Test is Done!!!

Thanks so much for all of your support and prayers. After mulling this over and speaking to several people regarding the pro's and con's of having this test, I decided to go ahead and have the test but to prepare Finley for the test and talk through the process. I did exactly that and from the second I picked her up from preschool till the second we walked into the test, we discussed what they would be doing and that this is a really hard test but that after we were going to get a treat! She was very receptive to this and kept asking questions and I think the prep really helped her get through this process.

She wanted an orange cell phone as her "treat" so that was the lure the whole time we were in the test. She kept asking for it to be over so she could get her phone. She did cried quite a bit but honestly, it was not as bad as I thought. It was better- in terms of her crying- than the xray and I really attribute that to the fact that she was totally prepared and knew what to expect. She did great!! Lots of tears at the beginning but then she just relaxed and she did well. She was very proud of how she handled it and off we went to Target to get her orange cell phone. She has been saying all night "mommy no more bad Dr. tests for me anymore-- right?" It is so cute and she keeps showing off her cell phone (which by the way Target had an orange cell phone-- go figure). She was perfectly normal from the point when she was off the table and on. No trauma, no regression-- nothing. I really felt the Lord controlled this whole thing and I am so thankful for that.

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know what happened and thanks again for all your support. It was not an easy decision but I appreciate all of your kind words and input.

HELP!! I don't know what to do...

I am at a loss right now. After Finley's horrific test last week I decided a couple days ago to call the urology department where she is having a test called a CMG this afternoon. I left the nurse practitioner a message asking what the test entails so we both can be prepared-- like we WERE NOT with the last test.


The nurse practitioner called me back while I was walking the girls into preschool this morning (so I missed her call) and she left me a message about what the test is like. Turns out, it is WAY WORSE than the one last week. It sounds horrible-- 90  minutes long- insert catheters into urethra and anus and then fill up everything and it is just horrible. I called the nurse back to ask more questions but she has not yet returned my call.


I am at a loss. Kevin is out of town so I have to take her to the appointment myself and I just don't know what to do. I am in tears right now because I cant imagine making her go through this again. She was so scared last time and barley made it through the test and now I have to subject her to something even worse. I don't know if I can do it. I seriously am sitting here trying to decided if I should take her or not. This test was not ordered because she is showing issues rather it was to get a baseline of her bladder pressure so it is not something that is imperative.


I honestly don't know what to do. How can I make her go through something so horrible again? I don't know what to do. Can you guys pray for the situation and any words would be greatly appreciated. I just don't know what to do...

This and That

Busy home here. Lots going on but things are good. First off many have asked how I am doing with the Dave Ramsey budget-- GREAT!!! I never knew I had so much self control! I am spending hardly anything and we are paying off debt which I am thrilled by. Kev and I both are totally committed so having both of us on board really helps. We are happy as can be about our new lifestyle. Best part is Dave will be in Long Beach (about 50 min from our house) on Saturday and we wanted to see him but didn't want to spend the $39 for the tickets. Well, good thing we didn't because some friends from church bought extra tickets and offered them to Kev and I. Of course I am going and we are so appreciative but Kev has to take Ethan to hockey in Anaheim so I invited my friend Kim so both of us will be going to see Dave Ramsey on Saturday-- yaaaa!!!! Thanks John and Annika!!!!

A wonderful Junior High worker at Church requested me to be her friend on Facebook and as soon as I accepted, she tagged me with a ton of Jr. High pictures of the boys. These are mostly from Surf Camp this past July but I love them and think they are great pictures-- Thanks Melody!!!!

Ethan and his 2 best pals at Church- Andrew and Ben-- Andrew's mom and I were in the same kindergarten class -- too funny!!!

 

Owen Surfing

 

My long hair boy-- its been cut since

 

Being a crazy Jr.Higher-- the boys love our Jr.High department and are very involved. I love that they love it so much as I was very involved in the same youth group at the same church when I was a kid-- Kev and I met in the high school youth group at our church when we were 16-- wow!!!

 

Finley was not feeling well a couple of days ago so we rested together in our bed. I took this pitiful picture-- poor thing

A little better
 

Well, Ethan had his first Hockey team and my pictures were pitiful but Ethan is one of the only 8th graders on the high school team and he was honored as being named ASSISTANT CAPTAIN for his team!!!!! I was so proud of him. He always gives 110% and is a big time leader and encourager to the other players. I was very proud of him to be named assistant  as an 8th grader-- very proud of him!!!!

