{iPhone Rewind} :: January

We were late to see Christmas lights, but we decided to pack up the kids and drive through the Bull Run Festival of Lights on New Years Day. It was still fun and totally worth it :)

January was filled with lots of snow!

Math is tough, but Aiden works really hard

Hands down my favorite card from my brother's service. The one that made me laugh and cry {in a good way} the hardest.

We made Viking ships for History!

"Mommy, take my picture!"

The kids are making pinewood derby cars! Step 1: design, cutting, and sanding :)

Learning map grids in Geography

Mommy/Daughter Pizza & Movie Night with Pioneer Girls. Loved getting to spend time with this sweet girl and her friends {and their moms}

Sequence with Daddy :)

Math time! Counting that money :)

Health Check-In :: MR Enterography

It has been awhile since I have done a health check-in. I have been meaning to update, but I kept waiting on test results/updates, and then everything happened with my brother... 

Migraines

In November, I saw my neurologist, and I confirmed a complete switch over to using Nurtec as my rescue medication. And that has been going well. We did determine that my migraine pattern has changed {who knew that could happen?}, and it's not that my meds are not working. So basically, my new pattern is more having a migraine every 4-5 days. I take the Nurtec, and usually I only have to take 1 pill, and I am good for another 4-5 days. Sometimes I have to take another pill on day 2, but not always. Every now and then, I have to take a pill on day 3, but that is rare. But overall, I am still only taking my prescribed 9 pills in a month, which is still a praise.

Now, I stretched that over December, and I gave myself some grace on that with all the stress and grief of my brother. With crying being a trigger for my migraines, it was inevitable that I was going to get more migraines. It was unavoidable, and trying to keep myself from crying in that situation was only going to make it worse. So over December and January, my pattern has been closer to every 3-4 days, with more times of me having to take multiple-day pills. Which is not awesome or ideal, but I am hoping that it calms down as time passes. Even coming home, I have seen improvement. I honestly expected my migraines to be worse than they ended up being, so I am thankful for that grace. And I am just so thankful I have a rescue med that works. Even in the most intense grief, the Lord was taking care of me.

GI Follow-Up

At the beginning of December, I also had a 6-month follow up with my GI. He ordered all the routine lab work, and he gave me the option of doing a routine colonoscopy or an MR Enterography {MRE}. I asked what the downside was to the MRE {thinking it would be better than having to do the colonoscopy prep}, and he said there was no downside. So I opted for that.

We also discussed the upcoming patent expiration for Stelara and insurance moves to biosimilars {which has already happened in the UK/Canada}. He said he hadn't seen any moves to that yet, but that we would just have to wait and see what the U.S. insurance companies did. He didn't seem confident that they would make decisions in the interest of patients, but instead would make decisions in the interest of cost. No surprise there. But he promised he was watching it, and he was definitely in favor of keeping his patients on the name brand drugs, as he didn't typically see the same efficacy of the biosimilars {they are not like generics}. So that still remains to be seen what will happen.

I had to reschedule my tests until I returned from Texas, but when I received my labs back at the end of December/beginning of January, all of my numbers were normal. All of my inflammation markers were still normal. Praise God!

MR Enterography

I had the MRE in January, before we left for Texas the second time. I had the {false} assumption that it would be easier than a colonoscopy. No one gave me any instructions for the procedure, and I just had previous {brain} MRI experiences in my head. And I just didn't think. When I called to make the appointment, and even when I received my confirmation call a week out, they told me to arrive 15 minutes before and said nothing. 

The day before, I got a call from the imaging center. She asked if I knew I was supposed to arrive 2 hours before the test, because I was supposed to drink the contrast beforehand. I was definitely not aware, though in hindsight, I should have known better. I had to drink 1500 mL of contrast before the imaging! Thankfully, it didn't taste bad, it was just A LOT of liquid. And it's meant to distend your bowels haha.

It definitely hit my GI system right before the test. At the risk of sharing too much, we'll just say it acted much like a colonoscopy prep. Not pleasant. I started panicking, because I wasn't sure how I was supposed to make it through the whole scan {which lasted 45 minutes}. They assured me that no one had ever had a problem {gee, thanks}, and I prayed really hard. {Sorry, mom, for all the graphic texts begging for prayers that I didn't embarrass myself in the imaging center LOL}. Thankfully, I made it through, but I was fairly miserable the rest of the day. 

-------

So I will wait for the results of the MRE, and I also have a dermatologist appointment tomorrow {just my usual 6-month skin check}. There are too many doctors and too many appointments...and I'm not even 40 yet! :)

Family Time in Texas

When we returned to Texas for Michael's Celebration of Life Service, we were fortunate to spend a lot of time with family. The kids have pretty much become experts at air travel at this point, and I am just so thankful that they do so well on flights. They have had such great attitudes, even when their Yoto players haven't worked; they have been {mostly} patient, shared with each other, and been such great travelers!

