We will all live forever....in Heaven or Hell

Friday, August 29, 2008

Weekend Plans


Our niece had her baby on Wednesday. A beautiful little boy weighing in at 8lbs. 4oz. We have only seen pictures so far but that is all about to change. We are leaving for Bay City whenever my husband gets home from work. Our plans are to stay until Monday evening. Those plans are subject to change depending on Gustav and what he decides to do. We are looking forward to the weekend away. Our other niece and her husband will be arriving today as well. So for the first time in a long time the entire Sanchez crew will be together. The week has been quite busy as usual. My husband and Nicholas went door knocking on Monday and met a family that is interested in a Bible study. They went back on Tuesday and visited some more. I met the lady on Wednesday. Seems like a nice enough lady. Basic lost family but always teachable. My husband finally made it to the bus barn to check his mail and learned he had received his 10 years of accident free driving award. My how quickly time passes. My neighbor gave me some really great diaper coupons and I was able to get three LARGE packs of diapers for only $2.15 total. WOW that was fun! I got two packs for Isaiah and one pack for our new great nephew. I pray everyone has a GREAT holiday weekend. I am also praying for those in Gustav's path (which may be us).

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

100


HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY
BUDDY McENTIRE!!!
This just happens to be my 100th post. Boy that was fast!!!
My neice is having a baby today please pray that all goes well.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

PKD

Please take a moment to check out my video link on the side bar.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Deals


This is not my grocery week but there were some good deals to be had so this is what I got and how it breaks down.
Rice a Roni $1 each at Kroger minus 2 $1 coupons making them both FREE
Soft soap at Kroger $1.09 minus 1 .35 coupon tripled to $1.05 final price .04
Large bag of Golden Puffs $2.29 ar Kroger minus $1.00 coupon final price $1.29
Gatarade 8 pack $4.99 at Kroger minus Catalina coupon final price FREE
Kleenex at Kroger $.88 minus .55 voupon final price .33
Kroger Whie Grape Juice $2.38 bogo free got 2 for $2.38
Glade plug ins $4.14 at Target minus 2 $4 coupons final price 2 for .28
Glade candles $2 at Target minus 2 $2 coupons final price FREE
Zest body soap $1.77 at Baywood minus 4 .75 coupons doulbled to $1.50 final price .27 each
L.A. Looks hair gel 2 for $3.00 at Baywood minus 2 $1.00 coupons final price 2 for $1.00
Clean and Clear face wash .99 at Target minus $1.00 coupon final price FREE
Glade air fresheners .88 at CVS minus 2 BOGO free coupons final price 4 for .44 each
Playschool 240 ct baby wipes $5.79 at CVS minus $2 coupon & $3 CVS coupon final price .79
Lamisil Defence $6.99 at CVS minus $4 coupon & $3 CVS coupon final price FREE
So... everything pictured cost me $9.69 including taxes.

Cleaning


Today was a day of super duper heavy duty CLEANING!!! I am exhausted. First was my bedroom which I did alone and consisted mainly of dusting and dusting and dusting. Now for those of you who know me you are probably wondering 'what in the world could she be dusting her bedroom is very small'. Well it was like this...Remove and wash all curtains and blinds (I did not put the blinds back up), scrub windows, dust all pictures, what nots, walls and ceiling. Yes I said walls and ceilings. Clean and dust ceiling fan. Vacuum carpet. Then is was on to the kitchen where Nicholas and my husband helped as well as our daughter. We pulled out the stove, refrigerator, deep freeze and pantry and cleaned all the coils and dust that was lurking behind them all. All the walls and ceiling got cleaned as well. Everything on top of anything and not in a cabinet got washed. Cleaned the microwave, the sink, the under the cabinet can opener as well as the floor. My husband took care of the hot water heater closet by himself. I have decided that our a/c blows out dust instead of cold air. Dust was everywhere!!!!! The above picture is for Michele per our 'sink' coversation.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Friday

I have had a looooong day. First stop of the day was to see Dad's endocrinologist. Not to much to mention about that visit other than they checked thyroid, hormone function, and B-12. We will have those results within a week or so. Next stop was to the neurologist. He then told us that the 'metal' the tech mentioned last week is actually a clamp holding two titanium plates together on Dad's skull. Then came the whopper...Dad's pituitary brain tumor has returned. At this point it is very small. We have already been advised against another brain surgery. Dad will be 73 in a few months and is weak in health overall. We have been advised to just sit back and wait. Sit back and wait!!!! The GREAT news in all of this is that Dad is saved and will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior. On another note we finally recieved an appointment for Nick's echo. September 9. Please continue to pray for our family.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Saving Money



I would encourage you to read this http://frugalinvirginia.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-married-couponaholic-5-ways-life-has.html this is me in a nutshell. I laughed so hard I was crying!!!

