bad case of the Mondays!

What a crazy month my sweet boy has had for sickness! As you know, he had a double ear infection, sinus infection, and a break out due to his allergy to his antibiotics! Well, Sunday about 12:30 am, which I guess means it was actually Monday, he woke up screaming! I ran in and checked on him only to find him doubled over in extreme pain. I held him and gave him some medicine and tried to get him calmed down. I finally got him calmed down, went back up to my bed for about 15 mins when I heard more screaming! This time, he was on the floor doubled over and and screaming! He begged me to put him in the shower, so I did even though it was the wee hours of the morning. I got him calmed down again and put him back to sleep, only to have this happen every 15-20 min! By morning, I was a zombie, he had these huge dark circles under his eyes, and I knew we had to get him to the Dr. since he was still in extreme pain! My husband, graciously called into work late, and drove him straight to the Dr! There he was diagnosed saying he had a viral stomach bug and sent home. The hubs was told he had to come in to work, which left me with the littles and still doing my best to care for my sweet boy! I was running on fumes by this point! I couldn't leave his side because the pain just kept coming more and more! After hours of doing this, I thought to myself, "I am his Mommy! I know him better than any of those doctors, and something is wrong with him!" I called the Dr and they thought they said go immediately to Children's Mercy. My mom over to drive us, since I was in no way able to do that after no sleep! My bro-in-law came to sit with the kids until my bestie could get there! My hubs was at work and stuck in traffic trying to get there as fast as he could. We arrived and only had to wait around 5 minutes (that felt like a lifetime) before we were taken to triage. When we were in triage, he got another severe attack of pain! I could barely hold him still while they were trying to get his temp and vitals. I had been able to hold it together all day until that moment. Here I am holding my baby who is in extreme pain and I can't fix it! The tear just started streaming down my face as I am trying to hold him still. In my head, I am having this conversation with the Lord. I kept saying, "Lord, this is ultimately your child, and I don't know what to do! Please, please, please help him and help me to get through this, I am nothing without you! I can't do this alone, and we need you!" Then, He told me Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." It's a verse I have heard all my life, but at this moment He knew it was exactly what I needed! I needed to trust the Lord and forget everything else! Forget the worry, the unknowns, etc! From triage, they took us immediately back after telling me, they have never seen a child in this much pain before! A room of doctors and several nurses were waiting for us. After MANY hours and MANY tests, they told us they found something. The Dr came in and told my husband and I that they found something on his ultrasound. He explained he has a condition called kidney hydronephrosis. The Dr also said that he he thinks he has reflux meaning at times the urine is going back in his body instead of out. He isn't sure if this is linked to the pain that he was having, but he urged us to follow up with our regular Dr. ASAP. We got home at 11:30pm, ate some dinner, and went to bed after being up for almost 24 hrs. Morning came too fast, but I called our Dr right away. He had already received all the info from Children's and had already looked at it all. He too, could see the problem with his kidney and told me that he wanted to personally call the specialist at Mercy. He explained that there is a risk of having surgery to place a stint, but he needed to talk to the specialist for a 2nd opinion.

So now all we can do it wait, wait, and wait some more. While I have been waiting, I have been praying and digging in His Word! I don't know what is going to happen, but I know I can rest assured that the Lord does. I know He will take care of us in this time and give the doctors the wisdom in how to proceed.

It has been a VERY long week, but everytime I see my son wanting to play it brings me great joy! Through this, I have learned to cherish your kids health! Cherish that they can run and play outside. I know for me there have been times when I have been too tired to take them outside, but now I feel totally different! We never know how long we have with them, so cherish those moments together! Please continue to pray for our sweet boy and our family! I will update as soon as we know anything else!

We had the best nurse while we were at the hospital! She rounded up a Nintendo Dsi XL, with games for him to play. It really helped distract him! So, thank you Misty!

Spring is here!

Oh how I LOVE Spring! I love waking up to the birds chirping...or in my case, the chickens talking! Every day I look outside there seems to be some new plant or flower coming up! I LOVE it! I thought I would share what is growing at my house!


These are some herbs I have been growing! I miss fresh herbs!


Look at our grass finally coming up!!! SO happy about this! Teddy and I are always wanting the perfect yard!



