Happy Late Birthday Sophia and Ethan!

Happy Birthday Babes!  Ethan and Sophia, we can't believe how big you've grown!  I guess you aren't babies anymore!

No News Is Good News . . .

Well, nothing more has gone wrong!  Yeah!  Everyday it seems that we breath a sigh of relief as our life remains the same.  Thanks for your prayers.

  

As for an update . . .

Mark has been looking into other work options within his company, and trying hard to find out if there is any way possible that he can avoid the weekend shift.  Unfortunately, even if there is another job within the company, they have been taking so long to get back to other people, that he may only find out after being put on the weekend shift.  We could still use your prayers in this area, for peace and for a solution before Mark is put onto the weekend shift.  This is very stressful for both of us.  We both can't sleep as well, which means not as much energy and patience for the day :( !

Sophia.  Her spots ended up not being chicken pox!  Thank you, God!  I ended up taking her to the doctor, and it was just a viral infection that her body needed to take care of.  A couple days later Ethan seemed to be getting it, but then it just went away.  Soo glad about that too!  

Still working on getting some pics up.

Love Andrea

Good News, Bad news . . .

Which one would you like first?

Okay, I'll start with the good.  Bailey does not have lymphoma cancer.  Her swelling has been going down each day so that means the antibiotics are working!  I was relieved and then the doctor called and said how concerned he was about the rest of her problems.  Mostly the platelet count and the hemoglobin count.  These things are not from any infection.  He thought she could have another cancer somewhere in her body or it could be an immune problem.  Either way something else seems to be wrong.  And yes, this is the good news portion of this post.

Bad news.  Mark's work is trying to put him onto the weekend shift.  All weekend All the time,long hours, no weekdays.  I really don't think this would be good for us.  Weekends are our family time, our Church, our friends.  It makes me feel stressed just to think about it. 

Sophia is sick and yesterday started getting spots.  They are all over her tummy and back.  I'm hoping for some kind of rash, and not chicken pox or measles.  She's been crying a lot and seems uncomfortable.  We will see what the doctor has to say this afternoon.  I was going to go out with some friends tonight for their birthday  and hope that can still happen.

Please pray for us.  I am not sure how much more I can handle.  I don't do well with stress and there has been so much of it lately.  Hope it gets better soon!

Love Andrea

We are not out of the woods yet . . .

Unfortunately,  things have not started to get better yet.  About five days ago, Mark noticed that our dog Bailey had some swelling or lumps, under her chin close to her neck.  The next day I took a look and was surprised how big they were.  When I talked to Mark he said that they weren't that big when he felt them.  By the third day it was all one lump and getting harder.  At bedtime I took her collar off to make her more comfortable.  In the morning it had  travelled into one side off her face.  I had called around to the vets in our area the day before, and now quickly made an appointment where I could get in the quickest.

At the vet, He said that she had a slight fever, all her lymph nodes were swollen (for an infection usually just one would be swollen).  I had to leave her there for a blood test and the were going to take a sample of the inside of the infected area with a fine needle.  I was told it would take a couple hours.

A couple hours later they called and said it would be a couple more hours.  Apparently they needed to sedate her for the  sample in her neck area.  I picked her up at 4:30pm, when the doctor told me that he suspected it to be lymphoma, a type of cancer, that in dogs spreads rapidly to other organs.  Her blood work showed that her platelets were down to 13 when normal is between 175 and 500.  And she is somewhat anemic.  He also thinks that it could be starting to go into her bone marrow already.  But having said all that he did keep on saying that we should wait for the results to come back from the lab regarding the sample.  But it does not look good.  There is a chemo treatment, but since her blood work was not good she might not make it through even if it did work.  She also has an ulcer in one of her eyes.  Basically, the whole picture that was painted for me was not good at all.  If it is the cancer she should be getting worse everyday, which seems to be happening.

So if you could pray for us, we would really appreciate it.  The kids are very attached to her, and she is so amazingly gentle, and calm with them.  She lets them climb all over her.   Pray for our family, pray for Bailey and pray that we would be able to handle all the stresses we've had and continue to have.  Thanks.

Love Andrea

PS - Yesterday my sister's car also got stolen!!

The end of August is coming! And Updates!

Wow!  I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted.  And I can't believe how busy it has been, and stressful.  By the time I have time to blog it is later in the evening, and then I am tired and don't have the energy.  But I have thought about it often.  Too bad intentions don't get anything done!

For starters the end of summer means another birthday . . . or two.  The twins are turning two on the 30th.  I look at pictures from two years ago and can't believe how far they have come.  They are so full of life and energy.  And sometimes when I look back I still can't believe that we have twins.  Pictures to follow!

Secondly, I will update my last post.  I made it through my cleanse and am proud to say that I have lost 20 pounds.  During the last month and a half I have kept the weight off with a maintenance program, eating healthy and excersizing more.  I hope that I will be able to continue this.  I'd love to lose more but I'm also happy with how far I've come.  Thanks for your prayers.

