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.

Tomorrow should be my appointment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. But, we didn't go because we are both so sick with a virus. We rescheduled it for February 26th. We should both be feelig better by then...hopefully!!

Yesterday i went back to the doctor to look at my leg. I was on my 2nd round of anti-biotics annnnnd the leg bagan swelling and turning red and hot to the touch. My regular doctor was on vacation but I have found another doctor in this group of doctors that I have seen before so I made a appointment with him. He seemed concerned that the leg hasn't really healed up yet. He sent me for another venus dopplar ultrasound to make sure they didn't miss a blood clot the first time around. Thanksfully that turned out negative so that means I'm still dealing with the cellulitis.

I have been really faithful with taking the antibiotic so I am really surprised that this isn't clearing up. I go back to my regular doctor on Monday for a recheck on my leg. He hinted that I will have to be hospitalized and hooked up to an IV with anti-biotics. I hope I don't have to but if I do I understand that cellulitis is serious and it can't be ignored.

Our daughter, Katie took our grandson, Tyler, to get his ear checked because his ear had some drainage coming out of it. Tyler is very sensitive to any pain so it's hard to know sometimes how serious or how badly he is really hurting. Like today when I talked to him on the phone he did a sommersault while talking to me and hurt his arm. He was just sure he broke the bone in his arm and carried on and on. I finally asked him if he would like me to call his Mommy and have her call him. he liked that idea. So, all that to say I'm so glad Katie took his complaints seriously because he had a bursted ear drum. Poor little guy...that has to really hurt.

Wayne and I are still sick and coughing and I run a fever every afternoon I run a fever. This is a really bad virus. I don't think I can ever remember Wayne stayng home from this work so long. We've both been laying around in our pajamas/nightgown and just trying to rest so we'll feel better. I finally tok a shower yesterday and today Wayne took one. It's a really big deal to take a shower when you feel sick. I told Wayne to let me know if I start to smell...I'll take a shower then:) ha ha!!

Not much else new from the "sick house".

You will notice as you start reading today that some of the font is very large. I have tried for about half an hour so to get the font all the same size and as soon as I save it...it goes right back to the "huge" font. I will come back later and try to change it again...maybe something is wrong with the system:)

Kaleb Santa Baby

This is Kaleb at Christmas last year. He's made great strides in one years time. He can not walk and he can also open presnets. Two very important things in a toddler's life:)

I love my baby brother

Although I just scrapped this picture last night it was taken at the hospital when Kaleb was born in 2005. Rhebeca really has a special place in her heart for her baby brother. He even calls her Mama at times.

Rhebeca's 7th birthday

The next 3 layouts were taken at Rhebeca's 7th birthday party. She is 8 now but I am still playing catch up with my scrapbooking. I kept up fine when there were 2 grandchildren but now that we have 6 and soon 7 I will have a real challenge to keep up. That's one reason I started the blog...so I can look back and remember the stories behind the pictures.

I swelled up again really badly on Monday of this week. So, I made an appointment with Dr. Stillson, our family doctor. He told me this visit that he has tried everything he knows to try for the swelling. He strongly recommends that I made a visit to Mayo Clinic. I went to the scheduler in the office and she said it will probalby be several months before they would have an opening. She was shocked...and so was I!!... that they had an opening on February 1st.
We have been busy making reservations and trying to tie up loose ends here so we can leave this week.

Wayne and I both have a terrible virus. I have had it a week now and Wayne is just a few days behind me. With it we have fever, chills, sweats, coughing, congeston and you name it we've got it. We are just hoping that we feel good enough to leave Tuesday morning. We are going to make the trip on Tuesday and take 2 days of driving to get there. That will make it about 4 hours a day of travel and that's about all I can handle. I want to be feeling well enough that I can go to the appointments and be able to listen to what the doctor is saying.

Tyler (Steve and Katie's oldest/6 YO) had to go to the emergency room about an hour ago. He had drainage coming from his ear and a pretty high fever. |The doctor in the emergency room said he had a busted ear drum. It will repair itself in the next 9 weeks. He kept complaining that his canker sores were hurting. Years ago when I took our kids to the pediatrician in South Bend he told me that children do not know where pain is coming from. They may point to their tummy when their ears hurt.

I would appreciate your prayers that the doctors at Mayo Clinic will be able to pinpoint the source of the swelling in my feet and legs. It is really scary when your doctor tells you he's done all he can do for you. Although, thank goodness, he added that it does not mean he doesn't want to treat me...he just doesn't know what else he can do for me as far as that swelling in my feet and legs.

If you don't care for American Idol you can stop reading now:)

Katherine McPhees album will st on the store shelves Tuesday, January 30th. I really liked her voice and will probably buy her CD. I do not care for the way they are marketing her but I don't have to see that when I'm listening to her music.

Tonight there is an "Idol" special on Larry King/CNN at 9:00. Some of the idols he will be interviewing are Bucky Covington (last season's country singer), Ace Young (also from last year), Kimberly Caldwell (Season 2), William Hung.

