Happy 33rd Birthday Trey!!!

Today is Trey's birthday! It's an exciting and special day. Today, since it's all about Trey, it gives me an opportunity to reflect on this wonderful person that is my husband. Although I know it every day (well - okay - most days), today especially I am reminded of how lucky I am to have married such a loving, amazing, supportive man. He is truly my soul mate - the perfect compliment and match to me, and I am so thankful to have him.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

I know I am being a big baby. I know it could be so worse. I know I am a very fortunate person. I know I truly have little to complain about.

BUT...

This really sucks! I hate having braces. And I do know it will get easier, I will get used to it, and it's not THAT bad. But it feels like it is that bad and I won't ever get used to it. My mouth is so sore, that I don't even want to talk. And you all know how bad it must be for me to not want to talk. I have sores all inside my mouth, my lips are so dry they are cracking, and it really hurts!

I hate having braces!!

I can now officially be known as...

Sarah Braceface Gourley
Metal Mouth
Rarah Braceface

Yes, it is true - I now officially have a full mouth of braces. This morning I went for my 8:15 am appointment and didn't leave there until after 11:00. It was an interesting experience. The braces themselves weren't so bad, but the apparatus they used to hold my mouth open was brutal. It makes it where you can't really swallow and when you do, it rubs against the insides of your mouth - not comfortable. The worst part was the sounds. Everything sounds so much worse than it is, but you can't help but tense up at the sounds of the machines, and the look of pliers going in and out of your mouth. Oh, and the light gun that dries the glue - that is a freaky thing to see coming at you. The worst part was the little rounded saw that he uses to shave off little bits of my enamel to allow for room for my teeth to shift. The good thing is that this alleviates the need to have any teeth pulled; the bad news is it sounds and feels like a blade going between my teeth and into my gums. And when it's all done, I have a mouth full of blood to show for it all! It was gross and very freaky and he'll be doing that for at least the next few appointments - oh boy!

Thank goodness for April, who woke up early to go with me. She sat through the whole appointment with me, telling me how great I was doing. It might sound silly, but when it comes to this kind of thing, I feel like a little kid that needs the comforting, and it was so great that she was there. Plus, then it meant we got pictures - because even though this is really not something I need a visual of, I know I'll be glad to have the pics.

I am sore, and excited, and broke! And as much as it stinks right now, I am very happy to finally be getting this done.

Here are few pics of the morning...


This is the mold of my teeth, and my smile BEFORE!


Dr. Jeff using the light gun that dries the glue - that thing is weird!


This thing is the WORST! It holds your mouth open for the entire time so they can do get into your mouth without problems, but you can't swallow and it hurts!


All done!!! Can you see how crooked the wire is? That is how crooked my teeth are. But not for long!!!!!

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.

Madelyn got back from camp, and just as the pictures seemed, she had an awesome time! We all missed her so much, and she missed everyone too. But she has such a great, fun, rewarding experience that it is soooo worth it! She's already ready to go back next year, and for longer!

So while she was there she did some incredible stuff... there was swimming every day, a huge rope swing, a gigantic slip n slide that was part of the July 4th carnival, cooking (she learned how to make pita over a fire, and chocolate balls), lots of good food, lots of great friends, and tons of adventures. She was so busy having fun, that she didn't even read her mail!!! Yes - after we all worried and fretted about making sure she got tons of mail - emails, letters, card, packages, etc. - she didn't even read any of it. I was laughing so hard, when as I was unpacking her, I came across of her mail in a huge pile, practically untouched. Anything that was mailed to her (cards, letters) WASN'T EVEN OPENED!!! She opened packages and took all the goodies out, but really didn't even know who sent her what because she didn't open the notes that went with them!! I'm telling you that kid cracks me up!

After a few leisurely days back at home with Daddy and Rarah, Madelyn is now with her mom and stepdad for a few weeks. We were so sad for her to go, and so was she, but she is also so excited to spend some time with her other side of the family too.

So I guess it's back to the real world for me... no more vacations for a little bit, and Monday I am back at work for the first full week I'll be working in over a month. What a bummer!!!

