Notes from Nomi Jill

Redneck Roller Coaster and Brendan in January

2012-01-20T06:23:00.000-08:00

This has been a roller-coaster ride couple of months. It seems appropriate that I show you some pics of what I called a "redneck roller coaster"! We left Houston on December 20th making our way north to Enid, Oklahoma. We picked Brendan up from my parents in Oklahoma City. He was glad to see us and seemed very happy to get in our van and make the trek to Grandpa's house in Enid. We arrived in the dark and cold but Gammy and Grandpa had the house nice and warm and beautifully decorated for Christmas! We all slept well that night after a long trip north. The kids were hoping for snow. That didn't happen. Boredom is always lurking around the corner because we only have two hours "screen time" per day...this includes television, video games...pretty much anything electronic and entertaining. Two hours may seem like a long time, but let me tell you it flies by in a hurry and then we are left with 10 to 14 more to fill with...something. In our city, this can be really hard. Extreme heat/humidity are going to make the coming summer miserable to play out doors in spite of the swimming pool right outside our back door! But I digress. At Grandpa's house it was much easier to fill the hours...not easy, mind you, but easier!

Randy and his dad took the kids out to practice shooting selections from Grandpa's impressive arsenal. I don't have a problem with them doing target practice. Randy is exceptionally careful and I tell myself they are doing it for sport...and I personally qualified as an NRA Pro Marksman this past summer so I know it's a lot of fun. And we live in Texas. That's just how it is folks, we like our guns down here! The kids loved the shooting thing.

Grandpa has a tiny little four-wheeler thing. Andrew got to drive it first. He looked like an elephant riding on a Matchbox car! They all loved that too. But with all the cousins, there were six boys waiting for their turn on the 4-wheeler so we must find something to do to make the time go faster. I'm not sure who's idea it was to perch the children in the bucket of the tractor...I doubt Randy would admit to it but I do have my suspicions! At any rate, the brand-spankin'-new tractor was pulled into the driveway and the kids loaded up! I'm not sure who had more fun, the men operating the equipment or the kids piled up in the scoop! I ran out with my camera and then got so tickled when it hit me..."my kids are in a Redneck Roller Coaster"!

See? Raise your hands and scream everyone! This is fun! I doubt Grandpa intended his new $20k tractor be used as a roller coaster. It might have been cheaper to put in the real deal back there on the back pasture. But we ran out of time and the tractor has dual purpose...could you mow your lawn with the last roller coaster you rode? I didn't think so! And I had the comfort of knowing back and neck injuries were much less likely. I kind of worry that way. Not sure if that is the nurse or the mom in me.

We left Christmas morning to head over to my parents and spend the rest of our time away with them. Brendan loved showing his siblings all the discoveries he had made since he moved here in October. It was fun for me to hear him talk about playing at the creek. This was a favorite activity when I was his age and we would come visit my grandparents at the same property. I wonder why we never named "the creek"? I was only a couple of years old when my grandparents bought this property and "the creek" has always been there and been a favorite spot for all the grandkids (and now the great-grands) but we never named it! Hmmm...suggestions anyone? I think after nearly 40 years of service the thing deserves the honor of being named!

Brendan seems to be doing fairly well. He still has moments where he is struggling but we spent nearly two weeks with him and he did not need medication at all! His sense of humor seems very keen and he is a joy to be around so much of the time. It was wonderful to see that wonderful personality of his again...it has been suppressed by drugs for so many years.

On New Year's Eve, Daddy wasn't feeling well and the evening ended with Mom and I taking him to the small hospital in Van Buren. He was transferred from there to the bigger hospital in Ft. Smith. The doctors all thought he was having a heart attack...no, wait...it's an intestinal obstruction...no, hang on...a virus? Without telling all the hair-pulling details, lets just say that he was very sick for many days and spent four or five in the hospital the culmination of which we knew precisely very little! He seems to be fine now and all is well but we did have a very frightening several days. My personal opinion? He was likely suffering from a strangulated hiatal hernia and thanks to many prayers, he was healed before the doctors got to that part of the testing.

This was very difficult with us with our situation with Brendan. I wanted to bring him back home with us. But was this what was best for Brendan? I felt for a bit like I was making a choice between the health of our son and the health of my dad and neither choice was acceptable to me. It was frankly agonizing! By the time we got to the day we needed to leave to get the other three kids back in school on time, Dad was feeling well enough to offer his opinion and Randy and I sat down in his hospital room with he and Mom and Brendan and had a pow-wow on how to proceed. I asked Brendan what he wanted to do. My heart was racing as I waited for his answer because I didn't know what we would do if he said he wanted to come home...since he has already changed schools once this year, I am not certain how it would work for him to change again! He stated immediately that he wanted to stay in Arkansas. That was good, right? Yes. That is good. He is vested in this process and is eager for it to be successful. We talked about how much more responsibility he would need to assume to help Papa. We talked about his attitude and respect and he seemed eager to try hard to stay and continue on.

Back in December after much hounding and harassing, I finally got the blood and urine test results from the Lawlis-Peavey center and we had a protocol for chelation therapy that we are needing to get started on. The first roadblock was the expense. The drugs totaled over $700 out-of-pocket! One of my sisters-in-law gave me one of his meds as my Christmas gift the rest of it I put on a credit card and ordered online. In the therapy guidelines, the doctor wanted blood work done before we began the chelation process. He said the blood work would need to be ordered through Brendan's primary care physician. The vision therapist had wanted Brendan to get occupational therapy at school and we needed a physician prescription for that too so Mom called around and found a pediatrician for him.

When she finally got him into the pediatrician, the gentleman refused to order either! He didn't believe the vision therapy was necessary and didn't feel OT was required and he had no reason to order the blood work! Grrr! Mom called their family physician and he was happy to help. We called insurance and fired the pediatrician as Brendan's primary care physician and replaced him with the family practice guy and mom got the blood work done.

Sooooo...chelation therapy that should have happened back in December finally started this week! In the meantime Bren has been struggling at school. He can't seem to remember to bring his homework home. When he does bring it home, it is difficult to get him to get it done. Then to the frustration of his parents and grandparents, it remains in his backpack day after day while he forgets to turn it in! In the meantime, his grades are dropping. Dismally. The teachers report it is sometimes difficult to get him to do his classwork or to focus. I understand their frustration totally. There is no way they can micromanage each child and make certain they do it right.

Chelation started on Monday. Twelve pills total in the morning and another twelve at bedtime! Brendan is good at taking pills but has had stomach cramps and vomiting with them so I am not sure how well it is going to work out. I have written the doctors at Lawlis-Peavey center last week to request advice on his grades/school work/focus issues and again two days ago to report the intestinal symptoms with the chelation therapy. I did receive a very brief note 11 days ago from our "point of contact" doctor there stating that he wanted to discuss the case with Dr. Lawlis as Dr. Lawlis was very interested in Brendan's particular case and had asked to remain "in the loop" regarding him. He indicated that he would be getting back with me. I have heard nothing.

I won't lie to you. I am frustrated and angry. We drained every penny we have to pay for what we thought would give us answers for our son. We were told we would receive a report with diagnosis and prognosis as well as detailed recommendations within in 90 days. It has been 94 days now and we have heard nothing other than the preliminary report we were given the last day of testing back in October and the medical information that I had to beg and plead for for several weeks back in December. Now he is having a reaction to the medication protocol they prescribed and they are remaining silent when I frantically email our "point-of-contact" doctor. I don't know what to do or who to call.

Brendan, in the meantime is trying his hardest to soldier through. I told Mom not to give him the meds Wednesday night but he came back downstairs later on and told her he wanted to take them. He is hoping as hard as we are that it will help. I'll be frank. I am so tired of hoping against hope that this will be the answer. The next test, medication, therapy or parlor trick will do the job. Our son will get better and we will be able to bring him home. I hear the exhaustion in my Mother's voice every day when I call. I hear the frustration in my Dad's voice when he talks to Brendan or one of us. I know how hard this journey is - I've been trudging this road for almost 14 years. It is harder to be here and hear the pain, frustration and anger of all parties involved and be unable to give my parents a break or hold my son for a few minutes and remind him of what a great kid he is and how much I love to kiss his freckles and hear his laughter bubbling up from his toenails. I can't tell you how many times this past week I have wanted to climb in our blue minivan and head north to get my son. The only thing restraining me from doing that very thing is the belief that it would do greater harm than good for him to be taken out of school again.

We got a call yesterday from the assistant principal. Brendan was fighting after school with another child. We don't have all the details. When I asked Brendan about it, he told me that the other child started throwing wet leaves on him and calling him names. I do know the AP told us that both kids were receiving punishment so I doubt either of them is blameless. This is hard. It seems that impulse control is very difficult for Brendan and when others know how to push his buttons, it is a very volatile situation. He must learn these skills but I have no idea how.

For now, he remains in Arkansas. Mom has said (and I agree) that we need to find another option for next year. Due to our finances that means we will be back at the same junior high next year here in Katy. I have no idea how that will work out. I'm trying hard to trust that God has Brendan's best interest close to His heart and He will work it all out for the best. I know that in the end, one way or another, God's will will be done...I am just frightened about the road between here and there. From here it looks pretty rough...For now, I'm just gonna remember what it feels like to hold him tight!

Oreo Cookie Balls - A Tutorial

2011-12-07T01:45:00.000-08:00

I have made these little balls of deliciousness many times and I always get asked how they are made. They are deceptively simple, really. Especially when you consider the taste! To quote my cousin Nathan: "that has to be the best thang I ever wrapped my tongue around"! (He was talking about my dad's baked beans at the time but still...) Nathan makes me laugh. I might quote him again on my blog someday... Really! He has Larry the Cable Guy beat all to holler. I digress. Back to the Oreo balls...

Here we have the actors in the play: The actual ingredients are pretty basic. One package of Oreo cookies. One normal-size block of cream cheese. One package of candy wafers. I get a little creative with things but you can just use this basic recipe to start with. A side note before we begin: when I took these photos I was getting ready for a big church event in which a large number of people were anticipated to come by our home. I made a big-ole batch of this stuff. Can you say "FIVE package of Oreo's and FIVE blocks of yummy cream cheese"? Just wanted to be clear. The gi-hugic bowl of cookie gloop did not go on my own personal thighs. Though I will admit to snarfing down my fair share!

Then you can add some Just-For-Fun items. I chose these sprinkles. You'll see a rhyme to my reason directly. I also like to put the little balls in candy papers when I serve them. This is because I'm a "presentation" kind of girl and I like things all tied up with a bow! You don't have to do them this way. I'm sure they taste the same straight out of your hand without the little papers hugging their bottoms. Pretty sure anyway...
Rip open the package of Oreo cookies and...
...toss 'em in the blender. I can put one full row at a time in my blender. You might live dangerously and try more but I found if I tried to get my blender too full, I ended up with some cookie chunks and not the finer texture I wanted.
Almost there. You want these puppies almost the consistency of coarsely ground coffee. The cream part (arguably the best part of the Oreo) will mostly just disappear right into the whole blended powdery stuff.
Did I mention you should have your cream cheese at room temperature? You should. Take it out of the 'fridge an hour or so before hand (a day or so if you live in the north in the winter) and let it soften. You can soften it in the microwave but I don't recommend you do that if you can avoid it. The heating tends to separate the cream cheese and your dough turns kind of greasy. They firm up okay in the final steps and taste just as wonderful so go ahead if you forgot or the cat got into the first batch you laid out to soften or something...
Just plop the cream cheese in on top of the Oreo powder and wash your hands really, really, REALLY good with antibacterial soap. Then go wash them again just because I'm a nurse and it makes me feel better to say that. I can't stand the thoughts of grody hands in food I'm expected to eat... If your aren't sure about your hand hygiene, feel free pull on some sterile gloves. I was very certain my hands were very clean so I just started squishing the cream cheese into the Oreo mixture. Just keep smushing until all of the powdery bits incorporate into the cream bits. It only takes a few minutes for it to all stick together into a dough.
I have never placed the Oreo dough wad out on a plate before, but because the bowl was so big, I found it easier to work from a plate than leaning over a cavernous bowl spelunking for my next blop of dough. Do that if you want to.
I make my balls on the smallish side. Smaller than a ping-pong ball but bigger than a shooter-marble. You want them about the size of a typical chocolate candy so they are a good mouthful but not so big that you go into a sugar coma before you finish one. Line the little balls up on a piece of waxed paper or parchment - I have used both and they both work well - put over a cookie sheet. My favorite cookie sheets to use for this task are the stone ones because when they come out of the 'fridge after the cool down cycle, the stone stays cold longer and in Houston that is a good thing!
Now bear with me while I chase a rabbit for a minute. One of the batches I did I used mint Oreo's. I wanted to try some different flavors. I think the green Oreo filling looked so cool in the blender so I had to show you...
This is what the mint looks like all chopped up. You can almost see green in there if you look hard enough.
Then pop everybody in the fridge for a cool-down. Even dough that is very soft will firm right up when you get them in the cold for a bit. I normally clean up everything at this point and go check my email, make my bed and paint my toenails...whatever I can find to do to let time pass. I try to allow at least an hour.
Then you pull them out and baptize them in melted chocolate wafers. I'll did the white color first and I forgot to take a picture of the melting process so you'll have to wait a minute for that. Going in...
...and coming out. The chocolate stays soft for only a little while before it hardens back up and it doesn't appreciate being re-melted very much so you want to work quickly.
Then have you seven-year-old daughter sprinkle the still melty tops with the "Cookies and Cream" sprinkles you have sitting right handy in a ramekin. Yes, she washed her hands very well too!
Now I'm gonna do the chocolate ones. I put the wafers in a Pyrex measuring cup. Mine can hold the entire bag of wafers. I have had so many people tell me this is where the process fails! So I guess this is important! Melt the wafers exactly like this: Pop them in the microwave for one minute. Take them out. Give them a stir. Notice that they are looking a little soft around the edges but don't get concerned - because, well, because I told you not to! Put them back in the microwave for 30 seconds. Give them a stir. One more 30 second zap and you should be starting to get quite melty. Many people don't realize that when you cook with a microwave you are changing the molecular structure of food by exciting the molecules and they will continue to move for a short period of time after you take them out of the microwave. You can really see this work when melting chocolate. So if you pull the wafers out after one full minute and two half-minute cycles and you are almost smooth chocolate but still a little lumpy, just give it a stir for a few minutes and make sure you really need more time in the microwave before you put them back in for another go-round. So if you have had the experience of your chocolate getting hard and crumbly, you have over-cooked it and now you know...
See? Almost there. This will stir out to very smooth. Mmmmm...chocolate!
For the plain chocolate coated ones, we used toffee crumbles.
And now for the mint...these sprinkles aren't mint flavored but they look minty so we'll just use those so folks know which ones are mint. Okay? (BTW, that hand is chocolatey NOT dirty! She washed! Promise. I watched her do it.)
Lovely, rich mint chocolate melts make the mint cookies even yummier.
And the green sprinkles look really pretty on them.
Sittin' pretty in their little paper dresses all ready for someone to snatch them up and dive into chocolate heaven. We did have a few left over so I sent a small box to Melissa and Jamison's teachers. They loved me. They sent me notes of rapture. I was the favorite parent that week! I think I'm gonna do it again next week with a bigger box for their Christmas presents. I have done these with the golden Oreos and they are quite divine. I found some berry flavored Oreo's the other day and bought a couple of packages but I'm not sure they are going to make it to the project. Think chocolate-covered strawberries. Yes. That good. I hope the grocery store has more. I'm not sure I have enough left for even one batch...
Let me know if you try these. I'd love to hear about your own personal combinations. I saw some peanut butter Oreos the other day. I refrained from purchasing them though. If you did, tell me how they turned out.

Brendan's Vision Diagnosis

2011-11-30T05:39:00.000-08:00

It has taken me a few hours to assimilate the information given to us by the vision specialist yesterday. If you will indulge me a bit, this post will likely be a bit more of a "rant" than normal. I am just gonna be frank here. Can I be Frank? Okay, just call me Frank! "Frank, you say... "

Yes, I am a bit punchy. I haven't had much sleep. I can't sleep. My mind is on overload and I am WAY stressed out. I am working on my trust issues with God. I do okay a lot of the time but after a night of tossing and turning, I don't have my normal ability to "cast all my cares upon Him". I know, I know...that's when I should be doing the best at it!

Our conference call with the vision specialist took place yesterday afternoon. Mom was in her office for the call and Randy and I were patched in. The whole via-teleconference thing was hard.

One of the first things she asked was if we had had Brendan tested for Aspergers Syndrome. I told her that we had indeed had him tested both by a psychiatrist and a developmental psychologist. Aspergers was ruled out. Over the two hour conference, she mentioned Aspergers many times. It was as though she couldn't get beyond her big idea that he had Aspergers! Her other points:

While Brendan sees 20/20 on a vision test, his eyes don't function together as they should. I am trying to re-create it the way I understand it so it is more understandable for folks without these issues.

The first issue is with eye movement. Most people have the ability to accurately follow a moving target and shift their eyes from one point to another with ease. Brendan cannot do this. It requires gross motor (movement of his head and neck) movement for him to function as opposed to fine motor (eye shift). The goal here was 50% - Brendan was less than 1% in vertical and 1-5% in horizontal. I know. Those numbers don't mean much to me either. I just know they aren't great! The diagnosis of this part of the exam was Oculomotor Dysfunction. Have you had him tested for Aspergers syndrome?

In real life this means that Brendan will lose his place frequently, skip or omit words, have a difficult time copying from the board and have a really hard time performing in any sporting activities. It is totally amazing to me that he can ride a bicycle and played basketball for many years - even making a basket every once in a while!

The next piece dealt with the ability to focus the eyes rapidly and automatically. Reading and writing both require the eyes to be able to focus for long periods of time. Coping from one place to the other (the chalk or marker board) requires a change in focus from long distance to near. Obviously this is also linked to the ability to sustain visual attention. The goal for Brendan was 10 cycles per minute. He was able to do 5. The diagnosis for this part was Accommodative Infacility. We really do need to consider the fact that he likely has Aspergers...

