Crazy!

You know you lead a special needs life when...
you see this in a public restroom. 

And you leave with the same feeling as when there's free mints at your favorite restaurant's checkout counter.

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Praying for Megan!

Today I put a prayer button for Megan on my sidebar. Mostly, these buttons are for giving to those who have a website or blog and want to display it to remember to pray or tell others that they are praying and to spread the word.

I was hesitant to make a button at first because I have been very private about my feelings toward Megan's illness. And, for a long time, her health was very stable - the previous 2 1/2 years to this April were "hospitalization free." It is easier to place her ultimate prognosis on the back burner, so to speak, when everything runs status quo for so long.

While we are celebrating the fact that Megan has set a new record (5 weeks) since her last hospitalization, she is by no means "better." She is towing a very fine line healthwise. Megan has days where she sleeps most of the day, days where she is awake and uncomfortable most of the day, days where she is alert most of the day, and, every now and again, we see a spark of the smiles we loved in April when we found out that we would indeed be bringing her home again.

Megan has also been fighting infections the entire five weeks we have been home from the hospital. She has had two urinary tract infections (which she is taking antibiotics on a long term basis for now), a respiratory infection, and gastrointestinal side effects of taking antibiotics regularly.

Megan's pulmonologist told us on August 7th (when we discussed the sleep study) that if we are going to consider placing a tracheostomy to help keep Megan's airway clear and use the c-pap machine for her apnea issues at night, now is the time to do it. After much consideration, we have decided that this additional invasive procedure will be very hard for her physically and give her yet another outlet to invite infections.

We are confident in our abilities to carry out Megan's care regimen as it is and want to help her stay as comfortable as possible for as long as we can. Megan is currently having some pain due to her scoliosis and is very uncomfortable when she is placed into a sitting position. She even voices her discomfort when we reposition her on the couch or in her bed on her bad days.

We are looking into any non-invasive ways to help Megan reduce her pain level and are trying to help her stay as agile as possible. We do not want Megan to suffer. Sometimes her cries are more than I want to hear. Her cries no longer sound like a "Mommy, I scraped my knee" type of cry. They are much more intense.

Please pray that Megan will have the strength to endure whatever she may encounter, that she will not spend the rest of her time with us in pain, and that we can make as many memories as possible with our precious gift.

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New Look!

Who knew I would settle for Purple and Green? Well, purple has been my favorite color forever.

Pink has been growing on me quite a bit too. But, I have another site that is mostly pink - and serving me well.

Yellow is Megan's favorite color. I soooo wanted to find a yellow motif that would work for my blog template on a long term basis.

Alas, I found this scrapbooking kit that I fell in L-O-V-E with. I went to work on this header - and noticed that it was...

GREEN!
It seems I go round and round with my favorite colors.

Because...drum roll please...

Purple and Green were my wedding colors!

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Confession

I have neglected this blog for a couple of days because I was writing a tutorial for making doll clothes on my other blog. I just published it here. It took a little longer than I thought it would. If anyone sews, you should let me know if you followed the instructions well. I am also having a giveaway on my other blog for a gift certificate to my doll clothes store.

In other news, Monica is doing very well at school now that she is in 3rd grade.

And, Megan is holding her own as far as staying out of the hospital goes. She has now made a new record of more than a month since her last hospitalization. Previous to this, the most she had stayed out of the hosiptal since April 2009 was three weeks. She is by no means ready to go back to school. However, we are hoping that the longer she can stay out of the hospital, she will gain enough strength to go out in public again with the family. She was able to attend church on Sunday and we were so thankful to be able to go somewhere as a family again. Hopefully, this is something we will be able to continue.

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Happy Birthday, Pam Mommy!

I love you very much. Here's half your present.


And, the other half.


These two glossy prints are coming right at you!

Question: I thought you said you didn't scrapbook? I didn't until I just found digiscrapping. That's right! I don't have to write, cut, paste, make a mess all over, not be able to find what I'm looking for... (My sewing already serves those purposes). But, digiscrapping is very neat. All I need is my computer - my pictures are there, the "papers" are loaded in, my "stickers" are loaded in, I can move them around as many times as I want without ruining them, and I can use any font possible. A hobby I can neatly fit into a small little flash drive - now this provides a way I can scrapbook! And, I can print, frame, and put on my walls instead of a book, unless, of course, I make too many!

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My Dog...

...is the best!


He lays at my feet all day long. (Unless I step on him.)


Oh no, looks like I dropped a piece of candy. I guess I got caught today!

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The first day of third grade!

It's hard to believe that today is the first day of third grade for my little girl. Summer was definitely too short. Nevertheless, we press on. Here she is in her ready for school outfit and shoes.

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