tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45387299924237773692024-03-12T19:56:23.602-07:00A Dream Adoption...Bringing home the TWINS!Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-47953012292800259912012-12-18T12:29:00.001-08:002012-12-18T12:29:32.577-08:00Spontaneous Little LovesSince I am clearly not keeping up with a day to day accounting of our Little Loves, I will just try to highlight a couple that we actually got some pictures of and that really touched us. I'm sure that no one will be overly surprised that some of the most meaningful were the spontaneous ones that we did not plan for at all.<br />
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The day that we went to get our tree, we were unsure what our Little Love would be and had been discussing it as we pulled into the gas station. At the edge of the driveway was an older man with a sign that simply stated, "Please HELP hungry"<br />
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Now, I have admitted before that I have not historically been a very generous person, especially in these situations. But, our adoption fundraising endeavors certainly allowed for me to have a shift of perspective.<br />
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In the past, my main concern was that maybe they really didn't need the help, or maybe they used the money for alcohol or drugs, or maybe this or maybe that....<br />
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My husband didn't even blink about it but set off to get him some food....<br />
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He even tucked a little apple and a water from what we brought for family snacks. Oh, and of course, some hot cocoa!</div>
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The children were all so excited to see him get something to eat and craned their heads to see. And then something occurred to me....what the man does in regards to the food or the help does not ever cancel out the pure goodness that someone has in their heart when they wish to be helpful and ease someone's burdens.</div>
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The world tells us to worry more about being "taken" or seeming like a fool. But I think I am now more worried about seeming heartless....</div>
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The next little love that really touched me came after a very hard day. I was not functioning well at all and was very cranky about it. My older girls had a lot of school work to do and were tired and exasperated with the smaller children who were overly worked up and hyper about the holidays, the tree, and well...anyone that has children will know that children don't even need a reason at this time of year! :)</div>
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The younger children were expressing near desperation at wanting to have the tree put up but my husband was working yet another 12 hour shift and has been struggling to keep up with all of the new information he is trying to learn as he trains to be a sheriff's deputy. </div>
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I asked the older girls if there was any possible way that they thought we could heft that big tree inside by ourselves. The small children jumped up and down with excitement at the possibility. </div>
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The older girls met the suggestion with groans. </div>
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I insisted rather grumpily that we could at least try and amidst rolled eyes and protests, they eventually gave in and we headed outside.</div>
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So with a lot of tugging and pulling....</div>
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And, more tugging and pulling and groaning under it's weight....</div>
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It finally was standing in all it's glory....</div>
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Look at this sweet baby, looking in awe at his first Christmas tree at home!</div>
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The kids were so excited and happy!!!!!<br />
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And, I realized something...there was our Little Love for the day. Mary and Emily may not have intended to do something profound or special...and they weren't even initially all that thrilled about the idea. But, they honored my request because they respect and love me....and it meant so much. I love these girls!<br />
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By the end of it all, they were just as happy and excited as the smaller children and my grumpy demeanor had lifted.<br />
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We are taught in church to reach out to others with a pure heart. We are taught that we shouldn't be thinking of the rewards involved or the notoriety. I completely agree. I also agree with the teaching that sometimes we have to "fake it until we make it"...meaning that sometimes we may not feel like being Christ-like but we do it anyway out of our love and devotion for God and find that our heart will change through the process.<br />
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Tomorrow, I will have my EMG....I am excited to get the process started and finally get some answers. But, I am admittedly a bit scared and would love prayers....I will try hard to keep everyone updated.<br />
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<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-79229819929031256202012-12-13T15:15:00.000-08:002012-12-13T15:15:17.090-08:00A Little Love of Japanese CandyI've been feeling so frustrated that I am not keeping up with our daily Little Loves. I am either functioning a bit better and then I am pushing too hard to get things done, or because of all of my overdoing, I end up back in bed and feeling like I've been run over. <br />
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Probably the hardest trial I have right now is keeping myself from getting fearful of the coming EMG and a possible diagnosis that I don't want. And, the hugest part of that is worry for my children...what will it mean for them. <br />
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No matter what happens, my eyes have been opened to the extreme challenges that many families face and I have read so many uplifting stories of those who face these challenges valiantly. There is so much sorrow *and* so much strength that I have been unaware of.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincsahdvc_QpRpqbjhWkNNY3j3Ja0iFw2Mo1tksHJzrsawJJ_i9EkK02Nb0WU2e8EYamRYyvyXzWwGJ2rCCgQQFmBJNJ0PItb0fv0KFI_j6h2yfwI8RukA3FM_ZQaaXi8LixMoYPcGkfY/s1600/ss-121003-stephen-hawking-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincsahdvc_QpRpqbjhWkNNY3j3Ja0iFw2Mo1tksHJzrsawJJ_i9EkK02Nb0WU2e8EYamRYyvyXzWwGJ2rCCgQQFmBJNJ0PItb0fv0KFI_j6h2yfwI8RukA3FM_ZQaaXi8LixMoYPcGkfY/s320/ss-121003-stephen-hawking-03.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have so much admiration for the accomplishments of Stephen Hawking now!</td></tr>
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And, it is interesting how one's perspective changes from fear of things like MS and Lyme disease to actually wishing for it, over a disease like ALS or MND. I have also suspended myself from reading any further information until after the EMG. <br />
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Because of all I have just mentioned, I actually would like to discuss our Little Loves out of order today. It is a bit of a "cheater".... because it wasn't actually us that did it. It was something done for us.<br />
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It came unexpectedly from family friends that I just have to describe. Hopefully, most of you have some friends like this too and will also have some heartwarming memories come forth.<br />
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Since this is a public blog, I will just call them the V family. I literally grew up with this family. I don't ever remember not knowing them. I actually found out in my teen years, that Mrs. V was responsible for bringing my parents together in the first place. So, I guess you could say I literally owe my life to her! :)<br />
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As the story goes, my Mom knew Mrs. V from school and they also went to the same church. My Dad and Mr. V were also friends from the other side of the US where they went to college together. I actually can't remember what in the world they were doing on the west coast in that small town. I think they were doing a college internship in Seattle area but I'm still not sure what brought them to my mom's small town.<br />
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Anyway, my Dad owned his own small plane. I must admit, that is a pretty cool thing for a young man in his early twenties, and though my Mom was terrified of flying, I think I can make a pretty good argument that his plane is what made all the difference in wooing my Mom. <br />
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Mrs. V and Mr. V were going on a group date (they weren't married yet) with my Mom and another nameless and faceless guy....so strange that he could have been my father. ;) My Dad was introduced by Mrs. V to my Mom, and my Dad was regrettably informed that the four of them were going out on a date. <br />
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Ah, but my Dad had other ideas. He offered to take them all on a ride in his plane.....but *alas* there was only room for four. There simply wasn't the room for my Mom's date to come. Such a pity! <br />
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I laughed and marveled after learning of this story...just trying to imagine my Dad doing this. He is an electrical engineer so I wouldn't describe him as being the "forward" type. <br />
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So, Mr and Mrs V got married and my parents got married. They went on to have two girls and my parents had two girls. We went to each other's birthday parties and holiday pot lucks. We also frequently met up to eat dinner at Pizza and Pipes. <br />
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I feel sorry for any of you that never had this experience. While you ate pizza you were entertained by a huge organ playing popular music of our time from movies like Star Wars. You could even go up and write a request and place it in a box...can you imagine the amazement and happiness a child has when "their" song is played! There were also dancing puppets and bubbles and band instruments like drums and a tambourine that the organist controlled. It was so much fun!<br />
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I can even remember riding in the V family car and their plastic bubble seat covers that had little blisters I liked to poke in. <br />
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We also had two main traditions. <br />
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A. We spent nearly every fourth of July together. We have laughed and laughed about the fact that since we lived in the Seattle area, it was usually rainy and we took a multitude of pictures of all of us huddled in the garage together while the dads would dart out and light a firework and then run back in. <br />
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B. We went nearly every summer to the beach and spent several days staying in a cabin together. We went to several different places until finally settling on one specific cabin that we considered "our cabin". <br />
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Oh, the fun we had! Both of our families also loved dogs so we would bring our dogs and run around on the beach and just play and play.<br />
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Mrs. V even helped us all come together one more time some years back when we were all adults and Amelia was just a baby. It was so fun to see our children experience the joy that we had growing up.<br />
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I had to give the background of all of this because their family means a lot to me and Mrs. V continues to stay in touch with our family and even offers encouragement and love to our children at a distance through Facebook. <br />
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So, recently, Mrs. V had posted on FB that she was contentedly growing older and thanking God for her life and the ability to rock in a rocking chair with her dog in her lap and all of her blessings of grandchildren and family. Then she made the comment that she was officially old. I commented that it could not be possible because if she was indeed old, that I could never be seven again and heading to one of her parties and eating chip/dip and Japanese candy. She acknowledged our good times and I admitted that I wished I could be her someday...<br />
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Fast forward to yesterday...<br />
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It was a very hard day. I was exhausted....not normal tired but so bone tired that if it was any worse....well, let's just say, it was about the most tired I have ever been. My arms and legs ached like I had the craziest workout ever when I had hardly been able to move and my muscles were twitching and jerking. I think the worst of it was that I had been functioning better the day before and was getting my hopes up that I was on the upswing rather than just the same silly cycle I have been on going up and down this roller coaster. So, I was feeling pretty defeated and to top it all off, we hadn't done our Little Love for the day..... <br />
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Can you imagine what we received in the mail???<br />
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<br />An entire box of Japanese candy from our thoughtful and dear family friend. I laughed, and I was in tears, and I was so grateful. <br />
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What she didn't know is that the reason I remembered about the Japanese candy, was that I was fascinated by the idea that you could eat the wrapper it was in. But, I just couldn't bring myself to do it! Year after year, they would have these Japanese candies at their Christmas parties and I promised myself that I would be able to eat it...and then I just couldn't bring myself to actually eat that "wrapper" in my mouth. <br />
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So, this act of kindness helped me to also accomplish something I had been unable to do. I guess you could say that it was on my unknown bucket list. I not only ate the candy....wrapper and all....but I also quite enjoyed it. And, the children all got a kick out of teasing me. They also enjoyed showing me how brave they were and how easily they could eat it.<br />
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Tomorrow, I will attempt to keep the blog going. I really want to detail our new family tradition of the Icelandic "Yule Lads" that are going to be visiting our house. We were supposed to start today...and my precious children all lined their shoes up by the door last night....and I was pretty well out of commission last night and of all things....*forgot* and they woke up to empty shoes! <br />
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Even if a child is "bad", they are supposed to at least get a potato...so what in the world did an empty shoe mean!?! Ugh! I apologized profusely that it was my fault and that I forgot to put out his milk....and added that we forgot that the dogs were in the living room with their shoes and they probably scared the Yule Lad away. <br />
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The children seemed to be understanding of that and Robertson was sweet about trying to put little things in the shoes of the smaller children before they came downstairs. I really have amazing children and I am so thankful for them. <br />
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I will close with some pictures of our Christmas tree expedition and Maria's birthday:<br />
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Happy Birthday Maria!!!</div>
<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-29348889233172349212012-12-08T08:06:00.000-08:002012-12-08T08:06:40.946-08:00Day 7-Easing the holiday tensionWe have a big day today....it is our annual Christmas tree hunt and we are celebrating Maria's birthday. So, I thought that I would post our Little Love early. <br />
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This was a super fun idea...<br />
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We found some cute little coloring sets that had little miniature markers. We decided to hand those out to some children that seemed tired and sick of shopping in hopes that it would allow them to enjoy their time a little more. We hoped that this would also help their parents....after all, a quiet happily coloring child=a much happier and efficient parent.<br />
