Update #2

The CT scan was negative - praise the Lord! I now have an appointment with a surgeon for Monday afternoon. He should be able to confirm the abdominal hernia and schedule the surgery (hopefully for before the holiday!).

My husband gets major points for taking Lauren on her class field trip today (he'll be posting pictures of that later) and for taking the day off tomorrow to help me out at home!! More to come...

Quick Update

Thank you so much to everyone who has responded with prayers and encouragement after our last post. I wanted to post a quick update with where we are at:

The CT scan did not get scheduled last week due to a pre-authorization needed from our insurance company. So, I will go in tomorrow evening at 7:30pm (EST) for the test. Thankfully, they were willing to do it in the evening to accomodate Ryan's work schedule (so he can be home with the kids).

Since last Thursday, they were able to do some tests for other possible illnesses - those came back today and were negative. So, we were able to rule out ulcerative colitis, IBS and Crohn's disease. That is good news!

Again, if the CT scan shows nothing significant, I will then be referred to a surgeon who will most likely perform an ultrasound to confirm the abdominal hernia. Thanks again for your prayers - I will post more as soon as we know!

Never a Dull Moment

Ryan and I always "joke" at the beginning of a new year that this will be the year with NO major medical issues. And I always fully believe it when I say that! Every year since Lauren was born, one or both of us has had significant illnesses. I had two surgeries, Ryan had shingles, I had mono (the 3rd time), Ryan had pneumonia and I had mono (the 4th time). Maybe we shouldn't joke about it anymore...or we should knock on wood?

I have been feeling this lump on the right side of my abdomen for over a month now. But, I have been ignoring it because it wasn't causing me pain and because I didn't want to spend the money to have it looked at. As time has gone on, it has increased and is now quite uncomfortable. I finally broke down and told Ryan that I thought I needed to have it looked at. So, today I went in - they think it is possibly an abdominal hernia. But, they are going to do a CT-scan tomorrow to check for solid masses and rule the other options out. Assuming the CT-scan is negative, they will refer me to a surgeon to fix the hernia.

Another surgery! Needless to say, I am not thrilled about the prospect of this. But, thankfully, my mom is willing and able to fly out to help me during the recovery period and we are hoping I will be healed enough to enjoy our trip to St. Louis for Thanksgiving. You would think after 2 c-sections and 2 other abdominal surgeries that I would be used to it. But I am a terrible patient (Ryan will be ecstatic that I admitted this) and it is so hard for me to stay down and let other people do the things I would normally be doing.

So, please pray that if it is a hernia, they will be able to quickly get me in for the operation. And if it isn't a hernia, they will know what the next steps are that need to be taken.

Touch-A-Truck

Today we went to a fundraiser at a nearby park (proceeds were for cancer research) where they brought in all kinds of trucks, dirt movers, fire and emergency vehicles, etc...and the kids could climb on them, honk the horns and pretend to drive them. It was a HUGE event and in addition to the trucks and race cars and bulldozers, there were pony rides, inflatable castles and even a helicopter! The kids had SO much fun and the weather couldn't have been better for it.

Here are some pictures from our fun day:














Nolan & I in the "scooper"














Lauren hitching a ride














Nolan's favorite truck














Getting ready to ride the pony














Hopefully his only time in the back of an ambulance














Best friends

Move Update

Alot of people have asked me lately what is going on with the house, the move, etc...so I figured I had better post an update! I guess I haven't written about it because not much has happened. We have continued to have people come and look at the house (although it has slowed down considerably since school started) and we have had alot of positive feedback. But, either the buyers have their house to sell first or they decided to build instead, etc. There seems to always be a reason that we aren't getting an offer.

So, we have just made the best of our situation. Ryan was able to talk to his boss about leaving the office at 4 (he works through his lunch hour), so that way he gets home at 6 and we can all have dinner together and the kids get more time with him before bed. That has been a HUGE blessing for all of us!! He does still have to leave the house before 6am each day and I know he's getting tired of the long drive. But, the Lord has blessed him with safety on the road and we are grateful for that.

Lauren has settled in at her school (Grace Covenant Academy) and is doing so great in kindergarten. In fact, I would feel terrible if we did get an offer on the house and had to pull her out before she could finish out the year. Nolan misses his sister during the day, but it has given us some great bonding time. He has become a total mama's boy and it is so adorable!! This is my favorite age (18 mos-2 yrs) so I am savoring all the sweet moments because I know the terrible 2's are just around the corner!

We continue to trust God for His perfect timing and do our best to stay positive in these challenging times!