Sunday Morning Minstry

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (NKJV)





Please go to his wonderful blog and read the message that he has prepared for everyone.

I know that a LOT of our Lyme friends have had extremely difficult weeks. Mr. Brent Riggs works extremely hard to put together a Sunday Morning Ministry for friends that are unable to go to church. This week's message seems to be targeted for US. Just read the scripture he used


2 Corinthians 4:8-10 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (NKJV)''

Be warned, not pretty

** be warned ** some of these photos .. you will see me at some of my sickest points (when I would allow photos that is .. b/c at my very sickest I wouldn't allow photos) and you may laugh at some of them. ;)


Thinking back to how I felt BEFORE. Before I knew I what I had and before I knew how much worse I would feel. When I wasn't working, I spent my world on that couch (that is before Dexter tore it up).



I was either sitting up barely or lying down. I was too tired to do much else.


More and more of my days were spent like this:



But even still I would put a smile on my face and do silly things every once in a while:



And even AFTER my diagnosis and picc line insertion, occasionally I would STILL put a smile on my face and do something silly!





SO I challenge all of you bloggers to do something silly today and share with all of us.

Wii Sports Active

I purchased this "game" over the weekend and began this "game" on Monday. I have "played" this "game" twice and my legs are SORE! (In a good way)

It's not a just a game! It's an exercise game .. and so far I like it even better than the Wii Fit! (and I didn't think that was possible). I highly recommend it. :D

Laughter Lives Tuesday

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.


So my husband and I were on our way out to eat dinner. He pointed out something that made me laugh. So we saw two mules going at it like rabbits. Then he made a joke. This joke made me laugh a good five minutes.

***
What do you call a mule's butt?

A ba donkey donk

*SNORT*

Not Me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I'm going to be short and sweet on this week's Not Me Monday.

1. I did not put on a work-out fit just to work out on the Wii today in my own home when I could have just put on a t-shirt and PJ bottoms.

2. I did not take about 35 pictures of a 6 year old and a green bow.

3. I did not argue with my husband about whether a song was sung by INXS. I never know artists and titles so it wouldn't be prudent for me to argue with him since he's the expert on such matters. So therefore I did NOT do that.

4. I did not stare at two mules going at it. I have not looked at said Mules every time I've ridden by where those mules live just to see if they were still going at it.

Here for your viewing pleasure are my old Not Me's!

Week 1: Wii Fit Cheater
Week 2: OCD Shoe Lace
Week 3: "Your in" for a real treat on this one.
Week 4: I'm 12 again!
Week 5: PICC me! PICC me!
Week 6: Oh "Holey" Days!
Week 7: Overeaters Anonymous
Week 8: Hair Today: Gone Tomorrow
Week 9: Liar Liar Pants on Fire
Week 10: Khakilin' at the store
Week 11: To Capri or Not To Capri
Week 12: Losing my V Card
Week 13: It's beginning to TICK me off
Week 14: PC Out!
Week 15: Earth, Wind & Fire
Week 16: No Not Me Today
Week 17: Touch of Lime
Week 18: Sleeping Beauty
Week 19: Protein or Not to Protein
Week 20: What a Donkey (today's post)

Baby Shower Fun

To protect my family & friends, I won't be posting any photos of their whole faces. I haven't gotten permission for one and for two ... I just don't think they'd like to be on my blog! This is the first time I really got photo happy at R's baby shower. I figure this is number 4 ... I had a right to be photo happy. I don't think she got really frustrated about my flashing camera until the end. BUT, I got some really great shots that I can't wait to share with her. :o)

Let the present unwrapping begin.
This was "R" along with one of her munchkins pitching in to unwrap presents. How kind of him!That present was the one from Moi.



I arrived and the hostess and cake had already made it's presence. We laughed and chuckled for a good little bit over it's "itty bitty" size. Supposedly could feed 8 to 10 people. Yeah I suppose if the slices were REALLY ITTY BITTY. We joked about Cake Wrecks Blog and thank goodness she brought some really bright cupcakes. They provided some great photos of the kids.



