Crafty...

This is the craft we made at MOPS today. What a great idea! A picture frame, scrapbook paper, and a dry erase marker ends up becoming a lovely weekly dry erase planner! I am so grateful that Renee (I believe she is the one who came up with our craft) is such a creative person! I know I would never have been able to do this on my own! Thank you!
Sorry about the glare on the picture...I guess my house is too bright during the day.

Precancerous...

It was at 5:27 in the evening when the call came in. The voice on the other end sounded vaguely familiar, but yet I could not place it right away. When the caller identified herself my heart paused for a beat anxiously awaiting the purpose of the call. The nurse went on to announce that my daughter's mole was indeed precancerous. She reassured me that the doctor did remove it all. Jasmyn will be required to keep it bandaged for an additional 10-14 days. The nurse then proceeded to tell me of the Neurologist appointment in Denver the morning following Jasmyn's 12th birthday.

This was all a lot to take in at once. I guess I need some processing time. Dolan and I are in the discussion mode now. We are torn. When we had first discussed with the doctor the options for seeing a pediatric neurologist, we were leaning more towards going to the Denver area for the reason of we are able to stay with my brother and his wife. Now that the time has come to put our noses to the grind stone, we are second guessing our decision. Are we choosing due to financial reasons or are we choosing the best place to diagnose and treat Jasmyn? For right now, we will be in prayer.

A much needed day out...

Today we took a much needed little break from everyday life. Only Dolan and Jasmyn went to church today. I started the day out with a headache and Hannah still had a runny nose. Let me back up a bit on my story and it will all fall together...about a week ago Hannah figured out that there is a nice "click" when the button on her bedroom door gets pushed...THE LOCK! She discovered this while she was playing in her bedroom, with the door shut. There is not even a keyhole to try and pick this lock. She also is not capable of operating regular round door knobs. The hinges to her door are on the inside so that wasn't even an option. Needless to say we were a little worried. I was almost to the point of breaking a window to get to her. Don't worry, she was only locked in for about a total of three minutes before Dolan and I put our heads together and figured it out. After tools I went and Dolan studied Jasmyns bedroom door. We removed the trim from around the door and used a screwdriver to release the latch. That simple. Dolan ended up pulling the locking pin out of the door. It is a temporary solution and it works. The door does not lock anymore. YAY! Friday evening we had the same situation happen but on our bedroom door. This one was not so complicated because the hinges are on the outside. Again it happened today with our door. So Dolan was ready to go to Menards in Northplatte to purchase three new door knobs(without locks). So to Northplatte we went. We went to the mall, shopped, and played. Hannah had fun walking through the stores, running in the hall, and playing on the kiddie rides. Jasmyn had fun mall shopping. She is getting to the age where she actually likes "window" shopping. I have been waiting a long time to enjoy shopping with her. While Jasmyn and I "shopped," Dolan entertained Hannah. Then we switched off and I entertained Hannah while Dolan and Jasmyn went off. After the mall we had supper then headed to Menards. They were already closed. Oh well. It just means we will have to make another trip one of these days. I don't mind. Hannah rides well now so the trips are actually enjoyable. Here is Hannah in the helicopter. She enjoyed it for the first ten seconds and then was bored. Ah, life with a child that has a short attention span. :)
This was Hannah's favorite! The carousel. She even played on it for quite a while without it moving.
Queen Hannah. Enjoying supper.
I snuck a picture of Jasmyn.
That was our day. Not much, but it did wonders to refresh for the week ahead.

Dinos, Gloves, and a BIG spider!

Here are a few random pictures. The first two are from our weekend in Denver. I had forgot to post them due to them being on my cell phone rather then my camera. On our way out to Denver, we stopped at the rest area/park in Wray, Colorado. Hannah just loved all the fun stuff there. Here she is riding on the Dino with her Dad.

