Random Things My Phone Camera Caught!!

Lets just say this has been a very interesting weekend with lots of good and not so good times... Here are a few pictures to capture some of those....

Yes this is my truck - Yes that is the Interstate in the background.. Oh aren't those forced "stops" so much fun.. At least I married a pretty good Mechanic!!!

At dinner this weekend Joe looked over to see Nick tieing his napkin around his neck. He did this all on his own and when I asked for a picture this is what he did.. If you know Nick you know he LOVES to eat.. And now hes ready too!!!



Yep thats Joe laying on the floor with his "helper".. Guess what broke...

See all the water under the refrigerator.. Yea really - Sucks!

So One of our Roosters went crazy bad**s on one of the Hens so he has been evicted from the hens house and is now looking for a new home on craigslist.,.. But until then he temps his fate (aka life) every time Dixie comes outside to pee!!! She has killed 2 chickens in her past.. Beware Mr. Rooster - Yet by the looks hes not afraid!

Up-date

I have been MIA for a few days so I thought I would do a quick update-run though!! Everyone seems to be over this nasty cold we were passing around the past 2 weeks. This timeof year when we have 70 degrees one day and snow flurries the next can work an immune system into a frenzy!! But the runny noses and coughs have subsided and we are ready for warmer days!

Quick Justin update: He did return to school on Tuesday. He made it through the whole day at school Tuesday and Wednesday, though those days he returned home extremely weak and exhausted. Then on Thursday I got a call around noon that he had started hurting on the walk back to the classroom after lunch so his teacher prompted him to try and go potty to see if it helps. After he failed to return to class she sent another student in to check on him and they found Justin doubled over on the floor in extreme pain. His teacher called for the office to bring a wheel chair (since Justin couldn't walk from the pain) and they got him to the office were they called me. I swear from phone call to me walking in the school door was less than 10 minutes! I wont lie I FLEW down old nash hwy!! After a mini-breakdown when I saw one of our favorite teachers/friends standing in the office (she had saw Justin being wheeled to the office and came stayed with him till I got there). I saw her and the look on her face and I lost it. I guess my emotions from the past 2 months got to me (trust me it wasn't the first time), plus on top of that phone call that scared the crap out of me.. So I took Justin home and gave him some pain meds and he went to bed. That evening he was ok, just super weak and sore.. He did return to school Friday, but has been weak and tired all weekend!! I do have a call into his GI to let her know things are not improving much (she had asked me to do this) and to see if we can move up the GI date.. Please pray they can!! We need answers and a treatment plan for Justin. If you could only see him in person you can physically see something is not right, my energetic ball player is frail and weak! But mark my word I WILL GET ANSWERS!!!!

In other news we had some awesome days of weather this week. We played outside in short sleeve shirts and had a blast.. Here are some pics of Emily and Justin (Nick was at school)...

Also sadly on Monday morning our neighbors (2 houses down) house caught fire. By the time our local volunteer fire fighters arrived the house was completely gone. It was so sad to watch them loose every material thing in the house. Please say a prayer for this family!!

A "Harry" Weekend!!

This weekend was a fun/lazy one! Saturday Joe and I went to look for me some new tennis shoes and the boys some new bedroom furniture. After out shopping for 5 hours and finding NOTHING in stores I came home and within an hour of looking online I found myself a $70 pair of shoes for $35 (woop woop) and scored the boys the bedroom furniture I wanted! Stinks though we have to wait a week or two for it all to come in. But stay tuned for pictures!! :)

Sunday started off cold and snowy so we opted for a day inside. Boredom set in around lunch so Joe and the kiddos decided to move furniture and have a baseball game inside.. AWESOME!! Then Justin and I snagged us some snacks and had a mini- Harry Potter Marathon!! .

look mom - SNOW

Yep thats about all we got!

Flash-Back Friday!

May 2009

GI Update

Justins GI appointment today went good! Though we left with no real answers, we do have a game plan. I LOVED his doctor, she was so sweet, she listened, and seemed really concerned and wanted answers!! So basically here is the plan...