Before I get to my life today I thought I 'd post a couple of interesting things about American Idol. Below is the pair of boys that became friends while waiting in line for a chance before the judges in Seattle. I think Simon made some people very angry when he compared the boy on the left to a "bush monkey" . Wayne and I both thought that was going a bit too far just for a laugh. You could tell it bothered the boy with the way he kept talking about what Simon said. The boy on the right went through school in special education so it was a huge step for him to try out for something like this. I think they both genuinely thought that had a good chance of going to Hollywood. I just read that they got to be on Jimmy Kimmel's (late night) show. I wish I had knwn that...it would have been fun to watch.

Does this guy look familiar to you? He was one of the contestants that made the cut for going to Hollywood from Seattle on American Idol. I can remember him having a very nice voice. Well, this show is so popular that it's become about as eventful as a presidential election. I say that because someone all ready dug up some dirt on this guy. He was arrested on a drunk driving charge in 2004 and then completed an alcohol diversion program and a $680 fine and it was wiped it off of his record. Then in December 2005 he was arrested again for a hit and run. Thomas says both incidents are the results of being young and dumb...we've all been through our times of being young and dumb. Reminds me of what Jesus said to the people when they were getting ready to stone a woman to death for adultry...(Becky's paraphrase) Anyone without sin can cast the first stone to which they all put their stones down and let the woman go.

News on to Becky's (me) medical saga....I went to the pain doctor Thursday morning for a pump refill and he wanted to put dye through the catheter that leads from the pump to the intrathecal space in the spine. He wanted to do that because he does it to every pump patient periodically and because the pain is so hard to get to get under control. The worst part of the test was laying on this skinny hard table while he did the procedure. I rarely lay on my back because it causes so much pain and usually starts muscle spasms. I appreciate that their staff and the doctor are very careful to keep everything sterile. Since the catheter leads directly to the spinal area they don't want to take any chances of an infection. At first I didn't think I was going to be able to lay there for 20 minutes but I tried to keep my mind busy with happy thoughts...things like holding Isabella when she is born in April...that will be so exciting and a beautiful beach and it worked pretty well for me this time.

The good news was that the dye looked perfect...no leaks and it was coming out right where it's supposed to come out in the intrathecal space in my spine. That is really good news and bad news. It's bad news because if it had been a leak that would have been why my pain is so intense. Good news is I don't have to have surgery to have it implanted agian.

The doctor increased my medication in the pump from 9 mgs a day to 10 mgs a day. He said next pump refill they will add bipuvicaine. Bipuvicaine is a local anesthetic that works similar to novacaine.

They gave me a bolus of 9 mgs of dilaudid in my pump to counteract the dye put in the catheter. A bolus is just a flow of exra medication in the pump to provide me with almost immediate relief. If the dilaudid was interrupted I am pretty sure I would be in serious withdrawals. The only problem is that the extra medicine made me SO sleepy. I slept all the way home and all night long. I sure felt good when I woke up Friday morning with added sleep and a little extra pain medicine in the pump.

Yesterday afternoon it just hit me all of a sudden that I was getting sick. I have a cold or virus or something like that. Lots of chest congestion, cough, runny nose, high fever and major body aches. Wayne is staying away from me like I have the plague or something. He has a big week this week as far as work goes and doesn't want to be sick for it.

I was thinking a couple of days ago how lucky I've been to keep from getting all the "bugs" going around. I forget how it came up but at the doctor's office the other day I told Wayne that it would be so nice if I could just change bodies with a well person for just one day. Only problem is that I wouldn't want to come back to this one

Well, the swelling is back this today and my feet and legs are as big as ever At times I think the swelling is from lack of movement because the fluid isn't getting pumped through . There could be a little truth to that but I don't think it's the main reason. There is just too much swelling for it to be that simple. I am still going to try to swim at the Holm Clinic when open their therapy pool and I think it might help some and even some help is better than none at all.

When I get this swelling bad like this my toes get real red and painful and it seems my clumsiness makes me stubb my toe on anything in sight. I feel like yelling out every time I do it:) I could never understand how a paraplegic or quadraplegic could have pain in the spine but yet be numb or have no feeling. Well, that is kind of how my toes are. They are numb but I have lots of nerve pain and there is nothing worse than nerve pain. But it's also the reason I stubb them all the time. Compared to someone who can't move their arms and legs or just their legs I have no reason to complain at all! (yet I still do...ha ha!!)

There are certain things that most people do without thinking that are very difficult when you cannot stand more than 2-3 minutes. One of those things for me is to go to the post office to get stamps or mail a box. Yesterday I listed some things for sale on ebay and wanted to see about how much it would cost to ship them so I could put the price with my listing. Anyway, when I was on the United States Post office site I noticed you could buy stamps and have free priority boxes sent to your house. I ordered 10 boxes for priority shipping (for selling on eBay) and 40 stamps. The only thing extra they charged me was $1.00 for shipping. I will get the stamps and boxes in 2-3 days. I was so thrilled to find this and save me having to go to the post office and stand there with intense back pain. Here is where you go to order your stamps. You can even pick out the stamps you want. Since I'm sending out valentines to the kids and grandkids I chose a stamp with a heart on it. You will see a tab towards the top of the page that says "Buy Stamps & Shop."

