Columbian Restaurant Ybor City and Lettuce Lake Park

 Living in Florida there is so much more to offer than theme parks!  Let me introduce you to a couple of fun cheap places that are amazing!

The Columbian Restaurant has become my favorite restaurant.  I'd always wanted to go there but thought it was too expensive.  But if you go for lunch you can get meals as low as $12   The Columbian Restaurant is located in Ybor City (part of old Tampa) It opened in 1905 and is Florida's oldest restaurant and the world's largest Spanish restaurant with 1,700 seats  There are 15 dining rooms and my goal is to eat in everyone of them.  I've only eaten in three so far!    Their 1905 salad is so good-I crave it.  They have an affordable lunch menu and the food is so good.  You can even ask for a tour of the restaurant it is very informative and you'll get to see the inner working.  With it being in the Ybor area you can take a stroll and look around (you might see a bit more than you bargained on the weekend or nights LOL  But it is very interesting.  You can also catch the FREE trolley and ride around Tampa from Ybor City.  We've not done that yet but plan to soon.  

 Read about it  here

My buddy in crime my college roommate we like to do day trips because of our schedules 

the patio

the patio

The wine cellar I can truthfully say I'd never been in one before

the was the original restaurant 

Lettuce Lake Park is in Tampa near the northeast side.  It's not too far from Busch Gardens but much cheaper....$2 a person but bring cash they don't take cards!  

There's all kinds of playgrounds and places to eat, you can rent a kayak or walk the trails.  One trail is a boardwalk on the river with a tower you can climb to see the sights and it is gorgeous.  

My friend and I last went the weekend before it was closing down for the Covid Quarantine

It was nice to be back in the beautiful Florida early summer LOL  

read about it here

Lettuce Lake Park

Just a baby

My goal this year is to explore more and to go do things more than I've done.  A lot of times when I have our dear respite worker here I feel like I should go and do errands or work around the house doing things I can't do if I'm here by myself with the kids.  But life is short and there is so much to do and see in Florida!  I'm planning on blogging about it maybe it'll encourage you to explore your area or visit some of these wonderful places when you come to Florida!

March Madness

 Three months later.....

We survived Covid!  Once I finished my prescription of HCQ I got Covid the next day!  If I had had 21 days of HCQ I do not think I would have gotten it.  Since I have no underlying health issues, I could not get the BAM treatment Jon and Sarah got....I had to suffer it out.  My only symptoms were my toes and claves hurt so bad.  Beyond any kind of muscle cramps I'd ever had.  I was also very tired.  After about a week of laying around I felt like I could not breath deeply although I had no congestion or cough.  The doctor sent me for an x-ray and I had a tiny amount of pneumonia.  He put me on an antibiotic and within 2 days I felt completely normal.  A couple of weeks ago I had a follow up and my lungs are fine no after effects of covid.   The boys and Selah did not ever get covid.  The only real precautions we took was to keep the windows open even at night to keep the air circulating.  Of course Selah's area is separate and we did not go in there during any of this time.   Both of my older boys have been exposed directly to Covid several times and have never gotten it.  It's a crazy virus almost like it picks and choses its' victims!  

This was Jon's first day out of his bedroom for his birthday  He gets veggie pizza with no cheese

Watching It's a Wonderful Life.... it was a wonderful night

Sarah never had another Covid symptom after she had the BAM treatment

Our Christmas 2020 picture... we just made it out of Jon's quarantine before we started mine... LOL or something like that...it all just kinda blended in together after all that time.  

Well our older boys were in lock down with us.  To be honest we had a wonderful Christmas.  As a family we watched alot of TV, old and new movies and Christmas movies.  It was a great time of bonding together after a crazy year and way too much time apart.  Jon called it our "our Covid Christmas"  But all good things must come to an end.  On January 1 we literally moved Steve into his brand new apartment!  It's a great space and so fun to help him set it up.  I was off quarantine  but the move about wiped me out!  I got like 14,000 steps in and he's on the 2nd floor!  