Justin has been scheduled for a scope to be done, both down his throat and up his bottom. Literally taking a look from both angles!! This will give her the best chance at getting a direct cause to the pain! While in there she will be looking for numerous could be causes from Chrones Disease, to IBM, to polyps, etc...

Bad news is due to Justins current Pneumonia it will be 6-8 weeks before he can undergo anaesthesia (April 26th to be exact).. In the meantime we will alter his diet alittle and take news meds to alter his "poop".. This will ease the pain some b/c she suspects alot of the pain is from the VERY swollen lymph nobes in his belly, plus the inflamed intestine/colon. Any hard stool, straining, etc will cause him this debilitating pain.. She is hoping too once the Pneumonia infection is gone those lymph nodes will go down alittle!

She also started him on Prevacid for his "chest pain" or our as we suspect acid reflux! Good news is he can return to school next Tuesday and resume normal activity to the degree he can tolerate it. She said if he can only do half days right now thats great. If he wants to play, run, etc he can, but if he hurts to stop!!

So that is our plan! She did mention other test we could do later on, but fingers crossed we won't have to and we will get the cause of all of this with the scope. One that we can manage and keep this from happening again!!

Sheer Kindness

Thats about the only way I can described what happened today.. It was nothing huge, nothing dramatic, but it made me cry. It made me think. It made me smile! With everything going on I have felt the love and warmth from close friends and family. We have been blown away by the outpouring of concern and love from teachers and faculty at Justins school.. And today I got this... ME - for me!

Seriously the sheer kindness of others. Attention people its the little things in life that make the huge impact on others!! A simple hug, kind note, or Lindor chocolate. You can brighten someones day, a day you might not realize they are struggling with worry, fear, and the unknown!!

Happy Valentines

I hope everyone had a great Valentines day.. After a VERY rough night last night I woke up exhausted and grumpy (I won't lie).. But that soon changed when I got my Valentines gift, a yummy box of chocolates + a Starbucks Gift Card + an amazing card.. I love my husband and kids so much and sometimes just reading words they wrote can make the darkest times so bright..

We had a great day and Justin even got a visit from his BFF Gabe. They exchanged gifts and even got to play for a bit.. I enjoyed having some "mom time" with Gabes mom. We love them so much!!!

After Daddy got home we opened our gifts to each other.. Emily got some candies & a pink bat/ball.. (lord help my wall pictures)...

Nick got some sweets and a "big guy" puzzle (750 pieces).. Needless to say I haven't seen him or Joe in about 2 hours!!

And Justin got some chocolate yummies and his own personal piggy bank.. He asked for one the other day just for him to save all his money.. He already stashed his $20 he got from Vandy in it..lol

Somethings Gotta Give

Just wanted to update real quick on Justin.

Justin had his follow-up appointment on Wednesday. (posted below)

So Justin went to school Thursday and everything went good. I went in and had a pow-wow with his teacher and another teacher about what to watch for and that they knew to call me for ANYTHING!!. I got a report that evening that he did well, but came to his teacher around 2 complaining of being weak and feeling hot. We got home and ate alittle dinner and then he went to bed. Friday he went to school, but only lasted half the day. I went to get him and he was having stomach pains and said his chest hurt.. WHAT this is new.. Long story short the next 12 hours were filled with several talks with the nurses and doctors and a plan forthe night and for Saturday!!

So we woke up Saturday morning to Justin looking very weak. He was having major chest and stomach pains despite being on pain meds all night. So I met up with his doctor at the office. She wasn't even suppose to be there today as she was on "baby rounds" at the hospitals. But she drove all the way there an hour after they closed (they are only open a couple hours on Saturday) just to see Justin. After looking him over we went over several "what it could be" senerios, but ultimately decided to send him to the hospital for a belly and chest xray!

After the test we came home and got Justin a warm shower, some dinner, and pain meds.. He was resting comfy when his doctor called to let us know the news. Basically he still shows Pneumonia in his lower right lung. Our best guess is its trying to come back so we are jumping on it with a new antibiotic. Also he had some moderate constipation and a very distended belly, so we got some meds to clear him out by Thursdays appointment with the GI.. She also decided to take him out of school again until he is cleared by the GI doctor.

