Happenings around here...

Friday morning Sara woke up not feeling well...fever and vomiting...all over my bed. She and Eli were sleeping with me since Sean was doing an over night shift. I have to say seeing Eli jump from my bed was quite funny. I have NEVER seen him move so fast in my life. Poor Sara. She was so sad, she knew we had plans later that afternoon to go see the new Disney's Pixar movie "Wall-E".

She seemed to improve by the afternoon so we decided to head to the movie. What a cute movie! So many messages brought out. The kids loved it. In fact no a single on asked to go to the bathroom which is normally what happens. In fact no one left the theater during the whole movie. I mean no one. I know cause we sat at the top near the doors just in case one of ours did need to go. Wall-e was so cute. Reminds me of the Short Circuit robot and of E.T. He is a lovable robot if robots can be lovable.



Sara ended up not feeling well through the movie, her fever came back and by the time we got home was close to 103. She was sick on Sat. as well. Thankfully this morning she was up and happy. So we headed to church. Great time during worship! The Holy Spirit was moving during worship. Had a great Children's Church service as well. I love it when things run smoothly with no meltdowns or misbehavior of the kids. I was able to get through my lesson about being a part of the church body and that they too are a vital part of our church. Good stuff, just good stuff!

The New Dew

So we headed to town today. The hairstylist

we went to see was amazed at how much Sara

cut. She told me this must be the week for

self hair cutting. Sara was the forth little

girl she has had that cut their own hair.

So she made it into a shorted inverted bob.

Very cute. She has a few wisps that are

longer on each side. We are hoping that as her

hair grows it will grow out in those areas that

chunked out by Sara and will fill in. I think

it looks great considering how many chucks

was cut out under the top layers of hair.

Just in need of a nap!

A friend email this story to me a few days ago.
Not sure who wrote it but it is definately worth
sharing! For all you Mom's out there you will
definately get this one!

ENJOY!!!

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my
yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed
belly that he had a home and was well taken
care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave
him a few pats on his head; he then followed
me into my house, slowly walked down the hall,
curled up in the corner and fell asleep. An
hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my
yard, walked inside and resumed his spot
in the hall and again slept for about an hour.
This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar:
'I would like to find out who the owner of this
wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware
that almost every afternoon your dog comes
to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with
a different note pinned to his collar:
'He lives in a home with 6 children,
2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to
catch up on his sleep.


Can I come with him tomorrow?

Sara cut's her own hair!

Pictures say a thousand words!

As I was coming down the hall to check on Sara who, at the last time I had checked on, was playing nicely in her room, Sara came walking down the hall and when she saw me she immediately said, "I'm sorry Mommy!" It was then I realized she had cut her bangs. As I turned the corner I saw a pile of hair on the floor. The picture below is only one of 6 piles of hair I found in her doorway.

That is when I started to investigate and really look at her hair. Sadly I think she is going to need a serious cut. If only we lived in Florida, her Granma Deedee or Aunt Jeanette could fix this for us. Now we will be taking a trip into town again tomorrow.

In this picture had she got the scissor against her skin she would have had a perfect mullet!

If you are wondering why her face is pink, it is stained from homemade popcicles. The bruises on her forehead and scrape under her nose is from a bike accident on Sunday. She decided to follow Jaron down a hill and although she knows how to brake she forgot to and didnt want to run into Eli. Instead she crashed, face first on the ground again. Same side as the last time she got hurt.

Funny thing about hair, we long for it to grow, hate to cut it when it's long and yet it continues to grow. In this case its a good thing. Sometime tomorrow I will post her new hair cut.... Aunt Jeanette think you can fly up here? lol!

I've been tagged....

Michele tagged me today with this meme. Go check out what is happening over at Michele's place.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago.

I was going to college at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY. I was also grieving the loss of our first son, SeanPatrick who was stillborn. Sean and I were the campus pastors for Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship as well at that time.

2. Name 5 things on today's to do list.

*Do my PT exercises
*clean the floors
*prepare the soup cans for Children's Church craft,
*Make shorts out of pants for Kris and myself
*Rest and relax, ice and elevate my knees

3. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.

