Redneck Reunion

 A couple of weekends ago, we lucked out and were able to have an impromptu redneck reunion with the crew! The guys got a kick out of these shortest to tallest pics on the sloped driveway.

Me with a couple of my sweet best girls! We always have a great time together. I hope that we are able to see each other more often very soon! I can't believe how grown up our kids are. Cindy and Kari both have boys in high school this fall! Yikes!!!

Six Flags 2012

 I am so glad that Six Flags offers their "Read to Succeed" program because the kids and I go every year with free tickets that we have earned. This year we were able to have Miguel join us! Sarah and Rachel met us at the park. Once again, we didn't have to wait in line very often at all. I guess most people aren't as willing to brave Six Flags when it's 104 degrees like me!

 Sarah was such a fun partner in crime, and she was such a trooper! She had awful blisters on her feet, shorts that just wouldn't seem to get dry, and there wasn't a heck of a lot there she could eat. She even had to stop and buy herself some flip flops because her feet hurt so bad, but she didn't complain and kept on trucking! We were stuck on the Texas Giant together! Fun times! Rachel, Davin, and Miguel were stuck in the chicken coop waiting for maintenance to come get us off for 25 minutes! We went and rode the Titan almost immediately afterwards!

The kids did awesome as usual, but Davin wasn't as brave this year as last year. He acted like he was scared before we got on most of the rides, and flat refused to ride the Shockwave this year. The Shockwave did Miguel in as well, because that was the last big ride he would get on!

I am so thankful that I was able to go have such an awesome day with these awesome kiddos!

"A Crocodile"

I am so glad my kids love the water because I do too. One of the first questions I asked in regards to any potential surgical procedures this summer was, "When can I swim again?" I still have 5 more days until I can submerge my neck, but I decided to take the kiddos to the city pool and hang out in the shallow end.  Claire went down this slide a million times. One time this summer I said, "Claire, you are just a little fish!" She said, "No I not, I a crocodile!" I also think it is funny that she swims in a "swimming soup," and Davin always remembers his "sunscream."

Ethan likes to play "Water polo" since the Olympic have been on.

 I had intended for these very brief little videos to be a still shots, and hit the wrong button.

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Miss Lila's first birthday!

Happy birthday, Lila! They change so much the first year!

The Larynx Whisperer

Click here  to go to the blog that explains so well why I had so much anxiety about my little thyroid procedure! It also explains why my life vocally is going to get better since, thanks be to God,  I was fortunate enough to have a fantastic surgeon and anesthesiologist who both performed outstandingly! Well, in all honesty, my life in general in going to be better as I no longer have to concentrate at times to swallow; I have noticed I can take much more relaxed, deep breathes; and I no longer experience pain or pressure in my neck when I sneeze, yawn, or sing!

I am so lucky that Heidi has agreed to assist me with my post surgery vocal therapy! She was also my voice instructor at UNT, and I was fortunate enough to be able to keep in touch with her and remain friends post graduation. She is my favorite teacher ever! I do not think I would have been able to cross the undergraduate finish line without her. I am pretty sure that the soprano angels in heaven sound just like her.

Our first "therapy session" was just 5 days post right thyroid lobe removal. My surgeon said it will take 2 months for all the swelling to go away, and for the muscles to heal and regain full strength, and for my range and stamina to be what it was before the surgery. I am very encouraged by this because I really haven't lost any range. I don't feel like I am having to work so hard to get a good breath, and the tension in my neck has disappeared. I also feel like I have more space, and that I am not getting nearly as much of the pinched nasal sound that I just couldn't figure out what the hell else I could do to make it go away! I have enjoyed and looked forward to practicing this week for the first time since my junior year of college! I am going to have to work to break some bad habits that unbeknownst to me at the time were created  to compensate for the issues that my massive growth was causing by occupying space, and putting pressure on my esophagus and larynx. I am full of hope, and look forward to seeing what the next couple months bring!

The 30,000 mile tune-up

 I must confess that this summer has taken some odd turns. I discovered that I was going to have to get some minor work done on the varicose veins in my right leg because there is a circulation issue there. I also had to get some icky looking moles removed, and then there was the thyroid. I had a cyst on my thyroid drained in May of 2004, and had to go in periodically to have it biopsied for a few years thereafter, but when the surgeon who I had been seeing retired I just kind of stopped getting it checked out. I noticed I was having some issues swallowing back in the spring, but chalked it up to the sinus issues I had battled all school year. I think what really made me realize that there was truly something not right going on was my voice was changing. I had been struggling with tension while singing to the point that I called up my dear friend Heidi to seek professional help. I had so much tension in my neck while I was singing that it was uncomfortable. Then my speech started randomly slurring like I was drunk. I finally realized that the ignore it and it will eventually go away strategy was not going to work this time and made an appointment with my doctor. He informed me that there was a large solid mass on my right thyroid, and referred me to Dr. Carolyn Garner, an endocrinologist/oncologist.

