Photo Shoot

A few months ago I realized I really needed a "pick me up". After a year now of struggling with growing my hair back, losing the prednisone weight, and dealing with the other side effects of the multiple medications I was on, I was due for a "feel good day." Luckily, our 3rd Anniversary was soon approaching so what better gift than a gift to myself AND my husband all in one??!!! So, I spent the afternoon with some wonderful women who did my hair, makeup, and outfits and then put me in the front of the camera for some fun photo shots. Though some of the pictures are "private" and some might wonder why I would post pictures like this to the world, I am proud of them. I am. I have been to Hell and back and am alive to tell about it. I have lost a lot of my hair and grew it back. I had gained 20+lbs and lost it all, I had been put on 20+pills a day and am down to 7.I went from being told I could never run again to training for a half marathon. I can finally once again look into the mirror and say that I-am-beautiful, and that is worth it right there. So.....here are a few of my favorite!!!!

Update

The test results showed that my kidneys are again starting to fail. We are assuming it is from getting off the medication and once I get back on it, within a few weeks the tests should be 'normal' again. Right now it's showing the results that I had when I was at my worst, just a little over a year ago, so hoping the medication can kick in quick! I'm really upset about it, basically because i want to be on the less medication possible, and I've been so healthy lately i just don't want this starting into something worse. I also am starting to train for a 1/2 marathon and really don't want something like this to get in my way again! Praying this too will just be another hill we have to get over:) If I don't post before Christmas, my family and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! PS: Look how big Nolan is getting.....he will be 2 in February already. Oh how time flies......

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am hosting my first Thanksgiving this year and had a few minutes to sit down and relax and figured it's a good time to update my blog!

We said goodbye to my Grandma last week, which was incredibly hard. She had been struggling for a long time, but it's still hard to see her gone. It seems like a part of my childhood is gone. She was a wonderful Grandmother and I am at peace knowing she is watching over us and is in no more pain. We will miss her so much!

I am down to two medications, which is so awesome! They dropped the first medication almost a month ago and then just tested me this week to make sure my body is handling the loss of the drug ok and that my kidneys are still doing good. Unfortunately it showed I was getting protein and blood in my urine again so they are waiting one more week and testing me again. If I still have it in there, I will have to go back on the medications. By having protein in my urine again, it's showing that my kidneys are back to not functioning like they are supposed to. Praying that the next test will show I do NOT need that drug and can remain free from it.

Finally, with Thanksgiving tomorrow, I have a few things that I am especially thankful for this year:

1. My family. Healthy & Happy!
2. My Grandma being at peace with her Heavenly Father
3. A Job! With the economy these days, it's good to know I still have a job!
4. God.
5. My family and friends!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

November already?!

Wow has it been awhile or what?! No news is always good news though! Everything here is going G-R-E-A-T! Recently, they took me off another medication, so I am down to only two different medications a day which is awesome!!! I get tested in a few weeks to see how my body is reacting to the loss of the last medication we dropped. So far I feel the same and have not had any swelling or flare ups that I can tell, so I think it's working!

Ive had to go in to get some injections into some of my joints a few weeks ago, but other than that, I have remained healthy (knock on wood) during this crazy time of H1N1 scares, and all and all feel great!

Nolan is now 21 months! I'm sad to think that in just a few more months he will be 2 and I won't be saying he's "month" old anymore, it will be years. He's at such a fun age though and learning new words everyday. Some not the best words...like his new word last week which starts with a "sh" and ends with a "t!" OPPS! We have introduced him to the potty chair, but he doesn't seem to really care about it. He went one time on it and that's it! I guess when he's ready, he's ready!

Until next time!

Back to my "old self"

Well kind of anyways! My nurse called me the other day to tell me that my labs showed no signs of lupus right now! What awesome news! Basically that means my body is in complete remission (back to where it was BEFORE my flare up, before I had Nolan). If a doctor were to test me for Lupus today, it would show no signs in my lab work. Crazy hu?! Who knows what would happen if I came off my medication...but for now, it's showing nothing while on medication, so that's great!

The Lupus Walk for Hope was last weekend and what a GREAT turnout! I had about 30 people alone just on my team-Thanks to everyone who came out! We dont have final numbers in yet, but I'm thinkings it is going to be over $25,000 raised! The ambassador role was very exciting, but of course...I started crying during my speech! Someday I will be able to talk about my experience with Lupus without crying. I'm hopeful anyways!!!

The new house is starting to feel like "home". Boxes are unpacked, rooms are decorated, neighbors have been introduced. We are really enjoying the town and neighborhood and excited to raise the family here! I feel 10 times safer here, which is worth it in itself!!! We are also starting to look into a new church here. Our church now is in St.Cloud, and we just are having a hard time making it on Sundays considering it is a 1/2 hour drive one way. A closer church would be much easier!! We are going to try out a Lutheran Church on Sunday. Excited for that!

Can't believe Fall is just around the corner. SOOO excited to have a normal fall this year and for family pictures in October! Last year at this time, my face was HUGE so there was no way I was taking family pictures and I also held myself back in a lot of the fun fall activities. Very excited!

I probably won't update for another few weeks unless something VERY interesting in my life pops up:) No updates usually mean healthy Anne:)

No Thyroid Problem!

Tests came out good. I have a very normal thyroid! YEAH!~ I guess my metabolism just got better with age. Is that possible?!

update: Another Test

I went in today for my yearly physical with my gynecologist and was talking to her about my unexplained weight loss and how I haven't gained it back since I was sick over 2 months ago now. She is a little concerned about a thyroid problem so I was once again sent to labs for some work on my thyroid. I just hope there is nothing wrong, and I am just gifted to lose 10 lbs by not trying!!!! She mentioned something about how an autoimmune disease can affect your thyroid. SO......we wait yet again for more tests and hopefully to deliver more good news that I am healthy!

Whew!

Whew! The move is officially over and we have lived here now a full week! Everything is unpacked and the house looks like our own. What a great feeling! The boys LOVE the new house, especially their new bunk beds and play room.

Reminder that the Lupus walk/run is coming up in a few weeks. If you haven't signed up and/or donated you still have time. Go to www.lupusmn.org and click on the walk/run logo to the right. Make sure you search for my team (anne burau) to join and/or donate. It should be a lot of fun!

Health wise, everything seems great! I'm just getting over a cold...Thanks to my son who must have picked it up at daycare, but other than that...things are still checking out great!

Well, we are off to get more stuff done!

He was there again

It happened yet again. God had answered yet another one of my prayers. The 3 hour test returned great results. I do have spots on my retinas, however, they are not eye disease spots. They are what the doc believes to be just inherited spots that I have on my retinas. They will not affect my vision or anything...so I will remain on the medication and once again thank the Lord for answering yet another one of my prayer requests.

Now that this is over, I really need to focus on packing up this house. It is becoming a little bit stressful! Our new house will be completely finished next Wednesday so we are super excited to see how everything is once it is done!

I turned Nolan's crib into a toddler bed last night. Wow. A toddler bed. It took me an hour to convert it and honestly, looking at my baby sleeping in there, I want to turn it right back into a crib. I can't believe he is sleeping in a big boy bed. Wow. He was really scared to go to sleep in it last night. He kept getting out and crying and I would go into the room, and lay him back down and leave the room. Finally, I laid my head on his mattress next to him, and he was out. Tonight was much easier. He did still get up and cry and then Ross had a "talk" with him and laid him down and he went right to sleep. He also slept through the night last night without getting up. Hopefully tonight is the same! What a big boy he is becoming. He gave up the nuk without a fight, moved to a toddler bed with barely a fight. Now...if only potty training can be that easy??!! We will be starting that soon...should be interesting:)

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, again for all the wishes and prayers for the eye tests today. Hopefully this is the LAST test in a LONG LONG time!!!!!

