>McKenna< >Mariah<Friends...
Sisters...
Sweet...
Loving...
Beautiful...
Funny...
Joy...
13 and 17...
Where did the time go?
I love you girls!
Thursday, October 02, 2008
How do you write?
Mariah Roberts? ~~ ~~ ~~ in Korean?
Mariah came home from school with this new artwork on her arm ~~ courtesy of Amy, Mariah's friend (a foreign exchange student)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Asked, answered & scheduled
Round Two: Our prayers have been answered regarding Mariah's surgery!
Two days prior to Mariah’s scheduled surgery on September 18th to implant an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator), we received a phone call telling us Mariah’s surgery was cancelled. Our insurance company was refusing a preauthorization for the surgery, stating it “wasn’t medically necessary.” Uh, yeah, right! Big Joke! A surgery to help preserve the life of a 17yr old isn’t medically necessary?!? Wow. I wonder how a person can determine that and sleep soundly at night.
Since Mariah's pediatric EP was on vacation until the day she was supposed to have surgery, we had to wait for him to return to the office to appeal the denial with the insurance company medical director. The afternoon of Tuesday, September 23rd was filled with numerous phone conversations between myself and the EP's office. The first call the EP indicated he didn’t have a huge amount of hope of our insurance approving it due to this company’s reputation. He said our insurance company is notorious for being very difficult to work with. He advised us we had a couple of options, but none as definitive as this surgery and device that will protect Mariah’s life...we could pursue genetic testing (25-30% who test negative still have the disorder, the genes causing their LQTS just haven't been identified), waiting until she looses consciousness on the insurance’s terms, etc. The EP said he would contact our insurance company’s medical director and if we didn’t hear anything within the next week, to call him again to see if any progress had been made in the appeal. I phoned Mariah at school and left her a voicemail to let her know the status of things and just told her to hope and pray ~ as she had been anxiously awaiting any news. What was meant to happen would happen. Less than an hour later, I received a phone call from a person in the office who said “we have a tentative, unofficial approval for surgery” but we needed to wait until it was official. Approximately 10minutes after that phone call, Mariah’s EP called me directly and said, “we have an approval, our office will take care of all the details and you don’t need to worry about anything”. It is now scheduled for October 6th. A good source of information can be found at: http://www.sads.org/
Please keep Mariah in your thoughts & prayers for her to have continued peace about the decision to have this done and that she will heal quickly. She really has a great attitude about it and doesn’t seem concerned with the scarring and bump this will cause. She has chosen to have it placed under the muscle which has a more uncomfortable recovery but it will have increased protection and will be less noticable. A person we’ve become acquainted with who has an ICD generously offered to have her photographer husband take photos of what her ICD area looks like and it was helpful for Mariah to see this. This lady is the same height and weight as Mariah so it gave her a very good idea of how her body could appear after it is all healed.
Mariah wants to spend the night before in Portland to avoid having to wake up at 2:30-3:00am the morning of her surgery (she’s a typical teen with how long it takes her to get ready in the morning...). As long as there is a room available, we hope to stay at the Ronald McDonald House the night prior to her surgery and have a room there until she comes home (for Steve & any of the kids that stay up there ~ I will be staying on a cot in her hospital room with her). We were told to expect at least a 2-3day hospital stay, depending on how well she does.
Mariah and I were talking about her surgery the other night and she is actually “excited” for it. Not excited to have surgery and all the recovery that will be involved, but she’s “excited to have peace of mind and know I am protected all the time.” She told me it will relieve a lot of the worry she has day to day and I realized that even though she doesn’t speak of being worried about her heart very often, it is definitely on her mind a lot. She said she’s thankful for her dad and I allowing her to make the majority of the decision about it. She told me she is glad she could finally take control of something regarding her health, since so much has always been outside her control. I was in tears when she said, “you know mom, if something happens to me before I have my surgery or during my surgery, it will be God’s will and I’m okay with that”. I continually learn so much from these children. God is amazing.
Thank you for keeping Mariah in your thoughts and prayers. She is such a blessing and we just wish her complete peace and quick healing as she goes through this surgery and recovery.
