Ever After

Christmas Program 2010

2010-12-14T20:16:00.001-06:00

Our Newest

2010-12-11T20:32:00.001-06:00

These are the photos from the website that we all fell in love with. His name is Rowdy, he was born 10/2/10 and he is a ball of energy and personality. After a 5 hour drive through the freezing cold and blowing snow he was now one of us.

2010-10-11T09:36:00.001-05:00

I had one job in this life and I failed

Tired

2010-10-06T11:27:00.002-05:00

Today is one of those days that the world is piling up on me and I am just tired, tired of it all.
I'm tired of fighting for my son, trying to get one doctor to REALLY listen to us and see how all his medical problems just might somehow be related.
Tired of trying to figure out where to take him next and what to do with the other 2 kids, the house and animals while I am gone.
Sick and tired of the genetics department. I finally had to go and pick up an info pack in person because 2 got lost in the mail. Then it took them over 2 weeks to receive the completed info. So instead of us having an appointment say this week we don't have one till the 8Th of next month.
I'm tired of fighting for his education. Even though 99% of his teachers are great it only takes one to drag you down and make you want to crawl back under the covers.
So tired of watching my beloved baby boy in pain day after day and being totally helpless as a parent.
Tired of watching him drag himself to school even though he is sick and in pain. He doesn't feel like going but what choice does he have when the school top administration does not have a heart and only cares about what looks good on paper.
Tired of the way I feel when I know his friends are off to play another basketball game without him. Even though I am happy that they are healthy I can't help but feel that sick twinge of I don't know exactly what it is in the pit of my stomach.
So scared that when I try to research hospitals that are known for treating Ehlers-Danlos (most doctors agree it is a great possibility) I read about child after child that have suddenly died from aneurysms because they were undiagnosed. The last one I read about last night was a 12 year old boy........

EDS

2010-08-31T18:30:00.002-05:00

We took Marcus to Duke University Hospital last week in hopes that they might be able to offer some other treatment for his ever mounting medical issues. All they could do was say they agreed with the diagnosis of fibro and hypermobility syndrome. The recommendation was to find someone who does cognitive therapy and bio feedback in hopes he can literally retrain the way his brain processes pain along with techniques to better cope. Not that I don't agree with any of that it is just hard to explain that to a 12 year old. He only hears that he needs therapy aka 'shrink'.
Just a few weeks ago he started doing something new. His joints will pop loudly and feel as though something has popped out of place. While in North Carolina him and I were laying in the hotel bed, he was asleep and I was watching TV. I heard a loud pop, he woke up and yelled out in pain saying his shoulder had popped. The other times he had done this I thought maybe he had done something to cause it but this time I KNOW he didn't cause I was right there. The other day his elbow popped out. This has been the worst so far. He can't straighten it out without severe pain and has been in a sling trying to cope.
Over the weekend I stumbled upon a sight about "Invisible Diseases". I was looking for any new info about fibro when I seen a link for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I clicked on it just because I had never heard of it before. It didn't take long to see that this described Marcus in so many ways.
EDS affects the ability for the body to produce and use collagen, literally the glue that holds the body together. There are a few different types, the EDS type 3 or hypermobility type has many of his symptoms.
For 2 days I read everything I could find on this including personal blogs written by mothers who children have this. I found myself thinking "oh my goodness" too many times to count cause I felt like I could have written much of it myself about Marcus.
Today we took him to see his Orthopedic in Cape. I wanted to take him for 2 different reasons...first to make sure that his elbow wasn't dislocated and second to run my idea or discovery by a doctor.

Good news his elbow isn't really popped out, it just feels like it. The ortho had never heard of EDS so he left the exam room to discuss this with a colleague. They had to look it up themselves cause it is so rare they had never heard of it before. When he returned he didn't dismiss the idea and said it was possible and we needed to see a doctor who's specialty is in genetics. Once back home I called Cardinal Glennon to get the ball rolling on that.

So what are all does Marcus have that makes me think I might be onto something, the list is long...

joint pain-knees, hips, elbows, back and shoulder pain diagnosed as fibromyalgia

shooting, burning pain up his neck into his head

headaches and migraines

constipation (has had his whole life, can be very severe) along with bleeding

joints popping which causes pain

problems with urination

teeth problems despite constant dental visits and now has 2 teeth that are crumbling

past eye pain and blurry vision

mouth sores

past chest pains

severe stomach aches and found to have acid reflex (upper GI scope)

week immune system

had ITP when he was 3 which means his platelets were low and his blood could not clot, it was very bad with him and I both covered in blood

What classic symptoms he does NOT have though are the skin issues. Thin, stretchy skin that bruises easily and does not heal. But not everyone has the skin concerns even though that is the main symptom you will see over and over when reading on the Internet.

Their is no cure for EDS only preventive care and to manage the symptoms. The hypermobility type is not life threatening but those with the vascular type usually don't live into their 50's because such issues as brain aneurysm or aortic dissection.

Tests for the hypermobility type are iffy. They can do a skin biopsy and genetic test on Marcus and us. It should show if he has the vascular type but usually type 3 is diagnosed from just a clinical standpoint.

I don't think he has the vascular type (if he has any of this at all) but we need to know. My only worry about that is he has facial features of it. I have looked at 2 different blogs of children with the vascular type and there are many similarities. Their mothers described them as beautiful children with chubby cheeks, big round eyes, button noses, and 'different' ears. All of you know what he looks like and what he looked like as a baby so you know that describes him. Every specialist we have ever seen comments on his ears. The one at Duke rubbed his dimpled ear and said...I quote "it's only one ear". I didn't have any idea that could mean anything.

Pretty much sums up all that is going on right now.

The Big K

2010-08-18T14:17:00.000-05:00

It seems somehow I woke up today and to my shock Bre had grown into a little girl. Oh yes she is a big Kindergartner now!

She was sooooooooo excited to finally be going to the 'big school'. There were no tears shed, not even mine. How could I have any when she was so happy to be there? This girl was meant to socialize!

Happy 7th grader?

