The Twisty Turns of Life

Wouldn't it be nice if life went on a straight path with no bumps or curves? Well, the good news is that heaven will be like that! The bad news is that we have a ways to go before we get there. However, all of us do have the Lord on our side and that can make those twisty turns bearable. Praise be to our Lord who keeps our lives in the palm of His hands!

It's Saturday morning and I am sitting in our new apartment writing a blog. :) It's SO nice to not be working as right now I would be in the middle of my work shift. It has been especially nice as I have had some problems in our new apartment and would have had to call in sick the last few days anyways. Praise the Lord that He orchestrated it so that I was able to quit last Friday.

The move itself went smoothly. Boy is it expensive to have someone move you, however fully worth it as Brian and I were exhausted from all the initial trips and cleaning we had already done. The first day/night in the apartment was pretty rough. We are having to deal with leftover paint fumes, the stuff they used to clean the carpets with and also a strong detergent smell leftover from the previous tenants. Obviously with my horrible chemical sensitivities all of those things have been a challenge. The last issue is probably the one that is causing the most problems. Like most apartments, our laundry room is off of our hallway and just has two folding doors to separate it off from our living quarters. Before we moved in, twice Brian scrubbed that entire area down with softscrub with bleach to get the smell out. Every square inch was cleaned. It smelled awesome for about 8 hours and then the fumes from the detergent came back with a vengeance. We don't know what to do at this point to get it to go away. Laundry detergents are always a struggle for me. In fact, we are in the middle of trying to find one that I can use without getting hives/rash and asthma. So, you can imagine having that stuff in the air throughout the whole house affects my system. Thankfully, I seem to do pretty good in our bedroom, so we have one safe room in the house. The living room and kitchen are tolerable, but our office/second bedroom is the worst. If anyone has any ideas on how to get rid of the smell cleaning-wise, let me know! We were going to try vinegar, but then I read on the internet that if you have previously used bleach on the surface to not combine the two or it will make a poisonous gas, lol. That is all we need. Ha!

I am also having trouble with the shower/bath water. It seems to have a very high chlorine level compared to what I was used to (we lived outside city limits before this place), so I am getting allergic reactions every time I use it. Brian is going to try to go to Home Depot today to get a shower filter and install that for me. Hopefully, it will make a difference and from what I read on the internet, it seems to really help those who have a lot of allergies. Oh the drama, lol. Life is definitely never boring for us.

So if you could be lifting us up in your prayers, we would really appreciate it. Please pray that my system will calm down and quit being so set-off. It always affects the food I am normally able to tolerate because my system is so "reved" up allergy-wise, so it can be quite frustrating to see the food choices dwindle down. Please also pray that we can air out the house enough or figure out how to clean the laundry area so it doesn't make me react. Please pray also that the shower filter will work so that can be one less thing setting me off during the day. Finally, please pray that my system will calm down enough in the next week so that I have a breather before we make the big trip to SC to see our LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor). That trip will be hard enough without going into it so sick and highly allergic.

The grad application process to the University of Colorado is coming along. I am in the process of waiting on all of my references to be returned to me. It is going to take awhile as I had to send them the forms and wait for a response. My goal is to have packet ready to go by July 10th (the day before we leave for SC), but at the latest when we return on July 17th. It just depends on how quick the references can get back to me. I did talk to the advisor and she said she would do her best to have it reviewed for fall submission. That is my desire to start then, however we do have a second plan in place if I have to wait until January to begin. I am SO excited about this program. It's a perfect fit!

I want to thank each one of you for the support and encouragement we have received. We could not make it through without you guys. We will keep you posted on this journey. Until then, may God reveal Himself to you in a new way this coming week.

Resting in God's Arms,

Dawn

Quick update!

Hey all! I don't have a lot of time to write, but I wanted to give you a quick update. We have possession of our new apartment and have been working on cleaning it so that we can move in tomorrow! Ugghhh...so much packing to do and not enough hours in the day. We are running WAY behind schedule, but then I guess that is how moving goes right? I seem to do okay in the apartment. We have been airing it out a lot so we can get rid of the carpet cleaner smell and of course the fresh paint scent. I have had trouble w/ a lot more allergic reactions lately and my food options seem to be dwindling down. I am just trying to take one day at a time and just trust that everything will be okay. I am not surprised that my system is set off allergic-wise because I always am exposed to so many allergens when we move. However, it is always a little frustrating to deal with the set-backs. If you could just be praying that I would be able to tolerate the new apartment well. We are moving tomorrow, so tomorrow night will be the big "test".