Two days prior to Mariah’s scheduled surgery on September 18th to implant an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator), we received a phone call telling us Mariah’s surgery was cancelled. Our insurance company was refusing a preauthorization for the surgery, stating it “wasn’t medically necessary.” Uh, yeah, right! Big Joke! A surgery to help preserve the life of a 17yr old isn’t medically necessary?!? Wow. I wonder how a person can determine that and sleep soundly at night.
Since Mariah's pediatric EP was on vacation until the day she was supposed to have surgery, we had to wait for him to return to the office to appeal the denial with the insurance company medical director. The afternoon of Tuesday, September 23rd was filled with numerous phone conversations between myself and the EP's office. The first call the EP indicated he didn’t have a huge amount of hope of our insurance approving it due to this company’s reputation. He said our insurance company is notorious for being very difficult to work with. He advised us we had a couple of options, but none as definitive as this surgery and device that will protect Mariah’s life...we could pursue genetic testing (25-30% who test negative still have the disorder, the genes causing their LQTS just haven't been identified), waiting until she looses consciousness on the insurance’s terms, etc. The EP said he would contact our insurance company’s medical director and if we didn’t hear anything within the next week, to call him again to see if any progress had been made in the appeal. I phoned Mariah at school and left her a voicemail to let her know the status of things and just told her to hope and pray ~ as she had been anxiously awaiting any news. What was meant to happen would happen. Less than an hour later, I received a phone call from a person in the office who said “we have a tentative, unofficial approval for surgery” but we needed to wait until it was official. Approximately 10minutes after that phone call, Mariah’s EP called me directly and said, “we have an approval, our office will take care of all the details and you don’t need to worry about anything”. It is now scheduled for October 6th. A good source of information can be found at: http://www.sads.org/
Please keep Mariah in your thoughts & prayers for her to have continued peace about the decision to have this done and that she will heal quickly. She really has a great attitude about it and doesn’t seem concerned with the scarring and bump this will cause. She has chosen to have it placed under the muscle which has a more uncomfortable recovery but it will have increased protection and will be less noticable. A person we’ve become acquainted with who has an ICD generously offered to have her photographer husband take photos of what her ICD area looks like and it was helpful for Mariah to see this. This lady is the same height and weight as Mariah so it gave her a very good idea of how her body could appear after it is all healed.
Mariah wants to spend the night before in Portland to avoid having to wake up at 2:30-3:00am the morning of her surgery (she’s a typical teen with how long it takes her to get ready in the morning...). As long as there is a room available, we hope to stay at the Ronald McDonald House the night prior to her surgery and have a room there until she comes home (for Steve & any of the kids that stay up there ~ I will be staying on a cot in her hospital room with her). We were told to expect at least a 2-3day hospital stay, depending on how well she does.
Mariah and I were talking about her surgery the other night and she is actually “excited” for it. Not excited to have surgery and all the recovery that will be involved, but she’s “excited to have peace of mind and know I am protected all the time.” She told me it will relieve a lot of the worry she has day to day and I realized that even though she doesn’t speak of being worried about her heart very often, it is definitely on her mind a lot. She said she’s thankful for her dad and I allowing her to make the majority of the decision about it. She told me she is glad she could finally take control of something regarding her health, since so much has always been outside her control. I was in tears when she said, “you know mom, if something happens to me before I have my surgery or during my surgery, it will be God’s will and I’m okay with that”. I continually learn so much from these children. God is amazing.
Thank you for keeping Mariah in your thoughts and prayers. She is such a blessing and we just wish her complete peace and quick healing as she goes through this surgery and recovery.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Postponed
Mariah was scheduled for her ICD placement on Thursday, September 18th. This afternoon, I received a phone call from the EP office saying the insurance company was refusing to give pre-authorization for it as they were determining it to NOT be medically necessary. The EP office has done all it can up to this point so her surgery was cancelled for tomorrow & tentatively rescheduled, pending insurance approval. The EP is out of the office until Thursday AM and they will put him onto appealing it to the insurance company & discuss it with the medical director; however, at this point, the office staff can’t do anything more about it. The EP is on vacation. Needless to say, Mariah is extremely disappointed with this as she was completely ready for it. The timing was perfect, in our eyes, due to school, etc. I keep reminding her that this delay is temporary & her EP will help us get it figured out when he’s back in the office. We are also taking this time to realize it needs to happen on the Lord's timing, not our own. God's timing is always perfect.
