Family Visit

We are getting so excited as we prepare for my brother, his wife and their 2 older boys to come stay with us. They are in Orlando now visiting DisneyWorld for the 1st time as a family. At the end of their trip, they are renting a car and driving the 8 hours to NC and will stay with us for a long weekend. Lauren is beyond thrilled that her cousins are coming - Evan is 9 mos older than her and Caden is 10 mos younger, so they are all very close in age and have such a great time playing together.

We have some fun things planned for while they are here, but we're mainly looking forward to just spending time with them, since we haven't seen them since December! We aren't sure if we will get to see them this coming Christmas, so that makes their trip here even more special. They arrive this Thursday night and leave to head back to Oregon on Sunday morning. I'm doing my best not to stress myself out about having the house perfect, because I know I can't be doing all I would normally do right now. I do plan on baking a few special things and I think we might let the kids set up our small camping tent in the piano room to sleep in. :) I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures and stories to post after their visit!

Quick Update

I received the call late yesterday afternoon that the CT-scan was clear...no abnormal masses. This morning they called with the bloodwork results. My white blood cell count was not normal, but not so "off" that they suspected cancer. So, they don't feel further tests are necessary at this time. They believe I have a rare and severe strain of mono and it simply has to run its course. If I am not beginning to feel better in 3-4 weeks, then I will go back in and have them re-run the blood tests to make sure we aren't missing something. All in all, I feel relieved. I wish I was physically feeling better, but I will take mono over cancer any day. :)

Also, Ryan had his interview in SC today with Pure Fishing. It went very well and the recruiter who is working with him on this job said she wouldn't be surprised if they made him an offer before the end of the month. AND...Ryan got a call this evening from his former boss at Rubbermaid. He told him that Remington had just called to ask for his reference and that they are excited about Ryan and will probably call him back for one more interview with Chief Marketing Officer sometime next week. Very good news!! So, we are praying that the timing works out so that he gets both offers around the same time. Obviously, it isn't up to us to pick, but we know the Lord will make it clear where He wants us to be.

Lastly, I want to thank our family and friends for the incredible outpouring of prayer and encouragement we have received this week. From calls and emails, to people bringing us groceries and coming to pray with us...we feel so humbled and blessed and grateful for each one of you and your willingness to serve and support us during this time of uncertainty.

Our Hope Endures

Well, it has been an interesting week in our house. Just as I thought I was beginning to feel better with the mono, my fever came back Sunday night. All of a sudden, my throat started hurting again and the exhaustion returned. I was so discouraged and I assumed I was just relapsing. But, as the pain in my throat grew worse, I thought I had better go in to the doctor, just to be sure.

So, this morning I dropped Lauren off at school and went in. After telling the doctor all my symptoms and showing her the now-visible bumps in my throat, she said she thought we needed to have blood work and a CT-scan done right away. She said the bumps in my throat were aphthous stomatitis, which is something you can get when your immune system is weakened. She gave me a prescription for that to help with the discomfort. The reason she wanted to run the other tests was because the symptoms I'd been having were consistent with certain types of cancer...specifically lymphoma and leukemia. It's difficult not to react when you hear those words. But, I did my best to stay positive throughout the morning as the tests were performed.

They should be calling this afternoon with the results of the CT-scan. And the blood work may take a little longer. Hopefully, before the end of the week, we will know what we are dealing with.

It's amazing to me, in times like this, how God chooses to reveal Himself and speak to us. As I was driving to the doctor's office this morning, this song came on the radio that I had never heard before. I felt like it was a message just for me from the Lord...and it was His way of reminding me that regardless of the outcome, He will be faithful to carry me through.

You would think only so much can go wrong
Calamity only strikes once
And you assume this one has suffered her share
Life will be kinder from here
Oh, but sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear?

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our Hope is unchanged

How do we comprehend peace within pain?
Or joy at a good man's wake?
Walk a mile with the woman whose body is torn
With illness, but she marches on.
Because sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear?

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our Hope is unchanged

Emmanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient
We never walk alone
And this is our hope

Remington Interview

Okay, here is a quick update on the job front. I had the interview with Remington on Monday. I drove up in the morning (about 115 miles from our place), caught lunch and interviewed throughout the afternoon. I met with one director and two VP's, including the hiring manager. The position is just being created and will be tasked with creating a comprehensive, over-arching strategy for Law Enforcement and Tacital firearms across the Remington, Bushmaster and DPMS-Panther brands. In short - the coolest job ever!

Since this is a big deal to me I took some extra steps to get ready for the interview. Back when I worked for Gerber Legendary Blades I actually developed a number of products for the Law Enforcement and Military communities, so I was able to leverage a lot of that work in the interview. Over the weekend I built a portfolio book of presentations, documents and a special set of references that I could leave with the hiring manager. I also brought 6 samples of product to show what types of product I had developed and the inspiration for them. He seemed impressed that I took those extra steps and I hope it was enough to sway things in my favor. It cost me $50 out of pocket just to make the portfolio book, but it will be worth it if I get the offer.

I got a really good feel for the company and what the opportunity for growth is. I would really like this job if it came my way. I also got to drive through Winston-Salem, which is most likely where we would move to if I got this offer. They have one more person to interview and then they should be getting back to me early next week.