Probably the biggest piece of the puzzle was the binocular integration. God designed our eyes and muscles to work together with such a high degree of precision that both eyes perform as if they were one. This ability is related to eye movement control and focusing ability. Since both of those are off somewhat, it stands to reason that instead of working as a team, Brendan's eyes have some rivalry in the ranks! Sure enough, we have big issues here! We won the diagnosis lottery in this area and got a two-for-one deal: Binocular Dysfunction and Convergence Excess.

To accomodate, his brain just shuts down one of his eyes at near range. He is totally blind in one eye when he is reading or looking at things close up. He also has an extremely slow response in focusing on anything requiring fine depth discrimination - meaning his depth perception is way off. There is a good chance that Aspergers Syndrome has some meaning to his diagnosis.

Again, the test measurements don't mean anything to me but to give you an idea, the goal for far distance was 12 pd (prism diopters) and Brendan made it to 4. The goes for near distance was 25 pd and Brendan made it to 6. The time it took for the two eyes to fuse images to allow depth perception was 70 arc seconds (whatever an "arc second" is!) with normal being 20 arc seconds.

So, lets take a look at what that looks like for Brendan practically. This is what a white marker board looks like with a few words written on it.

This would be a typical assignment and this is how you or I would see it... Aspergers?

Now let's make it doubled like Brendan sees it...
And let's add in the "I-can't-focus-the-dumb-thing-so-it-looks-like-I'm-drunk" bit... I'm pretty sure this is how it looks to folks with Aspergers Syndrome.
And you get just a clue as to why he was barely passing in classes that required him to write notes off of the chalkboard! It makes my head hurt to look at just that little piece...image your whole world in full color looking like that...MOVING...for THIRTEEN YEARS! If that isn't overwhelming to you than you are way stronger than I am!

And then the doctor has the audacity to ask if he has Aspergers!! Uh, no, lady, he is on sensory overload from the vision issues you just told us about in great detail!

I was in tears. I cried a bit and then I did what all red-blooded American women do in a crisis (after the chocolate)...I picked up the phone...

I called my sister. Dori is an RN. She has known Brendan since before he was born. Her husband is a school counselor. "Do you think Brendan has Aspergers?" "NO!!" I love my sister!
I called my sister-in-law. Kim is an Occupational Therapist. Kim has many years of experience working with a child with autistic-like tendencies. She too has known Brendan since before he was born. "Do you think Brendan has Aspergers?" "No...I really don't. Why do you ask? I have a check list at home we could consult...I really have found that 'Aspergers' is the new catch-phrase for diagnosticians to use..." I love my sister-in-law!
I called my BFF. Sandie is a teacher. But not just any teacher...she is the team lead for special education in a junior high. Sandie has known Brendan for five years. "Do you think Brendan has Aspergers?" "No! Who told you that?..." (I won't repeat the rest as I wish to keep this family friendly. Let's just say Sandie got a bit defensive on my behalf. I love Sandie!)
I called my Mom. My mom didn't even know what Aspergers was. She had been sitting in the doctor's office listening in when the doctor had said that though and she remembered it. She went from there to the school. She walked into the office of Ms. Whorton, the Principal Sent from God. She told Ms. Whorton what the doctor had said. Ms. Whorton said something along the lines of "I really think that 'Aspergers' is the new catch-phrase for diagnosis when they don't know what else to say and I don't think Brendan has it." I love my mom... and I love Ms. Whorton!

Evidence based medicine and my critical thinking skills (thank you nursing school for those long words there - they keep me from sounding like I belong on an episode of My Big Redneck Wedding!) tells me that our son does not have Aspergers Syndrome. He does have some neurological issues. We will get therapy for those issues. The therapy may or may not work. If it does not work, we will figure out something else that will.

Please know that if at the end of the day he does have Aspergers Syndrome, we will still love him and I have absolutely nothing in the world against anyone with this syndrome. I just think with all the other issues he is dealing with, it is a bit ludicrous to pile something on that the child doesn't have just so you can slap a label on it and feel better about yourself! And at what point did a optometrist (even a developmental specialist in the field) gain the training necessary to diagnose Aspergers?

Brendan and my Prayer Closet

2011-11-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

Several of you have kindly asked about Brendan and how he is doing. I think he is doing very well. (Though he mostly doesn't seem to want us to know that!) His grades are excellent though we are working to make certain he is being challenged enough. Since he can type most everything he needs to write in class now, it seems a big obstruction to his learning has been resolved. He did several hours of testing with the vision specialist this past week - we won't have a report on that until later in November. She has indicated that he has several issues with his eyes that will likely require therapy. Please help us pray about that - from what I have been able to research on his conditions, the therapy can be painful and make you very nauseated. In Europe one of his conditions is commonly treated with surgery - I am hoping we don't have to even consider that! It just makes me queasy to think about getting anything that close to his eye that cuts! I know they do it all the time, just one of the things that makes me kinda sickish-feeling to think about...

When you live way out in the country and trick-or-treating is not an option, (it just isn't worth it to drive a mile to the neighbor's house to get a candy bar!) you do a weeny roast! Brendan has wanted a bon fire since it has turned cool in the evenings and we finally talked Grammy and Papa into doing it for a fun activity on October 31st. When Grammy sent me these pictures, I was a bit surprised to see they had their fire in the trash barrel...(no trash truck to pick up garbage in the country either!) but then I noticed they were actually burning wood...and then I noticed all the dry leaves and finally figured out that was better than some of the scenarios that could have played out! The trash barrel is good. Really.
What tastes better than a weenie roasted over an open fire on a cool October evening in the Ozark Mountains?
S'MORES! Nuff said!
Aunt Dori and her family came down on the weekend to take their RV to a state park close to Ft. Smith. Brendan enjoyed playing on this rock with the two E's...These flat rocks are one of the things I like the most about the mountains in Arkansas.
Brendan and Ellie are laughing around the fire...
'K...this isn't what it looks like! I was a bit disturbed at this picture. It looks like Brendan is about to whack the red off of poor Ellie's hair! Not so. Aunt Dori reports that she told them to "strike a pose" and this is what they came up with. So they aren't gonna make Vogue anytime soon-looks like they still had fun!

We are making it here at home. Today marks the point when we can say "Brendan comes home next week"! They will leave after church on Sunday and drive all or part of the way to Katy. So "the Lord willin'" we will get to see our boy Sunday or Monday! We are all very excited!

I have discovered that this trial has been bearable only one day at the time. Sometimes I can't even think about a whole day - I have to do it moment-by-moment. I spend a lot of time in my "prayer closet". When I was younger and Dad would preach about his "prayer closet" I always wondered where in the world that was. I always pictured a dark tiny room with only room to squat in the corner and cry out to God! I didn't realize that was "pastoral speak" for a not-so-literal place! I, however, have an actual prayer closet! I don't do so well with staying focused on only one thing at the time.

Like, for instance, I can't just sit and watch a TV show. I have to be doing sewing or painting or beading or something! I think I drive poor Randy crazy. But he loves televised sports so I'm thinking we might just even out in the "driving crazy" regard! Is there anything worse than the sound of a huge crowd roaring above a bad organ (or school band) playing a "charge"? I think not. But I digress. And if you are a huge fan of televised sports, I'm sorry. And your wife has my sympathies!

Back to me. I have learned that I can get a lot of time with the Father in while I am sewing. I have been sewing since I was ten-years old and for me it is not tedious or difficult. I mostly can sew without paying a lot of attention to the actual construction. So when I feel the need, I sew. ( think I'll call my next devotional book "So She Sews"! Just kidding. I have no plans to write a devotional book. But it's a cute name anyway, huh? I thought you might like to get a peek inside my personal prayer closet.
At one time I had a gi-hugic room all for myself for the sole purpose of expending creative energy. I did not appreciate what I had. It was taken from me.

When we moved into the incredibly lovely home we now reside in, I had a beautiful (albeit much smaller) room for sewing and jewelry-making. I did not appreciate it. It too was taken from me.

Now I have the end of the dining room to use in any way I see fit-as long as I can stand the mess! This space does not have a door on it. You can see it from the entry way (translate: total strangers can see inside my prayer closet when they stop by to sell me another Kirby vacuum cleaner). I do appreciate it. I so much appreciate having sewing machines (yes, plural! I have an embroidery machine, a serger, two regular sewing machines and an older more heavy machine for upholstery work), lots of fun fabric, thread, beads, and way more other stuff to play with than I care to admit here! I have spent many hours lately thanking our Creator for all the stuff I have at my disposal with which to create.
So I am spending time in my prayer closet and you know what? God is good! He has given us a wonderful peace that we are doing the right thing. Yes, it is still incredibly hard. Yes, we miss our boy so bad it hurts. There are certainly moments when I wonder if the pain will ever get better. But the same God that is at work in Katy is working even harder on the top of a little mountain in Arkansas and one day it will all be better! And we get to see Brendan for several glorious days next week! How do you spend your time with God?

2011-11-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

What a whirlwind. No really...I am all turned around just thinking about everything.

Brendan started school
He said he loved it the first day
Today wasn't as great
He chipped a tooth and Grammy had to take him to the dentist in Sallisaw, OK to fix it
It was just a little chip so it didn't require a shot
He had his "pre-test" visit to the vision specialist in Fort Smith, AR
She said he has many "issues"
It will take two to three months to complete testing and get reports
She said he has a fine-motor deficiency with his eye tracking
He will need a lot of therapy
He had a visit with the Really Awesome Chiropractor in Van Buren, AR
Dr. Dave said he has scoliosis that we can likely correct with "lifts" in his shoes
Dr. Dave said one of his arches is falling worse than the other one
Brendan discovered his shoes are too small
This required a side trip today to Academy
Papa found a teacher for saxophone but somehow they haven't had time to go find a sax...wonder why?

And we are only to Tuesday! I am exhausted just thinking about it all! I have certainly spent my share of time in a fetal position crying these days and I'm sure my Mom wants to but just doesn't have the energy to curl up that far! The financial load is becoming very overwhelming. Testing, therapy and treatments for all these issues is running into the tens of thousands of dollars. I get so very frustrated that the doctors insist on doing things to make more money off of us. None of them seem to take our insurance (but they do take Medicaid...)so they all want money up front...a LOT of money! When Mom made the appointment for the vision specialist, it costs $125 for the "pre-visit" to screen him to see if he needed to be tested. The tests themselves will cost over $400. Then $125 or so every week when he gets therapy...and on and on it goes.

We are making it here at home. It still seems so empty and lonely with our boy not here...we are all counting the days until Thanksgiving break - now just pray we can manage to let him go back to Arkansas!

And the latest on Brendan is...

2011-10-27T13:44:00.001-07:00

This has been a busy, busy week. It has been Field Day two different days this week...Wednesday and Thursday. Jamison is in Ms. Waite's class so they were the "Waite's Warriors". We had to do a faux-hawk (all the girls with hair long enough wore theirs in two braids) so we used a ton of gel and got it up in the air!

Here we have the "Wagon-Pull" event. This was a relay...one kid got in the wagon - the other pulled. When they reached the end, they turned the whole shebang around and traded places and raced back to the starting line! Jamison's class came in first!
Then we had the "Pumpkin Sweep"...think a shuffle-board type game. Okay, I made that up. I have no clue how shuffle-board is played. In my world, this is similar to shuffle-board...just work with me here! The kids had a small pumpkin they had to sweep down their lane to the end, turn around and sweep it back to the starting point. This one was a relay as well. Jamison was the "end man" or the last to take a turn. By the time he started, another team was a bit ahead. But my man blew them out of the water and pulled his team ahead to finish first again!
Last year one of the other dads just loved on Jamison constantly! Even though his daughter is in another class this year, he came over to "enemy territory" to congratulate The Champ and give him a M&M reward! Thanks, man.
Jamison ran in the 50 yard dash. He did not come in first but he still did really well. His mamma would have come in dead last. Like several minutes behind the others...let's just say running is not my forte'! But since I'm a mom now, I can find other ways to keep myself busy and leave running to those younger and less inclined to pass out. Amen.
See the determination on that face? Oh if he would only be that focused on homework or cleaning his room...
This is Jamison's best friend, Noah. Noah is not in Jamison's class this year. But I still love him...and the adorable look on his face when he was cheering for his class.
Warrior Jamison.
Have I mentioned I really dread getting all that gel-ick out?
Missa with Ms. Jones. They were the "Jones Jaguars" - this sign originally said "Jags Are Jazzed Up". As you can see, somewhere along the way we lost a few letters. It's all good though - Ms. Jones is an Aggie and even though the Hays would typically need a Sooners sign, we can let it go for today. Really. We can play nice.
Missa was a contestant in the "Hop-a-Roo" relay. This looks like fun!
They both did really well. Melissa's class came in 3rd overall. There are six 2nd grade classes so the Jaguars did great! Jamison's class tied for 2nd. There are seven 5th grade classes. I was really proud of both of them. I am even more proud that Field Day is over for another year. Have I mentioned that I hate Field Day? Sitting outside in the hot sun with elementary children screaming several decibels above eardrum-rupture level is not my idea of a fun day! I almost always come home with a migraine...but this is Jamison's last year and Melissa will only have a few years left to do it - I will do my best to keep on until I cross the finish line on this thing! By the time she has her last one, I will have done it for 14 years! Now that is motherly love, folks!

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch...

Brendan is doing great! We miss him horribly. I still find myself crying for no reason. I'm glad Hallmark hasn't started their holiday commercials yet or I might not stop weeping! It feels like the sunshine has left our home. I know it hasn't, it just feels that way. Brendan however is doing well so far...

Meet Jack. Daddy and Brendan rescued Jack from the pound on Monday. Brendan is working on training him...or he is training Brendan - we aren't clear which!

He does well on the leash so far...now if he would just stop pulling so hard!
Sit Jack. Good dog.
Over the weekend, Mom's house was filled with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and the Cousin Offspring (have no idea if they are "second-cousins" or "first cousin's once-removed"...not sure I care!) and Brendan had a ball. One of the guys took Brendan down to Dad's woodshop and they emerged some time later with this awesome bow.
On Saturday morning the men went fishin'. (You don't go fishing at Grammy and Papa's house...it's fishin'!) Brendan caught a few. I think they came home with 10 fish. Grammy fried 'em up to eat with the brisket Papa smoked. Let's just think about that smoked brisket for a moment...is your mouth watering? Mine is. Papa's smoked brisket is rockin' awesome! What I wouldn't give for some this very minute...I'm just gonna go...ummm...eat for a bit. See you in a minute or three...
And what's not to love about holding a fish you caught? I personally have no desire, but it apparently is a fun thing for him!

Mom and Dad met with the school counselors, principal and assistant principal yesterday. The school faculty asked if Brendan could be in on the meeting too. When he came into the room, he was pretty "shut down" and only answering in monosyllables. The counselor tried to engage him but had no luck. After trying a few time, she left the room and came back with a gizmo called an "Alphasmart". She typed a question on it and passed it to Brendan. He typed an answer back to her and passed it back. She asked another question. He answered. Pretty soon they had the AP in on the game. Brendan laughed. He snorted milk out his nose...okay, not really that last bit - but in my mind he was in that mind-boggling place where you are having such a ball that a little milk out your nose is a good thing! He did have a great time with them though. Dad really enjoyed watching him interact with them and then enjoyed telling me all about it. I enjoyed hearing it.

Today Brendan is eager to start school on Monday. This is new for me since he hasn't really enjoyed school in a very long while. Oh, don't get me wrong - there were parts that he enjoyed but for him to actually be eager to go to school? Um....no. Haven't seen that since about third grade! I am eager for him to go to school! I am so excited to see what he can do with the right tools! I called him tonight as we were driving home from the barn-to-feed-the-pig trip and he was laughing like a hyena at Papa and Grammy who were playing Uno with him. It was incredibly gratifying to me to hear him laugh that Brendan-laugh. If you have ever heard it, you know what I mean. If you haven't heard it, you should! Rainbows swish, unicorns dance and the sunshine breaks through the clouds when Brendan laughs...his laughter is one of the very best things in the world. Amen.

I got wonderful letters later in the afternoon from both the counselor and the principal. I cried when I read them. It was a good cry-sort of. Bittersweet, honestly. They were beautiful...both of them assured me that he was in good hands and they were very happy to meet him and really enjoyed his personality. I enjoy his personality too so I am happy they saw how much fun he is.

Tomorrow the school faculty, my parents, the doctors at the Lawlis-Peavey Center and I will all come together on a conference call at 8:30 am to hammer out a plan for his school. The school has indicated that they will do everything that the doctors recommend. We are so very happy that they are willing to cooperate. One of the counselors told my dad that they are eager to learn from the doctors as it may help them with other children as well!

It's not ideal. My son is still a 10-hour-drive away. But he is doing better than I thought he would and that makes me happy. I miss him terribly and really don't expect to get over that. I have informed my children that they will be living in the immediate vicinity of their mother until she is not longer on the earth! I think they heard me. Probably not though! In the meantime, the "Skype-three-times-a-week" thing? Well, yeah, that's more like three-times-a-day! But it keeps us going and for now that is enough. Thank you Mother and Daddy for your willingness to help and the great job you are doing!

What Happened with Brendan...

2011-10-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have no idea of the road we have walked, run, dragged-our-heels, and plodded along with our son Brendan, this will be enlightening to you. A word of warning: it will be a long post! Brendan is 13 now and to tell the story adequately, I need to start at the beginning…

Brendan was born close to noon on July 29^th, 1998. I was 38 weeks and four days pregnant when Dr. Wheeler induced labor. I had had insulin dependent gestational diabetes during my pregnancy and Dr. Wheeler was concerned about the size of my baby so he induced me a bit early. Brendan weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces when he was born. The only unusual thing about his delivery was the fact that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice. (Now that I am a labor and delivery nurse, I can tell you that while a nuchal cord is common, it is NOT common for it to be wrapped twice!) He did very well after delivery and we went home two days later.Brendan was an EASY baby! He was happy and contented and the most laid-back baby I had ever seen. (And 13 years later, I still haven’t met a better baby!)

I got very ill with Graves Disease within weeks of Brendan’s birth. When he was around 18 months old I had a thyroidectomy. My illness forced us to have some assistance with our two sons. At some point during this time, I remember he fell and hit his head on our concrete deck. I don’t remember his age. I don’t remember the exact circumstances. I only remember that we took him to Texas Children’s Hospital ER and they did skull x-rays and declared him to have a “mild concussion” and sent us home. At some point later (like around the time he was three) we took him back to TCH for a CT scan because he had started having migraine headaches. This too was “negative” for any abnormalities.

By the time Brendan started school, his behavior was…a bit…shall we say, energetic? He was a busy little boy and into everything. He had very little impulse control and had a very hard time getting through kindergarten. His first kindergarten teacher was new to teaching and had a very tough time maintaining control in her classroom. We observed the classroom and realized that she had FOUR “energetic” boys in her classroom! We spoke with the principal about the issue and the principal assured us that they had worked hard to make certain that the classes were balanced and that there was no large concentration of “energetic” children in any one class. THEN she called us back in a week later and told us that she had observed the class for a day and realized that there was indeed an issue in that class. She told us that since we had come to her with the problem, she wanted to offer us the opportunity to move Brendan to another teacher. She suggested her “best” teacher for his abilities and at semester Brendan was reassigned to another classroom. This proved to be an excellent choice and the new teacher was a much better fit…but Brendan had essentially lost the entire first semester of kindergarten!

During this time, I was a member of the Katy ISD re-zoning committee and knew that our subdivision was about to be re-assigned to a new school that was being built. Since all of our children would be attending this brand new school that fall we decided that it would be a better choice for Brendan if we hit “rewind” on his kindergarten year. I thought he wouldn’t really notice that he was repeating a grade! WRONG!! He noticed! He still is offended by that! I should mention here that he was academically ready for 1^st grade…we just thought he would do much better if he had an opportunity to grow a bit more socially and emotionally.

We had noticed that Brendan seemed to have some problems with his vision so we took him for evaluation to a pediatric ophthalmologist. This doctor diagnosed him with “convergence insufficiency” and prescribed special glasses for him. We were also to place a patch over one eye for several hours each day. This therapy was done over the next year or so until the doctor said he was better.

Brendan was very popular at both schools. He had a bright, funny personality and loved everyone – and they loved him back! At one point during the year 2004, I was manning the ticket booth for the school carnival when he approached me with an adorable little blonde girl in tow.

“Mom, I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Hannah”

“Well, hello, Hannah! It is nice to meet you!” (I had no idea he even knew what a ‘girlfriend’ was – much less HAD one!)

“Mom…you need to shake hands!” (Was I just reprimanded on manners by my kindergartener? Yes! Yes, I was!)

Every time Randy or I would enter the school, some child would want to know where Brendan was.

At the same time, Brendan was struggling. The teachers at the new school put more and more pressure on us to have him evaluated for ADD or ADHA. We resisted and then resisted some more until finally in 2006, we gave in! We had many, many tests ran on Brendan. We went to a holistic specialist – he took hair samples (really??? hair samples?? I was very skeptical!) urine and blood samples and then put Brendan on a very strict diet that eliminated all sugar, artificial dye and I-can’t-remember-what-else…pretty much anything that he liked or would taste good. Brendan did great at the whole diet thing (far better that his mom would have!) and was good-natured about it. But none of it helped. About six months later, the holistic doctor put Brendan on a very strong drug.

One thing led to another and we ended up trying a very long string of many drugs. Our pediatrician wasn’t comfortable prescribing ADD drugs, so we had to see a psychologist for our prescriptions. Brendan did some better but we never really found the “magic bullet” for his needs.

In 2^nd grade we had a very long, expensive battery of tests run on him at still another psychologist’s office which led to that doctor coming to the school and meeting with the teachers, counselor, principal and the special education administrator. Brendan was immediately given special education accommodations that included extra time to do assignments, shortened assignments and various other assistances.

He improved gradually over that year and by the end of his 3^rd grade year the school was insistent that Brendan be placed back into “general education” with no accommodations. I was very concerned but bowed to the pressure and allowed them to take away the assistance. The principal assured me repeatedly during our final meeting that he could be re-admitted into the special education program at any time if he needed it.

Between 4^th and 5^th grade years, Brendan really struggled. We moved to a new neighborhood between these two grades and at the new school we started to encounter real problems. By semester I was in the principal’s office demanding that Brendan be given his special education accommodations again. I was told “absolutely not!” that the system did not work that way and there was no way that I had been told that he could be re-admitted. Brendan was failing and there was really nothing I could do to help except try harder to assist with assignments.

One night close to the end of the year, Brendan finally fell apart and told us that he had been severely bullied all year by a gang of children at the new school. When he would go to the lunchroom, one of them would shove his food to the floor. If he sat down at the learning table in the classroom, all the other children sitting there would scream “EEEEWWWW…!” and run to the other side of the room. If one child befriended Brendan, they were immediately threatened by one of the bully children and they bowed to the pressure and joined the gang. I was furious! How had the teachers and administration at the school not seen any of this? I fired off an email to his teacher, principal and counselor immediately. I received a phone call from the school counselor within hours. She had called Brendan into her office and reported to me that she felt he needed immediate evaluation by a psychiatrist. I got him in at 4:30 that night where the doctor discovered the abuse was worse even that Brendan had reported to us and he in fact had a suicide plan. He was eleven-years-old! I was beyond devastated! If I could have pulled him out of school then I would have. There were only twelve school days left, but let me assure you, I spend most of them at that school. My Dad took off the rest of his school year (he drives the bus for the Alma Arkansas ISD) and he and Mom drove to Houston to help us cope.

That was the summer of 2009. We spent the summer on no medication at all and worked hard at healing and coping. Brendan got better. I was in constant contact with the staff at the junior high were Brendan would be attending in the fall. We carefully selected his classes to make certain none of the abusive kids were placed with Brendan.

Brendan at the end of fifth grade -right before school was out-then at the end of summer of the same year.

School started and things seemed to bump along okay. The Theatre Arts teacher was wonderful with him and the assistant principal assigned to 6^th grade worked so hard. The counselor also was a great help to Brendan. He just had so far to go and it seemed like every effort we made was not helping enough. He passed 6^th grade. Barely. He made A’s in Theatre Arts and Physical Education, C’s and D’s in everything else. He made a C in reading but did not pass the state mandated TAKS test for reading so we got a letter at the end of the school year that he would be taking two reading courses and would not be taking PE in 7^th grade.

I dreaded school starting. By the end of 6^th grade, the work was becoming extremely difficult for Brendan. When school started this fall, Brendan really had a tough time. His day would begin at 6:30 when we would wake him in time to eat breakfast and jump in his clothes to get to school. He would arrive back home at 3:00 and start on homework. Homework lasted until bedtime. It was very tedious and difficult for him. I was tearing my hair out. He would require re-direction many, many times throughout the evening and we were later and later getting to bed.

I finally had a meeting with the school psychologist and the special education instructor for the school. I was told by the school psychologist that we would meet again to sign paperwork to have him reevaluated for special education. She also told me if our psychiatrist would sign paperwork confirming a diagnosis, the school would replace the special education accommodations that they had taken from him at the end of 3^rd grade until we could get all the tests back. I had the paperwork signed and back to the school within 48 hours. However, when we met again, the school psychologist was on maternity leave and the special education administrator informed us that no special accommodations would be given at all and in fact she was doubtful he would qualify for any assistance through special education.

The assistant principal who continued to be so helpful called a meeting and tried to get some assistance placed anyway. In the meantime, we had been referred by the psychologist to have further testing through an outside source. My sister Dori found a very highly recommended clinic close to where she lives just outside of Dallas. We made several phone calls and filled out what seemed like reams of paper and finally we had an appointment at the Lawlis-Peavey PNP Center.

Brendan and I left home this past Tuesday to drive to Lewisville, Texas. My parents met us there for support and any assistance I would need. Below is the email I sent to Randy Tuesday night after we got back to our hotel…

DAY ONE

I am going to write this so you can read it as I can’t call to talk to you on the phone - Dr. Peavey doesn't want us discussing things in front of Brendan.

First thing this morning Dr. Peavey came out and showed us around the center. The waiting room had a "quite room" with music, two recliners and a television - separate from a regular waiting room with a sofa-type thing and a couple of chairs. Brendan was fascinated by the quite room and wanted to go chill in there. In the inner part of the office were several rooms: a conference room, a biofeedback room with a reclining chair and several computers, a medical testing room (scales, computer, exam table) a brain map room with chairs, computers and brain mapping equipment (scull caps etc.) a couple of interview rooms with a desk and two chairs and a bathroom. We were told we would rotate through these rooms (some of them more than once.)

Dr. Peavey sat down with us at the table in the conference room. This room had a toy box in the corner and Brendan gravitated to the toy box while she was going over the schedule for the day. He came over to us in about five or six minutes carrying a wooden tray that he had filled with colored blocks in a symmetrical (very pretty) pattern. Dr. Peavey's jaw dropped and she completely lost focus on what she was saying…shuffled us quickly out to the waiting room and took Brendan away to begin the testing process. RUDE! She really was! Daddy was total put off by her manner.

Dee, the receptionist gave me paperwork to do while they were working with Brendan. It was an inventory of what type of parent I was: controlling, mother-hen, relaxed, stressed, etc… That one was hard for me. I think I could honestly say I have every trait of the 50 or 60 on the page - at some point! Not always, but at some point…know what I mean? Anyway, I finished that and turned it in to Dee.

A few minutes later a man who introduced himself as Dr. Steve took me back to an interview room and spent the next 45 minutes or so asking me about how you and I were raised, what type of parenting we had, what type of parents we were, how we disciplined, etc. He seemed very supportive and impressed that we had so little divorce in the families and I was relieved that he was not judgmental about spanking etc. (told me he had done it with his three children). He had heard from Dr. Peavey about the block puzzle thing and told me that based on some of the testing he had results of he wondered if Brendan had any musical ability. I told him "as a matter of fact, he does…somewhat" and told him about the ocarina and his desire to play the sax. He told me he was not surprised and felt that it was likely that Brendan was gifted in some (maybe more than one) way. He gave me a book to borrow for the night about children that are misdiagnosed as behavior problems or learning disabilities when they are actually gifted.

I went back to the waiting room in time to meet up with Brendan for lunch. We were given a 45 minute break to go eat then back to the office. Dr. Peavey came out and spoke with Mom and I for a bit (Dad had gone back to the motel to rest). She apologized for her abrupt manner earlier in the day but explained she wanted to avoid discussing any "issues" Brendan might have in front of Brendan. She told me that so far it looked as though Brendan was very bright but he definitely had some weaknesses.

She explained that they had done a test with his eyes. She had a cord or string with three colored beads placed along the length. One end of the string is attached to the nose and the length is held straight out in front with a green bead falling at reading range, a yellow bead at mid-range and a blue at far range. She said typically when you are seeing equally in both eyes, you would see a inverted "V" shape when you focus on the yellow bead and the two more "V's" as you focus on each bead along the length. Brendan only saw one straight line when he looked at the near bead and parallel (railroad track) lines for the other two lines. She said this is a "convergence issue" and he would likely need four to six months of vision therapy to correct this. She said this could possibly be one of the reasons writing is difficult for him from the board to paper. I had the paperwork with me from Dr. Monte Stavis from when he wore the patch and then prism glasses (when he was 2 and 3 years old) so I pulled that out and saw the diagnosis was "Convergence Insufficiency"! Hmmm… confidence? I think not!

A medical doctor walked in then and took him back to the "medical room" and set him up to test what I finally figured out was the same kinesology type test that Dr. Dave Spicer in Ft. Smith does. He tested him by having him hold a metal rod in one hand and then used a probe on the opposite thumb to test several areas. It was interesting that this showed almost exactly what Dr. Spicer had reported back in the summer on him: neurotransmitters out of balance, heavy metal toxicity, mild allergy to dairy. I asked him about wheat but he said he saw no problems with any grains at all. Again, what Dr. Spicer said. He told me that he suspected the neurotransmitter issue was due to the heavy metal toxicity. I THINK Dr. Spicer said that the calcium lactate would take care of this? Will be interesting to see what they recommend…

Then they took Brendan into another room to do a biofeedback test while I went back to the waiting room. This was done by Dr. Tims. He came to the waiting room in a bit to get me and asked me a long list of questions about how Brendan deals with stress…does he cry, sweat, shake etc. Brendan didn't seem to know how to answer so I did the best I could. I went back to the waiting room again and left them to it. He spent about an hour back there then Dr. Tims came to get me again. He said Brendan had been very quick to pick up on the technique to calm himself down. He showed me on a computer graph how he was doing deep-breathing to calm his heart rate and tension markers down. Brendan had leads connected to his head, neck, shoulders and arms to measure the muscle tension. He said Brendan shows stress by sweating and breathing quickly. He reported that even asleep (he said he had fallen asleep for about 10 minutes during the test) Brendan's breathing rate was quite a bit faster than normal. He speculated that it might be a side-effect of so many years of stimulant medication. He had a small portable biofeedback unit that Brendan has brought back to the hotel with him. He places his thumb on a sensor and then has to slow his breathing to be in sync with a blue light that goes up and down on the side. When he does it correctly, he gets a green light and "points". Dr. Tims wanted Brendan to practice using this tonight. It is on the charger right now but Brendan is very eager for it to be ready to use before he goes to sleep. Dr. Tims said it should only stay on the charger 15 minutes at a time so it won't take long.

We went back to the waiting room and Terry, the other receptionist, went over the schedule for tomorrow and let us leave. It was 3:30. We have to be back in the morning by 8:00 and have a full day of more testing, another biofeedback session, brain mapping and then a final report around 2:30 that she said would take 30 minutes to an hour. I would like to conference call you in for that final test if you could work it into your schedule. I do know the medical doctor (can't remember his name) gave them some urine test kits to give to us to take home (neurotransmitters and heavy metals) - he has to avoid certain foods before the test so we will need to plan for it.

I am very tired but have hopes that we may find some answers. Let me know if you have questions you want answered…especially if you can't be available for the report tomorrow.

DAY TWO

Today has been another roller coaster ride. The doctors asked us to feed Brendan a high protein breakfast today with no sugar. The waffles provided by the hotel weren't an option so we went to IHOP and had eggs and sausage.

Dee the receptionist greeted us when we got to the clinic and Brendan was taken back immediately to start the EEG part of testing. He was attached to many electrode-type things all over his head. This made him miserable because they had to exfoliate first with a gritty substance and then use a gel-like glue substance to attach them. He had a cap on his head to hold the ones on his hair on and had clip things on his ears. The ones on his forehead were held in place with tape. When they finally got him all hooked up, he was like a hyper monkey on a short leash! The doctor running this part of the show asked Mom and I to go out to the waiting room and then kept Brendan in that test for most of two hours.

He finally came out of that and then was taken to another room for more cognitive testing with pencil and paper. After this bit was done we were released for lunch. We ate at Boston market and then came back for more testing. As we were leaving I ran into a gentlemen getting off of the elevator (as I was getting on) that I recognized as Dr. Lawlis. This was the first time I had seen him (he is the doctor that does the advising and counseling on the Dr. Phil show) but knew that it was in the plans for him to be with us this afternoon.

The testing in the afternoon involved more time in the EEG lab and a few more cognitive tests while I was filling out yet another profile about Brendan. Finally, around 2:30, we were all called back into the big conference room to have a final meeting. Dr. Lawlis was in this room sitting at a round table. He asked me to sit one seat away from him on his left. Mom and Dad were seated on my left. Dr. Steve came in and sat on Dr. Lawlis' right. This left two seats in the room: on on Dr. Lawlis' immediate left and on to the right of Dr. Steve. We chatted a bit about nothing in particular and then Dr. Tims arrived with Brendan. Dr. Lawlis asked Brendan to sit on his left and Dr. Tims took the remaining seat in the room.

Dr. Lawlis began by speaking to Brendan. He told Bren "I want you to know something, Brendan. You are me!" Brendan didn't miss beat! He replied "Wow! What did we have for breakfast yesterday, then?" Dr. Lawlis threw his head back and guffawed! He explained to Brendan that when he was Bren's age, he was exactly like Brendan. He told him that one part of Brendan's brain was exceptionally bright - higher than gifted even. He explained to us that the frontal area of Brendan's brain is in "hyper-drive" all the time and the occipital (back of the head/top of the neck) area was very sluggish. After a bit, Brendan asked Dr. Lawlis if he could leave to go finish his test and Dr. Lawlis gave him permission to go ahead. Dr. Tims left with Brendan and then Dr. Lawlis started explaining everything to us in more detail. The rundown is:

1. Brendan's pre-frontal cortex is continuously in hyper-drive

2. The occipital area is slow and very difficult for Brendan to get it to function.

3. Brendan has severe dysgraphia and writing is very difficult if not impossible for him almost all the time.

4. Brendan has a very high level of heavy metal in his blood (Dr. Lawlis told us that 100% of the patients they had treated from the Houston area showed a heavy metal toxicity)

5. I already told you about the Convergence Insufficiency

Dr. Lawlis asked what we wanted to do to help manage all the issues we are facing with Brendan. I told him I wanted to know what his "dream plan" for Brendan would be. He told us "First and for most you MUST get him out of the environment he is in. The school is most detrimental to him. He is very fragile emotionally and mentally and leaving him where he is is dangerous." It was a bit quite in the room and I tried to process this. He then went on to tell us that he felt the very best solution for him right now would to be in a much smaller school district and to be away from Houston. He said it is essential that Brendan "be allowed to be a boy and to run and play and be outside without any worries about anything to do with schooling". He asked Mom and Dad if they were prepared to care for Brendan for the next three to six months at minimum. We had lots of questions. Did he want him to drop out of school for this time? The answer was no. Did he think we should homeschool him? No. He felt that a smaller school would be the most helpful. He said that Brendan needs the social interaction and challenge of being around other children but that he was "getting lost in the shuffle" of the much larger schools in Katy.