Also while meeting with his doctor today we got his blood work from Wednesday back. And basically it leaves us more stumped. I won't get into it but basically lots of levels were normal like white blood count, etc.. And then some were high like his platelets, etc.. Nothing that stood out as "oh I bet its this".. But at least we have them to take and show the GI.. Good news is his Celiacs disease screen came back negative and his salt (sodium) levels are staying up!!

So right now Im gonna sound like a broken record and say we wait. I will update again when we go to the GI on Thursday! Please send happy/good thoughts and prayers toward Justin. Little man could really use them right now!!

Follow-Up Update on Justin

Justin went in this morning to see his doctor for his 2 week follow-up and blood work.. We should have the blood work back (hopefully) by Friday. She said she was testing all his markers from the ER (white blood/red blood, anemia,etc).. She is also testing his liver, kidneys, etc. And she sent off a panel to check for Celiacs (sp?) disease.. We will take these test along with the CT scan with us when we go see the GI specialist next week.

Justin & his Bugs Bunny BandAid!!

Justin is still tender in his belly and has pain intermittently at times. We did get his test from last week back that checked for infection/bacteria in his intestines and it was all negative..(I kinda figured that, since day 1 I have thought it was NOT an infection).. She said she was happy to see he gained a pound in the two weeks and didn't loose anymore. She said with the round of antibiotics done, no fever (that we have caught)  in a week, and his eagerness to go back to school she said he could. So she released him for school starting tomorrow. She did send a note taking him out of PE and any other physical activities until he is cleared by the GI next week. She also said if he returned and started having lots of pain over the next couple of days she would remove him until he saw the GI doctor..  Justin was all smiles when he heard he could go back to school and wouldn't miss his Valentines party Friday.. :)

So right now we are doing more waiting. I will update when we hear about the blood work and also after we see the GI next week! Thank you to all our friends and family and perfect strangers that have offered up prayers for Justin..

Better than Medicine!!!

Today I went back up to the school to gather some of Justins school work for him to work on this weekend. Along with his lessons were over 20 handmade letters from his teachers and friends.. Seriously you can not wipe the smile off his face or mine!!

And some of the things these kids wrote blew me away and melted my heart. More than a few tears were shed!!!

Also when Justin was admitted into the hospital we were approached by one of the research teams there. They are currently doing a study trying to see why more kids these days are being admitted into the hospital with Pneumonia.. They asked us and Justin if they could collect bloodwork and stuff in hope of finding out one day why certain kids get it, how they actually get it, and a better treatment for kiddos with Pneumonia!! Well today he got a check in the mail for participating in the study. And yes the money is HIS!!! Thing is he had no clue about the money when he agreed to be a part of the study. He was just super excited he got to help kids in the future that might get sick!! Have I mentioned I love his soul!!

Music makes you feel better!

Justin is on the road to recovery. The antibiotics have seemed to be doing a number on the Pneumonia. His coughing is better, he is eating better than he was, and his pain seems to be on a lower scale! We finally got our appointment with the GI doctor, February 16th.. Now I know why his pediatrician was upset they didn't come see him in the hospital. She said when we have to refer from a doctors office it takes 2 to 3 weeks to get in, and thats with a "rush" order!! Ridiculous

But she is going to do alot of the prep work ahead of time so when we go in to see the GI doctor we will have alot already laid out on the table!! Yesterday we went in for some of the test and next Monday we go back for the big bloodwork test.. These test will show us if his immune system is kicking back in and that his "markers" are lowering.. If they aren't he will not be able to go back to school and we will start looking into some other test!!

I know Justin is missing his friends. He called his BFF today who is also home sick from school with strep.. Justin has been drawing alot to kill time, including these awesome cartoon characters he came up with... (I love the flame throwing on is called "sweet heart"..lol

He also has been playing alot of guitar.. He never was really into it, but has wanted to play and make up song the past few days. I must say hes really good!!!