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Monday, December 29, 2008

Suka vs. Superman















Mark got Septtro a fun gift from his Miracle Hill thrift store. Suka didn't care for it much. She barked at him and "guarded" us from his evilness all week. We put him on her bed. She wasn't too thrilled with him being in her space.

















We put a treat in Superman's hand to see if she'd take it. It took her about 5 minutes but she finally got it after much prodding from us. I have a video but I'm not sure how to upload it. I'll try to get it up later.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

She's Here!!

Ok so it's not really a "she" but Aunt Flo arrived this morning in full force!!!! I'm SO excited! :) It's been a whole year since she's shown up on her own - without the help of medication. Almost exactly 2 weeks ago, at my appointment, I was ready to throw in the towel and take medicine. I'm SO glad I didn't! My body CAN do it on its own! I just needed to give it time and the right nutrients. I really do feel the Reliv helped accomplish this. The skin on my back, chest, and face has almost completely cleared up too.

Now I know exactly where I am in my cycle...this will help me as I continue to chart my basal temperature each morning as far as what I should be seeing and what I shouldn't. I've already seen a difference in my temperatures from last month to this month. I'll have to post the pictures to show you what I mean...later.

Praise the Lord! I don't know that I've been so excited to feel so awful! :)

Monday, December 15, 2008

Bandi-Dandi

Last month, mom, Shawna and I went to a craft fair in Simpsonville. There was a lady there selling dog clothes. Now I'm not normally one to dress up my dog (she apparently dresses her dog up every single day), but the stuff she makes is SO stinkin cute. So mom decided Suka and Tillman needed an outfit. :)

She only charges $10 and will put the dog's name and phone number anywhere on the clothes. She'll put rhinestones or any other iron-on patch anywhere you want. You can even bring your dog to her house for a fitting. She obviously loves what she does and is very talented! She can custom-make pretty much anything!

Tillman will be getting a Clemson fleece hoodie (seen in a picture below) and Suka will be getting a Woodruff sweatshirt (we will have to work with her to get right fabrics and colors). If you're interested in checkin her out, her email is bandi_dandi@yahoo.com. Her name is Susan (fabulous name don't you think?) Buckalew. She also makes all-organic dog treats but I'm not sure if she sells those.

Check out some of the clothes...they're from my cell phone so they're not great, but you get the idea. :)







Here's Tillman in his Clemson fleece hoodie. His will actually be a different pattern and he'll get an orange pocket with a Clemson paw and his name on the back. I'm not quite sure what Suka is wearing but it isn't exactly flattering.





I think this outfit is so cute but Septtro didn't like it. It's reversable - cotton on one side, fleece on the other.

I love this one!















Isn't she adorable?
:)













Susan gave us a free scarf (they're normally only 3 for $5 for smalls and mediums - Suka is wearing a medium).

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Thanksgiving pics



Ok I know these are a lil late but better late than never right? First up, Thanksgiving with mom's mom - gramma Burton at the nursing home. This was the Thursday before Thanksgiving.









We had to find some ways to entertain ourselves. This was actually Septtro's idea. Notice how he's acting like he had no part in it.









Mark's mask needed a lil help - valiant effort, though. Shawna also participated in our attempt of entertainment. We should have made some for all the residents at the nursing home...how fun that would have been! Maybe next year...









This is in Pennsylvania. We used to gather upstairs but our family has grown so we now eat in the basement. This is my dad's side of the family. From left....Brooke (cuz's wife), Katie (cuz), Shawna (u know), Karla (cuz - thanks for that), yours truly, and Kathy (cuz's wife). We had a good time chattin.






Here's a picture of my Uncle John and Aunt Robyn's house. They allowed us to stay there during our visit. I love that house...brings back so many memories of going up as a kid.












"Now Connor, if you don't smile, you can't go to your other grammie's house". Ahh hahaha! This picture makes me laugh!!!












Cousin Corey and cousin-in-law Brooke with their daughter, Emma.















Cuz Kevin and Kathy with their kids Nate and Ally. Yeah, Nate is pretty stinkin tall. He's 4.













Mom with Uncle Dave and Aunt Kris

















Uncle Sandy and Aunt Elly - I'm pretty sure Elly was laughing at something. :)













Auntie Robyn - playin games...













And my FAVORITE picture:


I love how Grampa played along with our silly picture. :)

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too!!!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

String of Pearls


I had another doctor appointment yesterday. She explained the results of my blood work and I had an ultrasound - which she explained to me as well. I had to wait FOREVER to see her which was pretty frustrating. My appointment to see her was at 3:45 and I didn't see her until almost 5:30. Yeah...and to make that wait worse, the nurse had given me my ultrasound papers to give to the doctor so, of course, I read them. And, of course, I didn't quite understand all that medical mumbo-jumbo. I read, "ultrasound shows slightly enlarged uterus (5 weeks)..." - I kept reading that line over and over and over. What does that mean? Could I be pregnant again? What else could 5 weeks mean? But I'm not having any pregnancy symptoms....my mind was racin!


As it turns out, I'm not pregnant. I guess the ultrasound techs just describe the size of a uterus in accordance with pregnancy weeks even if you're not pregnant. The doctor said a normal uterus is 4 weeks...don't remember the reason she gave for why mine was perhaps slightly larger.


As far as my blood work goes....I'm not insulin resistant - as some women with PCOS are, my thyroid is fine, metabolism levels normal, cholesterol good, ovaries....not so good, testosterone...not so good. :) She said my overies looked like the classic "string of pearls" - because of the cysts. She said she likes to see testosterone levels less than 35....mine were a bit over 60. My hormone levels had a PCOS flip....the number that should have been high was low and the number than should have been low was high.


Then there comes my decision to make. Initially, I figured I'd stick with Reliv for the 90 days. Today is day 67. But then I guess I'm just getting impatient. I want results! I want my period back (how many women wish for that?!)!! I realized I have almost gone an entire year since my body produced a regular cycle without medication. Of course, part of the time, I was pregnant, but that's a long time! So I've thought about starting on the medication she gave me but still taking my Reliv shakes. But if I did that, I really wouldn't know how effective the Reliv truly can be for someone with PCOS - and my type of PCOS.


My doctor is very open to me doing whatever I feel most comfortable with. After thinking more about it last night and this morning, I think I may still hold off on medication until my 90 days with Reliv are up. It was explained to me - and it makes sense - that Reliv does take time. It's a natural, vitimin-enhanced food...not a chemical like medications. Reliv won't force your body to do something it's not normally doing like many medications. It helps your body begin to get back on track...naturally...and naturally takes time. So I think I'll stick with my original plan. And I will take comfort in knowing that God will not be bound by me taking or not taking "proper" medication. He is able to accomplish His will regardless. So I'm going to make the wisest decision I can with the information I have and trust Him. I am choosing to be patient with this Reliv. All in His time.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

It's a.......

The verdict is in...I shall commence to buying...






































BOY THINGS!!!!! IT'S A NEPHEW!!!!! ....as you can see....guess I can't count on my dreams as messages from God after all. ;) Congrats Mark and Shawna!!




Ladies and gentlemen, we have a puffy head...




I can't wait to meet him!!!!!!!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Lots To Talk About...

First and foremost, Shawna finds out whether I'll be getting a niece or nephew this afternoon (her appointment was moved up from Wednesday). HOW EXCITING!!! We all think it's a girl. Shaw and I both had dreams it was a girl....the Lord has spoken.

Woodruff lost their game this past Friday. :( I feel awful for them just because of the way they lost. From the beginning of the game, they made several mistakes and couldn't recover. You can't make mistakes playing a team like that this deep in the playoffs. I barely slept Friday night and Saturday morning, I woke myself up by throwing my phone across the room. I guess I've invested myself a little more into the team than I thought. My heart still hurts for them every time I think about it. In all, though, they did have a great season - haven't been this far in playoffs in about 15 years. Hopefully, next year we'll go all the way (all the lineman will be seniors and the quarterback will be a senior).

We had a GREAT visit in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see everybody again. We got back yesterday...boy was that a dramatic trip back. We ran into horrid traffic, had some awful acts of nature occur, the car broke down.....yeah...we left at 4:30 yesterday morning and I didn't get home until after 8:00 last night. I looked for flights before we left but didn't find any good deals - it will be a greater consideration for next time.

I'll try to post pictures of the above soon! Happy Cyber Monday! ;)