Just A Few Pictures

I wanted to post one last May entry with some pictures. I am trying to save my computer time for when the girls are napping or in bed for the night. It takes too much of my time otherwise. They are currently both taking naps. We had a busy morning running errands. The weather here is so beautiful. When they wake up, we are heading outside!

Kelby still complains of her tummy ache sometimes. Maybe she just isn't caught up yet. Everything seems to be coming out okay...if you know what I mean. I got a beautiful cold sore on my lip that is totally due to stress. I guess I was pretty upset when Kelby wasn't pooping. So, now we are just hanging on until her scans on Monday, June 3rd. I am praying that they come back clear! Then, I can relax again for awhile.

Now, here's the story of our trip to Billings. When I wasn't totally focused on Kelby's problem, we did have a great time. We rolled into town on Saturday morning about 10:00. It was a long drive this time. Kelby got to go swimming almost right away with Uncle Brad and Dad. She wanted to be in there the whole time we were there! On Sunday, Brad, Andrea, Dad, Mike and I got to take Kelby to a movie! It was her second time in the theater, but it was my first time taking her. We saw "Monster's Inc." I just loved the movie. Kelby stayed pretty still and watched the whole thing. On Monday, my mom's family came over for a Memorial Day picnic. There was tons of great food and everyone got to see Kelby. She got a ton of attention...and loved it until she got too tired. Then, after everyone had gone home, that's when we decided we had to go home and cut the trip short. Bummer. I miss them all already. Some of these pictures are from the trip.

Thank you so much for writing in the guestbook. It is a wonderful source of encouragement every time I see what you all have to say. I check every day! God bless. Please keep praying for the results of these upcoming scans to be good.

 

		Billings VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Just a Quick Update

Here's just a quick update. That little Kelby had me so worried when she hadn't pooped in eight days! I had been chatting with the doctor over the phone and he was a little concerned too. He told us to take her to the ER in Montana. Mike and I just didn't want to have to go to the hospital there and deal with more doctors that didn't know about Kelby's situation. We decided to jump back in the car and drive back to Billings that night instead. We had been planning to stay until Tuesday night, so my family was shorted a day (so sorry). I had been stressed and a little depressed while we were there because I was so worried about Kelby. She did fine in the car over night. We made it into her oncologist's office...just in time for her to go poop in the potty there!!! So, she is just fine after all. We'll have to keep up on her problem better from now on...but she seems to be doing great. I slept for the rest of the day and now we are all feeling much better. Kelby has continued to go. So sorry that I have to tell you all these details. It is probably a little more than most of you want to know, but it has been such a huge ordeal for me, that it is significant. I'll write more later when I have our household back under control from the trip.

Six Days and Counting

Monday, May 27, 2002

We made it to Billings. It was a long, hard, drive to get here with some pretty miserable traffic due to the holiday. Kelby and Tegan didn't get too much sleep. I think they are about caught up now. Gramma and Grampa are enjoying their girls. The girls are enjoying them too. We've done a little swimming and a little shopping.

I am still concerned for Kelby. She seems to be feeling pretty good, but she hasn't had a bowel movement in 6 six days. I've been giving her mineral oil to go, and it hasn't worked yet. So, as the days creep by and she doesn't go, I get more and more concerned and upset. I sure try not to worry, but it is hard. The weird thing is that Kelby isn't complaining about the tummy ache quite as much. Just every once in a while she gets upset. She has much more energy and fun now that she doesn't have a fever. I'll be making a call into her doctor later today.

I hope that everyone has a good Memorial Day weekend. We are having a lot of fun, when I'm not so focused on Kelby's tummy. Brad and Andrea are fun. I have really missed them. My brother is off to the Air Force in a week, so this is the last time we'll see him for awhile! I'll post some pictures later. I have taken a ton. God bless you and and please keep praying for us.

