little scares need big prayers

I've had this spot on my stomach for about six weeks. It's about dime or nickel size. It's red and swollen and hurts really bad. My stomach hurts from it; not like a stomachache, but like pain. In the last week it started getting a little rash around it, so I decided I should see someone about it. Actually, my best friend Kasey saw it and strongly encouraged me to see someone. So, I did. We went in thinking it was a staph infection, not good, but workable. I have another little spot similar popping up, so we figured it was spreading. The doctor looked at it and said it wasn't staph, we were so relieved. Then he said it was possible just a regular infection that got out of hand, or it was a type of skin cancer. Not your typical skin cancer, something less severe, but it's treated the same. When he looked at the second spot he was fairly convinced that they were both infections, but still unsure. He explained that he would give me some strong antibiotics to take for the week. If those don't work by Thursday we go back to have a biopsy done on the major spot. At the age of 25 (or any age of course) I never wanted to hear the words biopsy or cancer.
We are hoping the meds will work, but they haven't yet. The rash is bigger and the spot is the same. Here are my two major concerns: 1. I've been on antibiotics almost constantly for the last 4 weeks for what we thought was a cold and pneumonia. Those antibiotics didn't help this spot. 2. This spot showed up in the same exact place I had severe stomach pain last summer and was told I had an infection in the lining of my stomach.

So, that's where we are. We are just hoping we see some improvement by Thursday and we can move on.

Happy Easter??

So, today started out well. It was a little chilly, but still nice out. We had a lovely lunch with Kasey and her family at Babes Chicken. Hm....that's some good chicken!! :) Well worth the wait, but I'll have to say the service was friendlier in Burleson than in Carrollton. After lunch we went to visit my mom for a little bit. After leaving there we were going to run by the store to get some Kleenex for my classroom. My kids have runny noses but won't bring any tissue for the class, so I'm stuck buying it all the time. I didn't want to forget tomorrow, so I asked Russell to run me by Walgreens by the school so we could get some and then drop it off on our way home. We exit the highway, and the next thing we know we get hit.

Apparently Russell going 10 over the speed limit exiting the highway wasn't fast enough for the dude behind us, so he decided to go around us to prove a point. He didn't need to cut back in front of us since there were no cars in the right lane, he could have just stayed there and gone as fast as he wanted. However, he got out of the left lane, into the right, went around us, and cut us off and got back into the left lane. However, he came back into the left lane a little too early and he hit us. I was furious. It didn't seem like he was going to stop, so Russell told me to call 911, so I did.

The guy did end up pulling over, got out of his car yelling he didn't hit us, claimed to not see the scratch on our car, and then he saw me. Well, I taught his kid two years ago, and his nephew last year. As soon as he saw me he was a little more cooperative, until he knew I was on the phone with 911. Once he knew the cops were on the way he was ready to leave. He gave Russell his "insurance card" to copy down, but rushed him the whole time. He was gone in about a minute. We couldn't even get his license plate with all the rush. The cop did show up and was nice enough to run the VIN number we got off of the insurance card, and well, it's a bad number. He asked where we thought the guy went, and we told him he claimed to be hurrying to meet someone at the mall. So, the cop asked us to follow him to the mall, and we did. We didn't find his car in the parking lot (and it was a very distinctive car). The cop suggested that we call his "insurance" first thing in the morning and make sure it's real, if not, call him back so we can file a report. So, hopefully it will all work out. The car is fine, it's just cosmetic damage mostly, just frustrating.

Apparently, he couldn't see this!! No, the black line isn't supposed to be there, he caused that too.

The scratch...up close and personal.

Luckily the damage is just cosmetic, so if this guy ends up with bad insurance, we can wait to get it fixed. It's hard to see in this picture, but it's there, I promise!!

Easter!!!

So, tomorrow is Easter. I used to love Easter time as a little girl. I always got several Easter dresses and got to pick just the right one on Easter morning. This was mostly because my mom would get me one, my step mom would get one, and my grandmother would make one. So, on the day of I would have several choices. :) I loved hunting Easter eggs, and being the youngest grandchild, I forced the family to hunt eggs until I was about 15!!

Now that we have a niece and nephews, Easter takes on a new meaning. Last year I did Easter baskets for Kennie and Sarah, and that can be pricey!!! They have been begging us to go to build-a-bear, so I decided we would do that instead of Easter baskets this year. Yesterday we went along with Kasey, Lee, and baby Jameson to go see the Easter bunny, and then we went off to build-a-bear. The kids had a great time! I don't have any pictures of their bears, it was slightly stressful. I did get pictures of the kids with the Easter bunny though. Have a happy Easter! :)

Amazing new parents, Kasey and Lee, trying to wake baby Jameson up so he could meet the Easter bunny!!

Baby Jameson, waving off the paparazzi...

He finally decided to pose with the bunny for me.

Sweet Sarah, waiting to see the Easter bunny...

Although he didn't want to, Kennie finally agreed to have his picture made with the Easter bunny. Sarah was just as happy as could be. :)

It's been awhile....

I haven't updated in awhile..sorry. Things have been fairly busy and hectic. My are kids taking the first of three TAKS tests this Wednesday. I feel fairly good about it. They have worked so hard and this week they showed me they are ready for the big day. There are some kids that wouldn't be prepared no matter what I did. Then, there are some kids that came further than I could have ever imagined. I'm so excited to see their results. My only fear, at this point, is that I'm too confident in their abilities. However, they've worked so hard, I can't imagine their hard work won't pay off. I was so nervous about this year, but I adore my kids. They drive me crazy some days, but they are just kids. It is so hard to remember that everyday. Sometimes we expect them to act older than their age and we forget they are just children. So, if you think about it, pray for teachers and kids this week. It will be stressful!! I may not be stressed at this point, but I'm sure I will be as the day gets closer. Russell and I have to go cover all educational materials on my walls tomorrow. Basically, my entire room will be covered with green butcher paper. I'm picking green (assuming it's still there) for good luck. :) Now that we are close to the test my kids are (surprisingly) getting excited! They are ready to prove themselves, which makes me happy.
My seizures have gotten better. I started a new combination of medicine that seems to be working much better. Hopefully I will be able to drive in August or September. That's assuming the seizures will stay away!
That's it for now. Today was a long day for us. Our "niece and nephew" (Kennie and Sarah) had basketball games ALL day, so we are worn out from that. For some reason, sitting in bleachers all day can be exhausting. But, we wouldn't trade it for the world, we love to watch them play and have fun.