We got Sallie's results back today. She does have Grade II Vesicoureteral Reflux (Urinary reflux) which means that her urine refluxes all the way back up her ureter thus taking bacteria back in. The grades are 1 through 5 with 5 being the worst. So, #1 the reflux is minor and #2 she should outgrow it. With more severe cases they use prophylatctic antibiotics to control the infections. However, with Grade II they are just watched closely for any signs of infection and treated as needed. Also, we were given a little hope that she might indeed have 2 kidneys by the ultrasound technician. She said she was not sure but she did see something on the left side in the same location as her kidney on the right side which did appear to possibly be a second kidney. Interestingly enough, at some point I had looked back to the targeted ultrasounds I had done when I was pregnant with Sallie and we knew there were problems and they stated there were 2 kidneys. However, when she was born they said there was only 1 so I assumed an ultrasound of her outside of the uterus was more accurate and never questioned it. So, when the tech mentioned that last week our curiousity was really peaked. The radiologist said that it is not another kidney. The nurse read his findings to me in medical terms but basically it is a group of cells which did not form a kidney. Apparently it appears somewhat like a kidney but is not. The tech was very good to spend time explaining everything she saw to us and she showed me both sides and they did look alike. However, she told me that if Sallie did have the urinary reflux then the pictures of that would indicate whether that was a functioning kidney or not because it would show the urine backing up in there. So, a little hope that turned out to be nothing but we are very relieved that the reflux is not major and that hopefully it will correct itself. Thanks for the prayers and we appreciate your continued prayers for Sallie.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
What will she say next???
My latest conversation with Lizzie:
Me: "Lizzie you are not supposed to have wipes and you know it"
Lizzie: "Oh well!"
Never a dull moment!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Our family clown!
Sorry for 4 posts in one day but I had something to share with you from each of the girls. Last but not least, video footage of Lizzie. Let me say that I normally would not allow her to do all this (especially turn around and stand up) while she is eating but she was talking and so I decided to video while she was eating because she would be still (somewhat anyway!) Otherwise, there is no catching Lizzie! As you can see she is a clown! Overlook the runny nose-it's just that time of year!
Where did my baby go?
One strong girl!
Sallie is strong in so many ways. She has been through so much yet she is always smiling but she is physically strong as well. Don't let her size fool you-she can fight! We took her on Friday for her tests and it was about as expected I guess. After she realized they were not going to do anything to her during the ultrasound she was OK. It was just long. They looked around for about 30 minutes, then on to the bad stuff. They put a catheter in and Aaron, 3 nurses, and myself had to hold her down for them to put it in and then for about 20 minutes or so after they got it in. They filled her bladder and took films while they were doing this and then while she tee teed after they took the catheter out and then after she completely emptied her bladder. All while we wore those heavy radiology vest things. We were worn out but so glad it was over. We should get the results back today. I will update when we know something.
As for me, they called me Fri after we got home with Sallie and told me that the test I was waiting on had come back abnormal. So, I went yesterday for more tests and I am not sure when these will come back. The test indicates that there could be an autoimmune disease. I think it will take several days for us to get the results back. I will update on this as well once I know something. These tests will either confirm or deny what the original test indicated and hopefully point them more in the direction of a diagnosis. Please continue to pray!
Does it get any sweeter?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
OOPS!
Last night I was giving Millie her bottle and Sallie and Lizzie were in my lap as well. This happens quite often! I sit with my back on the arm of the couch and my legs extended out on the couch so then they can drape all over me! I had gotten their PJ's out and they were on the back of the couch. Sallie loves clothes, pj's, swimsuits, anything she can change into a million times a day. She also loves taking clothes from their drawers and closet and distributing them all over the house. With that said, I have to really watch her! So, she starts getting the pj's off the back of the couch while she is sitting in my lap and I knew that within no time she would be down and I would have no idea where those pj's had gone. She looks at me as she touches them (like she always does when she knows she is not supposed to be doing it)and I tell her no, she continues to get them so I put my hand on her leg (I thought) which normally makes her stop whatever because she does not like to be spanked. I lift my hand and pop her (once again, I thought) and Millie bursts into tears. I was popping the wrong leg! I had just popped my 6 month old on the leg! Thankfully, because Sallie doesn't have "much meat on her bones" I never pop her hard but I did feel terrible. Before long I was laughing at the craziness of having 6 bare legs in my lap and popping the wrong one! I usually strip them down after dinner so they had nothing on their legs. I rarely get their names right when calling them so why should I expect to get the right leg!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
AT THE CROSS
This is probably my absolute favorite worship song. God speaks to me in an incredible way every time I listen to it and sing it. We sang it this morning at church and every time we do you can just feel the Spirit moving in a mighty way. As I sang it this morning and wept and wept and wept I felt such a peace and yet so convicted all at the same time. There is so much peace in being a child of God yet we become so restless with our circumstances and we have so much hope in Christ. I am His and He will take care of everything in His timing. With me being sick and not knowing what is wrong with me and the stress that has been added to our family because of this, upcoming test for Sallie this week, a couple of my family members dealing with medical issues I have let myself get bummed and I needed this song so much today and God sent it just when I needed it. I hope that it touches you in a special way! I think each time I hear it I get something new from it. God speaks a different truth to me each time.
Celebrating Valentine's Day (for several days)!
Then you place them in a cellophane bag, attach this message and tie and you have a cute sweet treat!
On Thursday morning we had a wonderful pancake breakfast prepared just for his girls by Aaron. He got up early and started cooking and we woke to the smell of pancakes, sausage, and bacon. Too bad every day is not Valentine's Day! Oh, and he made his yummy homeade hot chocolate served in tea cups. He saw these tea cups a couple of weeks ago and decided he wanted to start getting each of the girls tea cups each year for Valentine's Day. They get to drink out of them on Valentine's Day and then we put them away. I thought this was a great idea. We always get them a little something and this way they will have something to keep rather than candy or something that will be torn up by the end of the day. He is such a girl daddy! Good thing since he has 4!
You can see the tea cups and notice the bacon making an X and then the sausage and pancakes are O's. He wanted to cut the pancakes in heart shapes and ran out of time so we got X's and O's! The man is good!
Sallie enjoying her hot chocolate. She was not feeling great but a little hot chocolate helps! We took her to the Dr the day before with an urinary tract infection. She is feeling much better now. However, because she has only one kidney and we have to protect that one we will be taking her Friday (the 22nd) for some testing. The Dr wants to make sure that there is not a problem causing the UTIs and also to look at the structure of her urinary tract. So, please be in prayer that not only will the test results be good but please please please pray for God's peace for Sallie. She has been through so much that just the sight of a hospital sends her into fits and then she will have to be confined and a catheter placed in, etc. for the testing. We appreciate your prayers for sweet Sallie! I know she is mine but I promise they don't get any sweeter than Sallie!!!
Millie and Lizzie had their 6 and 18 month check-ups in honor of Valentine's Day! Four shots for Millie and one for Lizzie. I know that was not very nice on the day of LOVE!
A had class that night so the girls and I just hung out and did a lot of nothing! We always like to have a nice dinner as a family to celebrate so we had our dinner on Fri night since A was in class on Thursday. He made shrimp alfredo with linguine completely from scratch and it was incredible! We ate from our fine china. However, I am not yet brave enough for them to use my crystal so we drank out of cheap goblets because the girls think it is so neat. They had heart shaped ice! They love it!
Elleigh's favorite dessert is Molten Chocolate Cake and I love to bake but I had never attempted to make them so I gave it a try and they were so good! 
The fun didn't end there. On Saturday night we had a babysitter and A and I went downtown for dinner and a movie. We had a GREAT time! Those opportunities are very rare for us and we appreciate every moment of being with each other when we get the chance. We were in much need of that time! We came home refreshed and ready to take care of the many needs of 4 girls! I have felt the best in the past few days I have felt in a long time and I know it is your prayers. I can't say thank you enough and please keep praying. I FEEL THEM!
Now back to reality and DIETING! Cheating was so much fun!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Update
I went back last Friday for more tests and I got the results from those yesterday. They were normal. One of the test specifically looked at the condition of my muscles and they look fine. The Dr believes that because all of those test look good it is a nerve related issue rather than an issue with the muscles. She thinks something is causing abnormal nerve responses which is causing my problems. She is sending me to a neurologist. They are calling me today with an appt time. I am hoping that I will not have to wait too long before seeing them. I do think this is the route we need to take. It does seem there is something that is triggered. It is a strange feeling that I really can't explain. My energy level is improving which is a big plus. I am still not resting well at all and that has taken a big toll. I got one decent night's rest several days ago and I felt so much better the next day but now I am back to sleepless nights. The numbness and tingling is off and on, sometimes much worse than others. Since Saturday I have had a lot of pain in my legs which is very uncomfortable. Occasionally I will feel light headed but overall that is much better. Please continue to pray and thank you!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
VERY happy in PINK
Elleigh went back to the Dr today and her arm looks really good. The Dr said both bones look good and it looks good cosmeticly. We are all so relieved! She goes back in 4 weeks and hopefully they will take the cast off for good. Thank you all for your prayers for her! To celebrate she had to have the brightest shade of PINK for her cast! As you can see, it still looks so clean. Only I have been given the opportunity to sign it. Once she goes to church tomorrow night it will be covered in black! 