I took a whole series of these next shots. This was the one that covered "K" the best. I loved shooting her. My favorite photos of the whole batch were "K" covering herself with the green bow. I was trying to get her with her face uncovered and every time the bow would fall, I would snap away. Well one time she said, "You got to snap a little faster. This bow keeps falling down."




Another favorite photo moment was when the kids enjoyed their cupcakes. Beautiful Pink Cupcakes for Miss K and Green for Mr. G


And just so Mr. N doesn't feel left out. Here is what he said about changing diapers. And he's not saying, "I'll do it." He's saying, "I pass this chore onto my sister and brother. I've done it twice now." Then he did a little "Yes" motion with his hands. :D

Long weekend

Woo hoo. It's a long weekend. One I suspect that will have lots of fun cleaning.

Expect some photos next week though. I'm going to a baby shower today! (Not of the actual Mom b/c I doubt she'll want me posting photos of HER in her Pregnant state on my blog, but maybe of the presents .. we'll see).

Also ... just you wait until you see the joke that my husband came up with yesterday. I promise you .. if you have any kind of humor at all, you will be rolling on the floor. You'll just have to wait until Tuesday for that though.

Check this out

A few weeks ago my Lyme friend online asked me if she could feature me on her blog. She asked me to write up my story and check it out!

Kayla's blog

Beautiful Memories

My Beautiful Grandparents 9 years 1 month and 4 days ago. It was today 9 years ago that Granny passed away. I miss her as much now as I did then.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So in order to suspend your disbelief for this week's Not Me Monday, you have to know one thing about me. I am not a cook. I do not do things in the kitchen. Well since I don't do these things, I did NOT make my very first smoothie today by using strawberries, bananas, milk, ice and Protein Powder. I did not complain to my friend online later that I was burping up Bananas.

Speaking of Protein, I did not write down on the white board every gram of protein I ate so far today. I am not depressed that I have only had 39 grams of Protein when I need to have 80 grams. I am not wondering how I am going to stuff 41 more grams of Protein in my body when my stomach is bloated from everything I ate this afternoon.

Yesterday when doing laundry, I did NOT spray Febreeze in the washing machine trying to get the smell out of the sheets I brought home from my Grandfather's apartment. I did not wonder later if the dryer would catch on fire from spraying said Febreeze.

I have another really funny Not Me antidote, but I think that I will spare you from the hilarity that ensued at the K&W.

Stay Tuned just in case I think of something else.

Here for your viewing pleasure are my old Not Me's!

Week 1: Wii Fit Cheater
Week 2: OCD Shoe Lace
Week 3: "Your in" for a real treat on this one.
Week 4: I'm 12 again!
Week 5: PICC me! PICC me!
Week 6: Oh "Holey" Days!
Week 7: Overeaters Anonymous
Week 8: Hair Today: Gone Tomorrow
Week 9: Liar Liar Pants on Fire
Week 10: Khakilin' at the store
Week 11: To Capri or Not To Capri
Week 12: Losing my V Card
Week 13: It's beginning to TICK me off
Week 14: PC Out!
Week 15: Earth, Wind & Fire
Week 16: No Not Me Today
Week 17: Touch of Lime
Week 18: Sleeping Beauty
Week 19: Protein or Not to Protein. (today's post)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Treasures versus Junk

My Granny had a collection of Treasures. To some, these treasures would be looked at as junk while as to others ... these collection of things would hold the most dearest memories.

My Granny passed away 9 years ago on the 19th and my Grandfather has been moved into a nursing home. It is unlikely that his physical body will be strong enough to go back home. So because of this, my family has had the difficult task of wading through Granny's and my Granddaddy's "treasures." As we're going through things, many treasures were found. But it occurred to me, that many might find the things that my family and I treasure junk. I wondered if the things that we treasure were the same things that my Grandparents treasured. I wondered if the things that we thought were "junk" were things that just hadn't made it to the garbage quite yet or if those were also things that she held dear to her heart.

But I knew what it was and I knew that if Granny kept that old newspaper clipping that it was special. And indeed it was. We found treasures stored in every drawer, nook & cranny and every hiding place. My family gifted me with many of these treasures we found. As I'm finding room in my home for these things that I treasure, I wonder how many of these same things other people would find as junk.

