Updated: Prayer Request

Very quick update:

I am now scheduled for surgery this Friday morning at 8:30.  I should be home a bit after noon if all goes well.  This is actually a huge relief because the thought of trying to make it to Monday seemed almost impossible.  I can make it one more day.  Please keep those prayers coming!!

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For a change, this post won't have any pictures.  (Sorry Bekah!)  Instead, I just wanted to get you up to speed on what's been happening in my little corner of the world and request prayers.

Since probably everyone who reads this has already heard, here's the scoop:

~ Sometime last fall, my left leg began tingling and buzzing and generally feeling "weird" (that's my super-technical word).  I could tell it was nerve pain, I assumed it was the sciatic nerve and everything I read said that only time would make it better.  So rather than freak out and run to the doctor, I waited...

~ Fast forward to late February.  My leg was still tingly and I was having trouble getting comfy in bed at night, so I decided to take the conservative approach and see the chiropractor (whom I had seen once before when I had some neck issues).  He ordered x-rays of my back and then told me that he was pretty sure I had a leg-length discrepancy based on the fact that my x-rays showed how horribly uneven my hips were.  This led to a CT scan to measure both my legs.

~ In the meantime, I began doing the chiropractor's therapy every other day, consisting of a very gentle manipulation, deep tissue massage and electrical muscle stimulation.  My CT scan showed that my right leg is indeed 11 mm shorter than my left leg, so I was sent to a podiatrist to get a shoe lift made.

~ About two weeks into the chiropractor's care, I suddenly went from a very tingly, buzzing feeling in my leg to all out horrible burning pain in the back of my thigh and butt any time I would stand or walk for a few minutes.  I told the chiropractor and asked if it could possibly be a disc problem in my back, but he told me it was probably a flare up of the muscles which was common with therapy.  I wasn't convinced, and more importantly, I was unable to do my everyday activities without significant pain.

~ Saw the podiatrist, had more x-rays, got orthotics (which I don't think I really needed) and a shoe lift.  After 3 visits and 3 weeks, with no change in my symptoms, I left the podiatrist in the dust and decided to go to my family doctor and see what he could do.

~ I should point out that it was now April and I had resorted to grocery shopping with the electric cart because I absolutely could not walk enough to get through the store.  The one time I tried, I ended up hobbling over to the shoe department in Meijer and sitting on the bench there until the pain let up.  An employee twice my age asked me if I was ok and I had to ask her to get a scooter for me because I couldn't make it to the front of the store....at 35.  Not cool.

~ Saw my family doctor who told me I was having muscle spasms in my back that were pinching the nerve and that time and Ibuprofen would help.  I asked about possible disc problems.  He ordered more x-rays, which didn't show him anything.  Of course.

~ About two weeks later, I called his office and literally begged for an appointment because I was unable to stand for more than about 3 minutes without terrible burning pain.  Got in that morning, told the doctor how much pain I was in and that I couldn't even take care of my family by cooking or cleaning.  He stuck with the muscle spasm theory and gave me muscle relaxers and a mild opiod medicine to try.  Neither even touched the pain.

~  Another couple of weeks later, I called and begged for a referral to a neurologist or whoever the family doctor thought could deal with this pain because I was miserable.  He referred me to a neurologist and I went. 

~  The neurologist told me he didn't deal with this type of thing, but I think he saw and heard my desperation and did a few neurological tests on me and noticed that my reflexes In my left leg were not good.  He diagnosed me with a "s-1 radiculopathy" (which for normal people means pain referred from the s-1 disc down the left leg).With this official diagnosis, he ordered an MRI, which insurance finally approved (we had requested one almost 2 months earlier, and got denied).

~ Had the MRI which was horribly uncomfortable because I had to lay flat on my back with my legs stretched out straight, which makes my pain not good.  It was a long 25 minutes or so.

~  Got the MRI results the next day which showed a "very large disc protrusion" along with some degenerative disc disease.  Fantastic.  Neurologist referred me back to family doctor to find another specialist to deal with this. 

~ I eventually was referred to a neurosurgeon, but he was booked until mid-June.  I got on the cancellation list.  In the meantime, I saw yet another doctor who did an epidural steroid injection directly into my back.  For many people, it provides great relief.  For me, it made the pain exponentially worse and never got any better.  Now, even sitting was painful.  And so I began physical therapy.