This picture is for Rhebeca. I found it when I was looking at American Idol trivia and thought it it was so good of Carrie and all the awards she won this year at the ...is it the grammy's?? I get all those awards mixed up but here it is Beca. She can't get attachments on her email because it's Kids American Online which is good but I had to post here for her. So...Beca this one's for you:)

Love you, Grandma Becky

Tyler at 6 months

I'm still not real sure that I should use so many flowers on a boys layout but I love flowers and love the way they look in scrapbooking. I'll have to try using stars or something like that...maybe it would look a little more masculine:) Aren't those big beautiful eyes? Tyler is now 6 years old and as bright as those eyes look. I got in a new scrapbooking die cut machine this week. He saw it sitting on my cupboard and that the handle needed to be put on. Without looking at any instructions he put the handle on with a screw and washer and an end cap. It's like he knew exactly how to do it. And then, if that wasn't enough, he put all the pieces in the right place and cut out some of the dies. I was going to have to look at the book to figure out how to do it. There is a base piece that goes on the bottom, then an acrylic piece, then the die, then the paper and then another acrylic piece. He slid it right though and it was perfect the first time. It amazes me to see a child born with all the innate talent.

Rhebeca and Kael

In the title, the part that says "brother" is done with a new font I got for my cricut machine. I got aggressive and sold quite a few things online that I wasn't using...some old sizzix fonts that I probably hadn't used for 3 years and I bought this font and another one with my money. This block font (see how it looks a little like a block?) is a very versatile font. I also did the words in black with the same cartridge. I like using the different fonts in a word to make it look a little more interesting.

I went back in to my family doctor today. My right leg is swollen, red and painful to the touch. Right away he said it's either cellulitis or a blood clot. He sent me right to the hospital where I had an ultrasound...some special kind of ultrasound called Venus Doppler I believe. It was amazing that it could pick up the veins in my leg. We live in quite an age where medicine is quite advanced and yet I still can't walk out to my kitchen without my back screaming in pain so bad I have to sit down for a minute. There have been great strides in some areas and others like pain control and the spine still seem archaic in their treatments.

The doctor called a couple of minutes ago and said that there is no blood clot and my blood work showed my potassium is low. He said the potassium is at 3.1. I have prescription pills of potassium to take and I hate them...there are like horse pills and I have a hard time getting them swallowed. When I take my pills in the morning and at night I like to pop them all in my mouth at once and get it over with. I tried that with the potassium pills and they got stuck in my throat. When a persons potassium is low it just drains you completely of all energy. Most of the time when I'm walking I feel so weak that I feel like I'll pass out. I am to double the potassium till the end of the week. I also bought bananas and pistachio nuts.

Since American Idol starts next week I have started following the blog that I enjoy while American Idol is on TV. The web site is here . But if you don't want to read it I'll give you a few excerpts....

1. Carrie Underwood's CD has just gone quintuple platinum. She has sold more Cd's than any other country artist in the last 6 years. What an amazing accomplishment. Here is Becky's opinion...Carrie's life will never be the same...it has changed probably forever. She can't help but change a little bit ...she won't continue on the "country bumpkin" she was to start with. Will the sweetness we all saw in her leave? Will she become arrogant? If she were my child or grandchild I just don't know if this win and lifestyle would be something I would want for them.

2. Kellie Pickler will be co-hosting "The View" on January 18th and 19th.

3. Katharine McPhee will guest star on the ABC comedy, "Ugly Betty" on Thursday, February 1st. Her single from her new album will be officially released to radio January 16th.

4. Here is one Rhebeca will like!!! Paula Abdul has joined the creative team of "Bratz: The Movie", the first live action feature based on Bratz fashion dolls. Paula will serve as executive producer and play an integral part in music, choreography and fashion. She will also portray one of the film's major characters.

5. One more thing on Kellie Pickler....Starting on April 27th Kellie Pickler will be touring with country music performer, Brad Paisley. There will be more information posted soon on his website. I don't know his site address right off hand but I'm sure you could find it with a google search.

I will be leaving in about a half hour for my 3rd treatment for the swelling in my feet and legs. The first treatment didn't seem to make much of a difference although I came home feeling like I'd run a marathon. The doctor called late that afternoon and told me to triple my potassium pills and that Tuesday they would give me some postassium in my IV.

I got there Tuesday and the nurse started to inject saline into the IV that they had left in my so they wouldn't have to poke me every day. Well, it hurt something terrible and then when she started to put the lasix in I couldn't stand the pain. At that point she decided to check my IV and see if it looked all right. They hadn't used clear tape so it was covered up. When she took the tape off there was a huge bruise and all around and it was red all around the bruise from who knows what? She said I don't think that IV is in your vein anymore. I felt like being smart aleck and saying...you don't, do you? She really should have checked it before she injected into it but they were extremely busy and she was probably needed 2 places at once. She decided to put another IV in the other hand. Then the lasix went in much better. It still burned a little bit but I know from the past that my veins are hypersensitive. She then hookd me up to the drip of the potassium. It took over 2 hours. I was glad I had some scrapbook magazines in the car. The nurse must have felt bad about the IV thing because she went out of her way for me the rest of the afternoon. She brought me a recliner to sit in , lunch that consisted of a turkey sandwich, crackers, oranges and pop. She really was a very nice nurse that just made a wrong judgement call. I always try to tell myself that we're all human and make mistakes.

