NOBODY IS MORE SURPRISED THAN US! GKTW alumni return! 10/21 MOVING DAY!!

[homeschoolmomof4]

Praying for both Lisa and Rachel's medical issues.

Rachel did a fantastic job with her movie night!! Love the butterfly specimen. I have all sorts of neat things similar to this that we've collected on a dedicated shelf. Snake skins, turtle shells, sea shells, and an ostrich egg and feather! I say you hold onto that butterfly. No need to get rid of a treasure!

Stay well Judy!

 

[danygirl]

Just checking in! Prayers all around

 

[p00h4me]

Marilyn, praying for your dad today that the surgery and recovery goes smoothly!

Andrea, glad you are getting the PT for your shoulder. Glad you were able to get the baby grand piano!

Michele, so happy that your house is coming along and that you and your family will be able to move back in soon!

Amy, praying that Ezra's fever is gone and that he's okay to go to school.


Judy, love Rachel's movie night food choices to go with "A Bug's Life"! You all are so creative with the names of the dishes too! Praying that Rachel will keep improving from the concussion! Need her well before your trip. So happy that Rachel got her braces off.

Yikes, you have been busy with all those appointments this month. I'm sure you'll be glad that this month is almost over. on the medical costs though. How is that affordable healthcare? It's one of the reasons why Billy is deciding to do the cataract surgery on his other eye at the end of next month. After his eye recover, he'll just need to go out and buy some reading glasses.

Praying that Lisa won't need the surgery for her leg!

I keep forgetting to ask if David started his college classes?

We got a good downpour of rain yesterday morning. More leaves came off the trees. Such an early start on fall here. Not even September yet and need to get the rake out already!

Have a great time everyone and enjoy the long weekend! Praying for all the needs and requests!

 

[redomni]

Just wanted to update that my dad did okay with his surgery but the surgeon decided to only do the left leg and not the right one, which means more surgery. The doctor is thinking on Wed but we don't know for sure. The thought of more surgery scares me because my dad does not do well with anesthesia at all. Thanks for all the prayers

Thoughts and prayers to all that need them.

Marilyn

 

[happybelle]

Since it is your thread Judy, I want to make sure I say Hi to you. I am excited for Rachel getting her braces off and praying she and Lisa will both be okay. Lisa doesn't need any more surgery! I looked it up and it looks terrible. The movie night looks like a lot of fun. I would love some of your fried chicken right now.

 

[Redwavess]

While Lisa was at her speech therapy appointment I was looking at my calendar and realized this month was over and I had no idea where it went. Then I counted up: We had 42 medical appointments, 5 dental appointments, 2 orthodontic appointments...plus the regular stuff the children do and two extra special activities...I guess I know where the month went! As of this morning we have had out of pocket expenses of $3,986.45 (and 6 places have not been processed and none of this weeks appts have posted) since August 1...this is what is known as affordable healthcare.

I want you all to know I read as often as I can, I simply have not had time to answer you. But I AM praying! I appreciate those of you who say hi, who let me know you are here and praying for our family. I love the school stories, the pictures, the prayer requests we can all lift up and praises. I know you are all praying for each other as well and I am thankful.

Rachel has improved; however, we still have a long way to go. If she hasn’t improved markedly by September 16 we will start speech and OT for her...Lisa has continued to have a barrage of appointments this month. The most worrisome issue is her leg. A new occlusion was noted in addition to the femoral occlusion when we saw her vascular surgeon. Lisa also has an external iliac artery occlusion that had not been noted before. They will watch it closely. As for her leg length discrepancy, it has been evident to me that it has increased. I have a keen eye for measurements (Just ask the folks who once delivered a sofa to me and replaced it 3 times because I could tell the back sides weren’t even...I went to their warehouse and each and every sofa was off by 1/16 of an inch...it drove me nuts). We saw Lisa’s Orthopedist on 8/29 and he confirmed by x-ray that it has increased. We will continue with her leg brace and shoe lifts and watch closely. He told me if it worsens by .2 cm we will have to discuss surgery indepth. In 2012 it worsened by .3, this year has seen the same changes .3. It seems small till you add it all up. In happy news Rachel got her braces off.

I wanted to post Rachel’s movie night. This was the weekend before she got the concussion. She picked A Bug’s Life. The Friday before Pete found this completely intact butterfly at work...no longer living. He brought it home to have as part of our theme. It is such a beautiful specimen I can’t bear to get rid of it. Rachel wore her butterfly shirt in honor of her theme as well. I love how the children plan, organize, shop and prepare...that really is our activity for our movie nights, other than the obvious...the MOVIE!

The menu:
Flik’s Fried Chicken
Atta’s Ants on a Log (I LOVE these)
Heimlich’s Caterpillar Grapes
Bug Berries (Blueberries)
Crescent Coccons
Manny’s Munchy, Crunchy Leaves (we spread them out on a tray as if the caterpillars were crawling through)
Dot’s Dots (M&M’s)
Beetle Juice

As you see we had a lot of fun and enjoyed some delicious food!

Rachel did an awesome job on her movie night!!!! I love the menu!!! The grapes are adorable!! And Rachel looks so beautiful!

Wow you have had quite a month!!! Sorry to hear about all the issues you are facing medically and with doctors bills. I don't know how you do it all!!!

Hugs and prayers,

Madeline

 

[bushdianee]

I've been following along but have been very busy with the beginning of school. It is hard to believe we've been back for almost 3 weeks already! I have 27 little munchkins this year but they are the best group I've had in many, many years. I have a wide range of abilities as always but they are for the most part well behaved and hard workers. Teaching can be so hard on the heart sometimes though. I have one little one that I just got on Monday that has been through so much in her short life. She has medical issues which can be life threatening, had been being raised by a grandmother who recently passed away putting her back with a mother who is an addict, and made to change schools. Then on the second day with me she was put into emergency foster care. Yet she comes in each day with a smile and a hug.

I hope that Rachel continues to improve and that Lisa doesn't need more surgery. I don't know how you handle all of the medical expenses.

Prayers being sent for those in need.

 

[ladylyons]

Wow! I could only imagine living through one of your months. That's just insane!! Yeah I won't even go there with affordable health care.

Glad Rachel is on the mend. I hope it continues for all of your sake!!

Prayers for Lisa that she doesn't have to have surgery.

Love Rachel's movie night!! That butterfly is beautiful!!

I need to ask for prayers again for our favorite teacher Mrs. D. Just found out today that she's going to have to have surgery. We got a very vague letter today from the school saying that we're going to have a guest teacher (no end date given.) Before I received the letter I got a text from her telling me what's going on. She also brought me to tears because she said she's so sad and that she feels like she's failing as a teacher. I texted her back telling her to never think she's not a great teacher because she is!! Now that I know more about what she's going through it just makes me sad. I know she'd rather be there for her students but unfortunately can't right now. I'm just hoping for a quick recovery for her because she's become more than just a teacher to my family. She's become a friend (and she told me the same thing about us). Our kids love seeing each other and we always have some great conversations when we're together.

 

[blessedmom4]

I wil answer as much as I can before I have to sign off. It is the least I can do for those of you kind enough to leave a message.

I can not let Alexa see that fried chicken or she'll be asking to go to your house for dinner! Rachel did an great job!

I hope Lisa's leg issues don't become any worse than they already are. I'd hate for a surgery to be in order. I'll be praying she can avoid that.

I also hope Rachel recovers so that you don't need any extra medical appts. The last thing you need to do is add more to your agenda. However, speech and OT certainly won't hurt in any way.

We went to Water Country USA yesterday. We got free military tickets so only had to pay for $15 for parking. And we packed a picnic lunch so we could eat healthy and afford to eat. It was a very fun day but I injured my toe. I took my aqua socks off for a break and the skin under my big toe has layers upon layers scraped off of it Both kids have chaffing from their swimsuits. But I know we'd all go back in a heartbeat -- well, the kids and I would. Introvert dh did not enjoy the day.

Today I took school supplies in. The kids stayed home with dh (he has a few days of leave). I was actually glad they didn't come b/c it gave me time to chat with the teacher. She's so nice and we get along quite well. The rest of today is piano and riding lessons. Tomorrow is a baseball game -- Tides AAA. It's the last game of the season so there will be fireworks. DH is staying home but I'm going with my sister and the kids along w/ her boyfriend and his grandson. Sunday and Monday we have no plans, and Tues school starts.

I hope you have a restful weekend

The chicken was much tastier than it looked! I remember Alexa enjoyed my FC, tell her ANYTIME she comes back to see me I will make her some more.
I am so excited for your piano! Lisa wants to learn how to play, she has been diligently working on our keyboards on her own. She and Rachel need to have lessons in all instruments, it would make them so happy. Once you get it where you want it, you need to take some pics/videos of it and all of you playing!! And before I forget, I am so happy PT has finally started for you!

Thanks for your good wishes!

How fun the water park must have been, although I know it wasn't Jayson cup of tea. It sounds like this summer was a lot more fun/active for you all and I am so happy you were able to enjoy it to the fullest! Enjoy the last days of your weekend before school starts! Glad you like the teacher! That is half the battle.

Praying for both Lisa and Rachel's medical issues.

Rachel did a fantastic job with her movie night!! Love the butterfly specimen. I have all sorts of neat things similar to this that we've collected on a dedicated shelf. Snake skins, turtle shells, sea shells, and an ostrich egg and feather! I say you hold onto that butterfly. No need to get rid of a treasure!

Stay well Judy!

Thank you for the prayers Erica. Is your son all recovered for his concussions, or does he stil have residual problems?

Rachel had a great time. She was having such a good summer until this concussion. I like the idea of putting our butterfly in something to preserve it, it is unbelievable how intact it is.

Marilyn, praying for your dad today that the surgery and recovery goes smoothly!
Letting Gail speak for those things I want to say as well. ME TOO!!!
Andrea, glad you are getting the PT for your shoulder. Glad you were able to get the baby grand piano!
ME TOO!!!
Michele, so happy that your house is coming along and that you and your family will be able to move back in soon!
ME TOO!!!
Amy, praying that Ezra's fever is gone and that he's okay to go to school.
ME TOO!!! Thank you Gail
Judy, love Rachel's movie night food choices to go with "A Bug's Life"! You all are so creative with the names of the dishes too! Praying that Rachel will keep improving from the concussion! Need her well before your trip. So happy that Rachel got her braces off.

Yikes, you have been busy with all those appointments this month. I'm sure you'll be glad that this month is almost over. on the medical costs though. How is that affordable healthcare? It's one of the reasons why Billy is deciding to do the cataract surgery on his other eye at the end of next month. After his eye recover, he'll just need to go out and buy some reading glasses.

Praying that Lisa won't need the surgery for her leg!

I keep forgetting to ask if David started his college classes?

We got a good downpour of rain yesterday morning. More leaves came off the trees. Such an early start on fall here. Not even September yet and need to get the rake out already!

Have a great time everyone and enjoy the long weekend! Praying for all the needs and requests!

It is a comfort to know you are keeping all of our needs in prayer, THANK YOU! I am Thankful Billy is going forward with the cataract surgery for multiple reasons and money is one of them! Pete has promised me when we hit the family deductible he will go to the MD himself...I told him yesterday to start deciding where, I checked a few minutes ago and we are up to $4,169.02and 41 prescriptions since August 1...and I haven't picked up today's order and we still have 5 bills not yet processed and NONE of this weeks. I actually think Pete and I might come out ahead of the insurance company this year! They are gong to lose money on this proposition where we are concerned I will say, the affordable healthcare act is going to place this burden on many more folks as plans change to accommodate the new laws. I think January (The typical month to start new insurance plans), will bring harsh realities to lots of folks. For those who only go to the MD 3-4 times or less each month, the bills will all belong to you if you have a high deductible plan. To break even you will need a catastrophic illness.

Don't wear yourself out cleaning up the yard...it will be there!

David's first class starts Tuesday, it is an Intro to business class. We thought it might help him as he moves forward to sell his woodworking creations and get his feet wet to see what a college class entails.

Just wanted to update that my dad did okay with his surgery but the surgeon decided to only do the left leg and not the right one, which means more surgery. The doctor is thinking on Wed but we don't know for sure. The thought of more surgery scares me because my dad does not do well with anesthesia at all. Thanks for all the prayers

Thoughts and prayers to all that need them.

Marilyn

Marilyn, I have been praying hard for both your Dad and you! This has got to be tough on your entire family and I am sorry your Dad has to endure more. I pray that you have peace in your heart as you wait and that your Dad is comforted to have your love and support!

Lisa M!!! Going to see your email now, might not get to answer it till later though! You

 

[Restrasz]

Your movie night looks like a lot of fun. I hope she's up to planning another one soon . I send continued prayers for the many needs on this trip report! It's not long now before you're on your way to Florida! I can't believe All the appointments you fit into a month!....and I thought my 3 or four dr appointments and cardiac rehab was a lot!
I wanted to share a "me" update with all of you. Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of my heart attack . I had little warning until it became hard to breathe and I had pain in my left arm. Due to the quick action of my daughter, a great doctor and a baby aspirin ,I'm doing well now. The LAD artery in the back of my heart (the widow maker) was 98percent blocked. I praise God each day that I was given this gift and can continue to enjoy life. I've had to make some life style changes but on the whole am doing very well. I am working full time but plan to retire at the end of next year.
May you all be blessed and have a great weekend! Ruth

 

[GrammyJudy]

Rachel's dinner looks yummy. When I saw the beetle juice I had to laugh...I live in the town that the movie Beetle juice was filmed in...it is our claim to fame. I am glad she is improving. So sorry to hear of Lisa's problem...will say a special prayer today for her.
I don't know how you can pay those medical bills. This government of ours has to do a better job. If you were on welfare they would pay for it but if you work you get penalized.

When do you leave for Florida?

 

[scdak]

Judy - I will have the grapes and blueberries please and of course the M&M's.................... It looks like it was another fun meal to say the least. I am glad to read that Rachel is doing a little better, hopefully each day will show improvement in her symptoms. How is Lisa doing?

Is everyone packed yet? I am a great packer, its the unpacking that I fail at...........I still haven't put away anything from a trip to San Antonio and that was in 2011!!!!

 

[kayrosek]

Love the pics of the new movie night! Rachel did an awesome job. Praying Lisa's leg does not need surgery and that Rachel continues to improve. Keeping your dad and the rest of your family in our prayers as well.

Andrea we will be praying for Mrs. D.

Prayers for all.

 

[blessedmom4]

Time for a couple more....

Since it is your thread Judy, I want to make sure I say Hi to you. I am excited for Rachel getting her braces off and praying she and Lisa will both be okay. Lisa doesn't need any more surgery! I looked it up and it looks terrible. The movie night looks like a lot of fun. I would love some of your fried chicken right now.

Thank you for your kind words, we are happy things are progressing and feeling thankful at the moment that both girls do NOT need additional treatment. The "deadline" for Rachel to need therapy is September 16 and I know it will not be set up before our trip (We check in September 21). ONe blessing of David and Lisa having so much speech therapy is that I know a thing or two about therapy and have been working with Rachel myself since we got the go ahead to do a little work in increments. She STILL has been unable to resume any schoolwork, much to her chagrin.

Just checking in! Prayers all around

And for you.

I've been following along but have been very busy with the beginning of school. It is hard to believe we've been back for almost 3 weeks already! I have 27 little munchkins this year but they are the best group I've had in many, many years. I have a wide range of abilities as always but they are for the most part well behaved and hard workers. Teaching can be so hard on the heart sometimes though. I have one little one that I just got on Monday that has been through so much in her short life. She has medical issues which can be life threatening, had been being raised by a grandmother who recently passed away putting her back with a mother who is an addict, and made to change schools. Then on the second day with me she was put into emergency foster care. Yet she comes in each day with a smile and a hug.

I hope that Rachel continues to improve and that Lisa doesn't need more surgery. I don't know how you handle all of the medical expenses.

Prayers being sent for those in need.

Oh my heart aches for this beautiful child and her pain. I thank God that you are her teacher and she is in a wonderful room full of love all day. I pray the foster care situation is one that is blessed and nurturing.

Thank you for your continued prayers for my family and your good wishes for all.

The medical expenses have drained us, it is impossible to keep up when they are more than half of your yearly salary and it has been this way for more than ten years. We had a nice nest egg built up when Lisa was born...and her first year wiped us out, leaving a balance owed at four different hospitals. That is why my house needs a new roof, siding, windows, paint, furniture without holes, etc. BUT I hope everyone remembers I am blessed...we have a roof over our heads, food in our tummies, a vehicle and 4 INCREDIBLE children. I hope my words don't come across as whining or complaining, I DO feel blessed and no amount of money would change how happy I am to have all four of them with us. David, Rachel and Lisa have all three had life-threatening illnesses and I Thank God each and every day for still having the privilege to parent them and provide what they need. I always say I will take my full, busy, medical filled days over the alternative. But I wouldn't mind a little boredom every now and then! And God sends me what I REALLY need...in many ways. Some of you right here on the DIS have had a part in blessing me and my family in ways that can't be imagined!! That voice that pushes/urges you to reach out to others...that is God. In my small way, I listen to that voice, even when I THINK I can't...He finds ways to bering it back to you ten-fold, either in word or deed!

I would apologize for my "sermon", but I am not sorry I shared! I am so blessed it isn't even conceivable..and we are going to Florida AGAIN! Who could have EVER seen that coming, except God! He brought the news we were going on a day that had brought such huge disappointment about Lisa being unable to perform and He KNEW that we would need some rejuvenation after Rachel's injury.

I do want to say one more thing on this though...I REALLY am not happy about these medical bills, they make me cringe that in this country people have to go into deep debt and often bankruptcy to pay their medical bills! Before Lisa was born we had money in the bank, our vehicles were paid for and the ONLY thing we owed was a small amount on our home. Things CAN change in the blink of an eye. While these bills make me sick, I CAN still see my blessings.

MADELINE! I am going to capture your quote next, as well as some prior ones to answer a few questions and to make sure you know I HAVE been reading about my precious Mallory. You know how I love her and your family!!!

 

[courtneybelle]

Your last post was inspiring. You have faced so much adversity but you approach it in the best way...it's just incredible. As always I am praying for you and your family

I have moved back to college! Classes start Tuesday so life is going to get busy but I love school so I'm excited!

 

[McDuck]

Judy, finally got a chance to catch up. I will be praying for Lisa's new issues, and I continue to pray for Rachel. I hope David enjoys his courses!! I pray God continues to meet your needs.

I absolutely loved Rachel's movie night and that butterfly is amazing!

We are doing well. Currently visiting my folks again. I need to spend a lot of time in my sewing room this month getting ready for our October trip. It's been kind of crazy getting ready for and then getting used to deployment.

 

[thebeesknees]

Oh, I love the movie night! It is so fun to see what your talented kids come up with for their themes! We'll keep praying about Rachel's recovery and treatment for Lisa's leg. Your number of medical appointments/bills/specialists astounds me, but your sunny attitude is such an encouragement to me, and I thank you for sharing! You always manage to look on the bright side of things!

Ezra made it to school for the end of last week. He loves his teacher, but of course, he missed all the introductions and instructions, so he was really out of the loop. She said his behavior was not up to par (the second day he cried and clung to my leg and I had to peel him off of me and walk away without looking back ), and I don't know how much of that was confusion over just getting there after everyone else knew the routine, just getting over being sick (he has come home and slept from 4:30 through the next morning both days), or just being a booger like he tends to be! She is going to watch him carefully this week and we'll get together Friday and discuss how she thinks things are going and what we can do to help.

Benjamin had someone break into his locker this week and throw all his things in the hallway and steal a bunch of small items. We met with the vice principal of the middle school to fill him in on last year's incidents the day after this happened and he agreed to move his locker to a different location. I was so hopeful because they have security cameras, but unfortunately, his locker was in a blind spot so they couldn't see anything. The new one is smack dab in front of a camera. We bought a better lock - I wish you could have seen the other one, it was absolutely smashed and dented. The teacher said she'd never seen anything like it, and they kept it for evidence. You'd think someone would have seen or heard something, but no one has come forward. On the bright side, Benjamin is definitely getting more of a backbone about it. We offered to pull him out and he told me he doesn't want to do that because then the bad guys would win. He wants to stand up to them and learn not to let them get to him. I'm so proud of him.

Marilyn, I'm praying for your Dad and for you as he faces more surgery. I know you are concerned about his reaction to the anesthesia so I will specifically pray about that.

I hope and pray everyone has a wonderful family weekend.

 

[lovethattink]

Judy, I've been reading from my phone, but it's too difficult to post from it. Loved Rachel's movie night. The menu and food looked great. Continued prayer for your family.

We had JJ back for another 24 hr VEEG on Friday. Wed and Thursday were horrible and concerned us. Called the neurologist's office and they said get him in for a 24 hour VEEG again. Of course, as things go, nothing happened during the testing. While he was getting the leads put on he had a mild tic, and another one when unplugged in the restroom. But absolutely nothing that I could see, happened during the test.

He was started on another medicine on Wednesday night. It's helped. But I also wonder how much of his problems were from withdrawal from abruptly stopping the OCD med a couple weeks ago??

Anyway, good news is that we are at CSR this weekend. We've spent lots of time in the room. But we did get to the Mustangs at Mickyard car show for a half an hour. And we were able to check out the indoor part of the Dream Car Show at the resort. Grumpy is with us, and he and JJ have spent some great quality time together.

 

[blessedmom4]

Praying for JJ and all of my dear friends here!

Jennie!!!

I hope your day was good. I can't help but think back to when Pete was deployed on my Birthday. I hope you were at least able to speak with Bill!
​

 

[Redwavess]

MADELINE! I am going to capture your quote next, as well as some prior ones to answer a few questions and to make sure you know I HAVE been reading about my precious Mallory. You know how I love her and your family!!!

Oh Judy thanks so much!! You are so sweet!! To catch you up on what's been going on with Mallory I will copy and paste the post for our online Heart group TCHIN.

Here is what has been going on:

Mallory is doing well!! We have made a HUGE change though... We are homeschooling!! I have wanted to be a school teacher as long as I can remember and so I never considered home-school. I just always assumed the kids would go to the school I taught at.

Homeschooling came about for a number of reasons:

First, we did have an issue some days back. She was participating in her 1st day of PE in 3rd grade and she collapsed while trying to run faster than she ever had before in her own words. She was running so fast because she could feel the kids behind her catching up to her and she was afraid they would knock her over as often happens because she is SO much smaller than them. Second, as a consequence of her heart defect she has had some brain issues and has difficulty focusing in a class of 33 students. Although she does really well in school the issue focusing means it takes her a lot longer than the typical child to finish her work. Finally, because of her size (she is 8 years old but is the size of a 4 year old) she gets hurt a lot or is teased on the playground, so she has been coming into my classroom with a few friends for recess and lunch.

I found a charter school that sponsors homeschooling and we are going through them. What is so nice is that now Mallory can attend enrichment classes when we want like they have an Ocean Explores class on Wednesdays. Plus she can go to lunch and activity time 2 days a week with other kids at this new charter school. And they pay for lots of other enrichment opportunities like dance, gymnastics, piano, art, field trips... whatever she would like to do in the community. She can go to class to get help in the core subjects if needed, but most of the actual schooling happens at home and at her pace. Friday was our 4th day of schooling this way and it is going really well.

I made her 3 school rules:

Love yourself
Love your school
Keep Trying

It was fun today because I purchased tons of art projects she can do, as she chooses. Since my husband works from home we haven't had to make any changes to our lifestyle. Except I take her to the park everyday for recess!! I teacher the lessons when I get home from school and she completes the work I leave her the next day on her own (we want to make sure she stays independent) while my husband is doing his work from home. We are going on our 1st field trip coming out and it will be to a Kids museum in Pasadena. Since I work during the week when most of group homeschooling field trips occur we are going to do most of our field trips as a family on Saturday with one of her friends joining us. This fits her so much better than what public school did. So surprisingly I find myself homeschooling!! So that is what has been going on with us!! Sorry that got so long.

This is why I was asking you PE a couple of weeks back. I'm so glad that we made the change. It is gives me such a greater piece of mind!!

Thanks again Judy for thinking of us during all the stress you have been facing!!

Saying prayers and sending good thoughts for you and your family and your needs!!!

Big hugs,

Madeline