Category Archives: Lyme Disease

Here we are again…  finally… back on the blog!

Last time I wrote we were finishing out RV trip around the country abruptly due to the return of my horrible pain.  Lucy and I flew back to my doctor in Hawaii and stayed with my brother while Cory, Hayden, Grey, and the pooch stayed at his aunt and uncles in SoCal to sell the RV, and drive back up to Bend, Oregon where they had to pack up all our belongings, and fly back here to be with Lucy and I about a month later.

As soon as Lu and I arrived on the island we saw the doctor and began treatments that very day to build my body back up and mainly get “ferritin infusions” so that my ferritin (part of my iron that the Babesia disease eats) would increase.  Unfortunately, about two months into these treatments… my body has built up some sort of a tolerance or allergy to receiving the ferritin and my labs are not responding like they always have and are supposed to.  I began severely itching anytime I touched water of any kind and we immediately began searching for new and immediate answers for a treatment to KILL off all the Babesia and FAST!  I cannot live long without the iron my body requires to live… so we are desperate for answers and have been spending all our time searching and asking for prayers.

My parents found a clinic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico that offers the exact treatment that I’ve been looking for and they are able to get me in next week, they are helping us find a condo to rent near the clinic and as of now God is opening door after door for this treatment.  We have soooooo many decisions to make between now and next week…   we are working on the blood testing needed in advance, securing the condo, getting my daddy here to take care of the kiddos (they have lots to get in order in a matter of a few days in Bend so that he can get here), we have to get flights for him, for Cory and myself, we have to be able to pay the doctor upon arrival, and the list just keeps on going and going…

I will post an update on the treatment and what all we will be doing while at the clinic for 6-8 weeks.

Please, please pray for:

All of these steps to fall into order.

For us to clearly see open or closed doors directed by God.

For anxiety and stresses to be at a minimum for all of us.

I have NEVER been away from my kiddos like this before and in a foreign country too.

Please pray for all the help we need in making this happen…

Prayers for safety for my dad in his travels

Safety for Cory and myself with flights and travel

For continued peace and strength for us all

For Complete Healing

Praising God for:

This clinic and Dr. in Mexico

For the open doors already

For my daddy coming to be “Super Papa”

For a Great Big God who is bigger than this whole “beautyfull mess”

Thank you for your continued love, prayers, and support for our family in this crazy journey,  We LOVE you all!

Continue to “Live It Out” each and every second for Jesus!!!

XO,  Dani

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, AMEN

Ephesians 3:20-21

… but, I believe it was a miracle nonetheless!  I was literally bent over super deep, muddy, tire tracks chalking tires with some rough hewn fence posts, scraping up gravel from the sides of the road to fill tracks and offer traction, kiddos were hauling over more lumber they found, cory was unhooking our tow pickup and trailer and constantly adjusting boards, between trying to carefully ease our big rig out of a mud pit in Ohio.

You see…  we were just stopping at Cuyahoga Valley National Park on our pretty short drive this Sunday early afternoon. We followed the signs to the RV/ trailer parking and that’s when it all went south. Literally; SOUTH. Our motorhome with tow trailer and truck sunk deep down into this grass/ gravel/ very wet mud. There was no stopping it from happening or a quick fix to get us out. We were very stuck and we all hit the ground moving to work together with whatever resources we could find.

It was so great to all be working together and happily at that!  We weren’t in a good situation, but we were working together and cooperating and laughing when we could…  little did we know we’d be making memories of such importance today. We made memories of mud seeping into our tennis shoes, memories of hunting for logs, rocks, sticks, gravel, whatever we could find. We made the kind of memories that we will be sharing with our grand kiddos and generations to come!

Now, jump back to the miracle part!!!  I was bent over scooping up gravel into my makeshift traffic-cone- shovel and asking God to send one person to help pull us out. Cars and trucks and trains and people walking and biking and running were constantly passing us. We just needed one persons help and we were getting more and more desperate for it the longer we were working so hard in the rain and mud. I am not even kidding when I say that I was mid-sentence asking God to send help when I hear Hayden yell… “He’s coming to help us!”  I looked up and sure enough…  there was a family in a giant white dodge truck coming to help us!  We had some ratchet straps with us and together the motorhome was pulled out in about five minutes after praying!

