Pray for Granny Hams

There will be a more detailed update of my Spring Break later but now there is something more pressing that needs to be put out there.

Mat's grandmother, Granny Hamilton ("Granny Hams"), isn't doing well. She fell a couple of weeks ago and seemed to have recovered from that. However, since going home last week, things have gone downhill fast. She is now back in the hospital and is having the pressure released from her brain today. As I understand it, there is still lots of bleeding into her brain.

PLEASE keep her and our entire family in your prayers today and over the next few days at least.



I love all of my grandparents dearly and am thankful for them everyday but Granny Hams is different. We share the same name (well our middle names) and have always felt a special bond. She welcomed me into her family with wide open arms and even let Mat and I live with her for a year. She took care of her husband for many years while he was battling Alzheimer's disease. She is one of the greatest women in the whole world. I could go on and on about what she means to me but I must teach today so there just isn't enough time. However, I think you get the point.



I'll try to update later when I hear something.

We really appreciate your thoughts and most importantly your prayers.

P.S.- We might not be as close once she finds out I put her picture up. :) Ha Ha!

A Diagnosis

I finally got a diagnosis from the doctor! I got a call a week ago that she had gotten back tests results and I needed to go back in today. Here is the diagnosis that I have been waiting 4 months for: I have gastroparesis. This is a disorder in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents. A few weeks ago I had a scan done to see if this was wrong. I was really surprised to see the results today. In a normal scan, after 90 minutes, 50% of the stomach contents would be emptied. In me, only 18% of it was emptied. I think that's a little bit of a difference!

Now, to the treatment. I have to drastically change my eating habits. I need to eat 6 small meals a day instead of 3 larger meals. I can't eat late at night and there is a whole list of things that I should stay away from when possible. To help me with this, I have to go to a nutritionist so that we can work on finding things that I can eat and to plan meals. I also have medicine, Reglan, that I can take when needed. I told her that I didn't want to take a lot of medicine because I would rather not rely on this. She finally decided just to give me a very small dose and I can take it when I know that I'll be going out or having a big meal and when I'm not feeling well.

The doctor is also ordering more blood tests to see if there is an underlying cause for this. She says that usually it is brought on by an autoimmune disease, diabetes, or a thyroid problem. However, it can also come on for no apparent reason.

On another note, please pray for:

*Mat's Granny Hams. She fell over the weekend and is in the hospital for a head injury. Hopefully she'll be coming home in the next couple of days.

*Mat's cousin and his wife (Jamie, Lisa, and Andy). Lisa's mother passed away this morning.

*Me. I have been nauseous the past two days. I actually took today off! I thought that I was feeling much better until I had to go to the doctor. I don't think I have enough sick time to take tomorrow off so I'm going to have to rough it.

I hope your week is going well. Do you have any prayer requests?

Two Dog Adventures

Sorry for no update this past week. Things have been busy around the McCarl household. We're finally getting settled and used to having two dogs. We love them both so much but are really different.

Patsy is so sweet, independent, and sleepy. I think she gets that from her Mommy. She is a complete Daddy's girl.

Jacob is active, cuddly, and curious. He is more like his Daddy. Jacob is definitly already a Mommy's boy.

Together, these two make a wonderful pair. They LOVE to play!! They LOVE treats!! They LOVE each other!!

Here are some things that we've been figuring out about our two two dogs.

*We have discovered that the neighbors have a beautiful white cat. Well, she's beautiful when she's not in our backyard trying to attack the dogs. Jacob was very curious about her but when she hissed and pawed at him, he changed his attitude a little.

*Jacob LOVES to be outside. However, he thinks that anytime the door opens he must go out. Last Tuesday morning, Mommy had to chase him around our neighborhood. I was so upset but finally got some help from above. A man down the street was walking his dog and Jacob went to sniff his dog. Then, the man grabbed Jacob and I was able to get him and carry his 34 lb. self back to our house. I was NOT happy!! We now have a trick for getting out the door. Get to the door, throw a treat across the room, and run out the door.

*Toys are for sharing! Patsy has always loved her "babies" and likes to put them where she wants them. Jacob likes to carry them around everywhere. We have had many little "arguments" about the "babies" and who should have them and where they should be.

