Our family is currently camping out in our basement because the main floor of our house in under a few renovations. We can't wait for the work to be completed. It has been a little inconvenient to see most of our stuff in the closets upstairs jam-packed in the basement. Our pool table downstairs is holding a lot of clothes. Last night, I couldn't help being bothered by the sight of all the clothes on the pool table that I covered it with a big window scarf. It just looked so disorganized... plus Izzy's toys are all over the floor. I started to breathe better as soon as I was done covering the clothes.
I really thank the Lord for the sunshine today. The last few days was a little bit depressing being that we were not able to go out because of the weather. We were stuck in the basement. Actually, living in our basement is not bad at all. It's nice to be able to use our guest room, bathroom and living room in this floor for a week and a half now... it feels like we are in a hotel. What's even nicer is that I'm so close to Paul's office, which vacant space I turned into a craft area. Izzy and I just need our afternoon walks and we are fine. But the cold, windy and rainy weather the past few days kept us inside most of the day.
Last night, hubby informed me that there will be a little delay on our re-carpeting. We chose a really nice texture-patterned carpet last week. The carpet store had to order it and it's not ready until 10 days. That only means that we will be in the basement until at least the 20th of this month. I'm a little worried now because we are expecting a guest from Malaysia next week. I just hope that we could at least make our house look decent before she arrives. Hubby did say that for major changes like what we are doing in our main floor now could sometimes take 6 months, so to have it for less than a month is really good. So, I guess I have to gird myself up for this. But the thought of having a new beautiful look in our house excites me.
What we are doing in our main floor are the following:
1. Replace all doors with a Alder doors. Hubby (THE painter) already stained and lacquered it. They look so sleek.
2. Replace all the woodwork with Poplar wood. The woodworker should be able to complete it today. Tomorrow, hubby starts enameling it. We decided to use linen white paint versus plain white. The woodwork is double the width of the previous one and is very smooth.
3. Finish the process of changing the ceiling from popcorn to knock-down.
4. Paint the walls... with bright colors. I am a fan of bright colors. I like to say, cool neutral colors are boring and that they aren't really colors. I love deep colors... but they must not be in a primary and secondary color wheel.
5. Improvise a multi-media furniture from the cherry-lacquered furniture we already have at our house for our main living room.
6. Re-carpet. We are so excited about our new carpet. It's top-of-the-line texture-patterned carpet. Thanks to one of hubby's friends who is a re-modeler, we got our carpet very affordable. Otherwise, there was no way we would go for it for its cost. Blessings come in different forms!
7. Replace cabinet doors... may not happen before this year ends though. We are not sure whether to enamel or lacquer the cabinets. If they are Alder doors, I would definitely want them lacquered. Otherwise, enamel is pretty too with a deep bright wall color.
Can't wait for the new look of our main floor!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Health Issues Update
I blogged about my health issues here and I wanted to make a quick update on it mainly for family and friends around the world ;) and for anybody who might have the same experience. I definitely welcome encouraging comments and stories.
Anyway, I saw my surgeon last week for consultation and she did a very good job of explaining the whole surgery process on my neck. She seemed to be well-experienced in her field. Before meeting her, I was hoping to see someone older (anywhere between the ages 40-50). For some reason, that's of importance to me. I already had a sense of trust in her being that she was recommended by my endocrinologist. Meeting her in person for the first time, gave me a comfortable feeling that she would do a great job. She mentioned that the procedure would last from an hour to an hour and a half. It's gonna be a lobectomy. This is the case where the entire right portion of the thyroid would be removed. And while I am asleep, they will do several biopsies of the part that would be taken out to find out if there is any malignant cell, which she said is a very slim possibility.
We scheduled my surgery on the 6th of November. A week before the surgery I must have a general physical evaluation to make sure I qualify for the procedure.
The anticipation of an up-coming surgery isn't very pleasant. But I am thankful to the Lord for the courage He gave me to choose that route rather than waiting for another 6 months and then go through a repeat process of tests, which my endocrinologist gave as another option.
I have a month to gather more strength from the Lord before my surgery. And to pray that my surgeon's hand would be guided by the Lord.