The last two weeks have been very stressful and hard on family life.  It all started two weeks ago.  On that Friday morning we realized that our backyard had been broken into.  My brother's bike and Drew's trail-bike were stolen.  This frustrated Mark and I a lot and traumatized Drew.  He was very upset by it all.  He broke down the next night.  He couldn't believe someone in CANADA would do such a thing and that they would hurt other people so much.  It was heart breaking to hear his heart break, and to learn this lesson at such a young age.  This sent Drew into a week of hard behaviour.  Listening was very hard for him, obeying, treating others kindly were all out the window.  It seems like he is just starting to come around now.  Poor guy!  He is a very sensitive child.  He has a tough exterior, but he's quite soft inside.  He internalizes a lot, so I am glad that he felt free to let me in.  We talked about it a lot.  Every aspect.  About a half an hour.  What if the police do find them?  How would they get them to us?  Do they have a truck? Trailer? And then to calm him down a bit before he fell asleep, we watched the Olympics for a bit together.  It was actually quite bonding.

Too bad that wasn't it.  During these weeks Sophia has been dealing with constipation, and now she is actually on medication and we are still trying to find the right dosage to get her "regular".  

Let's go to week two.  Exact same night, one week later, another break in our backyard.  That's right.  I'm sure it is the same person trying to "finish" the job.  One bike left.  No we didn't lock it up.  It was an old ten speed bike that is broken.  Drew drags it around the back yard and it is almost unrideable.  Mark went out to hang out with some friends at 9:15pm, my brother left our place at 10pm, when he noticed our gate was open and then saw the bike laying in the middle of the road a little up our hill.  Apparently the thief noticed how undesirable the bike actually was, kicked it and left it.  So the bike is back at our house, but it can't even be hauled around the yard anymore.  The worst part is feeling violated.  It's bad enough when it's just once, but twice feels very scary.  I've put my vote in for a friendly but protective German Shepherd.  It was also scary that we were home, just watching tv, when it happened right in our back yard.  We are not telling Drew about this one.  So we'd appreciate it if you would just be careful about the way you word things.  Thanks in advance.

A couple days later, I slipped down our stairs and landed on our cement entry floor on my tailbone.  I was in a lot of pain, but hoped it would go away within a day or so.  The next day I started on Advil.  Mark and some other suggested I go to the Dr.  I had to go for an x-ray, nothing is broken.  Lots of Advil, pain, sleep and help with the kids.  Today I am starting to feel better, but it still aches.  The doctor thought it should take about 2 weeks to heal.  I am hoping for less.

Then we got the news from my cousin who was borrowing our car, that it had been broken into.  Mark was in the process of fixing his car.  If any of this had happened individually it would have been a lot easier to deal with, but by this time I was totally stressed out about it all.  You can't help but say, "what else?"  By the way, we are not telling Drew about this one either.

Okay, one more thing to end this string.  Our fridge kicked it in.  It was starting to freeze our food - not the freezer part.  So we turned down the temperature.  Still freezing!  Turned down the temp a little more.  Then it didn't keep the food cold enough!  Time for a new fridge.  We got a great deal because it has a couple of scratches on the handle and a small dent in the side, which you can't see when it's in place.  We got it for about half the price, and it looks great in our kitchen.  At least we got a great fridge out of this one.  :)  When we moved the old fridge away, we saw a small puddle of green stuff!  Definitely time for a new fridge!! 

All in all, it's been a hard couple of weeks.  One day before this all happened I was reading my Bible and thought I should take more time on this passage later.  I put a bookmark in and left it alone.  Then totally forgot about what the passage was, but remembering I wanted to go back to it.  I finally got back to it yesterday.  This is what it said:

The Message:

~Luke 6: 17 - 23

You're Blessed

Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon.  They had come both to hear him and be cured of their ailments.  Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed.  Everyone was trying to touch him - so much energy surging from him, so many people healed!  Then he spoke:

You're blessed when you've lost it all.

God's kingdom is there for the finding.

Your blessed when you are ravenously hungry.

Then you're ready for the Messianic meal.

You are blessed when the tears flow freely.

Joy comes with the morning.

"Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me.  What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable.  You can be glad when that happens - skip like a lamb,if you like! - for even though they don't like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds.  And know that you are in good company, my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this." '

 

I know I haven't had it as hard as some, but for us it was a very stressful week, and this passage helped me to feel God in all of it.  You start wondering, where God is in all of this and why he let's it happen.  But I have felt God near me. :)  And I know that I am hungry for that Messianic meal.  And can't wait to just touch his coat and feel that energy and love come through my whole body, healing me once and  for all.

Hopefully, then next couple weeks will be better.  Looking forward to some celebrating.  Birthdays and anniversaries.  We are celebrating 8 years of marriage this month!  Hope you are all enjoying your last days of summer, even though the rain is here!  

Love Andrea

The month of the Cleanse

Okay, so I know that it is too late to start writing a post, but I feel like it and have a couple minutes (although it will probably take more than that!)  I have bee eluding to seeing Daniel Wong for a little while now, so I thought I'd fill you in.

He got me taking these chocolates, and a fruit drink twice a day.  The chocolates really aren't chocolate, but they taste like dark chocolate.  They are a mood booster, "they curb hunger, boost energy, support mental focus, and promote calmness".  It's an amino acid supplement filled with vitamins.  If you want to know more (about the "chocolates, the fruit drink, or the cleanse) you can go to www.isadelight.com (Chocolate info only) or www.isagenix.com.  The fruit drink is a powder that you mix into 8 oz. of water or juice.  I'm not exactly sure what it does, but definitely helps with energy.  There are over 30 fruits in it alone.  It's quite amazing reading through the ingredients list.  After taking this combination for a week or two I started feeling a lot better.  I felt like my body was healthier, but also I was taking a lot less of my depression medication.  Currently, I am not taking my medication, except for the odd day, and I am still feeling pretty good!  This makes me excited!  Daniel Wong, thought that my depression was due to a hormone imbalance.  I agreed.  And this combination helped to get my hormones balanced again.  After about a month on this plan, he suggested that I do a cleanse from the same company.  This is a whole body cleanse to get out all the bad excess hormones that just hang around in your body, usually gathering in the middle section (trouble area!).  So I thought I'd go for it.  After the cleanse I should be feeling a lot better, and have more energy.  That would be great!

So here I am on the cleanse.  It is a 30 day program with no days off.  It feels intense at times but I am determined to follow through.  Although some days not so much.  If you think of me in prayer, I would really love it if you could prayer for strength to make it through, to be diligent  and finish the program.  I am on day 11 now, and have currently lost 5 pounds.  The program includes me having a shake for two meals a day and the last meal (either lunch or supper) be a regular meal of 400 to 600 calories.  The first couple days were really hard, but now I am enjoying it.  Wow!  I never thought I'd say that in the beginning.  There are also a couple other supplements to take during the day, drink 8 glasses of water a day, and you need to do 20 minutes of exercise.  But that's hardly anything.  Most days I can fit that in!  Especially as Drew is really enjoying going for bike rides lately.  The last couple of days I've been feeling better energy-wise again.  And that feels good!  Makes some of these hard days worth it.

I'm also getting into the meals.  The company that I am doing this through, Isagenix, sends out emails every couple of day to inform you of things, encourage you and give you recipes.  I haven't tried any of the recipes yet but they actually look really good.  Mark's Mom is also on this Cleanse and it is great to have someone, besides Mark, to support me.  And she totally knows what I am going though.  She showed me a recipe from her Curves magazine that fit into our plan today, and it was so good, I thought I would share it with you all as I say good-night for today!  (I made it for supper tonight) By the way, sorry these post have been kinda long lately!  Enjoy!

Grilled Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa (Sorry no pics this time!)

Prep Time: 20 min.

Cooking Time: 10 min.

"Lime is especially well-suited to Mexican dishes, perking up the taste, so you can get by with less salt."

1 1/2 - 2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

2 Tbsp + 1 tsp Lime Juice (about 2 limes, divided)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Kosher Salt (I just used regular salt)

2 Avocados, diced

1 vine-ripened tomato, diced

1/4 red or yellow onion, finely diced, about 1/2 cup

1/4 tsp salt (to taste)

1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Place chicken breasts in a flat dish with sides just large enough to hold them in a single layer.  Add 2 Tbsp lime juice, oil and salt and flip chicken several times to coat well.

2. In a medium serving bowl, combine avocados, tomato, onion, and salt and mix thoroughly.  Add cilantro, if using, and remaining tsp lime juice.

3. Heat indoor grill or BBQ, or heavy skillet to medium-high.  Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes per side, until it starts to brown on the outside and it's no longer pink inside the thickest part, about 165 F on a meat thermometer.  Remove from heat, slice into strips, top with Avocado salsa and serve!  Enjoy!

Love Andrea

White Rock

Tuesday, Angela and I decided to take the kids down to White Rock.  Looking back on the day, I have fond memories.  If you asked me about it on Tuesday.  I probably would have a different story.  

First I printed out a map from google for the directions.  Not exactly the way I knew but I wasn't exactly sure about how to get there the way I knew, so better safe then sorry, I followed the map.  Bad Idea!  It got me lost.  I stopped at two gas stations, and used my own knowledge of the area and we finally got there!  A little late, but there none the less.  When we got there it was almost lunch time.  We parked at the bottom and walked our way up the hill to find lunch.  This was done on purpose, so we could stop in the shops on the way up.  Angela was looking for a Canadian shirt and it seemed like the perfect place to look, for something a little more unique than the malls.  She found something a couple stores into the search, and then we were on the way to find lunch.  All the while Drew was having trouble listening, but enjoying himself at the same time!  

