Sam's Wish

We just got back from Sam's Make A Wish trip to Florida late on Monday evening. It was an amazing trip that I cannot even begin to sum up in one post. So, for now, I'll let you sift through the pictures and enjoy the story they tell on their own.

Sam's wish: To take a train to see Peter Pan.

What actually happened: We took a limo to the Charlotte train station, a train (business class) to Raleigh, then an overnight train (with two roomettes) to Kissimmee, Florida (where we saw Peter Pan at Disney World).

The start of the trip.

I will tell the story of how Peter Pan came out to meet Sam though.

We went on the Peter Pan ride (no waiting, of course, because Sam was with Make A Wish) and they let him go around twice! We didn't even have to get off between rides. Afterwards, I asked an employee if Peter Pan was going to come out for a meet and greet at any time that day, and I shared with her that Peter Pan was truly my son's wish. She left for about ten minutes and when she came back she said Peter Pan was going to come out to meet Sam.

She escorted us to a special area where people immediately started lining up behind us to meet Peter Pan (and Wendy). They came out and were both amazed that his wish was to see Peter Pan...they fawned all over him, asked him about his trip on the train, loved on him, took lots of pictures and then when Sam was all done, they left! Apparently they had come out solely to see Sam!

I cried, as any pregnant mother would, and Sam kept talking about how wonderful it was to meet them both, but especially Peter Pan. It was so special.

Mickey and Minnie came out to the Give Kids the World Village just to see the

Wish children staying there.

Sea World provided us with enough fish to feed the dolphins until they were full (practically).

The Village had an ice cream parlor that was open from 7:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time there.

This was Sam's first choice of ice cream: orange sherbet.

Our villa was amazing - Sam's room had a huge bathroom with a whirlpool tub and

train pictures bordering his ceiling.

Mayor Clayton, the mayor of the Village, came to tuck in the kids one night. As he was leaving, Sam looked up from his tiny bed and said, "he was SO BIG!" At over six feet tall, Sam wasn't exaggerating!

Four Years Ago Today

I cannot believe this was only 4 years ago today - it feels like 50 years ago! I was five weeks ahead of where I am now with this pregnancy...so 20 weeks pregnant. Wow. We lived in China in a five-story walk-up, ate primarily Chinese food and had a house helper!!! She did all my laundry and cooking, so I could enjoy being pregnant and working.

What a different season of life I'm in right now...

Cardiology Update

We had the opportunity to see Sam's cardiologist a week ago, and I have been slowly digesting what we learned.

This is a very frank email I wrote to our family and close friends (edited for publishing here), so please excuse any negativity I might have been expressing. You should know, if you don't already, I wear my heart on my sleeve and it often comes out in my writing as well. But, I do know that the Maker of Heaven and Earth has His hand in all things and that He is in control. I rely on Him completely.

Unfortunately, we didn't get great news, but it is really promising news. The integrity of Sam's device (the defibrillator) is absolutely perfect - it has paced his heart 2.5% of the time (which is down from 8-10%), but it has also recorded three events.

On January 31st at 6:45pm Sam had three non-sustainable heart arrhythmias, averaging 273 beats per minute. We know he was sick that night, as we took him to see his pedi the next morning, but we honestly cannot remember him complaining of a heart issue. We have some vague recollection, but nothing solid.

I find the news quite discouraging, but Bill and his cardiologist were both very encouraged. I was really hoping Sam's heart had been healed, but as it turns out, it has not. However, that being said, God has really strengthened his heart - a lot! He came out of the events on his own after 1 second, 2 seconds and 2 seconds. He had about 9 beats of the arrhythmia each time and then he was okay. AND, he didn't have another after those. We know he had a high fever that night, so we are assuming that is what caused these arrhythmias.

The device managed the events perfectly and did not shock him unnecessarily. Also, a real praise. BUT, all of this means we are not quite out of the woods yet and we still need to take extra precautions when Sam has a high fever or an electrolyte imbalance.

On to our unborn baby boy (that's what the latest ultrasound says right now):

We will be having a Level II ultrasound on June 8th. All this will do is tell us whether or not he has a structural issue with his heart. Sam's cardiologist confirmed that this will NOT be able to tell us whether or not he has Brugada Syndrome. However, we will go ahead with the Level II just to put everyone's mind at ease, as my high risk OB and my regular OB are being cautious and both pushing for this. The chance of this little guy having a structural issue is 8 in 1000 - the same as any other average person.

Sam's cardiologist has suggested we do a 12-lead ECG AS SOON AS THE BABY IS BORN. If there are any abnormalities, we will need to see him in Chapel Hill ASAP (as in, within the first week). The local pediatrician has confirmed that he is able to complete this here in Boone. So, we will give birth in Boone, unless something changes between now and then.

That's the plan for now. Keep us in your prayers - especially Sam and the baby. We want to protect him as much as possible, but also allow him to live a "normal" life. It is a difficult balance, but one that his cardiologist has assured us we can do.

Praise God for the breath of life He has given to our amazing child, as well as the new life He has given to our baby boy.

Make A Wish!!!

Sam, as many of you know, has a life threatening illness called Brugada Syndrome. We thought that after such a hard year last year (with the surgery AND bringing home a new sister to steal his toys), it would be a great idea to apply to the Make A Wish Foundation and see if he could get his wish.

The lovely folks from MAW came over to the house and asked him his wish.

"I wish to take a train to see Peter Pan."

It was very simple, but extremely detailed. In fact, they said it was the most detailed wish they had ever received. They weren't sure they could accommodate it, because wishes need to be only ONE thing.

Also, they had never had a child with a heart arrhythmia before (usually it is plumbing issues, not electrical). They had to get his doctor's recommendation to make sure he qualified, but Sam's amazing doctor called me after they contacted him and said he thought it was the best idea I'd had yet.

And, after much deliberation, they decided to GRANT his wish!!

We are taking a limo to Charlotte and then a train ride to Raleigh, where we will then get another another train (have our own beds!) and spend the night on our way down to Orlando. There we get to stay at the Give The Kids The World Village and park hop all week!

