I just got a call that Buster’s x-ray is clear so they are proceeding with surgery!
Ever had to explain to young children that you can cry because you are so happy?
I won’t be able to give an update until much later today so don’t get worried that you haven’t heard from me!
For those of you that don’t know, we adopted our neighborhood stray in December of this year. At that time, the vets determined that he was about 5 or 6 months old. Buster is a very special member of our family - he even plays with the dogs!
After weeks of two different antibiotics and pain medications, Buster’s x-ray showed that his leg is worse. We will be dropping Buster off at Willow Creek Animal Hospital on Monday. Dr Schaller will put him under anesthesia and perform a chest x-ray. I hope and pray that the x-ray is clear and that she does not see anything suspicious to indicate that the cancer has spread beyond his leg. If she does, there will be no need to go forward with surgery.
If the x-ray is clear, Dr. Schaller will be amputating Buster’s front left leg (you can see him holding it up in the picture above). His beautiful fur will have to be shaved and he will have a super long incision. We will not be able to see him for days, but I am confidant that the staff at Wilow Creek will love him like their own. They have all been so wonderful through this whole ordeal. Buster has been there several times lately for x-rays and tests and they have all commented on how gorgeous and sweet he is.
They will be able to make sure he is doing well and not jumping up and down off of furniture and counters. They can adjust his pain meds and watch for infection. We won’t have to worry about Daisy licking his incision and he won’t have to be home alone. (Can you tell I am having to convince myself that it is a good thing that he will be with them and not us??)
Buster hasn’t been using his paw very much at all for weeks so I know he will adapt very easily to being a “tripod” kitty. Dr. Schaller said someone once told her that God gives cats and dogs 3 legs and a spare. My only concern really (besides the cost!) is the result of the chest x-ray. Please, please, please let it be clear so that we can have our Buster with us for many more years!
I have calmed down…mostly. I have waited 3 years to have a really nice over-the-mantel quality portrait made of the two of them. This was planned for next week. And she cut her hair. A big chunk. Lots of little curls. I think I might throw up.
It was wet at the time and so I haven’t seen it dry yet (yes, I sent my child to bed with wet hair. I was alittlebit upset, okay?). I am scared to look at her in the morning. I will probably just start crying again.
Have I mentioned on here that Hailey already has a chunk out of her hair on the same side of her head because her hair was “sticky”? I guess Leah wanted to be like her big sis. No more scissors for them until they are 20.
sigh.
I get a lot of hits on this site from people searching for information on fibromyalgia. I don’t want this site to be all about fibromyalgia…just because I have to live with it doesn’t mean it has to BE my life, but I do want to occasionally post things that will help people with FMS or people who love someone with FMS to better understand and cope with this frustrating syndrome.
I found the website www.butyoudontlooksick.com tonight and read this story. Although the writer, Christine Miserandino, is a woman with lupus, her spoon theory is a very accurate description of what it feels like to live with fibromyalgia.
PLEASE, if you are my friend or family member, I would really appreciate you reading this spoon theory. I really think it will help you to understand me and the choices I have to make. There are times that I do things because I feel embarrassed to not do them or to ask for help. I don’t want to seem weak or to risk having people think I am a hypochondriac. I always pay the price for pushing myself too hard…and then I have to answer to Ed who knows that I know better.
If you don’t know me personally but you know someone who lives with a chronic illness or if you yourself have a chronic illness, I encourage you to read this article.
Thanks for taking the time to read the spoon theory.
Ed’s parents (aka “Nana” and “PopPop” gave Hailey and Leah a swing set for their birthdays. Ed has been working on it at night for the past week and we were able to have a “ribbon-cutting” with Nana and PopPop today (can you imagine having to gift-wrap a swing set?).
It started out as this:
And ended up as this:
The “ribbon cutting”:
I think it is safe to say they love it!
The dogs enjoyed being outside, too:
Buster enjoyed having a quiet house to himself:
Thanks Nana and PopPop! And thank you Ed for putting it together!
I called SIXTEEN Wal-Marts before I found this swing set in stock so I am so thankful we finally have it and the girls are getting so much enjoyment out of it!
I promise I am not one of those bloggers that starts off strong and gets bored with writing a blog. I LOVE writing but just have not had the time. In fact, except to eat dinner, this is really the first break I have taken tonight and I only have a minute before I have to get back to work.
