Our Very Own Medical Mystery

It's hard to believe that this cute smiling boy was actually so miserable when this picture was taken.

Poor Jaxton was covered with all kinds of blistery, itchy spots like these . . .

He started out with 5 to 10 black, tar-like spots that we were told were chemical burns from some kind of fertilizer or spray. The doctors said not to worry, there was nothing we could do about them and that they would go away in a week or so.

Fast forward a week and half and all of a sudden Jaxton started complaining about his skin itching. Upon taking a closer look, I could see that his itchy spots were actually pussy blisters that were popping as Jaxton was itching them and then they were scabbing up. GROSS! and talk about major mom panic!

We immediately took him to the doctor again and after the first doctor was unsure and went to go get the senior doctor's advice, they finally decided that Jaxton definitely had some kind of skin infection and that because of it he also had a secondary infection, which manifested as double ear infections.

The doctors sent us home with an antibiotic for the inner infection and a steroid for the outer infection. We gave it a try but when a few days went by and nothing looked better, only worse, we took him to see a dermatologist. She took one look at him and said that the majority of the spots were from either poison oak, poison ivy, or sumac. The remainder of the spots, well, she didn't really know. She seemed to think we should try a stronger steroid and see if that did the trick.

The doctor said that because Jaxton's body was fighting so much infection that his immune system was in hyper-drive, which was causing him to break out in hives (all the new spots that were continuing to spread).

Long story short, after 5 doctors, lots of blank looks, questions, itching, different medicines, baking soda baths, lots of well-wishes and what could be the toughest little 5 year old EVER, he is almost completely better. Jaxton has some purple blotching/bruising, but other than that he is as good as new.

It's always a little scary when the doctors don't know exactly what is wrong with your child, especially when his symptoms are spreading quickly. How grateful I am that he is doing better and that everything seems to be under control!

S to the T to the RAWBERRY!

Much to Nate's annoyance, the kids and I have been chanting this ever since we went strawberry picking last week. What can I say, once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader.

Here's Jilli frolicking to the strawberry patch.

Beckam was quite serious about the whole thing. Both he and Jaxton thought it was a good idea to wear their rain boots since farmers wear boots when they work too.

Jaxton dove right into the whole experience and went right to work.

"My basket has more strawberries than yours does."

The strawberry pickin' clan -- my good friends Kristi and Rachael and their little one(s).

This girl is still a little hard to get a picture of, but she LOVED the whole experience.

Jaxton's expression describes perfectly how yummy these strawberries really were.

But just in case you needed a closer look . . .

And if you weren't sold yet . . .

Just one last time (sorry Nate), altogether now, "S to the T to the RAWBERRY!"

My Two Youngest

Nothing sweeter than a sleeping child!  (And I just love to kiss everyone of those sweet little freckles.)

Love this picture of Jilli, especially her little tan arms, complete with three rolls on each one.

Words can't express how wonderful I think this little face is.

Beckam, summed up in three pictures.

Mother's Day

While my husband spent Wednesday to Friday out of town, Saturday moaning about a sore throat and Sunday at the urgent care being diagnosed with strep throat, I spent my Mother's Day with these four . . .

and it was an absolute pleasure.

I made it through three hours of church solo (a feat in and of itself), giving a YW's lesson, putting up a bulletin board, holding a class presidency meeting and driving an hour round trip. I came home to a husband on the couch, but by 5:30 he had mustered up enough strength to make fish tacos (my request) from scratch, enough for our family and our neighbors -- bless him!
Successful Mother's Day indeed!

A Mother's Day Gift for YOU

In honor of Mother's Day, I'd like to share an article that I found on "The Power of Moms."  I joined a "Power of Moms" group, but even if you don't join there are great resources, articles and opportunities on the site for every mom out there.
Click here and enjoy the article and feel free to browse around the site for other great motivating and inspiring words from other "every day moms."
Happy Mother's Day!