What’s Happening – Page 20

“A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That…”

August 14, 2009June 23, 2015 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Florida Weather, Household, What's Happening

"…A pot, a pan, a broom, a hat."

(Free earrings to the first person to leave on comment on my blog, naming the origin of the above quote.) : D

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I hope you all have had a good week. I haven't blogged every day this week, because it would've been the same blog over and over!

Yep, one of those ordinary, boring, nothing-exciting-happened weeks…for which I am extremely grateful!!!

We do have a couple of tropical systems somewhere out in the Atlantic, but I really don't know much about them. Any time someone starts to discuss them, I just put my fingers in my ears, and go "La la la la la la la la." ; )

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Neither Isaac nor I have felt very well this week, so we have laid low, taken it easy, and for Isaac, had lots of naps.

His mystery fever was back for a couple of days this week. <sigh> We still don't have a clue…but are keeping a really close eye on him. We can't just ignore it, of course…something must be causing the low-grade temps.

Here's a question for you medically-minded people out there, or for those with medically fragile kiddos: Could the temperature in the house cause him to run a temp?

Our house is small with one window until a/c, and we run 2 fans 24/7 to move the air into his room. However, we are in Florida, and the temps get extremely high outside; and due to very little insulation, the room that the sun is shining on gets very hot.

Isaac's room is on the northwest side of the house, so it gets a full blast of afternoon and evening sun. His room probably gets to 80* or better some afternoons.

Could this cause his temp to go to 100*? I know his brain doesn't regulate his temps very well, but I just don't know if it could cause that much of a rise in his temp.

Any input or ideas would be very much welcomed.

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I sold a pair of earrings last week! It was very exciting, because they were bought by a person unknown to me. Just someone who found my site and liked the jewelry, I guess. I really hope they like it when it gets there. I always want my customers to be very pleased and satisfied with their purchases.

My mom has blessed me the past 2 months by paying a friend to come and clean at my house for a couple of hours a month. It has been such a blessing. She does such a nice job, plus it is nice to fellowship with a friend while we're working. We've worked out a plan for her to come an extra time each month: I'm going to make jewelry for her and she's going to clean for me. : ) : ) : ) I am so excited and pleased to be able to do that!

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I'm needing to be very careful with my back this week. It is feeling very "fragile", so I am not doing much with Isaac or the house. We just sort of put everything on "hold" if we can. For those things that can't wait, my hubby works very hard to take care of them.

I've been enjoying some of those books that my mother-in-love mailed to us last month while I've been resting this week. Isn't that so handy that she sent them? : )

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For any new Facebook friends who have wandered over here to my blog, feel free to check out the "All About Isaac" tab at the top of the page. It has his adoption story there, and also a little bit about his medical condition.

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I guess that's it for this week. I am hoping to resume my regular blogging schedule soon, but it's still summer, so we'll see! : D I don't consider the summer finished until September starts…I'm just "old school" that way!

I pray that ya'll have a wonderful weekend, and that you are able to assemble with other Christians and worship the Lord together. I know sometimes you just can't get to church; but if you can, I hope that you will. If you cannot, I invite you again to watch our services online: Landmark Baptist Church.

Blessings to you,

Alesha

Finally Getting Caught Up With You

August 8, 2009June 23, 2015 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, What's Happening

Thank you for reading my blog. Really…I mean it! I truly enjoy blogging and sharing our lives with you; but it would be a boring, dissatisfying exercise if it weren't for your comments and participation.

So, thank you! I am so glad you are here.

I have so many things to tell you about, so let's get started.

First, we have taken Isaac to 6 doctors in the last 4 weeks. It has been exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. I'll try to sum up in bullets:

Isaac was running a low-grade fever for a couple of weeks. We never figured out why, and it has now stopped.
He has lost weight since our last visit to his gastroenterologist, and so we have increased his daily caloric intake.
We have started him on daily carrot juice and barley supplements and he is doing well. We have been able to stop the OTC laxative that he was taking daily. : D
We had noticed a ridge developing on Isaac's forehead. (I noticed it after taking a pic for the blog…hadn't realized it was there until I saw the pic on my computer!) Also, his face is becoming noticeably asymmetrical. However, the neurosurgeon is not concerned with either of these things. His head is simply going to grow that way, due to earlier issues. His features will probably even out as each growth spurt ends.
Isaac's been having a new kind of seizure for about 6 weeks now. The neurologist recommended a VNS system. You can read about it on the Cyberonics site here. We are still in the information gathering stage on this.
Isaac's left hip is subluxated (partially dislocated). This is caused by muscles that have been too tight on his inner thigh that have pulled that leg over to the right. We found out about this last December, and have worked hard to position Isaac so that the hip is in a good position. That isn't going to fix the dislocation though. The only way to do that is with surgery.
Isaac's hip has not gotten any worse since last December, and the orthopedic surgeon we saw does not believe he is in pain with it. We were worried that the pain could have been causing the increased seizure activity, but the surgeon doesn't feel that is the case.
We are going to see the doctor again in December, and will probably schedule the surgery for soon after that. I tried to find a site that explains the surgery in layman's terms, but couldn't find one. I'll keep looking to see if I can find something and share it with you later.
Isaac is sleeping well right now, which is such a blessing. We have started doing his asthma treatments at a different time of day, rather than at bed time, and that seems to have made a world of difference.

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I won a blog contest a few week's back and received the yummiest wash cloths from Copperswife, Cheryl. They are the softest, prettiest things I've seen in a long time. I am using them only for Isaac, and they are especially nice for washing his face every morning. : ) Here are a couple of pics. I planned to get a few more pics, but was unable to do so (more on that later).

Be sure to read Cheryl's latest blog. It has some encouragement for us to have the proper priorities as we finish up our busy summers and head into the upcoming school year. It's a good read, as usual!

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Isaac received another nice surprise last month from our friends Jerry and Laura in Japan. Jerry and a group of other missionaries and interns climbed Mt. Fuji in Japan! It was an awesome trip. Be sure to catch his first installment of the journey on his blog, linked above.

Jerry had offered to mail postcards from the post office at the top of Mt. Fuji, and so I had asked him to send one to Isaac. Not only did he send a beautiful postcard, but he also included the headband that he wore on his trek. This is the message that Jerry sent to Isaac. (After the month that we have had, you can imagine how these kind words touched this mommy's heart. )

"Dear Isaac, When a Japanese person has a difficult job to do, they wear a headband with a message written on it to encourage them. Each member of our group wore a headband with the Kanji 'Hisshou' (victory) written on it. This is my headband. I hope it will encourage you in whatever hard jobs you have to do. Habakkuk 3:19"

(Laura, I hope I have it right side up! : ) I "googled" it so see how to turn it. )

It is amazing the things that God puts into motion weeks, months or even years before you need a Word from Him. I'm sure this climb has been something that Jerry has pondered for a long time. And at just the right time, God allowed him to make this climb, and then he, in turn, passed on a blessing to us. Our God is incredible.

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I know this post has gone on forever, but I have just a few more things to share. : )

New shirts for Isaac

New shirts for Mommy : )

Our new parsley plant (in a cute little pot, courtesy of Grammy).

On a sad note, my new camera has DIED!!! You can't even imagine my sadness! We had only had it for a couple of months, and I had just learned how to take much better pictures of my jewelry with it! I was taking some pictures, and the camera fell on the floor. It jammed the lense mechanism, and now the lense won't open. When the lense doesn't open, the camera won't even come on and stay on. I am very, very sad! I will be pulling out my old camera that takes AA batteries to see if I can use it again. (Insert my deep, heavy sigh here!) Did I tell you how SAD this makes me??? : (

And my last little bit of news…I have joined the choir at my church!!! I am so excited to be singing again! I am enjoying the practices so much, and of course, the fellowship that comes with it. Don't forget, if you can't make it to your church on Sunday, you can watch ours online in real time. Here's the link: Landmark Baptist Church. Just click the "media" tab, then the "live services" tab. (You might even see me in the choir!!! tee hee hee!) : )

Thank you, again, for coming to read my blog; and I especially want to thank you for your prayers for us. We appreciate it so much.

God's richest blessings to you,

Alesha

Unfortunately, Surgeries are Looming…

July 24, 2009 by ObtainingMercy, posted in How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, Prayer Request, What's Happening

Yeah, I know. I'm not really excited about it either. We've been to 4 doctor's offices in the past 2 weeks, and we've seen 5 doctors.