A quick overview on our life:
Please check out the Stepping Stones blog!!
Being asked to deliver a eulogy for someone has to be one of the greatest honors I can imagine. Lindsay and I had the honor of delivering a eulogy for Olga at her funeral yesterday. It was a huge task to try to sum up who she was and what she meant to so many people. We could have talked about her all day.
Olga’s daughter, Brenda, delivered a beautiful tribute to her mother. I have attended many funerals in my lifetime and I can honestly say that was the sweetest and most heartfelt message I have ever heard be given at a funeral.
I want to thank all of you who have sent me emails or left messages regarding Olga’s passing. I have had a large number of hits in the past week from people searching for Olga’s name. I wanted to post the eulogy we wrote for those of you who could not make her funeral.
Lindsay and I were very honored to be asked by Olga’s family to speak to you today. For those of you who don’t know us, my name is Emily Page and I am the director at Stepping Stones where Olga was a teacher for the past five years. Lindsay Soebbing is the Early Intervention and Education Coordinator at Stepping Stones. More importantly, we are Olga’s friends. Olga always thought that Lindsay and I are a little crazy, a fact that we have never disputed. I know that Olga is listening today and I just wish I could see how many times she rolls her eyes at us while we talk.
Both of my children had Olga as their teacher in the toddler room at Stepping Stones. I had to sit down with them last night and explain to them that Olga was not sick any more and that she had gone to heaven. At first Hailey told me she was sad, but I explained to them that there was no reason to be sad because Olga was very happy now and that it was a wonderful thing for Olga that God had chosen for her to be with Him now. I asked Hailey what Lindsay and I should tell you today and she said, “tell them that we love her and that she was a good friend.”
Olga was a good friend. She was also a wonderful teacher. She was dedicated to Stepping Stones and to the children in her care. This dedication motivated her to arrive at 4:30 in the morning to organize her classroom and prepare for her day. Keep in mind that our center does not even open until 7:30. Olga hated to take a day off because she did not think anyone could care for her children like she could. You knew she was very, very ill if she called in sick. In fact, she was there so often that when Hailey was 2, she used to get excited when we would pull up at school and would say we were at “Olga’s house.”
One of the ways that Olga showed her dedication was by attending every child care conference and training that she could work into her schedule. Of course, being Olga, she always arrived early, and usually long before the instructor even arrived to set up. She wanted to learn everything she could about early childhood development and activities she could incorporate into her classroom. Olga valued education not only as a teacher, but as a learner herself. Just a couple of months ago, Olga asked me for a scholarship application so that she could go back to school for her Bachelor’s degree.
Olga taught the people around her many lessons, not only through the way that she lived, but in the way that she died. In her daily life, Olga displayed many admirable traits. She was dependable, hard working, generous, loving, and dedicated to her friends and family. For every life event, small or large, there was a card or note from her showing her encouragement and support.
Olga was a woman of strong faith who believed that our lives were planned out for us and that, in accordance with Philippians 4:13, she could do all things through Christ who strengthened her. With this belief, she guided many staff members and parents of children at Stepping Stones. We are all so grateful for her advice and encouragement.
Olga believed that all children were gifts from God. Her quiet voice, patience, and calm manner allowed all children to trust in her. These attributes were what gave Olga a special touch when working with children with special needs. They were drawn to her as much as she was drawn to them.
In her death, Olga taught us to live each day to the fullest. Even as her death grew more imminent, her smile didn’t fade, it only grew brighter. She taught us to appreciate what we have and to live in the moment. In fact, when interviewed, the message she wanted to leave with her family and friends was to be sure to make everyday special.
While Emily and I visited Olga over the past few weeks, we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know Olga better through the memories of her children and siblings. The best part about listening to their stories was actually watching Olga’s facial expressions. She may not have always felt up to commenting, but she could always express herself with those eye rolls!! Although we will continue to miss Olga for years to come, we are looking forward to our new friendships with her family that will help all of us to keep her memory alive.
We would like to leave you with a poem that was sent to Emily by K P-H, a former co-teacher with Olga at Stepping Stones.
You can shed tears that I’ve gone
or you can smile because I’ve lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that I’ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all I’ve left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see me
or you can be full of the love we shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember me and only that I’ve gone
or you can cherish my memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what I’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
Today was a great miserable day for a field trip to the zoo. Seriously. Miserable. For those of you who are not in wonderful NC, the forecast today called for possible light showers and high of 70. What they meant to say was heavy rain with a possible high of 60 for some 5 minute period sometime in the day.
It. was. miserable.
The ironic thing is that I was going on and on this morning about it being perfect weather for the zoo. In my experience, the animals are more active when it is cooler. The best trip I have ever taken to the zoo was actually a field trip when I was a preschool teacher when the weather was exactly like the forecast for today.
The ride to Asheboro included a few sprinkles. I don’t think Lindsay even had to turn on the wipers until the very end of the trip. We unloaded, did the bathroom thing, and got our tickets. We started out towards Cypress Swamp and that is about all we saw before the rain really got started.
Taking pictures is one of my absolute favorite things and we have a slide show as part of our graduation next week so I wanted to get as many pictures as possible. I tried putting on my anorak and keeping the camera inside the anorak as much as possible but that just didn’t work. I took off the anorak and wrapped it around my camera until I wanted to take a picture. That worked okay…except it really started to rain and I had to put the camera up completely. And by the time I could do that, my shirt was soaked through so the anorak was completely pointless. You could literally wring water out of my shirt.
When we realized the rain was there to stay, we decided to go ahead and go to Junction Cafe for lunch. Unfortunately, this meant a long wait in line for the bus from North American to Junction. Junction Cafe was packed but the other staff members managed to snag seats for the kids while Lindsay and I got the food. Lunch was thankfully uneventful (except for the shivering). There was no way we could enjoy walking around the zoo soaking wet and cold so we went right back to the tram/bus stop to catch the bus back to North America. We waited 45 minutes for the bus. Did I mention it was pouring down rain? (A very nice gentleman at the bus stop entertained our kids, gave one of them a poncho, held his umbrella over me, and advocated for our group to get on the bus ahead of others.)
Our next stop was to Advance Auto Parts for new windshield wiper blades because the ones on the van were useless. Don’t you wish you were with us?
So…
Admission to the zoo: $8 (we only had to pay for one staff member and we got a discount b/c I am a zoo member. All other staff and the kids were free because we are a More at Four site).
Food for the children: ~$67 I think
Food for the adults: $53
Gas for the trip: I don’t even want to think about it
Wipers: $22.95
Getting soaking wet and bone cold: Miserable
Our kids, parents, and staff were real troopers. We laughed a lot because, really…that is about all you can do in that situation.
By the way, two years ago at the zoo, a child was running and fell and broke his nose (luckily his mom was with us). Last year it was 107 degrees, the van broke down about two miles from the center, a child threw up, the parents had to pick their kids up from the side of the road and Lindsay 
one of the staff members had to catch a ride in a police cruiser back to the center. Imagine picking up your child from child care and seeing the Education Coordinator driving up in a police cruiser.
Maybe next year we will just go to San-Lee. I really think we saw more animals on our field trip there than we saw at the zoo today.
As soon as I published this post, I hit my “blog surfer” and saw that Lindsay also wrote about our trip. You have to go read it on her blog. I had completely forgotten that she got peed on today. The funniest part about it (sorry Lindsay) is that she didn’t even notice until she smelled it in the car on the way home. That tells you just how wet we were.
Olga passed away on Sunday, May 25th.
Olga will be remembered and her life celebrated on Saturday, May 31 at First Baptist Church in Sanford. Visitation will be at 1:00 on Saturday with a memorial service at 2:00.
First Baptist is located at 202 Summit Drive.
If you plan to attend, please wear happy colors per Olga’s request!
0 - Number of times we kissed before we got engaged
1- Number of dates we went on before we got engaged
2 - Number of children we’ve brought into the world
3 - Number of pets we have
4 - Number of homes we have lived in
5 - Number of rooms in our first apartment
6 - Number of cars we have had
7 - Number of towns we spent the night in during our honeymoon
8 - Number of years we have lived in Sanford
9 - The total number of brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law we have
10 - Number of years we have been happily married!!!!!!!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my wonderful husband…the man I want to be with for the rest of forever!
 | Heidi on Buster Update |
 | brian on Leah. Cut. Her. Hair. |
 | kweenmama on The Lost Day |
 | Davina on The Spoon Theory |
 | emilypage on Living with Fibromyalgia |
