoes and hail and the ice storm in December.

Updating Blog

2008-06-10T22:43:00.002-05:00

Well, I have started to update the blog after being without internet for almost a month at home. I will still get the story updated on here. But for now you can see the new pics/posts below. I'll update more as I get time.

8th grade Graduation continued

2008-06-10T22:27:00.003-05:00

These are the carnations Mark and I bought for Sarah for her 8th grade graduation - they were a surprise and the first flowers that she has ever received. She was very excited.

The kids all made these pages for their parents. I don't know if you will be able to read them or not but their hand prints were on one side and then they could put what ever they wanted on the other side. Sarah put a couple of poems and then a personal note to her dad and I. I took pics of the sayings but I don't know if you will be able to read them. When their names were called to be recognized, they brought these to their parents. I cried.

May 20th - Sarah's 8th Grade Graduation

2008-06-10T21:34:00.007-05:00

Me and Sarah after the graduation program. The theme of the evening was Night of the Stars. All the 8th grade parents were in charge of decorating the gym. The kids had a dance after the graduation.

Sarah with Mrs. B - her middle school counselor who is an awesome lady and who took a new job at another school for next year.

The whole 8th grade class - there are 30 of them.

Sarah with 2 of her best friends - C and C.

Some of the decorations.

Before the 8th grade recognition part of the program. The kids had their last vocal concert of the year. They do a 6th grade choir and then a combined 7th/8th grade choir. My baby girl takes after her mom when it comes to singing. She had a solo and a duet that night but the pictures turned out blurry.

This is the 7th/8th grade choir.

May 12th - Sarah's last band concert for 07-08 school year

2008-06-10T21:25:00.004-05:00

Here is a picture of the whole 7th/8th grade band. This was Sarah's last middle school band concert.

Here is Sarah playing her flute.

Sarah and her friends - C & C.

Sarah and the other flutists (not sure if that's what they are called???)

1st camping trip - May 16th

2008-06-10T21:11:00.002-05:00

Here are some pics from our first camping trip. I just love a good fire and it was a beautiful evening out.

Here are some geese that were hanging out on the lake. We usually take old bread to feed them but they weren't close enough to feed all weekend. So, the bread went back into the freezer for the next time.

Here is a picture of Hannah fishing - Mark had to go buy her her own fishing license this year because she turned 16 in December and now must have her own. She loves to fish and got quite the sunburn that weekend. She had the top of her right arm and the underside of her left arm sunburnt because of holding her fishing pole all weekend.

Mark helping Hannah with her pole.

A beautiful sunset.

Finally have internet!!!

2008-06-05T06:38:00.001-05:00

We finally have internet after 4 weeks without (at home)!!! Whoo Hoo!! I will get some updating done - hopefully here in the next few days as I have taken lots of pics. LOL!!!

Sick

2008-05-05T21:40:00.005-05:00

As I posted below - I went up Friday night for Hannah's prom. Well, Sarah and I went back to room we were staying in at the dorm around 10:30pm to go to bed. It was probably about 11 pm before we shut off the lights. I woke up around 3:30 am with a horrible sore throat and I was coughing and it hurt to cough. I woke up again around 6:30 am and didn't feel much better.

Hannah stayed in the room with us so I got the girls up around 8 am so that we could head home for the rest of the weekend. Before we left we took about an hour and packed up some of the things that Hannah won't need for the next couple of weeks as school is out on May 23rd. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Hannah's school to home. We stopped about half way in Topeka and got breakfast and then went to Hobby Lobby (had to hit the scrapbook supplies that were on sale), Walmart (had to return a couple of things) and Sam's (had to pick up some supplies for church). By the time we got home at about 1:45 pm I was beat and still felt no better. I spent the rest of Saturday in bed (or on the couch Saturday night since my husband decided to drink beer with his buddy and I couldn't get him to stop snoring - he just wouldn't roll over, darn it!). Anyway, crawled into the bed when he came and woke me up around 3 am.

Slept until 8:20 am on Sunday morning. I got into the shower and felt somewhat better so I decided to help Hannah go through her dressers and closet because we are having a yard sale the first weekend in June. Well, about half way through her room I decided that this probably wasn't such a great idea, however, it had to be finished - so we finished it. Spent the rest of Sunday in the bed. And went through an entire box of Kleenex and then some.

Got up this morning still feeling like a truck had run me over and I was still coughing pretty hard but the nose seemed to have quit running quite as bad. I decided that since this started in my chest and went to the head (kinda backwards I think) that I should make a Dr. appointment. I did go into work for about 1 1/2 hours, since I wasn't there Friday afternoon, there were a couple of things I had to take care of and the I went to my appointment. The Dr. said that it was just a horrible cold but she did give me something for the congestion and for the cough and said liquids and rest. I also have had a "rash" on my elbow that comes and goes so I asked the Dr. about that and she said it is eczema (SP?). She game me cortisone cream for that. Went to the pharmacy then off to home and bed I headed. Got home and no more than walked in the door and had to go get Sarah. She was running a low grade temp and felt like she was going to throw up. Got home again and I got something to eat. She watched a 30 minute game show while I ate and then we both slept. I only slept for about 2 hours and Sarah slept for about 4 hours.

