The Princess's big day!!!!

Before I start, I just need to say that last night was a turning point in our lives with Abby's party. The last party we let them have was two years ago. I say last on purpose as it was planned to be the last. After the party, Abby laid on the floor and cried holding her legs saying "it hurts mommy, make it stop hurting." It took her FOUR AND A HALF days to recover and WALK at all normally. She spent that time in a church moaning every day. I couldn't take it so I said no more. My kids aren't physically able to handle it. well, as you can see, we had a big bash this year at chuck E cheese. Yep! We sure did and BOTH of them went strong for 3 1/2 hours and cried because we left NOT because of pain! God is awesome! Abby was up until 11:30 playing at home with her new toys and THEN I had to MAKE her go to bed. For Joey, he's never interacted well until recent and we were both tear filled eyes to see him doing EVERY THING the other kids were doing INCLUDING dancing with Chuckie!!!! Thank you all for praying... here's the low down on Abby's party... -Mindy

We started our birthday by opening a couple presents at home, just us! She was excited!

Then we had some play time! She got a new toy blender and the first thing mommy got to "drink" was a steak shake. Mmmm... Steak and ice cream! Yum! Glad it was "pretend"!
Then, we were off to Chuck E Cheese! 3 1/2 hours of fun! Let me tell ya!!!! She had 2 friends, her brother and her cousin there to join her in her fun!

Bubby was just plain silly through the whole party! This picture TOTALLY shows his personality!!!

So, miss Abby joined the fun by wearing EVERY ONE'S glasses! Ha! Silly girl! Do you see the joy on that face?? Brings total tears to my eyes!

Time for the live show with chuckie!!!!

Some Personal time with Chuckie after he gave her the big girl birthday gold medal!

Finally! What we have all been waiting for... CAKE!!! She loved blowing out those four candles!!! Made the night complete...

It's my princess!!!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Abby!!!

Miss Abby Turns Four today! She talked me through finishing her cake this morning! We had fun doing it and she can't wait to take it to her party! I don't know how much like a castle it looks, but I let her decide what was going on it and we got it done! i think it is very pretty miss Abby!!!

Well, I very much need to upload my digital so that I can post some current pictures... but these are cute regardless!

Joey had a big day today. We went to Cincinnati with him and well, they removed his Gtube! (Abdominal feeding tube) Yep! Another praise! It is gone! They said he's perfect on the growth chart and is NO LONGER considered under weight. Yippy!!! He will be as good as new within a few days!
Miss Abby has her big day tomorrow! Yep! She has her fourth birthday! She will be just adorable and sweet I'm sure! :) She's very excited to be celebrating at ChuckECheese with Joey, her cousin Logan and her friends, Gracie, Sophia and Shelby. I can't wait! It's going to be an exciting time! Hugs to all! Thanks for praying for our family! We have lots to be thankful for and celebrate right now! -Mindy

It's Thanks Giving!!!!

Hey all! Well, this year, we have a huge reason to be thankful. My mom went through Cancer and is with us! Jeff's mom went through Cancer and is with us! Our babies lives have been touched by the grace of God and not only are they with us but they are doing more and more awesome every day! Also, I'm thankful to be here. Thursdays news was pretty rough to swallow. I did not share in depth because I wasn't able to at the time, but God graced me with a good doc to recognize that I needed serious help! So, thank you Jesus! In light of that, we have turned the corner into a new era! A new life to live. One that will keep our bodies healthy and will allow us to glorify and live for God even more! I invite you again to visit my other blog. The link is to your right on my side bar! Tonight there is a yummy healthy breakfast recipe that I posted on my blog that you can greet your morning with tomorrow! MMmmm...!!!!! Happy Thanks giving to all my wonderful friends and family... I'm thankful for EACH AND EVERY ONE of you!!!! -Mindy

Days of frustration...

I'm really battling to stay on top of life today. After being turned away for surgery, realizing the severity of it all and then talking with my doctor about drastic changes in my life... wow! My emotions are hay wire right now. Today, I'm just trying hard to remain positive as I work towards learning a new life style. I keep reminding myself that this is what we all need in our house hold, but it's amazing the battle you go through in your mind as you strive towards bettering your life. Only by God's grace and good strength will I survive! So... hats off and here's to surviving the next few weeks! -mindy

We are home...

Hey all! It's Mindy updating! :) I wanted to let you all know I was not able to have surgery today. They had me there, my IV in, my fluids started and then the "sleepy" guy (can't spell that big word he's called! Ha!) came in and listened to me. They had given me a breathing treatment already to try to help me since I have asthma. Even with that treatment, he said I sounded awful. He said he could not proceed because my lungs were not stable enough. So, out came the IV and home I went. I was able to get in to my actual doctor. I've been seeing the NP up until this point. He started me on a daily asthma treatment AND another round of antibiotics. So... he'll be the one to decide when I'm stable and when I need the surgery rescheduled. Also, Joey and I's blood work is back. joey's is normal! No metabolic stuff! Yeah!!! Me, not so normal, but improved! So, mine is not metabolic either... just whacky! They are starting me on a new diet and they are going to give me some suppliments to help even out my blood work. Other than that, not a lot to say! I think that is enough! Thank you all for praying and supporting us.T hank you to those who have called, checked in or offered to help. We appreciate you all! Please pray for me as I work towards feeling better and getting myself "stable" again! Hugs to all

It is here!!!

It's 6 a.m. on Tuesday and we are packed and ready run out the door! My misery soon will end! Days of being in Jammies are soon to end! I will miss the jammies but not the pain!!! My surgery begins at 9 a.m. Thanks all for keeping our family in prayer! We'll update soon!

-Mindy

Sunday recap...

Over on PK's blog, he did a Sunday recap... Thought I would do one as well.

1. laid in my jammies

2. washed a few dishes

3. laid in my jammies

4. laid in my jammies some more

5. went to my parents to eat veggie soup still in my jammies

6. laid in my jammies again....

Wasn't that an eventful day?

Hey all!

Miss Abby and the rest enjoyed the cake tonight. It wasn't her birthday yet! It was a "Pre-birthday" Celebration. It was loads of fun. Grandpa got some foam disk shooters so all the kids and grandpa were having fun shooting. Joey and Logan (both two) were holding theirs backwards causing it to shoot themselves! Ha! Joey nailed his eye a few times! Poor guy! That had to be miserable.

Joey and I go on Monday to have blood work done together. I had some corky blood levels come back a few weeks ago. We may be on a rabbit trail or we may be onto something that might be a clue as to what has caused the kids issues. So please be praying!

Ok, I'm wiped out! Too much in one day for my ol' body! NIght alll! -Mindy

Abby's dreams come true....

Well, miss Abby has wanted a princess cake for a long time! I was going to originally make it mini to go with her castle, but it didn't work out so well for me. But we are going to visit family today, so I thought I might as well make it for her. So, here was my shot at free hand making her a princess cake. It might not be perfect, but I have one happy little girl!!!! She says "Papaw will just say yum when he takes a bit of the cake!" -Mindy

The fun begins...

Well, miss Abby's birthday is coming! So, I started the beginnings of a princess castle cake!! Here it is! Three teirs high! You can follow the progress here! :) Hope it is as pretty as it will be yummy!!!

What was on my heart...

This morning, I was reading my Bible and this one certain verse just kept grabbing me. I couldn't stop thinking about it even when I walked away from my Bible... it was stuck there. I have been thinking and praying about all that goes on in our country and across our Earth today and it grieves my heart. The abortions, the brutal murders of children and adults, the silent abuse behind closed doors... the morality of our country has fallen! It grieves my heart and I so wish that America could get a gliimpse of what is happening and fall before God! The verse I had on my heart was this...

Psalm 7:9

O righteous God,

who searches minds and hearts,

bring to an end the violence of the wicked

and make the righteous secure.

After reading this, I wanted to post something but I just couldn't think what. Then I got an e-mail from a friend and it stated this:

A father wanted to read a magazine

but was being bothered by his little girl.

She wanted to know what the United States looked Like.

Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country.

Tearing it into small pieces,

he gave it to her and said,

'Go into the other room and see if you can put this together.

This will show you our whole country today.'

After a few minutes, She returned

and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together.

The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly.

'Oh,' she said,'on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus.

When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged,

then our country just came together.

My prayer today is that we can get Jesus back where he belongs so that our country can be put back together!!!! -Mindy

So enjoyable!!!!

Well, yesterday, we didn't go to therapy in Muncie. I had not gotten sleep the night before and was not feeling well at all... so we went over to the church and helped with the food pantry. I so much enjoyed talking to all the people! It was ABSOLUTELY amazing! I loved it! You know, I think I made the right call. I am supposed to be doing ministry. I hadn't felt this happy in a long time! I didn't realize how much guilt and pressure I felt with the pampered chef stuff. It's so good to be in right alignment with God's will. Please pray for wisdom for me as I search out exactly what God wants me doing! -Mindy

Changes in life...