Within the last 3 weeks Isaac has started having an entirely new kind of seizure. He has also run an intermittent low-grade fever.

We've also known for about 7 months that Isaac's hip is dislocating about 50% out of the socket in certain positions.

So two of his doctors have recommended surgery: the neurologist and the orthopedist. The neurologist has recommended an implant that might reduce Isaac's seizures. The orthopedist wants to do hip surgery.

As we told the neurologist about the orthopedist's recommendations, she told us that if he is having a lot of pain in his hip, that could be causing the new seizures and the low-grade fever! Right, so my son is in pain, and I didn't even have a clue. I'm feeling really terrible about that right now!

So, we'll be seeing the orthopedist again soon, to have more x-rays taken, and to hear his recommendations. This surgery is quite invasive, and would mean 6-8 weeks in a full body cast or brace. I told Doug that we would definitely need nursing help following that surgery!

We will not likely do anything about the new seizures until after we have resolved the hip issue. If it is pain that is causing the new seizures, then following corrective surgery, they should stop. Normally. Ideally. In the usual cases. (Yeah…I'm not holding my breath on that one!)

Needless to say, we are not feeling very happy about these situations. We hate to see new seizures, no matter what is causing them. We feel horrible to think that Isaac is hurting all the time. We loathe the thought of another surgery, especially because he did so poorly during the last surgery. We abhor the idea of more equipment and gadgets being implanted in his little body.

I was going to include links to the two surgeries so that you could look at them, but I just got overwhelmed while reading the sites and had to stop. When it's time to go forward with them, I'll give you a better idea of exactly what will be happening.

I know that my God is in control. I know that God has His hand on Isaac's life and ministry. I know that God has allowed us to walk some very difficult paths so that others would see Him in Isaac. I believe that Isaac causes people to think about God, and reconsider what they believe about Him. I have witnessed folks response to the peace that Isaac has, and to the peace that God has poured out on us.

Sometimes I don't like where God leads us, but I know it is for my good and for His glory. So "I will follow, follow, all the way" just like the old hymn says. It will be very interesting to see God work through this next stage of Isaac's life.

We certainly would appreciate your prayers for wisdom as we make the decisions for which procedures to do, especially the one on his hip. There are innovative doctors doing wonderful things for our kiddos, but they are not covered by Isaac's insurance, nor are they in the state of Florida. We need wisdom to choose what is best, while considering all the factors involved.

Thank you, in advance, for carrying us to God's throne in prayer.

Alesha

New Stuff at Our House

July 20, 2009June 23, 2015 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Food and Drink, Household, What's Happening

We had a busy end-of-the-week last week, and as the result of being out and about, we have a few new tools for our house, our business and our boy.

The first new item: deodorant. No, it's not for me. It's for Isaac. {sigh…} : )

This is a handy cleaner that we found for Isaac. It is gentle on his skin, and can also be used on his hair. I find this a real help on those days when I have to change him from head to toe, over and over. (well, most days, really.)

This is a handy little tool for the kitchen. It's a salad spinner. Not the pricey oxo one I had my eye on, but a cheapy one from Old Time Pottery. We'll see how it stands up. I was able to chop up romaine and spinach, throw it in there, wash it, spin it and store it in my lettuce keeper. Very nice!

Doug bought me this sketch book for my jewelry business. Sometimes, it helps to see things on paper…and sometimes it would be nice if I could take a picture of the image in my head and transfer it to paper through some magical process.

I am NO artist, and sometimes I can't even manage to draw what I'm thinking on the paper. However, once in a while, I have some ideas that need to be jotted down before I forget them. So I keep this pad by my bed for just that purpose.

And THIS…ah, this little gem of a book has my creative juices really flowing! It has wonderful projects in it, and gives step by step instructions for some techniques that I had not yet learned. I am so excited to try some new things, and also to improve on some of the techniques that I use all the time.

So, those are the new things in our house this week. Oh, and I'll be trying to find the recipe for this new dish, so that it will be in our house, too:

It's Spaghetti Primavera, and it was absolutely delicious! Oh, and Doug's entree wasn't bad, either:

Veggie pizza with eggplant and peppers. He really enjoyed it!

Yes, in case you were wondering, we were able to go out to lunch on Saturday, thanks to Grammy! We went to Carrabba's and had a wonderful time.

I'm wondering…is there anything new at your house today? I'd love to hear about it! Leave me a comment below. : )

Blessings,

Alesha

The Slow Days of Summer

July 10, 2009June 23, 2015 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Florida Weather, What's Happening

Well, here in Florida, we've hit that part of the summer that means daily showers and hot temperatures. And THAT means that the grass needs to be mowed about every 72 hours! It just grows so fast!!!

Isaac went to therapy yesterday and is a tired puppy today. He's content to watch some Veggie Tales and of course he basked in Grammy's visit earlier today.

I've been working on some jewelry this week. That's always fun for me. I love the creative part of it.

Of course, I also love it when I read stories like this one! I do love a satisfied customer!!!

I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend…we'll probably be working on that grass. : )

I hope you have a really great weekend, and are able to be in church on Sunday. What a blessing is to worship the Lord God with believers of like faith!

Blessings to you,
Alesha

Some Things Won’t Get Done Today

July 8, 2009 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Florida Weather, Recipe, What's Happening

Doug and I are starting a new schedule this week, and we are going to see just how well it works. Isaac will be going to therapy twice a week now. I know the therapy will be good for him. I'm just not sure how well our poor old truck is going to hold up with all the traveling. I'm also not sure how the traveling will affect Doug – not that he is old, or anything!!! : )

I was really looking forward to my afternoon yesterday. I have several rearranging/organizing jobs that need to be tackled in my tiny house. I was going to jump into those projects while the boys were out.

What I did not anticipate, however, was the headache that decided to attack with all its fury during the night on Monday. I'm pretty sure it's related to sinus issues and all of the rainy weather we are having right now…lots of fronts coming through every day.

So yesterday, I did a whole lot of nothing…while trying to make the headache stop. I finally took some migraine meds, which did ease the pain. Unfortunately, it had caffeine in it, and I was awake until nearly 4 a.m. this morning. 8-o

Needless to say, my organizing jobs did not get done, but I'm not thinking today looks good for them either. I'm feeling a wee bit sluggish and oh, so sleepy!

By the way, as per yesterday's advice, I am totally going to try this recipe with my fresh vegetable harvest. (Please note my linking to this recipe does not endorse this entire site. Surf with discretion.)

Well, I guess that's it for today. If anything exciting happens, I'll be sure to come back and let you know.

: )
Alesha

Quiet Middle, Then BOOM at the End!

July 3, 2009 by ObtainingMercy, posted in Holiday, Isaac Update, What's Happening

The balance of our week has been relatively quiet – which is ok by me!

For some reason, Isaac has decided that nights are for singing and laughing and playing, while early mornings into the afternoons are for sleeping, sleeping and sleeping! We usually don't have any idea why he occasionally gets his days and nights mixed up, and this time is no exception. We just do our best to keep him awake during the day, and hope he will break out of the cycle before too long.

I was looking for a good guacamole recipe yesterday. I've tried several, but I haven't been really pleased with any of them so far. I finally "googled" "guacamole" + "authentic recipe" and on page 3, found the Pioneer Woman's recipe for guacamole and pico de gallo.

The recipes were fabulous!!! So simple and yummy. I don't know why I didn't think to search her site first. Maybe because most of her recipes sound so rich with butter, cheese and meat that it didn't dawn on me to try her site for two vegetarian dishes. These were great though. I heartily recommend them!

Well, Doug has the day off today, and we're trying to find something fun to do. It has to be an inside activity, though, because the temps are supposed to be in the mid 90s today. We're thinking of going back to the Wh*le Foods Store. What??? Isn't going to the grocery considered "something fun to do" at your house??? : )

Isaac will be enjoying the "BOOMS!" this weekend!!! The first July 4th after his adoption, we went with friends to the local fireworks display. We had no idea how he was going to react, but he loved it!!! Giggled and laughed the whole time. We've not taken him for years due to the seizures, but he still enjoys the big noises every year. We call them "BOOMS!" because to Isaac, that is a very funny word. : )

Well, the boys are waking up…I guess I need to finish up. I pray you
have an exciting and safe Fourth of July holiday. For those of you
outside the States, go ahead and light a few sparklers on our behalf!
You know you want to! : )

Blessings,
Alesha

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