These are our fabulous David Austin Roses that my sweet MIL bought for me last year! Can't wait to have fresh roses!


My 2nd favorite flower is a peony. I thought I had killed these for good last year, and was SO shocked to see them come back this year. Happy dance!!!


I have always loved tulips because I always think of Spring coming when I see them. I found a great deal on these and we planted them a few weeks ago. Teddy and I were taking bets on if they would bloom this year or not...I WON, cause they did! Don't they look beautiful?!?!


What pretty things do you have growing at your house? What's your favorite flower or plant?

Chicken Dance!

Oh what a day it has been here at the Duff household! First off, sorry I took like almost a year hiatus! I didn't plan to, I just got busy with life I guess. My morning started off with my youngest spilling my fresh cup of coffee all over him and me, not fun to clean up either! Coffee + carpet = no bueno!

After that my oldest, who mind you has been fighting a double ear infection along with a sinus infection came to me with a rash over his whole body! He is on such high doses of meds that I guess he's allergic to one which left his body in an itchy mess! I got the littles put down for a nap and then got Mr. Rash boy settled with benadryl and movie picnic. I knew our chickens were out of water since yesterday, and thought it was a perfect time to go water them. That's when the chaos began...

It has been raining for like 3 days here, and when I went out there to tend to my sweet hens, it was raining rather hard. We have been trying our best to grow grass because our poor backyard is a mudpit! I knew it would be muddy so I put on old clothes and shoes and head out to the rain! Apparently from the rain, the wood has expanded on our coop which was making it near impossible to get into the coop! After a while I was able to get in one side and fill up with their water container. All was going rather smooth until I went to re-attach the board of the coop. HUGE problem!!! I can't get it shut because of the wood expansion!!! I am still in the pouring rain with my muddy dogs jumping on me and trying to figure out what to do since my sweet husband was at work! SO...I left the door lying against the coop so I could run in the garage and get some tools and a phone to call my hubs. In the meantime, the chickens decide they want to go exploring and leave their cozy home. I peek out the door and see all 5 of my hens in my yard! I drop everything and sprint out the door...remember the part where I said it was a mudpit?!?!? Yeah! So I went sliding all over my yard and falling too! I get a stick and herd the hens back to safety after a LONG while of spills! I get them back in there and still have no clue what to do! Luckily my Daddy showed up!!! He helped me drive a nail in to wedge it shut until my hubs returned! Whew! The hens are now safe and sound! Me, on the otherhand, was sopping wet with mud everywhere...off to the showers!!!

What a day! I am ready for bed...until next time!

Congrats Teddy!

I am so proud to announce that Mr. Italian Stallion graduated over the weekend with his A.A! He has been working so hard for the past 10 years on getting this done and he did it! This was a very big deal to our family because when he was in the 8th grade he had made the decision to drop out of school. A few years later he completed his GED with AWESOME scores might I add, and then in the fall of 2001 he enrolled in Penn Valley Community College. Shortly after, we met, married, and had 3 children so it took him a little longer than expected to finish. This is was his very first graduation and I wanted to make it extra special for him! We invited out family and our closet friends to the ceremony and the next day we hosted an open house to thank everyone for all the support over the last 10 years. Funny thing is that only our family and our faithful bestfriends were able to make it to the open house...I was so embarrassed and felt terrible! After the day was done, my sweet husband told me the party was absolutely perfect because all of his favorite people were there and he did indeed feel very loved! So, thank you to all who came and helped me make that weekend a memorable one for him. I kept telling him I'm the luckiest woman in the world to be able to share that special moment with him, I had tears in my eyes as he walked across the stage and never had I been so proud of him in all of our time together! Seriously was one of my best moments ever!

Teddy, I love you so much! I stand in awe of you everyday, you are the most disciplined and hard working person and you have been a great example to our family. Thank you for all your hard work!

After all was said and done, he told me, "Not too bad for an 8th grader, huh?" LOL
Oh, how I love that man!

p.s. I'm trying to get better at blogging...I know it's been 3 months, but hopefully I'll have a little more time to do it now! :)

1 already?!?!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, Bobby!

I can't believe a year has gone by since my last baby was born! He was our surprise baby, and I'm so happy to have him! He completed our family and has continued to teach me new things everyday. Here are a few things I love about my sweet boy the most!