I am feeling a lot better this evening and will probably go to work tomorrow. Sarah seems to be doing better too.

Boy, I can't remember the last time that a cold put me in bed for 2-3 days. I have had couple colds this winter but none so bad.

Prom 2008

2008-05-05T21:20:00.002-05:00

Here is my beautiful daughter before her prom. Their theme was "Masquerade" so they all had masks that some of the staff at her school made. They went to dinner at an Italian restaurant called V's (it was very expensive let me tell you!!!). I went up to her school Friday afternoon and took pictures during prom. Sarah went with me. So we went to dinner with the kids. Even though I told Hannah that we didn't need to go with her she insisted and they made room for us. Sarah and I then stayed in the dorm Friday night.

Hannah and her date, Patrick. Patrick is a 2nd year Senior at the Kansas State School for the Blind. He is a weight lifter and does track for the Special Olympics. I'd have to ask Hannah but I think he has weight lifted someplace like Korea or something like that. I'll ask and get back to you.
Another picture of Hannah and Patrick.

Another picture of my beautiful daughter.

Christian Life Night (CLN)

2008-05-01T05:31:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday nights at our church we have a program called Christian Life Night (CLN). This is a "Sunday" school program that we open up to the community. Mark and I volunteer to help cook and serve the meal and then we help clean up. I think this is our 5th year volunteering??? Last night was our end of the year party. We usually BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs and the rest of the meal is potluck. We get new color t-shirts every year on this day too! Last year they were orange - this year lime green. Anyway, we enjoy helping with this program but at the same time we are glad that it is over until fall.

This is a picture of Sarah with Sophia. Sophia is the daugther of my office assistant, Michelle, at work. As you can see - we had face painting and then the children could make the visors like Sophie is wearing.

Here is Mark grilling our burgers and dogs like he does every year.

This is a picture of the whole group singing in the sanctuary before we started with the games/activities. We had fun decorating visors, playing Bible Bingo, face painting, hunting for "buried" treasure, traveling "around the world" (this was a 3 legged race for the older kids to see who could travel "around the world" - or in this case the outside of the church - the fastest) and there was a treasure hunt. I think the kids had a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of the whole group sitting in our boat. You can see the top of the sail to our boat and it had "Ship Wrecked" written on the sail as that was the theme of our "party". And we are all in our lovely lime green shirts!!

New camera photos

2008-04-25T21:47:00.002-05:00

This is a picture with my new camera of the tulips blooming in my front yard. I love my new camera. I have been playing with it all evening. I also love my blooming tulips.

This is a picture of our 2 week old kittens. Aren't they precious? The black one is Ebony. The other one doesn't have a name yet.

Hannah

2008-04-19T23:08:00.001-05:00

Hannah playing on the playground equipment at her school.

Another new dress

2008-04-19T21:40:00.002-05:00

Took Sarah dress shopping today. She wanted a new dress for 8th grade recognition (graduation). We found it at J C Penney on sale for $30. She had to have new shoes of course!! They cost as much as the dress! Anyway, she'll be all decked out.

Very Excited!

2008-04-19T21:29:00.003-05:00

I got to buy a new camera tonight and I am VERY, VERY excited!!!

I have a Canon EOS Rebel 35mm camera that we bought before Hannah was born and I just absolutely love it! However, as we all know, cameras went digital. So, about 4 years ago or so I bought an HP R707 point and shoot digital camera and I really liked it. So, pretty much my 35mm camera has been sitting in the camera bag on the shelf in my closet collecting dust (I think there was a dust bunny living in the pocket!). Well, my point and shoot digital bit the dust (at least I think it did). It could be the battery but the new batteries are $50 and I really wanted a more sophisticated camera so I really don't want to spend the $50 to "find out" if it is my camera or not.

Well, I have been looking at the Canon EOS Rebel XTI and had pretty much decided that this is the one I want since I like my 35mm in the same camera. At the camera shop in Topeka today they wanted $700 (YIKES!!). However, I came home and did some searching on the net and found it for $489. My sweet, loving husband (cough, cough) was kind enough to let me buy it. Therefore, I have been walking around the house doing what the girls call the "cabbage patch" dance, saying "I got my camera, I got my camera!" They think I have lost my marbles.

The other cool thing is that when we bought the 35mm camera the lens that came with it was 35-80mm and then I bought one that was 75mm -300mm. Well, I can use these lenses with the new camera!

Anyway, if you couldn't tell - I am VERY excited.

Here is a link to the website that I bought it from if you want to take a looksee!! :o)

http://www.bwayphoto.com/viewproduct.aspx?id=9551798

Pictures of new baby

2008-04-15T18:25:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures of our new great niece that was born Wednesday, April 9th. This is Brookelynne Marie. I'd say she looks a little mad in her car seat.

Brookelynne Marie getting ready to go home (below).

This is Lynsey, Brookelynne's big sister (below).

Survived Tulsa!

2008-04-15T18:06:00.003-05:00

Well, I survived my chaperoning trip to Tulsa to the "Acquire the Fire" Christian youth conference! I think we had a total of 42 people (9 adults and 33 kids). It was an awesome weekend!! Above is a picture of the group that went.

