Sooooo I just dropped by my blog and realized it has been forever since I last updated..... I think a update is much needed. Soo many things have happened over the past year where oh where do I begin. Hmmmm, I think I am about to write my first novel.
Trevor's health
January 2014 Trevor's Arthritis was in remission we were so EXCITED!! His Rheumatologist was very hopeful and set a plan in place to slowly teeter down the MTX (chemo) We were told that he might be achy but that would be better than MTX. So we started the teeter each week Trevor became more achy and then the FLARE came. In May his left knee swelled up huge and he had difficulty walking. UGG so phone calls were made and a prompt Dr.s visit was made and back on the MTX and steroids we went. For the remainder of the year Trevor continued to flare and the doses were upped. Until at the last visit in January 2015, we discussed looking into another med. I am not sure about the other med. I am still trying to figure out the risk verses the benefit of the "new med". At the last visit the Rheumy was very concerned about Trevor's growth curve and labeled him, " Failure to Thrive" and ordered a bunch of tests. Slowly we are getting answers to those tests. We know that Trevor does not have Cystic Fibrosis. RELIEF!! But we do know that he has a lot of inflammation in his GI Track. The lab normal for GI inflammation was less than 150 GI doc would allow up to 200 based on JRA . Trevor's inflammation came back in the high 500's so more questions and more labs ordered. I am finding that answers take way too long to get and the worry and waiting is torture. Depending on the GI inflammation we will know if we have to switch to a different TNF blocker (the new med).
Dallen's food allergies
Since a few days after Birth, Dallen has had eczema and other skin issues all over his body. And then last summer the sores that would not heal appeared. Once again off to the doctors we went and Dallen was diagnosed with food allergies. Dallen's food allergies are Eggs, Dairy, Peanuts, Almonds?, Malt, Corn, wheat and soy. We are still trying to get used to our new diet and the constant search for replacements or recipes that taste GREAT. We also discovered that Dallen is allergic to bees. Needless to say my diaper bag is full of benadryl and a empi pen.
Eric's job
In September during a fast Eric felt prompted that it was time to start looking for a new job. On the way home from church Eric told me about his prompting. I heard him but Eric is very loyal and will do everything he can to avoid CHANGE. The promptings kept coming so we started getting our home ready to sell and updated the old resume. We found an awesome job working for the state in Helena Mt. Unfortunately we did not get that job and Eric hung to his faith that even a better job was on the horizon. Sales continued to decline at the store due to the Doc Strike in California. (Costumers do not want to wait 6 months or longer for furniture.) Eric's store also became understaffed and the work load increased. And then December came....Eric found out the weekend before Christmas that a couple of his employees went on a date in the summer of 2014. Company policy is no dating staff. So Eric was forced to report but he decided that loosing staff during the holidays would not be beneficial to the store or the employees so he waited till after the holidays to report the issue. February 3,2015 the head corporate boss and the regional showed up to do their investigation. The investigation ended up turning sour and a very hostile work environment was created.
That night upon reviewing the details of the day and trying to figure out how to move forward with heart felt prayers we decided that the best coarse of action would be to resign. Back in December when we were hoping for the State job Eric wrote a very positive resignation letter. Eric wanted to be unique and be the first manager ever to resign with a positive letter and that is what he did.
Eric shocked everyone with his resignation. (We were at complete peace and knew that we had made the BEST decision for our family.) The same day Eric resigned his warehouse guy and assistant manager also resigned leaving a understaffed store to just one sales and a delivery driver. As of now I believe that they are still in need of a manager to replace Eric as well as a sales team, warehouse employees and a delivery helper.
The following Sunday we went to church as a family and Eric announced he was looking for a job. A ward member scheduled an interview with Eric for the following Wednesday and that night he was offered a job cleaning Target from another ward member. Eric went to the interview at 9 am Wednesday Morning and accepted a job with AFLAC A week to the hour he resigned from Furniture Row... Monday March 9th Eric took the state Exam and earned his insurance license with high scores. He is now learning all he can to become successful with his new job and adjusting to the changes of our new life.
Faith in every footstep
For the past several months we have applied the scripture Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 As we have striven to put our Trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ we have been blessed beyond measure. The prompting to leave Furniture Row came when Eric told the Lord that he wanted to have a better work life balance and have the time to serve. Here are just a few of the many blessings that we have been blessed with at this time.
- Blessings of the best job, that offers a great balance and Eric has already been called to serve in the Elders Quorum).
- Blessing of being able to stay in our home and not move.
- Blessing of Eric having more time to serve I also have more time to serve and the freedom to attend meetings that I missed in the past.
- Blessing of being a better less stressed mother. Who knew that Eric's long hours were taking a toll on my Mothering skills.
- Blessing of a normal schedule. Early to bed and earlier to rise gives us more time to cheerfully accomplish the tasks that need to be accomplished.
In the past years I have lived in fear of JRA and the side affects of the meds. This year I decided to trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and not fear the disease and live a pretty much normal life. We have went through two bouts of illness but we came out just fine. By not fearing the JRA and moving on with life I feel that we are starting to gain control of this disease and our lives.
I feel that Satan plants so much fear in us that we forget that we with the Lords help we are in charge of our destiny.
I am finding more peace and happiness and we strive to Trust in the Lord. The Lord is there and he truly does care about us and the big and little choices that we make.
I have loads more to talk about but I will pause for now.