This picture was taken bright and early(evidently way too early) at the flea market. The only shop that was open when we got there was of course a toy one! Hannah found this stroller and Baby doll and wouldn't let it go. Here she is waving to people while taking her baby for a walk around the bare flea market.
This here is a Silver Argiope Spider...I did not have to look it up...I'm married to a "Bug Man." I finally had some ripe tomatoes on my vines and was trying to pick them...not anymore! On one plant alone there were three of these ugly beasts! UGH!
Hannah takes after her Father! Big mouth. I just have a different kind of big mouth...LOUD! HA-ha.
Hannah ready to work. We went out this morning to help set posts for a horse arena. Hannah just had to take her Dad's gloves(she had to protect her hands).
The only picture of Dolan working. Of course in this picture he is resting. Notice his bare hands? I think we will need to get Hannah her own pair of work gloves for next time.

In office procedure...

Today was Jasmyn's in office procedure to biopsy/remove a mole that was discolored, rough textured, odd shaped, and growing. The procedure was quick and almost painless for Jas. She thought the shots to numb the area was the worst part. I will save you all the gruesome details. Let's just say that I watched the whole thing, up close, and I couldn't be the one doing the procedure. Afterwards to save Jas the trouble of stitches the area was burnt. It smelled! The area has broken open a few times and has leaked through bandages. We need to keep it bandaged and keep an antibiotic ointment on it for 7-10 days. No letting it air. As of now she is in a little bit of pain and quite uncomfortable. I did however tell her due to where the mole was located, maybe she should refrain from talking as to not open the wound again. Ah, a teenage girl she is, she would not even hear of that. We also reviewed the results from her lab tests. Jasmyn has nothing wrong with her that shows in the lab work, all came back good. She is still being referred to a pediatric neurologist to find the cause of her tremors. The doctor really didn't like them today with the whole procedure. Here are Jasmyn and Dolan messing around in the waiting room.

This was the first thing Jasmyn saw when she entered the room where the procedure was to be done. Needless to say, that was the point when she started getting really nervous.

Here is Jasmyn's giddy-nervousness. She was so nervous that she just laughed the whole time, at least until the doctor came in.
This is the before shot. When it is healed I will post the after picture.

Food, Family, and Friends...

This past weekend was a whirlwind that we are still trying to recuperate from. Friday afternoon we left for Denver to go to my brother's and sister-in-law's baby shower. We then returned Saturday/Sunday well after midnight. The baby shower was held at a restaurant called Cinzetti's. What a wonderful Italian restaurant! This place beats the Olive Garden hands down! Both girls loved it as well. That is something in itself. On any normal occasion it seems that if one girl likes it, the other doesn't. There were over 55 women there and about 6 men. This was the largest baby shower that I have attended. Here are only a few pictures of our weekend. This is Dolan and Hannah getting settled in the motel room. Hannah had to explore the whole place before she was ready to go asleep. Jasmyn ended up staying with her Aunt and Uncle the whole weekend and even stayed a day longer then we did.
Hannah and I before the festivities began.
Hannah even got received a gift. A great big bear!

This is a cake that Jenny(my sister-in-laws sister-in-law) had made for Jennifer. This was not an edible cake. It was made out of diapers. Very cute!
One of the few pictures that I was able to sneak of Jasmyn. She wouldn't leave her Auntie's side the whole time.
Hannah enjoying the Cinzetti's food! A lot!
A whole lot of Gillatto...Yum! Gillatto is an Italian ice cream. It is made with less sugar and cream. What a light and delicious treat!
Jennifer opening the presents for the baby.

This is one of the blankets that I had made for her. The doctor is 98% positive that the baby is a girl...But that doesn't mean anything...Hannah was a boy in 4 ultra sounds...So I ended up making 3 blankets...One that is blue with yellow stars with a yellow back, a pink and black plaid, and an all pink blanket. We had also picked up an outfit and a pair of pink with chocolate booties. Can you tell that we are very excited as well?
Jennifer and her mom.
Allen and Jennifer...Looks like twins! ;)
Dad, Jennifer, Allen, Mom.
Some family women...Cousin Charm, Grandma, Great Aunt Lila, and Aunt Mary-Dawn. Jasmyn was up in front as well.

And this is my brother Allen. He is so happy to become a Daddy!

Hannah hair part two...

Here are a few pictures to show Hannah's hair throughout the day...Now that it is short it curls right up. She ends up looking like "bed-head Hanny" all day.
I did find a way to put up her hair that still showcases the soft curls.