I loved Dr. Garner! She is also a musician, and her mother is a professional opera singer who got her vocal performance degree from UNT. She told me the mass was rather large, and was putting pressure on my esophagus as well as some arteries, and the nerves to my vocal folds causing my phonation/speech issues. Luckily, someone came in and cancelled their surgery while I was in the waiting room for my appointment, and I was given her newly available July 26th spot. The plan was to remove my right thyroid and immediately biopsy it. If it was benign I would get to keep my left thyroid in the hopes that I might not have to take thyroid medication for the rest of my life. If it was cancerous, my entire thyroid would have to be removed, and it would become a completely different situation.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit scared. I knew there was a possibility that I could end up permanently hoarse, and or have a speech impediment. There was also the ever looming possibility that it could be cancer, and no body wants to be diagnosed with cancer regardless of where it is. I feared the loss of my singing voice, but not for performance sake. I do love singing in choirs, and with Praise and Worship, and although I don't have a bad voice it isn't a voice that anyone would pay money to hear. The thought that sucked the wind right from my lungs was realizing that I might lose my vehicle to teach and direct. I love to teach, and I hear I am pretty good at it. I love my choir, and so much joy has come to me through hearing them learn and grow. I can't imagine doing anything else. There is nothing else I would want to do. This is all much easier to discuss now that I know there is a happy ending.

The morning of my surgery I was one unpleasant person. I was frustrated that I couldn't have my coffee. I wanted to work out and my husband got upset and stopped me because he didn't want me to get dehydrated right before I went in for surgery since I couldn't eat or drink anything. This did not help my mood because it was the last work out on the calendar rotation, and I wanted to complete it. I am not claiming that this was a rational thought process.

 I wanted to seem as casual and nonchalant about the whole situation as possible so my kids wouldn't get worried, and there were only a couple of times I didn't succeed with this goal. The dam broke in preop when the nurse told me that when I woke up they would ask me to make a series of vowel sounds to make sure my vocal fold nerves were still functional.  Holy crap! I had my phone with me because the anesthesiologist was going to use it to take pictures of my tumor once it was removed. She was very sweet, and promised that she would intubate me with the smallest tube possible, and that she would be very careful. Intubation was necessary because they were working around my esophagus so they had to make sure I could breath.

I was nervous yet I had peace at the same time. I have awesome family, friends, and church family who are all very loving, supportive, and had covered me in prayer. I received messages all morning from people letting  me know they were thinking about me and praying for me. I would not have been able to deal with this nearly as well a couple of  years ago!

Meanwhile, my boys were having all sorts of fun at the Yanez residence playing in the sprinklers and making crafts so that my mom could be at the hospital too.

I knew as soon as I woke up before anyone even came to talk to me that they had only removed the right thyroid because I was certainly aware of that side of my neck. The recovery nurse was astonished at how well I was talking when I woke up. I was told that I wouldn't be able to talk for a couple of days, and I wasn't even hoarse. She gave me my vowel test which I performed perfectly. I have been blessed with the best case scenario all the way around. It is still uncertain as to whether or not I will have to take thyroid medicine. Only time will answer that. They will begin testing my levels next week.

Here is the not so little devil. It was described as very active with lots of calcification, but not cancerous. I will admit that I underestimated the after effects and recovery just a little bit. I am very sore, and the first day morphine was a bit deceptive. It is still difficult to swallow, and I have not eaten anything but soups and shakes so far. I was told to expect my singing voice to be tricky for a couple of months in that I would probably crack a lot, especially in the upper register. I was also told that I would have to work rebuild projection in general, but I am choosing to believe that when this is all over I will be stronger than I was before this all started. "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" Romans 8:28.

I will end this summer good as new. No more tumor, no more icky moles, and veins on the mend. My 30,000 mile tune-up!

El Paso

We took a trip to El Paso to visit the Seale family. The kids had an awesome time swimming and playing with their cousins!

They also had a blast making cotton candy, snow cones, and popcorn with Papa Don.

The boys as Park Rangers on our trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

Claire and Aunt Tammy post Claire's bathroom debacle.

Entering the cave

The kids being sworn in as junior rangers right before the flight of the bats.

Bailey and Ethan

Grandma Tonya and Davin

Doug, Stephanie, and I hiked out of the cavern just to prove that we could. It was so much fun! Who needs an elevator? Not us!

Summer fun

 Summer always seems to just fly by, and this summer has been no different. We always spend as much time as possible in the water in the summer whether it is in the lake, at a water park, or in our very own backyard redneck riviera.

 Fun at Ray Roberts with friends

 sandcastles

 The first time Carmen and I attempted to go to the lake on our own Davin slipped on the boat ramp and had an injury the required stitches 5 minutes after we got there.

 Of course, he was brave and didn't even cry!

 C

 Row, row, row your boat!

 Daddy and his princess

 Good friends and FC Dallas

 Courtney got an air soft gun, and target practice was so much fun!

 With the baby on my hip for additional red neck brownie points!

 Love hanging with the Wentworth crew!

 Yogurt Story on the square. We have only been here a few times this summer

 All the kiddos are old enough for us to finally go to the movies! Well, Claire still has her moments..

 My little dare devil right before his back flip which he landed perfectly to avoid the tag!

 Dress up fun with Kate!

 Davin in "Imagination Station" at Sky VBS

The kids love riding the bike trail with grandpa all the way to Five Guys!

We have been having such great fun, and I have been able to do lots of fun reading this summer! I am so blessed to have summer fun with my kiddos!