New Adventures

Like I said before, change is a constant in our lives it seems. For the last little while things have been put in place for Ronny to steer a new course in his employment. Ronny's boss and 2 other colleagues from his current company are branching out to try something new and are currently starting a new machine learning company. We've been waiting for a few key pieces of the puzzle to be put in place before saying anything. The announcement has now been made at his current company so we can now share the news. There are quite a bit of details to still work out but it looks like they will be starting their new adventure sometime in the next few weeks. We anticipate there will be more travel involved as it looks like a good portion of the work will be overseas this summer.

Ronny is really excited for this new opportunity and to really put to use all that stuff he learned in the many years of grad school he completed! There is quite a bit of unknown in the months ahead, yet we feel this is the direction we need to go. We've had quiet moments to sit and discuss what lies ahead of us and what changes may come with our family. We know this opportunity wouldn't have been possible to us had Aaron come home (although we would have preferred that), nor could we have done this when our other children were younger. Life is a constant mystery it seems. We know there will be long hours of work ahead for all of us and we are little anxious to get started.

Electives

Charley came home with her junior high registration materials yesterday. I need to make an app0intment for her well check up and next series of booster shots. She is not so excited about that! She also gets to decide on what electives she'll take next year. Its a big decision for her and it seems she is changing her mind hourly. We are letting her choose whatever she wants as we feel she is in need of some "fun" time in her education. We finally got her test scores back from her latest round of ALPS testing, they were sent to the wrong address. Smarty Pants! She's way smarter than I ever was! We love seeing her with her group of friends that she has developed these last two years, they are wonderful girls from great families and I am thrilled most of them will be together through this next phase of life.

Charley is starting her next big project for school. She is writing a 5 chapter autobiography. I'm actually pretty excited about this one and am anxious to see what she writes. She'll be calling a few key players in her life to get some information.

Decision Making

These last few days Ronny and I have found a few minutes here and there to do some research and talk to a few people about our latest medical oddity. We have realized that this tumor is more trouble than first thought. This little bugger is slowly leaching Ronny's bones of calcium and is pumping excess amounts of PTH hormones throughout his body. To prevent serious osteoporosis and other cancers its recommended the tumor get removed sooner rather than later. It seems that this kind of tumor usually doesn't develop until later in life so Ronny having one in his 30's is less common in a not very common disorder to begin with, hence the excitement by the endocrinologist. Surprise, we win the prize once again! We are once again fortunate to have caught it now as opposed to later when it could have caused more serious problems. We'll be calling the recommended surgeon this week and scheduling an appointment.

This frequent flyer hospital plan we seem to be on is getting really old, not to mention really expensive!!! Yet, as things continue to crop up we find that we deal with each new hurdle much differently than we did just a few years or even a few months ago. We tend to laugh more about these diagnoses, which we notice tends to unnerve some and baffle others. The humor gets us through the time we are convincing our bodies the adrenaline and anxiety levels shooting through us needs to calm down. We are grateful to have had time to stop, think, research, and pray for guidance ahead this time. For so long we were making huge medical decisions at warp speed that we weren't able to pray for guidance before a decision was made, our prayers were more pleas for peace that we did the right thing as it was happening.

We find ourselves overwhelmed with gratitude once again by those of you who have continued to keep our family in your prayers, helped with blessings, added our names to the temple rolls once again, and offered words of concern and encouragement. We continue to feel the Lord's love and strength as we wade through our next hurdle.

"Its not a tumor".... Actually it is!

Ronny's results came in this afternoon. His thyroid cyst is benign and the doctor recommends he have it looked at again in 6 months. The other mass is a parathyroid tumor and his blood calcium level is elevated however only slightly. The doctor recommends he have it removed. Ronny is going to talk to a few other people and get their take on things before he calls the surgeon's office.

The results of the cyst were as we suspected, the tumor on the other hand was completely unexpected. I don't think either one of us are ready to jump into another surgery or another hospital visit. It certainly doesn't look like this is something life threatening so we'll gather as much information and get a few other opinions before making that decision.

You Just Have to Laugh!

Ok, so this morning Ronny finally had his biopsy. He had a very nice doctor who had a chart explaining all the possible outcomes of what the results would be and explained everything that would happen in the procedure. We were taken back and he looked around on the ultrasound. This time the cyst looked different, lots more fluid and the mass we saw so clearly before was hard to make out and this doctor wasn't sure if it was even there anymore. He scanned around and then got real excited about a new mass that he first called a parathyroid tumor or a very swollen lymph node just outside the thyroid. He thinks its a tumor which he said was almost always benign and probably was causing Ronny's kidney stones. He said he would know after he got a blood calcium level. (When I say he was excited, I really mean it, he was like a little kid opening presents on his birthday!)

So then he started the procedure. He first gave Ronny the numbing medication and told Ronny that would be the worst of it. Ronny was doing well up to that point. Then he put the syringe in to draw the fluid, he was moving it around quite a bit and struggling to pull the fluid out. At that point I looked at Ronny's hands and noticed they were whiter than the sheet. Then the nurse felt his skin go cold. Then the doctor released the end of the syringe and it snapped back like a rubber band. (I guess the fluid was crazy thick!) Then both the doctor and the nurse were asking if he was ok and Ronny started to tell them he was really sick to his stomach. Then the doctor asked if he was still with us and told the nurse to go get the oxygen. (At this point I am thinking I should have told them before they started about Ronny not doing well with needles, oops!) Both the doctor and nurse looked to me to try to reassure me he would be fine while I was trying not to laugh and assured them that I really was not worried.

The doctor was not able to get as much fluid as he wanted because it was soooo thick and that Ronny was about to pass out, but he had enough cells for one slide. He then told Ronny that next time they will sedate him. At which point I said, next time????? You could tell at this point the doctor really wanted to get a blood calcium but wasn't sure Ronny could handle it. That's when I said, well he already has the oxygen and he's laying down, you might as well do it now, so they did!

So depending on what the results are, Ronny will either have the affected lobe removed (worst case scenario), or they will do nothing and have him come back in 3 months to do all this again. He wanted to drain the cyst completely but the fluid was just too thick for the size of the needle they were using. If they decide to have him come back in 3 months they will sedate him, (he really freaked them out this time!). If his blood calcium comes back high they may decide to remove the new mass they found today. Leave it to us to come in for one thing only to leave having something else entirely to test. The doctor told us again that only 4% of these cysts were cancerous, I told him our family was really good at meeting the low odds. Of course then we had to explain our uncanny ability to find all things rare.

We should have the results sometime in the next week and a call from the doctor to tell us what the next steps will be. So now we once again get to play the waiting game. Both Ronny and I were laughing and keeping things as light as possible, I don't think they knew what to do with us.

Random Photos and Updates

(Charley passes up Nana in the height department!)

I finally downloaded my camera and both our cell phones and realized how far behind on updates I am. So here are a few photos and updates to try to catch up, they start with the oldest and end with the newest.

Ice Skating

Our 1 day of sledding this season. (Can't say I'm too sorry about the lack of snow thus far!)

Charley was a troll in her class play.
(Hands down the cutest school play I've seen so far, and I have seen my fair share!)

Family Sports Nights watching lots of BYU Men's Volleyball. Of course our boys insist on dancing in the half time competition. Sam even has his own following now, believe it or not he has been recognized at places around town as the boy in the green shirt dancing his heart out! We are encouraging him to try out for Cosmo when he goes to the Y!

We always hit Krispy Kreme on the way home after each game.
We love it when the HOT light is on!

Mom loves it when she turns around to see all 4 asleep on the way home.
How often does that happen???Off track swim lessons. While waiting for his class Ben enjoys dancing to the water aerobics music and puts on a good show for the ladies!

Indoor soccer for all 3 boys and another season of coaching for Dad! We are knew to the indoor soccer season and so far we are loving it! Especially when I think of how cold it is outside!

