Cookies and other thoughts....

We had some friends come over today and make/decorate cookies with us! It was a lot of work, but a ton of fun. I'm realizing that as much as I have relaxed in the area of planning ahead that with as many kids as we have in our family there are still things that I would never be able to do spontaneously and enjoy (it's the "SJ" in my myers-briggs personality)...such as have more kids in my house and make cookies. I had the plan in my head from last week (since the kids have the entire week off) that we would have our friends over and make and decorate cookies. I got the recipes from my good friend, Kelly (cookies, and icing)...made the dough the night before and went from there! The cookies were delicious...the kids had a blast. It took us almost a total of 3 hours to get it all done, but we weren't in any hurry and the kids were able to get out and ride their bikes or play together while they were waiting for cookies to bake.

The finished product!

Matthias is sick today and happened to nap all morning while we were working, which worked out really well because when he's been awake today he has only been happy with me holding him. Needless to say, I'm exhausted...and a little sugared out on eating too many cookies...but it was a very enjoyable day. We had a lot of fun with our friends.

Other than a week off of school not much is going on with us. I've been a little depressed about Thanksgiving coming up because we haven't been able to find anyone in town who doesn't have family to be with...I'm so used to Thanksgiving being a time where there are just a lot of people around and you eat and talk and eat some more and watch football and eat some more....it will definitely be a different Thanksgiving for us.

Leighton is doing really well. She is pretty much back to normal. She's had her 14 days of tb meds and so has gotten to where she only needs the antibiotics 2 times a week...they'll come by on mondays and thursdays with her medication for the next six months. We continue to wait for her doctor's appt. next thursday...she'll have to have had no food or drink from midnight the night before (which is going to be a challenge for her in the morning since she runs to the table climbs up to her seat and says "cereal" first thing in the morning) for her ct scan that morning. Our hope is that everything will be totally back to normal...that the lymph node will not be enlarged anymore. Please continue to pray with us. And while you're praying, would you please pray for our friend, Angie? She is a friend from Virginia who is the mother of 3 and has found out recently that she has cancer. Again. When everything with Leighton was happening and there were so many unknowns I realized that I was actually experiencing what so many people experience in terms of my world stopping. Everyone's lives were moving on, but mine was at a stand-still because my little girl was really sick and might have the c-word. By God's grace, we are only dealing with tb and have been able to move on...but in the midst of that whenever I hear of someone being sick or having cancer a little bit of my world stops....it's terrifying and another testimony to the fact that we are fallen people in a fallen world....and yet, this is not our home...and our hope is not in this world...so please, pray for Angie that she would have an eternal perspective in this earthly trial...and that the things that she knows are true in her mind would be known in her heart...that she would be able to struggle through her circumstances well.

Leighton update 11/18/08

We just got back from St. Pete and another follow-up dr's appt for Leighton. They did a chest x-ray and could see some improvement! She's been on the TB antibiotics for two weeks now and is cleared to be in public...her symptoms are definitely improving - no cough, the only time she is wheezing is when she is upset or crying. They still have not officially diagnosed her with TB and I'm not sure that they'll be able to (either get a sample from her lungs or a positive blood test)...but the dr. said this morning (and I quote) "if it quacks like a duck we'll call it a duck". :) We go back in two weeks for a CT scan and hopefully they will see everything going back to normal, but until then we continue to wait and pray that the medicines keep working. We'll be giving her one dose of steroids a day instead of two....which will be nice b/c she's been a little cranky with the steroids...and super major hungry all the time. My little girl is catching up with her brother. :) So, that's the latest...thanks for praying...we're very excited that there is some obvious improvement.

L update and twin pics...

open mouth to mouth kiss? that doesn't seem right.

indiana thias and firefighter lei

We had a follow-up appointment for Leighton in St. Pete yesterday. They did a chest x-ray and listened to her lungs...she is sounding clear, but the x-ray didn't show any change in the mass that is pushing on her trachea. It could take a while for the steroids to make the mass shrink, but our prayer is that it happens fast. Also, her tb blood test came back negative...which either means...she doesn't have tb or the test was wrong. (they tell me that in children the test can be a false negative) So...the dr's are trying to think through ways that they can confirm that she truly has tb...if the mass doesn't shrink in the next couple of weeks they might end up needing to go in and biopsy it to see what it is and how to get rid of it. In the meantime, we have a health dept. nurse coming out every day (except on the weekends) to watch us give leighton her tb meds (it's a federal mandate or something). We're waiting to hear back from my parents tb tests (if one of them has it, then it would make sense that she got it from them)...and Leighton and I got another skin test today that will be read on friday. Soo...please keep praying! We're not in the clear, yet. They have not officially diagnosed her with tb....just trying to prove that she has it for sure. I'm also in the midst of a nasty cold...so pray for me as I try to be patient with my family and our home, while trying to rest and feel better, too. thanks, friends! (and friends of friends) :)

Leighton update Saturday!

