Our 2009 Myrtle Beach Vacation!

I do not even have the words to describe how great our vacation was this year! Two whole weeks with almost my entire extended family was incredible! I loved seeing and spending time with everyone! There are so many pictures that I would love to post but here are just some of our fun these past two weeks...we laughed and talked and visited and laughed some more and swam and ate and laughed even more. It was just what the doctor ordered for my family and we all came back home a little more tan or red in some cases and with a whole lot of wonderful memories to tuck away...we are already planning for next year. What a fabulous time was had by all.....here are some of our memories (there were probably close to a 1000 pictures taken combined by everyone so these are really just a few...)

Momma and Nathan with their light up cold drinks

Jeff and Pugslie hanging out at the campsite

Sarah Beth, Patti, Kyle and Kalib eating Sunday dinner
Heather enjoying her dinner on Sunday

Sisters..Kim, Kerry, Jean, and Libbi

Emily and LaNelle in the camper after Emily's new hairdo by LaNelle!

Momma and her four kids (Jean, Kim, Momma, Libbi, Floyd)

Jean, Jeff, Kim, Jerry, Libbi, Pete, Laurel, Floyd (Me and my siblings)

Momma and Nathan with our whole family

(5 were missing...Noah, Katie, Jacob, Jared, Kristin & Chloe)

Daddy and Dibbie with most of our family

Jeff and Jean on the beach!

(See, Jeff really did go on the beach..hehehe)

Jeff taking a break from the conversation on Sunday

afternoon to do some reading (and sleeping..haha)

Nathan on July4th waiting for Jeff's burgers!

Kim, Laurel, David, and Grandma on one of our

family dinner nights!

Michael and Sarah Beth out on the balcony!

Jeff cooking hamburgers on July 4th

(Jacob taking notes!)

Kim and Lauren in the condo!

Laurel, Floyd, Libbi, LaNelle, and Pete at

a family dinner night!

Will and Jean

Peter and his fiance Ellen

(our newest family member to be)

Steven playing with Kaitlyn in the sand!

Jean and LaNelle

My two best friends...aka as my sisters!

4 of my adorable great nieces and nephews

(Natalie, Carolyn, Kaitlyn, and Seth)

Daddy, Dibbie, Floyd, Jean, Kim, Libbi, and Kerry

Grandma and Natalie playing on the beach!

The balloons going up and up for my Noah!

Emily's new hair do after LaNelle got done!

Kerry, Jean, Libbi, Kim, and Laurel!

Kim giving advice as LaNelle finishes up my highlighting session!

One of our nightly talk sessions at the campsite!

Andrew, Connor, Gramps, David, Steven, Michael, and Jeff

David, Libbi, Pete, Floyd, and Andrew

Libbi and Beth on the beach!

Lauren under Aunt Libbi's nice cool tent on the beach!

My Noah Day!!!!

Today we are at Lakewood on our vacation and I just wanted to take a minute out and say that on this day, 2 years ago, we had to say goodbye to our precious little by Noah. No one loved being down here more than he did..no one loved the golfcart more than he did. As we have ridden around on the golfcart and all the kids that have come to see us have jumped in it to ride, it has brought back very fond memories of my Noah and his ability to jump into the golf cart at a moments notice when he thought anyone was going to ride somewhere! I see his smile everywhere I turn and as we look at his little flipflops hanging from the back of our trailer, I can close my eyes and still see his little feet running across the campground in those little shoes. I can hear the sound of his laughter as he jumped up and down in the waves and how he loved to sit under the awning and "relax" with his feet propped up on one side of the chair. I can still see him busily working his puzzles we kept in the trailer for him and how he would snuggle on the bed with us at night. As much fun as we are having, these memories still bring tears to me...tears of gratitude that I was allowed to have him for five years. Tears of sorrow that I can't see him today running with everyone else and then tears of joy as I know if Jeff and I live in strict obedience to the Lord's commandments that I will one day be reunited with my precious little boy on the other side and that reunion will be sweet. For now, I will allow these memories to envelope me and I will shed a few tears and Jeff will wipe them away and together we will move forward with faith for we are an eternal family who understand the simple beauty of the Plan of Salvation and it brings us hope and peace and absolute faith that the Lord's promises are sure. So today is my Noah day and all is well! I love you Noah and I miss your presence in my life but one day our reunion will be sweet and then we can look back on this time and be grateful for the growth that our family experienced and it will have made us stronger!

Our Newest Driver!!!

Today Jeff took Emily to take her driving test so she could get her license and she was SO excited when she heard the words YOU PASSED! She was so happy she could hardly contain herself as the picture below shows! She has already called me and told me that she is driving to Wal-Mart this afternoon to pick up a few things...I guess I will now have a happy young woman that will be willing to run all kinds of errands for me...hahaha! We are so thrilled for her and she is excited to be able to drive the golf cart at the beach next week as well....everyone look out...here comes Emily!!!!!!!

Happy Fathers Day!!!

Even though we are up here in the hospital and I don't get to celebrate Fathers Day with Jeff the way we would like in our family but I do want everyone to know how grateful I am for a my wonderful husband. He is the greatest father in the world and our kids are so blessed to have him as their father! He is kind, patient, loving, understanding, righteous, and full of faith. He is the rock of our family and keeps us all steady and assured! He honors his priesthood and serves others unfailingly! I always think of him when I read the scriptures in Alma 48:11 and 17 and I can replace his name with Moroni's....the verses are, "And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding;......" and then verse 17, "Yea, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." That is they way I feel about Jeff. He is dedicated, hardworking, and immovable in his faith. He is a wonderful father and we love him very much!
I also am grateful for my own father who taught me about standing up for what is right and never backing down. He taught me how to speak up and be proud of who and what I was. He taught me good principles and gave me a foundation of faith with which to build upon. I am proud to be his daughter! I love you Daddy!
I have also been blessed with a wonderful stepfather who patience and kindness knows no bounds. His love and compassion underscores everything he does and he truly gives all from his heart. He has given all he has to me and my family thru the years and has stood right beside me in my darkest and hardest days. He is faithful and true and everyday I am thankful for his love and presence in my life. He is more than my stepfather...he is my friend. I love you, Nathan!
I have been blessed with so many wonderful men in my life that have taught me how to be better...my brother in laws are wonderful, faithful, honest, and true! They are great examples to me! I have nephews that are or will one day be fathers who bring me such joy watching them in their families and I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many good men! My life is blessed so to everyone I say, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

Gratitude!!!

