YIPPEE!!!

I L-O-V-E my new blog header. Thanks Jenny, from Pink Armchair Designs, for such a cute header. I've already been dropping little hints to Russell about getting me a layout package for Christmas. We will see if he listens. :)

We had a great Thanksgiving, although it was a little different. My dad is in California, my step mom is in Arkansas with my brother and his family, and my uncle in in Arkansas as well. My mom, step dad, and grandparents were here, so we stopped by to see them briefly, but we didn't eat with them. We were blessed to have Kasey's family invite us (along with Russell's brothers) to come enjoy Thanksgiving with them. It was nice to have his brothers with us, since we couldn't really get his side of the family together. His mom and dad had Thanksgiving together in the isolation room of the hospital. Penny, Russell's mom, is doing pretty well. She's on alot of pain medicine, so she's pretty out of it. In a few weeks they will do another bone marrow biopsy to make sure her bone marrow is making blood cells without leukemia, that's our next big hurdle. We are hoping she can be home before Christmas, Thanksgiving without her wasn't the same.

Today is Russell's birthday, he's 27!! Unfortunately, he's on call for his birthday, and that all started yesterday. We were all ready to go shopping on Black Friday, not too early - at about 8:00ish, and his pager went off. So, he went home to check it. Apparently the CEO of some big company got a virus on his computer. Russell spent all day yesterday fixing that, and he kept saying it could take all weekend. Luckily he got it fixed before the end of the night, and he was able to get some rest, but he missed out on all of the shopping. After braving a few stores on my own (and spending WAY too much money), I called Kasey and Lee to join me, they are the best! I wish we could go eat or something to celebrate Russell's birthday, but he doesn't like to do anything, knowing he could have to leave at anytime with the buzzing of the pager.

I'm so glad that 27 years ago my hubby made his grand entrance into the world. He was a handful as a child, throwing liver across the grocery store, stepping in buckets of paint, etc. He didn't sleep through the night until his younger brother (born 3 years later) was brought home from the hospital. He thought there was a left and right sock, and would throw a fit if his parents put his socks on the wrong feet. One morning, on the way into the church, he asked his mother what "hell" meant. She started to explain the difference between heaven and hell, shocked her four year old was wanting to know what hell was. After going into a diligent explanation of heaven and hell, Russell asked what "copter" meant. She was so confused, so Russell said "well, if that's what hell means, what does copter mean." He just wanted to know about a helicopter. Oh, my husband. He's so determined, patient, and understanding. I sure feel blessed to be married to him, and knowing him for my whole life! :)

YEAH!!!

We just got a call from Russell's dad, Duane, saying his mother is in remission. After a week of chemo 24/7, a week of really high fever (up to 104.4), being moved to ICU, not being able to breath, or move on her own, we are so happy to know that she is on the road to recovery. It's been a REALLY long week. She is still FAR from being back to herself, but we are glad she's going to make it. We were afraid after her bone marrow biopsy they would tell us that she wasn't in remission, and then they would have to start the chemo again. We were then told she might not live through that, because she is already so weak. We have lots to be thankful for!!

Arkansas pictures...

These are a few of the things I will miss from Arkansas.

This is the cabin we stay in...it's HUGE and gorgeous! I think 60 people can stay in it, but we usually only take about 10-15 people. My entire family goes - my grandparents, uncle, brother and his family, sister-in-laws family, my mom and stepdad, AND my dad and stepmom. That last part is crazy huh?? While we are in Arkansas everyone likes to curl up and read a good book. If you can't find someone, they are probably snuggled by the fire reading. Young and old will read in Arkansas. I think I'll make Russell start a fire in our fire place next week so I can pretend.

If you can't find me on the front porch of the cabin, I'm usually out on the four wheeler. The area around the cabin is HUGE! This place usually takes in thousands of kids for summer camp each year, so they have a ton of land. I love to just get on the four wheeler and go.

This is our Arkansas buffolo friend, Bufford. I always take a picture of him for my kids, so they can see that he is always doing the same thing while we are there, just laying around. What a life!

I'll miss fishing with grandpa. :( He isn't going this year either, but I'll still miss it. I don't think any of us has caught anything up there. I usually just go and watch everyone fish, and throw rocks in the water, maybe that's why we can't catch anything...
We will miss out on some game time!! Not only do we play lots of football in the cabin, there is always a game of cards, Candy Land, dominoes, or something else going on in the house. (Carson promises to wear more clothes this year!)

I'll miss this cute boys!! It's amazing how much they've grown in just one year. :(

I'll miss coming back all relaxed and rejuvinated. This was the day we left last year. Although I had taken a hard fall off of a horse on the side of a mountain the day before, I was still pretty rejuvinated, and sore!

I know staying home from Arkansas is the best choice, but I'll be envious while they are gone!!

This is one thing I won't miss----THE HORSES!! Sure, they look nice, but it's painful when you fall off. :(

This is where we stay http://www.shepherdoftheozarks.com/

Feeling winded....