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I couldn't imagine a better place to go to find overstimulated and tired children and parents than.... Walmart!<br />
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It was interesting....the idea seemed simple enough but it was hard to give away something for free without people getting wary. <br />
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One mother yelled at them at first that she didn't want to buy anything or have her windshield fixed. Robert tried to quickly explain that we were doing an advent calendar with our children and trying to do something nice every day. <br />
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Once she understood, she apologized and the little boy was very happy to have a new coloring book. She then said, Merry Christmas and went on her way with a smile on her face.<br />
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They also experienced people reluctantly taking them and then asking how much would they have to pay....even when they had already tried to explain it was free. Once again, by the time they finally understood what we were doing, they seemed happy and offered that they liked the idea.<br />
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Here is the last happy little customer as she went into Walmart with excitement... and hopefully....ever so slightly touched with the Christmas spirit.<br />
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<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-34103943249795789522012-12-07T14:06:00.000-08:002012-12-07T14:06:40.974-08:00Day 6-Little Loves for LibrariansI think I have decided that I may need to blog a day behind of our Little Loves but I will try to keep it up.<br />
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I've had a few harder days which is all a "normal" part of whatever this illness is for me. It is funny that I have established norms though when I still have no idea what I am dealing with. <br />
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I do know that I am so completely fed up with insurance companies and red tape and waiting. That seems to be the story of my life right now. <br />
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I appreciate those that have shown empathy and ask how I am doing. It is hard to answer sometimes, and it truly depends on the day and the moment. I made the mistake again recently of searching the internet and *finally* felt I had found a strong possibility of discovering what this might be.<br />
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Then, I read that part of the "treatment" team involved hospice and I decided that I didn't want that one at all! I decided that I would stop with the internet searching and that if all of my tests came back normal...and *even* if I was still feeling this same way, but I knew that I didn't have that horrible disorder, I would still be relieved and happy. After all, I decided that living this way sure beats the alternative. So, all of you can hold me to that! :)<br />
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On to our much happier, and much preferred topic of Little Loves! <br />
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Robert, my husband, is truly the "Norm" of our local library (You have to have watched Cheers to understand this reference :) He knows...and dare I say....is loved by, nearly every librarian.<br />
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Actually, in all the 20+ years that we have been married that is one of my favorite quirky little facts about my husband. Women that are past the age of 50-60 yrs old have always adored him, whether he was 20 years old or now that he is...well, a bit older! <br />
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And, my dear husband, loves books and loves to read. So, it is a match made in Heaven, right? <br />
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When I mentioned my idea of bringing some treats to the librarians for all of their service to our family, Robert responded, "Sure, I already brought them treats last year." I had no idea, but of course, it didn't surprise me. <br />
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Sending our love to our librarians!</div>
<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-71684262280394853282012-12-05T17:10:00.000-08:002012-12-05T17:10:33.280-08:00Day 4 & 5-Little Loves for furry and feathered friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before I show some cute pics of happy animals I would like to make a desperate plea for prayers for two adorable little girls that have touched my heart.<br />
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They have something in common. Down Syndrome. Something I used to fear during my own pregnancies... but now, through awareness and being touched by so many adoptive and biological families, I see the incredible blessings and the fear is completely gone. <br />
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Aziza, a sweet little girl, and beautiful princess, died suddenly and unexpectedly today. I feel so horribly sad and yet I am so thankful at the same time. I am thankful that this little girl knew she was deeply loved and had so much joy during her short life. Above is her picture and here is her family's blog (<a href="http://mylittlewarriorprincess.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">My Sweet Warrior Princess</a>) The pain is so deep when you lose a child and I hope that many of us will be praying for their comfort.<br />
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The other child I want to highlight is Natasha. Her family has been working to get her home for over 18 months now. Her mother has worked tirelessly and endlessly to fundraise the needed amount to get her home. They have had delay after delay and changes of rules and then due to all of the delays, more paperwork expired. It has been a long hard road and I often marvel at her mom's ability to keep her chin up and praise our Heavenly Father for every dollar that comes in. They really need the help so that Natasha can also know what Aziza had. Please consider helping them. It is so true that every dollar counts and helps. This is a chance for our holiday donations to *really* matter and go directly to a child (not staff of a large organization). Here is the link to their blog (<a href="http://operationorphannomore.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Operation Orphan No More</a>)<br />
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I promise that we really did our Little Loves over two days. We attempted to do all of it in one but lost track of time. I am definitely running slow right now....about 80 year old speed. So, we decided to start with our chickens and I looked outside and said, "OH NO!!! It is *dark* and the chickens have already gone to bed!"<br />
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It gets dark so early now and the cliche of "going to bed with the chickens" is so true. They go to bed early and (at least the roosters) are all up bright and early in the morning.<br />
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Here is our big failed attempt to wake them up and take pics in the dark.<br />
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They actually weren't asleep and did cluck at us but they were not having any thoughts of getting out of the tree.<br />
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So, we packed up and went over to my mom's to give a surprise gift for her and her kitties.<br />
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My mom is often alone due to my dad's business traveling and so it is usually a welcome surprise for the grandchildren to make a visit.<br />
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We brought fun Christmasy cat toys!<br />
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Here is Maisy, an older kitty, who is debating whether it is worth her time or whether we are just flat out annoying!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hmmm, that is actually kind of fun!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yummm, smell that catnip!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving attention is *always* appreciated.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Defintely, all done!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Would Mitsy be interested??</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of course!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBh2_sGO3urXDwXlhfqU41xSEMHEG70vJ38WNQlquvtatynUrEclxmzgsAY9N8YZuuxc9FRv-z89cfQzcYSVS1t7PpE4n-zRFnCbjaoa5UGXIX3YP4mkbm8c1FcAtaqlyyJz-atVo8wA/s1600/090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBh2_sGO3urXDwXlhfqU41xSEMHEG70vJ38WNQlquvtatynUrEclxmzgsAY9N8YZuuxc9FRv-z89cfQzcYSVS1t7PpE4n-zRFnCbjaoa5UGXIX3YP4mkbm8c1FcAtaqlyyJz-atVo8wA/s320/090.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">She may be chubby, but.....</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">She is FAST!!!</span></td></tr>
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<br />The cats, my mom, the children and I all had a great time...I am thankful once again to have such fun distraction. <div>
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Now, moving on to today where we treated our own pets.... </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Who could resist these precious faces!</span><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuebXhZpTjsj9OkRLUoz2n7uzRboDaZboCKZG-1YUbu0EymgS74YlJwBzt8hiwTzL7ZvkFeJMXMGadMhza6q7hoOUd2Xcsl77cklOtwujM1N7DGSd14hRkwmtSs_d67doGyXVe1jHMBY/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuebXhZpTjsj9OkRLUoz2n7uzRboDaZboCKZG-1YUbu0EymgS74YlJwBzt8hiwTzL7ZvkFeJMXMGadMhza6q7hoOUd2Xcsl77cklOtwujM1N7DGSd14hRkwmtSs_d67doGyXVe1jHMBY/s320/021.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Liver treats!</span><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">YUM!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DvsDKhAYpE019sKc37-QHVqRRndQBfXhT0w6dqdeTTqhM-YqQgjl2jSp57q8LSZ9LYR-eNnBmuOSDokXdd-xbAF8-oxzM0JDB7kYPbMm2t9cSoslH6PSJn9QV1wTKWI6hU6zqM3GWwU/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DvsDKhAYpE019sKc37-QHVqRRndQBfXhT0w6dqdeTTqhM-YqQgjl2jSp57q8LSZ9LYR-eNnBmuOSDokXdd-xbAF8-oxzM0JDB7kYPbMm2t9cSoslH6PSJn9QV1wTKWI6hU6zqM3GWwU/s320/020.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Can you say "EXCITED!!!"</span><br /></td></tr>
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And then, time to feel loved.....</div>
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And, greatly appreciated!!!</div>
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Moving on to the chickens before dark!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meet Captain!</span><br /></td></tr>
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Captain is indeed a "her" and a hen! We rescued two chicks that were abandoned by their mother and were left cheeping and being encircled by cats. We took them inside and hand raised until they were big enough (and very messy!) and we decided they could go outside.<div>
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Captain's sibling met an untimely end when he decided to go into the fenced yard with the dogs. Cookie seems to think that chickens are fun squeeky toys and seems surprised at our angry attitude!<div>
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So, Captain was alone and we worked hard to soothe her and keep her tame. She is the only tame chicken we have right now. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Captain got a lift to the wild bird feeder</span><br /><br /></td></tr>
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And, Captain was hand fed. I don't know why but I love watching chickens eat!</div>
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The rest of the chickens had a merry feast together on the ground...a chicken Thanksgiving of sorts!</div>
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And, now it is time to rest! </div>
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These pictures make me so tired!</div>
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Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-72769169888674789912012-12-03T22:18:00.000-08:002012-12-03T22:18:42.425-08:00Day 3-Dollar bills at the Dollar storeToday was both a success and a failure. It was a stronger day for me which helped a lot because my daughter needed to be driven an hour away for her biology lab. My husband saw me before we left and commented that it seemed like maybe, just maybe, I was doing better. <br />
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All day I was so excited at the possibility that my illness could be nearly over... but, true to my ridiculous personality, I way overdid it and pushed myself to where I am now twitching and horribly tired and sick. It was just too much so I will have to learn how to go at a more medium speed rather than completely down or warp speed ahead. <br />
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Overall though, our day was quite a success and a lot of fun. <br />
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I only took half of the children to make life a little easier for myself and for them. But, I plan to bring the twins with me on her next lab day. <br />
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We were able to go to an outdoor shopping area that is down the street from my daughter's class. <br />
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Our Little Love for today was to go to the Dollar Store and hide some $1 bills for someone to find. The children had a lot of fun and really wanted to watch for someone to find it! It is certainly a small thing but I hope that whoever finds them enjoys their little treasure. :)<br />
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Tomorrow our Little Love will be for our pets at home so it will hopefully be a chance to rest and recover. </div>
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<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-50970546369332235572012-12-02T19:53:00.000-08:002012-12-02T19:53:35.927-08:00Day 2-Thanking the Sheriff's deptThis has been so much fun already! <div>
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Two great things happened today...we made Fudge Meltaways and a card for the Sheriff's dept. And, I got an email from the doctor (yes, on a *Sunday*....she is wonderful) saying that she was ready to go with the referral to the neurologist on Monday. </div>
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I hope everyone reading the blog right now has read my prior post on the concept of random acts of kindness or paying it forward. Our version is "Little Loves" that we are doing as an advent calendar each day this month. </div>
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The idea appealed to me, in part, because I wanted to stop wallowing in the misery of not being able to walk or function well right now. Well, it is working so well and making me so happily distracted that I feel selfish again...ha ha! Oh well...</div>
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For anyone that wants to make an easy holiday treat that almost everyone raves about and is a long time family recipe (in truth, we certainly didn't make it up...we've just made it a bunch of times ;) </div>
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Here we go with Fudge Meltaways:</div>
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Crust:</div>
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1/2 cup butter</div>
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1 oz unsweetened chocolate</div>
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1/4 cup sugar</div>
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1 cup shredded coconut</div>
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1/4 cup chopped nuts</div>
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1 tsp vanilla</div>
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1 egg, beaten</div>
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2 cups graham cracker crumbs</div>
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Melt butter and chocolate together. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and press into 9” baking pan. Chill.</div>
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Middle layer</div>
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Filling:<br />
1/4 cup softened butter<br />
1 Tbsp milk<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
2 cups sifted powdered sugar<br />
Mix together until smooth. It will be very thick! Add a splash of milk if needed. You want it to be thicker than cake frosting but you need to be able to spread it on top of the crust. Chill.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEagpdXLixxcvxBIBfdySss2zGuDqAaI4WVvXCxB3-8wzG3vqo_w0WOC1C2GWj0gXCToknWzW6T3Ps1mu5TLsPTfSxahnOeWLgg2Motp6O0XN25s1tMHmNxajMdC3bZiMJAx0H6R03O8o/s1600/221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEagpdXLixxcvxBIBfdySss2zGuDqAaI4WVvXCxB3-8wzG3vqo_w0WOC1C2GWj0gXCToknWzW6T3Ps1mu5TLsPTfSxahnOeWLgg2Motp6O0XN25s1tMHmNxajMdC3bZiMJAx0H6R03O8o/s320/221.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The recipe forgot to mention the step of licking the spatula!<br /></td></tr>
