Easter Weekend

We had a delightful weekend in Dothan... once we got there! We intended to leave Friday evening but instead didn't get out of town until Saturday morning. We arrived just in time to hunt Easter eggs. I accidentally forgot the girls winter snowsuits, boots and earmuffs so they had to freeze in just their street clothes! I'm not sure I've ever felt a colder Easter weekend. Morgan loved the Easter egg hunt this year and was definitely more into it this year than she was last year. PopPop played "Easter Egg hider" and we think he may have received a pink slip already. The eggs were placed in the most hazardous & precarious of locations. I thought by the end of the hunt we'd have to set up a first aid tent to dress all the hunting wounds. GiGi promised to hide them next year and to not place them in the rose bushes and sago palms, both of which have razor-like thorns. Thankfully all the egg hunters survived with just a couple battle wounds.

Saturday night Morgan and Judson dyed Easter eggs and had a blast. I'm so sad that I don't have any pictures of this event... they're on Kathie's camera and I will certainly have to see if I can get the copies. They were so funny in their aprons and no shirts. Both took the job very serious and did wonderful. We had a variety of colors and they all turned out beautiful. We may just have to make a tradition of it!

I always think (for some reason) we can get to church on time. I figured if we're up before 8 for a 10:15 service there's no way we could possibly be late... I'm wrong every time. The girls enjoyed their Easter basket and we enjoyed Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We heard a wonderful message @ First Pres (when we finally got there) of the joy we can find in the empty tomb. It was a wonderful message of hope and encouragement. We arrived home shortly before all the cousins. GiGi prepared a wonderful Easter lunch and the kids all enjoyed Easter baskets from GiGi & PopPop.

We made it home around 9:30 last night and we're recovering from an action packed weekend. The girls and I went to playgroup this morning and shortly before we left Little Rager started vomiting. When I got her home she continued and ran a fever. She's down for her nap now and I'm hoping she'll be better after her nap. I hear her stirring so I better run!

Here's a link to our pictures from this weekend...

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=b5enhlt.1i30cj6l&x=1&y=-sd4b18

Update on Baby Newell

I just got a new update on baby Hunter. He's doing better but they're still at Shands. Many of y'all have asked about him and here's the latest (see email inserted below). Please continue to pray for Holly and Nathan. I know they must be so tired and ready to be home. Please pray for continued healing of little Hunter's body and that God will provide Holly and Nathan with confidence and peace when they bring him home.

Hello,

Again thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts. Hunter is still at Shands but doing well. He is off all the IV's but he still has a Center Line in his chest that they will be removing tomorrow or Saturday. They say there is always a possibility of an infection when removed. The only other thing holding us back from bringing him home is his feedings which should improve once the pain medication is out of his system which should be Saturday. So if you would please pray that there will be no infection and that he starts to eat better allowing them to remove the feeding tube. Thank you!

Love in Christ. Nathan, Holly, Nate II and Hunter

Chocolate Easter Bunnies

It must be nice to be a grandparent, great grandparent, aunt, uncle, neighbor or friend... you can send chocolate bunnies, suckers, jelly beans, Butterfingers, M&Ms, and more jelly beans to 2 year old little girls and not have to be the one to tell them they can't have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Don't get me wrong, these Easter baskets are so much fun. And such a delight to watch Morgan open with great anticipation. However, reasoning with a 2 year old over why we can't eat chocolate bunnies and jelly beans for every meal isn't the easiest "motherly" task. The video below may seem insensitive, but I can assure you this child is well cared for and her "valid and legit" meltdowns are not usually handled in a way such as this (ie. recorded on video and posted on the Internet)!

For example, this dear child today got scared by a loud noise and ran into my lap crying. She told me that only a jelly bean would make her feel better. Don't worry I didn't buy it. Is my child pacified by candy... oh no, she's turning into her mother already! Anyway, I put a hold on the Easter candy today because of poor behavior at the park yesterday (don't worry she didn't pull any of that mean boy stuff). The only way she would get a jelly bean today was if she teetee'd in the potty... unfortunately she didn't get a jelly bean today (did I just say that?)!

With all of that said and in complete seriousness, I know that none of you all gave my child this candy with the intentions of hurting her or her teeth, but because you dearly love her and care about her and for that we are so grateful. It is a treat to see her open these baskets and boxes and get so excited and ask me over and over, "Is this one from Mimi!?""Did Mom and DaddyBoy send me this? Oooh look Paiger, this one's for you!" It is so fun to watch and I managed to take a few pictures of 2 of the 4 Easter baskets she's already received. I'm feeling much better about not having anything put together for her for Easter... it seems as though they both are pretty well covered.

