Teeth, camp and....salads?

I have NEVER heard a child ask for a tooth to be pulled yet this isn't the first timeAudrey An has asked daddy-o to pull out her teeth!  Watch...she doesn't even flinch...one tough cookie!!!!

Cute little snaggle tooth gal! (little does she know she's going to have another pulled by the dentist in a couple of week. Actually, I don't think she'll mind!

Guess who visited last night? 

 Sisters at camp drop-off today...praying for a great weekend, girlies!!!

 Audrey An's FIRST overnight camp...she's SO excited and SO excited to be with her best buddy, Grace!

 Abigail's LAST "kid camp"...sniff sniff!  How can she be growing up so fast?  This is Hannah, one of her best buddies from church!

Medical update:
Grateful.  Thankful. Surreal.  WOW....are just some adjectives I'm feeling since I returned for another follow up doctor appointment. I'm feeling so much better, but I went in because I feel like my stomach is about to explode!  She said the medications are flushing out so many toxins and I am having so much problem with digestive issues, it's settling in my gut.  Sooooo....yep that's why I can't fit into any of my clothes;-(  Glad there's an additional reason added to the side affect of the glorious steroid...HA!  The ironic thing is I'm eating healthier with lots more salads and smoothies for meals, but she said that eating lots of salads is actually more hurtful to me right now because I'm unable to digest it properly, and it just settles in my gut.  SO...can't win for losing....argggggh!   Off to eat more cooked not raw foods.  Have you ever been told to NOT eat salad...lol!?!?  Oh well, maybe I'll go eat a Snickers for dinner- JUST kidding.  Well, okay....yep, nevermind....

She also said my vitals and adrenals are the best she's seen in me so far so my body is tapering off the steroid just fine. So she think I'll be fine reducing the steroid more rapidly. So we're going for it.  My endocrine system is shot due to the steroid so she's as anxious for me to get off the evil steroid as I am.  I had five more infusions yesterday (two were antibiotics). Dr. M is very pleased with my progress.  I told her I've made more progress in 6 weeks with her than the last year and a half.  I think we're on to something! It's a 1/2 day affair when I go, but it totally doesn't bother me because it's working!!!!  Praise the Lord!

GOTCHA!!!

Today, we celebrate THREE YEARS with Audrey An Xiaoli!!!  Last year I asked people to vote where they thought we'd be this Gotcha Day since we'd been in a different country for the first two.  Well, USA was the vote, and USA was the winner!

Abigail started off her mei mei's special day with a pancake breakfast...complete with crepe paper decorations, too!  I love how they both always make special days special for each other without even being asked or reminded.  Blessings!!!

Special sisters...mei mei and jie jie together!!!!  We've had a great day together.  We were just missing daddy.  I took the girls to a movie, ate at Chick-Fil-A (AA's request)....then I took her to a orthrodontic consult (was't that SO nice of me to do to her on her special day...LOL!?!?!).  We're going to have another celebration when daddy comes home and east chinese food per Audrey An's request!  We can't have too many parties.

Love those dimples, love that smile, LOVE this girl!  July 12, 2009 will forever be a special, special, special day for us.  You've come SO far, baby.  At times, I cannot believe it's already been three years since you came into our family, but in other ways I can't believe it's ONLY been three years.  Mama, Baba, and jie jie can't even imagine life without you in it.  You're a perfect fit, and it seems you've been with us since birth!  You are quite amazing.  You are joy.  You are resilient.  You are smart.  You are beautiful.  You are energizer bunny.  You are Miss Smiley Face!

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" 

Okay, I just put her to bed and part of her prayer was, "Dear God, thank you for my fun Gotcha Day, and thank you for my special family."...ahhhhh, MELT MY HEART!!!