I felt pretty good afterwards and even ran a couple of errands. Wayne drove but I felt pretty good.

When I got home I continued my search for a new camera. I have been looking since Saturday for a new digital camera for several reasons. The main reason is that I would like something that I could begin to learn photography on. Mine right now is just a point and shoot with good megapixels. I'm ready to "try" to learn about some of the very basics of photography. I would like to have some of it learned by the time Isabella is born so I can get some really cool pictures of her. By 8:00 last night I finally decided on a camera and found where I wanted to buy it. Believe it or not WalMart had the camera so because of their good return policy I bought my camera online at WalMart. I should get it by Friday...but that's not definite. I settled on a camera that has full automatic mode with the ability to go into the programing and change whatever I watn to change. I will be using the automatic mode for some time, I'm sure. The camera I purchased is a Sony DSC-H5. It has 7.2 megapixels and 12x optical zoom. I wanted to high zoom for getting some awesome baby pictures/toddler pictures/kid pictures/young lady pictures. Okay....great pics of the grandkids:)

I was so excited about the camera that I couldn't get to sleep till about 4:00 am. I'm a little tired today. I scrapbooked and watched the discovery health channel. I will post some of the layouts I did when I get home from my treatment.

It is now less than a week till the beginning of American Idol Season 6. I am SO excited. Here is a schedule that I got from a blog...the times are tentative....

January 16th....(premier 8-10) Minneapolis, MN
January 17th...(8-10) Seattle, WA
January 23rd...(8-9) Memphis, TN
January 24th...(9-10) New York
Januray 30th...(8-9) Birmingham, AL
January 31st...(9-10) San Antonio, TX
February 6th...(8-9) Los Angeles, CA
February 7th...(9-10) "The Rest of the Best" special Audition show
February 13th... (8-9) Hollywood Round
February 14th... (9-10) Hollywood Round (top 24 chosen)
February 20th... (8-10) Top 12 males
February 21st...(8-10) Top 12 females
February 22nd... (8-9) Results
February 27th... (8-9:30) Top 10 males
February 28th... (8-9:30) Top 10 females
March 1st...( 8-9) Results
March 6th...(8-9) Top 8 males
March 7th...(8-9) Top 8 females
March 8th...(8-9) results
March 13th...(8-10) Finals begin with Top 12
March 14th...(9-9:30) Top 12 Results

Alan's 1st Christmas
While searching through the basement for the sewing machine manual I came across some scrapbooking layouts that I'd forgotten about. This is Wayne and me and Alan for his 1st Christmas. It was our 2nd Christmas as a married couple. We have all changed just a little bit! It's fun to look back at these older pictures but I just can't believe how the years have flown by.

I will be admitted to the hospital tomorrow. I went to see my general practitioner (doctor) about the swelling on Friday. I have been on every water pill they make and nothing is budging the swelling. The doctor told me that he would have admitted me on Friday but I don't qualify for hospitalization through the insurance company. I still wonder who is doing the diagnostics...the doctor or the insurance companies. They have us right where they want us if we want them to pay. Anyway, he said he can get around that by admitting me through outpatient. I kind of prefer that anyway. I can go there 3 days in a row and sleep at home.

There was one bit of good news. My doctor said that many times when a person is swelling and retaining fluid like I am that they start to develop fluid in the lungs and, thank goodness there was no sign of fluid in my lungs.

The doctor had me try a very strong water pill and said if it worked I would have to go to the hospital and if it didn't I go...Well, I'm so anxious to get rid of all this swelling. My toes have turned red and hurt really bad. He told me that in areas like the fingers and toes they are such small areas and when the tissue in them fill up with fluid it has no where to go and starts pressing on the nerves. It's all just a vicious cycle and I would like off of this cycle, please!!

I have a very nice camera but there is a flaw in it. The lens is right next to the flash and the red eye on this camera is just terrible. I have to spend about a half hour on each photo to get rid of the red eye. It is so red that most red eye removal programs won't remove it. I have decided to get a new camera and have spent the whole day looking and searching on the internet for the best rated camera for the functions I want. I had one camera picked out ...the Canon A640 and right before I was ready to buy it I read some of the forums about the camera and one of the problems is red eye. So, that one is out!! The one I really want is the Canon Digital Rebal XTi but it's about $200 out of my price range. On to the search!!

Kristi just called to tell me that Jacob had a 1st today. He always goes to the nursery during their church service. Today he got to go to the big people's service. They went to the contemporary service with a band and she said Jacob loved it. He was singing, raising his hands in the air like the people around him and dancing. He got a little carried away and fell and kristi picked him up and kept on singing. Three people came up behind her to tell her that Jacob's mouth was bleeding. Needless to say...that was the end of the church service for today.

You Can Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out

I may not have quoted it exactly but that's the basic concept. I don't even remember...is it in the Bible or just something our parents told us to keep us on the straight and narrow path?


Thursday afternoon my sins found me out. I needed to run some errands and Tyler wanted to come with me. I think he had a plan up his sleeve for a new toy but that's okay..I like being with him. One of our stops was at the Hallmark Store to get my favorite soy candles. I don't even like it now without always having one of those burning all the time. I used to use the cheap WalMart brand and then one day I saw the most beautiful candle of all...not really but it sure did smell good.


Well, I digressed talking about my candle. I have been trying to diet most of this week. I consider it a life change and there's just a few things I won't eat anymore...that simple. On the counter of the Hallmark Store they keep a nice big container of home made caramels. They are SO good. I couldn't resist them and bought three...because they're 3 for $1.00. I thought Tyler might like some anyway. But I learned that he doesn't like those. Too bad! I'd have to eat all 3.


I started eating one as soon as I got in the car. Then we had to stop at KMart and I had to open the trunk and get my 2nd one. I didn't even make it out of the KMart parking lot when I felt something big and hard inside the caramel. It was my crown with the tooth and the post all inside the crown. I told Tyler that I had to go right to the dentist and see what I needed to do. I was scared to death. I couldn't believe my tooth came out with it.


All the way to the dentist Tyler talked about his visit to the dentist. I kept thinking I wish this was my first visit and my teeth just needed cleaned. Then Tyler had a bright idea...he said..."Becky, why don't you just grow more teeth?" Oh, if it were just that simple. I had to explain to him that he would lose his teeth and more would come in but that would be all he would get. You don't get your 3rd or 4th set of teeth. Although that would be nice.


The rest of the way he kept telling me that the dentist said one of his teeth is a little loose. I had to chuckle...it's his only experience with the dentist and he was trying to relate to me. How sweet! I know he could see I was upset and I tried to hide it but inside I was a nervous wreck.


Well, the dentist looked at the situation and said that since there was no tooth left to work with he would have to do a bridge. I didn't even know what a bridge was but he explained it to me. I felt so much better. Since I've had a root canal in that tooth all I have to do is keep the area clean.


Tyler was so good at the dentist office. Even though I was tired and had a little headache we went home to my house and we played with his favorite new toys...the Lego Bionicles. He has kind of transferred now from the Transformers to the Bionicles. He has a whole pile of the bionicles and I get all of them except one. He gets the biggest and newest one every time and his one bionicle always beats all my bionicles. I don't mind letting him win thought. I figure it's a good way to build a little self esteem.


So...I thought no one would have to know I went off my diet a little yesterday and here I had to end up telling everyone about my tooth. There's always tomorrow for the diet and that is the life change I face. If I go off the bandwagon I need to just get right back on!

I've gone through quite an interesting 2 days. I have been on and off the prednisone and for very good reasons...at leat in my mind they were. I went off of it right around Christmas and that's when I swelled up so bad and ended up going to the ER. It wasn't too many days after that when all my joints started to hurt again. My knees and fingers were the worst. I decided I would go back on the prednisone until I saw the rheumatologist on January 9th. After abpit 10 days (or maybe 7??) of no sleep and appetite out of control especially for sweets I decided I couldn't stand another night with no sleep and I went off the prednisone again. That was Sunday morning (12-31) and the last two days have been pure misery. I slept the very first night and then last night I slept from midnight till 5:30. That's a record!!! But, my feet and whole body swelled up something terrible and I've been in pure misery. This morning is the first time I can see that the swelling might be going down just a little big. Every time I sat down yesterday...whether at the computer or in my recliner I would fall asleep. I think that was from lack of sleep for so many nights. I did notice that the knee pain started to return last night. And, this morning I woke up with muscle spasms in my back from sleeping in one position for so long. But, I'll take these symptoms compared to not sleeping.

Is anyone else watching American Idol Rewind? They are showing the first season again but all they have shown for about 3 months now is the auditions. I wonder if they will ever move on from there. I keep watching and hoping they will move past the Hollywood week and into the actual TV time of singing solo. Season 1 is the only season I didn't follow. I got in on the last 2 weeks of it.

Only 13 days till Season 6 of American Idol starts. What a great time of year to do this. January is blah, cold and in Indiana many times gray outside so this is really something I look forward to in January!! I wonder who will catch my eye this year?

We had Christmas with Alan and Eutemia and family and Steve and Katie and family yesterday at a suite at Swan Lake Golf Academy. We missed our other daughter and her husband and son but they live in Memphis and couldn't be here this weekend. Although we had a good time it doesn't seem as complete without them here.

We had our gift exchange first and the kids tore into the gifts. I had so much fun watching them and their excitement. Kael had talked for weeks about getting a mega t-rex and the picture above is his opening that package. In the first picture is Tyler opened his gag gift of underwear and socks.

Wayne went out and got a pizza and Caden is pictured enjoying his pizza. He acted starved and really tore into it. We had also brought some snack food which the kids seemed to enjoy.