A quick update....as of today (Saturday) things are looking up for us! Michael's blood culture they drew from Thursday afternoon was still negative this morning and we are hoping for it to stay that way! They have switched Michael from the big guns antibiotic (Vancomycin) to another one that is not quite so powerful because the sensitivities came back and showed that this particular bacteria can be treated with several different ones...yay!!! If all continues to go well then the plan is for us to leave here next Sunday (the 28th) and Michael will be given four days worth of oral antibiotics to take at home. If we are able to leave here Sunday morning then we will be able to leave for our vacation on time and as scheduled! That would be a near miraculous feat....we are praying for that to happen as it has certainly brightened up Michael's outlook and made it easier to be up here! We appreciate all the prayers and the combined efforts from everyone in praying for this treatment to be successful and for the doctors to be led in making wise decisions! Thank you all...we will keep you updated and hopefully our next post will be one from Myrtle Beach letting everyone know we are FINALLY THERE!!! Keep praying for us...please!!!

Another Twist!!!

Most everyone already knows how things are going but for those that aren't on Facebook and haven't been keeping up with our updates I will update here as well! First...the good news..Lauren will be going home on Friday. She has improved greatly..her migraines are under control and her stomach pains have stopped so they will be discharging her tomorrow! Now for the not so great news...first off, there is a terrible stomach bug going around up here which Jeff and I had hoped to avoid but weren't able to so we spent Tuesday and Tuesday night very sick! Thankfully it only lasted 24 hours and even though we still feel a little bit under the weather, we are much better than we were! Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon they came in to tell us that Michael's port had come back positive for bacteria again which meant that they were going to have to pull the line. That would actually require two surgeries (one to take the port out and then another one after they had cleared the line)! We would then be here for another 14 days on IV antibiotics. Well, since we were planning on leaving for vacation on the 28th of June, it would cut right into our vacation and take out the first week. We were all disappointed and since I wasn't feeling well physically it brought about tons of tears. What was most heartbreaking for me was watching Michael be so upset and disappointed. That brought me out of my own disappointment and Jeff and I talked with Michael for a long time. We explained to him that being angry was not the way the Lord would want us to be and that sometimes we just have to exercise our faith and put our trust in Heavenly Father that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. We told him how thankful we were that we were able to catch this when we did and that this was truly a blessing from the Lord. We asked him to put forth all the faith he had and that Heavenly Father would bless him. Jeff is going to give him a blessing and we asked others to pray in our behalf as well. We just accepted it and tried to remember that we are not left alone to deal with challenging times. Later yesterday evening the doctors came in again and told us that after they met with the surgeon that he really wanted to try and save the port, using surgery as a last option. They decided to do a new treatment which is they will run the vancomycin to Michael every 8 hours and in between those times they will do a vancomycin lock which is they will push a small amount of vancomycin into his port and let it sit for one hour three times a day! This they are hoping will clear the line faster and it will get all of the bacteria. We felt like that was an answer to the many prayers that were being offered up in our behalf. This morning Dr. Muge came in and told us that if this clears the line then we will be able to do it for 10 days instead of 14 which would mean that we would get out in time to make it to our vacation! I know that doesn't seem like a huge deal but to the kids it is a big deal and I know that Heavenly Father knows how much it would mean to our family to spend some quality time together. We are sending up our prayers that this treatment will clear the line and that all will go on schedule. We are thankful for the blessing the Lord gave us of finding out about the port infection before it got into his bloodstream and made him very sick. We are thankful that all the prayers that are being lifted up for us are being answered and we are most grateful that as we turn to the Lord and ask for His strengthening hand that we are being supported by His all powerful hand. We are exercising our faith and asking for everyones combined prayers and faith that Michael's port will be cleaned and we will not have to remove it! We are so grateful for the many friends and loving family that are supporting us and are helping us thru this challenging time in our life. If I can find a silver lining in all of this it is that very thing...that we have been blessed with many friends and much family who unite their faith and prayers with ours to bring about our desired result. I can never express enough my gratitude to the Lord for His guiding hand in my life. I know the Lord never gives us more than we can bear and He will fortify us in all things for as I am reading now in the book of Ether...we are "tight like unto a dish" and we will and can survive the storms! We love you all!

More Drama!!!!

OK...well, I have been trying to be positive and upbeat about our whole situation and my positive attitude was sorely tested yesterday! Jeff and Michael came up to visit us last evening and while I was waiting for them to come, Jeff called my cellphone and asked me to bring the bloodsugar machine downstairs because they were in the truck out in front of the hospital. I asked him what was wrong and he said that Michael had thrown up in the parking garage and he didn't have the bloodsugar machine with him. I grabbed our bloodsugar machine and ran downstairs. Michael's bloodsugar was 91 so I ran back upstairs to get him some cornstarch that I had in Lauren's room. When I got back downstairs his bloodsugar was 77. I gave him cornstarch, spoke with Dr. Muenzer and told Jeff that he would have to pull over and wait to see if Michael's bloodsugar would come back up. I went back upstairs to check on Lauren. Jeff called me just as I got back to the room and Michael's bloodsugar was 61. I again called Dr. Muenzer, told him quickly what was going on, grabbed my access kit and the D-50, told the nurses to keep an eye on Lauren, told Jeff to take Mikey to the ER and headed downstairs to the ER. I met Jeff and Michael in the ER, the doctors took him back, and his bloodsugar was now 54. I accessed his port, and they started an IV on him. They checked his bloodsugar and he was 43! They increased the sugar running into his veins and I ran back upstairs to check on Lauren, told the charge nurse that Michael was being admitted and they saved him one of the VERY FEW rooms open on the floor that was 3 doors down from Lauren. Michael and Jeff came up within about 30 minutes and once I spoke to Mikey's nurse and got him some phenergan thru the IV, I sat down for a minute and took a breath. I called Momma, she and Emily went and gathered a few of Jeff's things (he was in his suit from church) and Bishop Tiek and Robin came and brought them up to us! Now Jeff is staying the room with Michael and I am in the room with Lauren. Now...for my silver lining....Jeff was already in the parking garage here at UNC when Mikey got sick, a room was available which is rare, Dr. Muenzer was on call and quickly responded, the nurses up here were WONDERFUL and quick to keep an eye on Lauren during all our drama, I had an extra access kit in the room and was able to quickly get it together for Michael. So amist all the drama and stress, we were able to remain calm and get everything in order for Michael very quickly! Jeff and I knelt together in prayer last night (another silver lining) and thanked Heavenly Father that everything worked out the way that it did and that Michael is being taken well care of as well as Lauren. We prayed for our precious Emily, who is a huge blessing to us with her ability to understand and roll with what we are given and for Momma and Nathan who we don't know what we would do without! The stress was high but our blessings were greater and we gratefully acknowledged the Lord's hand in our life once again and expressed our thanks for His constant care. We appreciate all the help everyone has been to us over the last 24 hours and have felt the many prayers and love that are being sent our way!