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Final layer!<br />
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Topping:<br />
1-2 oz of unsweetened chocolate<br />
Melt and spread on top of filling. Chill. Cut before completely firm.<br />
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Completely yummy!</div>
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Everyone had to try a bite! The little ones loved it. My teenagers were a little less enthusiastic. But honestly, every time I have brought it anywhere, I have people that ask for the recipe.<br />
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Here is the card that Amelia made.</div>
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They all wrote a message of thanks inside.</div>
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Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-36011390991950959242012-12-01T18:19:00.000-08:002012-12-01T18:19:29.251-08:00Little lovesIt is December 1st and I am thrilled!!! This month has hope for me that I haven't had in over two months. We officially have health insurance once again and the opportunity for some answers. I have never been more grateful to be poked and drained of blood! :)<br />
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This may sound odd but I have realized that illness has a way of making me very self-focused. For the most part, that is a natural phenomenon when we don't feel good...our brains have no choice but to tend to pain or discomfort or odd feelings. It makes sense to be wired that way for self preservation. <br />
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But, I have a real fear of becoming like Agnes Moorhead in Pollyanna:<br />
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I can hear one of the lines from that movie running through my head....she looks at Pollyana and says while scowling, "You have a stubby little nose!"</div>
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Couple this fear with a need to obtain an advent calendar for my children and there you will have the perfect marriage and understanding of what we are setting out to do this month.</div>
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I started to purchase a chocolate advent calendar for my children this year. Then I had the realization that even if we<i> tried </i>to be fair and rotate the days that a day would come where the schedule was in debate and it would cause arguments amongst the children rather than bringing them together. </div>
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So, I started to look at unique ideas for advent calendars and found many suggestions for Random Acts of Christmas (kindness). And, bells began ringing...ha ha!</div>
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It is much harder to be selfish or self-focused or worry about being sick when you are planning and doing kind things for others. </div>
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In the process of researching what we would do, I found these two movies that will get you in a good mood and smiling if you watch:</div>
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And, here is where the name for our project comes in! You must forgive the fact that it sounds kind of cutesy. However, I have found a running theme in my life lately that the purpose of life, and what God mostly wants us to learn, is to love. So, when I heard the last video's song...I thought that the perfect name for our endeavors is "Little Loves" </div>
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So, here we go throughout the Christmas season offering "Little Loves" each day to bring more meaning and count down the day to the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.</div>
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Our first offer of Little Loves is to gather as many toys and clothes as we can to donate. I promise that the next few should be a bit more creative but, we're just getting warmed up!</div>
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Here are my own little loves....can you believe that we have accumulated *that* many shoes!!!!!</div>
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Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-50304153360480514722012-11-11T13:02:00.000-08:002012-11-11T13:02:31.890-08:00Hard times and HalloweenThis post has been written and deleted day after day for the past few weeks. <br />
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It is hard to write about hard times...and so much more fun and easy to post cute pictures and talk about all the fun things our family is doing. <br />
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But life has trials and one of the hardest parts for me is not to envy others and feel frustrated seeing Facebook pictures of fun family outings and *normalcy*...those who are like we used to be, busy and happy, rather than in bed with a body that won't work.<br />
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So, with a literal deep breath, I am going to try to be honest about life's ups and downs because when I started this blog, I truly wanted a record of family history and I am currently failing at keeping it going during the harder times. <br />
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Since my last post we have been thrilled to experience the marriage of our daughter Lauren.....<br />
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to our amazing son in law, Paul.<br />
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I will try to blog about that experience next since I am truly hoping to get a slideshow put together for them.<br />
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We also experienced my husband finally getting his dream job in law enforcement after a long and very difficult financial wait. This is a pic of him being sworn in...my daughter had a hard time getting a picture without him blinking!<br />
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Actually, financially speaking, we were in near devastation after an expensive adoption where we laid everything out on the line, and my husband's current employers decided to fire him once they found out that the county was doing a background check with the *possibility* of hiring him. They met him at the door with the paperwork and his last paycheck and said that they only wanted "long term employees". <br />
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My husband was devastated. He stated that he had worked since he was sixteen years old and he had never ever been fired before.<br />
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And.....to make things a little worse....we were one week away from our daughter's wedding. We were definitely watching money carefully but nevertheless....weddings add up!<br />
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And, my COBRA from my prior job was ending the next month.<br />
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The plan had been to take my husband's existing job's health insurance until he would, hopefully, get the job in law enforcement, but that was now no longer an option.<br />
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Next plan...private insurance until he could get his job.<br />
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I spent the day working on it but no one would take us because I had a pending referral to a neurologist.<br />
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Let me explain by taking this story back a few weeks after the wedding. I got up as I normally do at 4:30am to teach seminary to the youth at our church. I was startled to notice that my hands were tremoring.<br />
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At first I just figured I was tired and with a little extra rest it would go away. And, then I was nervous that I was going to inherit my grandmother's essential tremor that she had for all the years that I knew her. Little did I know that I would later be wishing that was all it was!<br />
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I arranged for a temporary sub for my class and headed for bed because by now I was noticing extreme fatigue and my feet were also jerking.... as well as constant random muscle twitches everywhere.<br />
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Within a few more days, I was having a very difficult time walking. I was dizzy, clumsy, the muscles in my legs were weak and felt like flimsy rubber bands. I began to feel that the only place I could feel semi-normal was laying in bed.<br />
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The next logical step would be to go to the doctor, right?<br />
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Well, I have been falling into every deep and dark crack there is in the health care system. After attempts at every insurance route I could come up with including medi-cal and county insurance, the realization hit me....<br />
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I was going to have to wait a month to go to the doctor. And so, my focus began to be distraction and trying not to think about it. The children came to me and we spent most of October in my bedroom...eating, homeschooling, and (gasp) an increased amount of tv watching and computer use.<br />
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But, as I said, Robert was able to get the job and it looked like he would be working before the end of the month which would give us coverage (and the ability to see a doctor!) on November 1st. <br />
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It was a dark day just at my birthday when we found out definitively that Robert would start in November which would bump our insurance coverage to start in December. <br />
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At that point, I finally brought myself to email my doctor and ask for help and further guidance. <br />
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Last week, I finally was able to go in. My doctor offered to see me without charge and boy did my body ever put on a show for her. <br />
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I'm sure it was because I was pushing myself harder just to get ready and go to the doctor's office. Add the fact that she had to do several strength tests and I ended up jerking and tremoring everywhere by the time I could get out of there. She mentioned a few things like MS and adrenal gland diseases and even the C word of cancer. But, promised to do some homework over the weekend and get back to me on Monday to prioritize the tests and referrals to specialists since we are uninsured.<br />
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And, that is all I know for now....I am done with being so quiet about it and private. I just was truly hoping it would all disappear and, I would still welcome whatever it is, to vacate my body whenever it would like.... without any need for explanation! <br />
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For my friends and family, I get tired *very* easily including phone conversations. Don't get me wrong...I can talk your ear off but even good stress seems to leave me tremoring and stumbling. Thankfully I have only actually fallen once and the only result was a scraped back and bruised backside and a bit of a bruised ego (I had actually just been telling myself that I could push through the dizziness because I had never fallen!)<br />
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I truly would appreciate prayers....(and health insurance! ;)<br />
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I will leave you with some fun Halloween pictures to keep you updated that the children are still hanging in there with all of this!<br />
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Ilya was having so much fun that he decided to taste raw pumpkin!<br />
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At first he decided that it was pretty good!<br />
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Then, he decided he wasn't so sure!<br />
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Then, he went right back to eating it anyway! Ha ha! I absolutely adore this little boy!!!<br />
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He even convinced Robertson and Amelia to try it...never underestimate the power of a five year old!<br />
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I don't think they were too convinced!!!</div>
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But, they all had a fun time! Especially because their grandparents bought the pumpkins for them and they got to choose which one they wanted. Amelia's was HUGE!!!</div>
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Hooray for pumpkin carving!</div>
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I wasn't able to go, so my poor overworked older girls were able to just get a few pictures of the Halloween party at church:</div>
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Hmmm, never underestimate the power of blogging either! I'm feeling much more cheery after posting these pictures...I am truly blessed with a wonderful family! </div>
<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-7445165912332464612012-07-29T18:16:00.000-07:002012-07-29T18:16:59.151-07:00Do you want to see the twins???<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I bet everyone is tired of seeing pictures like this of the twins:<br />
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Well that is about to end...today!!!! :) I have probably been more cautious than necessary about posting their pictures, but the wait period is over and has been over since June after our last finalization court date. So prepare for some pictures of the twins, learning their names, and what country they are from!</div>
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Let me start by catching everyone up....<br />
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I have mostly good news and just a bit of bad news....so I think I'll get the bad part out of the way.<br />
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On Friday, Robertson woke up with a fever. :( It is, of course, making me nervous because that is how his Guillain-Barre started....with a fever and no other immediate symptoms. I took him in to the family doctor and she didn't notice any neurological involvement, so we are waiting and watching carefully. I called yesterday evening to speak to the neurologist on call. Every time Robertson's advil wears off, the fever is still spiking and I wanted to see if the neurologist would be concerned about what is going on due to the Guillain-Barre. Oh my goodness, I'm so thankful that the neurologist we got in the hospital was *not* the one that I just spoke to! <br />
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She merely offered that if I gave him tylenol, as well as advil, that his fever would "go away". Ummmm, I don't think that quite *solves* the problem. :( Only when I continued to explain that he recently had Guillain-Barre and I wanted to be sure that we weren't missing something etc did she finally say that if he still had a fever today that we could bring him back to urgent care....UGH!<br />
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Okay....the *good* news!!!! And, there is<u> a lot</u> of it! First of all, Robertson's vision is finally getting better! When you hold your finger closer to him, he is seeing only one finger! If you hold the finger further away, he still sees double but he is truly and *finally* making progress after a long stall of no progress at all. I can't even begin to explain how happy that makes me! His eyes are tracking much much better as well so they don't even really look crossed anymore. If this horrible fever would go away, I could truly begin to relax and celebrate....<br />
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Next bit of good things.....as far as the twins! So much has been going on in our household lately that I forgot to do something that I absolutely intended to do. Twenty days after the last court date marked the last bit of waiting for the finalization of their adoption....what does that mean? Well, we are not yet done entirely with the adoption until the third trip which is coming in just a couple of weeks.<br />
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But, that trip is just to allow their immigration into the United States. <br />
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The beautiful country of<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>*Latvia* granted us permission to adopt and after no one contested the adoption during the wait period....we can all dance around......<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are rejoicing that they are legally our children! :) </span><br />