Also, I have found a graduate program at the University of Colorado that is focused on E-Learning. I had originally planned on attending Walden University (an online school), but no one had ever heard of it. I knew attending a public university would be better so I kept praying and researching that I would find another reasonable option. The program at CU is wonderful and exactly what I have been looking for. The bummer was that I found out that the application deadline had already passed. I wrote the advisor to ask some questions and she informed me that if I still wanted to come in the fall that there were some spots open. I was ecstatic! I have been working on my application packet (yes, on top of moving, lol) but need to wait to submit it until I get all of my letters of recommendation back. Hopefully by the time we leave to go to South Carolina for my doctor's appointment I will be able to mail it off. I am still trying to figure out how I will fit in 2 classes from UNK so I can renew my NE teaching certificate by Aug of 2010, but I am sure the details will come together. Well, I need to go make a couple of phone calls. I will write an update soon after our move! Blessings!

Change is Here!

Hello Everyone! Lots of changes coming up! It will be one month tomorrow until my Lyme Disease doctor appointment in SC. Seems like these weeks are flying by! I am sitting here at home in my office waiting to take calls for my job and the call volume is pretty slow so I thought I would write an update! I promise to only type when I am not assisting customers, lol. :) After today, I will have two days left of work! Yipee!!! I have not been feeling the best lately and it's getting tougher to make it through the 10 hour shifts, so this is coming at a good time. We had a another praise this week about my job. My supervisor got approval that I will be able to come back to work in January. I am SO thankful for this gift. It will really take the stress off of me having to find and train on another home-based job as they are pretty tough to find in general and the state of the economy has certainly not helped. I will now have about seven months off to get through the beginning of my Lyme Disease treatment. So, Yay God!

Brian is doing well! He is really enjoying time off this summer and only having to work part-time. This is the first time he has had this kind of break in many, many years. He has almost beat the entire Xbox 360 game Lego Batman. :0) I am glad he gets to do these kind of things. He needs a little fun in his life instead of working all the time. He will be starting training next week as the back-up bookkeeper at his grocery store and will be working 4 days a week 4:00AM until 12:30PM. Boy, I could not do that, but Brian doesn't mind and said he will just hook up the IV line to caffeine. Ha!

We are all set to move on June 25th and will take possession of our new apartment on Monday the 15th. We will start moving things over gradually next week. We try to do as much as we can by ourselves to save money on the moving service. Go muscles! Please still be praying that I won't have any problems in the new apartment. I think I have said before, it is always such a faith walk for us when we go to a new place. However, we look at the past and God has provided for us every step of the way. We know He will do so will this move also. One more quick prayer request, our lovely puppy (I say that sarcastically at this moment) ate two holes (1 1/2 inches in size) out of our carpet at the house we are renting. UGHHH!!! There goes our deposit. If you guys could pray that they won't charge us an insane amount of money, we would really appreciate it. We have no idea why he just started doing this as he had finally got to that stage where we thought we didn't have to watch him all the time. I guess we learned. He is now spending a lot of quality time in his doggy pen, lol.

Lately, Brian and I have been reading a christian book together called "Polishing God's Monuments" by Pastor Jim Andrews. This book was recommended to us by one of my friends who I have met who also has Lyme Disease. The basis of the book is about his daughter and son-in-law who were faced with struggles much like our own. She developed multiple chemical sensitivities (like me) as a result of chronic fatigue syndrome. She went from living a normal life to barely being able to live within the walls of her own house reacting to everything (clothing, furniture, paint, carpet, soap, the list goes on and on). The restrictions and hoops her and her husband have to jump through are unbelievable. It makes what Brian and I have to deal with on a daily basis seem minor in comparison. Through their ongoing trial, God is always at the center of their focus and their testimony is amazing. Pastor Jim talks about their method of coping which is to focus on "God's monuments" or in other words focusing on the positive/good things of the past where God obviously made his mark on situations and relying on those to carry you through the tough times. It seems like an obvious thing to do, but his book is backed by scripture and hits so close to home as we are going on year 5 of me being ill and having to deal with such a restricted life. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

Finally, the last piece of news is that I have actually decided to change the school I will be getting my master's at because I found a program that I would like to study. Walden University, an reputable online university, is offering a Master's of Science in Education with a specialization in online learning. If I could create a program that would be exactly what I am interested in, this would be it. This Master's degree would not just open up opportunities for me to teach in an online setting, but will also give me the knowledge to help develop/manage virtual training programs or classes for a school/district or even at a corporate level. Ever since I was a virtual trainer at Alpine Access, this is what I have been interested in. It's so exciting to be able to have this opportunity as there are few schools that have developed these types of programs and it seems as technology grows, this is where education is heading. I need to get accepted first, but the enrollment advisor I spoke to was wonderful and if everything goes according to plan I will start classes at the beginning of September.