Sunday!!!

Gosh, you know I love Sundays even when we are in the hospital because I try really hard to make it a different day even up here. I got up this morning and turned on "The Mormon Channel" on my computer (it's an audio site that plays music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, conference talks, CES talks, different gospel subjects are discussed, and so on..) and then I read my conference edition of the Ensign after reading my scriptures. The room is quiet and there is a wonderful spirit in it because I ask Heavenly Father to help us have a good Sabbath Day. As I read the talks I ponder over their words of counsel and I think about things in my life that I can improve on. The talks I have been reading this morning are all about being strong during adversity in our lives and I thought about how appropriate it is for those to be the ones that I am reading today. Even reading them has strengthened my resolve to live closer to the Spirit and to be more exact in my obedience, more faithful in going thru challenging times and pray harder for the inspiration to lead me where I should go! I am thankful for my Savior and for His redeeming sacrifice for me. I am thankful for the scriptures that bring me peace in stressful situations and I am grateful for modern day revelation that teaches me how to be more patient, more faithful, and more grateful for the challenges in my life. I am grateful for the challenges that I face because they increase my faith as I allow my will to be swallowed up in the will of the Lord. I am most grateful for my wonderful husband and my children who take life as it comes and never complain. I am thankful for Lauren's amazing courage, Michael's absolute joy in life, Emily's never ending compassion, and Noah's constant powerful influence in my life! I have a husband who loves me more than I can put into words and who completely honors his priesthood. My blessings are many so on this Sabbath day I will share my testimony of faith and love with each of you. I am thankful for all the blessings in my life and I am most grateful to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for walking every road with me...it gives me the courage to walk forward with faith! I just love Sundays...they give me a chance to pause, ponder, and reflect on the important things in my life! My blessings are numerous.

Update on Lauren!

I thought I would give everyone an update since our drama on Wednesday. It appears that she has caught a cold bug or something that has thrown her backwards with the migraines. She has a great team of doctors working with her with her beloved Dr. Muenzer heading it up! We are blessed to have a doctor on the team that suffers from migraines and has been an invaluable source in guiding the doctor's efforts. They still have her on DHE (they actually increased the dose) but are going to bring it back down tomorrow. If her pain level hasn't gone down below a five on the pain scale tomorrow, they are considering giving her a scheduled dose of Zanaflex (a muscle relaxant) because it makes her very sleepy and they think it might be good for her to sleep as much as she can so that it will help with the migraine treatment. If they go that route, she will be getting it three times a day so she would be sleeping most of the time over the next two days. We will just have to wait and see. She woke up tonight and enjoyed visiting with Jeff and the kids. When they left, she asked the nurse if she could have the zanaflex...I asked her if she felt ok and she said no but she didn't want to make her dad and brother and sister feel bad while they were here. She seems to manage the pain when it goes below a certain level but then it seems to come back again and that it what they are trying to get under control. Right now I just think that she is feeling lowsy because of this cold bug too! On Monday, they will do an MRI under concious sedation. They tried to do one today with just some ativan but Lauren freaked out with her head hurting and the "darth vader" mask that they put over her face to keep her head still. After a few minutes, we called it quits and decided to do it the other way. Dr. Muenzer did not want her to be down there crying and shaking. She has been pretty drugged up today but at least when she is sleeping, her body is relaxed and the pain is better. I cannot say enough about our love and admiration for Dr. Muenzer...he takes extra steps to make sure we are doing ok. I have talked with him at length twice today...both times with a few tears and he just listens and tells me that Lauren is going to be fine and they will get her thru this. I know that they will. I have a lot of faith in them and I have prayed mightly that the Lord will direct their efforts. I feel like He is doing so and we are on a right path. The room gets smaller every day...I had hoped to transfer to a bigger room but it doesn't seem to be working out as well as I had hoped. It's okay though...we are making due! Please continue to pray that the pain in Lauren's head will subside and we will be able to go home one day next week! We are all definitely looking forward to our beach vacation! Below I have put some pictures of Lauren sleeping...she is still so frail and weak looking but she is going to get stronger! Thanks for all your support and prayers! We are looking forward in faith and we know she is being watched over and her guardian angel is near.

A Curve Ball !!!

Well, today started out good at least...I got up early, got the room packed up, our clothes washed and had everything ready for Jeff to come pick us up from the hospital around 12:30 this afternoon. Lauren slept in late, Dr. Muenzer came in, we all talked and then they came in to give us our prescriptions to take home and Lauren got up to take a shower! Once she got into the bathroom, she called for me and when I opened the door she was falling to the floor with her eyes rolled back in her head. I caught her head just before she hit the floor and laid her gently down then reached for the nurses's call button and yelled for help! Lauren was pale, clammy, and very disoriented (CLASSIC HYPOGLYCEMIA). I grabbed the bloodsugar machine just as the nurse came running in and we started giving her sugar filled soda to bring up her bloodsugar as she began to come around. They paged Dr. Muenzer and he came running up from his clinic visits as well as the neurologists and a lot of other people crowding into the room. Nicoletta (the nurse) and I were able to get her to the bed and then she started throwing up everything. Everyone stepped into highgear and we quickly reaccessed (I had already deaccessed her) port and Dr. Muenzer ordered the staff to restart her D-10! They gave her phenergan thru the IV and we took a wet washcloth and wiped her face and got her calmed down. They hooked her up to the heart monitor to watch her more closely and we checked her bloodsugar frequently until it was back up to normal. She fell asleep and I took a big sigh of relief that she was sleeping calmly and the crisis was over! Jeff came up and we are sitting talking about how much we hate GSD and how sometimes it just creates havoc for no good reason! They have decided to run the DHE Protocol another day and then reassess her again tomorrow! For the meantime, she is back on the IV and we are most grateful that we hadn't left the hospital yet when this happened and that we have wonderful doctors who take great care of her! She was in the best place she could have been in for her to have a hpyoglcemia attack although we all wish we could have figured out why it happened....but that is GSD and we are hoping she hasn't caught something while she has been up here although I don't think anything is going around up here so who knows!!! I have said a prayer of gratitude in my heart to the Lord that all has turned out and we will probably be here for a couple of more days until we get this worked out! Lauren loves to throw us curve balls and we had a doozy of one thrown at us this morning! It's a good thing we are learning to catch them better.......:)

