Hypereosinophilic Gastroenteritis

I don't believe that I've ever posted about the autoimmune disorder that I just so happen to have. It's called Hypereosinophilic Gastroenteritis (EGE). For those of you out there that have a curious nature there are a few sites that explain what this is, symptoms, etc. I'll post some of those sites at the bottom of this entry.
Anyway, this past Wednesday I went and had another Gastroscopy. It's been determined that I have another stomach ulcer. I've been having a lot of stomach pain and have lived with ulcers for so long now that I already knew that they would find one with the scope. The ulcer, along with some of my stomach tissue was biopsied and sent off to the lab. I'm still waiting for the lab readings.
The good thing that I really want to give a praise for is that for the first time since I've been seeing my Gastroenterologist I truly feel that he is listening to me and wants to help me. He's doing some research on my disorder which I hope helps him and my Hemotologist understand how to better treat my condition and symptoms. I've been specifically praying that my doctors would do more research on EGE and it looks like that prayer is being answered.
EGE is an extremely rare condition. From the research that I've done it seems that there are only 400-600 diagnosed cases WORLD WIDE!!! No wonder research is difficult to do, huh?!?! I suppose the Lord wanted me to be unique for some reason I don't quite understand yet, but if I happen to be the guinea pig that leads to helping others that have EGE feel better than so be it!

Here's some websites that have good info. on Hyereosinophilic disorders:
http://www.apfed.org/

http://www.med.ucla.edu/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=295

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eosinophilic_gastroenteritis

How's the budget going?

We've been at this new budget for about 1 month and I have to admit that it's a little harder to keep than I thought it would be. Some categories are just really easy and others are really hard to stick to. The way that my budget is set up right now there just isn't any wiggle room to give until the beginning of the year, so we're really having to be very diligent in where and what we spend our money on.

When I say that I don't have any wiggle room I don't want to give the impression that we're broke. Part of our budget includes savings and pocket cash, so no, we're not broke...we're just disciplining ourselves.

There's a verse in the Bible that accurately represents the phase that we're in right now....

"No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way." Heb. 12:11 NLT

Dillon's Mega Event Sale 8/22/09

I've really slacked off on couponing this summer and other than perishables we pretty much just ate from our stock pile. Since the stock pile was starting to dwindle down some (especially cereal) I decided to take advantage of Dillon's Mega Event going on this week. I bought $137.72 worth of food for a total of $49.05. This was a savings of 66% as you can see reflected on my receipt. For 48 items that comes out to $1.02 per item. As you can see by my picture, most of what I purchased is snack food or cereals. With the kids in school taking lunches and needing after school snacks this sale was just perfect to stock up on! Here's what I got:

1 SunnyD Smoothie

3 cans ChefBoyRDee pasta

3 boxes Hamburger/Tuna Helper

4 boxes Regular Cheerios

2 boxes Fruity Cheerios

6 boxes Trix

6 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch

2 Pillsbury Grands biscuits

2 Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls

4 boxes Toaster Strudels

6 boxes Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks

1 box Au Gratin Potatoes

3 bags Totinos Pizza Rolls

5 bags Nature Valley Nut Clusters

Dinner menu for the week

I've had one of those weeks where nothing has worked out quite like I had planned. My appointment Monday was delayed by about two hours resulting in the rest of my day being about two hours off! Yesterday I forgot to pick up my kids from school ; ) I guess with the start of the new school year and some confusion on my part...at least that's my excuse. My first 2 days have pretty easy meals because of that. Hope you're week started better than mine.

Monday:
chicken nuggets
mashed potatoes
mixed veggies

Tuesday:
Fish
Ravioli
left over mixed veggies
rice

Wednesday:
Smoked Pork chops
Skillet fried potatoes
green beans
sliced tomatoes from the garden

Thursday:
Blueberry pancakes
eggs
bacon
hashbrowns

Friday:
Chicken or Ham fried rice w/veggies and eggs
Fried Green tomatoes and zuccinni (not healthy, but oh so good!)
Fruit

Saturday:
Potato Soup
Bread
Cheese

Sunday:
Leftovers of all the above

Monday:
Sloppy Jo's
Mac & cheese
sliced tomatoes
salad

Happy Monday!

For Today...
Speech therapy w/Emalee.
I am thinking...
I'm a very blessed woman to have such a wonderful husband.
I am thankful for...
Jay, my next door neighbor, that aired up Emalee's speech therapists' flat tire today.
In the kitchen...
Pork chops and mashed potatoes.
I am going...
grocery shopping for a few necessities...milk, bread, fresh fruit.
I am reading...
Eccl. 4: 9..."Two are better than one, because they have a better reward for their labor."

I'm also reading Chosen By God by R.C. Sproul.
I am hoping...
that my friend, Hannah, settles into her new home quickly.
I am hearing...
The rumble of the washing machine.
Around the house...
preparing for a garage sale.
One of my favorite things...
Warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies w/not too many chocolate chips.
Plans for the rest of the week...
Mentoring Group and working on garage sale items.

Tulsa vacation pics

After Korea camp ended Brian and the boys drove down to Tulsa to meet Emalee and I. Our family vacation began. I thought I'd post some of our pics that we took. We went to the Oklahoma Aquarium and to the Tulsa Zoo. We also enjoyed just staying at our hotel and swimming in their indoor water park. They kids had great fun and so did we!

Pictures are as follows: David and Jacob feeding the Stingrays at the aquarium, Emalee standing next to the World's largest Lure, All 3 kids enjoying a snack in bed, Silly boys on the kiddie toys, All 3 in the train toy, Backside and Daddy and kids at the aquarium. You can tell who took the pics since I'm not in any of them : )

Budgeting

Are any of you Dave Ramsey fans? I've heard a lot about him for the last several months. A good friend of mine just finished taking his class, Financial Peace, and is letting me borrow her materials. Brian and I have been listening to one CD every evening after the kids go to bed. We've learned a lot.
Anyway, as I mentioned in my last post, we're starting a new budget. I've always had some sort of budget, but nothing at all that comes close to my new one. We've also started using the "envelope system" as part of this budget. That's where you take cash and put it in an envelope and only use what's in there for that certain category of the budget. This keep the lovely debit card from tempting us from spending more. Not only that, but we actually know how much is allowed to spend on certain items. I really think this will be a good thing.
We have a goal to be DEBT FREE in the next 3 years except for our house. Barring no major catastrophe's I think this is very possible...maybe even sooner than 3 years. As we get closer to the goal I'll keep updating on here. The only thing that will be hard is actually sticking to the plan! If we can keep our eyes on the goal, I think we can do it!
If you'd like to read more on Dave Ramsey just go to www.daveramsey.com