Sophie update

Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for Sophie.

The good part: Sophie DOES NOT have reflux in her kidneys so the test went fine. Nothing was abnormal.

The bad part: It was awful. I am emotionally drained from this experience.

She screamed louder than I have ever heard her scream. She cried. She wanted it to be "all done". She wanted to get down. She was pitiful. And there was nothing I could do about it. She was so scared and it broke my heart.

After they filled her bladder with dye, the doctor needed her to go peepee on the table so they could determine if there was any reflux going on with her kidneys. She didn't want to. We told her we would be all done if she would just go peepee. The nurse then had to pour 4-5 glasses of warm water on her to make her go potty. Eventually she did. Even though we were only there about 15 minutes, it was the longest 15 minutes of my life. Whoever said parenting isn't for cowards wasn't kidding. But then when they said "all done", she said, "Thank you. Thank you nice lady. Thank you, Doctor. I did it. All done." That's my girl.

The only thing we are waiting on now is for the culture to come back on her urine to make sure the UTI is gone. I'll have to talk to the doctor but we shouldn't have to go see the urologist next month.

Thanks again for your prayers. You have no idea how much I appreciate them!

Girl's Night Out - October 19, 2007

Well tonight, Julia, Jeannie, Trisha and I met at Jason's Deli to begin our Girl's Night Out. Julia had a prior commitment at church, so she didn't get to go with us to Spartan 16 and see The Game Plan (lucky!). Although the concessions were good, the movie sure wasn't. For whatever reason, we keep picking bad movies. But I guess we really have no one to blame but ourselves for this one. Think about it... we willingly paid to see a movie that starred The Rock? (He used to be a professional wrestler.) What were we thinking?!? Julia met us at Barnes & Noble, and we enjoyed visiting and looking around for a couple of hours. What a great time I had catching up with friends! Next month we are planning a day trip to South Park Mall in Charlotte and will eat at the Cheesecake Factory. If you are available, please join us on November 17th!

New "do"

On Tuesday, I got my hair cut short and love it! It has been bugging me for a while and I was ready for a change. My very talented friend and hairdresser, Carla, had good ideas and I am so happy with the end result. And just in time for vacation too!

False Witness

I stayed up until almost 2 am finishing this book because I just couldn't put it down. If you have been reading my blog, then you know that Randy Singer is one of my favorite authors, and this book didn't disappoint me. I thought the story line was interesting and really liked the characters. I enjoyed the second and third part of the book more than the first, but overall I still give it a thumbs up. There's only one little problem I had with the story but I won't give it away. You'll have to read it for yourself and then we can talk about it!

Sophie

Sophie is scheduled for a VCUG test on Wednesday, October 24. I will be glad when this part of our lives is over! The test will determine if there is any damage to her kidneys as a result of the infection and/or if there is anything anatomically going on to cause the infection. Also, she will need to go and see a urologist, but that appointment has not been scheduled at this time. I'll keep you posted.

Cana

Tomorrow is the six-year anniversary of losing our precious daughter, Cana, to miscarriage. I remember vividly sitting in the Sunday evening service at church and feeling her moving around more than normal. Little did Brian and I know what events would transpire over the next 24 hours, including my water breaking right there on the pew, being rushed to the hospital, and the inevitable delivery of our stillborn child. Although I would NEVER want to relive that experience again, we saw a side of God we had never seen before as He revealed Himself to us in a supernatural way. The ensuing year was HARD as we dealt with the grief of not having our daughter with us and lost dreams for our family. It was incredibly difficult to be around other women who were expecting and not ask why not us, Lord. There have been many blessings as a result of this painful experience, and we give God all of the glory, honor, and praise for binding up our wounds and bringing us through this storm. It is hard to believe that if Cana were alive today, she would be 6-years old and attending kindergarten! When we were thinking about names, we selected Cana because it was the name of the place where Christ performed His first miracle, and we believed that Cana was our first miracle. And she was. Thank you, Lord, for the family and friends that you surrounded us with that gave us the love and support we needed. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to be Cana's parents on this earth for 20-weeks. It brings great comfort to know that she is in the arms of her Heavenly Father, but we miss her. And wish she was here...

Sophie medical update

I took Sophie to the pediatrician's office on Wednesday for a follow-up urinalysis after her urinary tract infection because the doctor wanted to make sure that her infection was cleared up. Unfortunately, when the doctor's office called us yesterday morning, they said her urine came back with "suspicious activity" for bacteria. Therefore, they wanted us to come in so they could get a clean specimen directly from her bladder by using a catheter. Sophie did great, but they called me later and said the clean specimen still had suspicious activity. So she is on a different antibiotic right now until the culture comes back. And assuming the culture comes back positive for bacteria, we will then need to go to Greenville Hospital System so they can conduct a VCUG test where they use a catheter to run dye into her bladder to check for reflux and other anatomical abnormalities. So, if you're reading this, please keep praying for our girl and our finances (i.e., no health insurance). God is in control.

New Car

Well, new for us. We are the proud new owners of a 2005 Saturn ION. Brian bedazzled the salesman with his bartering skills, and we got a really great deal on our van. The Saturn has a manual transmission and only has about 22,500 miles on it. By trading in the Odyssey, we are saving approximately $140 a month. Plus, we are saving about $13.00 a week at the pump. Therefore, our savings is just under $200 a month! Thank you, Lord!

The Prestige

In the past, I have been very excited to share with you a great book I have read. Unfortunately, now is not one of those times.

I couldn't wait to read The Prestige by Christopher Priest because I really enjoyed the movie. And everybody knows the book is usually way better than the movie, right? Wrong. Not this book. You would not believe how boring it is. I read 75 pages and nothing happened. N-O-T-H-I-N-G! Why, you might ask, did I read 75 pages? Because I kept wanting and hoping it would get better. Have I mentioned that the movie was great?

Anyway, I dare you to read this book and prove me wrong. I promise if you watch the movie you won't be disappointed.