To Know Happiness...

You must also know sadness.

This morning at work, after being there maybe 30 minutes or so, one of the other supervisors came over to each of our desks for a quick meeting.  After we were all gathered there, the director of our department mustered us closer together.  That's when she told us the news...

One of our coworkers, a wonderful, wonderful woman, Barbara, had passed away last night.  No one knew many details and it wasn't something we were at all expecting.  As far as we knew, Barbara was healthy as could be.  It was a horrible way to start the day.

Barbara was the kind of woman who always had a smile on her face, ready to greet you as soon as she saw you.  She would bring candy during the holidays and pass it out to everyone, brightening our day.  She was very thoughtful.  A friend to all.  Not a selfish bone in her body.

A couple of coworkers had spoken to her last night.  She had some slurred speech and had told them she wasn't feeling well.  They encouraged her to go to the doctor's but she decided it best to go lay down.  A little while later, her roommate came home to find her on the floor of her bedroom.  Unbelievable.  I could not even imagine...  We're still wondering if it was perhaps a stroke?  Maybe an aneurism?

It was a very emotional day today.  The whole entire office was just so melancholy at the shock bestowed upon us that morning.  I still can't believe it.  They even brought in a Grief Counselor to help those who were having a difficult time.  It was a great idea and I feel he helped a lot of people through the day.  He's coming back tomorrow too.  (And for those of you who know me, you know I just pushed the sadness away and continued to work.  It's how I deal with this kind of thing.  I will grieve on my own time, but hate crying in public.)

So now we wait for more information as to what happened to our coworker, our friend.  Our director came up with an idea for our department to have our own memorial for Barbara.  What a sweet gesture.  I so appreciate how this whole situation was handled.  It's great to know that our higher ups care that much!

So dear Barbara, rest in peace.  And God be with you till we meet again.

Disappointment.

On April 21, I woke up to a text message form my sister, Tiffer.  I was in shock.  I didn't know what to say.  I definitely couldn't go back to sleep after I read the message.  And I sure as heck could't think about anything else the rest of the day.  I still can't believe it.  Such a HUGE disappointment just washed over me.

"Ummm.. Gay Shepard from Mesa View (our junior high school) and her husband were charged with sex crimes with a minor.  Yikes," she texted.

Mrs. Shepard was one of my favorite teachers in junior high.  She was my teacher for two years in a row and I just thought she was so cool.  She always dressed so stylish.  She always spoke to us like we were adults.  I even went back to visit her when I moved on to high school.  I looked up to such a hip teacher, who seemed to understand us.

So much respect for such a fantastic teacher.  Gone.  I am just appalled.  I had to be sure to post it on my Facebook so that all of my classmates were informed.  After all, who knows if any of them had an "incident" as well?  Perhaps since one kid came forward, it would encourage others to do the same.  Most of my old classmates reposted my post along with the article I put up.  I'm sure everyone knows by now.

So far, seven other kids have come forward.  It just breaks my heart.  I still can't believe it.  I just don't understand how someone's brain can actually be ok with doing something like this. It just disgusts me.  You think about how you see this kind of stuff on the news or in the media.  Someone else's teacher.  This time, it was mine.  You just never know.  :(

Teacher placed on leave after arrest

Ocean View School District superintendent says middle school teacher accused of illegal sex acts will not be in class Monday.

"A Mesa View Middle School teacher charged with having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old boy has been placed on administrative leave, the district's superintendent said Friday.

William V. Loose of the Ocean View School District said in a prepared statement that Gay Davidson-Shepard, who was arrested Wednesday in Huntington Beach, will not return to class when school resumes Monday after spring break.

"The district has cooperated fully with the police agency involved in the criminal investigation and will continue to do so," the statement read. "In light of the criminal proceeding, however, we are not at liberty to comment further other than to advise that Ms. Davidson-Shepard has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately pending the outcome of this matter.

"You may be assured that the Ocean View School District has the safety and well-being of all of its students and staff as its first priority."

Davidson-Shepard and her husband, Daniel Alma Shepard, are both charged with multiple felony counts, including oral copulation of a minor, sodomy of a person under 18 and contributing to the delinquency of the minor, according to a release from the Orange County district attorney and Westminster Police Department.

Shepard was also charged with possession and control of child pornography. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in state prison, Davidson-Shepard a maximum of eight years and four months.

Shepard, reached at home Thursday, declined comment.

The couple each posted $150,000 bail Thursday and are out of custody, according to the Orange County district attorney. Their arraignment, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed to 9 a.m. May 19 at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

Shepard taught at Westminster High School at the time of the crime, according to the release. Cpl. Van Woodson of the Westminster Police Department said Shepard retired in 2009.

According to Los Angeles Times archives, Shepard once served as president of the District Educators Assn. for the Huntington Beach Union High School District, while Davidson-Shepard served as teachers association president for the Ocean View School District.

The defendants, Woodson said, were arrested without incident at their home about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday."

Being Auntie Hollie.

One of my dear cousins, Nat, whom I pretty much grew up with, got married on March 25th.  It was a huge event and I bid his wife Savannah the luckiest girl in the world.  I always said I wanted to find a man like my cousin, Nat (obviously not related, lol).  It was a huge event and all of my sibling came out with their families and it was SUCH a blast!  Family pictures were mandatory....

And so was 2 weeks of playing with my nephew and nieces.

We tried on Auntie Hollie's heels. (Owen and Jackie)

We snuggled. (Anne)

We cheesed for LOTS of pix. (Jaiden)

Trudie helped JK with Catch Phrase. She's a smart little 7 year old!

We modeled in the sun before pool time.

We swam and enjoyed the 'cuzzi.

Nixie went "swimming" for the very first time.

Jady went down the slide with her dad.

We goofed off.

We hung out with cousins.

We tried comforting our cousins when they were sad.

We played fort with Gramma Pickle (aka, Honey) and Grampa (aka, Pa-gah)'s pillows.

It was such a fun time having all of the babies here, together!  I'll post our family pictures later.  That was a fun time in the park!

Kate: An Adoption Story.

Kate Nickol Jones was born on April 5th, 2011.  She weighed in at a mere 6 lbs. 15oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long.  She had some hair, light brown and was just as cute as can be.

(A very happy daddy!)

(The new mom.  A natural!)

(I'm thinking... Shoes?)

Kate came to our family, namely, my oldest sister, Traci and her husband Chris, by way of an open adoption.  We were eating dinner one night when my mom had announced that some guests were coming over to visit.  A million thoughts crossed all of our minds.  As soon as the doorbell rang and I saw who entered, I knew exactly what was up.  I turned to my brother in law, Chris, and knew he knew too as we gave each other a nod.

A friend of my mom's and her daughter entered the house.  I almost burst into tears and I understood the reason they were visiting.  We all sat together in the family room, and the discussion began...

"After a lot of thinking... I've decided on the best thing for my baby.  I want you and Chris to have my baby and raise it as your own."

We all burst into tears as the actual words were spoken.  After all, this is such a HUGE decision for a young pregnant mother to make.  My sister was shocked and handled everything perfectly.  She made sure to remind her that this was a huge decision and wanted to be 100% sure it's the choice she wanted to make.

Fast forward to April 5th at 2am.  Traci and Chris get a call to come to the hospital.  I received a text a little after that saying "(Her) water broke and she's in labor.  Going to the hospital now!"  I was so excited and was texting Tiffer all morning!  It made it easier to use the Benincosa network since I knew Traci would be preoccupied with the whole birthing process.  In the end, Traci got to cut the umbilical cord and receive the "handoff" of her new baby daughter.

(Chris multitasking)

(Gramma Pickle and Grampa B.)

(Gramma and Grampa Jones)

Soon it was time for the birth certificate information.  The birth mother said she wanted to make it easier for Traci and Chris so they wouldn't have to keep changing the name on it and go through the whole long process.  she had wanted to name the baby Nickol in the beginning.  Traci gave her the name as a gift of thanks, placing Nickol as Kate's middle name, the way the birth mother wanted to spell it.

(A very happy Auntie)

(Feeding time!)

Baby Kate is at home with my sister and brother in law now.  She is so completely loved and cared for with 100% of the focus and attention.  She couldn't have asked for a more wonderful set of parents as they cherish her everyday.  I was able to meet Kate 2 days later, on the 7th.  She is a beautiful little girl and the perfect baby.  It is so amazing how many friends, and friends of friends, came through to assist my sister and her husband with many, many baby items, including clothes and other accessories!  She is going to be one of the most cherished little girls in the world!  I am just in awe at this little blessing that was bestowed upon my sister and her husband!  I thank God everyday for such an amazing gift.

A Good Laugh.