Finally Feeling Better

On Wednesday night I took Kelby in to get her blood checked. It looked just fine, so they sent us home to see what happens after 12 more hours. Kelby was feeling miserable. She still had her fever on Thursday, so I continued to be worried. I took her into her doctor again. I was still concerned about her not pooping for 3 days. He just couldn't figure out where the fever was coming from so he was still concerned. I wondered if she could have some kind of blockage that was causing her problems. Of course, I was thinking that she might have a tumor blockage, so I got a little bit worried. I talked to Kelby's nurse in Seattle and she said the doctor down there wanted to see us. So, we got in the car and drove all the way down there. He looked at her and said that it looks like a virus. So, I felt really stupid for being there. They did give her some fluids since she looked really dehydrated. She hadn't been drinking much. They gave her some Tylenol and we went home. The doctor did say that it is a possibility that she might have some kind of blockage up there, but the chances are very low, so they didn't want to rush into any kinds of scans. I am glad she has scans coming up on June 3. Anyways, I still didn't feel better about it last night. But...this morning she looks so much better and no fever! So, yes, she probably did have some kind of virus causing the fever. Good! She still complains of the tummy ache, so I am back to treating that the best I can.

After a hard day of taking Kelby to doctors, I came to Gramma Debbie's house. She so kindly took care of Tegan for me while I did all that. (Thank you so much!) I was holding Tegan and I looked at her back and she has some kind of strange skin thing. She has four large round sores on the small of the back. So, I suppose I should go back to the doctor one more time. Can you believe it?

Needless to say, yesterday was a hard day on me. I got to talk to Maureen, the oncology social worker, a bit, and she was helpful. I cried a lot. It is just so hard to not know what will happen to Kelby. Everything seems like is could be a cancer problem. I also wonder what it will be like when it does come back. Lynn (our oncology nurse) said it would be a long, slow downhill process. That sounds very scary. I am still so concerned with the constipation problem, and no one can understand that part. The pain she has from that is so major, and it seems to be dismissed by new food suggestions...that don't really help with a picky toodler. I quit giving her the mineral oil while she was sick because she kept having a tiny leak of diarrea, so I thought it would just make her more sick. We'll get back to that now and see if that helps...it did before.

Kelby is feeling better today, so I am too. We are still heading to Billings tonight. I think that Kelby is feeling up to it now, and I just can't wait to see my brother and sister...and everybody.

Can't Catch a Break

Well, it seems that every time I write, I am telling you all about how someone here is sick. Tegan is all better now. She got better during this week of antibiotics. Her personality is back. I think that she has been under the weather for quite some time now, because I can't remember when she was as happy and energetic as she has been the last few days. Thank you Lord that she is feeling so much better. Her blood and urine all came back looking fine for her. The counts looked like what they would after an infection. I am not sure if the fever she had was from the infection or if she had a virus at the same time. It might have been a virus because now Kelby has a fever too.

Kelby started not feeling too good yesterday morning. She woke up from her nap with a fever of about 101.5. She was complaining of a neckache, tummy ache, itchy eyes, and other stuff. I just don't think she knows where it really hurts. This last week she had been having normal bowel movements everyday, but the last two days she hasn't gone, so I am getting worried again. She hung on to her fever all night last night. She woke up four times in the middle of the night with a terrible nightmare. Both Michael and I were disturbed by her outbursts. She would wake up just screaming at the top of her lungs. She would freak out even more when she looked at the window. The terror in her eyes was unbelievable, like she was looking at something so evil. She did it the first time when I wasn't there. The second time was about 12:30 at night. The horrible thing was that when she looked at me, she had that same terror in her eyes. She calmed down when we took her out of her room. After a little calming time of praying and singing with her, she went back to bed just fine. Her favorite song is one that goes (To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat), "Jesus, is with us; what a friend is he. I don't have to be afraid, 'cause Jesus is with me." The last two times she woke up, she was not quite as disturbed. All we know is that her nightmare (if that is what it was) had something to do with the window. I hope that doesn't happen again. Today, she still had a fever this morning and was complaining of her teeth hurting while rubbing the back of her head. She still has a tummy ache, and just doesn't feel good. I am taking her in to see her primary care physician later today. So, I am hoping it is all just a virus like Tegan's. (Later: Okay, the docter wasn't sure either. He highly suspects a virus also. She doesn't really have any simple virus symptoms (runny nose, cough, sneezing) now though. We'll have to wait and see what happens over the next 24 hours. Her fever is actually down right now. I had given her some Tylenol. It will be interesting to see if her temp goes up again. She napping right now. I just pray that she doesn't wake up upset again. The doctor thinks that was something they call "night terrors." That means she wasn't actually awake when she was so upset, even though her eyes were open and we though she was awake. He had me take in a urine sample to see if anything is abnormal there. I am assuming she just has a virus though. It is easy to jump to conclusion, so I am trying to keep a level head (easier said than done). Since her fever went down, she appears to be feeling much better.)

