Update on Caden

Caden has another infection. This one is on the back of his right thigh and is about the size of the tip of my pinkie finger. Our doctor decided not to lance this sore, but to leave it as is and see if it will resolve on it's own. Caden will start another round of an oral antibiotic, along with a topical antibiotic to apply directly to the infection. We will go back in 10 days for a follow up. Please remember him in your prayers.
~jen

Update

Good morning.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Mike, the kids, and I had a wonderful day. Thanks to everyone for our wonderful presents.
Well, here are a few updates. Caden's follow up appointment last week went well. We were given the all-clear to visit with family over the weekend. Unfortunately, another sore has surfaced and we are returning to the doctor this afternoon. I don' t know what it is going to take to get this little boy well.
Cody is doing well, enjoying the holiday break from school. He got to try out his new UT golf bag yesterday with Mike and Caden at the golf course.
Mike is hanging in there. Last Friday evening he received a phone call from the owner of the dealership that he worked at. The owner realized that he made a big mistake in letting Mike go and was very apologetic. The General Manager that fired Mike was let go yesterday. Mike is to meet with the owner sometime this week and talk about coming back to work. Of course, Mike also has a meeting with the CEO for the other job that he interviewed for. He plans on meeting with both men and then he will weigh the pros and cons for each position. Hopefully he will have a decision made by the end of the week. Please continue to pray for him.
Well, I guess this is all for now. There is a mountain of laundry calling out my name. So much to get done today! Have a good day. I'll post about Caden's visit later this afternoon.
~jen

Update

I thought I would just post an update on how things are going. Caden is doing much, much better. The infection to his leg looks better each day. It is still draining, but very little. It is now about the size of a penny. He has not been running a fever, which is great news. We return to the doctor tomorrow morning for a check-up.
Cody is doing well. Only 1-1/2 days of school left before the holiday break. The gold team won their last basketball game 33-14 and now are 4-0. Cody is still improving with each game and having a great time playing. Cody fixed home-made pizza for us the other night for supper. (It was one of his latest Life Management class projects.) He did a fabulous job. Too bad cleaning the kitchen up afterwards wasn't part of the deal!
Mike is doing well. I think he is starting to get a little bored being cooped-up at home. He has been a great help with Caden and Cody. He even took both boys to Wal-Mart last week to do some grocery shopping for me. His interview went really well last week. He and the CEO will meet again in the next few days and iron out the last few details. Mike feels confident he has the job. Thank you for your prayers and support over the last few weeks. I really appreciate all the phone calls and emails.
As for me, I am doing ok. I had a very trying day at work yesterday. My 6 patients ranged anywhere from a 15 year old boy who had major back surgery to correct scoliosis, a 60-something patient who was told yesterday that she will spend the next 6-8 weeks in a long-term care hospital to fight a staph infection, to a 70 year old cancer patient who decided late yesterday evening to have a Do Not Resuscitate order executed. Needless to say, I had a very emotional day yesterday. Oh how small my problems seem when compared to those around me. I had to place a DNR bracelet on the cancer patient before I left last night and tears filled both our eyes. What an emotional day. I am learning that emotions have to be controlled, that I am to be the strong one for my patients and their family, but it is so very hard at times.
Time to change the subject before the tears start..... :)
We woke up this morning to find a pretty layer of snow outside (about 3 inches). Too bad it is over 1/2 an inch of ice! Cody and I noticed many broken tree limbs throughout the neighborhood as we drove to school this morning. Hopefully the power lines will hold and we will not experience any power outages. I still have some Christmas shopping to do today!
Well, I guess this is all for now. I hope everyone is doing well. I will post tomorrow after our visit with the doctor. Hopefully we get the all-clear to visit with family this weekend.
Love to you all,
~jen

Caden

We had our second follow-up appointment today. Our doctor was pleased with Caden's progress. The infection is now slightly larger than the size of a nickle, but getting smaller. It really looks good. It is still draining a small amount. We will continue with the twice-a-day soaks and the one antibiotic for now. We have another follow-up appointment next Thursday morning. Hopefully the worst is over and he is on his way to a full recovery. Thank you for your prayers.
~jen