I have a life verse, but I have layed it down. My daughter was born and during birth, she was almost stollen from me by death. She fought for life in the NICU and then came home and continued to face battles. Things began to improve and life felt almost normal... then I found out I was pregnant again. A beautiful baby boy was born with out a fight. Here he was... no complications and then it happened, his battle begun. 4 mths. later, they told me he was going to die a horrible death with a disease called mitochondrial disease. Nearly 10 months later, I was told my daughter was as well. 2 years of struggling... 2 years of fighting for my kids health and good medical care... Who I was died and I became "super mom" I was doctor, I was nurse, I was mommy, I was wife, I was the one that had to put my foot down and make life and death decisions every day for my kids well being. Then it happened. For reasons I don't know, that is now all over. God chose to change the path that we were on and now we are experiencing life to it's fullest... But Mindy was still lost. I had been the rescuer for so long with medical that I felt helpless. My kids didn't need that "super mommy" any more. Doctors didn't need me to make hard decisions on the spot and life was... well... NORMAL again. I made a rash decision. I thought I prayed, I thought I saught God and I realized tonight while laying in bed praying, i didn't. I missed him horribly! I picked up something i now find myself enjoying... Pampered Chef... but in light of who God has called me to be... In light of the life verse He gave me at a very young age... I am laying it down. I will be finishing my shows out through Dec. and Then I'm throwing myself at the feet of God for his soul purpose for my life. I know God healed my babies and I'm hiding. I'm scared to talk about it because I don't want people to hurt. I'm scared to admit it because I'm afraid it will spur anger in others... but instead... I want to fight along side of poeple and I want them to meet the God I know. The God who is loving and has a purspose in every thing he does! My life verse is found in Isaiah 61... So, God, here I am! Heart open wide! take me and mold me into what you want with me! I never understood parts of this verse, but looking back at the last 4 years, I now realize God was molding me and preparing me for this verse. I have been the one who is in this verse and Now, I want to be the one that God will use to bring life... TRUE life to those who need it. Thank you God for my journey! -Amen!

Isaiah 61:1-3

The spirit of teh sovereign Lord is on me,

because the lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor

and the day of vengeance of our God

to comfort all who mourn

and provide for those who grieve in Zion-

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning

and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair

they will be called oaks of righteosuness

a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor!

So proud of myself!!!

Well, I tried my hand at making bread bowls tonight. We had my mother-n-law over for supper and I made veggie soup and well, I decided serving it up in bread bowls sounded yummy! So, to make it even more yummy, I added some Italian seasoning and Parm. cheese with some egg white... mmm.... so good!!!! I think I'm getting the hang of all this "fancy" cooking stuff and I'm having a blast!

Day of rest...

Well, I'd like to say I'm chipper and feeling awesome... but this is not the story! I have nothing in me right now to keep me going! I am so looking forward to the 25th so I can start getting better. Each day, i feel I get a bit worse and a bit weaker. My husband is so sweet! he's been doing laundry, dishes and trying to keep up on the house. I didn't make it to church today because I was up all night sick. Joey and I had some napping and snuggling time together in the recliner today! I must say, I enjoyed that! Abby wanted to go to class badly, so Aunt Christi picked her up on their way to church. Looking forward to being back in action! -Mindy

It's snowing!!!!

Well, Miss Abby is jumping out of her skin! There are HUGE snow flakes coming down outside! She screamed and ran to the door to look. Jeff was holding her up at the window and she says "Daddy, it's coming down just like popcorn!" Watch out you all! She'll be praying for snow again this year!!! -Mindy

It is coming!

Ok, met my surgeon today. My gallbladder is not functioning much at all so it comes out on November 25th at 8:30 a.m.! Yippy!!!! -Mindy PS... yes, there is excitment in this post! I have been in pain OVER 7 mths now and I want it to go AWAY!!!! :) i'd have let them have the crazy gallbladder today if they would have agreed! :)

Our time with daddy away.

I have not been up to ANYTHING this week. Jeff is out of town and I've been sick with my gallbladder. Abby wanted to help clean... so here was her attempt...

She oraganized the bathroom. If you will note, the soaps, lotions AND body sprays are set nicely on the edge of the tub AND THEY ARE SORTED BY BRAND!!! Ha! Then the bath toys are stacked neatly in the corner by the tub. Too cute! She tried so hard to help mommy!
Joey on the other hand... He passed out in the hall AND required to bottles to deal with the stress of daddy being gone and home with the two girls! Poor guy! daddy gets home tonight!

Cloudy day...