Nice Sunday!

Today is Sunday and as I sit here and type this in the hospital, I am listening to "The Mormon Channel" that comes over my computer. It is songs, inspirational stories, and talks from the general authorities. It is so uplifting and even though Lauren and I can't be at church today, we can certainly listen and feel uplifted. It is so great to have this kind of technology now! Lauren is improving everyday and we are hoping if all continues to go well that we will be able to go home by Tuesday...at least that is what we are shooting for. I think we will make it. I am grateful for the scriptures and the power of prayer in our lives....we feel very blessed to have great doctors who are so in tune with Lauren and take such good care of her. We are also grateful for the nursing care she has received up here. We see the Lord's hand in our life and are grateful for every blessing He sends our way and He sends many. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and love sent our way. We appreciate it! Things will be back to normal soon and we will be preparing for our beach trip...we are looking forward to a nice relaxing getaway!

Chapel Hill....again!

Well...here we are at Chapel Hill once again! Lauren has been fighting migraines for the last couple of weeks and we began to get concerned this week-end when the medicine was not taking the migraines completely away. She would get better at night and then the next morning the migraine would be back and she would sleep most of the day. We were having a hard time getting her to eat and last week she had two low blood sugars in the mornings. This afternoon when her migraine came back and was a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, I put a call into to Dr. Muenzer. He told me that she was headed to the hospital and after speaking with the peds neurologist and Dr. Muge, the decision was made to admit her to Chapel Hill. By the time they called us with a room, it was 8 pm and we got here around 9:30 pm. We were able to come right up to the room and by the time they got her admitted and got all the initial stuff done it was close to midnight! They finally got her medicine up and running around 1 am and she is now sleeping. We will probably be here for 7 to 10 days as that is how long is usually takes for the DHE Protocol to work. We are grateful for her wonderful doctors who don't take any chances with her and hopefully we will get this taken care of and be able to enjoy our vacation! So for now...we are confined to the 6th floor of the Children's Hospital at Chapel Hill!

Michael's First Campout!!!

Michael's first campout was a ton of fun! Michael and Tristan (they are the only 2 weblos that come regularly) had to earn a few badges so they planned an overnight campout so they could finish out their weblo requirements plus earn their arrow of light! Their dad's, along with their weblo leader, camped out with them. They went to Tristan's house because they live on several acres of land with a pond and camped out down by the pond! Michaels words when I asked him how the camp-out was were and I quote, "It was AWESOMESAUCE Mom" (that translates to It was the greatest time ever!)! They did all kinds of fun things and Michael ended up catching a fish! They ate steaks with potates and veggies they cooked over the campfire for dinner and had a great breakfast of bacon and eggs! As Jeff says..."if you go camping with me, you are gonna eat good!" I am so happy it was great fun for Michael and that Jeff survived..hehehe...he is now laying down for a little nap before we move on with other things for the day! Michael still has plenty of energy and is looking forward to the next time they can camp out!!! Below are some pictures of their adventure....

The camp!

Michael relaxing at the campsite!

Michael and Tristan in the tent!

Michael showing off the fish he caught!
Michael and Tristan fishing!

A Day in May!

OK...I don't really have a reason to post or anything wonderful to share or tell but I did want to say that I love going to the temple! Jeff and I went this morning together and can I just say that to start your Saturday morning off by going thru a session at the temple is just the perfect way to start a day! Our whole day has been so much more relaxed and we are getting everything accomplished that we wanted to! We got up at 6:30 this morning, got dressed, and left by 7:45 a.m! Momma and Nathan came over to help out until Jackie (the kid's nurse) got here! We normally leave Emily in charge when we go somewhere but because we can't be contacted while we are in the temple, we feel more secure having an adult here while we are gone! I was just reminded again today of all my blessings and how grateful I am for the peace and joy that comes inside the walls of the Lord's house! The burdens and challenges we face seem to fade away within those walls and we come away with more strength to face life's challenges! I set a goal this year to attend the temple once a month! So far I am right on schedule and I am thankful that everything works out so that I can accomplish my goal. I usually don't meet physical goals that I try to accomplish each year (i.e. - exercise, weight loss...although I continually try) but I am very determined to meet the spiritual goals I have set. So far on all of those, I am right on schedule and hopefully will stay that way! So for just a normal Saturday in May....it has been a great one because we started it out the best way we know how! I love the temple!!!!

Happy Mothers Day!

I just wanted to write a post and wish everyone a Happy Mothers Day! I have been blessed with a wonderful mother who taught me everything good that I am. She lifts me up when I am down, encourages me to move forward with faith, allows me to lean on her until I can get enough strength to stand on my own and taught me about a loving Father in Heaven who listens to me and walks with me each day! I love you, Momma and all that I am I owe to you. Thank you! I have also been blessed with a wonderful stepmother who treats me with kindness and respect and who has always been my friend. I am thankful for the love that she shows to me all the time and how she accepts me for who and what I am. I love you, Dibbie..and thank you! I have also been blessed with sisters who have taught me more than I could ever express in words. You have been my greatest examples of love, tenderness, kindness and taught me what being a friend is all about! You have followed me into the depths of grief and carried me thru and you have laughed with me in our silliest moments and shared all my joys and all my sorrows! Libbi and Kim...I love you...you are my best friends and I am grateful! To my sister in law...thank you..you are my friend and my biggest defender! I have found great joy in our friendship and we have walked together down many roads! I love you, Jewel! To my wonderful nieces who are either mothers or will one day be mothers...I am so proud of how you live your lives and I love you very much! You make me proud to be your aunt! Most of all I am grateful that I have been given four beautiful children to mother...each of my children have brought different joys and different challenges to me and they have all taught me to be better and live closer to the Lord. I will celebrate today with my family and be grateful I came from a rich heritage of loving women and I will look at my children and hopefully pass on to them what I have learned. I will kiss all my children tomorrow and I will look up into the heavens and think of my precious baby and I will know that he will be with me tomorrow and my tears will fall but I will know that I have been blessed beyond what I deserve for I have been given the greatest of all gifts...a great heritage and four beautiful children in whom I will be honored to hear them call me Mother! Happy Mothers Day everyone! I love you all!!!!!

House Facelift!!!

When Jeff and I first bought this house, the thing we did not like was the covered porch and all these big ugly overgrown boxwoods in the front of it! Well, it will take a lot of money and work to tear down the covered porch and make a real one so until we can really do that, we weren't sure what to do. One day Jeff got irritated with the bushes out front, wrapped a chain around them and jerked them up with his truck. Since then, there has been nothing out there (which believe it or not, looked better than those ugly boxwoods) but then we have had to decide what to do. We have finally gotten the front of the house done to what we feel like is a pretty view when you drive up. I used to always say that our house was the ugliest one on the block but I can't say that now. Jeff still wants a traditional porch and we are going to be working towards making that happen; however, in the meantime we are happy with what we have now! I took some before and after pictures below. It's hard to really see it as well in pictures but you can get an idea! We also spent the day yesterday cleaning out the garage and our back porch! Not to mention the spring cleaning on the inside...it was a long day but it was worth it when we drove up from church and looked at our new view!

The front of the house before we did anything!

The front of our house after we finished!

The right front side of our house!

The left front side of our house!

The entrance to our house!

2009 Day of Service!

Our day of service was doing a 5k family fun run to gather food for the NC Food Bank and clothes for several different charities in our area! To register for the fun run you had to donate 10 cans of food per person. We also were donating clothing at each of our church buildings! We got started at 8:30 am on Saturday at the Wake Forest Building! If any on you know anything about Wake Forest, NC then you know that it is extremely hilly! We started and ended our 5k run at the church after going up and thru the neighborhood behind the church! It was full of hills! There were over 1000 people registered for the event and we all lined up according to speed! It was super hot so everyone carried water bottles and we all took off! What a great time we had! I was among the slowest walkers but I finished with a sprint and then fell over in the grass..hahahaha! Emily did great and breezed past me from the beginning! Momma and Nathan came in very last but you would have thought they had won if you had listened to the cheering crowd! Everyone was so excited for them to cross the finish line and everyone was cheering with music playing...it was great fun and a great way to do service! We were all hot, tired and sore by the end of the day but it felt great to join with the other 98 stakes participating in the day of service and give to our community! We had a ball and are looking forward already to next year! It gives me a goal to shoot for...I will be jogging in next years race! What a load of fun!!!!

Momma and Nathan before the race

Emily and Bishop Tiek before the race

Emily running across the finish line
Jean running across the finish line!
Jean smiling because she had FINISHED!!

And then there were two....crossing to the sound of the cheering crowd!

Good to be home!

We finally made it home yesterday and it felt so good to walk in the door and know that we didn't have to go back to the hospital this time! Michael was so excited to be home again and play with his new Wii game that he got for Easter. He wasn't able to play with it until we got home so that was the first thing that he did! He has been outside a lot today making up for lost time and good weather last week and is thoroughly enjoying being back to normal! It is so good to see him playing, laughing, and back to his happy go lucky self! His mom is extremely tired so I am taking the day off to rest and get my mojo back! Anyway...here is Mikey back in his normal element...

Tagged!!! (I have nothing else to do!)

THE RULES:
Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
Step 2: tag—other people.

Make a list of things you can see without getting up:
the TV, the bathroom door, the clock on the wall, the tray that goes on Mikey's bed, and the table beside where I am sitting.

Favorite football team:
I have two...Clemson and NC State

What are you wearing now?
A pair of denim capris and a butterfly shirt

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading?
Scriptures

Do you nap a lot?
I would if I had a choice..hahahaha

Who was the last person you hugged?
Michael

What’s your current obsession/addiction?
Food

What was the last thing you said aloud?
Go ahead (Michael asked if he could read me something and I told him to go ahead)

What Web sites do you always visit when you go online?
My yahoo home page, Facebook, and family blogs

What was the last thing you bought?
groceries

What are you listening to right now?
Nothing...it is Sunday afternoon and we are sitting up here quietly reading or on the computer

What is something you wish you could do more?
See my family

What gives you hope?
The gospel and living righteously so I will be with Noah again one day

What is your favorite weather, and why?
Most of the time I like it warm and sunny but some days I do enjoy the rain

What time do you usually get up?
7 to 8 am

What is your most challenging goal right now?
Losing weight (which is not going well at all...maybe that is why it is a challenge)!

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?
Zebulon, North Carolina (I would stay where I am at...)

Favorite Movie?It's A Wonderful Life~

What is your favorite children’s book?
The Velveteen Rabbit

Name one thing you just can’t resist no matter how bad it is for you:
Chocolate

Have you ever met anyone famous?
Not really

If you could have any job in the world , what would it be?
I loved being a secretary...

Who is the last person you went on a date with?
My sweetheart...which I am looking forward to going on another one soon!!!!

What was the last thing you ate?
A bag of M&M's (hmmm..maybe that is why the weight loss thing isn't going well!!!)

If you had $500 in your hand right now.... what would you do with it?
I would pay off some debt!

If you didn't have a job or go to school what would you do with your time?
If you don't count motherhood as a job then I would do what I am doing now...clean, take care of kids, cook, all the same stuff!

And my new question....If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why???

I tag.....Libbi, Kim, and Jewel!

A Wonderful Surprise!!!