Thursday

Pray for me please. This is what I live with!!!:)
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

CVS Give away

To all of you who are CVSing there is a great give away. It is for a $25 CVS gift card. Do you realize how much damage can be done at CVS with $25? Anyway go here to enter http://newlyweds.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/25-cvs-giftcard-giveaway/ you have until Aug. 30th. One of God's many blessings is CVS.

Wednesday



HAPPY BIRTHDAY

KIMBERLY McENTIRE!!!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tuesday's deals

$1.61 cash oop (out of pocket).
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Monday, August 18, 2008

PKD Update

We left around 11:45 this morning to go to Houston to Texas Children's Hospital Clinical Care Building. Nick's Appointment was scheduled for 1:45. We signed in at 1:28 and were promptly called back. All went well. His b/p was actually normal for the first time!!! So...no increase on meds!!! They are supposed to call us the early part of next week with the appointment for the echo. Nicholas had to do labs today as well so that took a little extra time. His return appointment is scheduled for Dec. 23rd...the same day our oldest goes back to see the neurologist for the last time. I also had an opportunity to encourage our Renal nurse to participate in the PKD Walk on Sept. 20th. We arrived home around 5:15 this evening. Another long day but, I am very thankful to be so close to one of the nation's top 10 children's hospitals. Many people travel from other states, or other countries just to get their children the care they need. We are blessed to be only an hour or so away.

Metro







































Today was Isaiah's first time to ride the Houston Metro. We do this for 2 reasons: #1 It's cheaper than vallet parking at TCH (Our van is to high for the parking garge) #2 IT's FUN!!! It is $15 to vallet or $2.50 to park at Fannin South Park n Ride and then $1 per person to ride the Metro making it a total of $7.50. If you are ever in Houston it really is a nice ride. You can get on at Fannin South and it will take you all the way to U of H Downtown. You can get off many places in between including the museum district, the zoo, shopping, and lots others. Kids love it.

Monday


Happy Birthday to Yolanda Cabrera http://sewingforgod.blogspot.com/
and to Norahilda Guevara

Saturday, August 16, 2008

PKD Update

Today is Saturday already. We have had a busy week running running running. Next week will be much of the same. Nicholas sees the Neph. on Monday. For this we travel to Texas Children's Hospital. He is still having quite a bit of chest pain and his b/p is remaining high even after starting meds. I am assuming the Neph. will increase his med and push for the
echo cardiogram. It has been 3 and a half years since his original diagnosis. He has always been very upbeat about everything even encouraging me when I get down. His theory is "not everyone can have great health". He has also started having back pain frequently again. Both of our Nephs tend to tell us that our constant pain is not PKD related but....anyone associated with this disease KNOWS better. Our daughter,Victoria, who is 8 has PKD as well, howbeit does not have an 'official' diagnosis due to insurance purposes. We are simply monitoring her b/p and watching for any other signs. The National Walk for PKD is taking place on September 20 and we are sure hoping to be there to participate. This walk is designed to raise money for PKD research.

What is PKD?
Polycystic Kidney Disease affects 1 in 500 people, including newborns, children and adults regardless of sex, age, race or ethnic origin. It comes in two forms: 1. Autosomal dominant (ADPKD), one of the most common life-threatening genetic diseases. ADPKD affects between 1 in 500 people. It does not skip a generation. There is usually a family history of ADPKD. Parents with ADPKD have a 50 percent chance of passing the disease on to each of their children.2. Autosomal recessive (ARPKD), is a rare genetic disorder, occurring in approximately 1 in 20,000 individuals. It affects boys and girls equally and often causes significant mortality in the first month of life.