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Yes, I know....they are beautiful children, inside and out!!!!</div>
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Can you imagine the two of them being split up? I absolutely cannot!!!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Announcing "officially" the adoption of Ilya and Katerina (Kate) into our family!!!!!!!!!</span></div>
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Last Friday, we decided to make a very spontaneous trip to the beach. We *needed* it sooo badly! We had not been to the beach to camp as a family for about three years due to caring for our grandmother until she passed away last year (see this <a href="http://adreamadoption.blogspot.com/2011/06/memorial-slideshow-for-lillian-eva.html" target="_blank">link</a> for our memorial slide show from a year ago....I just watched it and still got teary :(<br />
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Anyway, early Saturday we got ready.....well, actually........we kind of spontaneously threw things in our van and headed out.<br />
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And, off we drove towards San Francisco...<br />
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And, eventually, we made it to Half Moon Bay!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">It was so BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd28YYt8NGgWmIzWxgWoeuyOdUW4znrxZQMqFIe3Psv2uwCYpnX74UEMxNpElvHUaG0rQHCk6Hpjjzk3M2gTQz3oVt66dwBWxy1lmzYfkyNpNhMxy-FXjDMxAVDDox_nx1i7FSm1h2I9w/s1600/beach+657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd28YYt8NGgWmIzWxgWoeuyOdUW4znrxZQMqFIe3Psv2uwCYpnX74UEMxNpElvHUaG0rQHCk6Hpjjzk3M2gTQz3oVt66dwBWxy1lmzYfkyNpNhMxy-FXjDMxAVDDox_nx1i7FSm1h2I9w/s320/beach+657.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eleanor loved it!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYpwveyB4LL862yC07wu6WUdiwJ6nOV37s-AoJgfWduuuboOv5ijnek6FtrQzdrxiq365HqPz-UrH9mtS5UosBWocFG2dT0ygwHpaCr1hWG3WNK8LPtawhpvdIowi2tqaC6u1_Ut7JyI/s1600/beach+669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYpwveyB4LL862yC07wu6WUdiwJ6nOV37s-AoJgfWduuuboOv5ijnek6FtrQzdrxiq365HqPz-UrH9mtS5UosBWocFG2dT0ygwHpaCr1hWG3WNK8LPtawhpvdIowi2tqaC6u1_Ut7JyI/s320/beach+669.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kate loved it!!!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxouodkxqFQPsF_na-C91dxQEAdzCAQt-I3hl9mVzEl4JROw8AbO96ffNs7EJJxG7-0SJxmoUcez7k29HRAOYXf_OKEbbdB2aAz8XnKvjHNJipYDoCIflkxEbi2ZjNrV20rx76hncDKw/s1600/beach+629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxouodkxqFQPsF_na-C91dxQEAdzCAQt-I3hl9mVzEl4JROw8AbO96ffNs7EJJxG7-0SJxmoUcez7k29HRAOYXf_OKEbbdB2aAz8XnKvjHNJipYDoCIflkxEbi2ZjNrV20rx76hncDKw/s320/beach+629.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ilya loved it!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Robertson loved it!!!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Amelia loved it!!!!!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Emily loved it!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_bSwwjCCmqXMJjUfvSVbMfwChK42iTL0bfP8Xlb9_nEXb6uOc0hOE0KrkUm9kGFQR7syTvZWy2wi5sr720zKWDrNm_iWa_JAZdQ1ymlu9n5E1fcoHc93WKFI3WMaTQhVcT5fpmC3KKA/s1600/beach+654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_bSwwjCCmqXMJjUfvSVbMfwChK42iTL0bfP8Xlb9_nEXb6uOc0hOE0KrkUm9kGFQR7syTvZWy2wi5sr720zKWDrNm_iWa_JAZdQ1ymlu9n5E1fcoHc93WKFI3WMaTQhVcT5fpmC3KKA/s320/beach+654.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mary loved it!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maria loved it!!!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And, when *all* of the children are happy....guess who else is happy too!!!!</span><br />
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We were all so focused on heading to the beach for the twins to experience the Pacific Ocean for the first time, that we never thought about the fact that camping was a completely new concept that was even more foreign to them!<br />
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We set up our tent next to the porta potty....I know, it sounds ridiculous.... but for a family of many children and a mom with a weak stomach, coupled with the fact that no one else wants to camp there....it just seemed ideal! :) <br />
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So, Ilya kept looking around strangely at the other tents and then at ours...and asked "What you doing???" I explained that we were setting up our tent and that we would be sleeping in there that night. He paused for awhile and then looked back at me and said...."WHY???" in a tone that could only be translated as "are you crazy?!?"<br />
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Ha ha, it was a good question!!! Oh well, he got over it quickly and decided that he actually liked the idea of camping!<br />
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As did Eleanor, once she found the doggie door!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kate thought it was a pretty fun idea too!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another brand new concept for the little ones....SMORES!!!</span><br />
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Oh! I almost forgot to mention <i>where </i>we were camping! Since our trip was so spontaneous, we didn't have a reservation at the state park. We were hoping there might be a last minute no show, but when we arrived, we realized that wasn't likely....the parking lot for day use was even closed because it was full!</div>
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So, I was thankful that I had taken some time to research other options and we headed down the road to the Cameron's Pub and Inn. </div>
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It may not be immediately obvious that they offer tent camping as well as RV parking but they do and it was a lot of fun. The place is set up like an old English Pub but it is family friendly and the food is wonderful!</div>
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And, they have quirky English decorations all throughout the property......</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ilya trying to look like a mean pirate!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kate trying to look scared! :)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Uh Oh! Amelia is in some serious trouble now!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">He's a natural! He went right into this pose!</span></td></tr>
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And, so we spent our last day at the beach....a long leisurely day of playing and resting and just enjoying the ocean......</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Emily made friends and saved a little shrimp!<br /><br />If you weren't sure before.....now you will <i>know</i> that the twins *loved* the ocean! :)</span></td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LgepUlGadxA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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And, while you chuckling at how cute the twins are...how about a little further entertainment compliments of my darling husband, who decided to get a picture of me while I was taking this video of the twins!<br />
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Now you're sure to be laughing...you're welcome! :D<br />
<br /></div>Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-88144793619820391812012-07-20T20:18:00.000-07:002012-07-20T20:18:00.356-07:00Getting to the meaning of my daughter's upcoming wedding....Our daughter is officially getting married in the beginning of September! <br />
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It has been suggested that perhaps she is being selfish for not delaying the wedding considering all that is happening with our family. I will admit that we *have* considered delaying. However, Lauren prayed about it and felt strongly that we should continue forward. I am so proud of her and I really don't care about being overwhelmed by it all....I will try to explain why....<br />
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I have been more emotional lately and it feels significant to me because I can literally go *years* without a tear....<br />
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I barely got misty at my wedding.....<br />
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and I have never cried at any of my children's births....I just get right to caring for them, studying them, and falling in love with them.<br />
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Well, that is not entirely true. I <i>did</i> cry at my stillborn daughter's birth.<br />
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My husband has cried each and every time we have had a new baby, he cried at our wedding, and he is easily moved by a touching spiritual story. <br />
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So, I guess I have even felt that I wasn't showing enough emotion in the past. The emotion is definitely there but I work pretty hard to keep it well beneath the surface.<br />
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But, this last year has created a very different person in me. I re-posted the pictures of our little Kate Margaret's hand because I think it is important to understand where I am mentally right now....<br />
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The loss of our daughter was rare and unexplained. It came out of the blue sky...literally. I was a happy mother, nearly seven months pregnant one moment....and then I went to bed like any other day of any other pregnancy.<br />
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At 4am, I woke up with a horrific headache unlike anything I had ever had before. Despite going to the ER, no cause for the headache was determined and no one checked on our baby. Two days later, amidst my continuing and searing headache, our little one passed away in utero. <br />
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That moment forever changed something inside of me. Things that only happen to other people, had happened to <i>us</i>. Something that was rare that is discussed in insignificant statistics, had happened to<i> us</i>.<br />
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Words like "unlikely", "unusual", or "rare" now suggested risk to me rather than something benign as it used to. <br />
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So Robertson's recent illness of <a href="http://adreamadoption.blogspot.com/2012/06/look-what-god-can-do.html" target="_blank">Guillain-Barre</a> likely ignited more worry and fear than it would have gotten out of my former self that would have said "oh, everything will be just fine...it always is" My brain rapidly registers that "everything isn't always fine....."<br />
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Don't get me wrong, I know that ultimately when we are with God and looking back on our lives, I do believe that we will understand, with much more clarity, the trials that we have been through. But, in the moment, I know how it feels when your mind says, "everything is NOT okay!"<br />
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So, I will bring this to the present day....we were just told that Robertson's test for the Miller Fisher variant of Guillain-Barre was very strongly positive.<br />
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The test just came back a few days ago and I will describe the results in the best of my, non-medical background, kind of way. <br />
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A normal test result would be 100 or lower. Robertson's test result was 12,000!!! The neurologist stated that it showed the aggressive nature of his illness and the rapid onset. It confirmed in my mind that if he had not been diagnosed as quickly as he was (if not for the healing blessing, the prayers of so many, and the expertise of the neurologist) our little boy would have quickly been on life support....or worse. <br />
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When we were at the opthamologist's office and we discussed the illness and the fact that he still has double vision, I mentioned that his voice had sounded high like he was sucking helium out of a balloon. He nodded and said that it made sense as the Miller Fisher variant works on the face/head first and it is a progressive paralysis. He stated very simply..."his vocal cords were becoming paralyzed." <br />
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Those two new pieces of knowledge...the absolute verification of having the Miller-Fisher variant of GBS and what had been so rapidly happening to his body (including his vocal cords) *really* got to me. <br />
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Robertson and I walked over to Burger King after the appointment....he had the dark glasses on from having his eyes dilated and with one look at him......it absolutely took everything in me to choke back the tears. <br />
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I made the grave mistake recently to research a bit more on Guillain-Barre and found a case where a young man did experience a recurrence of symptoms nine months after his first incident (very rare...but then again, it all is!). It was mentioned that the first incident was well treated by IVIG but it failed to work at all for the second incident. The young man was put on life support as it progressed and then he lost his life. <br />
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Needless to say, I am back to<i> not</i> researching and just watching Robertson carefully and praying. <br />
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So, how do I pull this around to marriage?<br />
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Not only do I <i>not</i> think that Lauren is being selfish, I firmly believe that the wedding is divinely inspired. It is *exactly* what we need right now! We need to celebrate, bond, and come together as a family to rejoice. It is my plan to do whatever we can to create a wedding with tradition, meaning, and an extra measure of fun....if we don't succeed? Well, then it will be fun -ny and we will laugh about it and still rejoice in their marriage! <br />
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Look at the picture Mary recently took in the walnut orchard next to our house! Did I mention that we are doing the reception at our home? <br />
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Here we go with wedding planning and in just a few more weeks, the last trip for the adoption!!!!!Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-18623250751335568592012-07-12T20:29:00.000-07:002012-07-12T20:29:06.093-07:00That's it! We're done!I got a phone call yesterday that I don't think I will ever forget....a phone call that made my husband so choked up he couldn't speak. It was also a phone call that offered peace and closure. <div>
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When I heard that Robert was trying to get a hold of me yesterday evening it made me worried. Due to all of our recent medical stresses, I am very gun shy and find that the children just calling out "mom!" will get a near panic adrenalin reaction out of me...no matter what the tone of voice. So, when I heard that my husband *really* needed to get a hold of me, I was more than nervous.</div>
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What he said was absolutely *not* what I was prepared for. He told me that he went to get the mail... and then he choked up and there was silence. It was killing me! I asked him what was wrong several times but just heard shallow breathing and failed attempts at composure on the other end.</div>
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Finally he said that we got a check. I asked him what it was for?!? He said that it was our anonymous donor again and that we were now fully funded and our entire third trip was paid for!!!!!!! </div>
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I was flooded with every emotion...relief was the first, followed by joy, some confusion and concern that we didn't work hard enough for it, and then flat out appreciation and strengthening of faith. </div>
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We went into this adoption in faith....truly the biggest leap of faith that I have ever taken. And, it was hard.....harder than most anything I have ever done. And, it required us to sacrifice....every single one of us has had to deeply sacrifice to make this work and I admit to having many many moments where I questioned myself and questioned whether or not we could (or even *should*) make it work financially and practically. </div>
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But, I learned something, God truly does indeed make and find a way. If you give all that you can and trust Him, He will make up the difference. And, He mostly does it through his servants upon this earth....we all are so important to Him and when we do His work, it creates something absolutely beautiful. Each act and deed is a puzzle piece that makes a magnificent family picture.</div>
