Summer Adventures with Eli

Need I say more? We have a blast with Eli! He is such a bundle of energy. I love being able to spend time with Eli. He loves picnic in the park! It does not have to be anything elaborate. Whether it's a kids meal from Chick-fil-A or a Happy Meal from McDonalds it is still a picnic for him. I love watching him run around the park and burn off all his energy...actually I am the one who burns off all the energy. He is like the energizer bunny who can keep going even after playing all day.

Playing with his crane in our backyard by the pool

Bad Boy or Just Styling?

I'm going to shoot you!

At Holliday Park

He loves to climb this! He of course is not big enough for it yet!

Balancing Act

A day with Aunt Michelle

One of my favorite photos of Eli and I

Chaye's First Day of School

Our little girl is growing up! Today was her first day of school...seventh grade here she comes! Hard to believe that she is already in 7th grade. She has grown so much physically and emotionally. We are proud to say that she has also grown spiritually. Her maturity level amazes us and other times also baffles us as she occasionally acts out and reminds us that she is still only 12. She has great challenges this year, not just academically which we know she would excel because she always perseveres but because of the issues she has been having with her vision.

She has been very upbeat despite going to school a day after testing where the medicine has not worn off and left her barely able to see anything. She made the most out of what could have been a very challenging day. She came home beaming from ear to ear, excited and full of stories of her first day.

July 2009

July is a special month for us. We got married July 10, 2004 and my birthday is July 16th. This is kind of hard for Tim to remember, which date is which so more than once he gave me a birthday card for our anniversary and a anniversary card for my birthday! Too funny! His excuse is that he buys them at the same and seals them afterwards without marking which one is which.

This year we took a week off without the kids and went to Gatlinburg, TN. This was the first time in 5 years that we have gone on vacation without the kids. Our vacation has always included the kids, we are afterall a family! We did need the time away to reconnect and focus on each other. The last 5 years has been busy! We have been going on different directions to accomodate the kids schedule and my work schedule. So while Chaye was in Purdue University for her Gifted Educational Resource Institute Program and Eli spending the week with my parents, Tim and I got away.

We stayed on a cabin in Gatlinburg. For a whole week our address became 511 Hootowl Way Gatlinburg, TN. The cabin was so cozy and roomy for the two of us. It actually is a honeymoon cabin, so it felt like we were on our second honeymoon!

This is our first meal at downtown Gatlinburg. The food was awesome! Here is Tim looking at the menu, trying to figure out what to get.

I love oysters! I like them raw with lemon juice and salt. Tim loves them too!

This was taken at Pigeon Forge Old Mill

Tim's turn

At the Dixie Stampede while waiting to get into the show we sat and ate popcorn and peanuts and listened to some really good fiddlers. I had a strawberry daiquiri (virgin) and Tim had Coke served on souvenir cups that looked like a boot.

We had an awesome time at Gatlinburg. There were no deadlines to be met or time fram to get anything done. We just took our time and did what we want on our own time. It was certainly nice to be able to do that. We took in the sights and did some of the activities. We do plan on going back with the kids sometime either in the spring time or fall.

The whole month of July flew by. We were preoccupied with doctor's appointments for Chaye. On her recheck of her contact lens we found out that both her optic nerves are swollen. We were then referred to see a pediatric neurologist for further evaluation. She had MRI done to check for tumors that could be causing the swelling. Thankfully there were no tumors on her brain. The MRI was limited by her braces, they were not able to visualize the eyes and the area around it. So the MRI did not give us a definitive diagnosis.

She had a spinal tap done to check her intracranial pressure. Her ICP was high so Dr. Jackman drained about 20 ml of spinal fluid which reduced her ICP to 12. The reduction in the pressure was a move to hopefully reduce her headaches and help improve her vision. The weekend following the spinal tap she had the worst headache she's had since all this started. She spent most of the weekend in bed. By Sunday night her throat was sore and unable to swallow, as if she did not need anymore aches and pain. We went to her pediatrician first thing Monday morning and to confirm if her sore throat was due to strep. It was so she had to be on Antibiotic for 10 days. Wish it was that easy to find out what is causing her issues with her optic nerves.

Her severe allergy to sulfa limited her options to take Diamox to help relieve some of her symptoms. So we are still in the dark with her condition. She is to see a neuro-opthalmologist on the 10th of August. Hopefully we will have some answers and solutions. We are lifting everything up to the Lord. He has plans that we do not know about. In Him, nothing is impossible!