Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I am just a few days late in wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving, not too bad considering the craziness that has been our life over the past few weeks. Things have actually slowed down a little bit. Nobody got sick, except me (but it was just a cold). We enjoyed quiet days at home playing play-doh, loving on the doggie, cooking yummy food, and decorating for Christmas. The boys have enjoyed having daddy home the past few days and we were all grateful to not have to travel for Thanksgiving (though we missed being with family).


On Wednesday the speech pathologist came to work with Adalynn again. She really doesn't think she needs to be seen, but because they can't use the word "monitor" with early intervention, she will continue to receive services. She hopes to change it from once a month, to once every 3 months. She said she would be the happiest to visit her every 6 months. While she was here, Adalynn said "moo, bye, love you, hello, puppy, daddy, back, more, turkey, crayons, green, no (a new favorite), purple, click, candy (also a favorite), yuck, and dot-dot-dot." The speech pathologist eventually stopped recording what was said, because it was a little overwhelming. Adalynn will repeat almost anything that we tell her. Some things are clearer than others, but she definitely has the /b/ and /p/ sounds that we were worried about. Hopefully I will get her on tape and upload it here, so you can all hear her talk. It is adorable.

On Thanksgiving Day, we cooked a turkey and all the fixin's. I even made my first ever pecan pie (I had no clue that it was so easy). John made homemade rolls with Camden's help, and the boys were both very interested in the turkey. Camden asked way too many times "why did they have to kill it?" and Broderick just wanted to know where it's head was. He also thought it was weird that turkey's insides were in bags (we had to explain that it was just the way it is sold-only dead turkeys get their insides put into bags). We enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving dinner at home and have enjoyed the leftovers for the past few days.


Broderick did great for his EKG and his echo cardiogram. He even came home with an ultrasound picture of his heart. It was really neat to see the 4 chambers and he thought it was the coolest thing. Even though he was extremely nervous, he did awesome and I am sure he can't wait to show his picture to all his friends and his teacher. We should hear something in the next few days about the tests, but John said you could definitely hear the murmur.

As far as my tests go....my blood work came back fine. Everything was within normal ranges. My CT scan still showed two spots on my right lung-they called them 'nodules'. Now I have to get the original scan from my doctor back in GA, so the radiologist has something to compare this one to. Without that, we can't determine if they grew or changed in the past year. I am still waiting to have my MRI on my brain. I can't schedule it because of an ear surgery I had when I was a teenager. I had a bone replaced in my inner ear and without being certain what type of prosthesis was used, putting a huge magnet near my head isn't safe. I have contacted the doctor that did the surgery, but since records are destroyed after 8-10 years, I have know clue what was used (and they couldn't help me). My parents don't remember either so now I have to have an X-Ray of my head to see if they can figure out if there is any metal in there...so for now, it is still a waiting game.

Thanks again for checking up on us. Enjoy all the photos!





preparing the turkey...


decorating the tree....

taking a much needed nap (with Chase)...

playing play-doh...(yes, this was just before she decided to eat it)
sporting their Colt's gear...

Camden loving on Chase-this was just way to cute not to share....


saying cheese and wishing EVERYONE a very Happy Thanksgiving...

If it's not one thing, then it is ten others....literally!

OUR CRAZY LIFE!!!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting. Yes, I am finally home-but things have continued to be CRAZY!!! I mean really crazy!!!!

Despite being my grandpa's funeral, we really enjoyed seeing everyone in Indiana. We even had time to go visit the other great grandparent's, John's parents, and my dad and his girlfriend. I spent a lot of time with my my mom and even I got to meet my new niece, Madyson (Maddy). Adalynn thought she was adorable! We also got to see lots of family that I haven't seen in years including meeting a cousin for the first time ever (sad, considering he is in highschool) and seeing another that I haven't seen since she was a toddler (she is a freshman in college now). I really hate that it takes funerals to get people together, but isn't that always the case. Hopefully we will get ourselves in gear and plan a family reunion!

The KNIGHT family

Addie...meet Maddy.

meeting Maddy for the first time. Isn't she a doll?

I really enjoyed my week in Georgia and seeing Missy. Many of you may already know, but things are really looking up. I think she more or less told the Hospice people to leave her house, she was NOT dying. Things so far are going much better. She is getting chemo and her blood work is looking a lot better than before. The DIC seems to be resolving itself. You can check her page for the most up to date information. For those of you who don't know, her son Ryan also has cancer and I know them because Ryan was in my class a few years ago. His mom, Missy was the speech pathologist at the school I used to teach at. We just clicked, and have stayed close since then. She is such an inspiration and one of the strongest women I know...definitely a hero!

