What we know...

We got some SHOCKING news today! Ethan came to us last night after using the restroom and said that something strange happened to his pee.  First it was yellow, then orange, then red.  Peyton and I didn't know what to do right then so we told him not to flush the toilet the next time he went.  He did go again and called Peyton in to look.  He came out and said that we needed to get him to the hospital.  Rather than hastily going to the ER, he got on the computer and did a little "research".  It was sounding like a urinary tract infection (UTI).  According to the internet, it's not life-threatening so we opted to make him an appointment for today.  Peyton took him in this morning and they asked for a urine sample, which Ethan gave and they determined it was definitely a UTI.  They also drew some blood.  Because of the amount of blood in his sample they sent him to Summerville Medical Center to have a renal ultrasound to check his kidney function.  On the way to that appointment Ethan threw up in the truck. So needless to say, had nothing in his system for an accurate ultrasound of his bladder.  They did however get a good look at his kidneys.  In fact, we found out today that he has only ONE kidney. His right, and it is enlarged, which is common for those with only one.  The hospital then sent him back to our primary care doctor where the girls and I met them to talk with the doctor about where to go from here.

What we know: It looks like only one enlarged kidney.  There is a possibility that he has the other but that it is not in the "right" spot.  As of now, they're saying just one though. 
His blood work came back that he has normal kidney function but is slightly anemic. 
He is on antibiotics for the UTI.
We have a follow-up urinalysis on Monday and they're sending the sample from today to run a culture.
We have an appointment with a urologist at MUSC on Wednesday.  After that appointment we'll definitely know more. 

Please pray that Ethan doesn't get worse and that the antibiotic does it's job and knocks out the infection.  He's only complaining of mild back pain and a queasy stomach.  He says it doesn't hurt to urinate, which is great!!

I had numerous ultrasounds while I was pregnant and apparently never drew suspicion of him missing a kidney.  Ethan was also hospitalized for 5 days when he was 5 weeks old and they never found anything then either.  While I'm glad that we found out, it's just still such new news that we can't do anything but pray that everything else is normal and that Ethan will lead a normal life with one functioning kidney. The doctor today said that we'll monitor him closely from this point out.

Simplify

Every year I read the blogs that say "pick a word for the year".  I've never really given it much thought until this year.  Those of you who know me, know that I hold on to everything that I've ever been given.  My own mother even told me that she thinks I'm a hoarder. I completely agree!! I've done a little psychology on myself and think that it stems from moving so often. It didn't matter where we were, I could still surround myself with familiar "things" even when I was surrounded by the unfamiliar.  It doesn't make it ok though. Peyton and I vowed together to simplify things in our house.  Simplify everything from the amount of toys the kids have, to dinner preparations, to our finances. I can't even begin to tell you the weight I feel I've lost just from the thought process.  It's almost like I'm living  in a computer simulated sense. I can walk into a room and see it as it will be once we  go through all of the drawers and cabinets and bins and closets.  My system needs a bit of tweaking, but with Peyton and the kids agreeing to be on this journey with me, I'm hoping to see some real progress by the end of January!! Please pray for me! I know that I will fight with myself about letting some things go, but I need to concentrate on the end product; a simplified, well balanced home. I'll try to post photos of my progress. Maybe not the before pictures(yikes), but definitely the during and after pictures!! The room I've chosen first is Riley and Caroline's. We're almost done with organizing the toys that they're keeping and have a nice donation bin started. I've rearranged their furniture and downsized from 2 twins to a daybed and mattress underneath. They now have so much room to play! Now to just keep telling myself to keep up the good work!

What I thought was bad timing

I'm gonna get a little personal with you here so bear with me. A year ago I had an appointment with my GYN.  I had my IUD taken out the previous August because I kept getting ovarian cysts that would develop and rupture every six weeks like clock work.  We were hoping that by getting that out of my system that my hormones would regulate themselves and the cysts would stop.  Well, that wasn't the case. I went to the doctor in hopes that the cyst I currently had had shrunk.  Again, not the case. I was given an ultimatum by my PA; either go back on low estrogen birth control pills or have my ovaries removed. Not wanting to be on hormone replacement before I even turned 30, pills were my only option.  She gave me some samples and told me to start taking them the Sunday of my next cycle. I remember being so heartbroken. We were unofficially trying to have another baby.  We'd never "tried" before.  The other 3 were all complete surprises and I was getting very  disheartened that I wasn't pregnant already.  I went to see a friend after my appointment and broke down.  I remember telling her "how badly is God trying to knock in my head that it's not time to have a baby, birth control or lose my ovaries, neither one of these says it's the ideal time to have a baby." She consoled me and told me that it must not be the right time. I resolved myself to believe that.  In God's timing.  He knows what's best and right no matter how badly we might want something right now. I started to accept the fact that we might never have a 4th child and I was ok with that after a week or so. Peyton wasn't quite sure how to console me, but also just accepted it for what it was, bad timing.

I had been tracking my cycle ever since I had the IUD removed and it was coming up on my next cycle being due 16 days after my appointment.  On day 14, which happened to be a Thursday, I opened up a drawer in my bathroom and found a couple of pregnancy tests.  Just for kicks, I took one, thinking that if I was pregnant by some crazy chance that it would show up now.  I wasn't expecting for the little pink line to register as quickly as it did.  I just stared at it in complete astonishment!!

 I walked into Peyton's office holding it.  He was on a conference call and I just held it up and he whispered, "is it positive?" I nodded yes and then broke down in tears and left the room. He probably thought I'd lost my mind. After he was off the call he came into our bedroom and asked me if I was ok.  I told him I was beyond happy, but wasn't expecting it to be positive. I wasn't expecting to get pregnant again, I wasn't expecting to be expecting! I started thinking at that point that it was God's timing, but I think he wanted me to want it bad enough, but be willing to accept that it might not happen.  That 14 days of thinking it wouldn't happen really set me up for being completely ready and more excited just because I wasn't expecting it. I guess it was God's way of telling me that it didn't matter how hard I tried, He was in control. So baby number 4 was also a surprise, just like the other 3.

And just in case I was a little slow and needed it spelled out for me, I took another test the next day.

What a difference a year makes!!

You wouldn't think that too much could happen in one year! But, as I'm sitting here at my computer with a 2 month old baby girl sleeping on my chest, it just goes to show how much it can! Scarlett Adelyn is the most precious gift that we received in 2010.  But her story will have to be a whole post in itself.  She is truly a gift from God brought to fruition through lots of prayer! As far as updating on the rest of life up until I found out I was pregnant there wasn't too much going on. We just celebrated Riley's 6th birthday and were gearing up for Ethan's 7th birthday. The kids think it's funny and cool that they're the same age for 2 weeks. They like throwing people off when they ask how old they are and they both say the same age.  Then the person comes back with "so you're twins" and they giggle and say "nope", which gets some really confused looks. Then I get to explain that they're Irish Twins, born within a year of each other, which gets another look of its own.  And yes, I know how babies are made! ;) 

I was into a pretty regular class schedule with teaching at Scrappin' Happily Ever After. If you're friends with me on Facebook or follow my crafty blog you got to see the class projects. I also joined "the club", the Cricut Expression Owner's club that is.  Can't pass up a good deal on HSN!

I attended my first coupon workshop thanks to K'Cee Lee.  I still have yet to really get into it, even with every intention, it's just not happening.  I think I need a refresher course.

I was and still am dealing with migraines and vertigo, which reminds me, I need to schedule a follow-up with my neurologist. Ha!

Peyton and I started doing P90x together. Well, that lasted all of about 2 months. Peyton did it a little bit longer, but then took a break until, well, he's still on break. Love you baby!!

We bought season tickets to Disney World and actually got to go 3 times. We're hoping to plan one last hurrah before our passes expire. Disney is our favorite family place. When we're there we just feel so connected as a family, no schedule, no obligations, just pure fun!

That pretty much brings us up to May. I know this post is all over the place and hopefully I don't let the blog go this long again without an update.  Coming up next, our road to Scarlett.

 And now for some photos of the aforementioned events. LOL

Making it a Home!

We're getting close to the 2 year mark in our home in Summerville.  We're really starting to make it our own and getting some color and texture up.  Here are a few before and afters of the new painting job that Peyton did in the kitchen.  He did an awesome job and we've already had so many compliments on it!  Peyton's getting much better at seeing what I see and helping me get the look I want.

The China Cabinet used to just blend in to the cream walls, now it stands out!

 

 

I've always wanted to be a teacher

Ever since I was younger, I wanted to be a teacher.  I used to play school with Jeff and Lindsey and make them learn to spell ridiculously long words like encyclopedia.  I never thought about the fact that there are so many different types of teachers.  I never thought that one day I'd actually be a teacher.  Being a mom doesn't count, you automatically become a teacher when you become a mom. I never thought I'd be teaching others, especially something so near and dear to my heart.  I posted a while ago about the best job in the world, but I know now that I have the best job in the world.  Being able to share a little of my creativity with other people is so much fun and rewarding for me. 

 

New PJ's!

One of our traditions is to open one gift on Christmas Eve.  The kids cracked me up tonight wondering what it was when it's always the same thing, New Pajamas! They were all so excited though which was definitely a good thing!  We laid out cookies and milk for Santa, and another plate of cookies for the elves that come and prep for Santa. I thank the new movie Prep and Landing for that one, but hey, what's one more plate of cookies? ;)  We read The Night Before Christmas and then I gave each of the kids a handful of oats to go sprinkle on the yard to draw Santa's reindeer to the house. They had a blast with that, although Riley told me that it needed to have glitter in it so that they can see it, I told her that that probably won't taste very good and that the smell of the oats will do it's job to get the reindeer to our house.  They're all tucked in now and should be sleeping here shortly and I'm off to bed myself.  Merry Christmas!