The link below is to pictures I took this afternoon. We're in the middle of drought and it's only April... bad for the grass but good for time outside in the afternoons! Enjoy the pictures & enjoy the video!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=b5enhlt.8il0q94t&x=1&y=-53dm39

Speaking of Breakfast in Bed

Erika scrounged up this photo. That's me on the left and her on right. Looks like my mom might have been better at "breakfast in bed" than I was... I'll try again sometime.

I took some video of the girls this weekend and thought I'd post it for the grandparents (and whoever else wants to see). My parents saw the girls in December and they both have changed so much since then. I thought a little video of both would give you a taste of where they are now! Hope this works... I'm still a rookie!

Breakfast in Bed

Morgan is intrigued with stories. She'd much rather hear a story of my past than be read a book she's heard a 100 times. One story she's heard a couple times is the story of "breakfast in bed". I tell her how Nana would often wake MommaSissy and I up with breakfast in bed. She always says, "Can I go!" That's her way of letting me know that she thinks that's a good idea! This morning I thought I'd surprise her with breakfast in bed. I blended up a quick smoothie and brought it to her with all her animals, babies, and of course her new flashlight. I think the thought of breakfast in bed was more exciting than the breakfast itself. After the first sip she said, "Can I get some water instead?" She's such a squirrel... who'd rather have water than a smoothie!? Oh well, I tried!

Justin went with me to the doctor this morning and Aunt Gaye came over and watched the girls (what a blessing!). The doctor was probably in the examining room with us for 30 minutes which made us feel so good and not rushed. She listened to every concern we had and answered every question we had to best of her ability! She didn't seem alarmed by my low EF percentage (or low heart squeeze), which made me feel a lot better. She told me that my racing heart wouldn't cause a heart attack, nor would any kind of palpitation. She's going to get us into the cardiologist in the next couple weeks and hopefully we can get everything figured out before we leave Tallahassee. It is already considered a "preexisting condition" so our next challenge will be with the insurance companies. We discussed anxiety and it's effects on the heart. I explained how the heart palpitations definitely cause me a great deal of anxiety but now we're going to try and figure out if they are a result of anxiety! We explained to her where we are in our life right now; moving, two young children, starting a company, etc and she said all of this could be a contributing factor to some of heart stuff but not necessarily the low squeeze percentage. She's going to try to get me in to see one of the 2 cardiologists who read the first echo cardiogram. Thanks for your prayers and we'll keep you posted!

A Little Decompression Time

We opted to stay here this weekend to decompress from all our happenings this past week. As much as we enjoy our frequent trips to Dothan, they are somewhat tedious and a little stressful with two young children (and a dog!). It was so nice to wake up in our own beds this morning, eat pancakes and bacon, and take a leisurely trip to the Tallahassee Museum. We talked up the bears and panthers to Morgan last night and she woke up ready to go. We must have heard, "Lets go see those bears!" 30 times this morning before we left.


Due to the "Springtime Tallahassee" parade and festival it took us a little bit longer to get there but once we did we realized what all we have been missing out on these last couple years! They call it a "museum" but I don't think that's really appropriate. It's more like a nature preserve with animals. We saw black bears, panthers, bobcats, owls, bald eagles, deer, turkey, red fox and grey fox and of course an alligator. It was a little overcast and the temperature was perfect. Due to all the goings on downtown there weren't very many people there. It was a very delightful time. They have a very nice playground that we stopped at on our way out. Morgan loved seeing all the animals and talked incessantly to them. We wish we had discovered this hidden treasure prior to our little outing today!


I took Rager back to the pediatrician yesterday. Once she came off the amoxicillin from 2 weeks ago she came down with a nasty cough. It sounded as though she was breathing under water. I waited a few days but then couldn't help but think "maybe she got pneumonia from me". So, we got it checked out. I took both girls with me which I usually prefer not to do but it was a last minute appointment and figured of all places to take both girls, the pediatrician's office would be ok! Morgan was chattering away when the dr came in and continued to talk while Dr. Cross examined Paiger. Morgan kept asking me, "What's that I 'mell?" (Her famous words!) I continued to reply while holding Paiger who was being checked out, "I don't know what you smell Morgan, maybe it's the fruit you just ate." Finally she said, "Nope, I know what I 'mell.... it's my toots. I 'mell my toots!" I thought I'd die. I asked her to say "excuse me" and she did but we all got a chuckle out of her candidness. Thankfully she was the only one who could smell them! The Rager got loaded up with zithromax and albuterol... hoping this will take care of all the nastiness!

