End of School 2010 -- Lyssa

April and May were busy for Lyssa as well. She started getting ready for Girls Camp. She attended Girl Scouts and went to violin lessons. She also joined the school Track Team. Here is a picture of her in the 4x100 relay at the District Meet:

She had her birthday (now an official teenager -- WATCH OUT!!!!) and got her ears pierced! As you can see, she also got her hair cut much shorter and added bangs. She attended the Awards Night at school and received recognition for good grades and good citizenship.

We received her report card and it's official -- she gets to move on to the 8th grade!

~Bobi

End of School 2010 -- Adam

April was a normal, busy month. May was a normal, busy month, with the exception of adding in all of the end-of-school-year activities.

In May, Adam continued to fundraise for his Choir Tour. He performed in a couple of concerts at the end of the school year. Here he is playing the string bass with the orchestra.

Here is a picture of all the Choir Tour participants.

I promise he's in there somewhere! He is wearing a dark blue T-shirt.

We got his report card which showed that he passed all of his classes and has officially been promoted to the next grade. He will be a Junior next year!

Adam also auditioned for Show Choir for next year. He made it, again! He was kidnapped early in the morning:

He convinced his best friend, Ryan, to audition as well. He also made it! Adam is very excited to be a part of this group again next year. He also auditioned for the musical that will be performed in the fall. He hasn't heard if he has a part yet. We'll see!

~Bobi

Update

Well, I don't know what's happened, but it's been a month since my last post. Sorry for the delay in updating you on what's been happening in our lives.

The best news is that Brian has completed his training at his job at Qwest and has officially graduated from the training program and is now working "on the floor"!!!!! This is very, very exciting! Prior to beginning training in January, he had basically been unemployed for over 2 1/2 years. It is a tremendous blessing that he has this job and is performing so well. We are so grateful for this blessing.

The next best news is that I am fully recovered from my hospital ordeal/illness a month ago. My body is tolerating the new drug I am taking to treat the leg ulcer and (cross my fingers), small things are happening that are encouraging and give me great hope that this trial shall also be over (hopefully) sooner than later. I am being cautiously optimistic.

In other news, Lyssa performed at her school's Solo/Ensemble Night, playing a violin solo and a flute duet with a friend.

Brian and I both celebrated our birthdays. We celebrated Brian's dad's 80th birthday. Lyssa joined the track team at her school. She is trying to improve her sprint times for the 100-yard dash and the 200-yard dash. We have sold Girl Scout cookies and delivered Girl Scout cookies. Brian has worked hard at his two jobs. Adam has been a good student and attended Scouts. This past weekend, he went snowshoeing on a Scout campout. He has also worked on earning money through school fundraisers for Choir Tour at the end of school.

We have been busy, just living life! Please know that even though I don't update this very often, we are alive and well.

-Bobi

I Vant to Suck Your Blood (Wa ha ha ha)

Or rather, how about I give you 4 pints so that you don't pass out again?

This is what my body said to itself yesterday. Last week was a very, very, very, over-the-top busy week for me. Regular life had a major Girl Scout activity added to it as well as a big family celebration with family coming in from out of town so that we could experience the sealing of my sister and brother-in-law's 6-month-old baby girl to them on Saturday and then her blessing as well as my brother and his wife's baby blessing on Sunday. I was understandably tired and worn out from all the activities. Because I was not getting enough rest, the ulcer on my leg was giving me more pain and swelling than per the "norm" (if there is such a thing as a norm with this). I had also had a treatment of a mega-steroid dose over 3 days prior to this past week, so I was reeling from the side effects of that treatment as well.

Well, Monday I was able to sleep most of the morning and then get myself moving to go on a field trip with our Girl Scout troop. Tuesday, I was able to sleep most of the morning and then get myself moving to attend a meeting at the school, teach piano lessons, take Adam to a performance at the high school, run a couple of errands, and go to Book Club.

I hadn't been feeling well, but just knew that if I could continue to rest, I would be fine. Well, my body had other things to tell me. Yesterday morning, I woke up just before 5:30 a.m. to use the bathroom. (Brian had already gone to his early morning job.) Before I knew it, I was throwing up and passed out on the floor of the bathroom. It was so extreme that I woke Adam up from a sound sleep! When we looked at it, I commented that it looked bloody. Adam's response was, "No. It's just really dark brown." He was a real trooper and got things cleaned up while I dozed on the bed, trying not to be dizzy and not to throw up again. (It was pretty disgusting. I am so proud of how he just stepped up and took care of it and of me.) He called Brian to let him know what was happening; he came home immediately. Apparently, I was extremely pale. Brian called me "Casper" for a while. I was very dizzy and unable to sit up for very long.

Brian made some phone calls and got me an appointment at an Instacare-type place, so after moving very slowly, we got to the appointment. While there, I threw up 2 more times and spent most of the time on floor where it was cool and I could doze. I was sooooo tired! The CNA needed to draw my blood for some tests but couldn't get any. The doctor asked her to prick my finger to check my hemoglobin. She came running back to the door of the room and announced "It's a 5!" The doctor said "That can't be right. Do it again." So, she pricked another finger, checked it and came back to announce that it indeed was a 5. (Normal is 15.)

The doctor looked at Brian and said, "There are two ways you can get to the emergency room -- by your own car or by an ambulance. Which one are you going to do?"

We opted to take our own car so that we could check Lyssa out of school (Adam was already with us) and so we could stop by our house to pick up my ID which we had forgotten on the way to the first place.

