Invisalign

Today I went to the Orthodontist and got the Invisalign braces on. I've wanted to straighten my teeth for many years, and I finally just decided to do it. It helped that Nathaniel was already going to the Orthodontist for his appointments. So one day after his appointment, I just asked them if they could give me an evaluation. I had the option of doing normal braces or the Invisalign, and I guess I'm just vain enough that I was willing to pay the extra money for the Invisalign. :-)
So right now, my teeth are a little sore, but only when I first take them off (one of the other benefits of getting this kind--I get to take them off to eat and brush my teeth) or put them on.
I tried to take some pictures, but you really can't tell I have anything on in any of the pictures, so I won't post any. Sorry. :-)
But I'm very excited. It's nice to do something just for me that will also make me feel better. I have to do 20 aligners for 3 weeks each. So that's 60 weeks of wearing these and it takes me to the middle of March 2011.

Changes

Things haven't been too bad since Todd's been gone. It's not always easy to be by myself with 7 children, but when that's how it is, you just do it. The hardest part has been having my mother-in-law living with us. As most could imagine, even with a like able or compatible personality, it could be difficult. Well, there have been some recent events that have necessitated some changes. When we move in a year and a half, Jenny will either be staying here or moving somewhere else on her own. We're hoping that she'll stay here for her job, but she's not sure. Another reason I'm hoping she'll stay is that, if she's staying, we could also maybe work on her moving out before the summer of 2011 which would make the next year and a half a little easier as well.

Andrew's glasses

I forgot that I never posted pictures of Andrew with his glasses. There was a little snaffoo with the first pair, so we took him back and exchanged them. He only needs them for reading.

This is the Before picture (they weren't that purple when I picked them out, hence the exchanging them part of the story)

This is the After picture. (Just a nice metal color.) I like the shape better on the first pair, but this was as close as we could get. He doesn't have a problem with having to wear glasses, so that's nice. I still have to remind him to use them, but that will come with time.

Seeing Todd

Tonight I was able to Skype with Todd for the first time. It was so nice, especially for the kids, to seem him. Of course, it got a little hard to hear since they all wanted to talk to him at the same time. We have a big picture of Todd as my background on the computer so Lillian can see him. We've been trying to teach her that his is the face she needs to associate 'Dada' with. She's done really well. Everytime we say 'Dada' she looks at the computer to see his face and smiles. So when she finally got to see him, it was a little different for her, but she started smiling at him right away. I know it will probably still be a big change for her when she sees/meets him in person, but for right now she doesn't seem to be having a problem.
It ended up being a fairly short conversation since it was 4 am for him and he hadn't gone to bed yet, but had to be up in another 3 hrs. But we've been trying to do the webcam thing for at least the last 2 months, but he hasn't been able to for various reasons. Now we should be able to do it fairly regularly.
I love Todd so much. I'm very grateful for the service he is doing for our country. I know he is working hard and doing some important things to help in the war effort. And, eventually, he may even be able to tell me what that is. ;o) (He's keeping a list of all of the classified things that he's working on so he can check when they're made public so he can finally tell me some stuff he's done over there.) He's a great example to the children. I'm just so grateful for the technology that allows me to see him when he's 1/2 a world away. We definitely live in a bless time.

Guilty

I've noticed that when I feel down, I feel guilty. Right or wrong, I tend to think, 'I'm one of the strong ones, and people shouldn't have to worry about me when there are other people that need attention.' It always seems that it's the same few families/people that do everything, and I feel like if I, being one of those people, need help, than it's just making more work for the others. Of course, I have no problem helping someone else out, but I'd rather just wait out the bad times instead of having to bother someone else with my problems. I don't think it's fair, but nonetheless, it's the way it is. I think the strong ones need to be easier on theirselves, although, I doubt we will. Maybe we can try.

Grateful

With Thanksgiving upon us, I've been trying to focus more on the things that I am thankful for. I realize that, even though I have things that are tough to deal with sometimes, my problems are trivial compared to things others deal with. In just the last month, I've had friends who have had major financial struggles due to job loss, have had miscarriages, aren't able to have anymore or any children, had a loved one seriously injured, one who's friend is dying of cancer and another who's had a child die. What are my problems compared to those?
I have so much that I'm grateful for. Sometimes it's easy to just focus on the bad. So I want to share some of the things I'm grateful for. I'm grateful that:

-I have a husband who is truly my best friend; who loves me probably better then I deserve. :o)
-I've been able to have my 7 children and they are all, basically, healthy.
-We have a house to live in.
-We have enough food.
-We have vehicles to get where we need to go.
-Todd's job is fairly close to home, so we get to see him more frequently when he's here.
-We have family that love us.
-I have technology that allows me to easily stay connected with family and friends.
-I don't get stressed out easily, which is perfect for a military wife with 7 children. :o)
-We have some really good friends.
-Although Todd is gone, he is currently safe and is doing a lot of good work to help keep our country safe.
-I'm able to talk to or email Todd almost everyday.
-Todd has already finished 40% of his deployment.
-He has a good job that provides for us.
-We've been able to help those that need help.
-I have the luxury of being able to stay home with my children.
-I have modern conveinences that help me take care of my family.
-I have a husband who supports me in whatever I want to do.
-I have a husband who is worthy of the Priesthood which he holds and who is able to exercise that Priesthood to bless our family.
-I have access to the scriptures.
-Joseph Smith followed the Spirit's prompting, and prayed to God.
-That we have a modern Prophet who leads and guides the world.
-That I get to attend the temple.
-My family is sealed for Eternity.