I also was able to see several of my old friends and spent some time back at Bethlehem. Boy, do I miss you all. My students from last year were almost beating down the doors to see me. It was quite amusing. I don't know how many times I heard "Mrs. Frye, is that really you?" The weirdest part of the week though, was having only one kid. There were times that I wasn't sure what to do. Adalynn did great, but really was confused about what was going on. I think she really just wanted to be home. We had spent the whole previous week in Indiana for my grandpa's funeral and then left for Georgia the day we returned. She was very good the entire time, but there were times you could tell she just wanted to be home.

While I was in Georgia, I found out that my other grandpa was hospitalized. He didn't look the best when we had visited him the week before, and I knew that it was bad, but it still surprised me. I guess when your blood sugar is over 500, a hospital stay is definitely warranted. He finally made it back home after over a week in the hospital. I just pray he modifies his diet, stays up on all his medication and that he continues to be able to breathe (he has COPD and is on oxygen 24 hours a day to top it off).

Also, while I was in GA, Broderick got his first report card, had his first parent teacher conference, and even had a doctor's appointment. I had to make sure John got the FULL experience :)!!! His report card was FANTASTIC. He is excelling is all academic areas. The only concern the teacher mentioned at his conference was his eagerness to answer EVERY question. Often, forgetting to raise his hand or even let her finish the question. Were working on that! His well check went okay. He was very devastated to learn he had to get another shot, especially since we thought he was done for quite sometime. He weighed 68 pounds and was 54 inches tall. Still putting him the 94%/97% for both weight and height. The doctor did find a heart murmur that has never been noticed before, so Broderick is scheduled to an EKG and an EEG next weekend.

On Sunday (11-16), John met me (and our friends, the Tadda's) in Virginia. Because I messed up my flight, they had to drive me there so I could get home. THANK YOU TADDA FAMILY! We enjoyed an overnight stay at a hotel (with a pool) and the kids loved seeing each other again (first time in 4 months). Everyone had a blast and we were all sad to say good-bye on Sunday morning, but we each had to return home and I was hoping, back to normal. Yeah, right-what in the world was I thinking.

Monday was fairly normal. I spent a lot of time cleaning, doing laundry and just trying to get things back to normal. Camden wasn't feeling well and was running a slight fever and Adalynn was also starting to feel yucky. At the time, I just thought that the crazy weeks had gotten the best of them. John was very excited to have me back at home and I definitely enjoyed sleeping in my own bed! Tuesday was a fairly normal day as well. We went to story time at the library (which ended up not happening) and spent the afternoon around the house.

Wednesday is when it started getting crazy again. John woke up to find that the furnace had quit sometime in the middle of the night. By the time I woke up it was a mere 59 degrees inside our house. I called the heating people, but of course it would be between 2-5 before they could come. I had to cancel Adalynn's dentist appointment (for 2:15) and reschedule it for a 3rd time. She was starting to feel really yucky that day, so I guess it was a good thing. She had a constant runny nose (which was made worse by the freezing cold house) and was very fussy. Fussier than she had been in a long time. The heating people finally made it that afternoon and of course had the furnace running again by just flipping the switch-go figure!

On Thursday, I had a scheduled doctor's appointment. John was planning on being home to keep the kids, but ended up having a teleconference with NASA concerning a grant he has applied for. You really can't reschedule with NASA, so I just took the kids with me. He was able to make it to the doctor's office just as they were taking me back to get weighed, so it ended up being okay. The appointment was concerning my CT from about a year ago. Click here to see original post It was titled "I'm Normal", well I guess I am not normal. When reviewing my own records I saw that my CT scan revealed a few spots on my lungs. Although, my doctor in GA didn't say anything to me about this, when I read through my records (which I got when I left GA) I noticed the report and the radiologist's findings. My new doctor in PA is ordering more blood work, another CT, and an MRI of my brain. I'll let you know what happens.