I was at work doing some testing for our new system with several other people.  All of a sudden I get an email pop up from my work bestie, who's sitting behind me.  What the...?  So, of course, I had to open it.  This is what I found:

Now you can see why she's my bestie.  If you don't understand this, you're either too young or you grew up in a cave.  

This song used to be very popular.  After posting it on my Facebook, an old friend of mine asked me if I'd seen the music video for this song recently.  She said it's pretty much about stalking.  Take a look and see what you think, lol!:

TMI: More Medical Fun.

Sorry about being MIA!  it's been quite the busy life I've been leading and I am utterly grateful for such a full life!  All right, let's get straight to it.

Thursday after work, and after many phone calls, I picked up my prescription for Colyte (aka, GoLytely).  For those of you unawares, you lucky people have yet to experience such fun, this is the solution you make to prep your intestines for a colonoscopy.  Yup, my digestive problems had led me to go through this horrible procedure.  Thankfully, I had several people I could discuss this experience with.  And I thank them for their comforting words: "It's going to suck, but at least you're mostly asleep."

I began the Colyte at 6:30pm the evening before (my appointment was at 7:40am the next morning).  Oh yes, let's not forget I'd been fasting since that morning at 6:00am-ish.  Yup, not only do you have to drink this Colyte delight, but you have to fast a full 24 hours before your procedure.  Luckily, I was already having "incidents" and wasn't hungry one bit anyway.  So, I began the Colyte.  A nurse that had called me a couple days prior advised me to add a couple of lemon-lime Crystal Lite packets.  Thank you Maria, for they made the taste much more tolerable!  For the first 2-4 hours, after adding water to the Colyte powder making 4 liters worth of solution, I drank one 8oz. glass every 15-20 minutes.  For those of you doing the math, that's 3 liters of fluid in 2-4 hours!  And after not eating all day, it affected me very quickly.

The next dose of Colyte was to be taken 4 hours before my appointment.  This meant I had to wake up at 3:40am to continue the cleansing.  For the final liter, I had to repeat the 8oz glasses every 15-20 minutes to complete the cleansing in one hour.  Let's just say that by the time I got to my appointment (including while they made me pee in a cup to be sure I wasn't pregnant) I was squeaky clean.  To put it bluntly, ear-muffs if you are grossed out easily, I was passing only a clear fluid.  Nothing solid and nothing colored.  I couldn't wait for this to be over.

I was prepped with an IV and fluids, my vitals were taken and I was on my way.  Unfortunately for me, the doctor I saw was hot!  Really?!?  THIS is the guy who will be performing this procedure on me??  Wow.  To make things even better, when they perform a colonoscopy on you, not only do they enter via the rectum, but they have to inflate your intestines to see properly.

"Now, Hollie, after this scope is done you are going to feel bloated and may have a lot of discomfort.  You. Must. Fart.  DO NOT hold it in because then you will be very uncomfortable, in pain, and we're going to have to send you to ER.  Don't be embarrassed, it's part of the procedure.  DO NOT HOLD IT IN."  So many thoughts running through my head....

The anesthesia began.  I woke up a couple of times because I'm the lightest sleeper in the world (oh and because it was twilight sedation).  I recall looking up at the screen and asking what the white things were.

"Those are polyps."  And I was out again.  The next time I awoke, I felt pressure and mild pain as they were removing the scope.  Excellent.  This is the exact part I woke up when they performed the endoscopy on the opposite end and I woke myself up belching.  At least I was sure to say an infinite "Excuse me" before they began.

I finally woke up after about an hour because it always takes me a while to come out of anesthesia.  Maybe it's due to my low blood pressure?  Anyway, I had extreme pain in my abdomen as the air was still trapped inside of me.  Come to find out, he had scoped my small intestine as well.  No wonder the air was trapped.  I envied the patient next to me who had no problem releasing his bubble.  Nurses cheered me on when I was finally able to pass the air.  I left in pain anyway as the air would still not come all the way out.  I'm fine now by the way. ;)

Results, I know you're all on the edge of your seats here.  Turns out I had a few polyps, which they removed.  I also had some inflammation in one area as well as a red, blotchy rash in another area.  They took multiple biopsies and I should get those results in 10-14 days.  So, it's the waiting game.  For now they have me on a high fiber diet.  Insane, I have to consume 25-35 grams of fiber a day!  It's not easy when you're not hungry.

So we'll see how it goes.