Now, we are just waiting...
Now, we are just waiting...
Friday, September 05, 2008
Less than 2 weeks
Mariah's surgery will be in less than 2 weeks. She is actually anxious to "get it over with and start the rest of my life with less worry". I'm continually surprised by her maturity. Gotta love that girl!
The nurse case manager from Mariah's cardiologist's office sent over a referral to the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) at the hospital so we will be able to have a room there for up to 4 days. The RMH's are wonderful in that it is only $20/night and have complete facilities for families, including an amazing kitchen, teen room, laundry room, family room, etc, in addition to a private bedroom & bathroom for each family (we stayed at one when Josiah was born prematurely). Mariah wants to spend the night before her surgery in Portland to avoid needing to leave our home at 4am and as long as there are rooms available, we will be able to stay at the RMH (this particular RMH doesn't typically have to turn families away). I think the younger children will come home after the surgery to stay with grandparents and having a room at the RMH will allow Steve to be able to stay there as long as nothing pressing comes along with our business. I will be staying in Mariah's hospital room with her; however, having somewhere to go to cook a meal or rest while daddy stays with her will be a blessing.
The younger children want to be at the hospital when Mariah has her surgery and I am very thankful they want to be there for their big sister. We are so very fortunate to have an amazing extended family who are more than happy to help us out during this time.
The nurse case manager from Mariah's cardiologist's office sent over a referral to the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) at the hospital so we will be able to have a room there for up to 4 days. The RMH's are wonderful in that it is only $20/night and have complete facilities for families, including an amazing kitchen, teen room, laundry room, family room, etc, in addition to a private bedroom & bathroom for each family (we stayed at one when Josiah was born prematurely). Mariah wants to spend the night before her surgery in Portland to avoid needing to leave our home at 4am and as long as there are rooms available, we will be able to stay at the RMH (this particular RMH doesn't typically have to turn families away). I think the younger children will come home after the surgery to stay with grandparents and having a room at the RMH will allow Steve to be able to stay there as long as nothing pressing comes along with our business. I will be staying in Mariah's hospital room with her; however, having somewhere to go to cook a meal or rest while daddy stays with her will be a blessing.
The younger children want to be at the hospital when Mariah has her surgery and I am very thankful they want to be there for their big sister. We are so very fortunate to have an amazing extended family who are more than happy to help us out during this time.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Reading, writing & arithmetic...
Today was the start to yet another school year! Mariah decided to remind me that she will "only have one more 1st day of school after today". I asked her to not remind me of that sad, but true fact! Ugh!
The photo below shows all three girls just before we left for school on the first day (sporting their new dress code/uniform school clothes - they have a large selection of vendors to choose clothes from). Steve and I always go to the school on the first day. Last year, Mariah drove all the girls to school in her "new to her" car and that was the plan this year (with dad & I taking our own vehicle). That plan didn't happen as Mariah's car had a VERY flat tire when they went to get in the car. Dad was very helpful in getting that flat fixed and her car over to the school prior to the end of the school day.
From left to right, Mariah (11th grade), McKenna (7th grade), Miranda (3rd grade), displaying their new haircuts:
The photo below shows all three girls just before we left for school on the first day (sporting their new dress code/uniform school clothes - they have a large selection of vendors to choose clothes from). Steve and I always go to the school on the first day. Last year, Mariah drove all the girls to school in her "new to her" car and that was the plan this year (with dad & I taking our own vehicle). That plan didn't happen as Mariah's car had a VERY flat tire when they went to get in the car. Dad was very helpful in getting that flat fixed and her car over to the school prior to the end of the school day.
From left to right, Mariah (11th grade), McKenna (7th grade), Miranda (3rd grade), displaying their new haircuts:
Really?