Literally our only meal out the whole Christmas break!  Our favorite restaurant the Columbian!  

We made it to a friend's wedding 

And church once....

Then the next weekend Shad left for his 2nd semester in college.  We were sad to see him go but happy for him to have the opportunity to have such an experience to go to college in Arizona.  Before he left we got to do a few family things together outside our house!  

In January Sam began to act like he could not see at all.  We were terrified!  We first had an ultrasound done at a local ER because we were afraid that his retina had detached.  It looked ok but we left the next morning for NY.  We drove because we still were not 100% sure about his retina.  It was just Jon, Sam Sarah and me!  Our first trip without the older boys.   Soooo January in Rochester NY..... bitter cold and snow.  It was gorgeous but a bit much for this Florida family.  Sam had an exam under anesthesia with our Dear Dr A.  He said everything was perfect, just a little tiny bit of residue from his eye drops.  Our doctor thought he'd be fine but he still acted strange.  Although Sam is legally blind he sees quite a bit, so this was a big change for him.  Once we got home with no improvement our neurologist sent us to the ER for a CAT scan to rule out a tumor, brain bleed or blood clot.  It was clear and Sam did improve some but he is still not back to normal.  He's very fearful and clingy even in the house.  Next week he is having a sedated MRI and another test to check his blood vessels thoroughly.  If that all checks out our guess is vertigo.  We just don't know what to think.  Right now he's home alot, no horse back riding for him (Sarah gets his sessions so she is happy)  He has been struggling with anxiety also.  There are times particularly this time of year when he seems to struggle with it.  We do not know why since we live in Sunny Florida but it happens every year.  This year it's been compounded with whatever else is going on and it's been rough for him and for us.  

Dr A and Jon

I took these pictures.  Across from Strong Hospital is a very old grave yard.  we have always been fascinated by it and visited it several times.  These pictures that I took in freezing snow are amazing to me.  It was so beautiful

But this is where sissy wanted to be LOl  Neither Sarah or Sam are a fan of snow or cold weather.  They are Florida babies! 

YOu can see the cemetery from our hotel room

Once Sam got home he did get all his toys out of the toy box

Sam turned 17 years old in February...unbelievable

Last week we got a call from the University of Wisconsin where Sam and Sarah are both enrolled in a DNA study.  They found Sam has another chromosome abnormality.  In CH 19 all the pieces are there but they are not in the right order!  There have been a few cases (6 I think) discovered and 4 of them have Peter's Anomaly.  Of those four, all seem to have "seasonal anxiety" meaning it comes and goes.  That astonished me because that seem to fit Sam too!  So far we have been treating it by physical activity and time outside.  We are just not interested in him taking drugs especially as it comes and goes.  

Our pediatrician retired and we are trying to find a new one.  Dr W was a wonderful doctor and friend to our family.  This week we had a disastrous appointment with a new Pediatrician.....it's too long and stressful to recount but we will not be using that practice!  We had been with the same practice for almost 25 years so it's hard to change and put your trust in someone else!!!  My experience with this other doctor left me almost in tears and I don't cry much!  I have an appointment to interview a doctor next week and schedule time with another one too.  This is a huge decision for me. 

Sarah is going to be featured on on of our local tv stations soon.  They've shot the interview and will be playing it soon.  

So that was a quick catch up!  Hope you all are doing well!  Thanks for the messages I've gotten- I mean to post more and now I've finally set up a home office I might just do it!  

Be Gone Covid!

Last Sunday:) Steve now works for another church as their media minister and Selah is staying home for safety concerns most Sunday.  We were so glad to have Shad home!

My pretty girl

I know I don't update as much as I used to do!  But we were having a WONDERFUL family holiday...Shad is home from his first semester in college and Steve is home until January as he is on the wait list for a new apartment.  Everything just lined up perfectly and I was so happy as only a mom of adult kids can be!  I couldn't believe it worked out with them both being home together:) THEN.....Sunday after church Jon felt strangely fatigued.  Honestly I was terrified it was his heart but he wasn't having any heart symptoms then the CHILLS started.....  But he woke up Monday morning feeling ok but to be safe he went and got a Covid test expecting it to be negative...it wasn't!  However Monday he felt ok.  Then I noticed Sarah was also acting very fatigued .  Then she started running a fever and I got a headache.  So Tuesday Sarah, Shad and I went and got tested.  Shad had had a slight fever.  AND our friend who drove Shad to the airport the day before Thanksgiving tested positive for Covid.  But we'd already had Shad tested and he was negative.  So...Sarah tested positive and Shad and I tested negative.  

We were in north Tampa (only place we could get an appointment.  I called our pediatrician and he told me of a new treatment that was being used at Lakeland Regional for children and adults who are more at risk of serious complications.  So we drove home and I ate (finally at like 4pm) then I took Sarah to Lakeland Regional where she was given the BAM treatment Bamlanivimab

Sarah was the first pediatric patient to get this treatment at the hospital and possibly the first one to get in in Florida!!!

Read about Bamlanivimab

This is the treatment President Trump received when he tested positive.  After he had such a turn around, he signed an emergency act for this medication to be used for people more at risk.!  Sarah thans President Trump because she had an amazing turn around!!

Before treatment 

And after

She literally was back to her normal self after the treatment ran!  The doctor told me they'd had adults who said it felt like an infusion of strength and although Sarah does not' speak she let them know she felt better.  It was remarkable to see the difference within an hour!!

So of course I asked for Jon!  The admitting person actually set Jon up for treatment on Wednesday morning.  That was relieving to me as he has underlying heart conditions.  Jon had his treatment and did not respond as fast as Sarah but when he woke up this morning he said he basically feels back to normal!!!!  today he walked his 10,000 steps out in the woods near our house (yes the doctor said he could if he felt like it and NO he did not see anyone on his walk!  We live in the country remember!) 

While Jon was getting his treatment Sam and Shad were testing for covid  Both had had temps-but both tested negative and feel normal today.  

Sam has trouble wearing a mask but right after this picture I did get him to wear one and he wore it the rest of the time he was in the ER

Jon and I found a doctor some months ago who believes that the medicine HCQ hyddroxychlorquine helps reduce the severity of Covid.  So we got the prescription on Monday and began taking it immediately  We have a  good friend who got covid back in March and was on a vent close to death when she was given HCQ and she began recovering within 24 hours.   Then the whole controversy  started over HCQ & we were determined to have a doctor who would prescribe it for us if we got Covid    We also have been taking Vit C, D,. E and Zinc since March.  I personally do not have much faith in face masks especially the cloth ones but we have faithfully worn our masks while in indoor public areas.  When Sam was born we had to wear masks around him many times.  We were told to wear the kind doctors do and to change the every time we had a direct interaction with him.  Of course this was 16 years ago before masks became political!  So I believe what my doctor told me years ago.  Not what the media tries to tell us.  We still wear masks but we have no real faith in them.  

 Jon is a prison chaplain and his prison has been amazing. There have only been a couple of cases and the staff and inmates work together to keep it clean.  Jon basically goes to work and to church.  He doesn't go shopping or much of anywhere else except out in the woods.  He nor his staff know of anyone in his prison who is sick that he has come in contact with and there is no one at church.  At this time he does not have the contact with the inmates as much as he normally would and so his contact list has been small.  So we have no idea how he got it.  

When all this mess started  I was scared of covid.  Now i think of it as I would a snake or a gator.  Yes I'm wary of it but the awareness of it does not control my life!  Every year we get the flu shot to help protect our family.  We had a church member die of the flu some years ago.  It happened quickly and was shocking.  But I didn't live in fear of the flu.  I wash my hands and stay away from sick folks.  For years if my kids went to the pediatrician, we waited outside till they are called in because I know that's where the sick folks are at and I don't want sit there for 30 minutes with a bunch of sick kids! Now everyone waits outside.   We never wear our shoes in the house and now all these studies tell us how germy our shoes are...I guess I'm just ahead of other folks LOL Anyhow I feel like it's really about common sense and common sense has left the building!  

