Solving Problems....one doctor at a time.

Below is a write up on Kinsley's updates and now for me and Kara....

Kara and I went to an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) doctor today. We learned that Kara's tubes that were put in when she was a year old had not fallen out.....like they are suppose to after 6 months. She is 2 1/2 and yep, they are still in. He scheduled for her to have new tubes put in and the old ones taken out on Feb.10th. He is also taking out something that is behind or close to the tonsils (agnoids - I think, I forgot what they are called) as well to keep her from having drainage problems in the future. Hers are bigger than normal. So.... all is good and hopefully this will be her last time to be put under! I am tired of my kids getting anesthesia!

I, on the other hand, have had voice problems for a year. I can not seem to keep a voice. It constantly goes away and I am left hoarse, sound sick, and can not teach a class to save my life when it is gone! He decided that through the years I have strained my voice b/c of cheerleading, coaching, singing, and not projecting/using it properly. Too much screaming and overuse has caused nodes. I have two nodes on my right side and one on my left side. He is putting me on some sort of medication and an inhaler to help along with voice therapy to understand how to use my voice properly. I have also been told to go on voice rest whenever possible and to not raise, yell, or strain it by trying to sing in any way! That ought to be fun with a 2 and 4 year old at home and teaching 5th graders all day! Yea right! Anyways, he has hopes that the nodes will go down and allow me to have a normal speaking voice. If not, possible surgery but that is last resort. I do not need a singing voice, I just need to be able to talk, sing at church, and speak without losing it for everyday use. I will keep you posted. I will begin this today and have a checkup in 8 weeks to see if there has been progress or change in the nodes.

A Mother's Prayer

Today we received the news from Kinsley's MRI and Lung Scan that she underwent during X-Mas break. It has been 3 1/2 years since she has had to really do any huge check-ups and I am so blessed for that. However, the news was not great........ and not bad.........it was neutral.

I truly prayed and had high hopes that everything would be perfect and all the worries that I overcome somehow daily would fade away. I enjoy everyday life with my little angel but the thought never leaves me that something could go wrong and it is a stress that I wish would just go away.

We were told that after a panel of cardiologist looked at her scans, nothing can be done for her at this time but most likely something will have to happen in the future. Normal heart pressure for the right side of the heart is 60% and for the left side is 40%, Kinsley has 69% right side and 31% left side. Anything 30% or below on the left side will require something to be done, in her case a stent. She is 1% away, yet safe by that percent to have anything done at this time. They are neutral about the situation because if a stent is put in over time they are afraid of a rupture because her arteries are stretched so tight and compacted so close together when they had to reroute them were they needed to be. A stent inside of her artery could cause (over time) it to rub the sides so much that they are rubbed thin and could burst. Doing something is risky and not doing anything is risky....especially when you are at a 1% difference.

I am numb to the whole idea and my husband keeps reminding me that we should bless each day and not take anything for granted. Regardless we get another year until they want to do more scans and re-evaluate their decision. Sitting on it another year might mean a change in her growth, more advances and technology, and a better direction on what will be the best possible procedure for her. Sitting on it another year also leaves fear in me to be the mother I need to be. The mother that disciplines her daughter and treats her like a normal child. I need to do this, I must do this, but I pray that I have the strength to know that it was the right thing to do no-matter what happens in the future.....I just don't want to regret anything...... I hate even thinking this way but it is something I can not control.

I love Kinsley to death, she has it way worse than me and she is so happy! I keep reminded myself that there are far worse things that people suffer from daily and as the doctor on the phone said, " We take risks everyday just driving in a car". Yes, he is right.....but that is a risk I choose to take, this one is not.

I am asking for your prayers EVERY NIGHT for this next year. Pray that Kinsley's arteries grow (expand) to where nothing is needed in the future, pray that new advances will help, and pray that she along with every child that suffers from some form of disease can grow to live healthy, normal lives.

New Wedding Ring

Here is a picture of my gorgeous new wedding ring that my husband got me! It is 2.75 karats and beautiful!!!! I will forever be his! It is extremely hard to take pictures because it is so shiny.....so I did my best but still did not do it justice!

Pumpkin Patch

The girls and I went to GrapeCreek this afternoon to go watch my volleyball girls from last year play in their last game on the FRESHMAN TEAM! I was excited that they invited me to come so could not turn down the invitation. The girls did really good for the first game but I had to stay for the JV game too b/c I had one girl on that team. My girls were awful. They climbed all over the stands and just would not sit still. So...... I decided they were bored at the game and I needed to do something with them that THEY WOULD CONSIDER FUN! There is an awesome Pumpkin Patch out at Grape Creek so before we headed home I decided to take them. I felt bad taking them without Justin (he was at work), but could not resist. The girls had fun and we bought punkins to carve tonight! Enjoy the pictures!

