an update on kaycee.

just got off the phone with kaycee's dupont doctor...she has reviewed the bloodwork and is pleased with it for the most part. the blood work results have ruled out 3 of her top 4 guesses. yay. she does have a significant vitamin D deficiency, so i am starting supplements immediately. at this point we are still doing the MRI, on wed. 5/2,  in hopes that it will show nothing...which will mean there could have been some sort of infection that she is getting over, (which doesn't seem likely to me?) or the pain is solely from her vitamin D deficiency. Praise the Lord...these are all good things to hear! thanks to all of you who are praying for her and our family...

(verse graphic credit: joyshope)

kisses from katie.

wow. cannot wait to read this book.

watch out mom, i might want to adopt 10 more kids.

eeeeekkkkk. :)

and her blog: http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/.

update on kaycee.

we had our first appointment at dupont today. blood work was ordered...and we fit it in today, actually.  an MRI is scheduled for 5/2...i am told it is like a donut, and that kaycee can listen to music, but should stay very still for one hour. i am wondering if i should get her sedated? what do you think? of course they highly recommend it, but i did speak to a very  nice nurse on the phone, and asked her if she would have her 7 year old sedated for an mri, and she was very honest. love that. she said her son would have been fine, but her daughter would have had to be sedated...i hate the thought of sedating kaycee because i ~think~ she will do fine, if she is not in an enclosed tube...i hear such yucky stories when they wake up, but if it is traumatic with out sedation, than i don't know which is worse, ya know...ugh. we then have another follow-up appointment on 5/14. i loved our skinny little blond curly haired doctor. my most favorite part of the day, was when she was examining kaycee, and asked her how many brothers and sisters she had...kaycee responded, and the doctor looked up at me and said, "and they all came...(silence) from you?" ha.ha.ha. i cracked up. "wow. that's awesome", the doctor said. "you are so calm and wow. just so calm." to which i responded, "well, yeah...i only have one with me right now." and then she cracked up. :) she has one baby, who is 15 months old.

her top four guesses are these: a) legg calve perthes disease (this is when there is not enough blood supply to the head of the femur, so it becomes necrotic and dies...i understand it will regenerate, but is a process. she prefers to see in children under 6... :(  )   b) transient synovitis c) lymes d) rheumatologic process. (possibly juvenile rheumatoid arthritis...though this does not run in our family).  now you know what i know...i need to google everything now. :)

thank you for your prayers. keep them coming. i felt very calm and at peace until i drove into the facility today, and saw cancer treatment center written on the outside of the building. my belly did flops for a minute or two...just happened to be the office building that housed the orthapedic center we went too. whew.

 i must say that is actually why i am being so "attack" in getting this figured out. i have heard too many stories of aches and pains in little kids that turn into finding cancer. i know some are thinking we are rediculous for going this route of treatment. at this point. i need to know what is going on. i don't want to fool around. and if we do all this and it is a sprain, then so be it. it is money well spent in my "motherly" opinion.

i know full well how blessed we are, and have been, and sitting in the waiting room today, just solidified that. thank you again for all of your prayers. i can feel them. and keep praying for kaycee. i think she is doing well, but we talked awhile tonight before bed about the mri, and what that entails...she is so sensitive, and got a little bit teary. partly because her test isn't until 3:30 in the afternoon and she can't eat anything after 6 am. oh my. she's just like her mother. :)   ~mk.

where i belong.

a friend e-mailed me that she is listening to this song a lot lately...and now i love it too. trusting in the Lord's plan...even when things get hard. what an encouraging song on the hard days...  you will have to "pause" the music at the bottom of the page before you listen to this.  ~mk.

