It's Summertime

And around here that means one thing... golf tournaments. We are hitting the courses fast and furious this summer. Cody has 4 tournaments this week alone. He will play in a total of 18 tournaments. Whew. I'm tired just thinking about the week ahead of me. And I don't have to do much other than sit in a golf cart for 5 hours each day!
Updates, golf scores, and pictures to come over the next few days!
~jen

Best Day Ever

Today was (in Caden's words) one of the best days ever. This morning we attended Caden's kindergarten graduation. Yes, there were tears, but that's ok. Watching your children grow brings tears of joy, pride, and even a little sadness.

This afternoon Caden and I went and saw Up. This is a wonderful movie that I highly recommend. Be warned, there may be a few tears. I had to fight them back a couple of times! I don't think I've ever cried during a cartoon! This is a great movie to go see. Of course, what Pixar/Disney movie isn't great!

Caden said on his way out of the movie theater, "this is the best day ever... it's the last day of school, I get to go to first grade next year, I get to go swimming tomorrow, I get to stay up as late as I want now, I got to go see a movie, and it's summer!" I have to agree. One of the best days ever.

~jen

Reflections...

This is the last week I will ever be a mom to a kindergartner. The "lasts" continue and they don't get any easier. I've said it over and over... I can't believe how quickly time passes. It passes too fast. In 3 months, I will be a mom to a first grader and to a sophomore. First grade and sophomore.

I never thought I would survive last August... that first day of school. Somehow, I survived. What a year we've all survived.

May the next school year bring as much joy, excitement, smiles, laughter, excellence, education, friendships, triumphs, challenges, and everything in between as this year has.

~jen

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you have a wonderful day today. I wish we were there to celebrate with you. We are thinking of you always.
With love,
Jennifer

Cadenism

A conversation this morning while getting Caden dressed...

Caden: "Mom, do you know how to pop your foot fingers?"
Me: "Foot fingers? You mean your toes?"
Caden: "Yep... toes. Cause I can pop them!"

Foot fingers... that's funny. :)
~jen

On Our Own

Mike left this afternoon for Dallas for a 2-day training session (this reassures me that his job is still somewhat secure). That leaves the boys and I on our own until Friday night. And of course I work both days. Sigh. I wish we had had some advance notice of his training because, honestly, I would have packed up and gone with him. I don't know what I would have done during the time that he is in meetings, but just to get away would have been so nice.

Today's been one of those days that I am ready to mark 'done'. I've not been feeling well for the past couple of days so I went to the doctor this morning. Nothing is seriously wrong, just stressed and sick. I got an antibiotic. Hopefully it will kick what I've got. This afternoon I had an interview for a school nurse position within our school district. I don't think the interview went well. I was nervous, I wasn't feeling well (I probably should have rescheduled it, but didn't want to go through that hassle as the end of school year is drawing near), and I just felt like I didn't present myself well. I don't know. I think on some level I am just preparing myself in case I don't get it. Instead of being excited and hopeful that I may get it and then going through a huge letdown if I don't seems worse than preparing myself now that it may not happen. Does that make sense? It's times like these I wish my parents were here because I could sure use a hug right now, even a shoulder to cry on. (Mom, Dad... not trying to make you feel guilty for being 2 states away... just missing you this evening).

I'd better go. I've got to finish some laundry before going to bed. I have to get up super early in the morning. Trying to get 2 boys to school and me to work all before 8 in the morning will be interesting.
~jen

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom -I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.


Before I was a Mom -I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.


Before I was a Mom -I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.


Before I was a Mom -I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.


Before I was a Mom -I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.


Before I was a Mom -I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.


Before I was a Mom -I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.
~Author Unknown





How I love being a mom to these 2 beautiful boys. They are my pride and joy. They are apart of me. They always will be. And as much as they suck the life out of me at times, they bring it back with their smiles, laughter, and love.




Happy Mother's Day to each of you who is a mom to somebody.

