» Recent Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

Sat, Nov 29, 2008 9:59 PM

I'm thankful....

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, For love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Comments:

Auntie Kathy: I'm thankful for...Family near and far, a steady job and a paid off car. Kids and grandkids across the miles, and a Sister and her family who always bring me smiles! Love and Kisses

Add a comment:

Wed, Nov 26, 2008 12:40 PM

Hmmmm...where do I begin? It has certainly been an eventful couple weeks.

Unfortunately this has nothing to do with my sweet but sassy little ladies, it's about me.

I found a lump near the front of my head a couple weeks ago. It didn't go away and I had been having fairly consistent headaches for a month so that didn't seem so good to me.

I went into the doctor who told me she didn't know what it was, prescribed an antibiotic and told me to see a dermatologist. I got quickly into mine and she wasn't sure what it was either. She did a biopsy last week and the results came back that I had Discoid Lupus. I'm inserting the definition from a medical website in case any of you aren't sure what that actually means.

Discoid lupus: A chronic inflammatory condition limited to the skin, caused by an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. Patients with lupus have unusual antibodies in their blood that are targeted against their own body tissues.

Lupus can cause disease of the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, and nervous system. When only the skin is involved, as mentioned, the condition is called discoid lupus. When internal organs are involved, the condition is called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Up to 10% of persons with discoid lupus eventually develop the systemic form of lupus (SLE).

SLE is eight times more common in women than men. The causes of SLE are unknown. However, heredity, viruses, ultraviolet light, and drugs may all play a role.

I was relieved it was nothing worse. So now just some steroid creams/foams/ointments and I'm good. Except.....I've been having TERRIBLE, dibilitating headaches that have been just getting worse. The doctor finally decided to do an MRI and an MRA (inevasive angiogram of the brain) which came back clear. Praise the Lord! Now we just need to solve the mystery of the headaches. It doesn't seem to be a normal side effect of the discoid lupus and is puzzling for the doctors. They did run some more blood work in case I have the actual Systemic Lupus. I saw my Dermatologist again yesterday since my Internist thought that maybe I was having nerve pain in my head from the lupus on my scalp/face. The Derm doubted it but gave me several injections of a steriod into the area to help clear it up quickly and see if that helps the heachaches to go away. She also recommended I see an neurologist.

Whew! Lots of tests, blood draws and doctor's visits lately but nothing I can't handle. I would appreciate your prayers for the headaches as they are rendering me nearly incapacitated when they are at their worst. Lot's of ibuprofen and I'm finally functioning now.

Sorry for the long entry but I know some of you have been wondering what was going on. I am doing fine and I am trusting the only true HEALER to touch me. Thanks for your prayers.

xoxo,
m

Comments:

Auntie Kathy: Sweet Mary, please know that your family in Georgia and Switzerland are praying for you. I love you and know that the Healing Hand of God is touching you.

Rebekah: You are in my prayers Mary. Mommy's should never get headaches. Uff da, you have been through a lot lately. I know the Lord will give you the strength and show you something new and wonderful through this. You are in our prayers! love Rebekah & family

Becca Simonsen: You are such a strong woman Mary! The power of prayer is an amazing thing. You and your family are in our prayers. All our love, The Simonsen Family

Amy: If anyone I know is strong, capable and can over come something, it is you! You have been a trooper the last couple weeks and I know these headaches are going to go away and you are going to get completely better. I love you and will keep praying for you!

Patti: Sweetheart, I am praying for you, and am so sorry you have to go through all this. My prayers, heart, and love are with you. The name of Jesus is grater than any other name. Mom

Sheryl: Dear Mary,
My heart is full of you . . . thoughts, prayers, conversations with God. Please know that even though I'm not with you, I'm with you in heart.
Love, love,
-s

Bridget: You will be in our prayers - I will be in touch. Much love, Ryan, Bridget & Scarlett

Colleen: I will definately be in prayer for you honey. That you will be healed and also wisdom for the doctors.

Add a comment:

Mon, Nov 10, 2008 4:55 PM

Oh I feel like I have so much to telllllllll...

First of all, I finally got all of our Lutsen pictures posted. This was the first time we've ever left Addison and only the second time we've been away from Brooke. That's actually not a statistic I'm proud of. The longer I parent, the more I see the need to get away. Away for coffee, dinner, a movie or a gorgeous, amazing weekend up North! We missed them but aside from wondering what they were doing about 100 times a day, we were fine. The girls did great with Auntie Kimmi but were quite happy to see us when we came home! So lots of couples pictures and scenery but it was such a fun time with Dave & Nancy and we can't wait to do it again.

Onto other news...I hosted a "lingerie" shower for Gail this weekend. It was so much fun to put together. I do think I need a full-time nanny though if I'm going to try and do more of these events. I don't think the children were properly cared for the whole week before. :) Gail and her friends had a lot of fun and she got lots of "goodies" I can't mention here. We're less than 30 days away from the wedding! Waaa HOoo!

What else? I helped out in Brooke's preschool classroom the other day. It was for their "pumpkin party" and it was such fun. The kids were adorable and all amazingly well behaved. They did such fun things that I think I'd like to go back to preschool. As the kids left to head out for "gym time" in the gymnasium, the whole little line of children were waving to me and saying, "goodbye Brooke's Mom" over and over. It was so adorable and I've never been prouder to forego my name and be called "Brooke's Mom". I did end up heading home with a hoarse voice from playing games with the kids and needed 3 advil just to keep going. My sweet mother watched the Bear so I could go. I can't wait to help out again.

Guess that's all for now...gotta run and fix some dinner.

Comments:

Amy: I love the picture of Brooke squeezing Addsie's head off! Hee! Reminds me of my big sister!

Add a comment:

Tue, Nov 4, 2008 8:37 PM

Well some BIG family news...my little sister Amy is ENGAGED!!! Woo Hoo! She is marrying a very kind, sweet, thoughtful, loving man named Jim and we couldn't be happier for her. Now we get to plan a wedding...YEAH! So fun - I can't wait to help. That is it for the Melius clan. We are now all officially off the market...all 6. I can't imagine my little sister being a bride but I know she'll be gorgeous...she's already been beaming since the day they met! The family is all buzzing with chatter and excitment for them both and Amy is on cloud 9...exactly where she should be. Aim - we love you and are so happy for you both! Congratulations!!!

Comments:

Amy: What? Who said I was getting married???? Ok, maybe it is real and WONDERFUL! It is so fun! Yeah!

Auntie Kathy: I am so happy for Miss Amy soon to be Rev. and Mrs. and can't wait to meet Jim. He is joining an awesome family. I second that she will make a beautiful bride!

Add a comment:

Sun, Nov 2, 2008 3:05 PM

I just had to write this down for posterity:

Mom: (pouring another glass of milk) Brooke, you and your Daddy drink so much milk that I think we should buy a cow.

Brooke: Why?

Mom: Well milk comes from cows...did you know that?

Brooke: (Incredulously and laughing) No Mom you silly, milk comes from THE STORE!

I just left that alone and didn't bother explaining exactly where it milk truly came from for fear she'd never drink it again. :) We'll just let her believe for a little bit longer that all milk comes from Target.

Comments:

Grandma Patti: Hi dear thank you for my morning laugh. We need to call them Brooke isms. Her thinking is so cool. Love that you share them. Grandma Patti

Add a comment:

Fri, Oct 31, 2008 1:13 AM

Well there they all are. Nearly 200 photos for you to peruse. It took me 2-1/2 hrs. to get all those out there but I think it was cathartic to look back and see all the fun things we did and all the smiles on those girlies faces.

As our plane left Orlando, I cried. Not a little, a lot, and for a long time. I think it was just a release to be done with the heat, the lines, the people. It was mostly just the relief to be heading home to our doctors, where I was hoping to get my sick baby well.

