WOW!!!

I am almost speechless right now. Okay, maybe not, but I am quite overwhelmed. With everything we see everytime we turn on the TV - murder, corruption, deception - it sometimes seems that this world is full of nothing but hate. Well, all you need to do is turn on the www and you will see that is simply not true. A year ago I didn't even know what a blog was. Now, here I am linking from one blog to another and I am in awe. The blogs I am reading talk about people's everyday lives. On the surface that may not seem impressive but as you read them you can't help but feel the hope and faith and strength coming through. Sometimes our lives are not what we had envisioned but they are our lives nonetheless. What we make of what we are given is the key. I have always had faith and am a believer in God. I couldn't have made it through these last 20 years without that. But, at the same time, after 20 years of doing this I get discouraged sometimes. It seems at times that I am barely keeping my head above water. These last few weeks have been so uplifting. Pinkalicious, who I met through another blog we were both following, led me to Lisa Leonard. Thanks, Pink. From Lisa's site I have been able to link to so many others. I have been so inspired. So, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone for opening your lives and sharing your stories. Thank you to everyone who I have personally (well, via the web anyway) connected with and thank you to everyone else who has let me take a glimpse at their lives. It is with renewed hope and faith that I go on to face another day and another battle. CHARGE!!!

I also want to give a BIG THANK YOU to all of my personal friends who have been with me for the past 20 years. They have had to listen to me whine, cry, moan, groan and complain for a long time but they are still there for me. Thank you and I Love You All!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Biopsy News

Well, we didn't get the news we had hoped for. Though the doctor couldn't visually see any changes from 3 years ago, the biopsies showed change. As I stated before, Sean's stomach was growing into his esophagus. Now, there is a stomach and intestine mixture in the esophagus. The doctor said this is a progressive change. He now has what is called Barrett's Esophagus which means there are pre-cancerous cells present. The condition only develops into cancer in 5% of cases but usually this is an elderly condition. Because Sean is only 20 who knows what will happen. Our GI doc is a pediatric specialist and because of that hasn't really dealt with this condition. He is going to talk to some of his colleagues and see what they have to say. We may have to go see an adult GI doc. Right now he has said that he will need to be monitored yearly instead of every 3 years. I'm trying not to freak out about this but that's hard right now. I am going to research this and see what else I can find.

My Baby's Back!

Okay, he hates it when I call him that but he will always be my baby. He went to my mom and dad's for his usual 2 week summer visit. They live 3-1/2 hours away so we don't see them as often as we would like. Clayton has gone down there for the past few summers for 2 weeks and he loves it even though they don't have cable or a computer. He can survive without all the modern amenities - although I can barely get him out of his room when he's home.

My mom watches my 2 nieces so he was there with them for the first week. Then, they went on vacation and he was there all by himself. He really enjoys it because he gets to go to movies and he even got to go to a minor league baseball game. He doesn't get to do alot of that at home because of Sean so I'm glad he can have that special time with Grandma and Grandpa.

I know it was only 2 weeks but I think he grew a foot. He doesn't like it when I take pictures but I managed to snap this one when we were making the trade at McDonald's. My parents drive half way and we meet them at McDonald's. We even ended up going down the road a bit and eating at Ponderosa. We had a nice time. So, here's Clayton (sorry about the trash hopper backdrop).

I also managed to snap this picture of Sean and my dad. My dad has always had a thing for ears. He has rubbed Sean's for so many years I'm surprised they haven't dropped off! As soon as Sean got out of the car, look what Grandpa grabbed!

We had a nice, but short, visit. It was good seeing them.

Have a Great Monday!

Caution - Please avoid if you have an aversion to toes!

Okay, this might be a little too much to put out there but I couldn't resist. Other people have put feet pictures on their blogs, so why can't I. Okay, well, one reason may be the fact that my feet and toes don't look like the normal person's. Anyway, here goes.

