Still Christmas?

Yup, for our family, it is still Christmas. One more celebration to go. This year was different for us. Right before Christmas, my Dad's Mom, my Arnie, passed away. Rocky start to the holidays. Then Christmas Eve was supposed to be spent with Lance's family in OR, but the majority of the family came down with a killer cold. Lance opted to keep us home and attempt to avoid getting sick so we stayed. We did spend the days with my family and enjoyed ourselves. Last weekend, New Year's, we did venture down to OR to have our do-over Christmas with that side of the family. We all enjoyed ourselves.

However, Monday we got a call that Lance's father was airlifted to a Portland area hospital. He caught his robe on fire when he got too close to a propane space heater in his garage. We are now awaiting his surgery upcoming this Monday for skin grafting and he is in a drug induced coma in the meantime. Going to be a long road to recovery for him.

This Friday we will finally be having the memorial service for Arnie and then following up with our final Christmas celebration. Looking forward to time with our family but starting to wonder when things are finally going to slow down for us. It seems as though things have been a whirl wind!

Oh, and we also found out the last week of December that our little precious cargo will be sporting pink! yet again. We are all 4 thoroughly thrilled and can't wait for the happy occasion in May to finally meet our final addition to our family.

Determination

I think I can, I think I can...finally cook dinner on a regular basis for my family again! After 2 long months, I think I can...now if only the girls would hurry up and wake up from their now 2 hour nap, so that I can get to the grocery store to accomplish my goal

Successful Surgery

Tuesday morning, bright and early, Lance had me over to the hospital for the surgery to remove the cyst. I woke up in recovery very surprised to find out that they were able to drain the cyst and remove it completely laproscopically. Whew! That meant after a short recovery I was able to come home that day. Other that not realizing I was dehydrated and having a few pass out episodes, with Lance handy thankfully, I am recovering well. He and my Mom have me quite hydrated now and today I am up and joining the world of the non-bedridden. What a relief! Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Baby and I are mending well and hopefully fast.

Thanksgiving

Ah, yes! Its that time of year again. The one day a year where its not only acceptable, but its expected to stuff yourself senseless. Right now I am most definitely counting my blessings. I am relieved to finally have some anti-nausea medicine on board making it possible for me to do my share of the cooking. I was starting to get a bit nervous about that.

I just want to express how thankful I am for so much this year. I am thankful for my family, who has definitely had to step up these last 2 months and fill in my shoes. I am thankful for the friends that have supported me. I am thankful for the doctors, who are taking care of not only me, but also Baby Haver. I am thankful for so much because I am blessed to have so much.

Don't forget to sit back and reminisce and be thankful for what you have in your lives this year. And enjoy that turkey!

1st Snow of the Season

The tree in the back that didn't survive the wind storm at the beginning of the week, thankfully just a small portion of it is broken, and the fence seems to be in tact still

This has been quite the week for weather here in Western WA. The week started with high winds and rain, a small earthquake, and ended with snow. What a mess! We were very excited at the sight of snow this afternoon as this is more than we got all last year. The girls were itching to get out and play and we obliged. I bought their snow pants last year and was relieved that even though Kylie's pair was a bit high water, they still fit!

What a week!

So. This has been an interesting week to say the least. I was scheduled to work a full 32 hr week (full time for dental, folks) for a coworker on vacation. Made it through Days 1 & 2 incident free. Woke up on Wednesday, Day 3. Things took a bit of a change.

As I'm in the shower first thing, I feel funny. So I slid down and sit on the bench we have in the shower and attempt to recompose myself. Everything visually and hearing was starting to go distant. Well, didn't work. Next thing I realize I'm laying on the shower floor. Ooops, first thought is to turn the water off. Yell for Lance? Nope, I'd kicked him to the couch for snoring and that man can sleep through a tornado and then some. Water is off so I decided to use what little congnativeness I have left to open the shower door to get to the bath mat and maybe further, just maybe Lance will hear me. MUCH, to my relief, my knight in shining armor, heard me fall and was entering the bathroom at this point to check on me. I managed to mumble "I need help" and then went limp, listless, and unresponsive. The next thing I know I hear Lance telling someone what has happened to me. I finally gather that its 911. It took a few minutes for me to form the words, but "I don't want a stupid ambulance" finally escaped my mouth. Lance tells the person on the phone and then tells me "Too bad, they're coming anyhow".