I am very grateful that I have the trials I have because I know that they could be more difficult. I try to remember all that I have, and all that I've been blessed not to have, and I try to just be grateful. That doesn't always make my trials easy, but sometimes it makes them just a little less hard. I love all of you. I hope you, too, will take time to count your blessing, even amongst some of your hardest trials.

Good news!

I'll try to remember everything that went on today and in order so hopefully I won't forget anything. I got to Lillian's appointment, at the Spina Bifida clinic, at 1pm. When they took us in, the nurse checked her first (weight, height, etc.) and asked some questions and such. Then the Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist came in to see her. They put a mat on the floor so we could have her moving around and such to see how she was doing physically. They checked her sitting, reflexes, that she moved/flexed her toes, lifted her head off the ground when on her stomach, grabbed for things, visually tracked, put pressure on legs when standing, if she could keep her balance/keep herself from falling over when they pushed her a little while in a sitting position. She wouldn't roll over though or rotate on her stomach. She wasn't too happy about most of it. For one of the happiest babies there is, I think she's already figuring out that she doesn't like Dr.s offices. She didn't smile for either of them, and cried a bit; especially when they were trying to push her off balance and on her stomach. But she's right where she's supposed to be physically. She has no delays. Which we already figured, but it's nice to hear. Then I met Dr. Dosa; she's really nice. She's one of the first Dr.s to really just sit down and answer questions and really explain stuff. She asked about family history, pregnancy, etc. She mentioned that, if we were to try and get pregnant again, I'd need to start on 10x the recommended daily allowance of folic acid for at least a month to 3 months before trying to get pregnant and continue up through at least the first month of the pregnancy to help reduce the chance of another baby with Spina Bifida. (Also, and this I'm just getting from the Spina Bifida magazine I was reading before going into the office, Lillian would have to do the same before trying to get pregnant. Anyone who's had a child with Spina Bifida, or someone who has it themselves are supposed to take the 10x the recommend amount. And that includes if the guy has Spina Bifida; the wife should still take the 10x the amount before trying to get pregnant to help lower the risk.) Anyway, back to Lillian. Dr. Dosa said that, again, nothing is connected to the Spinal Column. If she had surgery, it would be cosmetic to remove the fat somewhere down the line. She actually showed me the MRI, since I asked her how the bones were different then they were supposed to be, although, she couldn't get the CT scan for some reason, which would have shown the bones better. But the MRI showed, clearly, how nothing was connected to the spine. The problem is that the bones are a little deformed, so she wanted me to take her to see an Orthopedic surgeon. She said that since nothing is connected to the Spinal Column, we wouldn't have to worry about most of what usually goes along with Spina Bifida. She shouldn't have any problem with muscle control or incontinence. But she did order an ultrasound for her kidneys just to make sure, but she's expecting it to come back completely normal. She also checked Lillian's rectum to make sure that, when touched, it had the correct reflex, which shows she has control. And she was fine. The appointment lasted 2 hrs. So, I'll take her to Rome Hospital tomorrow to have the ultrasound done. The only thing she said that might be an issue, is that people with Spina Bifida are at a greater risk for Scoliosis. So, she called over to the Orthopedic surgeon's office to see if they had an appointment available. So after I left her office, I went to the Orthopedic. office down the road. When I got there, they weighed and measured her again, and then she saw the surgeon. She went over the MRI results and said that she looked good. But she couldn't get the CT either; she only had a report of the CT. But she asked more questions, checked her out, and agrees that she looks great. She also agreed that it didn't look like there would be any need for surgery. Even though the vertebrae isn't fully connected, it's such a small break, that there's really nothing to worry about. I asked her about the Scoliosis thing, and she said, with how she looks now, there's no reason to believe that she would have it down the road; her risk level wouldn't be much higher then average. She's as close to 'normal' as she could get with this. So by the time I finished the appointments, we'd been ther for over 3 hrs. So it was a long day.
But, Lillian will still be monitored by ALL of the Dr.s. So now, I have to call the Neurosurgeon and see when her next appointment is supposed to be, since the other Dr.s are willing to work with me and try to get all of my appointments on the same day to help condense my trips to Syracuse, but that will make for one long day. If I can't get them on the same day, I should at least be able to get the Spina Bifida clinic and Orthopedic appointments on the same day, because I know they see patients on the same days. So that will help a little. So in 6 months, give or take, she'll see the Neurosurgeon again and do another MRI, then she'll go to the Spina Bifida clinic and probably be checked by the Physical therapist and such, and then to the Orthopedic Surgeon where she will probably have an x-ray taken of her hips and such.
So, still more appointments, but I'm just happy to know that she's OK. In the blessings Todd gave her, he said that she'd be OK, but it's still nice to get confirmation.