Right after church on Sunday, Steve and I took off for Georgia for part 2 (of 4) of the Leadership Training our church is providing for us. On the way, we stopped in Charlotte to spend the night with Steve’s parents.
When we woke up Monday morning, I got completely dressed and went to the kitchen for breakfast. Steve had decided to eat before dressing, so when I got to the kitchen, he was there in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms.
Steve’s dad, Ken, came in shortly after I did and stopped in the doorway and just laughed. It really struck his funny bone to see the dramatic difference between his ready-for-the-day daughter-in-law and his unready-for-the-day son. He had to get a picture and of course, Steve immediately started hamming it up, pulling his pajama bottoms way up and effecting his goofiest, unhinged grin.
And once we got started, well, we just couldn’t stop. (Have I ever mentioned that our family is easily entertained?)
After that cheery send off, we resumed our trip to Georgia and fifteen hours of leadership training on music and preaching. Each of the four sessions we are attending (in the space of about 7 months) is on different aspects of church leadership.
On Tuesday night, we got to eat dinner again with our old friends, Max and Nina Myers, who live about 30 minutes from our seminar site. It’s such a treat to get to hang out with people who have known us a long time. They were remodeling their kitchen (the fridge was in the living room) and Nina had to get up at 3 a.m. the next day to catch a flight, but she still prepared us a delicious, home cooked dinner.
After the final training session Wednesday morning, we hit the road for Manteo and were home by 10 p.m. After driving through several large cities on our journey, I was indescribably happy to see signs for Manteo start to show up. I am truly a small town girl.
Sarah and Summer held the fort for us while we were gone and greeted us with great enthusiasm when we made our weary way in the door. So happy to be home.
And speaking of Sarah, I just wanted to let you know she has a new blog post up. She doesn’t post real often so I like to be sure you know when there’s something new. And you know how we bloggers love comments so be sure to let her know you stopped by–maybe it will encourage her to post more often! 🙂
I appreciate all of you who have asked how I’ve been feeling after the past few weeks of unsettling symptoms and tests.
I promise I will not make a habit of boring you with every small detail of my medical life, but since I’ve recently written about a whole bunch of symptoms, I wanted to let you know where things stand now:
The issue with all of these symptoms (and a couple of others which haven’t even mentioned) is that they all hit around the same time which is what caused the alarm bells to go off and why my doctor recommended the tests to to rule out ovarian and cervical cancer.
I am happy to report that I am feeling much better these days and am happy to have these last few worrisome weeks behind me!
El Salvador
Nathan called us Wednesday morning in our hotel room to tell us that he was (unexpectedly) leaving for El Salvador the next day! There had been a 9-day missions trip he had been really wanting to go on but the cost was too much for his and Meagan’s budget. The day before the trip, someone had to cancel and he got to step into their place, all expenses paid. We are so excited for this opportunity in his life and proud of a son who has a heart for reaching out and helping people in need.
That’s it for now. I’m working on another Style Post for Monday.
See you then!
Look into http://www.identifyepi.com/‎ for your weird medical symptoms. Heard it on the radio and thought of you
Anonymous,
An interesting site–thanks for taking the time to pass it on!
It sounds like you may have Lyme disease! Lyme is only diagnosed in less than 30% of the people that have it. The tests are very inaccurate. You definitely have the symptoms. Lyme is most often diagnosed as RA, Lupus, fibromyalgia and MS. Dr. Jemsek, who used to be in NC, is now and DC and actually has several youtube videos about Lyme in NC. I hope you start feeling better quickly.
Michelle,
I actually did have Lyme Disease back around 1996 and went through some pretty intense treatment for it. You’re right–it is a very difficult disease to diagnose.