Also, above is the HUGE church that we attended worship service at on Sunday morning. It is Asbury United Methodist Church. This is the "big" chapel. There was a smaller chapel that connects off the left (as you look at the picture) side of the big chapel. They had 71 people in their choir, plus an orchestra, plus a handbell choir. They have 12 full-time pastors. Like I said, it was HUGE!!

We left Friday morning around 10am and got to Tulsa around 3:30 ish. Got checked into the hotel and then left to go get dinner. Our conference started at 7pm and we didn't get done until 9:30 ish. Didn't get back to the hotel until around 10:30pm. It was midnight when the girls in my room finally got through showers and we all went to bed (and giggled for a half hour or so after that). We got up at 6:45 am on Saturday and got to the conference at around 8:15 am. It lasted until 9:30 pm with an hour and a half break for both lunch and dinner. We got back to the hotel Saturday night around 10 pm. We ordered pizza. Slowly but surely between 12 midnight and 1 am the girls in my room took showers and crawled into bed. No giggling Saturday night. I finally shut off the light at 1 am and went to bed myself. We were all up by 8:20am Sunday and got ready to go to church services. Left Tulsa around 1:30 pm and got in around 8 pm Sunday evening.

Needless to say, Sarah and I got home, unpacked and were into bed by 9:15 pm. I had to get up at 6 am Monday to go to work. However, my lazy bones daughter didn't have school on Monday and slept until I called her at NOON on Monday. Must be nice!! Anyway, we had a good time but I was definitely wore out by the time we got home.

It was really neat - while we took our lunch break on Saturday, my niece, Maria, and her little boy, Amari, came to visit us while we tailgated in the parking lot. I hadn't seen Maria in a long time and had never met Amari in person. We had a nice, SHORT visit.

A little sad

2008-04-09T22:29:00.002-05:00

I am a little sad today... as my Dad passed away 13 years ago today (only the year he passed away it was Palm Sunday). We were living in Germany when he died and we flew home for the funeral. I greatly miss my Dad and think of him often.

When my Dad died he hadn't seen Hannah (except in pics) since she was 16 months old (Hannah would have been almost 3 1/2 yrs old when he died) and he had never seen Sarah except in pics (Sarah would have been almost 14 months old).

I know that my Dad is watching down on us from Heaven and I know in my heart that some day we will meet again. I love you Dad!!

Communication

2008-04-09T22:27:00.001-05:00

Well, apparently my cousin, Eric and his girl friend had their baby on February 26th but no one told me. So all four babies that were due in our family have now arrived. I do not have any details on my cousin's baby though, other than it was a little girl.

My Mom is supposed to get more information and let me know this time. Thanks Mom!! LOL!!

New Babies in the Family

2008-04-09T20:13:00.003-05:00

Two more of the four babies that were expected this spring in my family have arrived. If you remember, my sister had her baby boy, Treyven Mekai, on February 9th.

Well, my niece, Alicia, had her baby boy on March 31st at 10:21 am. His name is Keyon Tyzay Langston Love. He was 8 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. I told my sister, Tina (his grandma), that he would need a hair cut in about 2 weeks. Below are two pictures of baby Keyon.

My brother's daughter, Lisa, gave birth today (April 9th) to a little girl. I don't have any pictures yet because she was just born at 6pm this evening. She was 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 inches long and her name is Brookelynne Marie Masters. I will post pics as soon as I get some.

Congratulations girls!! They are precious.

Spring, Spring, I think it has sprung

2008-04-05T16:07:00.003-05:00

Finally!!! I think Spring has arrived. These are the first daffodils that have bloomed in our yard. They bloomed about two days ago. It did that last year too though and we got a freeze the first week of May and killed everything. I am surprised that I have flowers this year!

Daffodils

Hyacinths (note the dead grass still in the background!!) :o)

Prom Dress Shopping

2008-04-05T15:54:00.004-05:00

Oh how I hate it!! Actually, it went pretty well today. I was just glad that I was able to just go to Manhattan, which is a 50 minute drive from home instead of having to drive to Topeka, which is an hour and 20 minutes from home. We found Hannah's dress at a bridal shop on the clearance rack for $117 with a 50% off tag on it - so $58 plus tax for a grand total of $62.77!!! What a bargain.

Here is the dress - just don't look at Hannah's hair because she's having a bad hair day (it is blowing 50 mph winds here - don't know if that is true but it is a very windy day).

I have never quite understood the wearing of flip flops to prom but it is the thing around here anyway - so these are the "shoes". They actually have a clog type heel on them.

Here is the necklace and earrings. It is kind of hard to tell in the picture but they are amber/topaz kind of colors. She also has a head band that has topaz colored rhinestones but I couldn't get a clear enough picture of it. Prom is May 2nd so they will have pictures taken then and we'll post formal pictures.

Gall bladder ultra sound

2008-04-05T15:51:00.002-05:00

Well, the results came back on Hannah's ultra sound of her gall bladder and they didn't see anything. However, he said that sometimes things won't show on an ultra sound so he did recommend that Hannah eat smaller meals and try to stay away from the spicy, fattening and fatty foods. He's is talking to a junk food junky though so I don't know how she'll do. I am at least glad that nothing significant was found and she does seemed to have stopped throwing up.

He also said to start her back on the birth control to see if she can tolerate it. If she starts to throw up again I guess we know that it is the birth control and we'll have to do something different.

