So we said good-bye...

My sister (in-law, but I don't really think of her that way) left this morning for the Dominican Republic. I'm so excited for her and for all that God has planned for her while she's there. She'll be gone until August 19th and is working with Kids Alive International, coordinating the volunteers that come down to work with the organization.

But, I am also so sad for me. When there are very few people in your life you consider close friends, and of those, even fewer still that you feel you can call in a heartbeat if you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to listen to you, to encourage you, to help stir your faith, to know your heart and not judge you for mis-steps along your journey, having one leave is devastating.

Jenee is one of those people for me. She's not just a friend, she's my sister. And she's a good sister. And she's a good friend. I can call her when I feel like punching the wall or curling up and crying. I can call her when I'm excited about something stupid or when one of the kids says something hilarious and I need to tell someone. She knows all the ins and outs about my life the last 2 years and all the crap I have dealt with and am currently dealing with. She loves my kids, and she's always willing to help me if I need it. More than that, if I just want someone to come sit on the couch and 'be' with me for no reason other than I'm lonely, I know I can call on her.

Doesn't it suck when a friend like that leaves? I know it's only for 4 months. It feels like an eternity to me.

Thank GOD for Skype.

I love you Jenee. I miss you already.

G.G.s are the Bestest!

Olivia with her Great Grandma (G.G.).

Grandma's mother is also still alive and kicking at 96 this August!

Proof is in the Pudding.

19 months old on Wednesday the 6th and has pooped on the potty twice. She'll likely be potty trained before Hunter, her 3 1/2 year old brother. Sigh.

My Love Bugs!

Liv & Hunter watching the kids in the Pleasant Valley "Spring Sing".

Little Bumblebee for the "Going Buggy" performance!
My little singer!!

Hunter is our resident "Strange child". He asks for the weirdest things..."Mom, take a picture of my arms like this!"

A day in my life.

Strange boy, again.

Will, dressed as DJ Lance Rock

Little Tutu girl, begged to dress up then played out back with the big boys in the dirt!

Diva!

Little kitchen helper!

My Love Bugs...some pictures:

And another month has gone by...

...since I last updated my blog. I have realized with my sister leaving for the Dominican Republic for 4 months on Sunday, I need to keep up so she knows what's going on in our lives.

I went to see the rheumatologist. His determination after an examination was that the pain is not localized in only my joints (which means it's not RA, which is good!) but is also in my tendons and some muscles. His diagnoisis is neuropathic pain and an extreme Vitamin D defeciency. Neuropathic pain basically is my nerves misfiring and telling my body I'm in pain after doing regular, normal things people do on a daily basis, that shouldn't be causing pain. The Rheumatologist said that he's seen this kind of pain develop after patients use the medication Plaquenil, but usually after long-term use, not usually after a week on the medication (which is how long I took it).

Vitamin D defeciencies can cause extreme bone pain (normal Vitamin D levels are 30-150. Mine was 11.). I was put on 50,000 iu of Vitamin D per week and another medication called Gabapentin for pain. It's a pain medication, but not a narcotic.

So far in the last several weeks, I haven't noticed a huge change, if any at all. I've now been referred to the pain clinic. Sheesh.

Lunchtime for the kiddos, so I think I'll write more to update on their adorableness later!

Oh dear God, the pain.

I try not to whine...I have been trying now for years to put a positive, Christ-focused spin on everything that's gone on in my life and my family. But, oh, dear Lord Jesus, I can't take the pain anymore.

One of the medications Dr. K put me on has had a side-effect of joint pain. Because I wasn't on either medication very long, I tried to just push through thinking it'd get better. It' didn't. About 2 weeks in, I finally called my Doctor who gave me a prescription for oxycodone (even though there was a shortage at the time). It helped a little, but when you're taking care of three small children, having to choose between being high on pain meds or being in pain and coherant is tough. It's just gotten worse! I think the last two days I've had some sort of bug with a fever so if I don't take Motrin, the pain spreads throughout my whole body and doesn't stay just in my joints. The last 2 mornings, I've had to take both Mortin and oxycodone just to get out of bed. This is not okay!

I was told last Tuesday when I saw the Doctor last that they were going to refer me to a rheumatologist to rule out any auto-immune disorders related to joints. Once you have an auto-immune disorder, any and all of the others can pop up without notice and add to your problems.

I was crying to my sister last night saying that I feel like I'm alienating my friends...that when I do call it's because I'm in dire need of help, not because I want to see if I can help them, or if we can just hang out. It's so frustrating to me! I broke down at the doctor's office Tuesday in tears saying "I just want my life to be normal, so I can take care of my family." She gave me a big hug...I think she's starting to see my desperation.

Okay...I think I'm done venting for now. It's just hard sometimes. It's hard a lot of the time.

Creighton Match Day

Today, Joel's cousin found out where he matched to do his OB/Gyn residency. Bo & Katie are moving to Phoenix! Will was at school but I had Hunter and Liv watch the live feed from Creighton. Here are a couple pictures.

Health Update

I know, I KNOW! I am the worst blogger. I think life just keeps me busy and then I had 4 great months where I didn't have to blog anything! And now...

I had been backed off to once-a-month blood tests with the promise in January that I'd be able to not see Dr. K again until July. JULY! Life can finally start getting back to normal!

I went in for my monthly blood test on February 4th to be told that my count was 2,000. The nurse freaked a little, not letting me leave until she talked to the doctor. Thankfully, they did not make me go to the hospital for platelets, but put me on a dose of Dex. I went back Friday and was up to 49,000. Went back Tuesday and was 16,000. I saw Dr. K on Thursday (the 12th) and she decided to put me on hydroxychloroquine in an attempt to get me off steroids. It's an anti-malarial drug that has been used in other auto-immune disorders such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus. The drug worked! By the following Tuesday I was up to 92,000 after taking it Friday through Sunday. There was a problem though and that was headaches. Debilitating headaches. And headaches that were CLEARLY related to the medication. I would wake up fine and take the first dose. Get a headache which would last most of the day. I'd take the 2nd dose late afternoon, early evening and by 7:00 or 8:00 be laying on the couch completely out of commission. That's just not okay when you have 3 kids that need dinner and baths and bedtime routines. I called Monday (the 16th) and they told me to stop taking it and come in on Tuesday to see the doctor again. NOW, I am taking azathioprine, and anti-rejection drug for organ transplant patients! I'll be honest, I am starting to feel a little like a crash test dummy for drugs. But, it seems to be working. I started taking that on Tuesday and yesterday my count was 164,000, which is the highest it's been in months. Praise the Lord! So far, the only side-effect I've had with the azathioprine (I should really earn money for learning how to pronounce all these drugs) is an upset stomach, but Zantac seems to take care of that pretty quickly.

I'm going to go for now...we're heading out to look at a new house today (our landlords are trying to sell the house we're currently in) and we need to get little people dressed. I'll update on the kids and the fam later! Promise!!