Ok, so recap at this point. I'm dripping wet naked on the bathroom floor. Yup, one of those finer moments in life you really don't want to share with anyone. The 911 operator instructed Lance not to move me. But, he did manage to somehow lift me up to get undies on and my robe around me. Now there's a paramedic next to me, well, 2 at least, asking me questions and taking my vitals. Comparing what I think happened to what Lance told the operator. Seems I answered fairly well, but my blood pressure was entirely too low. The EMT finally asks if I'll take a ride with him to the hospital. Against wanting to, I realize this is the best idea. My Mom is on her way to watch the girls and I do not want Lance to have to wake them and take them to the ER with us.

Now the journey begins. My first, and hopefully last, trip to the hospital in an ambulance. As thy are wheeling me out of the house I keep thinking I see a lot of faces. And there's a firetruck as well as the ambulance in front of our house. Lance told me later there were 7 EMT/Firemen in our house. Wow! And the amazing part, the girls slept through all of this!

Let me tell you, for those of you who have ever had to visit the ER, arriving in an ambulance is definitely the way to go to get speedier service. Immediately wheeled into a room, sign here miss, put your arm here miss, and loads of the now repetitive questions stream. I see the doctor in the first 5 minutes and have an EKG ran. Turns out, I had vacovagal syncope, which basically means, I passed out. Fainted. They kept referring to the grooms' men that locks his knees at the alter and falls over, or the person that sees blood and then passes out. Causes: well, this is funny. Dehydration (duh, I have morning sickness and puke daily), mild pharyngitis (yup, silly cold has been hanging on for close to 2 weeks), and (my favorite) pregnant.

So, after getting a nice bag of IV fluids, and a beautiful anti-nausea medication, one lap around the ER to prove I'm fine, I am released. I am now instructed to not sit up and walk. Wait a good minute from laying to sitting, then walk. Easy peasy!

However, after the beautiful day of no vomiting, and also the following day, the morning sickness found me again this morning. I have seen the light of what it is like to no longer puke daily. I'm greedy, I want it! So a quick call to my doctor's office for a request for the same magical medicine the ER doc gave me, and I am now stocked. Baby and I are done with this puking, let's just hope we can get the rest of my crazy body to agree.

This has been an interesting past 7 weeks. Most definitely the hardest of all 3 of our pregnancies combined. Its only making me more anxious to get to meet Baby Haver come May.

Sneak Peak

Yesterday while I was at work I started to feel that yucky familiar stabbing pain on my left side. Way too familiar of the cyst pain on the right side. It only lasted 20-30 min. But, due to my wonderfully supportive coworkers' insistence I called the doctor. They decided I needed to have an ultra sound just to be safe. So, I had the pleasure of waiting in an unfamiliar lab for over an hour squirming in my chair waiting my turn. Thank goodness all was fine. Final diagnosis is referred pain from the cyst on the right side. The tech I had was amazing and took several pictures of baby and printed them for me much to my surprise. Still to soon to tell baby's gender. It is always so much fun to see how wiggly this little one is! I just started to feel some definite fetal movement this past week. I'm sure so early not only due to the fact that this is my third pregnancy, but baby is being a little overcrowded by a 9cm cyst!

Fighting the Battle

Oh the joys of what appears to be the common cold have hit our house this week, and hard. Kylie came down with a fever and then cold symptoms followed. Other than the lingering runny nose, Miss Bug is back to full speed. Of course, a few days later, Kenzie wakes with her raging fever and oh yes, lets add some vomiting and a long night. And then enter my turn. Yikes! On top of morning sickness, post nasal drip is just wrong. And now that the girls and I seem to be on the mend, guess who's turn it is? That's right. At least he's the one of the 4 of us that can take cold meds to feel better. Our hero has finally come down with the cold. Here's to hoping Lance has the shortest experience with it of all.

Halloween

Introducing Belle and Dorothy! Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest...I was just happy to get some. Haven't been feeling too well due to morning sickness so I am taking what I can get. The girls had yet another great Halloween. They enjoyed ringing neighbors' doorbells and saying 'trick or treat'. Well, with one exception when Kylie spat out "Do you got any candy?" instead. Oh, the joys of children!

Kenzie's preschool class also took a field trip just down the road from our house to Latin's Cider Mill. They had a small pumpkin patch, petting zoo, and of course snacks. Lance was able to take the afternoon and enjoy this experience with Kenzie.

Great News!

Ok, words I never expected to udder in this fashion, but great news, its Endometriosis! Surgery is tentatively scheduled for November 30th. It will be laparoscopic. If they have problems getting the cyst out, for whatever reason, they will then do a c-section style incision to remove it. Baby and I should fare just well either route. I will be out of commission for about a week. If I have to have the more invasive incision, the recovery will be a bit longer. I'll take it! In the meantime, I will have at least one more ultra sound to monitor the cyst and will share more as we know more. I was elated to get the call just after 5pm tonight and thankful that my nurse took the time to call at that time of day. I am in good hands. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. God is good!

Choking down some reality

We are about 10 weeks into this pregnancy. About 3 weeks ago I ended up in sever pain. A trip to the ER enlightened us to the fact that I have an ovarian cyst. I've since seen my regular OB for a follow up ultra sound. Today, Lance & I went to meet with the OB to discuss the results. As you can imagine, we knew we were up against something not good to be called in instead of given news over the phone.

Since turning 30, my body has done some interesting things. I went through a lengthly process including a LEEP procedure with the same OB about 6 months back where everything was worst case scenario, stopping short of cancer. Its almost time for my 6 mo check up to ensure all of those issues are at bay.

However, the ultra sound tech told me last week that I had "several" cysts on my ovary. Today, we found out that one of those cysts is 9 cm. Gulp. And following suit, it is not a simple cyst. Its the most eye brow raising type, to keep it simple here. There are 2 likely causes. One is endometriosis. The other is ovarian cancer. Doctor seems to lean more towards endo. This will require surgery to remove the cyst in 3-4 weeks once I'm in the second trimester, which is safer for the baby. I'll be out of commission for 5-7 days but all should go will. Not as much details as to what will happen if it is cancer. Hoping to not even have to think about that possibility. Today, we had another blood test to try to help determine which we are looking at. Unfortunately, its not the most accurate test, and pregnancy makes it even less accurate. We should have these results by Friday and then know which course of action we are going to take.

I think its safe to say that Lance & I both feel like we were hit by a bus. We have a lot to digest, and worse, "what-if's" are all we have until Friday. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I am trying to remember that God never gives us more than we can handle. Boy, he must have me pegged for one strong Mama!

Blessing in Desguise

A few weeks back Lance got a new laptop for me. So he decided to copy all of the photos on the other laptop onto our external hard drive and then delete them from the old laptop. OOPS. He forgot to check the hard drive to make for sure that all of the photos had been properly saved before deleting them off the laptop. Thank goodness I didn't lose my cool. After some thought, I realized that I at least still had all of the highlights of our photos from the past year right here, on this blog, and a few extra on facebook as well. Talk about relief! So sharing my photos in more than one place has turned out to be quite useful for me in the process of recovery!

Just checking

...how many of you actually read the blog lately ;)

And we officially have a Pre-Schooler!

