Camping at Devil's Den

We spent the weekend at Devil's Den as is tradition for my family. My parents have camped there every Memorial weekend that I can remember. I have a lot of sweet memories of camping growing up. My mom and dad camped in their travel trailer while Mike, the girls & I stayed in a cabin. Mom and Dad's trailer site was base camp to us. We ate most of our meals with them. We had some yummy biscuits and gravy, bacon, eggs. Just the kind of camping food you would expect. Christina and family surprised us Saturday afternoon. They were able to stay and eat dinner and visit for a while. Kodee, my sister's son, joined us on Sunday night too. It was nice to hang out with him. I think the girls wore him out with their chattering though. Lisa & Erin came up today and enjoyed getting soaked in the water faucet. Lisa brought up water balloons for the girls to enjoy. We had a fun time swimming, paddle boating, walking the trails and just relaxing with the family. I think Lauren loved the "getting dirty" part best. She was either playing in the puddles after the rain or putting gravel down her dress. She loved every minute. Chloe's favorite parts were definitely swimming and paddle boating. I was wishing her legs were a little bit longer on that paddle boat, whew, my legs were burning as it was Chloe, Lauren and I in a boat by ourself. Mike brought along his guitar and loved to relax and play. Mike and I managed to make some time for some good talks and just relaxing together. The cabin we rented had a nice screened porch with rocking chairs. A great place to chill during the rain. It was very nice but like the saying goes "there is no place like home".

Update on Chloe

Well, today was Chloe's CT scan of her sinuses. She did really well, only getting a little bit anxious.

1. We then went to discuss her latest x-ray of her bowels. She is more impacted than the last x-ray done about a month ago. ?? who knew?
2. Regarding her sinuses: we received a call this afternoon from the Immunologist's office. They said the nasal smear was full of bacteria and the CT scan showed it as well. They have put her on an adult dose of antibiotics for a month along with a steroid to try to help clear up the bacterial infection in her sinuses. Please pray for her. She is just learning to swallow pills. She will be taking 2 antibiotics 3 times per day along with a liquid steroid. I guess I should say "pray for us" too.
3. Immune diagnosis: the results from the blood work came back and it looks like she put up a good immune response to the Tetanus titers but not to the the Pneumonia titers (only a 4 out of 14). We will need to get booster shots of the Prevnar vaccine, one next week and then another 1 wk later. They will wait a week and then draw blood to repeat the test to see her immune response. This is all to clear up whether she has a true Immune Disorder or just a combination of illnesses.

Chloe is really holding up well and feeling really pretty good most of the time. I notice her ability to focus lacking at times and she just wants to veg in front of the TV by supper time each day. Please continue to pray for her...she said today "I wish I would have never said my stomach hurt" :( -- that is what led us to have the Allergy testing, thinking maybe we had a milk allergy. Now here we are. I know she will be fine and she is handling the poking and prodding well. Right now she is just ready to be out of school and into swimming this summer. She is also really looking forward to Devils' Den this weekend. We have reserved a cabin for a few nights. We all really need the fun time together. Thanks for your prayers. I pray you have a nice week. :)

Chloe's Immunologist Visit

Chloe & I spent most of our day at the Immunologists office in Fayetteville today. I really felt good about his ability to help us figure out what is going on and what to do. He had us do some more blood work, another x-ray of her bowels and then is sending Chloe for a CAT scan of her sinuses later in the week. He said her IGG levels are low but are not alarming - good news. He requested some Tetanus/Pneumonia Titers(?) to see how Chloe's level of immune response. Those results will help him know whether or not she is for sure immune deficient. He also wants us to go ahead with ear tubes to help her hearing so I will be talking with Dr. Baker about that soon. I will post once I know more. Thank you for your prayers!

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a nice surprise today - Lisa, Kodee and Erin came to church to celebrate Mother's Day with Mom. She was really touched to see them come in. Afterwards we all went to Neals (Mom really likes it there) to eat.

Tonight we ate with Marie (Mike's mom) at the local Mexican place. We had a nice time with Gwen and the kids too. Marie came home with us and will be hanging out with us for the next couple of days as she does every wk or two. It is nice for the girls to spend sweet time with her. Chloe enjoys Marie getting her off the bus in the afternoons. Mike and I enjoy her being her too. She has a lot of wisdom to share and is very helpful.

Hope you all had a great day! God bless all you Mom's!

Amanda's a College Grad!

My neice Amanda, graduated from the U of A today with her degree in Food Science. We are really proud of her. She is such a sweet girl (she still seems like she should be a little girl to me). I wanted to share some pictures from today. Way to go Amanda! :)

Thinking of Mom tonight

As I approach Mother's Day I am thinking today about Mom and what all she has taught me over the years. I realized how much my mom loved me when I had Chloe and then again with Lauren.

Mom has taught me the ways of the Lord, first and foremost. She is still my prayer warrior. She has taught me about marriage commitment. She and Dad really had some rough years after his accident and I am so proud of her for standing by him through that time. I know it was only with the help of the Lord. Mom has such empathy for others and her example of giving has been great. She gives candy to all waitress/waiters, and lot of little surprises for her grand kids, kids, well, just about anyone really. God has used her to be an encourager even when she was facing discouraging situations. Isn't that how God works - He reveals himself when we are our weakest. My prayer as a mom is that my girls will grow to be wonderful women of God. I pray they desire the ways of the Lord. I also want them to have empathy like mom. To show others the love of Christ expecting nothing in return.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there! Go show your Momma some lovin' :)

Ballet Tonight!

Tonight Chloe and I went to see her friend, Kayden's Ballet recital and left Mike and Lauren to have some bonding time. Kayden's mom, Amy, is a

wonderful friend of mine. We had a lot of fun. Kayden is so beautiful and very talented. Here are a few pictures from our night.

Play Ball!

Tonight was Chloe's first Tball game. We had so much fun cheering her on. She seemed to really enjoy herself too. She played catcher and shortstop. She said her favorite parts are throwing and hitting. She is a little shy about the catching but is getting better each time she practices. I am really happy she is having so much fun. It is so sweet to watch!

Mom's Big Day!

Today Mom turned 63 so we celebrated by eating at Monte Ne Inn Restaurant. She loves to eat there but doesn't get that way much. Here are a few pictures of our celebration. I am so lucky to have a Godly Mom.

Dr. Visit

Well, Chloe's Dr. visit was a little disappointing. We went back to Chloe's pediatrician, however, she has now referred us to an Allergist/Immunologist to have further testing. We were hoping to find out more today and see what we need to do to get her immune system to improve. Patience is a virtue though :) so we will wait. We have an appointment May 13th. I will post once we know more. The pediatrician isn't sure what the Immunologist will want to do. I assume he will need to do more blood tests first.

Thank you for all your prayers! We know God is the ultimate healer.