I can't even believe it.

Remember this? It wasn't long ago that I was just wondering when we would all be "well." Praise the Lord! We just got home from a pediatrician follow-up appointment where Caleb was pronounced WELL and was given his flu shot and his 18-month vaccinations. Rudy's nagging cough and bronchitis have passed and other than a little sinus pressure from the weather change - I'm doing fine too.

When we left for Thanksgiving, our new house was up, but didn't have any brick or flooring. When we got back on Sunday, it was mostly bricked and the tile had been put down! Woo hoo! I had a few extra minutes this morning, so I drove by to see what had been done. There were about 5 or 6 workers in the garage. I don't know what they were doing, but at least they were doing something!

Thanksgiving was a wonderful break! After our offer was accepted on the house, I went over to pick out granite for the countertops, carpet, paint, lighting, doorknobs and make a couple of other decisions with the builder. After that, we went to the house to take some pictures. We decided to go see the Christmas lights in Fayetteville and have dinner too. That was a lot of fun! Caleb loved the lights and all of the people.

On Monday, we went to see the Morrises in Spiro. We stopped by Jan's office to say hi and drop off some things that she left at our house. After lunch and a visit with the Morrises, we headed for Hot Springs. Mom and Mr. L. were so excited to see Caleb (and us, I guess). We had dinner and then Caleb had his first oreo. He made such a mess that he had to have a bath!

On Tuesday, Caleb spent the day with his Pops. Pops took him to Mountain Pine to show him off and he was the big man on campus for the day while Mr. L. went to a meeting. They came back home that afternoon for an attempt at a nap. Rudy and I went to Shreveport for a much-needed mini-vacation and came back on Wednesday.

Wednesday was a low-key day for us. Rudy and came back from Shreveport and Mr. L. grilled burgers for us. I took Caleb to get a haircut. Other than that last part, it was a relaxing day!

Thanksgiving Thursday was great! Mom really outdid herself on a Thanksgiving feast big enough for a family of 10, instead of just the 5 of us. After our wonderful meal, the boys headed for deer camp until Saturday. Mom, Caleb and I were lazy the rest of the day. I guess all that laziness made Caleb not want to go to bed that night, because we couldn't get him to sleep for anything! We all ended up sleeping in Mom's bed together - all 3 of us!

On Friday, I took Caleb to visit Memmie and Poppie for the morning and a yummy lunch. After lunch, we headed back to Hot Springs, so that Caleb could get a nap in the car. When we got back the Razorbacks were playing LSU, so I planted myself in front of the TV to watch what I was afraid was going to be an LSU blowout. The Hogs surprised me (and football fans everywhere) by beating number one LSU in Baton Rouge! It took 3 overtimes, but they managed to pull off an upset for the ages! It was so much fun to watch! After the game, we went over to visit with Pepapa and Anna Joyce and ended up staying for dinner.

The big boys came back on Saturday. Mr. L. grilled steaks that were to die for! Even Caleb ate some tiny bites. Aunt Harolyn had dinner with us and we all laughed at Caleb's antics. He was really putting on a show at dinner. He never ceases to crack me up when he's in that mood.

We came home on Sunday and got ready for another week of work. Rudy made chili and we vegged out all evening. Caleb had a terrible night of not sleeping. He woke up at 2:00 and I finally got him back to sleep at 4:00 by laying in the recliner with him on my chest. We slept until 6:00, when I had to get ready for work. Monday night wasn't much better, but Rudy took the night shift and slept in the guest bed with the Bug. I was so thankful that he slept through the night last night.

So...it seems like we're on the upswing. Yeah!!!! We also got a good report on Kim's bloodwork, so everyone is thankful for that.

Thankful

As Thanksgiving arrives in fine turkey-day fashion in only 3 hours, I continue to realize how much I have to be thankful for this year. These are just a few of the things that seem to continually come to mind tonight:

Rudy and Caleb - Seriously...what did I do to deserve them? Even through the frustrations of everyday life like pneumonia, sleepless nights, checkbooks and piles of laundry - I love those two boys with every ounce of my being. God truly blessed me when he gave them to me.

