Evan's Asthma and Allergies

So Evan has asthma and allergies, including exzema, and has had them since he was around 18 months. His asthma is triggered by his allergies, which are everything that they test for. All 42 of them at the highest level or the second to highest level. No surprise, I just feel bad for him. His asthma is also triggered by exercise, mostly when he is already feeling bad, and the cold, and when he is sick and everything else under the sun. That's what it feels like anyway.
They were bad in Texas off and on and seemed to peak at its worse the summer of 2006. He had to be hospitalized overnight in July that summer. The picture is of him playing in the playroom on the peds floor at Wilford Hall in San Antonio. James was gone to Qatar. Thank goodness we still lived in Texas and I didn't have Ava yet. Ryker had come to stay the night with Evan and so I called Mom and Dad and they came. Mom came with me to the hospital and Dad stayed at the house with Ryker. That was an experiance.
Then when we got here to Alaska, the first week we were here, Evan's exzema cleared up. The only places it was bad was behind his knees where he sweats the most and it flares a little when he gets overheated from blankets and such. So we thought maybe things would be better. We were wrong. Last summer was the first time we had to call the ambulance to take him to the ER. The attack just creeped up and we couldn't get it under control fast enough to get him there ourselves. This was not the first ER visit by any means and every time we have been, he gets breathing treatments and a round of steroids (prednisone) to take for 5 days to help his lungs not be inflamed. Those are not fun days, let me tell you!!! We have worked with his pediatrician and results have been ok. We now see a pulmonologist and he is good too. But things just aren't getting better.
He misses so much school and if I thought that he would be better off taught by me than in public school, I would totally and immediately home school him. But I feel like he would fight me every step of the way and that he needs that socialization he gets from school. He loves it there and all the kids and his friends. He is not behind and he has a wonderful teacher who I keep in touch with and we make up all his work.
Tuesday we were in the ER twice and he is taking his steroids now. Usually he can be back to school within a day or two, but this time it is really bad. It just really worries me and I hate for him to not be able to be a normal little boy. Prayers and research about homeschooling are definately in abundance these days.

Twilight...again!

Well, the movie came out on Saturday and I sure did go and get it. I've watched it three times since then and I still just love it. James even watched it with me lastnight and asked questions about it!!
Now, I want to read it again and remember all the differences and such. I started lastnight and got through chapter one before I was tired at 1am. I think I'm even more excited about reading it this time than the first time.

The playhouse

When I was a kid, like 7 or 8, Dad built a playhouse out of wooden pallets for us to play in. It was painted white and then Mom painted "Home Sweet Home" on the front and we loved it. Well it has taken a beating over the years but has stood the test of time. Repainted, it is now at Mom and Dad's in Kerrville for all the grandkids to play in when they go out there. The new tradition is to write your name on it for all to see. Here's Ava playing in it while we were out there over Christmas break.

Christmas 2008

So, last august, we bought tickets to go down to Texas for Christmas and at first we thought James wasn't going to be able to come, but then he did and that was cool. We spent the whole break down there and it was awesome. I didn't get as many pics as I thought but here are some from Christmas Eve and Morning.
Evan had woken up at like 4 am and the crashed again. That blanket he is covering with is his Spiderman quilt Mom crocheted for him in the shape of a web. Pretty awesome huh?
Ava loves "Yo Gabba Gabba" and so we got her a dvd with 4 episodes on it. She hasn't stopped watching since and I know all the songs and silly things they say and do. Evan got a SpongeBob lego set and a Ben 10 dvd.
No we didn't bring those all with us, I had sent all the presents early so we didn't have to bring them on the plane.

I know, I know...

So! Here's the big explanation. We went to Texas for Christmas. (Which was wonderful, by the way and there will be photos posted soon of that on here and on facebook.) After we got back I started feeling really bad all the time. I felt like I had the flu and I couldn't shake it to save my life. I was sleeping as much as the kids and James would allow me to. I would sleep throughout the whole day and in between voice and piano lessons. Some of those would even get cancelled because I felt so bad sometimes. Anyway, about 2 weeks ago I had a check-up for my thyroid condition and did some blood work that morning prior to the appointment. Low and behold, I have Diabetes and have had it for at least 3 months. That is why I had been feeling so bad. All the things I was feeling are symptoms of high blood sugar and Type II diabetes. It wasn't a big surprise. Both Mom and Dad have Type II and there is a long line in my dad's side who have it too. But it was a shock. I'm not quite 30 yet and I already got it. However, I have been saying for about 10 years that I get everything Mom has, just 10 to 15 years before she got it.
So there we are. I am taking meds, exercising and eating differently and better. No insulin shots so far and hopefully I won't have to. The medicine seems to help and I totally know what it feels like when I eat the wrong things and my blood sugar gets too high. It almost puts me out of commision now. I will not be doing that very often if ever. I have already started to lose weight and that is REALLY nice. Thanks for everyone's concern. Love y'all very much.

Twilight...The MOVIE!!!

So........I really liked it.
My favorite scenes were when Rosalie smashed the salad bowl in her hands because Bella had already eaten and when Edward jumped across the room when he was kissing Bella because he was trying not to bite her and suck out her blood.
I am, however, a little annoyed with Kristen Stewart's performance at the end when Bella is in the hospital and freaks out on Edward when he tells her she should go to Jacksonville. I felt like it wasn't pointed enough, targeted enough, concentrated enough. I felt like it was all over the place and she should have like...I don't know...freaked out but maybe grabbed him at the same time so he couldn't get away. I think it would have gotten the point across better. I guess that's what I'm saying. I feel that way about all the scenes where she had to be frantic in some way.
I want to see it again so I can better like her perfomance throughout the movie, I guess.
All in all, I think it was a great adaptation and I can't wait for NEW MOON!!!

Quick updates

Halloween was fun.
Our Ward had a Trunk or Treat the weekend before and so we went.
Good Food. Good Dessert. The activity part was watching some families play a kind of "Fear Factor" game. It was funny.
Then we went out and Trunk or Treated in the 17 degree weather.
Evan was Bumblebee from Transformers and Ava was a butterfly.(bottom two pics)
On Halloween: The base Trick or Treating started at 6pm. It was 14 degrees that day. So Evan's Bumbleebee costume wasn't going to be warm enough and he had also worn it out from wearing all week while he was home sick from school. So he wore his shark costume from last year because he could wear clothes under that and the his coat. I bundled Ava up with an extra hat underneath her hood and mittens and blanket in a wagon and headed out. (top two pics) Evan wouldn't listen and didn't put socks on and only wore his rain boots instead of snow boots and so we were only out for 30 minutes and then came home. Ate candy and handed out what we had. Evan liked that part the best, I think.