Medical updates:
My grandmother who we visited last week in Texas sounded like a different human being when I spoke with her this afternoon....amazing!  She sounded so much stronger AND her new physical therapist got her up and walking yesterday.  Yes, this is GREAT accomplishment....it's been five weeks since she's been able to walk!  What an answer to prayer.  One of my specific prayers for her is that her heart would be encouraged and she'd feel hope.  THAT is exactly what I heard in her voice today...so thankful!!!

GREAT NEWS!  I received word on Tuesday that my CPK is down to 269!!!!!!  YES...2.6.9!!!  TWO HUNDRED SIXTY NINE!!! We are so excited it continues to come down! (remember, just five months ago it was in the 8300 range....uggh!).  Also, remember that this number and how I'm feeling hasn't always correlated exactly, but this time I think they go hand in hand.  I told a friend last night if I were a betting gal when my doctor tested my CPK a couple of weeks ago that it would probably be lower.  I AM feeling better.  I AM getting stronger.  I AM so thankful!!!! I've decreased my steroid this week as well, and so far I'm doing fine. This particular dosage has always been been "sticking point" and have always tanked a bit so I'm praying that my body will adjust quickly and handle the change of the steroid dosage so I CAN GET OFF THIS STUFF!!!!!!  Sleep continues to be an issue, but I'm going to try a new Rx as soon as David comes home from his trip.  I don't like changing up meds when he's gone.  SO.....you better hurry home, baby!  SLEEP =  Feeling much better!! SLEEP= I can function!!! SLEEP=Happy momma!!!

One more quick thing.  I've had a few people ask me if we know what the infection is, and if we know how I got this illness.  Well. we don't know how I got sick, and we don't exactly the source of it all.  We do know that it's most likely been "brewing" in my body for quite some time.  We do know that I have infection (and this has been somewhat controversial with a couple of doctors, but let's just say..."The proof is in the pudding!"- my white blood cell count, neutrophyls, mycoplasma and many more things are high which indicate infection).  Basically, there are two schools of thought: 1. Doctors who believe that auto-immune disorders and rheumatical diseases are infection based (here are two websites that have been instrumental in educating us: Rheumatic.org and The Roadback Foundation) AND  2. Doctors who don't believe that.  David and I are in "camp 1" based on our own research, how I've responded to antibiotics, etc.  I do NOT discount any of the doctors treatments in the last 1  1/2 years because each of them have had a vital role in getting me where I am today!  David and I do feel that this newest doctor has gotten me further along in the shortest amount of time, too.  We do think there are many factors that have played into my improvement- changes in environment, diet, medication, but most of all answers to our prayers from a very Mighty, Powerful, Loving and Gracious Physician.  We give God ALL the credit.  He has placed us on a path of healing- a strange one at that I must say, but we know and see how He's orchestrated our steps.  If you or someone you know struggles with a "auto-immune" disease or arthritis, it's worth your time to browse the two above websites in my opinion.  I hope that clears up some questions...David's much better at explaining it than I!  I've got a long way to go, but I've COME a long way, baby!!!!

note to self:  don't give AA ice cream, cookies and sprite in the same day....again!!!  I'll let you read between the lines ;-)

Walking on water!

David, the girls and I were fortunate to return back home this week to see my parents and my grandmother who is very ill.  I wasn't sure if it would work out since it was a holiday week, but it did! It was a mini reunion for me because we got to see two sets of aunts and uncles who were in town, too!

My precious grandmother "Nini" with the girls.  There's about a 86 year gap between oldest and youngest!  She's a special lady to me (all of us!).  We love you, Nini, and are praying for you!

Okay, remember this post?  I know I took this picture about six weeks ago, BUT I didn't have my wedding ring on....SO, I had to take it again.  I know I'm goofy, but I just love this picture.  It represents a lot of things, a lot of years, and four generations!

My hunky monkey tearing up the lake!

Glamour girls!

A patient daddy teaching the Abster to water ski for the first time.

Here she goes...

And...she's walking on water!

A good sign that she had a blast!  Way to go, Abigail!!!!

