5 on Friday.........

I am going to try to do this 5 on Friday like my good friend Kara does! I will list the top 5 things that happend this week to give everyone a highlight of what's going on in our world!

Top 5:

1. RJ has had 1 full seizure and 2 petite seizures in the past 2 weeks. Because of this, his work had to put him on temporary leave (kind of) until he is 100%. We know that these seizures are pseudo seizures (non-epileptic), but still very dangerous. They are a product of the
sub-concious and result from a severe trauma. IE.... his car accident.

2. We will meet with another Neurologist on Monday to confirm that these seizures are still pseudoseizures, and see whether or not we need to switch medications to try and prevent them. Therapy and medication are the only treatment for these seizures. They are very real. He was scheduled to get his liscense back on February 1st, so we are just waiting for approval now from the Neurologist. This could possibly set that date back a bit, but we will know more on Monday.

3. Lucie has developed some sort of rash on her torso. It started Wednesday night right before supper and over night it got worse. We put hydrocortizone cream all over her, and then gave her some benedryl, it's almost gone now.

4. Alex had a basketball game on Tuesday in Nevada. They lost, but right at the end of the game Alex hurt his ankle. He went up and had a very sweet block, then came down pretty hard on his ankle. He stayed home from school the next day and took Wednesday and Thursday off of practice. He seems to be doing better today and is going to try and practice tonight!

5. Gracie is infatuated with Harry Potter. Over the last couple of weeks she has been watching the first 3 movies in the series over and over again. We don't think she is ready for the next movie yet, they are a bit scary and I don't want her to have nightmares.

Bonus #6. RJ shaved Monday night! He hasn't shaved since September of last year. He looks so young and happy again. I get my hair done Saturday morning, I am getting it hi-lighted and cut!

On hold for a little while longer....

Everything was going great until Friday the 13th this month. I was driving RJ to work that morning and he had a seizure. Out of nowhere. He had no warning. I took him home and he was ok the rest of the weekend. Then on Sunday the 22nd he had a similiar episode, but he felt it coming on, so I sat him down and kept telling him to breathe, just keep breathing. He pulled himself out of it before he started having the seizure. His recovery time was about 10 minutes and then he felt fine. Then it happend the next morning again on the way to work. Again, I talked him through it and he was able to stop the seizure. He seemed ok, so I dropped him off at work. He had to tell work what was going on, they knew something was wrong when he came into work. They said they were very glad he told them but that he couldn't be at work now until he is 100% ok.

We met with his regular Dr. that afternoon. He thinks they might be severe anxiety attacks that turn into seizures, but he isn't so sure. He is having us see another specialist (neurologist) next Monday the 30th to find out for sure what is going on.

Dr. Acosta (neurologist) said that his seizures are not epileptic, but pseudoseizures. They occur in people who have been through a severe trauma. Treatment includes the involvement of a neurologist, psychiatrist, and your family doctor. Pseudoseizures are seizures of the subconcious. You have no control over them and they can happen at any time. They can be cureable in most cases, by getting to the root of the "being afraid" and dealing with it. I believe RJ is terrified of driving again, especially in bad weather. He hasn't had a seizure or anything in 6 months and now that we find out he is close to getting his liscense back and being 100% off restrictions at work he is having symphtoms again.

Hopefully we get great news at the neurologist on Monday and they can confirm that they are just pseudoseizures and with medication and therapy they can stop.

Send prayers and thoughts with us that day.......

No Restrictions and a Liscensed Driver again.....

We visited with Dr. Acosta(RJ's Neurologist) on Monday the 6th. He Officially cleared RJ for full duty as of February 1, 2012!!!!!!!!!!

That is the greatest news ever for all of us! RJ has been waiting for this day to come! This also is the day RJ can get his liscense back!! We both have the day off on Friday the 3rd, so we will go to get it on that day! Things are finally starting to come back together for us!

Lilly turned 15..........

My Neice Lilly turned 15 on September 19th, 2011. We traveled to Harcourt, IA (approxitmately 35 minutes away, 45-50 minutes if you ask Kari, lol...) for the party. It's always a good time to get together with my sister and her new family! Happy Birthday Lilly, great things are in store for you I am sure of it.............

Grandma Beth's Birthday Party..........

My Mom turned 54 on September 17th, 2011. We all got together at La Caretta to celebrate. We all try pretty hard to get together when we can and for the most part we were all there, give or take a few.....

My Mom is a big part of my life, well actually a HUGE part of my families lives. She watches the girls while we work, and this past year she helped out more than anyone with taking care of RJ and running him to and from appointments or when we needed help. She was there with RJ on July 1st last year when he had his Grand Mall Seizure. I thank God everyday for such an amazing Mom and wonderful person. Without her this past year would have been completely IMPOSSIBLE. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, we love you more than ever!!