We are so excited about this wish and this trip! Hopefully I will begin feeling better soon (12 weeks tomorrow and I just had my worst day yet!!) and the trip will be all worth it.

Bill is a bit concerned that Sam will be too young to remember this trip, but I am convinced that this is going to be one of the highlights of his childhood. Every time he is older and thinks back to his fondest memories, he'll remember this trip and NEVER be able to attain the amount of fun and great times that he had (is about to have).

I can't wait!!!

Update

I am officially ten weeks pregnant today and feeling every bit of it. It is taking me a lot of energy to do anything and everything these days, but it's a good thing I have so many friends to support me.

So far so good with the pregnancy, now that I've finally started taking medication for my morning sickness. Sam and Carolina are well too, and we're finally enjoying some good weather too.

I hosted a big Easter Scavenger Hunt at our church on Saturday. It was so much fun - and the very first one I've ever been a part of. HA! Carolina and Sam really enjoyed themselves.

Hopefully I'll have more pics soon. If I can just get myself off the couch!

Coming in November...

Pray with us for our new addition! This child, completely unexpected, has a 50% chance of having Brugada Syndrome. We won't be able to tell in-utero, but we will be able to learn (hopefully) quickly after giving birth.

Our miracle tree frog - with arms and legs and a head that are actually visible!

Amazing.

Soy

Ever since being diagnosed with all these food allergies, I have done a lot of research regarding each of the products.

I have been completely shocked by what I have discovered. I'm sure I'm just now getting on board with something that each of you already knows, but I'd still like to share what I have learned.

I'll start with my biggest allergy: milk. Apparently my allergies are IgG allergies, which means I have built up some antibodies to each of the products I'm allergic to. But, it's different from an IgE allergy, which causes a person to go into anaphylactic shock in the end. This particular allergy, an IgG allergy, causes problems like, fatigue, dark circles, nausea or other similar problems.

When I began looking at milk substitutes, I learned that soy milk should not be an option for any of us. My neighbor was the first to tell me that unfermented soy milk has many side effects and issues related to it, and when I did some research, I learned she is exactly right.

We are constantly bombarded with marketing that boosts the healthiness of soy milk - it has extra protein, soy is supposed to be good for brain development, it is low fat and has tons more fiber than cow's milk. People also cite the fact that Asians have been using soy milk and soy products for many years and look how healthy they are!

Well, the truth of the matter is, in China they use FERMENTED soy products. Even soy milk, called dou jiang, is made from the juice of tofu. Tofu is already fermented and the liquid around it is packed full of protein and healthy goodness. In the US, when they make soy milk, it is made by crushing the beans and grinding them into a pulp.

"Beans are cleaned and soaked overnight, and then pureed. The solids (called okara) are strained out, and the resulting liquid is boiled for about 10 minutes. A little simplified, but that's the basic idea." [source]

There is no fermenting in this process. Why do we need soy products to be fermented? Check these sources to get more details, but essentially, there are enzyme inhibitors in unfermented soy products that prevent our bodies from breaking down food and nutrients properly.

http://preventdisease.com/news/09/073009_soy_lecithin.shtml

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/soy-milk-dangers.html

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/soy%20dangers.htm

Those are just a couple of sites I have found in my detailed research. The amount of marketing available for pro-soy products has amazed me, but as I have read, it is very intentional.

Going back to the aforementioned milk allergy, I am supposed to ingest small amounts of milk every day in order to build up my tolerance for it, but I am not supposed to ingest large amounts. I have noticed my nose runs more when I ingest lots of milk products and the (ever present) circles under my eyes DO get darker.

But, my alternative to milk will not be soy milk. It is almond milk, preferably homemade because manufactured almond milk has (less than 1%) soy lecithin in it (a product in almost every processed food in America). If you'd like to make your own homemade almond milk, check this link out that my brother sent me. It's delicious and you can make it for about $1/quart.

I think that about scratches the surface.

The Three of Us

This is an older photo, but I wanted to post it anyway. My kiddos are so cute!

Lainey

Pray for one of my best friend's one year-old who is having an MRI tomorrow morning. Here is the info about it. I just know she's going to do great, but I also know it's scary to have any medical procedure done on your child.

Atlanta

Our family just took a (much needed) trip to Atlanta for the last part of the week. We had such a great time going to the children's museum and the aquarium there, but we really enjoyed seeing my aunt, uncle and my two cousins.

Sam and Carolina travel so well, it really is a huge blessing. One thing I usually do before long trips like this is to put on Sam's Medic Alert bracelet, which states that he has BrugadaSyndrome and an ICD implanted. I cannot believe I completely forgot to put it on his wrist for this trip. I think I need to leave it in the car from now on, just in case.

Generally, when we're here at home, I don't make him wear it. He doesn't love to wear it, though he will, and all of our local doctors and hospitals know his situation. The biggest fear I have when we're traveling out of town is that we'll get in some horrible accident where I won't be able to share his condition and the medics won't know that he has the ICD. I even had one pediatrician once feel Sam's defibrillator and ask me if it was his liver! Based on that alone, I can only imagine what an EMT might do if they felt his belly and didn't realize it was a defib.

Despite my horrible fears when we travel, I can actually enjoy myself most of the time. I forgot to bring a baby carrier OR a stroller, so both the kids had to walk everywhere we went. The worst part is that I learned Carolina has outgrown most of her shoes. I brought four pairs with us and the only pair that actually fit were her snow boots! I'm headed to a consignment sale today to find new shoes for her. That kid is seriously growing fast.

Sam's famous quote of the weekend was while I was away. He told my Aunt Nancy, "hey, we are playing outside in the grass and I'm not wearing a coat AND I don't have to button up! Where's the snow?? There's no snow here!!"

I think we'd been on-the-mountain a bit too long! It was a nice break from the snow.

New Blog

Check out the new blog I designed and am helping to implement. I'm so proud of my girls at highcountrymommies.com!

