Some Test Results

My dad, his dad, my BIL and friends from high school were all in the military. It's a life I can only imagine and am so humbly grateful for their decision to enlist to protect me, my family and our nation. I want to take this opportunity to thank all veterans for their service.

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And thank all of you for your comments on my last post. Your kindness brought me to tears. Thank you so much for your concern for Beth and our whole family. You all are amazing. 

The doctor found Beth's thyroid levels were way off. I checked her meds and turns out she stopped taking them. The bottle was still full, she hadn't taken any in about a month.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that. I need to do better at monitoring her meds. We're now asking her every day, "Did you take your thyroid medicine?" She calls it her 'blue pill.'

We're still not sure what's making her stomach hard though so we're going to keep the appointment for the CT scan. That's scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving. 

We're going out of town for a few days this week. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything new. Again, thank you for your concern! I love you all!   

Beth's Health

 A lot of children born with Down Syndrome have heart defects. Some have holes in their heart, or a valve isn't working correctly and they undergo surgery at a very young age. Even as young as a few months. I can only imagine how hard it would be to watch your baby go through something like that.

Beth was born with a good heart and didn't need surgery. She grew up strong and active. She never did have the balance to ride a two wheeler, but she rode her bike with training wheels until they broke. And she was probably in middle school by that time. She jumped on our trampoline, she loved to swim, and we would often go hiking. 

After she graduated from high school she joined All Aboard and was going to exercise classes, art classes, bowling... she kept busy. But over the years she has slowed down (like we all do) and doesn't move as much. And I've noticed her stomach getting bigger. Even though she's lost 20 pounds over the last year, her stomach seems more swollen than fat, and it's hard as a rock. I don't know about you but the older I get the more... uh... flabby mine gets. But hers is different. 

It was Sharaya and Diana that had the idea she might be lactose intolerant. I hadn't even thought about that. So for the last six months or so we've cut out dairy from her diet. And now we're working on gluten-free foods. But her stomach is still hard.

So yesterday I took her to the doctor. And the first thing they did was weigh her. She's been consistently losing weight for the last year so I was shocked to see she's gained 15 pounds since August. The doctor said it could be anything from a tumor, to an issue with her kidneys or maybe she just needs a stool softener. So she's looking to everything.

She ordered blood work to check her kidneys, thyroid and a host of other things. She got a urine sample, and she's also looking into the different meds and supplements Beth takes. We're going to get a CT scan as well but right now they're booked solid. I'll call next week to set up the appointment.

We appreciate your prayers.

An Odd Season

Hello! Things have been... odd around here lately. For me anyway.

Since I stopped being Custodial Supervisor I've got time on my hands, but haven't wanted to do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. I keep up with the dishes and laundry and... but I'm spending a lot of time just watching Christmas movies. I'm trying to give myself a little slack, knowing this quiet season won't last forever. :)

(Internet Photo)

I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to go to the Harvest Party at church. Not to announce it or ask the new Lead Custodian E, if he needed me, I was just to show up. As I walked in the door our boss was there. He took me aside and said E was struggling with some personal things and would be going home early. So I ended up being Supervisor that night. I love it when the Lord goes before us and solves an issue before we even know there is one. He is such a good God.

This is photo of just one of our classrooms for the Harvest Party. This was the maze room for those 6 and under!

Almost every day Beth comes home and sits in her recliner. While we were at lunch today she said she was going to take a nap in it when we got home. :)

Please vote. We are privileged to live in a country where we get to choose our leaders. I'm praying a lot for this upcoming election. Especially for peace in our cities, no matter who is elected. I also pray the Lord would put in office whomever He needs at this time in history. Oh Lord we need you! 

Lots of Familiar Faces, Matching Shirts, and "Definitely the Frosted Glass!"

The girls had come up with a design for our Buddy Walk shirts and on Saturday night after Sharaya's party we all put on our shirts and surprised Beth with hers. Then in the morning we all headed to The Buddy Walk at the zoo.

The Buddy Walk was established in 1995 and raises money for programs for people who have Down Syndrome. There's hundreds of walks throughout the U.S. and even in a few other countries. They had vendors, and Star Wars characters and lots of things to see and do.

We walked around for a while looking at the animals. You automatically got into the zoo free when you registered for the Buddy Walk. 

Beth's back began to hurt so Chuck got her a wheelchair. She'd walk for a while, then ride. Then walk. I think we all ended up pushing her at one time or another.

Then the actual walk started (we followed a path they had set up through the zoo.) 

At the end, every participant with Down Syndrome got a medal. They're all so excited, it's such a happy event! A local high school football team held directional signs and interacted with the families.

After the walk we all headed to Red Robin, Beth's favorite restaurant. Of course we all sang to her. That's the best part!

Then home for cake and presents. Sharaya and Diana made the cake the day before, while I was at the Holiday Market. One of Beth's best friends was able to stop by for a few minutes.

Cheryl is her 'Bestie'

While Sharaya took Ally home we let the cake settle for a while, then we headed off to the Rock Box. It's a karaoke bar! Beth has sang karaoke for more than 10 years. We had our own private 10x12ft room and the staff member came in to show us how it all worked, how to choose the songs on the ipad, how to turn on the strobe lights... then he says, "You guys are in a unique room because you're on the end near the street. This button here turns on the sound so everyone outside can hear you. And this button turns off the frosted glass, see? So you can sing and dance if you want and everyone walking by can watch you." 

Hahahaha! No.

We had so much fun though! On the drive downtown, not knowing what to expect, we talked about singing a few songs then we'd leave, but we ended up spending the entire two hours singing and laughing! Didn't matter who had the microphones, we would all sing. It was really fun!

Diana flew home early the next morning and that was the official end of the celebrations. We had such a fun weekend. I think it took us all a few days to recover! 