Anyway, I saw my surgeon last week for consultation and she did a very good job of explaining the whole surgery process on my neck. She seemed to be well-experienced in her field. Before meeting her, I was hoping to see someone older (anywhere between the ages 40-50). For some reason, that's of importance to me. I already had a sense of trust in her being that she was recommended by my endocrinologist. Meeting her in person for the first time, gave me a comfortable feeling that she would do a great job. She mentioned that the procedure would last from an hour to an hour and a half. It's gonna be a lobectomy. This is the case where the entire right portion of the thyroid would be removed. And while I am asleep, they will do several biopsies of the part that would be taken out to find out if there is any malignant cell, which she said is a very slim possibility.
We scheduled my surgery on the 6th of November. A week before the surgery I must have a general physical evaluation to make sure I qualify for the procedure.
The anticipation of an up-coming surgery isn't very pleasant. But I am thankful to the Lord for the courage He gave me to choose that route rather than waiting for another 6 months and then go through a repeat process of tests, which my endocrinologist gave as another option.
I have a month to gather more strength from the Lord before my surgery. And to pray that my surgeon's hand would be guided by the Lord.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Izzy's Early Birthday
We celebrated Izzy's 3rd birthday with P's side of the family much earlier this year. The whole family got together two weeks ago for the party. We also celebrated the birthdays of two of Izzy's cousins. I got to make the cake which Izzy especially requested. She wanted the ice cream cone butterfly cake. She saw it from my cake recipe book. Too bad I wasn't able to take photos of all of the ice cream cone fun cakes... Izzy's cousins couldn't wait to pick their favorite design before I could get a chance to take the photos. Yeah, the little cakes came in different designs- butterflies (Izzy's favorite), flowers and I even made a lady bug. I will probably make another one on Izzy's actual birthday.
Our little girl was so excited to get a couple Veggie Tales DVD's, Kailan and Mr. Fluffy's Bakery set and a Kailan doll for gifts. Of course her favorite is the Kailan doll.
Our little girl was so excited to get a couple Veggie Tales DVD's, Kailan and Mr. Fluffy's Bakery set and a Kailan doll for gifts. Of course her favorite is the Kailan doll.
Minnesota State Fair- II
When we went to the state fair on the second time, the Treuenfels (friend Maricris' family) were with us...
Friend Cris and me
The sweetest roasted corn I've ever had!
Izzy and her daddy and Cy and his daddy went on the giant slide! Rides... rides... rides...
My second grilled Turkey Leg!
Friend Maricris, her kiddos- Cy and Jo and Izzy and Me.
We were met by a huge robot at the entrance of the fair. We are still wondering if there was a man inside the robot. He did a conversation with Paul. We don't know if that's possible for a robot to actually carry a conversation like that.
Friend Cris and me
The sweetest roasted corn I've ever had!
Izzy and her daddy and Cy and his daddy went on the giant slide! Rides... rides... rides...
My second grilled Turkey Leg!
Friend Maricris, her kiddos- Cy and Jo and Izzy and Me.
We were met by a huge robot at the entrance of the fair. We are still wondering if there was a man inside the robot. He did a conversation with Paul. We don't know if that's possible for a robot to actually carry a conversation like that.
Minnesota State Fair- I
Paul loves the chocolate-coated fruit slices on a stick.
Izzy's favorite thing to do at the fair is watching horse show. She could basically sit watching the Rodeo, especially, for hours if we let her. It was so fun. I enjoy it a lot as well.
A pose with Simon, the black sheep. It was nice to see the sheep at the animal barn.
The butterfly nursery was also fun to visit. Izzy really enjoy that experience. She couldn't believe butterflies would freely come to her and stick with her until she pushed them away.
Love the big crowd at the fair. More than a hundred thousand people visit the fair each day.
I'd come to the fair excitedly mainly for the grilled Turkey Leg on a stick! Super yummy!
Randy, P's brother, came with us on our first visit.
Izzy's favorite thing to do at the fair is watching horse show. She could basically sit watching the Rodeo, especially, for hours if we let her. It was so fun. I enjoy it a lot as well.
A pose with Simon, the black sheep. It was nice to see the sheep at the animal barn.
The butterfly nursery was also fun to visit. Izzy really enjoy that experience. She couldn't believe butterflies would freely come to her and stick with her until she pushed them away.
Love the big crowd at the fair. More than a hundred thousand people visit the fair each day.
I'd come to the fair excitedly mainly for the grilled Turkey Leg on a stick! Super yummy!
Randy, P's brother, came with us on our first visit.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Health Issues
I've been very healthy. I try to be disciplined in eating well and exercising every morning. I am not a big sports person. I swim. Work out. Walk as much as I could. Bike for miles. Play basketball and table tennis. But I don't do sports competition. I wouldn't be seen me in a triathlon or in a basketball competition(although I kind of did that when I was in Mongolia). Despite all the efforts done to keep me fit, I am not a hundred percent perfectly well. I have struggled with a couple issues regarding my general health.