There, of course, is a story that goes with this picture. My toenails have a fungus. I have had it for as long as I remember. What this means is that my little piggies don't get to come out to play because they are hideous. Well, guess what? They have fake toenails!!! Who knew? I sure didn't. I was at Wal-Mart the other night and happened across these. They are just like the kind you put on your fingers except they are for toes. I, of course, had to buy some. I put them on and I don't think they are half bad. Of course, who knows what my toes will look like when they come off but at least my little piggies can see the light of day for a few minutes! I had to go buy some cute shoes to show them off. I am so excited!!!!! I am going to wear these shoes all weekend.

I'll take that to go!

Sean had to have an EGD done on Monday. That's where they put a camera down his throat to look at his esophagus. He has severe reflux and has to have this done every three years to monitor it. He has to be put completely out so has to have an IV and breathing tube. He doesn't like to sit still for the IV stick so they give him Versed to calm him so that they can do what they need to do. Well, here he is after 20 mg. As usual, I asked the Nurse Anesthesist if I could have some to take home. I don't think she thought I was kidding at first because she said "No, I can't do that, I would lose my job. It's a controlled substance." Then, I laughed and she did, too. But, seriously, I would love to have some of that on hand. I wouldn't abuse it. I'd only give it to him when he is hanging from the ceiling!

The doctor said that he didn't see anything new from 3 years ago so hopefully the biopsies will not show anything either. Sean produces way too much acid and his stomach has actually grown up into his esophagus so the acid is right in the esophagus. He is on a large dose (100 mg. daily) of Nexium that is controlling it right now. Because of insurance we may have to change in a few months but hopefully we can get the Nexium approved.

Notice Sean's headphones. They have been a lifesaver. He loves music and we bought him an MP3 player a couple of years ago. It goes everywhere with us.

Hope everyone has a good night.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! Finally. Hope everyone has a great weekend. I am a country music lover and generally don't like other music. I do like the oldies but none of the new stuff like rap or whatever else they call it. I have a new favorite song, though. It's All Summer Long by Kid Rock. I am addicted to it. I even love the video which is strange because I don't normally like men with long hair and excessive tatoos and I can't stand it when a man goes without a shirt. Sorry, I just think everyone should have to wear a shirt. But, in this video Kid is shirtless, has excessive tattoos and long hair but I am kinda liking his look. Maybe I have gone over the deep end!!! Give it a listen if you haven't heard it. Let me know what you think.

Stay tuned!

Welcome to My Blog

Well, everyone else is doing this so I thought I'd try, too. I don't know if anything I could post would be of interest to anyone but it could be fun. I've already "met" some great people on other blogs so now I guess I'll share a little bit about our family.

I have been married to the same man for 22 years, I have had the same boss for 20 years, and I have had the same kids for 20 and 12 years. My 20 year old, Sean, has Cornelia deLange Syndrome and oh what a journey that has been. My 12 year old, Clayton, is my baby who is very quickly turning into a young man. Because Sean doesn't like crowded places and can be very loud at times, we don't venture out alot. One thing that we have been doing for the last 6 years that has been a lifesaver is camping. We bought a motorhome and can "get away from real life" every once in a while. We don't go far - we have a State Park 20 minutes from home. Even though it is so close, it seems light years away from the normal day-to-day of the work week. If Sean decides he doesn't want to be in the great outdoors, he can go into the motorhome and have all the comforts of home. There are those that would say that this isn't really camping but it works for us. Last year we bought a fishing boat and have enjoyed that as well.

I am hoping that by starting this blog it will make me take more pictures. I can't believe that 20 years have already flown by and, unfortunately, I don't have a lot of photos to document them. We have the Easter, Christmas, holiday pictures but none of the real pictures that capture real life. I have seen so many interesting pictures that other people have taken and it has inspired me to start clicking away. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post them on here!!

Well, I've got to go for now. Please check back and see if I have been able to manage to post anything. See you soon!!!