Garage Sale..."Check!"

Phew, it's finally over! After the garage sale my mom, sis, and I put on last summer, I didn't think I'd want to tackle another one this year. But, I had nagging desire to finalize the destination of all the junk that was still left in my house after our move. Last year's garage sale was kind of a spur of the moment event that proved to be very lucrative. This year, we (my mom and I) put a bit more planning into it and vowed to search every nook and cranny of our houses for anything sale-worthy. It was a bit more difficult, as most all of the stuff left over from last year's sale went to Goodwill. I actually started months ago, but quickly lost motivation. The idea that my house would finally be clean an organized after 7 years of marriage was the only thing that kept me going.

Getting rid of stuff is definitely a process. When Adam and I first married, our stuff was in a bunch of different places, as we didn't have room for all of it in our apartment. Our childhood treasures were boxed up along with 1/2 of our mountain of wedding gifts. When we moved from Corvallis to a new apartment in Hillsboro, I sorted much of our stuff into boxes labeled "to storage" and "not to storage." We had a baby on the way, and needed that 2nd bedroom for a nursery, not a dumping grounds for all our extra junk.

We had only been living in that apartment for 3-4 months when we purchased our house. It was then that the junk really started to collect. I frequented 2nd hand stores and my mom-in-law (yes, she has enough stuff to open up her own 2nd hand store). Many of the "to storage" boxes stayed in the garage, but our parents were sick of all the junk left at their houses, so that came too. Add a baby or two to all of that junk, and you've got a LOT of junk!!

We hadn't really planned on moving so soon from that house, so when we did, of course I (for the 3rd time) began packing the house. In the year prior, I had done a great deal of purging and sent tons and tons of stuff to Goodwill on a regular basis. Although, getting Adam to get rid of anything was like asking him to dive into a pool of hot tar. I won't dwell on the subject too much for fear of the lashing I might get later...so on with the blogging...

After my umpteenth trip to Goodwill I was kicking myself as I could have thrown a killer garage sale with all that stuff! So, when we finally moved into our "forever house" I began starting a pile of things that I certainly didn't need anymore. It felt good to know that I didn't have to save things anymore for fear that one day I may need it for a different home. As far as we know, we're staying put! Anyway, we moved in April and had the garage sale in July. I was so sick of moving that many of the "to storage" boxes were still unopened and even some of the boxes I packed when we moved from Cornelius to my parents'. We were living quite well without opening them...so what was the use in keeping the stuff in them? Right?

Long story short, I went through every single box. I got another decent pile of garage sale stuff (plus all the leftover baby clothes from last year...still 6 FULL totes left over from the 10 I had last year!!) Mom and I had a very successful 2-day sale on Friday and Saturday. Mom was even able to sell ALL of the tons and tons of wedding decorations from my wedding to a gal who was having her wedding this summer with the same colors and flowers! What are the odds?? And even though we had much less stuff this year than last, we made only about $100 less! I only brought a few things back home...the rest went to Goodwill. It feels soooo good to be done!

I made Adam go through his stuff and seriously think about the things he wanted to keep. One of the bins he went through was full of stuffed animals he had as a kid. It's kind of a coincidence that he went through it when he did, because he had just shown the kids a few old episodes of "Alf" on DVD the day before. Alf was one of the animals (aliens) in the bin. Synnove took a liking to him and rode him around on her trike one morning.

My sister stopped by a couple of times during our sale and I noticed we were all wearing Tevas...so I snapped a shot. Elise (left) me (middle) Mom (right). I know...we're dweebs. It was the only pic I had of the garage sale.

Aunt Faith's Visit

Monday morning, I headed down to do check my email and found that my sister-in-law sent me a message asking if she and her daughter, Alice, could come for a visit. I was free for a couple of days, so I said, "sure!" and she was here by that afternoon.

Though last minute, her coming was a great diversion from the day to day. The kids had a great time playing with their cousin outside picking huckleberries and going on mini adventures.

Faith and I spent our time, for the most part, drowning ourselves in adult conversation (a rare activity among stay-at-home moms). During one of those conversations, I asked her if she would foil my hair. She, though not a professional, is quite versed in the knowledge of dying hair. Since I have known her, I have seen her hair become virtually every color of the rainbow including...

She's gonna KILL me for showing these...but oh well. Sorry Faith!

Yes, Faith has a very fun and eclectic style. And since almost every time I see her, her hair is different in some way, I decided that she would be perfect for the job. She was actually quite nervous to do it. She had only foiled a handful of times and didn't want to mess up my hair, but I wasn't too stressed about it. I only had a store-bought highlighting kit, but I also had foils, toner, developer, and other stuff left over from a previous home dye job. Anyway, she foiled the top half of my head. We had a few snags and freak-outs here and there, but in the end, it turned out looking pretty darn good. I was impressed, but didn't like the brassy bleached look. So, after a little research on the Internet, we found that the toner I had stowed away would work to tone down the yellow...go figure. We put that on the next morning (should have left it on a bit longer) and toned down the brass. And it looks pretty darn good!! So, thanks to Faith, I have a professional looking foil job that cost me 1/10th the price!

