Rare Skin Disease

I don't know what's going on around here with our skin issues but this is enough now!!!  Hadassah has a rare skin disease on her legs, Matthew's legs are doing much better from his eczema, and Mike is itching the tops of his feet from a reaction to his golfing shoes. 

Last Thursday, I noticed that Hadassah was breaking out with some sort of rash on her legs.  Not itchy.  Small red dots turned into small rashes.

We went to the cabin for the weekend.  Her legs never seemed to bother her until we got home.  She walked into the house and went right on to the couch because both her feet and ankles were swelled up.  By now the rash looked a lot like a bad poison ivy rash but still not itchy.  Her ankles really hurt and she had them propped for the whole evening.

She went to school on Tuesday, but I had this feeling she wasn't going to make it there all day.  At 10:30, I got a call from school saying that Hadassah's legs were really hurting and bothering her.  After making a few quick phone calls, I went to pick her up.  I called my doctor to ask a few questions.  I called my mom and asked if there's an poison ivy or oak that doesn't itch but swell.  I called my sister to ask for her knowledge.  Everyone seemed to say the same thing, "Take her to the doctor and find out what it is."  Everyone that is ... except for Mike.  He goes to the doctor only when really, really necessary.  I am always too anxious to make an appointment for sicknesses.  Hadassah and I stopped at his parents house for mom's opinion and Mike was there working and he gave me the OK to get it checked out.

3:45 PM.  I had the AC turned on in the van because it was 90 degrees outside.  Hadassah was wrapped up in a blanket and cold.  Strange.  We walked into the doctors.  Well, actually, Hadassah hobbled into the office.  When her legs hurt really bad, she walks stiff like a robot.  Her ankles really hurt and were swollen.  The nurse took one look at her legs and said, "I am guessing that that is why you are here today."  Right.

The doctor took a look and gave it a name called:  Henoch-Schonlein Purpura.  It's a rare skin disease that can come from a respiratory infection, a cold, belly ache, cough or virus.  Hadassah was home sick from school last Tuesday with most of the symptoms that were mentioned.  This skin issue usually doesn't show up till around 8 days later. 

She did a urine test and some blood work to make sure her kidney's are not being affected by this.  All the tests came back good!!!  PTL!  The cure ... it has to take it's course.  Drink lots of fluids.  Get rest.  The worse case can last up to a few weeks. 

We are praying and hoping that Hadassah's skin will be healed fast and soon and that the swollen and sore ankles will not hurt anymore.  The rash is still going up her legs, so please join us in prayer that it will stop growing and be gone forever.  This is not something that is contagious.  Nothing real serious, just a bit painful and annoying for Hadassah.

If you happen to think of her (or me :) ) the next few days and weeks, please pray for healing!

Here she is tonight with an ice pack on the swelling and the blanket is for elevation.  Her legs seem the worse at night when she's been on her feet a lot.  Keeping her feet propped up seems to help somewhat.

Memorial Day Weekend at its best!!!

Memorial Day Weekend.  Excitement.  Count down.  How many more days?  Packing.  Grocery shopping.  Preparation.  Time with best friends.  Late night campfires.  Great food!  Laughter.  Kids!  Lots!  Ice pops.  Watermelon.  Acquire.
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We just got back for our annual Memorial Day Weekend Getaway!  We have been doing this for a few years now and it's always a weekend that our kids are counting down for!  We are always excited to spend the long, entire weekend with some of our very best friends!

Matthew has been counting down for "going to the cabins" since last Monday!  He couldn't wait!  Hadassah asked to pack her suitcase a week before actually leaving! 

I knew preparing for the fun weekend always take a lot of energy and work before actually pulling out the driveway.  I needed to get some groceries.  I needed to clean the house.  I needed to have all the laundry done.  The yard mowed.  The suitcases packed and ready for loading!  It does take some "Mom Organizing" to get all these chores completed, but it was worth it!!!  Very worth it!

Friday started really early for our house hold.  Hadassah's class went on their field trip to Harrisburg.  She needed to be at school by 7:15 AM!  She hasn't been feeling good the past few days, so I prayed that she would have fun, feel good, and enjoy her long day!  Matthew wasn't impressed at all that he had to get on the school bus alone, but he also knew that after school he was coming to the 'cabins'! 