Can it really be the end of summer vacation? Has three months really gone by that quickly? Apparently so since the girls started back to school today. Wow. I am SO not ready for the girls to go back to school. I know of many moms who look forward to the start of school and their children being at school during the day. I'm not one of those moms, though. I LOVE my time with my children. I admit I am very selfish when it comes to my time with them. I dread the start of school every year because it means I have less time with the girls when school starts. We have had a very simple, but very enjoyable summer. Each of the girls have told me this has been the best summer of their lives....simple joy! I left my job in the beginning of July and we've had such an amazing summer with time just spent with family. It doesn't get any better than that!! After Mariah's surgery, I will seek another job, but right now I plan to focus on my family and Mariah's recovery.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The long and the short of it....
Today was the end to my girls' long hair ~ at least for now! Yikes!
Months ago, they made the choice to grow their already long hair out even more and donate it to the "Locks of Love" ( http://www.locksoflove.org/ ) organization. They each had over 10" of their hair cut and are now sporting some very cute short hairstyles.
This photo shows the initial cut of Mariah's ponytail:
And here is her ponytail and the new length of her hair, before her hairstyle was completed:
And below is the hairstyle Mariah chose:
Here is McKenna just prior to the intial cut (I'm having trouble uploading photos, and I'm not sure why this one is smaller thanthe rest):
Miranda as her new 'do is being completed:
Below are all three girls showing their completed hairstyles.
Months ago, they made the choice to grow their already long hair out even more and donate it to the "Locks of Love" ( http://www.locksoflove.org/ ) organization. They each had over 10" of their hair cut and are now sporting some very cute short hairstyles.
This photo shows the initial cut of Mariah's ponytail:
And here is her ponytail and the new length of her hair, before her hairstyle was completed:
And below is the hairstyle Mariah chose:
McKenna was much more enthusiastic to have this haircut and give the donation to Locks of Love than it appears in this photo...I think I caught her off-guard with the photo:
Below is a photo taken just prior to Miranda's initial cut:
Miranda as her new 'do is being completed:
These are the ponytails that will be mailed to Locks of Love this week:
Below are all three girls showing their completed hairstyles.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Potentially shocking ~literally~~
In approximately three weeks, my first born child, Mariah will be entering the hospital to have an ICD placed. ICD is an "Implantable cardioverter defibillator". This surgery is due to her heart condition known as LQTS (long QT syndrome). Currently we have a portable defibrillator we carry along with us.
Having her ICD implanted will eliminate the need for her AED, as well as allow her more freedom in life. She will never be allowed to participate in contact sports due to the risk of impact to the device and affecting the leads, but she will be able to continue with her high school softball career.
As a mom, I've wanted her to have the protection provided by this device implanted for years. Mariah's EP (electrophysiology cardiologist, Dr LeGras) was previously hesitant to implant the device. As a result of some recent events, he said it would be "reasonable to not place the device" but would be "completely appropriate" to have the device implanted. Since I'm her mom, I could trump her decision if she chose to not have this done....but, since she's 17yrs old and basically an adult and grown lady I made the choice to let her make the final decision. It is her body, her heart, her life and ultimately she has to live with the choices she makes. She chose to have the device implanted and shortly thereafter told me she felt much relief in her decision. I am VERY proud of her....not because she made the choice **I** would have made for her, but rather because her decision was based on very mature reasons.
A bit of information regarding an ICD:
~it will be implanted in her chest, similar to where a pacemaker would typically be placed
~she has a choice of on top of the pectoral muscle or below it. Below the muscle will result in a more intense recovery, but the device will be less visible.
~if she enters into an arrhythmia that is potentially fatal, this device will "shock" her heart muscle into an appropriate rhythm -- something very painful if she's awake during the shock.
~there is a very real chance of "inappropriate shocks", meaning it could shock her heart when it is not needed and while she's awake
~the ICD could need replaced in seven years (or sooner if she requires "shocks").
BUT....this will protect her life and protect her. We are SO incredibly blessed that we have this option!
I might add more to this post in a few days, but wanted to let our family and friends know what was transpiring.
Having her ICD implanted will eliminate the need for her AED, as well as allow her more freedom in life. She will never be allowed to participate in contact sports due to the risk of impact to the device and affecting the leads, but she will be able to continue with her high school softball career.
As a mom, I've wanted her to have the protection provided by this device implanted for years. Mariah's EP (electrophysiology cardiologist, Dr LeGras) was previously hesitant to implant the device. As a result of some recent events, he said it would be "reasonable to not place the device" but would be "completely appropriate" to have the device implanted. Since I'm her mom, I could trump her decision if she chose to not have this done....but, since she's 17yrs old and basically an adult and grown lady I made the choice to let her make the final decision. It is her body, her heart, her life and ultimately she has to live with the choices she makes. She chose to have the device implanted and shortly thereafter told me she felt much relief in her decision. I am VERY proud of her....not because she made the choice **I** would have made for her, but rather because her decision was based on very mature reasons.
A bit of information regarding an ICD:
~it will be implanted in her chest, similar to where a pacemaker would typically be placed
~she has a choice of on top of the pectoral muscle or below it. Below the muscle will result in a more intense recovery, but the device will be less visible.
~if she enters into an arrhythmia that is potentially fatal, this device will "shock" her heart muscle into an appropriate rhythm -- something very painful if she's awake during the shock.
~there is a very real chance of "inappropriate shocks", meaning it could shock her heart when it is not needed and while she's awake
~the ICD could need replaced in seven years (or sooner if she requires "shocks").
BUT....this will protect her life and protect her. We are SO incredibly blessed that we have this option!
I might add more to this post in a few days, but wanted to let our family and friends know what was transpiring.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Formal 2008 ~Mariah~
The above photo is from Mariah's 2008 school formal. Once again, I had the wonderful pleasure of being a chaperon (with Mariah's encouragement and approval). The evening was so incredibly wonderful. The private school she attends doesn't typically have dances at the formal. Instead, they have a wonderful formal dinner. This year, there was a parent sponsored dance after the formal dinner. It was the most amazing thing. The dance was a traditional ballroom dance, complete with dance cards. Many of the students participated in appropriate dance etiquette and ballroom dance lessons for several days prior to the formal. The dance etiquette included instructions regarding not filling their dance card with the same person more than several times. It was the sponsoring parents who also helped discourage exclusive coupling during the dances. I can honestly say that I have never been to a dance (including all the dances I attended while I was in school) where the students had this much fun!The photo below is of Mariah entering the stretch Excursion limo rented for the ride to the formal. It was filled with Sophomores. One funny story from the evening was the limo ended up getting lost on the way to the formal. Once the driver found the way, it entered from a direction that was impossible to make the turn into the driveway. Ultimately, it ended up driving past the driveway and backing down the long driveway as the limo was much too long to navigate that corner!
Mariah's school has a "formal court" (think prom court) which includes a male & female student from each of the attending classes in the high school. Each grade has different titles for those in the court who are voted by their peers. This year, Mariah shared the honor of "countess" for the sophomore class with a friend of hers (they tied). I've posted a photo of Mariah in the formal court (she's on the arm of the gentleman in the black tuxedo (who was not her date):
Monday, August 04, 2008
Back again!
I will probably end up posting posts that are not in chronological order as I have time. I truly want to get back into blogging on a regular basis...and hope to make that happen!
Just a quick warning that this post is very long and has many photos ~~
Wow, what a long time since I've posted on this blog. So much has changed and yet so much stayed the same. I continue to be very blessed by my family and they are all doing great. If only I could slow down time. In approximately two weeks Mariah will be 17yrs old, McKenna will be 13yrs old and in two months time Miranda will celebrate her 9th birthday and Mr Josiah will be entering the "terrific" two's.
Steve's health is maintaining and continues to get a bit stronger as time goes on. In November, he went through his second total hip replacement. His blood disorder continues to be in remission and his last episode of pancreatitis was been almost an entire year ago! He has baffled the GI doctors as he has no known risk factors for chronic pancreatitis and yet he continued to to battle it on an ongoing basis for over two years. We won't question why it is no longer happening, we will just rejoice in the healing he has experienced.
The kiddos have enjoyed a great year. Mariah received her driver's license on her 16th birthday and about two weeks prior to getting her license she purchased a car on her own. She had been saving for quite a while and was so excited to have a vehicle all her own. I affectionately refer to it as the "white cloud" (instead of calling it a boat as she had done). It is a 1989 Buick LeSabre in remarkable great condition. It drives very well and I'm comforted in the amount of steel between her and the front in the unfortunate case of an accident. Below is a picture of the new owner of her first car, taken the day she purchased it:
McKenna is doing great, as always. She has truly become quite the sports girl! She plays soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter and softball in the spring. In the fall, she was on a junior high team at her school which consisted of 6-8th graders. She was so excited to be a starter in almost every soccer game and played most of each game, except when she injured her leg & was on crutches. That injury healed quickly and she was soon back to playing.
In the winter, she decided to play basketball for the first time. Again, it was a combined 6-8th grade team AND again, she was a starter in most of the games. At first, she was unsure if she wanted to play since it was a new sport for her, but in the end, she decided to give it a shot. She did a great job! At the end of the season awards, she was blessed to be awarded (in our opinion) the most important award - the "Christian Character Award". This photo below is of McKenna (in the red uniform) during the very first basketball game in our school's brand new gym:
Miranda continues to love school, enjoys reading and says she will always be my baby girl. She is such a sweetie and blesses us so much. At the end of school she received the "Highest Scholastic Achievement Award" for her 2nd grade class! In November 2007 we discovered she needed glasses. She looks so sweet in them! About two weeks ago, she took them off and placed them on the fish tank. It didn't take Josiah very long to locate them and test the strength of the ear pieces. Unfortunately, they didn't stand up to Josiah's tests and he ripped the ear piece right off. Thankfully, they were still under warranty and have since been repaired! Below is a photo of Miranda in her new, fashionable specs:
This final photo is of Josiah (the white plastic sheeting behind him is the girls' homemade
slip-n-slide). He is such a loved and enjoyed little guy. He brightens the days of each of us and I am so very thankful to share my life with him:
Just a quick warning that this post is very long and has many photos ~~
Wow, what a long time since I've posted on this blog. So much has changed and yet so much stayed the same. I continue to be very blessed by my family and they are all doing great. If only I could slow down time. In approximately two weeks Mariah will be 17yrs old, McKenna will be 13yrs old and in two months time Miranda will celebrate her 9th birthday and Mr Josiah will be entering the "terrific" two's.
Steve's health is maintaining and continues to get a bit stronger as time goes on. In November, he went through his second total hip replacement. His blood disorder continues to be in remission and his last episode of pancreatitis was been almost an entire year ago! He has baffled the GI doctors as he has no known risk factors for chronic pancreatitis and yet he continued to to battle it on an ongoing basis for over two years. We won't question why it is no longer happening, we will just rejoice in the healing he has experienced.
The kiddos have enjoyed a great year. Mariah received her driver's license on her 16th birthday and about two weeks prior to getting her license she purchased a car on her own. She had been saving for quite a while and was so excited to have a vehicle all her own. I affectionately refer to it as the "white cloud" (instead of calling it a boat as she had done). It is a 1989 Buick LeSabre in remarkable great condition. It drives very well and I'm comforted in the amount of steel between her and the front in the unfortunate case of an accident. Below is a picture of the new owner of her first car, taken the day she purchased it:
McKenna is doing great, as always. She has truly become quite the sports girl! She plays soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter and softball in the spring. In the fall, she was on a junior high team at her school which consisted of 6-8th graders. She was so excited to be a starter in almost every soccer game and played most of each game, except when she injured her leg & was on crutches. That injury healed quickly and she was soon back to playing.
