Hola!

With many of you out-of-state (or just far away) I thought that this would be a great way to keep everyone apprised of what is happening in the Bussear house. I am stealing the idea from my friend, Natalie, who has a blog for happenings with her adorable son.

Life has been busy for us. In the past month, we have traveled to Traverse City for the weekend and to Chicago for a Saturday for my work. Both of the events were free to us, other than food and we had a great time. We did some wine tasting in Traverse City while I was in town to attend the Lilly Conference and this past Saturday we were in Chicago to see Wicked. I chaperoned a group of 40 students and it was a LONG day but we had a great time.

Dave is still working with CMS after considering an offer from another business. In the end, staying with CMS is turning out to be a great decision. He got a nice raise and really likes what he does.

I am at CMU and still liking my job. This fall has been very busy at work and things are finally starting to slow down which I appreciate. I am now working from home on Fridays which has been a blessing with gas prices as high as they are. I thank my boss for being considerate and offering the work-from-home day.

In other news, I am asking for your thoughts and prayers as I continue to go through medical testing. I have not been feeling well for months (extreme exhaustion, sore/aching muscles, sore throat, etc.) and finally made a trip to the doctor about a month ago. My doctor initially felt that I may have thyroid problems or something called Celiac Disease. Celiac is the body's inability to process Gluten which is found in all wheat products as well as many other things. The first round of testing came back negative on both fronts but because the tests aren't 100% accurate, my doctor has ordered an ultrasound for my thyroid and a referral to a gastroenterologist for a biopsy of my intestines to test again for Celiac. Additionally, the second round of blood tests had high indicators for an auto-immune disease, likely Lupus. More blood work has been done and I will be meeting with my doctor soon to get all of the results. The ultrasound for my thyroid is scheduled for this evening and the appointment with the gastroenterologist is Thursday morning. It is all overwhelming but I am optimistic that once I am finally diagnosed that we can move forward with treatment and I can begin to feel better. I promise to keep everyone updated as I continue to get news myself and I thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers.

Hugs,
Melissa