Some Answers at Last

So the appointment went really well with the neurologist last Monday. My children do not have epilepsy but they have involuntary breath holding spells. The doc had seen about 200-300 cases of this over the last 20 years and they will grow out of this. There is a chemical that everybody's brain produces that triggers us to breath before we pass out and Landonn and Josie do not produce enough of it to breath before they pass out. They do experience seizures and the doc says that the best thing to do is just let them be kids and unfortunately we just have to be aware of what to do when they do pass out.

Yeahhhhhhhhh, finally some answers. I took a couple days and processed all this info and have come to the conclusion that I am satisfied. The Lord has given me peace about that appointment.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Luv to all......my

Our Willow Tree

Tomorrow I have an appointment in Portland with the neurologist as a follow-up to the 24 hour EEG we did with Josie 3 weeks ago....Her seizures have been coming more freguently and seem to be more severe....her tremoring is stronger and it takes a bit longer for her to get her breath....and the preverbial straw that broke the camel's back was a week ago Thursday when Landonn had the very same episode...so, here my pediatrition is saying these have been just breath holding spells and Josie will grow out of them so why on earth is Landonn having one at the age of 3 which seems to me that he is growing into them......Jenn went right to the internet and printed out lots of info on epilepsy and seizures....I am getting to a bit of a desperate point because nobody (and by "nobody" I am referring to medical professionals) seems to understand or believe what I am trying to describe....we (Jenn and I) have done quite a bit of reading and there is one seizure disorder that describes from start to finish what Josie has been experiencing....I feel as though none of the doctors that I have spoken to give me any credit....they don't understand the firsthand knowledge that I have when it comes to strokes/seizures....I hope that tomorrow I can be clear and concise because as of Nov 4th it will have been a year and I am ready to see the light at the end of the tunnel....I know God will give me the strength for whatever is the problem, I just need to know exactly the problem is....

I am given strength every day when I am looking at my children and their development is right on schedule, they are both very smart and coordinated....they articulate and eat well....I just don't know what causes these weird seizures....

For those of you who know me really well you all know how much I love the sort of weather that is windy with a little bit of rain, and I mean a strong, gusty wind that takes your breath away at times and the air is heavy and almost cold, not warm but not really cold either...we were having that sort of weather last Saturday....Josie had a really bad seizure in the tub that night and it scared the bejeebers out of me....once I got everyone safely to bed, I went and sat out on our back porch and just stewed over the past year.....I cried a little and was just silent and still a very long time....we have the most beautiful willow tree in our yard and Josie' s swing hangs from one of it's branches and it was amazing to me to see that no matter how strong a gust of wind would be, that swing just swung gently and smoothly, never out of control....I found that willow tree very symbolic of what we do as parents....life goes on all around us and we let the winds of life push us around and take our breath away at times but through it all, we try to not let our kids see the tumult and just let them swing safely, untouched for as long as possible....that willow tree took care of the wind and let that swing stay safe, we had a few branches in our yard the next morning but all we had to do was wipe out a little bit of water out of the seat of the swing and Josie had a great time swinging...I pray that as this storm rages on around my little family, that God will give me the wisdom and guidance to make decisions that will allow my kids to have many more years of happy safe swinging....

Ok, so that was a little deep and I apologize for the wandering thought process but it feels great to let it out....this time is here for a purpose and I hope that we soon find out reasons...

Pray for the right words for me tomorrow, I don't want to get emotional or irrational but so help me if one more doc says "well, let's just give it some time" someone may get the call to come with cash.....hehehehehehe....

Luv to all...

Oh yeah....we have temporarily disconnected our house phone and internet so my updates will be sporadic....

Luv my

Payson Park

We are very fortunate to have this great little park nearby called Payson Park...it has a great playset area, it's right beside a small river and it has a really cool bridge....The kids love it and until the bugs are too bad we are enjoying time there....

Jenn and Josie headed down the slide

Pensive Kell....

Looks like Kell's got a secret!!!!

Hale was pretty mellow that day....it seemed like his ride on the swing was going to put him to sleep!!!!

Josie and Kellan thinking the wood chips were the greatest thing.....

Landonn climbing high!!!!
I think little boys could throw rocks in the water all day!!!!


"til next time.....