On our way back to Texas for the second time in a month

Watching his favorite thing in the world: football :)

We spent the first few days on the front end of our trip with Mike's family. Staying with Granny and Grumpz means lots of games, toys, yummy snacks, and fun! Granny was gracious to watch the kids and allowed me to sneak away to go have lunch with Cindy and Kirston, as well as see Dan at the office. I am really grateful that I had that time as a final closure to say goodbye to that chapter of my life as well. I know I will keep in contact, but being able to see them and give hugs after the official closing was helpful for my heart. 

We also got to celebrate Henley's birthday with a fun breakfast-for-dinner and hot tub night! The kids had a blast with their cousins, and Lindsay and I even got to sneak away for a McAlister's lunch :)  And then we got to have another fun night of cousin fun at Uncle Bryan's house, complete with a bounce house {fully inflated inside the living room} and s'mores! To say that my kids had all the cousin fun they could have wanted, is an understatement :)

It was good to fill our hearts with family fun before my brother's service. And even though we moved over to Grandma and Papa's house and had to prepare for that, it didn't mean we didn't make time for family fun over there. Through the tears and the hardship, we were still able to find ways to laugh and enjoy time together, and I am grateful for that. 

Grandma took Maddie and me to get our nails done, which is such a sweet way for the girls to spend time together. Maddie loved every minute of the pampering, and she was a good sport for the rest of the errands we had to run that day.

Grandma's house is also filled with games and toys and fun. From Legos to Jenga, to coloring and bowling, there is not a lack of fun things to do. And we also got to watch a lot of football, which was Aiden's favorite :)  Not pictured was a lot of time spent with extended family who was in town, which was also really sweet and special.

Mike had to head back home on Saturday, but the kids and I were able to stay a couple of extra days. On Sunday, we were able to go to lunch and then out for {real} bowling with Aunt Vi, Addison, Airalyn, and Uncle Thinh. The kids had a blast, and it was a sweet afternoon with family.

I'm thankful for my good little travelers! They know the drill, and they got so many compliments on how well they were prepared through security and how well they behaved on the flights. It's really only because I came armed with snacks, and they have flown so much recently. Although, we did have one incident where we were made a bathroom trip right before boarding started. We were literally getting ready to do family boarding and one child {who will remain nameless} said they had to go to the bathroom again. I had to make a split second decision whether or not to take them right then or wait until after we were in the air... Thankfully the bathroom was close and there was not a line. We made it back just as they were boarding. It would not have been that big of a deal, except that I was flying with them solo and relying on family boarding so that we could sit together. Why did you not empty out, child??? haha

Headed back to Virginia!

My little travel pros :)

He's like a middle aged man haha

Our trips to Texas in the last couple of months have not been what we expected or would have planned. In many ways, they were the hardest weeks I have experienced. But I am thankful for family, and I am thankful for the time we got to spend together. I'm thankful for the moments of laughter in the midst of the tears. 

Michael's Celebration of Life

The afternoon that we were preparing to say goodbye to my brother in December, they held a flag ceremony in his honor. Because he chose to be an organ donor, the hospital honors the donor and their family for their gift of life. Because the number of people who came to see my brother exceeded the hospital's capacity for the honor walk, everyone was moved to the flag pole for the ceremony and prayer. And then a smaller group of family and friends walked with my brother to surgery. My parents, his wife, and I were with him to say our final goodbyes in the OR.

The following days were filled with planning and decisions for his funeral. I didn't want my parents to do that alone, and I'm thankful that Mike and his family could manage the kids so I could help them every step of the way. Intellectually, I had an idea of what had to be done, but I really had no idea the number {or type} of decisions that have to be made around a funeral. The Lord was incredibly kind to place amazing people in our path to guide us every step of the way. I can't imagine making funeral and cemetery services my career choice, but every person we encountered was absolutely made for the job they were in. They were kind and compassionate, and I'm thankful for their help in such a difficult time.

Ultimately, we planned a small, private graveside service that same week, and then delayed a Celebration of Life Service for January. There were so many people from varying parts of Michael's life that came to show their love and support: friends from high school, people from his days at DBU, and of course people from his church. And there were also people who came to love and support me and my parents: family, people from BSF, our own friends. 

I am so thankful for the outpouring of love and support for my family. It was comforting to see how loved my brother was. I'm thankful for the opportunity to celebrate my brother's life; I'm thankful for my brother's life. I miss him so much, but I find my comfort in knowing he is whole and healed and resting with Jesus. 

I am thankful to be on the other side of the service and the "formal closure events" of grief. To close that chapter of the "have to's" has allowed my heart to move past one piece of the closure process. I am still working out the rest of it. The rest of it isn't quite as planned and neat; it's definitely a lot more messy in my heart. Unfortunately, I can't plan away grief haha. But God is for me...

"You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

in the day when I call.

This I know, that, God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid."

- Psalm 56:8-11

First Snow of 2025

We got our first snow of 2025! We got a couple of inches to start, then several more a few days later. And then it stuck around for several days. So the kids got to enjoy LOTS of snow days {despite me being the mean mom and making them do school while all the neighborhood kids were home from school haha}.