Going to Tulsa

2008-03-27T22:17:00.002-05:00

That's right Sarah and I will be in Tulsa on Friday, April 11th through Sunday morning, April 13th. Her confirmation class from church is going to this youth christian concert/conference called Choirs of Fire and I was asked to be a chaperone. Our confirmation class is going with the area Christian youth group (this is a group made up of youth from all the youth groups from the different churches here in town).

I know that there is a concert on Friday night and then from 8:30am to 10:30pm Saturday is the conference. There is a two hour break in there somewhere. It will be at the Maybee Center. My understanding is that that is on the campus of the Oral Roberts University???? Maria?? Then on Sunday we will worship at an area church and then head home.

I don't know what kind of free time we will have but it sounds like a fun weekend. We are taking 2 small church buses and 2 vans down. I hope I know what I have gotten myself into. LOL!!

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-23T20:00:00.003-05:00

Happy, happy Easter!! It was chilly but beautiful weather here today. We had roast, potatoes and carrots for lunch and then for supper made a brown-sugar spiral ham, scalloped potatoes and cream cheese corn. It was all very yummy!!

It was just the four of us hanging out today. Sarah, Mark and I played dominoes and I won!! Sarah says I cheat.

Hope everyone else's day was good.

Ultrasound

2008-03-21T11:03:00.003-05:00

Well, Hannah couldn't get an appointment today for the ultrasound.

When I talked with the doctor yesterday he made it sound like they would just work her in sometime today to do it. When I called first thing this morning (they were already closed yesterday by the time I got to talk to the dr.) she said that he had only entered the order to be done as a routine ultrasound - her next available appointment is March 31st @ 8am so I scheduled it for then. Of course, Mark got back from running to the commissary and there was a message that they had a cancellation for today - however, she can't have had anything to eat, drink, smoke, chew, etc. since 10 pm the previous night. She's already been up and had eaten breakfast, hello!!! Oh, well!! We'll wait for the 31st unless they can give me the day before heads up.

If forgot - the other thing the Dr. said to do was to go ahead and stop the birth control pills because oral contraceptives can cause gall bladder problems in some people. He said it also could be the pills that are causing her nausea/vomitting - so we will stop those today as well. Hopefully it is just the pills and we'll have to find something else for her to be on.

Also, on her hearing test - I didn't explain far enough - in her right ear she hear 97% of the tones but in her left she only hear 84%. The audiologist said that 84% is still showing the slight loss but not enough to need her hearing aids. She said that with Hannah's visual impairment that if Hannah felt the need to wear the hearing aids, especially when out doing Orientation and Mobility training (learning to get around by sound/feel/w/her cane only) then she says Hannah can do that.

Some relief

2008-03-20T21:27:00.002-05:00

Well, we went today and had Hannah's bloodwork redone. While we were at the audiologist's doing Hannah's hearing test Mark called me on the cell and said that I needed to call the doctor back. The Dr. said that her lipase levels read normal with this labwork. So we have some relief there. However, she will go for an ultrasound tomorrow to rule out a problem with her gall bladder. So, we will have to wait for those results. I am relieved at least that it isn't her pancreas.

He also asked if she had access to alcohol because he said if she drinks then that can raise her lipase levels too. Well, I explained again to him that at school she is on a closed campus and would have no access on campus. To leave campus she is chaperoned. When at home she doesn't drink and she doesn't go hang out with any kids here in town because all of her friends are at school. So, when she is home, she is home. I believe that we can safely say, 100%, that she isn't drinking.

We also got some other good news. Hannah does not need to wear hearing aids. Why you ask? Well, when Hannah was diagnosed with the hearing loss they originally did her hearing test on post (at Ft. Riley). When that came back with the hearing loss they referred us to the audiologist's to get hearing aids. When we picked the hearing aids up, she tested her hearing again and found that it had worsened from when she had the first test a month before so the Dr. recommended we have her hearing tested again on post. This time it showed it was worse than the one before also. So, the doctor did a different kind of test where Hannah would have no input and it showed that her hearing should be fine and that there were no mechanical reasons for Hannah to not be able to hear. He felt that the hearing loss could be a psychological response (probably as a result of her vision loss diagnosis and her acceptance or non-acceptance of that diagnosis). The Dr. felt that Hannah was not doing it on purpose because the "hearing loss" was pretty equal among all decibel levels in both ears. He said even with his training and with a lot of thinking about it on his part he could not have "faked" hearing loss that perfectly, hence the diagnosis that it was a psychologically induced hearing loss. Now that Hannah has had time to deal with and accept that she will eventually be blind she isn't having the hearing loss.

I am glad because this has had us worried also. There is such a form of Hannah's eye disease called Usher's Syndrome that does result in the blindness but comes with the hearing loss also and we were afraid that this is what Hannah had.

So, a little less stress for today anyway. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. I'll keep everyone posted on the ultrasound results. Hopefully nothing there.

How much more??

2008-03-19T18:56:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I just don't understand how much one person can handle before they just explode or give up...

Let me give you a little back ground on Hannah...some of the things you may know and some you may not. I don't mean to upset anyone and this could be a VERY lengthy post, it's just I need to vent a little here and I am a little scared and a little upset.

In 2000 Hannah was diagnosed as having ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and was put on medication for that.

In October 2004 Hannah threatened to commit suicide and was hospitalized for 7 days because she told her counselor that she had a plan of how to do it. During her hospital stay she was diagnosed with depression and with a mood disorder. The depression part I understood but have never really understood what "mood disorder" meant. Anyway, she was put on medication to help. She had been on this medication up until this last November. I'll explain more in a minute on why the medication change.

In Novemer 2004 Hannah "ran away" from home. We had been going through family counseling and she was going through individual counseling. Anyway, her grades had dropped and she was "acting out" and just seemed to be an angry child.

In July 2005 is when we got the diagnosis of the Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) that is causing her to go blind. We didn't realize to what extent she was not able to see until we went for her first low vision exam. They said she probably has never had full vision but didn't know to tell anyone because she didn't know she had a problem. We realized that she had been compensating for her vision because she didn't know any different until it came to a point that she couldn't compensate anymore. Anyway, we began to realize that her grades dropping were probably due to the fact that she couldn't see. We figured that her "acting out" was because we were getting on her about her grades (she went from being an A/B student to D's/F's). Her teacher's were getting on her, etc. However, we realized that if she was struggling to see and that if she realized that something was wrong but didn't know how to tell us that this was all a part of her "acting out" also. Anyway, in October 2005 she started attending the school for the blind and finally was getting what she needed to learn with her visual impairment and she was in a smaller class setting and getting more individual help. She also is learning how to read braille, use a white cane and learning life skills as a visually impaired person. Since starting at the school things have progressively gotten much better for Hannah.

In November of 2006 is when she was diagnosed with the hearing loss and had to get hearing aids. We also go tomorrow for her annual hearing test to see if there has been any change there.

Now, all of a sudden this last November at the beginning of the month. Hannah started having some of the anger issues, acting out, etc. that she was having at the time she threatened to commit suicide. She told us that she just didn't "feel right" and was having thoughts of hurting herself again. We took her back in to the Nurse Practitioner that monitors her medications and he had us have blood work done to make sure the medication for the mood disorder was at a level that it should be to work and it was. So, he put her on an antidepressant.

Well on November 16th I got a call at work that Hannah had cut all up and down her arms and one leg with her disposable razor. Talk about scared!!! We immediately went to get Hannah and she was admitted back to the Psych ward at the hospital. To make an even longer story short - Hannah did not hurt herself enough to require medical treatment but they did change her medications and she was now diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (this is a mood disorder - and the reason she wasn't diagnosed specifically with Bipolar in the beginning is because at the time she was diagnosed they didn't like to "label" children/adolescents with a specific mood disorder - apparently that has changed). So, the meds have been working great! Hannah has been back on track and feeling really well.

Well, on February 5th Hannah started feeling nauseated and was throwing up. We thought she had the flu as it was going around her school. I picked her up from school and brought her home. She seemed to be feeling better. She went on her ski trip then on February 12th and threw up while she was skiing (we thought it was altitude sickness brought on by her having been "sick" the week before). Well, after she came home she still continued to feel nauseous and throw up. Since she missed a week and a half of school due to being sick and her ski trip she was behind in school and was failing 4 classes. The nurse thought she was having some stress related gastrointentinal (SP?) stuff so she had the Dr. at school check her out. He thought the same thing so they put her on Zantac. That hasn't helped. We also, changed her birth control because 2 days before the throwing up started she had started a different pill and after 3 weeks of throwing up the nurse thought maybe the new pill was causing the problem. We changed her pill to a lower dose. That hasn't worked either. So, when we picked her up for Spring Break last week the nurse suggested that we get her in with her regular doctor and have him do a little more checking.

So, Friday I took her to the doctor and he checked ears, nose, throat, listened to her heart, lungs and belly. Felt her thyroid and her abdomen and didn't see or feel anything (at least not that he let on). He ordered basic lab work and then wanted x-rays of her stomach, chest and back. So, we did all that. He said that if he saw anything he would call. If I didn't hear from him and she was still throwing up to follow-up in 2 weeks.

Well, I got a call from their office today and the nurse told me that on Hannah's labs her pancreatic levels were elevated. 300 is the high end of normal and her's is at 333 (whatever they use to measure I don't know). So, they asked us to go have her lab work repeated to make sure these levels were acurate. Then the nurse asked me if there was a family history of pancreatitis or if Hannah was an alcohol user. What!!???? She is 16. She has absolutely no access to alcohol at school because she is on campus and they are chaperoned if they go off campus. She as at home on the weekends and she doesn't go anywhere with any kids here so I know she is not sneeking around drinking with any friends and I don't see her drinking at home and I'm not giving it to her. So, NO she is not an alochol user. And, no there is no family history of pancreatitis.

OK, so now I am freaked out after reading about it online and it is not a good thing. I will take her tomorrow to redo her labs but seeing as how she is still throwing up and not feeling well. I just don't believe that her labs will have changed. This is where I am scared!!

I just don't know how any one child can have so much put on her plate!!! I just keep asking why????? I know they say God doesn't give us more than we can handle but I just can't believe that he would keep handing Hannah all this crap to handle. This is where I am frustrated and need to vent!!!