Lilly also celebrated her birthday the morning of Mom's party so we snapped a picture of the 2 birthday girls together at the restaraunt!!

Lucie turned 2.............

Our littlest girl has turned 2 on December 28th, 2011. She had a lot of first's this past year, including.... Going potty on the toilet, drinking out of a sippy cup, saying many different words and now talking pretty well for a 2 year old. She has become more independant and loves doing things without help. Her favorite movie of the year was "The Laurie Berkner Band" Dvd. Favorite songs included "I'm gonna Catch you, We are the Dinasours, Victor Veto, and Let's go Swimming!!" She loves to play dress up with her older sister and read books and play outside when the weather is good!

We had a birthday party for Lucie on her birthday with family! She loves Elmo soooo, we got Jen Herrick to make her an Elmo cake and cupcakes for the party! She had a great time and loves her Elmo balloon!! Happy Birthday Lu Lu Belle, you light up our lives with your great big smile and you are such a dare devil! You truly are our baby girl, but you are turning into such a big girl right before our eyes. I can't wait to see what this year brings for you. Love you Lucie Louise Vodenik!!

It's Basketball time.....

Alex is #41
Alex has now entered the basketball season! This has become his favorite sport and he does pretty well! The middle school record for the season isn't very good, but they are finally starting to play as a team and really come together. He is also playing on the AAU team this year, their record is much better and we travel on weekends to their tournaments. The girls have gone to a couple of the games with us, but for the most part they don't want to sit still and watch the games, in return we end up missing most of the game watching them. So.....we have enlisted the help of Grandma Beth and Cousin Baillee to help watch them when Alex has a game. Hopefully this coming year they will sit better and enjoy watching their big brother play!!

Halloween 2011.........

I was able to talk RJ into participating in Gracie and Lucie's Halloween costumes last year! We had been reading the Cat in the Hat with the girls and I got the idea to have them be "Thing 1 and Thing 2 and Daddy could be The Cat in the Hat. I was going to be the fish in the bowl, but we ran out of time to make that costume! The costumes turned out soo cute, and when we went trick or treating downtown, everyone stopped us to take pictures. They were even in the November issue of Boone Living!! The hardest part of the costume making process was their blue wigs. I can't wait until Halloween this year we are already talking about what theme we will ALL be in!!

Gracie turned 3.............

Our baby is not a baby anymore, she turned 3 on November 4th, 2011.. We started the day off with taking her to Details Salon to get her hair done. RJ and I then took her to see her first movie in a theater... Puss & Boots. It was a blast. She loved it and it was nice to go to a matinea so that the theatre wasn't too full. We ended the day a birthday party at home with family! The only thing she requested all year for her birthday was a Barbie Cake. Sooo, we got her one!

Happy Birthday baby girl, you bring so much joy and happiness to our lives and everyday you make us more proud at how intelligent, loveable, outgoing, curious, funny and wonderful you are. I can't wait to see how this year turns out with you going to pre-school in the fall, we love you Gracie Jane Vodenik!

Way behind on my posts!

With being completely overwhelmed last year I got way behind on my blog, so I am going to try and get caught up now! Bare with me.....

Coming to a close......

2011 was to say in short full of trauma, heartache, tears, problems, and disapointment, but it was also full of promise, laughter, togetherness, family, friends and LOVE.
2011 started off with a major car accident that left our family distraught. RJ went through so much, the accident, the pain, then physical therapy, then seizures and allergic reactions and drug reactions to all of the different types of medication they tried. He was off work for 8 1/2 months out of the year and we struggled, but we made it.
If anything the past year has shown me just much love I have for RJ and our children. Not one day goes by that I don't cherish every minute with them. I thank God for keeping us together and allowing me to have my husband by my side.
WE look forward to the upcoming year and how many great things that are in store for us. I wish all of my family and friends good will and a great year ahead!

Boone's Cutest Kid Contest........

We decided to enter Gracie Jane into the "Boone's Cutest Kid Contest" for 2012. She had her pictures taken at Sarah Moore Photography here in Boone. The photo shoot was so much fun and she had a blast. She changed her outfit 2 1/2 times and we changed her hair too! I have only seen one of the pictures so far and I LOVE it! We should see the rest in about another 3 days. Once we see all of the pictures we then decide which picture to put into the contest and then everyone on Facebook votes for which one they like the best! Wish her luck, we should find out at the end of March!!!

2012... A New Beginning......

We started off this year celebrating with our friends and family! We played games all afternoon and evening and managed to make it to Midnight. A big thanks to Nick Sawyer, Kari Lenning, Beth & Errol Weir, Katie & Cory & Brogan Wood, along with our daughters Gracie and Lucie for making it a great NEW YEARS EVE!!