In other news, Sam has a cold again. So far he hasn't presented with a fever, but has had a lot of coughing and other exciting things going on.

We are enjoying another couple days inside, as the cold and the snow have made it impossible for Sam to get out. However, we are fully intending on enjoying April, once it arrives, and excited about the possibility of seeing grass again.

This morning Sam was talking to my father when he was asked the question, "what have you been doing lately."

Sam answered by saying, "We laid in the grass and saw the SUN!!"

We obviously got off the mountain last weekend and enjoyed seeing the sun for extended amounts of time. It was quite balmy at 50 degrees in Raleigh on Saturday.

Here's hoping there will be more sun!!

SSN!

We got to go to Raleigh on Friday and get "off-the-mountain," which was so much fun. We spent time with my brother and his family - it has been WAY too long since we spent time together.

On the way to Raleigh, we stopped in Wilkesboro to apply for Carolina's social security number. We had all the paperwork needed (so much paperwork!), but learned that when she came into the US, immigration put her first name as "Carolina Rone" and left her middle name blank! So, now she is apparently (officially) Carolina Rone with no middle name. We have to call INS and get them to change it and then change her name on the new social security card too.

It's always something, isn't it? But, at least it's no big deal. I just need to make a few phone calls to figure out how to get this done.

Other than that - no news is good news!

We're very excited that March is upon us, even though we MAY get another bad snow storm, at least the end is near. I can't wait for Spring!

Car Seats

In light of a conversation I had earlier today, I wanted to share this about car seats.

Consider the car seat you have your child in right now. You can buy a 5-point harness car seat that fits a child up to 70lbs. If you can't afford it, there is help. See the website below.

The Importance of a 5 point harness car seat from Laura Bower on Vimeo.

Isn't it worth it to keep your child safe? Get rid of the booster and get a 5-point harness!

http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/

We Heart Shaun White

Shaun White was born with a congenital heart defect and had two surgeries before age one. Look at him now. GOLD MEDALIST!!!


Here he is just being awesome:

Snow Day Pictures

If you're a SAHM this Winter, then you know exactly what we have been feeling lately. Cabin fever, plain and simple.

I have tried so many different things to make me feel less apathetic, but very few things have worked. The main cure is just getting in the car and driving somewhere. Alas, the roads here are not always plowed properly and it can be quite dangerous. Besides that, everything is closed (including the library - who closes the public library because of snow???).

So, my dear sweet husband has come up with a ton of ideas. His best idea, by far, was to pull out the couch bed, put sheets on it, throw every toy we own on it and watch TV together (while Skyping with Sam's best friend for some of it). That gave the kids a totally different perspective AND we got to have a "picnic" in bed (crumbs were totally allowed). Bill is definitely brilliant. Sam has been begging for it ever since.

Bill also had the idea to move our old mattress (we bought a new one on Saturday) and move it to the living room. Fun was had by all (and until someone comes to pick it up, we will continue having fun, but in the basement instead).

Of course, going outside (if healthy) is another great way to cure cabin fever.

Sledding...yet another way.

Snow angels...Bill had a lot of fun with them this day.

(Time for a new snowsuit, Sam?)

But, when Mom is in charge...toothpick buildings (warning: very dangerous).

This project ended in tears and tantrums about five minutes in

(and after eating two marshmallows).

More snow. One of her legs is pretty deep - there is about a foot under her.

We've had another 9 inches since this picture was taken a couple days ago.

She seems very concerned with Sam falling down.

Bill said this Husky wanted to play pretty rough, but was really beautiful.

Unbelievably Rare Allergy

I don't want to bore you with details, but I did want to share how important it is to know your facts when you see your doctor for anything.

In this day and age it seems we have to be the ones leading and guiding our doctors in a lot of cases. It's not always true, as in Sam's case where his amazing doctor was active in seeking the cause of his febrile seizures, but in my case it is true.

Do you remember when I broke out into a rash, got a high fever and high blood pressure last year? Probably not, but I do.

I actually switched doctors, because my doctor thought I had Scarlet Fever even though I clearly did not. He treated me with MORE antibiotics, despite his initial thinking that I was actually allergic to antibiotics. I went to pick Carolina up in China with my body covered in this hot itchy rash, a high fever and a heart rate that was over 120bpm resting.

When I returned, after having been on a tapered dose of steroids for over six weeks AND going to a Chinese hospital every day for a week to get steroid shots (I seriously need to get checked for HIV at this point), I switched doctors.

I challenged my new doctor to figure out what was going on, but at this point I didn't have any symptoms. She ran all kinds of tests, but everything came back negative. She really rose to the challenge though, and believed everything I told her about my condition.

Then, in early January this year I got another sinus infection. I went to see her and she said NOT to take any antibiotics (she is of the mindset that antibiotics aren't always the cure, and for that, I salute her). She told me to take Mucinex-D and see how that made me feel.

By that evening, I was feverish and had turned red all over again. My skin was hot and itchy and I was panicking. I never felt like I couldn't breathe, though my lips did get really big, so I stayed away from my epi pen. I really struggled with whether or not to go to the ER, but chose to go to bed instead (Bill watched me like a hawk all night long, even waking me up every couple hours to take Benadryl).

My doctor sent me to an allergist. I started looking through my medicines to see what else I had been prescribed during those other two sinus infections and it was other medications with a D in it. I.e. - a decongestant. THIS time I did not take an antibiotic, but only a decongestant (like Sudafed).

I presented my thoughts to the allergist and he quickly waved them off. He said it was impossible because the molecules were too small in Sudafed. Instead, he had me tested for normal allergies.

It came back that I am highly allergic to milk and mildly allergic to soy, corn, eggs, trout, peanuts, mold and dog.

I didn't believe it.

After calling back three times and not getting the answers I demanded, I made an appointment to see the allergist again yesterday.

I insisted that I am allergic to Sudafed. He insisted that it is impossible. I insisted some more. After 40 minutes of insisting, he finally looked it up. (Seriously? How easy would that have been to begin with?)