A normal kidney is the size of a human fist and weighs about a third of a pound. However, with the presence of PKD, cysts develop in both kidneys. When many cysts develop, the kidneys can grow to be the size of a football or larger and weigh as much as 38 pounds each. There may be just a few cysts or many, and the cysts may range in size from a pinhead to the size of a grapefruit.
There is currently no treatment or cure for PKD, but you can help change that by getting involved with us in the fight against PKD:
Donate for PKD
Become a PKD Advocate
Volunteer in your Community
How does a person get PKD?
ADPKD: Because PKD is a genetically-inherited disorder, the dominant form of the disease (ADPKD) is passed from one generation to the next by an affected parent. Each child of an ADPKD parent has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. Scientists have also discovered that approximately 10 percent of the PKD patient community became affected through spontaneous mutation.

The goal in curing a genetically-inherited disease is to find the abnormal protein and try to fix it. There is more than one gene that causes ADPKD; there are at least three. About 80% of people with ADPKD have the ADPKD1 gene, located on chromosome 16. Most of the rest of the ADPKD population has the ADPKD2 gene located on chromosome 4. The location of the ADPKD3 gene has not as yet been determined.

It appears that diseases caused by the ADPKD1 and ADPKD2 genes are different. With the ADPKD1 gene, cysts form at an earlier age, there appears to be an earlier onset of high blood pressure and earlier loss of kidney function, compared to the ADPKD2 gene.

The risk of having a child who inherits the affected chromosome is 50% with each pregnancy, no matter how many children a person has. In some families, all the children are affected; in other families, none are. Many families with multiple children will have affected and unaffected children.

ARPKD: This recessive disease requires a mutated gene from each parent for the disease to manifest in a child, who has, then, 2 mutated genes. There is no family history of the disease, and the parents do not have the disease themselves.
What are the symptoms of PKD?
Early in the disease, patients often experience no symptoms. In fact, many people are never diagnosed with ADPKD because they have so few or no symptoms.

Symptoms of PKD:
High blood pressure
Chronic pain or heaviness in the back, sides or abdomen
Blood in the urine
Urinary tract infection (UTI)
Kidney stones

High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects about 60% to 70% of people with ADPKD. High blood pressure begins early during the course of ADPKD. In ADPKD it seems that the most likely reason for high blood pressure is the constricting of blood vessels. Cysts can press on blood vessels in the kidney, resulting in decreased blood flow. Sensors in the nephron react as though the blood pressure in the kidney is low. Renin is then secreted, which in turn generates angiotensin, constricting the blood vessels, and causing high blood pressure. If not treated, hypertension damages the kidneys, enlarges the heart and can cause strokes.

Chronic pain or heaviness is one of the most common problems for people with ADPKD. The pain is usually in the back or the side and occasionally in the abdomen. The pain can be intermittent and mild requiring only occasional mild pain medicine such as acetaminophen. In a small number of people, the pain can be constant and quite severe.

Hematuria, or blood in the urine, is something that nearly 50% of those with ADPKD will experience. The urine may look pink, red or brown. Passing small amounts of red blood cells in the urine that can only be seen under a microscope may also occur. This is called microscopic hematuria. Blood in the urine can last for a day or less or the bleeding may go on for days. Strict bed rest, increased fluid intake, and acetaminophen (if there is pain) are usually the treatments if the bleeding is prolonged.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection caused by bacteria that have reached the bladder, kidneys or the cysts themselves. The infection usually starts in the bladder and can progress up the ureters into the kidneys. Although both men and women have UTIs, they are far more common in women. UTIs are common in the general population, but they appear to be more frequent in those with ADPKD. The most common symptom of UTI is pain or burning with urination and/or an urgent need to urinate even though there is only a small amount of urine. When the infection is in the kidney or in a cyst, there may be a sudden onset of fever, chills and back or flank pain.

Kidney stones occur in about 20%-30% of people with ADPKD, compared to 8%-10% in the general population. One reason kidney stones are more common may be due to cysts blocking the tubules, preventing normal drainage. When the urine stays in one area longer than it should, crystals can form and cause kidney stones. Another reason that stones may form in some people with ADPKD is that there is a decrease in urine citrate. Urine citrate is a substance that prevents formation of kidney stones. The symptoms of kidney stones are severe pain in the back, side or into the groin. Often there will be blood in the urine when passing a kidney stone.
What are cysts?
A cyst in the kidney begins similar to a blister as an out-pouching of the nephron. Cysts can occur anywhere on the length of the nephron. Although polycystic means “many cysts”, not every nephron forms cysts. The fluid inside the cysts often reflects the area in the nephron from which the cyst arose.

Approximately 70% of cysts detach from the nephron when they are still small, about 2 mm (1/8 inch) in diameter. Over time, the cysts enlarge and can become filled with clear fluid or fluid that contains blood or white blood cells.

Cysts can form in other organs, as well as the kidney; the most common other siteis the liver. Current research suggests that liver cysts are associated with the bile ducts or tubules of the liver rather than liver cells themselves. It appears that rather than take the place of functioning liver cells, cysts merely push the liver cells aside. This is why liver cysts don't cause liver failure even though the liver can become quite enlarged due to cysts.

Research has shown that there are at least three components to cyst formation:
1. Cell proliferation: The cells of a cyst wall reproduce themselves more than normal kidney cells. This makes the cysts grow in size. 2. Cellular secretion: Secretion is a way of making fluid. To form a cyst, the cells themselves must produce fluid. If there were no fluid produced to fill the cyst, there would merely be a ball of cells. 3. Abnormal basement membrane: The basement membrane is a very thin layer of tissue the cyst cells sit on. In ADPKD this layer is thicker than usual.

In general, cysts cause problems because of their size and the space they occupy. The size of the kidneys and liver is directly related to how many and how big the cysts are. For example, people with kidneys over 15 cm (6 inches) are more likely to have pain than people with smaller kidneys.
What are complications of PKD?
ADPKD is not just a kidney disorder; other organs can be affected, including the liver, spleen, pancreas, vasculature, testes, seminal vesicles and intestines.

60%-70% of people with ADPKD have cysts in the liver during their lifetime. Liver cysts rarely occur in those under the age of 30 but do form and increase as a person ages. Even though there is an increase in liver size, the amount of functional liver tissue remains fairly constant. Liver cysts occur as often in men as in women. However, women have liver cysts at a younger age than men and usually have more aggressive liver disease. Women who have been pregnant are more likely to have liver cysts; and the cysts are more numerous and larger in women who have been pregnant compared to women who have not been pregnant.

Cardiovascular complications include high blood pressure, cerebral aneurysms and mitral valve prolapse (MVP), a condition where the valve separating the top and the bottom of the left side of the heart does not close properly. Sometimes this causes blood to leak back to the top part of the heart. This is called regurgitation and can be heard as a heart murmur. MVP occurs in approximately 26% of the people who have ADPKD compared to 2%-3% of the general population. Symptoms that can be associated with MVP are palpitations, a feeling that the heart is running away or that there are extra beats in the heart, and chest pain that is not associated with exercise or exertion.

People with ADPKD have about a 5%-10% risk of developing intracranial aneurysms; the percentage is higher if there is a family history of aneurysms. People who have ADPKD and a family history of aneurysm should be evaluated yearly. An aneurysm is an out-pouching in a blood vessel. Intracranial aneurysms occur in the blood vessels of the brain. Aneurysms can leak or rupture. In these events the symptoms can include sudden severe headache, pain in moving the neck, nausea and vomiting, and even loss of consciousness. All such symptoms require immediate medical attention.

Gastrointestinal complications with PKD include inguinal and umbilical hernias and diverticulitis. Inguinal hernias are out-pouchings in the area of the groin and umbilical hernias are out-pouchings at or near the navel. Diverticula are out-pouchings on the large intestine (colon). It seems that people with ADPKD who are on dialysis or have had a transplant have diverticula more often and have more complications from diverticula, including infection, than people who have other kidney diseases.


I know this has been a rather long post with a lot of information, but I pray it will somehow give a bit of knowledge to those interested enough to read .

Friday, August 15, 2008

Friday's Freebies

All of these items were ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!


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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Prayer Request

The MRI Center just called and we must return to Houston again tomorrow for further testing on my father-in-law. PLEASE pray for us as this is a very trying time (in many ways) for our family.