Update On Josie

So two Thursdays ago Josie had another EEG. That was fun....try getting 27 electrode leads onto a very active 10 month old's head, and then the kicker, keeping them on for 30-40 minutes of reading....not my idea of fun but necessary nonetheless.....I got the results and everything looks normal....even though the very next Monday she passed out twice...they would like her to sleep and be still during the test and she was not by any means quiet so they may send us to Portland for a 24-48 hour period to do further monitoring...

I will say.....she is either getting used to them or they are getting less severe because the two times she passed out on Monday there was no stiffening or seizure like activity....she simply passed out and then Boom, she was right back, no lapse in breathing or anything....then on Thursday, the child was very uncomfortable with a bad cold and fluid behind her ears and she screamed for about 30 minutes and didn't pass out once....

She's a mystery to say the least and we hopefully are out of the worst of it...Thank you all for your concern and prayers......

Home Sweet Home

So this is our sweet home....I am having soooooo much fun with it....It is old but is so homey and in such great shape that all we have to do is some updating on wiring and then put our own personal touches....


Our back porch...

This looks like a garage but it is my hubby's workshop....He is lovin' it.....

My favorite corner in my kitchen and my favorite yard sale purchase to date....the little black desk that I got for $5....one person's trash....

Our front hallway....nice and big....

Our living room....it didn't take long for the deer heads to go up....


This is a pic from my back porch today....if you look closely, you can see the creek (The Crick) that runs behind our house....I LOVE weeping willow trees and there is a big beautiful on in our yard....

Daddy and Josie take a walk almost every night after her bath....they check out the yard and have a chat about their days....very sweet

Landonn and his train whistle calling to the train....

This is an extended arm pic that I took of Landonn, Jaeda and I on our back porch.....what a bunch of Goobers!!!!

This pic was taken one evening after they took their stroll....I love it~~
More pics to come to catch up on the busy and little life around the new Tabbutt home....All are welcome from far and wide....

Among the Missing

Hi there Everybody....so, I have not dropped off the face of the earth...worse.....we moved.....just 6 miles away from our old house but nonetheless....it has totally turned my life and schedule upside down....I am updating this at my brother's house because when you move into a house that is 150 years old, the wiring and phone lines are not equipped for computer and internet...in fact....if I run the microwave I need to be sure that nothing else is plugged in in the kitchen or I will blow a fuse!!!! I love it!!! I'm actually not complaining because this is our first house and it is all very exciting....I have some pics of our adorable little home but of course, I got the kids, diaper bags, sippy cups, and myself out of the house, but I forgot my camera....Anyway....just wanted to touch base....I have really missed keeping in touch and will hopefully have everything hooked up by the middle of July!!!

Luv you all......My

Josephine Kelly

Josie has now learned to stand up in her crib. What a big girl.

Well, as many of you know last November Josie had a weird fainting/siezure type episode that lasted about 3.5 hours. She saw her doctor and then went to a neurologist in December, had a EEG of her brain in January and everything came back normal.

Things were going pretty well until two weeks ago. I was getting her bath water ready and she wanted me to get her out of her walker and I apparently didn't do that quickly enough because she started to cry hard and before I could get to her (time span of about 7 seconds) she had passed out. When I get to her she is as stiff as a board and not breathing. Once she takes that first breath (usually takes her 30 seconds to a minute) she is a limp noodle and has a very hard time staying awake and her eyes roll back into her head and she sort of startles herself to breathe. Now the first episode lasted about 3.5 hours. Well, over the past two weeks she has had these episodes 3 times. She bounces back a lot more quickly now (is back to herself in about 15-20 minutes) but nonetheless, these episodes are odd.

At first the doctor thought they were spells of her holding her breath but since it only takes her about 10 seconds of crying before she passes out he thinks there is another explanation, we just don't know what it is. I can tell now when it will happen because her cry is very distinct but we have yet to find the variable that causes this.

I struggle so badly with wanting to block everything else out and not letting her out of the house or my sight. I want to know why this is happening and I'd really like to know right now but God has put this in our life for a reason and I need to learn from this. I also want to know the right questions to ask. I am more calm now when the episodes happen so there are a few things her doc would like me to look for and also for me to try to video the next one so they can see what I am trying to explain. Please pray for wisdom, peace and patience as we talk to doctors.