I'm sad to say that I only have one photo from the 3 days that she was here. Adam caught this not-so-great pic of the kids while they were winding down before bed.

Father's Day

Unfortunately for Adam, I didn't have anything special planned for Father's Day this year. I didn't even make special dinner plans! The week before, the kids spilled the beans on his gift, so even that wasn't a surprise. So, while stacking wood the day before, I asked him if he wanted to do anything special. Later, he told me he thought it would be fun if we all went to the movies. I was a bit hesitant at first because Soren had never been to the theater and Synnove's first experience ended with her getting quite antsy. But, I looked up the movie schedule anyway. I saw that the new Disney Pixar movie "Up" was playing...so we planned for that.

On Sunday morning, my mom called to see if we wanted to have an early dinner at her house since my dad had to go to work. We agreed and later invited them to go to the movies with us. Dad couldn't go cause he had to get some sleep before work, so it was just Mom, Henry, and us.

Because of the weird scheduling of the day, we opted to skip church and spend a relaxing morning together as a family. It takes us almost 40 minutes to get to church on Sundays, and by the time we would have gotten out of service, the movie would have been started already. ANYway, Synnove was very excited to go to the movies and wanted to get all dressed up. She put on the little dress her daddy got her when he was on a business trip in Georgia, a pink boa, a long silver beaded necklace, a little sun hat that she got from the state fair a couple of years ago, and her little fancy purse that she had for Weesie's wedding. Her hat kept blowing off when we got there, so she left it in the car. But everything else made it into the theater.

When we got inside, the previews had already started, so we didn't really get to prep Soren for what was to come. He wasn't too sure about the whole thing and was grumpy throughout the first 3/4 of the movie (until he sat on Grandma's lap). He just sat quietly on Daddy's lap watching intently, and refusing all offers for popcorn. Of course, he didn't refuse the Junior Mints. The movie was absolutely one of the best, if not THE best, Disney animated flicks I had ever seen (and no, I haven't seen them all). Go see it, I guarantee you will love it...it appeals to ALL audiences.

After that, we all met Dad and Elise at my parents' house for a salmon dinner and actually made it home before bed time! Ahh...what a great day.

Tale of 9 Vehicles...A Love Story

Once upon a time there was a boy named Adam. Adam was a cute, smart boy who attended Oregon State University. This boy also owned, not one, but, two vehicles...a car and a motorcycle. Being that he was a poor college student, he decided to leave the two at home to save money. During the warmer months, he brought his motorcycle to school...but that wasn't too often. ANYway, one day he met a girl named Nicole...


She drove a 1989 Ford Ranger that was owned by her parents. Nicole, also a poor college student, could not afford to purchase the truck to take to school with her, so it stayed at home. Now, this was quite a dilemma, as Nicole attended George Fox University which was about an hour away from Oregon State. How were the two going to see each other? By this time, a "situation" had happened with Adam's car and he sold it to his sister, and because it was winter, the motorcycle was out of the question. Adam LOVED his motorcycle, as he had gotten it brand new...but he loved Nicole more...

...So, he decided it was time to trade it in to get something a little more practical. So, one spring day, Nicole borrowed a car from a friend to take Adam home to go car shopping with his Dad. Later that afternoon, Adam drove into Penn Parking Lot with an eyesore. It was a jacked up black 1995 Ford Ranger with a roll bar, and lovely purple and turquoise decals covering the sides. It didn't even have 4-wheel drive! It was ugly, but he assured me that he would fix it up and make it nice. Anyway, he made a great trade, but still owed some money on it that he would eventually pay off by summertime. And yes, Adam was true to his word, and spent all summer scraping off decals and adding his own flair...they deemed it "Truckie" aka "The Love Truck."

Time went on, along with a series of mechanical problems...but nothing too earth shattering. Nicole started student teaching and needed a vehicle, so her parents allowed her to take her Ford Ranger to school. They were the Ranger couple! Adam even traded Rangers with her when hers broke down, and he rode the bus...he's such a sweetie.

After a while Adam's and Nicole's relationship blossomed and they made plans to marry. Shortly before the wedding, Nicole was scouring the Internet classifieds to find a job near their soon-to-be apartment in Corvallis and stressed out about the prospect of only having one vehicle. She didn't have any money...not even enough money to buy the '89 Silver Bullet (Nicole's Ranger) with 200,000 miles and no power steering that her parents so graciously loaned her after she totalled the '89 Chevy Caprice in high school. Despite it's problems, she had grown to love that little truck and all it's quirks...her and her friends shared many adventures in that little beast! Anyway, I digress....So, Nicole's parents, even after all the $$ they were forking out for her wedding, gifted her the truck! Hooray!! Her stress was lifted and she was extremely appreciative!

Adam and Nicole married, moved to Corvallis, Adam started back up at school again, and Nicole was without a job. After a few months, money was getting tight, and Nicole started getting desperate for work. With no elementary school positions to be found, preschool, temps, and McDonald's were all that was left. Fortunately, she found a preschool position and the couple's financial worries were somewhat lifted. Not long after that, the Silver Bullet continued having some issues that were gradually getting worse and could no longer be tolerated. The last straw finally came when Nicole was all but stranded with a dead vehicle in the middle of an intersection. After getting out her Dad's "bag o' tricks" in the glove box, She was able to make it home.

Adam and Nicole began searching for a "new" vehicle. They wanted a 4-door SUV. They happened upon a lease return with lower miles and ended up buying it from a guy in Tigard who ONLY sold Ford Explorers. Despite adding a car payment to the budget, Nicole was ecstatic! When they got home, they posted an ad in the Nickel Ads for the Silver Ranger and ended up selling it for $450 to an older couple who wanted to use it on their ranch...perfect fit for the Bullet! Here's a pic of Adam and Nicole a week after the big purchase.

Summer came and budget cuts were made in the school system. Nicole was laid off...but later found a wonderful teaching job in Eugene (50 min. commute). To save on gas, Nicole usually drove Adam's truck...but occasionally took the Explorer. One morning, as Nicole was driving the Explorer she discovered it was having some shifting issues. $$Cha-ching$$! They were living paycheck to paycheck and this repair was gonna cause some serious damage to their wallets. Turns out that ALL the Explorers were having the same problems. This was only the beginning of their "Ford" problems.

Time went on, they bought a house, and had a baby girl. Life was good. Life was also taking it's toll on Adam's truck. Their goal was to use wood as their main source of heat, and Truckie could only hold small loads. Plus, Nicole was pregnant again, and they wanted a truck that could hold their whole family, and hopefully tow a travel trailer someday. After scouring Craigslist and selling Truckie for an unbelievable amount of money, Adam found the truck they were gonna buy (1999 Ford F250)...adding another car payment (Explorer was not paid off).

Not long after that purchase, the Explorer started having shifting troubles again. Adam and Nicole could NOT believe it! They thought their car was fixed! After an evaluation by a mechanic, they were told that it needed a whole new transmission...$3,500! OUCH! Instead of fixing it right away, they decided to live with the problem for a while and save up some money to pay for it in cash. Nicole just wanted to get rid of it, but with the transmission trouble, the car wasn't worth much and it wasn't practical. Within a week or two after finding that out, the truck engine had some sort of blow-out that cost them a whopping $4,000!!! This was Ford's 3rd strike on their family, as this was also a flaw in Ford engineering that was happening to many other Ford truck owners. There went the transmission budget!

Frustrated and broke, Adam and Nicole put the transmission on the back burner and prayed that the Explorer would last until they could figure something out. When the couple moved in with Nicole's parents, and when Adam landed it in a ditch (hit black ice), they were disappointed that it wasn't totalled.

After moving into their new house in Astoria they used the money from the sale of their house to pay off their vehicles, and they planned to purchase a commuter car for Adam to take to work since gas was like $4.50 a gallon. Adam researched for the most fuel efficient vehicle that they could afford to pay cash for. He found that a series of Honda Civics (can't remember the year range) were their best bet. He had a stroke of luck when his Mom led him to the car that he would eventually buy...a turquoise 1992 Honda Civic Hatchback...Actually, one of Nicole's "dream" cars when she was a 6th grader...

It has a banged up/oxidized hood, but other than that it is in AWESOME condition! The interior is like new, has a great stereo, custom wheels, and a rebuilt engine.

6 months later someone ran into Adam while he was driving the Explorer...and it was totalled (click HERE for story). It was a blessing, really. They planned to use the insurance money to purchase a car for Nicole to drive. They didn't want any car payments...so they, again, searched for something fairly cheap, but quality. Months passed, expenses came up, and the car budget dwindled. THEN, strike 4 came when we found that their F250 needed some repairs. $2,500 later...their car budget was practically nothing.

By this time, Nicole was resolved to drive the Honda, despite the fact that it was only a 2-door and getting the kids in and out of their car seats was a challenge. She found herself missing the Explorer that she had grown to hate SO much (for it's many mechanical issues). Adam, on the other hand, searched up and down for a REALLY cheap commuter since his cheap commuter was now the family sedan. He searched for months...literally. The family visited a handful of trailer parks after inquiring about many Craigslist ads. I'm not kidding! He eventually found a 1986 Mitsubishi Montero in Olympia (also at a trailer park) and drove it home. It reeked of cigarettes and was extremely dirty. Nicole, disgusted, spent 2 full days cleaning it inside and out. They have practically gutted the entire inside of the thing and are now searching Craigslist to find another one to buy so that Adam can use the parts. You wouldn't believe how many of these cars are out there. It's now Adam's little project and he hopes to turn it into something really nice someday. So much for the REALLY cheap commuter ;)

Today, the couple is very happy with 3 working vehicles. They may not be driving in style with power windows, leather interior, and shiny paint....but they don't owe a cent on any one of them!

Gift From Synnove

Synnove: "I made a present for you mommy...it's for your wedding!"

