We're Home!

Lex and I are now back home in Iowa and were thrown right into the first winter storm of the year. It was a complete shock from the mild Texas weather, to Below zero temps and 3 feet of snow!! I do like to be back home, but I very much miss the Texas weather and all the fun I had there with my family!! I also know Lex is glad to be back home with her best friend, Maddy and her very missed crib. The first day we were back Lex was dying for me to put her in her crib and when I did, she was as happy as a clam for almost an hour! (she had been sleeping in a pack and play, which isnt so comfy). Anyway, we're glad to be home and I'm sure Pat is also glad we're home!

Alexa is getting bigger all the time! Even since my mom came to Iowa in October to help me out when I was sick, she said she's seen a difference in Lexi's face, which now seems more "grown up" and not so baby like. Lex also likes to talk ALL DAY long! And I mean all day....unfortunately she's not speaking the same language as Pat and I so most of the time it is very hard to understand what she is saying. She tries very hard though and I will give her a ton of credit for that! She likes to tell stories that are long drawn out sentences where she points to things, has influctions, and will look you square in the eye, and you'd totally think she was telling you a story but it's just incomprehensible. I finally caught a little bit of her story telling on video..this was actually the third time she told this story.The first time she told the whole story, then I grabbed my camera, I asked her to tell me the story again, and she did the exact same thing as before, but unfortunately my memory card wasnt in my camera, so the THIRD time I finally caught it on tape! It's so cute...I just wish I could understand her!! (sorry it's sideways)

Thanksgiving, Christmas and My Birthday!!!

So Thanksgiving this year was also combined with Christmas since all my siblings were here in Texas together, which hasn't happened in many years. We started with a WONDERFUL feast then opened Christmas presents and then ate many, many desserts!! :oD THEN....Friday, my whole family went on a boat ride where we had my birthday party. It was a TON of fun! Having a birthday in December usually means cold and snow, but not this year! I absolutely LOVED it!! We opened presents and ate yummy cupcakes! So between 2 days, we celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas AND my birthday- so needless to say they were days filled with parties, yummy food and warm fuzzies! ;o)
<-- Lex opened Christmas presents
<-- "Spot Loves His Daddy" book
Christmas!!!
<--Boat ride
<--My Birthday Party :o)

Texas

It's been 6 weeks since I first started feeling sick, and I am glad to say that I am feeling better, but also still recovering. I am now in Texas with my parents and am loving the nice November weather! I really think the sun is helping me feel better and being with people during the day. I very much appreciate the help I am getting with Alexa as she is a wild child! ;o) Pat was also able to come for a surprise visit this past weekend and he actually kept it a secret!!! (He is notorious for ruining surprises) I had a lot of fun while he was here but he had to go home today to Iowa because of work :o( but I will see him again in a couple weeks for Thanksgiving. Anyway, here are a few pictures of our visit thus far...

<--my cute little brother, Chris wishing me well

<--When Pat surprised me in Texas

<-- When Daddy showed up!

<-- Little Lex LOVING the pool (yes it was very cold but she didnt care)

<--Lex chowing on some "Muddy Buddies"Aunt Andrea made

<--Lex before her First hair cut

<-- Making "the cut"

<-- YAY!! ALL DONE!

Blessings

It's due time for me to make a happier post...so I thought I'd list the blessings I've received from this illness I've had for almost an entire month-

-Homemade dinners brought to us for 5 days
-Pat and Home Teacher gave me a Preisthood blessing
-My mom was able to come out from Houston for a week to take care of Alexa (and Pat and I)
-My mom making a nice dinner every night she was here
-Over $50 worth of groceries were delivered to our house almost immediately after making a list of grocery items and wondering how we were going to pay for them
-Young Women's President came over to do my dishes
-Another lady from my ward came over to help with Alexa so I could get some rest
-Mother-in-law came the day after my mom left to help with Alexa and other things
-Medicine to help alleviate my aches and pains
-Doctors who have taken their time to fully analyze my situation and not brush me aside as a number
-Hospitals that are close by
-Prayers offered in my behalf by those who barely know me
-My name will be on the Temple Prayer Roll in 3 Temples
-Alexa- she keeps my spirits high
-Pat- who makes me feel better by just holding me
-My Heavenly Father who gives me comfort
-Warm baths- which is the only thing that really makes my muscle aches go away

Hospital Visits 2 and 3

Kind of another depressing post, but I thought I'd try to keep people updated on my situation... Again I'll try to make this as short as possible-
Sunday I was feeling pretty good and thought I was getting better from my diagnosis of Scarlet Fever, but late Sunday night (like 2am) I started to feel extremely cramping AGAIN and I also had extremely painful numbness and tingling throughout my entire body...So Pat drove me back to the hospital again to get checked out as I was in incredible pain once again. They checked me out and dismissed me with a shot of medicine to dull the pain I was having but weren't quit sure why I was in pain, and a bottle of magnesium citrate (plus 3 other medicines I was already on) and said I should be fine. Then less than 12 hours later, I was in much pain again with the numbness and tingling and also very weak, so Pat first took me to the Urgent Care place since it was now around 1pm and during regular office hours, but when we got there, they told us it was an hour and a half wait!! I was losing all hope of getting better and thought I would literally die from all the pain I was in before the hour and a half wait was up, so Pat rushed me to the hospital once again to be treated. We were there for a good 4-5 hours this time to make sure I was getting better and not just rushing me out the door like they had done the night before, which obviously didnt help. Anyway, that's a VERY brief version of what happened. My mom flew out from Houston on Tuesday to help out, since Pat had already missed so much work and sleep from all my late night visits and was also emotionally drained, so we decided we needed a family member here to help with both Alexa and I. I now seem to be doing better, just very tired and weak. I hope I dont have anymore relapses and I only get better from here!
I will try to write another post a little later today that's much happier, but right now I just need a nap! ;o)

Scarlet Fever

My last post was 2 weeks ago talking about my sudden and extreme sickness with a possiblity of the swine flu...however things haven't gotten much better. I'll try to make this as short as possible, but if you want more detail just email me or whatever, I'll be glad to share the whole story with you!
Last Tuesday (Oct 6) I wasnt feeling good at all...extremely lightheaded, very tired, nauseous and exceptionally crampy, oh and I had a rash all over my body. By that evening I couldnt take the pain anymore, as the pain meds I kept taking werent working at all. I HAD to see a doctor for this and the only thing open at 10pm was the hospital. I cannot explain to you how bad I felt. The pain was unreal...nothing like the pain of childbirth, but still probably 8 or 9 on a scale of 10. Anyway, we go into the E.R. and they have me checked out, giving me an IV of saline solution, pain and nausea medication. They ran some tests and came to the conclusion I had Scarlet Fever and the cramping was more or less from the inflamed lymph nodes lining my spinal cord from my previous illness. They sent me home drugged up so I could get some rest and a perscription of penicillin. I was glad they could tell me what I had, but I was thinking "Scarlet Fever... who gets that nowadays?!" It reminds me of the game Oregon Trail... "You get ill with Scarlet Fever, lose 3 days..." I dont know anything about this illness and how the heck did I get it?! Anyway, I slept solid from Tuesday night after the hospital visit until Thursday evening around 5pm. I was pretty much in hibernation for 2 days, it was crazy!! Now it's Sunday night and I still dont feel 100% better. I still am a little achy, and get lightheaded if I do too much at a time. I hope I get better soon as I have a 15 month old daughter who is NON-STOP!! Anyway, your prayers would be appreciated!! I have to check up with a doctor this week to see how things are going, and hopefully it will all be good news!!


OH...and I almost forgot, I was actually looking forward to Oct. 7th but it was kind of looked over with my illness...anyways, the significance?....... It was Pat and my 2 1/2 year anniversary!! I cant believe its been that long already! crazy!

H1N1??

I haven't posted in a month, and I think it's time!! Well I've been sick since last Thursday and this is by far, the worse sickness that I've had since I can remember! It started out with aches and fatgiue, but after I had gone to bed Thursday night I woke up a few hours later with a temperature of 102.5F and yet I had the worst chills ever! I couldn't believe how high my temp. was! I was definitely feeling the pain though. Luckily, Pat was able to take Alexa to our friends house to play the next morning because I couldn't even get myself out of bed let alone watch Alexa all day. Oh and the second night I still had a terrible fever, but like usual, my skin felt cold, so I bundled up in sweatpants, a super fluffy robe, and 2 comforters... inevitably I woke up with a pretty bad heat rash :o(! My temperature has gone up and down the past few days but Im still pretty worn out. Nurse Kathi said I might have gotten the H1N1 virus, but I never had a sore throat, but who knows?! This illness knocked me out! Anyway, I'm feeling better, I only have a headache and super swollen lymph nodes...which is a plus for me! Pat had something similar the week before, but he took it like a champ! I'm pretty much a whimp when it comes to pain! :o( Oh and another lucky thing for us is that Alexa seems to be doing just fine... I REALLy didnt want Alexa getting this bug and so far, so good!!

Well here are some recent pictures of Alexa to those of you who dont see her very often...she is a GROWING girl!!!

This is Lex when she was supposed to be napping!

Video of what Lex was doing instead of napping...

Lex almost 15 months old-I thought she was super cute today so I had to take a picture (She is looking older and older! I even compared her with her one year birthday pics, and she has changed a lot even since then!)


Alexa is CRAZY for Mac and Cheese... this is what she does when she gets really excited!! Oh man, we laughed so hard!