Covid can be serious.  But living in FEAR is serious too!  I'm not a positive thinker by any means-actually I'm pretty negative.  Generally I expect the worse to happen in any situation.  And maybe because I struggle with that, I see how so many people are letting fear control their lives.  I won't say I didn't feel my stomach drop when Jon called me to say he was positive.  But I know statically that this virus has a 99% survival rate  We were as prepared as we could have been for this  We had a plan in place to start a proven medication, we've been taking the vitamins, and we both exercise so our lungs are strong.  Through this Jon has walked every day except for Wednesday, moving is key if you can.  But there is a point one just has to trust God  Jon calls me Mrs Noah because I'm prepared for every type of calamity.  I think it's my way of coping, doing everything I can and then I have to leave the rest with God.  

It does seem like cases are up.  My recommendations are to be prepared.  Speak with your health care providers to see how they are advising their patients and if you want more options find a new doctor BEFORE you get sick!  Exercise to strengthen your lungs, take the recommended vitamins but live your life!

In practical ways, I'd say have paper plates, bowls and cups so you don't have to touch each other's dishes. Keep your freezer stocked, I do alot of freezer meals and that's been a lifesaver.  Keep things like Gatorade, canned soup and crackers, soft drinks on hand.  Have unopened medicine like Tylenol, cold and cough meds if you use them.  Keep your cleaning supplies up- I use vinegar and clorox mostly to clean .Also have LOTS of laundry detergent.  I have washed 900 million loads of laundry this week!   Even I needed some things and a dear friend ran to Walmart for me-I was out of aluminum  foil!   I HAVE to have that to cook with-it makes clean up easier.  Plus I needed a themorator that we could use so we didn't go into Selah's room at all.  

We are blessed because Selah and her nurses have a private suite.  They have their own entrance and bathroom.  So we are communicating by test and calls.  Luckily our pharmacy delivers so everything is being done for her with no contact from us.  We trust our nurses and do not feel the need to check up on them  We know they would always do the very best for our daughter.  We also have not ran the A/C or heat (yes it's been cold) that way the air doesn't circulate throughout the house.  We've wanted to turn the heat on but we know it's safer if we don't.  We live in Florida it's not that cold.  

So we have coped!  Please remember our family in your prayers that we will all continue to improve and no one else will test positive. 

By the way-next pandemic I am going to be the one who gets sick first!  I have worked my tail off and I'm sleeping on a cot in our family room... I tried the couch the first night and they are gorgeous (my birthday/christmas present) but they are not comfortable to sleep all night in!  I think they need to be broken in more LOL

my bed- yes I use lots and lots of pillows.  The best thing is by the end of the day I've been so tired I've gone to sleep.  That's the only good thing.  This camper cot is not enjoyable for me!!! 

So I hope everyone has a wonderful christmas and stays well!!!!

October 2020

 Zoo fun!  A friend took me to Busch Gardens and ai got some amazing pictures!



We've had some gorgeous weather and are spending more time on the porch again

Steve celebrated his 25th birthday in Alaska with some friends!

These pictures are so funny to me! 

That was Steve when he was about 15 months old in his first snow suit in NYC

Steve and his buddies! 

Shad is doing great in college- he'll be home for break in a few weeks and we are looking forward to having him home with us for about 6 weeks.  Most colleges are starting their breaks right before Thanksgiving and continuing them well into January

I'll try and catch up more later-lots of health issues going on

Mille- Meet the Browns

 Today I'm sharing about a family that has just adopted a 15 year old severely handicapped daughter from Ukraine.  

Both of these children are 15 years old.....

This is the family's story in their own words.  