T minus 24 hours!

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. This time tomorrow, we'll be pulling through the gates at GFC to pick up the princess and my big girls too!!! It's very bitter sweet... I am so ready to see Madelyn and hear all about her camp adventures, the friends she made, and the fun things they did. I am so ready to give her a big hug and kiss and squeeze her tight. But I am also sad that her first summer at sleep-away camp is already over too. It went by really fast, and really slow at the same time. I just hope she can remember all of it so she can tell us EVERYTHING! I wish I could go back to camp...

I have to give another shout out to the friends that were at camp while Madelyn was there. They made it bearable for us back home. The daily doses and updated on how much fun she was having was both a relief and a joy to each day. It's been super difficult these past few days with no one there to send me texts, emails, and pictures! Next year, we'll have to coordinate their staffing time so that they aren't all there at the same time! Hello - priorities!!!

This morning was a little difficult. My routine for the past 9 days has been:
1. arrive at work
2. skim for important emails, skip all the others and come back to later
3. get on GFC site, look for pictures
4. email Madelyn

No #4. today. So sad. I didn't really know what to do - it felt so weird to not email her. So I started to email her anyway, but then I thought - well that's just ridiculous, she won't even get it!

Last night I made a big Welcome Home poster for Madelyn, and tonight I'm going to get some balloons to hang with it for when she gets home. I remember my mom used to always pick me up from the bus drop off (I took the bus home with all of my friends) with balloons, signs and presents. It was like it was my birthday! Spoiled, I know... but I guess the tradition must continue.

Well, I guess I better get some work done since today is my Friday!

And by the way... if I hear one more thing about Michael Jackson, I am going to scream. Enough already - let's talk about some real news!!!!!

Camp ROCKS

Well, 4 complete days of camp have come and gone, and my spies have given daily reports that Madelyn is all smiles and having an awesome time at camp. It's such a relief. It's harder than I thought with her being there (for me - not her!). It's not that I don't get to see her - I'm used to that - but I find myself constantly worrying about her. Is she having fun, is she getting along with her new friends, does she have enough clothes, enough panties, is she getting enough to eat, enough rest, enough water, is she homesick, blah, blah, blah - you get the picture. It's been a HUGE relief to have some friends there staffing this week (what a great coincidence that they are there the same week as Mads - that was a great surprise), and to hear little updates on how she's doing. Not just that she's doing well, but I've gotten specifics on some of the things they are doing, and some things she said...

For example: I asked Aimee to tell her that at the rate she was going, she better make sure she sends her clothes to laundry. (On day 2, I'd seen pics of her in 4 different outfits!! And when we packed her I packed her 11 outfits for 10 days and told her she didn't have to do laundry if she didn't want to). So now I've been panicking, think OMG - she's not going to send her clothes to get washed because "Rarah said I didn't have to", and then she's going to get to day 6 or 7 and not have any clean clothes! So I was going to go buy a few more outfits and get them in the mail real quick. And then I thought - no, she'll figure it out. She's a big girl, and at the end of the day if she has to wear some dirty clothes it's not the end of the world. Now you all know 1. this is a kid who wants to change if she gets the slightest amount of dirt or stain on her shirt, and 2. the thought of her having to wear dirty clothes both grosses me out and makes me feel just awful! So anyway, I asked Aimee to tell her to be sure to send laundry. I get a message from Barrett the next day, along with my "daily dose" that Madelyn is doing great and having fun, she says... "She said she thought she would be ok with her clothes, but will need to wash her underwear". I just laughed. That's my kiddo!

So in all of the pictures we've seen, Madelyn seems to be having the time of her life. PHEW! I really thought she would, but you just never know. She's so independent, strong willed, and fun, and so I really did think camp would be nothing but wonderful for her. It's just so nice that this experience is transpiring as we'd hoped. Again, a huge thanks to our friends who helped make this decision. It wasn't easy, let me tell you. But Trey and I discussed it a ton, and talked to several people with more experience in this area, and ultimately, I am so glad we made the decision to send her to Greene.