I'm sure she picked off every rose she could find on the side of the deck...but it was sweet :)

Family Picnic

Last week was one of the the longest weeks I've had in a while. I was sick and Adam was pretty much gone 16 hours a day at work. He was looking forward to hopefully escaping from having to go to work on Sunday...but, of course, he was wrangled in for the morning. After that, we had planned to go woodcutting with my parents and Henry. Adam made it out of work just in time for us to pack up and make the trek out to the permit site. We packed a little grill, hot dogs, cookies, chips, and grapes and made a fun evening of it.

We didn't make it home till after nine and my parents surprised us by bringing their truckload of wood to our house. One less load Adam has to get later! Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Utterly Disgusting...

One night, about a year ago (shortly after we moved in), I got up from the couch and headed to bed. I didn't need to turn on the light, as I had already put my jammies on and washed my face and brushed my teeth. I went to jump in, when I saw a shadow of something on my pillow. I had a hunch at what it was...but didn't really think it could be real...so I turned on the light to disprove my prediction. Unfortunately, my prediction was right. Every hair on my body stood erect as I screamed for Adam to come save me from the peril that lay still before me.

THIS is what I saw (wasn't this big, but close)....

I couldn't believe my eyes! I was, for lack of a better word, flabbergasted! I had NEVER seen such a thing in "person" and didn't think that they existed anywhere near our neck of the woods. Mammoth moths, lizards, and now giant millipedes!!?? I had NO idea HOW it had gotten into our house or HOW it had gotten on top of my PILLOW! Ew, ew, EW!!

Anyway, I hadn't seen one since...until today. Even though I haven't been feeling well, and feel even worse today, I decided that my carpet was in desperate need of a quick vacuum. In one of the many corners of my house I found what looked to be a pile of dead bugs under a spiderweb. It WAS a pile of dead bugs, but there was no spiderweb to be found. Not one, but TWO of these dead bugs were small millipedes! Yuck! Yuck! YUCK!! Ugh...gives me chills every time I think of it.

Apparently, they are quite harmless...but I don't care...they are gross.

I'll Get to it Tomorrow...Maybe

Summer isn't officially here yet, but it feels like it more and more every day! This time last year, I was hard at work revamping my house and loving every minute of it. Now, it seems that the steam has run out and I'm feeling lost in a sea of things undone.

On top of the relatively crummy weather, our family has battled some sickness in the last week or so. I'm currently in the middle of a cold, and praying that this is the end...until late fall, of course. Normally, I like to keep the house pretty clean, but ever since we got home from camping, the cleaning only gets done on a "need-to" basis. Vacuuming 2 times a week has turned into less than once, dishes stay in the sink for a day longer than they should, and the laundry continues to pile. It still drives me completely nuts though. I'm trying to get things together for a garage sale (hopefully next week), but even that has only been half done. I had one good day of sorting, and nothing has moved since. I have done a handful of projects outside. I scrubbed and hosed my house/windows that was/were covered in spiders and other muck. I've even planted a few plants! Gardening is not my forte...maybe someday?

One thing I do feel bad about is Soren's room. Since his transition to his big-boy bed, I haven't done much to improve the look of the walls. I'm having trouble pin-pointing a theme...so it's turning into a farm/cabin/pirate/western room. Since his transition I've only mounted a new curtain rod, painted/mounted a shelf with hooks, and hung 2 pictures. I haven't even painted his dresser yet. I think boys are tougher to decorate for. My goal is to plan a room that he can grow old with...that's where the challenge comes in.

Adam is in the middle of his busiest time at work, so our big outdoor projects are on hold. Our new big garden looks the same as it did 3 weeks ago. We did get some supplies for building a chicken run...but I'm sure that won't get done till summer's end. When the sun comes, the weeds, brush, and blackberry bushes grow like crazy...not to mention the grass. We have tons of wood to find/cut to stock up for winter. The generator needs to magically find a way to be wired to the house via Adam's special powers. Our shop roof needs some fairly major repairs. And Adam has been busy finding parts for his "new" ghetto-mobile (another blog for another day). How are we supposed to do it all!!?

Ugh...that doesn't even begin to paint the picture of how busy our summer will be. Adam and I have some serious prioritizing to do...but right now I think I'm gonna go watch some TV.

Laundry Cleaner Clarification

A couple of blogs ago (Speaking of Oxi-Clean...) I wrote about an amazing laundry stain remover that my Little Bro has been selling. I goofed up and didn't have my information completely clear about the comparison to Oxi-Clean so here's the run-down of all I purchased....

I wanted to clarify that the one that I specifically wrote about was mainly a grease stain remover.

I also purchased another stain remover that is more useful on non-grease stains. It's an enzyme treatment that has better stain-fighting powers than the leading brands. I have used it a handful of times on minor stains and it has proved itself worthy. Although, I haven't had the chance to use it on anything super tough yet.

I ALSO purchased the All Fabric Bleach that has like 3 times the power of Oxi-clean. It's highly concentrated and smells lovely.

So, there you go. Again, if you are interested in ordering click HERE. Make sure, when your browsing products, that you view all the pages. There are often several pages, so make sure you check at the top right of the product page. To make it easier click the "view all" option.