Pump Up the Jam and Enchiladas (finally!)

The Rager this morning in her highchair and Morgan opening an Easter package from her Kaye Bird!

It was such a fun treat for her to wake up to! Thanks Kaye Bird!!

Mark Wheeler (my dr at the hospital who used to be in our Bible study) called me yesterday morning to fill me in on the results of the Echo cardiogram they did on Saturday before I left the hospital. I expected to hear from him sooner but figured no news was good news. I contacted my primary care doctor and they advised me to call the ER for the results; that sounded so far from what I thought I should do that I disregarded it. My doctor's office told me they'd have the results by my follow-up appointment on Monday. So, I left well enough alone and figured I'd find out more Monday. When Mark called yesterday he informed me that the results came in on Sunday from the first cardiologist and he wanted to consult with another cardiologist and my primary care dr before contacting me and that is why it took several more days. He said that the "Echo" showed that my heart doesn't "squeeze” or pump very hard. He explained that the average person’s heart will squeeze or pump out 60% of the blood that is in it. So, if a heart holds 100cc of blood it would squeeze out 60cc of the blood with every pump (or beat). Mine showed that it only squeezes out 45% of the blood. He said it's unusual for someone my age to have this. He didn't use any medical terms, probably so I wouldn't look it up on the internet and freak out like I did last night. He said they may see this on someone who has a long history of alcoholism... which he knows I don't have. Anyway, he told me several times not to worry about this (perhaps he knew I would) but told me that they would be referring me to a cardiologist for a consultation to do another Echo in a couple months. He did say that it was an "incidental finding" and that I didn't show any symptoms of someone who has a low ejection fraction (that's the medical term for it that I found online last night). I asked if it was a side effect of the medication I had while in the hospital and he said it wasn't likely. But it could possibly be related to my pregnancy... which was 8+ months ago. He also said it could change. So for now I'm trying not to worry about it and pray that it will change and not effect me in any way. We would very much appreciate prayers for this!


Ok, so now for those tasty "crock pot" enchiladas I made last week. I basically made the recipe up so feel free to change it anyway you want, but this way tasted pretty darn good!


1 package of chicken tenderloins (the precut strips) I don't remember the weight but it was about 8-10 strips
2/3 of a jar of salsa (I used Medium)
1 can of Enchilada sauce (I used the brand that makes the refried beans, it's a red and yellow label and with the beans-- I think it's Old El Paso or something like that)
1 package of soft taco shells
1 package of shredded cheddar
sour cream


Put the chicken tenders, salsa, and about 1/2 cup of water in the crock pot on high for 3.5 to 4 hours. Take the tenders out and shred them with 2 forks. They will be very easy to shred. Add the shredded chicken back to the crock pot and add 1/2 the can of Enchilada sauce. Stir all ingredients and let them simmer for a few minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 and fill each soft taco shell with the chicken and top with cheese. Roll the soft shell up and place the seam side down in a baking dish. Once all your enchiladas are filled and in the dish, top with the rest of the enchilada sauce from the can (or you could also add the sauce from the crock-pot) and smother with the shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for about 20 mins or until all bubbly and hot! Top each enchilada with a dollop of sour cream. We served with chips and salsa. Saffron rice (the yellow rice) would have been good too... we just didn't have any handy!

A Providential Trip to Goodwill

This picture doesn't relate in anyway to the blog entry but it does make me laugh. She likes to wrinkle up her nose and make that face and snort out her nose. I could eat her alive when she does it!