The defensive coach giving him tips before the game. They lost their first game but gave the other team a run for their money. They played the league champs from last year so they are considered the best team and our boys did great against them!!

 

We were at a BBQ the other day and got this cute picture of the girls eating their drumsticks. Yes my girls look like rug rats but they had fun!!

 

And finally another picture my friend took of Fin and I the other day at a party at their house. We did the cute little pig tails on Finley and I thought they looked cute-- plus, this is a picture with me in it which is a RARE event so in the interest of attempting to show there is a mom in the family, I thought I would include this picture-- lol!!!!

Horrible Test and Hockey

First we will talk about the horrible test~ uggggg!!~

Many of you who are familiar with Spina Bifida will know about the X-Ray that must be done on the urinary tract in an effort to see if the bladder is having reflux into the kidneys (or something like that). When we were at SB clinic last time the Urologist thought it would be a good idea to have this test (CMG) done just to get a baseline. It was not 100% necessary because she does not show any symptoms of there being a problem, but they wanted to do the test as a baseline.

So we unknowingly went to her "X-Ray" today never giving it a thought of how they would do this xray. We got to the pediatric X-ray area and they gave me a little brochure on the procedure. Holy cow- after reading that I was ready to load Finley up and get out of there. It was horrible. First they strap the child down on the table then clean the area and place a catheter into the urethra and then fill the bladder full of fluid and then the child has to pee all the liquid out into a diaper laying flat on the table all the while them snapping x-ray after x-ray. Oh my goodness I was freaking out but I thought maybe Finley would handle it well.

That was a great thought but we were not so lucky. It was horrible. We walk into the room and she sees the massive table and she starts clinging to me and crying. I strip her down and put on a little robe thing and the whole time she is screaming. I then have to lay her on this little board that rotates meanwhile she is screaming begging me to stop and they then proceed to place a number of straps on her to hold her down. Thank GOD I was still able to hold her hands and talk to her. They then clean down there and begin to insert the catheter which hurts and is very uncomfortable. She is just screaming and at that point had been screaming for 15+ minutes. They get the cath in and start filling the bladder which feels strange to her and she continues to cry. They finally fill it all the way and tell me she can now void. This part scared me because they said some kids take an hour to let the pee out and most take from 30 to 45 minutes. I could not imagine 45 min of being strapped to a table until she finally pees. I told Finley that she can pee now and as soon as she is done we get to leave and go home. She said in her whimper voice "ok mommy" and she let it go. She was 100% voided in 1 min and they were shocked and impressed! They said they had never seen a kid pee out so quick-- man did she want to leave!!! So they took a few more pictures and then we were done.

It was a horrible experience and yes the workers were very nice and sweet and said most kids scream the whole time but it was still a horrendous experience. Finley was a trooper but again-- not fun. This was a good test to have done and the radiologist said everything looked perfect with no kidney reflux or anything so that was awesome news but I am happy to have this out of the way and hopefully we wont have to have another CMG for a really long time!!

The following pictures are of my little climbing monkey.

She is in midair on this picture. She loved it!!!!

 

She is such a climber

Ethan's high school (and 8th graders too) hockey team has it's first game on Saturday. They got their jerseys last night and since the team is a combo of 2 schools- Bishop Amat and Upland Christian Academy- they have 2 jerseys. Unfortunately, I got to the jersey ceremony too late to get the whole team in their Upland Christian Academy Jerseys (that's the school the boys go to) but I was able to get the Bishop Amat pictures.

Messing around with his pals

I hate the serious faces-- come on guys... smile!!!!

And the whole team

Good luck tomorrow team!!!!!

Current Life~ sorry it's long~

Life is in full swing. We have lots going on but we do manage to find times to just sit in the back yard and take pictures of the girls swimming with my lame camera phone-- sorry tried to get my nice camera but the battery was dead-- so iPhone it was. Fridays are good days. I'm off work, girls are off preschool, boys are at school and Kev is at work-- so we just relax. In fact, it is 11:30am and I am still in my pajamas in the back yard online drinking coffee watching the girls swim-- awwww... relaxing. I love Fridays!! Plus last night while Kevin had the boys at ice hockey, I cleaned the heck out of the house, so it is clean and feels really good-- Awww...

