Now is the Summer of my Discontent

OK, so I know the quote is actually "winter", but it applies to this summer, so I am adapting it for my purposes. People adapt plays, books, movies, whatever all the time, don't they? It's Shakespeare, Richard the Third. I had to look it up...

This summer God has been working on me. Not the soft, tickling, fine sandpaper kind of refining, but the chisel, jackhammer kind. He's been working on taking off some sharp corners to which I have become rather attached. I have had my arms protecting them from being sheared off, which has led to quite a few tears and some major bloodshed. Feeling the first blows of the refinement process nearly took my breath away and consumed nearly an entire box of kleenex (the cube size!) But God, in his wisdom, chose the right timing and the right circumstances to lay bare some looming character issues that I have been avoiding for a long time.

Contentment

Have you ever really considered what it means to be content? I think it goes beyond simply being satisfied with your "lot" to being truly joyful and praising God for every thing and every way that he has chosen to bless you. Do you know how difficult that is? In our world where we are raised to want more and strive for better, being happy with your lot is practically unamerican. I am not sure there are many people who are content. They might be happy, but that's not the same thing.

I have been fighting God on this one. It's embarrassing to say, but it has gotten to the level of toddler tantrum, complete with stomping feet and pounding fists. Hard to imagine? Every rational, logical, common sense bone in my body tells me one thing, but there's a part that still wants what I want because I want it! I am sure we all have those buttons that turn us from calm and rational to childlike in seconds: a certain boyfriend, a new car, the right school, the "perfect" job, having a baby, or holiday plans with family (one of my favorites!)

I cannot dispute that God is good and that he gives me good things. He takes care of me and he loves me more than I can imagine. But when I get in this mood, I am so self-centered that I cannot see past the end of my nose! Nothing seems good enough if it's not the "thing" I want. I have been reading Psalms a lot lately and I am struck by how many of the psalms recount all that God did for the Israelites and how time and time again they continue to forget and whine and ask for more!  Sometimes it is just astounding that anyone could doubt God after experiencing so many good things, but right now I am hanging my head in shame and seeing myself in every verse.

While the process is no where near completion, two thoughts are swirling around in my head:

1. Trust:  I am failing to trust God's plan for me.  It's the whole Israelite thing.  Here's the Promised Land, but the people look too big and scary even though we walked through the Red Sea on dry land and watched the Egyptians drown.  I am choosing to believe lies about God rather than seeking Him and knowing Him.

I have a huge underlying fear in all of this: The fear that God would give me what I want just to show me how wrong I am. Like a child who begs for a taste of the hot sauce he just saw daddy pour on his taco, and the parent who gives in, knowing it won't ultimately harm the child but lead to a lesson. I don't want to learn the lesson that way.

2.  Greed:  It comes down to plain, old-fashioned coveting.  One of the original Ten Commandments.  Wanting what isn't mine.  Hello, my name is Danielle and I am greedy.  Not something I ever called myself before, but God is showing me the kettle, and it is very black. 

Have you ever delved into Ecclesiastes very much?  There is a whole lot of discontentment and disillusionment there.  By glossing over a few verses and skipping the last two, it's easy to feed discontentment.  Having read the book a few times, I have underlined the hopeful verses so I don't miss them in the sea of negativity.  There are some big glaring ones right at the end of chapter 5 that have been helping me during the chiseling process:

"Moreover, (some good stuff actually preceedes this!) when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God.  He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart."  Ecc. 5:19, 20

I am just beginning to "unpack" these verses, as one of our minsters fondly calls it.  So many good things:

• God gives me wealth and possessions
• He gives me the ability to enjoy them
• Enjoyment means accepting my lot (contentment!!!)
• Being able to enjoy them is a gift
• I won't have to worry (often!) if I am content
• God will make me glad!!  I don't have to make me glad...

I know there is hope. It's hard for me to see it right now, but I believe it because I know God.  It's one of those times that I have to know with my head until it can get to my heart.  I am thankful for the scripture I have been reading because God brings it to mind in new and different ways all the time.  Kind of weird. At times it's traumatic, other times, it's just the balm I need.  Does anyone else have a verse that speaks to them about contentment?  There are lots of other ones, and I actually began with some others, but this is where my heart is right now.