Otherwise, I am hoping she gets all better by the time we leave for Billings this Friday. Kelby is excited to go. I am really excited to go. I guess there isn't really a whole lot more to update you on, since my week has consisted of sick kids. We didn't do much this weekend. I suppose we were relaxing in order to save our energy for the upcoming weekend of driving and visiting my family.

We are hanging in here. I am always concerned about Kelby when she sick, not knowing if her symptoms are somehow related to her cancer. That is when the rollercoaster of emotions is really hard on me.

On the lighter side, I was combing Kelby's hair the other day, and she said, "Ouch, I have rectangles." That is what she calls the "tangles" in her hair. She is just so cute!

Thanks for Checking In

I know that you will all be glad to get another update from me, so I am not outside mowing my lawn like I should be. We had an interesting weekend. I had planned to have family over for Tegan's "birthday" on Saturday afternoon, but she woke up from her nap with 101.5 temperature. We figure that it was a sinus infection because she's had a bit of a green nose for quite some time now. She just wasn't herself the last few days. Her temp got up to 105.5! The temp came back down, but we aren't sure it was the sinus infection that caused the fever. She is just fine today. I took both girls in to the doctor yesterday. Tegan, for her one year baby check up and shots, and Kelby about her tummy ache problem. Tegan is a little small for her age. The doctor want me to get some tests (blood and urine) done on her just to make sure we aren't missing anything on her. She only weighs 16 pounds six ounces! She's still four pounds from being able to face forward in her carseat (which you are supposed to be able to do at age one.) Kelby seems to doing better now, but I am worried about the constipation problem coming back. She holds her bowl movements for three days at a time. Her doctor thinks that this is all part of a normal childhood issue with potty training. I guess that kids will hold back if they don't want to go in their panties, which makes the poop get harder and more painful. That would make sense since this all started about the same time that Kelby started wearing panties.

We had a happy Mother's Day! We went out to the beach. Trooper came too. It has been beautiful weather. We enjoyed the water and a nice walk. Tegan was feeling better, so she did fine. We had planned to go to the zoo, but didn't really feel like the drive. Plus, I wanted to get home to play with my Mother's Day present! Mike got me a really cool video game. I am sure you're all thinking it is crazy that I would love a video game, but it is so cool. It makes you dance. Plus, it is a great work out. It is called Dance Dance Revolution. You watch arrows on the screen and you have to move your feet on a floor pad to the beat! Wow, it is so hard! This is how Mike and I are going to exercise from now on. The game even counts the calories you burn. Kelby thinks it's fun too, although she is just pretending to play. Mike even got me the Disney version too! Now we can dance with Mickey and Donald...Kelby really loves that!

I found out today that Kelby's scans won't be until June 3rd. We'll be back from our trip to Billings by then. We are very excited to go to Billings; my brother and sister will be there! Don't worry...I'll bring my Dance Dance Revolution game so we can all play!

Since we couldn't have everyone over on Saturday for Tegan's birthday, we had them over last night for dinner and cake. The girls LOVED the cake. Kelby was just waiting ever so patiently for the "green" ice cream we could have with the cake. She just can't get enough mint chocolate chip ice cream. It has even become a source of conflict!

I have added a ton of pictures today. I hope that it doesn't take a long time to load this page. My kidos are just so cute, that I can't help but show them to you.

By the way, Kelby's invisible mouse likes to sit on her shoulder and eat cheese now! She is just so cute. I always had quite the imagination when I was a little girl, so I have fun pretending with her. I'm going to sign off for today. I need to learn to write more often, so I don't have so much to write about at once! God bless you all. We love you all and appreciate all of your prayers!

		May 2002 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Tegan's First Birthday!!!

I just can't believe that Tegan is already a year old! This year went by so fast. Tegan is such a sweetie. She is taking a couple steps now, but still not walking. I think it will be no time before she's walking all around. We'll be having a family birthday party for her on Saturday, but last night the four of us went out to dinner.