Again, I apologize for this long post but I want/need to vent and I need everyone to understand how much Hannah has been given in her lot in life. I know there are people worse off than her and people out there who are dealing with more that we are dealing with in life but I still can't understand right now. Why????

Hannah is a beautiful, smart, intelligent, creative person. And as her mother I just wish I could make it all go away!!!

Mark's wood pile

2008-03-09T21:36:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of my dear husband's wood pile. It just keeps on growing and growing and GROWING!! After he got done stacking some more of it today, he says he has 16 cords stacked so far and you see how much he has left to pile. We wish that we would have had half this amount of wood this year because we probably would have been able to sell it all. We did sell some but we just didn't have this much. Due to the ice storm we have an abundance of it for next year. Thank goodness we decided to buy that log splitter this year. It probably has already paid for itself!

Sarah's musical

2008-03-09T21:25:00.002-05:00

The seventh and eighth grade vocal music class at Sarah's school put on the musical "The Adventures of Lewis and Clark" on Thursday evening. It was really cute. This is a picture of the whole group. Almost all of my other pictures didn't turn out because of the lighting issues. I am really bummed!

The picture below is Sarah playing the part of Scannon, the dog on the adventure. She is singing her solo here and I must say she did an awesome job and we heard lots of comments on how well she did. (She takes after me, thank you!!) :o)

Yummy recipe!!

2008-03-01T21:02:00.003-06:00

I found a yummy recipe that I bought the stuff for and tried today. I'm not going to get all fancy and show pictures the way my niece, Maria, does but I will at least post it. The cool thing about it is you do all the cooking only once and it gives you 2 (yes, I said 2) 13 x 9 pans of casserole. MMMMMM!!!

Three-Cheese Kielbasa Bake

12 oz. uncooked elbow macaroni
2 lbs. kielbasa or Polish sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 medium carrots, grated
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes (I would use diced next time because the stewed tomatoes were in too big of chunks and Sarah and I are not fans of tomatoes)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 carton (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 green onions, chopped

Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the sausage in oil over medium heat. Add the onions, zucchini, carrots and garlic; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Drain the macaroni.

In each of two greased 13 x 9 baking dishes, layer a fourth of the macaroni and meat sauce. Combine egg and ricotta cheese; spoon a fourth over sauce (I used a rubber spatula and kinda spread it gently over the sauce so it wasn't in clumps). Sprinkle with a fourth of the cheddar and mozarella. Repeat layers. Top with green onions.

Cool one casserole; cover and freeze for up to 2 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 2 casseroles (8-10 servings each).

I suppose that you could add mushrooms, bell peppers, yellow squash, green chiles or whatever you wanted to. This is kinda like a mixed up lasagna. It is very yummy!!! Enjoy!!!

More getting old

2008-02-28T20:36:00.003-06:00

Mark went to the doctor last week because he had to get a new prescription for some medication that he takes everyday and the ARNP that we see, Ms. Leslie, said that she would write the script but he needed to schedule a physical. So, he went to the physical last Monday. She ordered lab tests which he did last Friday when we went for our eye exams at the Ft. Riley hospital. It was fasting lab work.

Well, the nurse called and I took a message for Mark (because of course she couldn't discuss anything with me). Mark called her back yesterday afternoon and she said that his thyroid levels were not right and that they had sent a prescription down to the pharmacy for him to pick up and that he needed to come back in and see Ms. Leslie ASAP.

He went for that appointment today and Ms. Leslie told him that his thyroid isn't working at all. She said that it is very rare for a man to have thyroid problems (Mark is her 2nd man in her entire career that she had treated but she sees at least one woman a month). So, he will have to take medication for the rest of his life. She asked if he was fatigued, had mood swings, had gained weight, etc. Well, he gets up most days at 2:30 am to go to work and we work 3 jobs so who wouldn't be tired. He has gained a little bit of weight but that had only been since his back injury 3 1/2 years ago (he isn't as active due to the back injury). So, he wouldn't have thought anything was out of whack.

He will start the meds in the morning and then will go back to have his levels checked the first week in April. Then they will decide if they need to adjust his dosage.

Ms. Leslie said that there is no telling how long he has had this condition. She said that she had records as far back as seven years where Mark has had blood work done but no one ever had his thyroid checked. Odd!!

Getting old

2008-02-22T22:41:00.002-06:00

Went to the eye doctor today. Knew my prescription had changed but didn't realize how much. I have to get bi-focals. Of course, when Mark got bi-focals last year I teased him and laughed and called him old. Well, I turned 40 in November and was complaining about being old. I guess the eyes are the first things to go??? LOL!!

Of course, Mark and Sarah had eye appointments too so they were both there when the Dr. said I had to get bi-focals. They laughed at me! I don't see the humor though. Oh well. Happy day!

Photos of Hannah

2008-02-22T21:44:00.004-06:00

These are pictures of Hannah that were taken up at school in her pretty blue dress. Just wanted to share as I think my daughter is beautiful.

Sarah's Art Project

2008-02-22T21:33:00.002-06:00

This is "Franklin" the Turtle. He is Sarah's art project. Isn't he the cutest thing? About Franklin - the assignment was they had to have a group of partners and they had to create a "robot". Franklin is their robot. He is a waiter robot. You can lift up the doors of his shell and there is a tray inside with candy. I just thought he was sooooo cute!! They got the assignment on February 1st and it was due today. They had to present and demonstrate their project. The girls couldn't decide who would get to take Franklin home so they asked their art teacher, Mrs. Crouch, if she would like to keep Franklin. She said that she'd love to. So, Franklin now resides in the art room at the middle school.

