Friday, May 28, 2010

Gallbladder Surgery Went Beautifully!


Dr. Singh's words to me on the phone that Charlie did beautifully.

  • The gallbladder was inflamed, so we are so glad it is out!
  • We will know in a week or so if he had stones in it (the send it to a lab), but that does not really matter since it was inflamed it neeeded to be out.
  • Charlie was really nausea for the first couple of hours after surgery, but then he did not get nauseous till Saturday (after his nausea patch was off).
  • Gaston Memorial Hospital was incredible, and I had my own waiting area with a phone and Jere L and Jere S. from the church came and sat with me during different times.
  • He says he now starting to know what a normal stomach feels like! He has never had an easy time with his stomach.
  • It has been a little crazy here, but Charlie has been a great patient and has not complained. I am so thankful for God giving Charlie has my husband, and for all the many things he does around here that I take for granted! He will not be able to pick up the babies for two weeks.
  • People from the church have brought us food over every night, our refigerator is over flowing, and our neighbor has come over to play golf with Jackson (on the Wii we just go for an incredible price).
  • Thanks so much for your prayers, God gets all the glory!
  • Saturday (day three after surgery) was his hardest just because he was so nauseous with his digestive track getting back to normal. Surprisingly, his pain level has not been bad at all!
  • He preached on Sunday morning and did great. We got there real late, and he has only had Tylenol and Ibuprofen today. His nausea is gone and we are so thankful! He goes back to the doctor Thursday, I guess they will take out his staples then. The kids are fascinated with Charlie's boo boos.
  • Click here to see a video he took after surgery (you might can tell he is on medicine...ha!)
  • Let me know if you have any advice on what to do after gallbladder surgery!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Pray Tomorrow!

Charlie is having his gallbladder taken out at Gaston Memorial Hospital at 10 am, but we have to be there at 8 am (I am very thankful for Lisa and my parents helping us out tomorrow!).

Pray that we have a peace that surpasses all understanding and that everything goes well.

Also pray for Jackson who got diagnosed with strep throat yesterday (I am on a z-pac now). Pray that Abigail does not get it!

Thank you so much for praying it means a lot to us!

It has been a crazy busy week. I started a new book this week by Paul Tripp (I met him in seminary so I love to read everything he writes), What did you Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage. It is great so far. Next to God, your relationship with your husband is your most important relationship, and I think you should always be learning and growing.

Also Lost ended! I do not know why but it is bothering me that they did not answer when and why the island was under water. What happened to the island really does not matter, what matters is the people. Click here for some more answers to your unanswered questions.

Click here for an excellent "Christian" view on Lost. What did you think of the ending? I thought it was good, and I cried when they were reunited to each other. It was a beautiful show that we really enjoyed watching for the last six years.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Mother's Day Pictures






Thursday's Tip: The Book of the Month

is

The Letters are Lost for Preschoolers

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

is another book that goes well with it. This is the book that they are working on at Oak Grove back in Columbia for this month during speech time.

I also just picked up "Ready, Set Preschool!" worksheet by Sesame Street at CVS. Anytime I put Abigail down to sleep Jackson begs to do a worksheet. I am just thankful he enjoys learning right now.

What is your tip for teaching Preschoolers? What has been working for you recently?

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Update on Us: Charlie is having OutPatient Surgery May 26th

to have his gallbladder taken out.

He is having it done in Gastonia, NC at 10 am, but we have to be there at 8 am.

Please pray for him that day. We are so thankful that they found out what his stomach issues are so quickly. The doctor suspects that he has many tiny gallstones that did not show up on the ultrasound. The HIDA scan showed that he gallbladder is not working and has "chronically" not been working. This explains a lot, and why he has gotten sick to him stomach so much in the last six months (the doctor also said it was hereditary with his dad having his gallbladder out).

Also, pray that my Jackson starts to sleep more. We put him to bed and two or even three hours later he is still talking in his room. This has been going on for the last three months, and we are exhausted. This week, he has been up talking till 11:30 or 12 pm at night. He obviously does not need a nap anymore, but he loves to nap and will fall asleep one way or another during the day. I make sure to wake him up if he does have a nap after 2 hours.

This staying up till close to midnight is really getting to us, and I am thinking now what is best for Jackson is to go to Preschool for two days a week with his friend Xander to get some structure in his life and have a time to get some energy out. I am going to sign him up for next year this Thursday to go to Resurrection Lutheran church and he gets to be with his friend Xander on Tuesdays and Thursdays (9-12 pm). It is very affordable (click here to see), and is the little something I think he needs. He is only going be in a 3 year old class, but he is going to be four in September (we are thankful that he is the oldest with him having speech delay).