For Soren

When I started this blog, almost 1 year ago, I was just trying it out to see if I would actually do it. After a few short months I was well on my way to adding "blogger" to my computer resume. I'm always happy to hear that others enjoy my blog, but really, I don't blog for them. I blog for my kids. I love to scrapbook, but in the past few years, I haven't found the time to do it. So, blogging is a great replacement! I hope to keep doing it for several years and eventually/periodically turn my words/pictures into a book via http://www.blurb.com/

Side: You'll have to excuse the crazy paragraphing in this blog entry. Blogger does NOT like to cooperate when you add photos, and I couldn't fix the random spacing between paragraphs...sorry. It doesn't even let you indent!

With that said, today is the 2 year anniversary of Soren's craniotomy (ie; brain surgery). And I wanted to document it before I forgot the details. I know that most of my blog readers already know the story...so don't feel bad if you don't want to read the novel I'm about to write.

It all started a few days after Soren was born. Adam and I were sitting on the couch watching some late TV and I was playing with Soren's fuzzy little newborn head. I noticed a strange bump on the back of his head that had a strange looking hair follicle with several hairs coming out of it...almost like a tail. I was immediately alarmed and tried not to think the worst...but I couldn't help it. Adam didn't seem too disturbed, but seeing the tears in my eyes prompted him to do a quick Google search. We found a few things, nothing alarming, so I was able to sleep OK that night. It might have been the next day that we had an appointment with the pediatrician, so, of course, we asked about it. Our regular doctor wasn't there, so we asked his replacement. She didn't seem alarmed and said that it was probably just a dermoid cyst. She had another doc come and look at it as well...he said the same. After a few weeks, we saw our doctor for another regular visit. I asked him about the bump as well...he said it was likely nothing and that the worst that could happen would be an infection. So, 3 doctors...same story.

I left the subject alone for a while and wasn't too worried about it. At Soren's regular 4 month visit to the pediatrician, I had decided that I wanted to discuss removal of the "cyst." The bump was right on the part of his head where he laid on it all the time, and I just wanted it out of the way so it didn't even have the chance to be bothersome. The doctor ordered x-rays and referred me to the ONLY pediatric dermatologist in the state; Dr. Kroll at OHSU...just to make sure I had nothing to worry about.

We got in to see Dr. Kroll a couple of weeks later. I don't really recall what he said...but he didn't give me any definite answers. He ordered that we schedule an MRI...again, just to be sure. He didn't know who should be removing this "cyst"...a neurosurgeon, or a cosmetic surgeon.

The MRI was scheduled for a couple of weeks later (mid-March)...Soren was around 5 months old. He needed to be sedated since it would last about 45 minutes. I was nervous. Starting his IV took a long time. They poked and poked and poked and almost gave up! Soren was an angel. He got a bit fussy, so they gave him some sort of narcotic in his nose that made him all goofy and he laughed at everything. It was SO funny! They successfully completed the MRI, so all we had to do was wait.

The next two months were kinda crazy! We sort of put the whole "cyst" drama on the back burner and finished up prepping out house for the market. We wanted to have it for sale by the end of April so we were busy replacing things, fixing things, and decluttering things. We hadn't heard anything from Dr. Kroll's office, so we assumed that everything was OK. I recall calling...but they still hadn't gotten the results. In the first week of April I severely hurt my back, took my first ambulance ride, and ended up bedridden for 3 weeks. After THAT, Adam put the house on the market, and we started our house search in Clatskanie. I think we even put in 2 or 3 offers at that time as well (we thought our house would fly off the market because houses were going like hot cakes in our area). CRAZY! Adam didn't even have a job in the area yet. God was surely watching over us by allowing those offers to be denied. The market was starting to tank and we had no idea what was in store for us in the month of June.

Sometime during all this craziness I think I got a call from Dr. Kroll's office. His intern said that he didn't find anything on the MRI, but that Dr. Kroll wanted us to see Dr. Selden, Head of Pediatric Neurosurgery at OHSU. Again...just to be sure.

After that conversation, I still felt pretty good about the whole thing. I really didn't think that Soren had anything weird going on. I just thought that all the doctors were just covering all the bases. We went to see Dr. Selden sometime at the end of May. He took one look at the bump and said something like... "I know exactly what this is! How on Earth did you find it??" "How did you know to come here?" "This is very rare, and they often go undiagnosed!" Truthfully, I was relieved. Somebody finally had a definite answer. I was beginning to feel like Soren was one of those cases on Discovery Health's Mystery Diagnosis. He told us that Soren had a "Dermoid Sinus"....a rare, non-hereditary birth defect. They only occur down the midline of the skull or spinal cord because it happens when the two halves come together and there is an incomplete separation of systems. Basically, it's skin/hair cells pinched in the skull/brain that can continue to grow (like a tumor) and eventually cause death. The Dr. said that it often goes either undetected or misdiagnosed. I even Googled it and couldn't find ANYthing on it occurring in humans...but in dogs (in my initial search). You have to dig deep to find anything on humans...and even then, some of the information is only located in Dr. Journals that are not available to the public.