There was a pool at the motel and I was looking forward to seeing if the bouyancy would make it able for me to do some pool walking. And, I was able to exercise for about 25 minutes. What a gift to me for the day. I had all but given up on exercise. Now I need to find a pool close by that will let me come and use it a couple of times a week for a reasonable price.

I wish you all a wonderful happy and healthy New Year 2007!

Tyler's first day of kindertarten
August 2006
As usual the bottom of the layout was cut off of the scan but you can use your imagination to see the whole thing!

The Saga of the Skunk

We had quite an ordeal with a skunk in our yard yesterday (Tuesday the 26th). Wayne left for work and called me right away on his cell phone. He said ..."Come out on the front porch...quick!". I got out there as quick as I can move early in the morning and there was a skunk in our neighbor's yard. I asked Wayne if he felt like he would be safe from being sprayed if he drove next door and took a picture. He was a little leary but went down and took this picture. The skunk ended up in our yard and just kind of stayed there all morning. Around noon I was at the computer and heard this loud bang...like a gun shot. I looked out the window and there were two police cars parked in front of our house and they had just shot the skunk. I was hoping that they called the street department to take the skunk away but...no....there it was in our front yard. I ran to the other side of the house to tell Wayne what had happened. He hadn't even heard the gunshot. He looked out the window and the skunk was walking around. I knew he had to be injured after being shot by the police officer so I called the city police and told them I lived in the house where the officers just shot a skunk in my yard. I told the lady the skunk was walking around and they had to have left it injured and not dead. She said..."That's impossible...the officers told me they left the skunk in 2 pieces." I said if that is so then both pieces got back together and are walking around my yard. I told her I didn't appreciate them shooting the skunk and leaving it for dead...it had to be in pain and (I didn't tell her this part) I empathize with anyone/anything that is in pain with the amount of pain that I have ona daily basis. Not long after that the policeman drove up again and Wayne went out to talk to him. He put on his protective ear wear and walked around the skunk a few times and was ready to shoot when another neighbor walked over with a shovel. By this time the skunk was in the street and the officer was worried about the bullet ricocheting and hitting one of them. The neighbor walked up with his shovel, picked up the skunk and put him in the woods across the street. After walking around the skunk a few more times the officer finally shot him again.

My whole point to this story is this...How safe are we when our police department sends 2 officers to investigate an obviously all ready injured or sick skunk and can't even shoot the little animal and kill it? I just have to chuckle at what reminds me of a Barney Fife episode:)

As far as my pain goes yesterday and the days since I wrote before...I am beginning to get all the joint pain again since the rheumatologist told me to go off my methotrexate...the chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer patients. It was really helping the joint pain but my liver enzymes were elevated the 2nd time in 2 months of testing. I don't see her till January 9th and all ready all this pain is coming back..plus the swelling is back too. Last night the pain was so bad that I was actually getting scared of the pain. Sounds kind of funny, doesn't it? I just didn't know if I had the fortitude to handle this again. I had to get on the computer and play a couple of games to get my mind off the pain and it did help to refocus my mind. Before playing the games I took 4 motrin and 2 vicodin and those really helped me also. I will have to keep the motrin in my system the next couple of weeks. What frustrates me is the rheumatologist was hesitant to put me on another drug of choice because of the cost to the insurance company. I told my general practitioner what she said he said to tell her to stop worrying about the insurance company and give me what I need to get me out of pain. If it is appropriate I will tell her what he said. I don't want to make her mad so I'll just see if it can work into the conversation. I was doing so well trying to diet again and when the pain came back I got out some low-fat potato chips and had a couple handfulls. I don't know what there is about eating and pain but I guess eating has been a comfort since I was born and when the pain level is high it is one of the things my brain thinks of to comfort me physically and psychologically.

Katie called me yesterday to tell me a cute Caden story. Caden is Steve and Katie's 2 year old. He saw a picture of Steve, Katie and his older brother, Tyler but Caden wasn't in the picture. Katie was very obviously pregnant for Caden in the picture. Caden said..."Where me?" Katie said see Mommy's big tummy? You are in my tummy. Caden asked Katie..."You chewed me and ate me?" Katie said she had to keep from laughing and explain to him that she didn't eat him. I just love what these little people come up with. It usually makes my day to hear stories like this.

I look forward to American Idol every year that it's been on and it's 20 days from today till we start Season 6. I can't wait!!

"Lightfoot" Christmas
The family gathered at my parents house for Christmas Sunday at noon. My Mom had worked all week on the meal and it was delicious!! I didn't even have a favorite...it was all good. The kids were so excited about their gifts . I can remember the feeling as a child of being excited about all my gifts to open. We started having them open them one by one but it didn't last long with a 1, 2 and 3year old. They didn't understand the purpose or the meaning of you need to wait!

Rhebeca

Jacob
We were sure glad that Jacob and Kristi could be here from Memphis for Chrismas with us this year. They have to fly standby so coming at this time was perfect for them. They are going home this morning...I said goodbye yesterday and as always hated to see them go. I think I cry everytime they go home:(

Only missing one!
From left to right: Rhebeca(8) holding Kaleb (1), Tyler (6), Kael (3), Jacob (2). The only way I could think of to get them all together like this is to have them sit for a picture BEFORE presents. Then there's that incentive of...the picture's over...let's open gifts! Caden had pink eye so he didn't make it Sunday.

