Tomorrow is Saturday.

We have nothing planned.

That is my favorite kind of Saturday.

Last weekend, Josh took the three big kids on a bike ride in the afternoon while the three ‘babies’ slept. I got a lot done around the house and I have a feeling tomorrow has the potential to be one of those days again.

I have big hopes for tomorrow. I’d like to open every window in the house.

Take the sheets off of all the kids’ beds and wash them.

Dust every room in the house….and the ceiling fans…yikes.

Make Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast.

Pull some weeds from my emerging flower beds.

Sip lemonade on the back patio, under the umbrella, while reading a good book…wait a minute…back to reality! I’ll settle for drinking lemonade with my lunch…maybe under the umbrella… on the back patio. :)

I want to relax. I don’t want to raise my voice at the children…or my husband!

I was suppose to take Sister to get her ‘hair did’ tonight, but the plans fell through (huge relief!) and she got on Green today at school, so we’re going to celebrate tonight and go out, just the two of us, after the babies go to bed. I’m thinking I had better get started on those cinnamon rolls tonight so all I have to do in the morning is put them in the oven and make the glaze. Oh it will be so yummy.

Ooooh, maybe I’ll get up early tomorrow and go for a walk…if these steroids don’t kick my butt again tonight. Please, Lord, let me sleep tonight and not feel like I might die before the sun comes up.

Just when I thought I’d rather have the pain of the subacute thyroiditis over the side effects of the steroids…the steroids wore off, the full pain came back…and I changed my mind, poured a big glass of sweet tea, and downed another handful of Prednisone.

I almost died of shock when I looked up the side effects of Predisone and found that I was experiencing almost ALL of the “Less Frequent or Rare” side effects. For example:

headache
nausea
flush cheeks or face
restlessness
trouble sleeping

And, are you ready for this one?

….HICCUPS!!! I’m not lying. I was bent over in pain last night from six or seven rounds of hard hiccups…you know, the kind that feel like someone is stabbing you in the chest or the throat? It was terrible! So I literally gasped when I read that hiccups was a REAL SIDE EFFECT of this drug! This is a drug from hell and I hope to never be on it again….ever…in my life!

The best (**sarcasm**) part is, the doctor never returned my call today, so I don’t know if I’m suppose to keep taking this drug from hell, or stop right away for chance of fatality. Who knows! I guess if I’m still posting about it Monday we’ll know everything is just fine and I’m just one of those lucky people who get the diseases only 1% of the population get and experience the “RARE” side effects that no one else ever experiences.

I hope you all enjoy the BEAUTIFUL Spring Weather tomorrow!!

~audrey

These are my Publix deals for today’s shopping trip

1 Jar of Mott’s Applesauce-$1.36
4 boxes Chocolate Cheerios- $.56 (total!)
1 Quaker Instant Grits- $.90
1 Hellman’s Mayo- $1.44
2 Lipton 100ct. Tea Bags- $2
2 Jars Classico Pasta Sauce- $1.58
5 boxes Betty Crocker Muffin Mix- $1.50 (total!)
1 Duncan Hines Brownie Mix- $1.24
1 Velveeta Shells and Cheese- $1.29
2 boxes Ritz Crackerfuls- $3.38
1 bag Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cheesecake Middle Cookies- $1.74
2 12oz. bags of Dunkin Donuts Coffee- $9.48 (seems like a lot for coffee, but it’s actually $3.00 cheaper than buying the same amount at Walmart!)

I’m saving about 75% off regular retail price.

I know some of you have voiced concerns about developing a ‘hoarding’ mindset when you stock pile cheap groceries. I’ve also heard some say that they feel like they wouldn’t be relying on God’s daily provision if you’re stocking up like this. First I’d like to say that I do not buy for six weeks at a time like some coupon queens suggest you do. Everything on this list will last us less than two weeks. As a family of EIGHT, we go through a box of cereal every day. We go through four to five loaves of bread per week, and don’t even get me started on the amount of coffee it takes to keep me going! I feel like couponing IS God’s provision for our growing family. It’s smart to be frugal and make good choices. In a time where money is tighter than ever, we’re working hard to get out of debt, put money in savings, and be generous givers. Coupons help us keep our momentum going, as well as purchase groceries that I usually would not purchase because they’re too expensive without a sale and coupons.

Coupons have also allowed me to quit shopping at Walmart for groceries. Don’t get me wrong, I still go to Walmart every week. It is about one mile from my house and I can go to Walmart and be back in less than 20 minutes for emergencies like diapers or milk at 9:30 at night or 6:00 in the morning.