Here's a picture of my sweet contagious girl. :) She had to wear a mask in the hospital on the way to the exit. She actually didn't mind it and kept it on the whole way down! She couldn't stop smiling when she got home and has been so glad to be back.

Did I mention that Grandma is here?? She arrived on Wednesday and it has been wonderful and such a great help to have her around! Today we finally carved our pumpkin....listening to Christmas music. :)

Tom and the kids had their TB tests read yesterday and they all came back negative...so, that's a good thing! We head back on tuesday for a chest x-ray and a check-up to see how things are going for Leighton...hopefully the steroids will start working on the enlarged lymph node in her neck....she is doing fine breathing, but still has a harder time when she gets worked up and/or fussy. Thanks for loving our family by checking in and praying for us!

we're home!!

we got home tonight...around 8ish. we have a lot of follow-up appointments to go to, but we're so thankful that we're home. leighton can't stop smiling. :) i just wanted to post a quick update...more pictures later!

Leighton update, Wed. 11-5-08

Indiana Matthias turning lightswitches on and off.

Leighton was so happy to see her brother!

Matthias wasn't quite sure what to think

Playing in the crib together....

Leighton doesn't have to wear the hospital gown anymore, so she's in her own clothes, no wires.... she had pointed to the camera and said "cheese" while signing please...so I got it out to take some cute happy pictures of her.

Leighton began her medicine for TB yesterday. It's a crazy regiment of zantec for stomach acid, orapred for shrinking the enlarged lymph node, and 3 different antibiotics that she will have to take every day for the next six months. It's been a little crazy since being diagnosed with TB...we are definitely relieved that it isn't anything more serious, but now we're starting to realize that this diagnosis goes beyond her and even just our family, but it becomes a community issue. We've been talking to the Infectious Disease people, and they're talking to the Wauchula Health Dept and trying to figure out who needs to be tested. The deal is that it is highly unlikely for children to pass TB on...it's the adults that give it to the children and b/c kids can't cough real hard and have less of the bacteria than adults carry they are not as likely to give it to anyone else. But....we definitely need to cover all of our bases in terms of making sure that it stops with Leighton, although we have no idea where it started. I got a negative chest x-ray today, and Tom and the kids will have their skin tests read on friday to see if they are positive. I feel really bad that it's become a community thing....but am also realizing that there's no way that I could've known. The nurse we had today said that she's been in the hospital for 7 years and has never seen a child with TB. So...in all, things are well. We have a mat on the hospital room floor covered with a sheet that we're rolling around on and playing on. The child life dept. brings new videos and toys to play with whenever I ask. We have a highchair set up for meals and Leighton has gotten into a routine of napping and going to bed in her crib. She's definitely stir-crazy (as was I today)...we spent 45 minutes standing at our door looking out the window trying to get people passing by to play peek-a-boo. Basically they have us in still to moniter her breathing...they want to make sure that she's not in danger of having breathing issues when we get home. The tentative plan is to stay until monday or tuesday, have a chest x-ray and then hopefully be cleared to go home. She will have to stay home for the next week and a half while the antibiotics have a chance to make her not contagious anymore. We are grateful for all of your prayers and words of encouragement....thank you for walking through the craziness with us!! We are so glad at this outcome...funny, huh? Thanking God that Leighton has TB. I never would've thought I'd say that. :)

tuesday leighton update....

Leighton definitely has a positive tb test, sooo....the biopsy is cancelled for today and they have her on steroids and antibiotics to treat her for tb. Tom spent a second night over there last night, so i'm on my way over (i had to come home to vote this morning) now and he will head home tonight to see the 4 big kids. We'll post more later today....thanks for checking in! TB is the best thing that it could be, so we're very excited that it's looking that way. Thank you for praying.