What he learned shocked him. Thank goodness he is willing to learn something new though.

I have a very rare allergy to Sudafed that affects the central nervous system. It actually mimicks Toxic Shock Syndrome. Check this out. Every one of her symptoms were my symptoms.

HA!

The moral of this story is: trust your instincts!

Vegan Cupcakes

As I have eliminated eggs and milk from my diet (due to an apparent allergy), I have had to get very creative with my baking.

Basically, I eat veggies and some sort of meat. I'm also trying to limit the amount of soy, corn and peanut butter I ingest, so that limits my ingredients list. In other words, no tofu. Actually, by limiting all of that, I'm only able to eat vegetables and meat. It's amazing to me how many products of soy in them. If not soy, then corn. If not corn, then eggs or milk. It's always one thing or another.

Last night I decided to try a Vegan cupcake recipe. I have really never eaten something that was Vegan that I enjoyed. I mean, Vegan items are usually palatable, but once that word "Vegan" is attached to something, I become hesitant.

But, last night we made this cupcake recipe and Bill and I were both blown away by how deliciously rich they were. We made our own almond milk the night before and used it in place of the soy milk. All in all it was so delicious. Try it and see!

新年快乐!!!

In the seven years we lived in China, we never once celebrated the Chinese New Year IN China. We were always in Thailand, celebrating with 华桥 - overseas Chinese.

We were unable to celebrate Chinese New Year in the traditional way yesterday (tons of fireworks and fun), but I am taking my kiddos to the New Year's celebration at the library this week. This IS a big deal and as part of both of my children's birth culture, I'm going to do everything I can to keep that culture a part of their daily lives.

I'm still attempting to teach both of them Mandarin. Sam started randomly counting to ten yesterday and Carolina constantly says "come here" in Chinese.

What a blessing to have learned the language IN China. I'm doing my best here!

Warm Weather

We had another inch or so of snow last night. I don't know why it surprised me, but it did.

I realized a couple days ago that Carolina hadn't been out of the house in over three weeks, except once to go to the pediatrician's office. I think we've been hit pretty hard with this whole Winter thing. Finally the kids are starting to feel better...and that's when I wake up with a sore throat.

You can't win them all, I guess.

I was thinking this morning about how much I long for warmer weather. But, instead of dwelling on the incredibly wonderful things about Spring or Summer (especially here in the High Country!), I am going to make a list of all the negatives about warm weather. Maybe it will make me happier to stay in this season...

1. Our neighbors leave their dogs out all night, and they bark all night.
2. Other neighbors (college students) hold crazy parties that often get pretty loud.
3. The sun comes up really early in the morning, forcing my children to wake up earlier.
4. One of our neighbors is a professional landscaper, which equates to constant lawn mower sounds and weed eaters.
5. We don't have air conditioning, which means we have to open our windows and enjoy a constant cool breeze...and the sunshine.
6. My kids aren't sick for long periods of time.
7. Fresh air. Fresh cut grass. Apples from the apple tree. Pears from the pear tree. Raspberries from the raspberry bushes. Blueberries from the blueberry bushes.
8. Hikes with both children. By myself OR with friends.
9. Picnic lunches outside.
10. The Tot Lot.
11. Windows down in my car.
12. Swimming.
13. Skirts, shorts, t-shirts, cute sundresses, sandals, flip flops, bathing suits, the beach...

This is getting me nowhere. I guess I'll go dig the car out now and maybe we can take both kids to the dump. Hey, it's better than staying in, right?

Sam's Story Published

Check this out to read about Sam's story, as we continue to celebrate CHD Awareness Week, 2010.

Congenital Hearts Defect Awareness Week!

Today marks Day 1 of CHD Awareness Week 2010!

You may not know, but congenital heart defects are the number-one birth defect that affects approximately one in every 125 babies every year in the United States alone.

We have been personally affected by a CHD, though Sam's is not a very common one. Sam has an "electrical" issue, whereas most of these CHDs are "plumbing."

There is a very large community out there with children who have been affected by a CHD. One way that we found support was through www.littlehearts.org, an online support system who lead us to a friend whose son also has an electrical defect, as well as a plumbing issue.

Sam was most recently affected by his heart condition (Brugada Syndrome) in August 2009, when he had to have surgery to move a lead that wasn't reading correctly. His defibrillator has been functioning perfectly ever since.

Sam's very rare condition affects him when he has over 101.8F fever, however recently he has sustained over 103F for long periods of time with no repercussions. We are all hopeful that God has healed his heart! Only time will tell, but we will continue to take precautions. One way that we know his heart is not fully healed is when he has an electrolyte imbalance. When that occurs, his heart can go into an arrhythmia and his defibrillator will shock him if it is sustained for longer than 30 out of 45 heartbeats.

Even though we didn't know about his condition when he was born, but only found out when he was not quite 11 months-old, I wouldn't change anything. He is an amazing child.

I hope that we can bring some awareness to CHD this week, and especially Brugada Syndrome.

HumpDay

It's finally Wednesday and Sam has broken his fever again. Last night it was high, but this morning he seems to be fever-free. He still has a terrible cough that causes him to gag and even vomit sometimes, but it's not as persistent as it was.

Carolina, on the other hand, has 101F fever.

I think the average child gets sick every 12 days or so...I guess we're better than average this Winter, but it still makes my stomach turn when these kids get sick.

I saw an allergist last week and was diagnosed with all kinds of crazy allergies. I have been so confused about the entire process and the diagnosis. I initially went to see him because of that strange hives/rash thing I have gotten a couple times. I had another occurrence just three weeks ago, in fact. But, the office manager and the nurse have told me that I am highly allergic to milk and mildly allergic to corn, soy, egg, peanuts, dog dander and mold. I could have told you about the mold, since I get migraine headaches if I'm around any, but the rest is a total mystery to me. I drink about a gallon of milk every five days, on my own, and eat lots of eggs, peanuts, corn products and soy products.