Justin's First Steps

I am a little late in posting this, but Justin made some major progress this week in standing and even walking! Monday morning we were playing in the living room and Justin stood up in the middle of the room. Miss Penny asked me to count how long he was standing so I started counting. Travis asked me a question and I got a bit distracted but I got to 8 seconds before I lost count because he took two steps! And they weren't falling steps! He took two clear steps and then he plopped down. We cheered and Travis was so excited. Travis has been telling everyone the story. We took doughnuts to therapy on Tuesday to celebrate our good news. Of course there are no pictures because I was too engrossed and I didn't want to miss it. Since then he stood up for 20 seconds for Miss Penny at therapy but he wasn't in the mood to walk. He seems like he needs to get really steady before he will attempt to walk, so I am not sure how we can make that happen again. He also took another half step late this week. Now that we know his potential, we are all trying to set up opportunities for him to walk. I don't think it will be too long!

Tonsils - Gone!

Travis had his tonsils out this morning. We went to the same hospital where Justin had his surgery so we were familiar with the routine, even if it wasn't exactly the same thing. Travis was in a great mood and he wasn't nervous at all. Our friend Melissa at therapy had told him all about the fun toys that he would get to play with and all the popsicles he could eat, so he was ready for that! This picture almost looks like the first day of school with Travis' backpack, but it's really at the hospital early in the morning.

He found the computers and the video games quickly. He hoped that maybe he could take one home with him! Either way, he enjoyed the racing games.

Then they called him back to the holding area. He got some cool pajamas and the Child Life specialist came back to describe what the doctors were going to do and how they would put him to sleep. He chose bubblegum smelling gas and she had the smell for him to try and see what it would be like. He tried the mask and told her how he would count backwards from 10 but he would probably only get to 8 before he fell asleep!

He got to choose how he would go with the doctors: He could ride in a wagon, drive a car, a rocket, or walk. He chose the wagon and asked me to go for a spin. I told him I thought it would work better if I pulled him, but this was his preference!

Then we tried it with him riding and it that was better! He enjoyed all the toys in the waiting area, but he was sad that he couldn't find any people to ride in the airplane.

Then it was time to go. He ended up saying he could just walk so he got his blanket and library book and heded for the door. When he got there, he froze and didn't want to go, so the doctor picked him up and whisked him off before he had any objections.

It took about an hour (practically no time compared to heart surgery!) The doctor came and got us and said that everything had gone well. She said his tonsils actually looked pretty bad, as if he had had lots of infections, even if he hadn't. He had already woken up and he wanted to be held, so one of the nurses had him and he was none too pleased with that arrangement. They had given him some more morphine and once I got him in my lap, he went to sleep for another hour and a half, with the occasional waking for a sip of apple juice.

The nurse finally said that he needed to wake up so we shook him a bit and asked him if he was ready to get up. He shook his head "no" and cuddled back up. A few minutes later he stirred again and we enticed him with the promise of a popsicle. That did it and he asked for a green one. And then a red one. He got those down and after a dose of tylenol with codeine we were ready to go home.

We had to detach all the lines before we could leave. That took four of us! He does not like band-aids or tape on his skin, and removing them is near torture. Pulling the tape off was worse than taking out the IV. We did manage to get it and we were free to go home close to 1 pm.

The rest of the day was fairly low-key. Justin came back from Me-Me and Pop's house and he needed attention which added a new element. Travis did not like his medicine and he was hysterical when we tried to get it in him. It wasn't flavored so Randy went back and had the pharmacist add grape flavoring, which still didn't help. I am hoping the next dose goes better, but I am not convinced. Travis managed to eat a little jello, some soup, and pudding, but even the cupcake treats Randy got for him were too scratchy. I have to work on Saturday, so I hope things are better tomorrow so Randy can manage okay by himself.

Results!

I know you have been struggling to be patient, just like we have, but we found out the results of Justin's two tests from the beginning of the month:

The thyroid scan came back negative. That means there were no nodules and the thyroid is in the correct location. That is good, but it still doesn't explain the rising TSH levels. So we are just waiting until our next appointment in December and then we will repeat the labs and make a decision after that. There are no other guesses or indications to explain the rise, so we are left to wait.