Thought for the day

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.

Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Wednesday Pictures




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Wednesday

The day turned out good for the most part. We left our house @ 9:15 in the morning. It never did rain on us and I had some nice 'alone' time with my in-laws. The children were fine with the exception of Isaiah falling off the piano bench and onto the hard wood floor. My husband came home for lunch to see about them. The MRI tech kept questioning us as to whether or not dad had any metal in his head. (which he does not or at least he should not). Well, according to the latest imaging there is definately a metal object in dad's head. I don't know exactly what all this means. The tech said that apparently something was left in during the 2003 operation and is just now showing up. I personally find that very hard to believe. Dad has had probably 8 or more scans since the operation and nothing has ever been found. Please pray that is just a fluke or someting and there is NO metal present. Dad is weak and probably would not survive an operation to have to remove the object. I arrived home yesterday afternoon aound 4:45. Loaded up my kids (who had been home INSIDE all day) and we went to the park. On our way we stopped and picked up Lil Homer and he joined us. After we finished at the park we stopped at Mc Donald's for an ice cream cone and the kids played for awhile. According to Mapquest we traveled 177.83 miles.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Tuesday

Today it's off to Houston. As most of you know my father-in-law had a massive brain tumor several years back. As a result of that he must go yearly for an MRI of the brain just to check and make sure everything is there. Well, today is that day. My in-laws arrived around 6 pm last evening and we will be leaving this morning. The weather is supposed to be VERY rainy today. I hate driving in the rain. Oh Well!! That's my new answer for everything..Oh Well!!! Our oldest son will be working all day today for an event and that leaves the other four with ... yeah you guessed it...no sitter. Oh Well!!! My husband will be coming home for lunch and will be in town today so he is very close should the children need him. It will be back to Houston next Monday for Nicholas and then again on Thursday to get the MRI results from today. We take 288 to 6 into Sugarland then get on 59 to go into that part of Houston. Then we take 59 S to Wharton and head to Bay City from there. From Bay City it is about 45 minutes home. All in all we will travel a good couple hundred miles today. Hope everyone has GREAT day.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Deals Deals

First stop Wal-Mart where I bought 34 packs of
wipes for $1.64 each bringing my total w/taxes
to $60.36. Take away all coupons and total came down to $5.15.
Next stop CVS Lake Jackson where I bought 2 Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner starter kits. (I have wanted one of these for a LONG time) These are priced at $24.99 each. They are not marked but are clearanced down to $6.25 each minus 2 $5 coupons and my total for both was $2.71.
YIPPEE!!!!!!YIPPEE!!!!!!!
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More Freebies

All of this was absolutely FREE at CVS. NEVER EVER throw away BOGO (buy one get one)coupons! Sooner or later they will be BOGO at CVS and you will get both items for FREE!Thanks to Catie for reminding me
about the BOGO Covergirl coupons!

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Thursday, August 7, 2008

PKD Kidney


For those of you who have never had a reason to research PKD, here is a picture of a normal kidney in comparrison to a kidney that is affected by PKD.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Cookies and a Cake

Nick had a special order for Honey Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
These were for a nurse at our pedi's office. I don't like raisins,
but these were delicious!!!

















Jaime had the day off for the 'tropical storm'
so he made a home-made Butter Pecan Cake.
Very sweet and yummy!!!


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CVS Deals

These are my CVS deals for the week.
I spent $1.08 oop and earned $8 ecbs
to play with next week!
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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Rain, Wind??? Where?

Not here that's for sure!! We did get some much needed and appreciated rain. My husband and eldest son enjoyed a 'free' day off work so all in all we had a VERY RELAXING day. However my daughter was a bit upset we did not need to use our oil lamps. So today we made the room very dark, lit one of the lamps and pretended it was the year 1800 (with a/c of course).

Monday, August 4, 2008

Tropical Storm Edouard

OK so it appears a T.S. has his sights set for us. What are we doing? No we are not leaving but we are getting prepared and by that I mean.....we went to CVS and emptied Nick's memory card so we can take lots of pictures!!!! Actually we bought a few bags of ice, two cases of bottled water, and extra juice for Isaiah. I will fill the tub and washer later so that we have that water as well if we need it. Oh yeah I returned my library items.