You ASKED for it, You GOT it!! GKTW ALUMNI RETURN! UPDATE 1/9 MOVING DAY

[blessedmom4]

Yesterday was busy and expensive. My van needed close to $1,500 worth of work. It is NEVER a good time for hundreds of dollars worth of bills, but what can you do, it has been doing triple time the past few months. The mail brought a few more unpleasant surprises. I have long ago stopped being shocked by what insurance gets by with denying...but it doesn't make it any easier. We obviously didn't go looking at cell phone plans. It always seems to hit me a little harder at this time of year when this stuff happens...but once again, it always happens, so it isn't too shocking.

My Dad is doing well at home, just a slow road to recovery. It was nice to NOT have to travel to pick my Mom up then back to the hospital for hours. She is enjoying that as well!

Lisa's MD appointment went well, although I was worried yesterday when she vomited. We think it was just her reflux...if she goes more than 3 or 4 days and doesn't vomit, then when she does, I am always surprised and worried it is a virus. She wound up last year in the hospital just before Thanksgiving with GI symptoms and I do NOT want a repeat!

While we were out running around the children started putting out our outdoor decorations. We have a wonderful blow-mold Nativity set we use every year, complete with stable, star, Angel, sheep, camels, donkey and cow...LOVE it! We added pieces through the years, although now they are much more difficult to find...and we haven't had anything new for many years now. We also have Mr and Mrs Claus, Frosty and a few more the children didn't put out (soldiers, train, et. el). We have some little snowman they put around one tree and a snowman in the tree. Also an outside pull up tree with lights, so cute. Yes, it is tacky by day, but festive at night...we don't turn them on every night because of the electricity bill...but STILL fun to enjoy.

We also made time to play a game, Masterpiece. We have had it for YEARS and never played it with the children, because they were always too young. I thought of it Thursday, so we had a great game after dinner last night before everyone went their own way. They thought it was a lot of fun.


Today wil not be bonkers, but busy. Thank you for all of the lovely good wishes, I would LOVE another day like Thanksgiving, but I will probably have to wait until Christmas...which will be here before I know it! For my friends who celebrate Hanukkah, you have even less time to prepare, so may your days be stress free and light as well.

[karebear23]

So glad you dad is doing better and is home now! Sounds like you had a great Thanksgiving!

[MamaPotts]

Here's to "busy" and not "bonkers"!

So happy that you had a quiet Thanksgiving at home with no running around. You all deserved that (and, yes, David looking absolutely dashing).

How wonderful that your dad is home. Now he can get down to the business of recovery where he feels truly comfortable. Judy, will he be receiving further treatment at some point?

We also stayed at home, mainly because I have GI symptoms this year and have been trying to avoid hospitalization. I don't have good memories of being hospitalized this time of year at all. And then again, right now I feel like I have no hospital to go to, as mine continues to recover from Sandy and has yet to reopen to patients. I'll do my best to get into see a GI specialist next week.

Prayers continue for all.

[lovethattink]

Ouch! That van bill is high!

Were the insurance non-coverages because the surgeon was not in plan?

[mommy2mrb]

sorry about the van bill and the not so nice surprise from the ins co
hope Lisa is feeling better today!
happy to hear your dad is going well!

got about 1/2 of our decorations up yesterday, will try to finish up today...taking Megan to mall to hang with some of her friends and I'm going to get some of the $5 fleece jackets at Old Navy to donateto a coat drive and try to find a gift for FIL.

hope today won't be to busy and you can find some time to hang out at home!

[4monkeys]

Hello! Sorry it has been a while. Allison just spent another 3 weeks in the hospital and I never seem to be able to get on here when she is there.

I managed to catch up and am very thankful your father is home. I felt for him with the mouth sores as that is how Allison lives when she has flare ups. Hope things settle down and you are able to have a quiet end to 2012, we are hoping for that here as well!

I hope to stay caught up much better than I have been. I got the VJ holiday pack today and a cutey pie looks just like Lisa.......is it her??? It is a picture of their hospital program.

[merbobear]

Glad you had a wonderful & relaxing holiday! It's nice to just hang out with the family, play games, watch a show, and of course enjoy a nap! looking forward to the snickers cake/cupcake recipe, it looks amazing.

[DisNorth]

bills.

Glad your dad is doing well at home. Hope he takes it easy and heals.
Hope Lisa is feeling ok after vomiting yesterday and it's not a virus!