2010-08-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

Marcus started Jr. High today....sigh...I know he has to grow up but there is just something about him that makes me not want to let go. I'm sure it has to do with him being sick most of his life. He is simply my baby boy whether he wants to be or not.

He definitely was not too thrilled with the idea of heading back to the regular grind. But whether either one of us was ready or not he begins a new chapter in his life.

Dream Vacation

2010-07-13T10:39:00.002-05:00

To say our household had been hectic lately would have been putting it mild.
I am not going to go into the gritty details here, you will just have to take my word on it. Then Joey's family suffered a great loss. A young man lost his life and left behind 4 children, a wife and many others who loved him dearly.
Life is crazy, chaotic but also precious and can easily be taken away. So we threw all reasoning out the window and bought 5 planes tickets to depart ASAP...destination, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
I had always wanted to visit the Virgin Islands so this was a dream come true for me but I never expected to fall in love with it the way I did. The moment I stepped off the plane the island breeze hit my face and I stared at the colorful houses built into the hillsides, tears actually swelled up in my eyes from the extreme peace I felt. That sense of peace stayed with me the entire trip. The place will always seem sort of magical to me because of that.

Quick Road Trip To Texas

2010-06-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

Joey had to make a quick trip to Texas and for some crazy reason Marcus and his friend Cody insisted on tagging along. Above are a couple of pictures of them catching some zzz's, enjoying the hotel pool, and Joey proving to Cody's mom that he does in fact drive the speed limit, LOL!

Two Good Looking Kiddos

2010-06-11T10:15:00.000-05:00

New Paint Color

2010-06-10T10:08:00.000-05:00

If anyone is interested in knowing the new paint color of the master bath just look at Poggie's face...it's a nice calming blue.

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T18:16:00.001-05:00

2010-04-04T18:11:00.002-05:00

2010-04-04T18:02:00.000-05:00

Happy 12th Birthday Marcus

2010-03-23T17:57:00.000-05:00

Sweetest sight I have seen in a long time!

2010-03-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

Daddy made me wear black!

2010-03-19T17:24:00.000-05:00

She was not to happy about having to wear a black t-shirt to bum around in but she survived in Marcus's hand me down!

Silence

2010-03-18T17:54:00.000-05:00

The only time this girl is EVER quiet!

She's the big #5 today!

2010-03-17T07:26:00.000-05:00

Goofing off before the party

2010-03-14T17:32:00.000-05:00

This year with all that is going on we decided to combine Marcus and Bre's birthday parties into one. I don't have any pictures of the actual party cause my camera is acting up but a friend did take plenty with hers. Once I get the disk from her I will post them here. In the meantime here are a few of the kids goofing off before everyone got here.

Rash

2010-02-15T13:09:00.002-06:00

This is what his face looked like when I called him upstairs a little bit ago for lunch. I think I gasped before I caught myself. His cheeks are bright red, hot, and puffy. The only positive is his nose isn't shining like the other day.

Is this the 'butterfly rash' that so many doctors have questioned us about in the past?

The Big Cheese

2010-02-15T11:50:00.001-06:00

2010-02-15T11:46:00.001-06:00

Snowball Fight!

2010-02-01T15:27:00.002-06:00

2010-02-01T15:19:00.003-06:00

Snow Princess

2010-02-01T15:10:00.001-06:00

Bendaroos!

2010-01-31T19:55:00.004-06:00

Oh you can bet Dylan played with them too, I just didn't catch it on camera!

Miss Bre Enjoying the Snow

2010-01-30T19:44:00.002-06:00

2010-01-30T19:39:00.000-06:00

Snow Storm 2010

2010-01-30T19:33:00.001-06:00

One trip into the woods was enough for these two. Coming back up the hill the wind and snow was wayyyyyyyy to cold!

Marcus and Cody

2010-01-30T19:23:00.001-06:00

The First Of The Snow

2010-01-29T14:04:00.002-06:00

Poggy watching it snow

Christmas with Daddy

2010-01-15T17:07:00.004-06:00

2010-01-15T16:57:00.003-06:00

2010-01-15T16:47:00.002-06:00

2009-12-27T15:30:00.003-06:00

Christmas pics cont.

2009-12-27T15:21:00.002-06:00

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T23:19:00.003-06:00

Another Christmas has come and gone and all in all it was a good one.

Joey's mom, Bev, came down Christmas morning to watch the kids open their gifts. We also exchanged presents. We went out for Chinese food for lunch. I will fix a Christmas dinner once Joey is home to enjoy it with the family later. That evening we were invited down to mom and Howard's to have birthday cake with Howard. This is a very personal issue so I will just say it was the first time in around four years I had been inside their home. It was really nice to get to celebrate his 82nd birthday with him though.

Today we went up to dad and Shirley's and had lunch with them, Don, Sherry, and their boys. While there we also exchanged gifts.

The house is an absolute mess. I am serious. I think it would be easier to move instead of clean but since that is probably not financially possibly I will try to work up the courage to tackle it once I take Bre to Wee Care on Monday. I feel there is no need to even try with her here in the house.

It is late and the South Park video is interfering with my thoughts so I will leave with some pictures for tonight.

Better

2009-12-23T20:28:00.002-06:00

Bre is quickly getting better after a few doses of antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection. She is far from well but definitely heading in the right direction. It seems that after being coughed on a few hundred times though my immune system finally waved the white flag and I am down for the count.

Heading to the doctor

2009-12-22T09:58:00.001-06:00

Out the door soon with Bre. She has been sick since Friday night. I thought it was just some sort of bug that would pass but she is only getting worse. Her fever has went up to 103, her cough sounds awful and now she refuses to eat or drink anything....not good.

3 very...

2009-12-19T15:37:00.000-06:00

different stockings for 3 very different kids. I thought the contrast of these stockings hanging together on the wall was interesting.

Christmas Kitty

2009-12-14T17:15:00.002-06:00

No wonder our tree looks like heck. Sadie scoots and pushes her way through the branches and presents until she finds a comfortable spot to settle into. Of course it didn't help the other day when the dog ran under, no it was more like through, the tree trying to get to the window so she could bark at a car in the driveway.

