Happy Thanksgiving!

Almost....

It is almost Thanksgiving, which means it is almost Kaleb's birthday (#9!) and then Dave's and better than all that (ok, not better) is that we will be in California for Christmas and Dave's birthday! I am so excited, you have NO idea....

Sitting around makes me sentimental.....

I am thankful for a husband. A man of God who loves me even when I am in pain and drugged up and can't do anything for myself. A man who sticks with me through thick and thin and is just as stubborn as I am and won't give up on us, no matter what. That is why almost 10 years later I am madly and deeply in love with him. And we haven't had an easy road, our life is and has been tough and we can stand TOGETHER and say we have and WILL make it through it all-TOGETHER.
I am thankful for cute kids. Kids who take care of me and love me no matter what. A son who has such real compassion because he knows what it is like to be sick and have to rely upon others and knows that laughter is the best medicine and cracks me up (even though it hurts to laugh). A daughter who is training to be the best nurse ever and waits on me hand and foot. She will be great for Kaleb as they both get older. They both are so smart and intuitive and sweet, sweet blessings.
I am thankful for our friends and church that bring us food and check on me everyday. Who care enough to step outside of whatever is going on in their lives to see if mine is going ok. Friends that stand in the Truth and bring me closer to Christ, friends who left high school drama far far away and care about family and our Savior and the things in life that really matter.
I am thankful for my family, even though most of them live out of town, they call, email and pray and I feel them here. Family that knows me and what is going on and I can call them whenever and they will be there. No questions asked.
I am blessed and thankful, too many things to count or say.....

I am not good at goodbye's....

Dear Gall bladder,
It has been a good 31 years that you did your job and helped me digest my food, but the time has come to say goodbye. You got lazy. You got tired. You decided to stop doing your job and just hang out. Well, I have news for you. You can't just hang out and expect a free ride. You either pitch in or get out. It has been great, the time we had together, but our time is up. I am not good at goodbyes....


It is finally here. Tomorrow. Tuesday. Gall bladder out. My surgery is at 7 am and I have to be there at 5:30 am! I would appreciate the prayers!

I get chills all over again....

I had my 2nd appointment today with the hematologist to follow up on my abnormal blood test results. In the last few months my white blood count was very low and my lymphocyte count was high. They found this out through all of my testing to diagnose my gall bladder. They then looked back in my chart and found that for the last 18 months or so, my white blood count had steadily been going down. My PCP referred me to the hematologist and as I had mentioned earlier he had thrown around some very scary words like leukemia. Of course, I was worried and enlisted my prayer warriors to start going before the thrown on my behalf.
This second low blood count result was around the 15th of October (my first being a week earlier). I then waited for several weeks to see the hematologist and was worried that I might really be sick. Still praying for a positive outcome, but still thinking about all of the "what if's".
Two weeks ago was my first appointment with the hematologist. They took 12 viles of blood and tested me for pretty much everything that would be of concern with a low blood count. She said she fully expected for me to have to come back several times and have more labs to try to find the reason why my counts would be this low. She said my chances of leukemia (in her opinion) were low, but there were a lot of options and things it could be, so she just ran a bunch of tests.
Today I got a call from her office saying that I needed to go over to the hospital before my appointment to have more labs drawn. She wanted to confirm the results she got from her lab.
I am not going to lie, I thought the worst and I was nervous.
By the time I made my way to my appointment, she had the lab results from 2 weeks ago and from today.
Doctor: "Well, I can't really explain these results. I just wanted to make sure, so I sent you over to the hospital to confirm the results we got and make sure we didn't make a mistake".
Me: gulp and breath holding....
Doctor: "Well, I can't really explain this but your test results came back completely normal. Your white count is perfect".
Me: "What? Really?"
Doctor: "Ya, it doesn't really make much sense, but good news is good news! Even your vitamin levels are great (I don't take vitamins at all and she was sure my blood tests would show vitamin deficiency) Everything came back great.
Me: "It makes sense to me".
Doctor: "Really?"
Me: "It makes sense to me because I have had about 5,000 people praying for me and my complete healing".
Doctor: smile, wink

I get chills all over again just writing this. What a testimony to my God and my Jehovah Jirah and Jehovah Rophe. My God who provides and heals.

Thank you to everyone who went before my God on my behalf and for all of the prayers, support and encouragement. Please continue to pray for me as I have surgery this Tuesday. These blood results also cleared me for surgery and my clotting factors are good, so I feel much better about this surgery. I am looking forward to not being in doctors offices every few days and finally feeling better!
I follow up with my hematologist every 3 months for a year and she will run repeat CBC's and if I have normal white cell results then I will be released from her as a patient!

Every time I think about this, I get chills all over again....

Full contact origami....

When things don't make sense. That title right there, doesn't make sense. Life, it doesn't always make sense, ya know?
That title "full contact origami" came from a really good application essay for some kid trying to get into college (I must give credit where it is due) and it was part of our chapel lesson today given by the great Jon Ensor. Remember that name. One day, you will know him. Whether you hear him speak or read a book he writes, you will know who he is one day. He is that awesome.
So he spoke on when things aren't what you expect. You wouldn't expect origami to be a full contact activity, would you?
I feel like that could be a title to my life story or a book I could write. I write one in my head. Chapter by chapter title, page by page, it is being written. Maybe I will share it one day.
No, but seriously, so far my life has not been what I expected. Some of those are bad, some good. Some just different.
I will admit. I don't like change, unless it is my idea. But most of the change I experience is rarely my idea. I really don't like when things don't go my way. "Expect the unexpected" is a phrase on the show Survivor and when it is part of a game, I don't mind it much but throw that bad boy into real life and "houston, we have got a problem". Me, no likey.
Looking back on all my "unexpected" and reflecting on it all has allowed me to grow and be who I am today. Do I wish I could grow in a less painful way? Um, heck yes. But they don't call it "growing pains" for nothing ;)
I go to the hematologist tomorrow, trying not to "expect" anything, then maybe I will be more open to change, if that be the direction the Lord takes me tomorrow. We will see. I am suiting up for some "Full contact origami" I can tell you that much.
Time for Glee!! Have a great week.

Toothless Wonder

Hannah lost 2 teeth this week. Both of her front ones. They were loose for a while and this week she had me pull them both, a few days apart. She looks so cute without her front teeth! She spent a lot of time on her notes to the tooth fairy and she was very excited to get her $ from the tooth fairy! My baby is growing up!