We are now in Rochester,Minnesota. I have an appointment tomorrow at 6:45 with the internal medicine doctor. I just did something that is going to make him think that I am really bright. I was sitting in the recliner and for some reason I was leaning forward. I fell asleep and fell out of the chair right onto my face. My glasses cut my nose and the rest of my nose looks like Rudolph's nose. I think it is all superficial bruising because I don't have any trouble breathing and my nose is straight still.

Eutemia, if you read this...I really feel for you with having a broken nose. Mine isn't even broken and it hurts SO badly!!

I had to come down to the computer because I am so nervous and upset about this. My Aunt Marcia sent me a scripture in Isaiah yesterday that I think I'll go back to the room and read to settle me down before I go to sleep.

I am so terrified of having any more pain or having to have a surgery of any kind and that's why I got so upset..besides the fear of waking up...not quite knowing what happened. I'm sure glad that Wayne is in the room because he came over to me and helped calm me down. Of course, he has been warning me for weeks about sitting leaning forward in the chair. I know why I do it...it takes some of the pressure off of my back. From now on when I sit in the recliner I will put my feet up so I can't fall out of the chair.

I will have Wayne take a picture in the morning. I don't have any way of posting it till I get home because I left the cord that connects to the computer at home.

I'll let you know tomorrow how things go at my first visit to Mayo.

We are "stuck" here in Madison, Wisconsin at the Radison Hotel. Not a bad place to be stuck but we should have made it to Rochester, Minnesota/Mayo Clinic today. My appointment is at 7:15 Monday morning so we will just have to see how the roads are tomorrow. It looks like about noon tomorrow things just might clear up for a long enough period to make the 4 hour drive. I really want to get there for my appointment. I have a feeling they will have a lot of cancellations so they could possibly move me through their system a little faster! That's my hope...we'll see what reality is.

There is a blizzard warning tonight until 6 AM tomorrow morning. I don't think I have been in too many blizzard warnings in my lifetime.

I chose this motel because they have the sleep number beds. I had hoped that since I usually sleep in a recliner that maybe I could make it in one of those beds. I really think if it was a hospital bed I could make it all night but...it's not a hospital bed...just a flat bed. I take all the air out that is possible so there are no pressure points on my back and I can make it a whole....1/2 hour before I have to get up because of the pain. Shoot!! I had hoped that it would work. When we checked in last night I must have looked as bad as I felt because the desk clerk upgraded us to a suite and there is a couch in the front of it . I can sleep sitting up with my legs up on the coffee table on a pillow and lay my head back on a pillow...and I can get a couple of hours before I have to lay on the couch/walk around/lay on the bed...just anything to change my position. Chronic pain can be a real blast!

I realized something on the way up here that had not hit me until yesterday. I realized that I am very different and really don't fit real well with the norm of people. When we would go into the rest stops I just could see how differently I moved and felt than other people and that our house is a real haven for me. I have built my own little comfortable world ... but I think the best news is that I am happy in the world that I have built because of pain and physical problems. I love spending time with Wayne, with our children and grandchildren and our parents. Those are the people that make up my everyday life and that's all I need right now. I love scrapbooking and being creative through that.

Today I got a call from the scrapbook store. I had submitted some layouts to them to be on their design team. It really scares me to death to try this but it will be a little bit of a venture from "my safe world" to the outside world. I think I will really enjoy it. I know a lot of the people on the team I and really think I can make a few new friends with my common interest in scrapbooking. I hope it goes well.

Forgive any typos...I'm not checking this because I'm using the computer here at the motel so I don't want to be a computer "hog"!!

I'll try to find a computer and update what tomorrow brings. I appreciate the prayers behind us. We got into some terrible weather on the way here Friday night. We were traveling 15 mph for about 60 plus miles. I think it should have taken us an hour and instead it took us 5 hours. We were never so glad to see our hotel!! It was 11:00 when we got here and I was used to taking the medicine for the burning in my feet around 6:00 so my feet were burning something terrible. And, my back wasn't much better. I was worried that it wouldn't go away. It took about 2 hours but finally got to a bearable range of pain.

