About Brad

Alright, I think I need to explain what is going on, at least what I know right now. Brad was put back in jail on the 29th of January. He has two more years left on his prison term. I believe that he will be there until the 2 years are over. As to why he went back, here is what I know:

1. Internet is not allowed to anyone convicted of a sexual offense -> He was caught using the internet at one of his jobs.

2. Porn is certainly not allowed either -> Well that is what he was looking at.

3. Every six months he was required to take a polygraph. He has taken two and passed neither of them. The first one was almost a freebie, because most people do not pass them. However he failed the second one also.

4. He also has a tendency to say whatever he thinks will get him out of trouble. That of course gets him in even more trouble.

5. He caused some problems for me, and that caused him to get in trouble also. I am not going to go into detail, but he was told he could not talk to me at all. He did not talk to me, but he decided that he was going to take me to court so he did not have to pay so much child support. Of course that got him in trouble also.

He may get to stay at a work release center, which would allow him to work and pay child support. I will not know about that until the middle of Feb. As I know more, I will pass it on.

As Hermoine Granger said in Harry Potter "What an idiot!"

Allergies!

I hate allergy testing! I really hate it! Anytime your child needs a shot or something that can "hurt or scare" them, parents hate it. But some ways to test for allergies are so much better than others. 40 pricks quickly done are so much better than 15 mini-shots done over a much slower period of time. Here are my two examples of the difference, aside from the fact that they were done to two different children. :)

In November, Christopher was tested for allergies. The testing was really quick and easy, although to hear Christopher tell you about it, it was horrible! The nurse had him take off his shirt and climb in my lap. She then QUICKLY prick his back with 40 different allergens (it took about 5 or 6 minutes.) He sat in my lap and waited about 5 minutes and they checked the pricks and figured out what he was allergic too. (27 out of 40 things) He will be tested for food allergies in March. Christopher never saw a needle and he really did not feel a thing. Being a kid, he hated it but he survived and the test was over.

When I took Cassidy to be tested today, horrible. Normally she is the easiest child to deal with at the doctor's office. She was refered to an ENT and he says that she has allergies and that is what is causing her frequent ear infections. He wanted her to get tested. She was fine until the woman before us got tested for allergies. The technician said, "You will get 15 or more of these pricks." Of course, that scared Cassidy. And then she saw what the pricks were. The tech got a syringe and put the allergen into it. She then had to poke the needle into the top layer of skin and inject the allergen into it forming a "bubble." It took about 15-20 minutes to do 15 "pricks." The woman before Cassidy did not like it at all. She got 8 "pricks" on one arm and 7 on the other. Then, it was Cassidy's turn. Of course she started crying as soon as she saw the needle. She allowed the tech to "prick" her twice (it took about 10 minutes) and then it was over. She was hysterical! The tech gave up and I was actually quite relieved! I took Cassidy to our "normal" doctor and her is going to refer her to the allergist that Christopher went to so she can be tested in a quicker, easier way. Cassidy did not let the test get finished the first time. I am hoping that the allergist can make her testing experience much better the next time around.

As you can see, allergy testing is horrible to begin with, but there is a good way and a bad way for the testing to be done. Unfortunately, Cassidy experienced the BAD way to be tested. I'll let you know how she handles the other way. :)

God's Work

I am not the best blogger in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy reading my friends blog lots! I always get a kick out of what everyone's kids did. One of my friends had two of her kids draw all over "everything" with permanent markers, another friends has some great pictures of her kids with their dad sledding in our mile high snow. I find myself laughing out loud at some of the stories people write in their blogs. I also cry when something hurts someone I care about. Mainly, though, I enjoy reading how God has worked in the lives of the people I care about. My cousin has a daughter who was very sick at this time last year with a very rare disease, this year she is almost back to her normal self again. Another friend has a son who needed surgery last year. They were afraid he may need more soon, but thankfully he does not. I am amazed that people in the world do not believe there is a God, when He so obviously answers prayer the way He does. Outside of the proof of nature, seeing God work in the lives of people makes life so much more interesting, don't you think?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Well, we are now officially in 2009. I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and a wonderful New Year! 2008 was an interesting year to say the least. My children are all doing well in school and I hope they continue to do well as 2009 starts. Christopher has officially been diagnosed with allergies to every kind of tree and grass imaginable. He is also allergic to ragweed, cats and dogs. Did you know there are two different types of dust mites? Well, there are and he is allergic to both kinds!! He will be tested for food allergies in March. Cassidy finally got referred to an ENT. She has allergies also. We will not find out what she is allergic to until Feb or March. I never considered allergies with her frequent ear infections, but she has them and THEY cause the ear infections. Fun, right? Barry is not having any allergy problems at the moment, but that could change. Thank heavens God is in charge!!

All of the kids continue to excel at swimming. Christopher is almost ready to join the swim team (yeah!) and Cassidy is getting there. Barry thinks he can swim better than he really can, which makes thing fun. If I am not watching him 100% of the time, he thinks it is fun to try to swim away and then he sinks. He has no fear of the water at all.

AWANA is going really well. My girl's group is not very big, but they are really working hard. Every quarter we have a special activity for the girls that pass at least 14 sections in the quarter. (The quarter is two months long from Sept.-April.) Out of nine girls 7 of them were invited to the last quarter activity. I hope we get at least the same number of girls for our next activity. I will know in two weeks! Christopher is doing well in Sparks. He continues to surprise is leaders with his ability to figure out what the verses mean without them having to explain it to them. Cassidy is doing well also. She is starting to read on her own, so she needs less one on one help. Barry loves to go to Sparks. He gets so excited to be there. He thinks it is fun when he see a word he knows, so it is fun to work with the leaders.

All of the kids will be able to start riding the horses again when it gets warmer. They all went to the horse show awards with their grandmother and had a really good time. It was a nice little break for me, because I have not had two days in a row with no kids, in a very long time . :)

We had a lot of people at my mother's for Christmas. It was one of the biggest get togethers we have had in a long time. That made things fun let me tell you! It was wonderful to see family that we have not seen in a while. Dave and Sonya came up from OK, Uncle D.B. and Mary Jo came, and Helen and her kids were there. We have not seen most of them in a long time.

My life has been a bit chaotic lately. My ex is the source of a lot of the problems, but as of now he is no longer permitted to talk to me. I am glad of that, because it takes a lot of the stress out of the picture. I am still dealing with the after effects of his actions, but I can handle them, if he is not in the way. :)

Anyway, I hope that God allows 2009 to be stress free as much as possible for me and for everyone I love. Have a great year!

November Update a Little Late!

Christopher is nine! I cannot believe my oldest is nine. It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny little baby! Outside of the very cold and snowy weather, November was rather uneventful. For this I am very grateful. The kids are pretty healthy, although Chris did get strep throat. Cassidy has not been on antibiotics recently and she has been referred to an ENT. Finally! I am still waiting for the doctor's office to call and let me know who she is going to go to. Barry is very healthy and happy. He does not really remember Brad, so he does not seem to have the same kind of issues as the other two. We are still getting counseling which is really helping. My kids really like to go and see Kathleen (our counselor.) She is very nice. The only problem is that as of the 18th, she is out of work until the grant is renewed. Anyway, she is going to give me the names of some people that will take our insurance and still be able to help the kids. My life is a little overwhelming at the moment and the kids have nothing much to do with it. They are doing well in school and swimming, AWANA, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts. It makes me happy that they are feeling so much better about things. Anyway, my life is crazy mainly becasue of, well, you guessed it - Brad. Long story that is not really important, however, if we did not have kids, I would be done talking to him altogether. Anyway, have a wonderful holiday season!!

27 out of 40

Hello everyone! I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! This year my oldest will be nine (tomorrow)!!! I cannot believe that he is already getting so big! He was tested for allergies (finally) last week. The allergist gave him the "40" test. They pricked Christopher's back with 40 different environmental things (trees, grass, animals, mold, dust mites, etc.) He was allergic to 27 of the things. Every tree that he was tested for, every grass, 2 different types of dust mites, and cats and dogs. They will test him for food allergies in March. He hated it. He now takes five different kinds of medicine every day. One for ADHD, 4 for allergies/asthma. He also has an emergency inhaler for his asthma for only when he needs it. He is supposed to take another allergy med, but the insurance needs to get the doctor's pre-authorization. At least now we know part of his allergies.

Cassidy and Barry are fine! Cassidy will be seeing an ENT soon to discuss whether she needs her tonsils removed or something like that. Right now though she is feeling pretty good. Barry is doing great. He is the healthiest of my kids. Anyway everyone is doing fine!

Seven

My friend Christa (who blogs at No End in Site) tagged me for this little survey. You’re supposed to reveal seven random things about yourself that others may not know. This could get interesting…

1. I like Jelly Belly Jelly Beans way more than I should! I like the sour ones the best.

2. I chose my daughter's name when I was in fifth grade after I read a book with main character with the same name.

3. While I was in college, I worked as a camp counselor at a Bible camp. I got to play nurse the last year I worked there.

4. I actually like racquetball (although volleyball is better). I learned it at Cedarville.

5. I was a lifeguard for 6 years. To this day, I still "guard" any pool I go to. The guards at the YMCA have even asked me to guard for them when they are short handed. It can get a little overwhelming!

6.I love Gloria Jean's coffee. I do not really like any other kind of coffee. I am so glad that the nearest Gloria Jean's is at the mall (at least 30 minutes away.)

7. I love to read! I really, really love to read. Mostly fiction, but I will read almost anything.

Now I’m supposed to tag some other bloggers to do the same thing. I’m not sure they’ll all do it, but I tag:

Anyone who wants to.