Me.. again.

My most recent doctor's appt was last Tuesday and we finally have a date for surgery: July 29. I will have the drainage tube in until that time, meaning I will be off work until then.. and 4 weeks after surgery for recovery.The tube has to stay in bc it has attched itself to the bowel so they will need to surgically remove it... and actually remove a piece of my bowel (looks like 1-2 inches) where the hole is (and where appendix is attached). He said I will be in hospital for 6 days after and it should not have any lasting effects on my bowels or body. I am not looking forward to having surgery and the recovery part but I will be so glad when it is all over! I cant believe I am off work for the whole summer and cant really enjoy it how I want to. The great part of it though is that I have been able to be home with Max as we try to train him and also we are going to Alabama in July to be with my whole fam. It will be a good time.

I will get to see this little man in July!!



Hes 7 months old and now crawling all over the place!

Appointment today

So my drain stopped draining for a few days after the last post so I was thinking maybe it isn't a fistula and that they could remove the tube earlier than expected. Well like 5 days ago it started draining again more than before and now we know it is a fistula. I went to the doc today and I am now scheduled for surgery on Friday, July 29. The doc said since it is a fistula (causing a hole in the bowel- which is draining into the tube) it would be most safe to open me up for surgery because of all the scar tissue that will be there bc the ruptured appendix. ANd now surgery will be taking out a piece of my bowel where the appendix was attached to and now has a hole. He said this will not have any long term effects like with bowel function or anything. I was hoping for a laparoscopic surgery bc that is just little holes and not an incision. Also less recovery time. But more than just the scar it will cause I am nervous about recovery. I know its not a terrible surgery but just the fact of having surgery makes me nervous... and I'll be in the hospital probably 6 days for recovery. And off work 4 wks after... for a grand total of being off work for roughly 16 weeks! Thank the Lord for the job that I have bc I am getting a percentage of my pay every 2 weeks. I am so thankful for that. This whole thing has been going on for so long now but at least there is an end in sight (as long as everything goes well!)

The doc said for having a fistula it is not draining as much as expected and there is a possibility of it healing on its own. If that happens there is a chance that they could pull the tube earlier and I could have laparoscopic surgery just to remove the rest of the appendix. So please please PLEASE!! continue to pray and that God would heal up the fistula and hole in the bowel. God is in control of all of this and can do miracles!

At least I've had this little sucker to keep my mind off of it all:

Don't let the sweet face fool you. He's a fiesty little thing. Its like babysitting a kid in their "terrible two" stage. He's sweet one minute and biting my hand the next. But he is smart and learning. He knows his name and "come". He has been a lot of fun. We are working on "sit" and walking on the leash. And wow... puppy farts are the absolute worst!

Latest update...

I went to Dr. yesterday and he scheduled me an appt today with radiology to see if my drain tube could come out. So I went today and the plan was to inject dye into my drain port and take xrays to make sure the abscess and infection is all gone. Well, the abscess is not there anymore but when he injected the dye it lit up what looked to be the small bowel. This is something they warned me about so I wasnt completely surprised... but very disappointed. Ths means I have developed a fistula meaning the tube has attached itslef to the bowel and if they pulled the drain out it could cause a hole in the intestine plus more infection. He said the drain may have to stay in until I have surgery which probably won't be for 2-3 months. There is a small possibility that when I go in for my next appt in 2 weeks they will do a catscan and see that things have healed up or its not a fistula and could possibly pull it out then. But as for now it looks like I will be attached to my unfortunate buddy for maybe a couple of months. As far as I know they won't let me go back to work until I get it out.. but I'm not completely sure on these details yet. I'm not completely on "house arrest" though... they are saying my activity is as tolerated... except for like swimming, of course, or roller coasters or biking. But I can SIT by the pool and take walks and maybe even go camping. So today I've already had my down moments to be sad about it but have since thought about all the things I can and will do. Like enjoy time with my new puppy we are getting on Saturday... which will actually be good bc he will need that one-on-one time for his first few weeks... and I'll be off work. Through all this I keep telling myself there are people going through SOOO much worse than this. And this will pass. God has really shown himself to me through all of this. Probably because I have actually been watching and listening.. and CRAVING him. I am so humbled by Him. Maybe that is why all this has happened anyway. Wake up calls come in all forms. And one day soon I will be healed.

Home At Last

So yes I am home. But I brought a buddy along with me- have to keep the drain in until unknown date. Will have dr. appt next week and if the draining stops by then he could take it out in his office. What I do not want to happen is they take it out then discover there is more to drain and have to put it back in. This drain is literally a pain in my butt. Gettingn used to it though. I am welcoming visitors this week and could actually use some help during the days- although i know most ppl work during the day- but Travis could prob use a break in the eves as well. So if youre interested I will be here. I;m not great fun right now. But I am able to hang out and watch movies :) Still working on the eating thing. At least my apetite is back some but I;m kinda on a low fat/low carb diet per the dr... but im pretty much gonna eat what I can bc my body is starving. Anyway... call me if you want to come. Otherwise... prayers still welcome bc i dont feel out of the woods yet.

