So Glad to be Home!

The trip to Nashville was wonderful, but I'm such a homebody that I was sooo glad to be at home last night! We didn't get too many pics of the family because as you can tell by this one, Clayton was on a "smiling for the camera" strike . . . he's getting independent like that!! But I did want to share it because after all, it is a moment in our lives captured forever, right? The hotel was absolutely beautiful, and I've got several pics of the garden conservatory that I'll be sharing soon. I was pretty proud of myself because with Brian's help I shot several things strictly on Av mode---slowly but surely I'm learning more and more about that camera and photography in general. But it takes so much practice, I really need to be shooting pictures every single day to actually get the hang of it.

So many of you are on me about sharing my projects so I'll share my favorite first. The class was taught be Vanessa Hudson and it's the one that I had my greatest AHA! moment in. She had one of those ideas that you just say to yourself "why didn't I think of that?" We used albums from Pioneer that are made to hold 4 x 6 photos. We basically made title pages for each section of photographs and then cut them in half so they would fit in the 4 x 6 slots! These particular albums have a spot on the left side of the photos for small journaling blurbs so you can still add commentary as you would on a layout. The photos we used were of just ordinary, everyday life, but she also showed us examples of other ways to use this idea. She had all of her Disney pics in an album with different sections, each one with it's own "scrapped" title page. She talked about how she still scraps certain pics, but she has all of them in one place for just regular viewing. Now I know what to do with all of these vacation pics that I don't necessarily want to scrap an entire layout for, but I do want to do something "cute" with them! And all the lake pictures too! Now, see? Aren't you kicking yourself for not thinking of this before now?? I love the idea simply because the pics are scrapbooked in a way (and even have some journaling), but I didn't have to do a whole mini-album of layouts to get the job done. Adding a little something more than just throwing them in an album by themselves if you know what I mean . . . and I know you other scrapbookers out there know what I mean!! We feel like we have to scrap every single picture from now until doomsday, and that it's some kind of scrapbook sin to put them in an album alone with no journaling or embellishments--this method allows for a combination of both!

So here's my album (Vanessa's design)--all the diecuts are from AccuCut (I'm thinking I NEEEEEED one of these!). I had all my pics printed in black and white because I wasn't sure how they would be used, but I'm thinking I'll slowly replace them with their color counterparts since I see the overall design now. I'm pretty darn proud of the little thing--I've already got it sitting on my coffee table!

Home: pictures of and around the house

Whatcha Up To?: random snapshots of the family doing what they do

What's For Dinner?: what we eat

On the Go: places we go

For the Love of Everything: things that I love! (gotta make it my scrapbook, right???)

Scrap Lightnin'!

Well, I said I was gonna get something done at this Event, and boy am I working my rear off living up to that! I feel like I've been speed scrapping all day--and I'm very glad my group had the night off so I could rest up for tomorrow! I normally scrap soooo slooooow, and I have to spread out everywhere--to all flat surfaces within reach. And here, we are crammed in on top of each other and racing to get major projects done in under two hours. New for me, but I'm lovin' the finished products! Can't wait to get them home to share with you all! I already have THREE, count 'em THREE, albums almost done!!!

Greetings from Nashville!

**Wasn't a fan of downtown Nashville--I think it was a combination of the cold and the less than user friendly parking!!

**Opryland is the swankiest place I've ever been!

**You eat a lot here, but you walk it off getting back to your room! The bellman said that the employees walk an average of 12 MILES a day. TWELVE MILES!

**The Grand Ole Opry was awesome! Our seats were on the fourth row and Martina McBride was the headliner. She was just as great as I had imagined!!