2009-12-10T17:43:00.002-06:00

I think this makes his 26Th admission, and he has never gotten to me like this before. He is so cranky and in such a pissy mood. It is like he is ticked at the world and I am in his path. I know most of it is he is upset with himself, he had an incident earlier that made him feel like a little kid, so he is taking it out on the only person in the room with him. Did I mention he is on isolation? Oh yeah. He can't leave or even have his door open till some tests results come back negative so that leaves us with lots and lots of alone time.
At this point the gastric team thinks it is probably a viral illness that is just wrecking havoc on his system. They have two other children up here with very similar problems right now and just discharged one today after a 6 day stay with next to identical dx. Please, please do not let us be in here for 6 days. It has only been one so far and I am so feeling the effects!

In the hospital

2009-12-10T11:42:00.004-06:00

Made the drive to St. Louis yesterday and he was admitted but let me back up a bit.

The trip up here was less than perfect. It snowed on and off with winds so strong it would about jerk the jeep off the road. I had to stop and get gas and oh my goodness was it ever cold. Marcus was laughing at me cause while the gas was pumping I was dragging gloves and a scarf out of the suitcase. The closer we got into the city the more the temperature gage in the vehicle dropped.
When we walked into the ER we seen it was packed, great. We waited about an hour and was very shocked when he was called back ahead of several others. Some nurse had pulled his chart and seen his past history. She told me she didn't want him sitting out there with all of the illness floating around in the air. I was thankful for that but it was a less than perfect situation. The only room available was a trauma/procedure room which was not set up very comfortably. There was not a tv and the chairs were hard and I got tired quiet quick in them. We were in that room for 5 hours. From there they admitted him. It was after 8PM by time we got to his room and the night just wouldn't end. I attempted to find something to eat with no success. All I had was $20's and no way to break them and of course the vending machines didn't take bills that large. I quickly called it quits and came back to the room. Doctor after doctor just kept coming to the room to ask a million and one questions and exam him. I think the last one finally left around 11:30 PM and the first one was back by 6 this morning. We are no strangers to being in the hospital but I have never had a night and day like we have had. They will not leave us alone for longer than 10-15 minutes at a time. We are both exhausted. I have given up trying to sleep or eat cause it just isn't going to happen around here. I don't remember it being anything like this the last time we were here. At this time everyone is still clueless as to what is wrong with him. He feels so bad all he does is gripe about everything. Just a bit ago I had to step out of the room and take a deep breath because I was afraid I was going to loose my cool. He was bitching cause his IV was beeping and the nurse wasn't getting here fast enough with his medicine that he has to take before he can eat and his food might be getting cold. It was just one long steady complaint coming out of his mouth. It is stressful on both of us. I guess it would just be nice not to be totally alone and be able to leave the room for a break now and then.

quick update

2009-12-08T20:33:00.003-06:00

Quick post to let Joey and other family know what I think is going on with Marcus.
I have done some reading and it seems that all his current problems can be caused by either a bad fibro flare or Lupus (sound familiar?). His ped was unsure because Marcus is his only patient with fibro. Anyway he is not doing good at all. He has only had a few nibbles of food in days and maybe drunk 4-6 ounces all day today. Even though his regular rheumatologist(sp?) is out till next week in St. Louis I am going to call and ask to speak to who ever is on call tomorrow morning. If they want to see him then we are off.

This and That

2009-12-07T08:25:00.002-06:00

It was a long weekend for Bre, she couldn't go outside. She is fascinated by the big, deep hole in the front yard that has raw sewage leaking into it. Sorry but the last thing I felt like doing was pulling her out of there and cleaning the mess that such a situation would have left her in. The septic tank guys are suppose to come first thing this morning and pump it out. Well my morning is well under way and I am still waiting so we will see.
I am very happy, no thrilled, to report that I am feeling much better. During my last visit to the neuro in St. Louis he put me on some medication called Topamax for the nerve pain and, knock on wood it is working. I have been pain free for days. I may still get the occasional twinge or shock of pain but nothing compared to before. My muscles are also no longer cramping. Slowly but surely I am starting to feel more like myself again. I haven't had a pain pill in well over a week. Thank you dear Lord!
Poor Marcus is only getting worse though. I don't know what to do. He has been on antibiotics since Thursday night and he is no better at all. His stomach is still hurting and now he has some sort of weird 'cut' in his mouth. He has barely eaten or drunk anything for days so I know he did not swallow anything to hurt himself so what in the world could it be? His mouth is also getting full of fever blisters, yes the Inside of his mouth.
He has missed so much school but what can I do? If he is sick then he is sick. I wish he was the one being home schooled instead on Dylan sometimes but he has way to far to go in school and would require too much supervision and help. I am scared I just couldn't handle it. Dylan on the other hand was about finished with school. Anyway I guess I will take Marcus back to the doctor today and see what he says.

Gut Infection

2009-12-03T20:31:00.002-06:00

Dylan gets credit for the title of this post. He thought it should feel in place with the last two lovely titles.
We left the house around 1:30 today to head to the doctor's office. They sent us to the on site lab to check for infection. Then came the real fun part...off to the local hospital for a CT scan of the abdomen. I knew we were in for an adventure from Dylan having his done a few years back. Marcus had to drink almost 2 large glasses full of some type of nasty liquid. After each drink I had to talk him through not throwing it back up. Once all that was down we had to sit and wait for an hour before they could do the scan. So an hour later they take him back and complete the CT. Then another hour for the radiologist to read it.
The end verdict is he does not have appendicitis but he does have inflammation and an infection of the lymph nodes in his stomach. Heck I didn't even know there were lymph nodes in the stomach. Just one more thing we are calling a "Marcus Thing" and trying not to understand it.
We then went for something to eat, the first thing since around 8 this morning, picked his medicine up and headed home.
I threw on my gown without taking a shower and plan on wrapping up in the comforter and sleeping on the mattress cover since the bed doesn't have sheets on it. For some reason right now it just doesn't seem like a priority.