So what is up in our household--lots!! First off the kids are good and in full school mode. The boys are in crazy Jr.High mode with school, hockey in the evenings on Tues and Thurs, church youth group on Wednesday evenings (which they absolutely love by the way) and now they are wanting to be on the school flag football team. We are trying to discourage that as it will leave no down time but they are insistent-- uggg!!! Life is about to get even crazier.

Girls are in AM preschool through my school district which is an amazing program. Mia is starting to read so they are working with her individually and Finley has just blossomed into a crazy social butterfly. They are in gymnastics and loving that as well! They are also starting Awana's at our church this next Wednesday which they will love for sure. It is a great program and the boys were in it when they were little.

Kev and I are actually doing really well. I have not made it very public here on our blog but I figure I will mention it now but Kevin had his hip replaced back on May 5 and consequently, 5 days after surgery, his police department started the retirement process on him. The hip replacement put him in better shape then he has been for years and is now mountain biking 3+ times a week for a couple hours a time but because the artificial hip has innate restrictions (although Kevin's DR. who performed the surgery said he would not have restrictions and would have released him to full duty), the attorneys for the city felt Kevin would have to have work restrictions. Since his city is small and they do not have any permanent light duty positions, they decided they would have to retire him since there are assumed restrictions with a hip replacement (ya-- for 80 year old little old ladies-- not for a physically fit athletic 39 year old man). So, the process started and on June 20 of this year, Kevin was retired from police work. It was bittersweet for all of us. Kevin was lucky enough that the hip was work related and therefore got an amazing retirement (really amazing and we are grateful for that) but even with the amazing retirement he still is down a lot of money each month. It is also bittersweet beuase Kevin's bachelors degree was in criminal justice and now it really will not help in his career.

On the positive side, Kevin has never been a sold out, in love with his job cop. He was an amazing cop and loved being on the motorcycle but it was never his passion. You can see how God began working on Kevin heart a few years ago. He brought onto Kevin's radar missions and he fell in love with it. He began taking short term missions trips on his time off and he soon realized God was preparing his heart for a love of missions. Throughout those years Kevin began to have medical issues with his hip through work and the hip replacement was going to be in his future. Back then we did not see God's leading other than we knew that Kevin's heart was changing and God was doing an amazing work in not only Kevin but in our whole families life. Fast forward 2 years, Kevin has now been retired and can now work any job he wants and will still pull an amazing retirement- God has firmly placed Kevin in our missions department at our church and he has now been hired by our church to take over the Short-Term Missions department (just one and a half days a week-- but it will increase with time) and God has provided him an opportunity to obtain his Wholesale Car Dealers License through the DMV and is now buying and selling cars from dealerships to auction and vice versa. He is just starting both of these projects but it is amazing to me how God has provided for us and has so obviously lead our family. God knew this was all going to happen and He had a plan for Kevin. I do believe that plan is starting to unfold in front of us and it is very exciting. Yes, money is exceptionally tight-- hence us starting Dave Ramsy's Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace University through our church- but God obviously lead us to this financial place as well. We are living on a budget for the first time in our lives and we know where every penny is going. We are paying off debt and IT FEELS SOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!! I have not eaten a lunch out for over a month and we are living so darn frugal that it makes me laugh how far we have come in such a short time. God is so good and He so obviously divinely arranged this whole situation. I am happy and content for honestly the first time in my life. Yes I get frustrated and the kids drive me nuts but I just know God has it all under control as long as I am willing to give it to Him. I daily give my spending to God and give our family to Him so that He can do with us what He will. It amazes me what He is doing in our lives. God has even given me a bunch of extra time card work in my school district that is bringing in extra money there as well. AMAZING!!!

So sorry for the long post but I wanted to let you all know where we are right now. Lots has been going on but I have not really wanted to share Kevin's retirement on the blog but now I feel like I can. God is so amazing and we feel so amazingly blessed to have been given these hard times to really guide us where we are supposed to be. Several months ago if you would have asked if Kevin's hip replacement and the break into our house while we were sleeping and the unexpected retirement with the significant pay DECREASE and my cancer and all the other bumps we endured would have turned out like this-- I would have thought you were crazy!!! GOD IS AMAZING!!!!