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Now, here is the hard part....how on earth do I say the right thing! How on earth do I truly express my deepest gratitude?!? How do I let our donor know that lives have been changed and faith has been strengthened through their selfless actions...</div>
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I am not sure that words can do it justice but I will have to try. I am in tears, and my husband has been brought to tears and we are so grateful! It has lifted a huge burden off of our shoulders at a time when we have been very weighed down with so many things.....</div>
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Thank you....I wish I knew who you were! But then, whoever you are, you must know me....because I would not take so much...it is truly too much to receive. I would have refused.....</div>
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So thank you for loving our family and thank you for offering the twins the gift of an eternal family. I can honestly say that I don't think that there is a bigger gift that you can offer someone. </div>
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What can I do to return or pass along this kindness??? I just have to find a way to be involved in other family puzzles and I need to promise to live my life in faith and as a servant to Heavenly Father no matter how large and insurmountable the task may seem. </div>
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So, that's it...no more fundraising....is that possible??? <span style="font-size: large;">We have made it!!!!</span></div>
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Now, we just need to get the trip done mid August and the twins come home as much a part of our family as anyone else. <span style="font-size: large;">Singing our praises to God this evening..... </span></div>
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<br /></div>Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-28947797668412774512012-07-08T00:02:00.000-07:002012-07-08T00:02:33.396-07:00Quick update on a possible relapseRobertson's eye dropped back into the corner of his eye Thursday afternoon, which was how the whole thing started....definitely scared me and caused me to call his neurologist. Since then, he has had a few more worrisome symptoms of burning and pain to his tongue and some episodes of coughing/choking that have me worried.<br />
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We spent last night in the living room together so that I could be right near him. And, he woke me up at around 2am to sleep with him on the air mattress. His eyes are definitely bothering him more again and he said that the double vision is worse because the two images are further away from each other. <br />
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The neurologist wants to start him back on prednisone and called in a prescription....for *tablets*. UGH! He is eight years old! We tried to see if he could swallow the pills but it was definitely not going to happen even with a smoothie.<br />
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We called the pharmacist to see if we could crush it and explained that he could not swallow the pills. She said that crushing it was fine. <br />
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We got a little bit down and he was already gagging and crying about how awful it was. I knew that he needed to take the meds or we would need to return to the hospital and tried every possible trick I knew...chocolate, marshmallow chasers, berry smoothies and finally we got it down....for about two minutes.<br />
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Then, he got violently ill and everything came back up including every last bite of his dinner. He was so sick that he broke blood vessels around his eyes and cheeks. :(<br />
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I called the pharmacist back to see if there were any other options and she said that there was a children's liquid...I was wondering why in the world she didn't mention that in our last conversation! <br />
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But, she added that she had to get a new prescription from our neurologist, which didn't happen until this morning and after a few calls to the answering service. <br />
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Ah, soooo tired and worried again but so far in the last 24 hours, nothing seems to be better....though nothing also seems to have gotten worse.<br />
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I will keep everyone posted.....<br />
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**I will also try to blog on the very last travel date for the twins soon...as my husband and the twins will be going the third week of August and most likely taking Mary to help. We will *finally* be able to have pictures of all of us as a family. :) <br />
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Thanks again for all of the prayers and kindness extended to our family. <br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-426433240583685632012-07-03T01:34:00.000-07:002012-07-03T01:34:21.477-07:00The reality of recovery & finally-our pending addition to the family!!!Robertson has been out of the hospital for just about a week now. I spent most of the week on the phone to doctors, driving an hour to doctor visits, and experiencing the ups and downs of a rough recovery. <br />
<br />In so many ways, he is doing so well. Unfortunately the stomach pain, headache, and vomiting were persistent but thankfully it would come and go. He was spending most every day completely ill for most of the morning but finally after no returned phone call from the neurologist's office and on a hunch....I had him bring some crackers and gatoraide to put next to his bed to eat first thing in the morning. It was probably because I spent 10 plus years teaching childbirth classes and experienced seven pregnancies that I thought of the solution to the typical morning sickness. Lol!<br />
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Believe it or not...it worked! So far, so good...I don't know if his stomach was affected by the Guillain-Barre in such a way that it had a hard time "waking up" in the mornings and getting jump started, so it caused intestinal cramping or what (?) but the crackers really do seem to help.<br />
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Robertson is also starting to experience nerve pain and often complains about his aching shoulder and his foot when he steps down. And, I feel so bad that he is now starting to realize the impact of all of this....the seeing double is getting very old and the pain is an unwelcome addition. So, he seems much more emotional now (my teenage girls can empathize and relate and say it seems like he has PMS :( <br />
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I think he is just really really tired as well....<br />
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I am finding it hard to jump back into life as I am wanting to but I promise that I am really trying!<br />
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I mainly wanted to write today to let everyone know that we truly are soooo extremely thankful for all of the kindness and help that was shown to us. I am desperately trying to get back on track so I apologize if I haven't extended my thanks just yet....and I just wanted everyone to know of my love and appreciation. I have deeply appreciated each and every kind word, prayer, and offers of meals, cards, and shoulders to lean and cry on. Truly not a single thing has gone unnoticed and though it doesn't take away the situation it sure helps me to keep standing upright....and to continue putting one foot in front of the other which is about all I've been able to do lately.<br />
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Hopefully, as life returns to a new normal I will be able to blog about some other very pressing events. I have teased about our "new addition" to the family and really wanted to do a nice announcement of the pending marriage of our daughter Lauren and the addition of her fiance Paul to our family. But, unfortunately life has continuously interrupted and I am feeling so badly that my daughter has had to repeatedly give up more and more of her plans and ideals to be able to still be married in September. She has handled it with grace and kindness but I know deep down it is hard for her to imagine getting married and not having her family in attendance. The details and hurdles are still being worked on and we will continue to pray for revelation and guidance.<br />
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For now I will say that I dearly love them both and that I am so happy that they found each other:<br />
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I just love this next picture because I can absolutely recognize in my daughter the love, friendship, and absolute trust she has in Paul....<br />
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Love is beautiful and so essential to the family and I am truly thankful for them both. <br />
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<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-14655995278115952802012-06-26T14:42:00.000-07:002012-06-26T14:42:20.242-07:00Robertson's homecomingWe have been home one night....and I wish I could say it has been easy but he is still having problems. I think it is side effects still from the IVIG. He has intermittent horrible stomach pain, vomiting and a bad headache. I have spent the morning on the phone with different doctors and nurses. I am blogging now to pass the time while waiting for more phone calls to advise me as to what to do. <br />
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I need to go backwards a little since I didn't blog for a day or so...I can start with some blessings and fun pictures.<br />
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On Saturday and Sunday, the whole family came to visit. We had them come in smaller groups at a time so that Robertson (and the nursing staff) didn't get overwhelmed. <br />
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As soon as I. came in, he went straight over and have Robertson a big hug....I *know* that I got a picture of them...but it either didn't actually take somehow or someone deleted it. :( Either way, I'm very sad about it but glad to have a blog where I can record it for history that he is such a sweet and compassionate boy.<br />
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K. and Robertson had fun sharing a pomegranate together:<br />
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I also got more pictures from the first group that came through because my camera battery was dying.....just a disclaimer that I wasn't playing favoritism! ;)<br />
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Robertson took Emily and Eleanor down to the play room in the hospital.<br />
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Eleanor absolutely loved the fish tank!<br />
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You can see the tank on both sides....yes, that is a fish that looks like it is sitting on Eleanor's forehead!</div>
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The last night in the hospital was fairly difficult. Robertson got very ill from the IVIG...possibly because it was day five of treatment and from the build up of the previous nights. He had a horrible headache and repeated vomiting. He was miserable and I was so appreciative for the angel of a nurse we had who did everything she could to help try to get him feeling better.<br />
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He finally perked up by later in the afternoon and we did one last session of physical therapy whereby he started complaining of his ankle hurting. She wasn't super aware of Guillain-Barre issues so she thought we should go back to the room.<br />
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The wait for discharge from the hospital seemed to take forever, so Robertson and I were in high spirits when we finally got our "get out of jail free" card! :) I was exhausted from the night before but hungry so I asked Robertson where he would like to go eat to celebrate. <br />
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To my surprise, he wanted to go to Sizzler and get a steak! <br />
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And here is where another surprise (at least to me) comes in....<br />
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I had been absolutely, consistently emotionally fine for the last few days...I promise, I was! I was able to tell the entire horrible story to doctors, nurses, friends, family, and even the Guillean-Barre foundation representative that came to visit without a hitch in my voice or a tear. <br />
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But, as we walked into Sizzler, Robertson began complaining about his legs hurting and he stumbled a bit to step up on the curb while covering his one eye(he is still seeing double vision).<br />
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All of a sudden, this flood of emotion consumed me and I really wasn't sure if I would just have sit on the curb outside of Sizzler, crying and rocking and holding him. <br />
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I didn't....I was able to keep walking into the restaurant and I was even able to order. I'm sure I looked odd with crazy frizzed out hospital shower hair, capri's that were brought to the hospital by my husband that were missing a button and a too tight shirt, a little boy with big bandages on his arm and a squinted eye....all put together with my "must have been obvious look of distress" that was nearly uncontrolled and unravelling by the minute. <br />
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But, if the cashier noticed, it sure wasn't obvious....she chomped on her gum and looked utterly bored and handed me the receipt to sign.<br />
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We limped through getting some food...I just waited for my throat to periodically unclench and I would speak before I would get emotional again. <br />
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Back at the table, Robertson sat across from me at first and then suddenly his little head disappeared under the table and popped back up next to me. And, so, the two of us sat in a huge red booth with the two of us side by side.<br />
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He looked over at me and said something that once again grabbed my gut....<br />
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"Hey mom, I know what I want to be when I am older?" (My mind racing to how glad I am that he has that chance....)<br />
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I choked out that I didn't know...<br />
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He joyfully said that he wanted two jobs...the first part of the day he wanted to be a scientist so that he could blow things up! Then, the second part of the day, he wanted to be a food critic and eat things like steak. :)<br />
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I agreed with him that it sounded like a great idea.....<br />
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So, there was the ending of two of some of the hardest weeks our family has ever seen. <br />
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Here are my two babies that I am so thankful for and so so sorry for the hard times that they have had....<br />
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Emily's arm is starting to heal and after the third seizure and beginning her meds...she has been just fine....<br />
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I love these two with all my heart and soul....I am so glad that they are still smiling and okay....and I am deeply grateful that Heavenly Father brought these sweet children to me. <br />
I promise and pray that I don't take that responsibility lightly and will do everything in my power to keep them safe and well with God's help....<br />
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<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-40896854090594525472012-06-23T14:59:00.000-07:002012-06-23T14:59:25.165-07:00Look what God can do!!!!!!!I am so excited and happy to write this blog post! Robertson is fully walking on his own again!!!! He is making leaps of recovery every single day! <br />
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It does appear that he had Guillain-Barre Syndrom with the Miller Fisher variant....a very very rare and serious auto-immune disease that quickly paralyzes the body....so quickly in Robertson's case that in days you can take a normal child and then find them virtually unable to move. If it is allowed to continue, many will be on life support for some time due the disease progressing to their chest and lungs. <br />