Okay, enough about the coupons for now.

These steroids are killing me. I was awake at 3:00am with nausea, a terrible headache, I felt like I had a fever, but didn’t, and I was shaking all over. It was horrible. I vowed not to take another dose, but my parents insist I must finish the steroids in order for my thyroid to shrink back down to normal. Please pray these chemo-like symptoms will go away and today/tonight will be 100% better!

HAPPY FRIDAY YA’LL!!

~audrey

As the day wore on yesterday, my throat and neck were feeling worse; almost unbearable. I sent the kids outside to play and I laid down in my bed with an icepack on the front of my neck. I finally called Josh and told him that I really needed to go to the clinic. He took everyone but the baby with him to church and I headed to the clinic with a 25lb. baby carrier hanging off of my arm. I told the doctor what my symptoms were, he felt around my neck, asked a few questions, and confidently said,

“You have subacute thyroiditis and I’d like to run some lab work to check your thyroid levels. This is very rare. I’m thinking you may need to pay another visit to Dr.Terris (my thyroid surgeon) and just let him take the rest of that bad boy out.”

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but it definitely explains all of my symptoms and why my antibiotics were not helping at all. It is considered a ‘disease’, not an infection. I am being treated with a high dose of steroids and will likely be going back to my surgeon in the near future. As much as I love the right, and only remaining lobe of my thyroid, it hasn’t exactly treated me well over the last year since being separated from it’s twin. :)

I guess it’s time to take some pain meds and get started on this overwhelming amount of housework in front of me. Hmmm, where will I start? What are my goals for today? I must set some attainable goals.

If I don’t attack this pile of clean laundry RIGHT NOW it will resemble Mt.Everest by lunch time. And the office, oh the office…also known as the baby’s room. It’s bad. Clean winter clothes that won’t fit in the drawers, but I’m afraid to put it in the attic because as soon as I do, we’ll have another week of 40 degree weather. A dirty diaper on the floor, blankets from other rooms, stuff all over the dresser. What to do, what to do! Oh well, I guess if these are the worst of my problems, I’m in pretty good shape.

Today is Thankful Thursday! Remind yourself of all the ways God has blessed you. God’s plans are to prosper you and not to harm you! He takes JOY in YOU!

~audrey

I have many frustrations lately.

Not enough hours in the day.

Not enough energy FOR my day.

I have morphed into this unorganized, chaotic version of myself and everyone around me is suffering.

I have been sick for a week and a half now and don’t even have time to go to the doctor….I even started taking an OLD antibiotic I found in my medicine cabinet in hopes that it would make me feel better! My throat and neck hurt so bad I can hardly eat. Just moving my tongue while I talk or chew something makes my throat and neck hurt.

I just got over a terrible case of pink eye and now have no more contacts (that aren’t infected). My prescription is expired, so in order to buy new contacts, I have to get an eye exam…which I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR!! So I’m stuck in these glasses which have a layer of hair product on the lenses that will not come off. So my vision is no longer gooey with infection, but now is speckled with hair spray and mousse.

Sister has been getting in trouble at school everyday for the last two weeks. She lies to me about why she gets in trouble and her teacher appears to be a ‘strange bird’, to say the least, that didn’t give me much clarity when I met with her earlier today.

Our little girls should be arriving soon (or months from now…who knows!) and we’re now being told that our agency has NO MORE foster homes to take the three that we have now when our girls arrive!?! WHAT?! I made it very clear that I did not care about that and I will keep the three foster children we have now in ADDITION to our girls (and our own boys, of course) before I would let them put our girls in another foster home. That is the only reason we agreed to take these three and let them stay is because they assured us that they would move these children when our girls arrive. Frustration!

I’m at my wit’s end (not that it takes very long to get there) and I’d really like a day off. Can I arrange that? Is there some magic phone you can pick up and Mary Poppins will arrive on your roof within one hour? If so, will you lend me the phone?

HOWEVER, through all of my short-comings, failures, frustrations, and disappointments, God remains. He never leaves me nor forsakes me. He has blessed me with a husband who chooses to be home rather than spend some much-deserved time with ‘guy friends’. He lays in bed and lets me ‘vent’ when I need to. He comes home for lunch so I can go meet with Sister’s teacher or attend a meeting at the foster agency. God is so good. I know that everything I’m going through, God has allowed. I just need to pass this test so I can move upward and onward in my journey with Him.

~audrey