Semester Wrap Up....Yes I am still alive

I can't believe I haven't posted in months. I could give you hundreds of excuses but who really cares about all that. So instead I will just update you...

1. We have had a really good fall semester at school. I have had a student teacher and she has been a God send. She is wonderful and I know when she has her own class her students will be blessed. This week is her last and I am really going to miss her. I feel like I am losing a great friend and it makes me sad. I guess I have really grown accustomed to talking, visiting, laughing and discussing things together everyday. I know it sounds silly and how can you really build a relationship in just a few months but working side by side such an inspirational young lady has been a blessing to me. In fact, she may have taught me more than I did for her. Also, I wrote a grant to get 2 iPads for my classroom and I got it. This is the second year in a row I have written a grant and got it. I feel lucky to be a part of a school district that has a community that actively supports their schools. God is good.

2. We sold our house. We began renivating the lake house in a hurry and we are almost done. There is a small amount of painting left and two areas left to put tile down. Needless to say we already moved there and we are not quite situated as we are working around the areas still being updated. Some projects will take longer like updating appliances but all in all it looks really good and my husband is exstatic about being here. I love how quiet and peaceful it is and every morning I eat my breakfast while watching the wildlife on the lake. It really is a nice change. Trey has been amazing. I know the whole process getting out to the lake has been stressful. There have been numerous challenges, hurdles, and countless hours of work but he has done it all with a smile on his face. I am so thankful God has given me a husband that is willing and selfless. He has worked so hard and I am so proud of him.

3. Mollie has had a relapse per say...during the week of Thanksgiving the areas on her neck suddenly started to swell and bubble. They filled with puss and became very red and irritated. We took her into the pediatrician and he drained them to get a culture. However, I took the intitative to just call her infectious disease doctor back in Dallas because I knew something was wrong. It was a very emotional day for me...translating into tears being shed the majority of the day. God blessed us with a cancelled appointment that we were able to fill. We were able to go on Friday to our specialist. She was disappointed to tell us that it appeared to be the same infection (nontuberculosis mycobacterium) back. She couldn't believe it but she was glad that we caught it early. So Mollie is back on medication. Our doctor believes that she probably has a genetic condition where here body is unable to rid itself of this type of infection. She was born this way and there is no cure. She was tested for the genetic mutation back in March but it takes 1-2 years for the results to come back. Being that this the third outbreak with in 2 years our doctor feels that this is possibly the best explanation. It isn't for sure yet we still have to wait for results from the test. However, she will have to more than likely take medication for a very long time and it will act as preventative by keeping the infection at bay. If the results come back positive then we will seek help at an immunologist. We will deal with that if we have to when the time comes. Luckily, it will not shorten her life. It has been hard to swallow beacuse as a parent you always want the best and you hate to hear that anything bad is happening to your child. God has been good though by helping us find a great doctor, providing amazing insurance, holding our hands through this all, and allowing this test to take place. Please pray that there would be no adverse side affects from the medication and that Mollie would continue to blossom, grow, talk, and make up for lost time.

4. We are going to Disney...it has been in the works for a year and I must say I can't wait. After all the craziness and business it will be a welcome event for our family and it can't come any sooner. Being at Disney World during the Christmas holidays will be priceless. I can't wait!

I know some pictures would be nice but lets be honest...its a miracle I am even posting!

The best present ever!

I can hardly believe that three years has gone by so quickly. On the 29th of July we celebrated Mollie's 3rd Birthday. It was a great day with lots of fun and family and we had a small family birthday party on Saturday out at the lake. However we had to wait one week for the best birthday present ever...

We went to Children's Hospital and the doctors cleared her from treatment. What does that mean? Well, first of all it means NO MORE MEDICATION! Mollie has been dealing with this disease for 18 months and has basically been on at least one and up to three heavy antibiotics at a time since the onset. She hates taking it and it has been a battle. These medicines have been from the texture of sandpaper, to looking like kethcup, and tasting like metal. She even went through one that was a pill. Giving a pill to a two year old is not exactly easy but all in all something must have done the trick. After surgery, blood work, ct scans, more doctor appointment than ever imaginable I give the glory to God that this chapter in our lives is closed. The optimist in me says that at least it all happened during a time in her life that she won't remember however part of me feels that we got robbed of those precious memories. Nonethesless, we are making up for lost time. Mollie is blossoming and becoming such a different little girl. She is filled with laughter and smiles and she now she talks like crazy. Sometimes it is hard to understand but I don't care she is talking. God has given us such a testimony through her and we are very thankful that he has kept his hand on her through this journey. Thank you God for this miracle!