Dr. Selden is a busy guy, so he didn't waste any time. He didn't think that the sinus tract went through the skull and on top of the brain, but he wanted to see if there were any skull deformities, so he ordered a CT scan. Within the next couple of days, we took him in ready for another sedation. Fortunately, they were able to do it without it. I can't remember, but I think we might have seen Dr. Selden that same day. He showed us the CT and there was an obvious dent in his skull. He explained a bit about how the surgery would go and we were off.

I wasn't all too worried. It sounded as if they weren't going to have to cut into his skull and that the surgery would be fairly uncomplicated. We took Soren to complete a battery of blood tests and took a quick pre-surgery tour of the Doernbecher facilities. I wasn't expecting the surgery to be scheduled too soon, so I was surprised to get a call from the scheduler within a day or two. Soren was set to have surgery the next week! I was a bit stressed because my family was set to be on the East Coast that week and I had to find a way to juggle Synnove. My mom-in-law had just got a new job and her schedule was fragile...so, we planned for her take Synnove the first night, then Adam would watch her the second night, and I the third.

A couple of days before his surgery, my brother graduated from high school. I was able to fill everyone in on what was to happen, and we got many promises for prayer. My Grandma Q. and Aunt Suzi were very concerned that my parents weren't going to be there, so they told me they would try their best to be there for the surgery. Pastor Jagger said the same. I really didn't feel I needed the support...then again, I didn't really know what I was in for.

Bright and early Monday morning, we headed to the hospital. We thought we would be the first surgery of the morning, but our starving Soren had to wait a bit. He was very good...smiley and friendly. A lady came and took his picture and told us to fill out an "About Me" poster to hang on Soren's room door...for fun. Shortly after that, we said our goodbyes and headed to the waiting room. Grandma, Aunt Suzi, and Pastor were all there. Even Katie (Suzi's daughter) stopped by, as she was working in the phlebotomy lab there. And as the hours drug on, I was extremely grateful for the distraction. As I recall, the surgery was only supposed to last 2-3 hours...so when the 4th hour passed, we all got a little antsy. There weren't any updates through the front desk, and after a while Aunt Suzi was ready to demand some answers. Finally, we got a report that they were finishing up and that the Dr. would be out soon to talk to us.

Dr. Selden came out and called Adam and I back for a chat. He basically apologized for how long the surgery was, saying that he certainly wasn't expecting to have to do "the full meal deal" (his exact words). He then told us that he was completely shocked to find a whole peanut sized mass on the inner brain membrane that should have been visible on the MRI. He was very positive about the whole thing and felt 99.9% confident that he got it all out. We finished our chat and went out to wait for Soren. They brought him right through the waiting room to head down the hall to the PICU. Soren was up, bright-eyed, and looking around. Although, I was taken aback when I saw the horrendous, exposed incision.

Our PICU nurse was in love with Soren...in fact everyone that came in contact with him fell in love with him. Soren maintained his "happy" disposition for the first couple of days. The first night was no fun...as he was quite ill. And since he didn't have anything in his stomach, it was especially heartbreaking. He stayed one night in the PICU, but he almost had to stay longer because the hospital was so full. They eventually found us a room in the children's cancer center.

Soren was connected to so many machines in the PICU, it was really hard to hold him. I was scared to hold him...he seemed so fragile.

I think this video was taken the day after surgery.

Once in a regular hospital room, we felt like we could relax a bit. The room in the cancer ward was especially nice...complete with a computer and Internet access. We were grateful to them for taking us in, as they don't like to have to care for non-cancer patients. I was surprised over and over during our long hospital experience to get compliments on how well we cared for our little boy and how we made their job so much easier. I didn't feel like I was doing hardly ANYthing! The nurses at Doernbecher are absolutely fabulous!

Anyway, I was really sad to see Adam go home that second night. Unlike being in the PICU, the regular hospital rooms are a bit lonely. Before Adam left, Ann came for a visit! We were grateful for all of our visitors! Shannon, Faith, Katie, Elise...Thank you! Anyway, being alone the second night was torturous. Soren still wasn't well and wasn't eating much more than Pedialyte. All through the night, in a semi-conscious state, it seemed as if he was trying to push (having a BM) and then it turned into grotesque dry heaves. Over and over it would happen. I kept asking the nurse if we could give him a suppository laxative...but she said "we aren't supposed to" (I think that rule was exclusive to cancer patients). It wasn't until several hours later that another nurse came in to help. She said "why don't you give him a suppository laxative?" The nurse told her the same thing she said to me...so she decided to persuade the poop our herself. I won't explain what she did...but it worked! I thought the heaving would stop after that...but it didn't. I was a nervous wreck! I thought that the sickness would have worn off after a day...cause I thought it was a reaction to anesthesia. Nobody had any answers. I didn't find out till later that the nausea was coming from the swelling of the brain...making him "seasick."

