Dear God

Every night before bed Megan and I say prayers together. This started when she was having really bad dreams every night. At first I was the one that always said it while we would hold hands. After a while she decided that she wanted to say the prayer instead. So now we take turns. It basically goes something like this:

"Dear God, Please help Megan's bad dreams go away, so she only has good dreams, so she's not scared. Please God help Megan be a good girl and listen to Mommy and Daddy. Thank you God for Mommy, Daddy, Sam, Megan, and Jack. And thank you for Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto. Amen."

We mix up the middle but the beginning and the thank yous are ALWAYS the same. Lately, though, Megan has been adding a new item into the mix, and it goes a little something like this:

"Please God help Megan to fly."

Megan is hoping to wake up one morning and have wings so that she can fly. And she wants to know why it isn't happening since she prays for it. It is so cute, and so like a 6 year old.

She does get serious about praying though when there is something going on. She prays for Gigi (my grandma) when she is sick. And she prayed for Rick a lot when he was so sick and healing from surgery.

I just thought it was so cute when she asked to fly again tonight. She is such a sweet little girl. And after prayers we have a very special kiss that Megan made up. First she kisses my left cheek, right cheek, forehead, nose, lips, and chin. And then I do the same to her. It is ALWAYS in that order too. Megan NEVER goes to bed without doing kisses with Mommy. Gosh I love that girl!

Until next time,
Jaime

Paper Pants Part 2 and Bone Growth

Going to see Dr. S has become even more fun when we get to play with the paper pants!!! When life hands you lemons, wear paper pants. I mean, really, with everything life has thrown at us lately it is good to just be able to be silly.

And now that you are finished laughing, or maybe your not, it is time for the results. Dr. S said that there is early bone growth. Thank God!! There were two different angles of x-rays taken. The only x-ray that shows the growth is the side view. The bone growth wasn't able to be seen in the front angle x-ray which proves that it is early bone growth and isn't dense enough to be seen in the front view. But we are just so thrilled that there is finally progress.

Rick no longer has to wear his brace except for when he is at work. And speaking of work, he was released to work full time again too. He still has a weight restriction but it has been raised to 25 pounds. And Dr. S also wants Rick to start physical therapy 3 times a week for the next 12 weeks. He will be focusing on core work to strengthen his core and avoid any further damage to the back. Maybe he will get that 6-pack I have always wanted.

Rick will go back to see Dr. S again in 6 weeks for more x-rays. Dr. S wants to make sure that the fusion is solid by 6 months post-surgery, which is September. So that is the next big goal to achieve. Come on fusion!!!

Rick is doing really good lately. He has been painting the trim on the house and doing yard work. It is nice to have him back, but I also miss having all that time together too. Things seem much more normal again, but normal means less time together. Oh well, I would rather have him feeling this way!!

Until next time,

Jaime

Happy 12th Anniversary!

We were married 12 years ago today. At the age of 20 (just barely 20) I could never have imagined how drastically things would change. It all seemed so perfect and easy back then. There was nothing we couldn't do. We had our whole lives in front of us.

We still have a lot to do, but it is certainly a tougher road to travel to get those things done. I mean seriously, it is really a tough road. It has been very bumpy with lots of construction. Okay I am done with the stupid metaphor.

Happy Anniversary Rick! I love you very much and I am very proud of how strong you have been.

Love Always and Forever,

Jaime

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day Rick!! The girls are very lucky to have such a strong Daddy to look up to. They know how hard you work for us. And they will grow up with a great role model. I love you and the girls love you too!!

Love,

Jaime, Samantha, and Megan

A little of this, A little of that

Summer vacation officially started at 11 a.m. today. So from now until September it is our job to keep the girls from killing each other. Seriously, could they fight any more? I don't know how they are going to handle having to be together 24/7. And I don't know how Rick and I are going to survive it either.

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I went to the neatest store tonight with my Mom. I got to talk with some ladies I haven't seen in a long time. It was a lot of fun. And I got to shop a little bit too. It is amazing how shopping improves my mood. I got some neat stuff to redecorate our bedroom. I mean, when the hubby says the bedroom needs to be redone, well, it must really need to be redone! I found a great new bedding set last summer that has been sitting in the basement since August. We just haven't had the time or money to change anything. But it really can't wait any longer. Besides, Oprah says that the bedroom should be a sanctuary. And I could really use a nice place to relax.

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Tonight we had an awesome storm. It rained so hard that I started to wonder if maybe we should have had an arc. At one point the lightening was striking right above our house and Rick could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he was watching it out the front window. It was really cool. The claps of thunder were crazy loud!! I love a good storm!!!

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Rick has been having some issues with a swollen belly. I tried to call his GI doctor (not one of our two favorite doctors) and he said it was no big deal. Really?!?! His belly is swollen and tender and the doctor doesn't even want to see him just to check it out. It is so discouraging to have a doctor that doesn't seem concerned about anything that we call about. It seems that just about every time we have a concern that we bring up on our own he dismisses it like we don't know what we are talking about. (And no we don't call about every single tiny little twinge) It is very frustrating, for both of us.

So we are going to just watch it and if it gets worse we will call his primary care doctor, who is really good, and let him help Rick. If it stays about the same then we will just wait to deal with it until we go to the Mayo Clinic in July.

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I hope you are all still enjoying the blog. Since I didn't hear from many readers after my last post it is hard to know if people still enjoy reading. One thing about comments is that they are kinda like a big 'ol pat on the back, or a big 'ol hug. It lets me know that blogging is worth it. If you don't know how to leave a comment, you just click on the comments below each post and leave a comment. I have allowed anonymous comments again so you don't have to set up a google account. I figured that since I am now moderating the comments before they post that it is safe to allow anonymous comments again. And I haven't had any problems since that one incident. Thank goodness! So that is how you leave a comment just in case you didn't know.

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And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Until next time,
Jaime

Happy Blogiversary!

Today marks one year ago today that I made my first blog entry. You can click here to read my very first entry. So much has happened since that first blog post. So much more than I could have ever imagined.

I started going back through some of the posts last night. I am amazed at how much our life has changed. It was fun to reread some of those old posts, and it was sad to reread others. I have had posts about all the pills Rick takes everyday, had posts about me, had posts about Rick, and posts about the girls. Of course there were lots of posts about Rick's health, which I won't even link to because there are just so darn many of them. And everything in between.

The most ironic post I came across you can find here. On December 31, 2008 I thought that 2008 was a terrible year and that 2009 would have to be better. OMG!!!! How could I have been so wrong?!?! I never expected to have Rick in the hospital, not once but twice.

I know this has been a wild ride. I know that some of my readers probably went away because of all the downs, and few ups. And I probably gained readers because of the downs, and hopefully because they like reading what I have to say. I really hope that you all have enjoyed this blog. It has been very therapeutic for me to be able to write it all down, and even let it all out sometimes.

And I do realize that sometimes there may have been too much information. But this has been a great way for me to keep track of everything. And if what I wrote helped someone, then it was worth it.

I appreciate all the love and support that we have received via this blog over the past year. I know there are people out there reading that have stumbled upon this blog from one way or another. I would REALLY love to hear how you found my blog. It would mean a lot to me to have my readers leave a comment and let me know how long you have been following us. Don't be shy! I want to hear from you! I would like to know the circumstances in which you discovered my blog. Or maybe you have been following from the beginning. Maybe you have been following for two days. Maybe you are healthy, or maybe you are not. Maybe you have something in common with Rick or with me. I would really love to know about you.

Thank you for reading and joining us on this roller coaster. "It may be a crazy life, but it's our life."

Happy 1st Blogiversary!!!

Until next time,
Jaime

Scooby Doo Party

What a day!! I am exhausted! Birthday parties are a lot of work. Megan had a great time. She had been looking forward to her Scooby Doo party for so long. Here are a few photos for your viewing enjoyment.


She was so proud of her Scooby Doo cake.

And her Scooby Doo pinata, that wasn't full of candy, but full of Scooby snacks and Scooby Doo fruit snacks.

I think this family picture turned out really good. It takes a lot of work to get a good picture of the four of us. Megan isn't exactly the easiest kiddo to take a picture of. And Sam tends to have a really fake smile. So I am really impressed with this picture!

And of course there has to be a picture of sweet little Mady too!

I really love birthday's, but having this many so close together gets a little overwhelming. Considering that in five days it was my birthday, my Mom's birthday, and Megan's birthday. My wallet is really empty right now! I really enjoy my kid's birthdays though. It is so much fun to see how excited they are about everything. And I love making it special for them.

Megan got everything she wanted. The funniest thing was that she wasn't exactly happy that she got clothes. After the first couple boxes of clothes she started throwing them on the ground. She said she doesn't like clothes. But when she said goodbye to Grampa Mike she thanked him for the clothes. So I guess it all worked out in the end.

Until next time,

Jaime

Happy Birthday Megan!!

Happy Birthday to my monkey Megan! It is hard to believe that you are turning 6 years old today! You are so spunky and cute. You make me smile everyday. I am so proud of you. You are growing into such an amazing big girl!

You entered this world six years ago screaming louder than any tiny baby I have ever heard. And you have left that same impression ever since! I love you so much Megan!!

Love,

Mom

Happy Birthday to Me!

Since it's my blog and I'm the one that always updates it, I decided that I would have to post a birthday message to myself. Afterall, I did do a birthday post for Rick, and Sam, and I will do one for Megan this week.

I had a great weekend! Rick and I spent all day yesterday together. We went shopping, out to dinner, and for a drive. Rick bought me a fantastic purse and some pants. Yes I drug him around the mall. Hey, what can I say, it's my birthday!

Today we went out to lunch with my mom and sister. And then I got the best present of all, I got to babysit for little Mady for a couple hours. It was fantastic!!

I will NOT disclose my age. But I know a bunch of you know anyway. Oh well, age only matters if your cheese.

Until next time,

Jaime

Kindergarten Program

Tonight was Megan's Kindergarten program. It is bittersweet for me. On one hand it is nice to see how much she has learned and grown, but on the other hand it is sad to see her grow up and go on to first grade. She is my baby and I am having a hard time with her growing up. In one week she turns 6 years old. How is that possible? Wasn't it just yesterday that she was a baby?

Anyway, here are some pictures and a couple short videos of Megan. I hope you enjoy.


On to first grade! Wow, I have a first grader and a fourth grader. How did that happen?!?!

Only 8 1/2 more days of school. Summer vacation here we come!

Until next time,
Jaime

It's A Tie!

We have decided that we have a tie for first place for Rick's best doctor. Dr. S (the surgeon) and Dr. C (the rheumatologist) have tied for best doctor!!

Rick had an appointment last week with Dr. C (yes I know this post is a few days late). Rick has some swelling of his joints and so it seems that the joint disease (spondyloarthropathy) is acting up a little bit. But with going back to work it isn't surprising. If things don't regulate themselves we will look into starting a different drug therapy to control the joint disease. There are a couple new drugs that have just been approved by the FDA. So at least there are some options.

Dr. C wasn't really surprised by the fact that the spinal fusion hadn't taken yet. He agreed with Dr. S that it is most likely due to all of Rick's disease processes. He did say, very adamantly, that he knew that Rick needed this surgery and that he never would have gotten better on his own. That is why he put himself out there and personally called Dr. S. In that phone conversation he made it very clear how important it was that Rick have surgery. And Dr. S was obviously very supportive and completely understood the reason that it needed to be done. And so the two of them worked together and made it the great experience that it was.

Dr. S had joked with us about wanting us to tell Dr. C to send more patients his way since we had such a good experience with him. So we actually did. And Dr. C said he had already sent a couple patients to Dr. S because of how willing he was to work with Rick, and because he knew how well things had gone. So because of us Dr. S got more patients and some patients got a fantastic surgeon.

We are definitely blessed to have two wonderful doctors looking out for Rick's best interest!!! And even Dr. C's nurse is wonderful. She was very excited to see us and really wanted to know how things are going. Don't get me wrong, he does have other doctors, and they are good too. But these two are exceptional!!

Until next time,
Jaime

Your Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile 2

Look at that beautiful smile!!! That's pretty much all I have to say!!

The procedure to actually fix the tooth was a bit more traumatic for Sam than I was expecting. The dentist didn't want to numb the tooth area because it is apparently very painful to numb the front tooth. And the laughing gas didn't work so well because Sam doesn't breathe through her nose, she breathes through her mouth like her Daddy. They had to use water constantly to keep the tooth wet when they were shaping it. Sam felt like she was drowning because she felt like she couldn't breathe through her nose. So it was impossible to breathe through her mouth with the water in it. At one point she reached up and started pulling everything off her face. It was really sad to watch. But I was strong and I held her hands and rubbed her leg.

It was all worth it though. Because she definitely looks better with a whole tooth!!

Until next time,
Jaime

Junior Girl Scout

Samantha is now a Junior Girl Scout. This weekend she participated in a small bridging ceremony. She and two other girls from her troop bridged to Juniors. Sam now joins the majority of her troop as a Junior Girl Scout.

This is Sam as a Brownie Girl Scout just moments before the bridging ceremony:



She had to read an excerpt from a poem about becoming a Junior Scout:



Here she is crossing the "bridge" to become a Junior Girl Scout:

Troop Leader Brenda puts Sam's new vest on her and hands her the certificate and flowers to congratulate her on becoming a Junior Girl Scout:

Here is my big girl following the bridging ceremony:

I enjoyed being a Girl Scout. And so far Samantha is following in my footsteps. We are currently trying to find a troop for Megan to join. If all else fails she will become the youngest member of Samantha's troop.

I am glad that Sam has enjoyed being a Girl Scout. She has already learned so many things. Like this weekend, for example, she and her troop worked on a cooking badge during the overnight trip they took. And now Sam can't stop talking about wanting to cook for us. Granted we don't really have much food in the house for her to cook for us. But still, it is fun to see her so excited about something.

Today we went to the Girl Scout office and bought the Junior Girl Scout badge book. We plan to work on a few badges this summer. We did this the last couple summers to help Sam earn some Brownie try-its. But the Junior badges take a lot more work. But it will be something fun to work on during summer vacation.

Until next time,

Jaime