Mollie is such a sweet cuddle bug. She loves to hop in bed with us in the morning and snuggle up to us. She has a special handshake we do every night before bed. She is learning about sharing and doing really well. I love hearing her and seeing her grow everyday. Her fascination with princesses and girly things is endearing and her imagination is endless. I never would have thought we would have two little girls but I wouldn't trade it for anything I love you Mollie and I am so proud of your determination.

30

It finally happened...I am 30. I officially joined the club about two weeks ago. I guess that I haven't really been looking forward to it and felt that it was relatively anticlimatic because the majority of my friends are already 30 and have been for sometime. However, it is still a milestone that has taken some time to get used to and frankly I haven't fully embraced it yet either. Nonetheless, I was able to celebrate with lots of family and friends.

We took a special trip to San Antonio with another couple for a long weekend trip. We stayed at the beautiful Resort and Spa of Westin's La Cantera. The boys enjoyed several rounds of golf while us girls indulged in some quality spa treatments. I must admit it felt heavenly to lounge around, sleep late, eat at random times, and have no responsibilties whatsoever. We enjoyed some wonderful foods, the river walk, lots of shopping, and some great company. God really reminded me just how blessed I am to have strong God fearing friends, and a self-less husband. It was a refreshing get away and overall just the rejuvenation I needed especially since school will be starting up in just a few weeks. There was one small hiccup during our trip that I can't leave out. As we embarked on the trip it quickly became a joke that this was "Jennifer's Birthday Extravaganza" and I was therefore expected to make all decisions in terms of plans, eating, ect. Anyone that knows me very well knows that I do not enjoy making those type of decisions. So all in all it was fairly comical. Nonetheless, half way through our trip, Trey and I decided to spend some time laying out at the pool. When we found some lounge chairs and got situated I felt a sting on my foot. I looked down and saw a tiny little ant biting me. I quickly brushed it off and thought little about it. I have always swelled more than typical when bitten by an ant but it is something that I am used to. I have had a mild allergy to ants as long as I can remember but nothing that has ever caused me to worry. However, about five minutes later my hands began itching relentlessly. I couldn't figure out why they were itching but it was very uncomfortable. As the itching continued I also started experiencing intense stomach cramping. Not like your typical tummy ache but more like it was twisted into knots. It was so bizarre and I really didn't know what was going on. I hopped in the pool thinking maybe I was getting over heated even though we had only been outside for a short while. Trey came over to check on me and he said I didn't look so good. I finally admitted that I felt terrible. Upon further conversation Trey noticed my lips were swelling. He suggested we find a doctor or nurse to have a look at me. We did not even make it out of the pool area before I was laid out on some chairs. I had hives up my arms, all over my neck and ears, my stomach pain was INTENSE, I had begun vomitting, and my chest was getting tight. Too make a long story a little shorter, the ambulance was called and I was shipped off to the hospital for anaphylactic shock. About half way to the hospital the symptoms started to tone down and eventually everything stopped. They pumped me full of benedryl, pepcid, and steroids. I was released about an hour later to go back to the hotel. All from that silly little ant bite. When I looked at my foot. I had a track from the bite traveling up my foot to my ankle that was red and swollen. It was basically the path that the toxin from the ant bite had traveled up my foot. It was bizarre and totally different from any other ant bite I had experienced. So now I have the joy of carrying an Epi-Pen with me and I am instructed to administer this if I get bitten by another ant and any symptoms begin to appear. It is very concerning to me but my PCP has assured me that it is not something to mess around with. Luckily, Trey stood by my side and took the best care of me. Our friends who traveled with us where also very supportive. From that point on "Jennifer's Birthday Extravaganza" took on a whole new meaning.

