Pray for Gavin Meyer

We received news from my good friend, Karlee Meyer that an ultrasound revealed a mass on her son, Gavin's, bladder. The original doctors appointment was for a rash, however, Karlee requested a urine test because two years prior, blood was found in his urine. Once again, there was blood in the urine and the doctor ordered an ultrasound which revealed the mass. Today they met with a pediatric urologist who stated that surgery needed to be done within the next 4 weeks to remove the mass and determine diagnosis or course of action. Gavin is 7 years old and such a sweet little boy. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, peace for the family and God's will in this situation. Next week he will have a scan and an MRI. I will post as more updates are reported.

Los Angeles County Fair

Los Angelos County Fair - Slideshow

We went to the fair yesterday in the blazing California heat. I was just getting used to the idea of fall and then we got triple digit weather. We had a great time. Some of our favorite activites were: Human Body museum (with real cadavers), dinosaur museum, zip line, food, lots of unique vendors. Some of my pictures got off balance and cut off a couple of the kids. If you are recieving this via email, you may need to get on the actual blog to see the slide show.

Weekend Fun in Huntington Beach!

Today, we went to Huntington Beach to spend some time with the Baker/Hartman clan. This was the first time we have seen the Hartman's new home. Beautiful home and neighborhood. It was such a relaxing time with everyone. Rachel was down from Oakland and she made a yummy icecream birthday cake for Greg and me. Can you believe I'm 35? Oh my!!!

Big News!

It has been about 4 weeks since Jason returned from Africa. The trip was very impactful on his life as well as those who responded to salvation in Africa. He has a heart for the people of Africa and because of this and other factors, we have made a big decision. NO, we are not moving to Africa. Yes, we are going to redo all of our adoption paperwork and adopt a baby from Ethiopia. Babies from 2 months to 12 months are available as well as many other ages. There are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia. This statistic is staggering and yet it will continue to grow due to the aids epidemic. We are excited and somewhat overwelmed as to the process of paperwork. This journey will be difficult and yet, so rewarding. Life is adventurous and we marvel at how God can change our hearts and move us in directions that we may have never thought possible. Let the new JOURNEY begin!

Updates and an exciting addition!

First and foremost I need to brief you on my dad. He is home and doing well. They do not meet with their cardiologist for 3 weeks due to the need for scar tissue to develop and time to see how his body responds. Apparently, the scar tissue will make the affects of his procedure for effective. In the meantime, he continues to receives shots from my mother. It is a good thing that he only bruised one time or his whole body would be black and blue. Feel free to call my mom "bruiser". She has always wanted people to use a nickname when addressing her. (She even gave herself her own nickname in elementary school- Stormy) I think bruiser fits her better and so do the nurses at St. Bernadine.
After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to homeschool my niece Anabel. She is six years old and in 1st grade. Today was her first day at our house and she did great. Looking forward to how we can be used in her life and the blessing that she will be in our's.
Dallas is doing great. No more tummy pain or vomiting. Praise the Lord!

Update on my dad!

Thankyou for your prayers and concern regarding my father. His surgery went well. What should have taken 5 hours, took about 3. He was also in the recovery room for 3hours however due to bleeding at the incision site. Unfortunately, we did not speak with the doctor yesterday so we are anxiously awaiting to hear from him today. He slept with a weight on his leg last night to keep the bleeding in the leg from seeping. This was uncomfortable for him as he had to lay on his back all night. He has suffered from many back aches and this position is uncomfortable for him. Our hope is that he will be released today.

My dad!

Not many children are blessed to have a father like mine. He is loving, caring, extremely hard working and would give the shirt off of his back to most anyone. He has lived his life serving the Lord and giving of himself. On Monday, he is having a procedure on his heart called an ablation fibrillation. This is the second time in a few months that he will be having this type of procedure. The first was not as successful as hoped, as the surgeon found another area in the heart that is beating quite "out of wack." Monday's procedure is more invasive than the first and expected to take about 5 hours. Please pray for success with the procedure, peace for my dad and family, and wisdom for the cardiologist. He has to have shots injected into his abdomen by his favorite nurse, my mother. He bruised terribly this morning and will be receiving two a day for the next several days. I think my mom enjoys her needles, so stand back or she might get you.

Back in the swing of things!

Wednesday's will be our busy days out and about. Yesterday, we went to the Hixson's to do some school together, then to Sunwest. Sunwest is an independent and assistive living facility for the elderly. They have allowed Home Instead to have an office at the facility and serve clients as needed. We had our grand opening, complete with a breakfast, lunch and dinner BBQ for any residents who wanted to eat. There were games, and hula dancers. We stayed for about an hour and then began our first TESTIFY practice. We have decided to rejoin and see where God takes us. We have a new member, Sonya McKelvey, who blended amazingly. She is a blessing! The kids will also be having a part in the concerts. After practice, onto Shine Christian Performing ARTs studio for dance, violin and karate. A quick dinner, and then we went to Fellowship Baptist Church for a bible study on marriage. Dallas continues to do well. His energy and strength are returning and his appetite has come back with a vengeance.