I still have been unable to see the actual doctor and the office manager isn't returning my calls right now. She had suggested that I have MORE tests done and start taking a serum that would help me tolerate the things I'm allergic to. Insurance doesn't cover the serum, but she says it would be cheaper the co-pay of allergy shots, for which I am ineligible.

I have eliminated milk and eggs from my diet, and will continue that for six weeks, but I don't see how this is going to help with those strange hives/rash that I get when I take a Sudafed product.

It's all a mystery to me. I have gone through the local grocery stores to see if it is actually POSSIBLE to eliminate the rest of that stuff from my diet and it is obvious it would be rather difficult. I can eat meat and vegetables, but nothing else, I suppose.

So, one week down and five more to go.

Great Weekend

It snowed about a foot at our house over the weekend. The title of this post is misleading, since we spent the entire weekend indoors just vegging out. Sam has taken ill, the likes of which I have never seen.

He's just pitiful. He's sort of up and down though, and right now he's having a high moment. But his fever has been pretty consistently over 102F since yesterday. The doctor thinks it's just a different manifestation of the same bug Carolina had last Wednesday. I just hate it when my kids are sick. I've had to force Sam to wear no clothes and lay in our bed to watch movies on Netflix (I still love having a subscription, by the way. One of the best gifts I ever got from Bill was this Netflix subscription).

In other news, Bill and I are working through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We're thrilled to be doing this with our church. I've already learned a lot and, though we don't have debt besides my car and our house, it seems to be just the right program for us. Not everything fits our situation perfectly, we greatly desire to have peace when it comes to finances.

Back to the sickie...who doesn't seem to be having any heart troubles at all from this. Praise God! Maybe God really has healed his heart!

New Laptop

I finally have a new laptop that is working. Tonight we installed Windows 7 onto it (got a huge discount because Newegg.com was WAY wrong in how they handled our laptop issues) and it's working beautifully now. I had no idea that Vista was so rotten, but apparently everybody else in the world does. Every time I loaded a page it would be filled with gobbledygook and I'd have to refresh it.

So, I think I'm up and running now.

That means more pictures...that means more videos...that means more blogging! How exciting. At least for me anyway, I don't know how many of you are actually following us anymore.

Today, my great aunt Joyce (see picture above in swing) had a stroke. We prayed and prayed and I just found out that all signs are pointing to a full recovery! Praise God! Apparently the first few moments after a stroke are really important and they were able to administer an enzyme to help restore full function. For a woman struggling with Alzheimer's, having lasting effects of a stroke could mean huge changes for her future. My great uncle must have acted extremely quickly and realized exactly what was going on, because he called 911 and saved her. What a blessing! So, we are praising God tonight that Joyce is well. She is like a grandmother to me and I love her dearly.

In other news, Sam is having his first sleepover (at our house, anyway) tonight. His BFF, Trathan, is gracing us this evening. It's already been a hoot.

Now on to learning more about Windows 7...which was my idea. :)

More Ice

I don't have any pictures to prove it, but I would wager that by morning we'll have a few more limbs down. The trees were already bending pretty badly this afternoon. I suppose if it keeps on like this all night, as Ray says, we may even be without power by morning. If that's the case, we're leaving town. I don't know how much more I can handle of no water!

In other news, I have accepted the position as children's minister at Perkinsville Baptist Church. I'm very excited to be able to take on this role and work with so many parents and children who I already love.

Sam has continued to read and has begun working on chapter books. I guess they're kindergarten level, but still, that's something.

Carolina is still progressing in every area. Her new phrase today was, "uh oh, I dropped it." I was impressed because it was a full sentence with a new word. I can hear her repeating a lot of phrases Sam says all the time, so I know he's just moving her along.

Other than that, I suppose there's no new news. I hope everyone out there is staying warm.

It's About Time!

Finally! We have reconnected with the world again...our water is back on, we have electricity, Bill is home (where he belongs) and we are enjoying life.

Before all the craziness occurred, we wanted to take some Christmas photos. Here are a couple taken Christmas Eve.

Carolina is sitting in my old rocking chair from when I was a little older than her.

We were so happy and carefree that night...little did we know that the next day would bring the worst ice storm in many years for our town, as well as FIVE days without electricity or water!

A family photo in two feet of snow. This was taken in our front yard.

Speaking of front yards...this was ours the (Christmas) morning of the ice storm. I don't know if you can see the icicles on the fence, but there was ice everywhere.

We still have a lot of trees down. You can see by these photos that the ice was almost a half an inch thick on our trees. Today it just looks like a mess, but on Christmas morning, we could see who the culprit was that took them down.

More trees...


Our Pussy Willow tree in the backyard.

Our Willow tree took a lot of damage, but not nearly as much as I anticipated.

Our front porch. Praise God these trees didn't fall on the baby's rooms.

Extremely thick ice.

I'll leave you on a happy note. Two days before Christmas,

the kids finally got to build their snowman.

Garage Sale! For Those in Southwest China

Garage Sale!! January 14th - all day long.

We are trying to clear out our garage. Please come out and make an offer on anything you see. Lots of furniture, electronics, clothes (maternity, women's size 4-6, men's tall large and baby), toys, DVDs, books, washer, dryer, etc - including a leather sofa (CHEERS brand) and two love seats (very good condition). Make an offer!

Please help us clear it out.

Stop by the garage on January 14th or post a comment (I won't publisn any email addresses) to arrange another time this week.

Directions:
It is in 金实小区（Jin shi xiao qu） just south of Bei chen. There are a few short streets off of Beichen lu that go toward BeiJing lu. Coming from the Wicker Basket area, if you take the road that curves to the left and doesn't actually connect to Beijing lu, it is called 金秋路 (jin shi lu), there will be a complex on your right: 秋实园 （Qiu1 Shi2 yuan2）. I'm next to bldg 637 in garage #270.

Post Ice Storm

We have had electricity for six days now and I am still just as thrilled today as I was when it came back on. I absolutely LOVE having running water. Flushing toilets, washing my hands, washing the kid's hands, taking showers, drinking it...I can't say enough good things about it.