Kinsley's Cardiologist Appointment

Well, the dreaded day of going to see the cardiologist is over. We showed up at 11:00 to not been seen until 12:30. She did great on the EKG and instead of doing her normal routine he just chatted with us about her. He asked questions like, "Is she active, how do you think she is doing, do you have any concerns?"......so on and so forth. We were like.....you need to tell us if she can do these things and how YOU think she is doing. Anyways...long story short she is doing great! Everything SEEMS the same since the last appt. (about 8 months ago). He scheduled us an appointment over Christmas break to get her in for an MRI to really see in depth how her heart looks! Hopefully it will not ruin our X-Mas but give us the greatest gift of all - - - our daughter with perfect health!



WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED BUT WE ARE GREAT!!!!!

Going Ballistic!

So.... I wake up this morning at 5:30am to get myself ready for school. As I go into my bathroom to run the shower....there was no water. I thought to myself, "maybe the pressure is just bad," so I go to my guest bathroom to check it out. On my way down the hall (house is still dark b/c the kids are sleeping) I hear a swish, swish sound and my feet start getting wet. I turn on the light to my living room and find....... A FLOOD! Apparently my water heater decided to bust in the middle of the night I never heard it b/c it is located in my garage! To make matter worse I have no idea how to turn off our water supply. I call Jusin ( who is out of town in Austin for work) and try to have him direct me.....did not work! He calls a friend who lives half way across town....at this time 5:45am. By the time his friend wakes up to help me out....YEP things could not be worse. My garage, kitchen and living room is a total disaster. IF you read my below post, I absolutely could not afford to call in from work today b/c I have my evaluation! So my husband calls someone to come over... I am trying to get myself ready and the kids in all the mess with Mike (the friend) running around my house early in the morning cleaning up things. When the RESCUE carpet cleaners arrive I head out the door to deal with the mess when I get home from school at 5pm.
RESULT - Carpet is totally ruined and needs to be replaced, insurance adjuster coming Friday, 8 big LOUD fans blowing all thru my house to dry up everything (I can not even go into the living room), and luckily a new water heater by the time I got home....thank you honey....so I got to take a shower tonight!
I hope these bad things really do not happen in 3's....Pray for me!

Current Events

Wow....well, hello! I obviously have been extremely busy and always check myspace accounts and blogs but never write or update my own. There has been alot going on in life lately.... I will start with the most anticipated questions you all might have, "How do I like my job?!"
The job is getting better. I still can not imagine teaching ELEMENTARY for 30 years but........for now it will do. I miss owning my gym so bad that at times I want to start all over and do it again.......but even that had it's ups and downs. I love teaching and I even like staying busy, I just do not like the politics of it all and doing things that I do not believe in! I disagree with the system at times so it is hard. I get evaluated tomorrow and I am really looking forward to that! I am not nervous at all......We are in a biography unit and the kids will be interviewing each other about their books and filling out a Venn Diagram! I am prepared

"How is my littlest sister doing?"
In case you did not hear, I am a sister again! Faith Kerilee Holland is now 2 weeks old and is as cute as can be. ( I will post pictures later, no time for that tonight) She is healthy as can be and mom is doing great! She sleeps alot and rarely cries, ( I know I was jealous about that...Kara still does not sleep thru the night). I have seen her twice now and I want to take her home with me. Hopie is IN LOVE with her. The really neat thing about all of this is my sister got to meet her birth mother, grandmother, and half sister for the first time. My mother said it went great, she understands, and everyone was real mature about it all! Hopie talks to her half sister and plays internet games with her on the computer at night......I am relieved their meeting and stay went so smoothly. Afterall, I truly believe it is better to start explaining to them about adoption in bits and pieces....as they can understand them....and be open and honest about everything! I am so proud to be their sister.

"What is going on with Justin and I?"
Well, funny you might be wondering. We are doing better than ever! My husband is so loving and I always have to mention HE IS THE BEST FATHER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I could not have chosen a better soul mate. He suckered me into letting him buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle, which I have to admit I really enjoy riding with him when I get the chance. But, it worked out in my favor too! My reward, a beautiful "NEW" wedding ring. I got to upgrade. I was sad to even do it, but there were some things about my old ring that I did not like! I got to choose one that I wanted and I am real happy!

"How are the girls?"
Kara is getting so big. She is really starting to talk so much more and communicate. She is trying to potty train herself but I have not had the time to be consistent with her. She will come and tell me when she is dirty or wet so that I can change her, and at daycare she uses the BIG potty a few times a day with no accidents. She still wakes up alot through the night and is having a hard time seperating from her pacifier. We finally took it away from her over a week ago and the poor baby has not forgotten. Every night she cries for her pacy.....We cry too!
Kinsley just needs to stop growing. She has really blossomed since school has started and I hate it. She comes home everyday with something new she has learned and it scares me to think that she will be in kindergarden soon. She loves rehearsing the months right now to us. I never updated you all on her cardiologist appt. because it got postponed. She goes Oct. 13th so I will try to let you know how that goes when I get the chance. Kinsley is still into bugs like crazy! Tonight she found a catepillar and that is all she wanted to play with. I love my bug hunter....

I know it was alot to read, I will try to post more frequently so you do not get updated about everything at once!