My latest

So for 5 months now I have been dealing with a very unpleasant organ...my gall bladder. Starting around Thanksgiving time I would notice each day I felt nausea come and go. Then I noticed the bloating, painful gas, and belching. On Christmas Eve I was admitted to the hospital for a violent stomach "virus" which later we discovered was most likely a gall bladder attack. After my hospitalization I was noticing each evening I was nauseated after dinner. So I started asking my Doc friends who agreed it was gall bladder trouble. I began a 5 week long journey of a no-fat -low-fat diet. There were days I ate vegetables and chicken broth and felt as if I ate funnel cakes and elephant ears at the fair! After a Dr. visit and a surgeon appointment, I was told the testing would take a few weeks. So in the meantime I decided to try a gall bladder flush to try and salvage this God given organ!

Well, the flush took a lot out of me, both figuratively and literally! I did it on Valentine's night since Mark had a church meeting :( I ended up disoriented in the middle of the night and apparently tried to find my way back to bed after the 38th visit to the toilet that night and leaped onto what I thought was my bed! I landed quite awkwardly onto our space heater and rested there until Mark jumped out of bed to see what happened. I mumbled in a drunken like manner that I was fine just lying there for a while. I was extremely nauseated and was content to snuggle our heater for the time being. Once Mark peeled me up onto the bed we discovered in the "crash" I had gouged my knee open and was bleeding. He got me some phenergan (nausea meds) and put me back to bed for the night. In the morning I wasn't doing much better so he took me to the ER where they gave me some IV nausea meds and fluids.

The next day I had a Hida scan where they inject you with radioactive dye to test the function of the Gall bladder under radiographic images. The results showed I had 8% function left in my GB and needed it out. I just scheduled surgery for March 8th and am incredibly excited to eat fats again. My diet is so limited and I usually have to make separate meals for my family which is not so fun when you are craving every inch of fattening foods! So I have 11 days left until I get my gall bladder out and I am counting down the days!

I have caught myself really grumbling and complaining about all of this; the nausea, the diet, the inconvenience, the medical bills. I was convicted lately that this is really nothing compared to what the rest of the world suffers in hunger, disease, and all sorts of other "discomforts."
Who am I to complain of a modified diet, GI symptoms, and inconvenience. I have lived through far worse events and have seen God's hand lift me from the mire on more than one occasion. So I am patiently waiting for this journey to come to a halt so I can enjoy dates with Mark, friends over for dinner, and a variety of fattening foods once again!

Creative

It has been FOREVER since I have posted on here. We are in a new mode of life right now...attempting to sell our house! It has been a lot of work and I am finally at a place in my life where I am ready and willing to do it! We are prayerful that we may be able to sell the house and find another in time for Kindergarten next fall...but if not I am trying to figure out an back up plan.

Time seems to go so fast when you have young children. Kaylee continues to keep me busy as a bee and as she gets older I am discovering a whole new side of parenting! Which is both fun and challenging. We have been spending our afternoons reading, playing games, having tea party's, and having play dates. Usually she wakes up every morning asking "who do I get to play with today." And usually if I say "me" she gives me a sour face. But all in all we have been having tons of fun!

Some of my challenges as a mom have taken a different turn. For instance, Kaylee has been fighting me every morning on what she will wear to school and I have been struggling to get her to eat breakfast....So, I could either continue a crying screaming battle each morning OR turn it into a game. So I told her we are going to have each day represent a color and we both have to wear that color, eat that color, and read books with that color. It was an instant hit. Kay got busy to work writing each color out on a piece of paper and ordering a day for it. Then she got into her closet and found an outfit for each day to match that color. Mornings have begun happier and with (virtually) no arguments and we are having tons of fun doing it too!