I wish I had pictures to share but I didn't even bother with taking a camera on our trip. As you can tell the start to being 30 has been an adventure already. The past 30 years have been wonderful and I am looking forward to what the next 30 years have instore for me. I look forward to the blessing and revelations that God will show me as I continue to walk with Him. I am already so thankful for all that He has bestowed on me and my family.

Maddie

So it is time to update again. This time lets talk about Maddie. This has been a whirlwind of a year. Maddie has successfully completed her first year of public school. She finished Kindergarten and she really loved it. We were so blessed to have a great teacher. She is reading fairly well and starting to gain some confidence in her ability. She is even better at writing. She amazes me with some of her sentences. I can't wait to see where she is going to go with all of this and what she will really excel at as school continues next year. We are going to keep working on reading in hopes that we don't lose any ground during the summer. Don't worry though we will be spending the majority of the time in or around water to stay cool.
We have been so busy with activities the last few weeks of school that we haven't hardly had time to do anything. Maddie played her first full season of Tyler Soccer Association. She was on the Mustang Sallies and they were so cute. They didn't win every game but they did have a lot of fun. Maddie scored 5 goals during the season and I must brag for a minute because she scored a hat trick in one game (3 goals). It seemed like once she got the hang of it she did really good. She was even a little scrapper out there. After getting run over a few times she did admit not liking getting hurt but she kept at it.
We also completed another year of gymnastics. Maddie is really excelling at gymnastics and I am very proud of her. The coach has recommended that she join the pre-team group. This would entail that she go twice a week to practice and they would begin coaching them for competition. We are thinking about whether to do this or not. We want her to still have fun and not be pressured too much so we shall see. However, her coach did pay her a compliment that she was one of the top gymnast in her class. She looks so cute out there and she has learned so much over the last two years. I am really glad she has pursued this sport.
Maddie is so sweet and really a blessing to our family. She is growing so fast and sometimes I wish I could just put a brick on her head to slow it all down. I can't believe she will be a first grader next fall. I don't have pictures to post at this moment because I haven't uploaded them from my camera but I will very soon. Maddie is such a joy in our lives. We love you baby!

Mollie

Okay so look at me...can you believe it two posts in two days!!! Crazy I know! Anyways I thought I would post an update on Mollie. Anyone who reads this knows that we have been through some serious medical issues with Mollie over the last 18 months...which is crazy to me because that is basically half her life. We have been to more doctor appointments than I would care to mention, so many blood tests, xrays, scans, surgery, ect. Well, we are currently receiving treatment from the Infectious Disease doctors at Children's Hospital. They are really great and truely care about Mollie. It is such a refreshing experience every time we go. Now...each visit usually involves lots of screaming on Mollie's end becasue as you can imagine with so much poking and proding happening over these last 18 months she has developed a pretty good case of doctor visit adversions. However, the staff at Children's is so patient and understanding to her. In March our doctor wrote a letter to The National Health Institute (NHI) asking permission for them to take Mollie's case to run an analysis of her immune system. Our doctor explained the details of Mollie's case and they accepted it. It was really a great thing. They are basically the only facility in the world that will run the extensive immune test that our doctor was looking for. Therefore, Mollie and I made the trip to Dallas for the blook draw. They had to take A LOT of blood to send overnight to the NHI. Our doctor also submitted her blood as the control comparison. Needless to say, it was an aweful day for us. Mollie cried so hard and so long. It took the lab techs over six times to get the amount of blood necessary for the test. They stuck her and stuck her and stuck her. Her little veins would roll and bust making it near impossible. Her little arms were black and blue all over. I cried more than I have in a long time. It was excruciating pinning her down so they could use her as a pin cushion. Even our doctor felt terrible about the ordeal. She felt so bad she walked us to our car apologizing and trying to confort us. She also called us the next day to check on Mollie to make sure she wasn't too tramatized. The NHI will be analyzing her immune system by looking for a specific defect in one of the specific cells that is suppose to clear infection from the inside of the cell. If the cell is not emmitting the chemicals that treat the cell from the inside it could be the reason why she has had multiple cases of the this NTM (nontuberculosis mycobacterium). However, the test can take up to 1 year before results are found. We aren't in a hurry and it won't change the treatment it will just provide valuable information for her future. Meanwhile we are still taking two heavy duty antibiotics with check ups every 6-8 weeks. Just about a month ago the second nodule burst through the skin and drained. It happened in the middle of the night. Although, it periodically continues to drain. All of this is good and it means the disease is progressing through the proper stages so that the body will eradicate it. Even though it is gross it continues to look better with each passing day. We are encouraged by the progress and hope that in a few more months we will be able to stop the medication. Our doctor is very hopeful too. God has provided us with the strength to get through this. The biggest draw back to all of this is that Mollie's development has been delayed. She barely talks, is somewhat withdrawn from social settings, and struggles to communicate. Being that she will be three in July we worry about her communication deficiencies but we continue to try to be patient. As she improves in her overall health and wellness feelings we notice that she is coming out of her shell more and picking things up. I know that we are going to have to play catch up for quite a while with the hopes of eventually getting to a place where she speaks clearly and communicates with others appropriately. It is trying at times and makes my heart break for her because I know she must be so frustrated as well. I just love her so much and would do anything to take all of this away from her. For any one who knows her, Mollie is such a sweet and loving little girl whose temper can get the best of her when she just can't express what it is that she needs or wants. She is smart, funny, loving, energetic, and wonderful. I look forward to when she shows all of that to people other than just us. On a positive note friends and family are noticing the changes in her as she continues to feel better. Please pray for her...pray for her continued speech development, improvement in health, and social ability. All prayers are so appreciated and I know that God is listening. He is already interceded for Mollie multiple times.