Updates

I just wanted to let everyone know that you can now register and/or donate for the Lupus Walk for Hope on Saturday September 11th. Just go to www.lupusmn.org and click on the Lupus Walk for Hope logo to the left. From here, you can click "register" or "make a donation". If you want to register, just follow the directions to register, when it comes to a part asking if you want to create a team or find a team, you can find my team by typing in Anne Burau and join my team this way. You can either do the free 1 mile walk or do the 5K walk/run. I choose to do the 5K, just because 1 mile isn't that far and I like to run. We will be bringing both boys, so we will see if running will even be an option though!

A few updates: Friday July 31st at 11:00 I will have my retina specialist appointment. It will be a 3 hour appt to check my eyes and see if the medication I am on is causing me the eye disease or not. Please send prayers my way on this day. The tests will be long and rigorous, and my eyes are so sensitive to light and will have to be held open with very bright lights shinning on them for long periods of time. I'm so dreading that part!

My energy level seems to be starting to get better, I'm noticing myself staying up later and later and not feeling as tired. Perfect timing for this as we are moving in TWO WEEKS! I have my whole lower level packed but the upper level is going to be the hardest part. I'm trying to just do a few boxes a night so hopefully it will all come together soon!

I have stopped losing weight and am just maintaining the 125lbs right now. Glad it isn't going down anymore so I'm not too worried about it. Appetite and Energy are up, so maybe when I turned 26, my metabolism went the opposite way:) Yeah Right!

I'll update Friday or Saturday on how the eye appointment went. Remember to register or donate if you can for the walk!

Thank You!

Always going to be an uphill battle, sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Whew..what a dramatic title hu??? It's really how I have been feeling lately though. Living life with Lupus is such an uphill battle. I really can't even remember what it's like to not be tired.


I celebrated 26 years of life last Thursday, on July 9th. Only 20 of those years being healthy years. Right now a majority of my life has been healthy. It's weird to think that when I'm 40, a majority of my life will have been me being sick. Not a surprise that I woke up on my 26th birthday and was not feeling good. I seem to have caught a cold in the middle of the summer. Sore throat, cough, headache, the whole works. On a positive note, my husband sent 2 dozen roses to me at work along with 2 (1) hour massages. My mom was also in town so I got to come home and spend my birthday with her, something that hasn't been done in years! We ordered pizza and she bought a lemon layered cake. By the time the pizza arrived however, I was so sick I couldn't even eat it. I'm glad my mom, husband and Nolan enjoyed it though.

I also got to celebrate my 26th birthday by going to the doctor for the usual visit and tests. I was nervous as heck. I mean, who wants bad news on their birthday?? I thought with me being so tired and losing so much weight lately that things might have taken a turn for the worse, but I as wrong. The doctor walked into my room with the biggest smile I have seen on his face ever. "Anne, you are doing so great!" he says. "really?" I said. He said things are getting really good, kidneys not only remaining stable but almost a tad getting better. Lupus is completely not active right now. I was beyond surprised. Happy, but surprised. He looked at my chart and noticed that I have lost quite some weight. He asked if I was eating, drinking fluids,the usual. "yes, Yes, and Yes" then he told me not to worry about it, and that if I lose anymore in the next month , then it will be something we will have to look into. SO...I'm trying not to worry. However, if you know me, I am tall and normal weight is 135. I'm happy with 135. Don't get me wrong, I'd take 130 though usually. I'm a happy size 6. Well..I am now 125lbs and size 4. 125lbs with clothes on and food in my stomach I should say. Clothes that just fit me good 4 weeks ago are now falling off. I had to buy some new clothes for work. It isn't normal.

I'm also struggling with some personal issues in my life right now, that I ask some prayers for.

The Waiting Game...

Well, I couldn't get scheduled to see the Retina Specialist until July 31st so I have a few more weeks. It must not be THAT urgent... Just gives me more time to worry about it I guess!

Nolan is getting so big and changing every day. He is talking a lot more. His most common words now are "momma" "dadda" "hi" Bye" "Love you" "Car" "Please" and "Puppy". He has figured out that if he just says "please" or in Nolan's words "Peas" he can get what he wants. He has also started rebelling a little. When I tell him to come here...he takes off in the opposite direction, wanting to be chased. The little stinker in him is sure coming out! I also think he is going through a growth spurt. All he does is eat. He seriously eats more than me at dinner time. It's crazy. Here is a video of him last night. Apparently I don't feed him enough...