*He loves to cuddle!
*His smile is seriously the BEST smile we've ever seen!
*His eyes, they are seriously gorgeous and you can tell exactly how he is feeling
*The way when he wants to crawl fast, he tucks his head and looks at the ground and takes off...the kid is made to be a racer! lol
*His laugh...his daddy is the only one who can get that boy cackling!
*Every time I go to look for him, he either has a car in his hand or he's playing with the dogs (or dog toys)!
*His hair! He is getting blonder by the day...crazy, I know! The last few weeks after his bath his hair starts getting curls in it! I have curly hair and wanted so badly one of my babies to get it, and I think he did!

There are so many things I love about this little boy! He really has changed me over the last year and forced me to slow down. I usually go a million miles a minute, but with 3 kiddos under the age of 4, it's impossible to go that fast! And guess what?? I don't even miss it for a second! I love being a Mama and I'm so blessed to spend 24hrs a day with them!

I love you Bobby-saurus! I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for your life!

My Italian Stallion

Hello all! I keep saying I'm going to get better on posting, and then I let like 2 weeks go by...eeek! I really am working on it, for real :)

My hubs and I do try and get each other a little something for Valentine's Day, and to kick it off he bought me a cookbook called, "The Pioneer Woman Cooks." She is the awesome lady who lives on a ranch with her 4 kids and her husband known as "Marlboro Man." She was a city girl who went country when meeting her cowboy. She has saved my life when it comes to cooking a roast...as task that I hadn't been able to do well in almost 7 years of marriage. I love reading her blog because she's so honest and down to earth, but most of all because she is madly in love with her Marlboro Man and speaks often of him. My husband and I were looking at her cookbook last night, and I said that I should have a nickname for him on my blog. We laughed over some silly ideas and then I told him I have the perfect name for him...Italian Stallion! I know you're thinking, "wow, that's real original!" Here's how I came up with it and why it fits him perfectly.

First off, he is an Italian and I love that about him! He's strong, loud, passionate, opinionated, loves a good meal, touchy feely, and when he loves, he loves you with every ounce and soul of him! When I think of stallion, I think of the most beautiful, masculine, strong horse. We all know dolphins are my first love when it comes to animals, but if I had to choose my second favorite it would be a horse. I love the way they move and I love how sweet and loyal they are. That's my husband, I love watching him walk across a room and I love watching how he is ALWAYS the life of the party. He can control a crazy situation in one second! He amazes me with his physical strength and how much of it he has! He's played hockey since he was 5, and his legs are the best thing ever!! They are the strongest legs I've ever seen in my life! He will forever and always be my Italian Stallion whom I love and I have the privilege to call mine!

Finally...

I know it's been a REALLY long time since I've posted...so sorry! I plan on being more consistent now that all the holidays are over and we're back on schedule!

In the past, the month of January came with much sorrow for me, but today I want to rejoice that in 3 years this is the first January I have felt peace! Be prepared to read, this is a long one! Let me explain...

Back in 2007, we already had our handsome oldest son and decided we were ready to start trying for baby #2. After 6 months of trying, we found out I was expecting! I remember my husband and I being in the bathroom together waiting for what seemed like an eternity to pass, but a few short minutes later we looked at the test and then looked at each other with tears in both of our eyes...we were finally pregnant! We immediately told our family and even our church family that I would be having a baby in mid-January! A few weeks later...Mother's Day weekend in fact, I started bleeding. I was so freaked out and Ted immediately rushed us off to the ER. They did lots of testing and more ultrasounds only to tell me to go see my doctor first thing in the morning and she would read the results to us. It seemed like a lifetime, but we went to the Dr and they did even more blood work and said come back in 24 hrs again. I spent A LOT of time in prayer and reading my Bible. In fact, my best friend gave me a verse that has stuck with me ever since...Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." She encouraged me to only think on those things and to remember that the Lord is in control and only He could bring me comfort. Next day came, and I had to go back to the Dr again! Funny thing is before I got there, I already in my heart knew what happened, but I was holding out for the last bit of hope. The Dr. came in, hugged me, and said she was so sorry to inform me that at 9 weeks I miscarried. I didn't move, I couldn't even cry...I was in shock and devastated! She said she had know explanation for it, that sometimes things like that happen. She told us to come back again when we were ready to start trying again...she said, "please don't give up!" My husband and I spent that night holding each other and crying together. He prayed with me, cried with me, read to me,etc! He was just as devastated as I was, but we trusted the Lord and knew it wasn't His will at the time. I knew people in my life who had suffered miscarriages and was sad for them, but I never in a million years could have imagined how much it really hurts! I wasn't prepared for all the emotions that came with it! I studied out verses on trusting the Lord and over and over again kept meditating on them. I knew that it would only be through Him that I would conceive again.

