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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. 

To be or not to be... healthy, that is

Doctor appointments come in waves in our house. They seem to come in six month intervals- probably because I get my mutant thyroid/goiter/Hoshimoto issue checked about that often. Thankfully, my doctor does her own ultrasounds at her office now, so I don't have to go through the whole outpatient radiology at a hospital drill. [For years, just to have a thyroid ultrasound performed, I had to go through the same registration process as someone having surgery-- and I wouldn't even find out the results until I talked to my doctor some time later. Unnecessarily stressful and inconvenient.]

Enough about my mutant glands--- but, if you are interested, I'll elaborate here (otherwise, skip to the big print down below)--- When I was pregnant with Austin six and a half years ago, all of a sudden my neck swelled up all puffy and crazy. My OB sent me for an ultrasound which confirmed I had cysts in my thyroid, some solid and one partly with fluid (hence the large goiter). I had a terrible core biopsy at that time, which was inconclusive. (errr- It means they didn't get a good tissue sample, and the biopsy was an utter waste of time and pain.) Then, while Austin was in the NICU, I had a fine needle biopsy (no pain meds, but less unpleasant than the core biopsy), which confirmed that I did NOT have cancer. Whoo hoo! Unfortunately, that was not the end of it. There is always a chance of the cysts/nodules becoming cancerous, so I have to have ultrasounds performed regularly, along with a biopsy if there is significant growth. Long story short, in the past six years, I have had four biopsies done on my neck, all of which were negative for cancer. The latest one diagnosed me with Hoshimoto's Disease, which means that on top of becoming possibly cancerous, my thyroid is also going to start attacking itself at some point in the future. Thankfully, my thyroid has been working normally up to this point. I do have a checkup/ultrasound in two weeks, so we'll see what the doctor says then. I'm pretty much over the whole biopsy thing- meaning, I would rather have my thyroid removed surgically than to undergo another miserable neck biopsy. It's terrible- really. But, we'll see if I can convince my doctor of the surgical route if the cysts have grown enough for her to want a biopsy.

Basically, I have a thyroid issue that I have to get checked every six months. 

Then, there is David, who has been generally healthy except for the fact that he doesn't talk like he should. So, for the past seven or more months, he has been receiving in-home speech therapy once every week-- equaling more appointments to fit into the schedule. Now, we are also dealing with the school system, so there are additional evaluations and meetings to attend to get him qualified for speech through the public preschool system.

Of course, there is Austin who has a neurological condition that has to be checked every year or so via a sedated MRI at the Children's hospital. This is actually coming up in about a week. We are hoping the scan will show no worsening of the anatomy of his Chiari malformation- hence, no need for surgery at this time. Of course, with him being in school, there are also parent teacher conferences to schedule, testing, etc.

On top of all these things, there are dentist appointments and vision appointments to schedule, well visits and sick visits, etc. Of the lot of us, Joseph is the only one who isn't followed by some kind of specialist. He goes to the clinic at Walgreens when he has some kind of sickness (which is rare).

I did find a new pediatrician for the boys a few weeks ago. It's a small two doctor practice, and the doctor we saw is very nice. I think she will be perfect for our quirky little family :)

Life Update- David might be going to school...

It's been awhile since I did a blog update. Here's what's going on with us lately:

Joseph- work, work and work- UPS and Learning Rx are keeping him pretty busy, not to mention that he keeps David while I work two days a week. He did get a few days off last weekend, though, and we went to Gatlinburg with some people he works with. Mom kept the boys for us.

In Gatlinburg

Emily- I'm still working at the law office two days a week. Between dropping Austin off and picking him up from school, the rest of my day is spent doing housework, errands and occasionally watching one of my favorite TV programs- Once Upon a Time, Last Resort, Vegas, Person of Interest... I've also been reading a few Agatha Christie mysteries. Other than the murder part, her books are such good, clean entertainment.

on a date with Austin

Austin- Austin is a few months into first grade. He had his sixth birthday in September. He is dressing up like Hawkeye from the Avengers movie for Halloween this week. He even has a toy bow and arrow that really shoots suction cup arrows. I was going to take the boys to do some fun halloween events around town this weekend, but the weather has turned very cold and dreary. We are definitely doing Trunk or Treat at our church on Sunday, and I'm sure I'll take them in the neighborhood on Wednesday. I took Austin last year, and the houses on our street give very good candy :)

on a field trip to the pumpkin patch

David- We are in the process of getting David evaluated for speech services through the public school system. He's been receiving in-home speech therapy through the state since he turned 2, but he's not building his vocabulary as quickly as we had hoped, and they only provide services until he turns 3 in January.  Because he still has a lot of language to develop, we are looking into public preschool, which would be free if he qualifies for services. He can get therapy in the classroom, and the interaction with other kids would be good for his vocabulary. We didn't send Austin to preschool and never even considered it. However, I think David would really enjoy it. He loves going to classroom settings (aka- BSF childcare and Sunday School). He just trots right on into his class with his little backpack and waves good-bye. It's very sweet. No separation anxiety for David these days.

David having Starbucks with my friend Heather while I
went to the pumpkin patch with Austin's class

We've also been visiting a new church and intend to start the membership process. Joseph gave his resignation at Farmdale Baptist in July. Our time there was sweet, but the one hour commute was really wearing us down. We've been going to Sojourn Community Church's East campus (less than 20 minutes away!) and are really enjoying it. The church is rather large, so they divide into community home groups on Sunday nights, where five or six families meet to discuss the sermon, prayer requests, etc. They even provide babysitters for the kids, which is great. Joseph isn't closing the door on ministry in the future, but right now we are just excited to serve as members in a growing, thriving church near our neighborhood.

Well, that's all to share for now.

Too early to think about Christmas? I don't think so... especially when it comes to your holiday cards.

It's the second week of October, and I'm already listening to Christmas music. There's just something to be said for savoring the fun of festive music before all the hustle and bustle of the holidays actually arrives.

With that being said, it's getting to be that time of year when everybody starts having family pictures taken to be sent out in their Christmas cards. A few years ago, I started designing our Holiday Cards online through Shutterfly. You can upload your high resolution pictures, pick a fantastic design and add the text of your choice. Then, they ship your order to you at lightning fast speed (just kidding- but really it's within a week or less).

I've always been very impressed with the quality of Shutterfly's work. I get the matte finish (versus the shiny photo paper cards), and they always turn out beautiful. It also helps when you have a good photographer. Most photographers will provide you with a CD of the photo files, and you can use those to make your cards. If you take your own, I recommend using photos that have a natural or outdoor background, and make sure there aren't any cars or extra junk in the pictures. Also be sure to take the photos at a high resolution so they won't turn out blurry.

Shutterfly has several cool retro styles this year.  I like this one. 

Keep your eye out on Shutterfly's facebook page and the special offers page on their website for promotions. They almost always have free shipping with orders over $30, and you can often get an extra 20% off of greeting card orders.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. They are going to give me a super awesome promo code for sharing this post with you all. But really, everything I wrote was true. Shutterfly produces quality products, and I highly recommend them!

Life as a NICU Mommy- blog post recaps

Over the years, I have written quite a bit about our experience with prematurity. For those who are interested, here are some links to some of my prior blog posts:

Joseph with Austin in the delivery room after my c-section.

How a Creme Pie Helped me Remember- My most recent recollections of those difficult days in September 2006.

29 Weeks- A day by day rundown of my experience with preeclampsia and preterm delivery at 29 weeks gestation.

Here is a post I wrote about life once we brought our preemie home after his 72 day visit in the hospital.