Dr. Lawlis said that he felt that after spending several months with Mom and Dad that we could consider taking him to a small private school closer to home. This would depend on how well he was doing at that point. We had mentioned several options yesterday for them to consider and Dr. Steve said that after looking at the options, he felt San Marcos Baptist Academy was a much better option than the Katy schools (due to size and student/teacher ratio). Both doctors indicated to us that Brendan is very gifted (or even higher) in certain areas but to allow him to realize his potential he needs to be in a different school situation. We are waiting on blood and urine test results. As soon as we know which heavy metal he has in his blood stream and what the level is, he will be started on chelation therapy for that.

He was given two machines to do therapy with. One of them was called a "BAUD" or "Bio Acoustical Utilization Device"…this uses earphones and emits two different high-frequency sounds - one in each ear. Brendan was to adjust the two sounds until they were the same volume and then find a frequency that was calming to him. This was confirmed by the brain wave pattern on the computer. Brendan is to use this for 20 minutes as he begins his homework. The second machine is a emWave machine. This is basically a "re-trainer" for breathing and pulse rate patterns. It has a pulse meter and after doing an initial measure, it shows a light moving up and down a meter. Brendan is to adjust his breathing to match the light. As he calms and his pulse slows, a red light at the top will change to blue and then on to green. Green is the goal. When he keeps the green light on successfully for several seconds, he is rewarded with a beep and "points" after he gains so many points then a chime sounds and he if finished with that round. He can do this as many times as he wishes. Last night he did three rounds before he fell asleep…and he slept all night! I was surprised at how well this worked.

Dr Lawlis told me that Brendan's brain wave pattern is NOT ADD or ADHD. He said it is very complex and that it would require a detailed study to analyze completely. Pretty much the main thing he could tell us was that he was extremely bright but not functioning at level at all. He said his functioning was around the 4th grade. He told me that this was not a parenting or a "lazy" issue on Brendan's part at all but rather a physiological issue - likely in part due to the heavy metal toxicity in his tissues.

The other things Dr. Lawlis wanted us to incorporate: get a big dog for Brendan to run and play with (Dad was all over this as he has been wanting to get a big dog anyway), get him in music lessons as soon as possible, get him in some sort of sports - we are a bit limited in this one because of the eye situation they mentioned yesterday, everything involving a ball would be out of the question because of his convergence issues (can you imagine having someone throw or pitch a ball at you and you see two coming?)- he suggested track.

We talked about a few more details. They will know more and give us a more detailed report when they are all back from the labs etc.

Dr. Lawlis ended our talk with looking me in the eyes and asking me how I felt. He said “Do you feel like you got what you came here for?” My response to him was “I came here for hope and I’m leaving with hope.”

I sat him down a bit ago to talk with him about going to stay with Grammy and Papa for a while. At first he was very devastated. His eyes filled with tears and he said "You mean I'm being sent away?". I was barely holding it together as it was so this was really hard for me. I told him that we were NOT sending him away and if he didn't want to go, he could come home with me tomorrow. Then I went on to explain that the doctors felt that he would do much better getting a fresh start somewhere where the kids didn't know him or his history. I also told him that the doctors felt that something in Houston was making him sick and we didn't know for sure what but we needed to try to get him better and the doctors thought the fastest way to do what was to get him out in the country where he could play outside and get fresh air. Grammy and Papa came in and Papa told him that he needed him to help him choose a big ole dog and help him train it. I explained that he would be enrolled in the school where Papa drives the school bus and that he would go and come with Papa every day. Papa was going to be talking to the principal and the teachers about his dysgraphia and the doctors had told us that they wanted to talk to the school personnel as well to make sure that Brendan was not too loaded down with work until he had had a chance to get better and re-learn the things that were behind a bit. As we talked, Brendan got more excited at the prospect of going to Arkansas. We finally told him that it was HIS choice and we would do our best to make everything work for him whatever he chose. He said he wanted to give Arkansas a try but we "better be on Skype at least three times a week"!

This is hard. Maybe the hardest thing I have ever done! I am so very torn and have such mixed feelings. I am exhausted from the battle to help him keep his head above water and feel guilty for feeling somewhat relieved that I don't have to be constantly vigilant about academics and school meetings. I feel like my heart is being torn in two - I so badly want him to realize his potential but am hurting so fiercely because I know I can't provide that for him. How is this fair? How is it right? The doctors kept stressing that this was NOT our fault - but it somehow still feels like it is! My mind keeps spinning in circles - what could I have done to cause this? What could I do to prevent it? What can I do to make sure our other three are safe? Will Brendan look back on this and think I abandoned him? I don't know. We can only do the best that we can with what we have to work with and for right now I feel like these doctors know what they are talking about and they are saying that Brendan is in a very fragile and dangerous place. If this is the fastest and best way to get him out of it, I will have to be okay with it.

I better get to bed. Mental, spiritual and physical exhaustion is taking its toll…

Life has been very difficult since I came home alone Friday. We have talked to Brendan via phone and tele-conference every day. It still is so hard. We feel like a huge hole has been ripped in our family – hard to explain but it certainly feels as though more than only member is missing! Brendan is such a fun addition to our family dynamic and I honestly have no idea how we are going to manage the future. Right now it just seems to stretch before us endlessly…I know it will get easier but for now it just plain HURTS!

Brendan seems to be doing well. Papa and Grammy are taking excellent care of our boy. He has been running up and down the hills and even made a bow and arrow in Papa’s woodshop with Cousin Brittan. They have plans to go find a big ole dog next week to help Brendan explore. Mom and Dad have talked with the principal at the school there in Alma. Since Dad drives a school bus, he will ride Dad’s bus to and from school and Dad can kind of watch over him at school. The principal is already working hard to make an easy transition for our son and it sounds very hopeful.

I know God can take what seems like a really tumultuous and difficult time and make incredible things happen…I am trusting Him for that very thing!

Faux-licia!

2011-10-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

Okay...on to the mannequin story! In order to tell the story adequately (and if you know me, you know I gotta do that!) I have to start a few years ago. So...

Long ago (in 2009) when Andrew was in the 8th grade, he took Theatre Arts and met another kid with a sense of humor almost as dry as his. Preston and Andrew became great friends and I had the pleasure of meeting Preston's mom, Alicia. Alicia and I both volunteered in the Theatre Arts department that year and so got to know a bit more about each other.

Last year when both boys took their first agriculture class in high school, Alicia and I helped each other get through a year of raising a pig and all the other icky bits that go along with that. You know what? We had an absolute ball! The FFA organization provided a great learning experience for our sons and we learned a lot too! We covered feeding and watering for each other when one or the other of us needed to be gone or just an extra hand now and then. When it got so cold out at the feed barn that they had to turn off the water supply to avoid freezing pipes, we took turns going out to break the ice on the buckets and make sure our pigs were getting adequate hydration - this way neither of us had to go out twice a day in the cold!

This is Andrew the day Supper, his pig came into our lives. She weighs about 35 or 40 lbs here. She is a beautiful Hampshire pig! I know you're not supposed to get attached to animals that you raise for food, but I did. I totally cried the day Supper when to auction! Andrew made it to fifth place in the district! This was an incredible accomplishment for a freshman. Supper weighed in at 285 lbs when she went to the show. I don't know about you, but I frankly would be distraught if I gained 250 lbs in less than 5 months! Supper seemed to handle it with grace and happiness. She was really a gentle soul. Let's just have a moment of silence in her memory...

'K. If you chose not to honor that, just don't tell me about it!

When the year ended, Alicia (who by then was a dear friend rather than a mere acquaintance) was elected as one of the Vice Presidents of the FFA Booster Club and her six-foot-tall friend got elected as the Secretary! (That's me, in case you are a bit slow and haven't had your caffeine fix yet!) We decided we were going to "take things up a notch" and quickly set about remodeling the image of our chapter of the FFA!

I promise I am getting to the mannequin...just be patient! Honestly.

We designed new t-shirts...

The back says "...you say 'raised in a barn' like it's a bad thing..."

We thought they were awesome. The kids were unanimous. We were awesome. Then someone realized that they said "Est. 1970" and James E. Taylor High School didn't open until 1979! BIG oops! We figured out a fix (story for another day!) and moved on to what we were REALLY going for. In fact, if I am totally honest, I might have just accepted the position in order to get to have a bling shirt for all the FFA girls! I spent hours in PhotoShop dropping white dots in close lines until we came up with the final product...

We thought they came out so cute! Then one of the guys on the FFA board had the bright idea to sell them to other high schools in the area! We finally decided on a hot pink color and decided to debut our new design at the Animal Selection Day. But...we needed a way to display our shirts that would be eye-catching and classy...

On top of us wearing them, of course! We knew we would be sitting down and might not give the best impression. Sooo....I started trying to figure out a way to make a mannequin to display our t-shirts. A quick phone call to Alicia to come help (who has a much better figure than I do - she is like a size 2 or 4 and I am a size 12!) and a trip to Walgreens for the essential ingredients (duct tape!) and I was in business.

A quick disclaimer about some of the following photos. A few were taken on my rocking' Nikon SLR but many of them were on an iPhone so they aren't great quality...but the process was just too interesting to not share.

Alicia was kind enough to bring over an old t-shirt that she didn't mind donating to our cause. She put it on and came into our living room where I proceeded to cover her from the neck to below the waist with...well...duct tape!

She was such a good sport about the whole thing! I would have been roasting in a duct tape shell but she said she was fine! I did one layer horizontal. Added another layer vertically. Then one more horizontally. By the time I got to the third layer, I was using shorter pieces (like about 5 to 6 inches in length) to try to get a very smooth look. On a side note: we needed the piece to go higher on the neck and lower on the hips than the t-shirt allowed for. I used plastic wrap against her skin to extend those two areas and protect her skin from the adhesive of the duct tape.

Then I covered the whole thing with a layer of some of that adorable designer zebra duct tape. By now I am using shorter pieces still. I want this thing to look smooth and I want the stripy bits to be all over with no pattern.

Then I commenced to cut the thing off! Up the sides and across one shoulder did the trick! Poor Alicia was left standing in her skivvies for a second but she had another shirt handy to throw on quickly.

I kept my hand between her skin and the t-shirt so I wouldn't accidentally cut her! That would have made a fun activity turn not-so-fun! See the little "pooch" in front? That is what the zipper on her capri's looked like after being exaggerated by four layers of tape! Back to that in a minute.

This was tougher than it looks - all that tape was thick! I was thankful for my trusty Gingher scissors! Then we taped up the seams. I felt the zebra tape was pure genius by this time because it made lining up the sides a total breeze! Alicia was a bit dismayed at her 3-D self (that pooch was a deal-breaker) when we got it put back together so...

I got out my scalpel and performed a tummy tuck! I had circulated in the operating room for a tummy tuck years ago before I specialized in L&D so I just did it the same way the plastic surgeon had - sans anesthesia of course! Alicia was happy. The surgeon was happy. All her work in the gym paid off!

After I taped off the armholes, I cut out a piece of corrugated cardboard from a box to make the bottom more stable. Then we stuffed the whole thing with wadded up paper and the stuffing from an old pillow. More tape on the neck and we had this:

I put a camisole on it to make it super-smooth and then on went the shirt! I had a bra still in my drawer from when I was heavier than I am now so we put that on her. We decided later that she was a little too "well-endowed" so we changed that, but this is what she has on in this picture of Alicia with her body-double...

We decided to call her Faux-licia! (With a nod to the TV show Fringe for those of you that are fans!)

Alicia had fun strapping her in and then when she pulled into her driveway, she called Preston to come out "to see something". Let's just say he was startled!

Thank you, Alicia for a great day and a fun, fun memory! I may need to make one of myself to use when I am sewing...

Animal Selection Day

2011-10-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

Good Morning! I had a fabulous post all ready to put up last night - full of photos and fun things...then it got "et" by the mean, ugly cyberspace fairy and now I gotta start all over!

Yesterday was Animal Selection Day for Katy ISD. This is the day of the year that all the FFA kids raising pigs, goats or lambs come to a central place to select their critters. They are also allowed to raise chickens, bunnies and cattle - but those animals are not part of Animal Selection Day. They have another day for that. We have not raised any of the other options so I have no idea when or how that takes place.

I discovered last year that it is totally possible to raise an animal for meat and (mostly) enjoy the process! I'm not sure if I could say that about bunnies...oh, don't get me wrong, here! I love rabbit meat. I just don't wanna think about where it came from!

So here we are at the barn. Preston was watching something else, but Liam and Andrew were happy to cheese it up for the camera. Pig selection was first and there were nearly 200 kids their to get their pigs. Sheep and goat selection will take place after all the pigs are selected.

The kids all select a token with a number on it out of a bucket. They line up in order of their grade: seniors go first, then juniors, then sophomores...and that's all we cared about because our people were sophomores! The announced starts with number one and as your number is called, you are allowed to go into the "ring" and select your animal. Last year when the boys were freshmen, they both selected very low numbers (I think Andrew got 14 or 15) but this year they didn't do as well. Andrew got number 96! We all groaned and crossed our fingers that there would be at least one good pig left by the time he got to get into the ring!

They allowed 10 kids at a time in the ring. Each kid had one minute to pick a pig. But they had had 9 minutes before to shop while the kids before them were choosing. And they had several hours to wander around the pens looking at the critters. Each pig has an ear tag with a number so they could make a list of their first, second and third choices. If someone with a lower number chose the number one pig on your list, you moved down to your second choice. If you chose the number 96, you can pretty much count on getting your 32nd choice!

Preston got a number much lower than Andrew (like 24, maybe?) He got his first choice! After you make your selection, you carefully open the pen with your chosen piggy and snatch her (or him) up! This is where the fun starts! Those pigs can squeal louder than you thought any organic being could make noise! I'm talkin' a deafening squall here, folks! Occasionally you would see a kid scoop up a piggy and the pig would make little or no noise, but most of the time, it was certainly clear when someone had made their choice! The other little caveat here is that they...well...squirm! They can twist and buck like nobody's business! Keeping "a holt" of them is a challenge.

Andrew finally got to get into the ring. His first choice of pig was still lurking in her pen with a few other piggy friends. I think perhaps God hid her from the other kids. We thought at first that maybe she and Preston's pig were litter-mates because they were housed in the same pen. Randy and Andrew checked that out (something about the notches in their ears) and said they were from the same breeder but not the same litter. Andrew went over and got his Ag teacher and asked what he thought. Mr. T. took him to the other side of the ring and showed him a little darlin' over there. Their conversation went something like this:

"She looks a little small, Mr. T."

"What do you expect, Andrew? You pulled number 96!"

"Can you come look at this one over here?"

"Oh, well...she does look good! Yeah, get her..."

So he went creeping into the pen...

And grabbed her! This was his humber one pig the entire day! Not number 32, like I thought he would end up with...

See that look on his face? That is the same one I wear when I tell one of my kids "You can be stubborn if you like, but your Mamma invented stubborn and I promise you, I will outlast you!" Yep! I am so proud!...Not! At least most of the time. His stubborn and hard-headed moods make me crazy most of the time, but just this once, it did stand him in good stead. He managed to wrestle that 40 lb pig up...

Out of the barn...

And into the trailer. Preston followed close by just in case he needed to call for back-up. I was using Alicia's (Preston's mom) camera to video while Roger (Preston's dad) took the still shots on my camera.

By the way: I know red-headed people don't look their best in hot pink....I just want it to be known that I was wearing that color because we were selling those shirts at this event and Alicia and I wore ours so folks could see them. Really. It's now the only thing in my closet that color. Kinda looks lonely actually...

So the piggy got into the trailer with all the other pigs from all the other Taylor High School kids and when the last one was selected... oh...wait a minute! First you gotta see this:

That's Miss Molly - her dad is on the Booster Club board with me...I just loved the look on that piggy face in this picture! This guy worked in the ring and did the snatch-and-grab-and-haul-to-the-trailer maneuver for many of the girls (and some of the guys)...he had big muscles! I think this pig's name should be Piggy Sue...just looks like a good name for this li'l gal! Isn't' she adorable??

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled blog. So the piggy got into the trailer with all the other pigs from all the other Taylor High School kids and when the last one was selected, Mr. T. jumped in and drove furiously out to the barns. He drove furiously because he had to get all those pigs unloaded and get back to the selection barns in time for the first Taylor goat to be loaded in.

We all hopped into our various vehicles and headed out to the barns too. The barns are 12.5 miles from our house. We drive out there twice a day. Do the math. That is 50 miles per day! Fortunately on school days the kids can get on the bus at 5:55 that will take them out to the barns to feed and water their critter in time to get back to school for the first bell. The rest of the time we schlepp out to the barn twice a day. But the experience is worth it. Most days. 5:45 came really early this morning though!

So this is Harley. Andrew named her Harley because he said he could buy a Harley with the money it costs to raise her! She is a pretty little Hampshire pig with one white (they call it white - it looks pink to me, but what do I know?) let and a stripe that goes up and over one shoulder...

...and it almost meets the other white leg...but not quite! The bowling ball was a gift from a dear friend last year and she already was playing with it. Pigs like pushing balls around with their snouts. Thanks, Lewis!

So Animal Selection Day is over for another year. Life will be a bit crazy now leading up to the Livestock Show and Rodeo in February. But we are having fun. Really. This is fun....no, I mean it. It is so much fun to watch your kid learn responsibility and...and ...well, responsibility is a good start!

Randy says many of his life-skills were learned in FFA. How to manage a bank account, how to speak publicly, responsibility and many other things as well. If this program can help to make my boys into half the man their father is, sign 'em up!

And I still promise to write about the mannequin soon... (that is the one that got swallowed into cyberspace last night!)

2011-10-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

It has been so very long since I have posted to my blog but I have decided to "get back into the swing" and start doing it again. Why?
1. I have enjoyed looking back on what was going on years ago - it's nice having a record, ya' know?
2. I have interesting stuff going on in my life right now.
3. I am so fed up with Facebook, I can't even begin to tell you! As a preacher's kid, I think I do quite well with change, thank you very much, but come on people - it's getting flat-out ridiculous!
4. Sometimes a girl's just gotta vent!

So...let's start with my day today. I wear several hats in the circus we call life right now.
1. I wear a wife hat (think Lucille Ball with a dishtowel tied around her head - except not as organized)
2. I wear a mom hat (not sure what this one looks like!)
3. I wear the hat of a 1st Lt in the Civil Air Patrol. No really. See?