~  PT felt great while I was in traction and getting electrical muscle stimulation.  But as soon as I walked back to the car, the pain was back.  

~ Fast forward two weeks to this past Saturday...I got a last-minute appointment that only God could have arranged with the neurosurgeon.  He got right to the point and told me that I had a "Huge herniated disc" and that it was compressing the nerve root and causing all the pain.  He recommended surgery....mircodiscectomy to be exact.  He told me what I already knew....I tried all the conservative things and none of them had worked.  I was absolutely miserable and couldn't hide it any more.  I writhed around in the passengers seat all the way to the doctor and had Andrew wheel me into the office in a wheelchair.  This is what I've been reduced to.  And so I will be having surgery (my first ever, including my first general anesthesia) on Monday, June 2.  I always thought I'd be so nervous about my first surgery, but to be honest, if they could do it tomorrow, I'd be thrilled because I am currently typing this while laying on the couch because I can't even sit up long enough to type a short email.  I can't sleep, I can't get comfortable, I can't drive safely and I can't take care of my family.  It's all I can do to take care of myself. 

And so, if you've made it this far, I would greatly appreciate your prayers this coming Monday.  The surgery will be around 7:30 in the morning and I should be back home later that same day.  Please pray that this completely fixes the problems in my back and that the pain will be gone.  Pray for the surgeons and anesthesiologists and anyone else involved.  And please pray that everything goes smoothly and safely.

A Wedding Full of Kids

  

Well, I'd like to have begun this post above this picture, but apparently my computer is being contrary today!  Anyhow, while I'm a bit late in continuing my wedding posts, I wanted to show some more of the 300+ pictures that I took last weekend.  

As mentioned before, Katy and Austin were VERY brave and wanted to include all of their nieces and nephews in the wedding.  That meant that Emily was the oldest, at 9, and the rest were under 5.  I repeat, they were very brave!!  

 These 4 hooligans dressed up quite nicely!  Too bad it was nearly impossible to get all 4 to stand still, smile and look the right direction at one time!

 Ethan with Aunt Katy....one of my favorite pictures of the day.

All the lovely ladies of the wedding party.

Ethan looks like he's up to something here.  He's always thinking...or plotting.  Yesterday he told me I could call him "Ethan the Awesome" and I quote, "just call me when you need some awesome!"

 I love Bristol's face down at the bottom.  She had some great poses.

Speaking of poses....Addie was always ready for her close-up, while the boys were just doing their best to stay still.  

And then, as if 6 kids wasn't enough, we had to get a picture with the youngest nephew, Grayson.  He was much more interested in Katy's flowers than the picture, but this proves that he was there!

After quite a few pictures had been taken, Ethan came over to us and said, and again I quote, "Boy, they sure are working us hard!"  I think this picture sort of sums up his feelings by that point in the day!

Grandma wanted a nice picture of all 5 of her grandkids.  Well....this was all 5 of them together.  I'm not sure it was the look she was going for.  Bristol looks stunned, Addie is posing, Grayson is NOT pleased, Emily is just trying to stay focused on the camera and Ethan is looking at Grayson like, "Come on bud, we men have to do better than that!" :)

And here's Aunt Katy with her nieces and nephews.  We had taken A LOT of pictures by this time.  It's a wonder more people weren't in tears!  

Still more pictures will be coming.  I'm just taking my time!  As always, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Here Comes the Bride

Those of you reading this have probably heard, but we had a wedding this weekend.  My sister-in-law, Katy, married her sweetheart, Austin and we had the privilege to be a part of their special day.

 

Here is Katy.  The picture doesn't do her justice....she was absolutely gorgeous.  It's hard to believe that this is the same little girl that I met about 16 years ago when she was 12.  I feel like she is, in many ways, a little sister to me.

 

And here is the groom, Austin.  I'm still trying to figure out my newish camera so sometimes the pictures aren't perfect, but the couple definitely was.

 

Katy and Austin make a lovely couple and Ethan has already invited Uncle Austin to play Lego Indiana Jones on the X-Box.  Priorities, people!