**Wish I could upload some of my pics but I can't figure it out on this laptop, so you'll have to wait!

**I'll check in later this week to give you news on the actual Scrap Etc. Event!

Triumph Soccer

So I talked to one of the P.T.'s at the clinic a while back and she told me all about a program a therapy student had started last year: Triumph Soccer. No matter your level of ability, you are welcome to play in this "league." They have four practices and one game! Today was the first practice and it was quite interesting to say the least! Each child is assigned a buddy (usually a therapist at the clinic or a therapy student), and in Clayton's case, he had THREE buddies! Of course he was loving the attention! He was in his walker while they played Simon Says and Red Light, Green Light, and then got in his chair for the "scrimmage." He did okay considering there were 100 mile an hour winds the whole time--it was freezing out there! He eventually kicked the ball on his own two or three times, so I'm hoping by gameday he'll have a better idea of what's going on! He was too darn worried about all the other kids and their walkers to pay attention to what he was supposed to be doing--which is the same problem he has at the clinic! And of course here are the pics. You should be able to click on them to enlarge them for better viewing.

Thursday

**I'm so sick of the rain and storms! I need to get outside and enjoy some fresh air!

**Revival starts tomorrow, lasts all weekend. I'll go tomorrow night for praise team, but otherwise I'm getting ready for my trip.

**My hair is driving me crazy. I'm letting it grow out a bit and between that and the humid air, it's all over the place.

**My flower beds need to be remulched.

I think that's it for random thoughts today!

Almost Ready

I've spent the last couple of weeks scrambling to get ready for my big trip to Nashville for the Scrap Etc. Event. Monique has been emailing us homework since September, but of course I waited until the last minute to get all of mine done. I've taken a ton of pics and finally got them all in from scrapbookpictures.com just a couple of days ago. I'm bound and determined to leave with some finished projects this year. I usually go to these things without any pics and put the project together, bring it home, and never get the pics on, so they sit unfinished. Hopefully not this time!

Clayton is doing better--he has been on 1 1/2 liters for the last few days and sleeping on 2 liters. Still not his baseline, but definitely an improvement. Thank you so much for the prayers and concerns you've shared on his behalf!

Think Outside the Box

Well, now that the crisis has been averted and Clayton seems to already be doing better, I'll do my obligatory complaint post. I'm just totally irked that the pulmonologists were content to send Clayton home and told me to "keep doing what you're doing." It's like since nothing was wrong with his lungs, they were done with him. Something was obviously wrong with him, and what I was doing was obviously not helping, so why in the world would a doctor be content with that? The ER doctors were the same way. They just wanted to put the blame on Clayton's sleep and wanted Dr. Lyle to take care of the problem. I'm all for Dr. Lyle taking care of the problem, but why would you want to send a child home that was obviously in some kind of distress? And when I asked for prescriptions, the resident said they don't like to write prescriptions in the ER because they can't follow up on them. YOU CANNOT TELL ME that they don't ever write prescriptions in the ER! You know they do! Clayton is so far past those residents that they don't even want to touch trying to diagnose him. It's the same old thing we've dealt with for the last couple of years. The doctors/nurses/underlings are taught to think a certain way. And that way works fine for "normal" kids. But Clayton DOES NOT fit into the mold. He has to be looked at differently, and what affects most people one way affects him totally differently. Including a cold/allergy problem. He has always had trouble with colds simply because his upper airway gets congested easily and keeps oxygen from getting to his lungs. And if his lungs are clear and healthy, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that maybe his upper airway is the problem! Just because other kids aren't like this doesn't mean he isn't! So thank goodness for the Medical Home Clinic and Dr. Rob Lyle! They are completely dedicated to making a difference for these kids that have multiple problems. I'm so glad I have them to depend on--they never act bothered by my endless calls and they are just as anxious to get Clayton well as I am.

Dr. Lyle has become my go-to guy on just about everything (poor guy!). He has been there since the beginning, was there for both Clayton and Shawn. He doesn't mind listening to me and Brian ramble about our theories and takes our opinions to heart. Nice change from most of the medical staff we deal with!! He was totally ready to GET CLAYTON WELL yesterday. Started prescribing stuff and even called today to check on him. So THANK YOU, Dr. Lyle if you are reading this. I brag on you to everyone and I only hope the hosptial knows what kind of treasure they have in the dedicated doctor you are. Thank you for being willing to think outside the box when it comes to Clayton and all the other kids in "medical homes!"

The Past 24 Hours

**good day yesterday with Clayton's therapy.

**he went to sleep at my mom's last night and woke up not looking good.

**kinda blue when I brought him home, pasty at best.

**called doc, went to ER. stayed until 3 am. nothing wrong with his lungs that they can see.

**saw doc today and we have a new game plan because his lungs look "really healthy"----he has always had upper airway obstructions, so we're thinking with that plus all the mucus that this cold is producing is preventing oxygen from getting to his lungs. he's had this problem before, but not for a couple of years. he's even had some scar tissue and his uvala removed (the hangy down thingy in your throat) to give him more airway. Trying nosesprays and Zyrtec to see if he can get dried up.

**I feel much better because we are actually trying something new. The other was obviously not working, especially since the breathing treatments are meant to treat sick lungs, which he obviously doesn't have.


That is all. I'm going to eat something and take a nap.

A Couple of Ordinary Days

We've had a couple of uneventful days around here--which is good in my book! Yesterday was beautiful (a little windy, but that kept it from getting too hot). Clayton and I sat outside for a long time hoping we'd get some sun on our white legs. Don't think we had any luck! The dog is always interesting. She is constantly wanting to go outside and then when we actually go outside for a while, she stands by the door wanting to go in. What's up with that???

And in true Arkansas fashion, today was almost cold. We actually walked around the block and my hands were pretty darn chilled afterwards--don't worry, it was a short walk and I had Clayton bundled up. He didn't seem to mind at all because once we got back he talked for an hour about riding on the four wheeler. I'm not about to try that on my own, so I loaded him up in the van for a ride around town. I'm sure I raised a few eyebrows because I decided it would be a good time to get some pictures I need for my upcoming Scrap Etc. trip. We are supposed to take pics of "places we go," so I pulled up in front of several places and stuck my camera out the window to snap the picture. I even drove by our old apartment and snapped a pic there for a future scrapbook page. I'm sure some people were wondering why I was taking pics of their house or place of business. Oh well, maybe they'll think I was a private eye or something! There is one thing that this assignment made me realize--we don't GO very many places!! Just the same ones over and over!

Clayton is still the same--it's pretty weird because one of the nurses we deal with all the time called and said she had another mom call her today with the same "symptoms" or lack thereof . . . she was just like me, starting to wonder if the monitor was even right! Maybe this is just some weird strain of a virus that's going around. Who knows???

A Long Road

So until the beginning of this month, Clayton had been doing awesome on his oxygen sprints--he was up to five hours off during the day and probably could have gone more if I hadn't taken it slow. But then sickness hit. He started needing more oxygen around the first week of March and it's steadily gotten worse and worse. We've been doing lots of breathing treatments, and still haven't seen any change for the better. The crazy thing is he hasn't run fever or "acted" sick during all this time. I kept him home last week from therapy to see if that would help, and between staying in all week and the extra steroids, he almost drove me crazy! He had just a tad too much cabin fever! I finally let him go to therapy this week on "light duty" mainly for both of our sanitys, and he was soooo glad to see everyone at the clinic. But that didn't change the fact that he was still needing way too much oxygen. Finally took him to the doctor this morning, and guess what? Clear chest x-ray. Normal blood gas. SOOO, what the heck does that mean? Means he's not deathly ill for one thing, but that this cold he has is affecting him far worse than the rest of us. So we'll keep doing breathing treatments and pray that he slowly gets better. (Or quickly gets better!)

But this has opened my eyes to just what a long road we have to a completely "oxygen-free" life we have. I knew he would have to sleep with it for lots longer than he would need it during the day, but I guess I thought the days of colds (or a virus?) affecting him this much were behind us. As usual, I thought wrong.

Please say a prayer for Clayton's lungs tonight/today. Pray they will be strong enough to oxygenate better and that all the congestion clears up. THANK YOU!

Easter Photo

He Is Risen!

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me!

For I am His and He is mine—bought with the precious blood of Christ!

No guilt in life, no fear in death—This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny!

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand.

Till He returns or calls me home—Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand!

Good Friday

**Beautiful day outside!

**Ran a couple of errands, now I think we'll ride over to the park and hope that everyone else didn't have that idea!

**Looking forward to Easter Sunday--we have a full day of plans!

Challenge Time

I'm hosting a sketch challenge on Noel's blog.

Come check it out!

Doing Better

I was able to turn Clayton's oxygen flow down a bit this morning, so I hope that means he's on the mend. It just takes so long for his lungs to recover even after he's germ-free. I'm still doing the breathing treatments because I'm determined he'll get over this as fast as possible, even if that means days . . .

In other news, I can't believe Easter is this Sunday. The weather certainly doesn't reflect it, but isn't that how it always is in Arkansas this time of year? No band practice this week again, but I have Bible Study and then Praise Team practice after that on Wednesday night. Plenty of music to keep me busy. I've basically just been holding and entertaining Clayton today. I'm thinking he may get to go to therapy later in the week, so we'll see. Hope everyone else's Monday is going well!

Does He Look Sick to You?

Nope, didn't think so . . . but apparently he is because for the last three days he's been needing more and more oxygen. I slowly started doing C.P.T. (chest physiotherapy) in the beginning of the week and upping his inhalers. That's what they would do if we took him to the hosptial (believe me, we have plenty of experience!) I finally called Dr. Lyle's nurse this morning because even though he hasn't been "acting" sick, he does cough some and has lots of mucus in his nose that I'm constantly suctioning out. He's even asking me to suction him which is something totally new since that machine is so loud it even scares me sometimes! Anyway, the nurse talked it over with Dr. Lyle and he's pretty much sure it's RSV. Oh, JOY! Since he's not running fever and doesn't act like he feels bad, he's almost certain that's what it is. All that mucus is keeping his lungs from properly ventilating. Nothing really to do except let it run it's course and step up the breathing treatments big time. We'll only go to the hospital if it gets to a point where we can't give him the amout of oxygen he needs. Other than that, we'll hang out here and do the breathing treatments ourselves. And it sounds like Clayton won't be participating in the Easter egg hunt tomorrow or even getting to carry his little palm branch on Sunday for Palm Sunday. Bummer. Hopefully he'll be all better by Easter (he has a habit of getting sick around holidays for some reason). I am glad he is still wanting to play and not running fever. That fever throws him for such a loop--so there is a praise in all this rambling!

Face With the Name

I talk about Noel and her store all the time, so I thought I'd share our picture from the California trip. It was great to finally meet her in person because I think we've probably had at least a thousand emails pass between the two of us over the past year!! And besides being taller than I imagined, she was exactly as I thought she would be (all in a good way!).

And with that being said, I wanted to mention she is having a spring cleaning sale, so be sure and check it out!!

Snow Much Fun

{WHILE IT LASTED}

Snowstorm?

NOT QUITE!! But we'll take what we can get I suppose! It's still snowing, but it's not near cold enough to actually call it a winter storm in my opinion. I think Clayton liked it but I was worn out (and so was Sherman, our neighbor) after holding him for just a few minutes. If it had been super deep and fluffy snow, I would have just laid him down in it and let him play . . . but instead it's wet and dirty Arkansas snow, so I avoided sitting him down in it. We got a few good snapshots--love that the snow is actually falling in them. Maybe we'll get some more later when Brian gets home.

Hmmmm . . .

This past weekend--short sleeve weather, sunny on Saturday

Monday--pouring rain ALL DAY LONG

Tuesday morning--at least an inch of snow on the ground

Tuesday afternoon--no snow, lots of sunshine

Wednesday--beautiful day, no need for a jacket, riding with the windows down

Thursday--forecast: storms

Friday--forecast: six inches of snow

Just when I had given up on an actual winter and started looking forward to warm weather, we get crazy weather like this! Definitely the life in Arkansas!