Weekend Rendevous

Sooo....Last week John had to spend the week in Atlanta, so I flew to meet him there on Thursday night and then Friday morning we hopped on a flight to the Bahamas for the long weekend! Yes, it was just for the weekend - and it was JUST PERFECT! There wasn't a lot to see or do, so I did EXACTLY what I wanted - laid by the pool and read my book. The weather was perfect. It was sunny and beautiful. Church on Sunday was touching - there were two confirmations, and many tender feelings about Haiti. Apparently there are quite a few Haitians living in the Bahamas, and several members of the branch had family members in Haiti. My emotions got the best of me...it was a very sweet meeting with a beautiful spirit. Of course, maybe it was just such an unusual experience for me to actually be able to listen peacefully at church that I was caught off guard! If you read my previous post, you'll understand what I'm talking about :). John and I are lame - we're both terrible at taking pictures. So I took one of the darling primary kids, one of the church, and we took one as we were leaving for the airport...it's a terrible picture of both of us - but you get the idea of the beauty of where we were. Such a fun - and much needed - weekend! I feel so renewed!



Here's the latest update with John. He has another sinus infection (surprise!) that he's been on antibiotics for since the beginning of January. Yesterday, they brought out the "big guns" of antibiotics to try to kill the infection. Hopefully it will work. When we saw the immunologist, we decided to try a long term oral regimen of antibiotics to keep him from getting sick rather than start on IV therapy every month (he has IGg 2 deficiency). We're hoping it will keep John healthy and he won't need to start the plasma replacement therapy. But with this latest infection dragging on and on and on, I get kind of nervous that his body just isn't going to respond to oral therapy. But, we'll keep our fingers crossed! The IV therapy would suck. Bad. The side effects are terrible, and it's very expensive (the likes of $5000.00 a month!!!!!). Yes, insurance would likely pay for it, but still it would be a lot out of pocket. So, we're really hoping John's body will respond to the oral therapy and will start feeling better so he doesn't need it!

He really started feeling better when we were in the Bahamas...maybe we need to move to a warmer climate because as soon as we got home, he crashed again. I could handle a warmer life :).

Our little family

I'm still trying to upload Ellie's picture. My kids may look sweet in this picture...and a lot of them time they are very sweet. BUT...they are both very naughty sometimes. Like yesterday. After church yesterday I marched right into my bathroom and locked the door and cried until my eyes were swollen and my makeup was all over my face. I looked quite comical actually! So our church is at 1pm, and sacrament meeting is last. By the time 3pm rolls around, my kids are not only grumpy, hungry, and tired...they are tired of sitting still. Yesterday was no exception. They were restless. I often feel like we are "that" family (every ward seems to have one) where the kids are out of control. Ellie had her feet up on the bench in front of us, and Jack was trying to run on the bench we were sitting on. Finally the lady sitting in front of us turned around and said to Ellie, "Shhhhh. This is Jesus' church.". At that I got up, took both my kids out and stayed in the foyer for the rest of the meeting - on the verge of tears. Then after the meeting a sweet woman sitting behind us in sacrament meeting found me and said how sorry she was that the other woman had turned around. That's all it took and the tears started flowing. She tried to convince me that my kids weren't loud or disruptive, but I knew better. I had to get home fast. I composed myself as well as I could, apologized to the woman who told my daughter off, and left. Mortifying. I hated yesterday. I went to bed at 9pm and slept for 12 hours! I feel much better today.

On a much happier note, John and I booked a quick weekend get-away to the Bahamas. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. It will be my first vacation since John got sick, and it is MUCH needed. I'm hoping to come home feeling like a new person!

And a quick update on John. He is sick (again!!) with another sinus/chest cold. He went in today for a ton of tests and we see the immunologist on Thursday. We are really hoping to learn more about his IGg disorder and what the prognosis is. I'll post when I find out more.

Christmas was magical. My kids LOVED what Santa brought and it was a sweet holiday. I spent Christmas Eve with my dad and New Years Day with our dog snow shoeing in the mountains, and it was good for my soul to be out in the clean air and sunshine.

JACK

"He is the delight of my eyes, and the darling of my heart."

Need I say more? Happy birthday, Jack!

Woodward Family Party

Last night was my family (Woodward) Christmas party. It was delightful. I have the coolest family. The food was divine, the entertainment was joyful (talent show from the grandkids), the gifts were too generous, and the pageant was funny.

The kids totally get into the pageant and talent show. My niece was supposed to be Mary for the pageant, but Ellie had her heart set on being her, so we had two...and I was the donkey for Ellie. I think I was pretty nice to participate :). The kids all get dressed up. I left my camera home, so my sister took these and sent them to me. Hopefully my brother will send me some of Jack. Ellie's in the middle on the little couch.Ellie holding our newest little cousin/nephew, Charlie. He's SO loveable!

Johnny

Happy Very-Belated Birthday to our Johnny! Poor guy has had a crappy year, so we were all very glad to say goodbye to 43, and hello to 44!! Okay, he's going to KILL me for being so open about his age...but I'm just glad he made it to 44! And, he looks AMAZING for his age...most people are shocked to know he's no longer in his 30s :).

Anyway, the first half of his "43" was full of fun adventures in Maui, Dominican Republic, and Alaska...and those are just the few that were not close to home :).

Then it all came to a crashing halt in July. Poor guy. I haven't been good about giving updates lately...I guess it's because it's not great news. He's still suffering from terrible headaches daily - yes, daily. We've had some good news that his brain abnormalities continue to heal. But last week we learned that John has "IGG Deficiency Disorder". Basically, John's immune system is compromised and can't fight off infections like most people. So, it increases his risk of getting meningitis again and other life threatening infections. However, there are good treatment options. John may have to start a monthly routine where they take his plasma out and replace it with someone else's infused with immunoglobulins. We really don't know much more, or what to expect, but John now has an immunologist (in addition to his infectious disease specialist, neurologist, etc...) who has run gazillions of tests on him this week and we will get the results the first week in January. Then we will have a better idea of exactly what we're dealing with.

I'm not going to lie. This has been rough. It's been so hard for John. He wants to feel good, and he wants to have the energy he used to. I actually think it's been years since he really felt good. It's taken huge a toll on him physically and emotionally. I'm just so grateful for good medical care. He has the best doctors.

It hasn't been a walk in the park for me either. But, I'm very optimistic. John will get better. He will feel more healthy once he starts treatment. Eventually, I hope to have the old Johnny back. The one I married six years ago. I'm confident that will happen.

Happy Birthday Johnny! I love you!

My Little Bug

MY LITTLE ELLIE.

This time of year is such a sweet time for me. I love that my Ellie was born so close to Thanksgiving. She is my little sweetpea. I never understood my capacity for love until she was born. She has given my life meaning that I didn't realize was possible. I am so grateful for the sacred opportunity I have to be Ellie's mommy!! She delights my soul and makes my heart sing! Happy 4th Birthday, Bug!!

Pictures from October

Here are some recent pictures I've wanted to post...

Jackson and his cousin Lilly at Gymboree class. Aren't they so cute?!

No, my sister and I didn't talk prior to class about orange shirts and jeans :).Ellie at the Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch

Ellie in Midway
at the Scarecrow Festival

His shirt says it all.

Gardner Village

Ellie aboard the pirate ship at Engh Gargens

Maze at Engh Gardens- My kids loved this!

Ellie's dance class - Halloween week

Yes, we won best costume...