Okay, maybe not such a great example! (But I qualified as a pro-marksman with the NRA that day! Hey, what's a bored medic to do on a live rifle range - you would have tried it too!) How's this?

That's Andrew with me. We were doing pass in review at Summer Encampment here. The CAP is the auxiliary of the US Air Force. We do several things including training and search and rescue. I am the medical officer for the Texas Wing and I attend several things throughout the year with one of these hats on to train, teach and advise. Mostly I love it. That day I was hot. I think the coolest day we had this summer was still in the triple digits! If you could have seen me from the back, you might have seen a sweat drop dripping down my back! Ick...I despise being hot enough to sweat...but I digress.

4. I am the volunteer coordinator for the Theatre Arts department at the junior high that is currently attended by our 13-year-old. We still have two more kids to hit that school so I stay plugged in there in the department where I am most comfortable - drama!

5. I am the secretary of the Taylor Hight School FFA Booster Club...

And I'm sure I might wear a few other hats once in a while but for now I'm gotta pause at the FFA thing because that is where this morning found us...at the district agriculture barn (from now on known as the "ag barn", 'k?) cleaning out the barn and getting set up for the student's "projects" to arrive on Monday. Andrew's "project" will be a pig again this year.

Last year he raised a pig with the apropos name of "Supper", from a piglet of 40 lbs to a 285 lb hog. Supper made fifth place in the district when we took her to show in February. Now, that might not seem like a big deal to some folks but 'round these here parts, we take our FFA showin' seriously! There were a well over a hundred hogs in that show and for Andrew to place fifth, well let me tell ya' - we were some kind of happy! Supper sold in the auction to a kind gentleman in Cypress and I would like to tell you that I was happy to see her go...the truth is I cried! I was very against the whole "raising the pig" thing but she definitely grew on me!

So we got the barn cleaned out. Then we had Ag-Olympics in which all the FFA kids from all the high schools in our district (seven schools) compete in things like tug-o-war and other made up games. They were fun to watch. This is a pic of the one Randy presided over...

Four kids laid (lay? My father-in-law always corrects me on this and I can't ever remember which is correct!) on their backs with their feet in the air. A bucket full of water is balanced on their upraised feet and they all are challenged to remove their shoes without dumping the bucket. Some teams did fantastic (the record was 14 seconds!)...

...and some teams were great fodder for a wandering photographer! That water was COLD!

Okay...I guess you have enough to chew on for tonight. I'll add more soon! No, really! I promise! I had the most fun in the second half of the day when I made a life-size mannequin out of duct tape...story soon!

Extreme Makeover - Hays Home Edition

2009-04-08T06:29:00.000-07:00

Finally some progress on our house! I am so excited to have most of the work done and be able to start putting things back together!
Formal dining room. For some reason I couldn't get the camera to shoot a clear shot of this room - maybe lighting? Anyway, it is a warm chocolate color with red accents.

The art niche as you walk past the staircase into the living room.

I have an antique sewing machine behind the sofa. Sofa is at a diagonal in front of the grandfather clock.

More Uppercase Living on the wall. The photos in the montage are from a trip to Galveston two years ago. The words say "Loved you yesterday, Love you still, Always have, always will."

The fireplace. I have a black wrought iron cross hanging by a black velvet ribbon over a mirror. I have the window treatments down and new ones in the works - I will post more photos as I get them taken. Next up: the kitchen!!

Our princess in Swan Lake

2009-03-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Melissa danced today in Swan Lake. She did a beautiful job and we were SO proud of her! These are pictures of her in her costume - she was a basket bearer in the royal court!

2009-03-02T06:46:00.000-08:00

Another long pause between postings - seems I am good at those! Our house has been in a total uproar for the last 6 weeks. We are frantically trying to finish all the repairs from our hurricaine visitor. I am going to post a few pics from what we have gotten done. This is the breakfast area at the end of our kitchen before:

And this is after. For some reason I am all into the warm colors! Most of my life I have always loved the cooler colors: blues and greens, but for some reason I am drawn to the warms now. I have taught myself to change the light fixtures out - we are getting rid of the old 80's lookin' stuff and after a friend and her husband came to help with this one over the table, I decided I could do it myself! I have changed the one over the sink (the lil' button glass globe is gone and a pendant to match this one over the table is gracing that spot now) and the one in the formal dining room - see pic below.

This is what the second floor game room looks like now . All the furniture from two bedrooms and the dining room are stuffed into the living room, game room and two other bedrooms. This leaves us with the kitchen and the master bedroom that are semi-normal - and our lives are decidedly NOT - normal, that is! I am frankly going NUTS with all this stuff to climb over, around, and through!

You can see here the new chandieler for the entryway sitting on the living room floor. Please notice my Edwardian wardrobe from England is stuffed in FRONT of the door leading to the garage! Also notice the piles of furniture piled in that room! My friend, Alane, came over the other day and with great determination and the assistance of some mountain climbing gear (not really - though she was wishing for it!) she climbed over the mountain to the piano to share her latest awesome song! Trust me when I say it was worth it to me - but I doubt it was to her! This house is truly a mess and I am SOOOOO ready for it to be back in place.
This is the formal dining room now. The flooring is not down yet - we are waiting on the insurance company to some some inspector things and send the money - but the walls, ceilings and new light fixtures are all done! I still need to paint the living room once the furniture is out. Also need another coat of paint in Melissa's room, need to paint Brendan's room and the master bath as well as the halls downstairs. We hope to have the new flooring done in the next few weeks - hardwoods downstairs and carpet upstairs. Ya'll wanna come help move furniture?

New Business...

2009-01-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

Live is stumping along -chaos is NORMAL for us these days! Still nothing concrete from the mortgage company that might get the walls and ceilings repaired. We are hoping to have our home ready to sell by April 1st. We aren't moving far (just a few miles) but need to get to a place where we are zoned to a better high school before Andrew starts in another year! You can help us pray that that will go well...

Like I needed something ELSE to occupy my time, I have signed up as a consultant for a company called "Uppercase Living"! They have fabulous expressions for wall decor and I am really excited - mainly about decorating my home! You can check out my new business website at http://naomi.uppercaseliving.net/ - then be sure to come back here and let me know what you think! For now, I will post a picture or two:

January

2009-01-13T02:10:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... it's been forever since I posted! It seems like the holidays just swooshed upon us with a huge blast and I have landed on the other side with a big ole "thud"! Mom and Dad came from Arkansas for Christmas and truthfully, if it hadn't been for their arrival I am not sure how I would have made it through the Christmas season! Mom dug out a Christmas tree the day before Christmas and got the kids to help her decorate it. I know, I am a terrible mother to not get a Christmas tree up until December 24th - but it's still up! Does that count for something? No, I didn't think so - unfortunately it is just a sign of the chaos my life has become!

Due largely to our stinkin' (and that is a NICE word for them) insurance company, we STILL are living in only about half of our house - it has come to the point where it is making me absolutely NUTS! I am ready to hang sheetrock myself - if we could just get the funds released to do that! First they sent a check to us for a part of the repairs (only part, mind you...) but put the mortgage company on it too. But that mortgage company was paid off over six years ago - we no longer have an account with them! I won't go into all the grim details, but I am just right disgusted with the whole deal! Anyone want a damaged house for real cheap?

Work is keeping me hopping. We typically like to have a doctor in the room when a baby is born, but sometimes that doesn't happen. When a baby is born without a doctor's hands on it, it is referred to as a precipitous delivery - I got my first one on New Year's Day and it was the first baby born in Katy! It was truly a rush and everything went well (to my great relief). I am happy to report Mom and Baby are both doing well!

Melissa is now enrolled in ballet and will be dancing in Swan Lake in March and a recital in May. She is so excited! She still remembers a lot of what she learned last year when she took two semesters from Dance Fun. This is a much more structured school and I am hoping for a more "classical" training style for her. She is so young, but just loves it and really wants to do it. I guess we will keep it up as long as she likes it - and when she doesn't like it anymore, we will look for alternatives.

I have been sewing some on my days off since Mom was here for Christmas. I don't know what it is about being around her that puts me in the mood to sew, but I have made two jumpers and a pants/top outfit for Melissa. I found a great website with good children's patterns from Europe and that makes me happy... I have found the mainstream pattern companies are largely disappointing these days in the children's clothing department. When I was young we sewed because it was cheaper - that is no longer true! I sew because I enjoy it and because I prefer the unique over the common. As soon as I can get my laptop to cooperate with me, I will post pictures of Missa's new wardrobe.

I have been writing this between checking on a very sick patient so I need to go check on her again. What are ya'll up to these days?

Master Bedroom

2008-10-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

The new roof is ON! We had to pay for it out of our pockets, but it is up there and it looks great! We are still hoping insurance will come through with reimbursement, but we had to get the holes covered up to prevent further damage. And not a moment too soon! The last guy was finishing up the details around the edges yesterday and we got what my Daddy used to call a "gully-washer"! He came back today and ran a magnetic sweep around the yard for stray nails in the rain! We are so very thankful we are not trying to keep out the water with blue tarps like so many of our neighbors. And now we can start rebuilding the interior!

Before Ike was even a blip on the radar, we had ordered new bedroom furniture. This was a promise I made to myself when I started nursing school: "Self," I said, "when you finish this long haul, you are gonna treat yourself to some new furniture in your bedroom!" What we had was a lighted, mirrored wall-unit that was nearing 20 years old!

We had to wait almost two months for our furniture to come, but it finally got here this week and here it is! I had been watching for sale and clearance decorative elements to go with our new look for the two months so I got to redo the walls and everything... (You should be able to click on the pictures to get a closer look.)

This is the head of the bed. The long sign says "Dream" and the oval says is a scripture I love. The wrought iron scrolls are a bargain from Hobby Lobby. All of this was 50% off - gotta love it!

This is the entrance (door on the left) and door to the master bath). The gentleman's chest sports a lamp with a flicker bulb that I have had for several years but it had not really found a great home yet -it is setting up housekeeping now! The fan is a venetian bronze replica of a vintage fan that is my best friend when I am sleeping in the daytime after working a 12 hour shift all night!
The dresser with jewelry case on top. The TV will be going, but for now that is my one item that I am not so fond of...
I have struggled with these windows for the entire six years we have lived in this house. The eyebrow arch windows are a bear to cover! We installed the 2" wooden blinds when we moved in but I have never known what to do other than that - and I am almost never at a loss on window treatments! These are iron elements I found on sale at Hobby Lobby - got them for $10 each - I think they are meant to just hang on the wall, but I am using them to distract the eye from those empty arches. The fabric is a Wal-Mart $1 per yard find yesterday. I have allowed a little to puddle on the floor on the bottom of each. The swags still need some tweaking, but I think I am going to like it when I get them just so. I stuck a grape spray in the middle one- thinking about adding them on all three... what is your vote?
A closer view of the gentleman's chest. The ends open up to tie/jewelry hooks and trays. This furniture is really well-built and has lots of bells and whistles. So far I just love it!

I think I am going to head to the kitchen next. I am thinking a cayenne color, tuscan feel, using a paint and joint compound to texture the walls. I'm feeling some accents of chocolate, gold, and aqua. Sounds gross huh? In my mind it is fabulous! Stay tuned for more of the Hays House Makeover!

Photo jewelry

2008-10-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Life is slowly getting back to normal after the hurricaine drama. We finally got an insurance adjuster out here on Thursday to look over all the damage. We will hopefully start to rebuild within the next few weeks. Roofing, painting, sheetrock, carpet, flooring - it just makes me tired thinking about it all! So what's a girl to do when she wants to avoid thinking about the chaos around her? Play! So.... I have been playing around with poly resin and photos to make photo jewelry. Here are a few samples... Oh yeah... a disclaimer: I can't get my camera to shoot these things very clearly. I will borrow a friend's camera next week and try to shoot some in natural light so you can see them better, but for now just try to pretend they are WAY more cool in person. Okay, now on to the show!

These adorable little people are my twin sister Dori's children; Elizabeth, Garrett, and Elena. I am so proud of these! I have long wanted to learn how to colorize photos with just one area in color and the rest in black and white! I finally figured it out! Yes, it is a bit time-consuming, but these look really pretty in person! Aren't those beautiful children?

These show some different shapes and ideas. The middle one is Melissa on the Galveston beach - when it was still there! The one of the castle is a painting of Cinderella's Castle at Disney World. This is Melissa's favorite place on the planet so I wanted to make a pendant of it for her.

The first one is a shot of Randy and I on the same Galveston Beach. In the middle is another attempt at the colorization process, this time on a picture of Melissa. The on the end is of baby hands and a chin and mouth. It looks way cool in person, but may be a bit hard to decipher here...just more experimentation of styles.

This is of all of us on the beach. I have already drilled the holes on either side of this piece - I am going to make it into a bracelet.

I LOVE this piece! Another colorization one. I just love how it turned out...

Another family shot on the beach. Heart-shaped sterling chain attached to either side.

Playing around with a silhouette piece...

This is anothe one of the beach shots. You will notice the kind of mottled look to the background of this one. This was the first batch I did and the resin absorbed into the photo paper somewhat. I found a waterproof paper and it worked fabulously on the next crop.

As you can see, I am having a blast playing with my new "sport". Let me know what YOU think!

More from Ike

2008-09-14T19:48:00.001-07:00

I was locked in the hospital from Friday at 2PM until Sunday morning around 7. I tried hard to get home, but every route I tried was flooded. I finally turned around and went back to the hospital and a fabulous friend there drove me home in her big ole' truck! These are a few photos of what I found.

We are trying to just assess the damage and keep more from happening at this point. My brother-in-law is on his way from the Dallas area with relief supplies for us: food, bigger tarps, etc. He is planning to stay a day or two to help Randy with immediate needs.

My uncle and cousin are also making plans to come to help with other areas: they are bring stuff to move big piles of debris so we will be working on keeping them busy with disaster relief but are excited to get to see them. I think they will plan to help get us under protection from the rain as well. Randy has found a roofer that will come tomorrow to give us assessment of the damage and let us know how long it will be before he can get to us. It seems like the wait would be very long, but actually there are so very many in so much worse shape - they are all a LONG way from needing a roofer, so we should be able to get fixed up with a few weeks we think.

I have been called back to the hospital to work tonight as so many of the nurses are unable to get through the flood waters to work. They are predicting more rain tonight and tomorrow so we will just pray for the best...

Some of our roof - now we can see why the water is pouring in!
Lots of shingles are missing...
Our dear friends, John and Stephanie Rezac nabbed a roll of plastic for us. We used all of it and a tarp or two we had in the garage to cover the biggest holes. It won't last long, as the entire roof is damaged and leaky, but at least we won't drown in our beds! All the homes in our neighborhood have roof damage - notice bare wood in the second house down.
Ceiling starting to bulge in Brendan's room.

Ike comes to call!

2008-09-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Our backyard
More of the back - notice the water in the retention pond.
The shingles that WERE on the roof - now they litter the yard.
The paint in Melissa's bedroom is bubbled up with water behind it. This bubble is about the size of a saucer.The carpet in Melissa's bedroom is soaked.

A Day in a Field Hospital

2008-08-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

Some candid shots of various departments in our hospital. Here Pastor Scott gets a crash course in being a medic! He was an OR orderly years ago and he pulled on that past life and made a great triage tech! Here Pastor Jude is acting as his interpreter and he fills our our makeshift triage form. By the end of the day he was prescribing basic medications with the rest of us! Nearly everyone who came through got Mabendazole as a worm treatment so that was a very common prescription.
I was doing the initial triage out on the portico. This got to be totally NUTS! As the day progressed the crowds got worse. Here you see the line waiting to talk to me. It was like winning the lottery: You win, you get to see the American Doctor, you lose (runny noses, backache, etc) you have to let the nurse check your vital signs and write you a prescription for vitamens and Paracetamol (Tylenol).
Soon the lines weren't content to sit on the sidelines - the gathered closer and closer in. They were always interested in the diagnosis of the other persons. We were continuously asking them to sit down! I got very claustrophobic at times because there were about 200 people gathered around my little table.
The waiting room is full and all the chairs are taken - here's a rock that looks mighty comfy... These people walked from many miles away.
Chelsea Dolan is crowd control indoors in the line to the pharmacy.

Filling prescriptions. The girl in the middle between Chelsea and Susan is the daughter of one of the local doctors and she was an invaluable help! Only 10 years old, but with great English speaking skills, she interpreted tirelessly for two days and helped our pharmacist people fill medications. We all fell in love with her and want to bring her home with us, but she is much loved by her parents and we have to leave her here! She called us all "auntie" as a sign of respect. (except Chelsea - she was "sister" - I guess she was too young to be "auntie"!)
And the crowd grows!
The OR at the beginning of the day. Note the open doors on the other side of the table and all the supplies that we brought from America are in bins on the floor - all of you who know sterile technique can cringe - we did!

At the end of the week we have seen approx 987 patients in four days - 547 of those on Friday alone! Hard to believe, huh? But with God's help we REALLY did see that many patients. We lost count of the surgeries we performed, but hopefully we are leaving this area with many people some better for our having been here.

A Surgical Commentary

2008-08-17T16:35:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka
WARNING: The graphic nature of some of the photographs may not be comfortable for some viewers - enter at your own risk! (it is interesting though if you can stomach it!)

Another wonderful day at the makeshift hospital. We are absolutely amazed at all the people! This gentleman came in with a mass on his face. He was very uncomfortable and complained of the mass obstructing his vision. He told us he had had it since he was eight years old and had had it drained once but "no answer" - which is Tamil-speak for "the treatment I got didn't work"!

