A Good Weekend

We were able to accomplish quite a bit over the weekend. Mark and I put the playground set up and the kids are loving having it back! Daniel is well. We are about 9 days past the last cycle. We pretty much just hold our breath and pray he continues to stay well.
Mark and I had a nice time on our photography hike. The instructor was very informative. We get to bring our pictures back to him on Thursday..for some 'constructive criticism'. Mark actually got some really great shots with his digital. I've got to get my pics developed today and then we'll see how mine turned out. (OKay..so that's one area where the digital certainly beats my film camera..but I still love it!) Mark took the picture of the frog on the hike.

Friday!

It's been a good week. Daniel has wanted to eat everything in sight. He actually gained 6 lbs this week. We met with the ENT today and have scheduled his surgery for June 13th. Just a tube for now.
The weather was beautiful here all week! We have enjoyed being outside. Tonight is another 3.5 mile run. Running is a real love hate relationship. I hate it when I start and love it when I'm done! Drop us a line sometime!

Monday

Daniel is feeling back to his old self today. (Praise God!) He is eating now and has tons of renewed energy. He will see the E.N.T. on Friday and we will schedule his ear surgery..(not related to the CVS).
Life is busy. The rain has turned to sunshine and the yard work is in full blossom! We are hoping to get the kids playground set up this weekend. Oh, Mark and I are also attending a wetlands photography hike. I can hardly wait!
Well, it's off to cook some meatballs. Daniel has requested them for supper. Mark and I will run our 3.5 miles tonight, along with doing some much needed Costco shopping.

Saturday

We ended up bringing Daniel to the ER to have his fluid replenished. It only took a couple of hours. He still isn't eating any food yet..just the liquids. He's a little slow coming out of it this time around.

Friday Morning

Daniel is just about through with this episode. We visited his Dr. yesterday and she said he was a little dehydrated but seemed to be okay and it would be our choice if we wanted to bring him in to the hospital for a few hours to have his fluids replenished. We are going to see how this morning goes. He's thrown up once this morning. He tried to get some yogurt down, but it just didn't last. So it's back to Gatorade and Pedialyte Pops.
Katie has volleyball today. She really enjoys that sport. We are looking forward to a weekend full of sunshine and lots of yard work!

 

A few more pictures. I'm thinking of creating a
photoessay documenting one of Daniel's episodes.

Tuesday, May 17th. Daniel is in day 3 of this
episode. We have an extra mattress at the foot
of our bed where he sleeps. He feels more com-
fortable being close, and Mark and I are able to
take turns during the evening assisting him with
whatever he may need.

Monday...

Well, this Monday isn't quite as nice as last Monday. Daniel is in day two of a cycle. His vomiting has slowed to about every 1-2 hours. His attitude is fairly positive, although he is getting very bored of lying around on the couch. He doesn't really have much desire to do anything and too much movement causes his nausea to worsen.
Katie and I will focus on getting as much schoolwork in as possible this morning while we can. She will work this afternoon with Mark at the plant after music lessons.

Daniel begins another cycle

It had almost been 4 weeks! We are thankful for the short reprieve. Unfortunately Daniel began cycling again last night. It was a very long night with him continually tossing and turning and vomiting every 5-10 minutes. Needless to say this morning we are all a little tired.
We had a wonderful week with Mark's Dad and his wife, Donna visiting from California. Amazingly enough we had great weather with no rain! We enjoyed picturesque hikes in Henricks park, and stunning views from Spencer's Butte. Saturday the girl's spent the morning antiquing in Coburg, while the boys stayed at home and did some much needed landscaping around the new house. It looks fabulous!
Katie received her National Test Scores back on Friday and was very pleased to learn she had scored in the 96th percentile! Her highest scores being in Math. (All the credit goes to her very patient and understanding Math teacher...Mark)
I will try to keep the blog updated this week with news of Daniel's progress.

A great Monday!

Hello all! Well it's Monday the 9th..and Daniel has now gone 3 whole weeks without an episode and in my book that makes for an absolutely fantastic Monday! We had a great weekend, with the surprise visit of my brother and his wife from Clovis. They literally called from the airport in San Francisco Friday night and asked if they could come for a visit. We had such a great time!
Mother's Day was also a joy. My family lavished me with such well thought out gifts. Mark certainly hit the nail on the head with my gift of a Camelback waist pack for when I run. No more having to carry water bottles! The kids wisely presented me with a visor organizer to keep my cd's and coffee cards organized in the car. I am blessed.

Our Girl

So this is Katie. She grows more beautiful with
every passing day. She's 13 and loves music,
reading, volleyball, and hanging out with all of her
friends.

Our Girl

Still Going

We are so excited. Daniel is still healthy. No episodes yet. Things are starting to feel 'normal' again. Whatever that is! Mark and I were able to start our running program again training for a 5-K hopefully in July or August. The house is really pretty much finished. I am so happy with how our bathroom remodel turned out. Pictures are coming soon. I will probably just shoot some with the digital.

I shot this during one of Daniel's hospitalizations.

The Photographer

SoSo

So here I am. The photographer.
One of the greatest pleasures in my life has been
capturing my family in photos. Rarely will you find
me in front of the camera. It's just not my thing.

My men! 

Another healthy day!

Every day that passes without Daniel starting another episode is such an awesome thing! We are grateful for his health.

Day 10

Well here it is..Day 10. This is usually the day Daniel would begin another episode. So far so good. He has started to complain about headaches. If he had not already of had an MRI, I would be rather concerned. But the MRI was normal. Thank you for your prayers and please don't stop!
Yesterday was my birthday. The big 39. Thanks to all of you who called to remind me! I had a wonderful day filled with non-stop attention from my adoring husband and beautiful children. We feasted on a variety of foods from BJ's and then followed it up with a Pazookie (a diet challenging, hot chocolate chip cookie with a mound of vanilla icecream melting on top), fortunately when you are splitting it 4 ways it doesn't quite all settle in the hips.

Day 7

We are now 7 days beyond Daniel's last episode. If the pattern repeats itself he will become sick again in the next day or two. We are praying fervently that he doesn't! We welcome all of your prayers! Daniel has a great attitude about the whole thing and prays to be healed if it be God's will. (My how the faith of a child can renew your spirits!) Sometimes people ask..Why wouldn't it be God's will for someone to be healed? I don't have all the answers, but I just finished reading the most incredible book that has had a profound influence on my life.
Redeeming Love....by Francine Rivers. It doesn't answer all the whys, but it will certainly fill your heart with Hope!