~kaycee agnes~

just got home from a visit to the doctor with kaycee, who is 7 years old. she has been having hip pain for 3 or 4 weeks, and i kept telling her it was probably just growing pains, and she would forget about it for a couple days, and then complain again. the last 2 days, it seems it has gotton worse, and she now gets tearful, and is limping, and not walking normally. (and an fyi: if it would be growth pains, they happen in the middle of bones...not in the joints...i thought that interesting, and never knew that before...i think moms should file this away in their heads. :) )

our doctor is concerned and sending us to A.I. Dupont Orthapedic Center thursday for testing. we need to get some x-rays before that... i did ask if we could wait it out another week, and he was adament about getting it checked out this week.  he seemed most concerned because her pain is coming from the area of her growth plate...and had a name for what it could be, but it is long, and i have no idea what it is anymore? :) there were some other things he mentioned...if they don't find anything, which would mean taking blood and testing, etc.

bottom line: would love for you to pray for wisdom for the doctors. would love if they could get a clear x-ray and would be able to see clearly if this is what we are dealing with...it could also just be a sprain from jumping on the trampoline, but he was conerned about the area she is complaining about, so...your prayers would be much appreciated. my hope...of course is that it is just a sprain. she is home today, and i am supposed to keep advil in her all day long, until we know what's wrong, so...that's what we'll do. no recess or activity until we know what's wrong. thank you. :)

the weekend.

it felt like a whirlwind of a weekend. a fun one. but very full. an out-of-town friend came in for another friend's baby shower, and so jane and her family stopped by to visit the farm on friday afternoon, as i was mulching. :) so thankful for the break...as my mulch is still piled high in the driveway. :)

jane has been a great friend since little, and it's always fun to catch up with her. there is still something fun about people...we usually converse thru text or e-mail, so real life is fun. she has a different perspective on life than i, as she is wife to a working man, who travels a lot, and mother to two littles, and now lives in "suburbia" as she calls it, but would prefer to live in the city. :) so  i ~always~ laugh when she comes to visit "the farm" and has all these questions about "things"...just a different perspective, that i guess i never think about, since all i have known most of my life is farming...not that i DO any of it, but living here, you just sort of acquire a knowledge base i guess?  :)  my family will crack up at this...and you must know that i have never milked a cow, and i grew up on a dairy farm. but i did get "class farmer" my senior year...one would wonder how i pulled that off? hmmm? i am not even sure? i have a knowledge base of chickens now, and help out on occassion, but by no means, would consider myself a hard working farm woman. :)

anyway, here are some pictures of my weekend that jane's husband, brad, captured..

love that we haven't taken down the christmas star...i think it might as well stay up until next december...what do you think?

calli was walking to the baseball field with henry, jane's almost 2 year old.

jane's daughter, violet, 4, with kaycee and kaden in the background, watching a baseball game. they thought it pretty cool, we have a baseball field in our front yard, and kept reminding me that we are living out the movie field of dreams. kinda funny. kaden is often perched on the fence, watching a game...it is quickly becoming a punishment for him not to be able to do this so frequently. :)

here are some of my bestest high school friends...from left to right: jessica (althouse) prokay, sarah morrissey (who is married to jason ralston, and expecting their first baby...she is one of the ~cutest~ tiniest pregant girls...i always am  so jealous of...the shower in honor of her, obviously), jane (bailey) kohlenstein...my suburbia friend i spoke of earlier. :)

was so much fun being at the shower. first of all, just walking in the house, was a total hoot...all these memories of being there from 7th grade on up? it was funny.  i laughed a lot that day. and we haven't had a picture together since matt and i were living in the trailer, and i was pregnant with kaden. eeeekkkk. he will be nine this summer...if i could find that picture i would post it also...or maybe not?  :)

also took in a few yard sales sat. morning, and spent sat. afternoon at our first baseball event in our front yard. it will be totally party central around here in a couple years, when kaden calls that field his home field...will be lots of fun, and always kids here, i am imagining. :) and then chilled with a few more friends who popped in that night...

life is good. i am blessed. happy week ahead. wish my garden was planted to soak in all this rain. oh well.

disappointed.

so...last night an all day/everyday kindergarten program was passed for our school district. i was hoping to not have to deal with full day kindergarten just yet, and am very, very disappointed. i cringe thinking about it. i know it's more convenient for everyone. i know. i know it's a relief for all the full time working families out there, many less headaches, i get that. but i am still disappointed.

our kids grow up too fast. way too fast. and i just feel like we push them, harder, faster, to know more at younger ages all the time. when will it stop? did we pass this because it's convenient for schedules? or did we pass this because it's "best" for our children? to save money, to spend money?  i wonder. i know it would be hard being a teacher, and having the pressures  they deal with, trying to teach our children everything they need to know, in half the time. and i know the mandates continue to get more and more, higher and higher. i get that too. i am just sad that campbell will have to sit in school for 7 hours. 7 hours. when she could be home with her mom and sisters, after 3 hours of school,  playing. napping. fighting. :) running errands, if she had been old enough to go this year. ugh.

thanks for listening to my grievances. at this point, i am thinking about other options. i am praying about other options. all the while kindergarten registration starts tonight. eeeekkkk. :) ~mk.

a thrilling find. and a heavy heart.

what an unusually great week.

when i say that, i am meaning that i got to go to "the bins" twice in a few days.

yay.me.

the first visit was to the Lancaster goodwill bins.on monday.

(...my brother and his wife, took 4 of my 5 kids on an un-expected overnight from our

family easter dinner. you say what? i know, right?)

so while i should have been home cleaning up a house where nothing was in order.

seriously. i ran to the bins instead,

for no other reason than i only had one child in tow. :)

if you have never been there, i will say, it's not for the faint of heart.

you dig thru big, waist level, "bins" more or less, of clothes, etc. in hopes of finding a delight.

for $0.85/piece.

i did find some delights.

my super find there, was a i will call it a "sunday coat" for me...

it's a knee length black and white tweed coat.

it rocks. for $2.

(some things are more than $0.85...like coats. :)  )

but. i did not take a picture. yet. :)

my more impressive find was these curtains.

i went to the east earl bins yesterday, kind of by accident.

campbell was at preschool, and i had to run to flower and craft warehouse, and well,

calli and karolina and i had some extra time to "fill" so where else do we find ourselves?

we should have been visiting my grandparents, and/or grandmother, but no.

the bins.

some other nice things found.

 as i was getting ready to leave, this fabric caught my eye.

this is one of my most favorite fabrics ever. it just is.

2 of my  most favorite decorating colors, together, and it has roosters and peeps on it.

what in the world could be more fitting for my home on our chicken farm?

maybe.nadda. :)

my flooring has been done in my expanded kitchen for a month now,

and i just couldn't hang a curtain...

i just didn't know quite what i wanted.

now i know.

2 heavy, lined, beautiful panels for $6.50.

have you priced curtains lately?

i am seriously tickled.

and now my curtains match in both windows in my expanded kitchen.
yay.yay.yay.
(now if only i could do something about that huge.ugly.gray radiator???)



*********************

and now moving on to the heavy heart part of my post.

it is looking like my cousin has a cancerous tumor in his stomach.

what a blow.

33 year old husband, father, pastor, son, friend.

just.like.that.

ugh. a lump to swallow.

tears to shed.

prayers to say.

for jeremy, sabrina, and their 3 small children.

thank you.

sabrina's blog is: http://www.js417.blogspot.com/

and a 2 year old little girl drowned in a 16 gallon tub of water on her family farm

just nights ago.
we all do it. we run inside for "just a minute".
we run upstairs. we turn around and. ugh.

the daughter of a well known family in our area.

heart.break.

her mom is pregnant with child number 8. can you imagine?

grief.

sadness.

disbelief.

horror.

all reminders to me that my days here are numbered.

to live my days carefully.

intentionally.

prayerfully.

lovingly.

easter. 2012.

 

take one.

take two.

take three.

SERIOUSLY...the bad pictures were all because of me. EVERY TIME.

i know i had to get in place after running back from pressing the timer button,

but REALLY...seriously??

how many easter eggs do you think you hide for 17 grandchildren?

i don't know either.

it was a lot. :)

raeann thought so too. :)

*happy ~special~ Easter weekend*

karolina grace sucking on her first easter egg.

wasn't sure how egg dying would work this year. but it was fine.

each kid got their own hard boiled dozen, and off they went.

this is what karolina did when the others were dying eggs.

she was talking to millie right thru the glass...she got so excited. :) karolina that is. ha.ha.

2 dozen of our masteripieces.

 

the kids seemed to have a huge long vacation this year...

due to NOT one snow day. that is a first that i can ever remember...and i also went to octorara. :)

our neighbors, jeff and rhonda stoltzfus, hosted a kick ball party one afternoon.

it turned into a very creative egg hunt as well.

and basketball shooting as well.

look at the variety of neighborhood kids. isn't it fun?

i love that we can walk and play with the neighbors. and we all love Jesus.

well. that's just bonus, i mean. :)

 

the acquarium

and last thursday i got to go on a field trip with kaden's class to the acquarium, in camden, n.j.

i was kept busy chasing after kaden, and 3 boys from his class.

luckily the acquarium is pretty small, and all they really wanted to keep doing was going

back to 'pet' the stingrays and sharks. :)

we ended up hanging out with andrew ( a good friend of kaden's, whose mom was also chaperoning)

a good chunk of the day.

we go to church with them...and while they are such good friends, kaden and andrew have never been in the

same class...which we now know is a disguised blessing. :)

they are in the same "pod" this year though, so they do get to  play together at recess,

which has been nice.

( i had cale- left end, kaden- white sweatshirt, and josh and matt who are the 2 on the right end). :)

this fish wanted to eat us. i am sure of it.



we did get to see the penguins get fed.

that was fun.

penguins live where it is warm, not cold, a common misconception.

and...they eat 20% of their body weight, in "restaurant quality" fish and squid,

every day...that is a lot of food in a day!

kaden took most of these pictures. he was thrilled. :)

we were 45 minutes late coming home.

there had been a fatal accident on 95 on our way there,

so 4 busses had to "cut thru" down town Philly to get home in time.

now. that was the confirmation i needed.

why i am not a a) teacher, and b) bus driver became very apparent. :)

it was nice to get home at 3:45 p.m. after leaving at 1:40 p.m.

jesus loves me.

(please press pause on "my music" at the bottom of the blog to listen to this.)

calli ann.

3 years old.

i was folding laundry in the other room

and decided it was too priceless to just listen too,

so i grabbed the camera.

she was coloring and singing while the other kids played outside.

*** this is for in another 10-15 years

when she does question whether Jesus really does love her,

and when i question our parenting...  :) ***



the zoo.

a couple weeks ago the kids had a half day of school...

all week long.

so...i packed them up one afternoon and we headed to the zoo.



this was the first time we actually visited the children's zoo.

i usually figure since we live on a farm, we stick to the animals we don't see everyday...

but a lot of the animals were "resting" or bathing or something. :)

calli got yelled at because she petted the farret. she almost cried.

ha.ha.ha.

can take the kids off the farm, but can't take the farm outta the kids, eigh.

happy day.

our first day of Easter break, out of 6.

so far i have had 3 kids crying in the first 20 minutes of my day.

should be a fun one by the sound of things.

party on.

morning with daddy.


i got to run into kaycee's 1st grade class yesterday morning to help with some Easter crafts.
campbell and the girls got to have some extra special time with daddy. :)

i was supposed to go to kaden's 2nd grade class this afternoon,
and matt wondered why i always get to go in.
so...off he went.
the girls and i stayed here, and matt got to spend some time in the classroom
with some other mommies.  i think he even had fun, and of course, kaden was overjoyed. :)