At least now I can look back on our trip with some level of fondness and actually consider revisiting again...someday. Not soon, just someday. :)

At any rate, the pictures are there and in most, our smiling faces don't reveal any of the sickness, annoyances or exhausting heat. A trip like that sure does make you appreciate home though. I love my days here in good old freezing Minnesota with my husband and girls. I think next time we'll head to Alaska!

Comments:

Auntie Kathy: See, living in all that heat and humidity explains a lot about your Auntie Kathy doesn't it? Give me a good ol' Minnysoda snowdrift anyday! Love to all

Grandma Patti: Hi dear, it is good to have you all home, safe,sound, and well. Enjoy good old Minnesota, there is no place like home. Love Grandma Patti

Add a comment:

Tue, Oct 28, 2008 4:25 PM

Well we are HOME SWEET HOME! We were gone for 10 days to Florida and what a trip it was.

Sigh

As I was down there I kept thinking about how I was going to journal all of the events that occured. It was an interesting trip to say the least. Right before we left Brooke was a little sick with a cough/cold...this progressively got worse and to make a long story short, we were nebbing her 3-5 times a day and had her on steriods most of our trip (which makes her feel awful and act even worse.) We had one trip to the doctor down there because she had pink eye and the doctor said she had a double ear infection and impeteigo. Wow - we were a walking pharmacy. Now to top it all off, it was HORRIBLY hot and sticky in Florida. Greg and I spent most of our time with our clothes drenched and sticking to us only moments out of our car's blessed air conditioning. It was also extremembly busy. All the rides were 90-100 min. wait times which made the days even more difficult. There were several times when I wondered why we had even gone....

Now with all the said, there were moments of great fun and wonderful memories made. Greg had is 34th birthday down there and we were blessed to be together as a family for 10 full days!

We came home on Thursday the 16th in the evening and took Brooke straight to her doctor for an evening appointment. They said her ears were still bad looking but that her lungs sounded o.k. She got a major shot of steriods (Decadron) to continue to dry up her croup and we headed home for baths and our own sweet beds!

The next morning we took off for the farm for another busy few days. Auntie Gail had 2 bridal showers that weekend and we were very excited to see everyone. Brooke continued to worsen however and she had to miss the family shower at the farm because Greg had to take her all the way back to Maple Grove to see her doctor again. She had spiked a fever again and had been on antibiotics for 5 days already. After determining she just had a whopper of a sinus infection and with a stronger antibiotic on board, they came back and we were able to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Then we were home for 4 nights before Greg and I had a little get-away (the one we've been planning since I quit nursing Addison!). We went up to Lutsen with our friends Dave & Nancy for 4 glorious days. Sweet Auntie Kimmi was our surrogate Mommy for the long weekend and did an awesome job caring for the little bambinos. I think she needs a little get-away to recouperate from taking care of my kids. :)

Now our lives quiet down just a bit as we head into the busy holiday season and are so excited about Gail & Tofer's upcoming wedding. We have much to do for that still and a shower to do as well. Busy, busy but still trying to enjoy each moment.

We played out in the leaves a little today after preschool...it's been chilly but the sun was so inviting today we couldn't resist.

I still have a billion photos to post so I'll get to that...and the other 800 things on my list. :)

Comments:

Grandma Patti: Wow, when you see it all in writing, it was quite a adventure, or endurance test, I not sure which. You did well through it all. What would we do with out God's grace to bring us through these things. Love you all. Grandma Patti

Add a comment:

Sun, Oct 5, 2008 12:49 PM

Well, I've caught up on all the pictures to date. Whew! That leaves this new album with over 100 pictures. This one is a mixture of everything. I have old pictures and new pictures, pictures of our everyday lives around here and some that Greg took of his weekend with Brooke. She and Greg went up to Ottertail last weekend to get the camper ready for the winter. They went up Friday night late and Saturday was filled with everything from breakfast at Betty's to playing at the park, horseback riding and lots of lake work to be done. After loading up the camper, they drove to the farm and spent the rest of their weekend picking apples, pumpkins, gourds, petting kitties, feeding bunnies, playing in the combine, riding on the 4-wheeler...I mean really, this is any kids dream weekend. Addison and I were fairly lost without Greg and Brooke around but we survived.