In the winter, she decided to play basketball for the first time. Again, it was a combined 6-8th grade team AND again, she was a starter in most of the games. At first, she was unsure if she wanted to play since it was a new sport for her, but in the end, she decided to give it a shot. She did a great job! At the end of the season awards, she was blessed to be awarded (in our opinion) the most important award - the "Christian Character Award". This photo below is of McKenna (in the red uniform) during the very first basketball game in our school's brand new gym:
Miranda continues to love school, enjoys reading and says she will always be my baby girl. She is such a sweetie and blesses us so much. At the end of school she received the "Highest Scholastic Achievement Award" for her 2nd grade class! In November 2007 we discovered she needed glasses. She looks so sweet in them! About two weeks ago, she took them off and placed them on the fish tank. It didn't take Josiah very long to locate them and test the strength of the ear pieces. Unfortunately, they didn't stand up to Josiah's tests and he ripped the ear piece right off. Thankfully, they were still under warranty and have since been repaired! Below is a photo of Miranda in her new, fashionable specs:This final photo is of Josiah (the white plastic sheeting behind him is the girls' homemade slip-n-slide). He is such a loved and enjoyed little guy. He brightens the days of each of us and I am so very thankful to share my life with him:
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
~JOSIAH~
I just wanted to let everyone know that my plan is to keep most of the blog posts that are mainly about Josiah over at his blog at www.josiah-roberts.blogspot.com until he's about a year old. Around that time I plan to posting about him on this site, as I do the rest of our family members. That said, if you are interested in some updates and photos about our little man, please visit his site!
~Tracey
~Tracey
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Back to work
I went back to work one day a week in February, when Josiah was 3.5mos old. My work schedule (I'm a dental hygienist) has recently changed. The practice I was working for merged with another practice next door to ours and I've started working two, almost 10hr days a week. We've had a major remodel and combination of our office spaces and staffs. It's a beautiful office and we have so much of the newest technology and equipment that I feel it's an honor to a be able to take part in the changes! Our family is all adjusting to me more than doubling my work schedule, but I'm SO thankful for Steve's help. Without his willingness to pick up where I leave off, working and having four children at home wouldn't be nearly as successful, to be honest.
~Tracey
~Tracey
Miranda in the hospital
We had yet another hospital stay in our family this spring. I'm beginning to think we should be eligible for our own room....with our name on the door at the hospital! =) On a late Friday afternoon, Miranda (7.5yrs old) was trying to climb a tree on the lower part of our property (near where an old cattle barn used to be) and stepped on a huge rusty nail that went deep enough she had to use a lot of force to remove it from her foot. We called the doctor and did all that he suggested (warm soaks, irrigating it, etc) all that evening. By that evening she was very sore, but was doing well we thought. The next day, she was tired and sore, but still okay from what we could tell. Because her foot was bandaged, we didn’t look closely at it that Saturday morning because Mariah had double-header high school softball games, Miranda said it was okay and our morning was chaotic. At the game, she was sleepy, so we let her snuggle on a blanket behind the bleachers and take a nap. At one point during the second ballgame, she asked me to show someone her puncture wound, so I took off the dressing.....much to my surprise, we discovered a HUGE red, hot, raised area on the TOP of her foot, a red streak starting up her leg, as well as discovering that she was running a pretty high fever. I called the doctor who was on-call for our medical practice and that doctor insisted I take her to the ER right away (less than 1mo before we were there due to McKenna’s motorcycle/dirtbike accident!!). The ER doc evaluated her and found that she had a very nasty infection, requiring IV antibiotics. My poor baby girl was in the hospital for over 24hrs on IV antibiotics. She was such a trooper and I was so proud of how brave she was during her stay. It took three attempts before her IV was placed (due to her small veins), but she sat still and allowed the nurses to do what they needed to do.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Mariah's 2007 Formal
Here are some photos from Mariah’s 2007 high school formal (please excuse the photo that is side-ways....I forgot to change the rotation on it before uploading it).... The formal was held at Multnomah Falls Lodge. She’s growing into such a young woman so quickly that I can’t believe she will be 16 in a few months. Wasn’t it just a few years ago that she was my baby???
I had the honor and privilege (and Mariah's permission, of course!!) of being a chaperone. It was a fun time to get all dressed up together. After the formal, many of her fellow high school classmates went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3.....all decked out in their formal-wear!
~Tracey
I had the honor and privilege (and Mariah's permission, of course!!) of being a chaperone. It was a fun time to get all dressed up together. After the formal, many of her fellow high school classmates went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3.....all decked out in their formal-wear!
~Tracey
Late updating my blog....
I'm so far behind in updating my blogs that I've decided to just start from the present and add updates as I think of them. Because of this, some of my posts over time may be out of sequence. I kept procrastinating posting updates because I was behind and waiting for a time to be able to catch up. With four children, and working, that time might not ever come. =)
~Tracey
~Tracey
Sunday, April 01, 2007
McKenna's Spring break mishap!