Mom and Mr. L. - My foundation could not be any more solid. I know that I am loved unconditionally and I know that they would go to the ends of the earth for me - without me having to ask.

My grandparents - Wow! When I think about how blessed I am to be 31 years old and have 4 living grandparents, I am amazed. The simple blessing of knowing that they have walked before me is enough to give me the strength to face anything.

I am thankful to have extended family to lean on and be leaned on by, friends to share the craziness of life with, a safe place to lay my head at night, a new home on the way, 2 working and comfortable vehicles, a job that gives me the means to do those little extra things that make life a little bit sweeter than it needs to be, food to fill my senses and most of all the love of God that I see in every detail when I slow down long enough to notice.

Thankfulness is a little overwhelming and heartwarming at the same time. Happy Thanksgiving to all...


p.s. Thanks to all who have offered up prayers for my Aunt Kim and Uncle Jimmy. Without telling all of their business online, I can tell you that Kim got wonderful news at a doctor's appointment this week and our whole family is grateful for everyone's prayers. The tough stuff isn't quite over, but there's light at the end of the tunnel. Please continue to pray for them as enter the next phase. We are certainly thankful to God for getting them to this point.

Sold!

No time to write this morning...
Just wanted to say that we got our house! We'll be moving over Christmas break! We are ecstatic!!!

A New House...Maybe

In the 6 days since I posted last, a lot has happened:


Wednesday, I got my hair cut/colored. The best thing about getting my hair done is that I get the fun of coming home looking like this:

Yep - that's me...with straight hair. Ha! It cracks me up everytime I look at it.

I worked late on Thursday in anticipation of BEING OFF ALL NEXT WEEK! Yeah!!!! Now, that's something to be thankful for. I need a break from work in a bad way and it just so happens that I'm off all week.


Rudy, Caleb and I met with our Realtor this morning to look at houses. Whaddyaknow...we found one that we love. You can see the info here. This is what it looks like right now:



Obviously, we won't be moving in in the next week or anything, but maybe someday! We made an offer, but we haven't heard anything. It has 3 bedrooms, an office, a 3-car garage (or 2 cars and a 4-wheeler if you ask Rudy), a big laundry room, a huge living room and a covered back porch. Did I mention that I love it?!?


On a more serious note - I have a BIG prayer request. My aunt, Kim, recently found out that she has breast cancer. The lump was removed last week. She's going to meet with a surgeon for tests, etc this week to figure out a course of action. Kim is an awesome person and probably the healthiest person I know. This whole thing makes no sense, but she has complete faith that God has reasons for everything and will pull her and Jimmy through this stronger than ever. Her sister is currently being treated for the same thing, which is what lead her to get a mammogram in the first place - since she's only in her thirties. So...if you would - please say a prayer for Kim (and Jimmy).


Happy Thanksgiving...

Maybe Someday...

...I'll be able to write a post about how we're all healthy and we're all feeling great and nobody in our house is sick. Not today.

I have a head cold/sinus pressure that is about to make me crazy. Rudy still has the remnants of bronchitis. And then there's Caleb:

Saturday night, Caleb went to bed at 8:30. Stacy and I were cropping and started to hear him crying around 10:30. I went back to his room and picked him to try to soothe him back to sleep. He was having none of that! He cried and patted the back of his head, so I gave him some Ibuprofen and put him back down. He slept for a little over 2 hours and then woke up screaming. I went in and gave him some milk and tried to lay down in the guest bed with him. He wiggled, squirmed, cried and yelled all night long. Rudy and I ended up taking turns sitting up, just trying to soothe him because he was obviously so uncomfortable. We couldn't figure out what was wrong, though. He eventually went to sleep laying on me in the recliner at about 6:30. We spent the whole day on Sunday switching off holding Caleb and napping. Somehow, Rudy also cleaned the bathrooms and washed his car, but I have no idea how! It was one of the most miserable experiences I can remember! We were all so tired and cranky and we just couldn't figure out what was wrong with Caleb. I called the Dr's exchange at about 6:00, because he hadn't eaten anything all day. He had just laid on the floor or in our laps. He wasn't interested in toys or food or anything! The nurse called and said that we should just watch him and make sure his fever didn't spike, but other than that - she had no words of wisdom. I just knew that after laying around all day, we would never get Caleb to sleep, but he went down to bed just like always and slept all night long. He woke up this morning a little cranky, but nothing out of the ordinary. We went to school and he seemed fine. I got a call from his school at about 1:45 that he had a fever and that his right ear was draining really badly. I told them I would be there as soon as I could. I finished my last kiddo for the day and then went to get him. We went straight to the doctor's appointment that was supposed to be for pnuemonia follow-up. When we got in to see Dr. Harmon, he said, "We're going to have to get this kid to stop getting sick on the weekends!" Rudy and I agreed whole-heartedly! Dr. Harmon took one look in Caleb's right ear and said that his eardrum had ruptured and that the left one looked like it might do the same. He put Caleb on another round of strong antibiotics and said that if that doesn't work, we'll probably do a 2nd set of tubes. The poor kid has been through the ringer and back again. He was in a pretty good mood tonight and enjoyed playing with his Daddy while I got some necessary work done. Hopefully the drugs will do their job and we'll be better, but I'm not making any promises!

All is Well

Wow - a Saturday afternoon at home with nothing that we HAVE to do - this is amazing! As I write this, Caleb is napping, the Hogs are losing to Tennessee and Rudy is hunting somewhere in the mountains. That part about the Hogs is the only crummy part of our day so far.

Caleb and Rudy are feeling much better these days. After all of the medicines they've had, they should be! I have a little bit of a cold, but nothing worth worrying about for sure. Everyone has been so sweet to check on "my boys" this week. I've been doing what I can to get them well and I feel like I've been pretty successful. Caleb goes for a follow-up appointment on Monday afternoon, so we'll (hopefully) get the final word on pneumonia.

Last night, he gave us yet another scare, but this was just his boyish nature showing up. I had dinner with my co-workers and Rudy was watching him here at the house. They were winding down their night, just sitting on the couch watching TV. Rudy got up to get a drink from the kitchen and came back to find Caleb sitting on the floor, crying. He called me to tell me that Caleb wouldn't walk or even stand. He wouldn't put any weight on his left foot. I came home and we decided to give him overnight to see if it got better. It obviously wasn't broken - it wasn't even swollen. He woke up this morning, still not putting weight on it, but as the day has gone by, he's started walking with a slight limp. It's pretty pitiful, but at least we managed to stay out of the ER. We still don't know exactly what happened, but I'm not worried about it.

We're in line for a busy week. I'll try to post an update after the appointment on Monday, but I'm not promising anything...

Halloween and Pneumonia

That's right...Caleb is sick again! But let me start at the beginning...

On Monday (10/29), we went to see the ENT, Dr. Black, for a tube-check and to get his thoughts on Caleb's tonsils, etc. He said that he's not at all worried about the tonsils. Hallelujah! He also said that Caleb's ears looked great! I about fell on the floor! I was surprised to find out that his tubes were completely out of his eardrums and could be removed from his ear canal with some long, skinny tweezers. That was a traumatic experience for Caleb and I both, since he had to be strapped down to a papoose board to do it. However...it didn't involve surgery or anesthesia, so I was a relatively happy camper. (Caleb was not!) Dr. Black said that he would share the information with our pediatrician and that they would watch his progress together. If the ear infections come back, we'll probably get a new set of tubes and they'll likely take out his adenoids, but not his tonsils. I'm just praying for healthy ears and NO MORE TUBES.

That night was the Halloween carnival at Caleb's school. We got him all dressed in his costume and took him just for the photo ops! He (of course) had no idea what was going on, but had fun anyway. He loved the candy bowls with the hands that move on motion sensors. He thought that was terribly funny.

We stayed just long enough to get a picture with Jackson...I mean, Batman...and then we left.

Halloween was on Wednesday night. We went to the mall for a little while to see what was going on before we went over the Schmidts' to Trick-or-Treat in their neighborhood. It was cold, so I was glad that Caleb's costume was warm. His costume brought lots of laughs! Even though everyone seemed to think he was a chicken, we knew that he was the cutest duck that ever waddled. He got tired pretty fast and we resorted to the stroller, which was difficult - considering the amount of fluff in his suit!