That's all for now.

Chow:)

I had a hard time sleeping last night so I worked on these two layouts till 2:30 AM. These pictures were taken just this week and I think she looks so beautiful. She is growing up so fast I'd like to stop the clock but I know she wants to grow up as badly as I did at her age and so goes the circle of life. The second title may be a little hard to read scanned but it says "You're so beautiful".



We are supposed to leave tomorrow for Mayo Clicic but there is a storm moving in that we'd like to beat so we're going to try to leave early this afternoon. The only problem is we're both catching new colds and feel rotten. I'm running a fever but can't find the thermometer...Wayne had found it and it lasted about a week before I lost it. That reminds me of Wayne's pet peeve that I do...during the day when the phone rings I answer it and since they're all cordless I walk to whatever room I was in or want to sit down and talk in and that's where I leave the phone. By the end of the day when he comes home there isn't one phone left on the hook so that when the phone rings we both have to go running:) It doesn't bother me but I'm the one that does it..he gets rather frustrated.

Back to our trip to Mayo...please remember us in your prayers. There is a big storm moving into the area that we will be in and they're supposed to get 6-12 inches of snow tonight. My parents are letting us use their Explorer for the trip but even that won't be good in whiteout conditions. I also would appreciate your prayers that I get a doctor that will take an interest in my case and figure out the reason my feet and legs keep swelling so bad.

I guess that's all for now. Chow:)

One of my latest layouts. This is of Rhebeca at Christmas 2006. It's the first Christmas layout that I've done with such different colors than the colors normally used for christmas. I like this layout except for the word "American" which I got kinda crooked...but it's stuck down really good and I would rip the picture and the paper and the picture getting the word straight and I really don't want to start all over. It will just stay like it is for now:)

Rhebeca and her Mom & Dad stopped by to visit this afternoon. What a pleasant surprise it was. While they were hre I had to take the opportunity to get a few pictures of Rhebeca. She is such a photogenic young lady:) There was so much light in the house this afternoon that I took the top two pictures without the flash and on the bottom picture I used a flash. There are a lot of shadows on the top two pictures taken without a flash...just totally different looks. What a very beautiful young lady:)

I had a pump refill today. It is the closest I've ever gotten to running out of medicine than I ever have gotten before. Thank goodness I got the refill and I can prevent any problems. They added a new medication today called bipuvicaine..it is a local anesthetic and it is a very common medication to add to the pump. Let's hope it helps.

Dr. Grove looked at the cellulitis and had a good explanation as to why I probably got it. He thinks it is because of the swelling. He said when the skin expands the pores open bigger to try to accomodate the bigger size. With the pores bigger it is easy for bacteria to get in to the skin and the cellulitis to begin. He seemed to think a trip to Mayo Clinic was a good move to make.

I got my least favorite nurse today. Wayne and I concluded that she must have a very low self esteem because she took every opportunity to make me look foolish. I always get the area where they put the needle into the pump deadened with a local...she forgot to ask me and said that she forgot because I'm about the only one that needs it numbed...it's no big deal without it numbed...how does she know?? I tried to compliment her and the nurses for being so sterile about giving the refills by telling her that my beautician's husband had a valve replaced in his heart at Mayo Clinic and they dismissed him as soon as possible becuase hospitals carry staph infection so frequently...she said...hospitals are known for carrying staph infection...everybody knows that. I guess that was everybody but me. The whole time she was like that and I tried my hardest not to get mad at her and try to understand that she might have problems that were worse than mine.

I was really excited about American Idol tonight. I think nerves affected a lot ot the performers tonight. It was really obvious the guys that had more experience than others. If you don't like to know what's going to happen you can click off this blog now. I went to dial idol and according to the dial tones they think that Nick Pedro and Paul Kim are the ones getting voted off tonight. We'll see if they're correct...it makes sense according to performance that they could be the ones.

I love a good close up picture and whenever I get a chance I keep clicking the camera trying to get a good one until I"m told that's enough:) I thought this one of Tyler was especially good!

Caden was telling me..."NO MORE PICTURES!!" while shaking his head!!

Caden is a moving target. I was trying to get a picture of him looking at me with the pretend binoculers

Tyler, taken today Feb. 17, 2007

I used to have a lot of trouble with muscle spasms in my low back. When I had the surgery in 1998 it took care of the muscle spasms. I also had more pain but no muscle spasms until the last week. I woke up this morning with the worst spasms I've ever had. They would start at my waist in my back and travels into the tailbone. I was miserable until the muscle relaxer took control. I was sure glad I had those from the pain doctor several months ago. I ended up having to take 2 of them to get rid of them and it didn't take long for me to be sleeping like a log.

Tyler and Caden came over here for a while this afternoon and they were SO good. I enjoyed seeing them both today.
Before they came over they were at my mothers house.

Tyler was on the computer because he didn't go to school because he still had an ear infection with a fever and aches and chilling. I was on the computer this morning and here is the instant message I got from Tyler..
He is typing from Mprincipal and in the red
I am using Rstockman1209 translating what he said and it's in green

The Rstockman1209 in the blue is me actually answering Tyler when he instant messaged me.e is talking about a
MPRINCIPAL [10:35 AM]: hi This is tyler.fegr aoot how to camplet the soopr grane livoo!
hi This is Tyler. Figure out how to complete the super granny level.
Rstockman1209 [10:35 AM]: Which level?
MPRINCIPAL [10:37 AM]: in the casool
In the castle.
Rstockman1209 [10:39 AM]: http://www.realarcade.com
MPRINCIPAL [10:43 AM]: wen the las levoo in side the casool
Win the last level inside the castle.

I think it's the most amazing thing that a 6 year old in kindergarten could try to figue out words like that. At first when I saw it i thought he was trying to be funny but then I could see that he was tying to sound out his words. How priceless!

Another priceless thing is a story that he told me this afternoon. His little heart is so trusting and sweet and innocent. He said he saw a boy about his age on the beach when they were in Floida and asked the boy if he knew about Jesus. The little boy did not know Jesus so Tyler told him all about how Jesus was in heaven and you can pray to him. That's all he felt comfortable but I thought it was just the sweetest story.

I keep falling asleep..that's what happens when you take a muscle relaxer right before typing on the blog...zzzz:)

Good night!!

My latest layout. I couldn't sleep last night and this is what I worked on. Another one of our Christmas pictures.

Kaleb, our youngest grandchild...for a few months until his sister arrives! See that worried look? I was standing between him and his Mom and he wanted to get to her...not sure how to get around that Grandma with the camera.

Kael, Kaleb's older brother with Grandpa Wayne

We call Kael the worryer. He always has to have his hands clean and he was born with a worried look on his face. Poor little guy got the family "worry gene." He has many momets of fun too...he's not always worrying.Kael just loves his older cousin, Tyler. Tyler has lots of transformers and Kaels always wants to play with them and you can guess what the answer usually is...no:( So, Kael is starting a collection of his own. Here he is playing with what he told me was the "bad guy." He had two others that were the good guys. Ya always gotta have one bad guy tho.
Here is Kaleb, finally by his Mama who is due the end of April. It can't be soon enough for her. She is really getting uncomfortable. She and Alan saw a bulge in her tummy a couple nights ago and looking closer at it saw the perfect shape of a (rather large) foot. They even saw the toes. How exciting!! The room for the baby is probably beginning to get pretty tight.

Below is the latest layout. This one is the same picture as before using different paper. I use a diffeent set of papers for each child. I like to have papers the same for each child's Christmas for the year and this is the paper I'm using for Jacob's 2006 Christmas layouts. I added just a little different touch to this one with the design above the picture. Otherwise pretty much the same!

Not a whole lot new. I haven't felt well at all over the weekend. Fatigue, swelling more than normal on my feet and legs and a new symptom..my hands have started shaking. It makes it even difficult to type. I was going to ignore it until my feet started to turn purple and itch. That worried me that maybe the cellulitus was returning and maybe even getting worse. So, feeling like a hypocondriac, I made an appointment with my doctor. He took a look at my leg and looked it over really well so he wouldn't miss anything. He said..this is not cellulitus. He asked me what pain medicine I am currently on and what is in my pump. I told him what I take which is very little and that the pump has dilaudid. He went to his computer to look up something. He came back and said he didn't find a connection that he is looking for and that is a conection between the pump and high cortisol levels. He said it is just a hunch but wants me to get tested for cushings disease. I almost wish that is what is wrong with me. It could account for the weight gain, the fluid retention and the extreme fatigue. There are other symptoms but those are the 3 big ones that come to mind. I think he said it could account for the hands shaking too....and that was one of the vital signs to him. I almost didn't tell him but try to remember anything that's happening to tell him for any sort of a diagnosis that he could come up with.

That's all for today...don't feel well at all. I take some medicine tonight for the blood test tomorrow so I sure hope the test shows something!!!!

Becky

Not much to say tonight except that I dont wish this virus on anybody. Wayne and I are both still sick with it. We are constantly coughing. I could try to take a picture of Wayne in bed but I'm afaid he'd do the same to me...yikes!! Well, I just tried to get a picture and he wouldn't let me put it on the blog..I tried;)

If there is an upside to being this sick it's that I don't spend as much money. I got groceries with my Mom's help today...I still keep thinking that I should be helping her but we never know what life will bring us!

Have a good evening!!

It may look easy to just snap a shot of these 5 little ones but believe me it's not that easy to get them all in one place...sitting still! Caden missed being in this picture because he was sick that day. I think he had the bug I'm trying to get rid rid of with no luck. If I feel better I'll post more later...if I don't feel well I'll post more tomorrow!

The next 4 pictures are ones I took yesterday with my new camera. I am trying to get the hang of it...and I'm still in the automatic mode..ha ha!! That should be pretty simple...but I'm finding my finger wants to rest on the flash and then it won't flip up and flash for the picture. That's a minor adjustment. I think the pictures it takes are fantastic...so crisp and detailed.

Tyler

Caden started out hiding from me under that cushion and then I took him his blankie and he thought he'd take a nap. It was a short lived nap though...eyes never closed and body never stopped moving:)

A really good picture of Tyler...he's such a good looking boy!

A closeup of Caden. I love to get these profile shots. I just think there is a lot of interest in all the details of his little face.

These next two scrapbooking layouts are my latest creations. They are both of Jacob. The first is Jacob in santa hat. Kritsi said wished he didn't have a dirty face but I thought it just added to the picuture...the essence of Jacob. The second picture is priceless to me. Jacob giving his Great Grandpa a high 5. The kids love their great grandpa and have certain activities that they associate with just him.
It is bitter cold here today. You would think it is warm by looking out the window at the beautiful sunshine but it is deceiving. When I got up at 5:30 this morning it was -4 below zero with a wind chill factor of -27. BRRRR! I always worry about any animals that are outside..like dogs and cats. I also wonder what the homeless man that lives here in Plymouth does on these cold nights. Hopefully somebody has mercy on him and gives him a room while it's this bitter cold. I can't imagine sleeping outside like he does. Maybe he's tought..I know I'm not.

Wayne is feeling a lot better this morning. He even went to work around noon. I cautioned him that he really should take a couple more days to rest so I hope he doesn't have a relapse like he did last week. I certainly have learned in 34 years of marriage that I can't change him...I just accept what he does and if he gets sick again I'll be there to help however I can. I know he does the same with me. I do a lot of things he doesn't always approve of too so I guess we've learned to give each other the freedom we both want to do our own thing.

First pictures with new camera

I have been anxiously waiting to take pictures with my new camera. Wayne isn't a willing subject so I had to wait for the grandkids to come over and that happened last night. First picture is of Caden and you can see him talking...he is saying Cheese! Two cute stories about him in the last couple days. He is staying at my Mom & Dad's house for a few days and last night they were playing a game that was a little beyond his age group. He still wanted to play and my Mom started complimenting him and telling him she was shocked he could play the game. He told her "I'm not dumb." And, secondly, he has learned a knock knock joke and says it over and over and over again. It is

Caden: Knock Knock

Grandma: Wno's there
Caden: Nana

Grandma: Nano who

Caden: Nana banana

And then he proceeds to laugh and laugh and laugh and then he starts all over again. I guess a good joke is worth repeating:)

Tyler has learned my telephone number. Since I'm home trying to recover from this cold he calls me many times a day. I love his calls and will always drop whatever I'm doing to talk to him. It's usually a computer game he wants to discuss with me. I'm glad we have that in common. He has also learned ebay and likes me to get him there and we look for toys. He wants me to bid on everything he likes. I try to explain that I don't have unlimited money:) One story about Tyler. He is also spending the night with my Mom & Dad. He likes to sleep in their room on either an air mattress or on the couch. Last night my Mom got up in the middle of the night and Tyler was missing in action...or the action of sleep at least. She finally found him in the computer room playing a game on the computer.
This is Belle. She is a Silky Terrier. She is Steve, Katie, Tyler & Caden's dog and we watch her when they go away so she doesn't have to go to the kennel. We love having her for a week or so and she feels right at home here. She is one of the nicest and well behaved dog I've ever known tied only by our last dog..a little white Maltese we named Mercedes. Anyway, Belle is visiting for the week and we're glad to have her. There was a major killing here in the house tonight. While we watched TV she killed her stuffed toy and the insides are all over the house:)

Yippee!!!!! Wayne came home this morning. I don't know if I was happier to have him home or he was happier to be home. We both realized how much we mean to each other. It wasn't any major seperation but we are never apart except for when he goes to work so we're happily together tonight and he is feeling much much better. He is having some pain where they did a spinal tap and I hope it's just from doing the procedure and not some damage they did or an infection starting. They had a hard time doing the spinal tap so I hope they didn't force it too hard. Only time will tell. Please keep him and his back in your prayers...thanks!

Does it ever seem to you that life comes in bunches of events? Our bunches lately has been health issues. I feel like we're on a speeding train with no brakes at times. Wayne has also had this virus that I am fighting. I can't remember seeing him sick enough to miss work. He goes no matter how he feels. Well, he spent all last week home sick with a virus. Thursday he worked a huge day and came home with a splitting headache. By 4:30 Friday morning he was awake and in terrible pain with the headache and vomitting dry heaves. I gave him one of my suppositories for nausea and it settled things down so that he went back to sleep. We had talked about going to the emergency room at 4:30 but decided to wait till the doctor's office opened. Our family doctor is still out of town (how dare him..ha ha!!) so we saw an associate.

We went in to see him at 10:30 and told him of Wayne's past history of the meningitis. He decided Wayne needed to be hospial and have some tests done. The main test was a spinal tap to draw out some spinal fluid and see if he has meningitis. As of yesterday late afternoon all the test results had not ocomeback but the doctor had seen enough of this one to say he is 99% sure he does not have the meningitis. After hearing that Wayne was ready to come home but the nurse said thee was no way. I was kind of hoping he w0ould come home because I've never spent a night alone in this house. It is now 6:30 and I did just fine. I didn't sleep well but that's nothing unusual for me!

Hopefully I'll get to bring Wayne home today. Right after he was admitted I went to WalMart. I hadn't gotten groceries for a while so after Wayne was admitted to the hospital and given something for pain and nausea he was really out so I went to WalMart. I have to take opportunites when they come and know I need to take advantage of them. Yesterday was one of those days...I hadn't felt like going to the store for for a while as we were out of a lot so I was thrilled that I could do it. I felt so all alone. I can't imagine what it feels like to lose a spouse that you've spent your whole life with. It was like this emptiness inside of me and I hadn't even lost him...he just wasn't there to be with me....and I'm used to getting his help:) I guess this will teach me to continually be grateful for the help my family gives me. I couldn't function without their help!!

It's COLD here. Our thermometer this morning says it is 7 chilly degrees...brrrr!!! I wish I didn't have to go out today but am thankful the hospital is just across the street from our subdivision.