Caden

Our family physician just called to check on Caden and give us the results of the cultures. For some unknown reason, the cultures did not grow. There could have been something faulty with the process, or not enough of a culture obtained. We do know that this is some-kind of staph infection based on the gram stain results. So, for now Caden will have to be treated based on his symptoms. Today the infection looks better than yesterday. There is less drainage today. We are going to continue with the Bactrim and see how he responds. We have another appointment at 10:40 tomorrow. I will post how it went. Thank you all for your continued prayers, support, calls and emails.
~jen

Caden

I took Caden back to the doctor today for a follow-up. Not much has changed. The infection to Caden's leg has not spread and he is not running a fever, that's the good news. The bad news, this is a staph infection. We are still waiting to see if it is MRSA. Hopefully we will know tomorrow afternoon. Caden is still holding his ground on refusing to take one of the two antibiotics he is on. We had some flavoring added to the medicine today, but it didn't work. Caden isn't budging. I am going to call the doctor tomorrow morning and see what we need to do. Our next visit is Friday morning unless there is a change in Caden's condition. Please say a prayer for him. This may be a tough battle.
~jen

When it rains...it pours

As if my life right now couldn't get any more hectic or stressful, I had to take Caden to the doctor today. Last week I noticed a small, round, reddened area on the back of Caden's right leg. I brushed it off as probably a bug bite or a small rash. Sunday night I noticed the red area was bigger and upon further inspection and palpation, I realized that this was something more serious. The area was raised, hard, and had a least a 1" diameter knot underlying the skin, and Caden said it was hurting.
Our family doctor had to open the abscess and drain it this afternoon. I hope I never have to put Caden through something like that again. It was completely awful. Towards the end we were both crying. Cultures were obtained. Unfortunately we will have to wait a couple days to see what grows. Our doctor's first impression is that it is MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus). MRSA is known as a "super-bug". There are only a limited amount of antibiotics which are successful in treating MRSA. Caden has been started on 2 antibiotics which are the best for treating MRSA. However, I have been unsuccessful in getting him to take one of them. It smells horrid and it tastes even worse. (I tried a small amount.) I tried all of my tricks tonight, but nothing worked. We have to go back to the doctor tomorrow for a follow-up visit, so I guess I will see what our options are with that medicine. Please pray for Caden. I am thankful that the worse is over, for now at least. He will need to soak in the tub for 20 minutes, twice a day and continue with antibiotics for 10 days. He did really well tonight with his soak. I set up the portable DVD player in the bathroom for him and we watched part of a movie together. Unfortunately for me, I have to clean the tub before and after each soak, wash Caden's clothes, towels, and linens separately in hot water until his incision closes. If this gets him well, then all of it will be well worth it. All I want is for him to be OK. I have seen MRSA in the hospital and it is very frightening. Please, please pray for Caden.
Please remember me in your prayers, too. This has not been the best Christmas season for me. I am so stressed right now and I feel that I am ready to break at any minute. I don't know how much more I can handle. As hard as I try to not worry and to have faith, all I seem to do is worry and my faith seems to be slipping. It is hard to be happy and cheery this holiday season.
~jen

53 - 13

The Gold team won 53 - 13. They are now 3 - 0. Cody payed so well last night! He only had 1 point (made 1 of 2 free throws), but he had a number of assists. He just gets better and better with each game! We are so proud of him. Mom and dad, I wish you lived closer so you could see him play. He is doing so well! The next game is next Thursday in Crockett's brand new gym!
~jen

PS:
Last Saturday's make-up game ended with a score of 36 - 11. Cody had 6 points and a number of assists. The whole team is really coming together and playing well. What a great group of boys! :)

Moments

I received this in an email from my aunt. I thought I would share it. It seems so perfect for right now. (Thanks for the email, Luann.)
~jen

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

December 4th, 2006

By now, many of you know that Mike has lost his job. It happened Friday (the 1st of December). I think I am having a harder time with it than Mike is. I am still so disappointed in the management and owner of the dealership. Mike did nothing wrong. It isn't his fault that this is after all, the "slow season" and car sales are going to be down. He can't force his salesmen to bring in new customers. He can't force customers to buy. It isn't his fault that there are hard feelings by the new general manager towards employees who worked under the previous general manager. Mike didn't have a chance with the new general manager. It is so unfortunate that it had to happen now of all times, and without one word from the owner, especially after Mike gave 10 years to this dealership. It is probably wrong to have the attitude of "what goes around comes around" but that is how I feel right now. I don't wish any harm to the dealership, but I know they have made a mistake. Especially when Mike received 3 job offers within 1 hour of being fired.