It's a yucky day here in Farmland! The clouds are out, it's cold, it's rainy and whew! I think I'd rather sleep than atemtp to function on a day like this! I did get a smile in extra special today! My husband is out of town this week and well, He has sent me and "e" card every day to remind me he loves me and misses me! So sweet! Thanks honey! Hope all are having a good day! Oh, I meet my surgeon on Friday! Yippy! I'm counting down the days to get rid of this crazy thing inside of me! Later all! -Mindy

Facing the knife....

Yep, that's me! I'm facing surgery! Hmm... I actually can't wait! I'm tired of being in pain! The test showed that my gallbladder is severely damaged. So, I will hear from my docs office tomorrow regarding my surgery consult. I never thought I'd be relieved to hear the word surgery! I just want this pain to go away! night all! -Mindy

Picture Challenge...

Ok, So I decided to take the picture challenge tonight posted over on Milah's blog, from my back porch. So, the challenge is to go to your sixth folder and post your sixth picture. This would be it! My two stinkers napping together on the sofa! If I remember right, this was when we were still battling the mito symptoms. Fatigue was our worst enemy and it ALWAYS got the best of them. So, here you see them both sacked out. Joey asleep and Abby awake but unable to do much. I'm glad I took this challenge because tonight, my kids were running around giggling while I was doing laundry and such. At the end of the day, what you see above was normal, but not any more! They go until they hit the beds sleeping! Milah, thanks for this challenge! I needed to see this picture today to see just what God has done! We've gone from lethargy to laughter and play! Praise God!

Ug...

Please pray for my strength. I dont' know what is causing it but I'm weak and tired. My blood tests were odd so I'm sure testing is to come... still waiting on the Gallbladder results. :( Hope to know something soon. My blogging will probably be less right now just because I am so tired. Check in with you all soon. -Mindy

My test...

I had one of these fancy jobies today. As you can tell from the Male figure... this was NOT me!!!! Google is a wonderful thing! This is a hydascan. It is NO fun what so ever! They inject somethign that made me hurt and I don't like it one bit!!!! Oh well, I lived! HOpefully we will know something soon but they are thinking my gallbladder may need to come out thus the crazy machine I layed in for an hour and a half today! Whew! I'm tired! Night! -Mindy

Combining it...

I am combining the kids caring bridges. I'm tired and we don't really have a lot of medical to update. But, I wasn't ready to close them completely. They can now be found at www.caringbridge.org/visit/pfohlfamily I will be adding pictures soon! Night all!

Absolutely wonderful...

I have an absolutely wonderful man in my life and I am so grateful for him! I came home from the eye doctor with Abby yesterday to find him starting supper in the kitchen for me. He greeted me with a hug to tell me how much he Loved me! Then, while he was away at a meeting in Carmel, he had sent me a greeting card full of hugs! I am so thankful for the man that he is, the dad and the wonderful husband! Thanks Honey! you are the best and I love you more than words could say!

Had a visit with this today...

Yep, it is true! I had an ultrasound today! OK, STOP HOLDING YOUR BREATHE!!! I am not pregnant! They were looking at my liver and gallbladder. I have been having pain for over 5 mths. now that I decided this last week to finally check out. They aren't sure which organ it is... so thus we are running tests now! I think the tech was trying to kill me! She'd tell me to hold my breathe and then when I get dizzy... she'd finally let me breathe! Whew! Never a fun trip! Anyway, now I just wait on the results. Oh the fun of waiting! -Mindy

So much fun!!!!!

Ok, so today, I taught in the 4 yrs-Kindergarten class! I must admit, I was dragging my feet and then Pastor Tonya asked me point blank... well, I knew I was supposed to say yes. Glad I did! I absolutely LOVED it! so much fun! We were in the new class today too! What a blessing! I'm so thrilled I said yes! It was a great day and so much fun to watch the kids listen and take in the lesson!

Added bonus...

Ok, arms up, legs curled... Is he trying to pounce or just plain comfy???

Our safe and Happy Halloween!

Well, we had so much fun yesterday! The kids had an absolute blast! Miss Abby woke up saying "It's costume day mommy!" As you can see... they were THRILLED!!!!

Miss Abby went as a lovely princess and Mr. Joey picked Super man to the rescue!!!

We stopped in at Wal-Mart for our first visit and seen Aunt Christi, Julie, Judy, Pam and all the rest of the gang! The kids thought it was awesome to get so much candy!

Then we were off to mamaw and papaw's house! We got to have a special treat by eating at the Sweete Shoppe in Union City! That's always a treat! We also went to the party at our church but mommy forgot the camera! The kids had a blast and it was so MUCH FUN watching them be "normal" this year and doing what all the other kids were doing instead of hiding in our "bubble"! Thank you Jesus for getting to be out there and sharing our lives with other people! -Mindy