I am starting to feel a little emotionally and physically winded, if that makes sense. With all that is going on, I'm just so exhausted, and I'm having a hard time keeping up.
Russell's mom, Penny, was diagnosed with an acute leukemia (the bad kind) on the 6th. She went into the hospital last Friday where she will spend the next five weeks. The first seven days in the hospital she will be taking chemo 24 hours a day, nonstop. The next four weeks are to monitor her, to make sure her body starts to build back up an immune system. The chemo she is taking is very strong. On top of preparing to go into the hospital last week, she had to have a small surgery. This would typically be no big deal, but they couldn't stitch it normally, so it's still an open wound. She is still in a lot of pain from that, and very uncomfortable in the hospital. She is in isolation, to try and keep her away from as many germs as possible. Her husband, sons, myself, and her best friend are allowed to go see her. We have to wear a mask, gown, gloves, etc to go see her. She has been running a fever of 103 degrees since Friday, which is scary. In the end, we have been told this is the worst kind of cancer for her to have, but after all of this is done, she will have a 90 % chance of going into remission. That, of course, was the best news we could get. After these five weeks are up, she will get to go home for three weeks, and then back to the hospital for five days. That will happen two more times - three weeks home, hospital for a week. After this cycle is over, we are hopeful she will be okay. She is very strong, so it has been difficult to see her in this condition. We are looking forward to her homecoming right before Christmas, and hopeful that she will feel up to celebrating on Christmas day.
In other news, I am going to a new neurologist on the 24th. My seizures are still occurring, so Russell feels a new doctor is necessary. I'm sure he's right, but I am very hesitant. I think a new doctor will make me stop driving for at least six months. Been there, done that, not wanting to do it again! I am hoping he will have some answers for me, that don't involve restricting my freedom!
My kids are taking a test right now, ahhh...silence. If I could, I would just go over to my big rocking chair just a few feet away and fall asleep...but they might notice. Next week is Thanksgiving break. Half of my family will be here, and the other half will be relaxing in Arkansas. Russell and I have been so torn about where we should be. We want so badly to go to Arkansas, where it's chilly, the leaves are changing colors, and we can enjoy the big cabin. But, with his mom sick, and my grandmother in bad health, we know we need to be here. So, this is where we will be. I guess I'll just look at pictures from Arkansas last year instead. I keep trying to remind myself that Arkansas is evil, it's where I fell off the horse last year when I had a seizure and thought my arm was severely broken. But, it's really not evil, it's great...I'll post some pictures from last year...

a day we will never forget...

This is a day we will not soon forget. Not because we have a new president, but because today we found out that Russell's mother has leukemia. We are not sure what kind yet, but we do know that she does have cancer. We knew this was a possibility, but we weren't expecting the news today. We will find out on Thursday if she has acute or chronic leukemia. We are hoping for chronic, which has a longer life expectancy. If it is acute, we have been told that the outlook is somewhat grim. She is in the hospital for right now having a blood transfusion because her blood work looked so bad. She will be going home tonight as soon as the transfusion is done so she can get some rest. We don't know what the next few days, weeks, months, and hopefully years will hold, but we are hoping that it will be easier as it goes along.

Tonight, while we were up at the hospital with Penny (my mother in law), Duane (my father in law), decided that her hospital room was a little too hot and stuffy. He thought he would turn the air on and tried to adjust the thermostat. He went to push random buttons, and ended up pushing the "code blue" alarm. All of a sudden, we hear an alert go out through the hospital that said "CODE BLUE, ROOM 535, CODE BLUE!!!" It went on and on. Nurses and doctors came running from every hallway and room. Apparently he pushed the button that indicates someone is having a heart attack. It was funny, after all the doctors and nurses were gone. It was actually good to see everyone laugh on such a sad day. After all of the drama was over, we did get the air turned down, thank goodness!!

Keep us in your prayers, we need it now more than ever.

Fall update...

Time seems to be flying by. Russell is currently watching Texas get beat by Tech. I know that the outcome of this game will not be what Russell wants, but I'm attempting to keep my mouth shut so I don't ruin the game for him. In order to not spill the beans, I thought I would blog. :)

Things have been fairly hectic, but good, around our house. I am still having my seizures, which is not exactly the good part. I need to get to another doctor sometime soon, but that's where the "things have been fairly hectic" part comes in. I have an amazing group of kids this year in my class. It's amazing how different each group of kids are each year. Last year my kids were very socially mature, and this year they are all very intelligent and sweet. I love each class, and I'm glad they are all so different.

Football season is coming to an end. De'Von's team is in the playoffs. This is the team that Russell helps coach. We are so glad they made it to the playoffs - we weren't sure they would because they had a hard time getting their first win. Once they started playing as a team, things started moving easier. Our first playoff game is next week. Football has been really good for him. He has been a leader on the field and tries to stay positive for every game. We are very proud of him! Now, De'Von at school is a different story!! He was on transfer at my school so that things would be easier on me (he stays with me after school for homework and stuff, and it's just easier to have him there during the day in case something happens). He technically lives closer to my school, but is in a different schools area. Anyway, he kept getting into trouble (being sent to the office for chewing gum, things like that...), and his transfer was revoked. I was really upset for a few days. My seizures have gotten worse since then, but I think the change in schools has been good for him. His new teacher is a male, and he comes home everyday with an abundance of new knowledge. He seems to really enjoy going to school, and he seems to be learning without really even trying. He's like a little sponge, which is how it should be! We are hoping his next report card will be better than the last!

The older two boys had great first six weeks report cards. To celebrate, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium on Columbus Day. Who knew the aquarium could be so much fun? We got there fairly early, and could have stayed all day, but I was kind of ready to go. I don't think the boys expected an aquarium to be as much fun as it was. Tron, the oldest, had to write a paper for school about a day he would never forget, and he had a hard time picking between going to the aquarium and going to the AirHogs game. I thought that was sweet.

I feel very blessed to have these boys in my life. I lived a very long time trying to make my family happy, living my life the way they thought I should, ignoring what I felt called to do. Now that I've decided I'm going to do what I feel I've been called to do (help with these boys, teach at my school, etc) I'm so much happier. My family really doesn't agree (they do for the most part, but some important people don't), but I'm learning that living the life God intended is much more fulfilling than living the life that my family intended. As much as these boys think they need us in their life, we need them just as much.

Here are some pictures from the day at the aquarium...

De'Von, Tron, Ja'Vontray (youngest, oldest, middle) in front of the sharks

J, Tron, and De'Von in front of the leopard (seems random for the aquarium to me...)