And the sleep study! The indications show mild sleep apnea. I really had no idea that there were so many levels of "arousals" and what they mean are all different. Justin slept nine hours during the study - good! - and he had 124 episodes of "arousals" which interrupted his sleep, but only about one third of them were caused by breathing problems. So there were about 40 incidents in which he had interruptions in breathing. What follows is a VERY simplified and non-technical explanation. Do not use what I am about to write for diagnostic purposes! Just kidding! OK, there is a range in this, so stick with me: first there is just plain snoring, of which he does a lot! It's loud, but there is no interruption in breathing (oxygen saturation) so that's fine. Next comes a "RERA", which stands for "respiratory effort related arousal" which are not associated with clear-cut apnea. They are kind of extreme efforts at breathing that don't actually hinder breathing. Next comes semi-apnea, which is a slowing of breathing of about 50%. Not complete stopping, which is full apnea, but partial. The last is of course, apnea, which is complete stopping of breathing for at least 10 seconds. They number each type of "event" and then figure how many occurred per hour of sleep to determine how severe is the apnea. Justin had 40 events, but they were all mostly RERAs with about a third of them being semi-apnea. So Justin never stops breathing completely, which leads to the diagnosis of "mild" sleep apnea. The other two thirds of the "arousals" don't fall into the field of expertise of an ENT so if we want further explanation we need to go to the Sleep Clinic. They treat other sleep problems. We did have an x-ray of Justin's adenoids to determine if they are a factor, which we were able to rule out. It is probably his facial structure, but we need, here it comes, to monitor the situation because it could get worse, which would lead to problems with concentration and attention. More monitoring!

So, to sum it up: we didn't get any clear-cut answers, but at least we were able to rule out some things. And in the past week we had another hearing test, which Justin passed with flying colors. I was hoping to get that annual test eliminated since he is really doing well and I think we can tell now if he is having hearing problems. But the doctor shut me down and said I really need to keep going a few more years just to be preventative since hearing is linked to speech.

Thank you for your prayers and all your concern!

Touch a Truck

Randy and the boys made a visit to another Touch a Truck event this past weekend while I was at work. It was beyond hot! Randy said that there was sweat dripping off everyone's faces and the free water was gone within the first half hour. But, there were trucks, and that made our boys' day no matter the temperature. They had lots of great trucks including a fire truck (yeah!), an ambulance, a backhoe loader, and a semi with its trailer.

You can see Justin is in awe of everything with his gaping wide open wouth! It was a good morning, but both boys were tuckered out and ready for a drink and rest!

Helping Brother

Travis goes through phases of wanting to help Justin do everything from putting on his shoes to eating meals. Justin doesn't always like the help, but Travis still offers. Last week, Travis asked to feed Justin his breakfast. We were having muffins and Justin didn't really need help, so I thought it was a safe to let him try. Travis was dressed for the job in his back pack and hard hat. Justin gets a fork for his muffins since gluten-free muffins are kind of crumbly. Travis wanted to help Justin poke a piece of muffin, but Justin wasn't having any of it! Travis would put his hand out and ask for the fork and Justin would pull it back...

...and then laugh about it! Travis liked the joke too. Such great tricksters these two are!

Physical Therapy

I was able to go in and watch Justin's therapy session last week. I try to get into each one at least once a month if I can just to see how things are going. It has been a while since I have talked with Miss Penny very much, and I always enjoy chatting with her while she works with Justin. It was a special treat for me.

She is very impressed with Justin's arm strength. She sets up a little "obstacle course" with uneven surfaces and things for him to climb and then always the basketball hoop at the end. He used to have trouble switching surfaces and his arms would collapse and he would smack his face, but now he can control himself much better. He even likes going down high surfaces face-first and he doesn't fall. It's pretty funny, but really good for him too.

This week she hooked a balloon to a string and hung it from the ceiling for him to hit with a baseball bat. She wanted him to stand to do it, but she put it too low and he could hit it from sitting down, so she had to move it up and then he wasn't interested anymore. His interest shifts quickly!

He also jumps on the small trampoline for a little bit, but he has only started doing that within the past few weeks. She still has to hold his knees straight because he buckles them too quickly. She can get about two jumps out of him.

She has a large foam tube, like that you could get inside and roll, that's a little shorter than him when you set it on end. She sets it up on end and then throws bean bags next to it for him to squat down and pick up and throw inside. He figured out that he could get several at a time so he didn't have to squat down so often, even though that's the point! Then she puts him inside the tube and he squats down and throws them out. It's harder on the inside and he often stands on them and then can't pick them up. But that's still one of him favorite activities.

