Relax and Enjoy the "Crisis"

PB & J For the First Time? Uh-oh!

2011-12-18T03:30:00.002-06:00

Autumn is always so obedient that I'm careless about following up to see if she obeyed me. She found a leftover piece of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the table. After she headed to the trash can (exactly as I had asked her to), I went back to what I was doing. About 30 seconds later, I realized she was still in the kitchen by the trash can.

After I asked her what she was doing, she poked her head around the corner and showed me her sandwich she had just taken 4 or 5 bites of. My first reaction was, "AHHHHHHH!" because she's allergic to everything in that sandwich. Then I calmed down before I reacted. I told her she was allergic to that and that she couldn't have any more. She was furious!!! I can imagine how she felt because she's never had any sugar at all! She's also never had peanut butter or bread! It must have been an amazing new world for her!

Then....I waited to see what would happen. Would she stop breathing to make me use my EpiPen for the first time ever? Would she break out in hives? Would she have tummy trouble? We have experienced the last two almost her entire life! So we waited....and waited....and waited. But nothing happened! Not even the next morning when I fully expected her to be broken out all over her little legs. This is a true miracle for us! We're still waiting for 2 1/2 more months for her to be tested again to see if her allergies have gone away, but I now have a little glimmer of hope that she just might outgrow some or all of these allergies! That would be an answer to so many prayers!

That experience was one of my tender mercies from the Lord, and I'm grateful!

Fabulous Fall

2011-10-07T14:15:00.003-05:00

It's Autumn time! My favorite season of the year is fall! I love fall because of the rich, gorgeous colors you see every where, the cool weather that sets in perfect for hot chocolate, and for all the holidays it brings. I love to be outside in the fall because it's so nice! The wonder of fall reminds me how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful place. Alabama rocks! I'm so grateful for this cooler weather, for my family....especially little Autumn. My sister, Wendy, always calls her "Autumn Born in Spring" because she's a March baby. What a blessing she has been to our family!

I want to share with each of you that I have gained a stronger conviction that our Heavenly Father is more aware of us than we can ever comprehend! I feel His love and have needed it in my life. I know He is anxiously waiting for us to call on Him for strength and guidance. We are not forgotten in His eyes no matter what happens! What a fabulous fall season to reflect and ponder all our many blessings!

Chiller

2011-09-28T08:12:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking a lot the last few weeks about my little sister, Jill. She has always tried to be optimistic and only see the good in the world around her. She's very willing to try new things without fear of failure. She can sew, cook, create things, be artistic, play with kids and love it, and she is really spiritual too. She is an excellent scientist and loves to do experiments. She once baked rice in an Easy Bake Oven forever!!! I think it finally did come out done, though. :)

She has a voice that we tease her about, and she's very kind to us anyway. Jill is the sister just under me, so we did a lot together. She had to work harder than most of us to get awesome grades, but she always stuck with it. She was patient when it took her a long time to get married too. She finally found David and was so grateful. It's so nice to have somebody that loves you no matter what. I'm so glad she found him too. :)

The reason she's been on my mind more is because of her health situation. She went in to see why she wasn't getting pregnant and came out with a possible ovarian cancer diagnosis. She had masses on both ovaries, but they weren't sure if it was cancer. They did surgery two days ago, removed one ovary and Fallopian tube that had cancer and removed some masses on the other ovary. They are doing further testing to see what stage it's at and to see if it has spread. There has been a lot of waiting and worrying for her the past few weeks.

There's one thing that I'm sure of...Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I know He will strengthen her and all of us to trust that He knows what He's doing in each of our lives. I'm so grateful for the knowledge of a Savior who loves us unconditionally...especially when life gets tough. I know God lives and wants us to be happy. To experience true joy, we must experience sorrow and have trials too. Earth is our university to learn what He wants us to learn and grow and become what He needs us to be. :)

P.S. Chiller is the title of this post because that has been Jill's nickname forever. Don't know where it came from, but it has stuck.

♪ Meet Me in St. Louis ♪

2011-08-29T11:44:00.006-05:00

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. We stopped there and stayed one night on our way to Nauvoo, Illinois for a Ryan Family Reunion (my Mom's family).

Brian and Luke super scared about riding in the capsule to get to the top of the arch. :0

Autumn wasn't very happy about it either. Then again, she wasn't ever happy about much during this 8 day trip. :(

One of the barges we saw from the top of the Arch.

Our little family happier now that we're at the top and can move.

The city view from the Arch.

The Hoppers and our family. We were travelin' buddies.

Brian and Luke much happier on the way down.

Autumn much happier once outside. :)

We stayed in a fancy hotel room in St. Louis for one night (courtesy of some great friends of ours). Autumn cried for hours because she was in the same room as Paul and I and knew we could come get her. Wendy and Jason really love us to have listened to poor Autumn cry so much on that trip. We are so grateful for family that puts up with us.

Melyssa

2011-08-23T12:54:00.003-05:00

My dear friend, Melyssa, has been through the following in the last week or so: birthed twin girls at home (no drugs), had a DNC and blood transfusions, had seizures, been diagnosed with AVM (a malformation in blood vessels in the brain which she's had since birth), had angiogram and embolization procedures done and had full-blown brain surgery. I have prayed, cried, prayed and cried some more for her and her family. She and Mark have always amazed me at their willingness to do whatever the Lord requires of them. They accept His will and make the best of it. She is now doing really well, exhausted of course, but recovering beautifully. Now all she needs is sleep!!!

I'm just filled with gratitude for my husband, my children, my own family (especially my sisters), precious friends that touch our lives, and for all the many things I take for granted on a daily basis. Her trial has helped me to want to be a better person with more faith and a positive outlook on life. I know the Lord hears and answers prayers! He is there whenever we need Him. It has been so wonderful to be reminded of that truth this week. I am so grateful for my sweet friend, Melyssa, for her example, strength, testimony and unconditional love when I needed her. Trials can be a blessing in so many lives!

The Beauty Pageant

2011-07-30T20:00:00.003-05:00

Put on the hair bows!

How pretty!?!

Take off the hair bows.

Yay!!!

Random Summer Fun...

2011-07-30T18:10:00.009-05:00

The kiddos snugglin' in the living room in the covers!

Autumn leaning on the blackboard at the art center in the McWane Science Center.

In the car on the way to the McWane Center.

Paul pretending to be productive.

CHEESE!!!

Here is our Pretty Princess with her two body guards, the

Future Missionaries...name tags and all.

Brian, the catcher with a homemade mask, and Luke up to bat.

Water Fun!

2011-07-30T12:07:00.006-05:00

I'm not much for playing in the pool or the water, but this summer has been excruciatingly hot! We've been in our little pool at home....

Brian, Rubi (their cousin) and Luke

Autumn loves the water!

on a slip 'n slide at Grandma Glenn's....

Aunt Amy had all the kids while Wendy and I helped with tornado relief.

and at swimming lessons. Brian is swimming in Level 2, and Luke finally got in the pool and did swimming lessons for the first time. Autumn loved it if it wasn't freezing cold.

Brian and Luke...ready and excited for swimming lessons!

Ethan, Brian, Jamie and Katherine in Level 2

Autumn getting ready to swim

We all got better tans and got more used to the water. Fun! Fun! :)

Six Flags Pics

2011-07-30T11:48:00.004-05:00

We went to Six Flags back in June, so I'm going to post a few pics from that. We went with the Hoppers and the Badillos, two of my sisters' families.

Paul and Brian on the Hansen Cars.

Alfredo, Amy, Rubi and our family going into Monster Plantation. Luke was so scared!

Paul, Jamie and Ethan on Acrophobia.

What a fun summer activity for our boys and me! Autumn sat this one out with Grandma Smith.

Easter...Late!

2011-07-30T10:49:00.009-05:00

Catching up on the blog, so here we go! Easter was a lot of fun for the kids. We went to an Egg Hunt down the street from our house on Saturday, and the kids had a blast! There was a bouncy toy for the boys to jump in, crafts, games, egg hunts, and food.

We also had an Easter dinner and egg hunt on Sunday afternoon at the Bennetts' house. They loved being with their cousins and all the yummy candy!

We also had some Easter fun at home when we boiled eggs and colored them.

Brian also made his own bunny ears that were adorable! He's so creative!

There you go! An Easter update! Better late than never, right?

Seven Years Ago Today.....

2011-07-03T23:36:00.006-05:00

...we were married in the Birmingham, Alabama Temple after our very long courtship of 3 1/2 months. We both knew in the first few days of dating that we wanted to be together forever, but we waited a few weeks for our families to get used to the idea. We were engaged for 2 1/2 months (which seemed like forever to us) and married on July 3rd. I never would have imagined marrying a younger man, but here we are! He is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I love him. ♥

Paul and I celebrated our 7th anniversary today! It's crazy that it's already been 7 years, but sometimes it feels like we've just always been together. We've had fun, learned, grown, been challenged, overcome, loved even more, argued at times, made up more times, laughed, cried giggled, been serious(but only a few times), and been in love over and over again in the last 7 years.

Kids have brought new challenges and happiness and made us better people in many areas. They've also made us work harder to love each other and take time for one another. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful husband in my life! I will always have to work hard to deserve him.

Busy, busy, busy!

2011-07-01T12:44:00.003-05:00

We've been busy little bees so far this summer with Brian home. We've seen two movies at the theater, Ratatouille and Cars 2. We've been to Six Flags with two of my sisters and their families while Grandma Smith stayed home an entire day with Autumn. (Thank you, Frankie!) They boys loved it and really want to ride the Mind Bender again. It went upside down twice, and they still want to go back on it. We were shocked! They're getting very brave as they get older and wanting to experience everything!

We've also been in swimming lessons at the Grayson Pool near our house. $5 a kid for 1 hour a day for two weeks! Brian is now swimming! He just has to work on learning how to breathe, and he'll be set. Luke is much less brave when it comes to the water, but he has been in Level 1 and doing well. He still won't put his face in, but he's kicking and blowing bubbles....baby steps for him. We're so excited he's a willing participant this year. I tried to put him in as an 18 month old baby, but he just screamed his head off the entire time. So....we gave up for a little while.

Autumn and I have been getting in together while the boys are taught and practice. We've skipped some days when it was too cold or just to give her a break. She's now going under the water after getting ready and kicking her feet as we swim. She still hasn't mastered blowing bubbles, but she really wants to. It's been exhausting an fun! I've always wanted my children to know how to swim when they're younger because I'm still not a strong swimmer and wish I was. They're doing great! Paul, of course, is a fish out of water! :)

Brian also participated in a 3 day basketball camp at Moody High School along with his cousin, Ethan. They just went two hours a day and learned basic skills, but Brian loved it and improved a ton! Luke unhappily sat that one out because he was too young.

We also visited some of the elderly people at a nursing home around the corner from our house yesterday. They loved the visits! Brian and Luke drew pictures and gave them to the residents there. It was such a nice time to think of others who may be lonely. They smiled so much at little Autumn too. We're trying to get there more regularly as a family now.

Paul is also in school again in a statistics class working on his MBA. He still has another year and a half but is sticking with it really well.

I'll post pics of all this stuff really soon!

Field Trip for Brian

2011-04-11T09:29:00.005-05:00

Brian and I went on his second field trip in Kindergarten the same day as his birthday party. This time we went to the McWane Center. He played and played with his friends, Hannah and Dakota. He loved the pilot and policeman costumes there and played in the submarine forever! They behaved so well for me and had so much fun! They only gave us 20 minutes to each lunch. That's the fastest I've eaten in a long time!

Brian's 6th Birthday

2011-04-11T09:03:00.005-05:00

Brian turned six this weekend and had a party at Grandma Glenn's house. He loved all his presents and has been playing with them non-stop. Luke also loves the presents! (It's almost like two birthdays a year for them. :) It's so fun to see them really want things and appreciate getting them.

This is his new basketball goal from Uncle Steve's family.

Brian realizing he got a watch that he forgot he wanted.

Brian is really growing up fast and learning a ton. He surprises us more every day with his creativity and his attention to detail. He's so fun to have in our family!

Trying New Things

2011-04-07T16:26:00.005-05:00

My sister, Amy, decided to take me to Sips 'n Strokes to do a two-hour painting session for my upcoming birthday. They provide all the supplies and canvas with coaching expertise to help you. I loved it! Amy, Jodi, Adam and I went together and had a blast. Jodi and Adam had already been one time before, so they seemed like professionals to me. Amy's angel painting turned out beautifully! I decided to do Gerber Daisies and was very surprised at how good it turned out. I loved it! I need to try new things more often!

Reading Labels

2011-03-09T09:06:00.003-06:00

When Autumn was 9 mos old, we found out she had the following allergies: Anaphylactic toward eggs and nuts; mildly allergic to milk, rice, corn, carrots and cinnamon. Sooo....that has left us reading labels like crazy and teaching Brian and Luke to never let Autumn put anything in her mouth. They are good at watching out for her eating things. We also have a gate up at the kitchen door because that's the most dangerous place for her.

We're adapting now and starting to figure out how to work around her allergies and not go crazy. Luke has heard this stuff almost non-stop because he's home with me during the day. I guess he's picked up on more of it than I had realized.

The other day, I was eating strawberry Whoppers (healthy, I know). Luke says to me, "Autumn is allergic to those because I looked on the box, and it has milk in it." I say, "How did you know that if you can't read it?" He said, "I just know." So I guess he's going to be an allergist when he grows up! :)

The Snow Day

2011-01-14T08:43:00.002-06:00

We had a lot of fun in the snow and ice. This is trial one with sledding:

That wasn't fast enough so we got Brian and Luke's table:

I wanted to try too...maybe not such a great idea:

The "One-Day" Project - August 14

2010-09-24T11:38:00.029-05:00

So, we've been remodeling the kitchen in one day. August 14th was the commencement date and Christmas is now our goal.We love the outcome so far. We just hope that we'll be done by Christmas! Well show you the work in progress...

We bust the

wall out and,

"Yippee," we found a vent pipe.

That only took 6 hours to reroute. So much for getting ANYTHING else done.

This was by far the fun part. Tearing the

wall OUT!!!!

Don't tell Becky that the Cabinet in the Kitchen is left open...Maybe she didn't notice it.

The dust is in the air...

...and on the camera lense.

Whoah! Where'd that purple wall come from?

No, we still haven't closed the cabinet...and you didn't notice until I told you!

Looks good with the table all prettified doesn't it?

Now who opened the other cabinet. That one we'll blame on Becky.

Here's the before and after pic together...we love the space.

We've done a lot more now it just takes forever to get it up on the blog. The "One-Day" Project will meet its six week anniversary tomorrow.

Updates - July 2010

2010-07-29T08:11:00.008-05:00

We're so good at updating our blog, we know. I'll give you the short version:

Paul - Started back in MBA program at UAB July 1st after being off for 1.5 yrs. Final exam on Aug 2. Starts back Aug 17 taking two classes Tues/Thurs. Finishes MBA hopefully in 2 years...Still working Full-time as Assistant Controller at Stringfellow Lumber Company in Birmingham, AL. Currently serving as the Elders Quorum President at church.

Becky - working full-time as a mother and wife. Taking up a LOT of slack with Paul back in school. Runs the mini-storage place where we live and loves taking care of Brian, Luke, and Autumn. Becky serves as the 1st Counselor in the Primary Presidency at church and is acting as the Chorister too in Primary. She has fun working with the kids in Primary because of her growing patience (I still haven't figured out why she brings a bull whip).

Brian - 5.5 years old now. Starts school in 2.5 weeks. Is so excited that he walks around the house with Luke wearing their backpacks for most of the day. Finds out who his teacher is on Monday, Aug 2. Excited to make his lunch everyday and take it to school.

Luke - is 3.5 now and super excited because Becky told him that he can make his lunch too every night for the next day. He loves saying, "Hey, baby!" to Autumn in his sweet voice. He won't know what to do with himself when Brian starts school. I'm sure that Brian will teach him everything that he learns.

Autumn - will be 5 months old on Sunday, Aug 1. She's getting so big and finally appears to be getting over her milk protein intolerance. She only sleeps about 17-19 hours a day, 12-13 at night. We wish she'd sleep more! Actually, Becky feels like she can't leave the house or do anything because she sleeps all the time. We set up her new crib which she loves. She has a lot of room to jump around...and do flips...and cart-wheels...but all she really does is roll around and talk really loud...soon she'll be doing the former.

Max - living with us for a few months now. He runs and plays with Brian and Luke. Sleeps with them at night. He bathes with them sometimes too. He always tries to eat their food. Anyway, I stepped on him this morning and put him in the trash but I'm sure he has relatives that will visit soon...

That's all she wrote!!!

A new addition to the family...

2010-03-09T11:34:00.013-06:00

Autumn Isabella Smith was born March 1st at 6:05 pm. She was 7 lbs 4 ozs and 20 inches long.

Brian and Luke love their little sister and she loves them.

She knows and loves her Daddy.

Her first time in Mommy's arms.

New Family Photos

2009-09-25T14:10:00.008-05:00

We finally got pictures taken again. The boys look super cute head to head.

They loved holding Grandma's hand walking to the Byrd's house.

Luke is so funny!

2009-09-18T10:42:00.003-05:00

Becky asked the boys if they wanted eggs and toast for breakfast this morning. Brian said, "Yes!" and Luke said, "No, I want oatmeal." Becky told him, "no we're all just going to have eggs and toast because I'm not cooking anything else." Luke then turns to Brian and says, "Mommy says I want eggs and toast." Funny boys!

Some more new baby news!!!

2009-09-15T08:58:00.005-05:00

We went to Becky's doctor yesterday for me to learn how to give her the shots...YIPPEE!!! I hope that I don't pass out giving them to her.

Anyway, after they were done they told us that they wanted to do an ultrasound to check the cervix and make sure everything was okay with the baby. Well, to make a long story short, the baby was spread eagle and most definitely a GIRL.

I know, we weren't going to find out, but Becky was weak and REALLY wanted to know. We're excited...until the teenage years anyway. :)

Well, now the shopping will start for Becky, I'm sure...and we'll have to budget $100 a month for baby clothes. Good thing our 0-9 month clothes are all neutral colors. YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The New Baby!

2009-09-01T08:23:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Becky went to the doctor for her 14 week check up. The baby had a steady heartbeat and is doing great! We're excited to have another spirit in our home. Becky has to have progesterone shots every week too, and I get to give them to her...how fun. :^)

Long time since we've updated the blog...

2009-07-28T14:50:00.004-05:00

Well, It's been a year since we've updated here... A lot has happened in our family since then. I really don't know where to start but here we go...

In November 2008 we found out that we were pregnant with our third baby. Due around July 2009.

I (Paul) finished my second graduate course in December 2008. I found out in Dec as well that I had to take the GMAT in 3 weeks to be able to continue taking classes (I thought that I had another year...4 classes instead of two). At this time I had a horrible sinus infection that actually took about 6 weeks and 3 rounds of antibiotics to get rid of. While at the doctor for the last visit I hyperventilated after giving blood and my hands convulsed and were stuck in an L-shaped position bent at the wrist for about 5-10 minutes. With all of that to say, I got a 440 on the GMAT and needed a 480 to get into UAB's Graduate program. So...I couldn't take a class in the spring which was actually a blessing in hindsight. You'll see why in the next few paragraphs...

The very next morning after I took my last dose of antibiotics, I woke up with a horrible pain (pinched nerve) in my left shoulder after sleeping on it wrong all night. The year previous I had done something similar to my right shoulder (irritated rotator cuff) and it was fixed with two visits to Rod (the family chiropractor). So, I went to see Rod the following day (Jan 21). After the second visit with Rod (Jan 23) he said that I needed to go on to see a neuro surgeon because he thought it was a disc problem. Rod referred me to Dr. Samuel Bowen, Neuro Surgeon, for the earliest available appointment (Jan 28).

In the mean time I scheduled an appointment with my primary-care physician (Jan 26) to get some pain meds because the pain was so severe (literally crying half the night trying to sleep on the recliner. Becky would have to massage it to ease the pain). The primary doctor sent me off to get some chest/shoulder x-rays. All of the results were totally negative! They also scheduled me for an MRI the morning before I saw the Neuro Surgeon (Jan 28). They say that the results take a day or two to come back, but I had the results before I finished tying my shoes. :) I took the results with me to Dr. Bowen.

Here's an aside...I have woken up every morning for the past 5 or more years with cramping hands and arms. I had to pump them for about 10 minutes to get the feeling back. I went to UAB about 3 years ago to have a nerve conduction study, MRI, and x-rays done to see if I had carpal tunnel...or something similar (because that's what my mom has). Anyway, the results were all negative then too. Ok...back to the story...

So, the primary doctor just gave me Lortabs and muscle relaxers until I could see the Neuro Surgeon (still up 2 hours after I took the medicine). At the appointment with Dr. Bowen he saw nothing on the chest x-rays or the MRI so it's not a disc problem. "Well," he said, "I want to do more testing." He sent me off one and a half hours later to have a myelogram done (where they put the dye in your spine and flip you upside done)...I'd rather be shot in the head than go through with that again! The doctor there could care less about the pain I had in my shoulder when he whipped it all around...Anyway, when the results came in I went back to see Dr. Bowen. He said, "Well, you need to go to a Vascular Surgeon." WHY!?! "You have two extra ribs, called cervical ribs. You more than likely have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), but I can't 'formally' diagnose you because I'm not a Vascular Surgeon so I'm going to send you to Dr. William Harvey." The cervical rib on the left was pinching the nerves in my shoulder. "A cervical rib is present in only about 1 in 500 (0.2%) of people; in even rarer cases, an individual may have two cervical ribs (Wikipedia)." I, of course, have two full cervical ribs that extend from the sternum to the spine. Anyway, since the Lortab and muscle relaxers weren't doing anything to alleviate the pain he put me on Lyrica, which is for fibromyalgia. It worked great! I actually bowled a 149 two weeks later with no gutter balls...which I've never done before. :) Now I have an appointment to see Dr. Harvey the next week (Feb 5)...

...in the mean time (Jan 30), Becky isn't feeling well and she's hemmoraging so we go to the ER. They check the baby and say everything is fine and send us home minutes later. 30 minutes after we get home the hemmoraging comes again but stronger. It was too severe for me to be able to drive her 30 minutes in the car so we called the ambulance. We got back to the hospital about an hour and fifteen minutes after we were just there. We lost the baby...I was really worried about Becky because Dr. Brumfield came into the waiting room about 2 hours after the DNC was supposed to be done and said that Becky might have to have a blood transfusion. That's when the prayers becaming pleadings. Thankfully the DNC finished well with no blood transfusion and they sent me to her room to wait for her...and wait some more. About three more hours passed before I finally got to see her. The Lord knows what he's doing. We have come closer in our relationship because of this experience that we had. The hardest part was telling Brian and Luke who prayed for the baby everyday up until then and for about a week after...It was hard for them to understand...

Well, after mourning the loss of our unborn baby, we reflected on the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He has suffered all and knows the pains that we experience. Becky explained it to the boys better than I've ever heard it explained. She said, "The baby's body was 'broken' so the spirit of that baby went back to live with Heavenly Father until it could receive a healthier body to live in." That has really helped us to accept the miscarriage...

A few days later (Feb 5) I went to see Dr. Harvey, the Vascular Surgeon. He said, "You definitely have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. I, however, am not specialized in that field so I am going to refer you on to see my partner, Dr. David Whitley." So, after a week and a half (Feb 16) I came back to see Dr. Whitley (by now I was tired of going from doctor to doctor. I just wanted to know what I could do to fix the problem...and the pain...and to be able to sleep in a bed again and not the recliner which I had been in for 4 weeks now). Luckily the Lyrica was working quite well so I could function at least...I did bowl too, like I mentioned before. Well, Feb 16th finally rolled around and we went to see Dr. Whitley. There are three types of TOS and he diagnosed me with two of the three. I have Neurological TOS (nerve pinched: 95% of cases) and Arterial TOS (artery pinched: 1-2% of cases). TOS is also more common in women than men (3:1). Very rare, I must say myself. Anyway, so Dr. Whitley said that with extra ribs, it's inevitable to do surgery. "You can't do physical therapy to move a rib. We'll have to cut a portion of it out." Well, that's what they did...about 5 inches of it a week and a day later (Feb 24) I went under the knife. I also had a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) in the hospital so they had to keep me for 4 days. Luckily they didn't puncture the lung, air just got between the chest wall and the lung. I'm still recovering from the surgery and it's been over 5 months now. Anyway, Dr. Whitley also said that I'll have to have the surgery on the right side because of the arterial compression (which is actually worse on the right than the left...there's just no pain so far because it's not pinching a nerve yet)...it's just a matter of when he'll do the surgery on the right side...I can technically determine when (that's if I don't pinch a nerve again).

At the end of March we got a virus that started with Luke...went to me, then Brian, then Becky, and then back to Brian and Luke until it ended with Brian for a grand total of 19 days. AHHHH!!! Boy were we glad to be done with that bug!!!

This is the point where we look back and are grateful that I didn't pass the GMAT so that I could be off this semester. The Lord knows what the future holds better that we do. If I had started a class, I would have dropped it because of surgery and everything else that went on.

Anyway, we are pleased to say that we are 9 weeks and three days pregnant as of today (July 28). We are all excited to be pregnant again. Brian and Luke are happy to have a baby in Mommy's tummy again and hope it's a baby sister. :) Becky just hopes and prays for a healthy and sleepy baby. :) And that would make us super happy!!!