I know, I know...

I am so sorry that I have neglected my blog lately... or for the last year!!! New updates are on their way!!!!! Stay tuned...... time to go run the Mom taxi!!!

For now... here's Jack going for a ride in the taxi!!

Life Lately (Part 2)

It's hard when someone moves away. We have had friends move away before, but thankfully, they have moved back!!!

We had very good friends move away this year in January. We love the Abel family very much and we were sad to see them leave. Our whole family got along well with their whole family!! Not only is Kelly a good friend to me but her daughter is one of Micayla's best friends.

Kelly and I weren't sure how much more we could take of our daughters being sad over missing each other. We try to be sympathetic and understanding but at the same time telling them that they need to stop being so down and that they have to move on with life. I kept telling Micayla that Ashley didn't die and to stop acting like it!

So..... after several months of missing them, we were able to go visit them, in Michigan!! Alex, Micayla and I flew to Michigan and spent 11 great days there with them!!

We went to Splash Village in Frankenmuth, MI. It is an INDOOR water park! It was lots of fun!! Two of the slides go outside the building and then back in. And they were fast... and in the dark since they were complete tubes!

Afterwards, we went next door to Bronner's Christmas store. It's the largest Christmas store in the world with year round displays!! It was crazy. If you can think of it, they probably have an ornament for it!!

One day we spent at Dan's parents house on Loon Lake. The kids had a great time swimming in the lake. It's the first time my kids have swam in lake water that they remember. They weren't too fond of the mucky feel of the bottom but it didn't stop them from having fun! Here is a pic I took sitting on the deck.

We had so much fun there, even on the days we just stayed at home! Very relaxing!!

Thanks Dan and Kel for such a great time with you guys!! We feel right at home in your home!

Garden 2011

I've always wanted to plant a garden. I had no idea how to and was sure nothing would grow. Well... today John built us a raised bed box and we planted one!!! He knows way more about this garden stuff.

First we had to decide where to put it and turn over the soil... no one really enjoyed this part!

Then we had to pick all the grass, rocks and roots out...


Alex and Micayla helped too and they are really excited about growing their own food. Next we added garden soil and some secret sauce...



Love him!!

We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow peppers, green beans, carrots and strawberries.


I can't wait to see what comes up!!! Fifty days to our first harvest!!!!!

Stay tuned for updates!

The secret sauce....

Christmas 2010

It's That Time Again

It's time for us to start school again!! We will officially start school Sept 7th. I am still a believer in not starting school until after Labor Day! I am hoping to be on a better schedule this year with the kids. I think the shock of everything with Josh has settled and homeschool can move back to the front burner.

A few months ago, when I was tucking Micayla in we were talking about school and I casually mentioned that maybe I should put them back in public school. She said, "No, Mom, why??" I said I didn't think we were doing enough. She then said, "Mom, how many 4th graders can tell you what Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is?" Enough said. We may not have had the best academic year but they sure got a great medical education this year!!! Where is that on the standardized tests??

Anyway, Joshua started school this week!! It was a major fiasco but we got it done!! Just in case you didn't know... When you have a government agency paying for something, it doesn't always happen on the time schedule you need it to!!!!! We're not complaining, we are very thankful for Voc Rehab, but it sure can be a pain with all the paperwork and red tape.

He was enrolled in classes two weeks ago (4 of them). When we went to get his books, we found out that the college had not received payment from Voc Rehab so they dropped him from all of his classes!!! YIKES!!! Imagine our surprise at that moment.

So after many phone calls, we found out his plan had not officially been approved yet. UGH. We called everyday for a week. (Can you say squeaky wheel??)

The school told us we could enroll in classes up until they started, which was Monday, Aug 30th. Well, his plan finally got approved Monday afternoon. We went there Tuesday morning so he could sign everything. We left there and went straight to the school. Got there around 1:00pm. He started his first college class at 2:00pm. WHEW!!! We sat outside and went over his new schedule (only 3 classes) and got him re-acclimated to the campus and which buildings were where and off he went!!!

So, please pray for him to stay focused on school and get his work done, without John or I having to stay on top of him! That's my desire!!!

I'm looking forward to all of us getting back to a schedule. Yes, I actually said that, scary I know.

Hope you all have a great year!!!

Blessings to you!! I'll leave you with this... one of my new favorite quotes...

"Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." ~~Francis Chan

Still Here

No, we haven't gone away on some wonderful month long, (or two), vacation or fallen off the face of the earth. We've just been taking it easy this summer. With all we had going on with May, we're taking one day at a time, no plan, not much structure (to the dismay of our youngest... God thought it would be funny to give me a daughter opposite of me in that area.) Please forgive me if you've been checking in here and still get the same picture each time.

Hope you all are having a great summer! We are really doing well, other than the hamster drama in our house! Who thought it would be a good idea to get TWO of them??? Hmmm.... I'll blog more about that later!

Enjoy your summer and hug your family tight!

Whew... long day!

Well... today was a rather long day. The block for John wore off around 11pm last night. We were up every two hours either changing his position, taking meds, or putting him on his machine for pain. He eventually ended up in the recliner. He was really hoping he would be able to sleep in our bed but it was too uncomfortable to lay down.

So... the day was spent taking 10 minute naps here and there, cooking, taking meds, hooking him up to his machine and keeping track of the kids. Thank you Grandpa John for being the taxi driver today! It started this morning taking Joshua and Alex to the church for them to go to a competition with several youth groups downtown called Teens Involved. They were both in different drama's and Joshua did puppets as well. They came home very excited since they were chosen to move on to regionals now!! Way to go guys!!

The Abel's took Micayla so she wouldn't be stuck home with the tired, worn out parents. Thanks guys!

Our friends made us dinner tonight. It was something I knew I was going to have to do.... eat FRESH meat, that he killed himself! UGH!

John couldn't wait for Marcus to cook some of his wild hog for him. He made us stroganoff, salad and bread. I will have to admit... it was good! Thank you Marcus and Devon for dinner!!

Did I tell you we have such wonderful friends?! We are very well loved. Thank you all for continuing to check in on John and keeping us in your prayers.

We've been told tomorrow is going to be the worst day. Fun times here in the Gentges' house!

Blessings~~~

Finally... some good news from UF!

We had our monthly trip to UF this week. It was the first time in 10 months of monthly visits that we received good news!

The best news is that Joshua's O2 sats were finally normal in both the upper and lower extremities. Usually there is about a 10 point difference and the lower extremities have only been in the upper 80's. We were quite surprised at the upper 90's Thursday!

The other good news is that Joshua gained ONE pound!!! Woo Hoo!!! I told him I could gain 10 pounds in the time it takes him to gain one. (He asked me if I'd like to take that challenge and I quickly said NO!) He is now officially 5'7" and weighs a whopping 113 pounds!!! He still does not have a trigger for hunger (unless it's been 24 hours!) or thirst so I will still be pushing food at him as much as I can. We buy whole milk for him and put butter on anything we can for him. The COMPLETE opposite of how the rest of us should be eating. And before you decide to tell me how bad that is for him, it's what the doctor told us to do. So... we'll go with it for now.

After we left UF he said he wanted something sweet. I told him I'd stop wherever he wanted. On our way home he had four donuts from Krispy Kreme, 2 hot dogs and an ice cream cone. We pass by a little dairy freeze place every month so Josh wanted to try it this trip. It reminded him of Zesto's back home in Jeff City. I couldn't believe how much he ate! I told him I cannot hang out with him if he isn't going to choose REAL food!! I wanted a salad from Applebee's. Maybe next time!

SO... back to the doctors. They were very pleased with the weight gain and the o2 sats so they are giving us a 6 week span between our next visit. At that time, we will be scheduling a second heart cath. This makes me a little nervous but at the same time I am cautiously optimistic. I want to believe the meds are finally working and all is fine but at the same time I think I am in self preservation mode with not wanting to be let down next month.

His doctor also wants him to double the distance he covers during his 6 minute walk. Right now he's at 432 meters. So we'll see how he does. This will be great to see him start being able to challenge himself and start being more active!

Thank you for your prayers. It truly is uplifting for us to know so many of you are praying for our family.

To close, I'll share this picture with you. It's my favorite of the year, maybe.

Recap of 2009

I've been reflecting on the last year, 2009. It was a full year for us, crazy at times, with both good and bad. We can say though that we are blessed beyond measure. We are so thankful for the wonderful friends and family we have.

We are mostly healthy, and still very happy. Our family is still kind to each other and we are well loved by many friends.

