Back to the Hospital

Despite our Herculean efforts over the past few days, Laura's weight has continued to decline. :( So, we are going to be admitted to Riley Hospital this afternoon to stay until they figure out how to help her continuously gain. Not sure if that will be 2-3 days or more. We'd appreciate your prayers!!!

Praying for Weight Gain

Well, Laura has put on one ounce in the last 2 weeks. While this is good news, the bad news is she has only put on that one ounce over all since the end of August. So much effort is put into getting her to eat, try to take a bottle, etc. each day. I would appreciate your prayers as it is hard for me to know she needs to put on weight before surgery and to not see it happening. Thanks for your prayers for us!

It's Friday

We've enjoyed two nature outings this week -- one to Eagle Creek Park and the other to the apple orchard. Lots of pictures to come, but here's a sweet one for today.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement. We're set with some meds to get the Grave's Disease under control and now need to see if there is any way to boost my immune system. My energy is taking a nose dive.

Fall is beautiful this week. I can't wait to show you my pictures. The temperature is warm and the sky bright blue. We're set with a bunch of apples. We devoured 1/2 bushel in one week so have come home with almost 1 1/2 bushels today. Maybe that will last us 3 weeks. My kids eat and eat.

It's back to soccer tomorrow with three games and one set of pictures. It will be a nonstop day from then on.

I must post about our state studies soon. We've been reading some great books.

Happy Weekend to you all!

When It Rains It Pours

Dear Friends:

Today I have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease: Grave's Disease. It is a thyroid problem that I am just beginning to learn about and it's not very exciting.

I have no idea what this is going to look like for daily life in the future. We won't find out about treatment plans until Thursday. I know it will involve a radical diet change, and most likely a period of rough times getting the thyroid medication balanced out.

I'm sure I'll look the same and have many days that really are the same. But, this is going to always be there in the shadows and I'm not sure yet of the effects.

I'm sad, but sure that this is God's plan for my life from here on out. It's just the newest way that I can submit to Him.

We would appreciate your prayers -- it does feel like a heavy load this fall.

Laura at Four Months and Now

Somehow, I never managed to post Laura's 4 month pictures. And, since this is now my form of scrapbooking, I must include them.

Laura had her cardiology checkup yesterday and that went well. There is no further deterioration of the heart so things are stable, waiting for the surgery.

Here are some pictures from a month ago:

This has become the accepted form of comfort: two fingers

She is always a very happy baby, which is so nice considering her unhappy condition.

Baby feet are so sweet, especially when they are peeking out from under the nursing cover. I must get a picture of that sometime.

At a picnic one afternoon -- not the happiest of looks though.

Our first family picture since Laura was born!!! YAY!!!

Me and my sweet baby! I said something about "my daughters" today and it made me so happy thinking I actually have two girls!!!

Christina knitted her a beautiful "Bog Jacket" for fall and winter. Note: these pictures were a month ago when she was chubbier. She's skinnier now.

Sweet baby hair which is as wild as ever, just longer.

Doctor appointments seem to rule our schedule -- five this week and five next week (not all are for Laura). I think I want to take one week before surgery and schedule NOTHING! :)

Our Busy Weekend

Here we are at the other end of a very, very busy weekend. Michael's mom and sister flew in to attend the 2010 True Woman conference with me downtown at the convention center. Michael had to go to Chicago to participate at a conference of his own. My mom and sister flew to Long Island for the weekend. Between all of that, we've been making multiple trips to the airport!

The conference was wonderful!! I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend. I've come back encouraged and refreshed. There were many wonderful speakers, including Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Janet Parshall, Mary Kassian, and Joni Erickson Tada. It was just nice to be with 6,100 other like-minded women.

I also enjoyed the band they organized to be there, headed by Keith and Kristyn Getty. I had never heard of them before but really enjoyed their music.

Everyone really enjoyed hearing from Joni Erickson Tada, who had to speak via video because of her current struggles with breast cancer.

Laura behaved herself and endured the three days of the conference.

Half an hour after we got home, we headed across the street for a very cool birthday party!!! It was a carnival theme and we all had fun.

Aunt Nicole with Laura:

It was great to see our nephew, Niko, and our niece, Stella, and of course Nicole and Mom L. (and Joe too!!!)

Here are the cousins in their new Ponca City, OK t-shirts.

Grandma with Laura:

David and Stella are just about the same size, even though they are a year apart!

We celebrated James' 6th birthday while the family was here:

Lots of fun and lots of food!!!

And now we are settling back into real life, which is almost as busy.

Laura has gained 3 ounces over the weekend which is good news since last week she weighed in less than she had a month ago. Right now she is 10 pounds 1 ounce and 5 months today. I still have to post her 4 month pictures, and I guess I better take some 5 month ones!

Laura also sprouted a tooth this weekend! Way to go Laura! Now she is sleeping better and eating better.

Studying Massachusetts

We studied Massachusetts the week before our vacation. Once again, we had a lot of fun. The little boys made ship hats to go with the Mayflower story. The older kids did silhouette pictures, which is something that was popular in time gone by.

We had a proper Massachusetts dinner with Boston Baked Beans and Boston Brown Bread. We also made chocolate chip cookies because they were first made there. We learned about cranberries and intended to drink cranberry juice with our dinner, but I forgot to mix it up.

Some of the books we read:

M is for Mayflower

The Sign of the Beaver

and

Johnny Tremain

Johnny Tremain was a book we listened to during our vacation on car trips and at home. It was such a great, dramatic book. It tells the story of a young silversmith apprentice in Boston in the days just leading up to the Revolutionary War. I was captivated by it, and the kids enjoyed it too. I think since it was such a long book, it was nice to have it on tape.

The kids are collecting postcards from each state and so far we have some from ME and MA. It's very fun to see them posted up in our schoolroom.