I didn't sleep a wink that night, and Soren was miserable. I needed distraction so I struck up a conversation with the nurse...she was younger than me! After a while she had to get back to work. A bit later, I propped the door open and asked the nurse to keep a close eye while I took a walk to clear my thoughts a bit. I tried not to call Adam till a reasonable hour. I explained the horrid night and couldn't wait for him to come see us.

Later, he brought Synnove. Of course, she was in carpenter jeans, and Carhartt sweatshirt, and her hair was done the best he could manage. Synnove was very apprehensive (only 2 at the time) and didn't say much. This, and the time before and after, was especially hard for Synnove. I think the picture below was taken while Shannon was visiting and just a few short minutes before he threw up all over Adam. Lovely.

Shortly after they came, I took Synnove home with me. Adam is SO good with the kids and I had absolutely no doubt that Soren would be well cared for. If not for that, I couldn't have gone home so easily. After two nights of no sleep, I was happy to curl up in my bed for some undisturbed sleep. That night was the 1st night since Soren's birth that I got to sleep all the way through!

The next day, Synnove and I headed back to the hospital to pick everyone up. Hooray! We had made it through, and were going home! That morning, Adam had gotten Soren to eat baby food and formula, and he managed to keep it down. But...it came up again on the way home. Soren was such a trooper...he really was good considering the circumstances. This photo was taken in the parking lot...

The night we came home, we had some people coming to look at our house. We were selling it ourselves, so we had to do all the dirty work. The people were very nice, loved the house, and stayed to talk to Adam for quite some time. They had a little girl that was quite friendly and wanted to play with Synnove (she must have been 4-5). Actually, the girl was a bit too friendly and made herself at home. She really was a nice little girl, but I could tell that Soren was getting a bit uncomfortable. I certainly didn't want him throwing up in front of future buyers...so I had to sort of sneak upstairs and "shew" the girl away (I know...sounds terrible). My prediction was right, and Soren made his mess upstairs...phew!

The next few days were OK, but still not great. I became a nag at the pediatric neurosurgery department...calling all the time...wondering why Soren didn't seem to be getting any better. They were always very nice, and tried to reassure me that what he was experiencing was normal. I remember that Saturday (about 5+days after surgery) was the first day he didn't throw up. My parents got back from their trip and mom came for a quick visit. She and Elise were busy preparing for the opening of Elise's coffee shop in a month. Anyway, when she came, she noticed how skinny he was and how pale he still was. I was still optimistic...hoping that would all pass once he started eating regularly again. Here he is eating strawberries from the garden...

On the night of the 12th (about 1 week post-surgery), I put Soren down for a nap. He woke a bit later and threw up a little bit. Gosh darn nit! I found it odd, and immediately told Adam. Of course, he was thinking clearly, and asked if he had a temperature. I took it, and he did have a small fever. I immediately called neurosurgery...and some on-call guy basically said it was no big deal and that if it went up we should go to the hospital. No big deal!? The kid just had brain surgery! We checked his temp again a short time later and it was higher. We immediately called Adam's mom to come over and took Soren to Tuality Hospital in Hillsboro (5 minutes from our house).

The ER wasn't busy and took us back pretty quickly. We weren't there very long when they told us that Dr. Selden wanted us back at OHSU and would provide an ambulance if needed. We opted no, and headed straight there. It was late at night and the ER at OHSU was...interesting. It took them a bit to get us in, and by that time Soren's fever was getting worse. We were put into our own room with a TV. We were literally there all night until morning.

The ER was hell for Soren...and for Adam and I. They thought he might have a urinary tract infection, so they stuck a tube up his *ahem* They tried starting an IV...over and over and over again. It was complete torture. Finally, they put one in his head with fluids and antibiotics. THEN, they decided to do a spinal tap to see if his spinal fluid was infected. They thought it would be best for us to leave the room while they did that. We heard his screams through the glass door. All during this time, Soren's fever had made him lethargic. All he did was sleep...thankfully. He woke in the morning and watched Sesame Street with a smile on his face.

Obviously, his fever was down. We were just waiting on the cultures taken from his spinal fluid. Turns out, they did find a small infection in his urine...but they didn't feel that would have caused his fever. That morning, they admitted him at Doernbecher.

Patty needed to get to work, so my mom came from the coast to pick up Synnove. We didn't know how long we were going to be staying at the hospital...but it seemed as if things were looking up. Soren was happy and we were just waiting for the cultures and for Dr. Selden to evaluate him. Patty came during her lunch break. She was a welcome sight, as I was in need of some moral support. Below is Patty and Soren having a little nap...the bandage around his head is holding his IV in place.

While she was there, the Dr. came and felt that Soren was fine and they were prepping the discharge papers. While we were left to wait, Soren had a BM. As he pushed, fluid started dripping like a leaky faucet out of his inscision. Uhh...emergency! The nurse came in (awesome nurse that was with us for most of the rest of our hospital stay) and tried to be calm. She immediately called back Dr. Selden. As I recall, he came within the hour, looked at Soren, and cleared his evening schedule for emergency surgery. It was at that point that I didn't feel I could hold it together any longer.

