Wedding Package Photos

We just got in the CD of our photos. Here are some pics from the wedding package photog. Not that many great ones, so that's why we are so excited to see the ones taken by my amazing friend/pro photographer extraordinaire, David Thompson and Aaron Matney. We will post those as soon as we get them. I got a text from David and we shoul get them this weekend.

Did She Seriously Just Say That??

The random things that come out of my daughters mouth's from time to time are enough to crack me up and sometimes make me choke on food or whatever beverage that is in my mouth.
Me: You will be grounded until you bring your grades up. Period.
Allorah: I cant work at the church fiestas this weekend then?
Me: No
Allorah: But grandma and grandpa already told the church people that I would work the booth and help them out. So I still cant go?
Me: Nope
Allorah: So, let me get this right, your telling me that I cannot work for Jesus this weekend?
Me: That's what I'm saying, I will have grandma personally tell Jesus that you cant be employed by Him this weekend because your grounded and I'm sure He will understand your dilemma.
Allorah: Boo.

It's gonna be a long weekend so thank goodness my husband will be home this evening! LOL

8/12/11 Update

It seems that life is running at about 150 mph these days. No time to even pick my nose! School starts on Tuesday so we are busy trying to get the girls situated and ready for that. My parents are taking them to El Paso today for a day of shopping and lunch and then I will take them on Sunday for the same thing. Spoiled trolls!! :) It was a busy week and a half for me. I traveled up to northern NM for my job and got to see some amazing areas of our great state. I worked in Farmington on Thursday and actually loved the area, then went to Gallup and worked there on Friday. I had to then work in Las Cruces on Tuesday and then work in Los Lunas on Wednesday! I actually enjoy the traveling. I am so lucky to have a great job, wonderful boss and co-workers. It makes it so much easier.
Lola had her 6 month eye exam with her opthamologist yesterday. Her peepers are well and no serious problems can be detected. She still has that small cataract on her right eye, but it hasn't grown or deterred her vision so that is a plus. She has to see her opthamologist on a routine basis because of the 2 medications that she has taken for 10+ years and all the side effects that they can have on the eyes. The Prednisone and Plaquenil are monsters to this area. So she will be back to see Dr. Yang in February and we will discuss contact lenses at that time. I cannot believe that she is gonna be in contacts soon! She is growing up too fast.
Jo should be getting her car out of the shop today. Yikes, hide your kids, grannies and families and get them off the road! She will have wheels and is not afraid to use them! Hopefully JR will have her car done today and she can be on the road soon. So off to DMV I go today for her registration and all that jazz. Thank you Nathan for all you have done for her by getting the car and all the parts and working on it to get it ready for her. You are amazing and I cant put into words how thankful we are for all you do!
So we are 35 days out from the wedding! So many little things to get done. Today I will go drop off his suit and tie at the dry cleaners so it can be pressed and made fancy and Monday I will order the flowers and this weekend we will find Jo her shoes. Yup, still no stress or anxiety and not quit sure if I will really have any, this is just too easy!! :)

School Registration

I cant believe that it is already school registration today, that summer is almost over and that I now offically have a senior in high school! Nothing like coming to that realization to make you feel older than you already do! So having the girls register in Alamogordo was not part of our "plan" but here we are. We had planned on me already be settled in with a job and a house by this time and thats not the case. After a tearful talk that other night, Nathan and I have decided that I will no longer look for jobs and go to interviews in Santa Fe until next year. With the girls starting school already, its just not what we want to do at this time. The only way I will possibly take an interview is with the Labs in Los Alamos or a stellar position with the state. No more searching and applying until about April of next year. I can now just concentrate on the kids, fixing the house, the wedding and getting Jo ready for graduation! It will be hard on all of us and not the way that I wanted to start out our marriage, but we have done it for over 2 years already and this will only make us stronger as a family and will make us cherish the time that we do get together.

Relaxation, What Is That?

No one can seem to explain to me what relaxation is. These days its 200 MPH with no end in sight. I cant seem to not ever have anything to do. Its crazy how fast the year has gone and its now almost half over! Today I glanced at my wedding countdown app on my iPhone and gasped when I saw that we are 99 days away!

Holy schnikes, where did the time go? I will be Mrs. Nathan Barton in 99 days! Oh my goodness, I am so excited! My girls dresses have been bought and they look so amazing in them. Jordyn loves hers and she tried it on and I couldnt believe she is only almost 17 years old! Yikes, I'm in big trouble! And Allorah, well, she is no longer my baby girl, she looks so grown up. Now if I can just convince her that converse sneakers are not my choice of shoe, then we will be fine! :) I just wish that Diesel Bentley could make the nuptials. I just want to see him in a tuxedo! He would be our ring bearer but with our luck, he would eat a fairly large amount of jewelry and we would have to be scouring his turds! So, maybe leaving him at home is a more suitable option! We have decided that we are writing our own vows and we are actually already almost done with that. Can you believe how we are just so organized and on top of things? I know I cant! Here is our wedding website if you wanna take a sneak peek on what we are planning: http://www.mywedding.com/shannonandnathan/
Its cheesy and corny but so are we.

