Lauren's Easel

Lauren is a voracious reader, and now she is exercising her ability to write. Every so often we will find messages on the white-board easel in the play room that just crack us up. We don't know where she gets the ideas from, but these are the types of things we find (click image to enlarge):














"My meal of the day (can I have a drum roll, please?) is: papaya tea and mash potatoes and peach pie...Mmmmmm, mmm, mmm...and peas and lettuce and meat and a cookie"














"I saw a fairy today. Not only was it a fairy, it wasn't just any old fairy. Why? Because it was...Tinkerbell! You know why? Well...its a secret. Well, you know what they say: there are always definitions. Faith, trust and pixie dust."














"The Plan - Kids, remember what is happenin' December the 13. Mommy and Daddy will be gone, OK? So Miss Sarah, your babysitter, will get pizza for you for dinner, OK? She will be there to put you to sleep, OK? At 7am in the morning she will wake you up and you will come to the hospital to see me and the baby, OK? OK."

Preparing for Summer

I know I haven't posted in a while - things have been busy getting ready for the end of the school year...and we only have 5 weeks left until we leave for Oregon!! The four of us will be leaving on June 23rd - Ryan will stay through the 4th of July and then come back home. But, the kids and I will stay for a month with my parents. Needless to say, they are very excited - Lauren gets to do VBS at our old church; we have a camping trip planned with my whole family and there will be LOTS of swimming in my parents' pool!! :)

It's hard to believe that Lauren will soon be a 1st grader - she has finished kindergarten at the top of her class and is now reading 4th grade level books! She just finished a book and has now decided to try to read through her Bible...she is in the middle of Genesis already and it has prompted some very interesting discussions! :) We are so proud of her and it has been really fun to watch her get so excited about all she is learning.

As for Nolan, he is still all boy - pushing his trucks around the backyard and collecting rocks are his favorite things to do. He is still a little behind with his verbal communication, but we are working on it. His latest words are "keys" and "boo-boo". He has also gotten the hang of saying his please and thank-you's without prompting from us, which is nice (check that one off the list!). He continues to be the sweetest thing ever - he has such a repentant heart when he is disciplined and is very affectionate.

The most fun for us has been watching the kids develop a very close friendship. Just in the last month, we have really seen them connect and become "buddies". I remember when we had him, we were so worried that the 4 year age difference would be too much. But, the Lord has proved us wrong - there is nothing that warms my heart more than watching them play together, share toys and seeing Lauren read books to him. He really looks up to her and when given the opportunity, she will fiercely protect and defend him...it is so sweet!!

Here are some recent pictures:

Quick Update

The MRI they did on my brain came back normal, which we knew it would be. I have now completed my 48 hours of medication and bedrest and am feeling much better today! I still have moments of dizziness and am having to re-train myself to do things differently because of my Meniere's disease. It is a learning process that will take time, but I also have some exercises to do that really help and I'm hoping, in time, I'll get used to this "new normal".

My husband and kids pampered and spoiled me this weekend - I went from being on bedrest to being treated like a queen on Mother's Day! Ryan did a truly amazing job of caring for the kids, making meals and even doing laundry while I was laid up...he gets a BIG gold star (I think he was secretly quite happy to go back to work today)! Thank you so much for all of you who prayed for us and sent encouraging words my way! :)

Vertigo

It all started Tuesday morning...I began to feel really dizzy. I am not talking about the "I stood up too fast" kind of dizzy - I am talking about the "I have to hold on to the wall to walk" kind of dizzy. Now, I have had my fair share of dizzy spells in the past and they always go away. Well, after 24 hours of constant dizziness, there was no change. I couldn't figure out why I was feeling this way or what it could possibly be. I had not eaten anything different, I was drinking plenty of water, sleeping fine at night. Then I was talking to my mom and telling her how I'd been feeling and she said, "Oh no, this is the beginning..." What?!? What is the beginning?

When she was in her early thirties, she began to have the same problems. It turned out to be an inherited genetic inner ear disorder that her mom also had. It is sometimes called Meniere's disease or Waardenburg syndrome. The worst part about it is that there is no treatment for it really. I did some research online and all the symptoms matched mine exactly. I started to panic - I remember my mom couldn't go on certain rides at Disneyland because of it and she had episodes of fainting off and on. Was this now going to be my life??

So, I called the doctor and was able to get in to be seen this afternoon. They tried to do some simple tests, which I couldn't complete because I was so dizzy I almost passed out. My blood pressure was unusually low - 90/60 and my pulse was really low - 62. The doctor wanted to have an MRI done on my brain just to rule out the possibility of something more serious. Then, she wrote me a prescription for some medicine that has been proven to help people with bad cases of vertigo...and (here's the kicker) she said I had to be on bedrest for the next 48 hours. I told her that she better write me a note because there was no way Ryan would believe me! :)

I went to have the MRI done late this afternoon (which was the most terrifying experience for someone with claustrophobia) and we should have the results by tomorrow. Ryan is going to get my prescription filled tonight (since I can't drive) and is taking the day off tomorrow since he will be on full-time duty with the kids!! He is such a trooper - he knows what he is in for and what a terrible patient I am when it comes to laying down and doing nothing! So, you may want to say a prayer for him, if you think of it...and please pray that they can figure out what this is and some way to treat it so I can get back to my normal life!