It has also been bitterly cold here. About 8 degrees when we wake up and there's still a ton of snow/ice on the ground. We're getting intermittent snow flurries too, but nothing that's sticking.

My tropical baby isn't so sure about all this cold. I keep slathering both the kids' faces in petroleum jelly before we go outside and Carolina's skin is still suffering. I have to seal her skin every night before she goes to bed and then again in the morning. I think it's pretty common with institutionalized children, but she is a big scratcher. Her arms and legs are constantly bleeding. I've finally fixed her legs and they look somewhat normal again, but her arms are getting the brunt of her scratching now. And before you say it, I keep her fingernails clipped down to the shortest they can possibly be. She just works hard.

Another issue she is having is that she will only chew once or twice before she swallows. She literally causes her eyes to water by swallowing such huge chunks of food. We're having her evaluated again just to make sure we're not missing anything important.

But, on the whole, Carolina is doing great. Sam is also quite healthy at the moment. He is reading everything he can see. He reads billboards, books, commercials...whatever has letters, he's reading it. We're one big happy family, despite the cold.

Ice Storm!

We had an incredible ice storm here on Christmas Eve. We lost power at 9am Christmas morning and it only just came on yesterday afternoon at 2pm!

I cannot wait to upload all these pictures and maybe some video. Samaritan's Purse has their Disaster Relief workers working on helping people out of their homes and back into them. Click here if you want to help.

We were blessed that we didn't have any damage to our home, and that two of our neighbors kept supplying us with wood for our stove (we ran out twice!). We finally moved into another friend's house who was out of town until today. Hot showers and a warm meal was just what we needed after four and a half days with no water or power!

Apple Pies

Everyone's talking about apple pies this season. I think it is one of the most-baked pie at Christmastime in America. Personally, I LOVE making apple pies. I love the varieties that I can make that have such diverse flavors and are still delicious, once baked and steamed under a flaky crust.

If anyone is looking for a fantastic cookbook on apple pies, I've got just the one for you. Bill gave this one to me about five or six years ago for Christmas. It was a funny gift, because before that moment, I had never made but one apple pie. He loves apple pies and even chooses them over birthday cake at his birthdays. But because I wasn't very good at apple pies (I didn't even want to try), he handed me this book and told me he knew I could do it. And here were are a few years later, and there's nothing I love to bake more than apple pies. Mostly because Bill fights so fiercely over them - he will not share happily - so I know that he loves my apple pies. That gives this wife a great satisfaction.

If you're still thinking about a gift to give someone this Christmas, or for an upcoming birthday, or even for no reason at all, check this cookbook out. You won't regret it.

SNOW!

Edited to add pictures!!

We've had about two feet of snow over here. I can't upload the pictures...again, because of a hardware issue. But I will get it done eventually. I can't wait for my laptop to get back here.

The kids have enjoyed making a gingerbread house (see pictures on FB), lots of different kinds of cookies, fudge, sledding, shoveling and anything else we could think of to keep them busy. It's been a blast. Carolina has really enjoyed it, even though she is a tropical baby. Sam decided he was done for the day on Saturday when he got some snow in his face after a really daring sledding attempt with me. I was surprised when he wanted to go again yesterday.

The snow is so dry and powdery we are unable to build a snowman (which is inevitably everyone's first question).

The kids and I are still snowed in, as Bill's car has a dummy tire on it and it completely stuck behind six feet of snow. He took my car to work this morning for snow-duty at Samaritan's Purse, where he helped scrape the sidewalks to keep everyone safe.

Other than not getting to the rest of our Christmas shopping (yes, I'm a procrastinator...and quite frankly don't really care for buying Christmas gifts or any kind of shopping for that matter), we're happy as clams. Yeah for snow!!

Pictures

Ahhh, finally...

Sweet reunion with the Crawford side of my family

Wowza!

The last week has been very trying on all of us. Bill was out of town for two days while the rest of us struggled with the flu. Yes, the flu. Even after having seasonal flu shots AND H1N1 shots, both kids got the flu. So did Mom. And now, so does Dad. He was delayed a bit on getting it, merely because he was out of town, but rest-assured, when he came back we shared our germs full on.

Thankfully, the kids no longer have lingering fevers. Sam appears to have avoided any heart arrhythmias. Carolina has stopped crying at the drop of a hat. So have I. We only have congestion, coughs and some sore throats now. But, honestly, we're feeling better.

I still wouldn't invite anyone to enter my home right now though. Bill has had the worst of it today, while my symptoms climaxed yesterday and Sam's were the day before that.

In other news, I can't remember if I have shared this or not, but my blog seems to be the right forum for it. Sam is reading. All out reading. I cannot believe it.

When we went to the pedi's office earlier this week, I was writing words and sentences on the paper covering the exam table. Sam demands this of me every time we go now (which seems way too often for my liking). He was reading things like, "The cat is black." and "The dog is green." He read a few new words like, "grass" and "moon" that day too. He's learned that two letters together make the "e" sound or "oo" sound. Tonight he read "noon" and "apple" for the first time. We can't seem to get it on video, as he starts acting out every time the camera is turned on.

His pedi was amazed, to say the least. He said he taught all three of his children to read and the earliest he could get them to even begin was three and a half, but mostly age four.

I was really encouraged by this, but at the same time, I can see that I need to step up my teaching him. He obviously desires to learn more, as he begs me every day to help him learn to read more words. I can't keep up! He read the sentence, "He is wet." all by himself to Bill. The more he reads, the more he wants to read. It is amazing. And it makes me happy that he is book-smart too - because I may have to deal with less struggles as he grows up and I have to say no to certain contact sports.

I am starting to think about schools for him for next year. He has two more years before kindergarten starts. Two. More. Years. Holy moly. I really want to enroll him in the Montessori school Mountain Pathways, but it's just too expensive. Pray with us as we make this important decision. Oh, and for all of you die-hard home schoolers...this is not my calling. It's just not.