Blue and Gold dinner. Joseph's cake is the spaceship on the left and Sam's is the Lego Star Wars crash landing and battle on a planet of course. They both enjoyed designing and frosting their own cakes. I should have taken a picture of my kitchen afterwards, it was pretty scary!

Joseph earned his Bear!

Ben turns 6!!!

I'm sure I missed quite a bit in pictures, like Charley playing church basketball for example and the many phone calls for babysitting she gets every week, but I'm thankful for the ones I have and am amazed at how well my kids have adjusted. They are amazing and soooooo full of energy. I think about everything going on in the next 2 months and know that life sure isn't slowing down.

Forward we roll!

Come Listen To A Prophet's (or apostle's) Voice

Friday the boys started their swim lessons. Ben's lesson starts 45 minutes after the other boys lesson so we were sitting on the bench waiting his turn. A water aerobics class soon started and music starting blaring through a portable speaker. Not willing to miss an opportunity to dance Ben jumped up and put on a show for the next 20 minutes. The ladies loved it and cheered him on. It was pretty funny watching him shake and shimmy in his swim trunk. Later that night Joseph had another soccer game and then we headed down for another BYU volleyball game.

Saturday morning started with more soccer, then Ronny and I were able to find some time to have a nice walk around the lake. On our walk we talked about Stake Conference that we would be having and I told Ronny I hoped and prayed it would be uplifting. The last few days were pretty emotional and I really needed some nourishment for my soul. Boy was I overwhelmed with the answer to that prayer! We were fortunate to have Dallin H. Oaks visiting as well as Elder Clark (I believe he's a regional authority). Elder Oaks is one funny guy and left us all uplifted Saturday night.

This morning Ronny and Joseph headed over an hour early in hopes of getting seats somewhere in the cultural hall. The rest of the kids and I headed over about 20 minutes later. Just after getting settled I looked up to see Elder Oaks coming down the aisles shaking hands with those in attendance. I whispered to Charley that Elder Oaks was there and that he was an apostle. She was out of her chair in no time wanting to shake his hand. I turned to the boys and asked if they would like to shake his hand as well. I walked them over and Elder Oaks shook their hands and then he pulled them into a great big hug. It was so sweet and tender and with tears in my eyes I shook his hand and thanked him. I hope they will never forget this experience, it certainly won't be something I will.

For the life of me I can not remember another conference where I left with so much joy. It was truly an uplifting meeting. When Elder Oaks rose to speak our kids immediately quieted down and listened (first time ever we didn't have to ask them to be quiet!). When we were leaving Joseph came to me and told me he really liked the speakers, especially Elder Oak's talk. I don't know if its because he is an apostle, or if it was because Joseph got a hug from him, or if he told good stories, or if the spirit was overwhelming, but what a great conference, especially for my kids! Hopefully they will be just as excited with General Conference in a few weeks.

A Few Quick Updates

We thought Ronny would have his biopsy at the same place he had his ultrasound, unfortunately that is not the case, he has to go up to the University campus to do it. Thankfully he doesn't have to go to the hospital to have it done, just in an offsite facility in the research park. Driving that same drive we did last year is still difficult but having to go back to the hospital right now wouldn't help my sanity. They couldn't get him in until March 21st so we get to play the waiting game yet again.

Sam and Joseph made a trip to the orthodontist. Joseph got pushed back another 10 months (can't say I'm sad about that!) Sam got his first orders for teeth extraction and gets to come back in 6 months for more to be removed. Charley had an appointment today and is starting the widening phase. She is not such a happy camper right now and came home begging for the tylenol. She'll be sore for a while but is happy she doesn't have to go back for 10 weeks.

The boys had their blue and gold dinner this week and Mom got to help make 2 cakes, a flying saucer and a planet with a Star Wars battle, I'll post pictures later. Ben is turning 6 next week and I need to get a party planned!

The kids are off track and will start swim lessons this week. The last 2 years have not allowed us to do this for all kinds of crazy reasons so we are starting early to be ready for summer. We are determined to get our full dose of Vitamin D this year!