Loving 2011 Already!

So far I would have to say the year is off to a good start!  Everyone is happy and healthy and I have been enjoying spending time with Alex since she has an extra week of Christmas break. 

Her doctor appointment went fine and pretty uneventful.  The great news was that her lab results all came back fine. The doctor was looking for any signs that the medicine (methotrexate) was causing damage to her organs and so far it is not.  On visual inspection though she felt that Alex was still showing a significant amount of swelling and is just stunned that she has no pain or stiffness.   She said that Alex must be blocking the pain because it would be impossible to have that much swelling and no discomfort.  I believe she must have inherited a high pain tolerance from my mom whom after open heart surgery did not complain once of being in any pain!   

She will be having another MRI in February or March to compare to the original one to see if there is any reduction in inflammation.  They will also scan her left hand and feet to get a base reading on those areas.  

Other than that life around here is getting back to normal.  The Christmas tree is still up and frankly I don't want to take it down!  I love the holidays and don't want them to end.  Maybe this weekend...sigh.....

Happy New Year once again! 

Goodbye 2010 Hello To New Beginnings!!

Happy New Year!  I know my last post was about how crummy last year was so I wanted to write about what I  am most looking forward to in 2011.  I am not one to make New Years Resolutions because honestly I never keep them. So this year I have come up with intentions.  I feel with a little faith and determination I will succeed. So here is my list of intentions for 2011.

1.  Be Thankful! We truly have so much to be thankful for.  We live in a beautiful city and state.  We both have great jobs that we love!  We are still happily married.  We love our kids!  We are blessed by a wonderful church that continues to strengthen our faith and teach our kids what it's all about!  My parents live close by and love us so much...and we love them too!!  Our kids go to great schools and have wonderful friends.  I have this blog to connect with other families out there!  I could go on forever!

2. Save Money! A few of our struggles this year were due to finances.  I vow to spend less this year than last.  To always use coupons!  To think twice about mindless purchases.  To work more and learn new things.  To sell what we no longer use or donate to those who really need it.  To make more meals at home.  And most importantly set a monthly budget and save save save!

3. Play More! This kinda goes along with #2.  Playing is free, its fun, its exercise, its relationship building, its skill learning and oh yeah fun!!!  One of my fondest memories growing up was sitting around my Aunt Anne's dining room table playing games.  We would stay up so late, just laughing, talking, bonding all while playing!  I hope to do more of that with my kids and friends and family.

 4. Strengthen My Faith I would love to join our small group bible study program at our church.  I also want to implement a family bible study.  We have done it here and there but when things get busy we let it slide.  If anyone has a program they follow I would love to know.

Well, I think that will do it.  What are your resolutions this year? Try setting intentions instead.  That way it is something you can truly work on all year!  If you have any good ones leave them in the comment section!

Happy New Year!!!  2011!!!

End Of The Year Update

Hello and Merry Christmas everyone! 

I have never looked so forward to a New Year as I am to this one.  I usually don't like to roll one year up into one bad one but seriously...if you know our family you would agree.  Just as a recap here are some things we had to face this year.... shoulder surgery, torn Achilles tendon, two bouts of oral surgery (me and Alex), roughly 9 cases of strep throat between all of us, Alex having tonsils removed, Alex being diagnosed with arthritis, my dad falling down the stairs and having surgery to repair his quad muscle, various car issues and on and on it goes. As of January 1st I will be looking at a clean slate and look forward to a much more fun and stress free year!

Since this is a blog about Alex and her arthritis I will update you on her.   She has such a great attitude about her illness.  She has been doing great remembering (better than me) to take her meds everyday!  After missing so much school for having her tonsils out and going to so many doctor appointments (12 days so far this year) her grades slipped quite a bit.  But I am happy to report that as of today she has mostly A's and B's again...one C in Spanish. She has worked so hard and has stayed after school for tutoring two days every week.  She pointed out to me yesterday that her fingers have seemed to swell up considerably again which is a big disappointment!  She has her next check up on Jan. 3rd so we will be discussing this with the doctor.  It did seem to be working there for a while so not sure if this is normal.  We are just hoping they don't move us up to the next med which will be an injection....given by me...yikes!

Other than that we are anxiously awaiting Christmas!  The kids are so excited and loving everything this season brings.  As for Ben and I we are trying to remain stress free and are so thankful for all that we have.  We have a roof over our head, food on our table and for the most part good health.  That is a lot more than some people have and we have to remind ourselves of that!

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!   Thank you to all of our family and friends who have prayed for and supported us this year.  We love you all for it and it has not gone unnoticed!

Love,

Pattie