Schools Out!

I cannot believe that another school year has come to a close. I offically have a senior in high school and a 7th grader! Wow! I can say that I officially feel old! The wrinkles and grey hair that I sport are evidence that its true! It will be a very busy summer for my family. We will be leaving for Dallas on Monday morning for a week, then heading to Chicago on June 16th for Allorahs surgery the following day and then her appointment with Dr. Pachman on the the 20th. Then Jo got a car and we will be bringing that home and working on that for her, preparing the house so I can rent it out, packing and cleaning and then moving up north and getting situated up there, then finishing up the summer with a trip to Vegas in September to tie the knot! It will be a hectic one for us thats for sure. Hardly enough time to relax.

Waiting...

As I sit here waiting for our appointment with Dr. Kaufman, the endocrinologist in Albuquerque tomorrow, I am reminded of how much anxiety I have building up. I am also waiting to hear back from Claudia, the nurse for Dr. Garg in Dallas, to see what date we need to be there. It's all a waiting game, waiting to see what the outcome is, waiting to see how this will impact my Lola, waiting to see what new meds they want to put her on, waiting to see how the meds will make her feel and how and if they will affect the disease process, all a waiting game. She's a nervous mess, I'm a nervous mess, my oldest daughter, Jordyn, my parents, Nathan, my family, we are all stricken with this anxiety of what they will tell us, how serious it is. I know that I am a pessimist, but I prefer to think I am a realist, but at this moment in time, I wish I was more the optimist, maybe it will hurt less... I doubt it. :(


So last night Lola wasn't feeling good at all. She said her stomach was hurting and she felt like she did when she was getting the stomach bug. I had her give me a urine sample to see if there was any glucose or ketones spilling out, but thank God, both were negative. Not a sign in her urine, that's a plus! I was so relieved and I know Allorah was too. She keeps asking me questions about the diabetes and insulin and I don't have answers for her, I wish I did. We will get our answers tomorrow. It will be a long drive to Albuquerque but I am keeping my fingers crossed. Dr. Kaufman is an excellent doctor and is so sympathetic and caring. She will know whats best for my baby.

Why?

So this is the latest update on Allorah. I received a call on Monday from Chicago about her lab results from last month. They said we needed to follow up with her endocrinologist in Albuquerque for elevated triglycerides, elevated glucose, insulin and hemoglobin A1C. they were going to send the lab results to Dr. Kaufman and that Dr. Pachman was going to send her a letter as well. So I called and scheduled an appt to see Dr. Kaufman next week on the 17th. The following morning I get a call from Dr. Kaufman, her endocrinologist, telling me that she received the labs and letter from Dr. Pachman, she immediately called her to discuss what she saw. She told me that she now knows why Allorah's triglycerides have been high and it is making sense. She informed me that she has now acquired generalized lipodystrophy AKA Lawrence Syndrome and its very serious and extremely rare. She took the liberty of contacting Dr. Garg at UT Southwestern in Dallas and we need to take Allorah there. He is the leading physician that sees lipodystrophy cases and devotes his practice to this. I have attached a website explaining this diagnosis.


http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept105805/files/106988.html

She informed me that it is very rare and she knows about this disease enough to know that she needs to see the best. So I told her to please get it set up and we will go. Dr. Garg called me later that day and we talked and he informed me that he wants to get her in. His nurse called me yesterday and told me that we will need to be there for a minimum of 4 days. So off to Dallas we will be headed. We are looking at the first part of June and she is now working on getting her a room for there in the research unit and getting all her tests, scans and appointments scheduled. She is looking at insulin injections, as well as possibly being a candidate for a treatment protocol of a medication that Dr. Garg has initiated and only he can administer. So we will head to Albuquerque on Tuesday to see Dr. Kaufman and to meet with the diabetes educator and see what treatment she wants to start there. So that is where we are at now. We are praying that this hurdle is only a speed bump in her recovery and that once this gets controlled that we can get a better grip on the JDM. Please send her your prayers and I will keep you all informed.

2011, New Beginnings

Its a brand new year and a brand new time for me and my family. The old blog has been brought down and a new one arrives. As we move forward into the future, all I can say is "WOW"! So much has changed in my life in this short time that I am taken back at times at how truly blessed I am. The girls are doing so well in school and Allorah is still fighting her battle with Juvenile Dermatomyositis. Jo has a job now and is driving. Diesel is getting so big and is just a mess! As for me, this princess has found her Prince Charming! We have something that only fairlytales are made of and I will be marrying my best friend on September 17th. The kids are so excited and I can hardly contain myself! So, as you see, happiness and a wealth of love is at my fingertips.