I talked to her a little about walking to see what she is thinking. She said that he tries to go so fast that he doesn't get good steps. He takes such huge steps that there is no way he could balance like that, so she leans him back against her legs to slow him down and that makes him mad so he won't take as many steps. She said her goal is to get him to take two or three steps by himself without falling by October (when he's 2 1/2). Part of what makes it hared for him is that most kids learn to walk in bare feet and they can feel and grip the floor. Because Justin's ankles are so unstable, he needs the orthotics and shoes and thus he loses the feeling.

I was thinking that Justin started crawling last October and I never thought it would take more than another year for him to walk. It's good that every day we can see improvement and I don't have the foresight of the big picture. Sometimes, hindsight is better!

It was a good session and I am thankful for all our therapists. We had a minor emergency this week and I needed to drop Justin off a few minutes early for therapy so I could run a quick errand, and all his therapists were glad to keep him and entertain him for a few extra minutes. They all fight over him and love his personality quirks. That makes it SO much easier to go there week after week. They are part of our family!

Justin Update

I haven't shared Justin's accomplishments in a while and he is doing so much more almost every day so I wanted to share before I forget and they become common!

• He started sucking from a straw for us when we were in Seattle. I say "for us" because apparently he was doing it for Randy's parents and he was just messing with us. He would blow into the straw, but not drink from it, and after getting wet a few too many times, I just decided to wait to try again. So when we were eating lunch on the ferry Justin begged for our drink and I was shocked to see the liquid actually rising up the straw! I was so excited I couldn't even get the words out and I thought he might not do it again for Randy to see. But he did, and he did, so now Justin can drink out of any fast food cup he wants. (You know what I mean!)
• He is standing up with much more confidence. Last week he even stood up with the basket ball, steadied himself and shot a basket. And made it! Of course I missed it, but I know he can do it so I'll be watching.
• He gives kisses now. He puckers up and presses his mouth against whatever is closest. It helps to be ready when you ask for a kiss!
• His signing is improving greatly. He added: mother, block, and shoes in the past few weeks, and we are working on "help". He needs help a lot when he is trying things so we thought that would ease the frustration. He is trying whatever words we show him, but he doesn't seem to do them unprompted. He does answer questions though. We asked him who he wanted to take him to bed and he signed "mommy". So proud!
• He is getting very sneaky! Travis was playing with his firemen and he told Justin that he didn't want to share them (Justin had others he was playing with). So Justin waited until Travis wasn't looking and grabbed one and stuck it behind his back. Randy happened to see that move and told him to give it back. Justin reached back and tossed it back to Travis. A bit grumpy-like...
• The boys are playing like brothers, good and bad. They were playing falling off the fireplace and taking turns very well. Until they started pushing each other so they would go faster! And then Justin washed Travis' hair in the bathtub and when Travis turned around to see what Justin was doing and Justin signed "please" and pushed him back around so he could wash some more. They laugh so well together!

It's such a treat being Justin's mother. I hope this helps you get a glimpse of our precious son!

Ice Cream Bash

We brought back SO MUCH ice cream from Seattle! Mireille and Jerry's freezer is always stocked with ice cream. They get the overruns and samples, which we enjoyed completely while we were there. Travis discovered a new favorite flavor, banana creme pie, which is made by first making a banana creme pie and then crumbling it into the ice cream. I agree that it is very tasty!

So we emptied Mireille and Jerry's freezer and brought it all back with us for an ice cream party. We thought that summer was the perfect time for pizza and ice cream, so that's what we planned. Of course, nothing goes exactly the way its planned, and this was no exception.

The party was planned for Sunday after we got back from Seattle, but first we had to get through Meat Day on Friday. Friday night as we were waiting for people to come get their meat and my mother and I were furiously cooking for Meat Day Mission, Randy realized that it wasn't just warm in the house because we were cooking, but because the air conditioning went out! So we stopped cooking and packed bags to spend the night at Randy's parents house. They jinxed us because they were thinking that it had been a while since our A/C had broken and they were due for overnight guests. It happened, and of course on Friday night. We spent the weekend with them and the A/C was fixed on Monday.

But in the meantime, we needed either to cancel the party or find a new location. "Yes, hello, I was wondering if I could come over with about 25 friends and have a party at your house?" In spite of my totally crazy, outlandish request my first call got a positive response and my friend, Mrs. TD, saved the party.