These are the partners - Cara, Sarah and Shylee.

This is the candy that was inside Franklin.

Hannah on her ski trip

2008-02-22T21:18:00.004-06:00

This is Hannah snowboarding.

Hannah snowboarding some more

Hannah preparing to go on the rope challenge course (sticking her tongue out at the person taking the picture). Lovely outfit if I do say!!! LOL!!

Sarah's Birthday Pics

2008-02-22T21:13:00.002-06:00

This is my goofy birthday girl with her "princess" crown that one of her friends gave her and her Tweety Bird birthday cake. I know she turned 14 this year but she is still my "baby" girl. This picture just proves it. LOL!!

This is Sarah with her friends (from left to right) - Cara, Rachel, Sarah (of course) and Cherie. They stayed up until 4:15am on that Saturday morning. Oh to be a teenager again (NOT!)

Home from skiing

2008-02-18T20:39:00.004-06:00

Well, Hannah made it home from skiing today. She was supposed to come home yesterday but Kansas City International Airport was closed yesterday because of the snow and slush that we got the night before, so her flight was cancelled. She was a little freaked out about that but the airline put them up in the Radisson. She said it was a really nice hotel. Their bags had already been checked so they didn't have any luggage with them either.

Her flight got in around 9am this morning and she was glad to be back. We took her back to school this afternoon after hanging out in Kansas City. We went to The Legends, ate at Applebee's and went to Cabella's. We had never been to Cabella's. It was cool!!

Once she gets home this weekend I will post pictures of her ski trip.

Happy Birthday!!

2008-02-15T20:55:00.002-06:00

Today is Sarah's 14th birthday. She has a few friends over for a slumber party. I will post pictures soon. They just grow too fast. Soon they'll be gone!! Waaahhhh!! (Yippeee!!) LOL!!

Ski Trip

2008-02-14T22:35:00.003-06:00

Well, Hannah called me today to say that she is having a blast on her ski trip. Today she tried snowboarding and said "it was the bomb" and that she was "shredding it". :o) She is a teenager you know!! They were going tubing tonight. I hope she is taking pictures since she took her camera. I will post some if she did once she gets home.

Love Is In the Air...

2008-02-14T22:33:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Flight

2008-02-13T21:53:00.002-06:00

As I posted earlier, Hannah left yesterday for her ski trip. She was flying for the first time that she would remember and she was scared to death. She called me yesterday at work and said that they had arrived safely. I told her that I knew they would and that I wasn't worried. She said "I thought I was going to die!!" Silly girl!!! Anyway, I hope she is having fun.

2008-02-13T21:48:00.003-06:00

Here is the first pictures that I have received of my newest nephew. Isn't he a cutie??? I think so. Mom and baby are doing fine. They got to go home on Tuesday. My nieces, Arianna and Melieah, were mad at their Mom for being gone too many days!!! They got to stay with their Grammy but were very glad to get to go home.

Packing for a trip

2008-02-09T19:47:00.000-06:00

Well, we are getting Hannah packed for a trip. She will leave on Tuesday to go to Breckenridge, CO on a ski trip. She is part of a Campfire group called "Adventure Fitness". It is a group of visually impaired children/teens. This will be her third year going on the trip. The only difference is that this year they will be flying instead of taking the bus and Hannah is scared. This will be the first time that she will be old enough to remember flying. I have told her that she will be fine but I don't think that she believes me.

Anyway, when she goes on the trip they go skiing with sighted guides, they go tubing and they do a ropes course. She absolutely loves the trip. It makes me nervous when she goes because it is my job to protect her and I am not able to be there to do that. Being visually impaired and skiing just don't go together in my mind but I have to believe she will be fine. I have told her that just because she is visually impaired there is nothing that she can't do if she sets her mind to it. It would probably scare me more if I were there to watch her ski instead of letting her go on her own.

We'll just pray she is safe and has a good time like she always does!!

Well, off to finish helping her pack.

New Baby!!!

2008-02-09T19:26:00.001-06:00

I am so excited. My baby sister, Carla, had her baby this morning. This is baby number three. It was a boy. They named him Treyven Mekai. He was 5 lbs 14 oz and 19 1/4" long. He was born around 3:30am this morning. Today also happens to be my mom's (his Grandma's) 61st birthday!!

She wasn't actually due until March 13th (I think) but she can't carry her babies to full term so he was a month and a couple of days early. He is doing fine though and didn't have to go into NICU. He is holding his body temp and breathing on his own (as of 8am Central time this morning). His mom is doing fine too.

This makes me an Auntie for the 34th time!!! (That's alot of nieces and nephews!!! Whew!!)

Now, we await the birth of three more babies on my side of the family. My cousin, Eric and his girlfriend (I think - not sure if they are married or not) are due March 4th. My sister's daughter, Alicia, is due on April 3rd. And my brother's daughter, Lisa, is due April 13th.

I thank God for the new life that we have been blessed with today and pray that the one's that are expected will arrive safely.