After trying for a few months we went back to my Dr only to find out I know was suffering from infertility. I was confused because when I became pregnant with my oldest it was a total shocker and unplanned. After finding this new out, I had to begin take fertility drugs and every month I had to go to see if I was pregnant or not. I did that for 4 months and every month was let down until November! It was the weekend of my sister's wedding and I didn't want to take the time out to go to the Dr. My husband told me that I needed to go and not put it off, so I went. My Dr of course wasn't there so I was seeing another Dr in the practice. I remember sitting on the dreaded table and the nurse and Dr coming in with open arms telling me I was pregnant! My response, "Are you sure???" They were VERY sure, I was about 2 months along and would be due in early August! I couldn't wait to tell my husband that after trying for an entire year we would be having a baby! I was beaming and the minute I saw my sister she knew without me saying a word! I then had to go back to the Dr for an ultrasound to make sure we weren't having twins! We decided to wait awhile to tell anyone else until I was further along because of our history. I remember throughout this pregnancy I was constantly battling my thoughts! There were time when I would get scared of the "what if it happens again" thing, but I casted that thought down (2 Cor 10:5) and trusted in the Lord. At 16 weeks I started bleeding, and my husband rushed me again to the ER. Everyone there was treating me for a miscarriage and in my mind that's what I thought was happening too. It was horrible! We went back to the exam room and the nurse said he wanted to try and find the heartbeat. He tried for about 2-3 minutes, and there was nothing! I was crying and I look over only to see tears in my husband's eyes as well. The nurse told us he needed to get the Dr and he'd be back. Ted held me until the Dr came in and started preparing us for the worst! He sat down and decided to try for himself to find the heartbeat, and after a few minutes Ted and I looked at each other and starting crying because we knew what we had heard...our baby's heartbeat!!! They never could explain why that happened, but in my mind I think the Lord was testing me to see if I trusted Him or not! On July 29th our healthy daughter arrived!!! We've been in love ever since...
After all that the Dr told me that I would never be able to conceive again, and if I did the only chance I would have was to take fertility drugs. Well, let me tell you Dr's are wrong, because baby #3 was on the way and we were shocked to say the least! We weren't trying and in our mind thought we were done with 2, but the Lord had different plans for us! In the beginning, I was freaked out about having 3 kids! I didn't think I could do it, 3 kids under the age of 4...crazy! Ted kept telling me over and over that the Lord wouldn't give us more than we could handle, and I believe that with all my heart and soul! Again at 16 weeks the same things happened...bleeding! Off to the ER again only to be treated like we were miscarrying. They never could explain why that one happened either, but on February 24th my sweet baby was born...our family was finally complete!

Every January before I was sad and frankly kept thinking "what if I didn't lose the baby?" We will never forget what happened, and it still makes me cry even to this day! I can finally look back and be at peace! This is the first January that I can look around in my house...see 3 beautiful babies looking at me and know the Lord had it figured out ALL along! I wouldn't have these babies if I would have been able to carry the other one to full term. I was telling all this to my husband the other day and he said, "Baby, we have peace from the Lord!" I couldn't agree more! I'm thankful that it happened in order to bring me to where I am now. I trust the Lord even more today than I did back in 2007. I fell in love with my husband all over again and we connected on a level most will never know in a lifetime. Since then, we've met many people who we know and love who have suffered from a miscarriage and it breaks my heart. I can really say that I know what they are feeling and it even makes my stomach turn a bit. It give me the opportunity to share with them what the Lord did in our life then and now. Being able to do that makes all the pain we felt worth it! The Lord has blessed us abundantly and proven yet again that He's bigger than every thing and can do the impossible!