Summer's over, and it was a busy one!

I guess summer is now officially over. Madelyn went back to school this past Wednesday, Jackie and Dani went back to school this past Monday, and holy cow - it's September in 3 days! Where did the time go? It was a fun and crazy summer with lot's going on. Obviously you know all about Madelyn going to camp. In addition to that Trey and I each got a week off with her. She was all set to go to Grammy camp for a week in August, but unfortunately Grammy had a crazy accident and had to have surgery instead. It's a long, odd story, but the outcome is that she is recovering just fine and will be okay. The short version... while working on the ranch with Grandad with some some cows, one of the cows kicked a steel pipe that they were working with and it swung up and hit in her the face. Talk about "the perfect storm". It was a total fluke accident, but it hit her just right where it resulted in several fractures in her face. She had to have surgery to repair, and poor Grammy - her entire side of her face was literally black and blue. But like I said, she is doing sooo much better now, and with some more rest and a little TLC, she is going to be her normal self again. Thank goodness!!!! So anyway, instead of Grammy camp, Madelyn got a week of a little bit of this and a little bit of that. She spent a few mornings with the big girls - Jackie and Dani. They were absolute angels stepping in to keep her for us. April covered an afternoon after school and a day she didn't have school, and Trey and I took a few half days to balance the rest. It was CRAZY, but it all worked out just fine.

After that week, we headed to San Antonio for a little family vacation with my mom, Allan, Megan, Mia, Mara, Jacob, and us. It was tons of fun! We got to see Aunt Jo and had really yummy grilled hamburgers and hotdogs (thanks Marty) and swim. That was the highlight of the weekend!!! But we also went to the wax museum and Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, took a boat tour of the riverwalk, went to the Natural Bridge Caverns (very cool - and a good walking workout), and ate a ton of good food. It was so much fun, and so sad that when it was over, basically so was our summer. So that's all kept us pretty busy.

Unfortunately, the summer didn't end on the brightest note for me. I've been feeling great, with no active Lupus flare ups for several months now, and at the beginning of the summer, my Dr. and I discussed working on lowering and getting of some of my meds. We decided to wait until the end of the summer because being in the sun has caused flare ups for me in the past. So here I was thinking we were being so smart and strategic about it all. So about 6 weeks ago, I had another appt and we decided to get it going. I went off 2 of my meds, and started to taper down the Prednisone (steroid) from the 5 mg I was taking daily. The plan was to reduce by 1 mg each month. Very slow. Well, I went to 4 mg with no problem. Then I went to 3 mg and a week into it, my chest started to hurt. I am so disappointed and frustrated. I have now been back at 5 mg for a week, but since I didn't go back up to a big dose, I am still feeling bad. In the past, when I've had a flare up, it's taken a little while with big doses (40 - 60 mg) to get me feeling better, then we drop down. But I really didn't and don't want to go back up to that kind of a dose. So I am happy that we are trying a mild increase to a small dose to take care of it, and I expect that it means it will take me a little while to be feeling better - since it's such a small dose still, I am not going to all of a sudden be feeling better like before. But I just want to be feeling okay, and I really want to be off this darn medicine. I know that the small dose that I am on - even at 5 mg - is really not that bad, but I just want OFF. Oh well - it is what it is, right?

So the really great news is that we've decided to do something big for my 30th birthday this year. I am so excited I can barely stand it!!!! Trey and I, with my mom, Lene and Michael, are going to Las Vegas for 4 days for my birthday!!!!!! We leave on Saturday (my bday) 11/21 and come back Tuesday night. Then we have Thanksgiving that Thursday, which is my absolute favorite holiday. It is going to be so awesome!!!!! So the countdown has begun and right now we are at 84 days! It seems so far away, but I know it will go by so fast. Vegas Baby!!!

Well I think that is it. You are all caught up now.