To be sure the craziness continued, on Friday morning I got a message from my neighbor (who kept Camden while I was gone) that she and 2 of her children have pertussis AKA Whooping Cough. ACK!!!! I immediately call our pediatrician who puts all three of the kids on a precautionary antibiotic. Of course, both Adalynn and Camden were showing beginning signs of it (but it is really hard to tell the difference between the beginning of whooping cough and the common cold/respiratory infection). I guess only time will tell. I can't imagine the pain of what she is going through, especially since she has 4 kids under the age of 4. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

The weekend has gone fairly normal. I did go get all my blood work done on Saturday morning and then we all went to John's office and to Sam's Club. Today we have finally caught up on all the laundry and have just lounged around the house. I pray that next week gives us all the much needed break. We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving at our own house this year, not traveling, and just taking it easy. I REALLY hope that my mom comes and spends it with us.

Thanks again for all your prayers. I am so glad to be home! We still ask for continued prayers for Missy and Ryan, for our neighbors, and for us. Thanks for checking in on us. I will try to get caught up on all the blogging I missed soon. I've missed you all!

A quick update, thank yous and the biggest thank you!

Just thought I would write to give everyone a quick update...

Shannon and Adalynn return tomorrow (YEAH!). So to the big thank you is to my wife. I knew staying home with the kids and getting them up and ready for school, carting them around to all of their activities, etc. is hard work. After dealing with just 2/3 of our family I have a renewed respect for just what she does on a daily basis. Most of it is done behind the scene and to be honest I have taken that for granted as I have been focused on adjusting to the new job. So thank you, Shannon, and I love you and am very glad to have you back tomorrow.

A thank you to all that have helped out this week in PA: Jewel, Danielle, and Jessica. Without your help this week would have been harder than what it already was. Shannon and I would also like to extend our thanks to all those who have visited Ryan's (superryan.blogspot.com) and Missy's (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/missymorgan) websites and sent prayers and well wishes as the family deals with a difficult time. If you have not visited Missy's site after Friday afternoon there was good news posted. The DIC is resolving!!!! While still not out of the woods this is very good news. Continue to pray for the family and send them well wishes. Shannon will update everyone on her adventures in the next few days.
Thanks for visiting, John.

Thanks for the prayers...more are needed.

As they say, when it rains it pours...

We returned safely from Indiana early Saturday morning after spending time this past week with family to mourn the loss of Shannon's grandfather. While driving back Shannon received news that Missy, one of her close friends from Georgia, had been sent home with hospice care. Saturday afternoon, the boys and I took Shannon and Adalynn to the airport so that they could go to Georgia and see Missy. Please say a quick prayer for Shannon and Adalynn as they are traveling away from home and that they return safely at some point this next week. Also, please pray for Missy and her family as they deal with the inevitable and that they find comfort during this difficult time. Please visit Super Ryan's blog (link is in the right column) for updates on Missy's condition.
Thanks, John

Trick-OR-Treat

Well, Halloween didn't start out on the best note. I got a phone call from my mom that morning saying that my grandfather had died in his sleep. Yes, he was getting old. But, still this was a little unexpected. We are making plans now to head to Indiana for the arrangements. It wasn't a very good start to what turned out to be a fun weekend.

Broderick marched in a parade at his school that afternoon and then I was able to help out in his classroom (with Camden and Adalynn in tow) for his party. The best part was when another parent came over and asked me if I was a teacher because I "sure sounded like one". Yay! At least I know I haven't lost my touch. The kids in his class were wired, but had a blast doing all the activities. It was a lot of fun.

The kids loved Trick-OR-Treating on Friday night. We just went in our neighborhood and only went for about an hour and a half, but boy did they end up with more than their fair share!!! It was crazy. We even went home and dumped our buckets once. Even Adalynn had a blast and would not let go of her pumpkin. She was right with the boys going up to each door and getting her candy. It was so cute.

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And finally, on Saturday night Broderick marched in a local parade with his Cub Scout Pack. They worked hard on their "Pirates of the CUB-arean" floats and Broderick looked too cute as a pirate. I wish he would have been a pirate for Halloween (NO MASKS NEXT YEAR...they only lasted 15 minutes). Can you believe I bought his pirate costume at the dollar store for a dollar? I just dressed it up with things we had at home. I think we'll go there first next year to find costumes. Broderick was so proud of himself for walking 2 miles (John was with him) and loved passing out candy to all the kids. Camden, Adalynn, and I watched the parade and had a lot of fun waiting for the boys to pass. It was a great ending to a not so beginning of Halloween.

It will probably be next weekend until I post again. Please pray for traveling mercies for us as we make the 9 hour trip and for all the family that will be traveling as well. Also, please pray for my mom. She lived with my grandpa, so it has been really hard on her.