Shitter's Full

2009-12-03T12:03:00.006-06:00

New day, new problems.

There is a huge hole in my front yard. A backhoe digging to find your pipes and septic tank seems to cause that (insert sarcastic smile here).
Not only is our tank full and needs to be pumped out but it is also all rusted and needs to be replaced. I was quoted approximately $1200 for the tank alone. So in the famous words of cousin Eddie (Christmas Vacation) the shitter was full. Yes I am in a festive mood right now.
The good news is at least we can run the water and flush the toilets. The bad news is the shower in the master bath seems to be draining right into the floor which then runs into the garage. There is no access space to it so the plumbers will be back to cut a hole in the wall so they can get to the pipe that apparently came loose from all the pressure of the water backing up. More good news is it has stopped raining so the roof is not leaking at this moment. The other bad news is Marcus's stomach pain is worse. It is in the same location as Dylan's was when he had appendicitis. We are off to the doctor at 2PM. That leaves Dylan to pick Bre up from school and watch her.
Oh yeah it is a freakin barrel of monkeys around here!

Holy Sh*t

2009-12-02T21:28:00.003-06:00

I swear I am not making this up.

Joey has only been gone a few hours and all hell has broken loose around here.
There is water backed up in both bath tubs and the master shower. Neither toilet will flush right and it seem this has somehow caused the basement to flood. There is also a nice water bubble formed over the tub in the master bathroom. Since there are no pipes in the ceiling there that means only one thing-the roof is leaking.
Of course I should have known how my evening was going to play out when the dog puked not once, not twice, but three times on the living room carpet. YooHoo! Good times I tell ya!
Did I forget to mention Marcus is almost doubled over with a stomach ache?

Watching the Grinch

2009-12-01T15:04:00.001-06:00

She was so involved last night watching the original Grinch cartoon. It is funny how some classics never die.

Pretty Bunny

2009-11-30T00:07:00.000-06:00

2009-11-28T18:08:00.000-06:00

2009-11-28T18:05:00.000-06:00

2009-11-28T18:03:00.000-06:00

Joey shows his Christmas spirit

2009-11-28T17:57:00.002-06:00

Needed a laugh

2009-11-27T01:29:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T22:51:00.001-06:00

I have so very much to be thankful for. I have 3 wonderful children who give me meaning, I'm talking true reason to be alive meaning. My husband is such a rare find. He is everything positive wrapped into one. I have one of the best dads every as well as my extended family. My mother in law treats me like her own daughter. We have a nice house, vehicles and live an overall comfortable life.

It was nice to see family from Illinois. I don't think it would seem like Thanksgiving without them. All the kids get along so well and can not wait for the holiday to begin. And Joey was home this year, the first time in many years.

Yes I have a lot to be thankful for so why.......(private blog).

Memories

2009-11-25T13:44:00.003-06:00

Using granny's mixing bowls to make pumpkin bread (which she used to make all the time). Always miss her worse around the holidays.

Insomnia

2009-11-23T02:33:00.002-06:00

Bre and I are both up even though it is after 12:30 AM.
I couldn't sleep and when I walked into the living room she was sitting on the love seat wide awake. Now she is in her bedroom playing. Maybe our brains forgot to tell us to go to sleep tonight. I guess I will sit here for awhile and listen to the dog snore, it is quite loud (and cute)!

Don't be fooled

2009-11-18T12:25:00.002-06:00

Don't be fooled by the look of interest on her face. She painted maybe 2 lines on each ceramic critter then hopped down from her chair to never return to the project. Not to self...put this one on the list of Unsuccessful activities.

Making sun catchers

2009-11-16T12:11:00.000-06:00

Catch-Up

2009-11-14T16:15:00.000-06:00

I didn't realize it had been over a week since I posted.

Joey came home last Saturday. It is the first month in awhile that he has not been delayed for one reason or another so it was nice to see his truck pull into the driveway on time.
We finished up the kid's Christmas shopping.
All that is left is one gift for Marcus that has to be delivered to our local Wal-Mart for us to pick up. Dylan mostly wanted cash so that is simple enough. I thought we were done with Bre already but as usual she threw one in on us. She done the same thing last year cause I remember searching like a mad woman for a "pink princess watch". Luckily I found one and the really good part was it only cost $5. We didn't get off as cheap this year for that one last gift. Oh no, this year she thought much bigger and more expensive-a Barbie Camper. Seventy dollars that I was not planning on but what do you do when she exclaims very determined that "Santa is bringing me a Barbie camper for Christmas cause I asked him to". Of course Santa can't disappoint! I just hope Santa doesn't surprise me any more this season. I still have to finish up shopping for Joey. All I have to do is place a couple of orders. It is just the matter of making myself sit down and do it. As for everyone else I am waiting on one more delivery of stuff to come in. See a trend here? Most everything came through the mail this year. It is so much easier to fill out an order form or click a few keys on the computer. I spent one whole day just wrapping gifts so our bedroom is now crowded with presents stuck in the corners of the room. The kids were as excited as always to see the pretty boxes cause they know the holiday season has started. Of course the boys like Christmas but they both have told me on several occasions that Thanksgiving is their favorite cause family from Illinois comes down.
Good news, Dylan's car is back up and running again. We were all amazed all it took was a couple hundred of dollars for some new spark plugs, oil and filter along with some type of sensor. I was so afraid that he had ruined it for good so he got dang lucky and hopefully learned a good lesson in the process. I know he won't soon forget it cause his dad made him do all the dirty work while he supervised. Dylan even admitted that it made him feel good, like he had accomplished something. I am just thrilled that he now knows how to jack up a car and change the oil.
I also finished getting the shoe boxes together yesterday. For those that do not know what this is click here to check it out http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/occ/. This is one project that truly makes the statement "it feels better to give than to receive" true. I love picturing in my mind some child half way around the world feeling the joy when they open up their box of treasures. I always fix up 3 boxes to send. One for a girl and two for boys. I also do the older age groups cause I feel those are the children most often forgotten about.
Joey has been up since 2:15 AM. He had to have his mom to the airport in Memphis by around 5 this morning. She is flying to California for the week to spend with her daughter and her family. Joey used his air miles to fly her there. It is nice to be able to do that for family.
Now him and Marcus are out deer hunting. I know I am not a hunter so I will never get it but boy do I hate this time of the year. All the dead deer along the roads from being hit by vehicles makes me cringe for my safety every time I get behind the wheel. One of Dylan's friends totalled out a car last night when he hit a deer. Then of course there is the peaceful sound of rifles going off all around the house. Really that doesn't bother me but when the gun is being shot off of the deck, yeah that kinda bothers me. I can not tell you how many times I thought I was going to jump out of my own skin when they were shooting the gun yesterday off of the back deck. The poor dog was wrapped around the back of my legs then between my legs seeking protection from the commotion. I love my husband and my son so I do my best to keep my mouth shut and let them enjoy the craziness of it all though I do slip up sometimes (sorry Joey).
Me and Bre are just hanging out at home today. She has been working on a sun catcher kit since around 9 this morning. She amazes me how much patience and concentration she has for a four year old child. This thing has tiny plastic pieces that go onto small pegs to make designs. I then iron them with a hot iron to glue the pieces together and tie a string on for hanging. Hours later she is still doing it with the same determination as she started with. Dylan has since joined her in her project and is already to the point of throwing it across the room out of frustration!
Time to get off the computer and get back to doing laundry.