Her Aunti Twy calls her sweet Josie Rae...what a pair of happy ladies....we love you Aunti
Anyway, thanks to you all....Luv Josie

Pollywogs and Tickle Monsters

We have some tadpole eggs in an overflowing marsh so Jenn and I decided to take the kids on a walk out back through the blueberry fields and have an adventure. Here is Hale, Landonn and Jaeda just before we headed out.


Oh, wait......Landonn has to take this call!

On our pollywog adventure we ended up walking further into the woods...Hale was quite sure that he heard a monster in the woods....we had to be quiet because the tickle monster had gone fishing in the morning and he was tired now and taking a nap....

As you can see.....they were all terribly afraid of the monster.....

So, then the monster woke up and was going to come out and tickle Teddy so these three were going to protect him and here are their weapons of choice.....

Oh, wait.....Josie has to take this call......

There is Teddy safe in the background after the kids scared off the tickle monster....Kell hung out and pulled Aunti's hair the whole time....

Whoa.....Hale....something not taste right????

Oh no.....everything's fine.....

We had a great little adventure and now we have a bucket full of tadpole eggs and marsh water to keep our eye on :) Gotta love the little things!!

Just the 5 of Us

Here are a couple pics that my sister's and I took this weekend....I just want to remind everyone to take pictures as often as you can....we had a great weekend together and we will always have these pics to remind us and to bring a smile to our face....

I love my sisters.....

Weekend At Aunti Twy and Uncle Clyde's

Jaeda is a pro at winking....in fact, right now, you can't get her to take a picture without winking....Here's lookin' at you kid......


Landonn and Bo had a little too much fun in the tub.....There was certainly more water on the floor than in the tub.....

Uncle Clyde sharing his supper....Clyde didn't sit alone much of the weekend....there always seemed to be a kid or two or three that wanted to sit with him.....

Close inspection of animal crackers....

The five of us together.....Twy, Marla, Kelly, Myah and Hallie....such fun times.....

Landonn, again without any shorts.....thought his Dad's rubber boots looked like the perfect fit....almost!!! Just a few more feet to go Landonn....

Update on Mom

Just and update on Mom.....She came home from the hospital on Monday and then went to her appointment at a clinic in Falmouth that combines both homeopathic remedies with medicine...She has been to this clinic once before and both times has been very pleased with the Doctor there.....not because shealways agrees with Mom but because she totally understands Mom's desire to do things as natural as possible. We are all now trying to get into the routine of checking Mom's blood sugar and getting used to the insulin....Mom isn't too pleased with the drugs but so far she has complied.....Twy is coming over today to help Mom get some things done in the house and then we are praying that Mom will go back to Fryeburg with her.....The doctor said it is very important that Mom have NO stress and that she rests.....The best place for her to do that is in Fryeburg with Twy.....

Please just continue to pray for our wisdom and understanding....

Thanks.....The Kids

Dallas vs Diabetes

So, as many of you may know Mom was diagnosed with Diabetes about 12 years ago....for the first 7 years maybe Mom had pretty much controlled it homeopathically and it stayed at bay and Mom felt good...Four years ago Mom suffered from sepsis?, endocarditis?, I honestly don't know what to call it, but if my poor memory serves me it basically boils down to a very severe blood infection...pls feel free to correct this information....anyway....it seems like ever since then Mom has had to work harder at keeping her blood sugar levels down to an acceptable level....She still remained adamant that she could control it homeopathically....over the last 7-9 months Mom has had very serious digestive problem and it all came to a head yesterday and my brothers and sisters all asked Mom to please let us try to get help for her and she said OK!!!! When we got to the ER her blood sugar was 379 and they very quickly gave her insulin, then hooked her up on an insulin drip and when I left the hospital last night her sugar was down to about 165. Mom has said many times over the last 24 hour period that she will do anything they ask so she get get better.

Pls pray for us as a family that we have the sensitivity yet boldness to get Mom to listen to the doctors and pray for our wisdom that we can make the right decisions for her. Those of you who know Mom will understand when I ask to also pray that Mom will remain open to the route of treatment that includes medicine...Her willingness has left us hopeful but we know how quickly she can change her mind....

This pic was taken Monday night....

Love to everyone....Thanks.....The Kids