Ahh the big dream! Pay off all bills including college debt, buy a home that has enough land that we actually have privacy, naturally put money into what ever ministry we are involved in, pour into missions, help my family and Sean's family. support more research for autism, asbergers, and sensory processing disorders.


4. 3 bad habits

* emotional eating
* staying up late and getting up early
* biting my nails

5. 5 places I have lived

Grove City, FL
Englewood, FL
Venice, FL
Morehead, KY
Creal Springs, IL - currant residence

6. 5 jobs I have had

Cook
Home Health CNA
Preschool teacher
Movie theater assistant manager
Book keeper/payroll office manager

7. 5 people I am tagging

Well gee I can't tag Michele or Deanna so I will tag
Angela and Sean and Laura and Leah

Florida knee to Storm

Ok strange title I know but after today's OS appointment I have decided to change the name of my left knee which I have been calling the Florida knee, it's new name is The Storm. Why you might ask?! Well lets just say the knee is a major mess! Today I went for my 2 week PO visit. I got pictures. A few anyway there were 4 sheets and I was able to get copies of two of the sheets. For some reason there weren't copies of the other two sheets. Which they aren't much different than the ones posted below.

So I went to the apt and it went better than I expected. I was suppose to see the PA that had asked me last week when I called for stronger pain meds, "how many prescriptions do you have?" Insinuating that I am a pill seeker and I am not! Far from it! I would rather wait till the pain is so bad that I have to take something. I just don't like taking pain meds. I was not looking forward to the appointment at all. But instead when the other PA, Kevin saw me, I heard him say, "I am taking the Kelly case!" YAY! He is just so great, down to earth and has a great bedside manner. He really takes the time to listen or at least he has with me. Plus he has been in both surgeries with my knees! So he says to me, "Well Melissa how are you?" Now I almost cried and I had to struggle not to. Tears really wouldn't have helped at that moment. So I held it together and said, "honestly Kevin I am in severe pain, more pain than I was in before the surgery and I am at the point that I am regretting having the surgery." So then I explained the pain levels on and off meds.

He told me he wasn't surprised about the pain. He went on to tell me he is completely surprised that I was even able to walk on the knee before the surgery. He said it basically looked like a cheese grater was let loose inside. He went on to explain they removed the torn pieces of the lateral and medial cartilage. There was also some shaving of the back of the knee cap, he said it looked terrible but I forgot to ask what grade of chondromalasia I was at. I had some foreign bodies, or pieces of bone that had chipped off floating around in there and those were removed as well.

In this picture the top is the torn cartilage and the bottom is the removal.

The white pieces are of the foreign body (bone chips).

In the above pictures, 3 of them are of the piping. The metal instrument resembles a straw. It is actually pushed into the bone and then removed. Causing blood to fill the area and hopefully will cause the area to regenerate itself. Of which I am very hopeful.

From what I saw in the pictures I commented that it looked like a total knee replacement was in my near future and Kevin said he really couldn't comment on it but from his experience my knee is in need of one. It doesn't surprise me that is what Dr. Morgan had said after seeing the MRI but it is VERY nerve raking ..... I am only 38 years old. Dr Morgan had talked to Sean after the surgery that I would be needing injections after the surgery. At that time Sean could not remember what type they were. Kevin explained there are two that my doctor uses, Hyalgan and another one that I can't remember the name of. It is a series of shots that cushion the knee and is suppose relieve the pain. I am going to continue with PT for another 5 weeks and I go back to see my OS in July to discuss the injections and my options.

I am a bit frustrated with this whole adventure! I know God has a plan and I am sure sometime in the future I will be able to look back on this and see how God was orchestrating everything. But right now in the midst of the knee storm, I am frustrated! I am still trusting God for healing, and I still trust Him for the outcome. My eyes have not left the King but I human and I am frustrated. I am also blessed! Before we moved to IL we had no insurance and I have to say I am completely grateful for the insurance I have. It has truly been a blessing to not have to worry about having the surgeries.

