Sherrie's Father

They found Sherrie's dad yesterday and he his no longer alive. He was found between his property and the neighbor's. It is now being investigated as a crime scene.Please continue praying for the Hake's as their lives continue on.

Please Pray

...for John Hamrick. He is the father of one of the sweetest women in our Women's Bible Study, Created to be his Helpmeet. He has gone missing. His truck was found this afternoon with license plates switched out and more things that I just won't list here. Please pray that he is safe and just hasn't made it home yet. Please pray for peace for Sherrie and her mom and Sherrie's daughter Miranda, who just want him home.

Hmmm.

SO! We had an appointment this morning with Dr. Turpin (our pediatric endocrinologist) at 10:45. They come here once a month and meet with as many patients as they can so we don't have to drive all the way to KC. Long story short....Claire does NOT have CPP (central precocious puberty)!!! I think there was a miscommunication when Dr. Spade called with Claire's test results. (She is doing her fellowship under Dr. Turpin) Dr. Turpin assured me that her hormone levels were ALL well within the normal range. GREAT NEWS! I was so excited until I remembered that we still have tons of symptoms and no diagnosis. Then she suggested that we do a glucose and insulin test because she feels that Claire is dealing with "Insulin Resistance." Basically it is like someone who has high cholesterol and can't control it with just diet and exercise. If she is in fact diagnosed with this, she will need to take daily medication to keep her blood sugar in check. It is an oral medication with no side effects. She assured me that Claire's diet and lifestyle are not to blame and that she will not really have to change much because her habits are already very good. We will know more in the next week or so after we do the blood test and they get another bone age on her. Insulin resistance also explains ALL of her symptoms! It causes the body to produce excess androgen which is often processed into estrogen which in turn causes all of the prepubescent symptoms she has been experiencing. My main concern was, "Will she develop diabetes?" She is not at risk of developing Type I just because of the insulin resistance. She is at higher risk of developing Type II later in life so it is very important that we instill healthy habits and support a very healthy and active lifestyle. My head is, once again, swimming right now. However, I feel a peace in my heart that I haven't felt regarding Claire's health. I feel like we are finally barking up the RIGHT tree!

A Beautiful Day

HERE are just a few pics of Jarad and Ashley's BEAUTIFUL day! It was such a special ceremony and Pastor Scott (as usual) made it even better. He always knows just what to say. I can't wait to see the video and the rest of the pictures! Ashley was such a beautiful bride and Jarad was as handsome as ever. To top it off, I got to see my little man in a tux and my little lady all dressed up! Even better.....my hottie husband in a tux.....WHOOOOWHEEEE! I will post more about the wedding because there are lots of stories to share but right now we are off to a BBQ! I will also have to post pics of the pie I am taking tonight for my kiddos who have had WAY TOO MUCH JUNK over the past few days! It's a healthier version of banana pie and it's YUMMY! Enjoy the pics and I will post more soon! (PS click on the word HERE!)

Back in the swing of things.

I was blessed this weekend with a mini vacation. Brian and I took Claire and headed to the Lake of the Ozarks for the Missouri Grocers Association's annual convention at The Lodge of the Four Seasons. We hadn't been in a few years and were so excited to go this year and help my dad with the booth. Well, actually Brian and Jarad helped dad and the girls shopped and TRIED to stay cool by the pool! We ate and ate and ate and ate and ate some more. I really hope my bridesmaids dress still fits! Since I forgot my camera, there are no pictures from the weekend. Uncle Jarad signed Claire up for the Adventure Club for the weekend. You can leave your children all weekend and there is tons of fun stuff to do, but I was REALLY enjoying my baby girl. So we went and tie dyed a shirt together on Saturday and she got to look around at the kids area. She really wanted to stay so we decided that she could try it while we went to the dinner party. It's all right in the same area of the hotel and I could step out of the banquet room and see the Adventure Club. I still insisted on checking on her a few times (she was only there for about 3 hours) and she did great. We saw her on the way from their dinner to the movie theater (which is also in the building) and asked her if she wanted to go to the movie. She said "no" but then kept right on walking and hopped on the elevator! When I picked her up from the movie she said she didn't want to go with me, she wanted to go back to "the club!" She had a great time! She loved going to the show on Sunday. Her favorite place was the Hiland Dairy booth because they gave her all the ice cream she could eat!! Coming in a close second was Murfin's Market who had GIANT cookies for the kids to decorate! I enjoyed every second with my baby girl. She is growing up so fast.

If you notice, I didn't mention my little man. He stayed behind and enjoyed a weekend alone with Grandma Connie. I missed him SOOOO much! This was the longest I had been away from him EVER! I was afraid he would be mad at me when I got home like he was when I went to New Jersey for the weekend, but I was greeted with HUGE hugs and two handed kisses! (That's when he grabs both sides of your face and plants one on ya!) Both kids really enjoyed having undivided attention all weekend. So much that we are having a rough time adjusting to the wonderful world of siblings again.

This week will be very busy as we all put our finishing touches on Ashley and Jarad's wedding. I am currently working on the decorations for Alivia's walker! Ashley decided to have the walker at the wedding so Livi can just do her own thing during the ceremony. All that girl needs is her walker and a can of fruit puffs and she is good to go! We are all so excited for the wedding. Another perk of having a wedding is the excuse for our Oklahoma family to come! Dana, Clint, Taylon and Trayden are going to be here TOMORROW and I am counting down the minutes!!! Then the rest of our wacky family will be here on Friday I think! We are so excited to see them!

Thursday we also get the rest of the reports regarding Steph's scans. So far they have only been able to tell us that there was "another significant decrease in cancer activity!" We are all praising God for that wonderful news. He is GOOD and we have complete faith in His plan.

Here's a new slide show that I made yesterday!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Smile Box

Okay Ms. Teri! ;-) I don't have TOO much time on my hands..Smile Box is just insanely EASY! I promise you I spent more time keeping Cohen's hands off the keyboard than I did actually making the slide show! It is truly the fastest slide show program I have ever used. I think the fact that you don't have to wait for the pictures to upload is what makes it so fast. Just try it...you will be hooked!

My first Smile Box Slideshow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow