Update

Alright, here is the scoop.....

It looks like I need surgery. I have an extremely herniated disc in my low back and it is compressing nerves affecting both of my legs. I am in a great deal of pain most days and in moderate pain the rest of the time. I have scheduled surgery on May 20th. In the mean time I will seek a second opinion, just to make sure I have no other option. The surgery will not be an easy one.

Here's the skinny:

*4 hours

*Remove the disc.

*Replace it with a spacer.

*Fuse it all together.

*Place 4 screws.

I feel like I will be a giant erector set!

Recovery:

*Approx. 3 days in the hospital.

*Month 1 "Nothing of value" (per doctor). Only walking.

*Month 2 Start driving!! Start doing daily activities.

*Month 3 Begin their exercise program where they will "beat me up" (doctor again) and strengthen my back. The doc assured me this would be very painful, but the results would be good.

So there you have it. The long and short of it.

In other news... I will go back for a second ultrasound of the 2 nodules on my thyroid tomorrow afternoon. I will post more when I have new info!

I wanted to leave you with this sweet little gem! So sweet! God's generous blessing to me that keeps me going on the days when I hurt the most. I am richly blessed!

The Circus is COMING to Dayton!!

Come experience the all-new

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents ZING ZANG ZOOM

Playing at the Nutter Center

with your family!

Once again, I am partnering with momcentral.com and hosting a give away! One lucky winner will win a family 4 pack of tickets to opening night, April 29 at the Nutter Center!

If you aren't the winner, I will have a special offer for you!

Purchase a 4-pack of tickets for weekday shows for only $44,

or receive $4 off any weekend ticket by logging onto HYPERLINK "http://www.ticketmaster.com"www.ticketmaster.com and entering the coupon code:MOM.**

Dayton Show Dates:

Thursday April 29: 7:o0pm

Friday April 30: 7:00 pm

Saturday May 1: 11:00am, 3:00pm, 7:00pm

Sunday May 2: 12:00pm, 4:00pm

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment with your e-mail address or Twitter handle so I can give you the news if you win. I will also post the winner after on April 16th by 9 a.m. here on my bloggity blog!

*Contest ends April 15 at 9 p.m.

*Please note - any comments I make to this post will be deleted before the winner is determined through random.org.

Noah turns 5!!

Noah turned 5 on March 9. It was a beautiful day so we went to the park and played!! It was wonderful.

On Saturday, we celebrated with the family and had a couple of friends over to spend the night. My mom made the Pirate cake and it was perfect!!:)
James, such a cutie!
Noah, Peter and Ryan. 3 buddies getting ready for a FUN night!
Noah modeling his pirate bandana.
Peter giving his best Pirate, ARRRGGGG!
Ryan was a calm Pirate, at this point in the evening. He is such a sweet boy.
Pirate Collin, trying to look tough.
Time for a craft.
Peter and Noah working on their Pirate ornaments.
All of our party Pirates showing their telescopes and swords.
After crafts, bingo, pin the tail on the donkey and dinner, we settled in for a movie.
Lights out!
Sunday morning was fun too! We all go to church together, so they were able to play together until we got to church.
There were some highly competitive games of ring around the rosie going on!
A few more minutes of extreme cuteness.
The next day, Grandpa Jim started to assemble the gift from my parents and sister for Noah and Collin's combined birthday present. So much fun!!
They love it!! The best part is that we are constantly entertaining our neighbor kids. I spoke with Noah and Collin last week about how important it is to tell our friends about Jesus. Noah started witnessing to his little friends the first day they came over. What a blessing and a challenge to this mommy.
Happy birthday. I love you so much Noah. You are an amazing boy.

The winner is.... Lucky Number 13!! Jen your family is going to the circus!! I will contact you to tell you how to claim your prize! Thank you to everyone who entered my very first giveaway! Check back, in the near future I will be hosting another circus giveaway! :)

Wishing I could freeze time

Today is one of those morning when I wish I could freeze time. Let me show you what I mean...

First Collin...

Noah...


I am truly blessed to stay at home with my boys and experience these precious moments. Precious moments.

The Circus is COMING to town!

Know how I am pushing away the winter blues?? I am hosting a give away!!

The Circus is coming to town!!! I am happy to partner with MomCentral and host a give away for tickets to the upcoming Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey "Zing Zang Zoom" Circus. The tickets are for the opening night show in Cincinnati, Ohio March 10. Not only will one of my lucky readers win a family 4 pack of tickets, the "All Access Pre-Show" is FREE for all ticket holders and begins an hour before showtime. If you aren't the winner of the give away, here is a coupon code for you! Go to www.ticketmaster.com and enter the coupon code: MOM. The code is valid for four tickets for $44 for Monday-Friday matinee shows (any additional tickets are still priced at $11), and $4 off Friday night and all weekend shows.

Cincinnati Show Dates: (US Bank Arena)

Wednesday March 10: 7:00pm

Thursday March 11: 7:00pm

Friday March 12: 7:00 pm

Saturday March 13: 11:00am, 3:00pm,

7:00pm

Sunday March 14: 11:00am, 3:00pm,

7:00pm

To enter simply leave a comment on this post! The drawing will be held Feb 25, 2010 at 10pm.

*You may enter once a day if you'd like!

*Please include your e-mail address so I can notify you of your win. OR check back here on 2/26 to see if you are the lucky winner.

Where have I been??

Why the Debbie Downer Face?
Well, honestly I haven't been hiding, just processing. I will fill you in, but try to be brief.

Where to begin?? Perhaps a brief summary will do the trick.

For the last (almost) 10 years I have dealt with some pretty extensive back problems. The truth is, I am in pain everyday, but it is part of me and doesn't warrant discussion. In December my back went out. When I say went out, I mean I couldn't walk. I went to the doc, got an script for prednisone (steroid), vicoden, and a shot in the butt of cortisone (steroid). This worked wonderfully at first. In fact I felt better than I had in a long time and enjoyed an amazing Christmas holiday and New Year's Eve. However, that was a gift from God and a couple of weeks ago the pain came back. My leg started hurting terribly and I began to experience numbness and tingling. YIKES! I will not try to explain this pain to you because unless you have personally experienced it, you cannot fully grasp the immense pain that it brings. Last week an MRI revealed a pinched nerve and a worsening of my degenerative disc disease all. My problems are in L4,L5 and S1. I have 2 bulging discs and one herniated and the disc disease is all over that area. So on Wed next week I will meet with a surgeon (again). I have not seen a neurosurgeon since 2002 so I am interested in what he has to say.

So I don't get comments about how this is the LAST resort, I will state what I have done for treatment over the last 9 + years since the onset of my back problems...

*Cortisone Epidural Injections - 2 times, each is a series of 3 injections - under x-ray - with a GIANT needle of cortisone into the epidural space.

*Physical Therapy - 4 different series of PT appt's over the 9+yrs.

*Chiropractics - 4 different docs with different approaches, multiple sessons (all resulting in worsening my symptoms).

*Many massages

*Steroids

*More steroids

*Pain management drugs

*Anti-inflammatory meds

*Muscle Relaxers

*Anti-spasmodic meds

*Yoga

*Pilates

*Weight training

I didn't want to jump into surgery, but honestly I have tried so many things, I am weary. I want to have a healthy back and if that means that I need to have surgical intervention, I am ready. Mentally, emotionally, physically and financially. I will let you know what the surgeon says. I am also prepared for him to say there may be something else he recommends. I covet your prayers and support as we venture into a new phase of this journey. Thanks!!