Suz and I left at 11 Friday forenoon with her three youngest and Ashlyn.  We took along all we could and then left the rest for our husbands and other kids to grab when they come to join us later that evening.  It was a hot day and so getting to the cabin and starting up the AC and fans was necessary!  I like that we get up before the rest of the crew gets there!  Suz and I get our food in the fridges, sweep up any bugs that are laying around from being in the woods, and get our rooms situated.  Ashlyn did great on the way up and was entertained by the Zook kids!  :)

There's a little ice cream shop near the cabin and so for a light supper for our kids, Suz and I took them there.  Ashlyn enjoyed her first ice cream cone!  It was a "mini cone" and very small!  Perfect!  I had to show her that you lick it and then eat it!  She loved the chocolate and vanilla swirl flavors!

Mike, Matthew, Hadassah, Dave and Justin met us that night at 9:00.  They brought a golf cart along up and some fire wood!  The other 4 families joined us throughout the evening!  We were ready for the weekend to begin! 

Here are some highlights of Matthew's weekend!!!

Hadassah wasn't feeling the best.  The creek is always a huge highlight for her, but this year she wasn't in it much.  She touched her toes in the cold water and that's about it.  Her, Justin and Jordan always have fun in the creek.  This the first year I don't have pictures of the three of them in it together.  Too bad.  She did enjoy riding the golf cart though!

Ashlyn's Highlights ...

 Enjoying watermelon ...

 Colson, Ava & Ashlyn ... toddlers!  Fun age!

Rides ... four wheeler and golf carts!

The peaceful peace ... always a fun place to spend time!

 Games was something all the men played alot of!  Acquire & KanJam!

 Nature ...

 All of the ladies ...

 Because the men were our photographers here, we had to show some muscles and do something crazy!  On the picture above, the guys were saying, "Come on.  Not a fake smile. Etc .....".  When we did this pose (below), they quick starting snapping the photos!  Didn't care then how the smiles looked!!!  :)

Thanks Dave and Suz for the cabin and for the fun weekend!

Summer here?

Our weekend was absolutely gorgeous!  The weather was sunny and bright.  Warm and clear skies.  Calm and very enjoyable!

We had two campfire invitations and when we are invited to a friends house, we show up!!!  :)  Gotta love all our friends!

Because last week was a week of adventure in my kitchen, we grabbed some fun foods to take along to our friends homes.  For some reason, I was so into cooking, strawberries and foods last week!?!  Take a look at our fun foods ...

I made a supper for one of our good friends.  They just had a baby boy.  I remembered some cute cake pops online, so I pulled up the recipe.  I also had some left over cake in the freezer from another event I used.  I took some chocolate cake and mixed it with a small bit of chocolate icing.  Just enough to make it stick and shape into a small balls.  Then I stuck them in the freezer for 20 minutes.  Melted some more of our Easter bunny chocolate.  Dipped the end of a lolly pop stick in melted chocolate and poked it into the cake balls.  Let it dry for about 1 minute and then dip the entire ball into melted chocolate.  Quickly, sprinkle with some candies and set in a foam.  You need to work fast because the chocolate dries quick against your cold cake. 

Easy and cute.  I am sure there are lots of other prettier containers to stick these pops into, but this is what I had on hand.  Get creative!!!

I am going to make a big batch of these for this weekend!  I think Memorial Day will be sweeter with these for the kids!

Short cake is something my family loves.  I saw this recipe for a Hot Sponge Cake and tried it. 

It was good but not as good as shortcake.  :(

Strawberry milkshakes ... Saturday was so gorgeous and warm outside.  The kids even had the sprinkler going and swimsuits on.  They asked for strawberry milkshakes!  Delicious!

My favorite summer breakfast has finally arrived for this year!  I took an adventure and made my own homemade yogurt on Saturday evening.  I didn't realize when I started that it would take so long to make, but it is good!  Cooking a gallon of milk to 180 degrees without it sticking and making a mess on the bottom of your pan, calls for slow cooking and patience.  Then you add some ingredients and cool it to 110 degrees.  Add some more ingredients and let it set in the oven (with only the oven light turned on) for overnight.  Now, I have this huge container of fresh, maple sweetened yogurt in my fridge.  Not hard, but it does take some time!

Now, I put some yogurt in a bowl.  Then top it with some delicious granola and then more yogurt.  Cut up some fresh strawberries and that's my breakfast!