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The progression for Robertson was...eyes (double vision/crossing due to paralyzed muscles), voice-high pitched and nasal sound, coordination (Robertson said he felt "tumbly"), then on to weakness of the legs, loss of reflexes, and eventually loss of core muscles....you see where this was heading? This is why I am soooo grateful for a rapid diagnosis and start on the medicine.<br />
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Here is my sweet baby...standing completely on his own!!!! This is something I had better not take for granted ever again!<br />
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He worked with the physical therapist today on re-learning how to climb stairs.<br />
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He also learned how to be safe when getting up and down....you can tell he was having fun!</div>
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Then it was time to rest for a bit.......</div>
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We later walked to the play room for their painting activity...</div>
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He painted an adorable apple tree......</div>
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But, he began to get silly and really wanted to paint a mustache on me! Since that didn't fly, he painted a picture of me....*WITH* a mustache, of course!</div>
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Then we headed back to his room for lunch...he isn't making a face because he doesn't like the food....</div>
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He still has to close one eye to be able to see. Although, he is growing weary of the "soft and moist" diet which means he gets ground up chicken and pureed vegetable soup. But, at his worst, he has had some swallowing issues, so it is important that he fully recovers before eating the harder foods like pizza or apples.<br />
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We have two more days of IVIG therapy in the hospital and then we are very hopeful to be heading home. We know that there is still some road left ahead of us but we truly are thankful for his amazing recovery!<br />
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Do I love and appreciate this baby and the time that we have together....<br />
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<br /><span style="font-size: large;"> You bet I do!!!!! I am so thankful to God for him!!!</span><br />
Here he is in absolute victory....a child who would likely have needed life support if we hadn't gotten a diagnosis that quickly.....is now standing <span style="font-size: large;">strong</span>:<br />
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THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO PRAYED....AND THANK YOU TO OUR LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER FOR ANSWERING THOSE PRAYERS!!!<br />
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<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-24601258041912889572012-06-22T00:54:00.000-07:002012-06-22T00:54:26.625-07:00Robertson's ups and downs...Yesterday was a much much better day and....dare I say, there were moments that were a little boring! I cherish the slow boring times now....<br />
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Robertson did very well on the prednisone and IVIG treatment last night and his eye is less droopy. The neurologist said that some of his strength was coming back into his lower legs and feet....just still needs more strength returning to his thighs and core of his body. Still has double vision and eyes turn in and can't trace a finger from side to side much or up and down.<br />
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I did have one scary moment during the day. The intensivist (the PICU doctor) came in and asked me if I knew about the MRI findings. My heart immediately began to race and my stomach went cold. I asked him what he meant...that I had been told that it was normal. But, I did know that the MRI results were being put in front of yet another radiologist and hadn't heard anything from that yet. The doctor asked in surprise that my neurologist didn't tell me when he came in? I again stated, "No!" Then he began to back peddle a little and said that he wasn't sure that it was meaningful but that some finding had been noted on the MRI results and that he would check on it and then he left. <br />
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ACK! Seriously, if you aren't sure yet....*please* do NOT tell me! I know some parents might feel differently but I just want to be told once there is a known problem. It is way too scary and stressful. He did call me later and told me that he had spoken with the radiologist who did not think that the MRI was abnormal and the finding was not significant. Geesh!<br />
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But overall, Robertson mostly watched movies, played an interactive computer game, and happily goofed around with his very fun and loved uncle who came to visit (he said "this is the best part of my day!")....OH! And, he got to EAT! Between the MRI procedure and the concern for his swallow, he had not eaten for two days...and he was miserable.<br />
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The speech therapist watched his swallow and decided that he could go on a soft food diet. He ate every bit of the food that she brought to work with him like applesauce, banana baby food, and saltine crackers. Then his lunch came and he ate nearly every bit of it. They wanted to take it from him since his dinner was coming but he guarded it like a dog guards his bowl. So, he happily had continuous food in front of him until well into the evening.<br />
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His dad came and his sister Amelia and he got all sorts of activities and toys from his grandparents. He was a happy boy!<br />
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Until....<br />
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We started the treatment again and I expected it to be just like before. The benadryl would make him sleepy and the rest of the IVIG would be done while he slept.<br />
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Oh my goodness..... that is NOT what happened. He ended up with an excruciating headache and was in more pain than I have ever seen him. He cried out and writhed and reached for me....and I got into his hospital bed and rubbed his head and held him close and stroked his forehead and nothing worked to ease the pain.<br />
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The nurse got him some Tylenol but I knew that wasn't likely to touch that kind of pain. He cried and cried and thrashed until I really got upset and asked the nurse to get the doctor...it was ridiculous! I held him close and prayed and prayed and the nurse came back in and said that the doctor ordered for the IVIG meds to be cut in half and go in slower over a longer time. They also agreed to give him motrin. <br />
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He finally snuggled in close to me and the crying out got softer and softer until he could fall asleep. It is wee hours of the morning now and I can't begin to say how much I hope that he sleeps through the rest of the treatment which will last another few hours. <br />
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Onward to three more days (at least) of this treatment.....<br />
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<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-76906581686919457802012-06-21T05:55:00.002-07:002012-06-21T05:55:52.779-07:00Robertson update-trouble coming out of anesthesiaYesterday was a very long day...mixed with moments of relief but mostly moments of trying to quell my near hysteria...the kind of moments where you just know that you cannot even talk or look someone in the eye or you might just lose it completely. <br />
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The neurologist came in this morning and examined Robertson and noticed that he had no reflexes in his legs whatsoever. He stated that it was highly unlikely that there was a tumor because usually the reflexes might be even more responsive than normal but they would definitely still be present. He had a new theory...Guillain-Barre Syndrome.<br />
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We still had to rule out the possibility of a tumor but once the MRI was completed, the doctor wanted to do a lumbar puncture to potentially confirm his diagnosis. <br />
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The earliest we could go in for the MRI was 1:00 pm and the doctors wanted to use a general anesthesia called Propofol. I was very hesitant due to a family fear of "not coming out" that my grandmother claimed resulted in my great-grandmother's death during a surgery. I was also terrified of a case in a nearby hospital where potentially bad decisions in regards to anesthesia resulted in the death of a small child that had gone in to the ER for a minor problem. So, I was really nervous about it. <br />
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My fears were put to rest over and over by various doctors and nurses who all confirmed the same statement that this specific anesthesia was very safe and very light sedation that was very quickly reversed...usually right at the end of giving the medicine, the patient would just pop back awake. I was encouraged and agreed.<br />
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I walked over to the MRI building with the tech and was able to be in the room as the anesthesiologist administered the medication. It was a bit disconcerting to watch Robertson talking to them about our dog, Cookie, one second and then flopped over in a dead weight the next.<br />
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I waited in the hallway for a good while and read my scriptures, skyped with my daughter, and tried not to think too much...the nurse came and told me that he had seen the first pictures of the MRI and did not see any brain tumors at all. He admitted that there still could be something but that it would not be a large tumor or he would have seen it.<br />
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I was so relieved and felt like I could breathe again. He could see that I was strung tight and sat and talked with me for awhile. I saw tears welling in his eyes as I unfolded the story of our last week, starting with Emily's grand mal seizure. He made the effort to come out and update two more times and I believe he was one more angel placed in our path...<br />
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Finally, they brought Robertson out and I imagined that he would likely be awake already or at least showing some signs of moving around. He was *very* under the influence and still completely out. <br />
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I asked about it and the anesthesiologist assured me that it was normal and he would be awake in 30 min. or less...and soon after reaching the recovery room, she went on her way.<br />
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The recovery room nurse started chit chatting with me and we waited......and waited....and waited......<br />
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At the 40 minute mark he went over to Robertson and moved the sheet under him a little and Robertson's heart rate immediately shot up and he began hard twitching in his upper body. It looked just like a seizure but the nurse wasn't entirely sure. The nurse decided to leave him for awhile longer and not try to wake him up. <br />
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As the time kept ticking, I was growing more and more anxious.....now we had gotten to an hour post-anesthesia and he was still completely out. Wasn't he supposed to just "pop out" of this specific anesthesia? <br />
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The nurse began to shift from foot to foot a little and admitted that it was taking a bit longer than normal.<br />
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I began to run my thumb across my hand repetitively...something I don't think I've done before but I guess must be what people do when they "wring their hands". The nurse began to try to engage me in conversation. I knew what he was trying to do but it really did help to focus on benign things like, where I had worked for the hospital and what my degree was in etc<br />
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At the hour mark, the nurse tried again.....with the same result. Robertson's body was shaking and convulsing, his heart rate was rising...but there was no Robertson. I felt cold paralyzing fear run up my legs and they began shaking. I started stroking his head and silent tears began to fall....the nurse asked me to help to call his name...but I just couldn't. I couldn't make a noise. <br />
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At an hour and fifteen minutes, the nurse tried again and he finally began to move but in an odd unconscious flailing manner with drool profusely escaping his mouth and soaking two pillows and the sheet underneath. His body was attempting to cough but truly couldn't and the nurse explained that he felt the prior twitching was not seizures but was his body attempting to cough.<br />
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I kept stroking his hair....The nurse tried to re-position him each time his body lurched, but in one large and still nearly unconscious moment, his body hurled across the bed and his face slammed into the hard metal bar of the bed. I let out an odd stifled sound....I wanted to scream.....we moved him back into a comfortable position and waited again. This drooling, unconscious, sometimes moaning, little boy that I saw before me didn't look anything like my baby....Oh Heavenly Father....where was my baby.....<br />
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At about an hour and a half after the anesthesia was stopped and a full hour longer than was ever expected...Robertson finally began to open his eyes.....he looked over at me.....and he immediately reached toward me with both arms like an infant who wanted to be picked up. I held him and cried and kissed his head with an amount of relief I don't think I've ever known before. <br />
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We were moved to the ICU and the neurologist came in to explain that there were no tumors but he believed that Robertson did have Guillain-Barre syndrome and wanted to start treatment immediately....it is a progressive auto immune type disorder that comes with increasing weakness and paralysis which can be extremely serious if it gets to the chest and affects the heart and lungs or has an affect on the ability to swallow.<br />
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I will close for this morning with saying that he has already started treatment. Last night was rough, involving arm pain while the burning steroids went into his IV, pain in his stomach and vomiting, the need to cough but being too weak to be effective, and an inability to eat due to concerns about his swallow (he will be evaulated this morning)<br />
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However, in the wee hours of the morning, Robertson wanted me to lay with him in the hospital bed and we cuddled together and talked and I felt like my baby was slowly but surely coming back.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Last night, I thought about those that have called, emailed, came to visit and have posted comments on this blog. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> This comment was short and simple but really touched me...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I'm praying for you tonight (hear, in Germany,
where I live it is already night) and I lit a candle for little Robertson."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><br />
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Thank you to all of you who are praying and sending love to my son. Right now as we speak...we are watching the sunrise together....<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><br />
<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-67609912453189349362012-06-20T04:59:00.000-07:002012-06-20T04:59:15.415-07:00Robertson updateI am sitting in the hospital right now with Robertson sleeping by my side. He has an MRI in the morning and the doctor pulled us aside to let us know that he is looking for "masses" or possible tumor. Robertson can no longer walk well and has both eyes involved. <br />
I really have no words this morning....and can't really tolerate hugs or inquiries about how we're doing....not that I don't appreciate them but I am barely keeping myself together right now and I just can't go there. Actually mostly my brain doesn't want to go anywhere at all right now and I find myself stopping thought processes regularly. <br />
