Update on my dad

Some of you have asked about my dad so here is an update. Dad is home from the hospital, he actually came home Friday afternoon. Thanks so much for your prayers.

The doctors did not find anything cardiac with this admission, other than the fact that he may have bruised his chest wall, thus causing his cardiac enzymes to be elevated. They also stated that it could be GERD (gastroesophygeal reflux disease), otherwise known as heart burn. As a cardiac nurse I know the cardiologists ran every test they could run on my dad, but I was hoping for a more definitive diagnosis. It was very reassuring that there was no cardiac disease but I also know there were so many people praying for my dad.

Dad has started his new stomach med and went back to work yesterday. He says he feels tired but otherwise good.

Motorcycle Riding Time

Three of these fellows are Seeds of Abraham members, of course 1 of the 3 is Wayne.

This past weekend Wayne had a Seed of Abraham meeting and we were so encouraged to see Papaw. Several of you who've been reading my blog for awhile will remember that Papaw was involved in a very serious motorcycle accident last fall. He is doing so much better, his memory has improved dramatically. He was able to remember Caleb's code name for the club, and he also remembered about a motorcycle ride that the Seeds had ran a few years ago that others were having trouble remembering some details about.

A few of the guys were over at our house a couple of weekends ago and they all left on a motorcycle run together so of course I had to post some photos. I haven't been on the bike yet this year, still waiting for it to get a little bit warmer.

Look at the smoke roll, Michael T. is such a jokester, he even left a black mark on the driveway.

Blogging Tales

Gracious! I'm not even sure where to start there has been so much going on.




Caleb and his DI team at state competition in Noblesville, IN.

Last weekend Caleb participated in his state competition of Destination Imagination that was held in Noblesville, IN. Since his team placed 2nd in the regional competition we had high hopes for the team going into the state competition but it was not to be. The boys did well but not as smooth as the regional competition. I was still very proud of Caleb and the team for a job well done and for the accomplishment of making it to the state competition. I was somewhat relieved when I heard that it was going to cost each family $1,000.00 if they had placed at the state level and would move onto the global finals. There would have been some serious fund raising going on with the school for the families involved. We were also excited that mom and dad, Nathan, Telesa and the children were able to share with us in the competition. We get to see family all to infrequent.
Spencer showing off his new teeth.

Nathan & Telesa patiently waiting for Caleb to get finished so we could all go out for dinner.


Along with being in Noblesville for the state competition, we also scheduled a fun day at Conner Prairie. I had not been to Conner Prarie in years, so much has changed there. We had such a beautiful day and the kids had a great time, we arrived at opening and stayed until closing time. We then traveled on to get a bite to eat and checked in at our hotel so the boys could go swimming. The boys were worn out come bedtime.
Caleb and Jon sitting at the old school house, getting ready for class.

Caleb holding a baby duck at the farm.





Another friend, Tim pumping water out of the old well, just so Caleb can pour into a bucket .

Caleb and Jon getting ready to cross over the bridge, don't you just love the old house in the background.

Caleb was holding a baby lamb that was only 2 weeks old.

Caleb using the outhouse at Conner Prairie. His Aunt Tammara has an original outhouse on her property so she will love this photo.
The boys putting their muscles to good use in the garden.

Monday morning brought me a sick little boy, who had not been feeling well for the past week with a cold. He ended up being out of school for 3 days this week but it was just all viral. I sure do hate it when my child is sick.

A Hospital Visit
Last evening brought a surprise to us. I realized I had a couple of voice mail messages when I got off work last night that were from my mother who stated that my dad had been rushed to the ER. Dad has been having chest pain for the past few weeks and I found out about this past weekend. Needless to say, I urged daddy to get it checked out but to no avail he waited until he got scared then went to the ER. They stabilized him last night at a local hospital in Fort Wayne, started a heparin drip, integrillin drip, nitro patch and Plavix bolus and then transferred him to the Heart Institute in Fort Wayne. I made a mad dash to get home, made arrangements for Caleb, packed my bags and took off. The Lord definately gave me strength to make the drive after working 12 plus hours and then having to drive 4 1/2 hours. I called my brother Nathan to see if he would ride up with me, so I picked him up about half way and he was able to drive the rest of the journey. Thank goodness for energy drinks because they kept Nathan awake last night while I was able to cat nap. Upon his initial visit to the ER, my mom was told dad's cardiac enzymes were grossly elevated and he had probably had a heart attack. Dad has 4 of 5 major risk factors, so chances of blockage were pretty significant. This morning they did a heart cath, numerous EKG's, Chest x-ray's, CT scan, and VQ scan but everything has been negative for blockages and pulmonary embolism so far. The doctor's cannot explain why his enzymes were so elevated or why he is continuing to have chest pain but for now he has been cleared from coronary artery disease. We would appreciate your prayers as he is still in the hospital.

This picture was taken last weekend with my dad and Spencer walking down the halls at Noblesville High School. I thought it was absolutely precious.

Flat Tires, Yard Sales & Baseball

Sounds like a great combination, huh?

It all started on last Thursday night, difficult day at work and was looking forward to a weekend at home with my family. I'm talking away on my cell phone (with the earpiece of course, can't seem to drive any other way) coming across the bridge from Kentucky into Indiana and traffic seems so heavy. My cruise is set, radio on and earpiece in my ear and I realize there is something in the road, traffic is on both sides of me and I can't avoid hitting it without hitting another vehicle. Brakes go on, conversation is stilled and I pray for the best. As soon as I hit it and a split second before that I realize the object must be a bag of nails or some very sharp objects. My tire immediately started going down and I work on trying to get over on a 3 lane highway with merging traffic coming on to the interstate. My sole concentration at this point is to safely get over to the side of the road and hope to make it to the next exit which is about 2 miles away. My husband is telling me to stop or I'm going to ruin the rim. God always works everything out in His own time and way because for the past couple of weeks, Wayne has been out of town on Thursday night but that night Wayne was at home. My husband was on his way to be the knight in shining armor to rescue his princess. I called the cops to let them know that there was something in the road, they came and looked but never found it. The object/objects tore a quarter size piece out of my left rear tire sidewall and punctured the left front tire . We never did find out what actually was in the road, I thought it was nails but who knows. Bottom line is that I now have 4 new tires on my car and God kept His hand of protection on me and my checking account is $500.00 poorer.

Yard Sale season is upon us and I have to confess that I went to my first yard sale on Friday. Found a few things but on Saturday a local church hosted a 40 family yard sale in their gym which was a nice treat. I walked around the entire gym and never bought a thing until the last table and they had a couple of nice dress shirts for Caleb, 50 cents a piece, down blanket for $1.00, and jeans for Caleb 50 cents each. I was so excited the shirts looked brand new, the jeans were appropriate enough for nice casual and the blanket is perfect for a nice throw. I love to find bargains, I'm already excited about the next yard sale because who knows what treasure I might find there.

Baseball season is upon us and Caleb had his first game on Saturday, he was the starting pitcher and did such an awesome job for his team but they ended up losing the game 7-6. Tonight was another game with Caleb's team winning, the score was 11-3 and Caleb hit 2 home runs in the game. I wish that I would have had my camera tonight but I went to the ball field straight from work so no pictures from the game. I'll have plenty to post as the season progresses.

This was a snapshot of last year's baseball season.

A carrot, egg and a cup of coffee

My sister-in-law Melissa sent this e-mail to me and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it with my fellow blog readers.

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...
You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'
'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.