The pain from this surgery is intense! I can not walk without the pain meds and crutches. When I do walk through the house without the walker or crutches I am doing so in severe pain. In fact Kevin reminded me as well as my PT that I have had major surgery on this knee as well, just done with out a 6 inches incision and a bunch of staples. Sometimes without the big scar its hard to remember that.

Something lite and fun today...

Something fun and lite to share today. Approximately 11 weeks ago our neighbors dog had puppies. I may have posted about them previously, can't remember to be honest and I'm being lazy today and do not want to go back and search my posts. Regardless, the dog had 8 puppies 6 of which survived. Our kids have enjoyed watching them grow. Just as they have enjoyed watching the kittens living under the ramp my father made specially for me when I had major surgery on my right knee in Jan. (Thanks again Dad! Love you!)

This is Mister Mickey.

This is Kristofer with Socksie.

The kittens are now 8 weeks old. They are still nursing and we have been feeding the mom in hopes that she will start teaching the babies to eat food. We have told the kids that they may claim Mister Mickey as their own but he will have to live outside. We have another little boy who is going to take Socksie as soon as we know for sure the kittens are weaned.

The kittens are not like normal outside kittens. Usually when kittens are born outside and not around people they are wild and hard to catch. Our kids have been very good at letting them grow and be with their momma. In the last 6 weeks (for two of the early weeks we had no idea where Snowbell had hid them), the kids have played gently with them always putting them back under the ramp. They never took them from the momma when they were nursing. We are VERY proud of the kids!

Anyway, about the puppies. When they were about 4/5 weeks old the neighbor's 3 yr old got into some tar and poured it out. Well the puppies got into it. Do you know how hard it is to get tar out of puppy fur? I do! I spent many days helping our neighbor get the tar off the pups. Unfortunately our neighbor was not in a position to take care of the animals the way they needed to be taken care of such as food, baths, ect. One little female pup was the worse when it came to being covered in tar. She had a glop of tar above her eye that restricted her eye from closing, her paws were so covered it looked like she had black socks on and her back looked as if she had been painted on. She also was the runt of the pack. Small and so gentle. One afternoon the neighbor's kids brought all 6 pups over to the house when I was sitting outside watching the kids play. This one little tan and white pup (the runt) sat at my feet and kept looking up at me.

Now if anyone knows me you know I am a softy when it comes to animals. I love them, all of them even mice and rats. NO not the ones that are wild and like to get in my laundry room or even in my washing machine. But the tame ones you can own as pets. Of the rodents you can have as pets I love our ferrets! Ferrets are the best! Anyway, when I picked her up she instantly was up with her head on my shoulder. Her eyes and personality are just like our beloved Katie who we lost 2 years ago this coming Nov. I instantly fell in love with her. But it wasn't my decision! The kids asked Sean and after mulling it over in his head for about a week (actually for about 4 weeks the kids started asking as soon as they were born!) Sean surprised all of us and said yes.

You should have seen the excitement in the kids! So let me introduce you to the newest princess in our home, Jaron has named her Isabell but we call her Izzy. She is an amazingly sweet and obedient pup. She comes when called and follows the kids around. She has never ran away. We are working on potty training and she has a ways to go or should I say Jaron has a way to go. He has been so responsible with Izzy. Feeding her, taking her out we just have to remind him he must take her out at least once every hour or so. She spends most of her time out side with Judah. Other wise she is in the utility room.

We have an agreement with the landlord we are allowed to have pets but they may not be in the main part of the house, outside during the day when possible or in the utility room/garage. I know it doesn't sound pet friendly but it works for us. The pets are never without attention with 4 kids in the house. Plus I spend quite a bit of time with them as well. The dogs "love" being outside! We have a play house they use as shelter from the sun plus we have a few large trees that give quite a bit of shade.

