Worse scrapes...

It's been just shy of a couple months since my last post. Alot has happened that has taken up my time & attention, and there hasn't been a whole lot of new information regarding Ashley's current condition. A lot has taken place the past couple of months though, and we are in worse scrapes. Still, I believe we will make it through, and having all of the support that we do, in each of you, reassures me of that daily. And these are times when one of my favorite poems comes to mind,.. Footprints in the Sand, as we, too, are being carried.

The past month and a half especially have been the most difficult,.. Scott's has been battling severe depression for most of this year. It had continued to build and grow,... Ashley's condition, and her recurrent/daily pain, the medical bills, his mom's cancer,.. it was all becoming too much to deal with, although he was trying so hard. He began talking to a Christian counselor, and his physician supplied him with some medication. Unfortunately, that medication added to his condition, and amplified things a great deal. He did his best to keep it together at work, and his work continued with positive skill,.. his job was deemed "safe & secure" even 5 days prior, but the depression conscerned his employer, and unfortunately, he made the decision to fire Scott... Personally, I feel there was spite involved due to other things I can't go into, but anyway,.. it really doesn't change where we are at this point. The event that took place at work was a pretty unpleasant experience, and very traumatic. The whole experience was just too much for him to handle,.. this only compounds the scrapes we're already in, and being on a medication that was making things worse obviously didn't help. We opted to check him into the hospital, and he stayed there for a week. They immediately changed his medication, and by the next day he felt sooooo much better, plus the wonderful counselors. He is doing wonderful now, and is handling everything remarkably well. He has a fresh confidence about him now, and seems like a whole new person. For that, we are so thankful.

The downside is that he is now unemployed, and the current/local job market does not support his previous salary. And, unemployment is barely going to cover our mortgage and our truck payment. We should temporarily qualify for Food Stamp Assitstance though. A real bummer, but necessary. I think it's likely only to be about $180./mo., but anything will be helpful right now. Another unfortunate issue is not having MPI due to a broker who ill-handled our latest mortgage. He had handled most of everything for us, and just this summer we found out that whereas he had told us our property taxes were all current, hey were not, and he did not set up our escrow either which left us sitting with 2 years of taxes due, plus having to get the escrow established to prepare for next year... Thank God for Scott's parents who gifted us the money to cover it!!! Now though, we realize that in additon, there is also no MPI,.. we've already had MPI on our previous mortgages, but it just figures that we don't when we need it. Oy! Anyway,.. we'll manage. I just can't believe our poor, unfortunate luck. Sure feels like we've been being tested a lot, but our faith shall not waiver... we may be shaking in our boots,.. we're only human, but our faith shall not waiver... "In God We Trust".

So, anyway, now we also are without any health insurnce as of the 30th of this month, which is only 2 weeks from today. Ashley was supposed to have her next MRI in December as well as have her next follow-ups with both her oncologist and her ophthalmologist, and his MRI would have finally been covered 100% by the insurance as we've already established $5,000.00+ for Ashley alone for the year. Anyway, I did manage to get the doctors to move her up by a week or so for the end of this month to make use of the last bit of this coverage,.. her MRI is now scheduled for Monday, November 29th @ 8:15 AM check-in/9:15 scan, and then we see the oncologist @ 1:00 PM. She's also scheduled to go back and see the ophthalmologist the next day, Tuesday, Nov. 30th @ 2:00 PM.

On the plus side, as far as health coverage goes,.. the kids are now eligible to go on the OHP/OMAP/CHIPS at no cost, and so they'll be covered 100% for their health & dental needs. To continue coverage from the employer would cost us over $616.00/mo., and so there's no way we can do that, especially with no income coming in now. I can't believe how much it cost, and it hasn't been the best coverage,.. look at how much out-of-pocket we've had this year just on Ashley! And so anyway, for the first time, Scott & I will likely not have any kind of coverage, although the state gal is looking into something for us for something low-cost through OHP, but we'll see. In the meantime, I've got to get in to see my physician and get my follow-up labs done from my whole mess a couple months ago when my meds got all askew.

Homeschooling has been going well. The girls are doing excellent in their studies. Ashley has a harder time due to her NF, but she is very bright, and once she gets it, she's got it. She is a bit behind for her age group, but honestly, no one can fault her,... you try to keep up with your lessons when you're in pain so much of the time, you know? She gets frustrated easily, but her spirits are always excited and rarin' to go again the next morning. Brittney is doing well... she's excited to start learning to read soon. She has had a harder time grasping things,.. sometimes I wonder if we should suspect any ADD, but other times I think no. At any rate she is a very hard worker, and very bright, and I am very proud of how well she is coming along. Courtney is excelling beautifully,.. she is 8, and in the 3rd grade this year, and I am just so pleased at how well her penmanship is improving. She's doing marvelously at her cursive, and she is an 'A' student in her math,... borrowing/carrying, fractions, dividing, and multiplication,.. even carrying in multiplication, and she's doing excellent in her times tables. We're even touching all the way up to the 9's time tables. Her favorite subjects though are the fun & interesting ones,.. science & history. She's an avid reader now, and reads 3 chapters on average every night before bed in her chapter books. Currently, she's enjoying Black Beauty. I've got her reading the classics,... last year her favorite was Charlotte's Web, and she wrote an awesome summary on every chapter. So far this year, since Sept., she has already enjoyed the original Alice in Wonderland, and is more than half way completed with Black Beauty. She plans to start The Trumpet of the Swan after that. Still waiting on the shelf are such others as Treasure Island, and Little Women. We've also been enjoying the Anne of Green Gables series, and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Well, it's late, and so I need to get to bed before it's time to start a new day. The kids & I have all had the latest 'bug', and fought hard to kep it from going into pnuemonia,.. that seemed to be the case for several other individuals lately, especially kids. It's been hanging on pretty tough, but we're pulling through it finally,.. would be nice if we can manage to have it be THE nasty bug for the winter, wouldn't it? I'm keeping my fingers crossed,...