When life throws you a curve ball.

So many days we get up and start our day, we have things planned out just how we want them. Sometimes we even have the whole week planned. Life doesn't always go that way, most of the time it's something small like Elianna has been upstairs looking for socks for 20 minutes. I go upstairs to find her sitting on her bed putting lipgloss on, no socks in sight. Or, Kalyn and Melissa decide that now is the time for one of those special teenage moments. We don't get out of the house on time or we just have to rearrange our plans. But today a major curveball was thrown.

As I sit here tonight, I am again taken back at how our "plans" for life can change in an instant. Melissa lost her husband today, the man she loved. Her partner whom she would grow old with. A wonderful father to her children. A man who touched the life of anyone he talked to. They had planned to go to the mall today with the kids. This is only the most recent in a number of changed lives, of days that were planned totally different.

I am comforted that with the changes in our plans for our daily lives we don't ever have to worry about a God who changes. He is always here for us, He is always strong for us, He will always be for us what we need Him to be.

Be strong and take heart all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31: 24.

Twilight Volleyball Practice

We are in full swing with Kalyn's volleyball season. The team does very well as a whole but they do not like mornings. They had a tournament this past weekend and left the school at 6:15 am. Thankfully we didn't have to leave our house until 7:30 (still toooooo early). The team didn't wake up and start playing well until about 11 am. Live and learn right. It's great to see these girls, most of whom have played since 6th grade improve so much over the years. One of Kalyn's evening activities after volleyball practice, homework, dinner and visiting with her mom is to practice her sets and hits with Jonathan. He knows so much about the sport and is always willing to give her a hand or actually two. She has said that she practices with Dad so that he can teach her what to do and then she practices with me just to go through the motions of what she has learned from Jonathan. I'm not sure how to take that but oh well.

So the girls were out tonight all playing volleyball in the front yard. Jonathan started with Kalyn, then he moved on to help Elianna and Kalyn helped Abigail. They took a volleyball camp this summer and learned quite a bit. Then they all moved to play together when Melissa came out to join them. I went for the camera, that's my contribution.

More Medical Information

I neglected to give you some important information about the medication. The name of it is Midodrine hydrochloride. It is being withdrawn because the FDA is claiming the post approval studies done were inconclusive, they not only wanted to see that it is helping the patients but also that it has improved the quality of life. Personally speaking I cannot imagine life without this medication. The drug is available in generic form but the companies will not manufacture it at all if this is not handled.

If you would like to read the news release it is online just search midodrine fda news. The only names my doctor has available to write to are Drs. Stockbridge and Dr. Temple in Cardiorenal Division at the FDA.

This is only one of the issues that I deal with unfortunately but it is important to stay on top of it. Thank you so much for your help!

A Plea for Help!

I have just come home from a long exhausting visit to my Dr. in Chicago. Actually, it wasn't a long visit but it was extremely exhausting. My condition remains the same in many ways, I am retaining less vitamin B12 in my system due to the autoimmune diseases which an expected issue. That seems to be the main change lately. The medication I am on is still holding it's own so to speak. However, we received some very bad news today. My Dr. has learned that the FDA plans to pull Midodrine from the market. This is the main medication I take for the Autonomic Dysfunction, it is the only option with this condition. The resons for pulling this medication are purely politicol. The FDA did requir the manufacturer to run studies on this medication recently. The studies showed that the medication was effective, however the FDA said that the studies did not show that the medication improved the quality of life for the patients. I remember well the time spent in the hospital and shortly after my diagnosis and don't want to relive that. I am asking anyone that is willing to help to write a letter to the FDA in care of the cardiac/renal department. If this medication is removed from the market there is nothing else I can take to help with the Autonomic Dysfunction.

Thanks, I hope to post something more fun soon. In the meantime Peace to you all.

What would we do without our kids?

It has been quite a whirlwind kind of summer, but I think they all are. I love having the girls home and having time together. It seems like it goes by way to fast! The first part of our summer was spent taking kids to softball/tball games and practices almost every night of the week. We fit in VBS and Confirmation camp, a wonderful visit with Stephanie and then some home and swimming time. Our vacation was wonderful and again too short and now we are right into preparing for school again. Of course it's not like you just wake up and go to school anymore when summer is over. It takes a week to shop for everything on the school supply list, especially when you have 4 girls! After you get all the supplies you have to label everything, I mean everything. Then you have sports that start practicing more than a week before school even starts.

We have had a lot of fun this summer, Abigail and Elianna have really done great with swimming. Kalyn has had a great summer with sports teams, camps and now practice. Volleyball practice has started and she is very excited to be a captain and also a starting setter. Melissa went to LOMC for a theater arts week and put on a play of Snow White and the Six Dwarfs for us at the end of the week. We laughed so hard and unfortunately I forgot my video camera. Elianna still has the songs in her head with her own modifications. "I hope, I hope, it's home from work we go." You know the song, right?

I have taken a couple of knitting classes with my mom, we are making a shawl that I probably never would have attempted without this class and we are having fun! My parents still come out every Friday night to help us out with groceries. That is deffinately one task that is very hard for me to do. The girls (all 4 of them) look forward to Friday night visits with Grandma and Grandpa. I also took a class with Sandy on making a new bag. It also was great fun. I will post pictures when I can.

Jonathan has only golfed a handful of times, if even. He has enjoyed watching softball games (standing), I guess he needs to pace instead of sit down. He has found a couple of good books to keep him out of trouble. And of course we send him to work to get him out of the house.

Mocha took a nice vacation to Chateau Norene, a quaint little place in Rochelle. She gets wonderful treats there and just loves her visit.

So as summer comes to a close, think about all the blessings, hold them dear and look forward to next year!

Rocky Mountain High

There is a song by that name I think. Colorado was a whirlwind of good weather, family and great times. All coming to an end too soon. The first few days were spent in the Highlands Ranch area with Dave, Gail and nieces - Stephanie, Susannah and Carrie. The girls spent time making friendship bracelets, swimming and learning new card games. These card games move way to fast for this old mom and cause too much stress to my system (I have this competitive spirit that comes out when we play games.) The weather surprisingly was only in the mid 90s this time and of course there is no humidity, WOW! Now some of you have met Gail. She is a wonderful cook and likes to feed people. She went out of her way to provide gluten free meals and much food for our girls and us.

The highlight of our trips is always a visit to BeauJos in Colorado Springs. It's a pizza place that is just a melt in your mouth kind of pizza and they have honey on the table for you to dip your crust in when you have eaten all the pizza off it. I know you are thinking it sounds gross but try it sometime with thick crust pizza. So on the way out to Colorado we talked about our favorite pizza place and decided that it would not happen this time, of course they wouldn't have a gluten free menu right. Well we were wrong! Thankfully they have a very very very good gluten free menu that is actually part of their official menu. Not just a paper print out. Needless to say we were pleased and did visit our favorite pizza place and it was wonderful! We also got a bonus and went on gluten free wednesday and got $5 off.

Jonathan took the girls on some fun hikes. Dinosaur ridge was a mile walk up a mountain road and then back down again. They were dog tired. I waited at the bottom and relaxed. The next day was our visit to Colorado Springs and he took them up to see St. Mary's Glacier (not officially a glacier because it is not floating.) This was a 3/4 mile hike up a very rocky path which ended up at a beautiful lake and snow! Niece Carrie joined us for this day out. Minor fall caused some knee scrapes and tears but that was taken care of with a nice blue bandaid. Again I stayed at the bottom Kalyn texted me and sent me pictures when they got up there. I visited with other hikers and encouraged some that looked at the rocky path and the length that they could do it. If my 6 year old and 4 other girls could walk it they certainly could. We rewarded our girls with the trip to BeauJos.

On thursday we headed up into Estes park for the family reunion. Considering everyone had to travel we had a great turn out, about 50 family members gathered. Most of these people we only get to see at this reunion which takes place every 3 years. It's a great time to catch up and meet the newest members of the family. We always have a worship time together and it is just amazing to hear all the voices lifted in song. We stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies. Great facility with soooo much to do. Our family only went on 1 hike up in the mountains around Lilly lake. Jonathan and the girls, including my nieces took turns pushing me in a wheel chair so that I could accompany them. The rest of the time there was spent making crafts like; mosiacs, painting wood and ceramics, tye dying t-shirts, swimming, playing soccer, minature golfing, eating, and just visiting.

So I have spent this week recovering from our great times. I am so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends that continue to pray for me/us. It was a vacation that took a lot our of me but it was wonderful!

Funny sayings

So tonight was Kalyn's last softball game. Tournament play ended so quickly but she had fun and I was amazed that my daughter could actually play softball, although I still think a big part of it is the uniform/shoes, and the social aspect. When Jonathan and Kalyn came home tonight we talked about the game and of course how it went. Kalyn stole a base and appearantly it was close but she was safe. Jonathan commented that she just needed to pick up her speed a little. He said that when a friends daughter is running the bases he always yells out "pick up the plow." Kind of funny, we did have to explain that one to Kalyn. So he turned to him and said "so, a farmer yells to his daughter, "pick up the plow." What does a pastor yell to his daughter?" Made me smile and think of all the silly things we say.

Are there any sayings that you would share??

Another one we have is from Jonathan's grandma and the girls just hate hearing it. When they forget to do something or grab something they were supposed to and they have to go all the way back upstairs or downstairs or worse yet outside, we say "if you don't use your head you have to use your feet."

Good Samaritan??

I am so blessed with friends that come visit after not seeing each other for a long time and just start off where we left off. We are all so busy and sometimes spread out with miles and miles in between us but the friendship is still there. So in the course of that visit I was encouraged to read a great book. Now I am not finished yet but it is one of those reads that I must share.

The book is called Same kind of different as me. The book is a true story written by the two men who are so much a part of the story. It's one of those books that make you mad, encourage you on and just give you that wonderful full fealing of reading a good book. But most important for me it has given me one of those "aha" moments.

Why? Well let me start by saying that it helped that the sermon yesterday was on the parable of the good samaritan. The pastor (thanks hunny) took the parable and put it in a totally different perspective. Most of us read that parable and look at ourselves as the good samaritan, right? I mean we all do good deads, we give of our time and our money. But would you stop what you are doing and help someone even if it takes you out of your way and costs you an uncertain amoung of money? What if you put yourself in the shoes of the man on the side of the road, in need of help? Hmm, interesting thought.

That is what this book has cemented for me. The man who we would all believe is the "victim" in his life situation never looks at himself that way. I hope you pick this book up and enjoy it as much as I have. If you would like to borrow my copy I hope to finish it tonight. Let me know.

God's peace to all today and always!

The Dog Days of Summer

Well summer is here and of course what am I doing... thinking about a fall brunch. Yup!

I volunteered our church for the Womens fall brunch in October and the planning has started. I really have enjoyed the few that I have attended and hoped to help make this one just wonderful. The topic is Preparing your hearts, mind and home for the holidays. Does anyone have any suggestions for presentations. The committee is very willing to help pick something but I would really like to get input from you all. Is there someone you have heard speak or something you can think of to put together that would be great for all ages of women. We would like to have some of the younger women and also the kids take part in this day. Here are some of my thoughts. These are just my random thought, not those of the committee.

1. The devotion could be on something like gratitude. Gratitude in giving, receiving and sharing. This is something I know I need to hear about.
2. We could share recipes for our favorite holiday foods - people could bring cards and we can make copies. (Amy could make some great baked treats - just kidding :).
3. A speaker of some sort???
4. Someone could present/prepare a simple gift idea
5. Needs

The same type of thing could be for the kids too.

What do you think? Any ideas or suggestions?

WHO????

I have been struggling with "who I am" since I got sick. What I came to realize recently was that my curcumstances may have changed but "who I am" hasn't changed .

I am...

a christian
a wife
a mom
a daughter, niece, cousin, aunt, sister-in-law (all of those bloodline things)
a runner (yup! it will always be in me)
a health and wellness advocate (kind of funny isn't it)
a dog lover
somewhat artistic
someone who loves a project - especially when you can use power tools
a lover of the outdoors and nature (minus the bugs)
a reader
grateful for friends and family!
a person who likes order and cleanliness
Thankful!!


What am I not...

a swimmer
a tree climer
a skydiver
a drinker
a smoker
a cusser (that word probably ages me)
OLD

So who are you?? let me know I would love to hear from you:)

Playdough and quilting

Today Abigail and I will spend our time making cookies out of playdough, watching movies, eating milkshakes and I might try to make some quilted bags. She is feeling better today, thank you for all your prayers. The gum graft was not fun at all for her and I hate seeing any of my kids in pain. She is still having trouble smiling and will hold her lip down whenever she feels it slipping up and she will need to eat soft foods for another 10 to 12 days. Unfortunately she developed a cough that has been keeping her and us up at night. Hopefully she will go back to school tomorrow!

This morning I am letting the spring fever set in a little bit. I looked out my kitchen window and saw male and female cardinals chasing each other, the sun is bright and the weather on yahoo says it might be upper 40s by the end of the week. I even enjoyed looking at the JCPenneys flier with the "new spring look". Could it be that we are close???? It might just be time to start planning the garden. Yeah!

Do you remember... When I was little we always had new Easter clothes. The new dress, hat and gloves and of course new patten leather white shoes. I'm excited to dress up Elianna and Abigail for Easter and am struggling a little with letting go of dressing up my big girls. Long gone are the days when I could have all four in matching outfits or at least very close. Now they advice me on my wardrobe, hair style and make up choices.

It is also time to think ahead a little. During these weeks of Lent I enjoy deep thought of how we can be more disciplined in our faith, the magnitude of what Jesus did for us. While still trying to focus on that, I also enjoy the preparation of Holy week. We are already talking about the kids service that we have on Good Friday and the fun time that follows. The importance of teaching our children what Jesus did for us in His death but the joy of His resurrection. I hope we have the chance to witness to many kids this year. Please plan to attend at 10:30 a.m. on April 2nd and invite a friend or two or three.

Museum of Science and Industry

Not so long ago... We took the girls to the Museum of Science and Industry. Although it was only 4 years ago it was a very different museum. The exhibits that opened in October of last year were absolutely amazing. It was fun to watch the 7th and 8th graders in a very cool way of course get into these new sights. The mind and body experience section was fascinating for everyone.

This is a picture of Kalyn and Sam. There is a small ball in the middle of the table they are at. The object is to be completely relaxed and clear your mind; if you are able to do this the ball will go all the way to the other side of the table and of course that means YOU WIN! The screans above them show all of us how they are doing.

Veins! Put your arm under special lighting and see all the veins in your arm in action. I have to admit Sandy and I thought about how fun it would be to see all the veins in our legs but we couldn't get any of the kids to take shoes and socks off and humor us.

There was so much to do. Make a toy of your own, help a robot design a face and then watch it dance to celebrate. Fly on a airplane ride or drive it yourself. Of course many of the old exhibits were still there and are wonderful too. It is certainly a place for all ages. I would love to go back with all my girls. Be prepared to walk alot, or you could borrow bessy (my scooter) she was a lifesaver!

This was our group of students. They are standing in steam coming down from the ceiling. It almost looks like a wall of rain behind them.

A great idea for the family if you have time. Have a wonderful weekend, and Gods blessings to everyone.

Thank God Its Friday

I used to say that after a long week of work and I was just waiting for the weekend to get here. I'm sure you all know the feeling. This time however, it means I am so thankful that Thursday is over. Just Thursday. The rest of the days were fine.

Thank you all for your prayers. Our hearing went exceptionally well. We had a wonderful (if you could say that) judge and a doctor that, believe it or not had one other experience with Autonomic Dysfunction and that was 42 years ago during the war. He was very helpful in explaining to the judge just what I have. Most people have never heard of it and there is no criteria for it in the judicial system. His testimony was very important, thankfully our doctors were thorough in there testing so he was able to say without that I have these diseases and infact it is very rare and unfortunately severe.

So I should feel better, right. Somehow I don't yet. Never thougth I would be disabled, then again I don't think anyone does. God has brought us through this so far so I am just keeping it in His hands. I am thankful to all of you for your constant friendship and support.

Just wanted to let you know. Have a wonderful weekend.

The long awaited day

Hi everyone!
It's the night before our hearing and all through the house the children do thier homework no sign of a mouse. The laundry is stacked on the couch as I write in hopes that the cleaning fairy will come see my plight.

The family enjoyed a meal at our church of soup and cheese crackers and brownies to burst. This night we will pray and thank God for this day. We ask that His blessings will to come your way.


Ok really, we are preparing for a hearing for my disability tomorrow and have been preparing for a number of months/years. I have been asked if I am nervous. Not really, I have been praying about this and feel that we are making a very strong case. Do I feel confident about the outcome, no. This is the government we are talking about. That should speak for itself :)

I would like to ask for your prayers as go through this difficult day and comfort with whatever the decision may be.

Now I am off to bed. Peace be to all and to all a good night.

God's gift

I almost forgot, here are some pictures of the bags I made this past week. If anyone wants one let me know. :)

Today I am relaxing in the wonderful climate of my sauna. Thats right, I am sitting in my sauna writting this. When I was gathering my things to sit down and write the idea came to mind. What a perfect time to enjoy the warmth of the sauna and enjoy writting a post! I will not be able to sit in here all day unfortunately, there will be some things that need to get done. The sauna we have was purchased for my birthday from my hubby and my parents. It was an extravagant gift, considering we normally don't spend much but it has been wonderful getting the chill our of these bones.

This weekend I kept coming across a quote that I just love and I wondered why. What was so special about it that God kept bringing this to my sight.

"What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God."

WOW. I love this quote. Maybe I am seeing it so much because I am always praying about my girls and their lives. The big picture, you know those prayers. What I feel God is telling me is that yes I need to help them to become who they are and help them to be strong independent women but I also need to help them remember where they came from. Not only that they were created from the image of God but what about all those people who God put in our lives to mentor us. Whether its someone in our family or special friends who have taught us, loved us and sacrificed for us to live a God loving life. And most likely He is not sending this message just for my girls, but for me too.

People now seem so set on being independent, defining who they are by creating a new role or showing how strong they can be or creating a new purpose. Sometimes myself included, we forget to remember to stay strong with who created us. Become the woman that we can be but keep the foundation strong with the values and knowledge of our dear mentors. God gave us these people to do some of the work for us, to open our eyes to Him, to open our hearts to His love and to give us something that we can lean on at all times. We don't have to recreate the wheel, just keep it going!

An unexpected day

Friday has been busy. Abigail has been to the orthodontist and a periodontist in Rockford. The gum graft we have been anticipating after she gets her braces off will be a week from next wednesday. We can't wait at this point, there is too much of a risk that she will loose the tooth. Please keep her in prayers as she waits for this procedure and tries not to anticipate what they told her about it today. She is a trooper! When they asked what day would work for us, she responded that Tuesdays really weren't good for her because she didn't want to miss music at school, not Friday because that is the day Grandma and Grandpa Olson come over and then there is Art class. Thankfully we did manage to find a day that worked into her busy schedule.

I have to say I really missed my nap today. I'm so thankful for my parents' help with our grocery shopping each week. It is something that is very difficult for me to do and it gives them an opportunity to see the girls once a week. Tonight Abigail and Elianna had Grandpa in the kitchen with their marshmallow machine working him to the bone. His break came when it was time for Jonathan and Elianna to go to the Ice Hogs game. The big girls are at a school dance and Abigail is my snuggle bug for the night. Thank Heaven!

I have been able to get a few things done this week in between resting. I plan on taking some pictures and posting them as soon as I can. I have managed to make a quilted basket for my knitting stuff in the living room. It turned out amazing! I also made Mocha some new booties. Yes the dog wears booties. I'll just leave it at that.

Before I go just remember your lenten challenge, if you made one. Prayer and discipline. And feel the love of Jesus through this amazing season of Lent.

Our Lenten Journey

Lent has begun. I didn't give anything up or offer to give money or time to an organization. I am not going to ask my family to do those things either. This year for our lenten journey our focus will be devotion and prayer. We have a lenten devotional that we will do each day and I will encourage the girls to stop and pray during the day many times as I plan to do. Not just for meals or at bedtime or when I am doing my devitions but throughout the day. The muslims pray many times a day, it is actually a part of their daily routine. Could you imagine being that disciplined. I am looking forward to it. My goal is to pray 5 times a day. Now the act of praying is simple right. We will not simply pray but be in our prayers 5 times a day.

I read a devotion today that helped me in my decision to follow this discipline. Do you take time to read your bible each day?? If you do, has it just become something on your list of "should" do things each day? In reading the bible or praying we will not grow in our faith by just checking something off our to do list. I am challenging myself and my family to dig deeper and find true meaning in the prayers and readings this lent. Let God speak to us.

Random Thoughts

Three days in a row writting this, WOW! Not sure anyone is reading it, but it does give me something different to do. I am inspired by all the blogs I have read and have learned so much about many different things.

We had a wonderful weekend in Wisconsin but unfortunately I came home with a nasty cold. Needless to say I am homebound which could by why I am so eager to play on the computer. The house is so quiet today, the kids went back to school after our long weekend. They were not too happy to get up early and out the door. I really would like school much more if it started about 9 and ended about 2. I think thats long enough for the kids and myself.

The girls are growing up so quickly it seems like it's just slipping away. Elianna likes to start in bed with me at night and last night she was looking at our palms. She was wondering why there are two lines on the inside of her fingures and only on on her thumb. Then she snuggles in and sleeps. Abigail on the other hand is reading everything, and doing a great job! She went to her friends last night who has a cat. She came home and showed me the bumps on her arms (she is allergic to cats). I assumed that she was just sitting somewhere the cat had been and didn't think much of it. This morning I found out through breakfast conversation with the sister that she was petting the cat. She said "but momma, I didn't touch my face". Ugh!

The big girls. Melissa and I were the only ones home last night. That doesn't happen often and it was really nice to see her working so hard on her homework and then spending time watching something together. Just the two of us. Kalyn is the responsible one babysitting and then coming home to help put her little sisters to bed. She still needs some mom time though, which I wouldn't trade for anything!


Lately I have been interested in our family eating habits. We typically eat very healthy due to allergies and lack of fast food in our area. But there is always room to improve. I have been looking into some sites that use more homemade items rather than store bought. Such as ketchup, mustard, sour cream, spaghetti sauce (which we already do), and granola. A friend had us over for playgroup a couple weeks ago and made wonderful granola that we sprinkled on fresh fruit. Wow what a difference! and as we sat there visiting, eating and solving world problems she made another weeks worth. It was easy. And so much more healthy that storebought. Since we moved to Ashton I have been interested in canning and using fresh from the garden items for our meals. Something I wasn't used to living in the 'burbs. We didn't grow up with a garden.

My biggest obstacle to overcome with this new desire to eat more "real food" is the expense. We all know that buying fresh fruits and veges and meats are much more expensive that the processed or canned varieties. So I am going to challenge myself to start something new once a week or change up something we currently use. Anyone want to join me????

Last of our 4 day weekend

Goodmorning! I did it, pictures are not too hard to add to the blog or should I say you can teach an old dog new tricks. These are just a few pictures of the girls from this weekend at the Wilderness in the Wisconsin Dells. We had such a great time. Melissa is painting pottery which we all did except Jonathan. She was the one that used the most color and techniques to complete her plate and it turned out really cute. Elianna is just posing after her trip down one of the slides with her sisters. Kalyn is on her way back to another trip on that same slide with her sisters lagging behind. That girl moves fast! And Abigail is enjoying a float in the lazy river, which is more her speed.

Today is our last day of our 4 day weekend. So sad... I enjoy having everyone home. Have a great day!

Happy Valentines Day

Good morning and happy valentines day. It has been a wonderful long weekend for us already and we still have two more days. We have just come back from wisconsin Dells. We stayed at the Wilderness Resort. Wow what a huge place. The girls swam in 3 different pools, played miniature golf, jumped and played in a jungle gym area, ate ice cream, and stayed up late. But according to Elianna we did not eat dinner at all. It was a lot of fun and a great place to spend the weekend.

I have been spending time going through some great blogs and learning sooooo much. Honestly forgetting that I created one myself. How long ago was that?????

I will try to be better at posting and putting pictures up.

Have a great day!