Dr. Harper bravely set out to remove whatever the thing was! Once she got the thing open it quickly became apparent it was a sebaceous syst. The thing drained about 10 ml (2 tsp.) of oil! Once the cyst was collapsed, she set out to remove to cyst wall to prevent it from refilling - don't want him going to someone else and saying "no answer" for OUR treatment! Here you can see how deep this thing goes!
This shows one of the ways we "creatively" used the equipment we had at hand. Dr. Harper got the bright idea to use an angiocath (the thin, flexible tubing that stays in the arm with and IV) on the end of a syringe as a suction device. This worked in many ways over the days. We also used the same set-up for flushing ears and etc.
I love this photo! You can see how challenging our set-up was at times. Yes, that is the yard over our shoulders. The lighting in the room we had as an OR was not always adequate so they just opened up the glass wall and let the breeze blow in! We were blessed with excellent weather and cool breezes so that was nice - the sterility? Not so much! But we prayed hard and covered everybody with antibiotics and will continue praying for no infection to set in. All-in-all I think with God's help we made a big difference in a few lives.A view of the man's face after surgery is complete. This looks a bit worse than it actually was because we smeared antibiotic ointment liberally once the stitches were in! But he can see un-obstructed now, Praise the Lord!
We had no electro-cautery equipment (we didn' always have electricity!) so when bleeding became an issue, we used the old fashioned "let-the-nurse-hold-pressure-for-five-minutes" method! It worked though - the bleeding stopped and he was ready to go! Gotta tell ya', I was praying hard though and even asked Chuck Watson who was our medical photographer to come over and help me pray! I wasn't as confident as Dr. Andrea that this method would work!
Here is a view of our OR from the yard looking in. David George (aka. King David) is our interpreter for the OR and he is standing on Dr. Andrea's left. My hair style for the day? Unavailable to critters - I didn't care what it looked like - just as long as I didn't have any passengers to bring home!Okay, so his vision is still a bit obstructed, but that will come off in a day or so and he will be able to see better than he has since he was eight! How great is our God!

Clinic at the Center

2008-08-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

WARNING: There are mildly graphic photos in this post. Read at your own risk...

Thursday

We are holding clinic at the NCM Center today (the same place we are sleeping and eating). It is a wonderful facility and we are thrilled to be here. We have paused for lunch and I wanted to share a miracle!

This morning has been a zoo! We got our clinic all set up and set up: a triage, a dispensary, and a treatment/surgery room. The people started coming...and coming...and coming! You can't imagine how many people are crowded onto the porch of the Center! We decided we needed to set up a screen to show the Jesus Film on while people were waiting. The screen was too sheer for it to show up in the daytime though. We decided the black blankets on the beds were a perfect fix. I grabbed some of the handy-dandy suture kits from the surgery room and started stitching! The pastors at the center thought this was just great! Here you see Pastor Jude holding the screen up for me to sew - they laughed the whole time! It worked though!

And the people kept coming... Dr. Andrea decided we should send me outside to run a cursory triage and separate the really ill from the curious. You can see ALL the people crowded onto the porch...

Then we got an interesting case. A gentleman walked up to me and complained of localized chest pain. He said he had received an injury a year ago from a "soccer boot" that he got kicked with while playing soccer. He was very uncomfortable and there was a slight swollen place on his chest. I called Dr. Andrea and the three of us headed into the surgery.

Dr. Andrea deadened the area with Lidocaine and then opened the skin over the mass. She dug around a bit and was a bit perplexed - there was inflammatory tissue, but she couldn't seem to see anything else. Then she found it - she thought she had a bone spur that had developed on his bone as a result of the trauma. She was doing one last bit of poking around explaining to the man through Sugun (our interpreter) that he would need to go to a hospital to have his injury repaired. She pushed on the mass and he winced - in terrible pain. Then she moved just a bit and we saw something interesting start to peek out of the wound - it was a hard mass! It just came popping out - apparently on it's own, but we all know God touched the thing! She laid it on the gauze I was holding and then pressed on the spot where all the pain had been... his pain was TOTALLY gone! We all got tears and goosebumps! Here you can see the tumor that was removed.

And here is a photo of the patient with his surgical team...

Well, our lunch break is over and the droves are outside waiting on medical care so I must go and help. Our patient count is now at 208 for the morning and we are still going...

The Vomit Comet

2008-08-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Bright and early this morning we stumbled from our warm beds and headed down to a hearty bowl of oatmeal. I don't typically like oatmeal, but I gagged it down because I knew we might not get lunch for a long time. I was right. Don't we look nice and chipper?

We headed out the front door of the Center and got in a mini van. This thing was normally a 7 passenger van - we stuffed 12 people in that thing! We were told we would be going approximately 30 miles to a Dispensary to hold clinic. The roads were so twisty we were breathin our own exhaust - and I am NOT kidding!! Amy nicknamed the van "The Vomit Comet" - and she was right. Two of the local pastors came along to the clinic to act as interpreters. The driver was a local fellow - not from the church - and he was a great driver, but it was still a very harrowing road. Yesterday on the road from Colombo, there were two drivers along - one to actually drive and a second riding shotgun to get out and negotiate with other drivers when we met one on the road. There are many times the road is a very narrow one land and they think nothing of two or even three cars squeezing through! We have learned to NOT look out the front window - it is just better for our nerves and coronary system.
We arrived at our destination and were ushered into a very aged building. The floors were cracked concrete with dirt showing through in many places. There appears to be electricity in one room but not in the others. No running water is available. We went into one room and met the physician who typically runs the office. He watched Andrea Harper triage one patient and she was doing surgery on an abcessed leg within about 5 minutes - at that point he decided we could handle things and he left!
This is what the waiting room looks like within half an hour. People came from everywhere! Maladies real and imagined were presented. We did one other surgery and saw around 75 people total.
This is a crude triage area we set up in the outer room. I found one very suspicious-looking ear using my handy-dandy otoscope. Sure enough, there was a critter in there that Dr. Andrea had to extract!

We are tired and headed home but feel very good that we have helped a few people. Thanks so much for all your prayers!

More of Sri Lanka

2008-08-13T08:40:00.001-07:00

The medical team in the Houston airport before departure. Amy Thomas (in the middle), Andrea Harper (on the right) and me!

On the way across the country to get to the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Center, we stopped at an eating establishment which was on the site where the movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was filmed. I have never seen the movie, but it was certainly a beautiful corner of the world.
The road leading from the airport was very rough, twisty and windey! We drove approx 75 miles and it took us four and a half hours! I had always thought the roads in Arkansas where my parents lived were bad, however they aren't even close! When we arrived at the Center, the bus that had been hired to transport us and all our luggage and equipment could not make it up the hill to the Center so we were forced to walk up! This is the bus stalled out at the bottom of the hill.
Pastor Scott, Ted Diehr and John Rezac enjoy a pizza at the Dubai Airport. For some strange reason they served ketchup with it!

The man with the cast-iron stomach! Pastor Scott chose to eat curry for lunch and it was incredibly HOT!! I thought I could eat spicy (after all the Cajun food I grew up on) but this stuff was just unbelievable!

Sri Lanka

2008-08-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

We are finally here in Sri Lanka. We started on Sunday afternoon for the airport (around 3 PM). There were some hairy moments upon loading the aircraft and they delayed us for nearly two hours as they informed some people that they were not going to be allowed to fly on that flight. I have no idea what the situation was, but the men they pulled off looked like they could have been potential terrorists - I am just glad they weren't allowed on. Take as long as you need to screen every passenger, just don't let us get hijacked!!

Fifteen hours later our plane landed in Dubai. We had an 8 hour lay-over so decided to go shopping in a nearby mall. It was around 9 PM there and we were just sure we could find somebody willing to help american tourists part with some dollars. We stepped outside the airport and folks, the weater was hotter than an August day in Houston! At least in Houston it cools down below 90 at night - this did not! The heat was unbearable and SO humid, it was actually difficult to suck it into your lungs. We pretty much turned around and walked back in the airport to read, play games and watch TV for the next 8 hours.

We landed in Colombo with no problems. There was a bit of a hiccup when they wanted to search Ted Diehr's case that held the generator for the projector of the Jesus Film equipment. It took about 45 minutes, but they finally did let him through - with ALL our equipment! Thank you for all your prayers about this - it really did go smoothly and quickly.

I am fading fast tonight so I will start telling you about the bus as soon as I have a minute and a phone connection. Love to all for now.

More from Disney

2008-07-29T18:32:00.001-07:00

Monday was Epcot Center day and my camera died early in the day! I had reservations for the Akershus in the Norway area for supper. I knew that there would be a princess there, but we were happily surprised to be visited by four over the course of the evening! Jasmine, Aurora, Cinderella and Belle all were there! My sister asked about a picture with Cinderella on my last post - Cinderella was in the castle and posed photographs were taken by the royal photographer and given to each little princess during the meal. They presented them to us in a beautiful folder with an 8x10 photo of the castle on one side and and 8x10 of the two princesses (Cinderella and Melissa) on the other. It also included four smaller copies of the same photo. During this meal they did the same with Belle - so we have some really excellent pictures of Melissa with the two princesses - but I don't have a scanner here so you will have to wait to see!

On to Tuesday! This is the tree that is the focal point to Animal Kingdom. If you can't see the carvings on it, click on the picture and enlarge it - this is a really cool design...

FINALLY! A character shoot the boys can really enjoy! This is Rafiki from "The Lion King".
And since today is Brendan's birthday, we are thrilled that he gets to see his very favorite friend - Stitch! He was so excited!
And there is time for one final princess...Pochohontas! Melissa has been stumbling over her name all week, but KNEW she was a princess - whatever her name is! The most common name she gave her was "Ra-ponnus" - I think she was probably combining Rapunzul and Pochohontas into one unique name!

We are tired and have suitcases of laundry to do when we get home, but we have done our best to see and do everything we could. I think the kids all have had a great time but we are all ready to get home. We are going "park hopping" tomorrow to do a last few things we didn't have time for. We have to be back here at the resort by 5:30 to get to the airport for our flight so I won't get to post again until I get home - for now enjoy all the stuff I have posted over the last few hours!

Disney Princess Day!

2008-07-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

This day will take two posts since blogger will only let me post five pictures at once. I am going to try to get them in order ...

The day finally arrived! Melissa was so excited! I had made reservations for her and I to eat lunch at Cinderella's Castle. Nothing would do but to wear her Cinderella dress and crown when we left for The Magic Kingdom. I packed her another outfit thinking the synthetic fabric of her little blue dress would be too hot eventually - never did talk her into changing though! Guess she takes after her mom - it's all about the looks!

We jumped on Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride first. The kids loved this one so much we did it twice and as we were getting off, out ran Alladin and Jasmine to ride! They rode one round and then came over to the market area to sign autographs and pose for photos. As you can see, they were both excellent and looked a great deal like their movie! Aladdin's signature even looks like the movie title! I had been so worried that Melissa was going to be afraid to have pictures made since she was afraid of everybody yesterday. She was concerned about Aladdin, but Jasmine was her "new best friend" and she was able to talk Melissa into a pose with Aladdin nearby.
Then we went off to ride a few more rides. On the way we ran into the "Magical Dreams Parade". The kids had fun picking out their favorite characters. These two are my personal favorite. Mary Poppins...
and the gang from Pinocchio! Jiminey Cricket and Geppetto are on the lower level waving furiously while Pinoch watches over. This was so adorable!

Almost time for lunch! There was just enough time for a visit to Ariel's Grotto! Melissa was so thrilled and she just kept talking. She told Ariel all about her "pincess bwacelet" and how she got all dressed up to come see the princesses! One funny thing: nearly every princess that met her asked her who her favorite was. Her answer? The name of whichever one she was speaking with then and Cinderella! So when Ariel asked her, her answer was "Ariel and Cindewella". When Snow White asked her the same question her answer was "Snow White and Cindewella"! I thought it was SO stinkin' funny that she wanted everyone to think they were her favorite!

Lunch finally arrives! Melissa ate her food (chicken nuggets, fries, and corn) so she got dessert! This was a scoop of vanilla ice cream with Disney-shaped sprinkles topped with a chocolate crown!

Disney Princess Day continued

2008-07-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

And then we met the princesses!
Melissa waited very patiently at our table and watched the various princesses make their rounds of the room. Finally Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) made it to our table! Once again, Melissa acted like she was her long lost friend! Aurora was a little shy-acting and didn't really say much...then...
Belle came by! Belle was so sweet to Melissa and as you can see she is really beautiful and looks much like she looks in her movies!
Oh my goodness! Then came Snow White! Snow White was a real favorite as you can see from Melissa's face! She was SO excited by now she was just jabbering 90 miles an hour! I was just having a ball watching my little princess - what little girl wouldn't just LOVE this?Now for a formal post with Snow White. Snow White also looked just like she looks in her movies! Just amazing, huh?
A final picture. This is the Cinderella castle at night before the fireworks started. Tinkerbell flies from that highest spire up there. We tried to get a picture of her flight, but she was way too fast! Melissa was completely exhausted by this time and the boys were begging to "go home", but we stayed long enough to see Tink fly and then headed for the boat back to the resort. We watched the fireworks from the boat. What a fabulous day and what great memories!

Disney Day 2

2008-07-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

Day Two... We headed out for Disney Hollywood Studios. This place is stuffed with sights and scenes from the movies. Thanks to RideMax (thanks LaRona!) we didn't have to stand in line long at any place.

Jamie gets a hug from Leo from Little Einsteins!

And Jojo and Goliath are happy to see Jamie and Andrew. Jojo is signing an autograph in Melissa's autograph book here but Melissa herself wouldn't get close!
The whole gang snuggle up to the adorable little robot Wall-E! Melissa is trying to get him to talk to her.
Several of the streets in this park dead ended in a huge flat painting that made it look like a city beyond. This is the gang in front of a pretend San Francisco -looks real, huh?
Jamison sits on a speeder from Star Wars. This was a favorite ride for all the kids. The ride was a "space ship" that took you into outer space. I wonder if Jamison and Melissa realized we were just sitting in a booth that was on hydraulics! It sure seemed real and the ride was bumpy etc.

Tomorrow we are off for Magic Kingdom and Cinderella's castle. Melissa and I have reservations in the afternoon for lunch with the princesses. We will post again when we can get online!

Disney World - Day 1

2008-07-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

In spite of getting up at 5 AM, our flight went well and we arrived in Florida without mishap. We caught a bus to our cabin located at Disney's Fort Wilderness. It is a pretty little log cabin complete with full kitchen and a Murphy bed in the living room! We were told our luggage wouldn't arrive for about three hours so we ditched out carry-on luggage and headed for the bus stop for Downtown Disney.

Melissa and I were thrilled that we able to get her in at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique as a walk-in! Normally these appointments are made weeks in advance so we were so excited. Two "fairy godmothers" presented Melissa with a personalized invitation with "Princess Melissa" on the front inviting her to become a princess. She was escorted to a chair in the most girly, pinky, fancy salon you can imagine. The chandelier had a glass slipper hanging from the bottom! One of the fairy godmothers allowed Melissa to select between two colors of nail polish and six colors of eye shadow and six colors of lip gloss. They opened a little palatte of make-up and Melissa's eyes shone like the stars. That fairy godmother started doing nails and make-up while the other started on her hair.

She was allowed to choose between three or four little tiaras and two barrettes - all sparkly with rhinestones. At the end the fairy godmother doing her hair sprinkled fairy dust from her wand and said "Bibbity Bobbity Boo!" over her and we had our little princess! They gave us all the make-up, both colors of nail polish and the tiara and barrette to keep as well as the ribbon banner that says "Bibbity Bobbity Boutique". This was something Melissa will remember forever and I am so glad we got to do it!
Our little princess!~"Bibbity Bobbity BOO!"
Just outside is a statue of Melissa's favorite princess - Cinderella! Melissa and I have reservations tomorrow to eat lunch with Cinderella in her castle at the Magic Kingdom. I watched closely so I can do her hair again for that - and we brought her Cinderella dress from home for her to wear.
In the meantime...Daddy and the boys were scouting out the most gigantic of Lego stores. This dragon is in the lagoon in front of the stoor and is absolutely massive! He is made entirely of Legos!
A family walking their dogs on the side walk in front of the shop - again, made entirely of Legos! The shading on the dogs is really cool! We came back to our cabin and our luggage was here. It has rained off and on so we are a bit drippy - I had brought rain ponchos from home so we managed to at least stay dry a little, but still it was good to get in a cozy cabin and hit the beds!

Our internet connection is not good at all so I may not get to post every day but I will go ahead and post pictures from Day 2 after while.

Busy Life

2008-07-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting a post done! I have been so swamped at work at night and kids in the daytime that I haven't taken a minute to write. Randy and I went on our first cruise on July 3rd. We set sail out of the filthy dirty waters of Galveston Bay and when we woke up the next morning, the water was a beautiful royal blue - the Carribean Sea is SO much prettier than the Gulf! We had a great time being together. Randy's parents went with us and that was fun too.

This is Randy and I standing on the dock in Cozumel, Mexico. The ship farthest away is the Carnival ship "Fantasy". The one closer to us is the "Ecstacy" - our ship. This thing is SO incredibly massive!

Room service was incredible. If you left your cabin for 15 minutes, they had been there to straighten things up. Each night when we got back from dinner the beds had been turned down with a chocolate mint on the pillow. Every night there was a different critter made of fresh towels on the bed too. This was the first one - an adorable elephant! They picked up my sunglasses from the desk and perched on his trunk - isn't he cute? Later in the week they had a class on making the towel animals that Randy and I went to. I really thought it was just for me and Randy was just being polite to come along - but he really got into the spirit of the thing and helped out. We had a blast and now if you come to see me, you might be surprised what you find on your bed every night!

The food was fantastic and I have just now gotten off the last of the six pounds I gained those four days!

Work is going great. I am really enjoying the experience and already have some stories to tell! I am amazed at the young teenage girls giving birth! Mostly hispanic and they seem to think it is a fabulous thing to be still in school, unwed and pregnant. So sad to me. We have been really busy the last two weeks - lots of babies due in July. I have done mostly c-section births. My supervisor had worried that I would not get enough time in the OR with the c-sections so had arranged for me to do several weeks of day shift after school started. My preceptor told me that I had done so much in the OR so far that I might not have to swing to days after all! I really do enjoy the night shift and would love to not have to move to days.

One of the days right before we left for the cruise when Mom and Dad were here I was scheduled to work. After I left Melissa told Mom that "Mommy went to work to hunt babies!" How funny, huh? After we got home she asked me to take her dolly to work to "see if I could find a baby in her tummy" - I wonder what she really thinks. I have told her that I "help mommies get their babies out" - maybe TMI for a four year old?