I would bet that it is Lyme disease that is still giving you the issues! I also had Lyme in 1996 and was treated and thought that was it. My daughter was born in 2000 and little did I know that I had passed it to her and she is not 15 and going through Lyme treatment. Many years after having Lyme I also started developing weird symptoms (including many that you have) and I also have a problem with chronic hives. It wasn’t until my daughters diagnosis that it all came together and I found out that I also still had Lyme. This is because in 1996 they did not treat for co-infections (babesia, bartonella, ehrlichia, just to name a few) and the lyme was never really killed. They have also discovered that Lyme forms a biofilm around itself so that antibiotics do not work unless the biofilm is broken. My daughter has been in treatment for 2 years and is finally improving. When you have a minute, google Jemsek Speciality Clinic- I consider him our life saver- he is from NC. He is also in the documentary Under Our Skin about Lyme (which can be found on YouTube). I only pass all of this on because I know how frustrating it can be with all of the mystery symptoms and all of the tests come back normal…..it has chronic Lyme written all over it.
Michelle,
How interesting! I will definitely look into the information about the doctor you mentioned. I know that Lyme is notoriously hard to treat effectively and permanently so who knows what part that might be playing in my current condition.
Thank you for your concern and for sharing the info you have. I’m glad your daughter is doing better. That’s a tough thing to deal with as a teen!
I’m really really really really really glad to hear that your symptoms are resolving and that you are feeling better. Evem so your body has been through the wringer having experienced this variety of symptoms for so many weeks. Be very gentle with yourself and hopefully you can get extra rest.
The photos of Steve really made me smile. A sense of humor is a wonderful thing.
Jenna,
Rest and a sense of humor . . . two great gifts! 🙂
Glad you are doing better. So thankful for Nathan’s opportunity to go on the mission trip. As for Steve’s pictures, no words.
Ann,
“No words” is a good way to put it! 🙂
I don’t recall releasing certain pictures for public consumption. My lawyers will be in touch. Tee. Hee.
Steve,
Have your lawyers call my lawyers. We’ll do lunch! 🙂
happy you are feeling so much better. I was feeling really good this morning when I went for my PT app’t…… then I got to wondering if had doubled my pain medication by mistake…. guess I’ll never know, but it was nice to be able to walk w/o too much pain.
happy, too,for Nathan!
Mrs. Pam,
Walking without pain is a wonderful thing and only appreciated by those who often DO walk with pain. Whatever the reason for your pain-free morning, I’m glad you had it!
Safe travels for Nathan! How wonderful that it worked out so he could take the trip. Sarah is very much like you, noticing all the details and moving them into a positive, learning experience. It would be nice to hear from her more often 🙂 And finally, so glad that all the medical hullabaloo has simmered down, right in time to enjoy the holidays!
Lesley,
Yes, Sarah is very much a notice-er, one of the many things I love about her. And I’d love for her to post her notice-ings more often, too!
Men or boys, the all are born with the Urkel side! Kind of hoping Jesus doesn’t make us continue to endure that (lol) in heaven! So glad to hear the good medical news, Becky, and that you’re rebounding. Clusters of symptoms that don’t make sense can be frustrating and draining. Sarah’s post was insightful and wise. She always amazes me. I have to say, each time I see a picture of Nathan (for a long time now), the words “compassionate strength” come straight into my mind. No doubt he will bless many on his trip as he does in everyday life.
Guerrina,
I love that description of Nathan. Very insightful and very true.
And yes, maybe there will be a corner of heaven reserved for all those crazy fellas and they can just entertain each other while we ladies sit quietly and chat over a cup of tea. 🙂
OK, that first picture of Steve gave me an out loud laugh, which was sorely needed this morning. Thank you! Now I will go back and read what you wrote. Ought to be interesting!!
Lesley,
So happy you got a laugh-out-loud moment when you needed it. I have to agree; it was a funny photo!
What is it about guys anyway?!? My hubby and/or son do the exact same thing! And it’s always funny. Every time. 🙂 So glad that the various symptoms are straightening out so that the worry can be put away for good.
I’ll check out Sarah’s blog. I look for posts now and then and it has been quite a long time since the last one, so eager to see what she has to say.
Happy Friday!
LeeAnne,
Well, with husbands and sons like that, at least you and I have plenty of chuckles in our lives. I think that’s one thing that’s so great about men like that; they always have a tinge of that “little boy personna” that they never grow out of.
so thankful your assorted symptoms seem to be sorting themselves out–yay! 🙂 the pix at Ken and Vernie’s were so funny–love all you nutty people! 🙂
Deb,
We nutty people love you right back!