Monday, February 11, 2008
Anger Management?
Sunday, February 10, 2008
So sweet
Check out the post titled To Melissa on Beth Moore's blog. I love her anyway and this post is wonderful. It is to her youngest daughter Melissa who is getting married on Saturday. For those of you who have ever seen her or gone through any of her studies, Melissa is the one who Beth says would come down the stairs as a little girl and ask if she was going to boss her today. I love it! I am quite senitmental anyway and being a mother who knows this day will come, I lost it on this one. The address is http://www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com/.
6 Months
Mil Mil as Lizzie insists on calling her turned 6 Months old on Saturday. It is so fun to watch her personality come alive. She has the biggest smile! Millie has 2 teeth and we are so glad they are finally in (so is she). She is not yet sitting alone. She has sat a couple of times for a minute or so but she is not quite there yet. She arches her back and doesn't like to sit on her bottom. However, she loves her tummy and she is getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth. I keep thinking surely she is not going to crawl before she sits up. You never know. One thing I have learned by now is that they are all so different and reach milestones at their own pace. It does appear that she will have a "regular" crawl unlike "the Lizzie scoot". She looks more like her daddy every day. I say that but she does look a lot like Nanna and Uncle Adam. Sallie looks like them too and we were looking at some pictures of Sallie when she was younger and Millie looks like her as well. Millie is going through a phase (a long one I might add) of not wanting us to leave the room. She screams and screams and SCREAMS! We are hoping once she starts crawling she will be able to entertain herself better. Of course, then we will have different issues. I can only imagine what Sallie and Lizzie will put her up to! She sleeps great at night. She goes to bed around 7:30 or so and sleeps till around 6:30 or 7 the next morning. She is a lot like Lizzie in that she is not a good napper. She cat naps a lot but I will take the sleeping at night! Time really does fly when you're having fun! 
Thursday, February 7, 2008
PLEASE PRAY
I have thought many times about doing this post but have been very hesitant. However, I feel like I should because I do believe in the power of prayer and that is what I need. I have been sick since January 4th and we are still not sure what is going on. It would take me forever to go back through what all has happened but I have had various symptoms from extreme fatigue, lightheadedness and dizziness, chest discomfort, pressure and pulsating in my head, numbness and tingling, etc. I have now seen 3 doctors one of which was in the ER and have had tons of tests and so far nothing has come back abnormal. Along the way I was diagnosed as having gastritis which could explain the chest discomfort and am taking something daily for that but that does not explain any of the other episodes (appears to be something isolated that happened to be brought to the surface). There were 2 weeks during this time frame that I barely could function and some days are still pretty bad but overall I am feeling better but still having lots of numbness and tingling as well as muscle weakness and am so tired. It is so frustrating to not know what is wrong with you and to need so much to be back to 100% for my family. We know God knows and in His timing I will either be healed or we will have some answers. I admit it has definately caused me to cry out to Him more than I have in a long time. He has also revealed Himself to me through others time and time again. I have been very encouraged by dear friends checking on me, showing up at our door with food, offers to keep the girls (and when you have 4 that offer doesn't come a lot!), and the list goes on. I know that there are lots who read our blog that do not know anything is going on with me and I am somewhat private when it comes to my own health but as I said it really hit me today that I need lots of prayers and this is a good way to get that going. I am waiting on a call back from the Dr. to tell me what to do next. She did tell me last week that it could simply be stress but she wanted to rule everything else out first. So, you can also pray that I am able to control the stress in my life because whether that is the cause of this or not it can't be helping. Also, I am having very restless nights which are not helping either (not caused by the children-they all sleep through the night) so you can pray for restful nights. Please pray for Aaron who has been wonderful to say the least. However, he has lots on him with school and working and it is all wearing on him. Pray for his endurance and wisdom in decision making and prioritizing. Pray for our sweet girls who are feeling the effects of me not being myself and completely there for them and daddy being pulled in a million directions. Praise-we have all escaped the nasty stomach bugs and colds going around, none of the girls have had an ear infection through this season, Sallie has been the healthiest she has ever been! Thank you for your prayers!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The Arm
Elleigh saw the ortho today and her arm seems to be healing well. She has an appt next Tuesday and they will remove this cast to get a really good view of the bones to make sure they are OK. Beyond that point the bone would have to be broken again in order to correct it, so they want to make sure it is OK before proceeding. At that point they will tell us if they have to put her to sleep to set it or if they will just re-cast to allow it to finish healing. Elleigh is anxious to have her appt next week to find out what happens next. She is excited about getting to try a new color cast! GIRLS! We appreciate you all checking on her and for your prayers!