Carolina is fully potty trained now. Night time and nap time. I cannot believe it. She is a prodigy in so many ways. She is more empathetic than any other child - nay, PERSON - I have ever met. If I cough she runs up to me and rubs my arms and asks, "you okay?" If Sam cries, she rushes to take him his sippy cup and rub his back or play with his hair while asking, "okay, Gege (哥哥) ?" Even if she's in the throws of screaming herself, if she hears her Daddy cough, she'll stop to ask if he's okay. She is the single most loving creature I have ever known. We are blessed more every day for knowing her and having her in our lives.

In other news...we are still unable to upload photos. It's a hardware problem, not a software one. Eventually we'll get to it, but for now there are hundreds of photos sitting on our CF cards waiting to be uploaded. Maybe one day Gateway will fix the BRAND NEW laptop my parents bought for me (that I got to use for three weeks) and send it back to us.

Until that day...my words will have to suffice.

Dieflugasoftheyougag

We've got it. The whole family. Every last one of us is miserable. Sam had 104.1F and Carolina had 102.1 on Saturday morning. The fevers seem to have abated, but the crud is still hanging on.

I love my grandmother's old expression of die-flu-gas-of-the-you-gag. It really encompasses how we all feel right now. Sam and Carolina both have terrible coughs. Bill and I are only dealing with congestion and sore throats.

Back to the grind...

Post-Thanksgiving Update

I am currently without a laptop again, and so relying on the desktop to do everything a girl needs. Unfortunately, we had to wipe the desktop clean and there are no programs on it to upload pictures or do anything productive. Therefore, you'll have to do without pictures again.

We had a great Thanksgiving with Bill's family. Unfortunately, we spent the eating portion of it apart, but that's what happens when everyone eats during nap time. I have learned one thing about my kids, Carolina in particular, routine is everything. She absolutely has to sleep and it has to be a familiar place. If I try and make her sleep in an unfamiliar place, she throws a fit and won't sleep. Because of my good decision making on Thanksgiving Day, she slept for over two hours. Thank goodness.

She has done an amazing job with the potty training. She didn't have any accidents in the car rides, which were very long. Instead, she rose to the challenge and started going potty in every public restroom I took her to. She is one brilliant child.

So, this week holds many exciting times for us. Friends from far away places are visiting and the weeks ends with a wedding of two of our best friends. I'm so excited to be a part of it all. On to the baking...

Target Giftcard Giveaway

Our friend and mortgage broker is doing a $25 gift card giveaway from Target. Check out his BLOG to enter and win!

Potty Training

I have officially potty trained Carolina now. I cannot believe she is as brilliant as she is, but she is. She can identify many letters of the alphabet, knows her colors, can count to five, say four or five word sentences, and now she can potty when she needs to.

I did a loose version of what I did for Sam earlier in the year. She didn't need the chart or even the M&Ms like he did, nor did she need huge rewards. Carolina is a very empathetic person...she feels sad when Sam or I feel sad and she feels happy with us. She responds very well to high fives and praise, but of course, she needed a potty dance too. We used the following video for her dance - she LOVES this song.

She had a couple accidents yesterday because we went out for the first time, but today she's already asked to go five times and has produced something every time.

Gotta say, I am proud of this girl. She really is very smart. I wouldn't have even tried to do it so early (she just turned two last month!) except she was telling me she was ready.

There's no going back now!!

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Time!!!

Don't forget to make a shoebox!!

A Story From China

Last week, after uninstalling and reinstalling our monitor heater (a kerosene heater that heats our whole house from the basement), Bill turned it on for us to keep warm. Within 15 minutes, I was lightheaded, felt my heartbeat increase and heard a ringing in my ears. I kept saying something wasn't right, but couldn't move my body fast enough to get outside. Bill, who had been in and out of the room, had to carry me outside to get me fresh air. We think it was related to a leak that caused some kerosene to spill and then it was burning off...or it could have been a leak causing carbon monoxide poisoning. I was fine within an hour.

But it reminded me of a long ago story. A story from China. I don't tell many of our stories from China, mostly because I don't think people are generally interested in them. But this is one I think you'll want to hear. This many years away from it, I can laugh about it. I hope you get some enjoyment out of it too, but it's a bit graphic. So be forewarned, don't read it if you don't want to be grossed out.

I'm changing people's names too...


A long long time ago, way out East somewhere, there were some weary travelers going on a strange trip together.

I don't even remember why we went on the trip, actually, but I think it was just for fun. We took two vans. Molly was with us and the Peace family (mother, father, daughter and two sons).

That night, we were very cold, after traveling all day through the very high mountains. Melinda Peace asked the inn keepers for some coals to warm up with. They brought a tray of hot coals to our bedroom and we nestled into our cozy sleeping bags. Little did we know what we were about to face.

I was sleeping against the outside wall. I was still struggling with low blood pressure at the time and when I awoke an hour or so later, I felt my heart beating very quickly and my ears were ringing. It felt like I was about to pass out due to low blood pressure. I started breathe in and out very slowly and deeply, as that sometimes helps when I'm about to pass out. Things started getting really bad after that.

I heard a distant pounding on the door, and watched helplessly as Melinda kept trying to get out of bed to answer it. Molly started screaming at Melinda that she was going to hit the floor and to stop trying to get up. Melinda was talking gibberish. Her young daughter (about 9) was weeping. Molly finally got out of her bed, still wearing the sleeping bag and hopped over to the door to open it. The owner's wife was the one banging and yelling. She hadn't realized that we were going to go to sleep with the coals and knew the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. Apparently, she was sitting around her own fire downstairs with her husband and suddenly and "inexplicably" started worrying about us and came to check on us. She knew immediately that we were in danger and couldn't get the door open.