For lunch, I really wanted to find a Fish-and-Chips place to let Angela try it out.  She had never had them like that, and enjoyed it.  So I am glad that we were able to make this trip/adventure.  After lunch we walked back down the hill on the other side, beside the water.  We walked the pier, but Drew and I stopped half ways to have some time to focus in on our listening and regroup.  When Angela and the twins rejoined us, we kept heading to the van, stopping at the museum/tourist stop for a map.  (Just in case I needed it on the way home, I wanted to be prepared!)  Back at the van, we grabbed our beach stuff and headed over the tracks with our two buggies.  For some reason Drew has wanted to be back in the strollers.  I guess it looks like so much fun for the twins!  Playing on the beach started out well.  Then Drew decided he didn't like walking on the beach, and just wanted to stay on the blanket.  I tried explaining that there were shells and rocks and beach stuff to watch out for, or that he could wear his sandals, but he didn't want to listen to it.  Maybe next time he'll be in a better head space and have more fun.  Then I went to go put more money in the parking.  When I left everything was fine.  Little did I know, Ethan figured out that I was gone and basically cried the whole time.  If I would've known, I would have taken him along!  He was just playing so nicely.  Then everyone started crying and we decided it was time to get going home.  It took us a while, with all the heavy and wet towels and blanket, changing the kids, hauling everything over the rocks and a hill, Angela cut her toe on a rock.  But finally we were on our way home.  After less then 5 minutes of driving, the twins were both asleep.  Aah!  I took 0 Ave. all the way home, and everything went fine.  By the time we got to Abbotsford, Drew was asleep too.  Once in Abbotsford, we drove a little extra, just to give them a little longer nap.  Home at last! :)

Staying on the blanket!

"Say Cheese!"

It's actually a smile!

                                                             Dirty, but having fun!

Now you may think our day was done.  But it wasn't!  We had about an hour to regroup and then we were off to have supper at Oma and Opa's.  Mmmm!  Oma had made vereneki!  IT was so good!  Even better for me because I took a day off from my month long cleanse.  (More about that later)  The twins were given Pea Soup!!!  I don't know what my Mom was thinking?  As soon as they saw what we were having, thats all they wanted.  No Pea Soup, even if it was good!  They ate and ate, we all did!  And when they were done with fruit vereneki and farmer sausage, Opa brought out a big bowl of cut up stawberries, and another one of watermelon!  My kids love fruit!  So they were in heaven!  Sophia just kept on stuffing her mouth!

Aah!  That was good!  :)

See my tummy!

At the end of dinner, their tummies were totally full!  And they were covered with berry juice.  They looked like they had been in the berry fields for hours!  We put Sophia and Ethan straight into Oma's tub!  We got them cleaned and it was home to bed!  What a day!  Fun in the sun . . . and  at Oma's!

Hope your week has been good!

Blessings, 

Love Andrea

A Small Hand Offering a Piece of "Garbage"

Often Ethan brings me small pieces of Garbage to show me.  I open the cupboard door to the garbage can and he puts it in there.  Usually it is a piece of dust or fuzz.  

Last Sunday, in the  morning before Church, Ethan held out his almost closed hand to me.  Thinking nothing of it, I went to open the cupboard door, when I glanced back at his hand.  I did a double take when I noticed his piece of "garbage" was a wasp.  An alive wasp!  It was not dead!  Not wanting to have the wasp sting his clinching fist, I tried to get Ethan to drop the wasp.  He didn't get it, he didn't want to drop his garbage!  In the end he did drop it, but the wasp stung him on his thumb anyway.  The wasp also left the stinger behind, in Ethan's little thumb.  He cried and I got the stinger out.  He cried for about a half hour, but then seemed to be pretty good.  During his crying he kept wanting me to kiss his owie.  I'd kiss it and then he'd be fine for about thirty seconds and then he'd feel the pain again and want another kiss!  So cute!  At Church we wasn't really himself but who could blame him!  We're all better now though!

And then yesterday was shot day!  And I totally forgot.  All of a sudden I got a call, and it was our health nurse reminding me of our missed appointment.  Oops!  It is great that she is a lovely women from our Church and is very friendly and forgiving.  She was ready to call it off if I needed that, but I thought that I should just go ahead and get them over with.  Mark was on evening shift so we got the twins ready and headed over to the Health Unit.  I had just dropped Drew off at Preschool, the last of the year except for his year end celebration!  Wanting a nap, but got shots instead!  Ethan was first and did pretty good.  They each needed two shots and he only cried at the second one.  Then I gave him his sippy cup and he was okay.  Until it was Sophia's turn.  He didn't like it that someone was hurting Sophia.  Such a sweetie.  But the good thing is that we are done having shots until kindergarten!  Yeah!

Hope you all have a great day!

Love Andrea

Posting Videos? QuickTime?

Still trying to post the video I made.  I got it switched to QuickTime and still can't get it to work.  If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know.

Sophia's Sore

Sophia with stitches and polysporin.  The doctor told us to put this one to aid with healing, help keep it clean, protected and infection free.  She did amazing at letting us put it on her, and not touching it herself!

The stitches are out!

     Healing and look'n pretty good!  What a cutie!

A Very Very hard week! . . . About three weeks ago

Sorry this has taken me so long to get on my blog.  I have been working on it since it happened, about 21 days ago, but was too tired (and stressed) to do much at a time.  The last few days I've had more energy, so I thought it would be a good time to complete it and send it out.  :)

Sunday, May 25th, actually started out really well.  I attended a Bridal and Baby shower from our Church, and was asked to say something about being a mother.  It was fun.  I talked about my kids and then showed a dvd that I had put together from pictures and music.  The pictures were of our journey from being married to having three kids.  I have had a lot of people come up to me saying how they liked my talk.  I wanted to post the movie here but haven't figured out how yet because I did it in imovie.  Mark thinks he knows what to do, so when we have time, I'll try again!

Monday things went down hill.  Mom had taken the kids to the park, with Angela and my Gramma (who is visiting from Saskatchewan).  It was nice that I could do some clean up without it being undone right aways.  At arouund 11am Mom rushed into the house with Sophia.  She had fallen on the slide and had a gash in her head on the top of her nose, between her eyes.  We took her to s clinic but the doctor said that it was quite deep and she needed stiches.  He put a band-aid over top, but she just started ripping it off.  I had to hold her hands.  She actually did amazing throught the whole thing.  Didn't even cry that much.  I'm sure I cried more through this week than she has.  We were in the ER for six hours with her.  Mom drove because I was not in the right frame of mind.  They ended up having to put Sophia to sleep in order to work on her wound, she just would not hold still and then got so mad at being held down.  She was given sleeping meds in juice.  But it didn't really work, so they tried again.  The second time she got heavy, but acted more drunk that sleepy!  So they had to put in an IV to knock her out (by this time she was sleepy enough that they could put an IV in her), and then they decided to glue it shut, with something stronger then crazy glue.  It was traumatic, but we were done and okay.  We were home around 6 pm.  I hated seeing such a hole in her head.  And glad that I didn't have to look at it any more.  It actually made me queasy to look at.

Tuesday, we were playing out in the back yard, and Sophia being a clumsy almost two year old, she fell and opened it up again.  I quickly took her to another clinic were she was sent to the ER again.  The clinic doctor didn't want to stitch it up because of how active Sophia was and that she didn't really let her touch it much. Before this doctor sent us to the ER she tried to put a bandage over it.  I said I didn't want it, because we tried that the previous day and she just tried to pick it off and I was afraid of her making the wound bigger and worse.  She wouldn't listen.  I tried to explain that I was all by myself and could stop her from taking it off and drive at the same time, but she didn't seem to care.  Finally I just had to walk out.  Now thinking back on things, I should have asked her to come with me.  I realize she didn't want it to get infected in the 5 minutes it took to get to the hospital, but I really felt like I didn't have a choice.

Enough about that!  When we got to the hospital we had to wait along time again.  This time there was a women who came in with Fiber Myalgia, who was in excruciating pain.  It seems to go through cycles and when it got it's worst she would moan and scream and swear.  I felt terrible for her and sorry for her husband, who didn't seem to know what to do, knowing there was really nothing he could do.  It is really terrible how long you have to wait in emergency.  I hope that it gets better at the new hospital!  After a little while we met with one of the doctor would would be "our doctor" for the duration of our visit.  He informed us that Sophia's wound had been open for too long, even though it had been closed in-between, and didn't know if he would be able to close it due to possible infection!  What!!!  What would we do with a clumsy one-and-a-half-year-old and an open would on her head until it healed?  Then after it was healed a plastic surgeon would go back in, clean everything out and stitch her back up again.  Crazy.  So he called the plastic Surgeon who was on called, and we waited.  Found out there was no one on call.  Then he called the plastic Surgeon department at the Vancouver Children's Hospital.  More waiting.  I was wondering for a bit if they would send us out to the Children's Hospital.  Finally we got word back that we could go ahead with the stitches and every thing should be fine.  Then we waited again, for the actual procedure to happen.  Once again she had to be put under.  This time she handled the IV like a pro.  I'm thinking that it was mostly due to the fact that she was hours past her bed time.  The meds they gave her to fall "asleep"  work really fast and it is almost eery how fast your child can go from crying to unconscious.  They call it "conscious sedation".  I had to leave for the actual procedure and they highly encouraged Mark to do the same.  This doctor applied to sleeping meds differently.  The first doctor put them in gently, and then she came out gently as if she was just waking up from a nap.  Nice :)  The second doctor put the meds in fast and then she woke up fast, moving and wiggling in my arms for a few minutes until it all calmed down.  It was a little hard to hold on to her at times, but apparently it's safer.  So I'm all for that.  The first doctor didn't seem worried at all about putting her to "sleep", but I really liked her, very friendly.  The second doctor gave us probably too much to be scared of.  Not that it would happen, or has, but she could stop breathing for a tiny bit and need help. Yikes!  I am SO glad that nothing went wrong and she came out A-Okay!  Thank goodness that is done, again!

We got home just after midnight, meaning we were in the hospital for another 6 hours.  We gave her a quick snack/supper, as she wasn't allowed to eat in the hospital, and sent her to bed.  The next couple days I was so scared that she would open it up again.  It is hard protecting a toddler from themself.  The next days were also hard in the way that Ethan had missed me and just want to be held . . . by me .  As well as Drew feeling terrified for Sophia and constantly in a state of worry.  He was acting like he had been traumatized himself.  He reverted in many ways and are still working on getting him back to "normal".  Sophia is such a trooper.  I think she handled this whole situation the best of everyone :) !  Drew seems to be a very sensitive person.  Not in the ways you may think of when you hear the word sensitive, but is really affected by the small things (okay this was big for us, but other times aren't ) and even more affected by the big things.  I wish there was a trick to help him out of this to better behaviour, but there isn't.  It takes time.  During the two weeks following this situation he often told me he was sad or mad or frustrated but didn't know why.  I was starting to worry that he was getting depressed, but can see him pulling out slowly.  Some days are good and some aren't so good, but all in all I think they are getting better.  Here's to seeing the light again . . . 

A week and a half ago we went to get her stitches out.  She and the doctor did amazingly well.  I told him of her time in the hospital and having to be put under.  He thanked me.  At first jokingly, but then serious, so he knew what he was working with.  And he did a great job, complete with making funny sounds to distract Sophia.  And she did great too!  Didn't cry once!  She is healing up really well.  Thank you, God!

Well, I better end this now as it's already very long.  I hope that you all have a great day, and I'll have to catch up on other things later.  Goodnight!  

Love Andrea

PS - Sophia has just learn't how to climb out of her crib!  OH  OH!

More Pics From Our Weekend Away

Our little Getaway 2008 con't . . .

Sorry, the pictures are in the wrong order.  Hope you enjoy them anyways!




By the time we got to our B&B we were both kind of tired so decided to veg out for awhile.  It took us a little while to decide on dinner plans.  There are so many restaurants to choose from.  We finally decided on the Granville Island Keg.  (On the ways we stopped at Chapters.)  We decided to treat ourselves.  It was great.  When we got to the restaurant we were told it would take 30 to 40 minutes to be seated.  It took five!  We were so happy about that.  Mark had the blue cheese steak wrapped in bacon and loved it!  I chose the ribs and chicken. Very good!  After dinner we decided to go back to the B&B.  We watched a movie that we had just bought at Chapters on sale.  It was so nice just to relax and not worry about kids coming out of bed.

The next morning we had an amazing breakfast.  it was supposed to be at 8:30am, but they let us sleep in.  Aaah.  To start we got home-made  granola, yogurt, fresh fruit, organic orange juice, and tea/coffee.  Then she brought out croissants.  Next Lindsey served us the main dish,  a wonderful frittata.  Let's just say that we weren't that hungry for lunch!    Unfortunately it was then time time pack up.  We had to be out of there by eleven.  Why is check in always so late and check out so early!  Oh well!  

For lunch we were meeting Debbie and Steve at a quaint Sushi restaurant, The Eatery,  that Debbie wanted to show Mark.  When we got there, the sign said they opened at 12:30pm and Debbie had to work early in the afternoon.  So we decided to do something simple, a cafe that had great cinnamon buns.  Mmmm!  So good.  

As Debbie left for work, the three of us decided to grab our books and head to the beach.  It was perfect weather, warm but not too hot.  I actually got more than a couple pages read, and collected some rocks and shells to take back to Drew.  He loves that kind of thing!  Around three, Steve decided to take off, and we followed suit a little later.  We decided to head back to Abbotsford, we had plans to do a wiener roast for supper.  Barrie had invited us to his place.  On our ways through Vancouver we drove by a Drexal Games.  "Hey there's Debbie's game store",  I said.  So we stopped in for a look.  The funny thing was that Debbie had asked me if I wanted to know how to get there to check it out.  But I said no because I usually play games with her, not Mark.  He wouldn't play games with me any way.  And I'd just play what she had.  I ended up buying two games.  One for Drew, called "Hiss".  It is very cute, matching colors to make a snake.  He loves it although it does require his patience.  he's getting better though.  And a game for Debbie for her birthday.  I can say that because she doesn't read my blog often, but I won't tell you the game, just in case!

Then we were off to the wiener roast.  So good!  It was great to see some of my cousins again too!  One of my cousins in Regina right now taking RCMP training.  It is hardcore!  He just happened to call his wife while we were all there.  It was great to chat and hear from him.  It was fun, to be around the fire , in the outdoors, visiting cousins and checking out the animals near by.  It's great to visit the country.  One day maybe we'll be able to live there!  

What a wonderful weekend!  Two words, if you missed them, as I probably repeated them over and over.  Great.  Relaxin'.  It seemed like we did a lot but each thing seemed very laid back.  :)  It could just be what the doctor ordered.  Okay that's a little different, but I'll have to fill you in about Daniel Wong another day!

Now I'll leave you with some pics!  Have a great day!

Love Andrea

It's been Awhile . . . again!

I can't believe that it been so long since my last post.  But since it's getting late and I'm just starting to write, I think that I'll have to save some for the next time.  Tomorrow, if I remember!  First of all Mark and I were very lucky to have a small getaway this last weekend.  Thanks Mom and Dad!  :)  We were gone for two days and one night, but on the end of the second day we were allowed to stay out past the kids bed time, and they slept through the night which made it almost feel like two nights away. Yeah!

We stayed in Vancouver at a B&B called A Harbourview Retreat.  www.aharbourviewretreat.com  It was beautiful. We were only allowed to check in to our room at 4pm so we had lots of time, as we left our house around 11am.  First we made our way into Vancouver and had lunch at the Red Burrito.  Then we headed out to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge.  I really enjoyed that!  It was a wonderful walk and we didn't even go far.  After the bridge and a little ways down the path, we found a spot on the rocks by the stream flowing by.  It was nice to dip our feet in the freezing water since it was so hot outside.  It was also great just to relax and talk with each other and not be watching out for the kids.  We would never have made it out to the rocks with the kids!  At the same time that all of this felt wonderful, in an odd way I missed the kids and watched out for them.  That I didn't always have to be looking over my shoulder to see if everyone was there and if someone was getting into trouble.  After relaxing for a while, and drying my feet off enough to put my shoes and socks back on, we headed out to find our way to our B&B, stopping along the way for some window shopping.  And gelato for Mark!  

Well, this is taking me longer then I'd like so I'll have to finish up tomorrow!  Have a great sleep, and See you later . . . more to come . . . pictures . . .

Love Andrea 

The last couple of days I haven't been feeling well again.  Not as much pressure/ cramping as last month, just a sickly feeling, nauseated, light-headed, weakness, headache, really tired.   It's a little odd how it comes and go.  I went to a talk about hormones yesterday with my Mom.  It was quite interesting and very informative.  Hormones are very important and affect pretty much everything in our body.  By what the guy was saying yesterday, Daniel Wong, I have too much estrogen in my body, and my PH level is too acidic.  There is a hormone test that you can buy and then send to a lab for results.  It's kinda expensive but if this is the key to helping me feel better, then maybe I should just go for it.  I can also make an appointment to see Daniel Wong, where he might be able to explain things to me about what is going on in my body.  He also does a toxin cleansing.  He showed pictures of one guy who did it, and through the cleansing, lost a considerable amount of his tummy gut.  Amazing.  And in only 30 days.  Daniel Wong is not a doctor though, he's a pharmacist, that has been studying this for the last 25 years and has been helping people the last 10 to 15 years.  I'm a little nervous going to him, I guess because he is not a doctor, but if he can help me, that would be a good thing.  Please pray about my decision.

On another doctor related note, my doctor has Parkinson's.  He's had it for a few years already, but this week he has gone into surgery to put some kind of leads into his brain.  I don't know much about the surgery, but that he is gone for 2 months to have it done and recover.  So if you could remember him in your prayers that would be great.  He is a good doctor, and now I am having to go to his replacement.  I'm going to meet her next week.  It's too bad that in the middle of all my problems, he won't be there, but it could be a good thing to get to talk to a women doctor.  So we will see how this all goes again.  Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Love Andrea

Hi All

Just wanted to let you all know how our last week has gone.  I was lucky enough to get out a couple times this week which I think is really good for me.  

On Saturday night, my sister and I went to a girls night with some ladies from our church.  Thanks Heather for lending us your wonderful place.  It was a chocolate fondue.  Very good!  And it was nice connecting with some ladies from church as well. 

 Earlier some cousins came over and we had a good time playing a game and then enjoyed a Greek/German feast together.  It was delicious.  Sorry no pics this time. 

Then today it was Church, and we all made it again!  WOW!  Two weeks in a row.  After Church we had some McDonalds before putting the twins down for their nap and then Debbie, Angela, my Mom and I headed over to my cousin, Shari's baby shower.  It was great to see everyone and of course to hold little Sarah again.  She's so precious, sweet and still so innocent.  Makes me wish we could have another one.   Although, we are still working on sleep issues with the twins!  And in that regard, we held out and stayed strong last week with Sophia's crying and after crying for 2 and a half ours with periods of quietness in between, she finally fell asleep.  That was the worst night and it has getting better.  Hopefully there are more sleep-filled nights coming our way!  

As for my medical issues of last month. . . they seemed to clear up a couple days before my period.  I was excited to have more energy and feel better all around.  Last week as my period was dwindling down (sorry if there is too much info here)  I started feeling sick again, but didn't feel the pressure and cramping, for two days during the last week.  I'm feeling okay now, not quite normal, but better, so hopefully it's still going away.  If I feel sick again this week, I'll be going back to the doctor.  Please pray that God would heal me completely and this won't be necessary.  

Hope you all have a great week!  

Love Andrea

Another Answer to Prayer . . .

Thanks for all the prayers.  Just wanted to update you all that during the last couple of days I have been feeling a lot better.  I'm still waiting for my next cycle to be over before I consider this all behind me, but am enjoying not being so sick.  I thank God for that!  

As well we have had another answer to prayer this evening.  Mark's work had a strike vote last week.  The  results were 98% in favour.  Then we were given the heads up that a strike would be happening if an agreement was not met by Sunday afternoon.  Well, Sunday afternoon has come and gone, and they have a plan, so the strike is averted.  Yeah!  Thanks God.  And thanks to those of you who knew about it and prayed.  Sorry that I didn't mention it in my earlier posts.

This weekend seemed to be good and busy.  On Saturday morning we had no plans.  Late Saturday morning we found ourselves involved in the project my parents had started: power raking and then raking both of our yards.  It was a lot of work, but not so bad with everyone helping out.  My cousin Tim, who was out for the day from Vancouver even got "Raked " in!  We had a quick lunch of pizza, thanks Steve!  And then back to work.  We were actually finished by the late afternoon.  It was quite a work out and I'm sure my  laterals are already thanking me.  

Today we all made it to Church! :) And then I left soon as possible with my cousin Tim to go visit a client I used to work with who now has an aggressive form of stomach cancer.  It was actually a nice visit, and she still looks pretty good, obviously not at the end stages of the cancer yet.  They were actually late for our visit, so Tim and I quickly went out to get some Wendy's for lunch, late lunch.    After we got home Tim stayed for a game of 'Ticket to Ride', with Debbie, Angela and myself.  I won!  Yeah!  We have really been enjoying that game lately.  Later Mark's parents came by for a nice visit .  We convened outside and enjoyed the park and trampoline.  My kids love the outdoors!  After supper, my amazing wonderful husband let me go out to a movie with Debbie, Steve, and Angela.  AND he put the kids to bed by himself!  WOW!  I am so lucky!  We saw "Run, Fat Boy, Run".  It was funny.  A good laugh.

When we got home, had to say goodbye to Debbie, and then Angela and I played "ticket to Ride' and I won again.  Talk about a good ending to the weekend!  Now if Sophia would just go back to sleep . . . we are trying to let her crying it out.  11 pm is way to early to give her another bottle of milk.  Lets see who wins . . . right now it's a toss up!!  

Hope you all have a good week!

Love Andrea

One Step Back

Well, today was my ultrasound.  I was quite nervous the hours leading up to it, so I tried not to think about it.  Although thoughts did sneak in once in awhile.  It was a little odd having an ultrasound and not being pregnant.  But all things considered it actually went really smoothly and took hardly any time at all.  I got to the hospital just after 2:30 pm.  Went in to register, grabbed my number, my number was called.  Registered, then was instructed to go to Radiology,  and then was issued to the Ultrasound waiting area immediately.  I only waited there for a very short time, maybe two minutes, when the technician came to get me.  She was very friendly and chatted with me about the ultrasound.  Apparently, I have happy ovaries!!  Which is good, as she told me.  At the end she said that everything looked good but she would just run it by the radiologist and then if he thought it was good, I was good to go.  I went to the bathroom and then waited another couple of minutes, when she appeared again and sent me home with a clean bill of health, according to what she saw.

So now, I'm left with that.  I am happy that there is nothing wrong with the organs that she looked at.  But a little disappointed that there is no known cure yet.  Are we back to square one?  Not entirely.  I know it is not an ovarian cyst!  Although she did say that I could have had a cyst that burst that is now gone.  In that case I should be feeling better really soon!  Here's hoping!  She also said that there are many other organs that an ultrasound cannot see through.  If this continues, I'm back to the doctor.  Maybe it's just a strange flu.  I hear those have been going around.

But I don't have an ovarian cyst!  Yeah!  Praise God!

Love Andrea