REaching A Breaking Point

There are some days when I think that making ends meet is just a part of life and we will get through with no problem. Then there are days when I cry because I realize that the truth is we are in a downward spiral to never ending doomedness. We are suppose to be coming to California in May and that is looking very dreary, I only have 4 ish weeks of pt work left then I have just enough hours for June and July to keep our medical benefits in tack with the exception of having to come up with the balance for the premium every month and then there is the dreaded "summer hours" for Garratt on top of his O-Chem Class he wants to take, although I have to pay off a student account balance first so that he can register...plus the normal bills and groceries and gas money. Then on top of all that we have to take Faith to Spokane ASAP to see an Allergy Specialist and have a consultation and a bunch of specialized tests done. OMG!!!!!!!! When will it all end?????????? AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

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CRAZY AND CONFUSSING

Hello everyone. It has been awhile since I gave you any updates. A few weeks ago I mentioned that the Budget was very gloomy here at WSU well, not it is not just gloomy it is downright depressing, not to be confussed with the overwhelming anxiety that CA is dealing with, but yet still just as dreary.

The WA state Senate and House released their projected budgets which will be finalized May 1st, to the shock of everyone. We were anticipating a 12-18% budget cut what we saw was a 20% budget cut from the Senate and a 29% budget cut from the House....AWWWW!!! This is now the situation we have all been dreading, this is going to hurt and bad!!!

My job is basically done the 2nd week of May. I will have 8 hours in June and 8 hours in July for now to hang on to my medical benefits as long as possible. August is currently up in the air. So please pray for us financially.

As for the situation with Garratt, well here you go. We found out when Garratt went to do his advising that there was a class that he was required to take that was not going to be offered anymore. This ment that he would be short on credits and a pre-req for his major classes. His advisor said she would talk to the department chair and instructor and see about an exception, but she was not very optimisic, she was wrong, they decieded to grant his the exception and allow him to take the class as an independent study course. Ok, one obsicle down. Then Garratt got a department email informing all the Nutritional Science students that the Dean of their department was stepping down as of May. Then a few days later Garratt got an email from his advisor informing him that she was leaving in May and refereing him to a Faculty Advisor. WHAT?? What is happening? Well, the jist of it is simple. The dietetic program is low on the WSU agenda as far as priority goes. It is one of quite a few programs being cut, although like many others the students have been told that they have a certain amount of time to finish up. This is partially true, meaning that as long as the budget holds out then they will allow the students to finish up, the more the budget goes down for cuts, the more likly that situation is to change.

All of this is happening while I am reevaluating the whole situation and realizing that there are no jobs here that fit my qualifications. I realized that I should have just stuck school out a long time ago. For awhile I have talked about going back to school and I just kept putting it off, why? Why is a good question, I had no answer either. I always said well now is not a good time ( I also said this about having kids, now we are going on baby #2) but the truth is as my wonderful husband has reminded me everytime I talk about going back to school, is there every a good time? There is always something that is going to stop you. So Garratt and I decided that we are going to look into possibly transfering to a school that is not considering Nutritional Science/Dietetics a low priority degree and we are going to take a leap of faith and see where God leads. Garratt is going to appy to some schools. At the same time that he is applying I am going to apply. I will be entering as a Freshman in the BSN program (Nursing).

All in all we have very mixed emotions about it. We know that God has the ultimate plan for us and He knows where we are suppose to be, yet the Human in us is scared for our family financially and emotionally as well as futuristically (is that a word). We are also excited to see what God does. So our request right now is for LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of PRAYER!!!! The big things are 1) Finances to get through the summer and a little into the fall until I can work again. 2) Finances for Application fees...those darn things are expensive. 3) Finances for visisting CA in May...we do not want to cancel this trip. My sister is graduating High School, Catie ( a special member of our family) is graduating from High School, my Mom is having surgery on her hand, my brother is turning 10, and this is the only time we can come down this summer because Garratt is planning on taking O-Chem this summer and it runs through the end of July. 4) Finances for a possible move 5) Peace as we have to make decisions wheather to move or not and when!

So there you have it the chaos of our lives!!! We love everyone very much and are thinking of you all.

AND THE WINNER IS...

We are proud to announce that we are having a baby Brooke (girl). We are sure, as you will see below in the pictures, she was not shy about showing us she is a GIRL. We are very excited. She is very healthy and active and size wise is measuring "average" and right on target, unlike her big sister who was always big, thankfully Brooke is not. Here are some ultrasound pictures for your enjoyment.

This is a profile picture. You can see her head (looks a little big to me) and her cute nose and mouth.

This is her showing us that she really is a little girl... hello world. The arrow is showing us too..HAHA Those are some long legs...must be those Jeffery genes!! : )

This is Brooke's foot. The arrow is pointing to the foot and the little smudge under that foot is her other foot, just like her Daddy she had her feet crossed at the ankle.

It's almost here...

Ok So the big day is approaching. The day we find out if we are having a baby girl or a baby boy. That day is Tuesday April 7th...So here is the chance to place your vote, leave me a comment and let me know if you think we are having baby Brayden (boy) or baby Brooke (girl). I am curious to see what everyone thinks!!! I will anounce the resuts on the 7th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN!!!

Today is my little sister Jenn's 17th Birthday...oh how quickly they grow up...she is getting to be so mature and responsible (well except for her room...typical teenager...ha ha). She is doing well in school and she is maintaining a job that she really likes. I just want to tell her how much WE LOVE HER AND WISH HER A SUPER WONDERFUL AND VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY...Oh and P.S. your present is on its way I promise!!!

Updates

Hello Everyone!! Just a few updates for you.