We were so thrilled when our friends, the Reynolds, called and said they were coming thru Raleigh on their way to spend Easter with their family and wanted to stop by and visit with Michael and us in the hospital! They moved to Virginia a little over 4 years ago and we haven't seen them since! Damon used to be our hometeacher and Morgen would always come with him and our kids LOVED them so we were all sad when they moved! Their family has grown since they left us as they have added two little girls to their clan! I got to hold cute baby Emma today and Isaac and Lucy are adorable!!! The time went so fast when we were visiting with them and we were so glad they stopped to say hello! It brought back lots of fond memories with their family and lots of smiles! Once again our kids commented on how much they LOVE the Reynolds and wished they lived here! Thanks Morgen and Damon...you made our day! We love you! It made being in the hospital much brighter and we are thankful for good friends who are always in our hearts!!! It has been a good day!! Michael is doing wonderful and we are counting our blessings because we have so many to count!!!

Michael!

We found out last night the the 2nd blood culture they drew on Michael was positive as well. That was a little disconcerting to me but not suprising. After speaking with Dr. Muenzer and his doctor over here this morning, they have drawn another culture and will continue Mikey on the vancomycin as he is feeling better so that appears to be working. They said that they will want to see 3 more cultures come back negative before they will feel really good that they have gotten rid of the infection because sometimes bacteria is hard to get rid of around the port site. We are praying that we can clear it and that we will not have to replace the port. Needless to say, Michael will be up here for a couple of weeks. I would like to ask everyone to send him a card though as I think he will like that...the address up here is:

Michael Coombs
c/o Wake Med Room 4C16
3000 New Bern Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27610

Since he will have to be here over Easter, I think he would really like to get cards from everyone. We can put them up around his room! Thanks everyone for your prayers and please continue as we really want to clear this infection up completely and be able to save his port a cath! Below I have posted his picture because he looks so sweet sleeping!

Mikey Update!

Thought I would give another update and send along a pictures of Michael with it! He is continuing to improve! The doctors came in this morning and told us that it looks like the bacteria is some kind of a staph and sometimes that can be a contaminate because it is on the skin but since the source of his infection came from the skin then they consider it the real thing. They had first put him on clendamycin when he came in and on Sunday he continued to get worse...they told me today that this particular bacteria was resistant to clendamycin which is why he was getting worse. They have him now on Vancomycin and he is improving everyday! We discussed with the doctors here of doing part of the IV therapy at home but when Dr. Muenzer and Dr. Covington got wind of that, they shot it down. They want Michael in the hospital for the entire length of treatment. I was hoping to be able to go home in a few days but it seems like we may be here for the whole time. I won't complain though because I prayed and told Heavenly Father that no matter how long we had to stay here it would be ok with me as longs as Michael got better. So, no matter what, whether we stay here the whole time or get to go home for part of the treatment, I am happy that he is getting better. As you can see from the picture..they have brought a video game console in here and he is happily playing his video games. He still doesn't feel like eating very much and he sleeps a lot but when he is up, he is looking much better and he feels like playing or reading..so that is a huge blessing! Things are getting so much better and I am thankful for the Lord's hand on Michael. It is truly miraculous!

Update on Michael!

Today has been and up and down day for me! I have been thrown some curve balls that resulted in many shed tears and then have been uplifted by my great family, good friends, a wonderful husband and an extremely supportive bishop. I so enjoyed watching conference today and was edified completely. This afternoon the doctors up here came in and told me that Michael's blood culture had come back positive and they wanted to do another one as they felt like it might be a contaminate. I didn't think too much about it but Michael slept most of the day and when he finally woke up late this afternoon, he was very pasty looking with absolutely NO color. He went to the bathroom and sat up but his lips were very chapped and he kept drinking water. I then called Dr. Muenzer and told him what the doctors had told me about Mikey's blood culture. He told me how serious infections can be of the skin and once they get into the blood stream, they can be extremely difficult to get rid of as they are very resistant. He also did not believe that the positive blood culture was a contaminate. He told me that since it had grown out so fast that it was probably a real infection. He told me that the doctors here had him on several different antibiotics and they would cover it all. When I informed him that they only had him on clendamycin (sp?), he told me to go find the attending doctor here and have him call him. I began to cry on the phone with him and he assured me that he would make sure everything was being done for Michael. I shared with him all of my concerns. Within about 30 minutes the doctors from here came in our room and told me that they had spoken at length with Dr. Muenzer and they were going to switch him to vancomycin (a very powerful antibiotic) and ceftriaxoine (sp.?) so that he was covered for most everything. They also drew another blood culture from his arm and said they would watch him very closely. I got Michael settled and then went out to get some water. I called Jeff on my cell phone and started to cry uncontrollably. Jeff left immediately to come up here as he could see the fear and anxiety I was under. I also called our Bishop who came immediately as well! When Jeff got here, Michael had some color in his face but he also had fever once again! I left Mikey with Jeff and walked down the hall to get some air. About that time, Bishop Tiek came down the hall and I began to cry as soon as I saw him. I told him about my fears and he gave me great comfort! We went back to Mikey's room and Jeff and Bishop Tiek administered to Michael. The blessing that Bishop Tiek gave Michael was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes. I could feel the spirit so strong in the room. After they had administered to Michael, they gave me a blessing as well. It brought me great peace and shortly afterwards, Michael began to perk up. He has felt better this evening and we feel much calmer. I am so grateful for the power of prayer and how it has uplifted us today. We are still waiting for results but we feel confident in the doctors and nurses and know they are looking out for him. We will be here for however long it takes to completely clear this infection from his body. It has been a frightening day as results have come back but we know that Michael is strong and the the Lord is watching over him. Please continue to pray for our precious little boy as he fights this infection. We are surely grateful for our blessings and are counting them tonight as I see improvement in Michael already! I will keep you posted!

A Surprise Visit!