Jacob, Tyler and Kael
Tyler is kind of the unofficial boss:) He is the oldest of the boys and the little ones think he is wonderful.

Kaleb, 1 year old
Kaleb enjoyed his day. He is always getting accidently pushed down or shoved into something but bounces right back up with a smile. He's a tough little guy unless he can't find his Mommy. He is such a cutie.

The swelling has never gone down in my feet and ankles since I saw my general practitioner a week ago. By Tuesday night they were swollen bigger than I've ever seen them and I was in such discomfort. I have had enough pain in my back and neck that I wouldn't call the swelling extremely painful but it sure was uncomfortable. I called the rheumatologist on Monday and she wanted me to start back on prednisone so Monday afternoon I took my first dose of prednisone...again. But by Tuesday morning...like I said...the swelling was worse than it's ever been. I talked to Kristi, our daughter, and she thought I should go into the ER and they could get me a water "pill" through an IV to get some of that fluid out of me. Instead they ran all kinds of blood tests and a urine test. He didn't seem too eager to treat me. He (the ER doctor) came right out and said I have too many problems and am on too much strong medicine for him to feel comfortable even giving me something to reduce the edema. I thought...oh Great!!!...$150 to come in for some blood tests.

I did find out though that the liver enzymes were still a little on the high side. I faxed the test results to the rheumatologist on Wednesday but haven't heard from her het. I did go in to see my general practitioner today. He couldn't believe how much fluid I was retaining....he could see it w/o even looking at my feet and legs. He took me from 1 pill a day to 4 water pills a day. It started to help yesterday but I'm waiting to take it till after my pump refill today. Otherwise we will be stopping at every gas station along the way to use the bathroom.

I hope the doctor will listen to my frustrations about my pain levels today when I get the pump refill. I have this feeling that he will be in a hurry to get out of there because they changed my appointment from 11:30 to 9:30. Although, I am learning more and more to speak out and let them know my condition. It does me no good to try to be a "good" patient and continue on in this horrific pain.

Becky's swollen feet
This is an example of what I'm dealing with as far as the swelling in my feet and legs. It is painful and feels like pins and needles sticking in my feet. I am wearing the pink robe and Wayne's foot is next to mine to show a normal foot.

Rhebeca and Kael's Christmas Program
We stopped by their house before the program so we could drive together and sit together. Beca is all ready for her program and excited and nervous about singing a song with 5 other girls. Kael is taking a power nap and it helped because he did a great job and sang and participated. He's not like his Daddy at that age because his Daddy was always the one sitting on the teachers lap...so disappointing with a first child who you can't wait to see in a program:) That was one of my first lessons in learning that they don't always do what you want and have little minds of their own!

I went to the pain doctor on Friday and I saw his associate. My doctor only comes to the hospital one morning a week and that's on Thursday. The associate bumped up the pump to 7 mgs. of dilaudid a day. He said if I still need more that I can ask Dr. G rove on Thursday when I have my pump refill. They try to take it slow because they worry about respiratory depression and the patient being too sleepy. I have neither of those problems so let's get me some pain relief!

We are having Christmas at my parents house today. It's exciting to have all 3 kids and all the Grandkids there today. Missing is Eric..Kristi's husband. We will miss him but are happy to have the ones there that can make it. We decided to exchange names with the adults this year so that should be fun.

The colors of love
The colors of love is the title of this two page layout. This is page 2 of 2 pages but I wanted to go ahead and scan it today anyway. I went into my picture program and changed the hue of each picture to yellow, red blue and pink. I should be able to finish the 1st page today but I never know what a day will bring.

I don't know if I've talked about it here or not but I have a new machine called the cricut. I have several die templates that can be put in the machine. You can print each item anywhere from 1 inch up to 5 1/2 inches. The love was printed from one of those programs. I love the machine and what it can do!!

I had the root canal yesterday. Once they got me numb it wasn't bad at all. It was harder than usual to get me numb yesterday. He had to stop and give me more novacaine 4 times and by that tme I couldn't feel al thing. The dentist was very patient with my problem and I really appreciated that.

I will post more later on today. I keep falling asleep. I usually don't sleep after getting the novacaine ... so last night was a pretty sleepless night.

The two layouts above are some of my recent scrapbooking work. The top one is Jacob with his Daddy (Eric). The picture was taken about a year ago. The sencond layout is Caden at Halloween in 2005...also about a year ago. I"m behind on everybody's things but I just keep pougging along.

This is a very special day for Wayne and me. It is our 34th wedding anniversary. I remember hearing people say they were married for thirty some years and thought they sure were old. It doesn't feel so old anymore. I still feel like the young girl that got married....just with a lot of life lessons that have been learned and three beautiful children raised. We both would marry the other again if we had the choice. I have had my losses in health but am so thankful for our relationship. It has pulled us both through some hard times.