Ok, To avoid a post without pictures, here are some pictures of the girls from a little bit ago in the pool. Thanks for listening to my rant!!

They took their dolls in the pool-- lovely!

 

Poor quality I know but the nice camera was dead.

 

Doll love!!

 

Miss Mia is an amazing swimmer now. She still freaks me out when she is in the deep end (like in this picture) but she seems to manage well.

Gotta love the bangs in her eyes. We had yet to get ready for the day and her hair was still bedhead.

 

Too cute!

 

Finley laid out her towel by the back door and was making sure her baby was ok. It was really cute!!!!

Again, thanks for listening and reading the long post.

Sad day in Hockey

It is a sad day in hockey around the world. A plane with the top Russian Hockey team has crashed and all but two people died (I think 43 people dead). They have not released the names of the dead but they were many of the top names in hockey and are well known. My boys are at school and have not heard yet, but I am sure their hearts will ache for the families of these players. Please keep these players and their families in your prayers. I just feel sick right now.

Here is the news article:

A Russian jet carrying a top ice hockey team crashed while taking off Wednesday in western Russia, killing at least 43 people and leaving two others critically injured, officials said.







The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 plane crashed immediately after leaving an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River about 150 miles northeast of Moscow.






The ministry said the plane was carrying 45 people, including the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team, and all but two of those on board were killed.






Lokomotiv is coached by Canadian Brad McCrimmon, former Detroit Red Wings assistant, and includes several international stars in its ranks, such as goalkeeper Stefan Liv of Sweden and Czech Republic players Karel Ranuchek, Josef Vasicek and Jan Marek and Slovakia's Pavol Demitra.






Demitra, the Slovakian national team captain, played in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks. Other top names include Russian defensemen Ruslan Salei and Karlis Skrastins.






It wasn't immediately clear which players were on board the Yak-42 on Wednesday.






The Russian news agency Interfax reported that the survivors were Lokomotiv forward Alexander Golimov and a member of the plane's crew.


."There has been a terrible tragedy," Kontinental Hockey League president Alexander Medvedev said in televised comments after the opening match of the league's season in the city of Ufa was interrupted when news of the crash came. He announced a minute of silence and postponed the match.

~My Scary Little Girls~

I took these pictures with my cell phone yesterday. I think they are so funny. The girls and their next door neighbor pal Lily were in the boy dress up clothes and having way too much fun. I was in my bedroom folding laundry and the girls kept coming through the bedroom door and trying to scare me. They were cracking me up so I took these cute pics. Finley is a scary black robe person-- Mia is a camo scary person and Lily is clearly a skeleton.

We are so lucky to have Lily living next door. She is a sweet little girl who is right between Mia and Finley's age. Her parents are wonderful and my girls are over at Lily's house all the time. Lily also has a little sister, Sophie, who is about 18 months so I am sure she is going to get involved in the play mix sometime soon :)

 

Full body shot-- too cute!!!

First Day of School~~ Hockey in the news~~ Dave Ramsey!!!

Officially, all my kids are back to school. The girls started last week and the boys yesterday. I also am back to work my 2.5 days a week. I am a really bad mom and only took first day of school photos with my iphone camera so I'm so sorry the pictures are horrible but it's all I've got :(

Here is the 2011-2012 line up---

Ethan, 13 years old in the 8th grade

Owen, 11 years old in the 6th grade (Jr. High--yaaaa!!)

Mia, 4 years old in Preschool

Finley 3 years old in Preschool

The girls in their line. We decided to keep the girls in the same preschool class. They do very well together and we thought it would be really good for Finley (Mia too). This is Mia's last year in preschool and Finley will have one more year after this one.

Finley and the back of Mia at their desk. Parents were there too waiting for a little orientation.

Finley and Addy. Addy is my good friend Kim's daughter. She lives right by my work and by the girls school. We had them in the same preschool class last year and are continuing this year and on Mondays and Tuesdays Kim picks all the girls up and watches them at her house till I get off work and on Wednesdays and Thursdays I pick all the girls up and watch them till Kim gets off work. It is a wonderful arrangement and we are able to avoid any child care expenses. Plus the girls LOVE each other!!!!