This year took quite a turn for us when Joshua was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Eisenmengers Syndrome first in March and then definitively in June by heart cath. It's a combination of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, (or PAH, or just PH) and his Patent Ductus Ateriosus, or PDA which is a congenital heart defect. It has been a year full of monthly, if not more, visits to several different doctors as well as hospitals. Our favorite to date would be the hospital on the University of Florida's campus in Gainesville. They have a fantastic PH Clinic and team of doctors/nurses and case workers who have been simply wonderful. I've learned more about the medical field and this disease than I thought my brain could handle.

We're blessed that Joshua is doing and has done as well as he has for so long. I pray he will continue to do well and be able to do the things he wants to do. Right now he is on track to graduate from high school in May. I cannot wait!! After high school he plans to attend college at FSCJ and get his degree in ASL to interpret for the deaf and hard of hearing.

We continue to deal with a LOT with Joshua's medical issues. I've been on the phone most of the morning between doctors and pharmaceutical companies. The nurse is coming today to show us how to start his 5th medicine we are adding to the mix, Tyvaso. It will be taken 4 times a day and is a nebulized inhaled medicine. Should be interesting.

Next week we are also meeting with a medical company who is bringing us the equipment to start his CPAP/BiPAP. He'll wear the mask at night to help him get better oxygen saturation levels while he sleeps.

Hopefully all of this will help his tolerance for exercise and exertion so he can start DOING something and not have to be so sedentary. I'm also hoping it will help him focus more while doing simple tasks as well as school work. He graduates from high school in May... we can't wait! He hopes to attend FSCJ and get his ASL Degree to interpret for the deaf/hard of hearing.

The rest of us are doing well. John had a small stroke in Sept this year. Scared me to death. He is healthy now since he QUIT smoking and is taking medicine to help lower cholesterol. I am very proud of him. Hopefully that will be the last we see of any hospital stays for him! He will be having surgery this spring on his shoulder to repair the two tears, one in the rotator cuff and one in the labrum. I really don't know how he works every day and deals with chronic pain.

Brandon is celebrating one whole year of being out on his own!! Woo hoo!! He's learning what it means to really be an adult! He is still working for Servicemaster/GRG Construction and doing rather well. We are proud of him.

Alex and Micayla are in their 4th year of homeschooling and doing quite well, if I don't say so myself! Alex is looking forward to trying out tackle football this year. Not sure about that for me, but he can't wait. Micayla is playing the piano and got her ears pierced this year. Makes me sad how quickly they are growing up.

I am just happy to have such a great family to call mine. I continue to teach piano and violin and enjoy being with my kids.

I also have been trying for the last three months to set up a working budget. It's hard. We're not great at money managing so now is the time to start learning. It's tough, but we're gonna do it. Pray for lots of patience and peace while getting all of it ironed out!

Lastly, my grandpa, Robert Murasko passed away early morning on Christmas Eve. He has lived here with my sister since October 2008. She's been his most excellent caregiver for the last 4 years. It was rather unexpected but peaceful at the same time. He is now dancing in heaven.

I hope you have a happy and healthy 2010. Most of all, I hope you have someone to love, someone who loves you and you know that above all else, Jesus loves you.

Christmas 2009

This Christmas has been a rather interesting blend of joy and sorrow.



Yesterday, my grandpa, Robert Murasko, passed away rather unexpectedly.



He had fallen last week and fractured his pelvis in two places. He was doing fine and my sister was making plans for extra help when he came home. She has been his most excellent, full time care giver for the last 4 years. I have watched her, in total amazement, take care of his every need and NEVER complain. She really did treasure the job she had in taking care of him.

The kids and I had just taken him decorated Christmas cookies and cards two days earlier. I'm so thankful for that visit now. He was fine and happy to see us.

He died from an abdominal aneurysm on Christmas Eve.

My extended family will be coming next week. I am so excited to see them but very sad for the reason.

Please hug your family and remember that above all else, Jesus Christ was born to offer us hope and salvation. He is the reason we celebrate today.

Merry Christmas!

The Gentges Family

Pumpkins!!!!

This past weekend we went to our local pumpkin patch where we go every year to carefully select our pumpkins for carving. Okay it's not really a pumpkin patch in the middle of the city, it's at a church. They put hay and pumpkins in their lot. It's the closest thing we're going to have to a pumpkin patch without having to drive 30+ miles.



Anyway... we brought them home Sunday and then waited until Tuesday to carve them. For one, Dad would be home (the only night of the week he's home this week.) Second, we learned very quickly living in a sub-tropical climate, that you should not carve a pumpkin too far out from Halloween or it will rot, cave in, and mold VERY QUICKLY. (I'll spare you those pictures.)