At the doctor's office BEFORE the shot

2009-11-05T00:37:00.000-06:00

Timmy!

2009-11-04T00:30:00.000-06:00

How can something so wrong on so many levels still be so dang funny??

Anyone who has ever watched South Park will know who he is intimidating-Timmy. He does it at the most random times too. It is very popular with getting a smile from me when I should be scolding him instead. The other night him and Dylan were being complete brats with each other and while I was giving my "you both better stop it" speech Marcus broke out his Timmy call and I started laughing. Yes I know I need to work on my parenting skills.

PJ Party

2009-11-03T00:24:00.000-06:00

Last Friday was jammie party day at Bre's school. Even though she had just received a booster shot the day before and her little leg was very sore, she didn't want to miss her party.

She completed her PJ look with wearing her new rain boots. Too cute!

Enjoying her bath

2009-11-02T00:22:00.000-06:00

Misc. Halloween pics

2009-11-01T15:36:00.002-06:00

Marcus in the back of the truck. See his 'wound' all taped up?

Marcus and friends....from L to R, Cody, Marcus, Greg (in back), and Sammy

All 3 plus grandma Ward

2009-11-01T15:31:00.001-06:00

At grandpa's and nana's

2009-11-01T14:48:00.001-06:00

The rest of the story

2009-11-01T14:34:00.002-06:00

Now back to Halloween night with Marcus and Bre.

While at dads Marcus busted a seam in his sumo costume so dad 'fixed' it. He took medical tape and with the help of Shirley's brother they patched him up. I swear it looked like he was recovering from a hernia operation by the location. I will post pictures later and if you look at 'that' area you can see the tape in most of them.
The first time Marcus attempted to get into the back of the truck he flattened out in the bed of it. I decided to follow them so I could watch Marcus get in and out of the truck a few times. It was funnier than I could ever describe. Plus the roads are a complete mess around here, full of holes from all the rain, and every time Terry would hit a bump with the truck Marcus literally bounced like a bouncy ball. When he walked up to the first house there were three adults sitting outside and they were laughing so hard. Then they laughed even harder when they seen him try to run to the next house. He done a fast waddle all the way there.
Bre had a blast. Grandma Ward walked with her up to the houses while I followed in the Jeep. She would say "this is the best Halloween ever" and "I love trick-or-treating". She also sang at the top of her lungs as she walked along. Finally she called it a night by telling us she was done and ready to go home. So went went back and waited on Marcus to come back then we headed home. Of course every one knows how the rest of the night went.
All in all this was one Halloween I will never forget!

A new day

2009-11-01T14:19:00.002-06:00

I am up and functioning to a degree after all the excitement last night. I am still shaking my head about what my kid done. He may have very well ruined a good car. He could have floated off into one of the ditches and drowned. At this point all I can do is be grateful that he and his friends are all OK despite a major lapse of judgement.

Guess what is sitting in my yard right now....a ceramic giraffe. Why I don't know.
I assume it came from the kids that decided to stop by last night after midnight. I am probably no longer the cool mom cause I told them no, not tonight in a stern voice and they left.
So what does one do with a ceramic giraffe?

Good Time

2009-10-31T23:36:00.000-05:00

A good time was had by all this Halloween.
We started the afternoon off by doing some errands in town. I had to go to K-Mart to pick up some scripts and try to find Bre a crown to go with her costume. She already has a collection of crowns but they are all broken and won't stay on her head for long. Next we went to Hibbett's Sports and JCP looking for basketball shoes for Marcus. We also grabbed our last meal of actual food for the day (sorry I don't count candy as real food).
Bre wore her princess costume during it all. I can not begin to say how many times we heard "ahh she is so cute". Of course she ate all the attention up.
Our first stop for candy was dad and Shirley's house. There Marcus changed into his costume for the night. I can not say it enough...him in this costume is the one of the funniest things if not the funniest, I have ever seen. More on that in a minute.
Many roads are flooded from all the heavy rains this week. I hated it but I didn't feel safe driving down the two gravel roads to get to great grandma's and Uncle Charles's. Sorry Joey, I know you always want them to go but the roads were covered in water. We did make it to MaryLou and Jonathan's though.
Next we stopped at a local convenience store. OMG it was so funny watching Marcus try to fit in through the door. Once inside the lady that owns the place busted out laughing and said "I have to start bringing a camera in here". Marcus then attempted to turn around and knocked over a whole display of chips. He kept saying "mom everyone is laughing at me". I asked him what in the world he expected wearing that, for people to be scared? He just smiled and embraced his size for the night.
We then went to meet Marcus's friends at Sammy's. We wanted the 'gang' to get together this year since it may very well be the last year that they all go trick-or-treating. Next year they will be in Jr. High and not want to be our little boys anymore. So Sammy, Cody, Greg, and Marcus piled in the back of Gary's truck for the night.