Izzy has been such a blessing to our kids. They love and adore her. We are not sure what type of dog she is. The mom was a mix and from what we were told has a bit of border collie in her. It doesn't really matter to us. I love a variety of breeds of dogs but I have found that the dogs that are considered mutts or mixes are usually the most healthy. All the dogs we have owned have been mixes. Izzy had to be shaved to get all the tar off her coat and around her eye. She still has one paw that we are still cutting tar off. Eventually she will be tar free. The funny thing she looks like she has white chaps on just like my parents dog, Peggy. Peggy is a Schnauzer and is sliver and white, Peggy too has white chaps on her back hips and hind legs.

So I hope you have enjoyed this short on our new found friends. Our kids are animal lovers from bugs to birds to cats and dogs! We thank God daily for all the creatures He has created and allowed us to enjoy!

When giving your best is expected.

So I promised in my last post to explain the anger about PT. So let me explain. When you go to a professional in any line of business specially in the medical field you expect to get the best treatment possible. So when in Oct of last year I was referred to a certain physical therapy center associated with my orthopedic surgeon I was under the assumption that I was getting the best care. Then when after my knee surgery on my right knee I was sent home with home health care and Physical therapy at home I thought the same.
Now at the time I really thought I was getting the best treatment. UNTIL after this surgery. Due to insurance I was limited to going to the physical therapy center through the hospital. I AM SO GLAD INSURANCE LIMITED ME! And here's why.
On Thursday the day after my surgery I was scheduled for PT. I had no ambition to go but I went. I knew the first visit would only be evaluation anyway...or so I thought. So in that hour I found out that my previous physical therapists had not been as thorough as they could have been nor had they been as attentive as they should have been. How did I find this out...by listening to the Director of Physical Therapy who evaluated my knee and what needs to be done to get it back to a good healthy knee.
So the first things noticed were: my crutches were to short for my height, the remedy: new crutches....made a "HUGE" difference in my walking and on my back strain. Also noticed 3 of 5 exercises I have been doing since Oct have not been done mechanically correct. Jay, my PT, stated, "You can do a 100 reps of a exercise and if not done correctly is a waste of time, do that same exercise 10 times and do it mechanically correctly and you will see a HUGE difference!" Let me express that this statement is so true! I had no idea I was not doing the exercises correctly, I had never been corrected!
This is not to say the PT's I have had are terrible it just says they were not attentive to me their client. They did not pay attention to the details, they did not give 100% to their job of helping me strengthen vital muscles to walk. They definitely did not do their job in excellence!
So what does this mean to me....well it means there is a reason why my right knee, which had surgery in Jan. is not as strong as it should be 5 months later. It means I am actually behind in healing and strength. All due to poor technique when doing the exercises that were suppose to strengthen vital muscles! The fact that the PT's never noticed that my crutches were too small is a huge deal also. I am now standing up and not bent over when walking with the crutches. Why is that a big deal...let me explain it this way....it's like using a screw driver instead of using a hammer to put a nail in the wall. A hammer is what you need to get the job done efficiently. Well for my legs and knees to function properly I need to be able to stand up correctly.
One consequence of not having the correct tools (right size crutches) is that in my left knee which I just had surgery on, has an acute situation with extension of that leg. Let me explain, when you straighten your leg the back of your knee is suppose to be against the surface under it. Mine is not and can not do this. I have a 35-40 degree bend and will not extend fully. I have a bent knee at all times which is partly due to the cartilage problems I had but from what I was told today is largely due to not having the correct tools to walk with the last 10 months. I have a right to be upset. I am going through some intense therapy now.
The stretching of those knee muscles to get that extension is EXTREMELY painful! The PT places a hard plastic tube under my ankle and I am to relax my leg so the knee basically dangles with gravity pulling it down. Getting that slow burning stretch. Then my knee is pushed downwards, forcing my leg to extend. Another stretching exercise....in that same position I have 2 lbs placed on either side of the knee and another I have all 4 lbs placed on top of my knee. Now this may not sound painful or hard to do but let me tell you when you have the problem with extension that I have it HURTS! Thank goodness for pain medication!
So that is why I was angered. I am also blessed! Blessed with a new PT that is very attentive to my needs, listens to my complaints, struggles or questions. I am so thankful that God knew I needed a different PT and knew what I needed to get my knees healthy again! Thank you Jesus for taking care of all the details!