I am finally starting to really notice my hair getting thicker, especially on top. I don't have the "bald" spot that I used to have! I am also trying to keep it short to make it look fuller. I just can't wait to have a full head of thick hair again!!! Someday!

STILL have not gained any weight back from being sick. I usually wouldn't care, but this just doesn't seem right. I haven't worked out in over 3 weeks and I'm eating whatever I want. Usually...when I do this, I gain weight VERY easily. Something doesn't seem right. I'm going to give it a little more time, and then probably call or go in to get checked out.

Excited to have a day off this week and enjoy the 4th of July weekend with the family. Happy Independence Day to All!

I'm always that small 1%....

I went to the Nero today to check my eyes. He said my pupils are kinda weird. When light shines in on them, they do almost seem to "bounce" bigger, unlike normal eyes that get smaller. After dilating them and looking closer though, he wasn't as concerned about my pupils but more my retina. He think that the plaquinil drug I'm on, the one that is suppose to help prevent flare ups, is giving me the eye disease that you can get from it. (like less than 1% chance) so now I'm off to see another specialist. I'm really hoping it is not the Plaqunil. This drug has really helped me and there are not really any other options for me. I will keep you posted on more when I go there, haven't made my appt yet but it will be soon I'm assuming.

Other than that...things have been pretty good. I am finally I think over "bring sick" I've lost over 10lbs and still haven't gained any of it back. Kinda weird..but after almost 3 weeks of not holding food down really gets to a girl!

We are getting really excited for the big move in 8 weeks! The builder started finishing the basement last week so we are starting to pick out fireplaces and colors. So fun!

That's about it for now, seems like I don't have much time to write anymore! Nolan is SO busy and active and when he goes to bed, I'm too tired to write:)

We're Moving!

We prayed and prayed and prayed for our house to sell, and to find a house that would be perfect for our family and this week, within 3 days, our prayers were answered completely and beyond our wildest dreams.

First of all, One of Ross's companies he owns has decided to buy our house from us. It's perfect because then we stay 1/3rd owners of it. This house has so many memories for us, I am happy we will still be tied to the house in one way or another.

The house we will be buying (Aug.14th is closing date), had to be completly meant to be. I was looking up homes on Tuesday night and accidently hit the area out of St.Cloud in my search. Lone behold this house pooped up and I loved it instantly! Ross was at work, but I texted him asking him if Becker was too far for us to move and he texted back saying "probably." I left it alone until he came home and asked me why I asked that. I told him that I found a house in Becker but if its too far, that's ok. Well, we pulled the house up and he too really liked the pictures. We made an appt to go look at it on Wednesday night and fell even more in love with it in person! By Thursday at 7am, we had an offer it and by Thursday at 10pm the offer was countered and received and finally accepted!!! It has everything we are looking for and seems PERFECT for our family. We are so excited to start a new chapter in our life in a new city (becker is about 25 minutes from St.Cloud, where we work and kids have daycare) and a new home!!! He has answered our prayers beyond our belief! Now, we just have to keep praying that everything goes through: loans, inspections, etc! August 14th will be here soon!

Thank you to all who have prayed for us to find something "perfect!"

Here is a sneak peak of it!

WOW it's been awhile!

What a crazy last few weeks it has been! The craziness of the summer has officially began! I have started seeing little "yellowish" spots at times during the day and also noticing a little almost "black out" when I stand up lately. I decided to move up my nero appt to June instead of waiting until August. Still hoping/praying it is nothing much, but worried more and more each day.

Still no luck on selling our house, but praying hard that the right person still comes around. We have been looking a lot at other homes and have found a few that would be perfect for our family so hopefully we can move on soon!!

Today is the 24 hour Lupus marathon on KFAN radio. (www.KFAN.com) For 24 hours, Cory Cove is talking, playing music, talking about sports, raffling things off, etc. Lots of guest speakers, and of course my little message I recorded a few weeks ago too! (which by the way, went VERY well!)