Right after I gave birth to my daughter, Izzy, Bell's Palsy hit me. Thankfully, it didn't last long. I had it for only a month. It was frightening! It felt like it would never go away. One month felt like forever. It deformed my face like crazy. I was sad but was able to overcome the frustration that came with it by God's grace. A couple months passed after the Bell's Palsy disappeared on its own, I had my friends over for lunch at my house. One of them was a Filipino doctor. She noticed that the right side of my neck was abnormally bigger. I quickly checked the mirror and realized that it's true. My neck was bigger than it normally was! My husband and I went to our doctor in Fairview Ridges for consultation. She confirmed that my right thyroid was enlarged. She recommended me to see an endocrinologist, which we did immediately.
My endocrinologist said that there was a nodule in my right thyroid and it has to be biopsied. Ultrasound-guided biopsy would be the only way to know if the lump was benign or malignant. Being that I was nursing my daughter during that time and was planning to nurse her until she would turn three, I didn't want to do anything that might have divided my attention as a new mom. I had the issue of my enlarged right thyroid at rest. Somehow, I wasn't worried. I did well in enjoying my life as a full-time stay-at-home mom. I knew that once my daughter was completely off from nursing that I would start dealing with my own physical condition.
Two and a half years had passed and it's time to see my endocrinologist again. She noticed that my neck was a little bit bigger than when she saw me last. Once again, she recommended an ultrasound-guided biopsy immediately. And I was ready for it.
I had the biopsy last week. It was somewhat scary. The ultrasound technician, the nurse and the radiologist were super nice. The very young Chinese radiologist stuck a total of 4 very tiny needles in my neck. The first one was the Novocaine to numb the nodule area and the next three needles were to draw sample cells. It went well.
The biopsy result came in yesterday. All the sample cells turned out benign. Praise God! However, my endocrinologist gave me two options... one, wait 6 months for another ultrasound; two, surgery. I am leaning toward having the nodule removed as soon as possible being that it is getting bigger. As it gets bigger it pushes in and will cause me more dry throat. Yes, my voice has been really affected by the nodule. I've noticed how I lost my voice after singing or teaching Sunday School. I've been struggling with forcing my voice out at times. My endocrinologist explained that it is the lump in my thyroid that has caused this.
My perspective about sicknesses has been checked. I used to persistently pray that God will take away all of my physical problems. And there's nothing wrong with that kind of prayer because it is God's will that His children enjoy good health. But the prayer has to have, "Your will be done, Oh, God." I have learned to pray for more of His grace and strength to carry me through most trying times. God is my Jehovah Rophe yesterday, today and forever. However, there are times that He uses sickness to build our character in Him.
Many of us don't act differently than those spoiled brats. We only want to eat what is sweet. We want God to remove every uncomfortable and painful experience. Apparently though, God uses painful experiences to make us become more like Him. Character is being built up and solidified through trying times. Thus, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:1-4
Right after I gave birth to my daughter, Izzy, Bell's Palsy hit me. Thankfully, it didn't last long. I had it for only a month. It was frightening! It felt like it would never go away. One month felt like forever. It deformed my face like crazy. I was sad but was able to overcome the frustration that came with it by God's grace. A couple months passed after the Bell's Palsy disappeared on its own, I had my friends over for lunch at my house. One of them was a Filipino doctor. She noticed that the right side of my neck was abnormally bigger. I quickly checked the mirror and realized that it's true. My neck was bigger than it normally was! My husband and I went to our doctor in Fairview Ridges for consultation. She confirmed that my right thyroid was enlarged. She recommended me to see an endocrinologist, which we did immediately.
My endocrinologist said that there was a nodule in my right thyroid and it has to be biopsied. Ultrasound-guided biopsy would be the only way to know if the lump was benign or malignant. Being that I was nursing my daughter during that time and was planning to nurse her until she would turn three, I didn't want to do anything that might have divided my attention as a new mom. I had the issue of my enlarged right thyroid at rest. Somehow, I wasn't worried. I did well in enjoying my life as a full-time stay-at-home mom. I knew that once my daughter was completely off from nursing that I would start dealing with my own physical condition.