We are the Browns! We are a family of 14 hoping to add one more to our crazy, wonderful life. Daniel and Svetlana met in Russia. Daniel was serving there as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. After a year of being back in the United States, Daniel asked Svetlana to come here and be his wife. They have been married for over 22 years and have 12 amazing children ages: 5, 8, 9, 9, 12, 13, 14, 14, 16, 18, 20, 25.

Daniel is the oldest of 10 children. So, a big family is not a big deal to him. Daniel is also a high school teacher, and a Robotics Club Coach. Which, of course, helps in dealing with lots of children and the chaos that can ensue.

Svetlana grew up in Russia and is an only child. She always dreamed of a big family and adopting from an orphanage. She has taken several medical classes to help prepare her for the special needs of each child.

Their children are excited to have new siblings to love. Although the three oldest children are out of the home; They come back to visit, and help out, as often as possible. All of the children enjoy being able to love, work with, and watch the development of those less fortunate. They are looking forward to the great service of compassion that they will be able to give these special children.

They got through the whole exhausting process of court and adoption  only to find their legally adopted daughter is unable to come into the US because she has a suspicious  spot on her lungs which could be TB or something else.  They now how to wait two months for her to be allowed to come in and she must have more testing  (DISCLAIMER this is NOT a new policy so do not blame President Trump.  This policy has been inn place for decades!)  

In the meanwhile the family has to return to the US because they have other children and work.  They were able to find a private hospital that will take her and care for her.  This hospital has taken other such cases in the past and have successfully cared for them and begun the healing process and refeeding.

More of their story

After working on our adoption for over a year we finally got an invitation to Ukraine to meet our child. We were going to meet a little 3 year old boy. A week or so before we left for Ukraine a little girl was tagging on my heart…..a little girl...no, a young women…..she supposed to be 15 years, but in reality she was a size of a 3 year and maybe 20 pounds…….how can it be…...how can she still be alive? After arriving in Ukraine and a week of quarantine and DAP appointment we drove 4 hours to meet our new daughter. She was tiny, she was drugged and so contracted that holding her was almost impossible. Her eyes were so sad, years of neglect and abuse were all over her face. Her tiny hands were so deformed it was painful just to see them. It didn't take much thinking to say yes to her because we both knew she needed to get out and be saved from that place. We said “yes” to her and a month long wait for court began. In 30 days we finally had our court and in that instance she became our beloved daughter and sister. Within a few hours after the court decree was signed she was in my arms forever…….that's what I thought anyways…....but the bureaucracy of the government put a stop to a happy ending pretty quickly…...Few days after we got Millie we had to do a medical exam that every person that enters the USA must have. Our sweet little girl failed her x-ray by having a small dark spot on her lungs and now has to have a Sputum TB test done which takes 8 weeks to complete. We were heartbroken, how can it be? A new plan needed to be made quickly. I have been gone for 7 weeks already and our children at home were ready to have their mama home. With the help of several amazing people we were able to find a room for MIllie at palliative children hospital in Kiev. It was absolutely devastating to leave her and go home without her, but I knew she was going to be safe there. She now has an amazing nanny Elena with her 24/7. Millie has been out of the orphanage for 20 days and she has changed so much already. Where there was sadness in her eyes, no there is now light. She is so happy, she is learning so much. She is learning that no one will hurt her, that she doesn't have to be hungry anymore. She will always be clean…..and most of all she will always be loved. We cant wait to see her again and bring her home FOREVER!!!

Nanny $20/day Formula $15/day Food for nanny $5/day Medications???

We can help this precious family by giving to pay for her daily needs.  The cost for a daily nanny- someone who will work with her is only $20 a day.  The cost of her formula is only $15 daily!  So for $35 a day she can be cared for until the family is able to bring her home.   So I'm asking for your help!

I've committed to pay for her care for one week!  That's only $250- she'll need at least 7 more weeks....you can give by going to the family's paypal account svetabrown@gmail.com or if you are like me and still not comfortable with giving online, you can mail a check to: 

the Brown family

301 University Ave 

Gooding ID 83330

Please help meet this need!  Thank you!