So... here are some pictures of our evening.



Micayla's is on the left, Alex's in the middle (he tries to make the mean one every year), and then Josh's on the right.



Alex and Micayla like to carve their names or initials in the backs of theirs. Just in case we happen to forget who made what!!! Josh didn't want to.



My favorite thing about pumpkin carving is I score the "lids" of the pumpkins and we put cinnamon and cloves on them. When they are heated from the candle inside, it makes the front porch smell really good!!!!!

We hope you have a safe weekend. For us it's just about pumpkins and candy!!

Senior Year, UF Again, and Prayers Please

Can you believe it? Joshua started his senior year today. He has four classes to complete and he's finished. He is out of school by 11:00am. Then he comes home and works on his on-line math class. We can't wait until that is finished!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to see him cross that stage and receive his diploma. He can't either. I will be the proudest momma there!!!!! :-)

We also go to Gainseville this week. We will be there Wednesday and Thursday. He will be having a sleep study done Wednesday night and then our normal clinic day Thursday. We are still waiting to get to meet with the pulmonologist. Looks like we won't get to see them until next month.

Also, please be praying for Joshua's grandma Leslie and her family. Her sister's husband Dale has had some serious problems following brain surgery and they are not sure he will be able to wake up and communicate again. Please keep Leslie, John, Sharon and Dale and the rest of their family in your prayers.


Consider yourselves hugged and take care of each other!!!

Family Travels

It's been a crazy few weeks. First of all... a good friend of ours back in Missouri whom we've known since we started dating passed away. His name was Shad. He was a funny, caring and crazy guy. He was in our wedding. Shad lived his life always wanting to have fun and wanting everyone around him to have fun too. Even though months or years would pass and we wouldn't talk and see each other, it was always as though no time had passed. Would you please keep his family in your prayers, his wife Dee and their kids, Broc and Kylie. Thank you.


We were hoping to make it home to the funeral. All we needed was one of John's job to finish and we could leave town. John has also been working crazy hours, 4pm to 6am, 6 days a week, so he was seriously needing to take some time off work. He never takes time off work just for fun. The kids were really missing their dad too.


It took two days longer than he had hoped for so we were not able to make it to Missouri.


John still needed the time off so we decided to go surprise some friends in Tennessee. It was so fun to surprise them. We called Anthony and told him we were three hours from home and to NOT tell Lisa. It was great fun! I love surprising people! We had a great time catching up with the Gatto's and seeing where they live and getting to see Lisa 9 months pregnant! Can't wait to see that healthy baby girl soon!


When we left, John was all about taking his time and not being rushed. He decided he wanted to take the southern route home and go visit a friend of ours in Louisiana. Marshall has been a dear friend to John through some of our harder years of life. It was great to catch up with 4 of the kids, he has seven of them, and visit his church as well. It was a fun time, although quick. I wanted to bundle up his baby and bring her home with me!!! So sweet!!!


After leaving, we were coming across I-10 and John pulls off at Mobile, AL. Next thing you know he's pulling into ....



It is Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, AL. It houses the USS Alabama and offers tours of the battleship as well as an aircraft hanger and the USS Drum Submarine. It was lots of fun!!


Here are some pics of the battleship tour...

The family outside the ship...

On the deck of the ship... FIRE!!!! Those are some big guns!

Gunners mate???

Next came the crews gallery.... I can't imagine being that crowded and having to sleep in such a small bed!!!!!

Then we went ALL THE WAY DOWN to the boiler room. It was HOT!!!!! This is where John's Grandpa Rudy worked when he served on the USS New York. I can't imagine sweating and smelling like diesel fuel all day! Yuck! (The picture is dark... cell phone, and no light.)

Then we traveled ALL THE WAY UP to the TOP! It was a LOT of ladders and NO A/C! It was a beautiful view of the gulf coast. We could see the remnants of Hurricane Claudette rolling in.



We had a great time and it was so nice to get away. It was even better to be able to turn John's cell phone off!!



I can't wait til we can take another vacation. It was wonderful!



A pic of Captain Micayla~~~~ signing off!

We're baaaacckkk!!!!

We are still alive. Really.

Barely.

Many of you have let me know that I haven't updated in a while. Here's why.

My family moved into my sisters house for 12 days to take care of our grandpa while my sister and her family were on vacation in Missouri. He lives with her and requires light nursing care and just someone to check on him periodically, get his meals to him, and put him to bed.