Time for sweet Xiaoli to have some fun!

Driving the boat with Papa D

Audrey An, you have no idea how many times I've felt the same way...lol!

Not a care in the world...

late night Boggle game with Nana

 

We had a GREAT time this weekend.  I hadn't been on the lake back home in  years and it felt oh-so- wonderful to be out there even though I personally couldn't ski this year and I was wrapped up in a hat, sunglasses and long sleeve shirt plus sitting under the boat shade with sunsscreen SPF 45!  To see my girls having a blast on the lake like I did growing up and getting to experience skiing, tubing and swiming at the lake meant the world to me (and David!).  Surely, I got  a little bit of "vitamin d therapy" ;-)  Thanks, mom and dad, for taking us.  I know you both were exhausted from being out of town right up until you picked us up at the airport.  It was worth it, right!?!  Love you!

Okay, signing off....that flight this morning came a bit too early for my taste!

Red, White, and Pink???

My two little "Americanas" baking away again!

The finished product....didn't they do good!

Okay, so our "red" was a tad "pink".- oh well! I am so thankful we're celebrating America today.  We went to our church's "Freedom" concert Sunday night, and I had such a different perspective and appreciation of the privilege of all the freedoms I've enjoyed over the years- not only in America but in Christ!  Being home for just three months now from living overseas makes you appreciate a LOT of things.

I'm going for supermom (HAHAHA!): TWO "crafty/bakey" things in ONE DAY for me...WHOOOOA!  I'm turning into my best friend ;-)

  These magnets the girls made today turned out super cute!  Yep, don't know how to flip my picture when I take it upside down on my ipad- another, "oh well".

Audrey An surprised me tonight!  She taught herself to tie her (well, my!) shoe.  You go, girl  CHECK CHECK CHECK off that item off the "to learn" list this summer.  super yay.  I guess she's into the shoe them this weekend because last night during our devotional about heaven she said, "Mommy, I think Jesus will wear super cool brown slippers in heaven."  She also stated very matter of factly that she was SO excited she wouldn't have to take a bath in heaven!  Well, alrighty then.   I love how little minds think!

I did have my doctor appointment last Friday and get my test results from 2 1/2 weeks ago.  I just simply haven't taken the time to enter blogger world since I'm not getting any sleep....arrgh!  This is some of what I learned:
CPK (we actually had a little mix up on this test 2 1/2 weeks ago, and she didn't order the CPK test so we did one this past Friday and I'm still waiting to hear results), no lymes disease, no rocky mountain fever, low thyroid, low Adrenals, low magnesium, low vitamin k, low vitamin d (amazing since the rheumatologist has me on a very high dose! My body isn't absorbing it though abvioiusly), cholesterol is great, messed up digestive track, high platelets, high white blood count and high neutrophils and high mycoplasma (means major bacterial infection), and some other "stuff".  My body isn't absorbing some meds and vitamins and infection and inflammation definitely like hanging out with me ;-)  So, as you can see I just a healthy gal- HA! 

She said the reason I crashed the two days after IVs (and there were FIVE of them) because of my body flushing out tons of toxins. She said I probably wouldn't feel that this time (yes, there were FIVE infusions last Friday)- which I haven't.  My neck fatigue is from infection -says it's a common place for it to "hang out"....hmmmm.  I truly am grateful for improvement, but I really look like I could open my own pharmacy with all the prescriptions, vitamins, powders, and the latest...a once a week Vitamin b/amino acid injection I now give myself.  NOW...if I could just get one of those little lovelies to help me SLEEP!!!!

I also asked her about Abigail's high white blood cell count (her pediatrician said tests were normal when we moved home and I took both girls in for check ups-but her labs indicate a high white blood cell count. So how is that "normal"??) and she she that's not normal especially in child.  So I made her a consult appointment in August, too!

These results were probably more than most wanted to know, but a few have asked what I found out...