Now we're excited for our time in Disney World. Greg has a conference down there so we are taking the opportunity to make it a vacation as well. Addison was only 9 mo. old and not even walking when we went last time. It will be fun to see what she thinks of it all now! Brooke is giddy with the very thought of it all again and will be on top of the world I'm sure.

We will fill you all in on it all when we return and have lots of pictures to post as well.

Comments:

Add a comment:

Wed, Sep 24, 2008 9:58 PM

Well just one little album to post tonight. We took a spur-of-the-moment trip to valleyfair (again) a couple weeks ago and had a blast! Kimberli, Brad & Ellie came with and it was a cool, somewhat rainy day that left us with little to no lines to wait in and adrenalin highs from all the rollercoasters. Such fun. Brooke can't get enough of the rides and Addison is just happy to be outside doing anything.

Kimberli watched the kiddos for us while Brad, Ellie, Greg & I went on Wild Thing about 5 times, the High Roller a bunch and Renegade (which ROCKS!) twice. I was TOTALLY dragging my feet when Greg talked about going since we had just been there a few weeks prior but as is typical, I ended up loving it. Something about dropping 200 ft. at a 60 degree slant that makes you feel young again. I am married to a boy in a man's body. He lives to have fun and I appreciate that more and more about him. I think we'll be buying season tickets next year. :)

Comments:

Kathy Haugen: Everyone looked like they were having such a fun time. Memories were being made. Hugs and kisses to all, and Patti I'll join you for that convertible ride! Love, Auntie Kathy

Grandma Patti: Oh honey, that sounds so not fun to me. My speed is to put down my convertible top and go for it.

Add a comment:

Sat, Sep 20, 2008 10:39 AM

I finally got around to posting Brooke's first day of preschool pictures. She has had a full two weeks of school now and loves every minute of it. I had a feeling she was getting bored around here with Addison and I. Preschool has been a great opportunity for her to learn and play and grow socially for the 2-1/2 hrs., twice a week. She comes home everyday with new art projects, songs or fun activities to talk about. She loves to ride the tractor during gym time (a farm girl at heart) and can't wait for her "special day" when she gets to bring the treat for snack time and hold the flag for the pledge of allegience. So sweet.

We had a bit of a rough end of the week with a trip to urgent care with B Thursday night. She had a few pretty bad bites on her body from a swarm of pesky mosquitoes who haven't gotten the memo that they should die for the season yet. One on her leg was red and hot and the size of a baseball. By bedtime she was crying in pain and saying she couldn't walk on it. I called our doctors office "after hours line" and they said I had better take her in if she can't walk on it since it may be a mosquito that was infected with encephalitis. Yikes! I took her in and the dr. said he believed it to just be a severe reaction to a bite or sting. He gave her an antibiotic, antihistamine, hydrocortisone cream and told us to give her some Motrin! Jeez - lots of meds....to top it all off, she had a very croupy cough and we were nebbing her too with pulmicort and albuterol. She has been throwing up periodically the past few days as well (twice in beds which leaves Mommy with much laundry to do!) from all the coughing. The bite has healed considerably and she is walking just fine on it now. Much ado about nothing. You never can be too careful though I guess.

Today is Saturday, Daddy is home, we just finished some lovely waffles and I sit here, sipping my delicious morning coffee and am reveling in the silence as the kiddos are in the basement with Greg. No big plans for the weekend now since B is still a little sicky with the cough. We were up at 2 a.m. still as she threw up again (in a bucket this time, yeah!) and had to neb her. Maybe some naps are in order for us all today....

Comments:

Patti Melius: It sounds like naps would be a good choice for entertainment for the day. Praise God for His healing.

Add a comment:

Most Recent