God is so good!

This week has been a long week for our house. Actually the last two weeks have been filled with activity. SO lets catch you up on the Kelly activities....in the last two weeks:

* Kris was baptized...YAY!

* Jaron was healed of hypothyroidism (with evidence)

* I was diagnosed as diabetic - controlling with diet and
exercise for 4 mo. then will return to see the doc and
do more tests and possibly start meds.

* Friday. May 30th, went to the boys' school musical...very cute!

* Sunday, June 1, had a Snow Cone Party for the kids celebrating the
end of school beginning of summer break.

* Monday went to the pre-K picnic with Sara & Eli. Enjoyed talking with the other parents. Got to witness to another parent about God's healing. Her 3 yr old daughter after catching the flu at 18 mo almost died, has a heart condition due to the flu. Such a beautiful little girl. Was able to invite them to church. Hope they come. Really pushed the children's ministries.

* Tuesday was the last full day of school for the boys. They went to school on Thursday to pick up their report cards. Both did very well! Jaron had all A's. Kris master all of the tasks he was to master educationally and on the IEP tasks. He master a few and for the first time this year was progressing on all the rest! Huge improvement for Kris. Both have been advanced to the next grade!

Which brings me to Wed. and my wonderful knee surgery on my "Florida knee". I have been calling it that so that family and friends in Florida understand I finally got it fixed up. YAY! Plus the fact that I just had surgery in Jan on my left knee. I had a scope done as seen above and the orthopedic surgeon basically fixed the two tears in the cartilage. One he snipped out the torn pieces and the debree left behind. The other he sewed the pieces back together and hopefully it will heal on its own. He also did some poking at the cartilage taking small pieces out hoping to create enough scar tissue to add cushion where the cartilage has been worn down to the bone.
I also found out I have Chondromalacia patellae which means "softening of the articular cartilage of the knee-cap." Basically the underneath of my knee cap was a mess. The doctor describe it as blistering bone and he basically shaved and smoothed it out. As well as did some smoothing (shaving) of the femur bone where the knee cap glides over it. We are hopeful that will take care of everything.
I go for my 2 week post-op visit and we will see from there. The doc told Sean I will need cortisone shots on a regular basis. I am suppose to get the pictures of the inside of my knee from the surgery. If I do I will post them here as an educational tool and so show off my knee. So far this surgery although has been painful has been a lot easier because I am able to bear weight on it as tolerated. Which I can only tolerate a little bit at a time right now. Everyday is a little better than the last. As long as I ice after doing my exercises and after doing any type of standing and walking I do well at controlling the pain that and pain medicine. Here you can see I have three incisions. Two are larger than the other. Don't let those small incisions trick you...small does not mean no pain! In fact in my case I was in severe pain and still have bouts with severe pain when not taking the pain meds regularly. I came home with an ace bandage from the middle of my thigh to my toes and on the other leg I had a surgical stocking. The kids thought it was hilarious. In fact Sara, our 4 yr old, wanted to know why I was wearing tights, and said, "you look funny mommy!" Which through tears I said thanks. The pain at that point was so bad I cried for 2 hrs even with the strong pain meds. The picture above was taken Thursday night. I had to change the bandages. Looks good! Today I have more bruising and no more ace bandage to wear except at night when sleeping. Although wearing it through the day does make it feel better. Today I plan to spend sometime outside sitting inthe sun. As you can tell I have lost my "Florida" tan. I miss Florida....you can be tan all year long all free from the sun of course!

God was good to me during the surgery. I had no nausea like I have in the previous surgeries. I also asked the Lord to show the doc that I did not need a lateral release, a lateral release consists of dividing the vastus lateralis muscle. By dividing the vastus lateralis, this muscle is weakened, and if tight, stretched out; hence restoring balance to the Quadriceps muscle. It would mean another 6-8 weeks off my feet and longer PT time. Thankfully Dr. Morgan did not perform this procedure. Which means I will be able to enjoy the summer a lot more. I prayed that I would not need the procedure and God answered that prayer! Thank You Lord! Later I will post about my first PT experience. Lots to me angry about here....but God has been good again and provided me with a very experienced PT and on that will help me where the other two have not! Explain later in a different post.