It was A LOT for me. I'm such a wimp. I just don't do bodily fluids well. Of any kind, from anything or anyone. Between Grandpa, her three boys, four cats and a dog, she's always said her life is one big bodily fluid and she was right. I was not made to be a nurse, I'm sure of it.

Pray for her.

I don't know how she does it! And she even had home health care come every morning to get him up, clean him up, do his meds, and straighten his place up... just for me. I love her.

Anyway, it was an interesting 12 days. Lots of time for pondering and perspective.

Even more so than usual, I am forever grateful for Joshua. He was a HUGE help to me with Grandpa. He loves just sitting up there with him. Sometimes they talk. Sometimes they just sit. And watch TV. LOTS of TV.

(Just how many hours of Fox News or Deal or No Deal can one watch, really?)


Joshua and Grandpa have an unusual relationship. They really do love each other. Grandpa thinks Joshua is just wonderful. I think it's because Josh is the one who spends the most time with him just sitting with him. Joshua laughs at his jokes. These are the same jokes we all have heard as long as we can remember. But Joshua still laughs. He's great like that.

So, with all that being said... Joshua was able to do something I'm not sure anyone else would've been able to do.

He got Grandpa to do this... (sorry for the picture quality. It's from my cell phone and there are too many windows!)

And then he even did this...


Joshua would push him in his wheelchair around the pool table. Sometimes he would shoot sitting down, several other times he would stand up! That is big for Grandpa. He almost beat Joshua but Josh won!

We did enjoy our stay at her house for the most part. We really missed our own beds, and of course Mick! Remember him???

But we sure did enjoy this...

We did take full advantage of their pool and had friends over to swim while we were there.

Peter even brought his guitar to entertain us!! Fun times with friends!

We had a fish fry with the fish that John and Chad caught while deep sea fishing. I would post pictures but for some reason, the men don't think about taking pictures while they are bringing in their big catch!!!

We had shark, kobia, sea bass, and snapper.

It was yummy!!

I guess this post is plenty long now. I just wanted to let you all in on what we've been doing lately. More to come.

News this week...

Joshua started his full dose of meds last night. They came a day earlier than expected.

The only bad thing about that was we were all outside, Mick included, and he about attacked the Fed-Ex lady. She jumped back in her truck and shut the door. I about died! Our fat, lazy dog NEVER does that! He charged her like he was gonna eat her up. Anyone who knows Mick knows that he is just about comatose most of the time. See how much he was helping me paint Joshua's room ...


I was really embarrassed for her and just hope she doesn't red-flag our address and then not deliver to us anymore!

Here is another favorite shot of Mick, just for fun... Does he really look like a mean, vicious, attack dog??? I didn't think so!


So after she left, we put Joshua's meds together for the week. We'll be looking for any additional side affects from this drug. He's had a few headaches and some dizziness up to this point.

Other than that we're all doing well.

Although, I have forgotten to let you all know that I failed my M.D. test. ;-)

John does not have a rotator cuff tear. It's a labral tear. The shoulder joint has a cuff of cartilage called a labrum that forms a cup for the end of the humerus to move in. That cartilage is what he's torn.

He started physical therapy last week in hopes that it will be enough and he can avoid needing surgery. Only time will tell.

Also, please keep my biological dad Harry in your prayers. He had a stroke last weekend. Please pray for him. He is not able to swallow or walk at this time.

Thanks again for your prayers and calls and words of comfort for our family!

Aaaahhhhhh Silence....

It was a beautiful sound... the sound of silence. In my house. Can you believe it? It doesn't happen often.

We had a wonderful evening last night. John's mom and dad are in town. They took the kids, overnight, to a hotel right on the beach last night. It had a great pool with waterfall, and you could walk straight out to the beach from the pool, but yet it was private enough also. The view from the balcony of the room was beautiful. You could see the pool and the beach, including the dolphins out there in the ocean.

John and I left early evening and came home after stopping off for some ice cream! Yummy!!

I wasn't sure what to do with no kids in the house! Such a strange phenomenon.

It was nice to go to bed without having the 100 question routine, I need a glass of water, and the typical "I want a hug from Alex but he won't give me one" routine.

It was also nice to wake up and be home... alone. That never happens.

Don't get me wrong... I already miss them and am ready for them to get home, but it was so nice to have a peaceful, silent house this morning.... all to myself!!!!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh....... wonderful.

Thanks Henri and John for taking the kids for us. It was just what we needed, and we didn't even know it.