*The blue chair belongs to Patsy only. Patsy has always loved her chair but now that Jacob is here, she loves it even more. Jacob may sit on the blue couch with Mat or on the black couch with me. That is unless they both want to cuddle with Daddy on the couch.


*The treat cabinet is not safe. Last night, we had friends over for a movie. Courtney came into the living room and had to tell on Jacob. He was seen opening up the treat cabinet with his nose. Now, he loves to do this all the time. Trash cans and food aren't safe either!!

*Pink dog beds=boy dogs and Blue dog beds=girl dogs. Patsy started here with an old comforter. Then, we bought her a cute blue bed to match our bedroom and then Mat's mom gave her an old one from their dog Molly. Patsy loves her comforter which is in the living room and her pink bed. Well, now that she has to share, she would much rather have the blue bed. A girl's gotta have a nice bed.

*Dog baths are fun - not! Well, Jacob loves the bath but Patsy hates it. Jacob is so cute when he gets out. He tries to dry himself off but rubbing up against the towels and the carpet. Patsy would just much rather be dirty all her life. Too bad we insist on bathing her all the time.

*Jacob has severe separation anxiety. Not only does he want to escape when we leave but he always wants to do his loud beagle bark. I hate leaving him because he crawls up in the window and starts barking as soon as I get the door closed. It is so sad to hear! I always want to go back in and love on him.

*Everyone should have at least one dog. We have truly been blessed by all of the love that these two dogs can give. We joke about how we can't imagine our lives without them. We are so happy to have them!

Introducing...

Jacob B. (Beagle) McCarl!

We are excited to announce that we have a new member of our family.

We just adopted Jacob from the Animal Shelter. We had been thinking about getting another dog since we got Patsy. However, it finally seemed to be the right time and we were financially able to take on another dog. On Sunday, we received a call from the shelter that they had Jacob and would put a hold on him until we could get there. We went Monday and visited him. Then, Tuesday we took Patsy to meet him. Today, we went to pick him up and bring him home!

He was recently given up because his first family was losing their home to foreclosure and they couldn't keep him anymore. We're sad to hear that about his other family but are blessed to have him with us. He and Patsy are having a lot of fun together and Mat and I love him already. He is a great addition to our family!

Enjoy the pictures of our afternoon!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I love a Blog Makeover!

Just in time for Spring, I asked my bloggy friend, Faith to make over my blog. Don't you love this new look? It is so colorful and cheerful.

Head over to her design blog and get one of your own. She is so talented and it was a pleasure to work with her. She is such a sweet Christian woman.

Thank you, Faith, for my new blog look! I LOVE IT!!

http://adesignoffaith.blogspot.com/

Dress for Less

Kelly at Kelly's Korner (one of my favorite blogs) is hosting "Recession Fashion - Dress for Less!". I had to join in on sharing my ideas because my two favorite things (other than people) are shopping and good deals. Here are some of the many things I love that are $30 and under.

If you haven't checked out Old Navy lately, go NOW. I was there on Saturday and found so many things I wanted. I had self control though and only bought a few things.

I got this dress in black. It was only $15!! I wore it today with a white t-shirt underneath. I got so many compliments on it. It is cotton and comfortable too. Love it!

While you're at Old Navy, pick up one of these t-shirts in every color. I wear these under a lot of stuff. They are only $5!

Also, try on this dress. I saw it on Saturday but forgot to try it on. :( I want to go back and pick it up. It is only $29.50.

I also love Forever 21. They have cute and trendy stuff for great prices.

This dress is only $22.80 and so cute. I love it!!

You must have jewelry. You can get this set of earrings for $3.80! I love the colors of them.

As you can tell I, I love dresses. I'm so excited that Spring is close because I can't wait to get out all of my dresses. Of course, I have to buy some new ones too. :)

One thing I am having a hard time finding is shoes. I love flip flops but I can't wear them to work. I need some cute Spring/Summer shoes for work. Any ideas?

I hope you enjoyed this post and come back soon. If you are visiting from Kelly's Korner, please leave a comment so I can visit your blog. I LOVE bloggy visitors.

Serious Life Magazine

Go check out Serious Life Magazine. It is written by Brent Riggs (Abby's Dad). Abby is one of the little girls I've been asking you to pray for.

http://www.seriouslifemagazine.com/

Pay close attention to page 177.

And, as always, pray for Abby.