The Christmas decorations sound great! This is the first year I have an outside to decorate now that I'm in my house instead of an apartment. I bought just some strands of Christmas lights so I should put them up. It got really cold yesterday so I'm being a baby and don't want to go fiddle with them in the cold. It’s supposed to get warmer tomorrow so maybe then.

Hope you have a great not-bonkers day!

Prayers for all in need and hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

[VBAndrea]

Hi Judy! Thanks for sharing the pics of David -- you know I always say how handsome he is and that he needs to be a model. I'm glad you had a nice Thanksgiving but I'm even happier to hear your dad is doing well at home. Sometimes home is a better place to heal because it's an environment you are familiar with and you can actually rest.

We had a simple Thanksgiving with my mom, sister and her boyfriend over. Everyone brought dishes and dh did the turkey and stuffing so I only had a couple of things to make. DH even pitched in and helped clean the house Now the house is a mess b/c we are setting up the tree. I had to go buy yet another strand of lights due to the very last one being on the fritz -- so I was mad about spending $30 on lights this year, but after hearing about your van bill I guess I will no longer complain.

Today we volunteered at the animal rescue -- it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to clean the juvenile cat room and the sunroom, but there are about 40 cats in there. Now we are going to work on finishing the tree. I just wish the kids could actually do the hard stuff -- oh well, they carried most of the items down the stairs so that was helpful. Ben also wants to go to Toys R Us for some train set (that he is buying with his own money) but I really hope J will take him so I don't have to. I'm also a little mixed about him getting this set as he was really saving up for a motorized scooter and this set he wants costs $70 which is 1/3 of what the scooter costs -- he'll never get his scooter if he buys this train set and I really think he'd get more value out of the scooter.

[angel's momma]

Glad you had a magical Thanksgiving. Wonderful pictures of David! Sorry about the van repairs, and insurance bills - I'm not at the point yet where I don't find it amazing what they refuse to cover. Continued prayers for your family.

[kaoden39]

I am sorry to hear about the van and the insurance. We were really lucky this year. We kept our same health insurance, we had been told that we were changing to a PPO instead of our HMO. With Scotty's health I was really afraid of changing insurance companies. The Lord stepped in of this I have no doubt.

Scotty goes back in January to have a second biopsy so they can figure out if it is pre-cancer or cancer. Because he has so many of the symptoms it is a formality.


I was glad to see that your dad is improving. I hope that everyone is well.


My thoughts and prayers are with everyone. I may not always comment but I am always here and I am always praying for everyone.

[ladylyons]

Originally Posted by blessedmom4

Yesterday was busy and expensive. My van needed close to $1,500 worth of work. It is NEVER a good time for hundreds of dollars worth of bills, but what can you do, it has been doing triple time the past few months. The mail brought a few more unpleasant surprises. I have long ago stopped being shocked by what insurance gets by with denying...but it doesn't make it any easier. We obviously didn't go looking at cell phone plans. It always seems to hit me a little harder at this time of year when this stuff happens...but once again, it always happens, so it isn't too shocking.

My Dad is doing well at home, just a slow road to recovery. It was nice to NOT have to travel to pick my Mom up then back to the hospital for hours. She is enjoying that as well!

Lisa's MD appointment went well, although I was worried yesterday when she vomited. We think it was just her reflux...if she goes more than 3 or 4 days and doesn't vomit, then when she does, I am always surprised and worried it is a virus. She wound up last year in the hospital just before Thanksgiving with GI symptoms and I do NOT want a repeat!

While we were out running around the children started putting out our outdoor decorations. We have a wonderful blow-mold Nativity set we use every year, complete with stable, star, Angel, sheep, camels, donkey and cow...LOVE it! We added pieces through the years, although now they are much more difficult to find...and we haven't had anything new for many years now. We also have Mr and Mrs Claus, Frosty and a few more the children didn't put out (soldiers, train, et. el). We have some little snowman they put around one tree and a snowman in the tree. Also an outside pull up tree with lights, so cute. Yes, it is tacky by day, but festive at night...we don't turn them on every night because of the electricity bill...but STILL fun to enjoy.

We also made time to play a game, Masterpiece. We have had it for YEARS and never played it with the children, because they were always too young. I thought of it Thursday, so we had a great game after dinner last night before everyone went their own way. They thought it was a lot of fun.


