Uncle Ron just passed away this afternoon. He was very sick and now he is no longer in pain and we take comfort that he is with God. We miss him tremendously and while we expected it, we didn't expect to have him pass this soon. We will be gone for the next 10 days or so thus I will not be blogging until I return.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me....

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now, I see.

Some Sad News...

Keep Pete's Uncle Ron in your prayers. He is or will be placed on hospice and we understand that he is very, very ill. He has requested no visitors so while that is sad for us, we will remember him as he was. Peter David also shares Uncle Ron's birthday (march 26 as well as another cousin).

Whew.....

I tackled a lot more than I should have last week, but I wanted to get the house cleaned up. I throughly cleaned the kids room, including their closets, and the rest of the house. Pete & I had a date Friday night. We went to dinner at Stir Crazy and watched World Trade Center. The last movie we saw was United 93. I told Pete that we have to see a comedy next. I'm all for watching 'history, ' but Pete is obessed with anything & everything 9/11 especially with the 5 yr anniversary coming up.

I have been getting massive headaches at night on top of my allergies flaring up and still having some stomach issues so I've been going to bed early & falling alseep within minutes.

Saturday morning, we drove up to TC to pick up the kids. As I thought would happen, Kiersten was royally upset at us & would not come to us & stayed with my mom. About 2 1/2 hrs later after she woke up from a nap, she was herself and we had a lot of fun just hanging out at the house. Sunday morning, I sent Pete, Peter & Calvin off to Bounce Arena (this place is fun, but they have a lot of organization problems...long story) for a hour while I packed up. We left TC about 1:30pm, the kids both took a nap and for a little while we had peace & quiet. We stopped at Birch Run Outlet for about an hour to let the kids get out of the car & we finally made it home around 7pm.

This Saturday, we are making a day trip to Grand Rapids (2+hrs) for my brother's (CJ) and his financee's engagment party. It's pretty small, but I am making the flower arrangements for the center pieces (only 4 tables), my famous Pasta Salad and I am bring the veggies for the veggie tray. It's a lot to do with 2 little kids 'helping' me, but I'm sure it'll get done.

Then my mom is coming back with us Sat night because her citizenship interview is on Monday the 28th in Detroit. Mon night, we are driving halfway to TC and my brother is driving halfway down to pickup my mom & the kids. Pete is on vacation all next week so we were going to spend time in TC, however, Pete's dad had to reaarange his colonoscopy (3rd time) from the 24th to Tues the 29th so we have to come back to take him to that & then we will go back up to TC. I didn't want the kids to be in the car so much. I can't wait until I feel 100% and can acutally have fun ( :

Feeling better...

I feel much better today though my stomach is still a little irritated. I'm using my time home alone to my advantage. I'm working on 3 projects (scrapbooks for the grandparents), picture collage for my nephew (to put in his new room at his new house), I went & registered to vote this morning (very excited about that) and now I am cleaning my house(not so exciting).

My oldest brother, Padith, & our dad are on their way back from Grand Rapids. They had their Naturalization (for Citizenship) Ceremony this morning. My mom is the only one who is an "alien" in our family & that is because she should have had a translator at her interview in June just to clarify some of the questions. Her next interview will be on the 28th & I will be her translator. After 26yrs, my entire family be all be naturalized citizens this year which is awesome.

We pick up the kids this weekend and I can barely wait. The time a part is good for all of us, but it's hard to be a part from your little ones.

Peter at 48hrs old.
Kiersten at 4days old.

Normal evening routines are dinner time, bath time, book time & then bed time. Cheese on command. The second we get the camera out & say cheese, she smile like crazy & want to keep taking pictures.

On our way to the photo session Sat morning. It was very chilly so I pulled out her Ralph Lauren Sweat outfit (I got it for 70% off, originally $60, ouch!). It's very cute.Sunday, we took Calvin, Peter & Kiersten to the civic center in Traverse City. My brothers & I all grew up playing here. They have added on a lot the past 10years (Skate Park, Children's Play area). Kiersten loves to kick the soccer ball around.

Big cousin Calvin....................Little cousin Kiersten
More ball kicking
I'm the king of the world!

Swinging is one of the kid's favorites things to do!

Card Carrying Radioactive Member

It's a little hard to see, but its a little piece of paper that I have to carry with me for a few months if I travel outside of the country or go on a plane. You see, the radioactive material I drank could be detected. I thought it was rather amusing. I am a card carrying radioactive member!

I went in at 8am per the instructions so they could take more blood to see if I am pregnant (procedure if you're of child bearing age). I had my first dose of radioactive material & drank it through a straw. It tasted like water. I was told to come back at 12noon for my consult with the doctor before I took the larger dose.

Pete & I used that time to do a little shopping (anti-bacterial wipes) & had breakfast. We got back at noon. I went in & they checked my thyroid count via this cool machine (not sure how it all works). A normal thyroid works under 30%, my thyroid was working at 83% so defintely hyper as we all knew. However, the labs weren't completed on my bloodwork so they told me to come back at 2:30pm. Luckily home is close so we drove home to relax for a little while & so Pete could get some work done.

