changes

I just wanted to let you guys know that I changed Will's school. I got a call last week that there was an opening at a charter school. I didn't feel great about it, but realized that it might be the best decision for him in the long run. He will be in Kindergarten for now. The curriculum is a step harder than public schools, so I'm not sure if I'll move him up to first grade. I'm hoping that it will be the best way for him to learn at his level. It was a really hard decision, and it's a big transition for us, but I think we'll be used to it soon. (He looks very cute in his uniform clothes!) Anyways, I know more of you have news to post on this blog, so get posting!

Doug really is feeling better

I think Doug's post 2 weeks ago may have been a little premature. For example, the next day we spent the entire night in the ER. And, he wasn't really out of pain at all for another 10 days. And, altogether he wound up not being able to eat anything for about 3 straight weeks. But, as of this Wednesday, he started eating!! And he didn't sleep through the day in a narcotic-induced stupor. Then, Thursday, he ran a couple of errands. Yesterday he went to lunch and saw a movie with one of his really good dispatcher friends. Today he went with me to RCWilley (a new washer--huge capacity--for those who are interested!) and now he's puttin' around the yard. I've slowly felt the stress drip off of me over the last four days. It really is hard watching someone be in pain. But, we're in the clear now. He's planning on going back to work, light duty, in about 2 weeks. Yeah, normal life again. We're ready for it.

Christmas Family Party

At the library we only get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off of work, and lots of people are already starting to request more time off during that week.

I know we usually have our party on Christmas Eve, but just in case we're going to have a family party on a day other than the 24th or 25th, I need to know asap so I can ask for it off. Has anyone thought about this yet?

These are the days I have to work that week:
Tuesday (the 23rd) from 5pm-9pm
Saturday (the 27th) from 9am-6pm

You can add a comment to this post saying if you've got any other ideas.

Thanks,
Breanne

Josh Groban at the Emmy's

Did you guys know the Emmy's were on last night? Well, I didn't. But I heard there was a pretty fun medley sung by Josh Groban, so I checked it out. Here's the link if you want to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G6Vf-eKgPU&feature=related

What's Nikki Been Doing???

Doug is getting better

Well it is truly me. I am actually sitting up enough to type. Does not sound like a big feat but is huge for me. Looks like Erika has kept you very well up to date. I will just update you on last night and this morning.
Well I did not sleep barely at all last night (maybe 2 total hours). I went downstairs to try and let poor Erika get some sleep while I writhed around on the floor. Just like Monday I was unable to drink much and now my left kidney was killing me. I did not want to have to make Erika take me to the hospital again in the middle of the night so I tried to stick it out. I don't believe I have ever been in as much pain during any other ten day period in my life. Well I woke Erika up really early this morning and told her I might need to go to the hospital again. I told her I was barely holding down any food and my kidney felt like it would burst. I also could not urinate. So along with being constipated for roughly 9 days I also could not pee. It was terrible. I honestly thought I might die.
Well Erika immediately went to work on me and got me some good laxitives she had found from one of my surgeries several months ago. She also ran out to walmart and got me that really nasty tasting stuff (magnesium something or other) and made me drink it. The little relief I had all morning came when I was either in the shower or bath and had scalding hot water on my stomach and left kidney. Erika also called the doctor for me but I was not encouraged. They just wanted to bring me in and start an IV and IV drugs. If I never see a hospital again it will be too soon. They told me to keep trying to soak in the tub and call them in a few hours.
After sometime in the tub I started to push out massive amounts of flesh (clots) out my urinary tract. It hurt like crazy but It felt like I was making progress. As of about 3pm I am feeling so much better. Number one and two are starting to work better and I have not even needed to take a pain pill for several hours. I am really hoping this is the turning point and it gets easier from here.
Thanks for much for all your kind words of encouragement and all the prayers that were sent my and my family's way. I don't know if I would have been able to make it without them. The meals were also great and thanks for coming all the way up here to drop them off. I am hoping to eat some as leftovers in a couple days when I can have solids. It all smelled so good when Erika cooked them up. Thanks again everyone.

Doug's surgery, Part II

Poor Doug. This has been one of the hardest weeks we've ever had. Doug was in so much pain on his right side since the surgery last week, that on Monday we went into his Dr. and asked him to pull out the stint on that side. (That was the side he had successfully looked at last week.) After several tests, the Doctor pulled it out, and we thought that the pain would ease up dramatically. But, that was not the case. By Monday night he was throwing up so much that he got really dehydrated and wasn't able to keep any pain meds down and his right kidney was killing him. So we went up to the ER around 6:00 a.m. and they got him hooked up to an I.V. and some pain meds in him. But they weren't able to ease the nausea all the way and he couldn't keep any juice down, so they knew if they sent him home it wouldn't be long before he was dehydrated and in pain again. He stayed over through the night and then had his surgery around 8:00 this morning. The surgery went well and he still has a stint in his left side, but we can go to the Dr.'s office tomorrow morning and have that one pulled out. (He said I could do it at home, but I declined!) We're home now and he actually looks much better than he did last Wednesday. I hope he will stay well as the hospital meds wear off and we switch to pills. But he just ate for the first time since Monday and it looks like it's staying down o.k. (We'll keep our fingers crossed.) And the good news is that the Dr. was able to get into his left kidney this time and he said that it looks good. So, no more worries about his kidneys. The Dr. also said he's planning on leaving Doug's bladder alone for a while so he can heal up. He is planning on giving Doug cancer treatments a few times a year now as just a preventative measure. But he'll give us 3 months from now before doing any treatments so Doug can recoup and get his energy levels back up again.

