Four years

Started packing up to move to Florida. It all went well...until I found a poem Jordan wrote about meeting her friend Abbey. And it dawned on me all of a sudden that we are packing up four years of memories. Four years of our life into boxes to start over again. Jordan was 9 when we moved here...such a little girl and now she is a 13 year old...a teenager. Four years of meeting new friends and making this our home. Four years of growth, laughter, tears and life. Four years...it seemed like such a long time when we came and yet it went so fast!!

A snapshot of our new home....

We went to visit the Navarre and Pensacola areas this weekend to get some stuff done for my work down there and to see our house!! The weather did not cooperate at all--no swimming in the ocean for us! Lots of rain, overcast skies, wind and cool temperatures. Like always...we still had a great time...it's Florida after all!!

Our house is going to be wonderful! It is really big and has been mostly updated. Not at all what you think of when you envision a parsonage. Storage is going to be tricky, but we will just get creative. We may decorate the family room with our bikes! :)

In general, the area is very nice and I think we'll settle in quite nicely. Although, leaving Kentucky is not going to be easy. While watching the derby from a sports bar in Ft. Walton Beach, Jordan & I both cried during the singing of "My Old Kentucky Home". God is good and faithful and He is already taking care of details before I even ask. I know He is ahead of us in this move. He will guard our hearts and make the move be as easy as possible. I know that He has a friend (or 2) waiting for Jordan that we haven't even met yet. As for now, we'll walk through this time in joy and sorrow...laughing...and at times...crying.

The BIG announcement...

We've known for awhile, but have had to wait to announce:

Lance got appointed to St. Paul UMC in Gulf Breeze, Florida and we will be living in Navarre, Florida. Our house is located just 3.96 miles from Navarre Beach!!

So far....

I'm feeling optomistic this procedure worked. Had the ERCP yesterday and so far no sign of pancreatitis. I'm past the biggest risk for it, but still have to introduce real food into my body, which will happen later today.

The doctor found that the sphincter at the end of my bile duct (the Sphincter of Oddi) was really tight. Normal pressure is 40 and mine came in at an average of 65!!! When they put the dye in my bile duct it didn't even drain. He said he put a big cut into it to release it. So...that was the problem!!! I have a stint in my pancreatic duct to prevent pancreatitis and will have an x-ray in 2 weeks to see if it has fallen out (that is what it is supposed to do). If it doesn't fall out, they'll do an endoscope to take it out. (I'm hoping we don't have to do that.)

So, having bile backing up into my system was making me rather sick...go figure. The first GI doc I saw was reluctant to believe this was the problem and wanted to write it off as IBS. I'm glad I pushed for another doctor...a doctor I now trust more. I'm thankful that this new doctor listened and acted on my symptoms.

So...soup for lunch, ease back into "real" food over the next couple of days and my life should return to normal. Well...as normal as it can be. Watch for updates...we are moving soon!! :)

Happy Easter!!

We are enjoying a balmy 75 degree day...perfect for celebrating Easter!! We began our day joining a family that is dear to us in the baptism of their two beautiful children. We will enjoy Easter lunch with Paulo, Ju and the girls a little later. It's a great day to celebrate what our God has done for us!! Happy Easter---He Has Risen Indeed!!

Jordan's first turkey

Jordan got to go turkey hunting today--they have a youth season here! She shot her first turkey and it is huge!! It weighed in at 24 1/2 pounds and she can hardly hold it!! She is so excited!! She said when she shot it, the force of the gun knocked her over!! See, she hasn't shot the magnum shell that you use to shoot a turkey--too funny!! Here are the pics of her prize shot! We'll be having turkey for our Easter dinner this year!!! Her daddy is so proud. (He's only shot one turkey bigger than this.)

Hoping for better health...

I've been holding off posting about this...mostly because we've had more fun things going on here and because I don't want to sound like a big complainer. BUT...it is time to post and request prayer for myself. I had my gallbladder taken out almost a year ago and while I haven't been 100%, for awhile I was much better. Around the fall/winter I started feeling worse and my symptoms progressed to getting much worse at the beginning of January. On 1/23 I was in the ER with pain in my upper abdomen/chest and wrapping around to my back. It was worse than any gallbladder attack I have had.

I've had 2 lesser "attacks" since then and today had another pretty strong one that lasted about 9 hours. The pain was similar to what sent me to the ER, just not as constant (thank God I got some relief between bouts of pain), accompanied by nausea, etc...

I am scheduled for an ERCP next Thursday (4/8), in which the doctor will send a scope down my esophagus and investigate for a possible blockage in my bile duct. This is a common complication of gallbladder surgery. He will remove the blockage and hopefully send me home that day. The biggest risk is pancreatitis and if that occurs, I will be hospitalized until it resolves. Please pray that my system calms down and the next week is less painful and symptomatic for me. After being sick on and off for a year, a day like this really wears on me!! Also, I am coveting prayers for next Thursday that the doctor can fix what is wrong without the complication of pancreatitis!! Thank you for reading...and praying!!!!