Today wil not be bonkers, but busy. Thank you for all of the lovely good wishes, I would LOVE another day like Thanksgiving, but I will probably have to wait until Christmas...which will be here before I know it! For my friends who celebrate Hanukkah, you have even less time to prepare, so may your days be stress free and light as well.

Ouch for the pricy van bill!! That's never any fun!!

Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving and not the running around.

Hope your dad continues to do well at home.

[blessedmom4]

I honestly just have a few minutes; however, wanted to let everyone know we are okay. I logged in to the DIS yesterday morning planning to do a lot of responses/catching up when the phone rang. It was my Mom and she needed some help with my Dad. He is doing well at home, it is just a bit much at times. She had injured her back Friday or Saturday pushing him up under the table to eat. Of course, I never heard about this until yesterday morning. She has promised to not do anything like that again. We told her to just pull the table towards Dad if needed, it is small and weighs less than my father (even though he has lost a lot of weight he could ill afford to lose).

Lisa began having severe pain in her leg on Saturday out of the blue...she was simply walking outside, watching Pete put the lights on the gutters. Without going in to great detail, she was probably having claudication from her femoral occlusion and it is still quite painful at times even through last night and worse than typical. We already have three MD appointments today and I will be calling the vascular surgeon to see if he feels the need for Lisa to be seen today.

I have loved reading your messages through the holiday weekend and at the risk of missing most of you, I just have to comment briefly, because that is all I have time for now. Ellen, praying for you and the GI symptoms, I am truly sorry to read this. I know your hospital was devastated due to Sandy and I can only imagine how frightening it is to NOT know where to go for your medical care, HUGE HUGS coming your way, PLEASE keep me posted and you know you can call! Gail, it was such a pleasure to see you had signed in, I have missed you my dear and I am thrilled you were with your family for the holidays and that your Sis is coming back with you to your home...and I am wondering if you drove??? Maybe with Tiffy? PLEASE call when you have the time, I miss you. Krystal, keeping John and the entire family in prayer! Ruth, enjoy your last week off before gong back to work. I am sure it will be full of MD appts/recovery for you. Amy, I an SO SORRY Allison was in the hospital so long, praying she is feeling MUCH better...AGAIN! HUGE hugs and you were right, that WAS Lisa in the VJGC mailing. I was as shocked as you when I opened it on Friday and saw her pretty little face. I hope to post a pic of it later. I actually told the family I wondered if you would recognize here. Tink, you asked about the insurance and out of plan for the surgeon. We already knew he was OOP, so it was automatic, they only paid $1,300 for him...even though they are the ONLY pediatric surgeons group in our city/area. The balance is our responsibility. The bills on Friday were the new dental plan only pays for a very small portion of our cleanings, even though Pete had checked it out thoroughly before we finally went to the dentist...it was an extra $150 and Pete hasnt even been to the dentist yet and now probably will not go. Also, some of Christians labwork was covered at a much reduced rate than expected and there were two bills for David that had the same outcome.

Debbie, Andrea, Piper, Karen, Tracy, Kathy, D, Michelle, Lisa, Meredith, Jennie, Alyson, D, Amy, Chiara, bushdianee, penguinlover, reelmom, Sandra, Christi, Emma, Marv, Sunshine, Michele~I TRULY hope I didnt miss anyone! Thank you for your uplifting, supportive messages, for letting me know you are all still here. I know life gets busy and there are times you just dont have time to say hello. It isnt always a lot of fun on my thread, but it is real. Thank you for not forsaking us and for being my friends. I truly dont think of you as not IRL friends, I think of you as friends. Period. Even if we have not yet met in person. There are some genuinely kind people who read and pray here and I thank you for that.

Enjoy your Monday and dont spend too much on this cyberday designed to part you from your money...There is something to be said for having no money, you dont have to agonize over the perfect gift. There is ALWAYS an upside, if you just look for it. Have a wonderful day my friends.

[kayrosek]

Judy, just stopping in to say high and let you know I am thinking about and praying for all of you. Shortly before John got sick I had gotten a part time job on a trial basis to see if I could manage it and still take care of everyone and homeschool. Now I am trying to juggle it with the extra stuff Johns new illness brings to the table but John is adament that I try for as long as I can just to have current work experience behind me if I need it when hes gone. Hope Lisas leg starts feeling better. Sorry to hear about the nasty surprises on the van and with the insurance.

[mommy2mrb]

hope Lisa's leg is feeling better

ouch on your mom's back, hope she feels better too!

continued prayers for all in need