Thank you for your prayers for Charlie next week!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Printable Coupons: Huggies Wipes

Click here to get some great coupons to print off from your computer.

I clipped the 2 Huggies Wipes coupons that are $2.00 off 2 boxes of 64 or more.

Also clipped:

Lucky Charms coupon
Fiber One coupon
Cinnamon Toast Crunch coupon
Starbucks Ice Cream coupon.

Got this link from Southern Savers.

What is your money saving tip this week?

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Pictures from our Vacation with my Digital Camera









Which picture is do you like best?

Favorite part of our vacation in Charleston:

Charlie: Fort Sumter boat ride and tour
Emily: Carriage Ride
Jackson: Boat ride to Fort Sumter and getting "Goodnight Charleston" book and the beach and actually getting in the ocean some
Abigail: Charleston Aquarium, and playing in the sand

We are so thankful to been able to go to the beach and vacation (we are also very thankful for my parents)!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Our New Schedule here in Kings Mountain, NC (Advice Wanted)

Our main new problem here is that Jackson loves to nap, but it is looking like he does not need a nap anymore because he will not fall asleep till like 11 or even 12 at night if he has a nap during the day. He stays in his room just makes a lot of noise till way late at night.

Here is our definite with our schedule

From 2-4 pm is nap/rest time. No matter what, I try my best to have them both resting in their room during this time. It is fine if Jackson does not sleep but he has to stay in his room (we have a hard safety thing on the inside of his door knob so he cannot get out).

Monday: Car and block day. I play cars and blocks with my babies and they work on copying me
Tuesday: Bubble Day
Wednesday: Puzzle Day
Thursday: Animal Day
Friday: Art Day
Saturday: Ball Day
Sunday: Worship Day

Some good ideas I got from Heaven at Home

Blanket time with toys
Hair Chair time with coloring books
Computer time
Reading and prayer time...teaching toddlers to say, "thank you God for . . ."
Video time (not for too long)
Outside time (most recommend 1 hour a day outside)
"Sit time" with a timer teaching your little ones not to speak for short amounts of time with a book or crayons
"Chore time"--making up their bed, cleaning up toys, empty trash
Room time with toys

A Sample Summer Schedule Plowman posted for school age children

Monday

Make bed

Dress/ brush teeth

Breakfast

Devotion and memory verse

Play outside at least one hour

Reading time---30 minutes

Either clean house or play a game with sibling

Room time---1 hour

Jackson is staring to make up his bed in the morning and we are starting off with devotions after breakfast now. We usually go through Day by Day: The One Year Devotion for Young Children (Free), and we talk about the Sunday School sheet (if we just had Sunday School we talk about last weeks lesson... if it if close to the next Sunday we read over the lesson that is coming up).

Love to hear your schedule or what your little ones do at Preschool. I always love hearing great ways to plan out our days here better.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Pictures from our Vacation 2010-Taken with our Professional Camera















Which picture is your favorite (since we got the professional camera Charlie enjoys taking pictures and he takes the best pictures)? Love to hear tips on how to take the best beach pictures with a professional camera...we are still learning.

Movie Monday: Carriage Ride in Charleston

15 Minute Challenge

Go here to see a good post about just taking 15 minutes a day to get organized and get a routine going. Small goals are the key!

Later this week I will be posting our schedule up and wanting advice with our new routine here.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Folly Beach 2010

Answers!

Charlie had a hida scan last Thursday and we found out last Friday that he does have a dis-functional galbladder (the doctor who read the reports said chronic which means has probably never worked very well). This explains the intense stomach pains he has had and why he has been sick to his stomach so many times (a few times where probably him passing gallstones).

We are so thankful that we have answers. I got all teary eyed in the doctor's office telling the doctor how thankful I was for him. Charlie has not been having the pains for too long and this could have taken a long time to figure out. I am so glad he did both the ultrasound and the hida scan. God is so good! It is not a big deal and we think he will have his gallbladder taken by the end of this month by Dr. Singh in either Gastonia or Shelby.

Where Have I Been?

Vacation!

We have started a new tradition the last couple of years of taking our vacation in May during my dad's birthday. It is usually not too hot during this time and we are able to stay at my grandmother's house in Charleston. We did lots of "tourist" things this time even though I have been going to Charleston my entire life and my dad is from there. Stay tuned for fun pictures and videos!

Here is a video of very excited Jackson the day before our trip here on Charlie's blog (Jackson could see himself on the computer while taking this video).