The infamous "outhouse" decorations from the hall bathroom ~ all cracked and glued back together would be considered junk to anyone, but to me it symbolizes my childhood. Felt Elves that most of the heads are coming off ... to anyone else, might be considered junk ... but to me, they are things that my Granny stitched with love knowing that one day her grandchildren would want them. As I am integrating their things with mine, I have tears of joy & tears of pain.

Joy because it reminds me of what a wonderful family I have and what a wonderful childhood I had, but pain because some of those people are no longer here with us physically. As I opened up a powder that had last been touched by Granny in 2000, I finally was able to remember the way she smelled. And Oh what a beautiful smell it was. But to someone else, that little container of powder might have been tossed out with old receipts and dust bunnies. Two huge ole pair of RED prescription glasses? The look in which I will always remember my Granny. Now they both sit in the top dresser drawer residing in my spare bedroom.

Today we took every piece of furniture out of our spare bedroom and replaced it with my childhood, my memories and my treasures. I just hope that one day, someone will be looking at my things thinking, "Oh what beautiful memories."

Our Live Blood Cell Answers

To review, I had a Live Blood Cell Analysis in September of 2008 to see how my red & white blood cells were doing.

In September this is what we saw:

"In the wet sample, she saw Lyme Spirochetes as well as Lyme Cysts in my white blood cells. One blood cell she looked at had four or five cysts in it. They were floating everywhere and eating some of my red blood cells. While we were watching, we saw one spirochete break off one blood cell and swim towards another. We also so many spots of Yeast. She said that Lyme and Yeast were definitely a concern. We saw several bacterial blobs that looked like a bunch of spirochetes bunched together with like tentacles (she called them blebs)."

Today: Show much improvement. Most of the white blood cells were clear and functioning properly. We saw a few bacterial blobs, but they weren't Too Numerous To Count (TNTC) this time. We saw areas of Yeast, but it was no where near like the last time. The difference between the Wet Sample last time and this time were astounding. I'm definately improving.

Now the problem was that I still had Lemon Drop Red blood cells. This means that I have Bowel Toxicity. I don't know how they know this, but ... that's what it indicates. There were also several spots on the wet and dry sample that showed Liver Toxicity. I need to work on cleansing out these two areas. Although, I will likely always have Lyme cysts ... if we work on the Liver & Bowels, then the yeast and parasites should improve. My Red Blood cells last time were all on top of each other. Also some had missing parts (IE my iron was missing). This time, they were mostly all intact and spread out the way they were supposed to be. An occasional Red Blood cell showed the Lyme Spirochetes.

My follow up just consisted of things that we thought we could do to help detox the Liver & Bowel. Also we are thinking if we clear this things up that maybe my bump problem will clear up too. He's *never* seen my bump problem on any of his patients. Aren't I special? ;0

Onto my husband's microscope:

For some time, I've thought that my husband has Lyme Disease. The last few months he's gotten sick several times including a major bout of bronchitis, the stomach flu and also once his lip got really swollen out of no where. He's had symptoms the last few months that really lead us to concern so we scheduled a blood cell analysis for him today.

My heart is very heavy over what we saw on his slides. His biggest issues are Lyme Disease, Cardiac problems, Parasites and Lymphatic Issues. The doctor said they were number 4 out of the scale of 0 to 4 (with 4 being the most severe). His Adrenal functions were about the same as mine and his Lyme cysts were on the scale of 3. He also has Liver Toxicity. I wasn't in the office with him during his blood cell analysis as I was in my follow up appointment. We plan on getting him scheduled into see my doctor as soon as possible.

The problem is that it costs about 500 to go in for the first appointment and today we spent about 1325 on the credit card. That doesn't even include the supplements that I will have to pick up over the next few weeks. *sigh* Here we go again.

There's the update.

Video on Lyme

Rest Well Kayleigh

Here is their blog post where the Freeman's say goodbye to their beautiful daughter.
This miracle, born to Adam & Aimee at 1 pound 11 months ago, is resting in Heaven.

