Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy birthday, Mom!  Here's to many years of love and togetherness, and prayers for many more!  I love you, and am so glad to celebrate you today.

One year old!

This little guy turns one today!  These photos cannot begin to show his happy, sweet personality, and the way his smile lights up the room.  Happy birthday, E-3!  We love and miss you!

34 years of faithfulness

In June of 1984, a young man with a brand-spanking new PhD moved his fledgling family to the Middle-of-Nowhere, New Mexico, and began a career as a nuclear chemist.  Because Dave, like many in our government laboratory town, often works on classified projects about which he can not speak, I have, over the years, referred to to his job as "keeping the world safe for Democracy." 

Over his 34 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Dave has done many things: volcano studies, environmental restoration projects, air quality studies, ground water studies, and, indeed, things that I don't know about that do keep the world safe for Democracy.  He has faithfully given his time and talents to the jobs set before him, working through life's crises: including new babies, his own cancer, all my health issues, raising his boys, welcoming grandchildren, and caring for aging parents. Through all that time, he was a servant to those around him, always ready to help and encourage and get along, even with hard-to-get-along-with scientists. He has provided well for his family, and served his country. He is my hero.

Congratulations on your retirement, Dave.  Well done!  And I can't wait to see what adventures lie ahead of us!

Happy birthday, Ben!

Happy birthday to my eldest-- the guinea pig of my life and career, the one who ushered me in a real way into adulthood, and the one who still makes me laugh and rejoice with regularity.  You have been a delight to us always.  Happy birthday, dear son!

Happy Birthday, E2

It is someone's 4th birthday today.  My, how the years are flying by!  We love this tender, rough-and-ready, happy, and creative little boy.  Happy birthday, Z-Buddy!

A happy health update

It has been a long time, Gentle Reader, since I gave a health update.  If you are uninterested in details, the upshot is that God continues to be gracious, and we will try to cut down on my medication load.  Hurrah!  Details follow.

After a tough season of struggle on a couple levels, a new doctor was sought out.  The struggles involved not my eyes nor my birdshot-- they have remained very stable.  But the large amount of immune suppressants I have been on to achieve that are taking their toll.  Since October, I have had diverticulitis, a C-Diff infection, a respiratory virus, an eye infection, and a sinus/ear infection.  My current ophthalmologist is a good doc and good guy, but not familiar with my disease, and hesitant to remove me from any more of my medicines.  The time came when I was still stable (and as a matter of fact, there is no sign of birdshot remaining in my left eye, and my vision field test is normal!) to try to rid myself of the immune suppresants, if not permanently, for a time of respite for my body.  So, enter a birdshot chorioretinopathy specialist in Denver.  Perhaps we should have headed in that direction as soon as my specialist at UNM left, but here we are, and we made the move to see him last week. 

I have to tell you, Gentle Reader, that it was such a tremendous relief to speak to someone who knows more than I do about this disease, and who can confidently plot a course for me, who listened well, had a plan with options, and seems to have an extremely friendly and competent staff.  God is so good to us! I was lifted!  And here is our new plan:

• We will try easing me off the immune suppressants.  I will stay on my current relatively low dose of mycophenylate every day (500 mg  twice a day) and extend my remicade infusions to every 10 weeks for three treatments, then every 12 weeks for three treatments, then stop if all is still stable.  That will be followed by me ending my mycophenylate.
• I will see the Denver doc every six months for tests and exam, and my ABQ ophtho every 6 months in-between, so they will follow me at every 3 months during this process to watch for early signs of a flare.
• If a flare occurs, we will discuss options for changing my infusion drug since I am really getting a lot of infections on remicade right now.  

So, I still walk in hope, am seeing well, and rejoice in God's provision!  Won't you join me in rejoicing?!

Christmas Projects Update

Since some of my Gentle Readers have asked, here is a quick rundown of my Christmas sewing projects this year.

The ornaments made for nieces and grandchildren this year were felt hearts.  I loved this simple hand work!

The smallest grandchidren got elephants.

I completed some clothing for an itsy-bitsy girl to keep her warm and seasonably dressed, including a kimono and skirt with a matching set for her big sister.

My youngest niece received an apron.

And in the blanket category, I finished a flannel receiving blanket for a baby due this spring, a quilt for my sister, and a quilt for a busy boy.  All were fun to finish!