On Sunday night we went to a cookout and I took along some Strawberry Brushetta.  I found a recipe from Annies Eats online (I love her blog!) but had to change it just a bit.  I mixed some cream cheese with Italian seasonings and spread it on some broiled Italian bread slices.  Then I topped it with a fresh strawberry mixture.  Look up the recipe because it's really good!

This week seems a bit different in the kitchen.  I am not feeling so adventurous.  We are finishing up the last days of school and the kids each have projects and awards that I will be attending.  My meals will have to be a bit more simpler. 

If this is a week of fun in your kitchen, I would love to hear about it!!!

Ashlyn's One Year Old Pictures

This happened a few weeks back, but I just now got her CD with the pictures on it. 

Thanks to Martha Rose for her photography talent.  Check out her online site at: mstoltzfusphotography.com

We went to a near by fruit farm and we were hoping to get some pictures on Ashlyn with the tree blossoms.  Well, 'hoping' is all we wished for.  The minute I set Ashlyn down in the tall, picky grass, she checked out.  She started crying and crying.  I finally called Mike and asked if he could come and try to calm her down.  That didn't help either.  We got a few pictures here and there, but nothing what I hoped for.  I guess the other cool props and ideas will have to wait for another time.

I also had some balloons along and hoped for some cute one year old photo shoots.  One by one they kept blowing against the tree branches and popping.  That did not help at all with our situation!

We ended up coming back home and trying to get some good pictures before our gorgeous sunlight left us all together.  She was completely different here in our back yard.  She turned all her tears into smiles!

Thanks Ashlyn for the adorable pictures that I will treasure for forever!!!  Thank you Martha Rose for your patience and good work!  Love these pics!!!

Track and Field

What a very busy day!  A fun day for sure!  A day the kids have been waiting for for some time.  A day that finally arrived!!!

TRACK AND FIELD!!!

The day started out bright and early.  Matthew was up at 6:00 AM and crawled into bed with me and Mike.  He was so anxious for the big day!  He was ready for the bus way before normal time!  (We should have track and field more often!!! :) )  The kids went off to school with just their water bottles and a light snack in their hands!  Ashlyn, Mike and I met them at 9:15 AM to watch. 

All the grades from K - 5 started with Relay Style Races.  Both Hadassah and Matthew were on the green team this year.  Color coded!  All the races go by points.  I was of course cheering for anyone that was wearing "Green" all day long!

After lunch, it was all the running, jump rump and individual events.  Hadassah has been practicing on her running and ran one mile the other evening to practice for her 800 Meter Run today.  She ran it hard and at the end was tired and thirsty!  She also did the most jump ropes in her class with 127 jumps in one minute!  She also did the softball throw and 50 Meter race.

Matthew did long jump, soft ball throw, 100 Meter, and the 200 Meter!  All these he did great and tried with desperation to finish in good times!  Watching him run and try hard makes me so proud of him!

All these events make me remember back when I was a kid.  I like long jump.  Not that I was even that good, I just thought it was a cool event.  I still do!  I wasn't much of a big runner, so watching Hadassah practice for her 800 Meter was impressive to me!

The day was sunny and beautiful.  This is exactly the reason why May is one of my most favorite months of the year!  We are now sun kissed and our skin has the start of our summer tans!

I came home and was exhausted from being in the sun all day.  Just watching all that activity from all the running and sweat today made me even more tired.  But, I got refreshed, and went for my 2 mile run.  The weather was so perfect!  Cloudless, blue skies.  72 degrees.  A slight breeze and warm!

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Today is also Ascension Day.  The day when Christ ascended into heaven a long time ago. 

As the disciples and others watched Him, He was blessing them.  "While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven.  Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy."  It also says in Acts 1, "After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky and He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken form you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.'"

In my heritage, this is a day of celebration.  No work.  Often gatherings with friends at parks happen.  Time spent with family.  If you celebrate this holiday, remember the reason for it!  Christ ascended up into heaven and is going to one day return for all those who believe in Him!  Believe!!!

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Yes, I did melt one of the Easter bunnies and now we have chocolate covered strawberries!  Will we did have!  They are all eaten up by now!  I also had some white cream left from crepes the other week stored in the fridge, so for dessert tonight, I stuffed a few more!  Those too are all gone!  I was lucky to snatch the last bite of one!  Mike and Hadassah can not leave these treats alone!!!