The One With the Burnt Toast...

Hello sweet friends and family and welcome to another fabulous week in review with MOJO!  This was a week full of many unexpected things...but also many beautiful things too!  So lets get started...

First of all you may notice a different look to my blog...I changed it around just a bit and integrated the new interface...yes I did that all by my little lonesome...proud of me????

But had the biggest scare when I got a message from Google saying my blog had been deleted!  Turns out it was a security measure as I was rearranging so many things...just goes to prove that this blogging stuff is tough!

Now a little update on J...you may remember he had a blocked mucous membrane surgically removed last week.  He is doing much better after a round of antibiotics and his stitches are dissolving quickly. He'll be up to singing his heart out (in the shower) again real soon!

The beginning of our week we were so blessed to meet with this crazy Alabama man...Marvin.  He is from the OM USA office and serves as our member care contact. We just love him and felt so encouraged by his visit!  We even took him to see his very first castle and to eat some fish and chips.  It was just what we needed and was great to hear a "hey ya'll" from someone else...other than from my own lips!

 Boy of boy did we need that encouragement...as the week proved to be very difficult physically for me.  But first the good news...we found out that my liver function had dropped back to normal and that my c-reation rate (the test done to show how much inflammation is in your body) was down from 31 to 21!

Now for some perspective...the normal healthy person's would be around 5.  The amount of inflammation in my body at these levels (21 or higher) is the same as someone who has severe burns all over their body.  Not a pretty picture but a good visual to explain to someone about an "invisible" illness such as Lupus.  You may "look good"...but you could easily feel as much pain as a burned victim.  YIKES!


So we were praising God that the treatments I have been on (for one month now) seem to be working!  But then it was on to the hard stuff...we now were at the mark in my treatment...to start to increase the dosage.

Okay...so for those of you who don't know...yes...I am on a mild form of Chemo called 6-MP.  The hopes are that this treatment will dial down my over hyper active immune system just enough to be "normal".  Remember...with Lupus your immune system is in overdrive and starts to attack healthy tissue such as skin, joints, heart, lungs, kidneys, and nervous system.

So this tiny little pill...was given at a bigger dosage which then led to me feeling the first negative side effects of the treatment.  BLAH!  Let's just say that it was good for me to be able to dress myself. The poor hubs was doing EVERYTHING. I am so thankful he is able to take care of me!

One fun story to lighten the mood...J-man was making us dinner (tea and toast by my request).  As I heard him scuffling around in the kitchen and the sound of banging pots and pans everywhere... I went in to see what all was going on.  It was like a scene from Mr. Mom...without the kids.  :)

Me:  "Honey the toast is burning."
J-man:  "Yeah...I'm not the toast master like you...I'm more like the solar eclipse toast master.  Sometimes I get it right but its rare."  I love him for trying though!

 So yeah...it was a rough few days as I was dealing with the phsycial and emotional side of things.  And I did have some more than normal hair coming out in the tub.  So needless to say I started to have a little pitty party...which was not made better for sure with looking for cute options to cover my head should things go that way.

I mean have a look below at what is called "Chemo head gear".  But good news...the Doctors think that since I am on such a low dose that I most likely won't have substantial hair loss.  PTL...I mean look at these things.

So I did what any girl who wanted to feel pretty would do...I mustard up the energy and went and got a whole new do!

That's right...I went full fringe and LOVE it!  Someone asked me how I could do such a drastic cut...I say...its just hair...it will grow back...I mean after going through so many drastic changes over these past 2 years...I figure I can do just about anything!

But ain't I cute?!?!

Then we had a fright of our lives when we woke up Sunday morning to the sound of something very loud and what seemed very heavy falling off our roof!  

Yep...that's right...our chimney...that we have told our landlord about 4 times now...finally starting to come tumbling down.

And it came crashing down "like a ton of bricks" onto our bathroom's roof...breaking through the tile! Its all good and the landlord is coming tomorrow...but for now I feel like wearing a hard hat every time I go outdoors.  

Thinking of making one for bella the cat too.  Would that be cute or what?

Then it was on to watch the season premiere of Grey's.  We've seen all 7 seasons so we were super excited to watch the 2 hour premiere of what we are hearing will be the final season.  That was until...

...until these peoples went all crazy and such!  I mean come on Grey's...you got people stealing babies like they done lost their minds.  And by the way...I'm guessing no one at Seattle Grace has ever read the book Boundaries.  Just sayin'....

Then it was off to take Bella for a little spin in her cute kitty transporter.  I mean we have to get her ready for that 9 hour flight somehow.

This photo was taken at the beginning of our trip.  By the end she managed to get herself totally underneath the blanket.  Poor Bella boo!

Then I was feeling quite crafty...and was pretty much homebound...so what did I do?  I made a 31 day personalized prayer journal for us.  We had been using this poor system of sticky notes all over the place so I decided we needed to step it up a notch!

It's a 5/7' 3 ring notebook...and I added clear page protectors for the prayer (I typed out) and for pictures of people.  We like to have a name with a face.  So look out...prayers heading your way soon!  

Then it was a big ole surprise (imagine me doing the happy dance) when I found out that "Getto Netto"...our local grocery store on the corner...was bought out by ASDA (Super Wal-mart) and is set to open next week!!!  Before we had to drive like 20 minutes in traffic...yes I know this sounds so spoiled! :)

And in case your wondering...no word yet as to when J's appointment will be with the US Embassy in London.  We are thinking it will be the end of October some time...but praying for sooner!  As soon as we get his permanent residency approved (Green Card)...we can be in the States...Lord willing about 2 weeks later!  

And by the way...we laugh that they call it a green card...it actually looks like this...and most of them we have heard are pink.  Does anyone know why they call it a green card? 

Now its time to start wrapping things up.  So I will end on something that happened today.  I was and am so honored to be asked to share my testimony of how God has been my rock through my illness with a group of teenage girls from our church here in Carlisle!  As soon as I was asked I knew what I would speak on...

"Don't Let Comparison Steal your Joy".

So often...especially as young girls...we tend to compare ourselves with other girls.  This can get us into trouble quickly.  One thing God has taught me through my illness is that even if you change on the outside...you are still SO BEAUTIFUL to Him.  

So I hope to share that and encourage the girls to look ultimately to HIM for love and acceptance.  I will let you know how that goes...it will be mid October...so please be praying over that!

Well that's all for this week.  Tune in next week to see how MOJO is getting on...and in the mean time...remember...whatever hurt you are going through as a person, a couple, or a family...God can take your broken-ness and mend it.  Keep trusting Him because Life and all its quirkiness is truly a beautiful thing!