Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Today has not been the greatest of days! Well, I take that back, it has only been 1/2 bad...well, not even bad, just sad. It really stinks to have to say that b/c it started out with great potential! Chris was home today and I love to have him home on weekdays. Jaxon did pretty good when he got to school. Chris cleaned up...all on his own. Camron and Caden are not feeling well which makes for some pretty whiney kiddos but they can't help that they don't feel well. I had a rheumatologist appointment which I had been looking forward to...just to see what my next step was in getting OFF prednisone. Well, we aren't stepping towards getting off of it...we are just walking, slowly, in place. Oddly enough, I feel better than I have in a while but my CK levels are slightly elevated so he wants me to stay on 10mg for a while. He also told me It could be Nov. or after before I could totally come off prednisone. I will not lie, I was extremely upset when I got home. I was mad and I was a mess. Don't get me wrong, I am still not thrilled but I have decided there is nothing I can do about this so I am going to do what the verse above says. I am going to give it to GOD. I will be calling tomorrow to try and get an appointment with a rheumatologist at Duke. A second opinion can't hurt. If nothing more, it will put my mind at ease. Isn't it funny how you think your life is going one way then all of a sudden, with no warning at all, it takes a hard left and you are left standing there wondering which way to go next. This is just a little more proof that we are not in control! I have faith that this will all be okay.

Well, Camron and Caden are having nightly parties after we put them to bed. We put them to bed around 8:30, doing their nightly routine, like we always do, then we leave the room. AND the party begins. They laugh and play and squeel and screech for up to an hour if we let them. Poor Jaxon is trying to go to sleep in the next room while his little brothers are hoopin' it up without him. I guess the time is coming when we make the big switcharoo from crib to beds...although I am SO not ready for that. I am going to put it off as long as possible. Jaxon is planning on having a sleepover in the babies room this weekend. And for all of you who are wondering, yes I am still calling Camron and Caden babies and plan to do so for a while longer, thanks!
Hope you are all well. We are having a good week. Busy, but good.

Uh-Oh

So we went to Build-a-Bear. It was fun and cute and they seemed rather excited about putting the passies in....shoved them right inside! They made the bears then became more excited about the clothes for the bears than anything else. We think they thought the clothes were for them...pretty funny b/c Camron has been walking around with a mini baseball glove on his hand since we left and Caden has been trying to wear a bear sized fireman hat! Anyway, we put them down for their naps......they are NOT happy campers. I had to go back in b/c they were both fussing and BOTH of them had their bears turned around backwards like they were trying to get the passies out! SO SAD! It is breaking my heart! I can't back down. Of course we have more passies but there's NO turning back now! I'll let you know how it goes!

Bye Bye Passy!!

Yes Camron and Caden are almost 29 months old and yes they still have their passies when the go to bed. Well, NOT TONIGHT! I decided on a whim (which I do quite often) that I was not going to give them their passies at bedtime. I told them they were big boys now and that passies were for babies so we didn't need them anymore! I told them they had their blankie and bo-bo (their lovies) and that if they slept without them tonight we would go to Build-a-Bear tomorrow and make a bear with their passy inside (which I have been telling them for a while). Surprisingly enough, Caden didn't cry or ask for his AT ALL. Camron asked for his the minute we put him in his bed but only cried for a short time. I went back in and told him he was a big boy and I knew he could do it and he was fine! Now, I may be getting ahead of myself being that it is only the first time BUT I am SO proud of my little boys! I just hope they stick to it! And I really hope we don't have to play operation on some Build-a Bears to get the passies out!
Just wanted to share this because I am excited!

Would you, could you, in the snow?

I am very excited to say,
That we got to play in the snow today!
It was unexpected but OH, so much fun!
Too bad it was ruined by the hot and shining sun!
Caden fell down and got snow on his face,
Jaxon was throwing snowballs all over the place!
Camron was laughing like everything was funny,
Mommy knew it wouldn't last long because it was getting sunny!
A couple of friends stopped by over at our place,
We all played outside until Mommy couldn't feel her face!
So, inside we went for a little hot chocolate,
To dry off and warm up from getting all wet!
Oh, what fun we had, what a day it has been
I really hope that we can soon do it again!

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are gray
You never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away!

I sing this song at least 6 times a day, more than that on the days that I take Jaxon to school. Yet I never tire of it. It's because it makes my children happy. I sing it over and over, same time, same place because they love it. I love it too, honestly. I love that they love it! I love that something so simple can make them so happy. Isn't it funny how we as parents try SO hard to make our children happy with SO many things that don't REALLY matter when the little things are what they will remember most...(now if only I can remember that when birthdays and Christmas roll around!)

Is 4 too young to be a vegetarian?

The boys were eating lunch today. They were having chicken nuggets, nothing special. Anyway, Jaxon says to me (now, imagine his sweet little voice) "Mama, why do they call this chicken?". I replied to him, "Well, umm, because it's chicken!" Then he says, "Chicken, like the animal chicken??" and I said, "Yeeeeeeeees" and he says "Are you telling me this actually comes off a chicken???" I chuckled and said "Yes, Jaxon". He thinks for a minute, looks at me calmly, then says "See, that's why I don't eat meat!"
How FUNNY is that. Now he will think he always has an excuse to ONLY eat the "crispies" off the chicken! What am I going to do with this boy?

Let me hear you say...

GO DUKE!!!

We all live in a Yellow Submarine

How funny that my 4 year old and both 2 year olds would rather listen to the Beatles than Dr. Jean?! For those who don't know, Dr. Jean is a children's entertainer who they normally love BUT they have decided the Beatles trump all. They were slightly obsessed with the Yellow Submarine song until Mommy (aka Monnie =)) had to let track 2 play for the sake of her sanity. It's pretty cute when your little ones are in the back seat singing "Lucy in the sky with Diamonds"....well, that's not REALLY what they are saying but they try. Camron and Caden say whatever comes out (but to the right tune....sort of....ok, well, as well as any other 2 year old!!) and Jaxon sings "we see in the sky-eye with diamonds". I love it! Hey, you never know, we may have some future American Idol contestants on our hands!

Polymyositis...

Hello! I have been getting lots of questions lately about my disease (polymyositis) and what exactly it is, SOOOO, I decided what better way to explain then to post it here! I am going to copy and paste some information from the website www.myositis.org.
Polymyositis is an inflammatory myopathy. These diseases cause swelling and loss of muscle. They are also called idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. “Idiopathic” means the causes are unknown. Inflammatory myopathies are thought to be autoimmune diseases, meaning the body's immune system, which normally fights infections and viruses, is misdirected and attacks the body's own normal, healthy tissue through inflammation, or swelling. All of these diseases can cause muscle weakness, but each type is different.
Signs and symptoms:
Muscle weakness, sometimes with muscle pain
General tiredness and fatigue
Trouble climbing stairs, standing from a seated position, or reaching up
Difficulty swallowing
Is there a cure?
A review of many dermatomyositis and polymyositis cases found that 20% of the patients recover completely, although we don’t say they are “cured.” These patients will never have another active period, or flare. Often doctors will say that people are “in remission” when there is no sign of disease activity. Others will have flares for a long time before the disease is controlled, and some will have periodic flares all their lives. These outcomes depend in part on the speed of diagnosis and treatment. Patients diagnosed with polymyositis who don’t respond to treatment should ask to be tested for inclusion-body myositis.
First of all, let me just say....I PRAY THAT I WILL FALL IN THAT 20%!! Anyway, I think that should just about do it! I hope that helps for those of you who are curious! I feel extremely blessed to have reacted so well to the prednisone so quickly. I don't think those results are typical based on what I have read about others on the forum found on the website above. I also pray that I don't have to go on any other meds and that they are going to be able to wean me off of the prednisone with no problems! Time will tell!
Until next time........

Get on your walkin' shoes cause it's time to MARCH FOR BABIES!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, CHILDREN OF ALL AGES.....WELCOME TO THE 3RD EDITION OF (drum roll please...) the March of Dimes MARCH FOR BABIES!
Our family is honored each year to get our Family Team together, raise as much money as possible, and put on our walking shoes for the March of Dimes! Most, if not all of you know that Camron and Caden were born right before I hit my 29th week in my pregnancy. They only weighed a little over 2lbs each. They have faced and overcome MANY obstacles in their lives. And for a 2 year old, that says a lot! That is why each year, we work very hard to raise money for this organization to help raise awareness about prematurity. Each year our team has grown so please help us to make this our best year yet! If you feel compelled to donate to our team you can do so through the link below. If you think you may want to walk with us, we would love to have you!
If you have any questions about the March for Babies walk or about Camron and Caden's prematurity, just let me know! I will be more than happy to answer them!
Thanks friends! Love to all!
www.marchforbabies.org/dukeboys