I still had lots of cooking for Meat Day Mission so I spent Saturday in the kitchen at our house with a fan blowing on me trying to finish what I could. Randy was outside mowing the lawn. Together we enjoyed a nice lunch outside under the fans because it was cooler than inside. A few hours later Randy came inside and asked, "Is there some reason why some of our friends are outside pulling up in their cars?" Well, no, I don't think so unless...

Yes, I sent the wrong date on the e-mail invitation! Everyone I had talked to knew about the date and hadn't even looked at the invitation that carefully, but everyone else showed up on the wrong/right day! I was finished cooking by this time, but I still had to clean up my mess, and one of my friends graciously offered to help me since she had nothing else to do! When our other friends showed up, I made their daughter CRY because I had no ice cream to offer her! I felt terrible! I offered her as much ice cream as she wanted...the next day...


That night when we were back at Randy's parents' house, I was talking with some of our neighbors and telling them of the new location for the party, when the phone went dead. They called back 10 minutes later after they found a flashlight and their cell phone because the power went out with the storm. Yes, I said "neighbor", which means our house lost power too. With all the ice cream in the freezer. I was starting to doubt whether the party was such a good idea!

But in spite of everything, the party went on and we had so much fun with some of our friends and neighbors. I think ice cream is a great healer. And it certainly spans the generations. I considered calling it the First Annual Ice Cream Bash, but I am not sure I can do this again...

Hmmm, which one should I start with??

This one looks good to me!










Robert had his first taste of ice cream. Sorry, now he's going to have a taste for the best!


Somehow the boys ended up dressing up and the girls felt obliged to follow along!

And then Travis starting doing what Travis likes to do best!

July Follow Up/ August Prayer Requests

The summer is going by so quickly that I am afraid I am missing it, but at the same time we are anxious for cooler weather so we can play outside. I know it's already a week into August, but this is the first week in about a month that is mostly normal. Last week's four doctor's visits just about did me in! This week we have things back to ordinary, for which I am so grateful.

July:

• ENT visit: I have already shared about that. It went well, and one result has already happened with the sleep study. I was prepared for the long haul with that one but we fit into a cancellation amazingly quickly! We are still waiting on results. And Travis' surgery is scheduled for late this month. We haven't been talking about it very much because he does not want the surgery! That will be one of this month's big prayer requests!
• The homeschooling conference went really well. They had a great speaker schedule with tons of encouraging lessons. Randy went with me for most of it and he enjoyed it too. We are only about half-way through the preschool curriculum and Travis really enjoys it. We work through it during therapy, which is great for us both. It's a good mommy/Travis time. I am fairly convinced that we will continue this through kindergarten, but we will take this one year at a time.
• Seattle went well! The time was too short, but as you saw, it was jam packed! We are so blessed to be able to take trips like that with family so far away. We read the story called Guess How Much I Love You, about a rabbit who tells his mommy how much he loves her and he ends with, "I love you all the way to the moon." Now Travis says that he loves me all the way to Seattle!

August Requests:

• Travis' surgery: It will be the end of the month and already I am doubting our decision and wondering what else we could do. Please pray for ALL of us.
• The results of Justin's tests: Hopefully they will be coming soon. If I don't hear by next week, I will be calling! We are praying that the solutions will be simple and not prolonged.
• My mom was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer and she will need surgery sometime in the next couple of months. The doctor said that the surgery could get all of it and she may not need radiation or chemo. That's our prayer.

Thank you as always! You are all so important to us!

Unexpected Visit

This week I received a surprise phone call from my brother who lives in Florida. He would be making a stop in Houston on his way to Las Vegas for a convention and had time to meet us for dinner. I haven't seen my brother in over 7 years, so this was a long time coming. He finally was able to meet my boys and we spent a few minutes chatting. Travis showed off his "working" skills and Justin charmed him with his sideways winks. It wasn't near long enough, but I was glad we had a little time to catch up. I hope the next visit is less than 7 years from now!

Thyroid Scan and Sleep Study

We went to TCH yesterday for Justin to drink the contrast liquid for the thyroid scan this morning. We bonded with the other families waiting in the Nuclear Medicine waiting area. It was a small room with lots of people. And Travis was his usual charming self wearing his "worker" outfit, complete with hard hat, tool belt filled with tools, and back pack for the surplus tools that didn't fit in the belt. We met a three-year-old hooked on Starbucks caramel macchiatos, (no lie-in her sippie cup!) a 16-month-old who loves to go to the doctor because he never gets "stickies" like his sister, and an older boy who was bald and did not look like he was having a good day. They all enjoyed playing together and listening to me read some stories.