On Friday, I met up with Monica and Jenny in Branson for Christmas shopping. I usually hate Branson, but it was good chance to see the girls and to get my shopping done early. I managed to mark off almost everything on my list! Yeah!!! (While I was in Branson, Caleb spent some time with his Grandma and Rudy got to play golf and go to the Razorback game with Chad.) The girls got up and left bright and early on Sunday morning, but I stayed and got some much-needed sleep. That turned out to be a very good thing...

Rudy called me at about 10:30 Sunday morning as I was leaving Branson. He said that he and Caleb had been up most of the night and they both were running fever. That was NOT what I wanted to hear! I got home as quickly as I could and they were both sleeping when I walked in the door. As I started to put away my things, Caleb started crying. I went in his room and picked him up. He felt feverish, so I took his temp. It was 102.5! I immediately changed his diaper and his clothes and started getting ready to take him to the urgent care...again. Rudy came in helped me get Caleb ready and then followed my insistence that he stay home and get some sleep while I took Caleb. We got to the doctor's office at about 2:00. We got into a room at about 3:00. We finally saw a doctor at 3:30. Caleb no longer even had a fever! After lots of talking and poking and prodding, Caleb got a chest x-ray and a swab to test for RSV. The RSV test was negative (Yeah!) but the x-ray showed pneumonia (Boo!). He had to have an antibiotic shot in his thigh and we got a prescription for another antibiotic. We were also told to start him back on the albuterol inhaler every couple of hours. The official diagnoses were bronchiolitis and pneumonia. I almost cried. The doctor recommended that we follow up with the pediatrician in a couple of days and said that Caleb couldn't go back to daycare until we did so.

So...I stayed home today (Monday) and called the pediatrician's office this morning. They suggested that I go ahead and bring him in today, since the doctor doesn't work on Wednesday. We got an appointment for 2:00. Caleb and I spent the morning together - just playing and snuggling. It was wonderful. I woke him up from his nap to go to the doctor and we got there at 2:00. Surprisingly, we got in to see the doctor really quickly. I thought that was a good sign, but it wasn't! The doctor and nurse worked together to get us in and out, but we ended up having to be there for over 3 hours waiting for lab results. It was crazy! They did blood work and said that his white blood cells and platelets were elevated (whatever that means). He had to have 2 more injections of antibiotic and we got another prescription in addition to another inhaler. Dr. Harmon said that Caleb can go back to school when he's fever-free for 24 hours. We're about 10 hours into that now. Caleb was so much fun tonight that it was hard to believe he's sick. He laughed and played and acted just fine all night! It was such a relief!

I'm staying home again tomorrow so that we can make it to the 24 hour mark with no fever. Plus, I'm supposed to call the doctor with a report on how Caleb is doing. If he's not better, we'll have to go back in for another shot and Dr. Harmon will try some other tactics to fight the pneumonia.

I asked him why Caleb has been so sick this year and confessed that I am very concerned about his immune system. He said that he's not really worried about immunodeficiency, since he's healthy-looking. He really thinks that he has just gotten sick and then been exposed to a lot of other things that keep him from getting well. My mental image is that he got hit really hard, fell on the ground and keeps getting hit as he's trying to get back up. It's not a good mental image...but it makes sense. Germs are such bullies!

Dr. Harmon said that he strongly suspects allergies for Caleb and that the winter will tell a lot for us since the highest allergens aren't present much in the winter. He said that he doesn't want to do allergy testing yet, since Caleb is so young, but that might be in our future.

Rudy also has a bronchial infection and got a shot for that today. He is going to work tomorrow because it's easier to deal with middle school students when you're sick than it is to deal with a sick toddler when you're sick. He had a low-grade fever this evening, but has been feeling okay tonight. He really wants to get better so that he can hunt this weekend. Plus, I think he's just tired of feeling bad.

Hopefully, this will be my last post about being sick for a while, but I'm not banking on it. I'm just praying that everyone in our family gets well and stays that way! This Mama needs a vacation from sickness!