 



Here is the full wedding party.  Emily is standing next to Katy and Ethan is in front of Emily.  The two little flower girls are my nieces, Bristol (next to Ethan) and Addie.  The two little ring bearers on the other side were Malachi and Silas, Austin's nephews.

 

There were 6 kids under 10 years of age involved in the wedding.  Katy and Austin were brave!!

 

It definitely made for some fun moments and some fantastic pictures at times.

 

But at the end of the day, they all performed their wedding duties beautifully and it was truly sweet of Katy and Austin to want to include all their nieces and nephews on their most important day.

 



 

Before I go on, I should let you know that I officially took about 313 pictures over the course of two days.  Of course, some of that was trying to rapidly snap the same pose over and over because trying to get 6 little children to look in the same direction, much less smile and not fidget all at the same time was a massive undertaking.  I promise, I won't share all 313 pictures, but I did think I'd share some of the process building up to the wedding.

 

For the ladies of the bridal party, Saturday began quite early.  Katy's mom (hereforth referred to as "Grandma"), Emily and I left the house at 7:30 in the morning to get their hair done.  Emily went first.  She's never had any kind of formal hair styling, so this was a whole new experience for her.  Miss Ginger curled her stick-straight hard all over.  Here she is waiting for the curls to set while Grandma was getting her hair done.  (I'll spare Grandma the picture of her in the process!)

 

 



After a while, Aunt Katy and the rest of the wedding party joined us and started the process of becoming even more beautiful.

 





And here is the finished product....Emily in her dress looking very lovely.  She was a junior bridesmaid, just as her Aunt Katy was for our wedding lo, those many 14 years ago.

 



Grandma and Emily before the wedding.

 



Here are my two nieces, Bristol (in front) and Addie getting ready for their debut as flower girls.

And here is Ethan with Andrew.  His preparation for the wedding was much faster....lucky duck.  Men have no idea how easy they have it on a wedding day!  Ethan was tickled to wear his tux.  He was one handsome dude!

 

 

And here are Katy and Austin, surrounded by their nieces and nephews on our side of the family.  They were so cute.

 

 

I will be adding lots more pictures, but here's just a quick sample for now!

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful....

You might have heard, but there's a little bit of winter weather happening in our neck of the woods.  Something about a "polar vortex" which I refuse to read about, since I'm actually experiencing it at the moment!

 

Here's a picture from Saturday night.  The relative calm at the beginning.

 

This looks like a typical winter night around these parts.  Cold, but not excessive, some inches of snow, but no big deal.

 

We got up Sunday morning, went to church and out for lunch and then came home to settle in for the "big storm". 

 

This is a picture of Sunday night.  It was getting pretty cold, but still above zero, if I recall.  However at this point, we were officially under a blizzard warning.  I think that was a pretty accurate description.

 



Driving conditions were pretty bad.  Of course, we weren't going anywhere.

 



And then there was this morning.  Approximately 18 inches of snow (in the bit that I dared to measure from the back door).  It was still blowing like crazy, but the sun did come out and stay out all day.  It was very deceptive though. 

 



Somewhere behind that tree is a retaining wall....I promise.

 



Nothing but snow....and cold.....

And this is right now.  I know it's a little hard to read, but the actual temperature is -14 degrees F.  And yes, that does say a windchill of -38 degrees F. 

 

 

A moment of silence please.

 



 

 

And this is why we have all been home all day with no school or work.  There is a state of emergency until noon tomorrow.  No school again tomorrow and Andrew has to go into work at some point, but not sure when. 

 

Fun stuff.

Dining at Be Our Guest, Day 3 Continued Again!

Sorry for the delay, but I've posted so many pictures over the last few days, that I thought I'd give my loyal readers a bit of a break.  But now I'm back!  And we're still only on day 3.  I promise, we'll be done with this post!

 

We dined at Be Our Guest, otherwise known as the new Beasts' Castle in the Magic Kingdom.  Our food was pretty tasty (Andrew and I had the New York Strip with Pomme Frites) and the kids had, well....kid food.  But the real star of dinner was dessert.  We each got to pick from a pastry/cupcake that was brought to our table on a special dessert trolley.  