On a side note, Ross has given me a very special gift this year for my birthday (a little early as my birthday isn't until July). I won't tell you what it is, as it is very personal for me, but it is something I have wanted for awhile. Currently, I have a TON of research to do before I actually accept the gift but please pray that I make the right decision, if it's right for me or not.

Vision Problems

I went to the eye doctor today because I have been noticing my vision decreasing. I wasn't too worried..most people my age have glasses or contacts and I have nothing but I am on Plaquenil, which has a small percentage side effect that you can get this eye disease and lose your eye sight. So, I didn't want to take any chances and went in. I did the vision field test, and I scored perfectly so they were not concerned the drug has affected my eyes or given me the eye disease which was a relief!

However, they noticed that my pupils are not reacting to light which is very abnormal. This is usually the case in people who have had some sort of brain damage or are brain dead. Something like my neurons aren't connecting correctly to my eyes or something? (I didn't understand it very clearly) She said something like how I could have had a small stroke and not even known it. (WEIRD and SCARY, I know!) I started freaking out a little, but she said it wasn't something to really worry about and that I am getting referred to a Neron doctor to look into it a little more.

There is this little scare in the back of my mind that the Lupus could have spread to my brain. (This is totally only in my head...no doctors have confirmed this or even gave me that idea!) I really just don't understand what else could be wrong with my brain.

So anyways....my appointment isn't until August, and I'm sure it is nothing, but if you could still pray for me to stay sane these next few months and not over react. And also, to have positive news when I do visit the specialist in August. Thank You!

6 months

It has been 6 months since I was at my highest dose of steroids/lowest point in my life. Look at the difference in my face. Crazy!

Happy Mothers Day!

What a wonderful day to spend my 2nd Mothers Day! I got flowers, beautiful cards, and a BEAUTIFUl bracelet with Nolan's name on it. We went out for brunch with family, and even got my favorite ice cream treat...dairy queen blizzards! It was the perfect day. I Love being a mom and am so thankful that I can celebrate this day. Thank you to my parents and Ross's parents for everything you do for us too!

I finally went to the doctor, and luckily I went in....I had bronchitis. As most of you know, when I have these illnesses, it is very dangerous for me. We never know what a simple cold can turn into for me, like in this case..bronchitis. I'm still coughing up a lot of interesting looking stuff, but am feeling SO much better and ready to go back to work tomorrow for a hopefully FULL week of work:) I pray that my family stays healthy, as the house is probably full of my germs from hacking for two weeks.

I am also praying for us to sell our house. We finally put it on the market officially a week ago and are so ready to move onto the next step and into another home that we can call home. I love this house more than anything and love all the memories we have created here, however, I think it is also time to start new memories in a new house. We are literally overflowing in this house! Please help us pray someone perfect can find our house and live here and have wonderful memories here like we had and pray we find the perfect house for our family too.

updates

Ah, it seems like so much work right now to post. I have had this horrible cold for over a week now! I am constantly coughing, stuffed up and major headache. Finally today I called the doctor and they told me to hold out for a few more days so I went home from work and went to BED! I think I'm starting to feel better but still have lack of energy right now. Right now, I know sleep is the best medicine so I'm trying to get a lot of it!

Also, some exciting news...I got invited to do a few minute blurb about how lupus has affected me on a radio show at the end of May for a Lupus marathon benefit. I'm still deciding what I am going to say...so much to say and just in a minute or two could be challenging for me. I know God will give me the right words to say though. I will post more about exact date, time, and radio station as soon as I know more.

I am also going to go in June to a class to become a certified support group facilitator for Lupus. I would love to be able to host or co host a support group for people with Lupus and share my experiences with them.

I think that's about it for now, until then, please pray for increased strength and health for me! Thank You!!!

We're Back!