This post is interrupted by the Emergency Broadcast System.....Dylan called to say he is OK now but he and his car were floating earlier. There seems to be some contact with the road again at this time.
I repeat I am too young to be the mother of a 16 year old!!!
Long story short my oldest was out cruising the gravels and thought, yes thought, he could make it through the water over the road. Guess what? He couldn't! At this present time Jonathan is in the driver's seat with Dylan riding shotgun while the car is being pulled backwards through the flooded road cause it is too deep to pull it on through the other way.
I am sitting here laughing cause, well what else can I do? It is either laugh or cry and I choose laughter.

Update....as if anyone is still up reading at this time of night.
Dylan is home (his car is not) and so are his two hostages, I mean passengers. They are all safe and sound and I am pleased to announce the glow sticks around their necks remained unharmed despite the flood waters (I do have a sick sense of humor I know).
I am too tired and hysterical to go into major details I will just say that the water was deep enough that Jonathan had to dump out his KNEE high rubber boots when he was done with the rescue.
I am going to bed and try to chill out enough to fall asleep. Of course Bre will be up early but that isn't my problem. Oh no, that is Dylan's problem cause he will be the one watching her while I sleep in the morning. Yep the punishment has already started.

Happy Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T10:38:00.000-05:00

It's going to be a long day around here. I have a princess who is dying to get into character and go round up some candy. All I keep hearing is "this is gonna take all day". Translation....I don't want to wait for this evening to go trick-or-treating, I want to go NOW!

It should be an interesting night that is for sure. It is 'gonna take all night' for Marcus to get in and out of the Jeep wearing his inflatable Sumo wrestler costume! I can just look at him in it and crack up.

I am also scared, paranoid, something like that. This is Dylan's first Halloween that he can drive. The thought of him being out with friends on this night of tricking makes me break out in a cold sweat. All I can do is say my little prayer to protect him like I do every time he pulls out of the driveway.

The rain store has been located

2009-10-30T10:02:00.000-05:00

Our friend Christy found the 'Rain Store' the other day and came back with these cute Hello Kitty rain boots. Yeah Christy!

Ever have one of those days?

2009-10-29T17:07:00.003-05:00

You know the type I mean. I wished today was over about an hour after it began.

Let me try to think of some highlights....

The day started off by trying to track down Bre's shot record. Her school did not have a copy of it and they had to have it by Friday. If not then she was not going to be able to return until it was in her file. Sounds like no big deal except for one thing, the lawyer who we hired to take care of her re adoption had it buried in a stack of Chinese paperwork. Once it was located I went by to pick it up. One huge problem though, nothing had been written on her American shot record. Her Chinese record was full of marks but not all had been translated.
When we first brought her back to the States we had blood work done on her to make sure she had been vaccinated and her shots were all up to date. Apparently the nurse had failed to record the results on her new shot record. This left me and the new nurse trying to decipher what she had had and what she hadn't. It did not turn out good for Bre and she had to get a DTP booster.
Now this next part had me laughing and crying at the same time.
When she saw the needle she said, and I quote, "Oh. My. God!" Once the needle went in she screamed "It hurts, it really hurts bad", while huge tears streamed down her face.
At one point this evening she wouldn't even walk cause of the pain but thank goodness for Motrin. She is still complaining some but is up and moving.
Marcus has been having chest pains. My first thought was he has pneumonia again but he said it wasn't his lungs. His chest actually hurt and his heart feels like it is beating too fast.
You got to be kidding me. Surely this kid is not that unlucky to also have heart problems. Anyway the doctor checked him out today and done a couple of tests which came back ok. He said if he keeps complaining then he will refer him to a cardiologist. Sigh.....
My bad 'day' actually started last night when I discovered a nest full of nits on one of the kid's heads. Oh yeah, I'm talking about good old fashioned head lice! I thought well at least I caught it before all 3 got it. While at the doctor's this morning he wrote me a script for medicine to treat it.
I then spent the afternoon de-bugging. I swear I picked nits off for around 2 hours! Anyone who has ever dealt with the little suckers know that it is not easy to get them off. When a lice lays eggs they are actually 'glued' on by some type of super bug glue. It is a very tedious and time consuming task.
Anyway I thought I had it licked when I decided to re check the other 2 kids just to be on the safe side. Of course one of them had it too. Back off to the pharmacy to pick up another
prescription of the stinky concoction to rub all over their head. Not to mention busting my good mommy bubble when I had to call my MIL to ask her to come down and check my head to make sure I was bug free (I am BTW).

So to recap.....
-Had to locate a shot record in a pile of Chinese paperwork
-tried to translate the names of shots that were written in Chinese language characters
-got to hold down a screaming 4 year old so she can get a vaccine
-Oh I just remembered I also had to hold her down so the lab tech could swab her nose to test for the flu since she has been running a fever-she is flu free.
-rub stinky lice medicine into a child's head
-hand pick nits off of said child's head for 2 straight hours
-check other kid's heads again
-back to pharmacy for another bottle of stinky lice medicine
-repeat the application process
-wash and dry all and any items that I can fit in the washer or dryer
-get MIL to pick through my own hair looking for bugs

I am off to ignore the phone and all three kids long enough for a bubble bath.

maybe part 3

2009-10-28T16:21:00.003-05:00

Maybe she isn't sick?? Maybe she is and just chooses to run circles around the house with nothing on but a shirt wrapped around her waist.

Is she sick or is she not? I give up trying to figure it out.

maybe part 2

2009-10-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

Maybe I was wrong and she really is sick.

I got a call from preschool about an hour or two after it started. She had a fever of 100 and was feeling bad again.

maybe ...