More white stuff, even MORE ready for SPRING!!

2008-02-06T12:35:00.000-06:00

UGH!!! Yesterday we had thunderstorms in the morning and then the rain froze. Around 6:30 pm it started to sleet and then turned to snow around 7 pm. Sarah and I took the dogs out to walk them before we went to bed around 10:15 pm and there was already 4 inches of snow!!!

Sarah didn't have school yesterday because it was already starting to freeze on the ground when I took her to school earlier than normal because she was supposed to have a field trip. And they didn't have school today.

Okay - here is the snow we got between 7 pm last night and 7 am this morning - about 9 inches. I am soooooooo ready for spring!!! Oh!! Did I say that already!!!???? This picture is our back patio.

This is after we shoveled a pathway through the snow on the patio.

This is my covered car. Mark took my office assistant and I to work today in the truck since it is 4 wheel drive.

I don't want anymore snow/ice/cold stuff!!!

Ready for SPRING!!!

2008-02-03T20:09:00.000-06:00

Today was rainy and miserable. It couldn't decide what it wanted to do. It wasn't doing anything when I got up this morning a 6:45. Then it was spitting a little the first time I took the dogs out. The next time I took them out it was raining. Then about an hour or so later it had stopped and the sun was shining. Then it just got cloudy. Mark had to work today (thank goodness since he's been off the last 2 weeks and was driving me bonkers) and since Sunday's are also the days that we take Hannah back to school I drove her up to his work (Sarah and I usually go but we had choir practice) and it was still overcast, it was drizzling and then the wind started to pick up some (imagine that - wind in Kansas). I think it only got to 36 degrees. By the time Mark got back at 5 pm from taking Hannah to Kansas City it was foggy. I am SOOOOOO ready for SPRING!!! I am DEFINITELY tired of winter!!!

Sarah and I had Community Choir practice this afternoon at church. Our Community Choir sings an Easter Cantata on Palm Sunday every year. This is Sarah's first year singing in the choir. After that we came home and read our books and I decided to take a nap. I was tired but that's what I get for staying up until 12:30 this morning, scrapbooking with Sarah and then getting up so early.

The girls have been scrapbooking and Hobby Lobby had a sale on their books, buy one get one free. So, I decided that I was going to scrap book our wedding pictures. This is my new project for now. The girls do a really good job of putting their pages together. Sometimes, mine go together good and other times they just don't seem to fall together very easily. Oh well, the scrapbook is better than the "old time" photo album they were in. The kind that you pull the plastic protector back, insert the photos onto the grippy stuff and put the plastic back down and their supposed to be that way "forever". Yeah right!! The grippy stuff doesn't stay "grippy" forever and they were starting to fall out of the album. Hence, my scrapbooking project. Maybe once I can figure out what's wrong with my camera, my camera dock or whatever isn't letting it charge then I'll take a couple of pictures of the scrapbook and post them.

Our "dumb" Dogs

2008-02-01T18:42:00.000-06:00

Chloe is the one in the top picture. She will be 2 years old on April 22nd. Sadie is the one in the bottom picture and she will be 4 years old on July 28th. They are purebred Bassett Hounds.

Sarah and Basketball

2008-02-01T18:25:00.000-06:00

This is a couple of pictures of Sarah and her team. They took 2nd place in their end of the season tournaments on Saturday, January 26th. In the team picture, Sarah is in the back row, the tallest one in the middle. This was her last game as a middle schooler. Mom is saying, "boo hoo".

2008-02-01T18:19:00.000-06:00

A couple of more pictures of the ice storm.

Ice Storm

2008-02-01T17:13:00.000-06:00

These are pictures of the ice storm that hit on December 10, 2007. The pics are of trees in our yard and our neighbors. I laid awake at around 3 am in the morning and kept listening to all the branches fall. It was eerie over the next couple days to hear branches and trees falling due to the weight of the ice.

We were lucky at home that we didn't lose power but only about 3 times for a total of about 30 minutes each time. Our town has fuel run generators to keep our power plant going. Even if we had lost power - we heat our house with a wood burner anyway and we have a gas stove - so we wouldn't have frozen and we wouldn't have starved. We'd might have died from boredom though. There was one point when the power went out that Sarah and I were playing Uno and we continued to play by candle light and flashlight. That was pretty interesting and kind of hard to tell blue and green apart, but we did it.

However, at the plant where I work we were without power from around 1 a.m. on December 10th until 6:45 p.m. on December 19th. From the 11th through the 14th I pretty much ran back and forth from home and the plant to take care of anything that came up, like payroll (pretty important huh???). Then the 17th through the 19th, they had my office all hooked up to a generator that they had running to the breaker box. Our phones were hooked up to the generator and my fax/copier was hooked up too. I was wearing coveralls and my heavy coat and boots to work and we used a propane tank heater to keep somewhat warm. It was NOT fun!!!

Anyway, we all survived and they got us up and running again. We did have a few friends who didn't get power back until December 24th.

Just Beginning

2008-02-01T06:18:00.000-06:00

I am going to attempt this blogging thing. I love reading Rose & Dennis' family blog when I get a moment to get online to do so. Since we are so far away from family I thought maybe I should try this. I will try to update as often as possible.