 

 

 

Ethan chose a strawberry cupcake with strawberry filling...and Mickey drawn on his plate.

 

 Andrew opted for "The Grey Stuff".  (It's name comes from the song "Be Our Guest" from the movie).  It was chocolate brownie-like stuff on the bottom and some sort of grey frosting.  It was good....but mine was better!

 

I had a triple chocolate mousse-filled cupcake with a tiny little chocolate "book" on top.  It was very yummy!

 



 

Emily had the Grey Stuff too, plus an extra helping of the frosting with a candle, since we were celebrating her 9th birthday on this trip.

 

Here's a bit of the grand ballroom dining room.  If you look closely at the windows, you can see that it is "snowing" outside.  It's really very pretty.

 



 

 

This is the very intricate ceiling with cherubs and crystal chandeliers.

 

And here are the children with the Beast.  He is much nicer in person!

 



Some scenery in the castle.

 



 

A very intricate tile mosaic of Belle and the Prince.

 

 

 

The entrance to the ballroom.

 

 

The ballroom, obviously.

 

Beauty and the Beast....I mean, Emily and Ethan and a gargoyle.

 



 

Emily wearing her princess Mickey ears.

 



 

 

And that was day and night on the third day....and it was good!

Day 3: Be Our Guest

After an hour or two back at the hotel after leaving the Animal Kingdom, we got ourselves back together and headed over to the Magic Kingdom for dinner at Be Our Guest and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party.

 

(As always, if you want to see bigger pictures, just click on the pictures!) 

As you can see, the park is completely decked-out in fall/Halloween decor, with carved pumpkins and scarecrow pumpkin people everywhere. 

 



 

 

We headed over to Fantasy Land and checked out the newest addition, Beauty and the Beast town.  Ok ,I'm sure that's not the official name, but you get the point....it's a re-creation of the French town in which Belle (and Gaston) lived and then a beautiful castle high on a hill where the Beast resides.  Above is the fountain of Gaston in front of his tavern. 

 

 

 

A little gift shop in the town square...everything is so quaint!

 

And here is a glimpse of the Beasts' castle...where we had much-anticipated (and very hard-to-get) reservations for dinner.

 



Be Our Guest is the name of the restaurant and has been open a little less than a year.  We called exactly 180 days before our trip, which is the soonest you can make a reservation, and still barely managed to secure a table, and then not on the day we originally planned.  Either way, I think this is the place I was most excited to see and it didn't disappoint.

 



 

 

Some of the scenery on the way up to the castle.  Disney really does a great job of immersing you in whatever you are doing.  I mean, those mountains look real...don't they?

 

 

The details here are fantastic.  Each lamppost had a gargoyle.

 



Here is the entrance to the castle.  No idea who those people are!

 



Once inside the castle, there are two dining rooms.  The first is very large and is the royal ball room that you see in the picture above.  This picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice....it is truly beautiful and there will be better pictures to come.

 



The second dining room is themed as the Beasts' study.  It is, how shall we say?  A little more beastly and ripped to shreds.  It is also much smaller, and probably more dramatic as there are things that happen as you dine. 

 

Allow me to explain....

If you've seen the movie, you know that the Beast has a magic rose in his study.  When the last petal falls from the rose, if the Beast hasn't learned to truly love, he will remain a Beast forever.  Here's the rose.  In person, you can see the petals slowly falling.

 



This is not a great picture, but notice the picture over the fireplace.  It's a portrait of the Beast when he was just a normal prince.

 



Several times throughout the dinner, the lights would flicker and it would thunder and the portrait would change..from a prince to the Beast.  (You have no idea how many times I tried to catch this super fast transformation for documenting purposes....but I succeeded!)

 



And here are your's truly and Emily.  Ignore the princess crown on my head.  It was going to be my Halloween "costume" for later.  Emily and Ethan had headware of their own and Andrew was going to buy something to wear, but in the end, the only one who even tried was me.  It's ok, it was helping to keep my bangs out of my face!

 



 

And here are my two favorite guys....Andrew and Ethan, who apparently was showing us the beast with his face!

 

I have a ton more pictures from our dinner, but since I've already posted around 30+ today alone, I think I'll save some for tomorrow.  Check back and scroll down so you don't miss anything!