2009-10-27T17:24:00.001-05:00

Maybe Bre just didn't want to go to school.
She finally got up around 9:30 bouncing. No signs of illness.

Will it ever end?

2009-10-27T08:36:00.002-05:00

Dylan came home at 9 PM Saturday night sick. I knew he didn't feel good when he cut his running around time short. He is still feeling bad despite taking antibiotics.
Now the child who hardly ever gets sick, is sick.
I went in to wake her up this morning which should have been my first clue something was wrong cause this girl has always been an early riser. As I was rubbing her head telling her it was time to get up and get ready for school she told me something I have never heard come out of her mouth before...."Mommy I don't want to go to school, I want to stay home".
Oh no! She has never wanted to stay home instead of going to school before.
I couldn't get much information out of her, just she didn't feel good. So I tucked the covers around her neck and turned on her music and she rolled over and went back to sleep. It is now almost a quarter to nine and she is still asleep. This is definitely a record for her.
Once she gets up I will check her over and decide if a visit to the doctor is on the agenda for today.

Over the rainbow

2009-10-24T11:11:00.003-05:00

Bre-Mommy have you got me any rain boots yet?
me-no I haven't found any
Bre-You have to go to the Rain Store. Do you know where it is at?
me-no I don't
Bre-Well you go over the rainbow, up the mountain and across the troll bridge. That is how you get to the Rain Store.
me-Oh, OK.
Bre-They also have rain clothes there. You know a slicker (where did she hear that word?)
me-I'll keep looking.

This girl is so entertaining!

Right now she is enjoying all her wonderful treasures from the Dollar Store. After we went out for breakfast this morning I took her shopping there. She loved it and I had to really watch what all she was throwing in the cart. Hopefully it will keep her busy this weekend.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2009-10-22T09:48:00.002-05:00

Rain, rain go away. That is what Bre was singing once again this morning. She hates to wake up to rain cause she knows it means a whole day stuck inside and she is definitely an outside girl.

Panda Girl

2009-10-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

Bre wanted me to take a picture of her panda clothes, so here they are.

And the mystery disease is......maybe

2009-10-20T16:37:00.002-05:00

http://stephdpenn.livejournal.com/63679.html

http://stephdpenn.livejournal.com/63906.html

Sick again

2009-10-20T09:41:00.003-05:00

Marcus is sick, again. So is Dylan.....ahhhhh!

I took Marcus to the doctor yesterday cause he was coughing so bad he was throwing up. His doc couldn't really find anything wrong with him. He prescribed a cough syrup and anti-nausea medicine. The kid goes right from one illness to another. I swear there was not even a day in between his stomach virus and this new sickness. I don't know what to do with him.

Open Your Mouth

2009-10-19T21:12:00.002-05:00

Yesterday after dad left Bre and headed home she came up to me and demanded that I open my mouth. I looked at her like she was crazy so she repeated it "open your mouth". So I done as I was told. She shook her head and said "no, they don't come out". I am sitting there thinking what the ??? so I asked her what she meant. Her response made me chuckle...."Papa's come out, mine and yours don't. His doctor made his to where they come out". She was talking about dad's new set of teeth! Thankfully he found it as funny as I did when I told him about it later.

2009-10-18T13:46:00.002-05:00

Pink Hair Fairy

2009-10-18T13:16:00.002-05:00

Dad brought Bre home after church this morning. She was a happy little girl saying how much fun she had until.....she realized that she had left a new prized possession behind at grandpa's house.

One of Dylan's friends gave her an old, non-working IPod yesterday that she excitedly carried around saying it was her new phone. Probably in the haste of getting ready this morning she must have forgotten it.

She started crying those real big tears. You know the kind that just tugs at your heart. So I got out my emergency bag of surprises. In it there was a headband with pink hair attached, fairy wings, and a new Care Bear coloring book. All of it came from the Dollar Tree that I picked up earlier last week. I knew it would come in handy on a rainy, cold day or in a situation such as this.

Here she is in her costume that she is calling her "pink hair fairy".

Just My Luck

2009-10-17T20:22:00.002-05:00

Dylan is out, Marcus is staying the night with a friend and Bre is at dad and Shirley's. I can't believe that this is my second night in a row to have no kids. It is just my luck though to be hurting from the neck down to my ankles. That is definitely not my idea of how to spend a fun weekend!
My pain had been just in my back but thanks to the torture I went through yesterday it is now all over. Again just my luck that a procedure that is suppose to make things better only made it worse instead.
Enough griping for now, time to brag on my young guys for a minute.
These boys are amazing! Yes they drive me crazy at times but I couldn't ask for two better sons. They both are so compassionate and caring. I honest to God don't know what I would do without them. Every day they help me out with household chores and daily living. They will only go off with their friends after they know Bre and I are taken care of and everything that needed to be done is done. I am one proud momma.

Packed and Ready to Go

2009-10-17T17:40:00.002-05:00

Lucky for me Bre has been on the go this weekend. Here she is with her princess bag packed and ready to stay the night at grandma's apartment. Then today my dad came down to check on me and help out some and she wanted to go home with him for the night. She couldn't have picked a better time to decide to run around.

no wonder it hurt

2009-10-16T18:53:00.001-05:00

http://stephdpenn.livejournal.com/63243.html

Can you help?

2009-10-16T12:55:00.002-05:00

*Bre was in foster care through this organization and we are convinced the care and love she got from her foster family was key in her development and ability to bond with us. We continue to sponor a child in need and it is a wonderful feeling. We get updates and pictures of 'our' baby and it is amazing how much each one changes once they leave the orphange and enter foster care. This is truly a great cause.*

Dear Joe & Stephanie,
Thank you for supporting orphans in their time of need. Since we began Grace & Hope for Children in 2004, the generous contributions of donors like you have placed or supported over 1,500 children in foster care.

In the days before Christmas, it is our goal to sponsor 50 new children in foster care. Sponsorship will change the lives of the children when they need it most. You can sponsor a child now! Click here to see children who are waiting for an opportunity to live in a home.