1) My Mom is doing ok! She goes to Stanford on Wednesday for another EEG and hopefully some answers.

2) I found out last week that my position at WSU has been cut. The department has the funding to keep me on staff until the end of June. After that they currently have funding to have a PT "office aid" for the next 2 years. THe problem is there is no guarantee that when the State Legislature Votes on the Budget that they will allow the department to keep that funding. We wont have answers on this until May or June.

3) Faith is still growing by leaps and bounds. She is soooo close to walking. Today we even through a temper tantrum while standing up. Faith's Daycare Director Cassi and I are betting that by Easter she will be walking. That is one month from Thursday!!!

4) My Sister Sarah and her Family got baby Micah and he is sooooo cute. I am so jealous that my family has all gotten to spend time with him. I want to see him in person sooooo bad. Oh well I guess I will have to wait until the end of May.

5) We are still planning at this time to come down at the end of May and visit. We are planning on being there for 2 weeks, as we usually try to do so that we can see as many of you as possible. I will again be setting up a "schedule to see us so let me know if you want to see us whiler we are there. The main reasons for our visit is that My sister Stephanie is graduating from Turlock High School and Catie (a special extension on our family) is graduating from Pitman. We are very proun of both of them.

6) Pregnancy Update- I am doing pretty good. They finally found out what is causing all of my pain. It is not just the pregnancy as We had originally assumed. It is a Fibroid Tumor on my uterus. Right now it is nothing to worry about. As far as they can tell, based on blood work and visuals it is binine (i know that is probably misspelled). It is about 4cm and will continue to grow. It causes me a lot of discomfort but is completly manageable and for the most part I can function, but there are some days were the pain is almost unbearable and I cannot stand to do anything. These days are few but they happen. The Dr. says this is perfectly normal. There is not any harm to baby right now, as it grows we will have to watch it because they can have a tendensy to slow or completly stop the blood flow to the uterus. At that point we might have to do something about it, until then they will not do anything while I am pregnant because there are too many risks at putting me into premature labor and delivery and harming baby. The Dr says that there is a high chance that I will have to get it removed within a year of delievering the baby. Other than that everything seems right on. Baby is very active and very healthy according to the tests and ulrasounds. We will find out what we are having sometime at the beginning to middle of April. Trust me everyone will know when we know!!!

6) The last thing is that this last week we got word that the Diatetic Internship that is linked to Garratt's degree is being cut immediatly. This means that all the students currently on the "track" to completle their degree at WSU prior to the 2012 cutting of the entire Diatetic program will all have to find another form of internship on their own. This may not seem like a big deal except that the Internship is required to finish their degree. It is also required for the RD licencing procedures. So be praying for us as we look into ALL the options for pursuing Garratt's degree. Our main focus continues to be that Garratt finishes school with the DEGREES HE WANTS not a different degree.

Well, That is it for now!! I pray that everyone else is doing good and that life is treating you all well!!! We will enjoy the pummuling of snow that we are getting and think of all of you!!

More Updates

So here is one good news and one bad news.

The Bad news first, after thinking that we were making progress and possibly had some leads on what to do, my Mom landed herself back in the hospital again. This time I am not sure what they are going to do. She was suppose to be going to Stanford tommorow for some extensive testing, but now I am not sure what the plan of attack will be. I have, so far, been, what I would consider, very strong with all this but I think I am reaching my breaking point. I am really worried about my mother and there is nothing that I can do. She told me Tuesday that she really wished I was there and I felt horrible, although I know without a doubt that she was not intentionally trying to make me feel bad. I really wish that there was someway for me to go down and see her but that is just not possible financially. Oh,well for now I PRAY from afar. Hopefully I will have another update on this situation for you tomorrow.


Now the good news. Most of you know that my sister, Sarah and Her Husband Josh have been in the "ADOPTION PROCESS" for just over a year. They found out at Christmas that they were finally in "Child Ready" stage. This means that they could get a baby at anytime. So they have been going to the screening meetings were they get to look through profiles of children that need a home. They were looking to adopt a Boy between the ages of newborn-3ish. The problem is this is a VERY popular age group so you have to act fast otherwise the child will have been taken already. Any ways they placed the situation in God's hands. They had one child a few weeks ago that they went for, the difference was that this child was a girl and she was from a line of siblings who had been placed in the foster care/adoption pool. There were some concerns that there might be problems or complications medically down the road. So my sister prayed about it. As of last week they had heard nothing. Then last Thursday, my sister got a phone call from Her social worker, there was a little boy, who was about 3 months old and needed to be placed as soon as possible. The little boys social worker was looking for a family who was ready and willing to take on this little boy. My sister immediatly said yes. They were thinking that the normal process for placement is 2-3 weeks. So, Tuesday they went to the "disclosure" meeting and got all the information. Then once they had said yes they want Him, the Social worker took them to the Foster Families home to meet the little boy. Usually you have to set this all up at a 2nd meeting a week later. The social worker also told them that this was a very quick case and that they wanted to place Him with my sister on Thursday if that was ok with them. My sister was thrilled. They spent a few minutes with the baby then had to go. Then today they are took my nephew to the foster families home to meet the baby for the first time. They thought this would help him to understand what they were doing. Then Tomorrow (Thursday) they will go pick the baby up in the afternoon. They are so excited. The court date is set for April and the adoption agency and the social workers are all very confindent that the judge will terminate all parental rights at that time and then my sister and brother-in-law will be able to file adoption paper work at the end of July for legal custody. So that is the story for now. I will post baby pictures as soon as I have them. I cannot wait. I got a text picture Tuesday that was from when He was 14 days old. He is so cute.