Mexico was a blast. I did end up getting sick, and of course it was the travel day that we were heading back so traveling back was complete and utter H*ll. But, I made it back and missed Nolan like crazy. I have never felt so lonely without him! It was the best reunion to see him again. I also ended up coming back with what I thought was sun poisoning, but I'm thinking it might be something else. The medications I'm on, I'm not suppose to be in the sun, however, how do you go to Mexico and not go in the sun?! Impossible. So I had a basically neck to toe rash that is so painful and itchy!!! I went to the doctor yesterday and they gave me some creme and it's not working. Oh well, it was worth every painful itch I have right now!

and we're off....

Not sure if many people are reading this anymore as I don't post much and don't have many updates on my health since I'm doing so good but I guess it's a good way for me to journal this journey.

Tomorrow we head to the cities, and then Friday at 6am we are on our way to Mexico!I didn't think this would ever come!

I did have a minor set back this week, which really caught me off guard. The last few weeks my left hand pinky has been getting a little swollen. Well this week, I decided I better go in when it swelled to the size of a small hotdog and was in extreme pain. I went in and I guess it's just part of the arthritic part of Lupus, but the doctor did think it was weird that it was in all three joints in my pinky. Usually, it's just one joint. Go figure:) She advised me to get back on steroids and do a "shock treatment" where you take a few high doses for a few days, low doses for a few days, then quit immediately. I told her I was not going down that path so she decided to inject my joints of cortizone and said she can't guarantee it would work. It hurt like crazy and had to wear a big splinter on it for 24 hours but I figured it was better than drugs. When I took the splinter off, only one joint was better and the rest were still puffy so I did start the shock treatment of steroids. It's already starting to feel better and almost down to it's normal size. Hopefully when I get off steroids again in a week or so, I can stay pain free for awhile!

Hope to come back in a week and update with many pics and awesome stories!

Until then...here are some updated pics of the little punker.

Easter egg dying..nice "Perkins" apron hu? It was from my old college days of waitressing!

Two weeks!

Our trip to Mexico is coming up in two weeks and I am finding myself getting a little anxiety over it. Don't get me wrong..I am SUPER excited. However, I know a lot of people that have gone down to Mexico this year and got sick and I'm so scared of that. I know to be careful and not drink the water, etc but I'm still really worried! So if you could say a little prayer for me to be safe and healthy while in Mexico that would be great! THANKS!

Kidney Update

Saw my Nephrologist today and everything is still looking great! My Kidney function has even gotten a little bit better from last time, and last time's look great so I was thrilled to hear that! I have to admit though...I do still get a bit nervous when I enter the doctors office, hoping and praying for good news but yet knowing there is still a possibility for something to go extremely wrong and my kidneys to be getting worse. There is always a pit in my stomach that sits there until the doctor pulls up my lab reports. Hopefully that anxiety will go away over time. Other than that..not much to report. Starting to really get excited for our trip in almost 3 weeks already!

Healed

I can now start to visibly see my body getting better. My nails are hard and long. My hair is thicker and shiny. My face is full of color. My joints, not painful. My energy, very high. My face swelling, gone. My body feels completely, absolutely, 100% healed. I feel like I've never been sick, never gone through chemo, never taken hundreds of pills. It's crazy how your body heals. How it gets over things like this and though I hope I am in remission forever, I am confident if it happens again, my body is strong enough to fight it off yet again.


Here are some updated pictures of my little bug.....
Not liking his new lifejacket......

Loving his new rocking chair. (This rocking chair was actually given to me by my Grandma and Grandpa Reed when I was born and now I am giving it to my son!) Nolan being his silly self at dinner....

My new housekeeper!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG:

I got this as a forward in my email the other day and thought this was a very important message to remember.....(#8 is important to me!)


1. Try everything twice. On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph: Tried everything twice...loved it both times!

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. ( Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle.' An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimers!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.

6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, and hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, or a trip to the next county or a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. I love you, my special friend.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance.

Nolan has something to tell you all....

Just in case you forgot:) Ha! I saw this shirt and had to get it!!!

Success: Lupus Benefit of MN

The benefit last night was a complete success. We had 60+ people for dinner and them a handful more came after dinner. I do not have an exact number yet of what we made but I believe it is pretty close to $5,000. All the money raised will go to the Lupus Foundation of MN and will go towards finding a cure and support groups. http://www.lupusmn.org/

The event consisted of a wonderful fish and chicken sit down dinner, guest speaker Timberly Williams, (Director of Client Services of Lupus Foundation of MN). There was also a great DJ from PM Enterprises, silent auction, and a very tasty candy bar that was greatly enjoyed by everyone!!

Thank you again for anyone that has donated money, gifts, and/or attended the benefit last night. Together, we can find a cure!

I'll leave you with some pictures from the event. Note I don't have blonde hair anymore!!!

5 stages of Lupus

I saw this video tonight and it felt like I made it. It was exactly the same feelings I had....

Clickhere

Such great news

I had a Follow up appt today and EVERYTHING looks so good. There is no activity going on with my lupus or my kidneys which is sweet! My joint pain in my knees is still continuing but they don't want me on steroids so I might be getting injections of cortisone, but other than that they think it should go away. I don't have to go back for 4 months!!!!!!!!!!!!

8 more weeks until our trip to Mexico!!!! Can't wait!!!

This is also your last reminder to turn in your Lupus Event RSVP's. They are due on Sunday!!

REMINDER: LUPUS EVENT 2-28-09

RSVP's due this week to Celeste! If you can't come but would like to still donate, please contact myself at anneburau@hotmail.com or Celeste at celeste.burau@gmail.com Thanks! Hope to see you all there!!!

Happy Birthday Nolan Bug!!!

My baby is one today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here are some pictures from his party on Sunday. He wasn't feeling very good, but still enjoyed it I think!

Here is also a slide show that I showed at his birthday. Make sure to pause the music on my blog to the right so you can hear the music on the slide show. It's kinda a tear jerker:)






Happy First Birthday, Nolan

M&M's w/Nolan's Picture on them!

Just got out of bath after getting all messy with the cake!
I love you so much Nolan bug and hope you have a super birthday!!!!

Prayer request for some blogger friends

No prayer requests for me this time, but as we start getting ready to celebrate Nolan's first birthday, I ask if you can help keep these "blogger friends" of mine in your prayers as they have to face the first birthday of their son's who both passed away at birth, in February 2008. I think of these two ladies often, but especially now while I am planning Nolan's birthday party they are extremely heavy in my heart. I remember the day I brought Nolan home from the hospital, 2.14.08, this was the same day Destiny was dealing with the loss of her son and trying to understand why she didn't get the chance to bring her son home. Katie's son was born 2.29.08, which was leap year. Ross and I often talked about what if we had a baby born on leap year when would celebrate his birthday. (Nolan's original due date was 2.22) Katie and her husband are now trying to figure that out. You can click on their names to read their stories.

Destiny

Katie

Please No!

I'm a little nervous as the last few days I have developed joint pain in my knees again. I am assuming my body is not handling being off the steroids like i thought it would be. I'm going to give it a few more days of hobbling around and then I might have to get back on them, hopefully just a low dose. If you could please say a little prayer about this, I really thought I was doing good and would be for a long time and hope this is nothing. I have such an active lifestyle so joint pain really frusterates me!! Thank You!!!

My Good Luck Charm

My appointment today went awesome! I even had Nolan with me, he is my new good luck charm I think:) Labs look stable, which is great. He has taken me off 3 more medications, one being the steroids!!!!! we are hoping that my body will handle this and not go crazy without them. He was super amazed how fast I made progress!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!Praise the Lord I am healed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess I'm stronger than I thought?

I have been reflecting lately on what I have gone through the last 6 months and I realized I was a lot stronger of a person than I thought I was. I worked 10 hour days, without breaks or lunch, went to get 8 hours of chemo and then went to work at 6am the next day. I came home and took care of my family, cooked meals, cleaned, played with Nolan. I was tired, sick and weak but I never stopped. I think I just knew I had to keep working and not feeling sorry for myself or something but now that I look back I don't know how I got through it. I'm back to working 8 hour days with a lunch break in between and I'm tired and complaining that I'm tired. I really should not be complaining though!!! I guess it is true that God doesn't give you more than you can handle.....