I can say that Heavenly Father answered prayers last night to bring someone to give myself and Robertson a blessing and to bring one of the nicest male nurses who stayed in our room for a long time just calmly talking so that I could quell some of the rising panic and eventually get a little sleep.<br />
I can't stress enough how much I desire and appreciate prayers right now.....my prayers are now filled with desperate pleading.....Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-26259148941073868342012-06-19T07:10:00.000-07:002012-06-19T07:10:03.669-07:00Sometimes it just keeps coming....I need to be fast with this update as I have a full day of medical appts for Emily and hopefully Robertson....yes, I know that it makes absolutely no sense but we are having yet another medical scare....<br />
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Robertson was playing outside on Saturday and stepped on a bee. He came in and was very upset and scared because the stinger was still in his foot. My husband got it out by scraping it with a credit card (he said he had heard that tweezers will squeeze more of the venom out). After some baking soda and hugs, he seemed to be okay.<br />
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Later that evening, I noticed that he had a fever. It was low grade and no real reason for concern but I wondered if it had anything to do with the sting.<br />
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At midnight he stumbled into the hall outside our bedroom and since I was still awake, I went to him and felt of his head. He was absolutely on fire... I would guess around 103-104 degrees because I just couldn't coax him to keep the thermometer (sloooow moving mercury thermometer was all I could find) in his mouth for any length of time and it was already 102.5. <br />
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I gave him some advil and brought him downstairs to sleep near Mary and Emily so I could monitor him better. <br />
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The next morning I knew we would not be bringing him to church with a fever so I put a movie on for him and began doing some other chores. He was talking to one of the other children about seeing double and I looked up at him and noticed that he had his hand over his eye. I vaguely remembered him mentioning that to me in passing the day before but he sounded more like he was joking or being silly and he hadn't mentioned it again...until now.<br />
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I inquired as to why he was covering his eye. He said that he couldn't see with both eyes open because there was two of everything. At that point he turned to me and dropped his hand and his left eye went separate from the other eye and seemed to kind of fall to the corner of his eye. Robertson has never been even slightly cross eyed so this was an immediate and obvious problem....<br />
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I called Robert who was en route to church with Mary and Amelia and told him to come home so that we could take Robertson to urgent care. <br />
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The doctor there said that he thought it was viral and seemed to only involve one eye. He did not think that the bee sting was related (and it probably isn't) and that it didn't have anything to do with Emily's recent seizures. He asked us to follow up with our normal primary care doc the following week.<br />
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I called first thing Monday and the doctor squeezed him in. Robertson was at that point complaining of being "stumbly" when he got up to go to the bathroom. It was, and still is, hard to tell if it is because of his vision problems or because of his swollen foot from the bee sting or if it is something else.<br />
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The doctor did a *very* thorough exam and found that it was not just the one eye but that the other eye was unable to go to the corner or up all of the way as well, which she said was concerning enough that she wanted to do an MRI. She also made a stat referral to an opthomologist and a neurologist.<br />
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The doctor agreed with me at how strange it is for a very healthy family to have two situations like this in such a short time and is throwing around the idea of a strange virus that may have affected both Emily and Robertson but so far doesn't seem to have much to prove that theory.<br />
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So, we're heading out this morning for Emily's EEG and hoping that we will get Robertson in while we are down there since the hospital is an hour away.<br />
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The only great news we have right now is that Robert took the day off yesterday to help me take K. to her regularly scheduled appt with a specialist in Oakland and she is doing wonderfully. They said that her labs look even better than the last time! :) I was very happy to know that something was going well.....<br />
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We appreciate the prayers more than anyone can imagine. We have had members of our church bringing in meals which has truly helped. Mary is alone with the other children while I am gone so much and I know she is soooo appreciative to have one less thing to worry about. <br />
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I will keep everyone posted....Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-74278338871601046072012-06-16T22:28:00.000-07:002012-06-16T22:28:50.139-07:00Trying to come up for airI was up late Thursday night...and Emily was up late Thursday night. This is not something we can do.<div>
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I was busy with discussions about the upcoming and final trip for the twins, our business and how we *have* to get it in full gear, and chatting with my daughter about her upcoming wedding....Emily was relaxed and chatting and playing games on FB. She hadn't had another seizure all week and we were beginning to let our guard down. </div>
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I finally realized around midnight that she was still up and needed to go to bed. I reminded her that she wasn't supposed to get over tired and I felt a prompting that I should have stayed downstairs with her. I disregarded that feeling and kept telling myself that she would be fine as she had been all week.</div>
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At 3am, we heard another panicked call from Mary that Emily was seizing again. We rushed downstairs and I found my sweet baby making an eerie moaning sound and thrashing with no control. It took her a long time to come back to us mentally. She looked at me with a blank stare as though I were a complete stranger. She couldn't remember her name. She just looked lost. I stroked her head and asked her if she was okay. No response. I continued. After a time, I asked her if she knew who I was...and, after a pause, in a very slurred voice she said...."mom". </div>
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After another trip to the ER and a visit with the neurologist, she has tentatively (pending further tests) been diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. We got our prescription, Emily got further blood work, and I took her out to her favorite restaurant for lunch. We came home, hot and exhausted and Emily immediately laid down on the couch. </div>
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She was just dozing when she had a more conscious type seizure. This one should have been less scary since she didn't lose consciousness but every part of her lurched and jerked. She could talk to me but had a peculiar and contradictory happy smile on her face. I again stroked her hair as she jerked uncontrolled and I was helpless to do anything to get it to stop.</div>
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I am truly struggling...I keep hearing comments from those that are relieved about the diagnosis. And I know I should be too. And, in fact, I am somewhat relieved to have some answers....and hope for treatment. After all it is certainly better than a brain tumor...and it is a much more treatable form of epilepsy than some. </div>
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So, why on earth am I upset and dare I say...grieving? </div>
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I went to bed last night feeling more mentally exhausted than I may have ever been. And, I hoped that a good night's sleep would cure it and I would wake up ready to charge the day as I normally do. </div>
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Only, I woke up every bit as mentally taxed as I was when I went to bed. </div>
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Maybe there will be a day when I will be more philosophical about it all, more understanding, more appreciative of the normalcy that I will regain. </div>
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For now, I grieve the loss of a "normal" carefree life for my daughter. I am saddened by the fact that she will likely have to take medicines for most of the rest of her life. I am frustrated by the side effects that often come with the meds that can make life nearly as miserable as living with the seizures. I am scared of the addiction that often comes with these drugs, especially the one that her neurologist prescribed to her. </div>
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I am understanding but upset about the fact that when she is older and if she has even one seizure...she will have to wait a year to be able to drive again. And, that there are many professions that she will no longer have the option of doing. It makes perfectly good sense but could make the difficulties of being a young adult much more complicated. </div>
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And, what about family and having children? Many of the meds are incompatible with pregnancy and seizures can be more frequent during that time...and can be harmful to an unborn child.</div>
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So, I am worried and I'm grieving and for any of you that have witnessed a loved one having a seizure you will understand when I say that it was truly scary and traumatizing for all of us.</div>
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There is a lot going on in our family right now and I'm finding myself resolving to pray and read the scriptures more and lean more into the strength and hope that only comes through God. For now, I will put one foot in front of the other....</div>
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</div>Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-64927708161814814502012-06-13T12:05:00.001-07:002012-06-13T12:05:21.161-07:00Update and prior post-Sending the children to outer space!Despite the stress our family is currently under (see past post) I am determined to try to keep some sense of normalcy. Em is still continuing to be super sleepy and not quite herself but we have not had any further seizures yet and will hopefully see a neurologist in the next few days.<br />
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In the meantime, we are trying to carry on and I will do so by posting the blog that should have been posted yesterday...luckily it was almost finished so you will likely hear much more levity and enthusiasm than I am currently feeling. But, we are okay. <br />
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Here goes:<br />
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I am continuing in my series of birthday children and will next highlight Robertson. He turned eight years old on his birthday and is currently undergoing a big change from one of our "little ones" to being a big brother who is helpful and capable of bigger and "older" things! :) <br />
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There are times when he seems to want to stay little and have older people still help him find his clothes and socks. And other times when he is showing how something works to the twins or reading them a book that he seems to really enjoy the idea of being an older brother. <br />
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So, on this birthday I was aware that his days of fantasy play are beginning to be numbered and I wanted to do something fun and "magic" that he wouldn't forget.<br />
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He wanted an alien party so we started off with all of the children decorating spaceship frisbees...<br />
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Then it was time to make a rocket headed for space!<br />
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Oh! We also needed an astronaut!</div>
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Ready for departure!!!</div>
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Everyone was on board and excited!</div>
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Unfortunately, the next part was sooo much fun that everyone forgot to take pictures! LOL! We put a clip on from you tube to show the launching of our rocket:</div>
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We shook the chairs as their rocket launched and they watched the movie with huge eyes!</div>
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Once we landed on the alien planet...they were all instructed that there were aliens that needed their help! They were asked to go and find them because they were trapped....</div>
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Everyone was equipped with a space laser gun just in case the captors might be around....</div>
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When they emerged from the rocket, (out of under the blankets and chairs) the entire house was dark. Our trusty astronaut Robertson had to lead everyone to the living room to help find the aliens. We had glow sticks and glowing rings everywhere with lots of glittery green confetti to light the way but it was still fairly dark. </div>
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Once they rounded the corner, oh no! Look out!!!! They were ambushed by squirting glow in the dark silly string that seemed to come out of nowhere! They all shrieked at first with surprise but then once they saw what it was, they had a great time dodging the silly string (supplied by their teenage sisters) in order to find their own little alien that was counting on them!</div>
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I sincerely wish I had the pics of them searching for them but here is what the little cuties looked like!</div>
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Here are some pics of playing once the lights were back on:</div>
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After dinner, the children were told that the aliens wanted to be returned home to their own planet. We made alka seltzer rockets to launch them back to their homes. I anticipated that the small children might not want to let go of their aliens and planned to switch gears if needed (ie hand them right back to them etc.) But, guess who had the worst time with it?!? The oldest two of our younger children...Robertson and Amelia. It didn't even matter when we explained that we weren't *really* launching them back to another planet and that we would quietly sneak them back to them so that the smaller children could still believe.....</div>
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The youngest three were mesmerized by seeing the alka selzer rocket explode and imagining that their little alien was flying back to wherever they came from!</div>
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Robertson finally reluctantly agreed to launch his alien. He was told over and over that the alien really wouldn't go away and we would give it right back...we told him that we were just doing it for fun for the smaller children and that there was still something more that we were going to do... However, watch his sweet and innocent head look skyward when the lid pops! :)<br />
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Now, it was time for cake and presents!<br />
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All of the children were relaxing and eating their cake and assuming that the party was pretty much over....when suddenly, they were told by their excited dad that the aliens were flying over! The aliens wanted to say thank you for sending them home! They were told to grab their lasers and wave to them in the air as they flew overhead.....and here is what happened next!</div>
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The aliens (with a little help from my husband who was upstairs in the window) sent down a glowing flying package of chocolates (and some non-edible glowing sand...that obviously is non-toxic, oops!) The children still talk about this!!! They loved it!!!</div>
