Nothing spectacular to write about. Well, there is really nothing spectacular in my blog. I am PMS'ing and waiting for my period to arrive.

I ordered a fanny pack for my three day walk. I got it cheaper than the price listed though. I paid $14.99 WITH shipping. I wanted to start training with it to see if it is going to hurt my back or bother me in some other way. I should also start wearing the lanyard they sent me. I hate things around my neck so I will more than likely clip it somewhere versus wearing it.

Olaf is outside mowing the backyard. This is the first time this season that he has mowed. I have done it three times so far. I like to mow but I don't like emptying that heavy bag when it fills up with clippings. That is the hardest part for me.

I walked a little today. I'd like to go out this evening and walk another 3 miles for a total of 5.5 for the day. I NEED to walk further at one time, but the only day that is possible is on the weekend. I am going to try 6 miles one day this weekend. I volunteered to be a Training Walk Leader for the 3 Day. Basically I scout out a route and put the walk on the website. That's all there is to it. Of course, I have to show up and walk as well.

Now that I have bored y'all stiff...have a great night!

This, that, and the other

My baby boy is now infatuated with Jay Jay the Jet Plane. He still loves Thomas too, but we have two Jay Jay videos that we play over and over. Why oh why do toddlers like to watch the same show again and again? They never get tired of it.

Darren e-mailed me an update on Karen. THey are putting out fire after fire it seems.

I must walk today. Yesterday I didn't do anything. I suppose I could do the FIRM today and call it a cross training day.

My throat still is not 100%. I'm not sure what is going on, but it is more than just an infection. I kind of have a feeling that a tonsillectomy will be coming. And I am not looking forward to that!

I got my new Stampin' Up! catalog today. That is always fun. I need to place a $400 order before the end of July or I won't be active anymore. Hopefully a few people will place some big orders with the new catalog. Also the Horizon of Hope Basket is available in July. That is the Longaberger Breast Cancer Basket. Longaberger donates $2 for each basket sold and this year I am giving 100% of my profit from the sale of that basket to sponsor Dana in her 3-Day Walk.

Here is a picture of Josiah. It's his new thing. He cups his hand behind his ear and says, "Mama, I hear something!" Dig the eybrow!

I'm busy

I'm busy, busy, dreadfully busy
You've no idea what I have to do.
Busy, busy, shockingly busy
Much, much too busy for you. -Veggie Tales in case you think I'm just being rude.

This day is flying by and I feel like I'm just hanging on for the ride. I don't like days like today. I have done laundry, swept and mopped the kitchen floor, prepared breakfast and lunch for four children. It doesn't seem like much but I still feel like I can't quite keep up. I'm chasing the bus and I'm really close to it, just not close enough to jump on.

I hope to get out and walk this evening. It's HOT today and very muggy. There is so much to think about for this 3-Day Walk. Much more than I imagined when I signed up:) I have been reading the message boards of those that just walked it in Kansas City. It's scares me.

I don't have any new news on Karen. Of course, you'll be the first to know if I do.

Have a great Monday...if that is even possible.

It's almost done

It just needs to be stained!

Saturday in the Park

You'd think it was the Fourth of July. (Which it almost is!) It is now legal to have fireworks in GA! Can you believe it? My children will have a blast with the sparklers this year. That's all we're buying.

Olaf and his friend Tim worked on our front entrance today. Our foundation sunk several inches and we had to have Olshan come and literally jack up the entire garage. In order to do that properly they had to jackhammer out a portion of our front steps that lead into our home. Those steps had sunk about 18 inches anyway due to the foundation sinking. Needless to say, if we used the front door at all, that last step into the house was a dooser! Here is a picture of the before:

I don't have an after picture to post yet.

Karen has blood clots in her legs now. They didn't change her chemo though. Her little girl turns four today.

I haven't had a donation on my 3-Day website for a few days now. I guess since I reached my minimum people don't feel as obligated to give. I'd love to raise $5,000 before its all said and done.

I found a new wine I really like. ::GASP!:: Yes, I said wine! It's Sutter Home Moscato. It's a white wine that is very sweet. For all you wine drinkers out there, please tell me your favorite wine in the comment section. I don't know a lot about wine, but I'd like to learn. For all you grape juice drinkers, you can just say hi!

Tomorrow we plan on going to Callaway Gardens. Olaf is going to go to the beach with the children and I am going to go for a long training walk. I would like to do 6 miles. That is two hours of walking. Or there abouts....

We watched "50 First Dates" last night. Way too many references to sex and body parts. I cannot recommend it. Whatever happened to lovely, clean movies like "Anne of Green Gables?" They are few and far between now-a-days. It was PG-13. I cannot believe that 13 year old children understand the sexual references in those movies. That is horrible! In not of, in not of, in not of...

Olaf is still outside trying to finish that entrance. It's 7:46 pm. He is losing sunlight.

It's late

but I have to update about the whole dentist thing. I go in and pay my balance of $250 thinking "praise be to God! This is my last dental appointment." So. wrong. My crown doesn't fit. So after drilling and smashing and fitting and drilling some more and smashing some more...I need to come back at the end of July. And you know what's even worse? My THROAT hurts. I think I am allergic to something at the dentist office. Maybe the junk they use for impressions, maybe the nasty suction tube they jam down my throat, maybe the latex??? Because if you remember, my first throat infection was one week after my last dental appointment. Coincidental? I think not.

I updated Karen's page with a photo of her children. SO precious. Then I updated my fundraising page with a photo of Karen and her family. She went to the oncologist today because she is not doing well with the Xeloda that she is taking. She has some tremors and sores in her mouth. She is going in very early tomorrow for a pet scan, a appointment with the GI doctor, and to have some fluid drained out of her abdomen. I don't think anything will require a hospital stay. Her oncologist may change her chemo but they don't know yet. Ms. Mike (Karen's Mom) was at Bible Study tonight and seemed OK. I cannot imagine what she is going through. What is worse than seeing your youngest child die of cancer? Her faith is amazing though. She knows the God in whom she serves. She gave me a check for the 3-Day walk tonight. That put me over my minimum of $2,100. I can officially walk the 3-Day! But please, don't let the fact that I raised my minimum keep you from giving. Every dollar is very much appreciated. Speaking of walking...

I went out in the heat of the day today to do a short walk. I don't know what the weather is going to be like for the walk and I thought I better get used to walking in the heat. Well, I did two miles in the afternoon sun and I felt pretty yucky when I came in. The heat and I just don't get along. I need to get my body used to that though. It is still going to be fairly hot when I walk. I also found another woman who lives locally that is doing the 3-Day. We are going to meet July 9th to walk together. Maybe we'll do 6-10 miles.

OK, it's 11:25 pm. Olaf is already in bed, so I need to get my rear going.

Screaming Eagle or was it Beagle??

You have not e-mailed me like you said you would. If you have forgotten my e-mail address "tag" me with yours!

BFF,
Eemo
Hi-Lo-Eenie-Meenie-Kie-Kie-Oom-Cha-Cha-E-Wah-Wah

And the verdict is...

"Mrs. Jorek, I am not sure what is wrong with your throat. Let's treat it as an unexplained bacterial infection and see what happens." So, a shot of steroids, a Rx for Augmentin, and a mouthwash called Bio-something or other and I was on my way. I am tired, weak, and just plain old not feeling good. I hope the antibiotics kick in soon because I feel yucky.

Did y'all notice that my fundraising page JUMPED...like SKYROCKETED...over night. One very generous person sponsored me for $1,000. My mouth hung open when I saw my page. WOW! The generosity of some people floors me. I will be at goal in no time. Hopefully people will not stop giving just because I made my goal, but that may be the case. We'll see...

I still haven't went grocery shopping. I was down to one (yes ONE) diaper. I stopped by Target on the way home from the doctor and got some. I also got one of these. I'm not even sure what it is, but I guess I'll find out!:) That is for "just in case I decide to camp" which is highly unlikely!

There is an update at Karen's page too.

Humbled

I am completely humbled by the people that are making donations to my 3-Day Walk. Thank you so very much. I do not know some of these generous people, but they are sponsoring me to honor Karen. What a huge blessing. Then I got a phone call today from my best friend when I was a kid who follows my blog religiously!:) She is going to make a $100 donation in honor of Karen and she has NO IDEA who Karen is! Thank you, thank you, thank you. You all have blessed and humbled me beyond words. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen!

I stopped by to see Karen today. It is the first time I have seen her since Mother's Day at church. She looks about 9 months pregnant from the swelling in her abdomen. She is getting jaundiced and her eyes looked yellow. She has a UTI due to the cath she had while in the hospital so she is on antibiotics now. She started her chemo pills this morning and has to watch for the side effects that may be associated with that. Her children were precious though and the boys gave me a hug when I left. Hannah (the 8 y.o. girl) needs to talk about the cancer for her to deal with it. She asked me as soon as I came in the door, "Do you know my mom has cancer?" JD (the 10 yo boy) said, "Hannah, all of mom's friends know she has cancer!"

I had my annual pap smear today. Lovely. I have an appointment with the ENT tomorrow afternoon for which I am grateful. Olaf was able to get an appointment for me with Dr. H when I could not. Something about a man...hmmm...wonder if that's Biblical?:) Honestly, when I called the receptionist said the earliest I could get in was July. When Olaf called for me they said they would work me in tomorrow. Now, why is that??

I didn't walk at all today. I need to get this fat butt moving. I already have a minor shin splint from the 2 days I did walk. So. Very. Sad. I need to work up to an 18 mile walk. I am going to be gone ALL DAY LONG when that happens.

I'm sure I have mentioned my 20 year high school reunion is this August. I'm still debating about whether to go or not. If you go Tammy, then I may. Lawd, people are going to look at me and whisper about how fat I am! I can see the clique of girls doing it right now. And I bet they are still in the same clique at the reunion. I think about my classmates that have already died. Jeff Perry died of cancer either our senior year or right after, Barbara Allen had leukemia or something, Diane Davidson lost her life to anorexia, and Greg Suiter (my old boyfriend) died under mysterious circumstances. His family won't disclose the cause of death so I am guessing suicide or drug overdose. Here I am, 37 years old with a wonderful husband, four healthy children, a beautiful home, a reliable van, bills paid, washing machine whirring, no cancer in my body...and still I refuse to see the big picture a lot of times. It's easy to get caught up in the here and now, isn't it? So, I'll end this by saying go count your blessings! You have many!

Father's Day

It's Father's Day today. We went to Callaway Gardens. The beach was open but we decided not to do the swim thing this time. The children were disappointed, but not terribly so. It was kind of cool and overcast which is great weather for Callaway. I desperately need to go grocery shopping, but that is going to have to wait. Unless I go after the children go to bed. Or maybe I can take all the children with me tomorrow. Yeah, right!

Tomorrow I have my annual GYN appointment. That is always fun!:) I went to the physician assistant on Friday about my throat. Of course he said he cannot see that far down my throat and told me to go to an ENT. DUH! I knew that but the office wouldn't give me a referral unless they saw me first. I really do not like managed healthcare. It sucks so bad. I am really nervous about my throat. I guess with Karen and all the stuff that she is going through, my mind steers toward the worse case scenario. Of course, Olaf thinks I am a lunatic and doesn't mind making me feel like an absolute idiot about it either. That helps.

On Thursday I go in for my crown appointment. The last one, praise God. I am sick of the dentist. I am going to ask if they will sponsor me on my 3-day walk. I will ask Dr. Heindel when I see him too. And my pharmacist. Chantell already sponsored me for $75.00. That was so generous of her. I really want to get my $2,100 out of the way soon. I don't want to be near the end and not have enough money to walk. That would suck. Camille sponsored me for $10. Isn't that sweet? She gave me money that she made pet sitting. What a precious gesture on her part.

Karen is back home from the hospital but Krista told me today that she doesn't look so good. She is supposed to start taking her chemo pills tomorrow, but noone is sure if she'll be able to or not. It seems she is so weak that she cannot eat much. She seems to be in a vicious cycle. She cannot eat, so she gets weak, which makes her not be able to eat etc. Please pray for her. And then pray about if you can donate to my walk in honor of Karen. Every donation is tax deductible.

Time to get the children in bed.

I did it!

I registered for the walk! Please see the link in the sidebar and make a donation!

Thank You So Much!

My Gracie Girl

Make-Up by Grace.

It's back

Well, after the antibiotics have worn off, my throat infection is back. Just my right tonsil. I will call the doctor tomorrow and try to get an appointment. I am not sure why it won't go away. I would have thought that Z-Pak would have taken care of it. So much for prescribing my own meds.

Karen was admitted to the hospital today. She was vomiting blood and also had blood in her stool. They did some procedure today where they banded her esophogus or some such thing. They think the bleeding is coming from there somehow. I'll update on Karen's blog when Darren e-mails me. Krista (Karen's sister) said they thought she would be in the hospital until Friday at least.

Tomorrow I am going up for an orientation for the 3 Day Walk. I will probably register then. It's from 6:30-8:00 pm by the airport in Atlanta. The registration fee is $90 and that doesn't count toward my $2,100 that I have to raise. I am hoping that someone else who lives down here has also registered for the walk. I'd like to get to know someone prior to the event or it will be a lonesome three days. I read tonight that we have to bring our own sleeping bag and air mattress/pad. What I really want to know is can I go home and sleep? Honestly! I cannot sleep in a sleeping bag! I HATE camping with every ounce of being that is within me. I absolutely despise it. Sharing a tent with someone I don't know is just gross to me. I am hoping that Olaf can pick me up at tent city and drop me off the next morning. Or I can walk to a nearby hotel!:) That would even be better. I don't like to share hotel rooms either. I have been to conferences before and I will only share a hotel with one other person and that is because I have to. It's too darn expensive to stay alone. Some of these women at the conference would stay 4-6 to ONE room. Oh, that is SO not me. I like having "my" space. Am I spoiled or what??

Camille started watching "Little Anne" tonight. Little Anne is a dog that lives down the street. She looks just like our dog, Ella. The owners are in Daytona Beach for a few days. They have an above ground pool in their backyard and said we could use it if we wanted to. So our entire family went and got in the pool this evening for an hour or so. It was fun. The children enjoyed it a lot. None of my children can swim so we all just jumped around a little. Of course we had to hold Josiah and Grace the entire time because it was too deep for them to stand. Caleb had a blast sticking his head under the water though. I was praying the entire time, please Lord don't let him have a seizure in this pool!

I am excited about going to Disney next year.

I hope I am not pregnant because I really want to ride the rides this time! That sounds SO selfish. You know I'll be thrilled if I am pregnant, but the last time we were there I was 35 weeks pregnant and very swollen. It was not fun walking around like that.

Chantell's Baptism

My friend, Chantell, got baptised tonight!

This is her before:


And this is her after:


Praise be to God!

Sunday, Sunday

It's Sunday already. ::heavy sigh:: Friday I took Josiah to the pediatrician because his heart just beats out of his chest and it's really fast. They hooked him up to the pulse oximeter for a few minutes to get some readings. His heartrate started out at 119 but went up to about 135. His O2 sat went from 100% down to 97%. She thought it would be a good idea to get an EKG so she sent me over to the clinic at 4:00 pm on Friday. Needless to say, noone was there! The only reason the nurse was there to do the EKG was my pediatrician called beforehand. They hooked my little guy up to 10 leads that are made for adults. It took up his entire chest. They handed me the readout and I made my way back to the pediatrician's office to drop it off. She did a preliminary read and said it looked "pretty good" but she is going to give it to the pediatric cardiologist to look at. Just pray that everything is OK with my little man.

We went to Kohl's today to get Josiah some new sneakers. My children only have one pair of shoes, and it's sneakers. However, one of Josiah's got lost. Don't ask me how...I really do not know. In the meantime he was wearing Grace's shoes. They weren't too girly, but you could tell they weren't "boy" shoes. So we bought him a new pair of sneakers and a pair of sandals too. I also bought him two Thomas T-Shirts. He saw them and wanted to put them on then and there! Oh, speaking of Thomas, yesterday I bought Josiah some Thomas underwear at Target. He wanted to put them on immediately, so I told him that he couldn't pee pee in them. It was so funny when he finally did go pee all over the place. It scared him to death! He jumped up and said, "Uh Oh! Jo-shi-sha is wet!" Then he proceeded to tell me he wanted a diaper. He is so cute.

Karen's husband sent me an update this morning. Take a peek and say a prayer.

There is an orientation for the Atlanta 3 Day Walk this Wednesday up by the airport. I think I may go! If I register for this walk I will need major help in attaining my goal of $2,100 in order to participate.

I need to run. Olaf is jealous.

Ahhh, silence!

Olaf took the children to Bruster's so I am here alone. Somtimes it's so nice to not to hear the constant chaos that echos behind me. Don't get me wrong. I am SO thankful for my children and the chaos that ensues, but sometimes it's nice to bask in silence too.

Olaf's aunt called today from Germany. She wants to come out in August and stay TWO WEEKS! ARRRGGHH! Two weeks!?! I am quite certain that she will not want to stay that long once she gets here. She has never been married and has no children. I think the children will drive her crazy. I have never met her either. She speaks English OK but she doesn't like to. Olaf speaks German with her on the phone. He cannot take any time off while she is here, so I sure hope she decides to speak English! She is also a BIG TIME smoker! Yuck! We have already told her that she cannot smoke in the house. I cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke and just having her in the house with that awful smell lingering on her is going to kill me. Oh Lord, give me the grace to show her YOUR hospitality. I would love her to see YOU in our home! (She is not a Christian and thinks we are in a cult.)

Karen has some tests and starts chemo tomorrow. Please keep her in you prayers.

Yesterday I called Cheri to wish her a Happy Birthday! Oh, she is so cute! She sounds like such a Southern Belle! She made fun of me for saying "pardon." She said I should say, "What'd you sayeee?" LOL! I love you Cheri!

Maybe I will go read a chapter of Anne of Green Gables. Camille finished it and gave it to me to read. It's a lovely book!

This narcissist knew it!

Your IQ Is 135

Your Logical Intelligence is Exceptional Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Genius

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Our Cats

Camille took these pics today of our kitties. We named them Aravis and Shasta from C.S. Lewis' book "A Horse and His Boy" from the Chronicles of Narnia.

This is Aravis:


And this is Shasta:


They are brother and sister and just celebrated their first birthday the same day as Grace.

I am SO full!

Tonight for dinner I made country fried steak, country gravy, mashed potatoes, corn and green beans. Then I proceeded to eat way too much. So much that I feel nauseous. Blech. The rest of the family is eating ice cream for dessert, but I can't do that right now.

Olaf got the results of his blood work from the cardiologist today. His cholesterol and triglycerides have went down since he lost 20 pounds. They still aren't perfect, but better. His total cholesterol was 204. That is down from 217. If he starts regular exercise I think it will help even more. Then you have me, FRYING steak tonight. So healthy!

We did go see Madagascar. It was very boring for me, but Camille liked it. Grace did good in the theater. I thought she may cry because it was too loud. I would say save your money and rent it when it comes out. It's not worth the price of admission.

Gracie took this picture of me!


And Becky made me this!

Feeling better

My tonsil is doing better, however I think it is forming a crevice. The spot that was black is now forming a hole in my tonsil! GRODY! It isn't sore anymore and my lymph node seems to be less swollen. I guess it really was bacterial and the antibiotics are helping. (In case you didn't know, I put myself on antibiotics...not the doctor)

Olaf finished the concrete work for the new landing and steps that he is building. He was outside for about 9 hours and got a 3'X 3" section done. He wrote into the wet concrete Deut 6:4-9. He also wrote Olaf *hearts* Misty. How sweet!

I think I will take Camille to see Madagascar tomorrow. Grace wants to go too but she has never been to the theater. I hope it isn't too scary for her. My children have never liked loud noises. Now, they themselves are VERY loud. But vacuums and blow dryers have scared every single one of my children.

It looks like Karen is going to have a chemo that will not make her hair fall out. She has a type of cancer that responds well to a less invasive chemo than the "Red Devil." She starts next Thursday, so pray for her and her family. She didn't cut off her hair in hopes that she can keep it!

I got Josiah's hair cut yesterday. He looks cute. I tried to take his picture but you couldn't really see his hair cut.

Off to eat some popcorn and drink a Diet Pepsi! Have a great weekend...

Olaf had his stress test done today. The doctor called and said his heart is 100% healthy. Praise the Lord! He took Caleb to get his blood drawn today. He needed his seizure med level checked since they increased his dose. Caleb hasn't had a seizure for 1.5 years now. Praise the Lord again! In not so good news, our pediatrician is leaving. Her husband has accepted a new position out of state and they are moving. She is such an awesome doctor and I hate the thought of having to see someone else. Bummer...

Karen is seeing a second oncologist today. She saw one on Tuesday and this is her second opinion. I think she is leaning toward chemo as she has an appointment to get all of her cut off. Karen has LONG hair. Probably down to her bottom. She always wears it in a long braid down her back. I told her that if she wanted someone to shave their head with her, I'd do it! And I totally mean it. I think I'd look hot bald!:)

Today I had the most wonderful sandwich from here. I had the Coney Island Gyro and it was so fattening and SO yummy!

My right tonsil and lymph node are really infected. I started antibiotics yesterday, so hopefully that will alleviate the infection. I'm not sure why it is only my right tonsil but it may have something to do with my dental work. Maybe a piece of something (tooth, chemical crap etc) got lodged on my tonsil and infected it??? Who knows? Now I'll get a yeast infection from the antibiotics. Fun!

Have a great weekend everyone! It has been raining here all week and I think more rain is expected over the weekend. Yuck!