Living in the Mundane

It's been a while. I've thought about blogging, but then it just seems like there's not that much to say. At times, life just seems mundane. Even in the mundane, I occasionally have a good laugh.

Will gave our Watermelon hair using toothpicks. I should have known something was up when it got so quiet.

Update on Frank

I am glad to report that Frank came home from the hospital this last weekend after a long, 30 day stay. Frank had his second open heart surgery 2weeks ago and recovered slowly, as it was a more extensive surgery due to working around scar tissue from the first surgery. Frank's heart rate was a little unstable and they were preparing to "restart" his heart about a week after the second surgery, but thankfully it stabilized without this procedure and they did not have to do it. This was such encouraging news! Each day Frank got stronger and was able to walk a little further, eventually leading to his release.

We were able to visit the day Frank left the hospital. We got there just as he came down the elevator, and we went right out to lunch! It was great to see him getting around on his own.

Another blessing is improvement in Linda's health. She has had a renewed joy after a long season of emotional trial brought on by medication she took 2 1/2 years ago for a blood condition. Her joyful smile is back as well as her excitement for life. We are so excited for this change and the encouragement it even brings to Frank as he works to regain his strength and get back to life as normal...really, even better than the normal he had before this all started.

We praise God for the blessing of renewed health and are thankful for the time we will have with Brad's parents here on earth. We definitely questioned if this would be the reality at the end of this trial, but it is better than we could have imagined! Thank you for all of your prayers!

Fear Not

As I mentioned in the last post, Brad's dad, Frank, is in the hospital. He took an unexpected trip there on Carissa's birthday. It was a pretty scary day not knowing if Frank would be alright. Frank had open heart surgery in the beginning of December and he has slowly been recovering.

These are email updates Brad sent:

Friday,February 27th:
* Just before 4pm my dad was brought to the hospital, unconscious and unresponsive. My dad was being worked on in the ER for several hours.
* Somewhere before 6pm, my dad's heart stopped beating for a few minutes. He was dead for about 3-4 minutes and was resuscitated with CPR, electric shock and lots of help from the Great Physician. He was unresponsive until 11pm when my brother & mom left.
* I got to the hospital at midnight Friday night. When I touched his head, he briefly opened his eyes and turned his head. I talked with the nurse for a few minutes. A chaplain came in and prayed. After she prayed, the nurse started talking to my dad. His eyes opened a bit more. She asked him to show her his thumbs and he raised his hands as much as he could.

Saturday, February 28:
* When we arrived in the morning, my dad was very alert with his eyes opened and moving his head around. He still had breathing tubes from the ventilation machine strapped into his mouth. His grip was strong as he shook hands. He received some sedation for his MRI.
* Early to mid afternoon, a few doctors came by and cleared him to breathe on his own. Many of the tubes came out. The doctor said his MRI looked really good and that he probably had a mini-stroke (TIA).
* Shortly after that, he started talking although his vocal cords are still a bit strained from the tubes.
* His long-term memory has been really sharp. His short-term memory was pretty fuzzy.

Sunday, March 1st, AM:
* He's talking much more today and seems to be more alert. His short-term memory seems to be a little better today, but not yet back to normal.
* The doctor said that he was no longer in critical condition today and should move out of the ICU to a regular room sometime today. He said they'd like to continue to watch his heart rate over the next day or two.

As you can see, God's healing hands have been at work in answering prayers, restoring life and health to my dad. Here's a few things that we'd appreciate your prayers on. 1) Dad's short-term memory still has room for improvement. 2) His heart rate needs to become stable. 3) Finding a good dosage / Rx on his blood pressure medication. 4) His postural hypotension has been more pronounced after his heart surgery and even more-so after he got a new blood pressure medication last Tuesday. This condition causes him to faint at times when he gets up after sitting or laying still for a while.

Sunday, March 1st, PM:

A lot has happened in the 2nd half of the day. This afternoon, my dad was moved out of ICU. It looked like he was really starting to improve. When he got to his new room, he thought he was strong enough to move from the transport bed to the hospital room bed on his own. He tried and he really got winded and was struggling a bit with his breathing. He seemed to be doing fine a few minutes later. My brother needed to use a few vacation days so we decided he would stay Monday & Tuesday to be with mom & dad. I left for Houston at 5pm. Bruce called around 8:30 or 9 to say my dad had another episode and his heart had stopped again and after about a minute the doctors and staff were able to resuscitate him. He was moved back to ICU again, is heavily sedated and unresponsive now under sedation. The doctor told Bruce that patients in my dad's condition on Friday have a 5-15% chance of making it back to life. Apparently, it's a lower chance the second time around.

It sounds like he will be in the ICU under sedation and tests the next 1-2 days.

I have to believe in God's will, his timing and his goodness whatever happens going forward. I also believe that God still has plans & purposes for my dad here on earth, especially after he's been restored back to life twice under these circumstances and low odds. I ask that you would continue to pray for my dad's miraculous healing, but most of all that God would be glorified whatever happens.

Please also pray for my mom, brother, myself and our families. This has been an emotional roller coaster the past few days and we need God's strength during this time.

Frank had a pacemaker put in on Thursday, March 4th. Since that time he has had numerous tests run, had and recovered from pneumonia.