Well...I know everyone is wondering what is going on so I will try to give a quick explanation...a couple of days ago Michael started not feeling well and he was congested so we figured he had a cold. Yesterday he went and took a nap (which is very unusual for Mikey) but we figured it was because he was congested. Then he started complaining about his neck hurting so we thought it was his throat. This afternoon I noticed that he had this rash on his arms, face and stomach. He slept thru both sessions of conference and after the second session I went over and sat down next to him. I put my hand on his head and he was very hot. I took his temp. and it was 101.5. Jeff was getting ready to go to priesthood session and I told him that I was calling our pediatrician. I called and they didn't seem overly concerned (go figure that one) so I called Dr. Muenzer. I told him what was going on and he told me to take him to the ER and have them check him for strept throat and do some blood work. I hemmed and hawwed because I didn't want to come in! We thought we were just going to come in, have them do a throat swab, draw some blood, give us some antibiotic and out the door we would go. Well...it didn't work out that way. His strep test came back negative but because of the rash on him, the doctor was concerned and began to look over his body...they found a huge infection in his groin area (which we were not aware of) and it looked like it had gotten worse....Michael has impaired neutrophil function which causes any type of small infection to get out of control quickly so after the ER doctor called and talked with Dr. Muenzer at length, they decided that Michael had to be admitted! I was so not prepared for them to do that and Michael began to cry immediately saying he was afraid he was going to die. Jeff quickly walked over to him, reminded him that he had had a blessing and that it was all going to be okay while I spoke quietly with the doctor to get details about what was going on. They decided to put him on IV antibiotics because the rash had spread to all over his body and he was running fever, has a comprimised immune system anyway and they wanted to give him some fluids. Jeff was calming Michael down and I ran home to get a few things from home. I had to take a breath once I got home and get my bearings back about me. This hit me out of nowhere! I am thankful for the blessing that Michael got, for all the conference talks that strengthened me and grateful for the doctors and nurses who are caring for him. I know all will be well. Jeff had him completely calm by the time I got back to the hospital and we are now trying to settle in at 2 in the morning. Hopefully both of us will be able to get some sleep and we can get conference up here on the computer tomorrow! We are very grateful for the Lord's guiding hand in our lives. It never ceases to amaze me!

Amazing!

I just had to post this video for all of you to watch! It is outstanding and it speaks volumes about how I feel...I think you will all like it!

Home Sweet Home!!!!

Hey everyone! We have finally made it home! We came home this afternoon and I have never been so happy to see a comfortable place to plop down! Lauren is doing really good! I wish I could say the same thing about myself...I have come home aching all over with a fever. I am curled up in my chair with a blanket and complaining about what I caught while we were at the hospital...hahaha! Since it is going to be a cold, rainy week-end, my plans are to stay in my pjs and get lots of rest! Thank you all for your prayers...we are so grateful we didn't have to stay long (how pathetic is it that I am happy when we only have to stay a week????) The Lord blessed us though so I won't complain! Now if only I can get to feeling better....

Coming Home Soon!!

OK...the Lord is looking out for us! Today the doctors told us that Lauren's blood culture grew out strep viridan which could possibly have even been caused by a contaminate...at any rate...she is doing a lot better, no more fever and so once we get her to eat good then we will be able to come home because they can give her oral antibiotics to finish out the treatment for the next 3 weeks! We were so happy to hear that!!!! We are thinking that it will probably be Thursday before we will be able to get her completely back to her normal eating so we are looking at Thursday afternoon sometime being able to come home! I will be looking forward to sleeping in my own bed...woohoo! We are so glad that this turned out not to be very serious and that the Lord answered our prayers! We are very grateful for His blessings! Finally...good news at the hospital...hahaha!

Doing Much Better!

Today things are looking up! Lauren didn't feel well last night but they are giving her medicine to bring down her fever and for pain so once she gets it then she feels much better! She got up this morning and took a shower, we changed the sheets on her bed, she frenchbraided her hair and has been feeling a lot better! She has been doing some artwork with the paper and markers Emily brought up to her and then they brought her some pens and sketchpad from here so she is staying busy. She actually feels like eating today...yea!!!! We are still waiting for the sensitivities to come back on the bacteria they found but if it is a really normal bacteria then it is possible that in a couple of days they can switch her to oral antibiotics which means we will be able to go home!!! That made us happy to hear! So, we are both feeling good today and it looks like this might not be a long stay afterall! I love it when we get good news...I am counting my blessings today!!! (And Kim, her blanket is actually PINK, her favorite color but for some reason in the picture it looks lavender...:) )

Update!

Well, it looks like from the initial test results that we have an answer for why Lauren has been running fever and feeling bad all over. Her blood culture came back positive for bacteria. That means that Lauren's port a cath is infected. They have her on IV antibiotics for broad coverage and they have drawn another blood culture this morning to re-check it. If it comes back for sure, then she will have to be on IV antibiotics for 14 days after they figure out which antibiotic the bacteria is sensitive to. We are praying that they will be able to clear the infection out of the line so that we won't have to pull it out and replace it. We will have to see how it goes though. As of now, we are preparing for being up here for a few weeks. I think, if she doesn't have to go on vancomycin (she is HIGHLY allergic to it) that we should be able to stay here at Wake Med the whole time. We are in constant contact with her doctors over at Chapel Hill so we know she is being well taken care of. As of right now though she is feeling VERY lousy and hurts all over which her doctor at Chapel Hill said is from the infection! Along with that, her asthma is acting up because she doesn't feel well and she has already had a migraine which has been triggered by her blood sugar bouncing around! She is a trooper though and we will get thru this! We are thankful for the prayers that are being lifted up in her behalf! She is one courageous little girl who faces things in her life with determination and a strong will! We will keep you posted!

New year....time to visit Wake Med again!!!!

Well...we set a goal to not have to go the hospital this year, which Dr. Muenzer informed me today that that was unrealistic and unfortunately, he is right! We are here at Wakemed with Lauren! She has been having stomach pain again and a general overall bad feeling. Yesterday she threw up and her blood sugars began to be unstable! We were able to stabilize them and we have been talking back and forth with our doctors at Chapel Hill. Dr. Muenzer wanted us to bring her in yesterday but we have tried to wait it out. This morning Lauren began to run fever and Dr. Muenzer became VERY insistent that we admit her to the hospital. After some praying, pondering, and Jeff giving Lauren a blessing, we felt impressed this afternoon that we indeed needed to bring her in. We are so thankful we did. Her fever has spiked this evening and they are putting her on some IV antibiotics and are running all sorts of tests to rule out what things could be. She is feeling pretty bad tonight but we all are more relaxed knowing we are in a safe setting and that she now has IV fluids running to maintain her blood sugar. Her doctors are relieved that we brought her in and are directing what is going on with her. We love the nurses here at Wakemed and because we are well known over here (I guess that is a silver lining) we didn't have to be down in the ER long at all! We will keep you posted as we learn more results...hopefully this won't be a long stay...at least that is what we are praying for! For the time being I will TRY not complain about this hard chair bed that I will be sleeping on for the new few nights...I did say I would try not to complain...hahahahaha!