We got back to the office & I went back in. The doctor came in with a resident doctor. The resident doctor couldn't fully feel my thyroid so they went back & forth with me. Dr. Garcia showing the other doc the many ways to feel for the thyroid & the young doc taking his turn, I truly felt like a speciman at this point. Other than that, it was time to take the rest of the dose.

The dose tasted like well water, but overall I'm glad its done. I will see the doc in 6 weeks to see how things are going & get more lab work done. I shouldn't have any problems otherwise. Right now I am tired, but probably from traveling back from TC yesterday & going back & forth this morning.

Pete & I are avoiding each other, well, we have to stay at least 6 ft apart. I have the upstairs bed & bathroom & he'll take the downstairs for a few days. I get the futon & he gets the couch. Hopefully these next few days will fly by!

Thanks for all of the concern & well wishes!

Coming to terms with swallowing radioactive stuff

Tomorrow morning is the big day. Heading to the Beaumont Hospital Outpatient Nuclear Medicine Dept for my treatment. I should feel normal, but I will probably lay low all day tomorrow. Pete will be home with me, but we can't be around each other for more than an hour at a time. Luckily, we have 2 bathrooms and 2 tv's. I'll update my trip later.

We also just got home from dropping the kids up in TC for the week at my parents. We got Peter's confirmation for school (I just have to finish registering him) and we got the school we wanted. Even though I wanted the morning program and we got the afternoon program, we still got the school!! I have to go to the orientation and the meet and greet(with Peter) the beginning of Sept! It's a very exciting (and sad for Pete & I) time and Peter is so excited to be going to school.

A few summer pics

Here a few pics from our session Sat. morning. Kiersten wasn't in the mood to take pics & was rather difficult to work with...but that is how it goes. Peter, on the other hand, was as cool as a cat.

Made my decision!

I went to see the thyroid/metabolism specialist, also called an endocrinologist. Kiersten had a blast wandering & visiting with people waiting in the lobby. Pete did a great job being as patient as he could.

The doc was nice, but he was very sure my eyes were large (I've always had large eyes) due to the thyroid, he measured them & I was normal. Then I asked if I could conceive children in the future, he kinda looked puzzled and then said sure. I asked about weight gain. He said I wasn't going to weigh what I weighed back when I was in high school/college when I told him I had recently gained 6lbs the past 2 1/2 weeks(my meds are making me gain weight & I take 7pills a day). I told that at this agressive rate of weight gain, I'm going to be obese in about 2 seconds. I told him I had weighed btw 96-98lbs for about 10yrs (not including the pregnancies obviously) and eat plenty, but I have an active & busy lifestlye. He told me he was sure that my weight would go back to what my 'normal' is once we get the thyroid worked out.

After much consideration the past 2 weeks and weighing the pros & cons, I have decided to opt for the radioactive treatment. My doctors and I are looking for the best longterm treatment that will give me a 'normal' life. (Taking the meds I am on now, it's much harsher on my body, I have to take so many of them, see the doc often and it could make me struggle to conceive.) The treatment will destroy my thyroid & I will go on a supplement for a long time, most likely the rest of my life so I don't become Hypo (lack of metabolism). I had 4 viles of blood drawn today to begin the process. Monday morning I have to get more blood drawn to make sure I'm not pregnant & then I head into nuclear medicine to begin the treatment. As far as I know, the radioactive material is a drink & I have to wait for 3 hrs to make sure it has isolated its target, my thryoid. I should feel okay, but I am a little worried since I don't see the doc again for 6 weeks, I will start to feel slow & sluggish until I get the supplement. If I feel that way, I'll just have to call & bug the doctors.

Peter & Kiersten are not allowed to be near me for at least 48hrs so we are going to drive them up to my parents for the week on Sat. It'll give them some fun time away from us & gives me the time to do what I need to do. I'm going to miss them like crazy, but I have an awful lot of housework to get done.

And Peter is starting pre-school next month. We're so excited, I'm waiting for the confirmation & list of supplies so we can go shopping!

Being a kid means a lot of play!

We ran up to the mall for dinner & to meet Pete after work. The kids played for almost an hour. It's a great way to work their energy.

Our Fri, Sat & Sun

The kids & I ran up to the mall after my doctor appt on Fri. We had lunch, they played in the play area & we took a walk around the mall. We stopped at Outdoor World so they could see the huge fish tank.
Saturday, We went diaper shopping at Target and walked around Babies R Us, Old Navy etc... We are trying to hold out from doing major shopping until we have to buy fall/winter clothes for the kids next month. I found a little cute outfit at Burlington for pictures we are going to take of the kids at Sears next week. It's their summer pics.

We went back to the mall for lunch. After a lunch and a pretzel, the kids hung out. As usual, patience is a virtue. Will I ever get the 2 of them to smile or look at the camera at the same time?
I got lucky, this one is a keeper.

Sunday, we like to take the kids to the library. We let Peter check out 2 books and Kiersten gets one book. We were 10mins early so we just hung out outside until the doors were open.

Getting bored...moving on to playing with rocks.

Kiersten, hey pretty girl, can I get a smile?
Too cute!
The Waterford library is pretty nice. The kids have a lot of tables & chairs to ready and play puzzles. We don't have to worry too much about the noise level here since it is the children's section. Kiersten has a blast running through the aisles.