The boys have gone and come home from church camp. They all seemed to have a ball. Now I am packing for our trip to Disney World. We leave next Wednesday but I am trying to get as much done now as I can. I have to work tomorrow night and Monday night and our plane leaves really early Wednesday morning so I figured sooner was better than later. I found out on the cruise that when I try to pack after working a 12 hour shift the night before, important things get left behind!

Nearly there...

2008-06-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

Intern orientation is nearly over! Yippee!! I am incredibly exhausted and ready to get to the Labor and Delivery unit and off of my seat. I spent Monday and Tuesday in surgery. I do not like surgery. I am not grossed out or upset by it - in fact it is incredibly fascinating to me. Nope, that isn't the problem at all. I just don't have any desire to stand for many long hours in one very cold spot and just do very little! Monday I watched a unilateral thyroidectomy which took about two hours. I have had a total thyroidectomy so this was of interest to me. This particular patient had a mass on her thyroid and it took some doin' to get it all out, but it was still interesting.

Yesterday, however, was flat out grueling! Patient: 4'11" female post gastric bypass surgery in need of extensive plastic surgery. Our job: to remove excess skin and fat from her abdomen and under her arms (known to plastic surgeons as "bilateral bracheoplasty and abdominoplasty with liposuction"). This surgery took SEVEN hours, people! I simply stood there - got to hold her arm up while this phenominal surgeon got her draped and prepped. Then I stood there! The doctor was incredibly nice (and believe me, some of them aren't) - he explained everything and talked and joked so the time didn't necessarily drag, but I was still exhausted! I won't gross you out with details, but that lady was wheeled out of the operating room weighing considerably less than when she went in! A rewarding process without doubt, but not for me!

Today the chaplain of the hospital came by. Ours is a Catholic hospital so we have a very strong Christian mission statement and they do a wonderful job of making certain that all of the employees know and embrace that concept. I have long held a great deal of respect of Chaplain and he didn't dissappoint me today either. I just think it is so wonderful that I can go to work in this day and age and get to listen to scripture read over the PA system at 10 AM! Chaplain is working hard on a new program he would like to establish where all the team members coming off of a code blue or any other trauma (death etc.) would be required to "decompress" after these events. He wanted to make certain that all the interns knew that he wanted to hear from us if we needed someone to pray with us or just listen. His words were so neat and I know they will remain with me a long time: "You cannot minister from an empty cup". This is so true, but I think it is just incredible that I get to work for a hospital that recognizes and attempts to address this issue.

I have been working on travel plans for this summer. When the hospital hired me, my supervisor told me to go ahead with any travel that I wished for this year so I am taking her at her word and planning! On July 3rd Randy and I will sail out of Galveston on our first cruise - I think I mentioned that before. On July 23rd our family of six will fly to Orlando, Florida and spend the next eight days at the Disney gaggle of parks there. We are excited that Aunt Esther may get to come see us for a while when we are there. In August I am going on my first "work and witness" mission trip. Our church is taking a group to Sri Lanka and I get to go! We are taking a medical team into the tea plantations of Haton. A very dear friend of ours is an obstetrician/gynecologist and she is going with us. We will be there for 10 days - I know this will be a life-changing experience and I would love to have your prayers as we go. I will definately keep ya'll updated as I travel.

Tonight I am grateful and excited that God has put me here at this time. Monday, June 23rd, I will be taking nursing state board examinations. Provided I pass, I will be finally able to close the book on the odyssey that has been nursing school.

2008-06-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE peonies! I have always loved them and today I hit the jackpot at Randall's. I found these beauties alongside their hot pink sisters and snatched them right up! Trust me, the photos don't anywhere near do them justice - they are a stunning bright white with a gorgeous pink blush getting deeper as you get toward the outer petals. And the smell is divine! I wish you were here to enjoy them with me...Melissa is here to enjoy them with me! I sure wish I could grow these beauties, but alas my thumb is as brown as mud. Maybe someday I'll figure it out!
In other news... Andrew was awarded the highest honor our church awards in it's scouting program - this is the equivelant of an Eagle Scout! Get a load of the tie...

Tie notwithstanding, we are very proud of our son! You can kind of tell how tall he is - the kid standing to his right (the left in the photo) is the same age as he is and they are standing on the same step in our sanctuary!

Today I finally received the ATT for the NCLEX. (Authorization to test for state boards) This was a huge thing for me. This means by early next week you could log on to the website for the state of Texas and put in my name in the "graduate nurse" section and it should show that I am licensed! I had wanted to take the exam by the last week of June, but alas there are no test dates available at this time for that week - so I had to take early July. I really had wanted to get it over with while all the information was still fresh, but I suppose I will just keep on studying.

I am in "intern orientation" at the hospital. This is two full weeks of classes going over the policies and procedures of the hospital, touring each unit, going over the policies and procedures of the hospital, meeting all the administration, going over the policies and procedures of the hospital, dissecting crash carts, going over the policies and procedures of the hospital, learning every square inch and did I mention going over the policies and procedures of the hospital? So far I have received two three-inch binders and one two-inch binder full to bursting with papers and we are going over every one with a fine toothed comb - not to mention review and examinations on the computers. It does seem like these two weeks are taking about forty-'leven years to get through but I do know it will all be worth it in the end!

Today we went on "grand rounds"! Doesn't that sound professional? Grand rounds! It was very interesting - a group of people (one pharmacist, one dietician, one doctor, one cardiovascular nurse and six interns - plus a gaggle of ICU RNs) go around the acute care units of the hospital and review each patient to see if everything is being done appropriately for that patient. Is there anything new? Can this patient be moved to a less-acute area of the hospital, etc. It was a great learning experience, but I was ready to sit down by the time we stood around for several hours listening to various nurses give report on their patients!

We have started doing critical thinking exercises that are actually fun! I never thought I would say that! Critical thinking is something that is pounded into nursing students and the bane of our very existance - trust me, by the time you graduate if one more person tells you to "think critically" you are ready to help them... you get the idea! Anyway, when I saw that we had several hours over various days scheduled for these critical thinking exercises, my heart just dropped. But this has turned out to be fun! The education director at our hospital has these videos of very excellent actors acting out a problem and you get to diagnose the problem and pretend to act on what you see/hear. Mr. P is seen lying in the bed post thyroidectomy and you watch him start to squirm and become increasingly more agitated and then start to wheeze and grab his throat and chest - interpretation: compromised airway. Whatcha gonna do? Give oxygen, reposition, call the doctor, monitor. Prepare to give steroids and or intubate depending on the progression of the problem. Anyway, it is much more interesting than reading endless tomes on critical thinking!

I surprised Randy on our 16th anniversary with tickets to a four day cruise. We live close enough to Galveston that we can just drive to the dock the morning of departure so it should be a great little vacation. We will be sailing to Cozumel, Mexico on July 3rd and arriving back on July 7th. Mom and Dad are coming to take care of the house, kids and dog for us. Ya'll pray for them...

Monday Musings

2008-05-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it's Monday evening and I don't feel as though I got much accomplished at all today! Don't you just hate days like that? I got called to work the telemetry floor at the hospital yesterday so I was just plain tired which didn't help!

Funny notes I have been meaning to post: Missy is on the toilet (we have the most interesting conversations there!)

Missy: Mommy, we pra-tissed for the BIG tomato today!
Me: You did? Why whatever did you do?
Missy: Well, we all went in to the gulls bafroom - even da BOYS - and then Miss. Bwenda camed with the fwashwight!
Me: What were you practicing for again?
Missy: The big tomato!
Me: What is a tomato?
Missy: It is very big and it comes outside!...And THEN we practice for the fire dwill! We go stand by the fence on the playground until Miss Cwista comes to tell us it is all okay!
Me: Oh, it's a great idea to have a fire drill. But what is a tomato?
Missy: We alweady talked about that!

I finally figured out that the "tomato" was a tornado drill! We have those here in the south so I asked Miss Christa and yes, they had had a tornado drill at her preschool that day! I get such a kick out of my little girl though!

Yesterday I was working at the hospital (oh yeah, I already told you that, huh? See.... I am tired!) Anyway, we admitted several patients and I was running like crazy to get everything done. I walked into this one room and the patient was lying in bed with nary a tooth in her head! She turned around as she was gumming her supper and asked me if I knew how her bowels were gonna work! I guess I looked puzzled because she felt the need to clarify: "Well, they gave me a nin-uh-mah in the ER and I was wonderin' if I could use my bowels" - I had to run get something from the medication room in a hurry!

I ended this rather strange day by stumbling across this Christian comedian. If you have heard or seen Tim Hawkins, you can just skip right down and post a comment about the rest of my blog and make my day. For the rest of you, go check out his website and watch some of these clips: here. I guarantee a good belly laugh to finish up your day! And then you can still go post on my blog!

2008-05-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay! I will satisfy your curiosity! Many of you may be aware that I have enjoyed making dolls in various mediums over the years. I began making porcelain dolls around 1991 and enjoyed that for quite some time. Mother makes dolls occasionally with the few doll molds I have but that is far away and that process is so complicated and time consuming I just haven't done anything for years.

I have tried my hand at a few other dolls over the years but haven't found one that really suits me (I guess I am too detail-oriented!) until I ran across a photograph of a "Steiner" doll (also called a "Waldorf" doll). It has taken some research and digging, but I have finally cobbled together how to make these little darlin's and a wee bit of history behind them.

The origins of this type of doll are European, possibly German in the late 19th century (maybe early 20th). A lady named Kathe Kruse began producing cloth dolls with papier-mache heads that were covered with stockinette cloth. They are no longer made this way but are a combination of the needle sculpting techniques (remember Cabbage Patch Kids?) which are then covered with stockingette which makes them SO much cuter! The original concept was to keep the details to a minimum to stimulate the child's imagination. I think they are stinkin' cute! You know the little kids on the Kleenex commercials? Steiner dolls! Anyway, I am experimenting so keep watching! If I get good results, you might see some for sale!

For now, you can see my inspiration:

Let me know what you think!

More later...

Don't you just love...

2008-05-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

...my new look? My wonderful sister Karla designed this just for me for my second graduation present. You'll have to go ask her about the first! If you click on the link on the right for Ramblin' Roads to Everywhere, you will find her - and I promise you will enjoy your time in her neck of the woods - she is a gifted writer and blogs a lot more often than I do!

Andrew had an orchestra concert this week. He plays the cello and is right good at it if I do say so myself! He started playing last August when school started and his teacher is talking like he will be able to skip philharmonic and go straight into the symphony orchestra! Apparently you move from first year orchestra (6th grade) into philharmonic (7th grade) and then into symphony (8th) as long as your skill is high enough to get you in. Andrew is good enough to skip the middle one and go straight into the symphony - even though he will only be in 7th grade next year! He really has a gift and I am so proud of him - can you tell?

I need to run take the kiddos to basketball practice, but I will try to write again soon to tell you about my latest project - my creative juices are just a flowin' and I promise you will love what I am cooking up now...

Happy Birthday Rachel!

2008-05-15T04:39:00.000-07:00

I have decided to do a "memory blog" for each person in my close family as they have their birthday. Today the lucky winner is my Aunt Rachel!

Rachel is a little more than three years older than I and thus made a wonderful playmate! Daddy is a pastor and in the church we were in that meant moving every few years. Mother will correct me if I am wrong, but I believe we moved into the trailer at the end of Grandmother's driveway when I was four or five.

Mountainburg did not have kindergarten at that time so I started first grade while we lived there. School was fun - I don't remember a single child in my class, but I can tell you that Rachel and I often had the same recess time together and she always seemed to have candy! Especially bubble gum cigars! AND she shared them - always! I am sure it must have greatly impressed the other first graders that little Naomi hung out with a big third grader - I know I was! I can still remember the sweet, tart taste of that voilent purple cigar in my mouth after she broke off a hunk big enough to choke a horse, for me to enjoy.

Uncle David was in high school already and he had regaled us with stories of the electric paddle kept in the principal's office. I had visions of an electric ceiling fan-like contraption into which a child would be strapped and the beating would commence! Rachel reassured me that he was only pretending - but I still spent first grade being VERY good! I didn't want to take any chances! Hmmm..... I wonder if my boys would fall for the electric paddle story?

Sometime before that year was over we moved to the red house just up the mountain from the school. Now I couldn't even ride the same bus with Aunt Rachel! But sometimes.... Mother would call the school and tell the secretary to have the Ezell girls ride home with Rachel so we could spend the afternoon with Grandmother! Oh how we all loved those days! We had no idea we were being babysat - we just thought we were getting a treat!

Apparently Rachel got lonely one fine day. She came to my school bus and hollered through the window "You are supposed to come to my house!". I hollered back: "Did Mother call the secketary?" Her reply: "Let me go check..." She trundled off and came back a very short while later and told me "I think she forgot, but you still need to come". So I climbed off the little tiny bus tha drove to my house and boarded the really long one that went to Grandmother's. (I have no idea where my sisters were that day - sick maybe?) Now, it takes a great deal longer to get to Grandmother's house in the big woods than it did to my little red house just up the mountain from the school. And in those days there were no cell phones to contact a bus driver to see if he has a stow-away! Needless to say, when Rachel and I climbed off her bus an hour later, there were so not-so-happy relatives there to greet us!

I remember the summer she made sandals for all of us from the naugahyde she found in Grandaddy's workshop. They were SO totally cool! Mother thought between-the-toes sandals must surely be bad for growing feet so she never bought us any, but Rachel could make them and we loved them even if they weren't all that durable!

I still smile when I think of this episode and many like it - it always seemed to me a bit of an awesome thing that Rachel, my aunt, would choose to spend time playing with her younger niece! We had such a great time making red clay animals to bake in the sun, picking up rocks for Grandaddy, hiding under the upstairs bed to listen out the front window when when we were big enough to know better, playing in the creek, and eating popcorn with a piece of Aunt Esther's fudge hidden at the bottom! I remember being there when she met the man she would later marry and being so pround of my pretty, popular aunt!

Now I don't get to talk to her enough or see her anywhere NEAR enough, but I still enjoy every minute I get to spend with her. Happy Birthday Aunt Rachel! Enjoy your day so much that you have to crawl across the floor and flop bonelessly into your soft bed to enjoy sweet dreams!

It's Official!

2008-05-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

My mother and I. Hopefully this is the LAST time I have to wear this hideous white uniform!

This is my "gang" Deborah Champagne, Pat Smith (The most Awesome Obstetrics Instructor), me and Leah Anderson.

Our nurses pinning ceremony was this morning at 11:00. It was a beautiful moving ceremony with a lamp lighting before we did the Nightengale Oath. We were allowed 8 invitations each - Randy and the children were there along with my mother (who drove from Arkansas to attend!), Grace and Charles Laird, Joy Lou Hursh, and Don and Theda Jaggers (all loved friends from church).

We have had a glitch in our finals process. We all passed the courses required to take the state boards, but the school has chosen to make the students take a national standardized exam known as the HESI. This has proven to be a huge hurdle for us. I took the thing last semester and got a score of 1022. We needed an 880 to be allowed to take the NCLEX-RN (state boards). I took a three day (eight hours per day) course reviewing the HESI content as well as spent many hours studying for the stupid thing. When my score popped up on Wednesday, I nearly passed out - I got an 828!! Now I found out that out of 107 students only 34 passed the studpid thing!! Apparently the HESI was purchased by another company and the exam and content were changed completely. When they sent us the study books (which we paid for when we paid the $500-something to take the course) they sent the old books - but we were TESTED on the new exam! Soooo.... we are in the process of finding an appeals option. Please pray for us as we go through this - we are all VERY discouraged and frustrated. We have earned a degree in nursing, but they are holding it hostage for one exam - that really has nothing to do with whether we have completed our courses or not. It is simply a money-maker for the college because they can get higher funding when they have good scores on the exams. We are still graduating, they just won't release our temporary license or our authorization to take the state boards until we pass that stupid exam - and they won't let us take it until JUNE!!

Okay, forgive my rant, and just pray for us! Anyway, here are a few pictures of today's ceremonies. Love to you all...

Eight days and counting...

2008-05-01T01:12:00.001-07:00

I know it has been a while since I took a moment to chat - I have been studying my hiney off!! Our brilliant team of instructors in the nursing program chose to schedule SEVEN exams in two weeks so we have been in a bit of a panic! We had a team of six professors when we began the downhill slide to graduation and in the middle of it all two of them retired! They passed their notes off to the remaining four professors and sailed merrily off into oblivion with no thought to the chaos that would ensue. The remaining four professors tried gamely to teach us the things we needed to know, but alas, this has proved to be a difficult task. You see, the questions for the exams are already written and logged into a database in the testing computers and apparently no one has a clue how to retrieve the aformentioned questions and actually get an idea of what the tests will be about! So we poor students spend hours industriously studying for exams on say how to interpret a "right bundle branch block" on an EKG and when the exam gets here we are instead tested on valve replacement surgeries! This is just an example of the semester crazies we have had. The cumulative GPA of the class has dropped significantly as you can imagine. Why don't we just study the whole book, you ask? Weeeelllll.... this semester involves about five textbooks varying in thickness from one inch to a full five inches! And I have discovered that there is a point where your memory is full and something must be deleted before you can add more! In other words, we can't memorize everything! So it has been frustrating to say the least and I have been in more than a bit of a panic.

It seems as though this is too long to be one paragraph so I am starting a new one even though I am really continuing on the same rant - bear with me! So I am praying and asking everyone I know to pray with me that the Lord will help me to study the right things and to pass these exams. I am not concerned in the least about the state boards - on the sample exams I keep taking every week I am ranking over 90% so I am good there - just need to graduate to get to take the thing! I have three exams left - only one is a problem. Tomorrow I have an exam in clinical practicum. This will involve things like showing the instructor that I can start an IV, do a neuro, respiratory and cardiac assessment on a patient and do a central line dressing change. They give us a paper when we arrive in the lab showing us a random list of things and we have to do them - so we don't know until we get there which of the skills we are performing. Not worried about that one - I have an A in clinical now anyway so I can totally flub up this one and still be okay! Starting an IV in a dummy arm is a no-brainer anyway! If I am not in a vein, we will never know! Next Monday is the one that really worries me. I need at least a 79 on that one and it is one of the ones that we are struggling with not having appropriate information to study. Prayers are greatly appreciated. Then Wednesday we have an Exit Review exam that will take about four hours. Again, not really worried about that one. I got the highest grade in the class when we took a sample of this one last semester.