Mike feels really good about this. How, I don't know. He told me Friday that he feels relieved. I know he has worried for the past few months about his job. I can only imagine what he went through every first of the new month, wondering if that was going to be the month where he lost his job. He has been so unhappy for the past few months. I can tell a difference already in his spirit and attitude. He reminds me quite often that all will be OK and we are going to get through this. Oh, how I wish I had just an ounce of his faith and determination. Of course while he is saying we are going to be OK, in my mind I am creating this to-do list of bills to pay, and presents to buy! But, I know we are going to get through this. I have to keep reminding myself that!

I am trying to stay positive. I am very thankful that I have a job and that the kids are covered under my insurance plan. I know that we will get through this. To quote my mom... "God does not close a door without opening another". There will be another door and this too will pass. I just need to have faith. I need to not let this spoil my attitude or break my spirit. Christmas is just 3 weeks away!

There is good news, though. Mike has an interview with another dealership in town. The interview date is still being scheduled. Mike will have to travel to Tulsa, OK for the interview. The job sounds very promising. Please remember him in your prayers. Pray that the right job will come along. Pray for us as we try to deal with this transition time. Pray for me that I will resolve any hard feelings that I have towards those involved with Mike losing his job.

The kids and I (and even Mike) set up our Christmas tree yesterday. We had a great time, even with Caden asking every 5 seconds where does this one (ornament) go? Where does this one go, mom? Where should this one go? Ohhh, where should this one go? (Are you catching on to this? This went on for about a good 15 minutes!) And heaven help me, after the presents were put under the tree, all I heard was "when can I open a present?"! The little stinker has already opened a gift. Last week after I left for work Caden got out of bed, took a wrapped present from the closet, sat in the hall and opened it. Unfortunately for him, it was one of Cody's presents. Mike said he was very methodical in the way he opened it so no one would hear him. He said it looked like he made several small tears in the wrapping paper as to not wake anyone! How I wish I could have been watching him! :)

Love to you all,
~jen

37-34

Wednesday's game was full of ups and downs. The game was a close one, with Crockett coming from behind to win. Cody played well. I don't have any pictures to share right now. The pictures I took in the gym were either orange-colored, washed out, too dark, or completely out of focus! Maybe I can get Angie to stop by a game and take some pictures for me (hint, hint!). :)
I'll post again soon.
~jen

And the results are in.....

I am EXCITED to let you all know that Cody has made the A TEAM in basketball!!!! Cody is so excited, as are Mike and I! Cody's first game is tomorrow at 5:00 at Crockett. Since this is our first year playing with AISD, I am not sure about ticket prices or which gym he will play in. (Crockett is in the process of building a new gym and I am not sure if it is ready yet.)

Anyways... I just wanted to share the GREAT news! Here is his schedule for the rest of the season:

Thursday, Nov 30 at 5:00 at Crockett

Saturday, Dec 2 at 9:45, 1:00, 2:30 at Austin
Wednesday, Dec 6 at 5:00 at Travis
Thursday, Dec 14 at 5:00 at Crockett

Wednesday, Jan 10 at 5:00 at Mann
Wednesday, Jan 24 at 5:00 at Austin

Thursday, Feb 1 at 5:00 at Crockett
Wednesday, Feb 7 at 5:00 at Bowie
Friday, Feb 9 at 3:00 at Crockett (City Tournament)
Saturday, Feb 10 at 9:00 at Crockett (Semi-Finals)
Saturday, Feb 10 at 4:45 site TBA (Championship)

You are all welcome to come to as many games as you would like and help us cheer for Cody and the other Mighty Pioneers! :)
I'll be sure and post a picture or two and his "stats" tomorrow night!
~jen

First cuts made

50 kids tried out for the Crockett 7th grade basketball team. The first cuts have been made.....and Cody is still in the race! It is down to 30 kids and only 20 will make 2 teams of 10. This morning's practice will determine who makes the team and who gets cut. Cody may know as early as today if he made the team. Oh the drama! I'll be glad for him (AND US) when he will finally know if he made the team! Stay tuned....
~jen

Many Thanks

Hi everyone. I had a few minutes so I thought I would send out a great big thanks to everyone for their prayers for my family over this past weekend. I am happy to report that my Papa had a successful back surgery on Friday. He is doing well, ready to go home. The doctor said the surgery could not have gone better and hopefully this surgery will lessen my Papa's back pain. He should go home sometime tomorrow. It was very hard to leave Sunday afternoon. I know he is in good hands, but oh how I wish we lived closer.
Many, many thanks to all of my in-laws who helped watch Cody and Caden for me over the weekend so I could make the trip to Fort Worth alone. While I wish the boys could have gone with me, I know they had so much more fun staying in Groom with their aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Thank you all for all that you do for the boys. I really appreciate everything.
I guess this is all for now. The CMA's are on. Got to go! :)
~jen

Halloween

Dr. Conrad had a great time this evening trunk-or-treating at a church located across the street from our house. Caden ended up with a bucket full of candy. Looks like we will be making a return trip to the dentist in the next few months! :)
~jen

Good afternoon......

Hi everyone. I hope you all are having a great day today. We are all doing fine. I took Caden to the dentist this morning. It seems kind-of ironic to have to go to the dentist on Halloween! Caden had a small cavity that needed to be filled. Other than that, all was well. They commended Caden on being such a good boy and he was rewarded with a number of prizes, including a gift certificate to Mr. Gatti's! Oh, he was so excited! He LOVES the dentist!

Cody is at school right now. He finished his 7th grade football season yesterday with a loss of 14-7. The game was the semi-finals for the city championship game next Monday. He was devastated, the whole team was. Cody said the bus ride back to Crockett was the quietest bus ride he had ever been on. Cody played a great game though with 5 tackles and almost intercepting the ball twice! Basketball try-outs will be within the next week as the first basketball game is November 15th. Stay tuned...

Here are a few prayer requests:
- A successful back surgery for my Papa in Fort Worth this Friday
- A safe trip for me to Fort Worth and back home. ( I am leaving Friday morning and will return home Sunday afternoon.)
- Mike's job
- My job

Love to you all.
~jen

I wish I could freeze time.

Today has been a day filled with many tears. I seem to have a number of things on my mind and the day has been a long one. We found out during Cody's game this afternoon that one of his best friend's grandmother passed away early this morning. I pray that Cody will be able to comfort his friend during his time of sadness.
I spent the rest of Cody's game thinking about Cody and his relationship with his grandparents and great-grandparents. Most of Cody's friends only know their grandparents. They never knew their great-grandparents. How blessed are my boys that they have relationships with all 5 of their great-grandparents and 4 grandparents? How blessed am I to be in my 30's and still have my grandparents living? We are truly blessed beyond measure. Oh, how I wish that I could freeze time. I know that it is not possible. But, oh how I wish it was.
Here is one of my favorite Christian songs from Mercy Me... for all of us who have lost a loved one or friend.
Love to each of you,
~jen


MercyMe - Homesick
From the album Undone

You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

In Christ, there are no goodbyes
And in Christ, there is no end
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now

Some thoughts...

I came across a blog today of a single mother of 3 from Little Rock, Arkansas whose 4 year old little boy passed from this earth over the weekend from complications after receiving a heart transplant. I sat at my computer and sobbed. I can only imagine what her grief must be like.

Thank you Lord for giving me 2 healthy boys. Please Lord, grant me patience with both of them. Help me to be a better mom. May I always know how blessed I am to have them both to hug and kiss every night before they go to bed.