Well our trip to Mexico is postponed until April now. (they were trying to charge us more to go in March because it's spring break prime time) I'm trying to not be upset about it, I know April will be here before we know it. I'm just so ready for a trip!!

I had my first hair cut this week since way before treatment. It felt so good and it feels so much thicker and healthier now. I'm getting another strip treatment in a few weeks. I guess this will stripe all the chemicals, medications, etc that has been in my hair over the last months.

Here is a video of Nolan walking around the house. I had to walk backwards fast to try to keep up with him. He is basically walking 80% of the time now. (Except when we are outside, we still carry him to the car)

my face is still getting slimmer:)

11 months & 1 week old....Getting so big!

Happy & Healthy!

Not too much news to report. Still feeling good and as far as I'm concerned I'm in remission (though I will find out 100% in 1.5 weeks!) I feel pretty normal again. I have energy, can sleep good at night, and can stay up past 10pm again! Yeah! My hair is getting thicker and my face slimming down. Things are definetly looking up:)

If you are interested in attending the Lupus benefit 2-28-09, please email me at anneburau@hotmail.com so I can make sure we send you an invite. It is coming up fast! Which also reminds me what is coming up fast........Nolan's first birthday!!!

I can't believe he's going to be 1 in 4 weeks! Where did my baby go??? He has started clapping, waving, and taking our cell phones and putting it to his ear and "talking". Something new with him everyday it seems. He got a kitchen for Christmas and he likes to "make soup" and have mommy taste it:) I will post some pictures and video on the next post...being too lazy tonight!

New Years Resolutions....

In order to have a better year, I have created some New Years Resolutions for myself ...here are my top ones:

1. Get to church more often..Nolan is getting to the age where we want to start instilling him with Jesus Christ in his heart..I started singing him "Jesus loves me" every night and he just stops everything he is doing and stares at me. It's very precious.

2. Not get so stressed out about things that have to get done around the house. To help reach this goal, we have decided to hire a housekeeper twice a month to help with some of our cleaning duties that I tend to spend my whole weekends doing. I hope this lets me spend more time with the family and not get so stressed out about cleaning all weekend! Stress is a huge trigger in lupus flares so I need to make sure I keep my stress level as low as possible.

3. Take out "false sweeteners" in my diet. Mostly Aspartame as this is a possible known cause for certain cancers and also triggers of lupus. This ingredient is in things like diet soda, light yogurts, Crystal light, sugar free gum and other "light" or "sugar free" foods/drinks. I am going to replace these with more cups of water. I have yet to hear of any negative effects of too much water:)

4. My final resolution is to take a step back and enjoy life. Not worry about the small stuff. Take time to enjoy every second I have with my family and friends and not have any regrets!!!

Some big resolutions to complete this year, but I'm already on to a great start!

New Year, New Beginnings

2008 brought my husband and I so much joy(birth of Nolan), yet it has also brought us much pain and scarring. We are rejoicing 2008 is over and we can start a new year, yet we will also always remember it. I have high hopes that this will be a great and healthy year for us. I am excited to see what God has in his plan for us this year and ready to face it all head on.

To celebrate the new year and me feeling better, we are trying to plan a trip for March already to Rivera Maya!!! I need to get final approval from my doctor before we officially book the dates, but I'm confident he will give me the "ok." We are also preparing for Nolan's first birthday, which is coming way too fast for me to fully accept! I'm creating a dvd sideshow put together of pictures and clips of video throughout his first year. I'm about 3/4 way done and can't wait to see the final result! I will post if after everyone sees it at the party. The final thing coming up is the Lupus Benefit the last day of February. Celeste is working hard at getting final details squared up and getting donations from companies for the silent auction. I am so excited for this and hope we can raise a lot of money for the Lupus Foundation of MN. I would love to be alive to see a cure for this disease and by giving money to them they can continue doing research to to find a cure.

Thank you again everyone for helping us get through 2008, we hope you continue to stand behind us during 2009!!!