Now I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I’m so busy asking for the one miracle that I think I need most (healing)… That I nearly overlook the ones that He performs for us in the every day moments. You can call it a coincidence or you can call it pure fate… But I know what my prayer was for and how our great God answered in the moment we needed it most!

Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, is anything too hard for me?”

I wouldn’t have hit the road today seeking this sort of a chaotic adventure…  but I’m beyond blessed that we had this opportunity to see God provide!  I loved working with my family, and of course we documented it in pics too…  because I want to remember this answered prayer- miracle forever. God knew I needed to see some good from Him in a season that has been filled with so much hard stuff.  Sometimes I feel like I just need to see Him move. Today God moved for me, not like I expected. But of course in His perfect way!

Psalm 66:19 “But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.”

I’m continuing to seek Gods healing in my body and family and I’m encouraged today that He does see and hear me. HE knows my every thought. He hears my prayers and He; more than anyone, including myself knows exactly what I need and when!

Hanging onto Hope and Living It out!

XO

Sincerely, Dani

I John 5:14“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 

P.S…  We still saw this gorgeous National Park and have arrived safely in Erie, PA for the night!  Onto Niagara Falls tomorrow!

I’m lying in bed here in Mt. Pleasant, Texas thinking about what to share with y’all for the evening. It’s been a hard day of hardly making it out of bed because of severe fatigue. The kind that makes it hurt to speak, and you can barely utter a one word answer. Cory drove us over 300 miles from Austin to our RV site here and I rested in bed answering the occasional school question that the kiddos had.  I felt a bit more rested after that and had enough energy to play a game of fooseball with Grey, make dinner and plan school for tomorrow…  it’s the tiny victories for the day that I’m choosing to find joy in.

Since we left Oklahoma and the York family we met up with my parents who flew in to see us and we spent a couple fun days in Waco. We checked out Magnolia Farms, and attended the third annual Silobration…  seriously amazing music, great food, and my fave company to boot! 👢. We drove to Austin and spent the next three days with Mom and Daddy exploring the mountain country of Wimberley, went on a short hike, and saw long time friends…  the kinds that are like family and you can pick right back up where you’ve left off.  We had to say goodbyes to my parents yesterday and then drowned our sorrows in some amazing Mexican food downtown Austin. Then to top off our Austin stay, we had such a sweet evening visit from some of our Hawaii ohana!

Somedays our time is filled to the brim with activities, exploring, and friends…  and others are spent driving and hitting the hay early. Tonight I’m thankful for the last couple weeks of friends and family and I’m going to let my body rest extra since that seems to be what it’s begging me for.

Thank you for the continued prayers…  I’m not feeling well, I can’t seem to kick this chronic tiredness, my head hurts often, I’m still gaining weight that nothing can explain, but I’m not going to give up…  I’m praying for strength to keep pushing through and asking God to heal my whole body. I need Him to heal me for our whole family…  not just me. It’s becoming super hard to see how much this is all effecting Cory and the kiddos; but thats for another post at another time😉

Please continue praying for our family and asking God to heal us.

Now, Go LIVE IT OUT!

XO, Sincerely Dani

My only hope is in YOU  Psalm 39:7

PS…  I have lots of pics to post to go with all these activities we did, but I’m having some internet issues😬. I’ll do a picture blog post soon!

….. and we’re off!  It’s been a while and soooooo very much has happened.  Unfortunately I’ve allowed some people’s negative comments to get further into my head than I normally do. Though I know the truth and don’t answer to anyone else, at times the thoughtless actions of others sting…  it’s a great reminder to think before you speak and pray before you act, so I’m working on doing better in both those areas personally.

However, we haven’t stopped for one second with moving ahead and making lemonade from the lemons 🍋 we’ve been allowed to deal with lately.

Seattle Birthday pie and macaroons!🎉

Greys #7 in Maui!!!!🌴

Seriously… the cutest ever!

We finished up Cory, Hayden and Lucys competition paddling season with the state championships in Maui.  They each did amazing and had such a great time the entire season…  they are already looking forward to another season!   Grey finished up her hula lessons for now and she hopes to continue them again too!  As for doctors appts, I finished up the treatment plan I was on and we are enjoying this 4-6 month stint that I’m not supposed to be needing medical attention.