Patty called her work and stayed with us until he got out of surgery that night. And we were thankful to see Grandma and Grandpa Thompson waiting for us in the waiting room after we sent Soren off. God was not only watching over our little boy, but watching over us as well. We were in great need of company that night.

I really don't remember how long the surgery lasted. All I know is that the Dr. went back in to find that some of the stitches around where he patched a hole in the "dura membrane" were deteriorating and that's where the leak came from. To this day, I feel that all the pressure on his head/brain from being sick for so many days was what caused the deterioration. That's part of the reason why I was so frightened for what the next few days would bring. I still was made to believe that a lot of his initial sickness came from the anesthesia and I didn't want to have to go through it all again. What if Soren had to have another surgery??

When Soren came out of surgery, he was quite cranky. He was officially traumatized, and feared anyone in scrubs. When we were called in to see him, I took a quick gander to assure that he was OK, and then sat back and cried. I tried to pray...but I couldn't even concentrate. Patty sat next to me for my own comfort while we watched the recovery team monitor his every move. Adam stayed near Soren.

That night, in the PICU, things went very well. Soren didn't get sick. I was baffled...so I asked the nurse. She said that people (including children) don't get sick off the anesthesia unless they are allergic. I guess all of his sickness was from brain swelling. And because the 2nd surgery didn't require the Dr. to go all the way to the brain, Soren was in the clear! He was drinking formula by early the next morning!

We spent the next week in the hospital. Intel was very flexible and Adam was able to do some work on his computer from the hospital room (ethernet). Synnove was in good hands at my parent's house. I think she even got to help paint the inside of Elise's new coffee shop! Soren was hooked up to some intense antibiotics 4 times a day on a pump for 1 hour at a time. Somehow we filled our days with things to do...mostly eating and watching TV. I recall watching The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe over and over, and America's Got Talent. I did some laundry periodically and visited with parents of cancer patients while I waited for a washer to open up. I praised God for the health of my baby...that he didn't have to go through what their kids had to go through. We even listened to a little concert down in the lobby after Soren got his Picc line (free from conventional IV).

Here's a bunch of photos from that week...

I don't remember many visitors. Elise came when she was visiting a friend from school, and Grandma Q. and Suzi came and brought us a basket of munchies!

Katie...making the blood draw rounds as an intern...just happened to be training at Doernbecher on a day that Soren needed a poke. He's not too happy.

Happy boy...after the swelling in his face had gone down.

All of this happened before he learned to crawl.

He got some ballons from Grandma Patty

Apple juice

It was hard trying to keep him happy confined to our room. He loved the few short jaunts we were able to take outside the door.

Leaving...for good this time!

Before we left the hospital, we were told that Soren did have a small infection in his spinal fluid. We had to continue to give him IV antibiotics at home for the next 2-3 weeks on the same schedule using his new Picc line (an internal line that goes up the arm to the heart). That whole time was arduous and nerve wracking. The evening we came home, the home care people came to give us a training session on how to be sterile, how to put the pump on, etc. After 2 days, we were pros. We had to administer the stuff for an hour every six hours on the dot. Most times his line would get kinked in his shoulder, and we would have to hold his arm up the entire time. He rarely complained. Adam and I couldn't really take turns doing the night shift cause he had to work in the morning. I was exhausted.

After the 2nd surgery, his inscision protruded from his head quite a bit because they wanted to make sure it was good and tight. Dr. Selden assured me it would eventually go flat.

My parents kept Synnove for a few more days after we got home to give us some adjustment time with Soren. She was still very unsure about Soren's ordeal. She was a welcome sight when they brought her back!

Because of his Picc line, we could only give him sponge baths...he hated them.

In this pic, Soren's pump is connected and sitting in the back pouch of the backpack.

Soren got his Picc line out on July 6th...just over a month after the whole thing started. We went on to have a crazy summer trying to sell our house, etc. He had a follow-up MRI on the Friday before Labor Day (1st day of camping trip). I took him myself, while Adam stayed back and packed up the Explorer to head off to Naselle for camping. During sedation, Soren kept waking up and waving at the nurses/anesthesiologists. They were baffled and amused by his strange resistence to the drugs. They had to re-drug him twice...so he was pretty out of it for the rest of the day. His MRI came back clear.

Through all of this, I have learned--yet again--that God is in control. No matter what happens, he knows our pain and can guide us through any obstacle life has to offer. All the glory belongs to Him!! Without Him, I might have never decided to have his "harmless cysct" removed, and I could have lost my baby by the time he was 3 years old.

Every time I hear the first verse of that new song "Always" by Building 429 I get a lump in my throat. Especially the part where the verse says:

"He would have been 3 today

I miss his smile

I miss his face..."

"But I believe always, always

our Savior never fails..."

Click HERE to hear the song.


Here's Soren's scar today. I couldn't get him to sit still so it's a bit blurry. It's white and completely flat.

Soren has another MRI coming up in September. They just want to make sure that they got everything out and that nothing has grown back. Keep him in your prayers, and I'll post an update when the time comes. Thanks again and again to all of our friends and family who gave us loads of prayers and support during the entire ordeal.

I love you so, so much my Sweet Guy.

~Mom