When it was our turn, Justin did not want to leave the party in the waiting room, but Travis was already turning heads in the exam area. Everyone who passed our room did a double take and one of the older volunteers came and teased Travis by knocking on his hard hat. Justin was not in the mood to drink the liquid he needed to drink so we had to do "two sips and a snuggle" and that helped the medicine go down. It only took about 10 minutes but Travis already decided that he wanted to go back today with Justin.

When we got home we received a phone call that there had been a cancellation for a sleep study and she wanted to know if we could do it. I jumped at the oppportunity, but then I remembered about the thyroid scan. She checked his schedule (no two-year-old should have a "schedule" with the hospital...) and said that he would still be okay to do it because the study ended at 6:30 am and he didn't have the scan until 9:30. Plenty of time! So she had to do some checks and we were good to go! Me-Me and Pop stepped up and took Travis for the night and I raced down to TCH to be there by 6:30 pm. I made it by the skin of my teeth, with a few phone calls for prayers and amazing planning on God's part to make sure my gas tank was full. We rode up in the elevator with another family. The mother warned me about how bad to would be. I was not fazed because I knew that there were TONS of people praying for us!

Our nurse, Fran, was there to greet us and prepare us for what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I would be able to sleep with Justin, which I knew would help calm him, but the bed was not any bigger than the ones I shared with him during surgery, so I was fairly certain that it would not be a restful night for me. They started applying the probes first to his head. They first measured his head and marked various spots with a grease pencil. Then she placed each probe over one of the spots and taped over it. There were about 20 on Justin's head, face, and chin. Then she moved on and put two probes on each leg to check for leg movement, a pulse ox monitor on his toe, two heart rate monitors, a snore sensor, and two chest straps, one on his abdomen and one on his chest. She then put a stocking cap on his head, like a ski mask except not so thick. It covered his entire head with an opening for his eyes, nose and mouth. The top was open so she cut down the middle and taped it to his head which made him look like he had ears! I know you're going to be mad, but I forgot my camera, so my description and your imagination will have to suffice. The last part was the worst, which was a nasal canula to measure carbon dioxide output with a temperature sensor taped over it. Justin sat very still and watched Barney during this whole process until the canula part. He didn't like that at all, but he was okay once he had a clear path to suck his thumb again. The last thing was to gather all the wires and cover them with a long sock tube and then tighten them with a velcro strap. So Justin looked like his head was tethered to all these different machines. So funny!

We settled down to sleep at about 9 pm and Fran had to come in several times during the night to reattach wayward probes and canulas. The canula came off most frequently, so I am praying that they were able to collect enough data from that part to make the test worthwhile. And Justin flopped and behaved just like at home so I am glad they saw what he does when he sleeps. I didn't sleep much with him crawling all over me and then having to unwind him and reign him in so he wouldn't pull out the probes. His head was on the pillow, and then at the foot of the bed, and then he sat up and plopped his head on my chest. Then he crawled over me and snuggled in my arm pit. I struggled to keep track of him and keep the wires from strangling him!

Fran woke us at 6:10 am and then began the untangling process. So glad it was her and not me! She put some foam on each tape to loosen it up so it wouldn't pull out his hair which made him look like he had soap in his hair with streaks of blue from the grease pencil. Thankfully we were able to shower since I wasn't sure how I was going to explain our appearance for the thyroid scan. (He "shared" some of the foam with me!) Justin enjoyed throwing everything off the bench in the shower, but I prevailed and 20 minutes later we were headed down the elevator and on our way to breakfast with Randy.

Randy came down early to meet us for breakfast. Pretty great, isn't he? Justin enjoyed his first Grand Slam breakfast and we had to cut him off before he ate all the eggs and hash browns. And the whipped cream off my hot chocolate (which I refilled with coffee!) It was a really great way to waste some time before going back for more.

We saw all of our friends back for more in the Nuclear Medicine waiting area. We didn't have to wait as long today, and when we did back, the tech asked about Travis. By name! Makes me laugh! He taped Justin down on the bed and I had to hold his head still while they scanned his thyroid. I sang every song I know, and Justin calmed down really quickly. It was one of the least painless tests we have done! Justin fell asleep on the way home before we even made it to the freeway. Wish I could have too.

Now we wait. I don't know when we will hear anything, but I hope soon! Keep praying!