Please pray for this family in Little Rock.
~jen

Boomer....Newest addition to the Steelers Family

Meet Boomer. He is a 2 month old black-brown Labrador puppy. We adopted him about 6 weeks ago from a shelter and brought him home earlier this week. We all agreed on the name because... well, poor Mike... he needs someone to support OU with him! Cody wasn't too happy at first with the name, but has since agreed that his dad deserves to have another OU supporter in this Texas house!
The kids have really enjoyed having a puppy around. Boomer is a sweet, playful puppy with lots of curiosity.
I'll post some pictures of the kids with the dog later on. We tried for 15 minutes this afternoon to get one, but Boomer wouldn't cooperate! ~jen

8 Ways to Declutter Your Mind

I thought this was very interesting. Hopefully the link will work. ~jen

http://lifestyle.msn.com/MindBodyandSoul/CareerandMoney/ArticleRB.aspx?cp-documentid=994996&GT1=8681

Ouch! 3 shots today

"I am not happy. I am really mad." These are the words that Caden had for me as we got in the car this afternoon after our visit to the doctor. As much as I wanted to say, "I am not happy either"... especially after spending 2 hours in a 8X12 foot room with Caden and having to need 3 other nurses to help me secure Caden while he received his THREE injections... I just said, "I know you are not happy, Caden". He rebounded rather quickly though with a request for a X-box game rental from Hastings instead of ice cream!
We went to a new doctor today. He was absolutely wonderful. Some of you know how unhappy I have been with our previous doctor. Well, we have found a keeper. Dr. Merki was so attentive and really listened to my concerns and was so friendly with Caden. Caden weighs 45.4 pounds and is 42" tall. Caden will start using a peak-flow meter to better help us measure his lung function especially with winter coming along. It is a simple machine that he blows into which moves a lever along a cylinder and gives us a reading. He will do this daily and we will start charting his measurements. Hopefully this will assist us in treating his "asthma" (still un-official) needs. Everything else was great. No ear infections. Dr. Merki did not hear the heart murmur. He has a referral to go see a dermatologist for some bumps that have surfaced on the back of his thighs. Dr. Merki thought it was some type of viral infection (non-contagious) which will either need to be frozen-off (oh, how I pray not) or Caden will need to start receiving some type of immune-boosting medication to help these bumps resolve. Other than that all is well! I'll post again, soon!
Love to you all,
jen

Caden-isms

Well, what's new with Caden? Let's see. Here are some new Caden-isms:
- na-na-na-boo-boo (which often ends in poo-poo, followed by lots of giggling)
- When I tell Caden "I love you", he replies with "I love just daddy". Ouch, straight to the heart.
- He told me the other day that the spanking I gave him didn't hurt.
- He loves to say "In just a minute" when he is asked to do something (like pick up toys).

He is getting to be such a "big boy" these days. He and I are going to the doctor this afternoon for a well-child check-up. Of course his first question to me after he heard that we are going to see the doctor is, "am I gonna get a shot?". Poor baby. Yes, he is probably going to get some shots today. I've already promised him ice cream as soon as we are done! ~jen

Cody... 12 going on 18

Cody is getting to be quite the "young man" these days. I can't say too much for fear of embarrassing him, but he is quite proud of his newly discovered arm-pit hair (5 in all)! He never ceases to amaze me. :)
He is doing well in school this year. He is enjoying all of his classes. He just finished the "baby-egg" project in Life Management. His baby survived a total of 6 hours. One of the rules of the project was that this egg was to be treated like a real "baby" and had to go everywhere with Cody. Well on day 1, 5 1/2 hours into the project, Mike took the boys to the golf course after school. Cody said it wouldn't be a problem to load up his "baby" and strap the basket to the golf cart. Unfortunately, Caden's curiosity in Cody's "baby" resulted in a major brain injury to the "baby". Lesson learned: Keep breakable baby-egg projects out of Caden's reach. Cody ended up with an 86 on the project, though!
Cody is doing well in football. He is on the "Gold" team this year and they are 2-2. He plays corner-back and wide receiver. He has really enjoyed playing. He is already looking forward to the upcoming basketball season. Of course, he still plays golf when time allows. ~jen

Here goes...

Well... (deep breath) here goes...
I thought I would give "blogging" a try. Hopefully this will be a great way to share short stories and pictures of the kids with family and friends! I hope you enjoy my future posts and will join in with your comments!
~jen