No more tubes, no more pokes, her body healed completely.

This blessing bestowed on Kayleigh is painful for all left here to mourn her loss. Please pray for Aimee & Adam for strength to get through this difficult time.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Because I challenged myself to keep up with housework & laundry, I can not believe that I'm about to tell you what I did not do on Sunday from 9am until past 6pm. I did not spend all day on Sunday doing laundry. Let me break it down for you. I did not wash 7 loads of laundry. I did not dry 7 loads of laundry. I did not fold and/or hang 9 loads of laundry. And I most certainly did not iron 3 loads of laundry. And even if I did spend all day doing the mountain of laundry, it's certainly not because I haven't done laundry in over three weeks. This would be absolutely atrocious .... don't ya think?

I did not go to bed at 7:30 on Friday night and I most certainly did not wake up the following morning at 7:30 using curse words at the dog because he was barking waking up the Sleeping Beauty Lymie. This would NOT be necessary because 12 hours of sleep had NOT been acquired. ;o) If this did happen on Friday night, I most certainly would NOT repeat this on Saturday night by going to bed at 7:45 and waking up by cursing the dog out on Sunday morning at 7:45. Just in case this isn't clear, I did not spent 24 hours over the weekend sleeping in bed.

Here for your viewing pleasure are my old Not Me's!

Week 1: Wii Fit Cheater
Week 2: OCD Shoe Lace
Week 3: "Your in" for a real treat on this one.
Week 4: I'm 12 again!
Week 5: PICC me! PICC me!
Week 6: Oh "Holey" Days!
Week 7: Overeaters Anonymous
Week 8: Hair Today: Gone Tomorrow
Week 9: Liar Liar Pants on Fire
Week 10: Khakilin' at the store
Week 11: To Capri or Not To Capri
Week 12: Losing my V Card
Week 13: It's beginning to TICK me off
Week 14: PC Out!
Week 15: Earth, Wind & Fire
Week 16: No Not Me Today
Week 17: Touch of Lime
Week 18: Sleeping Beauty (today's post)

Symptoms I had in April

I'm about to reveal some shocking numbers. In the month of April, I kept track of my symptoms. Remember that this is all a matter of perspective. If you compare these numbers so 0, these numbers are atrocious. If you compare these numbers to 25 or more, then these numbers are spectacular.

I will * the ones that I had more than 25 days in April of 2007. I will + the ones that I had more than 10 days in April of 2007. The others either weren't relevant (IE: Picc line bumps .. b/c I didn't have a picc line in 07) or happened less often than 10 days. You also have to keep in mind that I also had a lot more symptoms than this in April of 2007 as well.

So it's a matter of perspective. Keep that in mind when you read the following symptoms.

*13 days of fatigue
12 picc line bumps
*9 days of skin itching (usually on my arms)
*8 days of joint pain with swelling
*7 days of eye/vision trouble including blurriness and floaters
6 days of shortness of breath/coughing
*6 days of sleep disorder (either too much or not enough)
+6 days of sore throats
*5 days of forgetfulness
*5 days of headaches
*5 days of confusion with difficulty thinking
*5 days of tingling in extremities
*5 days of feeling overall unwell
*4 days of stiffness in the joints, neck and back
+4 days of stomach upset (gas)
*4 days of neck pain/strain
+4 days of swollen glands
*3 days of difficulty of concentrating when reading
*3 days of lightheadedness or wooziness
*3 days of twitching
2 days of fever
+2 days of mood swings
+2 days of sound sensitivity
+2 days of sweating
2 days of nose (it was *running* ala Forest Gump)
*1 day of muscle pain/cramps

PICC Lines

Have any of you had this problem post picc line pulling? (how's that for alliteration?) I get these bumps in about the same place quite a bit. I have a feeling they come up every night, but I'm asleep and don't notice. I had 12 in April (on one day I had 3 bumps pop up at the same time around the site and on another it was 2 bumps). I know I've had one pop up this month. I'm not sure how many times it happened after it was pulled in February and March because I didn't keep an eye on it really, but I do know it happened at least 10 times.