Also, Mollie took on potty training at Christmas. She learned in about two days what to do and has been doing great. We have a few ups and downs every now and then but we couldn't be happier with how quickly she grasped the concept and ran with it. Once she put panties on she hasn't touched a diaper since or even a pull up. She sleeps in panties at night and nap time...and keeps them dry. We just love that she acts like a big girl. We have had a few accidents every now and then but I am impressed considering all that she has been through that she mastered this potty thing so quickly. I must admit not having to change diapers has been great.

She is doing gymnastics once a week and loves it so much. She has learned a lot over this year and really seems to thrive. We are working hard to place her in situations that give her structure but also provide a fun outlet to develop social skills as well as gross and fine motor skills. I have been so pleased with how well she is doing. She has her "recital" performace this week where she gets to show off all she has learned and I am so excited. I know it will be wonderful.

God gave us a special blessing when he place Mollie in our family. Even though she is nothing like her sister and does everything in her own way, God has used Mollie to stretch me, increase my faith, and learn a deeper and greater understanding of love. Our family is honored to have Mollie as a member of our family. God is our provider and healer and as he continues to work in Mollie I look forward to see just what and how he will use her to further His kingdom. We love you Mollie and are so proud of your determination!

House for Sale!

I know it has been forever. I have so much to get caught up on but it just seems I don't have time or I am exhausted. So I will start by stating this...our house is for sale. About 18 months ago we thought we would try to sell our house and see what happened. We didn't have a plan but we just thought we would test the waters. Well after about 3 months on the market we decided to go ahead and stay put. It was perfect because I ended up going back to work and lots of changes and adjustments took place and it was truly better that we were here. God really guided us through that and protected us from a potential bad decision. He also provided us with a great opportunity to buy a lakehouse. So now we own two homes. Needless to say taking care of two homes is really hard. Two yards, two sets of bills, two places to clean is hard work. We love going to the lake whenever we feel like it and we have done some serious praying. We have decided to permenately move out to the lake. The lakehouse needs some work and some tlc but in all honesty we really want to raise our children on the lake. So we feel like it is just one step closer to meeting our goals. With all that said, our house was listed just a little over a week ago. We are really trusting God that he will provide the right buyer. We have done so much work to make our current house our home and we hope that someone else will want to make it their home. I believe God is going to bless this move and provide us with an opportunity to build beautiful family memories on the lake. Please join me in praying that God would put together this puzzle for us and send us a buyer at the right time. Please pray that we would be able to make all the adjustments when we move that would make it easy for all members of our family. Please just pray that God would be completely entwined in this process.

I don't have any pictures to post but I promise on upcoming posts with more updates I will post pictures! Hope to be back soon especially since we only have 10 more school days left.

Christmas 2010

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