Get out and enjoy your day! I am!

A Place of Safety

Earlier this week Sean and I were on our way home from town. While stopped a busy intersection a robin caught my eye. This bird was flying back and forth towards the bottom of the pole that was holding the stop light. At first I couldn't figure out what it was trying to do till I noticed at the bottom of the pole there was an opening and a little head peeked out. Yep, it has a nest in this pole.

Ever since that day I have not been able to get that image out of my head. In the middle of a very busy intersection, in a small triangular section of concrete sits a stoplight pole. On either side of this triangle are pathways for cars to drive. In my mind I can't imagine why this mother bird would chose a place that is surrounded by danger. But in the midst of danger she found a safe place to make her nest for her babies. Something about that pole gave her a sense of security, enough to lay her eggs inside.

Here is what God has shown me this week through this image...He is like that pole. Ok I know that is a strange statement but its true. You see in the midst of danger He is a constant place of safety. In the midst of uncertainty He is a place of certainty, He never changes. In the midst of turmoil He is a place of solace. No matter what circumstances you might find yourself in; whether it was by choice, a consequence of a bad choice, or just a situation you find yourself in and had no power over, God is there. Maybe you are facing uncertainty in your finances, health or a relationship, know this-the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the same creator who placed you in your mother's womb, is All knowing! He knows where you are, what you are facing and He alone has the power to give you the strength to overcome, endure and fight. In His presence you will find safety, certainty, solace, and healing.

Many times we do not have these things because we chose not to follow Him and abide by His word. Are you facing financial storms, most of us are feeling the mighty dollar pinch these days with the way the economy is, but let me ask you this, are you tithing?? Are you giving above your tithe and giving offerings, supporting missionaries as well? We struggle just as much as any other person out there financially and yes there are times when we could really use the 10% that we set aside for tithe. But we have found when we tithe and it is the hardest to do that God rushes in like a flood and blesses us, our needs are met and somehow on paper it never looks like it can be done. Plus when we tithe not only does He take care of us He blesses us in other ways often times giving us our hearts desires, in ways we could never fathomed. ( I plan to write about how God is doing this for me at a later date.)

Are you stressed and worry about things? Have you truly place those things into God's hands trusting that He will take care of it according to His will? This is not to say that You are not a participant in decision. I have found that God helps those that help themselves as we. You can't sit back and keep saying, "Oh God please help us with our finances," and not take that minimum wage job until better a job opens up for you. You never know how God can use you in that minimum wage job to share His love with others. Maybe you have a serious health issue you are dealing with, I am a FIRM believer that God heals and still performs miracles, but there are times that you have to go to the doctor and take the medicine that may keep you alive.

Case in point, a friend of mine, Traci, was diagnosed with a leukemia a few years ago. Doctors told her no one as an adult has ever lived and beat this type of cancer. She had to have a bone marrow transplant. By God's handiwork Traci received that bone marrow transplant and she is alive today, cancer free...almost 4 years later!!!!! She gives God the glory! Here's my point, it was through the doctors hands that she was healed of cancer!

We had an issue with Jaron last month and we were told he had hypothyroidism. We called upon the elders of our church anointed him with oil according to what the Bible says and had the church pray for him. This week Jaron went back for testing and God healed him! We have evidence! God healed Jaron and the tests showed no signs of problems! The doctor was completely shocked. He was sure that the test this week would confirm the diagnoses. He was wrong and God stepped in and proved He is still God! YAY!

So what ever you may be facing, no matter what storms come your way, no matter what dangers may have you completely surrounded, remember the baby bird that peeked his little head out of the pole. His home completely surrounded by danger and yet was safe. Find safety, certainty and solace in love of God.