The recommendation now is that Frank have a second open heart surgery. His aortic valve replacement from the first surgery is leaking as well as the mitral valve, so those need to be replaced. This will give him the best chance to live a normal, active life. This surgery will probably take place as early as this Friday, but probably sometime early next week.

Brad has been gone for a total of 10 days. We miss him, but we know that's where he needs to be right now. We were able to go for a little visit last weekend. I know Brad is so thankful for the many sacrifices his parents have made for him over his lifetime and he is more than happy to be there for them in their time of need.

So far his work has been very understanding with him taking the time off. Compared to Frank's life, it seems that work just isn't as urgent as it normally is.

It's easy to wonder how all of the details are going to be worked out, but Frank's doctor told him yesterday "fear not." That is great advice. We have hope in God and His ability to work out all of the details. And because of Christ's work on the cross, "even if it's not going to be ok, it's going to be ok." (Another bit of great advice from our friend, Jerry.)

Carissa's One!

Carissa turned one on February 27th. We had a little party planned on the 28th, but we had to postpone it. Carissa's Grandpa Frank made an unexpected visit to the hospital. More on that later.

This first year with Carissa has just flown by. She is such a joy. She is a very happy girl...always smiling and trying to catch the eye of anyone near. She has started babbling a lot as if she is making sentences. Her favorite things are her "blankie", her brother, getting ready for baths (she loves to hear the water running) and smiling. She's been slower to want to eat solid foods, but now with two little teeth coming in she's having more fun exploring finger foods. Of course, this means more mess for Mommy to clean up, but it is worth it getting to watch her explore and master new skills.

Today she really started to master the baby walker. She hasn't learned how to back up or turn it around when she gets to a dead end. She knows how to show her frustration, but once she's freed up to move forward again it's all smiles! Here's a little video of her new skill!

Carissa Pics

I was so faithful with Will to get his pictures taken every 3 months. I probably did it on the exact date of his Mirthdays. Poor Carissa. She has had her 3 1/2 month picture taken and 10 1/2 month picture taken. Here are the 10 1/2 month pictures:

2008 in Review

Here's my 2008 review...just a tad late. I started out with some detail on the first few months, and then realized it would take me forever to finish. I'll just let the pictures tell the stories. You'd probably just skim the words anyway!

January - we started of the new year getting ready for our new baby that was due in March. I had a baby shower filled with pink to get ready for our new baby girl. Will got a new big boy room and we got the baby's room ready. We bought a minivan...the ultimate mommy mobile (which I have really enjoyed. I may not look cool, but it has made life easier!) We said good-bye to our rambunctious golden retriever, Barney, as he went to live with another family that could care for him better.We miss the idea of having a dog, but we don't miss having a dog.

February brought a surprise delivery. Our little girl came 2 weeks early. Carissa Kate was born

on the 27th. And so began our transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4.

In March we had a lot of company. Because I had a c-section I needed lots of help. I couldn't drive or lift Will. First my Mom stayed for a little over a week, then Brad's parents came for a week, then my step-mom came, then my sister and Brad's parents came back at the very end of March. I could not have done it without all of their help. We are very blessed to have such a loving and giving family.

During those first weeks we took a lot of pictures of Carissa. Will wasn't used to someone else having the spotlight, so he decided to jump in and pose for some pictures too.

In April, after everyone left we started to settle in to a "new normal." I still don't think I had my head above water yet.

At least in the midst of all of the chaos and messes, Will kept us laughing (and crying...just look at that mess!!!)

And overall, Carissa was a really good baby. She woke up a lot at night, but she was content and happy most of the time.

May brought more time outside in the beautiful spring weather. Will got a new play set just in time. Our kind neighbors were getting rid of theirs and offered it to us. We were blessed by their generosity.




Our friend Jeff went skydiving for his 30th birthday. Will has been talking about "share-a-pooting" and "shoot-a-pooting" ever since. Those phrases are forever etched in our memories.






Family time in May.

Cousin Brenna's birthday in June.

Pretend camping indoors in July.

Hanging out at home in August.

Family Vacation to Arkansas in September.

Fun outside with Austin, our neighbor.

Carissa starting to crawl in October just before she turned 10 months.

Will was a handyman for Halloween and Carissa was a bunny rabbit. Will really "got it" this year and enjoyed trick-or-treating.

Carissa started pulling up about the same time she learned how to crawl. She's a strong little girl.

Will at his 3rd birthday party. It was a train theme, so he dressed up like a train conductor.

Will riding his big boy bike he got for his birthday.

I think he liked his train table we surprised him with the morning of his actual birthday.

Brad and Will went on their first camping trip right before Thanksgiving. They made s'mores, went fishing, slept in a tent and froze their noses off.

Cousin Krista with Carissa on Thanksgiving.

Carissa's first picture with Santa Claus.

Will's pic with Santa.

We went to visit G'G'ma in early December. Here Carissa is being a rare snuggle bug.

Here is the best present we got in 2008.

Arrrrrrrrrrr matey! Our little pirate with her eye patch. The doc said we need to strengthen her eyes.

Brothers with their baby girls.

Grandma and Carissa on Christmas Eve.

Cousins - Will, Maggie, Korbin and Gracie

Christmas morning.

"Will, don't hit your sister with those golf clubs!!"





Decorating cookies at Nana and Granddad's.

2008 has passed and gone, but in 2009, we're going to rock on!