Then on Friday is GRADUATION!! I really am having a difficult time wrapping my poor over-taxed brain around that one! It seems so strange that after three years this journey is coming to a close. My friend Lynnette recently took some pictures to use on an invitation for a celebration bash she is organizing:

On a different note, we finally did get out to play in the bluebonnets a couple of weekends ago. The kids had a ball. The boys enjoyed laying on the ground and rolling down the hill. I had fun taking pictures of them doing that - then they complained all the way home about itching! The sun was in our eyes, so the pictures aren't great, but still fun.

My tail's draggin'...

2008-03-27T16:26:00.001-07:00

What a week! Monday I was supposed to be in lecture (we were polishing our EKG skills this time around) but the hospital that has hired me for their internship in Labor and Delivery wanted me there to do an orentation. So I arranged to attend my EKG lectures with the evening class at the nursing school and toddled off to my orientation.

It was rather boring as orientations go - security, benefits, information technology, cultural diversity, etc. The differences were really cool, though! This lasted two days (Monday and Tuesday) and each day began with prayer. At one point the hospital chaplain came in and spoke to us about the mission of the hospital and the fact that we needed to embrace that mission - the mission? "To extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ". At the end of the second day we all trooped down the the beautiful chapel and he led a mini service of commissioning to all the new hired employees. I am not personally Catholic, but it was REALLY cool! His prayers were genuine and heartfelt and I was amazed at the presence of the Lord in that place! At the end of the service he got a small crystal bowl filled with pins of the hospital logo - blessed them and then gave one to each of us with a personal word of blessing - again, not what I am accustomed to in my Nazarene church, but a really neat thing nonetheless!

During this orientation I was given a work schedule and informed that I needed to attend a computer training session for the week. So I finished basic orientation on Tuesday evening and then had to be at the hospital at 7 AM on Wednesday for orientation on the floor! I put in 12 hours yesterday doing that and I came home totally whipped! This morning was my computer training until noon and then I have to do another 12 hours in on floor on Saturday - after that I will work each Wednesday and Saturday from 7PM until 7AM. I am hoping to get some study time in in the middle of the night when all my patients are asleep. Maybe that is a dream, but I can hope, huh?

Tomorrow is my "day off" and I have clinicals for school! I will be in the Endoscopy unit again. I need to finish a care plan for my patient from ICU, but can't seem to dredge up the energy for some reason! Have I mentioned lately that I am SO ready to graduate??

Hope you have a wonderful weekend - I am still hoping to find time soon for a trip to find bluebonnets...

...and Spring Break ends!

2008-03-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

We decided it would be fun to take the kids to SeaWorld. Great idea...BAD day to do it! It was apparently the last day of spring break for every person in the entire United States and many foreign countries! I spent much of my day in a line! It took over two hours to get food for lunch and we had to wait over an hour to get into the stadium to see Shamu and then RUN to get seats! Don't you think with all their sophisticated equipment for ticketing etc they would get to some point where they would just say "So sorry, we are at capacity for the day" but I guess the price of a ticket is more important!

Melissa and I mostly waited holding seats for shows - I have discovered that the rides were much more fun about 20 years ago - or at least my memories of them (what few I went on at that time) were more fun. Now it just seems like a great way to get whiplash - and a sore throat! I have never enjoyed heights - now I just HATE them! Anyway, it was a real blast to watch Melissa - she was so enthralled to see the dolphins, the beluga whales and the killer whales. The Viva show is done with acrobats and the dolphins, belugas and synchronized swimmers. Melissa sat there with the biggest smile on her face. When the synchronized swimmers starting doing their thing she was just awestruck - "Look, ballerinas in the water, Mommy!!" And she can't stop talking about "Shampoo" - (Shamu) All the waiting in line did pay off and we had excellent seats for the show featuring Shamu and she had a really good view. I had more fun watching her face than the whales!

Needless to say we were quite shattered when we got home around midnight. The children did seem to enjoy themselves. It was only a few dollars extra to get season passes so we did that - that means we get to go back - but you better believe I'm gonna do my best to NOT go on such a busy day!

I got the official call on Wednesday to come sign my contract for the internship so it is all official now! I am so thankful to have it all signed and set up. So many in my class are still looking or waiting - I love knowing where I will be and am so thrilled with what lies ahead in Labor and Delivery.

My sister Karla has a really interesting blog (you can click on it over to the right there (called "Roads to Everywhere") and she had posted a really funny memory of when we girls were much younger. It had a neat ending this week - the memory has to do with a singing trio called "The White Sisters" (go read it - it is really fun!) anyway one of the sisters contacted Karla this week - how cool is that? This group remains my all-time favorite close-harmony group and it was just a true delight to hear that they are still around (they were popular with us in the 60's and 70's).

Well, I better get the remaining two kids to bed. Andrew and Brendan have special premission to stay up to watch "The Sound of Music" but it is very nearly over so I need to start herding. Have a wonderful Easter and remember HE IS RISEN!!

Spring Break Begins

2008-03-17T16:21:00.001-07:00

So now it's Spring Break for the children! I am researching hotels etc. for the end of the week for San Antonio and Seaworld. I think the kids will enjoy that and hopefully the weather will be good.

We had a class meeting today to elect people to put our pinning ceremony together - and I was elected! I think it will be fun - maybe? At least if I have some input I can't complain if there is something I don't like, huh? The pinning is a week before our cap and gown ceremony for graduation. It is in a church and involves a "lamp procession" with the Florence Nightingale pledge - and of course the pinning. We ordered our pins today. Last week my honor ropes and stole arrived from Phi Theta Kappa so it is really starting to feel like graduation is near!

Last night I realized that I had a term paper due this morning - and I hadn't even started! I was VERY thankful at that moment for the internet and a connection into our school library and the nursing periodicals I needed. I got it done and turned in on time - the girl that carpools with me was just amazed that I could get it done. She said she struggled with hers for weeks! I asked her if she was a reader. She said she was not. I told her that was the reason - that started me thinking about growning up with a very big love of books and reading in general. When all else failed there was always an outdated encyclopedia in the bathroom to peruse! I think this has given me a really big advantage in school because I do find it relatively easy to write papers and essays. So a gi-huge-ic thank you to my Mother and Daddy for instilling in me a love of reading!

It has been a bit disjointed around here the last few days. Andrew left on Friday night for a ropes course retreat with the teens of the church. Brendan and Jamison had a sleepover at our church with the children's department - they made salvation bracelets and then went to a housing development to pass them out and play with the children there - they are training them for missions early! So last night we only had Melissa here at home with us - that felt really wierd! Missa enjoyed her Daddy's undivided attention thoroughly while Mommy worked frantically on her paper!

I am excited to be planning to go on a Work and Witness trip to Hattan, Sri Lanka in August with a team from our church. This is the first trip I am aware of from our church that has had a medical team going, and I am going to get to go as an RN! I attended a meeting yesterday but only found out that we won't know much about the medical team or what we will be doing for a few more weeks. I am still excited!

Interview today...

2008-03-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

I got the call yesterday... Could I come in and talk with the director of Labor and Delivery? Of course I could! So this morning I went to my top-choice hospital and interviewed with three different people in the L&D department. I told Randy "I have never been high enough on the totem pole to get interviewed by multiple people before!" It seems like every job he has ever had he does mulitple interviews and now that he is director of something-or-other, he is part of that process. But never having a license or degree before, I have always just been interviewed by the person over whatever job I was in, and that was it!

Okay, have I strung you out long enough? I GOT the INTERNSHIP!!! I am so excited! The director also said I should plan to go ahead with any vacation plans I already had made - this means I still get to go on the medical missions trip to Sri Lanka in August - and we hope to take the kids to DisneyWorld this summer! I just love the department. She took me on a tour and it has the latest and greatest in equipment. The best part is that it is a Christian hospital! I literally had to sign a contract that states that the mission is to "extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ" and I would do everything in my power to further this mission. I just love the wonderful way the Lord has put pieces in place to put me in such a great fit!

Melissa is doing well enough to drive me crazy now. She is feeling much better and getting into everything! She told me a bit ago that she needed to do a "collage" -and asked me what I wanted in my collage! Her vocabulary just blows me away!

The cutest thing: on Sunday Jamison earned a Ty Beanie Baby from Sunday School. He came home with it and promptly ripped the little heart-shaped tag off - I don't think he every subscribed to the whole "great investment" rumor on the things! ;-P Anyway, Missa found the tag on the coffee table and Randy caught her with it stuffed up under her shirt. He asked her what she was doing and she told him "It's a heart, Daddy! And see...(opening it up) you can open it up and JESUS is inside! Here, you can try it!" You just have to wonder what goes on in those little minds, huh?

Tomorrow we have tickets to the world-famous "Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo"! I have gone a time or two in the past, and it is always interesting. I am going with two girlfriends from church. I think it will be fun - I guess we will see. Anybody know anything about Toby Keith? That is supposed to be the entertainer for the night. I'll check back in and let you know what it was like. For now... have a great night!

Missa's Braids

2008-03-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

Ta Da!

Gotta love that smile!

I have always loved messing with hair! When I was still in high school, I begged Mother to let me cut my brothers' hair - and finally got to! In college I was a cheap haircut for a lot of the guys - they never were interested in me other than for my scissors - but that's another story entirely!

When I was in fifth or sixth grade I taught myself to french braid my own hair. Mother always did it before then but don't you know four heads of long hair kept her busy? So I learned to do my own. I did eventually learn to french braid on others too and over the years I have gotten to do the "first braid" on many a little girl. Mainly because I would spot them with hair that was "long enough" and beg the Mommy to let me try! So over time I have held many a squirmy little girl in my lap and succeeded in scraping shiny little locks into braids. Sometimes with better results than others!

As an aside here, I wonder how many of you have heard moms say "I can't DO my daughter's hair - she won't let me!"? This drives me nuts - I really want to say "Which one of you is the parent?"! No, Melissa doesn't always enjoy me doing her hair and she does fuss sometimes, but I simply do not give her a choice! (And she really is pretty good about it most of them time - she is pretty accustomed to it I guess) I waited too long for a little girl to take her out of the house looking like a ragamuffin! I figure if "people of color" can braid little girl's hair in dozens of braids, the least I can do is a pony tail or two!

Well, this weekend I realized it was time for Missy to have her "first braids"!! Armed with a Disney Princess DVD, spray detangler, a comb, and a lot of patience (can we say chocolate?) we set out to do the braids! Yesterday they were a mite crooked and since she wasn't feeling great, I didn't redo them. But this morning, we did it right! I liked putting the rubber bands higher up close to her head so the ends would curl.

The butterfly's are part of my little girls accessory line I have been doing - I have them in pink, yellow, orange, lime green, purple and aqua. They acutually look better on two "puppy dog tails", but this one matched and I put it in. Let me know what you think!

Another "Sick Sunday"

2008-03-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

A Pair of Beaded sock just for fun! A Mommy Bracelet of "right angle weave" with Swarovski crystals and pearls"

Pinky Puppy Bracelet

Santa Girl Bracelet

I know, I know!! Can you stand it? TWO posts from me in less than two days?? What HAS gotten into me?

Weeeeeelllll, Melissa kept me up most of the night with her seal-bark cough and I am exhausted! Randy was going to stay home with her today since I stayed home with Jamison last week, but I think by the time I finished giving medical instructions to him, he was a mite intimidated! So here we are! She is begging to "go make faiwies" which involves plopping her 42-lb self on my aching lap and going to http://www.disneyfairies.com/ to play! She loves this activity - you can choose hairstyles, clothes, etc in all sorts of colors and styles for your fairy then print her off in a multitude of fun stuff: stationary, cards etc. The problem? She can spend literally hours doing it!

So the cabin fever continues... I should study, but I am rather burned out on it and since this coming week is my spring break, I keep telling myself that I am due a break. What I really need to do is clean house, but what fun is that?? Oh okay, it IS pretty cool having everything pretty and spotless.

I have recently started a new chore schedule for me and the children. I have enjoyed watching all the Dugger family movies on TLC - and am so impressed with how well organized their home is for having so many people living there. While I am not quite ready to convert a bedroom into a community closet, I did feel like I could try a few of their ideas. So we had a family meeting (I used the HATE these when I was a kid - it was always fine, but I guess I was always afraid I was the one in trouble!) and discussed the need for better organization and cleanliness in our home. Everyone was on board with the idea so I made up a chart with three "jursidictions" (a Dugger term) for each child. Andrew is responsible for the 1st floor living room, the formal dining room, and the guest bathroom; Brendan keeps the dishwasher unloaded, keeps up with the game room on the 2nd floor and keeps his bedroom up; Jamison is responsible for the boys bathroom, the bedroom he shares with Andrew, and keeping the kitchen table cleaned off; Missa does her own bedroom, the hall, and helps Mommy. My jobs include my bedroom, the kitchen, and meals (and everything else). Randy does the lawns, the cars, and the garage. This pretty much covers the house. So far it is really working well - Randy takes everyone who has done their jursidictions to the library on the weekends - they all work hard for that one. We also have other surprises in place for when they complete their chores.

I have tried lots of other chore stuff in the past, but with so many of us and the kids at so many different stages, it just got too complicated and we would give up. This is very simple. I have a chart on the fridge with each child's three jursidictions listed by their name and shaded in that child's favorite color for easy reference. We are slowly working through the house deep cleaning each room one at a time. Once a room is cleaned thoroughly, the child assigned to that room is expected to keep it clean.

Okay, that is way more than you wanted to know - as you can tell, I am lonely and bored today! If you have stuck with me this far, bless you!

I am going to add some photos of some of the bracelets I have made for all who are interested. Let me know what you think!

Saturday, March 8

2008-03-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

What a week! Jamison woke up croupy last Saturday and was home from school all week. The doctor thought he had pneumonia so we were doing nebulizer treatments every four hours. By Friday he was doing enough better to be bored with home and Mommy - and quite frankly, I am getting cabin fever! But he finally sounds much better so it's back to school for him for one week (the week after is Spring Break!).

So we spent this morning at the church doing registration for our Upward basketball program. This has been an incredible outreach for our church and Randy and I have been involved since we started the program several seasons ago. Randy is one of the co-directors for the basketball program and last fall we started a cheer program to go along with the basketball - and guess who is director of that?? You got it! I just can't say no! Since I have to do so many community service hours for my degree, I can kill two birds with one stone.

When we got up this morning Melissa informed me that she was "not feeling well"! I am afraid our three-year-old is a bit of a hypochondriac! I usually respond by asking her where she hurts and normally she can't really answer me! This morning she couldn't really answer me but she asked if she could have a "bweaving tweatment". She has seen Jamison getting his all week and is just fascinated! I told her she didn't really need one and we set off for the church. We got home around 2:30 and I laid down with Melissa for a nap - and guess what? Yep! Melissa just woke up from her nap sounding like a freight train hauling up a steep mountain! The good news? Next week is my spring break. The bad news? I have cabin fever!!

I got a phone call yesterday from the hospital where I hope to do my internship in Labor and Delivery and the Newborn Nursery. They would like to hire me for a position as a tech/unit secretary on nights "as needed". This is exciting because it will only be for the time between now and graduation (EIGHT weeks!) and it puts my internship application to the top of the pile! Randy and I actually think nights will work well for us right now because I can sleep while the kids are at school and be here when they get home for homework etc.

I have been making hairbows, hats, beaded socks and such like in my spare time. I know, WHAT spare time? I must confess that the housework often gets put off in favor of crafty things these days! I have to spend so much time studying and doing school work that the crafty stuff is a great stress relief for me. I have been making bows shaped like the Disney princesses. I found the designs on ebay and bought the patterns - when I started making them I wasn't really that crazy about the face that the designer had so I covered a small button with the same ribbon as the skin color and used that instead. They are really cute! I will try to post a photo of the pattern - you can imagine a small button instead of the ribbon loop they use as the face.

My friend Sandie and I have been selling beaded socks - she teaches at a private school and the parents are snatching them up like crazy. I don't know a total count of how many we have made, but I would estimate around 90 or 100. We are thinking we may just keep building our inventory and try to do a craft show this fall. I don't know if we will, but for now it is fun and keeping me sane!

I need to go sort out some supper for the troops...

Only ten more weeks...and counting!

2008-02-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay! I know I don't post often enough. I'm just ... busy, OK?

The end of school is drawing ever nearer for me and I am SO thrilled. In all they busyness of preparing for my graduation from nursing school (FINALLY - at long last!) I must pause every now and then and be thankful for the health of my family and the God that put within me a desire to become a nurse all those years ago - and for keeping that desire strong these many years.

My professors keep asking us if we have a job lined up at this time - I was feeling kind of like I was missing something. I had planned to apply for an internship in Labor and Delivery and the Newborn Nursery and really wanted to be at the Catholic hospital that is only three miles from our house. I had worked there a few years ago part time when I was working on my prerequsites and just love the atmosphere. It is a wonderful place to work and their mission statement is "to extend the healing hands of Jesus Christ". They ask you to sign a statement when you are hired there stating that "while being a Christian is not a requirement to work here, we do ask that you not interfere with our mission"! It is just awesome - I can share Jesus Christ with someone or pray for them out loud and not worry about getting sacked! There are no Nazarene hospitals in the states to my knowledge so I guess Catholic will have to do!

Anyway, today I got a call from the HR department there telling me that they were having a job fair this afternoon and if I wanted an internship I better be there! So I scrambled like crazy to find child care for my four blessings and raced to the hospital. It was actually a blast! My former boss immediately hugged me and squealed to see me - then took me over to the director of the L&D department and told HER that she needed me in her department! I had several people recognize me from when I had worked there before and it was totally cool to see everyone again. I hope to hear from the L&D director soon...

Tomorrow I am in ICU. This one is a difficult one for me. I can't talk about it because of HIPPA law, but unless the Lord intervenes, my patient will not live long - please help me pray for this man.

My pinning ceremony is May 9th
My cap & gown ceremony is May 17th
NCLEX-RN (state boards) are in June (pray!)