When we arrived at the ER, the person checking me in asked why I was there and we explained about the throwing up brown stuff. His reply? "That's blood." So, I was admitted and given fluids and then taken for a test where they discovered that I have an ulcer in my stomach, an ulcer in the beginning portion of my small intestine, and an acid-reflux problem in my esophagus. They also told me that I would need 4 pints of blood to get my levels almost to normal.

Wow.

They took very good care of me at the hospital and I feel TONS better. Still sleepy and worn out, but now that I have what my body needs (like very important BLOOD), I know that with rest and relaxation, I will improve quickly.

The really bad part about this is that it doesn't do a thing for helping the pyoderma gangrenosum get better. It has now officially been a year since it first developed. Ugh.

Things were pretty scary for a while yesterday. I am so grateful for people who donate blood on a regular basis so that experiences like mine can be helped. I am home now and doing better. I have great friends and others who have willingly agreed to take over my responsibilities for the rest of the week so I can rest and relax.

So, here's to our wonderful bodies and the things that make them tick -- like the all-important blood.

-Bobi

What You Get When You Do What Is Right

As a birthday present for my 40th birthday (almost 2 years ago!!!!!), our dishwasher decided to give up the ghost. (Side note: We knew it was broken. We didn't know that water was pooling in the floor, so later that week, we also got to experience a waterfall in the family room.) Brian had fixed the dishwasher once before and decided to try again. He couldn't do it. So, the dishwasher has been sitting, unused, in its place in the kitchen since the end of March of 2008.

This past Sunday, as Brian and Adam were collecting fast offerings, on a street in our neighborhood that they don't normally collect on, they saw a dishwasher on someone's front lawn. It was the same as our non-working one. Brian knocked on the door and asked the homeowner about it. It had also stopped working and they had gotten a new one. They had put it in the front yard prior to throwing it away. Brian asked if he could take it and use it for parts for our dishwasher. The homeowner agreed.

Monday morning, Brian picked up the dishwasher and brought it to our house. When Adam got home from school, the two of them worked together to take it apart and see if anything could be used to fix our machine. Amazingly enough, they found the extremely tiny part that had broken on our machine in perfect condition on the "replacement" machine. After changing out the part, our dishwasher works again!

What a miracle!

Just another miracle in the string of miracles that Heavenly Father is granting us to let us know that He is aware of us in all the facets of our lives and will stop at nothing to bless us, even in small ways.

~Bobi

Wait! What Year Is It?

Ummmmmm, Happy New Year?!?!?!?! How did it get to be 2010 already? I swear I just blogged about Adam's birthday. How did we get through the entire month of December and all the holidays already? I am simply in shock at how quickly time flies.

As you've probably gathered, December was extremely busy. Adam, being in Show Choir, had 28 performances throughout the month. It was a joy to see him perform. Everyone did a terrific job. Lyssa was able to perform in band, playing the flute, and with her violin as well. She performed at school (flute) and at the Festival of Trees (violin) and at her Christmas Recital (violin).

I was in charge of 5 Christmas parties and attended 2 others. 6 of the 7 happened all in the same week. Luckily, none of them were on the same day. They all went well; everyone had a good time. It made for a crazy schedule that week, though!

Something really, really good happened in December. Brian was offered a full-time, permanent job!!!!!! Yeah! He starts at Qwest on January 11th. We have been blessed that he has been able to find temporary, part-time work. He is looking forward to having a full-time job.

Another good thing happened in December. After 5 1/2 years, I was released as the Ward Organist. I know! I know! Shock! I was called to be a Primary teacher. I met my new class today at the Primary Activity. They are all 4 turning 5 this year. Cute kids!

Even another good thing happened in December. I was able to have my third treatment for my leg ulcer and things are really starting to look like progress is being made in the healing department. The swelling has been drastically reduced. The pain is more tolerable; there are times that I can go longer without medication. Today, I'm wearing ankle boots! That's a first for this winter season.

Good things in my extended family also happened in December. My sister, Amy, got to come home for Christmas! It was so good to spend time with her. She was able to be here for 2 weeks! She is enjoying her time in Shanghai. I think she enjoyed the break, though. Also, my brother, Jon, and his wife, Teri, had a baby girl. Baby Gwen is SOOOO tiny! His kids (from his first marriage) were able to come here for Christmas to be with us instead of my brother and his wife and 2 week old baby going to be with them. That was fun, also!

We had a very enjoyable Christmas, spending time with family and friends. We were able to have a pretty quiet New Year's. School starts again on Monday. We're ready, and yet not, for the kids to be back in school.

Best wishes to all for a wonderful 2010!

~Bobi

He's Not So Little Anymore

Monday, the 23rd, was Adam's birthday. He's almost halfway through the teenage years. Where has the time gone????!!!!!???? I can't believe that my "little boy" is not so little any more.

Adam is really growing (around 5'5" now) and maturing (have you heard him speak lately?). He is enjoying school (especially Show Choir, German, and Seminary) and the things that he is learning there (including how to sing AND dance at the same time, while holding hands with a girl! Tee hee!).

He has great friends. His two best friends sent him / took him on a scavenger hunt to find his birthday present from them. They had a fun time planning it for him and he had a fun time going through it. They were glad to return home as it was COLD outside when they did it. His friends' favorite part was the fake gift. They got Adam a very small stuffed animal (we're talking about 1 1/2 inches tall) and acted like that was the gift (for a while). Then, they gave him his real gift -- something they knew he would enjoy ... an iTunes gift card!

He is enjoying experimenting in the kitchen. (The whole family is enjoying that, especially moi!) Tonight, he wanted to make something with salmon, which we purchased a small bit for him and he enjoyed every last bite!

Adam has a way of being able to make everyone in the family smile. He shares his laugh and his love with us very freely.

We are very grateful to have Adam as a part of our family.

~Bobi