All Better!!

Well, that last post was a little jacked up lame. I am sorry for sounding so BLAH there. I shouldn't write posts when I'm tired and crabby.

We are all doing much better. Thank you for your prayers. I'm so glad we are on the other side of this flu. It was not fun.

John had his MRI and goes back to the doc Tuesday. The only thing he could get the tech to say was "your not gonna be happy." Lovely. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that he's gonna need surgery for his torn rotator cuff???

Good times. Keepin' it exciting!

We are expecting John's mom here today. Looking forward to having her here. The kids are ready to get out and about.

I think we've inhaled all we can of Lysol and bleach. It's time for our summer to finally start.

I hope you're enjoying yours!

And Going...

Went to the doctor this morning. He tested Brandon, Kristen (his girlfriend), and myself for the flu. All three of us came back positive. LOVELY.

He put all of us on antibiotics to ward off any secondary bacterial infections, as well as treat Brandon and Kristen for the flu. (The rest of us have already taken the meds for that.)

The kids are all feeling good, which makes it even harder to keep them in the house. I on the other hand, am tired. So we have another week of being stuck at home. Time for a good project, right?

This most likely means that we will not be able to go to Gainesville for Joshua's clinic day Thursday. They will be calling me back tomorrow to let me know for sure. Seeing how the clinic is also the transplant center, I doubt they are going to want us there.

LOVELY.

JUST WONDERFUL.

SLIGHTLY FRUSTRATED.

I know God is in control. There must be a good reason for all this, right? My plans are not his plans, right?

Please just pray for all us to feel good, and be done with it. Lord knows I'm so done with it.

It Just Keeps Going

We just didn't have enough going on. The dust was beginning to settle. And POWWW....

Alex has tested positive for Influenza A. LOVELY!!!!! Can someone just shoot me now?? (Just kidding there, please don't - my kids need me!!) This is what happens when you send your son away to camp for four nights!

Of course, this is not such a big deal unless you have an older brother with health issues, a mom with a compromised immune system and a little sister at home.

Our pediatrician has put us all on flu meds. Only Alex had symptoms yesterday: fever, congestion in face and chest, cough.

He's doing such a fine job of sharing... now Joshua is running a fever!! I was on the phone FOUR times with UF - Gainesville yesterday between making sure the meds are okay for Joshua to take and asking a hundred more questions. The meds they gave us are inhaled so it's even trickier for someone with lung problems.

I was about ready to unload on someone yesterday. Be thankful you weren't here. It took me almost three hours and three different pharmacies to get our meds. Not to mention a payment that about made me fall over. However, I shall not complain about the money. The little bit I spent yesterday doesn't compare to the price we could be having to pay for Joshua's Tracleer.

{Little side note here: I also had the joy of spending 53 minutes on the phone with the nice lady from our insurance company yesterday. They were trying to update their records with all of Joshua's health info. They also called to make us aware just how much the Tracleer costs. I thought it was $3,000.00. WRONG. She let me know it's exactly $5,120.26, per month. GEE WHIZ!}

So my little check for $135.00 seems quite small now doesn't' it?

Joshua is so congested right now. I am giving him Robitussin, but he can not have anything with phenylephrine. It is a stimulant that can make his heart race, so thank God they make one without it. Just another thing to be checking for and putting in the memory bank. Which by the way, is about maxed out with information.

So far Alex and Joshua are the only one's with symptoms. Hopefully it will stay that way!

So... if you wouldn't mind, please pray for this flu to get out of our house and for us to get back to whatever normal is around here. I'm not sure I know.

Plans for the Week

Tomorrow afternoon we have our appointment with our new pulmonologist here in Jax. I am looking forward to meeting this doctor and getting established with him. We'll be seeing him a lot I'm sure to get the lungs to work better. We had to change docs when the insurance changed.

We're getting ready to get down to Gainesville next week. We're excited and nervous but more excited. Joshua just wants to get it done.

Before we do that though, I am leaving Wednesday for our annual homeschool convention in Orlando. I am always so excited about convention and being re-energized and refreshed with this huge task of educating our children at home. I am excited to spend a few days with my very good girlfriends and have some time to relax and rejuvenate, especially with the week we have coming up next week! The good thing is I have a pretty clear idea on curriculum changes and what we'll need so that makes it much easier!!

Thank you for all your prayers for Joshua and for our family. We are doing great as a whole and are ready to get this surgery behind us.