Grey turned SEVEN!!!  She loved having her bday in Seattle with cousins as well as in Maui with Uncle Joel and crew!

We flew home and spent about a month remodeling a used motorhome and have turned it into our home on wheels…  a place all five of us can have our own space, find rest, do school, run Cory’s business, and have amazing family times full of laughter, learning, exploring and make endless memories for the next 4-5 months!!!

Saying our goodbyes to the Seattle cousins… LOVE YOU 5 GOBS!!!❤️

We got the tow dolly hooked up… now we can all ride together and not follow each other! Woop woop! 🙌

Watching Earnest Goes to Camp!

Sweet Ensley made us this welcome sign… we loved our time catching up with the Breeden’s! It’s amazing how you can pick right back up with childhood friends like there wasn’t 20 years in between visits!❤️

We are finally as of today, September 13, 2017;  done with all the work of getting us ready, and we are on our way to Glacier National Park for these next three nights!!!  Haydens 14th birthday is Friday and we will spend it there exploring and hiking and doing who knows what while we soak up Gpds beauty all around us…  we’re hoping the smoke can clear and we can still enjoy this park to its fullest!

Our hope along this trip is to see this great country God made, learn history while living in the very places events took place, to be a helping hand where needed especially with all the devastation across the country right now, to be Gods hands and feet, to show His love to all we meet, to spread knowledge about Lyme Disease and its coinfections, to grow even closer together as a family, as a couple, and most importantly with our great God!

Thank you all for your continued prayers…  we would love prayers specifically for:

-safety while traveling

-school year ahead

-provision financially

-strength for Cory holding this all together

-complete healing of Babesia in Danielle’s body

-complete healing of Lyme Disease in kiddos

Praising God for:

-this opportunity to see the USA

-Danielle is doing much better than a couple months ago!

-Friends who have let us curb-surf for the last week!

thank you Storlie’s, DeChristophers, and Breeden’s!

❤️❤️❤️WE LOVE YOU ALL❤️❤️❤️

XO

sincerely, dani

LIVE IT OUT!

Jeremiah 29:11-13. HE KNOWS!

I’ve had someone tell me lately that my actions “do not match what is seen on Facebook”. This of course initially stung, because I live in a way that is extremely open and honest and I’ve never been told anything even close to this from dear friends to brand new acquaintances.  After a few minutes of being initially upset; I quickly remembered what I would be sitting here telling my kiddos or my husband if they were in the same situation, and now I’m more than excited to address this one head first!

This post is more for my kids than anyone else…  I believe fiercely that it is beyond important for our children to see us practice what we preach to them in our own lives.  

-There are a few quick and obvious points to throw out first and I’m reminded of the simple truths that I remind Hayden, Lucy, and Grey about; I always tell my kiddos that people are going to judge you, they are going to criticize you, they will gossip about you, call you names, and speak harshly about you both behind your back and to your face.
-I remind them that the only ONE whom we seek any applause from and the ONLY one who knows our hearts and can judge us is God. He can see the root of our ♥️, He knows our motives and He will always be here for us , He will NEVER ever let us down and He offers forgiveness when we mess up.
-I also remind my three kiddos that as long as they’ve done their best… that their daddy and I are proud of them.
-We caution them to be moldable to receive correction and apologize when wrong. That we repent from our wrong actions and turn the other way so we don’t repeat the same wrong again.
-Often times I finish off our chats with a reminder that it is good to stand up for themselves, to know when to fight for truth and what is right and when it is best to let the “bully” have the last word and just to walk away.

It’s for these three tonight… make sure you have a voice that is steady and speaks truth even when it’s not the “fun” thing to do!

You know how easy it is to preach these things and stand up for others and then turn around and not practice these things in your own life? Man… the weight of people’s words has a marked impact on lives. You can bring LIFE to people or bring DEATH just by the power of words…

(Proverbs 18:21: The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.)

I’m so thankful for these experiences that remind me to let the haters hate… to continue keeping my eyes solely on Jesus and to run this race as strong as possible.
(Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.)

Remembering tonight that:
-Others opinions do NOT matter.
-Unhappy people try to make people unhappy.
-I am accountable for my own actions.

-Bullying happens even in adult-ville
-MOST of all… remember the things we teach our kiddos👍🏼.
-Live IT Out!

XO, Dani