My Strong Man

Will was diagnosed with Juvenile Rhuematoid Arthritis (pauciarticular) at age 3. I had always thought that his knees looked a little strange (ie. big) but he was my first baby and honestly I'd never paid attention to any of my friends' children's knee sizes :). Then he started complaining of pain the mornings and his knees were warm to the touch. After several months of doctors' appointments and various over the counter remedies, we were referred to the pediatric rheumatologist at UIHC. Dr. Polly Ferguson has been a Godsend for us. She diagnosed Will, treated him with kindness and gentleness and has always been available for questions or concerns. He was on a "first line of defense" medication for about 2 1/2 years and his symptoms were considered to be in remission. We continued with quarterly appointments at UIHC for both rheumatology and opthalmology as there can also be eye inflamation complications. His knee symptoms subsided and he was weaned off the medication and continued until late fall 2008 without any issues. Late last year I began to notice his right knee was more swollen and stiff and warm to the touch again. Back to Dr. Ferguson in January 2009 and it was time to try cortisone shots to see if that would relieve the symptoms. The cortisone shots did not work like they had in the past and the swelling in his right knee continued to worsen and both ankles are now swollen as well. In late April, Will and I were at a routine eye appointment and our pediatric opthalmologist Dr. Longmuir, discovered inflammation in his left eye. This, coupled with the knee symptoms, means that it is time to try a new medication. He will be starting methotrexate this weekend. He will take it once a week and have bloodwork twice a month to monitor any side effects. He had baseline bloodwork done at our appointments yesterday and he did SO WELL. In the past, Will has HATED bloodwork and been so scared about it (understandable!!). But yesterday he was a superstar and I am so proud of him. He is my STRONG LITTLE MAN!

Fun, Fun!

Happy Mother's Day....my two most precious gifts!

The kids and I headed to Des Moines this weekend to celebrate my mom's retirement, my grandaddy's 88th birthday, and Mother's Day. We had a great dinner Saturday night, lots of fun outdoor time and some great pictures!

My awesome grandparents....we can't WAIT to spend time with them this summer at the lake.

Mom with a a retirement present...a plane ticket!

They had a blast with all the cousin play time this weekend!

Crazy drivers!!


Love Nana!!

We LOVE this weather!

We had a great time running around, chasing bubbles, feeding the fish & frogs and climbing at the playground today. We LOVE this weather!!

Sweet Baby Girl

Miss Morgan will be 2!! on Tuesday! I really don't know where the last two years have gone.

In the hospital

3 Months

6 Months

9 Months

1 year old!

18 months - now she has hair!

And two years....what a little stinker but Oh, how I love this sweet girl

Recent Pictures

Look at my handsome guy! All dressed up for his musical at school. It was so much fun to see him on stage.

Sissy's showing off her "bemmies" (jammies). She LOVES her bemmies...she usually asks to change into them as soon as we're in the house after school.

And the bubble machine...seriously, the best $12 I have spent in a LONG time. They both loved it and spent a long time chasing the bubbles all over the neighborhood.

This and that and everything in between...

What we've been up to:

A little opening day fun with Morgan...GO CUBS!

Will's basketball medal from the COBRAS! He really had a good time, but can I admit that Mommy's glad it's over? Lots of running back and forth when it's two days a week. I'm glad that soccer (which has already started!) is only one night a week. With several trips to Des Moines in the last month, we've been on the go constantly. I'm glad for a few weeks at home to relax.

I feel like a lot of my days recently have been happy and sad. Happy...my kids are doing well. I have special people in my life. My job is going well. I have been praying that God would help me to be more thankful, more grateful for all that He's given me....and He is being faithful. I am so very grateful.

Sad...on Sunday & Monday we celebrated the life of a wonderful man. Bill was my dad's best friend and continued to be a cherished and loved friend to Mom, Laura and me after Daddy was gone. As Will told me one day last week, "Mom, now Mr. Bill & Papa John can be best friends again". Praise God for that. As I listened to people reminisce about his life and memories of him, they were all so similar. He was devoted to his family, he was devoted to God, he was devoted to his work. I keep trying to come up with the right words to describle what he meant to me...meant to my family. It's hard. He was just someone who was always there. Someone I could always count on. For me more than anyone, other than my mom, Bill was a remembrance of my dad. They knew each other so well and were so similar in so many ways. Maybe that's why it's so hard to know that he's gone. I don't know...God does and I put my faith in that.

In addition to the celebration of Bill's life this past weekend, we did have a chance to celebrate Easter with my Mom and sister and her family. Two egg hunts and an Easter party were great fun for the kids. We had a wonderful Easter brunch with my sister's wonderful in-laws who are always so gracious and loving when they welcome us into their home.

Notice the chocolate bunny in Will's hand? That was a common sight this weekend...I think he has a hollow leg when it comes to chocolate.

A Life Well Lived

William Lawton Fairbank 1941-2009

Praising God for his life. I just wish it hadn't been so short.