A Surprise, A Market, and A Cake

Hello! I found a work-around for getting my pictures from my phone to the laptop, woohoo! I hope you've all had a good week so far, even if you had to improvise.

Diana flew in late Friday night on the 11th. Beth doesn't always respond well to surprises, she's slow to react, slow to say anything, so the surprise usually doesn't have the impact you'd hope for. So after Chuck left to get Diana from the airport, I asked Beth to come upstairs. We sat down at the kitchen table (which has a big window looking out to the front yard) and I told her we had a surprise for her birthday. Because she was turning 40 we wanted Diana to celebrate with us so she just landed at the airport and dad went to pick her up!

Beth has a thing she does when she's shocked at something, where she'll quickly turn her head a few inches, raise her eyebrows and form the word Oh with her mouth. That means she's extremely excited about whatever she's just heard! And that's what she did! We sat at the kitchen table for about an hour waiting for them and when Diana came inside Beth was so excited to see her! 

We sat up until 2AM talking then we dragged ourselves to bed. Diana and I were up early the next morning and she dropped me off at the Holiday Market so she could use my car for the day. 

I'd been preparing for this market since January. And even though I was bummed it was on the weekend of the girls birthdays, it was being held at our church so I knew I would know some of the other vendors. I was looking forward to spending the day with friends and checking out their tables. I used the only tablecloth I had that was big enough but wasn't happy with the way it looked. 

Right before we opened I remembered I had a solid black one at my desk so I ran upstairs and was able to switch them out. Thankfully the people next to me also had a black tablecloth so mine didn't seem out of place. Next year I'll buy a different one specifically to use for the market.  

I sold 30 cards, not too bad for my first time. Plus I had a friend text and ask if she could buy more. And a few people said they would love to frame the photos so I'm going to try that next year too. Instead of putting them all on cards, I'll put some photos in stand-up frames and see how that goes.

Diana picked me up after the market and we all headed out to celebrate Sharaya's birthday. We've always let the girls choose a restaurant on their birthday and she chose Brix. I had never heard of it before but it's one she's wanted to try. 

I had the ravioli and it was so good! And there was a lot of it. Chuck and I brought some of ours home. It was dusk when we left and there were lights in the trees, it was so pretty out! So I asked if we could take some pictures. Our girls. The only one missing was Adelaide. She was at home in Pennsylvania with daddy.

Diana, Allison, (Sharaya's daughter) Beth, Sharaya

Have I ever shown you how to pronounce Sharaya's name? It's Shuh (as in shove) ray (like ray of sunshine) uh (again as in shove.) Sharaya. We were going to name her Sarah but then heard Amy Grant's Unguarded album. On it she sings a song to her friend named Sharayah. The spelling seemed long to us so we dropped the h. When she was a baby Beth couldn't say her name so we called her Raya. Then when she started Kindergarten she asked us to start calling her Shara. Then I think in high school she starting going by Sharaya. I think she's had a love/hate relationship with it over the years. But we've always loved it. And her. 😊

After dinner we came back to our house for presents and cake. We always do gifts first, then have the cake. She had seen this cake on-line so Chuck took the photo to our local bakery and it turned out really nice! 

Afterward Sharaya and Diana went out for a while so Ally and I played cards. Uno. That girl is strategic when it comes to cards, oh my word! I think she won both games! We laughed a lot though. I love hanging out with her.

I'll save Beth's party for another post. It was a very full day and we were all exhausted by the end of the weekend. 

How do you party? Do you have cake first or open presents? 

Have a wonderful day!

Just Found 'Em. Sigh

 Hey everyone,

We had a fantastic whirlwind weekend celebrating Sharaya and Beth. Beginning late Friday night and ending very early on Monday morning we partied and laughed and took a lot of photos.

Unfortunately I uploaded all my photos to our computer but they haven't shown up yet! 😞 I've spent the last 30 minutes trying to figure out where they went. 

Oh wait! I just found them still in the Outbox on my phone. Oh my word, the same pop-up as before 'our user or password is incorrect.' 

Awwe, it's too late to figure this out tonight. I'll try to post again soon. But trust me, it was a great weekend! 

Beth Turns 40!

We'll be celebrating her birthday on Sunday but October 10 is her birthday. We've got a lot of surprises for her, one being the chair in the header photo!

We didn't know Beth had Down Syndrome until after she was born. We were stunned when the doctor told us but we knew right away we would still love her.

Funny story - unbeknownst to us, my doctor relaxed our visiting hours. Beth was in my room all day while our families came and went. After a few days my dad stopped by again to see us and I was told they couldn't bring Beth to my room. That's when I learned the doctor wanted to see if we were planning to keep her. How would we treat her? When he saw how much we loved her he put the visiting hour restrictions back in place.

When she was just a couple months ago the Regional Center of San Diego sent therapists to our home to work with her. She learned to sit up at one year, and learned to walk at two.

Beth at One Year

Beth at Two

In this picture Beth is three and Sharaya is one

The Regional Center only worked with kids until they were two, then they started going to preschool. A contained class with other kids with special needs. I drove her the first few times, and this is Beth taking her first bus ride.

She absolutely loved riding the school bus! And did so for the next 19 years.

She's traveled all over the country. We've been on over 40 road trips in her lifetime and she does really well in the car.

Back when car seats were for kids under two

Beth's grown up with the best sisters. They look out for her and make sure she's getting the best care. They fight for her, and with her. 😊 We couldn't have asked for better kids.

Sharaya and Beth

Beth, Diana, Sharaya

Has it always been easy? No. We didn't expect this journey. We didn't even have time to plan for it. Forty years ago we made a decision to bring her home and to love her. She's been bringing joy to our lives ever since!