Mia hanging out in the library

The boys started school yesterday and both seem pretty happy about it. This is my handsome 8th grader in his uniform. The school started uniforms for Jr. High this year-- the boys were not happy-- I think Ethan looks so handsome in his uniform-- he is growing up sooooo much and actually sounds like a man- his voice is soooo low!!!

And my new Jr. Higher Owen!!!! He is so happy to be in Jr. High and totally motivated!! He got back from Haiti with Kevin on Monday at 3am (actually Tuesday morning) and had to be at Jr. High orientation at 10am on Tuesday. Poor tired kid! He did fine and is now all rested up. He had an amazing time in Haiti and I would challenge any parent to send their kid on a missions trip-even at his age. It was a wonderful life-changing experience!!!!

ETHAN'S HOCKEY TEAM IN THE NEWS!!!

Ethan's School Hockey Team made the news!!!! Ethan is on our schools ice hockey team-- Upland Christian Academy (we combined with another private school- Bishop Amat to create our team- this is only for the first year or two till we get enough kids to make our own team). He is an 8th grader but they allowed certain 8th graders on the team (hate to brag but he is really good!!!) for the first couple years since the team is new. I'm really proud of him and his passion for hockey-- now we need to bottle that passion for school work:) Owen will be on the team when he is an 8th grader but our school is starting a Jr. High roller hockey team through the league the boys have been playing roller hockey for the last couple years. It is a great league and we will have our own Upland Christian Academy Jr. High Roller Hockey Team!!!!!

Here is the news Article-

Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League Adds Three New Schools11 Teams from the Eight Schools, Including Both Junior Varsity and Varsity Squads, Will Compete This Season Friday, 08.26.2011 / 3:08 PM / News The Ducks today announced an expansion to the club’s Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League (ADHSHL) for the 2011-12 season. Bishop Amat/Upland Christian Academy, Edison High School (Huntington Beach) and Long Beach Prep have joined the three-year-old league, bringing the total enrollment to eight local schools. In addition, the league has grown to include 11 varsity and junior varsity squads, up from last year’s total of seven. Servite High School, which joined the ADHSHL in 2010, has added a varsity team, while Bishop Amat/Upland Christian Academy, Huntington Beach Edison and Long Beach Prep will all enter the league with a junior varsity squad.

“It’s been extremely fulfilling to witness the growth of the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League over the last three years,” said Vice President – THE RINKS Art Trottier. “The expansion from one team in 2008, up to our 11 current teams, is a great example of the roots we are continuing to build here in Southern California.”

The 2010-11 ADHSHL season culminated with a championship match on Feb. 28 between junior varsity clubs JSerra Catholic High and Servite High. Over 3,000 fans attended the game held at Honda Center, as Servite skated to a 5-1 victory and first-ever ADHSHL title. In addition, the varsity squad from Santa Margarita Catholic High served as California’s sole representative at the USA Hockey High School Varsity National Championships from Mar. 23-27, 2011 in Bensenville, IL.

The Ducks launched the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League on July 1, 2008 with JSerra Catholic High School (San Juan Capistrano) as its charter member. Santa Margarita Catholic High (Santa Margarita) joined in 2009. The league then swelled to seven clubs for the 2010-11 season, with the addition of five teams and three new schools: Servite High School (Anaheim), Damien High School (La Verne) and Lutheran High School of Orange County (Orange). All league games are played on Saturdays at THE RINKS - Anaheim ICE. As the league continues to grow, the Anaheim Ducks will continue to provide financial support for each team involved in the program.

The Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League has a brand new website with news, videos, stats, standings, rosters and more for each of the teams in the league. Visit www.DucksGoal.com/highschoolhockey and click the High School Hockey link.

The full list of teams competing in the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League:

Varsity:

Santa Margarita

JSerra

Servite - new in 2011-12

Jr. Varsity

Santa Margarita

JSerra

Orange Lutheran

Damien

Servite

Edison High School (Huntington Beach) - new in 2011-12

Bishop Amat/Upland Christian Academy - new in 2011-12

Long Beach Prep - new in 2011-12

Oh Ya, I also wanted to mention that we are starting the

Dave Ramsey-- THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER!!!!!

We are amazingly motivated and we are going to get out of debt and pay off our house and save and do all that awesome stuff!! We officially start today - Sept 1-- but we have been living like this for a few weeks now. Iam so motivated I can hardly stand it. I will keep you posted on how we are doing!!