Sponsor a Child Now

Sponsorship gives institutionalized children the opportunity to grow and develop in the arms of loving families. Your sponsorship also gives children recognition and value. Earlier this year a child named Emily was returned to an orphanage after being in foster care for years. Emily has Down Syndrome and her smile and joy were all but lost when she was returned. The orphanage was reluctant to place her in foster care again. Because of a donor like you, the orphanage was persuaded to place Emily in another foster home, giving her a new chance.

Please consider giving an orphaned child a "home" for Christmas. You can Sponsor a waiting child or make a Contribution to Our Work. The China staff and volunteers work tirelessly to bring Grace and Hope to orphans in need. See how we all work together to make a difference in our latest video.

Thank you for making a difference in the lives of children.

Faithfully,
Xiao Xiao

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Now that's pain!

2009-10-16T12:45:00.001-05:00

http://stephdpenn.livejournal.com/62979.html

Apple of my eye

2009-10-14T08:51:00.001-05:00

Bre wore this outfit the other day and got so many comments on it. These pictures don't do it justice, it is adorable on. It's from Gymboree (of course) and has an all over apple print. The tights have apples down the side of the legs even though you can't see it here. Ruby red sparkle shoes pulled it all together.

I love shopping for a little girl as much as I always thought I would. I do know my time is limited though as she is a very strong headed, independent little girl. It is only a matter of time when my opinion will no longer be valued and her fashion choices will be 100% her own. Till then I am going to enjoy every minute!

Marcus is sick, again

2009-10-13T17:55:00.004-05:00

I had hardly been home an hour this morning from taking Marcus to school when the phone rang. It was the school nurse and Marcus was throwing up and just felt like crud. So off I go to pick him up. Almost positive it isn't the flu but some stomach virus instead. The really bad thing is that he has already missed so many days this year cause of various infections including pneumonia and all his flare ups with his fibro. Of course I take him to the doctor when needed but like today I feel it is a 24-48 hour bug that will resolve on it's own and antibiotics would be useless. I am afraid I probably need to schedule a chat with the principle and see where we stand on his absences and what I need to do. If he keeps on getting ill I will take him back to an immune specialist in St. Louis. He had done so well for a few years but the last couple of years have been rough again.

On a brighter note here are some pics from this morning of Bre showing off her Halloween clothes. I picked it up last year on clearance along with the black cat and ghost pony tail holders. She loved that her shirt and socks lit up. I told her she was dressed 'spooky' to which she corrected me and told me she was 'Halloweeny' instead.

Oh Yeah!

2009-10-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

Celebrate, school is back in session!

Don't get me wrong-I love my kids with all my heart and soul but man oh man was I ever happy to say goodbye for the day this morning.

It's weird too cause they can be out for summer vacation and I don't think much of it. I guess because we have baseball games to play and they have friends coming and going. But being out cause of illness was rough. Then add the days of non-stop rain and that made it even worse. Their boredom equaled my misery but hopefully things are back to as normal as they get around here.

More Compromising

2009-10-11T18:06:00.004-05:00

Wednesday on a whim I decided to take the kids to get their pictures taken. Sounds simple enough, right? Not when you have a sixteen year old wearing a Pantera shirt that read "Cowboys from Hell" that day. I knew that it was not going to be an easy thing to do to get him to dress in something appropriate. I decided it was best to try and compromise instead. I took him to JC Penney's and we agreed on the only shirt that we could. I then bought another one in brown for Marcus. I didn't pick Bre up anything cause I knew she had all kinds of new clothes in her closet that hadn't even been worn yet and surely I could find something that wouldn't clash too bad.
So there they are sitting on their stools waiting to get their picture taken and the photographer just couldn't stand it anymore after a couple of clicks. She walks over to Dylan and swipes his hair out of his eye. Now this is the eye that we hardly ever see because there is always a chunk of black hair covering it up. I snickered and told him once again to compromise by at least wiping some of it back. He did and all was going well till she went to take a picture of Dylan by himself. She had him to put his hand under his chin. When he did she immediately noticed his thumb sticking through a hole in the cuff of his new shirt (he cuts a hole for his thumb through every long sleeve shirt that he gets). She sighs and says "oh my goodness", walks over and pulls his thumb back through the hole. At this point I lost it and started laughing.
People crack me up. It is just hair, it is just a hole in his cuff. There are way worse things he could be doing. He will eventually cut his hair one day and as far as the shirt goes oh well, it is just a piece of clothing. If these were the biggest issues we faced raising our kids then we would be dang lucky. Of course I would rather him have a nice short haircut in his natural color and wearing a button up polo but that wouldn't be Dylan. He would be miserable and that in turn would make me miserable. There are just bigger things going on in the world other than long hair and a holey shirt.

Blur

2009-10-10T17:26:00.004-05:00

If these pictures look blurry it is because Bre has been nothing but a blur of activity!

I grabbed the camera and took these as she was rocking out to Yo Gabba Gabba. She was a dance machine from the top of her head down to her pink sparkly shoes.

Right after this I cried Uncle and took her and Marcus to a movie, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Marcus was bored beyond belief but Bre enjoyed it.

Please, please let school be back in for Monday.

Looking up at Halloween decorations

2009-10-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

Please Read

2009-10-09T18:54:00.003-05:00

http://watchingthewaters.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/family-needed/

The above is a link to a blog that I just started reading when I heard of their situation on an adoption forum that I visit sometimes.
I can not imagine being in their shoes right now, not for a moment. Their story only reminds me how truly blessed we have been with adopting Bre.
The mother is asking all who have a blog to post a link to her site with the hopes that somewhere out there there is someone who might be able to step up and make this adorable boy their son.

Welcome to the Crazy House

2009-10-09T15:43:00.002-05:00

OMG! These kids are driving me nuts!

Not only are they home from school because it remains closed due to illness but it has rained for two days now with no signs of stopping. Plus my MRI and doctor appointment were cancelled so we have went nowhere since Wednesday. All three of them are stuck in the house and bouncing off the freaking walls.

Here are some pictures from today that shows a very, very small amount of the craziness going on.