A mom, a dad, and three cute kids.
Nathan cries when he eats now. It’s not because he doesn’t like the food 🙂
I guess it is relatively common as the nerves re-grow to get some wiring that is mixed up. Somehow his salivary gland is triggering his eye to water.
I bet you didn’t expect that! So, if you’re with Nathan while he’s eating and you see him crying, don’t worry. 🙂
Nathan had his chiropractor appointment this evening. It was just a preliminary visit. They did x-rays. He will go back on Monday to go over what they saw. Nathan is also considering getting tested for Lyme Disease as well. Because of the way it presented in January, Nathan didn’t really consider getting that test, but now he’s wondering if maybe he should. We’ll see what happens with that.
The kids and I went and played at a friends’ house this morning. The weather was great for the kids to play in the backyard. The moms got to stay inside and chat uninterrupted for the most part.
We got paid today. I finished the budget for the month and transferred money to our savings. That’s a good feeling!
109 Days.
That’s how long it has been since Nathan has been able to use the left side of his face. Please keep praying for healing. The doctors have nothing to suggest. Just wait and see. Tomorrow, Nathan has an appointment with a chiropractor. We’re hoping that he is able to offer some help/hope.
It’s in the 40’s and sunny here today. It looks like we’ll be in the high 50’s later this week. I am so thankful for the sunshine! It seems like I’m getting a lower tolerance for dreary, overcast days.
Nathan had a new co-worker start this week. Their family moved here from Illinois. I ran over to meet his wife on Friday as they were getting their stuff settled. I had gathered a few items to help stock their pantry. I can’t believe that we were in that same place a year ago. It’s really nice to be able to offer support to others just a little behind us on this adventure.
Speaking of which, I have the awesome privilege and responsibility of facilitating/teaching a Bible study called “Moving On After Moving In”. I participated in it last year and this year I get to teach! We had our first session on the 11th. I think there are 13 women in the class and we’re still growing. Each one of them has moved within the last several years. Most of them have moved in the last year or less. There is so much stuff to deal with in regard to moving and it’s such a sweet time of being with women who are all going through the same things and supporting each other. Honestly, I come home from class exhausted, but it’s worth it.
Today is a busy school day for us. We’re gone for a lot of the day on Wednesday. I’m trying to make up for that by doing a lot on Tuesdays.
I brought Audrey to see the doctor last week. I mentioned a little while ago that we were trying to get rid of warts. Well, she has had them for a long time and if it was just a few on her fingers I probably wouldn’t have worried about it, but a little over a week ago, I noticed that she had one on her mouth as well and she also has toe fungus (sorry if that’s too much information) and I was feeling overwhelmed and like it was taking over Audrey and I don’t want my sweet little girl to have to deal with this. The doctor said it was good that we came in. He gave us two oral medicines. One is for her toe and she takes it once a week. The other oral one is a medicine that is also used for reflux, but it works to get rid of ulcers and warts as well. She takes that daily. We also got a third medicine which is acid that we “paint” on the warts every 4 days. It’s like a really, really strong form of Compound W. That particular medicine was over $80! Even with all of this, it could take several months of treatment.,
Speaking of health stuff, there is no change with Nathan. We’re on day 25 of Bells Palsy. Keep praying for healing for him and for Audrey.
It doesn’t seem like having a cold should derail me so completely. Sore throat, Â alternating stuffy and running nose, sinus pain, and lots of sneezing. I want to stay in bed, but life isn’t stopping for me! I went to the store and stocked up on Zicam and Emergen C. I need to kick this thing because Ethan and Audrey need to do school and laundry needs laundering and dishes need washing.
To add to our excitement, we’ve just started doing the online K12 school for Ethan. I wanted to check it out for the second half of this year to see how Ethan does. I needed a little more structure and some way to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. We also want to transition to Ethan to the local public school system in the next year or two and I want to make sure that he is ready when that happens. I’m waiting to talk to the teacher that is working with us. Ethan just passed the second semester Math assessment and I’m not sure what he is supposed to be doing next.
Nathan is staying busy with fun work projects. His love and skill with the Ruby programming language has put him in a unique position at Lampo as they are just adopting that language. He has been able to be on the ground floor in setting up some basic practices and he’s been given more leadership opportunities. Still no change in the Bell’s Palsy. We have some leads to follow with chiropractic care.
I fell off the wagon with keeping Audrey off bread and sugar. It was more work! I need to stock up more on fresh fruits and veggies and try again.
We fled the frigid cold of MN when we moved to TN, but we got some crazy weather in return.
I’ve never lived in a place that could have tornadoes one day and a chance of snow the next. That’s been how things have gone this week.
During the day on Tuesday I had been reading reports that we could have severe thunderstorms and a good possibility of tornadoes late that evening/early Wednesday morning. Â I woke up at 3:00 am Wednesday morning and realized I was hearing tornado sirens. I grabbed my tablet and pulled up my twitter feed because I follow the posts of a guy who is a meteorologist and lives really close to us. He said “grab your kids and your shoes and go to a safe place.” So we woke the kids and all of us camped out in the half bath on the main level of the townhouse. We stayed until we got the “all clear”. It was almost 4am at that point. I was a little frightened because the wind was really strong, but the kids did really well.
Franklin did get hit with a tornado. It was a couple of miles from us and thankfully, everyone was safe. It was only a mile long and lasted only a minute. There was some building damage and there are trees down throughout the town. Our next door neighbor’s shutter ended up under Nathan’s car. There were at least 13 tornadoes confirmed from that storm!
Tonight I’m hearing there is a chance of snow. 🙂
In Nathan news, he saw a doctor today to follow-up from the ER visit. Nathan was thoroughly checked over. There is nothing new to report. All the stuff Nathan is feeling and experiencing is “normal” for someone suffering from Bell’s Palsy. The doctor said it could take a long time to get better and that it’s possible that he could get better with weeks or that it’s a permanent thing that he has to deal with. That’s where we are at with that.
Nathan is home today. He’s in pain because of using muscles differently and his ear hurts. He gets to see a primary care doctor tomorrow to follow up the ER visit.
Nathan is discouraged and depressed. I feel helpless.
It’s so hard not to know if we should be hunkering down for 3-6 months or more of this. That’s a totally different thing to wrap your brain around than knowing that in two or three weeks things will be better.
Imagine not being able to drink, smile, or blink on one side of your face. Imagine looking sad all the time because you can’t look happy even if you wanted to. It’s just harder than we thought it would be.
Please pray for encouragement and for immediate complete healing for Nathan. Why not ask boldly?