Erika & Doug

Hey, I just wanted our family to know that Doug went into the hospital this morning in severe pain. He isn't keeping anything down (including pain meds) so they have him in observation right now. He's scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning. I don't know if Erika even wants everyone to know this, but I just thought if you could all send some more prayers, karma, hope/happy thoughts their way it wouldn't hurt. Also, mom, Nikki, and I have made some dinner for them, I don't know if they could use more, but it might not hurt to offer. =)

Thanks!

Ross & Kathys Big Adventure

OK, so Wednesday we left Orem and drove to Payson where we drove through the "Nebo Scenic Byway". At Payson Lake we took the walk around the lake. Perfect weather. Later we stopped at "Hells Kitchen". Very cool rock formations. We stopped many times to look at cool stuff, especially Mt. Nebo. I think Lauren and Ryan should climb it. We stopped in Ephraim for lunch and also shopped at an arts and crafts store; Kathy bought some treasures and Ross bought Chocolate. So, about 5pm we arrived at Fish Lake and checked into our "modern" cabin - as apposed to the 'rustic' ones available - without running water. I have to say that after stayed at the Hampton Inn in Orem, the 'modern' cabin seemed pretty rustic to us. That's about as close to camping as we want to get. On the brighter side, Fish Lake and everything else we saw in central Utah is beautiful. I can't understand why anyone would want to move to Montana when such beauty is right around the corner. We had fun eating dinner and breakfast at a little cafe at Fish Lake - very homey.
Thursday we headed for Escalante and the Petrified Forest Park. Lots of fantastic scenery along the way. The Petrified Forest was pretty cool too; but we didn't expect the one hour hike to see the petrified wood laying around. So on we went to Bryce Canyon. We were late getting there and the sun works against you in the afternoon so we limited our visit to the "Angels Landing" view, which is really beautiful in the afternoon. Then we headed for Cedar City. It's a pretty drive, but a little tough driving into the sun. At Cedar City we had a wonderful dinner at the "Garden House" restaurant - we've been there before - if you're anywhere near there at dinner time it's great (reasonable too). We stayed at a brand new "Holiday Express". It was great too.
Friday we went all the way to St. George via Kolob Canyon; very nice, but Kathy was coming down with a cold. In St. George we visited the Art Museum where they were featuring art of "Zions Park". We also visited several art galleries in down town and ended up at the Ice Cream shop next to "Green Gate B&B". Excellent Chocolate Moose Tracks. We visited the new "Heritage Park". Lots of water fountains for kids to pay in. It was so hot I was tempted to jump in - Kathy said, "go for it"; but I chickened out. So, at 6pm we arrived at Tuacahn for dinner and show. Dinner was fun and so was the show; but the show was a little long - three hours to too much for my butt - I mean my attention.
Saturday we were heading home; but not before going to a 'Farmers Market' there in town. It was interesting but Kathy was feeling poorly so we didn't stay long. We figured that if we drove pretty much straight through we could be home by 4pm. We just got through the Virgin River Gorge and we flying across the desert when I noticed a red light on my dashboard looking very much like a battery - NOT GOOD. What to do? I decided to turn of the AC, XM Radio, Cruise Control and make a run for Vegas. Kathy called ahead and found a Nissan Dealership that was open for service all day. We swetted it out and made it to the dealership. They said we needed a new alternator and belt. What can a person do? So 4.5 hours and $780 later we were back on the road again.
There's no place like home. We were so happy to get home and in our own bed. It was a great trip. We really enjoyed the reception; meeting Brent, a terrific guy with a wonderful family. We enjoy visiting everyone - even Adam - at work - at 8pm (what a guy).

Hi Everybody!

Just wanted to add a few words, as you are probably all wondering where I am... other than "wonderland'. Yes, this "Alice" has fallen down the big hole into Love Bliss.. just don't wake me for a few more years! Brent keeps saying how much he loves us 'playing house'. I don't know if we are adults or big kids playing 'dress up', but give me a little while to figure out this 'blog' thing and get the photos back from our wedding and I will post a few of them. Thanks everyone for all your love and support these past few years and even these past few months and weeks, helping me get ready for this new pathway in my life. Love you all!

Doug's Surgery

We just got back from the hospital and Doug seems to be recovering o.k.--except for the pain that he feels when he pees. The stints in his kidneys cause him a lot of pain then. So, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the Dr. couldn't get up into one of Doug's kidneys, the uriter was too narrow. So, he said that the stint should cause that uriter to dilate somewhat by next week--and so he wants to do the surgery again then. That's the really bad news. Doug will go through this all again in a week. But, the good news is that the right kidney looked really good. At his last surgery, in July, the test that put the kidneys into question (called a cytology) showed abnormal cells coming from both of them. The fact that the right kidney looks really good I think is a good sign that the left one will be fine, too. So, maybe all of this will wind down after next week...Thanks for all your happy thoughts and prayers and fasts, too.

Adam found this link today

http://www.arborpellet.com/

Matti and Merri's birthday party--Aug. 26, 2008

This party started out with Matti's "spa" theme. We had tables decked out with sweet treats, mirrors, make-up, nail polish, feather boas, and tiaras for each girl. After they finished getting made up, Doug surprised everyone by barging out dressed as a PIRATE (which was the theme that Merri wanted) and "kidnapped" all of the princesses. (You have to watch the video!!) They played pirate games outside until reaching the pirate's treasure, and then we opened gifts, had pizza and watched a movie. It was a rockin' good time!!