Cream-Filled Egg

Believe it...I really did make it myself.
What's more: it only took minutes to create.

This is just a piece of what's going to be finally published around the middle of April - a new e-zine that my partner and I are producing. I'm so excited about all that we're going to be able to share with you recipe-wise. But, there's more than that too...

Just another reason I haven't been blogging as much. All my time and effort has been put into our e-zine.

Oh, and this great big hive I've got on my body. All the small hives have come together to form the largest hive in the history of the world. It's taking all my energy to scratch it now.

March Madness

I don't really know what all this "March Madness" is about, but at our house is just means things have gone plain crazy.

We got some bad news today that the Shaohannah's Hope adoption grant we applied for was denied. Too many applicants not enough money. And two days ago, we found out that the timing belt in Bill's car is gone, so it will cost more money than his car is worth to fix it. Ahh, and the dreaded rash that sent me to the expensive ER on Sunday has come back with a fury today (it's really angry!) so I need to go back to the doctor this afternoon. Thank God for insurance.

With all the financial strains on everybody right now, obviously not just us, I just want to remind myself and you that God is with us. My favorite verses that have been our life verses since Sam was created in my womb have been:

Isaiah 43:4 -7

This is what the Lord, our Creator, says to his people:

"Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!'
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth--
Everyone who is called by My name,
Whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him."

I don't know what any of our futures hold, but these words have spoken to my heart time and time again. Today, they are reminding me of the calling God put in my life to adopt a little girl from China. My descendants will come from the east, my daughters from the ends of the earth...And, most importantly of all, I shouldn't fear because He is with me.

No matter what the financial blow your family has been dealt, God will see you through this time. Somehow He will create families despite the difficulties and carry us through.

Here is my descendant from the east, my son from afar, the one who God created for His glory and whom God formed...All greased up after eating one of our favorite dishes, dry-glass potatoes. Don't mind the bad haircut. He doesn't.

Jump Rope for Heart

Our ten year-old nephew, Nicholas, is raising support for the American Heart Association by jump roping. Here's what he said about it:

Hi! I am participating in the Jump Rope for Heart event at my school. I will begin jumping rope next week and will continue until the end of the month. Will you please donate to help me with my goals and the goals of the American Heart Association?

Your donation to the American Heart Association is tax deductible. If you make an online donation, you will receive a confirmation email for your tax deduction.

I have to turn in all of my donations by Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Thank you for supporting The American Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart program.

I am jumping in memory of my great-grandfather, Vic McDonald. He had heart disease his entire life and recently passed away because of it and I am jumping in honor of my cousin Sam who has a heart condition. I want to try to help as many people as I can by doing my part in finding cures for heart disease.

Click here to see his website. (That's not his picture on the site.)

This is obviously a subject close to our hearts and we are thrilled that he is jumping in memory of Bill's grandfather and in honor of our little Sam. AMA does a lot of great work towards researching heart disease. While much of it is for adult heart issues, there is a small portion that goes towards congenital heart defects. If you have some money to spare, please donate to a good cause. Also, if you want to donate less than $25, post a comment (I won't publish it) with your email address so I can let you know where to send the check (made out to AHA).

Blessings.

Baby Stellan

You've probably seen these posts all over the internet, but I'd like to post it here too.

There's a baby boy named Stellan who needs our prayers. He's in tachycardia and has been for almost 24 hours. He comes in and out of it with irregular rhythms and blood pressure fluctuations. Please visit their blog to get more details. http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

Let's pray for him. His story reminds me some of Sam's story.

Whirlind

Well, we've had a whirlwind of a weekend. Bill got back yesterday after being gone just over two weeks in India and Indonesia.

Sam and I drove down to Charlotte to meet him, because, well, we couldn't stand to be apart a moment longer. We went to Ikea and then to Bill's favorite restaurant (Chili's) to celebrate his homecoming and our reunion.

Last week I was diagnosed with a sinus infection, which I think I mentioned here. I was given some antibiotics to take and finished them up about three or four days ago. Yesterday morning I noticed I was scratching myself in my sleep and when I woke up and checked my torso out, I had red splotches all over. The itching and rash grew steadily worse until I finally called the doctor on-call. He said to take some Claritan at 2pm and Zyrtac at bedtime and that it was probably an allergic reaction to the antibiotics.

I kept Bill up all night long with my scratching. I feel terrible about it, especially because he's jet lagging and he didn't need someone scratching themselves incessantly keeping him awake - he needed a nice restful sleep.

The rash and itching was progressively getting worse today and I checked back with the on-call doc who said to take some Benadryl. I took two and all it did was make me drowsy. So I was sleepy AND scratching myself all over.

In the end, the doctor told me to go to the ER. So, we spent about an hour there (surprisingly little time and we saw the doc within minutes of arriving). I am officially allergic to Cephalosporins and they prescribed an epi pen in case something happens in the next few days. All from one little antibiotic, I'm now on Prednisone, Zantac, Zyrtec, another type of antihistamine.

At least it's not Sam who's keeping us hopping. Hey, I want attention too, you know!

Outtake

It took a lot of effort to get that one story just right...

Sam and the Three Little Pigs

The latest news around our house is how the Big Bad Wolf blew the Three Little Pigs houses down. I had to get Sam going a bit in this video, because he was so enthralled with looking at himself, but I think it's a good representation of how he tells the story in general.

Oh, and pay no attention to the haggard lady in the background. She's just really tired these days. (Actually, I just finished a good run, hence the crazy wind-blown hair. I have no excuse for the circles under my eyes though.)

St. Patrick's Day

We watched this yesterday in the car ride home from Gastonia. I loved listening to it, but watching it is fun too. Great story. It's from Veggie Tales.

OUCH!!

We just got back from our trip to see the pediatric urologist. Poor Sam. The doctor was asking a few questions about Brugada Syndrome, but wasn't interested enough in my opinion. I guess it's because he had other things in mind for Sam instead of performing surgery.

He pulled apart the opening with his fingers and no anesthetic or instruments. Man can that kid cry. Apparently, his meatal stenosis wasn't bad enough to warrant surgery, thank God. But, it did warrant a pretty rough visit. So, I have instructions on how to care for him over the next few days and the doctor threw in a few more instructions for good measure. One of which was to not allow Sam to go more than two hours between urinating. So, we'll make sure to take him really often.

Thanks for everyone's prayers! This was an option I didn't even foresee and I really am happy with it. We don't have to go back for any follow-up visits and everything else looks great.

Cardiology and Urology Appointments

Many of you have noticed that I've been MIA for a little over a week. I have had such a full schedule that I haven't had time for blogging during the day and I've been so exhausted at night that I'm just curling up in a ball and falling asleep.

I've been feeling pretty bad. The doctor diagnosed me with a sinus infection last week, but even after antibiotics, I'm just achy and exhausted every day. This afternoon I fell asleep in a rocking chair with Sam playing happily at my feet. I just don't know what's wrong with me!

On a similar note, Sam has already had his cardiologist visit and has a urology visit tomorrow in Gastonia. The cardiologist said Sam is very healthy and has had no events since our last interrogation (3 months ago). This was very good news. We have another appointment in three months.

Tomorrow, at his urology appointment, we will learn exactly how they plan to deal with his meatal stenosis. Dr. Buck, Sam's cardiologist, gave me some tips and good advice to share with this new member of our doctoring family.

So, please keep us in mind as we journey away from home. I'll probably make my own appointment for later this week too. Gotta figure out why I'm so exhausted all the time! And, no, I'm not pregnant, for those of you who are wondering.

Lost

I had all these great photos of Sam in the foot-deep snow we had a couple days ago. But, we lost all of them due to a new piece of hardware corrupting all the files. I'm so bummed.

I have no idea how to get my photos onto the computer now, because Bill re-installed Windows and we realized only too late that our software for uploading the photos is in our storage unit - in CHINA.

In other news, Sam has a cardiology appointment next Thursday in Greensboro and then a pediatric urology appointment on the 16th in Gastonia. The one in Gastonia will be a consultation and then they'll let us know what the plan is.

No news on the adoption front yet either.