With the big move upon us I decided about a week ago to clean out all my closets. I have clothes that I got at the Gap Outlet in Cincinnati when I was in high school... that would be about 10 years ago. Way past time to pass some of them on! Needless to say it was a very good thing and I may have gone a little overboard and probably got rid of somethings that I could have kept but I was a roll! When I came across a nice shirt that I had worn recently but not too recently I was at a standstill as to what to do with it, mainly because it had my name plastered in the collar. The dry cleaners we used in Anniston used to put your name on this huge iron-on tag and put it right above the regular tag. It kinda made me feel a little weird that my name was in the shirt and I attempted to peel it out... no luck. I actually hesitated to even take it with my name in it. I thought it would be bizarre for a stranger to wear my shirt with my name in it. Actually, I also thought what if they track me down to get me or something... I'm not sure if I was smoking crack that day or not. :) That's a pretty irrational thought but I did think it. Anyway, I had this argument with myself for a few minutes as to whether or not to take it to Goodwill. It was as if the Holy Spirit was on one shoulder saying, "Don't be ridiculous, someone could use this shirt, it's really nice, clean, and could be beneficial to someone!" And then my pride and irrationality were on the other shoulder saying, "Someone might look you up in the phone book and get you or something.. every Goodwill shopper will know that this shirt belonged to Darby Stickler, you better just toss it!"

Well... I gave in to the Holy Spirit, died to my selfish ambitions and threw the nice blouse with my name plastered in it in the pile of stuff to take. When I got back from the hospital I had an email waiting for me from my friend LA's aunt. The subject was "Funny Blouse Story". I didn't read it first because I was certain it was a forward about how a rapist will look only for women who wear button down blouses... you know easy access or something! Anyway, once I read through all my emails I went back to it... thinking what could be a "Funny Blouse Story"? The email made me smile and almost cry. Here it is...

Darby,

Faithe was a page in the House of Representatives last week, and needed a button down blouse to wear under her blue blazer. So we went to Goodwill to find one. We found this really cute one that fit her very well. When we got home I said I have to wash this because it came from Goodwill. But we had tons of things to get done. I happened to look at the label, and there was a dry cleaner's label with your name on it. So I said, we don't have to wash this because it was Darby's. We had a good giggle, and she wore it proudly the next day, and looked great. :)
So thanks for her top!

Among the many things I've been learning one of the greatest is God's sovereignty and providence. There are 150,000 people living in Tallahassee (not including the 100,000 college students) and the chances of someone I know getting that blouse is not very good. Some may say it is "just luck"... I confidently know otherwise! I don't know exactly what He wanted me to learn but I know what I did learn: to swallow my pride and irrationality if anything can benefit someone else just do it. I'm horrible about talking myself out of helping others or sharing Jesus with them and I'm learning to side with the Holy Spirit... and He'll affirm me in my decision! I hope this will encourage someone to put aside any irrational thought and do something that may seem "weird"... I'm confident Christ will affirm your decision.

Anyone else have a similar story... I want to hear...

Two Gardeners & A Tin Can

The Two Apprentice Gardeners

(one looking up to no good and one looking rather innocent!)

We've had a wonderful last couple days and I'm very thankful to be on the receiving end of help from my dear friend Tami! She's a very good example of what it means to be a friend. I hope that I can be the friend she's been to me to her and others. She and Judson drove over from Dothan on Monday morning to help out around here for a couple days while I recovered from the crud. Morgan loved having Judson here and after the first 8 or 12 hours actually started to call him Judson rather than Braxton, which is her only other male friend! The two were so cute together and I can't wait to watch them grow together. Morgan took the role of "mommy" or perhaps "wife" would be a better word. As Justin said, "She's like her Mom, not even giving him a chance to try before she starts telling him how to do it!" I took it with a grain of salt (whatever that means)!

The last couple days consisted of lots of bubbles, tricycles, sidewalk chalk, a walk to the park, a plastic swimming pool, and lots of laughs from the toddlers and grownups! Tami and I only heard the question "why?" about 1,000 times in two days. We need to come up with a clever answer because "why" is one of the hardest questions to answer. "Because I said so" is way too cliche. Judson has an answer of his own if you respond to his question "why?" with "why?", (Tami correct me if I'm wrong) "because all people loves it and that makes sense" is his answer! It's too funny! I need to start responding to Morgan that way... maybe she'd stop asking why.

We just enjoyed a delicious dinner that Alison Byington brought us! And we're headed over to see our recently widowed neighbor "Ms. Roz". Justin and Morgan made her a platform bird feeder for her backyard. She's a birdwatcher and a very nice lady and is deeply grieving the recent loss of her husband. He suffered from pancreatic cancer and it took him very quickly. They don't have any children and she (as anyone would be) is sad and lonely.

I have one more story to share but I think I'll write about it tomorrow and include with it the recipe for those yummy enchiladas!

Halleluiah it's JUST Pneumonia!

I was going to share a delightful recipe for chicken enchiladas with everyone but first I thought I'd enlighten y'all on our weekend!