School Pictures!

Today we officially started school. Last week, we attempted but accomplished very little. We had fun in our backyard taking the pictures. The weather was perfect. Very "fallish"!

I just got off the phone with our doctor and she said all tests came back negative for Dallas. This is great news. Hopefully, it was just a terrible virus. We are going to keep him on his meds for another week, and then gradually throughout the next month, we will introduce him to milk products and then eventually gluten. If at anytime symptoms reoccur we will reevaluate and see if gluten or milk products are the problem. So, strict diet for awhile, but probably not indefinately. As you can see, he has lost some weight, however his appetite now seems to be back.

Dallas had a great night. No vomiting and no tummy pain. He has been off of gluten for 3 days, so it is possible that this could be at the root of the problem. I am hoping to hear from the doctor today. We are going to start school today also.

Update on Dallas

Around 11:40 pm. Dallas vominted one time. This was discouraging however he did not vomit after that. Typically, he vomits a minimum of 3 times. This morning he woke up at 6:30am with pain in his left wrist that brought him to tears. He could have slept on it funny but any new symptom tends to make our antenna's perk up. We gave him IB profin and considered taking back to Kaiser but the appointment center is closed today because it is a holiday. The pain is gone now and he is assuring us that he absolutely does not need to go to the doctor. As I laid in bed last night after he vomited I battled with worry. The Bible says not to worry. James 1 came to my mind.
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complet, lacking in nothing." I then made a mental list of many of the things that I have been thankful for during the last 15 days. Here is a list:
-Two sets of grandparents that will help in an instant when needed
-the in-between days when Dallas feels well
-SCRIPTURE to give peace and comfort
-modern technology
-many available foods without ingredients that may be causing the problem
-only one episode of vomiting last night
-Dallas' spiritual growth as he depends of God

After Dallas' pain in his wrist went away, he was really hungry and wanted a big breakfast. I made gluten free pancakes, eggs and bacon. He ate the most he has eaten in days at one meal. At this moment he really is feeling good and running around the house with his brother. So we will continue to wait.

Here is a list of things that we are praying for:
-That we can get a definitive answer as to what is going on. (whether it be a food intolerance issue or parasite.)
-Continued Peace
-That the stool sample would come back soon. Today it has been a week since it was sent to the lab.

Have a wonderful holiday. We appreciate all of you1

Somebody is having a good day!

Dallas seems to be feeling well today as you can see from the pictures. Everyone, including daddy was acting silly. I thought I'd add to the funny sayings of my children. A few minutes ago Providence asked me if Jason and I used to be brother and sister. I said, No. She then said, "Oh, so daddy was in your tummy!" Do I look like I am my husband's mother. Too OLD comments in one day. Oh My!

Funny sayings from our kids and Dallas update!

I just thought I'd share a few things that have made us laugh this week. This morning Brayden said, "Mom, this morning Providence's eyes look like yours. I asked how? He said, they are puffy and have those black circles under them." Lovely! Now I know how great I look! When we were in the ER the first time, Dallas was so thirsty and in his misery stated, "I feel like the Egyptions in the desert before the rock was struck and water came out." He also said his mouth felt like a rock that hadn't been rained on for months.
Anyways, thankyou for praying. Dallas had a better night last night. No vomiting! We did give him a medication called Zofran that he took before bedtime. He is eating a little bit more but today the tummy aches seem to be about the same. We are noticing a pattern with him. He tends to have one good day between two bad days. He even woke up one morning and said, "This must be one of the inbetween days because I am feeling a little bit better. I will continue to update as I can.

Dallas!

It has been 13 days today since Dallas began throwing up and having diarrhea and abdominal pain. We have been to the ER and Kaiser doctors office a total of 4 times and are still unsure as to the problem. Thankfully the blood work looks good, however we are waiting for results from his stool sample. Yesterday he seemed to be doing well at the ER but he vomited 4 times from 4am-7pm. Jason and I try not to be alarmists but we are growing more concerned and sad that Dallas is still uncomfortable. We are making some big diet changes to see if this will affect him positively. He is off of all gluten and dairy products. This is a research project for me, as there are many foods that contain these ingredients. (foods you would'nt expect) So, if you happen to wake up around 3 or 4am, please pray that Dallas could get some relief. Strangely, the vomiting occurs mainly in the early morning hours. Dallas, in the past has been characterized by freaking out at doctors appointments. The idea of going to the ER and getting blood work was not something any of us looked forward too. Amazingly, after praying with Dallas several times and quoting scripture, he handled the pokes and fears with flying colors. This verse has been especially meaningful to him. 2Cor. 4:16-18 "Therefore we do not lose heart. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal."