Some women...

...will do anything to get their husbands home from Iraq... I'm thinking cancer might do the trick. In all seriousness, I would much rather he come home on his scheduled R&R so we could actually have some fun and relax, but I saw my doctor on Thursday and the pathology report for my thyroid and the tumor on it was cancerous. He explained that of the three types of cancer, mine is the least aggressive, easiest to treat and was very positive that it wasn't 'too serious.' But, he does want to remove the remainder of my thyroid next Thursday and then I will take radioactive iodine to kill any remaining thyroid/cancer cells. Most likely no further treatment will be necessary (oh, except synthetic thyroid hormone the rest of my life, but I can deal with that).

I guess I wasn't too surprised by the results since I knew the nodule grew pretty quickly, so I was kind of expecting the worst. I'm more worried about the logistics of having surgery again, but have faith that God will provide everything I need as He has done in the past. J is trying to get back before Thursday, my niece is coming to stay with us on Tuesday and will be a great help with the kids and we are blessed with wonderful friends and neighbors here.

VBS or Last Minute Day Care

Before I went to my appt yesterday I had to find some childcare for my kids and was striking out on all my trusted sources. One of my friends mentioned that Vacation Bible School just started at the Chapel (about a mile from us)at 9:00. So this is 9:30, kids are still in pjs and BB hasn't eaten breakfast yet and my appointment is at 10:15 in Carthage (20 minutes away). Guess what kids, you get to go to VBS this week! (I was hoping they would get to go to one this summer) They got dressed in record time, ate a muffin in the car and we got over there about 9:45 and got them registered. BG was a bit reluctant to join the class until she saw her friends were there and then it was 'see you later Mom.' I think everywhere else we've gone to VBS they've done Catholic and Protestant together, but not here. So, they're going to Catholic VBS (I'm sure it will be pretty identical to Protestant VBS with maybe a little less whoopin' and hollerin') this week which I think works out pretty good since most of their friends are Catholic. And while I feel a slight tinge of guilt for using VBS as a last minute babysitter, I am happy to have found out about it in time and they get to go learn more about Jesus, which can't be a bad thing... Time to go pick them up!

Waiting and itching...

I went for my Dr. appt today to get my stitches out and he looked at my red, itchy neck and wanted to take the stitches out and put more tape on it??? Hello!? Guess he didn't get it that I'm allergic to the tape (even though it's written on a red allergy wrist band during surgery) or adhesive or whatever is making a nice rectangle of burning itch around the actual cut. Can you tell it's making me cranky... Anyway, I said I would rather keep the stitches in my neck, lovely as they are, for a few more days than deal with anymore allergic reactions. He then said he could take them out on Thursday and hopefully have the biopsy report then also and said not to put anything on the itch. I have to admit that I wasn't exactly a model patient with this doc on our last encounter... He removed a mole from my chest a few weeks ago and I couldn't make the follow up so I removed my own stitches and blew off the follow up. I figured if it was malignant he would call me. You know what they say about payback...

Wedding weekend and other stuff...

So our trip to NH/MA for my dad and Hilkka's wedding started with getting blood drawn Thursday morning and then driving to Boston to meet Katrina and Devon at the airport. Kids did great in the car again and we only stopped once in 6 hours! We had to wait a little while for her flight so I called around to get a hotel that wasn't $6k per night (one place wanted to give us the presidential suite to fit us all in). We drove around Boston and Cambridge a little bit and got some dinner and found our hotel. I'm loving my GPS navigator! The kids were excited to see Devon and they were all antsy and giggly and pokey at dinner and back at the hotel.
Friday morning we found a mall nearby to pick up some last minute items (shoes mainly) for the kids and then drove to New Ipswich, NH to stay with childhood friend Lisa, married to Hilkka's son Ray! Getting around and out of Boston was a mess and took a lot longer than we thought, but lots of beautiful buildings, etc.. Rehearsal that evening with kids running everywhere and meeting a lot of new people. BB was really excited to have more cousins! Lost LB for just a little bit, he was in the pastor's office at the front of the church.

Next day we hung out with Ray and Lisa for a while and then made a quick trip (everything is at least 30 minutes away) to find a last minute item for D's flowergirl ensemble. No luck but we saw lots of beautiful, rural New England! Got back just in time to get dressed and get to the church for pictures and then see a beautiful wedding! I'm happy for my dad that he's found someone to love and love him back! I know they will face some challanges ahead and pray that God showers his Blessings on their new life together!

On Sunday, we packed our bags and loaded up and then spent some time with sister C and husband T and brother J. We left Sunday evening and made it Utica before we had to stop and sleep and made it home Monday afternoon. Unpacked, grocery store and crashed.

Oh, in case you're wondering about the bruised faces, I haven't beaten my kids...yet. BG fell off a bike at hourly care last week and landed on her face and BB was jumping around at the hotel Friday morning and hit his eye on the corner of a chair. He did't get much sympathy from me either as I had just told him to stop jumping around! This always happens just before we're about to take pictures...

Tuesday I had my pre-op appt and Wed we went to Wescott State Beach for a while and played in the water until the wind picked up and then K and I went out for dinner and movie.

Yesterday I went in for my surgery and had the right side of my thyroid removed. As mentioned in previous posts, I had a nodule on it and it was covering most of the right side so they removed the whole right side. I won't have any biopsy results until next Thursday, so another week of waiting...

All is going well so far and K is here to help me out until Monday when I go back for checkup and stiches out. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers sent my way!

Congratulations

Dad and Hilkka! Wed on July 19, 2008.
Wishing you many happy years together!



Stay tuned... details and more pictures to follow...

Some people....

...will do anything for attention. Recently for me it's been my health, but not exactly the kind of attention I want! I find myself talking about my issues a lot the last couple of years and I never wanted to be that person... But, there's stuff going on that I can't hide from and it's caused a change in plans for us so here's the update:

I was working out a few weeks ago and felt like my airway was a little obstructed, so I started feeling around on my neck and noticed some swelling around my thyroid. So, went to the dr because that seems to be my main activity lately and she said I have a nodule on my thyroid and ordered some tests and labwork, etc... Had a thyroid ultrasound and uptake test Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday morning (quick, huh?) my doc called and said I needed to go have the nodule on my thyroid biopsied asap, so the surgeon said come right now (8:45 this morning). Turns out they don't do a needle biopsy, they treat it like a tumor and remove it then see what it is. So, instead of a cross country excursion next week, I'm having the nodule and possibly the right half of my thyroid taken out.

In other health news I also saw the reumatologist for my follow up and he's very 'suspicious' that I have an inflammatory disease in my spine based on 4 out of 5factors (pain, stiffness in am, genetic pre-disposition, eye inflammation, but blood test did not indicate inflammation in my body). So he suggested a trial of Remicaid which is an IV biologic that targets the TNF proteins and prevents inflammation. If it works then I have the disease, if it doesn't then it's something else. It's not exactly a short term treatment if it does work.

Also, visiting the doctor this week was LG with her ear drum issue. Doc said it looked like it was healing already and gave us some antibiotic ear drops just to make sure it doesn't get infected. Guess they usually heal pretty good and she doesn't seem bothered by it at all.

I'm trying not to stress out too much about the health issues but could sure use some prayers! It just feels like all bad stuff happens when J leaves. And he feels like he's missing all the good stuff! Sometimes I feel like our lives can be put on hold while he's gone, but they're not. Stuff happens, family members die, babies are born, people get sick, kids grow, they lose teeth, start walking, talking and life goes on but with a big hole in it...

Needless to say, our plans for the next few weeks have changed a bit. We are leaving tomorrow for my dad's wedding in NH and my sister and niece will come back here with us instead of all of us driving to CA together. Then depending on how everything goes, Katrina will fly back or we'll drive. Kids were really looking forward to visiting with their friends in KS and their cousins on the West Coast, but they were pretty good about it especially when I told them Devon would be staying at our house for a little while. I better get some sleep so I can drive to Boston tomorrow...

Almost forgot my bright sides:
My sister is coming!
I only had to pack for the weekend instead of the whole summer!
I've had a wonderful babysitter the last couple of weeks!
I've great friends and neighbors who help look out for me and my kids!
We're going to have a great weekend in a part of the country we've never been in and meet a bunch of new people!

Last Week

I have so much to do right now that I feel slightly guilty sitting here writing, but I use the excuse that it helps me focus... Not that I really need an excuse; I decided that I really like this blog thing. I have no idea who is actually reading it, but I sure like writing and getting some things down. Especially with J gone and nobody to talk to every day, it kind of feels like I'm having a conversation of the best sort where nobody tells me my opinion is wrong or interrupts me or asks me why. Not that I wouldn't love to have a 'real' conversation every day, but I'll take this as second best!

Anyway, this past week we've travelled, visited the ER, killed one of God's furry creatures, cleaned carpets and the van, and a bunch of other stuff...

We decided to make a quick trip to NJ this week to see Pop-pop and Mom-mom Adams before leaving for the rest of the summer. The kids all did a great job riding in the car both to and from, so I'm hopeful for our cross-country excursion next week! We had a wonderful visit again and kids got to play with their cousins again. Our only regret is that J can't be there with us. I ventured to Long Beach Island on my own with the kids on Thursday afternoon and they had a blast at the beach and amusement park and the beach shops. LB and LG were a bit apprehensive about the whole ocean thing; which I'm actually quite thankful for. I don't think I could have handled all of them running crazy all over the place. LB did venture down the water very briefly, but LG was content to sit on a towel and play with sand. BG and BB wanted to stay the rest of the day... OK, I don't reccommend taking 4 kids to an amusement park by yourself: LB started crying when BB went on a ride and wanted to go too. So when I put him on a ride with BG, it went around a few times and then he got scared. Then he cried every time BB and BG went on a ride until finally I found a little cars going around ride he went on w/ BG. He was happy until we took him off! More screaming, and of course I can't go on any rides with them and LG was content to sit in the back of the stroller with her thumb in her mouth taking it all in... We had a good trip back until...

we just came in the gate to Fort Drum about 9:30pm and a family (mama and 3 babies) of skunks waddled in front of the van. I couldn't stop soon enough and hit one of the babies. I've never hit an animal before and it made me sad. And of course BB and BG both said they felt the 'bump.' We got sprayed also so the van still stinks on the outside a little bit. I checked the next day and there was just a spot on the road and it looked like it dragged into the woods, so now I feel even worse that the poor little creature suffered before it died.

I did get my carpets cleaned yesterday and today. Nothing like renting a Rug Dr for 24 hours to motivate you to actually clean the carpet. It still baffles me as to why they would put carpet in the dining areas of family housing. In case you didn't know, I'm not a big fan of carpet, period. I think it's disgusting because no matter how well you clean it, it's still 'dirty.' Of course if you look at my house you'll wonder why I pick carpeting to be grossed out about... I guess I like the potential of having things clean and carpet just doesn't give you that! Didn't take as long as I thought and I even got the stench out of our van! Still have a lot to do in the house before we leave and of course the never-ending laundry and packing. And I was set back a little bit by our trip to the ER yesterday...

LG (yes the nearly perfect child!) decided it was a good idea to put a small stick-shaped toy into her ear and then proceeded to fall off the couch with it in there, thus perforating her ear drum. At least that is what I think happened as I was in the kitchen making breakfast when I heard her scream. I found her on the floor with the toy next to her and she was pointing to her ear which was starting to bleed. So we drove to the ER in Carthage about 20 minutes away after being turned away on post at the acute care clinic because we have an off post primary care manager (the things they tell you after the fact). So the ER doc said that it was perforated but he couldn't really tell how bad because of the blood and to see her regular doctor on Monday and maybe have to see an ENT. So I don't know yet what the damage is and if it will heal on its own or what? She was the last child I expected to bring to the ER!

Anyway, I still have a lot to do this week before we depart on Thursday morning for the rest of the summer (I'll write those grandious plans next time), including clean the house, load music on ipods (maybe), laundry, pack, 4 different doctors appointments on Mon and Tues, etc, etc... I've been having my friend's daughter from down the street help out a couple of nights a week just so I can get a few more things done and am so thankful for the help!

OK, I heard the dryer stop so I better get moving again!

Happy Independence Day!

A couple of days late, but I hope everyone enjoyed Independence Day. I like to call it that instead of 4th of July just to remind myself what it's all about! I was disappointed at the lack of 'fanfare' around here. The fireworks in Watertown were on Wednesday night??? and the only other fireworks were in Sacketts Harbor, 20 miles away at 10 pm and I don't think it's legal to buy them here so we didn't see any fireworks this year. No parade or anything else either! So we made our own party, and a few friends came over for some burnt hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and flag cheesecake bars (made up for the burnt hotdogs!). The weather was perfect and no mosquitos so the kids all played outside and us ladies got to sit around and relax.

I miss J a lot especially when we're hanging out in the back yard grilling and playing. We did get to have a VTC (vidoe teleconference) with him on Thursday which was nice. His internet is not fast enough for us to use our webcams, so it was great to be able to talk to him and see him at the same time. The kids we're happy to see him except LB is still a little wary of the whole Daddy in the TV thing. By the end of our 15 minutes he did say 'bye-bye.'

Here's a couple of pics from our Independence Day celebration. I love making desserts and was proud of the result, but still get embarrassed when people make a big deal out of it. LG and most of the other kids ate the fruit off the tops and then LB cleaned up their leftover bars and was shoving them in two at a time!