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I highly recommend the glowing sand! I believe it was made by Crayola...very fun!<br />
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Here is Robertson with his present from Amelia...she designed a shirt for him using our digital garment printer from our business:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Happy Birthday Robertson!!!!!!</span>Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-40937453854284734452012-06-12T01:20:00.000-07:002012-06-12T01:20:57.040-07:00Emily's seizureI have recently been praying about whether I should go back to work full time. A *very* hard decision but one I felt that I needed to look at due to the economy, our finances, and medical insurance woes. I should also find out this week, the results of a recent interview. This post describes the answer to my prayer...just certainly not in the way I expected.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily-a few weeks ago</td></tr>
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I woke up at 6am this morning, hearing Mary's voice ring out in our stairway with an edge to it that would bring any mother to her feet. My husband was ahead of me but still calling down the stairway about what Mary wanted. I urged him to just go!<br />
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Emily was staying in Mary's room last night because they were staying up late to pack for girl's camp with church. As soon as I walked into the room and could view Mary's hysteria and Emily's limp body flailed across the bed with hair wildly covering her face....I will admit that there was at least one second of terror that we had already lost her.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily and Mary-they have always been close</td></tr>
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My husband was soon pushing the phone into my hands and telling me to call 911 as he seemed to be too upset to speak. I was actually calm....kind of that scary emotionless calm. Within the next few seconds I determined that she was indeed breathing but not conscious. I was able to tell the 911 operator our address and that Mary was describing what sounded like a grand mal seizure. <br />
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Mary had woken up about 6am with the bed shaking and was irritated that Sizzles (our dog) had gotten up on the bed and she sat up to shoo her off. What she saw will likely never be erased from her memory. Emily was jerking around violently with her arms tightly outstretched and her fingers extended out but curled over at the tips. She was nearly about to fall and Mary was able to run over to her and gave a good shove to keep her on the bed. The next moment was when we heard her frantically calling us upstairs.<br />
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The 911 operator asked if Emily was beginning to be more conscious...I said that she looked like she had voluntarily moved her head. She requested that I ask if she knew what her name was. I did and I got the mumbled and slurred question, "what?" It was the best "huh, what?" type question I had ever heard....<br />
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The first to arrive at our house was our local firefighters...we are so thankful for them! He was able to get some oxygen on Emily and she was able to answer what her name was. He asked her how old she was and she answered "15"....well, she is *almost* 15 but not until next month. She continued to seem a bit more alert.<br />
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I noticed that there was blood on the bed from biting her tongue... <br />
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The ambulance arrived. They informed us that they could only take Emily to the smaller local hospital which tends to have a bad reputation. I wanted them to take her to the hospital where she and the rest of our family are insured and where the care is so much better. <br />
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Her vitals were now good and she was more alert and talking. <br />
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They again insisted that they could not transport to our hospital. <br />
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I ended up deciding to drive her myself.....I still am not entirely sure that it was a good idea. The ER doctor later scolded me that it wasn't. But, I know of stories of deaths that were entirely preventable or caused by the other hospital and just wasn't comfortable. <br />
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So, we started our journey speeding down the road towards the hospital. Emily was falling asleep and looked grey. I kept asking her what her birthdate was and asking if she was okay. She indicated that she felt sick. She didn't want to talk to me because she was afraid of getting sick. Luckily I was able to find a bag because the inevitable happened and....it was red. You can imagine what I thought it was..... but Emily reminded me that she had eaten strawberry sherbet the night before. I don't think I will enjoy that flavor of ice cream so much anymore.<br />
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On down the road we drove and I started to slow down lest I would get pulled over .....and then I realized that for the first time in my life I would truly have welcomed a police officer pulling me over. They could give us a hospital escort or call 911 and hopefully we would be far enough to get to the "right" hospital. But, it didn't happen...we kept driving....<br />
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I cannot describe the relief I felt when we arrived at the ER....I really and truly can't imagine if my decision to drive her myself had put her at risk.<br />
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The ER doctor did bloodwork and it was all normal other than a high blood sugar which was explained to be due to the seizure and something about muscles contracting and releasing sugars into the body. I was obviously so glad to hear the other results that I couldn't focus much on what all he was saying.<br />
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When the doctor came in to give the results of the MRI, he announced with true relief in his voice that it was good news. He said that it was normal and then admitted that he had prior thought that Emily probably had a brain tumor. It was such a mix of emotions.....I appreciated his genuine care for her and yet was traumatized by the mere idea of what it could have been.<br />
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He stated that he did, however, think that Emily had epilepsy. <br />
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The doctor said that 50% of folks that have seizures will only have one and nothing else for the rest of their lives. The unfortunate thing is that Emily recalled a few episodes of waking up and noticing involuntary jerking of her head, hands, and feet. I don't think I will ever quite understand why she didn't say something to me but she had thought at the time that it was nothing big to worry about since it resolved quickly. <br />
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Emily was given Ativan to temporarily prevent seizures and we were sent home with the instructions to follow up with a neurologist this week and make sure she rested since her prior lack of sleep was likely the reason that the seizure came on. And, that she was not allowed to operate heavy machinery or *swim*. <br />
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I am so thankful for our gracious and loving Heavenly Father who did not allow Emily to go to camp. She was supposed to leave tomorrow....if she had been swimming when having a seizure, we might have lost her. I can't and won't imagine..... <br />
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I told Emily that she and I are going to be buddies! :) She gets to go with me everywhere for right now until we get some answers. <br />
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So, why on earth am I writing a disjointed blog this late....well, we have decided to camp out in the living room with Em down on the air mattress on the floor. Mary was too upset to sleep alone with her again, which I completely understand, and I didn't want Emily to be alone. So, Mary and I...and Robertson(who couldn't fall asleep) are downstairs. <br />
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I am attempting to purge my thoughts for the day and get myself tired enough that I can fall asleep. I have no idea what we will do tomorrow or tomorrow night but for now all is well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily is beautiful inside and out. She is also so strong....</td></tr>
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And, my prayers were answered...and I will not be going back to work full time.<br />
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Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-62882646610214407582012-05-28T19:56:00.000-07:002012-05-28T19:56:14.791-07:00My week as a single mom...as Robert attends court in a thawed out countryLast week was a chance for me to see how I would do as a single mom...living in the country with eight children, along with dogs, cats, and tadpoles.<br />
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On Monday...well, actually Sunday night, we discovered that one of our tadpoles had become a frog. The problem? I decided that we would wait to release him until Monday morning. Monday morning came and he was gone....loose in the house. Oh where, oh where could our tiny frog be??? Ugh! <br />
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Then, one of our hens got into the house when Eleanor opened the back door. The problem? We have dogs...and dogs that are incessantly teased by chickens that prance about on our front porch in front of glass doors and windows as if to say "neener, neener, neener, you can't catch me!"<br />
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Well, her choice to prance *inside* our house was not wise. They rapidly descended on the poor hen and I froze at first not sure if they had already killed her. There was a moment of stillness....Emily, myself, the dogs, and the hen.......all still and all quiet. And, then, she began to move and we all flew into action...literally. The chicken began to fly up, I lurched forward to grab two of the dogs and Emily grabbed the third. Amelia opened the door and the hen was able to walk out of our house on her own. Whew! <br />
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I'm sure that this didn't help my back that has been giving me trouble. I headed for the doctor just to be told that it was probably just a pulled muscle from carrying around nearly five year old twins and a stout little three year old. Who would have thought?!? <br />
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On Tuesday, we forgot to take the trash down to the curb. Most people would imagine this to be a stressful occurance but for our family, this is a disaster! <br />
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And, then I began to get pictures from my husband who was in the twin's country awaiting court.<br />
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WAIT!!! Just a second! Is this the same place where we nearly froze to death???<br />
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Yep! Here was our first home with the twins....in all it's green glory!<br />
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Remember our view of the river that was near solid ice and snow?<br />
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Here is what it looks like now!!!!<br />
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Absolutely gorgeous and warm as could be! I seriously couldn't believe it! <br />
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Remember the peaceful still night in the snow with the ducks?<br />
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Look how happy they are now! They were just far more patient than I was....they knew what was just around the corner!<br />
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Can you imagine how jealous I was when he began to send these pictures from his boat ride......<br />
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Our week was spent with bleary eyed and exhausted teenagers who studied and studied for finals and finished up the rest of their projects and papers that they had been procrastinating. It was stressful for us all as I attempted to help proofread and help them study at the same time as keeping up the house, the smaller children, the grocery shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the hair that my dog is busy shedding all over everywhere (I do believe he sheds an entire dog every day!) all at the same time that my back was giving me grief! (Okay, I promise to stop whining! :-)<br />
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Oh, but he is so sooooo cute......look at my adorable hairy baby!<br />
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But, I digress....we ended the week well with a successful court date on the twin's birthday!!!!!<br />
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We took them to John's Incredible Pizza Company to celebrate....do you recall that we had a fundraiser there? It was so fun to go this time *with* them! I have such beautiful pictures of them...but it will have to wait just a tiny bit longer. The second court date finalized their adoption but it becomes officially official twenty days after the court hearing. At which point, we will truly and completely be a family and I can officially have pics of their faces right along with ours. :-) <br />
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Until then, here is the best I can do:<br />
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I can't forget to mention the train ride that we went on....did I mention that my back was already hurting? </div>
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K. nor Eleanor was allowed to ride on the train without an adult. Another down side of being a single mom....I not only had to ride the jolting and lurching train once...but twice. (Oooops, now I will officially stop whining!)</div>
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It was a truly wonderful evening!</div>
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And, the twins had so much fun!</div>
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Oh, and the hours just before Robert got home?</div>
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A baby bird fell out of his nest on our front porch. We have two nests that are used every year under the eaves of our house. We look forward to their arrival every spring to bring forth yet another family. I don't know what they are but they are just bigger than a finch and are black with a white underbelly and a crest on their head that looks a bit like a mohawk. I researched a little and they look kind of like an Eastern Towhee but they have no brown. I'd love it if someone knew what they are!<br />
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My last moments as a single mom involved me throwing on some sweats and driving our little baby to a wildlife rescue....whew! We made it!<br />
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So, in just 20 days...the twins will lawfully be a part of our family and we will have only one more trip for immigration into America. Almost there!Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4538729992423777369.post-49878828345992947752012-05-19T16:38:00.000-07:002012-05-19T16:38:50.734-07:00And.....he's off!!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have to admit a little jealousy here....Robert has left for Amsterdam!!! He will then go on to the twin's country after a day spent in the airport (okay, not so jealous about that!)<br />
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No, the twins and I do not have to go on this trip which is both good and bad. It is obviously cheaper this way but I do kind of wish I could see the country while it is beautiful, green, and warm. And, oh, do I *love* their food! I've been trying to get Robert to figure out a way to put it on ice and bring it back with him. LOL! (Ummm, I'm truly serious!)<br />
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And, court will be this week to finalize the adoption!!!! <br />
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We are all excited and looking forward to a happy week ahead... we will be done with our homeschool charter for the summer, the twin's will celebrate their 5th birthday, and we will all celebrate our court date... where we will become a family with twins, on legal paper! :-) <br />
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<br />Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08143622887981767731noreply@blogger.com0