Our men were on the other side of the wall from us. D Peace came and swept his girls out very quickly. Melinda passed out outside the door. Her daughter just kept weeping. Bill got me outside and had to go back in for Molly. All the girls were leaning up against the wall in the breezeway on the second floor of this hostel (in a very very tiny town, I might add), when a couple of them started vomiting. I screamed for Bill that I was going to have diarrhea (no vomiting for me). Bill grabbed me and tried to carry me up these long, tall, uneven steps that lead up a steep hill (this hostel was built into) to go to the latrine. We didn't make it - he had me in his arms and all 116lbs of me was too much for him at that point.

He took his next left into another level of the housing that had a courtyard in front of it. It was seemingly empty at the time. I was still hearing ringing and was so dizzy, plus my head hurt really badly and I was weak all over. He tried to take me to the grassy courtyard, but didn't realize it was higher than the sidewalk, with a small cement wall raising it up. He hit his shins on the wall at which point I flew out of his arms while I was pulling my pants down and having diarrhea all at the same time. He was bleeding profusely from his legs and was so concerned with me as I LAY on the ground getting sick. Oh, and it was pitch black, thank God.

He carried me back down the stairs. His hands had gotten bloody too. I leaned up against the wall with the other girls, while the owner's wife was jabbering on and on about how stupid we were and how amazing it was that she just had the idea to check on us. (I hope you're reading into that.)

That's when I heard John Peace (maybe 12 at the time) ask Molly if she was okay. She said, "I'm fine" at which point she threw up all over the blanket that was over her legs and a little on him, I think.

We all had migraines or bad headaches the next day, but everyone was fine. I still remember D calling another friend from some other small town and saying something about almost killing all the "women-folk."

And that, my friends, is why you should always make sure you're outside when you burn coals. Even if there is lattice work in the wall and plenty of adequate ventilation, it's still NOT enough.

My Leaf-Addicts

Sam and Carolina have thoroughly enjoyed playing in the leaves this Fall. Carolina is so funny about it, because just five months ago she couldn't even stand on the grass out of fear. Now she's just in love with everything outdoors.

Sam has amazing discipline as he will let me completely bury him in the leaves and then wait a few moments before jumping out.

I think she just kept running and running and running...sort of like Yellow Dog in the movie "Funny Farm" (still one of my all-time favorite movies).

Fall Photos

Carolina and Sam are loving being with family right now. Especially because Mamaw has so many oaks and sugar maples around her house that create amazing amounts of leaves!


My family finally gets to meet Carolina - I think this will be almost everybody.


Here are they with Mamaw...

High Country Mom Squad

Check out this article on our life with Carolina. It was published on www.highcountrymomsquad.com this morning. Part 2 is coming tomorrow.

Beach

Walking Pneumonia

If you're a friend on FB, you already know that Sam has been diagnosed with walking pneumonia. He got a cold a week ago and his cough got a whole lot worse yesterday. He finally vomited after an especially bad coughing spell.

He also started limping yesterday morning at 11am. For no apparent reason, I might add. The doctor took a look at it and said it looks like it's coming from Sam's hip or joint, despite Sam saying it's his knee. The pedi thinks it could be an injury from playing OR a hip infection. We are now on the lookout for a high fever spike or Sam not being able to bear any weight at all on that leg. He is still limping today, more as the day progresses, actually.

Carolina seem to be doing well, despite all the sickness around her. She pee peed in the potty this morning after asking to go. She's the only child in the world who is happy with crackers as her reward. I'm planning on beginning potty training with her in a week or two, when we have three days to stay at home and concentrate on it.

The new basement floor is being installed today by our neighbor. He is a carpenter and happy to have the extra work. We're happy to be able to save some money, so it's a win-win situation.

Bill's deacon ordination is tomorrow morning. It's such a blessed time for our family, to be able to serve our church this way. We had a fabulous Fall Festival at our church this last Wednesday night, where Sam even got to ride a one-eyed horse named Bo. Once I get the pictures, I'll post them.

This is of me and my friend Julie being silly. We went to a bridal tea last week and everyone had to wear hats. It was especially funny because my hat had to be pulled down low over my eyes (as per the style of the 1950's), so I couldn't see much all night.

The bride, Alison, and me

Health Care

This story really touches me, because we are starting to see our own "insured" doctor's bills come in from Sam's most recent hospitalization. I am extremely concerned about our health care costs, as well as how insurance has inflated our general costs across the board.

Even with the flood in the basement, because we have home owner's insurance, the total bill to dry out the basement and remove the flooring cost over $2000. If we hadn't submitted the claim with our insurance it would have been much less.

I am deeply concerned for our nation and our health care. This story is just one of, I'm sure, many.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

We're Back

I have had several phone calls in the last week regarding our blog. We lost our desktop several weeks ago due to a (possible) broken fan. Since we live on the mountain, it is very difficult to go down to the nearest Best Buy and get a new one. So, we've just had to do without.

However, my loving parents have missed their Skype sessions with their grandchildren so much that they decided to buy me a new laptop! So, here I am - with a computer at last!

Here's a rundown of what you missed in our very busy lives:

• Sam's 3rd birthday
• A trip to the beach (our first family vacation in over two years!)
• Carolina's 2nd birthday
• A water main break in our basement
• Over $2000 to have the basement flooring ripped up and dried out
• Both kids got the H1N1 vaccine and flu vaccine just this morning

Here's what's to come:

• Tomorrow morning at the Optimist Club on State Farm Road - a yard sale! Begins at 8am and finishes at 1pm - come out and support us!
• Next week, a new floor put in, plus new padding, and repair of the bathroom wall where we had to break into the wall to make it large enough for repairs
• I'm catering a wedding with my partner in our new business TLC (Teesa and Lauren's Cooking) - I can't wait to share more about that later

I think that's about it. To say the least, we are definitely keeping very busy over here. So busy we can't even mow the lawn!!

I don't have the camera right now, but I'll get some pictures as soon as I can. Please leave a comment to update me about your lives, since I've been MIA for so long!

Before I write another post, please know that I have thoroughly enjoyed actually speaking to many of you on the phone, rather than it being a bit one-sided and only you keeping up with me on the blog. I love knowing what's going on in your world. Please continue those phone calls! I love human interaction!