Two and a half years had passed and it's time to see my endocrinologist again. She noticed that my neck was a little bit bigger than when she saw me last. Once again, she recommended an ultrasound-guided biopsy immediately. And I was ready for it.
I had the biopsy last week. It was somewhat scary. The ultrasound technician, the nurse and the radiologist were super nice. The very young Chinese radiologist stuck a total of 4 very tiny needles in my neck. The first one was the Novocaine to numb the nodule area and the next three needles were to draw sample cells. It went well.
The biopsy result came in yesterday. All the sample cells turned out benign. Praise God! However, my endocrinologist gave me two options... one, wait 6 months for another ultrasound; two, surgery. I am leaning toward having the nodule removed as soon as possible being that it is getting bigger. As it gets bigger it pushes in and will cause me more dry throat. Yes, my voice has been really affected by the nodule. I've noticed how I lost my voice after singing or teaching Sunday School. I've been struggling with forcing my voice out at times. My endocrinologist explained that it is the lump in my thyroid that has caused this.
My perspective about sicknesses has been checked. I used to persistently pray that God will take away all of my physical problems. And there's nothing wrong with that kind of prayer because it is God's will that His children enjoy good health. But the prayer has to have, "Your will be done, Oh, God." I have learned to pray for more of His grace and strength to carry me through most trying times. God is my Jehovah Rophe yesterday, today and forever. However, there are times that He uses sickness to build our character in Him.
Many of us don't act differently than those spoiled brats. We only want to eat what is sweet. We want God to remove every uncomfortable and painful experience. Apparently though, God uses painful experiences to make us become more like Him. Character is being built up and solidified through trying times. Thus, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:1-4
Monday, August 24, 2009
Examining King David
What would have happened if King David did not run and join the Philistines, his enemy, when King Saul and his men hunted him down?
I was amazed to hear another perspective on this account in King David's life. I heard one speaker said that when David ran away from King Saul and his people for his life and eventually joined the Philistines forces, he was actually taking a detour in his life. The detour was not originally planned by God. As a matter of fact, during this several-month detour, sons who later despised him and caused tragedy in his household were produced. King David was discouraged! He was scared to death! And he fled from the land that God promised him to be king. What would have happened if he didn't escape? We all the know that David was already a hero even in his youth. People loved him! Do you think they would not protect him from the hand of Saul? But wait, what happened to the priest who gave David holy bread and Goliath's sword? Oh, he and his entire clan were annihilated by King Saul. I think the people already knew that King Saul had totally lost his sanity and was capable of killing anyone who dared saved David. (my idea) No matter what the situation was, I believe that God had another way to preserve King David, without him becoming a fugitive.
I love the analogy of this perspective as we apply it to our walk with the Lord. There are times that we find it hard to wait upon the deliverance from God and instead we resort to create our own solution for our problems. And as we detour from the Lord's will, troubles are being produced. Some of the sad results of our failure to wait upon God do not arise until later. How tragic it was for King David to have a son like Absalom, who started a coup against his own father. He betrayed his own dad. Absalom, was one of David's sons during the time that he was a fugitive... sons who brought him so much pain. How frightening it is to take a detour in our walk with the Lord.
I was amazed to hear another perspective on this account in King David's life. I heard one speaker said that when David ran away from King Saul and his people for his life and eventually joined the Philistines forces, he was actually taking a detour in his life. The detour was not originally planned by God. As a matter of fact, during this several-month detour, sons who later despised him and caused tragedy in his household were produced. King David was discouraged! He was scared to death! And he fled from the land that God promised him to be king. What would have happened if he didn't escape? We all the know that David was already a hero even in his youth. People loved him! Do you think they would not protect him from the hand of Saul? But wait, what happened to the priest who gave David holy bread and Goliath's sword? Oh, he and his entire clan were annihilated by King Saul. I think the people already knew that King Saul had totally lost his sanity and was capable of killing anyone who dared saved David. (my idea) No matter what the situation was, I believe that God had another way to preserve King David, without him becoming a fugitive.
I love the analogy of this perspective as we apply it to our walk with the Lord. There are times that we find it hard to wait upon the deliverance from God and instead we resort to create our own solution for our problems. And as we detour from the Lord's will, troubles are being produced. Some of the sad results of our failure to wait upon God do not arise until later. How tragic it was for King David to have a son like Absalom, who started a coup against his own father. He betrayed his own dad. Absalom, was one of David's sons during the time that he was a fugitive... sons who brought him so much pain. How frightening it is to take a detour in our walk with the Lord.
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