All about Jeff!!!

OK, Lynn, I know you love posts like this but you'll have to endure this one..hahaha! I have been thinking lately about how blessed I am to be married to Jeff. These last 17 years have been the best in my life. We are opposite in so many ways but it's those differences that make us so close! We have seen a lot challenges thru the years and Jeff is so stalwart. I have watched him walk thru the refiners fire and there I have learned that he is made of pure gold! Over the years he has walked the floor to calm a sick and frightened child, slept sitting straight up in hospitals and emergency rooms, given blessings to me and our children during times of sickness and stress, driven back and forth to numerous doctor visits, been a dedicated and strong advocae for our children, stayed up all night praying for direction, and spent hours on bended knees in supplication for our family's welfare. During the last two years I have been amazed at his strength of character and his depth of faith! He has held me up when I could no longer stand and has given me strength that I didn't think I possessed. He puts all his trust in the Lord and is unwavering in his faith. He looks forward never doubting in the Lord's plan and consistently tries to lift the burdens of others. His prayers are always filled with thanksgiving for our blessings and pleas to the Lord on others behalf. His love of the Lord is evident in everything he does. I am so thankful to be married to a man of unwavering faith, pure Christlike love for others, and complete devotion to our family. He strengthens and uplifts me everyday and gives me the courage to walk forward in faith. Our children are blessed to have been born to such a goodly father. He is an unmovable rock of faith and stands as a beacon of light to me in the storms of life. I love him so much and just wanted to share what he would never say. I really am blessed!

Pinewood Derby!!

Today was Michael's last pinewood derby! He had a good time even though his car wasn't the fastest car of the day...if they had had an award for the slowest car of the day then he would have been the grand winner!!!! They also asked the dads to make a car to race with their kids...Jeff didn't spend a whole lot of time on his..we have been really busy lately so he decided to have fun with his (he called it Prototype Phil...yeah, I'm not sure why!) He drilled two holes in the front and made a smiley face on it. It looked so happy rolling down the track and it actually won a couple of rounds....we aren't sure how! Anyway, at the end of the day, everyone got an award for their car. It was a fun day for fathers and sons and we all went to cheer them on! We think Michael and Jeff are both winners in this house and they had a good time working on their cars! That is what is really important! Good job to both my main men!

Michael getting his awards!

Jeff getting ready to race his car!

Michael getting ready to race his car!


Michael and Jeff!


Michael showing off his car and ribbon. He got "sleekest design" for his car!

And here we have both cars...Jeff got, Are you ready???...."The Utmost Ugliest Car"Award!

My New Background!

Okay...I had to make a post about this because Emily doesn't like it! So the "i'm buggin" on the sides just means that I'm bugging my kids with this background! Also...the cars remind me of how much Noah loved his little cars and that makes me smile! I also LOVE all the bright colors because I think that if it is the brighter, the better! So everyone...now you know why I chose this particular background...Emily, you are just going to have to get over it..hahahaha!

Jeff's latest project!

Ever since we moved into this house, I have wanted to have a built in section in my corner where the kids can sit and work on the computer. We have had this ugly computer desk over in the corner and I have never liked it. Finally, Jeff told me this past week that he is going to fix up that area for me! He and I went on Saturday and got the things he needed then he built it all for me in one afternoon and evening! By the time we went to bed last night it was all complete and I am so happy with how it turned out! Having a husband who is handy is truly a blessing! He is my hero jack of all trades!!! Now there are other projects I have in mind.....

Our Anniversary!

On Valentines Day we celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary! Wow..it doesn't seem like it has been that long. So much has happened in these last 17 years. We have grown and changed a lot (in all kinds of ways...hahaha). Jeff made reservations at my very favorite restaurant in Raleigh called the Angus Barn...it has the best food and service of anywhere! It was so wonderful and we ate way too much...I came home afterwards and put on my pjs...I know, where did the romance go...hehehe! It was so much fun to just spend the day with Jeff. The girls had a youth dance to go to and Jackie came to watch Mikey for us so it was fun. I am married to my perfect match (opposites do attract) and it has been a wonderful 17 years...I am very blessed! So Happy Anniversary to me and Jeff! :)

Got Food?

OK...now normally I don't do posts like this but I am so proud of my new $150.00 freezer that we got from Craigs list. Thanks to my friend, Teri, for keeping an eye out for me for a stand up freezer, I was able to get one yesterday. Jeff drove and picked it up then he singlehandedly unloaded it off his truck and put it in my garage! We have been working really hard on getting our 3 months supply and we have finally acheived what we feel is a good 3 months supply of food in our house so I just had to take a minute and show it off! I am so proud of the little bit that we have been picking up each week over the last year. It has grown over time and we are pleased with our progress! I have posted some pictures below....here is a glimpse of our obeying the counsel of doing a little at a time...

My freezer stocked almost full!I'm showing off our new freezer...what a deal!
PART of our cornstarch supply!

Our Pantry!

One Word Answers!

Okay Libbi...here is my one word answer survey....

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? sleeping
3. Your hair? permed
4. Your mother? loving
5. Your father? confident
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal? celestial
10. What room you are in? den
11. Your hobby? talking
12. Your fear? unknown
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? better
14. Where were you last night? home
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. Wish list item? bed
18. Where you grew up? South
19. Last thing you did? prayer
20. What are you wearing? pjs
21. Your TV? On
22. Your pets? Cute
23. Friends? Lots
24. Your life? wonderful
25. Your mood? serene
26. Missing some one? Noah
27. Car? Freestyle
28. Something you're not wearing? shoes
29. Your favorite store? Wal-Mart
30. Your favorite color? RED
33. When is the last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? today
35. Who will resend this? hmmm...
36. One place that I go to over and over? beach
37. One person who emails me regularly? Facebook
38. My favorite place to eat? Chilis
39. Why you participated in this survey?asked
40. What are you doing tonight? nothing