Kelby has been going through a serious constipation problem. I am doing just about everything I can. Last night, she finally went a bunch. I'll keep her on everything until she's normal though. And even then, I don't think I should stop giving her stuff because she just continues to have this problem. It has been the worst it has ever been this last week and a half. She has been in a lot of pain. She gets "tummy aches" and then it really hurts when she goes. The amazing thing is that she has learned to go on the potty! I'd say she is fully potty trained now. She'll wear panties all day anyways; We still have to work on nighttime.

This last weekend was hard on me. It may have had a lot to do with Kelby's pain with this problem, but I have been very teary. I have just had a heavy heart. We watched the movie KPAX the other night and I cried through the entire thing...it wasn't even that sad of a movie...it just had mellow music. For some reason I feel better now. I think that it is probably healthy for me to cry like that sometimes. We may get to have Kelby's scans done a little earlier than we thought. I had to reschedule because we are planning to go to Billings for Memorial Day. It ended up that we might be able to get the scans on May 20th. I am anxious to see the results. Hopefully I'll be able to relax a little because they'll look good.

We did some visiting with Gramma Debbie and Grampa George this weekend. Kelby has a fun time over there. Whenever we go over there, she thinks there will be eggs hiding in the backyard! She remembers that from Easter. Gramma sends her hunting for dandylions instead! Gramma Debbie always tells the girls stories about little mice. Kelby just loves it. I know this because the other night when we were at home, Kelby held out her little hand cupped ever so gently, and she told me she had a little mousey in her hand. With her other hand she gently stroked the invisible mouse with her finger. It was so cute. Then, she gave her hands an excited shake and she said with a very concerned look on her face, "Oh no, I shaked of the mousey!" It is amazing what kids will pick up. Grampa George always used to play a game with Kelby where he would hide things in her "ear." Do you know the game? "Where'd it go? Oh, there it is...in your ear." So, now whenever I am looking for something, Kelby will say, "It's in my ear!"

I am so glad that I have all these funny little stories of Kelby documented! She is a funny girl. I suppose all kids are just as cute, but my Kelby is extra special. The weather is beautiful here today, so I better get out and enjoy it for awhile.

Wow, It's May!

Well, it has been a while since I last updated! Sorry about that. We are just doing so well. We went out to see the Skagit Valley Tulips on Tuesday evening. Kelby really loved that! It sure is beautiful in the fields as you can see from the pictures. Most of the other fields had already been cut because we waited so long to go out there. We had to avoid the crowds and traffic. For those of you that don't know...this area is known for their tulips and daffodils. They have a "Tulip Festival" that brings everyone up to see the vast fields of flowers. I am glad that we got Kelby out there before they were all gone! The bad part was that on the way home, Tegan got really sick and threw up all over. She ended up being sick the whole night, but was fine by morning. I thought that it was just something she ate, but Mike and I ended up getting it about two days later. Kelby hasn't gotten it yet, so I just pray that she doesn't.

I feel like I am just getting a handle on life again...at least the normal everyday stuff anyways. I haven't been visiting much with my friends lately, so hopefully I'll get a chance to do more of that in the coming weeks. I have been doing a little work out in the yard. Kelby loves the picnic table that I made, because she likes to eat outside now when it is nice. The table is actually two benches that turn into one picnic table (I just mention that so you understand the picture below). Two for the price of one!

The other day when Kelby got up in the morning, the first thing she said was, "I getta go to Dismeyland?" It is just so cute. Then, we were in the car yesterday and she said, "We getta go to Dismeyland, and touch the water? And go on the rockets, and the elephant ride?" Can you believe she remembers all those fountains? Since we won the contest, we are planning to go in September. If something happens with Kelby's health, maybe we'll go sooner, but for now we are planning to wait. She seems to be just fine right now. I suppose we'll have a better idea after her scans. They are planned for May 28th.

Man, that Kelby really does love that Trooper. I am so glad that we got him. He is really starting to learn. The advice for puppy training has been useful! He already understands "sit" and the nipping has really cut down. I think he is a happy boy. The other night, I was cooking dinner and I heard Kelby laughing. She had gone out in the garage all by herself to play with Trooper! I am glad we took the mice back and opted for a puppy. I found a tag for Trooper that actually has a happy face on it, if you can believe it.

We are all hanging in here. Please pray that Kelby doesn't get this bug that we have had around here. She is as happy as can be! Love to you all. ~Shawna