The days were filled with snowball fights, sledding, and snow tunnels. It didn't really pack well to make a snowman, which was a little disappointing, but that didn't really slow the kids down much. We would finish up school, and then the kids would want to run out the door to play!

Our front entry was filled with wet snow clothes and boots for about a week, and I wasn't mad about it. Our snow week consisted of school in the morning, playing in the snow in the afternoon, then warming up with hot chocolate before dinner. Not a bad week!

The End of an Era

It seems like the Lord has me in a season of goodbyes. Yesterday was my last day at Independent Financial. After almost 13 years of working as an Executive Assistant for the bank, I said goodbye to a company I have loved. 

My original name tag!

My first business cards from the bank

I started at the bank in March of 2012. I had previously been working in the insurance industry, and at the time, I had a pretty brutal commute. I was leaving the house at 5am to beat the Dallas traffic and ride into work with a kind co-worker. So Mike and I had been praying for a change. I was applying for jobs closer to home, and he was helping in any way he could, by passing around my resume. He had passed my resume to a ministry friend of his, Eric, who had several connections in the McKinney area {where we were living at the time}.

Mike was working at Starbucks, and he had a lot of regular customers. One in particular was so kind to ask him how she could be praying for him, and he mentioned that we could use prayer for God to provide a new job for me, closer to home. True to her word, she did pray for us, but she also went home to her husband and suggested that I take a look at my resume. Her husband, a little unsure of who she was talking about {just the random wife of Mike the barista at Starbucks haha}, said that he was already setting up an interview with the person whose resume he received from Eric...and as they say, the rest is history  :)

I tell this story, because it is only the very beginning of how the Lord used my job at the bank to show His provision and grace in our lives over the past decade. I have absolutely loved working for Dan and the other executives, and it could not have been a better place to work. I got to watch men with integrity run a company and care for their employees. From a small community bank to going public and trading on NASDAQ and expanding our footprint across Texas and into Colorado. 

When my health forced me to step back in 2015, I was incredibly sad to leave. I loved my job, and it was such a hard decision. But again, the Lord was working and ready to show His grace and kindness to us. While I had every intention of stepping back fully, in the transition, we realized that there were some things that I could continue doing on a part time basis. Because we were in the middle of our embryo adoption process, we knew that I would need the flexibility to be at home, and Dan graciously granted me that opportunity. So in June of 2015, I started my new role, working part time from home. 

That new scenario allowed me the flexibility to manage my health well, and it allowed me the chance to become a mom and stay home with my babies. The Lord knew the exact provision that we needed when we needed it; the set up kept working, so I kept working! 

When we knew we were moving to Virginia in 2020, I figured that would be my time to move on. While I had already been remote for 5 years, I had still only been down the road, so I could pop into the office if needed. And I had occasionally done just that. Moving across the country, however, would make that impossible. So when I went to talk to Dan, I was surprised to learn that he had no problem with letting me stay, if I wanted to continue working. I truly believe the opportunity was open to me because of COVID. Now that everyone was working from home, the idea of me moving to Virginia and working from home wasn't as big of a deal. So we decided to give it a try, to see if it still worked. And it worked just fine for the past 4 years...  :)

With the increased cost of living in Virginia, again, the Lord knew that I would need this job. Really, for almost 13 years, this job has been an incredible provision for our family. The only reason I am not continuing in this role, is because there is no role for me anymore. The bank has merged with SouthState Bank, and there is no Independent Financial anymore. It truly is the end of an era.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad about it all. Not many people get to say that they love where they work. That they love what they do. Or that they truly love the people they work with and for. I recognize the incredible privilege it has been that I have been able to say all of those things for so long. That I have been given the opportunity to have such an incredible work-life balance, raising my family, working around my kids, still providing for my family. It's hard to say goodbye to something that has been so good for so long.

But in a way, it is fitting that I get to say goodbye to my coworkers as the Independent Financial era comes to a close. While some will continue on with the new bank, many will go on to other places, and things just won't be the same as we have all known them. It has truly been a special place to work, and I will forever be grateful for all of the opportunities I was given during my time at the bank. The Lord has been incredibly kind to me, and I have no doubt incredibly kind to my believing boss, and I give God all the glory for the past 12+ years of provision and grace.

Thank you, Lord for Eric passing my resume to Dan. Thank you, Lord for the kind customer asking Mike how she could pray, and for her boldness in recommending me to her husband. Thank you, Lord for Dan. For him taking a chance on my resume, for his kindness and generosity to me over the years. For the man of integrity he is, for how he has cared for all of his employees over the years, always working as unto You. Thank you, Lord for all of the executives at Independent Financial, that I got to witness integrity and hard work that I could respect each and every day. Thank you, Lord for co-workers that I love, some who have become dear friends. Thank you, Lord for a place that I enjoyed working. Thank you, Lord for the provision you have granted our family all these years. For allowing me to build my work around my family and balance all that I had to do with your grace and strength.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.