If you read my blog entry you know that Thursday night was a typical night around the Stickler house. Everyone went to bed happy and healthy (or so we thought!). Around 12:30 am I woke up with intense shoulder pain. I thought maybe I was laying on it funny but realized I was laying on my back so that didn't really explain the shoulder pain. I also had some pretty intense pain in my chest and blamed it on those pesky enchiladas I made for dinner. I woke Justin up around 1 and told him I was in a decent amount of pain and asked him to get me 4 Tums from the kitchen. I've never really suffered from acid reflux but I also had never felt this pain before so I thought (or hoped) it was just heartburn. I realized that I also was having a hard time taking a deep breath. I could take shallow breaths without pain but couldn't get a deep breath. I ate the 4 Tums and propped up in the bed... and waited anxiously for the pain to go away and prayed it was just heartburn. Justin got the laptop and "googled" all my symptoms. It was either acid reflux or a heart problem. If you've read my blog I couldn't help but think about Tiffany and knew that it was possible to have heart problems even at the healthy age of 26.


We waited about 30 mins for those Tums to kick in... unfortunately they never brought any relief and every breath was increasingly painful. The next step was to figure out what to do. I wanted to drive myself to the hospital (I knew I probably shouldn't but threw it out there anyway) Justin was quick to shoot it down. I told him I probably should go. I'm the opposite of a hypochondriac and avoid the doctor and hospital on all counts so I think he knew if I thought I should go I really should go. We called our dear neighbors around 1:30 and didn't get an answer... must have been sleeping! Next we called our dear friends Mitch & Gaye. Mitch answered the phone like he was sitting awake in the bed waiting for us to call. Without any hesitation at all they said they were on their way. And sure enough they were.


The ER was packed out and I was so afraid they were going to make me wait for hours. Thankfully the triage nurse sent me right back after the EKG they did showed my heart was beating 172 times per minute while sitting down. I had a great doctor who was very concerned and paid close attention to me. I had a low grade fever (100.7) and pain in my chest... that was about all I could tell him. They gave me a few doses of Lowpresor (sp?) to slow my heart down and they did a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia and when it came back clear they loaded me up with some iodine to see all my blood vessels really well and did a CT scan. Once the radiologist got the report back to my doctor they realized that after all I did have pneumonia in my left lung. Which explained all the of the intense pain on the left side and the pain my shoulder. However, it didn't exactly explain the racing heart. So he wanted to admit me and keep me a couple days. I don't think he was convinced that pneumonia was the only contributing factor. I've had a little cough for a few weeks but always attributed it to the pollen that is covering the entire city of Tallahassee. I guess that little cough turned into pneumonia.


After 15 long hours in the ER they moved me to the cardiology floor. It was so peaceful up there! I had my own room and the nurses were so nice. They kept me on the heart monitors, IVs and antibiotics and gave me an occasional shot in the abdomen of a blood thinner--- I could have done without those! I had another EKG Saturday morning and they also did an Echocardiogram. My hospital doctor was a guy who was in our Monday night Bible study and it was really nice to have a doctor who I felt like genuinely cared about my health. They released me on Saturday afternoon and I was so glad to go home and get some sleep. I'm still waiting the results of the Echocardiogram but they came to the conclusion that they thought everything was okay with my heart. They attributed the racing heart with the intense pain and anxiety... who wouldn't be anxious if they thought they were having a heart attack!?

My sweet mother-in-law came Friday as soon as she heard the news and was able to relieve Mitch and Gaye and take care of the girls while we were away. I wasn't able to breastfeed for 48 hours due to the iodine they gave me for the CT scan. So, not only was I hooked up to IVs and heart monitors but also to a lovely breast pump. Paiger wasn't too impressed with the formula but finally took some when I got home from the hospital. She's back to her mommy now and happy as can be!

I'm so thankful to be home and back in my own bed. Justin will be traveling later this week so his mom is going to come back. My friend Tami will be coming from Dothan tomorrow to be with me Monday and Tuesday which is great. I thought I'd be okay on my own but I hit a wall today and my body demanded a 3 hour nap... not something that is too easy to do with 2 kids! I know having her here will be a huge blessing!


Thanks to everyone who has prayed and is praying for us! I'm loaded up on antibiotics and some pain pills too and hope to be on the road to recovery! Just so thankful to be home with my family and to JUST have pneumonia!!


Good night!!