I am slightly better today. Still some nausea and headache but I can tell it's just a tad bit better. My tooth is still holding on without pain as long as I keep smothering I with canker sore medicine. Please pray with me that I will be well enough to get the root canal on Tuesday!

Tyler and his Roboreptile

How do you suppose Tyler got to play with his Christmas present early?? If you said he has a Grandma that can't say no...you're right!! I have let Rhebeca play with her American Girl doll and all I ask is that she put her in the box when she's ready to leave. So, I thought I'd let Tyler play with his roboreptile early and then put it back in the box. I told him Grandpa would probably be mad at me for letting him play with it but not to worry about it...just have fun. Well, it wasn't too long till Wayne came in the door and Tyler ran and closed the door to the room we were in and said..."Wayne, you don't need to come in here." That about cracked me up. I told him we're not going to lie to grandpa...we'll tell him what we did. Then he was free to play. At first he was scared of it...as you can see in the 3rd picture he's safely on the basement stairs. The remote control is a little difficult to learn and I'm hoping Tyler's Daddy can figure it out!! Isn't part of the fun of doing something ...doing it when it's not the right time or it's a little too early? Like eating cookie dough before the cookies are made? He'll remember that long after the roboreptile is gone and in the dumpster!

Did anybody miss me? I think it's been well over a week since I've been on this blog. I have had a rough week and anytime there is nothing from me on here you can guess I'm going through a hard time.

First of all the rheumatologist put me on about 4 times as much prednisone (steroid) as she did a few months ago. My heart started racing and my blood pressure shot right up. I called to tell her and found out she takes Friday afternoons off. So, I called my famiy doctor and he said to stop the prednisone right away. I stopped it and it wasn't 24 hours till my whole body swelled up. When I went for an injection to my neck on Wednesday the doctor that gave me the shot saw the swelling (or edema) and said he bet I was retaining 15-20 pounds. First thing Thursday morning I called my family doctor and he got me right in. Sure enough my weight was up about 20 pounds. There's no way I could actually gain that much in a few days. I was just miserable with the swelling. He said finally this is something I can help you with. At times when I go in there he just doesn't know what to do with me so I could tell he felt good that he finally had an answer. He gave me a very high powered water pill and said to stay near a bathroom. Funny thing is... in the next 12 hours I only went twice. It finally did kick in today and the swelling is down considerably. The only problem is the water pill makes me very nauseated and gives me a headache. I've taken it 2 days (he wants me on it for 7 days) and I think I'll switch to my other water pill...demadex. I used to use lasix but it doesn't work for me at all any more.

I am hoping for one of those weeks where I feel good every day. I had a dream this morning when I was sleeping (I slept a lot because I used a phenergen suppository for the nausea from the water pill) that I thought signified how I feel about my health. I was driving a car to a familiar spot in Plymouth. It is by a lake where we once found lots of mushrooms. For some reason I drove out there and got into this really thick deep dirt. I just wanted to go home but couldn't back up. I took a turn to try to get back home and it got even worse...it was really deep sand. The car barely moved and finally got stuck and then I woke up. Now, I don't always think that dreams have a meaning to them but this was so clear when I woke up. I want to get back to my old health and to be like I used to be and that was the going home part. The getting stuck and bogged down was illness. I just couldn't get out of it no matter how hard I tried. And I knew I could call someone but also knew they wouldn't know how to find me and that is the doctor's that just don't know what to do for me. I think that there are times when our dreams have a real meaning comparing them to our lives.

Last night I was at my most miserable state. My feet were so swollen that they felt like there were pins and needles stuck in them. BUT...Rhebeca and Kael had their Christmas program last night and there was no way I was missing that. This was Kael's first time to be in front of people and he did such a good job. He was in the front row and he smiled and sang and did most of the hand motions. We all had wondered if he would just stand there but nope...he did it!!! (At that age his Dad used to sit on the teachers lap on the front row). Then Beca's group came on . She sang with the choir and then sang in a group of 6 girls. I know she was really nervous but she did a great job. She looked confident and had the nicest smile on her face. I was really proud of both of them. I had to leave a little early because my feet were bothering me so much. But, I stayed to hear Beca's group sing. I wouldn't have missed that for anything!!! I loved what she told me at their house before we left for the program. I asked her if she was going to be doing any of the drama. She said no, they had to choose between singing and drama. I just love her self confidence because she went on to say that's going to be a real big problem in the future. She said...I'm good and acting and I'm good at singing...I don't know how I'll decide which one to do. Well, Beca, you decide and Grandpa and I will be there to listen to you whatever you decide!!!

I was supposed to get a root canal on tooth #29 last week. I was too sick to go there and it's scheduled for this Tuesday. A couple days after it was scheduled to have the root canal a big chunk of the tooth fell off. Then last night I was eating some pretzels and I felt something hard in my mouth. It was a huge hunk of my tooth! Now the tooth is really hurting. I imagine the nerve is exposed. I have to be real careful when I eat and drink and keep putting the canker sore medicine on the tooth because that numbs it. This is the first time I am really anxious to get the root canal:)