~jen

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Granny, Grandma, and Marcia! Thank you for being such wonderful women. Thank you for the support and guidance. Thank you for everything that you do for me and my family.
I love you all.
~jen

Playing with the Boys

Tuesday evening the boys talked me into going with them to the golf course. It wasn't quite my idea of a relaxing evening. All I really wanted to do is go get something to eat and then go home. But, whining and begging prevailed and I joined them for an evening out on the course. I have to say it was a beautiful evening and I was amazed at how much I actually missed watching them play! It had been a long time since I had seen Cody play. It made me sad to think about how much Cody has missed out on this spring. He didn't have the best game of his life that night, but I think he had a good time nonetheless. :)

The wonder of nature...

3 days ago, Caden and I made a discovery. I've been noticing a bird flying in and out of our front porch area. After seeing a bird rustling around in my front door flower decoration, we discovered this:

~jen

Is there a plan?

Sometimes I wonder why. Why me. Why Cody. Why us. Why now. And then there are the whens... When will this end. When will things get better. When will our lives return to normal. And of course the whats... What will happen next. The biggest one of all is What did I do.
Is there a plan? Am I just free falling? Surely there is a purpose to all of this. Am I being tested? Because let me tell you if I am, I'm failing miserably.
~jen

No real answers...

Today Cody had his appointment with our family doctor. I absolutely love our family doctor. He is patient, he listens, he explains, and he's someone we can trust. For the most part Cody's labs were normal. We are still waiting on the Epstein-Barr Virus titers. Our doctor added 2 more labs this morning to determine if there is any inflammation in Cody's body.

After a thorough assessment, Cody still has a moderate amount to tenderness to his right lower abdomen. This should have resolved by now. His doctor is suspecting Cody may possibly have an infection in his lower abdomen... possibly an abscess. He said this would explain the scar tissue forming so quickly from his appendectomy.

We will wait on all the lab results to come in. Based on what they show, the next step is to do a special test. I don't know the name of the test, but basically white blood cells will be removed from Cody's blood, radio activated, then returned to his body. A radiologist will then follow these radioactive cells and see if they accumulate in his abdomen. If they do, then that is a sign that he has an infection (abscess). I didn't ask where we would go from there. I'm afraid to even ask. I just want to take this step by step and try not to think too far into the future.

Cody's doing ok. He, too, is trying not to think to far ahead. The goal is to take things easy (as easy as an active 15 year old can accept), get plenty of rest each night, increase fluids during the day and listen to his body.

Please continue to remember him in your prayers over these next few weeks. We will follow-up with the GI surgeon next week, and then with our family doctor in 2 weeks. I should have all the lab work by the end of the week. We will know then where we will go next.

~jen

Prayer Request

Cody will be going to our family doctor tomorrow morning for a check-up. Yesterday, his family doctor was filling in at the clinic I work at. He asked how Cody was and I told him about Cody's latest hospitalization and that we actually had an appointment with him Monday morning for a check up and lab work that his GI surgeon ordered. He suggested that we have the labs drawn this morning at my clinic and sent to the hospital so we will have the results for his appointment in the morning. I was happy that he suggested that... it's one less day of waiting and we will have the opportunity to discuss his labs and where we go from there tomorrow morning.

Hopefully we will have some answers tomorrow morning. Cody seems to be feeling better these past few days. He tells me that he is so tired because he is working his hind end off in basketball these days. Apparently, there is no off-season. :)

As I've asked numerous times... please remember Cody in your prayers. Hopefully all of his labs will be within normal limits and his family doctor will tell me that Cody is fine and to stop worrying. :)

~jen

Taking a deep breath

Breathe in, breathe out. That seems to be all I can do these days. Just when I think things will return to some sort of normalcy, things go south. Or in my case, north. For the last 24 hours I've been vomiting up my toenails. Or at least it sure felt that way. Good gracious. I am sore from my abdomen around to my back. I feel as though I've been on a sit-up marathon. The vomiting finally ceased early this morning. I only pray that it doesn't spread to anyone else around here.

Cody is doing ok. He returned to school yesterday and is already caught up in all of his classes except art. I am worried about him, though. He is very pale. He just doesn't look healthy. He tells me he feels ok. He's not hurting. I can tell that he is worn out. He's going to bed early every night. Right now he's laying on the couch watching TV. I plan on taking him to our family doctor in a couple of weeks for lab work that his GI surgeon ordered. I want our family doctor to take a look at Cody. Of course, if Cody seems to be getting worse, we will go to the doctor sooner.

Please continue to remember him in your prayers. Also, I have a prayer request for me. I've applied for a school nurse position within our school district. This job would be the best schedule (well second best, the best would be a stay-at-home schedule) for the kids and I.

This is all for now. I'm exhausted. It's been a long day. Even though I didn't accomplish much today other then sit on my tush or lay in bed, I feel as though I've worked all day. I do have to return to work tomorrow. Ugh. How I wish I didn't.

Until the next time...
~jen

New Blog in the Works

I am working on a new blog to display my Uppercase Living creations. Hopefully you can use this blog to get your own ideas for using the Uppercase Living expressions. This is a work in progress, so it may be a few days before I get everything going.
~jen

Doing better...

Cody was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. We are still unsure what Cody's official diagnosis was. I guess it really doesn't matter since what was wrong is not an issue anymore. All of his lab results returned to normal, his abdominal pain is gone, and he feels better. That's all that matters.
He will have additional lab work in 2 weeks and then will follow up in 1 month with his GI surgeon. Please remember him in your prayers.
~jen

Brighter outlook...

The x rays done this afternoon came back negative for any obstruction. His was able to have his NG tube removed this evening and able to start a clear liquid diet. Hopefully we will have good news in the morning and will be able to go home tomorrow.
~jen

More tests

Cody is currently undergoing a series of x rays of his small bowel. The nurse explained that this test will reveal any changes in the small bowel from narrowing to obstruction. His GI surgeon came by this afternoon and said that his CT did not reveal an obstruction. He ordered the x ray series and some additional lab work for in the morning.

Cody's symptoms are better. He's not nauseated and has had minimal pain.

That's all I know for now. Thanks for the prayers and phone calls.
~jen

Once again...

... we find ourselves in the hospital with Cody. Last night he came home from a friend's house vomiting and telling me that he was having severe abdominal pain... just like before his bowel obstruction. He kept vomiting once he was home and his abdominal pain continued to worsen. I knew this was something we couldn't take a wait and see approach, so I took him to our ER.

Thankfully, there wasn't a soul in the waiting room and we were immediately taken to a room. After numerous tests, xrays, CT scan, another NG tube (I don't want to ever have to witness that again), and a sonogram of his liver, gall bladder, and right kidney... we don't have any answers. The on-call GI surgeon said this could be the beginning of a bowel obstruction and it's too soon to visualize it on the CT or xray. He did mention that Cody's liver function tests are elevated and there is some free fluid near his gall bladder. He doesn't have any gallstones, so I'm not sure it's a gall bladder issue. He has an elevated white blood cell count, which reveals an infection somewhere. He had a slight fever through the night, but is getting IV antibiotics. Our GI surgeon will return tomorrow and will take over Cody's care.

I'm anxious for answers. Right now, we have no choice but to take the wait and see approach. His vomiting has stopped. He continued to vomit through the night even after the NG tube was placed. His pain is under control. So for now... we wait. And pray. Numerous prayers. Prayers that never cease. Prayers for healing. Prayers for understanding. Prayers for getting through another set back. Prayers for strength to get through more missed days of school and work.

So, until tomorrow's update.... please remember us in your prayers.

Have a blessed Easter,
~jen

Prayer Request

Please remember my grandfather in your prayers as he undergoes some tests today.
Thanks,
~jen