Getting ready to go meet her teacher

All dressed up and excited for Preschool Orientation

Well, it has happened. I am now officially the mother of a school going child. GULP. Seriously, where have the last 4 1/2 years gone? Monday I took Kenzie to meet her teacher, and to my surprise, I sat through over an hour of parent orientation as well. I felt guilty because I needed to rush back to work.

Today was Miss Kenzie's 1st official day of preschool. So bittersweet! I love that Kenzie is old and brave enough to go to classes and such on her own but so sad that my baby doesn't "need" me all of the time anymore. Ya, ya, I know, I'm over-reacting but its my first born child we're talking about here!

The day was a success. As you can see Kenzie was very excited to go today. However, she was a bit miffed that when she gets to class after washing her hands, she has to sit and color. She wanted to play! She came home with a bag full of projects and smiles galore. She didn't miss Mommy one bit.

Kylie and I did miss Kenzie though. I managed to only get severely choked up but not shed tears once we were out of Kenzie's eye sight. However, nearly home Kylie says "Momma, I miss Kenzie. Do you?" Insert waterworks and my gulping to answer "Mommy does too!" But we both quickly settled in to our routines as she napped and I got caught up on housework and before we knew it it was time to pick up Kenzie. Whew!

Ahhhhh...

trying to feed the birds that were apparently full

We took a trip up to Point Defiance today to let the girls run around the zoo at their own pace. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! And if you can't tell, we ate our way through. The girls and I enjoyed some sweet potato fries for lunch followed by some ice cream on the way home. If you ask me, and I think the girls as well, great day!

Nothing, you say?

What??? A weekend without plans? Whatever shall we do? I think we are giddy with the lack of commitment. I just hope that I can start out mine by sleeping in tomorrow. Well, at least until 7:30 if the girls are willing.

Saturday

Saturday we celebrated Kylie and Allie's 3rd Birthdays at my parents' house. No summer day can be complete without a little pool action for the kiddos. Yes, even though I somehow have no pictures of Alli, she was there, too! And also, here is a decent pic of my tattoo that I got to symbolize the girls. The flowers are their birth month flowers. I am very happy with the outcome!

Lessons to be Learned

What an interesting thought. I was just discussing and comparing notes on our days with Lance. He seemed to have one of those days where the "Are you kidding me?" 's piled on top of one another to only end in one with myself. Laugh, yes! Understand, getting there. Its so easy to go about our daily lives and forget that God is in the small stuff. Sheesh, He's everywhere, He is the one that orchestrates it all! So as I sit her shaking my head along with Lance I remember. It all has a reason. We might not understand it all now, but He does. And isn't there something we are supposed to learn from it? ;)

Where has the love gone?

My love and passion for photography...have you seen it? I miss taking pictures of the kids and having them but find it a hassle at even the thought of it and even bigger hassle to upload and edit the pics. What's up with that?!?

Church Shopping

It seems like we have done entirely too much of this since leaving our home in Mattoon, IL. We were very blessed to be part of a church there that was more than just a church. It was our family. They were our friends. From everything to weekly services, to lunch after service, Life Groups in our home w/ weekly dinners, a Mom's Group, Mens' Book Study, teaching kids, even holidays spent with other families within the church family. We were connected! Since leaving IL we have struggled to find a "home". Its that time again for us to move forward with our search. The last year we had been attending a great church that my parents attend but then after moving to Olympia, found ourselves lost in their Olympia campus. Even with me attending extra mid week classes, me teaching, and Lance being uber-involved in their media services we hardly know anyone other than the pastoral staff.

So, the past 2 weeks our search has landed us here: http://www.faithlacey.com/ Still a bit larger than what we thought we were looking for, but then again, we have long since realized that it is where He leads us! Lance has already made contacts with the softball team and hopes to throw a bit so he can join them soon. The girls are loving their new class and teacher. Kylie has thrown tantrums the past 2 weeks when we attempt to leave to go home. I think its a hit with our family for now.

If you are a believer, please pray with us that God will direct us to the right new "home" with us and use us. Its been 2 years since we've felt truly at home and we are anxious to find that place.