Next week on the 22nd I have been invited to go down to Columbia, SC to interview with Jarden/Pure Fishing. So, I will post an update on that one afterwards. Thank you to everyone who has been prayerfully supporting and encouraging me during this time - it is definitely appreciated!

Pictures

I figured it has been a while since I've posted some updated pictures of the kids, so here they are:






Nolan on the move








Having an ice-cream sundae as a special treat



I love this picture because it is the perfect representation of my kids personalities - there's Lauren all smiley and cheery and Nolan is "Mr. Sober".








Our first spring dress of the season













Little Boy in 'da hood!

Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo!

Two weeks ago, before I knew I had mono, I was asked by the youth pastor's wife from our church to be "Cinderella" for her daughter's 5th birthday. Having a 5-year-old who is totally into princesses, I could completely relate, so I agreed. She found a dress on eBay and altered it to fit me and I dug out my white gloves and shoes from our wedding. Lauren thought this was all so funny and cool, but was really wishing she could come to the party with me...even though I told her the little girls would be confused if someone was calling Cinderella "mommy". :)

Unfortunately, that birthday party was today - one of the days I have felt the worst since coming down with this illness. But, I knew I had to suck it up and do my best - as I was getting ready, I was praying the Lord would give me the strength to be Cinderella (never did I think I would hear myself say that prayer!).

Everything worked out just fine - the girls were all so excited to see me and they were pretty convinced I was the real deal. I only had to stay for lunch and pictures and then got to come home and crash. I think Ryan is secretly hoping I can keep the dress and start my own side business of doing this for parties. :) Anyway, here are some pictures from my day as a princess...








Lauren's first glimpse of me all dressed up








Getting into character

The Vacation That Wasn't

This week we had planned to have our first vacation as a family of four. I had made reservations for us (using points I had accumulated during my business traveling days) to stay for 3 days/2 nights at Myrtle Beach, SC. We were all so excited (especially Lauren) and Kimberly, being the planner that she is, already had all the bags packed 2 days in advance. We were definitely looking forward to a little getaway for Spring Break and the chance to explore a new area together.

Then, Nolan got sick over the weekened - he was running such a high fever Saturday evening that we rushed him to an Urgent Care Center. The doctor tested him for strep, said it was negative and sent us home. He continued to have the fever off and on through the weekend, so we figured we would take him in to see our doctor Tuesday morning before we left on our trip (we were hoping she would give us an antibiotic and he would be better quickly). Kimberly also started to feel under the weather, with a severe sore throat and a fever. So, when we went to the doctor (ours is a pediatrician and an internist), we had her checked out too. Thankfully, she knew she was sick enough to ask that they not only do a strep test, but a blood test also.

And the result? Nolan just had a virus that she said would pass in a few more days (which it has now). But, Kimberly's blood work came back positive for mononucleosis. We were a bit shocked by this, since this will be the FOURTH time she has had it. Based on that prognosis, we knew we needed to postpone our trip and reschedule for a time when we could all enjoy ourselves there. As disappointed as we were, it was a blessing that both hotels were willing to give us back our points (even though we were cancelling less than 24 hours in advance). Lauren was a great sport about it, as well, and I've tried to do some fun things with her at home, since she has Spring Break this week.

It definitely has been an adjustment for me to take over the daily responsibilities of the house and taking care of the kids so Kimberly can rest. And it is very hard for her to stay down - she is not the best patient in that way! But, because she's had this before, we know that if she stays down as ordered, it can last a minimum of 4 weeks. However, if she doesn't allow her body to heal and get better, it can be as long as 3 months!! So, I am doing my best to reprimand her when I see her doing too much. :)

We ask for your prayers during this time as we get used to a "new normal" - I will be posting another blog early next week with a job search update (good things are happening)!

Springfield, Mass. It Is Not

I got the call yesterday evening from Lenox Tools that they have made their decision and will be going in a different direction. What a relief. I'm sure that the HR rep who called me thought she was ruining my day, but I had the biggest smile on my face. And, I was praising the Lord! I didn't really want that job so much after I went up and interviewed for it, and I certainly didn't want to move the family up there either. So, it sounds funny, but this was good news.

The other reason it is good news is that I now can be considered for a Product Manager position with Graco Baby Products in Atlanta, GA. This is another Newell Rubbermaid company, but one that I am very interested in. I wasn't allowed to talk with them until Lenox had finished with me, so I'm eager to start talking with them quickly.

Aside from Newell there are still some great things in the works. I have a phone interview on Friday with Pure Fishing down in Columbia, SC. They make the famous Ugly Stick, Shakespeare rods and reels, Abu Garcia gear - really, all the best stuff out there. I also got a call from the VP at Remington last week to let me know that I made the short list to come in and meet with him, but that they won't be scheduling those interviews until later in April. I can be patient for an opportunity like that. There are other little things going on, but nothing worth commenting on.

Spring Break is next week for Lauren, so Kimberly and I have gotten economically creative in order to take our family on a mini-vacation. You'll hear more about that next week, but I think it will be good for us all to get away for a few days.