I'll be heading to my LLMD next week with photos in hand, but what happens is that a small little bump shows and then it gets larger to about the size in this photo. Then it disappears over the next few hours. I thought I'd see if any of you guys (all Lymies with PICCs or anyone else wiht PICCs) might have an idea or two about what might be going on.

It doesn't hurt, it doesn't really itch, but it is quite annoying.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not go buy a dress because I needed retail therapy. Also didn't buy a bracelet & necklace to go with the dress either. Since I am not a girly girl, I did not wear said dress two days in a row. I was not late to my friend's house two days in a row either. I am always on time to everything so there is no way I'd just hang out with my friends at work before going to my friend's house.

Last week (the week I cancelled the Not Me Monday), I did not actually go and buy three new shirts and a bunch of iron ons. I did not waste one old shirt by putting my Positive Lyme test on it. I did not waste a new shirt by putting the positive lyme test on the front & the back of it to see which would look better. I did not wear the positive Lyme test shirt to work one day.

I didn't go to Michaels to purchase two spools of Lime Green Ribbon and then on top of that a bow that is already made. I'm such a creative person (haa) that I'd make my own bow and not purchase one pre-made. I didn't go to Lowe's looking for Lime Green Flagging Tape to tie around all the trees in my yard and I wasn't upset when I found only Pink & Orange. :o(
I didn't spend an hour trying to tie the Lime Green ribbon onto a charm to make a necklace.

Here for your viewing pleasure are my old Not Me's!

Week 1: Wii Fit Cheater
Week 2: OCD Shoe Lace
Week 3: "Your in" for a real treat on this one.
Week 4: I'm 12 again!
Week 5: PICC me! PICC me!
Week 6: Oh "Holey" Days!
Week 7: Overeaters Anonymous
Week 8: Hair Today: Gone Tomorrow
Week 9: Liar Liar Pants on Fire
Week 10: Khakilin' at the store
Week 11: To Capri or Not To Capri
Week 12: Losing my V Card
Week 13: It's beginning to TICK me off
Week 14: PC Out!
Week 15: Earth, Wind & Fire
Week 16: No Not Me Today
Week 17: Touch of Lime (today's post)

Share your Lime

This is what I did for Lyme Disease Awareness Month! Share your Lime! When you do something for Lyme Disease Awareness Month, post a picture on your blog! Leave a comment here so that we can go to your blog and see your pictures! Just click the Linky button and add your link. You can then see everyone who has created a link too.

What else?

I could go ahead and list everything that has happened in the last two weeks, but I won't.

I will say that it started off with a forest fire and life has not been kind since. Between the death of my friend, the declining health of my Grandfather and the stomach bug that has kept my husband on the toilet for the last 24 hours ... I am thinking, "What Else can happen?"

SERIOUSLY? I need a break.

I sit here with a churning in my stomach and I don't know if it's stress or the beginnings of the stomach flu. He's avoided me like the plague even though he knows I need him, but he knows I need the stomach flu a lot less.

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month.
If you don't have a Lime Green pin or ribbon, get one. We need to get the word out that LYME DISEASE IS A PROBLEM!!!!


Wanna make a bigger impact, buy a Lyme Disease shirt! People will surely stop and ask about your shirt that says Lyme is a four letter word!
This shirt can be purchased by clicking the picture of the shirt. The person who created this shirt is (obviously) affected by Lyme. Go to her blog to see other designs for shirts, buttons and other assorted items.


Print off flyers and information about Lyme Disease and pass them around doctor's offices, legislative buildings and even people you see that ask you about your shirts and ribbons.


People KNOW that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Make an IMPACT on Lyme Disease. Make people Aware that Lyme Disease exists and it is a Chronic Illness. Make people aware that it imitates other illnesses and the controversy surrounding treatment and test results.

I will post this blog many times prior to May 1st so that everyone has a chance to change the world's perception of Lyme Disease.

Tie a Lime Green Ribbon on your Car or Tree during the month of May. Post these pictures on your blog to show your support for Lyme Disease patients!