Love you.

Sickness part 2: correct diagnosis

Update on what is actually happening with me. I left off from the previous entry on thursday, finishing up antibiotics. Well satrday was my last dose... sunday felt better... sunday night tossing and turning with stomach ache... monday severe cramps in lower abdomen. Called doctor- she said that we will plan on the colonoscopy for wednesday. Tuesday was terrible bc I had the cramps and had to be on just liquids for the day (had to drink two 62 oz gatorades with laxatives in them plus at least eight 8oz glasses of water or other fluids duirng the day). As you can imagine it was a very clear, liquid poopy day(I'm over modestY) . BUt painful throughout. Wed I headed for the colonoscopy.. "Oh that didnt hurt at all... I dont remember a thing.." is what everyone and their moms who have had a colonoscopy had told me. Well... they apparently didnt have what I had which was already severe pain in my abdomen. I was sedated and filled with pain meds but I vividly remember the pain of the dr pressing hard on my abdomen while manuvering the tube around my colon- ive never had such pain in my life.. and I remember her saying "Sarah, you need to relax..". Yeah.. try to relax with excruciating pain. The problem was part of my bowel was twisted and she was pushing on my stomach to try to get the tube moving aroud it or something. I thought I was giong to die. When I woke up in the sedation room I kinda remember the doc explaining to my mom and travis (who had unexpectedly rushed over from work) that it was serious. She said they saw pus around my appendix and we werent exactly sure what that meant. She wanted to keep me slightly sedated and sent me over to Christ ER expecting me to have major surgery. When I got there they wanted to do another catscan meaning I had to drink more contrast- this time keeping it down. Had the catscan... waited FOREVER as one would usually do in a hospital. Then a resident dr came in and sat down and said "sarah has a ruptured appendix." This was a shock and I think all our mouths dropped bc we were still thinking colitis of some sort and hoping for the best. He wasnt really sure about a plan but said I woul dbe stayin in hospital overnight and possibly havingn surgery in the AM, or a drain tube put in to drain the infection (there were several scenerios presented). this meaninng I couldnt eat or drink anything until they decided. I mean seriously? I had a decreased apetite for the last 2 weeks and now not allowed to eat or drink anything? Suddenly ice water became my craving. That night was terrible... having 103 fevers and covering myself in ice packs.. not allowed to have any water except a few sips with tylenol. I did not sleep a minute that night. The next morning came and they decided to do the drain tube. No surgeries yet bc everything so swollen in my abdomen could puncure something or cause more infection. I was Mildly sedated for procedure but could still feel the needle and tube through the upper part of my right butt muscle into my abdomen to drain infection. Too risky to put it through abdomen for risk of puncturing something. I was on bed rest for 4 hrs afterwards. Then I had to pee. Called in PCA and my mom to help me to the bathroom bc i was in pain. I got up feeling dizzy, put my hands on the bed and woke up on the floor. The pca and my mom had caught me and lowered me to the floor. They tried to get me back up and i went down again. Decided to get back in bed and from then on until this morning I had to use a bedpan- not a fun time. as of now fevers have gone down but havent been able to keep food down well until dinner but didnt eat much. So prayers are much apprecaited still!! I am able to get up to the bathroom now and yestereday I did take a shower. Plan now is to continue antibiotics, watch the drain, continue to attempt eating. May go home in a few days with or without the drain (no exact date set yet). Will be off work for another 2-3 weeks as least. Plan for surgery maybe in 8 weeks once all swelling is cleared to take out remainder of appendix. Hopefully it all goes as planned and I dont step anymore backword. Love you all, i understand this is long but easier than telling each person separatly. Not wanting a lot of visitors because I havent slept good and hope to catch up on sleep during the day when I can. When I go home though I welcome visitors because it will be a lot of days home alone probably so I will let you all know when that is if anyone wants to visit.

Again... all prayers still welcome and so very much appreciated!

There's no where to go but up from here

That's how I felt last wednesday at 4:30 in the morning as I crouched in a chair in the waiting room at Jewish hospital....
The day before, Tuesday, I had a bit of a stomach ache but I tried to ignor it because Trishia and Grayson were still in town and it was my last day with them. I thought my stomach ache was from eating too much junk the night before. I debated whether to take off work that night or not. After talking with a co-worker and hearing how crazy work was the night before, and considering how I felt at the moment, and that at my job its not like you can just leave in the middle of the night and pass my patients off to another nurse who already has 6 or 7... I decided to call off. Good thing though because the stomach ache turned to nausea which still hasn't let up. Late in the evening I began to have episodes of vomiting which did not stop. I tried to tough it out for the night but nothing would relieve it.. pepto bismol, water, nausea meds (I had from a previous food poisoning episode a few months ago)... it all came right back up. I was too uncomfortable to lay down so I would get up and walk around which would only make me puke. Only then would I have a few minutes of stomach pain and nausea silence before it would start up again. Around 4 I woke up travis (I had been trying to sleep on the couch at this point), and told him I thought we needed to go to the ER because it was not letting up. After one more puke in the sink we were out the door. It was the most excruciating stomach pains I have ever felt. Got to the ER and after about an hour of waiting, filling out papers, andn talking to a nurse and doctor I finally got some pain and nausea meds.... which didn't work. At this time I was just thrilled to not have puked again. I was really dehydrated so they IV'd me with a bag of fluids and in the meantime did find some pain and nausea meds that helped some. Got blood drawn- white blood cells came back super high which indicated infection. Decided to do CT scan of abdomen and gave me like a liter of what smelled like chlorinated water to drink. (smart to give with someone who is nauseous, huh?) I had an hour to drink the nasty stuff which seemed like a long time except I kept falling asleep. It was about 45 mins into it when I took the last drink and..... about 10 mins later it all came back up... all over the bed and me. At least at that time I had nothing else in my system so it was just like water. Anyway... still able to go to CT scan found out I have Colitis... inflammation of the colon. Unknown cause.. except that I probably got it from work. I stayed in ER until about 11 when they gave me antibiotics and made sure I could keep them down... then they let me go home. Last week was a very rough week. Not until about Mon or Tues of this week did my stomach pains and cramps go away. Related to that I had no apetite and was too tired to stay awake for meals anyway. At my lowest weight I probably lost about 15 lbs. Which in normal life that would be awesome but this wasnt healthy. I have since gained a few of that back but have only really been able to eat semi-decent meals (soup) since yesterday. This thing has wiped me flat out. As of today I only feel the occasional cramping (maybe 1 or 2 a day, compared to constant), so I am off pain meds and most nausea meds. Still on 2 antibiotics until saturday (which is probably the cause of my continued stomach issues with no apetite). It has really messed with me emotionally too, I have been so emotional because it just has lasted so long! I am scheduled to go back to work Monday and when I do I will have missed 7- 12hr shifts. I had to even fill out short term leave paperwork and send it in. All in all I am feeling much better but not 100% quite yet. I have until monday to be healed- I'm a little nervous about going back to work- especially nightshift, just as far as the keeping myself awake all night, and the fact that my apetite isnt back yet. Oh and I had to go to a gastro-specialist on monday who said if I don't feel better over the weekend she scheduled me for a colonoscopy for next wednesday. I was thinking about getting it done regardless of how I feel just to rule out anything else but I called today and you know how much a colonoscopy costs even with our insurance?? Over $900!! So I am really hoping I won't have to get it done. Its already enough that I ran out my PTO (paid time off hours), and getting paid less the next 2 checks, but having to pay $900 would just be that much worse. Oh and weird other thing.. its really been messing with my body- my mom and I are comparing hot flashes. Like last night I woke up and the room was cold but my body was like dripping with sweat. But I wasnt even really hot. Maybe my body is trying to sweat out toxins or something when I sleep. I do sometimes get hot during the night but not like night sweats.
Anyway.. I hope this terrible ride is coming to an end because I do not know how much more my body can take. I keep having these weird moments like today I walked briskly up the stairs, 2 at a time, and immediately got cramps in both sides of my butt! And I get a little winded using the stairs... gotta gain my strength back I guess. At least today I did not feel like I had to lay down all day. I did actually get a few things done. I just feel sorry for my husband because I dont think he's had a meal cooked for him in like 3 weeks- and I almost always would have it ready when he came home. He's been a great help though, and very supportive through all my break downs.

Until next time.... (hopefully I'll be healthy again!)....

relationships are hard.

This past year has been extremely challenging for many relationships in my family. And for my husband in his family as well. Today is a new day though as I feel I can finally move on past issues my sister and I have been dealing with- by not dealing with. Yesterday we started into a casual conversation which quickly turned into truths being said and feelings hurt on both sides. It blew up into something we both felt was the end of our relationship (we will always be sisters but at that point she chose to not recognize it anymore). As the day went on she started txting me, apologizing and explaining her defensiveness. I realize this is all very vague but the important thing is that at the end of the day we forgave eachother. Our strained relationship began over a year ago. I feel the burden of all those negative emotions lifted from me for the first time. And the biggest way I could tell is that last night I broke down, again, because if I'm not angry with her I worry about her. I hate the fact that she is living in FL alone and stressed with school. I hate that she has felt abandoned by so many. I hate that she is not here with family to talk to when she needs it. And although I probbaly would not have changed how I've acted the past year due to the circumstances, I hate that she has felt that I wasnt here for her..
As strange as it sounds, it is so much easier to be angry and choose to not think about her because it hurts so much less.

Exhaustion

I got home this morning from a long week of work. it has been unusually long. For awhile we were overstaffed and getting cancelled a lot. Now we have 3 nurses off for various reasons and our patient census has been higher so we've been getting all our scheduled hours plus opportunity to pick up more. Well last week I worked (7p-7a shifts) mon, tues, thurs (picked up extra), sat, sun and mon. I also had to go in thurs morning for this 3 hour "education day". So from monday to monday I had worked five 12hr shift (60 hrs) + 3 hrs education= 63 hrs in 7 days. the prob was that my days off were like every other so I never got good rest. Going into work last night I felt prob the worst I ever have- exhaustion wise. I felt like my body was going to shut down. Luckily I got some caffeine in me and was good over night- even this morning I am actually more awake than normal- prob bc my body is on opposite cycle mode.
I dont even mind nightshift sometimes but it really messes with me emotionally. Sometimes I just feel really depressed bc its like I have no energy during the day to do anything and often times i dont get to see anyone. But I expect to be where I am for at least another year or 2. And prob only bc my nightshift buddies. I wouldnt be able to do it w.o my nightshift family- we have to depend on eachother for a lot bc we dont have the resources that they do during the day.
So yes we are all moved into the new house- almost 3 months we've been here. And I LOVE it. I already feel like we've lived here longer than our first place- and we (well, I) were there for 10 months. We are having an open house sat sept 25 at 2pm if youd like to come we will have food so contact me and i can get you directions.

I'm going to be an aunt!! My brother's wife is prego with a baby boy (Grayson Thomas) due mid-december. They will be living in Mason with my parents from beg of nov through beg of feb. I am so excited to have a nephew and experience my parents as grandparents! We all decided my parents will be called CoCo (like cocoa- means grandma) and Baboo (grandpa).. that is what children in kenya call their grandparents and we think its cute.

ill try not to wait so long to update next time but lately i just havent been on the computer much. It goes along with not having energy for AnYthing sometimes.

quote "I just totally laughed at someone who can't feel things"

what's new?

We have the keys to the new house! Its finally becoming reality. We actually got in there on sunday and began cleaning and its amazing how distusting people can live- they had a cat and there was hair EVERYwhere!! Even in the fridge, feezer and oven! Thats been the worst part. Luckily my mom and dad have been there to help- i dont know what we would have done without them. Its amazing what we have gotten accomplished in just 3 days. I think we've finally gotten the kitchen clean, my dad has painted 3 rooms, the basement floor, and multiple ceilings and Travis' dad is coming from out of town to clean the carpets and hardwood floors today (he owns his own carpet cleaning business in Jackson, OH). So the main things I still have to attack are the windows (they need to be de-haired) and bathrooms. Im sure it will be more than that but those are my main to-dos. Its finally beginning to feel like our home. The great thing is that we don't move our things in until saturday so we have this week to clean, paint and desanitize! I really have been feeling OCD cleaning everything... there is just something about other people's grime and nasty that I just cant handle... or believe that they were ok to live in it!! Today I'll prob be finishing up packing and cleaning our place to move out- since the floors at the house will be out of commission. Its weird to think this is my last day here by myself. There are some things about our townhouse I will miss- like my 2nd story back porch with our rocking chairs that is so private- and the fact that if anything goes wrong we just call the owners :) But i really am excited to have a house of our own. its a lot to learn but Travis is all about learning all he can! This is the first time he has ever painted so its a lot of firsts and new experiences for him.. how you go through 26 years without ever having to paint is beyond me- i think i had a brush in my hand at age 10... its been fun though watching the inside of the house transform. I have been taking pics- ill have to post when I have "after" pics to contrast the "before"s.

I need to get busy. Cant wait to have a party at our new HOUSE!!

In the midst of frustrations...

Memorial Day quote:

my mom says to my gma "Why are you wearing a 4th of July shirt on Memorial day?"
my gmas response: "because I couldn't find a shirt with dead people on it"

breathe

I feel emotionally exhausted. It didnt really hit me until I was sitting at dinner tonight with some of my fav non-dramatic people... and I felt this peace.. and realized it was bc life the last few months has just been mentally/emotionally draining. And its not me directly or my marriage- that part is great-- its family mostly.. and sometimes dramatic friends- none that read this (i dont think). Its hard to not get involved when its your own family- and its even worse when the same situation continues on and on-- when you just want to scream ENOUGH! God please end this situation already! But I guess he has his timing and it is somehow perfect to his plan.

God has brought joy into life though too-- more times than one but one in specific is I will be an AUNT this year!! Brett and Trishia are having a baby-due in December!

I just need to try to focus on the positive things and not so much the negatives.
Thanks for reading.

The Accident

The wkend of my dad's accident was a crazy few days. Many have heard this already but for those who have not, or at least not been updated, here we go> so my sister came in town thurs night and friday we hung out (2 wks ago) and were supposed to meet my mom and dad for lunch. My dad was out working, trying to finish up some things before meeting us. My mom was on her way home and called us and said she just got a call from her mom saying my dad was in an accident with a mower and he was taken to university hospital. We had no other information and my mom was hysterical thinking of the worst possible scenerio and praying that God would not take him yet. What had happened was he ended up going over to my grandpa's brother's house to mow- which was weird to all of us bc he doesnt usually mow his house and didnt tell any of us that he was going- he was mowing over a hill and he noticed it was wet and tried to turn around but it was too late and he went straight- which ended up going off a 5-6 ft ledge. He ended up on the gravel ground with the mower on top of him. Almost just as terrible as that was the fact nobody was home.. so he lay pinned under this 800 lb mower for an hr and a half yelling "help" and trying to keep himself awake. His phone was in his sock but he could not reach it. He said he could hear my mom calling him (her ringer is her singing "I love you, I love you, I loooove you") which is heart breaking to imagine that scene. The house next to the one he was at, which was in full view, is a house my parents lived in many years ago-- I think they moved from there when I was 1 or 2 yrs old. He said after awhile he started imagining us as kids playing there and memories from the past to keep his mind off of it and awake. He said it was almost like seeing his life pass before him. It is very hard to imagine him being stuck there with no one around and laying with a mower in top of him. It is terrifying. He fractured 2 ribs on his left side, partially punctured left lung, fractured his right clavicle and some places in his left foot. It was terrible going to see him at university. Only 2 ppl were allowed in at a time. They had him on a stretcher that was too small for him and he was laying there trying to breathe. They had him on that stretcher in the ER for something like 6 hours. 2 of the hours I know we were waiting on his room to be cleaned! I mean seriously I would have gone up to clean it. Wasnt doing us any good to wait around. Anyway... it was terrible. My sis and I wentback together for awhile with him and were coaching him how to catch his breath. Bc of his punctured lung he didnt have full lung capacity and especially anytime he got upset or laughed he couldnt catch his breath. And with us back there he would start to think of how stupid it was that he even went to mow there and he would apologize and start to get upset.. we would try to keep his mind off of it but when we tried we usually would make him laugh which would have the same efffect on his breathing. And God knows we are all appreciative of ppl who care and want to come and make sure he is ok... but seriously when he is in the ER and cant breathe.. its not completely necessary to have visitors that you really havent seen for years. Not like he is in the position to carry on a conversation. We've had ppl say like "I wish we would have known about the accident sooner... we would have come to the hospital". Its really nice and all but he really needed the time to recooperate, ya know? So anyway.. its been about 2 weeks and he is doing much better... still cant walk on that foot for long (nor should he be trying to but he is getting cabin fever). Its hard for him to not be working bc this is the busiest time of the year. My sister's husband daniel has been working for the census job in Georgia the last few weeks and luckily he wasnt too attached and was able to come back up and take over the business for awhile until my dad gets back to norm. He is the only one that knows everything my dad knows about the business bc he's worked with him the last few years.
So now we are trying to keep him in the house and from getting out to work just yet. My mom has some pics of the mower and the rock wall he came off of- she may post on facebook soon if you care to see.

Last wkend (the wkend after the accident) Travis and I went to hocking hills to camp and just ahve a wkend away. I wil post that later. Promise!

Thank you for all who have been praying for my dad. It could have been soo much worse than it was. God definitely sent angels to protect him that day.

Follow up

Regarding the previous post:

Mamo (my dad's mom) is back home after her stroke & rehab stay. I think she still has some weakness but is basically back to her old ornery self and making people laugh. Her son's have decided that its still appropriate for her and my gpa to live in their home as they were. My parents went with my gpa while they were visiting just to check out assisted living places in case they would have to make a move in the future. But for now they are doing well where they are.

Pa (my mom's dad) is still in the hospital. When he went in and they found the blood clots they also found he had pneumonia. I went to see him sunday and he was doing well but still fighting pain. Thought he would go home monday but I guess after some xrays decided to put a chest tube back in bc not all the fluid in the lung from the pneumonia was gone yet. Not sure how much longer he will be there.

Travis is over his sickness and after over 2 weeks mine is finally coming to a close. I had a terrible chest cold and cough... which migrated into a headcold about a wk ago. Cough & "cold voice" pretty much gone but still have a bit of a stuffy nose.

Thank you for all the prayers over these things.

In other news: my cousin's grandma has been battling breast cancer for years nows which traveled to her lungs and kidneys. She lost the fight on Tuesday. But now she's in a much better place than we are so really she has won. She was a great woman.

Prayers could also be used for this family. Her husband's name is Roy.

Prayers please!

There has been different illnesses going on:

My dad's mom (mamo/ or Hazel) was taken to hospital monday I think and was practically parazlyzed on her Rt side with slurred speech. They said it looked like she could have had a mild stroke. A couple days later, my parents are now visiting with her and my gpa in colorado and they say she is doing a lot better. she can walk and do many things on her own now.. no slurred speech, with just some minor weakness still on that side. She is in rehab until next tues. The issue now is.. does she go home after this and her and my gpa continue to live independently as before? My gpa has severe neuropathy in his feet. It is debateable among his sons if he should even be driving still bc his sensation on the soles of his feet is basically none existent anymore. Plan B is to find them a nice assisted living place... but do they stay in CO or move back here? They currently live near my uncle but he is out of town a lot for his job and his wife has multiple sclerosis and is sick in bed much of the time... meaning she wouldnt be able to take care of them if they needed it. They have 2 daughters close to my age but are living on campus a couple hours away. My mom says they would like to keep them where they are in their house in CO, but she is researching assisted living places in OH and CO in case it comes down to it. The other issue is they dont have much money to go into a place like that. Please pray that my gma would heal completely and that they would all have peace about where my g-parents should continue living for now.

So as my parents were making plans for this trip to CO my mom got a call i think tues taht her dad (pa, or Tom) was taken to the hospital bc he was in pain and couldnt breathe. They found 2 blood clots, a large one in L lung and smaller one in R lung. --rewind-- a couple of wks ago my gpa was hunting up in a tree stand and he fell, leg got trapped in strap and he broke his leg. Well he got it checked out and is now wearing a brace. They had planned to go to FL bc he was scheduled to speak at some churches (he is a Pastor) and he is stubborn and wont ever say he cant do something so he decided to charge on with the 12-13 hr car ride to FL. My mom drove him and my gma (she wanted to see my sis). Long story made shorter... the car ride and not moving around is most likely what caused the clots.. bc they had just gotten home a few days before he was sent to hospital. Yesterday update was he was in a lot of pain and couldnt breathe very well. Please pray that he would be healed and encouraged by the people that come to see him (he had 28 visitors yesterday!.. but in too much pain to really talk with them).

And to top it all off.. (on a much more minor note)... Travis and I are sick... he has the whole head cold/sinus-y thing going on and mine is throat hurting/junk in my lungs that i cant cough up. I hope I'm not getting bronchitis or something. Luckily we dont have fevers or anything. Hopefully I'll be able to work tonight and not feel completely terrible.

If you made it through this you should go eat some icecream or something to cheer you up bc that was depressing.

Thank you for your prayers!

new things

Let me start off by saying WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! We dont close until end of april but pretty much everything else is in order. Its been a whirlwind adventure and for awhile we didnt thnk it would work out bc of some issues... but we have gotten everything sorted out and its such a great deal. The owner is a Dr. and he is moving for a new job, starting july 1. Its amazing bc our lease is up june 30... how perfect! And since we are closing end of april they will be paying us 2months of rent. And we of course will be getting back the tax credit!! Its really amazing how everything has worked out so perfect. Our realtor is a friend of the family and been in the business for like over 20years and said this has been the best deal she has probably ever seen or been apart of! Here is the house, its in deerpark: http://www.sibcycline.com/viewlisting.asp?mls=1207166&b=CIN&p=RESI&s=SFRD&m=1&sender=SearchResults&a=3704-Lansdowne-Ave-Deer-Park-OH-45236
Very cute. Deer park wasnt our first choice, or really a place we were even remotely thinking about. but Travis is a researching freak and has been looking up houses like its his job and found this place. We are excited to get into it, hard to almost own a house but have to wait 3-4 months to move in.

In other news I may be reluctantly starting on my bachelors degree here soon. I'm not a big fan of school, but many of the hospitals are going to bachelor degrees only (I have an associates) and I have to have it in at least 9 or 10 years to keep working at christ hospital. ANd yes that is a long time from now but I would like to get it over with before kids come along and other craziness of life. Bc i have a feeling at this current point in mylife, it is the slowest life will get for me. SO it will probably be in fall i am assuming... i havent actually looked into it all that much yet. I'm nervous about how it could conflict with nightshift schedule but i guess it will work out somehow.

Ok so girls night soon? Carol thnaks for organizing. I desperately need some time. I never see anyone anymore except for work ppl and church ppl on sundays.
i miss everyone.

snow and new houses!

Remember snow days?
I would wake up and look out my window, scream with joy, and go turn on the news as it read "Mason City Schools Closed". It didnt happen often, as I tend to think they valued learning over new driver's lives. But I dont get that anymore. I dont have snow days bc I work for a hospital. Good thing I have 4-wheel drive- I do have work tonight at 7p-7a and tomrrow as well.

News: we have kinda been looking at houses lately. We have been somewhat talked into this bc of the tax credit. But at the same time, we can be/are in the position that we could buy a house. Over the past couple of months we have been able to pay off a couple of our larger purchases that were our debt. So now all we have is our tv, Travis's car and his school loans. Its like we of course really dont want to rush into anything, but then again $8,000 tax credit in our pocket next year would be wonderful. So we are finding out how much we are approved for and talking with a family friend realtor. We have found one house that we really like. Its in pleasant ridge, only a couple of streets from where we are living now (closer to the highway, the street is right off ridge rd). Its 3 bdrm, 1.5 bath, nice closet space and large bdrms. Basement is small and short (unfortunate for travis) but we kinda expect that with an older house. Has a nice backyard, fenced in, with a deck and a shed for storage. We really like it but feel its a little overpriced for the area. Its one of the highest priced houses on the street. The couple has done a lot to the house but still overpriced, especially if you look at how much they paid for the house just 7 years ago. (like $60,000 less!) If it happens, we would probably be trying to make the move in may/june. June is when our lease is up, but if we have to we would just pay the extra month after we left or somehting. The owner's wife is prego and tahts why they want to move.. so unless someone comes in with a better offer (we havent made an offer yet) and wants to move quicker, I think we have a good chance if this is what God wants us to do. So I'll keep yall updated on this.

I would totally go sled riding today but Travis has my 4wheel drive car, I wouldnt know where to go and have no one to go with! I'm such a loser sometimes.

at least the snow is pretty to look at and I am inside a warm house. Lazy day! Which these days a lot of my life consists of :)
love you

Time

growing up is a strange thing.

This time 2 years ago I was broken up with my first "real" boyfriend, living at my parents house, stressing about nursing school whether i would really make it, working at a for real prt time job at childrns hospital working like 8-12 hours a wk minimum. My sis and dan were living in the basement at the time and my brother and trishia were in hyde park. 2 years later, here i am married to that same boy who i was broken up from, living in a quiet little townhouse in pleasant ridge, finally thorugh nursing school working as an RN at the Christ Hospital. Linz and dan are now in florida and brett and trishia have 6 more months living in africa.

Wow how time has changed everything.

I love my life here with Travis and i wouldnt change it for anything. But it has definitly been an adjustment living with just one other person. At my parents house, we always had someone living there. Or at least had loud people over :) but here its so quiet. And since I work at night, yes i sleep during the day but I;m also home alot by myself during the day and it is so strange. I was really lonely and down a couple of weeks ago. I let myself fall into a whole. Travis is very supportive but at the same time he has experienced lonliness far more than i when he moved to cinci like 5 years ago for a job and didnt know anyone and built a life here.I need to be productive on these days I am home but its hard to force myself out of the house sometimes. I can have very lazy tendancies.

Its so strange not having my family around. THis was the first year that I can remember not having christmas with brett and lindsay. My parents spoiled travis and I though.. they got a ping pong table! Luckily we have just enought room for it in our basement and are so excited about it... we used to play alot at my parents house.

I would love to visit Brett and Trishia in Africa before they came back in june but with this new job and it being so overstaffed (meaning I havent been working as much as I am scheduled) it leaves me with few time off hours. My sister and daniel were able to go and I think are flying back today. And my parents went a few weeks ago. THey all say it was life changing. If you get a chance go to my facebook and trishia has been taggng me in some photos... its such a different life there.

As great as this christmas season has been for so many reasons, it has also been a time of sorrow. 2 marriages close to me are falling apart.. well one did and one is in God's hands currently. I also just found out a good friend of mine just lost her baby. The last few weeks for me have been a reminder of the importance of getting on my knees for my family and friends. Even as i say it i know i dont do it like i should be. We have the most powerful weapon in our grasps and still do not use it like we should. God asks us to call on him.
I dont know how i just got into a sermon here.

Yes my update has been awhile. Just a proof of my laziness lately.

Its November?!

I've been on nightshift for 3 weeks now I think. HOnestly most of the time I dont even know what day it is. Working has been fine. STaying up isnt a problem because there are always things to do.. its when I'm off that ruins me. If I work 2 nights in a row, I pretty much sleep all day in between. But its hard knowing how to sleep when I;m off the next night. Like today.. worked last night and off tonight so I tried to only sleep like 4-5 hrs so that I'll be able to sleep tonight like a normal person. But then I work again tomrrow night so its like I guess ill just nap sometime tomororw before I go in? Still working on this schedule. BUt if I only sleep a few hrs I am like useless all day. I have no energy but am bored of doing nothing! I hear working nights for however long takes years off your life- Ihope thats not true! I dont know how long I'll be on this shift, but I know dayshift will be so different it will be hard to switch. And the pay difference is awesome! -- definitly incentive to stay for awhile.
Marriage is good. This schedule in marriage sucks. Some days I get to see travis for about an hour in the evening for dinner.. i try to prepare before he gets home... then I go off to work. and If I'm lucky I can see him in passing when I get home before he leaves if I book it out of work.. which isnt always possible. But the brightside is I currently work 3d/wk so we have 2 evenings we can spend together and i get up with him on the mornings I'm off. And the wkends have slowed down so at least we have those too.
I really cant believe its november already. Its like the days are just passing.
I miss my friends! The couple friend dates I've made lately I've slept through my alarm and missed! dang nightshift. I did get to see baby jack and the beautiful family.

Ok going to get new tires and force myself to workout-- been swimming lately.. its the only thing I can motivate myself to do that is active :)
love you.

no real news

hellooo! So in case you are interested in sseeing wedding pics this link should work. THe professional pics are finally up. :
http://www5.snapfish.com/shareephotolib/shared_view=recently_shared/p=863181255900597221/l=665806027/g=214783027/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB/first_visit=true/pns/share/p=863181255900597221/l=665806027/g=214783027/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Oh and if you do have some pics that you would like to upload to the site I have how to log into snapfish a few posts back.

I have survived my first 2 weeks of the new job. It will be very stressful at times but also very rewarding. Tomorrow night (monday) I will be starting nightshift. During orientation i will be working mon, tues, thurs nights. Which really isnt bad at all. When Im out of orientation i should be working 3 (12hr) nights a wk and every third wkend. I'm nervous but kinda anxious to start nights. So we'll see! I'll let you iknow how it goes.

Yesterday Travis and I bought pumpkins and carved them. It was the first time Travis had ever carved a pumpkin! I loved sharing that with him. When I find my camera-comp adaptor I'll upload the pics. Then we made pumpkin roll with real pumpkin. If you've never had it you are missing out! Its SO good.

I'm excited for baby jack. I've been thinking I could take some night shifts at the Bird house once he's home since I'll alrady be acclamated to staying up all night :)

I love you.

august 29, 2009

So it has been over 4 weeks now. Wow I am such a slacker! Life has been busy and rolling on.

<<>>

I am so happy with how the wedding turned out. It said all week that it was supposed to rain on saturday and it was beautiful!! Nobody even needed the program fans to use bc it was so windy... which was a little irritating with my veil in both of our faces, and I kept replaying in my head as my grandpa was talking that the sand vases were going to knock over and all would go everywhere. I was praying against that the entire first part of the ceremony, so sorry Pa (grandpa) I dont remember anything you said. I loved the girls in their dresses and the little girls. I didnt love almost tripping down the stairs. Too long of a dress + heels + grass on stairs wasn't the best combination for me :) Luckily I had my dads arm to hold me up. I loved all the people I love getting to be there to witness it. This is where I have to say "ok mom, you were right to invite 400 people, i guess". We actually had less than 300 though I think. The older flower girl, Reagan, was told to make sure she followed me when we went out of the wedding. It was so cute bc we had to come back down to dismiss rows and I look back and theres reagan, right behind us :)
The entire reception was spent talking to people but i still didnt get around to everybody! Most of you know that I cant dance so I wasnt really sad about not getting to dance, but I did miss watching my dad do the worm and my grandma dance with some other family. The toasts were great, the cake was amazing- i only tasted what was smashed in my face. Which, by the way, went up my nose! I was like- seriously? Up the nose? Like completely up there. But I didnt have time to go blow it out bc I think we danced next or something. Its weird what people want to talk about on your wedding day. Not that I wasnt interested but its just like.. what? Like right after the cake-immediately before travis and i danced together a woman came up to me and was like.. sarah.. did you know travis's best man and I grew up together at the same church? Isnt that crazy? As shes finishing this amazing story travis is pulling my arm like... Lady we have to go dance our first dance now! It was kinda funny but so random. Did I need to know that small gem of info right then?

Highlights of the reception:
*watching my little cousins and olivia dancing like little angels!
*Travis's mom, dad, stepmom and other family in a small circle talking together! How amazing is that? They've been divorced for like 17 years and havent really spoken since. Its amazing what God can do with a little time. It was such a blessing for travis to have all that family there for him.
*At one point Olivia came up to me and I bent down and she kissed me right on the nose! Sweetest moment and I wish someone had a camera!!
*We had a bridal suit upstairs that was a little shady... there was a couch that had like hair all over it and we couldnt figure it out. Me and Linz went up there like half way through for something and we see the ugliest cat ever sitting on top of the couch. now we understand where the hair came from. so..where did the cat come from? stillll puzzled.
*I had a white dress to change into at the end of the reception to leave and of course I where those white undies the ladies bought me with blue "bride" on the butt. And what do you know? You can see it right through the dress! So I ended up having a white tank top that i used as a slip as we left :)

There were many more moments that I can talk about but lets not get more lengthy here. We should be getting disc for pics back on friday... so I'll post them when I can.
I took too long to write this, so soon I will update you on life as it is now.

Until then.. love and peace.