My sweet McKenna had an eventful start to her Spring vacation! On the first day of break, the girls, along with a friend were riding our 4-wheelers (quads) around the property. After a while, we invited the friend's dad to bring over their motorcycles/dirtbikes. My girls had never been on a dirtbike, but they are all very capable quad riders, so this was a great opportunity for them to learn something new. They all did great, but as the afternoon/evening was winding down and it was getting wet due to the rain, McKenna had an accident.
Ms McKenna wound up hitting a barbed wire fence across the field. At the time, I was in the house with the baby and McKenna walked into the house and calmly declared, "mom I've got a little cut and need a band-aid, will you get one for me?" It was dark in the laundry room where she was at so I moved to get a better look and found her jeans all tore up! Asking her to lift up her pant leg, I saw it was so much more than "a little cut" and told her to get straight to the bathroom so I could evaluate it further. Much to my surprise, it was deeper than any of us imagined, and straight to the ER we went. The cut went to the muscle, requiring two layers of sutures, but what a brave girl she was! The only tears she shed was during the local anesthetic injections! I would have been crying like a baby with a cut that deep, I think! The goofy girl was more concerned about any damage she might have caused to the bike than she was to the damage to her leg!
She did, of course, have her helmet on. Our girls know the rules....if it has wheels, you wear a helmet. Period. Her cut came, not from the barbed wire, but rather from the foot peg. However, she did have a few surface scratches on her neck from the barbed wire. We are so thankful and lucky it wasn't much worse! McKenna, however, has not lost her love of riding and continues to ride the quads and can't wait for our friends to bring over their dirtbikes again so she can get back on them.
With four children, she was our first one to need stitches (other than from surgery), so that's not too bad!
Ms McKenna wound up hitting a barbed wire fence across the field. At the time, I was in the house with the baby and McKenna walked into the house and calmly declared, "mom I've got a little cut and need a band-aid, will you get one for me?" It was dark in the laundry room where she was at so I moved to get a better look and found her jeans all tore up! Asking her to lift up her pant leg, I saw it was so much more than "a little cut" and told her to get straight to the bathroom so I could evaluate it further. Much to my surprise, it was deeper than any of us imagined, and straight to the ER we went. The cut went to the muscle, requiring two layers of sutures, but what a brave girl she was! The only tears she shed was during the local anesthetic injections! I would have been crying like a baby with a cut that deep, I think! The goofy girl was more concerned about any damage she might have caused to the bike than she was to the damage to her leg!
She did, of course, have her helmet on. Our girls know the rules....if it has wheels, you wear a helmet. Period. Her cut came, not from the barbed wire, but rather from the foot peg. However, she did have a few surface scratches on her neck from the barbed wire. We are so thankful and lucky it wasn't much worse! McKenna, however, has not lost her love of riding and continues to ride the quads and can't wait for our friends to bring over their dirtbikes again so she can get back on them.
With four children, she was our first one to need stitches (other than from surgery), so that's not too bad!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
A new school year....
A new school year is beginning tomorrow. It's a mixture of excitement and sadness in our household!! Excitement to be able to see old friends, meet new friends, see who's returning to the school and just basically having the opportunity to re-connect with old friends. The excitement is also increased by the fact that the school will be moving to the new school building that's currently still under construction....we've heard talk about the classes being moved to the new building before the end of this calendar year!!! The girls are so excited about the new building!! Sadness in that the start of the school year signals the end of the summer....the end of our care-free days of sleeping in, swimming and just spending time with one another. BUT....the girls are talking about the excitement of school starting a bit more as the beginning of school also means we are even closer to the arrival of our new baby (due in November). There definitely has been a mixture of emotions and thoughts during the past few weeks about the new school year. For me, I'm dreading the start of the new school year at least as much as the girls are. I enjoy my time with them and I really miss the lack of time we have together once school begins.....selfish on my part???...you bet!!!
It's so amazing to think that I have children going into 1st grade, 5th grade and 9th grade tomorrow morning!
It's so amazing to think that I have children going into 1st grade, 5th grade and 9th grade tomorrow morning!
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