Well, that is all for now. I hope everyone is getting a chance to "catch some rays" this summer. :0) I will send some heat and sunshine your way because goodness knows, we have enough to share. I will definitely update you on our move and our new apartment in the weeks to come!

Blessings!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband! June 7, 2009 will be our sixth year anniversary. I can't believe it has been that long already. It seems like the time has flown by. I am so thankful to be married to such a wonderful man who has stuck by my side during this long journey. He has made more sacrifices during the past years then could fit on this page and his servant's heart and Christ-like attitude has never wavered. Brian has been such an example of Christ's joy and constantly offers encouragement to me when things seem to take a turn for the worse. He is one of the most hardworking people I know. At his busiest, he was having to balance a full-time teaching job, part-time job at the grocery store, 2 to 3 college classes and a sick wife. I can never thank him enough for all that he has done for our family and praise the Lord continually for such a blessing that I have in my partner for life. I love you with my whole heart Brian! I am looking forward to many years to come and hopefully some day, Lord willing, having children of our own to complete our family. I have included two pictures of the hundreds we have from our wedding day. What an incredible day that was celebrating our marriage with all of our friends and family. Thank you for the memories that will last a life time!

Brian has had a couple of praises in the last couple of weeks. One evening he was checking his school e-mail account and he received an e-mail titled "Congratulations". Immediately, that peaked his curiosity. He opened up the e-mail and found out that he had been selected to receive a good-sized scholarship for the fall awarded to him by the Dean of the Accounting department based on his academic performance. What a surprise and blessing that was as he never even applied! God has continued to provide for us in ways that we would have never expected. Praise be to Him!! Another praise pertains to the request that Brian made at his grocery store where he currently works part-time to job shadow their accountant to gain internship experience. When he inquired to his supervisor about the possibility of doing that, she said they could do one better and offered him an actual position to be the back-up bookkeeper. He will start training in a couple of weeks. How awesome is that! God continues to amaze me!

My health continues to be up and down. It's been a rough couple of weeks as I seem to just be reacting to so many things lately, the dizziness has increased a bit more and body aches seem to come and go more frequently. I praise the Lord for the good days he does give me and thank him for how he sustains me during the tough times. I think in a previous blog, I had mentioned that we were requesting me to move down to part-time work hours for my health. Well, in a series of recent events pertaining to my primary and secondary insurance and coordination of benefits, we have realized that it would be more cost effective for me to not work. My secondary insurance right now is wonderful if it's your primary and the only way to make it your primary is for me to be unemployed. That is the policy rule w/ Brian's health insurance contract. We also realized that as I am going through treatment, it is important to keep my stress level as low as we can get it and the job I currently work would definitely not fall into that category. However, at the same time, I was extremely anxious to give up a job not knowing if I could get another home-based position (they are very hard to come by) in this economy when I was ready to go back to work around January. When I gave my two weeks today, my supervisor wanted me to stay so bad that she is going to check to see if they can put my position on hold until January to give me seven months off and then I would rejoin the program. What a relief that would be to know that I have a job waiting for me!! If you guys could pray that the details would be approved, we would appreciate it. That would definitely take some pressure off of having to find work and also having to learn a new job.

We have begun to finalize everything for our trip to see Dr. Jemsek in SC. We found a wonderful bed and breakfast in Irving, Texas that is known for being a good place to stay for people that have chemical sensitivities. We will be staying there on our way too and from as we will be making this trip in two LONG driving days. Trying to break up into 3 days would be easier as far as not having to sit so long in the car, however it becomes too much a hassle w/ trying to find a hotel that won't make me sick because of all the chemicals they spray in the rooms. We are still trying to find a place in Atlanta, GA that will be safe for me. Brian has made lots and lots of phone calls to SO many hotels this week to see who will be willing to work w/ us and our restrictions. We think we found one, but it's always a faith walk as we have to book it ahead of time and many times we don't know if it will work until I walk in the door. Please pray that God would give us wisdom at which hotel to reserve. We have a praise w/ what to do w/ our puppy Toby. I was having such a hard time thinking our one-year-old puppy would have to stay in a cage the entire time while we were on our trip. I received a recommendation from a friend I used to know in Tucson about a girl who does a lot of dog sitting and she agreed to watch Toby! Yay!! I am such a dork, I know. I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving him a cage all day for 8 days. Toby would go insane w/ all of his energy. :0) It just seems all the details of the trip are falling into place. God certainly does want us to go and I am excited to finally be able to start treatment and work on getting well!

Well, I have once again managed to write a REALLY long blog. I am just going to give up trying to make them shorter because face it, I like to talk. Well, anyone who knows me, would know that. LOL I hope this update finds all of you doing well and enjoying the summer months. You are all in our thoughts and prayers!!! Blessings!