This blog has been interrupted by real life...

Please excuse our blogging hiatus. This past month has been so crazy for us. We are still trying to process through everything that has gone on. Maybe telling our story will help me process a little. Here's a short version of our last month:

In the middle of August Jared and I were able to take a trip together for 5 days and 4 nights. This was the first time we have been away for that long since Will was born. It was great to have some time to ourselves.

We came home from our trip and moved the following weekend, needless to say that was a little stressful. Moving is always a challenge.

Then the boys started school, which was a great relief for me. They are going two days a week and really enjoying it.

Will had his 3rd birthday. He really understood what it meant this year. He enjoyed opening his "presidents" as he called them.

Our Internet went out the next day, which is another reason for the lack of blogging.

Then the next week is when things went really downhill for us. The morning of Luke's first birthday I started to not feel well. I get migraine headaches and I thought I was just coming down with one. I usually take migraine medicine and I'm all better. I met a friend at the mall to play, but I couldn't make it through the play date. I went home and went straight to bed. As I felt worse and worse and started running temperature we knew there was something more going on than a migraine. Jared took me to the ER that night and they concluded that I was had a virus that was compounded by a migraine. After a few bags of IV fluid and some different meds they sent me home.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Ike was gearing up to hit our area so, Jared decided that we needed to evacuate. Jared's aunt and cousins live in Austin, so we decided to go there to wait out the hurricane. Jared got everyone here packed and ready to go and our house ready for a possible hurricane. All the while I'm still in bed with absolutely no idea what is going on.

We made it to Austin, but I was worse than ever. So, the next morning Jared took me to the ER. I was admitted to the hospital, but the doctors still weren't sure what was wrong with me. After a few tests they discovered that I had pneumonia and a bladder infection. Then the next day after another round of test they discovered that my gall bladder was very inflamed and needed to be removed. The next day I had surgery to remove my gall bladder.

After the surgery my fever and nausea went away and I felt much better. I was released from the hospital the next day. But, that night I started feeling nauseated and dizzy again. So, the next morning even though we were so ready to come home we went back to the hospital. I was admitted again. My body and GI tract hadn't gotten quite back to normal working condition and I was suffering from pancreatitis. After a few days of some not so fun stuff and an MRI, the conclusion was that I needed to have a specialized endoscopy to check out my pancreas and see if I had any left over gall stones. Jared and I asked the doctors if we could please go home for this procedure. They agreed, and after 5 more nights in the hospital we came home.

I spent the next two days going to doctors back home and having the endoscopy procedure. They did find a gall stone and removed it. It's amazing that something so small can cause so much pain. Finally after 2 weeks my pain started to go away and I started to feel a little bit more like myself. I'm glad to be out of the hospital and done with IV's for now. I kept telling Jared that having babies is a much more enjoyable hospital stay!

I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband who is the rock of our family and has kept things running around here. And we couldn't have made it without our fantastic family who stepped in and took care of our boys for us. And we so appreciate our wonderful friends from church, who have been bringing us food. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us. We are forever grateful for all the love and support we have been shown!

Now, I'm finally waking up from my fog and attempting to to put our life back together. I have no idea where anything in our house is. I'm finding out that Will has been wearing Luke's diapers for a few days now, poor guy. Yes, potty training has been on hold for a little while too. We are taking things minute by minute and thankful for the Lord's grace to help us survive. Jared and I are just so happy to be home with our boys, we are counting all the small blessings in life!

Hope to be blogging more this next month...